Next Chapter! YAY! I finally got myself a Dick Grayson Vinyl...it sits on my bookself next to my Tim Drake Plush. Hooray!
The next day, the Titans as a whole came to visit their friend. Being as determined as he was, Robin was sitting up and eating normal food. But he was still very weak and not ready to walk.
What worried everyone was his scary mental state. He kept making off handed remarks like 'if I ever get out of here...' or 'even though it doesn't matter...' he almost sounded suicidal and it scared them. They just hoped he would comply with what the doctor asked.
"Hey man, sorry we couldn't make it yesterday. You know, duty calls." Cyborg joked.
"Who was it?"
"Just control freak. Somehow, he escaped jail and was planning something. It took us all day to find him, but when we did, he wasn't prepared." Cy explained.
"Any injuries?"
"Dude. It's control freak. What would we do? Trip on a cord?"
Robin smirked. "You're right, what was I thinking?"
"You're justified to think like that." Raven offered. "But there's no reason to worry."
He shrugged. "I can't help it, we're friends. I always worry about you guys."
"True dat" Beast Boy hit his shoulder, a tad bit harder than he had meant to.
"Ow!"
"Sorry man..." he tried to change the subject, "Are you allowed to get out of that hospital gown? Star brought you your uniform, and I know you're just ichin' to wear it!" he turned around. "Now where's the bag?"
Beast Boy was unaware of the not-so pleasant look on Robin's face.
"It's over here." Star provided, grabbing the bag from the window seat. Beast Boy grabbed the uniform and slammed in on the table.
"We'll leave you to change." He headed for the door. Star grabbed his shoulder.
"If you are uncomfortable, I also brought these." she pulled out the shirt and sweatpants and set them next to his uniform.
"Robin pick civvies over his uniform? Puh-lease! I'm surprised he even owns them!"
To his surprise, Robin grabbed the normal clothes instead.
"I don't know if I can even get my uniform on." Star and Raven turned around while Cyborg and Beast Boy helped him out of the hospital gown. "You brought the bat shirt?"
"It is all that I could find." She stated.
While he was getting dressed, he found his injuries increasingly…annoying. Any movement, and lift of the arm or twist of the waist caused pain. Thankfully, he was wrapped up completely in bandages, practically mummified and he didn't have to worry about seeing his wounds.
Not long after, Bruce came in and raised an eyebrow at Robin's choice of clothing. He simply pointed to star.
"I came to say goodbye. I see good progress, and I trust the Titans will take care of you from here. But I have to get back to Gotham."
"It's okay, I understand."
"Good." He rubbed his head. "I'll come back when it's time for you to be discharged. I'll treat you and your friends to dinner. I know I'm not your first choice, but you're welcome to come home to recover."
"Thanks Bruce."
"Alright, I'll see you later. And Richard..."
"Hm..?"
"Listen to your doctor." He said sternly.
He frowned. I'm sixteen years old, and he still bosses me around! "Alright. Fine. Whatever."
"Love ya too." He smiled and left.
"Aw! Someone's loved by daddybats!"
Robin narrowed his eyes.
"I think it is most glorious to have a father figure! My father sold me into slavery when I was seven, and then soon died afterwards."
"My dad was a mad scientist who turned me green. And then died." Beast Boy added.
"My dad made me the way I am." Cyborg clenched his metallic fist.
"You guys know about my father..." Raven droned.
"We are merely mentioning how lucky you are to have such a nice and caring guardian."
"Bruce is...interesting. To say the least. I miss my birth parents dearly, but I'm glad Bruce adopted me…out of everyone who could have."
"Without him, you wouldn't be the leader you are now."
"The titans wouldn't have existed..."
"And we never would have drawn Slade's interest." Robin finished darkly. The others paused, it was true, no denying that.
"But what if it was Slade who adopted you in the first place?" Star commented.
Robin shuddered. "True, that is something to be thankful for."
That evening, Starfire was on patrol again. She waited until Robin was asleep and then ventured to the cafeteria for her very late dinner. While she was gone, he had a visitor.
"Well hello Dick. Feeling better?"
"What do you want?" he asked darkly.
"Is that a challenge?" he laughed. "Move your arms and legs. Are they bound?"
Indeed, they were not. "No..."
"Good. I know you are weak so I'll give you a ten minute head start. Who knows, you might be able to lose me this time."
Robin looked at him wide eyed.
"I see Dick run..."
