I Went out to get Coffee…
Summery: Robin goes out to buy some coffee for Cyborg. Little does he know that it will mean an encounter with Slade, and a diabolical plot to take over Jump City...
Disclaimer: I do not own TEEN TITANS or a DISCOVER Card.
"Robin, you're going to the grocery store, right?" Cyborg asked.
"Yeah, you need anything?"
"We've run out of coffee."
"Okay, I'll pick up some, anything imparticular?"
"Some Folgers coffee, thanks," Cyborg said. "And come back soon. I've been without coffee for three days and I need some caffeine. Call me if you need anything."
"Okay," Robin replied. He grabbed some money and shoved it into pocket of his utility belt. He headed out of Titans Tower and climbed onto his motorcycle. Firing up the engines he headed to Jump City.
He drove to a nearby grocery store where they often shopped for groceries. He was headed toward the store when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye.
Whirling around, he turned and saw Slade slipping into an alleyway. Slade? he thought. What's he doing here? He couldn't believe his eyes. He had not seen Slade since he had aided them in saving the world from Trigon, Raven's demonic father who had used Raven as a portal to attempt to destroy the planet. Why had he returned?
He had to make a quick decision, without hesitating for an instant, he made it. The coffee would have to wait; he had more important things to attend to. Slade had to be stopped before his diabolical scheme could take place.
Robin started up his motorcycle and drove in Slade's direction. He headed down the alley that he had taken and followed him as he made his way silently through the city streets. Coming to a dead end he dismounted and began running after Slade. The man turned a corner and headed down the streets of the dreary neighborhoods while Robin removed his grapple gun from his belt and took to the roof in hot pursuit.
Slade didn't even look back and just kept sprinting across the empty back lots of Jump City. Robin followed close behind. The sun had faded to dusk as the city lights flickered to life. Robin leapt from the rooftop and landed on his feet a short distance behind Slade. Sweat beaded the Boy Wonder's face as the masked villain suddenly whirled around and kicked at Robin, who managed to avoid the blow with a back flip. "What are planning?" he asked.
"Does it matter Robin?" Slade smirked. "Honestly, you worry too much."
"No I don't, you just talk more!" Robin glared and threw a viscous punch at Slade's face. The man blocked it and smashed his knee into the Boy Wonder's stomach. Gasping, the teen jumped back as Slade leapt forward, kicking hard.
Robin took the offensive and began pummeling Slade with every move he knew. He smashed his fist into his arch foe, sending him flying backwards. The man landed on his feet and charged in. Robin grabbed a broken chair that was beside a trash can near the wall and threw it at him. Slade chopped the chair in half with his fist and knocked it aside.
"Not bad work Robin, but you'll never win."
"This isn't about winning, this about me stopping you!" Robin shouted. He whipped out his Communicator. "Titans, I've found Slade."
"We're on our way," Cyborg answered. Robin waited as Slade stepped closer to him.
"As always, you have no idea what I'm planning," he smirked.
"But whatever it is, I'll stop it."
"But how can you stop me, if you don't know what I'm planning?" Slade taunted.
"Like this!" Robin snarled. Launching himself into a ferocious attack, he struck Slade with the Mountain Push and quickly followed up with a spinning kick to the masked villain's midsection. He watched as the man evaded the Mountain Push and moved to counterstrike. Slade blocked his blows with ease and Robin tried to keep his anger in check.
"You're getting sloppy Robin. You've softened since we last met." Slade mocked, his blow landed in Robin's face and he staggered back. The masked eye gleamed in the darkness, mocking him with distain.
"No. I've become stronger!" charging forward, he leapt high into the air, somersaulting down; he struck his opponent feet first and quickly wheeled about, swinging his fists around for a punch.
"Indeed you have," Slade said in monotone. "I'm impressed. You would have made a fine apprentice had you learned to see things my way."
"I'd never join you! I only did it to save my friends!" Robin blocked a blown and dodged a viscous kick. "You would have used your probes to kill them if I hadn't become your apprentice."
