Chapter 18: The Hostage

"There's too many of them!" Cyborg shouted as he blasted his sonic cannon through the robots. So far, the titans have defeated about 50 of them, but the robots started to attack from every corner of the hall.

I took refuge under a small table and watched the entire thing unfold. Robin used his staff and twirled it to stop the laser attacks. Cyborg used his sonic cannon to blast down the numerous enemies. Raven used her telekinesis and Beast boy ripped through the robots in dinosaur form. But even though the titans were able to keep Slade's minions under control, more and more kept entering the room.

Robin broke away from the battle and starred at the doorway. He didn't seem entirely focused on the battle, which was quite unusual for him. He glanced back at his three friends trying to handle the robots. Without a word, he turned away from the battle and ran towards the door.

"Robin, wait!" Cyborg shouted, rushing after the team's leader. He was about to follow him before Raven intervened.

"Let him go!" She shouted, grabbing his arm "We can handle these things without him!"

The three titans continued to fight the robots, but I was more curious about what was going on inside the room Robin entered. When nobody was looking, I sprinted from my hiding spot and scurried my way inside the room.

I stepped carefully inside the doorway and surveyed the area. I spotted Robin looking down the stairway and I caught up to him. To my surprise, the secret door lead to the basement. Had it not been for Raven's telepathy, nobody would've known Starfire was down here.

I kept a low profile and followed the team's leader down the wooden steps. It was extremely damp and musty down here and the only reason we were able to see was because of Robin's flashlight. Suddenly, we heard the feint sound of a female's crying. Robin's eyes widened and he frantically looked around the room "Star?!" he shouted "Starfire, where are you?!"

He rushed to the middle of the room, and flickered on the light bulb. It was dim, and not bright enough to light up the entire area, but it was enough for us to see just a little bit.

That's when we noticed a silhouette sitting at the end of the room. Robin quickly rushed over to where she was and froze when he noticed the condition she was in.

Starfire's body was strapped down to a white chair including her wrists, ankles, and waist. Her eyes were closed and her head hung forward. She looked like an old rag doll that had been tampered with too much.

"Star..." Robin whispered, touching her cheek slightly "Don't worry. I'm going to get you out of here!"

He reached over to free her from the restraints until the sick familiar voice stopped him.

"You might want to leave her alone." the madman said, approaching Starfire's chair from behind "Haven't you caused enough misery, my boy?"

"What have you done to her?!" Robin shouted, pulling out his weapons in defense.

"Shhhh, the princess is sleeping" Slade whispered, stroking the alien's feverish face "You don't want to wake her up, do you?"

When Slade touched her face, Starfire winced. He had obviously done something to her after knocking me unconscious. Perhaps he wanted to make sure that she would have no way of escaping him.

Robin leapt forward and pointed his staff at him "You didn't answer my question!" He shouted, gritting his teeth "What did you do?!"

Slade laughed and laced his fingers around his staff "I don't know, Robin" He said "Maybe I should be asking you that question."

The madman looked down at Starfire "Look at this sweet innocent girl" He said as he continued to stroke her face "From what I've heard, she seemed pretty upset with you. "

"I've made some mistakes" Robin said "But that's none of your business!"

"She told me that you didn't give her the respect she deserved." Slade said "She also told me that you didn't love her anymore and that you wouldn't want to see her sorry face again."

Oh great, Slade was taking everything Starfire said out of context, and using it to attack Robin. She did indeed say those things. However, her thoughts on the situation have changed. Robin didn't know how to respond to Slade's words.

"You wasted your time coming here" Slade said "She doesn't want to go back with you. That's why I have arranged….to send her somewhere else."

Slade reached into his belt and pulled out a document of some sort. It was a piece of paper written in alien-language and it had Starfire's picture on it. In the picture, she was younger. It was probably taken years before she met the titans. It looked like one of those wanted posters that Robin would sometimes post on the building walls or lamp posts of the city.

Robin snatched the document from Slade and skimmed over it "What is this?" He asked.

"Are you familiar with the aliens who call their selves the Citadel?" Slade asked "They've been searching for your precious girlfriend for years. She's a wanted fugitive."

Robin's eyes widened "How did you know about that!?" He asked furiously.

"Why are you surprised?" Slade asked "I know everything about you and your little friends."

I wanted to know how Slade knew about Starfire and her past. The first thing Starfire did when she came to earth was put her past behind her. She told us stories about her days as a prisoner, but even so it was something that she only discussed with us. How could have Slade known that Starfire was a wanted fugitive? It continues to scare me on how much he really knows about her.

Robin looked at the document and crumbled it up "Well good for you for doing your research" He said, throwing the piece of paper behind him "But I won't allow you to take her."

"It's too late, Robin" Slade said "They're on their way now. And I intend to hand her over to them dead or alive."

He chuckled and reached to touch Starfire's feverish face again. But Robin leapt up and attacked him with a kick in the jaw. The madman was sent flying across the room "Don't you dare lay another finger on her!" Robin threatened.

