Disclaimer: Nope, nothing yet.

AN: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed/subscribed/favorited, it made me so happy that I wanted to put this up sooner than planned. I was originally going to wait a week, that way I can have a week per chapter to edit everything and get it ready to post (FYI the story is pretty much already written), but I decided to do this early. ENJOY!

Chapter 2: Somebody's Watching

†Slade's Hideout†

As promised, 30 minutes later Wintergreen appeared at the door with a first aid kit in hand, setting it down on the desk. He pulled out the chair, wordlessly suggesting for Robin to take a seat. Knowing that the wound needed to be tended to, he obediently sat in the chair, allowing the elder man to remove the bandage form him head.

"Seems to be healing just fine. Its stopped bleeding so I am not going to re-bandage it. Allowing it to air dry will do it some good."

Wintergreen carefully cleaned the wound, making Robin wince at the touch. The alcohol swab used didn't help with the pain either. He wished that he could remember exactly how he had gotten it. He still couldn't remember everything that had happened to him before his capture. The cut on his head was evident that the two of them had fought and that he had obviously lost, as he was now stuck in this tiny room.

Wintergreen silently finished and packed up the first aid. He motioned for Robin to follow him out the door, who immediately followed, eager to get out of the dull room and get to Slade, where he hoped he was be given answers.

Once out of his room, Robin made sure to take in as much of his surroundings as possible. Outside of his room was a long, narrow hallway. Though much darker than his room, light still came from various lights placed along the wall. They two of them past a few random, most likely locked doors here and there before making a right down another hallway, which led to a much larger room than his own. Robin didn't notice any windows to the outside world in both the hallway nor in the room to where he was led.

Here Slade was standing, waiting patiently. In front of him, a simple chair, which Slade pointed to. Robin balled his fists, resisting the urge to pummel the figure which now stood in from of him. He tried to keep himself in place and remain as calm as possible, knowing that now was not the time. Not only did he still lack the energy, but he needed answers and pissing Slade off would not deliver them.

"Sit."

"I think I'd rather stand."

"Robin, don't make this more difficult than it has to be. Sit down or I will make it so it will be quite awhile before you can stand. Then we can try this again." Slade motioned to the chair once more. "Now, do you want to sit, or would you rather take an alternative route."

Knowing Slade could and would make good on his threat and wanting to just get this over with, Robin reluctantly plopped himself in the chair, folding his arms across his chest and narrowing his eyes, showing his displeasure.

"Wise choice." Slade folded his arms behind his back, taking an authoritative stance. "Now, do you know why you are here?"

"You were bored?" Slade ignored the comment and continued on.

"Last time we parted you said something to me that couldn't be more true. You told me that you know how much I hate to lose. Well, you were right. I do hate to lose, which is why, this time, I don't intend to. I have big plans for you. You have a destiny to fulfill and, whether you like it or not, you will fulfill it. If it wasn't for your friends, we could have been much further along by now."

"What have you done? Where are the Titans?" Robin jumped from him chair. For the first time since he had arrived, the safety of his friends entered his mind. Up until this point he had only been worrying about himself, hadn't even thought of his friends. He had been selfish. What kind of friend did that make him? Probably not a very good one. He didn't know what kind of plans the man had for them. Had Slade captured them as well? Had he infected them with probes again? Were they safe back in the tower? Had the Titans even noticed his disappearance yet? Would they even come looking for him this time?

Of course they would.

The problem was, he was sure that they wouldn't know where to find him. Slade was smart and would have covered his tracks, that is, if he even left any. He wasn't even sure that the Titans would know that it was Slade that had him, or that he was kidnapped at all. If only he could remember his last minutes in the tower, he would know how hopeful to be. Sometimes, its the not knowing that can drive you crazy.

"Don't worry, the Titans are back in Jump City, safe. I'm not playing any little games this time and I don't need blackmail."

"Back in Jump?" They left the city? While relief over the Titans subsided, panic began to rise in Robin as another realization hit him. They could be anywhere in the world. He never even considered that they could have left the city. Having been knocked out, he wouldn't have known where they would have taken him. He didn't know how long he had been out either. It could have been just a few hours or it could have been a couple days. He had no way of knowing.

