Summary: Four months into Robin's apprenticeship a young girl appears. Her presence changes everything. But is Robin really ready to come home? This is a rewrite as well as a continuation of Anom's Broken Wings. This storyline involves both of Slade's 'apprentices'.
Disclaimer: No, like so many before me I do not own the Teen Titans.
A/N: For those of you who have yet to read my story I hope you enjoy it. This is my first FanFitcion and being so, it's a working progress. It's going to be muli-chaptered with twists and turns. I'm also going to be semi-religious about updating it.
Update: OKAY. This is the re-written chapter one. I'm excited about it so let me know what you think. Thank you, thank you, thank you, Hanna Sedai for being my Beta. Also, I've switched it from passive voice to active voice. Here is the finished product:
Now, get to reading you. xD
-Ana Uzumaki
.: "You can run," Dorian said in a neutral tone that did nothing to lessen the intensity of his :.
.: expression, "but sooner or later, you run out of places to run to." :.
.: ― Nalini Singh, Play of Passion :.
Chapter 1: Giving Up
Richard Grayson
Location: In a forest outside of Jump City
Date: 21 November Time: 22:40
A beam of energy vaporizes the tree in front of me lighting the dense forestry in a quick flash of light, disappearing just as quickly as it came. I turn knowing the only option of who had followed me.
My old team trails me through the pouring rain, illuminated by the eerie glow of Starfire's ready and waiting firebolt. I run forward attempting to avoid them at all costs. The side of the cliff comes into view preventing any passage forward.
I turn around hearing Slade's voice croon in my ear, commanding me to attack as they corner me. But, unlike all the other times my feet have already begun moving, relying on instinct.
I viciously dive at my friends, ignoring surprised glances from Cyborg and Beast Boy. I throw myself into the fight completely knowing I had to finish it quickly and not caring how it is going to be accomplished.
The thoughts I've had constantly during the first few months of my apprenticeship grow fainter and fainter each time I fight them. Could this be the night I would find a chance for freedom? Or, maybe, given a few more days, my friends might detect the sinister threat lurking in their blood and release me from my personal hell. Like everything else, they've become easy to ignore.
When Rea throws a beam of energy in my direction I realize the Titans are unusually fierce this time, unknowingly igniting my will to fight. It makes me sick knowing this was one of the few traits I share with my new master. Both Slade and the Titans know I live for fighting. The only difference is Slade uses it against me.
I fight harder, allowing myself to be consumed by the need to finish this. Hand-to-hand combat determines who the stronger opponent is, a voice in my head echoes. If only, I think, briefly dwelling on my earlier fight with Slade.
Cyborg runs towards me, his deadly sonic cannon at the ready. I roll narrowly missing the white-blue beam as it zips past me. I reach forward and pull his hand down yanking it behind him. Hearing his jaw snap shut, I turn around just in time to see a large T-Rex racing towards me.
I let go of Cyborg and he rubs his wrist as if he could still feel the tight grip I had on it. It was inevitable the Titans would encounter my new fighting style. I train every day until I collapse from the sheer effort or until Slade grows bored with me and returns to his work. This being said, I easily avoid and counter the Titans attacks; I know them too well to be caught off guard.
I've been so in tune to my own actions that I vaguely noticed anyone else's. It's strange, but at the moment it doesn't seem like much of a concern. During the many training sessions I've had with Slade my only option was to fight like my life depended on it and, for the most part, it did. Why would now be any different?
Starfire swoops in low, flinging energy down at me as Cyborg fires his vaporizing ray. Without thinking twice about it I leap up to her level and swinging my leg out. I catch the side of her face and she lets out a muffled grunt as the metal bruises her jaw.
"Starfire!" I yell stopping. What have I done?
Panic grips my system and paralyzes me, rendering me useless. Starfire steadies herself and throws herself back into a fight I no longer want to be a part of. She closes in again persistently. The only thing I can do is turn and brace for her attack, knowing that I deserve whatever she has in store for me. I have a split second to look into Starfire's eyes, and what I find there terrorizes me.
