Days passed. One after another. Every day, more machines were born. Once thought of as only pawns, Slade came to realize, that even pawns can make quite a difference. There was no longer the need for complex plans, worthless apprentices and outside help. It was just him and his toys. Machines would be created. Machines would create themselves. It was a beautiful sight to watch his army get bigger. Almost as beautiful as seeing the number of opponents taken out of the picture. More and more Titans would fall. And as most Titans weren't on any of the two teams, it would make things even easier. No one would even realize that they were gone. Not until it would already be too late. Sure, there was this silly communicator problem, but that was just another issue machines were able to take care of. As if there was anything they couldn't do. Simplicity is a real beauty. The first row, generic robots, hundreds of them. Quite a big number, but nothing that some of the stronger Titans wouldn't be able to stop. But once the enemy was weakened after fighting of nothing but worthless pawns, it was time for the real threat to appear. Robots – this time, so strong, that they even might be a threat to a Titan. To a Titan with all his powers, in a one on one match. Dozens of these, in a battle against a weakened Titan...it wouldn't be a fight. It would be slaughter. And soon, there would only be two teams left, to be taken care of. Until then, Slade would have found more than enough ways to separate them and annihilate them, one at a time.
"This new line of robots was probably the best thing I ever came up with." Smiling beneath his mask, he walked through his very own factory. A villain of his magnitude, he not only possessed the mind or the body, but also the resources to prove, he was the greatest evil the Titans would ever face. And probably the last. "It seems...almost too easy. Almost boring." Quiet laughter could be heard. "Almost."
XXX
Starfire really knew how to take care of her friends. Especially if Robin was the friend in question. The best thing she could do to keep him from, once again, turning into the obsessed young man he was before, was spending time with him. He said he wouldn't let it happen, and she trusted him, but, you know, just in case.
And while she loved the time they spent with each other and although she cherished every single moment they shared, just the two of them, she was also glad that the others also helped to distract Robin. Even, if they weren't aware of what they were doing.
Like, when Beast Boy and Cyborg play videogames with him.
Like, when Raven...well, okay, Raven probably wasn't much of a help these days. For reasons Starfire didn't know and, according to Raven, wouldn't understand, Raven seemed somewhat moody and, even more so, saddened. Seeing her like this not only irritated the alien girl, but caused her to worry not just about Robin, but about Raven as well.
The problem was, helping Raven seemed to be much more complicated than taking care of Robin. What should she do? What could she do?
Unfortunately, things seemed to become even worse, the moment the Titans East contacted the main group.
Robin gathered the entire team, shortly after Bumblebee's face appeared on the huge screen in front of him.
"So, everybody there?" Bumblebee asked after a while.
"Yeah. So, what do
you want?" Robin got straight to the point.
"Well, we kinda
got two problems here." For a moment she remained silent.
Obviously, she was unsure how to put it. "First...it's about
Speedy. He's been acting very strange lately."
"So does Beast Boy, all the time, no need to call for help." Raven explained. A part of her wanted to see the changeling's reaction to this remark. Another part of her was almost afraid of what the reaction would be. Fear won – she didn't even dare to look at him.
"Not that kind of strange. He's out all night, fighting villains on his own, at least as far as we know, he never talks about it, heck, he hardly talks about anything at all these days. It's like he has forgotten that he is part of a team. And sometimes he is almost...aggressive. Sometimes I feel like he hates us for caring about him, now that's not the Speedy I know."
"Personally, I know exactly how he feels..." For once, Raven wasn't the only one that was not at all fond of any kind of company.
"Honestly, right now, I don't care how he feels, I just want to know what he thinks. Raven, I want you to have a look at him. I'm afraid that something might be...just very wrong." Bumblebee appeared to be really concerned about her teammate.
Raven stared at Bumblebee or, in fact, at the screen in front of her. For a moment she remained silent, thinking about what was just said, before she replied. "You want me to enter his mind?"
"It wouldn't be the first time you did this, right?"
