Disclaimer: I do not own any of this! The Teen Titans are not my idea and belong to their rightful and respected owners!

Ch. 15-Eye of the Storm

(Jay's POV)

Robin was waiting for me. As I limped into the room, I saw his eyes widen, no doubt he was wondering who could hurt me this badly.

*Take a good long look Robin,* I thought as I stumbled to the floor, hating how weak I must have looked to Robin. I waited to hear Robin's slight gasp or deep sigh, but instead, I felt his gentle hands helping me up and guiding me into the only chair in his room.

"Thank you," I wheezed. Robin, who was standing in the middle of his room again, his arms at his sides awkwardly, nodded.

"I suppose you were fighting…" Robin began but then trailed off, probably not wanting to think about what his master could have done to me.

"Yes," I hissed, perhaps a bit too harshly. Trying to calm down, I continued. "But I can tell you about that later. You wanted to talk to me?"

Robin nodded again. "It was you, wasn't it? You're the one who developed the whole kidnapping."

"I had a hunch if Beast Boy and I went out alone, Slade might take the bait," I explained. "Turns out he did."

"Why?" Robin asked. "I don't get it. Normally Slade is always so calm and so wary about making personal appearances often. But then you arrive, and it seems that all the man wants to do is see you."

"Believe me, Robin," I replied. "He wants to do more than see me. He wants to wipe me off the face of the earth. And he's almost succeeded a couple times."

"But why?" Robin asked.

"It's a long story," I sighed. "But you didn't ask me to talk to you just to find out why Slade hates me so much, did you? So why did you want to talk to me?" I didn't want to talk about my past again; in this state I'd probably pass out from grief.

"I want to know the truth," Robin crossed his arms.

"From me?" I asked, confused.

"From you and only you," Robin replied. "You're the only one I can listen to the truth from without bias. You're the only one that I won't cover my ears and turn away. Please…" Robin seemed to almost be begging, "I need to know."

"Okay," I sat up, trying to get my facts straight. The Titans had told me most of what happened, so I hoped I wouldn't miss anything important.

"So…this all started when you and the Titans were at a party, right?" I began, looking to Robin. He nodded, not speaking.

"And somehow you got separated from the group…" I tried to remember what happened next. Who had fought Robin, what had he done? But my mind was still cloudy, so I came straight out with it.

"Robin, Slade manipulated you. He somehow infected you and your friends with probes that controlled you and your…friends' emotions."

At this, Robin's eyes widened. He bit his lip, and I knew he was holding back tears. His life had been turned upside down already and now it being flipped right side up again.

"He used these probes," I continued, "to alienate you from your team. And he made your friends more irritable and suspicious. So when you got shot out of the tower…"

I stopped, waiting to see if Robin wanted me to go on. I would if I needed to, but I was pretty confident he could fill in the blanks.

"I thought he…I thought he really…" Robin sputtered. I couldn't take it anymore. I hated seeing Robin this weak, and I knew he hated it too. Gingerly making my way across the room, I went over to the boy wonder and wrapped my shaking arms around him.

"I'm sorry Robin," I soothed as I held onto Robin tightly. "I'm so sorry. But you have to understand, your team needs you. They love you Robin. Believe me, I can tell. Remember what I told you? Look past what Slade's allowing you to see."

TTTTTTTTT

(Slade's POV)

It was surprising at first. Yes, very surprising. To have anyone even come close to tricking me was…well impossible. No one had ever played me before.

But Reyna had.

She knew the one thing that I wanted; the one thing that would cause me to act irrationally. And I fell for it. I took the bait. While I was fighting her, Beast Boy was taking my precious Robin. It was almost too much to bear when I saw the signal coming from my headquarters. The signal made by Beast Boy's communication device.

I had bolted to my hideout as soon as possible, eye locked on the signal. It wasn't moving, so I assumed that Robin was putting up a fight and Beast Boy had been dumb enough to call for back up. I was wrong. When I got back to my headquarters, all that was left was Beast Boy's smashed communicator. It was almost as if Beast Boy knew I was close to finishing Reyna. His animal instincts probably.

Then there was Mad Mod, yelling and screaming about how Robin had betrayed him. How he had defended Beast Boy when Mad Mod was fighting the changeling. But I barely paid attention. Robin too was acting on his instincts. Something that I now realized I would have to beat out of him, even if it did break him a little too harshly.

But now Robin was in the Titans' hands. A wave of pure anger surged through me at the thought of what the Titans were telling him, and it infuriated me to think that Robin might actually be forced to listen.

*What if he does listen?* the thought popped into my head for the hundredth time. *What if you lose him, because of Reyna?*

That girl had to be dealt with. I was sick and tired of her meddling. She had caused me enough trouble before she came here, and now…now she had just signed her own death sentence. The minute Robin was back in my grasp, she would be mine.

And this time there would be no mercy.

Because of Reyna, I now had to do something I wasn't particularly going to enjoy. But it had to be done. To get Robin back. To bring Robin home.

"Mad Mod," I hissed. "It's time."

Mad Mod nodded, and pressed a button, lighting up the huge screen in the control room. Suddenly the image of the Titans main room appeared.

Grabbing the trigger in my hand, I closed my eyes.

TTTTTTTTTTT

(Robin's POV)

Nothing made sense anymore. Everything was just one big blur. The line that separated good and evil was gone; completely obliterated before my own eyes. The Titans betrayed me. The Titans had no choice. Slade saved me. Slade manipulated me. Words and thought spun around me in an endless storm, whipping me off my feet and sending me flying. There was only one solid thing left. One ledge that I could cling to.

Jay.

As I held onto Jay, I desperately held the last real thing in my life. Funny how I barely knew this girl, and she was the only thing that made sense.

We began to move; Jay and I. We headed toward the door. My feet were dragging, but I was vaguely aware of the door sliding open, and the Titans supporting me. Even though I cringed away, the Titans were still there, guiding me to the main room. As I heard comforting voices that seemed to calm the storm just a little, I found something else to cling onto.

My friends. My true friends. The Titans. The Titans were still there for me. They hadn't given up on me. They did love me.

But just as the storm was beginning to finally settle, I bolt of lightning flew through the storm of mind and set my heart ablaze.

Through the fire, I only saw one thing.

My master.


Angsty! Just a little though! I hope you guys liked Slade's little monologue! Please read and review, next chapter's evil Robin! MWA HA HA HA HA!

Question I really don't know:

Would you rather have evil Robin be half evil (like he's torn between what to do because there's still good in him) or all the way evil?