Hehe. Oops. I fixed the repeating thing...

Disclaimer: Same old same old.

Chapter 11

Once he had finally untied his wrists, he swung his arms around to work on his ankles. Though his internal clock was telling him that it had been almost an hour by this time, he heard no footsteps, yet. His breathing was becoming more shallow and the corners of his eyesight were beginning to darken. Not now, he thought, not now when I'm about to bust out of here and save Beast Boy.

Suddenly, though, he heard the anticipated footsteps, though they were different this time. Resting his head against the damp wall, he listened with the attentive drive that had been singularly drilled into his head through the years as he distinguished the pattern of footsteps that were approaching. One pair of running steps, followed by the occassional pound of feet on the floor. Possibly someone jumping?

A large explosion filled his ears. At first he dismissed it as simply another round of thunder as he pulled the foul-tasting cloth out of his mouth with a satisfied, lopsided grin. Then he realized that he could hear the sounds of a car above him driving off and the drops of rain increased their pounding for a split second as somebody drove over the hole. So the others were here now. Perhaps that was the explosion of battle?

Deciding that it was better to find out than to be told forcibly, he grasped the wall for support as he forced himself up onto his knees. Leaning over with the strain of this effort, he took deep, calming breaths before continuing. At this point, his eyesight was mostly gone, though he could see flashes of light every now and then from rounds of tormenting agony that still came to him.

Finally, he felt the satisfying crunch of dirt beneath his feet that meant he was now up. Sighing in both relief from the stress and happiness that he no longer felt defenseless, he leaned against the wall once more for support, waiting for his vision to come back to him as he took deeper breaths. Slowly, he was able to see shapes and outlines, finally distinguishing the door between the other forms.

With his remaining strength, he pushed off of the wall in order to reach the next wall. Faltering a bit in his footing, he ended up slamming his shoulder into the damp surface, causing a jolt to shoot up his arm, threatening to bring unconsciousness back, but he fought it down. He was always the fighter, never relenting in his attempts to remain on top, to prove that he didn't need powers to be the leader of the team.

His breathing growing more and more irregular, he leaned back a bit farther onto the wall, his hand on his head as he gasped in more air. As many times as he had been in dire situations such as this, he was going to have a hard time forgetting this one. No doubt the xinothium was already working its path of destruction within him. The sooner he found a medical treatment, the better.

The sounds of battle drew nearer even as he tugged on the door handle. He wanted to cry out to whoever was fighting his captors, but his throat was dry and his voice was hoarse. Instead, he chose to listen as the sounds of the struggle faded into the distance. Frustrated with his own helplessness, he pushed down once more on the door handle, leaning with his full weight. Still nothing. The door was locked.

Tired and annoyed, he sat down on the side of the door that the hinges were not on so as not to be in the way if the door was flung open in a similar manner as to how his captors had previously been announcing their arrival. Running a hand through his hair, now thoroughly caked with dirt, sweat, and rainwater, he sighed with frustration. Nothing seemed to be working to his advantage anymore, and he was starting to think he would never get out of here.

After remaining in this sitting position for about five minutes, his eyesight had returned to him and he was no longer stumbling blindly around. His body was still racked with torment and his ribs and chest were beyond feeling, but his strength was returning somewhat to him. Even as he thought this, though, another round of blinding pain ran its course through his head, causing him to double over in pain.

He was, in fact, still in this position when the door opened.

"And you are certain that we have lost him for the time being?" Starfire whispered into Raven's ear.

The two of them were currently hiding in a dark corner, crouched behind a few crates of xinothium. They were both breathing heavily from the strains of battle, and Starfire's missing wristband and the holes in Raven's cloak attested to the recent struggle.

They had looked up to see Doctor Light, along with several henchmen, standing right above them. In a reflex move, Raven had enveloped the two of them in a shield of black energy, not a moment too soon. Through gritted teeth, the empath had watched as a rain of merciless xinothium blasts pelted her energy, causing her much inward pain.

"What was I feeling just then?" she muttered to herself, worried that she had just enlarged Confusion.

"Friend Raven, I do not know your thoughts, but it appeared to me that you had reached happiness," Starfire suggested, not understanding the implications of her friend's mutterings.

