Hello all...here I am updating.
jambey: Yes, I would have to agree with you there. Uh...about that...
Furubafun24: Thanks:) LOL Yeah...he's got it coming. No worries, I'm the same with the stories I read.
Tifereth Kantrishakrim: Ch. 8: LOL yeah...people kept saying "get this story in gear, where's the action, when is it gonna get interesting" so that was my come back chapter. I'm glad you liked it...I liked it too, but it seemed like others didn't...-shrug- maybe it's my imagination. Yeah, that was definitely one of my more intense chapters O.O LOL yeah, curse the darn public school system...and the private school system as well! LOL don't combust! DON'T COMBUST!
Ch. 11: I know...-sobs hysterically- That's true...and there were some absolutely horrid cliffhangers I lived through. LOL no...I fear the bunnies... :)
Ch. 12: -lip quivers- I...I...I'M SORRY! -burst into tears- I think I have my genre wrong...sigh. LOL nice description...poetic. I will put my brain to the task and attempt to save Robin from a horrible fate!
CloudsHalo: O.O Nope, ya got me there. All right, I'm glad it wasn't confusing. Yeah...I promised myself I would do one...he deserves it after all. LOL but I did predict that. Yes sir, action coming right up. Just give me a tiny bit of space to get from here to there, ok? Yeah you'll find out in this chap...lol yeah I do, but honestly, I don't actually laugh all that much...I should do it more. Thanks.
Dark-Magic67: You are about to find out. LOL I don't know...he was probably polishing the banister. Thanks:)
Aeris-Raven: Thanks...-blush- I'm glad...I wanted them to add, not detract, from the message, so hurrah if they did. LOL that was what I was attempting to do, though I'm not as crafty with words as to say it like that. Thanks so much:)
CelticHeiressFiona: Yeah, I'm afraid it's all true. You will soon find out. LMAO! HEAR HEAR! (about the Slade bit)
DeathIsOnlyTheBeginin: LOL thanks! -bows- Yeah, I love the Boy Wonder a heck of a lot more than it looks like from my stories. (Robin: What was that?) -sigh- I said...you're not so bad. Happy? (Robin: Eh?) -sigh- I SAID I love you. (Robin: -grins- There now. Was that so hard?) Yes. Anyway, as I was saying before he interrupted, I would like to think I know him inside out, so I'm glad it comes out that way. Thanks so much:)
Raven of the Night 676: NO, no it's not! Don't hurt me! O.O Hmm...thanks for that tidbit, I wasn't aware of that. Yeah I forgot to mention that...It's Three Doors Down, song called Away from the Sun...it's good.
The Wings of a Raven: Really? What kind of idea? He feels there is no longer any point in striving for victory. It could very well be longer than the first...we'll just have to see.
Mystyre: Aye, that is my reason for choosing that title. No kidding...lol it's like Robin trying to keep a secret from me...except personally I think I'm a lot more like him than Slade is. I am also mourning for the bat...-sigh- Sometimes I am just so mean. Thanks! LOL sorry for spazzing there...just made me wanted to smack the darn kid! Oh, and STRANGLE Starfire! But I can understand your reasoning. It was good, don't get me wrong!
VerticallyxChallenged: I think you can say it either way...lol thanks, I guess I just have good taste in music. Actually I heard the song on the radio and it just screamed ROBIN so there you have it. NO KIDDING! I hate Geometry more than the devil himself...I think I might could handle it if we had a bloody text book, but nooooo, we get taught straight from the insane mumblings of our teacher's mind! Grrr...I shall never use it, NEVER! LOL sounds awesome...now this may be a bit shocking, but I want to be an author...I know, unexpected eh? Hm...where did I put that super glue?
AnnFaithDarknessGoddess: I know...it was one of my more cruel urges. True...losing a loved one is hard enough when you're surrounded by family and friends, but all alone...Yes. I don't blame Robin in the smallest degree for finally caving...the fact that he held out so long shows how incredibly strong he really is. Sorry about that...I catch up with her in this chapter. Thanks!
SHUT UP AND READ!
Slade was rigid in his seat, eyes fixed on the screen, his head resting lightly on interlocking fingers. He watched with interest as Robin shook with sobs weakened from long hours of tears. It had been two days since Batman met his untimely death, and the boy had hardly ceased his weeping and screaming since. Slade wondered vaguely where on Earth Robin found the energy; it had been days since he ate or slept.
Slade's eye narrowed, a flicker of uncertainty flaring up in the back of his mind as Robin fell onto his side, drawing his knees up against his chest. The fetal position...never a good sign. Had he pushed too hard?
Shock filled him as Robin whispered something, weak, faint, but still distinguishable: "You win, Slade." Not possible. Was this truly possible? Robin had finally given in, though the necessary procedure had nearly killed him. It was hard to believe, hard to comprehend. Victory, after years of trying? "You win."
