OMFG… I am so slooooooooooooooooooooow…!
Okay, okay, other half the epic battle royale-ness here! Star and BB vs Terra the Biznatch, Robin vs Slade and the Skewer of Doom, and Raven and Cyborg vs Mumbo and a lot of bunnies…
This chapter contains closure to a lot of things that have been going on since Asylum/Black Magic, so yay for that!
Thankyou to: Dragonprincess1988 (well, I'm glad you think so!); Amara-chan (thankyou very much! I used to do a lot of research for fight scenes, as well as incorporating moves from Buffy and video games – half the moves Robin does in my fics are swiped from Tekken's Ling Xiaoyu!); Narroch (hey! I wouldn't kill Robin… more than once… in a fic… Lucky for him, Raven is a lame cop-out healer!); Banan-nonne (firstly, nice to see you skulking around over at Poison Apple as well! And nooooooooo… Robin's not going to die. Now L, on the other hand…); TheFallenAngel67 (well, in that case, have as much medication as you like! This chapter is much longer, too!); Me (…Robin gets skewered, and all you can think is "Gee, what a pretty butterfly that guy makes!". Epic job, dude.); Guardian of Azarath (I love your shameless "Ah, just kill him again…" reply. And wow, you fail even more at updating than I do!); LoopyLouise123 (keep on hoping, because our boy Robin isn't quite down and out yet! And yes, Slade is bonkers. Like we didn't know that already…); Someone (you BETCHA Raven is being ODD!); Simmie (you got that right about pesky cheerleader Buffy-bot Raven! And the Terra fight is up first!); The Fate of an Amaryllis (no, Seth won't be back. He was cursed that only one of him could exist throughout the entirety to the space-time continuum. The GCMC logo wasn't really based to the HD logo – I just kind of made it up, tough it does look a little like it, I guess…); and Chanceless (hey, you're still in AI, dude? Well done, you did better than me! Ugh, NaNo – no, I don't do NaNo, nor will I ever. I think I write over 50k words a month anyway, to be honest… And BE PATIENT about Static! He'll be here, very briefly, soon enough! He's definitely in it, I remember writing him in! He only says like two lines, but he's THERE! And Death Note… is incredible. I demand that you go and watch it right now. Never mind this chapter. Forget this chapter! Death Note beckons!)
Nyes, and now that I have finished endorsing other things…
War Games
Terra had not noticed their presence.
Beast Boy swallowed, his ears drooping; Starfire's hands faded and powered down.
Together, the two Teen Titans stepped into the room.
Terra started, lifting her head with a gasp; the tracks of tears staining her pale face.
She looked at them both for a moment or two, her expression a mixture of sorrow and horror.
And then her face twisted and her eyes glowed gold and her hair lifted.
She stood, throwing the box aside; it tumbled across the floor and hit the wall.
The mirror cracked.
And so did Beast Boy's heart.
"Terra, please-" he started desperately.
Terra ignored him, her hands glowing amber too; and she lunged at Starfire instead. The alien princess dove aside, kicking her Tamaranean power into action and taking to the air.
"Terra, please, we desire only to talk!" She cried, putting her hands up to calm the crazed girl. "We do not wish to battle with you!"
"You have no choice!" Terra screamed at her, employing her own power and lifting the pieces of rubble still lying around her room from the destruction Slade's minions had wrought upon Titans Tower the night she had left.
She shot them at Starfire, who dodged some and struck out at others, her alien strength shattering them to showers of dust and pebbles. Her eyes glowed green and she lifted her head, becoming angry.
"Terra, I do not want to fight you, and I do not understand why you do these things, but we will stop you," she vowed.
"Oh yeah?" Terra sneered at her; the girl so many light-years away from the thirty-one year old version who had fought bravely and virtuously at Robin's side in that devastated future world. "Not if I kill you first, you alien bitch…"
Another chunk of rubble – larger than all of the others – smashed into Starfire's back, sending the alien girl across the room and out of the window, smashing it. Starfire uttered a short scream as her body shattered the glass and she disappeared from view, her shock disabling her flight ability momentarily.
"STAR!" Beast Boy yelled; scared for her despite the fact that he knew she would right herself before she hit the ground.
He turned on Terra with a low snarl.
"What is wrong with you?" He snapped. "You're part of the team, then you betray us, then you help us remove the demon from Robin's body in Azarath, and now you try to kill us? You're supposed to be our friend!"
Terra wiped away the tears on her cheeks fiercely.
"I don't need any friends!" She spat.
Beast Boy stared at her for a moment of two, speechless.
"Terra, what has he done to you?" He asked softly, reaching for her.
Terra shrank back from him.
"He helped me!" She shrieked dementedly. "He saved me!"
She lunged for him; Beast Boy morphed into a mouse, dropped to the floor and skittered away across the room like lightning. He leapt out of the smashed window and transformed midair to the form of a buzzard.
Better to take this outside.
Starfire arose beside him, her eyes and hands flaring and her hair whipping around her shoulders. She had a few little cuts on her honey-coloured skin from the broken glass, but was otherwise unscathed.
