Disclaimer: There's a huge-ass spider outside of our dorm window that I named Shelob. However, that does not mean I own Lord of The Rings, Teen Titans, or hell any of the fandoms out there. *sobs*
A/N: SO MUCH WRITING IN THE PAST WEEK YOU GUYS. I JUST…IT'S PRACTICE FOR NANOWRIMO! GAH NOW I'M NOT SURE IF I CAN FINISH THIS BY HALLOWEEN! I NEED TO WRITE WRITE WRITE LIKE A MADWOMAN!
OK, Blues32 asked a great question that I thought I should share with everyone: Why can't Zatanna just cure everyone of the dust?
I have a lot of reasons for not having Zatanna do that. First of all, Zatanna is a powerful character who has the tempting potential to be used as a deux ex machina. She can do anything as long as she can utter the words. However, as pointed out by numerous DC comic book writers, Zatanna has never tapped into the full potential of her powers. She knows that she is a dangerous character and doesn't use magic unless she has to. Also, the dust is affecting the minds of the characters. Zatanna has messed with minds before and has regretted doing so (Refer to Identity Crisis for more details) so perhaps she is a little unwilling to mess with the minds of these characters. And I think that I would have felt as if I were cheating if I did have Zatanna purify their minds and I think that you readers would have felt the same way. There are several emotional character arcs going on in this story (Robin's fear of Slade, Beast Boy's loss of Terra, Batman's strained relationship with Dick, etc.) and having them face their fears and overcome them is a lot better than having Zatanna fix everything. And perhaps Zatanna knows that they must face their fears as well (why do you think she told Raven to "try harder"?).
Sorry for that long author's note. Hope that answers your question, Blues32.
Chapter 28: Illusions
-S-
10:26pm
Jump City, California
Location Unknown
Darkness crept along the edges of her eyes as her head swam. Despite the fuzziness Starfire could sense that something was amiss. There was something off about what she was seeing, but what could it be?
What if the Gordanians weren't really there?
Starfire breathed heavily and pushed herself to her knees, doing her best to ignore the Gordanians torturing her. At first she thought that all of this was real, but when Slade came in she began to doubt her sanity. Why did she react so angrily towards Slade? Wasn't he supposed to be dead? If so, then why was she seeing him?
She looked up at her Gordanian captors. They were always one of her worst enemies. But would they really go through all of the trouble of searching for her out on Earth again? Didn't Galfore say that the Citadel considered her less of a threat since she stayed neutral on Earth?
"Go away," she said firmly.
To her great surprise their scaly figures flickered like one of Control Freak's illusions. Starfire closed her eyes and opened them again. They were still there, sneering at her, but somehow they looked less real.
She wasn't afraid of the Gordanians. Not all Gordanians could be bad, could they? Every race has its share of good and bad people. Blackfire was an example of a bad Tamaranean. Slade was an example of a bad human being.
Slade reappeared in the doorway. Even as he approached her again she knew for sure that she was hallucinating. As he walked closer she saw that Slade was holding something in his hand. When she squinted she saw that it was Robin's domino mask. A shiver of fear crept down her spine, but then something else overcame her. Why should she be afraid of Slade?
But, more importantly, how to make him disappear?
"Does it bother you, princess, that I know Robin's secret identity?" he asked, his voice rather sweet. "I know it's been eating away at you ever since he almost deigned to show you his face."
Starfire stared resolutely at Slade, determined not to let him get to her head. It was just another example that she was hallucinating. Unless Slade was alive and watched that particular encounter through secret cameras, then there was no way he could know about that.
"I do not care. He trusts me anyway."
"Trust? My dear, he manipulated you and your friends. He lied to you when he became Red X."
Just listening to him say that out loud only made her angrier. The fact that it was true only made it worse, but Starfire had long ago forgiven him for lying to her and the other Titans. Just a few weeks ago that decision to become Red X came back to kick him in the butt when that mysterious thief stole the suit.
"It was a mistake he vowed never to make again."
"He ended up working for me!" Slade began to laugh. "How can you trust him when he doesn't trust you enough to show his face?"
Although she didn't want to believe it, she knew that Slade's words were reverberating in her mind. They held a certain sliver of truth to them.
She had had enough.
