Forgotten Bonds – Chapter Three

Chapter Three
Prepared Efforts

September 12th, 2008. Friday, 8:43 am.

With newfound hope and zeal in his heart, Robin finished off the food on his plate. He had to admit, the old man was a decent cook. A little overkill on the portions, but not a bad cook at all. Robin felt pleasantly full. His headache had faded away nicely and he noticed that he wasn’t in so much pain as earlier. What Wintergreen had given him must’ve really been a pain killer after all.

For a brief moment, he was content.

However, with the lack of anything to do, Robin began to feel edgy. Biding his time was easy to say, but he honestly wasn’t sure what was expected of him.

So, he continued to sit in his chair. A fleeting wish for the power of invisibility ran through his thoughts. He didn’t need super strength – he was strong. He didn’t need flight – he could through acrobatics. But if he had invisibility, enemies wouldn’t know what hit them. Robin held back a smirk. Now that was an enjoyable thought.

Slade was silent as he stood and left the room. Robin’s eyes watched him warily as the man walked to the closed door near the hallway and entered it; shutting the door behind him. Robin thought he heard a distinct click of a lock.

Interesting.

Robin’s head began to flood with scenarios on escape. That door probably held the way out. Else why would Slade lock it? Robin glued his eyes onto the door. Beyond that door lay his freedom – he was sure of it. He would show Slade that there was no way he could hold him captive for long.

After all, you can’t cage a bird that was meant to be free.

“Look at me, child,” said Wintergreen’s voice. Robin blinked and turned his head towards the sound. Wintergreen was sitting in a chair with a damp cloth in his hand, observing him. He held up the cloth to show Robin.

“You still have some blood on your forehead and from your split lip,” said Wintergreen, touching the cool wet cloth to Robin’s forehead. Robin automatically laced his tongue over his lips. He tasted the metallic flavor of blood, but he couldn’t find the cut anywhere.

“I don’t have a split lip,” said Robin, puzzled.

“You did,” said Wintergreen, wiping firmly against Robin’s skin. Robin narrowed his eyes, his brow furrowing.

“What do you mean by…” Robin trailed off. He darkened his look as he stared at the old man. Realization dawned on him. “That wasn’t just a pain killer, was it?” asked Robin in a slight accusing tone.

“Indeed it was not,” replied Wintergreen. He moved the cloth to Robin’s lips and continued, “It’s a healing serum. Your broken ribs will be healed within another three minutes or so.”

Robin’s eyes widened.

“Slade created a healing serum? Not only that, it’s fast acting?” asked Robin, incredulous and somewhat impressed. The man must be a genius, thought Robin, unable to quench the awe he felt. He had never heard of anyone who had been able to create such an amazing medical discovery. But why doesn’t he sell it or offer the formula to the medical community? It could save a lot of people’s lives.

Well, it was really a rhetorical question. There was no way Slade would help other people. Just no way. What was Robin even thinking – Slade helping people? The man would probably laugh outright at that. Probably would ask if Robin had a loose screw in that head of his.

“Slade is a man of many talents and abilities,” said Wintergreen. “He is quite astounding, in fact.”

“Why do you work for him?” asked Robin, as the man continued to wipe the blood away from his face. The man’s hands were gentle, yet firm.

“He saved my life, I saved his,” said Wintergreen, a light smile tugging at his wrinkled lips. “We thought it easier if we just stuck around each other. We have many war stories we could tell you. Besides, we became friends and I view him almost like a son to me. It’s not like I’m working for him. I just stick around to keep him out of any real trouble.”

So, Slade and Wintergreen were in the army together…?

Robin snorted. “You haven’t done a good job. Why do you allow Slade to do the things he does?”

Wintergreen stopped and turned his eyes down towards Robin, his eyebrow raised as his whole face lifted into incredulity.

“Allow him? Dear child, do you not even get Slade at all? Have you ever known the man to allow anything to stop him? No, I’m just the… filter, you could say.”

“You shouldn’t aid him in my kidnapping,” said Robin, hoping he could persuade the old man to his side of the matter. “You should let me go.”

