How dare you play the victim

These tortured eyes, they see right through you

But still you keep me captive

And make me feel like I deserve you

But I hate you

-Venom, Bullet for My Valentine

{Starfire}

When she walked into the main room of Titans Tower, Starfire instantly knew that something was wrong. She could see the tension on Robin's face and the grim way that Raven kept looking at him. She realized that what they were about to hear couldn't be anything good. Instinctively, she went to stand by Kid Flash, because she was afraid that this terrible news would be about Jinx. She did not know what she could do to help him if it was, but she thought it best to be nearby anyways. Then she turned her attention to her leader and asked, "Robin, what has happened?"

He took a deep breath before he responded to her question. "All of you know that Argent was following a truck from Gotham."

Robin wasn't starting off with what had happened. She knew this must be bad.

"Has something happened to Argent?" Starfire asked him.

"It's complicated." Raven replied, answering for Robin.

Kid Flash suddenly got angry. "What the hell do you mean? What happened?"

"From the looks of it, she released Jericho and the two of them decided to infiltrate Zenith headquarters."

"Wait. Are they in there right now?" Cyborg asked, glancing back and forth between Raven and Robin.

Raven nodded. "Yes."

"Why are we still sitting here then?" Kid Flash said. "We should be out there helping them!"

Starfire decided this was a good time to speak up. "Perhaps it is best that we allow them an opportunity to do this on their own."

"But what are they doing exactly?" Beast Boy asked, looking confused.

"They're gathering information on Zenith from the inside." Robin sent a pointed look in Kid Flash's direction. "And it's important that we don't get in the middle of what they're doing."

"What are you thinking, Robin?" Kid Flash snapped back at him. "If there's even the slightest chance that they have Jinx, we should be in there!"

Raven said calmly, "We can't risk them getting suspicious and disappearing before we find out anything."

"Was I talking to you?" Kid Flash glared at her.

Starfire could see that the situation was escalating quickly. So she suggested, "Perhaps it would be beneficial to do some of our own surveillance on the outside?"

"That's not a bad idea." Cyborg said. "We could watch who's coming and going. That might give us an edge."

"And we would be close by, just in case Argent and Jericho might need us." Starfire added, speaking to Robin but keeping one eye on the volatile boy at her side.

Robin seemed to consider her idea for a moment before he said, "Alright, let's do it. We need to have a plan, so let's get started." He walked towards the main controls and everyone began to follow after him. However, Starfire reached out and stopped Kid Flash, saying, "May I speak with you for a moment?"

"We don't really have time for talking right now." He said curtly.

"Please. It will not take long."

He huffed, scrubbing his hands through his crazy, red hair. But she could see that he was going to do as she asked. "Fine."

She led him just outside the main room, waiting until the doors slid closed before she said, "I am worried for you."

He seemed surprised by this. "Why?"

"You are constantly on edge."

"My girlfriend was abducted, Starfire. Now she's being tortured by some psycho and we're doing absolutely nothing to find her. Saying I'm on edge is putting it lightly." He told her grimly.

She knew she had to be careful with what she said next. She did not want to make him more upset. "I understand. But it is important that you do not let your emotions cloud your judgment."

"That's easy for you to say. You're safe in your ivory tower. But things would be different if one of your friends were in her place." Kid Flash said angrily. "Tell me the truth. Would you be sitting around, waiting on someone else, if one of them had been taken? If you knew that they were being tortured?"

"I cannot say what I would do in your place. But you must trust that Robin is doing everything he can. He is trying to protect all of us."

"Jinx is the one who needs protecting."

Starfire did not know what to say to that. She could see that he was suffering from guilt because he was not there for Jinx. She knew he was only angry with them because he could not be angry with anyone else. He felt useless and incapable of helping the person he loved—she could not imagine anything worse.

"We will get her back."

He gave her a look of resignation that almost broke her heart, and then said, "We'll see."

She watched him walk back into the control room and barely registered the doors sliding closed. She could not understand how things had spun so wildly out of control. All she could hope for was that Argent and Jericho might discover something that would lead them to the missing Titans.

{Argent}

She had to keep telling herself to stay calm. Her mind was running wild with all the possibilities that could happen if her plan went wrong. She was also actively avoiding her instinct to draw Jericho's attention; at the moment, he possessed the body of one of the men who kidnapped him. It was easier to keep her eyes from wandering because he didn't look like himself, but she was starting to get nervous. She could have used a reassuring look from him. But this wasn't the time or the place for that.

"I can't believe that Jericho kid got away." The man one who was driving the truck, said with a groan. "Zenith's gonna be pissed that we don't have him."

Jericho replied, changing his voice so it sounded a bit deeper. "But we have the goth chick now. Maybe he won't be too mad once he sees her."

