I slid down into my chair, hoping no one would notice me cowering. I skipped lunch so I could hide in here. As Jane would say, "It's good that you cut back on calories."

I buried my face in my hands and leaned my elbows against the table. Jane is back. Everything was going so well. Everything was looking up for me. I thought I had finally escaped this abyss of self-hatred and doubt.

I was wrong. Very wrong. I was foolish to believe in such silly expectations, and now I'm going to pay the price.

I collected my things and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

"Fattela! There you are!" I froze as Jane's voice grew closer. "I didn't see you at lunch. I guess it's all right; it's good that you cut back on calories."

Just as I thought. "What do you want?" I said, turning and staring at her gold flats.

"You look upset, Fattela. What's wrong? Is your double chin too heavy, and now you're forced to stare at the ground?"

I turned away.

"Hey. Who said you could ignore me?" Jane said sharply, and my skin crawled with fear. A smirk curled on Jane's lips. "You should be grateful to have me in your life. Who else is going to keep you in check? McDonald's? Let's face it, Fattela. Do you actually believe you can find somewhere you belong? Where do you think you can go to escape the truth? You're nothing but a pathetic, incompetent, worthless little burden! Just accept it."

The bell rang. Students gathered their things and hurried out the library doors.

"Nice chatting with you." Jane turned and walked to the doors. I clenched my fists until my knuckles turned white and the blood stopped circulating in my fingers. I walked to the double doors and opened them, catching a glimpse of my transparent reflection in the glass.


While the Titans worked in the training room, I leaned against the wall near the door with my arms crossed and watched: Robin chopped away at a wooden dummy, Starfire dodged lasers and blasted the small androids that chased her around, Raven meditated and lifted large cylinders in the air, and Beast Boy ran on the treadmill, changing into different kinds of fast animals to match the demanded speeds.

I looked over at Cyborg, who bore a giant weight on his back. The machine placed more and more weight on him, greatly increasing the difficulty. The Titans paused in their workouts and focused their attention on Cyborg.

"Come on, Cyborg, push it!" Robin said.

"What... do you think... I'm doing?!" Cyborg said, sweat pouring down his face.

As the Titans continued to root for Cyborg, the stress on his face deepened. The capacities of his metal body were reaching its limits, and he wouldn't be able to handle this.

"It's no good!" Cyborg said. "Shut it down!"

"No way, Cyborg. You can't give up now! Keep going!" Robin said.

"I can't!"

"Yes, you can!"

"No... I... can't!"

Cyborg tumbled out from the weights as they crashed, rumbling the ground. Robin held a hand out to him, oblivious to the glare Cyborg had. He stood up on his own and pushed past the Titans.

"I'm gonna go talk to him." Robin said. As he reached the door, he paused to look at me. I turned away from him. He sighed and left the room.


The Titans and I gathered in Ops and watched Cyborg as he played video games. His bottom teeth poked out from his mouth and his shoulders were hunched, making him look like an angry Neanderthal. On the screen was a fighting game, and he played against someone named Atlas.

"Whoa... And I thought Raven looked grumpy." Beast Boy said, earning a glare from Raven.

"We must do something to lift our friend's spirits." Starfire said.

"Just leave him alone." I said. "That's all he wants."

The others looked to me and left the room. The screen flashed as Cyborg's video game character posed victoriously on the screen.

"Booyah!" Cyborg said. "Pleasure doing business with you, Atlas. I hope you like getting your butt kicked!"

"I demand a rematch." Atlas replied with a message on the screen.

Cyborg smirked and typed out his message, "Bring it on! I'll take you down, anytime, anywhere!"

"How about here and now?"

The words turned thin and red as the window melted. A large red and gold colored robot stood on the window sill. He stepped into the room and grabbed Cyborg.

"Atlas is ready. Let the rematch begin!" Atlas hurled Cyborg out of Titans Tower.

I hurried to the hole and looked down as the two of them stood in the shallow end of the lake surrounding the Tower. Cyborg charged at Atlas and threw several punches at him, but each one Atlas dodged. Cyborg threw another one, and Atlas grabbed his fist. He punched Cyborg and sent him flying across the water.

"What's going on?" Robin said as the other Titans entered the room. I pointed out the window, and they came and looked at the fight. "Titans, go!"

Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy leaped out of the window.

"You're coming, too, Ciela." Robin said.

"I don't want to." I said.

"Too bad." Robin wrapped an arm around my waist, and together we jumped out of the window. I screamed as we plummeted to the ground. Robin activated his grappling hook and snagged it against the open hole in the window, allowing us a safe descent to the ground. We landed, and I stumbled to a stop. "You okay?"

"Don't ever do that again!" I cried, turning to him and clenching my fists.