Even in death Slade still taunted the Titans, and Starfire was done with it. If Slade ever did return then she would keep his promise that she would be by Robin's side. So what if Slade made sneering comments to Robin about his relationship with Starfire? Did it matter? No, it didn't. The villain shouldn't have stuck his nose in the Titans' personal lives.
"I do not care if you know his secret identity," Starfire said. "I trust him more than you ever trusted him."
She began to circle Slade, not caring if she couldn't fire her starbolts. Even if her hands were bound she could exert a large amount of damage. Slade wasn't Tamaranean. He may be strong enough to physically defeat Robin, but that didn't mean he was strong enough to defeat Starfire.
"Whoever said that this was a matter of trust?"
Starfire remembered the hurtful things she said to Robin mere days before the apprenticeship began. She had not meant to sound hurtful, but only wanted to acknowledge the truth. Robin and Slade were very much alike. She knew that Slade tried to get Robin to trust him, and that he failed miserably in that attempt.
"I do."
She suddenly remembered a lot of things. Starfire remembered demanding to go with Robin to meet Adeline Kane, Slade Wilson's former wife. Slade was supposed to be dead. This was all just a hallucination.
While she did not consider Slade her personal arch-enemy (Blackfire, of course, took that position) she did become mad at Slade for causing so much trouble. While Blackfire only tormented her sister for personal gain she at least did not go out of her way to cause trouble. Slade did. Starfire's rivalry was a mere Cain and Abel kind of relationship (a story she later learned when she spent some time on Earth) while Robin and Slade's relationship was that of an abusive father and son.
"He didn't trust you, girl," Slade sneered. "And why should he trust a Tamaranean? A Troq?"
Slade's insults were beginning to go over her head. He was starting to sound less like Deathstroke the Terminator and more like a racist Gordanian. The real Slade would not speak like that. If Slade was indeed an illusion—part of the dust, perhaps—then how could she fight back without turning on the lights?
"I am nothing?" she echoed. "Perhaps to you, Slade, but I am not nothing to people who care about me."
She thought of the way she and Robin flew together over the rooftop of Titans Tower. She thought of all of the fun times she spent with the Titans. Of all of the inside jokes they now shared. They didn't care that she was a Tamaranean or that she was in line for the Tamranean throne. Even if Slade or the Gordanians thought that she was nothing there were other people who thought the exact opposite.
"That's cute."
Even in their darkest moments Robin still cared deeply for her. And now, Starfire realized, that was all that mattered to her. With or without the mask he cared for her. Why should she obsess over trust issues? Did it really matter whether or not he decided to tell her his secret identity?
She swung her shackled fists towards Slade's head. To her satisfaction, she heard his metal mask begin to crack as she continued to swing them at Slade. Back when she first arrived on earth she caused so much damage before the would-be Titans managed to calm her down.
"He trusts me!" she shouted, so angry that she began to scream in Tamaranean. "He never trusted your lies! He always trusted in the security of his friends!"
Memories of her times with the Titans flowed through her, empowering her and fueling her emotion-driven powers. Although she couldn't fire starbolts Starfire didn't care. She had enough strength to knock this villain into next week.
"You are finished, Slade."
-BB-
10:29pm
Jump City, California
Location Unknown
Somehow, Beast Boy found the strength to fight back.
Everything negative that people ever told him barreled through his mind as he fought Slade, gaining confidence with every punch he managed to land on Slade's face. People thought he was the weakest one of the team, the little kid who couldn't do anything special aside from shape-shift. Just because he always considered himself the jokester of the group didn't mean that he couldn't kick butt.
Yet Beast Boy wasn't doing this for himself. He was doing this for Terra, for every single person Slade ever hurt.
"You think you're so smug," Beast Boy said, "but you're nothing but a low-life bully!"
"What did you do to her?" Beast Boy demanded.
"Nothing she didn't want," Slade replied.
A roar of fury escaped him as he transformed into a T-Rex. Slade's single eye widened as he charged forward with his jaws opened wide. When he worked for the Doom Patrol Steve always told him to think big.
At least with the Doom Patrol Steve said those things in an attempt to help Beast Boy. He wanted to teach Gar to take care of himself. Perhaps it may not have been the best way to go about doing it, but Beast Boy took every negative thing to heart. It made him the person he is today. The things that Slade were telling him now were meant to hurt him and bring him down.
