TITLE:Bad Connection

PROLOGUE: Sand Trap

DISCLAIMER: Why do fanfic writers always have to put these stupid disclaimers up in their stories? It's pretty obvious that we don't own any of what we're writing about – if we did, we would just make whatever we came up with canon, wouldn't we? Whatever. I don't own anything. I'm seventeen years old and live with my parents; I don't even own my own food.

A.N.: I decided that this fic needed rewriting. After all, I started it out in 2009, and, well…let's just say that my style back then could use some work. Besides, it wasn't going quite as well as I'd hoped it would – the chapters were too short, I had plenty of plans but never went anywhere with them, and I was using WAAAAAYYY too many italics and words that I knew but wasn't really familiar with. I mean, I knew a bunch of things about the story that I wanted to happen – e.g., where they were, where they were going, the ending, etc. – but for some reason, I just couldn't get there. So, I'm kicking off Bound with a new beginning and a new name (and thank you to Neko-Ice-Queen, Aguna, PinkPanther123, and TheDragonWoman who helped me decide on Bad Connection; also, even though I didn't use it, thank you to vampireprincess24 for suggesting The Most Dangerous Game – the title of an excellent short-story by Richard Connell that I was VERY tempted to use)! XD

Something y'all MUST remember, though: Some things will be the same as the events in the old fic, some different. It IS the same story, but my thoughts on subjects are much clearer now, so more than just a few moments have been changed. Just to let y'all know.

I would like to thank all the people that reviewed, favorited, and subscribed to my first attempt at Bound. There really should only be ONE "attempt" at a story when you publish it, but…well…*glances around uncomfortably*…I sort of thought it was actually GOOD back then…. XC

Anyways, I hope y'all enjoy this new start! Here we go! :D

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Blasts were bellowing through the warm summer wind, sending the museum rumbling. The exterior pillars were beginning to fall, and Robin knew the roof wouldn't survive much longer under the strain. He had to think quickly. "Raven! Cyborg! Make sure you get the building under control! Without its supports, it will collapse! Get it stable!" he shouted over his shoulder, running towards the grand double doors that Slade had just bypassed. To his other comrades, he roared, "Beast Boy: Don't let any of the Slade-bots interfere with them! And Star, you're with me!"

"Where are we going?" the alien cried as the others set to work, BB transforming into a T-Rex and Cy blowing away half the robotic infantry with his sonic cannon. "Surely we do not mean to go inside, do we?!" Robin could hear the concern in her voice, and though it was warranted, he was forced to disregard it.

He continued after his foe, letting his words fly. "Yes, we mean to go inside! We have to stop him from whatever he's planning. If you don't want to follow, then stay and help Beast Boy; I'm going after Slade!"

He rushed through the entrance hall of the museum, and after a few moments, saw Starfire racing through the air to his left. He knew she wouldn't abandon him: She was loyal to a fault and would go with him – or any one of their teammates – to the end. He threw her a proud and thankful smile, which she returned with a look of wariness.

"Star, get high and look ahead – tell me if you can see him," the Boy Wonder commanded, and with a nod, the girl was off, emerald eyes blazing.

Not a minute later, she shouted, "Take a right into the next hallway!" Soundlessly, Robin obeyed her orders. He'd been in this place before; he knew where the insane man was going. He would make a run through the Africa exhibit, then, with nowhere else to go, be forced to face the two and fight in the Chinese art display section. The closest emergency exit was in the actual China pavilion, not the art display, which was in the next room over. The city had never installed a connecting door as the museum was so old that they were worried that it would "take away from its history," or some bullshit like that. It didn't matter right then, though. At least the lack of safety precautions was helping him corner the bastard this time.

Stone from the ceiling was starting to crumble and fall, dust sprays landing in the boy's gelled hair. "What's going on out there? Why isn't Beast Boy stopping their attacks?!" he snarled, ducking around a much larger chunk as it hit the floor. Then, louder, "Starfire, be careful! The roof isn't hol—"

Her wretched screech could have broken glass had there been any present, but it was soon cut short and replaced with a heavy, resounding thud.

