Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 12

"What was that noise?" he asked, spinning around.

"What noise?" Red X asked, also turning in that direction as if it would magically identify what he was talking about.

He sighed, "I guess it was nothing. It just sounded like a stifled sob..." he trailed off, wandering for a moment if he should follow it. He decided that it would probably be the best idea. "Let's go," he said finally, motioning to the black-clad figure to follow after.

When they reached that alley, they were surprised to find Robin sitting in a puddle beside her. He wasn't crying, but he sure looked like he was going to. He wasn't even moving, but he was just staring at her in disbelief. She wasn't moving, but her chest rose every once in a while, signifying that she was still holding on to life.

There was no way to know what was going through the Boy Wonder's mind right now. His mouth was still hanging partway open, and he was just staring down at her eyes. Finally, his lips parted as he noticed them. "Did I really do this?" he asked numbly.

Beast Boy nodded sadly. "Dude, you've really lost it, haven't you?"

The masked eyes narrowed, but his mouth formed a grimace. He clutched the top part of her cloak to his chest and bit his lower lip. He just couldn't seem to bring himself to say anything. He just stared down at her with that same expression fixed on his face.

"Look, dude, we need to..." he started, trying to take Raven so that they could put her in the hospital wing.

Robin's grip tightened on her, but his face still remained the same. Apparently, he wasn't letting her go anywhere.

"Look, kid, we need to get her back to the Tower and fix her up. She still has a chance to live," Red X prodded, gently for once.

This at least convinced Robin to let go, but he still stayed kneeling down, even when she was in Beast Boy's arms. His head dropped to his chest, and the rain was pushing down his hair into his face. He looked so...broken.

"Maybe we should bring-" he started, putting his hand on his old friend's shoulder to help him up.

But that was taking things too fast. With a growl, Robin lashed out, sending the changeling flying backwards. He still didn't say anything, but this time he rose and stumbled out into the alleyways, the rain disguising his tracks.

For a moment, the two of them just stood there, dumbfounded, before he looked down at her to take her features all in for the first time. She had a long gash running down the side of her face, and her cloak was torn almost literally in half. "What happened?" he asked finally.

"From what I can see, the two of them fought for a-" Red X started to explain.

Beast Boy cut him off angrily. "No, I mean what happened to make Robin like this? He would never, ever hurt his friends like this unless he was going insane!"

Silence.

"He's...not insane, is he?" he asked tentatively.

Red X put a hand on his shoulder. "When we get back to the Tower, I'll tell you the whole story, but for now, I think it's time to get moving. We need to save Raven."

TTTTTT

As Raven watched her energy seep into the shrinking emotion's chest, Intelligence came running into the field, grinning wildly. "You're never going to believe what happened in the outside world!"

Raven raised an eyebrow. "How do you know about that kind of thing?" she asked.

"Your mind still registers thing even when you're in a coma. I'm that part of your mind, remember?" the yellow-clad emotion interrupted.

"Spit it out already," Love sighed, a bit annoyed.

Intelligence grinned, but her grin shrunk a bit when she saw Little Love's condition. "Is she conscious?" she asked quietly.

"Just barely. Raven's trying to save her right now, but unless we can save Beast Boy, I don't think that's going to help much."

Intelligence grinned again. "Well, do you know who's carrying Raven right this very minute?" she asked, excited.

"Robin?" Love asked a bit eagerly, earning hard looks from the others. "What? It would mean that he felt remorseful and wants to keep Raven alive!"

Raven sighed. "I give in, Intelligence. Who is it?"

Just then, a very excited Happiness (who was only about three feet tall) burst into the trees. "GUESS WHAT?" she screeched.

Intelligence slammed her palm into her forehead in a gesture of annoyance. "Happiness, when I said I wanted to surprise Raven, I did not mean that you needed to barge in as well."

"But it's just such great news!"

"WHAT IS?" Love and Raven shouted at the same time.

Intelligence grinned. "Beast Boy's alive!"

Little Love, though still weak, smiled broadly. "He is?" she breathed happily, then her eyes closed again.

Love threw her arms around her sister. "I never thought I'd say this, but I'm so glad to hear that!" she sobbed, hugging Little Love close.

Raven was still processing the information. "He's back?" she repeated.

Happiness grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Didn't you hear? The xinothium wore off! He was never really gone, just that his heart stopped for a while!"

Slowly, a smile spread over her face. "He's back," she whispered, and her heart filled with emotion as new tears sprung to her eyes. Maybe she had a chance to save herself from insanity after all.

TTTTTTTT

Jinx's eyes widened when she saw the three figures in the doorway; one walking dejectedly, one walking slightly bent over so that he could carry their companion, and the aforementioned companion laying across the second's arms.

"What happened?" she screeched.

Beast Boy ignored her and just kept walking. He walked straight over to the medical ward and lay her down on one of the beds. She rushed up behind him, spinning him around to face her. "What happened?" she repeated anxiously.

He couldn't look her straight in the face, but fixed his eyes on the ground. "Robin...and she...had a fight. And it didn't end well," he said simply.

