Chapter 9
Back at the Batcave, Bruce and Starfire set to work. She was sat at the computer, bringing up various camera feeds and blueprints of the facility where Slade was being held. He was suiting up, making sure he had everything he needed in his belt. Starfire watched Slade intently, just the sight of him should have made her feel uneasy, but it just didn't. Because she was so sure it wasn't him. But then, the idea of Slade being free made her feel far worse than uneasy.
Placing a headset on, she turned to Bruce who had just pulled his cowl over his head. "I am all set."
He moved over to to the computer and had a quick look at what she had done. "Perfect. Now remember, this needs to be precise or we'll get caught. Don't worry about the hacking being traced, nothing can get back to this computer. So do whatever you need to do to open those doors. I'll be there in 10 minutes, so be ready." Batman swooped out before she could respond, and she turned back to the computer to concentrate on her tasks.
The first obstacle they had in their mission was getting Batman into the building. It was heavily secure. Armed guards, cameras, heat sensors, infrared lasers, and even more than that. However, since Slade was moved there straight from ICU, his security had openings, as they allowed doctors in to check his healing wounds. Batman found that the easiest way in would be through a window in one of the offices. They were less secure as prisoners had no access to them. Still, they would have alarms though, so Starfire would need to turn it off.
As Batman was making his way to the facility, Starfire set to work. They would save time if she was able to hack into the system before Batman got there, and just turn the alarm off when he was ready. Unfortunately, that's not what happened. Starfire clicked away at the keyboard, accessing the security servers and breaking down every obstacle that came her way. Really their security was very good, even against hackers, but she had been taught by the best.
Until she hit a particular block she couldn't break, and she hadn't seen it particular block showed itself as D.S. Not that she had any idea what that meant. But she couldn't break it. Batman grunted in her ear.
"Window. Now."
She panicked a bit, attacking the block with every scrap of knowledge she had on hacking. "I cannot. There is an unidentified block in the system that did not flag up when we previously looked!" Never mind break the block, she couldn't even find out where in the facility's system it had come from.
"There are no unidentified blocks. I found every one. I'm sure of it. Let me look."
Starfire transferred the information to Batman's remote console and waited for his input. It was quiet for a moment, her anxiety growing. This was a foolproof plan. In and out, no one gets hurt, no one gets caught. Batman had mapped a route, and showed Starfire how to hack all their systems and security. Batman should be halfway to Slade's cell by now.
Then, all at once, every alarm in the faculty went off, before the entire place went into a blackout. "What has happened?!" Starfire tried to access the camera feeds but nothing worked. The entire system had failed.
"This isn't good. Someone was waiting for us. Someone has remotely hacked into the system but waited for us to break down the barriers for them. We essentially gave them an open door to the facility's whole mainframe." He cursed under his breath. Starfire couldn't help her heartbeat rising.
"So what do we do now?"
"Shut down the hacking programme and delete any evidence that we have on their security. The league will be informed about this by now, so we need to play dumb. No doubt Robin will be in touch with you soon. I'll wait nearby. Clark will want to meet me here. As soon as I know where Slade is, I'll let you know. Leave the cave, but do not leave the Manor. Slade doesn't know you're in Gotham, if he is free, I'd like to keep it that way."
"So I was mistaken. It was Slade in that cell." She cursed herself.
"I'll double check. If he's gone, we can only assume that he has someone waiting on the outside for him. They must have been waiting for us to break in, so they could help Slade break out."
She dropped her head into her hands, her anger bubbling over. "So Slade has been one step in front of us the entire time. I was so worried about him being free, I have managed to aid his escape!"
"Don't panic yet. Do what I said, and go upstairs. Clark is in touch with the Titans now, so Robin will wish to talk to you. Feign ignorance. You don't know anything about this. Tell him I got a call out, but that you didn't know what it was about. That way he'll think I didn't want to worry you, and I can investigate properly without suspicion coming our way. Besides, it might help if Clark was snooping around, he might be able to find Slade before he gets too far. Now go, before we get caught." He cut the communications, probably so he could speak to Clark who was no doubt telling him to get to the facility as soon as possible.
Starfire did as she was told, and begrudgingly made her way back to the Manor. She was sulking, and panicking. How could she have walked into this? Slade had predicted her moves and used her and Batman to free himself. She wasn't sure whether to burst into tears, or tear apart everything she saw.
Trudging out of Bruce's study, she closed the door behind her and started making her way to the kitchen where Alfred would be. He had decided to stay out of this, not wanting to get between anyone when or if Robin found out. Before she made it there though, she heard a door slam behind her and heavy footsteps. She turned, panic setting in, but ready. One hand lifted, star bolt at the ready, and her feet braced.