Robin reeled back in surprise for a moment before he scowled. "What's the matter with you? Ever since the last time you came here, you've... you've..."

"What? I've been what?"

"You're acting the exact same way you did when we first met you!"

"So what?! Is it wrong?"

"Yes! It is! This isn't who you are!" Robin said. He stepped towards me. "We've seen the real you. This isn't it."

"Maybe this is the real me!" I placed a hand on my pistol, causing Robin to stop. "A pathetic little wretch who has nothing good going for her!"

A force knocked me back and I tumbled to the ground. I sat up and saw that I was encased in a large, yellow, energy bubble. I looked around me and saw Beast Boy, Starfire, and Raven attempting to free themselves from the energy of their individual cages.

Robin, however, was within the same bubble as me, and he tried to punch a way out.

"It's no use." I said.

"Let them go!" Cyborg said.

Atlas raised a hand. "Atlas will defeat you later, in a fair fight. No friends, no weapons."

"No! We'll finish this now!"

"Very well." Atlas pointed his cannon at me and Robin. I gulped at the glowing red energy churning inside.

"Cyborg, we'll be all right! Get your strength back, then get Atlas!" Robin said.

Atlas's mechanic, Spike, rode in on a small throne resembling a boxing ring corner. Atlas sat down on the throne.

"The old stadium. Sunset. Come, if you dare, and I will let you have your friends back."

The area around us vanished, and we were teleported away from Titans Tower. We reappeared in the old stadium. The bleachers were stained with rust and the overhead lights were cracked and flickering. Dirt, rocks, and weeds littered the field in place of Astroturf. Robin glanced at me. I turned away. Spike floated over and tinkered with the trophy stands we were perched on.

"You won't be able to hold us here forever." Robin said.

"No need to be a sore loser. Just accept the fact that Atlas is better than you- than all of us." Spike said.

"Mechanic. Buff me." Atlas said from his throne.

"You got it, champ!" Spike floated over with a cloth and buffed Atlas's back. "Now, remember, that Cyborg's got a decent left hook, so keep an eye out for-"

Atlas turned his head all the way to look at Spike. "Never tell me what to do."

"Uh... Yeah. Sure thing, chief."

"Yo!" We turned and saw Cyborg walking onto the field. "Let's do this."

"I did not think you would come. Humans scare so easily." Atlas said.

"I'm only half human."

"And half of nothing is still nothing. Mechanic!" Spike removed Atlas's weapons. "I want a fair fight, human, so I shall willingly forego my arsenal."

"While you're at it, maybe you can shut off that big mouth of his?" Cyborg said.

"Watch your mouth! Nobody talks to Atlas that way-!" Spike said. Atlas stood up from his throne and charged towards Cyborg.

"You may respect Atlas, but it doesn't seem to be a mutual thing." Robin said to Spike.

"Shut up, you!"

Atlas threw Cyborg into the bleachers, destroying the decaying chairs he landed on. Sprinting up the stairs towards him, Atlas threw a punch, sending Cyborg through the stadium. He managed to grab hold of the ledge and he pulled himself back in. Cyborg smashed his fists into Atlas's face, sending him back into the field. Cyborg landed on top of him, creating a thick dust cloud that covered the two.

"This is looking good for Cyborg, but he does win this, right?" Beast Boy said, and the Titans turned to me.

I faced the fight, doing my best to ignore their stares.

"Ciela, listen..." Robin said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't touch me!" I cried, flailing away from him. "Why are you even friends with me? Why don't you just give up the act?!"

"What act?"

"Stop pretending that you like me! Stop pretending to be my friends! We both know you've been doing this to make me feel better!"

"Don't say that, Ciela. It's not true, and you know it!"

"What do I know anymore?! I thought I could hide from the truth by coming here. I thought I could escape reality and pretend to be someone I'm not. You know how I really look. This is just a mask to hide the hideous monster that I really am! Falling for this so-called 'fairytale' is typical... Typical for stupid, dumb Fattela!"

"Enough!" Robin harshly gripped my shoulders and shook me. My throat closed, and my eyes shook as Robin's hidden yet ferocious scowl bore into me. Robin released me, and I stumbled against the side of the energy bubble. I slid down the side and onto the floor. I bowed my head as tears threatened to spill.

"No one defeats Atlas." Atlas said. I looked up as Cyborg lay defeated on the ground and Atlas walked back towards us.

"Fine, you win. Now let my friends go." Cyborg said.

"No."

Spike's proud smile fell. "Boss... You said-"

Atlas sat down in his throne. "Your friends will remain as my trophies, and there is nothing you can do about it."

"Get up, Cyborg. You can still win this!" Robin said, pounding his fists against the energy bubble.

"No... I can't..." Cyborg said.

"Foolish human. Did you actually believe you could defeat Atlas?" Atlas said. We began to descend underneath the stadium.

