More Than Just A Man

by Young Napoleon22

Finding the world to be a darker place than he'd ever imagined Robin learns that, in order to stop Slade and protect those he loves, he can't BE Robin anymore. To stop the rising threat to his city as well as the world he must become someone else; he must become SOMETHING else.

1. Chapter 1

A/N: No, this is not a joke, I really have finally decided it was time to bring this story back from the abyss. For those who read the original I apologize for taking it down, especially since I didn't finish it and left you all with unanswered questions and unfulfilled hopes of seeing where the story goes but I want to explain why I did it.

To be frank; I didn't feel like I was ready to handle the story yet. I still didn't believe I was capable of writing the whole thing out and making sure it came out the way I envisioned it in my head.

But now, after so long, I truly feel like I can do this. More Than Just A Man is truly here to stay now and WILL be finished!

For any new readers I ask that, even if you don't like my choice of pairing, you give my story a real chance because I honestly believe that I'll be able to deliver a truly enjoyable story that befits that of the original Teen Titans series.(I'm mostly regarding such episodes like Masks, Apprentice, and of course The End as those were some of the most serious and DC-toned.)

With that being said I hope you all enjoy the revamped first chapter to what I hope will become one of this fandom's more interesting stories.

More Than Just A Man

Ch. 1- A Bitter Pill

xXx

Thunder boomed over Jump city as a torrential downpour pelted the streets. Heavy dark clouds hung over the skyline, their thick bodies keeping out even the barest hint of moonlight. Vicious winds accompanied the storm; their force strong enough to cause street signs to tremble. Down below there was lines of traffic sitting at every intersection, each individual cars' wipers going full power to afford drivers even the slightest glimpse through the flood of rain bucketing down from above.

It was through this unyielding force of nature that a number of citizens caught the sight of a red streak blazing through the streets and whizzing through the proverbial maze of cars and trucks. But those who saw the streak only managed a lightning-fast glimpse before it was gone again...only to see, so long as they didn't blink, a violet blur following close behind.

But it didn't stop there. Zooming through the air, tailing that last fuzz of color, was a green and orange trail that was leading what seemed like a blue and white rocket.

To an outsider these flashes of color would seem like a trick of the storm, but to the citizens of Jump they meant something else; safety. Those blurs were a sign that while there was danger in their city, a team of heroes was on their way to ward off that evil and protect Jump and all who lived there.

It was a sign that the Teen Titans were on the move.

"Man I can't believe Slade's really choosing now to hatch his latest scheme." A voice called out through the com system of the blue and white blur; which upon closer inspection turned out to be a car. The driver being the one who spoke was a half-man/half-machine known as Cyborg. His hefty body was mostly made up of mechanized parts, with only parts of his head and his arms retaining their original human form. The dark-skinned teen was one of the five founding members of the Teen Titans, and was currently sat beside a short, green-skinned boy dressed in a purple and black uniform as he expertly drove through the dangerous weather to reach the scene of the teams' next mission.

From the passenger seat of what Cyborg dubbed the T-car Beast Boy, the youngest of the five, vehemently agreed with his cybernetic best friend. Although the svelte teen, as his name suggests, had the ability to transform into any animal in the world the storm outside raged far too hard for any of his forms to fly effectively.

"I know; you'd think Slade would have at least waited until the biggest storm of the century was over! But no, he's gotta drag us all the way to the pier and risk me catching pneumonia just so we can whoop him again and send him packing. I mean, seriously, what kind of sense does that make?"

It was a strong, focused voice that answered them over the com link.

"Since when have either of you known Slade to operate in the realm of 'normal'? If anything, this type of stage is right up his alley, which means once we reach the pier I want everyone to stay sharp. I wanna see if we can finally get the drop on him this time."

The voice belonged to the red streak leading the charge; its form taking the shape of a custom motorcycle when one got a good enough look. The driver of this super-charged machine was none other than Robin, Boy Wonder and former partner to the Batman himself. Robin was also the leader of the Teen Titans. With his helmet on the single normal member of the team was more than capable of seeing through the downpour around him, thanks in no small part to the special modifications he'd made to his visor. This meant the former side-kick could speed through traffic at speeds far exceeding those of legal limits with ease, and no worry of a collision due to poor vision.

"That would be a first." Came a monotone voice, responding to Robin's declaration. "And as much as I hate to say it, your chances don't look any better tonight than any other Robin; chances are he's already waiting for you."

