A/N: Sorry it takes me so long to update. My laptop is always breaking down and I don't get time to type my chapters out till the weekends. My teachers just love to give me homework because I'm in all number one classes in my school. I really hate homework! But here is the next chapter. I'm not getting many reviews for this fic, but I at least put out three chapters before getting very many, so this is normal. But please review! It helps me a lot. Thanks!
Disclaimer: I wish I could say this in Spanish, but I don't know the word for Teen Titans. So I'll just say it in English. I don't own the Teen Titans!
Chapter 2 Stuck On An Island
"Eat up!" John said with his normal cheerful voice as he handed Robin a plate with some kind of fish on it. Robin took it without talking and looking very melancholy. John sat across from Robin on a chopped down palm tree with a fire burning between them.
Robin had freaked out a little when he heard the General say he was going to hunt him. He was now stuck on an unknown island with an insane guy going to hunt him down any time he felt like it. It was quite scary once you thought about it. Robin had been captured by the Generals robots and tied up so he could not run off.
The robots were Robin's first clue that the General was not just a hunter. He had to be extremely smart to create a solar powered robot that was silent on foot and swift enough to capture Robin in only a few minutes. The things looked very similar to the ones Robin had seen in the movie "I Robot". Just that these were shorter and wearing green armor to blend into the jungle that took up most of the island.
So here Robin was, sitting on a chopped up palm tree with his arms tied up. His hands were tied with some kind of green wire that gave off a neon glow in the darkness of night. The wire was unbreakable and was another hint to Robin that the General was an inventor.
Darkness had fallen over the small island. John had set up a fire and cooked some fish for Robin and him to eat. Robin stared into the fire and watched the flames come up. His mind was finally working straight. The drug General Thatch had used on him had made the teen's mind work slower. The affects of the drug had finally worn off, and the teen's quick mind was back and thinking of a plan to get his butt off the island without getting himself killed.
"I thought you said the robots were solar powered," Robin finally said quietly while looking up to his capture. He had made up his mind to talk with the General to get some information about the island. It never hurt to talk, and once you got to know the man he was pretty cool. Insane, but cool.
John poked at his food while glancing up at Robin. "They are," he answered with a hint of a smile coming to his face. "I was wondering if you were going to catch that. I only have a few of these robots. One set of them stores up energy in the sun while the others go around the island looking for…well…humans shipwrecked on the island. I get a lot of them, you know? So my robots switch everyday."
Robin shifted in the green wire attached to his wrists while thinking over what the General had just said. He bit his lower lip while looking down at his food. He was not hungry at all, but he knew that he needed to keep his strength for the up coming days ahead. He had a gut feeling that his situation would not get any better than what was now.
"But do tell me about yourself, Robin," John said after taking a bite from his fish. He stared at Robin with wonder in his gray eyes. "I know you broke away from Batman a few years ago. How is your new team?"
"Why are you asking me these kind of things?" Robin asked his capture with confusion in his voice. He gave John a strange glance then took a bite from his fish. It was a lot better than coconut juice. "And how do you know me so well? You told me that you've been on this island for most of your life."
John Thatch gave Robin a wink and grinned. He set his plate down next to him and leaned forward to talk closer to the teen. Robin kept eating while pretending not to care that he was milking for information from the General. To get off the island he knew he had to know a lot about the man who sat in front of him.
"I was a General in the army a few years back," John started to explain to Robin. The teen knew that the man's life story was coming up. "But my plane crashed on this island, and I was the only one to survive. I had to live off this small amount of land for around five years. Finally someone found me one day, but I said that I wanted to live here. So I bought a few things from America and built another home, and I bought some weapons because my favorite past time was hunting the animals here on the island."
"Why did you want to stay here?" Robin asked with a hint of pity in his voice. The man must have gone mad on the island for those five years. Robin felt sorry for the man.
"You see, Robin," John went on with a nod. He ignored the question Robin had thrown at him, and the teen took note of that. "Once you hunt you do realize that animals are not as bright as us humans. After years of hunting I desperately wanted a challenge. I wanted something that could think as fast as I could and could learn. The only thing that could come to mind was a human just like me. So that was when I started to set up my game."
"Your game?" Robin asked with a hint of laughter to his voice. He saw John frown and he looked back down to his fish to hide his smile. "Go on," he finally said while looking up.
