Robin stopped and felt his body go rigged with fear. He was only vaguely aware of Beast Boy running into his back, the only reason why he was able to speak. But only one pathetic word managed to escape "No."
"It's been a long time, hasn't it Titans. A month, a year, a millennium? Far too long for my tastes anyway. I was beginning to think I would never get to see your smiling faces again." The owner of the voice that still plagued his dreams lounged atop a balcony overlooking the factory.
"How did you survive?" Cyborg demanded.
"Terra took you down, way down!" Beast Boy cried out.
"I don't know where you've been, but you shouldn't have come back. I'm still ready" Robin stated as he clenched his fists. The Boy Wonder had been training for this, somewhere in the back of his mind he always knew, in a twisted way maybe even hoped that Slade would return. This man was his nemesis; the last test.
A red mark appeared on Slade's forehead almost mockingly as a response. "That's cute Robin, but I didn't come for you." Robin almost let his guard down. Almost. If he isn't here for me. Then who is he here for? he thought to himself.
A tunnel of fire tore through the team, and Robin quickly dodged out of the way. Starfire caught him and tugged him into the air, her deceptively gentle alien strength a reassuring harness as she carried Robin away from the danger. The team quickly regrouped a few hundred feet away from Slade.
"Don't you ever get those days, when you're just happy to be alive?" Slade sing-songed his hands became balls of fire and he leapt gracefully from the balcony down to the ground, signaling his eagerness to fight.
"Dude, since when can he do that?" Cyborg demanded.
"I don't know. But he won't be doing it for long. Titans Go!" Robin cried as he and his teammates got into battle formation and charged at Slade.
Cyborg and Starfire charged first; firing sonic cannons and starbolts at Slade only to have them extinguished by a wall of fire that Slade created as a barrier.
Robin leapt into the air, ice discs between each finger as he attempted to throw them over the wall and hit Slade who was now standing on the railing of the balcony.
The ice froze the villain in his typical mocking stance; arms crossed, feet shoulder width apart, head tilted down in contempt. At first Robin thought he'd done it, but the ice quickly melted and Slade was once again free.
Robin watched Raven throw icicle after icicle at Slade, only to have him dodge every time. The same happened when Beast boy charged as a giant gorilla. Starfire soon gave chase hurling starbolts at Slade. The villain turned and with his hands of fire, caught Starfire's starbolts and made them into a flaming ball of energy that he soon threw back at the redhead. She tried to stop it, but was overpowered and let out a yell as she was thrown to the ground.
He turned his attention away from the battle below him and grabbed his bostaff. This wasn't a good sign; Slade had always been able to take them down, but most of those were tests to see where the Titans were at both physically and mentally. This time it seemed like Slade was playing for keeps.
They circled each other along the gears of the clock before Slade's own bostaff caught on fire and he attacked. Robin grunted each time he blocked and dodged Slade's flaming weapon but eventually his own staff was chopped in half, burned though by what could only be described as hellfire. "Trust me Robin, you don't want to play with fire." Slade stated mockingly.
A burst of flames hit Robin head on before he was knocked twenty feet away and hit the ground hard.
"It's really been nice seeing all of you again." was the last thing Robin heard before passing out.
Raven stood over Cyborg's unconscious form. "I just want this day to end" she said to her unresponsive friend. So focused on Cyborg she didn't hear Slade's approach until he appeared behind her.
"We both know this day is far from over." he stated. Raven found herself cowering, she recognized the mark on his forehead and she was unable to respond.
"Hello birthday girl, ready for your present?" he asked. Raven swore that if she could see beneath that asshole's mask that he would be smirking. She began to channel dark energy into her hands and her trademark Raven claw shot forth grabbing Slade and throwing him across the room where he hit the wall.
She chased ready to continue to fight, but Slade was too quick and he grabbed her wrist. Raven struggled but she couldn't escape the vice like grip and it felt like a brand was being shoved against her slender wrist. Slade dropped her to the ground and she sat up slowly. Looking at her wrist pitifully, she gasped at the sight of the Mark of Scathe branded on the inside of her wrist.
"It has begun." Slade mocked.
Worst fucking birthday ever. Raven thought to herself as Slade floated into the air, surrounded by blue lightening. The building they were in began to crumble. She watched as her friends began to escape; making a mental check list in her head as she watched.
Starfire: flying out.
Beast boy: Transforming and about to run
Cyborg: conscious and now running
Robin:
She turned quickly, trying to find the Boy Wonder as the building was being torn apart from the inside out. She watched him and thought he was safe as he was running across the factory catwalk. Then the gear fell; as it rolled the catwalk bent and Robin was sliding down the smooth concrete about to get crushed.
"STOP!" she screamed a burst of black energy shooting from her body.
As she landed on her feet and her vision cleared she saw what she had done, the world around her had frozen; Cyborg was frozen mid-run, while Starfire stayed suspended in the air like a model airplane on display, but it was Beastboy who was frozen mid-change-his body half human half cheetah.
When her eyes landed back on Slade she gasped and took a step back. "You may be able to stop time, birthday girl, but you can't stop me." he mocked as his body began to glow and he dropped gracefully to the ground. "I have to say, Raven. When I found out the truth I was very impressed. All this time I had no idea; the power that lurks inside you, the glorious day when you destroy everything" he paused resting his hand on his chin. "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"
Raven's head began to pound, all of her emotions were going haywire. The words Slade was saying, just solidified what was really happening. This was her birthday, her destiny was about to begin. She did the only thing that she knew she could do, run. Her thoughts were jumbled and her emotions chaotic; she couldn't use her powers.
Slade followed. "Did you really think you could just blow out the candles and wish it all away? Today is the day it begins."
She froze when she hit a dead end and turned towards Slade, her violet eyes wide with fear as she watched him cautiously like the trapped bird that she was. He leaned in closer so that his face was just inches away from hers. "It is going to happen; and no matter what you wish, no matter where you go. There is nothing you can do to stop it."