"And all this self sacrifice? Was it worth it? Did you truly save your friends?" Slade's infuriating voice asked tauntingly. "Or did you just delay the inevitable?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Robin demanded.
"Robin, you've always known that I have searched for an apprentice. Obviously my first two choices have, shall we say, been unsuccessful candidates…but what makes you think that I can't destroy your friends, or your precious City for that matter from the inside out?"
Those words pushed Robin over the edge. He would never let anything happen to the city as long as he could defend it. He began attacking with reckless abandon. Punching and striking, he forgot strategy and finesse; he just moved and struck with adrenaline as his only motivator. He began to push Slade back further into the alley.
He spotted the T Car as it turned a sharp corner and began driving down to where they were. Slade turned his head a little and looked over at them. Cyborg jumped out, Sonic Cannon at the ready, blasting a series of laser fire at the villain. Starfire flew towards him, a stream of Starbolts firing steaks of green light at him. Raven and Beast Boy flew out and joined them. Beast Boy had transformed into and eagle and swooped in to attack Slade.
Slade whipped out a laser pistol and fired at Beast Boy, who dodged and circled around, trying to find another chance to strike. Cyborg fired his Cannon again, and continued pressing forward. Raven launched a trash can at him and he leapt over it. She then hurled streaks of dark energy at him, but he remained untouched by her attacks.
Slade dodged back and struck out; Starfire ducked and avoided the blow as Cyborg smashed his fists into him. Slade blocked his blows and kicked him back.
Raven stepped forward. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted and the broken chair that Slade had chopped in half suddenly flew at him with tremendous speed. He leapt over it. Somersaulting he avoided them as Raven sent a blast of dark energy screaming at him. He flipped back and landed on his feet in silence.
Beast Boy landed on the ground and morphed into a ferocious lion and attacked Slade, slashing at him with his claws. Slade twisted away, taking a glancing blow that damaged his body armor. Starfire unleashed a gigantic Starbolt in his direction, blasting him off his feet. Robin then leapt forward and kicked him in midair. The Titans watched as he hit the ground hard.
They surrounded him quickly, their weapons drawn and ready to fight. "We've go you Slade. There's nowhere to go."
"I'm sorry old friends," Slade removed a smoke pellet from his belt. "But not today." He threw down the pellet and the gas exploded. The Titans jumped back and Robin managed to catch a glimpse of his archenemy as he fled.
"We have to after him! We have to stop whatever he's planning." The others nodded their agreement.
"But how can we find him?" Raven asked.
"Can't B.B. track his scent?" Cyborg asked.
"That would take way too long dude, and he could be half way to Metropolis by the time I run all the way across town."
"Star, can you go up and see if you can see him?"
"Of course," she replied. Rising into the air, she began scanning the city. "I can see him! He is heading towards the docks!" Starfire shouted from above them.
"He's heading for the warehouses! Come on!" Robin leapt onto his motorcycle and the Titans jumped into the T Car as Cyborg floored it towards the pier. The came to a halt and silently got out. They ran quietly towards the building. Cyborg looked at Robin. He nodded and Cyborg fired his Sonic Cannon, blasting the door down.
They ran inside. Waiting for them was an army of 50 Slade Bots, ready to attack them. Robin removed his Bo staff from his utility belt. "Titans, go!"
The Slade Bots attacked. Three moved to confront Cyborg, their guns prepared to blast him to bits. Cyborg barreled into them, crushing their masked metallic faces to pieces with one hand while using his Sonic Cannon to blast another. Whirling around, he grabbed the robot by its head and swung it around, sending it crashing into a wall, rendering it useless.
Starfire rose into the air, her Starbolts blazing emerald green fury as she swooped down on a group of robots. She sent a hailstorm of energy surging towards them. She watched as four of her opponents exploded into fragments of molten metal and scattered across the room.
