Chapter One: Forgotten Memories
I stepped gingerly into my room. Although my obsession with my arch- enemy, Slade, had disappeared posters and newspaper clippings about him still decorated the walls. Cautiously, I pulled out a box, rusted and torn at most of the corners out of the top shelf in my closet. Inside it was those findings which had led me on such an endless chase-part of Slade's mask, Red-X's mask, and finally, the item he'd left on our first encounter: a gold-plated, circle-shaped, Chinese button of some sort. As soon as I looked at it, a flood of memories I wished had disintegrated swept back into my mind.
"Robin, we meet at last," Slade had sneered.
"Who are you?" the inquiry at the time didn't open up much to me, but as the days later progressed, those three words transformed into the most plaguing question of all. The only question, now it seemed that I still hadn't been able to answer.
The battle scene played back to me as clear as the day in which it occurred. The conclusion was the most comprehendible. Slade had me pinned to a tree, struggling to free myself from his tight grasp.
"Robin, is that the best you can do?" he teased. Finally, I managed to escape, only to discover something I wished I hadn't. With the aid of the rain, Slade's disguise washed away along with my sanity. His face went from the portrayal of an old Chinese man to a face with half of a red mask. Obviously, he wasn't in his regular persona, he was just in another tricky costume. Another mask.
I don't think I'll ever forget the expression on his face, nor the surprise worn on mine. His eyes remained fixed on my face, almost like he was searching it for an answer. Then in a flash of lightning, he vanished, leaving one of a series of clues behind him.
Clenching the golden pendent tightly, as if it would reveal some sort of information to me, I scanned it's picture-from the Chinese symbol engraved on it to the backside of it-the Slade igsamnia, then tossed it carelessly back into the box.
"Hey Robin! Dinner!" Beast Boy called.
"Dinner? How can you call that dinner?" Cyborg argued.
"What do you mean? I think tofu dogs and soy milk qualifies as dinner!"
"How can you call anything with tofu dinner?"
"Easy. There, that's dinner," I could tell from their debate that Beast Boy was pointing down at "dinner" supposedly.
"I'll be there in a minute!" I informed my Titan pals. A smile escaped my lips. Beast Boy and Cyborg were always quarrelling with each other, this night being of no difference.
"Do hurry Robin! There will be a feast with tofu and soy!" Starfire commanded.
"You cannot call anything with tofu dinner!" corrected Cyborg.
"Yes you can, I just did! This is dinner, this is dinner, this is." Beast Boy just didn't know when to shut up.
Ignoring my debuting friends, I scooped up the box of bad memories and shoved it back into the same place in which it resided before. There was still so much I wanted to know about Slade, yet I only knew so little.
"Dude, I'm not eating that!"
"Well, there's no way I'm eating the animals I transform into!"
Those were the exact words when I entered the kitchen I heard.
"Come on Cyborg, just have tofu this once," I attempted to mend their dispute again, like I always did.
"No way man! I'm cookin' my own dinner.who's up for some ribs?"
"How can you cook something that I become?" Beast Boy pretended to sound wounded.
Cyborg responded with a smug. "Easy, this is how." Cyborg sauntered into the kitchen and opened the freezer. He pulled out a T-bone bigger than Beast Boy's ego and presented it to us. "Now this is real food."
Beast Boy's face turned a shade of red that matched the color of his fiery. "Don't eat that!" he ordered furiously. "I just cooked dinner and you want to spoil it again like you always do!"
"That's not dinner-this is!" was Cyborg's reply. With that, Cyborg strolled over to the oven. "Let's see, preheat the oven to three-hundred and fifty degrees and let roast for two hours."
"Aww, that is so not fair!" Beast Boy cried angrily. He folded his arms across his chest stubbornly. "I'll just eat it myself then."
Star seemed to sense his feelings towards the situation and put her hand on his shoulder. "Beast Boy, I will enjoy your tofu and soy feast with you."
"Thanks Star," his anger gradually faded away. "At least I have one true friend," he announced, glaring at Cyborg.
"Oh please! Just because I don't eat tofu and drink soy milk doesn't mean I'm not your friend!" Cyborg insisted.
"Guys quit bickering! Why don't we have both?" I reasoned.
Starfire grinned, "Agreed Robin. We shall have both."
"Fine," they both approved reluctantly.
Dinner was a blur to me. My friends exchanged stories of or previous fights with the villains we encountered that day. I refused to participate. After looking in my box dedicated to Slade, nothing mattered more to me then figuring out his identity. So while Beast Boy bragged of his victory over a robber we'd captured and sentenced to prison, I was lost in my own world.
