So I was back on medication. For one week I had to take them everyday, but then when week two started it would be every other day. I guess it wasn't so bad. I felt way better than I had been. My fever and headaches were gone. As far as strength went, I was still a little weak. Trying to create one hundred clones was impossible right now. The most I could make was fifty.

It was a crisp, cold night out as I sat on the hideout roof. So many thoughts were running through my head. Where were they now? Had mom contacted the police to tell them their son was missing? Were they worried about me?

"Thinking about home, apprentice?"

Whipping my head around, I saw Slade standing behind me. I blinked a few times.

Looking away, I said, "As far as I know, my parents aren't looking for me. I check the news on the internet and the reported teens missing site, but I haven't been on it." I paused. "I guess this is my home now."

There was a moment of silence.

"It's time for bed, apprentice," Slade soon said.

I watched him walk off out of the corner of my eye. Looking back out at the sky, I stared at the dark clouds drifting over the full moon. Maybe they never loved me…

I hit my head on the wall of my room. How could I have been thwarted so easily? My left shoulder stung where Cyborg's Sonic Cannon blast hit me. I had bruises on my stomach and claw marks on my chest from Beast Boy's claws. I had even been chocked by Raven's soul claw. I didn't even want to begin with Starfire. My back still felt hot and was burned. They probably would have taken me back to their Tower if Slade hadn't shown up and pulled me out of there. How was I failing? I suppose it was the voices I kept hearing. They distracted me. It was hard attacking one Titan and watching out for another with the voices repeating themselves in my head.

My door slid open. I gritted my teeth in pain when Slade placed a hand to my back.

"I know; I'm fucking up left and right," I said. "Please don't lecture me."

"I only plan on lecturing you about your foul mouth," Slade said. "You're still weak from the withdrawals. I won't hold it against you."

He applied something to my back. Within minutes the burning was gone. He even applied it to my shoulder.

"What are you putting on me anyway?" I asked.

Slade handed me a tube, which I read the label on it. I smirked softly.

"Reminds me of medical Ninjutsu," I said. "I can't perform any of it. At least we've got this, huh?"

Slade took the tube from my hand.

"You should rest," he said, turning his back and walking towards my door.

I chuckled.

"Hehe, rest?" I asked. Slade stopped to look at me over his shoulder. I smirked. "I don't have time for that. I have to train to counter the Titans the next time I confront them." I pointed to my shoulder. "These wounds won't slow me down. I will find out their weaknesses and I will beat them." I performed a few hand signs. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Four clones appeared behind me. "Give them the information they need on each Titan and when they vanish, their knowledge will return to me. It will be like four hours worth of information in only ten minutes."

Slade was silent momentarily.

"I will give you that information after you have gotten some rest," he said.

My eyes narrowed. The clones vanished in a puff of smoke.

"I don't give up and I don't back down," I said with a glare. "That's my Shinobi Way." I paused when Slade didn't say anything. "Can I go and train now?"

Slade turned his head back around. I could sense a smirk on his face. I stepped towards him, thinking he was letting me go to the training room.

"No."

I tripped and fell flat on my face, my arms out in front of me.

Quickly pushing my body up with my hands, I shouted, "Ah come on!" The door slid shut behind Slade. I growled lightly and then pouted. "Okay fine, I will rest and then train; ya happy?!" Standing up, I dusted myself off. "Dammit…"

Taking my sleep pills, I got into bed and fell asleep.

So after breakfast, Slade gave me the files of the Titans. I created four clones and for an hour they read over them thoroughly. Once every bit of information was read, I made them vanish. Soon every weakness of the four remaining Titans were in my head. Once that was taken care of, Robin and I were to fight against Slade. He stood several feet away. Robin was standing behind me on my right. I performed the Summoning Jutsu. My leaf headband appeared in my hand. I quickly tied it to my forehead and then held my hands together to form 'tiger'.

"Can you make clones of me?" Robin asked.

"Yeah. I'll make Ninety-nine clones of you, ninety-nine clones of me," I said. "So what's your plan?"

"Slade won't know which ones are clones and which is you and me," Robin said. "If the clones attack first, we can eventually make a surprise attack from both sides."