"No, it wouldn't. That doesn't mean I go around and do it to every now and then, just for fun. This is a very serious matter. In case of Robin, it HAD to be done. I doubt that this situation bears any similarity at all to what happened to Robin back then."
"I am fully aware of that." she explained. "But as far as I'm concerned this IS serious. Maybe not as bad as it was in Robin's case, but bad enough for me. He is obsessed and I want to know with what. He is trying to seclude himself from us and I want to know why. Someone or something must have influenced him one way or another and I want to know who or what!"
"You don't even know what you are talking about. This is dangerous, this is personal, this is HIS life, ever thought he wants to live it for his own sake and not in the name of others?" While speaking, Raven slowly raised her voice.
"So that's why he is wearing his mask, doing the whole superhero, risking his life for the people thing?" Bumblebee didn't bother to just raise her voice. She straight out shouted at the other girl.
"This is preposterous. This entire discussion is pointless. I will not do anything like that."
"Why don't you all
shut up for once?!" a voice shouted. Strangely enough, it was Beast
Boy's voice. Him telling other people to shut up, oh the irony,
what a chance for Raven to make a sarcastic remark. But she remained
silent, looking at the green boy, astounded.
First, Beast Boy
looked at Bumblebee. "Face the facts Bumblebee: You're talking
about entering someone's mind, that's like what? Brain-rape? You
have to understand how Raven feels about this." Then he looked at
Raven. "On the other hand, this IS very strange. Yeah, I know,
Robin was a lot more extreme, but don't forget, Robin is obsessed
and weird all the time, you can't compare...well, okay, so they are
practically clones of each other, but Speedy is at least somewhat
different. Usually. Different enough, so you should at least think
about it...I'm not saying do it, but it's something you should
think about."
Silence.
Until Raven spoke.
"Fine. I will think about it. But I may still refuse to actually do it."
"Fair enough." Bumblebee answered. "I guess there will be more than enough time to think about it, once all of you are here."
"What do you mean 'here'?" Robin asked.
"Well, I guess you'll all be coming to Steel City. You remember, I said we have two problems, now we're talking about number 2. We need your help, all of your help and I can't even say if that would be enough." Bumblebee explained in a serious tone.
Robin raised an eyebrow. "How serious could it possibly be that you need the entire team? Besides, we've got our own troubles with Slade at the moment."
Bumblebee tried to laugh. It didn't really work, but she showed a smirk nonetheless. "Funny story, you know, that Slade of yours just happens to be our very own problem number two. You might wanna come over and pick him up, drive him home? You know, it's long past bedtime for little Sladie."
Robin couldn't believe what he just heard. "Slade is in Steel City?"
"Well I'll be damned, you understood what I just said." Bumblebee seemed to look at Robin, although she was just staring at a screen somewhere in another tower in another city. "Yes, he is." Again she became more serious. "And we really need your help. I'm not sure we can handle this. Not alone. And not with Speedy being the way he is. We need your help."
Silence. For a moment at least. Robin looked at the others and even before he did, they knew what he would say. It was obvious. It was just the same they would have said themselves. As he turned back to Bumblebee's image on the screen he spoke. "We're on our way."
XXX
Raven was in her room, sitting on her bed, thinking. The others were still getting ready, something she didn't have to do. There was just about nothing she would want – or need – to take with her. Not just because she honestly hoped that they wouldn't stay in Steel City for too long. Furthermore, she wasn't in the mood to pack her stuff. She wanted to think. She needed to think. She should be thinking about Speedy and whether or not she would help. But all she did was asking herself if she had overreacted. And the reason why she asked herself this question, was standing just in front of her room. Knocking.
"Raven?" the voice of a green changeling could be heard through the door. "Can I come in?"
The girl had to think about it for a moment, before answering. "No." She wasn't sure why, given that he had been in her room before, but she didn't want him to come in. Her room was a part of her and just like everything else about her, it should be secret. Even if every now and then her friends hat the chance to take a look inside.
"Well...would you come out?"
