It was cold.

That was what Robin's body signals were sending him. He ignored them as he passed through the streets of Jump City. Or what was left of Jump City.

He continued to walk along, absorbed in his own thoughts. Terra had betrayed them. She had destroyed the Tower, their unity, and ultimately, the Titans themselves. With them out of the way, Slade had taken over the city, and, now was hunting them down. This was a simple way to look at it, yet Robin thought into it with much more detail.

He had been forced to ditch his old costume. It stuck out like a sore thumb among the rubble and snow. He had donned all black, complete with black gloves, black leather jacket, black pants, black boots, the entire lot. It reminded him of a cross between The Matrix and Witch Hunter Robin. He kept the mask however. He didn't know why, but it held some value to him. Probably because it reminded him of the good days.

The good days... when they had been together, when they had been a team. Now, he might be the only one left. He ground his teeth together. If his friends were hurt, someone was going to pay. And they would pay dearly.

The permanent winter Slade had set upon the city didn't help his current state of mind. 'So this is why it was winter when Star followed Warp' Robin thought bitterly to himself as he continued his walk through what was left of his former home. He didn't understand why Slade wanted it winter. Perhaps an attempt to force the Titans out of hiding? Maybe he liked the cold? Whatever the reason, Slade had done it, and it was making Robin miserable. He wouldn't be surprised if that was his intent.

He felt the Colt .45's clunk against his chest. He had taken them on an impulse, and they had saved his life on several occasions. He didn't rely on them heavily, just in case all else failed. He practiced his fighting style every day, so that he wouldn't get rusty. However, when he did use them, he wasn't your ordinary gunman. There are several forms of martial arts that use guns as weapons, and learning them had made him quite the deadly foe.

But so was Slade.

Even the name sent Robin into hysterics. He was the reason that they were no longer together, he was the reason that the city was in ruins, he was the reason that he was now wandering the streets with no one to help but himself... the list went on and on.

Robin stopped walking. He sniffed the air, listened for movement. He picked up the smell of oil, heard the clank of metallic footsteps, felt the vibrations of movement behind him.

Androids. Slade's androids to be exact. They were the only other things left, as far as he knew.

Readying himself for battle, he reached inside his coat for his bo staff. Even retracted, it was a powerful weapon, as the added weight to his fist gave more oomph to his punch. Leaving it this way, he waited for their first move.

It came from behind.

He heard the whoosh of air from a punch being delivered to his back. With the speed and grace of a figure skater he whirled around and caught the offending extremity. Grabbing it further up the android's arm, he flipped it over his head onto its back, from where he stomped down on the head, crushing the motherboard that served as a brain.

Extending the bo staff, he spun around and, with a hoarse yell, charged into the middle of the ambush squad. His staff swung this way and that as he lay waste to his would-be attackers.

Several pulled out their blasters, but a quick placed explosive disk destroyed the weapons, along with their users.

One tried to gain the element of surprise by sneaking up behind him. Robin dealt with this strategy using a backwards kick, sending it into another android. Robin's staff found its way into both of their chests, hitting their battery packs and annihilating their source of energy. They de-activated, never to be fixed, as the damage Robin inflicted on them was to great for any mechanic to repair.

A group attempted to surround him, but all were repelled by the ferocity of their target's counter-attack.

Another group attempted to use the same tactic, but a spin kick sent them flying in different directions, landing as useless humanoid puppets, never to harm another being again.

What remained of the squad pulled out their blasters, but Robin sent a shuriken that dismembered the hands holding the blasters from their owners. Each then got another shuriken in the head, cutting their motherboards in half and effectively neutralizing them as a threat.

Thus, the skirmish ended, with Robin having only a slight burn where a laser from a lucky android had grazed his cheek. The Master of Games had called him a 'one-man army'.

The title was well earned.

