Note & Central Summary: This story is an alternate ending to Apprentice Part 1 of Teen Titans, season one and focuses on Robin willingly choosing to become Slade's apprentice. The Teen Titans, now short a leader, have a hard time coming to terms with this betrayal, particularly Starfire, who cannot accept that her best friend has left her and is finding it hard to not think about revenge and make Robin suffer for what he has done. The story has been revised from top to bottom. Check profile for more information. Now the story flows a lot better and is a bit Dark Knight influenced.
--
Sacred Oath
As night fell on Jump City, a new life had been born.
Robin, former leader of the Teen Titans and former protégé of Bruce Wayne, also known as Batman, stood under a flickering lit light bulb and examined his new uniform. The blacks, oranges, and grays of his apprentice uniform were a breath of fresh air from that colorful costume he used to wear. The initiation ceremony of his apprenticeship would take place in thirty minutes, so he decided to kill the time by exploring his new home.
After entering the verification code, Robin stepped back as the door opened with a hiss. He stepped into the long and narrow hallway lit by some dim overhead lamps. Robin took one step after another down the hallway.
Nostalgia hit Robin as he saw himself back at Titans Tower. While beads of sweat bled down his forehead as he punched the worn out punching bag in the training room, he could hear the bleeps and bloops of the video games that Cyborg and Beast Boy would play for hours at a time.
Raven would sink lower into her chair until her legs touched the shagged carpet as she tried to read her book and Starfire would mop the kitchen floor after another one of her experimental dishes exploded in her face. In spite of the confusion, Robin managed to find something to smile about, and when he lived with the Titans, the bright sunshine that filled them with hope.
Here, in Slade's headquarters, however, the faint buzz of an overhead lamp losing its luster filled Robin's ears.
Every inch seemed like a mile to Robin. He frowned at the thought of spending his thirty minutes wandering around the hallway. His left hand, which he had kept on the wall, kept tracing over door after door, but he never went in one. He hadn't been accepted by the others who lived at Slade's headquarters, whoever or wherever they were, so it wouldn't do him any good to burst in on them.
One more step and Robin stopped. The faint and foul aroma of burned waffles and leftover TV dinners traveled into his nostrils. Robin thought of Starfire's cooking, but she, like the rest of the Titans, vanished from his life. Robin shrugged off the thought and began walking again as he started to salivate. He hadn't eaten since this morning and thought that something small to satisfy his hunger couldn't hurt.
"I'm surprised that anyone could find their way around here," Robin muttered to himself.
Before Robin could say anything else, an overhead light went out and Robin found himself cast into complete darkness.
"…Damn it."
Robin narrowed his eyebrows and clenched his fists. Rage flowed through his system. He clenched his teeth and tapped his left thigh with his fist eight times while a vein started throbbing in his forehead. Robin slapped his forehead before letting his hand drag down his face and pull several eyelashes along with it.
He started walking again, though he brought his boots down with exaggerated stomps that were muffled by the thick carpet. If Robin didn't calm down, he would kill the first person he saw. In a half assed attempt to ease out, Robin began counting backwards from one hundred.
Why did he do it? Why did Robin leave the Titans and join Slade? At least at the Tower had windows so the moonlit sky could pass through and light a dark hallway like the one Robin walked through. Every morning at 8 a.m. when Robin woke up, he met Cyborg and Beast Boy with a high five, nodded at Raven, and braced himself when Starfire gave him a bone cracking hug. The lights never flickered off and on and Robin could tell whose room belonged to whom.
Robin stopped counting at forty when he realized he had stepped into a clearing where the scent from before seemed to spread in different directions. It mirrored the living room of Titans Tower, except this one was in better shape.
Remembering his craving, Robin walked into the kitchen area. After Starfire's first freak experiment with food, a thick blue substance coated everything from the tofu to the leftover Thanksgiving ham. When Robin opened the refrigerator here, he didn't meet the annoying refrigerator light, but a pungent odor that didn't resemble the one that ventured into his nostrils when he walked through the hallway.
Fed up with the lackluster conditions, Robin rolled his eyes and plopped down on one of the couches. He didn't sink right into the sofa like he did at the Tower; his back began crying out in agony when it felt like it had been split in two. Robin choked back any immediate tears that would have flowed from his eyes and clutched his back with his left hand before rolling over and onto the floor. He hadn't been run over by a steamroller, but it sure as hell felt like it. He thought he heard the wet snap of his back breaking, but he knew better than that.
