Teen Titans: Revenge of the Joker

Chapter 21: Getting Closer?

Author's Note

This chapter is dedicated to AutumnNights, because she gave me wonderful, evil, torturous ideas for the first part of this chapter! :D Enjoy guys!

He had kept his promise…. Every day, he stopped by that prison cell, far beneath the surface of the Earth, to question the former HIVE headmaster. Still, he had no answers. But now, he had new questions to ask.

The door slid open, and the hyperactive cheerfulness of "It's a Small World" greeted him, blaring throughout the small prison cell. Cyborg grinned, a little maniacally, as he looked in. Brother Blood raised his head as the robotic hero entered, sharpie marker doodles covering what little skin that made up his face, a big pink tutu fastened around his waist, and the most awful glare ever piercing from his eyes.

"Turn… that… blasted… music… OFF!" the villain squeaked over the music, his voice still high and girly. It sounded almost like one of the Chipmunks.

"I like it," said Cyborg simply, with a smile. "It's happy and cheerful. Maybe it'll help you see the light."

"All it's doing is making me despise you more and more."

"Well, it's not going away," said the Titan, stepping up to the prisoner and crossing his arms. "Unless you talk."

"I already told you, I don't have any answers."

"How about some new questions?" Cyborg asked. He leaned with a shoulder against the wall, staring at the villain with intensity. "What do you know about the Joker?"

"The Joker?" The villain wrinkled his forehead over at the Titan in a frown. "He's one of Batman's old buddies. Why don't you ask Robin about it?"

"I can't," said Cyborg darkly. "Did he have any connections with you and the HIVE Academy?"

"You can't?" repeated Brother Blood with fascination. He tilted his head up a little, eyes sparkling. "I see… he's missing, isn't he?"

"Answer the question…" Cyborg growled, lifting his arm and flipping open the computer encased there. "Or it's Teletubbies time."

"The Joker had no connections with us," the villain spoke up quickly. "From what I understand, he doesn't keep connections with anyone for very long. Except that girlfriend of his."

"How do you know that much about him?"

Brother Blood raised his eyebrows. "Everyone does. Or, everyone should." He threw Cyborg a scolding look.

"But he didn't have any connection with you and the HIVE Academy?"

"Never. Why? Are you saying he's the new headmaster?" A strange smile adorned the villain's face. "Well, I have to say, if anyone should take up my reigns, let it be him."

"Why do you say that?"

Blood's eyes flashed with a wicked sparkle. "He knows what he's doing," he said simply. "I feel bad for my students, though… the Joker probably won't let the lot of them live."

Cyborg's spine tingled with premonition. "Is he that nuts?"

"He's a lone wolf. Doesn't care about anything or anyone. Just wants to watch the world burn." A smile played the criminal's lips. "I kind of admire him for that."

Cyborg frowned down at the villain.

"You're not telling me everything…"

"Yes, I am." Blood spat. "I've answered your questions to the best of my ability. Now would you TURN THAT BLASTED MUSIC OFF?!"

Cyborg looked around, then back at the villain.

"I'll be back tomorrow. Then we'll see."

"ARGH!"

Cyborg stepped back through the sliding doors, that chill lingering in his spine. He sighed deeply and looked up towards the ceiling, a silent prayer flowing through him.

Please, let Robin get through this alive…


It was dark… she slinked through the hallways, trying not to make a sound, hoping the others were fast asleep. She hated having to sneak around, but she still felt as though the others didn't want her doing this. And since their main commlink computer was in the same huge room that the kitchen, the sofa, and video games shared, she had to wait until the middle of the night before the Tower system told her the room was empty.

All the same, as the big doors of the common room slid open with the hiss of hydraulics, she peeked her head cautiously in to make sure there really was no one there. Her heart thudded in her chest as she cleared the doorway, it crashing shut behind her. She spun and pressed a finger to her lips at it, a little jumpy. After a long moment, she tiptoed into the room, watching the computer with a strong sense of purpose.

"Sorry, Sparky," Bumblebee whispered as she sat down in the chair nearest to the big computer, pulling on a set of headphones and pressing a button on the keyboard. "Just don't hate me for this…"

The screen flickered and buzzed to life, burning her retinas after her trek through the dark corridors of the tower. She allowed her eyes to adjust before getting to work on the keyboard, typing in special codes and addresses from memory. Finished, she looked up at the screen, her heart still thumping hard in her eardrums as a huge image of the Earth spun before her, with a telephone before it dancing and ringing, as the satellite connection established, working through to its destination. She absentmindedly fumbled with her golden wrist cuff as she listened to its digital ringing, trying to will away the butterflies in her stomach.

