Hey, what's up? New chapter up today, yay! I might actually get the third one up tomorrow! No guarentees.

Again I say, this chapter might sound very familiar to you (like The Beginning of The End, which is an awesome story by Sta-R-obin) but after this chapter it'll get better. Sorry again!

LOL to xKuroHinotex...there are a whole lotta hot guys in this chapter (just for you).

Disclaimer: I don't own TT.

Flashback

Cyborg had hurried Starfire back to the Tower with Beast Boy and Raven while Robin waited impatiently for the authorities to show up and put the now unconscious Slade in jail. After the attempt on Starfire's life, and his life, Robin had lost all control, battering Slade until Beast Boy finally worked up the courage to hold him back.

Funnily enough, there was no blood. None at all. Starfire had had no wounds, she was merely knocked out. Robin had a sinking feeling about it, remembering the last time his friends had been hit with lasers that left no marks. He could only hope that Cyborg would be able to destroy any probes that he might have found when checking her status.

When he'd made sure Slade was under maximum security, he made his way back to the Tower, hoping against hope for good news. His prayers were not answered. Raven approached, her leg now bandaged, but still looking pale.

"Starfire...she..." Robin had grabbed the empath's shoulders, nearly starting to shake her.

"She's alive, right? She's got to be okay!" he yelled, his voice hoarse. Raven closed her eyes and gulped.

"She's alive, Robin." Robin let go. "The thing is, Slade didn't try to kill her. He was messing with her mind."

Robin gave Raven a strange look. "What...what do you mean?" Raven took a deep breath, wondering why on Earth Beast Boy and Cyborg had picked her to do this job. Robin looked ready to kill.

"Robin...she's suicidal."

End Flashback

Robin was sitting in his room, anxiously waiting for five p.m, when he would be able to visit Slade, and...er, question him. It was the day after that fateful fight. Starfire had already tried to kill herself three times, with various equipment she'd found around the infirmary, and Cyborg, Raven, and Beast Boy had stopped her. Cyborg had had to remove all sharp objects unless he was using them, and keep all pills out of her reach. The pain was evident on their faces when they came out of the infirmary to take a break. Robin didn't even dare go see her. He didn't know if he'd be able to.

Five! He jumped into the garage and on to the R-cycle, kicking off and riding away from the Tower. It's been so...closed in there. He couldn't even explain it. It was like Starfire had already died, but ten times worse. Starfire, the happy, bubbly princess, was trying to take her own life. It was a fact too horrible to consider.

The police chief nodded when he entered the jail. He'd been waiting for Robin, and they'd do the questioning together. Robin nodded back as greeting, following the man. He was led to a completely soundproof room, with a single glass window on one side. The inside was bare except for a table and three chairs, one of which was taken by Slade. The crime fighters stopped outside the room. "So how're we gonna do this? Good cop, bad cop?" asked the police chief in his Southern drawl.

"No. Slade's not like that. Straightforward questions, that's all. C'mon." They entered.

Robin nearly gasped, though he should have expected the authorities wouldn't allow Slade to keep his mask on once he was captured. The face looked strangely familiar, though an eyepatch remained on his left eye. "Hello Robin, officer," Slade greeted, smirking. Robin could see his smirk now. He didn't like it.

"Slade," he spat. "We're getting straight to the point. What have you done to Starfire?" The police chief was taken aback. He had thought the alien princess was dead, like the rest of the city thought. Slade just smiled serenely.

"Honestly, Robin, I'm not sure. See, the...poison, if you will, was meant for you. For a human body. Your brain would slowly start to malfunction on contact, and within three days, you would be dead. However, as Starfire is an alien, I am not exactly sure what is to happen to her. Maybe it will be quicker." Slade's one eye gleamed maliciously at the look on Robin's face. "So sad, isn't it?"

"Shut up, you sick--" The police chief stopped Robin.

"We need the cure," he stated firmly. Slade chuckled.

"What makes you think I would give it to you?"

The officer sighed exasperatedly. "You are under the threat of death. You have nothing to lose. You could commit one act of kindness before you die, or you can go and burn in hell. Make your choice." Again, Slade chuckled.

"My dear officer, once you've gone as far as I have into villainy, burning in hell hardly seems like a threat anymore."

Robin and the officer questioned him further, but Slade stayed silent. It was over. The two stepped out of the room. "I'll be back tomorrow," Robin told the chief. "You don't have to come, but post officers outside the room in case things get messy." The man nodded, shaking hands with Robin before walking away, and leaving the Boy Wonder to his misery.

"She's not any better," Beast Boy reported somberly. "Cyborg had to t-tie her down." Robin closed his eyes for a minute, as though this was a nightmare and he would wake up any time now. He opened them. No change. Beast Boy still looked like he was about to start bawling at any minute. Robin sure felt that way.

But he couldn't. He had to be in control. He was the fearless leader. They looked up to him, respected him. He couldn't let his team down. "I'm going to go see her," he announced, sounding a lot more confident than he felt. Beast Boy's eyes widened.

"Dude...are you sure you can handle it? You won't break down or anything, right?" So much for respect.

"I'll be fine. Let's just go." How he wished he'd never said that.