"Happiness? Great, just what I needed to be enlarged. Not cool," she muttered, this time so Starfire couldn't hear.

Just then, the force field had collapsed as Raven had gasped for breath. Fixing their opponent with an icy stare, she had slipped her soul self around the two of them and vanished into the floor, tumbling out into the hallways seconds later.

Which brought them to the present, where the two of them were hiding, listening as footsteps approached, hoping that they wouldn't be discovered. A few henchmen had stood in their way, but they were peacefully sleeping beside the two of them now. Starfire stifled her harsh breathing with her hand even as another white-clad man walked past, pausing to glance down their hallway, then continuing on.

Sighing in relief, the two of them decided that they had best make a run for it and try to figure out where they were. Jumping out into the open, powers fully charged, they almost ran right into Red X.

"AH!" Starfire screamed, letting her starbolts fly, causing a huge explosion that could no doubt be heard several hallways away, most likely giving away their position.

"Watch it!" Red X shouted back, disappearing for a moment and then showing back up behind the two girls.

Raven whirled, ready to fight, but dropped her stance when she saw who it was. "What are you doing here?" she asked, trying to retain her composure even as she tried to calm her rapidly beating heart.

"I'm looking for Robin, if you have to know. Looks like my communicator short-ciruited though. I couldn't get a lock on anything, and the directions Chang gave us were faulty. Almost ran right into a trap, actually," Red X explained, dusting himself off as he landed.

"Hold on," Raven said, holding up a hand for good measure, silencing her two companions.

"What is it?" Starfire asked, her eyes wide in anticipation.

Eyes closed, Raven sounded each word carefully, for she was still concentrating hard. "There are two people a few hallways away. One is in a lot of pain, and the other is frustrated." Opening her eyes, she continued. "I'd bet anything that those thoughts belong to Beast Boy and Robin."

"And I bet the frustrated one is Robin," Red X remarked dryly, earning dark looks from both girls, more especially Raven.

"Let us go then!" Starfire exclaimed joyfully, but Raven shook her head.

"We'll have to fight our way there. There are about twenty people in the passageway between us and the boys, and I think one of them is definitely Doctor Light," Raven said.

"No problem," Red X said smugly, reaching for the explosive devices that had proven useful in battle against Doctor Light before.

Raven put a hand in front of his face, halting his movement. In a very serious tone, she said, "Don't get cocky. It's a lot of them verses only a few of us, and I don't know how much I can help you right now. If I put my powers into that xinothium, it has some weird effects on my emotions."

"So that's what happened that night? Your emotions got away?" Red X asked, his tone both teasing and incredulous. He knew that there had been more to their almost-kiss than that.

Raven blushed and said no more, but Starfire spoke up for her friend. "You would do well to discontinue your argument. Raven knows what she is talking about, and it would be to your advantage to listen to her advice!"

"Thanks," Raven whispered as Red X fell silent.

"Well then what are we going to do?" Red X finally asked.

"We're going to sneak around them," Raven said, her eyes glowing mischeivously.

Red X glanced over at the three henchmen lying on the ground and nodded. "I see."

A few minutes later, the three of them emerged, wearing full face masks and white lab coats as the three henchmen lay in the background, covered in blankets that Starfire had layed across them. They looked at each other and grinned, feeling a bit weird.

They strolled through the hallways, passing right by Doctor Light and his henchmen and into the next passageway. Just as they had thought that they had gotten by, though, Starfire gave a small cough. It was not strong by Tamaranean measures, but it was loud enough for Doctor Light to hear, and he left the henchmen to go investigate the source. Abandoning their pretenses, the three of them shed the robes and rushed into the hallway, followed close behind by the doctor.

Turning to face their opponent, the girls powered up and Red X took out his gadgets. Doctor Light smiled evilly and powered his suit up as well. Starfire attacked first, throwing a large starbolt and shooting repititive eyebeams at the villain long enough to catch him off guard. Red X followed suit, relentlessly throwing as many gadgets as he could.

"Raven, find the boys!" Starfire shouted above the din.

