A/N: Okay, I know it's been forever, but it's actually not my fault this time. See, I finished it about a week after Chapter 1 (which is when I said I would) but then when I tried to upload it, well it didn't work. I tried all types of formats and everything, but something weird was just going on with my account. Everything was just kinda frozen. But that's okay now, cuz I finally got it to work. :D See, I give you a chapter now, so everything's alright again. See? See? *hides*

Really though, I promise no more uber long waits between chapters unless the freaky stuff happens again.

A huge thank you to all my reviewers! I think I responded to all of you, but if I missed someone, just know that I DO love you.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. *sigh*

Chapter 2: To Fight

Robin paced back and forth across the length of his room - his cell, he corrected himself furiously - brow furrowed in thought, running his fingers over and over through his tangled, ebony hair in frustration. This was getting him nowhere, but there wasn't really anything more he could do, not at the moment.

This room was larger, more comfortable, and more luxurious than the place he had been kept in during his brief captivity in the Brotherhood's lair, but it was no more escapable. He wished, not for the first time, that he still had his utility belt on him; then he would have been able to simply blast his way out, reinforced walls or no. But he didn't have it, meaning that that train of thought was absolutely pointless, and so quickly shoved away.

He growled in frustration and kicked out violently at the nearest breakable object, in this case, an antique wooden chair which splintered and tumbled across the room in a broken heap. Robin smirked; he wondered viciously how many of the man's possessions (if indeed this was Slade's own house) he could break during his stay, before he managed to escape. Because he would do just that - escape that is - the moment he got the chance.

There was no one else he could rely on in this situation; he was on his own, locked up in Slade's latest haunt, a seemingly impenetrable fortress - at least from where he was standing. The Titans wouldn't be able to find him either, even if they had finished up with the Brotherhood of Evil: he had disabled and thrown away his communicator before Madam Rouge had caught him out in the desert, seeing as it had been nothing more than a dangerous liability. Now, he felt an eternity away from even that time.

Robin sighed and stopped, eyes closed with his head tilted back towards the ceiling, breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth. He had to calm down, he couldn't think about it, just had to focus on what he was going to do.

Which was what exactly? Wait around here, moping and wallowing in self pity until Slade came to get him and just hope to God that he could make it past the man without him noticing? Sounds like a great plan. Yeah, right.

And here he was back to square one, turning over and over the same miserable thoughts, entertaining the same pointless, half-assed theories. He almost wished that Slade would walk through that door to taunt him again, if only to break the maddening monotony.

Robin had no idea how long he'd been here stewing in his own frustration and misery, but the silence that had filled the room since Slade had left him was oppressive and absolute. No matter how much he snarled, screamed and cursed, it would simply swell up around him again the moment the echoes died.

Honestly, he had no idea whether or not he was alone in this… house. Slade could have left, he could be right outside the door. The room might just be sound-proof, blocking out the little noises that every house should make: the constant creaking of aged and rotting floors, the water rushing through the pipes in the walls and ceiling, the opening and closing of doors in the distance.

Regardless, he heard nothing but his own breathing and his own rough voice. The silence was slowly working its way under his skin, wriggling at the back of his mind tauntingly, slowly wearing away at his nerves, and he couldn't even begin to fathom why it was so damn annoying.

He put a weary palm to his face and sat down right where he was standing, legs crossed, head bowed and held in his hands. It was almost a funny thought: trapped in Slade's hideout not knowing what the man was planning to do with him, worrying over his friends' fate in the fight against the Brotherhood of Evil, starving and significantly weakened - and here he was, bored out of his mind.

A small chuckle bubbled up his throat and out through his lips, bursting forth and echoing throughout the room, relishing its triumph. Then it was quiet again, and he laughed at that, bitterly, despondently, the sound ringing with a tone of desperation. It was so goddamn quiet in here, and why on earth was that so freaking funny?

