Disclaimer: Excuse me, but how many times have I said that I don't own Teen Titans? I don't know, but by now you should all know that I don't own Teen Titans. Everyone understand? Nod your heads to let me know. Okay then, good.
Author's Note: Okay, so I'm finally back with Chapter Ten. And it's a nice and long chapter that I think will keep you on the edge of your seats too! There are about three events happening at the same time, but none of them are happening in the same place. Also, Robin's birthday was this week (I did research on this for about a half hour, there are two first days of spring: the scientific one which is the vernal equinox and the Christian one which is March 21), so I guess we all need to go out and buy him birthday cakes and presents and hope that he doesn't mind parties like Raven does, lol. So I hope everyone had a happy first day of spring! One more thing before you read this chapter, the "T"s are placed in there for easy switches where I couldn't really elaborate on the shifts in view points. Now enough with this, I'll let you get to reading. Presenting "Chapter Ten: Altering Time"!
-T-
Could This Go Anywhere?
Chapter Ten: Altering Time
Inside Titans Tower, the two boys there finished their dinner, which to Cyborg's disappointment had been meat-free on account of Starfire's flip of the coin earlier when she had ordered dinner.
"So..." Beast Boy started, "What do we do now?"
"You can do what you like, I'm going to search around some more; my eye should spot something." Cyborg said, gesturing to his robotic eye.
"Sure, while calling Bumble-Bee at the same time?" Beast Boy asked, an evil little grin on his face. Cyborg looked at him. It had only been one date and now Beast Boy practically thought the two were married!
"Dude, I think you always assume that I call her!" Cyborg exclaimed, while throwing his hands up in the air, "I think that you think that I call her in my sleep!"
"I hadn't thought of that, but-- wait a minute, can you do that?" Beast Boy asked.
Cyborg just shook his head, "Why don't you just try cleaning your room? We have some down time, use it for something useful."
"Wait a minute, the point of down time is to be a lazy couch potato!" Beast Boy called out, as Cyborg left the room.
Shaking his head, the changeling got up and headed for his room. Halfway there, he realized that there was no point of going to his room as he wouldn't find any games in that mess anyway. Sighing, he decided to go to the game room. As he turned the corner, the strong smell of incense filled his sensitive nose. He followed the smell to Raven's room. Wondering what the cause for the potent smell was, he knocked on her door.
"Rae?" He called out. Pressing his ear to her door, he heard her muttering something and from the sounds of it, wasn't doing too well.
Opening the door, Beast Boy strode inside to see what was bothering the enchantress, "Raven? Are you...?"
Beast Boy stopped. Raven's eyes were shut tight, despite her normal relaxed meditation position. Hearing her name, Raven stopped chanting and opened her eyes, but barely.
"What are you doing in here?" She asked. She was irritated, but at the same time, she sounded like she was extremely tired.
"Rae, you don't look too good," Beast Boy said, not answering her and instead directing the attention to her pale face (which was paler than normal, if that was possible).
"I'm just trying to preform an incantation, a difficult one; my headache hasn't gotten better," She told him.
"But I thought that you said you just can't concentrate," He said.
Raven looked down at the ground, "It has become something more than that."
"Perfect timing, huh?" Beast Boy joked.
"Beast Boy, you can stay if you help me out, but if you are only going to be irritating, I suggest you leave," Raven said. She wasn't trying to be mean. She was only being blunt and she didn't feel like dealing with things that she didn't have to.
"Okay, I'll help," He said.
Raven turned to him, surprised. He smiled at her like a dork and she sighed, "Okay, will you get those off of my shelf over there?"
As Beast Boy started helping Raven, she started lighting candles making the dark room a little lighter. It was like a city brightening up in the evening, a sight Star saw as she landed on top of the roof of the Needle. There were lights at the top, flashing brightly on and off. It might have been because of how she was raised, but Starfire strode forward, confident across the roof of the needle. If there was one thing that she knew, it was that if you represented something, it was your job to make the first impression; an impression that was hopefully a good one. She knew that Nightwing knew her, but all the same, she wanted him to think that she was confident in what she was doing, even if in her gut she could feel her stomachs squirming with anxiety.