Obediently, the empath phased into the wall, appearing several yards away from the battle. She was mentally drained, though her physical strength was not yet drained from her. Stopping at the many rooms and doors, she had trouble deciding which rooms were occupied and which were not, so she decided to open them all.

That wasn't such a good idea, as she soon found out. Her physical strength was starting to fail as well, though she somehow retained an optimistic attitude as she blasted down each door. Maybe it was a good thing that Happiness had been enlarged, though she wasn't exactly looking forward to her next meditation session and meeting a large pink emotion.

She finally reached the room that Beast Boy was trapped in. As the door fell, his face lit up and he grinned his crooked smile at her as she rushed to his side. "Hey Raven. I wondered when you'd get here."

She smiled. Darn Happiness, now she was going to start laughing at his jokes too? "What happened?" she demanded, her old demeanor returning to her.

He frowned. "It was Doctor Light. I was about to free Robin when he showed up with a bunch of henchmen, and it was too many people for me to take on at once!" he said in one breath.

"It's okay, Beast Boy. No one blames you. We're having troubles with Doctor Light too. Right now, though, I need to find Robin too," Raven said as she broke the restraint holding the changeling against the wall.

"He's in the room next door." Was it her imagination, or did Beast Boy's smile falter?

"Thanks," she replied, getting ready to leave.

"Um, Rae?"

She turned. "Yes?"

He seemed nervous and a bit thrown off. "Um, do you, you know, like Robin?"

Blushing, she asked, "What makes you think that?"

He blushed as well. "Oh, nothing. I was just wondering because, well, I was just curious, well, because..." He faltered for words even as he fell against the wall, his arms and legs numb from being held so tightly against the wall.

She rushed to his side, draping his arm over her shoulder, allowing him to lean on her for support as she helped him along. "Because of what Red X said?"

Beast Boy nodded. "I was just wondering, you know, if it was true."

For a moment, she wondered if it would be wise for her to tell him her true feelings, but the moment passed as she decided that he needed to know. "Well, yes and no. See, I like two different boys. Robin's just one of them."

He nodded, a look of relief on his face. "That's cool," he said, though inside he was hopeful that the second one was him.

"Let's go free Robin, then, okay?" she said, leaving the room and preparing to blast down the door before her.

"Rae?"

She stopped. "What?" she asked, a bit annoyed.

"I can't guarantee you'll like what you see," Beast Boy said, his eyes refusing to meet her own.

"What do you mean?" Raven asked, her eyebrows rising at the statement.

"You'll see," he said with a tone more serious than she had thought he could muster.

Shrugging, she tore the door down and gasped at the sight before her. It seemed that Robin had managed to free himself of whatever manicles had kept him incapacitated, but he wasn't in good shape. With his head leaning backwards against the wall and his breathing ragged, she wondered if he was even conscious. At least he had positioned himself away from the door so that she hadn't hit him. But he was crouched over in pain, as if he had just been kicked in the stomach.

"Hey, Rae," he gasped, dispelling her thoughts that he might be unconcious.

"What did they do to you?" she gasped.

He smiled that crooked, lopsided grin that seemed to fit him so well. "Nothing much, just a slight dose," he said, though even as he spoke his smile faltered and he grunted a bit in pain.

"Come on, Robin. Really, what happened?" she asked, more persistent this time.

He sighed, leaning his head back again. "Don't worry about me, Rae. Where are the others? Are they as bad off as him?" he asked, gesturing towards Beast Boy.

She shook her head. "Cyborg went to take Chang to jail and Starfire's fighting Doctor Light with X," she said, then continued. "He's just numb from the restraints," she said, explaining Beast Boy's condition.

"Well, if you couldn't feel your arms and legs, you'd be leaning too!" Beast Boy shot back, though the playful glint in his eyes was almost too obvious.

"We have to go help Star and X," Robin said, pushing against the wall to bring himself to a standing postion.

"What do you expect us to do? Beast Boy can't move, you can hardly stand, and I can't touch him!" Raven shouted, letting her voice rise to keep Robin from saying anything else.

"Rae, we need to do something. Why don't you get us out of here, all of us?" Robin asked meekly after a few seconds of silence.