“I cannot. There’s no exit out of this residence,” said Wintergreen, continuing back to his cleaning of Robin.

“There can’t be no exit. How else could I’ve gotten in here?” asked Robin dubiously.

“It was sealed off once Slade brought you here,” answered Wintergreen. “Nothing can get in and nothing can get out. He is determined to train you as his heir and apprentice.”

“But what about food?”

“We have enough supplies to last the three of us for five years. Slade prepared well. He’s been planning this for a very long time.”

Yup, totally a stalker…

“But you had fresh food this morning,” countered Robin.

“Well, yes. I can still get fresh food. I have my ways for that,” said Wintergreen, a smirk lifting his mouth.

“You could let me out through there…”

“I could not,” said Wintergreen. “Not even Slade knows where I get the fresh supplies.”

Robin raised his eyebrow and folded his arms. “Why don’t I believe you?” said Robin. Wintergreen chuckled, his aged voice warm.

“Believe what you want, child.”

“Why do you keep calling me that?” asked Robin, trying not to sound as annoyed as he felt. He supposed the old man used it to be endearing, but it was seriously getting on his nerves. How many times did he have to tell these thick headed men that he wasn’t a child?

Wintergreen laughed deeply, his head tilted downward as his chest trembled with amusement.

“When you’re as old as me everyone is a child to you,” said Wintergreen with a wry smile.

“Even Slade?”

“Ah, well. Slade’s a unique case,” said Wintergreen, looking pensively to the side. “A part of me thinks that Slade never was a true child.”

Feeling the conversation wasn’t going in the direction he was going for – hence, his escape – Robin fixed the old man with a serious stare.

“You’ll go to jail if you don’t let me go.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah. You know that. And if you don’t let me go…” Robin hesitated, biting the interior of his lower lip. What he was about to say was, honestly, a flat out lie. But he was desperate. He had to do everything he could to escape this prison. “I just might imply that Slade was… less than virtuous with me.”

Oh, he was walking on dangerous, slippery ice. But he was willing to try anything at that moment for the small chance it would work. After all, desperate times called for desperate measures and this definitely counted as a desperate time.

But it didn’t work.

“Don’t make me slap you, young man,” said Wintergreen, sticking a fierce disapproving glance at Robin that made him want to wither away beneath it. “How dare you insinuate such a thing. Slade has nothing but pure intentions with you.”

Robin gave the old man an incredulous stare.

An extremely wry smile spread across Wintergreen’s face as he continued in a considering tone, “Well, pure is a relative term. But I assure you: you have nothing to fear of that sort. I suggest you obey him, though. Don’t want a repeat of today, you know.”

“If you let me go…” started Robin, “I won’t press charges against you.”

Wintergreen smiled warmly and patted Robin on the arm kindly.

“I appreciate that, child.”

Robin opened his mouth; but, after a moment, closed it with a sigh.

He obviously wasn’t going to get anywhere with the old man. Wintergreen seemed completely set in his ways with Slade. Robin couldn’t believe that Slade even had a friend. It was unnerving to see the human side of Slade.

He wasn’t just a criminal, he supposed.

“There, all cleaned now,” said Wintergreen with a satisfied nod. He shot Robin a stern glare. “Don’t get into any more trouble, young man. I particularly don’t like cleaning blood off of children.”

Robin clamped his tongue between teeth in the effort to hold back the retort he wanted to blast at the old man. Who did these two men think they were? He had gone for two years without adult supervision. The first year he had lived completely on his own before the Teen Titans came into his life. He could take care of himself, thank you very much. He had long since proven that he wasn’t a child – no matter what Slade had to say on that subject.

Robin did not like being talked down to – not at all.

Nonetheless, Robin forced a fake smile on his face to placate the old man. It seemed as if it did because Wintergreen patted Robin lightly on the arm.

“Put your dishes in the dishwasher and I’ll show you to your room afterward.”

