A/N: Hey! For those who don't know me: I'm TopHatElephant! Hi! I have written one other Fan Fiction called Two Little Two Late. It's a crossover of Teen Titans and Young Justice go read it if you want to... I dunno... you don't have to...
This FanFic was originally just for my own amusement but a while ago I decided to use it as a story... Yeah... I've been reading Apprentice Fanfics for Teen Titans for AGES! And then realized something... 1: Slade's always the bad guy, he doesn't do anything but want an apprentice and try to kill off the Titans. Occasionally he'll try to pull off Robin's mask or mess with his past. 2: Robin always hates Slade and they almost never have a good relationship.
I say almost never for the reason I'm writing this. A while back there was an apprentice fic by an author called Anthezar. The fic was called Forgotten Bonds and at the end in the Epilogue she wrote a challenge: to give everyone the hero ending and the apprentice ending. To give Slade the love he deserves. So here I am (PS. Go read the story and its sequel they're amazing!) I think Slade had a lot more potential then what he's been given credit for. So I'm gonna give this heartless person a heart (And a few other things but they are secrets...) So yeah...
Summary (Long version):
Slade's back and he wants what is 'rightfully' his: Robin. When three C class villains trap the Titans Slade finds the perfect time to kidnap the Boy Wonder. When Robin awakens in a completely different place he begins to panic. He isn't put at ease by the knowledge of who his captor is either. And who is the strange girl hanging around? Her Father: Shadow claims she's his daughter, she claims she isn't. When the two are taken to a hidden mansion for 'training' in hopes that they will turn over to the dark side what will they do? Slade wants Robin to be his apprentice. Shadow wants his daughter (Ivory) to be 'more like him' and follow in his footsteps. Robin wants to escape while Ivory wants to bring peace between the two enemies. With the help of Wintergreen will Slade succeed or Ivory? Will Robin unravel Ivory's 'haunted past? Will he come to see things Slade's way? Or will he escape? What would you do when you are given the 'best' of both worlds?
Just to make it clear:
Robin is 14 and a bit.
Ivory is 14 but younger than Robin.
Cyborg is 17.
Raven is 15ish.
Starfire is 14 but older than Ivory/ younger than Robin.
Beast Boy is 13.
The ages do not line up with what is seen in the TV show but this is how they are needed for the story.
Slade is immortal. I just needed to put it out there. I know some people say he isn't but in this Fic he is.
Disclaimer:
I do not own Teen Titans. I wish I did but they belong to DC comics etc. Ivory Talisman and Shadow are mine though. They are Copyright mine and are not for use of others without my permission. I am only stating this once so you better be listening to this!
Alright enough of the boring stuff and onto the good stuff! (I'll shut up now... :P)
Chapter 1: Sleepless
-Titans Tower-
-Robin; Dick Grayson-
The tower was quiet… well as quiet as it was going to ever get. If the Titans weren't busy fighting crime, solving their disputes or eating pizza they were arguing. There was never silence. Unless of course, they were sleeping like they were right now, all except for one small titan, one young titan, and his name was Robin.
It wasn't easy to be the Boy Wonder, in fact it was dangerous. Many would trade their lives to be Robin, but you could get killed in many ways. It could be while playing 'Boy Captive' as the Gotham villains called it, being tortured, attacked by some of the better (more advanced) Villains of Jump, or… Shot. Robin wasn't normal, and he embraced that. At least he tried to embrace it. It was hard to be as young as Robin yet act like an adult, he ran his own team for goodness sake! Albeit a group of teenage heroes. Heroes who got to act like themselves, they had nothing to hide, except for one. Once again, it was Robin. 'Wear the mask and suffer the consequences.' He was always telling Beast Boy when the younger teen asked him about it. Sure he played video games, hung out, had crushed etc. But it just wasn't the same. Robin had a secret identity. Raven was a half demon teen with purple hair, violet eyes, and a red gemstone on her forehead, Cyborg was half human half robot, Starfire was an alien princess with red-pink hair, tanned skin and emerald eyes, Beast Boy was green with fangs, green hair and pointy ears! They didn't need to keep their identities a secret. Any person with half a mind could trace their origins if they wanted to. It didn't take a criminal mastermind to do that.
Robin sighs, signing yet another sheet of paper concerning one villain, or another being taken to Arkham. His eyes trail over the half finished paperwork and then around the big main room of Titans Tower to the computers. One button. He only needed to press one button and he'd be in. He closes his eyes as tightly as he can. No. He wouldn't, he couldn't. He had paperwork to finish, he didn't have time to pull an all nightery again just because he was 'Reminiscing' or 'not letting go' or 'being an idiot' or 'Slade watching again.' It depended on who you talked to: Cyborg, Starfire, Raven or Beast Boy (Order of above statements) on what answer you got. All were true, but none of them completely correct. Yes he was reminding himself of the bad things he'd done, yes he wasn't letting go; not believing Slade was actually gone, yes in some ways he was being an idiot, and yes he was watching out for Slade. But the thing no one got was he was doing it for them, Slade was so close to killing them all, he wouldn't be able to live with that and knowing he-Robin- was the cause, didn't make it any better.
