10 Leisurely Days

by Blue Ten

Summary:

Robin finds out that Starfire will be leaving for Tamaran in 10 days. Keeping his discovery a secret, he has a little over a week to give her a reason to stay. But when things keep getting in the way, will he even get the chance? RobinxStarfire

Disclaimer:

I do not own Teen Titans.


Day 5, Part One: For Your Sake

The sound of the ocean through the open window gently awakened Robin from a peaceful slumber; it was the best sleep he had gotten in the last few weeks, and he felt completely revitalized, ready to take on another day. Upon opening his eyes, he noticed the sun was not shining as brightly as it had been for the previous days. Looking out his window, on which the curtains were alive and dancing in the wind, he saw that the sky was fairly overcast, slight patches of sky allowed the sun to penetrate with long dim rays of light. As he sat up and removed his covers, Robin shut off his alarm before it could disturb him. Yawning and stretching his arms out, Robin stepped down from his bed; approaching his window, he found that the clouds on the horizon were releasing rain on to the sea, creating a beautiful shimmering veil as it was caught by the light. The moderately strong winds pushed him away from the window and rustled the curtains; it was cool and refreshing, a nice break from the balmy weather of recent days. Closing his eyes, Robin breathed deeply, taking in the relaxing sea air and listening to the crash of the waves on the rocks below. Several small droplets of water began tapping on his face, as a distant splashing noise began to grow; opening his eyes, Robin saw that the sheets of rain were growing ever closer to the tower.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed, as he saw the rain increasing. Quickly, he fought against the wind and slid his window shut; immediately after he did this, rain began tapping against the glass, propelled by the wind. "Phew! That was close." he chuckled to himself, wiping the few droplets of water from his shirt, 'You're in a good mood.' he thought, almost seeming surprised about his own attitude this morning. Robin couldn't explain it, but after he had talked to Starfire that night, he felt a new and sudden confidence emerge from within; he felt like he could talk to her about anything now, and he hoped she felt the same way... it made the next five days and the many things he wanted to say to her seem much less daunting, though what he would say and do from now until after that tenth day didn't seem any less crucial; he now believed he had the drive to achieve these things.

Stretching once more, Robin walked to his closet, removing a towel and change of clothes; it was early in the morning, and though it was raining out, the day seemed as though nothing could go wrong, and Robin wanted to make the most of every second. Early as it was, Robin quietly made his way to the bathroom, attempting not to wake the others.

- - - - - -

Starfire woke up on the sofa to the sound of rain gently tapping on the main windows, creating streams that ran down and collected loose droplets, distorting the dim sunlight that passed through. Stretching and wearing the same smile she had been all night, Starfire leaned back against the arm of the sofa and pulled the warm blanket up to her shoulders; she couldn't help but giggle adoringly as thoughts of her conversation with Robin that night began to fill her mind once more. She turned her face to look at the cup of tea on the coffee table, which in turn brought Robin's generous and caring character to her thoughts; he had been so kind to her, so understanding... she wondered if perhaps there was a part of him that felt the same way she did, but decided she was simply being hopeful. Warm and cozy under the blanket, Starfire sat still and looked up to the ceiling, listening to the rhythmic tapping of raindrops against the glass as she allowed herself to daydream; it was quite a relaxing moment, waking from a restful slumber filled with wonderful dreams, even after such a stressful experience.

Deciding she had gotten enough rest, Starfire removed the blanket and stood up, walking to examine the weather outside the window. The rain was falling heavily in large droplets, but the sun broke through the clouds and brightened the sheets of precipitation, creating shimmering veils of descending diamonds. When it wasn't accompanied by thunder and lightning, she loved the rain, and now she was so joyful that she almost felt like going outside and flying around in the air; dancing through the falling jewels. She wondered if Robin enjoyed the rain as well; if so, perhaps she could persuade him to enjoy it with her. 'You are quite foolish.' she thought to herself, doubting that Robin would go along with such a strange notion, 'Yes, I know, but love is a game made for the foolish.' she responded, ignoring her cynical side; Starfire stood still for a moment, contemplating the words she had thought. Love... a concept recognized by all manner of races across the far reaches of the universe, though it was thought of as much more than a simple concept; in each culture it is considered the most precious of feelings one could experience. Love was considered to be even more rare and beautiful in her culture, when taking into consideration that arranged marriages were common place, and love was not often the driving force behind such a union. She had always understood that her affections toward Robin went much deeper than simple admiration and attraction. But as she thought about the subject more, in light of recent events, it made things a great deal more complicated.

Starfire shook her head; there was plenty of time to think about such things later, and she wasn't about to let it affect her mood now. Smiling away any fears and doubts, she turned away from the window, walking to the hall in the direction of her room. Ready to make the most of every moment of the day, Starfire raced to her room, quickly taking a bath towel and change of clothes from her closet.

As she made her way to the bathroom, Starfire saw Robin walking up the hall in her direction; his hair was slightly weighted down by water and fell in front of his masked eyes; pushing his hair back above his forehead, he met her gaze and smiled.

"Morning Star." he said, more upbeat than usual.

