An Angry Mercenary, A Lonely Girl And An Innocent Robin
Chapter 9: Multiple Perspectives
A/N: For those of you familiar with Multi-personality disorder, that will be taking place in this story and is one of the main plot points of this Fanfiction. If you've been seeing the hints, then you probably know who has the disorder, but I'm mainly doing it due to seeing things like it but only once ever fully saying its MPD (Multi-Personality Disorder). So, this will have that in the story and confront it a bit. Please R&R, it helps me update sooner.
Robin stared at the game board in front of him and laughed loudly. "Wow, your REALLY bad at this, Slade."
"Don't remind me." Slade growled towards the young boy.
Terra rolled her blue eyes. "Come off it bird breath, not everyone is talented in Monopoly."
"I never said I was talented in-... did you seriously just call me bird breath?" Dick glared at the blonde sitting across from him.
"Yep, what ya'h gonna do about it circus boy?" Terra challenged.
Wintergreen placed a bag of potato chips on the table in the groups reach. "Children, remain calm please, this is game night after all."
Dick scoffed at Terra. "I'll be calm when Terra learns to stop calling me names, its childish and inappropriate."
"Says the kid who starting fangirling over a dumb scene in Legally Blonde." Terra countered.
Dick smirked. "Don't pretend that it wasn't expected of me, I love that chick, she found out he was gay in a court room, Ter!"
"Which reopens the idea that I might just be raising a homosexual." Slade reminded the group.
If your confused, let us explain, it was 'Family Game Night' as Wintergreen called it and currently Terra and Robin were once again teasing each other. It wasn't as bad as before when they were Teen Titans, but they still argued occasionally over small things like any siblings would. Of course, Slade and Wintergreen tried to stop them sometimes from going too far, but still, it was usually very mild arguments at best. Except sparing. Robin glared at Slade, no matter how much he had claimed to have 'Changed' he hardly trusted him or saw him as a big fatherly figure like Terra did. That was probably what set them apart, Slade, Terra practically bowed to the man and saw him as a saint while Robin saw him as a pain in the butt to put up with, much less live with. But still, he had made no moves of escape yet. He was planing on escaping, no matter what Terra or Wintergreen told him, it changed nothing, he would escape this confusing yet somewhat admitted soothing place.
Dick hated to admit it, he liked it here sometimes. No villains to fight, no chores, no arguing teammates asking for you to solve there issues, no secret identities... it was almost like home. No, this was a house, that's what Dick had to remember, this was no home. Home was a manor on top of the highest hill in Gotham city where a man smoked his pipe in front of a roaring fireplace and a kind elderly butler made cookies and hot cocoa. Home was an old trailer smelling of gingerbread men and cake, covered wall to wall in pictures drawn by a small boy who flew like a bird in the circus. Home was a tower with five teenagers who ran ramped in its halls, the tower smelling of pizza and warm coke. Yes, those were Dick and Robin's homes, not here.
Some may wonder why Dick and Robin were different. Well one was an orphaned circus brat and the other was a strong vigilante, simple as that. The only difference, was the domino mask. It seemed crazy to most people, but that was the key to meeting an entirely different person, just by removing the mask and waiting for the tears to stop falling afterwards. Because, Robin never really focused on the events of Dick's life, while Dick could have a nervous breakdown from thinking about Robin's past fights and confrontations. Yeah, he had issues, but who didn't now adays? Dick smiled at Wintergreen, he liked Wintergreen and Slade to a degree, but ever since Slade took Robin's mask, he had been feeling very conflicted with himself. Sometimes Robin would take over and say something rash or glare, swear and even try to fight Slade, however Dick was very peaceful and tended to just smile and be polite like the good little gentlemen he was raised to be by Alfred, his mother and Bruce Wayne. Robin was raised by Batman though, so he rarely showed an compassion for his enemies unless they were very attractive boys in tights... no, he didn't just say that, hush.
"Let the records show, I beat Slade! I win!" Wintergreen announced as they tallied up the points since Slade went bankrupt, however Terra was a close second place and right behind her by a thousand dollars was Dick.
Dick smiled at everyone, even Slade. "Good game gang, see ya'h later!" He chirped before hopping off to get yelled at by Robin in his room for being nice to Slade.
Terra glanced at Slade. "Since when is Robin so happy go lucky?" She asked.
Slade's brow furrowed as he stood. "I'm not entirely sure."
Except he was, to a certain degree. He himself knew how Robin and even Dick thought most of the time. He had seen the difference since that dang movie night, where he actually made a bit of progress with buttering up to the kids. Terra was easy to have love him, she had been abused her whole life and had clung on to him at a speed that Flash guy would have been jealous of. However, the Boy wonder was trained to never trust a soul with his thoughts and feelings, not even his own father figure Batman could read him most of the time. But Dick... he was another story, he had in a way clung on to Slade tighter then Terra had and didn't look to be letting go any time soon. It was odd, no, it made sense. Slade had by now pieced it together. Robin had at first been just Richard Grayson wearing a mask, but as time went on and the Batman's training really started to change him, then he grew a bit different as Robin. As Robin he joked around and smiled like Richard, but held now a higher sense of self hatred and stubbornness. So, when he had ran away to Jump City, Richard had completely torn the two identities apart and was now going through a process Slade called, 'Returning To The Living'.
