Disclaimer: Even on Halloween, the Titans have to their fun. Maybe they can scare DC and Cartoon Network to make me own them, cause I wish I did.
A/N: Hi everyone! I know, I know, I'm suppose to be writing my other story Mens Rae, but I can't help it if other ideas pop into my head. I've got a few written up, but you guys are more than welcome to suggest ideas. I am so open to requests, otherwise this might be a short lived thing. Also, I don't know when I'll be updating this, so don't expect weekly chapters. Anywho, I thought I would open this collection with a Halloween theme snippet, since it is Halloween pretty much.
Trick-or-Treat
"This has got to be the most stupidest thing ever," groaned Robin's mind as he leaned against the cold metal fence. The small suburban home, with its' white exterior and blue shutters was bit overdone with Halloween decorations. The orange, red and yellow leaves littered the grass and sidewalk leading up the front door. Across the yard, tiny gravestones sought to create a spooky atmosphere. A skeleton was sitting upright from one gravestone; it's red eyes glowing straight ahead, the gravestone reading "One-Eye Bill. Be careful where you stare."
The front door was covered with cobwebs and spiders pretending to climb down to attack the unsuspecting kids. A bubbling cauldron was spewing dry ice and a witch's cackle was emitting from somewhere in the bushes. A group of kids ran by him yelling and laughing. They were dressed in the typical pirate, Star Wars Jedi and ghost outfits.
All down the street, kids ran from house to house to collect boatloads of candy. The crisp autumn air was on the verge of sending white flakes down from the sky, due to the rose colored clouds in the sky. The streets were busy behind him, with pedestirans and cars. Parents who opted to drive their kids from street to street, would park in the middle of the street, letting the kids jump out of the car when a new row of houses appeared and then jumping back in so their small little fingers didn't freeze off.
He should of thought of that before being dragged kicking and screaming to go Trick-or-Eating with the Titans, well act like the parent to three childish forms of Cyborg, Beastboy and Starfire. Robin should have guessed the moment he stepped out the shower only in a towel, that the raiding of his closet was leading to this.
Somehow the threesome had broken into his room and stole all his extra uniforms. Before he could argue, Raven had already called dibs on staying back at the Tower to hand out candy to any Trick-or-Treaters. Next thing, he knew he was assigned to take Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg out into the neighborhoods, acting as their chaperon. With no uniforms left, he was opting for the single pair of civilian clothes he had, but Starfire and Beastboy had given him the puppy-dog eyes on dressing-up.
Still rattled by the chaos of the change of events, Robin frowned not knowing what to wear. He could call Speedy up and ask a uniform from him, but that would involve explaining the situation to his red-hair clone. And if anything, Robin wanted to contain the situation of three Titans being Robin for Halloween and him clad in a towel top-secret, 'not-leaving-the-Tower' confidential information. So, that left only one outfit left in his closet, which was locked away in a trunk deep in the recesses of his closet.
The door of the house opened, revealing a cheery housewife dressed up as a female vampire, but keeping it a PG version. She clapped her hands and laughed at Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg who all had huge black trash bags held out. "How cute! All three of you are Robins. That is sooo sweet! Honey, grab the camera! Oh?"
Robin cringed as the woman's perfect vision narrowed on him. Three kids walked up the sidewalk with a tall, broad built man behind him. One boy had a pair of goggles on and metal legs protruding from his back, but the red-hourglass on his shirt made the costume a complete spider outfit. Next to him, a shaggy hair boy grinned, revealing the fangs of a vampire. Lastly, a pink hair girl giggled, adjusting her hat while twirling her broomstick.
"Nice costume," snickered spider boy as the threesome walked up to the Titans. Robin groaned and smacked himself in the head. This night was getting worse and worse.
The man joined him leaning on the fence, the agitation of being dragged from house to house radiating off of him. The woman caught the man's costume and shrieked before bolting into the house. But a second later, she popped her head out and winked at the Trick-or-Treaters, "Hang on and I'll give you extra candy." The howl of laughter vibrated the chilly air.
"She better not be doing what I think she is doing," snarled the man. "I'm in a bad mood already."
"Join the club," muttered Robin.
The man peered down at the boy and his eye couldn't help but widen with shock. Before him was a shivering Robin, the real Robin, arms crossed across his chest, teeth clenched in anger. Slade couldn't help but take in the boy's costume, biting his lower lip to hold back the laughter. Robin was dressed in his old uniform, his eyes only outlined by a lenses-free mask. It would have drawn too much attention to him if he ran around with a complete mask. Besides, it was Halloween and he had placed contacts in his eyes to hide his midnight-blue eyes to black. Pixie boots, short green shorts, the red-breasted tunic and the tiny puffs of green sleeves and the yellow cape completed the classic uniform. Thankfully, his hair was still spiked and not containing the two little curls. Coughing, Slade turned and watched the Hive members unknowingly interact with the Titans-who to his surprise and disgust where dressed up in Robin's modern uniform.
"Too many Robins, don't you think."
