The Titans always found something to complain about, no matter the situation. Even after being here over two weeks, each Titan complained about something different. Beast Boy hated the fact that there were no video games or television. Cyborg still complained that he wasn't eating any real meat. Raven commented about how she missed her spell books and herbal tea, and Starfire didn't like the dark, gloomy atmosphere.
There were few things Robin disliked about the place; it reminded him of his time with Batman. What Robin felt more of, however, was confusion. Why was he trusting Slade? Why was Slade helping them? Situations aside, it didn't make any sense. Wasn't Slade a villain? Wasn't he a hero? Did that make Slade a hero for working alongside him, or himself, a villain?
Complaining and confusion aside, the one thing the Titans didn't have any qualms about was the training room. It was beyond perfect and pushed them all to the limits. Though they hated it, at the same time Robin knew that the Titans, himself especially, loved it. They loved the exhausted feeling after a training session was completed, especially if they'd managed to beat the simulation itself. The Titans were getting better and stronger. Robin almost wished that the Tower had such technology.
"Training simulation, activate," Slade said once the Titans had gathered in the training room at exactly five hundred hours. "Level fourteen."
"Wait, we were just at level twelve!" Beast Boy said.
"Can we complete such a feat?" Starfire asked.
Slade said nothing and only took a fighting stance as the robots began to enter the room. "I thought you Titans enjoyed a challenge," he said, glancing back at Robin.
Robin gritted his teeth. "Titans, go!" The difficulty of the simulation suddenly went up tenfold. Now much harder than before, Robin got the feeling that they wouldn't have been able to survive, much less beat, the simulation without Slade's power enhancers. Robots came in by the hundreds, as did laser and electrical units shoot from the walls and never cease their firing. Robin, grateful for his new suit, only felt real injury when cut or thrown into a wall. The lasers and electricity practically bounced off his new suit, and the only time he was able to be injured with the various attacks that shot toward him was when they hit him on his face. Even the exposed skin on his arms seemed to be protected by a see-through membrane of fabric. Slade had done his work well, and all the Titans were stronger because of it. Glancing over at Slade, Robin saw the man get knocked backward by one of his own robots and couldn't help a snort of laughter. Maybe Slade wasn't as strong as he made himself out to be. Rushing forward, Robin threw an electrical bomb at the robot that was now attacking Slade, destroying it instantly. Robin smirked over at Slade, but Slade took out one of his own weapons and threw it suddenly. The blade missed Robin's head by inches, and Robin looked and gasped when he saw a now-disabled robot standing in front of him.
The fight continued, but the Titans, stronger than ever, loved it. It was like a video game to
them, and soon each Titan was keeping track of how many robots he'd taken down.
"Eighty-nine," Cyborg said, taking aim with his light cannon again.
"Seventy-eight," Starfire said.
"Seventy-four," Beast Boy said, turning into a gorilla and ripping the head off one robot before changing instantly into a boa constrictor and crushing another.
"Ninety-five," Raven said with a smirk, using her powers to dismantle another five robots.
"Eighty-one," Robin said, pulling his bow staff out of a robot.
The Titans briefly glanced at Slade, wondering how many robots he'd taken down. Slade said nothing, however, and the Titans continued their battle. Robin was just getting the mechanics of his suit down when five robots suddenly rushed him, pinning him to a wall and preventing his escape. He looked and saw that the Titans were incapacitated, but when he glanced over at Slade he saw that the man was indicating something on Robin's bow staff. Looking down, Robin saw a small button on the underside of his staff that he hadn't noticed before. Gripping the staff, he pressed the button.
Instantly, a blade came out of the staff itself, stretching the entire length of the staff and wrapping around the hand that held the staff like a pair of brass knuckles. He started at this, surprised that this addition to his staff hadn't increased its weight or unbalanced the staff itself. He pushed forward and sliced through the robots with ease, and by pressing the button with the palm of the hand that held the staff, the blade retracted. Another robot struck him, knocking his staff from his hand, and Robin couldn't help grinning when the staff automatically returned to his hand seconds later, allowing him destruction of the robot who'd knocked it from his hand.
"Robots are behind you," Slade said through Robin's communicator.
"I see them," Robin said.
"There is another ability built into your bow staff," Slade said. "Press the second button on your staff; throw your staff at your opponent within the next three seconds."
Robin pressed the button then threw his staff at the robots. He'd only meant for the staff to hit one robot, so he was surprised when his bow staff suddenly dropped as though it suddenly weighed much more than it had seconds before. The staff touched the ground and tumbled, smashing into five robots and ruining them. The bow staff returned to Robin's hand instantly, and Robin blinked, not understanding what'd just happened.
"The button you pressed alters the staff's gravitational field momentarily, allowing the metal to increase its weight by a factor of fifty," Slade said.
Robin nodded, jumping into the fray and continuing the battle. He took down three more robots before a wall blaster got his attention. Turning, Robin was about to strike the blaster when an electrical firing unit from opposite the room struck him on the face, electrocuting him.
"Use your weapons," Slade said.
Robin, not really thinking much about how Slade's communicator still worked when he was being shocked, reached into his utility belt and pulled out one of Slade's batarangs. He was surprised when the electricity seemed to be drawn to the blade, and the instant the lightning struck the blade, it deflected. Robin stared.
"Take another weapon and combine both weapons to form a current."
Robin, taking a guess, withdrew another one of Slade's batarangs and touched it to the first,
gasping and jumping in excitement for a moment when he pulled the weapons away from each other and saw that they made a current between them. He threw both weapons at the electrical blaster, and the electrical current wrapped around the blaster and destroyed it. The explosion blew his weapons halfway across the room, but Robin merely turned and held both hands up.
Slade's weapons automatically returned to his hands seconds later. He smiled.
The Titans were winning. With Slade's help and their new enhanced powers, everyone was practically superhuman. Within minutes, the last robot was defeated, and the Titans rose victorious.
Level fourteen, passed.