Robin gathered his dishes and stood up from the table, walking over to the dishwasher that was built into the countertop. He opened it and carefully placed the dishes inside. He turned to see Wintergreen waiting by the hallway, which was now lit.

“Follow me, please,” said Wintergreen, turning down the hallway. Robin followed him, glancing once more at the locked door that Slade had gone down.

His freedom laid beyond that door – it just had to be.

Robin quickened his steps to match Wintergreen’s longer strides. The older man was much taller than him, but not quite as tall as Slade’s towering height. Robin noticed a bathroom on the right side before reaching a door right at the end of the hallway. Wintergreen stopped abruptly and Robin had to avoid bumping into the old man. The hallway forked and Robin could see a few more closed doors on both sides and ends of the hallway.

“This room is yours,” said Wintergreen, opening the door, which had a label that said ‘Robin’ on it, in front of them. Wintergreen motioned for him to enter. Robin stepped into the white walled room, his eyes gazing and taking it all in.

Two feet to the right of the door, forward towards the corner, lay a four poster full-sized bed. The wooden poles rose to Robin’s chest level and the bed itself had a thick, dark blue comforter. Next to the bed was an end table with a lamp and a digital alarm clock. Next to the end table was a mahogany desk with a simple wooden chair. Robin turned his head to the left and saw a tall three drawer dresser next to the door. Past that, Robin could see an open door that seemed to lead to a bathroom.

“This…” Robin trailed off, feeling a little startled by the extravagant looking furniture. He honestly hadn’t been expecting much. He had imagined some prisoner cell, complete with little scuttling mice. His hand lifted subconsciously, touching the beautiful wood of the poster ends of the bed.

“Slade prepared this room for you,” said Wintergreen, looking approvingly over the room. “You’ll find clothing in the dresser – in your size, of course.”

Slade prepared this for me?

Robin marveled at that fact. He quietly walked to the dresser and opened the top drawer. Inside were a number of t-shirts of multiple colors. He pulled one out and checked the size.

Yup – his size.

There were a couple of styles of shirts as well. Robin continued to observe the contents. There had to be at least thirty shirts, if not more, in there, including a number of pajama shirts. Puzzled, Robin closed the drawer and opened the second. Inside this drawer were a number of types of pants and shorts. Dress, jeans, slacks, sweats, pajamas – Robin was amazed by the volume of the collection.

Robin closed that drawer and moved onto the final drawer. There were numerous articles on underclothing, along with just as many pairs of socks. Robin wordlessly shuffled through some of them before closing the drawer.

What was the man playing at? How the heck did he know Robin’s size and taste? Not to mention, there was a ton of clothing here – a complete wardrobe.

“There are a few more articles of clothing in the closet here,” said Wintergreen, walking past Robin to stop next to the dresser. Wintergreen opened the folding door of a closet.

“There’s more?” Robin couldn’t stop the question from leaving his mouth. Wintergreen gave him an amused look.

“Well, of course.”

Growing ever more bewildered, Robin stepped to stand next to the older man to peer into the closet. Inside the closet, were a number of jackets of different types on hangers. There were a few button down dress shirts, along with a few suits; complete with a number of ties. Robin’s eyes narrowed as he caught sight of a Kevlar suit that had the appearance of an apprentice outfit – however, the style was unlike anything Robin had ever seen before. Lastly, at the bottom of the closet were a number of different types of shoes and boots.

Despite the unpleasant apprentice suit, Robin was surprised by his feeling of amazement over the complete collection.

Slade had been prepared for him.

Robin closed the door to the closet, a whirlwind of emotions beginning to slip through his veins.

He had always felt like he had been a charity case to Bruce. While he knew that was stupid, he just couldn’t help but feel that way. Robin always felt that Bruce had taken him in because the man felt that it was his fault for the deaths of Robin’s parents, since it had been at a charity event he’d been hosting. Robin could still remember the first time he was taken to a large mall to supply him his needs.

He hadn’t enjoyed that trip very much. Robin could remember his wishing that he could see his mother’s smile just one more time – even if she were embarrassing him over what type of underwear he should use so loud that every other customer in the store could hear her. The shopping trip with Bruce had just intensified the feeling of his terrible depression over the deaths of his parents, and of being a burden to a man who he barely knew and who barely knew him in return.

