On the Southwest outskirts of town, in the basement of one of many abandoned factories, a boy was being held hostage. He was young, and was the last person to deserve the treatment he was being given. At this point, the boy was letting everything the man said seep into him, like a sponge. The tormentor kept taunting him with threats to his friends.
"Who should I take after you? Beast boy? Force him to run and then hunt him...maybe place him above my mantle? Or maybe Cyborg? I could rewire him to be more useful. Or Raven, I could see what she does after no meditation...what really makes her tick. She is evil after all. I should have started with her as my apprentice.
"Or maybe I'll go after Starfire. I'll get you to a state where all can do is watch...I don't need to explain myself, do I? You probably have had countless nightmares about her being taken. But doing something like that to her won't affect her much. Since the Gordanians did the same thing."
Robin winced, how does he know about that too?
"Because I know everything. Everything about you and your little friends. I know what you treasure most..." He drew closer and leaned over Robin. "And I wish to take it away…even if Mr. Zucco beat me to it."
Robin's eyes grew wide as Slade shocked him, this time for an extended period of time and sent Robin into convulsions.
"You never had any friends, why do you think they have been home every time I called?"
Shock.
"Stopping crime was the only thing that was important to you, and now they've taken it and ran with it, leaving you in the dust!"
Lightning.
"You always lived in the shadow of your mentor, never quite branching out and claiming your own. Too afraid to try."
Sparks.
"You never let anyone touch your heart. Even if you had feelings for that alien girl, your body wouldn't let you love her, that's why you hurt her. You can't do anything right."
Overwhelming pain.
Robin fell into a state of catatonia. Only able to make light noises as his deep blue eyes stared at Slade wide, like a child at a monster.
"And I've only just begun."
Suddenly, Slade was thrown out of the picture with swiftness not humanly possible. There was a fight going on in the room, Robin could hear it. After awhile, it was over.
"Are you alright?" A familiar voice asked.
"Ah....ah..." was all that escaped his throat.
"Don't worry, we'll get you out of here." The voice's owner made for the restrains, only to find them locked. "Hey, I need your eyes for a minute!" The man called to the darkness.
Someone else approached the table.
"Great Scott! He looks horrible!"
"I know, help me with these restrains would you?"
Robin couldn't see their faces or what they were doing, but soon he felt his arms, legs, and neck become free. But he still could not move.
"Hey, give me two 'ah's if you can hear me."
"...ah...ah...."
"Good." A pair of arms lifted him from the table and held them close to a broad chest. "You're going to be fine."
Robin didn't understand what was going on. He was being saved? By who? Soon he felt the chilling wind of the outdoors and rain hitting his face. Where we’re the Slade bots? It didn’t really matter anyway. The rest of his body was wrapped in a thin blanket. He was still very cold. He heard a car door being opened and he was laid in a back seat, gently, and wrapped up as if his was in a cocoon. The car was warm and the seat was soft. He listened to the conversation the two men were having.
"Thanks for helping out Clark, I owe you one."
"Don't mention it, when you sent me that video clip, all I wanted to do was save him. Besides, it's my job."
"Well, I'm sure he appreciates it. I would stay and take care of that guy myself, but I need to get Richard to the hospital."
"I'll handle it."
"I have no doubt you will. What he did...I don't promote murder...but Slade deserves it. I have never seen Dick so...broken. Not even when his parents died. Just take care of him so Dick doesn't have to worry about it anymore."
"I think a trip to The Hall of Justice should do it, everyone in the league will want to pummel the guy."
"Then make it happen." The man got in the car but spoke through the window, "When you get a chance, you should come and visit him. He probably misses you...and his friends will be ecstatic to meet the man of steel."
"Sounds good, take care Bruce."
The window rolled up.
"Step on it Al, we need to get him to the hospital ASAP."
"Yes master Bruce."
Soon the car was speeding away. Far away from that place. Robin relaxed, for the first time in two weeks, he fell asleep without the help of drugs.
Back at the tower, Starfire and Beast Boy were in the kitchen, Beast Boy trying to cook something Star would eat, and Star sitting at the island with her head in her arms. Raven was staring at the TV, unable to focus on reading, and Cyborg flipped through the channels. Not finding anything interesting. It was late, somewhere in the middle of the night, but after last night’s events with Robin they still found themselves unable to sleep and wide wake with worry. Soon enough, the doorbell rang.
"I shall get it." Star rose to her feet. She used the thought of it being Robin to make her happy enough to fly and get down there faster.
She opened the door to a man in a black cowl.
"Is your team awake?" He asked.
"Yes! Did you find him?" She practically hovered.
