Chapter 2

Heartbeat

"STARFIRE!"

"Slade... I am going to kill you."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Robin! … If we don't go now then Starfire might not make it!"

"Can you heal her?"

"I need to be alone for this to work properly. I'll tell you when I'm done."

Robin left on the verge of tears but held it in until he entered his room.

Being trained under The Dark Knight's wing was supposed to teach you a lot of things on being a hero: learning from your enemy, never making the same mistake twice, how to fight even when you're on your last breath, never kill anyone even if they're the enemy, and how to control your emotions. This all helped Robin in many different scenarios, but the last piece of information that was the most vital one seemed to always struggle against Robin's brain. It seemed as though it was an ongoing war between his heart and his brain. Before he left Batman, Robin was able to control his emotions properly but after he formed the Teen Titans, his heart told him to forget what Batman told him about his emotions and to enjoy what he had. Little did he know that his heart was in the right place but he could be too stubborn to follow its advice. Now here he was, in his room, letting only a few tears out.

After he saw all of the blood around the fragile girl's body, Robin felt that it was all his fault. He always kept an eye on her whenever they were in battle but the one time he doesn't, Starfire gets hurt. Usually it would be a small cut or a bruise, and although it was hard, he reminded himself that it wasn't his fault. But what had just happened to her was inexcusable. He had let Slade fill his mind and only focused on taking him down. This had almost cost him one of his teammates and to make matters worse, it was the one person he loved most in the world. The one person who could make him smile. The one person who made his life worth living. The one person who brought out the best in him. The one person that made even the worst thing okay. The one person who made his entire world. That one person was Starfire and right now, she could be on the verge of dying.

Robin twisted his head to the side and grimaced at the thought of losing her. She was the glue that held the entire team together and if it wasn't for her then they all wouldn't have met. Without her, then the team would fall apart, they would all go their separate ways and probably never speak again. Robin didn't want to think about what could happen if they lost Starfire and pushed the idea to the dark corners of his mind. But it was still there and he would remember it soon enough but for now, he needed a distraction. Paperwork would probably only remind him of all the times when Starfire would try to bring him out of the room and into the light with her and their friends. Tracking Slade would only bring out the worst of him and he didn't want to stay in his room all day every day yelling at his friends to leave him alone if they tried convincing him to come out of his cave. It seemed like Starfire was the only one he was able to listen to. Staying in his room feeling sorry for himself wouldn't help anyone or solve anything so he did the one thing that he thought of last. Training. Letting out his anger would help him get in shape, think about what to do, and how to control himself. Taking off his damp mask and putting on a fresh dry one and putting on a clean uniform, he walked out of his room and tried to not look at Starfire's door.

Once he got to the gym, Robin subconsciously moved towards the punching bag and let out his anger on it with loud grunts. Who knows how long he was there but when his muscles asked him to quit, he obeyed and took a few deep breaths. Deciding that he needed to be hydrated, Robin walked out of the training room and to the common room.

Robin took out a bottle of water from the refrigerator and after a few gulps, looked at the clock hanging from the wall above the door. 2:28 am. The Boy Wonder had worked out for a good amount of five hours and had now only realized how tired he was.

'Starfire.' Said a voice inside of his head. Without recapping the plastic bottle, he dropped it and ran out of the common room towards the medical bay. Maybe she's better now. Maybe she's awake! As wonderful as these thoughts were, Robin's thoughts from earlier had flooded his mind and he started to run faster. Maybe she's not okay. Maybe Raven couldn't fix her. Maybe she's…

Robin finally made it and bursted in through the doors looking to see someone familiar who was awake. Particularly with auburn hair and orange skin. No one matched the description as he saw Raven on the other side of Starfire still working on her body.

"You're not done yet?" Robin yelled. He knew the empath was doing all she could but the sympathetic side of Robin was replaced by a worried and angry side.

Raven hadn't flinched the slightest bit and continued working on the Tamaranian's injuries which were more than she thought. Thinking of giving Robin a satisfying answer, she replied with "I'm almost done."

"Let me get this straight, you've been in here healing Starfire ever since we came in and she's still not healed? Did you take a break or something because I don't think you're taking this very seriously Raven!" Robin had feared the worst when she said that she was close to finishing. That meant that Starfire's injuries were worse than he led them off to be. Yes, she had looked fragile when he first saw her but Robin refused to look at her once again. Seeing her in a hospital bed would probably be too much for Robin to take in. Knowing that the toughest fighter he knew was in a state like this, he wouldn't be able to contain himself from breaking down in front of Raven and Starfire. Until he knew he was alone with Starfire, he had to act like a leader and she was just another one of his teammates.

Finally looking up at Robin, Raven glared at him and talked in a low and almost deadly voice. "Don't you dare say that I'm not taking the fact that my best friend is here suffering from so many wounds that I can't even count on one hand. No, I haven't taken any breaks because I know she's more important than what I can withstand and I don't need your sympathy so don't give it to me. If you could just wait one more minute then I will be done and the damage will be less than when she first started out with." Raven returned to tending Starfire's ankle making Robin wish he hadn't had said anything. The two stood there in silence and the only thing that could be heard was the heart monitor which gave Robin a reminder that she was still alive but left him in a worried state.

