Master…

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.

Summary: "I will break you Robin and I will get your precious friends to watch and see as their fearless leader becomes nothing but a memory…."

Chapter One - Trapped

Blood was seeping out his back; a whimper escaped his sealed lips.

It hurt.

It hurt so much.

His eyes were ice-cold, full of pain, misery and absolute loathing for this man… no this monster standing in front of him a blood soaked whip in his hands.

"Stop!"

"Let him go."

"He didn't do anything wrong."

"Please Slade, just leave him alone."

He heard the Titans voices, they sounded concerned, so full of hate and so…

Far away…

They were only across the room and yet they sounded miles away. Was this it? Was it the end? Was this what it felt like to die? What a way to go, beaten to death by a few whips to the back by your greatest enemy. No… It couldn't possibly end like this, not like this. You're Robin the Boy Wonder, surely you can take a few hits to the back from a piece of rope…C'mon Dick your friends are counting on you to save them.

Robin lifted his head from the ground and turned his gaze towards his teammates, his friends…his family. They were frantically trying to get to him, thrashing at the bars that separated them from him and Slade. It was useless, Slade had taken away their powers and their communicators, they couldn't even call for help.

Words were flying out of their mouths; they died out before they even reached his ears. Robin could see spots appear in his eyes, his vision clouded he couldn't even think straight, the pain was too much. What where they saying? Where they words of encouragement? Words of hope? Words of hatred? Was it their goodbyes…?

Robin didn't think he could take that.

"Apprentice" Slade said sharply turning the boys gaze back to him immediately, a flash of fear appearing across his features. Slade smirked; he had Robin right where he wanted him.

"Look at what you have brought upon yourself, now you've brought your friends into this mess. When will you learn? You can't win."

Slade approached him, slowly. He was toying with him, he felt so small, so powerless, so useless…. A rather large wave of depression rolled over him as if he had the world on his shoulders. It was weighting him down. He needed to fight back; he needed to help his friends even if it cost his own life.

Slade hooked his index finger under Robin's chin and forced him to look into his eyes. "They'd be better off without you, they're a distraction for you. A distraction I can't afford you to have…"

Robin cut him off "You won't touch them, you have me. Let. Them. Go."

Slade pulled back his hand and gave a hard smack to the Boy Wonders face; he lost his balance and toppled to the floor in a heap. Slade gripped Robin's hair and pulled his body up so he was facing the Titans.

"Look at them, look at what you let happen to them. You and I both know what I can do to them, you know it won't be pretty. I'll make you watch boy; watch as you see their life slip away from them. Listen as they call for your help and know that you put them in that position. You won't be able to stop it."

Slade shoved him forward, on all fours now Slade took advantage of the vulnerable position and gave a swift kick to his already bruised and battered back.

A moan reverberated through him as his hit the concrete. Triumphant Slade strode towards the door at an agonising pace. A smirk hidden beneath his full-faced mask, leaving the Boy Wonder sprawled across the floor.

He stopped just short of the door and turned to face the room. His gaze glued to his apprentice who had managed to sit up and was now kneeling towards his friends his head held high, trying to look as determined as possible in his fragile state.

Deciding to have a bit more fun with the boy before he left, he said the one thing he knew that would surely get a reaction out of him.

"It's a pity really…Batman would be so disappointed in you."

Robin's head dropped, all determination gone from his posture.

Slade's smirk grew as he walked out of the room leaving the Titans to "comfort" their leader.

Robin turned his head away from the Titans, unable to look at them and see the disappointment in their faces he knew was there. He looked at the door and then stared back at the floor in front of him. His mood was getting the best of him, he'd already felt bad that he couldn't lead his own team properly and the fact that now the fate of his friends was in the hands of the psychotic madman was so much worse. Also bringing up Batman, that was humiliating.

Robin knew, oh Robin defiantly knew Batman would be disappointed in him, oh yes, he knew very well that he would be disappointed in him, but saying it out loud made it real. And it hurt. Yes, he had left that part of his life behind him; Robin would always be connected with Batman and some part of Robin had grown fond of the idea that if he were in trouble, Batman would come to the rescue. That was not the case now.

Robin was mentally kicking himself for dragging his friends with him into this whole "Apprenticeship deal" again, he'd almost lost his friends then and he'd promised himself that he would never let that ever happen again. Yeah that worked out well didn't it Dick? You can be so stupid sometimes. I don't even know why I was crowned leader.

He could picture his mentor's face, the disappointment in his eyes and the lecture that would come after about letting yourself get manipulated like that. He'd been so proud of himself when he'd been accepted as Batman's partner, being trained by the world's greatest detective, things were looking so much better in life for him after what happened with his parents. The pride in Barman's eyes when he officially handed over a mask and the Bat-com and...