Somehow Robin finds himself running his hands over the keys, his fingers feeling their way through the familiar passwords. "What happened to that pep talk before!" He asks himself but can't find the strength to turn away. Just a few minutes, it couldn't hurt to check, just a few minutes…
.
A 'few minutes' later… who am I kidding! TWO HOURS later…
"Robin." A voice calls and the teenager in question jumps. It's Raven. Just Raven.
"I don't know if I'm supposed to say: 'Good morning' 'Good night.' Or 'Good afternoon.'" Robin replies, shutting the computer off as the pale titan enters.
"Night." Raven replies, checking the clock before entering the kitchen. "It's almost eleven thirty." She says putting a medium sized pot on the stove. Robin follows.
"So much for a few minutes." He mumbles going to the fridge. "So why are you up?" He asks, pulling out the Neapolitan ice-cream, whipped cream and the milk.
"Dreams." She says quietly. Grabbing the cooking chocolate, normal chocolate and Milo drink mix. "What about you?" She asks, breaking up her selected chocolates, almost as it each was alive, and she was snapping their backs. Not a pleasant thought, but one she did quite often in these late night exercises with Robin. Try thinking of that next time you look at chocolate.
"It's real life that's giving me a headache." Robin replies, searching for the bag of marshmallows. "Or rather the dead." He adds, throwing the large bag over to Raven.
"Oh?" She asks. Tipping all the chocolate into the pot on the stove.
"Yeah. Slade, I just can't let it go." He mumbles, tipping the milk into the pot while Raven stirred.
"He's gone, you know that." Another voice says walking in. The two turn to look at the eldest titan: Cyborg.
"Yeah Cy, I know, but what if he isn't?" Robin asks. Cyborg just shrugs, looking for three clean bowls and spoons. The pot on the stove warms up and Robin adds more milk, keeping the chocolate from burning while Raven adds the Milo mix before leaving it for a moment to wrestle with the bag of marshmallows.
"Why are you up Cy?" Robin asks after a moment.
"I heard Raven walking down the hall, but I wasn't asleep, I was having trouble sleeping ya know." He says picking up the pot and placing it on the breakfast bar to cool.
Raven nods followed by Robin. They knew all right. "Are the others asleep?" Raven asks in a low voice. Robin and Cyborg listen for a moment and then nod their heads. "Good." She replies and then picks up the bowls and spoons and saunters off down the hall in the direction of the storage room downstairs.
"What's it gonna be tonight?" Cyborg asks checking a screen on his arm. "I heard the Spiderwick Chronicles is good." He suggests, grabbing the pot, trying not to slosh brown liquid around the place.
"Nah, what about Pan?" Robin replies. "We've already seen Spiderwick." He adds, picking up the tub of ice cream, a scooper, the whipped cream and the marshmallows, looking for the packets of chips and cookies.
"Already got the cookies and chips." Cyborg says and the two walk out, trying not to wake the others. This was their thing, they didn't want to involve the younger two Titans. It wasn't that they didn't want them to be there, except this was their time, where the three most prickly members of the team could be themselves. They were more alike then the others knew. Similar tastes in movies, had trouble sleeping and unlike the other two, they were more solo. This was their little secret.
Cyborg places his hand on the wall at one end of the storage room and the two boys enter the small cinema. A couch took up a lot of the room, pillows and blankets in boxes plied behind it. Raven was already sitting there, wrapped in her favourite blanket. A coffee table in front of her, the bowls and spoons set out in front of her, the chips and cookies open already. A small wardrobe had been made into a pantry by Robin and shoved into the corner next to a small fridge filled with soft drinks and ice blocks, sometimes a frozen pizza or two. A microwave on top of one shelf in the wardrobe beeps as the popcorn is made aware of. A large TV made by Cyborg stands proud mounted on the wall made by Cyborg is already on, Netflix open on Raven's profile.
"Have you two boys chosen?" She asks. Robin nods.
"Pan." He says. Placing the Ice and whipped cream down on the table and then grabbing another blanket, pulling out the popcorn and sitting down next to Raven. Raven nods and searches it up. Cyborg serves them all their home made Hot Chocolate Soup (Raven made the recipe up) and Robin opens the popcorn and tips it into a bowl, dishing out marshmallows, Ice-cream and whipped cream. The movie begins, and Cyborg jumps onto the couch.
"Move over Rob." He says, and Robin moves over letting the bigger titan sit between the two. Cyborg puts an arm around Robin and Raven moves closer to him. By the time the sun's up, the three would be refreshed, drawing energy from the snacks, drinks and time together, rather than sleep. Robin didn't know if Bruce would be proud of him or annoyed. Either way, it didn't matter to him, he was his own person now, not a sidekick.
.
-Titans Tower: TWO DAYS LATER-
-Robin; Dick Grayson-
"Dr. Light, Mad Mod and Control Freak have started their own alliance." Raven says sitting on the floor of the evidence room. Robin nods, looking over at the newspaper in the girl's hand.
