A/N: Though he is no longer, in fact, Robin – I will refer to him so to make it easier to write. Happy reading!

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Slade settled into his chair.

"Well, professor. Looks like your plan succeeded. Congratulations."

Stryfe, on his knees before Slade, looked fearfully up at the masked villain. "My...plan?"

Slade chuckled. "Of course, professor. What do you think of your creation now?"

"M-my creation? Mister Slade, it was all you. You did everything. It is your creation, not mine. You deserve-" Stryfe couldn't finish. A giant stone hand had encircled his neck and was lifting him off of the ground.

"Professor, if it weren't for you, this city would not be coming to its knees as we speak. The Titans will fall. What was Robin will destroy everything that opposes me. Everything that is happening, professor, is thanks to you."

"I...I..." Stryfe could only gasp, hanging in the air as Cinderblock held him by the neck. Slade continued.

"Yes, everything. Everything is because of you. All I ever dreamed of, professor, you have given me. However, there is one problem..." Slade raised his hand and slowly squeezed it into a fist. "I hate you. I hate everything about you. You poisoned the soul of the one person in this world I respected. You sealed his fate with your twisted experiment, and he will never be the same again. He is now dead."

Stryfe's eyes widened. Surely Slade was not blaming Robin's demise on him? Slade had planned this from the beginning – he had forced Stryfe to send out the electric relay. All along, Slade had told him that the purpose of the relay was to eventually bring the beast in Robin back to life. The mastermind had even just said that he was grateful for it, so why was he angry about it? He pulled at the stone fingers around his neck.

Cinderblock's fist opened and Stryfe fell to the ground. He massaged his neck and barely managed to gasp, "But, Mister Slade...you can't possibly...I only-"

"Me? Can't?" Slade now cracked his knuckles. "Professor, you hardly know me at all. I can do anything I want, anytime I want, and you cannot stop me. Now..." Slade steepled his fingers and leaned back into his chair, making darkness fall over his form. "I will only need your services one last time."

"Mister Slade! No! Please, you promised me you would let me go once the second phase was complete!"

"You should have never trusted me, you pathetic worm. Take him away."

Cinderblock picked Stryfe up again, this time by the left ankle, and began walking away into the darkness, the professor's cries ringing through the caverns.

"No! Slade, please! No! Nooooooooooooo!"

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No memories. No emotions. He was devoid of any human thought. Robin was dead, deep inside, never to resurface. Now, he was something else.

The beast had fused with Robin's body and mind, and therefore had had give up its own personality and memory, not that it had much of one. The entity that was Robin was now a nobody – an in-between person. As naive as a newborn baby.

His body had returned to the state it had begun as – half human, half animal – reflecting the fused persona within. The upper body was mostly human, only the hands and arms were covered in the familiar jet-black fur. His legs had completely transformed: covered in fur, extended skeleton and huge hind feet that were bent at the toe, appearing as though his knees had been bent backwards. On his fingertips and along the paws where his feet had been were long claws, razor-sharp. There was even a bushy, black tail that had burst out of his tailbone.

Robin looked around, sniffing. Where was he? Who was he? He tried to stand up straight, but found it hard to balance as he felt sure he should be on all-fours. Sinking his claws into the earthen wall, he steadied his wobbling legs, trying to get used to them. His tail hung uselessly; he had no idea what it was for.

On a whim, he tried making a noise. All that came out was a confused growl. He didn't understand himself; could he speak? The thought disintegrated as he sniffed. He smelt something. Fresher air, cool and rejuvenating. He followed the scent as if hypnotised, stumbling along the wall and absently teaching himself how to use his legs. Before long, he no longer needed the wall to lean on, and crept stealthily along in the darkness towards the smell that drove him...

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When Stryfe woke up, the first things he realised was that he was sitting down and he was securely strapped to some sort of thick pole. Looking down, he recognised his old lab coat – someone had put it on him. He looked around and saw nothing but darkness.

"Hello...?" he whimpered, knowing that this was Slade's doing. At the sound of his voice, lights began switching on, the brightest of which were positioned in a large circle around him. Stryfe used the light to see what he was tied to, and shrieked in horror.

It was a Bell 412 helicopter, stealth-black, sitting calmly on its pad. Stryfe was strapped to one of its landing skids, and he knew that it could only mean one thing – he was going to die.

"Hello yourself, professor." It was Slade. He had suddenly appeared next to Stryfe in a crouching position. "I'm sorry it's come to this, but things were never smooth between you and I. At least in your last moments, you will be of some use."

Stryfe struggled uselessly against his bonds, tears forming in his eyes. "Mister Slade...please...please don't kill me..."

"Oh, I'm not going to kill you, professor," Slade chuckled, causing a sliver of hope to rush into Stryfe's watery eyes.

"R-really? Oh, tha-"

"That's your creation's job." Slade finished with a smirk.

"W-what? B-but..."

"Though he doesn't remember anything, intense visual or aural reminders will stir up something within the depths of his mind. Robin holds extremely deep loathing for both you and me, so I am going to use it as an advantage. He will only get angrier."

"He will...evolve..." Stryfe mumbled. "One body can only take so much power..."

"Yes. Undoubtedly, the power will overwhelm everything. Robin's – the beast's – demise will cause such an explosion that will destroy everything...including the Titans, if he hasn't dealt with them already. Killing him myself would temporarily kill the beast, just like last time... but causing him to become overwhelmed by his own power will finish them both off...for good." Slade's voice seemed to drop in the slightest. "Robin was poisoned by you and your fantastic machinery. He wasn't Robin anymore. He belonged to this...this beast."

"But Slade," Stryfe, despite himself, was curious. "You wanted Robin for yourself! Why would you kill him off like this?"

Slade leaned in closer to Stryfe so that the cold metal of his mask was almost touching the professor's nose. Stryfe flinched, terrified.

"Because if I can't have Robin, no one can."

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