He bolted upright and yanked the IVs out of his arm. He came down hard on his broken leg and crushed toes. The searing pain was enough to send him to his knees, but he wasn't giving up. He had to work fast. He hobbled to the window seat where the bag with his clothes sat. The familiar red, yellow, and green glared back at him. He shoved it aside and grabbed his utility belt. Rifling through it, he found plenty of broken bird-a-rangs, defective smoke bombs, and useless tracing devices. Luckily, the tools he needed were still useful. He took out the grappling hook and tied the end of it to the middle beam of the window. He stuck one of his retractable bow staffs into the waistband of his pants. With a taught tug, he made a move for the window and took one last look at Slade.
"Run, Dick, run."
He looped his arm through the handgrip and repelled out the window.
His bare feet touched solid concrete, soaked from a puddle. Rain fell harshly on his head. He drew the bow and extended it to the height of his shoulder and used it as a support for walking. He limped away into a nearby alley.
The boost of adrenaline wore off and he realized just how weak he was. His leg was indeed broken, the pain was enough to tell him that. He made his way through town, using alleys to avoid people. It was late, but there were still people out and about.
He came upon an alley were a man was being mugged. He was about to turn around, but knew he could not forgive himself if he did.
Standing at his full height, he gripped the bow and took a deep breath.
"Freeze!" his voice rang full and clear.
There was not a villain in jump that didn't recognize that yell, and it meant a very painful time in jail. The mugger dropped his weapon and fled, much too fast for Robin to bother.
He continued on his way, past the victim who was in shock. "You okay?" Robin asked.
The man came to his senses and looked at Robin, registering the bandages and the limp."I should be asking you that."
"I'm fine. Get out of here before you get mugged again."
"Do you need a ride?"
"I'm fine. Seriously though, there's someone coming, and you don't want to be here when he shows up."
"Well, I have to repay you somehow. I'm Charlie, by the way."
"Richard." Robin continued while the man followed after.
"Richard huh? I knew a Richard once. A long time ago. I treated him pretty bad."
Robin stopped. "Richard Grayson."
"Yes! How did you know?"
Robin looked at him with his cold blue eyes, but said nothing.
"Oh my..." Charlie turned and ran away.
So much for paying me back...he thought bitterly. He sped up as fast as he could, but became frustrated when he couldn't even get into a light jog. About a minute and a half later, a car pulled up next to him.
"Get in!" Charlie was the driver. Robin was happy to oblige. Soon they were speeding down the street. "Is there somewhere you want me to drop you off at?"
"Where are you going?"
"Home. I live on the far-east side of town. Across from the cemetery."
"The cemetery then."
"Okay...what happened to you? Why are you so beat up?"
"I was abducted by a psychopath."
"and the person chasing you...?"
"Wants to finish what he started."
Silence reigned for a moment. Charlie was aware of Robin's shaking hands and quick darting glances out the windows.
"Hey, it's going to be alright. If you want, you can hide at my house. I'm sure my wife won't mind."
"You're married?"
"Hard to believe isn't it? Truth is, I'm not the snotty brat I was back at the center. The couple that adopted me were very kind and gentle, but also strict and disciplining. I've changed a lot since then. One thing I've wanted to do was to find you and make amends. It looks like you've changed since then too."
"Experiences change a person."
"You were adopted by a rich bachelor weren't you?"
"Yeah. He was nice...and a big reason why I'm the way I am today."
"Was he a gang leader?"
"No...what makes you think that?"
"You're in a gang aren't you?"
"More like an anti-gang."
"Funny. You know, that shout you gave, you almost sounded like Robin from the Teen Titans. Crazy right?"
"I actually get that a lot." He simpered.
"Where do you live? With your dad?"
"No, I moved out. I've got my own place. Well, I have four roommates."
"Got a girlfriend?" he asked slyly.
"I don't have time for one...but there's someone I like."
"Describe her to me."
Robin realized that Charlie was trying to distract him from the chase, and it helped him calm down a bit. "She's tall, and very beautiful. She has long red hair and bright green eyes. She's strong, but caring. She's a bit naive, but very smart."
"Sounds perfect."
"She's out of this world." he joked.
Soon enough, they arrived at the cemetery. "If you need anything, just let me know okay? You know where I live."
"Thanks." He opened up the door. "If you're ever in any trouble, you know who to call." He slammed it shut and walked into the eerie mist that danced around the gravestones.
This is perfect. He won't find me here. He began to walk deeper when he heard a sound that made his blood run cold. Footsteps.
"No..." This isn't happening! He took off as fast as he could, the footsteps drawing nearer. There's just no way! Suddenly, his footing gave out and he fell, skidding across the ground. His walking staff rolled away from him. He covered his head protectively, and laid on the cold wet ground, unable to do anything else. "Stop!" He shouted. They halted. "I give up! Please no more of this! I'll give up crime fighting and go to school like a normal kid! I'll give up my martial arts! I'll give up Robin, and hide my costume away and pretend I never knew Batman. I'll give up Raven, Cyborg, and Beast Boy. I'll even give up Starfire. Anything, just please leave me alone." He whispered, "Leave me alone."