Slade reached up and held Beast Boy's jaws opened, his muscles straining to hold the changeling back. He didn't seem so tough now. Beast Boy remembered the last time he faced Slade, back at the carnival when Slade so rudely interrupted his inevitable kiss. The thought of that only boiled Beast Boy's blood more.
Flicker.
Flicker.
Flicker.
Every punch that he threw at Slade caused the mercenary to flicker, which only encouraged him. This Slade wasn't real. This Slade was just a figment of his imagination. Beast Boy didn't have to take crap from anyone. He only allowed people close to him to talk crap to him. Raven could make all of the pessimistic comments she wanted. He welcomed it. Beast Boy was aware that he was fighting his imagination, but he didn't care.
This was for Terra.
-AK-
10:33pm
Jump City, California
Carnival
She was going after the changeling.
Adeline pushed open the door slowly, her hand resting on the hilt of her gun. There was no telling what would happen next. One of her husband's Sladebots could be waiting for her on the other side of the door. After she tried to shoot his eye out, she wasn't sure if he would be willing to kill her.
She shined her flashlight into the dark room. Adeline didn't know that much about the changeling apart from the fact that he used to work with the Doom Patrol. But if he was so infected with the dust that he would attack anything that moved, then she would be forced to shoot in self-defense.
She hoped that it wouldn't come to that.
Hesitantly, she stepped into the room. She found that she couldn't help but let her thoughts drift towards her recent encounter with the Boy Wonder. Why was he dressed in that strange uniform? Why was he unmasked?
Since she used to live near Gotham, Adeline had recognized the face. Who wouldn't? Dick Grayson was the ward of one of the most famous billionaires in the country. It was also common knowledge that Dick Grayson moved out to Jump to attend some private school or another. As Adeline thought about she began to see Slade's thought process on the subject of Robin's secret identity. Had he been stalking Grayson since he left Gotham? Adeline shivered at the thought.
Slade had done some terrible things to all of the Titans and some members of the JLA. After that fiasco with the nanoscopic probes Slade went after someone else: Tara Markov.
If possible, that had turned out even worse. The girl—nicknamed Terra—died in a volcanic explosion in an attempt to stop Slade. From what Adeline knew Slade treated the girl like crap. Why? Adeline was never treated like that. Slade always treated her with respect, but that was probably because she was the one who trained Slade in the first place. Terra was just a young girl who had none of the training Adeline did. She didn't have a chance to defend herself. At least Robin was trained by the Dark Knight.
Adeline crept along the creepy old house of mirrors. She knew from watching the local news that Beast Boy and Slade fought inside of here. About a week afterwards the carnival closed down. Cobwebs graced the corners of the rooms.
Aside from the Boy Wonder, Slade screwed with Beast Boy. Why did he enjoy tormenting the Titans? Why? At least when he worked undercover he had contracts with the higher end of the society. Slade used to assassinate for some very important people. Did he finally tire of working for other people?
Why was her husband such a complex person?
Why was she even thinking about him again? Adeline had to let him go. Well, she thought that she had learned to let him go years ago. She was glad that the man was dead. But at the same time the loss of a young life was still too high a price to pay for Slade's death.
She heard shouting. Adeline stiffened as she recognized the voice shouting. Beast Boy was here.
"Beast Boy," she shouted. "It's going to be fine."
She quickened her pace. Her footsteps echoed loudly off of the walls as she followed the sound of Beast Boy's shouts. Adeline hoped that she wasn't too late.
Adeline kicked down the door. The green changeling was jabbing and kicking and swiping at empty air. He looked up sharply when she shone the flashlight in his face. Like the rest of the Titans she found him in a state of despair. His purple-and-black uniform was ripped in several places. Beast Boy turned his green eyes from his empty fists back to Adeline's face.
"Who are you?" he asked, squinting.
"Adeline Kane."
Understanding spread across the changeling's face. He allowed his hands to fall to his sides as he hung his head a little.
"I know I'm hallucinating…" he mumbled. "And I know who you are."
That wasn't the answer she was expecting from Beast Boy. She knew from TV interviews that he was the jokester of the group, the youngest member of the Titans and previously the Doom Patrol. Perhaps his interaction with the dust caused him to become more serious than usual.
"Everyone was infected with the dust," Adeline said, "all of the Titans. We need to go to main street. We'll get everyone help from there."
"It must have been that hissing noise I heard before I blacked out," Beast Boy mumbled
"Did you talk to Robin? Does he know who's behind this?"