"Good morning!" Starfire replied happily, overjoyed to see him so fervent, smiling back as they crossed paths and continued on in opposite directions. She realized that they were almost always up, or at least out of their rooms before the others, and she understood that this was because she and Robin shared the same enthusiasm about the start of a new day. Knowing that her presence could perhaps have caused a smile to adorn his face gave her so much joy that she floated the rest of the way down the hall, twirling gleefully in the air.

- - - - - -

After a quick breakfast, Robin walked to the couch and sat down; he realized that the others still weren't awake. Checking the time on the clock near the television, which was around 5:30 AM, Robin now understood why the others were still asleep, but he definitely felt more energized and awake than ever. Strong tapping noises brought Robin's attention to the windows; walking to the rain drenched glass, he gazed over the edge at the shore of the island. The rain was still falling strong, but it was much different from the storm several days ago; as opposed to being violent, angry, and unrelenting, this little squall was bright and shimmering, almost playful. Robin wondered if perhaps it was simply perspective that changed his feelings about the weather; those who feel happiness within are bound to see it mirrored in the least likely of places.

Watching as the raindrops splashed on the surface of the water far below, Robin knew that the rain would hinder any plans he might have come up with for the day, but he figured there were plenty of things to do within the tower; but would Starfire be interested in any of those things? 'The Gamestation... yeah, that's not gonna happen.' he thought, brainstorming ideas. 'A game of basketball... the training room...' Robin chuckled inwardly, realizing that he had been neglecting some of his obligations as leader, 'Hey, if I wanna take ten days off to make sure that she... doesn't leave, then that's my business... she's so much more important than all of that.' he continued, racking his mind as he tried to figure out something fun to do inside the tower. Robin let out an exasperated sigh as he realized everything seemed to be either too boring, or something Starfire had little interest in. Looking out across the ocean, he was suddenly struck by optimism, 'Just because it's raining doesn't mean you can't go outside.' he thought, watching the rain sparkle in the early morning light.

Returning from her bath quicker than usual, Starfire stood in the hallway for several minutes, anxiously fiddling with several strands of her hair; she watched as Robin stared out the window, his expression was fixed tightly and he seemed to be thinking intently about something, all the while she wondered if he would go along with what she was about to suggest. Swallowing a lump which she was surprised to find in her throat, Starfire bit her bottom lip and walked into the living room.

"Oh Robin! You must some see!" she said, masking uncertainty with an impenetrable wall of cheer. Starfire pointed to the staircase in the hallway.

Caught by surprise, Robin hoped that he hadn't been thinking out loud. "Hm, what is it?" he asked with an expression that described genuine interest, turning away from the window to face her.

"There is no time to explain, we must hurry before it is over." she explained; with a large smile, Starfire took Robin by the hand and led him to the staircase. As they walked up the steps, hand in hand, Robin wondered what it could be that had caught her interest so; even from behind, he could tell that she was smiling. Almost floating up the stairs, Starfire opened the door, letting in a rush of cool and moistened air. She turned around to smile at Robin, letting go of his hand.

"See?" she grinned, gesturing her hand at the rooftop. Robin turned his head to the side, trying to figure out what she was talking about; the wind had all but disappeared and the rain was falling straight down, tapping heavily on the rooftop, but there was nothing else in sight. Before he could ask her anything, Starfire stepped out of the door, walking into the rain, "Is it not wonderful?" she asked with her arms outstretched, looking to the sky with closed eyes as she allowed the rain to fall upon her.

Robin held out a hand as though he had been trying to keep her from walking away. "Star, isn't it cold out there...?" Robin trailed off as he watched her recently dried hair become drenched by the downpour; her bangs drifted from their uplifted positions and fell softly over her forehead. The water soon covered her entire person, and the golden sun which shone brightly from its point on the horizon, caught its shimmering splendor within nearly every droplet that had attached to her. She looked... lovely didn't seem like a descriptive enough word, but it was all that would come to Robin's mind at this moment as he became entranced by the warmth of her smile and the unrestrained radiance of the energy she seemed to be giving off.

Starfire twirled around once, whipping her cherry red tresses through the air, "Not at all, it is quite warm actually." she said, wearing her smile beautifully. "You cannot see it from there, you must step outside." she explained, raising her voice slightly above the tapping as she pointed to the sky.

Still in a trance, Robin simply nodded his head and stepped out from the doorway; he felt the rain tapping on his head, moistening down his spiked hair. The atmosphere was reasonably warm, though it didn't stop a chill from running through him. As he stood beside her, Robin forced his eyes away from Starfire to follow her hand to the sky, where he found himself in awe of what he was seeing; the rising sun which remained below the reach of the clouds isolated above the city, cast its long rays through the rainfall, creating an iridescent banner of what could only be described as falling gems. Visible through the sheets of water, several rainbows stretched themselves over the ocean opposite the sunrise.

As she examined his awed expression, Starfire was glad to see that Robin seemed to appreciate the beauty of the scene as much as she did. "What do you think?" she asked.

"It's... incredible. In all the time I've been here, I've never seen anything like this." he said, turning away from the sky to meet her eyes, "How did you notice it?" he inquired, seeing as how he had no idea such a grand spectacle was going on above the tower.

"It was visible through the windows. Is that not what you were looking at?"

"Actually... I was looking at the shore, I didn't think to look up." he chuckled, though he did remember seeing it slightly through the window in his room.

