A/N: I am glad you think so, Crazy, and thank you for the reviews. I do wish it would pick up, but I am fine with just you being a fan, at least I know someone's reading it. Sorry for the long update time, but school snuck in during the night and brutally murdered my life, so I haven't had any time at all, but I'll try to get the next one up as quickly as is possible.

Disclaimer: Life truly is like a box of chocolates…except you always know that I don't own Teen Titans.

If you're going to tell people the truth, you better make them laugh; otherwise they'll kill you.

-George Bernard Shaw

-

"Raven," Robin turned to his teammate on his heels, the frantic tone already dispatched from his voice "did you see Starfire when you were flying back to the tower?"

Raven got to her feet "No, I didn't see her, I assumed she was already back, and when I didn't see her here, I just thought she had taken her time getting back" Raven looked down at her feet, she was mentally kicking herself for not having seen something was wrong.

"We're starting a city wide search right now, we can't afford to lose any time in waiting, not with all the shit that's happened these last few weeks. We can't spare a minuet. Beast Boy, Cyborg, get in closer" he waited a moment while his friends drew in close to him. "Raven, teleport us to the polling place Starfire was guarding today." She nodded and closed her eyes, raising her hands, a sphere of black energy enveloped the four Titans then disappeared, leaving the large room empty, and silent, save for the still broadcasting television.

"…and with a safe margin of victory in both the popular vote and Electoral College, Senator Michael Fletcher, will become the 44th President of United States of America."

-

"Beast Boy, you and Raven search north and east in a standard grid pattern. Cyborg, since neither of us can fly, I'm going to go west, you'll go south, then at my signal turn and head west, we'll meet up somewhere after that." Robin started giving his orders before the dark energy had even fully dissipated, and when the Titans had been transported, they all split right into their searches without another word.

Raven immediately took to the sky, while using her own powers in her eyes to look for traces of Starfire's powers. Beast Boy followed a similar strategy, taking the form an eagle, soaring above the streets, his keen eyes scouring for any sign of the alien girl.

"Remember guys, if you find anything" Robin's voice came out of their communicators "call it in to all of us. If someone is behind this, and they managed to get Starfire, then none of us stand a chance alone."

Cyborg replaced his communicator after hearing what Robin had said. He switched his nonhuman eye into an infrared mode, so he could pick up any residual signs that Starfire had used her powers. He noticed how empty the streets were, there were scarcely any people walking around, and not many cars going down either side of the street. 'Big cities should be livelier than this' he thought, as he looked down an alley to his right, checking for any signs of a fight.

-

Slade watched a small red dot move along an intricate electronic map of the city streets, he leaned back in his chair and audibly sighed.

"Oh Robin, such an uninventive search pattern, even for you. You can at least be commended for your efficiency…" He thought out loud, watching as the dot, which he seemed sure was Robin moved about the city.

He turned away from the computer; getting up from his seat, he walked around his newly acquired headquarters 'A bit too bright…' he thought, before turning his attention back to the computer, but this time, to one of the smaller screens.

"It seems as though my prize is awake, I suppose a greeting is in order.

Starfire tired to say "What do you want Slade!" but only a muffled sound came out of her mouth. She tired to bite down, but her mouth was stuffed with something; she tried again to speak, but against the gag, only managed to produce a stifled moan, which quickly became frustrated. She glared at Slade, and if looks could kill, he'd have dropped dead. She seemed to focus for a moment, then a puzzled look overcame her features, Slade obviously noticed as he walked up to where she was restrained

"Wondering why you haven't snapped theses restraints and flown out of here? Or why you didn't fry me with beams from your eyes?"

Starfire tired to get up, but when it didn't happen, she apprized her situation, she tired to call up all her alien strength, gathering the same righteous fury she so often used in battle. But when it came, she knew that no power had come with it, nothing had changed in her, she was angry but without power, mad, but still unable to move.

She continued to glare at him, but did nothing while he answered the question she was unable to ask.

"I've thought of that already," he said tapping the thick metal collar around her neck "a nifty little gadget I picked up from a Kalderian trader. Handy, isn't it?" Slade laughed, his one remaining eye, usually so cool, the feelings behind it unreadable, betrayed the grin that was hidden under his mask.

He drew in closer as Starfire strained with all her might to break the thick cords binding her wrists to the steel pole her back was flush against. Starfire wanted nothing more than to kick Slade where the sun didn't shine as the villain bore down upon her, but the way she was sitting on the cold concrete floor made it impossible with her knees and ankles bound.

Slade was only a few inches from the teen's face while she still struggled to break her bonds beneath him. He crouched down further, directly in front of her and at nearly eye level, taking pleasure at witnessing her futile struggle.

