And just when I finally figured out how to wrap this up, I had two consecutive dreams that made me change my mind. This wrap up is MUCH better. Now as I promised, a much more ACTION-Y chapter!
And moor SINGING!
Starfire had a nightmare of her own that night. She was walking with her back against a wall. A rough, wet wall in fact. She stepped slowly and carefully for the ledge she was walking on was narrow and she had to be patient. While she wasn't at risk of falling, Robin, who was walking in front of her, was. She didn't want to rush him and trip him up.
"Robin," she spoke softly, "do not fear the falling, I shall catch you."
He smiled back at her graciously.
They continued on their way in silence. Star couldn't quite remember why they were doing this. The cavern was dark, her bolts made enough light to see ahead of them. Everything else was pitch black. The ledge looked over a crevasse. As far as she could tell, there was no bottom, just falling forever. But she had no fear, Robin was with her.
No...that wasn't right, Robin was at the hospital...wasn't he? At that moment, the dream version of her friend slipped and fell. Using her catlike reflexes, she reached out and grabbed his hand. Robin dangled helplessly like a leaf in the wind. Star's iron grip was the only thing holding him from slipping into oblivion.
"Thanks Star, I don't know what I'd do without you."
I...love you.
In a weak moment, his hand began to slip from his glove. Before she could pull him up, the grip was lost and he slipped away.
She panicked a moment, not knowing what to do, but then snapped out of it to dive after her best friend. She illuminated her starbolts as bright as she could, only to see...nothing. The darkness went on for miles, and Robin was no where in sight. She couldn't even hear him.
"Robin!" she cried, "where are you?!"
No response.
"ROBIN!"
She spun around frantically, looking in all directions to see if she had passed him. Not a glimmer of yellow, red, or forest green. Robin was gone. She had broken her promise to catch him, she had dropped him, she couldn't save him. It was all her fault. She was lost him again.
Again?
Suddenly, she realized her unbridled joy to fly was gone. And she was soon taking the same path as her beloved bird. She only wished he would forgive her when she hit the bottom.
Starfire woke with a jolt. A hand to her heart, she breathed deeply to calm it's beating. It had only been a dream, and a terribly sad one at that. She wiped her tears and sat up. Robin is not gone, he is merely in the hospital and shall be better soon. She reasoned with herself. She got up and headed down the hall.
In Robin's room, she pulled back the neatly made sheets and crawled in. She buried her face in the pillow and took a deep breath, taking in his scent. Instantly, she felt better, and was soon enjoying dreams of them together, free from a crime filled world.
Back at the hospital, Robin was feeling pretty good, well, as good as one could with as many injuries that he had. He had told Starfire how much she meant to him, and she returned his feelings. When she finally went home for the night, he decided to think things through logically, something he hadn't been doing since this whole mess started. Slade wasn't really there, a part of him knew that, but the hallucination was too strong to prove it right. Something else that he had noticed was that Slade hadn't even touched him since he came to the hospital. Every injury that he had gotten after the rescue was self-inflicted. Not willingly of course. Starfire couldn't see him, even in broad daylight or when she was looking right at him. She said it herself 'He cannot harm me. All this backed up his logical reasoning. Slade wasn't there, but his mind was projecting him. He had gotten so used to seeing him, his mind was making up for his absence.
Slade will come again, but if I act like I'm not afraid, he'll go away. And someday, permanently.
And so here it was, middle of the night. Robin was sleeping content, dreaming of his favorite alien, when the door opened. Without opening his eyes, Robin called to the figment through the breathing mask, "I thought...you said you...weren't coming back...until tomorrow."
"It is tomorrow."
He peeked at the clock across the room. 2:15 am. "So it is...can you leave...so I can sleep?...The surgery...exhausted me."
Slade approached the bed, really too close for comfort. "My my, you're acting like you could care less that your biggest fear is standing next to you."
He let out a dark chuckle, "You are not...my biggest fear..."
"Say that to your shaking hands."
That was true, but Slade didn't need to know that. "That is from...the heroine...you injected me with..."
"Right, of course." Slade seemed annoyed. "I see your old inductive reasoning has kicked in. What a shame...I'll have to break it again."
"Fat chance...you can't do anything...your only a figment...a bad dream..."
"I'm very real."
"How many times...have you said that...now? It doesn't...prove anything."
"If that's the way it's going to be...fine. Have a nice night Robin, your time is running out." And with that he left, shutting the door slowly behind him.
What can he do? He thought critically. As silly as it all seemed, another instinct kicked in and worried him. Batman had trained him to sense things, so he had formed a sort of premonition. Something was coming, something bad.
In the morning, Starfire appeared at the break of dawn, bounding into the room with exuberant excitement. Robin was wake by then, not fully, but awake. He smiled when she flew in front of him, practically glowing.
"Greatest of mornings to you, dear Robin!"
"Good morning, Star."
She crossed her legs in front of her and levitated. "Did you sleep well?"
"I did, Slade came...but I told him to get lost...and he left."
"Wonderful! I am glad that you are getting better." She reached out and touched his head. "I do not like to see Slade bother you."
