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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
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AN: All hail to Sladinforever who was able to edit ALL of this! Now on with the story!

Take your medicine, Chapter six

Slade had been observing Robin sleep once again after he had gotten bored while browsing on the internet. Besides, the boy was way more interesting than that blank screen with various letters. Robin's sleeping habits were interesting at least to observe. This time the boy kept still. No thrashing around, no odd sounds, and no random jolts of sitting up and then back down. It actually made him wonder; what exactly did the boy dream about the night before. This time though the boy slept like an angel. There was a minimum of sounds heard from the teen and he seemed to be sleeping lightly. He had not moved at all, besides one gesture to pillow his head with his hand. Only a slight sniffle was heard from the boy. Other than that, the room was completely silent, besides the constant humming of the computer.

That reminded Slade about the machine. He didn't really have anything to do with it exactly, but he tried to get at least a little bit of work done. The computer he had in his bedroom was mainly for browsing, seeing the computer was a complete piece of crap. It was slow and it barely had any suitable or usable programs with it. Well it had Word; had being the key word. He had deleted the entire program one night while suffering from a devious insomnia. What could he do? That damned paper clip kept nagging at him that there was no such thing as 120mm L4 MoBAT or that there was a slight misuse on the array. Besides, Open Office sufficed much better. It was a miracle he had decided to keep it. Well, if you get a free computer, then it was worth it, Slade supposed. It wasn't like he had actually paid for that piece of crap. And it was still good enough for browsing and to distract oneself when you couldn't find anything else to do in the middle of the night.

It wasn't night right now, however. It was only the afternoon. Two o'clock to be exact. Robin had been sleeping for one hour. In Slade's opinion, it was about time to wake him up to continue training. To be honest, the man wasn't happy with Robin's strength and condition; not happy at all. What kind of muscle diminishing illness did he have? The boy could barely manage a few hundred of each exercise and Slade knew he could do better than that. But there was so little he could do for this problem. It was not like he could just fill the boy up with muscle regenerating medicines and other things like steroids. That would be unhealthy and just plain stupid. Only way to get this done was to get the boy trained and have his stamina and strength improve on its own. This time there were no shortcuts; no miracle pills or medicines that could get you back on your feet in no time.

At least Slade had made something useful while Robin rested. He had made a training agenda, with all kinds of exercises and things to perform on a daily basis to improve on the boy's performance on different courses. Some of the exercises were to strengthen his muscles, to make him more flexible, to improve his stamina and endurance. Some were simple exercises to strengthen his will and improve self-control. To be honest, Slade was proud of his agenda. It was fool proof. It could be applied to many things and he had even come up with some exercises that the boy would consider as fun and would do them willingly. And best of all, it had results for both sides of the party.

For Robin it put him in good shape and it improved his condition just as much as it made him stronger in physical and mental stability. And for Slade, well, let's just say that it's much more profitable to have an apprentice capable of running some errands for you. Slade really thought that this week could lead to something. He just had to woo the boy on his side.

Slade grinned under his mask as he thought about it. Maybe if he acted nice, made the boy trust him some more, and show him that everything he'd want would be profited by him, he would start to develop some…affection for the other man. Then he'd learn to trust him, to open up to him, and maybe, just maybe, give himself up a little.

The grin in on Slade's face formed to that of a Cheshire cat. Besides, it was always a pleasure to have one well tuned, well fit, young, willing man around.

Robin was sleeping peacefully. He was dreaming about his friends. They were all going to their favorite pizza bar, fighting over what to order.

Beast Boy insisted vegetarian, as usual, and Cyborg wanted meat. That was obvious. The two were always fighting over it, but Robin was sure they enjoyed it as much as anything else. It didn't really mean anything and the teen was sure they fought only because they could. There really didn't need to be a good reason for it. And this he could prove that they could just buy their own pizza, one for each. Still, they wanted to have a big pizza shared, just so they could fight about the topping. So that's why instead of telling them to piss off, he told Cyborg to keep his eyes on the road.

Sometimes Robin's friends were so stupid and predictable, but they were fun to be around; they made it feel like home. They made things feel right. He belonged there, with them, laughing with them to their jokes, having heart-to-heart conversations about games and movies, goofing around with them, and more importantly, fighting over the pizza topping.

Meanwhile, Starfire had joined Beast Boy and Cyborg, wanting to have mustard on her pizza. Soon all three were nagging about their pizza topping. Robin and Raven were the only ones who didn't have a say in their fight and sat watching the three so at it. Once the volume rose up too loud, Raven had snapped and made them all buy a pizza of their liking; it really was a day like any other with his friends.

They had finally reached the pizzeria itself as the T-car was safely parked in the parking lot. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg had already dashed to the counter when they entered, ready to order, only to be held up behind a line. Robin and Raven walked after them, coming up behind them, only to find that the conversation about pizza had changed to a conversation about the movie they all were going to watch when they got back to the tower. It was their day off, so it was expected.

"No way dude, we are going to watch a zombie movie! I don't care about your pirates! Besides, they are nothing special. Zombies are like, way better! They are undead! It's so cool to watch the hero fight them down. Even if he can't kill them, they are already dead!"

"Don't you dare call my pirates boring! Zombies are a waste of space. What's the point in killing them if they are already dead, huh?! Pirates have these cool, well designed ships, and they steal from the wealthy. They also have these cool sword fights and the whole wide sea is their only companion! Pirates it is!"

"But friends, I think we should watch a vampire romance movie. I think vampires are like outcasts; misunderstood. They are like Zorflag; they only do it because they have to. They are nothing bad, just being what they were meant to be."

