Chapter 13-Sick

"Finally home." Cyborg announced as their ship came to a stop in the hangar. Robin swallowed hard and remained quiet. He hadn't managed to come up with a solid plan about all of this and realized the same fear he felt back on Blackfire's ship as well as on Rann was sneaking up on him again. He knew he had to face this though and there was no way out. It was still night when they returned, close to 3 a.m. actually. The Tower was dark as they made their way through quietly. Robin fought the urge to run to his room to grab a clean suit and mask before meeting this Grand Physician who was going to determine so much of his future. They heard a yell in the main room and knew it was definitely Beast boy.

"No! You can't do that!" They all hurried to their friend's aid and stopped in shock once the lights were turned on. "Seriously? Are you kidding me? You can't eat it that way, it's backwards." The Grand Physician actually looked perplexed as he held the piece of pizza the wrong way.

"I do not understand why it matters," He looked over the food inquisitively.

"It's just weird. No one eats it like that. Now it's your turn," The alien picked up one of the controllers for their gaming console. Raven was two seconds from sending Beast boy through a wall but held back.

"This is why you didn't answer us? We've been calling you for hours." He glanced over the back of the couch and saw them all standing there. He waved and hurried over.

"Hey, you're back," he exclaimed happily. Cyborg grabbed him by the front of his outfit and pulled him close.

"What are you doing? I thought you said the guy freaked you out."

"Well funny story. Turns out he's also vegetarian just like me. So I ordered us some pizza and then we got talking about our video game selection and one thing led to another. He's actually a pretty cool guy once you get to know him." They all slouched in his direction.

"Cool guy? He wants to dissect Robin or did you forget that?" Robin shivered at Cyborg's statement. The alien doctor chimed in from across the room.

"Actually I do not wish to dissect your friend. That would mean he would be dead. My intention is that he is alive through the process." This clarification didn't make him feel any better.

"Could we not talk about this right now. If there's no hurry, I'm gonna go get dressed." Beast boy stared at him in wonder.

"Whoa, time out. Robin doesn't have his mask on and no one let me know about this? That's crazy." Raven leaned into his face slightly seething by this point.

"Even if we wanted to tell you, you didn't pick up the ten times we called. We thought they took you hostage or something." He just shrugged back at her.

"Yeah, I'm going to my room now," Robin attempted to sneak away and almost lost his footing in the process. Glancing up he stopped short practically falling backwards when the two Tamaranean guards prevented him from leaving the room. The Grand Physician rose quietly from the couch and headed in their direction.

"No reason for that. We are not staying long after all." Before Robin even had a chance to turn, the alien doctor was already in his personal space and eyeing him. It caused him to take a step backwards and he felt the two guards right there again. "For some reason I was expecting to be more impressed with you considering the princess chose you as her mate."

"Mate," Robin interjected, "I think you're exaggerating our relationship a bit."

"Star already explained all of this and apparently that's what you two are now," Cyborg told him receiving an annoyed look back.

"But we only went out once! And technically the date was ruined before we could finish dinner," he argued back feeling heated about the topic.

"Well what about intent," Cyborg certainly wasn't helping his argument.

"Intent?" Now there was an edge to Robin's tone.

"Yeah, you know. Your intentions," Cyborg arched a suspicious eyebrow that made Robin let out an annoyed growl. The Grand Physician stepped between the two of them, pulling Robin's attention back to the matter at hand.

"None of this really matter. I have my order and have been patient long enough. I have been doing plenty of research in preparation of your arrival. " Robin gulped in his next breath feeling even more uneasy then a minute ago. The room felt hotter and he swayed on his feet.

"Must we leave so soon for Tamaran. We just got back," Starfire moved in front of Robin defensively. Now that she was standing close to him she couldn't help but notice uncomfortable he really was about the situation. In the past he was able to conceal a lot more wearing a mask whereas now it was obvious how he was feeling.

"As enjoyable as my time here has been, my time is valuable and we are already behind schedule." Now Robin was the one to realize Starfire was slightly trembling. Why was she so scared? Was it for him? He was having a hard time focusing on what was happening. Bringing his hand up to the side of his head, he realized he was sweating. He didn't even hear what Starfire said in rebuttal as he swayed more on his feet. He felt strong arms holding him up from behind and could only conclude it was one of the guards. Well if he was going to put up a fight that was out of the question now as the room started to spin. Everything went blurry and before he knew it the Grand Physician was standing over him with his hand pressed firmly on his chest. "His heart rate appears to be very low and his breathing is strained. Do you have a medical facility here?" As hesitant as Cyborg was, he realized they were out of options. Robin's breathing was more labored now. They normally didn't deal with these kind of situations often enough to be prepared so the Grand Physician's presence was an odd convenience. Clearly this was an after effect from what he went through on Rann. During the trip home they hadn't even spoken about it.

"Follow me," Cyborg led the way down the hall with the doctor and two guards carrying Robin on his heels. Beast boy was about to follow when Raven stopped him.

"We'll just get in the way for now," she told him.

Starfire took this chance to head to the roof. There was something she needed to do. Just as she suspected the Tamaranean ship was sitting on top of Titan's Tower. Attempting to be stealthy, she managed to get inside without damaging the door too much. She hurried to the console and after pressing a series of buttons she came face to face with who she thought was behind the Grand Physician coming to Earth in the first place. She immediately started yelling in her native tongue.

"There is no reason to use that kind of language, Daughter. Am I not allowed to be concerned about the decisions you are making?" Emperor Galfore calmly spoke back to her in English, knowing she preferred it to their own tongue. "Besides, you know about the restrictions we are under per the Vega Union Commission. They required the Grand Physician to step in."

"But they needed your approval. And you had to give the final order," her tone was becoming more and more upset. "You could have spoken with me first before making this kind of decision." It was quiet for an awkward minute before he replied to her.

"What is it you wish of me, Daughter?"