Escape From Slavery 3

"Sorry Robin but you know I have no loyalties."

"what?!" Robin would have shouted but he was hideing, petrified,
crouching behind large crates of goods and supplies for the Slave mineing camp.

Robin had been there almost an entire week now, and had been trying to escape every day, takeing every chance he got.

"Please Slade," Robin heard himself begging the metal man who was without emotions, " Don't turn me over to them, they will beat me."

"and so they should," Slade sadisticly told him, "I'm sure you desirve it." his voice was so crule.

"Slade this isn't a joke," Robin hoarsly whispered with desperation.

"Of course not dear boy, did I give you the impression that it was?" Slade cocked his head in a manor that would have frozen hell over.

"Look," Robin firmly tried to speak, "will you please help me get out of here?" Robin felt like he was betraying himself for asking one enemy to take him away from another especialy his arch foe, but what choice did he have?

Slades orange and black face mask glinted against the glow of the furnace flames; the light caught in his one eye and shone back a deep red.
Robin swallowed hard as Slade moved slowly to look at a passing guard, something about his silence frightned Robin, and made him pray for a different way to escape.

"We have a deal young man ," Slade turned back to look maliciously down at Robin who was starting to wish he had not asked his foe for help.

"a very fine deal, now time to put it into action."

"huh what?" Robin gasped bewildered as slade reached down for him.

Grabbing him by the wrist he pulled Robin out of his hidding place and yelled, in only a tone that slade could create,
"I caught a runaway slave, how much do you want for him?"

"what are you doing are you crazy?!" Robin shrieked in surprise.

"Robin I'm purchasening you, now be quiet, " Slade ordered mumbling something about, "more than one way to get an apprentice."

Instantly two alian guards tromped over,

"he is a trouble maker and should be punished," they told the evil master mind as if rehersing a line of dialog.

Slade still held the stunned robin by the arm and coyly oiled there palms with a large sum,

"I'd make it worth your while if you sold him to me."  

The Gordanians looked at the money, gread in their eyes, and began to foam at the mouth.

This is a horrible day, Robin groaned in his mind and shook his head with disgust.

"I think we can settle our transactions, don't you?" Slades voice hummed and he began to lead the dejected Robin over to his private jet marked with his emblem on the tail.

"Hault!"

Robin rolled his eyes and hunched his shoulders at the now very familiar voice of the Gordanian commander.

"What is He doing with My new slave?!"

"I'm not a slave!!" Robin shouted feeling an odd sense of twisted safety at reblling with Slade beside him rather than by himself.

"you-" the alian stormed pointing a black claw at the shrewed and unmoved villian who stared back passivly with his one eye.

"Slap that insolent pest for me!"

Slade looked down at Robin who looked back up at him. "that depends, will you sell him to me?"

Robin wanted to faint, the commander jumped with angry excitment
"No i'd pay you to give him back so he will never escape and i will win and rule over his soul with triumph.

"I see," Slade contemplated rubbing his thumb thoughtfuly against his fingers. "I hate to lose, and I hate loseing to this Titan more than anything," Slade didn't even look at Robin and instantly back handed his face, and shoved him at the feet of the Gordanian commander.

"another time then Robin," Slade nodded at the angry confused boy and boarded his jet.

"Quick take this maggot to my room where i can personaly tan his hide."

Robin cringed, yes this was a bad day for an escape.

....

"Get in there you ingrate,"  the big green beast belowed and shoved Robin inside a small room ajasent to the commanders quarters.

Robin fell flat on his face hitting the floor very hard, jarring his chin.
he lay there a moment half expecting someone to start beating him right then and there, but only the sound of the door slamming behind him followed, and then there was silence.

Robin got to his feet and looked around the room, it was very small, dim and empty just piles of rags in the corners.

"wait" Robin staired hard the rags were moving, the rags had children in them!

There were children in here! slowly they all crawled out of there hiding places and peered long and quiet at Robin trying to decide if he was friend or foe.

"Are you our new matron? where'd miss Idah go? is she coming back? i'm hungry! where did they take her? can you hold me? i'm thirsty. you look strong. why do you wear a mask? is superman with you? you came to rescue us!"   

Overwhelmed by the mass of questions and the many eager little ones crowding closer Robin backed up and slammed himself against the door.  He didn't know what to do with them all and he was still hancuffed so it was not easy to try and do much.

"look i'm Robin-

"I'm pig tails!" a smart looking 6 yr old girl piped up shakeing her little piggy tails to show him.

"uhh thats nice," Robin stammered, "any way i'm Robin, I don't know an Idah, or where she went, they just threw me in her so the commander could come and punish me."

"you mean the head master?" a scruffy boy named willie asked, Robin nodded.