Logically, Slade wouldn't know to come to the Manor. Sure he knew who Batman was, but as Bruce had said, there was no endgame for Slade if he revealed it. Still, she was spooked, she couldn't help it. Without thinking about who it could have been, as soon as she saw a figure turn the corner, running as fast as they could, she shot off a starbolt. It wasn't until the bolt left her hand that she recognised the green, red, and yellow. Really, it was a good thing Robin's reflexes were so good. He clocked the bolt coming for him, and skidded as he pulled his cape around his head and ducked. There was no time to dodge it but he could brace himself against it. He let out a grunt as it hit his shoulder and he was sent onto his back.
Starfire started at him in shock as he lay there, his cape sprawled across his torso. He took a moment to compose himself and then sat up to stare at her in return. "What was that for?!" Okay so he exploded a bit more than he wanted to, but he was panicked, and stressed, and that hurt quite a bit.
"My apologies Robin!" She ran to him and helped him to his feet. "You frightened me. Bruce is out, and I was looking for Alfred. I knew there was no one else here, and I certainly did not expect it to be you."
"Starfire I could have been anyone. You just fired a pretty powerful shot at me." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Did Bruce say where he was going?"
"No, he just said he had to go check on something. He did not say what."
"So you don't know then..." he said it to himself rather than to her. "Starfire..."
"Robin, what are you doing here? I was about to call Raven." She hoped she was playing her part well enough, and she was glad he'd not asked her further about why she shot at him.
Robin sighed, he grabbed her hand. "Star, there was an attack at the facility where Slade was being held."
She pulled her hand from his grasp and covered her mouth. Play the part. Don't get caught. Robin stepped towards her and grabbed her elbows, his touch soft. "They can't find Slade."
Starfire pulled from him completely, curling in on herself and cursing in Tamaranean. Robin could see her getting more and more agitated and his heart went out to her. He moved over to her again and brought his arms around her. She struggled in his grasp but he refused to let go.
"Star, calm down. I know this isn't good, but you need to calm down. Please." He moved to grab her shoulders and forced her to look at him. She had tears in her eyes, and she herself was surprised to find they were real. She had an idea Slade was free anyway, but the knowledge that he actually was... and that it was her fault... she crumpled. Fell into Robin's embrace and latched onto him, her tears spilling over. He tightened his grip around her and let her cry.
Starfire could feel Robin stroking her hair, and it calmed her slightly. She pulled back slightly to wipe her eyes and compose herself.
"Don't worry, Star. The League is already there, that's where Bruce went. They're searching for him and searching for whoever helped him."
"He was helped?" She tucked her hair behind her ear, hoping to portray complete innocence.
"Yeah, it all happened so fast, I got a call from Superman to say that there had been a blackout in communications from the facility, and he managed to contact someone who said their whole security system had gone down. I don't know the details yet, but Superman said it looked like it was hacked from an outside server. When Bruce gets back, we'll know more."
"If He has someone working for him, that means my assumption the it was not Slade in that cell was wrong. Which also implies that whoever is working for him was no doubt the same person who frightened me with those unusual S shapes."
Robin's eyebrows knotted together. "Actually, yeah. You're probably right. If the league can track the signal that hacked the facility, we might be able to find out who it is, but there's nothing we can do until we hear back from them."
"Robin, if this hacker, and the person who frightened me are the same, surely it must be someone that Slade has been in contact with since before he was imprisoned. If he has been incarcerated this whole time, he has no way of contacting anyone on the outside."
"Yeah probably, but like I said until we know how it was hacked we-"
"Robin we have all of Slade's data from before he was incarcerated. Surely there will be something in those files somewhere to indicate who might be helping him."
Robin stared at her sceptically, and she realised that was was probably acting out of character, but hoped he would put it down to her being frustrated about Slade's release. "Star, those files have been scoured by the League, they would have flagged something up."
"Possibly, but Robin-"
"Starfire please. Stop." He knotted his eyebrows at her and grabbed her hand again. "I get it, you're frustrated, and frightened, and you feel like you need to be doing something to help. But the league have got this. Let them deal with what's gone on today, and when Bruce gets back, we'll talk to him and see where we go from there."
"But,"
"You need to calm down. You've had, what i can only assume was a long day, and with this on top, you need to relax. Come to the kitchen with me, I'll get us some drinks and you can tell me about how your appointment went." He went to pull her towards the kitchen but she resisted.
"You are being hypocritical Robin. When Slade was after you, you did not sit back idly and do nothing."
"No. You're right, I didn't. And look where that got me." He was hurt by her words, but he understood what she meant. Still, that didn't make it right. "I ventured off on my own because I thought no one could help me catch him. I thought I was the only one who could bring him down. No one else had to get hurt. And what happened? I ended up hurting the people I care for most, you almost died, and Slade nearly ripped us apart from the inside. I was stupid to try and take on Slade by myself. Which is why I'm letting the League take charge on this. He managed to control you completely, Starfire. Slade literally has the power of mind control. As much as I think we're capable, the Titans can't deal with this by ourselves. Let the League bring us the information they find and then we can start investigating."
