Teen Titans: The Eternal vs. Mortal Love Story - Book One

Chapter 8

(Amber's POV)

I wasn't sure how long I remained conscious on the roof. All I could feel was the exhaustion from the day's events.

Lex Luthor followed me and fought me again, which in turn cost me exposure to Kryptonite. 

Feeling my skin tear open and bleed for the first time was not pleasant.

I became a Teen Titan. It was worth it.

The last thing I remembered on that rooftop was being pulled into Robin's arms and laying my head on his shoulder. 

(Robin's POV)

My morning routine was no different, given the events of the previous day. By 8 a.m., I found myself in the infirmary, checking up on her. I sat by her bed, taking in her appearance. She was out cold, practically dead. I could barely hear her breathe.

I saw the little gray camisole Starfire had put on her, and it exposed most of the gauze on her body. What caught my attention was the lack of color on her skin. She was already quite pale, with a healthy glow, but yesterday's events literally sucked the color off of her body. She looked like a corpse.

I couldn't help but stare at her intriguing figure. 

"Stop staring at me," said a raspy, soft voice. I felt myself jump out of my own skin.

"How'd you know I was here?" I asked curiously.

She laughed lightly, and opened her beautiful, honey brown eyes. "I have a super hearing ability, Robin. Kryptonian powers, remember?" She smiled brightly at me, capturing me in a daze of her.

"What time is it?" she asked. 

"A little after 8 am," I answered. She shot up, and tried to fling her legs off the bed, only to be held back. She hissed, knowing her gauze and wounds reacted at slight movement.

"Crud," she muttered. I walked over to her, bringing one of her arms around my shoulder. I swung her legs off her feet, catching her by surprise. I walked over to the stainless steel examining table and set her down there.

"A little warning would serve me right," she joked. 

"Robin, I could have hopped over to the table alone, you know, but thank you for carrying me."

"I know, but you need to change your gauze. Let me help you," I stated firmly. Her face flushed a deep, rosy pink color.

"Okay." Her eyes were extremely cautious and weary, watching me intently as if I were about to hurt her.

"Don't worry. It's okay," I assured her. She smiled slightly and nodded, allowing me to proceed with taking out the necessary tools. I brought out a large bottle of antiseptic, boxes of gauze, two separate containers, a clean sponge, and a pair of scissors.

I filled one container with antiseptic, and let the sponge sink into it. From my peripheral vision, I saw Amber remove the small piece of clothing Starfire had given her, using it to cover herself.

She held out her right arm, gesturing for me to start. I started unwrapping the gauze slowly. She winced at every turn, noting that the blood that the gauze caught acted as an adhesive. I unwrapped all the way up to her shoulder, and cut it off with the scissors. Making sure the sponge was soaked, I carefully but thoroughly ran it across the exposed arm.

As composed as she tried to appear, her eyes gave away her need to scream.

I quickly yanked out some fresh gauze and wrapped it tightly on her arm. I started next on her left arm, repeating the same process. She seemed to have gotten the hang of working through the pain as I quickly dressed her wounds. 

My blood was boiling as I took in the deeper wounds on her back and abdomen. There weren't as many of them, but they were much deeper than the injuries all over her arms. 

"You okay?" I asked, stopping as I finished up. She took a shaky breath, nodding silently. 

I had the sponge soaked again, and I pressed it on the spot below her throat, where her chest started. I almost jumped back when she whimpered, clenching her teeth at the pain. 

"Amber-"

"I'm f-fine. Let me finish this, please." I nodded, handing her the sponge. She took a deep breath and used her super speed to soak the wound and wrap it before my eyes. I could barely keep up at how fast she did it, biting back a scream the whole time. After hopping off the table and throwing the used gauze and sponge away, she looked up at me. 

"We should probably eat breakfast," she started, smiling faintly at me. I smiled back, nodding in agreement. 

"When's the last time you ate?" I asked.

"Good question. Probably-"

She swayed, and was a split second from falling to the floor when I caught her, steadying her carefully. Her hand lightly touched her head as she blinked, looking around the room in confusion. 

"I think it's been a while," she murmured tiredly.

Retracing time, I realized she hadn't eaten anything since breakfast yesterday. She practically burned off any energy she had trying to hold still and keep herself from screaming when I helped to clean her up.

"Amber, are you feeling faint?" I asked her as calmly as I could. I felt her nod her head yes. I led her over to the infirmary bed, sitting her down. 

"I'll be right back with some food. Why don't you lie down for a while?" 

She nodded, closing her eyes as she curled up into a ball.

(Amber's POV)

I was bombarded by black spots surrounding my vision. I could feel myself disconnecting with my environment. I could easily float away and never come back. 

Darkness clouded my vision again.

I need to pull through. I'm just tired. It can't be THAT bad, can it? It's okay, I'm okay. I'm just really, really tired. I can do this. I can-

I was dragged into the one place I wasn't exactly a fan of.

My nightmares.

"Please," I pleaded to the mysterious attacker. He had pulled me into an alley, and I felt the now familiar green Kryptonite taking its effect on me. 

I was suddenly choking on a thick, endless liquid. The air in my lungs was scarce. All I wanted was to get back home. I can't be here.

The liquid frightened me more than anything, because after a few seconds, I knew what it was.

Blood.

After about a minute, the endless stream finally stopped, and I coughed air back into my lungs.

"Leave. Me. Alone," was all I managed to choke out. I made an attempt to drag myself out of that alley.

My attacker was faster.

"Not so fast..." was all I heard. I saw him pull something out of his coat pocket, and I shut my eyes.

"No!" I shouted. My eyes shot open, and all that was heard was my heavy breathing. I looked around only to notice I was back in the infirmary room.

A tray, a big one I might add, was on a stand, right on top of my lap. It was piled with food, and a ginormous glass of freshly squeezed orange juice complemented it. A note stuck out beside it, and I read it quickly.

You need your energy intact. Dig in. We'll be around if you need us.

-Robin.

I smiled, and dug in. I had popped a bit of tofu waffles into my mouth and nearly spit them out when I checked the time. 12:30? I was out for four and a half hours.

I finished every last morsel and carefully moved off the bed, dressing as quickly as I could without hurting myself. 

I opened the door to the infirmary, only to be met by an unexplained shadow.

The only audible sound was my own scream.