Robin closed his eyes and counted to ten through gritted teeth before he began clawing at the sofa. Whenever Robin dropped onto one of the couches at Titans Tower after a horrible battle, he could ease into dreamland with a wide grin that beamed with pride. Sometimes, he would pretend he'd done the backstroke on a cloud, even though he was on a sofa. The cushioning felt snug against his back, as did Starfire's body whenever she chose to lie across him.
As Robin lie face down on the couch, he thought about how the other Titans. No! He shook his head, ruffling his smooth black hair against the end of the sofa. He had a new home; a dingy, home that had skipped out on the electric bill, but a new home nonetheless.
"You know, for a bad guy, Slade could use a few renovations," Robin muttered to himself.
Just as Robin was about to doze off, he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching. Ready to defend himself in case he was outnumbered, he stood to his feet and took a fighting stance. A shiver ran down his spine and the knot in his throat wouldn't go away, but he hid it behind the smug look on his face.
The footsteps grew louder until Slade and a cloaked figure stepped into view. Slade's eyes wandered about the room to see if anything had been misplaced. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Robin clutch his back, but he figured it was from anticipation of the coming ceremony.
"Preparations are ready, Robin. Come," Slade commanded as he beckoned Robin to follow him and the stranger with him.
Robin got off of the couch and followed Slade and the cloaked figure down the hallway. It was brighter now thanks to the candle the cloaked person had with them.
"You have made the right choice, Robin," Slade announced as he glanced back at Robin for a split second. "This offer does not come along every day and those who turn it down do not have the desire or the will to become stronger. I can see that you are indeed stronger than they are. You also seem to have a keen eye for figuring out my tricks."
Robin shrugged and let out a quiet yawn. He did not want Slade to lecture him on his own ability as much as he wanted to lie down and get some rest. Running around Jump City all day had taken its toll on his body and he was beginning to rub his eyes to keep them open.
"Sure, whatever. Let's just get this over with before daybreak."
A chuckle emanated from the cloaked figure. "He's eager, isn't he?"
Robin's ears perked up at the sound of that voice. He raised his eyebrows as he scanned the figure from top to bottom to see if he could find anything else familiar, but there was one glaring irregularity: the figure was floating. Robin tilted his head to one side and thought about what types of freaks lived here besides Slade.
Whatever it was, Robin did not have any time to think on that. Slade had stopped at a huge silver door. He entered the code and let the doors part before entering. Robin narrowed his eyes until he could see the podium in the center of the room, but it was still blurry from where he was standing. If Slade was going to initiate him by putting a pair of donkey ears on his head and blindfolding him, he'd be damned if was going to join some crackpot-
"Start walking, Robin," Slade commanded as he and the cloaked figure made their way towards the podium.
Robin shook his head and followed behind, but he had this odd feeling that pair of eyes, or two, three, or more than ten, were all leering at him. As Robin walked down the center of the aisle where two groups of cloaks parted, he kept hearing people whisper comments such as "Is he the one?" or "There goes Batman's little bitch." One person made the mistake of mentioning the Flying Graysons, the circus act Robin and his parents used to perform in, and almost paid for it when Robin lunged at him, but he was held back by the cloaked figure that was with Slade.
"You know," the figure began, "for a leader, you don't know how to keep calm, do you? I still don't know what I ever saw in you."
As the figure flung Robin further ahead, he kept trying to get a picture in his mind of who this person was and how they knew about him. He strained to see the light suspended from above, but as long as it didn't fizz out, he was fine.
Slade was standing under another light not that far from Robin. He took a few steps forward and entered the darkness, but came back into the light when he appeared in Robin's circle.
"The initiation will begin now, apprentice. Please get on one knee."
For the first time this entire night, Robin smirked. Since he left Batman, Robin often heard jokes being made about how Batman kept a young boy in a dark cave. It wasn't a problem. Robin didn't care whether or not people questioned his sexuality.
Sometimes.
"Just what am I joining you for again?"
"You joined because you felt that you would never become stronger with your teammates. The chronoton detonators being a fake has nothing to do with it, now do not hold up the ceremony up any longer."
Robin grumbled, but didn't have a choice but to get down when he felt that cloaked figure force him down on one knee. Slade stepped into the light and surveyed the enormous crowd before speaking.