Robin couldn't believe that he actually considered watching a romance movie about vampires after hearing Star. She was right; it was only their nature. Humans were racist towards them since they thought they were bad only because they did what they had to do to survive. Raven seemed to think the same way, which meant three votes for vampires, and the rest…were on the losing side. So without setting the two off, Robin announced that they could watch all three movies.

Cheering was heard from all three. Smiling genuinely, Robin stepped forward in line, now taking his turn to order their pizzas. The three tried to shout behind his back to the one taking orders, but he managed to quiet them down. Just as he was telling their orders, something hit his chest. At first he thought it was one of his friends accidentally pushing him when trying to get a better look, but then he noticed it was the cashier.

The man had pushed his hand against Robin's chest before leaning over the counter to speak into his ear.

He whispered, "It's time to start training again."

His voice sounded just like Slade. He then leaned back a little to look in Robin's eyes, who looked back at him with mild surprise that showed in his eyes. The man had a Cheshire smile on his face and he leaned closer to whisper "apprentice" and it sounded exactly the way Slade said it when the boy was his apprentice. He sounded exactly like the Slade from that time. The man leaned back, and Robin stared at his only visible gray eye. He laughed at Robin. Laughed and shook his shoulder.

"It's time to start your training again." Robin heard it much clearer this time. It sounded exactly like Slade, but somehow it didn't sound like the man behind the counter laughing at his face. "Robin, we are leaving." The man suddenly stopped laughing, now looking at Robin with a serious face. 'We are leaving' was still ringing in his ears. He then grabbed his shoulder and pulled him towards him. The next thing Robin noticed was that he was standing in a gray room, standing beside Slade. "It's about time you woke up. We are leaving to train some more. I have made you an agenda that you will follow. I think you should try it out, now dress."

The real life Slade, as Robin noticed after being completely dumbfound of the whole thing, was speaking to him commandingly. He still thought he was dreaming, but after hitting his leg on the corner of the bed as he was going to get his clothes with Slade's 'guiding push', he noticed that this was very much real. The corner was sharp.

'Reality sucks.'

That's what Robin noted first. Right now he was missing his friends. Were they missing him too? Looking for him? Worrying shitless? Would they be sad? Maybe angry? They probably would be angry. Especially Starfire wouldn't understand. She'd keep asking how he could have agreed to be with this man for one week, why he didn't escape, or let them know if he was alright. How could he betray them by sticking with this loony, as Beast Boy would say. One of the worst things was that he really didn't know if the changeling would say it as a joke or with a dead serious tone.

Was Robin betraying his friends by agreeing to do this? What would even happen if he decided not to? Did he even have a choice? No he didn't. He had to do this and that was it. It wasn't like you could just quit on Slade. That man would have anyone's head before he would let anyone quit. Robin was on a 'friend-thinking' spree. He really missed them. This place where he was now was dull and lonely. That just encouraged him to think about the differences between being with his friends and being with Slade there. The difference between the two was that the company was different. Slade was…Slade.

'Idiot, who else would he be?'

Snorting to himself, Robin started to get dressed in his uniform, wanting to distract himself from thinking of anyone in particular. He didn't want to think of his friends now, seeing as it only made him sad. Not to mention he didn't want to think about Slade because that made him angry. The man once again was trying to isolate him from anyone else but him and trying to brainwash him to be his loyal apprentice.

To keep his mind off people, Robin compared his Titan uniform with his new apprentice one, which was like comparing apples to oranges. For him, his hero uniform was better. Though, to be honest, Robin wasn't too fond of his cape at times because it sometimes got stuck on something. And the whooshing sound and the feel of it billowing after you as wind caught it was kind of annoying. But it was necessary hero attire. Every hero had a cape that was for sure. Another point to his usual uniform; he didn't need to be scared of child molesters while wearing it. What could he say; the Robin uniform was spacious to say the least. It was meant for him to move freely.

The apprentice uniform was way different. You couldn't really imagine a hero jumping off rooftops and saving children in skin tight Kevlar that just screamed fuck me. He wouldn't dare go into public wearing this even if he could choose from the two. Robin hated tight clothes that didn't allow much movement. He hated, no loathed, the feeling of being trapped. What he hated most about Slade's uniform was the stupid colors and, more importantly, the stupid S on the chest. He despised the idea of jumping in Slade's colors. Then he felt like he was somehow tied to the man. He didn't need anyone, and he wanted to be free. Just himself; no one to hold him back. Robin just couldn't stand the feeling of being held back. To feel trapped, to be stifled. He had gotten tired of doing as other adults told him to. He just wanted to be himself.

Robin soon got the suit on, seeing that in his anxious state he had just pulled it on as fast as he could. Slade nodded his approval and commanded him to come with him as they walked out of the room. They had only walked for a little while. They still had a long way to go to the training room when Slade opened up for conversation.

"It would be helpful for me to know if you have any fears or phobias or anything that might slow you down."

Robin stopped in his tracks, Slade stopping too to stare at him with his only visible eye, demanding to have him answer truthfully.

"Do you honestly think that I will let you know all my secrets and flaws, just so you can use them against me when the time comes?" Robin said, or rather yelled, with anger and determination in his voice. "I'm not telling you anything. I'm not that stupid."

'Can Slade really be that stupid to expect me to reveal my weaknesses to him?'

Robin was interrupted by a throaty laugh coming from the man in front of him and that set the boy off, leaving him staring at him in disbelief.

"Robin, I'm not going to backstab you, nor will I let anyone else do that. Only I have the authority to do that and I give you my word that I will not," Slade explained, dead serious. "I do not lie to my apprentice. And I don't cope with an apprentice who allows his fear to control him. I'm asking you so I know what we need to improve on. As far as I'm concerned, I see that fear of yours as a disadvantage and I am more than willing to work on it."

