Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or Batman! I don't own any of this! The Teen Titans and Batman belong to their rightful and respected owners! Enjoy!

Ch. 10-Stone Heart

(Slade's POV)

I saw Batman coming from a mile away. As I watched him jump from rooftop to rooftop from my own perch, I saw how stiff he was; how sloppy he was getting.

*The criminals in Gotham must be pretty pathetic,* I thought, *because the Batman is losing his edge.* A smile formed on my lips. *All the easier it is for me to send my message.*

Suddenly, a foot came out of nowhere, almost hitting me in the face…almost. But I had already flipped out of the way, landing gracefully and looking up to see Batman.

"Well isn't this a pleasant surprise," I said mockingly. "Batman has come to deliver me to jail himself."

"Deathstroke," Batman growled.

"It's Slade now," I hissed. Batman began to get into a fighting stance, but I wasn't quite finished teasing him yet.

"Funny, I expected the Titans tonight," I started. "It's always child's play whenever they come. After all, those children are so easy to defeat, especially without a leader. How is the boy doing these days?" Batman's hard expression faltered for a moment.

Yes, this would be all too easy.

"Leave Robin alone," Batman said angrily, regaining his composure. "I don't know what's going on between you two, but if you hurt a hair on his head I SWEAR-

In response, Batman met the bottom of my foot as I kicked him into a nearby stack of crates that was dangerously close to the edge of the roof.

"That's just it," I growled, my anger burning. "You don't know what's going on. So I suggest you stay out of it and you leave Robin alone." As I said this, Batman launched himself from the crates with a great cry, colliding one of his fists into my stomach. Before he could hit me again, I dodged, wincing as my stomach flared in pain.

*No,* I told myself. *There will be no pain tonight. Tonight you have to show Batman just how strong you really are.*

TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

(Still Slade's POV)

Batman and I fought for a long time, neither of us giving the other any room for mistakes. When he would punch, I would block; when I would kick, he would evade. We fought from rooftop to rooftop, flipping and jumping and punching. Neither of us spoke, rather we let our actions do the talking. I could tell Batman was trying his hardest, just as I was; because we were both fighting for the same thing, Robin. Robin was the prize. And this was one prize that I wouldn't lose. The boy was too precious to me. As if hearing my thoughts, Batman stopped attacking for a moment and flipped away, putting a large amount of distance between us.

"Why?" he snarled darkly. "Why do you care so much to do this? What does Robin even mean to you?"

"You have no idea," I growled, my voice just as threatening. "Robin has the capability to become the greatest fighter in the world, and I intend to see to it that he reaches his full potential. You, on the other hand, seem to think it's alright for the boy to waste his talents fighting for a side that always loses."

"Evil never wins," Batman argued. "Good will always prevail!"

"That's bull, Batman, and you know it," I rolled my eye. This started a whole new chain of ferocious attacks from Batman, but I continued to dodge and block them, but I could tell Batman was starting to get angry. If I didn't finish this soon, I wouldn't be able to defeat Batman. So as he went to deliver another punch, I grabbed his arm and flung him into a nearby pole on the rooftop. As Batman started to get up, I continued.

"Tell me this, Batman," I hissed. "How long has it been since you have talked to Robin? Even if it was just a hello?"

"That's none of your business!" he roared.

"Oh but it is," I said calmly. "It becomes my business when you neglect the boy. When you let a whole arsenal of villains attack him, leaving me to take care of him while you decide to take a holiday!

Before I could register his movements, Batman had flipped from the pole and tackled me to the ground, his arms around my throat. And suddenly he began to squeeze. I arched my body trying to pry Batman off of me, but it was no use; Batman had pinned my arms down and letting his rage hold me down. My vision began to grow fuzzy as he squeezed harder. Gasping for breath, I bit my lip, causing blood to trickle down my lips.

"Stay away from Robin!" Batman thundered. "I mean it, Deathstroke! I'll never let you hurt him! NEVER!"

My whole body was beginning to feel lighter and lighter. *So this is how it ends,* I thought, *killed by Batman.* Numbness was spreading through my body, and darkness was beginning to form on the edges of my vision. As I began to fall into that darkness, as I began to die, a voice filled my head.

Slade, help me!

