I can ship the way I WANT to, thank you very much. If you have a problem with it, that's fine with me, but please don't tell me so. I want people to respond about the story, not try to engage in a debate about who I should ship... For future reference, there will be little to no shipping for a while in the sequel, except for select few chapters. Read it for the story and emotions, okay? And leave me out of shipping debates. I will read outside my shippings, so I can't see why people get so worked up about it.

Ahem. Now done with the rant.

Thanks for the advice and responses.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 18

He had to admit; only getting a few hours of sleep was definitely worth cooking with Starfire. Even though he couldn't use his arm and he had to sit down every fifteen minutes to rest, he thoroughly enjoyed himself. That morning, he laughed, a true, deep laugh, when Starfire made him taste-test the batter but missed and splattered him in the face. The flirtatious food fight that followed was insanely fun, though it was hard to clean up after.

As the two sat on the couch waiting for the timer to go off, the laughter slowly died down as they tried to find something to watch on television. Of course, this early in the morning, there is hardly anything on but mindless cartoons, but it wasn't for the lack of trying. As Robin gulped in more air to calm down, he smiled at the girl sitting beside him.

"Now you are doing the staring at me," Starfire blushed.

"Mmm? Oh, sorry. I was off in my own little world," he replied.

"May I inquire if I was in it?" she asked, blushing.

He smiled encouragingly, taking her hand. "I don't think you have to ask."

She giggled. "Robin, I am glad that you and I are finally the together," she said.

He was going to say something back, but the cooking timer went off. He sighed, going to the counter and removing the cake from the oven. She came to his side and took a deep breath. "It smells wonderful," she whispered.

He set it down on the table as she went to find the icing. He was surprised that they had progressed so far so quickly. They were meant for each other, it seemed, but the warning Red X had given him lurked in the back of his mind, though he was trying his best to pay no heed to it.

"Robin?"

Her voice brought him out of his thoughts as he turned to face the stuningly beautiful Tamaranean. "Sorry?" he asked innocently.

"You were 'in your own little world' again, were you not? What were you thinking of?" she asked as she struggled to figure out how to open the icing decorating caps.

He laughed quietly, taking the decoration from her hand and showing her how to open them. "It's nothing, just something a friend once told me. And then, of course, I was thinking about you as well."

She laughed as well, beginning to ice the cake itself. Her laughter resonated in his very soul, it seemed, and his heart began to soar. "I see," she said.

He grinned. "Why don't I help you?" he asked, coming around behind her. He placed his hand on her wrist and gently guided it along. She giggled at his soft touch as he leaned his forehead against her shoulder, drinking in the moment.

"This has truly been one of the most magical mornings of my life," she said, resting her head on his own. The icing had stopped and now they were just standing there.

"Same here, Star. Same here. This was a lot of fun. Let's do it again when I don't have to sit down all the time," he replied, smiling.

She laughed once more, making his spirits soar again. "That sounds like the fun."

The cake was done. The red letters - S and R - stared up at the newly-formed couple as they stared into each other's eyes. Her hands were slowly moving up to his mask, he was aware, but he didn't care. Of all people, he wouldn't mind if she saw his eyes.

Suddenly, the alarm went off, red lights flashing and all. Surprised, the two broke away as Robin ducked to ensure that the others wouldn't get mad at him for sneaking out again. Too late. Red X had teleported himself here.

"Kid, I though I told you-"

"Save the advice," he said shortly.

Cyborg ran in afterwards. Before he could get too angry with Robin, though, he read the information. "Doctor Light's trying to break Chang out of jail!" he shouted in surprise.

Beast Boy ran in as well, surprisingly chipper this early. "What's going on?" he asked, now very alert.

"Light's gonna break out Chang," Red X said shortly as he followed Cyborg outside.

"Oh!" Beast Boy exclaimed in surprise as he followed, leaving the two alone once again.

"I must go now, Robin, but when I return we shall eat the cake!" Starfire said cheerfully as she rushed out the door.

