"Robin? Robin! Please, Robin, where are you?"

It has been hours since Robin had been seen by any of the Titans. Starfire and Solor were patrolling together in the city, Raven was back at the tower searching for a signal, Beast Boy was at the docks sniffing for clues, and Cyborg was investigating the fight scene with Robin, Cinderblock, and Solor. Of course, Starfire had constantly been on the communicator, obviously distraught over the fact that their leader was missing. "Starfire, enough. You've been calling for 45 minutes", Raven monotoned.

"Perhaps if I try one more-", Starfire attempted, only for Solor to grab her hand and prevent her. He shook his head silently, and she sighed.

"Come on, Star", came Beast Boy's voice. "If he was gonna pick up, he'd've done it by now. Besides... you're kinda giving me a headache."

"But why does he not respond?" Solor asked, beating Starfire to the punch. "Where is he?"

"I don't know", Cyborg said, his voice calling through his own communicator. "If it weren't for Solor, I bet there'd be a lot more damage. But as it is, it's impossible to tell who won or where Robin, or Cinderblock, went."

"No sign of him here, either", Raven confirmed. "His locater's still offline. I've been monitoring all of the frequencies, but he hasn't checked in."

"Oh, we are bad friends!" Starfire declared. "We should never have left Robin to do battle alone."

"Yeah, especially since Slade's big doo-dad was a dud", Beast Boy piped up.

"The chronoton detonator wasn't a dud", Raven countered. "It was a decoy, to lure us away from Robin. And we fell for it."

Of course, Cyborg didn't sound too happy about it. "I should have known it was a fake!"

"But why?" asked Solor again, thinking logically. "If the detonator was a decoy... what was Slade's real plan?" Suddenly, everyone's communicators went off, sounding the alarm. "It appears Robin will have to wait."

"Titans, trouble!" Cyborg said. Without Robin, he was the next in command. And everyone agreed that the protection of the city came first.

So what do you do when your criminal is Robin himself?

The job was supposed to be simple. Show up, stop the bad guy, go back to searching. When they arrived at the scene of the crime, the dark figure attempted to get away without a fight, something Solor found honor-less. But when he was pinned, he turned revealing his face. The black and orange suit, the metal covering his arms and legs... if it weren't for the fact that the mask was completely different, one might mistake him for Slade. But alas...

"That's not Slade", Beast Boy managed to say, completely shocked. "That's..."

"Robin", Starfire finished.

"Whoa", Cyborg said, stunned by the scene. How could they react? All of them stared in shock... except for the dragon. Instead of becoming shocked, he got angry.

Severely angry.

With a mighty roar, he began charging, his claws gleaming in the moonlight. Of course, Robin managed to counter by throwing one of his new toys, which set of an explosion of electricity, effectively knocking the dragon back past everyone.

"What is your deal, dude?" Beast Boy asked, finally snapping out of it and beginning to run towards their leader, as did the rest of the team. But quick thinking on Robin's side got him out of there, as he blasted the bridge with the thermal blaster he had stolen, creating enough smoke and debris that he was able to escape. The titans looked at each other, and each one was thinking the same thing.

Was that really their Robin?

XxXxX

"The way I see it..."

Back at the tower, the Titans had begun a meeting, trying to determine what was happening to their friend. Solor sat silently by the door, eyes closed. He was thinking about this whole situation, wondering what it was that was forcing Robin to do this. Of course, it was difficult when his own personal feelings were messing with his thought process.

He was our leader.

He didn't trust us.

He was their friend.

He lied to us.

Besides Red X, there was nothing else that he head done that had forced us to question him.

Except now.

What about being hypnotized?

Impossible. Robin's mind is too strong. The only reason I did was because of the seed of doubt in my mind.

Free will?

Doubtful. Despite his unorthodox ways, Robin is determined to make this city a better place.

Blackmail?

He keeps his secrets guarded better than I do. I doubt he'd let his secrets be so easily found.

Threat?

... what did that gun do to me?

What if there is something else that gun was supposed to do?

