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On with the chapter.

Cyborg

The trip back to the tower was silent except for Starfire's soft sobs. I know she must feel bad about what she did but she should have thought her actions through a little better.

I still can't believe she did it. I know that Star gets emotional at times but tonight she totally lost it and almost got us all killed. I guess it is just proof of how Robin's disappearance has affected us. She looked so lost when we got back to the tower, lost and afraid.

I have to constantly remind myself that Star is not from this world. She doesn't have anyone but us to turn to and the idea that she almost killed us must be eating her alive. I will have to talk to her later and see how she is feeling.

Right now she is helping Beast Boy get settled on the couch with an ice pack and some pain killers. The little guy went down really hard earlier this evening and right now he has a killer headache. The quick escape we made probably didn't help either. If I remember correctly teleporting has always made him a little queasy.

The thought of Raven's teleportation power makes me realize that I haven't seen her since we returned to the tower. She had stayed with us long enough to make sure that we were all okay before she took off for the solitude of her room. I should probably leave her alone but this really isn't the time for someone like her to be alone. Now more than ever she needs her friends. We already lost Robin and I'll be cursed if we loose Raven as well.

I glance toward Beast Boy and Star. The ice and drugs seem to have done wonders for the changeling and he has his arms wrapped around Starfire who is crying her eyes out on his shoulder. I've become so used to seeing her cry over the last couple of months that it seems common place. She never cried when Robin was still with us. She was the picture of perky but now she has been reduced to something much less than she was.

With a sigh I turn away from them and make my way towards the wing that houses our sleeping quarters. I really want to retire to my own room and start thinking about what our next move will be but the need to check on Raven overwhelms me. I pass by my door and make my way to the end of the hall to her door.

I listen for a few seconds but don't really hear anything. She might already have gone to sleep but she seemed too emotional earlier to have gone to sleep already. I knock lightly and receive no reply. If she has gone to sleep than she won't mind be checking in on her so I reach out and turn the knob. Before Slade took Robin I never would have dreamed of entering her room unannounced but this is the second time in two days that I have felt compelled to do so. This kind of thing was something that only Robin was allowed to do and I never heard her complain about it.

I slowly push the door open and look inside. The room seems darker than it did last night and I can barely make out her curled form on the bed. I clear my throat and she looks up in shock. She clearly didn't expect anyone to come after her and I can see the tear tracks that have made their way down her pale skin.

When nothing comes flying at my head and she doesn't tell me to get out I make my way into the room and close the door. She stares at me with wide tearful eyes as I take a seat next to her on the bed. For a moment she turns away from me and scrubs viciously at her cheeks. I let her take her time. I'm here for her and she can have all the time she needs.

"I couldn't reach him." I'm surprised when she actually speaks. Raven is one of those strong silent types who rarely speaks to anyone. "I tried to reach his mind but he was blocking me out."

"I'm sure you did everything you could Rae."

"NO! I couldn't do anything. Don't you understand? I couldn't reach his mind. What's the point of having my powers if I can't help one of my friends?" I don't think I've ever heard her speak this much and I can tell from the tone of her voice that she is nearly hysterical. During her fit a few of her books and other small objects became victims of her power but I'm amazed at how well she is actually keeping everything under control.

"I understand girl just calm down. I'm sure you can help him we just have to get him away from Slade. You aren't going to be able to do anything when Slade is close enough to influence him." The two of us fall silent as memories from earlier in the evening wash over us. Raven begins to chant quietly under her breath and the books drop back to the floor.

As I sit beside her I can't get the memory of Robin's eyes out of my head. They were so emotionless, so empty, broken. He didn't even believe we were his friends. It had nearly killed me to fight him but I know that we can't let he and Slade run free. They would destroy the city in a heartbeat.

Our Robin would insist that we do everything in our power to stop them and as much as it is going to kill each of us to fight him none of us really have a choice in the matter. I know that Raven knows it and I know that Star and BB know it as well. Star might not accept it at first but deep down she knows what we will have to do if we can't snap Rob out of whatever Slade has done to him.

"Starfire almost got us killed tonight." I look up at Raven and nod before placing my head in my hands and sighing.

"Yeah." I really don't want to think about Star's actions, much less talk about them aloud but I know we have to do it at some point and that the best person to talk about them with will be Raven.