Looking at the remains of the unfortunate ambush squad, he thought about his teammates. Where they too fighting off entire brigades of soldiers? Where they where they captured by Slade to be used as he saw fit? Where they even alive? He mentally evaluated their chances of living. He used his earlier fight to evaluate his former teammates. Assuming that they were fighting an average sized squad of androids, how would they fare in a fight alone?

Raven would have no problem with them. All she needed to do was grab them and crush them into a pile of scrap metal. After all, they were inorganic, therefore under her control, should she choose to use it.

Cyborg would be busting through them with a smile on his face, sonic cannon firing wildly as he plowed through them, his technology being far superior than that of their makers abilities as a mechanic.

Starfire would hopefully have learned that you couldn't reason with them, and wouldn't hold back for anything. Robin was worried about her. Out of all the Titans, she was most vulnerable. Not that she was weak, by no means did he doubt her abilities as a fighter. It was that she was too trusting.

Robin cleared his head. She would be fine. They were, after all, robots, devoid of human emotion. She would realize this. He knew it. She would be okay.

Beast Boy was probably hiding from them, taking them on one by one, using hit-and-run tactics. Robin could imagine the shape-shifter Charging as a gorilla, then running away as a cheetah when the fight got too intense, only too repeat the process again.

He smiled to himself. They should be okay, he thought to himself. He had confidence in his friends.

But if they faced Terra...

His smile wilted from his face at the thought of her. It wasn't the betrayal that really ate him up; it was what she did to Beast Boy that had really driven him up the wall. Beast Boy loved her. For God's sake, he truly loved her. He would have given his life for her. And she had played like she loved him back, then tossed him aside like garbage after her betrayal was revealed. Robin had seen that he liked her, but had kept his mouth shut, not wanting to drive the green changeling away from her in embarrassment. He was so happy with her, and was crushed when she showed her true colors. Robin remembered the look on his face as Terra grinned at him and threw him a mocking kiss as she left with Slade. Maybe he could talk her out of it, show her the light...

Robin snapped out of the memory. It was too late; Terra was truly Slade's. There was nothing that he could do about it. If anything could be done, it would have to be Beast Boy who did it. He was the one who loved her, and he was the best one to bring out what good was left in her, if any was left to bring out.

He again began to walk the streets. They were out there, somewhere. He didn't know for sure, but the thought was comforting. They were out there, in the vast wasteland that had once been the city. They were there. He now had a mission, and it drove him forward. No matter what it took, he was going to find out where his team was.

Little did he know how close two of his former comrades were.

()()()

Cyborg had been running from his pursuers for what felt like days, but was probably only a few hours. Adjusting the unconscious form of Raven to his left arm, he brought out his sonic cannon. Blasting a hole in the wall ahead of him, he tore through it, looking for a way to dispose of the androids that were trailing him like bloodhounds.

Shooting the support beam of the building, he dived through the open door and slammed it shut. Propping a slab of rock against it, he took off down the street. The building collapsed, crushing the androids inside. Breathing a sigh of relief, he turned his attention to Raven. He had stumbled right into a firefight between her and a team of androids. She had been hit from behind by laser fire. She was on her last legs when he came in on accident. As it turned out, his accident could have saved her life. If he hadn't been there...

He shook his head. He couldn't afford such thoughts now. Not with Raven in the state she was in.

He inspected the wound. A direct hit to the shoulder blade, into the top of the right lung, to exit through the other side. Knowing Raven, it probably came from behind. He didn't know for sure, but one thing was certain. The wound was serious.

Far too serious for him to handle.

Not that he was squeamish about blood or lacerations, but he wasn't built with medical tools, and his knowledge of first aid didn't go beyond wrapping a bandage or CPR. There was only one other option.

He needed another Titan.

Preferably Starfire, as the laser had went through part of Raven's breast, and he didn't want to be caught by Raven with her clothes off, no matter what the situation.

He sighed, and picked her up to continue on his way. He knew what he had to do. He had to find Starfire. She was an alien; she might know some form of healing wounds beyond the knowledge of this world. Plus, she was a girl, so there wasn't as much dirrerence between her and Raven, at least compared to Cyborg.