"Three words: disgruntled radioactive clone", came the words from Beast Boy, interrupting his thought process. He probably would've walked over to the green Titan and decked him... if Raven didn't roundhouse kick him to the other side of the room.

"No matter what the reason... no matter how much we wish it wasn't true... Robin's a criminal now", Raven declared, although it looked like it took every fiber of her being to say it. "And just like every other criminal-"

"The Teen Titans must bring him to justice", Solor spoke up, surprising everyone.

"I thought you weren't paying attention", Cyborg said. "You looked like you were thinking about something."

"I was", Solor said, standing up straight. "About that beam of light that hit me, shortly after you found out the detonator was a fake. What if... it did do something to me? Something that puts me in danger, or you in danger, and Robin has no choice but to do these evil things?"

Everyone looked at him in shock. And before any more words could be said, the alarm went off once more.

"It's him", Beast Boy confirmed.

XxXxX

As the Titans flew to the Wayne Enterprises building, Solor thought more and more about what must be done to subdue Robin and return him to their side. And finally, he thought of something. "Whatever Slade has planned... it cannot be good for the team if Robin is willing to steal for him. So, no matter what happens to me, we must fight to subdue him."

"But Solor, we don't even know if that gun did anything to you", Cyborg pointed out, dangling in the grip of the green pterodactyl that was Beast Boy. "And we have no way of investigating until we can get back to the tower."

"Precisely", Solor said, growling. "We do not know. And that is precisely what makes this so dangerous. So, promise me, no matter what happens to me... you will get Robin back to our side of the law."

Starfire didn't look too happy at the thought of anything happening to her friend, but reluctantly, she nodded. "We promise, Friend Solor."

One by one, the other Titan's nodded in agreement. After all, if Robin was willing to sacrifice his reputation to save his friends, then something bad must have been done to the dragon. And currently, Robin was the only one who had the information they needed. What really touched them, though, was that their friend was willing to do whatever it took to save their leader, even if it meant risking his own life. With their resolves renewed, they made their way inside, arriving at the room with the next weapon that Slade's apprentice was going to steal.

"You're not leaving, Robin", Cyborg called out, stopping their leader just before he could get his hands on the weapon. "Not without a fight."

Robin let out a battle cry, starting to charge them. But instead of attacking, he just leapt up, kicking a hole into the ventilation shaft and disappearing once again into the shadows. Of course, this time, the other Titans were not deterred, and soon followed him to the roof. There, it looked like he had paused, no doubt being told what to do by Slade, considering how he had placed his hand onto his ear.

"Robin!" Cyborg called out, gaining his attention. "Look, I don't know what's going on, but we don't wanna fight! We just wanna talk!"

Robin's response was to kick Cyborg past the other Titans.

"Guess there's nothing to talk about", Beast Boy decided, cracking his knuckles before shifting into a gorilla, and attacking with both hands in an attempt to knock the leader out cold. However, Slade's new apprentice wouldn't have that, and dodged each swipe, eventually leading Beast Boy up to the top of the A of the Wayne logo on top of the building. There, he launched a grappling hook around the gorilla's arm, and pulled him through the center of the A, effectively trapping him.

Starfire looked forlorn as she got ready to fight. "Please..." she began, only to realize Robin's next target wasn't her, but Raven. The two began fighting hand to hand, with Raven using her magic to create small shields that would withstand every blow. Cyborg, having recovered from the initial attack, was now pointing his sonic cannon at the two, attempting to hit the traitor. Unfortunately, he couldn't get a clear shot, nor could he find the will to pull the trigger. So, instead, he opted to charge in, attempting to subdue Robin with brute force.

That was when Solor blindsided Robin, hitting him just hard enough to knock him to the edge of the building with his tail. He then slowly approached his leader, not entirely sure if he knocked him out or if Slade's apprentice was waiting for a moment to attack. "Are you willing to return now?" Solor asked, growling a bit.

A sudden grab of his arm surprised the dragon, and before he could respond, he was thrown into Beast Boy, who had just managed to escape the letter A. Raven attempted to grab him with her magic, but a flash-bang grenade took her out of commission, leaving Cyborg and Starfire standing.

