Uhh... hey there... *Ducks rotten tomatoes* what's up?... It's been a while... ':) well I'm back again, after yet another extended absense. I could rattle on about highschool and marching band and drama and family issues, but to be frank: i'm not the whiny type, and you're here to read stories, not play therapist. So enjoy!

CH 14

"Raven? You okay?" Beastboy asked, as the girl shakily fell to her knees, portal slowly dissipating. "What's going on?"

"I'm fine. We have to- the others- where are they? Superman-"

"Woah, Rae, slow down! I can't think that fast! And I just got here – what's going on?"

"Don't know. Wasn't… here. Dealing with some issues. We have to find the others. They're fine, mostly… I think… I can't really sense them too well…"

"Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should-"

"No. Robin's pain has left my mind. Either he's not in that dream world anymore, or I just can not sense him. Either way, I'm fine. I can sense… Batgirl is unconscious. So is Cyborg. Starfire is fine… Superman! He's hurt! Have to go-"

"Just tell me how to help." Beastboy asked her sincerely. Taking a calming breath, she nodded. Find Starfire and Batgirl. I need to go help Superman. The kryptonite is-"

"As much as I'd like to know what's going on, it can wait. They can't. We'll figure this out later." Changing into a bloodhound, the shape-shifter followed the scent of Batgirl and Star, while Raven ran in the other direction.

"Superman..?" Raven called out, looking around, "He's got to be nearby… I can sense him…"

"Ungh…" Her head shot up at the faint sound, and she ran towards it. Sure enough…

"Oh, Azar! You need medical attention! You got shot…? But… We need to get you to a hospital!"

The man of steel shakily grabbed the uncharacteristically shaky girl's wrist, shaking his head. "If you can get me away from the Kryptonite I should be fine for now…"

"I'd teleport you, but…"

"No worries. Help me up?" the Kryptonian attempted to reassure, while also attempting to remember what had exactly happened. He knew he was shot, but… "Robin!"

"What?"

"He was tied to the lab table over there… wasn't-isn't he?" Looking over to where Superman was pointed, she shook her head.

"It was a trap. That's not Robin. It's just a copy. I can't sense it… it doesn't truly live. One of Slade's androids, made to fool you - to fool all of us… We need to get you out of here." With no little effort on her part, Raven helped hoist the man of steel to his feet, and together they hobbled outside.

The blood-hound Beastboy swiftly changed into a cheetah, running towards the source of the noise he had found – Batgirl, coughing up a lung or two. "Dude! I found you!"

She jumped up, ready for battle, but relaxed when she found it was only Beastboy. "Aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"

"And aren't you supposed to be kicking Slade's butt?" he retorted. What's up with the others?"

"Dunno, got knocked out," she admitted, pointing to her temple, "Kick to the skull. Last I saw Starfire was going berserk – the Kryptonite has a somewhat limited effect on her as well. I'm sure whoever got me nabbed her, too. Haven't seen Cyborg. Any sign of Supes, Raven or Robin?" Beastboy nodded, as they cautiously continued down the hall.

"Got here just as Raven was teleporting in from… wherever. She went to find Superman, said something about him being hurt. But uh- since when can Superman get hurt? And since when is he here?"

"Just keep going and help me find the others!" Batgirl shouted, sprinting forwards.

"Du-ude!"

Robin was confused. Very much so. On his 'mission,' which turned out to be playing guard for the masked man, taking out whoever he came in contact with, he had done as he was told. He even had used the gun, just as Slade had asked. He wasn't too sure what exactly Slade was up to, but he decided he didn't want to know – after all, why get caught up in what's going on in a fantasy world, when he could be out in the real world? But none of that is what confused him – it was more the fact that he hadn't woken up.

Wasn't the deal that as soon as he turned in the dream, he'd wake up? If shooting one of his closest friends with a gun, breaking Bruce's code, and stomping all over the Batman's legacy wasn't enough, what was? But perhaps that was the problem – shooting someone is exactly what Bruce would have to do to leave this nightmare – and he wasn't Batman. So what would he have to do…?

"Very good, apprentice," Slade congratulated, "You did much better than I expected, after all, it's been quite some time since you've last been out on the field, and even then you displayed some… hesitancies towards using guns…"

"Oh, don't pretend like this is real," Robin shot back with revulsion, "You know as well as I do that eventually this will be over, and back in the real world-" he was suddenly cut off by the unnerving sound of Slade chuckling.

"A vivid imagination indeed. Real world? You act as if this one is fake."

"Don't pretend that isn't the case! I'm not falling for any more of your games! How do I get out of here?"

Slade, still looking rather amused, speculated, "Did you perhaps manage to get a concussion in the time I was away? Pity. Perhaps fresh air will clear your mind. If you really must know how to 'get out of here,' the door is just down the hall and to your left, as it's always been. Really, you'd think you would acquire a sense of direction in the many years you've been here," he teased.

"Whatever,"Robin thought to himself, "If this Slade is trusting of me, it looks like I can go whatever I want. But where? And how will this help get me back to reality?"The thought of shaping this dream world to fit his own reality, or even a better reality, briefly came into play, but he swiftly dismissed it. After all, it'd be selfish and stupid. He was needed in the real world after all…

"But what if this is the real reality? What if the 'real' world is fake, and this is real? Am I just a villain who dreams of being a Titan? Or a Titan stuck in a world where I'm a villain? This is supposed to be a nightmare… but it doesn't feel like one. So am I really dreaming? How do I become the opposite of what I am, to escape what Slade wants me to be? But… isn't it really the same thing?" His thoughts were hastily becoming too complicated for even him to decipher, hurling him headfirst into an endless vortex of 'What-ifs.'

With a light chuckle and a frown, he shakily realized, "I'm loosing my mind."

And to be fair, he found that he honestly didn't care.

Love? Hate? Wish to burn? Shred? Tear apart? Smash your computer/kindle/ipod to smitherines for having such a terrible atrocity on your screen? Wanna yell at me for taking FOREVER to update?

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