Disclaimer: Still don't own. If you haven't figured that out yet, mayhaps you shouldn't be here?

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Chapter Four

Gone

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And then he was gone. Just like that. Gone. Apparently he got lessons on vanishing from Batman or something. Speedy sat there, holding his nose for a moment, when everything that happened finally sunk in. He scowled and rose to his feet.

That goddamn bird-brained fucking…circus freak! Speedy didn't care how cute that asshole was, he was so kicking his ass next time he saw him.

Speedy had barely gotten out of the room before more or less running into Aqualad. He glowered up at the taller teen who just blinked at him in obvious confusion before reaching up and pulling his hand away from his nose. He winced sympathetically.

"Dude. What the hell happened?"

"Robin punched me. Make a mental note for me, he does not like being touched."

Aqualad arched an eyebrow. "That's going to be a problem."

"Thank you, oh master of the fucking obvious." Speedy reached up, pushing his mask up some, and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. Aqualad just stood next to him, watching him with his usual impassive expression. Finally: "Maybe this was a bad idea. Why good is joining the Titans if Robin is just going to kick my ass the entire time?"

"Don't say that." Aqualad looked nervous all of a sudden. "I'm sure it'll all work in the end. This was a great idea, just wait."

Speedy stared up at the Atlantian for a moment before remarking, in a very careful deadpan tone, "Beast Boy must be going for it then."

Aqualad coughed. "I don't know what you mean."

"Beast Boy must be falling for your 'limitless charms' if you're so intent on following this through." Speedy glared then started walking down the hallway, trying very hard to keep himself from throwing some kind of hissy fit. "I don't believe this. BB is falling for your act and I get punched in the nose for trying to start conversation."

"It's not an act-"

"Bullshit. You're playing nice guy and you just want into his pants." Aqualad was strangely silent after that. Speedy reasoned that the silence was because he was right. "And he's falling for it. That naïve little…this is so lame."

"Speedy-"

"I don't understand. We have stuff in common, he's probably the only person I know who understands when I talk about how I build my arrows, he's funny when he isn't being a whiny bitch, I'm always funny, and I know I look good!"

"Roy!"

"Guys fall at my feet back home. But oh no, not the Great Boy Wonder. I should-"

Speedy was stunned into silence when a tidal wave roared down the hallway and crashed into him. He fell over, coughing up water. Aqualad stepped over him and nudged him with his toe before sighing.

"Done now?"

"I'm wet." Speedy announced. He sat up, waving absently at a fly that zoomed around his head for a moment.

"Really?" Aqualad said, sarcasm thick, before reaching down and hauling him up to his feet. "I am not putting on an act. I like Beast Boy, a lot, and I don't just want into his pants. I wouldn't object, if the opportunity was to arise, of course, but I am not that kind of guy. If you are then maybe you deserve to be punched in the nose."

Speedy frowned and touched his nose gingerly. "No. It hurt."

"Probably Robin's intention." Aqualad was really good at the whole 'sarcastic bastard' think Speedy observed, especially for a guy who lived under water and everything. The fly Speedy had noticed before sat on Aqualad's shoulder. He considered saying something but decided against it. At least it wasn't bothering him anymore

He really didn't like insects.

"No, it really hurt. And I don't just want into his pants. Mostly. But not just."

Aqualad made a face. Speedy shrugged. He couldn't help it. He blamed teenage hormones. The taller teen looked like he was going to say something else when the fly on his shoulder took off. Aqualad turned slightly, just noticing the bug. It looped around his head then headed down the hall. It made a sharp right and Speedy couldn't help but marvel at how the thing seemed to know exactly where it was going.

He turned to Aqualad, to resume their conversation, to find his friend had…vanished. He cursed.

Why did everyone keep doing that!

He sighed; putting a hand to his head, then headed in the general direction of where he hoped Aqualad had gone off to. Sometimes that guy was just really…fucking out there. Saying that Speedy didn't get him would have been putting it very lightly.