"Then you are not disappointed that I brought you up here?" she asked, uncertainty returning to her expression.

The insecurity in Starfire's tone caught Robin off guard; he would do anything she asked... go wherever she wanted him to, because simply knowing that he could be there with her, knowing that he would get the chance to speak with her gave him more than enough reason, more so than any sunrise or majestic sight had to offer. The fact that she didn't know these things, gave him incentive to show her his devotion. "Of course not. This made my day." he said, reassuring her with a kind smile; in turn, he was freed from worry as she giggled and smiled back. Only Starfire could make standing in the rain enjoyable.

"I am glad. Robin--" Starfire stopped as the rhythm of the rainfall came to a sudden halt; sheets of water could be seen pulling away from the tower. The rainbows in the distance lingered in the mist of the receding shower. Of course, it was at this precise moment that a cool breeze decided to blow across the rooftop. Soaked to the skin, Robin and Starfire both clutched their arms to themselves, shivering as the wind hit them. The wind blew harder, causing Robin and Starfire to huddle closely together for warmth.

"Uh, b-back inside?" Robin asked through chattering teeth, pointing at the doorway. Starfire nodded hastily in response; racing to the stairs together, they ran down several steps and shut the door, shutting off entry of the wind. Letting out a relieved sigh, Robin and Starfire collapsed back against the door, pulling away when they realized how cold it was; laughing at themselves, they proceeded to walk the rest of the way downstairs. At the bottom step, Robin stopped and turned to Starfire.

"Um, we're soaking wet. We can't walk into the living room like this." he said, examining his drenched clothing.

"Ah, I know." Starfire got an idea, "I wonder why I do not do this more often." she said, closing her eyes in concentration; suddenly, she was enveloped in green energy. Robin watched while she quickly dried herself off with her powers; as she stopped, her hair suddenly stuck up in a large poofy mane.

"I-Is that why?" Robin asked, holding back his chuckles as best he could.

"Hmph!" she huffed, fixing her hair back to normality. With a wicked smile, she turned to Robin and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Star, what're you--" Robin stopped as he was surrounded by a green light which warmed his entire body from the inside out. Starfire pulled away when Robin was completely dry and grinned at him; his hair immediately puffed out the same way hers had.

Blinking and staring dumbfounded at his newly acquired hair style, Robin shook the staggered expression from his face; running his fingers through his hair several times, he attempted to fix the problem. When his hair was finally back to normal, Robin turned his attention to back Starfire; unable to keep his staid expression for long, he burst out laughing and Starfire joined him.

- - - - - -

The common room was finally populated by Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven; all three walked around the room, preparing breakfast for themselves and going about their usual morning routines, completely oblivious to the small storm that had just passed. After finishing their breakfasts, Beast Boy called the others over to the couch for a meeting of the minds.

"Day three, or as I like to call it, phase three, of our plan begins now." Beast Boy said, grinning widely as he tapped his fingers together in a scheming manner.

"...Yeah" Cyborg commented, rolling his eye.

"So, what're we gonna do today?" Beast Boy asked, hoping for suggestions, "I've already done my share, and since Cyborg messed up yesterday, that leaves him out of the picture..."

"Hey--" Cyborg started, attempting to defend himself.

"Agreed." Raven cut in, monotone as usual.

Cyborg just stared at Raven in disbelief. "I can't believe you're siding with him!" he yelled, gesturing his hands across the couch at Beast Boy, "I mean, how was I supposed to know Control Freak was gonna be there? And who's to say it didn't work... I heard the two of them talking all last night!" Cyborg finished, crossing his arms in front of himself.

"So, Raven, wanna give it a try?" Beast Boy asked energetically, completely ignoring Cyborg's ramblings. Cyborg gave up, realizing that if anyone could pull it off without incident, it was Raven.

"I'll see what I can do." she answered, smirking slightly; suddenly, Raven's expression changed and she walked away from the couch, "Hallway." she said.

"What?" Cyborg questioned.

"Raven? Aren't you gonna tell us what you had in mind for..." Beast Boy froze up and trailed off as he saw Robin and Starfire exit the hallway together from the corner of his eye, "...breakfast?" he covered for himself.

Hearing this, Robin stood still and cringed for a moment, "What? Raven's making breakfast? Heh, great..." he said in reaction to Beast Boy's question, trying not to offend Raven, though he remembered that the last time she made breakfast it was burnt to a crisp and ushered in the end of the world. Cyborg, and Raven, who knew that she couldn't cook an edible meal to save her life, glared accusingly at Beast Boy; in reply, he gave them a sheepish grin as he attempted to hide himself below his shoulders.

"Oh yes, it is most great! You must make those delicious pancakes again!" Starfire exclaimed, jumping for joy at the thought of Raven's cooking which she had found to be quite appetizing; she pulled a bottle of mustard out of nowhere, giddy with anticipation. The others realized there was no turning back now, as both Robin and Starfire believed Raven was going to cook.

"...Um--" Raven was suddenly cut off by the sound of the alarm.

'Phew. Saved by the bell.' thought everyone but Starfire, though they all were a little let down that their plans would be interrupted like this; they had actually grown accustomed to the last couple of lazy days.

