AN: Sorry for the lag-time between updates, but we're in the home stretch now! For those curious, I used some elements from Slade's oldest son, Grant, and some of my own creation, for my characterization of Rose/Ravager. In my 'verse, Rose is Slade's legitimate daughter and oldest child, and Grant is still alive, isn't Ravager, and hasn't appeared at all (though some aspects of him that didn't make their way to Rose got added to Sharpshot, my OC). Like the Titans cartoon, and the GO! comics, I'm adapting the characters, rather than simply replicating them, and did what I thought would make for the best story.
Chapter 11: A Long Time Coming
The apprentice made his way carefully among the now-active machinery in the heart of the lair, doing his best to ignore the spinning gears, flashing lights, and other strange effects- no matter how fascinating, and in some cases unnerving, they might be, Slade would not approve of his getting distracted from his task. Finally he came to stand just below the raised walkway in the center of the chamber, which itself surrounded the platform on which the communications array had been installed- and beneath which pulsed the alien device that would be the key to the master's victory. Slade himself stood on the walkway's edge, leaning on the railing and looking down with a coldly satisfied eye on the goings-on below him.
"Report," he said, the single word seeming to echo through the chamber despite the soft voice in which it had been spoken.
"The defenses are in place, master," the apprentice told him. "Nothing will get through until it's too late to stop you." He paused for a moment. "Are you really sure the Titans will be here? I doubt they even know where we are."
Slade's eye fixed his apprentice with an icy, merciless stare. "Believe it," he hissed. "Robin has a habit of showing up at most inopportune moments, and I have no doubt he'll have his little friends with him. This will be the end, one way or another- before the sun rises, the Titans will be crushed, and the world will be in the palm of my hand." He fell silent, raking the apprentice over again with his gaze. "You have doubts? Don't. They will come, and you will see; if you are lucky, you will survive to admit that I was right. Now go and stand guard. I must not be interrupted until I am ready."
"Yes, Master," the apprentice said as Slade turned away. He still wasn't sure where his master got his knowledge, but there was one thing he knew for certain; when one was standing there fixed by that terrible eye, listening to that flat, cold voice, it was impossible to doubt that Slade knew exactly what he was doing, and that soon the world itself would be his.
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Robin turned to face his friends as they gathered in the tower living room; he'd called them all via communicator and told them he had important news, and now Beast Boy looked eager, Cyborg determined, and Starfire unusually anxious as they waited for what he had to say. The only one missing was Raven- who was also the only one who hadn't answered the call. Robin frowned.
"Anybody know where Raven is?" he asked; something about her absence was bothering him; more than just concern for her safety, something felt very wrong.
"Raven told me that she was following a special lead," Starfire said, shifting nervously from one foot to the other. "She wished me to tell you not to worry about her, but she does not know when she will return."
Robin raised an eyebrow- that sounded rather suspicious, but it was coming from Starfire, the last person he would ever expect any kind of plotting from. Finally he shrugged, feeling he had no choice but to trust her. "Earlier tonight, I met Ravager," he said. "She gave me a map of the city's old subway system- and it leads directly to Slade's lair."
"You sure about this, man?" Cyborg asked. "Sounds like it could be a trap."
"Yeah," put in Beast Boy. "Ravager doesn't like Slade, but I still don't think she's on our side- and that mask gives me the creeps."
"I know," Robin said, raising both hands. "I understand why you're worried- I am too. But I checked it out, and there's definitely something down there that someone wants protected. Slade is up to something big, and we're the only ones in town who stand a chance of stopping him." He drew in a deep breath. "I know I've not always been… rational… where Slade's concerned, but this is something real, and I'll need your help. I think it's time to take Slade down for good, before he hurts anyone else."
"We are with you, Robin," Starfire said.
"Yeah," Cyborg added. "Slade's tough, and smart, but if all of us back him into a corner, we can take him."
Robin smiled. "Thanks for sticking with me. It means a lot, being able to rely on your team in something like this. I was thinking we should go down there tonight, but now I think we should wait for Raven. I think we're going to need her powers."
Starfire looked nervous again. "Raven… does not know when she will be back," she said hesitantly. "But I do not think she would want us to waste our chance to defeat Slade because of her." Robin eyed her oddly again- what was Star hiding, anyway?- but he had to admit her point made sense. Still, this made him uncomfortable.
