Summary: So I noticed while watching the show, the other Titans have never Robin and Slade in one of their duels, or even when they worked to together. But now, thanks to Control Freak, the other four will get to go back and see what they missed...
...
It had started out as a pretty chill Saturday, but then again, that's always when things go wrong. Because of the low crime week, the Teen Titans had opted for a Star Wars movie marathon and had made a day out of it. The only one who decided not to join them was Robin, their fearless leader, who told them that he had too much paperwork to catch up and really needed the day to finish it. While the metas were sad, they understood that his position as leader meant he had more responsibilities than they.
The four teens had just reached the part in the movie where Darth Vader tells Luke that he's his father when the screen went static.
"Ah! Come on! Right at the good part too!" Beast Boy yelled through a mouthful of popcorn. Cyborg made a move to get up and see what was wrong when the screen switched to black, and an all too annoying face appeared.
"Greetings, Titans! It is I, your greatest nemesis, Control Freak!"
"What do you want?" Raven deadpanned, already done with the situation.
The greasy, ginger nerd cackled in a way he thought sounded evil, "Did you know your lives are a TV show in another universe? I didn't, but when I saw it, I bought the entire series! And I just have to ask, have you four ever seen Robin and Slade do battle?"
The teens blinked, not sure if they heard or understood the couch potato correctly. But then they thought about his question.
"Come to think of it," Cyborg mused, "I don't think we have."
"I do not believe we have ever seen much of when Slade and Robin are together," Starfire added, "They always prefer to battle away from us."
Control Freak laughed, "Oh ho! Then boy are you guys gonna love this!"
And before anyone could stop him, he pressed a button on his remote/weapon, and the four metas vanished from the Tower.
...
The four Titans groaned as they woke up. After grabbing their bearings, they realized they were alone on a rooftop.
"Dude, where are we?"
Raven stared at the surrounding area, "I think a better question is when are we?"
"Welcome Teen Titans!" Control Freak's voice echoed around them, "I have brought you to a place where you can see every moment of the most epic and most complicated relationship between the great and powerful Slade and the fierce Robin! You can thank me now!"
"Why?" Starfire asked out of confusion, "Why should we thank you when you have stolen us from our home?"
"Because now you can see all of the moments you missed between Robin and Slade! I gotta admit, some of them are pretty cool. But don't worry, no one here can see, hear, or feel you. And the only time you'll be able to leave is after their final match, so get comfortable guys!" the man cackled, and the voice faded away.
Beast Boy scratched his head, "So...what now?"
A hatch on the roof burst open, scaring everyone, and two figures leaped out. It was two people they recognized easily. Slade and Robin.
The mercenary seemed to be on the run, and Robin wasn't very far behind. And once they leaped off the roof, the four observers followed after them. The metas gaped at how easily they raced from rooftop to rooftop, the space between the buildings varying with each bound.
Slade jumped across a wide space, and Robin followed without hesitation. The next jump had a large drop, and the two-toned villain landed on the next roof with nothing more than a grunt. Again, Robin flew after without pause, and a grunt of his own became audible.
As soon as the teen wonder landed, he threw a bird-a-rang at his target with such speed and precision, they knew he couldn't miss. But to their surprise, Slade turned and swiped the projectile with his arm guard, snapping it in two.
"Dude! No way!" Beast Boy gasped.
Robin stared at the broken pieces with shock and disgust before schooling his features and continuing the chase. Slade turned and jumped an impossible distance to the next building. No human should have been able to jump that far. Slade turned back to face the teen, his form illuminated by the red billboard screen as though he was taunting the hero.
"There's no way he's going to try that," Cyborg said aloud, "Don't tell me he's that stupid."
But to their collective shock, Robin took a few steps backward before running forwards.
"Robin! No!" they cried, and Starfire flew after him, only to watch in horror as he passed through her fingers.
But thankfully, he made the leap, rolling into a flip to break his momentum. The two stood in a tight stand-off.
"Careful," Slade chided, "I wouldn't want you getting hurt."
"I'm not the one who's going to get hurt," Robin snarled in reply, "Now hand them over."
