Chapter 11: It Only Gets Worse From Here

10.00 am

Through the window, Cyborg watched with anguish at the sight of the Tamaranian's continuous protests against the female paramedic – who he found out later was called Angela Starr – trying to persuade her to calm down and not get out of her bed whilst Raven tried to help as best as she could. After Starfire had asked her friends about Robin's whereabouts, none of them were too eager to answer her question. Eventually, Raven took the lead and responded by telling the heroine that Robin was not at the hospital, which was followed by a painstaking explanation about what had happened during the time the Tamaranian was unconsciousness. The collective un-comfortableness was only intensified as the three watched Starfire's expression only worsen through every word the empath uttered. With tears stinging her eyes, the Tamaranian wept. Raven went to comfort her only to be struck with Starfire's sudden insistence that she wanted to leave the hospital immediately. Despite the insistence from her friends that she needed to remain in the bed since suffering a bad concussion, Starfire's protests only increased. In a panic, BeastBoy hit the emergency call button which caused Angela to come rushing in. Through her insistence, Raven told the changeling and half-man half-robot to leave as she thought that she would probably be the best person to calm her down. The guys did not even put up a fight and followed the empath's orders.

As the Tamaranian's muffled protests filled the empty air, Cyborg joined his green comrade who was sat in one of the chairs. BeastBoy's posture was hunched, his gloved hands covering his face, hiding his frustration and exhaustion. Cyborg caught a small smirk crawling up the corners of BeastBoy's mouth followed by a small shake of his head. "Ya know that Dick sent me here?"

Cyborg's expression turned into one of puzzlement. BeastBoy only ever called Robin 'Dick' on two separate occasions; the first if he was making a snarky comment about his leader and the second was if Robin had genuinely pissed the green hero off. Cyborg didn't need a nanosecond to come to his conclusion as to which occasion this was.

The changeling continued, "I actually questioned him about his decision of putting the mission before Starfire and . . ." repulsion spread over BeastBoy's face ". . . he had the balls to call me selfish?"

"Dude. What'cha say?" Cyborg asked.

BeastBoy recounted the whole thing; Raven contacting them about what happened to her and Starfire, Robin's orders, how he confronted Robin about his decision and how Robin turned back on him went off to Caspar's.

Cyborg's face expressed disillusion whilst the changeling narrated the earlier events of this day. Anyone with two brain cells to rub together could tell that Robin could be self-centred, especially when it came to a mission of grand proportions, but if what BeastBoy was saying was true, then Robin had completely surpassed his scale of self-centeredness and had catapulted into another universe.

Once BeastBoy had finished his recollection, empty air occupied the space for quite some time – discounting the echoes in the hallways and the display that was still going on in Starfire's room – before Cyborg broke the silence; his voice mirrored the disbelief that was etched on his face.

"What? Seriously dude?"

BeastBoy responded with a nod of his head.

Cyborg raised his head towards the ceiling, slightly shaking his head before continuing, "Damn, I knew that guy could be a prick but even so man, that's low even for him."

BeastBoy picked up the half eaten banana he was eating before he went in to see Starfire and resumed consuming the fruit. He reached into the bag, pulled out an apple and offered it to his teammate. Cyborg accepted and took a large bite out of it.

Both just sat there in silence finishing off their snacks. BeastBoy ate the rest of this banana, tossing the skin in the empty bag and broke the silence "You know there have been times where I've seriously questioned his judgements and decisions in the past. Every single time I've always thought that he had his head shoved so far up his ass that no amount of common sense would make him see any light. And you know what? Afterwards, I would always doubt myself whenever it turned out that he had the right idea and his suggestions worked. Even when they didn't I would always think that being the leader, he knew something I didn't, that he knew better than me. But this time . . ." the changeling didn't even finish his sentence, he just shook his head.

