{(Chapter 7- Two Choices)}
The next morning, Robin woke up to find himself sprawled out –in a very uncomfortable position- over the living room couch.
I must have fallen asleep while Raven, Beast Boy and I were talking last night… ugh… I'm gonna be so sore…
He lazily rolled himself over… and accidentally fell off the couch.
Thump!
Robin was still too tired to acknowledge the pain shooting up his back. He groaned quietly, and lay there for a couple moments, savoring the few minutes of quiet he'd get today. However, it didn't last long.
"Hey, dawg…" He heard Cyborg's yawning voice at the living room's entryway. "Yo… you awake yet, Robin?"
Still too tired to reply, Robin let out a small groan in response.
Cyborg smirked and turned his gaze on the couch. "Hey, BB, you awake to--…. Whoa…………"
"Huh? What is it, Cy?" Robin asked.
"…………….."
Robin -curious to see what had left Cyborg speechless- lifted up his head, and craned his neck to look up at the couch.
He saw Raven first. She was slumped over the side of the couch, her head rested peacefully on her arm. Beast Boy was laying surprisingly close to her. In fact, his neck was perched over her shoulder, and his mouth was an inch away from her cheek. The rest of his body was comfortably on top of hers, his arms wrapped around her waist, and his legs were arranged with one on each side of Raven.
Robin was positive that the two had not fallen asleep in that position, and had probably subconsciously wrapped themselves together in their sleep.
But, while the logical side of his mind was registering these thoughts, the more primitive half of it was making his eyes widen in shock. He quickly put his hand up over his eyes, trying to block out the picture.
"Argh!! BAD mental image!!!"
Cyborg got over his shocked trance, and started to laugh at the situation. Robin shook his head, still mumbling that that was NOT a picture he'd have chosen to wake up to.
All the noise was more then enough to wake up both Beast Boy and Raven.
It took the two a few moments to fully wake up, and access their situation. When they did, the two were off each other in a fraction of a second, both blushing profusely.
Cyborg was still cracking up. He eventually calmed himself down enough to say, "Sorry to wake you, BB. Ya seemed to be enjoying yourself."
He cracked up again when he saw Beast Boy's face flush deeper in embarrassment. Raven's cheeks were turning pink, but her voice was calm and sharp.
"Cut it out. That was not what happened."
Cyborg stopped abruptly. But he still shook his head in amusement.
"Whateva… I'm glad to see your up, by the way."
Raven nodded, the faintest traces of a smile pulling at the edges of her mouth. But her tone was still emotionless as she turned to Robin, changing the subject.
"G'Morning, Robin. When do you plan on leaving to get Starfire?"
The humor in the air instantly deflated itself. Robin's eyes widened.
"Oh, man… how could I let myself get distracted?! I have to leave NOW!"
He jumped up and, in less then a second, he was out the door.
Beast Boy shook his head, amused. A little out of the blue, he recalled a phrase that Robin had once told him. "… Yep… Love does do strange things to you..."
Raven nodded as she watched the door slam shut behind Robin.
"Yes. It certainly does."
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Meanwhile, in Slade's "secret lair"…
Sayuri's face was solemn as she readjusted Starfire's loosening ropes. She tied in a few feet of new material over the old, wearing ones. Starfire winced as Sayuri tightened the ropes a little more tightly the necessary. She was sure that there would be red and purple marks all over her wrists when this was over.
"Sorry, hon…" Sayuri whispered, as she tightened the ropes yet again.
Starfire did her best to ignore the rope's stinging crush on her wrists, and turned her head to look at Sayuri. "If you are sorrowful over what you do, then why do you continue?"
Sayuri met her gaze for a moment, and then looked back down at the ropes. "Because you insisted on trying to saw these ropes off… I have to replace them before Robin gets here."
Starfire shook her head. "That is not what I meant."
Before Sayuri could respond, Slade interrupted them. He called Sayuri over to his giant video screen.
Sayuri let out an exasperated sigh, and quickly finished tying up Starfire. As she stood up, Slade's cold voice once again rang across the hideout.
"Sayuri! Are you coming or not?"
"Yes, Slade! I'm coming! Gosh darn it… don't have a heart attack."
She walked over to where Slade was sitting, and he turned to look at her.
"I'll ignore that last comment, for your sake."
Sayuri scoffed. Slade ignored it.
"Look at the screen."
Sayuri obeyed, and stared at the front of the Titan's tower. It looked just the same as it always did… No activity… No movement… Just what is it I'm looking for?
As if hearing her thought, Slade said, "Just wait a minute more. Robin just woke up."
Almost as if on cue, the screen showed Robin rushing out the front door of the tower, slamming it shut behind him. The camera automatically panned back, and showed the boy wonder dashing down the street, in the direction of Slade's hideout.
Sayuri shrugged, and started walking back to Starfire. "So what? We both knew he'd be coming today."
Slade turned his chair around to face her. "What? No gloating? No showing off about how you were right?"