Slade's eye, thrown wide moments before, was narrow once more. "I've been winning all along, Robin. This is just the first time you've admitted it."
Harsh breathing rasped through the speakers, slow and ragged...Robin's eyelids drooped shut, his body going limp. Slade bolted from his chair, frowning beneath his mask. "Oh no you don't." Robin was not going to escape him that easily, not now that he was sufficiently weakened to allow for training. Still glaring, Slade raced down the dark, empty hallway, waving a hand in front of the door and shoving it open as the lock clicked. In a flash, he was crouched beside the boy, placing his thumb at the base of a limp wrist. The pulse was weak, erratic. Now was the time for action.
Slade placed a small disk on the ground beside Robin, pushing the red button. The device whirred to life, a thin appendage extending upwards, a small but bright light at its tip. Slade adjusted the beam to fall on Robin, then reached into a compartment on his utility belt, removing a small antiseptic pad, a syringe, and a vial of yellow liquid. Moving quickly, he rolled back Robin's sleeve, searched for the vein, swiped the pad over his bare skin, and injected the liquid slowly. That should hold him off for now, the rest could be done in the medical lab.
Slade had a feeling it was time to bring out that old suit...
Raven held her breath, listening anxiously as heavy footsteps pounded past her door. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest, dreading that any second, Slade would burst through that door with some new method of torture. But no. The footsteps slowly receeded, and her heartrate began to calm. The eery quiet had her on edge. Raven knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that this was merely the eye of the storm. There was more coming, oh so much more; she could feel it boiling just beneath the surface, just waiting for her to drop her guard.
But then again, who knew? Perhaps the storm had already struck without her. The now-familiar lurching sensation of fear curled around her stomach, turning her blood to ice as it coursed through her like some vile poison. Robin...
Robin...
Raven pulled her knees up against her, resting her forehead against them as her dark violet hair fell forward in waves. "Robin." Her voice trembled slightly, thick with suppressed tears. She was so afraid, so lost, so small. All she wanted was to feel his arms around her, to feel his heart beating against hers, to hear his soft, reassuring voice whispering words of comfort in her ear. She needed to know he was safe, she needed him here, with her.
"Robin, please", she choked, tears spilling from tortured purple eyes. She couldn't bear the thought of Robin hurt, Robin in pain, Robin...dead. The horrible word echoed through her mind, rebounding, repeating...dead dead dead.
"No." Her shoulders shook, a shuddering breath filling her lungs yet leaving them empty. Robin, broken and bleeding, bruised and beaten, a look of utter horror and agony frozen upon his cold features. Beautiful eyes, gorgeous hazel eyes... "No!" Thundercloud gray, icy, frigid. Those eyes were made of glass, as empty as those of some horrid doll, forever staring, forever haunting.
"NO!"
But then, the image changed. She was staring into a dark room, cloaked in shadow...but she could still see him, crouched against the wall, curled up into a ball. She knew she wouldn't be able to, but somehow she could hear his heart beating, slowly, hestitantly, as though each pulse brought a fresh wave of agony through his veins. Something in that heartbeat scared her, and in the next insant, she knew what it was.
"You win, Slade."
Deafeat. Submission. Robin was giving up.
"Hmm...maybe it's this button?"
"But friend Beast Boy, is that not the button the words "DO NOT PRESS" are reffering to?"
"Oh yeah...my bad."
Starfire and Beast Boy, plus and unconscious Cyborg, were in the medical lab, staring in utter confusion at the array of wires, knobs, and dials laid out before them. Starfire had been the first to recover after their little tussle with Cyborg, and had suggested they take him to the medical laboratory as they had done with Robin when he was behaving strangely. The only problem was, they were completely clueless as to how exactly they should go about the whole thing.
"Wait a second! He's half metal! There isn't even enough body to hook something to!" BB smacked his head in frustration. "This is just like that stupid Mega Monkies virus...I guess I could transform into an amoeba and-"
Starfire clapped a hand over his mouth to stop the yammering. There was a downward tilt to her mouth and a frown in her eyes. "We need Robin."
BB blinked, then an unusual somemnity settled on his features. Awkwardly, he placed a hand on the alien's shoulder. "I know, Star. But...how do we find him?"
Starfire pondered in silence for a moment. Everything had gone wrong since Robin left. First Raven's disappearance, then Cyborg's strange behavoir...she was unacustomed to the sudden task that had been laid upon her: the task of leading. "We have not heard anything from Robin since he left, and as far as we know, he did not tell anyone where he was traveling to." Suddenly Starfire's face lit up. "Of course! The girl! I am certain that that masked boy she did describe was indeed our friend Robin, so if we are able to locate her, perhaps we can locate him as well!"