"Do you actually believe you can find somewhere you belong?"

I squeezed my eyes shut and clenched my fists.


Atlas sat in front of a large TV and played video games, the same fighter game that Cyborg played earlier today that caused this mess. The sounds of clicking buttons and video game sound effects, as well as Beast Boy's stubborn attempts to headbutt his way out of the energy bubble, filled the silence.

"Stop it already. You're giving me a headache." Raven said. Beast Boy collapsed on the ground.

"But we must discover a way out!" Starfire said.

"There is no way out!" Spike said as he floated over to us, an oil can under each arm. "Now, be quiet. You're interrupting Master's relaxation!"

"Why are you even helping him?" Robin said.

"Because Atlas is the greatest!" Spike said.

"If he's so great, why does he treat you so poorly?"

"Mechanic! Oil!" Atlas called.

"Comin' right up, boss!" Spike glanced over his shoulder at us as he floated over to Atlas.

I took a deep breath. "She's back."

Robin turned to me. "Who is?"

"The one who's fueled me with all these lies. The one who's bullied me for as long as I can remember." I clenched my fists. "Her name is Jane. She was suspended from school for two weeks, right before I entered this world and met you guys. During that time, I finally learned to accept myself as someone... with purpose." I pulled my legs close to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. "But those times are long gone. Jane's back... and there's nothing stopping her from tormenting me again. There's nothing stopping her from forcing me back into the helpless victim again."

"Yes, there is." Robin said. I looked up at him as he sat down at my side. "You can stop her. Don't you remember what I told you before? You can't let this Jane person get away with treating you like this. You've gotta stand up to her."

"But... how?"

"I've seen you do just that here. You've helped us take down villains without a shred of fear. The confidence you display when you face enemies in this world should be reciprocated in your world."

"The enemies in my world are much more real. I'm scared..."

"And that's okay. It's okay for you to be scared. The only time it's not is if you let it rule your life. You have two options: conquer your fear or let your fear conquer you. The only one who can decide the outcome is you."

I reached up and gripped my Teen Titan necklace as my eyes shook.

"Mechanic! More oil!" Atlas called, tossing a crushed oil can over his shoulder. Spike hurried to his side and handed him another oil can. Atlas chugged a quarter of it before spitting it onto Spike, covering his jacket with oil. "This is cold, human! Bring me warm oil!"

Spike glanced back at us before facing Atlas with a scowl. "Get it yourself, then."

Atlas stood up from his seat and loomed over Spike. "What did you say?" he said. He lifted Spike into the air and tossed him to the side. "No human tells Atlas what to do!"

"You better start getting used to it," Cyborg entered the room, "because I'm telling you to let my friends go."

Atlas smirked, and the two charged at each other. Cyborg threw a punch at Atlas and sent him flying into his giant TV, shattering it on impact. Atlas stood back up and threw two punches at Cyborg, but Cyborg dodged them. On the third punch, it connected, launching Cyborg through the ceiling of the underground locker room and out onto the field of the stadium. We were lifted back onto the stadium grounds, along with Spike.

"He doesn't respect you. He doesn't even like you. Why do you serve him?" Robin said.

"I have no choice. Atlas is stronger than me." Spike said.

"No, he isn't. You're the one who fixes him. Atlas needs you. You're his strength." Robin turned to me. "All Jane wants is to suck the life out of you so she can feel better about herself. I think she has an idea of what you're really capable of, and she wants to take that away from you and make you think otherwise. But without a victim, the bully is powerless. And Jane knows that, so she's going to try and keep you in her grasp."

I gulped. I turned my attention back to the fight. Cyborg laid on the ground.

"Mechanic! Concussion blaster! Heat cannon! Now!" Atlas said, shoving his wrists towards Spike.

Spike scowled. "No."

Atlas swatted Spike away. "Then stay out of my way!"

Atlas hurried over to the utilities. He froze as he tried to decipher the weapons.

"Let's see how far you get without my help." Spike pressed a button on a remote. The energy bubbles trapping us faded.

"No!" Atlas sprinted to the exit.

"Titans, go!" Robin cried. As the Titans charged, Robin held a hand out to me. "So, Ciela? What do you choose?"

I stared between him and his outstretched hand. I took a deep breath and pulled out my energy pistols. I connected them together, transforming them into my bazooka sniper rifle.

"Duck."

Robin raised a confused eyebrow. I pointed the barrel at his face and pulled the trigger. He yelped and ducked as the laser burst from my gun and zoomed towards Atlas. It hit his back and halted his progression to the exit. He flew into the wall, shattering the stone. Cyborg ran towards him.

Robin stood up and looked at me. I smiled and propped my rifle against my shoulder.

I choose... to live.