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Take your Medicine	By : Imaginary Category: DC Verse Cartoons - Teen Titans > Slash - Male/Male > Robin/Slade Views: 8215 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, nor the characters of the series, nor do I make any money or profit from this story.

Chapter List
- 14
- 15
- 16
AN: Ohai! I'd like to warn you of this chapter's lenght! This thing is LONG, Sladin says it's about 20 pages! This chapter was one pig stepstone for me, since somewhere about here I picked myself from the scruff and was like "Stop crying about how the character developement sucks and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT WOMAN!"

As soon as they were both sealed inside the simulator room, Robin could already feel the floor crumble and started seeing the walls move around them. The panels were shifting and the roof was turning. He could see small, tiny holes forming on the roof. Robin stared at them in wonder. Soon the smells were arriving and a thick smell of mud, soil, and moist and wet air filled his lungs. Then he heard a huge bang and roaring thunder. The first drop fell from the holes in the roof, hitting Robin's cheekbone. It didn't take long got the rain to start falling, as if a storm was coming. The floor was getting slippery and flooded with water. Robin stayed staring at the roof for as long as he could before the roof was hidden behind a heavy sheen of cloud and fog. As Robin looked back at the floor, he no longer saw a flooded room, but of water puddles and mud. He soon started gazing around when he no longer heard any sounds of the room bending around them. The only thing he could hear was loud thunder every half a minute and the heavy rain around them. He couldn't even see much. The fog was so deep that he could barely see ten feet ahead. The rain felt heavy on his skin and it was cold. The water got in everywhere on his clothes, making it feel uncomfortable, heavy, and glued to his skin. His hair became flat and was plastered to his mask. He had to sweep them off his eyes constantly because it had become enough of an inconvenience.

"I suggest making your clothes water proof," Robin mumbled, once the water got through his uniform. It was annoying, tight, and didn't leave much room to move since it seemed to constrict everywhere.

"I did, but once the material got too stiff and rubbery, I decided that I had better things to worry about," Slade answered with an annoyed grumble, but the hasty look at Robin's form didn't look regretful at all. "I wonder if white would suit you at all…" Slade mused, but his voice was quickly drowned by the announcement that passed through the speakers.

"Welcome to the simulated test chamber. We have prepared a course with a current test level of Five," Robin heard the robotic voice say over the microphone. He took it as the voice of the robot that was left in charge of everything. He couldn't quite tell if the voice presented a specific person, but it sounded like a woman. A strict one. "You will have to defeat the monster that has been set loose on the subway. Your time is set to two hours, which is the time left before the water will rise and present a serious threat of drowning. The monster gains advantage with the water that has been raining in for weeks. If you cannot defeat it before you run out of time, or before the monster has a full advantage of the field, you will fail. Do not get separated. Both are required to survive the simulation. Begin with the test."

"Well she wasn't very enthusiastic…" Robin mumbled, walking closer to Slade.

The fog was as intense as ever and it was hard to tell where they were now. Robin only hoped that Slade had some kind of idea about the subway location.

"Well, compassion was not one of the things in which I considered mandatory," Slade said, starting to make his way forward. "But enough of her, I think I have an idea of the subway's location. I don't remember being on this map before, but I suggest researching the center of town would be a great start."

"Yeah, it's as good as any, I guess," Robin mumbled as an answer, but followed Slade nonetheless.

Robin had to take longer steps than usual to keep up with Slade's pace and to avoid losing him in the fog. The water was rising slowly, but at this point it wasn't too alarming yet. The shoes seemed to keep the water out.

"We'll just search for any kind of shop or info signs from here. It seems to be peaceful enough. I guess everyone is inside in such a rain…" Slade mused, searching the sky and the road ahead for any kind of lights of the city.

So far Slade and Robin weren't even close to one. The ground was too muddy, full of water, and rocky to be a city, he supposed. It seemed that they were on a deserted area full of rocks and cliffs. The path was hard to travel on, but they had a mission to worry about.

"What do you mean everyone? This is a simulator Slade. Do you really think there would be unimportant people just waltzing around? Are we even going the right way?"

Robin was already complaining as they stumbled onward. The ground was slippery due to the water and, thanks to all the rocks, it was hard to find a proper footing. At times, the rock he stepped on was either moving or weak enough to prevent standing on his full weight.

"Of course there are people," Slade corrected. "I made this device as realistic as possible. It's natural to walk by some random, non-important to the mission characters. At times those characters can be important with your plan. Sometimes they can be a distraction, sometimes just a burden, and, if not that, a normalcy. And as for the right way, the simulator usually turns the room around for you so that, once the room is completed, you are facing the right direction. So our best bet is to just keep going straight until we find what we are looking for."

"Well that's convenient," Robin said.

Right now, he had no trouble following after Slade. Who know what kind of traps there were up ahead. He preferred it if Slade walked into them rather than himself. They traveled onward with the rocky ground and, as they passed by some abandoned excavator, Robin decided that they must be near some building site.

"It seems that they haven't been able to flatten out the soil yet. If I lift you over this cliff, can you pull me up?" Slade asked.

Robin was mildly surprised at the offer. He knew Slade was as stubborn as he was. Or at least in some cases. If the man wanted, he could have climbed up the cliff himself. Robin was thankful that he trusted him enough to not just leave him at the bottom of the cliff once Robin got to the top. The cliff wasn't too high, somewhere around ten feet, but his estimated height might not be exact. The water that was flowing down from the cliff made it look like a small waterfall and it might have had a slight negative effect on his skill to judge the height.

"Sure, no problem." Slade interlaced his fingers and was ready to give Robin a boost. It was a nice gesture. Seeing Slade offer help willingly was one thing, but not acting all annoying about it was another. Robin somewhat expected him to just lift him up and throw him over to the other side like a rag doll, but he preferred this greatly. He placed his foot on the palms of Slade's hands. With a nod to the him, Slade boosted Robin up and, with the momentum and force of the boost, it was easy for him to jump up onto the cliff and look around. "Hey Slade, I can see a light from here! It's not too far! It might be a street post of something!"

Turning, Robin kneeled on the ground, horribly staining the knees of his uniform with mud and cold water, and reached for Slade. He wasn't far from reach, but still far enough for him to need to jump to reach Robin's extended arm. Robin himself wasn't fully prepared for Slade's twice or even thrice heavier weight, thanks to all that muscle, and he almost lost his position and hold on him. He didn't let go, though. Robin was adamant in showing Slade that he wasn't just some weakling. He had crashed his chest into the dirt, effectively covering it in mud, but he still hadn't let go. Once Slade was climbing up, Robin started to pull him over. In the end, it wasn't too hard.

"Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Slade said, not sounding mocking at all. It almost sounded like he was somewhat pleased or something. But he wasn't teasing, that was for sure.

"Yeah. Great. So let's go check out the light." Robin said, coughing on his fist. "It's right there."

He pointed out to the fog. And, true to his word, the light was where he had last seen it. It still illuminated that warm yellow glow, even if it was hard to see no thanks to the fog.

"Yes, we better check it out," Slade said, once again starting to lead the way.

Robin noticed that the water had risen a little. Not too much though. It still didn't reach his ankles. The ground under the sheen of water wasn't all that rocky anymore, but now and then there was a lump of cement hidden underneath. The ground was really muddy and his legs were sinking into the soil every time he stepped. He had to pull up with every step.

"Be careful of any kind of work site tools or other junk," Slade warned. "You don't want to get yourself hurt now, would you?" Robin could take care of himself just fine. He looked where he stepped. And, true enough, he had his eyes glued on the ground up to this point. He could see Slade's legs from here, so he couldn't get lose him. "Look out for that cement lump there, Robin."

"Where?"

Robin started to look out for any kind of object coming up ahead. He was already prepared to guard his head, but he didn't expect the cement lump to be on the floor. The moment his concentration was disturbed, he already tumbled on it and took two hasty steps forward. Thanks to the mud gluing his feet to the ground, he couldn't regain his footing fast enough. He face-first into the mud. He had been able to cover his head though. He did hit his arm on a rock sticking up from the ground. It smarted and ached, but it wasn't too bad. It did make him yelp though. And, sooner than he noticed, Slade lifted him back onto his feet by the back of his uniform and was already scrubbing the mud off. Robin had a hard time trying to cough the mud out of his mouth and to spit out the disgusting taste of soil. Slade first swiped the mud from his face in three quick swipes before proceeding down while Robin rubbed at his eyes.

"I warned you about the cement. Are you okay?"

Slade felt around Robin's uniform just a tad longer than he should have, but it went unnoticed.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a stupid clumsy accident."

Robin growled and tried to rub his hands on his legs to get clear off all that mud. He did favor his other hand thanks to the small ache, but it was nothing bad, probably just a small bruise. He doubted that it bled or anything.

"Show me your hand," Slade demanded, pulling Robin's hurt hand out to take a better look at it. He tore Robin's uniform sleeve open to look directly at the wound. It was, against Robin's belief, actually bleeding. It wasn't a serious bleed or anything, just a rash and a bruise. But, not taking any chances, Slade pulled out an emergency bandage and a tube of cream. He first cleaned the wound, applied some sort of the manilla-colored cream, and then wrapped it. "It will ease the pain." Robin could feel Slade's hands linger on his before he quickly retracted. "I warned you. You should have listened better. At least I was prepared." Slade took off. Robin was somewhat speechless, but followed soon after so he wasn't left behind. "It seems there are some planks set on the floor." Robin noticed that. The water was slowly flowing between the planks and the dripping of water was heard below. "We'll have to be careful from now on. Who knows what they've left behind on the construction site before they all went to search for shelter from the rain."

Slade carefully stepped onto the planks and almost immediately heard a loud crack as the old, and, thanks to all this water, rotten wood caved under his weight. It was so sudden that Slade couldn't avoid a surprised gasp as he fell between the planks.

"Slade!"

Robin reached in for him and managed to grab him by the arm, but, once again, he was taken aback by his weigh. So instead of stopping Slade from his fall, he was pulled down with him. The fall wasn't too deep because it all seemed to happen so fast. Slade fell onto his back and a loud crack and splash was heard. Robin seriously hoped he hadn't broken anything. Robin himself landed much smoother. He managed to land right on Slade's chest, causing him to make an "oomph!" sound as the air escaped him. Robin's right hand was caught between them and the left had hit the hard floor. His legs were tangled with Slade's and his head was between his head and shoulder. Robin even banged his teeth against the hard mask. He was sure he could tell the material of Slade's mask by taste alone.

"Ow ow ow ow…" Robin slid his hand out from between them, resting on top of the man for only a short while before he lifted himself up with a jolt. It only took him a second to realize what had just happened. Regardless of the annoying ache on his teeth, he stood up as fast as a missile while muttering, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Robin started to walk around on the floor—more like pacing—and now and then he spit just to get rid of the taste and the idea that he had just licked that damn mask. To Slade, it seemed like he was panicking while trying to push away the fact that what just happened did actually happen. Robin looked like he was trying to cleanse himself by scrubbing only. "Oh sorry, are you okay?" Robin finally realized to ask before offering a hand for Slade to grab.

"Yes, I'm just fine. Pristine. The fall did my back good though." Slade disregarded the offered hand and then cracked his back to get rid of the kinks. Slade didn't admit it, but Robin's reaction wasn't a pleasant one. He wouldn't say that it was insulting, but it wasn't welcome either. To be honest, he expected him to be used to him by now. "It seems that we have reached the old part of the subway," Slade added, trying to concentrate on the mission instead of Robin.

Only then did Robin realize to look around. "Oh. So it seems." The fall they had endured was hard because of the stone floor and since they had, quite literally, fallen through the roof. The water in the subway was already way higher than it was on the surface and it already reached between his knee and ankle. "Do you have a flashlight or something? It's getting pretty dark down here."

This seemed to be true, seeing as this part of the subway had probably gone out of business long ago. It was dark and deserted, with no shops or hobos anywhere. Even the signs were turned off and collecting a thick sheen of dust, making it hard to read what they said.

"Of course I have a flashlight. It's so convenient that I carry one around just to be safe," Slade blurted, already having said flashlight on. He started searching around the tunnels. "We must be on the cement edge way. They have painted lines on the floor as a guidance for tourists. But we'll have to hurry. Once the water rises too high, we won't be able to see them."

Robin already had a hard time seeing the lines. It was dark and the water was at least forty percent mud. In the light that Slade shown around, Robin could see a slight shimmer from under the water, which he thought was the line Slade was talking about.

"By all means, lead the way then," Robin said with sarcasm all over his voice. First and foremost because he didn't have Slade's vision; secondly because he didn't find the lines first; and thirdly because he couldn't have the lead.

And lead Slade did. They had to wade their way in the water and, with every step, it splashed around and made a lot of sploshing noises that echoed on the bare walls of the subway. The walk down was seemingly boring and, with the darkness all around, it was also really uneventful. The silence was overwhelming. Slade hadn't opened his mouth to say anything since and Robin had a feeling that he should break it somehow. Just a while ago he had many comments on how Slade was, some way or another, getting on his nerves, but now he had nothing to say. The water was rising and, at the point where it reached Robin's knees, it made him wonder. It was about the whole simulator thing. All of it seemed so real, but yet it wasn't. It was kind of confusing really. So what would happen if the water kept rising?