"I mean, it was awesome, wasn't it? Even better than my jokes!" Beast Boy concluded his tale with what appeared to be a true statement, but my friends found it to be a lie.
"Anything's better then your jokes," Raven remarked dryly. Everyone but Beast Boy and I broke into laughter. I was lost in concentration and Beast Boy wore a look of skepticism on his blushing face.
"Not funny," he commented bitterly. He turned to me. "See? Robin's not laughing. He thinks my jokes are funny."
Starfire focused her attention over to me. "Why are you not amused Robin?"
Beast Boy jumped at the question. "Why is it so hard to believe someone could like my jokes?"
Cyborg replied instantly. "Because they can't."
Beast Boy resumed his cross position and the rest of the team locked their eyes on me.
"Yo Robin, that was your cue to laugh," Cyborg informed me seriously.
I snapped back into reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah, ha, ha."
Cyborg stared at me like I was from another planet. "Dude, are you alright?"
"Yes, are you okay Robin?" Starfire now was supporting her hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I stood up. "I think I'm just going to be in my room, okay?" With that, I retreated to the shelter of my room.
"Robin? Are you sure that you do not wish to enjoy some more tofu?"
"Star, let him go," Cyborg stopped Starfire from following me any farther.
"Yeah, let him go. He's probably just in one of his moods again," Beast Boy stated icily.
"Whatever you're planning Slade, it's over!"
"On the contrary Robin.it's just begun."
I lifted the mask to match the frame of my face. As soon as the cool metal met my skin I found myself on top of the building that night I thought I would be acquainted with the real Slade, but instead faced another one of his android look-alikes instead.
"Robin, I thought we had a deal," he purred in that velvety, seductive voice of his.
My remark was typical. His simple statement brought about such fiery in me I snapped, "Sorry.I have a strict rule against giving stolen technology to psychos."
At that point in time, I was still unaware of my arch-nemesis's absence, but his response seemed to reveal his true personality. That for some apparent purpose he had known about my Red-X identity all along, not just after he'd monitored me rescuing Beast Boy at the Subway Station.
"How very noble of you, but stealing in order to trap me, that wasn't very noble. Two wrongs don't make a right."
"Don't ever lecture me!" I demanded in a state of annoyance, rather baffled that he knew the difference between that of right and wrong. "Whatever your planning Slade it's over!"
Oh, and on the contrary, it had just begun. And I had no idea what I was in for.
I stepped gingerly into my room. Although my obsession with my arch- enemy, Slade, had disappeared posters and newspaper clippings about him still decorated the walls. Cautiously, I pulled out a box, rusted and torn at most of the corners out of the top shelf in my closet. Inside it was those findings which had led me on such an endless chase-part of Slade's mask, Red-X's mask, and finally, the item he'd left on our first encounter: a gold-plated, circle-shaped, Chinese button of some sort. As soon as I looked at it, a flood of memories I wished had disintegrated swept back into my mind.
"Robin, we meet at last," Slade had sneered.
"Who are you?" the inquiry at the time didn't open up much to me, but as the days later progressed, those three words transformed into the most plaguing question of all. The only question, now it seemed that I still hadn't been able to answer.
The battle scene played back to me as clear as the day in which it occurred. The conclusion was the most comprehendible. Slade had me pinned to a tree, struggling to free myself from his tight grasp.
"Robin, is that the best you can do?" he teased. Finally, I managed to escape, only to discover something I wished I hadn't. With the aid of the rain, Slade's disguise washed away along with my sanity. His face went from the portrayal of an old Chinese man to a face with half of a red mask. Obviously, he wasn't in his regular persona, he was just in another tricky costume. Another mask.
I don't think I'll ever forget the expression on his face, nor the surprise worn on mine. His eyes remained fixed on my face, almost like he was searching it for an answer. Then in a flash of lightning, he vanished, leaving one of a series of clues behind him.
Clenching the golden pendent tightly, as if it would reveal some sort of information to me, I scanned it's picture-from the Chinese symbol engraved on it to the backside of it-the Slade igsamnia, then tossed it carelessly back into the box.
"Hey Robin! Dinner!" Beast Boy called.
"Dinner? How can you call that dinner?" Cyborg argued.
"What do you mean? I think tofu dogs and soy milk qualifies as dinner!"
"How can you call anything with tofu dinner?"
"Easy. There, that's dinner," I could tell from their debate that Beast Boy was pointing down at "dinner" supposedly.
"I'll be there in a minute!" I informed my Titan pals. A smile escaped my lips. Beast Boy and Cyborg were always quarrelling with each other, this night being of no difference.
"Do hurry Robin! There will be a feast with tofu and soy!" Starfire commanded.
"You cannot call anything with tofu dinner!" corrected Cyborg.
