A/N: It seems that everyone hates Jessica already. It was what I was hoping for. You will hate her more later on. Sorry it took me forever to update. The Internet broke down for a few days and my monitor broke and I had to borrow my little sisters. She is not too happy about it, but at least I'm getting to update. So here is your chapter! It took me a long time to get the idea right, so please give a review. Thanks!
Disclaimer: Um…don't own them. What else is there to say?
Chapter 6 Blood Bath
It was the end of a beautiful day and Starfire could not wait to watch the sun set. She often did that when her team did not have to fight anyone. She did it when she lived on her home planet as well. The young girl flew quickly to the roof of the Tower with a pleasant smile on her face. When she got there, she was surprised to see Robin on the ledge with his back to her. He did not seem to notice her presence because he did not budge from his curled up position.
"Robin?" Starfire asked him quietly while flying up to him slowly. "Do you have the sickness what earth calls 'depressed'? The one that Raven seems to have a lot?"
"Starfire?" Robin said with surprise as he jumped. He gave a small sniff while getting up. "I was just up here thinking." It seemed as if he was hiding something from her. Maybe even crying. But what was the matter?
"Are you sure?" Starfire asked him with worry in her voice. Lately he was acting a bit differently. She wondered what was going on through his head.
"I'm fine," Jake lied quickly to her. "Why do you ask?"
"You stay away from all of us," Starfire said. "You do not team up with us when we do battle. And you…hesitate."
This girl was amazing. No wonder Robin had feelings for her. The girl's beauty outmatched most and even though she seemed oblivious, she still noticed things. She had noticed that Robin was somehow not himself by very small details.
For a few seconds Jake actually thought about poring out his heart to her and telling her everything he knew. He wanted to tell her every detail about what he was going through. It would be so easy. Then how come he could not bring himself to spill a single word? Valentine's life was too important.
"I got to get back to work," Jake finally said as he brushed past her. Starfire watched him go silently. She was so worried about him. They were drifting apart lately and she did not know why. But he had to take care of himself unless he asked for help. She would then help him with all her might. But until then, all she could do was watch and wait. It pained her to do so.
- Robin -
He woke up slowly. The best thing to do was to be still with your eyes closed till the dizziness wore off and your senses return. He finally opened up his eyes and shifted in his seat with a quiet moan. His head was leaning against the side window of the car. He saw a small abandoned airstrip on the side of the rocky road. Things weren't making sense. Where was he?
The past then hit him and he turned his head around to see Slade and the rest there with him. Slade was looking ahead and did not seem to notice that Robin was awake. Before the teen could pretend to still be knocked out, Jessica popped her head up from the front seat.
"He's awake!" she said with a sweet smile coming to her lips.
"Don't make me hurt you," Robin muttered under his breath. He rubbed his forehead as he forced his body to wake up.
"I would like to see you try, bird boy," Jessica snapped back with that smile widening.
"Haven't heard that nickname before," Robin said sarcastically to her. "You're very creative." He gave Jessica a small smile when he saw her frown deeply at him. His smile only made her madder. She attacked without any warning at all. She thrust her hand out at him, and an invisible force slammed Robin into his seat. The force started to choke him.
"I don't like to be talked back to," she seethed at him.
"Can you say anger problem?" Robin asked her with that same smug smile coming to his lips.
"Release him," Slade said to Jessica with a wave of his hand. She did not listen for a few seconds. Her eyes burned that vibrant blue color as she kept staring at Robin. She wanted to kill him! Slade glared at her dangerously and said sternly, "Release him, Jessica."
"Stupid human," Jessica muttered as her eyes returned to normal suddenly. Robin gasped for air. He was being strangled a lot lately. He managed to keep that cocky smile on his lips as he rubbed his sore neck. He was pushing his luck with this girl, but he was starting to understand her powers. He knew that once he was strong enough and understood her power he could over throw her. It would just take a lot of time.
The car stopped at the abandoned airport. A rusty gate opened up and the car entered slowly. The runway was just a dusty road in the middle of nowhere. Tall green grass grew all around the place and made interesting patterns as the strong wind flew over all the different beads. One single jet was on the runway and looked very much out of place. It was new and gleaming in the sunlight. A handful of men were preparing it just for Slade.
The car stopped again. Jessica shot Robin a dirty look over her shoulder before she got out of the car. Robin stiffened when Slade took out a knife from his belt. Before Robin could react, the man cut the captive girl's binds and peeled off her gag.
