Regressing For The Enemy

Chapter 16

Dick POV

  Dick's sleeping figure laid, undisturbed, slouched over, thumb still stuck between his teeth. Surprisingly, no nightmares had befallen the young hero that night, despite the conditions in which he had found himself. Still, it didn't stop Dick from nearly leaping out of his skin at the sudden sound of the jarring metal clanging that occurred less than three feet from his face. *CLANG CRASH CLANG* "Wake up, Richard! The sun is almost up, which means it's time for you to be up as well." Striking a defensive position, Dick looked around frantically. "What the hell- where am I- I- oh-" Memory of the previous day suddenly came flashing back, and Dick groaned aloud, rubbing his fingers against his temple. "What do you want, Slade?" Robin was tempted to lay right back down again, just to shove it to Slade, but the power difference between the two and the still healing bruises on his torso reminded him to stay put. "Did I not say the sun was practically up already? It's five in the morning and you still aren't dressed, showered or fed. As my apprentice, this is unacceptable behavior." "I'm not your-" Taking a deep breath in, Dick chided himself for taking the low hanging fruit from Slade. "It's five in the morning, Slade. Unless you've forgotten, most crime fighting individuals don't get up until at least eight. And most crime seeking individuals, like yourself, respect this by not committing said crime until at least ten. Well, unless your name happens to be Slade Joseph Wilson, of course." He mumbled the last part, but whether Slade overheard or not, was not much of his concern.

  "Regardless of what you or your petty little friends deem acceptable, as my apprentice in training, we rise for the day promptly and courteously at the stroke of four. This leaves you plenty of time to get around, shower, get changed, do your hair and be sitting at the kitchen table for breakfast ready for instructions of the day by five o'clock." Dick pushed back the groan in his throat as he lifted himself from the floor. "Whatever you say, sir. This is your world, I'm just living in it." Slade outwardly snarled, raising his hand, before quickly snapping downwards to the back of Dick's head. "You will watch your tone with me, Richard. Mr. Wintergreen seems to have in it in his head that just because you'll be staying with us, means you will be treated to the same niceties as a common house plant. Unfortunately for you, this is not the case." Rubbing the back of his head, Dick didn't give Slade the pleasure of flinching at the threat. "I know that, sir. " Slade took one gruff hand, rubbing it over his eyes, before grumbling out a small "Teenagers." Dropping his hand to his waist, Slade jerked his head towards the bathroom door attached to the side of his room, opposite to the nursery door. "You will get changed and do your business. I expect you to be ready for instructions no later than six am." He tossed Dick a spandex like  orange and black suit with a 'S' emblem embedded to the front. Inspecting it closer, it could be seen that the suit threads were enforced with high density polarized titanium, ten times stronger than steel. "Tomorrow I expect things to run smoother than this, am I understood?" "Understood." Slade raised a brow. "Pardon me?" Grinding his teeth together, Dick quite literally bit back the urge to sass. "Understood, sir. " 

  Robin was never much one for long hot showers; instead he preferred to use the time he had strategizing. Slade knew far too much already. Considering the fact Slade was already well aware of Robin's identity, it wouldn't take a genius to piece together he knew Bruce's as well. It wouldn't be a huge leap of logic to assume Slade was going to try and break down his relationship with Bruce, for his own personal gain. Trying to force Dick to see him as a father figure, to establish a relationship of trust. Like that was ever going to happen. Would Slade try interrogating him for the passwords to Wane Enterprises? What would happen if he was required to go against Bruce's moral code? What if Dick was required to kill? To go against everything he and Bruce believed in? What would the titans think of him? Would things be different coming home? If he came home.

Starfire POV

  It had been ten hours since the team searched Robin's room, finding his communicator. Nine and a half hours since the team agreed to call the man of bats. Twenty-four hours since Slade had called to warn them of this supposed croton detonator. Twenty-four hours since Starfire had slept or known peace. To her knowledge, Beastboy was passed out on the couch, Cyborg was charging in his room and Raven was somewhere meditating, still trying to find a physic link between the Titan's tower and Robin. Starfire herself, kept managing to find herself in Robin's room. Despite her best efforts to remain positive, she kept searching the barren walls for something, anything to point her in the right direction.

