A/N: Dreadfully sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I ran into some problems with the school filter blocking and crap like that, but it's all settled now, and hopefully the school won't block it again! Though, the time that I had without my deadlines, including the holidays, so I had time to pump out this pretty wicked chapter. It's not the best I've written, but it's angsty and violent, which always rocks.

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It was still a little after one in the morning, the room was still dark as hell save for a few dim lights. Robin and Starfire were still caught in the most awkward of situations.

Robin really hadn't even meant for those words to slip out of his mouth, they just…did. It was ironic really. He had struggled for almost a year now with those three little words, but now, they slipped out so easily. Rare, silver tears slid from his eyes, he had been fighting a losing battle against them.

Starfire struggled to hold on to her consciousness, everything was burying her. Guilt, confusion and a strain of….happiness?

No, she didn't know what it was. She was just drowning in a sea of emotions. "N-No…" She stammered, struggling to force her voice from her throat. "You cannot stand here and tell me these lies. " She refused to believe it.

"Lies?" He asked through clenched teeth. "I know I hid my feelings for you pretty well, but not flawlessly. Don't you remember all that we've had together? All those moments where I put myself in danger to save you…"

"Saving is different than loving, Robin. I thought you were just my good friend, if you had just told me how you felt…" She shut her eyes tight, trying to stop herself from screaming in anguish.

"Well I'm telling you now! How many times do I have to say it?" He walked closer to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, trying to get her to face him. "I love you." It was a bit easier to say now…or so he tried to tell himself.

She tore herself from his gentle grip and swallowed her sobs. "I…I need to go." She began to walk away quickly, leaving him with the sound of her clicking high heels.

He stared at her as she practically ran from him. He had no idea where she was going, and part of him honestly didn't want to know.

Back to him….

Back to his bed…

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He never was much of a smoker. No, it would end up slowing him down on the battlefront and it really didn't have any health benefits to it. But a good, expensive cigar here and there couldn't hurt. And if only for special occasions, it wouldn't damage him.

Damn. Did he need a cigar right now.

No, not just a cigar. A whole victory party for what he had just accomplished. She had crumbled beneath him much sooner and easier than he would have originally thought. In a few weeks he managed to gain what every fan boy and a certain masked boy wonder dreamt about every night.

The beautiful, seductive, yet some how innocent poster girl. The naïve alien that the boys dreamed of showing the world to, the world, and of course, a few other choice tricks…

She had offered to stay the night, perhaps even go another couple rounds, but he gently suggested that she should go home before her friends became worried. Or, in other words, before Robin sent out everyone down to the honorary titans to find her. She did leave, reluctantly of course, and promised to be back as soon as she could.

Perfect.

She was already making plans to come back, to sneak out to see him….

Lying to Robin.

His original plan was much more elaborate, but it had changed considerably. Especially after tonight. But his objective remained the same; to have Starfire a criminal, fighting against the very forces she now stood for. Or if not even that, just have this little fling to drive Robin completely insane, ruin the one thing he cherished dearly.

And to take something so precious from that arrogant boy would be the ultimate reward.

Never had he considered the task would be this…pleasurable.

He had considered a multitude of techniques to make Starfire his own. Everything from hypnotism to his personal favorite, blackmail, came into mind. He knew she couldn't escape his grasp as easily as Robin had, she was so loyal to her friends, and she would stay with him until death. A flaw she had, really, friendship was very valuable to her.

But, after much thought and consideration of what had failed in the past, he began to focus on something that was probably even more valuable to her, or any female for that matter; love. It was a dangerous thing. It caused people to do amazing, if not regrettable things. Some would even go as far as to end their own lives over it.

So that's when this entire plan had started. He had planned that meeting in the café, knowing she would arrive for the poetry reading that day. It was just his luck that they had been forced to sit together. It wasn't hard for him to act like he did around her. Originally, he had thought that he would have to bite his cheek as she spoke of things that could interest him less, but that wasn't the case. She was daring, not really afraid to try anything new and certainly had a peculiar appetite.

Enough to keep him amused, if not anything else.