Robin had no choice but to agree, which he hated.

"I don't have any phobias," Robin stated matter-of-factly.

He started to walk again, telling Slade without words that he wouldn't cooperate with him on this.

"Of course you don't," Slade said. "Only rare people do in fact, but do you fear anything?"

There were two things he hated the most, Robin noted. One, Slade could keep up with his fast, almost jogging, pace by only walking along side him and, second, the man just couldn't let go, could he?

"If you expect me to tell you my weakness, then fine, what's yours?" Robin asked sarcastically, not even looking at the man walking next to him.

Slade's pace didn't change at all and it annoyed Robin. Was there anything that shook the man up at least a little bit?

"Robin, this time, it's not about me, but you. I have overcome my fears a long time ago and I expect you to do the same."

Expectations, expectations! Robin mentally cursed the man to all seven Hells and back for having the nerve to say that to him. But still, somehow it felt nice to hear that for once; it was not about someone else, but him. Was he being selfish by thinking that? Maybe, but he wouldn't admit it, would he?

"Tight spaces. I fear of getting trapped," Robin mumbled with an inaudible voice, not even looking at the man, not wanting to let him see him in his embarrassed state when admitting that he had a weakness.

But of course Slade heard him just as well as when having normal, every day conversation.

"Understandable. Seeing as you have been named after a bird and you like to do those headless tricks, jump from one roof to another, drive fast with you motorcycle, and on top of that, being an athlete and a trapeze artist; I don't wonder," Slade said passively, and only noticed after two steps that Robin was left behind, standing in mild shock. He turned to him and smirked behind his mask. "Dick, did you really think I wouldn't find out? It is obvious. Of course Mr. Wayne is Batman. There aren't many people who can afford what he can and have the motive for it. And besides, what a coincidence that not long ago when Bruce Wayne adopted a son, Batman got a sidekick as well. I only wonder how no one else noticed. Now come, we have an agenda to follow."

Slade started walking once again, leaving a dumbfounded Robin behind, but after recovering it didn't take long for him to catch up. Soon they were in the training room, Slade standing in the middle of it, Robin right in front him.

"This is your training program," Slade said, handing him a stack of papers that were held in one stack by a paper clip.

Robin mumbled something that resembled the word 'okay' as he took a look at the content. The first thing he needed to do was some stretches and then there was some flexing, probably jogging. Not caring to read on, he just decided to get started and, after finishing one task, he could then move on to the next. He skimmed through a few pages to see what kind of stretches he actually had to do. The basics, all the same ones he had to do before and, knowing Slade, he would have to do the push and sit-ups he performed an hour or two ago again. Robin threw the sheet away and sat down to get started with the sit-ups.

After half an hour, Robin had to admit that all these stretches were actually there for good reason. He had to perform one hundred of each and, after finally having finished with his last exercise, pull-ups, he could feel the ache in every muscle in his body. And as everyone knew, there wasn't a better way to tell that the exercises worked than an ache in your body after you have done it.

"Good job Robin. Maybe we can get somewhere this time," Slade said neutrally, but Robin was sure it wasn't meant as an irritant. "Next part is flexing to get you sweat." Slade opened a new door that revealed a room that Robin had not seen before. Being curious, the teen tried to sneak a peek behind his back to see what was inside the room, but Slade was covering the view by standing in front of the door. "This is what I call steeplechase. Start from here and try to get to the end of the course."

Robin stepped into the room after Slade moved away from the door. He could say that he was positively surprised by what he saw. The room was like a dream come true. It had everything. It was not just a normal steeplechase as Slade had put it, but it was more like a survival course. There were all kinds of traps and obstacles. Some he could already see, but he knew that the course was longer than it looked and there would be many more obstacles to come.

"I warn you right now; I recommend you be very careful. I don't want you getting killed on the very first day by a booby trap," Slade said, pushed against Robin's back to move him in so he could start on the steeplechase. "I will keep an eye on you, so no need to worry. You may begin."

With a yelp, Robin was now running along the course with the help of Slade's encouraging slap on the ass. If that slap was just for show, Robin didn't like the man's humor. If it was for anything else, he was sure he'd chop the entire limb off if given the chance. But for now, Robin couldn't concentrate on the matter for very long; the course would really be the end of him if he let that concentration slip.

The first part of the course was easy: some normal jump over obstacles, then some car tires, after that a barbed wire fence which he needed to crawl under, and then a two meter tall wall that he needed to climb.

That part was easy. For him at least. He then moved on the next obstacle, only to notice that he had just stepped fifteen centimeters away from a land mine. He thanked the Gods he hadn't stepped on it. Carefully jumping forward while avoiding mines, he tried to get that part of the course done with, not really liking the idea of exploding to bits after one misstep. Robin kept his eyes steadily on the floor, looking closely for the next land mine about a meter away, stepping further from it. His eyes were examining the ground in small areas at a time and, when he took the next, rather long step, he was surprised, or rather scared to death, as his foot sank into the floor. Robin then noticed that it crumbled under him, making him lose his balance and begin to fall. His eyes looked down wildly and a mild shock hit him as he noticed what kind of shit he had just gotten himself in to.

This was most definitely the booby trap Slade had warned him about. Robin could see a sharp spike under him at the bottom of the pitfall, just waiting to puncture him in one fatal pierce. Panicking, Robin tried to reach for anything that he could, cursing at himself for not having any of his weapons or other equipment with him.

