Saving Grace

We Meet Again

The first thing Starfire did was run and sound the alarm. Instantly, the tower was flashing red and sirens went off. They lasted 30 seconds. The team met her in the common room.

"Dude, don't villains ever sleep?" Beast Boy said as he entered the room, followed quickly by Raven, silent, no doubt cranky from being woken up. Cyborg came in ready to go, his charging finished by an hour.

"Yo! Where's Robin? Is shorty still sleeping?"

"I'm afraid he is not." Starfire said, trying to be calm. "I sounded the alarm."

"What's wrong?"

"I found myself unable to sleep because of the storm, and I was sitting wake in my room. Suddenly, I heard Robin scream and then a sickening sound, like he had been hit. I went to investigate, only to find Robin gone." Her lip quivered, but she tried to be strong.

"What?" Raven asked.

"Dude..."

"No way..."

"Yes way! I looked everywhere in his room but I could not find him! I think he has been abducted!"

"We don't know for sure though; let's go check outside his window."

"Yeah, maybe he was leaning against the window while he was thinking and just fell?" BB suggested.

"Unless there was some way for him to summersault before he hit the ground to distribute his weight, he would die from that height," Raven said pointedly, "besides if he did save himself, he would be back inside already."

"I do not think that's what it was Raven. I've never heard such a scream of terror, such...desperation. Like he was calling for help."

"Let's just go see if this 'kidnapper' left any trace behind."

Outside the tower, Beast boy and Cyborg searched the ground, while Starfire checked the building for any sort of mark or scaling device. Raven looked inside the room, using her mind to detect things that would go unnoticed.

No sign of a struggle. The bed sheets were in a mess, but there was no blood or broken furniture. Star's search brought up nothing. Beast boy picked up a strange scent, but it was lost in the bay. The only clue they had was a boot print in the mud. Cyborg scanned it thoroughly.

"Any luck friends?"

"I picked up a scent of cologne, leather, and oil, but there's no trail to follow."

"I got nothing," Raven said, monotone.

"Neither do I." Star sighed.

"I found a boot print. I'm going to cross reference the design and see if I can find the brand. That way we can at least narrow it down. BB, why don't you go sniff around in the evidence room and see if you can match the smell. Raven, can you check the surveillance tapes for any sort of identification?"

She nodded.

"And what shall I do Cyborg?"

He turned and looked at her, only to see the restlessness in her face. She had bags under her eyes, and her usual bright jade eyes, clouded with worry. Tears threatened to fall and her smile was nowhere to be seen.

"I want you to go on back to bed. No offense, but you look horrible. We'll find him. I promise."

A single tear fell down her cheek as she threw her arms around him in a hug.

"Thank you, Cyborg."

He simply rubbed her head.

Robin blinked to wakefulness. He came face to face with a blinding light and squinted to block the rays. He suddenly became very aware that his mask was missing, along with the rest of his clothes. All that remained was the tight black shorts he wore under his uniform. A chill ran up his spine as he felt a cold metal table under him. He tried to raise his hand to block the light, but found them bound to the table, along with his feet and neck. He squirmed a bit, to get more comfortable, but found it to be in vain. The restraints were tight and moving around only chilled his back more.