"So I have sparked some interest in your mind somewhere?" John asked with a smile.
"You have me hooked," Robin said with a nod. "It is not boring me. If that is what you think."
"So you agree with me?" Thatch asked Robin. "You agree that hunting animals is boring?"
"I don't hunt," Robin answered with a smile. "I just take down bad guys."
John gave a shrug and continued his story. "I have set up a game for the people that get shipwrecked on the island. They have to make it through the jungle with only a map and compass to three different locations while I track them down. If they win, I send them back to wherever they came from. If they lose then I'll bury them in my big graveyard behind my new home."
John could see Robin shift in his seat while he heard these words. Robin wanted to say something but it might trigger the guy to freak out or something. The best thing to do was the wait quietly. But he had suddenly lost his hunger and set his half eaten fish down beside him.
"I quickly got bored with these average people," John said lightly to Robin. "I needed someone that could give me more of a challenge. The first person I tested out was someone you know very well." Robin raised an eyebrow, and John gave him a wicked smile. "It was Batman."
The news hit Robin like a bag of bricks. The white in his mask went wide to tell John that his eyes were wide with surprise. "You hunted Batman?" Robin asked with confusion in his voice once again. "He never told me about you."
"That is because he does not remember any of it," John said quickly. "He won. I lost. It was my first lost ever. I gave him a pill to forget me and my island. He might have nightmares of it, but he will never remember unless he sees something that will spark that part of the brain to remember. But I learned from my mistakes then and knew I had to go against him again, but I found something better."
"Me," Robin finished for him with dread in his voice this time. "You found out that I was being trained by him and I would know everything from him."
"And you were wanted by Slade," John said with cheer in his voice. He was happy that Robin was catching on. "That man is one of the best, I've heard. I found out that he wanted you to be his apprentice. I think you will be better than Batman, but I have gotten better too. So this will be fun!"
"But don't you think it is wrong to go hunt some humans down for fun?" Robin asked the man. John gave him a strange look as if Robin was really the insane guy. "You can't do this! I can't let you do this to me or other people after me! This has to stop, General."
"We both need some rest," John said sternly. He got up and shot Robin a distasteful look. He took Robin's plate and his own. "We start tomorrow night. We will sleep here then head up to my house in the morning when we have more light." With that said, the General spread out on a blanket in the sand next to the fire. He closed his eyes and ignored Robin who just sat on the tree in a bit of shock.
I have to get off this island before tomorrow night! Robin thought to himself while staring into the fire once again. The guy is crazy! My team will never find me here, so I'll have to find a way off this place by myself. If I can sneak up to the man's house tonight I might find a helicopter or something to fly off the island. He has to have something to get himself across the ocean because he somehow captured me.
He had a plan. Not the best one, but it would do for now. Robin made sure John was asleep before he went to work at the wires around his wrists. The wire was also tied to the tree he was sitting on. John had not noticed that Robin had hidden the fork he was using to cut the fish into his pant pocket. Now Robin took it out in a flash to cut the wire.
The green wire was more like a rope that was as strong as a wire. It was as thick as rope too. Robin started to grind the fork into the green wire/rope close to the tree. After around a half an hour of hard working, Robin finally was free from the tree. His wrists were still tied together, though.
Now for the hard part of Robin's plan. He crept up to John's body as quietly as he could. He could faintly see the General's stomach go up and down to tell people that he was still breathing. Robin looked around to see if any robots were watching him. He saw none and thought that maybe they were all sent home. But he could be wrong because it was hard to see in the darkness. The only light he had was the fire that was slowly going out. Soon there would be nothing but complete darkness that sometimes creeped Robin out.
Robin held his breath while slipping a hand into the man's belt that was lying next to him. He would have to have a map. Not so much to Boy Wonder's luck, there was none. Robin muttered a curse under his breath. He should have known! The guy had lived there for more than five years. He had to know the island from top to bottom. Robin would have to wing it.
Then Robin felt a flashlight in one of the pockets of the belt, and a smile played on the teen's lips. It would be better to locate the house with some light. He grabbed it and started to back up. He then took off in a sprint across the sand to the jungle to find John Thatch's house with his wrists still tied together. He could not cut the wire with the fork around his wrists.
