Saving Grace

No Power of Hell, No Scheme of Man

"What are you going to do?" Robin asked, his voice wavering ever so slightly. Slade had approached the table and was doing something with the tools he had on the table beside him. There was some clinking, cranking, and crunching.

"Well Richie, I just don't know. Too many choices. There is some acid here...I could pour that in your eyes."

Robin screwed his eyes shut.

"Or I could make you drink it and burn a hole in your throat."

He bit his lip. Slade took the opportunity to send an uppercut to his jaw, making Robin pierce his lip. He tasted iron.

Slade casually held Robin's hand and ran his fingertips over Robin's fingernails, like he was studying them. "I could also peel your fingernails off."

Robin quickly recoiled his hand. (I’ll bet you five bucks, you did too) Slade chuckled darkly. "Skittish aren't we?"

He moved to the end of the table, "I have a lighter, and I can burn the bottom of your feet."

His feet curled in instinct. Slade stepped away from Robin and got something from his tools. "Are you still thirsty?"

Robin swallowed at the sound of water, realizing that he was indeed very thirsty. But he didn't need to say anything.

"Open wide." He didn't want to, he figured it was going to be the acid that Slade had promised.

The older man grabbed his jaw and forced it open, then popped it. No matter how hard he tried, Robin couldn't close it. Slade forced a tube down his throat that made him gag a bit. Then the faucet overhead turned on and water flowed right down his throat. For a moment, he was elated, his thirst momentarily quenched. Then the water kept coming and he began to feel sick. He started choking and realized he would either drown or vomit.

Slade removed the tube just in time. The liquid sat heavily in his stomach and he wished that he could relieve himself. Slade had a solution for that problem too. His fist connected to Robin's abdomen and elicited a hack from him. Again, and another horrible noise. Once more, Slade made contact and the result was Robin vomiting on himself. He felt embarrassed and disgusted.

"Repulsive," his tormentor hissed, then turned the faucet on high and doused Robin in ice water, leaving him shivering. “Much better, hmm?...Now for that hair of yours.” Robin saw a pair of shears in Slade’s hand as he raised it over his head. He tugged on a lock.

Snip.

Snip.

Snip.

This wasn’t some nice barber shop haircut. Robin could feel the blades touch his scalp at some turns, and then let the hair long in others. His perfect hair that he had strived for, ruined! He was going to look so stupid when he got out…if he got out.

Slade turned out the light above his head. "I've got to run out for something. Stay put." He joked. And Robin heard the sweet sound of the door slamming. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes. Soon he realized why Slade turned the light off, it was freezing in there! He felt his teeth chatter and the table chilling his skin like ice. He rubbed his sore back against the table, trying to build up friction, but only irritating his shoulder blades. There was nothing to do, but wait.

Soon Slade returned with a robot commando holding a video camera. He pressed a button on a remote in his hand. “Hello again Titans.” A small screen off to the side of Slade showed his friends that he was missing so much. Beast Boy and Starfire had paper by them, looking as if he was teaching her origami. Cyborg was next to Starfire, remote in hand, and Raven was next to Beast Boy, and book closed on the lap.