And then, the ringing stopped, and there was a beep.

"You have reached the Justice League," said a very authoritative voice. Bumblebee hung her head heavily, pressing a hand to it. It was their voicemail. It was the last thing she wanted. She chewed on her lip as the rest of the greeting played, debating whether to leave a message, or to hang up and try again soon. The recording was ending, instructing her to leave a message. A loud beep sounded and Bumblebee straightened herself quickly, the camera playing. It was too late to not do it.

"Justice League – this is Bumblebee of the Teen Titans." She took a deep breath, drawing herself upright, trying to look authoritative and serious. "I am trying to get in touch with Batman. Robin has gone missing. He's been missing for over a week now. The others don't want me contacting you guys but I believe we need your help to find him. Please, contact me as soon as possible. Thanks."

A shaking hand clicked the keyboard, and she gave a shuddering breath. That was far more nerve-wracking than she had expected it to be. She had been a superhero for awhile now, but the idea of talking to heroes like those that made up the Justice League… it still managed to make her a little starstruck. She swallowed, her throat dry, knowing that she would get caught when the League contacted her back, but she didn't care. She had taken an important step towards finding Robin… there wasn't anything more she could do right now…

As she stood up and walked away from the computer, a strange shudder passed through her. She turned, furrowing her eyebrows at the computer, and then shook her head. She was tired. It was long past midnight… she needed to sleep, and worry about Robin, the Titans, and the Justice League in the morning….

"…Please, contact me as soon as possible. Thanks."

Gizmo smirked at the recording, and then looked at the other HIVE members standing behind him.

"Altogether with me now," he said, turning back and reaching for a big round button. "One, two, three—"

"DELETED!" they all chorused together.

"Beleted!" chirruped See-More with a laugh. Everyone glanced over at him with puzzled expressions, except for Gizmo, who scoffed with a dismissing hand wave. "It's an internet thing," he explained to the others.

Insanity…

It gripped the boy like a vice… His mind was in shambles, his body and soul disconnected as laughter ripped through his broken, tortured body.

To Raven, it felt as though it wasn't Robin at all… he was barely there…

The young teenaged girl sat secluded in a dark guest room of the Titan Tower East, having instructed the others not to interrupt her. It had taken a great amount of her dwindling strength, and far too much time, to make her way back through the dark, difficult maze that disrupted her powers, to find Robin again, and took nearly the rest of her energy just keeping her focus on him. Something, something unseen, kept trying to rip her away… and the insanity, the distance, all of it constantly threatened to break the connection… and if she wasn't careful, she could easily slip into insanity, the same as him….

She had to hold on tight… she had to help him… if she didn't… Well, she didn't want to think about what would happen if she didn't…

A gas… that's what the file said… a laughing toxin…? Once she felt steady, felt like she wasn't going to lose him, she slowly probed into his poor, wrecked body with tendrils of thought, traveling into his chest with her powers, sensing his lungs, going as deep as his blood stream, feeling for something that shouldn't be there… a toxin… a poison…?

And then, she felt it, a strange chemical lacing Robin's bloodstream.

And she focused.

Another long span of time passed as she concentrated…. She lost track… it could easily have been an hour or two. She focused everything she had, all her powers, all her energy, even her very soul, into destroying the toxin, cell by microscopic cell…

Robin's laughter slowly fizzled away as the toxin within him was gradually broken down… instead of laughter, hard, gasping breaths tore through his tired chest, his body in shock from the attack…. But his mind was returning….

Raven felt the exhaustion of her own mind and body beginning to take hold as Robin grew stronger. She struggled to stay with him, to pull him to the surface of sanity, to buy him some more time so they could get to him…

…the connection was slipping…

…her mind was slipping….

The next thing she knew, she was lying on the ground of the Titans East Tower guest room, barely conscious, sweat coating her skin. She swallowed hard, the whole world feeling like it was spinning.

But Robin was okay….

"He's okay," she whispered out loud, as though to reassure herself that he was, before drifting off into a deep trance. She had to recharge her energy. So she could help Robin again… He would probably need it soon enough…

A/N: Just read and review :)