Teen Titans: Revenge of the Joker
Chapter 49: Falling Slowly
Author's Note:
First, want to say a very big THANK YOU to all you fabulous readers for waiting (somewhat) patiently while I dealt with my personal demons, life issues and awful happenings with school. XD Although also thank you to those of you who sought me out in various ways to remind me that you will not settle for my excuses too much longer, and that this story MUST GO ON!!!
I dunno why it's been so hard for me to get back to this story. I know part of it was the fact that I was totally indecisive about whether or not I'd do what I end up doing in this chapter. XD Everyone will hate me, but it's much more me than doing it any other way. I think another part of it is that I don't have any more Robin torture to write. XD And that was the most funnest parts!!! Like, I'd make myself write the Titans parts to get to those wonderful magnificent juicy bloody demented Robin parts. :P I don't think it's any surprise who my favorite character is this far into the game.
ALSO!! (Here's the test to see if you're paying attention): I revised the end of Chapter 45 with a piece of writing I found in my writing folder with just the document title of "joker," and homfg is it fantastic! Give it a read, whydoncha?! XD
Alright, too-long-author's-note complete. THANKS AGAIN!! Enjoy this long-awaited chapter! Hope it was worth it.
Though it was drizzling heavily outside, the morning seemed bright and cheerful compared to the days that had preceded it.
No calls had interrupted them that night, and though they couldn't call themselves well-rested, they had had an adequate amount of down-time to recuperate after helping bring Jump City back to normal.
And now they sat together on the half-circle couch, the three honorary Titans smiling to one another as Cyborg stood facing the giant screen that obscured the massive common room window, where Bumblebee's familiar face stared down upon them.
"…and Raven has been recovering from healing him, but it looks like both she and Beast Boy are completely fine. She'll be working on Starfire's injuries next, although Star's not even too bad off herself. She's improved tremendously over the last few days, I can barely believe it."
"Thanks, Bee, for taking care of them while we dealt with things here," Cyborg said with a soft smile.
"Not a problem, Sparky." The other chocolate-skinned Titan returned the smile and shifted her weight to one side, resting a hand on her hip. "I know you'd do the same for me.
"You know it." Cyborg smiled for a second longer, then his face shifted, becoming a little more serious. "Now that things have quieted down here, it's time for us to figure out what to do next about Robin."
"Well—kcht—I—krzzt—"
Bee's face suddenly faded into a blizzard of static, wavering in and out of clarity until vanishing entirely behind streaks of snowing pixels. Cyborg gaped in astonishment, and the other Titans looked between each other with confusion.
"What…? Bee?" He opened the screen on his arm, beginning to fiddle to check the Tower's systems.
"What just happened?" asked Herald with a cocked eyebrow.
Kid Flash suddenly appeared at Cyborg's side, jutting his jaw out with concentration up at the staticky screen. "A communications disruption can only mean one thing…. Invasion."
Cyborg stopped, and glanced over at the speedster. A low rumble escaped his throat in annoyance as he realized where he'd heard those words before. "Star Wars? Really?"
"Knock it off, Kid," Jinx said without humor, smacking the yellow-clad teen on the shoulder with the topside of her hand before crossing them and standing her ground beside them both. "This isn't the time for jokes."
Cyborg furrowed his forehead back down at his communicator. These readings weren't right…
Almost on cue, all the lights in the tower extinguished at once. The four Titans wheeled around, staring into the darkness around them, their surroundings only illuminated dimly by the overcast, rainy world outside.
"I've got a bad feeling about this…." Herald muttered softly, looking around, his fingers tightening around his magical trumpet.
"S-someone broke into my security system!?" Cyborg exclaimed this with a mixture of incredulity and anger. Who the hell could have…?
"Your system is anything but foolproof…" boomed a voice that seemed to come from everywhere at once. "…after all. it was fools who broke in to begin with… saved me a bit of time."
"Are you serious…?" Jinx murmured low, glaring upwards, into the shadows of the ceiling.
"SLADE! SHOW YOURSELF!" Cyborg roared, snapping his sonic cannon out and pointing it towards the ceiling as he stumbled backwards, eyes wide in anger.
Nothing happened for a long moment. They heard nothing, saw nothing….
Then there was a loud cry of pain. Cyborg, Jinx and Kid Flash spun around in time to see Herald's trumpet hit the ground where he had once been standing, its owner tumbling hard across the floor and into the kitchen island. A shadowed figure stood a few feet from them, a familiar golden glint shining on its head.
"You should know better than to show your face, especially at a time like this!" Cyborg spat bitterly, swinging his arm cannon around and firing it, the room suddenly illuminated by the blast. The shot missed as Slade darted out of the way.
"Get him!" Jinx yelled, eyes blazing pink as she lifted her hands and swung them, sending pink arcs of magic hurling at the villain.