From his place aboard his R-cycle the Boy Wonder grunted in dissatisfaction at his team-mate's words, although he made no attempt to refute them as he also knew them to probably be true. However, that didn't mean he didn't have something to say.

"In any case Raven, we're still gonna try. You never know how the mission goes until it's over, so we may get lucky."

The response sounded weak even to his own ears; his desire to have the last word the only reason he'd spoken them in the first place. The problem was, Raven knew it too.

"Last I heard you don't believe in luck."

There was a small, playful smile lifting at the corners of Raven's mouth as she spoke. And while none of the other Titans could see it due to both the storm and her hood, the empath knew her leader could hear it over their com link. Unfortunately, their game was over before it could even begin as she noticed their destination coming up fast.

Her silence alerted Robin as well, and after focusing back on the task ahead his masked eyes narrowed in determination as he relayed a new order to his team.

"Alright Titans, remember, we're gonna pull up short of the docks and run a quick scan of the area to get a better idea of what we're up against this time." The teen let up on the throttle for his iconic bike and let it glide the rest of the way, letting the elements mask the sound of the machine whirling down and eventually stopping near one of the warehouses lining the pier. Once his R-cycle had come to a complete stop Robin dismounted the bike but left his helmet on; the clear view it gave him outshining anything he'd be able to see through his masks' lenses.

Car doors opening alerted the Titan leader that Beast Boy and Cyborg had joined him, while Starfire floated down from her position in the air. The red-haired alien princess dropping right beside her leader, Starfire let her emerald eyes look over at Robin as she asked what he could make out.

Robin's response was delayed a moment as he felt the familiar pulse that let him know Raven was close. The empath had pulled up a little short to use her powers in an effort to quiet the roaring engine of the T-car, but now he could feel her drop down on his other side. The feeling was a product of their bond, forged during his hallucinations of Slade, and had only strengthened after he helped her defeat Trigon. While at first he had worried about the goth knowing about his past as well as his true identity, Raven quickly proved herself to be a cut above the rest by keeping his secrets as if they were her own.

Which, in a way he realized, they were.

And Robin found he was okay with that.

'But I can think about that later.' The teen hero reminded himself with a rapid flutter of his masked eyes. 'Right now it's all about stopping Slade.'

With his mind centered again Robin answered Starfire's earlier question, playing off his delay as him surveying the area. "I think I see a two-story sailor just off that dock up ahead, with what looks like a small army of Slade-bots running security. What about you Cyborg?"

At his friend's inquiry Cyborg tapped into his cybernetic eyes' enhanced vision capabilities to reaffirm what the spiky-haired younger boy had said. "You got it on the nose Rob, only on top of all that I see one of the metal-head's handling a large crate. It's handing it off now to another one that's already aboard the yacht; a Lazzara by the look of it. I can also see off the to the side another Slade-bot coming with another of those crates."

"Can you see a label on it anywhere?" Robin asked in a rush. If they could tell what Slade was picking up, hopefully it would reveal a piece of his plan.

The tin-man's response was not what the Titan leader was hoping for however. Shaking his head Cyborg replied in the negative. "Nah man, whatever label their might have been was scraped off. Either that, or Slade made sure to ship his stuff in unmarked boxes. The only way to know what's inside is to open one."

"Then we'll make that our secondary mission." Raven added in her two cents. "If we can't get Slade we'll at least get a look inside those crates, and if need be take one of whatever is inside."

The team looked to their leader for confirmation on the specs of their assignment, and tensed for their next orders when he gave a single, sharp nod. "We know what to do, now we've got to see about getting it done. We don't wanna give ourselves away; even if Slade knows we're coming for him he doesn't know where actually here yet. So this next bit will have to be done with stealth, I want us all either aboard that boat or close to it before we engage those Slade-bots."

"Well can't Raven just morph us over with her shadow?" Beast Boy asked. His uncharacteristically thoughtful input got him a funny look from Cyborg, and a raised brow from the girl he'd mentioned, which caused the changeling to bluster in indignation. "Hey! I can have good ideas too ya know; the plans don't always have to come from Robin and Raven."

"Although that was a nice effort Beast Boy," Robin offered. "I had a different approach in mind. With the storm acting as a cover I wanted Star to fly a little higher, and wait for my signal to bring down a hail of star-bolts on the bots surrounding the docks while Raven used her teleportation to move Cyborg and I over and onto the rear of the yacht, while you transformed into either a small bird or mouse to get in close for an ambush with Starfire's aerial assault."