Robin sighed heavily, "I guess it was bound to happen eventually..." he said, disappointed as he walked over to the large television screen. Pressing a button on the console with less than enthusiasm, Robin watched as the screen flickered on with a map of the city. A random location that appeared to be of little importance showed up as a small symbol; a yellow hexagon with an 'H' in the center. "The HIVE..." he trailed off, realizing he may not have anything to worry about after all.

"Heh, alright." Cyborg said with a grin, cracking his knuckles.

"If it's the same five kids I'm thinking of, this'll be easier than we thought." Beast Boy added, feeling like this shouldn't take more than an hour out of their day.

"Robin, who called it in? It could be a trap." Raven stated, adding some reason to the seemingly optimistic atmosphere.

Robin squinted at the words displayed on the bottom of the screen, pulling back with an astounded look on his face, "It was called in by a clerk at the... clothing store they're robbing."

- - - - - -

The attention of passers by was brought to a small store at the bottom of a tall building, out of which came running the employees and shoppers. A small bald kid stood just outside of the doors, watching as the people exited the building in panicked groups. On his shaven head, he wore a pair of green tinted goggles; now pulled up to his forehead, they would normally be used to conceal his beady white eyes. He wore a green, turtle-necked, full body sneaking suit, with a rounded metal backpack. As he watched the citizens running off, a large smile that described a certain air of arrogance adorned his face. Hearing crashing sounds from within the store, Gizmo's smile disappeared; pressing a button on the panel attached to his chest, a small clock extended on a mechanical arm from his back pack out into his view. Retracting the clock, he looked up the road, "Any minute now." he said in his squeaky childish voice. Hearing another crash, he turned around to see one of his comrades stepping out from the broken window.

Towering over Gizmo, a pretty young girl with deathly pale skin emerged from the broken display window, carrying several items of clothing possessively in her arms. She had pink hair, styled up into what looked like horns, tied off at the ends by two black bands. Her catlike eyes shared the same pink tint as her hair, and shifted about to examine her surroundings as she stepped on to the sidewalk. She wore a knee-length plain black dress with a long purple collar and striped stockings of the aforementioned colors; her slender neck was adorned by a simple black choker. A thin and crafty smile remained on Jinx's face as she continued on her way to the side of her short companion, following his gaze to the street ahead.

"Still waiting?" she asked, in a voice that would fool one into thinking she was sweet and gentle.

Gizmo eyed the outfits she had picked out with curiosity, "You guys haven't forgotten why we're here, have you?" he asked, raising a stubbly black eyebrow.

"Aren't we shopping for Jinx?" asked a deep and husky voice from behind the others. Towering over Jinx, a large barrel-chested man stepped out from the window, ducking under the top to avoid bumping his head. His costume was a plain black, sleeveless sneaking suit, on which he wore golden chest armor which stretched around his front and back; all of this illustrated his muscular body type. His facial features portrayed that of a caveman's; a ridged brow concealing small, featureless eyes, and a large chin and mouth, from which two primate-like canines extended. Messy orange hair fell below his shoulders, and decorated his chin with a bristly goatee. His expression was plain and, at a glance, would seem to be absentminded. As Mammoth exited from the building, Gizmo saw that he had taken a strange looking 'jester's hat' from the store and now wore it on his head; an odd sight to see on such an imposing figure.

Another mechanical arm extended out of the backpack, snatching the hat off of Mammoth's head, and placing it on Gizmo's, "No scrum buffer, that's why we're here." he said, pointing up the street at an approaching vehicle, "Remember, she's watching, so if we screw this up, we can consider our butts... kicked out." he warned, turning around to give his teammates a serious look; in response, Mammoth and Jinx both pointed to the area Gizmo had turned away from.

"Y'know, that's not a good look for you." stated Robin, bringing attention to Gizmo's strange hat. Gizmo lowered his head beneath his shoulders for a moment, feeling as though he had been hit off guard from behind; he turned around to see all the Titans standing outside the T-Car, which had swerved into parking position in the middle of the street. Robin took his position at the face, standing heroically in front of the others. Starfire hovered above the group, both hands and eyes glowing, imbued with solar energy. Beast Boy attempted to stand tall, hands at his sides with a fairly confident smile on his face. Raven stood quietly behind the team, her eyes watching the scene from under the hood of her cloak. Cyborg... was still setting up the many security locks on the T-Car.

"Yeah, that hat doesn't exactly say HIVE." Beast Boy added.

"Tch. 'Bout time you snot munchers got here." Gizmo said, throwing the jester's hat on the ground, "And we're under new management now... You can call us, The Fearsome Five!" he proclaimed, pointing a thumb triumphantly at himself. Robin raised an eyebrow as he heard this, wondering who in the world they could possibly be working for now; after all, they seemed so intent on graduating from that academy, and to abandon it now seemed very unlike them.

"I only see three of you." Raven interjected flatly.

Gizmo suddenly developed a sly smile, "And I bet you'd like to know where the other two are, huh?" he chortled, "Can't tell you now, that'd ruin the surprise." Gizmo crossed his arms knowingly.

"Enough talk, let's fight already." Jinx cut in, smiling as she stepped forward, "Attack pattern delta." she said; at her order, the three moved into position, forming a triangle with Gizmo at the point facing the Titans.