Kid Flash didn't need a second telling. He charged forward, the room streaking past him as he whipped around to catch Slade on his side, where he wouldn't expect it.
And then, his stomach lurched hard into his ribs, his arm nearly yanked completely from his socket as a hand snapped out and grabbed him by the wrist, halting him just past where Slade had been. The young Flash blinked dumbfoundedly. What? Slade… had caught him…? …he had… he had stepped aside and… but how…?
He wasn't even allowed another second of thought before his entire body erupted with fire. A raspy cry ripped through his throat as he collapsed to his knees, red fireworks flashing behind his clenched eyelids, electricity surging through his veins at a breaking intensity.
"Kid Flash!" Jinx gasped. She forgot all about her powers a moment, tearing forward, watching in horror as Slade released the redheaded boy, who immediately crumpled to the ground with electricity still racing across his form. Anger lit her heart as she raised her hands again, focusing once more on the villain, her hands surrounded with a pink aura. "You son of a b—AUGH!"
At first Slade had been over there, and then suddenly, he was right there before her, his bo staff swinging from nowhere and plowing straight into her, catching her just above her bellybutton and knocking her backwards. Her vision cut out as she slammed into the back of the couch, somersaulting backwards over it, hitting the cushions and falling to rest on the floor beside the coffee table. She fought to breathe, her head filling with an odd pounding hum… it seemed like her lungs entirely forgot what they were supposed to do. Her vision returned for a moment, but then vanished again and she was out.
Cyborg gaped at Jinx, then turned his attention back to Slade, crying out with pure anger and hatred and began firing as quickly as he could. "Damnit, Slade! This is seriously getting old!" he thundered, subconsciously stepping back as he saw the villain turn his lone eye on him. He couldn't help feeling a twinge of panic. All the other Titans were out – he was alone. How could this be happening…?
And then, Slade was sprinting at him. Cyborg cried out and fired more desperately as he backed away. He managed to land a shot on Slade's shoulder, but the masked man didn't even flinch. The next thing Cyborg knew, he was on his back on the floor, Slade's foot pressing upon his chest, his bo staff jammed hard into what had previously been Cyborg's sonic cannon, but now was a mess of parts strewn around him on the floor. He cried out as his vision went staticky, broken circuitry causing surges of electricity through the rest of his body. He growled and struggled to free himself, but Slade only pressed down hard, leering down at the fallen Titan with a strange look.
"You've failed…" he murmured in a low, dark voice.
"It's not over til I…" began Cyborg with a growl, struggling again to get up. …Crap… the shortcircuiting was messing with other systems…. He couldn't even use his rocket boots.
Slade applied more pressure to his foot, threatening to crack the Titan's armor.
"No... You failed him…"
Cyborg's struggles ceased, his eyes opening, a strange feeling washing over him…. A horrible dread….
What… him…?
…Robin…
"What are you…?"
"It's too late… you failed him… three weeks he waited. Three long weeks. And you failed to figure out where he was… let yourselves be distracted and tricked… and now it's too late to save him…"
Cyborg gaped up at Slade in numb disbelief, his very soul freezing with dread. Too late…? It was…. But no… it couldn't be…
Cyborg's eyes narrowed, his teeth clenching into a terrible sneer.
"You were behind this… what did you do…?"
"I didn't do anything…" Cyborg cried out as Slade twisted his bo staff, digging it hard into Cyborg's shoulder, cracking his armor and circuits more. Slade's presence seemed to turn even more menacing as he bent closer, bearing all his weight down on Cyborg's chest. "I found Robin myself. I found where he was hiding. And he begged me to save him… he begged me to break him free from the Joker's hold… but he was already beyond rehabilitation."
"If you know where he is then tell me! Tell me where he—AUGH!"
Slade brought his foot out and slammed it down on Cyborg's neck, causing another rush of static to pass through his vision.
"The old Arkham Asylum building, Gotham City...."
Cyborg's eyes widened. He'd read that name before, during his research of the Joker. …but the old building… there were two?
But… this didn't make sense… none of it did…. Why was Slade telling him this…? Why was he even there…?
Across the room, Herald pushed himself up quietly onto his hands and knees, shaking the last stars of unconsciousness from his head. He winced as he raised his head, various parts of his body pounding with a dull ache.
But he'd heard it… Robin's whereabouts…
He swallowed hard, his eyes darting around the room, glancing at the fallen Kid Flash, then up at Slade and Cyborg, and finally to the trumpet lying in the middle of the floor, just yards from where the struggle was happening.
He slowly made his way towards it.
Cyborg renewed his fight against the foot on his neck, feeling the human parts of his face turning blue as it strained for oxygen. He opened his mouth. "Why… the hell are you here…?" he managed to croak.