"She is quite insane," she said, her voice steely. She turned to Beast Boy. "She wishes to destroy us and our home; all that we stand for. We must stop her, Beast Boy – we simply must."
The green buzzard nodded slowly; Starfire was angry, and now so was he.
He loved Terra.
But that didn't mean he was going to let her destroy him and his friends.
Terra came bursting out of the window, soaring atop another flat piece of rubble – it looked as though it had been part of a wall at some point – her long gold hair flapping behind her and her eyes blazing yellow. She arced over them; and Starfire followed her movement, pealing an emerald beam from her eyes after her. Terra swooped away from it and hurtled towards the ground where she had a better advantage.
"Beast Boy, intercept her!" Starfire cried, nose-diving after her.
The green buzzard darted downwards, overtaking first Starfire and then Terra; he somersaulted to hit the ground on his feet, and during that somersault became a tyrannosaurus rex, rearing up and giving a guttural roar.
Above, Starfire rallied her righteous fury and fired off a round of starbolts at Terra's mode of transport. Each one glanced off, bringing with it dust and chunks of the flat piece of stone. Upping her ante, Starfire put her hands together and shot a single powerful blast right at the chunk of rubble; it cracked into about eight pieces and Terra fell, plummeting screaming towards the ground, where that green T-rex was waiting for her…
Beast Boy was cautious in catching her; rough and clumsy due to his size, but not brutal. He did not want to bite her in half. He caught the back of her black crop top in his front teeth and tossed her to the ground, where she skidded to a halt among the dust and dry mud and grass of Titans Island. They were at the back of the tower, and there was more land out back.
Which wasn't really a good thing, considering Terra wasn't on their side…
But it gave Starfire and Beast Boy more room to manoeuvre, a forte that they intended to use to their advantage.
Terra leapt to her feet, pushing away the dazed feeling, and stood firm even though the ground shook as Beast Boy came towards her, each footstep of his terrible lizard form resonating.
Her eyes glowed gold once more and she shot up a wall of dust and dry mud at the dinosaur's face, blinding him. Beast Boy roared in distress and reared, backing up a few steps.
Terra smirked in victory—
--and was then sent to the ground on her face by a barrelling blow from behind by Starfire.
Starfire somersaulted over her and landed gracefully on her feet.
"You will not hurt my friends," she snarled, her Tamaranean savagery beginning to show through the cracks in her sweet persona that anger caused. "Any of them!"
Terra raised her head and Starfire clenched her fists as she saw her former friend's eyes glowing like the sun once again.
A ribbon of rock burst upwards from the ground, winding itself tightly around Starfire like a hungry anaconda; and then began to squeeze the breath out of the young Tamaranean's lungs. Starfire let out a gasping scream of pain, squeezing her eyes tightly shut.
Terra laughed insanely, her hair whipping about her face as she crushed the alien princess—
A green whip-like tail lashed out at her, sending her careening to one side; Terra hit the ground with a muffled grunt, looking up at the monstrous green diplodocus that towered above her, bellowing harshly.
Her hold relinquishing over the rock, Starfire was able to flex her muscles and break free, shattering the stone that had held her. She rose into the air again, her eyes blazing.
"You begin to try my patience!" She snapped angrily. "You were our friend, and now you attack us as though we have done terrible things to you! You are nothing but a klorkvarbler!"
Terra rose again, smirking.
"And you're dead," she hissed.
A hand of mud reared from beneath the surface of the river and grabbed hold of Starfire, pinning her arms to her sides and dragging her under the water.
The diplodocus roared and raised his front feet; in his anger attempting to stamp the blonde earthmover flat.
Terra rolled aside and rose herself up on a pillar of earth so that her face was level with that of Beast Boy.
"I never thought you were a coward, BB," she said maliciously, her smile still on her face. "But what else can you be, if all you will transform to is so much bigger and stronger than me? Afraid to fight like a man?"
She leapt back off her pillar and slid right down it to the ground again; and Beast Boy went down with her, morphing back to his regular form.
"Terra, why are you doing this?" He asked, clenching his fists. "Why are you trying to hurt us?"
"I'm not trying," Terra implicited nastily, thumbing over her shoulder to the bubbles that were rising to the surface of the river around the tower; evidence of where Starfire was being held under the surface. "I am hurting you."
"Why?" Beast Boy asked forlornly. "What did we ever do to you?"
Terra's expression flickered slightly; and then she restored her sneer.
"Why not?"
"Because we're your friends!"
Terra's smile – arrogant or not – snapped off her face.
"I told you, I don't need any friends!" She screamed; ripping up a half-buried boulder from the earth and plowing it right into the green-skinned shape-shifter.
A sudden bubbling sound from behind her made her turn towards the river; sure enough, on the surface, hundreds of bubbles were coming to the top, and steam began to rise from the surface too, as though the water was…
…boiling…
There was an explosion beneath the surface that showered water upwards and outwards like a fountain; and from the centre of it Starfire rocketed upwards into the sky with a primal scream of rage. Her eyes were positively on fire with her alien power, as were her hands, and she was utterly soaked through, her purple and silver uniform clinging wetly to her body and her red hair hanging in wet straggled rat's-tails.
