Disclaimer: Once again, Robin and Slade aren't mine and neither is anything in or on Teen Titans. It's WB's and DC's. I envy them sooooo much!

Author's Note: So, here's Chapter Four! It's just about as long as the last chapter, I think. Anyway, Slade's POV is hinting at certain things that will happen later. I left stuff in there just for that purpose. So, if you recognize one of those hints, that's why I didn't go into to detail. You'll see moreof thatsoon! Promise, but as for now, enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all the reviews, by the way! Reviews always motivate me to write more, so thanks! ;-)

What?

Chapter Four

Staring at me was a young teenager. The grin on his face would shame the smile of any actress or actor. It was genuine. His eyes weren't visible. They were hidden behind an opaque, white mask that was outlined with black rims. Although, if my guess is correct, they would have had that certain spark in them that certain... special people have when they are happy. His dark hair was spiked up and had a gleam to it, indicating the hair gel.

The photo was in black and white and to the side of it was an old interview taken a while back. Farther down on the old print of the Jump City Gazette, was a picture of the rest of those brats, the Titans.

'JCG: So, what's it like to live all on your own in a huge tower in the middle of a bay?

R: It's not just a tower, it's home. And I love every minute of it.

JCG: When out in battle, do you and your team ever get nervous?

R: As long as we have a general idea of what we're doing and dealing with, we're usually fine.

JCG: Then what's it like to face off with an enemy like Slade?

R: Uh... He's... an enigma. Don't get me wrong. He can be stopped. The problem is, he never really shows up at the heists that are pulled by his robots.

JCG: What exactly is he like, as in, his persona?

R: Um, well, he's...uh... we, the Titans that is, or... I don't really know much about him. His motives are still...uncertain. But rest assured, he'll be behind bars soon.'

I read over a few passages again,

'I don't really know much about him.'

'He's... an enigma.'

The little liar.

He knew very well by then that we had similarities. He just wouldn't admit it or tell the press for that matter. I stared at the picture again. 'Such an innocent.' He didn't know what he was doing then. I traced the rims of the mask on the page with a finger. I smirked at the thought again. Only a few hours ago, he had become mine. My eyes lingered on the photo. He was perfect. Perfect for the job. Perfect to be my apprentice.

I slipped the article back into a small folder inside the drawer of the desk. It was about 4:30 PM. Robin had been out for quite a few hours. By now, I'd guess 9. Everything was going smoothly. False leads had already thrown the Titans into the tangled mess of the city. They'd be searching in circles and never realize it.

My thoughts were far from that though. My mind swarmed with thoughts on Robin. There was no denying that the plan had worked. He was lying on a bed out like a light, but he'd be waking up soon. Robin would be rebellious for sure and how he would react to where he was when he woke up... well, he wouldn't be too happy.

I had told Robin he'd learn to like this. The photo of him smiling passed through my mind again. I shook it off. Happiness would come to him by this eventually. Although, his mind is still deluded with the ideals of right and wrong being upheld. The only reason I don't go out and kill that bat for filling his head with that garbage is because I have a criminal empire to run. (That and if he hadn't given Robin the basic skills, it would have been much more difficult to find an apprentice.) I'll have to seriously re-teach him in that department.

I let out a low sigh. There's a beep from a small detector wired into the desk. I look over and see, to my pleasure, that Robin must be awake. There's a bit more activity in there than normal. Then again, the monitors in there are very sensitive... I dismiss the possibility. He's awake.

I turn the screens to an enlarged image of my apprentice's room. The lights are off as they were when I left, but the camera will pick up the finest detail. On top of the mattress, the teen slowly pushes himself into an upright position. It's obvious that he's not thinking straight. Anyone could tell by the groggy look on his tired face. Perhaps that blow was a little much.

It's...intriguing to watch how another goes about certain situations. He pushes against the wall. I see the lines of his mask widen in horror. His head turns as he gazes at his new attire. 'Must have thought it all a dream. No, Robin. This is all real.'

He practically falls out of the bed. Immediately, he gets himself up and finds a wall. His hands dance across the walls of the room as though looking for something:

An exit.

I slightly smirk. It was difficult to design and build that room, but not impossible. It was the mere challenge of having the door blend in so perfectly with the walls on the inside that there appeared to be none. At least, from one side. Thus there is no doorknob on the inside. Adding the black tiles was a huge help to cover the door as well.

I see desperation scar my apprentice's face. He starts to shove against the walls. I lean forward in my chair and watch a bit more carefully. Small cries and yells escape his lips. Where from? Desperation, fear, maybe even claustrophobia? Still, one thing was certain, he was scared. I saw his frame start to give way to a tremble that he seemed unable to control.

