Hey look! I updated! Sorry for the wait, I had writer's block. I think there's two chapters left.

Everyone, Bruce included, had expected Robin to continue to improve after the antidote was administered. No one thought he'd be right back up and ready to go, but they hoped there would be an improvement.

Instead, there was a sharp decline.

Within a few days, Robin went from optimistic about his new future, to nearly bedridden and quiet.

"Robin?" Starfire checked on him for the fourth time that day, hoping this time he'd get up and eat dinner with them.

"Star…" he croaked.

She sat at his bedside and pet his hair. "Are you the same or worse from earlier today?"

"Worse," he cringed. "It's like my blood is on fire."

"I am to ask if you have a headache or weakness."

"Yes, both. And nausea. Could you bring me some water?"

"Absolutely," she leaned in and kissed his forehead.

"Sorry, I was looking forward to spending time with you."

"Your apologies are not necessary. You are still recovering, and we have plenty of time to catch up."

Robin closed his eyes and let out a long sigh. "I suppose you're right."

"I shall return momentarily with your water." She patted his leg and returned to the common room.

"So?" Batman asked, immediately.

"It is as you have said. He appeared to be sweating quite fiercely, though he has several layers of blankets on. And he said he has a headache and muscle weakness, as well as nausea."

"I could pretty confidently diagnose him with opioid withdrawal," Bruce frowned. "It's not surprising since he's been taking some everyday for a few months. You can't quit that crap cold turkey."

"Is poultry also addictive?" Starfire asked.

"It means quitting without weaning off. I can get about a month's supply of medical fentanyl from some contacts at the local Wayne Tech branch. Robin's not going to like having to take it, but if we time it right, we should be able to wean him off gradually. Then he won't need it."

"That is an excellent plan! I shall be the one to explain it to him. He should accept it better from me."

"That's what I thought too."

—

Beast Boy couldn't sleep. He was tired, yes, but there was a tingling in the back of his head he couldn't ignore. A feeling or an instinct that something was wrong. It had to be his animalistic sense. Then again, that little alarm had gone off a few times since Batman and Alfred came to visit. They were both up and about at night and made just enough noise that his advanced hearing could pick it up, even in sleep.

But that instinct had settled down in the last week, finally getting used to their scents and sounds.

But this was different. Something new, but somehow familiar.

Would it hurt to check? If the coast was clear, he could very well pass it off as an effect of the upcoming full moon and go back to sleep.

He got out of bed and moved into the hall, careful to be quiet and not awake the others. No reason to bother them over nothing.

Last thing he needed was Raven making fun of him for literally crying wolf.

His floor was clear, and was the floor below, where the gym was. But the floor after that, where Cyborg's room was, was where the feeling intensified.

Beast Boy morphed into a dog to sniff around in the dark. Something smelled like BO and pizza grease, but not like his room.

As he rounded the corner, he was suddenly engulfed by a glowing orange orb, suspending him off the ground. He quickly morphed into a gorilla, and then attempted an elephant, but couldn't actually become big enough. The material of the orb was solid.

"What'd I tell ya?" Gizmo smirked, while holding a strange looking weapon, presumably what shot the orb. "Green Bean would smell your toe jam and pull the alarm on us."

"Fine, remind me to pay up when we're done," said Mammoth.

"The Hive?! What—? How?!" Beast Boy yelled, but his voice was severely muted in his prison.

Gizmo, Mammoth, See-More, Kyd Wykkyd, and Private Hive were all just casually standing in the hall, like they owned the place.

"I promised to behave the first time I came to visit," said Gizmo. "I didn't make any promises the second time. Tin Man might be busy in the upcoming weeks writing some new passcodes…since I stole them all."

Beast Boy banged his fists on his cage. It felt like electrified jelly, and absorbed every hit he gave it.

Gizmo then turned to his team, laser focused. "Alright, Raven's going to be our next problem. She might be able to sense auras or souls or whatever, so we need to get her next. Kyd Wykkyd, you have that binding spell?"

He nodded.

"Good. Get her to the Ops room on the top floor, and we'll get her bubbled."

Again, he nodded, and phased through the floor.

"Mammoth, you've got Starfire. Mad Mod was able to hold her for a while with these Xenothium cuffs. Bring her upstairs when you've got her."

He cracked his knuckles. "I'm on it."

"See-More, you're going to take Barf Boy up to the ops room while I take care of Cyborg." He held up a flash drive. "This code will give us control over him until his battery drains."

See-More engulfed the already trapped Beast Boy in his beams.

"Private, you're responsible for crazy Robin."

"What do I capture him with, sir?"