He offered the smallest of smiles. "We did."
She threw her arms around him. "Oh thank X'hal! Thank you, thank you, Mr. Batman! I knew I could count on you!" Then when she realized what she had done, she set him down and let go. "Forgive me, sometimes my excitement gets the better of me."
He patted her head. "I understand. It's alright."
"Where is he?"
"I took him to the hospital, my butler is watching him."
"Please come in! I will tell the others to make with the haste!" She let him in and zoomed upstairs.
She practically broke the door down. "Friends! The knight of darkness is here! He has located our compatriot and behests us to join him in his vicinity!"
"In English?" Beast Boy sighed.
"Batman's here, he found Robin, he wants to take us to him."
"Dude! Let's go!"
"Hold on just a moment, should we bring him something?" Cyborg asked.
"Don't you think just us being there will be good for him?"
"I shall get some clothes for him from his room." Star offered. As soon as she left, the door swished open again to reveal Batman himself. Everyone stared in awe for a moment before Beast Boy spoke up.
"Hello sir. We're ready, we're just waiting for Star..."
"I know. I saw her in the hall. I just want to prepare you for what you’re going to see…"
In Robin's room, Star had folded two of his uniforms and a few pairs of underwear and put them in a small travel bag. She then realized he may not be comfortable in it while healing. She dug around in his closet, nervously, and found a pair of gray sweatpants and a black t-shirt. The shirt ironically had a yellow bat on it.
They followed him in the T-car. How he found the hidden tunnel that took him to the island, they didn't know. He was batman.
When they arrived at the hospital, Bruce Wayne came out of the Batmobile. They stared at him in question. "I don't want to draw attention."
"Too late." They looked over to see two motor heads drooling over the car. "Hope you got good insurance on it." Cyborg said seriously.
"Does an automatic laser count?" Bruce said loud enough for the boys to hear. They walked into the lobby and approached the receptionist. "Do you have status on Dick Grayson? I brought him here about an hour ago."
"Yes, he got into surgery, and is expected to be in there for a couple more hours."
"Do they know the extent of the damage?"
"They won't release that information until after the surgery. But...I can already tell you that that young man should not be alive. He is very fortunate."
"I know...we'll wait then." The group walked back into the lobby where they met up with Alfred.
"They say that Master Dick is in bad condition. He may even die during the surgery."
"Did they say why?" Raven asked.
"His heart rate is erratic and they can't slow it down. They found large traces of heroine in his system."
"Heroine! Son of a--" Bruce held his tongue, but wanting to be a part of the group that returns the favor to Slade.
"The doctor also said there is something wrong with his lungs, possibly pneumonia."
"Is that fatal?" Star asked quietly.
"Depends on the severity." Cyborg replied.
They went silent.
The waiting room was mostly empty. It was around three in the morning, but the titans were still wide-awake. Their nerves were being played with as a woman broke down wailing after a doctor spoke to her.
Star couldn't help but let a few tears escape. Cyborg noticed and put a metallic hand on her shoulder.
"Aw star, it's gonna be alright. He's made it this far, why would he give up now?"
"I do not doubt that he will make it. But his screams that I heard, his sobs...I will not be able to say, 'it's alright' until I see him."
He patted her back.
Robin awoke to voices. And he was cold again. His body was not awake enough to move, so he just listened.
"It's a miracle we even found him. We narrowed it down to a certain street, but from there we just looked. I'm not one for breaking and entering, but I'm glad we did."
"You keep saying 'we' was Alfred with you?"
"No, Superman. He says he'll try to visit when he gets a chance."
There was a pause.
"What do you suppose he'll be like when he wakes up?"
"I don't know. Hopefully better then when I brought him here. He couldn't talk or move...I don't think he knew who I was."
"Do you think he shall fight again?" a high voice asked.
"I don't know...maybe."
"Where shall he stay while he heals? Surely not here..."
"Calm down." a younger voice spoke. "Let's just see what Robin wants to do."
It sounded like his family. They were talking about him? He wasn’t sure. A part of him wanted to know, but as soon as he would open his eyes, he would be met with a blinding white light and an evil laugh. But that dream…he had dreamt he was saved. It was so real…so painfully real, he didn’t know what he would do if it was just a dream. His eyes opened slowly, blinking to adjust to the light. Surprisingly, there was no blinding spot light. Only a florescent fixture a little ways away. Directly above him was the welcome sight of a plain white stucco ceiling tile. He raised his hand and tried to speak but it came out as a horrible groan. Everyone turned to him, but Starfire was the first to react. She jumped and ran to him.
