Chapter 16
"Titans, go!"
The three Titans who had just arrived didn't need an explanation. They heard Robin's shout and instantly reacted. The hoard of robots started towards them, and the Titans did anything they could to take them down. Robin moved back to let Cyborg go in front, and he grabbed Raven, pulling her back with him.
"Raven, I need you to locate Slade. He has Starfire, she's severely injured!"
Raven's eyes widened before she disappeared without a word. Robin rejoined the two boys in their fight, but they all knew they were heavily outnumbered. Beast Boy morphed into a gorilla and bounded through a load of the robots, sending them sprawling. Luckily, no more were coming in through the doors, meaning the ones that were throughout the tower were there to attack on sight rather than search and destroy. Robin looked at Cyborg who was blasting a group of robots that had gotten behind them. "Cy, EMP."
Cyborg lowered his cannon and shook his head. "It's not been tested yet."
"I don't care. Just do it. We need to be free to search the tower. Starfire's life is on the line!"
Cyborg hesitated, but the look on Robin's face swayed his decision. He wasn't sure what had happened, but Starfire wasn't here at the moment, so she needed their help. Without a second thought he held his arm out, playing with some buttons before activating his new EMP. All at once, the robots in the room fell to the floor.
Raven reappeared in her room. She immediately floated, her eyes turning white. Her mantra escaped her, and she focused on Starfire. Usually, Starfire's aura gave off joy, affection, and a hint of pain from her past. Now, however, it gave off pain, and fear. Raven focused on that fear, following it as it got stronger through the tower. Down the corridor. Through the door to the stairwell. Four floors down so far. Two auras. Hers, and his. Got it.
Without hesitating Raven appeared back on ops. She grabbed the three boys and brought them together, before they were enveloped in her powers and deposited in a hallway somewhere in the tower. "Slade's in the stairwell. Two floors up and on his way down. I don't know if there's any robots with him."
"There will be some on this floor somewhere, maybe even waiting in the stairwell already." Robin stared at the door to the stairs. Calculating their next move. "Beast Boy, I need you to separate Starfire from Slade. Turn into something small and easily hidden. If there are robots we need to deal with, get yourself onto her, until you find an opportunity to get her away from him. Raven, open a portal to the ocean. Cyborg and I will do our best to get any robots into the portal and out of the way. We need to be quick, I don't know how much time she has left."
Robin moved over to the door. He could hear heavy footsteps on the other side, getting louder with each step. Holding his hand out to the other three, he counted down from five. Beast Boy disappeared, and Raven and Cyborg took a fighting stance. At one, Robin opened the door. He was met with a dozen or so robots waiting, and Slade's form retreating down the stairs.
When the door opened, Beast Boy crept along the floor as a mouse, fast enough to avoid being stepped on, before bounding to the stairs and jumping at Slade's back. Mid flight, he turned into an ant, and weightlessly latched onto Slade's uniform. Crawling around, he perched himself on Slade's shoulder, so he could see when Slade might be alone, and readied himself to attack.
Looking down, Beast Boy finally saw the extent of Starfire's injuries. There was a gaping wound on her shoulder, that had been bleeding heavily. He wasn't sure if it still was, but the blood had covered most of her uniform. Even though she was wearing her armour, the blood had spread across that, drying on the surface. Her breathing was slow and shallow, and she was trying her hardest to keep her eyes open.
Slade continued down the stairs, his goal to get out onto the shore where a boat was waiting for him. Unfortunately, he had expected that he would be out of the Tower before Robin had been freed from the hold the robots had on him. The lower levels, while they had been breached, were clear. He had ordered his robots to slowly make their way up the tower to where Robin and Starfire would be, just incase she had managed to escape him. Beast Boy noted the lack of robots, and took this as his opportunity.