Adeline stayed silent. While she knew that Beast Boy had a right to know who was behind this, she felt as though Robin should be the one to tell him. She wasn't really an ally of the Titans yet. At least, Adeline didn't feel that way.
"Come with me. He'll explain when we get there."
-CK-
10:43pm
Jump City, California
Location Unknown
Superman flew.
He flew faster than he ever had in his life. When it came to speed he might not be able to go as fast as Flash, but he could come pretty close. Wonder Woman followed closely behind in her invisible jet. Green Arrow and two other JLA members sat in the jet.
"Clark, are you all right?" Diana asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Still a little woozy from the Kryptonite."
"So what's the plan?"
The plan? It seemed as though Raven had everything pretty organized in Jump City. He spoke with Flash a few minutes ago to get an update. Working alongside with the JCPD Flash and Zatanna managed to get a bunch of them rounded up. There were just the big and dangerous criminals to worry about—like Cinderblock and Plasmus.
His communicator buzzed.
"Superman!" Raven said. "We found Robin."
"Good," Superman replied, hope swelling in his chest. "Is he okay?"
"He's fine. He's managing to fight off his hallucinations for the moment. Right now we've split up and we're looking for the other Titans."
That was the best news Clark had heard in a while. He heard Raven log off. While Clark trusted the Titans he—like so many others in the JLA—felt the need the help because they were children. But as this crisis continued Clark felt more aware of the fact that these kids could handle themselves.
"I don't think we can do anything to help the Titans now," he said. "Robin and Raven have things covered. The best thing we can do is round up the criminals."
They flew.
Would they be in time? The others—Flash and Zatanna as well as the JLA's former sidekicks—could hold their own. The cold wind whipped his spit-curl back as he sped towards California, his scarlet cape flapping noisily in the wind.
Clark was considered the ultimate authority among everyone in the superhero community, but sometimes he felt as though he didn't deserve that honor. Eventually there would come a day when Superman wouldn't be able to save people, a day when Superman would eventually be defeated and have to retire. But today wasn't that day.
And tomorrow wouldn't be either.
They arrived.
"The Justice League!" a criminal shrieked, dropping the television that he was holding.
Clark didn't smile as he towered over the petty villains. They weren't worth his time, but the JCPD really needed help.
"It's Superman!" a criminal screamed, running away.
"Shall we?" Green Arrow asked.
Superman nodded.
Almost at once the JLA members leapt out of Wonder Woman's invisible jet and moved to attack. Clark shouted orders for certain members to go after certain villains he knew that the JCPD couldn't handle. Plasmus was out and about in some factory. Cinderblock was smashing things in a quarry.
"What the hell!" Johnny Rancid shouted, tensing into a fighting stance. "This isn't your town, Supes! What's the Justice League doing here?"
Superman recognized these kinds of thugs. He recognized Rancid from studying the rooster of Titan villains. He wasn't much of a threat. Rancid was mostly all talk and no action.
"Does it really matter why we're here?" Clark asked, reaching down to pick up the thug. "You better come quietly unless you want to say hello to my fist."
Johnny Rancid protested as Clark picked him up. Even though he probably considered himself a tough guy there was no way he could be invincible to the Man of Steel's fist. His helmet fell off of his head and clattered to the street below.
"W-why are you doing this?" Johnny Rancid asked. "Why are you here?"
"Because we're a family," Clark said. "And when you mess with one of all, then you mess with all of us!"
He meant it. It was an unspoken agreement among most of the superhero community that if someone like Dick Grayson was attacked, then everyone would be concerned. Everyone would fight back.
Everyone was part of the family.
-BW-
12:28am
Gotham City
BatCave
What could Batman do?
He sat at his computer in the Batcave with Alfred by his side. Atom volunteered to stay behind with Bruce to make sure that he didn't go crazy again. He sat on the computer monitor and watched Bruce work. Bruce stared at all of the computer screens and studied the evidence at hand.
"You okay, Bruce?" Ray asked.
"I'm fine," Bruce replied. "I'm using the dust in my system to formulate an antidote."
He moved away from the computer screen as Alfred fiddled with the probes connected to his head. Honestly, he felt a little embarrassed that he acted so irrationally. He didn't like the fact that Ray was here to make sure that he didn't do anything stupid. How could he now that he knew he was infected with the dust?