"Heska vo," the alien girl hissed savagely in her native tongue. She turned her feral gaze on Terra, who actually looked rather alarmed by Starfire's re-entrance to the fray.
Starfire's gaze briefly flickered to Beast Boy as he struggled to get to his feet – bruised and battered by that boulder – and then her fury was focused on the geomancer once more. She warmed up her hands and then shot at Terra, firing off starbolts in merciless succession straight at her.
Terra shielded her face and then was enveloped by a cloud of dust that Starfire's starbolts kicked up; the alien girl kept on firing even though she could no longer see her target. Her rage was such now that she was almost beyond reasoning with—
"Star, STARFIRE!" Beast Boy yelled up at her. "Stop, you're going to kill her!"
Starfire gave a sudden little gasp and snapped out of her crazed assault, floating down to land next to Beast Boy.
Almost beyond.
Beast Boy gave a little shiver as he looked at his friend; as much as he and the others loved her, he had to admit she scared him sometimes, and not just because of the horrible Tamaranean dishes she cooked up…
Starfire shoved her wet hair back and turned to Beast Boy; the dust still hadn't cleared around Terra.
"You are unharmed?"
Beast Boy nodded sadly.
"I don't know what's got into her, Star…"
"Some sense…"
Starfire gasped as she and Beast Boy whipped around; Terra was behind them, smiling.
She was not, however, immaculate; Starfire's attack had taken its toll on her, for her clothing was a little ripped and she bled some.
It was clear she was far from throwing in the towel, however.
"Terra, this must end!" Starfire said firmly.
Terra cocked her head to one side.
"You're right…" Her hair fell across her right eye and she smirked. "So let's end it!"
She clapped her hands together and the piece of ground that Beast Boy and Starfire were standing on cracked down the middle and began to rise, folding in on itself like a book being closed.
With the alien girl and the shape-shifter in the middle of the "pages".
Starfire put her hands out, starting to push against the two slabs that threatened to crush them.
"Beast… Boy!" She groaned, perspiration and water running down her face as she strained against Terra's will over the earth itself. "Get… her!"
Beast Boy became a spider, scuttling out between the two pieces of rock; and then transformed into a bull, charging at Terra. He hit her in the stomach with his head and tossed her aside, winding her. Behind him, the rock shattered as Starfire brought starbolts to her palms and pushed outwards with them. Within moments, the alien girl was back at his side again.
Terra staggered to her feet to find them advancing upon her; for the first time since their fight had begun, she began to grow afraid.
She had underestimated them even though she had been on their team; she knew how strong they were, and yet she had thought they might hold back on her because of who she was.
And at first they had, but…
But now it was clear they had had enough.
She had thought she might have an easy time with these two; Beast Boy – the goofy little green shape-shifter with a soft spot for her; and Starfire – the sweet, naïve, kind-hearted alien princess.
Had it been Robin, or Raven, or even Cyborg, she would have not taken it as lightly.
Now it appeared that she had made a grave mistake in underestimating Starfire and Beast Boy.
She flung an arsenal of rocky projectiles at them, backing away.
They simply cut them aside; Starfire either blasting them to nothing with her eyes or her starbolts or catching them in her hand and crushing them to dust. They didn't hurt Beast Boy in his elephant form.
And then Starfire unleashed another cordon of starbolts at her, driving her backwards; beginning to panic, Terra put up a wall of rock to protect herself. Every starbolt put another crack in it, but it held—
Until Beast Boy ran into it, shattering it.
Terra screamed, shielding her face and stumbling back; Starfire soared towards her, bringing her hands back and swinging them at Terra in a hammer blow that caught her in the gut. Terra tumbled backwards, scraping to a stop several feet away.
She had given her all and they were still beating her.
She had to retreat.
Perhaps Slade would punish her; but it was better than being killed by Starfire and Beast Boy.
She stood and backed away; then raised a swirling storm of dust and earth around herself and them, obscuring their vision.
"Where is she?" Starfire cried, coughing.
"I don't know!" Beast Boy yelled back, groping for her in the midst of the dusty storm. He found Starfire's wrist and clutched it; Starfire lifted upwards and flew above the storm, taking Beast Boy with her.
Below them, the whirlwind of dust died down and was no more; and Starfire and Beast Boy watched the figure fading fast into the distance.
Terra making a getaway on another boulder.
Starfire clenched her fists.
"We cannot let her escape, Beast Boy," she snarled. "We must follow her!"
Beast Boy nodded grimly and changed into an albatross; and together he and Starfire went after her – back across the water and over Jump City.
On Titans Island, at the back, partially buried by the dust that had been Terra's escape cloak, was a small white square.
The wind touched it, flipping it over.
A photograph of Terra and Beast Boy; both smiling.
On the back was a message, written in neat black ink;
You and me forever, BB XXX
The dusty winds of change blew again, taking it into the river; where the message was washed away and eventually the photograph itself sank below the surface to be submerged forever.
