A note from the author:
Over 1,000 views...this...this is surreal. I never dreamed Trigger would get this far. Thank you so much to everyone who's read the story so far. :) Love, Undiscovered
Chapter Fourteen: Some Questions and Fewer Answers
The first thing Trigger was aware of was the pounding in his head, a dull but heavy throbbing that pulsed in time with his heart, and that was quickly followed by a much sharper throb in his leg. He kept his eyes closed, reaching out with his other senses—he was strapped down at the wrists and ankles, with one strap over his chest and another securing his hips, and the bands were almost tight enough to cut off circulation. There was no way he was getting out of these by squirming, that was for sure... His gloves were still on, making it harder to determine what sort of surface it was pressed against his back, but from the subtle ache against his shoulders and back, he suspected that it was metal or cement.
"I don't care who that kid is, bringing him here was a big mistake," Cyborg growled from nearby, and Trigger nearly opened his eyes but caught himself just in time; if they thought he was still unconscious, they might keep their guards relatively down.
"We made a promise!" The green kid retorted sharply, the faint rasp in his voice making it easily identifiable. "Robin was bad enough, but after what happened to Terra we swore we wouldn't let Slade get anyone else!"
Robin? The kid in the mask...what do you mean, he was bad enough? And Terra...the Titans have a personal connection to her and by an extent, so did Slade...
"I know what we said, but this guy is too far gone," Cyborg retorted. "He doesn't want to leave Slade: we should give him that! Let him wreck his own life!"
"Why are you so opposed to trying to help him?" Robin asked, his tone more reasonable than those of the other two.
"Does he look like he wants our help?" Cyborg demanded.
"Raven, what do you think?" Robin asked. "You can monitor emotions."
"To some extent," Raven replied dryly, and Trigger recognized her voice as that of the girl in the blue cloak. "He's definitely doing this of his own will, if that's what you want to know; there's nothing coercing him."
"Nothing magical, at least," Raven corrected. "We know that Slade is a master manipulator."
The word made something uneasy squirm in Trigger's stomach, but he squashed the feeling and strained his ears, listening hard.
"Please," said the high voice of the redhead. "I don't want to see another one of my friends turn to stone."
Terra turned to stone, Trigger thought.
"That boy in there is not our friend, Starfire," Cyborg responded, his deep voice almost agitated. "We don't even know his name!"
"We cannot let it happen again!" Starfire protested adamantly, and Trigger imagined her stomping a foot to emphasize the point.
"It's not likely to," Robin said, breaking the silence that had begun to stretch. "If he had any powers, he would have shown them as soon as we attacked—there are five of us and one of him, and with our range of abilities, not even I would bet on those odds, and Slade doesn't take stupid kids."
Smart boy, Trigger thought bitterly.
"Terra couldn't control herself, and that's how Slade got her," the green kid acknowledged, his voice losing its anger and becoming so profoundly sad that Trigger almost felt sorry for him. "By offering her control...but in the end, she let her power tear her apart, and turned herself to stone..." Even though the Titans clearly knew the story, strangely enough none of them objected to having it told again.
Turning herself to stone suggests she had some sort of geological telekinesis, Trigger suspected. I don't see electricity or water control having that type of effect. The ability to move the very ground she stood on, if indeed that's what she can—could—do...that's formidable. If Slade said he could teach her control, does that mean that he has powers I don't know about? If he wants me to become as versatile as possible in combat, surely he would have come at me with more than fists? His thoughts raced so quickly that they drowned out the Titans' rising voices until the door to whatever room he was in was opened so quickly that the handle bounced against the wall.
"He is scared, not dangerous!" Starfire declared, a small whoosh of air signaling her flight into the room. "Did you not see the way he looked at us?"
"Fear makes people do very dangerous things, Star," Cyborg said ominously.
"She has a point," Raven said slowly, and Trigger forced himself not to clench his hands into fists as she pulled off one of his gloves, her fingertips cold against the back of his hand. "Look at his knuckles," she said. "Look at these scars." She ran her fingertips along the bones. "He's been punching a lot of things with unprotected hands."