"So…could you really die in the simulator?" Robin asked out of nowhere.

"No," said the man of few words.

The response didn't really feel like it answered anything at all. Which only left Robin in confusion. Why? Couldn't Slade just explain it a little?

"Oh… Um…"

It sounded stupid to just mumble when he didn't really have anything to say, but luckily Slade got what he meant.

"Well, let's just say that the room was way better built than it should have. You know that the room makes you hallucinate pain and creates smells, as well as people and conversations, so of course it also monitors your condition. The machine has your vitals in check. The moment you have severe complications, example would be a mental break down or an intense feeling of pain, it will automatically shut down the whole process. It's the same with this water. You see that it's real and is still raining outside." Slade pointed at the ceiling with his flashlight to show that the water was still flowing in. It didn't rain like it used to, but it seeped through the seam where the ceiling and wall connected. The water was also dripping from the ceiling, but only slightly. You wouldn't realize that fact if you weren't paying attention and Robin had to admit that it was only then that he saw it himself. "But what happens when the water hits the roof…?"

Genuinely interested to hear what Slade had to say, Robin looked at him. The simulator was a really fascinating subject indeed. He would build one for himself for sure.

"The simulator is keeping watch of your vitals, mental state, stress level, condition, and everything else. Once you can no longer breath, the system will already have registered your rising panic levels and your slowly rising lack of oxygen intake. After all that, it immediately starts to drain the water out from the room. The room may be huge, but it will be drained out very quickly and, thanks to the almost immediate reaction to the situation, even if you have just recently breathed in water, the room can be emptied in mere seconds to start further measures. After the situation is reanalyzed, it will decide if the simulation can be continued. It is a pretty handy thing if I do say so myself. The program is smart enough to tell when you are drowning and when you are diving. When you dive, you don't panic, unless you are running out of air, which is monitored. So don't fear that just diving in will fool the machine to drain out the water."

Robin had listened eagerly despite the very long explanation. "Isn't that all a little too…oh I don't know…much? I don't mean that it's bad, because it's great, but really, is that necessary?"

Slade had to laugh at that. Not those cold laughs he did when he wasn't interested or wanted to make a point, but a real laugh, like he was actually enjoying the conversation.

"You wish. Considering the amount of money I put into this, I expect it to be perfect. Image a situation when I train here and manage to kill myself in an illusion. Wouldn't it be a disgrace to my memory if I managed to get myself killed from something so insignificant?"

At that Robin laughed too. For some reason it was easy to laugh with Slade. And that brought him to notice that Slade didn't sound as taut as he had previously sounded. Actually, he was rather bearable when he wasn't talking with that monotone voice of his that sounded like he was judging your very step or that he wasn't pleased with what he saw.

"Yeah, that would be a riot," Robin managed to utter between his laugh, which he tried to contain until he just gave up and relaxed. "So did you really design this as a training room from the beginning?"

"Mostly, yes. The thought of making this a torture chamber crossed my mind once. Imagine you could drop people in lava and make it feel true for days. But, in the end, a training room was what I wanted." Robin suddenly turned stone-faced. A torture chamber had truly been Slade's first idea? "Against your common belief, I do not torture people for fun. And I must admit that the thought only crossed my mind when I was annoyed that you had, yet again, crashed one of my projects. To be honest, I prefer this room as it is now," Slade hastily added, placing pressure on the end.

Slade didn't want Robin to get the idea that he would just decide to turn the room against him at any point when he was in it. He knew that he shouldn't destroy the mood now that he had managed to get some contact with him. They had been having a genuine conversation without cussing or fighting on each others' behalf.

"At least I'm not the only one who's driven up the walls by our tirade," Robin said, quickly regretting it. He was an idiot for just admitting that! Slade wasn't supposed to know that any of his plans to aggravate him were actually working. The sudden stop of a pleasant conversation got Robin back to the present. They were still in a water infested subway, in complete darkness and who knows where. He didn't want the conversation to end, but he didn't want to continue the previous subject either. Who knows what else he'd slip up. "So where are we heading now?"

They had just arrived at a cross point in their path.

"I don't know," Slade admitted, gazing in both right and left with his flashlight.

"Excuse me, what?" Robin asked snappily.

They had just walked onwards pass many possible right turns and now they were heading to a possible dead end.

"The trail got lost under the water some time ago," Slade admitted again as he pointed to the water—which blocked the view more than efficiently—in order for Robin to see for himself that they couldn't even see their own legs past their knees thanks to all the dirty water. "But if we follow the signs on the walls, we'll eventually reach the subway platform." Slade flashed the light on one to prove his point.

"Follow what signs?" Robin growled. "Those things are so covered in grime that it's almost impossible to see what they say." Robin pointed to said signs to emphasize his point. "Admit it, we're lost."

Robin managed to hold back a chill to his tone. The water was cold and was now reaching over his knees. Slade was almost knee deep in water too.

"I know exactly where we are. We are about thirty feet below the surface and the hole we fell through is right behind us."

Slade was having his cool, which annoyed Robin to no end. Couldn't he just once admit that he was wrong?

"So you did get us lost, didn't you?" Robin mumbled with a sigh, turning his back on Slade. He could talk to his back for all he cared. Take that as disrespect.

"Don't you dare…"

But then something else dared them to turn around. The noise was so high pitched, it sounded like a female scream. It made the floors shake only slightly. It was only after the squeal had ended that the real rumble on the ground began. The water was waving and small pieces of rock were falling from the ceiling and splashing the water. It was hard enough to stand with all the water and fallen rubble around, but whatever the earth shake was was making it more challenging.

"What's going on?"

Robin was turning around to face the direction the sound was coming from. It was hard to locate the sound itself as it traveled through the stone walls and echoed on the tunnels, but, once he saw what was the cause of it, there was no doubt of the matter that this was the monster they were looking for.

"Robin, look out!"

Slade shoved Robin out-of-the-way. He lost his footing and fell completely below the water's surface. It was everywhere: in his eyes, his mouth. He rose up to breath some fresh air and to spit out the foul tasting water off his tongue. When Robin managed to clear his view, he finally had a proper look at what exactly they were dealing with. It was a huge worm. Like some tapeworm or something. Its mouth had two rows of pointy, sharp teeth. The fluke was so huge that there was barely any room for it to turn around. It was so long that, now that Robin saw its head, he couldn't see the other end of it. The thing kept screaming and flailing around while Slade tried distracting it. Robin saw that he had really miscalculated his foe and was now in some serious disadvantage. The worm was fast. Its moves were so fast and it was practically gliding on the water that there was no way you could move out-of-the-way once it charged at you. It was an awkward situation. The water slowed others down a lot, but the worm just got faster and faster. But that wasn't enough. The worm was also strong. Every time its body hit the walls, the crash made them crack and bend. It screamed so ferociously that it nearly hurt your ears and, when it swung its head at Slade, he had no chance in moving away fast enough. Robin saw the thing slam him against the wall. Not even the wall could stand the huge impact. Slade was thrown through the wall with only the water to break his fall.

