A/N (09.10.14): This chapter has been edited and altered as of today.

OMG! Yes I've done it! Finally, one season is done! We can move on to the second season finally and that means only four more to go from here! Ok so not to keep you waiting, we'll get on with the story. :D

And a BIG thanks to Blackjay, as she is the one that helped me finish this chapter. Without her help from now on I don't know if I'll be able to finish this story.

Disclaimer: I unfortunately still do not own the Titans or Slade.

Chapter 17: Apprentice PT. 2

"Robin, where are you man?"

"Please respond, dear friend!"

"Dude, come on!"

"Guys, you've been at this for 45 minutes. Star, Beast Boy, Cy, come back home," Raven told them through their communicators. She was back at the Tower trying to find traces of Robin through the computer system but to no avail. Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy were searching from the skies and land, also coming up empty handed.

"We shouldn't have left him alone in the first place since Slade was involved with this. We should have known…" Raven said, regret in her voice.

"Yeah, and that detonator was a total dud," Beast Boy put in.

"That wasn't a dud," Raven clarified. "It was a decoy to lure us away from Robin," she sighed. "And we fell for it."

"But why? Why did Slade wish to separate us from Robin?" Starfire asked.

"And if the detonator was a decoy…" Cyborg started.

"What was Slade's real plan?" Raven whispered, barely audiable for the other members to hear through their communicators. Suddenly a beeping noise was heard from all of their communicators.

"Trouble!" Cyborg immediately shouted, taking the role of leader as the team headed out from their different locations to meet up.

A dark figure finally emerged from the tall building the Titans had been watching and the team surrounded him, Starfire and Beast Boy to his left and Raven and Cyborg to his right.

"FREEZE!" Cyborg shouted.

The figure quickly took an alternate route in front of him and ran down the available strip, the Titans hot on his trail. Finally, the route came to a dead end and he skid to a stop, turning around so the Titans could see his face.

"That's not Slade," Beast Boy gasped. "That's…"

"Robin?" Raven managed out in disbelief. Everybody stared on, shocked. Raven bravely levitated up to him, seeing him tense up when she reached him. "Robin, why are you…"

Raven didn't' manage to finish her sentence, as Robin shot out an exploding disk at her and she fell down in front of her three friends. They all looked down to her in concern and then at Robin.

"Dude, what is your deal?" Beast Boy asked loudly.

Robin didn't answer. He simply blasted the ground with the new laser he had just stolen when the Titans tried running up to him, disappearing into the night.

"Excellent, Robin," Slade said, approaching him. "I'm pleased. You're already looking to be the perfect apprentice."

"This 'deal' can't last forever," Robin spat defiantly.

"It can, and it will," Slade told him. The TV screens from before came to life showing scenes of the detonator and his friends being blasted by it. He cringed. "The Titans still I have no idea that my detonator was a decoy. Now that my probes are inside of them, they could stay dormant for years, decades…" Slade explained. "Unless of course you decide to disobey me, and I destroy your… former friends… with a push of a button."

Robin walked up to Slade bravely.

"Sooner or later, you'll get your guard down, and I will get that controller," Robin promised. "And the instant they're out of danger… you will pay."

"That sounds like a threat," Slade said, standing right in front of him now. He took the laser from Robin and held it in his hands. "Quite a good threat actually… betrayal, destruction… revenge. We really do think alike."

There was a pause as Robin clenched his fists together, eyes slits beneath his mask.

"You're going to keep stealing, Robin. And sooner or later, you will see things my way," Slade turned around and grabbed Robin's arm, attatching the laser to it. "Who knows, I might even become like a father to you."

At this Robin felt his heart twig with pain as he watched Slade walk away.

"I already have a father," he whispered.

"Okay, the way I see it," Beast Boy started once they were all back at the Tower, pacing in front of Raven, Starfire, and Cyborg. "There are only two logical explianations… ONE! Robin's been replaced with a robot double. TWO! He's another innocent victim of zombie mind control."

"As logical as that sounds," Raven started off sarcastically, "I would have sensed it… and I didn't," she finished quietly, looking down at the floor.

"And my scanners say those were his biometrics. That was the real Robin, our Robin," Cyborg piped in.

"No, that cannot be true! He is our friend, is it custom for friends to betray other friends?" Starfire asked, puzzled. Raven sighed and shook her head.