"What are we going to say to her?" I look up and stare at Raven for a moment. The tears are no longer running down her face and the cold emotionless mask that I am so used to seeing is back in place.

"I don't know." It is the truth. I really have no idea how to handle the situation. Team discipline was something we left to Robin and it is a craft that I have definitely not mastered in my two months as leader.

"She can't loose control like that again."

"I know."

"You need to talk to her."

"I know."

"Would you prefer that I do it?" I shake my head.

"No, we decided that I'm the leader of the team until we get Robin back and it's my job to talk to her." The two of us fall into silence and Raven looks away from me.

"Do you think we can get him back?" I let the silence extend between us as I try to think of an answer that might not turn out as an absolute lie in the near future.

"I know that I won't give up on him until we've tried everything we can to save him." She turns back to me and I can see a couple of tears in the corners of her eyes.

"What if our best isn't good enough?" She is full of questions tonight and I don't have answers for any of them. I am glad that she is asking them though. It means that she isn't completely shutting me out like she normally would.

"We will figure something out." It is the only answer I can give her right now and she seems to realize that I have no answers.

"Is Beastboy all right?" Finally a question I can answer.

"He seemed to be okay. Star was taking care of him and when I came up here he was trying to calm her down. She is taking this extremely hard."

"We all are." The two of us fall into an extended silence. Neither of us want to talk about what we are feeling. It is easier to talk in rational hows and whys but neither of really likes talking about our emotions. We just aren't good at it, not like Star and BB who have an almost uncanny ability to see the positive in a situation and express how they feel.

"How did it feel when you and Star were forced to switch bodies?" Raven stares at me in shock. She clearly didn't expect the sudden change of topic.

"Why are you asking? It really isn't relevant right now is it?"

"You know how her mind works better than I do. I'm just trying to figure out how she could loose control like that." Raven contemplates my question for a moment before responding.

"She didn't loose control. Her powers depend on her ability to show emotion and she got emotional. She didn't think Cyborg, she just reacted." I sigh in frustration. I had been hoping for a different response. I had hoped that Star's behavior was something that we could work on changing and making sure that it didn't happen again but I knew that it wasn't the case.

I stand and start pacing. I'm usually one who just kinda goes with the flow but now we need a plan, we need a plan or we won't survive. I'm so lost in my pacing that Raven's hand on my shoulder surprises me. I stop and look down at her.

"I'm not a leader Rae."

"You are doing the best you can. We all know that and we appreciate it. We probably would have drifted apart if you hadn't stepped up and kept us together." I nod. Her words hold a ring of truth to me. Each of us is so different that we need someone to hold us together.

"Thanks Rae, I'm trying."

"I know. Just keep trying and don't give up."

"I will. I need to go talk to Star." Rae gives me a small smile of encouragement and I head out of her room. As I reach the door she calls to me.

"If you need some help you know where to find me."

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTG

I pace back and forth across my narrow room. Master said that tonight's events went well. He says the message was delivered and that the Titans now know that they have no hold over me.

It is not enough for me. They got away, they should not have gotten away. I should have finished them so they could not dog the steps of my master and I. They are nothing but bugs that will be crushed under foot and when we next meet I will not let them escape me.

I told Master my thoughts when we returned to base. He laughed softly and told me that I would have my chance and when I did so he would not stand between me and them. I would be allowed to destroy them.

I think that he might have been pleased with my determination. My goal is to make him proud of my abilities. I want him to trust me and use my skills to help him conquer Jump City. It is an honor to stand at Master's side.

My mind constantly replays tonights battle. That red headed alien will be their downfall. She cannot restrain her emotions and I could immediately tell just by looking at her that she wanted to turn me back into a Titan's puppet. She will not be allowed to use me again.

With great effort I force myself to calm down and slowly I stop pacing. I must rest or Master will be angered with me. When I finally calm down enough to sleep I am only to be haunted by dreams.

I guess seeing the ones who used me invoked stronger feelings than I thought they would because my dreams are filled with the ghosts of past memories.

My dream self tries to run from them but they chase after me and I cannot escape them. They are everywhere I turn and I fear that they will consume me. I want to scream but I find myself alone with no one to hear me. What is the point of crying for help if your cries only fade into the distance and go unheard?