He raised his hand quickly towards her face; Starfire immediately tensed up, focusing all her attention on the encroaching villain, her escape attempt put on hold. She readied herself for a strike just as his hand approached at speed, clench her eyes shut, but when no blow came, she cautiously opened her eyes. Momentary fear flashed across her face, but was supplanted just as quickly as it had arrived by another angry glare. Slade's hand ever so genially stroked her cheek, Starfire emitted a low growl through her gag, but the masked-man didn't seem to care, as he brushed back a lock of her hair that had fallen during her struggle.

"Did you really think I was going to hit you?" He said in a condescending tone, cupping her chin in his hand, directing her head up to look at him, and gaining from Starfire yet another icy glare and low growl.

Though it had only been there for a fraction of a second, Slade had seen her fear, she herself might not even have felt it, but we knew it was there…and he was going to use it; this was going to be entertaining.

-

Robin sprinted out of yet another alley, back onto the street, and despite his inability to fly; as well as the lack any cybernetic enhancements to his limbs, or otherwise beneficial powers, he was slightly ahead of the other Titans in total ground they each had covered.

"Titans, anything yet?" Robin asked for yet another progress report from his team, a very faint hint of desperation in his voice. As he has asked the Titans he had never stopped watching for any signs of Starfire as he continued to move through the streets. And when the other Titans answered back with nothing new to report, he only quickened his pace; closing his communicator and returning it to his belt.

The sun had already gone down and with streetlamps providing the only source of light in the area, visibility, even for Robin, was rather low. Out of the corner of his eye, Robin caught a glimpse of what he was looking for; stopping in his tracks, he turned quickly towards the wall, leaned in close and examined the brick. Embedded in the wall was a bullet, and a small impact crater. He took out a small flashlight and examined it closer.

After a few seconds of looking at the hole in the brick, Robin realized it was at least a month old.

"Damnit!" He yelled, punching the wall, cracking several bricks beneath his fist. He let out a frustrated groan and rubbed the knuckles on his right hand, trying to massage away the pain. Now that he'd stopped, his adrenalin began to wear off and his mussels began screaming at him. He took a deep breath and pushed the pain away, to the back of his mind where he could feel it later.

Robin took two steps from the wall before hearing his boot fall on a piece of metal. He removed it and crouched down, after taking out his flashlight, to examine what had been underneath his boot. He found a dull, brass bullet casing, flattened by his steel-soled boot. He placed it in a small plastic bag, and stowed it in his belt before looking more extensively around the area.

No more than ten seconds after he began scouring the ground, the Boy Wonder came upon what was pretty well exactly what he had been looking for. He picked up the little white object, brining it closer to his eyes, holding the flashlight just a few inches over it.

"Guys," Robin called into his communicator, holding it in the same hand as his flashlight "come to my position right now, I've got something." He inspected the thing in his hand; it was a tooth, 'and by the looks of it, knocked out only a few hours ago' he thought.

A column of black energy appeared next to him, dissipating to reveal Cyborg and Raven, who had gone to pick up her metal teammate to get him to Robin quickly. Despite the speedy arrival of his friends Beast Boy wasn't far behind, arriving only a few seconds later, dropping from the sky after he transformed back into himself.

"What is it Robin," Raven took a step towards him, the light from Cyborg's shoulder lamp illuminating a small sphere of the alley for them all "what did you find?"

"These" he responded, holding up two plastic bags containing the shell casing and tooth. "There's also fresh tire tracks from what I would have to say was a 2002 Ford E-150…navy blue." He added, looking down at the ground beneath him, to the skid marks he was standing on.

"How does he do that?" Beast Boy whispered to Cyborg.

"I don't think we really want to know." The metal teen responded.

"Practice, guys, a very, very large amount of practice." Robin said off-hand, as he further examined the area.

"How did he—" Beast Boy began to stammer out before Cyborg put a large metal hand on his shoulder.

"Cyborg, check you're map of the city…see if Starfire's locater signal is active."

"Hmm, let me see" Cyborg said as a small panel on his arm flipped up and he began to scan the city "ok, ok, I got it, it's active and broadcasting…from smack dab in the middle of the Industrial district."

"I can teleport us there…" Raven offered, as the other Titans looked up at her "god knows every bad-guy in the city has a hideout there, so we've been there enough times for a little site-to-site transport."

"Alright then, let's go." Robin said, taking a few steps towards his half-demon friend. Cyborg and Beast Boy also closed in and Raven conjured up a flood of black energy, which enveloped them all.

Beast Boy hated this part, which is always why he flew himself if he could, as the black energy swirled around him, completely encompassing his body. He shuddered; to him it felt like he was drowning, deep under the ocean, he was stuck, with no hope of surfacing in time for air. But as always happened, just as the feeling reached its most intense, it was gone, and Beast Boy opened his eyes to find everything blurry and in doubles…another side-effect he had which Raven could never satisfactorily explain.

The other Titans began walking forward, seemingly not noticing Beast Boy stumbling for a moment then violently shaking his head to clear up his vision before he ran to join them. They had appeared on a very poorly lit street in an especially badly lit part of town; right in front of the dilapidated gates of a long abandoned steel mill. There were no cars around them them, and no pedestrians, which was not unexpected.

