CHAPTER 5

Elsewhere, Robin had been pretending to play the tables while a security guard was hitting on Starfire. To all appearances, he had forgotten her, but he was staying in earshot, and his attention never left her.

"The last time I saw a tan like that it was in the Caribbean!" the guard was saying. "What brings an island girl to the SnakeEyes Casino?" Starfire had been paying careful attention to the arm candies in the room and responded in a perfect imitation. She giggled in a silly way and leaned in closer to the man, her hip brushing his leg and her eyelashes fluttering.

"Why, an airplane of course," she purred. "And that great big sign on the roof. I know it is broken, but it reminded me of a family crest I once saw when I was in Europe. What happened up there?" Robin gave her a mental thumbs up. He did wish she wouldn't stand quite so close to the stranger though.

"Oh, a higher up landed his helicopter up there and one of the blades caught the light casing," the guard stared into her eyes. "We're still trying to get it replaced."

"Oh my!" she glanced at Robin to be sure she was doing all right. He tilted his chin in a slight nod and she went on. "How many floors does the actual casino go up? Could we go to the roof? The view of the city must be wondrous!" The guard hesitated, then shrugged.

"Sure, doll," he said, pulling a keychain from his pocket. "I can give you the secret tour."

"Oooh!" Starfire looked thrilled. She took his arm and they started off. She gave her hair a toss to look over her shoulder again. Robin was no longer at his spot by the table, but she saw him flit through the crowd, staying close.

"There sure are a lot of cameras," she said, nervousness making her want to keep talking. "It must be difficult to guard the security in such a place."

"Not at our central station," he said. "C'mon." He unlocked a 'Staff Only' door and lead the way. Starfire allowed the door to shut on the hem of her dress and while the man apologized and opened it, she grabbed the door frame as if to keep her balance. She slapped a strip of some kind of tape Cyborg had made over the lock and then let the door shut. With the tape there, the lock would be unable to catch. They walked on and when Starfire heard the door softly open again, she begin to talk loudly to cover up the sound.

"You have not yet told me your name," she cooed and the guard turned his cold eyes on her again.

"Jr." he said. He looked at her strangely, then smiled as if he wasn't sure how. She still hadn't seen him blink, and it was beginning to give her the creeps. His voice was friendly enough, though. "What's yours, doll?"

"Star-" she began, then caught herself. "It's what some people call me..." One person in particular, she thought, wishing Robin was back in sight. Knowing he was following did give her some comfort. She managed a smile for Jr., who led her down a new corridor. They went through another door, up an escalator, and into a small room. The walls were lined with switchboxes and wires and tiny blinking lights. One large tv screen was on one wall.

"This," said Jr. "is the only room in the building that has no surveillance at all." Starfire blinked at the small room.

"Oh?" she said, puzzled. "Why not?" He grabbed her wrists quickly and pushed her back to a wall, pinning her arms over her head. She gasped and nearly fought back, but saw the door open a crack and bit her lip.

"So no one will ever know what happened to you," Jr. said, leaning so close that their noses almost touched. In the next instant, a pair of boots crunched into his head and sent the man flying. Robin landed between him and Starfire.

"You should be more worried about what happens to YOU!" Robin growled. The fallen man laughed, and the whole timber of his voice changed in mid-chuckle to one they both recognized.

"I'm safer than you are," it said in Slade's voice. Jr. rose to his feet and turned to face them. His chest opened and a screen appeared in it.

"Jr. is a robot!" squealed Starfire. "No wonder he didn't blink..." Slade's face and upper body appeared on the screen. Under one arm, he carried an ancient-looking book. "You've played your parts well, but the starring role isn't for either of you. I knew only a rumor of me would bring you to the desert, and if you didn't come, neither would your other lady friend. Your team is far too dependent on you, Robin."

"Do you mean Raven?" asked Starfire, horrified. Robin's hands clenched.

"She's going to help me keep my part of a certain bargain," Slade's one visible eye narrowed, as if he was smiling under his mask. There was an explosion and the whole building rocked. Raven's black power went crawling up the walls.

"What have you done to her??" Robin demanded.

"Given her a glimpse of another world. Young Harry Lee saw it, and he hasn't been the same since. I appreciate power, Robin, but this one comes at much too high a price." The screen's reception skipped as Raven's blackness began to creep over the robot. The picture began to skip, but Slade's voice remained steady. "Perhaps when I have time to study this further, I'll have another use for your team...And for you." The screen went black as the wave of darkness swept over the robot. Starfire seized Robin around his waist and took off, blasting the door open. The hallways were coated with Raven's magic.

"Something has happened to Raven!" Starfire wailed, careening through the hallways, dodging the undulating black walls. She moved at speeds that tore the elaborate coif from her hair and sequins from her gown. In spite of his fury, Robin tried not to cringe.

"That monster set all this up!" he raged. "He's probably safe and sound miles away from here while we do his dirty work!" The walls bulged and shot into weird shapes, closing around them. Starfire squeaked and sent them sailing out through the first opening in her way. They zipped out a window into the warm night air. Police and ambulance sirens were suddenly deafening. The whole casino was wreathed in black flames. As they watched, it twisted as if trying to pull free from its own foundations.

"What shall we do?" moaned Starfire, staring wide-eyed. Her arms tightened around Robin, who felt the air being crushed out of him.

"We have to help them," he said as best as he was able. He pointed toward the main door and she dove for it at ramming speed. A blast of golden, shifting light sent them reeling back into the street.