"So that's what happened," Cyborg finished.

Robin nodded as he lounged back at the Tower with the rest of the team, mulling over this new information. So they had gotten a sample of his blood during their last fight and had created an antidote from that. It was ingenious to say the least.

"And the blaster you were working on, Cyborg?" Robin asked.

"Yup, I let him take it," Cyborg said.

"Why?" Robin asked.

"We knew that Slade would show interest," Starfire said, "so we made sure that its use was on the televised."

"Once you got into the Tower to steal it, it was go time," Beastboy said. "Starfire was just the alarm system."

"I linked up with Starfire's mind that night so I was alerted when she got knocked out," Raven explained. "Once she was knocked unconscious, I woke up Beastboy so he could follow you."

"That's how you found Slade's hideout," Robin said.

"Yeah, you and Slade should 'bee' more careful!" Beastboy crowed.

"That drug was insane," Cyborg continued, shaking his head. "It was so complicated; it took us a month to come up with an antidote!"

"But we managed to save you," Starfire said gleefully. "We are victorious!"

Robin laughed along with Starfire, then considered. It practically all made sense, but there was one thing that Robin still couldn't understand. During their last battle, why had he not wanted the Titans to inject Slade with the cure? If Slade had been cured, then there was a possibility that the Titans would've been able to take him down and imprison him as the villain that he was. Why had Robin, so bent on taking Slade down before, suddenly stopped right when he had the chance?

As he thought about it, slowly the realization dawned on him. The drug that both Slade and Robin himself had had made them both incredibly strong. Worthy, formidable opponents. But that wasn't why Robin had prevented his friends from curing Slade. It wasn't because Robin was some sort of noble hero and felt sorry for Slade.

The reason was that Robin had a safety net all along. Though he might not have realized it until now, his friends were his safety net. They always had been. Slade had no friends, and because of that, the only safety net he had was his strength. Since Slade had never permanently taken away Robin's own safety net, Robin felt that he shouldn't remove Slade's net, either. Somehow, Robin hadn't wanted to take that away from him.

"Dude, you okay?"

Robin turned to Beastboy, grinning. "I'm good, Titans. In fact, I feel great."

"Considering what's happened, doesn't this call for some sort of . . . " Raven trailed off, blushing a bit.

"What is this 'the call' for, Raven?" Starfire asked.

"Celebration?" she finished sheepishly.

"Aw, yeah, man!" Cyborg yelled, jumping up with Beastboy. "It's time for pizza!"

"Almost wish I hadn't brought it up," Raven muttered.

Robin laughed as Beastboy turned into an octopus, grabbing each one of the Titans with his tentacles and rushing out of the Tower. In minutes, the five were outside the Tower, running through the streets of Jump City. They were free. He was free, and as they neared their favorite pizza joint, Robin couldn't help grinning and turning to his team, his friends, his family, as he yelled those all-too-familiar words: "Titans, go!"

T The End T