A/N: Now that it's summer, I have much more time to spend writing, so I thought I would expand my horizons with a new writing endeavor. This story is a bit of a mesh of stories by various authors and of course, the Teen Titans cartoon we all watch. What I've done is fast forward from "Teen Titans" into the future. This picks up following the "Young Justice/Titans" comics storyline by Judd Winick, where both groups are disbanded. Because of that, the new Teen Titans are formed. Now - don't hit that 'back' button yet. It is not about new people - well not centered around them. The main players will be Nightwing (who is Robin - obviously), Robin (Tim Drake), and of course, everyone's favorite villain - Slade.
In this storyline, Nightwing is heading up The Outsiders, and Robin is in the new Teen Titans (which is led by Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg). However, I am not using the comics backstory, I'm using the "Teen Titans" cartoon for that, and you'll see that when you read it. Oh, and for ages - I'm not really sure how old everyone is, probably well into their twenties.
It's not as confusing as it sounds... I think. Anyway, give this chapter a shot and see what you think! Oh, and if you've read the new Teen Titans, I'm totally screwing over their storyline, so don't worry about it.
Disclaimer: Ye Gods, do I look like someone old enough to own DC comics? Do I? Um... no. However, this awkward storyline is of my own design!
If At First You Don't Succeed…
By: Sarah Shima
Chapter One: Disbanded and Separated
The Titans were finished. Nightwing had announced that, and his words were their end. There was no going back. Donna Troy – the first Wonder Girl, Troia – was dead. Killed by a crazed Superman android. Nightwing had watched her eyes shoot open as an eye laser pierced her chest. He saw her fall over lifelessly, fist still raised in battle. The Superman android was destroyed by the blue android that started the whole mess, but Nightwing did not pay it any attention. He raced to her side, unbelieving. She could not be dead. But yet she was. He looked around, finding himself alone. Then, two figures appeared. Arsenal and Robin stared back at Dick and what was once Donna, their eyes open in shock. They raced to his side. Arsenal kneeled before Donna, gently closing the pained eyes.
Donna Troy – Friend – Princess – Warrior.
And the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
In that instant two teams broke apart, and so many people were crushed. Young Justice and the Titans both met their ends.
No one wanted to lose anyone else that they loved.
And no one knew what to do.
Time passed, an endless wheel that even sorrow and torment fails to stop. Dick Grayson holed himself up alone, refusing to speak to anyone, including Roy, who saw everything breaking down.
Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy saw the once members of Young Justice broken and alone, and decided to fill their needs. Reopening the old Titan's Tower, they invited the young heroes to join them. To learn about their powers, fighting, and about themselves, where they could be safe under the tutelage of three experienced crime fighters. Wonder Girl, Superboy, Impulse, and Robin gratefully accepted the opportunity.
Meanwhile, Roy Harper (Arsenal / former Speedy)found another solution to revitalize his close friend. Bringing together a motley team, consisting of Jade, Thunder, Grace, Shift, and Indigo, he created a new type of crime fighting group. He created a team, not a family. No one there had to be friends. No one had to care about anyone else. They all worked together, nothing more. And that was the only reason that Nightwing agreed to lead them. His heart could not take the loss of anyone else he was loved, so now he sent a team of mere acquaintances out to battle.
If only life could work out that way. As if anyone could choose a path that never hurt. As if life never destroyed those who you loved. Nightwing's life certainly was not turning out that way.
Titan's Tower – Home of the New Teen Titans
Only three people gasped when the masked face appeared on the monitors. Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy looked up abruptly, their expressions betraying their anger. Superboy, Robin, Wonder Girl, and Impulse stared up at the three, surprised in the reactions of their mentors. This could not be good.
"What do you want Slade?" Starfire demanded.
"Just to say hello to the new Teen Titans," Slade said, his voice containing a hint of excitement. "I was a bit disheartened when I discovered that Nightwing would not be present in this new little team. I do so miss our banter." Robin turned his head so fast to look at the screen that he may have gotten whiplash. This guy knew Nightwing?
"What are you up to Slade?" Cyborg asked suspiciously.
Slade ignored his comment as he caught sight of someone interesting. "Ah, a new Robin. I wonder though, how does he compare to the original?"
Slade was creeping Robin out. The one eye looked at Robin like he was some item in a store that Slade wanted to own. The mentors noticed this, and Starfire's eyes flashed green with anger.
"Shut it Slade," Beast Boy said, stepping in front of Robin. "If you're done with your little hello, then leave us alone, we don't need to waste our time with you."
