The chapter title will make sense on monday. Another original chapter split in half and added to in order to give honor to the best event ever!
48 – The Light
Dick tried to focus on the plans before him, he really did, but his mind was scattered. It happened after spending some time in the cooler, wet, cold, and with nothing but the darkness around him. He nearly went a month outside one. A month! Well, he was sure it was a month. He had done twenty-one heists, occasionally two in one night, and never two nights in a row... he believed. And in one instant he ruined that record. After finally managing to patch himself up after those other times, he was thrown back in, beaten even. He really screwed up that night. And he was still suffering for it. He couldn't concentrate. If Master noticed, he would be punished more.
He didn't know how much he could take. How much could take before he exploded and forgot what was really at risk? How long before he cracked and forgot who he really was? Not much longer if he knew right. One more cooler visit and he might just take his own life.
Concentrate!
Before him was a Kord Industries building's plans. He had to get to Theodor's lab and take a special piece of technology being studied. Rumor was, it was alien tech. Dick knew he could probably ID it as one of two alien races' tech, Atlantian, Amazonian, or something made on earth that was just odd, but he wasn't about to tell his master that quite yet. Whatever the piece was, Master wanted it and no amount of security would stop him from having Renegade get it. And this place had good security. Not the same as Bruce's systems in the cave, but close enough.
"Best point of entry would be here." Deathstroke pointed to an air duct on the north side. "Never thought of the Kords being this paranoid, but I'll give him credit for being thorough. If you hack the motion sensors like I taught you, you should be able to come and go as you please. No cameras this time." He narrowed his eye at the teen. "You don't want to fight the Titans, don't get caught. Bad enough the thermal blaster didn't kill the Tamaranian."
Dick suppressed a shiver as he nodded in acknowledgement. His master smirked to himself, pleased. "I have to know, who is Barbara?"
The teen froze before murmuring, "My… ex-girlfriend. They looked alike at a glance."
"Hm. Well-chosen words." Master pointed back to the plans. "Now, this section here—"
An explosion destroyed the table between them, green for a moment before it turned into a fiery yellow. Bye-bye plans. Both leapt away from the flames and looked towards the source of the shot. The teen gaped, wide eyed and terrified as he saw the Titans standing there before them, poised to fight.
"Leave him alone!" Starfire roared over the gears ever in motion around the room.
'What are they doing here?!' He had his mask on, he and his master, which hid exactly how surprised they were to see them. Dick's heart raced at the sight of them, panic and worry eating away at him with every breath. Hadn't they learned anything? They should be the ones leaving him alone!
"I've had just about enough of you Titans…" Slade growled, eye narrowing dangerously.
"Yeah?" Speedy drew back an arrow, glaring daggers at the evil man. "Well we've had it up to here with you!"
"It's about time someone put you down Slade!" Wonder Girl tightened her grip on her lasso, ready to catch the man once and for all.
"You sick creapo! Using kids to do your dirty work!" Cyborg pointed at him, truly disgusted with the guy. "What? Can't get adults to work for you?"
"Bet you're just a big old pedobear!" Beast Boy near shouted getting nods from his friends who understood and confused ones from those few who didn't. Dick cringed back at that comment. He knew that wouldn't go over well with the man, especially since he spent days in isolation for saying the same thing, sopping wet in the dark and starving.
"That's it." Master's cool voice hid the definite snap inside him. The teen hesitated, glancing once at his master for orders though he knew what was coming. The trigger was already in hand and half way down. The Titans were falling over, groaning just as they started coming. "Renegade! Take them out!"
Renegade darted forward, ready to make the first definite strike. He'd make it quick, for everyone's sakes. He was just about to throw the first punch when Cyborg looked up at him, grinning impishly. "Psych!"
'What?' The apprentice tripped over himself in surprise, eyes wide behind his mask. 'Psych?'
"Titans Go!" Wonder Girl shouted, and all of them got to their feet, running or flying past him to fight Slade. Confused and startled by their sudden energy, Renegade just gaped at them as they pass by him, doing nothing. They weren't buckling over in pain…
"By the way," Speedy came within inches of his ear, grinning impishly, "Jaybird says hi Dicky."
"Jay?" Dick jerked his head around at the archer and caught his confident smile. A spark of hope lit inside him. 'Did he say Jaybird?'
The red clad lad swung his feet beneath him off in a corner while the Teen Titans deliberated with the professor, bored out of his mind. Ray Palmer, AKA, the Atom, was going over the microscopic details of how the probes worked inside them. He seemed far more excited about this than they were.
"Nanotechnology is one of the most difficult fields out there," he explained to them as he went over the scans. "Their potential is-"
"BLAH BLAH BLAH!" the kid who wasn't a Titan groaned loudly above them all, cutting him off before he could go into further detail with Cyborg. "We get it! They're your special cool toys! Now get them out of us!"
"You can get them out of us, right?" Speedy looked over the prof wearily. He agreed with the kid, and not just because he was someone he knew. It was hard to forget Jason Wayne. And to think Dick Grayson was Renegade! Now he felt stupid.
"Huh? Oh yes I can." Mr. Palmer waved a dismissive hand at them before turning to a particular contraption. "Just need to find the frequency they operate on, neutralize them, then encourage your filtration systems to get rid of their remains. Shouldn't take more than two days once the signal's cut. Shame though. They can be so helpful if we just-"
"If you can reprogram them, what's to stop the bad guys from doing the same?" Beast Boy pointed out. "I mean, anyone can program a TV. We want these out!"