Swiftly, I got up from my chair. Behind me the monitors changed back to the probes. I walked down the hallway and came to the end of the corridor that contained the door of Robin's room. I could hear his cries from the end of the hall. I switched off the light. His first lesson: Remaining Calm.

My eye narrowed as I walked towards the door. He was moving near the opposite wall. I could almost sense him doing so. I allowed the door to open. Not an ounce of light streamed in. Stepping in, I saw him trembling and helplessly beating the wall he was facing with his fists.

'Get him to calm him down first.'

I walked up behind him and placed my hand over his mouth. My other hand came around his waist. My automatic thought, 'Does he starve himself?' I could almost feel the bottom of his rib cage.

He turns his head in my grip and, if possible, his masked eyes grow larger. He starts to try to shake himself out of the grip. He screams were muffled by my hand and I could slightly feel his breath coming through the leather of my uniform. His mouth releases a warm, moist feel while a cool frightened sort of breath escaped from his nose. His hair brushed against my chest as he shook his head.

"Calm yourself, Robin," I whispered in his ear.

Ignoring me, his thrashing began to become more violent. A couple times he got me in the stomach. I withheld the slight groans that would have come. He kicked at my ankles, but it did no good for him. The metal guards on my legs protected me from his steel-toed boots... that I had given him. At one point, Robin let his weight fall and I had to keep him up on my own.

At that point, I really saw, and felt, how small he was (at least for his age). He was easy to hold up. His frame was skinny and considering his height, I was surprised that he even attempted to let himself hang. He looked... young, much younger then is estimated age of what, 14, 15? He really was just a kid, a child. I would have smiled if I hadn't been focusing on keeping him up. It's always easier to teach someone when they're younger. He gave up and tugged at my arms to release him. 'Not going to happen, apprentice.'

"Calm down, or the Titans will be down permanently, child," I let go of his waist to bring the controller up to meet his eyes.

'Now he'll calm down.' He stopped, or stopped thrashing at least. He seemed to try to really calm himself. As he embarks on that process, I started to realize what a prize I have in my hands. He'd risk his own life for the safety of others. I can use that. In short, he'd make himself a sacrifice. He already has in a sense. At least in his own mind he has. The child can't stay in this little world in which everyone else cares for each other too. More then half the people he saved wouldn't do the same, even if they could. This may seem harsh on him now, but soon I'll be able to show him the reality of this world we live in.

Once he gets that, I can make him feel that the only safety for himself that he can really find is from those who do care. As Robin commences in fighting the Titans, he'll see they don't care for him. He'll see that no matter how close they ever were, they'd turn on him for the hypocrisy of the world. When reality sets in, the soul place where he'll find security is when he's with me and under my watchful eye.

Doing this to him will probably hurt. It will sting. Like salt water on open gashes, it will burn. Like alcohol that stings, it will heal. It will remove the dirt that covers the simple truth. This will leave scars, but as they say, 'What doesn't kill you, only makes you stronger.' I need a strong apprentice. I lowered my hand back down to his chest.

His breathing slowed, but he wasn't calm. I could feel it. His heart fluttered rapidly like a mouse's. I'd wait until he was. Patience was something he'd also have to learn too, I realized. As though time had stopped, I waited. He seemed to know what I wanted and attempted to comply. Obedience and similar minds.

He was perfect.

I realized how many times I had used the term perfect to describe Robin. He wasn't a perfect human being. He needed training. He needed guidance. If he was perfect, why did he need these things?

No, he wasn't a perfect person. He was the perfect one to teach. We were similar. We had few differences. He was younger. More so, he was inexperienced in seeing the world through a mask that saw reality. He was new to this, being my apprentice that is. But not just that.

Criminals, 'Villains', their whole lives can barely see anything other then their goals of power. Yet, they all see that the world is cruel. Whether by them, or countries at war, or people leaving their families for good, or even a fight among siblings and/or friends, people are cruel in this world. To surround oneself in a painting of artistic idealism is nice, but it can't shield one forever from the real world. It's better to face the truth head on. He'll understand this... as time passes.

Time is all I need.

His breath is calm and his heart is a steady drum, "Now that wasn't so bad, was it?"

I release him and he falls to the ground. By the looks of it, he would be disagreeing with me. My gaze never tears away from him. He seemed to pause for a second, wrapped up in his own thoughts. The curving and dividing roads must be becoming a maze in his mind. He needs a guide, someone to lead him out of the narrow roads and passages...