"How did the Titans manage to cure Robin the first time?"
"They waited it out. Eventually it went away."
Bruce massaged his forehead. There were still so many questions that needed answering. Why was he attacked? What about the rest of the Justice League? Why weren't any of them affected by the dust as well? From experience he knew that it couldn't be a coincidence that only he was attacked.
"The dust was meant to kill me," Bruce muttered. "Why?"
Both Ray and Alfred shrugged.
He hung his head slightly as he searched his memory for any sort of clue. The reason that the Tamaranean was personally attacked with an article from the Daily Planet was because it was a signal for the jewel thief. Once the thief got the signal he moved to attack Batman, making sure that he led him to the baseball field so that Batman wouldn't notice the dust. Whoever was behind all of this madness know not only the Titans well, but also Batman. Who could be such a master of psychology?
"I wish I could help, but I'm a physicist not a neurologist," Ray said.
Bruce found himself thinking back to his conversation with Dick. Although his mind had mostly been on the whereabouts of the Joker he still remembered what Dick was talking about. He talked about his time with Deathstroke and of how he was forced to steal from Wayne Enterprises.
Bruce sighed.
The last thing he ever said to the kid was the most demoralizing thing he could have ever said to him. What if Dick died? What if the Titans died? How could Bruce ever forgive himself then?
One of the computer screens was tuned into a California news channel that constantly updated the situation in Jump City. So far people were using the temporary blackout as an opportunity to pillage. The JCPD were running around trying to apprehend criminals with the help of the Justice League and a few honorary Titans. Just a few minutes ago reports came in of several Justice League members running around Jump with one of the Titans—Raven.
The thing was that Bruce didn't know what he could do to help. As far as he knew, he was still infected with the dust. He wanted to help. He had to help. But he had ruined his chance to go directly to Jump City by acting like a lunatic.
Just like the perpetrator planned.
"I don't understand how you managed to beat yourself up so badly, Master Bruce," Alfred said. "You look as if the Joker really did beat you up with a crowbar."
At the mention of a crowbar Bruce snapped up his head, Dick's cries of pain echoing in his ears. He winched as Alfred peeled back his uniform and dabbed at a wound with rubbing alcohol. Did he really do this to himself? Scarecrow's gas did nothing more than scare the wits out of a person. Slade's dust however…it physically hurt people.
"Never mind that, Alfred. I'm fine."
"What are you trying to do?" Ray asked.
"I want to know the motivation of the man behind this," Bruce replied, "and I want to know where Dick is."
He studied the security camera footage just before the blackout. He watched in silence as the Teen Titans fought the criminal Overload. Bruce had to admit that Robin's team was skilled. They worked well together as a team. As the green changeling who used to work with the Doom Patrol got shocked Robin leapt in front of him. That boy…he always did so much for his friends.
"I also believe," Alfred said, "That Dick defended you while he was with Deathstroke."
Dick defended him? Even after all of the bitter arguments and harsh words exchanged Dick still trusted him? Bruce shook his head. Why was he thinking about Deathstroke again? The man obviously wasn't behind this business with the dust. His fingers flew across the keyboard as he searched for more information regarding the Titans' fight at the power plant. Surely, the security footage held some sort of clue to—
His fingers slowed as his eyes caught sight of something strange in his files. He always kept a mental inventory of what was in his files, and he knew for sure that he did not put this here. Bruce could tell that it was a video file, but who put it here? Why didn't he notice this before?
Bruce's eyes narrowed as he opened the video file on the Bat computer. Dick told him about the message that Slade left for him on the main computer in Titans Tower. Warily, Bruce clicked on the file and allowed it to play.
"Hello Wayne."
Deathstroke's face appeared on the screen. Bruce found himself tensing. This was a message from Deathstroke? Had someone come in and installed this on the Bat computer while he was away? Where did it come from? Ray and Alfred clustered around the screen to listen to what the mercenary had to say.
"Perhaps I should be thanking you for finding the boy for me. I must admit that you trained him well. I will also admit that you are a formidable opponent yourself. But your influence on Dick is strong and, quite frankly, annoying. It really must annoy you to know that he is here with me training to be an assassin. While I would love to chat with you I know better than to confront you. It's not that I'm afraid of you, because I'm not, but because I just don't want to.