There was little to no time to think so he did the only thing he could. He buried his hands and legs deep within the soil trying to slow down the fall, if possible, stop it from happening all together. And what a help that was. It didn't work at all the way he wanted it to. Robin was now rolling on the dirt, hitting his sides on the rocks and scratching himself on sharp pebbles. Sand and dust got in his eyes and he felt his face getting scuffed. He knew there was nothing to do and the only thing that was left was to hope that he died fast and not suffer for very long.

As a reflex, Robin curled his body into a tight ball to protect himself, even though he knew it wouldn't be any good. He soon realized though that he wasn't dead and he wasn't going to be. The falling had stopped and he was floating on air. Robin couldn't recall having his eyes closed, but he now tried to open them despite the sharp pain in his eyes because of all the dirt. Looking up, Robin saw Slade holding him by the neck, dangling him in the air just ten centimeters from the spike.

Shaking with relief, Robin relaxed as Slade pulled him from the pit, dropping him on the floor about a meter from the edge. His breathing was uneven and raspy. He hadn't even noticed that he had swallowed dirt and that his mouth and throat was full of it.

"Lesson number one: always plan one step ahead, concentrate on the bigger picture, not the little details, and always expect the unexpected," Slade said as he pulled Robin up and started to drag him from the steeplechase.

Robin was coughing vigorously to get his airways clear so he could breathe properly. Chocking on dirt and dust was one of the most unpleasant experiences. Robin kept coughing until he had absolutely no air in his lungs. Now starting to turn pale, his eyes watered and a hankering sound came from him. Slade, then, decided to do the only thing he could at that exact moment. He stepped behind the boy, wrapped his right arm around him, and shoved his finger down his throat. Robin vomited everything; all the dirt, the half digested food, everything. Slade pulled his hand back and held the gasping boy in his arms. His gloved left hand was glistening with vomit and saliva. With mild disgust from the stench the villain swiped his glove on his pants, deciding to wash them later.

"Th-That was one h-hell of a good hidden booby trap…" Robin mumbled under his breath while trying to catch his breath.

He allowed himself to rest against Slade, feeling his warm and hard chest against his back. He could feel the man's chest rise and fall against him and the slight breath on his neck as he breathed. Inhaling one big breath, Robin tried to stand on his own two feet, but Slade held him where he was.

"Your legs won't be able to support you," he said, lifting the boy up so he had his arm around his neck and his hand around the boy's waist, supporting him as he started dragging Robin with him. "First we'll go take care of your wounds and then grab something to eat."

Slade snapped his fingers to call a Slade-bot to clean up the mess they had made.

"Wh-Why is it that I'm always vomiting around you?" Robin mumbled, still out of breath. Slade decided not to answer. The teen was still in mild shock even if he didn't know it himself. "Wh-Why did you have to h-have me vomiting in the first place?"

Slade rolled his only visible eye and started to take bigger steps in hopes of reaching the infirmary sooner.

"What else did you expect me to do Robin, mouth-to-mouth? That would blow the dirt into your lungs, not out. Vomiting was the only logical way of getting your throat cleaned by your body's own method," Slade said, squeezing the boy a little to quiet him down before he could open his mouth again. "Now shut up and stay quiet."

Half way to the infirmary, Robin had started to try to walk on his own, trying to move his legs as if walking, but to Slade it seemed like he just kicked his legs to annoy him. To the man's relief, they soon reached the infirmary. He laid Robin on the bed, starting to look for disinfection materials, plasters, and some bandages, not sure if he needed any, but better safe than sorry.

Robin in the meantime was lost in thought. Would training with Slade be like this? He had hurt himself twice today already and both times were when he tried to train. First he had his middle finger dislocated and now this? This just couldn't be good for his health. And the actual work hadn't even started yet; this was just training.

Robin was brought back to the present by a stinging sensation to his face as Slade applied disinfectant to his wounds. He squeezed his eyes shut to prevent him from sticking any cotton or disinfectant in them. Robin then reached for the cotton to make the stinging stop.

"I can do it myself; give it to me."

"Sure you can. Now shut up and just lay there without another word," Slade said, slapping Robin's hand away, trying to rub the dirt off his wounds.

Sighing in defeat, Robin decided to make himself comfortable. The sooner it was over, the better. Slade's not so gentle touches were slowly but surely driving him mad. The disinfectant hurt and Robin was sure the man made an extra effort to make it hurt more than it was supposed to. There were so many scratches on his body. All of them itched and were screaming for immediate attention, which naturally meant that they all should be taken care of. This was currently Slade's job. That meant he had to take care of every single wound, including the one on his inner thigh.

Robin blushed slightly and a mental fight with himself came about.

"That's a private area!"

'Yeah, but even that place needs to be disinfected.'

"Why does it have to be done by him?"

'It's your fault for not looking in front of you; your fault for attempting to stop yourself from falling the way you did.'

"It was self defense!"

'Fuck it was. Now shut up. You are practically screaming for more trouble, aren't you?'

It was so embarrassing. Robin just lost to himself when trying to argue about the matter.

Blushing even redder, he tried to hide the wound by holding his legs together so Slade wouldn't know about it. The villain was currently cleaning some bruising on Robin's chest and waist area, noting to himself that the uniform was indeed what he had always thought; a goldmine. Robin could have taken a lot of damage. Who knew what there was in that soil. Some sharp glass splinters for sure, maybe some metal pieces…

Things usually became messy in that room. Its previous use was a waist land for broken robots and usual common junk that couldn't be disposed of anywhere else. After getting used to the idea of recycling, Slade decided to redecorate the room as a survival course. He had gotten that idea after he tried to make his way from the door to the furthest wall, trying to dodge all the trash. He somehow managed to have one horribly sharp metal cane puncture his left leg, but it was his luck that it didn't take long for his healing abilities to fix it. The boot on the other hand didn't have much luck.

