OK, since you're reading this, I'm obviously back from British Columbia, Canada. And I had a BLAST!! It was BEAUTIFUL!! And I got to see a moose! But get this, I was BURNING UP out there. Who'd have thought it could be so hot? But it makes sense, since we were in a DESERT!
I've gotten several reviews sayin that they severely wanted to harm me for the oh-so-cliffhanger-y way I left off on the previous chappie. Well I gots one thing to say…
DON'T HURT ME!! I'M UPDATIN I'M UPDATIN!!
Yeah I'm a coward, but can ya blame me? You guys have incredible imaginations when it comes to threats!
On the other hand, I can only IMAGINE what yer gonna say after you finish this chappie. You know something's bad when yer flaming yourself
That's right, welcome to the dark part of my mind.
So…
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Disclaimer: Me: Well Beast Boy, you've done very well in yer service for me, and I think you deserve a reward.
BB: Sweet! Are you gonna let me go?
Me: Nope, but guess what! I'm opening a new day spa for overworked and underappreciated super heroines! And yer gonna be our server!!
BB: WHAT!?
Me: (opens door and cuts ribbon with giant scissors) C'MON GIRLS! PAMPERING AWAITS!!
All TT heroines: YAAAY!! (Come stampeding in)
BB: (hand feeds Argent a grape while crying pathetically)
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One Helluva Day (To be read in a very tired sigh) Chp 14
Words couldn't accurately describe how stunned Dr. Samuel Stone was when he opened his door to reveal a visibly livid Robin.
"Dr. Stone," he said with forced politeness and hardly restrained anger, "can I speak to your son?"
Dr. Stone tried to compose himself, "Um, may I-"
"Please." Robin somehow managed to put bonechilling malice in that single word.
"I'll go get him. Come in?"
Vic was out of bed and at the entrance of the breakfast nook in record time. To find that his 10-year-old sister, Sarah, was holding a bird-a-rang looking shell-shocked as she stared at the Boy Wonder holding their dad's favorite coffee cup, which, he noted, had the beginnings of a sizable crack in the handle. Fortunately, she wasn't pestering him, to Vic's relief. Robin didn't look happy.
And neither did his parents. "Victor Samuel Stone," boomed his mother, "Could you tell us why our town's protector is in my home?"
Of all the questions she could ask…the teenager thought and rubbed his shaved head. For about a year and a half now, no one had ever even suspected that Victor knew Robin or who he was, Robin had made him swear under pain of death not to tell anyone.
And now the one to blow their cover was Robin. But instead of feeling irritated, Victor was only worried. He may have no idea about what was going on, but he knew this: Robin wouldn't openly expose their connection unless something heavy was happening. The just-about-broken handle of the mug proved it.
But that still didn't make his job of explaining that he was friends with Jump City's superhero any easier.
Turns out, Robin had already figured this out. "Word is your son is one of the most brilliant computer hacker in the state. He won that competition right?"
Sarah recovered from her trance to voice adoring little sister pride, "Best in the country; he beat that nasty Gizmo midget at the National Championship."
Victor turned a light shade of red.
Robin's smile was a little forced, "Even better then, I have a problem that requires his…expertise, and I need it now."
Keilah Stone opened her mouth in protest, but it shut with a snap when her husband placed a gentle but firm hand on her shoulder. "Take Vic's car, I'm sure riding double on that bike wouldn't be the best idea."
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"WHAT?!"Vic'sbellow sounded throughout the Batcave. "Ssslade took Star!?"
Robin made no answer save a nod, and returned to the arsenal before him. Bombs, bird-a-rangs, bo staffs; all were being judged and selected and packed by an eerily silent Robin while Vic ranted.
"That…that…CLORBAG!!" he roared, steam almost literally coming out of his ears, "I'm gonna break off his fingers, put em into some chili, and feed it to him!!"
Despite everything that had happened, Robin smirked at the rather enticing image his best friend's words brought to mind. He shook his head in appreciation, telling Vic was a good idea; his rage was far better to let out than Robin's. It was less dangerous. And besides, Slade could have all of Robin's anger this way. His grin grew grim with anticipation.
"Are you finished?" he asked.
Victor thought, "Did I mention he was a clorbag?"
"Yes."
"Then I'm good, when do we head out?"
Robin looked up from the bird-a-rang sword he held, eyebrow raised, "We?"
"Yeah, that's why you asked me out here right?" Robin visibly tensed, "Right?"
"Um, no, I need you to stay here and help me track down Star. And cover for me too."
Vic looked hurt for a moment, then sighed. He and Richard would always be friends, but he had to face it, Robin would never consider him anything but a hacker, or an alibi.
Which totally sucked, since beatin up the baddies looked like fun.
"What's the problem with the signal?"
"Well, I can track it well enough, but Slade's toying with me. It leads to areas that don't exist, or grocery stores, or just dead ends. Then to make it worse, when I make a little headway, he switches the frequencies and scrambles the signal ever few minutes, and I lose the trail. That's where you come in. I need my genius best friend to put on your computer charm and help me find them before he…hurts her."
Vic blinked, Robin the Unbreakable had sounded scared.
He felt a rush of sympathy, "Alright, I'll get started now," he assured obligingly.
Robin took a deep breath to close the door on the small part of Richard he had shown, then nodded. To save face, he started loading his weapons into the vehicle.
And Vic suddenly noticed what vehicle it was.
"THE BATMOBILE?!" Robin jumped, startled before being grabbed by his collar to face a Vic that looked ready to both cry and punch out someone. "Why are you doin that to me man?!