"Come on, man, don't make me do this!" Cyborg said, as the two began fighting. His arm morphed into his trademark cannon, getting ready to fire. "I don't want to do this!" Fortunately, neither did Robin. He swept out Cyborg's legs from under him, causing a misfire on his cannon that sent Robin flying up onto the Wayne logo. He attempted to escape, but was stopped by Starfire, who had a starbolt ready to fly.

"Do. Not. Move", she said, glaring at her friend. Robin hesitated for a moment, then brought up his own arm, which held the modified thermal blaster, and began charging a shot. Starfire felt her own will to fight dissipate, before she spoke up. "Robin, you are one of my best friends. I cannot be in a world where we must fight. If you are truly evil, then go ahead", she resigned, lowering her arm and releasing her starbolt. "Do what you must."

"... Starfire, no", Robin began, before he held his ear in pain.

"ROBIN!" Slade roared, glaring at the monitors. "I gave you an order! If you won't attack, then Solor will!" And just like that, he hit the button attached to his wrist.

As Solor attempted to stand, a sudden feeling of dread filled his senses. He felt panicky, jittery. And suddenly, it was as if the world he lived in had turned out to be a lie. Not only was Robin still dressed in Slade's uniform, but so was the rest of the team. Even Starfire, who had opened her eyes, confused as to why Robin hadn't attacked, now wore an outfit consisting of orange and black, with Slade's emblem on them. He glared, his breathing becoming heavy.

"You... you all... have betrayed me?!" he roared, getting up. He flexed his claws as everyone stared at him confused. "My own friends... joining his side..." He roared out in anguish and fear, deafening the others around him. "I will DESTROY Slade! AND EVERYONE HIS FILTH HAS TAINTED!" With that, he began swiping angrily, charging at Cyborg first with the intent to kill.

"Solor!" Cyborg cried out, dodging his friend's frenzied strikes. "What are you...?!" It was then his face hardened, and to Slade's surprise, he charged up his cannon and shot him in the head, point blank. Solor flew backwards, hitting the ground hard. "So this is what you meant..."

Solor shakily stood back up, and everyone could see that his eyes had turned from their natural emerald color to the crimson that showed he was out of control. His muscles began expanding, before the bronze dragon was in the hulking form that they saw when Mad Mod had attempted to take control of him. He began to attack again, this time going after Beast Boy, who took on the armored form of a stegosaurus to protect himself.

Starfire, meanwhile, saw her opportunity, and attacked Robin. Unfortunately, he had heard her coming, and took the time to attack with the thermal blaster before jumping down, joining Solor in attacking their friends. However, this did not mean that they were on the same side. Even though his vision was warped, Solor vaguely remembered that Robin was the true objective. So, soon, he switched from attacking the green stegosaurus to attempting to subdue Robin once again. Of course, he kept getting distracted by the other Titans, who were now fighting to take him down before he hurt anyone. However, he was easily able to swat away Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven with a single swipe of his tail. It was Starfire, who matched his strength blow-for-blow that was able to keep up with him. Eventually, Robin threw a few more grenades, damaging the logo of the building enough to knock it to the ground, and in the confusion, managed to escape, leaving the Titans to wrangle the enraged dragon.

"So this is what Slade has learned", Starfire said as she locked her arms around Solor's waist, holding him still while the others attempted to talk him down. "We must go after Robin! Slade has gone too far!"

"What about Solor?" Raven asked, encasing the dragon's feet and holding him to the ground.

"We'll have to knock him out. Whatever's driving him nuts won't be able to as long as he's out cold", Cyborg stated.

"S-stop!" Solor roared, his movements suddenly ceasing. "I-I am... okay", he said shakily, his form starting to reduce in size. "I am... under control... although to me, you all look like Robin..." Once he was back to normal (mostly), he nodded to Starfire, who slowly let him go. "Whatever Slade has inside of me... it made me lose my sanity... it is... too dangerous for me to fight alongside you."