"Alright. Titans--" Robin started.

"Gimme a sec... just gotta lock her up." Cyborg interrupted, hurriedly pushing buttons on the door panel. Robin waited, slightly annoyed; across the way, Gizmo tapped his foot in frustration. Taking his key chain in hand, Cyborg pressed a button, causing the car to beep, "There, got it." he said, shamefacedly joining the others.

Robin shook his head, "Titans GO!" he shouted, preparing to enter battle.

"Not so fast. We got a little present for you first." said Gizmo, pulling out a small white remote; with a sharp-toothed grin, he pressed a single button on the face of the device. Chuckling, Gizmo pointed up to the tall building's rooftop. Robin scanned the sky; taking out and extending his staff, he held it at the ready, prepared to tackle any surprises. Two objects high above seemed to leap from the rooftop, catching the sunlight on some sort of metallic surface.

"What is--" before Robin could muster any more words, the two objects crashed into the ground between the Titans and their adversaries, shattering the asphalt and raising large plumes of dust into the air. The Titans reacted by guarding themselves against the flying dust and debris. Pulling his cape away from his eyes, Robin watched as the clouds cleared to reveal two humanoid figures standing in the small crater they created on impact. Identical in structure, the two robotic beings stood tall and thin; a shiny metallic white, their armored bodies reflected the sunlight intensely. In a creepy manner, their lanky arms fell dead in front of them as they swayed from right to left continuously; long sharp fingers, reminiscent of steel blades, scraped against the ground as they did this. Rounded featureless faces had sharp and narrow black outlines describing pairs of eyes painted on them. A strange red insignia was emblazoned on their shoulders; three curved lines spiraling inward to a point.

Beast Boy's jaw dropped to the ground, "GAAAH! They turned their own teammates into robots!" he screamed, running around in circles at the thought of such a horrible act.

Raven reached out and grabbed the frantic Beast Boy by the collar, incidentally choking him in the process, "No, I think they're just robots." she said calmly.

Beast Boy examined the creatures once more; they appeared to have no normal human features at all... and anything resembling human structure was greatly exaggerated. "...Oh." he said, composing himself and massaging his neck as Raven let go.

"That's right, shiny toys from our new boss man." said Gizmo, bringing the small device closer to his face, "Sick 'em." he spoke into the remote. Letting out a simultaneous mechanical growl, the twin robots began haphazardly slashing their claws through the air as they quickly advanced on the Titans. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven who had moved to the front during the commotion, readied themselves to take on the approaching machines; to their surprise, the robots ignored them completely, going after Robin and Starfire instead. One of the androids, the one closest to him, charged violently at Robin, continuing with its flurry of slashes; fearlessly, Robin began to parry each and every strike with his staff as the robot began to push him farther away from the group; however, he lost his focus when he saw the direction the other machine was taking, and Starfire's safety became his primary concern.

'Please don't get hurt.' he thought, fending off the machine as best he could.

Leaping up over the car at Starfire, the second robot projected itself directly at her, flailing its blades wildly in the process; taking Robin's example, she dodged the incoming machine, letting it fall to the ground below her, where she proceeded to blast it with starbolts.

"Robin, Star! C'mon, we've gotta help them!" Cyborg yelled, motioning for the others to follow him as he began to head in their direction.

"No! Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven; you guys take on the three of them!" Robin said, blocking the unrelenting slashes of the robot, "Five--ah--against five!" he said, feeling himself being pushed back by the force of the strikes against his staff.

"Yes, do not worry about us!" Starfire added, watching as the machine stood up after her barrage. Leaping up at her once more, it pulled back its bladelike hands, ready to thrust them forward; as the robot attempted to spear her, Starfire caught its arms and pulled it back to the street with her. Tightening her grip, she crunched the metal wrists and tore the hands from them, throwing them to the ground where they landed broken and motionless. Seeing this, Robin felt an immense amount of relief, knowing he could focus entirely on his enemy now.

"Alright!" Cyborg agreed, seeing that Robin and Starfire seemed to have their situation handled fairly well. Turning around, he eyed Gizmo, always feeling as though he had a score to settle with the midget, "Titans move!" he shouted. Morphing into a gorilla, Beast Boy grunted and charged at Mammoth. Raven simply held her position as Jinx separated from the group and approached her.

Making the first move, Cyborg fired his sonic cannon at Gizmo, hoping to disable his tech system; before he could be hit, four robotic legs extended from Gizmo's backpack, lifting him high into the air where he stuck his tongue out at Cyborg, letting the blast hit the ground.

"Hah, missed me tin man!" he mocked.

"Did I?" Cyborg crossed his arms, smirking up at Gizmo. Before he could retort, the ground under him began breaking apart; the legs stumbled at the loss of their balance, causing Gizmo to fall toward the open sewers. Reaching out, Cyborg caught him by the backpack before he could fall through; crushing it with one hand, he disabled Gizmo's mechanics, dropping him on the ground where he scrambled to hide behind his teammates.

Jinx continued to nonchalantly approach Raven, "Think your luck will hold out?" she said, focusing her palm across the street; an arc of pink light whipped from her hand, striking a fire hydrant. Water burst from the hydrant as the caps blew off, sending the powerful stream in Raven's direction. Unshaken, Raven formed a shield of dark energy at her side, deflecting the stream at Jinx; the force of the water pushed her backward toward the building.

