A/N: For Shiva the Sarcastic and the others that read this fic ... Before reading this part I must remind you that you probably missed the last chapter that I uploaded this Saturday ... Just a reminder.

Part 4 – Doubt? Betrayal? Double Cross?

Rage entered Starfire's room quietly, looking at his friend and pondering. The last few months he observed how Robin and Starfire's relationship went on and even spoke with both of them from time to time when he wasn't working out, thus getting to know them better.

When he heard that Robin tried to hurt Starfire he was very curious. He came to know Robin as a good leader, as a true gentleman when it came to his girlfriend, and that he would never lay a finger on her, let alone hurt her. What intrigued him even more was the fact that he was sure that Starfire would never do anything to upset Robin this much. During their conversations Rage got to know how Starfire really was. Kind, gentle, loving, peaceful, always in a good disposition, always eager to help her friends, and more importantly, always thinking about Robin and trying to make him enjoy life.

Starfire angering Robin or Robin hurting Starfire for no apparent reason, just didn't make any sense.

"Oh come on!" Rage thought to him self observing his friend as she was crying "Starfire isn't capable of annoying Robin that bad. On the other hand, Robin wouldn't attack her for no reason now ... would he?"

As he walked towards his friend he thought he had to get to the bottom of this so that he could help both of them. Seeing Starfire in despair and crying heart out wasn't something he really enjoyed, in fact, it was very disturbing.

He sat down next to her and taped her on the shoulder.

"Starfire ... Star" he called out "It's me, Rage, your friend".

Starfire turned around and saw her friend who was visibly intrigued by her attitude. She was a little startled by his appearance in the dark but soon came to her senses.

"Rage?" she asked, choking on her tears "Wha-What are you doing here? Please do not shout at me too, I am not guilty of anything".

After the way Robin acted, Starfire thought that the stress that resulted from his work wasn't enough to make him that angry and tell her what he just did. She thought that she had done something during the last weeks that might have upset him but she didn't know what. Because of this she became paranoid and when she heard Rage she thought that she had done something wrong that upset him as well.

"No Starfire ..." Rage replied with a calm voice and a bit surprised of what she just said "I am not here to shout at you, I am here to help you".

"Help me? Why do you wish to help me? After all, I have probably caused a lot of misfortune by talking to Robin, why would you wish to help someone who has done something wrong?"she asked with low self esteem.

Rage slightly touched her cheek and slowly moved her face towards his. "You must not ask why Star, you have done nothing to me or to the others" he said trying to calm her down "Remember when I acted wrong with Raven and Beast Boy a while ago?"

"Yes, I do" she replied breathing in heavily.

"Well then, do you remember that you were the one that talked to me like a friend when I actually deserved to be kicked out? You came to me and gave me support when in fact I deserved to be yelled at. You where the one that understood me and I then pledged to be a true friend and also help you when you are in need. I kept my promise, that is why I am here, to help you in your time of crisis".

Starfire stopped crying and the remaining tears fell to the ground like river stones. "I am most thankful for your help friend Rage, but I do not think that you can help me. What has happened I am afraid is beyond repair".

"I understand that Robin hurt you" Rage replied "But exactly what happened? I have known you two for some time now and never have I ever seen you argue. In fact, I didn't even know you had problems".

"We did not have problems. I ... I must have done something to greatly anger him, otherwise I can not explain his behavior"she said.

"What could you have possibly done? These last few weeks he's been isolating himself in his room, so seeing how you two didn't have a lot of contact lately how is it possible for you to do something wrong? It just doesn't make any sense".

"Neither does Robin's reaction" replied Starfire "You see, after I have spoken to Raven I wanted to help Robin rest so I have left towards his room. When I arrived there, Robin was sleeping in an uncomfortable position so I tried to take him to bed, but contrary to my peaceful intention when he woke up ... he tried to suffocate me - "

"Robin did that?" interrupted Rage.

"Yes, and he thought I was Slade too, but after noticing who it really was he was suffocating he let go, but even so he didn't stop, he made it seem as if I was the one to blame for how he reacted. He said he cared more about his work then he cared about us ... He cares more for his work the he cares about me" concluded Starfire who sounded like she had forgotten and now remembered the whole incident.

When she said the last sentence she buried her head in her chest and her voice was rather low. She felt like crying wouldn't solve anything but she didn't know what to do to make things better.

