Oh my god... It's been a MONTH!

I'm sorry... I've been on and off this chapter for a bloody month and it's still not up to par... but I'm SLOWLY BUILDING TO SOMETHING! I promise.

Anywho for those that have faved THANK YOU and to my reviewers YOU ARE TRULY THE BEST!

Thanks you everyone for reading this lil' ol' fanfic of mine. It means a lot. =)

Anywho ON WITH THE STORY

As usual Slade and Robin and the DC verse are not mine, all belong to DC Comics... ALL but Sariel and Madaline and Asif and Geist... THEY BE MINE! Mwahahahahaha!

BTW Asilla thank you for the gold bricks... Now I can finally afford a house... or maybe not.

Anyways ONWARD!

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Melding wtih the shadows Robin slithered his way further into the little set up the men had put up out front and right in the midst of the burning city. They all just stood around, waiting for an order, a snap of a finger to tell them to move along. It was as if they would rather face death at the ravaging hands of the fire then death by some cruel punishment for running away. Where they so afraid of this Russian woman?

His eyes darted around, looking beyond just the men. He tried to see any sign of Sariel but of course there was nothing. But something strange did indeed catch his eye. Robin did a double take, he wasn't so sure at what he had seen.

"Asif?" No... how could he be alive? He died in that hospital. Unless... "He got out somehow?" It was a whisper of a question, but it begged to be answered. Robin knew he would have to get closer to see if what his eyes told him held true. If Asif was very much alive, then what was he doing with these men? Were they holding him hostage? Were they using him as some sort of bait against Sariel? Or did Asif simply betray them?

The last thought staggered in his mind. Asif wouldn't betray them... or would he? He didn't known him that well, but usually Robin was pretty good with getting an idea of how one worked with the basic information on an individual, how they walked, how they talked to one another, hand gestures, and various other body movements. A lot of basic things Batman taught him in the early stages of his training. He had to admit Asif didn't give off the traitorous kind of vibe, even from a few hours of knowing him outside of the journey from the desert to the city.

Robin frowned. Things didn't add up, but yet out here... Things never did. Regardless he was going to have to find a way around all these men and see if he can talk to Asif himself, whom looked pretty injured at the moment, and not just physically either. Asif seemed kind of out of it, as if he was coming down from some kind of high or something. Did they give him some sort of drugs?

"Looks like his arm has been pulled right out of his socket... Have they've been torturing him?" the boy mused. "Why aren't they giving him medical attention?" They were just letting him sit there in pain. Robin narrowed his eyes. Even if Asif did turn on Sariel... who he sided with wasn't treating him very well. Frowning, Robin knew he couldn't think on that right now. He needed answers more than anything else. And first he'd start with Asif.

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There was twenty men out here. All of them fully armed. And he had no idea what exactly Slade was planning. But he did see their jeep stashed in between two buildings that were catching fire, meaning he had to be fast. Time was not on his side.

Quickly he hid himself behind one of the barricades the men had made. Looking up for a moment Robin noticed that there was a few grenades and a handgun just left there. "What is this a video game?" the young man mentally cringed. All of his newly formed instincts was telling him to pick up that gun. But the boy shoved the thoughts away. "No." he thought. He was not going to kill anyone.

"Never." Robin reforged the Hero incentive within him. Even though he felt that it's fire was small and fading in this dangerous arena. The need to move forward burned... but then he remembered the man he left behind to die.

"You killed him." A whisper told him in his mind. A voice he wished would vanish. It didn't happen often but when it did... it was like his mind was coming to terms with things in a manner he didn't particularly like.

"You left him to die, it's the same thing as killing someone. That man's blood is on your hands."

"It was leave him there or be killed" He tried to rebuttal... Robin's eyes widened for a second. Was he trying to argue with himself? "Great" he mentally scolded himself. He was going mad.

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The fire was roaring, even down in this cellar she was beginning to feel the heat. She could hear the creaks and the crashes from above. She knew she would have to get out of there soon, if not then the whole building would crash down upon the cellar leaving her no way out and kill her.

This was not an option. Not when everything was at stake here.

Sariel was back on her feet but unfortunately so was the Russian. "Do not even try to escape." her heavy commanding accent rolled off her lips. The blonde woman looked over to the brunette and smiled.

"There is no where for you to go moya kroshka."

Sariel looked to the woman. "One can try."

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Robin didn't like the idea. But he picked up the gun. It felt heavy and uneasy in his hands. "You're not going to kill anyone." he reassured himself. "But Sariel... she could use this when I find her." Robin shook his head, the voice came back.

"Giving her a weapon to kill is just as bad as killing them yourself."

Robin took a deep breath, and told himself relax.

"Use the weapon yourself. You know how to somewhat use a gun. You know how to defend against one as well. You don't have to kill to defend yourself."

His breathing hitched. No... he didn't have to kill anyone, but anyone that would get in his way... "No..." Robin shook the thoughts away. What was he thinking?