"How am I supposed to do that?" she snapped back, then immediately apologized. "Sorry, I'm a little testy right now. As soon as I get back, I'm going to have to meditate."

Robin shrugged. "It's perfectly fine. I understand. You've been under a lot of stress lately, as have we all. Look, all I need you to do is phase the others back here. I have an escape route in progress."

"I hope it's a good one," she muttered before laying Beast Boy on the floor. "I'll be back in a second."

With that, she disappeared into the wall.

"I do not think we can stand and fight for much longer!" Starfire grunted with the effort as her starbolts contested with a steady stream of xinothium that Doctor Light was blasting her way.

"Tell me about it," Red X grunted as he ducked another swing from a xinothium-powered weapon. He kicked the henchmen over the head, sending him to his kness as he encased the guy in a rubber-band like gadget.

Starfire ducked another blast, returning it with one of her own. Both shots were wild and neither opponent did any real damage to the other. Sighing in frustration, Starfire let her emotions build up and the confidence rise. With a ferocious snarl worthy of the Tamaranean warrior that she was, she pulled up a large peice of concrete from the floor. With a battle cry, she charge at Doctor Light. He raised a force field, but the force of her blow shattered it. Her eyes were glowing green with the exertion of energy, but she pressed on. Lifting the newly formed weapon above her head, she prepared to strike once more, but Doctor Light destroyed the item in her hands.

Red X then took over for her in fighting the main villain. Throwing explosives at Doctor Light's face, he temporarily blinded the man so that he could get a decent attack in from behind. Grinning slightly, he took out a bunch of his gadgets, throwing them all simultaneously at the doctor's back, sending the man to his kness at the relentless attack as he groped for more such weapons.

"Why have you stopped your attack? You have had much success with this strategy," Starfire asked.

He groaned. "I'm out of that particular type of gadget. I'm going to have to try this the old fashioned way," he responded.

Starfire then took the opportunity to pick up the slack while Red X thought of a better attack. Gathering a green ball of light in her hands, she enlarged the starbolt until it lite the entire hallway, throwing it right at her opponent and sending him flying backwards. Holding her arms up still in the attack position, she took calming breaths as she grinned at the victory. Suddenly, a red weapon came slamming down against her side, sending her flying into the wall.

Spluttering indignantly, she shouted, "I was under the assumption that you were to cover for me!" Even as she spoke, the familiar red sparks danced across her arms and side and her breathing grew irregular.

"I'm sorry, I'm a bit busy a the moment," Red X shouted back sarcastically as he tangled with five henchmen at once. The henchmen were losing.

Starfire nodded, rising from her place on the ground to strike back against the henchman that had caught her off guard. Her green eyes blazing, she let loose a barrage of starbolts, burrying at least five of the henchmen in the strike. When the smoke cleared, there were only three henchmen and Doctor Light standing there as well as an angry Tamaranean princess who nobody wanted to mess with at the moment.

"Nice," Red X said, giving a rare compliment.

"Thank you," Starfire said, turning to answer him for a moment, which, unfortunately, gave Doctor Light the oppurtunity to blast her into the wall.

"oops" Red X muttered quietly as he saw her wince in pain at the unexpected turn of events.

"Let me go!" Starfire screeched as Doctor Light grasped her arm, letting the xinothium coarse over her body, causing her a substantial amount of pain.

"Ya!" Red X shouted as he let a barrage of small exploding Xs at the villain, blinding him long enough for Starfire to wrench out of his grasp. With a few quick acrobatics, he also had the remaining henchmen down for the count.

"I must admit that you are a skilled fighter," Starfire said softly, her smile still present despite her ragged breathing as she leaned against the wall for support.

"Yeah, yeah. Just lay low for a while until you can fight again, kay?" Red X replied as he let loose another barrage of gadgets.

"You think you can defeat me so easily?" Doctor Light laughed, then said something into his watch.

"Actually, yeah," Red X taunted, taking a fighting stance. He ducked as a blast of red and yellow grazed his right shoulder, tearing the material and revealing a bit of skin as red sparks danced over his entire shoulder. Faltering a moment, he didn't have time to react when another blast from behind knocked him out cold.

