Hello readers! I am so sorry for the delay. Life has been crazy, and I hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me. I know exactly where this story is going now (which is a dark and terrible place) and should be updating more frequently than once every 6 months. Again my apologies.
-Spicule
December 1st, 4:35 am
Cyborg planted Beast Boy on the couch and grabbed a garbage can for him to continue retching. 'At least I won't have to clean the carpet,' he thought. Beast Boy stuck the garbage can between his knees and hovered over it, his head in his hands.
Raven and Starfire came and sat down on the couch next to the boys. Raven leaned her head over the back of the couch and crossed her hands in her lap. Starfire rubbed Beast Boy's back as he heaved again into the trash. Cyborg looked at his teammates. 'How do I even begin to open this conversation?'
Cyborg cleared his throat, "Ehhem," but nothing more would come out. He swallowed loudly and began pacing the living room. 'Think.'
"Guys, are we going to talk about this?"
Raven tilted her head forward off the couch enough to make eye contact with Cyborg as he stopped in the middle of the room. "What is there to talk about? The only people who should be doing any talking right now are Robin and Batman, when he gets here," Raven deadpanned. Cyborg eyed her suspiciously. 'Who does she think she is fooling? It was her worry about Robin that took us on this rescue mission in the first place. She needs to stop pretending nothing bothers her.'
"I really think we ought to talk about this-"
"What good would it do?" Raven interrupted. "No good can possibly come from discussing what we saw. We will only work ourselves-"
"Stop. Raven, just stop." It was Cyborg's turn to interrupt. "I thought we were past this emotional barricade. You can't keep acting like none of this is bothering you." Cyborg walked over to the couch and knelt in front of Raven. He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please don't shut us out. I can only imagine what it must have been like in Robin's head at...at the time. We need to discuss this before we can help Robin." Raven turned her head away, but not before Cyborg saw her eyes begin to tear.
"Fine. We can...talk."
"Good. Who wants to start?" Cyborg looked expectantly at his teammates on the couch. Beast Boy sighed and sat up.
"Can I just start out by saying that Slade has sunk to a new level of evil?" Beast Boy shoved the garbage can away from himself. "It makes me sick, literally, to think of it." He swallowed. "I don't want to...don't know how we're going to help Robin. I can't even think straight anymore!" Beast Boy pushed the heels of his hands into his closed eyes in an attempt to stifle the tears. "What are we going to do?" Beast Boy implored.
"I do not know." Starfire had a faraway look in her eyes. Slowly, she began to take in the room. "It would be one thing if what Slade had done had left no marks. Perhaps then Robin could have had moments where he was not constantly reminded..." She trailed off.
"But that is not what happened," Cyborg finished her thought.
"No. It is not. Instead, he is covered in the marks of what he did. He will not have a moment's rest from thoughts of what transpired until he heals. He is human, it will take weeks for that to happen." It was Starfire's turn to start blinking rapidly. "We might not be able to help." Starfire began silently crying. Her body shook as she covered her mouth. Beast Boy wrapped an arm around her, the tables turned.
"And let's not forget the biggest obstacle of all." Raven stood up and looked out the window at nothing in particular. "It's Robin." She turned to face the group. "He has never been one to accept help from anyone. Personally, I think the biggest hurdle we will have to face is his stubbornness." Starfire took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. Cyborg offered her a tissue. She accepted and blew her nose. "So, any ideas?" Raven asked, looking around at the group.
At that moment, the doors to the main living room swooshed open.
"What the hell happened?" The Dark Knight had arrived.
"Um, Mr. Batman, sir, um it's Robin...he's um..." Cyborg stuttered, unsure how to explain the situation.
"Robin was kidnapped," Raven took over. "Slade captured him and a criminal known as Red X and tortured them for several hours. We found them, called the Justice League, and have Martian Man Hunter looking after him. Follow me please." The calm facade was back in place as she took Batman to see the infirmary. A few moments of silence passed between them until the reached the door.
"There is more to this story." Batman placed a hand on Raven's shoulder to stop her progress into the infirmary.