Huh? What was he talking about?
"Hand over what?" Cyborg asked.
"Robin, I thought we had a deal," the mastermind purred.
"Sorry, I have a strict rule about giving stolen technology to psychos," the teen replied as the two began circling each other. Waiting for the other to make the first move.
"How very noble of you," Slade answered, "but stealing in order to trap me? That wasn't so noble. Two wrongs don't make a—"
"Don't ever lecture me!" Robin interrupted angrily, and suddenly they understood. This was when Robin masqueraded as Red X. They were talking about the stolen chips.
"And whatever you're planning, Slade, it's over!"
"On the contrary, Robin, it's just begun."
And at that moment, the two exploded into combat, but neither landed a hit on the other until Slade managed to land a kick on the boy wonder. Robin tumbled along the rooftop from the sheer force of the blow. The Titans watched with morbid curiosity as their leader grit his teeth and dashed on to the offensive, forcing the fight between the construction beams erected on the other corner of the building. But he couldn't land a hit on his adversary. Slade kicked high, sending the teen sprawling once again, but he recovered easily and flipped over the man's next attack.
Slade tried to swipe at the boy, but Robin dodged and threw a punch. Unfortunately, Slade caught it and pulled, using his other arm to elbow the teen in the gut. The Titans watching winced as the air was forced out of him. Slade threw Robin, who went stumbling into a stack of boxes before he slipped over the edge of the building. The Titans gasped as their leader just barely held on to the side, but then the concrete he was holding crumbled. Starfire covered her eyes, unable to watch as a petrified yell escaped his lips, and Raven pressed a hand to her forehead as waves of emotions crashed into her. Falling. Falling was his greatest fear.
With inhuman speed, Slade ran and reached over the side, grabbing Robin by the wrist, narrowing his eye down at the boy.
"Yo, did Slade just rescue Robin? What's up with that?"
Robin panted as he stared up at his enemy, "You..saved me?"
"I'm not through with you," Slade purred and pulled before throwing Robin back at the beams. With almost unnatural agility, Robin righted himself in the air and used the beam as a springboard, launching himself into a kick at Slade. The mercenary dodged his first few strokes, but then Robin leaped over and behind him. As soon as Slade turned, Robin punched him harder, knocking the stolen chips out of his possession. Slade skidded until the building's divider, the same one Robin went crashing over, stopped his momentum.
Robin stormed up to him with a glare, "This ends now," he declared ripped off Slade's mask. The others gathered around him and stared wide-eyed when they saw that it was just another sophisticated Sladebot with a screen instead of a face.
And on the screen was the real Slade standing amidst a system of gears.
"Patience, Robin," Slade tutted, "We'll meet face to face some other time," he leaned in, "Oh, and speaking of time.."
The screen paused, and a five second countdown appeared. Robin threw himself back just in time dodge the robot's explosion. The others watched as Robin panted for breath as he stared at what remained of the Sladebot. His head then turned to the chips that lay safely out of the blast's range. Without a word, he picked them up and placed them in a pocket on his utility belt.
Unaware of the Titans watching, Robin stood stiffly and leaned against one of the beams, wiping the sweat out of his eyes with the back of his hand, and he pressed a palm to his chest. He sucked in a sharp breath as he did so.
"Knew he broke something," he muttered, "Can't let the others see. They hate me enough already right now. This just proves how much Red X was a bad idea."
"Robin? Robin where are you?" a feminine voice called, and the others watched as the past version Starfire flew up to him with the rest of the team close behind. Robin's caped curled around him to hide the damage done.
"I got the chips back," he growled out before they could utter another word, "Let's get back to the Tower, then we can talk."
And with that, he vanished into the shadows.
"And to think we yelled at him after all that," Cyborg sighed, "He just went through a beating and still acted like nothing."
"We did not even know he was in pain," Star whimpered.
"Robin is good at keeping secrets," Raven stated, "Maybe even too good."
"He was trained by Batman," Beast Boy added, "but still..."
Before another word could be spoken, the scene changed...