Robin was sitting in his room with the lights off, replaying the call from his communicator for any kind of hint or clue that could help him save Beast Boy. His friends had noticed that Beast Boy was missing and had gone off to search for him, but Robin had stayed behind, not sharing the call he had gotten from Red X. Robin had tried tracing the communicator, but Red X had apparently removed the tracer. So now he had spent three of his twelve hours studying the video. All he had to go on was the faint orange glow in the back ground and the faint sound of something metal being dropped.
"It's hopeless, Red X gave me nothing to go on, at least when Slade calls he leaves cryptic clues with the threats, not just the threats." Robin growled to himself as he watched the video for the hundredth time, he saw something he hadn't before and paused it. He smiled "There's the clue, well looks like I'm on to you, now to find a place that matches the description." Robin got up and rushed out of his room, going to save Beast Boy.
Robin was all over the place, going from different factories to warehouses and back to some of the factories. He was checking anywhere that fit where Red X could be hiding. He drove like a maniac, not stopping at lights, driving the wrong way on one way streets, not pulling over for the cops, he was a complete wreck. He had to find Beast Boy, he just had to. The clue had narrowed the search but not by much, just enough to keep him from checking random, useless places. He was worried he wouldn't make it in time; that he couldn't save his friend. This thought got him angry again and he sped up, heading to the next location.
"Cyborg to Robin, have you found him yet?" Cyborg asked from Robin's communicator.
"Not yet, but I will. And this time Red X is going down, hard." Robin growled.
"Well do you know anything that could help us find him?"
"No." Robin lied. "I'll tell you if I learn something." He turned off his communicator not letting Cyborg reply. He then tossed it into a trash can after crushing it, he didn't want any of them knowing where he was about to go. He was about to ask the one person in the world who might be able to help him figure out where Beast Boy was, and he was not proud of it ether.
As he entered the inner mechanisms of the clock Robin heard a familiar, sinister voice
"Hello Robin, what do I owe this surprise visit to? Perhaps you have decided to join me, be my apprentice again; I know you love the adrenaline rush."
"Save it Slade, I don't have time for your mind games." Robin growled at the mercenary. "I came here to ask a few simple questions and you better answer them." Robin glared at Slade, he had worked with him briefly before as a forced apprentice, and then again when they were saving the world. Since then he hadn't tried anything, but Robin knew it was only a matter of time before he did. It was the same with all psychopaths.
"Well Robin, were being both hostile and demanding, I like it," Slade said, his mask hiding his face, but Robin could guess it was somewhere close to smug. "You are truly just like me, how unfortunate that we're on different sides. But how exactly do you expect me to answer these questions without something in return." Slade said sinisterly, he loved the pained look on Robin's face, the sight of the wheels turning in Robins head, grinding slowly, like the clock work that was above them. He knew exactly why he was here, what he would ask, he just wanted something out of it.
"How about I don't beat the shit out of you!" Robin spat, pissed at Slade for not giving him what he wanted. He was down to seven hours to find Beast Boy, and the clock was still ticking.
"Oh Robin, you could never beat me in a fight alone. Remember, I know all your moves, I watch and wait, I learn and listen, and I strike at the perfect moment that causes the most pain to the person which I am targeting. That is why you've never beaten me without your little friends." Slade laughed at this as anger twisted Robins face, as his reason and rage fought each other. "I'll tell you exactly what I want Robin, I want a favor. Something that I can call for whenever I choose, and it can be whatever I want, that is my offer, take it or leave it. But I won't answer any of your questions unless you accept." Slade was grinning on the inside, he knew he had won. Robin's greatest flaw was protecting his friends, and with Beast Boy in the predicament he was in, Slade knew Robin would accept his offer.
"Ok Slade, you win, I accept you offer. Now, do you know where Red X is hiding?" Robin asked, shaking in anger and frustration. He knew Slade had gotten the better end of the deal, but to save his friend it didn't matter the cost, he would cross that road when he got there.