"Slade!" Robin yelled in concern, the sound attracting the worm's attention. His eyes widened. "Oh shit!"

The worm was after him faster than he could blink an eye. He jolted to his feet and started running away. He had to wade his way in the water. It splashed all around as he ran. He was searching all the crooks and corners with his eyes for any kind of hideaway. They were in a subway, what did he expect to find? Robin took a fast turn to the left as if he was driven to a corner. There was no place to hide in the subway, just endless tunnels that he didn't recognize. The turn didn't stop the worm though. It made at least as sharp a turn as he did. As it hit the wall, since it couldn't stop in time, it made the tunnels shake. It did slow the worm down only slightly though. It didn't take long for it to shake its head and start screaming again as it continued to chase. Robin had no idea how to shake the worm off. The running was getting tiring and the water was splashing up onto his face. He had to wipe off the mud now and then. As he turned his head to look behind him, he almost had a heart attack when he saw how close the worm already was. It was gaining speed, whereas Robin was wading through water that reached pass his thighs. He ran faster than his limits allowed. As he saw another sign attached to the ceiling, decided to give it his best shot by attempting to grab it and just hope that the worm couldn't stop in time to get him. The worm was so close that Robin could feel its breath on his back. The mouth was wider than Robin was tall and the teeth were almost as long as his arm was, from the tips of his fingers to his elbow. The thing's breathing made an awful rasping and crackling sound and it smelled like all things rotting and decaying.

Robin paid a last hasty gaze at the thing with no face, eyes, or any kind of facial expression, but a huge, round, open mouth that was catching up with him. As he looked into its depths, he could see its mouth for as long as its body carried. At the end of the tunnel he only saw darkness. The worm had huge bumps all around its mouth and they were salivating some sick, transparent goo that seemed to be sizzling. At this point Robin was amazed that he could hear anything else than the huge pounding of his heart between his ears. The sign was getting closer and he prepared to jump for it. Right as that moment came, he jumped. He had to jump with so much force behind the act to get his body out of the water that seemed to keep him in place. He reached out for the sign and, while he was still airborne, he made the mistake of looking behind him, only to see that the worm wasn't as stupid as he thought.

The worm had predicted Robin's move and it was jumping after him, it's huge mouth open. He had no time to react. He reached his hand to grab the sign, but, because of his muddy hands, he slipped off and fell below the water's surface. The worm hadn't expected him to fall back down, so it hit its head through the ceiling. Huge pieces of rock were falling and splashing into the water and some almost hit Robin. The water kept crashing terribly and the waves were hitting the walls hard enough to almost pull Robin with them. The Boy Wonder needed all the luck he could get to be able to duck away from all the falling stones, but he needed more than that to be able to move out-of-the-way before the worm's body completely crushed him as it continued to thrash around. The worm was hitting its body on the water. Robin was pulled out from under it as the water flooded and the waves hit the walls, taking him with them. His body crashed into one before he hit his head from the fall and then back below the surface. The pain at the back of his head hurt worse than anything he had experienced before and a huge headache was forming fast. At least Robin was no longer in the way of harm, but by the wall where there was still room for him. He rose up for a breath of air before diving back under. It was faster to swim rather than it was to run. If only he wasn't so out of breath so he could dive longer than just a few feet at a time before he had to rise up to breath some more air.

By the time Robin was making his retreat, the worm had gotten it's head free from the ceiling and was trying to get them down. It turned around in the way too small space and was coming at Robin. The thing screamed as loud as it had before. When it was at his side, Robin dived. He had no chance to move away from the attacks soon enough, so he just dived and hoped for best. Robin could hear the awful screech from under the water and could barely see as the worm was shaking it's head. It soon kept going. I seemed that the worm had let him go. When the worm was far enough away, Robin felt safe enough to resurface for more of that precious oxygen. He saw the worm going along the tunnel until it stopped by the turn they had taken a while go. It waved its head from left to right. The scream echoed on the walls, sounding way eerier than it had before. Finally the worm decided to turn left. Robin let out a silent prayer. Slade had to be somewhere to the right. When Robin could no longer see it, he started to crawl his way through the water and soon reached the part of the tunnel where the wall had been broken when the worm threw Slade through it.

"Slade!" Robin climbed through the hole in the broken wall. "Slade?" He didn't see him anywhere. All he could see was a tunnel as far as his eyes could see. "Slade, are you okay?" Robin could see a slight dent on the other wall. He deducted that Slade had hit this second wall that had also stopped him. "Where are you Slade?" Robin tried yelling again, but he still wasn't awarded with an answer.

He searched the ground around him. He saw a massive amount of broken stone everywhere, but not a sign of the other man. He noted that the water was flowing to the left, so he decided to follow it. Who knows if Slade was too tired to move and he let the water take him. Robin couldn't take more than two steps before he already fell in the water, no thanks to all those rocks lying around underneath. It was only then that he noticed how much his chest had been hurting thanks to all that running and holding his breath. Once Robin had fallen, he didn't even bother to rise anymore. He may as well swim from here on out, the water was high enough. Robin followed the flood as well as he could and even tried to take right turns. He wished that Slade was okay. At this point it didn't even occur to him that he was wishing for the well being of his sworn enemy. The water was everywhere and Robin was completely soaked. He was also getting cold at an alarming rate. He hoped that he wouldn't catch another fever thanks to this. Just then he noticed that he could actually reach the bottom of the water-infested subway with his hands. The water seemed to be reducing? Robin kept on crawling onwards until the water was low enough for him to start traveling by foot.

Once he stood he saw him. Slade was laying by some stairs. The water had been declining thanks to them. It flowed down the stairs and, when Robin was close enough, saw that the ground below the water was at least high enough to reach to his chest. Slade had been lying at the top of the stairs. Robin thanked the gods that he hadn't been taken further away by the flow.