But, of course, that was stupid. Bruce was a generous man. But nonetheless, Robin could never shake off his own insecurities.

But this…

Slade had prepared for him beforehand. He had expected and prepared for Robin – he actually wanted him. He wasn’t taking him in because he had to.

Of course, the idiot had kidnapped Robin to bring him here – there was no denying that much. Nonetheless, Robin couldn’t help but feel a little warmth in his heart. It was a conflicting and strange feeling. He just couldn’t understand the man. First, he was cold as ice – a complete controlling nut case, and then he showed such deep consideration. Robin was confused, to say the least.

Slade truly had been prepared for Robin.

Now that was extremely confusing.

“If you’re missing anything, just let me or Slade know, and it’ll be supplied to you,” said Wintergreen.

Robin fought to give the man an incredulous look. More? Who needed this much, let alone more? Even during the time he’d been with Bruce, Robin had felt uncomfortable with the massive wealth he experienced daily. His family hadn’t been well off, but they’d had an simple, yet enjoyable lifestyle. His mother had instilled in him a sense of frugality from a young age and there were many times during the past year with the Titans that Robin went crazy over their spending habits – especially when Starfire had those mall sprees she loved so much.

But there was something different compared to Bruce taking him to the store and ordering countless items – most of which, Robin never got to wear – to Slade preparing for his arrival beforehand. The clothes Slade had chosen were a reasonable amount and Robin couldn’t get over the feeling that the man had gone out of his way to get them for him.

It felt… kind of nice—

Robin caught himself. He was falling into a trap. Slade was manipulating his feelings. The man was a master at it, after all. Slade had only been trying to prepare for his apprentice – not Robin himself. He couldn’t allow Slade to entice him like this; lead him into a sense of false security. Robin was falling into dangerous waters if he allowed himself to be manipulated. He had to stay strong. He had to escape. He had to get back to the Titans.

They still needed him.

“You should get dressed into something more comfortable,” said Wintergreen, turning to face Robin. The old man gave him a warm pat on the arm before leaving the room. At the doorframe, he said, “If you need anything, just let me know.”

The door closed behind him.

Robin waited a few moments before checking the door handle. It was unlocked. Sighing in relief slightly, he turned back to his—no, the—dresser and pulled out a complete outfit. He quickly shed his pajamas; slipping into a pair of black slacks and a dark blue t-shirt. He grabbed a pair of black work boots from the closet and sat down on the chair with a pair of fresh socks. He quickly fitted his feet inside them, lifting his each foot into the air and flexing it as he observed the effect of the boots.

Pretty decent.

Robin had to admit: the man had good taste. From what Robin could gather, none of the clothes were any major expensive designer brands, yet they were of the very best material – long lasting. Robin set his feet to the floor and leaned on his folded arms to look around the room again.

He felt a bit at a loss.

He had to come up with a plan – a plan to outwit Slade and escape. Outfighting the man wasn’t an option at the moment. He could still vividly remember the man’s iron gripped hand around his neck; subconsciously putting a hand to his throat as the memory flashed in his mind. Slade had the raw power to kill him. The man didn’t need a gun to do it – he could snap Robin’s neck as easily as if he were a tiny, helpless mouse.

With a sigh, Robin stood up and walked to the bathroom; flipping the light switch on. The bathroom was decently sized with a light blue marble countertop, with a sink, at the left of the door. On the back of the wall was the toilet; next to that was a bathtub with a removable shower head. Robin frowned as he lean closer to the shower supplies on the ledge of the tub.

His exact brand of shampoo and unscented soap – he hated that extreme perfumey junk.

Robin turned to look into the medicine cabinet behind the large mirror. There was a toothbrush of his liking along with the brand of toothpaste he always used. Robin’s heart rate began to climb. He quickly checked a few of the drawers, and found a razor, the shaving cream he normally used – not that he needed it often – and a tub of his usual hair gel. He also found numerous miscellaneous items such as tweezers and nail clippers. Robin shut the drawer and collapsed onto the closed lid of the toilet; resting his elbows on his legs and placing his face into his hands.