This she could do. A few seconds past before the door in front of Beast Boy was opened and Raven came out of her room. "What do you want?"
"I just..." He hesitated. She looked bored, uninterested and suddenly he felt like he was wasting her time. Of course this wasn't the case, but Raven did all she could to make it look like that. It's what she always did. Hide the truth behind a sarcastic and annoyed mask. "I interrupted you, didn't I?" the green boy asked. "If so I'm sorry, I just...maybe you've got some time later-"
"Beast Boy." She interrupted him. "I have all the time in the world. Just say what you have to say."
He nodded. "Okay. I just wanted to say I'm sorry. For yelling at you. I know I shouldn't have and I wanted to apologize...and...yeah, that's all I had to say."
Raven was surprised, she almost smiled. "You don't have to apologize. You were right. I shouldn't have been so aggressive. I should know as well as anybody else that Bumblebee wouldn't ask me to do something like this without thinking about it. And I should do the same. Think about it."
"Oh, okay." Beast Boy said. "So, I guess I better...leave you alone?"
Raven sighed. For once, she didn't want to be left alone. She was actually missing these moments with Beast Boy. She was missing the attention. But there was no way she could have said it. She lacked the courage to do so. So she could only nod. That's what was expected from Raven. Wanting to be alone. As Beast Boy left she asked herself a different question. Had she already reached the point, where she wouldn't expect herself to desire anything else besides loneliness?
Was it really what she wanted?
XXX
Robin, just like Raven, used his time to think, although about something different and not in his room. He was stand on the roof of the tower. What bothered him? Of course it was Slade. But, just like it had happened previously, Starfire appeared. She knew her place was by his side, ready to catch him whenever he was about to fall into the hole that Slade obviously had dug. "You are thinking about him, am I correct?"
He didn't look at her. He continued to just stare into the distance. "About whom?" he asked. Of course he already knew the answer.
"Slade." Starfire said as she came closer. "And I believe I do know why."
"And why would that be?"
By now the alien girl was standing right behind Robin. "It is because he abandoned you. He left you alone. He went to Steel City. He fought there. And he fought a different fight. He no longer fights against you and you alone. He no longer treats you like his only nemesis. You are but a mere titan now, like all of us. And I think this is what bothers you. You feel like he has betrayed you."
"He's a villain Starfire, it's what they do. Why would I ever expect anything else? Why would I even care? It's the best for the entire city if he's gone, now and forever." The boy wonder explained.
"I do not know why you would care. But I do know that you do care. Am I not correct?" She put one of her hands on his shoulder.
He didn't answer. The silence spoke for itself.
"Fighting Slade was and is important to you. Too important. Sometimes it appears that you believe that it is the only thing that gives your life a purpose. It frightens me, but it still seems to be that way. It was one thing for him to find another apprentice. It seems to be another thing for him, to find another enemy. You seem to be...jealous."
"Starfire?"
"Yes?"
"I am afraid that you are right." As he spoke he turned around to look into her eyes.
She did the same. "I do not know how I could help you. All I can tell you is...Slade does not matter. Not in such a way. He is only one man. An evil man we fight. All of us, as a team. We did it in the past. We will do it in the future. Your feelings should not revolve around Slade so much. You have other people. People to whom you are very important." With every word she spoke she became quieter. "People that would never make you jealous...because you, Robin, are the most important person in their lives. The one person that gives their life a purpose, more than anyone or anything else."
Hesitantly she came even closer. She could already feel his breath. He could already feel her breath. At some point she stopped. It was up to him now. What would he do? What would his answer be? For a while nothing happened. But she didn't care. He had time. She wouldn't move back.
Finally, after what seemed to be hours he reacted. He didn't say anything. But he covered the remaining distance between him and her. Between their bodies. Their faces. Their lips. For a short moment he hugged and pressed his lips against hers. It didn't last too long. But it didn't have to. It was a beautiful short kiss. And it couldn't have been any better.
And as it came to an end, Slade was long forgotten.