Nobody ever found it.
Near-dragging Raven, Cyborg kicked in another doorway and entered yet another trashed and abandoned department, his proton cannon raised and ready.
"You know, this isn't as easy as I thought it was gonna be," the half-robot muttered darkly to himself. "I actually didn't count on him running away from us…"
"Perhaps he is hiding," Raven said happily.
I'm on the verge of hiding too, Cyborg thought dryly.
She was really freaking him out, to put it mildly… He had a feeling that Robin might know a thing or two about it, but right now, that wasn't an issue.
They had to stop Mumbo; and that was difficult, because Mumbo had scarpered. Raven was probably right; the guy probably was hiding.
So now they had to find him…
Cyborg looked around, adjusting the frequency of his mechanical eye to pick up the multiple sub-harmonics in the EM spectrum – that phrasing that had so confused Beast Boy during their search for Red X.
Cyborg grinned despite himself.
But there was nothing here.
With a sigh he turned back to Raven…
…finding her across the other side of the room, picking up scattered jewelry and piling it up in one arm.
Cyborg groaned in frustration and marched across the room towards her.
"Ray, put that stuff down!" He snapped. "We've got a job to do!"
Raven looked up at him, blinking.
"But we can't leave it all on the floor!" She said, sounding horrified. "It's too pretty…"
Losing his patience with her, Cyborg reached out and snatched all of the glittering jewelry away from her, throwing it aside.
Raven looked at him for a moment or two.
"You're mean," she said finally with conviction.
"Uh-huh." Cyborg dragged her away irritably. "And take that stupid ring off!" He snapped at her, seeing the ruby and platinum ring on her finger. "You can't keep it; that's stealing, and that's what we're here to stop Mumbo for!"
Raven pulled herself away from him.
"This is my ring!" She said angrily.
"I've never seen you wearing it before," Cyborg said coolly, looking back at her.
She put her other hand over the ring and recoiled from him, as though she thought he was going to snatch it off her finger.
"It's mine!" She insisted. "Robin gave it to me."
"Say what?" Cyborg really did stop and look at her now. "No he didn't! Why would Robin buy you a ring?"
"He did give it to me!" Raven said hysterically. "He did, he did!"
"Yeah?" Cyborg snatched her wrist and pulled her hand right up so that he could see the ring. "Ray, this ring must be worth at least the other side of two thousand bucks. What is it, white gold? Come on, where is Robin going to get two thousand dollars for a wretched ring? And why would he give you a ring anyway? It's not like you're marrying him or anything! You aren't even dating him!"
Raven snatched her hand back.
"I didn't steal it!" She snapped furiously. "It's mine!"
Cyborg eyed her warily; he knew it wasn't wise to make Raven angry.
He had a plan forming anyway…
"Alright, whatever," he muttered. "We have to find Mumbo before he-"
Cyborg was cut off as the door from the next department banged open and someone ran in. Turning, he almost laughed; it was none other than Mumbo.
The blue-faced magician screeched to a halt and stared at them in dismay.
"Oh, f-… iddlesticks!" Mumbo composed himself and beamed. "No time to sign autographs! This is only a matinee!"
He turned on his heel and skittered back in the opposite direction.
"Oh no you don't!" Cyborg roared after him, shooting out his right hand on a grapple-like cable; it wrapped around Mumbo's ankles and tripped him up, pitching him onto his face. Mumbo let out a high-pitched startled cry as Cyborg gave a tug on the cable and began to drag the magician across the marble floor towards him.
"Raven, get his wand!" Cyborg called.
Raven nodded, beaming, and raised her arms.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" She cried; and Mumbo's wand glowed black and flew out of his hand into hers.
"NO!" Mumbo squealed, flailing like a landed fish on Cyborg's line.
Raven grinned and snapped the wand in two.
There was a sudden poof of pink glittering smoke; and when it cleared the "Amazing Mumbo" was amazing no more.
Simply a normal-looking fellow in a white shirt, brown slacks and little tufts of white hair sticking out from either side of his head; surrounded by loose cash and jewelry of all varieties.
"Not so much a grand finale," Cyborg quipped with a broad grin, "but I have to say I like it…"
He nodded to Raven.
"C'mon, Ray…"
He threw Mumbo over one shoulder and marched out of the department back out to the front of the store; Raven ran after him clutching the two pieces of wand, as much of a skip in her step that her heavy state of pregnancy would allow.
She and Cyborg reached the first department to find that the police had arrived and were putting up police tape barricades and questioning employees. Cyborg handed over Mumbo, posed for a picture or two with a big enthusiastic grin, and signed an autograph for some policeman's son.
And then he put his plan into action.
The Diamonds Are Forever manager was answering police questions; Cyborg waited until he was done and then took him aside, grasping Raven and dragging her with him too.
"Just wondering," the half-robot asked smugly, "if that ring she's wearing is one of yours."
The manager threw him a puzzled look, but held out a hand to Raven.
"May I see, my dear?"
