Disclaimer: NO. I still don't own the Teen Titans. If I did, well…there would be a lot more seasons and a lot more Slade. Oh well.

[A/N] Sorry it took me so long to upload this next chapter. On the plus side, I've already started working on the 3rd chapter. Thanks for bearing with me.

Chapter 2

Tires squealed at the T-car slid to a stop outside of the warehouse district by the docks. The titans leapt out and looked around. There were so many warehouses and if you didn't know where you were going, you would be lost in the concrete maze. Fortunately, Robin thought, the intruders managed to set off the alarm and were know exactly where they are.

Robin signaled for his teammates to get to the warehouse and surround it from all sides. He would get inside and scope it out. They nodded and took off. Raven floated off in the direction with a large green bird doing cannonball dives beside her. Starfire streaked through the night sky, leaving traces of a neon green behind her. Cyborg and Robin jogged on foot toward the building, Robin even let Cyborg get slightly ahead of him so he could think.

He could almost see the lightning, hear the screams of his friends, despite the night being calm and clear and quiet. Why did it have to be the docks? He groaned inwardly, and mentally kicked himself. He had to focus! He couldn't be daydreaming. That was a dream. This is real.

He had reached the entrance to the warehouse and could hear faint shifting and moving inside. A quick look around and he could see his team take up their positions behind him. He nodded silently at Cyborg, the closest Titan to his position. Cyborg got the message. He focused his mechanical eye on the building in front of him and used his infrared vision.

There they were, in the middle of the warehouse, Slade-bots. But-wait. What were they doing? His sensors picked up the faint sound of breaking glass, so faint he doubted any of his non-cybernetic companions could hear it. He zoomed in. The Slade-bots were breaking glass plates and vases. The question remained. Why? What was the point?

But before he could think about it any further, Robin shot him a look. The look he knew Robin must have practiced in the mirror a thousand times before he got it just right. Or maybe it was a bat thing. He sighed and answered Robin's questioning gaze.

"Slade-bots." He whispered, as Robin appeared beside him. If he had actual skin it would crawl. How did he always manage to do that?! He noticed Robin's eyes widen through the mask, then narrow with determination. This was not good, Robin always let his emotions control him whenever Slade was even remotely involved. At least this time there were only 10 bots and the Titans could back him up.

Robin noticed Cyborg staring at his face. He hesitated for a second, wondering if Cyborg saw the flash of apprehension in his eyes. But no, of course he didn't, his mask protected him.

"How many?" If Cyborg noticed how long Robin had taken to answer the question, he didn't mention it.

"Ten."

Ten? Why so few? Was this a trap? And so soon after that dream…no..that nightmare. This can't be a coincidence. All his anger, all his guilt surged forward as he recalled the moment Slade had stood over him laughing at his friend's broken bodies.

"But, Rob-" Cyborg began to tell him what the bots were doing, but Robin cut him off, charging from where they knelt in the shadows and vaulting himself through an open window, crying out,

"Titans-GO!"

At the sound of Robin's cry, Raven, Starfire and Beast Boy lunged after him into the building, leaving Cyborg to mumble, "-it's probably a trap…"

He made a quick scan, to settle his growing nerves, and after finding nothing out of the ordinary, followed his teammates. For some reason, he completely missed the single eye staring out at him from across the docks, waiting, biding his time.

The Titans attacked as one, and after a few minutes of starblasts, sonic canons, shouts of "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!!", swipes of Beast Boys large paws, and Robin's bo-staff, the ten robots were reduced to five, one for each Titan.

Beast Boy morphed into a cheetah and leapt after his robot, dodging the energy blasts from the robot's gun. Starfire was shooting green disks of light at hers, saying, "I do not wish to destroy you," but after one of the blasts from the Slade-bots gun connected with her chest, her eyes glowed green and she shouted, "but I will, evil bot of Slade!!!"

Raven and Cyborg used the crates around them to smash into their respective opponents, creating even more shattered glass. Cyborg shouted "Boo-YAH!!" as he finished his and went to help Beast Boy, who was now a warthog. Robin was dodging the energy his Slade-bot was shooting at him, but his foot slipped on a large piece of glass on the floor, giving his enemy the chance to pick something off the floor and race out of the building. Robin growled and picked himself up off the floor, ignoring a sharp pain in his left thigh and followed the robot.

The pain in his thigh shot through his leg as his boots pounded the pavement. He spotted the shadowy figure of the Slade-bot up ahead and had a strange feeling of déjà vu. He almost skidded to a stop when the images of his nightmare not an hour ago flooded back. Can't stop now though, dream or not. He whipped around a corner, a sudden cold wind biting into him. The Slade-bot was stopped with its back to Robin, still cradling whatever it had taken from the warehouse in its limbs. Robin jumped forward, his leg outstretched and landed a solid hit to the back of the robot's head, pushing it down to the ground. He rolled to his feet and pulled his staff out. The Slade-bot didn't get up. It didn't even move. Robin tentatively poked it with his staff, keeping a far enough distance just in case. When the robot made no effort to move, Robin used his staff to flip it over onto its back. He gasped.