I scream despite the logic against doing so and something in my mind stirs. The soft flutter of a thousand bat wings in flight surrounds me and two giant wings encircle and protect me. The feeling is so familiar yet foreign at the same time.

Who is my mysterious protector? In answer to my query two images flash in my mind. One of a man in a business suit, the other of a masked man in black. The unknown cape and cowl seem so familiar yet no name comes to mind and I give myself over to the peace that this man offers. The soft flutter of bat wings on skin and I realize in my last moments of torment that bat wings aren't this soft.

TGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTGTG

It has been two months, two months with no word from him. I know that Master Bruce and young Master Dick had a falling out before the young master left and headed to Jump City but he still kept in touch. We both knew that he was okay now we aren't sure of anything.

Master Bruce says very little about it but I know it bothers him. He checks the communicators in the Batcave almost religiously and I know that he is hoping for some word, the smallest indication that the young man he raised as a son is well.

He only worries in the privacy of the cave. Whenever that cape wraps around his shoulders and the cowl hides his eyes he is Batman, and Batman has no worries for a young man on the opposite side of the country. To worry then would be a weakness and the Dark Knight must show no weakness.

He worries even though he doesn't show it. I'm probably the only one who knows him well enough to see the worried set of his jaw or who knows the true reason that he snaps at the members of the Wayne board when he goes into the office.

Despite everything that has happened between them Master Bruce still considers Dick like a son and if anything has happened to the boy I'm sure that Bruce will hold himself responsible. He will know that his logic isn't logic at all but he will still blame himself.

The approaching sound of the the Batmobile pulls me from my thoughts and I prepare to welcome him home and tend to any injuries that he may have sustained throughout an evening of crime fighting.

The long sleek car screeches to a halt and the engines fall silent as the cab of the passenger seat slides back. Batman hops from the car and pulls the cowl down from around his face to reveal worried blue eyes.

"Any word from Robin?" I shake my head

"I'm sorry Master Bruce but there has been no word from the young master." My words dishearten him but I know that a part of him knew that there had been no word. He knows that I will contact him the second I hear something if he is not here to receive it himself.

"Thank you Alfred."

"I have prepared dinner for you. It is warming in the oven. Shall I lay it out for you Master Bruce?" He gives me a tired smile of appreciation.

"If you would be so kind." We take our leave of each other as he goes to shower and I to see to his meal. When he finally appears I have everything ready and he sits down to eat. I can't help but notice how he picks at his food. Suddenly he speaks.

"Do you think he would be offended if I suddenly showed up?" I think carefully before answering. If the source of Master Bruce's worry was focused on anything other than the young master he wouldn't have even bothered to ask. He simply would have acted. Unfortunately he likes to give Dick his space. He knows of the boy's need to prove himself and he fears that if he tries to become too involved that Dick will shut him out.

He worries though and he likes a certain amount of control over a situation. Not having heard from Dick in two months have definitely taken their toll on him.

"I'm not sure what master Dick's response would be. He might be offended but he might not be."

"What if I disguised the visit as part of a business trip? Wayne Industries has been working with California computer companies and we have a couple of manufacturing plants out there that I haven't visited yet." I wait as he falls silent for a moment. Each of us is considering the idea. We both realize that Master Dick would see through such a ruse in a heartbeat but it is better than having no ulterior motive for making the trip.

"I think that a business trip would be an acceptable ruse for making such a trip. It would satisfy the members of the Wayne board and you have been known to make surprise inspections before. I would like to think of it as a means of quality control."

"Thank you Alfred. I will inform the board tomorrow and will plan to leave in the next couple of days. I trust I can place it in your hands to have everything prepared."

"As you wish Master Bruce." I look down at the table. "Is there anything else I can get you sir?"

"No Alfred thank you."

"Than I shall take my leave sir and begin your preparations."

For everyone who has been asking when Batman was going to show up there you go. He's in the fic now and will most likely remain a pretty big staple for the rest of the story.I'm actually trying to move the plot along so I hope everyone is happy with the developments.

Please comment. I love commentary. Feel free to make individual comments on each chapter. I'm happy either way.

TATA, for now,

Coldfire