She eyed them both warily; and then put out her hand for the store manager to examine her ring. The man pulled a loupe out of the top pocket of his suit jacket and took a good long hard look; and eventually he straightened up, shaking his head.
"I regret to say that it isn't," he said. "Shame; it's a beautiful piece of work. Fine craftsmanship – platinum and ruby. Very expensive. But not one of ours. Why do you ask?"
Cyborg was staring at Raven, who smiled sweetly at him in reply.
"N… nothing," Cyborg muttered; he clapped the manager on the back. "Nothing at all. Um, so… we caught Mumbo for you, so we'll just be on our way then!"
Cyborg laughed nervously and gave everybody a huge cheesy grin as he walked stiffly out of the store, tugging Raven with him. They got back into the car and pulled across their seatbelts, but Cyborg did not start the ignition; instead simply sitting there in silence, drumming his metal fingers on the wheel irritably.
Raven pulled down her hood and stared out of the window at the glittering city outside.
Cyborg gazed at her; at the back of her head – her neat, short, shining violet hair. She looked normal from behind; like Raven. Like he could say something to her and she would answer him without even turning to him; her voice deadpan, her tone wise.
"Raven?"
She turned her head towards him, a big smile on her face.
He shivered. It wasn't that didn't look nice when she smiled – in fact, she was even prettier when she did.
But Raven didn't act like this.
Even Starfire didn't act like this.
It unnerved him; and he could tell that it unnerved the others too, although Robin seemed like he had been trying to cover it up…
He and Robin needed to have a little talk; because Cyborg was getting the sudden uncanny feeling that he had… missed something here…
"Ray, where did you get that ring?" The cybernetic teen asked wearily.
Raven's expression darkened; to the point where she almost looked like herself.
"Robin gave it to me!" She said again, sounding near tears. "Why won't you believe me?"
"Because I don't see why Robin would give you a ring, and where he would get the money for it!" Cyborg snapped in exasperation.
"Why don't you ask him then?" Raven replied sulkily. "He did give it to me. He told me to never take it off."
Cyborg shook his head resignedly and used the comm. device built into his arm to connect to Robin's communicator. They had to tell Robin that Mumbo was dealt with anyway.
It rang for a very long time.
And then, just when Cyborg was about to give up, there was a click and a crackle of static. No picture came up, but there was audio.
"Robin?" Cyborg asked cautiously. "You alright, man?"
There was a little chuckle of laughter on the other end that froze the blood in the biological parts of Cyborg's body.
Slade.
"Robin can't talk to you right now, I'm afraid," Slade purred through the communicator's speaker. "He's going through some things. Or rather… he's got some things going through him…"
"Slade!" Cyborg spat. "What have you-?"
There was a sudden cracking sound and the line cut off completely.
His heart racing, Cyborg turned the key, threw the car into gear and roared out into the street, streaking and then skidding round the corner out onto the main road.
They had to get to those diamond mines.
"Cyborg, what is going on?" Raven asked frantically.
"I don't know," Cyborg replied shakily. "I don't know, Ray… I think Robin's in real trouble…"
Raven turned away, pulling up her hood, as she stared out of the window again as the lights of the city flashed past.
Cyborg was way over the speed limit.
Putting a hand to her swollen belly, Raven's eyes flashed.
In the wing mirror – although no-one saw – her reflection showed four crimson slits beneath her hood.
The mirror cracked.
Cyborg drove on.
Robin screamed long and hard as the staff went through him; it was utterly indescribable – above and beyond any pain he had ever felt before.
His broken nose, bumped head and cracked rib suddenly seemed so superficial in comparison.
Slade let go of the staff and folded his arms.
Still Robin screamed.
Because it was run right through him; and pinning him there.
Skewered like a dead butterfly.
Eventually his scream died; became a groan, and then a whimper. His head dropped against his chest as blood began to soak into his shirt and spandex pants from the front, and the back—
Slade noticed that it was dribbling down the computer to the floor from where Robin was impaled against it.
He smiled.
The Avenger was dying.
He reached out and raised Robin's head; he knew it could take a little while for him to die, because it was through his stomach. Had it been through his heart or lungs…
Still, Slade wanted to savour this; he was willing to wait.
"That looks like it hurts," Slade murmured cruelly.
Robin defiantly pulled his head away, trying to lift one of his hands to catch at Slade.
Slade laughed as it dropped back to his side.
"I've waited a long time for this," the villain murmured.
Robin smiled despite himself; Seth had said that too.
And Robin had lived.
"Well, I suppose I should enjoy it," Slade went on, his voice a vicious whisper. "And then, when you have breathed your last, I will finally turn the key in the Orb of Azarath, and that promised power shall be mine…"
Robin groaned, spewing a mouthful of blood down his front.
But despite his pitiful condition, he had a plan. It all depended on how long he could cling onto life, but it was better than nothing.
Exerting all of his strength, he slipped one hand up to his belt and grasped his communicator, feeling for the distress signal button on the side; once he pressed it, the other Titans' communicators would be sent an SOS message and his coordinates – and they would understand that he desperately needed help and would come to his aid immediately.
