Teen Titans: Be Gentle With Me

Author's Note:

Oh hey! Lookie here! It's a chapter!

After three…

Freaking…

Years…

Okay, so, there are three reasons I took so long to update this. First: animation school was an unrelenting beast. Seriously, no free time. Second: I kinda sorta got friendzoned by a bisexual guy with a boyfriend… kind of makes you want to stop writing boy-on-boy anything for awhile…. And third…. well…. do you honestly know what made me stop writing this fic in the first place?

THOSE GODDAMN SONG LYRICS!

I STILL haven't decided what to do about them, so you know what? Fuck em. They don't matter. The story matters. So let's just get a muthafukkin chapter up! Let's get this shit done. Let's do it.

Now, there's a chance that you had this on email alerts, and it's been 3 years and you can't remember what the heck this story is about. So, you know what? Do yourself a favor, and go back and refresh your memory. It's okay. I'll still be here when you get back. I promise this time.

I'm three years out of practice, so I hope I can deliver. I've tried writing this chapter so many times you guys. So. Many. Times. I really hope it was worth the wait…

DISCLAIMER: This chapter contains some very sensitive scenes, which could be triggering or traumatic. Yes, it gets graphic, the most graphic this story has gotten so far. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Chapter 14: The Way They Look At Me

It was a trap.

It was, and he knew it. The bait was set, the rope was tied. Slade was simply waiting out of sight for Robin to make his way under cage, before pulling the cord and claiming his prize.

He's going to take you. Violate you. Rape you.

But what choice do I have…?

He may just kill you.

He may kill him if I don't…

Feet sloshed clumsily through the water in the disused utility tunnels that led to Slade's hideout. His fingertips grazed the wall beside him, as though reassuring himself it was there, just in case his knees gave out. He felt weak because he was still recovering, he told himself. His body was still bouncing back from a near drug overdose… he still had injuries from what Slade had done…

He was only too aware of the bandages. The healing S scratched into his back. A sickening mark of Slades territory.

What makes you think you stand any sort of chance against Slade like this?

He may kill him… I have to try…

He picked up the pace. Time was running out. He dropped down into a large, dark chamber. Around a corner. Ducking under pipes. He tried to hurry, but his aching body was slowing him down.

Faster…

It may already be too late.

He slunk through the winding caverns. He knew his way far too well, he realized. He could almost hear those grinding gears of Slade's hideout. Could almost see that piercing eye…

He tried not to think about any of that.

Just think about saving Wally.

As he grew closer to his destination, something caught his attention, and he staggered to a halt. He forced his rasping breaths to stillness, straining his ears to listen.

A sound just ahead. It was quiet, almost imperceptible. But Robin knew it. He knew that sound. That low, primal grunting. Slade's grunting.

All the blood drained from his face, and his knees buckled.

I can't do this, he thought, fingers sliding down the damp wall as he sank to his knees slowly. Oh god I can't do this…

But then he heard a weak, strangled cry.

Wally…

Desperation pulled him back to his feet, clutching the wall with his whole body trembling. Wally was still alive. Oh god, he was alive. He wasn't too late.

But his feet wouldn't move.

Oh god please move…

"Robin."

Slade's voice echoed through the chamber, as though coming from every direction. Robin felt trapped by it, consumed by it. It almost drove him to his knees again.

Wally's voice gave another frail cry, following Slade's voice through the speakers.

"Come on, Robin. You've come this far. Finish the journey, or I will end him."

Robin swallowed hard. His voice sounded pathetically meek in his own ears.

"Please Slade… let him go…"

"Fulfill your part of the agreement, Little Bird."

Those words on Slade's tongue felt disgusting. Robin forced himself forward. The pathway reached an entrance. He stepped over the threshold into Slade's lair. Out of instinct, he pulled his bo staff from his belt.

There was no one to greet him this time. Slade's big throne-like chair was empty. The screens were turned off. But the sounds still echoed everywhere. Robin staggered into the room, spinning, trying to figure out where they were. Where the noises were coming from.

"Slade! I'm here! I've done as you asked. Now let him go!"

The noises vanished, leaving Robin standing alone with the loud churning gears. Then, a sudden light blinded him a moment. He turned toward it, and gasped, falling backward.

Slade had appeared on the collection of screens taking up most of the main wall of the room. He was exposed, menacing, that eye somehow knowing exactly where to look to stare right at Robin through the camera and screen. His hand, still gloved, clutched the matted red hair of a teenaged boy, holding him up off the ground.

Robin gaped in horror. If he hadn't known better, he wouldn't have recognized the other boy. Wally's superhuman metabolism had wasted his body away in just the few days he'd been missing, leaving his body gaunt and skeletal. Enormous expanses of bruising and blood littered his skin, indication of damage far below the surface. Wally hung limp against Slade's grasp, struggling for breath. If Slade were to let go of his hair, he would completely collapse.

But it was the familiar S-shape cuts on Wally's chest and stomach, crusted with red blood and infection, that made Robin's insides twist and churn in disgust.

"Smile at the camera, Kid Flash," Slade purred in a dangerous voice. Wally trembled, gritting his teeth. Slade threw the speedster hard against the console the camera was connected to, causing it to shudder. "Here he is Robin. Your precious beau."

