A Note from the Authors: Do any of you loyal readers know what the name of the Titan's city is?? We need to know or we can't update Chapter 8!! Help, please! We can't find it anywhere on-line! Thank you! And enjoy!!


Chapter 7

"M.I.A."

Starfire was seated on the floor, hugging herself and rocking back and forth slowly, while she stared up at the wall-sized computer monitor in the Intelligence Center back at the tower. Raven was seated in front of the fast keyboard, her fingers flying across the keys as maps of the city, police reports, etc. flashed before them. Beast Boy was on the floor beside Star, hugging his knees. Behind them all, Cyborg was pacing restlessly.

"There doesn't seem to be anything," Raven said as she continued to search, "Those men we were fighting have nothing in common with one another. They're just hired muscle for someone bigger. The question is – who?"

"Man, I can't believe how long it took for the cops to get there!" Cyborg spoke up angrily, "Do they expect us to clean up every mess in the city for them?!? Ten minutes sooner, that's all we woulda needed to clean up those guys!"

"That still wouldn't have helped us find Robin. Or figure out who took him. I lost track of him during the fight, as usual," Beast Boy said, twiddling his thumbs slowly.

"Yeah, but not one of those crooks even got arrested!" The android said, glaring down at his one remaining male partner, "It's like we didn't accomplish nuthin' but a chemical spill!"

Beast Boy's ears perked up, "Chemical spill…wait a minute – what were those chemicals they were tryin' ta steal, anyway??"

Raven pulled up the latest police report on the screen. "Nothing special," she said as she scanned it, "Different tampered plant extracts. Used in a lot of common pharmacies…a couple cases of them being mixed for radical mental-illness treatment…"

"Why would someone wish to steal medicine?" Star wondered aloud.

"Can you even call stuff like that 'medicine'?" Cyborg asked, arching one eyebrow at the screen.

"Not sure…anyone here remember an enemy of Robin's that has the right M.O. for something like that?" Raven asked, "I doubt he has them all on a database in here."

"Birdboy never did like to talk much about his life in Gotham," the changeling said, scratching his head.

The largest member of the Teen Titans sat down slowly on one of the chairs around the screen (it had been abandoned during his time of pacing), "Got me. I thought he said Batman put away most of the big ones, anyway."

"No psycho ever stays down in Gotham," Raven said, "I remember reading that the judicial system just cycles them in and out of rehab over and over. That's probably why Batman has stayed so popular…" She slid a finger along the touch-pad-mouse and the Arkham Asylum attendance log appeared on screen. "Let's see who's out on parole at the moment."

"They let nut-jobs have parole?" Beast Boy asked, making his eyes roll all around as if he was insane, "Whoever decided that should be thrown in with their charges."

Raven ignored him, and scrolled down the list of names quickly, "Edward Nigma…Harvey Dent…Pamela Isley…and Jonathan Crane…Batman must have his hands full. Anyone know the alter egos, or do I have to look that up too?"

"Dent's called 'Two-Face' now," the changeling said, morphing his head into the spooky mug of the former lawyer. He smiled crazily, and turned to look at Starfire, still sitting next to him, "BOO!"

She jumped back, startled, then slapped him across the face, "Do not do that!"

"Ow, geez…" he moaned, rubbing his cheek (his face now back to normal), "I was just kidding around."

"Now's not really a good time for that, B." Raven told him, and then quickly got the conversation back on topic, "I think Nigma goes by 'The Riddler'."

"Sounds like something out of a bad 60s movie," Cyborg said, stifling a small laugh.

Raven smiled slightly as a back-water criminal database opened on screen. "Crane's apparently known at 'The Scarecrow' and Isley is… 'Poison Ivy'…out of all four of them, I'd put my bets on Ivy…Why is it Gotham villains each come with a theme?"

Ivy's picture flashed up onto the screen, "Man, why can't we have villains like that?" Cyborg asked, eyes wide. Behind him, Beast Boy nodded enthusiastically.