"All right," he finally said. "I've got the map with me, and I know where Slade is. If you guys are with me- let's do this."
# # # # # # # # # # # #
Cyborg pulled his head back from where he'd been looking around the tunnel corner and nodded at Robin. "Looks like you were right, man," he said. "Blank wall, security cameras, dead-end tunnel that's not under anything useful- smells like "secret bad-guy lair" to me. So what's the next move?"
Robin smiled and removed a small explosive from his belt. "We break in, and shut it down." He held up the weapon. "Sonic boom?" * Cyborg converted his arm into its cannon mode and returned the grin.
The leader of the Titans darted around the corner and hurled his bomb at the 'blank wall'- it stuck there and beeped frantically before being struck and ignited by a burst from Cyborg's sonic cannon. The combined explosion blasted through the door with such force that both security cameras were torn from their bases and cracks formed in the ceiling.
"Glad you didn't use two bombs," Beast Boy said nervously, looking up at the damaged roof. The other Titans ignored him.
"Let's do it," Robin said, drawing his staff and extending it to its full length. He charged down the tunnel and through the exposed doorway, with Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy (in the shape of a leopard) following close behind. Beyond the fake wall was a long, featureless corridor lined with a dark bronze metal the same color as Slade's mask; the Titans walked along nervously, weapons and powers at the ready as they waited for a secret trapdoor to open from any direction and hordes of combat robots to come spilling out. Now such threat materialized, however, and after several tense minutes they emerged into a large, open chamber.
The room was large and shaped roughly like a cylinder- several observation balconies lined the walls, and on the ground level several doors opened in different directions. The center of the room was dominated by a large table over which was projected a hologram; as the Titans approached, Robin saw that it was a map of Jump City, and incredibly detailed. Looking closely, he thought he could even see tiny cars moving.
"Incredible," Cyborg said. "I knew Slade was smart, but this is amazing. He must have the whole city under surveillance, and a computer powerful enough to put all the pieces together."
"But why is it just sitting here?" Starfire asked. "Surely Slade would not wish us to interfere with his technology."
"It's called "bait", alien girl," a mocking voice said from nearby; Robin looked up from the map to see Sharpshot standing in one of the now-open doors, flanked by robots and holding a beam pistol in each hand. On the balconies above, more robots emerged, weapons primed, and behind the Titans, the door through which they had entered slammed shut. They were trapped.
"Step into my lair, said the spider to the fly," Sharpshot mocked, and his grin widened.
# # # # # # # # # # # #
Raven breathed deeply, allowing calm to flow through her despite her circumstances- emotion would bring raw, uncontrolled power, but to free herself from where Ravager had bound her, she needed precision, and precision required serenity. As she repeated her mantra, she allowed anger at Ravager and fear for her friends fall away, until there was nothing in her but the desire to burst free of the tape. Finally there was a burst of dark energy, and the duct tape was forced from her body and shredded into dozens of smaller pieces. Raven stood up and shoved the chair aside.
"It'll take more than some duct tape to hold me, Ravager," she muttered. Now she was free, but her night wasn't over- Raven still needed to find her friends and tell them what she'd learned. Her instincts told her that something serious was about to go down tonight, and she had learned long ago that her instincts were often very acute.
Pulling her communicator from her belt, Raven set it to home in on her friends'. That accomplished, she seized the newspaper clippings and leaped into the air, gliding out the window and into the night.
# # # # # # # # # # # #
"You know, I didn't think you all were going to show," Sharpshot said, "but Slade did, and he was right. I should have known- he's spooky that way. He knows you all so well- especially you," he added, nodding at Robin for emphasis. "You might almost think the two of you were related."
Robin fought down the surge of anger he felt at those words. "Sorry," he said, "but it'll take more than your taunts to get to me. Now go run and tell your boss that I'd like a word with him- now."
"Sorry," Sharpshot said. "Big things are going down tonight, and I can't let you do that. "You're staying right here until they're through- then he'll deal with you."
