Back inside the old house, Robin was getting no where, if he could just get his arms unchained, he'd be able to free his wrists, the boy had begun using the rusty metal cuffs to cut away at the ropes, now all that was keeping his arms there was the manacles.
Taking a few deep breathes, Robin prepared for the incoming pain, Batman taught him that the best way to get out of handcuffs was to dis-locate the appendage keeping you there, the thumbs.
Silently a count down began, Robin knew this was going to hurt, but it was his only chance, he had to get out of that box before it was too late.
Without any more hesitation Robin began to pull, his thumb slowly being pushed further into his palm, small cracking sounds could be heard before the final snap.
Robin screamed into his gag, but continued to wrench his wrist free, his now dislocated thumb grinding as he pulls, ignoring the radiating pain, the boy gives one final tug before his arm is freed.
If this had been a training exercise, Robin would have been proud at his accomplishment, but his anxiety was far too overwhelming, one arm free, one to go.
This time Robin would just rip the band-aide off, he wasn't going to pro long the pain, he'd finish this in one shot, but first he had to use his only good hand to push the thumb back into socket.
Reaching over, Robin placed his throbbing thumb into his chained hands fingers, pushing with all his strength, searching for the joint he desperately needed.
It took a few minutes of twisting before finally one last pain filled scream signaled he'd reattached the two, moving his thumb still hurt, but not nearly as much as it had earlier.
Robin could feel his freedom getting closer as he repeated the process with his other thumb, grinding his teeth at the loud popping sound, but otherwise pulling his wrist from the bonds.
Once again, the boy re-located the two using his other hand, flexing the sore and bruised thumb, making extra sure he'd properly re-set it.
Step number one was finished, his arms were now free, quickly the duct tape is removed from his mouth, Robin then turned his attention to his chained ankles, the box he was in wasn't big enough to let him bend very far forward, in fact had he not been an acrobat, he doubted he'd ever have been able to reach his legs.
Robin moved to inspect the chains binding his ankles, they to were rusted, but still strong enough to hold, he couldn't see any give in the manacles and he wasn't going to break his ankle to get out, so what could he do?
...
"Friends, I have returned with anything that can be read, books, magazines, the paper of news from Robin's room and the boxes of cereal." Comes an approaching Starfire's voice as she unloaded the items to the ground
"Great job, Star!" Says Beast Boy as he begins rummaging through the items using the code.
"There's no way it's the cereal, there's no pages." Claims Cyborg as he tosses the boxes aside, moving to work on the magazines
Raven flips through book after book, comparing the code to each given page, she can easily shift from each book in a matter of seconds "So far nothing."
Starfire shifts through the newspaper clippings that were in Robin's room, she'd felt bad invading Robin's privacy, but she was willing to do whatever it took to save the boy she loved
Beast Boy flipped pages through the channel guide, car and bike manuals and discarded mail "There's nothing here!"
"Calm down, BB, just keep looking." States Cyborg, he felt the exact same way, but this team needed a leader, if he could lead Titans East, then he can temporarily lead the Titans.
Starfire's eyes widen as the code finally makes sense, Robin's clippings formed together started to form the answers "I believe I have found the book we seek."
All eyes turn to Starfire, the red head laid all the papers across the floor in a line "What have you got Star?" Questions Cyborg as he and the team make their way over
"Page 23, line 7, word 67." Her finger moves to the word always "Page 35, line 13, word 62."
"Always watching?" Questions Beast Boy "What's that supposed to mean? Always watching what?
"Keep going Starfire." Encourages Cyborg
Starfire nods and continues "Page 3, line 6, word 90." The team is shocked when all that's on the page is a black and white picture of the Titans, each member smiling happily towards the camera, all except one member is present
"Dude, why's Robin not with us?" Asks Beast Boy
Starfire shakes her head "I do not understand, why is Robin no longer in the picture with us?"
Cyborg grabs the photo and begins to study it, he remembered that day, the Titans had been called to help rescue a young child who had been abducted, sadly the child didn't survive "Keep working on the code."
Starfire's eyes roam to Cyborgs before nodding, she had to keep going "Page 12, line 31, word 70."
"Always. Watching. No Robin and Camera?" Asks Raven
"What does this mean? What could Slade be watching?" Questions Starfire in confusion
"Isn't it obvious?" Begins Beast Boy, his green hands flailing through the air "Slade's always watching, cameras and a picture where the only one missing is Robin?"
Cyborg's eyes widen as he moves to work on the system "Oh, he better not have set up surveillance in my tower!"
"If Slade set cameras in the tower, wouldn't the best place to look be Robin's room?" Draws Raven, knowing Slade would keep constant watch over Robin.
Starfire gasps "We can not invade Robin's privacy in such a way, it would be wrong."
Smoke shoots from Cyborgs now fuming ears "Not only did Slade hack my systems, he hacked the mainframe! He's been watching all of us!"
"Dude, that's so creepy." Declares Beast Boy
"You guys go tear our rooms apart! Find those cameras!" Yells Cyborg as he raced towards his room and garage "Slade is going down!"
Beast Boy tore through his messy dwelling, finding nothing under the stinky bed, sock drawers, piles of unwashed laundry across the floor or his disaster of a closet "I can't find any camera!"
A knock on his now opening door grabs BB's attention, before him stood a sullen Starfire and an annoyed Raven "We've checked every crevice in our rooms, but have found nothing." Expresses Starfire
"Maybe Slade only set cameras in Robin's room?" Suggests Raven "He's not interested in any of us."
Beast Boy shudders "Ok, Slade is super creepy, why is he so obsessed with Robin?"