The footsteps resumed and drew closer. Robin kept his head tucked and whimpered, waiting for his doom. But it never came. The steps stopped in front of him. He peeked out, expecting to see black steel covered boots, but instead saw purple feminine ones.
"Star?" he looked up to see her watching him with pitiful green eyes. Her hair hung flat to her head, and water ran down her cheeks. But he could not tell if it was from the rain or tears. He felt ashamed and only put his head back into his arms.
She crouched next to him. "You will do anything?"
He nodded.
"Will you come back with me?"
He said nothing, only sat up and held his arms out to her, expecting her to grab them in flight. Instead, she wrapped her arms under him and lifted him, his arms draping around her shoulders on reflex.
They flew low because of the rain, but high enough to stay out of reach from the ground. He felt pathetic, having the girl he liked come after him and haul him back to his room. She had to rescue him, she had to worry about him.
Upon arrival, nurses were frantic inside the room, and police were searching around the perimeter. She flew in the window and set everyone at ease. About an hour later, Robin was hooked back up to the machines again and the nurses finally left him alone...not without barricading the window.
Star was about to sit back in her chair, when he patted the space next to him and scooted over. "The last couple of nights, you've slept here and it never looks comfortable to me."
She laid down next to him as instructed. "It has been uncomfortable. But, I would have found no rest at home. Thank you."
There was a pregnant pause as neither of them wanted to speak.
"I'm sorry." He spoke suddenly. "Slade wanted me to see him, to feel him, to fear him. I relied on myself for strength I never had in the first place. This incident showed me how weak I am."
"You are not weak!"
"On the outside I'm not. I pretend like I can take on the world, but in reality, I feel overwhelmed." He leaned back against the pillow. "Slade saw this and interpreted it as cockiness. That's why he wanted me. He said I had a lot of potential, and he wanted me as an apprentice so he could fine-tune my talents. Eventually, he saw through me and was disgusted. That's why he did what he did. He hated me and wanted to destroy every aspect of me. I was one plan of his that would never work and he couldn't stand it."
Star rested her hand on top of his, showing that she was listening intently.
"He said he was going to make sure my demise was slow and painful. He had a whole year of torture lined up. He knew he would break me, and that it was only a matter of time. I did break, I cried, I screamed. I gave into everything he wanted. I became a victim." He swallowed hard. "No matter how loud I screamed, no one would hear me. He assured me that no one would come. That no one cared enough to do so. I had never felt so alone, not since my parents died. I believed him. The only reason I survived was because I was too afraid to die.
"It was so quiet." He whispered. "Like when you're under water and the only thing you can hear is your own heartbeat. I spent hours on that table in silence. My haggard breath and my uncontrollable whimpers breaking in occasionally.
"Then there was the voices. People from my past reminded me of things I had put behind me. My mother sang to me, a lullaby from long ago. Her voice sounded like heaven. She was so close, so real...it was horrible. For a moment, I was child again, just having a nightmare, and everything would be alright when I woke up. But it wasn't. It was real. And now when I look in the mirror, I will see those scars and remember. That little boy hiding deep inside me will break into tears calling for his mama and papa who are never coming back, begging the warden not to make him go outside, crying for the new father that left him alone for another night...and crying for his friends who are always in danger. Just because they know him. He will never find peace of mind. Not now, not ever. Because Slade got want he wanted."
Starfire pulled him close to her and tucked his head under her chin. "That little boy can borrow my peace of mind. I am here to protect him, if only he will let me."
"You're not ashamed of me?"
"Why would I be?"
"I said I would give you up. You and everyone else, my whole life, just to get rid of Slade."
"You are forgiven. And you do not have to, Slade is gone, he only exists in your troubled mind."
"I don't know what to do..." He said, pained.
"Let me ease your mind." She kissed his forehead gently and wrapped her arms around him in a comforting embrace. He liked it. She was warm and soft…but what was that feeling he had? He knew he loved the girl, but it was different, not comfort, not peace…but safe. He rested his head against her chest and listened to her heartbeat. His still trembling hands caught the fabric of the back of her top. Before the incident, he would have felt silly, maybe even outraged that she would be doing this to him. But not now, he needed this. In a weird way, it almost felt like he was back in his mothers arms, recovering from a nightmare. It didn't compare to the times when Bruce had let him sleep with him when he was first adopted. Right now everything seemed…Alright.
Starfire's so gentle in my mind. Argh, oh well, Dick would be so messed up if she wasn't.
The next Chapter of 'Now you know my pain' will be up tomorrow...sometime. Hey, I'm busy.