The other man seemed to consider this. "That's true. But he's gonna make us go find that kid either way. So we're still stuck in Jump for god knows how long."

"Maybe we can make a deal with him, Billy. See if we can get out of the contract?" Jericho suggested.

"Eh, we'll see Cal. Don't get your hopes up. Zenith's a hard ass about this stuff."

Argent wished that they hadn't gagged her. She would have liked to interject something or at least pretend she was putting up a fight against them. But they couldn't risk her screaming for help—even if they were out in the middle of nowhere. She watched as Billy pulled the truck around the corner and suddenly they were approaching a massive, sprawling building complex. 'So this is Zenith headquarters. Why did they pick a spot so far from the city? That doesn't make any sense.'

"You wonder why they picked somewhere so far out? I mean, they were right in the middle of things in Gotham." Jericho asked curiously. Argent mentally thanked him for asking the same thing she was thinking.

Billy shrugged. "My guess? Jump probably wouldn't let them build in town after their last building collapsed. Maybe Zenith builds a good building, maybe they don't. All I know is they got a bunch of folks killed. I wouldn't let 'em build anywhere near me either."

'That makes sense. Jump's nervous about Zenith coming here. They aren't sure if it was the way the building was built or not. So they're playing it safe.'

"Where are we dropping this chick off anyways?" Jericho asked, pointing a finger towards the back of the cab.

"Zenith said to pull around back. There's a service entrance back there." Billy gave Jericho a pointed look. "They can't risk somebody seeing us or her. Too many questions and witnesses."

Jericho nodded. "Makes sense." He turned to briefly glance at her, and then asked in a quieter voice, "What do you think they need these freaks for?"

Billy said sternly, "It's better if you don't ask those questions, Cal. We're here to get paid—that's it. Don't go poking your nose in places it don't belong."

"Sorry Billy. I'm just curious."

Billy gave Jericho a look as he drove the truck up to the main security gate. "Keep that to yourself. Money's no good if you're dead."

"Right." Jericho replied agreeably.

Billy rolled his window down to speak with the security guard. While he was distracted, Jericho turned his head to look at Argent. She shook her head at him, trying to tell him to turn around. He mouthed, "It will be okay." Then he turned back around in his seat. She was a little surprised by this. It was like he knew what she was thinking. Even Hot Spot, who was her closest friend, still had trouble figuring her out sometimes.

The truck was moving again and Billy said to Jericho, "Okay, I'll deal with Zenith's people when we get there. You keep the freaky goth under control."

Jericho nodded. "Got it. Shouldn't be a problem."

Argent fought the urge to smile. Of course it wouldn't be a problem—she was willingly walking into the lion's den. Both of them were.

{Beast Boy}

Robin was only allowing the team to run surveillance on Zenith headquarters in shifts of two people. He was worried that Cheshire would show up at the tower—with reinforcements—and they wouldn't have enough people to keep them back. Beast Boy didn't mind this plan. Truthfully, he was afraid that Cheshire would show up and he wouldn't be there to protect Adam. Not that he needed protection necessarily, but he hadn't healed enough for Beast Boy to completely trust in his powers. So while Kid Flash and Raven took the first watch, he headed for the medical bay to see the older boy.

When the door slid open, Adam was sitting up in his bed like he had been waiting for him. He glanced in Beast Boy's direction, saying sarcastically, "Nice to see you again. Planning on keeping me locked in here forever?"

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow at him. "Depends. Are you planning on getting captured by Cheshire?"

Adam scoffed. "Hardly. I have no intention of letting her take me."

"What are you planning then?" Beast Boy countered, getting closer.

"Nope." Adam shook his head. "Not getting you involved."

"It's a little late for that, Adam." Beast Boy said, gesturing to their surroundings. "You're in my home—being protected by my family. That counts as us being involved."

Adam gave him a small smirk. "You and I are involved, huh? Well, someone's a little forward."

Beast Boy just stared at him. He couldn't figure out what sort of game Adam was playing. He was clearly hiding more than he was willing to share, which was strange considering everything he told him about his sister. What could be worse than the only person you love being murdered by psychopaths? He couldn't even begin to imagine.

"Why do you keep hiding things from me?" Beast Boy asked.

"Well, I'm sure you didn't expect me to share everything with you. I mean, there's no campfire and we're definitely not singing Kumbaya." Adam taunted him, eyes twinkling.

Beast Boy glared. "This isn't funny, dude. We're putting ourselves at risk to keep you safe."

The amusement melted off Adam's face. "I never asked you to do that."

"In case you forgot, you were unconscious and bleeding to death. We made a choice to take you in."

"You'll regret it." Adam replied darkly.

Beast Boy crossed his arms over his chest. "Already do."