Gizmo shrugged. "If you can lure him up to us, I'll bubble him, but he's mostly not going to be a problem. He's totally banana pants loony."

Beast Boy bit his lip. Robin was back, but as of bedtime, he was still resting in his room. No doubt, they'd find out soon enough.

But, even at a quarter of his strength, surely Robin could defeat Private Hive…right?

And if Robin couldn't handle them, there was always Plan B.

Batman.

That is, assuming they didn't get the drop on him as well.

At the moment, Beast Boy didn't really have any options except to wait and watch and wish he had been smart enough to grab his communicator when he went to investigate.

He should really think about gluing that thing to his hand or something.

See-More brought him up to the ops room, and released the ball to float about a foot off the ground. No running or pushing would move it.

"Cool place. Never seen it from the inside," he wandered around the still darkened room to find a light and helped himself to some snacks.

"What are you creeps planning?" Beast Boy asked, nostrils flaring.

See-More scoffed. "Like you could begin to understand."

Only a moment later, the Ops room door opened and Gizmo entered with Cyborg in tow. Cyborg's steps were more robotic and clunky, and his human eye was closed in sleep.

"Cy! Hey Cy! Wake up man!"

"Don't bother, Barf Brains. He's trapped in his sleep cycle. As far as he knows, he's dreaming of his stupid car and eating disgusting food."

A black portal opened from the ceiling before Raven fell, bound by the wrists and ankles with a white aura to the floor. The white aura also appeared as a mask over her nose and lips. Kyd Wykkyd appeared, giving Gizmo a thumbs up.

"That's three down," Gizmo smirked as he shot his containment orb at Raven. "Just waiting on the alien…and technically crazy Robin, but I'm not worried about him."

Raven, just wearing her leotard, rolled around to sit up and look at Beast Boy.

"Yeah, they got me first. Are you okay? Can you breathe?"

She nodded.

"Gizmo hacked Cyborg somehow, and has him under control. Let's hope Starfire's a light sleeper."

Raven gestured her head, silently asking about the others in the tower.

"Not a clue. I'm calling it Plan B. If you know what I mean."

She rolled her eyes, but ultimately nodded in understanding.

Then there came a boom from somewhere below, shaking the tower.

"And…that would be Star," Beast Boy smirked.

"Kyd Wykkyd, See-More, go back him up," Gizmo demanded, throwing See-More the strange gun. "I'll watch these bozos. Not that they're going anywhere."

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" See-More asked as they left.

"I'll ask again," Beast Boy snarled. "What are you creeps up to?"

"Nunya business, Butts for Brains."

"I think it is our business, considering you broke into our house!"

"Big talk from you dweebs. I hear someone in this tower is actually a thief. Some heroes you are."

Beast Boy didn't have an answer for that. He simply looked over to Raven again.

She shrugged back.

"Thief of what?"

"Not sayin', just something that doesn't belong to you."

Beast Boy remembered the strange white doll again, though he couldn't believe that was what Gizmo was talking about.

After all, that wasn't stolen, it was abandoned.

Or maybe not.

"Sir, Gizmo, Sir!" Private Hive arrived, a body clad in plaid pajamas over his shoulder. "There was no one in Robin's designated room, but I found this old man in the room next door."

"Unhand me, you brute!" Alfred shouted from his awkward position.

Beast Boy gasped and shouted, "Let go of our grandpa!"

"Your grandpa?" Gizmo smirked. "I would have thought that any family of yours would also be green."

As Private Hive brought Alfred over to where Raven and Beast Boy were being held, Gizmo looted through the drawers in the kitchen until he found a roll of duct tape. "Here. Tie him up with this. Doubt the old man is any kind of threat."

Private Hive taped his wrists and ankles and left him on the floor between Raven and Beast Boy.

"You okay, Alfred?"

"I'm mostly fine. A little more bruised than I would like."

"They're trying to catch Starfire right now. No sign of Robin, it sounds like."

"Miss Starfire is quite strong. They have their work cut out for them."

They waited more time in silence, anxiously waiting for any sign of a battle, while Gizmo impatiently rooted around the ops room.

Maybe ten minutes later, the other Hive members returned with Starfire bubbled. Mammoth was bleeding from the nose and a cut above his eye. Starfire wore a tank top and shorts, though one strap on her tank was ripped. She was dazed and sprawled out in the bubble as they plopped her down by Beast Boy.

"Star?" He asked, concerned.

She clenched her eyes shut a few times, trying to focus. "Beast…Boy…?"

"You're okay. They've got us captured in these bubbles. Raven's gagged and they infected Cyborg with a virus, so he's out of commission. And they found Alfred."

