A/N: Welcome to chapter seven… I really enjoy writing this story… but I enjoy READING good stories too… sooo... everyone has to post a new chapter/story before reading this, ok? You are NOT allowed to continue before you do… Hello? Anyone listening?
Disclaimer: I own the Teen Titans just as much as I own the sun, the color green and the bar of chocolate I'm still craving.
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Chapter seven: Dangerous changes
Finding his now awake friends he told them about the new appointment.
"Again?!" Beast Boy asked.
Oh, why can't you never just shut up, BB?
Getting questioning stares from the others, Robin had to tell them about the supposed earlier training session.
"Well, I guess the bastard is just trying to wear you out… waiting for you to snap." was Cy's comment.
Robin grumbled something in agreement.
"Robin. We need to talk."
Raven. He had known that she would want to confront him after last night. She had been spot on in her warning not to enjoy the game too much, and she must have felt it. Well. He had to face this sooner or later. Nodding, he followed her, once again, to her room. Their friend's eyes followed them curiously, but then, the other teens shrugged their shoulders. Robin probably did need to talk, and Raven and he had this link… she was the one among them who was best suited for the job.
Raven turned to him as soon as she closed the door.
"Robin. You know that I can't read thoughts, but I get these mixed feelings from you… and they make me… afraid."
Robin was a bit stunned. The goth admitting she was scared? Boy, he must really freak her out. All right. He focused. Mixed feelings. He had had a lot of those. Let's focus on some that would make the least damage, then…
Sighing he started talking.
"You are right, Rae… I have had a lot of conflicting feelings these past days."
"Talk to me."
"I thought about leaving for a while. Go into hiding, or go to join Slade, even, I just… I just can't take that you suffer because of me, because of my fight!"
"It's our fight, Robin. It's always been."
Like hell, Raven…
He smiled at her a little.
"Yes, Rae. I think you guys finally got that into my thick head. After our talk last night I have felt so much better."
Raven looked into the boy's eyes, now glad that he didn't have his mask on. His eyes were… calm. The determination and spirit that was Robin had returned. He was balanced again. She smiled back at him; one of those rare, warm smiles, that lit up her face and eyes.
Fooled ya…
Robin smiled back and stepped forward to give the surprised girl a hug. Although he was slightly younger, he managed to give her the reassuring hug of a protective older brother. She returned the hug briefly before taking a small step back.
"The decisions you told us about last night…"
"They stand." Robin was very serious now. "If the attack fails, I want you and Cyborg to keep the rest safe and the team going, do you understand?"
The authority in his voice was stronger than usual and Raven found herself nodding. She had one more important thing on her mind though.
"Last night. When you talked about playing the game, I could feel joy from you. Why?"
"That's because I am happy about playing, Raven!" her jaw dropped from this statement, but he continued. "Slade have been playing us for a long time. We finally have a chance to beat him at his own game, and maybe by using tools he'll give us. Can you blame me for being excited?" he grinned so widely, she couldn't help but grin back.
"And…" She was uneasy, but this was the ten thousand-dollar question. "What we talked about regarding… your… feelings…?"
Robin became serious once again, blushing a little.
"They were true at the time, Rae. I… I really wanted the man to touch me" he made a disgusting noise. "It took hours for that to pass, but it did. It was only the residue from the toxins, but I felt so…" his voice almost broke.
"Robin! My god, Robin, I'm sorry! I really thought for a moment…" she put her hand on his shoulder and he seemingly pulled himself together, managing to give her another smile.
"It's okay, Raven. And…just so you know… Slade made a promise to me on our first session that he wouldn't touch me again."
"If he doesn't keep that promise, Robin…" her eyes turned deadly.
"He will, Raven. Slade… Slade wants me to be his apprentice willingly, and he knows that won't happen if he ever touches me again…"
Raven nodded, seeing the twisted logic behind this reasoning.
"Just… be careful?" Without knowing it she had echoed Batman's words, but Robin only smiled softly at her.
"I will."
Leaving her room, Robin's smile turned slightly wider and somewhat cooler.
And the academy award for best male actor goes to…
He was really playing a complicated game right now…
Well, when you are playing both sides of the board, you win either way, right?