He had assumed that like last time, Slade would have taken him to some place in Jump City, where he would then dangle his friends in front of him in hopes of getting what he wanted.

"I've realized that I can't just throw you into a role and expect you to fulfill it, even with the right motivations. It is something that you will need to be taught and have time to accept. You will need to be properly trained."

"You're crazy if you think I am just going to give in and follow orders."

"No, I didn't think so. You don't have to like it and we don't have to get along, but you will do as your told. Sooner or later you will come around to see things my way and for your sake I hope it will be sooner than later. You have no options. This will happen whether you let it or not. We will begin your training tomorrow morning, after you get some rest. I imagine the drugs you were given left you drained and by then should have left your system."

"Drugs...what did you give me?"

"Fentanyl injection...a long with a few other sedatives to keep you out." That explained a lot. No wonder he felt so nauseous and confused upon wakening.

"For now, however, I can see you're not in any condition to accomplish anything, so you may be excused. Wintergreen will be waiting for you outside to take you back to your quarters. We will continue this when you are better suited." Robin stood from him chair, again needing to restrain himself from letting his emotions take over. He hated to admit it, but the man was right, he was in no condition to accomplish anything. Now would not be a wise time to take on Slade...tomorrow however, was different. For now, he needed to try and come up with a way to figure out his location so that he could get out of here and get back to Jump.

††

Morning came quickly and just as Slade had promised, Robin felt back to normal, no longer ill and his energy had returned. As the night before, Wintergreen showed up at his door with his first meal. It wasn't much, just a couple of eggs, bacon and sausage. While Wintergreen reminded Robin a lot of Alfred, his cooking surely did not. The food was bland and didn't fill him up, rather just leaving him satisfied.

Afterward Wintergreen led him down the same hallway and back to the same room, where Slade was once again waiting, chair no longer in the room. He wasn't sure what he was expecting out of today, other than the fact that he knew it wasn't going to end well. With his body feeling relatively back to normal, he knew it was going to be harder to convince himself to not try and murder his captor.

"First things first, I want to make one thing clear to you: This is where Robin ends. That part of you is dead and he will not be coming back."

"So who do you want me to be? Slade, Jr? There's no way that will every happen."

"I want you to start over, from the beginning, before everything. We will wipe the slate clean and start as fresh as we can."

"You're not making any sense..." Robin shook his head, looking down at his feet, analyzing just what Slade was telling him. He had an idea of what he wanted and he wasn't going to give it to him. His identity meant everything and even though he hadn't of left Gotham on the best of terms with Bruce, he refused to do that to him.

"I'm making perfect sense and to do this you need to remove your mask. The mask belongs to Robin."

"No thank you, I think I prefer Slade, Jr. If I don't get to know you, you don't get to know me."

"I am not playing games, nor am I making any deals. I am not asking you, I am telling you. Richard, take of the mask." Robin's eyes shot back up to look as Slade disbelievingly. He may have been refusing to tell Slade his identity, but it looks like Slade had tother plans.

"I...How long have you known?" His voice came out, barely above a whisper.

"I have known who you are for quite a while. I believe its right around 18 months to be precise. Came about it on accident really."

"18 months? But...I haven't even been a Titan that long..."

"You're a clever boy Richard. I had come to Gotham on business, both as a mercenary and a businessman. While there, I took notice of you, knew there was something special about you. I began to observe you and the more I did, the more I recognized your potential. I'm actually quite surprised Batman hadn't caught on. There were a few times I thought that he may have suspected something and perhaps he did, but he never acted on it. Imagine my surprise when I figured out that the Bat was none other than Bruce Wayne, the man I was currently doing business with. It was like fate had led me right to you. You many not realize it, but we had even met a few times before you left."

Robin sat there taking it all in, feeling a bit disturbed. Slade had been watching, stalking him while he was still in Gotham? He didn't like that Slade had that much of a head start on him. Slade had shown up only months after his beginnings in Jump. Robin had always thought that Slade had been from the city, since that is where he believed he had been discovered by him. Robin never had any regrets of moving out to the West Coast. It was as far away as he could get from Bruce and at the time that was the only thing that had mattered. It had led him to meed the the Titans, friends that he now considered his new family. The only thing he ever wanted to change about it was his involvement with Slade. He always figured that if he hadn't of moved out there, the two never would have had an encounter and the apprenticeship never would have happened. Working under Batman was always better than being forced to work under a psychotic madman.