Robin. The prize. And suddenly, I remembered the reason why I was fighting Batman; the reason why for why I was putting everything on the line. For Robin. My Robin. My prize. I couldn't let Robin down. Somewhere deep inside my stone heart I felt a great spring of passion and then…a beat. For the first time in what seemed like forever, my heart began to beat again, with rage and fury. And the next thing I knew, my foot had slipped under Batman's chest and had slammed him off of me. Before Batman could fight back, I lunged, grabbing his arms and pinning them to the ground. As he tried to kick me, my legs smashed his into the ground.

"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME TO STAY AWAY FROM ROBIN!" The blinding rage in my voice must have startled Batman, but I was too angry to notice. "YOU WILL NOT KEEP ROBIN AWAY FROM ME! NOT ANYMORE! HE WILL BECOME MY APPRENTICE AND HE WILL SEE THINGS MY WAY! ROBIN IS THE MOST TALENTED BOY I HAVE EVER KNOWN AND YOU HAVE BEEN SELFISH TO KEEP HIM FROM ME! YOU TOOK HIM AND HIS LOVE FOR GRANTED! WELL NOW IT'S MY TURN! MY TURN TO BE ROBIN'S ROLE MODEL! MY TURN TO BE ROBIN'S MASTER! MY TURN TO BE ROBIN'S FATHER!"

"He will never love you!" Batman shouted. "YOU WILL NEVER BE HIS FATHER!" In a blind fury I punched Batman as hard as I could right in the head, causing the man to fall unconscious beneath me. As I watched the man, waiting for another chance to hit him that would finish him off, a small, terrified voice spoke from the communicator on my wrist.

"Um, Slade?" Mad Mod said quietly. "Would you like us to bring Batman back to headquarters to detain him?" I took a deep breath, trying to clear my head. My stone heart started to slow down, finally stopping the its beating. But I couldn't worry about my heart now. The plan still had to proceed.

"Yes, that will be necessary," I ordered as I got off Batman. Turning off the communicator, I jumped from the roof, trying to put as much distance between me and Batman as possible. The last thing I needed was for Robin to see me almost murder his beloved Batman. But as I continued to jump from rooftop to rooftop, the pain in my neck grew worse and worse.

*Batman must have hurt me more than I originally suspected,* I thought. A sharp wave of pain erupted in my chest and neck, causing me to trip and fall onto a rooftop with a sickening thud.

*Have to keep moving,* I ordered myself. *Have to get back to headquarters.* But another fresh explosion of pain raked my entire body, and my head fell to the ground. I tried to reach for the button for my communicator, but even when I moved my hand slightly I was stabbed with pain. So I simply lay on the ground, hoping that someone would save me.

*You're pathetic,* somewhere inside me a voice hissed. *Having to rely on others. You've grown weak, Deathstroke.*

It was Batman's voice. Even now he was taunting me, as I lay here on this rooftop, my breathing becoming ragged.

*No,* I thought. *I won't let this happen. I will not die, damn it!* Crying in pain as I moved my arms, I slowly began to crawl across the rooftop. Each inch was agonizing, but I had to keep going. I had to win my prize.

I had only crawled a few feet when a voice called out from a near rooftop.

"Slade?" I froze. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Robin land gracefully onto my roof.

"Robin get back," I tried to sound as threatening as possible, but my voice cracked and I coughed up blood. This wasn't part of the plan. If I had expected Bruce to have put up such a fight I would have never let the battle drag out as long as it did. But I had, and now Robin was probably going to finish Batman's job.

Yet Robin didn't throw anything at me. He didn't take out his bo staff. He just stared at me, like I was a spectacle, an oddity, which, I guess I was. Robin had never seen me hurt this badly before. Suddenly my neck flared with pain and I couldn't help as a startled gasp escaped my throat.

"Slade!" Robin yelled worriedly as he hurried over to me.

"Robin get ba-

"Slade, you're injured," Robin said and suddenly pulled out…morphine? Since when did Robin carry morphine on him? "You have cuts everywhere. I'm going to have to call the Titans-

"No," I interrupted and began to crawl when Robin gently grabbed onto my armor.

"Relax Slade," Robin gave me a tiny smile. "A debt's a debt. I owe you my life, so let me help save yours. I won't let the Titans hurt you, I promise."

My stone heart began to beat again.

Um…well…uh…what can I say? I'm sorry that I let Batman lose, but I mean, I tried to write Slade as humane as possible for a psycho. Please let me know what you think, I want to know how you guys think I did with the fight scene!