Robin's quick, but precise battle plan quickly wilted Beast Boy's ire and had the green-skinned changeling grinning sheepishly as he agreed with his leader's idea. "Oh, um, yeah let's go with that plan. Nice work Robin."

The Boy wonder offered a smirk of his own as he accepted the obvious attempt to turn everyone's attention back to the mission and off the younger boy's embarrassment. "Thanks Beast Boy; this way I just hope to confuse Slade's robots so Raven and I can get Slade by himself. If everyone's good with the plan though I think it's best we get a move on before Slade finishes and pulls away. Titan's Go!"

With swift reaction Starfire was soon rising high in the sky, a vocal wish for Robin to stay safe passing her lips as she looked down at him. "I will deal with our mechanical foes quickly, so as to be there to aid you in your battle with Slade."

Amidst Robin's own response for the pretty alien girl not to worry Beast Boy did in fact morph into snake and started on his way, winding and weaving over towards the group of Slade-bots standing guard.

Once the three were the only ones lefts Raven was quick to gently place both her hands over the two older boy's shoulders. Before she began her chant though the empath was surprised to see Robin removing his helmet, and handing it to her. Giving the masked teen a curious look she was once again caught off-guard by the answer he gave.

"I know your teleportation works better when you can see where you're going, so your superhuman eyes will definitely get a clear view with the help of my helmets vision enhancer. Besides, I think I can deal with one night of bad hair if it gets us one step closer to putting Slade away for good."

The normally stoic boy's attempt at humor was funnier than his actual joke, and that was what got a chuckle from Cyborg, as well as a quirk of Raven's lips as she shook her head in disbelief. However knowing he was only trying to help, and internally touched that he knew such a personal thing about her powers, the violet-eyed half-demon accepted the cherry-red helmet with a soft word of thanks.

Pushing down her hood Raven quickly stuffed her head inside the shell of kevlar, and into the softly cushioned inside. Once the protective gear was settled Raven noticed that she wouldn't need to do anything; Robin had left the enhancement on, rather than switching it off during his delivery of orders. As she turned to look over at her target though, the demonic daughter of Trigon couldn't help but notice the lingering scent of her leader's shampoo as it permeated the entirety of the helmet.

The scent was something earthy, with a hint of spice to it. And while too much of that sharp scent could agitate the nose, Raven found that Robin's shampoo used just the right amount to give off a pleasant tingle to her sense of smell. Being both a loner, as well as her past fear of ending the world, had lead the pale girl to embracing the sights and scents around her in an effort to savor that which she was birthed to destroy...Raven was a secret lover of nature. So to know that her leader seemed to embody that personal hobby gave her a warm glow in the pit of her stomach. Just one more thing they shared, she thought quietly to herself.

But knowing this was no time to engage in such a trivial matter as shared interests Raven pushed all thoughts of Robin from her mind and simply allowed the fragrant air of the helmet to relax her so as to focus on teleporting the two boys over to their enemy's yacht.

"Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos."

The words were spoken, and the destination clear in her calm mind, so that in a matter of seconds Raven and her two team-mate's found themselves transported through darkness and on board Slade's yacht...right behind the man's personal detail of robot guards.

Careful not to make a sound, Robin motioned for Cyborg to flash his cybernetic eye up at Starfire. This would be her signal, which would in turn let Beast Boy know he could let loose.

The call was understood in seconds, and after the third blink of red Robin and his fellow Titans were treated to a light show as their resident Tamaranean unleashed a flurry of her star-bolts down upon the unsuspecting guards. But that wasn't where the entertainment stopped, as Beast Boy immediately morphed from a tiny field mouse, into a musclebound gorilla, and started laying his own siege to their mechanical foes.

Knowing the sound of battle had no doubt garnered the attention of his sworn enemy, Robin swiftly relayed an order to Cyborg to search the ship for any sign of Slade.

And that's when the yacht's engine engaged, and the vessel of the sea ripped away from the pier at a speed one wouldn't expect from such a luxury cruiser. The shock caused Robin to lose his grip on the floor and go tumbling off the rear of the boat. Only years of harsh training allowed the dark-haired teen to catch the fleeing machine's railing with the help of his grappling gun.

Chancing a look back while fighting to keep his grip Robin was bothered to find the two members of his team still on the pier were now the ones being ambushed, as more Slade-bots came marching out of the very warehouse he and his team had been using as cover.