All of the communicators had them; it was a feature that Cyborg had added recently.
His thumb found it; but just as he was about to press it, it suddenly went off in his hand, bleeping its little warning jingle.
Someone was calling him.
Slade cocked his head; and then reached out, pulled Robin's hand from behind his back and snatched the comm. out of his fingers. He let it play its little tune for a very long time as Robin watched, aghast.
His last hope had just been torn away from him.
He was going to die.
Slade eventually flipped the comm. open and held it in front of him, not saying a word.
Cyborg's voice came over the speaker;
"Robin?" A tentative pause. "You alright, man?"
Slade laughed softly and Robin heard Cyborg stifle a horrified gasp on the other end of the line.
"Robin can't talk to you right now, I'm afraid," Slade went on, his voice silky. "He's going through some things. Or rather… he's got some things going through him…"
"Slade!" Cyborg's voice snapped. "What have you-?"
He got no further; Slade crushed the comm. in his hand and let the pieces fall to the floor, still sparking.
All except for the circular "T" insignia on the front.
Slade looked up at Robin.
"Very sneaky," he admitted, sounding amused. He took Robin's hand and placed the "T" into his palm, closing his fingers over it again. "One of the reasons I have to admit that I will miss you…"
He gave a quick twist and snapped Robin's wrist.
Robin screamed all over again; he could have held it back by biting his lip and hissing through his teeth, as Slade had done when Robin dislocated his arm.
But Robin was not that much like Slade.
He wasn't inhuman.
So he screamed.
And as he screamed, he decided there and then that he wasn't out yet.
Slade had cut off his last hope; Robin was going to die.
But first…
But first he was going to destroy Slade's dream of power. He wanted – if he was going to die by Slade's hand – the madman to think that it was he who had stopped him from gaining that power.
He wanted Slade to forever curse himself that a teenager had beaten him; had stopped him from gaining apocalyptic power.
Robin wouldn't be stopping him, of course – only Seth could get the power from that orb, and Seth (the one and only Seth) was dead.
But Robin wanted Slade to think that he had.
A final parting gift.
Something to remember him by.
Robin let his scream die. And then he let his head drop against his chest again; he went completely limp, hanging on the staff. He took a deep breath – and then held it.
He couldn't stop his heart beating – but his pulse was slowing anyway because of the blood loss.
He didn't think Slade would check anyway.
All that mattered was that Slade thought that he was dead.
Slade studied him for a moment or two; extremely cautious.
Robin didn't move; didn't even breathe.
Slade reached out and grasped his hair, lifting his head.
Robin didn't move.
Slade let his head drop again.
He was satisfied that Robin was dead; or nearly there, anyway.
Which was true, actually.
Slade walked away, picking up the Orb of Azarath on his way past and moving to the middle of the room.
His back to Robin.
And the "dead" boy opened his eyes and lifted his head again.
He was weak. He was in agony. He was dying.
But not dead.
Being as silent as… "death" was so insensitive considering his present condition…
He braced himself, gripped the staff, pushed back against the computer and pulled it out.
This time he didn't scream.
He landed and hauled himself up using the computer; he held the staff in his one good hand, agony smothering him to the extent that he was almost numb with it.
His eyes glittered.
Exhilaration sweeping through him, Slade held up the glimmering Orb of Azarath in its platinum cradle in one hand; and with the other, he positioned the Blood Diamond right at the prism-cut hole at the front of it.
He was, in essence, doing everything right.
Except that he wasn't Seth Elliott.
The jewel slid perfectly into the hole; and Slade gave a quick flick of his wrist, turning it—
--And expecting a torrent on unearthly power to burst from it and come thundering into his being, spreading to the tips of his fingers, setting his nerve endings alight with sensations never felt before by any mortal…
Expecting that he would clench his fist and lighting would crack; that he would turn his icy gaze on someone and they would turn to stone; that he would give a flick of his wrist and a chasm of fire would open within the very earth and swallow up all of his enemies…
Nothing happened.
And then the staff came through his shoulder.
He started and buckled; the orb fell from his hand as he went to his knees.
He saw something red and green flash past him, snatching up the orb – cradle, key and all – and then Robin's bloody corpse stood before him; a dark gaping hole through his belly, his wrist jutting at an odd angle against his glove, his shattered nose streaming blood.
He wasn't a corpse.
He was alive.
And before Slade could stop him, he raised his hand and threw the Orb of Azarath at the floor.
Slade screamed.
It was an explosion that Robin had seen before; hot, sparkling, fantastic. He was sent to the ground by the force of it, shielding his face.
And when the smoke cleared, all that was left was the Blood Diamond and the cradle.
Slade got to his feet, so angry he—
He grasped the staff and pulled it through his shoulder.
He flipped it over in his hand.
He pulled his arm back.
And Robin waited to die.
There was a sudden shuddering explosion elsewhere; one that shook the very foundations of the mine. Chunks of rock and dust began to fall from the ceiling; the support beams began to crack.
Slade stopped dead and looked up.
