A place to call home chapter 4
"Rex? Open up," Dr. Holiday asked as she continued to knock on the hotel room door. Nobody was answering and Six felt that something was up.
"Stand back," He told her as he took a few steps back. After she backed away he jumped up and kicked the door hard. It fell off its hinges and hit the floor hard. "Rex?" He asked once as he ran in the room weapons drawn.
Dr. Holiday followed behind him looking around anxiously. The room was empty but there were no signs of a struggle. The only thing that looked out of place was a half eaten pie that had been left on a table and a chair that had fallen down. "Where is Rex? Or the Titans?"
Six sighed, "Gone. We're too late." He realized Van Kleiss must've gotten to him last night. Regretting he hadn't assigned any guards Six left the hotel with Dr. Holiday.
Rex didn't move. He could tell he was awake, but his body felt numb. His eyes felt almost glued shut and he was worried he wouldn't be able to open them at all. Something rough and wooden was pushing against his back and he found the entire experience uncomfortable.
Thinking now was as good a time as ever Rex opened his eyes. His mind took in the images but there was no response back. He blinked a few times and realized he was in an empty school classroom. Specifically in one of the many seats in the classroom. No wonder his back hurt.
Looking around the classroom itself looked normal except some of the seats were filled with…dolls? That and crash-test dummies all wearing strange clothing but seated as if they were all normal students. "Where…am I?"
How did I get here? He thought to himself. Okay what was the last thing I remember? Think Rex, think! A rush of different images assailed his brain as he searched for the one that had answers.
"The pie!" He said out loud to himself. "I should contact the titans." Reaching into his pants pocket Rex pulled out the yellow communicator he had gotten from Robin the day before. Robin had given it to them on the flight to New York but Rex had no idea he'd be using it so soon.
Turning the device on all it showed was static. "Hello? Robin, Cyborg, is anyone there?" He felt like he was talking to himself. After what seemed like forever the static disappeared and the face of Robin appeared.
"Rex? Is that you? Can you hear me?"
"Yeah, it's me. Do you know what's going on?" He asked.
Robin shook his head. "We must have been drugged; something in that pie knocked us out. Can you tell me where you are?"
"Some kinda school I think, it's got a haunted house feel to it though. It's giving me the creeps."
Rex watched as Robin looked right and left. "I don't see a school, wait…it might be over there. Listen this whole town is abandoned. I woke up in the town hall and when I went outside I couldn't find anybody. That's when you called me."
"So no one else has checked in yet?" Rex asked not wanting to admit he already knew the answer.
"No, not yet. Listen I think I'm heading your way so you should head outside the school and wait for me. Look for any of the other Titans but watch out for any enemies."
Rex nodded, "Alright sounds good." He turned the communicator off. As he put it in his pocket he turned around and was surprised to see a little girl standing right behind him.
"Ah!" He jumped back in alarm. Noticing it was just a little girl he sighed. "Oh hey. I wasn't scared or anything I just…like my personal space." He laughed uncomfortably. "So what's your name?" But the girl didn't respond.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. But she still didn't say anything; she just continued to look at him. "Whatever, I'm getting out of here." He walked over to the door and walked out.
Getting out was harder than it sounds; there were a lot of fake doors. Rex kept finding the weirdest things; one door opened to a bunny suit standing on a floor of spikes. He closed the door quickly, "I swear I'd think this was a nightmare except my brain's not screwed up enough to come up with half this stuff."
"Freedom!" He called out as he ran out the doors to the school. Looking around he saw Robin was right; though he appeared to be in a town there wasn't anyone else here. Along with the silence was the fact that the sun was consumed by clouds so being outside didn't feel a whole better.
A quick glance behind him Rex saw the little girl was following him. He wasn't sure who she was or why she was here but if she was as lost as he was it might be a good idea to stick together. He smiled at her but she didn't respond; he couldn't help but find her creepy.
Suddenly he heard a scream for help. It sounded female. Wasting no time Rex immediately started running in the direction of the scream. Down the steps of the school he turned left and ran along the street pavement. Veering right past a house he found himself on another street.
Stopping for a moment to listen Rex waited for another scream or something to tell which way to go. Hearing nothing he realized he'd have to guess. Deciding to head straight he kept running until he saw Raven lying on a park bench.
"Raven!" He yelled running up to help her. As he got closer he glanced right and left to see where the attack was coming from. Not seeing anyone he started to shake the girl.
"Ughh…Rex?" She seemed confused. She stood up and pushed him back. "Where are we?" She asked looking around.
"Wait," He said confused. "Were you sleeping? I thought…then you weren't the one who screamed?"
"I don't scream." She said matter of factly. "Now where are we?"
"I have no idea; I just woke up in some haunted private school. I was waiting for Robin when—"As a realization popped into his head Rex back-handed himself in the face. "Crap, I was supposed to wait for Robin."
Raven put her hands up as a sign to slow down. "Let me get this straight: We have no idea where we are and you didn't do the one thing Robin told you to do?"
"It's not like that. I heard someone scream and I ran over here to find them, but then I found you instead."
"Then what are we doing standing here talking?" Raven said before putting her hood back up. "Let's find them." Rex nodded and the two were off.
Meanwhile Dr. Holiday was doing everything in her power to locate Rex. Unfortunately she wasn't having much luck. Wondering what her next move should be she was interrupted when Six and Bobo ran through the door.
"We got a problem doc," Bobo told her as he hurried over. "Found Rex yet?" He asked.
She shook her head, "Unfortunately no. I haven't found any clues to his whereabouts. Why? What happened?"
"It's Van Kleiss." Six stated. "At the UN general assembly he's taken all the envoys hostage. He's demanding the surrender of the earth."
"That's…that's crazy." Holiday said shocked. Six didn't answer; instead he turned on the TV. It was a broadcast inside the UN meeting room showing Van Kleiss, his usual lackeys, Circe and the hostages. There was also another man standing behind Van Kleiss.
"…You have one hour to submit to my demands," He finished up. Six had turned the broadcast on at the end. "I'll be waiting…" And then the broadcast suddenly cut off.
"We need Rex. Now." Six told her. It came out as a demand but Holiday could tell Six was nearly begging at this point; though he would never admit it.
"I can't even contact him since he doesn't have any communication devices on him."
"Wait," Six spoke. "The Titans all have communicators on them; could you hack into one of those?"
Holiday turned back to her computer and started typing furiously. "It's possible, but it might take some time."
"Time isn't on our side here; Van Kleiss wants the world in an hour."
"How horrible," Holiday muttered. "But who was that man standing behind Van Kleiss?" There was a pause in the air which held for a moment before Six finally spoke.
"They call him Slade."
End of Chapter...
Kai: Kay fourth chapter owned by randompandattack! I own nothing! So make way and start a revolution!