Anger quickly found its way through Robin's veins, and he used that fire to give him strength as he hit the retraction button on his grappling gun to reel him in; his body tense as he fought the vicious waves that tried to pry his gloved fingers loose from his gadgets' handle. Once he was close enough though, all that became moot as a field of dark energy encased his body and floated him back on board.

"I didn't want to risk dropping you if the boat hit a hard wave," Raven explained. " So I had to wait until you were closer before I grabbed you; are you okay?"

Despite the ache in his body from battling with nature itself the leader of the Teen Titans offered his female team-mate a reassuring smile as he gave a positive reply. "That's alright Rae; I figured you had a good reason. And yeah, I'm alright...but I'd be better if the whole team were here."

"Star and B.B. should both be fine, all those drills you make us run and all, so don't let that distract you too much man." Cyborg offered as he engaged his sonic cannon. "Now, what's say we go tell Slade 'hello'?"

Both birds' faces set into determined masks at that suggestion, and together the three of them moved towards the front of the racing yacht. From Robin's signal, Raven used her powers of flight to lift herself towards the helm; only to find the vessel to be driven remotely. Relaying this through their coms, the empath watched her cybernetic team-mate tell the news to their leader.

A moment later Cyborg's voice was in her ear again, carrying a message from the boy whose helmet she'd yet to remove. "Rob wants me in there to see what I can do to take control of this thing; if it's too advanced I'll bail on it and help you guys with Slade."

With the new orders given Raven returned to Robin's side while Cyborg made his way over to the ladder that would bring him to the controls. As the two birds moved though, Raven couldn't help feeling a sense of dread the closer they got to the front of the speeding bullet of a boat. That unease seemed to bleed over into Robin though, because the Boy Wonder soon stopped them to address it.

"Alright, what's wrong Raven? You've got a bad feeling, I can tell, so mind explaining before we go any further?"

"I-I don't know, something about all this just seems wrong; like the night Slade forced you to be his apprentice. The team's slowly been separated until it's just the two of us, there's no more Slade-bots to fight, and from what Cyborg said Slade's just standing at the front of the boat waiting. Robin, I know you see it too...this is a trap."

Robin did know. He'd sensed much the same thing his fellow Titan had felt the moment the yacht had taken off, and now that they were just a few steps from being face-to-face with Slade the former side-kick could honestly say it felt as if a rock had dropped in his stomach. Something was definitely wrong.

Unfortunately, the Boy Wonder's hatred of losing coupled with his stubborn nature would not allow him to back down. Not now; especially not when it concerned Slade. Even after all he'd been through, both alone and with the team, that was one thing about Robin that had not truly changed. He had to be the one to stop Slade.

And so, it was with these thoughts that Robin spoke again. "I know Raven, but it's two on one with a third waiting to be called. On such a small field of battle we've got a huge advantage; plus, out here there's nowhere for Slade to go."

"But then again Robin...neither do you."

The slick, taunting voice was followed by a pain as Robin was assaulted from the front. A sharp, swift kick to the chest had the drenched teen stumbling backwards. But the shadow didn't stop there, and soon Raven joined her leader in a heap on the ground as a vicious roundhouse had her spitting up as it hit her in the stomach.

From his place on the polished, soaked floor Robin looked up through his bangs to see his attacker. The voice had been familiar, as it often haunted his nightmares, but there was a slight echo to it this time that confused the teenage hero...until a flash of lightning gave him a clear look at Slade.

Gone was the look of a black bodysuit fitted with plates of armor to protect his vitals. In its place was a full-body suit of armor that looked largely like something made for a military special ops team. The gun-metal gray gear was now accented with rustic orange, and seemed to include a new utility belt; this one laden with grenades and magazines. The sight of extra ammunition alerted Robin to the handguns that were now strapped to both his waist as well as his thigh. But that wasn't the only deadly weapon Robin's masked eyes managed to make out...there was also a katana strapped to the towering madman's back.

From looking over his shoulder, Robin's masked eyes were drawn to the man's own masked face. What he saw sent an involuntary shiver of fear down the teen's spine. Gone was the nearly cartoon-like skull mask that Slade had somehow made menacing. In its place was a sculpted, kevlar unit that seemed to ooze ferocity and power. It also gave the downed teen his first real look at his enemy's lone eye; it was blue. But not just any blue, no, Slade's lone optical organ was the color of ice and seemed to resonate the man's cold and calculating nature with a simple glance. That one eye chilled Robin to the bone faster than an hour out in the storm, and had the teen swallowing a lump of true fear for the first time since meeting his arch enemy.

