Chapter 7: Slade

AN: So glad you guys are liking this so far! ^.^ So sorry for the late update! . And thanks again for all the reviews, alerts, and favs! XD You guys totally make my day! X3

Reminder! Dick= YJ Robin; Robin= TT Robin. Bruce= YJ Bats; Batman= TT Bats

Mindlink

Dick emerges from the infirmary along with Robin, who was going over his notes. "I still can't believe there's so much…" Dick shrugs.

"I tend to notice a lot…"

"I can tell…how am I even supposed to start a conversation with him?"

"Well, you're obviously still angry about the whole thing…and don't expect a verbal apology. He hardly ever actually apologizes, but you can tell when he's truly sorry. It's a mutual understanding. Just go up to him and give him look number five, then walk away." Dick states offhandedly as they make their way into the living room. Robin flips through his notes, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you sure this is going to work?"

"Trust me." Dick walks up to Bruce, who was standing off in the corner, typing on one of the computers. He tries to peer over his father's shoulder, but pouts when he realizes that he wasn't tall enough. The young bird smirks mischievously and uses Bruce as a jungle gym, and climbs up his back to look over his shoulder. Both teams stare at the scene in horror, expecting the Bat to throw him off in a blind rage. Bruce glances over at his son, a small, amused smile on his face. Dick beams brightly, looking at the screen again. The teams all gasp, expecting the entire building to explode as Bruce continues typing as if nothing was amiss.

"I take it that you're feeling better." Bruce states, not looking away from the screen.

"Yup~! Working on a way to get us back?"

"Yes."

"I'll go get you some pizza." Bruce frowns.

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't eaten and Agent A isn't here to feed you. No worries! KF, Supey, and I will go. That way I have backup." Dick beams, headed for the door. He pats Robin on the back in encouragement before heading out. Kid Flash beams, heading off after his best friend. He was starving, so pizza sounded delicious. Superboy shrugs, following after them. Getting fresh air was a good alternative to standing around amongst strangers.

Robin sighs walking up to his Batman, who was standing in the shadows, watching Bruce carefully. He glances over at the approaching bird and frowns.

"Is something wrong?" Robin says nothing, taking a deep breath. He looks up at his father, an angry frown upon his face. His knits his eyebrows, crossing his arms. Batman stares at him blankly, trying to figure out what his son was doing. Before he could ask anything, Robin turns on his heel, storming out of the room. Beast Boy leans close to Cyborg.

"Dude…what the heck was that about? I've never seen him like that before…" Cyborg shrugs.

"Maybe it's a Bat thing or something?" Batman stares after his son before looking over to Bruce for help. Bruce, however was ignoring him, smirking to himself as he continues to type. Batman frowns, following after his son. He catches up with Robin in the hallway, seeing him staring out one of the floor length windows thoughtfully.

"Is everything alright?" The billionaire asks, standing next to his son.

"What do you think?"

"You have a good thing here…"

"No thanks to you. What I needed was a father. Not a tyrant."

"That other Robin poisoned you."

"No, he didn't. He's everything I used to be…cheerful, reckless, and free spirited…you may see him as a nuisance, but he's brilliant and strong…he's been through so much, and yet he still remains cheerful…he still believes in the good in people, while I no longer can."

"You made friends…you have a strong team…"

"They don't even know my true identity…I don't let anyone in. You didn't want me to become like you, but by pushing me away, you've done just that."

"I never meant for that to happen…Gotham was too dangerous…" Robin frowns, turning to face his father.

"No, it wasn't. You just got scared. Instead of manning up like the other Batman did, you chickened out and pushed me away."

"I didn't do it out of fear. It was to protect you. This city is far safer than Gotham." Robin rolls his eyes.

"This is pointless. You're too stubborn to admit your own mistakes. I look at them, and I see what we could have been…you see them as weak, don't you?" Batman's frown deepens as his gaze out the window intensifies. Robin raises an eyebrow, remembering this particular look. "You regret pushing me away…you want what they have."

"I never said that." Robin smirks, reminding himself to thank Dick later.

"You don't need to. Stop being such a coldhearted bastard and I may forgive you." With that, the bird walks off, his head held high. It was the first time he had ever won an argument with the Bat. Now, it was time to study those notes Dick gave him.

"Dude! What was that all about?" Wally shouts, flailing his arms madly as they make their way down the streets of Jump City.

"What are you talking about?" Dick asks curiously, glancing over at his best friend.

"Climbing all over Bats like he was an object! He could have murdered you!"

"He wouldn't do that. He doesn't mind."

"No. I'm pretty sure he would have put the fear of God in anyone else." Dick shrugs.

"I do that kind of stuff all the time. Guess I'm just too adorable for him to say anything~!" He jokes, smirking deviously. Wally rolls his eyes.

"Don't push your luck."

"It was also strategic. I gave the other Robin some advice on how to fix things with his Batman. I can hardly leave knowing that the stick would still be shoved up his ass."

"He is rather grumpy…is there really a stick up there? It must be very painful…" Conner muses, his eyebrows knitting in concern. Dick and Wally chuckle.