"Nightwing?" She asked the darkness, "Are you here? Nightwing?"
She walked around the sides. Carefully, she looked over the edge and saw the streets below. The dusk was gone from the sky so the city sparkled beyond the rooftop. She turned back and went to the center, wondering if he was going to come up through the doorway. It was, in all honesty, quiet. She was the only one up there and the only sounds that she heard were that of cars below and her own feet scraping against the roof. So the next sound in every way surprised her enough to make her heart skip a beat.
"Starfire?"
She gasped and turned to see where the voice had come from. Nightwing was crouching by the side of the rooftop. He was almost completely hidden and he would have been, if not for the blue on his chest.
"Nightwing, oh, you scared me," She said.
"Sorry," He said, standing up, "I tend to do that sometimes."
"Oh, no, it is fine, I am okay," She answered.
Nightwing nodded and looked down at his feet unsure of how to start the conversation, "I'm sorry that I asked you not to tell anyone that I was here. I just don't... it's complicated."
Star nodded, "Well, do you wish to explain part of it to me?"
Nightwing smiled, "I think you deserve some answers."
Starfire laughed slightly and teasingly answered, "I thank you for your consideration."
"No problem," He said. At the moment, Nightwing struggled with a multitude of things. Looking at Star, he fought off heartache for Kori. But from being in this time, he fought off migraines and showing his discomfort.
"I guess, well, to make it sweet and simple, the future's in danger of being altered," Nightwing told her.
Star bit her lip attempting to choose the best question, "How?"
"Robin's not just unconscious," Nightwing said, "Wherever you think he may be, he's not there. Trust me on that."
"Then, where is he?" Starfire asked.
Nightwing bit his lip, but answered, "With Slade. He has him captive."
Star's eyes widened at the revelation, "What? How did he...?"
"He's been manipulating everything. The fight with Triton, it was him. I can't explain everything, but you just have to trust me on this. He's out to get me or Robin to work for him again," Nightwing told her.
"What future are you from?" She asked.
"What?"
"What future are you from? Is it an altered future or is... the one that we want it to be?" Starfire said, carefully choosing her words so as not to probe into the future.
Nightwing sighed, "I'm from the one that we want it to be. We're still the heroes that fight along side Superman, Wonder Woman and Batman. And trust me, they haven't changed a bit."
Starfire nodded. It was a lot to take in, but she did and trusted what she heard. It was almost, in her opinion, hard not to believe him.
"Then, what must we do?"
Nightwing sighed with relief because that she believed him and it almost made his migraine dissipate, if only for a moment.
-T-
Relief, though, was the last thing on Robin's mind. He ached all over and was surprised that he hadn't passed out. The Boy Wonder neither moved nor attempted to. The air conditioning came on and he felt the cool air hit him, uncomfortably making his sweat cool his body rapidly and causing him to shiver. The door opened minutes later with Slade standing in the doorway. Walking inside, Slade glanced down at the hurt teenager. 'Almost there,' He thought.
"Which hurts more, Robin?" The mastermind asked, while pacing the room slowly, like a predator waiting for the right moment to go after his prey, "The fact that I won that fight or the fact that you know they don't care?"
Robin looked up at him. His mind refused to work and he didn't know why. Maybe he was just shaken up. He knew that he was weak at the moment. His chest shook as though it struggled to get oxygen into his system.
"Or maybe, it hurts that your home, that tower, is full of hypocrites," Slade said, enjoying watching Robin squirm at the thought.
Walking over to the drawer of a dresser, Slade pulled it open. Inside was the bright red tunic with Robin's symbol emblazened on the chest. Robin watched as Slade took it out. Slade chuckled, "Would they really care if they lost you, Robin? Of course, there would be the initial anger there, but they'd get over it. It's not like you're valuable to them anyway."