"So what the hell are you doing in here then?" Adam asked, with a razor sharp edge to his voice. Beast Boy knew he was starting to get pissed off. It was time to leave.

"I have no idea." Beast Boy said, turning and walking right out of the room. When the doors whooshed closed, he leaned against the wall just outside. He ran his fingers through his hair, thoughts racing through his head.

'I have to find a way to make Adam trust me. That's the only way he's gonna to tell me what his plan is. But how am I supposed to do that? Adam doesn't trust anybody.'

Beast Boy sighed. This was going to be much harder than he thought.

{Argent}

She was amazed by the vastness of Zenith's headquarters. There were so many doors and hallways, what seemed like a million different employees, and insane technology that she had never seen in her entire life. She should have been scared, but she was taking every detail in and trying to commit it to memory. There was no way to tell what information would be most important to the Titans, so she was determined to remember as much as she could. Billy spoke in hushed tones with the security guard leading them through the building, while Jericho had her cuffed to his arm and guided her behind them. She wasn't thrilled about the collar they put on her—especially because she couldn't use her powers—but she knew that there was no point in fighting it. It was better to come across as a compliant captive, rather than a hero who was determined to go down fighting. She had a job to do after all.

Jericho was doing a brilliant job of playing the hired help. He was gruff, commanding, and rough with her, which was keeping up the illusion perfectly. Billy didn't even suspect anything was different about his friend. They reached an elevator and the security guard pulled a card out of his pocket, swiping it through a scanner. The system recognized him and the elevator doors slid open.

"Get her in." The guard said, gesturing to Argent.

Jericho pushed her into the elevator and she pretended to try and escape. He quickly grabbed her shoulder and forced her back in. She gave a cry that she hoped sounded genuine and said, "You're hurting me!"

All of a sudden, the guard back-handed her across the face. The blow snapped her face to the side and left her eyes watering. He grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to look at him. There was no kindness in his eyes. "This is nothing, little girl. Just you wait until you see what we have for you." He shoved her away and went to scan his card again, closing the elevator doors.

Argent refused to wipe the tears out of her eyes. This cruel man wouldn't see her weak. She stood, staring directly at the wall in front of her. From the corner of her eye, she could see Jericho clenching his fist. That worried her immensely. No matter what happened to her, he could not break character. He was her only hope of getting out of this place if something went wrong. She wished more than anything that she had telepathic powers right now.

The elevator stopped at the top floor with a ding and the doors quickly slid open. The guard stepped out first, followed by Billy. Jericho said gruffly, "Move girl." She did as he said, trying to keep up with his pace. This room was remarkable: mostly floor to ceiling windows, which gave her a perfect view of the desert surrounding them. There was a small waterfall to her right and many beautiful flowers scattered around the room. 'How can a place like this exist here?'

"Welcome gentlemen." The smooth, commanding voice drew her attention to the desk at the far end of the room. There was a man sitting there, tall, dark-haired, and pale, wearing a freshly pressed, clearly expensive suit. He was smiling at her captors, but the smile didn't reach his eyes. Argent felt ice run through her veins.

Billy was the first to speak. "Hello sir. We've brought the hero to you, as requested."

The elegant man leaned forward, pressing his palms together thoughtfully. "As I recall, you were to bring Jericho to me." He ran his eyes over Argent in a way that made her feel like running away, mission or not. "Does this one look like Jericho to you?"

The back of Billy's neck turned red. Argent was suddenly worried for him. "No sir. We ran into…some complications on our way here."

The man continued to stare at Billy, still smiling but in a dangerous sort of way. "And what might those complications have been?"

Billy gestured to Argent and she wanted to melt into the ground and disappear. "She tried to rescue him."

"It seems that she did rescue him, does it not gentlemen?" The man asked, obviously knowing the answer to his question already.

Jericho nodded, speaking up for the first time. "Yes sir. We made a mistake."

Billy shot a look at Jericho, but the man simply nodded. "Yes. You did. And how do you intend to rectify that mistake?"

"We'll go back out and find him." Jericho replied calmly, though Argent knew better. Inside, she was sure that he was a mess of nervous energy.

The man didn't respond to Jericho's comment, but instead said, "Take the cuff off the girl, Mr. Gabriel."

Jericho quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out a key, unlocking the cuff around Argent's wrist. She stood there, trying not to shake. The man gestured to her. "Come here, girl."

There was no use in trying to run away. So Argent walked forward slowly, coming to a stop a few feet in front of the man's desk. He was watching her like a snake watches a struggling mouse. "You've caused me quite a bit of trouble, you know."

She refused to meet his eyes. "I'm not sure what you mean."

She could see his lips curl up into a sharp smile. "Oh, but I'm sure you do. Argent." He spit her name out like it was poison. She started reciting something in her head to keep calm.