"Are you sure?" Cyborg asked, walking forward. "I mean, we can get it out of you before we go after Robin." "No!" Solor snarled. He was still high strung from the visions that he was receiving, but he did manage to keep from hurting anyone. "If I hurt one of you... even if I am not myself when I do... I would kill you. And if Slade is indeed the one behind these visions, he will make sure that I do. What he did... something tells me that was only a small dose. He is saving the big one for when he truly wishes to destroy you."

"Well, dude, that's a risk we're gonna have to take", Beast Boy said, surprising everyone else. He shifted uncomfortably under everyone's gaze. "I mean... we're a team, right? And no matter what, we stick together."

At that, Solor was moved by everyone turning back to him and smiling, even Raven. Not a single one of them was afraid. And it was then it hit him; they were heroes. And falling in battle was a risk they took every day. Even if it weren't to him, one day, they might be killed by another psychotic being. He sighed, and smirked. "I suppose... you mortals do need me." He chuckled a bit. "Alright. Let this battle... be legendary."

XxXxX

"I have much to teach you", Slade said, his mask cracked in the skirmish he had with Robin. Upon returning, the leader of the Titans attacked the masked villain in a fit of rage, no doubt for almost destroying his friends. Through it all, Robin denounced him as his master, and removed the insignia after he had damaged Slade's mask. Now, he lay on the ground, injured and aching from the villain's attack. "But the first thing you must learn is gratitude." Slade grabbed his "apprentice" by his hair, forcing him to face the cold visage of the metal mask. "I made you my apprentice... all my power, all my knowledge, all for you. But all you care about are your worthless little friends!" With a grunt, he threw Robin's head back down, his skull knocking against the hard floor. Robin groaned, but attempted to stand nonetheless, not willing to let this fight end so badly. "If the Titans are so distracting", the villain continued, pulling out the controller to the probes that were inside Solor, ready to release his chemical to make the dragon truly lose his mind, "then maybe I should just get rid of them." "Don't", Robin said immediately, defeated. He closed his eyes and lowered his head. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Good boy", Slade "praised", turning around and facing Robin. "And, from now on... I'd like you to call me 'Master'."

That was when the starbolt came from nowhere, hitting Slade hard in the side and sending him sliding on the ground. Robin turned, and saw his entire team there, including Solor himself. Each was ready to fight, and at the lead was Starfire, who growled slowly. "Leave. Him. Alone."

"Robin", Slade ground out, glaring at his apprentice from the floor. "Attack!"

"Solor, get out of here!" Robin ordered, the panic obvious in his eyes. "Go! You don't know what those beams did to-"

"Dude", Beast Boy said, interrupting the leader.

"We know", Raven continued.

"And we don't care", Cyborg finished.

"We are your friends, Robin", Starfire began.

"And we are not leaving without you", Solor finished, getting into a battle stance along with everyone else as Slade approached the group.

"How touching", Slade said, pressing a button on his arm. "But Robin doesn't need any friends." At that, Solor felt that same jittery feeling he had before, but it was getting worse than earlier. His vision melted before his eyes, and suddenly, all he could see were shadows. Most would not be able to tell what they were, but he knew. They were dragons, like him.

Only they were dragons of death.

"N-No..." he growled, shifting in size once again. "Y-you shall not take me!" Solor held an angry tone, but also one of fear. For the very first time in his life, the dragon of the Titans felt very afraid. And that was when his instincts took over, and the Solor everyone else knew was lost. He began swiping angrily at anything that moved, starting with Raven. His sharp claws easily slashed through her cloak, narrowly missing her body and skin. Next he swung at Cyborg, and actually dug his fingers into the tin-man's arm, rendering it useless. He then breathed fire at Starfire, who was just barely able to dodge them. All the while, Robin could only stare in horror as his team was practically tearing itself apart trying to sedate the berserk Titan.

"This is the price of your disobedience" Slade whispered into his ear. "Now, attack."

Robin stared at them all, from Starfire launching herself onto Solor's back and holding his mouth so he couldn't breath more fire out, Cyborg attempting to hold his arm so it couldn't be ripped out of its socket, and Beast Boy and Raven using their powers to attempt to hold down the insane creature. But it didn't look like they had a good hold, and slowly Solor was starting to pull away, growling and snarling like a rabid bear.