"Yes you can, I just did! This is dinner, this is dinner, this is." Beast Boy just didn't know when to shut up.
Ignoring my debuting friends, I scooped up the box of bad memories and shoved it back into the same place in which it resided before. There was still so much I wanted to know about Slade, yet I only knew so little.
"Dude, I'm not eating that!"
"Well, there's no way I'm eating the animals I transform into!"
Those were the exact words when I entered the kitchen I heard.
"Come on Cyborg, just have tofu this once," I attempted to mend their dispute again, like I always did.
"No way man! I'm cookin' my own dinner.who's up for some ribs?"
"How can you cook something that I become?" Beast Boy pretended to sound wounded.
Cyborg responded with a smug. "Easy, this is how." Cyborg sauntered into the kitchen and opened the freezer. He pulled out a T-bone bigger than Beast Boy's ego and presented it to us. "Now this is real food."
Beast Boy's face turned a shade of red that matched the color of his fiery. "Don't eat that!" he ordered furiously. "I just cooked dinner and you want to spoil it again like you always do!"
"That's not dinner-this is!" was Cyborg's reply. With that, Cyborg strolled over to the oven. "Let's see, preheat the oven to three-hundred and fifty degrees and let roast for two hours."
"Aww, that is so not fair!" Beast Boy cried angrily. He folded his arms across his chest stubbornly. "I'll just eat it myself then."
Star seemed to sense his feelings towards the situation and put her hand on his shoulder. "Beast Boy, I will enjoy your tofu and soy feast with you."
"Thanks Star," his anger gradually faded away. "At least I have one true friend," he announced, glaring at Cyborg.
"Oh please! Just because I don't eat tofu and drink soy milk doesn't mean I'm not your friend!" Cyborg insisted.
"Guys quit bickering! Why don't we have both?" I reasoned.
Starfire grinned, "Agreed Robin. We shall have both."
"Fine," they both approved reluctantly.
Dinner was a blur to me. My friends exchanged stories of or previous fights with the villains we encountered that day. I refused to participate. After looking in my box dedicated to Slade, nothing mattered more to me then figuring out his identity. So while Beast Boy bragged of his victory over a robber we'd captured and sentenced to prison, I was lost in my own world.
"I mean, it was awesome, wasn't it? Even better than my jokes!" Beast Boy concluded his tale with what appeared to be a true statement, but my friends found it to be a lie.
"Anything's better then your jokes," Raven remarked dryly. Everyone but Beast Boy and I broke into laughter. I was lost in concentration and Beast Boy wore a look of skepticism on his blushing face.
"Not funny," he commented bitterly. He turned to me. "See? Robin's not laughing. He thinks my jokes are funny."
Starfire focused her attention over to me. "Why are you not amused Robin?"
Beast Boy jumped at the question. "Why is it so hard to believe someone could like my jokes?"
Cyborg replied instantly. "Because they can't."
Beast Boy resumed his cross position and the rest of the team locked their eyes on me.
"Yo Robin, that was your cue to laugh," Cyborg informed me seriously.
I snapped back into reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah, ha, ha."
Cyborg stared at me like I was from another planet. "Dude, are you alright?"
"Yes, are you okay Robin?" Starfire now was supporting her hand on my shoulder.
"Yeah, I'm okay," I stood up. "I think I'm just going to be in my room, okay?" With that, I retreated to the shelter of my room.
"Robin? Are you sure that you do not wish to enjoy some more tofu?"
"Star, let him go," Cyborg stopped Starfire from following me any farther.
"Yeah, let him go. He's probably just in one of his moods again," Beast Boy stated icily.
"Whatever you're planning Slade, it's over!"
"On the contrary Robin.it's just begun."
I lifted the mask to match the frame of my face. As soon as the cool metal met my skin I found myself on top of the building that night I thought I would be acquainted with the real Slade, but instead faced another one of his android look-alikes instead.
"Robin, I thought we had a deal," he purred in that velvety, seductive voice of his.
My remark was typical. His simple statement brought about such fiery in me I snapped, "Sorry.I have a strict rule against giving stolen technology to psychos."
At that point in time, I was still unaware of my arch-nemesis's absence, but his response seemed to reveal his true personality. That for some apparent purpose he had known about my Red-X identity all along, not just after he'd monitored me rescuing Beast Boy at the Subway Station.
"How very noble of you, but stealing in order to trap me, that wasn't very noble. Two wrongs don't make a right."
"Don't ever lecture me!" I demanded in a state of annoyance, rather baffled that he knew the difference between that of right and wrong. "Whatever your planning Slade it's over!"
Oh, and on the contrary, it had just begun. And I had no idea what I was in for.