Beast Boy blinked stupidly for a moment, and who could blame him? Starfire's grammar wasn't all that great, and when it came out in a frantic rush like that...pretty confusing. But eventually, confusion turned to excitement, but that too faded away to be replaced with disappointment. "But...we don't even know her name! How can we even hope to find her? She could be anywhere in the city...I'm not even sure if I know what she looks like!" Beast Boy flopped down on an armchair, his head in his hands, a quivering sort of frown marring his usually cheerful face. "If I hadn't...Robin...I treated him like dirt, and-" Beast Boy broke off, his dark green eyes swimming in tears. "And I just wish I could tell him how sorry I am. I just wish he was back."
Starfire studied her feet in silence. Those feelings were all familiar to her, those thoughts were, more or less, the same ones that had been echoing in her soul since the very first nightmare about the boy she had once loved so well. "Guilt" was the earthly word for such a feeling, but Starfire felt that the Tamaranian word captured it much more acurately. She and Beast Boy were experiencing the Eerakaam.
The changeling looked up in slight surprise as a firm but gentle hand gripped his shoulder, and his eyes met with Starfire's.
"True, we have both committed wrongs against friend Robin, but we are both deeply sorry for these things. The best way to show our love to Robin is not by "giving up", but by persevering in our search. If we are truly sorry, we will do what it takes to right what was made wrong."
A small, slow smile crept onto Beast Boy's face as he took the hand Starfire offered, feeling new hope spread through his being. "Never knew you were one for public speaking."
Before Starfire could even ask, the alarm blared in their ears, sending a jolt of fear through them. This could be the answer to their prayers, or the straw that broke the camel's back. As it happened, it was the former.
Mina, though she would deny it to her very last breath, had a lot of difficulty with pride. When you spent your days scrounging in trash cans and your nights sleeping in alleyways covered with newspapers, sometimes pride was the only thing that kept you alive.
But then again, if it weren't for her stubborn pride, she would have come back to them long before now.
Mina stared up at the tower with nothing short of loathing. Asking them, especially the robot, for help was like pulling off all of her toenails one right after the other. She scowled, remembering how he had thrown her out, hollering something about autographs. Like she gave a crap for a stupid piece of paper signed by a jerk like him!
"Ok. Do you want to find him or not?"
Mina knew the answer to that question like the back of her hand, so now it was time to bite the bullet. She had long before accepted this strange...attachment she felt for this boy that she didn't even know. She didn't know why, all she knew was that she had to find him. Maybe then she could go back to her "normal" life in peace.
She jumped a foot backward as the door she had been on the point of knocking on flew open, a green and red blur nearly colliding with her. She shook her head, recovering from the surprise enough to realize that the blur was actually two somewhat-human beings. Apparently, they were just as surprised to see her.
The alien was the first to recover. "FRIEND!"
Mina coughed as the air was squeezed from her body, leaving her breathless and extremely shocked. She stared helplessly at the alien's back as her face turned blue.
"Star! Let her go, you're choking her to death!"
She stumbled backward, coughing as oxygen flooded back into her lungs and staring at the redhead warily.
She blushed, a nervous giggle excaping her as she politely extened her hand. Mina took it hesitantly, but found that the girl was being incredibly gentle, no doubt to make up for that bone-crushing hug.
"I am Starfire, this is Beast Boy, and what is your name, friend?"
"Mina. I'm Mina." She glanced at the ground; nervous habit. "Well, I guess you're wondering why I'm here?" she asked the gravel.
Starfire smiled encouragingly at the top of her head. "You are here concerning friend Robin? Please, have you found him? Is he safe?"
Mina glanced up, guilt weighing on her at the hopeful light in Starfire's eyes. But wait a minute. How did they even know they were looking for the same person? "Are you sure this is Robin? I mean...he wasn't wearing a costume or anything..."
Beast Boy frowned. "We're pretty sure. At least, we hope it is." He suddenly snapped his fingers. "A fool-proof Robin-detector! Did he mention anything about a guy called Slade?"
The name twanged off of her instantly. "Yeah, he did. Accused me of working for him. But...who is Slade?"
Beast Boy and Starfire shivered at the eerie familiarity of those words. BB was the first to come up with an answer to such a complicated and painful question. "Slade is one seriously evil dude."
Sorry if that was a weird place to stop, but the purpose of this chapter was basically to tie up all those loose ends I left dangling cuz of Wayne...ah, poor Wayne Also I apollogize for any typos...Eerakaam is pronounced EAR-a-CALM, just a word that I made up that sounded like guilt to me lol. Tifereth, I'm SO glad you liked The Song of a Hero...I really wasn't sure if it was any good...you can never know when you write the thing at six in the morning. LOL I feel exactly the same about you, except I envy your wordiness. I am happy to call you a friend. Sequel? Please? -puppy dog eyes- I held up myend of the bargain...READ AND REVIEW, PEOPLE! -Dusty