Chapter 3: Prison
Starfire awoke, still groggy, but no longer dizzy. Using the wall to support herself, she stood up and prepared to take another look around. She tested the door and the bars in the door. They would not budge without her superhuman strength. She heard a door open and close and footsteps. Stepping back from the door, she readied herself for an escape attempt. Two locks turned and the door swung open.
"I see that you have had the chance to examine your accommodations. I hope you find them…uncomfortable. You're going to be here awhile."
"Why have you done this? What do you want?" Star questioned as she continued to search for an exit.
"Simple, child." Slade explained in his smooth monotone voice. "I have come to understand that Robin will never become my apprentice. He has the ability, but it is not in his nature. This makes him an adversary, a liability. I plan to destroy him by destroying the one he cares for most."
"But you died…" she insisted, "We saw it!" Her brain barely registered the comment about Robin caring for her most.
"An android…nothing more." He answered with a dismissive wave. "I knew Terra would turn on me, so I sent a robot to die in my place. It was really quite simple. I thought the Teen Titans would have known better…I thought Robin would have known better."
He turned his away from her and clasped his hands behind his back. "All of the technology hidden in your uniform has been destroyed. The device on the back of your neck is a neural scrambler. It neutralizes your powers and it prevents your witch friend from using her powers to find you. Nobody knows I'm alive and nobody knows that I've taken you. No one is going to save you." He sounded quite pleased with himself and Starfire suddenly felt the urge to do him great bodily harm.
She decided to take this opportunity to try to catch him by surprise and, with a yell, ran at him. He spun out of the way at the last second, grabbed her by the arm, and flung her into the wall. She hit hard, scraping the skin of her body against the rough concrete as she slid down.
"There is a drainage hole in the center of the room if you need to use the facilities." She heard the door clang shut. "Enjoy your stay." The locks clicked into place and she was alone again.
She let herself fall onto her side and began to weep. Slade was right, they would never find her. She would die here…eventually.