"There is, but I think it is only fair to let Robin tell you as much as he wants first and then we can fill in the details later." She paused, unsure what to say next. "I do recommend that you brace yourself. He has been through a lot. What Slade did was horrible." Raven opened the door and they stepped inside.
December 1st, 4:59 am
Raven stepped to the side to allow Batman a good look at Robin. Martian Man Hunter sat on a chair next to Robin's bed, monitoring the various screens and fluids dripping down into the IVs. Robin was still fast asleep.
Batman took in the appearance of his young ward. The sheer number of bruises sticking out from under all the gauze, and, perhaps most disturbingly, his mask-less face.
"What...how...is he?" Batman strode over to the bed.
"He is stable," J'hon replied. "I have him heavily sedated and plan to wake him in a couple hours."
"I can wait," Batman pulled up a chair next to J'hon. "Why don't you and the rest of the Titans try to get some sleep?"
Raven smiled slightly and rubbed her eyes. "I don't know how successful we will be, but it's worth a shot. Can I get you two anything?" She inquired as she ran her fingers through her hair.
Batman and J'hon looked at each other. "I think we're all set, thanks though," J'hon said. Raven turned and left.
December 1st, 5:05 am
Raven arrived in the living room where the remaining Titans were in various states of consciousness. Beast Boy was sprawled out on the couch, one leg and one arm dangling off the edge, his other arm resting over his eyes. Starfire was sitting slumped in the middle of the couch, her head resting on the back of the couch and the rest of her apparently trying to sink into it. Cyborg had been pacing the room and stopped upon Raven's arrival.
"What's up?" Cyborg folded his arms as though afraid of what she might say.
"Robin is stable and should be awake in a few hours. We have orders from the Dark Knight himself to try and get some sleep." With that, Raven telekinetically grabbed four blankets from a nearby storage closet and draped them over her teammates and herself. "I think we should camp out here."
"I will get my portable charger," Cyborg walked into his room. Raven curled up on the remaining space on the couch.
"Thank you for the blankets, Raven," Starfire piped up as she closed her eyes. Cyborg returned and laid down on the floor, a cord leading to the wall behind him.
The Titans settled into an uneasy sleep.
December 1st, 8:00 am
The first thing he noticed was the pain. Every part of his body from his head to his toes felt as though it had been hit with a truck, carrying a freight train, loaded with an entire steel mill. The second thing he noticed was that he really had to pee. Robin slowly opened his eyes and found that only one opened at all. He looked around with his right eye and saw Batman and Martian Man Hunter dozing off in chairs beside his bed. Robin made a move to get up and instantly regretted that action. Spots swam before his vision as he realized that his arm was not capable of supporting his weight. He must have made a noise since Batman stirred from sleep.
"You're up." Batman quickly nudged J'hon awake.
"Hngur what?" The alien jerked up looking for danger. "Oh. How are you feeling?"
"Like a hurricane made of a claymore hit me. Can one of you get me to the bathroom?" Robin turned slightly red.
"Sure, sure, no problem." Batman said as he and J'hon set to unhooking Robin from the machines, leaving only the IV on the "tree". " Any pointers for how to pick you up and not hurt you?"
"There is no way this won't hurt. Let's just get this over with." Robin clenched his jaw and put his arm around Batman's shoulders as the Dark Knight hoisted him bridal style out of the bed. Robin briefly felt like passing out again, but managed to hold on to consciousness by focusing on the bat insignia on his caretaker's uniform. J'hon followed the pair with the IV tree.
"Can you stand?" Batman inquired, not making eye contact with Robin.
"I don't think so. I'm just going to have to this 'like a bitch'."
"Vulgarity doesn't suit you. You didn't even get the inflection right on that phrase." He smiled at his ward. "J'hon? A hand?" J'hon maneuvered the IV as Batman set Robin down on the toilet. "Yell if you need help." The adults left, shutting the door behind them.