Suddenly Robin felt the wire/rope attached to his wrists tighten up. Before the teen could comprehend what was going on, his wrists yanked him sharply backwards. He was knocked off balance and landed on his shoulder in the sand. He heard a soft pop and felt a sharp pain in the shoulder he had landed on. He gave a short yell and rolled over to his back. He had lost the flashlight when he fell. But he did not care about that now. His mind was on how was he going to get punished by the man who had just outsmarted him once again.
"You never give up, do you?" John asked Robin while standing next to him. He had his hands on his hips and that same wicked smile on his face. In his sick mind he was enjoying seeing Robin in pain and helpless. "My next hunt is going to be very fun! How is your shoulder?"
"Why do you ask?" Robin asked him from where he laid on his back in the sand. "You don't care."
"Really, I do care, my boy," John said with hurt in his eyes. He kind of had a soft spot for teens. He would miss Boy Wonder once he was done hunting him. "Now get up," he said with a chuckle. "We need to have a look at that shoulder. Is it the one I shot?"
"Yes," Robin said while still on his back. "It's not broken. I'll be fine."
John rolled his eyes and leaned down to examine Robin's shoulder. The teen quickly pulled his foot up and slammed it into the General's stomach with a short battle cry. The man stumbled backward with surprise on his face. Robin quickly got up from the ground and took up a fighting stance.
John started to laugh and said, "You had me going there for a long time, kid. You're good!"
"I'm not joking around, General," Robin snapped back quickly. He narrowed his eyes at the man and said, "I'm not going through with your game either."
"But you really have to," John said while lightly stepping sideways. Robin followed the movement by stepping in the opposite way. "It would be a shame if you got away."
"Then you will have to live with it," Robin said. He then threw himself at his enemy with much speed. The General quickly stepped out of the way then blocked a kick by ducking. Robin could only kick because his hands were still tied together. The General quickly took advantage over that and grabbed the wire again and yanked on it.
"Let go!" Robin yelled while pulling back on the rope. It was a tug-a-war with the rope now. Robin dug his bare feet into the sand and tried to pull the rope back. The General did the same. He then let go, and the laws of physics took over. Robin fell backwards onto his butt with a short yell.
The teen scrabbled to his feet in a flash. He gathered up the rope and held it all in his hands so John could not get his hands on it again. His shoulder was screaming for him to stop, but he ignored the pain and looked around the beach in search for his enemy.
"You can't escape, Robin," John said while coming out of nowhere. Robin ducked out of the way of a punch thrown at him. "Why don't you give up now to save the trouble?"
"I don't go down without a fight," Robin answered while jumping backwards to dodge a roundhouse kick. "But you need help, General," Robin said to try and talk to him. "You're sick. You can come to America with me and we can help you. I would like to help you."
"All very kind, young one," John said. "But no." Robin tried to kick him, but the man grabbed his foot just like Slade would have done and yanked the teen to him. Robin was caught off balance and slammed into the man with a wince. John then pushed Robin face first into the sandy ground while grabbing the rope out of Robin's hands. He then slammed his knee down on Robin's back to pin him there.
Robin gave a yell as John yanked on the rope a few times, and his shoulder gave him shots of pain. Sand flew into the teen's mouth, and he coughed it out. He was pinned down like that with the General's knee still pushing him into the sand.
"Next time just let me check your shoulder, kid," John said with a laugh. "It is a lot easier than this." Robin gave a shiver as the man lightly touched his shoulder to check it out. "You just popped it out," John said while feeling Robin's shoulder with careful hands. "I'm going to pop it back in, but it might hurt a little." Robin bit his lower lip as the General expertly pushed his shoulder back into place. He would not cry out.
John finally took his knee off of Robin's back and let the teen stand back up. Defeat was in the teen's eyes as he slowly got to his feet. He coughed up some more sand as John lead Robin back to the fire that was almost out by now.
"I think we should head back to my house now because you're so eager to get there," John said while glancing over to Robin. The teen was more focused on trying to get out of his bindings than anything else. "Why do you still bother to get free?" John asked the teen while shaking his head.
"It's worth a try," Robin muttered.
"No," John said while giving Robin a strange look. "It's not worth it. You're not getting out of that binding, kid. No matter how hard you try."
