Forced Bonds

Chapter 8

Jump City
July 21, 20:40 PST

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Screams. Tears. Betrayal. Hurt. Pain. Anger. Rage. Depression. Fear. Shouting.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Robin groans groggily.

Beep.

Beep.

Who was making that cursed noise?

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

Robin forces his eyes open and whips his head to the monitor. His heart picks up pace as he tries to get up and can't. He remembers Cyborg's threat and how he had managed to get to the door and- nothing else. He must've held true to his word, that dang machine.

"CYBORG!" Robin screams pulling hard at his restrained limbs. Surprisingly, they didn't hurt as much as before, but he was still sore. How long had he been out?

The sound of mechanical locks opening shook the door as it began to slide back into the wall. Cyborg steps inside the med-bay looking haggard and relieved. "Robin-" he speaks warily.

"Untie me- now" Robin commands. Cyborg's face sinks as he watches the angry bird.

"I'm sorry, I can't do that, Bud."

"What? Why not? I'm healed am I not? I feel much better-"

"You're forgetting one thing, Robin," Cyborg interrupts. He points to the cuffs that are still tight against his skin. They are currently concealed by the buckles strapping Robin's wrists in place, but poke out from underneath the thick leather.

"Please- I promise I won't try anything."

Cyborg rolls his eyes: "You've said that before. Two days ago when you tricked me into releasing you, you headed straight for the door. You didn't know I had reinforced it to protect you...Yeah, you found that out the hard way..."

Robin gulps, "I don't remember any of that."

"You were very difficult to deal with..."

They share an awkward moment of silence together.

"So how long have I been in here?" Robin asks, breaking the silence.

Cyborg fidgets for a second, "A month."

Robin blinks. A month? He had been in here for a month?

"I'm sorry?" He stutters.

"You've been in here for a month, Robin."

After the initial surprise, anger courses inside Robin's veins.

"What do you mean a month? I've never been-" Robin narrows his eyes at Cyborg who shrinks from his leader's harsh gaze. "You didn't."

"I'm sorry. It was only to keep you from hurting yourself. You needed to heal as fast as you could."

"SO YOU PUT ME INTO A COMA!?"

Cyborg flinches before answering. "Several actually, you have an incredible tolerance to..." He trails off. Then, his gaze turns cold. "You need to calm down however, I'm not looking to drug you again, but I will if I have too."

"CALM DOWN?! YOU'RE NO BETTER THAN-"

"Yes, I know, Batman," Cyborg shouts back. "You have a tendency to tell me that every time you wake up. Well, it's either him or Slade."