"Three words," Beast Boy started again. "Disgruntle radioactive clone." Raven sent a glare his way.

"No matter what the reason, no matter how we wish it wasn't true…" Raven started before falling silent, unable to even speak the words she knew were true. Could it really be this way now…? Had Robin really lied and betrayed them once again when he'd been Red X? Her big brother put a reassuring hand on her shoulder as he saw the pained look on her face, something she hadn't let show before.

"It'll be okay," Cyborg whispered.

Suddenly the alarm rang through the Tower and a red light blinked on and off. Beast Boy looked up to the computer screen.

"It's him."

"You aren't getting out of here, Robin," Cyborg told him. Robin turned around in the large building and looked back at his former team. "Not without a fight."

Robin growled in the back of his throat and left the device he was about to get, making his way at the Titans.

"Titans, GO!" Cyborg shouted and the team ran to go meet Robin. The old Boy Wonder quickly jumped over Cyborg and Beast Boy, leapt past Raven and Starfire and broke up through the vents. The Titans looked back at him and went to follow wherever he was heading.

Robin stood atop 'Wayne Enterprises' and began to run across the building's roof to make his escape. Slade's voice rang in his ear piece though and begged to differ.

"Not so fast, Robin. You have yet to achieve your objective," Slade said calmly.

"The device was too heavily guarded," Robin quickly put in. "I'll have to steal it another-"

"NO!" Slade shouted, angry now, Robin halting to a stop. "Go back, unless you want me to destroy them, go back and fight."

"ROBIN!" Cyborg yelled a few yards away, all of the team standing on the roof with him now. "Look, I don't know what's going on but we don't wanna fight, we just wanna talk." Robin ignored the metal man's pleas and jumped up in the air, kicking him back past Raven and Starfire. Beast Boy glared at him.

"Guess there's nothing to talk about," he growled, transforming into a giant gorilla, pounding at Robin as he dodged. Robin finally jumped to the top of the A in "Wayne" and waited as Beast Boy followed, easily getting trapped in the center of the A as Robin glided through it with ease.

Raven stood in front of him now, her hood up. "Robin, please –"

He ignored her and immediately shot out at Starfire who was behind the dark girl. He swung his leg at her and she flew up and shot some star bolts at him weakly, still not wishing to hurt her possible friend, but he jumped up and caught her foot,making her crash down into the ground. Cyborg ran up to help her and punched at Robin, who was hit and rolled over to the edge of the building. Cyborg hesitated before running towards him.

"You okay man?" Cyborg asked. Robin quickly regained his posture and rammed him back into Starfire, the two in a heap.

"Fight to win, Robin," Slade reminded him. "Use the thermal blaster."

Raven looked around her and saw Robin blasting back Beast Boy once more, pushing around their friends in ways she never pictured.

"No," she whispered, hands clenching to fists.

Robin went back on top of the 'WAYNE' letters and began to run across them after seeing his former friends trying to get up. He looked in front of him once he got to the 'E' and came to a halt, surprised once he came face-to-face with Raven floating before him, her hood down and black power surrounding her hand as she blocked his path. She was glaring at him and before he knew it, her eyes went from amethyst to white with power.

"Don't move," she told him.

"I thought I told you to use that blaster," Slade's voice again appeared in Robin's head. "Attack, NOW!" Robin lifted up his arm to match Raven's, his blaster starting to flicker with light, ready to shoot at her. Raven changed her hand to a fist to show she meant business. She saw how serious he looked as well and how he didn't back down, even when she was right there trying to merely stop him. Maybe he had truly left them…

"Robin, you're my best friend, and I can't be in a world where we fight. If you're truly evil, do what you must." Raven's eyes softened and they returned to their normal color. Her power faltered and she let her arm fall to her side as she floated in front of him, her cloak swaying in the wind with her hair.

Robin's eyes widened at her words as he put his arm down, pain swelling up in his chest. "Raven, no…"

Suddenly Robin's communicator started to screech in his ear, Slade yelling at him.

"ROBIN! I told you to attack! If you won't, I guess my probes will."

From there Robin could hear Slade click a button. He quickly looked back up in front of him to see Raven to swaying back and fourth, gasping for breath. She suddenly turned a sickening orange/yellow color, giant red spots over her skin. She fell down, Robin easily catching her in his arms. He looked down from the giant 'E' he was standing on and saw that all of his other friends were lying on the ground, looking exactly like the girl in his arms.