"Without Robin… the Titans are finished. Even if you got to Robin there's no hope for him…" Suddenly, Slade stepped off, and grabbed Cyborg roughly by his chest armor, lifting him upright off the ground. Cyborg coughed and heaved deep breaths of beautiful air, as Slade lifted his hand, pressing a trigger hidden in his glove as he pointed towards the screen. "See for yourself…"
Cyborg's eyes widened in horror as the large screen before him suddenly illuminated. He saw Robin's figure, strapped down on a metal platform. He looked terrified… Cyborg was not used to seeing him like that. He tried to cry out, but his lungs refused to work correctly, his voice useless. His eyes widened to their full width as electricity consumed the Boy Wonder, terrible shrieks echoing through the great room.
And then the image changed… a naked, trembling form on the ground, covered in blood and bruises… looking thin and pale… too pale… The figure turned slowly, and Cyborg couldn't help but cry out as he saw a haunted, demented smile accommpanying wide soulless eyes upon what he knew should have been his friend's kind, handsome face… The scene changed again, like someone changing the channel, to more torture, more terrible shrieks… again… he clenched his eyes tight after he saw a rusty pair of pliers ripping a molar straight from a bleeding mouth… he didn't want to see anymore... Cyborg hadn't even noticed himself trembling… he felt completely sick…
His eyes were closed, but there was no blocking out those shrieks of agony… or that maniacal laughter…
There's no way this is what…. Oh god…
The chaotic sounds of pain and madness enshrouded him like a icy wet blanket, pressing in on him, filling his head with guilt and despair.
Herald was only feet from his trumpet, but couldn't move another inch, gaping in complete horror up at the screen, watching the torture and destruction of the Titans leader with his own stomach twisting in disgust. How could anyone do such terrible…?
…could anyone survive three weeks of that?
He stared at the screen a second longer, then looked over at Cyborg. He swallowed hard, considering a moment, then looked at his trumpet. He reached out and curled his fingers around the golden metal curves, his mind made up.
He put the trumpet to his lips, blaring a long, low note.
He slipped into the dark void of an alternate world. He made his way through it as quickly as his weak feet would let him. When he knew he was far enough away, he pressed his lips back on the mouth of the trumpet and opened the portal again, landing on the ground just outside the tower. He winced as he landed, his chest stinging in pain. He paid it little mind though as he pulled out his communicator.
He just prayed the entire system wasn't down…
"Herald to Bumblebee. Herald to Bumblebee. I have Robin's whereabouts!"
Inside the tower, Slade had noticed Herald's call and turned in time to see the boy slip through a gateway. Slade held still a moment, waiting for something to happen, for Herald to come back out and bring him down. But nothing happened. An amused little grunt left him and he took a look around him, at the massive great room of the tower. He then turned his attention back to the large cybernetic teenager in his grasp. After looking back up at the screen, he knelt closer to the large Titan, hissing his words dangerously.
"There is no hope for the Titans... you are weak and useless... you allowed moron brats to break into your system, let them manipulate you, steal your secrets. You let them trick you and if it wasn't for me they would have destroyed you."
Cyborg blinked dumbly. Wasn't for him...?
"It was I who prevented the Joker's bomb from destroying the HIVE headquarters - yes, I knew all about that too, and I figured it out on my own, something you were all incapable of doing. Why I would do something like that...? I thought perhaps the Titans would be able to recover, that you'd still be my worthy foes, that I would get the pleasure of destroying you all myself... but it was not even worth it. I should have let him do it. You are not the foes you once were, and you never will be again. You're nothing without Robin… The Teen Titans are finished."
"We're not…" Cyborg huffed bitterly, still short of breath. "I'm still here. The others are still here. As long as we're here… the Titans will go on… it's the way… it's the way Robin would…" He couldn't even finish his sentence, tears burning in his human eye, those images of Robin's torture flickering through his memory.
Was he dead…? Was that what Slade meant by too late…? Was he…
There was a sudden strange sound, a ringing hum. Slade's reaction wasn't quick enough as pink streaks of light crashed into the ground before him, an explosion surging through the floor and catapulting him upward, Cyborg slipping from his grasp and hitting the ground.
"We will fight you to the end," a voice murmured weakly, but with determination. Jinx had gotten to her feet, her eyes blazing with a terrible fuchsia-colored radiance. She looked mean, terrifying, her hands outstretched. "We'll bring you down… and then we'll go get Robin…"
"Too bad for you…" Slade said with a voice that revealed a sneer behind his mask as he straightened back to his feet. His hands wandered up, one resting on either side of his head. Cyborg pushed himself to his knees, clenching his remaining hand preparing to do whatever he had to, but awe and fear struck him. What was Slade doing? Was he going to take off his mask…?
Slade pulled the front of his mask away…
…revealing a digital screen… with a huge number 5 on it that quickly changed to a 4.
