The rain had subsided and Jump City was now spotted with puddles. Sunlight tried to push through clouds, but it was struggling. Terra's eyes finally closed and she drifted into sleep just as Beast Boy woke up. He stretched, yawned and glanced out the window. It was overcast but that didn't mean it was going to be a bad day. His eyes settled on Terra. She had stolen most of his blanket and was wrapped up in it. At least she finally went to sleep, he thought. He knew he fell asleep before she did and he also had a feeling she stayed up much longer after. For some reason he couldn't let himself leave her alone in front of the window, so he picked her up and set her on her bed. To him, it seemed much more comfortable.
Beast Boy headed out to the kitchen because his stomach was almost yelling at him, saying it was for sure breakfast time. When he got there Starfire was sitting at the counter staring into a glass of juice like it was a mystic crystal ball. Her hair was a little messy, like she hadn't bothered to make it sleek and shiny as usual.
"Hey, uh . . . what're you doing?" Beast Boy asked. He stopped for a moment in front of the refrigerator and hoped someone hadn't experimented with his soymilk again. Did they really expect him to drink real milk when someone accidentally used his in their coffee?
"Where is Robin?" Starfire responded. She didn't give him a real answer but Beast Boy thought hers was good enough. "He is not at home and he has not been for many hours, I do not know of his location and though I have tried to find out-"
"Don't worry about him, Star," Beast Boy interrupted. "He found another link or something and went to check it out. He probably stayed up all night in the library drinking coffee. Maybe he'll even bring us back breakfast." He shrugged and put on a smile. He didn't want to tell Starfire the truth because he knew there was nothing they could do about it but worry. Terra had obviously done enough worrying for the entire team combined already.
Starfire pouted and went back to watching the juice cup. "I do not want breakfast," she murmured. "I want Robin."
Beast Boy couldn't think of any more excuses. He wanted to remind her that that was how he felt for a very long time until Terra came back, but he knew she didn't want to hear that. Actually, it seemed almost no one wanted to hear that. Maybe he was the only one who ever really wanted her back. He wasn't always sure why, but even when he thought of her betrayal and spying, he still liked her. Maybe it meant something was wrong in his head. He wouldn't be surprised.
"So, he's gone again?" Raven had somehow appeared in the kitchen and had a cup of tea in her hand. "Any idea where he went?"
Beast Boy frowned and felt like turning into something very small, like a goldfish or a spider so no one would have to talk to him about Robin. He could lie to one friend, but two was pushing his limits. He didn't understand how Terra had done it. People were just different.
"I know where he went," said Terra. Beast Boy whirled around and raised an eyebrow at her. She stood in the doorway in her usual Titan outfit with one hand on her hip.
"Dude, I thought you just fell asleep!" Beast Boy said. He frowned. He was almost sure she had gotten forty-five minutes of sleep at most.
"Yeah, I did," Terra said, "right after you did last night."
She didn't realize what kind of information that implied to Starfire and Raven. They certainly had the wrong idea. Raven gave Beast Boy a strange look, like she was shocked Terra would allow him near her in such a way and Starfire's mouth was open a little.
"Dudes!" Beast Boy complained after a few painful seconds of being looked at, "it wasn't like that!" He frowned at them.
Terra didn't appear to be aware of the awkward situation she had created-that or she just didn't care. "He went to look for Slade," she continued on. Her voice was in a completely casual tone and she showed no signs of any concern. "Should be back soon." She glanced around in the kitchen and then asked "What's for breakfast?"
While Starfire seemed to have a miniature heart attack, Raven frowned as she sipped her tea and watched Terra with suspicion. Beast Boy did the same as Raven and occasionally they exchanged puzzled faces. Terra dug through the refrigerator and found nothing, so she moved onto the cupboards. She took out a granola bar and then checked the coffee pot. Since Robin wasn't there, it was empty. She played with it for a little while and eventually got it brewing.
Beast Boy snacked on crackers and watched her like she had risen from the dead. Terra never drank coffee.
"Thanks, by the way," she said to Beast Boy, "for putting me back in bed." She smiled.
"No problem, really," Beast Boy said. He ignored the expressions of Raven and Starfire.