"No, please STOP!" he cried out. "STOP!"

"All you have to do is attack, Robin. Attack with everything you've got," Slade ordered coolly from the other end. Robin gritted his teeth together and looked at the struggling girl in his arms. He placed a gloved hand on her cheek, his touch causing her to look in his general direction, eyes glowing a mute white. Could she even see him at that moment? He wished he could see her warming, violet irises to reassure him everything would be alright in the end, regardless of the pain he was putting them through right now, but she simply couldn't. She was slowly dying in his arms and the thought pained him.

He sighed and gently laid her down in front of him on the ground, watching as he withdrew from her that she outstretched an arm up to him, searching for him once more.

"Robin…" she whispered.

He had to save her, even if that meant hurting her in the process. He narrowed his eyes to slits as he aimed his laser at her. He bit his lip as he looked down upon her.

"I'm sorry," he whispered back, shooting out his laser gun at her. She shrieked out in pain and everything started going black for her. The last thing she felt before blacking out was the caress of a hand on her cheek.

Raven groggily woke up and opened her eyes, a massive headache coming on. What had happened? She looked in front of her to see the black night sky and concluded she was lying on her back. She lifted herself up with her arms and looked at her surroundings. Her eyes widened when she saw her teammates simply waking up now as well, looking just as confused as Raven herself. She flew down to them slowly and helped Starfire up.

"What happened?" Cyborg asked. But before anybody could fish up an answer Robin suddenly appeared once again on top of the lettering. The Titans all got in fighting stances, preparing to fight their former friend when he suddenly disappeared into the night sky, disappearing instead of attacking. Everybody dropped his or her fist in surprise.

Everyone but Raven.

She still stood with her power surrounding her hands, fists clenched as she tried to ease the glare in her eyes – but she simply couldn't. She shook slightly as she began to feel her body untense and ease, Cyborg approaching her and putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. She glanced up at him but couldn't stop her heavy breathing as she tried to calm herself, eyes wavering as she finally was able to put her fists down and make her power disappear.

"Raven, he's gone, what's wrong?" Beast Boy asked, him and Starfire finally approaching their friend.

Raven looked like she was about to collapse she was shaking so badly now. Yet she still managed to respond. "He hurt us… he hurt me," she managed. "He knows how much trust means to me and he betrayed us, he really did… he was willing to kill all of us. This whole time I've been telling myself it wasn't true, but he really is gone..."

"Oh dear friend…" Starfire choked out. She sniffled and wrapped her arms around Raven in a comforting hug, which Raven accepted half-heartily, surprised at how she was taking this.

"Seriously though… I know where he picked up that laser to attack earlier, but where did he learn the glowy trick?" Beast Boy wondered aloud.

Cyborg's eyes narrowed as he saw how much pain his little sis was in at Robin's betrayal. "I don't think that was Robin," he said to them all. "Maybe it's Slade that's learned the new trick."

Raven sighed took a deep breath, wondering what Cyborg meant as she transported them all back to the Tower.

"No way," Beast Boy breathed.

They had been back at the Tower for a while now and were running numerous test on Beast Boy. They finally had discovered what had made them so ill. Immediately, they set out for Slade's lair.

'Robin,' Raven thought, 'we're coming.'

"Damn it, Slade! Let my friends live and don't mess with their lives, they have NOTHING to do with this apprenticeship!" Robin screamed at Slade, getting more and more heated at the moment with the evil fiend that had made him do this in the first place.

"Now, now… lets not already start losing our heads. IF you'd like I could just eliminate them completely off the face of the Earth, and then maybe you could focus," Slade started, threatening Robin with the button once again. Robin put his fist into balls to try to contain his anger once again but to no avail. He lost it and ended up throwing a punch at Slade, making him teeter back in surprise and have a small crack in his mask.

"You're going to wish you hadn't done that," Slade hissed to his apprentice.

"You're right," Robin said, backing up a bit, clenching and unclenching his fist. "I only wish I had done it sooner."

