A/N: It seems like I got a lot of your attention with this fic. I'm trying my best to get some time in with the other Titans, but it's hard when I'm best writing about Robin and that his story is a bit more interesting than the others in my opinion. But here is your next chapter. I hope you readers like it. Please don't forget to give a review.

Disclaimer: I don't own both of them.

Chapter 8 Side Effects

"Sleepy?" Slade asked Robin beside him on the zoomer. The teen stared ahead with a frown planted on his face as he decided to ignore the man he had been forced into working with. Slade looked over to him from the driver seat while letting himself express something of a smile under his mask.

Robin finally gave in and snapped back at Slade, "How could I sleep with you in the same room? I was up all night thinking." Slade shot him a questionable glance that was actually one with interest. He then saw the teen's face go pale in fright and the man looked ahead.

And there the two team members were. They were both on a zoomer with an Elf with an orange animal placed on his shoulder. The zoomer was quickly heading their way and Robin would rather be dead then to have Starfire and Beast Boy see him riding, willingly, on a zoomer with Slade.

Slade looked back down at Robin and his eye went wide in short term surprise that the boy wasn't beside him anymore. The acrobat-like kid had twisted himself in his seat so that he had his legs around the seat, but his other half of his body was dangling above the ground. Slade watched with mild interest as the boy held onto the bottom of the big zoomer and waited till the members past by.

"I'm sure you're having a blast," Slade said to Robin emotionlessly as the teen finally pulled himself up and reoriented himself in his seat. Robin gave a sigh and rubbed his forehead. "Troubles?" Slade asked him sardonically.

"I don't need your crap right now, Slade," Robin muttered to him with a sharp glare. "Stick to your own problems, which aren't much."

There was silence for a few seconds as Robin kept rubbing his forehead because of the migraine pounding away in his head relentlessly. He winced a few times and a glimpse of some concern flashed onto Slade's face as he watched the young one suffer.

"It's the pollution," Slade finally said. Robin looked up at him with confusion. "When we get back to the apartment tonight you might want to lie down. Sooner than later you'll start getting nose bleeds. The chemicals in this air aren't meant for mere humans. Elves can stand a lot better conditions than us."

"Is there anything to take the pain away?" Robin asked him even though he felt so weak asking him questions like this. But he had to stay in good condition in this city if he ever wanted to survive. He couldn't deal with this kind of pain for forever.

"The pain didn't last long for me," Slade stated simply with a shrug. "Is this going to disturb your usual fighting skill, Robin?" he asked the boy with some mockery in his voice this time.

"I'm fine for now," Robin muttered back with another glare. He hated this!

- Underground -

"Torn said to rescue this member, but he forgot to tell us where to find him," Daxter said with a sigh. The four looked around the giant computer room with wonderment on all their faces.

"I guess we take this warp gate to the place," Jak said with a shrug. Beast Boy and Starfire gave each other odd glances after looking at the blue vortex in front of them. Both Jak and Daxter stared at the Titans then burst out laughing at their hesitation.

"What is so funny?" Beast Boy asked them with confusion on his face that was slowly turning into anger.

"Please don't tell me this is going to be your first experience with a warp gate," Daxter said with a chuckle. Both of them nodded hesitantly.

"Are we going into the future?" Starfire asked them. She remembered the only time she really went through something looking like very similar to this warp gate. She had tried to prevent a villain from getting away by jumping into his worm hole that put into the future.

"No," Jak said flatly. Sometimes these humans could be so stupid with the average tech of their simple city. It was as if they were from the stone ages sometimes. "We go through this side, Star, and then come out on the other side of one at some other place."

"Oh! It's like a transporter! Sweet!" Beast Boy said with a smile. "This should be fun."

"Look, green kid," Daxter muttered with a frustrated sigh. "This thing ain't that difficult and is very uneventful most of the time. Don't get too excited." Jak couldn't help but smile.

"Let's just go already, we could be wasting time," Jak said while suddenly running ahead of the two and jumping through the vortex in a flash of light. He arrived on the other side and waited for the others to follow. After a few seconds Starfire and Beast Boy landed not too gracefully on the ground at the same time with dazed expressions on their faces.