"Does it bother you, Wayne, that I know who you are? I could blackmail you as well, but I'm not going to. Not while I have Dick under my control. I don't care if you continue to play the hero in Gotham. But if you get mad enough to come to Jump know that several lives will be at stake. I will not hesitate to kill you. I will not hesitate to kill his friends. I'll slowly break him, Wayne, until everything you taught him is turned against him."
The video turned off.
Slowly, Bruce turned towards the other two men in the room. Captain Atom gazed at the computer screen with wide eyes, his mouth open slightly ajar. But Alfred, however, merely stared back at Bruce.
"What is this?"
"A message from Deathstroke," Alfred replied. "What else could it be?"
At first Bruce opened his mouth to say something scathing, but then thought better of it. From what he could tell the message was made during the time Dick worked for Deathstroke. This was obviously sent to taunt Bruce. Suspicion grew within Bruce as he looked steadily at Alfred. He had a sense that the old butler was hiding something from him…namely the fact that Bruce didn't find this message until now.
Why?
Then it hit him.
"My God…" Bruce murmured. "Deathstroke…his mask…Dick benefits."
"What?" Ray asked.
"Dick benefits," Bruce repeated. "Deathstroke meant to kill everyone close to him. He meant to kill me and the Titans so he could get closer to Dick."
It was sick. It was twisted. But, in Deathstroke's mind, it made perfect sense. In Deathstroke's mind he was giving Robin a grand opportunity. The only thing holding him back was his concern for loved ones. Bruce wasn't sure if he felt better knowing this piece of information or not.
-R-
10:48pm
Jump City, California
Main Street
It felt strange for him to roam around without a mask on his face.
No one gave him a second glance as he raced through the streets of Jump City. Without the Slade insignia on his chest no one really knew what the uniform meant. Without his mask no one knew who he was.
Let's see, Robin thought, the attack on Starfire consisted of the Daily Planet's article on a Gordanian invasion.
He gritted his teeth as he tried to think of a place where Starfire could be. As soon as he stepped out of the trapdoor he knew that Slade picked specific places for them to be. What did Slade hope to accomplish by placing Robin underneath the circus tent? Did he hope to gloat over him, force Robin to turn his back on the place he grew up in? Robin could only assume that Slade didn't plan on being dead for this part of his plan.
The problem was that Starfire was from Tamaran. If those personal attacks on all of the Titans were mere foreshadowings of the real attack—what was happening now—then where on earth would Slade think to put Starfire?
"Where do you think you're going, young man?" Slade's voice asked.
Robin ignored him as he ran past Slade's figure. He heard the pattering of Slade's boots against the sidewalk as the mercenary began to chase him. These hallucinations kept coming back, but every time Slade merely became an annoyance instead of a threat.
He skidded to a halt as three cops ran in front of him.
"What are you doing out here, kid?" one of them asked. "You should be inside! It isn't safe to be out here, especially with the Titans missing!"
"Understood, officer," Robin said, nodding.
He watched them chase another thief. Robin wondered vaguely what Commissioner Gordon was doing in Gotham to help Batman, if he was aware of the situation at all. Maybe he should find a JLA member here and try to contact him to see how the situation was over there. Slade appeared in front of him.
"So, you prefer to be the civilian?" Slade asked, his voice snide. "Never one of greatness?"
"Oh shut up, Slade," Robin snapped. "Go back to hell."
Slade faded out of existence. How long would he have to deal with him? Robin already went through a catharsis of sorts and had no desire to go through it again.
Now, where was Starfire?
Robin stopped and leaned against a wall, already winded. He didn't want to think about the fact that he harmed himself this badly—again. The loss of blood made his head dizzy. By all accounts, he shouldn't be running around in this state. He should be resting. Perhaps he could contact one of the JLA members—but no.
Determination rose within him. He wasn't a child who allowed the adults to fix everything. Even while he was Slade's apprentice the Titans didn't call Batman even though they had every good reason to. The Titans weren't children. Robin was hurt, yes, but he didn't want the Justice League to think of them as amateur children. He wanted them to think of the Titans as equals.
"If you stayed as my apprentice you know I would have killed the Tamaranean," Slade said, appearing again at Robin's side. "She was too much of a distraction."
Robin's eyes snapped open in annoyance. But this time he didn't make the illusion go away. Instead of fighting he began to talk back. If Slade was going to stick around he might as well get some information out of him.