"Alright, then what we need to do is stay behind for a little while and let my clones do most of the work," I explained. "Once over half are destroyed, we will make our move. We have to confuse him before striking. I'll take him from the front, you take him from behind. And make sure you move around a bit, especially if he's not looking in our direction."

"Got it."

Nodding, I did quick work with my hands.

"Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" One hundred and ninety-eight clones appeared around Robin and me; half of them were me and half of them were him. I had moved sideways to the left to a different spot when the smoke was hiding us as the clones appeared. I saw Slade take out his bo staff and extend it. "Clones; GO!"

Thirty clones instantly attacked Slade from all sides. Ten aimed punches and twenty aimed kicks at his body. Slade easily destroyed five of them with quick work with his staff. More clones attacked as more were destroyed. Puffs of smoke appeared around them, blinding him a bit. He spun around and flipped clones over his head. Elbowing a few as he dodged them, Slade spun around and knocked five clones back with a roundhouse kick. With his staff, he destroyed a clone by hitting it in the head.

Within seven minutes, Slade had destroyed over one hundred clones. He had even jumped in to attack the next group of clones that were trying to attack him from the front. Robin and I were now mixed with the clones to the point where I didn't know which was my real comrade. I had to pay close attention if the both of us were to attack him at the same time.

Slade spun around to destroy ten clones. With his back to me, I ran towards him, weaving in and out of clones quickly. Three clones attacked from the front and both sides. Slade destroyed the one in front then the one on his left. As he was getting ready to destroy the one on his right, I slid right by him, placed my hand down, and then kicked upward. The toes of my shoe zoomed right by his masked face. I back flipped over onto my feet, sliding back. Ten more clones attacked him then, hopefully able to distract him. Soon only a few Robin clones remained. I saw one nod to me, which I safely assumed was the real Robin. Knowing our location worked out perfectly.

Soon only seven clones remained. Two attacked and were quickly destroyed. With Robin in front of Slade and me behind, the last five clones attacked, two getting destroyed quickly. That's when Robin and I leapt into action. Slade spun around to destroy the last three clones. I aimed a punch for the back of his head while Robin aimed a kick for his chest. Tossing the staff high into the air, Slade turned and grabbed my fist with his left hand and grabbed Robin's leg with his right. He easily threw Robin off balance, caught the staff, and then knocked the end into my chest. We both crashed into the floor.

Rolling over backwards, I got to my feet, one hand to the floor, and quickly threw my body at Slade. He stepped back and then kneed me in the gut. As I fell backwards, Slade quickly lifted his leg and slammed it right into my ribcage. I crashed into the floor on my back, feeling a stinging pain within my torso as I breathed heavily.

"It looks like I win," Slade said.

I growled before relaxing my body.

"Y-Yeah, yeah, don't gloat," I said, my voice raspy. "But did you have to crush my w-windpipe?"

Placing a hand to my chest, I sat up.

"Whether or not I did, you still have an assignment tonight," Slade said. "There is a device with electricity coursing through its components. It can send five thousand volts of electricity through one's body, killing the victim instantly. I want it by ten sharp."

I nodded, wincing slightly.

"Y-Yes, Slade-sama," I wheezed out. Slade turned around and left. Robin glared at me. "What?" Shaking his head, Robin also left. I snorted after him. "Don't keep giving me that look."

Sighing, I left to return to my room for a hot shower. After waiting until nine-ten, I took off into the city to get that device. This time, if the Titans showed up, I would be ready.

"You really need to stop this kid!" Cyborg shouted.

I jumped away from the sonic blast and then attacked Beast Boy. I lashed out at him with my staff. He quickly turned into a bee and flew away from it. Starfire appeared in his place and fired her Starbolts at me. I stepped back several times to avoid them. She then flew down towards me, her hand encased in her green energy. Putting my staff away quickly, I created a clone and jumped onto its back as it crouched. Aerial flipping over Starfire, I formed fire in my hand and then threw it at her. Landing, I quickly spun around and ducked from Raven's black-encased punch. Forming a Chakra-covered fist, I aimed at her stomach.

"GAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Blood dripped heavily down my arm and side from my collarbone. Black tendrils quickly yanked out of my flesh. I stepped back and placed a hand to it. Luckily my collarbone hadn't shattered. I panted at her. Starfire and Beast Boy landed behind me while Cyborg stood with Raven in front.