"Starfire!" Robin bounded forth with sweat in his eyes, hitting the turn he needed at full speed and nearly crashing into the opposite marble wall. The scene before him made his heart stop beating and plummet into his stomach like a brick through water.

Thin, gun-metal liquid seeped into Star's uniform, shoving a stench like burned paper into the air that made the boy choke. Her orange skin was paling into beige, her eyes wide and dull – she was going into shock. There was something strange, though; the top of the huge rock that crushed her lower torso and legs was inconsistently flat, not jagged as if it had just fallen due to the tremors coming from the outside.

"Slade," he hissed. Tears streamed into his mask, messing with the glue, as he stared at said villain. But without a glance behind himself, Slade made a mad dash into the African chamber. The chase enticed Robin – yet it was the new smell of Starfire that brought him out of his murderous rage and into desperation, the need to help her too great. He stalled by the enormous piece of ceiling and whipped out his Bo staff, trying and failing to wedge it underneath and push the blockage upward. "St-Starrrrugh…! Stay with me – you have to help get this off— oof!"

"…Rob….obin…." She was so quiet he didn't catch her whisper his name.

"I-I need a fulcrum – hang on, lemme get something!" He dropped his staff with a clank and grabbed a decently sized rock to use. He pushed it closer to the stone, lifted his Bo, and once again attempted to save her.

She spoke louder, once more wanting to attract his attention; "RRRobin…!"

"Nnnghcomeoncomeoncomeon…!" he pleaded with the rock, wrinkling his face in concentration. If he had heard her, he ignored her. It wasn't until the girl finally reached out and snagged the human by the collar that he noticed she was talking to him.

"I am not…." She sighed in pain. "I will…not get through this…will I?" She looked into the eyes of her hero's mask, acceptance of her fate and sadness written all over her face. "Y…You have to go now."

"What?! No, Star, I won't lea—!"

With a tiny shake of her head, she interrupted. "Kor-Koriand'r."

The foreign word mixed with the tang in the air made Robin start. "Wha—? Huh—?"

"It is…my-my…my name in Tamaran. I wanted you t-to know it," she stuttered, some of that old sparkle of joy returning to her orbs as she thought of her name and her home. It was obviously getting harder and harder for her to string her words together coherently. The dark silver blood had hit the corners of her mouth, staining her lips and teeth with both color and odor as something akin to tears rolled down her cheeks.

Realization struck. He knew what she wanted, now more than ever.

"…Grayson."

He never knew how hard it would be to hear that name again, much less speak it, until that moment. His voice was so soft; would she even understand what he had said—?

Her already serene features mellowed more. "A fi-fitting name…friend Grayson…." With that, her façade relaxed into painless bliss, becoming limp and heavy with one last breath of relief. Robin clutched her body close and hard in silence for what felt like hours, but he knew it was only seconds. Finally, with a rough press of lips to her forehead, he placed Starfire – Koriand'r – down as gently as he could onto the floor. He became half-aware of the chaos that had been escalating around them as she passed on, but he gave it no heed.

He stood grimly, glaring at her docile form, before saying his good-bye. "You won't have died in vain. As whatever God there is as my witness, Slade will pay for this…and I will be his judge, his jury, and his executioner…." Turning away, the teenager returned to the pursuit faster than before, a new hatred for the psychopath burning in his veins.

Clay urns and bones and large, stuffed animals whizzed by as he ran through taupe-and-gold Africa, feet pounding in tune to the bedlam resounding throughout the building. The subdued spotlights were flickering as his anger flared. It seemed to take ages to reach the archway into China's art gallery.

There, with back to enemy, Slade stood in front of a pearl pedestal, upon which a beautiful jade vessel rested. No sound echoed from Robin as he slithered his way behind him.

