A/N: Good morning! Enjoy this update, and review!
Chapter 4: Lessons
Cyborg snagged an illegal copy of Robin's paper before the school managed to stamp it out, and also managed to record Robin reading it to the class. He took it back to the Titans, who crowded around him to listen to the recording. As the Titans listened to it Beast Boy laughed at all the right moments.
"Oh man!" Beast Boy exclaimed, nearly falling off the couch. "Wish I could've been there!"
"Wasn't so funny when I was there," Cyborg said. "I think it was an honest mistake, and he was just covering his butt."
But seriously, Robin got major kudos for that.
"This means that he hasn't turned yet," Raven said. "What happened afterwards?"
"Prof was pissed," Cyborg replied. "I think he got in trouble with the Headmistress, but I don't know."
He couldn't believe it when he heard the words from Robin's mouth. Half of Cyborg wanted to laugh, but mostly he was horrified. This was a cry for help, though what Robin expected from writing a sarcastic manifesto Cyborg didn't know. Tomorrow he would snoop around and see what happened to him. There was no way that either Slade or the Headmistress would let this slide.
Cyborg added it to the file of documents from the HIVE Academy, including his class schedule and surreptitious pictures he took during his breaks. Raven also helped him track Robin's weekly schedule and possible routes from Jump City to the HIVE. If anything was good about this, it was the fact that there was now a predictable weekly pattern for them to follow. Finding him was going to be a lot easier.
"Please, Cyborg," Starfire said, grasping his hand. "You will be friends with him, won't you?"
"What do you mean by that, Star?"
"If the bullies are attacking him, I would like to know that there is someone on his side. Please promise me that you will not be the jerk to him."
He looked at her. "I can't blow his cover, or mine. Not until I find the opportunity."
"We can remove him at once!" Star exclaimed. "Why are we not doing so?"
"If we play this right, then we can take out three major villains at once," Cyborg said, holding up three fingers. "Slade, the Headmistress, and Brother Blood."
"Why is Brother Blood separate from the Headmistress?" Raven asked.
"I've got a funny feeling about him," Cyborg said. "He's got some sort of class project going on, and I'm not sure the Headmistress knows about it. He's hinted that he'd like me to help him with it, but until I get a formal invitation then I can't do anything."
Blood had taken a certain liking to Stone, which Cyborg didn't like at all. It was hard enough trying to sneak around the HIVE, and he didn't need a teacher breathing down his neck. And after Robin's paper, it would be even harder to try to talk to Robin alone, and if Robin made friends at the Academy then everyone would immediately turn their attention to them.
Starfire sat there sulkily. If she had it her way then she would storm the Academy tonight. Eventually they would, once they planned an escape plan in conjunction with Robin.
"Star, I promise I'll let him know Stone is me," Cyborg said. "If I can, I'll pass along a message from you guys."
Hopefully Robin didn't get in too much trouble over the paper, though they faculty seemed pretty pissed. By now Slade probably knew about it. Yikes.
Slade did not elaborate on the paper.
Nerves shook Robin the next day, though he did his best to hide his anxiety from his classmates. Afraid to ask Slade outright if he knew about the paper, he spent his day in woeful agony, his thoughts drifting back to Slade's single comment about him being the greatest criminal mastermind of the 21st century. If Slade did know, which Robin was certain he did, he didn't bother punishing him for it. Or he could waiting for the right time to reveal that he did know about it, and that terrified Robin.
With the first week now over, the teachers began piling on the homework load, which only increased Robin's anxiety. In any other circumstance he would have turned in only sarcastic papers, but now Slade demanded to see his every graded assignment. It was a miracle that he didn't demand to see the drafts before Robin turned them in.
And, by far, the class that challenged him the most was Brother Blood's class. Unlike the other classes, Blood didn't screw around. He assigned homework the first day of class. He was that kind of teacher.
"You seem distracted, Robin," Brother Blood said, handing Robin back his homework assignment.
Robin snapped to attention as soon as he saw his grade: B-
"A b minus?" he said, his voice oddly hollow.
"Yes, well, your essay is well-written, but it lacks…ah…certain qualities."
People laughed, but he didn't hear them. He wanted to stand up, but he stayed rooted to his seat. "Brother, I—"
"Is there a problem?" Brother Blood raised an eyebrow.
"This isn't…" Robin puffed up his chest. "I think I did fine."
Blood's eyes turned briefly red. "See me after class."
People kept snickering throughout the entire lesson, though Brother Blood didn't seem to mind, not even when one of the girls burst out laughing when Robin fumbled a question Brother Blood shot at him.
Pull yourself together, Robin thought angrily.
Whatever the lesson was, Robin didn't hear any of it. He sat in his seat, thinking of nasty things he would like to say, and trying to think of a way to approach Blood without losing his temper. Finally, after forever, the bell rang. Fuming, Robin gathered his things and stomped over to Brother Blood's desk. He shook the paper in Brother Blood's face.
