Teen Titans: From Jump City With Love

Chapter Four: The Secret Lair

Robin and Starfire swam through the darkened water underneath the pier, aided only by the light of the torch. Robin could hear nothing but the movement of the water and the sound of his own breathing as he glided to the bottom of the depths, keeping an eye out for anywhere the hatch could be concealed and also on his communicator. Cyborg's signal was stronger than ever down here.

He and Starfire began digging through the mud that had accumulated on the seabed, feeling for the hatch.

We're down to ten minutes now, realised Robin as he frantically clawed through the gunk, trying not to think about what might be in it. How well buried was the trapdoor, anyway? He'd envisioned Brother Blood just chucking a bit of sludge on it, but had he been more thorough? How long was it going to take for them to find the base's entrance...?

He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned to see Starfire. Unable to speak, she gestured to a patch of mud, underneath which he could make out the faint outline of a panel. Immediately, he and Starfire started scraping the remaining filth from the trapdoor. Robin pulled the skeleton key out of his utility belt and inserted it into the lock, which was so filled with muck he had to scoop out the blockage before the key fit inside.

After a bit of fiddling, finally the hatch sprang open and the two Titans slipped through. Once inside, Robin closed the hatch and used his torch to see where they were. They appeared to be inside a tunnel leading downwards, filled with murky sea water. Robin figured there must be a way out of it and directed Starfire to follow him.

They swam down several metres before coming into a horizontal channel. Whilst travelling through this new tunnel, Robin began to hear something odd. Though the passageway had many watery echoes, Robin couldn't help but wonder if there was a door or something moving out of his range of vision. If so, it was possible that it would lead into the main chamber and then-

Suddenly, Starfire grabbed him and pinned him against the wall. Robin barely had a chance to register what had happened when an enormous razor swung down from the ceiling, into exactly where they had been two seconds ago. Robin and Starfire exchanged glances. Brother Blood certainly hadn't set out to encourage unwanted visitors into the HIVE academy's secret training area!

Still catching his breath back, Robin checked the time on his communicator. They only had eight minutes now. Knowing Brother Blood (and supervillains in general!) there were bound to be several more death traps in the base. How were they going to get past them in time?

There was no time to sit and contemplate though – they had to get moving. Robin started swimming again past the razor, trying not to look at it, Starfire in close pursuit. Before long he caught sight of a circular airlock above their heads. He and Starfire turned the wheel-shaped handle, which cranked open without too much effort, and swam into another chamber. They locked the hatch beneath them, before the water slowly drained out of the room. As soon as their feet were back on the ground, Robin and Starfire's flippers transformed into windsurfing shoes.

In front of them was a large white door, with a handle identical to the one on the circular airlock. Robin spat out the rebreather. "We're down to seven minutes!" he said as he turned the handle, cranking open the door. He was about to rush straight through it when Starfire took hold of his arm.

"We must take caution, Robin," she warned, "There could be more of the security devices waiting for us in the next room."

She and Robin scanned the awaiting chamber. Before them was a grey room containing no apparent threats, or really much of anything, aside from a few chairs and boxes that hadn't been touched since the HIVE students last used the base.

The Titans ventured forth into the room, treading carefully. They weren't aware that there was one place they hadn't checked for any security devices – above the door. Robin and Starfire were completely oblivious to the fact they were being honed in upon by a camera.