Starfire just laid on her stomach, and pounded a cuffed fist against the orange surface. "I should have fought harder."

"Please, Miss Starfire, don't be so hard on yourself. This was a surprise attack."

"And I went easy on ya," Mammoth mocked, wiping his face with a dish towel. "Next time, you won't be getting up."

Starfire leapt to her feet and began wailing on the orb. Her attacks made the bubble shake violently, but it didn't break. "THUS VAR Y'KEEM!" She shouted in her native tongue.

"Ohh I'm so scared." Mammoth rolled his eyes. "What's next, Pipsqueak?"

Gizmo gave him an annoyed look, but ignored the nickname. "We find the target. We have 24 hours before these bubbles wear down. I wanna be long gone before then. Crazy Robin is in the tower somewhere, but we outnumber, outpower, and out-sanity him. Call for backup if you see him."

Mammoth stuck a finger in his ear. "What are we looking for again? Some weird doll?"

Gizmo scoffed. "Nice work, Fart Face. Whatever. Yeah, all white doll, made of cloth."

Beast Boy let out a squeak that was muted by the prison.

"Alright, spread out!"

Kyd Wykkyd disappeared through the floor, but before the others could leave, the lights went out. The Hive members went still.

"He's here," said Gizmo, converting his backpack into its spider form. "Get ready for something weird and stupid."

Instead, the main doors opened, and a cloud of smoke rolled in, making them all cough and choke.

"What the—?" Gizmo exclaimed, but before he could finish, a grapple line wrapped around him and yanked him off his feet.

A Batarang cut through the air and hit See-More right in the eye, making him fall to his knees and cry out in pain.

Private Hive took out his shield and ran into the smoke, ready to fight.

While the sounds of Private Hive getting the crap beaten out of him filled the silence, Mammoth ran at Alfred, swept him off the ground and put him into a painful headlock. "Give up now, or I snap the old man like a twig!"

Private Hive gave a final 'oof!' as the wind was knocked out of him.

Mammoth squeezed, and Alfred let out a painful gasp.

There was silence, and then Batman flourished his cape and cleared the smoke. He stood in the doorway, watching intensely.

"One more move, and Grandpa's toast."

Batman noticed the bead of sweat that traveled down Mammoth's forehead, but more importantly, the color draining from Alfred's face.

It just wasn't a risk he was willing to take.

Batman sighed and put his hands up.

"Stand over by the others."

Batman did as directed, never showing what he was thinking.

With Alfred still in a headlock, Mammoth recovered the bubble gun from the floor, and shot Batman. Then he dropped Alfred harshly on the ground. "You came in handy, gramps."

Alfred coughed and choked. "I hope you rot, you thug."

Mammoth kicked him once before going over to Gizmo and attempting to untangle him.

Private Hive got his wind back and pathetically barked. "You never said Batman was involved! I never signed up to deal with Batman!"

"Aw shut up, I didn't know he was in town." Gizmo finished untangling himself and dusted his arms off. "See-More, you good?"

The teen in question just sniveled, presumably not 'good'.

"Fine. Mammoth, Private, join Wykydd in the search. I'll look in here and keep an eye on the hostages and See-More. You all have your radios?"

"Hostages?" Beast Boy barked.

"Oh, did I offend you? What would you prefer? Prisoners? Captives? Losers?"

As the team split up, Batman opened the computer on his gauntlet. "Alright, what do you know?"

"Oh, um…Gizmo's kind of a returning pain in the neck. We actually…recruited him to help on the case. He's the one that recovered the files from the SD card from Robin. Sounds like he hacked our system the last time he was here."

"Hm."

"Mammoth let it slip that they're looking for some white doll that was allegedly stolen." He shouted over to where Gizmo was. "Even though we don't steal!"

"Not according to our sources!" Gizmo chirped back.

"And who are these sources?" Batman demanded.

"Not telling, Bat Barf!"

"Charming child, isn't he?" Alfred quipped.

Batman scanned the bubble prison, trying to find a weakness. "These cages are made out of an electrified aerogel, composed of silicon and amber. We could dissolve it if we had turpentine and toluene."

"Oh good. I assume you have those in your utility belt?" Alfred asked, sarcastically.

"Gizmo said they'll weaken in 24 hours. So we won't die here at least…"

"And no one has mentioned Robin?"

"Private Hive said he wasn't in his room."

Batman shifted his jaw. "Then we might not be totally out of luck."

"But he could not possibly take out the Hive on his own. He is far too weak right now!" Starfire protested.

"He probably couldn't win if they teamed up, but if he picked them off one by one…"

Gizmo seemed to overhear that much from his spot across the room, and called out on his radio. "Keep on your toes for Robin. Don't let him pick you off!"