"No kidding." Wonder Girl rubbed her head wearily. Some men... "Imagine being a hostage for the rest of your life..."
Palmer pouted. "Still a shame."
"If ya want to keep your funding," Jason growled in back, "deprobe us! I've got dinner and three other probed kids at home Doc."
The older ones stopped at the implications, some holding back smirks while others paled. Ray swallowed and nodded, remembering why they were there. "Right... Okay then. Just... er... first volunteer?"
"I'll go first." Cyborg stepped forward, smirking to himself. "With my tech and your knowhow, we can probably find the frequency in a few minutes."
The man nodded, looking up and down the oldest teen. "I see your point. Alright. Hold still."
"One sec!" Speedy looked over to Wonder Girl and Raven, thinking ahead. "What do you think will happen when Slade realizes some of us got rid of our probes? Think he'll activate them and not tell Dick?"
"Possible..." They exchanged worried expressions. That wouldn't help anyone. Donna looked at the scientist with trepidation. "Can you duplicate the signal and make him believe we're still probed? At least for a while?"
"It's possible..." he admitted, unsure. "But it'd be tricky."
"Tricky?"
"Nanobots were being developed to help in the medical field. They're supposed to register a person's vitals constantly and help with repair work. To copy the signals, he'd also have to copy our vitals." They all looked at Jason who shrugged at their confusion. He knew a thing or two about technology. "What? I thought everyone knew that."
"How?"
"Uh... Star Trek? Doctor Who? Every other Scifi show out there? Hello." Roy and Wally couldn't help but face palm while Gar cheered up at the idea of TV shows being the main reference for this kind of tech. Then the guy shrugged and leaned back a bit in his seat for a moment, gripping the edge of the table tightly. "Besides, overheard Dad when he was making the deal earlier. Pretty good pitch."
"Most things when used correctly are for man's benefit," Raven reminded everyone. "Then someone else learns to use it to hurt others. Like in this case."
"Think you can mimic our biofunctions too?" Donna looked over to the professor almost pleadingly. They only had one shot at this. He didn't seem too sure.
"Well..."
"I'm not sure we'd have to do that." Cyborg gained everyone's attention as an idea formed in his head. "All we really have to do is get the frequency, then make it play back on itself. If it keeps playing the past few hours over and over again, then Slade won't be the wiser."
"Like a camera loop," Jason pointed out, getting the idea easily enough.
"Thieves do it all the time," he continued. "Why can't we?"
"Does anyone know how to do that?" Roy groaned, pointing out the flaw in their plan. None of them were that good at computers except Cyborg, and he didn't do hacking very often, let alone play with cameras.
"Er..." They looked to the civilian again, raising his hand timidly. It was the first time he seemed timid. "I might know someone who can..."
"We've got this Dick." Raven stayed with him while the others contended with Slade, their enemy. Her job was to help him as the others fought. "Your family's safe. We know the truth now. About the probes and the threats over our lives. We went to Ray Palmer and got rid of them. Everyone's going to be fine."
Dick gaped at the empath, slack jawed for a long moment before collapsing to his knees, struggling to breathe. All the stress, all the darkness, the worry and panic, everything that tortured his waking thoughts since that day in the warehouse, fell off of him in waves, quickly being replaced by relief and joy. The Titans hadn't reacted to the probe detonator. Roy knew who he was. He said Jason was alright (indirectly). Raven confirmed. They were there, saving him.
They were safe. They were all safe.
He was free.
Weak kneed and shaking he just looked at the ground and air before him, everything that happened flying through his head at the same time knowing it was over. These thoughts consumed him as he sat there for a few minutes, ignoring the battle going on behind him.
His master's shouts to get up and fight were completely ignored. He didn't have to obey him anymore. He wasn't his master.
The cries of the Titans as they battled Slade as a team were lost to his ears. He didn't have to fight them anymore. Raven telling him over and over again to get up and get out of there meant nothing to him. He was free to make his own choices again.
But when he heard heavy familiar footsteps racing in one direction, shouts and exclamations coming from the team behind him in surprise and frustration at his running, a new thought consumed him.
The nightmare wasn't over, yet.
"Get out."
"What?" Raven's voice was filled with confusion while his gained strength. Anger was building inside him with every word he spoke.
"The haunt is rigged to explode." Memories of everything that happened to him, of what that man made him do, of what that man did to him, of the lives that man hung over his head, of the people he hurt, killed, filled Dick with one emotion far too strong for the empath to ignore or smother. Purest rage consumed him. "He's not going to get away!"
"Dick!"
The acrobat shot a line above him to the catwalks above them while the others started to scatter and run, throwing Raven back in surprise. Speedy and Kid Flash gaped after him, ready to go after the guy and stop him from running to who knows where, but gears were falling at their heads. Even the flyers couldn't go after him because of the debris coming from everywhere. The person they were trying to save was gone.
A/N: X3 YAY! Dick is free! Too bad he's going after Slade for revenge. That wasn't part of the plan, or the Titan's plans at least.
Like Jason in the Flashback? People wanted to see the probes removed, so I put that scene in there. it may or many not have been a day or two previous to the fight, but either way, the plan succeeded. The kids are all safe and they know what's going on. On monday, they fight the fight.
Now all of you, GO WATCH DOCTOR WHO! 50th anniversary today and it will be awesome! X3 If anyone objects to the best obsession in the world of Scifi adventure, tell them you have a Doctor's appointment. ;P Do you know of any other show that's got 50 years on it? SO worth it!