"Cyborg, how close are we to her signal?" Robin asked impatiently. Cyborg quickly checked his display of the city.

"Raven put us down just out side the place. He signal's coming from in there." He said, pointing at the abandoned steel mill; just as he did, one of the bolt's holding the rusted gate to the fence sheared away, and the gate came crashing down in front of them.

"Oh well that's a good sign." Raven remarked.

"Ok, well, let's get in there and get our girl." Robin said as he began to quickly walk towards the mill, stepping over the fallen gate and crossing the grounds. The other Titans were quick to follow, and when their leader picked up his pace, the followed suit; with all of them arriving at the entrance after sprinting across the large piece of between the mill and its front gate.

Raven encircled the two large entrance doors with black energy, she ripped them off their hinges and threw them aside as Robin yelled 'Titan's Go!' and they all charged inside the building, ready for battle.

But inside the dark, acrid smelling mill there was only broken down machinery and rust. Robin was about to tell the Titans to split up to search the whole place, when he spotted a small column of light at the other end of the extensive structure.

The Titans all rushed over to where the light came down, a small shaft illuminating a simple wooden desk with a laptop on it. There on the screen, was a short loop video of Starfire that kept repeating itself; unconscious, gagged, and bound to a small steel post that extended off camera. She looked a little battered, with a few scrapes, probably from the fight, but otherwise ok. Sitting right next to the laptop was a Teen Titans communicator.

"Starfire's communicator…" Beast Boy thought aloud as he gingerly picked the round yellow object up off the desk.

"Damnit!" Robin yelled, smashing his fist down onto the laptop and going right through the desk in the process.

"We've been played. Whoever did this lead us right here, just to show us they got her." Cyborg said angrily, punching one fist into his other hand.

"Ok, calm down" Raven said, putting a hand on Robin's shoulder, causing him to look at her intensely. "I want to find her just as badly as you do, but we need to do it in a reasonable and calm manor…not," she looked down at the broken pieces of the laptop intermingled with the splintered desk "smash our only link to Starfire…"

Robin gave himself a second to recover, but only a second. He came back and was in full leader mode before the other Titans could say anything.

"I'm calling Police Chief O'Malley" Robin said as he took out his communicator " I'll get him to put out a city-wide APB for the van, it's a long shot, but it might give us more clues as to where Starfire is."

"Let's head back to the tower." He said a minuet later, after he had alerted the police to what they were searching for. "We need to try and piece this out, we're not going to get anything else done for tonight." He finished, checking his watch, it was already 2:45 in the morning and they had gained virtually nothing in their searching, save for now knowing for a fact that someone, somewhere, had Starfire.

-

Slade had left her the room she was in a few hours ago, but she couldn't really be sure how long it had been, with no clock on the wall or even a window to see the sky, she had no way of discerning how much time had really passed. It was pitch black in the room since Slade had shut off the lights as he walked out, leaving her alone in the darkness.

One thing Starfire did know for sure, she was becoming increasingly uncomfortable from the position she had been placed in, and it was getting more and more difficult to breath through her mouth due to the gag.

A bolt could be heard being pulled open on the other side of the door; it quickly creaked open; the light flooding into the room blinded Starfire as she tried to adjust her eyes, she could see the silhouettes of two men entering the room. As her eyes finally adjusted to the light from the door, one of them threw the other lights in the room on, further blinding the teen. She knew one was close to her, and felt him lean down next to her and undo the ropes keeping her hands bound to the poll but keeping her wrists tied together.

She tired to struggle but he was much lager than her, and as she remembered the heavy collar around her neck, she realized she wasn't going to wrench free of his grasp any time soon. He easily picked her up and walked, with her over his shoulder towards one end of the room. The second man closed the door and joined his friend, both where about 5'10" or 5'11" and at least 180lbs, most of it muscle. He grabbed her hands and lifted her up, then dropped her suddenly, she expected to come crashing to the ground, but instead she jerked to a stop about a foot above the ground.

She was suspended above the ground; she craned her neck up to see the hook firmly embedded in the ceiling she was hanging from. She looked worriedly to the two men; one had wheeled in a small metal cart, while the other was picking up objects on the cart, inspecting them, deciding what next to do.

Starfire's eyes grew very wide as she surveyed the cart; it had an array of surgical and decidedly non-surgical implements laid out on it; not a one of them the least bit pleasant looking. One of the men was holding a small knife in his hand, and sizing her up, as if trying to determine something…

'Deciding where to start…' She thought, after a millisecond of consideration she began to yell into the gag and attempt to move around and struggle to get off the hook holding her hands far above her head. The man with the knife began to approach her, a wicked grin on his face.

A/N: Again, sorry for the long time delay, and any oversights in this chapter, I could only do it in tiny snippets. Thanks for reading.