"Slade, are you okay?" Robin asked, kneeling beside him. He tried shaking him awake when he didn't get an answer. "Come on Slade. You are made of way better stuff than this. You can take a hit, can't you?" Robin had a tint of worry in his voice. Slade was completely unresponsive. The worry was slowly creeping in and accumulating at the back of his brain, fearing that soon it would come in at full force. This place was no place for the wounded. Here there was only darkness, water, and endless halls. There was no place where you could put a wounded companion to rest. "Slade, you have to wake up." Robin pulled his glove off with his teeth. The smell of it and his own hand was almost revolting, no thanks to all the dirty water flooding in and rubbing all the smells on whatever it could catch. Robin swiped his hand on his chest before he started to feel for Slade's breathing through the mask. He couldn't feel a thing because his fingers were too numb from the cold. So, instead, he started feeling for his pulse and pressing his ear against the slits in his mask to hear if he was still breathing or not. At least Robin was feeling the pulse. It was faster than normal, which was confusing, but at least Slade was alive. His breathing, on the other hand, was really slow and deep. It was like the man was asleep or something. "Ugh, come on Slade! You can't just go to sleep on the stairs…"

Robin started to pull Slade with him so he could at least get him to the top of the stairs where there wasn't much water and where the ground was even. He was deeply worried because Slade hadn't shown any sign of resistance as he moved him. It was as if the man was unconscious or something. But unconscious peoples' pulses didn't get as high as Slade's did. His heart kept beating like crazy. Even if Robin had been running around with his heart up his throat and his pulse reaching the skies, here Slade was, lying unconscious. Robin could have guessed that a normal person's pulse at this point would be around seventy. But Slade was doing at least one-seventy-five.

"What is going on?" As great as this was, it wasn't suppressing the worry at all. At least not now when Robin didn't know what was going on. Slade's breathing was at a consistency of when one was asleep. Did that mean he wasn't getting enough air? Robin proceeded to move Slade into a recovery position, lying him on his back. He tilted his chin up to open the airways. Robin saw no need for CPR since he was breathing. His heart seemed to be working more than fine. There was no way he was having hypothermia, right? No, that wouldn't make the pulse skyrocket like that."Slade, please wake up…"

Robin tilted Slade's head back a bit more and to the side to check the vitals again. Now with better access, he could feel the exact pulse. Everything seemed to be as it should: his body temperature was normal, so it couldn't be hypothermia. Then what-? Another high pitched scream echoed off the walls. It had to be the worm, he decided. Taking a glance, he saw a shadow on the wall of a tunnel.

"We are running out of time…" Robin muttered as he kept a close watch on the end of the hall where he saw the shadows move. The tension could be cut with a knife.

Something suddenly grasped his wrist firmly. Tearing it off Slade's neck, it held it away. When he realized what was going on, Robin looked around and saw a very conscious Slade, who was staring right back at him with a very annoyed look too.

"Get your cold fingers off my neck," he growled, letting go of Robin's wrist.

Getting up, Robin retorted, "Well sorry for saving your ass." He offered a hand anyway. Slade approved it this time. "Are you okay? The monster didn't break any bones, did it?"

Robin wouldn't admit it, but he had been worried about the man's health for a moment.

"I'm just fine, Robin," Slade said, standing.

"Yeah… Well you had a really high pulse."

Robin paid a hasty look at Slade, mutely asking him if he could explain it to him. Judging by the man's look, he could.

"Some other time, perhaps." Robin was left sighing as Slade dismissed the question. At least he was okay. "So what happened to the fluke?" Slade asked, cracking his back. It made a rather loud noise that echoed along the walls.

"I managed to lose it a while ago, but I guess it found us again. Thankfully it didn't find me while underwater…" Robin pointed out the tunnel where he had seen the worm last time. "It was right there a moment ago."

Slade started to nod, but then remembered something. "Wait, you said it didn't see you underwater?" Robin nodded. "Well, I did take notice on the fact that, other than having a huge mouth and teeth, it really doesn't have much else, except for some holes on the side," Slade mused, which didn't catch Robin's attention at all. Slade started leading the way as they spoke, so they wouldn't lose so much time. "How do you think the thing sees? If it doesn't have eyes, then I suspected heat vision. But that doesn't seem right since it didn't see you under the water."

"I bet it uses sonar. That would explain all the screaming," Robin said.

When they reached the deeper part of the water again, Robin started to swim instead of walk. When Slade the water level reached to his navel, he, too, swam.

"Perhaps you are correct," Slade agreed. "We can use this to our advantage though. Since the water forces us to swim and the ceiling seems to be getting closer, I suppose one hour has already passed."

Robin had nothing to say to that. He didn't doubt that the time had already run short on them. "How are we going to defeat it? Do you have any weapons for me to use, because I don't."

Robin sputtered as the water got in his mouth as he spoke and swam at the same time. He was worried that if they didn't have the right tools for their plan, whatever that may be, this was going to end up a suicide mission.

"I do have a spare retractable bo staff for you," Slade replied, already searching for it in his belt with one hand. "Here you are." Slade offered the retracted staff for him and then resumed swimming. "I'll see if I can distract it and maybe force it to keep hitting its head on the ceiling in order to make it dizzy. You can try and find its weak spots in the meantime."

Robin snorted but didn't protest. He preferred searching weak spots than being the distraction. "There are some flaws in your plan, but let's try it." They didn't have to swim much further to get to the point where Robin thought he had seen the worm. "Where do you think it went?"

The water was almost to his shoulders now. It was rising at an alarming rate still. Maybe there was less water on the above floors. Robin really didn't want to face a huge monster in such an environment.

"It can't be too far. It has to be patrolling somewhere. We should find a place where the water isn't so high."

Slade headed to the left. Robin followed closely. This time he trusted Slade's ability to tell where they were going. He also didn't bother questioning his lead. It was hard to swim with his boots on, but he couldn't complain. When they finally reached another set of stairs, they saw that the water was slightly lower on the upper floor. It was flowing down the stairs like a river and the flow was stronger here. It wasn't a bother really. It was better than the last floor they were just in that was for sure. They were now on the first underground level. The doors that led outside had been pushed off its hinges. Mud filled the floor, some mounded together into piles all around. In the middle of the room, below a broken, half-sphere-shaped glass roof, was an even larger pile. It was so high that it almost looked like a small mountain. Mud also covered the exit, preventing them from escaping. Luckily they didn't need to leave in the first place.

"I guess this will do," Slade said. Robin could hear the sound that Slade's boots made as he walked on the floor. The mud was so thick and moist that it made sure that whatever landed on it would get as stuck as possible. The mud reached halfway to Slade's knees. The room seemed to be suffering from serious water damage. The walls looked weak, the water made the rocks look loose, and the cement used to keep them in place was crumbling. Also, the ceiling seemed to be covered with mold, the water slowly dripping from it. "Be careful with the mud piles. There might be benches and things buried underneath." Walking up to the large mud pile, Slade tested the surface. "It's fresh and moist. We better keep away from this or it might start a landslide and bury us under it."