Terra must've realized how strange it sounded to the other two because she started laughing, but just a little at first. She calmed herself and took another chunk out of the granola bar. It didn't take long for the laughter to return and when it did, it was almost a cackle.
Starfire's face twisted into something similar to deep concern but she gulped down some juice to try and distract herself. Raven thought, that girl really needs to do some meditation sometime to control herself, but said nothing.
A single tear fell from her eye and then Terra feel asleep in the kitchen. Without a word, Beast Boy carried her back to her room and put her back in bed. Everyone's questions seemed to have answered themselves when she fell asleep-it was all from delirious fatigue.
After a few minutes, Starfire entered Terra's room and gave Beast Boy a worried look. He was sitting at the edge of her bed, mostly just to make sure she stayed asleep this time. "Do you think what she said was the truth?" Starfire asked. "Did Robin really go to seek Slade?"
Beast Boy's lips made a thin line before he turned to face Starfire. He didn't make eye contact. "I don't know for sure," he mumbled. He hoped that if he sounded unclear she wouldn't understand enough to freak out. "He said something and left somewhere but he didn't really tell us anything."
"Perhaps we can find Cyborg and together we can look," Starfire suggested. She glanced at the floor. Beast Boy heard her take a deep breath. "I have a feeling that this time things are very bad," she said, "but I cannot tell Robin. I do not want him to worry about how I am feeling."
Beast Boy nodded. "I know, but, he'll probably turn up soon." He gave her a weary smile.
Together they sat in silence at the end of Terra's bed for about a half hour. Sometimes they chatted about things other than what they were concerned about, like how Cyborg was doing installing the new security system. Neither of them knew what he was really doing, because he'd said that he had to tell Robin first. Not that anyone truly knew where he was. When Beast Boy was pretty sure Terra would stay asleep, they moved on to the operations room to watch TV to pass the time.
Terra heard a noise in her room and stirred a little under her sheets. She moved some hair from in front of her face and grabbed onto a pillow. Her eyes still begged to be closed, but with the noise a new feeling of nervousness crept into her. She turned and pulled the blankets over her head in hopes that they might somehow protect her from the sounds.
Before she knew what was happening, someone pulled the covers off her. Terra rolled over to see who had done it and her mouth was greeted with someone else's hand. Her noise-maker pinned her to the bed with one of their hands blocking Terra's mouth so she couldn't speak and the other holding her wrists together. Her body was trapped beneath the other person and they had their legs around her. She tried to ask what was going on but her words were muffled.
"Hi," said her captor. "Did you sleep well?"
Terra frowned and examined the other girl. She seemed to be about her age and had long white hair and blue eyes-well, eye. One of her eyes was covered by a black eye patch. Almost right away, Terra made a connection but didn't say anything about it. What if she was wrong, wouldn't she sound stupid?
"I guess it doesn't matter if you slept well, because soon you might not be sleeping much." She smirked and tilted her head to the side. "I'm taking you back with me." Her long hair fell onto Terra's messy blonde and the two colors seemed to mix.
Terra squirmed around so much that the other girl finally let her speak. As soon as she moved her hand, Terra demanded, "Who are you and why are you taking me somewhere?"
For a few moments the other girl frowned at her without much emotion as if she were carefully considering what to say. Tell her my real name or the other? she thought. You're not really acting like a villain to her just yet, besides, she'll hear dad call you by your real name eventually. "Call me Rose," she finally said through clenched teeth. She didn't want to answer, but the girl had to call her something, after all. "As for why I'm taking you somewhere, it's because I can, got it?"
Terra's lips made an up-side-down smile and she turned away. "Did . . . someone . . . send you, by any chance? To get me?" Her breaths came slow and steady but it was obvious she was shaken.
"What?" Rose's frown deepened and she put her hand back over Terra's mouth. "Stupid question. If someone did send me, why would I tell you?"
Terra shrugged beneath Rose's hold. From lack of sleep, her mind was lacking ideas of how to escape. She couldn't use her powers indoors and even if she did, she'd break things and that was a bad idea. She would just fight this girl off later when she was feeling better.