Starfire sighed in defeat and allowed Robin to coax her towards the kitchen. Surprisingly, Jason was sat in there with Alfred. "Dick! What are you doing here?"
Alfred looked up from his cleaning and shot him a confused look. "Master Dick, I wasn't expecting you."
"No, we've had a little hiccup..." he pulled a chair out for Starfire and made her sit. "Slade escaped."
Jason swivelled to look at Starfire who was staring at the table in front of her. He restrained himself from making a comment about how awful that was, they were well aware how awful it was.
"Well," Alfred ceased his cleaning. "I see no sense in sulking until Master Bruce returns. I'll make some drinks."
Robin gave him a grateful smile and took a seat next to Starfire. "Star... look at me." He coaxed her head up to meet her eyes. "It's alright. It's not ideal. But we'll get him. I promise you." He stroked her face gently, and she leaned into it.
"Robin, I-" she was interrupted by both of their communicators going off. Robin snatched his from his belt and answered it. Cyborg's face appeared on the screen.
"Rob, we need you man. It's the H.I.V.E, we can't do this with just three of us!"
Robin was instantly out of his seat. "Why now?! Tell Raven I'll be ready in one minute." He cut the call and turned to go to the door, back to the cave where Raven would collect him.
"Robin, I can..."
"No. Stay here." And he was through the door before she could protest.
She sighed and set her gaze back on the table. But... Robin was gone... which meant he couldn't stop her from looking through those files... without a word to Jason or Alfred, she darted out of the kitchen and back into Bruce's study where his computer stood. She knew this computer connected to the cave computer. You just had to know how, and luckily she did. She found the files in no time, and with a brief thought as to wether Robin and her friends were okay, she set to reading.
XXXXXX
In Jump City a few hours later, the Titans were clearing up the mess left behind from taking on the H.I.V.E. Robin was collecting a few birdarangs he had launched at Gizmo that had embedded into the floor. The stress of the days events had gotten to him and he slumped on the pavement as he pulled the projectiles from the concrete. Starfire drifted onto his thoughts and he sighed. Really, he did understand. That need to do something. He had felt that need firsthand, but previous encounters with Slade told him that the Titans needed all the help they could get.
As he pulled one of his birdarangs from the floor, it snapped and shocked him. In a rage, Robin threw the offensive weapon across the road and watched it shatter. Bruce would be so disappointed with him, letting his emotions get the better of him like this. And just like that, as if he knew, Robin's communicator went off again, this time from Batman. "What?"
"Don't be rude. I just got back from the facility." He pulled his cowl down as he spoke. Obviously he had quite literally just got back.
"Right, so what happened?"
"Will you be back at the Tower soon?"
"We're nearly done here I think, twenty minutes, thirty tops."
"Have Raven come and collect Starfire and I when you're done. I have a lot to tell you."
The call was cut off and Robin just stared at the screen. With Bruce being so short with him, it meant it was bad news rather than good. Still, any news is something that could help them. Shoving his communicator back in his belt, he stood and called Raven over. "Need you to go pick Starfire and Batman up when we get back." She just nodded as Cyborg and Beast Boy joined them.
"Soooooo... can we go now?" Beast Boy looked tired as he leant against Cyborg.
"Yeah, let me just collect the rest of these, and we'll head back." Robin moved back into the road to finish collecting his weapons.
"Sweet! Hey Cy, think you could beat me at- ow!" Beast Boy stopped talking as something hit him in the back of the head. "Not cool Raven! I didn't even do anything!"
"That wasn't me." She moved round him to pick up a small metal ball that was rolling around. "It was this. But I don't know where it came from."
Robin rejoined them, focusing on his belt rather than his friends as he spoke. "Right lets go back. I want to shower before they get there." He looked up to see that none of them had listened to him. Spotting the ball, he moved in closer. When all four of them were gathered round, it beeped and then a hologram emerged from it.
"Hello Titans." Robin gritted his teeth so hard and his hands balled. "As much as I'd love to chat, this is pre recorded so don't waste your time. Thanks to your little hacking trick, my acquaintance was able to shut down all the security, so I suppose I owe you my deepest gratitude. I'm sure we'll be seeing each other very soon, but I hope you understand that I'm not quite up to full strength yet. In any case, it has come to my attention that my weapon can no longer fly. While she has conscious thought, that is. So I'm giving you a fair warning, I'm coming to remedy that. After all, what's the fun in the chase if you don't have to run? I'd like you to remember Starfire, what I said that day. I'm coming for you."
