Author's Note: Sorry! I didn't realize I hadn't put the link in there! Here it is for real!

And to ROBINROX: Please, in your review, try to comment on the actual story. You're hating Poison Ivy won't change our usage of her character, or have any effect on Robin's situation. Thank you.


Chapter 11

"And Then There Were Three"

The next week was agonizing for the Titans. Every night a new low-life was discovered in a back alley (and once even on the police station's doorstep), each one with a future as bleak as the last. Each one nearly dead. Each one's blood pumped with the strange drug. Each one bearing the blood of Timothy Drake on some part of them. Detective Leigh kept the Titans informed and updated, but it did little to help their cause.

They were getting more discouraged by the day, and were all handling it a different way. Star had gone beyond worry and was practically in mourning. Cyborg was getting increasingly more agitated and hard to talk to. Raven was an unemotional mask as usual, and Beast Boy was doing his best to keep everyone's spirits up. They took turns patrolling the city, but never came back with anything but more clues that led to nothing.

That Saturday night, as Cyborg hung up with Leigh, he had to keep himself from crushing the phone in frustration. He handed it roughly back to Beast Boy. "Add one Jonathan Hoffman to the list," he told Raven, who pulled out a notepad and jotted the name down.

"This is getting ridiculous," she said, clicking her pen shut and flipping backwards in the pad, "That makes six so far…and we still don't have a clue where they're coming from."

"Well…at least we know Robin's still alive," Beast Boy said weakly.

"Yeah, but how long's that gonna last?" Cyborg said irritably, "How long before it's Robin that shows up in one of those alleys?"

At that, Starfire rose and left the room, her face hidden by her hands. Raven shot Cyborg a look, "Go bring her back, will you?"

He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck, "Right…" Then he trudged out of the room after Star. She had barley made it to the top of the stairwell before she'd collapsed on the stairs, her whole body shaking with silent sobs. "Uh…Star…?" he said, approaching her tentatively, "Look, I'm sorry…I didn't mean to get you upset again…it's just…I…aw, hell…I can't lie to ya, Star," he said, sitting down next to her as she looked up at him with wet eyes, "I did mean what I said in there…it sounds insensitive, I know…but it's what I've been thinking every time B's phone rings…"

"Me too…" she said softly, turning her gaze to the stairs, "I cannot stop thinking about what horrible things must be happening to him…"

"Hey," he said, taking her chin in one hand and brushing her tears away with a large thumb, "He wouldn't want to see you like this, Star. He always talked about how much he loved your smile; about how pretty you were when you were happy. Can't ya smile for his sake? You know it's what he'd want."

Her eyes sparkled for the first time since Robin's capture and her lips curled upwards just slightly.

"See? That's what I'm talking about," he said.

Suddenly, she wrapped her arms around his cold, metallic waist. "Thank you, Cyborg," she said, "You a very good friend."

He blushed just a little and patted her head, "Thanks, Star. And don't worry, we'll find him. I know we can."

"Yes…" she nodded, "I do hope you're right."

"Excuse me," said a deep voice, causing both Star and Cyborg to look up in surprise. Batman was standing on the stairs that the two teen superheroes were blocking up. He raised an eyebrow at them and folded his arms, "We need to talk. All of us."

* * *

"The police have been hounding me about Tim Drake's whereabouts for days. They don't believe me when I tell them I haven't seen him in nearly five years," Batman said, now standing in the center of the small motel room, with the four Titans sitting around him, "You have to find him – and fast."

"A little help would be nice," Beast Boy muttered under his breath, "We're all outta ideas."

Batman glared at the younger, green-skinned boy, "Wherever he is, the information is being kept under lock-and-key," the vigilante reached into his utility belt and pulled out a small computer disk, "I don't think Ivy's working alone. There have been some very odd transaction's coming in and out of Oswald Cobblepot's bank account recently," the hero smirked, handing the disk to Cyborg, "On this you'll find the location for a certain aquatic, flightless bird's main office."

"Cobblepot?" Raven repeated, "The Penguin? Didn't you bust him for selling high-tech weaponry to Kasnia a few months ago? Why isn't he in prison?"

Batman stared at Raven glumly, "I thought you knew how this worked, Raven. He's a millionaire with friends in high places. Think hard, now."

"Right…" she said, turning pink and looking away.

"So," Cyborg said, fingering the disk, "Looks like we need to send somebody on a stealth-mission." He glanced around at his teammates, "Who thinks they can handle it?"

"Ooh! Ooh! I so totally have that one covered!" Beast Boy's hand shot up in the air. All this waiting around had been driving him crazy; he needed to get out – to actually do something productive.

"Anyone else?" Cyborg asked blandly.

"Oh come on!" Beast Boy shouted angrily.

"Look, B – no offense, but stealth has never been your strong suit."