Cyborg gave a small snort before responding "This time doesn't even compare to this. Okay the situation here is worse than I can remember, but even so, the fact that he would not only abandon his girlfriend – the person who he supposedly loves and is the only important thing in his life – not only comes second to the mission, again. But also practically saying that he has zero faith in you pursuing the events down the candy store goes way beyond expectation; even by Robin's standards".

"Yeah and considering that Robin was going to ask Starfire to ma- . . ." BeastBoy paused mid-sentence.

Cyborg tilted his head in the direction of the changeling, noticing the stunned expression on his face and concluding that he was about to say something he wasn't supposed to.

"He was going to ask Starfire to . . . what?" Cyborg asked.

Bumbling around for an answer, BeastBoy couldn't see how he would get his way out of this one.

Cyborg probed again "B, what was Robin planning on asking Star to do?"

BeastBoy searched as best as he could for a convincing answer. But as usual, one didn't find its way into his head.

Noticing that he was desperately trying to find a satisfactory answer and that whatever he was about to say was serious – BeastBoy's expression didn't betray that fact – Cyborg took a punt. In his head it was a far-out punt, one that he seriously didn't think would be a right one, but he took it anyway "B, is Robin planning to propose to Star?"

BeastBoy gave a startled 'eep!' as Cyborg had rumbled him.

He only found out about Robin's plan through pure accident. One day he had managed to sneak into Robin's room in order to try and find something that he could blackmail the Boy Wonder with – it was Cyborg's idea to begin with if anyone asked him. As he was rifling through one of his desk drawers, he came across the ring box. At first he wondered why Robin had a ring box in his draw, but as he opened it a his eyes dazzled with the sight of the most stunning platinum ring accompanied by a diamond the size of his thumbnail, he immediately put two and two together and come to the assumption that Robin was planning on proposing to Starfire. He quickly snapped the ring box shut, put it back where he found it and left the room before he got busted. The older, much younger BeastBoy would have immediately used this piece of information to blackmail Robin into things beyond his wildest imagination. But the newer, much older BeastBoy knew better on this occasion as to not cross that particular line and decided to keep schtum about this.

Cyborg's voice snapped BeastBoy out of his funk "Well, is Robin planning on proposing to Starfire?"

"Yes, he is".

Both Cyborg and BeastBoy turned their heads immediately to the waiting room doors to see Raven standing there. They didn't know how long she had been standing there, nor the fact that Starfire's distressed cries had ceased.

"Raven, how do you . . ."

Before BeastBoy could finish his sentence, Raven cut him off "In a rare moment where he wasn't at his sharpest, he left the ring box open on his desk when I went in to have a conversation with him and made me swear to not tell anyone; that he wanted to make it a surprise for Starfire."

The news that Robin was going to propose to Starfire should have given him an uplifting feeling, but inside he was marred with discontent. Not because

Why didn't they let me in on Robin's plans? BB and Raven are the closest things I have to brother ad sister and they chose not to let me in on this? Do they really not trust me with this? Again, left in the dark. Lil' old Cyborg the last to find out about anything important.

Shoving his resentment down to his cold, steel feet, he changed the subject swiftly "So how's Starfire?"

Raven's expression soured a little – more than it usually did – and answered "She's calmed down now. Angela's in their now just doing some procedural checks.

"I was just about to get her something to eat. You guys want anything?"

BeastBoy and Cyborg shook their heads in unison and with this, Raven went to the cafeteria.

Cyborg noticed that Raven's and BeastBoy's eyes held each other a lot longer than normal before she broke off. He also recognised that BeastBoy's forest green orbs stayed on the empath until she turned the corner and disappeared. Snapping him back into reality, Cyborg asked "So, you and Raven are friends again or what?"

The elderly female behind the cashier handed Raven the sandwich and coffee she ordered. She couldn't help but hide her obvious confusion mixed in with disgust as she passed the contents that were inside the brown paper bag which contained the sandwich. Raven could tell that the old woman thought she was joking when she asked for a tuna fish sandwich with French mustard, Greek yoghurt and raspberry preserve. Raven found this slightly amusing but didn't let on, just giving the woman a curt nod and thanks as she took the items from her.