For their relief, the suit protected Robin from any critical damage, only having slight bruising or loose skin. Otherwise, the boy had survived with only a slight scare. There was not even one rock or shard that had punctured the clothing and made direct damage.

After taking care of Robin's torso, Slade decided to check his limbs. He was sure that his knees and arms would have at least taken some damage. When he backed off to instruct Robin to take his gloves and boots off, he saw that the boy was practically glowing red.

"Robin, what is it now?"

"Nothing," was the teen's immediate answer, which to Slade meant that there was only one thing it could be; an embarrassing situation for a teenager; even more embarrassing than admitting you were a virgin or just plain innocent.

What exactly was going on Slade didn't know. But, judging by Robin's uncomfortable, shy blush and subconscious need to hide his middle thigh area, he could bet that was where the problem was located.

Deciding to just be cruel, Slade decided to be blunt.

"Undress."

"What? No!" Robin jolted up in protest. "I'm not going to-!"

Slade cut Robin off by covering his mouth with his hand. It was amusing how the boy could overreact so badly when embarrassed. Seeing trough the boy, he could tell that it was something he'd prefer go unnoticed, but somehow he got the idea that it was not as lethal or embarrassing than the boy led him to think. He was slightly amused. The boy was making a show over something, acting childish, and squirming like a school girl. Whatever was wrong with him, he didn't know, but he had to do something before the boy bit his fingers off.

"Undress so I can tend to your wounds," Slade said determinedly.

He let go of the boy's face and stood a foot apart from the boy, waiting for him to get on with it. Robin stared at Slade stunned. To say the least, he didn't know what he would do. There was little to no room for objections, but he didn't want to be half naked around the man. He'd feel vulnerable then. With slightly shaking hands, the teen started to strip the clothing off, first exposing his hands. He then looked at Slade pleadingly, not wanting to strip any further.

"Go on Robin, you know we'll need to take care of almost every inch of your body."

"But I don't want to. Besides it can't be that serious, so far there have only been light scratches and only one was found actually bleeding."

Robin was right in that sense. The scratches were nothing that wouldn't heal on their own and after checking the boy's airways and eyes, almost all damage was now under control. He still preferred to check the boy thoroughly though, just to be sure that nothing was wrong. And to see Robin's skin. That was maybe an ulterior motive, but he didn't give a shit. Robin looked erotic, lying on a bed half dressed, panting slightly and blushing, small red wounds marring his body, and somehow Robin's mask was an added kink. Only thing missing was some ropes or chains…

Shaking his head slightly to get back to the task at hand, Slade prided his luck that Robin didn't notice him drifting. The boy was going to be the end of him, that much was certain. If he couldn't keep his mind in check, sooner or later he'd be in trouble because of it.

"One wound doesn't make an assumed standard. There can be an exception and the only way to find out if there is one is to look yourself."

There really wasn't any room for arguments when Slade said it that way. They both knew it too. When would the teen learn to shut up before he regretted it? Silently withdrawing, Robin removed the remaining cloth, revealing damaged elbows and knees and a long laceration which started from the front of his hip, down to his inner thigh, and ending near the knee.

"What was it again that you said about nothing serious and only light scratches?" Slade asked, sounding really sarcastic, deciding to take care of that wound first. "Spread your legs."

Blushing again, but this time being smart and staying quiet, Robin opened his legs wide, making some room for Slade to patch him up.

'Ugh, this is so embarrassing,' he thought as Slade cleaned the wound, rubbing some of his hand-made miracle ointment on the laceration and then wrapping it up securely in bandaging.

To Robin, it seemed to be the longest few minutes of his life. It seemed like Slade took his time healing the wound, sometimes just slipping a little too far than intended when adding the ointment. The man just seemed to love torturing him by rubbing him in all the sensitive places on his thigh. Robin was sure he did all of this to make him even more humiliated. Shivers had raked his body and he wished Slade would have gotten it over with sooner. Right then Robin would have wanted to hide himself somewhere and be left alone tending to his wounds instead.

"Well then, next to take care of your hands and knees," Slade announced with a slap on Robin's thigh. He couldn't hold back a slight hiss. It hadn't actually hurt, but Robin disliked it all the same. Snorting again as Slade roughly shoved his legs against the mattress to get a better look, Robin tried to distract himself from thinking by clearing all his thoughts and trying not to concentrate on Slade. "So how's your hand?"

He was cleaning Robin's left knee when he asked this, catching the boy off guard.

"What hand? What do you-? Oh…" Slade was obviously talking about the one where his middle finger got dislocated. "It's…its fine." Robin mumbled, only now remembering that the finger had being dislocated at all.

It didn't hurt, that was surprising. Robin expected something more, like not being able to use the hand for a couple of weeks or something. He couldn't help but wonder if Slade had done any miracle healing for his hand while he slept. In the end, he didn't really want to know. So he kept his mouth shut.

"Is it now?" Slade asked, switching to taking care of his hands now, the only remaining part of his body still needing care. "No aches or pains?"

Robin hissed as the disinfecting liquid made the wounds on his hands sting. Gritting his teeth together, he bore with the pain and saw that there was some blood on the cloth Slade used. So he had slight bruising on his hands, so what? Robin started to get a little frustrated with all this. Besides, all his previous wounds so far had healed surprisingly well, so why worry over these scratches. Besides, they were only scratches.

"The hand is fine, Slade. There is no pain."

Robin tried to hide his slightly pained look, trying to look as neutral as possible. At the same time he squeezed his hand into a fist and then relaxed it, admitting that it didn't hurt at all. With a nod and one last brush, Slade stood up and instructed Robin to dress and to get ready for dinner. Robin mumbled some slight protests, but quickly caught up with Slade seeing as he had decided to go preempt.

