Submission

Chapter Twelve

How long would this go on?

This was the thought that each of the Titans had at some point in the past several days. That was how long it had been since they knew their leader was injured and abducted by Slade. There hadn't been much word of the villain's whereabouts. The only clue was from a couple of days ago when the same warehouse where they had fought against his commandos had a fire that took down most of the building. There was also a bomb scare at Tech Corp the same day. It was obviously related and Slade had to be connected to it. Of course it was definitely an odd move for the villain, kind of reckless compared to his normal criminal activity. It had the entire team wondering what the purpose of it was. To first break in, not stealing anything and then to finally cause damage to the companies assets seemed pretty pointless. He was known for doing things that benefited him. It seemed too drastic plus there had been no word about Robin. They all knew he had the capabilities to contact them at any time but there had been nothing. No ransom, no holding Robin's life in the balance, no threats or inquisitive demands, nothing. This left all of them stressed and desperate to find their leader.

If Slade wasn't going to use him as a bargaining chip then what was he doing with him. Cyborg and Raven had both watched the video feed enough times to know how badly Robin was injured so they should have heard something by now. Maybe he was just laying low because of the attacks on Tech Corp. Whatever the reason they knew something was up and it would all come together eventually. But it was the waiting and not knowing that sent each of them on edge. Starfire had taken her best friends absence the hardest of all of them. When she wasn't spending hours searching the city, she was cooped up in her room avoiding contact with the rest of the team except Silkie. None of them would have ever guessed that the Tamaranian's sunny disposition would be missed so much until it was gone. She had stopped her constant nagging as well, only asking the occasional question for important details as opposed to her normal curious nature. She didn't think anyone else had noticed her sleeping in Robin's room but they had. She had hoped she would wake up and he would be there like nothing had happened and he would be okay. But each morning was the same. Nothing. This past week left her impersonal and cold. The day before she had managed to get her hands on one of Slade's commandos and star bolted it into non existence.

With Starfire's frigid behavior, Beast boy had no one to appreciate his jokes and had also become more determined to help in any way he could. Cyborg and Raven had become completely absorbed in the case which left no one for him to goof around with. It was business only for everyone until they figured out Slade's plan and Robin wasn't even there to be the normal buzz kill which made this all the more serious for each of them. Cyborg had even contacted Titans East to ask for help but they were in the middle of their own crisis as well.

"Sorry bout this, Sparky. Really wish we could help but this recent conflict with the former HIVE members isn't gonna let up anytime soon for us." Bumblebee let out a sigh. Cyborg could hear the other members arguing in the background, he mostly heard Aqua Lad and Speedy. He shook his head and grinned quietly to himself. Some things never changed.

"No, it's fine. I get it. Wish I could help you guys out." Bumblebee noticed he actually seemed a little worn down and gave him a reassuring smile.

"Thanks, hope you find Robin soon and figure out what Slades' up to." She waved good bye before ending the call to deal with the chaos behind her.

"So that was an obvious dead end I guess," Raven didn't bother to look up from her meditating in the corner of the room.

"We'll all just have to go out on patrol again tonight."

"But we've done that every night and still haven't found anything. Let's face it, we're kind of stuck until Slade makes a move." Before Cyborg could answer her there was a loud thud from the kitchen followed by an angry yell in an alien language that none of them knew.

"Star, you have to calm down," Beast boy told Starfire after he dodged the refrigerator door that was tossed only a few seconds earlier.

"Where is the mustard? I require it now." By now Cyborg and Raven had made it into the kitchen as well.

"Whoa, Starfire. It's okay we're just ran out of it."

"Out? Out! But there is always mustard. We have never ran out before."

"It's okay I'm almost out of tofu as well. We just haven't had the chance to get to the store is all," Beast boy tried to reason with her as well. She finally floated down to the floor, the green glow from her eyes fading.

"Robin was the one who always made the grocery list and handled the shopping," Raven quietly mentioned. Starfire slammed her fists on the counter, leaving it dented.

"It is not right! We always have mustard. It is enjoyable and is always here when I need it," she dramatically pointed to the spot where it usually sat in the fridge, "and now it is not here and I do not like that." It was clear she wasn't talking about a food condiment at this point as her tone got softer. Without saying anything else she walked towards the exit realizing if she stayed any longer she would likely explode.

Shortly after the outburst in the kitchen, they headed out again deciding to split up and taking different areas of the city to search. Hours would go by just like every other night that week with no new information. It was the fourth hour of searching when an explosion shook the ground in the far south side. Raven was the closet and headed to where she could see smoke rising.

"What is it," Cyborg chirped in her ear.

"It's a Tech Corp lab! How'd we forget about this place," she noticed several familiar black and grey clad henchmen sneaking out the side door, "it's Slade's commandos again. Need everyone here now," she stated moving in. It was hard to tell if the rest of the team was close by or if they just hurried but they showed up in record time chasing after them. It wasn't long before they caught up and shots rang out. They split up, dodging attacks and returning fire in the process. There would be no good outcome to this fight though. For the few that Starfire didn't destroy in a fit of rage, decided to self destruct. It was another pointless fight that left all of them feeling drained. They stuck around for another hour or so looking for additional clues but with nothing significant that would help them find Slade or Robin they decided to call it a night. Grudgingly they headed back to the Tower in the T-car, not a word said the entire way home. Once they got back, Beast boy wondered into the kitchen as his stomach growled loudly.

"Guess losing fights makes me hungry," he mentioned to no one in particular as he went to the fridge, forgetting Starfire had removed the door earlier that day, "So we gonna fix this or what?" The other three had followed him into the kitchen as well.

"Probably should just order in again," Cyborg suggested as he let out a loud yawn and slouch forward.

"Like anythings opened this late. I'm just going to bed at this point," Raven muttered more to herself then anyone else. Someone cleared their throat from the living room causing all of them to turn.

"But you have company," Slade announced his presence with a smirk in his tone, "you wouldn't want to be rude now would you?" He was casually sitting on their couch which he had shifted in order to be able to see them all better.

"Slade," Starfire was ready to take him down but paused when she noticed he wasn't sitting in the dark alone, "Robin," Her voice was filled with sadness as she looked him over. His hair was disheveled and covered his face. In place of his normal vibrant uniform he wore a pair of sweat pants with a white t-shirt. Other then his right arm being supported by a sling and the white bandage on his forehead none of his other injuries were noticeable. Raven narrowed her gaze at their other 'guest' wondering what he was up to and why Robin let him in. They both remained quiet and she couldn't help but wonder how long would this go on?