He was wandering past an open door when the lights in the room started flashing red. He blinked then poked his head in warily. Red flashing lights were never a good sign. In fact…they usually lead to incredibly bad things.

"Titans, this is Robin, I'm being attacked!"

Speedy looked around, momentarily confused, before centering on a little voice box on a computer console. In fact, if he had to go out on a limb, he'd say this was the main control room for the tower and obviously Robin was being attacked somewhere and needed some assistance.

He looked down at the communicator on his belt, wondering why that wasn't beeping too.

Whatever. He leaned onto the counsel, trying to figure out how to get that message to everyone else. After all, it would suck if Robin died or something. His hand brushed over a button and he looked down, catching 'AUTO' in big bold black letters. Deciding that looked promising he pushed it.

Things went silent for a moment and then the room was plunged into darkness.

AUTOMATIC TOWER LOCKDOWN, 30 SECONDS.

Speedy twitched. Shit.

(Scene change. Cue a row of Robins in short skirts doing the can-can.)

Robin had left the tower on the R-cycle, more annoyed with himself than with Speedy. He'd freaked out very nicely when Speedy had asked him what turned out to be a perfectly innocent question because…because….

He didn't even know. He didn't have the faintest idea what the hell he was doing or feeling. He liked to think he was a little bit beyond the typical teenage angst but maybe he wasn't.

He blamed all of these thoughts for what happened next.

The ground beneath the wheels of his bike more or less exploded in a shower of pavement pieces and dust, and he was thrown back onto the street. He hit hard and tried to roll with the force to avoid being hurt too badly. He pushed himself up once he came to a halt, wincing at the sharp bites of pain where he'd been scrapped up.

For some strange reason he wasn't surprised to see Jinx standing on the other side of the divide she'd just created, smirking as her hands glowed with purple energy. What Cyborg could possible see in her was beyond him.

He reached for his bo staff and extended it. He stood, thinking he just charge her head on and try to avoid her magic when he felt a tug on his staff. He tightened his grip while looking up in the direction his staff was trying to escape to. Gizmo was hovering above him with a large…magnet it looked like aimed at him.

His staff gave another pull and slipped form his grasp. He growled and started to read for one of his belt again when hexbomb struck him in the shoulder. His entire arm went numb from the shoulder down.

Christ he hated magic.

"You better give it up Birdbrain." Gizmo called towards him. "It's the three of us against you and just because Slade wants you alive doesn't mean we can't rough you up."

Robin sneered at them, considering his options. Arm was numb, staff was gone, Mammoth was probably hiding out somewhere, and Jinx looked ready to throw another bomb if he moved. Odds not in his favor.

So he ran. He ducked down a conveniently placed alley, avoiding both Jinx's bombs and Gizmo's explosives. He used his working arm to pull out his communicator and flipped it open. He would call the Titans and then keep those three running around until they showed up.

Or until his arm was no longer numb. Whichever came first.

"Titans, this is Robin, I'm being attacked."

He would have expected a response only he was grabbed by the figure he'd mistaken for the back of the alley. He'd been prepared to jump it, but having it grab him…different story.

He only needed to smell what seemed to be sweaty fur to know Mammoth had him. The beast-like teen smiled unpleasantly before pulling Robin close and literally squeezing the air out of him.

He gasped, feeling his ribs start to shift and grind against each other before wiggling. He could feel panic starting to well up, Mammoth was entirely too big, too hot, too…too close. Touching him. Crushing him. Images were blurring in his head and Mammoth wasn't Mammoth anymore.

The logical part of his brain sighed and smacked him, trying to point out in a less than helpful manner than he was panicking.

He took a swing and managed to catch Mammoth in one of his tree-trunk like legs. Robin was pretty sure it hurt him more than it did his captor.

The logical part of his brain sighed. Never mind.

He heard footsteps coming towards him, a familiar confident stride, and before he could really register who it was something sharp pinched him in the back of the neck. He winced then, dimly, realized the world was going black around him.

That couldn't be good.