"When the four of you decide to grow up, get organized, and save Robin: let me know," Batman said, fuming. He walked towards the door, his patience for the teens on its last leg, "The longer you argue the more you put Robin in danger," he turned to look back at the surprised superheroes, teeth clenched, "And if something happens to him, let's just say Ivy and Penguin won't be the only ones who pay for it." The dark knight left the room, slamming the door behind him.

There was a long awkward silence, broken at last by Cyborg, "Think you can really handle this, B?"

The changeling wasn't looking at his robotic companion, but rather at the door, "Yeah."

* * *

Around midnight, a green hawk perched itself on the windowsill, staring into the top floor office of the Iceberg Lounge. 'This is the place…' Beast Boy thought to himself, 'Looks deserted enough. Better get in and out quick, though.' He shrunk to a beetle and squeezed through the gap between the window and the sill. The room was large and smelt strangely of raw fish. He transformed into a small cat, and used its night-vision to his advantage, slinking under the birdman's desk and over to the large filing cabinets against the far wall.

To anyone that entered the room, it would have been laughable to see the tiny feline searching through the various drawers around the office. It wasn't easy looking through the many files, but the sensitive eyes and ears of a cat clearly gave him the advantage in this situation. He needed one report of a purchase, one location, something! It was taking far longer than he had had planned and looking through hardcopies wasn't getting him anywhere fast.

Abandoning the files, he leapt up on the fine wood desk and nudged the computer's mouse with his nose, finding with surprise that the computer had been in standby mode. 'This is almost too easy,' he thought, as he perused the harddrive. A small icon entitled 'Taxes' caught his attention, and he opened it.

His eyes widened as a text document of a Prisoner Transfer Order appeared on the screen. 'This must be how they're getting the kids out of Juvey,' he mused, 'If only it said where they take them…let's see…' As he scrolled down, sure enough, there was an address for a change-of-vehicles stop. 'That must be it.'

The cat licked its lips in thought, then used its paw to scroll downward to the next page of information. This one appeared to be some sort of schedule, with a long list of names set up already. Each had a date next to it, and there was an address written under the list, 'This must be some sort of hit list,' Beast Boy thought, mildly taken aback, 'They have their targets all planned out and then they send them to this place.' The changeling scanned the file quickly, his eyes widening, 'There's one for tonight! If I get there soon, I could pull Robin outta there and shut them down today! Then the guys'll have to give me the respect I deserve!'

Elated, the little cat leapt off the desk, becoming a beetle once again and skittering out of the window. As he emerged on the other side of the window, he became a hawk again and took off through the thick night air.

* * *

A bird's eye view of the city enabled him to come upon his destination rather quickly, and he turned down in a steep dive, turning into his human form mere inches before he touched town softly on the asphalt. The address he'd come to looked like the entryway to an abandoned subway station. 'Creepy…' he thought, as a shiver went down his spine, 'Okay Beast Boy, you gotta get tough now. No one ever looked up to a coward.' He straightened up, and headed down the dilapidated stairs, wondering what he would actually find.

He grasped blindly for something to keep his balance, and his hand landed on the side railing. When he finally reached the bottom of the stairs, his eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he realized that the stairway had gotten substantially less run-down. The railing under his hand was polished silver, and the cobwebs were non-existent. 'Weird…'

The stairs broke off into two new sets moving upward, and one flat path straight ahead of him, where he could see a soft glow of light. He followed the corridor until it opened up into a huge expanse of dirt. 'It's an arena…' he thought, gaping up at the stands steeped in shadows. His eyes finally landed on the soft spot of light in the middle of the room, and it brightened to a spotlight, shining down on a solitary figure.

He walked closer and the features of the figure became clear. "Robin!" he cried aloud. It was their leader, standing tall, dried blood on his face and hands, and some sort of black collar around his throat. Beast Boy quickened his pace, "Dude! I can't believe I found you! The guys are gonna flip!" he said excitedly, reaching out to his friend, "Boy, am I glad to see you."

The leader of the Teen Titans broke into a savage grin and released a round-house punch that connected with the changeling's face, sending him sprawling backwards.

Beast Boy picked himself up of the dirt slowly, putting a hand up to his bleeding nose, "What the hell was that for?!?"

Robin took several steps forward and grabbed Beast Boy by the collar of his spandex. Suddenly, the collar around his neck erupted in sparks and he released the changeling, groaning in pain and dropping to his knees. Beast Boy watched in bewilderment, "What is going on??"

"Well, we can't have him crippling the competition too early, after all," came a refined voice. Penguin stepped into the light that Robin had been standing in, leaning on an umbrella casually.

"You're…Penguin?" the changeling guessed, glancing back and forth between the dapper little man and his old friend.

"Indeed," the stout man nodded, fiddling with his monocle, "Let's see…vacant stare, unimposing physique, green skin… Beast Boy, as we expected."

The changeling blushed furiously, "What do you mean 'expected'??"