Okay, so maybe he was slightly hysterical.

He needed to get a hold of himself. If he was going to get out of here and find his friends then he needed to get some control over his wild emotions and focus.

Face straight once more, Robin allowed himself to flop backwards so that he was lying on the floor, staring up at the shadows that stretched across the white, cracked ceiling.

Hours could have passed, days maybe, and he wouldn't even know. He knew absolutely nothing about his situation and it was driving him insane.

Robin stretched his legs out and cracked his back, trying to ignore the lingering aches in his body. The sedative had completely worked its way out of his system a while ago, but Slade's little welcoming beating had done nothing for him in the pain department.

However, Robin reluctantly had to admit that Slade could have done a lot more damage to him than he had, Robin being in a near catatonic state at the time, and had refrained from doing so. He didn't feel exactly pleasant, but it was a lot better than it could have been; at least, he wasn't yet a broken heap of flesh and bones on the floor, he was alive, able to move around, and relatively undamaged.

Slade had mentioned earlier that he had actually been saving Robin by kidnapping him and taking him here. In a way, that's exactly what Slade did.

But, Slade being the selfish man that Robin knew he was, there had to be another motive. Perhaps Slade wanted to try and turn him into the perfect apprentice once more and was simply luring him into a false sense of security as a way to break him. There was no other reason that Robin could think of that would explain Slade's actions towards him, and it wasn't an unreasonable thought; quite the contrary actually.

Robin yawned widely into his palm, interrupting his own musings. He supposed that he had been in here a good number of hours and that he should probably get some sleep, but the thought of Slade coming in while he was out kept him awake. He had to be able to protect himself here, because no one else would be willing to do it for him. But he was getting to be so tired.

His eyes fluttered shut and stayed, the darkness and the quiet all at once soothing and frightening. Just a short rest, that was all he would allow himself, at least for now. Through his closed eyelids, Robin could sense the light in the rooming dimming until it was pitch black. He forced one eye slowly open and sighed: visibility was now zero, just as he had thought, meaning that he might as well get some sleep. He wouldn't be able to see Slade coming either way, and he would stand a better chance in a fight if he was well rested.

Decision made, Robin fell into the blackness and allowed himself to drift off. He'd just have to deal with Slade… later.

Click…

Robin shot up like a bullet with a quick gasp and jumped into a low, defensive fighting stance, eyes darting madly around the room. His gaze fell upon the barely open bedroom door and he froze, waiting for Slade's inevitable entrance, all of his senses alert and focused on that one central point… but nothing happened. No one came in and the door did not move another inch while he stared at it.

Robin stood there for almost a full minute before he allowed himself to relax, a tense stillness permeating the room. It would seem that he was still alone in here… but then, who had opened the door?

He continued to strain his eyes and ears for any sign of movement as he cautiously, slowly approached the door and laid his hand on the polished golden handle, tugging the door further open so that he could peak outside and scan the dark hallway. There really was no one there.

Robin took a single step outside the room, and then another so that he was standing stiffly in the empty corridor. He couldn't hear anything but the sound of air rushing in and out of his lungs.

"Who's there?" he called, voice hoarse from so many hours of lack of use. No one answered and nothing moved.

Then, with a sharp SLAM! the door behind him snapped shut causing Robin to very nearly jump out of his skin in shock and let out a yelp of surprise.

Chest heaving with the stress, Robin found himself on the other side of the hall, pressing his back against the wall opposite his cell door, masked eyes flicking up and down the still hallway. Nobody there, so that meant that his door was opened and shut mechanically by someone hidden somewhere else within the manor - and Robin had a pretty good idea who that someone was. So then the question became, 'why?'

"What are you planning, Slade?" he muttered to himself, eyes narrowed in confusion. There was no way Slade would just let him loose like this, with no one to keep an eye on him and make sure he didn't escape. He didn't know what to think about any of this.