"Robin! How wonderful it is to see you!" She stopped before flinging herself at him, her outside excitement dulled. He looked frail, battered and weak. She felt if she touched him, he'd fall apart. Instead, she placed her hands next to him on the bed, leaned forward, and kissed his forehead. He looked at her with childish eyes.
"I am sorry, but I am afraid I would crush you if I hugged you from my excitement."
Robin didn't care. He would have loved her to crack another rib. He reached up and touched her face gently, making sure she was there.
"My turn!" Beast Boy turned into a kitten and rubbed against his face, purring. Robin smiled and slowly pet the feline.
"How do you feel man?" Cyborg asked coming up on his other side.
"...c-cold." He whispered, his voice was hallow and shattered, almost ghost like.
Starfire felt his forehead. "He has a fever."
"Here you go champ." Raven levitated a blanket to cover him and he gave her a small thumbs up. Then he tried to look around, but his neck hurt.
"B-Bruce?" he called. The Titans all moved away and watched the exchanged between the two eagerly.
"I'm here Richard," he said as he came up beside him.
"Did...you save me?"
"Clark helped."
"How...did you...know?"
"Thank Starfire. She was so torn up about you; she called me and explained the situation."
Robin looked away. "I'm…sorry."
"Don't you even start that. None of this was your fault. No one blames you."
"I…disappointed you...As I…always have…"
"Are you kidding? You survived two weeks of torture by your toughest enemy, and you think I'm disappointed?"
Robin gave a small nod.
"If anything, I'm proud of you. You hung on, and survived."
“B-b-but...I was...s-scared..."
"Even the toughest and bravest of men would have been. Honestly, I was scared for you. All your friends were too." He took his hand. "I love you Richard, you know that, right?"
The dam was still broken and he was unable to hold anything back, he cried again. This time in his father's embrace. Star and Beast Boy watched tearfully, while Raven and Cyborg smiled. Alfred came up on the other side.
"I hate to interrupt, but I still have not gotten to say hello to my favorite Wayne."
Bruce made a face.
"Master Dick, I would like to enquire what kind of goodies you should like me to make you for recovery."
The sound of food made his stomach roar in hunger.
"The...peach cobbler...you made when I was sick...please."
"A peach cobbler it is. And Master Bruce was right when he said he was scared for you, he was practically crying."
"I can always fire you, Al."
"You can, but you won't."
The others came up to group around and chat. Robin answered a few questions, but he wasn’t used to talking. So he sat and listened, content to be back with his family.
"Well, isn't this just a fairy tale ending?" He heard a voice, one that was not supposed to be in the room. He sat up slightly, to see if he could figure out where it was coming from. There was a door opposing his bed and it opened slowly. Robin swallowed thickly.
"Did you miss me Richard?" A man emerged from the shadows, a two-tone mask covering his face.
Robin's eyes grew wide and he tried to draw his legs in, one broken and too pained to move. He tried to use his arm to push back. "What are you doing here?" He croaked. The conversation stopped and everyone looked to him. He was trying to get away from something, that was evident. Everyone followed his line of sight, but no one was there.
"Robin?" Star asked.
"Come on Richie boy, let's play a game." The figment chanted.
"You can't be here...you can't!"
The others started to panic. "Who are you talking about? Who's here?"
"Slade!" he screamed. Machines started beeping, as Robin started pulling out the IVs in his arm.
"Robin stop!"
"Stay away!" he shouted in reply.
"He's not here Robin! You're just imagining things!" Raven tried to connect with him but his mind was on the fritz.
"Oh Richard, don't listen to them. I'm perfectly real. I’m here just as I was when I inflicted those wounds. I told you...you won't know which way is up or down, and nothing will fix it. The only thing you'll see is my mask.”
Robin violently threw punches into the air as nurses came in.
"We need him restrained, we can't put the IVs back in and he may reopen his stitching."
At the word 'restrained' Robin shot a punch out at a nurse with a cry, but Bruce caught his fist. In Robin's mind, it was Slade.
Starfire took hold of his wrists and held them across his chest while Cyborg pulled his feet down. A nurse put a sedation mask on Robin to relax him.
"Nighty night Dick." Slade hissed before he dissolved into thin air.
His muscles relaxed and the fist that he held weakened. A gentle hand cupped his face, but his vision was blurred and he couldn't see who it was.
"Robin, you must be calm. Slade is gone, forever. He cannot hurt you. We will always be here to protect you."
"Mama?" He whispered. She rubbed her thumb over the stitching on his eyebrow.
"Go to sleep. You must rest and heal."
"I'm scared..."
"There's no reason to be. I'll be right here."
With that, he closed his eyes and drifted off.