"But you haven't even introduced me yet? Forgetting your manners Beast Boy?"
"As if I need to be courteous to you," he scowled.
"What is it that you want?" Starfire demanded.
"I'm in the market for…" he paused, his eyes revealing the smile that was hidden behind the mask. "Wait, I think I'll hold on to my cards for a while." However, the mentors of the teens knew that Slade's little slip was intentional; he had planned the whole conversation out.
"You won't be able to pull off anything you're planning on tryin'," Cyborg warned.
"Funny to hear that from you," Slade responded. "As if any of you ever posed a threat to me."
"That's a strange thing for you to say, considering the fact that we've defeated you a number of times," Beast Boy growled.
"Yes, but that was all thanks to one member of your team, and, like I said, I do not see him here. Robin was the only Teen Titan who ever stood a chance against me. Oh, and maybe Raven too, but she's gone if my sources are correct. Very gone," Slade laughed.
"Shut up!" Beast Boy shouted. "We're not wasting our time on you anymore!"
Oh, I think we'll be sharing much time together." Slade looked at Robin again. "Goodbye… for now."
The screen went dead.
"Who was that?" Superboy asked.
"Slade Wilson – Deathstroke," Beast Boy responded. They teens all looked up quizzically. Who was that?
Starfire had stepped over to the console before the monitor, and was typing something in.
"What are you doing?" Cyborg asked.
Before she could respond however, the screen flickered to life, revealing the hideout of the Outsiders. Nightwing stood in the middle, looking surprised to be contacted by Starfire. The android Indigo and density-changing fighter Thunder stood just behind him. "Nightwing," Starfire began without preamble. "We have a problem."
"What kind of problem?" he asked.
"Slade is back."
"What!" Nightwing demanded. "Do you have any idea what he wants?"
Starfire looked behind her nervously, motioning for the Teen Titans to leave the room. They were angry, but complied all the same. Robin took one last look back at Nightwing before exiting the room.
"Okay, now that you three are alone will you tell me what he wants?" Nightwing asked impatiently.
"He hinted that he may be after… an apprentice," Starfire said hesitantly.
Nightwing's face fell. "Are you sure?"
"Pretty much," Beast Boy said. "He said that he was in the market for… and then just let the sentence drop. And he made some remarks about spending time with us."
"And he kept looking over at…" Cyborg began. He paused however, as if he was not sure if he really wanted to divulge this to Nightwing.
"Don't tell me… Tim?" Nightwing filled in the silence. The three nodded. Nightwing smashed his fist onto the console to let out his anger. "That bastard." Now Grace and Shift had also turned their attention to the monitors.
"Don't worry though, we'll be able to handle it. I just thought you might like to know," Starfire assured.
"Yeah, thanks Kory. Keep me in the loop about everything okay?"
"Of course."
"And one more thing… Look after Tim, alright? We both know what Slade's capable of." Kory nodded knowingly.
"I will."
Headquarters of The Outsiders – Brooklyn
The screen went dead, and Nightwing slammed his fist again. "Whoa, what's got you so riled up?" Arsenal called as he walked into the headquarters.
"Slade's back," Nightwing responded.
"In New York?" Arsenal asked, taken aback.
"No, in San Francisco. Starfire just told me."
"Well, the Titans are definitely going to have their work cut out for them," Arsenal sighed.
"Yeah. I'll be back later," Nightwing said as he walked up the stairs and out of the room.
Dick Grayson's Apartment
Dick Grayson returned to his apartment alone. As he entered, he kept the lights off, knowing how to get around in the dark. He sat down at his desk, and pulled a laptop out of a locked drawer. As he fired it up, he pulled a small disk out of his pocket. He inserted the disk in the back of the laptop. He opened a large file manager, and lowered his cursor over the section labeled "Teen Titans." From the drop-down menu he selected the first name, "Slade."
He looked carefully through his Slade files, not quite sure if he was looking for something, or if he just wanted to refresh his memory. He had not thought about Slade for years. After the end of the Teen Titans, he had pushed Slade from his mind. Eventually the nightmares had gone away, the memories had faded, and Slade had slipped into the recesses of his mind. Even when he created the Titans, Slade had not resurfaced, nothing had happened. Slade ceased to be important. But now…
He should have been looking for him. What was the purpose of The Outsiders if he was not looking for the worst criminals there were? Why was he leading a team of hunters if not to catch those who posed the greatest threat? He was running around taking out oversized talking gorillas when Slade was scheming. And he was after the same thing as before – an apprentice. Dick knew only too well how far Slade would go to secure what he wanted. And that meant Tim was in danger.