  Fingering over the floorboards beside Robin's bed, Starfire hummed out loud, finding her nail stuck on a loose board. "What is this?" Easily prying open the skillfully placed floorboard, Starfire yipped in surprise to find a black case with three sets of highly indestructible, sturdy, reinforced titanium locks. "This must be where Robin keeps his mission progress reports. It is possible he has one of the day he was taken, yes?" Turning the safe over in her hands, Starfire mentally fist pumped upon discovering a password slot. But what would Robin use for pin-key? First she typed in the date Robin formed the Teen Titans. Then she tried Robin's date of birth. Still, no. Suddenly, an idea popped into Starfire's brain. A simply mortifying, ignominious idea. Typing in the date of her birth, Starfire held her breath in anticipation. It was silent for a moment. What was she expecting; obviously Robin would never- *Click* Popping open the lid, Starfire peered inside the miniature vault to reveal several sets of adult onsies, pacifiers and stuffed animals. "Oh my galactic Tamaranean stars." Digging deeper, at the very bottom, lay an old picture book. Was this wrong? To look through Robin's things like this? 

  Still, twas curiosity that killed the alien, so it would seem. Flipping through the first couple of photos, they seemed frail and worn with age. Images of a mysterious young boy. Some of which he was posing with his parents. Others, he was cheesing next to clowns, or circus animals. The final picture of that collection was of the boy swinging on a trapeze marked 'Eighth Birthday'. The picture after that seemed different. It was a boy standing next to a much older, sunken in man with rings around the eyes. Neither of them seemed particularly comfortable, but stood shoulder to shoulder none the less. Following that picture were a series of photos showing the boy and older gentleman growing closer. Until suddenly, there was a second boy. This one was much paler and significantly frailer than the first. Shorter and younger too. The pictures ensuing  mostly contained the two boys together, some of them incorporating the older man as well. The last picture of the second boy looked as though it had been handled more than the rest in that collection. It had fingerprints along the edges and there were droplets where the ink had been blurred or smeared from water damage in the past. It was marked 'Last Photo'. There were no more images in that collection after that. Flipping the page, Starfire finally came across an image she could recognize. The little boy, all grown up, the one she knew as Robin, standing next to the Teen Titans tower back when it was still under construction. Robin posing with the rest of the group outside their favorite pizza shop. Cyborg ruffling Robin's hair in what she believed was called the 'noogie'. Raven's face of genuine enjoyment as she was explaining something from her book. Beastboy picking his nose with the focus of the camera all blurry. A picture of Starfire hovering in the air throwing up the 'peace sign' as Beastboy called it. And the very last picture, well it wasn't a picture at all. Instead, Starfire found what seemed to be a crude children's drawing of a red haired girl and black haired boy holding hands while a robot shaped doodle was displayed on the tv in the background. Starfire smiled, tears stinging the creases of her eyelids. "Wall-E." 

  Taking the drawing out of it's sleeve in the photo book, Starfire put the rest of Robin's things back into the vault. She had no issue with the onesies or the stuffed animals. Instead, Starfire thought back to the way her own childhood had been shut short by Blackfire any chance her older sister got. Oftentimes, she wished to have a normal earthling childhood. To have the kindness and morality of these people. Not to have had the cruelty of the monarch life pushed upon her at such a young age. Starfire found no ill will with someone wanting to hold onto that feeling. Because while Starfire might not know much about the boy in the photo book, Starfire sure as hell knew Robin. Deep down, she felt shame in knowing this was something Robin, her Robin, felt he was forced to hide from them, his team, the one's who should have his back more than anything. "Oh, Robin, you could have simply told us. Were you afraid that we would judge you? I do not judge you, Robin. And more than anything, I wish for you to come home now, please."