Chapter Fifty-One: Life As We Know It
A few weeks later, the alarm woke the Titans up at midnight. Em was the first to arrive in front of the screen in the main room. "This is not good…" she breathed.
Robin burst into the room, Starfire at his side. Em assumed they had been together, but now was not the time to ask. She turned around and looked at them. Robin and Starfire froze upon seeing the look on her face. Fear? Anger? Worry? It was hard to tell what she was feeling.
"Two prisoners got sprung," Em said.
"Which two?" Starfire asked warily.
"Blackfire and Silver Bullet."
Robin and Starfire both gasped. Raven and Beast Boy entered the room, followed by Cyborg. Robin filled them in.
"I doubt it was a coincidence," Cyborg said.
"Definitely not. Someone has a plan. We just need to find out whom," Raven replied.
"I have a hunch," Robin said darkly. He pointed at the video feed of the two empty prison cells on the screen. He enlarged a corner of one of the cells. Burned into the floor was an angular black 'S'.
"Oh no," Em gasped.
"This just got worse," Starfire said worriedly.
Robin turned and looked at each of the Titans. "Guys, life as we know it is about to change."
The Titans spread out across the city to search for any sign of a new lair. At four in the morning, they regrouped at the park. Nobody had found a thing. Robin began giving out new instructions, but all six of their communicators started beeping. They all opened them and saw a familiar face.
"Hello Titans. I hope I didn't wake you," Slade said, sounding slightly amused.
"Slade. What are you planning?" Robin snapped.
"I'm not going to tell you that easily, Robin," Slade replied. "But I will introduce you to two new friends of mine."
He moved away from the screen. Standing behind him were a boy and girl, a little older than the Titans, wearing black and orange uniforms. One had silver wings over his ears. The other had violet eyes.
"Meet my new apprentices," Slade's voice said.
"Blackfire!" Starfire gasped.
"Silver Bullet," Raven growled.
"I see you've met," Slade stepped back into view.
"Yeah, fancy that," Em grumbled.
"Touchy touchy Emily," Slade said.
Em glared and swore at him. Robin shot her a warning look while Beast Boy and Cyborg tried not to laugh.
"Was that really necessary?" Blackfire asked mockingly.
"I think so," Raven replied, smirking. Robin silenced her with a look too.
"Well Titans, if you feel confident enough to exchange banter with my apprentices, then you must be confident to face them when the time comes. Good luck, Titans," Slade said, cutting off the transmission.
The Titans all looked nervously at Robin. He didn't seem very happy with Em and Raven's little act.
"Could you trace it?" he snapped at Cyborg suddenly.
The android jumped. "Uh, nope. He covered his tracks a little too well," Cyborg replied warily.
"Then we'll spread out, search again. I don't care if it takes all-" Robin was about to snap, the Titans could tell. So Starfire hushed him by placing her fingers over his lips. He looked at her questioningly with an impatient sigh.
"May we please talk for a moment?" Starfire asked worriedly, not waiting for his answer and pulling him away from the others slightly.
"What's wrong?" Robin asked quickly, looking around as though expecting to see Slade.
Starfire watched him sadly. "Do you not see what you are doing?" she asked.
"I don't know what you're-" Robin began, but he stopped. He was doing it again. He was getting obsessive again. He looked at his feet and opened his mouth to say something, but he couldn't think of anything to say. He felt Starfire's fingers beneath his chin and she tilted his head up so he was looking at her.
"Robin, you do not need to ask for forgiveness. You do not need to apologize. But you need to stop acting as though we do not understand," Starfire said, soothingly but seriously. "We want to bring Slade to justice. But we need you to trust us. Please do not try to take this burden upon yourself."
"But…" Robin began, not quite knowing what his argument was.
"If you will not do this for yourself, will you do it for me?" she asked quietly.
Robin looked into her eyes. She was dead serious. He knew she was right. He nodded. "I promise," he said quietly.
Starfire smiled and kissed him lightly. Robin smiled a little in spite of himself as she took his hand.
The Titans had, of course, been listening to the entire conversation. "Oh she's good," Beast Boy said, impressed, as Starfire pulled Robin back to the group.