"Why should you have cared about that?" Robin said. "You never mentioned it to me when I came back from Wayne Enterprises."
"If our little conversation wasn't so rudely interrupted by your so-called friends, then I'm sure the conversation would have moved towards her."
"Where did you put Starfire?" Robin demanded.
Again, he became aware that he was talking out loud to himself again. Yet he knew that the answer to his questions where somewhere in his mind. Why would Slade mention Starfire to him? No, Slade didn't actually mention Starfire to him. Slade was a figment of his imagination.
Was his mind subconsciously so worried about Starfire that it manifested in Slade's taunting?
I'm always so worried about Starfire, Robin thought, sometimes more than the others.
He liked her. Well, of course he liked her. She was a nice person who went out of her way to do nice things for her friends. But one of the few questions he had been struggling with ever since he met her was his affection for her. Did he like as more than a friend? Could he admit that to himself? If so, what could he do? Superheroes don't date teammates. It was always a bad idea. But sometimes he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming affection for her. And…he had to admit…she was a good kisser.
"Somewhere where you'll never find her," Slade replied.
"You're wrong."
When she first arrived on Earth she spent the first few hours causing havoc, damaging main street as she tried to get the handcuffs off of her. Robin, of course, had no idea what he was getting himself into when he first followed that green streak of light. That was his first night in Jump City and he was looking for a fight. That morning he fought with Bruce about his decision to move out of Gotham.
Robin racked his brains for the answer. Her hallucinations would have something to do with the Gordanians. So where would she be? The others were easy enough to guess, but there were no Gordanians here to take her away. Then again...his eyes widened in astonishment.
Robin took off like a madman, pushing people out of his way as he raced towards his new destination. Of course, that was the reason why Slade mentioned Starfire to him! Robin's feet pounded against the sidewalk as he ran towards a familiar building, one that he deliberately avoided ever since that infamous rooftop encounter.
Wayne Enterprises.
He wasn't aware of anything else except his own thoughts. Robin ran and ran, never minding the throbbing pain in his sides or of his tired body screaming out in anguish. It was a long shot that Starfire was being held at Wayne Enterprises, but somehow he felt as though it would be the place she would be. He knew the place from inside-out. With the city's power out all security systems would be down at all major companies. It would only be too easy for the Sladebots to take her there after disabling the guards.
Why would Starfire be there? If Slade masterminded everything to make sure that it maximized Robin's benefit, then of course he would also attack Wayne Enterprises. And although her visions would concern the Gordanians, Robin suspected that they would contain something else.
As he approached the large building he saw that someone had obviously broken into the building. Some of the windows were broken. His heart fell at the sight of the building in such a damaged state. He pushed the double doors open and found security guards blindfolded and hogtied on the floor. Robin approached one and ungagged him.
"What happened?" Robin asked.
"Robots," the guard gasped. "Lots of them. Knocked us out. Next thing we know we're tied up like this."
"Did they bring anyone in with them?"
"A girl…the Titan."
"Do you know where they took her?"
"No, but probably upstairs."
His hand moved to untie the guards, but then Robin remembered that he was standing here unmasked. That wouldn't be a smart idea, especially since some of the guards may recognize him as the ward of their employer.
Instead he left them there for the police to find. They would be fine. He needed to find Starfire before her hallucinations destroyed her mind. Robin raced up the stairs, leaping two or three steps at a time.
He unhooked a flashlight hanging from his utility belt and turned it on. Hopefully Starfire hadn't gone crazy yet. She could produce her own light…so the hallucinations couldn't be affecting her as much as the others.
Right?
He directed the beam of light around the empty room. The lack of sound worried him. The only thing he could hear was the blood pounding through his ears.
Damn you, Slade, Robin thought, you knew this would hurt me…you knew that I liked her.
Something loud thumped upstairs. Robin immediately began climbing the stairs again. He was almost back in the room where the prototype he stole was from. As he neared climbed the stairs the noise grew louder and louder.
He burst into the room and found Starfire there. Her hands were shackled, preventing her from firing her starbolts. She turned her head at the sudden light. To his surprise Starfire leapt up, swung her hands at the ceiling, and escaped through the vents.
Robin flung himself through the vent in the ceiling. He was uncomfortably reminded of the time Slade made him break in here to steal the prototype. Slade didn't even want him to steal it so that he could use it—Slade just wanted him to steal from Wayne Enterprises. Cool air kissed his face as he climbed up to the rooftop of Wayne Enterprises.