Robin gingerly managed to shrug out of the shorts and take stock of his injuries as he relieved himself. The entire front half of his body was covered in bruises. His knees and wrists were covered in the bandages Raven had put on him, but he could feel the blisters underneath. 'Don't think, don't go there, just leave it alone.' He tried to mentally coach himself away from the pictures, struggling to rise to the surface like memories from a drunken bender. He looked away from his battered body and took a deep breath. Once calmed, he hit the wall with the side of his fist to get attention and yelped.
"Fuckstockings!" Robin exclaimed.
"Fuckstockings? Really? It's like you're a newly displaced nun trying her hand at swear words." Batman said as he and J'hon entered to see Robin cradling the hand he just used. They resumed their original roles and brought Robin back to the bed. Robin gingerly rested his back and head against the elevated mattress while J'hon hooked him back up to the heart rate monitor.
"So now that you're all settled in, we have to talk." Batman leveled his gaze at his ward, all humor gone from his eyes.
"I hate that phrase; it reminds me of breaking up with someone," Robin joked back.
"Seriously now, what happened?"
Robin looked away. He knew this was going to happen sooner or later, but he had not, as yet, given any thought to how he would tell Batman. He closed his eyes. "Have you ever heard of Slade?" he asked.
"No. Should I know him?" Batman looked at J'hon who shrugged.
"Well, maybe not. His other name is Deathstroke the Terminator." At that, J'hon and Batman looked at each other gravely.
"That's who did this to you?" J'hon asked.
"Well, yeah." Robin seemed a little off-put by the silent conversation going on in front of him. "He has been a problem in this city since I first came here three years ago. Back then he was interested in, well, lots of things."
Batman looked back at Robin, "What kinds of things?"
"It's hard to explain. At first he wanted an apprentice. After I wouldn't bend to his will..."
"Wait, what?!"
"He kidnapped me and blackmailed me through the Titans. He threatened to kill them if I didn't do what he said."
"Like what, exactly?" Batman was clearly agitated now.
"Um, well, he wanted me to steal stuff for him, but that wasn't the real point. He more wanted me to fight the Titans than anything. He wanted to break my will to fight him. He also, it should be said, wanted me to steal from you. One of the robberies was from Wayne Tech, but..."Robin suddenly stopped himself. 'How could I have been so stupid?' he thought. "He knew, even then, who we were." Robin hung his head. "I am so stupid."
"What are you talking about?" Batman put an arm on his shoulder. "Robin, look at me. What are you saying?"
"It's what he got me with this time. He knocked out me and another person, a thief named Red X, and took us captive. He tried to pry our secret identities out of me, but I wouldn't say. I just wish I would have realized it was pointless sooner. I could have..." Robin swallowed loudly and blinked back tears. 'Not now,' he thought.
"I will ask one more time, what happened?"
Robin looked away, and in a quiet voice said, "He raped me."
"WHAT?! He did WHAT?!"
"He raped me. After he beat the shit out of me and revealed our secret identities to Red X, he had his way with me. He also," Robin sat up as best he could and began to pull away the bandages covering his back, "made sure that everyone would know what he did, that I was his property." With that, the bandages fell away and Robin turned so Batman and a stunned J'hon could get a good look at the giant 'S' cut into his back. "That's what happened." Robin turned to face the two adults. J'hon stood back a bit with his hand covering his mouth. Batman began furiously pacing the room.
"You mean to tell me that this creep, who knows our identities and has done this to you, had done something similar to this before and you kids never thought to call someone for help?! I cannot believe you could be so stupid. What is WRONG with you and your team? Thinking you could take on Deathstroke alone! It's absurd! It's like I never taught you anything at all!" Batman was working himself up into a frenzy when a green hand lightly touched his shoulder. Batman took a moment from ranting to look at his friend's face.
"Not now. This is not the time or the place for a lecture," he whispered. "Get out of here and don't come back until you've cooled down." J'hon's voice was firm and Batman nodded, unclenching his fists. He stalked out of the room briskly without even glancing at Robin.
J'hon looked at Robin who furiously wiped away a single tear. "He is just worried about you."
"He has a funny way of showing it." Robin swallowed loudly. "And yet he wonders why I hesitate to ask him for help."
For that, J'hon had no reply.