Robin fought to stay awake and keep himself finding solutions to use against Slade's statements, but the solutions were slowly refusing to come. Slade took the shirt and pulled out the knife from before. He brought it up to the small black and yellow "R".
"Tell me, is it really that important," The knife went through the fabric and Robin felt himself jump slightly at the site, "To you that you don't give up those ridiculous ideals that they impose upon you.."
Slade cut the "R" out and then cut through it with the sharp "S" that was his own, "To join me?"
The Boy Wonder watched as the shreds of fabric softly fluttered to the floor. Robin fought to keep himself from screaming in his mind. He felt dizzy, weak, and disoriented. Worse yet, he felt no reason to fight Slade's logic. Slade watched Robin gasp and let the inside turmoil be written on his face. He pulled out a bright silver metal "S" from his pocket.
"It wouldn't be as bad as you think. We're so much alike anyways, it would feel natural for you, " Slade continued, " Just say yes, Robin, that's all you have to say."
Robin felt himself slipping in his mind. 'Care, don't care, can't let ... Doesn't make... sense... No, they don't, why should I... Stop... No... no...'
'Yes?'
-T-
Beast Boy found that it was extremely difficult to stay quiet as Raven spoke. It was eerie in the room sometimes and this was by far, on the list of one of those times.
"Acara, Demirk, Queziv," Raven said, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..."
Beast Boy looked out the window, wondering when she would finish. Raven, however, barely noticed time passing, as her attention was on the spell. She couldn't identify what was causing all of this stress at all, and it was honestly becoming annoying. Then she distinctly heard something in her head. It was a sob, someone crying. The sound got softer, and she sought after it again. Perhaps it would provide answers...?
-T-
Nightwing felt his vision dissipate for a second and then come back again, but as much as it hurt, he didn't want Star to know about this. Even through Nightwing's facade, Starfire could tell in the way that he spoke that something was troubling him more than Slade was, "What we need to do is handle this in a way that would..."
His body froze mid sentence and Starfire watched him closely as he had sounded as though he had more to say.
"Nightwing?" She hesitantly walked over to him, but as she did, a loud agonizing scream frightened her to the point that it made her heart stop.
At the same instant, Raven heard the sobbing being interrupted by a piercing yell and the sounds made her headache change from something simple to that of her head being split open by an ax.
"Ah!" Raven screamed and it alerted Beast Boy to her current discomfort. The telepath collapsed on her bed, holding her head tightly.
"Raven? What's wrong?" Beast Boy asked, panicked.
Raven gasped and held her head, willing for herself to be calm again and away from the noises. She groaned and growled at the sounds in her head. Beast Boy rushed over shaking her shoulders. Raven suddenly felt weak, but not because of the sounds going off in her head. Her hands fell to her sides and she suddenly started to feel numb.
"Cyborg!" Beast Boy yelled into his communicator.
"What?" Cyborg called back.
"Raven's, well, just get up here, Raven's sick or ill or something!" Beast Boy yelled.
"Alright, dude, I just was going to call you. I found the sub-pod; it was empty," Cyborg spoke into the communicator.
"What?" Beast Boy asked back, trying to focus on Raven and Cyborg.
"And close by, there were car tracks and a small path of blood leading from the tracks to the beach," Cyborg replied.
"Can this get any worse?" Beast Boy yelled in frustration.
Starfire watched as Nightwing fell to the ground groaning and screaming. She didn't know what was going on with him. An orange glow slowly began to emanate from him. Star brought her arm up to cover her eyes so that she wouldn't be blinded. Slowly, the light dissipated, but something was wrong. Nightwing was still crouched on the ground, but on his hands and knees as though still frozen.
"Nightwing?" Starfire said. She stepped closer, "Night...wing?"
