A/N: Standard Disclaimers Apply

A/N: What was up with Beast Boy?

Chapter Eleven: Irony

Raven slowly stirred. Her head felt eight times heavier than it should, and her stomach suddenly knew more knots than a troop of Boy Scouts. It took every ounce of self-control not to vomit, and she spent several seconds on her hands and knees. She groaned mournfully and tried, unsuccessfully, to get to her feet.

"Raven?" a weak voice said.

She looked around, and the room slowly came into focus. She was small white hotel room with a bare bed. The pale girl looked up and saw what looked like a scarecrow. Raven, still foggy from the drugs, slowly reasoned out that no one would keep a scarecrow inside a building. Her eyes slowly widened with realization.

"S-Starfire?"

Raven gasped. Starfire's arms were stretched out horribly, and heavy chains wrapped around her waist, thighs, and ankles. The alien girl's skin was dull, and her long cinnamon colored hair hung limply. Raven forgot her own troubles and rushed over to her best friend. She brushed Star's bangs away from her sullen green eyes.

"Hold on," Rae said, "I'm going to try and get you down from there."

Star only nodded. Her entire body was sore from her binds, and her broken ribs shifted painfully as she breathed.

"Ohmigod, you're hurt," Raven gasped as she tried to focus through the lifting fog in her mind.

"It has not been a good day," Starfire said.

"How long have been up here?" Raven asked as held her hand over the locks keeping Starfire in place. The young witch released a small amount of her power and opened the locks.

"I do not know, hours, I think. What news do you have of Robin?"

"He…" Raven tried to separate what she thought happened with reality. Suddenly she was unsure. Robin did come. He did fight Red X and freed her. And did she really kiss him? "He got away for a moment, found me, but… he got recaptured. They did something to Beast Boy."

The last of the chains fell away, and Star tumbled out limply out of her stocks. Her muscles were completely cramped up, and she was obviously in great pain. Raven cushioned the willowy girl's fall with her powers and carried Star to the only bed in the room. Star's large green eyes filled with tears. Raven sighed deeply and stroked her friend's forehead.

Unbeknownst to the girls, Psimon watched them from the other room. He touched his fingertips together thoughtfully, and grinned darkly. The young impetuous fool, Red X, was no longer a concern, not that he ever was one. Psimon narrowed his dark eyes and watched them from his perch. The alien. The witch. Delicious, he thought and licked his dry thin lips. Simply delicious.

…..

"One more sweep, please Vic. We've got to do one more."

Cyborg sighed deeply as he let the bleary-eyed Argent and exhausted Jericho in the Tower. The morning sun rose steadily behind the city, and the technological Titan still had to process the evidence they all collected from Ty-Chem that night. He turned to Kid Flash and Speedy and read their body language.

"Wally, you're tapped," Cyborg said. "And so are you Roy, so don't start. Even if we do find them, we're all too tired to fight these guys."

Cyborg ushered the archer and the speedster inside. The Tower, usually vibrant with laughter and camaraderie, was strangely quiet. None of them spoke as they slowly shuffled into the expansive common room.

"Ah, Titans, it's about time you returned," a cold voice calmly announced.

Argent stopped dead in her tracks. Speedy went for his bow, and Kid Flash twitched. Cyborg's eye narrowed and his hand transformed loudly into his sonic cannon.

A tall, broad, imposing man slowly raised from the couch his back to the Titans. He wore black armor but his helmet was half orange and half pitch black. He turned his head to the left and narrowed his eye.

"Slade!" Cyborg growled. "What do you want?"

Kid Flash blurred and blindly rushed the masked villain. Slade's hand snapped out like a cobra strike and caught the gold and crimson clad hero by his face and his legs flipped out from under him.

"I'm not here to fight, boy. If I were…"

Cyborg didn't need the ruthless villain to finish the sentence. He raised his blaster and powered it down. Slade released Kid Flash, and the red headed speedster stumbled backward as Speedy lowered his bow. Argent's hands crackled with red energy. Slade slowly moved toward the others, folding his hands behind him. He cast his eye on each of the Titans coldly. None could meet his gaze.

"As you know," he lectured, "very little escapes my attention. When a former minion allies with a desperate lot, it's sure to pique my interest." The Titans opened up a wide birth for their greatest adversary. He walked arrogantly through the five of them toward the door. As he reached the door, he stopped and turned back toward the shocked teens.

"I suggest you investigate the Gallows Way."

Argent looked around at others, each too dumbfounded to speak. "Wh-why are you telling us this?" she finally asked.

"Consider it a belated birthday present," Slade said coldly, his gaze settling on the blond Jericho.

…..

Robin woke to the feel of satin sheets. He slowly sat up, his tunic removed and his shoulder expertly bandaged. The room was sheathed in silks and satins, all in rich, sultry colors.

"Where am I?" he said aloud.

"My rooms, of course."

Robin turned to see the dark haired, exotic beauty of Blackfire coiled up in an oversized chair. She wasn't wearing her battle armor, but instead a soft, flowing, almost gossamer gown and sipped a steaming cup of tea.

"Your..?" Robin said looking around.

"My rooms. I took the whole floor."

"Somehow I'm not surprised," Robin said standing. He felt Blackfire's eyes locking on him, but he still scanned the area for any possible exits. "How long have I been out?"

"A little over twelve hours," she said after taking a sip.

Robin walked over to the window and looked out at the overgrown garden. "Look, Komand'r, we've never been friendly, especially since you tried to marry Star off to that whatever it was. What's going on?"

Blackfire stretched a bare leg out from under her gown and rose gracefully. She floated over to the Teen Wonder and lightly wrapped her arm about his back and leaned on his good shoulder. The softness of her skin, the silkiness of her hair, and her light jasmine perfume filled his senses.

"True, we haven't been exactly friends," she whispered huskily, almost blowing in his ear. "But you are the one remotely interesting thing on this sorry little rock." A sly grin slowly spread across her face, "Well, you and chocolate."

Robin slid out of the sultry villainess' embrace. He narrowed his eyes. "You didn't answer my question."

Blackfire batted her eyelashes and purred, "You are your father's son." She turned and sat back down in her chair. "The answer is really quite simple, and I'm surprised you haven't figured it out yet." She crossed her legs, twisted her hips slightly, and leaned back, stretching her arm across the back of her chair. Her gown opened from a slight scoop neck into a deep, barely concealing V.

"Robin," she breathed slowly, "I want… you."