A fact Slade seemed aware of.

"Oh good, I was a little worried my old armor wouldn't work on you Robin, but I can clearly see you're just as afraid as I hoped you'd be." Here the man, with his hands clasped behind his back, leaned forward just enough and taunted. "Or maybe you're finally realizing what I've known from the beginning...that you, Robin, have no chance of defeating me."

Fear was immediately replaced by anger, and Robin rolled back onto his hands before springing off into a loaded double-kick. When Slade twisted out of the way of his opening move the furious Titan leader spun in mid-air to turn the miss into a swift spin-kick.

Slade easily leaned out of the way of this follow-up strike, but instead of letting his younger opponent a chance to land the masked villain reached out and wrapped his gloved hand in the material of Robin's cape. Giving a tug Slade wrenched the teen hero in range to where he could introduce his armored elbow to the boy's chest.

Spittle mixed with blood shot from Robin's lips as he felt the familiar pain of his ribs being fractured. The resounding pain speared straight though his body, and the Boy Wonder soon found himself in another heap on the floor as Slade let him go. Crying out in pain, Robin could barely make out the blurry image of his enemy's boot as the fiend got ready to stomp his face in. The only thing Robin could think was, 'When did he get that fast!?'

In all their previous encounters Robin could admit to Slade being quicker than him; it was only natural considering the man had more years of experience and training under his belt. But even then, the spiky-haired hero had always been able to push himself to keep up. Here however Jump city's resident heart throb found himself unable to see Slade even move when he'd reached for his cape!

But now, down on the ground, everything around Robin seemed to move in slow motion. He could feel every drop of rain as it splashed against his skin, the water's icy sting leaving behind goosebumps, and hear the way the thunder rolled from above like a series of powerful drums. Yet these things, along with the rest of the world faded from the senses as Robin's masked eyes locked with that single sapphire orb of his nemesis.

That eye was like a hard slab of ice, cold and frosty. Even as it owner was getting ready to squash the head of a teenage boy beneath his boot, that eye showed no remorse...no mercy. All Robin could see was pure satisfaction and a malicious sort of glee at what was to come. It was here, at that moment, that Robin finally understood.

Slade wasn't just better than him, he'd been going easy on him!

All their battles, over that whole year since he'd revealed himself, Slade had been holding back. Every punch, kick, or dodge had been done with half-hearted effort. Whenever Robin had landed a hit it was because Slade had chosen that moment to let him. And that if he'd really wanted to, Slade could have killed him whenever he chose.

Robin felt his whole body slack against the floor at this revelation, felt the fight vanish from his body, and resignation take its place as he continued to stare into that lone blue eye.

That resignation turned to shock when a beam of neon-blue energy raced down like a comet and slammed into Slade's newly armored chest. The blow, while seeming to cause no significant damage, did its job in getting the sociopath away from the felled Titan leader. Then the chill of that ice-cold gaze was replaced by warmth as it was replaced with the Raven's own amethyst gems. The half-demon still wore his helmet, but had pushed up the visor to give her a truly clear look at her fellow Titan.

"Robin! Robin, are you alright? What happened; one second your fighting Slade, and then next your sagged against the floor about to get your face turned to a bloody pulp."

"Your leader has simply come to his senses, little Raven, and has accepted his fate." Slade's haunting voice cut through the pounding rain. "I suggest you do the same; the time for the Titans end is finally at hand."

Raven looked up at the encroaching madman, her eyes hard with barely controlled emotion. It was clear the sorceress wanted nothing more than to tear the masked menace apart, but both she and her enemy knew that if the girl moved Slade would easily slip past her and reach Robin.

And that was why Cyborg's voice came as such a comfort.

"Not if I've got anything to say about it!" The Titans' personal tech expert had obviously given up on taking control of the yacht upon seeing his team-mate's in trouble, and was mid-leap with his fist pulled back to deliver a crushing blow.

Slade watched his newest opponent with an almost lazy look about himself; Raven watched as he didn't even seem to tense in an effort to dodge. Instead he chose to counter. When Cyborg was within range, Slade reached out and caught the mechanical warrior's heavy fist before twisting his body, and using Cyborg's own momentum to carry the large teen over his shoulder before slamming him onto the ground.