"These people don't know who we are and do not know anything about this situation," Slade said to Robin and the girl. "Do everything I tell you to and she will survive. Understand, Robin?" He asked this while putting the edge of the blade against the girl's side.
"Yes," Robin answered quickly. No more chances when this girl's life was on the line.
"Out," Slade commanded to Robin with a small nod. Robin opened his door and stepped out into the hot afternoon air. The wind whipped into his face. The feeling could be relaxing, but at this point Robin would never be able to relax.
Slade was right behind him with the girl. He still had the knife at her side, but you would have to look closely to see it. They walked up towards the black jet slowly. The girl was in front with Slade right behind her with one hand on her shoulder. Robin was next to the man with Jessica on his other side. Each step he took made him ache to run a hundred more the opposite way. Getting on this jet meant leaving the USA. He would also be leaving the Titans for good. A pit formed in his stomach.
A man met with them when they got close to the jet. He was middle aged with a warm smile. "I thought you would get here earlier," the man said while going to shake Slade's hand. Slade pulled out a bag and threw it into the man's hand instead of giving him a warm welcome.
"I want to take off right away," Slade said to the man. "That is the money for you to keep your mouth shut about this. I don't want the public to know anything."
"Fine with me," the man said. He glanced to Robin and it seemed as if he recognized him. Robin hoped he didn't. It would only make things complicated. He just gave the man a forced smile. "Do I know you, boy?" he asked Robin when the four started to walk towards the jet.
"No," Robin said quickly over his shoulder.
"I've seen you before, though," the man persisted. Slade stopped and Robin pretended to bump into him. While he bumped into Slade he grabbed some smoke bombs from the man's belt before turning around to face the other guy claiming to know him.
"I've never seen you before, sir," Robin said. Don't guess it! He thought pleadingly to the guy. Don't mess this up! He could feel Slade's one good eye boring down into him to make sure he did not say or do anything stupid. Robin looked up to Slade as if to say, "This isn't my fault."
"You're Robin from the Teen Titans!" the guy said with a smile for finally remembering Robin. He was in the middle of a sentence when Robin flung the balls to the ground. The people were quickly swallowed up into a great tangle of thick dust. Everyone started to cough and confusion was everywhere. Screams were heard left and right, but Robin stayed calm and silent.
He grabbed the captive girl and yanked her out of the dust cloud as quickly as possible. She was coughing uncontrollably, but faithfully ran next to Robin as they sprinted to somewhere unknown to her. Robin looked over his shoulder to see that the smoke was fading. They ran out into the field of tall grass and Robin made the girl drop to the ground. He dropped next to her and the two waited quietly on their stomachs.
Slade was madder than a hornet at the moment he could not feel Valentine beside him. But he kept that emotion to himself. He knew Robin and the girl was gone by now. They had to be hiding in the tall grass. It was a good escape plan. He gave credit to the boy for that, but it was a stupid plan if he ever got caught. And Slade would catch him. It would be a close one, though.
The man waited in the confusion till he could feel Jessica in front of him. He grabbed her arm and heard a small gasp as she tried to get free. He pulled the girl over to him and whispered into her ear, "Kill them all." He smiled when there was no protest from her. She was perfect. After the order, Slade walked out of the cloud of smoke and scanned carefully the landscape in search for his prize.
"Quiet, now," Robin whispered to the girl next to him. His heart was beating fast and sweat dripped down his forehead from the heat of the situation. He tried not to think of what would happen to this girl or even him for that matter if he ever got caught.
Robin stole a glance over to the smoke and saw Slade looking around. He swore about a hundred times in his head when Slade spotted him. It was not that hard. His hair was raven black and he was trying his best to hide in a field with green and yellow grass. He could push his luck for so long.
"Run!" Robin urged the girl while picking her up. He saw Slade start to run after him and pushed her forward with a look of panic on his face.
"Where?" Valentine asked him with her voice shaking a bit from fright. They both started to run for their lives. Robin made sure the girl stayed in front of him.
"The forest," Robin shouted to her. He pointed to the thick forest up ahead. They were gasping for breath as they kept sprinting toward the destination. Slade was catching up with them and they did not want to get caught. "Almost there!" Robin said as he pushed Valentine ahead. "Keep going!"
Robin looked behind him and almost jumped when he saw that Slade was so close to them. They were not going to make it! Robin bit his lower lip as his head swam with different options. There was only one.
"Keep going no matter what happens!" Robin said to Valentine. "Don't look back."
"I won't," Valentine said as she gave Robin a nod. She pushed harder as Robin slowed down a bit. He saw the girl reach the forest and did not stop. She was safe for now. He wasn't safe at all. He had just put himself into the devil's hands.