"No", Robin said with new conviction, and he launched himself towards his team. Just like that, he was in Solor's grip before the monster was stopped before he could do any harm. His tail was wrapped around Robin's leg, and his leader's neck was mere inches away from his fangs, which had elongated and were being held back by Starfire. Despite everyone else staring in horror, Robin didn't look afraid, and Slade could only stare as his apprentice smirked. "New deal, Slade. If I lose my friends, you lose your apprentice. And I know how much you hate to lose."

Now Slade was hit with quite the conundrum. This could end one of two ways; either he could eliminate all of the Titans at the cost of his apprentice... or he could relinquish his hold on Solor and attempt to take out the rest of the team. Now, if he weren't so hell-bent on keeping his victory, then he probably would have sacrificed Robin to eliminate his team. But his pride got in the way, and slowly, he removed the controller from his arm before stepping on it, destroying it.

The effect was instant. Without the direct injection of hallucinogens into his bloodstream, Solor was able to fight them off. But now that the adrenaline was gone, Solor was also very tired, and he passed out right then and there, his body weak from the constant adrenaline rush that he had felt only moments ago. Without needing to hold the dragon back, the rest of the Titans quickly descended upon Slade, injuring him badly with claws, cannons, bolts, and magic. Once everyone had a turn, it was Robin who delivered the final blow, breaking Slade's mask in half. As he escaped into the darkness, his base crumbling around him as he activated the self-destruct sequence, Slade turned, and growled.

"Another day, Robin. Another day."

XxXxX

"Solor will be... okay?"

The next few days were shaky for Solor. He remained unconscious, recovering from his episode where he had almost killed his friends. In the meantime, Cyborg discovered and eliminated all of the probes that were infesting the dragon's body, using technology that he had managed to grab from Slade's base before it was destroyed.

"It's hard to say, Star", Cyborg said, looking at Solor's unconscious form. "The hallucinogens that Slade injected into him would cause anyone to lose their mind. And with the high doses of adrenaline being constantly pumped into his system... no normal human would be able to survive it."

"But he is not a normal human!" Starfire countered. "He is Solor, a Teen Titan, and he will be okay! He must be!"

"Starfire", Robin said from his seat across from her, next to Solor, "calm down. I'm sure he'll be fine. He's one of the strongest people I met. He'll pull through."

It was at that moment that Solor groaned, and everyone looked to him just as his emerald eyes opened up. He groaned again, quickly shutting them. Then he remembered what he had been doing last, and quickly sat up, snarling. "T-the Death! W-where-?!"

"Solor, it is okay!" Starfire said, placing a hand on her friend. He turned to her, his eyes showing panic at first, but instantly calming down when he realized it was her. "Slade has been defeated. We are victorious."

Solor turned, and upon seeing Robin in his original uniform, he relaxed even more, before looking a bit more seriously at his own claws. He remembered the feeling of fabric tearing at his touch, metal crunching around his fingers, flames pushing hard against Starfire's hand. "I am... sorry", he said, closing his eyes again. "Slade got the better of me... and the team was almost destroyed because of it."

Robin shook his head, taking a hold of Solor's shoulder. "But in the end, it wasn't, because Slade didn't know how far we all would go to save our friends", Robin said. Solor looked to his leader, then looked back at his claws.

"You do not understand. I lost myself, completely and totally. I felt nothing, knew nothing, but fear. And my body... I don't even know what I did... I could have killed one of you without even knowing it."

"But you didn't", Cyborg said. "Sure, Raven could use a new cloak, and I needed to repair my arm before I could remove those probes... but other than that, nothing happened. If it wasn't for Robin, I think this could've gone a lot worse than it did."

Solor looked at Cyborg, and let out a sad smile. He slowly got up, walking away from his bed and towards his room. "I... need to be alone", he said. Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin only watched as he walked out of the medical room, and down the hall. How could they understand?

With Slade's interference... Solor had become a monster.