Robin felt himself beginning to panic. He had no powers. From previous experience Robin knew that Starfire could cause some real damage when she wanted to. Without his mask how could he convince her that everything was all right?
Starfire stood near one of the giant letters, visibly shaking as she stared off into the distance. As Robin hesitantly drew near he realized that she was speaking in rapid Tamaranean.
"Starfire…" Robin said, taking her hand. "Princess Koriander…"
She stopped her thrashing and looked at him. He knew that this must look strange to her. An unknown boy dressed like Slade just took her hand. But when he said her real name her green eyes widened.
"R-Robin?"
He nodded.
Robin hoped against hope that Starfire would come to her senses. Her eyes searched his face, drinking in every single detail. Confusion spread across her face.
"But…Slade…Slade captured you and…"
"Slade is dead," Robin replied softly, "he hasn't done anything. You're safe, Star."
He took out a small screwdriver from his utility belt and began to unlock the handcuffs preventing her from using her powers. She looked at him warily, just like she did before when he helped her fight the Gordanians.
Robin embraced her. In that embrace he tried to convey all of the hurt that he felt and all of the hurt that he knew she must be feeling. He wrapped a hand around her neck and caressed it softly, as though trying to tell her through his gentle touches that everything was going to be okay.
He was so close to her face, his lips a mere inch away from hers. As he lifted his head to look up at her she looked straight into his eyes. Starfire lifted her hand and touched his face gingerly like a blind woman, her soft fingers gently brushing over his purple bruises.
"You have beautiful eyes."
He burst out in another fit of sobs. Both of them clutched each other tightly as though they would never let each other go, as though they were Paolo and Francesca bound to be in each other's arms for all of eternity. Tonight he almost lost her. Whatever Slade said about this benefitting him, Robin knew that it was all a lie: losing her would never benefit him.
He could sense the imaginary Slade watching him from afar, but Robin didn't care. If anything, he was going to show Slade what true love was like. This would remind Slade of his own loss of Adeline—a loss Slade would never regain if he was still alive.
"S-Starfire," he choked, stumbling to find words for what he had to say, "this is all of my fault."
How could he ever explain this to her? This was all his fault. He began to babble words. Starfire put a finger to his lips.
A beam of light fell upon them.
He saw the blond-haired boy—Joseph Wilson—standing before him dressed in a strange uniform. He held a flashlight in his hand. At first Robin felt confused. What was Joey doing here? And why was he dressed in that uniform?
"Joey?" Robin asked, confused. "What are you doing here?"
"Call me Jericho," Joey signed.
The Metahuman mute explained exactly what he planned to do. Although Robin didn't quite understand everything he thought that it was a good plan. It wasn't as if he had a plan himself. In his condition he wasn't quite fit to act as the leader. Now he just had to survive. Everyone was working together now. This was all going to work out.
Somehow.
"Go."
Jericho nodded and ran off. Truth be told, Robin would have never expected Slade's son to be so…different. He could almost see why Slade looked for an apprentice outside of his family. Joey's personality was more like his mother's. Perhaps, if his plan worked, Robin may consider him as an honorary Titan.
He wrapped his hand around her wrist and turned his head towards her. Robin entwined his fingers in hers and squeezed her hand reassuringly. He remembered the way she held his hand back in Slade's haunt. But now, instead of her being his anchor, Robin held his hand to be her anchor to reality. A totem, as it were.
"Let's fly."
A/N: How's that for shippy goodness? I'm not much of a romance writer, so how did I do with that?
I took a class in Dante studies last year…so I know the Divine Comedy really well and couldn't help but throw in another reference to The Inferno. In the first circle of hell are the lustful, who are forced to be in each other's arms for all of eternity. Paolo and Francesca are two people Dante meets whom he feels sorry for. Um...this is a chapter I'll probably go back and work on some more.
MWAHAHAHA another message left by Slade!
Also, it's nice when you guys tell me in a review that I goofed up, but it would be very helpful to tell me where I goofed up so that I can fix it. I will go back to edit previous chapters.
And for those of you interested in Batman Reborn stuff I did release a one shot about Dick and Damian two weeks ago. It's called "The Choices We Make."
BTW, does anyone know when Young Justice airs? I want to check it out!
LOLZ, go review now.