Slade growled and threw himself at Robin, beginning to fight with him. "I make you my apprentice," Slade threw another punch at Robin and missed. "Teach you everything I know," he kicked him square in the stomach, making him fall to the ground. "And all you care about are your pathetic," Another punch thrown by Slade. "Worthless," Another. "Friends." Robin gasped for breath as he laid on the ground. "I should just eliminate them myself."

"No," Robin managed between breaths as he stood up. "I'll do anything."

"That's a good boy," Slade cooed. "And I'd like you to start calling me master from now on."

Suddenly a crashing sound was heard from the other side of the room and Robin jumped up to his feet, looking over. When all of the dust cleared Slade and Robin saw the rest of the Titans.

"Leave him alone," Raven said in a remarkably even tone, a look of determination shining in her eyes.

"Robin, ATTACK!" Slade commanded. Robin quickly spun around to face his former team once more, panicking.

"You guys get out of here! You don't know what those beams did to you!" he shouted, trying to avoid another fight.

"Dude…" Beast Boy started, shaking his head.

"We know," Cyborg finished for his small companion.

"And we do not care," Starfire offered.

Finally Raven took a couple more steps closer so she stood in front of all three of them. "You're still our friend, Robin… no matter what you've done. We're not leaving without you."

Slade sneered. "Robin doesn't need any friends." He pressed the button once more and Robin watched in horror as his friends dropped to the ground. Starfire laid on the ground beside Beast Boy, the two not handling the effects at all. Cyborg sat on the ground holding his stomach, but Raven's look scared Robin most of all. He watched her as she slowly fell to her knees, her arms in front of her to keep herself up. She struggled to look up when she met Robin's eyes with her own offwhite glowing ones. That's when he saw a transparent tear trailing down her cheek.

"No," Robin hissed back at Slade. He quickly ran in the opposite direction of Slade and put his hands on the globe that had infected his friends in the first place.

"NO!" Slade called, but it was too late. Robin trudged towards Slade slowly, glowing like the rest of the Titans.

"New deal Slade," Robin managed. "If I lose my friends, you lose your apprentice. And I know how you hate to lose." Robin glared at Slade best he could and Slade growled in the back of his throat. He dropped the controller on the ground and crushed it with his foot. All the Titans returned to normal slowly and breathed deeply, Robin immediately rushing to help the team to its feet. He was about to help Raven when she ignored his hand and got up herself.

"Titans… ATTACK!" Robin called and the team all went into action. After many blows from the newly reformed team, Slade was sent running off in defeat, the team victorious as they left the slowing exploding lair.

"OH DEAR FRIEND ROBIN IT IS MOST SENSATIONAL TO HAVE YOU BACK AT THE T TOWER!" Starfire yelled as she picked him up in one of her signature bone crushing hugs.

"Thanks… Star…" he managed to say with a slight laugh before she finally dropped him.

"And guess what time it is since we just got rid of all our probes and totally kicked Slade's butt?" Beast Boy said with a grin on his face. Cyborg nodded and smiled also.

"WAFFLE TIME!"

"Oh, I am most eager to partake in 'waffle time'. Wait for me as well!" Starfire shouted as she flew off into the kitchen, following the two. Raven sighed and sat down on the sofa. Robin noticed and took a seat beside her.

"Everything okay?" he asked, worried.

"No… I'm sorry," Raven whispered. Robin's eyes widened.

"You're sorry? Raven, I should be the one apologizing," Robin clarified.

"I know, but there was a time when I truly did think you were evil, just like Slade. I doubted you." Her face was downcast, and she refused to look at him. "For that I'm sorry, but… it couldn't be helped."

"So, everything's good now, right? I mean, we're all together again," Robin said with a small smile now on his face.

"I don't know Robin." His smile faltered to a frown. "You broke our trust… my trust. I know that you didn't mean it and the others know that, but… after the X incident and now this, I don't know if I can trust you anymore," Raven finished truthfully.

"Raven… I… I don't know how to make that up to you," Robin said softly, eyes pleading. "Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it."

"Earn my trust back… no matter how long it takes. Because you know how much that meant to me," she finished in a hushed voice. Before Robin could continue talking to her she stood up and walk through the doors of the Main Room and into the hallway, leaving a hurt Boy Wonder behind.

End Chapter

So finally for once, not a happy ending for the Titans. Well, that was the end of the season finally! Well…season one at least. We still have four more to go! Lets see how long this takes…

DarkGirlRavenGrayson