A/N: When there's trouble you know who to call! Yup, the Teen Titans are here!

Chapter 3: No Way Out

A growl of frustration pierced through Titans Tower. Robin had disappeared without a word to any of his teammates. Again.

"I can't be the only one who finds it suspicious that Rob just up and left without sayin' anything to the rest of us!" Cyborg fumed in vivid irritation as his agitation steadily crept to the surface and skyrocketed to the moon. This felt way too similar to how the Red-X incident unfolded, and that thought only made the cybernetic teen even more livid. His bionic eye darted to his malfunctioning communicator as he fiddled with it frantically, trying to reach Robin and get a precise fix on his location.

Raven was meditating away from the clutter, presumably activating her soul self to find their missing leader as she had once done years ago. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos...Azarath Metrion Zinthos..." The empath steadily relaxed, felling the familiar sensation as a vital part of herself drift away, through the Tower, through the city, and into Robin's mind. Blinding white spots suddenly seared through her vision, flickering like broken stadium spotlights. She could hear a faint voice, but she couldn't decipher who it belonged to. A scalding bruise blossomed near her shoulder, and all of Robin's pain barreled into her like a steamroller. A broken screech tore through her throat and the other Titans immediately rushed to her aid, worry alight in their expressions.

"Raven!" The first to reach her was Beastboy. The child knelt down and placed a hand on her shoulder, forest green eyes quivering with heartfelt concern, "Are you ok?"

"Did you find him?"

Starfire's lithe fingers twisted around themselves in frantic concern as words tumbled out of her mouth in an uncontrollable burst of emotion. "Is friend Robin alright? Is he in danger? Please Raven, you must inform us!"

Raven clutched her head, clenching her teeth as tears streamed down her ashen face. Beastboy gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze as a silent comfort, knowing he couldn't do much more to help her. Minutes ticked by in silence as the cursed girl composed herself with deep shaken breaths; her friends huddled around her, providing security and stability. Through the physical and emotional agony flitting in her veins, Raven managed to find her voice. "I found him. I don't know where he is, but I know he's in serious trouble." Her eyes opened and she gazed at the other Titans with a no-nonsense flare and a grim expression, "We have to go. Now."

The others nodded their affirmation, though a lingering hesitance flickered between their eyes. Starfire bit her lip, feeling the need to express her concern for her friend's mental and physical health, "Raven, are you sure you do not require the recharge after exhausting your powers through meditation?"

The dark teenager shook her head, "I'll be fine, Starfire. What matters right now is finding Robin."

Beastboy and Cyborg nodded in unison, " She's right," Cyborg spoke up, his real eye darkening into a narrow slit. "And when we find whatever or whoever took him, they'll be in for an ultra beatdown," Beastboy promised without a hint of humor, a vibrant hatred staining his face. It was a rather terrifying sight; even Raven felt intimidated from the infuriated expression coloring his usually laidback, lax, humorous demeanor full of corny jokes and riddles.

Starfire led the charge with renewed vigor, "Titans go!"

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Dismantled gears and unhinged railing were strewn haphazardly around the haunt that classified as a warzone. Robin and Slade were in the midst of the clutter, throwing every ounce of hatred and resentment they had at each other.

"You should know, you're only prolonging the inevitable!" Slade snarled, swinging his staff through the air with a speed Robin shouldn't have been able to dodge.

Furious blue eyes blazed underneath the mask, locking with the steely cold grey iris of Slade's sharp singular orb, refusing to back down from the intimidating man in front of him. The teen hissed through gritted teeth, channeling his fury and annoyance into his scathing tone, "Good!"

Slade brought his staff down towards the boy mercilessly. Thinking quickly, Robin stuck his foot out and kicked it as hard as he could, sending the weapon flying in the air right as the mercenary snared his ankle and harshly dragged him forward, away from the time-detonator the stubborn hero was trying to guard.

Robin panicked, adrenaline numbing the pain he had accrued as he lashed out at the man in every way possible. Instead of letting go, Slade catapulted him across the room right as the teenager threw his staff at him with a war cry.

Naturally, Slade dodged the strike and the staff lodged itself in the machine instead, jamming through the hidden button and shattering the internal components within. One would've expected the machine to explode, but it didn't. The blue lightning surrounding the device spread wider, crackling louder as the dormant prism in the center sprung to life, the rainbow of colors churning together into a devistating midnight black.

Slade felt the barest sliver of unease as he stared into the expansive void; this wasn't supposed to happen. Uncertainty, he glanced back at Robin who had opened his mouth to yell at him, but before the teen could get a word out, the vortex expanded tenfold and a powerful gravitational force started to draw the duo into its unknown depths.

Robin's feet failed to find purchase on solid concrete. He went skidding across the floor for a few terrifying heartbeats before managing to snag his grappling hook on a lone railing that jutted out from above. The teenager hung to the end of the taut string like a literal lifeline. Slade simply stood his ground like a symmetrical statue, silently resisting the increasing force that was trying to yank them in. He didn't dare move. The mercenary knew if he unbalanced himself, the scale would not be tipped in his favor. He could only hope Robin's line didn't snap; partially because he didn't want his future apprentice to die, and also because there was nothing between the hero and the mercenary but a vacant space; there wasn't anything to stop Robin from crashing directly into his spine and screwing them both up.