No, another voice said, when you play both sides of the board, you LOOSE either way…
He had to fool Raven, though. They would bring Slade down, lord knows the bastard deserved it, but he was going to allow himself to enjoy this while it lasted.
Checking the time he saw that he had to hurry. After a very quick shower he dressed, once again, in civilian clothes. This time he discarded the sweatpants and jumpers as Slade would probably provide an appropriate outfit anyway. Instead he picked out a pair of black jeans and a favorite T-shirt. It, too, was black and had a blazing red design of a bird across the chest. He liked to wear it in public. It was like shouting out to people who he was, even though no one would recognize him without his costume.
"I'm off! Call me if something big comes up!" He called to his friends. "Cy, I'm borrowing your girlfriend again!"
Cy shouted something nasty after the boy, who disappeared grinning into the elevator.
Slade looked up as the boy walked in. He liked what he saw. He didn't know that Raven had just seen in Robin's eyes what he now picked up from his body language. The assertiveness and control was back, even stronger than before, perhaps, and… Slade smiled… there was a slight hint of "come-hither" in Robin's movements and eyes.
The boy stopped, a bit taken aback by the fact that the man now wore his full body armor and mask.
"Come here, Robin. Some things have come up and we have a lot to cover. No time to waste."
The next four days were grueling. Robin barely saw his team at all, but Slade insured him that this was only a temporary arrangement. The tempo would decrease, as soon as they had covered the basics, and thus, knew what to focus on. Slade had told him that they had no time to waste, and this, Robin discovered, meant no sex. Slightly disappointed as he was in the beginning, he was soon too exhausted to even be able to think along those lines. Besides, after brushing up to the man by "accident" one too many times, Slade had put a stop to it. The boy had to focus on his training, after all.
"If you don't stop that, Robin" he had told him firmly, but without being able to hold back a grin "I am going to fuck you until you can barely walk. And standing around with your friends, with a big vacant smile on your face all the time, might lead to questions, don't you think?" Robin huffed at this, but accepted it. For now.
Slade seemed to concentrate on fighting techniques, but not the way Robin was used to. He was now taught to kill, and kill well. The dummies were a struggle at the beginning. Robin had a hard time hitting something that felt so much like a real body and making it break. He almost threw up a few times, but, slowly, he got used to it. That scared him.
Slade taught him that there were several styles an assassin needed to master. The first one was the swift, clean death. It was the most commonly used, as the killer often was just doing a job. Then there was the "flashy" kind, the kind that was used to send a message. Robin was shown some police reports and pictures that made his stomach turn. There sure were a lot of blood and goo inside a human body. Then there was the "fake accident" kind. Always the hardest to get away with and the one that often took the most planning.
Robin was put to exercise moves to the point that he no longer hesitated to go for the most vulnerable and lethal parts of the human body as he practiced with Slade's robots. He didn't really realized it at the time, but Slade had deftly adapted some of Robin's own favorite series of moves and made them deadly.
But they didn't only fight and have lectures, they also had discussions.
"What is the use of taking someone down, who will just be up fighting again in no time?"
Slade asked Robin on one of these occasions.
Robin looked stern.
"It is not up to the individual to punish a villain. That's for the authorities."
"Yes, they seem to be doing such a good job, too." Slade smirked. "The prisons are practically a breeding ground for new crime, giving the inmates a rather luxurious existence. Did you know that some people commit crimes to willingly be caught and incarcerated? Life on the inside is often better than starving on the street."
Robin just frowned. He wasn't as naïve, though, after all he had seen in Gotham and Jump. He knew there was truth in Slade's words. That didn't mean he had to like it.
"The petty criminals are one thing" Slade continued. "What about the super villains?"
"What about them?" Robin asked, feeling himself tread on slightly shaky ground here.
"Wouldn't it be better for the society if they would be dead? Killed by a hero or a death sentence doesn't matter, but don't you think humanity would celebrate their demise?"
"I will never condone the killing of another human being." Robin said, stubbornly crossing his arms.
"Didn't you ever want the Joker dead?"
Robin startled. "What?"
"The Joker, Two Face, the Penguin… or our favorite Poison Ivy for that matter… how many people do they have to kill before it's enough?"
"I don't know. What number have you reached?" Robin spat back.
Slade frowned down at him.
