Disclaimer: All characters and locations of the Teen Titans animation/comic are the property of Glen Murakami and Warner Bros. Animation.
Chapter 7 – In The Middle Of It All
The silence was deafening as the two Titans stared down Robin's former nemesis. The goal of the mission was long forgotten at this point. All Robin could do for now was stare and try to keep him busy from...whatever his plan was.
"What are you doing here, Slade?"
"Oh...nothing much."
"I wouldn't exactly call all of this 'nothing'," Robin said, motioning to the wreckage around him.
"Things never appear the way they actually are, Robin." Slade's gaze bore into him like a bullet. "You of all people should know that."
"What do you plan on doing with the crystals, Slade? Chang slipped up and led us directly to you."
"A matter that I have already dealt with," he responded, nary a motion in his stance. "You see, Robin, there are things happening right now that you cannot even being to plan for. And in due time, I will have everything of yours under my command." He cast a glance at the blonde next to Robin, a small chuckle escaping his lips. "Although I see that you already have something of mine."
"...Father."
Ravager's voice was quaking, as well as the outstretched sword in her hand.
"It has been a while, hasn't it?" Slade whispered. "Not since I left you to train. I see that it did not quite stick."
"Shut up."
Even Slade was slightly surprised at Rose's brashness. "I thought I taught you better than insubordination, child."
"You brainwashed me. Taught me nothing but lies. You tried to make me into your puppet. Robin...everyone showed me the truth. The Titans showed me everything you've done to this city. To their friends. To them. It was nothing short of dreadful."
"You never seemed to have a problem of it when you were with me."
"Father, I was young. I didn't know any better. You trained me to take what was rightfully mine. For revenge. They taught me that there's more to my life than just that. You...you turned your back on me."
Slade stood still for a moment, his gaze boring into his daughter. Robin, to his credit, had been searching for a way out, but the giant iron doors around the exits didn't yield many other options.
"And what's even worse..."
The Boy Wonder turned back to his partner, her body now shaking uncontrollably. "You took my mother away from me!"
If he showed any emotion at her statement, Robin didn't see it. "What happened with your mother wasn't of your concern."
"You killed her!"
Robin's eyes grew in surprise. He wasn't not expecting that. Sure, Slade was a psychopath and a mastermind criminal...but a cold-blooded murderer? Something wasn't quite right about that.
"Hmm." The short laugh out of Slade's mouth was nothing short of chill-enducing. "It seems that Robin's not the only one who is unaware of the unknown. But it doesn't matter. I have what I need. And the both of you will learn the hard way not to interfere with my plans."
He leaned forward slightly, and the next words sent chills down Robin's spine.
"Just like your mother."
She moved so fast that even Robin had no time to react. Ravager sprinted forward just as Robin's hand swatted at her shoulder, hitting nothing but air.
"Rose, don't!"
She ran toward her father, scraping the blade on the ground. She closed the distance in record time as she swung the sword right toward Slade's neck...
Cutting the head clean off of his body.
"Rose!"
The head clattered to ground, sending sparks scattering along the grou-
Wait? Sparks?
Robin bounded forward to Ravager's side, the rest of the robot double hitting the floor with a loud clank. He put a hand on her shaking shoulder as he surveyed the situation.
"Rose, are you OK?"
The sword clattered to the ground, its owner losing the rest of her composure.
"It's a shame, isn't it?"
The Boy Wonder glanced down to the torso to see it open and reveal a small monitor. On the screen was Slade—the real Slade—sitting on his throne.
"Such pent up anger and no way to release it in any suitable form. A pity."
Something seemed off about Slade. He seemed...thinner. More ragged. There was a slight slouch in his stature.
"You could have done great things, my child. It's too bad it's gone to waste."
"Slade," Robin interjected, his eyes narrowed, "You're not looking too well. Any reason why you couldn't grace us with your actual presence?"
Slade didn't respond immediately. He instead waved to someone off-camera, and a pair of hands gave him something that Robin couldn't quite see.
"Reclaiming your life from the clutches of a demon taking over the entire world takes an extraordinary toll on a mortal person. It is an event that my body has still not completely recovered from. I assure you, though, that I would still be more of a match for you."
Red Star and Starfire landed on the ground, breathing heavily as the last of their robot foes broke apart, the pieces scattered on the ground.
"As well as all of your teammates."
Beast Boy grimaced as he nursed his arm. Cyborg continued to scan the surrounding for any signs of the crystals, Kole and Gnarrk sifting through broken boxes.
