Author's Note: To my beloved reviewers… I cannot reply to your reviews for I am in a hurry to post this… my dad is timing me… Enjoy the next chapter!
Disclaimer: O do not own the Teen Titans… yet.
Losing Hope
"Oh man! I lost again! Stupid video game!" Cyborg moaned, putting the joystick down on the table in defeat. "The only one who ever topped the highest score in this thing is Robin!"
The other Titans looked up from what they were doing at the mention of their missing leader's name.
"I… I'm suddenly not in the mood to watch a movie tonight, guys." Beast boy stood up and headed for his room, leaving the others staring at him in disbelief. He had been looking forward to watching The Ring all night. Starfire began to sob, and this time, Raven didn't tell her off for being poignant; because she felt the same way.
Cyborg also rose from his position on the sofa. "I'm sorry guys. I didn't mean to… I mean…"
"We know. It's alright." Raven interrupted, closing the Artemis Fowl volume Robin gave her for Christmas. She all of a sudden couldn't concentrate on her book right now, and everyone knew why.
It had been seven months since Robin was abducted, and the Titans weren't doing so well in crime fighting: 1) because they were one man short, 2) because Robin's leadership and tactics were essential in ensuring a victory, and 3) because they couldn't focus with the thought that their teammate had been taken by an mysterious assailant, who showed no signs of giving him back.
"Friends," Starfire snuffled, "Where do you presume Robin may be?"
Raven put a hand on her shoulder. "I don't know, Star. But wherever Robin might be, I just hope he's alright."
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The bo-staff smacked Robin under his jaw with a painful cracking noise. He was sent sprawling across the ground where he finally came to a stop. The only sound was his gasping for breath and the eerie sound of gears creaking in the massive room.
"Get up," Slade commanded as he walked over to the boy. Robin did not move at all.
"I said, get UP!" Slade shouted this time. He grabbed Robin by his jet black hair and yanked the boy to his feet. At the pain of nearly having his scalp ripped off his head, Robin gave a yelp and barely managed to stand on his shaking knees.
Slade pointed the staff in his direction. "Again. We are going to repeat this stance until you have learned it correctly."
"I can't," Robin wheezed, his voice weak. Black and blue marks were raised on his face, a deep cut on his lower lip just barely healing where a thin trickle of blood was finally beginning to dry. Robin tried to moisten his chapped lips and parched gums but there was little he could do to relieve the pain.
"It's past midnight, I can't think straight anymore," he pleaded.
"Do you want power? Control? Dominance? If so, then fight. Fight, unless you want to taste my electro-rod again." Slade threatened.
The threat was enough to send Robin's adrenaline rushing through his body. His masked eyes widened at the words. Yes, he wanted supremacy, so much he even gave up his life, his principles, and everything he ever fought for, to savor it. And no, he can't endure punishment, especially from Slade again. He grabbed his staff and charged, obeying his commander, putting all his weight behind his strikes, his resentment bleeding into the blows. If Slade wanted a fight, he's going to get one. Well, anything to please him. He wasn't a leader anymore, but a slave to his enemy, a servant to his most hated opponent's desires.
Robin continued to get blocked, but he kept lashing out at his master. The bo-staffs smashed and pounding noises were heard. Robin's grip was giving out but he continued to push with the last bit of his strength. Even as his weapon was snapped in half by Slade's blow, Robin's clenched fists kept trying to attack him.
A powerful blow smashed into the back of Robin's head and the hand pressed down on his head, slamming his body against the ground. Thousands of tiny stars winked inside of his head.
"Down, boy," Slade said coolly, as if he was taming a stray dog. Robin's face was burning with shame and anger. The cold metal of the uniform pinched against his skin and the leather was scorching against his arms and legs. Reeling from the nausea and sheer exhaustion, Robin took a gasp of breath. Slade locked his hands behind his back and took a slow long pace around the boy.
"Come now, Robin. I know you better than you know yourself. You had no problem with asking for my alliance as Red X. I was generous, I gave you my consent, I made you my apprentice. I saved you from your wasting your skills and talents on such foolish escapades. What more could you want?" the probing questions came with hints of mockery on Robin's ears.