Slade grabbed Robin's shoulder and pulled the teen backwards. Robin gave a sharp cry of surprise while falling back and onto his butt. He tried to get to his feet to fight Slade, but the man was too fast. A tight fist collided with his chin and his head was thrown back. He had bitten his tongue, and now his mouth was filled with pain and the taste of blood.
Slade loomed up next to Robin with that one eye narrowed dangerously at him. Robin forced himself to his feet and spat out the blood in his mouth. He ducked from a roundhouse kick aimed for his head. He rolled to the side and threw caution into the wind as he came at Slade. His anger was taking control of his attacks once again, and that had never been a good thing.
Robin's attack was easily turned into his own downfall. Slade grabbed the teen's fist that was coming at him and bent it back. There was a sickening snap followed by a cry of pain from Robin. Slade, still holding onto Robin's fist, turned the boy around and kicked his back while letting go of the fist. Robin stumbled forward with a wince. He had no time to gain his balance because Slade came at him with no hesitation. A sharp kick to the side finally made Robin fall to the ground too weak to fight back now.
With some small amount of strength left in his body, Robin got to his hands and knees while panting through winces. His wrist was giving him lots of grief and his side was burning with pain. He just thanked God that none of his ribs were broken.
Slade kneeled down in front of Robin and lifted the teen's chin up. Robin spat out some more blood before giving Slade an angry glare. "You might think that you won already, Robin," Slade said coldly to his young apprentice. "You might think that you did a very brave thing here." He then whispered into Robin's ear menacingly, "You're dead wrong."
Robin's eyes went wide with horror. Valentine could easily get lost in the forest. Slade would find her, no doubt about that. What had he done? "Don't touch her!" he screamed at Slade. "She is not in this!"
"She now is because of you, Robin," Slade said with a smile under his mask. He loved to see Robin so desperate and weak like this. "She could not be too far in that forest. When I find her, I will make you watch her suffer because of your foolish act."
Robin lunged at Slade with anger flowing through his body. He was suddenly stopped by an unknown force. It was Jessica. She was done with her task. She grabbed Robin's shoulder and forced him toward the jet while Slade went the opposite way to find Valentine.
"You can't do this!" Robin yelled at Slade as the two parted. Jessica shoved him with a small growl of disgust. Robin glared at her as he kept walking. Boy, was she starting to get on his nerves! She always seemed to come in at the worst times.
The two came up to the runway and Robin froze at the horrible sight. They were all dead. If you could say 'they'. No whole bodies were present. Only bits and pieces of bloody parts were strewn all over the ground. Pools of blood covered the dirt runway. It was as if these poor innocent people were blown apart from the inside. The sight was gruesome and a complete nightmare. Who could do this to a person?
"Keep moving," Jessica ordered Robin with another rough shove. Robin looked to Jessica as reality set in. His eyes were wide with horror and he was suddenly scared. She had done this somehow. It had only taken a few minutes for her to finish her killing spree.
That knot of fear he rarely ever got started to form in his stomach. She could do this to him easily! His breathing started to escalate quickly as he walked through bloody deaths of so many lives. He had done this. He did not think about these people when he tried to escape. Because of one mistake in his thinking he had this result. A blood bath!
"We're here," Slade said as he pointed to the small window in the jet. Robin nodded while he silently stared out of his own window. He was facing Slade with Jessica beside him and Valentine beside Slade and facing Jessica.
Robin glanced to Valentine's bloody body as she tried to sleep in her seat. Slade had beaten her up when he caught her in the forest. It had taken him an hour to find her. It had taken him five minutes to make her go through so much pain. Robin had to watch the whole thing. Those were some of the worst minutes in his whole life. The painful memory would always be there too. It would mock him of his big mistake for the rest of his life.
Valentine had a bloody lip and a black eye. A scar went down her left cheek. She had a lot more scars and bruises all over the rest of her body that was now wrapped up in blanket. She was curled up in her seat while sleeping through her nightmare. She was strong for a girl her age.
Slade got up to turn off the auto pilot and land the jet. Robin had no idea where they were. All he knew was that he was not going to see his friends in a very long time. Wherever he was now there were no allies and he would have to fight for his life. He vowed silently that he would not change under the pressure of Slade's demands. He would never change his view on life and his strong spirit would not be crushed. He would make it through this even if he had to go through hell.
When they got out of the jet another car was waiting for them. A young man was leaning against the door with his hands folded in front of him. He had dirty blonde hair and a sharp face. He greeted them with a cocky smile and a mischievous gleam in his deep gray eyes eyes.
