Chapter 7Starfire backed away from Robin after hearing the words leave her master's voice. She felt tears running down her face, her shoulders shaking. She wanted to run away and never return. She was hurting everyone she loved by being here.
Robin frowned. He wanted to embrace her and hold her. He didn't want to be away from Starfire any longer. Starfire stared at Robin, unable to let words leave her lips.
"Starfire, we can fix this. Who is behind this all?"
"Robin, I cannot stay. Slade... He will-"
Before the girl could finish, she watched as Robin groaned in pain. He hunched over, falling onto a knee. Pain began in his chest and spread throughout his whole body. It was as if flames were inside of him, burning his insides. He looked down at his hands and noticed the familiar glow to his skin. He looked at Starfire before falling onto his side, the pain too much to stay standing.
"The robotic parasites cause muscle weakness throughout the body caused by the degeneration of the upper and lower motor neurons. Motor neurons are nerve cells located in the brain, brain stem, and spinal cord that serve as controlling units and vital communication links between the nervous system and the voluntary muscles of the body." Slade explained. Starfire stared in horror at the screen as she saw the little specs of black lingering on the blood cells and attached to the walls of her friends veins.
" Both the upper motor neurons and the lower motor neurons degenerate or die, and stop sending messages to muscles as well as nervous system. Unable to function, the muscles gradually weaken, waste away, and have very fine twitches. Eventually, the ability of the brain to start and control voluntary movement is lost."
Starfire looked at him, anger in her eyes. "You cannot do this!"
"Oh, but I can. To even add a special touch, I made sure to include a special toxic chemical in the parasites that get released and act as if you are in a room filled with fire. I'm sure the Teen Titan's would love to enjoy some of that pain, don't you think apprentice." Slade smirked, letting out his evil laugh.
Robin felt his body weakening and his ability to stay awake quickly left. He began to lose consciousness.
"No, stop! I shall return!" Starfire fell to her knees, the tears falling. She stared at Robin, reaching for him. The male cease to move and he only had seconds to live. Suddenly the orange glow to his body left and he lay there, not even moving.
'Get back here now or else the end of the Titan's will come sooner than you would like.'
Starfire clenched her fist, her eyes closed tightly, and she didn't move for a few minutes. She constantly wished this was all one big nightmare. Finally she stood, placing the note she had in her hand from earlier. She placed it next to Robin. Robin... He looked so peaceful just laying there. Almost as if he was no longer alive, but simply fell asleep and never woke. Starfire let her hand brush against his cheek. She finally stood and left.
Hours went by and Robin sat up slowly, the pain of a headache taking its toll on him fast. He stood and stumbled for a second. He was dizzy, but he forced himself to focus as he scanned the room for familiar auburn hair and bright emerald colored eyes.
She was gone.
Robin walked out and headed towards the Op room, stopping only to see his friends all collapsed on the floor unmoving. "Cyborg." Robin said, leaning next to the bigger robotic male. Cyborg mumbled something unintelligent about pie and then slowly opened his eyes. Beast Boy was already up and rubbing his head.
"What was that...?" Beast Boy asked, turning to help Raven out.
Robin tensed, looking towards the floor. "Slade. He's doing exactly what he did when he had me as an apprentice." Cyborg was confused, looking at each one of the other members of the team.
"Impossible, man. I removed all of those probe things out after you were brought back." Cyborg said, not able to believe that they were still in there. Then again, they all witnessed personally what had happened.
"Let's go to the infirmary room and take a look inside of us to see what's going on."
"Hey, what happened to Starfire?" Beast Boy asked.
Robin simply turned and walked away. Raven looked over and noticed something just outside of the training room doors. Walking over to it, the girl noticed it looked like a piece of paper. Reading it, she tensed and headed to the infirmary room.
TeenTitansGo!
Starfire once again stood in the middle of the darkened room, unmoving and scared. Slade circled her over and over again. He never took his eyes off of her as he stared at the girl. His arms were placed behind his hand, much like a scientist would do when pacing a room in concentration. Finally he stopped right behind the girl.
The Tamaran princess didn't feel him that close, but she knew he was there in reaching distance. He always did. Whether he was going to simply talk to her, give her an order, teach her something, or even harm her... He was always in arms length distance. Suddenly, Starfire found herself fall to her knees as a metal pole was lashed out and struck behind both of her knees. She groaned in pain quietly.
"You are beginning to piss me off." Slade said, stepping closer. Grabbing a handful of her hair, he pulled her head back to make her look up at the single light that lay overhead. It flickered once and she felt a single tear leave her.
'Show no weakness... Show no fear...'
Starfire was terrified, but if Slade knew it, he'd just use it to his advantage even more than what he could use now.
"You're useless." Slade spat out, tugging her hair more. The girl held in a whimper of pain. "You failed as a team mate, you failed as a friend, and you failed as an apprentice."
The words hurt. Starfire was not useless, was she? She was always there to help her friends in battle against the villains of Jump City. There were plenty of times when Robin needed to be caught, when Cyborg needed to be carried, Beast boy needing a laugh, and even Raven needed assistance in fighting someone. There was always that one thing Starfire was able to help someone with. Useless? No.
She knew Slade was just trying to hurt her and break her down.
"End my life then if I am so useless." Starfire said, a sharp acidic tone leaving her lips. Slade laughed, releasing the harsh grip her had on her hair.
"Oh no, princess. You're far from being done here."
Slade took a few steps around her, now standing in front of the girl.
"You just made everything for more worse for the Teen Titan's."
