Insaneiac: Yes, I am not, in fact, dead again. I've merely been forced to interact with a massive amount of humanity for the last three days, totaling 24 hours worth of dealing with the moronic public. Now, I owe you all a big ol MOB update, and this one will make your blood run cold (unless you are like me, in which case, that already happened. Looks at Dusty) And addressing BB and his new found love for the phrase "Go to hell." Think about…a freak kidnaps you to be a pet. What would you, even if you are a green skinned joker, say in return? Another thing…the next few chapters are going to be…Oh how should I put it…brutal displays of Slade-ism. So the weak of heart may want to duck and cover. Now, here's Winry with the Disclaimer.
Disclaimer: Insaneiac owns nothing, not even a sense of dignity. He's too busy ruining his created characters lives to give a damn about owning anything. And further more, if he ever did own Teen Titans, we would have all tried to kill him. Several times.
You don't get to
do disclaimers anymore Winry.
Chapter 9: Obedience Training
"Robin?"
There was no response. He just kept staring at the screens. The screens that began to fill his mind the moment his right foot touched the entrance way of the Tower. He had camera's everywhere, eyes everywhere. He was never going to rest until he found Beast Boy, until he made right what was blown up. Even if it meant staying up for weeks on end. He could do it. He had done before, and even after this, there was no doubt he would one day have to do it again.
"Robin?"
It had been three long days since that night. Three very long and very horrible days. There truly was nothing like a sense of powerlessness to drive a person to new limits. Robin had long since turned to new friends in his determination to find Beast Boy. Extra strong, straight black coffee gave him a natural boost to his system, and when he needed it, caffeine pills continued it. Sleep was just not an option for him. Not while one of his friends, even one that considered him a vicious and horrible person, was in the grimy hands of Slade.
"Robin!" She cried out once more, forcing the boy to spin around. Robin came face to face with lavender eyes.
"What?" Robin tried to spit out angrily. It came out in a more slurred and sluggish state. Sleep deprivation was beginning to get to him, and now Raven knew it.
"It has been three days. Go get some sleep." Raven muttered, knowing fully that Robin was about to disagree. "What is killing yourself from lack of sleep really going to accomplish anyways?" She could still see, through the veil of fatigue, Robin's determination and defiance burning brightly.
"I can't and won't Raven. I will not abandon Beast Boy." Robin muttered. "Besides, you're the only other person who's not busying themselves either lamenting over it or sweeping the city endlessly, and I need you trying to connect with him! Do your job, I'll do mine!" He realized how cruel he sounded long after the words left his mouth, but he just didn't care. It had been three days since Beast Boy was kidnapped, and three days since Cyborg locked himself in his room, and every so often they could hear something explode or smash in. Starfire on the other hand, was partaking in the Grand Jump City Prix, flying endlessly over the city, in the city, in the sewers and everywhere else her mind could conceive to look in an attempt to find Beast Boy, returning only for brief moments of rest.
She had taken after Robin in this one aspect, that was a sure fact. "Robin, what can you accomplish if you cannot even understand what you see. Go. Rest." Raven soothed, reason filling her usually empty voice. When Robin tried to defend himself against her suggestions, she simply gave him a stern and hard look, repeating herself slowly. "Rest."
"…fine." Robin growled, pushing from his seat and walking towards the back. "But so help me Raven…if I miss something…" Robin threatened, as the door opened in front of him. He walked face first into Cyborg, effectively ending his threatening statements. Robin was about to say something, anything, when he felt Cyborg shove him to the side, and continue to the monitors. "Cyborg!" Robin yelped, the polar ends of surprise ringing in his voice. He could see something massive strapped to his back, and soon realized that it was his re-charger unit. His face, or at the very least, what Robin had seen of his face was an emotionless one. Yet it was a face that refused to give any emotional quarter though, not one that was devoid of emotion.