"Alright, do we have any possible locations?" Robin asks checking a map of the city briefly before going over to the bench in the middle of the room, eyeing Raven cautiously.
"Well, there's that light shop Dr. Light has a thing about, the old movie museum, and… wherever Mad Mod likes to lurk." She says, checking some notes. Robin nods and marks them on the map quickly in orange before tapping a code into the table. A section opens up and Robin reaches in and takes out a mask.
"Robin?" Raven asks almost making Robin jump.
"Yes?" He asks, trying to sound innocent. "I can see you, why- what is that behind your back?" She asks, trying to peer around the boy.
"N-nothing!" Robin exclaims, and Raven shakes her head, her eyes flashing a dark colour and Robin feels the weight of the mask carried out of his hands and into the pale titan's.
Raven gasps, dropping the mask, almost as if touching it would make the owner appear. "Why do you have Slade's mask? I though Cyborg took this away from you… and the countless other Slade 'artifacts'." Raven says, moving the mask away from herself with her foot.
"He did." Robin says shrugging. "I just managed to get it back, he didn't get rid of it, so I found no need to go looking for a new one when I could just take it back." He explains.
"And how did you manage to get past my security measures without tripping the alarms?" A new voice asks from the doorway making Robin jump slightly.
"I didn't, you did." Robin say shrugging. Cyborg looks exceedingly confused. "Sleepwalking." He explains. Cyborg groans and steps into the room. Robin picks up the mask, almost possessively.
"Hand it over Rob." Cyborg says in a tired voice. Robin clutches it harder, almost like a child not wanting to part with a bag of candy.
"That thing is dangerous, you don't know what it can do!" Raven says and Robin almost scoffs.
"That's why I have it, so nothing can happen to it." He says angrily.
"What makes you think I won't confiscate it from you again?" Cyborg asks in his usual bravado.
"Because… because I'm team leader?" He says, not meaning to make it sound like a question.
"Nu-uh! I don't care if you're the president! I don't wanna see that thing anywhere near you… or anyone for that matter." Cyborg shudders before snatching the mask out of the younger boy's hands.
"Hey!" He shouts angrily, jumping up to try to reach the mask.
"What if he comes back? What if he tracks us down with the mask? What will you do huh?" Cyborg fires his questions at the boy, a hand over his face in attempt to hold him off.
"Just give it back! It's MINE!" He shouts, earning an amused look from his friends. Yeah, that didn't come out right did it.
The room suddenly flashes red. "Yo! If you three wanna stop fighting or whatever me and Star don't know how to use the computer!" A voice that sounds like it's gotten the bad end of puberty screeches from the main room: Beast Boy. Robin takes the moment of confusion to snatch at the mask and shove it back into its place before running after the others.
Starfire and Beast Boy are watching the screen pressing various buttons. "Why don't you press the accept button?" Cyborg shouts and he presses it himself.
"Well why didn't you tell me that? I mean, why do we even have a karaoke button?" Beast Boy snaps back. Cyborg rubs the back of his neck, embarrassed.
"I like karaoke," He says quietly.
"It's Mad Mod, Control freak and Dr. Light!" Raven says, "They're doing something in an abandoned warehouse!" Robin checks the co-ordinates before running out the room.
"Titans! Go!"
Next time: Robin and the Titans get caught, Slade meets up with an acquaintance and we meet Ivory at last!
A/N: How did I go? I'm not the best at Fan Fics but I like to think I'm alright at them... This was originally only half of the chapter but it was so LONG! Ugh! It was 11 pages but I had to cut it in half.
Now some of yall who know me from Two Little Two Late will probably be going: 'Hey Top Hat, what's up with suddenly abandoning your other fanfic and I thought you were uploading this like two weeks ago!'
Well to you all: Did you all follow me here? And no I haven't given up on it things take time and TLTL Will always be my top priority. I'm just doing this for my own amusement. And yeah about the late upload I know I said I'd do this a while ago but... I've said it before and I'll say it again: I;m a procrastinator... and no I'm not lazy I just forget... yeah I'm a little lazy.
Please Review, favorite and follow. I love hearing from you guys and sometimes sit at my laptop and refresh my inbox for ages because it makes me happy when people write what they think of the chapter. I don't know when I'll upload a new chapter on this, it's just kind of a side thing from the real thing... I know heaps of writers like me practically fuel their Fanfics on their viewers and reviews so yeah. Reviews are the equivalent of virtual chocolate (For the writer and reviewers).
That's it for now!
Al's pieces of weird wisdom/ advice/ things to think about:
- If a Astronaut was found drowned in the middle of a sand desert during a bush fire would it be a bush fire or a cactus fire?
- 'Use your head or go to bed' - Words of my uncle to my cousin who then went and rode his scooter in front of a car and got a beer bottle thrown at him by my 5 year old other cousin.
- If you ate a cannonball is it cannonballisim?
And I'll leave it there for the night! BYE!