Returning To The Living was a term used for when heroes or villains started to either try and retire, go crazy (or crazier) or even just remove the villain/hero identity for a long period of time. It wasn't common, and very rare to see, but Slade had seen it once or twice himself and knew what Dick was going through. Guess that was one thing Batman never taught him, how to let go of the hero inside him and be a child again. In a way, Slade felt guilty for taking Dick's mask, or Robin's mask in this case, but it had to be done. Although, Slade had hoped that this wouldn't happen. After all, you can't have an apprentice having a panic attack during a mission. Still, something wasn't right about all of this, it was like Dick and Robin were two completely different people. It worried the ex-soldier enough to drive him to start getting up to follow after his soon-to-be apprentice.
"Where are you going, sir?" Wintergreen asked.
Slade sighed. "To check on Dick of course, somethings up, and I want to know what it is." He answered.
"Fine, but be easy on him if he gets in trouble." Wintergreen warned.
"I'm an adult Wintergreen, not a toddler." Slade reminded Wintergreen as he made his leave.
Terra looked to Wintergreen with questioning eyes as soon as Slade was gone. "Hey ?"
Wintergreen smiled at the young girl. "Yes my dear?"
"Why is Slade so obsessed with Richard, its like I'm not even here sometimes. Its always about how Dick feels or is going through, does he even care about me? And Robin doesn't even LIKE him!" Terra explained, obviously upset with her master.
Wintergreen sighed as he set his tea aside and gave his attention to Terra. "Dear, he cares deeply for both of you in ways you'll never truly understand, but the reason he likes Robin so much is easy: Robin is alot like him."
Terra scoffed. "No he's not, Robin doesn't do mercenary work."
"Maybe not, but as a child, Slade was much like Dick. He had lost his father at a very young age and was raised by his mother, who had barely paid an ounce of attention to him, the poor boy. At sixteen he became very secretive and fought every male teenager in his town, but he lost every time. He would come home scared and bleeding, but never gave up on winning. Then, he ran away and claimed to be eighteen to join the army." Wintergreen explained.
"He always does seem like a military guy, did he even get in at first?" Terra asked.
Wintergreen was almost grinning. "As soon as I first met him he was being beaten to a bloody pulp by a bunch of soldiers who saw through his lie, so I stepped in and saved the poor boy. Ever since we have been close friends and I have kept my eyes on him, but now, I wonder if he really needs me for protection."
Terra smiled at the man. "Well, I think he sees you as a dad." She told him.
"Maybe he does... maybe..." Wintergreen seemed to be lost in his thoughts, leaving Terra to wonder what happened to make Slade so powerful.
Dick Grayson sat quietly reading a book called Catcher And The Rye, he had read it before, but was so bored that anything would do. As soon as Slade walked into his room however, he stood up and glared, feeling anger and hate fill him to the core. He really hated this back and forth motion that constantly played out in his head, but he couldn't help it, if Slade knew the truth then he'd never live it down. The man patiently sat on the bed, still wearing that dang mask, oh how both Robin and Dick seemed to loath that dumb mask. It taunted the personalities, reminded them that they no longer had a barrier while Slade could remain as Deathstroke for as long as he wanted. It felt unfair, but Dick learned that the world was unfair the day his parents were murdered in cold blood. Robin had learned the same thing, but it was the night Batman tried to fire him and make him be a normal kid. Sometimes... that's what both Dick and Robin wanted, to be a child again. But no, heroic duties must come first.
"What do YOU want?" Robin growled as his eyes met Slade's single grey-blue eye.
"I'm guessing that I'm talking to Robin, right?" Slade asked.
Robin rolled his eyes. "What are you talking about, I'm always Robin."
"No, your not are you, Dick? I know by now the truth, at first I thought it was nothing, but no... you have Multi-Personality Disorder don't you, Dick?" Slade asked.
A stone seemed to drop in Dick's chest, his eyes grew softer and more emotional then Robin's cold glares and emotionless stances. Dick never had those, he only had normal emotions... at least, for an orphan that is. "H-h-how did y-you f-find out?" He asked, his voice cracking.
"Its a shame that I found out before Batman, I would have thought that he of all people would see the signs first. But then again... has he ever paid attention to you?" Slade asked.
Robin glared, his blood feeling cold with rage as he felt his limbs shaking uncontrollably. Before Slade could move, Dick took over again and sobbed desperately, running like all Hell had broken loose out of the bedroom, just in time for Terra to nearly get slammed into the floor by him. She stared after him, then glared fearsly at Slade.
"What did you do?" She asked, anger in her voice before she ran after her brother like roommate.
Slade sat there, bewildered... what did he do?"
Next Chapter Preview: As Slade tries to figure out how to get Robin and Terra to forgive him, Robin and Dick meet a new personality that has a thing for knives and stabbing people.
A/N: If any of you have read this one fanfiction that had Robin having Multi-personality Disorder that got adopted by someone else, then you might like where this is going. This new personality (Its a bit of an OC but I love it anyways) will definitely be adding more comedy to the story hopefully (And drama). Please R&R, if you want to come up with names for the personality, I might use them!
~Supercasey.