Sayuri suddenly stopped. She turned on her heel to face Slade - a vein throbbing dangerously in her forehead. Her voice, though, was surprisingly quiet and cold. "Slade. It seems to me that you have badly misjudged my character."
She turned back around, afraid to look at him any longer, lest her anger burst.
Slade gave a slight shrug, and turned back to face the screen. "Let's drop it. Right now, we must get ready for my apprentice's arrival.
Sayuri sighed and glanced at Starfire. The girl's facial expressions seemed to betray her every emotion. Hurt, worry, confusion… and a little hope too. It wrenched at Sayuri's heart how much pain she would cause this young couple.
She shook her head sadly, and walked back over to the corner of Slade's lair. She still had some work to do, to prepare the nano chip, afterall.
Whether she liked her job or not, it was a necessity.
And she would not let Takeshi down.
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Robin was still running across town, not bothering to notice who or what he ran into on the way. In fact, presently, he was in the process of jumping over another one of the street's many vending machines.
I can't believe I let myself get distracted! … Even for a moment… Oh, Starfire… Please hang on…
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Starfire attempted to wiggle her hands out of the new ropes, but only managed to make them tighter. She closed her eyes and let out a grunt of frustration.
… What must Robin think of me? I am inside the enemy's hideout, yet I am totally unable to do anything… Oooh… how frustrating this is…
She opened her eyes, and looked around the room – once again, observing her surroundings. Slade was still watching his video screen. He seemed to be entertained with watching his "apprentice."
But, the screen also held interest for Starfire. It gave her a lot of encouragement to see Robin sprinting down the city sidewalk.
I am going to be rescued soon… My departure from this wretched place is long overdue…
She continued watching him for a long while; her eyes glued to the screen. Until, at last, he arrived at the hideout's entryway.
Sayuri stood up from her place in the corner, and tucked the computer chip into her pocket. She walked across the room to Starfire, and knelt down beside her.
A loud knocking echoed around the room. Sayuri took her cue, and quickly formed a spirit bullet on the end of her finger. She held up her hand/spirit gun, and pointed it directly at Starfire's head.
"Be prepared to shoot if he moves to attack." Slade commanded her.
Sayuri nodded solemnly. In response, Slade reached back to the mini control console attached to his chair, and pushed a few buttons on it. Slade's heavy metal door slid open with a pneumonic hiss.
Robin stopped his hand, in the middle of what would have been a rather loud bang on Slade's front door. He dropped his arm back down to his side, and walked cautiously into the dark, cold room. He looked around, glad to see that there was no stone plateaus or lakes of lava in sight.
"Robin!!"
His head snapped in the direction of Starfire's panicked voice. Through the room's shadows, he saw a small orange glow of energy illuminating Starfire's face.
"Robin! You must leave now!"
Robin blinked in confusion. What? "But, Star… I'm here to save you! I'm not leaving without you!"
Slade cold chuckle echoed from the other side of the room. Robin heard him click a few commands into his little control panel, and a dim light filled the room.
Robin quickly looked around the room again. Now he could clearly see all of the room's occupants. Starfire was tightly bound by some thick looking ropes, and propped up against the wall to the left of Robin. Sayuri was knelt down on her knees next to the girl, with a ready-to-fire spirit blast pointed at the alien teen's head.
Slade was a few dozen feet, right in front of Robin.
The masked man stood up from his bulky, metal chair, and walked over a little closer to Robin.
"Well, well, Robin… it seems that I once again have you in my grasp. How very amusing. I'll assume you've come here to bring home your little girlfriend."
Robin clenched his fist in anger at the man. "Yes. That's why I came."
"And I suppose you're wondering what we want in exchange for her."
"No."
"Oh? Tell me, what do you think we want in exchange?"
"You want me."
Sayuri couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Bravo. Your apprentice is a real Sherlock, Slade."
Slade let out an aggravated sigh. "You just couldn't let me have my moment of dramatic suspense, could you?"
"Dramatic suspense? Give me a break. The testosterone you two were giving off was beginning to stink up the room."
Slade strongly resisted the urge to roll his eyes.
Robin looked from Slade to Sayuri in surprise. I've never seen two villains bicker with each other before… He shook his head to clear the thought.
"So… I guess this is the part where I give you your choice. Release Starfire now, or I'll have to fight you for her."
Sayuri shook her head, and stood up where she was. She slowly walked over to Robin, still pointing her fired-up attack at Starfire.
"I believe you've switched our roles around, Robin. We are not the ones with the choice. See, this is how it is… We have Starfire right where we want her. If you even make the slightest move that looks like an attack, I'll fire this gun. And I have no doubt the attack would kill her. If you do what I say, however, I will let this girl go, unharmed."
She hesitated for a moment, fighting off the strong regret rushing through her. "It's either you or Starfire. And it is you who must choose, Robin."
(A/N- Cliffhanger! Don't you hate it? Don't worry… I'm already in the process of writing the next chapter. It should be up by Sunday or Monday… it'll definitely be up on Tuesday, though! I have school off! Yayness! ^^
Please review!!!)