Chapter 10

Robin and the remaining three Titans couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief when their Tower came into view, still completely intact. Robin had a small panic attack when he tried to call Starfire back, and his communicator wouldn't connect with hers, but if the Tower was okay, then Starfire must just be waiting for their return. Just as Red X said she would. But then, he said that Starfire would call him back, but if you were her, would you want to talk to Robin? Robin himself doubted that. So he waited patiently, and didn't let on to the fact that he couldn't sit still. He just wanted to run to Starfire and hug her and make sure she was all right. Not that she would probably want him to.

Cyborg brought the T-ship in nice and steadily, and the four of them departed and made their way up to the command centre. Robin would have lied had he said he wasn't disappointed that Starfire wasn't in there. Maybe she was in the bathroom. After they all got a drink from the kitchen, the Titans dispersed around the room to relax. "I should call Titans East and let them know that everything here is okay." Cyborg went to get up from the sofa, but was halted by Beast Boy's voice.

"Is everything okay?"

"What are you talking about?" Cyborg and Raven looked at him sceptically as if he was stupid. He was stood in the middle of the room looking at the floor.

"I'm talking about Starfire's smashed communicator right here on the floor!"

Upon hearing this, Robin didn't hesitate to join Beast Boy's side, and observe the shattered remains of what was definitely a communicator. This was when Robin's panic set in. Instinctively, his brain went into overdrive. Where is she? Is she okay? This is Red X's fault. Slade. He was unsure what to do. He was never sure what to do when Slade was involved, but when Slade and Starfire were involved, and Red X was thrown into the mix, then what was he supposed to do? Where did he start? Robin was lost in his own thoughts, unsure of what to do. The world around him had dissipated and blended into black. Starfire could be hurt.

"Robin!" Raven put her hand on his shoulder and brought him back to reality. "We need a plan. We have to find her." She looked at him, and he could see it in her eyes that she was worried. Robin was only just able to handle Slade, and even then he needed the help of his friends. Before heading back into his mind, Robin looked around the room to find the rest of the Titans staring in his direction, waiting for him to give them and idea of what they could do. Robin himself had no idea.

Realising this, Raven stepped in front of Robin and decided to take control. "We'll do a full search of the tower and then an open search of the city. If she's not found, then we'll go from there." With a nod, three out of four Titans left the room, leaving Robin alone with his thoughts.

They won't find her. Slade's good at hiding. If anything, we'd be better waiting for Slade to come to us, but I just can't. I have to try. I have to make sure she's safe.

And with that in mind, Robin ran out of the room, determined more than ever to bring Starfire back.

A few hours later, the Titans were back in the Command Centre, Robin sat typing furiously on a computer, and the rest sprawled out on the sofa. They had found absolutely no trace of Starfire, Slade or Red X anywhere in the city. None of them could figure out why Red X was working with Slade, and none of them had the faintest idea where they could start looking for either of them. Everyone was startled when Robin banged his fist down on the keyboard and shouted at the screen. Cyborg went over to him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "We'll find her man. I promise."

Robin looked up with sad eyes. "I don't want to have to wait for Slade. I don't know what he's doing to her. I don't even know why he wants her, and it's genuinely scaring me."

"We'll get her back, and take Slade down. I'm sure Starfire can hold her own until Slade comes to us. She's a strong girl. Besides, I'm pretty sure Slade won't just kill her; he's using her for something. He only goes after someone if he wants something from them, and Starfire is powerful… Robin?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you love her?"

He was shocked. He wasn't prepared for that question. His eyes widened, and then they hit the floor. After a minute or two, he looked back into Cyborg's eyes. "Of course I do."

"Then I'm pretty positive she'll be okay. We will find her. I think otherwise, you'd go insane. You need her. As much as you deny it, you need her to lift you up, to get you out of 'hero' mode and back to reality. I promise we'll get her back to you."

XXXXXX

Starfire hit the wall with some force, and she let out a grunt before falling to the floor. When the three of them – Starfire, Slade and Red X – had gotten to wherever it was they were, Starfire wasn't sure where, Slade had proceeded to send Red X out, and then attacked the poor girl out of nowhere.