And so, he put up with the training, the long hard hours of work in the dark machine filled room. Months of instruction. Rounds of lessons. Maneuvers mastered, techniques perfected, and careful conditions laid out. He followed it all.He put up with the smuggling and stealing of valuable weapons. He put up with betraying his friends and obeying Slade's every whim. He did it all and was now on his knees, trying to find some source of sanity in this personalized hell of his.
"I… never … wanted… this… " he whispered softly. But his voice was still capable of being heard.
"You wanted this, Robin. You are getting everything that you wanted; the ability to succeed in your powers, the chance to fight me one-on-one without distractions, and of course-" here Slade waved a hand around the room.
"Of course your friends are not here to distract you."
There it was, the dose of bitter medicine forced down Robin's throat. He had shut out his friends in such haste; he hadn't even regretted losing their trust. And now, he had to bear this suffering in silence without them.
"And soon, when we annihilate them, they will never be here. You alone will rule by my side. Isn't that what you desire, Robin?"
"Yes…" He replied hoarsely, nodding his head in agreement, reminded of his primary goal. His friends weren't worth the authority he craved for. The old Robin never would have even thought of it, but he wasn't here anymore. This was the villain within him speaking, thinking, acting. It was the villain's cruel intentions that controlled his thoughts and his logic.
Slade grinned wickedly behind his mask. He had succeeded in swallowing the boy into his world, his mind, made him see through a villain's eyes. His cunning knew that Robin always had a side of malevolence that stained his valiant traits, and he had been able to bring it out. He hadn't been bluffing when he said that Robin was the perfect apprentice, ripe for the picking, as they say. He just needed help, and he got it, from the best.
His friends, they were the key. The ones who pulled him out just as he was beginning to show his hidden darkness. The ones who tried to stop him from becoming the ideal apprentice. They couldn't understand, or rather, chose not to. They refused to comprehend that their leader was actually an enemy, won't accept his treachery even though he displayed it oh so many times already. But as soon as they are exterminated, Robin would not have a chance to turn back, ever again. Yes, when his friends are eliminated from the picture, the mighty would fall, with wings clipped and broken, and Robin would truly be his.
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Five more months passed, and the period of time Robin went missing totaled to one year. One year of following false leads and dead ends to his whereabouts. One year of escaped criminals, undefeated villains and lost battles. For one year the Titans hoped for a chance of ever seeing him again, and for one year they did whatever it took to get him back, as they promised. But promises were meant to be broken, for they had officially given up. Except for one of them.
"Guys! A break!" Raven panted as she ran inside the main room, not even bothering to levitate. The others just blinked at her, unimpressed. "A lead! I found one! It says if we go to Pier 41…"
"Will you give it a rest, Raven?" Beast boy snapped, taking a leave from his usual easygoing demeanor. "We'll never find Robin, no matter how hard we try. And we did try; we tried as hard as we could! We can't keep on doing this anymore, we're living a lie!"
The truth of Beast boy's words surprised Raven. Of course she realized it all along, but she had been secretly hoping otherwise. But she never anticipated that anyone would actually voice it out loud. She stood there, frozen by the shock and harsh reality, unsure of how to react.
Fortunately Cyborg, who always had something to say, answered for her. "BB, relax. She's just trying to help. We all are. You don't have to go ballistic, you know."
Beast boy's lips quivered, and of course everyone knew what happened next.
"I… I…"
"…I don't know what came over me. I'm sorry, Raven. Cy's right. You were just trying to help. But the thing is, I'm just tired of chasing these… these…" Beast boy paused, wiping puffy reddened eyes. Everyone leaned closer to hear what he was about to blurt out.
"These false hopes! We all know we can't ever find him, but we keep on trying! I don't know if this ever occurred to anyone, but we're chasing dreams! Running after stupid, impossible dreams!"
Raven recovered from her astonishment enough to supply an answer. "I know that. I always did. It's just that… I gave up on Robin once, we all did. Of course, except for Star here…"
She smiled at Starfire, who had been sitting quietly during the entire ordeal.
