Blast to the Supposed

Alexnandru Van Gordon

I have my Math Final this afternoon, but now the first chapter to Cages of the Lost is in I can focus more on my own stories. Just Math and then Science…so close yet so far…

CHAPTER NINE: Just a little longer

"So…you did it all to get rid of him?"

"That's about right."

"And…you never used it because you knew the consequences of murder?"

"Yep."

"But…why exactly did you create it in the first place if you were never going to use it?'

"To hell bent on my job."

"So…you're going to use it now because you know it won't have the same affect?"

"Precisely."

"Wow…never thought you'd turn homicidal on us."

Robin frowned…well, not exactly. You can't exactly frown in a dream…or whatever this was.

"You saw me chop him up." He muttered. "Didn't see you calling up the police, HW."

Her vision smiled, both of them sitting together in what seemed to be oblivion. "Not her, kiddo. Just a figment of you imagination that would do and say what she would probably do and say. I'm all in your head—I'm you."

"That's what the last one said."

"And look at what you've gotten yourself into now."

"Just shut up…" He gazed around at the sullen nothingness. Just darkness…for as far as the eye could see. The only light seemed to be coming from him, emitting off what was either his soul or subconscious. Not even this figment of a dead ally glowed and he wondered if she would be left along in the oblivion once he woke to hell.

"Is this what it's like to die?" He asked, somewhat worried now. He'd always been taught that there was a heaven and hell, but after seeing Slade rise from the dead like nothing was wrong, it made him wonder. Shouldn't he have gone to hell—get the tar scared out of him so that he behaved better on earth?

She continued to smile, more of a knowing grin than anything else. "This is what you fear death to be—the final thoughts of a dying atheist."

"Then why are you here?"

"Because you fear for your friends. You don't want them to suffer oblivion and since your vision of this girl is the only one dead so far she is the one you imagine down here. You even think about Starfire sometimes, hear her distant cries in this abyss as you search endlessly, hopelessly for her…It's sad, really, that someone who fears that actual death is the end fights and suffers in the only life he thinks he has."

"Untrue!" He bit back. "But what proof do we have that there is a heaven or a hell."

"Well, obviously there's a hell—has to be, seeing that that Raven girl is a demon. And if there's a hell then there had to be a heaven."

"A balance…"

"You can't have good without evil, and you can't have evil without good, that's why we have bad times. Can't really appreciate or define the good times without them…"

Too true. He was afraid at times as such of dying…well, not quite "dying" but he was afraid of what came after you died. Death was the fear for many while it was the other that frightened most. Why, then, was he thinking about it?

"Because you've contemplated it before. You always thought Slade would kill you but he has no intentions of doing so, and now you wish he would but you know he won't do it. You fear for the others because Slade has proven to be unstoppable, and you wonder if you will truly die if you submit. What happens to the conscious, the memories, the morals and the truths—does it all fall into this oblivion or will you somehow keep it safe in the back of your mind?"

"How do you know this?"

"I don't—you do. This is you conscience speaking."

"So…do we stand a chance?"

"Oh—you know we do…" She laughed and it almost felt warmer where he was. "Oh—and someone called earlier."

He paused and gave the phantom an odd look. "Excuse me?"

"Raven tried sending you a message. Guess she's either too exhausted to talk or you're too think-headed to receive…"

Hmm…well, it was good to know that someone was still trying to look for him. His capture from the asylum must have said something about the truth to them, and if it hadn't…well, he'd be looking for new friends.

The phantom began to fade and he felt like asking her to stay, but, knowingly, she raised a hand and continued to smile. "Spend this time alone with your memories, kiddo. This might be the last of them you'll see happily for a long time."

"What! Why!"

"This is your subconscious and no-one can touch that. Remember the whatever serum Slade's got in the air? The whole rage thing…"

Dammit.

With a final wave she backed away into the ever growing darkness and he sat down on what seemed to be the floor as his own light began to fade. He knew he'd find a way out of it all. It was a only matter of time and he was sure he'd figure something out sooner or later…

Morning, Robin. Welcome to a new day…

-RX-

He woke tied up in the corner of a small dark room, the broken figure of Vincent seemingly asleep (or worse) beside the wall near the door. HW must have returned to catch him after he fainted, Taking Vince with him…but why the sudden change in sides? Sure Red-X had some issues to get over before he went fill thief on everyone again, and he guessed someone would be in a bitchy mood after coming back from the dead (Slade was another example of that), but what had she ever held against the Titans? Jeez…they were really the only ones who understood her. And look at what had happened to her brother!