Nightwing whipped around and Starfire found herself looking at what was indeed Nightwing or Robin (which ever one would wish to call him), but instead of the blue and black, his suit was now a frightening red and black while his mask was black with orange rims.
"Princess," He said, his tone dangerous, "Forgive me, but, my master would wish for me to take you captive."
Starfire took a step back, "And I must obey him."
Nightwing leaped up, his Escrima Sticks seemingly coming out of nowhere. Starfire flew up and back to dodge the staffs.
"Nightwing, I do not wish to fight you!" She yelled.
"That makes one of us," Nightwing said. That one sentence scared her half to death as she watched him leap up and into the fight. Starfire flew up and threw a couple starbolts, missing her target entirely. Nightwing jumped up swung at her which she dodged, but barely. Starfire silently thanked her parents for the training she had received from the Warlords of Okaara. A thought passed through her mind as she Nightwing smile menacingly, 'Slade, what have you done?'
-T-
Slade held out the silver "S" out in Robin's reach. Robin looked at it and felt his shoulders shake. They didn't care. They just didn't. Where else could he go? Almost instantly, Robin felt a strong desire to be safe. He thought of every time he had ever felt safe. He remembered grabbing his parents' strong hands whenever they performed at Haly's. It made him choke to think about it. That safety was no longer there.
But then, he thought of one undeniable feeling of security. It was something that he had felt when he was very young, after his parents' death. It was that of a long, black cape billowing around his ten-year old self. One that belonged not to himself, but to Bruce. It was odd, but that cape was more than something that protected Batman from his enemies. It was a shield against the darkness and danger. One that would always surround Robin whenever he ran over to Bruce in attempts to get away from harm's way.
And every time Batman had seen that Robin didn't feel safe, he made sure that the current situation changed so that the Boy Wonder did feel safe or at least more secure. If Bruce didn't care about him, then he wouldn't have done that. He did care. He did, he did, he did! And if he did, then the Titans by all means cared too.
'No!'
The realization allowed for a rush of adrenaline to surge through Robin's body. He was not going out that easily. Knocking Slade's hand away and kicking at the man's shins, Robin sprung up from the bed and ran out of the open door. At first his legs wobbled and wouldn't listen to him, but as he got farther and farther away, he was able to control himself.
'The room, the AC must have contained a toxin or drug or something. That's why I couldn't think straight,' Robin realized as he ran.
-T-
Nightwing stood over Starfire who he had successfully dragged to the ground. Starfire shook her head and looked up at her opponent, "And I thought that you would put up a fight."
"Nightwing, don't!" Her plead was answered with a laugh.
Starfire's eyes widened as she saw Nightwing bring the sticks up and above her. He swung and she screamed. Inches before it hit her though, she heard the sticks' whip halt with a sudden movement. Opening her eyes, she saw him freeze again. But instead of pain, this time there was a look on his face that made him look as though he was going to pass out. And he did just that, falling to the side. A white glow lit up Nightwing's body as before and left just as quickly as it had started.
Star looked over to see the black and blue suit back. He wasn't moving really, but he was breathing. Starfire let out a sigh of relief that she didn't realize that she had been holding. The tower's excitement also receded simultaneously.
"Raven, come on, Raven, wake up! Come on!" Beast Boy said, gently, tapping her cheeks to wake her up.
Raven came to grips with where she was. The screams, the crying, it was gone. She felt her strength return seconds later. Her concentration was still off, but not nearly as off as it had been with the headache.
"Rae? Are you...?" Beast Boy asked again.
She sat up and nodded, "I'm fine. I think."
Cyborg ran into the room, "BB said you were in trouble, Raven?"
Raven's eyes narrowed, "Something's wrong. Seriously wrong. I... I heard someone crying... or sobbing, but it was interrupted by a scream. Then, I just... lost my strength..."
Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at her, "Is it connected?"
"I don't think it is... exactly," Raven said slowly, "Come on, we need to get Starfire and talk in the main room."