"I'm done. I'll come in later to see how she's doing and tell me if anything's changed." Raven never stopped looking at Starfire when she spoke and started to leave the room but stopped when Robin lightly grabbed her arm. She turned to him but only made contact with his mask.

"Listen, I'm sorry about earlier. I just… you know…" After a small sigh Robin found the words he wanted to say. "I just can't stand seeing her like this. I'm sorry I took it out on you." At that point, he let go of her arm and walked towards the bed where Starfire laid.

Raven continued to stare at the space where Robin's mask once laid but casted her eyes downward and closed them when she let out a small sigh that even Robin wouldn't be able to hear. "She'll get better Robin, don't worry. Starfire's a fighter and she'll prove it once again soon enough." Not giving him a chance to respond, Raven left the room with water in her eyes as the door automatically shut behind her. Why did I just lie? She started the long walk towards her room as she silently cursed herself for telling Robin something that she made sound like a fact.

Robin continued to stare at the Starfire's hand which seemed to be the one part of her body where she seemed untouched. Pulling up a chair and sitting beside her, he noticed that his hand had managed to intertwine itself with Starfire's.

Robin had decided to take a quick check on Starfire, just to see if she was okay, he kept telling himself. Starting from her hand, his gaze started going up until he saw her head. The first thing that Robin was Starfire's closed eyes that held happiness and beauty in them. They were so beautiful and unique that Robin would be able to get lost in her eyes and still be happy.

Now's not the time to do that. As much as he wanted to think of all the times he would see her and her eyes, Robin knew he was acting like she would never come back to him. He knew this wasn't true and she would wake up soon and everything would be alright. He would be the first thing she saw, they'd hug and laugh, he would apologize and she would forgive him. Then if everything went well then they could share a kiss and end up with a happily ever after. Robin let himself put his head down and smile while shaking his head. If only it was that easy.

Returning his attention to the alien, Robin had realized that Starfire looked better now than she did when he first saw her back at the warehouse. He'd have to thank and ask Raven for forgiveness later. As of now, his attention was un-divided and given to Starfire who continued to lie there, sleeping.

Hours went by when someone else had entered the medical bay to check up on Starfire. As soon as his eyes, or eye, saw Starfire, he also saw the scene before him. Robin sitting on a chair next to Starfire with his head laying on the firm mattress but his hands were wrapped around Starfire's one hand. As much as Cyborg didn't want to ruin the moment, he knew that many things were to be checked and he had to see how his little sister was doing. After clearing his throat and calling Robin's name, Robin shot up and look like he didn't get any sleep at all. The Boy Wonder eventually realized that this wasn't a dream and Cyborg was really there looking at him with a smug look on his face with his robotic arms crossed against his chest, Robin finally let Starfire's hand go but felt disappointed at how fast his hands went cold without her warmth.

"Yes?" Trying to act like what Cyborg had just saw never happened, he was still his leader and needed to act professional, Robin couldn't help but make the small question sound like he was irritated.

"Get a good night's sleep?" Muttering a few curses under his breath, Robin responded.

"What do you want Cyborg?" Well that didn't make him seem guilty.

"Listen man, I gotta go take a few tests on Starfire. You know, see if everything's okay with her." At this point, Cyborg's mechanic arms dropped back to his sides as he saw Robin turn his head back towards Starfire to look at her.

Once his eyes returned to Cyborg's, Robin said, "Go ahead." Robin barely moved from his spot, only a few inches.

"I'd hate to say this to you man, but I can't focus on the tests with you breathing down my back and not letting me touch Starfire." Cyborg meant it in the nicest way possible but also tried to tell Robin why he wasn't allowed in the room for the time being. By the look that fell on Robin's face, maybe a lie was a better option.

"Right, I'll let you get to it then." Robin walked past Cyborg but stopped at the door.

He turned around and said, "And Cyborg?" Seeing that he had turned around, Robin continued while trying to make it sound like a threat but came out more like a plea.

"You didn't see anything, right?" Cyborg gave Robin a smile and reassured Robin.

"Right. See ya later."

"Bye." Robin cast one last look at Starfire then turned around and left the medical bay.

About an hour past when Robin continued to be enclosed in his room, with only a dim light in the corner. Is she okay? Should it take this long? Nothing's wrong with her, right?

Robin was interrupted from his thoughts when his communicator started buzzing. He inwardly groaned but was thankful that there was a distraction, good or bad.

"Robin." He came into contact with Cyborg who seemed to be… scared?

"Guys! Ya'll need to come to the medical bay quick!" By the fact that Cyborg said "Guys," Robin assumed that he was contacting Raven and Beastboy at the same time too. Please don't tell me this has to deal with Starfire. Please let this be about anything else.

"Why?" His heart started to pound out of his chest in fear of what Cyborg would say.

"It's Starfire. Her heartbeat… she's flat lining."

It took me awhile to write this chapter, mostly since I thought I had already finished it, but I was working on Save Me and this one. I had to reread the last chapter which I was satisfied with but after reading this chapter, I feel like I lowered it down a level. Most of this chapter was created overnight so let's see how I did and how tired I was! I would very much like to know what you thought so please review, follow, fav and all that other good stuff! I don't own anything but Warner Bros. and DC Comics do!

Always yours,

light is in the dark

P.S. I had some trouble with the grammar in this chapter so please excuse me. I feel off today.