Robin gestured towards the now not-even-smoking anymore remains of the R-Cycle, "Slade somehow got explosives on my R-Cycle, both of them," his mouth was twisted in an ugly frown, "and obviously detonated them. I need a car, and Bats' is the only one available."
He may as well have spoken to the late motorcycle. "ITS BAD ENOUGH," Victor bellowed, "TO FIND OUT THAT THE GIRL WHO'S LIKE MY LITTLE SISTER HAS BEEN KIDNAPPED BY A PSYCHO, AND THAT I CAN'T EVEN COME TO SAVE HER; BUT THEN, I HAVE TO ENDURE WATCHING YOU BLAZE OFF IN THE AWESOMEST CAR EVER MADE, A CAR THAT I'M NOT EVEN ALLOWED TO TOUCH!?" He was shaking Robin at the end of his tantrum.
Robin's eyebrows were hitting his hairline, too dumfounded to speak except for, "Um, yes?"
Heartbroken tears were now streaming down his face, "That's just mean man, you know I've been wanting to get into that car!"
Robin smiled with no humor, "So have I Victor, so have I."
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Consciousness came slowly, dangling like a string held just out of a kitten's reach.
The first thing she saw when she had enough wits to open her eyes was her body from the chest down, which was to be expected, since her head was hanging forward. She saw her outfit, it was her Tamaranian one, which she had decided to wear after being hit by a wave of nostalgia, since after all, it was what she had been wearing when she met Richard.
Richard.
Her clawings at the string became more precise. Her head ached, probably due to the gash that rested on the left side of her skull, just above the temple. She realized what the dark dried liquid on her neckplate and shirt was. And when she rubbed her face against her arm to wipe away the dried blood, she noticed that her arms from the elbow were encased in heavy metal cuffs. Her feet were in the same shape. She summoned her strength, and found it of no avail. She was completely befuddled, until she registered the dull brass-green color of the restraints.
The alloy was of alien origin.
"Good morning Starfire, I trust you slept well?"
Her claws sunk into the string.
Her face and words bespoke of a diplomatic courage she only partly felt, "Please, who are you and why have you captured me?"
The man in front of her chuckled, as if he was speaking to a precocious 5-year-old, "You may call me Slade," he invited.
Starfire studied Slade. He was attired in silver armor that looked flexible and lightweight on his shoulders, arms, and legs. The rest of the suit was made of black material, including half of his mask, and also, she noticed, it was devoid of an eyehole. The other half of the mask was a bright orangey copper, and the eye that stared out of it was a dark gray, like the clouds of Centauri before one of their famous snowfalls.
But it was his posture that unnerved her, oddly enough. He had the stature of a conqueror, strait and military, feet placed parallel to his shoulders, firmly rooted to the ground. His head was held high and perfectly balanced on his powerfully broad shoulders. His well-muscled arms were kept behind him, elbows bent at perfect 90degree angles, bespeaking of a man of command and importance.
Slade exuded confidence, a confidence placed in himself. And well-placed,thought Star with an inward shudder. "I will ask you again, why did you capture me?"
"I think we both know the reason my dear."
"I believe I do not."
Despite the mask, she could tell he was smirking, "Revenge," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I want it on my old apprentice-"
"-And I want it on you."
Starfire froze and turned her throbbing head to the new voice. An exotic looking girl with raven colored hair and slanted purple eyes entered the room.
She had on an outfit similar to Star's, save it was black and had silver sleeves. But one other thing was different, and that was on her neckplate. In place of the dark jewel, there was an orange circle with a silver "S".
The trapped Tamaranian thought she was going to be sick.
"Starfire, meet my new apprentice, Blackfire."
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As Slade set to work tweaking and fiddling with an array of devices, Blackfire smiled menacingly at her younger sister.
"Surprised to see me little sister?"
"Strangely enough, I am not," Star said in slight wonder, "however, I am curious as to how you came into contact with your…employer."
Blackfire laughed at her sentence like it was the funniest thing in the world, "Once word gets out that you're an alien princess looking to get even, the psychos come to you."
Starfire noticed that Slade had been listening to their conversation, and that he had looked sharply at his apprentice at her last words. "I am sorry, by what do you mean 'psychos'?"
"Oh you know, people who nobody likes or cares about, so they try to fill the pathetic void of their existence with destruction, revenge, and cheap thrills."
Star restrained herself from making the tart comment that her older sister had pretty well described… well…herself. Discreetly, she saw also that by now, Slade was looking at Blackfire with malevolence in his one eye.
"I had to go through all sorts of losers around here before I met Slade. Of all the other so-called criminals out there, at least he knows basic stuff, not that he can even touch—AAH!" She was cut off via a gloved hand, courtesy of Slade himself.
He seemed unmoved, "Never disrespect me like that again," he said harshly, "especially when I'm in the room to hear every word you're saying."
Blackfire's hand flew to her reddening cheek and jumped up, fists clenched, eyes taking on a purple glow that promised death and destruction to whoever had struck her. But she stopped herself so abruptly, it almost made you wonder if you had really seen the anger in the Tamaranian.
"Yes sir," she said softly and bowed, so humbly that it had Starfire blink in astonishment at the side she had thought her sister was not capable of.
Slade nodded with a dignified arrogance that at one time only royalty could have, "Good girl," he said like Blackfire was an unruly puppy.
He turned his back to her, and only then did Blackfire allow the unadulterated fury she felt filter into her glowing eyes that seemed eager to let loose the beams they could unleash. Star briefly remembered the earth phrase about how looks could kill, and she was somewhat disturbed at how completely accurate it was now.