For the briefest second I see hatred. She's now fighting the way she fights against the forces of evil, forces she now believes I have given myself completely to. I can't even calm her fears and tell her she's wrong.
At this point I don't even notice the repeated Starbolts hitting my chest, tearing my uniform and flesh. I am completely consumed by the hard look in her eyes. The hard, uncaring gleam in them hurts more than anything else. The realization hits me hard; Starfire has given up on me.
From there, the fight goes badly for me. I go numb within, dwelling only on the fact that my friends have finally accepted that I have switched sides. The look, I realize as I stare at each of their faces, all my teammates share.
I stumble finding myself unable to muster the will to fight. Hits that I should have bounced back from send me hurtling to the ground; where I barely manage to rise only in time to receive another hit. Everything is silent except for the sounds of the raging storm.
Unlike my previous battles with them there are no pleas begging me to explain or to return. Not even the witty remarks they shot at criminals to raise their ire can be heard as our fight progresses. Save for their yells of attack and the pained grunts that forced their way out of my throat, there is nothing that linked the Titans to me, their fallen leader.
Somewhere during the fight I begin to fear for my life. As the battle drags on I feel myself slipping more and more into defeat. My entire body screams in agony, wanting nothing more than to submit to unconsciousness. But, would they stop with knocking me out or were they now determined to finish this once and for all?
It was that uncertainty that kept me from giving up completely. The hope that I would wake up on a hospital bed, with my friends looking down at me was improbable fantasy, a waste of energy to even consider. And even if that happy fantasy came true, I remind myself as I duck behind a tree desperately to avoid Raven's dark energies.
Slade would annihilate the Teen Titans while I watched. Even now, I was lucky Slade hadn't taken the fight into his own hands, I think bitterly, recalling my first encounter with the Titans after my apprenticeship.
Raven traps me a ball of dark energy pulling me into the air before letting me drop from punishing heights, nearly breaking every bone in my back. Cyborg mercilessly punches me as I lay on the ground where I landed. He bloodies my nose, splits my lip, and blackens my eyes. Beast Boy hurls me through the air. I narrowly miss hitting the trunk of a tree as gravity makes its move on me. Having barely escaped the follow-up charge by the enormous green rhino I make an attempt at retreating.
I pull a smoke bomb from my belt in a last attempt to escape. There are no fancy flips, no quick footed jumps from tree to tree as I make my escape, only the sight of a battered child as I trip over my feet beneath the darkened trees, desperate and defeated.
I can hear the others close behind. Panicking, I make a split-second decision. I hide knowing I can't outrun them. I arrive at the river weak and out-of-breath. I miss the ledge and trip. I fall down the sloping river bank, landing among the washed up muck and refuse of a river being nursed to life by the storm. I know I can't afford to stay where I am; I groan at a dark sky that doesn't care for my agony or anyone else's.
I pull myself up. The embarrassment I feel as I crawl through the mud is nothing compared to the pain that shoots though every inch of my body. I can't help but wince as the rain pounds heavily on my back. As if I hadn't been punished enough already, I think to myself sarcastically.
Digging my fingers into the mud, I attempt to pull myself under the only protection I can find, a large oak tree across from me. It looks as if it had been knocked over several months ago. The trees overbearing limbs offer a makeshift hiding place until I can find the energy to return. A stick pokes through a hole in my uniform leaving a long scratch down my arm. Rocks hidden amongst the mud press into my skin and leave small burses as I use my elbows to pull myself forward.
I lay here listening to my former friend's hunt for me, wishing nothing more than to call out to them. Tell them I gave up. Tell them that I needed their help now more than ever before.
I know I will never again receive their help and it puts a somber feeling in my heart. They searched for me in the dark, sometimes calling out my name but for the most part I remain in same cold silence as before.
A crack of thunder roars and a flash of lightning lights up the area. I roll over, gasping. Everything hurts. I have a concussion, definitely some broken bones, maybe even a cracked rib.
Once again I can hear the footsteps of my friends. Fear settles into my stomach as I realize they are still searching for me in the storm despite what had happened.