"then your the run-away everyone talks about?" a nother small voice asked brightly.

"they do?" Robin gave a quizzical look, "well i have been trying to escape since i got here and-

"Your a runaway slave!?" all the children gasped as if he were a hero.

"umm well, yes." Robin stammered.

"hooray!" all the children began to shout and crowed around him even more, wanting to ask him another dozen questions.

"Oh wow look he is a real run-away  he has scars and everything!" one small boy exclaimed to his friends and pointed to Robins back.

The little girl in pig tails trembled and tugged on Robins pants to be noticed, "do they still hurt?" she said staring at the marks on his back.

Robin softened at this tender display of mercy, and he bent down on one knee beside her, "no it doesn't hurt anymore."

"I'm hugry," a very little child with ringlet blond hair said and stood confidently infront of Robin.

Pigtails patted the small boys head, "sorry teddy we don't eat until tomorrow." pigtails noticed Robins pained look as he heard their conversation.

"Thats teddy," she annouced patting the childs shoulder, "he doesn't understand the rules yet."

Robin suddenly remembered something that made him smile.
"well i have a bag of seeds in my pocked," he told teddy whos eyes lit up, "here take them and pass it around, "Robin generously offered the starving children.

Chubby hands flocked to the pocket and in the end Robin had to take over and pass around the little bit of food.
for a while they were all quiet and sat in a semi circle around him munching the good treat.

"why are all of you in here?" Robin asked pigtails the obvious leader of the group.

"we serve meals to the head master," she annouced while wiggling her toes.

"ya  and if we snitch food we get hit," a scruffy headed boy interrupted.

"we were possed to escape," pigtailes went on, "but miss Idah got caught and in trouble and they took her away."

the scruffy boy wiped his nose and nodded, "ya today she said we'd go on a big space ship!" he streached his hands out wide to show him.

Robin shook his head, "thats gotta be the Mock 12 S.S.
she's the biggest, alot of slaves were planning to escape on her," he paused glumly ,"includeing me."

The curly headed toddler teddy, teatered over and plopped himself in Robins lap surpriseing the boy.
"Itzz otay we gets u out robbie."

"hey ya," pig tails smiled and waved another child over to her,
"curby do your thing."

"Oooo - kkayy." curby sniffed and looked down at Robins bonds which were clamped tightly around his arms.

Curby was chubbier and looked slow but his hands were fast as he  fingered Robins fetters and worked at the screws until the cuffs popped open a little.

"sorry tails, its to tight, i can't get um off."

Robin smiled down at the sad looking children, "thats ok at least there not pinching me anymore."

they smiled up at him and looked pleased to be praised by there hero.
the happy moment was lost when the heavy iron door bannged open rattling the walls.
All the children ran and hid in the corners but Teddy clung to Robin,
who felt suddenly responsible for what happened to them and for there saftey.

The slobbery guard let out a long burp, "time to serve the master and-HEY!!"

all the small round faces ducked at the shout.
The cold reptillion bent down and saw the empty bag of seeds.
"alright who snitched this!" Who!"

The children shuttered and Robin felt teddy hug him tightly tucking his curly head and burrying his face in the crook of his arm.

"You better fess up now or all of you will get it!"

Everyone was silent and robin could feel there fear and almost hear there hearts throbbing.
He sat stareing crossly at the fat gordanian defying him with his eyes.

"alright then, I just beat everyone of you, one at a time until someone tells me!" the leathery skined three fingered hand reached down for Teddy first and picked him up by the shirt.

"Leave him alone!" Robin yelled as he felt the tiny hands being pulled away, but the green alien didn't listen.

Teddy was wailing in fear as the guard held him across his knee and pulled his shirt up raising his large arm high in the air, the small child was screaming and the others whimpered.

Robin felt an energy charge his limbs with strength, like a bear chargeing to protect its cubs.
without thinking he ripped apart the the loosned clasp that held his shackles together, and lept up on the Gorandians back and taking the trailing chain rapped it around the aliens throat and started choking him violently.  

"I said leave him alone!"

"you little ack!" the Monster coughed and spluttered.

"You leave these children alone you beast Don't you go near them you hear me!" Robins husky voice protectivly threatened as he pulled the metal cord tighter around the aliens neck until he fell over, passed out.

Robin jumped off the guard and stood over him a moment breathing hard.

"oo sabe-ed me," Teddy whispered and reached up  a small hand and slipped it in Robins.

"Hooray!" a chorus of small voices sang and rushed  surprizing Robin.

"come on followe me," he said and took hold of teddys chubby palm, and paused looking cautiously outside the wide open door and then turned back at the faces of the children and winked,
"were escapeing."

.....

"Yes, i'm a runaway slave," the older boy chanted.