"You guys are late," he said when they got to the car. "I bet you had to say goodbye to family."
"Funny," Slade said coldly to the man. He hated cocky people. He went from Jake to this man. "What is your name?"
There was a slight hesitation before the man answered. "James Hess," he said with a two finger salute. "Don't worry, Slade, I know what I'm doing. I'm not a high commander for nothing. So don't wet your pants." As he said this he patted Slade on the shoulder. He was bold! Slade was starting to hate him with a passion.
"Just get us there," Slade said while narrowing his eye at James. The guy nodded with another smile that was so addictive. He opened the car door while bowing. He frowned slightly when seeing Valentine get in first. Slade got in second.
"Why the long face, kid?" James asked Robin as the teen started to get in. "You're going to the best school this world has to offer and you look like you just got rained on in an amusement park. Brighten up!"
Robin did not know how to react. James was a likable person. He managed to give the guy a small smile then got into the car. James opened up Jessica's door and said, "For the princess."
"Put a sock in it," Jessica muttered as she got in. James slammed the door in her face with a frown on his face. He grumbled a few nasty sentences about the rude girl as he walked to his side. He got in with a fake smile and started the car. They went a long time on a dirt road till they got close to their destination. Venice, Italy.
"You guys are way too loud," James said over his shoulder. "Calm it down back there."
"Why did they choose you to pick us up?" Slade asked James. Robin pretended to stare out his window some more as he listened closely to the conversation. The landscape was really boring. And he could barely see because of the thick morning fog.
James gave a small chuckle and said, "I was the only one who was brave enough to."
"Or maybe they just wanted to get rid of your for a few hours," Jessica muttered. She was in a bad mood for some reason and this guy was driving her crazy. She thought people working for Slade were supposed to be serious and focused. James was more of a comedian than anything else. And right now he was in front a dead crowd.
"Ouch!" James said. He returned Jessica's evil glare with a wide grin that only got her madder. Robin smiled for a few seconds. This guy reminded him of Beast Boy a little. "The school loves me," James went on. "It was just in this situation no one wanted to drive out here at night and pick up a freaky guy from the US at six in the morning with the chance of someone shooting at you. I was the only one with no life and took the job."
"What school?" Robin asked him. It was his first words spoken in a long time. Such a long time that Slade was kind of surprised to hear his voice again. He looked intently at Robin but did not punish him for asking the question.
"Oh boy!" James said with a laugh. "You have lots to learn, short stuff. I can't explain right now, but you will see it soon. Can't believe Slade has never told you about the school he signed you up to."
Robin shot Slade a questioning look. The man shrugged and leaned back in his seat. Robin was about to protest, but right now was not the time. He looked out the window with a disgusted expression planted on his face. Slade had to be planning this for months!
The car stopped and they all got out to get on a small boat. Cars could not drive on the Venice streets. The motor boat was small. James had only been expecting Robin and Slade. It only had the driver's seat and another one next to it. It looked just as new as the jet and was the same color. Robin noticed the silver emblem of a dragon on the side. It had to be the symbol of the school.
Jessica jumped into the boat first. Valentine was the second to go with some hesitation. She looked like a lost kitten on the streets when it is raining, so weak and forgotten. James watched the poor girl for a few seconds as he thought to himself. He looked to Robin who was looking out into the fog in his own thoughts. He gave the kid a wink and got another small smile out of him.
"We should be there in around an hour," James said as he untied the rope on the creaking dock. "We just need to go through the city then it is cake from there on." He jumped into the boat after pushing it a little away from the dock. He pulled out some keys and started up the boat.
Suddenly a shot rang out into the misty air. A bullet bounced off the boat where Robin was leaning against. He gave a sharp cry of surprise and backed away. James looked at him with a small frown. Things were about to get nasty.
"Brace yourselves," James said as he looked back to his control panel. Valentine wrapped her arms around Robin's waist with a frightened expression on her face. Robin grabbed onto the side of the boat. Everyone was thrown backwards as the boat took off down the canal at full speed. They all looked back when they heard another boat behind them.
Sure enough, a boat was behind them in hot pursuit. And the people in it had guns. They wanted the five dead.
A/N: I wonder how many cliffhangers I can give my readers till one of them hunts me down and kills me. Do you like my new OC? Next chapter has more of Jake and the other Titans. I have to go back and forth between the two. The last two chapters were of mostly Robin because Jake had the first two chapters all to himself and I needed to level it out. But please give a review! Thanks!