She decided to ask the question that had been bothering her, "Excuse me," she interrupted politely, knowing that this man put a certain value on tact, and that it was in her best interests to keep on his good side.
Slade looked her way, and Star could tell that he had an incredulous but approving eyebrow raised at her manners, and she sighed slightly with relief, "Yes?"
"Who is the 'old apprentice' of whom you spoke of previously?"
Mask or no, she could tell he was smirking, "Oh I believe you're well acquainted with Robin, after all, you're his partner. You go by Flame right?"
She didn't know what stunned her more: the fact that Robin had once worked for this terrible man, or that he knew she worked with him.
Slade saw her astonishment, and relished it. "Yes," he confirmed, "Robin was a fine student, however lacking gratitude for all I did for and offered him…"
Starfire hated him suddenly, hated him with a pure passion that took all of her reason to convince her from howling like a caged animal. But some of his words caught her attention.
"…quite disappointed that you don't remember me."
Starfire's brow furrowed, "I am…sorry?" No apology had ever been so hard for her to choke out.
Slade chuckled, "Yes, you have met me Starfire. I believe Robin had even given me a name…what was it? Patch? Yes, Patch, that was it." He chuckled again, "Robin doesn't have much of a sense of originality does he?"
She tensed, the cords in her neck sprang out prominently as she fought to keep herself composed, "I remember you. You had stolen items that had the appearance of precious gems, but they were not."
His eye widened slightly, "That's true, they weren't jewels, they were batteries…for the machine you are in now, my dear."
Star concentrated to keep her repulsion at being called 'dear' out of her face, "And what is this machine's purpose?"
Slade was grinning, she could tell. "It's a marvelous device," he gloated, "when the crystals I stole are placed with certain other compounds at high heat, it produces a reaction that can create and transmit the power of the sun into an organism."
Star's jaw sagged in disbelief. Humans didn't even have the materials for that type of technology, much less have the intelligence to create it. "H-how did you accomplish this?"
"I can answer that," Blackfire broke in, reminding the two of her sullen presence.
But she didn't look sullen now. If anything, she looked as gleeful as Slade did.
"Let's just say I've made a few Psion friends."
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Vic threw up his hands in outraged defeat, "I can't believe it, this thing was designed to waste our time, it didn't have a signal to trace at all!"
Robin's gloved hands carved temporary grooves down his face. The damned fake signal had already done what it was programmed to do for over 35 minutes!! But halfway down his cheeks, they stopped, and his eyes opened wide. "The explosives."
"What?"
"The explosives on the bike! The detonation command had to have come from somewhere!" he raced over to the table holding the little devices.
After 2 minutes of harried searching, Robin lifted a relieved face and tossed the spent explosive to his friend.
"Work your magic Mr. Wizard, we're running out of time."
After an hour and a half of hacking, code breaking, and frantic hunting, the computer finally triangulated a position.
"She's at 3425 West Derby, just outside of Jump." Robin could've kissed Vic. Instead, he raced to the Batmobile, and without so much as a goodbye, he throttled out of the Cave at a speed even Batman probably wouldn't approve of.
Victor watched as the car of his dreams blazed away, and sat down, tiredly rubbing his bald head as he prayed for his friend to find Starfire before it was too late. If, God forbid, Star died, Vic feared for Robin's reason. That man just loved her too much, not that he'd ever admit it, to anyone.
So lost was he in his prayerful entreaties, he didn't notice the screen behind him with the trace signal on it begin to flicker.
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She had no idea how much time had passed. Days, weeks, minutes, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered now, except the blinding, agonizing, nauseating pain that coursed through her body for too long a time, and the sweet relief she felt when it was stopped for too short a time. These were the only things that she had energy to care about.
Besides Richard at least. She thought of the way his eyes looked when he had kissed her all that time ago. Attentive, grateful, tender, and complete and total joy had shone in his glorious blue eyes. And overwhelming love, too. Despite the terrible pain she felt, she smiled softly.
Until the hum of the machine began, the familiar torturous light traveled once more on its destructive path, and she retched until warm liquid poured form her mouth.
Which, if she could have been able to think clearly through the haze of pain she was in, would have struck her as odd, since she had long since emptied every one of her stomachs, and since then, her convulsions had been just dry heaves…
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Inside, the Batmobile's powerful engine hummed as it zoomed along the road.
Robin eased the throttle lower as he prepared for a turn, executed said turn, than all but jammed it back to its original pace, angry at the tiny decrease in speed.
He made no sound, and his face was cold and impassive. He felt encased in ice. And that was good, he wouldn't feel now, he would later, when he found Star. And Slade.
He gritted his teeth, then inhaled deeply, "Azerath Metrion Zinthoooss," he breathed, and was surprised at how much the odd words calmed him. Raven had made them up when they were kids, and used them as a substitute for counting to ten when she was angry or upset, and still did, occasionally.
Not that it had helped Dr. Light. Or Gar when he went into her room.
But the truth was, the words may have made him impassive on the outside, but the inside was another story. Robin could still feel the livid rage, boiling in the pit of his stomach under a tight lid, only emitting tiny puffs of steam. He actually wondered what was going to happen when the lid was lifted.
I guess I'm about to get my answer, he thought as he approached his destination.
The hatch opened with a "whoosh" and he stepped out, and the Batmobile made a low "rizz" as it camouflaged itself to the brick wall of the dark alleyway it was in. Robin melted into the shadows, and masked blue eyes missing nothing as they scanned the surrounding area.
