A/N: Heh…Uh…Hello. The last time I updated this story was in 2017 and I was a senior in high school. I am now in my third year of college. It's been three years.
I'd like to formally apologize to anyone who has been waiting for a new chapter. I have a bit more free time, so hopefully I will update more often and this story can be finished.
Thank you for all your kind reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans
Goodbye, Halcyon Days
Shame (noun) – a painful feeling of humiliation or distress
The passing of time is lost to Rachel as she sits on the floor, staring blankly at the far wall in her cell. How long has she been here? Days? Weeks? Months? She doesn't know, and frankly, she just doesn't care anymore.
She just wants everything to stop: the constant ringing in her ears, the intermittent sound of footsteps pacing back and forth in front of her door, and the overwhelming uncertainty of her daughter's well-being.
Most of all, Rachel wants the memory of her assault to stop replaying in her head and the feeling of shame that comes with it. Why did she let it happen? Why didn't she fight him off? She doesn't know.
She just hopes that once this is ordeal is over, Richard can find it in his heart to forgive her for being so weak. And if he can't or won't forgive her, then she never deserved to have him in the first place.
.
.
.
The sound of a key being inserted into her door lock made Rachel jump, forcing her to be mentally present in the here and now. The key turned and the door opened.
"Hey, pretty girl…ready for round two?" Rachel's eyes widen, recognition and fear flashing across her features. No, not him!
She quickly stands up and, unconsciously, starts backing away from him until her back hits the wall. His leering gaze and feral smile causes her to let out a sharp gasp.
He's here to finish what he started.
"Gar, are you sure this is the right address?" Sitting in the passenger seat of the Batmobile, Richard turned around and raised a questioning eyebrow at his former teammate.
"Dude, have a little faith in me! He said the official address is 1412 Halyard Street. This is it." Garfield spread his right arm out, waving it in a 'Ta da' gesture. "Although, I don't know why we had to use the GPS. I usually find it by looking at all the storefronts and finding the right name."
Bruce and Richard share a look, the former raising an incredulous eyebrow while the latter just shrugs. Just go with it. Is the message the Bat receives from his son.
Not wanting to waste any more time, Richard is quick to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car. The other two are hot on his heels as they follow him into the automobile shop.
.
.
.
Victor Stone rolls out from under the car he just finished repairing, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead. He goes over to his cart, wipes his hands from the oil and takes a large swig from his water bottle.
As he starts to clean up his workspace, the bell above the main entrance alerts him to new customers. He leaves the garage, flicking the light off as he goes.
"Welcome to Cy's Auto Repair Shop, how can I help…you?" His voice trailed, shocked to see someone from his past. Victor walks around the counter and stands toe to toe with his former leader.
"I need your help." For a brief second, Victor saw the desperation and utter despair flash across Richard's eyes. For him to have that kind of reaction meant it had to be dire situation. So, Victor obliged them, leading the trio to his office.
Her labored breathing increases as he slowly walks into her cell, and just when he's ready to pounce, a hand on his shoulder stops him.
"You'll get your turn when I'm done, Motherfu–" The man turns around. "Boss! Y-You're early. I-I thought you were gonna be back tomorrow." He lets out a nervous chuckle, scratching the back of his head.
Rachel can only watch the spectacle in front of her as she tries to calm down from her fear-induced adrenaline rush and heightened anxiety.
"Wade." Deathstroke's low grumble and flick of the wrist caused the man in front of her to straighten to full height and silently walk out of the room.
Rachel lets out a relieved sigh. She never thought she'd be glad to see Slade. Of course, she'd never admit that to anyone. At least with him, she knows he'd use every method in the book to get what he wants from his victims besides that one.
Slade, rubbing his forehead with his thumb, closes the door and turns to look at her. If she looked hard enough, she would've seen the slight flicker of regret flash across his face. No, that's not possible. I must be seeing things.
"Whatever trouble he caused you, I'll see to it that he's punished accordingly." Rachel hummed, raising a suspicious eyebrow at his formal, almost business-like tone.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd almost think you were trying apologize. Going soft in your old age?" Rachel crossed her arms in front of her. Slade smirked, a humorless chuckle dancing in his eyes.
"Think of it what you will, but that's not why I came to see you." Her husband's enemy leaned against her door, legs crossed at the ankle and hands behind his back.
She pursed her lips, tilting her head to the side. "Then why did you?" He didn't say anything, just simply handed her the tablet and pressed the play button.
Rachel looked from him to the tablet in her hand and let out an audible gasp at what she is on the screen. Little Liana Grayson, just barely a year old, is in a room much like hers, curled in a ball in one corner of her crib with only a tattered and worn blanket for warmth.
The harsh conditions her baby is living in is a slap to the face. Reality kicking in to tell her this is her fault. The familiar feeling of shame reared its ugly head again, tightening its grip around her throat.
She remembered the promise she made to herself when she was pregnant. No child of hers would have to endure the pain she went through. But here she is, doing exactly that.
Rachel forced herself to keep watching, a form of self-punishment, despite the tears she is desperately trying to hold back. "What do you want?" She croaked out.
"Let's start with some answers." Rachel didn't have it in her to fight. She is willing to do anything just to make sure her baby is safe and if that means playing his mind games, then so be it.
"It must be serious if you're seeking all of us out." Victor states as he closes the door, leading them to a small seating area off to the side.
"Seeing Gar with us must've tipped you off, huh?" The small jab from Richard made them smile, breaking the tension briefly before it settled in again. "How much has he told you?"
Vic shrugged. "Surprisingly, he's been pretty tight-lipped when it comes to the others. Last I heard, you acquired a multi-million-dollar business." At that, Bruce shoots Gar a sharp look. The latter gives a sheepish smile, shrugging his shoulders.
Richard nodded, struggling to swallow the tears back. "Okay, that's a good starting point." Vic raised a curious eyebrow, waiting patiently.
If something like this happened back in their Titan days, Vic's younger self would've pressed until his former leader was angry enough to spill. Heh, guess we both did some growing. A sardonic smile tilted the corner of his mouth.
"I don't know if you ever picked up on it, but when we were Titans I was stupidly in love with Raven." A melancholic smile graced Richard's mouth as he stared at Victor. The man nodded, silently answering his question while telling him to continue.
"Well, a few years later, we got married and we have a daughter, Liana." Richard leaned forward to grab his wallet out of his back pocket. He slips the photo out of the ID card slot and slides it across the table for Vic to see.
The picture in his hand is of the three of them: Richard is hugging Raven from behind, who is holding a little girl with the number one in her lap. A wistful smile crosses Vic's face. "She's beautiful. Both of them." He slides the photo back and, judging by the worn edges, this picture means a lot to Richard.
"With all due respect, why are you telling me this?" Vic softly questioned, watching his former leader struggle to speak.
"Almost a week ago, my wife and daughter were taken from their home by Deathstroke." Richard grit out, hands clenching into fists.
"I'm sorry, who?" Victor scrunched his eyebrows, racking his brain to try to match a name to a face.
"That's his name now, but you may know him as Slade."
Everything clicked in Victor's head the minute he said the last word. "Fuck."
A/N: I hope this chapter is at least somewhat consistent with the previous ones.
Again, I'm sorry I left you guys hanging. As a fellow Fanfic reader, myself, I know what it's like to read an incomplete story and wondering endlessly if the story will be finished or not.
Like I said in the beginning, I have some more free time, so I'll try to update twice a week.
Also, any and all questions will be answered soon, I promise.
Thanks for reading!