Another explosion; this one nearer. And the whole floor was beginning to shake now; an earthquake…
And then the far wall suddenly cracked and gave way completely – the dust cleared to reveal two gold pinpoints, like the eyes of a cat.
Terra stepped into the room, her eyes and hands flaring.
She looked utterly demented.
"Terra!" Slade barked angrily. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Terra let out a wild shriek of laughter.
"They're following me!" She cried, half-laughing, half-hysterical. "I'm bringing it down; I'm bringing it all down!"
Slade caught her meaning immediately and gave a curt nod, dropping the staff.
He turned his cold grey gaze on Robin.
And he laughed.
"I expect I'll see you in hell some day, Robin…"
He walked away, leaving Robin on the ground bleeding to death.
Terra followed him, the ground shaking and cracking where she stepped.
"Terra!" He cried weakly. "Please, you can't… you're our friend!"
Terra too turned to look down at him; a Terra so different to the thirty-one year old version who had been… good.
Who had fought at his side; sought to help and protect him.
But this Terra…
She didn't smile.
She didn't laugh.
She didn't glare at him.
Her face was utterly impassive as she walked away after her master; as she turned her back on him and left him to die.
The ground beneath was tremoring and the ceiling cracking, hailing down stone, and—
Robin closed his eyes.
Well, really; he'd surely used up his nine lives by now.
Part of the ceiling gave way, smashing the balcony, bringing the whole room inwards and downwards—
He couldn't get up; he couldn't run.
He simply couldn't.
He was almost dead anyway; once more, blood was pooling in his throat, suffocating him, there was a hole right through his stomach…
He heard a rending of stone against stone right above him and waited to be crushed, not even opening his eyes; with what little energy he had left, he braced himself—
The impact didn't come.
He forced his eyes open; and there, floating above him, was Starfire, holding up the slab of rock that had been hurtling downwards to crush him.
Like Superman.
And then Beast Boy was there too, in the form of a Sasquatch, pushing upwards to help her out. Together, the two Titans threw the slab of rock aside.
Robin's eyes slid closed…
"Star, we gotta get out of here!" Beast Boy yelled over the distant crashing and smashing going on from the rest of the mine around them, turning back to his original form.
Starfire nodded, kneeling next to Robin.
"X'hal…" She stared at him, horrified. "Beast Boy, he is—"
"Star, just grab him and get out!" Beast Boy interrupted frantically. "Terra's bringing the whole mine down!"
Starfire hoisted Robin up in her strong arms and flew to the doorway, Beast Boy close at her heels in the small but fast form of a green sparrow.
They came out into the corridor to find that it had entirely caved in.
"We are trapped!" Starfire cried, horrified.
Beast Boy desperately flitted around, looking for an opening.
Reforming to his human state, he turned to her, his eyes wide and scared.
"There's no way out!" He said frantically. "If you start shooting starbolts at it it'll just bring more down!"
"Then what do we do?" Starfire wailed, terrified.
"I don't-"
A black shadow suddenly formed on the floor, taking on bird-like shape; and then Cyborg and Raven arose from it, right in front of them.
"Nice work, Ray," Cyborg said distractedly, turning to Starfire and Beast Boy. "Did you…? Oh, god…"
He stared at Robin in horror.
"Is he…?"
"He is alive," Raven said, suddenly… herself again.
Somehow.
"Barely," she went on, "but I can heal him. He can be saved."
"We have to get out of here!" Beast Boy said hysterically.
Without another word, Raven enclosed her Soul Self around the five of them and transported them outside, where the T-car was waiting.
The diamond mine still shook and rumbled, completely collapsing from the inside out.
It had been closed for months; there were no workers in there anymore.
Simply "Do Not Enter: Dangerous" signs pasted up everywhere.
"I'll say that place is dangerous," Beast Boy muttered, leaping into the car.
"Raven, you can heal him?" Starfire asked pleadingly, holding Robin out to her.
Raven looked up at her, her eyes wide.
"Yes," she said, suddenly… not herself again. "But it may take days. He is so injured…"
Cyborg looked at the collapsing mine.
"Let's get the hell outta here," he said decisively. He frowned at Starfire; and then took Robin out of her arms. "And don't hold him like that, Star." The half-robot held Robin upright and gave him a smack on the back.
He choked up a mouthful of blood.
"He's broken his nose," Cyborg explained wearily. "If you lie him on his back he'll drown in his own blood."
"Raven, you must fix him!" Starfire said firmly, turning to the empath.
Raven beamed.
"Yes, I heal people!"
"Well, come do that healing over here…"
Cyborg dragged her to the car, Robin under his other arm like a doll; Starfire followed them worriedly.
"I can't do it all now!" Raven protested, wide-eyed. "I can only do a little bit at a time, he is so hurt…"
"Whatever, let's just get this show on the road…"
Behind them, there was an almighty shuddering, rending, screaming implosive sound.
The mine collapsed.
The ground tremored.
Dust rose into the air like a mushroom cloud.
Starfire turned back and floated a little way off the ground, simply staring at it.
Simply not knowing why Terra had done these things.
Simply not understanding.
