Chapter 15: The Deal

The prison cell was a hollow cube of concrete. No windows, no bed, not even a chair to sit in! The air was dank and reeked of sewage, smelling twenty times worse than Beast boy's room. The atmosphere around us was completely dark and disorientating. The only source of light came from the fissures in the walls. Starfire tried blasting them down, but they wouldn't crack, attempted to break down the door but failed at that too. She even tried flying through the roof, but her emotional distress held her back. That horrible breakup with Robin was finally catching up with her emotions. Her powers were becoming useless to her, and there was nothing we could do about it. At this point, all we could do was sit and wait for something to happen.

Tears begin to stream down the alien's face like two broken water faucets, and not even a plumber could fix this problem. I tried to cheer her up by gurgling; making those noises that always seemed to make her smile. While rolling around, I happened to notice a metal grate over the circular opening in the floor. It almost looked like something you would see in a shower; I shiver at the realization of why it's there to begin with…Ugh, no wonder it smells so bad in here. I'm ready to break out and go home already.

My mind begins to wonder and I start thinking about Robin. It seems like decades now since we last saw the titans, but there's no doubt in my mind that they're out looking for us right now. Even though Robin allowed his hero side to get the best of him...He still loves her enough to go after her, right? I sure hope so. But still...If what he said to Starfire was true, then things would no longer be the same between them. Perhaps it was his entire fault that everything had fallen apart...

But then again, who was the one who started it all?...

The doors swings open, and we're face to face with the madman himself. The light from the hallway stings my eyes and I flinch before I had time to react. He came inside the cell, and started to drag her out of the room. My princess fought back, screaming and crying.

"My oh my Starfire" He taunted "You've gotten yourself into a huge mess, haven't you, dear?"

She thrashed in his arms, trying to break free from his grip, but even her alien strength was no match for him. She was weak, powerless….alone with the exception of me. The other four titans aren't here to rescue us this time. Slade was one of our strongest enemies, and it usually took all five titans to bring him down together. A 1 on 1 battle with Slade was basically a death sentence waiting to happen.

The madman slammed her against the cold ground, so that she couldn't get back up. It killed me to see that he was already winning against her. He stood on her back, as if she was a bug, trapped beneath his dirty shoe.

"What do you want from me?" She snarled. Because if there's one thing that we all know; Slade wouldn't have brought us here without a reason.

"Oh nothing..." he said casually "I was just curious about why you left the titans, that's all."

To be honest, I've never seen him this up close before, let alone in person. I've only seen him in pictures or through live transmissions on the titan's supercomputer. He's definitely scarier than I thought he would be.

"How did you know I ran away?" She asked.

"I have my ways..." The masked man taunted "So...Starfire, Why did you leave them?"

"That's none of your business..." she said.

The Fact that Slade knew about this whole thing made me realize that he knows a lot more about the titans that I thought. Perhaps he was obsessed with us just as much as Robin was obsessed with him.

"Not going to talk I see?" he asked.

"I'm more concerned about why you kidnapped me" She said.

"Well If you're won't tell me you're intentions, then why should I tell you mine?" he asked, lifting the alien's chin with his forefingers and looking her right in the face "What's wrong with telling me, Cat got your tongue?"

"He doesn't love me anymore" she mumbled.

"Pardon?"

"I said he doesn't love me anymore."

"I see" he said "You left because you boyfriend broke up with you?"

"No..." She said "I just..."

"You just thought that running away from your problems would fix everything?" Slade asked.

"I thought it would be beneficial" She said.

"You flew thousands of miles away from home, became sick, and brought this entire issue to the media for all to see." He said "Tell me how that benefits you?"

As much as I hate to say it, I agree with him. Starfire has acted like a fool this entire time. She could have handled the situation with Robin in a better way, but she was too stubborn to realize it. Of course Robin acted like a jerk, but she was in the wrong too, and I knew for a fact that she couldn't deny it. "It doesn't matter anymore." She said "I can't go back there. He wouldn't want to see my sorry face again."

"If that's how you truly feel; then I may offer you a little deal, since we're still on the same subject."

A familiar black and yellow emblem with an "R" on it was carelessly thrown on the ground along with a torn blue cloak, a robotic arm, and a purple boot that reeked of foot fungus and sweat. Starfire picked up Robin's emblem and grasped it in her hand, giving Slade a confused look.

"A few drastic events occurred while you were away" the madman said "You're friends…or former friends should I say, have been attacked."

Attacked?

A small gasp escapes from her and my white pupils widen from hearing this news. What does he mean they were attacked?

"Oh, you never knew, did you?" He asked "While you were gone, a group that called their selves the citadel invaded jump city, it was all over the news."

Well, Starfire and I haven't had time to watch the news lately, because of the fact that we were busy with running away from home. "But….." She choked "I don't understand! Why would they-"

"They wanted to retrieve their prize that's been long overdue." He said "Since they couldn't find you, they ended up capturing your friends instead..."

"No!" She shouted "You're lying!"

"Why would I make something like that up?" Slade asked "If you don't believe me, go back and see for yourself, they won't be there."

Cyborg, Raven, Beast boy...and Robin...are they really gone? Captured and whisked away by the aliens? I think back to the spider-like figure I saw in the hospital window that one night, could that have been one of them?

"But I'm the one that they're looking for!" Starfire shouted "Why are they the ones being punished in my place?"

"Because" Slade said "I decided to make a little deal with those demonic creatures myself."

Since when has Slade been going around making deals with scary aliens? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, considering the fact that this was the same guy who worked with Trigon the terrible in the past. "Now then" He said "You know that the Citadel would do anything to have you as their slave; they've always wanted to get their grubby hands on the strongest alien princess in the galaxy."

Referring back to the story where it all began, Starfire crash landed on earth in order to avoid being their slave. They wanted her to live out the rest of her days as their servant, but other than that, little is really known about them; they are very mysterious creatures. But If they wanted to retrieve her as a slave so bad, why haven't we heard from them these past 5 years?

"I don't know what you're trying to do, but sorry!" Starfire shouted "They're not getting their hands on me!"

"Suit yourself" Slade said "But I will only assure you that the titans won't live to see tomorrow, although you don't have to, if you want to, after all, you just said they weren't your friends anymore...yes? They'll die, and you'll never have to see them again."

I try to imagine what it would be like if the titans were actually dead. They've faced danger before, fought the worst of the worst, but they never allowed anything or anyone to kill them, not even Slade himself. I know that there have been some issues, but Starfire's heart was too big to just walk away and allow them to die. Especially Robin. If Robin dies, I'm not sure if she could mentally handle that.

Suddenly, I feel a large hand lift me by the scruff of the neck, and I'm looking straight into his evil face "and what do we have here?" He asked "Some kind of large worm thing?"

I growl, and I thrash my legs around, growling and hissing. He just stares and me and laughs at Starfire who was trying to grab a hold of me "He's not a Thing!" She shouted "and his name is Silkie!"

"I was just asking what it was; you don't have to get so defensive about it." He said "Besides, once I send you away, I can just make a meal out of him."

His fingers dug into my skin, and I begin to feel uncomfortable, I hope he was joking about making a meal out of me. I'd rather die from jumping into a volcano. He tossed me back at Starfire and I found myself back in her warm loving arms, but her heart was racing faster than normal. She was shaking, scared about what was going to happen to her.

"So is it a deal then?" he asked.

"Do what you want, just promise me they won't get hurt."