Not Again
Alexnandru Van Gordon
Hello, folks! Sorry I've been gone for so long, but it's Easter and I've been to church all day Friday and Saturday (I'm Ukrainian Catholic so we do the whole blessing of the food and fasting…). So, I'm ever so sorry for keeping you guys waiting I'm a little sad because I killed off my OC in my other story and I miss her…sniff…Oh well. I always had it written down that I would kill her, but it was just so hard to decide when.
Anyhow—onward!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them.
CHAPTER TEN: Found
As serious and as calm as he usually was, Bruce found that he lost his patience rather quickly when he was being lied to. Robin was one thing because he had a temper and Bruce had gotten to know the kid through all their years of being family, but when Robin's whole team started popping up with different stories…That was where he drew the line. Did they seriously think he was so stupid?
Must have?
Beast Boy was hard to believe from straw one, but when the girl Starfire started to talk Bruce doubted she was willing enough to lie when she was a stranger to earth. That was why he gave them an hour—he believed…and didn't believe. Then came Cyborg with his excuse. It wasn't very plausible either but when you considered ho w serious Cyborg could be when things were hard…in short, Bruce was pleasant and gave them another hour. The third time was something different with the demon girl Raven. She wasn't one to lie, but she was the type of person to lie for her friends. That was why he had been mildly surprised that she invited him down to see that she was telling the truth. Either she was the only one who wasn't lying to him or she was better than all her teammates at trying to pull the blinds over someone's eyes.
It turned out to be the latter of the two.
Landing on top of T-tower he didn't see anyone and shrugged it off that they were busy. Able to enter on his own, he went inside and took their elevator downstairs, walking into the living room to find…Raven.
She was reading a book at the kitchen counter, a cup of steaming tea beside her where she rested her book. Diverting her eyes from the pages, she stared at Batman and an eyebrow instantly rose. "You're here soon….I thought it would take more than an hour."
He frowned. "There's no traffic in the sky, and besides—I see no one here but you."
"You just missed him." She said plainly and slipped off her chair to walk to the main computer. Turning it one, she started typing things in. "There was a robbery at on the edge of town and they had to clear that mess up before they came back."
He wasn't eating this.
"Then why are you here instead of Robin?" He asked, trying to catch her in the act. "Wouldn't it make more sense for him to stay here so I could talk to him?"
She shrugged. "I honestly thought you knew you're surrogate son better. He's not to type to sit out when it comes to crime."
Did she just insult him? Who did she think she…
"Which side of town?" He grumbled, not in any mood to talk to this woman. He would find Robin himself.
"Hold on…" She finished typing and a map of the entire city came up. There were three dots blinking on the screen, a different letter inside each. B, S, C…and that was it. B and S were close together in a smaller community north of the city while the C was passing through the city on its way toward the other two. Obviously a chase was in action.
"I take it that that's Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg…." He noticed how she gave a worried look for half a millisecond. "And where is Robin?"
She shrugged and closed up on the area with Beast Boy and Starfire. "He doesn't have his communicator on him."
He sighed. "I know all three of you are lying. Robin is…kidnapped?"
Seeing that there was no use in lying to him anymore, Raven turned around to face him and sighed herself, shoulders drooping as she realized that the charade was over. But he was surprised they kept him on the edge for as long as they did. Too bad it didn't look too good for them now…
"We lost him a couple of days ago." She answered, looking up to meet his expressionless gaze. "—But it wasn't his fault that he was caught."
"How so?"
"Ever hear of a man named Jaze?"
Whoa…it had been a long time since last he heard that name. He had—what?—one battle with the guy and he wasn't even staying in Gotham. Just a wanderer following a group of scientist led by a Dr. J Manning…
"He's the one who took Robin?"
She nodded. "We got a call one day that there was a robbery at the bank while Robin got a call that there was a problem at the Wayne Enterprises here in Jump City. The four of us left and later Starfire got a call from him that this man was there. His communicator was cut short half way before we could find out where he was, and thus began our search for him."
Wasn't that just great. Robin could be so much as dead right now and they wouldn't have a clue. He didn't know who was more irresponsible—Robin for going off alone, or his friends who left him to go on his own. Perhaps it could be divided for both.
"He's not dead." Raven said, much as though she had been reading his mind—which he had no doubt she wasn't. "I received word from Cyborg a short while ago that he's been spotted. Starfire and Beast Boy are chasing after him with the help of…Jaze."
Jaze? Did he hear her clearly or was she saying that the good guys and the villain were teaming up to chase the leader? Why didn't that make any sense?
"How so?" He muttered in a mood that wouldn't stand for any more games.
"Slade came along."
Too true. He knew the old cougar was around, but he just didn't think that he'd reach Jump City so quickly. And if that was the cause then…
"Slade is the same man Robin has the problem with—the one who kidnapped him a while back when you guys first started?" He asked, trying to clear his muddled mind.
"Yes."
"Then he's the one chasing after Robin who is being chased after by Jaze and your companions?"
"Pretty much." Then she paused… "But Slade's already caught Robin."
He rubbed his right temple and spun around on his heel. If anyone was going to get any sleep tonight, he'd have to intervene. There was no way his kid was going to have to put up with that man again…
"You stay here and watch for any alarms." He ordered the girl when he heard her following. "I'll be back soon."
-R-
His head was as heavy as lead and he could feel every heartbeat as a throbbing pain in each temple. He was tempted to shake his head and see if it was just his imagination, but he knew better than that and waited until his eyes adjusted to the darkness that he did. Not only did he feel sick to his stomach, but he had to wait about five to ten minutes before his vision would stop doubling. It was the worst feeling in the world…
There was a beam of light on the floor just a couple feet in front of him, stretching out from the crack beneath the door. A shadow passed across it as someone moved out in the hall, and he almost called out to ask where the heck he was and what on earth he was doing there until everything started coming back to him. It was simple, really, because it was all explained with one word he hated more than 'weak'—and that was saying something.