"Oh, I know exactly where he is, I helped him pick it out," the black and orange psychopath laughed. "You see, I want revenge on you Robin, for leaving me, but I did not want to get involved directly, so I simple helped your old "friend" when he asked me to. He is hiding in the old abandoned Wane Industries factory outside of town. He figured it would be a good place to meet again after all this time, don't you think so Robin?" Robin was dumbfounded, how could he have not thought of that in the first place. That is the perfect hiding place, hide in a place so obvious that no one would check there.
"That's all I need to know." Robin turned around to walk out when Slade cleared his thought.
"Not so fast Robin, I would like to collect that favor. I want you to return all of my stuff you have of mine, I wish for you to do it now. I know you are a man of your word Robin so I know you will do it." Slade was grinning evilly, not that Robin could see. He was doing this to waste more of the boy's time to save his friend, and he knew it would work.
Robin was absolutely furious with himself, he was pissed he had trashed his communicator so he couldn't contact his friends, he was pissed that he had made such a deal with Slade, and he was pissed that he only had four hours left. He had wasted too much time checking random places in the city and gathering Slade's things. He was now on his way to the old factory, the problem was, even at top speed he couldn't reach there in less than three and half hours. That only gave him thirty minutes to search the entire place for Red X and Beast Boy, and the factory was an enormous place. He was speeding down the highway as fast as he could, not stopping for anything, not the cops, other cars, nothing.
Robin arrived at the factory well after dark, it was twenty minutes till ten, it had taken him an extra twenty minutes to get there from Slade's hideout, he ran inside and started going from room to room, yelling Beast Boys name over and over. He started to check down the hallways, the offices, the closets, every door was opened.-10 minutes left.
Robin was racing the clock, and time wasn't on his side. He sprinted upstairs, checking the rooms along the rafters, he found old equipment, papers, office supplies, and trash.-5 minutes left.
Robin was worried that he wouldn't be able to save Beast boy in time, he was running franticly when he saw one door at the end of a long hallway with an orange glow in the window. He ran as fast as he could down the hallway, trying to get there before time was up. - 1 minute left.
He had to reach the door, he was so close but the clock was counting down fast. He wasn't sure he could reach it in time, why was the hallway so long.—10
"Almost"—9
"There"—8
"Must"—7
"Save"—6
"Beast"—5
"Boy"—4—3—2—1—0
Robin hand was on the door knob when he heard the timer go off in the room and the laughter of Red X. He burst through the door, and watched helplessly as Red X pulled a lever, sending the struggling Beast Boy into a casket with the lid full of spikes. Red X saw Robin and laughed as he said
"So close Robin, you were a second too late, now you get to watch your friend die." Robin saw Beast Boy land in the coffin that would be his final resting place, the lid closed and impaled the green boy, causing deep red blood to gush out of the sides. Beast Boy was dead, Robin had failed, and it was all his fault. He had caused this, he had brought this upon himself, and his friends were now paying for his mistakes. He fell to the floor and cried as Red X laughed maniacally.
"Now you know what it's like to lose something you care about, but I will not stop here." Red X's voice got quiet as he leaned in close to Robin, staring him right in the eyes. "I will tear your life apart, twist it, and manipulate it until it is completely destroyed. You will become just a shell of your former self, a lifeless husk that won't be able to stop the world around him from crumbling. And if you think Beast Boy was the only one to perish, you are wrong. The pain of loss will always be fresh in your mind, and I will make sure of it. I will destroy your life, just like you destroyed mine." With that Red X left, leaving Robin to mourn over the loss of a friend, the loss of his little brother, someone who could make him laugh when he was down, yet could be serious when the situation called for it.
Robin retrieved the casket and carried it to his motorcycle, taking it home, knowing that the rest of the titans will be stricken with grief over this and would want to give Beast Boy a proper burial. But now Robin would be spending every waking hour of his life trying to catch the psychopath who had done this, he was going to kill him, even if it was the last thing he did.
Yeah I know, BB died. If you're a new reader, please don't hate me. If you're an old one rereading, you saw it coming. Pretty much All I got to say.