"What? What's going on?" He whispered. The Slade-bot had a knife stuck through its chest and a bullet hole in its head. Robin noticed the object the Slade-bot had gone to so much trouble to steal, it was a glass elephant. Well, it used to be. Its legs and trunk were broken off, crushed beneath the weight of the robot.

"This doesn't make sense." Robin pulled out his Titan's communicator to check in when he heard a slow clunking coming from behind him. It sounded like..footsteps?

Back in the warehouse, the rest of the Titans had finished off the four Slade-bots, and were currently feeling proud that they had stopped the menace. But Cyborg felt his uneasy feeling return. He looked around, scanning the wreckage for any signs of other robots. He found nothing, which should have been comforting, but he realized that he couldn't find Robin either, but he did see a smear of red on the warehouse floor. Starfire had noticed as well.

"Friends," She started, floating over to them. "I am greatly pleased that we are triumphant, but where is Robin?"

Cyborg felt the uneasy feeling grow stronger as he began to piece the night together. "Uh-oh. This isn't good."

"WHAT?" Beast Boy shouted, clearly not getting it."What about this isn't good?! We put the bad guys down! We totally rock, dude! And we even beat these guys without Robin going completely nuts on them!"

"Exactly." Raven intoned, her voice lacking emotion as usual.

"Huh?" Beast Boy was still not getting it. Raven sighed loudly, but before she could tear him down, Cyborg responded.

"Think about it, BB. Slade-bots + missing Robin equals what?"

"EEep!" Beast Boy finally got it. "Slade?"

Starfire's eyes burned green. "We must find friend Robin before that doer of evil harms him."

"Agreed. Titans, head out." Cyborg led the way, scanning the surrounding areas for traces of Robin. Raven let her mind travel, searching for emotions in the dark night. Her glowing white eyes widened as she felt a sense of loathing and fear. Robin, and he's not alone.

A chill trickled down Robin's back as the slow thumps stopped right behind him.

"Who's there?" He called out, but he already had an idea of who it was.

The same low chuckle that haunted his sleeping mind came from behind him, and Robin couldn't stop himself from shaking with pent up rage.

"Who else would it be, apprentice?"

"Slade." He growled.

"Ooh. I always knew you were smart." Robin felt a hand lower itself on his head, heavy and warm. He shook it off and flipped over the destroyed bot.

"Why are you here?"

"You always get straight to the point. I like that about you, but you really need to learn to enjoy the game, Robin." His voice was smooth and cold and it sank into Robin like poison, infecting his ears and his mind.

"This is a GAME to you?!"

Slade sighed. "Everything's a game, Robin. You just need to learn-" But Robin didn't hear what he was supposed to learn, because at that moment he struck Slade with his staff, unable to contain his anger anymore.

Slade tutted and blocked. "Well. I had only wanted to talk to you, apprentice, but it seems you are in no mood. I'll just have to punish you for your insolence."

"YOU CAN TRY!!" Robin's hatred of the man was overpowering every sense he had, so it was understandable that he didn't see his friends arriving behind Slade. He kept punching and kicking, striking Slade whenever possible, but his anger blinded him while Slade kept himself cool and methodical. One second Robin was about the bring his staff down on Slade's head, and the next he was flat on his back, the wind knocked out of him and stars spinning around his head.

Slade stood over him and grabbed the front of his uniform, bringing their faces inches apart.

"ROBIN!" Starfire's scream tore through him, and his eyes widened, losing focus. Everything seemed too unreal at the moment. His mind swam with memories and dreams. What was real?

"Starfire…" Robin said weakly.

Slade backhanded him. "Pay attention."

"Get off!" Robin struggled out of his grasp, rolling out of harm's way as his friends raced toward them, green bolts and dark auras preceding them. Slade moved out of the way with little effort.

"Another time, then. We will see each other again soon, apprentice." With that he faded into the background.

"Robin! Are you alright?" Cyborg and the others reached him as he slowly stood up, wincing as his thigh reminded him of his own mortality.

"Yeah. Just peachy."

"Hmm?" Starfire asked, coming over to him. "You are not at all pink and fuzzy."

Beast Boy let out a small giggle, no doubt picturing Robin as a pink, fuzzy peach.

"It was a-" Cyborg didn't get to finish.

"A trap. Yeah. I should have known." His fists were clenched against his side.

"Robin…" Starfire moved closer to him, grabbing his hands in hers, only then noticing the blood on them. "You are injured, friend Robin?" She gasped.

"Huh? Oh. Yeah, I slipped on a piece of glass in the warehouse."

"OH NO!!! Robin has been HURT, friends!!" Starfire shouted dramatically, wringing her hands.

"Star…it's really not that bad…" But Robin didn't get to finish, because at that time Starfire was hugging him fiercely, telling him it was going to be alright. The last thing he heard before his vision went dark was Raven's voice.

"You might want to ease up. He can't breathe…"

From one of his many hideouts in Jump City, the one-eyed villain watched the scene on his hidden cameras with disgust. Robin's friends were dragging his down once more. He would have to fix that.

"The game has just begun."

[A/N] Okay. So there's chapter 2. It's not as good as chapter 1, but hopefully chapter 3 will be much better. Let me know what you think! Thanks to everyone who reviewed: xrockin robin, Bane WolfBlood, TheDentistNemesis, SladinForever, and Sarah.