The Last Resort (A Sonic / Teen Titans Crossover)

XII. Robin

We went to the city as soon as possible; no one even tried to hesitate or stop me. Going on missions together was like our bonding time. We dissed the villains and helped each other out. Making the city a better place was also a plus.

The college wasn't small; it probably held a few things that Slade would find to use. But since I had never been inside, I had no idea what was held in it. Was he looking for chemicals? Rocks? Something completely useless to get us out in the open?

A window a few stories above us was smashed open. There were only a few floors above that one, and the college itself only consisted of a few buildings. "It shouldn't be hard finding Slade." I said. "Lift us up."

"We don't even know if it is Slade!" Cyborg protested as Beast Boy turned into a pterodactyl and cried out behind him. "It could just be a reckless robbery!"

"At a college?" I reminded him.

He shook his head as Beast Boy lifted him up and Starfire took my hand. Raven rose into the air herself, and we passed through the broken window, making it a bit bigger to avoid the lone shards of glass.

"Why are there no alarms?" Raven asked. "Something should have gone off somewhere."

"Low security just 'cause?" Beast Boy suggested.

"Or they've already shut down the electricity." Cyborg said. "Look - no lights anywhere."

He was right. Everything was pitch black; even when Starfire used her power to light up the room it was still hard to see. 

"Cyborg, you and Beast Boy go and find the electric panel." I ordered. "Raven, you come with me and Starfire. Teen Titans, go!"

We took off in different directions. My group looked around on the floor we were on for any sign of anyone. There had to be someone still there. We had gotten there fairly quickly, and I wasn't about to let Slade slip out of my grasp.

Almost all of the rooms we tried to get into were locked - and those that weren't Raven was sure no one had been inside of. We worked quickly, though it was hard to see in the dark; if we had missed the vital room, we would have wasted an hour.

"Stop!" Raven suddenly called. Starfire and I froze.

For a few seconds no one said anything. I listened for any sound, but I couldn't hear anything. "Straight ahead!" She finally said.

Without a moment's hesitation, I rushed forward, coming to a room with the door open. It was a room with desks and chairs like anyone would expect in an office. There was no escape that I could see. Starfire came closer and closer, and then I finally saw him. But it wasn't who I had expected.

"Sonic?!" I gasped.

He was frozen as if he was moving about the room in a tip-toe motion, with a look of almost angry guilt on his face. But it was all too obvious he was working for Slade - the symbolic dark clothes and the fishy mission gave it away. He had a bag in his hand; a bag I suspected was Slade's prize.

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Raven was trying to keep her seething anger inside of her.

"I... I..." He looked from the bag to the three of us.

"Sonic, you musn't do this!" Starfire protested.

"I have to!" He told us. "It's my only-"

We all flinched and stepped back as he was engulfed in a bright blue light. He fell on his hands, and the memories of my enslavement to Slade ran through my head. It was all too similar. Slade was messing with my head from miles away with a simple memory.

The shock ended, and after a few seconds, he bolted away and elbowed Starfire in the gut. He started to jog away, his energy depleted.

"Stop him!" I told Raven, bending down to see if Starfire was okay.

With a giant, black hand that came out of the ground, Raven caught Sonic, taking him off the ground. "Hey!" Sonic shouted. He started to say something else, but he stopped himself.

"Something is... wrong." Starfire said. She seemed fine, only out of breath.

"You're not okay?!" I panicked.

"No, I mean with Raven." Starfire said. "She is not usually this way..."

She walked closer to him, as if in a daze. Sonic ignored her, only trying to stop himself from being squeezed to death. "Raven, stop!" I shouted.

But she was still stuck. I looked from Starfire to the giant hand. Sonic was my friend, and I was going to help him from whatever Slade was doing to him. Just not this time.

I took out two of my birdarangs. "Sorry, Raven..." I stuck them both in the giant, black hand, and it dissolved. I tackled Sonic and tried to pin him with just one of my arms, but he kicked me and squirmed away. 

Raven was holding her head, and I couldn't help but feel incredibly guilty. Starfire was sitting next to her, as if to comfort her, but I'm not sure Raven can be comforted. "I'm sorry, Raven..." I told her. "I-I wouldn't have if-"

"If you hadn't," she started to explain, "I would have killed him and that armor would have been sucked into me, making Slade get into my brain permanently."

"That's what happened?" There was a pause. "Still, I-"

"I will not accept your apology, Robin, because there isn't one to make."

I smiled. That was how Raven was all the time. She still had that sour look on her face, but there was just the start of a smile curving on her mouth. "The clothes he was wearing..." Raven said. "I can't touch them."

"Raven, we'll take care of you." I told her. "I promise."

She looked at me and nodded. I looked at my watch, then decided to call Cyborg and Beast Boy. I could only have hoped they were faring better than we had, but since the lights hadn't sprung on, I didn't have much hope. 

"Cy, you there?" I said.

"Terra!" Cyborg panted. "It's Terra!"

I stuttered a few words. "Wha- Te-Terra?" I managed. "She's... In the room?"

"Not anymore." Beast Boy added. "She escaped just a minute ago. Had this board to fly on. It was really cool!"

I sighed. "Sonic's working for him, too."

"You saw Sonic?" Beast Boy said, losing interest in Terra. "Did he mention me?"

"Yeah," Raven said, "he said he missed you but he wanted to kill you. Sorry!"

"You don't have to be a jerk about it..." Beast Boy muttered.

"Guys, we need to save both of them!" I interrupted.

"Why must we save Terra?" Starfire asked. "Did she not nearly destroy the Earth only a few months ago?"

"Beast Boy said she had no memory last time he spoke to her." I replied. "Maybe she's changed. Maybe she'll consider joining with us again."

"Or maybe it's all a hoax." Raven said. "We don't have to save Terra as well just because you feel you owe a debt to Sonic."

She was right. That was why I wanted to try so hard to save Sonic. And no matter what she said, I wouldn't stop. "We might as well try."