"Trust me...I don't like it either." He smirked reassuringly. "how's the city?...Have the villains...figured out that...I'm indisposed?"
"Yes, but they are not attacking more frequently. In fact, I think they are having a low period."
"Oh goody..." he said sarcastically.
"Yes, good indeed! It seems that they are waiting until you get back!"
Robin swallowed thickly. There was that topic again. He was so unsure at this rate if he could even fight again. Let alone if he was mentally stable for that life style. He narrowed his eyes in thought.
"Robin, what troubles you?"
Starfire could read him like a book. "What would you...do if I had...to give up...crime fighting?"
She looked thoughtful and slowly sunk to the bed, where she sat between his legs. "I would be very sad...because you would leave our team...but I would come after you and help you train so that someday, you could come back with us."
"What if it...was permanent?"
"I would quit as well, and stay with you and protect you." He was about to ask her to elaborate when she continued. "If you could not fight, you could not defend yourself...and many of your enemies would come after you then. I would be there to save you."
He smiled sheepishly at her. It was embarrassing, talking about being saved by and protected by a girl. Usually it was the other way around...although, she was a hundred times stronger than him. And he was only human.
Suddenly her arms were around him. "I would follow you forever, and take care of you until the end of my days. I do not want to face the pain of losing you again. I love you too much."
Robin was stunned. He wasn't expecting a confession like that. Gently, he smoothed her hair. "You will not…lose me, I will be…here for you…Regardless of my ability…or not...Sorry to bring up…such a sour topic for you…I didn't realize…how much it would…bother you."
"It is alright." She pulled back to look at him. "Last night I had a dream that I lost you. You just slipped from my grip, and you were gone forever...it was so sad."
He reached out and touched her cheek. "Don't worry about it...anymore okay? Even if...I can't fight...the titans still need me...to do all my other jobs...to keep everything working...Batgirl does it...I mean...Oracle still does it."
"Yes?"
"Yep, lots of paperwork...that's what you used to...drag me away from...so I could get some...sunlight."
She giggled. "Ah yes, the dreadful work that prevents you from doing the 'hanging out' with us."
"It's not my fault...the police need...so many reports filled out..."
"Then I shall help you some time."
"...You won't like it...it's barbaric."
"But I shall be able to spent time with you."
He blushed, and it got harder to breathe.
"X'hal Robin! Are you alright?!"
"Yes...why?"
"Your body temperature and heart rate went up!" She said looking at the monitors.
"Oh...no, it's fine...you did that..." he admitted.
"Oh no! I am not harming you am I?"
"No..." He reached out and held her hand. "It's perfectly...natural."
About four o'clock that evening, Raven and Cyborg dropped in, both with arms full of paper work.
"Eeuuugghhh...get that garbage...out of my sight." He joked as they set it down on the table.
"'Ey man, the more you do now, the less you have to do later."
"I know...I just hate it..."
"Where is Beast Boy?" Star questioned.
Raven cracked a smile and Cyborg snorted. "He's waiting outside."
"Why?"
Then they both broke out into laughter. "They said pets are prohibited!"
Robin and Starfire looked at each other before laughing themselves.
"That is quite the conundrum!" Starfire giggled
A moment later, a group of six black women and a man walked carefully into the room, interrupting the joke.
"Richard Grayson?" The man asked.
"…Yes?"
The man smiled, "I'm Pastor Haussler from Napier Baptist church. You're on our prayer chain and we wanted to come see you."
"Me?...how?"
"Your friend, Victor Stone, called us and said you had a terrible accident."
Everyone looked sidelong at Cyborg. "What? Just thought I'd have you covered..."
Robin wasn't mad, he just rolled his eyes. "So are you...going to pray over me...or something?"
"We can...or we were thinking about singing for you. You've got some of the finest voices in Jump standing in front of you."
"Alright…" He wasn't to comfortable with the idea of people praying for him.
"Any requests?"
He thought quietly for a moment. He didn't know any praise songs or hymns...there was 'Amazing Grace' and 'Oh When the Saints Go Marching In' but he didn't want them to sing meaningless words. Then it hit him.
"I don't know...the name of it...but it goes like...'I wish I could get rid...of these chains...so I can be free'...I heard it while I...was hiding, and I was very scared...at the time...do you know...which one I'm talking about?"
"My chains are gone, I've been set free, my god my savior has ransomed me...that one?"
"No...close...um...I wish I could be like a bird...live like how I want to live...say things without bars...uh...be changed by...the renewal of your mind..."
"'I wish I knew how!'" A soprano exclaimed. "We sang that in church two weeks ago."
The other women 'ah-ha'ed in remembrance, then started to snap to get the rhythm.
"I wish I knew how it would feel to be free, I wish I could break all the IVs holding me..."
The team chuckled.
"I wish I could say all the things that I should say, say 'em loud, say 'em clear, with no oxygen mask to interfere."
Robin laughed and then promptly started to choke.
"Whoa, you okay?"
He nodded and waved them to continue.
They did with the original lyrics, "I wish I could give, all I'm longing to give...I wish I could live like I'm longing to live. I wish I do all the things that I should do, though I'm way overdue, I'll be starting anew."
