A/N: Yes. I am alive.

This will be finished.

Please enjoy!

Chapter 21: Peril

-Robin-

Naturally, chaos ensued. Phones went up in the air to snap his picture. Flashes of light blinded him as he turned his head to the side, instinctively flinging his arms up to protect his face. A sudden pain gripped his arm as Stone flung him into the crowd.

He tumbled and turned in the sea of people, the stink of bad punch and sweat overwhelming him as he tumbled to the floor. The audio shrieked as Stone shouted into the microphone.

"Did you see him?" Someone shrieked. "Did you see his face?"

Confusion masked him as the hologram snapped into effect, changing his appearance. Firecrackers popped off. One of Beast Boy's ideas, probably.

"Get back here." Slade's cold voice cut through the noise.

Robin pushed himself to his feet. Sticky punch juice ran across the gym floor. Someone had overturned a table. Music blared to an uncomfortable volume that shock the floor. Cyborg's disguise was only superficial—the apprentice suit's vitals would keep sending info back to Slade.

Robin took out his HIVE communicator.

We don't have much time, Robin thought. Draw Slade out into the courtyard.

A hand grabbed his wrist. Starfire's eyes sizzled in alarm as she pulled him away from the crowd.

It was only a matter of time Slade figured out something was amiss. Before he realized that he wasn't the only one playing a dangerous game. Her touch was warm, familiar, a glimmer of hope in this sea of chaos. Starfire gestured at her ear.

Cyborg pulled through. But what would happen when everything can to fruition? Would the team really take care of the nanobots?

"Robin!" Slade's voice cut through his thoughts.

Students jostled him as they fought to either join in the fray or escape the dance room. There was no time for curiosity. No time for caution. All that mattered was they were here. He had to trust his friends.

His mind raced. The mind honed by Bruce, by Slade, formulated a series of events. There would only be a matter of time before Slade figured out that he had contact with the Titans. Knowing Slade, that would only be a matter of seconds. Robin took the earpieces out and smashed them against the floor.

Star's eyes glistened.

"Slade can push that button in seconds," Robin said. "Keep him distracted as long as possible so Rae and BB can do their thing."

But what would stop Slade from pushing that button? Robin had been Slade's single focus for a long time. The only thing that would distract Slade is if another villain, something of a greater caliber than Slade himself, got in the way.

Brother Blood would do.

-Beast Boy-

Beast Boy and Raven arrived at the Haunt. Unless Robin somehow managed to disable the Sladebots, then they'd sure have their work cut out for them. It was your typical Bad-Guy HQ. No sense of interior design at all. Horrible lightning. And what the freak were all those gears supposed to be for, anyway?

"You know, Slade seems like a real freak," Beast Boy said, spinning around to look at the Haunt. "Cyborg said this guy was obsessed with monogramming things. Like, who in the name of all the gods in Clash of the Planets, makes monogrammed cuff links?"

"Uh-huh."

Where was her outrage at this monstrosity? The sheer nerve of this guy? It was so stupid. Bet Robin could get a lot selling those things on Ebay…if he didn't stash them in his Shrine to the Bad Guys room first.

"Do you think we should grab anything before we go?" Beast Boy asked. "Ya know, maybe his birdarang, his traffic-light excuse of a costume, his hair gel…?"

The place creeped him out, but it was a bizarre fascination. The bad guy's lair was totally empty. Where were the Sladebots?

"Let's get one thing straight," Raven said, spinning around to face him. "We're here to do one thing, and that's to disable the nanobots before Slade murders us all."

Well, fine. Beast Boy made a face. "Just trying to lighten things up."

He transformed into a raven and landed on Raven's shoulder. That was the kind of animal that would be in here. Something dark and brooding. Or a bat. Beast Boy leaped off her shoulder and morphed into a bat. He flew up towards the skylight, using his echolocation to pinpoint the machine. It had to be somewhere in the big scary room, right?

Oh. Oh.

Beast Boy flipped as he changed again, briefly into a human before going full on elephant into the swarm of Sladebots piling up underneath him.

"We've got company!"

-Slade-

There was only word that went through Slade's mind as the dance room erupted into chaos. His imposing figure, surrounded by balloons and banners and splattered with punch spiked faintly with vodka, could've been considered comical. This was not Deathstroke's natural environment.

Titans.

He couldn't be certain until he saw them with his own eyes, but the suspicion was deep. His instincts screamed at him to push the trigger, but what good would that do? The Titans were his only leverage, and if Slade was wrong then it was a wasted teaching opportunity. The kids had been tracking HIVE activity for months, but Slade's intel never suggested that they knew where the Academy was located. They were getting better.

Slade pushed students out of his way as his eye scanned the crowd for Robin. The tracker in his suit told Slade that Robin was still in the room. Yet he couldn't see him, as if he were…

Disguised.

Realization struck Slade full in the face.

"So," Brother Blood said, appearing in front of Slade with a swish of his ridiculous robes. "We meet at last."

Slade had no time for this. He had no interest in besting Brother Blood in a fight, not even to satisfy his own ego. Slade hadn't bothered to get rid of him because Blood served his purpose.

"Get out of my way," Slade snapped.

"Well, seems like your apprentice has disappeared," Brother Blood said. "The loyalty shows. I was flattered when you requested a student application. Didn't think you'd be the type to have kids, let alone an apprentice." Blood shrugged. "Guess I was wrong. It was entertaining having a hero in this school, but I believe an expulsion is in order. It's clear you sent him in as a spy."

Blood moved fast, the kind of fast that came with people with his kind of powers.

"I heard you have rather sophisticated nanobot technology," Blood said. "I'd like to take a look at it if you don't mind."

Slade swung a fist at Blood.

"Did you know the Titans are here?" Blood caught him in a chokehold. "So why don't you push that button?"

The little shit.

He was going to kill the Titans, right here, right now. It was the only way he could win in this moment, even if he'd lose the only leverage he had. If Blood stole his technology, then Slade would kill him. Slade rammed a fist into Blood's stomach, forcing him to release his chokehold.

"Don't be stupid," Slade said, pulling out the trigger to the nanobots from his gauntlet. "I've a better way."

Blood struck Slade's hand away. "Don't you dare!"

Slade's eyes narrowed. "Don't interfere in my business."

"I believe we have a mutual interest in keeping certain Titans alive," Blood said. "I'm willing to disregard the blatant disrespect if you give me a peek into your technology."

"And why would I do that?"

"Because if I don't control every person in this facility, then the Titans will succeed in dismantling your precious nanobots." Blood cocked his head to the side. "If you kill the Titans, then I don't get what I want, and I'm certain you'd rather not lose that delicious extortion you have with the Boy Wonder. So, shall I?"