The crack of a whip slashed across the back of Robin's calves. Hissing in pain, he rolled out of the way, only to be brought up short by the metal collar fastened around his throat. His head throbbed and nausea swirled in his belly. Disoriented and angry he went into a defensive crouch to get his bearings. Where was he? The last thing he remembered was...Starfire...
He stood in what looked to be a large arena. Hard packed yellow sand covered the floor, and rows upon rows of seats fanned out around him like a stadium, or more accurately a colosseum. In the center of the arena was a massive Gordanian. Metal spikes drove through his brow and nose, and a thick metal shaft protruded from his right shoulder with a thin coating of blood around its base, as if he had recently been in a battle and simply forgot to remove it. He leered at Robin and yanked on the chain connected to his collar. Robin, unsteady and still groggy, stumbled and fell face-first in the sand. The Gordanian dragged him so that the coarse grains rubbed his nose and cheeks raw.
"Others say you best fighter. I not see. You puny. You weak. You die fast." The Gordanian leered at him. Robin scowled and got back up.
"Where are my friends?" he demanded. His tone only made the alien laugh.
"I Gelzor. I your only friend now." He brandished his whip and sliced it through the air. Robin saw it coming and lifted his arm to protect his face. He'd faced off against Catwoman's bullwhip enough times to know how to defend himself.
The leather coiled around his forearm, and taking the big alien by surprise he hauled on it, jerking Gelzor to him. When the Gordanian staggered, Robin wound the whip around his throat and drew it taut until he heard the monster wheezing for breath.
"Let's try that again," said Robin coolly, "where are my friends?" He felt anything but cool. He was terrified. How long had he been there? Long enough for them to collar him and drag him to the middle of this stadium without him realizing it. What had happened to the others? Where was Starfire? Gelzor began to laugh, deep raspy chuckles that shook his massive shoulders.
"Yes, you good sport."
Before Robin could block him, he swung out one thick arm and took out both of his knees. Robin lost his grip on the whip, and Gelzor loomed over him, sneering. His thick elephant-like foot slammed into Robin's side, taking the air out if him. Gelzor raised his foot to stomp and Robin rolled clear.
"You please Majesty good."
"Where are they?" Robin gritted out. He didn't want to delve too deeply into the implications of pleasing this thing's monarch. "Where is Starfire?"
At the mention of her name, Gelzor stopped and tilted his head to the side. His snout twitched.
"Majesty pleased with return of prize. Majesty want. Majesty play." Robin's insides turned to lead. Gelzor's limited grasp of English left plenty of room for interpretation, enough room for acrobatics that would make a Flying Grayson jealous. His legs were like jello, his side hurt from the kick he'd received, and Gelzor was nearly three times his size, but he had to get free. He had to save Starfire, find the others, and get out of this place.
Gelzor yanked on Robin's chains again, dragging him forward. Robin did a spinning kick that struck the alien square in the jaw and whipped his head around with an ominous crack. Gelzor didn't make a sound. He dropped the chain and reached up to touch his jaw. The line do his chin was broken now. Robin could clearly see where the underlying bones had snapped. If he was in pain, Gelzor ignored it completely. Robin backed away, sizing the monster up and trying to find his weak points. A fractured jaw ought to have done more than merely impress him.
"Save strength. Fight soon. Majesty want watch."
Over Robin's dead body would he fight to entertain these creatures. Narrowing his eyes, he sized up his next move. He took a running start and flipped head first over Gelzor's head, wrapping the chain around his throat once more. When he landed, he slid between his front legs, dragging his face down into the dirt. There was no more length of chain to give out, and Robin nearly strangled himself as the chains snapped taught. Using his feet against Gelzor's hide, he pulled. Gelzor snorted and wheezed, reaching around blindly to stop him. Veins stood out in Robin's neck as he pulled with all hs might, Gelzor thrashed, but after what felt like an eternity, his flailing limbs grew weak and his huge body stilled. Shaking with adrenaline, Robin twitched the lock pick loose from his gloves and got to work on his collar. He didn't check to see whether Gelzor was dead or alive.
With a grunt of relief, he tore off the collar and tossed it at Gelzor's body. It made a dull thud as it struck his hip. Now to find the others, but where to even begin looking? Quickly, he patted himself down to make sure he still had his gadgets he was pleased to see that his bow staff had been left along with his utility belt. The Gordanians had underestimated him if they thought taking his grappling gun had completely disarmed him. That would probably prove problematic later, but he would take what he could get.