"I'm not even here..." Slade's voice sounded tinny and strange, coming from a speaker just below the screen.
"SHIT!" Cyborg cried out, leaping to his feet, horror gripping him. It wasn't Slade, it was another of his bots… another trick… a bomb!
3…
"NO!" Jinx screamed, glancing towards Kid Flash's fallen form.
"JINX! NO! WE GOTTA GET OUTTA HERE!"
2…
She was running towards him as Cyborg was stumbling back towards the huge plate glass windows. Panic overtook him. They had to get out of the tower...
"JINX!!"
1…
Jinx reached the redhead's side, grabbing him to pick him up, but cried out as the electricity that had incapacitated him raced through her body as well.
0.
Cyborg cried out as the world became too bright for his visual sensors to take. He threw his hands over his face as he felt something slam into him hard, ripping through some of his armor, making his feet leave the ground.... he was falling.... Static took over his vision once more, and then everything was gone.
…get up…
Huh…?
…get up!...
He heard it… he thought… he groaned and wiggled some of his fingers… were they even there?
…come on… wake up…
Standby mode loaded into full systems running… static turned into a glitchy picture of a cloudy sky stained red…
A dark face obscured the scenery, looking relieved.
"H-Herald…?" Cyborg croaked. He could barely move, his body reacting poorly to his mind's commands. He racked his brain, trying to recall what had happened.
….Slade… the explosion… Jinx and Kid Flash….
No…
"What happened?!" he suddenly gasped, fighting to sit up but his body didn't want to work right. "Jinx! Kid Flash! Where are they! Please tell me they made it out with me!"
"They did."
Cyborg gaped incredulously up at the teen above him. A sound to his left caught his attention and he turned his head.
Kid Flash lay on the beach beside them, Jinx kneeling over him. She was clutching her shoulder, which was badly burnt and blistered, but she seemed to be ignoring it. The speedster looked anything but okay, his back arced on the ground and his face stretched back in terrible pain, tears staining his mask.
"Even with the containment field, he managed to get you all out of there… it nearly killed him…" Herald murmured softly. "We can't figure out how it's still hurting him… where it is… we don't know if he's going to be…"
Cyborg rolled to the side and managed to sit himself up. He crawled slowly to the ailing teen, but then something caught his attention, and he looked up.
His stomach sank to his boots.
The tower…
He found himself getting to his feet, staring blankly out at the terrible sight before him. His whole body lost all feeling, his chest seizing with sorrow.
It was gone…
The entire tower… nothing but a pile of burning ruin on top of a now-bare island. Flaming debris littered the ocean, the light of the flames turning the cloudy sky red.
He shook his head involuntarily, eyes fixed on the terrible sight, feeling the world as he knew it crashing into rubble around him along with his home.
This isn't happening…
Herald had appeared at his side, wincing while gripping his arm to himself. It was broken, along with a rib or two… he had narrowly avoided the Tower falling on top of him. He didn't really feel much pain, the adrenaline pumping through him dulling everything. He looked at Cyborg, a little uncomfortably, before saying softly, "I'm… I'm sorry…"
Cyborg swallowed, dropping his head, clenching his eyes tight. He shook his head side to side and lifted it again, staring at the destroyed site with a strange tenseness to his face.
"It was just a building…" he grumbled darkly. "It can be rebuilt… lives on the other hand…" he looked down at Kid Flash, but his mind cast to Robin…
Too late… too late to save him…
He clenched his eyes shut again to control the emotions cascading through him… to quell the barrage of imagery that assaulted his mind's eye… the images of torture… of pure pain…
…Robin…
As though reading his mind, Herald turned fully towards him. "When I left the tower, it was to alert Bumblebee of Robin's whereabouts."
"How do we know he's even there… that Slade wasn't just messing with us…?" Cyborg retorted in a bitter, angry voice. The words even tasted bitter inside his own mouth.
"Raven confirmed it."
Cyborg's eyes snapped open, as though startled, turning quickly to the other Titan with mouth falling open a little. Herald continued, "She seemed certain that's where he is, that it matched up with her connections with him. They're assembling themselves to go after him as we're talking."
Cyborg felt a sudden, beautiful twinge of hope shining through even the doubting words of Slade that was still echoing inside his own mind. He glanced down at his ruined arm with annoyance. He wanted to help. He wanted to find Robin, wanted to help bring him home…
An outcry caught his attention, and he spun to look down at Kid Flash, who writhed a little on the ground, groaning in obvious pain.
…he was needed here. Cyborg dropped to his knees beside the fallen speedster, determined to help him.
Be careful… he prayed in the direction of Raven and the others. I don't want anyone else hurt…
And Robin… for the love of God, man… hang in there… we're coming…
----
A/N
Was it worth the wait?? XD I'm so out of practice, I keep worrying about whether or not I'm doing this right anymore!
