-1Crack!

Robin shuddered as he heard the sound of a whip followed by the oh so common scream. Ever since Slade had started taking other apprentices this was all he would ever hear. They didn't have a reason to be obedient like he did. They didn't have to swallow their pride and just take all the beatings because they didn't have something they had to protect. Someone.

Crack!

He covered his ears hoping that the scream wouldn't penetrate them, but it did, it always did. He was tired of watching young faces brought in everyday just to be tortured. Slade was building an army. For what he didn't know, even if he was top apprentice. He had to be. He had to get out so he could see her…. Them.

Crack!

He tensed up preparing himself for the next blood chilling scream, but it never came. Oh great! They had either passed out or died and Robin highly doubted it was the first one. He walked into the chamber to receive the news but had a bloody body pushed into his arms instead.

"Take him! He far to difficult!" Slade yelled as he walked away fuming. Robin smiled. This must be a pretty stubborn kid to get him like that.

Returning to the body at hand, literally, Robin decided to observe its features. It was a boy, a pretty good looking one at that. He had strong features only disturbed by a whip mark across his cheek that was still bleeding. Robin absentmindedly pressed a torn shred from his shirt to his face to still the flow, but he continued to survey him. He had tan skin he knew Raven would like. He saw the calloused hands he knew Cyborg would go for (Cyborg loved hard workers) he observed his clothes which he knew beast boy would go for. And then there was the black curly hair that Starfire would have just loved to run her fingers through, she had often done the same with his.

Robins eyes grew wide and then shut tightly, his hand colliding with his forehead. He had promised himself that he wouldn't think of her. The pain that followed that thought was terrible and the ache of want was just as bad. He had thought of her often when he was first dragged here, and somewhere along the way he had realized his love for her and that only made it worse. Sighing he placed the body down and felt his pulse. It was still going almost regularly, he was a strong one. He hadn't gotten many like this in a while. Whenever he would get loaded with another would-be apprentice they were almost always near dead or well, dead. Slade wasn't a lenient master to say the least. He himself had been one of the lucky ones that had come to Slade early so he wasn't as impatient, and had been smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He had tried to silence as many out bursts as he could but a few always made it to Slade's ears. That was most likely what had happened to this poor guy.

" Well Robin there's no use thinking back on things that cant be changed." he said to himself as he hoisted the boy over his shoulder. He might as well take him to his room.

Robin didn't even bother to look at the hallways and other rooms beside him because he had already examined them all out when he had searched reverently for a way out. Every once in a while he would glance around and notice a new hallway or an extra room to accommodate new apprentice's. he was sure Slade had been building them while all of them slept. This place just seemed to be getting bigger. Oh well. Just more for him to blow up when he finally got out of this place.

He glanced up finally as he came to his room and removed a key from a pocket and his gold and black suit. He pushed the key into the lock and turned it. As he entered his room he locked the door behind him. You couldn't trust anyone with Slade in charge. He then flopped the boy on his bed back up so no blood from the whipping would get into his covers. He slowly glanced up and around his room as he began to remove the boys shirt. He was probably the only one in this god forsaken place with a moderately normal room. A bed, a closet, a dresser, and a table and two chairs. Littered across the table top was newspapers upon newspapers with headlines that read : "Teen Titans defeat villain!" or " Teen Titans face new foe!" you know, things like that. He had made it his duty to keep up with his frien- the Titans so he could see how they were doing while he had been away for seven months. He sighed as he retuned to the boys back, all those newspapers reminded him too much of his home- former home. He nearly gagged when he looked at the back in front of him.

Two words: raw meat. he didn't want to describe it anymore. He stiffened and made a face as he removes all the shirt and pulled out a first aid kit from a drawer in the table. 15 gausses and most of the medical tape later Robin had successfully made a crude binding for the boy. Robin rubbed his hands together moderately pleased with himself. As he did so his eyes flitted up to his calendar as he surveyed the date. January 3rd. Starfire's birthday was in 14 days. It made him sad to think that if he weren't here right now he would be rushing around the shopping mall looking for the perfect gift. But he never would. He was trapped in this damned place. No, he couldn't think like that. He would get out and he would buy Starfire a birthday present… even if it wasn't for this one.

He looked down at his hands and saw that they were lightly stained with blood. He usually would have ignored it but he decided to go wash them anyways. He walked to his door and repeated the same process of unlocking it and locking it. He wasn't worried about the boy, he still had a couple of hours before he woke up. He walked down the hallways again heading for the bathroom when he came across a sweet sight. There were often romances kept secret from Slade among the apprentices and this one was no different. Just two lovebirds quietly kissing under the stairs. It pained him to part them.

"Guys" he said lightly shaking them. "Slade is in a terrible mood. If he finds you your dead meat."

The couple separated immediately and stood up with a slight blush on both of their faces.

"Thanks for the heads up Robin." the boy said taking the girls hand and walking the other way.

"No problem Mike!" he said loudly. He was about to turn when he noticed the girls hair color. It was red. He sighed again as he thought of his red-haired beauty. He began to walk again but his journey was suddenly interrupted by a woman's scream.