"You tell me." Raven commented.

As Beast Boy rushed at Mammoth, he found himself grabbed by the shoulders, and lifted up into the air by his opponent. "Heh, featherweight." said Mammoth, holding gorilla Beast Boy high above his head. With a hefty trumpeting sound, Beast Boy morphed into an elephant; feeling his knees buckling, Mammoth was crushed into the ground under the weight of Beast Boy's new form.

Shifting back to human form, Beast Boy jumped away from the dazed Mammoth, joining the others, "Featherweight, heavyweight... it varies." he said, grinning.

"Are you guys even trying?" Cyborg asked, examining the three defeated kids in disbelief.

Gizmo looked past the Titans, grinning at what he saw, "No, we aren't. But we made for the perfect distraction while See-More and Private Hive went off to ransack the tower!" he shouted, making sure that Cyborg and the others heard every word. Cyborg's eye widened, "Blades, return." said Gizmo into the remote he had been holding on to the entire time.

The robot, which had continued to battle Starfire even without its hands, suddenly backed away from her, effortlessly jumping over the T-Car to land between the two opposing teams again. Gizmo, Jinx, and Mammoth began running down the street, while the robot defended their escape; when the three disappeared from view, the android snarled mechanically and leapt up to the rooftop of a short building, vanishing as it fled as well.

Cyborg growled, "We've gotta get back to the tower before--" he started.

As Starfire looked around at the others, she felt her heart sink, "Where is Robin?" she examined her surroundings once more, immensely worried; Robin and the other robot were nowhere in sight.

Cyborg noticed Robin's strange absence, "Robin can take care of himself, the tower can't." he explained, unlocking the doors to the T-Car. "C'mon, we'll need everyone." he said, sitting down in the driver's seat; Beast Boy and Raven decided he was right and entered the backseats. Standing outside of the front passenger door, Starfire took one last look over the area.

"Starfire... he'll be fine." said Cyborg.

Sighing sadly, Starfire sat down in the car, "I hope you are right..." she said; shutting the door, she stared out the window.

- - - - - -

Deflecting the attacks of the relentless machine, Robin looked around at the maze of dark alleys the robot had led him through. Becoming tired of simply dodging and blocking the strikes, Robin chanced injury to duck under a slash; successful in his attempt, he fiercely struck his staff against the robot's legs, causing it to fall to the ground. Moving quickly before the machine could stand up again, Robin raised his staff high; thrusting it down with all his might, the staff broke through the android's face. Resting his weight against the staff, Robin breathed heavily as he watched the robot twitch and finally stop moving; subtle glowing under the machine's armor faded off as its power died. As he pulled the staff from the robot, Robin let out an exhausted sigh.

"Very good, I would expect no less from one such as you." spoke a deep and stony voice from behind him; he sounded almost calm and well-mannered, but there was an underlying tone of malevolence to his speech that chilled Robin to the bone. Robin turned around, narrowing his eyes at the person standing on the opposite end of the alley. Walking toward him was a tall figure, dressed in a simple black uniform; white bands were tied around his wrists and waist. At his side was a sword Robin recognized as a katana, sheathed in its scabbard. As the man made his way into full view, Robin could see that his face was wrapped with the same white bands that adorned his wrists; cold gray eyes stared through the uncovered portion of his mask. On his right shoulder was a red insignia identical to those the robots wore.

"Who are you?" Robin asked, lowering his voice. Though he was considerably worn out from the fight, Robin held his staff up once more.

"I have no real name, but call me Grey if you wish. You survived the poison... and returned to best one of my top operatives." the man came to a stop, several feet in front of Robin, "You have proven yourself against them. Now, prove yourself in my eyes." he said, unsheathing his katana; the sunlight caught itself on the blade as he held it in a traditional stance. Unwilling to listen to the man, Robin reached for his communicator; before he could even touch it, he felt it become ripped away from his belt. Robin turned his head to see the communicator on the ground with a small black dagger sticking out of it, rendered useless; the man held out one hand, the hand he had presumably thrown the dagger with. "Let's keep this a fair fight shall we." Grey said, returning back to his stance.

"Fine." Robin immediately rushed at the man, staff held at his side, angered by this Grey's arrogance. His opponent made no move as Robin lifted his staff for an attack. After swinging the staff downward, Robin found that he had only struck the ground; to his left, stood Grey, looking down at him and holding the sword dangerously close to his neck. Robin gritted his teeth; ignoring the blade, he swept his staff over the ground, attempting to knock the masked man over; as though it took no effort at all, Grey simply jumped to avoid the swipe. Seeing an opportunity, Robin rolled across the ground, ending up behind the man who was in the midst of dodging; standing up and raising his staff, Robin slashed forward as fast as he could, sudden and without warning. Robin found that his attack had been stopped as he heard the clang of metal, and felt the force of impact; still facing away from Robin, Grey held his sword over his shoulder, keeping Robin at bay. Robin struggled fiercely to press against the blade, but as hard as he tried, the man was simply too strong. 'He's just toying with me.' thought Robin.

"Attacking from behind... Have you no honor?" asked Grey, in a calm tone of voice.