Rose took Terra by the hands and pulled her out of bed. She proceeded to tie Terra's hands behind her back and even though Terra struggled, her lack of energy made everything easier for Rose. Then, and idea came to Terra. There was something she could still do. While Rose was busying fixing her up so she couldn't move very easily, she yelled "Beast Boy! Raven! Star! Cyborg, hel-!" Rose slammed her hand against Terra's mouth and glared.
"Don't even think about trying that again, you stupid ex-apprentice," Rose growled.
This comment hit Terra somewhere that she hadn't expected and she grew silent in an instant. How does she know that? Terra wondered. Her eyes drifted back to Rose's eyepatch. No, she was for sure wrong about a connection. Rose was just another villain trying to disrupt the Titans-wait-then why was she kidnapping her? Right as all of this Slade business started up again?
Rose took Terra to the window she'd come in from and she descended down a rope, still clutching onto Terra. "If you don't want to fall and die, I suggest you hold on too."
Terra obeyed and clung to the rope as Rose moved towards the ground. She watched the terrain get closer and thought about pulling up a few rocks and using them against Rose. If I hit her, I'd end up hitting me too, she thought. We're too close. She closed her eyes and frowned.
"Aren't you glad the security system's down right now?" Rose asked sarcastically. She sure was glad and she knew Terra felt opposite. "Good thing Cyborg's working on a better one, maybe it'll be at least a little hard to get in next time."
When they got on the ground, Terra tried to run, but Rose caught her by the neck of her shirt and pulled her back before she got more than a few feet. "I don't think so," Rose said. "Do you really think running away will solve everything?" She smiled. "Oh, that's right. You do."
Terra fell quiet again. She had no idea how Rose knew all of these things-no one knew that-well, no one besides. . . . "You want to tell me how you know all of this stuff or are you going to just keep it from me?"
Rose laughed a little and said, "Not telling you is a lot more fun."
Rose took her back to a long flight of dark stairs in the middle of the city's alleyways. They went down and Rose kept her hand pressed against Terra's lips the entire time. "Don't even try to make a sound," she said. "If you do we're as good as dead."
Terra didn't think speaking would be a problem until she saw a familiar array of monitoring screens mounted on the wall. Then, she saw a familiar dark figure dressed in black and orange. His one-eyed mask was facing a smaller figure. Within seconds, Terra recognized Robin. She tried to scream to get his attention, but all that came out was "Mmmmfffft!" She tried again and again and each time Rose cursed under her breath. Finally, after about the fifth try, Rose hissed, "Shut up!"
They walked for a few minutes after passing Slade and Robin. Rose approached an almost hidden door and opened it. She threw Terra inside and Terra fell over from the force. Rose shut the door behind her and locked it. She slipped the key into her bra and Terra frowned at this-not so easy to get it now.
"Listen," Rose snapped at Terra, who was still on the floor since she couldn't use her arms to get up. "The bathroom's that door." She pointed to the only other door connecting to the room besides the entrance. "Bed's right there." She gestured to a pretty daybed with a canopy of sheer fabric draped over it.
Terra took this chance to look around the room. There was a desk with a computer, a dresser, a full length mirror and two nightstands around the bed. All of it was decorated nicely and the style seemed to be for a girl. The bed comforter was lavender and the pillows were black, matching a rug in the center of the room. There was a vase of dead roses on one of the nightstands. "Is this . . . your room?" Terra asked in surprise. Of all places to be kidnapped and thrown into, the kidnapper's bedroom?
Rose nodded and folded her arms. "It's the only place he won't look," she mumbled.
Terra managed to stand up and gave Rose a curious look. She held out her wrists. "Could you . . . untie me?" She hoped Rose would because she seemed to be in a better mood now than she had been earlier. "I'm already trapped in here. You might as well let me use my arms."
Rose watched Terra with a distasteful look for a few seconds and then nodded. "Fine," she agreed. "Just don't touch anything that's not yours. If you destroy something in here, I'll destroy you. Sound good?"
"Whatever," Terra said. She didn't like threats. Rose removed a knife from her pocket and cut her free. "So, you lied," Terra added afterwards. "Someone really did send you."
Rose smirked and shook her head. Her arms were folded again. "Actually, no. I went by myself out of my own want." He'll be so mad, she thought, when he sends Robin to get Terra and she's not there. Her eavesdropping skills were paying off.