And that's probably just what Slade wants, he thought bitterly, setting off down the hall to his left.

An ominous clinking sound suddenly echoed from somewhere above him, freezing Robin in his tracks, and then -

BOOM!

A thick metal wall slammed down not a foot in front of him, sealing off the passage he had been about to enter, a ringing silence settling after. Robin took a few wary steps back and then stopped, glaring. Forget the innocent act and Slade's unexpected, almost kind gestures; this place was going to give him a heart attack.

Glancing behind him, still on his own, Robin considered his options.

So, it appeared that Slade did not want him to go in that particular direction - all the more reason to make his own way through, by any means necessary, and head that way, regardless of what Slade wanted him to do.

"You think this'll stop me?" he growled.

Robin backed up a good five feet and then, with an angry roar, sprinted forward, leaped into the air, and landed his steel toed boot right in the center of the new wall with all the force he could muster.

It wasn't enough.

"Argh!" Robin crumpled against the relentless steel, the pain jarring his entire leg, and then fell back to the floor, clutching his now aching foot. If he was being honest with himself, he'd never really expected it to work anyway. If Slade didn't want him to get past this gate then he would have pulled out all the stops. Robin was going to have to get creative here.

Determined, Robin stood up and looked around him, searching for anything that might prove to be useful.

"You really are stubborn, aren't you, my boy?"

Robin jumped about a foot in the air, eyes flying wide open, and spun around, searching for the source of the man's voice.

"Where are you?" he shouted.

"Nowhere near, Robin, you don't have to worry about that… for now." Robin frowned as he heard Slade's short laughter over the small speakers he could now see set into the walls. "But if you wish to find me, all you have to do is follow the path I've laid out for you. There's nowhere else you can go."

Robin turned back to the metal wall, eyeing its sturdiness. Slade knew everything about him, in every possible meaning of the phrase; not only did he understand his personality, his strengths, his weaknesses, but his physical capabilities as well. That room - this wall - were made for him, built to keep him inside and it was a waste of his energy to try and break it down. If he had his belt, a couple of bird-arangs, one of his bombs, he could make it out of there no sweat. But as it was, he was only human.

He sighed and looked down the open hallway, looming before him, stretching on into darkness. Slade was waiting for him at the end of it, was expecting him to come crawling to his master like a good little apprentice, and that was something that Robin had no intention of doing.

On the other hand, this was the first time in days that Robin had found himself able to face the man at full strength - or something close to it at least - unbound and essentially free. If he was careful, if he played it right and didn't do anything stupid to jeopardize his chances, he might be able to get himself out of there.

Glaring up at one of the tiny speakers, Robin narrowed his eyes and mumbled a short "Fine," before starting down the long hallway, grumbling to himself the whole way. Slade had already blocked off every other path he could've taken, marking the various twists and turns, leading Robin straight to him with no other options available. Robin gave a bitter bark of laughter at that; it seemed Slade was trying to tell him something with this little trick.

Along the way, Robin checked a few of the numerous doors along the corridor, each and every one of them leading to windowless rooms, mostly used for storage, a few set up exactly like the bedroom he had woken to. No way out. Robin growled in frustration but moved on, cursing Slade to hell and back with each step he took. He was most likely underground, meaning that the only way out was up, and seeing as he had yet to come across a set of stairs, it would appear that he was still trapped, not that he should have expected anything less.

After what felt like hours of navigating the seemingly endless basement and his fruitless searching, Robin reached the end of Slade's little game in the form of an industrial looking door set into the end of the hallway, contrasting sharply with the rich, wooden doors that he saw everywhere else. This had to be it. Slade, possibly his only chance at freedom, lay just beyond this door, waiting.

Without further ado, Robin coiled his leg towards his body and let fly with a powerful kick that instantly knocked the door open with a deafening bang that echoed throughout the large room.