'He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts. He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts. Oh god.'

"It wasn't enough that you evaded my people when they came to capture you and your friend. But instead, you followed them here and released one of my captives. You're like a dog with a bone, aren't you?" He whispered harshly.

'This was such a bad idea. But it's too late to go back now. Oh god, it's way too late.'

"I was trying to protect my friend." She said, her voice so quiet that she wasn't sure he heard.

"What noble intentions you had." He said, mocking her. "Look where those intentions have led you, Argent. I can't imagine all your effort was worth it."

Suddenly, her gaze snapped upward and she was staring right into the man's icy blue eyes. "Yes, it was."

The man's taunting smile disappeared, leaving a dark, dangerous look on his face. He looked past her and said, "Martin. Do it."

Argent turned just in time to watch the security guard pull out a gun and shoot Billy in the head. She screamed in horror, trying to rush towards Jericho, but someone wrapped their arm around her neck in a vice grip. Jericho was splattered with gore from the gun blast, but he lunged forward, knocking Martin to the ground. They were wrestling with the gun, Jericho trying to crush his wrist enough that he would drop it. The gun was getting dangerously close to Jericho's head and Argent knew she had to help. She bent her head down and bit her teeth hard into the arm that held her, tasting blood in her mouth as she broke the skin. The person screamed, letting her go. But as she rushed to Jericho's aid, a massive weight slammed across her face, knocking her to the floor. The world was spinning.

Suddenly, there was another gunshot. She tried to get to her feet, but she was just too dizzy. Unfortunately, the dizziness couldn't hide Cal Gabriel's ruined, bleeding body. 'Jericho.'

Someone hoisted her upwards by her arms and she cried out, feeling genuine pain this time. She could see the elegant man standing in front of her, wearing that same awful smile. He reached out, grasping her face with his hand. "Do you know who I am, Argent?"

She couldn't answer him. All she could think was, 'He's gone. They killed him. Oh god, what have I done?'

The man said, "My name is Damian Wage. And you are never leaving this place."

She didn't care what he said. All his words were meaningless.

"Martin." Damian Wage said to the security guard. "Take the girl to her cell. Dr. Cromwell will deal with her later."

Her hands were cuffed behind her back and she was forced forward, still watching the world spin around her. She couldn't keep her balance, falling to the ground. In the background, she heard someone say with a calm, quiet voice, "You shouldn't have hit her so hard. You could have damaged something."

Damian Wage laughed. "The way she damaged you? I can't imagine that you enjoy being bitten, brother. Anyways, it hardly matters. The good Doctor will have his way with her soon enough."

The quiet voice was closer now and said, "Martin. You'll have to carry her. We can't risk injuring her further."

Martin replied quickly, "Of course, sir."

Suddenly, she was lifted into strong arms and carried from the room. The moment that she heard the elevator doors shut, she started weeping brokenly. But this time, Martin didn't lash out against her. He just let her cry. The elevator dinged and he stepped out, still holding onto her tightly. Someone said teasingly, "Taking your work home with you, eh Martin?"

He replied with the same light tone, "Something like that. Where's this girl's cell?"

"Just down this way. I'll buzz you in—since you got your hands full and all."

"Thanks Johnson."

The dizziness was starting to wear off a little and Argent could see that they were walking down a white-washed, sterile looking hallway with an endless row of doors on the right side. Martin walked to a door that was covered by a large, black 7. He placed his key card against the scanner and the door slid open. They stepped inside. She was surprised by the gentle way that Martin laid her down on the cold, concrete floor.

"Are you alright?" Martin asked.

"Why do you care?" She replied, trying to fight back the urge to cry again.

Martin's face smoothed out, taking five years away from his features. "Why do you think I care, Argent?"

She had a sudden thought. She was almost afraid to speak it aloud, but she did anyways. "Who are you?"

He smiled at her. "You would think that you'd be able to recognize a friend." Suddenly, the man's brown eyes glowed green and Argent didn't think about what to do next. She threw herself into Jericho's embrace, crying again. He wrapped his arms around her. "Be quiet now, Argent."

"But you're alive." She whispered. "How? I thought they killed you."

"I took over Martin's body before he could shoot the gun. But I wasn't quick enough to keep him from shooting Cal." Jericho said grimly.

Argent pulled back, looking into Jericho's eyes. "We're in deep shit here, Jericho."

He nodded in agreement. "We are. But we have a mission, remember? And after what Damian Wage just did, I'm determined to complete it."

"Me too." Argent agreed, separating herself from him. "Go. Find out everything you can and don't get caught."

He smiled at her. "I will. Stay safe, Argent." Then he got to his feet, turning to scan his key card.

She turned her face away, rolling onto her side on the concrete floor. When she heard the doors slide closed, she whispered, "Be careful."