Without warning, a green velociraptor grew on Slade's shoulder, knocking him to the floor and holding him down. Starfire fell out of Slade's grasp, grunting as she hit the floor. Her eyes caught the green creature and hope hit her. She had help now. Slade was already recovering, pushing himself up. His strength countering that of the weight of the dinosaur on his back. Beast Boy also realised this, and he shifted into a cheetah. Starfire struggled to move over to him, blasting Slade with an eye beam and down a level of stairs. With great difficulty, she pulled herself onto the cats back, and Beast Boy bolted through the nearest door.
While he was running Beast Boy made sure Starfire wouldn't slip off his back. She didn't have the strength to hold onto him as tight as he would have liked. He took a few turns, trying his best to make the route more difficult to follow. When he was sure they were safe for the moment, he gently slid Starfire from his back, and turned back into himself. He found they were on the training level. Which meant that the rooms here would be filled with lots of things to hide among. Opening the door next to him, he picked up his fallen friend, and closed the door behind them.
Inside the room, which was actually Robin's gymnastics room, Beast Boy saw the crash mats piled up in the corner. He moved over to them, and placed Starfire gently down upon them, hoping the soft surface would help ease her. As he let go of her she put her hand on his arm, halting his retreat. "It's okay Star, I'm just gonna go block the door. I'll be right here."
His heart broke for her, she was fighting so hard to stay conscious that she couldn't bring herself to speak. Beast Boy pulled away from her and moved to barricade the door with some of the heavier equipment. Pulling out his communicator, he pressed his distress button, hoping to alert the other Titans to his location. When he was done with his task, he moved back over to Starfire and sat next to her, his hand grasping hers tightly.
"I'm here for you Star. Don't give up just yet. Robin and Raven and Cy will be here in no time. You've just gotta stay awake okay? Just focus on me, and don't fall asleep. Cause if you fall asleep it might be harder for Raven to wake you. And she won't be long so you just gotta keep yourself awake." He was babbling. Hoping that the sound of his voice would keep her eyes open. That she would use his voice to latch on to and keep herself awake.
"I know this morning was difficult Star, and I said some things that I know made you feel super guilty. But I only said it because I was frustrated. You're one of my best friends Star, and I don't wanna see you hurt. But I don't care that you lied Star. Really I don't. I forgive you, and I'm really sorry I yelled like I did. Maybe if we hadn't have taken it all to heart so much, you wouldn't be hurt right now."
Starfire groaned a little and shifted, her eyes locking on to his as best as she could muster. He smiled at her and squeezed her hand. "Hold on Star, just a little longer."
At that moment, Beast Boy's ears pricked as he heard a faint sound. A high pitched beeping, coming from down the corridor. He quickly pulled his communicator from his belt, flipping it open. "Guys, I need help here!" He didn't get a response, and his heartbeat quickened as he listened to the beeping get louder. A tracker, most likely. Turning to Starfire, who was slowly losing her battle with consciousness, he looked at her body armour for a place where Slade might have hidden a tracker on her.
Behind him, he registered the sound of Raven teleporting into the room and relief flooded his body. "Rae! She's slipping! I can hear the sound of a beeping coming from down the corridor and I'm worried it's a tracker, but I don't know where to look!"
Raven moved over to them, and examined Starfire before her eyes flashed white for a brief second. "Oh, Azar!" Raven's face turned grim. "There's something metallic in her wound... I think that could be a tracker... the problem is I can't heal around it, but if I use my powers to pull it out I might cause more damage to her shoulder..."
"So what do we do?!" Beast Boy turned to face her, his features notably filled with grief, but before Raven could answer the door exploded, sending the equipment used to block it across the room. Raven instantly threw up a shield to block the three of them from the shrapnel. When the dust settled, Slade's form filled the doorway.
"I think I've had enough of hide and seek. Time is running out for your friend. She's dying. You either get out of my way, or you risk her life."
Raven scoffed. "I could save her if you'd leave her alone!"
"She's lost consciousness."
