Chapter 19: Solitude

Robin kicked at Slade, Slade's hand shot out and grabbed the steel toed boot. With almost inhuman speed and strength Slade shoved Robin, the boy's small body hit the stone wall behind him with a sickening crunch.

Slade walked forward, Robin shook his head trying to get the stars in front of his eyes to go away. He stopped quickly as his head flared with pain. Reaching up to his forehead he assessed that the pounding head ache meant he had a concussion and brushing the hair away from the back of his head he felt the sticky substance that could only be blood.

"I want you Robin, but I assume that you have figured that much out."

Robin nodded, stars began to glitter in front of his eyes again and he stopped.

"You would like your friends to remain the way they are?" Slade's shadow engulfed Robin. Robin's head throbbed the words Slade spoke pounded in his ears, he couldn't make sense of any of it.

"Or maybe you wouldn't mind if I…" Slade's voice trailed off.

"Yes" Robin lifted his eyes to meet Slade's.

"Yes what Robin?"

"I don't want you to hurt them" The pounding in his head was subsiding.

"Whoever said anything about hurting them? Physically they would be in perfect health. Mentally they would be worthless a shadow of their former self. And completely open to…persuasion."

"What did you do to them?" Robin growled

"Nothing, I asked Red X for his final mission, to plant a probe at the base of each of your friend's skulls, with the touch of a button their memories will be completely wiped out. Never to return, think how easy it would be for me to plant ideas in their minds…." Slade's voice trailed off leaving Robin time to think

OOOOOOOO

"Yeah and he's about this tall" Beast Boy stuck his hand above his head.

"Ok" the blond policewoman behind the desk popped her gum irritably and jotted down notes. "I got, name Robin, black hair, don't know what colour eyes and about this tall" she stuck her hand out like Beast Boy had. "That isn't enough to go on kids"

"He is nice and sweet and enjoys hitting a harmless piece of hanging cloth" Starfire spoke up smiling.

The police woman popped her gum again.

"I think she means a punching bag" Raven said.

"Ok well, that still isn't enough to go on kidos. Well keep an eye out for your friend but.." she shrugged.

Five minutes later they let the police station, Cyborg was yelling,

"All we do for them and they can't even help us out once! The…." he yelled something that made Raven glare at him and Starfire to look curious.

"Please what does…" she started to ask but Raven cut her off.

"You don't want to know"

They reached the T tower ten minutes later.

"We should be out there looking for him!" Beast Boy said. They had been bickering the whole way home.

"Do you have any idea how long it would take to search the city and he might not still be in the city" Raven snapped at Beast Boy

"But if there was a chance.." Starfire started

"No, I think Raven is right. We have a city to protect. We can't stop doing our job. Robin wouldn't want that." Cyborg looked at his teammates.

OOOOOOO

"Think about it Robin" Slade backed out of the room, a smile played under his mask. Robin would join him, he had no choice, unless he wanted his friends as good as dead. Robin would never put his friends in jeopardy if he could some how save them, that was the boys weakness. A weakness that Slade would beat out until Robin would turn on his own former friends, then and only then would Slade know that Robin was ready to take his place.

Slade pulled a key from his belt and slipped it into the lock before he thought better, the boy would come and find him with his answer soon enough. He turned away, Slade had no fear that the boy might try and get away.

Back in the dark room Robin paced the floor, he tried desperately to think of a way out of the situation. There where really only two answers, either he joined Slade or his friends would…. Robin swallowed, he didn't want to think of that.

Robin thoughts back to one of the last talks he had had with his mentor, Batman. The one before he had left for Jump City and a new life.

"Why are you doing this Richard?" Batman asked, he was sitting in front of the computer screen looking up the profile of Clayface.

Robin didn't answer, he lounged against the rock wall, listening to the trickle of water in the back ground.

"Hormones? You don't feel man enough just being my partner"

"No" Robin responded sharply, "I though you would be happy for me. The mayor asked me to move to Jump City, the mayor. Jump City needs a hero"

"Gotham needs you, Jump City can have some other hero" Batman's voice hinted at protective anger but his tone didn't vary.

"Gotham has you Bruce! Batman can take care of Gotham without me just fine, you were on your own for years before you took me on" Robin pushed away from the wall standing up straight his voice full of defiance "I'm going and you can't stop me, I have friends over there, we are going to be a team"

"Crime fighters don't have friends. It is dangerous, every criminal that comes along will use them as leverage against you."

Robin scoffed at this, "It doesn't matter what you say Bruce, I'm going over there, don't bother trying to stop me"

Bruce hadn't tried to stop him, but had remained stonily silent for all the years Robin had been a Titan. Bruce had been right, Slade was using his friends as leverage and it was working. He was going to become Slade's apprentice again and there was nothing he could do to stop it. In this game Slade held the top card and Robin was going to lose, and how he hated to lose.

OOOOOOOO

Slade chuckled his plan seemed flawless. As long as he kept the boy busy enough he wouldn't have time to hatch a plan of escape, Robin would soon be his to keep.

The sound of a door being open and shut almost noiselessly reached Slade's ears. Slade sensed the boy standing behind him. He waited expectantly for the boy to speak.

"Yes" Robin said, but the tone of his voice held resentment. It told Slade very plainly that all Robin wanted to say was 'no', Or some other manner of cursing, yelling or physical tantrum.

"Very good Robin" Slade turned back to Robin, a few minutes later he heard the sound of footsteps muffled by a layer of dust on the floor.

OOOOOOOO

Robin went to the room that he had stayed in when he was last with Slade. It looked the same, cement walls, floor and ceiling that give the room a dark look, a small cot shoved against the far wall and a chair upon which sat a neatly folded black and tan costume. Looking at this uniform with loathing Robin resentful started to strip his brightly coloured ensemble off. Robin slipped it between the mattresses wanting to hold onto a little of the life he was leaving behind.

A/N: Hey everyone, I am so sorry on the lack of updates, this summer has been crazy. But I promise I will finish this fic, I hate it when people just leave their stories. Grrrrrr. Anyway it may take 15 years but it will be finished and I hope the next update will be sooner than this last one.