"I'm going to find him." Cyborg muttered, setting down the unit, before plugging himself into it. With a turn towards Robin, he gave him a pair of glances. Both solid and pure, one filled with determination, and another filled with contempt. "I'm going to fix your mess Robin. So help ME... If Beast Boy is…" He couldn't bring himself to say anything else, at least on that line. "I will kill you." He finished with a voice cold and detached. With that, Cyborg sat down in front of the monitors, and turned his attention away from the stunned Robin and the indifferent Raven, and onto the screens that could very well hold the life of his best friend in the world. "You've messed up enough things Robin. This is all your fault and your doing. It is time for a real hero to do something, instead of letting you continue your stupid little grudge with Slade. I won't let you ruin my best friend's life Robin." His words, though a clouded and incorrect assessment, struck hard enough. Enough for Raven to nearly cause Cyborg to explode in his chair, and enough for Robin to want to either drive a bo-staff into the base of his neck, or breakdown right there.
'He's right…this is all my fault.'
------ Slade's Lair ------
It had been three days since he was beaten up.
It had been three days since he was patched up.
It had been three days since he was snatched up.
It had been three days since he was caged up.
All Beast Boy could think about, aside from the collar that controlled his life now, were those four things. His entire life as he knew was gone, transformed instead into a squared and lifeless room, with a barred door to all together illustrate the point. A single, weak light hung from above his head, barely filling the room at all. That was it. There was nothing more to the room. His bed, as it were, was nothing more than the concrete floor. His food was served to him in a bowl that looked like it should be used for dogs. There was nothing more than four walls, a caged door, and a horrible little light above his head.
He had been trying to refuse the embarrassment of eating the food, but his will failed him miserably. When he thought Slade wasn't watching, he ate it. It made him feel sick to his stomach that he would resort to such tactics, but he did. It nearly killed him the first time, as he tasted ground up beef mixed with his food. Slade knew about his affixation with not eating meat, and he was using it against him. When he wasn't eating the food, he slumped in a corner of the room, trying to transform into a rat or a mouse to escape this. No matter how hard he tried, the collar interfered with it. He tried to go to sleep, to speed days along, but the collar would not allow it. He was never given more than five hours of sleep, and spent the entire day cooped up in his cage. Now all he was doing was, in between sobs, lamenting over those four unholy facts.
That was, until today. He looked up as he saw the cage door open, and standing there was Slade, arms behind his back. Beast Boy was sure that, behind his satanic mask, he was smirking or grinning or smiling or somehow reveling in his suffering. "And how are we today, my pet?" He uttered monotonously. As he stepped in, he shut the door behind him, sealing himself inside with the boy.
The same response he fed Slade since the first day of his capture found its way to his lips instantly. "Go to hell Slade."
"Still as disobedient as always." Slade began, before pressing a button on his wrist, sending the nanobots the signal to electrify themselves. Instantly, Beast Boy began to thrash around on the ground, screaming bloody murder as the tiny little robots tormented his body. A second later, the pain stopped. "But we are going to fix that, starting today."
"Go…to…hell…" Beast Boy choked out, letting out a choked gasp as Slade pressed a foot down on his chest.
"From now on, you will call me Master. Not Slade, not anything other than Master. You are an animal to me, a piece of property. As such, you will adress me as being your Master and your Owner. Just like a good pet should." Slade instructed, watching Beast Boy intently. He watched him as he struggled to find any breath to use words, before finally lifting his left hand and letting an obscene and vulgar gesture talk for him. "I find it interesting that you would even know what that means. However, I can tell you that you just made your first mistake in today's lesson." With that, Slade took his foot of his chest. Beast Boy sucked in a deep breath before he felt a single hand wrapped tightly around his throat, and lift him into the air. Before he could say anything, Beast Boy was hurtled into the cage door, taking it off it's hinges and sending both the door and the boy into the hallway in a crumbled heap.
"You see child, every pet is born disobedient." Slade began, driving his foot into Beast Boy's side as he tried to push up to his feet. The blow sent him sprawling down the hallway, each thud on the ground eliciting a grunt of pain from the changling's mouth. "Every animal needs to be tamed. A wild beast is a dangerous foe, but a trained animal is a deadly killer." He waited for Beast Boy to get up this time, before delivering an open palm thrust punch into his chest, hurling him into the wall not even ten feet behind him. The impact was ear shattering, and as his body slipped to the ground, a clear impression was left in the wall."But you are the difference in that. Inside you is an animal that is completely untamable. A beast of pure destruction. I don't want to tame him, only you."