Robin twirled his Bo staff. "Tell your boss I'd like to have a word with him." He leapt high, flipping over the robots; he brought his staff smashing down on the robot's head, shattering the mask and the components inside. He dodged a blow and pulled out a Bird-a-Rang from his utility belt and aimed for a gear high above him and threw it.
The Bird-a-Rang soared through the air. Arcing up in a broad circle it smashed through hone of the metal gears rotating above him. The shuriken like weapon shattered the metal holding the gear in place and it crashed to the ground. Five robots were flattened beneath the weight. They fizzled for a moment and then died out.
Beast Boy morphed into an enormous gorilla and brought his fists smashing down on two robots. He picked up the pieces and hurled them into three more. They exploded in succession and he moved to avoid it. He then moved and attacked three more, morphing into a tyrannosaurus rex he took a Slade Bot in his jaws and crunched it to pieces. He picked up another and threw it into three more that were shooting at him with their laser guns. The Titans were succeeding and their foes were being quickly decimated.
Raven rose into the air, revving up her powers. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" She summoned her dark energy, blasting two Slade Bots back into the wall, crushing three more behind them.
Robin removed concussion grenade from his utility belt. The Titans moved in close to their leader. "Ready Raven?" She nodded. He pushed a button and tossed the grenade into the air. The explosive glowed brightly for five seconds as Raven surrounded the Titans with an energy shield. The explosion from the grenade cause the remaining Slade Bots to be tossed backwards, they shattered to pieces and ricocheted off the wall. The pieces fell at their feet.
Robin kicked a piece of a Slade Bot's torso aside. "We don't have time for this!" he shouted angrily. "Slade's getting away!"
"On the contrary Robin, I've been here the whole time," Slade's voice boomed out. They looked over and saw him standing in a darkened corner of the warehouse.
"Honestly, I am impressed with your skills. You handled my robots quite well. But you won't be able to stop my plan once it is put into effect."
"What are you planning?" demanded Robin as he stepped forward, ready to attack. The Titans followed suit but Slade just stared at them for a moment, as if he were thinking of the answer.
"That's what you've been trying to figure out Robin. But with no clues to go on, I suppose I'll have to spell it out for you." Slade paced floor. "You see Robin, Jump City is run by a vastly complex computer network. He who controls the network controls the city."
He removed something from his utility belt and held it up before them. "You see this? This is a date chip containing the codes for me to gain access to the city's computers. With this I can shut down Jump City entirely, rendering everything, including Titans Tower, useless."
"How did you come by that chip?" Robin demanded. He wasn't sure if Slade would give him an answer. The man said nothing.
"Does it matter? If you really must know, I stole it from Wayne Enterprises here in the city. I'm quite surprised he didn't tell you want he was working on."
"Leave him out of this! What do you want?"
"The answer is simple Robin: Complete and total control, and there's nothing you or your worthless little friends can do to stop me."
"Titans, go!" Robin ordered. He leapt high into the air bringing his Bo staff smashing down on Slade. Slade blocked it, clutching the chip in his fist, he warded off the Boy Wonder's blows. Slade kicked out low, knocking Robin off balance, he flipped back and punched hard, making contact with Slade's midsection.
Starfire flew forward, sending a deadly laser blast from her eyes that sent Slade flying backwards. Starfire sent a hail of Starbolts raining down on Slade as he jumped back and avoided them. He flipped out of the way as the bolts nearly hit their intended target.
Robin pressed the advantage, swinging his staff viciously at him. Slade continued warding off blows, blocking and parrying with his own staff that he had removed from his belt. He kicked Robin the face and slammed his knee into Robin's stomach. Robin doubled over and Slade raised is staff to smash Robin's skull in two.
Raven's aura suddenly grabbed a hold of his legs and he flew into the air. Landing hard against the wall, Beast Boy suddenly clawed him as he transformed into a bear. He grabbed Slade by his arm and threw him across the room where a waiting Cyborg blasted him with his Sonic Cannon.