Raven shot him a death glare, "Maybe you'd rather it had been you that got kidnapped?"

"Well, no- I didn't mean- it's just- Star, don't start cryin'!"

The Goth snorted indignantly, "Men…always thinking with their hormones…" she rose from the chair and knelt down next to Starfire, who did look on the verge of tears, "It's okay, Star – we'll get him back."

"But…but what if he doesn't wish to return," she said, her lower lips trembling, "What if he would want –"

"Don't even go there," Raven said, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, "She's way too old for him…and a complete psycho as well," she added, returning to her chair with another accusing look at the remaining male members of the team, "Robin's got more common sense than these two.'

Cyborg snorted and stuck his nose in the air, a false act of indignation, "I know when I've been insulted. So if all three a' you ladies would excuse me, there's some cold pizza in the kitchen with my name on it," he turned headed for the door, "And tomorrow, we're goin' to Gotham. Nobody messes with the Titans!"

"Alright!!" Beast Boy cheered, getting to his feet and following after the android, "Hey wait – whadda ya mean 'all three ladies'??"

"Just didn't want you to feel left out."

Raven shook her head and spun her chair around so she was facing Star again, "You okay?"

"No…" Star wiped her eyes, "I do not see how I could be…"

"We will get him back," the Azarathian assured her, then rose, holding out her hand, "Now come and eat – it'll make you feel better."

Star let herself be helped to her feet, "I hope you are right, Raven."

"Yeah…me too."

* * *

"It should be near completion by now," Ivy said, rising from her seat, "I'm going to go and observe. Would you care to join me?"

"I suppose." Penguin put away the reports he had been looking at and followed the ruler of the plant world out of the small office room.

She clapped her hands, "This should be fun." A short elevator ride later, the pair of them reentered the room Robin had been caged in. The guards looked up when the door swung open. "How is he?" she asked them calmly.

The men just gestured towards the cage.

Robin was sitting on the ground, now free from his bindings. The thought of escape that had once driven him to pick the locks on the chains had long since left him, and he was clutching his head with both hands. 'Starfire. Robin no forget: Starfire.' A picture of someone's (Starfire's) pretty face floated in front of Robin (who?), smiling down at him. The former teen superhero reached out, trying to touch the person. 'Too far. Always too far. Why so far?' Sweat was streaming profusely down his body. He clenched his teeth, some small part of him still desperately trying to fight the strengthening effects of the drug. 'Starfire! Starfire! Star-… who? Starfire!'

"Ooh…lovely," Ivy said, stepping up closer to the cage, "It's almost complete now. How are you feeling, Robin? Not quite yourself?"

He stood up shakily, lowering his hands. 'Robin? Who?' He focused his eyes on the female in front of him, 'Not Sta- not St- not S- Where?' The bars that separated him from the rest of the world made Robin uncomfortable. Trapped.

'Not here. Find!' A strong, commanding voice from his normal mind fired off its final command, before being engulfed in the fires of his new rage. Robin bared his teeth and growled low in his throat. Warning.

Ivy leaned back, grinning, "Perfect…" she purred, "Look at him, Ozzie! A perfect fighting machine; he knows nothing of morality or human rights…only fear and rage. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

"In a sick, demented way, yes. Will he cooperate enough for the exhibition tomorrow night?" the birdman asked curiously.

The enemy pack was large. Made trap to capture with. Warned. Attack! Robin jumped to the edge of the cage, slamming into one of the bars with his shoulder. The metal dented slightly, but held firmly. He roared at the female in front of him, reaching out with one hand through the cage, his finger tips (which were poking through his broken green gloves) managed to catch Ivy on the collar bone, drawing a scratch of blood.

She let out a small gasp of pain and put a hand on the scratch. A second later, the guards were surrounding the cage. One prodded a long pole with a coiled of wire on the tip through the bars, jabbing the young man in the side. A sharp jolt of electricity sent him curling backwards, clutching his side and still growling.