"This is why you need a mentor, Robin," I told him.

He bunched himself into a ball for a moment. He was scared. Not of me, of himself. It's easy to read another when they are so identical to yourself. He also refused to look at me, almost as though he were ashamed of what he had done. Robin only reacted in a way that he would normally. He hasn't been trained enough in that area for me to be mad. I'm not displeased at all.

My voice slinks into the meager, little room, "Now that you've snapped out of that, why don't you accompany me out into the main room."

He threw himself at me. At this, I was displeased. As his fist came at me, I grabbed it and my hand found its way to his wrist. With a slight twist, he was in enough pain to knock him off guard. My apprentice didn't know what hit him. Moving swiftly to the side, I let my leg hit the backs of his. As he fell, I grabbed his arm and made sure that he'd land on top of the other. He fell with a thud. I placed my boot on top of the backs of his knees and pressed them into the ground. He slowly moved to get up, but stopped at the pain in his arm that I was still holding. Lesson Two: Offensively attacking strategy.

"That wasn't very rational, Robin. Anger getting the best of you?" It was. If he would admit it or not was up to him...

"You insane, crazy, jerk, Slade!" a rebellious cry of rage answered my question.

"Now, now, Robin. Is that any way to talk to me? Especially when with the push of a button..." I let my voice pause to let the words make their effect. Upset and anger seem to paint his face.

He can't get into a habit like that. I don't like doing this to him. Making him dislike me more then he already does, doesn't help me in the slightest. It also isn't always effective to inflict pain and injury while teaching. He can't very well effectively rob a street vender with a broken arm after all. Not that I plan to have him rob something like that. But if he can't do that, then he certainly can't rob something like a bank.

Yet, Robin is my apprentice. I choose him out of so many. So many have tried, actually knowing what they were attempting to become and failed. His potential is at the peak of opportunity. He's agreed to this and he has to accept what comes and what he is expected to do as this roll.

Respect. Respect is what he will give me.

He gives me a slight glance of horror. His actions determine the outcomes of the Titans. He knows this. He should be grateful that I'm using them as leverage, instead of killing them right off the bat.

"Well, let's try not to think about it. Do you know how to get out of this situation?" I already know the answer. The one teaching method that almost always remains constant, whether when teaching in a public school or when teaching a dance, you always ask questions to your students. That was the second question I had ever asked for Robin to answer.

His face burns. Even I can see it in the darkness that surrounds us, "No, not effectively."

He looks away from me as the strain on his neck starts to get to him, "Then what would that be, a way to get out, Robin?"

"I'd have to roll out from underneath your grip and pull you to the floor," There's a hint of bitterness in his voice.

I get a slight thrill when I hear him answering me. He hates being told what to do. But here he is doing as he is expected to do...for me. He knows nothing else to do. I'm not displeased with the tone he has to me. That's fine. Let him be angry at me all he wants. Against enemies...that's a slightly different story...

"And why is that not effective here?" I asked the teen in my grasp.

"Because the bed is in the way and I can't roll away," he said it in disgust.

In all, I think he was more disgusted with himself then me. After all, from his point of view, from his perspective, he's turned his whole being over to another. He fears what he will have to do. I'm not looking to throw him in a slaughter house though. My intentions are far from that. I plan to mold him into gold. From the perfect apprentice into the perfect successor. A loyal young man, a skilled thief, a criminal mastermind, entirely capable of taking on a criminal empire that I've built up.

"Yes, that is why I won so easily. You never go head on to an opponent that you know has all of the upper hand advantages, Robin. You hit them indirectly. Only when they attack you, do you attack back. The only reason you'd do this is because they would already be disoriented, more so out of rage. Those sorts of battles are to be short, Robin. Do you understand that?" A quick lecture here and there never hurt anyone.

He seemed too upset to answer. I waited until he was calm again. A slight nod told me he understood. I already knew that he would, but once again, it's the principle of respect that matters. He has to learn to do what is expected. I can't teach him if he doesn't.

For the nod, a reward. I released his arm and from my grip and lifted my foot from his legs. I stepped back as he shifted himself up to his knees. I waited for acknowledgement. He'd comply, one way or another as it were. When he turned to look at me, he was fuming and was determined not to show me any ounce respect that he may have had. My amusement passed as I found myself realizing that actions like that had to have consequences.

Such as punishment. I reached down towards him. He saw this and tried to move away. I caught him by the hair and yanked him to his feet. Robin let out a cry of pain and I forced him to look me directly in the eye.