He was shaken from his thoughts by a slight beep coming from his computer; some one was trying to contact him. Growling slightly, he slipped his mask on and turned in his chair to receive the message.

"Ah, Professor Chang, I was wondering when you would return my call." Slade said smoothly, glad to be finally rid of his upbeat personality. Back to the dark, sadistic master he was known to be.

The professor sighed. "Yes, sorry about the lateness. But it is a bit hard to accomplish anything with the worry of the Teen Titans being on my ass in no less than five seconds. It's like that boy wonder has a radar installed in him."

"It'll all be taken care of in time Chang. Now, did you get what I asked for?"

"Of course, do you honestly think I would double cross you?" He responded, a forced grin upon his face.

Slade's eye narrowed. "Smart man. Now, I'll meet you at the docks in an hour. Try to keep a low profile, okay? It's late at night, so I doubt anyone will see anything."

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Starfire sat on the roof of the tower, crying for all she was worth, her tears falling off of her face and into the sea far below. She had abandoned her shoes behind her, feet feeling cold against the freezing rooftop as she rested her arms over her folded knees.

What had she done?

When Joseph had offered to go back to his place, she knew what she was in for, of course. But, she hadn't really thought of how serious and emotional it was. Sure, it felt good…well, it was mind blowing, to say the least, but perhaps there was more to it than the physical pleasure…

Perhaps that's why Robin was so upset that she had done it…

Was he crying in the kitchen for her or more for himself?

She had a perfect view of the city from here, glowing lights stretched all the way from the pizza shop to the docks in a breath taking display. It was quiet now, there was no one out on the streets at this time, other than a few people stumbling home from partying late at night.

Part of her wanted to leave now, go somewhere else besides here so she could escape the image of Robin in her mind. He had been…crying. The tears had actually fallen from his masked eyes, something she thought she'd never see. Something rare and she caused it.

But it was a bit too late now, she was in love with Joseph, there was no denying that. But a part of her, a part she had tried so desperately to cut ties with, loved Robin too. She didn't know if it was enough love to overcome that she felt for Joseph, but it was a substantial, relentless amount.

She would have to let Robin suffer, that's what it came down to. She was too close to Joseph to just throw him out of her life now, that would end up killing her in the end.

Starfire stood up slowly, taking in a deep breath of the blustery winter air and let out a lengthy sigh. There was nothing more she needed now than a good night's sleep and some time to think.

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"So, what exactly are you planning to do with all of this?" Chang asked, watching as his drones loaded the hefty supply of Zinothium into Slade's armored car.

Slade looked up at him slowly, his eye tearing away from counting the endless amount of hundred dollar bills. "Let's just say Robin had something going with the whole Red X persona."

Chang raised an eyebrow. "Making a new outfit for yourself? I could help out with that…for a fee." His grin widened.

He snorted in contempt at that. "Hardly. This chemical is highly unstable, I wouldn't use it on myself. People tend to get a little…off when they deal with it for too long. Might I use you as an example?"

"I ask for your money, not criticism, Slade. I got what you asked for, so keep up your end of the bargain."

A couple seconds of silence went by as Slade pretended to continue to count the money. "Well, would you look at that…" He grinned maliciously under the mask. "Seems I don't feel like paying tonight."

Before Chang could respond or even protest, he was knocked out with a powerful punch to the head. Consciousness left the professor instantly as Slade cracked his knuckles, watching a bit of blood collect on the ground.

"Never get tired of seeing that." He said walking back over to his truck. The professor's henchmen had fled at the first sign of their boss going down; cowards.

Slade gave a slight nod to the driver and watched the vehicle swerve off into the distance.

He barred his teeth slightly in under his mask, Chang had something going with the whole radar hypothesis.

"Feel free to step out with the cheesy one liners any time now." Slade said grimly.

Robin leaped from his perch, attempting to connect a deadly blow to Slade's head; not wasting any time with small talk. It was dodged easily and instantly. For the first few minutes, Slade let Robin do all of the work, watching the boy throw all of his power into punches and kicks that were all parried easily.