Raven's eyes narrowed in focus as she let black energy radiate from her palms. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A beam of concentrated darkness shot forth and raced through the air in an effort to catch Slade with his back turned.

The attempt failed though as the martial arts master easily pushed off the wood floor and arched into a perfect back-flip to dodge the blow. But the man wasn't content just to defend; when his boots landed with just the barest amount of pressure Slade kicked off into a somersault. That acrobatic maneuver was followed by a powerful axe-kick that Raven barely had time to shield against, and it showed by the spiderweb cracks that scattered from the point of impact.

Slade cocked his fist back, ready to finish smashing through his enemy's pitiful defense, but an animalistic roar from above took hold of his attention. His lone eye flickering towards the sky, the masked villain felt his nostrils flare at the sight of Beast Boy coming down at him in the shape of a lion. 'It seems I'll need to give my Slade-bots an upgrade, if even the changeling can defeat them so quickly now.' He thought before leaping to the left so as to dodge the incoming big cat.

But Slade didn't use the smooth surface of his cabin's wall as a perch for long, as he was soon bounding off to escape being fried by Starfire's eye-beams. Keeping his altitude low Slade shifted into a flying kick that smashed directly into a recently recovered Cyborg's chest. With the tin-man crumpling back the the floor, Slade turned and ducked under Beast Boy's gorilla fists as the changeling let loose a rapid combination of strikes. It was as his ears picked up the telltale signs of a sonic canon charging to fire that the sociopath made his next move.

Cyborg had just hauled himself into a position where he could get a good shot at Slade, curses muttering from his lips as he recalled being knocked down by the older man's steel-toed boot. Anger narrowing the eldest Titan's vision, Cyborg re-engaged his arm canon and fired with a snarl.

The next scene seemed to go slow, and had the cybernetic crime fighter gaping in horror.

Slade had long since studied every aspect of the Teen Titans. This not only included their battle formations, strength, and weaknesses but also each Titan's abilities individually. And among that knowledge was the exact time, from start to finish, of how long Cyborg's sonic canon took to both boot up as well as fire. From the moment he heard the circuits winding up a charge Slade had made his move; stopping Beast Boy's large fists with both hands, Slade used them to haul himself into the air. Once his feet were of the ground, the masked villain twisted his body over the green gorilla's head, before bringing the mammal's burly arms down in a painful hold...all right before a neon-blue beam punched right into the snarling beast's chest.

With a howl of pain Beast Boy lost his grip on the transformation and reverted back to the skinny form of a fourteen-year-old boy. Hanging limp in Slade's gloved hands, the green-skinned hero was dropped unceremoniously to the polished wood floor like a sack of dirty laundry, where he proceeded to curl into a ball as he groaned in further agony.

That pain was multiplied however when Slade reared back and delivered a powerful kick to Beast Boy's stomach right before whirling around to meet Starfire's deceptively small fist with his own much large one. The resounding shock wave mingled perfectly with the strike of lightning that cracked across the sky. With that brief flash of brilliant light Starfire's shock was clear to her enemy; that had been her strongest punch!

"What, surely you don't think I'd be brought down by such a pathetic attempt as that? I've clashed with gods; compared to them you are nothing but an annoying little ant."

Slade's voice was drenched in contempt, and Starfire soon found herself facing the very same eye that had put Robin down in the beginning of the fight. Just like then, a shiver of true fear covered every inch of the Tamaranean princess' spine. Fear for the man, no, the monster before her...and for her own safety.

Before the alien girl could shake those feelings though her enemy's hand opened and he took hold of her slim, orange wrist. A gasp of pain barely made its way past her lips before it was replaced with a sputter as Slade's other fist buried itself in her gut. But the armored madman wasn't finished, as Starfire doubled over he jumped up and smashed his knee into the teen's face; a sickening crunch telling all who heard it that Star's nose had just been broken.

Hearing the double charge of both Beast Boy and Cyborg behind him, Slade reached down to fiercely grip Starfire's matted red hair and use her head as a springboard like done with the green changeling. Pulling down hard on the strands in his gloved hand, Slade wrenched his captive's head back before chopping her in the throat and booting her forward to stumble into her team-mate's. With the two young men being forced to scramble to a stop and catch her, Slade simply stood and waited for the three Titans to settle themselves before re-engaging them in combat.