"It's an expression, Supey. He doesn't really have a stick up there." Dick explains.

"Oh…" Conner pauses, looking around. "Do you know where we're going?"

"No…I saw a bunch of restaurants around here when I scanned the city back in the Tower…there's bound to be a pizza place around here." Dick states, waving his hand dismissively.

"Does Batman really eat pizza?" The clone asks curiously.

"Yeah…Agent A doesn't let us have it too often…since Bats isn't allowed to cook, when Agent A goes out of town, we order pizza." The other two heroes stare at him in shock. "What?"

"Just…we all thought he was a robot that ran on coffee or something…I didn't know that he ate." Wally states seriously.

"And I didn't know that you two lived together…I knew that you two were close…is he your father?" Conner asks, causing Dick to freeze.

"Um. It's complicated."

"Hey! Look! A pizza place!" Wally calls out, trying to change the subject. Dick smiles at him gratefully, earning a small nod from the speedster. Before they could make it to the restaurant, however, the three jump back as a grenade lands in front of them, destroying the entrance.

"Well…I have to say…when he said he had a bird problem, I wasn't expecting you." A man states from the shadows. The three heroes look around, each preparing for battle. Slade walks out as the smoke clears, an eyebrow raised. "Let's see how you compare to the other."

"What are you talking about? Who are you?" Dick demands, whipping out his bow staff.

"How much you amuse me will depend on how much I tell you."

"Ugh. So you're one of those. So not whelming." Dick grumbles, rolling his eyes. KF, go get the others. Supey and I will hold him off."

"I'm not leaving you!"

"We'll be fine for the what, few minutes, that you'll be gone." Dick throws down a smoke bomb, disappearing into the shadows. "Go!" He hisses. Kid Flash grumbles something under his breath before taking off towards the Tower.

Superboy charges for their adversary. Slade easily steps out of the way, causing the clone to punch a part of the already crumbling wall.. The mercenary puts his arm up just in time to block a blow from Dick's bow staff. "Not bad. But you're too slow." He kicks at the bird, but Dick quickly puts the staff on the ground, and uses it to swing around and kick Slade in the head before the mercenary's foot could connect. Slade stumbles back, slightly impressed by the bird's speed. He gets ready for another attack, only to see Dick missing. The clone tries to punch him from behind, but he flips out of the way. He spins around and catches Dick's hand, that was about to punch him. Dick frowns, kicking Slade in the jaw as the flips backwards to get away. Slade grabs the bird's arm before he could steady himself and flings him into one of the crumbling walls of the restaurant. Dick cries out in pain, feeling his stitches pull.

"Superboy! Now!" He calls out, diving out of the way just as the clone tosses a gigantic chunk of concrete at the mercenary. Conner helps Dick up, frowning at the fact that the young bird's chest was bleeding again.

"You're hurt."

"I'm fine. He's taken care of anyway. Let's just get back." Just as they turn away, the two scream in pain, dropping to the ground, convulsing from the high intensity electric shock they were hit with from behind from the land mine their opponent had planted earlier. Slade smirks, crawling out of the crater the rock created, unharmed.

"Not good enough. Though, I have to say…you were rather interesting prey." His eyes widen, hearing a beeping. He jumps back just as the flash grenade Dick had planted explodes. When his vision clears, Slade frowns, seeing the two teens missing. "Interesting indeed."

Conner gently lays Dick down against a wall in an alley far away from the battle scene. "Are you sure you're alright?" Dick nods, coughing roughly as blood trickles from his lips.

"Just give me a few minutes…let me know if you hear anyone coming…just have to…rest for a bit…" Dick's head lulls to the side as his slips from consciousness. Conner frowns, knowing that the situation they were in was anything but good. He cries out in pain as a black, inky blob tackles him away from his teammate.

"Robin!" He thrashes against the creature, growling in rage when the gooey mass merely absorbs his blows. Slade drops down into the alley from the rooftop.

"I had it handled."

"I just wanted to speed things up a bit. My associates are getting rather impatient." Klarion states, materializing from the shadows. "Get the bird. I'll make sure the lughead doesn't follow." Slade slings the unconscious Dick over his shoulder, and takes off as the clone shouts after him.

"No! Get back here!"

"Sorry. We have plans for your little friend. Ra's' orders." Klarion states, sending more blob creatures at the clone. Conner puts one of the red shields on his arm from Lex Luthor, and uses his heat vision on the creatures. They explode into a gooey mess, but when he looks around for the witch boy, he was long gone.

"COWARD!" He roars, about to take off after him, when he feels a familiar presence in his head.

Superboy. What's wrong? Miss Martian asks through the mindlink she established with him.

Klarion and this other freak took Robin. I'm going to follow them.

No. I activated Robin's tracker. We will all follow them back to their hideout. Batman's stern voice comes through, causing the clone to pause. I'm sending you coordinates now. Rendezvous there in ten. With that, the link goes quiet, no one daring to question the Bat's orders. Especially when his partner was taken. They almost had pity on the ones who took their youngest member once their Bat found them…almost.