Starfire felt her heart pounding. She, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven were charging down to the basement level of the Titans Tower. Chills raked down the Tamaranian's body.

Please, Robin, please be safe.

...

"Stop, Slade." Robin felt himself begging at the feet of his true nemesis, his ribs burning, slashes covering his body. His energy was draining fast, and Robin knew there was nothing left of his strength, not even an ounce of hope.

"No, Robin, I will never stop. And you will never..." The light quivered and Slade vanished, like the blink of an eye. It switched off, and he was back. He drew his foot into Robin's battered side, hearing a rib crack under the weight. Robin was thrust up, and Slade drew his fist back and flung it into Robin's face.

The Boy Wonder was thrust back, the momentum of the punch driving him into the bars holding the basement level up.

"...You will never be free of me."

......

Starfire and the Titans were flying around the towers of boxes, trying to locate their leader. The alien thrust herself even further ahead of the group, her heart about to explode. Sweat dripped down her face with the effort of driving herself forward.

"Slade!" Robin screamed, his voice echoing. Starfire gasped, and the Titans drove forward.

"Hang in their, Robin." Starfire prayed. "Hang in there."

......

Slade analyzed Robin, heaving, frail, broken, and bleeding. He truly had gone soft after he had broken away from the villain. There was much to teach him, still.

"What will make you stop?" Robin heaved, his voice raspy, a bit of a gurgle of blood at the end of his pathetic question.

"Nothing will make me stop haunting you Robin. Nothing will make me forgive you for deserting me, Robin. That is why..."

Slade drew a small object, drew closer to Robin, and raised it towards the heroes heart. Through the haze attempting to consume Robin's conscious, he instantly recognized the item.

"I have to elminate you."

......

The Titans were shooting like meteors down the rows of storage, closer than ever to Robin. Finally, after what seemed like a millennium they rounded the final tower of storage, and there the worst of their nightmares stood, facing them in the face . Robin was right all along.

Slade was truly back.

"No!" Starfire screamed, her voice echoing. Slade and Robin turned. The sight of Robin, battered and bleeding sent an electric current of anger through Starfire. The nerves at the end of her hands erupted in fireworks, the adrenaline charging her anger even further. She drew her starbolts, ready to charge, though unready to make any sudden movements.

Robin raised his hand towards the Titans, his team, his friends, and his family. Cyborg had his sonic cannon drawn, Raven was drawing up boxes, ready to strike, and Beast Boy had morphed into the form of a gorilla. Starfire had silent tears streaming down her face, her body in an attacking position.

"It's okay, guys, I'll be fine. Starfire, I-"

But the Boy Wonder never got to finish his confession, for Slade had fired the gun, straight into Robin's heart.

Robin's body was thrust back with the shock, a small strained sound slipped out of his lips, and then he fell with a dull thud.

Slade grabbed Robin's body, stood, and glared at the Titans, all too shocked to move. Beast Boy switched back to a human, and Raven dropped the boxes. Cyborg had switched from the sonic cannon back to his mechanical hand. Only Starfire remained ready to attack, though the light around her eyes and hands flickered violently.

Slade let out a harsh laugh that bounced off the walls and resonated in the spacious storage room. The light overhead flickered again, and the villain was gone, the leader of Jump City's Titans with him.

......

Two days later

Cindy Clemmons, news reporter of Jump City was patting foundation onto her face. This was her big break, and she had to look good for it.

"Miss Clemmons?" The intern said nervously, tucking her brown hair behind her left ear.

"What?" Cindy snapped. She hated the spring time when the new interns were fresh out of the oven and fresh out of blundering stupidity.

"They're ready to begin the coverage." She said, waiting for Cindy to respond. Cindy smacked her tongue against her perfectly straight and white teeth.

"Fine, I'll be out in a few second. You can leave." Irritation covered every word from the news anchor. The intern nodded and exited the portable news trailer.

Cindy got up, took one look at her perfect figure, and exited the trailer, stepping into the rough terrain of Titan Island.

She then took her spot in front of the camera, allowed the interns to hook her mike to the frequencies, and cleared her throat. The cameraman took one last sip of his coffee, threw it behind him, and turned on the camera.

"Quiet on the set!" The Producer, Larry Yune, cried in a moderate Asian accent that only uncovered when he was yelling.

He looked at Cindy, who nodded, and began the countdown.

"In five, four, three, two..." He thrust his forearm forward, as if directing a plane on a landing dock.