Dick was uncomfortable, he did not know what he should do, if anything. He suddenly did not like the way he left things with Tim. He put his hands in his head, remembering their last conversation.
They were traveling above the streets of Gotham, tossing out their jumpcords and grappling hooks, darting from building to building. Dick sometimes wondered how funny it seemed that they could hold a conversation while doing this, yet they could. The rain was pounding down on their bodies, but neither slowed down. Nightwing stayed in front, his back to Robin. It had been six weeks since Lilith and Donna Troy's untimely deaths, and both were still feeling the effects. Robin started a conversation, one that Nightwing did not pay much attention to. The pair landed on the roof of a building, standing just behind the gargoyle on the corner.
"What happened to us out there, we've been ambushed before. But we lost focus. We fell apart. And the worst thing of it all…" Robin said sadly, eyes pleading for Nightwing to say something, to make him feel something other than horrible. "-It's like every single one of us has seen people die. We've lost people we love. Everyone on the team. We swore we would work together to make sure it would never happen again." Robin held his hand out in front of him, grasping for the reasons why any of this had to happen. "We thought going through all that made us stronger. But it didn't. It… when we saw Lilith." Robin paused, unable to go on.
Nightwing did not say anything. Robin turned to him hopelessly, staring at Nightwing's muscular shoulders, wanting desperately for him to turn around, to say something… anything. "I know what you're feeling. I know what you're telling yourself. The same thing I am. 'It's my fault." Silence met his words.
The two stood together uncomfortably, the rain beating down endlessly. Robin approached Nightwing's back. "What do we do now, Dick?" Robin asked, his voice pleading.
Nightwing finally responded. "I don't know," he said stoically, raising his grappling gun. Robin looked up, startled. He shot off the grappling hook and then turned to face Robin. "But whatever it is…" He leapt off the building by the jump cord as Robin walked toward the ledge, staring after him. "I think we better do it alone," Nightwing called back to Robin.
Dick pulled his hand through his thick hair. God, what was he supposed to do? Some of the last words Donna spoke to him echoed in his head. It was when they were in the hospital, listening in on Robin and Superboy's conversation. Robin was berating himself for his team's ill actions in the fight against the android from the future.
"That was dumb," Robin had said, standing in the dark hallway with Superboy.
"I know. I heard you the first three times," Superboy responded, annoyed.
"Crazy dumb. Crazy stupid sticking fingers into light sockets kind of dumb," Robin continued.
"I'm clear on the 'dumb' part," Superboy said, hoping to stop Tim from continuing his rant.
"If you were clear on it then you wouldn't have jumped the homicidal android," Robin spat.
"Hey, I wasn't the first," Superboy defended.
"No, that was Impulse and Empress and they managed to nearly get themselves killed, too."
"The Titans got their lumps."
"No, the Titans got our lumps. They were looking after us." Robin bit his lip in frustration. "There we were, shoulder to shoulder with the very inspiration for Young Justice. The Titans. And we lose half our team, and half of theirs," Robin said.
"Tim, I bet they were a lot like us when they started."
"No. I don't think so."
The two leading members of the Titans – Nightwing and Troia – had their heads stuck out into the hallway, watching the pair of Young Justice members. "He's being awfully hard on himself. Kind of reminds me of someone," she chided.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Nightwing responded.
"You could tell him he's wrong."
"Is he?"
"We stepped in it plenty of times, Dick. Plenty." When Nightwing did not respond, Donna went through an anthology of mistakes their team had made when they were young. "They could use a kind word," Donna finished.
"Maybe I should have said something to him then. Or afterwards in Gotham," Dick sighed. Now that he knew the Titans were up against Slade, he was worried about them – Tim in particular of course. As the third Robin, Dick always considered Tim a little brother of sorts. He did not want Tim to suffer, especially at the hands of Slade. And he knew that if Slade got close enough to Tim that he would be forced into a nightmare. He could not let that happen.
A/N:
Phew. That took a while. The italicized scenes are all taken directly from Titans/Young Justice: Graduation Day by Judd Winick.
Since this chapter was a bit of a teaser, I'll start the next one off with thecharacter profiles. And if there's anything that really doesn't make any sense, let me know. This is going to take quite a bit of effort, but I can see it developing, which is a good thing. Anyway, please review!
Thanks for your time!
Sarah Shima
