Disclaimer: Everything but the plot is not mine! I don't own Teen Titans *cry*

Hi, I'm Kazhiru and this is my first fan fic written in English. In this story, my main goal is to explore these characters' minds and to try to write some backgrounds, feelings, emotions, and all that mental stuff. Why? Because I need training and it'll be fun

Take Your Medicine, Chapter 1 (Edited by SladinForever)

"But friend Robin, I must insist you stay home just this once!"

Starfire had been fussing over him the entire day and Robin finally had it up to here.

'Just because I have the flu doesn't mean that I can't stop fighting crime and decide to go on hiatus!'

"Starfire, please; I'm fine! Some stupid germ is not going to stop me," Robin said behind gritted teeth as he stomped to the main room of the tower.

The alarm had gone off just a moment ago and the Titans were gathered in for more information.

"But Robin, are you sure? What if it is something more? I am most worried about you."

"Star, I. Am. Fine!" he almost yelled at her, turning around.

'Geez, what is the matter with her? Some people need help out there! It could be Control Freak, Red X, Mad Mod, or Plasmus! I simply can't go rest now! People need me! And it's not like I'd let some stupid germ stop me!' he thought angrily.

Robin stepped into the main room where the big TV, living room, and kitchen were. The other team members stood quietly, waiting for his instructions.

"Team, we don't know what it is out there, but we will go there and stop it. I'm also very aware that we will have to separate to find it faster, but once you find it, call everyone."

Robin looked at the Titans, except Starfire, seeing as she stood behind him. Seemingly, he didn't even have any effort to turn on her. Maybe it was a small punishment for fussing over an already-made decision. The look on his face as he watched the other Titans, was stern, like he was saying, 'don't you even dare try and stop me'.

"Titans, GO!"

And with that, the Titans stormed out of the building. Reaching the garage, Robin picked up his helmet from his motorbike's handlebar and started forcing it onto his head.

"Robin, I know you want to save the city and there's nothing we can do to make you feel any better, but I think Starfire is right." Raven was speaking to him. "You should rest until we know more about your condition."

Robin pulled his helmet off in frustration and turned on his heel to look at her rather than speaking to his motorcycle.

"Raven, I will not just stand around. If you really feel that this is something that bad, you should heal me. I know you can."

Raven took a step forward so that she stood right in front of Robin. She stared into his mask-covered eyes with a rather sharp look.

"Robin, you need to understand. I already told you this once, and I'm going to repeat myself to you only once, so listen up," Raven said, just to assure Robin that her decision to not to cure him was final. "I know I can heal you, but healing every little flu is a waste of my powers and is plain stupid. If I heal every, single, little illness you might have, there is a slight possibility that your future diseases will evolve into a Nosocomial infection, and that means no antidote will save you."

Raven was dead serious as she stared at Robin with the same hard look. The Titan leader sighed as he surrendered to her. She had a point; he had heard about that. It was true that some viruses could and would become immune to medicines and that was a big problem in hospitals. It was really hard to just admit that Raven was right; his stubbornness just didn't leave much room for that option. Nevertheless…

'I can do this goddammit!'

"Raven, I understand you," he said. "I just…I'm frustrated, that's all. But enough talking. We need to go."

At least it was a start, Robin finally surrendering. He hung his head as a sign that he would not fight on the matter anymore.

"Robin, just take it easy," Raven said with a small, warm smile as she looked at him with slightly worried, but still reassuring, amethyst eyes.

"Yeah, yeah…"

Robin put his helmet back on his head lazily as he sat on his bike. He watched as the dark girl flew ahead. With a sigh, Robin hit the gas and rode away from the tower.

Now that he had finally gotten away from those fussing Titans, his head felt heavy. That little encounter with the girls was really digging into Robin's nerves. Along the way, he had gained a headache and his mind felt foggy. He also felt a bit feverish, but he tried to hide it the best he could. After all, he had been able to hide his sickness and nausea from his friends, so he was confident that he would be able to hide it until he got back. No big deal.

Not much time passed before Robin parked his motorcycle by the side of an old warehouse and jumped off. Dizziness consumed him and he almost lost his balance the second he laid foot on the concrete. The Titan leader was barely able to compensate his footing before he fell.

'Maybe the girls were right. Maybe some rest wouldn't be that bad of an idea…' he thought.

Robin was starting to get very tired at the thought. He was having trouble just trying to walk a straight line. The feeling of weakness and dizziness was making things harder as the world was spinning in his eyes. His limbs felt like they weighed a ton each. As the ground spun, his stomach growled from nausea. Sweat had started to form on his face. Robin wiped it off and stopped to take a break. The fever was rising, with benefits.

'I got to get a hold of myself.' Robin pulled himself together and shook his head to get rid of the nauseous feeling. Unfortunately, that act just added to it. 'Okay…' he thought. Robin's world was spinning around him again. He fell to the ground since he couldn't keep his balance. 'Damn sickness.'

Robin pushed himself up once more and crawled to the side of the building to hold himself up against the wall. He certainly wished the others had found the trouble already and, better yet, gotten rid of it.

Against his better judgment, Robin decided to rest a little. Not too long by any means, just enough for his headache to ease down. He slumped to the ground as he leaned against the wooden wall of the warehouse. His head was killing him. It felt like someone had been drilling a hole through his temple. Now it was getting harder and harder just to stay focused, or conscious for that matter. He felt dehydrated and feverish too. He was thirsty and hot. Cold chills surged through him every once in a while, just for the fun of it.