As they walked out of Raven's room towards the doors to the main room, Robin continued down the seemingly endless hallways. He tried every door he passed, but none opened up to the outside world. Finally, he saw a bared window... and a door. He set off in a sprint.
CLANG!!!
A metal door came down over the door.
CLANG, CLANG!!!
Two covers took their places over the windows next to it. Robin skidded to a halt. He looked around frantically for another exit. Sadly, the only one in sight was the one behind him. And leaning on the side of the left wall of the exit was Slade.
"You can't break my defenses that easily, Apprentice. I wouldn't allow it," Slade walked calmly down the corridor, while Robin started to back away, "Now, why don't you come back to your room and stay there?"
"I'm not your apprentice, Slade!" Robin yelled, "And I certainly don't want to be!"
Slade chuckled making Robin feel uneasiness settle in his stomach, but he refused to pay attention to it. He said quietly, "Robin, you have so much to learn."
Slade walked right up to Robin, who backed into the cold metal that was concealing the doorway. Feeling the cold metal against his skin sent shivers down his spine, but his focus shifted from that to Slade in an instant. Slade grabbed his chin and tilted Robin's head up to look him directly in the eye.
"You can't run away from our similarities, Robin," Slade said and Robin heard the filter in his mask that had kept the drug out of his system while in the other room.
"I don't have to. I just have to remember the differences," Robin shot back.
Slade frowned underneath his mask. He lowered his hand down to Robin's throat and Robin instantly felt the lack of air as his windpipe was being crushed. He grabbed at Slade's wrists and fingers, but it did no good. His eyes were already playing tricks on him, but Slade wasn't going to stop there. He raised Robin slightly in the air so that Robin's toes just brushed the ground. Robin gasped for air. He could barely breathe and could feel himself slowly losing the feelings in his fingers and toes. Next would be his arms and legs
"Don't play a game you can't handle yet, Robin," Slade whispered, "I have more things playing to my advantage than you know."
He released his hold on Robin, who dropped to the floor and quickly grabbed his sore neck. Slade took the opportunity to seize Robin by the hair and drag him out of the dead end. Robin soon got to his feet and began to fight against Slade's hold, but it was too late as Slade had found his destination. Opening the door that lead to what served as Robin's room, Slade threw Robin to the ground inside.
Robin got up, but Slade closed the door before he could reach the knob, "Let me out!"
Slade leaned against the door, "I'll filter out the drug, Robin, you don't have to worry."
"You could sedate me all you want, Slade. I'll still be nothing more to you then a prisoner if that is what you want to subject me to," the Boy Wonder said.
Grabbing Robin by the throat again, Slade brought Robin up close so that his eye was directly in the teen's face, "You see so little, Robin."
Robin felt himself losing air more than the last time, but he refused to go out without a fight, "Yeah... so what? I have the potential... to be more, don't I? That's why... you want me... to be your apprentice... and I know that. The look in your eye, when you see... that potential beating you will...be...priceless."
Slade's eye narrowed slightly and Robin fell unconscious. He dropped Robin onto the bed and walked out. The boy was a challenge. But challenges intrigued Slade all the more. When this was over, seeing Robin wearing that suit willingly would be the ultimate trophy.
-T-
Nightwing slowly shook his head and looked around. He saw Starfire standing over him, her hands together in worry. Standing up, he took a step over to her, but saw that she tensed.
"Starfire, I..." He was at a loss for words, "I'm sorry, I should have..."
"What. Happened?" She asked him, her tone laced with frustration, worry, and fear.
"I... that was, it never happened before. I had just been getting migraines," Nightwing started. He was still shocked at what happened himself, "Star, I'm not here because I went back to save the past. Slade brought me here."
"Why?"
"He was going to... use me, to see what he would have to do to make Robin become his apprentice for good. I escaped though," Nightwing said quietly, "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to tell you everything. I don't even know how talking to you is going to alter the future. I didn't want to risk too much."