His hands involuntarily came up to his mask as he stared at the closed door. S and R stared back at him, only reminding him of X's warning, and he pulled a wry face at it as he trudged back up the hallway. True to his word, he'd stay in the hospital wing- for now. He got back under the covers and went to sleep, glad that this time he was not tormented with his indecision.

He awoke two hours later when a knock came to the Tower door. He rushed to go open it, which was quite a feat. First he had to untangle himself from the covers, then he had to run down several flights of stairs... Needless to say, the Boy Wonder was quite out of breath by the time he got to the door.

Nothing could have prepared him for what he saw when he opened the door. A weakened Beast Boy fell on top of him, and he staggered with the weight. He dragged the changeling to the couch and ran to fetch some ice to address the many bruises the young Titan was sporting. The boy's breathing was irregular, and his eyes were wide with pain and fear.

"What happened?" he demanded as soon as Beast Boy seemed well enough to talk.

"Chang found some backup," was all the changeling said before wincing once more.

"What happened? Where's Starfire and the others?" he asked, his voice urgent.

"Red X, Cyborg, Star, all gone," the changeling gasped, his eyes still wide as he recalled everything.

"Where?" he pressed urgently.

"Cyborg...he's in pieces. Went to go find 'em, but couldn't..."

"What about Red X?" he asked, not liking where this was going.

"Ambush...couldn't be helped...tried...gone...can't find him..."

"You can't find him? What do you mean you can't find him?" Robin asked, his voice rising as a chill ran down his spine. Things were not looking good.

"He fell down a hole...no life scans...couldn't find him...just a cape on the cave floor..."

"So he's just gone? Why'd he fall down the hole?" Robin asked, trying to paint a picture of the events.

"Got blasted by xinothium...looked like it hurt too...fell down..."

His voice dropped to a whisper as he asked the inevitable question: "What about Starfire?"

Beast Boy turned away, closing his eyes. He recognized the look: pity. Sadness. "What happened?" he pressed once more.

"Robin, I'm sorry..." was all he said before turning away again.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" he thundered.

Beast Boy's eyes widened in fear as he shook his head. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" he sobbed, his head in his hands.

He sighed. He'd been too hard on the younger boy, he knew. He needed to calm down. "Beast Boy, please. I need to know this!" he begged, tears forming beneath his mask.

"She's gone," the changeling said simply.

"Gone?" he repeated numbly.

"Chang took her away...she looked pretty beat up...everything went blurry after that...then something was burning inside of me..." Beast Boy shuddered.

"Where did they take her?" he demanded once more.

Beast Boy sighed. "I don't know, Robin...I don't know."

Dread hit him in the face as he sank onto the couch beside the changeling. He buried his face in his hands as he slowly shook his head back and forth. "How could this happen?" he repeated over and over again as he let a few tears fall. His mask was becoming damp now.

"Robin?"

He looked up. The younger boy was staring at him with something like pure fear in his eyes. "What's going to happen now?"

He sighed. They needed to get back with it. Maybe they could still save Starfire, even if they couldn't save Red X or Cyborg. "We need to see what's wrong with you."

Beast Boy nodded, limping along with Robin to the hospital room. The Boy Wonder took off his own sling; the medicine had already taken effect and it was close enough to being healed. He tied it around Beast Boy's arm and ran some quick diagnostics. There was xinothium in the boy's system. A fatal amount.

"You don't have to tell me. I think I already know anyway," Beast Boy sighed.

He nodded numbly, still trying to take everything in. How could everything have changed so fast? His world was spinning as he tried to make sense of it, but it was hard to keep the tears from escaping. Finally, throwing pride to the wind, he sat down on the bed next to Beast Boy's and took off his mask, turning away and putting his head in his hands.

Then he let the tears fall down his cheeks. The forbidden tears that blazed before unconquered trails down his cheeks practically burned with the unfamiliar territory. His shoulders shook and he could hardly control his breathing. After at least fifteen minutes of this, he composed himself and put the mask back on.