"It's better if you guys go one by one," Daxter pointed out. The two picked themselves up silently and brushed off all the dirt on them. "We have company," Daxter suddenly said with his voice sounding nervous. Starfire and Beast Boy looked up and saw a few scorpion-like Metal Heads quickly crawling toward them with hisses.

Jak swiftly took out his gun and turned it to his new blaster model with a wicked smile coming to his lips. He quickly took aim easily because a red laser pointed in the direction the bullets would shoot. In only the matter of seconds, the creatures were dead. But that was just the beginning of the battle.

"There's more!" Beast Boy screamed while pointing ahead to a pile of dirt where around three to four bigger Metal Heads were galloping towards them. The changeling took off his purple cloak and got into a fighting stance as Starfire hovered into the air with her eyes and hands glowing the same brilliant color.

"Get 'em!" Daxter yelled and the three advanced toward the creatures with battle yells. Starfire threw a few starbolts at her opponent and it didn't take long for it to fall over and die. Beast Boy morphed into a raptor and quickly tore up the Metal Head he was after. Jak didn't waste any ammo on the two Metal Heads he had to take down. In only the matter of minutes, the three were done and moving on at a quick pace.

They headed for the escalator that would take them up to a metal platform that would lead the way to the place they had to pick up someone. Starfire was able to take out any small flying Metal Heads along the way as Jak took care of the small ones on the ground. Beast Boy covered the rear in his raptor form.

Jak rounded the wooden crates and stopped in his tracks with his eyes going wide in surprise. Daxter muttered a small curse as three Metal Heads spotted them along with about five small ones. Starfire and Beast Boy now saw the problem but didn't understand why Jak was so worried.

"I'm out of ammo!" Jak yelled to the two.

"Up here!" Starfire said down to them from where she hovered above the crates next to them. She helped Jak up easily and was confused when seeing Beast Boy just stand there looking very puzzled and scared. "Come on, Beast Boy!" she called down to him.

"I…I can't transform!" Beast Boy said with his voice shaky. He backed up when seeing that the Metal Heads were getting closer to him. He then looked behind him so he wouldn't bump into anything and saw that more small Metal Heads were coming up from behind him.

"Stop kidding around, Beast Boy!" Jak yelled down at him harshly. The kid never took anything serious.

Beast Boy tried to pull himself together and squeezed his eyes shut to focus on the bird he wanted to change into. At the last second he was able to take control over his powers again and turned into a raven. He flapped his wings frantically and flew over to where his friends were and quickly changed back to his human form with a look of fright in his eyes. He hadn't had that happen to him in years! Only when he was younger and with the Doom Patrol he sometimes couldn't change into things when he wanted to. It was a scary feeling.

"What were trying to pull off?" Daxter asked him with his eyes narrow. "You want us to have a heart attack? That was freaky. It seemed like they going to get you."

"I just lost control for a few seconds back there," Beast Boy said to back himself up. "It…it happens sometimes," he lied with his eyes on his shoes. He could feel the stare of Starfire bore down onto him, but he was thankful that she didn't say anything. The truth was that she had the same thing happen to her lately. She would randomly not be able to fly or form a starbolt.

"Hey, it's fine," Jak said quickly when seeing Beast Boy look down. "You just freaked us out." He then looked over the edge of the crates and saw all the Metal Heads swarming beside the crates and trying to get up somehow. "Now, let's find a way to get ride of these guys."

"There's a great idea," Daxter said sarcastically. Jak gave him a hard look to tell him to shut his mouth. Daxter only gave his Elf friend a goofy smile that let him get away with his remark.

"I can bring you more of the ammo for your gun," Starfire said while thinking over the situation.

"Yeah," Jak said with a nod. The girl flew off to a few random boxes full of the ammunition. She swiftly dodged the Metal Heads that followed her. She then came back to the top of the crates and Jak reloaded his gun quickly. There was a loud clank as he finished up and then he was done with the small act. "Ready?" he asked them.