Weary of being on the defensive, Slade seized Robin's wrist in his hand and swung the boy around in a circle before throwing him into one of the surrounding storage buildings. There was a satisfying crash as he collided with the metal door, leaving one hell of a dent.

Groaning slightly, Robin forced himself to roll out of the way of a dangerous punch. Slade's fist collided with the door instead, crashing through the metal as if it had been glass.

"You've gotten sloppy." Slade said harshly, advancing on Robin as he tried to stabilize himself. "The lack of sleep has dulled your fighting skills."

Robin gave a loud battle cry and advanced on Slade again, connecting a roundhouse kick to Slade's stomach. It did little to phase him though as he stumbled back only a few centimeters, catching Robin's ankle in one of his strong hands.

"Let me guess…" Slade said through his teeth as he swung Robin around once again, this time making sure he collided with the brick part of the building rather than the metal. These movements caused him no trouble at all; like he was child swinging around a rag doll during a tantrum.

"You heard me conferencing with Chang over a coded channel that you broke. Thought you could come down here and play hero, expose me for my evil doings." He picked Robin up by the front of his shirt, making it so they were eye level. "Who is more predictable here Robin, you or me?"

Robin was struggling a bit to hold onto consciousness. Being slammed into brick wasn't exactly pleasant. "Don't lecture me…" He grumbled, conjuring enough strength to kick him in the stomach again.

Slade dropped him to the ground, not showing any sign of pain from the powerful blow he had just been delivered. Instead, he responded by connecting a steel toed boot to Robin's jaw. Drops of blood sprayed from the boy's mouth as he yelled out in pain, creating a gory, crimson piece of art on the concrete.

"What's wrong Slade?" How he still had the strength to talk, he didn't know. "Are you kicking the shit out of me because I figured you out?" Robin pushed himself up on his hands and knees, staring down at the blood that leaked from his face slowly.

He waited as the boy stood up slowly, weary at first, but then pure rage set in as he began to speak again. "You may have made a fool out of everyone else, but I know you. With or without the mask. And might I say, you're really bad at acting."

Slade stared at Robin, showing nothing more than contempt towards him. Did he really think him that much of a fool? Child's play this was. Trying to get him to blow his plan out of the water, trying to manipulate him into admitting the truth.

"Not a clue what you're talking about." Slade said slyly.

"Don't play stupid with me Slade!" Robin yelled, his voice echoing through the air. "You've done some horrible stuff in the past but…this…this is just sick. You robbed a girl of her innocence, and for what, another shot at an apprentice? Don't you see how this going to end? For being an evil genius, you really don't seem to look ahead."

Still trying to draw a response; he really was getting sloppy.

Robin was done with his interrogation. He usually had a great deal of patience; but it wore very thin with Slade. Especially now. Especially with what he had done in the past twenty four hours. He had been wanting to tear the man to shreds for what felt like an eternity. Forget compassion, forget duty; Slade didn't deserve to live.

He threw a harsh attack of endless punches, all of them being blocked with ease by Slade, just as before. It was as if they could predict each others moves in the fight, it would seem a fruitless battle. That is, until Slade grew tired of this. He wanted Robin out cold at his feet.

As Robin threw another punch, Slade caught his frail wrist easily, twisting Robin's hand behind his back with a small 'pop', probably dislocating the boy's shoulder. He paid no attention to this as he delivered a strong kick to Robin's ankles, causing him to collapse to the ground instantly. As if he were using a hammer, he reeled Robin upward and smashed his face into the concrete, causing more blood to splatter onto the floor.

Ignoring all the pain that was fired off in his body, Robin growled and struggled beneath Slade, trying to break free from his grasp.

"You're such a volatile person. Another way we're similar, hmm?" Slade asked mockingly, squeezing Robin's wrist as hard as he could, relishing in the sound of the bones shattering.

Somehow, Robin managed to free his wrist from Slade's bruising grip, kicking Slade off and rolling a few inches away, resting on his back, barring his teeth as the blood trickled from his now, probably broken nose.