'After all, now that play time is over these pathetic kids have no chance of defeating me.'

As the rest of the team was looking upon the newly serious Slade in trepidation, Raven was busy doing what she could to get their leader back into the fight.

The empath had managed to haul the raven-haired teen into a seated position, and was now seated beside him with his arm hefted over her slender shoulders.

"Robin, Robin look at me. You can't let what Slade said get to you like this; you better than anyone know that's exactly what he wants. Can't you see that he's just trying to scare you? And why do you think that is; it's because he knows with you fighting with us the Titans will push him back, just like always."

"Push him back, but never beat him Raven." The Boy Wonder's response was given through a disparaging sigh as he let his head hang. "Even after all this time, we've never beaten him...I've never beaten him."

"But you will!" Raven answered sharply on the heels of her leader's last words. "You've worked so hard for so long that I have no doubt in my mind that you will be the one to finally bring Slade to justice; but only if you keep fighting. Only if you keep believing; like I do."

From his place at her side Robin felt he empath's emotional plea just as well as he could hear her verbal one. She was flooding him with her hope in a desperate attempt to keep him form falling into the darkness of despair, a darkness they both remembered Raven herself had fallen into the day her father came to Earth.

'Please Robin, don't give up. You say I'm the most hopeful person you know; but that's only because of you. I watch you, everyday, go out and put your life on the line to protect the city with nothing but your mind and the strength of your will. How can I not believe anything is possible when I watch you fight, and win, against someone like Cinderblock or Plasmus? So please, don't give up, not when we—I need you the most.'

Raven's imploring voice echoed around inside Robin's head as her feelings filled him to bursting. The combined effort began to take affect, and the Titan leader could feel the numbing cold start to melt away under the light of Raven's pure, honest belief in him.

Only to have those feelings be drowned out by a primal rage when a wail of pain followed the nauseating sound of someone's bone being broken again.

Both Robin and his fellow bird shot their eyes up and watched in horror as Beast Boy dropped to his knees, clutching his hideously mangled arm with his left hand in a fruitless effort to staunch the obviously overbearing pain. Robin's masked eyes lanced over from his incapacitated team-mate and over to the man who had caused the damage. White lenses locked with icy blue and Robin's face twisted into a ferocious snarl at seeing the sick joy his nemesis seemed to derive from causing such harm to the youngest Titan.

"SLADE!"

The shout was followed by a pair of birdarangs racing through the air. They missed their target by a mile though when Slade jumped up, and over, to bounce a second time off his cabin wall.

This time though Robin was there to meet him as the leader of the Teen Titans leaped from his kneeling position, and into an aerial spin-kick. Both fighters legs smacked against each other as another flash of lightening crashed down from the sky, but Robin wasn't done yet. Working his body into a twist the sopping wet teen hero brought his gloved fist arching down for a blow to Slade's masked face. Slade in turn leaned back from the strike and flipped to land steadily on his feet.

Where normally the masked villain would offer a taunt to rile up the younger fighter Slade found himself preoccupied with dodging the racing shot of dark energy Raven sent his way just as he'd touched the ground. With nimble feet Slade coiled around the powerful projection of the goth's demon heritage before ducking two more of Robin's birdarangs. Leaping over another one of Cyborg's attempts to hit him with his arm canon Slade allowed himself to take the blow from Starfire that followed right behind. Using the momentum from her punch the armored terrorist arched his body so as to land on the palms of his hands before bouncing back to his feet to catch Starfire's attempt to land a swift kick at his head.

With the alien girl's ankle ensnared in his gloved fist Slade pulled the struggling Tamaranean's body forward before driving his elbow into her kneecap; another satisfying crunch greeted his ears, while Starfire's howls of anguish did nothing to disrupt his ability to hear Raven chant from behind him.

Dropping his captive, Slade reached into his own utility belt and pulled out a number of wickedly sharp shuriken. Whipping around he let the volley fly, with Raven as their intended target, before unsheathing his katana to meet Robin's bo-staff head on. As the two locked weapons, the sociopath finally allowed himself to quip at his former apprentice.

"You seem to have broke free of your fear Robin; I'm impressed. Or rather, I would be, if it hadn't taken the pitiful begging of a whimpering girl to snap you back to reality. Tell me, after all this is over, will you continue to have Raven check for monsters under your bed and tuck you in at night because you're too weak to fight your own battles?"