As Raven made her way back to Starfire's room, her attention was diverted by the television that occupied the cafeteria. She stood there in shock as the television screen –which was on the local news station – showed even more horrific scenes of Jump City suffering another. The cameras showed scenes of an apartment building that was burning down to the ground as fire-fighters fought to try and contain the fire. The male reporter's voice that was dubbed over the scenes soft transitioned to the speakers face.

"Once again, our main story today: Jump City has become victim to a series of terrorist-style attacks and individual murders that have seen five people die. Police reports have yet to confirm whether these murders and terror attacks are related but rumours have started to circulate that his could possibly be the work of known serial-criminal, Deathstroke the Terminator, a.k.a. Slade"

Raven's pale complexion went even paler. Did she just her the news reporter correctly? Slade? She knew that Slade had disappeared after the events with Trigon; after that, no one had heard a peep from him. Was this really all his doing? How the hell has he been able to do all of this on his own without detection?

The male news reporter's voice chimed in again, "We now cut to Hilary Jenkins with new reports of another incident over Park Avenue"

The camera cut to the female reporter who was standing in a rural part of the city, where in the background, people gathered around the police tape the surrounded a house.

"Thanks Christian. I'm here on Park Avenue where the death toll has increased. Behind me . . ."

Robin winced as a paramedic carefully picked out splinters of glass out of his arm; most of his cuts and scrapes had been cleaned up. Despite the paramedic's constant probing concerning Robin's condition, Robin remained detached from reality. He was still wrapped up inside his head, still reeling from the sight that he bore witness to, still replaying the moment when the building Neiva was in became an inferno.

He was back. After months of illusiveness, he had returned. Slade. Why? What was his purpose for all of this? What was his motivation? This went beyond destroying the Titans. None of them had been targeted by Slade. He and his accomplice were targeting random, innocent people of Jump City. Why? Just what the hell was Slade planning? If this really is a scheme to destroy the Titans, then why are innocent people being killed?

Robin hadn't noticed that Chloe had returned to the ambulance that he was being treated in. It was her exasperated tone that ran in his ears but still failed to snap him out of his funk.

"Okay, if things couldn't get any worse, we've got another dead body on our hands. Some teenage kid in a café a few blocks away looks as though she was poisoned to death. I got Benson and Walker questioning everyone in there. I'm pretty damn sure though that it's that Ellie Illingworth that Slade mentioned on that disc you found and that Slade is responsible for her death." Chloe said.

As the sound of fire engine sirens filled the chaotic air, Chloe turned to survey the damage that had occurred. Shaking her head, she continued, "Resources are already stretched beyond their limits. Antwhistle's contacted the other officers over the incident that happened in the park and more officers, fire crew and paramedics are covering the other locations that Slade has hit.

"I just can't wrap my head around what's happening. What the hell is Slade doing this for?"

Chloe turned back to Robin, who was no longer receiving any treatment and was back to watching the contents of the disc he found. His face twisted in savage hatred as Slade's voice filled the ambulance. As he listed off the names of the people who had died, the name that didn't ring any bells for Chloe came up again.

Iona Islington. It was clear that she was another victim of Slade's terror, but she wasn't someone who was brought to the attention of the police department. Did Robin know who she was? If so, why haven't they reported it to the police? What was he hiding? Any information withheld from the police would not be appreciated; especially Lieutenant Brauner. Before she could ask Robin about this Iona woman, he spoke. His voice however was incredibly strained, tinged with a hint of hatred that equalled that to the hatred he had on his face.

"I need you to drive me somewhere".