"…anyway, we gave up on Robin once, and I'm not intent on ever doing it again."
"But Rae…"
Raven glanced at him stridently. "Beast boy. Tell me. What would you give to get Terra back?"
Beast boy stopped for a moment, in deep thought. He looked at Raven straight in the eyes, and replied, "Anything. Everything."
Raven nodded. "Exactly what I'll give to get Robin back." Suddenly she stopped, not being able to believe that she let those words escape her mouth. But it was the truth, she pondered, as she raised her hood over her head.
"And I hope that's how much you'll give too." She continued, looking at her team mates expectantly.
Starfire backed her up. "Indubitably, friends."
"Ditto." Cyborg grinned.
Everyone turned their attention to Beast boy, waiting for his response.
Beast boy asked himself if he would really say the same thing. He thought of Robin as Slade's apprentice. He had been willing to serve his greatest nemesis just to ensure their salvation. And the way the psychopath was stopped, he just couldn't forget:
Slade pushed the button. Beast boy crashed on the floor again, screaming in pain. He saw the others slumped on the floor, feeling the same thing as he did, and suffering twice as much because of it.
"This is the consequence of disobedience, Robin. Now do as I say, attack!" He heard Slade bark.
He saw Robin's face, etched on it was confusion and a decision to either obey or let his friends die.
His face suddenly hardened, as if it was made out of stone. He had made a choice.
"No!"
He saw Robin run towards the source of the nano probes. He grasped the orb with one hand, injecting himself with the deadly probes. And, as if he felt he wasn't getting enough, he grabbed it with the other hand and caught all the micro bombs his body can handle. He released it and finding the strength to stand up, walked slowly towards Slade, and fell at his feet.
"New deal, Slade!" Robin retorted. "If I lose my friends, you lose your apprentice… and I know how you hate to lose!" His words stung Slade like venom. Slade obviously couldn't afford to kill Robin, because he threw the controller to the floor and smashed it into pieces.
"Aaarrrrggghhh!" The villain growled, and attempted to send a vicious kick to the leader of the Titans, but Robin didn't spend all his time with Slade for nothing. He knew the limit of Slade's frustration, and it eventually led to the villain's own defeat…
Beast boy still couldn't believe Robin almost sacrificed himself just to save them. So he felt they had to do the same for him.
He smiled.
"Sure."
Author's Note: And there it went… the fourth chappie…
Now we're getting somewhere! I think I made this chapter a little bit longer than the others… hmmm… And yes, I am a big fan of flashbacks. I also think I made Beast boy tougher and more mature in this fic than he will ever be in the series. Anyway, in the series, I always thought he was the one who really resented Robin's wild outbursts and fixations on Slade. Examples:
"Oh, you mean captain research…?"
"…yeah, and every time we need him, he disappears…!"
"…we could have stopped this guy by now if Robin doesn't always go A.W.O.L…"
Cy: Whoa, man. We just wanna talk… (Robin makes a move) Beast boy: Guess there's nothing to talk about…
Robin (about Terra): She's working for Slade! Beast boy: When you were working for Slade, did we give up on you? –to answer this question, refer to above
ETC…
Just to say, I am not dissing any BB fans out there. I'm just pointing out that there may be a little conflict between the bird and the beast in that aspect. I kinda think they really misunderstand each other: Robin can't tolerate Beast boy'staking things too lightly (hey, he does!) and vice versa. Bottom line is, I think I underestimated Beast boy's part an importance in this fic when I started working on it, but I know now otherwise.
You may have also noticed that, even from the previous chapters, I always do 'fast-forward' scenes. I'm sorry, but I am very impatient and it's taking every bit of my staying power to write most of this thing in full detail.
Artemis Fowl: As I said, I absolutely adore this book! Only right to give it a special mention!
The Ring: Can't think of any other horror movies…
I got most of the ideas for the dialogue in this chapter from many different fics, mostly in the Robin and Slade parts, if any of you might recognize similar conversation in anything you've previously read.
Anyway, on with the show! Oh and on your way out, please review!
REVIEW!