Robin's eyes widened, his head snapped up, the realisation hitting him like a slap to the face. The Bat-com, that was his answer, he hoped Slade hadn't taken that when he'd taken his other communicator. Slowly reaching into the back compartment of his utility belt he pulled out a black, bat-shaped device he knew all to well. He didn't want to drag Bruce into this, being circumstances what they were what choice did he have. They'd probably all be dead when the week was out, he couldn't risk it. Glancing up at his team, he let their concerned face be his answer and pressed the distress signal.

All he could do now was wait.

Bruce sighed for what felt like the thousandth time that night; he wasn't in the best mood either. Gotham had become uncharacteristically quiet since the Joker had been put in Arkham Asylum a few nights ago. He'd had a suspicion ever since then that something was wrong. Really wrong.

As he was typing away at the keyboard monitoring the streets of Gotham, the sound of the door opening behind him caught his attention and he stopped what he was doing and spun around in his chair.

"Yes Alfred."

The well groomed butler had a small frown on his face, concern written all over it as he made his way over to the Dark Knight. Alfred placed a small bat-shaped device in Bruce's palm and could not hide his worry as the distress signal light flickered on and off.

"Master Bruce I fear that your suspicion about something being wrong was correct."

Their eyes met for a split second, Bruce handed back the communicator and turned back to what he was doing.

"He doesn't need me anymore, he hasn't for quite a while now, he's fine."

Shocked at that statement, Alfred reached over Batman's shoulder and placed his hand over his stopping him from typing, in hope that he would get the Dark Knights attention. It worked. Bruce turned to the elderly man annoyed.

"Let go Alfred." He said sternly "He's not my problem anymore. It's my duty to watch over Gotham, Richard can wait, I'm sure he'll understand."

"He was never a problem sir"

Bruce didn't acknowledge that.

Appalled, Alfred let go of the Dark Knight's hand and turned away from him making his way back to the door. As he passed the small table he placed the communicator on it and continued to make his way back to the Manor. Once he reached the door he paused, he needed to say something.

"It may be your duty as Batman to protect Gotham, but it's your duty as Bruce to protect Richard. As his father I do hope you make the right decision. He needs you. He is family that has to count for something."

"Alfred I-", turning in his chair he noticed that he was once again alone, glancing over to the small table in the middle of the cave he saw the Bat communicator and made his way over to it.

Bruce found himself staring down at it, the red flashing light taunting him to pick it up. Sighing yet again he reached down and picked it up, holding it to his chest.

"Dick…I hope you're alright."

Silence filled the room.

The only sound to be heard was a sharp intake of breath that Robin made every once in awhile. Robin ever so slowly started to rise from the floor to his feet; he wobbled and stumbled forward closer to the bars separating him from the Titans.

He cast a glance at each of them; Starfire's eyes were puffy and red. She had tear streaks along her tanned skin, a small sob escaped her throat, her shoulders shaking slightly. Cyborg looked murderous; his face of pure hatred, Robin involuntary flinched. He'd never seen Cyborg so angry. Raven looked livid ready to tear Slade apart the moment he walked back into the room. Beast Boy was pale, his ears downward a frown etched upon his face.

Robin took a steady step towards the bars; a loud beep echoed off the walls as the bars slowly but surely rose into the ceiling. The Titans making a dash over to their friend the instant the bars were gone.

"Are you guys okay?" Robin asked slowly advancing to the others, the pain in his back stopping him from making any rash movement.

Cyborg took hold of Robin's arm guiding him over to the small bed in the corner of the room, laying him down on his stomach so he could inspect his back. His costume was ripped to shreds, dried blood sticking what remained of his flaming red shirt to his back. There were so many cuts carved into his skin, all the visible flesh on his back covered in his blood.

Raven made her way over to where Robin was lying on the bed "We are fine don't worry about us, you on the other hand need to be cleaned up."

Robin nodded his head in thanks, he spared a glance at Beast Boy and Starfire, He noticed Beast Boy was walking towards the door and for a minute wondered why until he realised the medical kit lying on the floor. He picked it up and made his way back to the group, he passed it to Cyborg who started to rummage through it. Starfire was still crying, she let out a whimper as she looked down at Robin's back.

Wanting to comfort her in some way he held out his hand for her to take and she greatly accepted it and kneeled down in front of him. Giving her hand a squeeze he gave her a small smile and glanced over his shoulder to Raven as she placed her hand gently as possible on his back to avoid causing him any pain. Beast Boy turned away unable to look at Robin any longer, he hated seeing his leader in such a fragile state.

The gothic teen cast a glance at him, her face full of sorrow "You should get some rest. I'm going to heal as much as I can while you're asleep."

Robin gave a hopeful smile to his team before letting his eyes drop closed for some well-deserved sleep. A single thought traveled through his mind before he let sleep overtake him.

I have to get them out of here.

A/N Well, it took a while, but I think it's a pretty good first chapter to the story. The next chapter will be longer and involve the plot more; this was kind of the intro. Hope you like.

Reviews are nice, criticism is also helpful. It's my first fanfic. The first review will get a special mention in my next chapter.