"Please don't incorporate me with that kind of insane filth. I'm a mercenary. An assassin. The day I decide to take over the world using an army of wound up toys and poison filled balloons you have my permission to shoot me dead."
Robin cracked up over this and pointed to a heap of metal that once was the very unfortunate Slade-bot Robin had fought this morning.
"Well, you got your toy soldiers… want me to get out and buy you some balloons?"
"Care to repeat that?" The man's voice was soft. Slade had never punished him while they discussed something, willing the boy to speak his mind in these situations, but Robin could feel he was very, very close. The boy shook his head.
"No." after a second he added, reluctantly: "Sorry".
Slade patted him on the head. That was a very efficient, non-violent punishment, the man had discovered. Robin simply hated it.
"Good boy. Time to go home now, Robin. Class dismissed."
The Titans enjoyed their evening together. Raven curled up in the corner of the couch, Cyborg and Beast Boy playing some new game on the big screen, which seemed to involve a lot of coconuts and lasers for some reason. Robin and Starfire where at the other end of the couch, where he tried to teach the alien the basics of chess.
"Please? These small ones-"
"The pawns..."
"Indeed. They can not walk far? Why is it so?"
"They just can't, Star. Now, watch your knight..." Star's expression became even more confused. "The horse." Robin sighed, hearing a small chuckle from Raven's corner. "It's being threatened by my rook, see?"
"No, that is surely not a bird! That is a building!"
Robin closed his eyes. Another snigger erupted from Raven. She had tried to teach Star chess, but there wasn't enough meditation-time in the day to let her continue.
At the same time BB was having a ball. He was actually beating Cyborg!
"Ha! Take that! I am so kicking your butt it's not even fu- eeep!"
"What the heck!" Cy cried.
"Good evening, children. Having fun?"
"Robin! Slade ruined my game! I was winning!" Beast Boy wailed and pointed accusingly at the screen.
"I don't think he is going to apologize, BB" Robin said, a bit frustrated at having this piece of quiet 'family' time ruined. He turned to the mask on the screen, waiting for the new orders.
"I'm leaving town for a few days."
"What?" Robin sounded almost disappointed.
"I will leave you with an assignment. You are to devise a strategy for the assassination of three people, using your special skills as a starting point."
"Clean kills, flashy or 'accidents'?" Robin asked. As he heard his friends gasp, he shot them a look, frowning slightly. "That's just terminology, I won't actually KILL anyone."
Slade, ignoring that statement, continued.
"One of each. You have three days or until I return, whatever comes first. The details will arrive by messenger shortly… with a goodbye present."
"A what? Why?" Robin said, feeling slightly uncomfortable in front of his friends. Oh, PLEASE don't let it be anything WEIRD!
"It's just a means of transportation. I have been noticing that the junk heap you are using right now barely hold's itself together." he tilted his head in Cyborg's direction. "It's one of yours, isn't it?"
Cy let out a string of expressions that made Starfire just stare in awe. You could see her mind filing the words away, to try out later.
At that moment there was a call at the intercom. Slade's messenger had arrived.
"Let's check it out!" Beast Boy yelled, jumped over the couch and ran to the door. Slade might have interrupted his game, but a new ride?! Maybe Robin would even let him drive it?!
The curious team all left, leaving Robin alone in the room with Slade's image.
"I will call you when I get back in about three or four days."
Robin nodded.
"Guess I'll see you then…"
"Hope you like your present." Slade said and the screen went black.
Robin could hear the exited oooh's and aaahh's from BB as he walked out the front door. The messenger had arrived by the extendable bridge they used for those kinds of things. Letting someone you didn't trust into the tunnel was just stupid. It had turned out to be one of Slade's robots and it had already walked away, leaving the machine it had driven behind. as instructed.
It was a motorcycle. It wasn't as big and bulky as the R-cycle, but rather sleek. It would match Robin's civilian appearance much better. Black, Robin noted. Well… he approved of the color; it, as well, wouldn't stand out too much. As he came closer he saw something that made his heart skip a beat. On the tank there was an image of a red bird. The bird from his T-shirt. As he reached out to touch it, Beast Boy commented.
"Yeah, isn't that just so cool? You would have though the dude would put an 'S' on it or something…"
A bit lost for words, Robin turned to the package the bot left. It contained files on Robin's supposed targets, and instructions to complete the assignment.
