Chapter 7

It took Robin three days to snap. He wasn't sure what exactly set him off, but he tried to sneak out one night. One of Slade's rules was that he wasn't allowed to leave his room after he went to bed for the night. He could stay in there and be awake all night if he wanted to, but he wasn't allowed anywhere else. Disregarding that rule, he crept out into the hallway, crept downstairs, and almost made it outside. He'd opened the first door he'd found that led outside, and ran out of it like a mad person. It was too bad that he ran right into Slade, who was coming back from somewhere.

Slade didn't yell or punish him in any way. He simply took one of Robin's arms in a vice-like grip and marched him back upstairs, with Robin protesting all the way. Being thrown into your room with a terse "Good night, Robin," was not exactly conducive to pleasant dreams.

His next escape attempt was during the day, and he'd tried to hide out in the trunk of a car. Karlton, unfortunately, was the driver, and he had gone grocery shopping. He'd opened the trunk to deposit the groceries inside of it, and spotted Robin. Robin had thought that Karlton was only an old man that worked for Slade, but what he didn't realize was that Karlton was a multiple-degree black belt in karate and judo. He managed to wrestle Robin into the back seat of the car, lock him inside, and calmly took him back to Slade. He spent the rest of the day being locked in his room, which was preferable to spending time with Slade in the library.

As strange as Slade was before, he was even stranger now. Before, he had been the relentless villain, bent on training his new apprentice quickly. Now, he seemed perfectly happy to take as much time as was necessary, being patient and sometimes even kind. He made Robin spend the day with him in the library, and he tutored Robin in things like economics and business, foreign languages, mathematics, computer technology, anatomy and physiology, chemistry, manners and deportment, and martial arts. He was learning a lot, that was true, but he really would have preferred to be at home without Slade anywhere near him.

It was after his third escape attempt (climbing out of a window in the middle of the night) that Slade became angry. He had just been caught by Slade, and Robin had been marched into Slade's study to see something.

"Take a look at this, Robin," Slade said, sitting down in front of a bank of screens. "There are hidden cameras all over the house, despite its size, and I can see everything that goes on. I knew where you were the whole time, so it's really pointless to try escaping again. I will always catch you. Now, do I have to dose you with that gas again, or will you behave? If that is what it takes to make you obedient, then I will do it."

Robin lost it. He launched himself at Slade with a roar, knocking the mysterious villain out of his chair and onto the parquet floor. It was a short wrestling match, and Robin soon found himself pinned, his shoulders held firmly by Slade's hands, and his legs held immobile by one of Slade's feet. It should have been easy to break out of that, but Slade held him too well.

"Robin, this is quite enough!" Slade snapped. "You are here, you are my apprentice, and that is the way it is!"

"I don't want to be your apprentice!" Robin ground out, his hands trying to break Slade's hold. "I was happy at home, and I was doing good work there, and you kidnapped me!"

Slade's one visible eye narrowed. "Youngsters don't always know what is best for them," Slade said icily. "I know what is best for you, Robin, and your potential was being wasted as a Teen Titan. Take my advice, and forget them. If I have to force you to do this every step of the way, then I will, and you can trust me when I say that it will not be pleasant."

Robin had tried striking at Slade, but his blow had been blocked with the nonchalance one would use to swat away a fly. He was taken up to his room and told to go to bed, but Robin decided on taking a hot shower first, to wash away Slade. When he came out, dressed in pajamas and ready to hit the sack, Karlton was sitting in a chair beside the bed.

"What are you doing here?" Robin demanded. He still hadn't forgiven Karlton for finding him in the trunk and taking him back to Slade.

"Mister Slade asked me to sit with you tonight, Master Robin, since you can't be trusted to stay put, he said."

Robin almost wanted to kill the wizened old butler, but he kept himself calm and under control. He got into bed, but he took a book with him and stayed awake as long as he could, reading and ignoring his watchdog. He passed out sometime around four in the morning, and woke up to the sounds of his door opening, closing, and footsteps. He looked up and spotted Slade.

"Forgot to say something last night?" Robin asked nastily, "Or did you just come to gloat?"

"I came to talk with you," Slade said, taking Karlton's now empty chair. "Keeping you here with me isn't doing either of us any good, is it?"

"Duh."

"Well, what if I arranged for you to go somewhere else?"

Robin looked at him. "What do you mean?"

"I want you to be educated, but apparently, there're emotional issues that are keeping you from learning under me. What if I sent you to a boarding school?"

Robin stared at him. Nuts. The guy was nuts. A place like that would be a pushover to escape from. Surely Slade knew that, didn't he?

"I'll make a deal with you, Robin," Slade said, bringing a foot to rest up on one knee. "You spend a single semester at a boarding school as my adoptive son, and if you still do not wish to be my apprentice at the end of that time, then I will not force you."

"What's the catch?" Robin demanded, positive that there was an angle here that he wasn't seeing.

"The only catch is that you spend a semester at a boarding school, that you write to me, telling me of your progress, and that you do not contact your friends until the semester is over. Is it a deal?"

Robin thought about this. If he did it, then he could be free of Slade forever, if Slade stood by his own promise. If he did it, he could find a way to escape Slade, and deal with him only as a Titan if Slade's promise proved false. If he didn't, then he was stuck here in a huge old house with Slade and Karlton. What to choose?

"Why don't we meet downstairs for breakfast, and you tell me your decision then," Slade suggested, rising. "I trust it won't take you long to decide."

When Robin got to the breakfast table, Slade was reading a newspaper and sipping at coffee. Seeing such normal behavior out of Slade was almost too weird. He sat down, putting his napkin in his lap as Slade had insisted he do, and started eating, ignoring Slade for the moment.

It seemed as if Slade were too involved in his paper to realize that his unwilling protégé was at the table. Robin, tired of giving Slade subtle hints that he wasn't picking up, cleared his throat and spoke. "I'll go," he said, "but don't expect those letters to be long, and I want to contact my friends to let them know that I'm all right."

"All right," Slade said, after a moment of silent reflection. "We'll send them that message this afternoon."

Robin dropped his fork. "You're serious? You're actually going to let me contact my friends?"

"I don't want you to, but I can see you're set on it," Slade said, shrugging. "If that is what it takes to make you happy, then so be it. The message will be short, however, just enough to tell them that you're all right and that they don't have to worry."

Robin thought about this. It seemed all right, and besides, he could contact his friends from the school. They had to have computers and email there.

"All right," Robin agreed. "Just as long as I get to send them some word of me."

Slade nodded. "We'll go shopping this morning for what you need, and then I'll take you to the school this afternoon. Is that agreeable?"

"Very agreeable."

"I thought it would be," Slade said, picking up his fork to continue with his breakfast.

To my readers—Here it is! Enjoy.