Robin was about to agree, but then the mud pile shuddered and started to move. Slade stepped away as mud came out of the tip and started rolling down the sides. The ground below them trembled violently like a small earthquake. Slade and Robin braced themselves against the shakes. Robin jumped back and almost fell in fright when mud shot into the air along with the worm's head, its mouth agape. It screamed so loud that it hurt Robin's ears. Slade had just been analyzing the fluke's nest.

"Shit, lookout!" Robin yelled, but it was too late.

The worm already launched itself at Slade, quickly pushing him into the ground with its head. The teeth were only centimeters away from his face, but he had been fast enough to grab the top and bottom of its mouth with his hands, trying to hold it back with muscle power alone.

"Robin! The holes! The holes on the side of its head; fill them! If it is sonar, it might blind it!"

Slade suddenly yelped as the worm skyrocketed its body up, pulling him off the ground, and turning quickly to slam him against the wall twice. Then it slammed him back in the floor, trying to squish him like a person would a bug.

"Fill them with what? Mud?"

Unable to answer him, Robin ran over to get some anyway. He couldn't think of anything else. If the holes really were ears rather than nostrils, the plan would work. Once the worm couldn't hear the echo of its screams, it couldn't locate them. As Robin ran over to get some of the more stickier, thick mud to fill the holes, he wondered how they hadn't filled up with mud already. The worm did live in a mud pile. He grabbed as much as he could carry and then dashed towards the worm's head. Robin was worried that Slade wouldn't be able to hold on forever.

The worm was squirming and thrashing its long and round body around. Robin chanced a look at Slade and saw that he was holding up just fine. He had gotten back to his feet and was pushing the worm down. At times it would push Slade backwards in hopes to knock him in the wall again. When his feet slid across the ground because of the lack of friction, Robin decided to hurry. It was hard to try and climb on top of the worm as it moved violently, so he decided to climb on top of the worm's nest mud. As it came by, he'd jump on top of it.

"Slade, I'm over here!" Robin yelled.

Slade glanced in his general direction before twisting the worm to the ground beside him. It fought back, pulling Slade above the ground and smacking him into the ceiling. After it threw him onto the mud pile, almost hitting Robin with the same strike, it wrapped around it, knocking mud down the side that piled on top of Slade. The worm pressed down on him, obviously trying to suffocate his annoying enemy. Robin didn't have time to wonder if Slade was okay or not, so he jumped on top of the worm's back and ran to the top of its head. It had small valves to close the holes when it was diving or sleeping in mud it seemed. The valves opened when the worm made noise or when listening for something, but they seemed to be closed otherwise. That's why Robin hadn't noticed them before. Luckily Slade had.

Sitting down on top of the worm's head, Robin tried to keep hold of the mud with his hands while gripping the worm with his knees and searching for a place to set it in order to pry open the valves with both hands. They looked thick and strong, so Robin judged that the strength of both arms would be needed. In the end, he decided to support the mud with his legs as he started to pry open the valves. Right then, the worm let out an ear-pounding screech, obviously hurt by the forceful act. It unraveled from the pile and moved away, leaving Slade be. It thrashed around and tried bashing Robin off by rubbing its head on the walls and ceiling. The ride was awful and it was really hard to stay in place. Robin couldn't hold on very well, but he had taken a good hold of the valve and shoved a handful of mud inside the flailing worm. The moment it entered its body, it screamed a yell so sharp that it made the windows crack. The mud seemed to really be hurting it. The worm started to crash around so hard that Robin was almost thrown off its head right then and there. The mud he was holding had already fallen ages ago, but he continued holding onto the worm for dear life.

"Robin, hold on! I'll try to distract it!" Slade yelled as he crawled came out from inside the mud pile. He seemed to be gasping for air, obviously out of breath.

Robin seriously wished that Slade had a plan because he couldn't hold on much longer. The worm wasn't showing any signs of tiredness. The skin was very moist and wet and slippery, even for a worm. There was absolutely nothing he could take a hold of.

"Hurry!"

Robin was instantly constricted against the wall. The pain against his chest was horrible because his ribs couldn't take such pressure. Robin decided to gather the mud that had gotten stuck on the worm so he could be ready for the next strike. Once a ball was ready, he started to pry open the valve, making the worm rub its head against the wall. Robin's back tore against it, hearing the cloth ripping in the process. He was sure he would have a killer rash after this. But the pressure brought one good thing to his aid. Once he had gotten the mud in his hand, he placed his fist against the valve and his elbow against the wall. Once the worm moved further along, Robin's hand got so badly squeezed between the two solid objects, the weaker material broke. The valve bent inward and Robin's hand was elbow-deep in the slit. The scream and contraction the worm was having was really strong. It curled up on the ground for a while before rolling and crashing Robin into the mud pile. It tried to suffocate him, too, which was working. Robin already had near to no air in his lungs from having his chest pinned against a wall. The mud was all over him now. He accidentally swallowed a mouthful of mud, making him cough out the air he didn't even have.

The worm came off the pile, screaming out so loudly that Robin knew for sure that it was in terrible pain. His throat was sore and irritated from the mud scratching against it. He was starting to suffocate, he could feel it. He was already gaining a huge migraine. His vision was blurring and his strength was leaving him. Soon Robin was barely holding on and he could see the simulator world darkening around him. As his head rolled to the side, he blearily saw Slade near him, stabbing the worm's neck multiple times with a bladed weapon. The only reason Robin hadn't fallen off the worm was because his hand was still stuck. Gooey, green blood ran down the worm's body from its wounds. His perception of time was off because one second Slade was stabbing the worm and the next was behind Robin. He felt his arms wrapped around his stomach, recognizing it as the Heimlich Maneuver in his haze. Slade had time to do the abdominal thrust three times with no success.

The worm suddenly rolled, forcing them to the floor. Robin was so badly sandwiched between Slade and the worm that he practically vomited out anything that was in him. Not even the foul taste and some left over vomit could stop him from sucking in tons of air every few seconds. Slade quickly grasped him by his mouth.

"Don't hyperventilate."

Slade then let go. Robin tried to even out his breathing, but the worm moved again, ready to slam them into the wall again. He didn't think he could take another hit. His arm was still trapped in the hole and Slade was practically hanging from his waist. Before the hit came, Slade placed his legs on either side of his chest, grabbed his forearm just below his elbow, and yanked the arm out. They both fell from a high perch, but it wasn't as bad as being thrown against walls. Once they both hit the ground, Robin was too tired to move. He laid down for a while, finally breathing evenly. He was really out of breath and tired, but he was refusing to lose.

"Thanks for the…h-help," Robin said with a voice so rusty and dry that it was a miracle Slade could even hear him.