Growling, Robin attempted to kick him; with a simple twist of the sword, Grey forced Robin's staff away, turning around in time to catch his foot. Immediately, he swung Robin around by the leg, throwing him against the opposing wall where he painfully collided with the brick and fell to the ground. Shakily standing up, Robin found that he had dropped his staff, while Grey was now rushing at him, sword pulled backward. Without any time to react, Robin felt an immense pain in his side as Grey came to a stop, inches in front of him, staring through him with his penetrating stone eyes; the edge of the blade felt serrated and rough as the cold steel cut through his skin and muscle. The blade came to a stop and made a crunching noise against the wall, giving Robin the horrifying realization that the sword had passed through him. Robin's vision began to blur as the electrifying pain surged through his entire body from that one point; the only sound he heard was the thunderous pulsing of his heartbeat as he looked down at the sword. Adding to the torment, Grey violently ripped the sword from the wall, tearing it from Robin's side; falling to his knees, Robin held his stomach in pain. From the corner of his eye, Robin could see his staff lying on the ground.

"You have much to learn." stated Grey coldly, wiping the blood from the sword with his gloved hand, returning it to the scabbard thereafter.

Powerful rage overtaking pain, Robin tore his staff from the ground; attempting to run forward, he doubled over, dropping the staff on the ground once more, and clutching his side as the electricity tore through his being.

"The wound won't kill you, so as long as you don't attempt acts as foolish as that again." he said, staring pitilessly down at Robin, who simply glared back up at him. "I will return one day..." he spoke, though Robin could hardly hear him through the pounding of his ear drums, "You would be wise to sharpen your skills by that time; if not, the next time we meet... will be the last." Grey turned away from Robin, beginning to walk down the alleyway. "My children are watching... listening. Speak of this to anyone, and your friends will meet their ends painfully." he threatened, "I spoke of honor before, but deceive me, and the consequences will be dire."

"You're... bluffing." Robin spoke, breathing heavily.

"Well, if you won't do it for your friends... do it for love." Grey said, sounding amused, "You wouldn't want anything to happen to her, would you?" he asked cruelly; Robin said nothing in response, "That's what I thought. Until next we meet." he said, disappearing around a corner.

Taking his staff in hand, Robin used it to help himself to his feet; resting his weight against the wall, he looked at the blurry light at the end of the alley.

"...Starfire."

- - - - - -

Down on the other end of the alley, hidden in the shadows, Grey watched as Robin stumbled his way out. "Reckless... but that will change." he chuckled.

"The boy is much stronger than you give him credit for." spoke a calm and collected voice from somewhere behind Grey, "I would suggest caution... He may just be the end of you."

"Slade. Why do you persist this way?" Grey asked, ignoring his presence.

"I will persist, until I take back what you've stolen from me... Unfortunately, I need you alive for that."

Grey laughed in response, "Why would I return what you have already abandoned?" he asked.

- - - - - -

After searching the entire tower several times for intruders, the Titans stopped their hunt, looking flustered and feeling tricked. Planning to meet up with the others by the main doors on the first floor, Starfire, who had arrived first, crossed her arms and waited, almost impatiently, for the others to show up; she stood close to the doors, ready to leave on a moment's notice. The elevator stopped, opening its doors to reveal Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven; they stepped out of the lift, seeming embarrassed that they had wasted their time like this. They didn't want to look Starfire in the eyes, because they now knew her decision would have been the more efficient course of action.

"There's no one here... Scanners came up negative too." Cyborg said as he approached the doors with the others, avoiding Starfire's gaze.

"May we now go look for Robin?" Starfire asked.

"Star, I'm sure he's alright. I'll just give him a call on his communicator." Cyborg said; holding his arm up, he began tapping on the panel. Starfire felt like scolding herself; she had been so worried, that she didn't think of contacting him. Suddenly, Cyborg's expression changed to one of shock and regret, "...No." he said.

"What is wrong?" Starfire questioned worriedly.

"Robin's communicator... it's been shut off." Cyborg lowered his arm, mentally beating himself up.

"I knew he was in trouble!" Starfire eyed the others as angrily as she could, but found that she couldn't stay mad at them... it wasn't their fault at all. Turning around, she quickly headed to the doors; her eyes looked teary as she hurried away. Before she could rip the doors off as she was planning to, they began to open on their own; intense light from the outside revealed a silhouette in the entrance. Robin stood in the doorway, holding his waist tightly with one arm. "Robin!" Starfire rushed up hugged him tightly, not wanting to let go.

"AAH!" Robin grunted as Starfire embraced him.

"Robin, what is wrong?" she asked, pulling away to examine him.

Robin quickly swallowed the pain he felt when she had touched his wound, "Heh, just got a little bruised up during the fight... nothing to worry about." he forced out a chuckle. Hoping his legs wouldn't give way beneath him, Robin began to walk into the tower; but Starfire stayed by his side with a hand on his shoulder, attempting to help him in.

"How come your communicator was shut off?" Beast Boy asked seriously as Robin and Starfire began walking past the group.

"...The robot broke it." he answered quickly, hoping that Raven hadn't chosen this moment to read his mind, "But... I broke the robot." he added a joke for good measure while he pressed the elevator call button, opening the doors. Stepping into the elevator, Robin gently removed Starfire's hand from his shoulder, leaving her to stand outside with worried eyes, "Thanks. I'm just gonna go make sure nothing's broken..." he said, attempting a smile.