"From time to time, alliances and collaborations are born out of bloodshed order to protect the weak. They are formed when one is unsatisfied with their lot in life and wishes to achieve more through other means, even if they must dirty their hands in the process. As you all know, there were no probes in the chronoton detonator left for the Titans, yet Robin is still here after hearing the truth."
Some quiet murmurs echoed from the audience as Slade turned towards Robin.
"You understand that they are now your enemies, for now and as long as you live?"
Robin lowered his eyes while thinking of having to face his former team as an enemy. After letting the thought run through his head, he answered Slade.
"Yes."
"Do you solemnly swear to fight at my side and amongst your comrades?"
"Yes."
"Do you swear, that you will not yield to bribe, threats, or passion from your rivals for the purpose of obtaining from you information about joining me?"
"Yes."
"In the presence of all before you, do you swear to never go against or betray your brethren?"
"Yes."
Slade closed his eyes and turned away from Robin. He had agreed to every term and condition, but there had to be more. He decided to brief Robin in on that later.
"You will rise."
Robin rose from the ground a new creature. There would not be a "Titans, go" anymore when going off to fight a villain because he was that criminal now. There couldn't be any turning back after this. Wiping the dust off of his chest, Robin gazed at Slade.
"Congratulations, Robin. You are now a member of our family and the Titans are no longer your friends. You will grow and become stronger here, and you will not regret this decision."
Before Robin could say something, Slade continued.
"But in order to prove that you are ready to commit yourself to this, you're going to receive your first assignment, effective immediately."
Slade stepped into the darkness and his footsteps became faint after a few seconds. After ten long seconds, Slade came back with some blueprints of a security complex and some files in a folder.
"The thermal blaster seen here attaches to your right wrist and is another weapon that can be used to escape dire situations."
He handed Robin the folder, but it took Robin a few seconds to grab it. After opening it, he glanced at the drawings and printouts of the building until his eyebrow couldn't go up any further. Robin narrowed his eyes and muttered something incomprehensible under his breath before looking back at Slade.
"I already have a full arsenal. Why do I need this?"
"You have no long range weapons capable of causing serious harm, Robin, and you've never been one to use beams or any sort of projectiles that you can guide yourself. More than that, I believe you may run into a few surprises when sneaking into this base."
Robin looked at the directions. 1642 Ebony Square was a weapons manufacturing conglomerate that received a lot of business and security always had top of the line weapons and arms. He'd stopped a few villains from breaking in every now and then, so to him, there couldn't have been much of a surprise.
"Go now, and we shall see if you are indeed worthy of joining us."
Slade handed Robin a small radio receiver and Robin plugged it into his left ear before spinning around on his heel before running at full speed towards the metal door. He was out in three seconds and sprinted down the dark hallway, being careful not to run too fast that he would lose his breath before he even found his way out.
Back in the large chamber, Slade looked to the cloaked figure on his right.
"He will succeed. His iron will won't allow him to fail."
The figure, now that Robin had left, pulled the hood off of her hair and let out an inflated sigh after being cooped up under the hood.
"But what about when he faces them?" she responded. "I don't think the Titans will like seeing Robin dressed like you."
"All the better to see him face them head on and not care about what he has to do to complete his mission."
-
-
-
Robin ran down the empty hallway for all he was worth. If what he'd heard was true, there was a possibility that he would run into the Titans during this break-in. He smirked with triumph even though the mission hadn't begun; he was eager to see their faces again, but in reaction to his new clothing.
After five minutes of looking through door after door, Robin stumbled upon an underground exit that would lead him to Jump City. The exit was fitting since Robin didn't have wings, so he continued running down the lit underground tunnels until he found a manhole.
Robin was about to press the manhole up when he heard an oncoming automobile run over it. Not wanting to put anything off, Robin punched the manhole into the air and jumped onto the street. He pulled a map out of his pocket- 1642 Ebony Square was a few blocks away, the night was young, and he had a mission to accomplish.
"I guess it's just Robin go, now," Robin concluded. He couldn't keep the smug grin on his face as he began running towards his target.
Robin had a job to do and an ambition to prove to Slade: to show that he was no longer living by the morals of justice and virtue. There was a chance that the Teen Titans, all four of them, would show up to stop him, but he didn't care.
If he had to spill their blood in order to prove a point, so be it.