No, Robin would not kill... but he would bring Sariel her weapon of choice. Which lead to a problem he still hadn't solved. Where was Sariel and how to find her?

And then there was Asif who only sat a few feet from him. Robin sighed and took the gun and started to aim at a soldiers leg.

"Damn it all..." Robin whispered to himself as he pulled the trigger.

The man went down with a yelp of pain. Robin quickly took cover. They were either going to open fire into the area in which the bullet came from or be cautious and look for the intruder. And from the looks of it they were taking the second option. "Good" he thought. "Let them find me."

It only took them a few seconds before he had half of the men surround him, all of them aiming their assault rifles at their target. One of them yelled at him to get up. The man roughly took the gun out of Robins hands.

"What do you think you are doing boy?"

Robin narrowed his eyes at the man "Great this one knows some english." The boy mentally scoffed at the man before him.

"Just fucking with you." The boy smirked at the man. "Why? You got a problem with that?"

The man slapped him across his face. "You're that little American hero aren't you?" He grabbed the boy by his collar and held his face very close to his own. 'What is filth like you doing all the way out here?"

Growling he answered. "I'm here for a friend." So they knew he was a hero. They were probably all informed on the way over on what and perhaps who they would be dealing with. It did indeed seem this society knew more about the ongoings of the world more so than most others...

The soldier grabbed the boy, a smile plastered on his face, his lips reaching the boys ear. "You have no friends here." The man laughed and then harshly grabbed him and threw him in front of the other soldiers. "Get moving" The boy frowned, all weapons were now pointed at him.

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Asifs eyes went wide when he saw the men bring over none other than Robin himself. He heard the shot from behind him. And briefly wondered if someone's gun went off accidentally, but then he heard the cry of pain as a man fell to the ground, his leg bleeding out. He wondered if they would give him medical attention or leave him to rot?

He did not expect Robin to have pulled the trigger.

Nor did he expect them to actually find him, it was not at all like the boy wonder... it was almost as if he wanted them to capture him.

The men didn't know what to do with him, there was no place to hold a prisoner, and they were sure that Madaline would want him alive. She had said so herself. And now they had him, there was no place to keep him. Asif sighed and volunteered to keep the prisoner under surveillance. Assuring the men that the boy before him would do him no harm, and that he could handle his own, even with a broken arm.

It was pure silence for awhile. But Robin asked first.

"How did you survive?"

Asif was at first reluctant. But gave in soon enough. "They came to me, gave me some sort of medicine... I felt better soon after. Told me there was some sort of nano technology involved and that it would help me heal up in no time." He he clutched his chest with his good hand. Whatever they gave him, its run through his system was coming to an end. " Then they burnt down the hospital... There was nothing I could do." his breaths were deep and jagged.

Robin gritted his teeth. "Nothing you could do? Or didn't want to?" His words were like a whisper. But the anger was evident enough.

"You betrayed-"

"Betrayed who? No one holds allegiances out here, it's just about survival." Robin frowned. Again it was back to survival. What about loyalty? What about kinship? Or friendship? Did these things mean nothing?

Asif looked to his younger companion. "Sariel would understand." Robin eyed Asif's broken arm. "Did she do that?"

Asif shrugged. "Maybe?"

Robin took a deep breath. So she was in the area, now he just had to find out where. "After she snapped your arm do you really think she understands? Sounds like she's more then just mad at you. The problem is I think she understands it to much. She knows the feeling of betrayal. Didn't she always do everything to help you guys survive? That is what a leader of a team or a unit does. They sacrifice much so your load is lighter. If anything, I say she knows what survival means more than you do."

Asif seemed to shudder then. In anger perhaps? Or was it the drugs he was on? But he kept himself calm. He took a deep breath and glared at the young man beside him. "What the hell do you know?"

"A lot more than you think I do." Robin closed his eyes and all over again he say his parents fall to their deaths, then the Joker with a gun pointed at him, the clear sound of a gunshot... then all the blood, so much blood. Bruce's look of horror, his panicked behavior...

"A hell of a lot more..." Robin looked to Asif. He didn't want to believe it. But Asif had betrayed them. Not just Sariel but in a small way, Asif betrayed Robin as well.

"You should join."

"Join?"

"Yes I'm sure Madaline already-"

"No Thanks."

Robin knew the clock was ticking, Maybe now was a good time to get Slade to blow up that jeep. Give him enough time to get in there and find Sariel. Asif had betrayed him. He would definitely get left behind. He was sure Sariel would have no qualms about that.

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Sorry if it's got typos... I've checked it a few times... I will check it again tomorrow... but in the meantime I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I'm gonna try and update a lot more again. Life has just been crrraaaazzzzyyy... But a good crazy.

PLS PLS Review and let me know what you think! =) I'll give you a cookie if you do. =D

Anywho see you all later.

Have a good day guys.

-Fangs