"And what happened next?" asked Rage

"Well, after he yelled at me I gave him a slap over the cheek. I do not understand why I have reacted that way but more than surely I have acted wrong. And now I am here, knowing not what I must do to repair the damage that I have caused".

Rage placed his palm under his friends chin and lifted her head up.

"Look Star, I understand what you might be feeling right now. You feel betrayed and blame yourself for what happened but believe me you are not the one to blame, and neither is Robin".

Starfire didn't understand what Rage just said and looked at him curiously. This last sentence confused her and she wanted to know what her friend meant.

"What do you mean by saying that neither one of us is to blame for what has happened. We were the only ones that had partaken in the arguing, one of us must surely be the one to blame" replied Starfire.

"I knew I should have been more precise to details when explaining things" said Rage making a note to himself "It is quite easy actually, you did not have any face to face contact with Robin these last three weeks so it is impossible for you to have done something wrong towards him. So ... you are clearly not the one to blame".

"But you have stated that neither I nor Robin are to blame, yet, from what you have just said, it would mean that Robin is the one to blame. I'm confused".

"Well technically Robin is the one to blame, but due to the circumstances you can't blame him for how he behaved".

"I am still confused" said Starfire "What circumstances are you referring to?"

"What I am trying to say is that all of this obsessive work has taken it's toul and Robin can't react normal when he is disturbed, and I don't mean to be rude, but I understand him".

"So you are saying that the way he reacted is somehow ... normal?"

"Yes" replied Rage "It is in a way normal, and you probably ask yourself why. Well I will tell you. Robin has an obsession with this Slade character, right? Right! From what I have heard he even came back from the dead and the fact that he never stopped him, and that now Slade has resurfaced, is making Robin believe that he is a weakling and that he is incapable of getting rid of this one villain, so he wants to find him and finish him off".

"I see ..." said Starfire who was following Rage word by word.

"So, by finishing him off Robin will be able to look up to himself and become more confident. Also, he is ashamed. He is thinking that his own team considers him a failure of a man and this mounts up to the stress he has already acquired. And further more, he wants to keep everyone safe".

"But why did you say that you consider his behavior normal?"

"Simple. He is the leader of the team, a leader always wants his team to be safe and Robin thinks that the only way to keep all of us safe, and especially you, is to find this Slade character and finish him once and for all, but this requires work, a lot of work, and during the work process he can only focus on one thing and that is Slade. The stress that is coming from the fact that Robin never stopped his adversary and from the fact that Slade has threatened us, and from the fact that he can't find him is all directed into his work. Sum up the stress factors, add work and frustration, multiply it with personal feelings and paranoid delusions and you get a very explosive and instable mixture that has become Robin's behavior. So when you tried to help him he exploded because he was used to work and his reaction, even it is not normal for us, is very normal to him."

"How are you sure that this is the cause of Robin's unfamiliar behavior?" asked Starfire suspiciously "You also have not spoken to him these last weeks, how do you know these things?"

"Let us just say that I have also been through these types of things my self and I know how it is to be obsessed with someone, or something. People with obsessions always act the same, and let me tell you, Robin is going to be okay, I guarantee it"

"But this obsession is not good for him, he will just continue to act like this until he will, as you say, crack".

Rage raised an eye brow and smiled, as if he knew something Starfire didn't.

"Don't be so sure. When Raven left your room she was really angry and said she was going to teach him a lesson. And not that I know Raven very well, but I have seen her before and I am sure she will make Robin open up his eyes and see things clearly ... either by talking to him, or by using force, but the fact is that she will make him see things through clearly".

Starfire now understood what Rage meant but still had doubts and felt strange.

"I still feel doubtful, but it is probably only because I was worried"

"I know what you mean, but rest assure, Robin will be just fine".

Starfire now felt much better ... in a way. Rage reassured her everything was going to be fine and she trusted him. The strange thing was that she never thought of Rage of being so understanding. She always saw him as the secluded and secretous new member of the team, but this conversation made her change her opinion.

"I am most thankful for your support Rage, I do not know how to repay you".

"Repay me?" replied Rage chuckling "Starfire we are friends, you do not have to repay me in anyway. After all, you once helped me, and as a friend I felt I had to help you as well, that's what friends are for aren't they? And remember, if you ever have any problems, you can always count on me for support. I'll always be here for you ... "

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After Raven left, Robin couldn't get up because of the pain from his friends blows. He laid there on his floor trying to get up but instead he was stumbling without any equilibrium and the stress that mounted up combined with the anger of the two interruptions that occurred made him thirsty for revenge.