"Err… could you take it to the garage? I need to take these files inside."
"I get to ride it?! Really?!" Beast Boy squealed in delight.
"Slade has probably booby trapped it so it explodes if anyone else sits on it:" Raven teased the kid, who paled somewhat at the thought. He ended up, miserably, leading the bike by the handles.
In his room Robin put the package on his desk and then reached into his pocket for Slade's communicator. He flipped it open and pushed the green button. He thought that was the right one, he hadn't actually used it before. The screen came alive within seconds, showing Slade's face.
"Liked it?"
"Yes. Thank you." trying to ease the bit of tension he felt by thanking the man he added with a smirk, "Raven told Beast Boy it would explode if he tried it out, though…"
Slade chuckled.
"It might." he said and tilted his head. "I am about to leave, Robin, but I'll call you. And… when I get back… there will be more time for… playing…" Smiling at the boy, who blushed very prettily, he ended the call.
The next day Robin had brought out his 'homework' and placed it on the coffee-table by the couch. As he now had a chance to spend some time with his friends, he didn't want to be cooped up in his room. He could do the mission drafts here and then work through the details when he had a bit more peace and quiet. Right now there wasn't much of that around…
"Are you going to search his place?" Beast Boy asked eagerly.
"Of course." Robin nodded. "If I can get in… he might have deactivated the key."
"Can I come?"
Robin looked up at the boy who was so eager to help.
"Not a good idea. It's against the rules, remember?"
"But I'll be a fly on the wall! Literally!"
"BB, he'll know. Somehow! Scanners, surveillance, I don't know. I wish I could bring you, every one of you, but I can't, ok?"
Beast Boy pouted, but nodded reluctantly. "Just wanna help…"
Robin gave his little green friend a big, warm smile. "You'll get your chance, I promise! Now… I have some people to kill…"
Looking over the documents there was profiles for three victims, just as Slade had said. They were all male, something Robin was a bit grateful for. Killing women didn't appeal to him. Oh, just men, then…? Shrugging, he took a closer look at the profiles. There was a drug dealer, around 25 years old, who was going to be dealt with quickly, for cheating his boss. A diplomat killed in a more sensational style, to send a message to his country, and a businessman who was going to have a fatal accident.
He had all the background information he needed at his disposal, even pictures, though he really hoped this wasn't real people… at least the name's wasn't real… he had done a quick online search, just to check. Not that it meant anything; it's not that hard to change a name on a piece of paper, anyway.
Suddenly the alarm went off. Thankfully he was in his uniform now, so all he needed was to put on his mask as he joined the others on the way into the city.
It was Plasmus. The giant purple blob had gotten his slimy tentacles on some trucks leaving a power plant on the outskirts of the JC, and it seemed the contents of the vehicles delighted the monster.
"Titans, go!" Robin ordered as he launched his first attack. It felt like they hadn't fought together in forever, but they quickly fell into the routine again. Many icky situations later, purple goo being everywhere, Robin finally had enough. Without thinking, his style started to alter, orienting more and more towards the techniques he learned from Slade. With a vicious attack using some of his exploding bird-a-rangs, the blob finally seemed to burst, leaving a man standing in its place. The man's eyes were rolled back, he was already unconscious, but Robin didn't take any risks. Leaping into the air he brought the man down by a kick to the chest and then-
"Robin!" Black energy caught him, his foot mere millimeters from the man's neck and he was kept suspended in the air. Wanting to roar in rage at not being able to finish the job, he could do nothing.
"Robin, what the heck do you think you're doing?!" Cyborg's voice ripped through the veil of anger and violence and made Robin blink.
"What?" He was released from Ravens grasp, almost reluctantly, and stood watching the fallen form in front of him.
"Friend, what happened? Why did you not close the whoop-ass can?"
"Sweet moves, though…" whispered Beast Boy and got an elbow in the gut from Raven as a reply.
Robin growled in frustration. "They are just going to take him back to jail, and then he'll brake out and we will have to go through this shit again!"
"They are helping him, Robin." Raven said. "They are doing research…"
"I say spend that money on cancer-research, instead of this lowlife!" Robin snarled, turned away and stalked off.