My new uniform allows me to remain hidden. Even if it was torn and beaten almost as badly as I am, at least it's useful for something. I choke on a laugh. Black and dark orange blended much easier into mud than red, green, and yellow, after all.
My uniform, though camouflaging me, provides me with little protection from the elements. I wouldn't be surprised if I died of pneumonia out here, I think as I drift in and out of consciousness.
When the rain had finally settles to a light drizzle did I wake myself up enough to hear her softly call my name. Her voice gets louder and my body tenses as I hear the snap of a twig. I hold my breath as Starfire walks right past me; her feet passing close enough for me to reach out and touch them. Right when I think she's seen me, she moves on as quickly as she had come. She takes flight, continuing her scan of the woods.
I listen, wishing there was even a hint of worry in their voices, something, anything that would give me hope. But after the way I fought them tonight I know there wouldn't be. Not anymore.
During the long days I spend in the Haunt I have two options: exercise and think. I go over every mistake and every slip-up during my many sparring matches with Slade. Keeping up with the pattern, I did the only thing I was able to: I evaluate what happened.
"When did everything go wrong?"I ask myself uncertainly.
Thinking back, I guess some of my moves could be considered cruel. No wonder any chance of redemption was lost to me. I no longer deserve any help they could offer anyway. Not that they would, Slade had made sure of that.
Earlier, Slade had requested me from my room with another mission. It was only the third assignment he had given me in three months, so I couldn't really complain, especially since my first two were during my first week as his apprentice. Apprentice. I hated that word. An indentured servant, someone who must obey their master or pay the consequences. Like so many times before I almost resisted. But one look at the monitors constantly reminded me of why I had to obey.
Gradually, the voices die down. The sounds of search vanish until all I can hear is my own ragged breathing and the patter of rain on the leaves above me. The Titans have given up the search and I am alone. I don't even have Slade, I think sarcastically stopping to listen to the static in my earpiece.
I decide to spend another hour lying in the mud before finally emerging from my hiding place. The rain has started to fall heavily again. The raindrops soak my hair as I lean on a branch for support. I feel a broken rib jabbing under my skin with my fingertips, the skin tender underneath my uniform.
I cough not bothering to cover my mouth. I look at the ground seeing spatters of blood as another set of coughs erupt from my system. "That can't be good," I mumble.
I lean heavily on the tree next to me for support; I seem to fall from tree to tree rather than walk as I make my way back to the only home I had now.
It had been so tempting to lie there in the mud, to let myself slip away and perhaps never awaken. It would've been a welcome reprieve. Is such a fate was now my only chance of ever finding peace again? I wonder absently as I cross the dimly lit street. I think again of the probes in the Titans' bodies.
Slade constantly monitors my vital signs. He would know if I had purposely given up, and my former team would pay the penalty. Even now I can't condemn them. So I push myself up.
Slade hasn't said a word into my headset since the fight began, but he was waiting at the door when I finally arrived. I stumble, collapsing at the feet of the monster that had caused all of my current pain and confusion, helpless, finally accepting what could not be changed.
Starfire
Location: In a forest outside of Jump City
Date: 22 November Time: 02:07
"Robin..."
I fly farther away from the group in my own search for our lost friend. I land in the river, the rising water chilling me to the bone as I stepped in up to my ankles. I struggle to peer over to the other side.
I watch my feet making sure I won't fall on the treacherous rocks. I brace against the raging current. I raise a green glowing fist trying to illuminate the area, looking for any trace of him. There is no sign of friend Robin; I quickly raise from the water and fly back to my group of friends.
Should I still refer to Robin as a friend? I ask myself uncertainly.
"He ain't out here anymore Star. I don't know how he got away after alla' that, but, then again you all know who we're dealing with," Cyborg says grimly as I place my feet on the ground.
"He has to be. We cannot give up on him," I argue.
But isn't that what we have already done? I have no idea how I'm supposed to feel. Cy raises a mechanical hand and places it on my shoulder in an attempt to make me feel better. I don't have the heart to tell him I didn't think anything would.
"He's still here; no one could get away that easily, considering his injuries. Not even Robin." A shadow melts upward behind us and forms into a solid being. Raven looks up from beneath her hood darkly.