Cameras were mounted on the building less than a block away, and so were pivoting infrared lights that could only be motion detectors. Several persons walked by, who looked as normal as anyone else, but Robin knew better. The way they moved, taking surreptitious glances in all directions, it was purely robotic. They were sentries, waiting for him.
Briefly, insanely, he noticed that it was a perfect day, not a cloud in the sky.
It was almost too easy to sneak by it all. Every security measure was located in the same place in the exact same pattern: infrared, camera, and sentry. I guess my days as his apprentice weren't a total waste, he thought wryly.
The hard part, however, was the actual door. Slade's systems weren't easy to hack, and the constant flow of electronic guards made matters even worse. Then at long last, he was able to key in the right code, and slip inside the building, bo staff already in his hand.
To see that the room was empty. He nearly screamed aloud, but the communicator in his belt distracted him.
"What?!"
"Yo Robin, the signal we got was a dud! It's a trap!" But Robin wasn't listening anymore, he was looking at all of the robots that had come from apparent nowhere, all armed with those laser guns, each trained at him.
"I'll call you back." He put the communicator into his belt, and broke into motion like he had been in a film set too slow, then to super fast.
The first of the hundreds of robots went down beneath his steel-toed boot before it could even compute his movement, and all hell broke loose.
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To her shame, she was screaming. Screaming in English, screaming in Tamaranian, and screaming in the language only spoken by the ones in ultimate suffering. But despite this small defeat, she refused to lose anymore. No crying, no begging, no fainting, and no dying.
But the second to last was the hardest of her resolutions to keep. Surrendering to the easy serenity of the unconscious world was considered worse than dying on Tamaran. They were a strong race, a strong people, and torture could and should be escaped by three routes: self-emancipation, rescue, or expiration. These ways were honorable, respectable, and Starfire knew that, as a Princess, she of all people would keep to this traditional determination. After all, the majority of Tamaranians believed her a coward for running from Blackfire, she wouldn't have another failure thrown in the face of her people.
But she was so tired. The terrible yellow light that traveled through her limbs into her body drained her, hurt her in ways she hadn't known she could possibly feel. She fought it with all of her incredible strength, plus the strength X'hal gave to the desperate, to keep the blinding hot pain from exploding her to pieces. But just because she would not be beaten, doesn't mean she was incapable of being broken.
And as the blackness crept upon her for the thousandth time, she wondered if that would really be so bad.
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Approach opponent. Knock gun from opponent's claw-like hand. Grab opponent's head and kick chest. Drop severed head. Repeat.
Large arms grabbed him from behind, stilling the discs he had poised to throw. He stopped for a moment and caught some of his breath before rearing back and kicking the robot in the head, creating a substantial crippling dent. Turning around, the disks were thrown and he shielded himself with his cape. A sizable boom shook the ground, and he sprung into a punch at the Slade-bot before the vibrations had ceased.
He pulled out the last of his bo staffs and whipped it against one of the robotic heads before driving the end of it into one of the three eye panels of another. Retracting it to half its size, he threw it at one on the rafters and caught it as it boomaranged back. Pulling it back to its regular length, he threw it like a javelin, pinning one android to the beam behind it. A bird-a-rang was pulled out and thrown in one smooth movement, and he paused once more, focusing, before punching into the chest of the damaged gray-white machine and pulling out a red beeping device.
Running, destroying machines in his path, he jumped like a cat before landing on the metal rod, which ricocheted him to the roof.
Hanging by a ceiling duct, he threw down the piece of robot and pulled himself into the duct. The explosion that ensued put all the previous ones to shame.
Using the time he had bought, he checked for injuries, and was shocked that there were none aside from a few small bumps and scratches, a rather dirty uniform, and being a little out of breath. His equipment survey, however, was another story, and he swore.
A red beam of light, however, cut short his time, and he moved as quickly as he could in the small space, thousands of lasers following him. Kicking open another vent, he threw down the last of his available smoke pellets and pulled out a remote, signaling his mentor's means of crime fighting transportation.
Sneaking through the clouds, he came to the door and opened it when he heard the familiar roar of the motor. Another belt, clean and fully armed was mechanically thrown to him, and he changed belts and turned around, bird-a-rang in hand in about 4.32 seconds. However, a female computer generated voice that he knew well caught his attention.
"Multiple robotic threats detected, initiating EMP and protective shield." A strange, dark gray field coated the Batmobile and a white arc with a blue tail shot forward, shaking the ground in its path.
Robin watched in fascination as all the androids which had been approaching him fell to the ground, white electricity crackling though them as they writhed on the floor.
"Well…that's convenient."
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It could not be fought any longer; she could not fight any longer. Her body began to slump against her restraints as spots crept into her eyes, and the pain of the solar energy lessened. In fact, it seemed to feel… nice, comforting, strengthening. And the feeling grew as she relaxed.
Was this what tortured incognizance felt like? Or was this death?
But she had no time for answers, because the dying hums of the solar machine brought her back from the blissful tranquil haven.
Slade's voice shattered the last remains, "Ah ah ah my dear, no taking the easy way out." He sounded amused as he rose from his seat. "Apprentice."
Blackfire snapped to attention, "Yes?"
"I need to see how my friend is doing, watch your sister and continue." The alien nodded and watched as he left. As soon as the doors closed behind him, she plopped into the seat he had vacated.
"I can't believe it, he gets a comfy leather chair, and all I get is a plastic piece of crap!"
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Robin tried his communicator, then growled in frustration when he realized that the EMP had fried it. He walked to the Batmobile and retrieved a new one.