Her hands flew to her mouth, and her heart overflowed with pity for him. He'd only been conscious for a few hours and already he was going to be put through so much. She couldn't hope to understand what thoughts were going through his head, but she did understand the look he was giving her. The plea for advice and consolation.

She bit her lip, trying to think of something to say. It was really hard to be the shoulder to cry on for everybody else, especially since she was so new to this hero business. "Well, I'm sure there's a..."

Suddenly, the door burst open and in strolled Cyborg. Or half of him at least. He had one leg and one arm on the opposite side, but he was supporting himself with a crutch and was sporting a huge grin. "I can't tell you guys how great it feels to be mobile again!" he laughed, then his expression dropped when he saw everyone else's. "What happened?" he asked.

Everybody seemed to be asking that lately, she thought to herself as she tried to come up with words to answer the question. "Well..."

Thankfully, Red X's blunt nature finally came in handy, and he spoke up. "Robin and Raven here had a clash, and the kid lost it. That's all we know."

Cyborg's mouth dropped open, but before he could say anything, Kid Flash ran in as well, grinning also. "We figured out how Beast Boy 'came back to life'!" he blurted out, then immediately stopped. "What happened?" he asked.

Yep, definitely a recurring theme here, she thought as she walked over to his side. "Robin lost it, what else is new? But we all need some good news. What happened to bring him back?"

The signature smile crept back into the speedy hero's face. "Right. I guess we do need something happy, don't we?" After everyone else nodded slowly, he continued. "Well, we found out that one of the agents in that xinothium mixture can cause the heart to stop beating and brain function to shut down, but only for a period of time. See, depending on how much of that agent is in the mixture, it can be lethal, or it can just simulate death."

"So...there's a chance to save Starfire too?" Jinx asked happily.

"What happened to Starfire?" Beast Boy demanded, then blushed when the others glared at him. "Sorry. I know she's gone and all, but Raven wouldn't tell me what happened."

TTTTTT

He walked into the lair sadly, his head hung with shame and guilt and he walked wordlessly through the hallways. He walked right past Wintergreen and straight into the room where he was supposed to meet Slade.

"What was that all-"

"I'm not in the mood!" he shouted before Slade could finish the sentence. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm under a lot of stress right now and shouting is not exactly helping right now, okay? Just be happy that I destroyed the press and the power plant!"

"The Tower still has-"

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't care how bad of an idea it may seem to keep it powered up, but I'm not going to let her waste away in there! I wired the power just so that they can't use communications or anything. What more do you want from me?"

With that, he stormed out before Slade could make any more comments. He knew he was probably going to get chewed out for this later on, but he really needed some time to think right now, and this wasn't going to help any.

"That was an unexpected turn," said a kinder voice behind him. Wintergreen.

He sighed. "Just be glad I'm talking again, okay?"

Wintergreen put a hand on his shoulder gently, and this time he didn't brush it off. For once, it was a comfort to know that someone was thinking about him. "You've been through a lot lately. I understand. But do you really want to punish yourself like this?"

He was taken aback. "What are you talking about? Aren't you happy that I came here, like he is?" he asked, jerking his head in Slade's direction as he spoke.

"I am glad to see you, as your time as Slade's apprentice before was too short for me to try to befriend you, but please take into consideration the fact that you're not yourself. Try and get a grip and get over this sadness. It's only making things worse for you."

"What do you suggest? Every time I see them, the memories come back! How am I supposed to forget what happened if they keep walking back into my life?" he shot back.

He shook his head sadly. "All I'm saying is that you should try to feel more often."

"Well, I can't!" he shouted. "Don't you get it? Back there, when I saw her, just lying there, and realized what I had done, I wanted to cry, but I couldn't! I'm running out of emotions here, and I'm starting to lash out at everybody, even the only people who still believe I can pull through!" His voice dropped to a whisper as he added, "Do you think I'm going insane?"

A hurt look flashed in the butler's eyes as he muttered, "I don't know. I really don't."

"That's what I was afraid of," he sighed. With that, he turned slowly away and started to walk towards his room. Then, he thought once more about it, and turned back. "Do you think I can ever be normal again?"

When the butler seemed to be at a loss for words, he waved his hand in the air. "Forget it. I'm never going to be the same again, and I might as well-"

Suddenly, a hand on his shoulder stopped him, and he turned to see Wintergreen's forlorn expression. "That's right. You are never going to be the same again. These experiences will change you." He paused, then added, "But that doesn't mean that it has to change you in a bad way."

His eyes narrowed a bit, but he caught himself. The butler was only trying to help after all. "Well, I hope you're satisfied that I've actually had a long conversation with you, but I think I'll be going now," he said harshly, turning on his heel and stalking away.

But the butler's next words echoed in his ears as he stormed off. "I am satisfied. You're beginning to feel again, even if it is not the way you wanted it to go."

Exasperated, he slammed the door behind him, and sank backwards against it, running his hands through his ebony hair. How was he supposed to do anything if he was going insane? What was he going to do if he lost it again? And would Raven survive? He didn't know the answers, but he would have gladly traded his life to correct the mistakes he had made. Unfortunately, he couldn't change the past, and now the repurcussions were finally catching up to him.