Robin started running for the nearest doorway. He held his bostaff ready in case there were more Gordanians lurking just around the next corner. Assuming that the gladiator vibe he was getting proved true, he decided to move toward the lodging area. Perhaps, like him more of the prisoners had been brought to provide entertainment for the Gordanians.
There were cells beneath the stadium. All manner of strange aliens were locked within. They regarded him with their strange eyes as he passed. Some grew excited, sensing that he was a prisoner that had managed to free himself. He hurried past them, not wanitng to draw more attention to himself. It would only be a matter of time before someone either found Gelzor or he woke up and raised the alarm.
Something brushed against his ankle, and with a small cry of surprise, Robin spun his staff to bat it away.
"Ouch!" Beast Boy appeared in the tunnel, sitting on his behind and rubbing his head. "Dude, what was that for?"
"You know better than to sneak up on me," said Robin, unrepentant. The changeling had learned that lesson the hard way. Robin prided himself on his situational awareness. Beast Boy had taken that as a personal challenge, appearing just outside bathroom doors and underneath chairs and couches to see if he could scare him. The one time he'd been successful was in the days following Starfire's discovery that the Gordanians were behind the abductions. Preoccupied with wondering how she was dealing with the threat of her old enemies still lurking somewhere close by, Robin had gone for a walk to clear his head and Beast Boy had grabbed him from behind. The same reflexes that grabbed Beast Boy's hand were the same ones that saved him from a broken wrist when Robin realized who had grabbed him.
"I was trying to be stealthy. I thought you knew I was there," Beast boy complained.
"If I'd known you were there I would have said something. How did you find me?"
"I followed you. When they boarded the ship I hid in the air ducts and hitched a ride on one of their helmets when they dragged you and Starfire off."
"Where did they take her?" Robin asked immediately. Beast Boy shrugged.
"I don't know. I followed you.
"What happened to the others? Raven? Cyborg? Kid Flash?"
"Dude, I told you I don't know," said Beast Boy, annoyed and a little chagrined. Robin hit back a frustrated retort. The changeling had done the right thing by sticking with him. Now they could work together to form a plan.
"How long was I out?" he asked softly.
"About an hour I guess." Beast Boy's shrugs were starting to get on Robin's nerves. He needed concrete answers. Batman would have had his head if he'd ever been so unobservant during a mission. Together, they continued through the maze of gladiator lodging. They found more prisoners, but fortunately none that looked as though they originated on Earth.
"Robin, how are we going to-?"
"We'll think of something," Robin interrupted. He had no idea how they would transport everyone back to Earth when they found them.
"You told Flash to wait twelve hours before he alerted the Justice League. They'll find us!" Beast Boy was excited. Robin gritted his teeth at the thought of waiting on a rescue from someone else. He was a hero, he didn't need saving. He want desperately to find a way out before the League turned up-that is if they turned up. He sighed.
"Beast Boy, the only reason we found Starfire was because Raven was able to follow her spirit's signature. We didn't have coordinates or a direction. The League won't know where to look for us."
"They'll find us," said Beast Boy with blind conviction. He needed to believe a rescue was coming Robin realized, and he didn't have the heart to take that away from him yet.
"Come on. We've got to keep searching."
"Robin, what if...what if they hurt them?" Beast Boy's voice wavered with fear. Robin closed his eyes. It was the last thing he wanted to picture, but Beast Boy went on, "I mean Cy should be okay, but what about the girls? Starfire's already in pretty bad shape, and Raven... She hates when people touch her. What if..."
"Heaven help them if they try it," said Robin darkly. He still wasn't entirely clear on how Raven's powers worked or what the source of her magic was, but there was something dark that lurked just beneath the surface with her, something she kept tightly under lock and key. He suspected whatever it was was the reason she kept herself so far removed from the rest of the team even when it was obvious that she wanted to join in and enjoy herself. He wasn't afraid of darkness. Batman had broken him of that. But anyone that got on the wrong side of Raven certainly should be. Starfire was power personified, but Robin suspected that Raven was a force of nature. The thought of what she might do if these creatures laid a finger on her made Robin quicken his pace. They were running out of time.