"Vince…hey, buddy—wake up!" He whispered, trying to get his attention without anyone else knowing. His belt was gone, but all else besides he was fine. Vincent on the other hand… "Come on, buddy—wake up! You can't be dying on me now…"

The blond-haired boy stirred and opened his eyes, lying on his side with his hands tied behind his back. A weak smile played across his face, but only for a brief moment. "It's cold…" He answered softly, shivering slightly as he said it. "What time is it?"

"No idea, but we'll find out soon. I'm going to get us out of here, okay, so just please hold on just a little longer…"

Vincent yawned, closing his eyes again. "So…tired…"

"Uh-uh, buddy—no shut eye until we get home. You've got to keep with me." He moved around a bit and, with much effort, he made it to his feet. Tied at the ankles he had to hop over to Vincent, sitting down in front of him near his head to make sure he stayed awake. "Can't you ghost through the floor or the rope or something?"

Vincent was barely able to shake his head. "Can't…Blood."

At first he thought he was talking about Brother Blood, but then he remembered Vincent's weakness. Not only had he bled himself a puddle beneath his body but, after staring over at his bond hands, he noticed that the ropes were cutting into his wrists, drawing blood to coat them with.

"Look at you…Hold up, Vince. I'm going to try and untie you."

"...Okay…" The boy whispered. But X had no idea if he was going to be fast enough. Vincent didn't look like he was doing too well…

-Ra-

She had tried too many times and failed. Returning to the T-Tower, she meditated first to heal and then to try and contact Robin. But he was either too far away, lost within unconsciousness, or not accepting her calls. The latter of the three seemed to be most irregular so she skipped and made a guess to either A or B.

"Don't suppose they're at any of the old places, do you?" Cyborg asked. It wasn't going to be long before the accident at JC Asylum got out in Gotham news and the JL would be down their throat in the blink of an eye. Especially Bruce. He was reaching the end of his rope with Slade and you could bet on the moon that he would try and murder the man if he ever found out there was a repeat with the Robin getting captured…

"Dude—I'm getting sick of this!" Beast Boy exclaimed, sitting on the couch as he threw the newspaper across the room. "Slade always has the same agenda and he still beats us with it…Escape, gather allies and robots, snatch up the Teen Titans' leader, create some weapon of mass destruction, and try to destroy us. It's just embarrassing…"

Starfire, as down as she was, couldn't find the happiness to fly and sat down next to him on the couch. "I agree with friend Beast Boy. Perhaps we are too young to deal with the villainous people of this world…"

"Don't be like that ya all. We've done this before—we can do it again!"

"I agree with Cyborg." Raven sighed as her mantra faded and she stood from levitating in the air. "Even if we're stuck at this equilibrium, keeping him from winning is as good of a victory as we'll ever get. Maybe one day that'll change, but we have to continue giving it our all."

Beast Boy threw his hands up in the air before covering his face with them. "Then where do we go—what do we do!"

Cyborg grinned, patting their youngest companion on the head. "We start searching—staring with any isolated or broken down places in the city. We'll each take a direction—BB, north; Star, south; Raven, east; and I'll ride on down to the west. Got that?"

No arguments were further voiced. Even as kids they knew what had to be done when the time came to do it…

-S-

There was nothing new to it…The belt had all the features he once knew about and nothing new had been added to the design. Maybe Robin was trying to pull a bluff? Maybe he thought he had a plan but really didn't…

It was really annoying not being ahead on such things.

Crushing the belt in his hands, he threw it away. There was nothing special about the suit itself that Red-X wore; everything was in the belt and so far he found nothing. There was nothing, but then why did Robin need it!

If he didn't wear his mask he would have torn out his hair. But he could be patient…actually, he didn't need to be. Robin should be waking soon and that meant he could start with the questioning…

Everything was just in a matter of time.

-A-

Got to go people. My exam starts in a short while and I'm typing away like crazy at the computer. I hope you all have a wonderful day and may God be with you if you're still writing your Finals.

Until Again,

Alexnandru Van Gordon