Chapter 9

Time for Robin seemed to slow down. He slept when he was tired, ate when they brought him food, and spent the rest of his waking time just thinking. He remembered his parents, Bruce, and becoming Robin. Then, he remembered going to Jump City and meeting the other Titans. Thoughts of the Titans made his head hurt, so he thought about them only occasionally. If Robin had been in a clearer frame of mind, he would have realized that he was profoundly depressed.

He was asleep when his door opened, but he woke at a hand on his shoulder.

"Robin? Wake up, now."

That voice! One moment, he was in bed, and the next, he was hugging Batman.

"Good to see you, Robin," he said, smiling while two guards watched nearby. "You weren't kidding when you told me you were in trouble after your run-in with that Slade character. Are you all right?"

"I am now," Robin choked out. "I never thought I'd see you again."

"Not to worry. I got a call from Wayne Enterprises and they said that my protégé had broken in, so I came right over."

"Oh." Robin knew that Batman was saying all of this for the guards' benefits and to get him off the hook. By now, everyone in the world knew that Slade was a diabolical villain who was capable of anything, even making Robin emulate a criminal.

"Let's go home," Batman said, leading Robin out of the cell. "We'll debrief and talk about this."

Robin nodded and just stuck by Batman's side. No one stopped them, no one questioned them, and no one seemed bothered that they were just walking out of there. That was when Robin remembered that Batman had saved the queen's life only a month ago. No one in England would be unhappy with Batman now, not after saving the queen's life and being knighted in thanks.

The Batmobile was at the curb, and Robin got in thankfully. Batman drove through the London streets as if he were in Gotham, and more than once Robin wondered how Batman knew so many cities so well.

They stopped at a warehouse, which seemed to be a version of a Batcave. There were the usual computers, instruments, and vehicles, but the Titans were also there.

"I'm not going to ask how you got all of this stuff through customs," Robin said as the Titans tackled him in glee.

"Well good, because I wasn't about to say," Batman told him, grinning at the teenagers' enthusiasm.

"Oh man, Robin's in da house!" Cyborg shouted, pumping his arms up and down.

"Dude! Dude! Dude!" the little green changeling kept yelling.

"Good to see you, Robin," was all Raven would say. All she had done was give Robin's shoulders a squeeze before stepping back, allowing Cyborg and Beast Boy to run Robin over.

Starfire was exultant. "Oh, Robin, it is wonderful to see you alive!" she cried, hugging him and leaving bruises. "We were so worried! Even my bumgorf Silkie was worried!"

"I'm glad to see all of you, too," Robin managed to gasp. "Starfire, I need air!"

Starfire let go with a little giggle, apologizing for her abundant enthusiasm.

"Well, we have Robin back, now what?" Beast Boy asked, turning to Batman.

"We go after Slade," Batman said, sounding determined and very, very grim.

Space

Randall knew that Slade was worried. Whenever the villain worried, he began beating up Sladebots in the gym. He could hear unit after unit explode from Slade's venting. Slade had been very lax where he was concerned since Robin's capture at Wayne Enterprises. Now, Randall was allowed to roam where he wished in the large house, but only as long as a bot was with him. Randall ignored it and went about his business, trying to get a moment on a computer so he could send an e-mail to all of his friends at Haven.

Randall was engaged in his never-ending search when he heard Slade shouting for him. He ignored him up until the moment that Slade stormed into the room he was in and found him.

"I thought I called you!" Slade thundered, bashing the door open.

"Maybe you were mistaken," Randall suggested, feeling mischievous. With Slade being in the mood he was in, he would be a step ahead of his old adversary.

"When I call you, I expect you to come!"

"What do you expect me to do when you don't call me?"

"Will you be quiet and listen to me?" Slade demanded. "I need you to go after Robin. None of my agents inside Wayne Enterprises are responding to my calls."

Randall stared at him, euphoria growing. Slade was giving him a chance to escape! Yes! He would be able to spring Robin and escape from Slade!

Before he could say anything, Randall heard a whifft! and felt a corresponding sting in his chest. He looked at Slade, then he spotted the handgun-type affair that Slade held in his hand. He had been shot with something, and he had a bad idea of what it was.

"A tracker?" he asked, taking a guess.

"Of sorts," Slade admitted. "This is to make certain that, once you have Robin, you won't get any ideas of running off. It not only tracks you, it will make certain that you will do as I say. Any attempt to defy me, and you will find yourself unable to move. That is, until I come to get you."

Randall glared at him.

"Now, let's go over floor plans, shall we?" Slade suggested, leading Randall to a large monitor.

Space

It was no amount of work to get into Wayne Enterprises, but the real work was finding where Robin was. According to Slade's information, Robin was still somewhere in the building, but there were several places where they could be holding him. He had to check each section and not get caught. That would be difficult, but not impossible.

An hour into his search, Randall began to wonder if this place could be any more chaotic. Halls crisscrossed, you were never on the same floor from one side of the building to the other, and the guards seemed to meander about without any set pattern. It was as if Slade had gone over the wrong floor plan with him.

Randall was nearing the final section to search when he heard someone behind him. He didn't turn quickly enough, and. . .

WHAM! Blackness closed over Randall, shutting out the world and Slade's angry and frantic demands to know what had happened.