Raven and Beast Boy turned to their fallen friend to find that her eyes were closed and her breathing was alarmingly shallow. As Raven moved towards her, she felt something hit her neck, causing her hand to fly up the the offending article. What ever it was, it stuck fast, and she couldn't pull it off. She turned to Beast Boy who was similarly holding his own neck. At once they both turned to Slade who was now holding a button in his hand.
"Now, I could ask you again, ever so politely to move, however, I doubt you will. So you either get out of my way, or I click this button and you feel the wrath of electricity." He lifted the button up slightly to back up his threat.
Raven reacted swiftly, bringing her hand up to try and remove the button from Slade's grasp, but he was ready, and expected such a move. Before she could even think about doing it, a sharp pain ran from her neck and spread across her entire body. Over her own grunting to keep the pain at bay she could hear Beast Boy shuffling trying to shake off his own discomfort. In an instant, both Titans hit the ground. Out for the count.
Slade dropped the button, stepping forward and over his fallen foes. His goal just a few steps away. He looked over her as he watched the blood drip from the mats she was laid on. A poor sight to behold from the warrior she had been nearly a year before. His warrior. His weapon. He had been so close, and yet the Titans had once again evaded him. Not this time. This time it would be fool proof. This time, he knew how to break them. Slade let a small smile grace his face as he slipped his arms under the deadweight of Starfire and lifted her up. "We have a lot of work to do my dear." And just like that, he was gone. Out of the door and out of the Tower with his Prize.
XXXXXX
A few floors up, Robin had a robot pinned to the wall with his bo staff. The two were struggling against each other, the robot pushing back with all its might. Robin gritted his teeth and grunted as he put more effort behind his attempt, so when the robot stopped struggling, he yelped as he fell forward and into the wall just beside the robot. As he turned to try and attack again, Robin saw the back of the robot retreating down the corridor, along with the others that had been there. Confused, Robin took to his feet and followed. As he got to the end of the corridor, he met up with Cyborg who was also following some retreating robots. They both looked at each other in complete wonder before they turned to see the enemies exiting out of the nearest windows.
"Man, what are they doing? Did we win?" Cyborg scratched his head and looked to Robin who couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.
"No. Slade never runs from a fight. Try getting Beast Boy on comms. I'll try Raven." Robin pulled out his communicator and called for Raven. "Raven... Raven... I need your location. Raven!" Robin's heart sunk in his chest as he realised his teammate wasn't going to answer. He looked up to Cyborg who was shaking his head after getting to response from his friend.
"I'll track them." Cyborg set to tracking the communicators, as Robin tried once again to reach them. "Scan says they're in your gymnastics room, both of them."
Robin didn't want to ask, but his rising panic made him, "Star?"
Cyborg just shook his head slightly. "Her tracker isn't active."
With a sharp intake of breath, Robin bolted into the stairwell and down the stairs as fast as he possibly could. He could hear Cyborg bundling after him but didn't want to wait for him to catch up. When he recached the desired floor, Robin nimbly jumped past fallen enemies, not caring that his footing was off and that he nearly fell a few times in his haste. He could see from a few metres back that the door to the gymnastics room had been blown off. Surprisingly he slowed down just before reaching the doorway. He took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was sure he already knew. But maybe she would be there. Maybe Raven and Beast Boy didn't answer because they were tending to her and she would be fine in a few days. Safe if nothing else. But he knew in his heart that it wasn't the case. He knew that Slade didn't order a retreat because he had wanted to just walk away.
Robin turned into the doorway and took in the sight before him. Broken metal from the doorway scattered across the room. A few pieces of equipment had been thrown in the blast. His two teammates were laying still on the floor where they had fallen. But all Robin could focus on was the pool of blood that was still dripping down the crash mats.
"Oh god no." Cyborg pushed past him as he realised his friends were injured. He made his way over to Beast Boy, rolling him over into his back. It was enough to snap Robin out of his frozen state, and he was quickly beside Raven, also moving her onto her back. "Raven." He gently patted her face to rouse her. Her eyes flickered open and she groaned before sitting up out of Robin's grasp.