Slade.
Speaking of which, the man saw Robin stir and stood right in front of him to block any light Robin could see. He could feel that one cold eye boring down on him and that almost made him shiver. Would he shiver? Not likely. Why give the man satisfaction knowing he gave you the creeps…
"Feeling better?" Slade asked, not really meaning to sound concerned. It was his way of annoying Robin and it was working.
"Like you care." Robin muttered and closed his eyes to focus as they doubled on him again.
Slade grabbed the hair on the back of his head and tilted his head back so that he looked up at him…That was another belittling technique that made Robin feel small—having to look up at someone who always looked down at you.
Man that guy could give hard head shots…
"I won't have that tone of voice from you. Young man." Slade warned and released his hair, turning away to pace down one of the many lanes in the storage room…Storage room? Where did Slade take him?
There was faint singing to be heard for half a second…a really high note too, light a high C or something like that.
Music? They weren't in the old opera house were they? There really was only one in the city and it was wwwwaaaaaayyyyyy on the edge of town in a community where people didn't even know the meaning of crime.
No wonder Slade brought him here.
As Slade slowly moved farther away form Robin, he silently began working on the rope around his wrists. Surprisingly enough, Slade didn't check Robin's gloves fro the sliver of metal he always had on him. Working his hand, he slipped it out of his hand and sawed away at the rope whenever Slade moved further away from him. The man seemed to be thinking of something important…
Just before Robin could finish with the rope, another shadow cut the bean of light on the floor. Someone was silently standing on the other side of the door, but hey weren't doing anything. Slade noticed this too and stood ready, slowly bringing out his Bo-staff which lengthened immediately.
The shadow suddenly thinned and disappeared, but Robin still had the feeling that the person was still around.
'Hey, kid. Miss me?'
Robin paused. He didn't know whether he was thankful that Jaze was around, or upset that he was going to get recaptured—again!
'How did you find me?' He though in response as Slade moved down the long isle toward the door.
'Somehow I heard your thoughtsand it's easy to hear anyone when they're as annoyed as you at Slade.'
'Where are you?'
Laughter filled the room and both Robin and Slade paused. It was echoing everywhere and Robin knew who it belonged to.
He felt two hands gently pull the rest of the rope off his wrists, but he remained still as Slade moved toward him in the darkness.
"How nice to see you again, Slade." Jaze said aloud, two red eyes appearing off to the left in the pitch-black corner of the room. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important? Are you…pacing? Worried now, are we?"
"Anything but." Slade growled and made at hit in the dark at the two red eyes. The eyes dodged swiftly to the left and remained pinned on Slade, narrowing as Jaze frowned.
"I take it you're not happy to see me…But the feeling is mutual. Now, I believe you have something of mine."
"No, actually." Slade muttered, and made three swings in a row, hitting something on the last one. It turned out to be a shelf which he knocked over with a loud array of noises, but Jaze's eyes remained visible.
'Time to go, kid.' Jaze thought to Robin as his eyes continued to dart the attacks coming form Slade in the dark. 'Run now and meet up with your friends. They're outside n the hallway where I told them to wait.'
Robin did a double-take on that. Jaze had been with his friends? Wasn't there something wrong with that picture?
'You're…letting me go?' Robin thought in disbelief. He would have never thought…
'Yes—now leave before I change my mind. If you haven't noticed, I'm only dodged Slade right now because my head still hurts from our last meeting. If you don't run along like a good little boy, I grab you and drag you back home right now. Mark my words!'
Well, Robin wasn't going to argue with that. As Jaze led Slade further and further away into the darkness, Robin got up quietly and bolt for the door. He grabbed the doorknob, twisted, pulled, and—
Smack!
He rubbed his forehead and so did Beast Boy who stood in front of him. Starfire stood next to Beast Boy, but not for long—she wrapped her arms around Robin's neck and squeezed so tight he thought he was going to suffocate. Not to mention his head still hurt…
"ROBIN!" She exclaimed in glee, but Robin wished she hadn't.
"Starfire." He said as she released him. "We can't make any noise—"
"EEK!" She yelped, grabbed Robin by the shoulders and pulled him into the hall. Meanwhile, Beast Boy reached an arm inside the room, grabbed the doorknob, and pulled the door shut just as Slade came up behind Robin. Both of them looked panicky and braced against the door as Slade thudded against it loudly, attempting to break it down.
Then a fist punched through the door to the left of Robin's head and splinters flew everywhere as the hand reached downward and caught Robin by his shoulder. He yelped in pain and tried to pull away.
"Let go!" He yelled and Beast Boy did something new.
He bit Slade's hand.
-A-
Hehehehehehehe—I'm just going to leav you on a cliffy right now. I know some of my reviewers from Blast to the Supposed Past read this, so the this is addressed to them: If anyone wants to see what HW really looks like, I have a picture of her when she jumps down out of the elevator and knees Jacob in the face. E-mail me if you want to see it. Sorry, I usually don't show my art, but I made a bet with Victor and I lost—so I have to give the offer. I don't know if it's good or bad because I drew it in ten minutes...hmmm…
Anyhow—stay tuned for the next chapter, which I will write as soon as I get one again, and after I write the next chapter to Slade's Tale. I left my readers half way between the Apprentice episodes…aren't I mean?
Vale, amici! (Goodbye, friends!)
Alexnandru Van Gordon