"Robin to Cyborg, come in Cyborg." His lips twitched as he spoke his friend's code name, which Victor had come up with in a pie-induced high. He had such a way with computers, Vic had said, he wouldn't be surprised if he had circuitry in his system. And so the name stuck.
"Cyborg to Robin, hear ya loud and clear and dang I'm glad to hear from you! Are you OK man?"
"I'm fine, but that doesn't matter. Have you found Starfire?"
"No, but I'm getting there."
Robin exhaled through his teeth as he leaned on the large metal door, surveying the damage, "Please hurry Cy, I'm worried that she's-" He stopped in mid sentence as he stared, his mouth hanging open.
"Rob? Robin? Ya there?"
The Boy Wonder barely heard Victor's voice, all his focus was on the door to his right. A door that hadn't been there before. And it had the charred remains of a holo cube at the base of it.
"Don't bother with tracing Cyborg, I found Star."
"What? How di-" but he was cut off as Robin clicked the communicator shut, opened the door, and entered the elevator it revealed.
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Well, he didn't really enter the elevator, it was more like grabbing the doorframe and swinging up, kicking through the emergency hatch and up onto the roof in one fell swoop so as to avoid camera detection. Then hacking into said camera to scope out the area, then cursing when it was discovered that it only was connected to the ones related to the elevators, meaning only getting to see the hallways. After this, hot-wiring the lift into taking him to the first clear corridor was involved.
Not really typical elevator protocol.
The elevator stopped on Level 3, where he exited and slunk down the hall. He dropped down on the first robot he saw and quickly snapped its neck. A search through its belt compartment revealed a card key, which opened all the rooms he encountered. Twenty-three rooms later, he found that the level was all clear, so he opened the stair access.
A legion of robots greeted him.
He sighed tiredly, "I don't have time for this," and with that he turned around and closed the door behind him.
There was a brief silence, then all of the machines looked at each other in robotic-like confusion. All of their data, their programming, their artificial intelligence, had all come to the same conclusion: Robin never ran away from a fight. When faced with any weapon related to Slade, he would attack with no hesitation at all.
But just now, he didn't. The complex was so huge, it wasn't something the Slade-bots could comprehend. A few actually self destructed from the conflict of data and design.
Which would have amused Robin, had he not been in the air vent so as to escape the Slade-bots he met coming down the hall.
After returning to the elevator shaft, Robin tied a rope to a handy beam and started propelling. He headed down, where Slade would almost positively have Star, and along the way, he found the room that showed level maps and power grids.
Level 0.5's power chart was off the scale.
Robin activated the door with the card key and went inside, only to freeze. The room was poorly lit and the single footstep he had taken had echoed in the forbiddingly silent, and seemingly large, room. He was instantly tense and alert, eyes searching through the semidarkness. The hairs on his neck prickled, a sure sign that someone was watching him from behind, and he jumped forward, bird-a-rang in hand, turning just in time to see the spot where he had stood explode.
A familiar chuckle drew an icy way along his spine. "Your skills improve with our every encounter Robin."
The room's poor lighting found new strength and burst into brightness that made Robin blink and squint. Various gears and rotary vanes reminiscent of the inner structure of a clock came to life, the constant factor in all of Slade's lairs.
And Slade himself was leaning against a supporting beam above the heroes' head, looking as if he hadn't a care in the world.
Robin found the animalistic rage inside him begin to strain and chomp at its bit. "Enough of your stupid banter Slade, where's Flame?"
"Don't you mean Starfire, Richard?"
Robin resisted his urge to lunge. "Where is she?"
"She's having a little reunion, it would be best not to disrupt that. Besides, we have much catching up to do Richard. Or should I call you Dick?"
His control snapped. He gave himself over to the rage, red filled his view, and he knew no more.
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With a roar, he had a bird-a-rang aimed towards the villain's head in the time it took to blink. But Slade dodged it with his inhuman reflexes, and leapt down to the waiting Robin.
He dodged out of the way only seconds before the villain landed solidly, his fist leaving a deep rounded hole. Normally, he would have stood straight and flexed his hand with a sickening crack, but he had no time, because a green fist slammed into the side of his mask, which emitted a crack of its own.
Slade bounced along the smooth concrete floor harshly, quarter stunned at the change in his young enemy. Robin never fought so…dirty. Which he decided to comment on as he rose.
"Now Dick, that wasn't a very nice and honorable thing for a hero to do now was it?" His eye widened as he barely dodged another bird-a-rang.
"Screw honor, and screw you Slade. You crossed the line first."
Anger swept through the villain and he charged forward, delivering a strong punch to Robin's chest that made him stagger back a few steps, out of breath. Ire made his voice impeccably vicious, "But I thought that kidnapping and torturing your little girlfriend was what the villain was supposed to do."
He got into a horse stance quickly, lashing out with a No Shadow Kick, one of the fastest kicks he knew. He blinked and time stood still when he realized that Robin had caught it, looking murderous. Slade's mask was introduced once more to Robin's gloved fist and he fell back with a thud that turned into a slam when the Boy Wonder front flipped quickly and came down powerfully onto his enemy's chest.
"What are you doing to her?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Slade brought both steel toed feet forward and forcefully landed them on the back of his former apprentice's head.
Robin fell back, dazed, and Slade jumped up in one smooth motion. He saw the boy struggle to get up, but he didn't give him a chance to. Instead, he utilized a favorite attack of his, grabbing the end of Robin's cape and throwing him into a wall.
But Slade had underestimated Robin's recovery time, and the knowledge he had of his own habits. The Boy Wonder snapped from his fake stupor mid flight and hit the wall in a crouch, then sprung forward like he had been shot from a cannon, his shoulder making complete contact with Slade's chest. The villain fell much like a sacked football player, and Robin leapt clear before pulling out his bo staff and extending it.