Beast Boy opened the door to the infirmary, and Robin nearly ran the other way, never to look back. Starfire was thrashing against her bonds, practially foaming at the mouth, and screaming incoherantly in Tamaranian. She hadn't been 'tied' down, Cyborg had literally made a cage for her on the bed, and her strength seemed to be failing. He should have known then...but he didn't. He ignored the fact, and concentrated on her glowing green eyes, her pale skin, her wild manner. Beast Boy looked away, but Robin could not. She stopped for aminute, and her eyes faded back to their normal color.

"Robin," she croaked. Robin's heart started to beat faster, and adrenaline pumped through him. He forced himself to stay in the same spot. "Robin, please...let me end it. Let me die! I want to go! Kill me!"

"No," he whispered before bolting. He couldn't stay there. He couldn't see her like that. He could still hear her cries of misery, probably because she thought her best friend ha deserted her.

Robin paused once he got to the living room, leaning against the wall and panting. Beast Boy had followed him, and he looked strangely excited. "Robin! That was the first time she's been quiet since Cyborg strapped her to the bed! It's a miracle!" He waved his hands agitatedly in the air, but Robin shook his head.

"No. It's not a miracle. How can you--how do you--you see her like that..." Tears were actually running down his cheeks, but he was facing away from Beast Boy, so the changeling couldn't see. Beast Boy laid a hand on Robin's shoulder, and it calmed him down a bit.

"Hey. I'll get Cyborg to give you some sleeping pills, or you won't go to sleep tonight, trust me. Just don't pull a Starfire and take too much, please?" Robin nodded, sliding down the wall. This was worse than his worst nightmares. Sleeping would be a relief.

The next morning was no different. Starfire had been yelling and screaming all night, and if it weren't for the sleeping pills, Robin would have never drifted off.

He was going to the police station to question Slade again, and this time Slade couldn't refuse. He just couldn't. Starfire's life depended on it.

Robin felt Cyborg's hand tapping him on the head. Annoyed, he turned around to see his three fidgeting friends. "What?"

"Listen, Rob, the three of us were talking yesterday, and BB mentioned that you went to see Star." Beast Boy smiled nervously, and Robin tried to act calm.

"Yeah. So?"

"Well, BB also said that when you went in, Star was all calm and stuff. She wasn't trying to break free at all. We think...well, we think you might be able to save her. Wait." Robin had opened his mouth to speak, but Cyborg held up his hands. "The thing is, though, you've got to make her happy." Robin now had a vague idea of where this was going.

"And that means...?"

"Robin, it means it's time to stop acting like you've locked yourself in a box. I may not have a choice, but you sure do. If there was any perfect moment to show Starfire you care, this would be it. It could quite possibly save her life," Raven snapped. A huge crack appeared in the T.V, and Beast Boy whimpered.

Robin gaped, trying to figure out something to say. Automatically, his brain shaped the words. "No. First of all, there is absolutely nothing there. You're crazy if you think there is. I may be her best friend, and that's all. Secondly, I'm never going in there again. Ever. Thirdly, I'm going to go question Slade right now. He's the one who shot her, and he should be the one with the cure. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

It was a relief to get on his motorcycle and just ride away. Away from Starfire. That was a first. Usually he'd do almost anything to be near her. His thoughts occupied him the entire way to the same interrogation room as yesterday. Slade was already there, smirking, as usual.

"Hello Robin. Feeling a little down?"

"Shut up. I'm not wasting any time. Give me the cure." Slade leaned back in his chair, looking bored.

"Now, Robin, what makes you think I would do that? I think you know enough about me to believe that I have no pity for you or your friends." Robin was hoping he'd say that. He had an offer Slade couldn't refuse. That was why he hadn't wanted a police officer in the room with him. He was going to bend the rules a little bit.

"This is cold-blooded murder, Slade. You're getting the electric chair. Either that or life in jail. You give me the cure though, and I'll cut down your sentence. All of your other crimes won't matter, and you'll only get twenty years or so in jail. Give me the cure, and you'll be free again."

"Only to have you look for me? My dear boy, I may have said before that you and I are very much alike. A lie. I am not afraid of death. When you've seen the things I've seen, you woudn't be either. Shooting your friend was nothing. Huge massacres and burning bodies, still screaming, that would be something. I, unlike you, have no conscience. It was removed years ago." An almost imaginary shadow crossed over Slade's eyes. "Torn out by the throat."

It clicked in Robin's mind. "Jericho. You...you're his..."

"Father, yes. I may have been a villain before then, but after..." Slade laughed coldly. "You see, Robin, I have no qualms about dying. I could not care less if I took your friend with me. At least no one will have to endure those star bolts of hers again."

It took every ounce of Robin's pride not to drop to his knees and beg. "Slade..."

Slade roared with laughter. "Who would have thought? The great Robin, the Boy Wonder, pleading with me to save the life of his girlfriend. It is about time you realized, Robin, that life isn't always fair. Even if I had a cure, I wouldn't give it to you."

Robin couldn't help but gasp as he realized how completely evil this man was. "You mean..."

"That's right, my dear boy. I never made one."

Slade's being mean...so what else is new?

Gah! I'm allergic to mosquito bites and I got one yesterday. Which is why I'm sitting at home, miserable.

Please review!