Robin scoffed and was about to snarl a quick comeback on how idiotic the notion was when he stopped and took in the man's costume. A gray eye glanced down questionably at Robin, the other hole blending in with what appeared to be a patch. Despite the single eye, the man was almost a spit image of Batman. The black cowl with pointy-ears, the etch of a bat on his chest, the gloved hands, even the square jaw and frown was way too familiar for Robin's tastes.
"Good costume."
"Same here." Slade couldn't help but grin at seeing Robin twitch. Oh he knew all right that it was his Robin. It was easy to pinpoint Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg in the crowd and who else would hang out with the trio if not their leader.
Narrowing his eyes, Robin scolded, "So, why are you out here? Don't seem eager to be out, freezing. Lost a bet?" The smirk sent his way made Slade chuckled softly before his eye focused on the three Hive members.
Bitter resentment answered. "You can say that." And it was true. Slade had contacted the new headmaster of the Hive and had asked permission to employ their three top students, which were predictably Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth. But in exchange, he had to take the three villains out for Halloween. Thankfully, the Hive members did not know of the deal or that the most feared villain in Jump City was escorting them. At first, Slade was reluctant. But then it hit him. He could test his new costume amongst the public. And thus, he agreed, collecting any data people sent his way at seeing a Batman, and testing it against Robin was a bonus. Not to mention certain improvements such as making the string around his neck that held up the cape rest not so uncomfortable against his throat. How the Bat and Robin handled the hazards of the cape was beyond him? It seemed futile to have a piece of cloth hanging of one's neck.
Robin seemed to accept the reply.
"You?" Slade sent a grin, might as well enjoy a simple conversation with his favorite superhero that did not involve curses or fists.
"Caught off guard."
Slade was about to say something when the housewife popped out of nowhere. "SMILE!" With that, the woman took a picture of the Dynamic Duo, catching the superhero and supervillian totally off-guard. "Thank you!" Skipping back into the house, she hid her camera away immediately and poured candy into all waiting six bags.
Robin and Slade remained standing still, blinking away the tiny dots caused by the bright light of a flash. Robin was the first to recover, use to all the attention. Blinking rapidly, he clenched his fist and hissed with irritation, "She so not better post that picture on the net."
Slade shook his head, feeling that same irritation as his one-time apprentice. "If she is, she is dead."
"FRIEND ROBIN! We are off to the next house of haunting!"
"COME ON DUDE!"
"Oh man, she even gave us king size bars. I LOVE this house!"
Starfire, Cyborg and Beastboy bolted off to the left, down the direction Slade and the Hive had come from. Robin couldn't help but whimper and hang his head in defeat. He could handle his friends, but it was late at night, he was freezing, humiliated beyond belief and now they were going to get a sugar rush from all the candy. Raven was going to have to pay him back in full.
Slade saw the defeat in Robin. His evil streak flared to life and for once he was willing to blow his cover, just to rub in the defeat in the boy's face. But then the Hive members decided to make their entrance.
"Hehehe, I'm so gonna hack into that woman's computer, steal that picture and gonna post it on Myspace and YouTube."
"Yum, Snickers."
"Ugh, this is so hopeless. For once, I would like NOT to get candy with peanut in it. I'm allergic, for crying loud!"
Gizmo, Mammoth and Jinx stared into their own large trash bags as they made their way to the right of the pair, away from the Titans. Slade sent his most chilling stare after the trio, wanting to beat the children into a pulp. Here he was taking the ungrateful brats out trick-or-treating, dressed up as his most hated enemy, biting back chocks when little kids accidentally pulled or stepped on his cape. In the mist of all his humiliation, all they were doing was whining about not getting the right candy.
Pulling out his dark musings of what he would do to them, he felt a small pat on his arm. Gazing down, he saw Robin sending a smirk, his eyes shining with total understanding. "Good luck, sir."
Dropping his arm, Robin began to walk off to join his friends, who were now two houses down. Slade reached out and grabbed Robin's shoulder. He felt the boy tense underneath, ready to spring into action. Turning his head, Slade waited till those black eyes gazed up at his mask face. Saluting Robin, Slade smirked coldly. "Hang in there yourself, soldier."
With nothing more to say, Slade let his hand drift away from Robin's shoulder and began to walk away, raising his hand to readjust his cap that once again started to choke him.
"Keep your shoulders hunched a bit forward and take long strides to keep the wind blowing underneath," shouted out Robin.
Slade waved his hand as a sign of thanks. "Keep running in place, and cover your chest with your arms and maybe you won't freeze to death."
He heard a soft chuckle before Robin turned and walked in the opposite direction. Alone now, Slade thought that maybe he should do this next Halloween. He could test the damn costume out again and maybe run into Robin. He so did like their small conversation mused Slade as he hunched his shoulders forward a bit.
Eerily, Robin rushed to join his friends. The man was nice to talk to and despite him being an exact copy of Batman, he could relate to the man way easier and that made the night more bearable. Maybe this whole thing wasn't such a waste grinned Robin as he hugged his chest.
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A/N: So there we go. The first drabble. And Happy Halloween to everyone. Like I said, if you have any suggestions or need to get rid of some plot bunnies. Send them my way! Take care!