"And rest assured, Robin, you will soon find that my plans have already been set in motion, whether you believe so or not."
Argent put her arm around Raven's waist to brace her against her body. The spellcaster was still drained of energy, but was able to put a hand on her stomach, the light blue hue of her healing magic starting to take effect.
"Ahhh!"
Ravager's scream brought both Robin and Slade out of their exchange. The blonde was grasping her head, clearing in excruciating pain.
"Rose!" Robin yelled as he knelt down. "Are you OK?"
Images were flashing through her mind at a million miles a second. Electronic numbers, buildings around the city, a young woman's face, explosions-
Ravager's eyes snapped open, the pain still unbearable.
"Robin..."
"What is it?"
"We have to get out of here. Everyone. There's...something." She held a shaking hand out to somewhere near the far wall. "Something bad. A...a..."
Robin didn't need anything else. His fears confirmed, he scooped up her arm in his hand, almost dragging her toward the nearest exit.
"Hmm." Slade pressed a small button on his armrest, not deterred by the sudden departure of the Titans. "It's progressing faster than I thought. This should make things interesting."
Robin turned back to the robot, the screen no longer housing Slade. Instead, numbers started counting down, the beeps resonating in the warehouse. Cursing under his breath, Robin flipped open his comm. To his extremely quick relief, there was no accompanying sound of static. Whatever Slade had used to interfere with their communicators must have been deactivated.
"Titans, it's a trap! Evacuate immediately! I repeat-"
The countdown struck zero.
Outside, the night was pierced by four giant explosions, sending pieces of building in every direction. The fireballs sent smoke and flame toward the sky, the night no longer peaceful.
Coughing, a very sore Robin pushed the metal sheet he was under off, revealing Ravager underneath him. She was unconscious, but a quick check showed she was still breathing. He sighed, relieved.
"Robin! Come in, Robin!"
His communicator garbled from his left, the panic in Starfire's voice perfectly clear. Robin ran over to it, bringing it up to his mouth. "I'm here, Star. Are you all right?"
A slightly charred Starfire smiled in relief, her Russian teammate grinning as well. "Yes, Robin, Red Star as well as myself are fine. As well as the others."
A giant crystal dome finished disappearing, the quartet of Titans on the ground. Kole's shield had taken the brunt of the damage, although all four of them had not escaped clean from it.
"You wanna explain what the heck just happened, Robin?" Cyborg quipped, sparks coming out of his legs.
"It was a trap," Raven quipped. Argent had raised her own barrier over the both of them, but with their sparse energy reserves, they had taken more damage than anyone else. Raven's cloak was in tatters, and Argent's costume had holes all around her body. "It was a trap all along. And he was prepared for us. The only reason we're still alive is because Robin came over the radio with his warning."
Robin braced Ravager on him, his comm still in his hand. "I didn't even know he had rigged the place with bombs. Rose warned me as we were busy dealing with Slade."
"With Slade?" Beast Boy's voice was now on the comm. "He was there?"
"Sort of. He had a robot in his place. And he said...things that were troubling. He kept us busy." Robin turned to the now smoldering pile that was once the warehouse. "We didn't even get warning of the bombs until it was almost too late."
"Robin, how exactly did friend Rose know that we were about to be blown to the smithereens?"
The team leader glanced down at his companion. "I'm...not entirely sure, Star."
"Say what?" Cyborg retorted.
"Never mind. We can worry about that later. The only thing I know is that she saved all of our lives." Robin started limping back to his cycle, Ravager in his arms. "Everyone meet back at the Tower. We need to regroup and plan our next move." He frowned to himself. "As much as I hate to admit it, Slade won tonight. Let's make sure it doesn't happen again."
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey, Phineas and Ferb isn't the only thing that I haven't been updating. I like spreading out my incompetence to multiple fics.
Hopefully, this sheds a little more light onto what will be going on in future stories. Yes, Slade is the main villain. No, he won't be the only one that shows up in the future. Rose will be playing a semi-important in it all. She is Slade's daughter, after all.
Also, apologies for the multiple page breaks. I don't know how to put more fanciful perspective cuts. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I can always change it after the fact.
Next chapter will be the last of this particular story. It'll wrap up a few ends that I've probably neglected, and then I can start knocking these things out a little faster than what I have been doing.
Read and review, if you like. Until next time, ladies and gents.