Robin charged in and punched Slade as hard as he could. He kept moving as Slade continued to fall back, off balance from the Titans combined attacks. He continued striking, his fists smashed into the masked face as Slade continued to lose his footing. Robin suddenly somersaulted backwards, his feet struck Slade's face and the masked villain flying backwards. The chip flew from his hand and hit the ground a short distance away. Robin ran over to his defeated foe.
"It's over Slade!" Robin said triumphantly. He removed the villain's mask only to see an all too familiar video screen with his true arch nemesis staring at him located in a different hideout, concealed somewhere far, far away.
"So sorry Robin, but you won't be able to savor your victory," the real Slade said in a sardonic tone of voice. "I'm not even there, but I must congratulate you. You have once again come out on top. But only for the time being. Perhaps we'll meet again some other time …"
The screen went black and the robot disintegrated before his eyes. He threw down the android in fury. He stared off into space. The others gathered behind him.
"That's over with. What should we do now?" Raven asked.
"I say we should celebrate," Beast Boy said enthusiastically.
"I don't do celebrating," Raven reminded them.
"But we threw a big party already when we saved the entire universe, and it was your idea," Cyborg said.
"That was a one time thing," Raven said.
"What do you think Robin?"
"I don't really feel like celebrating," Robin muttered. Once again his enemy had eluded him. How long would the game go on?
"Come on, Robin, he didn't get the chip! And we just saved the city being shut down." Beast Boy said.
"If you insist on a celebration, then I say we should all go out for some late night coffee," Robin said. "It'll make me feel better."
"But you were gonna buy some for me to drink at home!" Cyborg protested.
"I can get it tomorrow. Come on, we don't get to go out that often."
"Then to the shop of coffee, we shall go," Starfire said. They drove down to a nearby coffee shop and walked in. Some of the patrons looked up and smiled at them, then they went about their business.
"I'll take a cappuccino," Cyborg said.
"I'll take a regular cup of coffee," Beast Boy said. "And could you make it nondairy coffee?" The woman at the cash register stared at him.
"I can try; no milk right?"
"Yeah."
"I will also have the coffee as well," Starfire said.
"Do you have herbal tea?" Raven asked.
"We sure do Raven, one cup of herbal tea coming right up," the lady replied.
"Thanks for your help guys, I couldn't have done it without you," Robin looked at his friends gratefully.
"No problem Robin," Cyborg slapped his friend on the back.
"I'll pay for the coffee." Robin reached into his utility belt. He about slapped himself. All he had in his belt were a few Renminbi, currency from China that he had brought back when he had left to seek more martial arts training to defeat Katarou. It was there that he had set out on a Quest to find the True Master and improve his crime fighting skills as a martial artist.
"Oh great!" he exclaimed. "All I have are eight Renminbi from China. I guess I could put it on Discover. You guys take Discover right?"
"Sure do Robin, thanks for stopping by."
"You're welcome."
"When did you get a credit card?" Cyborg asked.
"Long story," Robin replied. "Let's just say I receive support from an old friend."
"Okay…" Cyborg said.
"Here you go," he handed the woman at the cash register his card.
"Thanks," she said and ran it through. "That's yours and your coffee will be ready in a few minutes."
They sat down at one of the nearby booths and waited for their drinks to arrive. "Do you think Slade will try to take over the city again?" Starfire asked.
"I don't know. But at least I was ready for him this time."
"But at least he didn't use the chips to shut down the entire city," Cyborg pointed out.
"That's true, but he still got away. That wasn't even him; it was one of his robots."
"That's true Robin, but he didn't destroy the city. Imagine what he could have done if he had shut down everything. There would have been complete chaos and he could have done whatever he wanted. We stopped him from using the chip before he could upload it to the city's mainframe. You should be proud of yourself."
"I know, but he's still out there, and I have to stop him."
"Robin, you will stop him. But we are victorious for the moment, so you should not worry about Slade for the time being. We stopped him before and we shall stop him again," Starfire said simply. Robin continued to sip his coffee and stare out one of the café's windows. She was right, they would stop Slade. And no matter how long it took, the Titans would bring him to justice.
The End