"Do you need help, perhaps Raven could--" before she could finish, the doors closed and the elevator began to ascend.

"That was weird." Cyborg commented.

"Yeah, we can all fit on that elevator... why does he get to go first?" Beast Boy asked, clueless.

Staring at the closed doors, Starfire wondered what Robin was hiding. Remembering how he reacted to her embrace, she realized it must be more than bruises; lifting her hand up to her eyes, Starfire noticed a spot of blood on her fingers where her hand had touched his back. Gasping, she hid her hand from the view of the others.

- - - - - -

Standing in the infirmary after putting himself through several scans, Robin looked over the results on the computer screen; no internal bleeding, no organ damage... Grey knew what he was doing, and had been telling the truth... the wound wouldn't kill him; and if he wasn't lying about that, Robin had little reason to doubt the veracity in his threats. Breathing deeply, Robin walked over to a small cabinet, removing a bottle of disinfectant and a medical cloth; pouring some disinfectant on the cloth, he lifted up his shirt to examine the injury. Though the wound had gone all the way through him, it wasn't bleeding... much. Robin winced as he dabbed both ends of the wound with disinfectant; he knew he would have to suture it if he wanted to keep it from getting infected, but suturing the back would prove to be difficult if not impossible... without help.

"...Robin?"


Author's Note: I feel bad for hurting Robin like that... but it was integral to the story, to say the least. I'll explain the delay with two simple words I think everyone can understand... SCHOOL SUCKS! It was also due to the length of the chapter. I set up the official thread for this fic in the Fanfiction section of the RobxStar shrine (robinandstarfire dot com) if anyone has questions that need immediate answers. :)

I'd like to thank all who reviewed the last chapter. So I'm replying to each and every one of you:)

hurt deep inside - Thank you so much for saying that! I don't think I can put into words how much that means to me!

-EHWIES - Thanks for clearing that up, it's been killing me. Glad to see you back, been missing your wonderful reviews.

princessdza - Is it possible to have a heart attack from compliments? 'Cause I think that's what happened to me here, LOL. Anyway, thank you much! And about your question, Robin's tattooed face was just a little humor insert... but as I was writing it, I couldn't help but think 'symbolism'.

darktank - I figured if Starfire got to be jealous, Robin should get his chance too, so I threw Alex in there, a guy who's ironically friends with Kathryn XD.

darkangelchic - I agree on that Control Freak statement, he's really less of an enemy, more of a nuisance :).

stafire's flame - I broke my promise... :( Thanks for reviewing though!

tigerchic121 - I had a lot of fun writing that chapter, and the jealous Robin thing was one of my favorite parts to do. Yeah, I saw your reviews for MSGW, but that Ghul thing was pretty easy to miss anyway; mentioned just once in a tiny little paragraph XD.

Cat Girl R and S Fan - -EHWIES already told me, but thanks anyway! Thank you so much for reviewing all the chapters so far, that shows dedication:) BTW, yeah that's me at the RobxStar shrine; I've got a thread in the fanart and fanfiction sections. I remind you of Robin? I'll take that as a compliment. :)

sayan-P - LOL you're so funny! You're definitely one of my favorite reviewers now! The monster reminded Starfire of a little run-in she had with a similar creature when she was a child; I'll try and clear this up a little more in a future chapter. :)

Slythergrl2004 - XD you're right, now I feel like going back and editing it... I'm obsessive compulsive that way. Thanks for pointing it out, there's something my spell/grammar checker couldn't catch. :)

realfanficts - Quality reading time, hee. :) This chapter was pretty long too, so I hope you got some quality reading time out of this one as well. Thanks for posting that address in the reviews; it's for a good cause.

banana fritz - Thank you! New reviewers rock!

sapphire - Hee, thanks! I never thought of myself as being good at the humor, but seeing that I got some people to laugh with that chapter makes me happy:)

PrInCeSs 2006 - Yeah, GO ROBIN! We don't often get to see Robin's jealous side, so throwing it into that chapter was a must.

devilofheaven - Mutual gain. Another new reviewer; this rocks! Thank you for the fabulous review, hope to see you next time.

Super Chocolate Bear - Heh, expect more plotting and scheming from them in the coming chapters. :)

cnroxmyworld426 - And just when I thought the chapter wasn't gonna get any more reviews :). Thank you so much, and I will definitely keep writing because there are so many awesome reviewers like you out there.

PheonixBird - You're just... THE BEST! "I have never thought someone (especially a boy, sorry if what I said was not OK :) ) could write stories the way you do." LOL, no that's alright, really it is! Actually, I thought that was very funny XD. Thank you so much for the many kind things you say.

Whoo! Was that everybody?

Next Chapter Preview: Starfire discovers Robin's injury, but he can't allow himself to tell her how he got it. Unaware of what really happened to Robin, Cyborg Beast Boy, and Raven hope their newest addition to the plan will help cheer him up, assuming he is mad that the Fearsome Five got away. That night, Starfire decides to speak to Robin about her past, in the hopes that he would trust her enough to speak of himself. Day 5, Part 2: Scars