"I wondered what was taking you so long to find me…I thought you'd been here before?" the slick silk voice rang in the boy's ears. How he knew Robin was there, he didn't know, but it didn't matter.

"I was trying to save her…." The hero's tone was gruff, yet sturdy. "You killed her."

At long last, the assassin turned to face his young adversary. The look in his single oculus was distant. "I'm sorry to hear that," he answered.

"No. You're not," was Robin's only reply. He crouched low against the rattling floor, Bo in hand; he was ready.

"Not yet, you mean?" Slade mirrored his movements, bringing around his own power staff and letting its ends sizzle with energy.

Verbally, there was no response; the grieving young man allowed violence to be his answer, all his fury flowing out through his simple length of metal. His body was quick, his rhythm smooth, as he attacked, whip after thwack. But despite his best efforts – and indeed, they were his best, just for Starfire – Slade suppressed them all.

"And here I thought you'd defeat me, just this once, by yourself, circumstances being what they are," the older of the two scorned. "What a pity." To accentuate his insult, he lashed one side of his staff into Robin's stomach, charging him with electricity.

Screaming, the Boy Wonder doubled over and tumbled into the vase, sending it to the floor. Millions of shards scattered as sand exploded in front of him. It dug into his hands and knees when he landed and it thrashed his nostrils as he inhaled, cutting him, but he hardly felt it. His body was still vibrating, lightning coursing through his muscles.

"Hm. Must have set the voltage too high," Slade muttered calmly, examining the end of his power staff (though careful not to touch it). Looking passed the promethium-alloy of the shaft, it was then he noticed the grit that was almost underfoot. "And what, I wonder, is this?" Kneeling, he pinched some of the sand between his thumb and forefinger, rubbing them together and watching as the grains fell. His calculating mind could easily deduce that this was scarcely sand at all, but something new entirely. "Fascinating…."

He didn't get much more figured out than that; Robin's swift kick to the jaw made sure of it.

From the slits in his mask, Slade spat blood: he'd bit through his damn tongue on impact. "You'll regret that," he snarled matter-of-factly, massaging his chin.

"Doubt it." There the boy stood, in manic glory, his hair and clothes smoking slightly from the electroshock as he gripped his Bo. "But you'll regret ever crossing me!"

Slade laughed at the paltry affront, dodging the predictable downward strike. "I do every day!"

They fenced and feinted, each trying to score wounds on the other but only managing to assail the spaces their bodies had previously filled. At one point, Robin twirled just out of reach of the sparking staff before accidentally curling, out of control on a potsherd, into the crook of Slade's arm. From there, he slipped and nearly hit the jumping ground once more, but was caught at the last second by the fingertips of the mercenary's large hand, frame practically horizontal. For an instant, it seemed as if they were dancing.

But seconds seldom last for forever. Robin was dropped unceremoniously onto his back, head smacking against the sand just as the flooring lurched upward. Slade wasn't the only quick one, though: He was ready to stab the boy in the gut again when, suddenly, the little bird swung out with his leg, landing the far heavier man much as he had Robin.

A satisfying boom and groan came a little ways away, and that made the teen relax. The rogue wouldn't be getting up anytime soon…but neither would he, now that he thought of it. He settled down on his bed of sand and glass vestiges, watching as the ceiling continued to shudder and shake. Sinking into the rough powder as if it were his bed at home, his eyes began to flutter closed. The last image he saw was the roof finally collapsing under its own weight, having given out due to its lack of exterior support. It would seem Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg had lost their battle with the enemy and the building. As his mind drifted off into unhindered sleep, sparkles dancing within his eyelids, Robin's sole reprieve was that at least he was taking Slade with him to the Gates of Hell. His vow of vengeance to Star was complete.

Well, that's what he thought, anyway.

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A.N.2: HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYBODY! I hoped y'all liked the prologue! Chapter One will be up soon, I assure you, as it's almost finished. Please feel free to review, favorite, and subscribe to this story! I LOVE Y'ALL!