"Robin, what..." she looked round to see Beast Boy moving about as he came to. He eyes met the button on the floor and she brought her hand up to her neck. This time the device easily came loose, its purpose fulfilled. She looked at the offending item with disgust, before crushing it.
Cyborg did the same with the one Beast Boy had. "BB, are you okay?"
Beast Boy didn't answer, he just looked up at the crash mats, and the blood that marked them. He looked at Raven who caught his eyes, she moved hers to Robin who sighed. "What happened?"
"I tried to get to her to heal her, but he just threw those at us and electrocuted us without hesitation. I was out before I hit the floor. I'm so sorry, Robin. I..." her eyes filled with tears in a display of emotion any of them rarely saw.
"Don't apologise, this isn't your fault." He helped her to her feet. She could feel his emotions flying off him in waves. She wanted to tell him that it would be fine, that they would get Star back. That they would find her and defeat Slade. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Because even she didn't want to hear it at the moment. Raven knew in that moment, that the four people in this room felt more defeated than they ever had. What an awful day. First they had to deal with their friend who had basically lied to them over the last few months, and now this. It was too much for one day.
"Come on," Cyborg helped Beast Boy to his feet. "Lets go to ops." He shuffled to the door where he helped Raven through. Robin sighed and turned to follow before realising Beast Boy hadn't moved.
"Beast Boy? Are you okay?" Robin moved over to him and the both fixated on the same spot.
"That's a lot of blood Robin... I tried so hard. I did like you trained me, and I took the most complicated route to ensure Slade didn't find us. But he had a tracker... I'm sorry... I wish I could have saved her but..."
He was silenced from his babbling as Robin placed a delicate hand in his shoulder. "I know. It's not your fault Beast Boy. Slade is always a few steps ahead. He plans for everything. Come on, let's get you cleaned up." Robin pulled Beast Boy away from staring at the blood stain, coaxing him out of the door. Wordlessly they helped each other over the mess. As they made their way down the corridor, they both noticed a pile of yellow on the floor. Robin bent down to pick up the pieces before sighing and dropping them. "Star's communicator." He stepped over the mess and pulled Beast Boy with him.
When they reached ops, Cyborg was sat at the computer as Raven sat at the table with her head in her hands. Beast Boy went over and sat next to Raven, who felt his gaze and met it. They shared a small sad smile, before their hands met under the table. She gave his hand a small squeeze, and they sat in companionable silence. Robin moved over to Cyborg how was tapping away at the keyboard.
"What are you looking for?" Robin leant over his shoulder to see.
"Checking the cameras, they had to have left the tower some way."
"Cy..." The defeated tone in his voice caused Cyborg to turn to him. " We can't follow them."
"Rob... you don't mean that. We can't just let her go! This is Slade we're talking about. He's got our girl, he's going to turn her into a monster again! Raven, help me out!"
Raven appeared behind Robin with Beast Boy at her side. "Actually, I agree with Robin."
"What? Am I hearing you right?!" Cyborg couldn't quite believe what his friend were saying to him. He looked round them as Robin ran a hand through his hair. Cyborg wasn't sure, but he thought Robin looked like he wanted to cry. Usually Robin was the first to anger, and would get frustrated and offensive. Never did he see his leader looking so vulnerable. It wasn't a sight Cyborg wanted to see often.
"I know what it sounds like." Robin's voice betrayed him slightly as it cracked. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "Starfire is dying Cy. There was so much blood. Slade impaled her with two swords, and that was over an hour ago. The rate she was losing blood, she wouldn't have survived much longer. If we go after them, if we fight, she will lose her battle before Raven has the chance to heal her. As much as it pains me to say it, Starfire's best chance now, is with Slade." He felt the bile rise in his throat as he said it.
Robin couldn't look his team in the eye anymore and he turned away to look out over the ocean. "He will make sure Star survives. I just don't know what else he's going to do to her. All I do know is that the next time we see her, she won't be Starfire anymore."
