Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or anything related to them. The story idea is also completely mine and any story similar to it is pure coincedence.
Chapter One
He trudged down the hallway, each step eachoing dully in this dark place. Even after a year's time of being in this place, he still had not gotten quite used to it. As much as it pained him to think about it, he missed his bed, he missed his hot meal, and most of all, he missed his friends, especially her. Reaching the end of the hallway, he pulled open a door and let himself in. It was a room, if you could call it that. A cot and a bedside table sat in the corner of the room while another door led to the small bathroom. Sighing dejectedly, he sat down on the small cot and began to take off the metal bands on his arms and legs.
It was the same routine, every day, for the past year. Ever since his master had forced him to serve him, he had not been the same. At the beginning, he had a child-like hope that he could break away, that everything would turn out all right, but his friends never could figure out why he had deserted them, they never did see how he hated to fight them. Every fight with his master had ended badly, in either pain or a threat against his former friends. Eventually, he had learned to control himself, to wait until the time was right to test himself against the man again.
He heard the final, satisfying clink as the last metal band came off onto the table. Stretching out across the cot, he tucked his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, holding back the tears that had come to his eyes. Normally, he could handle missions, but this time, she had actually fought him with all her strength. This time, there was no talking involved, just empty, sad eyes staring back at his own masked ones before attacking.
A knock at the door alerted him to Wintergreen's presence. Although he had no obligation to rise for the old man, he did so anyway, for they had formed a kinship of sorts. Wintergreen understood him, even if he did not express it. Sometimes, he would find extra food or a newspaper article about his former friends under his pillow at night, and know it was from the kind man. The old butler had taken pity on him, and as much as it hurt his pride to be pitied, he had to admit that it was nice to have at least someone in the same situation, stuck under Slade's gaze. Nodding politely, he took the plate from the butler and dismissed him. He checked the bottom of the saucer. A newspaper, wonderful. Contentedly, he sat down to do one of the few things that made him feel like a Titan again, to read about it.
Apparently, some strange villain named the Puppet King had invaded the tower the night before. A smile tugged at his mouth as he pictured Beast Boy and Cyborg as puppets. Reading on, he was glad to hear that Raven and Starfire had saved them, despite having been stuck in each other's bodies. Surely that was a learning experience for everyone. Except him.
Biting his lip, he sat back again on the cot and wondered how he would have handled the situation. Would he have been a puppet or a hero? Every time he read about a victory, he wondered why he couldn't have been there. And every time he read about a loss, he was angry with himself; maybe if he had been there it wouldn't have happened.
He put the article down and scarfed down some food, exhausted from the day's work. Slade wasn't happy with his performance, he knew, but he had gotten the job done and given him a fight to watch, what more could the man need? Though he did not do as well as he could, he still succeeded in his missions, and yet the man could always find a way that Robin could improve.
Laying back down, he remembered the day's fight. Starfire had led the group after he had left. According to the latest rumors, she had adopted his obsessive nature. She locked herself in his old study all day, desperately trying to figure out the reason why he had deserted them. How could she be so close to the truth and yet so far from it? Starfire's eyes had been downcast as she cried out, "Titans, take him down!" and began firing starbolts at him. She had long since lost the will to fly, except in battle, and this was evident in her latest battle strategies. She was talking to him less and less, and in fact, he feared that she was becoming depressed.
Raven had attacked immediately after Star. She had wrapped him in negative energy and prepared to blast him before he blinded her with a small disk, with the "S" on it, of course. Raven had perhaps been the least effected, at least on the outside, by his leaving. Then again, she had always managed to filter out her emotions, so this was no surprise to him. She had once solely been defensive, but her attacks were getting more ferocious, and Robin could have sworn her eyes were glowing red in the last few seconds of the battle.
Cyborg had been the easiest to take down, at least for him. Any other villain would have been knocked flat, but Robin knew that the big softy could never shoot him, his former best friends, even if they were enemies now. And yet during the last battle, he had. Robin still had the bruises to prove it. They were getting tougher, and he knew it.
Beast Boy, the youngest and most impressionable, had ceased to speak to him since the second week, preferring rather to change into animals so as to prevent even the smallest urge to talk. Rarely did Robin ever see the changeling in human form anymore. He missed the optimistic smile and the constant jokes the boy was always telling.
He had just finished eating when a voice that eminated from the communicator lodge in his ear spoke, saying, "Apprentice, come." The voice was dark, deathly, and most would flinch at having to obey it every day, and yet that was what he did. Slowly, he got up, muttered a quick, "On my way," and slipped on the metal bands. He walked down the hallway as slowly as he could, dragging out every step just to aggravate Slade. He still had a fiery spirit of hope and rebellion on the inside, he just had learned to suppress it.
When he reached the room where Slade was waiting, he was met by several clips of the same blonde girl on every wall. In some, the girl's eyes were yellow, and she seemed to be exercising a power that gave her command over rocks. In others, she was crying, or running, or hiding. This girl seemed to be as desperate and depressed as he was, and he immediately felt sympathetic towards her.
"She is unstable, her powers are out of control. Perhaps we could manipulate her into our plans," the taller man said. Robin flinched at the use of those words, "we" and "our", but did not say anything. "Of course, if she joins the Titans, then you'll just have to fight her as well," he added, the smirk evident behind his words. Robin glared back at him but said nothing.
After watching and studying several clips, Robin felt like he knew everything about this girl, and soon grew tired of her. While he hoped the Titans would befriend her, he did not want to fight her, especially if she lost control on him. Finally, to his relief, Slade dismissed him.
He returned quickly to his room, staring out the small window he had carved into the walls himself. It showed the tower, shining like a beacon in the night. He yearned to return there, to be with his friends again, but as long as those cursed probes were there... He shook his head, banishing the depressing thoughts from his head. He laid his head down on the pillow and closed his eyes, allowing himself to drift into an uneasy sleep, filled with fanciful dreams in which he was with them again, even for one night. At least at night, in his dreams, he was happy.