Starfire rushed forward to catch him as he fell, and she supported him even as more reinforcements rushed into the area. With a determined grimace, she fired starbolts with her free hand as she attempted to shield her unconscious partner.

Suddenly, a black vortex appeared next to her and Raven walked through the wall. The empath's eyes widened at the scene before her: Red X unconscious and Starfire trying to fend everyone off despite having sustained several injuries. "What's going on?" she asked.

Starfire turned to face her, eyes wild. "Raven! You must take Red X now!" With that, she let him fall into the empaht's arms.

"Star? What about you?" Raven asked, concern flooding her being.

"I will be fine. Right now you must get him to safety. I at least am still conscious, and so I will remain until you return, but please hurry Raven!" Starfire said, her fear evident in her voice even as she pushed Raven away.

"But I-"

"GO!" Starfire shouted, causing several of the henchmen to bend over and hold their ears.

As Raven phased through the wall with Red X, Starfire turned to the gathering of villains before her. Smiling with the ferocity of the warrior within, she conjured up the strength she had on Tamaran and let it all come out. With a relentless rain of starbolts and eyebeams along with strong blows with her alien strength, she rushed into battle, ready and willing to fight.

The first thing Robin noticed when Raven came back was that Starfire wasn't with her. The second thing he noticed was that Red X was out cold. Of course, she was staring back at him with a strange look, was it admiration? After all, he was currently standing on his own, throwing large chunks of cement upwards into a large hole.

She came to his side in confusion. "What are you doing?" she asked, setting Red X down beside Beast Boy.

He pointed upwards with a smile. "I discovered it when I was in the room. It's our way out without getting lost in all those hallways." A more serious expression crossed his face as he continued. "What happened? Where's Starfire?" Sure enough, the hole had greatly widened, perhaps large enough for a small green bird to pass through.

Once more, Raven felt the anger rise within her at the note of concern in Robin's voice as he spoke of Starfire. If he continued like this, she would definitely have him falling for her. She masked these emotions, though, and replied, "Red X was out cold. I had to take him first."

His face hardened. "Go back and get her. She can't fight them all by herself!" There was a note of urgency in his voice as well as urgency, betraying his feelings.

While Raven was jealous, though, Beast Boy was happy. So her Robin was stricken with somebody else, huh? Well, that was perfectly fine with him. He grinned crazilt at Raven, saying, "Come on, Rae, you'd better get going!"

She fixed him with a long stare, then turned to walk away. He watched her phase through the wall and wondered if she had even noticed his flirting. Maybe he needed to brush up on it.

"Beast Boy, can you move yet?" Robin asked, his tone harsher than he had expected it to be.

"Dude, relax. I can move my arms now," Beast Boy replied, flapping his arms for good measure.

"That's all you need. Reach over into X's belt on the right and pull out the gadget that's there," Robin said, speaking the directions very clearly.

Beast Boy did as he was told, pulling out several little X-shaped things. "What are they?"

Robin hobbled over and took them out of the changeling's hands. "You'll see." With that, he threw them upwards, each tiny device exploding on impact until the hole was wide enough for Beast Boy's pteredactol form to fly through.

"Oh..." the changeling said, nodding in realization.

"As soon as Raven gets back, I need you to fly each of us up and out. The sooner we get to a medical ward, the safer I'll feel." As if the xinothium was responding to his words, the Boy Wonder grimaced in pain as another fresh wave of pain washed over him.

"How'd that happen, anyway?" Beast Boy asked, concern entering his voice.

Robin grimaced at the memory and at the pain. "Well, let's just say that Chang's worse than I expected him to be as a captor," he said with finality, ending the conversation there. Then he looked longingly at the wall. "What's taking them so long?"

Beast Boy turned his attention that way too. He, too, had noticed that it was taking Raven a bit too long. "Yeah..." he agreed.

"Look, why don't you start getting everyone out of here. How about getting him out first?" Robin suggested, gesturing towards X, who was starting to stir.

"Yeah, sure," Beast Boy said, his eyes still on the wall as he changed into a pteredactol and lifted the petty thief out of the hole above.