This new information irked Robin in more ways than he could imagine. He tried to remember his life back in Gotham to see if anything had seemed out of place during his last few months there. He realized he had been so caught up in his own pity problems to notice anything. He was so wrapped up in his own world that he probably wouldn't have even noticed his Slade had come right up and announced his intentions from the get go.

He could remember, however, Batman becoming more strict, tightening the leash on him towards the end, which is what pushed him to the edge and caused him to leave. He thought the man was just trying to control him, get him to do things his way, smother him. Maybe Slade was right and he had suspected something was going on. Maybe he had good reason to be overprotective. If that was the case, it wold explain a few things, but, in his eyes, it still didn't make it right. Bruce should have told him if he had any suspicions.

"There is hardly anything that I don't know about you. I have told you once before and I will tell you again: It has always been about you. Now take off the mask."

Robin couldn't help but feel deceived. In a way he had been. Slade had known his entire story this whole time, yet led Robin to believe that he still had something that was his, that Slade could not touch. He also couldn't help but feel a bit deceived by Bruce. He wasn't sure if what Slade said was true or not, but it didn't matter. The fact that he knew Bruce well enough to know he wouldn't tell him had he of known, hurt just as much.

By now, Robin was shaking with anger. He knew he couldn't hold it in anymore and he didn't care to try. He lunged at Slade, fist aimed for his face. Slade of course caught the fist and threw Robin back down to the floor. Robin easily bounced back up, lunging toward Slade once again. This time however, Slade grabbed the boy's wrist, twisting both of them around and slamming Robin up against the wall. Blood began to poor out of the boy's already injured head, running down his neck and staining his white shirt. Slade kept hold of the wrist in his hand, his arm pressing on Robin's chest, keeping him backed against the wall as Robin used his free and to try and pry the larger man off. Slade took this moment, using his free hand, to rip the mask from Robin's face and throwing both the boy and the object to the ground.

The boy sat up, but remained on the floor, looking away from the man who now stood over him. His hand lifted to his head, feeling the blood ooze out of his scalp. Slade sneered at the teenager on the ground, then turned out walked out of the room, leaving Richard alone, his life stripped from him in that single instant.

Minutes later Wintergreen had stepped into the room, most likely sent in by Slade to fetch the boy and fix his reopened wound. Richard silently stood and followed him back to his room without question or complaint, where he was once again locked in. The thought that Slade knew everything and for so long made him feel hopeless and defeated. Had the last year and half of his life been a sham? He no longer knew what was real and what had been influenced by Slade. That single action inflicted more damage than any physical blow Slade could have caused.

He had been allowed to shower before Wintergreen returned to inspect his head, bringing with him a new shirt, this time in black. As before, the shirt and the first aid kit were set on the table, the chair pulled out for him.

"Slade has told me to inform you that for disobedience, you will not be receiving lunch or dinner tonight." Richard sat in the chair, rolling his blue eyes and snorting. Crossing his arms like a stubborn teenager.

"Like I care. Inform Slade that I didn't feel much like eating anyways."

"I understand that you are upset at the way that things have unfolded today, but I suggest that you pick up that attitude of yours unless you want to cause more of a problem. Skipping meals will be the last of your worries."

"Thanks for the advice, but I don't plan on making this easy for him while I'm here. He may think he can keep me here, but he can't."

"Without your friends I don't see how you have much of an option for escape. And before you get your hopes up, the chances of them finding you are dim. I can assure you, they wouldn't even know where to begin looking." Wintergreen finished wrapping the bandage around his head before gathering up his first aid kit. As he made his way to the door he was stopped by the teen.

"Can I ask you something?" Richard still sat in the chair, only this time turned to face the door and the man that was about to head out of it.

"Yes, though I cannot promise an answer."

"What keeps you here? I mean, why are you working for a guy like Slade?"