As he made his way towards his next location Slade – not wearing the attire that the people of Jump City would associate his name with (no-one here knew what he looked like underneath so he didn't worry about being spotted) – gave a small smile as he observed his surroundings. The small rural area he currently occupied was relatively quiet, primarily because everyone – baring a few dog walkers and joggers – was in their homes, faces glued to their television screens and laptops and tablets. Out of all the houses where the television sets were visible, he didn't see a single one where it didn't show news coverage of the events that had occurred in the early morning up to the apartment explosion where Neiva had perished. The people on their laptop computers and tablets were more than definitely infiltrating their Facebook and Twitter accounts; all of them chiming in on the events that had happened.

Slade smirk grew even wider at the image of the Boy Wonder, racing heroically to try and save a woman who he presumed as still alive and carrying the burden of failure in his gut at the thought that he had failed. Once he and his accomplice had left the apartment and went their separate ways, he held back to watch as Robin sprinted towards the apartment and the moment he collapsed to the asphalt once the apartment became an inferno. He had hoped that he suffered more than emotional damage too. Just that extra bit of suffering on him physically, along with the emotional damage would eventually were him down, along with the rest of what he had planned ad he would get to the point of complete collapse; that would be when Slade would come in. Slade knew that he and Robin would eventually meet and then he would be able to show him his overall goal. The big picture.

But that would come later. For now, the next piece of the puzzle was to be laid and as Slade turned the next corner, on his way to his next destination. He shortly arrived at the house; a

Walking up the stone path, he made his way up a short flight of wooden steps that led to the front door of the detached house. He rapped his knuckles against the wooden door and waited patiently; briefcase grasped in one hand, his other in his trouser pocket, wrapped around the cold, metal handle of a pistol.

The door swung open slowly and standing at the door was a frail looking gentleman who was supporting himself with a walking stick. He looked up into Slade's eye and responded in a voice that matched his frailty, "Yes sir?"

Sliding the pistol out of his pocket, Slade pointed it in the direction of the elderly gentleman. He noticed the look of fear in the old man's eyes; the hand holding his walking stick quivering shaking uncontrollably.

"May I please come in?"

Tapping her nails against the steering wheel, she waited patiently for the next piece of the puzzle to walk out of their house. After she and Slade had finished their work back at the apartment, she broke off after Slade had given her a picture of the person that was to be her next target and an envelope; a similar looking one to the one that Slade had placed on William Wilson's lifeless body and a plastic bag that held her next disguise. Once they left for their separate targets, she journeyed to a nearby back alley where a string of cars were parked. She picked out a car, a battered navy blue Ford Taurus. She wold have chosen something a little more classier – she wasn't exactly spoiled for choice – but decided on this one simply because it was the first one she came across where the driver side door was unlocked. She dropped the picture and envelope on the passenger seat then took out the items in her bag; a pair of darkened Ray-Bans and a black wig and disguised herself. It took barley half a minute for her to hotwire the car. As she drove away, she delighted in the scene in her rear-view mirror where a small herd of people ran in the direction of the apartment as it had been blown up the moment she pulled away from the parking spot.

And now here she was, still in her disguise, she saw her target walk out of his house; Adrian Ellis, twenty years old. Adrian took the pavement, gold Skullcandy headphones covering his ears, dressed in his work attire; a white buttoned shirt – unbuttoned at the top and his black tie tucked into his shirt pocket – black trousers and black shirt.

Perfect, he won't hear a thing and dressed reasonably well for his death. Over within a matter of seconds.

Connecting the wires back together, the Ford coughed into life, she released the handbrake and began to rev the vehicle. Despite the fact that Adrian wasn't the only person on the pavement, this didn't detract her from her duty. Any other civilian casualties were irrelevant, as long as Adrian perished. To everyone else, this seemed like a senseless massacre of random people, but she knew that this was much more than senseless killings. All of these were tiny jigsaw pieces that would all come together in time and would spell out something much bigger.

The big picture. That's what this would all eventually lead to.

It's all part of the big picture.

