Chapter 3: Small Victories
There was more to the Lady Titans' imprisonment than mere housework. As the months passed, various members of Brother Blood's guard tried to assault the prisoners. This prompted the girls to move about the house in pairs, and to make certain that the kids were with them at all times. This was not always easy for Raven. As Raven's belly grew with child, the duties she was assigned became more difficult. Though this slowed her down, the others discreetly covered for her or completed tasks for her.
Even so, the men managed to find excuses to abuse their power. A broken object, a misplaced word, any action was grounds for a beating or inappropriate advance. Only once, one of the larger guards subdued Torque in a secluded wing of the house. By the time he was done with her, she was shaking and mute with fear. The others found her curled up on the floor and it took everything they had to make it back to the cellar with her without feeling the need to seek out whoever did this and avenge her. That had been only a month after they arrived.
Now, seeing how the men's appetites grew strong again now that both Raven and Torque had given birth, the girls felt the time had been ripe for an escape. Daringly pulling the thumbtack sized inhibitors from their shoulders; Starfire and Jinx cause enough ruckus to bring all of Brother Blood's guard down on them. Brother Blood had had all of them whipped, and then took the children from them. He grinned in sadistic pleasure as the three young mothers panicked and begged for their children.
When all of this was going on, there was another man stalking the grounds of the hidden lair. The Master of Games had been astonished to discover that his powers of teleportation were nullified within miles of this base. Whatever power Brother Blood was dabbling in, it was more powerful than anything the Master of Games has seen before. Still, this hardly deterred him. He came to the conclusion that his cunning was what would help him rescue the children. The explosion caused by Starfire and Jinx forced Brother Blood to move his installation. He didn't even notice that his men had spirited Torque away, beaten and assaulted her one last time, and left both she and her newborn baby for dead.
As the entourage of men, prisoners, and master moved for the transport vehicle, the Master of Games surged forward, tackled the guards as well as any defensive football player, and managed to teleport the three children into his arms and take off through the forest. When he thought he had gotten far enough away, the Master of Games, panting and breaking a sweat, set the two older children on their feet.
"Why did you take us away from our moms?" Olivia cried, taking her baby sister from the giant of a man. The Master of Games sat down hard on the ground. He could hardly believe his ears. He thought the children would be grateful to be out of harms way. He thought they would be happy to be going home. Instead, Olivia was angry, and Jason was starting to cry.
"I…I will take you to your fathers! They have been searching for you all this time! I have been searching for you! Do you not realize what danger you were in?" Mast of Games stammered.
"I want my mother!" wailed Jason. Before the Master of Games could reply, several shots rang out in the air: Brother Blood had caught up with them. The Master of Games tried to get up, but Brother Blood was faster. The fearless champion of champions had been shot twice with Brother Blood's plasma rifle before he could get to his feet. He lay on the ground a moment to the shock and fear of Olivia and Jason. The Master of Games looked up from the ground, his face stained with dirt and leaves from the trees.
"Run! Run and don't stop until you reach your home!"
Olivia didn't need to be told twice. She took Jason's hand and began to run, precariously balancing her infant sister in her other arm. Brother Blood continued to pursue them, occasionally firing at them. Minutes into the chase, one of the shots came dangerously close to Jason. Olivia pushed him to the ground to make it look like he had been hit. There was another shot and Olivia fell to her knees, pretending she too had been shot. She carefully fell forward, covering her sister with her body. She hissed to Jason to close his eyes and be perfectly still until she told him to. Terrified, Jason obeyed.
Seconds later, Olivia's heart pounded as she heard footsteps coming toward them and stopping beside them. Whoever it was stood over them for what seemed like forever before he stalked away. Olivia listened: she could hear the Master of Games howling—he thought they had perished. Brother Blood was going back to finish what he started. Three more shots rang out, and the Master of Games was quiet. Even farther in the distance, Olivia could hear her mother's voice. She was screaming, but Olivia didn't dare move. Not until she heard the transport leave. She wouldn't allow Jason to move until she couldn't hear the sounds of the engine. When she sensed that the coast was clear, Olivia pulled Jason up and looked him in the eyes.
"We have to be brave now, Jason. We have to be really good and do what the Master said. Home is this way. Come on, follow me," Olivia ordered. Little Jason sniffled hard and nodded. He clutched the edge of Olivia's little cloak and obediently followed. By sundown, they were well out of sight of the abandoned lair. When they stopped to rest, Olivia discovered that the communicator badge on her cloak was broken. Now they wouldn't be able to alert their fathers to their presence. They would have to find their way back to Titans Tower on their own. When night fell, Olivia wrapped her cloak around all three of them and fell asleep in the hidden away shelter of one of the large trees. The gigantic, exposed roots created excellent cover.
Nightfall didn't stop the male Titans from following the signal and discovering the lair. Seeing the smoke still rising from the large hole in the roof, Cyborg shook his head and Beast Boy whistled.
"Man, when Star means business, huh?" he quipped. Robin scowled good-naturedly at him and the others chuckled. The explosion event had flickered a positive turn-around in their attitudes. As the six young men spread out to search the premises, they mused on what they would say to their long-lost loves.
Walking cautiously along the corridors, Robin heard a very soft whimpering sound. Turning the corner and pushing open a door, Robin felt his stomach turn: he had found Torque. She was bound and gagged and lying on the cold floor and a thin blanket was all that defended her gooseflesh covered skin from the elements. Robin collapsed to his knees beside Torque, not quite sure what to do. She hardly registered that he was there, and didn't fight him when he untied her and wrapped her in one of the heavier quilts from the bed in the room. When Torque did open her eyes, she reached a weakened arm toward a basket on the floor. Inside it was her baby; her infant son. Robin cautiously fished the baby out of the basket and placed him in Torque's arms before wrapping another warm blanket around them. With this done, Robin alerted his friends.
"Have you found any of the others?" Robin asked. None of them had. The team regrouped where they had begun at the front. All present were startled to see Robin come out of the complex carrying Torque. They had never seen her so weak before. Still, overjoyed that even one of them was alive, the Titans returned home to nurse their newly-restored friend. That night, the Titan men slept better than they had in a long time. If Torque was alive, then the others most certainly lived, right? Grateful for this small victory, the boys slept in the medical bay that night. It might have been a funny sight to see six grown men slumped in chairs and curled up on beds all looking after one girl and a baby. Even Cyborg plugged himself into the wall and took his repose there also. After ten long months of searching, there was a woman in Titans Tower again.