"I'm in his room right now, sir. Someone was here not too long ago."

Before Gizmo could respond, there was a long beep that was emitted from the ceiling. Then, music started playing, an acoustic guitar.

"Intercom system activated." Cyborg said, in an emotionless voice.

"Intercom? Since when did we have an intercom?"

When you were here before…couldn't look you in the eye…

"Alright, who's messing with the radio, huh?" Gizmo yelled into his com.

You're just like an angel…your skin makes me cry.

Beast Boy shuttered. "This is 'Creep' by Radiohead."

"Could that mean…?" Starfire whimpered.

You float like a feather…in this beautiful world.

"That antidote didn't work."

I wish I was special…yes so very special.

"Mayday! Mayday!" Private Hive's panicked whisper over the com. "Crazy Robin spotted! He's pissed! And I think he has a gun!"

"Where are you?" Gizmo asked.

"I'm in the trophy room. I'm hiding behind a corner."

"Why the heck are you hiding!? Get out there soldier! He doesn't have superpowers! And don't let his weird intimidation tactic get to you."

But I'm a creep…I'm a weirdo…what the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here…

There was silence on the other end for a while, before Private Hive came back on, screaming. "Help me! He's going to kill me! Ahh! Make it stop!"

Mammoth responded. "Private, I'm coming to back you up!"

Gizmo scoffed at the radio. "You can't find good help these days. Maybe we'll go with the Hive Four until Billy's out of jail."

I don't care if it hurts…I wanna have control…I want a perfect body. I want a perfect soul.

"Did Private say he had a gun?" Beast Boy asked. "Where did he get a gun?"

"I hope he's mistaken," Batman sneered. "Or else this is going to get messy."

I want you to notice…when I'm not around…you're so very special…

It was faint, because the tower walls were so insulated, but there was a definitive 'pop pop' somewhere in the tower.

"Shit."

I wish I was special.

"Private! Status!" Gizmo shouted.

There was no answer.

"I'm closing in on his location," said Mammoth. "There's no one here but—-ough!"

"I'm making the call, get out of there!"

Mammoth's radio must have fallen while being turned on, as the sounds from the room were clearly heard. Fists connecting, Mammoth's cries of pain, and someone singing along with the radio.

But I'm a creep…I'm a weirdo…what the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here.

"Hold…still…you little…!"

"Uh oh! Sounds like someone's full of regretti, upsetti, and spaghetti!"

"You…crazy son of a…"

"Hey! There will be no goddamn swearing!"

She's…running out the door.

There was another loud 'pop pop' before silence.

"Kyd Wykkyd? You still out there?" Gizmo asked with palpable fear in his voice.

"If you let us out of here, we might be able to call him off," Batman offered. "We might be able to save your friends."

"Like I believe you!"

She's run…run…run…

Gizmo sank to his knees in the common room, as there was nothing but silence over the radio, and only a warning over the speakers.

Run! Run!

"Screw this! I'm getting out of here! Sorry See-More!" And Gizmo booked it out of the room.

Whatever makes you happy…whatever you want…you're so very special…

No one knew what to say. Was this considered a win? At what cost?

Batman hung his head, shaking it in disgust.

I wish I was special.

Starfire sobbed. "Why didn't it work?"

"What?" Asked Beast Boy.

"The antidote! It was supposed to cure him!"

"I'd like to know too," Batman growled. "Because either the antidote was faulty, or he got dosed with his poison somehow."

"But he hasn't left the tower in days," said Beast Boy.

"So…who got in?"

But I'm a creep…I'm a weirdo…what the hell am I doing here? I don't belong here…

The door to the ops room opened once again, and Black, wearing his ratty jeans and trench coat, stood in the doorway, gun in hand. "I don't belong here!" He sang with the radio. "Sorry guys, looks like I made a widdle mess!"

"Get us out of here, now!" Batman roared.

"Damn, okay." Black grumbled. "God forbid there's any gratitude around here." He left the room, and when he returned, he had Gizmo by the collar, his arms bound to his body by a grapple line.

"Scuzz munching, brain barfing psycho."

"Turn off the orbs," Black demanded.

"I ain't doing squat!"

Black pointed his gun at his head. "I really think you ought to," he sang.

"Okay okay!" Gizmo relented. "Jesus Christ."

Once he had a hand free, Gizmo simply tapped a button on his suit and the orbs popped.

Beast Boy worked on setting Raven free from her binding spell while Batman picked the locks to Starfire's cuffs.

Once Raven was free, she disappeared into the floor, off in search of the injured villains.