"How many of the holes did you get covered?" Slade asked as he looked at the worm. It seemed not to notice that the two parasites were no longer on it because it kept thrashing and screaming.

"I… Two I-I guess," Robin rasped and tried to swallow as much as he could to regain his voice back, but it really hurt to. His throat literally felt like sandpaper.

"Not good enough…" Slade mumbled, but not sounding scolding. He actually sounded worried. "The worm has eight holes… But how can we get them all covered?" Slade took only a few seconds to come up with a quick plan. "You get the last two on the one side while I get the other. Go!" When Robin didn't move right away, Slade practically threw him onto his feet and shoved him away. He picked up tons of mud in his large hand and ran towards the worm, which was on the opposite end of the room now. Despite feeling weak, Robin grabbed more mud as well and ran to catch up with him. When he was running along side him, he felt more secure when they were near each other. "I'll throw you up onto its back where it hasn't moved it as much and then you'll pull me up."

Without further instructions, Slade grabbed Robin around the waist and did exactly what he said he would do. Robin would have protested if he had had enough time to, but now it was too late. He was already sitting on top of the worm and then quickly landed on his stomach to reach down and help Slade up. Slade didn't have any trouble getting there. Once he was on his knees, he got up, pulled Robin to his feet, and started to run back into position. They each ran to their respected side, the worm feeling their feet pounding against its thick flesh. It reacted fast and tried knocking them both off. It had little to no success since it only kept moving to the left, the side where the two holes were already filled.

Once they were back in position on the worm's head, it knew it was in trouble. It started flinging around again, hitting the walls and ceiling. Robin and Slade were pressed to its sides though, so they only had to deal with the impact. It was hard to keep a grip on the smooth surface with already tired arms, but Robin managed. He gathered mud off his body in haste, went to the third hole, and thrust his arm inside. The worm screamed again, opening the fourth one. Quickly grabbing more mud, Robin threw it inside before the valve could close again. The worm wasn't at all pleased and kept throwing its head around and screaming. Robin kept a good grip, despite hitting the wall from the worm's thrashing.

"Slade, I'm ready! Are you?" Robin asked over the worm's screams.

Robin barely made out Slade saying, "Just this last one!" and then attempted to fill it. But his feet slipped and he fell, crashing into the ground. With fast reflexes, Robin jumped to the last hole and yanked the valve open. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Slade lying on his stomach while pushing himself up to see what was happening. "Do it, Robin!"

The moment Robin got the mud in, he rolled to the floor and then sat up. The worm hit its head on the walls several more times before cooling down and dragging its head against the floor, obviously confused, blind, and absolutely out of ideas.

"We got it!" Robin yelled in excitement, standing and running for the head to see if they could restrain it. The worm had done enough damage, so he assumed it was okay.

Everyone knows that assumptions are bad and makes bad things happen. Slade knew this very well because he yelled, "Robin, wait!" It was almost drowned out by a scream that was ten times worse than the previous ones. Jolting around, Slade barely saw the worm hit him, throwing him against a wall. Falling to sit in the mud, he barely lifted his gaze before he saw that the worm's rear was the same as the front. Robin stood frozen to the spot as a second mouth opened as it lunged at him and then swallowed him whole. Slade's eye widened in shock. "ROBIN!" Slade's yell echoed around the subway, causing the worm to turn its rear towards him. Its gaping mouth was open and he saw Robin disappear. For just a small moment he saw a bump in its second throat, and then it was gone. Robin could be anywhere inside that thing. "Robin!" Slade yelled again, running towards the worm, ready to tear it to pieces if he had to.

The worm's middle jerked at him and hit his entire body, throwing him against the wall. Robin, meanwhile, was contracted inside the worm. The walls were squeezing him tight, the air smelling foul and sour, like there was some kind of acid in the air. This was, quite literally, true and Robin could see his skin start to turn a fiery red shade. His clothes burned and were weakening, losing the lustrous black they once held. It was as if the acid was the sun. Robin's hair was getting seriously damaged and was probably burning right off. And, with no oxygen in the air, he couldn't even breathe! He was so trapped that he couldn't even turn around. He could feel the worm's bumpy intestines pushing against him and almost cutting into him. It all hurt so much. So much, in fact, that he almost couldn't think. What could he do? He was going to die here, right inside some stupid worm. Oh god it was so tight! He was trapped.

Soon, the acid reached his skin and he could feel it burning too. He was going to die here: slowly and painfully, first suffocating to death, and then getting digested. He had to get out; he had to get free. Robin was fighting for all he was worth. He tried to hit, kick and claw at the walls, but it was no use. He was out of breath and dying. WHAT COULD HE DO?

Outside, Slade held an extra blade tightly while running back at the worm. The blade wasn't actually meant as a weapon. It was for emergency use only, usually to cut cloth for bandages if he ran out of them. Cutting into the worm with it would be like stabbing a bear with a butter knife. Luckily Slade was strong enough to cause some damage at least. He kept on running, trying to locate Robin, who could be anywhere. As far as he knew, he could already be dead.

It didn't take Slade long to notice that there was more water in the room from the floor below and that the worm was partly underwater. Soon he had to swim to catch up to it. With it now halfway under water, Slade went under, water filling his mask from the slits. It soaked his suit and seeped to his skin. Water filled his shoes, getting his feet wet. He felt that the situation couldn't get any worse, but he had been wrong on a few occasions before. This occurred when he failed to dodge the worm's next attack as it somehow swam under water. It actually couldn't because it was so heavy that it sank to the mud and was crawling along it. If only worms couldn't survive underwater…

Slade swam backwards, keeping his eye on the worm as it began to circle him. The water level was still rising rapidly. Needing a breath, he floated his feet to the mud and pushed off. Water fell out of the slits. He inhaled and then went back under right as the worm was under him. Swimming to it, Slade grabbed it with his arms, floated into a sitting position, and gripped it with his knees. The worm kept moving as he lifted the blade above his head and slammed it down with enough force to sink the entire blade into the worm's flesh. He heard bubbles erupt behind him as the worm screamed with its extra set of holes. Slade actually thought that this was a miracle since he knew the blade couldn't cause so much damage. Yet the worm was hurting from a single stab. Maybe he had stabbed it way better than he initially thought?

Or maybe not. The worm suddenly stopped moving and then jolted backwards, bucking Slade off its back and right out of the water. It crashed into the slowly disappearing mud pile. Slade fell and crashed right above the worm's side on the mound. The worm lay there, but was still howling in pain and agony. Looking down at it, Slade saw what had really caused the worm's reaction. His extra bo staff was sticking directly out of it. This could only mean that Robin had pierced it with enough force to fatally wound it.