"So," Robin answered then gave up with a sigh a few seconds later. He dropped his arms and looked away from the man who had captured him once again. He had lost the battle but not the war. He would get off the island sometime. He just had to keep fighting.
"Come on," John said to Robin while yanking a few times on the rope attached to the teen. Robin glared daggers at the man, but followed right behind. He felt like a cow or something being lead by someone and having no power over his life. "The quicker we get there," John said with a smile. "The quicker we can prepare for the game."
"I'm not playing in your game," Robin said angrily. He stopped in his tracks and pulled back on the rope to get the message across that he did not want to play. The two stared at each other with eyes narrowed. Robin made his hands into fists as his mouth twisted into a frown. He was dead serious.
"I think it is about time you take no for an answer, kid," John said after a long silence. "Because I can just kill you right now. What will it be?"
"Just let me go," Robin said. "I can help you. But I will not play your game till hell freezes over."
"Oh, for the love of…" John muttered while rolling his eyes. He grabbed the pistol out of his belt and aimed it at Robin. The teen seemed to stiffen up, and his angry frown faded into one of worry. "I know you're not the suicide type, Robin," John said. "So just move your sorry butt. You can complain all you want once the game starts tomorrow."
At first Robin looked like he was going to protest some more. But he thought better of it and just nodded in defeat. John then picked up the flashlight Robin had dropped and turned it on. The light took a few shakes to go on, and it kept fading then getting brighter. John cursed the thing under his breath.
The two set out into the jungle with only the light of the small flashlight. It was so dark Robin could barely see anything in front of him. It was a lot colder in the jungle, and Robin found himself shivering because he had no sleeves. His bare feet walked over the muddy ground and leaves. He could hear the many animal sounds around him as they came out at night to play. He liked the beach better.
Suddenly Robin slipped in some mud. With a short yell, the teen fell forward. John was yanked backwards because he had been pulling Robin along. He looked behind him at Robin who was trying to get up as quickly as he could but for some reason he was sinking into the mud.
"Stop!" John yelled at him sharply. Robin stopped and looked over to John with confusion. "You're in quicksand," John said quickly. He shined the flashlight on Robin, and the teen saw that it was true. John ran up to the side of the quicksand to try to get Robin out.
"I'm sinking too fast!" Robin said while raising his hands above his head.
"It's because your light," John said while yanking on the rope in his hands. "Don't you eat anything?"
Robin did not answer. John was getting nowhere with just pulling on Robin's rope. The General ran around the quicksand to a small tree. He bent it down, and Robin grabbed the bent trunk. His hands suddenly slipped, and he sunk deeper into the sand. He took one last gasp of air before his head went under.
John thought fast and climbed onto the small tree. He grabbed Robin's wrist then pulled as hard as he could. The tree snapped, and John fell forward with a yell. John landed on the ground next to the quicksand. He still had his hand on Robin's wrist. He finally pulled the teen out of the quicksand.
Robin gasped for air and just laid on the ground to calm down. He finally sat up and looked over to John while shivering in the coldness of the night. The man was leaning against a tree with his arms folded in front of him. His eyes were set on the teen.
"Thank you," Robin said after a long silence.
"Next time just don't fall into quicksand, kid," John said as if saving the teen's life was nothing.
Robin got up off the floor and stood on shaky feet. "Why did you save me if you're just going to kill me once you start your game?" Robin asked him.
"I can't let you die like that," John said while picking up the flashlight he had dropped by the quicksand. "I think the best way to die is to be fighting. Don't you agree?"
Robin thought about it then said, "I would have to agree." John looked over to him then smiled. He took the rope still attached to the boy's wrists and walked more into the jungle. Robin followed close behind in silence.
A/N: Sorry it took so long to get out this chapter. I have a big family of six. I have three other sisters and a mom and dad. Some would say that is big compared to the average family today. But we are finally moving out of our small apartment and into a real house! I'll have my own room, so I will not have to share it with my insane older sister! YES! But we have to clean up the apartment before we move in May. So I had to clean up the whole house today with my parents. My little sisters are too lazy to do anything and my insane older sister had a ton of homework. Hard work always makes me want to type, though. I'm so weird. I think my older sister's insaneness is brushing off on me! NO! But please review!