"And Robin is equally as obsessed with Slade." States Starfire "They are most alike, Robin once told me the biggest difference between him and Slade was he had friends."
BB's and Raven's eyes widen, had Robin truly thought that? Sure they both could be too serious for their own good, but for Robin to have admitted it?
That statement only made Beast Boy look up to his leader even more, Robin knew of the problem but he also knew his friends kept him grounded, on the side of good.
"Let's go see if Cyborg found anything." Declares Raven, they had a mission to finish.
Inside the garage Cyborg was pulling the T-car and R-cycle apart angrily, if Slade had messed with his baby!
"Dude, why are you taking everything apart?" Wails Beast Boy as he and the two female Titans walk into the now trashed garage
"Oh if he bugged my baby! No one touches my baby and gets away with it!" Yells Cyborg as more wires and metal are sent flying
Starfire slowly approaches, she hated seeing her friend in such a state of distress "Cyborg, we could not find any such devices in our rooms, perhaps Slade only set up cameras to spy on Robin?"
Cyborg throws down the wrench he'd been using to tear the car apart, a far away look adorned his face "That's exactly what he did Star, I found this attached to Robin's helmet."
Cyborgs metal hand opens to reveal a small web cam, the red light still blinking "I disconnected the thing and I still can't get it to stop broadcasting."
"Is Slade watching us as we speak?" Whispers Starfire as she examines the tiny device
Cyborg nods "There's a built in microphone, he's listening and watching, has been for awhile."
"Ummm why would Slade want us to know he's spying on us?" Questions Beast Boy "The bad guys usually keep that stuff to themselves."
"He's playing with us." States Raven angrily "He wants us to feel beaten, to be afraid."
Everyone's eyes widen, they were afraid, they weren't even safe in their own home, they'd failed to protect their leader who had been being watched for who knows how long.
Raven smashed the camera in her fist "We can't let Slade get to us, we need to find Robin."
Cyborg rises to his feet, a determined glint in his eyes "Let's check Robin's room, the next clue has to be in there."
The team remained silent as they approached their leaders door, punching in the code.
"You all ready for this?" Asks Cyborg, his metal hand over the button to open the door, a part of him felt they were betraying Robin's trust, invading his privacy, but Slade had already done that, they had to find those cameras to save Robin.
Everyone takes a deep breath, Robin didn't allow others in his room, sure you could come in and talk for a minute, but if that doors closed, it's a silent warning to stay out.
Starfire swallowed, sure she had gone inside to fetch the paper articles, but that was it, this time she'd be searching through Robin's belongings.
Beast Boy was torn, on one hand he'd always wanted to learn about their leader, Robin was so mysterious and kept to himself, but once they opened that door, all of those secrets may finally come out.
Raven stares at the door, she knew how Robin felt regarding others in his room, he despised it, much like she did, but if going in there was the only way to save Robin, then it had to be done "Open it."
The tension fills the air as Cyborgs shaky finger presses down, the door making a loud sound as it gives entry.
The room was dark, curtains covered the window, lights were off as the team made their way inside. "Alright, look for the best place to hide a camera."
Starfire flies from corner to corner in search, checking for the best vantage point Slade would have chosen
Beast Boy morphed into a mouse, crawling across the floor as he too searched for any devices.
Raven tore through boxes, what were they supposed to find? The clue no doubt lead here, but where's the camera?
Cyborg tore the outside security apart, finding a bug planted in the technology "This allowed Slade complete control, he'd have no problems watching Robin."
Beast Boy changes back into his normal self "Dude, Robin has some cool gear!" The changling opens his palm to reveal tiny smoke bombs.
"We're not here to mess around, BB. We gotta save Robin." Declares Cyborg, the metal man was growing angry with each passing second
"I see no such device of recording here." Slumps Starfire
Ravens eye twitches "Maybe we should think like Robin? If he had a camera, where would he hide it?"
"I thought it was Slade who hid the device, why must we think like Robin?"
Cyborg's eyes widen "It's a test about Robin, what he would do. Raven, come stand over here."
Raven makes her way to Cyborgs desired area, the entrance to the room "Ok, you're Robin's height, now look around, where's the best vantage point?"
Ravens purple eyes roam the room, so many places Robin may have set a camera, but all seemed to simple, unless that's exactly what the boy wonder counted on. "On the walls, behind something."
Beast Boy doesn't waste any time, quickly transforming from mouse to insect as he scurried across the wall, his head smacking into a small disc as he morphs "I found this, looks like some kind of CD."
Cyborg grabs hold of the clue, analyzing what the contents could be "It's a communication disk, you download the software into your system and talk with anyone who's tapped in."
"Was Robin speaking with Slade?" Questions a worried and scared Starfire
Cyborg shakes his head "This techs far too advanced, there's no way it would have worked on Robin's system."
"So Slade planted it? What's on it then?" Asks Beast Boy
"Let's find out." Declares Raven as she flies the disk into the main computer, starting the download
Cyborg took the controls as the towers security fought the unknown data, it took some effort to finally shift the protocol down completely before the download was complete.
"All we gotta do is press run and who ever created this thing has control." States Cyborg, he knew how dangerous this was, he knows Robin would never approve of this method, but at the moment, he was in charge.
Beast Boy places his hand forward, his green eyes stare into his fellow friends "For Robin."
Starfire slowly flies closer to the group, her hand shakily covers Beast Boys "For Robin."
Raven without a thought places her hand over Starfire's "For Robin."
Cyborg smiles, this team truly was amazing, Robin would have been very proud to have seen them all unite as one "For Robin." The metal hand now covers Raven's
The screen loads before going completely black, words of binary code flashing through the screen before a masked man comes into view "Hello, Titans."