"Robin!" Slade slid down the mud pile and reached the wound. Stabbing the blade between the staff and hole, he started cutting the thick skin in hopes of getting Robin out of there. "Hold on, I'll get you out!" To be honest, he was so very worried that he was already too late. "It's okay, I'll get you out."

Slade's voice held a hint of worry for Robin's health and sanity. His fear of tight spaces would probably give him a panic attack by now. If he fainted, only god knew what would happen. Once Slade got a proper hole in the thick skin, he yanked the staff out, threw it into the rising water, and then grabbed the hole's edges with both hands. With all his might, he tore it open, blood spurting and gushing out heavily. He ignored it getting all over him and reached further inside. Feeling metal against his fingers, he gripped whatever it was tight with both hands and yanked upward as hard as he could. There was a squelch, a blood curdling scream, and Robin's head coming right out of the worm. Slade continued pulling him, grabbing the next part of his body that he could see. The uniform had disintegrated, showing off his blotchy, red skin that was probably festering. Robin was now halfway out of it, his stomach covered by the intestine. Upon closer inspection, Slade saw that it had pikes that punctured him. The intestine looked like a leech that was sucking Robin dry. He was only in the worm for a short while, but it had caused so much damage that Slade was slightly sickened by it. In order to fully pull Robin out of the now dead worm, he would have to remove the organ. Joy.

Taking the blade, he cut the intestine in half and then carefully pulled it away from Robin's skin. It almost stuck to him indefinitely. Blood seeped from the small puncture wounds. When the organ was fully unattached, Slade stood up and dragged him further up on the mud pile. The water was close to covering up the worm's wound, which meant they didn't have much time left. Sitting down and pulling Robin into his lap, Slade examined him more closely. He had several burned off patches of skin that were bleeding slightly. Robin's eyes were wide open and looked horror struck, but Slade was sure he wasn't conscious. And at least he was relatively okay. He felt a pulse and, leaning his face to his mouth, felt him breathing, the air entering the slits of his mask. Slade ran his hand through Robin's hair, which came off in chunks on his hand. His clothes were so rickety that he feared the cloth would peel right off if moved too much. Slade lifted the remaining cloth to see under it and was glad to see little to no damage in those places. The acid hadn't reached them completely, much to Slade's relief. Gathering Robin in his arms, he stood up and then heard something. It was like metal hitting metal. Soon the room got really bright briefly and he saw the simulator room slowly returning to its original state. The water was vanishing, along with the worm and the pile of mud.

"You have passed the test," a voice informed him.

Taking a deep breath, Slade made long strides for the door into the monitor room. Once he stepped over the threshold, he made sure Robin was still safely secure in his arms. Stopping in the middle of the room, he watched as the boy was slowly returning to normal. His hair was growing back to its healthy black color, his skin was turning back to light peach, and even his clothes were coming back together. Robin was now fine. There wasn't much of a scratch on him either. Slade noticed that he was getting better, but it didn't matter. The only thing Robin suffered from was being shaken up. For a moment Slade had forgotten that it was a simulator. How careless of him. Soon Robin started to stir. Crouching, Slade laid him at his feet. He knew that if Robin noticed he was being held like a child, he would start to complain about it. And a child he was not.

The first thing Robin saw when he opened his eyes was Slade. His black and orange mask was looking at him with a slightly worried look in his eye. The first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Did we pass?"

Slade laughed. "Yes we did."

Smiling, Robin answered, "Cool." He started to stand.

"What do you remember?"

Robin was taken aback. "What do you mean?"

"What do you remember before you fainted?" Slade clarified.

Robin took a while to reply. "I'm not sure. It was dark, scary, and I couldn't move. I couldn't think of a way to get out and I was panicking, I guess."

Robin shrugged. He could almost see the gears turn in Slade's head. He was relaying the happenings and came to the conclusion that Robin was in such a foul condition when he saved him was because of Crane's fear toxin. He'd have to be more careful with it in the future.

"I see." Slade stood and headed for the door that led into the hall. "Let's go to bed."

"Wait." Slade stopped and turned back. Robin approached him. "You saved me, right?" he asked, reaching him. Slade only nodded. "Why? I bet you could have taken that worm on all by yourself. You knew it was a simulator, so I couldn't actually die."

They walked out and headed for the kitchen for something to eat.

"Why wouldn't I? I won't just leave you to die, if that's what you're after."

They entered the kitchen and Slade ordered a robot to prepare a good meal for them. They hadn't eaten much that day.

"It's just…" Robin scowled lightly. "Whatever." He dropped the conversation. It wasn't exactly what he meant, but he doubted he would ever get the answer he was looking for.

"Robin, of course I saved you."

By the look he was given, Robin could swear that Slade was promising just that. He decided to just leave it unanswered. Once they had eaten and returned to their room, Robin was the first to make it to the shower; he practically ran there. He was wet from head-to-toe and probably smelled worse than a wet dog. Once done half an hour later, he walked back in with a towel around his waist. Looking over, he saw Slade sitting at his desk, writing something down with a black pen in a leather bound book.

"What are you doing?"

Robin tried to take a peek over Slade's shoulder. Ending his note, he slammed it shut and placed it in a safe. "Just notes; nothing important." Standing, Slade pushed Robin further away with a gloveless hand. He had taken them off because of being wet. One couldn't very well write with wet hands, now, could they? Slade was actually glad for it as he felt Robin's smooth, yet still slightly wet skin under his palm as he held his shoulder. Just to test the waters, he let it slide down Robin's chest, feeling the pectorals and nipple before dropping it. "My turn to take a shower."

Moving away, Slade pulled off his shirt, revealing his muscular, but scarred torso for the ten seconds it took to enter the bathroom and close the door. Robin was left standing with goosebumps running up and down his back before stopping by his neck. He couldn't get rid of the image of Slade just a moment ago. He had so many scars. Some crossed over others while many almost zigzagged, marring his body. Scars told about life and Slade had many. The scars actually suited him. Robin didn't abandon the thought even as he got dressed in his night pants. He hadn't even noticed it, but he was really tired; too tired to notice that Slade's torso was still the last thing on his mind. Once he returned from the shower, fresh and clean, Robin smiled, stretched, and laid down to sleep with his hair spread on the pillow, his hands above his head, and the comforter tossed somewhere over his legs. Tonight, he was too tired to think and just told Slade 'good night' without a fuss. It almost took Slade a full minute to return it. Robin mustered a smile. He didn't know why he was so content suddenly, but recently Slade's company wasn't half bad.

Robin was already falling asleep, but, from the corner of his eye, he saw Slade standing next to the bed while admiring his body. But he was too tired to remember that when the morning came.
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