Starfire turned around for a second, biting her lip in thought and fighting back tears, and then turned to face him again, "So Robin..."
"I wouldn't have or well, Robin wouldn't give in that soon on normal circumstances, Slade's doing something, I just don't know what. The good thing is that I, er, Robin, must have snapped out of before it was too late," Nightwing finished.
Starfire nodded, but her brow was furrowed and Nightwing could tell something was bothering her, "Hey, what's wrong?"
"You," Starfire said, looking up at him her tears becoming painfully clear, "You were so... frightening. It was scary."
Nightwing's mouth opened in surprise. What could he say to that? What should he say to that? Star shook her head.
"Slade, he just can not..."
"And he won't," Nightwing's and Starfire's gaze locked, "I promise. You need to go back to the Titans. Tell them you were informed that Slade has Robin, but don't tell them it was me. I don't think that's the best idea for right now. I still can't tell you everything, but you and the others have to find Slade and confront him. You also have to find some technology of Warp's that Slade has in his possession."
"How can we do that? We don't know where he is..."
"You'll find him, trust me. And you know Warp's tech, you'll recognize it," Nightwing told her, "The future will be as it should be. I promise. Do you believe me?"
Starfire nodded slightly, "Yes, but what about you?"
Nightwing looked out at the city and sighed, "I... don't think I can confront Slade because it might alter the time line, I'll help in a different way, but I can't confront him."
"But, Nightwing..." Starfire began, but stopped as she saw Nightwing pulling something out of his pocket. He held out his hand and slowly opened it. In his palm, Starfire saw a small weapon. It was like Robin's birdarangs, but still different.
"Here," Nightwing said and gave it to her, "Keep it. It will help. I can't tell you how, but it will."
"What is it?"
"It's a..." Nightwing stopped realizing she might laugh at this, "It's a Wing Ding."
"A Wing Ding?" Starfire asked, her tears receded now.
"Yeah," Nightwing replied.
Starfire held the little thing tightly, "Thank you."
"You're welcome," He answered.
Nightwing backed away from Starfire. She looked over at him and saw him walk off to the side of the building. She watched him as he fell backwards off the roof. Flying over to the edge, she didn't see him, but she did see a grapple line blowing in the wind. Despite the news of Slade's involvement in this and the disturbing fight that had just happened, Starfire found herself smiling slightly. Nightwing was... well, he was still her Robin.
"Starfire, we need you back at the tower, ASAP," Cyborg spoke into the communicator.
"Alright, friend Cyborg," Starfire replied, and she flew off towards Titans Island.
Nightwing leaned against a building. His plan was set into motion. He just had to hope that Robin would hold out long enough and that Slade's attempts wouldn't work. Quickly, Nightwing changed into his normal clothes. Richard looked around the corner were he saw a line of sleek motorcycles lined up in a couple parking spaces. A man came out and was about to hop on, when he saw Richard walk up to him.
"I'll give you three fifty for it," He said.
The man looked at him and then smiled, "Done. The thing's trash anyway."
Richard took no note of it. Hopping on, he started the ignition. The engine rumbled and he felt the machine come to life. He wasn't going to let Slade win this. Riding down the streets, Richard came to an exit for the highway. Making a sharp turn, Nightwing rode into the night and out of Jump, ready to ride for the rest of the night. It was going to be a long ride.
-T-
A/N: Well, how many of you are in shock at what just happened or on the edge of your seat? Please Review! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Oh, I did want to mention a thing or two. The deal with Raven and Beast Boy. When I wrote it, I wrote it so readers could see the two as either good friends or a couple. I don't care which you choose since it's not really relevant to the plot of this story.
Also, some of you might be wondering why I had Nightwing's costume change from blue to red and not orange. That idea I got from the Nightwing Comic story line "Renegade" with Deathstroke and Ravager. The only thing I changed about that costume design was how his mask appeared, since I figured that there had to be some orange in his costume. I don't know when the next update will be, but hopefully soon! Later!
Rena