This was one huge game. A cat and mouse chase to the extreme, if you will. Robin had come here, hoping to be the cat, catching his prey unsuspected. But it had back fired, instead, Robin had ended up as the mouse, being crushed under the cat, Slade.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Slade asked mockingly, standing above Robin, placing a heavy foot on his chest, crushing his ribs.

The air was leaving Robin at an alarming rate, it felt like a grand piano had been placed on him. "Where do I begin with that one?" Robin responded , his voice dripping with amused sarcasm. He tried to move again, but Slade was prepared.

He pulled out something similar to one of Robin's birdrangs, but it was black and orange with a solitary 's' upon it, a weapon from his apprentice days. "Don't get up, I'll answer it for you."

Blistering, white hot pain blinded Robin as the blade was stabbed squarely into the palm of his hand. Crucifying him, binding him to the ground in a sea of crimson. And Slade's foot was still on Robin's chest, but now, he was putting his entire weight on it. Resting an arm over his knee as he stared the boy wonder down.

"You hate me, right this very second, for one reason. And not the heroic one you're taunting around, the fact that Starfire's innocence was stolen away. No, the reason you hate me is because I got to live out the one thing you've been having boyish fantasies about for years now."

He laughed here, mocking Robin to the utmost extent, pressing down further on his already bruised rib cage. "And might I say, she looked so good in my bed."

Robin coughed, feeling vomit and more blood begin to rise inside of him. He was still trying to struggle, but found it only caused the blade in his hand to tear through more of his skin, causing his vision to blur out even more.

"Y-you bastard…" Robin said defiantly, and spit squarely onto Slade's mask, showing his utmost disgust. These actions took the utmost effort, but they were worth it.

If only their positions were switched, Slade would be long gone, entering the gates of hell in no time.

Slade gave a low, malicious laugh, like the roll of thunder on a summer night. "You can't win Robin." It was one of the last sounds Robin heard before Slade's elbow crashed with his temple square on. Causing his head to spin and his vision to be swallowed in black.

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The sun began to rise in the distance when Robin finally regained his consciousness. He was instantly struck with the horrible pain of the blade still lodged in his hand. Swallowing hard, the taste of copper prominent in his mouth, he reached over, feeling the shattered bones in his wrist cry out against it, he pulled the blade out from his hand.

His scream echoed through the air again and he blacked out for a few seconds before forcing his eyes back open. Breathing heavily, frantically, he sat up in a zombie like motion. He instantly stared at his hand, watching as blood still poured freely from it, a silent reminder that he was still alive.

Wincing, he forced himself to stand. His hand felt almost numb with the pain. He wondered briefly it could mean paralysis, but had to focus on the grueling task of getting home and bandaging his wounds before they became infected. Feet feeling as if they weighed a ton, he moved forward, pulling out a grappling hook with his shattered hand and shooting it lazily into the air, letting it whisk him away.

He'd rather be found dead than call the team for help.

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The blood began to seep through the bandage on his hand before he even finished tying it. It would be wise of him to get stitches, probably, but he hated to even let anyone know about this. That would be impossible of course, these injuries were severe enough to put him out of commission for a day or two at the most.

Thankfully, he had one hell of a tolerance to pain.

"…You can't win Robin."

He closed his eyes tight, wrapping the white ace bandage around his other wrist, baring his teeth slightly against pain from the slight contact with the broken appendage. He hadn't accomplished anything tonight, not like he had planned. He was far too weak, going almost three days straight with out so much as an hour long nap. No sleep but the times he collapsed in exhaustion over his research.

No one was going to believe him. He had no proof at all, Slade had caught on to him from the moment he entered the docks. There had to be some way for him to stop Starfire from falling into his grasp, some way to stop this evil plan. Why in the world did no one believe him?

Hell, even a confession of his hidden love to her couldn't even make her think twice about seeing that monster.. She rejected him, running away in confusion..

Robin opened his eyes back up, letting out a small hiss of pain as he clenched both his fists angrily.

"If it's an apprentice you want Slade…" He said dismally. "An apprentice is what you'll get…"

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A/N: And there you have it, chapter five. I think we can all see where this story is going, but I promise you it won't be all that predictable.

Alright, continue to read and review everyone!

Love,

Emmery