A dark, empty expanse lay before him, silent but for an occasional quiet clinking and the crackle of electricity. Across the room, standing before a wide table covered in scraps of metal and various tools, with his back to the door - and subsequently Robin - stood Slade, calmly continuing his work as if his latest and extremely hostile hostage hadn't just burst through the door.

"Welcome, Robin." he said smoothly, coolly examining a small cylindrical piece, "You took quite a while to get here. Did you happen to find what you were looking for?"

Robin growled, "I'm not buying into your games, Slade. I don't care what you threaten to do to me here, I'm not working for you again. Ever. So you might as well drop the act."

"I'm not 'acting' at all, Robin. I have brought you here for your own good. The offer still stands, you know."

"No thanks," he snarled in response, "Sorry to disappoint you, Slade, but I still have morals and a bit of sanity left- two things you obviously lack, by the way."

Slade turned around to face him at last, his single grey eye narrowed dangerously.

"Cute, Robin. But I'm afraid that you have no other option but to accept. Whether you like it or not, you will be my apprentice." Slade replaced what Robin could now see was a small automatic pistol, and slowly started advancing towards him, confident and imposing.

"There is no other choice for you, Robin."

Robin held his ground, fists raised as Slade approached him, looking down at him. The condescension in his demeanor and the poorly disguised threat in his voice infuriated Robin beyond reason, and he started forward, right arm thrown back, preparing to deliver a powerful blow to Slade's masked face.

"Rrraaagh!"

Slade easily dodged to the side, hands behind his back, and Robin was thrown off balance, tripping forward. He caught himself and attacked again, swinging and jabbing fists and feet in an attempt to catch the man off guard, to hurt him, to make him angry. Immovable as ever, Slade ducked and parried, calmly weaving around Robin's every attempted blow, infuriating the boy further with his lack of response, knowing that the boy's lack of control made him reckless and predictable.

Robin's reflexes were starting to slow as he used up all his energy with his quick, emotional outburst and his wild attacks, and Slade took advantage. The hand that dealt him the blow was a blur of black and silver as it collided with Robin's face, the vicious backhand knocking him clean off his feet and onto the ground, panting and slightly dazed.

Robin saw Slade's foot coming and rolled out of the way, watching it come down right where his head had been moments before, lifting a small cloud of dust as the cement floor crumbled under the force. Springing lithely to his feet, Robin swung around in a roundhouse kick that finally connected with the man's shoulder and threw him back several feet.

"That's it, Robin. Be more creative, think while you fight!" said Slade as he dodged another blow, this one aimed at his face, and came back with a ruthless uppercut. Robin grunted in pain but shoved it to the back of his mind, finding himself on the defensive.

Slade came at him quick as lightning, a roar of fury leaving his lips as he attacked. Robin was able to hold his own for a short while, dancing around Slade's fists and using his acrobatic skills to dodge and occasionally strike back, but as Robin came back with a punch aimed at Slade's face, an armored knee came up into his gut, effectively knocking the wind out of him.

He wheezed and coughed, trying to get some air back into his lungs, but Slade was already behind him, pulling his arms behind his back and forcing Robin forward until his face touched the floor, legs curled up under him. The thick cord was looped three times around his wrists and pulled tight, nearly cutting off the circulation.

As soon as Robin was able to breathe again, he started struggling, but it was no use. The position Slade was holding him in made any amount of movement painful and near impossible, and so he was forced to stay put, panting, on the ground. A guttural growl rose up in his throat as he tugged fruitlessly at his bindings.

"Oh come now, Robin. Did you honestly think that you could defeat me?" Slade hissed softly in his ear. "You've gotten weak and sloppy while I've been away, just as I expected you would. You need me, whether you're willing to admit it or not, to keep you on your toes and push you to your limits. And I can teach you so much more…"

"You're a liar and a thief! I'm not going to learn anything from you!" Robin snarled.

Slade's grey eye was like a chip of ice. "Is that so? Deny it all you like Robin, you and I both know the truth."