Slade knew his grooming preferences.

How the freaking heck did the man know his grooming preferences!?

Slade’s words from earlier flooded through his mind. ‘It’s the only way I know everything. Knowledge is power, after all.’

A chill slipped down Robin’s back.

What else did the man know? How could he have known something so private that not even the other Teen Titans knew? There were no cameras inside the Titans’ rooms – that crossed off the possibility of hacking into the system, which Robin wouldn’t put past Slade. So, how did the man find out? What if he installed his own cameras into Titans Tower?

A shudder shook Robin’s entire body. He found himself overwhelmingly thankful that he was the paranoid type. In the two years that he had left Gotham City, he had not once removed his mask. Even going at it alone during that first year, he had never taken the mask off. If Slade had cameras in Titans Tower, then he could’ve seen anything.

And it wasn’t as if Slade had taken things from out of Robin’s bathroom – everything was brand new here.

Knowledge was power – Slade was absolutely right. And at that very moment, Robin felt extremely paranoid. He felt extremely afraid as well. Just how much did Slade know? What wasn’t he telling Robin? How much did he know about him? Did he, perhaps, know about Robin’s true identity and from there deduced Batman’s identity?

And the Teen Titans…

What did he know about them? What if he knew their secrets and weaknesses? Honestly, it wasn’t that hard to figure out if you watched them on a daily basis, which it was becoming rapidly apparent to Robin that Slade did.

Oh, geez. The man really is a stalker! He’s a total creeper!

Robin curled his arms around his waist as a shiver went through him.

He was worried – becoming speedily more frightened as the minutes passed with his rampant thought process. He was worried for his friends’ safety. Slade could do anything to them. It probably hadn’t been a smart idea to set up a giant tower in the shape of a ‘T’ over the bay. It screamed “Come and infiltrate me!” But Robin had been determined when the Teen Titans were formed to prove to Bruce that the man was too paranoid and too secretive.

That was the thing.

Bruce avoided too much contact with others. He never really grew closer to other people – pushing them away. No matter how often Robin had tried to build over the emotional gap between them, Bruce broke it down time after time. Friends only dragged people down, putting them in danger.

That was Bruce’s policy.

Robin had been determined to prove him wrong. For the first time, he had real friends and he didn’t want to let them go. He was so thankful for them – thankful that he had met them. He’d been sure that they could overcome any villain if they worked together as a team.

But obviously, Robin still had secretive and loner issues. Because he hadn’t been thinking straight, he put himself in a terrible position and now had even been kidnapped. But it had been instilled inside of him for five years – the secrets. He was still getting used to being a leader of a group – not to mention, a group of teens who each were diversely different in every way; in appearances, abilities, and personalities.

Besides, he was only fourteen years old.

Who expected of a fourteen year old to be a leader of a group of vigilantes?

Robin leaned down, resting his face on his legs; his arms still hugging his waist.

What to do… What could he do? The ‘not knowing’ was beginning to drive him crazy. His feelings were far worse than they had ever been before during his obsessive study of Slade. Now he had a perfect look into the man’s living residence and Robin couldn’t stop the pure terror that was beginning to flood through him. He was now fully aware of just how much Slade might know. He had never realized the possibility that the man could’ve been stringing him along all this time.

Slade was powerful.

Far more powerful than Robin had ever given him credit for.

Robin sat up, taking a deep cleansing breath. He let it out slowly, breathing in deeply once more. He had to calm down. He had to remain calm – no matter what. If his mind became feverish with worry and paranoia, then he wouldn’t be able to think properly. He had to keep his wits about him if he wanted a chance of escaping. He took another moment to regulate his breathing to relax his body, before standing up, shutting off the light, and leaving the bathroom.

It was time to do a little exploring.