"This is unacceptable."
Brother Blood's expression didn't change. "I was under the impression that I'm the one who's supposed to say that."
"I need to fix this."
"Don't lie to me, boy," Blood said. "You don't care what I think, and you don't care about this class at all. In fact, I'd be surprised if you were interested in this school at all."
Robin straightened.
"Perhaps this will teach you to take your work here more seriously. Unlike my colleagues, who are satisfied with your textbook answers—or an insulting paper— I'm looking for something more. Thankfully, your paper is nothing like the atrocity you turned in to Professor Hyacinth."
Robin didn't answer.
"Tell me, what did Slade think of it? I'm certain he enjoyed it."
"I don't know."
"Oh, come now. Even if no one told him about it, he surely knows. I'm sure someone of Slade's status wouldn't take too kindly to insults, even if it's from his apprentice."
"I don't know."
A wry smile passed Brother Blood's face. A wave of intense dislike washed over Robin. Blood reminded him of Slade more than anyone else here, including the Headmistress, but he was more annoying. Robin didn't think that Slade could be this annoying.
"All right, I'll take your word for it. As for your paper, well…your essay is more than satisfactory, but," he glanced down at Robin's paper, "your bias is clear. I must admit, you're trying very hard to think like a villain, but your evident struggle has resulted in your final score."
For a moment Robin found himself speechless. He spent hours on this ridiculous assignment, and even had Wintergreen look over it because he had been too exhausted for revisions.
"Is there anything I can do to fix this?"
"No."
"This is unfair."
"Are you pouting like a child now?" Brother Blood walked over to his desk. "Imagine that: Robin, the Boy Wonder, still a pouting sidekick."
In that moment he didn't feel like Slade's apprentice. Never, in all of his life, had he felt so belittled by a teacher. Slade didn't feel so much like a teacher as a villain. And Robin didn't know what it was: maybe the classroom setting or his classmates, but at the HIVE Academy he felt that Brother Blood was more his teacher than Slade was. It was a weird feeling he couldn't quite put into words.
"Take a seat, Robin."
Nothing in Brother Blood's tone made Robin feel any better, but he did as he was told.
"You will take this back to Slade and you will show him your paper," Brother Blood said. "No, I will not change it." He examined his fingernails, as though he were already bored of the conversation. "You don't care about learning anything, you just care about what he thinks. What are you afraid of, Robin?"
"Why do you want to know?" Robin demanded.
A smirk spread across Brother Blood's face as he leaned towards his computer. "I suppose I'll drop the final score down a letter grade—"
"Don't."
Brother Blood paused. "We both know you're not anxious over your grade. And I'm certain that Slade doesn't actually care about how well you do in my class."
"If you know this then why—"
"To teach you a lesson," Brother Blood said smoothly. "I don't expect you to understand, but perhaps you will. To be frank, you're a little underwhelming, Robin. I expected just a little bit more from Batman's former protege."
"I'm not here to meet anyone's expectations. I don't care what you think of me."
"Well, you should. Your future depends on it. I look forward to hearing all about his reaction tomorrow afternoon." He handed Robin's essay back to him. "I'll know if you don't give it to him. Please send him my regards."
Hands shaking, Robin slipped the paper back into his binder and shoved it into his backpack. As ridiculous as the syllabus was, as much as he wanted to laugh at everything, this was no laughing matter. Slade might have let the other paper slide, for whatever his reason was, but this was going to be unpleasant. He shoved the classroom door open and walked into the hallway.
"Brother Blood giving you a hard time?"
Jinx leaned against the lockers on the opposite side of the wall. She straightened when Robin walked out of the room. Had she been waiting for him outside the classroom this whole time?
"What are you doing here?" Robin demanded.
"I'm his TA. I'll be grading quizzes with him this afternoon." Jinx smirked. "I heard the whole thing. So, seems like you do care about your grades."
"Shut up!"
"Oh, I see how it is. You know, having graduated and all, I could give you a few pointers."
His retort died on his lips, and he momentarily forget about his lousy grade. Out of all the things she could have said, this was the last thing he expected to hear from her.
"Why?"
"Gizmo told me all about what you did in Criminal History," she said. "About what you wrote for that Slade paper and all."
"So? The whole school heard."
"Did Slade find out?" Her eyes drifted over his face, lingering on the bruise the Headmistress had given him.
"No," Robin replied curtly.
"Humor isn't taken too lightly here," she said, examining her nails. "Criminal masterminds are feared, not mocked."
"And who said I didn't fear him?"
She rolled her eyes. "I changed my mind. I don't want to help you."
A sudden inspiration hit him. "Hey Jinx," Robin said. "You used to work for Slade, didn't you?"