There was a pressure on his back as Slade pushed himself up, and then it was gone as Robin was let up, hands still tied behind his back. He tried to bring himself to his feet, but the cords around his wrists pulled painfully tight and he realized that Slade must have tied him down to something in the floor, to hold him there. Robin grimaced but silently flipped the tiny switch in his glove that would allow the sharp little blade to pop open on the tip of his finger so that he might cut through the ropes… but nothing happened. Frustrated, he tried again only to be met with the same results.

Then it occurred to him, what Slade might have done with his old suit, back when he was his apprentice all that time ago. At the time, Robin thought that he would have burned it or just thrown it away, but perhaps Slade had decided to keep it and take it apart, learning all the little tricks and surprises Robin would have had in store for him, if ever he managed to escape. It really wouldn't surprise him; Slade pretty much knew everything else about him already.

Bringing his attention back to the man before him, Robin looked up. "I'm not going to be your stupid apprentice again, Slade, so there's no point in keeping me here. Let. Me. Out!"

Slade only laughed, his eye sparkling with mirth.

"You know, my boy, I don't think I will. I worked very hard to get you here and I'm not one to put such effort to waste."

"Just tell me what you want already!" he snarled, losing patience.

Slade walked over to him and knelt down, cupping Robin's chin in one gloved hand. "You already know what I want from you, Robin, and you are going to give it to me."

Robin jerked away and spat, "Like hell I will!"

He could tell that he had made Slade angry this time, that he had crossed some line with the man. "You can try to fight it, Robin," Slade hissed menacingly, grabbing at his jaw once again in a painfully tight grip, 'You can struggle and cry and be stubborn about it, but in the end you'll have only brought more pain on yourself and still reach the same, inevitable result."

"You have nothing to threaten me with this time, Slade. I don't care what you do to me, I'll never obey you. I have to find my friends, they -"

"Are beyond your help." Slade interrupted smoothly, tauntingly.

Robin stared. "What do you -"

"It's too late to save them, Robin. The Brotherhood of Evil won, captured every single one of them. There's only so long even a meta human can remain frozen before their heart inevitably… stops. You can't help them anymore." Slade stood up and walked away, his back to Robin's slumped form.

"No…NO! You're lying! There's still -" Robin's vision was blurring, a horrible prickling sensation at the corners of his eyes, the back of his throat starting to burn. His masked eyes were wide open in horror.

Slade continued emotionlessly, hatefully. "There is nothing more you can do for them, Robin. It's over. You're too late."

"IT'S NOT OVER!" he roared, hating how his voice cracked on the last word, "I HAVE TO FIND MY FRIENDS… and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"

"Ungrateful little brat!" Slade snarled, turning back to Robin and kicking him hard in the jaw, throwing him onto his back. "I saved your miserable life! If it wasn't for me, you'd have gone the same way as all your little friends - frozen, cold, and very dead! You owe me."

"I owe you nothing!"

Robin pushed himself back into a sitting position and glared up at Slade from the floor, the man's massive form looming over him.

"Then you will suffer."

Slade seized a fistful of Robin's spiky black hair and slammed him backwards onto the ground, his head connecting with the unforgiving cement first so that colorful spots burst in front of his eyes. He felt a moment of intense pain, and then everything went black.

A/N: Now, as you can tell, this was a very important chapter. So naturally I want to hear what you guys think? I really hope I'm not boring you or anything, but there's no way I can tell unless you REVIEW.

Also, a question: whenever I go back and read through my writing, it sounds a bit rushed to me, and I was wondering whether you guys feel the same way.

My plan for what Slade does to Robin while he's there isn't actually complete. I know what's going to be going on psychologically, but I don't want it to get repetitive at all, so any ideas would be much appreciated.

I'm looking for a beta if anyone's interested. Just PM me or mention it in a review.

And... I think that's all I wanted to say. Happy 4th of July!