"shh be quiet Willie," pig tails scolded, trying to keep all the children in order as best she could.

Robin held teddy in his arms and found himself again ducking for the second time behind the crates, this time with a group of 10 children.
"I tried this way before," he talked to his new team, "we can't make it without being seen."

Tails looked around thoughtfuly in her 6 yr old way, "can't we just climb that cliff and jump on when the plain lifts up?"

Robin squinted up at the cliff she pointed to.
"has anyone told you how smart you are?" he smiled and tussled pg's hair, she giggled.

"no."

"well they should, - lets go team." Robin directed and held several hands and carried teddy piggy back style up to the cliff, hopeing all the way that this plan would really work for the childrens sake.

.....

"Hurry!" Robin shouted rushing the rest of the way to the cliff as he saw the jet riseing, "get the children on board."

"Miss Idah!" one of the children called as they all ran behind Robin franticly raceing towards the edge of the cliff.

The space craft was hovering in mid air beside the rocky ledge, chargeing its engines the way all space ships did before flying off into the galaxy.

The door to the cargo hold was still open, and  a young slender teen with floppy alburn hair pushed her way through the crowed of slaves on board the ship. She stood on the mini platform that the door made, and creapt as close to the edge as she could reaching her hands out to the children

Screaching to a hault just at the rocks edge Robin grabbed the frist child beside him.
"here quick take her!" Robin anxioulsy rushed to pick up pigtails and held her up with both hands.

"Good bye hero!" she shouted above the roar of the engens as they whined charging up in preperation to take off with or without them.

Franticly and fiercly the Teen Titan picked up children as fast as he could passing them over the gap to the waiting arms of the others on board.

Robin knew logisticly how long it took a craft of this size to revve its engines up and take off and logisticly he was running out of time.

"Its pulling away!" someone cried, Robin didn't care he had to get everyone on board , these children had to escape.

"Its lifting Robbie," pigtails squealed in fear, "and teddys not in!"

It was true Teddy was still clinging to him and the space vehicle was pulling away from the ledge.

"Get closer!" Robin yelled to the matron.

"I'm trying but any closer and we'll both fall!"

"The Gordanians!" a slave shouted pointing behind the Titan.

Robins heart caught in his thoat, the plane was drifting away, the task masters were coming, Teddys big eyes were filling, and people were shouting.

Somthing snapped inside him and with one mighty jump  Robin leapt up in the air pushing off the edge of the cliff and stretched his arms out holding teddy as far as he could.

For one awfule moment they were air born, then it was all over, before robin could blink Idahs slinder fingers caught teddy and grabbed him safely in her arms, just as the ship took off out of sight.

Robins heart sighed and he would have waved good bye but he was falling fast off the ledge plumiting toward a pile of wooden crates below.

"woah!" he yelled as the planet suddenly stopped coming toward him.
with a mighty jerk a Gordanian Guard halled him up and held him by the foot.

"your in trouble now," the green creepy guard gargled.

Robin sighed and crossed his arms stairing bluntly at the alien who was upside down from his perspective.

....

"how many escaped this time," the Commander groaned rubbing his aching temples, slouching back in this throne like chair decorated in the style of his alien culture.

"15," the centurian reported, "10 children and 5 adults, we brought the one responsible for the childrens escape."

"Let me guess," the Gorandian master growled makeing a deep gutterel sound his his throat, "its my old friend the maggot ," he snorted as Robin was shoved forward.
"You persist in iritateing me," the commander fumed and crossly  reaching for his drink near by filled with some firminted beverge.

"I'm sorry but I don't like despots and dictator, not to mention green slimey tyrants," Robin cockily retorted with atitude.

"Shut Up nasty little mite!" he clammered and threw his goblet with a crash, "you made me lose, time, money, and property!"

"Those Children were not property, they were human beings!" Robin raised his voice in defence and was quickly struck into silence.

"They were mine!" the commander trembled violently riseing out of his chair steam billowing out his ears. "my slaves! mine! i owned them and you...you!"

"maggot?" Robin smirked he enjoyed rileing his enemies it gave him an edge.

The powerful Gordanian flexed his scaley muscles and swished his tail. then as if something in him blew over he relaxed sitting back in his chair, and smiled like a hungry crocodile at Robin putting the tips of his black claws together.

"Take him to the mines and let him work moveing the salt blocks, the ones nearest the furnace and don't give him a break to drink.
he must work all night and all day, and if he does stop ...beat him-
until he gets up or dies."

These were the last words Robin consciously heard for the rest of the night.
He worked in a daze, and by dawn his face was pale and his eye clouded with a haze of fatigue. Little knowing that all the struggles and sacrifices he had made for the others was not in vain, and the day of his deliverance was upon him.