"He'll deal with us now," Robin said. "Titans, Go!" Around him, his friends sprang into action just as the robots opened fire. Starfire darted among the beams, returning fire with her starbolts; out of the corner of his eye, Robin saw several of the mechanical warriors fall with smoldering holes in them. Cyborg absorbed their attacks with his armor, shielding his vulnerable human face with one hand while firing sonic blasts from his cannon. Beast Boy, still a leopard, charged at a ground-level robot and tackled it, knocking it to the ground and mauling it savagely. Robin himself charged forward, spinning his staff to deflect the attacks and heading straight for Sharpshot.
Slade's apprentice fired blasts from both pistols, but Robin was ready for his uncanny reflexes this time. Those bolts he was unable to dodge he simply parried with his staff, and when he'd closed with the other teen warrior he leaped into the air and slammed feet-first into his chest, sending him stumbling back.
"Impossible!" Sharpshot gasped. "I'm stronger than you- I'm faster than you! How are you doing this?"
"Strength and speed are good," Robin said, "but they're no substitute for training and skill, and I've trained with the best. Are you nothing but powerful guns and enhanced reflexes, or do you have what it takes to face me like a real warrior?"
"We'll see who's the real warrior here, bird-brain!" Sharpshot shouted angrily and charged forward, drawing a long-bladed knife the edge of which pulsed with electrical energy. Robin brought his staff up and parried, sending small lightning bolts coursing down it, but leaving him unharmed. The two grappled, skill balancing out physical enhancement so neither could gain advantage over the other. At one point a robot aimed its weapon at Robin, but Sharpshot waved it away angrily, determined to defeat his opponent on his own.
Finally, Sharpshot charged with all his strength and took Robin in the stomach with his shoulder. The Titan leader was slammed back into the wall, and Slade's apprentice struck him on the side of the head with the hilt of his knife. Robin looked up through wavering vision to see Sharpshot standing over him, grinning.
"You're good," he said softly, "but I'm better. I'm the apprentice Slade always wanted- I'm better than you ever were, and now he'll see that. I'll be like a son to him, and he'll teach me everything he knows until I am the greatest warrior in the world- and I think I'll let you live, just so you can see it."
"You're wrong," Robin told him. "Slade doesn't love- he doesn't have friends or family. You're just a tool to him, and when he's through with you he'll throw you away and find someone else. That's how he works- believe me, I know. You're not a son- you're just a pawn."
Sharpshot grabbed Robin by the collar and pulled him up to eye level. "Liar," he hissed. "You're just trying to mess with me, because you're out of tricks!"
"No," Robin said. "You know what I'm saying is true. And besides- I've still got one trick left." Quick as was humanly possible, Robin's hand darted to his belt and withdrew a birdarang. Before Sharpshot could react, he raked the blade along the hand that held his collar, and the apprentice released him, howling in pain. Robin dropped to the ground but was on his feet again in an instant; he leapt forward and caught Sharpshot on the side of the head with a flying kick. The apprentice stumbled and fell, and Robin caught him by the front of the shirt and held him up.
"Slade might win or lose tonight," Robin said, "but for you, Sharpshot, it's over."
# # # # # # # # # # # #
From his control room, Slade watched his apprentice go down and shook his head disapprovingly. "Really," he said, "I expected better of you. I thought you might be a worthy replacement for Robin, but I was wrong- he remains, as he ever was, my ideal apprentice." He turned away from the monitors that showed the fight and turned to the controls of the machine that would soon place the world itself at his fingertips.
"But you have bought me time," he continued. "And tonight, time is all I ever really needed." Slade pressed a series of keys on his control panel, and was rewarded as he watched them hum to life. "Now it ends, once and for all."
# # # # # # # # # # # #
As Robin held the defeated Sharpshot, the ground suddenly heaved beneath his feet. He stumbled, but managed to stay upright and maintain his hold on his defeated enemy, but even as the quake subsided, he heard a strange and ominous sound over the other Titans' continuing battle with the robots- like something immeasurably huge rising slowly to the surface.
Robin pulled Sharpshot close. "Talk," he said. "What's Slade doing- what's going on?"
The apprentice's face broke into a terrible grin. "You're too late," he spat. "Nothing can stop him now!"
*If you'll recall, Cyborg and Robin use this same move to get an extra-powerful explosion all the way back in "Divide and Conquer". Since that was Slade's first appearance, I thought it made a nice bookend to use it here.