"So?" Cyborg asked. "Lots of teenage boys use punching bags."
"Punching bags aren't meant to leave marks like that, though," Robin observed.
"Life on the streets?" The green kid asked.
"Doesn't have the look," Cyborg said shortly. "Someone's been taking care of this kid."
Trigger couldn't hold his silence anymore and opened his eyes, making Starfire jump back in surprise. "Taking care of me?" He repeated with a high and mocking laugh, unlike any sound he had heard himself make before. "If only you knew that half of it, gearhead!"
"So enlighten us," Robin said, crossing his arms.
Trigger raised his eyebrows and smirked beneath the mask that they had thankfully left on. "I very much doubt that you're interested in tragic backstories," he said coldly.
"We can make yours less tragic," Robin offered.
Trigger gave another laugh, but this one was dead-sounding and mirthless and he struggled to keep his composure—frankly, just knowing that he was capable of making that kind of noise scared him enough to make his hair stand on end. "Do tell me how you plan to do that," he replied, "because really, I would love to hear it."
"Do you have any idea how dangerous Slade is?" Robin asked. Trigger noted that his tone was guarded and carefully polite.
"You think I don't?" Trigger countered, careful not to reveal anything that might give them the upper hand.
"We think you're..." Robin paused to find the right word and Trigger narrowed his eyes as he realized just how carefully diplomatic he was striving to be.
"Crazy," the green kid mumbled, and Raven jabbed him in the side with her elbow. "Ow!"
"Misled would be better," Robin said, frowning at his teammate.
"No, that's where you're wrong," Trigger said, wishing that he could square up to the spiky-haired punk and salvage at least some of his dignity instead of being forced to glare at him from the half-reclined metal table. "You seem to be suffering under the delusion that we'll have a nice talk, discuss this situation calmly, and I'll just turn my back on the man who saved my life and join your little tights-wearing band of teenagers with their heads stuck up their asses."
"The only reason Slade so much as looked at you is because he wants to use you," the green kid growled.
"Is that what happened to Terra?" Trigger arched his eyebrow coldly. If he pushed, really made them mad, they could become careless and reveal more than they meant to—or they could seriously hurt him. "He used her? Sounds to me like he offered her a pretty good deal. Taught her to control her powers, got her away from pricks like you..."
"Shut up!" The green kid lunged, his eyes blazing so ferociously that Trigger half expected him to transform and rip his head clean off his shoulders.
"Beast Boy!" Robin lunged and put himself between the shifter and the captive. "Do not touch him," he growled, his voice very low.
"How can you just stand there and let him say things like that about Terra?" Beast Boy demanded, his hands clenching into shaking fists at his sides. "Did you even care about her?"
Yes, Trigger thought, grateful that his mask hid his smile. Yes, let them fight with each other like dogs over a bone...get them angry enough so they don't notice me getting out of these straps. He began to tense and relax, tense and relax, trying to subtly loosen them without drawing attention to himself.
"Of course I cared about Terra!" Robin was saying. "She was part of the team! She sacrificed herself to save us from Slade—do you think I don't remember that?"
"Then act like you do and protect her memory!" Beast Boy shot back.
"Fighting isn't going to solve the problem we have now," Raven cut in. "We need to figure out what we're going to do with him." She tilted her hooded head toward Trigger, who narrowed his eyes. He was trying his hardest to look intimidating, but the pain in his leg that had resulted from Cyborg wrenching it back so mercilessly was beginning to build into a more and more terrible climax; he felt like he was going to vomit.
"And we shouldn't discuss it in front of him," Beast Boy spat.
"I don't get to have a say in my own fate?" Trigger raised an eyebrow.
Cyborg turned to him, his single red eye glaring brightly. "No," he said coldly. "You don't." The Titans turned as one and stalked out the door, leaving Trigger alone with his pain and his ever-multiplying questions.