Cindy smiled for the camera, her broad white teeth shining in the perfect light. "Hello Jump City, this is Cindy Clemmons with Jumps News. Today we are," Cindy put on a sad voice that had earned her a News Award for being the most compassionate news anchor out there, "...Located at the Titans tower, where news of tragedy has struck the superheroes responsible for our beloved City's safety. Just two days ago the Boy Wonder Robin was shot by an unknown felon fatally through the heart. His body was never retrieved."

Cindy looked down for a second, as if lost in thought, and as if caught by tragedy.

"The Titans are today now laying out an eternal flame in honor of the fallen hero, and your Jump City news channel is here to cover it." She looked behind her and saw that the Titans were emerging from the ground floor of their Tower, each clutching an item.

"And there is the flame. Let's go over for a closer look." Cindy said, a flicker of annoyance sparking inside of her. She really shouldn't have worn her new coral colored heels today.

After a few second of hustling, the news crew reached the Titans, where each were dressed in black, minus Cyborg, and all had a look of true confusion on their faces, as if they were confused at what had just happened two days ago. As if they were confused that such a thing could happen to their invincible leader.

"And there's," Cindy said in a hushed voice, pointing to Cyborg, who was holding a spare costume of Robins, "The half mechanical Titan Cyborg placing the fallen Robin's costume on the prepared ground."

Next Beast Boy stepped forward, holding a spare belt that Robin had used when his original one was out of commission.

Cindy looked at the camera, her lips pursed, as though she was truly struck by this sight, "There's the animal transformer, known as Beast Boy to the Titans and to the public placing Robin's spare utility belt by the costume."

Beast Boy stepped back, a tear streaking down his face.

Raven was next, holding a small black object.

"Rob," Cindy said, allowing herself to say the Camera operator's face, a sign of raw live news reporting, "Can you zoom in? I'm almost sure that's Robin's mask being placed down by Raven, the telekinetic foreigner." She stepped out of the way for a clear shot. Indeed the camera man zoomed in, and, as Cindy had said, it was indeed one of Robin's mask.

Raven stepped back and hid her face beneath her cloak, hiding the tears. Last was Starfire.

She was dressed in all black instead of her regular Tamaran clothing. Her hair was tied back in a loose ponytail that swayed against her back as she walked.

Cindy took a few steps closer, allowing herself to be just within the frame.

"And there is the Tamaranian" Cindy slightly struggled on the name, "Starfire placing the flame on top of all the items."

Starfire placed a small stone basin with a flame flickering in the center down on top of the costume and between the spare utility belt and the mask. She stepped back, charged up her starbolts, and sent two into the air. They screamed into the air, until they both collided and created a mini firework explosion.

"There was a small demonstration of the Tamaran power, probably a last tribute to the fallen warrior." Cindy said, her voice even more hushed.

With that, the four Titans turned, and went back into their Tower.

Cindy looked at the camera head on. "And there you have it, Jump City. The last tribute to a fallen hero. Only fate knows what the future has in store for our City now he is gone. I'm Cindy Clemmons signing off."

......

Just five miles away from the Tower, an old abandoned molasses warehouse stood, undisturbed.

Slade thrust the back emergency exit door open with a small grunt of effort. This was where he and his mechanical Henchmen had set up a hidden laboratory months before he let himself known to Robin as alive, and of course, only to Robin. He chuckled a little to himself and drew a small bundle he had clutched into his unforgiving hands tighter to his side.

He made his was through machines shut down long ago, past boxes of unused glass molasses bottles. He only stopped until he was in the center of the floor, where one single fluorescent light flickered feebly, buzzing idly.

He stood facing a metal holding bed, flat and unforgiving. The specimen strapped down with IVs trickling into his arms was asleep, eyes shut tight.

Slade threw the bundle down onto the ground, where a small outfit loosened and tumbled out of the sack holding them. A disk with a black S slashed on an orange foundation clattered angrily, the sound ringing around the desolate room.

"It's time to wake up, my new apprentice. Though this time, I will make you obey me. You will do whatever I say. You will haunt the Titans as I did to you." Slade pressed a button on the mechanics hooked up to the bed. The specimen woke up with a start, and jumped in the air, breaking free of his bonds, and landing silently in a kneeling position by Slade's feet. He stood and bowed his head.

"You will torture them from the inside out. You will make them attack you, and you will win. You will create chaos from the inside out And finally, my new apprentice."

The boy raised his head up to his Master's face.

"You will annihilate them."

The boy raised his head and looked at his Master, their eyes locked.

"Yes, Master."

Slade chuckled.

"Good boy, Robin."

A/N, So this is an alternate ending to the episode Haunted where Robin is convinced he is seeing Slade again. I need at least two replies to continue. Feedback welcome! Hope you enjoyed it! :)