When he turned to face Beast Boy, the younger boy was staring up at him with an expression of pure terror. He'd never seen Robin cry. Ever. And it scared him, no doubt. The Boy Wonder sighed and sat down next to the young Titan.

"We're going to come out on top, right?" Beast Boy asked, his tone almost begging. "We always do."

He didn't answer. He wanted to tell Beast Boy that they'd win, but all optimism he might have had flew out the window with his heart.

"Come on, Robin! We can't lose to Doctor Light!" Beast Boy pressed, tears now falling down his own cheeks.

He sighed, trying to find words to say to comfort him, but nothing came. "I wish I could say that," he said sadly.

The younger boy gasped and recoiled, as if Robin was an infection. "But, we have to win! We're the Teen Titans!" he said, trying to smile.

"Correction: we're Robin and Beast Boy, all that's left of the Titans unless Raven can somehow beat herself in her mind, which I highly doubt, judging by how depressed she sounded," he sighed dejectedly. He wasn't trying to sound depressed; he just was.

"But we can still save Starfire!"

"Yeah, and that's what we're going to focus on," he said, and a fierceness rose in his voice as he continued, "We WILL save her."

Silence followed before Beast Boy spoke up again. "Give me the truth. Is it fatal?"

He looked away. He didn't know how to say this, not to this optimistic clown. He couldn't bring himself to make the young boy any more depressed than he already was.

But Beast Boy could tell from his expression. "It is, isn't it?"

He nodded numbly. "I'm sorry."

Beast Boy nodded, looking away. "I'll help you find Starfire," he promised.

He shook his head. "No, you can't do anything in that condition. I would know," he said, allowing himself a wry grin.

"But we're going to save her, if it's the last thing I do!" Then he added quietly, "And it may very well be..."

He grabbed the younger boy's shoulders. "Beast Boy, I want you to stay here and try to save yourself! You can't do anything right now that requires moving very much! I can move, and that's why I'm going to go alone. You can still save yourself. If worst comes to worst, I want you to go into Raven's mind and get her to heal you if you have to. I'm not losing another member of the team! Not if I can help it!"

Beast Boy recoiled a bit in fear. He'd never seen Robin so...devoid of emotion, so angry. "But-"

"That's my final word, Beast Boy," he said. Sighing dejectedly, he sat down on the bed once more, feeling as if a heavy weight had been placed on his heart.

"It hurts, doesn't it? To lose someone so close to you?" Beast Boy said, finally.

He nodded silently. Of course, Beast Boy would know, what with Terra and everything...

"You'll pull through," Beast Boy offered encouragingly.

He wasn't so sure, though. He didn't think he could handle all this: his feelings, his friends, his past, everything came crashing down on him, and he felt like he was going to be sick.

Suddenly, his communicator rang. With hope rising in his chest, he answered. "Starfire?" he asked, hoping against hope.

No such luck. It was Doctor Light. "Hello, Robin."

He growled. It was a deep growl, and he didn't bother to hide it. Surprisingly, he was suddenly having the same reactions to this idiot as he would have done with Slade. "What do you want? Where's Starfire?" he asked tersely.

Doctor Light laughed, enjoying the feelings of anger he was creating within the Boy Wonder. "She's with me. Actually, she takes to xinothium much better than you did, but we're going to give her another dose. Alien strength or not, she has exactly two hours and thirty minutes and two seconds." The time showed up in glowing red letters on the communicator screen.

His eyes narrowed. "Where are you hiding? I'll be there in a heartbeat!"

Doctor Light laughed. "You're going to come after her? How sweet! If you say you'll come alone, I might show you."

"Not like there's anyone else to bring with me," he growled.

"True, true." Beneath the countdown, a map appeared. "Be here."

His eyes narrowed beneath the mask. "Big mistake, Doctor Light. Nothing can stop me from saving her!"