Unable to even sit up now, Robin fell on his side, resting his head on the cold gravel. The coldness felt cool and comforting against his hot skin. During this time, his breathing had gotten harder and louder. The gravel stuck to his sweating face, but he didn't care. He lay there for several long minutes until he decided to try walking again. He had felt nothing like this when he was at the tower. His condition had just taken a fast turn for the worse in less than ten minutes while he was driving on the streets of Jump City.

Robin pushed himself into an upright position and then stood up. He was still leaning against the wall for a little bit of comfort. Just when the Titan was about to take a look inside the old warehouse, his communicator started beeping. He whipped it into his hand, flipped the lid, and saw Beast Boy's face on the small screen, looking right at him.

"Dude, what's wrong with you? You look dirty!" Beast Boy stated, referring to the dirt on Robin's face.

Wiping the rocks and tiny pebbles off, Robin asked with a hoarse voice, "Have you found it already? Where and what is it?"

Beast Boy looked grave. "We saw Slade unfortunately. He's in an old warehouse on the outskirts of the city." The green Titan momentarily whipped out of sight to duck away from unidentifiable fragments that were flying towards his head. His face came back on screen. "The others are already here and were in too big of a rush to call you."

When the screen became blurry for only a moment,Robin assumed Beast Boy had quickly switched his location. He was soon back, leaning on a rather big wooden thing. A crate maybe.

"Are all of you okay in there? And where exactly is this warehouse?" Robin asked, sounding rather worried, or as worried as his sore voice would allow.

"You know that big, old, red one about a mile from the freeway?"

The screen became fuzzy again before revealing both Beast Boy and Cyborg looking at Robin, their faces filling the entire screen. The communicator was, after all, designed for personal use only, not group chat sessions.

"Are you all alright? What just happened out there?" Robin asked, his voice sounding rushed.

He watched his two teammates collect themselves together.

"Well it's rather difficult over here. We don't think we can hold him much longer," Cyborg said. "Where the heck are you anyway?"

Cyborg quickly snatched the communicator from Beast Boy's hand before pushing him back into the fighting.

"I'll be there in a second," Robin said. "I'm at an old warehouse about a mile-"

It dawned on Robin right when the main door exploded open, one door flying completely off while the other hung from its hinges. A thick blast of black smoke poured out from inside the building. Something black darted through it and started running towards the forest. It was the fastest route back into the city. Almost as a reflex, Robin was already on its heels, running after it as fast as he could. His communicator was left forgotten on the ground.

With how fast the figure was running, Robin had a good feeling it was indeed Slade. He really wished he wouldn't run all the way back to the city. His breathing had become ragged and hard, his muscles already burning. Normally, Robin could run much longer. And that's what worried him. He was afraid at how weak he had gotten by a simple, little flu virus. His breathing was soon hurting his lungs, the running strained his legs, and his head was becoming fuzzy again. He felt a migraine coming on as well.

The other Titans either couldn't catch up yet or hadn't even tried to come after them. Of course, they probably didn't know Robin was after Slade. The villain seemed to have no problem jumping from hillock to hillock and dodging the trees. Robin, on the other hand, had trouble keeping his mind concentrated and organized, what with the pain and nausea. He was faltering and stumbling on the bumpy ground.

Somehow, he managed to keep himself standing and running, even though his legs protested like mad. His sides were getting scratched up by the tree trunks when he couldn't dodge quick enough. Robin even had a long scratch on his left flank. His suit had been torn open and his sides were bleeding somewhat. But he just gritted his teeth and kept on running. There was nothing he could do for it now anyway. He just hoped that his wounds wouldn't get infected once this was all over.

The Titans were still nowhere to be seen. Slade didn't even seem tired. Robin, on the other hand, was losing his breath. His legs and lungs were hurting more than ever. He felt like he could start vomiting blood at any moment. Of course, with a normal flu, that couldn't happen. There was no logical reason for that to happen. Besides, Robin knew it was all in his head. He just felt like vomiting. Ironically, he really could taste the flavor of blood in his mouth; he just pushed it aside. Robin's mouth felt terribly dry while he continued to run. His lungs felt like sandpaper and his head hurt like hell. He kept going from one hillock to the next however. Luckily, he could still see Slade up ahead of him. How the sick child was able to keep up with his speed was a mystery.

After a couple more minutes, Robin finally decided to quit. His muscles spasmed and refused to move another inch. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he stumbled over a log in his path. Branches, as he fell, scratched his face, arms, and legs badly enough to draw blood, but nothing serious. Luckily, he fell on smooth moss. His head wasn't too damaged, but his lungs had all the breath knocked out of them. His back had twisted in a tiny, arched angle, but not enough to actually hurt. Robin wasn't able to move from the spot because of these factors. He gasped and wheezed to get his lungs full of air, bringing in some dirt in the process.

With Robin unable to concentrate, his pain hit him good. All his muscles ached and his limbs felt heavy. Along with feeling thirsty, he had a problem with salivating. In fact, the saliva was almost foaming out of his mouth. The Titan felt his nausea, dizziness, and headache coming back to him ten fold. He started to cough to straighten his airways and to rid himself of the foam-like saliva, but his lungs didn't seem to have enough air to process such a simple task. He was practically choking. Sweat was forming all over his body and his clothes were getting wet when water seeped out of the moss from his weight. He was now getting cold, near freezing to be exact.

'M-Must be the fever's…doing,' Robin thought groggily.

As his vision blurred, Robin saw a steel-toed boot land right by his face. He quickly felt a tight and painful grip on the back of his neck before someone pulled him up from the dirt. His body screamed in pain but he didn't have the energy to protest. Robin hung in the cruel grip, his mind slowly falling into darkness. The last thing he saw before he lost full consciousness to the world was the green blur of the forest.