Grim faced, he trudged onward, hoping to stumble upon the alien girl. Starfire has to know what to do. he thought. Raven's life may depend on it.

It was then that he heard a noise.

Jerking his head toward the source, he scanned it with his cybernetic eye. It picked up a heat signature. Strange. he thought to himself, There's a heat signature. Robots don't have one, so it must be alive. But what could survive out here, with those walking piles of scrap everywhere?

He was about to go inspect, but then Raven shifted in his arms, bringing his attention to her. He couldn't leave her here. There were too many patrols out for it to be safe. But what if the noise was another Titan? his mind nagged at him. What if it's Starfire? What if they're in trouble?

Eventually, curiosity got the better of him, and he looked for a place to put Raven. He found the perfect spot. It was a hole in the street, about five feet in either direction and about four feet deep. Placing Raven in this, he sealed it with a section of wall, making sure to leave an air hole so she wouldn't suffocate.

With her in place, he went to find the source of the heat. Arming his cannon, should whatever it was be less than friendly, he went toward where he last saw the multicolored spot that meant heat on the infra-red spectrum. Looking around the corner of the building, it turned out to be a cat.

It was a tabby short hair, and it looked like it hadn't eaten in several days. It mewled pathetically at him, and Cyborg felt bad for the hapless feline that lay before him.

"Come here, big guy." he said sweetly, picking it up gently. Holding it in his arms, he began to stroke it's back. It mewled its thanks, and started to sleep. Cyborg carried the cat back to where he left Raven. Carrying both was going to be a hassle. But he couldn't leave the cat, and certainly not Raven, his friend. With the cat in one arm and Raven in the other, Cyborg felt more vulnerable than ever. He needed someplace to stay, an abandoned building, the docks, anywhere.

He plodded on, carrying his cargo downtown, hoping that somehow his prayers would be answered.

()()()

At that moment, Starfire was sitting behind a piece of building, hiding from any androids that were about in the area. Fatigue had weakened her substantially, and she knew she couldn't win a fight against five of them, let alone the companies of them that patrolled the streets.

Ignorant to Raven's plight, she thought about Terra.

'She is not evil, she is not evil!' she had voiced to the others, more to reassure herself than them. Why would she betray them? They were friends... she was jolted from her thoughts when she ran into something.

She fell over, and was immediately pinned down by a pair of large hairy arms. She kicked the figure in the chest, which threw it into the building opposite. Getting up, it seemed to change shape, and lunged at her, fangs bared, ready to bite her head off. She dodged to the side, and claws raked her stomach, drawing blood.

Crying out in pain, she punched her assailant in the gut with all her might. It fell back, gasping for air. She peered at the figure, which wrapped its body around her, squeezing her breath and life out of her. She could have broken free, but fatigue had sapped her of her usual strength.

As her vision blurred, she looked at her attacker. It was a snake. But what about the arms? Or the claws? She then noticed the one thing that connected it all together.

The snake was green.

"B... B... east... Boy..." she managed to gasp, and the green changeling instantly released her. Transforming into his usual self, he looked at her with concern in his eyes.

"Star! Are you okay? I'm such an idiot! I should have known, I should have paid attention, I..." she placed a finger on his lips to quiet him down.

"You made a mistake. That's all right. At least you and I are not..." she looked at the claw marks, "badly harmed."

"But I clawed your belly open. Any closer and I would have... would have..." He turned his head away in disgust.

"But you didn't. Now let us leave this place before those robots find us."

Beast Boy nodded silently, and in an instant, was an eagle. The two flew off in a random direction, not knowing exactly what they were going to do. Neither did the other Titans. Robin, Cyborg, and of course not Raven, as she was still KO'd. None of them knew exactly what to do next. But one thought that they all shared was that something must be done. Something had to be done. Or else, they would all surely perish.

()()()

Terra was pleased.