Slade raised himself up again, lightly touching his chest and fighting the urge to wince, until spite blocked all thoughts of pain. He produced his own bo staff, and charged forward with a yell.
To describe the fight that had ensued, the blocks, the parries, the blows, would have taken too many pages of tedious fighting with neither Hero nor Villain gaining anymore ground than the other. But while Robin had youth and rage on his side, and Slade had incredible stamina and experience on his, both were still becoming equally tired, and Robin decided to end this battle that had taken too long already.
Blocking a blow, he bent backwards and threw Slade with all his might, who landed, catlike, on his feet, as Robin had suspected he would. But Slade found his stance broken as Robin spun with a roar, and his bo staff extended to a length Slade had never seen before it slammed into his ankles.
Robin grinned in triumph, throwing several explosive discs at his fallen enemy, and waited for Slade's demise.
But the electric disks merely clattered and skipped along the floor, like smooth rocks thrown at the beach.
Robin blinked for a moment, and Slade realized what had happened instantly. That EMP hadn't knocked out just his robots, it had also had diffused Robin's own bombs, which were electrically based.
With this in mind, Slade stood up, eye narrowed in gleeful menace as he held up a hand with explosives of his own, ones that worked.
Robin's mask widened as his eyes did, and his face said one thing: Oh crap.
Quite rightly, Slade thought, and threw.
He didn't manage to get completely clear, and the explosion sent him flying into the wall with a bang.
Which snapped the haze-like fury, bringing Robin and Richard back to the world.
But it seemed that the return trip wasn't fast enough, as Slade jammed a knee into his gut, then began to pound on him in earnest.
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Purple eyes glittered harshly as she watched her little sister writhe, then looked to the lever, which she had started pulling, therefore powering down the machine. Starfire slumped against her bonds tiredly in relief.
This was better than Sirulian Fear Factor.
"Why?"
Blackfire looked up uninterestedly from the readings on a computer, "Why what?"
Starfire swallowed, but there was no friendly saliva to soothe her throat; the machine had her severely dehydrated. But she spoke anyway.
"Why the Psions?" she rasped, "Why this torment? Why me?" Her eyes were dry with tears she refused to shed.
Blackfire's face grew hostile with recollection "Because, I very nearly ended up in the spot you're in now!"
"H-How did you accomplish that?"
"Well, while I was looking for you, I was in the Psionic quadrant, and I got caught by Yenler." Starfire gasped; Yenlar was a well-known Psion scientist and admiral. His fame, or infamy, rather, was based on the horrific experiments he conducted on any being he could capture, and he would routinely broadcast the procedure to all view screens his signal could reach. And his signal spread far. Worst of all, if he took a particular interest in one of his "test subjects," the atrocities reached levels that could make the hardest of hearted cringe.
The younger Tamaranian shuddered at the thought of her older sister at the hands of such a terrible man.
As if reading her thoughts, Blackfire smiled in fake comfort, "Aww, don't worry Starry, I didn't get hurt. You see, Yenler can be very reasonable." Starfire's shiver stopped cold as she considered what this meant.
"I told him about my little problem, and he was so sympathetic, he decided to make a deal. I get my revenge, he gets a live Tamaranian cadaver put into his newest toy, as well as all the data we acquire. Which is being sent as we speak."
Starfire had always held a certain pity for those who did bad things. When she looked at them, she only saw the tormented soul they had, bruised and broken by the cruel world they lived in. But now there were two exceptions. Slade, who's soul seemed as untormented as they come, and now her sister, who had betrayed her for the last time.
After all, even the kindest person's mercy can run out.
Rumaka fo kend'r scin Komand'r, acktw'n scin gezkah. X'hal fo nublat sync'sderar, she hissed, eyesgreen and unforgiving.
Blackfire paled and for once in her life, seemed at a loss for words. Her baby sister had just done something that hadn't been done in several decades: she had renounced Blackfire as her sister.
It was a legal right that royalty had, to sever the connection of any sibling they wished, and it was a serious action, done only when one heir had done what the other heir had considered unforgivable. Simply speaking, the two girls were no longer sisters in Starfire's eyes. She only saw Blackfire as an enemy, a traitor, just another person, and a terrible one at that. Such a declaration hadn't occurred since their great-grandmother's time, when her brother had killed their newborn baby brother.
She stared at the girl that had once been her sister and let memories of growing up together wash over her. And her face grew bland and jaded.
"Then I guess there's no reason for you to live anymore is there?" She savagely activated the machine, and turned it to its highest level.
Starfire's scream echoed throughout the building.
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Robin's head shot up, his bloodied face looking like he had seen death. "Starfire!"
He tried to rise, but failed and instead started crawling towards the area where the tortured scream had come.
But once again, the inescapable silver-gloved hand grabbed the front of his shirt and dragged him up to see the masked face he hated so much.
"You can't save her Robin, no more than you can save yourself. You had always worried it was going to end this way. How does it feel to know that it is? To know that you are no more than 100 feet from the woman you love, and you cannot save her? That she's going to die, and you can't do anything about it?"
A wholesome righteous fury cooked Robin's insides, and with a roar, kicked Slade in the knee with all the force he had. The nauseating sound of a bone breaking was heard, and the villain let go of him with a cry of pain. He fell on his good leg, clutching the other one desperately, and looked up to see a tattered green fist meet his mask. Another crack was heard, and it seemed that it was the last blow his mask could take.