"There will be some dinner ready for us. I have assigned Slade-bots to prepare us breakfast, lunch, and dinner from now on."

Robin just nodded at this, trying not to brush his legs together because it would make the laceration hurt. Therefore, he concentrated on walking. Every other wound wasn't hurting and he knew they'd all be healed by tomorrow.

After Slade and Robin had walked in silence for some time, Robin was a little unnerved by the silence. He decided to say something.

"So…what will I do after dinner? I think I'm way too perky to go to sleep."

Slade laughed at this, turning to face the teen.

"Good, because I think you sleep too much."

Robin couldn't help but blush and turn his face away, making Slade laugh even more. To Robin's relief they had reached kitchen, where a Slade-bot was waiting with delicious smelling food placed on the table on the either side.

When Slade instructed the robot to leave, Robin couldn't help but think. 'This reminds me of some kind of romance movie Starfire used to watch; there were a table for two, candles, a waiter with a black suit and the two lovers would…'

Stopping himself right on time, Robin decided not to push the matter and sat at the table, starting to eat so he could distract himself from those disturbing thoughts. Slade looked at Robin slightly amused, which the teen couldn't see no thanks to the mask. He sat down opposite the teen. Picking up a fork and knife, Slade opened up the conversation.

"But to answer your question; I think you can do as you wish." Robin swallowed a mouthful of food and looked questioningly at Slade. He could just do what he pleased? What was the man up to? "Don't expect it to happen again however. I have some things to take care and since I have no time to babysit you, I'm sure you can manage to entertain yourself for a couple of hours at least."

Robin laid his utensils down and looked questioningly at Slade, only then noticing that if the man actually would eat, he'd have to take the mask off. Grinning to himself, Robin stared at the man, waiting for something. But he then noticed that he would get caught rather fast if he didn't go along with their little conversation.

"Like what things?"

Slade just shrugged and placed the utensils on the plate neatly.

"Paper work mostly. I have to plan ahead, fill out some files, restock, and get prepared for the future."

Robin placed his elbows to the table, receiving a stare-like gesture from Slade, making him take his elbows off the table, placing his hands on his lap instead.

"Oh. So what can I do?"

Slade leaned in, making it look like the man was grinning and about to say something really sarcastic. The mask really annoyed Robin. Did the man actually have to wear that thing everywhere?

"Take a shower, you stink."

Robin could almost feel the smoke coming from his ears, but he fought to keep his cool.

"Haha," he said sarcastically. "But really, can't I train on your survival course?"

"Not tonight. I'm sure you'll find something better, more entertaining, safer things to do. For example, you can go to the gym or you can try to meditate. You'll find something. If you still lack activity after two hours, you may come see me."

"Okay," Robin answered dully, staring at Slade still, waiting for the other man to reveal his face.

They both stared at each other for a while, but they both turned then to grasp their utensils again, Robin stuffing some food in his mouth, staring at the older man solemnly. Slade soon got annoyed by Robin's constant staring and decided to bring it up.

"What are you waiting for boy? Me to stuff the food in my mask thorough the slits?"

'Not exactly, but it would be nice if you'd remove the mask.' Slade sighed as he reached for it, Robin almost forgetting to breathe. 'It can't be; he's really taking it off!'

Robin's eyes were wide as baseballs and he had to fight the urge to hang his mouth open as well. With a slow gesture, Slade removed the mask and started eating. Robin suddenly looked like he'd been hit by lightning. This time he couldn't hold in the urge and his jaw dropped. 'This can't be!'

Slade swallowed a spoonful and couldn't stop but literally laugh straight at Robin's face.

"Honestly boy, what were you expecting?"

'Anything but this for one…'

Slade laughed when Robin shook his head, still keeping that overly surprised look, but then resumed his eating. Robin on the other hand was furious. He couldn't believe it! He had gotten his hopes up for what! For another mask! Robin felt like screaming inside his head. He felt like he could pull his hair off.

Slade had another mask which was like a cloth. It hid his face and there were only slight slits for his mouth and eye, but there was nothing else to see from the black and orange fabric. At least he could shape some figures of Slade's face now. For example, he noticed that the man didn't have a flat nose because of the metal mask, but a sharp and straight one instead. The other thing he could see was his lips. Rough, somewhat thin, lips, which Robin found to be fascinating as Slade ate.

Shaking himself back to Earth, Robin started to eat, trying to stop thinking about Slade.

'He is Slade! One can't just stare at the man! Besides, you shouldn't even be looking at him! You have let yourself get way too close. That is not good. You need to stop; now.'

Robin was quick to finish. He gulped down his full glass of water and then stood up, informing Slade that he would be in the gym before he fled the scene. Robin shouldn't have been paying any mind to him. What would his friends say; what would they think?! The teen hero was slightly disturbed by the thoughts of his friends. He knew they would demand an explanation for his absence. What should he tell them? What if they were worried? Or even worse, what if they found him before he came back from Slade's one week trial? What would they think? They'd probably feel betrayed, cheated, and abandoned. One thing was sure; they would not be happy.

Robin soon reached the gym and started lifting some weights, hitting the bag, do anything he could to distract his mind. He could help but note that he needed to distract himself a lot more than usual. What was going on with him? Why was he even letting this happen in the first place? He should have been going against Slade, not letting anything happen that already had; not wanting to train in Slade's steeplechase; shouldn't be cooperating so willingly. He shouldn't be doing any of this!

Robin started to kick the bag now, trying to blow off as much steam as he could. He was rampaging on the gym, hitting bags and kicking targets for half an hour until he had finally gotten himself under control. It really did feel good to let it all out by beating the hell out of those punching bags.