And within the mine, the Blood Diamond – one of its kind; the key to the Orb of Azarath – was lost beneath a torrent of rock and twisted metal and rusting machinery and broken support beams and dust and grit and other similarly-lost diamonds.
It was buried forever—
And no-one ever spoke of it again.
Cyborg heaved a sigh of relief as he leaned against the door of the sick bay in Titans Tower.
Robin was going to be fine.
They were all fine.
All alive.
They had won.
Raven had healed his nose on the way home in the car, eliminating the threat of him choking on his own blood and made a start on the wound in his stomach.
She had been right; because of the seriousness of his wounding, she was unable to do it all in one go, and had to rest and regain her energy for about ten minutes between bouts of healing.
But she had done it; more or less.
His nose was fine. The hole through his stomach was non-existent. The bruising to his skull was gone. His broken wrist was completely healed.
Now Robin was asleep, resting in one of the beds in the sick bay; stripped to the waist and with his boots removed. He still looked rather worse for wear, but he was alive, and he was going to be just fine.
That was all that mattered.
Raven was curled up asleep in the next bed, still fully clothed; she was tired from all that healing.
On her side and with her cloak draped over her body, it was impossible for anyone to see her bump.
Cyborg flopped onto one of the beds himself, exhausted; and then raised his arm and flipped on his built-in phone system.
Jump City Pizza was on speed-dial.
He grinned
—
"Beast Boy, perhaps you would like to partake of my Pudding of Triumph?" Starfire asked tentatively, holding out the bowl and spoon to her green-skinned friend.
The alien girl and the shape-shifter were in the kitchen by themselves, Starfire hard at work mixing up another of her horrific Tamaranean dishes; Beast Boy sitting gloomily at the counter, his ears flat.
"No thanks, Star," he mumbled sadly, pushing the bowl away. "There's nothing to "triumph" over…"
"We were victorious, yes?" Starfire said, her voice questioning. "We protected our home, Cyborg and Raven caught the Amazing Mumbo, and Robin defeated Slade, although I admit that he did not fare too well… But he is fine; is that not something to be joyous about?"
Beast Boy looked at her sadly and shrugged dejectedly.
"Well, yeah, I guess… I mean, I'm glad that everything has turned out okay, and I'm really glad that Robin is going to be fine, but…"
Starfire put the bowl aside as Beast Boy dipped his head; and she put her hand on his shoulder as a few tears spattered the kitchen floor.
"Beast Boy," she said softly, "I wonder myself why Terra has done these things. Why she betrayed us, and why she hates us so when we did nothing to offend or antagonize her. It confuses and upsets me deeply… She was our very good friend and we all liked her, and…"
Beast Boy looked up at the alien princess, his large green eyes filled with unfallen tears.
"I loved her, Star," he whispered. "I… loved her and she walked away…"
Starfire could give no answer.
Eventually Beast Boy lowered his head again and slid off his seat, walking over to the window. He gazed out at the city; it was evening, and beginning to get dark.
The city glittered and he remembered that time he and Terra had stood at the edge of a high cliff overlooking it, admiring its beauty from afar.
What had she said?
"Looks cool, doesn't it?… Guess sometimes you have to leave a place to really appreciate it…"
Beast Boy bit his lip, feeling tears in his eyes.
In the reflection in the window, he saw Starfire approach behind him.
Her green eyes were sad.
"Beast Boy…" She heaved a deep sigh. "…I do not believe that she is evil; I truly do not. She is confused, and even a little afraid. But she is not evil."
"He took her away," Beast Boy growled, clenching his fists.
"I know, and I do not know that we may ever be able to win her back…"
"Do you… think she'll kill us?"
Starfire dipped her head sadly.
"I could not possibly say," she replied softly. "Certainly she is no longer an ally, and perhaps today she… might have killed us if we had allowed her to…"
"He corrupted her, he made her hate us…"
"I know," Starfire said again. "Your world is confusing to me, Beast Boy. There are so many wondrous things; so many things of beauty and happiness, so many good things. But there are also so many bad things; things that we do not have on my planet. I do not understand why there is such evil in this world, Beast Boy; why cannot everyone simply love? Why are there those who seek to cause misery and pain to others? My people do not do such things… Sometimes it seems that although I escaped the tyranny of the Gordanians, I did not truly escape from evil…"
Beast Boy finally turned to her.
"I don't know either, Star," he said quietly.
She placed her hand on his shoulder again and they stood there, side by side, gazing out of the window in silence.
Was it truly such a hollow victory?
For it was true; they had won the battle.
But they had not won the war.
Whooo, that was epic.
Yes, yes, LAME cop-out with Raven being all magic-healy-blah, but it's not like they didn't do that in the show…
That is much closure: No more Orb of Azarath, no more Blood Diamond, and I think… no more Terra and Slade, actually. O.o Because the end of Remember the Titans eventually lines up and merges in with the end of Season 2, so while Terra and Slade are actually still important, the show kind of does the work for me from here, so they didn't need to come back in.
I might be wrong, though; god, I wrote this so damn long ago…
Yay! I updated!
RobinRocks
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