The orange and black piece of metal clattered to the floor as the villain known as Slade disappeared, and a man fell to the floor, unconscious.
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Robin froze, arms still raised in front of him defensively, and the room was silent, save for his heaving breaths. Cautiously, he approached the fallen person and saw the face he had wanted to see for so long.
It was old. It seemed to belong to someone in their late fifties, maybe early sixties, with gray hair on his head and goatee, and heavy wrinkles carved into it. But it was a strong face, squared and determined, and he had a simple eye patch over the right eye, not quite concealing a long scar that reached to his cheek.
After all this time, all his obsessing, his research, his hard work searching, he now could see the man behind the monster.
And he had no idea who he was.
Robin almost felt like crying. Its not like he was expecting some "Luke, I am your father," type thing, but he had always believed that seeing Slade's real face would be more…exciting. Now, all he felt was empty, save a small bit of relief, of triumph, and he suddenly knew what the empty feeling was. It was closure, the end of a binding part of his life, and now he stood with his wings unclipped, uncertain of where to go.
And then all at once, he knew where. He was too old for Robin anyway.
Wordlessly, he picked up the fallen mask, and came forward cautiously, still wary of a trick. Stooping forward, he gently placed the mask back on his greatest enemy's face.
He'd get Alfred to help him with a new suit, something darker, he already had an idea in mind. And a new name was definitely in order, maybe something with "night" in it.
Straightening up, an enormous pain blossomed from the back of his head, exactly where Slade had kicked him. He briefly registered the metallic reverberations of a pipe against his skull, and all went black.
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"Robin?"
Star? That you? What's wrong with your voice, do you need water?
"Robin please…"
You sound worried, what's wrong Star?
"Please awaken Robin."
Huh?
Rob-"
"Its been 45 minutes Starfire, give it a rest."
Who's that?
"Agh!"
"Hold still, I'm almost done!"
"Well its about time, I was getting impatient."
Slade?
Consciousness came in a burst of light. He immediately squinted and waited for his eyes to get used to the sudden brightness.
Thanking the inventor of masks, he looked around without moving his head. To his left was Slade, single eye currently twitching in pain as a black haired girl with unsettlingly dark violet eyes was bandaging his leg. He took in the orange skin, small eyebrows, and Tamaranian outfit, and struggled to keep his breaths even. In between punches and kicks, Slade had said something about his replacement, looks like Star's sister now bore the title of apprentice.
It struck him that he had never found out her name, so he decided to call her Wench for now.
Wench stoop up, "That's all I can do, you're obviously going to have to stay off that leg until we can get you to a physicist. I still say we should go now, those two aren't going anywhere."
Slade doggedly ignored Wench and stood up, leaning heavily on a cane. "I'm not leaving until 'those two' are both taken care of. Robin's tricky, he could still figure out a way to escape despite my relieving him of his lock picks."
Well, that took care of that option.
"And with her here, I'm positive he would find a way. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't rip the chains from the wall."
"Oh please."
"Don't judge my former apprentice so soon Blackfire—"
Blackfire? But Wench was so much more fitting!
"—he's much stronger than he looks. After all he all but broke my shin in half." Slade walked--amazingly steady--farther right, just out of Robin's line of vision. "He must really like having you around my dear, I've never been kicked so hard in my life."
"It is as you stated, Robin is much stronger than you take him for."
Robin's heart leaped at the sound of Starfire's thin and croaking, but nevertheless strong voice.
"Well, lets see how strong he is when he watches you die."
Robin decided it was time to wake up. Unfortunately, an approaching Blackfire delayed him. She lifted his head up by his chin and she stared directly into his face. It took all his will not to flinch.
"Hmm, I can see why you like him Starfire, he is cute. I wonder what it's like to kiss him."
"You'll never find out." Blackfire dropped his head like he had burned her and Robin smirked at her expense.
Finally able to look around, Robin turned his head and saw his beloved at last. He gasped at what he saw. He felt his face drain of blood, and he turned deathly pale.
Her clothes were stained dark and in singed tatters, revealing a humiliating amount of skin, and her hair was matted into dried points from the same substance on her clothes. He realized with horror what it was. What they had done to her, it had made her sick, and when there was nothing left, she had thrown up blood. Her skin was the worst of all. The familiar healthy orange glow was gone, and it was replaced with countless burns that oozed with puss and juice. Her arms had dried blood from where the cuffs had cut her, and more dried blood was crusted on her temple and face. She looked emaciated and dehydrated, despite the fact that she had been gone for such a short time.
Robin nearly cried. How could they do this to Star? She was a good, gentle person. But he met her eyes, and his anxiety dimmed. They looked exactly the same from when he had last seen her, serene, beautiful, and sparkling, while her cracked bleeding lips curved into a weak smile.
And then the physical atrocities didn't seem to matter so much, and Robin smiled back. He had found his Star.
"You're finally awake Robin. Good. Now you can watch Starfire die." There was no mercy in Slade's gray eyes as he turned the machine back on, and turned the knob a quarter of the way.
Robin watched, unable to look away. Bright yellow rings of crackling light were created from the cuffs and shot through Starfire's limbs. They encompassed her entire body, and she writhed in pain, fighting against her bonds, gritting her teeth against the pain
He turned it halfway.
Star cried out, but her hacking coughs cut her off. Robin wanted to clap his hands over his ears, to scream, to somehow will Starfire's bonds to break and for both of them to escape; anything to keep from hearing those terrible retching sounds.
Three quarters of the way.