"The…jokes on…you Slade. He's…never coming…back." Beast Boy choked out, before coughing up a good bit of blood. When he looked up, Slade drove his hand into his forehead, grabbing it tightly. In a single, fluid movement, Slade spun to his right, lifting the child into the air and then driving back of Beast Boy's head into the concrete floor, a sickening thud filling the ears of them both. A long, zombie like groan escaped Beast Boy lips, satisfying Slade.
"You didn't say Master. Bad boy." Slade mocked, pressing the button on his wrist. Once more, Beast Boy began to thrash about as his body was ripped apart by the malicious electricity. His scream silenced itself midway through, as his voice lost its strength amidst the pain. Slade held the button down tortuously, watching Beast Boy suffer the unimaginable wrath with great amusement before mercifully releasing the button, and freeing Beast Boy from the agony. "That was ten seconds of hell Beast Boy. Every time you fail to call me master, I will add another five long seconds of that pain. Do I make myself clear, pet?"
Beast Boy never answered. He simply twitched violently, as silent tears began to pour from his eyes. 'How does Robin do it…how… ?' He screamed with newfound strength when Slade drove his boot down on his hand, crushing several bones within it. To amplify the pain, Slade twisted his foot ontop of Beast Boy's hands, drawing a louder scream of pain from the boy.
"Not answering me is the same as disobeying me. And with that will come punishment. Do I make myself clear?" Slade asked, threateningly. He pressed his foot down even harder on Beast Boy's shattered hand, watching him squirm in mind numbing pain.
"Ye-yes!" Beast Boy screamed out, crying even louder as he felt Slade step down even harder.
"Yes what?"
"Ye-yes…" Beast Boy began, sucking in his breath as the next word played at the end of his tongue. 'Don't do it…Don't do it…' He could hear himself mentally screaming, begging him to hold his dignity intact. It hurt so very, very much, but he couldn't do it. Not yet. "…Slade." Beast Boy uttered with a trickling of a grin slipping onto his face. He felt the foot lift off his hand, and watched as Slade glared down at him ruthlessly. He knew he was about to regret saying it.
"Bad boy…" With that, he pressed the button once more, and watched as Beast Boy began to spasm in pain once more. There was nothing quite like the sight of someone suffering to him. Torture was to Slade what Star Wars was to sci-fi geeks. It never ceased to amuse and entertain him. Everyone would put such gusto into saying things like "I'll never submit" or "just go torture me until I die" but when it came time to prove such a statement, they were the quickest to fall. It was the few that stayed steadfast in their strength that Slade found more than just enthralling to break. Beast Boy was surprisingly strong in his state of being, but he was not Robin. Not in the slightest. Slade would break Beast Boy, and when he did, he would force him to admit it. Over and over until the little boy realized himself that he is hopelessly and completely lost to the world.
Once more, his button lifted off the button, Beast Boy's body slumping to the ground in a pile, his body twitching spasmodically. "Boy, why do you torture yourself? The pain ends if you just submit."
"My fri-friends…they'll s-s-s-save me…" Beast Boy sobbed, his voice nothing more than a hoarse whisper.
"Why would they? You're useless." Slade began, reaching down and gripping Beast Boy by the throat. "They never were really your friends. Look how fast Robin turned them against you when you became that monster. Look how fast they turned to Robin's "Crusade against Beast Boy." They wanted nothing more than to end your existence." Slade growled, manipulating the events. Beast Boy tried to choke out a defense of them, but found himself lacking considerably. "It was Robin who demanded that Terra should die. Remember? It was Raven who helped to force her away, Remember? They brought her to me, they chased her to me. They were the ones that killed her." Slade calmly uttered, watching Beast Boy's face contort in agony as his mind turned to Terra. "You have no friends. All you have now is a master, and four former teammates hunting you down to end you."
"…No…" Beast Boy whined. It wasn't a confident and defiant no. It was a defeat ridden and despair encased no. "…They…"
"They hate you. They know what I want with you. That means you are a threat."
"But…w-we helped Ro-Robin."