Ivy scowled, "Get the collar on him – then we'll see how rebellious he wants to be."

Penguin stepped forward, swinging his parasol up and pointing it at the Batman's apprentice, "Let me handle this one, Ivy." He motioned for the guards to step back (which they did) and he slowly walked up to the bars of the cage. Robin leapt, seizing an opportunity to attempt damage. The criminal smiled and fired off his umbrella. A small dart hit Robin straight in the chest. The hero looked down, grinned savagely, and pulled the projectile weapon out of himself. Blood began to drip from the wound, and Robin took another step forward.

Penguin continued to smile, ticking off the seconds in his head, 'Three… two…one…' As predicted, Robin dropped to the floor, unconscious. Cobblepot set the umbrella on his shoulder like a baseball bat and walked back over to Ivy, "Now, they can get the collar on him."

"Brilliant, Ozzie," she praised him, and then snapped at the guards, "You heard him. Get the collar on." The guards proceeded towards the cage cautiously. As the pair of masterminds rode the elevator back up to Penguin's office, Ivy gingerly touched her scratch again. "I know you want to tell me that getting too close to him was a novice mistake, so go ahead."

"Very well. Getting too close to that demon was an amateur mistake. One you'll hopefully learn from when we bring in more competitors," Oswald told her, now using his umbrella as a cane.

She folded her arms across her chest, pouting, "Why do I get the feeling you don't really take me seriously?"

"It might be your outfit, or the time you spent in Arkham, I can't decide which." Penguin told her, one hand on his chin thoughtfully, "Either way, as long as this works out, how I treat you won't matter."

She sighed and leaned back against the elevator wall, "Would you actually believe the gang in Arkham envies you?" she asked, "For us, there's no going back after we've been in there for so long – even when we're released. But you can do honest work on the side as a cover and the cops just leave you to it. Any idea how jealous that makes us?"

"Not particularly. Normal life has its own type of punishment, but I suppose it is better than getting tofu and jello along with six dozen meds a day." The elevator door opened and he walked out slowly, "My success has come from my own doings. Money is the only thing that matters in this world, and how much of it you have determines how successful you are. If a shot at respectability is what you want, then this had better work out for the both of us. My mindset has always been: what's the point of being rich if you can't spend your cash?"

"A noble philosophy," she said, grinning and following after him.

* * *

"D'you think they've got enough smog??" Cyborg asked, wrinkling his nose in disgust as the T-Car rolled across the Gotham Gate Bridge at dawn.

"Is this really morning??" Beast Boy asked, pressing his nose against the shotgun-side window.

"How are the people able to breath here?" Star wondered.

"They learn to adapt," Raven said dully, "And in this town, they've had to do quite a lot of adapting."

"This place is huge…" Beast Boy marveled, "Finding Robin's gonna be near impossible – er, I mean…" he stammered, glancing back nervously at Star, "impossible for normal people – but not for us!"

"Dude, just don't talk. It never helps, and you need to save as much breath as you can. You don't have metallic lungs," Cyborg told his friend, poking him in the chest.

"Yeah…" Beast Boy rubbed his chest and then asked, "Shouldn't we have brought gasmasks or something?"

"I doubt that's really necessary," Raven said, "Anyone want to suggest a first stop?"

"How 'bout Wayne Manor?" Cyborg suggested, "Robin was Batman's adopted son or somethin', right?"

"Technically, it's his 'ward', but yes," Raven said, "Before we decide, however I have a question – won't that look like begging for help?"

"Maybe that's what it's gonna take," Beast Boy shrugged.

"Hey, I'd wanna know if my son was kidnapped," Cyborg said, nonchalantly, "Maybe Azarathians put pride over people."

Raven flushed angrily and muttered, "Whatever. Do what you want to."

Star spoke up timidly, "I would like to speak with Batman…"

"By a vote of three to one, we're going to Wayne Manor!" The android male made a swift turn and began to journey to the house of the illustrious Bruce Wayne.