I quickly scurried away from the scene. It was scary seeing Robin engage in a battle with Slade. Even though the titans have fought him hundreds of times, it was too dangerous to fight Slade 1 on 1. If he was able to defeat Starfire and restrain her in a wooden chair, who knows what Slade could do to Robin.

But no. Robin was furious. He wasn't going to allow Slade to leave another scratch on Starfire. When Slade started coming right at him, Robin leapt in the air and threw several of his explosive disks at him, which caught him off guard. Robin used this opportunity to leap forward and kick him in the jaw again, which sent Slade flying across the room. When Slade tried to gain the upper hand, Robin destroyed his chances by pinning his body to the ground and pointing his staff against his head.

"It's over" he sneered, stepping on the back of his shoulder "Now let her go!"

Slade looked up at Robin and let out a soft, evil snicker "I'm impressed, Robin" he said "You have definitely grown stronger since we last met."

"If you ever go near her again…" Robin said "I promise you won't live to see the next day."

"Very well" Slade said "My work here is done anyway."

Slade squirmed from Robin's grip and sat up.

"You mean that's it?" Robin asked "You're giving up just like that?"

I too thought it was a little fishy that Slade instantly gave up on the battle. After holding Starfire against her will, I thought he would still be fighting to keep Robin away from her.

The madman stood up, and snapped his neck back into place "Even if you do take her back, they won't stop until they find her." He said "and you already underestimate their power."

He pulled out something from his belt and threw it on the floor. A bunch of smoke erupted from the device. Robin coughed and rushed through the cloud of smoke, ready to attack Slade once more. But it was too late. Slade had somehow managed to escape. Robin had the perfect opportunity to have him arrested right then and there, yet Slade somehow slipped through his fingertips yet again.

But that was the least of Robin's worries.

He rushed back to the alien girl strapped in the white chair and focused his attention on untying her from the restraints. I looked up at Starfire and noticed that she was no longer wailing or crying. By the time Robin freed her legs and wrists, her body slumped forward into his arms.

"Star" Robin breathed out lifting her up with the crook of his arm "Come on. You've got to wake up!"

I was relieved that Starfire was finally safe from Slade. But I knew from the looks of things that something was definitely wrong with her. I emerged from my hiding spot and scurried over to the two titans. I gurgled sadly and gave Robin a confused look. What was wrong with Starfire? Why wasn't she waking up? Doesn't she realize that everything's okay now?

The other three titans entered the room and noticed Starfire and Robin on the ground. Not only was Slade gone but it seemed like all of the robots were gone as well.

The whole world seemed to shrink as soon as he leaned down to check for a pulse. Time stopped. Everything stopped at once when I noticed his frantic reaction "No!" He shouted "She's not breathing!"

"I know what to do!" Raven shouted, taking Robin's shoulder and yanking him out of the way "Move!"

She and Cyborg immediately started to work on reviving the alien girl. My stomach started to feel sicker and sicker as time slowly dragged by. Was Starfire dead? No, she can't be! She had been fighting so hard these past few days!

Seconds ticked by like minutes and no progress had been made. I started to think that it was too late.

My worries were put to rest when Starfire took a deep breath and her eyelids fluttered open to reveal her beautiful green orbs. She blinked a few times and her pupils shifted to everyone in the room. Robin was the first to react, pushing Cyborg out of the way and hovering over her. She looked into his face and reached up to touch it "Robin..." She weakly murmured.

He lowered his head trying to hide the tears that started to stream down his cheeks. He gently lifted her up and wrapped his arms around her body. His entire body shook violently as he held onto her tightly "I thought I had lost you!" He sobbed.

I have never seen Robin cry like this. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have ever seen him cry at all. Being the leader of the team, he never came off as emotional to me. Starfire seemed to be surprised as well but she lifted her arms and hugged him back. As they held each other in a comforting embrace, the other titans were about to go over and hug her as well. But all the sudden, Robin pulled back from the embrace and grabbed a hold of her shoulders, forcing her to look into his eyes "Are you out of your mind?!" He yelled, gritting his teeth "Why did you run away?!"

We were all caught off guard from Robin's outburst, especially Starfire who just stared at him in response.

"Robin, stop" Cyborg said, placing a hand on his shoulder "Now's not the right time to confront her about this."

He turned to Starfire "Are you alright little lady?" He asked.

Starfire still seemed pretty out of it, but she slowly nodded her head in response. Even though Raven was able to revive her, she still wasn't acting like herself.

"We have to get her home" Raven said "She needs medical attention immediately."

After when Robin settled down a bit, he stood up and lifted Starfire in his arms "Come on" He said "Let's get out of here."

Cyborg went back over to the chair, and picked up the crumbled alien document that Slade left behind. Then I followed the team out of the building. I was happy to finally leave this horrible place, but the fact that Starfire almost died again still made me feel a little sick. I wondered what would've happened if the titans hadn't shown up. Even though she was safe this time, I was still worried about the Citadel coming after her.

They are still a huge threat to us.