"You are comparing you own importance to Robin's? Don't make me laugh. You are expendable to them." Slade muttered, dropping Beast Boy from his grip. Before the boy could hit the ground, Slade drove his left foot into his chest in a vicious side kick, hurtling Beast Boy down a new hallway. "But to me…you have more importance than any of them ever held. And whether you like it or not, boy, you will submit to me." He stopped just in front of Beast Boy, who was currently lying face down. Blood had begun to flow from his mangled hand, something that would take a bit of time to repair. Thanks to the nanobots, such healings where shortened greatly, but it would still take time. However, this startling ingenius feature of Winry's nanobots also meant that he could torture him to no end, because those nanobots would heal him faster than anything else, readying him for even more. "Winry finally got one right." Slade muttered, before taking the mangled hand in his own. Pressing a foot on his forearm, Slade began to push the hand backwards, cracking it further and drawing screams of blood curdling agony from Beast Boy. "You scream and you scream, yet no one comes for you. They've abandoned you to me. If they ever do come for you, it will be to end you, not to save you." With that, he wrapped his hand around Beast Boy's, and began to squeeze, mangling it even further. He listened for the final scream Beast Boy could put out before his voice dissapeared again, smiling behind his mask as he waited for the boy's voice to fail him.
Mercifully again, Slade removed the pressure, letting the hand go. It dropped to the ground with a squishy thud, Beast Boy twitching from the pain of his distorted hand connecting with the ground. "And child, when I have finished molding you into the monster you were born to be, you will destroy them. One by one, those miserable Titans will die by your hands."
"NO!" Beast Boy yelled, rolling to side. Before Slade could even raise his hand, Beast Boy's right foot connected with his chin, knocking him backwards. "I will not hurt MY FRIENDS SLADE!" Beast Boy screamed, forcing himself to his feet. He could find that, despite his surge of adrenaline, he could barely stand as it was. His body hurt so much; it felt like he was falling apart from the inside. Putting everything he could into going past the pain, Beast Boy charged the demonic man, leaping at him and catching him across the face with a kick. The blow sent Slade sprawling backwards, landing heavily on his back. To say that the boy had surprised him would be a slight overstatement, but none the less he found himself impressed. Landing with a thud, Beast Boy went to charge again, only to find himself falling to the ground. His body just couldn't do it.
"You see…even now, you're an animal." Slade mocked, stretching his neck before walking back to the prone Beast Boy. "Now I just have to train that animal in you, and I will have my pet." With that, Slade pressed down the button once more, watching Beast Boy once more find himself engulfed in the nanobots surging electricity. He could see the pain raging, consuming, and blanketing every one of Beast Boy's senses. It was destroying his life with every maliciously long second of torture, frying away his emotions and courage. It was enough to send someone into an endless pit of madness, and Slade could see it overwhelming him. As strong as he tried to look, he would break. They all break in the end.
Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the pain disappeared once more, leaving a convulsing Beast Boy in a crippled state. His body arched and twisted and contorted in the brutal aftereffects of the prolong exposure to such pain. Dry heaves sounded from him, as he felt his body fall apart. "Now, once more. You are my pet. If you obey me, you get rewarded. If you disobey me, you get punished. You don't have a name until you start realizing just what you are now. Am I clear?" He waited for Beast Boy's body to settle itself, and listened for the breathless sobs to fill the hallway.
"Yes…" Beast Boy began, closing his eyes as tightly as possible. He wrapped himself into the fetal position, hugging his knees tightly as cried into them. "…master…"
"Again." Slade spoke, his voice frigid. He wanted to revel in this. The first step of Beast Boy's admittance into the life he was made to live. This was not but the first step, a beginning to what he would bring down upon the child. Yet it represented so much. To him, those words signaled the opening of the door to his defeat. It was the beginning of the end for him.
"Yes…Master…"
A smile crossed behind Slade's mask, as he placed his hands behind his back. "Good boy. This lesson is over." Slade mocked, pressing a button on his wrist that allowed the defeated, destroyed and depressed child to slip into unconsciousness.
A/N: That even hurt me to write…poor Beast Boy… And yes, Titan Tower is falling apart now, and yes, there is a point to Slade's systematic destruction of Beast Boy's life. Just follow me with it. I promise I will not lead you astray.