"Dude, you are under arrest," Beast Boy said. "Either you come quietly or we'll have to get rougher."

I tried to lift my right arm so that I could perform the Shadow Clone technique, but it sheared in pain. My right eye was half closed. Exhaustion was slowly setting in. And the voices, they kept getting louder and louder.

'Fight back apprentice.'

Growling, I lifted my shaking arm and attempted to make clones. Pain pulsed through my chest. I closed my eyes in pain, my muscles freezing up on me.

"Friend Cyborg, he does not look so good," Starfire said. My arms fell to hang limp at my sides. "He is hurt and needs the medical attention. Why do we not just take him to the Tower, heal his wounds, and then take him to the jail?"

Opening my eyes, I looked at Raven. We stared straight into each other's eyes. As if she saw something in them, she nodded in agreement.

"Starfire is right," she said, stepping forward. I gritted my teeth and glared at her. "Stop fighting and we'll help you."

I growled.

"I don't n-need your help." Quickly lifting my hands, I did quick work with the signs. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Twenty clones appeared, ten in front, ten behind. They instantly attacked the Titans. Putting pressure on my bleeding collarbone, I gripped my shoulder with my fingers and then ran to the right. I ran towards the edge of the roof and quickly jumped off. Feeling weak, I slowly closed my eyes and then fell limp. My body suddenly pelted down as though I were nothing but a heavy rock. I soon felt myself falling with my back to the ground.

My eyes slowly opened part way. I was lying up against a large, strong body, my arms at my sides. I tried to form words in my weakened state.

"S-S-Slade-s-sama?"

"Shh, you're alright now apprentice," Slade said. "There's no need to speak. You are in pain and tired. The Titans are preoccupied right now against my Slade-bots. We'll return to the hideout soon. You did an excellent job." Slade searched through my belt for a few seconds before pulling out the weapon I had been able to steal. There was a pause. "Good, everything's intact." After putting the electric charging beam in his own belt, Slade started to stand, lifting me up in his arms, one under my knees and the other behind my back. I growled in pain as my hurt arm flopped down onto my side. "You should rest on the way."

I nodded weakly.

"Yes, S-Slade-sama."

Closing my eyes, I let exhaustion put me into a much needed deep sleep.

"Hey," Robin said.

I was in the training room, punching the punching bag with my left fist only. My right arm was still out of commission and in pain.

"What…do you…want?" I asked, punching the bag with each word.

"Just wanted to see how you were doing after your fight with the Titans two nights ago," Robin said. "I haven't been able to see you since you've been in the infirmary. I've been kind of worried about you." Robin paused. I continued what I was doing, not really listening to him. I still had to get stronger before I faced the Titans again. "Um…maybe you should stop for a while."

I growled behind clenched teeth.

"Shut up…Robin. I…need to…push…myself…harder so that I…don't…lose to the…Titans again."

I spun around and kicked the punching bag. I started punching it again afterward.

"Take a short break at least," Robin said. "You wouldn't want-aaaah!"

Robin fell to the floor after I turned around abruptly and punched him in the face. I growled angrily at him. When I saw the blood coming out his nose, I stopped breathing for a few seconds. He sat up and placed his arm to it.

"Robin, I'm so sorry," I said. "Are you okay?"

"No, it's okay," Robin said, clearly not mad. "You didn't mean to. It was just an accident."

I gave him a beaten puppy look.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be okay; promise," Robin said wiping his nose again and standing.

"I really am sorry," I said. "It's just…you shouldn't distract me like that."

Robin wiped his nose one last time, the blood no longer flowing.

"I'll remember that in the future," he said. We were silent momentarily. "I realize you have been acting strange since you got back on your medication. Is something wrong?"

I blinked in surprise. Robin sound genuinely worried. I shook my head.

"I've been the same way since I first started on them," I said. "There's nothing different."

Robin was clearly unconvinced. He could tell I was lying I guess.

"Those pills…they do something to you, don't they?" he asked. "They affect you in some way."

I scratched my left temple.

"W-Well, since I came back from Oregon, when I'm fighting the Titans, I hear whispered voices in my head," I said. "I don't think they're from my meds. I-I don't know."

Robin gave me a sympathetic look.

"Do you miss them?" he asked.