She shuddered and closed her mouth tight, eyes desperate, but magenta colored blood trickled from her mouth. The shudders kept on coming, one after another, until a violent one had pried her mouth open, and her blood poured from her mouth. She was crying now; horrid, racking sobs that had tears unmercifully evaporated before they could cascade down her face, and humiliation was plain in her eyes.
Robin heard someone screaming; it took him a few seconds to realize it was him. And that the wetness on his mask were his own tears.
All the way.
She started to smoke. No, he didn't mean just her clothes, or her hair, he meant that Starfire started smoking. Her soft skin developed furious weals and had the appearance of boiling under the monstrous power that was coursing through her. She screamed, answering his with hers.
Who knows how much time had passed, but to his horror, Robin noticed that her struggles were weakening, and the light was changing color as she tired. "No Star. Stay with me, STAY WITH ME!!"
Her eyes met his, now dry, all tears cruelly ripped away from her. They showed her pain, and her fight, and a terrible resolve to submit. "Goodbye," she mouthed. Her head hung impossibly loose, red hair forming a curtain between she and Robin.
"STAARFIIIRRRE!!"
The yellow light surrounding Star changed to green, and the machine's control panel surged with electricity. Blackfire cursed and shut it down.
"I thought you took care of that," Slade chilled.
His apprentice glared at him briefly, "I did too!" she protested before opening a panel and fiddling with some wires. "Stupid thing," she muttered, "just when it gets to the best part, it shuts down!"
Robin barely heard her, all his focus was on the dull red head in front of him.
"Star, Starfire," he called, "Wake up! C'mon Sweetheart please wake up!"
"Ah-AH-CHOO!!" An enormous green explosion buffeted them all. Robin grinned despite his hair, face, and outfit being covered in soot.
"G'luffnog," said Blackfire, looking dazed.
Slade seemed as stunned as she; "What just happened?"
"I'm not sure."
The two teenagers paid no attention, all their focus was on one-another.
Starfire smiled, "Robin."
"Star," Robin breathed as he took her in. Was it just him, or did her burns look a lot less irritated?
"I am grateful you came."
"Of course."
"How touching; it's a shame you have to leave so soon my dear." The machine started for a final time.
Robin barely suppressed his nausea as Starfire once more began to twist and flail in pain, and she screamed as burns blazed along her skin. But he spotted fighting determination was also etched into her contorted face.
It all clicked.
"Starfire, relax!"
Three pairs of eyes focused on him.
"Huh?" Blackfire summed up for all of them.
Robin only had eyes for Star. "Trust me," he mouthed.
Eyes clenched tight, the Tamaranian took a deep breath and let out all tenseness.
The yellow light instantly turned to a soft green.
Burns began to recede and heal.
Huge green eyes popped open in jubilant surprise.
Slanted purple eyes widened in shock.
Masked blue eyes grinned like a Cheshire cat.
A single gray eye narrowed in rage.
Slade had the cane to Robin's head in an instant.
Starfire's bosom heaved in fury, and the green light became more intense.
"Leave. Him. Alone!"
The bonds cracked and exploded. And Starfire rose to the ceiling, hands and eyes hidden with glowing green lights.
A barrage of emerald bolts rained down.
Blackfire was struck in the chest and into the wall, where she sank down, unconscious.
Robin's left shackle was hit, he pulled his hand free of the warped metal. He reached for a bird-a-rang, and cursed when he found his utility belt relieved of his weapons.
Slade was hit on his good leg, and he called for his robots, which arrived almost instantly.
Starfire chuckled and raised her fists.
Even though he was intent on removing his bindings, Robin couldn't help but stare as Starfire tore through Slade's mechanical helpers like they were tissue paper. One of them was making its way to him, laser cocked. A brilliant flash of green later, it was on the floor, decapitated.
He had always known that her aim would come in handy.
She proved his prediction true when she shot and disabled the call button on Slade's wrist, then sent another bolt to his head, sending him to the floor with a satisfying "clang." She remained in place, hovering and hands aglow as she took in the carnage.
"Starfire?"
The green light winked out and she spun around.
"Robin…" she lowered to the ground. Most of her burns were gone, her hair was restored to its normal shine, her eyes were vivid, still glowing slightly and panting with adrenaline. Her hair was still matted, and she still had dried blood and vomit on her, however, and her clothes were still…inadequately covering. Robin diverted his eyes from the highly enticing image. She had that warrior princess look going on.
A gunshot, however, retrieved his attention.
Emerald eyes bigger than he had ever seen; she touched her hand to her chest. The jewel from her neckplate was shattered, and magenta colored blood was gushing from it. She sank to the ground.
Blackfire laughed as she lay on her side, a gun that still smoked in her grasp.
A sound that could only be likened to a roar deafened her, and she looked to the side to see Robin hurl the chunk of metal that had been his left cuff at her with precise, deadly, aim. Her head fell to the floor with a hollow clunk.
With strength granted to the enraged and adrenaline rushed, Robin ripped his other shackle from the wall. He reached as far as he could and barely grasped a laser gun from a fallen robot and used it to open his leg bindings, screaming the name of his love all the while.
He sprinted to her and tripped on a severed automated hand, landing in something wet and cold and slippery. He looked at his hand, covered in the pink liquid.
Blood. Tamaranian Blood. Starfire's Blood.
He stripped off the piece of material and moved her hair out of the way gently. He put a shaking hand to her neck.
Nothing.
He pressed harder, no pulse, no beat, no reassuring "shomp thump." Something clawed its way from deep inside into his throat and erupted from his mouth in a loud wail.
Koriand'r, of Tamaran, was dead.
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Readers, start your Flamethrowers.
L8r,
SAT