"Disrespect is something you may show to anyone else but me, Robin. I won't have an apprentice that is disrespectful to his master," he squirmed a bit, but stopped when he felt a sharp tug to his head. Still, he wouldn't go down with out a fight.

"Then pick someone else! Like someone that doesn't think of you as a filthy low-life criminal!" Insults don't help any. I twisted his hair and he screamed.

Using Robin's hair as almost a rein of a horse, I proceeded to drag him into the main room. Most of the time, he bit his lip to keep from screaming, admitting falling victim to the pain I knew I was causing. I could feel the last of his hair gel wearing thin. His ebony-black hair crumpled in my grasp. I didn't care. When we reached the main room, I brought him to the desk I had been sitting at earlier and basically through him aside and onto the floor.

I sat down in my chair, "Like it or not, Robin, you are my apprentice. Whether or not by force doesn't matter. You agreed to work for me and that is just what you will do for me. In exchange, I give you training in all manners of fighting techniques and the knowledge needed to run a criminal empire. Some would kill for a chance like this. You may not see it now, but sooner or later, you will see the opportunity you have in your hands."

Sure, it was blunt. Sure, it wasn't very uplifting to him...as of now. Yet, once again, that didn't matter. What does matter is all that counts. People spend their days doing work so they can entertain themselves later. In their minds, they don't work to put food on the table. They work to get a break. Robin would learn that his roll would soon allow him time for pleasure while he worked.

"I don't want any of that Slade, especially from you! And I have anything but opportunity in my hands! And if people would kill for the 'opportunity' then let them have it!"

He's such an innocent. His mind is so tangled up that he doesn't know what he wants. It's easy for me to tell. Encouragement to find the path was what he needed.

"Robin, there's a reason I choose you over them. Besides, it doesn't matter now. You've agreed to be my apprentice, and I will hold you to that. You're not a 'Teen Titan' anymore, Robin. You aren't their leader. You're my apprentice," I tried to make my voice warm, almost appealing. I guess I was trying to connect the two. What he heard or felt I don't know.

"The Titans will find me, and they'll help get me out of this!" In desperation he brings that oh so very small chance up.

I turned away towards the desk, "The Titans have been looking for hours now, Robin."

I allowed him to view the camera feed of the main room of Titans Tower. Pathetic. The four others were all resting. I slightly smirked as I heard a dish break in the background. I let the reality start to seep into the cracks. I notice his gaze at the alien, Startfire. She does look...worried. That will leave her once Robin comes out from this Haunt and into the open.

Robin isn't getting out of this and they won't help him. They won't try. He knows that by now. They see three types of people: Heroes, Villains, and Civilians. Cross the line into the villain category and you're automatically on their bad side. Robin's crossed it before. This time, the change will be permanent. He'll walk in the shadows and live amongst the most skilled of the 'Villains'.

"They won't find you. I can send out false signals. I can generate holograms, create fake tip-offs. They'll run all over the city and never find you. In all honesty, you won't see them until I send you on your first job," He has to understand that. If he's going to escape it will be on his own. Even if he does attempt escape though, it will fail. I have too many resources for him to be successful at it.

"Besides do you really want them to see you like this? Working for a...'criminal'," Something that he hasn't thought of maybe is just that. He is working for me, "You can't exactly tell them why now, can you? So what do you think would be their initial thought?"

He gets up and turns away. What he is thinking, must be driving him mad with confusion. Sure he and the Titans are close, but what will they think. Initially, they'll probably think that something's wrong with him. But no, that idea will be dismissed.

He'll realize that they will come to hate him as any other villain or criminal, if not more. They'll hate him for 'betrayal' as much as they'll hate me for taking him away from them.

'Let it sink in.'

He suddenly seemed very depressed. Wrapped up in his own thoughts, he must not have noticed me coming over to him. I placed a hand on his shoulder. He gazed up at me, almost startled. I stared at him thinking, 'He's mine.'

"You'll thank me for this soon enough, Robin. Trust me, you will," I told him. He looked away, as though resigned to his fate. Fate. It wasn't as bad as he was making it. If anything, it was a destiny that was held special for him. I smiled.

Robin was my apprentice and I, his master.

A/N: Finally! Chapter Four Down! R&R! I think I went through every song I have while writing this up! I was desperate to stay awake b/c there was like no sugar or soda around, so I used music to keep me up instead. I stayed up late 'cause that's the only time that I can really get the computer for a long time. Either way, the chapter is done and I'm pleased with its turn out. Chapter Five will be up soon (sometime in the coming week)! Thanks again for reading and all the wonderful reviews!

Rena

PS. Happy Mother's Day! (Do something nice for your mom today! Make her happy!)