Even though it seems as if Rae is absent of the many emotions that I have come to take for granted, I can tell she is struggling with the 'keeping of the calm'.
"Beast Boy, can you catch his scent?" she calls to a green bloodhound cantering towards us.
Once he's close enough, he shifts back into a green boy with pointy ears. He shakes his head, sending water flying in all directions. He makes a sound as he whips the mud from his face.
"Yuck!" He complains, "There's too much mud and rain; any scent gets washed away too fast for it to be clear. I can't get look for him. Let's just go home already."
"No, Robin is still here," I argue, turning to Cy. He doesn't seem surprised by the rush of anger in my usually joyous voice. "Most likely he is hiding under a rock or something or-" I sigh, letting my words drop. "We only have to find him."
Beast Boy sticks an accusing finger at Raven, who promptly ignores him. "Hey, Raven," he waves a hand in her face, "Can't you like… Find his mind or something? Why do I have to be the one sticking my nose in the mud?"
A medium-sized rock levitates almost three feet before plummeting straight into Beast Boy's head. Raven casts a fierce look at him before explaining slowly, "To enter someone's mind I have to release a large amount of energy. I don't have that kind of energy at the moment." He gives her a blank look. I hear her sigh. "Meaning if I could find Robin's mind if we hadn't already engaged in a fight with him."
"Awe, man," the changeling complains, scratching his head.
"Titans, we must continue our search. Robin is still within the reach our hands have," I beg. Raven looks at me; her mouth moves as if she wants to say something but Cyborg cuts her off.
"Sure, Star. Titans, split up and continue searching the area."
Beast Boy turns into a crow, taking flight to continue his search of the west side of the woods. I take a long look at each of my remaining friends; I watch them until we split-up again in an attempt to find our fallen leader. I'm finding none of the 'comfort' in any of the other's eyes. Just a reflection of an expression that I know is mirrored in my own.
The final acceptance of the situation hits me hard. The rest of them can't help but feel guilty even though the fault was not theirs to feel. The feelings of guilt cloud my mind. There are so many things I wish I would've told him. But I can't help but wonder. Would it have made any difference?
Unable to stand the bleak looks in my team's faces that still linger in my mind I try and find a happy thought. I think of the early days on my planet before the war broke out. Eventually I take flight.
The search for Robin means, to some degree, refusing to believe that he's gone, returned once more to his new master.
Though I won't admit it aloud, the hollow feeling of sorrow I feel in the pit of my stomach has grown to the point to where it is almost unbearable. I can't help but wonder, briefly, if Robin is feeling the same way in his place of hiding.
Why do you keep up the hoping, Koriand'r? I ask myself. He's not coming back, I think grimly. But, I still can't help but hope that one day he will return as our leader.
Our team has discussed this many times during the months Robin has been lost to Slade. Only a few days before our fight with him tonight had Raven finally managed to affirm what all of us had feared.
There was no reason, as far as we are concerned, for him to stay with Slade unless he has chosen to so. Robin has betrayed us. When he fought us earlier, he showed us little mercy.
Until tonight I have foolishly thought that I had somehow managed to break through some of the barriers he has built around himself. But now it is clear that there is still much I had not revealed, and much he did not wish to reveal about himself. I constantly wonder what Raven had seen in Robin's mind. Will he ever willingly let anyone else see those things? Probably not.
A part of me still worries about him; I hope he's okay. My hand drifts toward my cheek, where the skin remains tender. Why did he hit me? I ask myself, feeling my disappointment in him growing.
Is it as I previously thought? Has Robin truly become evil? Questions plague my mind as I search for him.
I meet up with the rest of the team several hours later.
"Let's go home, Star," Cy says putting a comforting hand on my shoulder.
All I can do is shake my head as my friends lead me away. I feel as if the happiness within me has disappeared, consumed by a drorth'nad during its seasonal rampage on Tamaran.
A/N: Reviews/constructive criticism are always appreciated. If you've read my story before let me know what you think of the new layout and whatever else you want to tell me. 3
: D Hope everyone is having a good week.
-Ana Uzumaki