Panting heavily, Robin fell backwards to sit on one of the cushioned chairs in the corner of the room, originally designed for something else, but he didn't care. Trying to steady his breathing, he laid on his back to rest and felt something uncomfortable against his back. Robin reached for it to pull it out and throw it away, but when he saw what it was, he decided otherwise. It was a book about different kinds of exercises and flexing. It also listed some kind of activities. Why and how it had ended up in Slade's hands, Robin didn't know. He did know that it hadn't been used much. It was made years ago, seemingly bought when it was new and there were barely any flaws except a few pages that showed some aging.

When curiosity got the better of him, Robin started to read through it, somehow managing to go through almost every unknown exercise or at least to get the basics of them. There were a lot of exercises he hadn't even heard of. There was also some that could be common, but he himself didn't do them very much. Oh well, at least the book inspired him to try them out.

And with that new found inspiration, Robin tried the new techniques, trying to get at least fifty of each done. One was showing him an unbelievable amount of trouble; a move where he had to hold himself up with his hands, like he would do with chin-ups, but instead he had to raise his legs straight up into the air to lift his body. Then he would have to move his body up and down without falling or slipping. Robin had barely reached thirty when he noticed that his hands were shaking and his hip hurt like hell, along with his back. At least he could feel the exercise working.

After at least of two hours of intense training, Robin felt rather proud of himself. He could almost tell how much strength was getting back to him, allowing him to keep going even further. Later, smiling widely and panting hard, Robin lay in the middle of the room, trying to catch his breath. The sweat was glistening all over his body and he could feel the sweat dripping. The cold air of the gym hit his hot and wet skin, making him shiver. The cold air was stinging his lungs, making breathing difficult. He could taste the saliva in his mouth and he needed to swallow every so often.

Robin slowly rose up from the floor, first rolling on his stomach, then pushing himself up with his hands, still panting hard, hair hanging around his face. He leaned against the wall to keep his balance, collected his breath some more, spat saliva onto the floor, and then slowly made his way to Slade's room, intending to take a long, hot, and relaxing shower.

Robin slowly crawled his way to the room, taking hold of the walls the whole way. When he was by the door, he remembered that it needed Slade's identification to open, so instead he decided to just knock. He waited calmly for Slade to open the door, which took about five-to-ten seconds, and then walked in the room, making his way straight to the shower.

"So, did you find anything to pass the time with?"

Slade's voice was heard from the other side of the wall, seeing that Robin had already made his way to the toilet and bathroom extension. He was already stripping his suit off. Robin had already gotten rid of the clothes and now took off his mask.

"You bet," he said with a raspy, slightly out of breath, voice.

Taking a deep breath, Robin turned on the showerhead and allowed the spray of water wash over him, washing the stinky sweat away and letting the muscles relax under the warm water. Smiling contently, the teen let his hands travel through his hair and caress his skin, washing away all the sweat and remaining dirt.

"Robin, I have one last thing I need to show you still tonight," Slade said from the other side of the wall. It was rather difficult to hear the man through the downpour of water.

Robin sighed, knowing he didn't actually have a choice in the matter. He stepped out from the shower once all soap and shampoo suds were down the drain. Shivering slightly from the cold, he cursed himself for not asking for a towel before he got in.

"Slade, I need a towel!" Robin yelled from the inside of the bathroom, getting the answer from the other man rather fast, now not having any problems hearing it.

"I think you should use your spare uniform too. I have a good feeling you have gotten it dirty already."

Robin looked at the bundle of fabric that was supposed to be his suit and he had to agree. It smelled, it was damp, and it had dirt all over it. Messy job this training.

"Sure."

"I will bring you a change of clothes and the towel in exchange for the dirty uniform," Slade said.

Robin carefully grabbed the suit off the floor, keeping it as far away from his body as not to get dirty all over again.

"Okay, here." Robin shoved it out the door, listening as Slade moved from the other side, taking them. "Can you hand over my other clothes?"

"Just take them, Robin."

Sighing, Robin stepped halfway out the door and grabbed the clothes before even thinking about how he had exposed himself to Slade. Noticing the steel of Slade's boot, he saw that he was pretty much out and visible. It was plain bad luck that he had been staring at the floor when he opened the door. What an idiot he was. Robin quickly stepped back into the bathroom, slamming the door closed right in front of the man's face, hiding his heat in the pile of new clothes and towel. It was one thing that Slade knew his identity, but it still didn't mean that the boy should let him see him. He could only wish Slade didn't see anything.

Smiling under his mask, Slade hadn't seen anything that private. The boy had just stepped out the door, exposing his naked, wet skin, leaving only the slightest bit of imagination. The villain had seen Robin's chest, abs, his thin but slightly muscular arms and legs, his head pressed down to hide his face, and the damp hair that was dripping wet, laying flat against his skull. He could see the tiny droplets of water sliding along the boy's torso, dripping onto his floor. And what he loved to see the most was the waist and groin area of him, silently cursing the door for covering the most delicious parts of him.

Slade hadn't even seen his eyes; shame.

Meanwhile, Robin had decided to get dressed to prevent anything even more embarrassing from occurring. Last but not least, he placed the mask back in its proper place with the special glue that was lying on the sink counter. He finally looked himself in the mirror and decided to do completely nothing else than comb it. Once everything was in order, Robin took a final breath in before stepping out of his safe little place.

"Shall we go then?" Robin asked.

"Yes, follow me."

Slade led Robin out of the room, along the corridors and hallways to a room he had never been to before. It was odd to say the least. Maybe even a little bit creepy. Standing before them was a big control panel, one chair, and one huge window that showed a view to another room that had absolutely nothing in it. Both sets of walls and floors were white and made of some kind of steel-like material that almost reflected everything in grayish tones. There was also one, big gray iron door with a security lock on it from which you could get to the other room, Robin assumed. Slade walked to the door, unlocking the lock, and opening it.