"Let's not waste it all on these Metal Heads," Beast Boy said. "How 'bout we fly up over there and then jump onto those mining crates full of rocks and ride over to the other metal platform." He felt kind of proud of himself that he was using his head in this situation. He was just so used to having the others use their heads for him.

"Sounds good," Jak said. "Star, can you carry me while you fly up to the first platform and keep me in the air till I get all the Metal Heads on it? Daxter, you go with Beast Boy." Everyone nodded and the plan was set. Starfire picked up Jak and flew over to the platform. Daxter jumped onto Beast Boy's head and held on to him as he transformed into a pterodactyl.

Jak took out all the Metal Heads and as he was placed onto the ground he shouted to his human friend, "Take out the flying Metal Heads!" She did what she told and started to fly around and killing all the Metal Heads in her way. But then her powers disappeared just like Beast Boy's had.

"Don't tell me you shorted out too," Beast Boy whispered to her as she suddenly landed next to him on the moving crate. She gave a small nod and let Jak take out the last Metal Head with his blaster.

"You okay, sweetheart?" Daxter asked her while noticing the panic on her face.

"I'm fine," she told him with a sweet smile. Beast Boy gave her a confused look, but then realized that he had lied just a few minutes ago as well. But why would they want to keep this as a secret? Sooner than later Jak and Daxter would have to know that their new friends' powers weren't working properly anymore.

They finally made it to the door of the place the man they had to pick up was behind. Jak pressed a button for the door to open and all of them screamed as someone started to shoot at them from the inside. Starfire flew above the door with her eyes wide with surprise and Beast Boy hid behind a box with the same expression on his face. Jak and Daxter had their backs pressed against the wall and were just looking annoyed.

"Back off!" the Elf inside the room shouted at the top of his lungs frantically.

"Calm down!" Jak yelled above the firing. "Torn sent us!"

The Elf inside the room suddenly stopping his shooting and collapsed onto the barricade of boxes he had created while saying, "Oh, friendlies. Thank goodness!" Everyone finally came out of hiding hesitantly and saw who the guy was. He had messy hair and thick glasses that made his eyes bigger than what they really were. One word could describe him. Geek.

"Thank you for coming to rescue me, you guys," the Elf said with a sigh. Torn had said that his name was Vin, but it wasn't till now that they were trying to remember the name.

"And we would like to thank you for being such a bad shot!" Daxter snapped back at him.

"Sorry for that," Vin said with a weak smile. "But uh where's the army?"

They all gave each other odd looks before Jak answered for them with a wicked smile, "We're it."

"W...what? Uh! How much am I worth to the Underground?" Vin asked himself with despair in his voice.

"I'm beginning to think the same thing myself," Jak muttered. "But we need to get out of here. More Metal Heads could come back any minute now." They all nodded and one-by-one followed Jak into the activated warp gate next to the building back to the computer room they had been in before coming here.

- Slade and Robin -

"Who's going to be the lucky person to carry the artifact?" the big Elf asked the two enemies while holding up the backpack.

"He is," Slade answered for both of them before Robin could open his mouth. The teen glared up at the man before taking the backpack out of the Elf's hands and carefully slipping it on. Slade ignored the boy and quickly went onto paying the Elf from the Wasteland for delivering the package safely to the half point. The guy then left without another word and Slade and Robin turned around and headed the way they had come from.

"I can speak for myself," Robin finally said while looking up to Slade with his eyes narrowed. "And why do I have to carry the stupid plate? Why is it worth so much anyway?"

"When some animal attacks us we both can't go into battle," Slade answered calmly. "And the plate is a precursor artifact. The precursors were the first ones to live on this planet. They are all gone now and some of the Elves in this world would kill to get their hands on things like this. Keep it safe."

Robin stared up at Slade as the wheels in his head spun. "You've been here for a long time, haven't you?" he asked Slade. "Exactly how long have you been in this world?"

Slade weighed the thought of telling the boy the truth or lie. He glanced down at the teen and saw that Robin was still staring up at him. His eyes under the mask were demanding for a good answer. "I've been here off and on for two years," Slade finally answered while looking straight ahead.