Fury rushed through Robin's veins now, and without thinking the masked teen found himself sliding his staff along the blade of his enemy's sword to get inside his guard. Once he was in, Robin jerked his weapon with all his strength to slam it under Slade's chin. From there he went low, whipping around and crashing the butt of his staff into one of the older man's knees, before winding back up and driving the other end straight into the armored section of the villain's stomach.

And while the anger may have blinded Robin, Slade realized it clear as day: that had been a combination he had taught the Boy Wonder.

The malicious joy that he'd succeeded in drawing out Robin's inner darkness drew Slade's attention away from the battle at hand just long enough for Raven to finally land a blow with her powers. The dark energy hit home right up against the villain's armored sternum and sent Slade flying back. This brought the man's senses back to fully throttle however, and he easily managed to right himself in mid-air before landing masterfully on the deck of his yacht.

From his crouched position Slade took a brief moment to survey the battlefield.

Both Beast Boy and Starfire were out of commission courtesy of the bones he'd broken in their arm and leg respectively. Cyborg could only offer support through his sonic canon unless he wanted to risk his green-skinned friend's safety by leaving his side, and Raven was now in a similar predicament as she glared at him from her place beside her fellow female Titan.

'That only leaves...'

Robin, the Titan leader and one-man army, stood veritably alone with his bo-staff held at the ready. Even with his domino mask firmly in place Slade could see the pure, primal fury that no doubt burned in the sixteen-year-old hero's eyes; and that was more than enough to put a vicious smile on the villain's hidden face.

"Well Robin," Slade began with a voice saturated in ridicule. "It looks to me as if you're the only one left standing. How...predictable. For all your teams strengths, all their boasting, they haven't even managed to land a single hit let alone make me break a sweat without you there to set it up for them. It's just as I've said time and again; the Teen Titans will never defeat me. Just as you, Robin, have no real chance as you are now. Unfortunately I'm done trying show you the truth, and I'm done playing games, so after tonight I suggest you and your team either hang up your capes or start looking for a place to be buried together."

Before any of the Titans could react Slade pulled a grappling gun from his waist and shot it up into the air. Three sets of eye then watched as their greatest enemy was lifted into the sky by a passing helicopter; the flying machine's rotor's being silenced by both the storm as well as the yacht's own motor.

Robin tensed, ready to make an attempt to catch hold with his own grappling gun, when Raven called for him to stop.

"You have no idea who else could be in there; Slade by himself will be hard enough, you won't have time to split your focus." Ever the voice of reason Robin found himself forced to agree with Raven's warning. So, letting the energy leave him the Titan leader instead turned his attention to his team.

"Raven, how long will it take for you to mend Starfire's leg?"

From her place beside the alien princess the goth in question gave Robin the first piece of good news he'd had all night. "With her already increased healing it should only take me another minute or so, but I'll have to wait until we're at least back at the tower before working on Beast Boy, otherwise I won't have the energy to get us back to the pier."

"That's fine," the Boy Wonder answered with a sharp nod. Then, turning to Cyborg he dished out another order. "Now that we're alone, I want you to go back up to the helm of the boat and see what you can do about getting this thing to stop. If we're gonna be relying on Raven to get us out of here I want this thing steady so she can focus."

Cyborg rose as he gave a reply. "On it man. Now that the distractions are out of the way I should be able to-"

That was as far as the tin-man got before the entire cabin of the yacht exploded.

xXx

A/N: And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the new chapter one for More Than Just A Man. I ended it with the yacht explosion this time, rather than Robin's introspective, because the second chapter will be all about different character's internal thoughts about what happened as well as the introduction of Slade's new group of followers.

Raven and Robin's interest in each other, although not necessarily romantic yet, may have come off a little heavy here for some people and I understand that. However, I'm trying to get it to flow with the obvious connections the two would have made thanks to both 'Haunted' as well as 'The End'. Their relationship is not one that I will rush however, and I just wanted to establish their separate intrigue for the other bird early on so as to build on it during later chapters.

If you need a better understanding of Slade's change I direct you to Arkham Knight/Origins, as that is the look I'm giving him now that he's decided to become 'Deathstroke' again rather than just 'Slade'.

Other than pointing out Slade's whole point in this chapter was drawing out Robin's darkness, and not killing the team which is why he didn't use lethal force, I don't think there's much left for me to say here. So, as I say in all my stories please feel free to let me know what you think, as well as hand out any constructive criticism so that I may better tell my tale.