The titans listened in awe. The words spoke volumes to them, knowing what Robin had just been through, and he had heard this song while captive, must had helped him hold on.
"I wish I could share all the love that in my heart, remove all the bars that keep us apart. I wish you could know what it means to be me, then you'll see and agree that every man should be free."
They joined in on the snapping.
"I wish I could be like a bird in the sky! How sweet it would be if I found that I could fly! Oh, I'd soar to the sun, and look down at the sea and sing cause I know how it feels to be free!"
"Amen!" Robin cheered. The rest of the team clapped and whistled.
The air in the room was warm and friendly. Conversations were taking place all over, and there was not a person who wasn't smiling. Not even Raven.
Cyborg was having a conversation with one of the ladies from the church. "Vic! Boy, you have grown up so much! Look at you, you're bigger than your daddy!"
"Is that all you notice?" He said a bit bitterly.
"Okay, You're a bit shinier now too. And famous! Every time I see you on TV, I says 'That's my boy, I taught him his Bible when he was little!' And yo gramma be so proud of you too! We collect newspaper clippin's and all sorts of stuff." Then she looked at him seriously. "She misses you a whole lot. Maybe you should go home and visit, just once to let her know that you're okay."
"Okay Aunt Maud, I'll think about it."
Meanwhile, Raven was having an interesting conversation with the pastor.
"Did you sense me here?" She asked mysteriously.
"No...should I have?"
"I'm half demon." She stated outright.
He looked at her gravely. "by your own will?"
That wasn't exactly the response she was expecting. "No...my father was a demon."
"And do you listen to him and let him control you?"
"No...I rebel against him. I want to stop him...I want to be free of him." she bit her lip like she had said too much. It had just slipped out. Why was it so easy to talk to him about it?
He smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder. "We cannot choose our heritage or families, but we can decide how to use what we've been given. I see great power and you use it for good, to protect others. I also see you have a soul with a free will, and strife for good. You have a choice. You're only a demon if you tell yourself you are." Then he chuckled to himself. "You know, demons are angels who took the wrong path and followed the wrong leader...if you find the right one, he may restore your wings."
She looked at him surprised.
"If you want to talk more about this, why don't you and your friends come visit on Sunday?"
Raven grinned.
Robin was alone that night again. Even though Starfire insisted she didn't need to go home, he made her leave anyways. He was sleeping peacefully. Now that he had this whole hallucination problem figured out, he could sleep without fear. Slade could come in and talk all he wanted, but it was nothing but mind games.
Suddenly there was a sharp slap to his face. He blinked up to a mask, only a ruthless gray eye shone out from it. "Times up."
Robin smirked. He's still trying to scare me? Why doesn't he just go away? Then his smirk faded as his cheek tingled. Slade had slapped him. He physically touched him. This wasn't good.
Slade walked over to the wall and started unplugging the machines. "It would be bad if someone came in because they heard your heart rate escalating." The screens went blank. Robin became aware of the oxygen flow in his mask slowly diminishing.
"Besides...you can't scream if you can't breathe."
At the word breathe, Robin tried to take a deep breath but barely got any air. Slade removed the mask and Robin put a hand to his throat, willing him to breathe. He sounded asthmatic.
Slade grabbed his head and shoved him over so he slammed into the guard rails. The rail gave way from the force of impact and Robin hit the ground hard. He couldn't recover, only lay limply, gasping like a fish out of water.
"All the time you thought I was merely a figment."
Kick.
"Your friends made you believe I wasn't there."
Stomp.
"Your friends put you in danger."
He grabbed Robin and threw him into the equipment.
"And where are they now? At home, sleeping peacefully, with no thoughts of you in danger. They know you see me, but they don't care. Not anymore."
Slade grabbed his collar and lifted him off the floor.
"...How...are...you...here...?"
"I may be physically gone, but I told you...I'm the thing that keeps you up at night...I haunt every corner of your mind. This time though, no light switch is going to make me disappear." He moved his hands around Robin's neck and clenched tight, gritting his teeth behind the mask. "I wanted to make your demise slow and agonizing, but my plans were ruined, again. So now I have to do this the other way."
Robin scratched in vain at Slade's hands.
"Tonight, you die."
His vision was going blurry as his body started shutting down from lack of oxygen.
Taking a few steps over, Slade shoved his body through the glass of the window, the shards reopening and forming cuts. One eye had closed due to the blood running down his face. All the healing he had just done, and it was worthless now. He dangled helplessly in Slade's grasp. His consciousness was wavering, and soon he would black out.
"It all ends here. Your fears, your strife, your victories, and your losses. None of it will matter after this. I imagine you will be shortly mourned. Pity, you had a bright future ahead of you."
Robin's lips quiver as he tried to speak. He wanted to scream at him, cry for his parents, tell his friends and Bruce that he loved them...but nothing came out.
"Let's just hope it's not a little kid who finds you in the morning."
And Slade let go.
TO BE CONTINUED.
Alright, show of hands, how many of you punched your computer? I wasn't planning on a cliff hanger, I just didn't feel like writing the rest of the chapter at the moment.
Besides, 'Now You Know My Pain' is supposed to update today, but I have no chapter...OH WELL.