"Not for very long."
He approached her. "I'm sure it was long enough to know how he works."
"Which is why you're an idiot."
"I may be an idiot, but I'm not stupid enough not to fear him. Like you."
"And what makes you think I'm scared of him?"
"Because I am."
He didn't know why he admitted it to her, but he trusted his guts. Gizmo and Mammoth didn't seem open to talking about it.
"What happened after the Titans defeated you?"
Her attitude changed at once. "Why? You gonna gloat about it?"
"Why would I gloat when I'm the one who has to explain that paper to Slade?"
"Well." She grimaced, as though disgusted that she was actually having a conversation with Robin. "That was your stupid fault." She pushed past him. "Later."
After waiting in agony for the school day to end, Robin found himself back at the Haunt. Hoping that Slade was away on business was too much to hope for. Given the way Robin's luck had been going the past few months, Robin just had to accept that nothing was going to go right.
Slade appeared out of nowhere, an impressive feat given the size of the Haunt. It was as if he knew that Robin had bad news.
"Good afternoon," Slade said coolly.
Robin didn't say anything.
"We haven't seen each other all day. Aren't you going to say hello?"
"Hi," Robin replied in a resigned voice. "I mean, good afternoon, Sir."
"I believe you have something to show me. You got your paper back from Brother Blood today, didn't you?"
"Yes, I did."
"Let me see it."
Robin opened his bag, fished around for a few seconds, and then pulled the paper out of his bag and handed it to Slade, not daring to look at him in the face. Even though Slade didn't actually care about the classes, Robin knew that he was doing this just to mess with him.
"How disappointing," Slade said in his cool, slow voice, setting down the paper on the table. "I was hoping that you'd excel in Blood's class."
"Me too." Robin wasn't kidding.
Man, not only did he have to figure out Slade's expectations, but also all of his teachers at the HIVE Academy! He wasn't going to last a month if he kept freaking out over his grades.
"Did you ask him why you received this grade?"
"He said that it's too clear that I'm still…still not thinking like a villain." Robin hated this whole conversation. This was stupid, and being at the HIVE Academy was stupid. Talking about bad grades with Slade was taking this whole apprentice thing a little too far.
To Robin's horror, Slade sat down and began to read the paper. He scanned it quickly and then looked back at Robin. "He's right, but for the purposes of his prompt your paper is satisfactory."
"Slade…I mean, sir, what—"
"This is an excellent lesson for you, Robin," Slade said. "You and I both know that your paper was fine. So why would Blood give you that score?"
"I…" Robin paused. "To upset me."
"Because he wanted to see you squirm." Slade leaned in close to Robin. "He's trying to intimidate you. Your other teachers have not yet commented on the fact that your work is merely acceptable, low though their standards are."
At once Robin felt stupid for freaking out over a bad grade. It wasn't as if he hadn't gotten them before. But not knowing how Slade would react just ruined his day.
"I expect he'll want to know how our confrontation went," Slade said.
"He asked me to—I mean—"
Wham!
Robin felt the wind being knocked out of him as Slade suddenly rammed a fist into his stomach. As Robin struggled out of his fallen Slade whacked him across the face.
"That should do it," Slade said. "Don't put ice on it. The bruise should be more than an answer for him. Brother Blood will expect you to come back punished. If you aren't, then he'll suspect that you're a spy. Do you understand?"
Rubbing his face gingerly, Robin nodded. If he didn't come back with a bruise, then Blood would know that Slade was aware that Blood was trying influence Robin.
"Don't forget that your loyalty lies with me, and not the Academy," Slade said. "And don't be stupid. You can't walk ten feet into that school without causing trouble."
"It's not like I've been trying—"
"And don't think that I'm not watching you closely," Slade said. "I'm forgiving you just once for publicly insulting me. Here's a lesson for you, brought on you by your own stupidity: why do you think I haven't yet mentioned your idiotic History of Crime essay?"
Cold sweat ran down his neck. For a few moments he couldn't speak. "I…I don't know."
"Have none of my lessons gone through your thick head?" Slade shook him, as though he intended to shake the answers from him. "Explain why."
Robin thought about it for a moment, trying to keep his fear in check. He almost couldn't think straight as he tried to think of a reason why Slade would let this slide. "The other kids are interested in me now. They're starting to respect me."
"And don't throw it away," Slade said, shoving him back. "Fail to utilize this opportunity and, I promise you, you will regret it."
"I don't understand—"
"Don't argue with me." Slade glanced at the kitchen clock. "Go back to your room. This conversation is over."
Man, just as Robin thought that he had Slade figured out, he would go and do something else that baffled him. As Robin left he saw Slade looking over his essay once more.
A/N: I have a very crazy work week coming up, so *fingers crossed* I'm hoping to have the update for you on Friday! Thanks for reading!