She had wiped out the Teen Titans. It had been pretty easy, as they were still in shock about her betrayal. Beast Boy most of all. It had been hard to leave him, but she didn't need him anymore.

Slade had given her the one thing she ever needed. Control.

Through the use of training, the cybernetics of the suit, and her own determination, she had gotten her powers in check. And with it, a whole wealth of power. Now that she no longer had to worry about making a colossal sand devil whenever she picked up too many rocks, she had almost no limit. She could now achieve her full potential. Lifting up boulders big enough to crush half a city block had been one of the many things she could do right off the bat. But Slade had told her that she had not yet reached her full limit yet. So she had trained.

She had trained ever so hard.

Her reminiscence was cut short when Slade's voice sounded out of the communicator in her ear.

"Terra, report to the control room."

"Yes, Master."

Walking down the hall, she thought about her short time with the Titans. It had been good to meet them. They were good friends. But they didn't give her control. And that was the one thing she sought.

Control.

That was what Slade offered her. And she took his offer, with all her heart and soul.

Well, maybe not all.

Beast boy had loved her, she could tell. Not some schoolboy crush, but actually loved her. And she loved him back. But Slade's offer had been too much to refuse, so she left him, trying to make it easier for herself by acting as though she didn't.

But the fake good-bye kiss was perhaps a little much.

She could tell it was like a slap to the face when she left. But that was the past. Maybe, after she got control, she would leave Slade and they would get together again. But until then, she followed Slade.

The door hissed open as she stepped into the control room.

"You summoned me, Master?"

"Yes, it seems another squad has been terminated by Robin. You are to seek him out, and report back to me as soon as you find him."

"Yes, Master."

As she turned to leave, he added, "Oh, and Terra,"

"Yes, Master?"

"Don't let Beast Boy distract you. You are allowed to associate with him, but do not hesitate to remove him if he interferes with your task."

She brightened up by the freedom she had gained. One step closer...

"As you wish, Master. And thank you."

As she hurried off to seek out the Boy Wonder, Wintergreen came out of the shadows.

"Are you sure it is... safe... to let her pursue that boy? He might try to get her to turn against you, sir. With all due respect, I don't like the freedom you've given her."

"I understand your concern, my old friend. But, if she isn't happy, she won't want to work for me. It is because of Starfire that I lost Robin. By keeping her away, he rebelled. I will not make the same mistake."

"You think he fancies her, sir?"

Slade smiled under the mask. "On some level, yes. And I think she returns the feeling. I've seen the looks passed between the two. They may not know it yet, but there is some deeper emotion between those two other than petty friendship."

Wintergreen got a thoughtful look on his face. "Yes, the boy does seem to look out for her a lot, doesn't he? Well, if you think it's alright, sir..."

"I do, my friend, I do. Why shouldn't she be happy? She has served me well. She's earned it."

"Very well then, sir. I'll be off to bed then."

"I'll stay up and monitor her progress."

Wintergreen shook his head, a smile of amusement prominent on his features. "Sometimes I wonder how you do it, sir."

Slade returned the smile. "Endurance, old friend, pure endurance. Good night."

"Good night, sir."

Wintergreen turned and left to his room. Slade stayed, looking at the girl on the monitor. She was riding a rock, scouring the city for her prey. Or Beast Boy. Love can do such things to people.

Slade sat back in his chair. He was sure to enjoy the show.

He watched as his apprentice's eyes darted hither and yon, looking for whatever she was looking for in the vast city below.

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You can get a picture of Robin at Animation Insider. It's .net, not .com. Go to WalkingArsenal's profile, and view his posts. Click on one that was made in Custom Teen Titan Avatars. It's on page 79, middle of the page, can't miss it. Sorry, won't let me use the url. It is property of WalkingArsenal, not me. Neither is Teen Titans. Constructive criticism is wanted, but no flames. I'm working on the next chapter as you read this, so expect it soon. I might change the wording of the chapters as I think of things, so tell me what y'all like and don't like.