"You better fix Cy too!" Beast Boy shouted at Gizmo.

"Ugh yeah yeah. Man, this is turning out to be a major failure."

While Starfire was free to help Alfred, Batman went to Black and held out his hand. "You really shouldn't have that. Why don't you give it to me?"

Black screwed up his lips. "What if I need it?"

"You don't."

Cyborg let out a yawn and a stretch. "Good morn—hold up. Gizmo?"

"The twerp hacked you, my man!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Several of our adversaries intruded upon our home," Starfire elaborated.

"Aww man…and I slept through all that? And now I bet I have to reset all the codes, huh?"

Gizmo shrugged. "Don't know. Don't care. I'm all done. You gonna take me to the police or what?"

Batman begrudgingly allowed Black to keep the weapon, for now, and approached Gizmo. "We'll take a little ride in the Batmobile in a minute, but first, I want a word." He grabbed Gizmo by the shirt and dragged him out of the room.

"I can walk you know!"

Soon after, Raven returned. "I couldn't find Kyd Wykkyd. Private Hive is stable, but injured. Mammoth was in the worst condition, but if he gets to a hospital soon, he'll survive."

The group collectively looked at Black.

"Uh, you're welcome?!" He sassed.

Mostly, they were just wondering how he was here and not Robin, but no one was sure how to ask the question. Black wasn't supposed to know that they tried to get rid of him.

Distantly, the group could hear Gizmo screaming as he fell off the tower, but no one minded much.

"What did those knuckleheads break in here for?" Cyborg asked, playing catch up.

"It's the D-O-L-L again," said Beast Boy. "I think that's why Batman is interrogating Gizmo."

See-More still laid on the floor, in pain due to his broken eye. He spoke up, sniveling. "Joker offered a position as his apprentice if someone brought that thing to him." He worked on taking his helmet off. "Jynx and I had weird vibes about the situation. It's one thing to be a big time villain, but that guy is not stable."

"So why did you join the mission?" Raven asked, kneeling to look at his eye.

"Curiosity. I wasn't going to accept the position, but I thought it'd be a good experience."

"Yeah, I bet 'I ran a job for the Joker' looks great on a villain resumé," Beast Boy chuckled.

"You joke, but we literally had lessons on it from the guidance counselor at the Hive Academy."

"That's wild."

"As it is, I doubt I'll be doing anything evil for a while, if I haven't gone blind from this."

"Well, make sure you make an appointment with your evil optometrist, and you'll probably be fine," Raven concluded her exam. "As it stands, we'll probably need a few ambulances."

"My question still stands," said Beast Boy, walking up to Black. "Where did you get the gun?"

He tucked it away in his waistband. "I've had it the whole time."

"Bull shit!"

"I'm serious. If you go back, it's mentioned in chapter 6."

"What are you talking about?!" Beast Boy became frustrated. "You almost killed people today! Robin never used guns, and knew exactly where to hit people to knock them out without killing them. You—…" He shook his head and walked over to the couch. "I thought this was over."

"Wow," said Black. "You all are nothing but a bunch of ungrateful brats. Here I thought I'd get a bunch of 'atta boy's for rescuing all of you. But nnnoooOOOOoooOoooo. You're all like 'people could have died' and 'I'm scared for my own life because you have a gun and you're crazy'."

Frightening how no one had said the second part aloud.

"Black," Starfire began, resting her hands on his shoulders. "We are grateful that you saved us. We knew you could do it, and knew you were our only chance. We're just…concerned about your methods."

Black looked at Starfire, tilting his head to the side. He glanced away, furrowing his brows, like he was listening to something.

Then he backed away from her. "Glad to know one person is grateful."

A moment later, Batman returned with a pale and shaking Gizmo. "I have a location."

"Good," stated Cyborg, from the computer. "Where are we headed?"

"Tomorrow night," Batman clarified. "They have a meeting. I'm going to be there instead. The rest of you are going to watch Black."

"Uh…tomorrow is Halloween," Beast Boy piped up. "With all the kids trick or treating, Robin likes to have us all on patrol."

Black perked up.

"Right," Batman sighed, forgetting the date.

"Sir, could we not put him in the containment unit for the night? I would be more than capable to look after him."

"That will have to work. In the meantime, we should clean this mess up."

—-

After all of that, Beast Boy returned to his room, totally pooped. He hadn't even done any fighting, but the adrenaline of it all kept him wired.

But as soon as he laid down, he got a whiff of an unfamiliar smell. He morphed into a bloodhound and started sniffing around. Someone had been in his room.

When it all clicked, he transformed back into a boy and ran to tell the others.

The doll was gone.