"You mean am I here voluntarily?" Richard nodded. He thought he was sure that the old man was here of his own freewill, after his first apprenticeship he had often wondered if perhaps Wintergreen had once been forced to work for Slade. Perhaps the man did not want to be here and much as he did.

"I don't need saving if that is what you are thinking. I am here because I choose to be."

"Why would anybody choose this?" The thought was beyond him. Why would someone want to work for Slade instead of living their own life. What made Slade so lucky to have people simply living for them.

"Slade and I go way back, before he became the man that you know today. We had served in the army together, been there for one another on numerous occasions. Together, we have been through more than you could possibly imagine. Through the times that truly make you feel alive, like there is something worth living for, as well as those moments in life that bring you to you knees. What keeps me here, you ask? Its simple. Loyalty."

Richard stared at the man, mentally scoffing at the term 'loyalty'. He carefully took in this new information, memorizing the small details he had just learned about Slade. So he had been in the army? Richard hadn't expected that. He couldn't imagine Slade working for someone and taking orders like you were expected to in the military. He doubted there was a way to bring Wintergreen onto his side, to help him escape, but perhaps if he got to know the older man, he could learn more about Slade. The more he knew about Slade, the better his chances were of beating Slade and getting out.

"I can't imagine Slade as being the loyal type. He's much too selfish for that."

"Selfish? Yes, you are right about that, but he is also loyal. Possessing one characteristic does not account for the lack of another."

"It doesn't sound like the Slade that I know."

"Then that just proves how little you truly know and understand about the man." Richard knew he was right. After all of the hard work and research he had accomplished trying to figure out exactly who Slade was, his motivations and how to defeat him, he still knew very little. He hated to admit it, but Wintergreen was right. He didn't know Slade and he didn't think that he would ever understand him.

"Do you trust him?" The question caught Wintergreen off guard. Having never really contemplated the idea, he took a moment before answering.

"Yes, I would have to say that I do."

"But how can you? After everything that Slade has done in the past, after what he is trying to do to me now, how can you trust him? Knowing what he is capable of?"

"Because I trust myself to know just what the extent of those capabilities are."

"I don't think that I could evercome to trust a man like him, no matter what we went through." Just the thought of placing any kind of trust in Slade sickened him. The only thing he knew he could trust about the man was that he was unpredictable. He could also trust that he couldn't be trusted.

"He's not asking you to trust him and if you were wise, you wouldn't." With that final statement, Wintergreen left the room, locking the steel door behind him and trapping the bird in his cage.

The rest of the day went by slowly as the minutes ticked by. There was no clock in the room Richard was being kept in so he had no idea how late it had become as he lay in bed, thinking of his next move.

††

The next morning Richard was woken by the opening of his door as Wintergreen walked in to set his breakfast on the table, along with a fresh pair of clothes. Without saying a word, he turned around and left. Richard stared at the food on the table, tempted to get up and gobble it down. He had not eaten since the morning before and his stomach growled at the sight.

Instead, he let his teenage pride get the better of him and rolled over and went back to sleep. Having not gotten much sleep the night before, he was more tired than hungry anyways. Within moments, Richard had drifted off.

He was not woken back up until Wintergreen came back to get him. He heard the door open, but chose to ignore it.

"Slade is waiting for you so I suggest you get up."

Richard looked over his shoulder, in the direction of the man standing in his door way, giving him a skeptical look.

"What, he has more 'lessons' for today?"

"Perhaps. That is between you and him." Richard rolled back over in disregard.

"Well, no thank you. I had enough yesterday. Tell Slade I said he can find someone else to play with."

He heard the door close with a soft 'click', surprised at the lack of persuasion by the old man. He knew he should have gotten up and gone with him. He also knew he should have eaten and gotten ready as he was told to do. He knew he wouldn't get away with his attitude much longer.

A loud bang startled him awake as his steel door hit the wall. Before he even had time to react his sheets had been stripped from him as he was thrown out of the bed and to the floor. In an instant Slade was leaned over him, his face only inches from his own. Richard found it hard to breathe as Slade's cold eye stared back at his blue ones.

"It's one thing to disobey me, but start disrespecting Wintergreen and you won't have a destiny to fulfill. Now getup."

Ah. Loyalty.

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