Chapter 14 Cut: Into the Dragon's Den
A/
The platform edged close to the deserted island over a placid bay, parting the waters between the two.
Parallel forces eased the commotion in silent whispers. Just the churning of the waves calmed every bit of watery crashing and smashing. It was peaceful here, but as long as Robin stayed on the platform.
The doors of the tower had been ripped away and torn from the seams, leaving a narrow path open for visiting patrons of the living dead…
Robin didn't know any ghosts, he had met the Deadman though and lived to tell. Deadman had kind of been resurrected in order to redeem himself for a crime. Batman had helped the guy many times. Manifestations of the passed on of earth and unearthly beings. Good with the bad, Robin had always stayed on the Bat's good side, was he bad for leaving?
A shadow fell to the side as he walked. It wasn't something he would notice right away. That was until IT was discovered as a rat in the main hall.
Circuits had been fried within every computer. The big screen was smashed to pieces, beyond repair. The doors were covered over by rubble and debris, so was the only way out. What had happened while they were gone? Did someone attack? Why didn't the communicators go off? And, the couch…What went on without them? How long had they been, gone….
Robin gawked at the scene as he simply rounded about, unaware of the unsuspecting danger. His home, wreaked, done. It would take months to cover the damage! He just hoped that the team might never feel as empty as he did this very second…Maybe Titans East would check in on them? See what the had gotten into. Yeah. Then they could fix the city, from whom ever was terrorizing it…
Robin's breathing lessened, still in contact with his thoughts. He'd have to contact his team. Find whoever did this. Did an old enemy get out from prison? A chipped cup smashed to the floor. Knocking into the counter of the kitchen, he breathed. Jumping without thinking.
"Time to contact the Titans, stop this mess from getting out of hand…"
/
Starfire was restless as the waters that surrounded her. She flew through an ever crashing wave, going directly into it. Her mind pushed out pictures of Robin fighting lonely battles, with someone keeping him from his team. With horrible monsters pulling and prodding to get inside her thoughts and manipulate her…
She didn't watch as the buzzing of her mind distracted her from her endeavor. She just hoped that Robin did not feel the confusion she felt right away…
/
The rusty metal pipes looked ready to give from above the young hero's head. Just as he gasped the communicator let out a sharp;
BEEP.
It sizzled with a whirr of gadgetry, shutting off as he removed it from its pouch. The siren finally died with a crackle, no longer active on the mission. Shut down completely, possibly by the same crook that had destroyed the Titans' home. Robin plopped on to the ripped up sofa. "Now what? What can I do? Wait until they catch up?" he asked himself, still sane. Sighing he slumped into the couch deeper, afraid almost that he could fall right in.
"I have arrived, and am now making my way, inside…" Cy showed up on Starfire's screen. "Ok, find the lock to the entrance, punch in-
"What doors?" Her face crinkled in pain, she saw the tower in pain as well. The doors to the tower's entrance hall had been, stripped.
"Star, the combination lock, there should be a door to-
I believe you have heard me 'wrong', there is no longer a door. Look!"
As Cy shot up while the scene played on, Beast boy fidgeted with his fingers. "What's going on here!"
Robin had recently witnessed a darker side, Starfire had yet to realize the worst to come. Thanks to the limit of fear and anxiety, the others pressed into the matter further than they ever had. Starfire on the other hand could not stay still.
The kitchen was disastrous with the walls not yet crumbling down, the halls were something between a scrape heap and a junk yard, the bedrooms… in fact the door straight to the left still retained its posture.
Some doors differed as if someone had used a, time bomb…
"Beast boy, Raven, Cyborg! Robin has been here!"
B/
Robin's curiosity struck him when the doors had begun to crumble. Turning his head he sighed,
"Someone, in the tower…" spaced out and vulnerable in the open Robin blinked back to earth. He was sure something had done wrong here, and nothing could change him…
The next set of halls led to a nighttime woe, the Teen Titans' bedrooms. A shadow passed over a nameplate falling from its hinges. RAVEN - it said in large bold letters. His curiosity again teetered so that nothing this time could stop it.
"Raven wouldn't mind if I…" She might have had a rage attack if he did something so reckless, to enter her room, oh well.
The bed and Raven's dresser were overturned with the sheets. Her mirror was smashed, the wall dividing the rooms had crushed open drawers. Slashes of watery puddles spilled from rusted pipes. Red, blue and black ink dissolved into the waters, her books!
Sloshing in with the puddles Robin tried desperately to save the inked spell books from the flooding. To no avail they were lost…all in all, there was nothing left here for him to see., All in all, he knew what he did want to see.
Maybe this was the future that Starfire had envisioned so many years ago. It could be, anything for a Titan was possible. So was falling into another world, Raven had saved them from Trigon's reign. Robin had been able to change her mind, she could not lose hope thanks to him. Was this why Slade had left? To plot something else against Robin's team?
"Agh!" Robin's head pounded. "Nothing makes sense!" Scratching his arm Robin sighed. No answers…
Raven looked ahead with dazed eyes. "How can this be? Cyborg, what time, does your clock say?"
"Mine says-
Not that!" she scolded Beast boy for interfering. He huffed with a grunt and a sigh. "Then what time? Not on a clock?"
"Dimensional time." she responded sourly, upset that the group was not together on her plan. "I need to know if any time as we know has passed between the Spirit realm and Earth." Cyborg and Raven, Beast boy and Verra, Wiz, and Alice with Kayumon had retreat to the sewers for safe thinking. Away from their new foe the group could listen in on Star and when she found Robin. He too had suffered from the shake up.
/
Robin dug deeper into the mystery finding a room with a crashed door. The name read; Beast boy. Also, a boom box at the edge of a side table was playing random music. A burn disk? Bb would never-
The first song ended. Another one took its place as it continued to spin.
A group of pop artists sung in the background together. Both sounded pretty in sync with one of their hits. To his surprise he'd heard the song before. Trying not to let it get to him he felt a sudden dizziness shake him to his senses.
Robin saw the shadows, without haste they surrounded him and covered his shadow completely. All these tiny shadow blobs were attacking him directly through his fears. "Get off!" Robin kicked one off, but it rebounded. One was now up by his neck making him fall to the ground. A winded few recovered from recoiling from a strange pain. He didn't see what had caused it, it was too dark!
Squealing like pigs and mice the figures leapt away from what seemed like another shadow in the doorway. Slowly Robin looked up, he sighed.
"Oh, it's just you." Almost laughing he saw that it wasn't Slade at all. The demon ally, Shadow stood in the doorway. The monster helped by holding out a hand to the teen. Robin smiled and took that hand in his own grip. As he let up his grip the hand on the other person only seemed to hold on tightly. It would not let go.
"Thanks but, if fine…" he smiled shakily. Another tug, no use!
"Ookay, you can let go now, mister…"
"Call me friend, no, yes?" the guy remained with a toothy grin. Robin nod his head as if entranced. Giving a small tug he ground his feet into the rug- half torn from damage. Yelping in pain he gasped out a sharp cry.
The ally, or so he knew as a demon had dug its fingernails or talons into the hero's arm. The killer pang of bloodlust was hidden well, with a fresh new mind to torment. "In my realm we call this punished, no?"
"What is this…ow! I th-thought…." Robin grunted in pain.
"You think too much, master intended it." the grin on the demon's face got wider.
Robin grimaced at the shadow figment. Growling one word.
"Slade.."