"Stupid Raven, taking Starfire's side" thought Robin "Don't they understand that Slade is dangerous? How do they expect me to find him if I don't work? And what the heck is up with Starfire coming here and then sicking Raven on me? They're just fools! What did I do to deserve this? After all, all I'm trying to do is keep them safe, but Starfire just has to come in here and ruin everything ... I should go and teach her a lesson about ..."

All of the sudden, he stopped and realized what he was mentally saying. The way he was thinking startled even him, but what scared him the most was what he was about to say about Starfire.

"What the hell am I thinking?" said Robin to himself out loud continuing this monolog in his mind "How could've I acted this way? She came here to help me and I treated her like garbage. Why did I even try and choke her? Why did I scream at her? I know work is important but by trying to protect her I'm actually hurting her. And if that was what Star felt, when Raven choked me ... Wait a minute, she said it hurt Star even more then it hurt me. Oh my God, she's right! What's happening to me? Why am I acting this way?"

Robin stood up and looked around his room. He noticed all the work he's been doing, all the papers, all the research and all the gadgets he had layering around. He looked all around the room but when he turned to his right he saw his reflection in his wardrobe window. He walked towards it and gazed at his reflection, noticing his swollen up features.

"And for what? For what all of this research if you can't even find Slade? For what Richard? For what all this secrecy about your work if you end up being hated by your own friends? For what all this 'trying to keep the team safe' routine if all you're doing is ignoring them? And most of all, for what reason are you hiding from Starfire? Don't you realize that the only thing you are doing is making her drift away from you? ... She'll hate you, she already hates you, the way you acted has no excuse. She is the one you love, and at the same time you are the one that's pushing her away. You have no control over yourself and push people away from you when it comes to achieving your own personal goals. You have no control over yourself ... and you call yourself a leader. You can't even keep someone close to you ..." a voice that seemed to be Robin's conscience said.

He kept looking at his reflection and listened to what the voice in his head was saying. After a while, he just stood there looking at himself and thought what a complete failure he was becoming by trying to succeed in catching Slade, but the voice in his head again made herself present.

"You lost Starfire, you can't have her back, she's probably thinking right now with whom to replace you"

Intuition. That's what Robin thought when he heard the last sentence and realized that what it was saying was partially, if not completely true. He had a vision of Starfire with another man and that freaked him out. He behaved awful towards her but he still loved her and the thought of her seeing someone else was too much for him to bare.

He ran out of his room to go and apologize to Starfire for what he has done and beg her for forgiveness. He knew it wasn't going to be easy but as long as he was going to be sincere he was sure that she would believe him.

"It's not too late yet" he thought as he ran down the hallway.

When he came near her room he noticed that the door was open and heard Starfire speaking to someone. At first, he thought it was Raven but as he approached, he realized that the voice was more masculine. He got nearer and nearer trying to make out who's voice it was.

"Cyborg?" Robin asked himself "No, if he's asleep he's only getting up because of his timer, the alarm or a nightmare, but not by noise! Beast Boy? It can't be, he left with Raven, and even so, the voice is too deep for Beast Boy".

By the process of elimination the only one that could have been in the room with Starfire was Rage. He was now right next to her door and listening to what they were talking. He knew it was Rage when he heard the way he talked and his accent.

"Rage? What's he doing here? He said he didn't have time for girls ...Wait! No ... He wouldn't do it, would he? And Starfire would never double cross me ..." thought Robin to himself suspiciously and trying to make out the noises that were coming from inside.

He listened carefully and even took a small peak trying not to be discovered.

" ... I'll always be here for you" said Rage.

"Now what's that suppose to mean?" said Robin quietly as not to make him self heard. He continued listening and looking, and noticed Starfire pulling herself closer to Rage. "What is she doing?" he again asked himself "She can't fall for stuff like that ... could she? Or is she just trying to get back at me? Or does she really like him?".

"Rage, I wish to offer you something special. Something that I only give to those who are most special to me" said Starfire from inside.

"Most special to her? I'm suppose to be the one that's most special to her" thought Robin as he observed with a high interest the scene in front of him.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Rage.

"This ..." replied Starfire while leaning in towards him.