"Friend…?"
"Let him cool off, Starfire." Cyborg said. "He seems to need a time-out."
Robin really did. He was incredibly angry at the moment. Angry at himself and angry at Slade. This wasn't what he believed! The mercenary had planted these notions in his mind and somehow, fighting Plasmus yet again, they had surfaced. Yes, again. He had lost count on how many times they had been forced to take him down now. Again and again and again… And, someday, one of us might make a mistake… If he could stop it, stop it from ever happening? Why wouldn't he? What kind of a life does he live anyway… I'll be doing the guy a favor… Stopping dead in his tracks ha stared into thin air in shock. No! No! He didn't just think that! He didn't just think about the execution of another human being as an act of kindness!
You are changing Robin… still enjoying the game?
No! No. He wasn't changing. This frustration… only natural, right? He hadn't fought with his team for a while, of course he enjoyed it! He just got a bit carried away. The movements had been worked into him until they became automatic, he wasn't thinking. So… it wasn't his fault… right? Right?
Robin just stood there. The police came to pick Plasmus up, some reporters swung by to take a few pictures and ask the team some questions. Robin didn't notice. Then he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder. Cyborg. He had almost hoped it was… someone else…
"Coming, Robin?"
"No."
"What?" The team gathered around him.
"No. What I did back there… not acceptable. Slade is getting to me more than I thought. I'm going back to search his lair. It's time to stop this."
He ran all the way. He needed to get rid of all the pent up feelings and running until his heart nearly collapsed seemed to do the trick. It took him almost an hour from the power plant to the docks. In that hour he got to do a bit of thinking. What if this wasn't Slade's fault… that discussion they had? Maybe the man was just trying to irritate him, assessing his moral code. He surely didn't want him to go around killing villains did he? No, he wants you to be able to kill ANYONE. Shit-shit-shit-shit-shit...
When he finally arrived at the lair he found that Slade hadn't locked it up. Why is he so trusting? He must have fallen on his head or something…
Walking through the empty rooms, Robin found himself missing Slade's presence. The communicator burned in his pocket, but could he call? Was he even allowed to? Trying to occupy himself with other things, he started searching the lair for clues. Any clues to what Slade might be up to. He mostly found things that were related to his training, though. Robin thought the situation slightly odd. The whole base seemed to revolve around him. Certainly Slade had other projects? What about the mission he was on now? Something was not quite right, and it made the boy very uneasy.
Then he saw something, wedged beneath one of the computer screens in the tech-room. A corner of a piece of paper. Hoping against hope that this might be what he needed, he reached for it and pulled it out. It was the size of a post-it note and had only two numbers written on it: '7/7'. A bit disappointed he put the note in his pocket. It might still be a clue, after all…
He fished out his Slade-communicator. Then he put it back in his pocket. He picked it up again, staring at it. Then he put it on a workbench. Groaning in frustration he finally reached for it again, flicked it open and…. closed it. Cursing loudly now he opened it once more and, slightly wincing… pressed the green button. It took a while. Then Slade's face appeared.
"Robin? I'm in the middle of a mission, what is it?" his voice sounded slightly irritated, but mostly busy. Batman's voice…
"I… I…" oh, stupid-stupid-stupid! What the hell was he going to say?
Slade seemed to focus on the screen.
"Robin. What's wrong? What happened?"
"I… I almost killed Plasmus…"
"What?"
"I… just… I want to know what…" Lost for words he stopped.
"Where are you now?"
"I'm ho- at the base..."
"Stay there. I'll be there in two hours."
"What? But the… mission?"
"It can wait."
He was abandoning a mission? For HIM? Batman had never…
"I… I'll stay."
"I will come as soon as I can, Robin. Try to get some rest."
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Just few miles away, at another base, one of his real ones, Slade closed the communicator and smiled.
And the academy award for best male actor goes to…
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To be continued…
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A/N: So… the game keeps going… this was quite a long chapter (for me)… I just needed it to continue until you could get a glimpse inside the minds of the two main players… who would you most like to punch in the face? Robin or Slade? No, Starfire or Beast Boy are not available for punching… I am, though, if you feel like it. That might be something to mention in the review I know you are going to write now, to reward me for all of this hard work. Right?