Robin walked to the door and tested the handle again, feeling another bout of paranoia strike him. It was still unlocked. He had been pretty sure that Slade would lock him up for hours when the man didn’t want to deal with him. Luckily, the door opened and Robin gazed down the lit hallway for a long moment.

All was quiet.

Robin slipped out of the room and closed the door without a sound. Glancing between the two sides of the hallway, he chose to go to the right; seeing one door all the way at the end of the hall and another on the same side as Robin’s door.

Robin slowly walked by, first coming to the door on the end side of the wall. It had a label of ‘Slade’ on it. Robin was flooded with a mixture of morbid curiosity and detective intentions as he stared at the label. The man would probably be furious if he caught Robin snooping in his room, but there wasn’t much time to consider it, since Robin’s hand was on the handle and turning the knob.

Locked.

Of course. Like the man is stupid enough to leave his room unlocked with me unsupervised in his haunt, thought Robin incredulously, mentally shaking himself for his stupidity.

He turned his gaze to the end of the hallway and continued to the very end. The door had no label and once again, it was locked as well. Sighing a bit irritably, Robin whirled around and walked back to his bedroom door. He continued down the hall past his door to see another door, like Slade’s, but this time with the label of ‘Will’ on it. Robin didn’t bother to check the older man’s door. The old man was the only one not hitting or choking him, and Robin didn’t feel like pushing the old man to that point.

The unlabelled door at the end of this side of the hallway was locked as well. Biting back a growl, Robin whirled back around and walked back to his door, before turning down the main part of the hallway towards the kitchen. He stepped quietly and carefully, finally edging along the wall to peek into the kitchen.

It was empty.

Robin eased up slightly and turned his eyes to the door next to the hallway – the one he was sure held his freedom. He stood directly in front of it, glaring at the door knob as if daring it to be locked. He tried the handle – just for the heck of it.

It opened.

Blinking in surprise, Robin slowly pushed the door all the way open. He could’ve sworn the door had been locked. The door revealed deep stairs that were leading downward; bending as it reached the back of the wall and descending further downward to the right.

Robin carefully stepped down the stairs, making no sound as he descended. The stairs led deep down into the ground. As the ceiling began to pass Robin’s steps, he heard fighting noises. Once the ceiling reached his knees, he crouched and gazed down into the room.

Slade was wielding a bō-staff; engaging five of his robots. They looked far different than the ones Robin had seen and fought before. Their armor looked far more sophisticated and their movements less clumsy. Robin narrowed his eyes as he watch them. They were more advanced for sure; each movement calculated and humanlike in the fight against Slade. The robots’ movements reminded Robin of that futuristic action movie he’d seen about a cop investigating a murder that supposedly had been committed by a robot. Yet, these robots were distinctly Slade’s creation – that much was apparent with the blatant S symbol on their chests and with the rich colors of silver, black, and red. Robin had to wonder if he could handle one, let alone five.

Which brought Robin to watch Slade’s movements. Slade was completely dominating the fight with the five robots. His opponents couldn’t even land a hit on him. His staff kept them at bay, his movements powerful and exact. Robin found himself enthralled by the fight; slipping down a few steps to sit on one to watch with his hands resting on the railing. His eyes were wide in amazement. He had never seen someone so skilled in a fight – not even Batman.

Right before Robin’s eyes lay a man who was a master fighter; a master martial artist; a master in battle.

Slade had perfect agility and speed. He almost seemed inhuman. The bō-staff spun rapidly as he swung it at an attacking robot; kicking another immediately afterward; before thrusting the staff backwards, without looking, into the abdomen of a third robot. One of Robin’s legs slipped through railing to hang in the air, the other one following afterward. He set his arms on the somewhat slanted railing; resting his chin on his folded arms as he continued to watch the man.

Time passed as Robin forgot who exactly this man was to him; spellbound by the fight.

Moments slipped by easily as Robin took in every attack, every swing, every kick, every punch – every single movement of the battle with eyes that soaked it up like a sponge. The longer he watched, the more Robin realized there was no possible way he could ever, ever overpower the man in a pure fight alone.

Slade was just that good.

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