"Batgirl! Batgirl, answer! Batgirl!" the only response to Cyborg's calls was static. An hour had passed. He pounded his fist on the table. Suddenly, the static stopped, and a voice answered his pleas.
"Hello, titans." Without an introduction, they knew who it was.
"Slade! What did you do to her! Where is she?" Beastboy called out.
"Batgirl? Well, I suppose you'll have to find me to find her."
"Tell us where you are, and we'll be there in a heartbeat!" Raven was not in a good mood, and the tone of her voice proved it.
"Temper temper, Raven. And I'd watch what you say. Those were the exact words that started Robin on his obsessive streak."
"Where is she!" shouted Starfire. She was loosing patience.
"Tell me Starfire, you obviously like Robin very much. You obviously are friendly with Batgirl. Maybe a bit of rivalry, but... I need you to make a choice. I could tell you where Batgirl is, or... I could tell you where Robin is." The girl's mouth hung open like a gaping fish. She didn't know who to pick.
She wasn't so naieve to not realize it was a trap. That Slade would know she'd want to find Robin the most. Of course, he could've known she'd think that and plan it so it was rigged so she had to find Batgirl first... or that he'd think that and make the obvious choice and make it so to save them both they needed Robin...
Her head spun in confusion, not knowing what to do. Besides her previous thinking, her heart and her head had been singing two very different toons. Her heart told her to find Robin, make sure he was safe. Make sure he wasn't lost forever. Besides, he was the detetive. Surely he could find Batgirl, right? Besides, she had known him longer, for all she knew Batgirl could've turned. Worked for Slade.
Her head told her otherwise. Robin was in a coma. He couldn't help out anyway. For all she knew he was dead. Batgirl could help find Robin. She was older, wiser. Had plenty of experience. All of this thinking had taken place within a matter of moments. Slade waited for an answer.
With great dificulty, she met his lone gaze. With even more dificulty, she answered. "Where is Batgirl?"
Slade's eye widened, surprised. "My my, it seems the boy wonder really is being played. You don't care about him at all. Care to explain your decision?"
"I have no reason to explain myself to you of all people, Slade. We will find Robin at a later time. Where is Batgirl?"
"Only time will tell." He shut off communications.
"Wait a sec! He forgot the clue!" exclaimed Beastboy.
"No, that was the clue."
"Heh. I knew that Rae..." She glared. "...ven. So, what's the clue?"
"He emphisised the word time, and seeing as there aren't exactly any clock stores around, that could only mean one place."
"The clock tower."
Batgirl opened her eyes grogily, the last affects of the cloroform wearing off. She tried to ask aloud, "Where am I?" but only muffled noise came up. In that moment, she realized there was duck tape over her mouth. When she tried to remove the tape, she found her arms were bound. Feet? Likewise. "Dumn et!" She screamed, and tried to figure out where she was. The blindfold covering her eyes slipped, and a muffled gasp escaped her lips. Wherever she was, she was up really high... She looked down the best she could. Yep. reeeeeeeeeeeeeealy high. Great. Her surroundings seemed familiar though...
That's when she realized. She was on a clock tower. Not in, but on. And she was tied to one of the clock hands. Great. She felt her bonds loosening, but wasn't so sure if that was what she wanted any more. She knew what the plan would be- when the clock strikes 6:30, the loose bonds let her slip, and she falls to her death. She just didn't know how to escape.
Robin woke up. He wasn't sure where he was, he wasn't sure what had happened, he didn't remember anything, but he knew: he was in danger. He could feel it. He took in his surroundings, and found he was in a cave. How ironic. He tried diligently to escape his bonds, but found he wasn't able.
"Should've taken up Lennie on the escape artist training back at Haley's..." he muttered to himself. Suddenly, all that had happened in his dreams came back to him in a rush. He screamed in agony, remembering all the pain he had felt mentaly, emotionaly and physically.
He saw flashes of his parents' deaths, his friends shunning him.
He saw the Joker kill his friends, and innocent people.
He saw the look of disapointment on Batman's face, the gun on the ground, and the blood on his hands.
He heard Raven calling him a failure, heard Starfire say she didn't love him, heard Slade say his only option was to become his apprentice.
He heard Batman taking away his identity- again.
He felt the punch Batman aimed at him.
He felt the bruises forming on his skin as he was chased by Slade.
He felt the fear.
The absolute horror.
He felt the anguish and desperate-ness as his friends walked away.
All of this clouded his judgement. He heard a laugh, and spun around. It was Slade. "Pleasant dreams, Robin?"
"Where's Scarecrow? Where are the titans?" he asked in return. He couldn't wait to get his hands on Scarecrow, for making him feel and see all of that.
"Why do you care? The titans don't care about you."
"Of course they do. We're all like family."
"Then why haven't they found you yet?"
"I'm sure they've been looking." He didn't sound so sure, the last dregs of his dreams taking over.
"Have they? Do you know how long you've been unconcious, Robin?"
"I don't know, a couple hours?" he guessed.
"Three days, Robin." He smirked under the mask, seeing Robin's confused reaction.
"No... you're lying, or-or you kidnapped me or something! They would've found me, or taken me from the fight, or something!"
"And that's where you're wrong. I even gave your girlfriend the choice to find you." his head shot up at the word 'girlfriend.'
"How'd you know about-?"
"Please, you aren't too hard to figure out. And besides, I've got cameras all over that tower of yours, Richard."