The humming of the police car's engine was the only sound that filled the silence that filled it; all except the echo of Slade's voice emanating from Robin's communicator. Giving the young superhero the occasional glance, Chloe was eager to find out exactly what he was hiding from her. She had heard that being Batman's ex-protégé had instilled a determined, detective style demeanour and attitude. Admirable yes, however, she herself knew that that style had the ability rub people up the wrong way. She had worked with people who, whilst probably not on the same level as Robin, had withheld resorted to sneaky behaviours and tactics and have withheld information from her and her superiors in order to gain an upper hand over said superiors. It was always those types of dick waving contests that Chloe hated. She had grown to accept that those things were always going to occur in any line of work but it still baffled her tat the fact that they were part of the same team always played second fiddle to that persons pride.

Every time Chloe was about to bring up the questions that concerned the contents of the disc, Robin kept rewinding the disc. She had lost count of the amount of times he had done this. All she knew that after the third time of asking about who Iona Islington was and after she kept being meet with the same wall of silence, she just gave up.

Eventually, the constant whirring of the disc got on her nerves to the point where she eventually broke the empty air, 'I don't mean to pry but surely you watching that disc over and over again isn't doing you any favours'.

As she predicted, Robin ignored the police officers advice as he stopped the recording and replayed the clip again. He did however respond to Chloe, only asking her how far they were from the destination that Slade left on the disc. She responded – initially with a frustrated sigh – by informing him that they were no more than a minute away.

Sitting at a STOP sign, Chloe looked left and saw nothing approaching, looked right and saw a blue car speeding right past them rather quickly. Looking right, she noticed that a small congregation of people gathering, looking left she looked at the blue car that was beginning to fade out of view. Something didn't feel right. The blue car sped out of view very quickly but from the brief view she got, she was convinced that the car's windscreen was shattered and that there was a sizeable dent at the front of the car.

"The road's clear Chloe" Robin's voice filled Chloe's ears as she continued to stare down the road. Eventually, she turned right and journeyed to the destination on the disc; the exact destination where the group of people were gathering.

Chloe stopped a couple houses away and she and Robin stepped out the car and made their way towards the crowd.

An elderly woman approached Chloe, panic and distraught etched all over her face, almost yelling 'Officer, thank God you've arrived, something awful has just happened'

Chloe could see what had happened. A small gap in the crowd gave way to the officer and the young superhero and both of their eyes rested on the lifeless body of a young man who looked no older the eighteen, his legs were mangled and his head lolled loosely to the left. Chloe had seen some sights today but this one was by far the worst. Her ears were filled with the wails and cries of men, women and children alike. She could also hear people retching at the sight of this poor kid and she was tempted to join them. But she had to try her damnedest to maintain some level of control and level-headedness.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen, I'm gonna need you to keep your assistance and compliance. I really need you to keep your distance from this young man. In the meantime . . .'

As Chloe gave instructions to the public, Robin had already taken the envelope that he found loosely grasped in the young man's. Opening the flap which had been glued shut, he pulled out another disc, identical to the one he found in the first envelope. Opening the disc compartment in this communicator, he removed the first disc that was already in the compartment, slipped that one into his belt and placed the second one in. Pressing the 'Play' button, Slade's masked face appeared on screen. Bile found its way from the put of Robin's stomach and gathered in the back of his throat as the sound of the public's cries seemed to dissipate as they were replaced with the assassin's.

"Greeting once again Titan's"

END

My apologies for the delay; better late than never I guess.

Getting back into the swing of things has been a little tough and I can't help but feel that this chapter is a little rushed. What do you guys think? Be honest and give me your opinions of this chapter.

Giving it some consideration, if I'm going to be delivering the best that I can, these chapters need a little more time.

So, I'll try and get the proceeding chapter up every 4-6 weeks. Maybe a little quicker but hat will depend on the speed I write and providing you guy with work that's worth sticking with. But I won't speed chapters out that are utter crap; you guys deserve better than that.

Until next time . . .