"You've done well Starfire I must say. That was about half an hour you managed to hold up. We'll work on that, your defences need work, but your offence is pretty strong." Slade stood strong in front of her as she sat back against the wall, sore and bleeding.

"Why?"

"You don't need to know why, you're just going to do as I say."

"Never. I will never follow you. Robin will be here, just you…" She stopped as Slade grabbed her around the throat and held her up against the wall, his grip tight.

"Listen, you will do as I say or else you put Robin in danger. I'm warning you Starfire, one foot out of line and Robin will be no more. You will not ask questions, you will not defy me and you WILL comply with everything I say. Do we have an understanding?"

Starfire could only nod lightly in response, and then was dropped back to the floor. Slade walked away, not giving her so much as a second glance before leaving the room. Starfire didn't know what she was going to do, or even what she could do. Slade's threats were, more often than not, followed through and she had no idea how he planned on killing Robin if she stepped out of line. So what could she do other than what she was told? She couldn't let Robin get hurt because of her, it would tear her apart. Starfire sighed in defeat, hatred for Slade running deep within her, and getting stronger. She will find a way out of this, and she will keep Robin safe.

"Come on Starfire…" Red X appeared in front of her. "I have to show you around apparently, after I get you cleaned up."

"I do not wish to be around you." Starfire was still in disbelief that she could have trusted the thief, and she hated him for what he'd done, the situation he'd helped her get into.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I don't exactly have a choice with this. I want to be here about as much as you do. I'm here because I have to be here. So you can hate me and make this harder for yourself, or we can try and have someone who we can actually talk to that isn't 'Slade the Psychopath'."

Starfire looked at him for a minute, trying to determine if he was telling the truth or not. If she was honest, he looked fairly sheepish. He certainly wasn't proud of what he'd done, and he was right; she really would need a friend if she was here for the long run. Red X outstretched his hand to her and she took it, finally deciding that she still didn't trust him but she needed him. "So why are you here, if not by your own will?" She watched as his head dropped.

"I don't want to talk about it… Come on, let's get you cleaned up, I have to show you around or Slade will go crazy at me." He walked off towards the door and Starfire followed in step behind him, aching from her previous fight.

After taking Starfire to what was actually a well-equipped infirmary and getting her cleaned up, Red X showed her… Wherever they were. Red X said he wasn't allowed to disclose their location to her, and Starfire knew better than to press the matter. What she found was that there were a lot of corridors, a lot of locked rooms that neither Starfire or Red X were allowed access to, and, to her surprise, a rather nice room where she and Red X were expected to stay. It wasn't anything special, but considering she was practically Slade's hostage she wasn't expecting an actual bed, plus provisions for making food, and getting showered.

"He said there's no point in keeping you here if he's gonna treat you in a way that might kill you. Besides, knowing what he's got planned for you, you need to look healthy."

"Why? What has he got planned for me?"

"That, you will find out tonight. I can't tell you details, I'll get in trouble."

Starfire sat dejectedly on her designated bed and sighed. "I do not like this. I am worried, not for my own safety, but for Robin's."

"I'm sorry Starfire, there's absolutely nothing you can do. There's nothing either of us can do." He sat down beside her. She found it odd that two enemies were sat talking, both being in the same situation. "I didn't want to do this."

"I will find a way out of this. I have to keep Robin and my friends safe. Slade must be stopped."

"What are you gonna do? Listen cutie, Slade is too powerful. He's tricky, and let's face it, despite your alien strength, he's stronger than you. I think if we even tried to fight him, we'd be fighting a losing battle from the start."

"I do not know what I can do, but we have defeated Slade before. I just need my friends to be able to succeed."

"I wouldn't count on your friends Starfire."

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't think they're going to like what you're doing."

XXXXXX

The Titans sat around the sofa, looking as rotten as they felt. There was no sign of Starfire anywhere in the city. Robin was furious. How could they just disappear off the face of the Earth? He'd realised by now that all he could do was wait for Slade to come to him, as Robin knew he would. People like Slade don't just kidnap people and disappear. He would come to them for something. Probably to taunt Robin.

The four of them were shocked out of their misery by the alarm going off. Cyborg ran to the computer to find out what was going on.

"It's Red X."

Right guys. Some serious shit gonna hit the fan in the next chapter :D Midge