The daunting pressure increased like a tornado and Slade could feel his feet slipping forward the smallest fraction as he willed himself to stay still. Splintered gears and chunks of metal zoomed past, lifted by the whirling hurricane that completely engulfed the haunt, miraculously avoiding the man as various bits of steel and metal were consumed into the swirling abyss.

Meanwhile, Robin was maintaining his death grip on the cord that kept him from flying into oblivion. His knuckles had turned stark white from the exertion of keeping himself stable. Sweat trickled down his face as he grit his teeth; his fingers were numb and he almost couldn't feel his arms as they strained with the effort to tether him to his grappling hook. He wasn't sure how much longer he could last.

The wind grew so powerfully prominent, the ground shook like a magnitude eight earthquake, dislodging the metal beam Robin was clinging to as panels and foundations of Slade's crumbling lair slowly vanished around him, succumbing to the irresistible gravitational force at the heart of the portal. The boy shot a glance of fearful apprehension towards his nemesis before he went sailing over Slade's head like a frisbee. The mercenary reacted instentaniosly, reaching out to grasp Robin's gloved hand, consequently nullifying his stability with the action, and both rivals shared an uncertain look of dread as the gravitational pull engulfed them in the endless abyss.

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beastboy had agreed to split up to cover more ground in their search for Robin. They had been scanning the city for over an hour, discovering nothing of substantial use before Raven beckoned them to regroup at Pier 41, informing the team she had a plausible answer.

"What is it Rae?" Beastboy inquired through his communicator as he turned into a cheetah and raced along the alleyway, reverting back to his human form.

Raven's stoic face came through his device, "I have a hunch."

The shapeshifter gave her a toothy grin of mischief in return, "Hunch away, m'lady."

Raven rolled her eyes at the changeling's usual antics, involving ill attempts at humor in her opinion. "If I were Robin, where would I go if I intentionally didn't want to be discovered because obsession had officially clouded my judgement and rational reasoning?"

Beastboy thought about it for a few moments before he caught on, "Slade?"

"Bingo."

The changeling was momentarily silent, despair slowly leaking through his features. Nothing good could come out of any situation that involved Robin and Slade together. "We gotta tell the others."

xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo

Fifteen minutes had passed and the four Titans had met up at the specified rendezvous point in tense apprehension. Raven shared her disasterous prediction with the three gifted viligents. Although Beastboy already knew the situation since Raven had told him, that didn't make him feel any better about his friend's potentially dire predicament. The changeling had looked up to Robin as an idol, an older brother, an aspiration. He didn't want to lose Robin to Slade; not again.

Something substantial dimmed in Starfire as she listened to Raven's testimony with a heavy heart. Her starbolts flashed dangerously in her quaking palms as her vehement anger flared to par with her weighted sorrow.

Cyborg sported a gravely, haunted expression lurking in the depths of his eye. However, an ignited spark of determination flashed within. He met Raven's eyes, seemingly devoid of emotion other than a stoic front, but if one looked closer you could glimpse the unease dancing in her troubled violet irises. The cybernetic teen stopped short as he realized Beastboy and Starfire were looking at him expectantly. He glimpsed the dark hooded girl give an encouraging nod in his direction. From his friends' silent unanimous agreement, Cyborg decided to take the initiative as the temporary leader in Robin's absence.

"Alright," Cyborg began, deep in thought. "Raven," he addressed, gesturing towards the empath in question. "Take to the skies with Star. Check Slade's old hideouts and the warehouse. See if you can find us any leads that might answer where Rob is. If you run into Slade, call us for backup as soon as you possibly can." With a simultaneous nod of understanding, the two girls immediately flew off to the west sector of the city.

He then looked down at Beastboy, "B, you're with me. We're checkin' the haunt." The mechanical man turned away to briskly walk out the door without another word, carrying the burden of loss with him in more ways than one.

The changeling raced to catch up with his best friend, "What if Rob's not there?" His ears drooped and he faltered, hanging his head as terrible implications and predictions crawled their way into his mind like an invasive species. His nerves trembled without his permission, "What if he's..." Beastboy's throat tightened, unable to voice his darkest fears, lest they come to life.

Those words sank into both heroes like a struggling ship encased by a whirlpool. Cyborg halted, silent. It was a long moment before he turned around, the older teen slowly approaching him to place a gentle hand on the younger boy's shoulder in a comforting gesture of reassurance. "Don't fuel the negativity, BB. We'll find him. We've done it before, and we'll do it again; even if we have to flip this entire city upside down and tear it to shreds. Rob's more than capable of handlin' himself."

The shapeshifter gave his buddy a shrewd smile that didn't quite reach his dull eyes, however it was a stark improvement from his haunted expression of hopelessness. He gave a small nod as he steeled himself to enter into the unknown, newfound confidence induced in every step he took, with his loyal older brother beside him. Beastboy transformed into a peregrine falcon without any promoting from Cy as he lifted his best friend in the air and flew as fast as he could. The two could only hope they weren't going to be too late.

We're coming, Robin.

A/N: I know. I'm cruel for stopping it here, but this is only the bait for a much larger trap, a more sinister plot...

...You guys had better get that subtle reference, or I'll be extremely disappointed... Just kidding, I could never be mad at you wonderful readers.

Peace, yeast and make a feast!

-Void