I blinked in confusion.

"Miss who?"

"Your friends."

I glared at him then.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I said defiantly.

Robin's eyes narrowed slightly in sympathy.

"Stop denying it, Rocky," he said. "You miss Cora, Sheilee, Alan, and Lea. Admit it."

I growled at him.

"I don't miss those liars," I said angrily.

Robin closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"You're the liar Rocky," he said, looking at me, his eyes now filled with determination to get me to understand and accept. "You're lying to yourself. You miss them and you know it." My eyes widened slightly. Robin gave me a confused look. "What is it?" I swallowed hard. Eyes widening slightly, Robin slowly looked over his shoulder and saw Slade standing directly behind him, his eye narrowed. I back flipped away several times before landing in a crouch, one hand on the floor. Robin turned around and carefully backed away. "Slade, I-"

I tripped and fell when Slade moved quickly, punching Robin harshly in the stomach. Falling to his knees, I heard him cough up blood. I growled lightly at them, the voices entering my head. Slade stood on Robin's left side, staring ahead.

"Robin, why are you filling Rocky's head with lies?" he asked.

Swallowing, I slowly started to get to my feet.

"Th-They're not…lies," Robin breathed out.

Slade snorted. I was glaring at them.

"If he says he doesn't miss those so-called friends, then he's telling the truth. Do you understand?"

Robin growled.

"Y-Yes sir."

Crouching beside him, Slade gripped Robin by the throat and slowly lifted him off the floor, standing up. I growled again, the voices getting louder. I couldn't see Slade's face, seeing as the back of Robin's head got in the way. I heard him gasping and growling for breath.

"I think it's about time you start calling me master, Robin," Slade said. Letting go of Robin's throat, he quickly punched him in the chest. I stepped back when he crashed into the floor. He curled up into a weak ball, clutching at his chest and stomach. "I wouldn't want to damage you beyond repair."

"I-It's a little…l-late for that," Robin said, still trying to catch his breath. He slowly pushed himself to his knees. "You've a-already broken Rocky beyond repair. He's your perfect little apprentice, isn't he, master?"

Something snapped in the back of my mind.

'Wh-What?'

Robin cried out when Slade kneed him in the chin. He fell back, crashing into the floor. My hands slowly curled into very tight fists.

"Soon it will be too late for you, Robin," Slade said, stepping up to his right side. Robin growled when he placed his foot on his throat and pressed down. "Your life is still in my hands. And your friends have the same fate."

My knuckles cracked, I had my hands clenched so hard. Chakra formed around my right fist. I growled at them.

"I AM NOT BROKEN!"

Vanishing, I reappeared in the air in front of Slade. He turned to look at me just in time for my fist to connect with his masked face. He flew backwards across the floor, sliding to a halt a few feet away. I landed next to Robin in a crouch. Pushing quickly off the floor, I ran towards him. Jumping high into the air, more Chakra formed around my fist. I aimed my fist right at Slade's stomach. He quickly rolled over backwards to dodge. Chunks of metal broke off as my fist crashed right through, pieces flying past my body. I was about to push off the floor to attack Slade again, who was in a crouch in front of me, when my muscles froze up. I heard a loud, painful ringing in my ears then. Crying out, I fell to the floor, clutching at my head. I continued to scream in pain.

"Rocky! Stop!" Robin shouted.

"I am not broken! Shut up! Shut the fuck up!"

I suddenly felt large hands gripping my shoulders tightly.

"Apprentice, calm down," Slade said. I could hardly hear his voice because of the horrible ringing. "Rocky stop this now." I couldn't; the pain was still there. Slade shaking my shoulders next wasn't helping either. "Stop this now apprentice! You must listen to me!"

The ringing suddenly stopped. I was breathing heavily. Slowly lowering my arms, I placed my hands on the floor, keeping my body up. I panted down at the floor, sweat dripping down my forehead and off my chin. Slade's grip lessened slightly. I swallowed hard about a minute later, my breath mostly regained. Then, out of nowhere, I felt like my insides had been sliced open. I felt blood coming out of my ears and nose. Heaving, I vomited blood.

"S-Slade, do something!" Robin shouted.

My eyes rolled up into the back of my head. Falling over sideways, I collapsed straight into unconsciousness.