"You're kidding," Robin said in disbelief.

"Believe what you want," Slade said simply with a shrug.

Robin looked to the grimy floor of the sewer system in thought. Slade couldn't help himself from expressing a small smile under his mask while watching the boy think it all over. He sure was a quick one. In seconds the kid had calculated it all out and came up with solutions and questions from his answer. His head came back up and he asked, "Then how come you haven't disappeared yet?"

"It starts all over if you come back to earth then go back again," Slade answered with a nod.

With out skipping a beat, Robin asked or more like stated, "So you do know how to go back?"

"I thought you said that you didn't believe me," Slade said. "Changed your mind?" Robin just gave him a look and then stared straight ahead with a sort of bored expression. The kid had already figured it all out and his brain was sick with toying all his ideas, so he was now trying to think of some other thing to keep it entertained. Slade smiled again. He had been so right to pick him as his apprentice a few years ago.

"How long do my team and I have to live?" Robin suddenly asked out of nowhere after a few more minutes of navigating through the sewer.

"From all the information I've gathered, your team will only be able to live up to five months," Slade said after a small sigh. He knew Robin wouldn't like these answers. "Maybe you and Cyborg could live up to a year, but I doubt it for your friend. You could defiantly live that long, though. Congratulations."

"Why didn't you tell me this before?" Robin yelled at him. "I should be out telling them all this! I shouldn't be in this rotting sewer partnering up with you! You're unbelievable!"

"If you told them this, would they believe you, Robin?" Slade asked him calmly. He had his hands placed behind his back and he was looking ahead. He had this creepy tranquil feeling about him that always just made Robin angrier at him.

"Of course they would!" Robin spat back at him. "I'm their leader! Why wouldn't they? I trust them and they trust me. We are all friends. If I tell them this they will come with me to Jump City easily."

"Think about it, Robin," Slade suddenly snapped at him while stopping and leaning down into his face. "Would they actually believe you? Right now they are on their own. You're not their leader for the time being. They would only think of it as an excuse. Remember the dust incident a few months back?"

Something very similar to a look of fright came to the teen's face when the man mentioned that. He had stabbed at the boy's weak spot with no hesitation at all. Robin slowly backed up with his eyes going wide as everything Slade was saying was dawning on him finally.

"They didn't believe you at all when you said that you saw me," Slade continued ruthlessly. "They all thought you were crazy. And I'm sure they were all thinking of that when they heard you talk about going back to Jump City a few days ago. They won't believe a word you say to them right now. Do I have to explain more?"

"No," Robin said quietly. "I understand."

There was a pause as they both stared at each other with their own thoughts. "Good," Slade finally said while standing up straight again to let the boy have some room to breathe. "Now we can talk productively instead of you asking questions."

"That might have to wait, Slade," Robin said while coming back to his normal self and putting all the questions in his head behind him. He pointed ahead and said, "We have some Metal Heads coming our way."

"Then won't this be fun," Slade said sardonically. He put his hand on the boy's shoulder and ordered him sharply, "You stay here. Keep the artifact safe. Staying on Krew's good side is one of the main parts of my plan."

Robin roughly shrugged the man's hand off his shoulder while glaring up at him. "I'm not a stupid little kid, Slade, so don't treat me like one."

"But you will obey me," Slade said coldly to him as he squeezed the boy's shoulder with his one hand.

Robin winced a little and muttered back, "Maybe I will, maybe I won't. It depends."

"We'll finish this talk later," Slade said with his tone deadly and his grip bone crushing. The two glared daggers at each other till Slade left to take down the Metal Heads that had caught onto their sent and was now heading for them. The man didn't look too happy with the teen had said. He still didn't know his place.

Robin rubbed his aching shoulder with a small wince. Boy, was that guy strong! He glared at the man with hatred in his eyes. "I'm not yours to command," he muttered under his breath. "And I never will be."

A/N: I hope it was good enough. Like I said before, I'm making it up as I go along. If it sucked, so what? Please just give a review! Thanks! And if you have questions for me, send a review and I'll reply ASAP.