The lights all flashed on and about a dozen guards revealed their positions in the stands, each armed with a dangerous-looking machine gun. The clicking of stiletto heels made the non-drugged men turn, and Beast Boy laid eyes on Poison Ivy for the first time. She was dressed in sleek green and black leather, with a small black box in one hand and a collar like Robin's in the other. "He's quite punctual, isn't he, Ozzy?"

"Impeccably so!" the squat man chortled.

"We couldn't thank you enough for running so willingly to us, Beast Boy," Ivy said, coming up beside the Penguin, "It makes life so much easier."

"But…but… how did you know I'd be coming here?" he asked incredulously, backing away from his still panting friend. The guards moved their weapons to follow his movements.

"My dear boy, you are more brainless than even I imagined," Penguin said, "Did you honestly think that my offices did not have security surveillance?? By the way, you make a ridiculous-looking cat."

"He was adorable, though, wasn't he?" Ivy cooed, stepping closer and pinching the changeling's cheek. A bloodied hand rested itself on her shoulder and she turned. Robin was standing behind her, glaring at her sternly. She smirked at him, "Do you actually recognize this creature?" she asked.

[Horrible green female hunt non-threat. No good.] The Boy Wonder merely continued to stare at Ivy, growling low in his throat.

"Hmph," she frowned, "Seems his latest dosage is starting to wear off." She took his hand and removed it gently from her shoulder, "I'm not going to hurt him," she said sweetly, "But you will. Soon." She raised the remote and tossed the collar to one of the nearest guards, "Get that on the newbie."

Beast Boy tensed, watching the man with the collar. When he approached, the changeling jumped the man and twisted his arm behind his back in a rather harsh way. The man yelped and dropped the collar his hand been holding. If he couldn't save Robin here and now, he'd at least be able to get back to the others and tell them about this place, "Nobody move!"

Excited, Robin charged at Ivy, but she pressed the button on the remote instantly and he dropped to his knees again. "Will somebody do something, please??" she snapped.

Penguin sighed, watching dully as the guards began to confuse themselves into submission. He whipped up his parasol and pointed it down at the leader of the Teen Titan's cranium, "Drop him, you filthy beast, unless you want your friend to have a bullet in his head."

"Thank you, Ozzy," Ivy said, releasing the button, leaving Robin gasping in pain in the dirt.

Beast Boy cursed under his breath and released the guard. His getting away wasn't worth them shooting Robin. A different guard picked up the collar and snapped it around his neck quickly.

* * *

It was a simple task, breaking into buildings. It seemed so routine now, after years of gathering intelligence to try to take down the criminals. Penguin's office was suspiciously quiet and empty. It was strange, though, seeing as the computer screen was still lit up. Batman needed only to glance at the monitor to realize what had happened, "That idiot!" He pulled out his Bat grapple and opened the window that sat behind the Penguin's desk. If he was lucky, it wouldn't be too late. But all the luck he'd had as of late had been hard luck…

* * *

"And here's where you'll be staying," Ivy said, as the guards gave Beast Boy a hard shove into a cage similar to the one they were simultaneously tossing Robin into. Penguin held up a mini-briefcase to her and she snapped it open, pulling out a fresh syringe. "Now I'll ask you nicely to be a good boy and sit still," she said, stepping into the cage after him, "I don't want to have to hurt you more than necessary."

"I'm sure that's such a terrible burden on you," Beast Boy said, rolling his eyes. It was a subconscious movement, but the young man took a step back out of animal instinct, wary of the needle.

"Oh, it does pain me to see you both like this," she said, running a hand through his hair, "But…the paying customers must be satisfied." With this, she grabbed his arm, pushed up the sleeve and plunged the needle in.

Beast Boy let out a howl of pain that morphed into a roar as his vocal chords transformed without the rest of his body. He'd always hated shots, but he'd never realized one could hurt this damn much! When she retracted the syringe he clamped one hand over the spot where it had been, blinking back tears that blurred his vision. He felt Ivy stroke his head again and he swiped at her blindly.

She backed away quickly, having learned her lesson the last time. "Bye for now, boys," she said, placing the syringe back in its case as the guards shut the changeling in his cage. Then she left the room.

Penguin smiled at the young lad from his chair near the doorway, "Too easy."

"Did you really expect getting that one would be hard?" Ivy said with a small laugh, as the pair disappeared into the elevator.

* * *

The Batmobile pulled up along side the curb at the address on Penguin's computer screen. He leapt out of the car, and spotted the subway stairs instantly. Like a shadow, he floated down them, stopping just before the bottom to listen. Not a sound except for his own breathing. The place was deserted. The air was moist; even in the dark he could sense the immense size of the room. He could only imagine what it must look like filled with the Gotham's rich and demented. 'Damn.' He returned to the surface, and slid back into the Batmobile. It was time to pay the Titans another visit.