"Let him go, Slade!"

Wally struggled a moment, then grabbed at the camera. His face took up most of the screen. His blue eyes were framed with red, wide and wild with desperation. "Robin, no! Run! Just run! Don't let him-ARGH!"

"No!" Robin screamed.

Slade twisted the knife in Wally's shoulder, causing the redhead to scream louder. Blood was already coating his arm. Some of it splattered on the camera lens. Slade dragged Wally's writhing form away from the camera, and looked over his bleeding shoulder at the camera with a lustful gaze. "Go ahead, Robin. You're welcome to leave. However, you can see that this knife is imbedded three inches from his carotid artery. You step out of that room, and I will sever it. He will die in minutes."

"What do you want, Slade?!"

"I've already told you Robin." Slade slowly drew the knife from Wally's arm, causing the boy to collapse on the table in a huddled mess. The knife gleamed in the camera as Slade leaned closer. "I want to make you suffer. Now, you will stand there, Robin. And you will watch. You will watch everything."

"No…" Panic clutched him and he staggered backward. His shaking hand lost his grip on the bo staff, causing it to clatter on the floor. "Slade, don't do this…"

But Slade simply grabbed Wally, pressed the knife to his throat and positioned himself. He hesitated, throwing Robin a knowing look.

"Don't look away."

He thrust forward. Wally cried out, fingers clutching the table in front of the camera. Robin sank slowly to his knees. He couldn't move. He couldn't breathe. The sights and noises strangled him, threatening to suffocate him completely.

He didn't look away. He didn't even blink.

There was nothing else he could do.

He was at Slade's total and complete mercy.

Robin tried to focus on Wally's hair. The red locks, the way it fell on his forehead. He tried not to pay attention to anything else - Slade's movements, the pained looks on Wally's face. Somehow, Slade seemed to sense him doing this. He violently grabbed Wally by the hair, pulling him upright so his back was pressed to Slade's chest, his head next to that mask. Robin couldn't stop his gaze from shifting to Slade's deadly stare.

"Beg for his life, Robin."

Robin gritted his teeth. "You disgusting pig…"

Wrong answer. There was a snap and Wally emitted a grating scream, causing Robin to cry out.

"Try again, Robin," Slade said dangerously, dropping Wally's broken finger and grabbing another. He snapped it like a twig, and Wally twisted against it, trying desperately to free himself. Robin watched with mouth aghast as Slade went for the third.

"Stop it! Please!"

"I knew you could beg…" Another snap. Another scream. Slade's eye fell closed a moment as he adjusted himself under the writhing redhead. "He feels so good when I do that."

Robin shook his head in disgust, his breaths shallow and painful in his chest as he forced himself to stay where he was. "You're a fucking psychopath…" he managed to hiss.

"Yes, I suppose that's true." Slade's voice was growing more and more husky, his mask nuzzling Wally's neck, as though he were sniffing him. "I have to admit, I love this, Robin. Taking what little joy you have left… and destroying it… Defiling the one you love… right in front of you…"

"Stop…" Robin whispered. "Please."

"Beg harder, Robin…"

"For the love of God, Slade! Just let him go!" Robin gasped without being able to stop himself, as Wally's head fell limp, rolling on his shoulders with the force of Slade's thrusts. Slade snapped a hand to clasp around Wally's neck, choking him.

"Keep going, Robin…"

"Stop! Just stop!" Robin was screaming now, eyes wide in horror. He couldn't control it. His mind was failing, lost to panic and despair. He wasn't sure how he was still standing, his whole body trembling violently. "Slade, don't- Slade! Please!"

"Louder!" Slade barked. He was moving in earnest now, his fingers clenching around Wally's neck so tight, he was bruising it.

"Stop! Oh God, just stop! Slade! I can't… Slade!"

"I can't hear you Robin!" Slade barked, panting and thrusting.

"I - I don't - I - God Slade, just - let him go - LET HIM GO! OH GOD, PLEASE!"

"Once… more…!"

"SLADE! STOP! LET HIM GO! LET HIM GO!"

"THAT'S IT ROBIN!"

"SLADE!"

Robin broke apart. His knees slammed hard to the ground, a scream of desperation and anguish ripping through his vocal chords just as Slade reached his own climax. Both of their cries echoed through the cavernous chamber, mixing and rebounding against each other until finally, they petered out and vanished, leaving a strange, empty stillness behind, broken only by the sound of machinery.

"…That's my boy…"

A/N: So, that's where I'll leave the story for the NEXT three years… *dives under desk as a barrage of sharp pointy objects flies over her head*

…okay, even I'll admit… that was mean of me. ;)

Actually, to sooth your worries and woes: I have more written, and more planned, but this seemed the best place to cut the chapter off for now. This sweet, sweet cliffhanger.

I quickly wanted to say a huge "thank you!" to all of you guys who have reviewed and PM'd me begging for updates to this story over the past few years. Those little reminders helped fuel the backburner of my mind this story was set on, so it never really fizzled out. Somehow, recently, a fire lit under me to write again, and I'm so glad I was able to finally get this story going again. So thanks!