"Do go inside," Slade said with little to no room to argue.

Robin had his worries about the place.

"Why? What's in there?"

Slade kept his cool, showing Robin the inside.

"As you can see, there is nothing in there and the reason why…well you'll find out soon enough. I assure you its safe and that we can still talk over the microphones that are inside."

Robin didn't really trust the man at all and, to say the least, he didn't want anything to do with that room. It was like one of those cells in Arkham, expect the walls weren't cushioned. What was Slade up to? Had he suddenly decided to lock him in and treat him like a guinea pig?

When Slade was about to tell Robin again, Robin decided, with all the courage he could muster, to step in, not wanting to be the object of the man's wrath. After he was in, the door was shut behind him with a bang. He looked at the window nervously, which now only showed his own reflection.

'Oh how I hate small, closed spaces.'

"So, Robin, do you know what this room is and what it is for?" Slade's voice asked from all around him.

Shaking his head, Slade told him that it was a room to create fake 3-D surroundings that looked, felt, smelled, and sounded real. They were as real as Titans Tower, but they weren't actually there.

"So what am I going to do in here exactly?" Robin asked, feeling slightly nervous.

Slade could have anything happen in the room.

"To train of course."

Robin could feel the rock rolling off his shoulder. So it couldn't be anything that bad. Besides, somehow it started to sound even slightly exciting and cool now; it could be anything. Robin felt a wave of relief wash over him and he just had to joke about it.

"I've started to wonder why you haven't tried anything drastic yet. I mean, like, trying to torment or brainwash me? Instead you seem to make me train myself to death."

Slade just hummed at him before offering his opinion.

"The best and most clever solution is to take care of your physical flaws first then proceed to the mental ones."

Robin smiled at this. Slade was trying to cover himself up, but he was caught now.

"So in other words you gave up?"

"No, this is merely a change in tactic," Slade said in the matter of fact kind of way. The walls suddenly started to change around Robin. The panels on the walls were twitching and he could see small pieces of scenarios swirling in them. "What do you think would be the best training for you? Maybe we should start easy, probably from the beginning of the one-to-ten scale so in the future you'll know what to expect."

The scenes were changing around Robin, from day to night, from rainy to hot and dry, from city to a field full of flowers, until it set out to be what apparently seemed to be one of Jump City's streets. He could feel a light wind and there were even some people who seemed to only be passing by. All the details were unbelievably perfect. The place seemed to be an exact replica. Just to quench his curiosity, Robin walked down the street, looking around him.

It was awesome how the room worked. He had walked quite a distance now and there were still no walls that would limit his journey. How it was possible, he didn't know. Robin tried to get used to the thought of actually being in a small room, not on a huge street, but he seemed to be failing miserably. Everything was so real. He could smell how one man was selling fresh hot dogs on the other side of the street. He could feel how a salesman accidentally bumped into him, turning around to apologize in a hurry. He had actually heard that. But that just told him that this wasn't real. Salesman would never turn around to apologize, no matter how much in a hurry they were in.

"This is wicked awesome," Robin mumbled quietly, not meaning to say it to anyone, mostly to himself; only Slade seemed to answer him anyway.

"I know."

"So what am I supposed to do in here?" Robin asked in awe, looking at his surroundings.

He could see a blue mailbox, a small cafe, street lamps, and posters attached to a brick wall. He could even feel the cobblestone road under his feet. It was all so real.

"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure," Slade replied. "I can only give you hints about the room's contents by the keywords I have inserted as the basic data. Otherwise the room will create a scenery of its own, even altering it if necessary."

"Wow," was the only word Robin could say as an answer. It all seemed so overwhelming, so unreal. "I so want to train in this room in the future."

"Don't worry, you will."

Right then, a loud explosion was heard coming from the nearby street and Robin could see Rancid coming from the smoke, driving towards him fast on a motorcycle, yelling loud for the fun of it.

"Don't kid me, this is easy!" Robin yelled, reaching for his bo staff, only to notice that he had none.

Robin quickly jumped aside as not to get hit by Rancid, wincing when the laceration on his thigh hurt as he stretched his leg to jump. He quickly recovered from it though. Running to the sidewalk, he tried looking for anything that he could use as a weapon.

Finally finding a long, thin, metal pole from a garbage can that he could use as a makeshift bo staff, Robin quickly snatched it up. He also found a two meter chain. Robin quickly had it around his torso and was ready to bash with his pole, running back to see Rancid coming from the nearby store with a bag of cash. He saw how Rancid jumped on his bike and started to drive towards him, yelling insults at the same time. When the biker was almost on him, Robin jumped to the side, this time more cautiously, and threw the pole on the wheels, blocking them completely. He sent Rancid flying. He crashed not too far away. Robin quickly ran to him, trapping him with the chains. Then suddenly, he saw how the city was slowly falling to pieces.

Staring shockingly around him, he saw the buildings collapse and everything around him disappeared until he only saw gray; he was back in the room. He had even forgotten he was in one to begin with. The door opened and Slade came in, instructing Robin to follow him back to his room.

"Remember Robin, this is only to let you know what you are going to see in the future. It will get much harder."

"I'm looking forward to that," Robin said, sounding a little bit tired.

He had the right to; the teen had been training the whole day, had wounds all over him, and even experiencing the joys of the simulator made him feel like he was ready to go to bed. Once again, Robin found himself soundly asleep in Slade's bed, resting and healing. The day hadn't been so bad, even if he had to share it with Slade.
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