Teen Titans – Epilogue Arc – Chapter Prologue: Rewind
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Chapter 2.0: A Good Deal
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Starfire was awe stricken by what she saw when the fight had ended in the streets of Metropolis Square.
The haggard looking gent, the evil that had laid waste to this city was hobbling towards them.
~ Wait! ~ Man hunter intervened.
Dianna stopped as soon as her lasso had been ready to tie up the killer at large.
~That is not our enemy, look closely. ~ He pointed at the static emanating from the man's shoulders, up to his scalp. This was from a piece of tech; Cy scanned the faux Slade carefully. The tech was meant to work similar to cloaking technology, but it was altered. Made to mask a face by way of changing a person's appearance by whatever it was programmed to. In this case, Slade.
The static popped and fizzled and Manhunter helped by manipulating the sparks, while Cy and Starfire attempted to get the false criminal over to them for a closer look.
He fell onto the ground. Palms to the dirt, his face contorted in pain, he spoke in a low grunt.
"Dick…no…. have to……save –
"Found something!" Cy and Star even pointed to a strange chip on the back of the man's neck. Snuggly set under the skin as Star gasped by how practically barbaric this method was of controlling a living human. "What is…"
"Stop…. Slaaade….go….please….. ung.." The man fell unconscious while the heroes that weren't as reluctant, scooped up the sorrowful looking fake and took him back to wherever they could safely deactivate and remove the chip from the man's skin.
And then? For sure, they'd go after Slade.
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The fear that Lex had felt. The fact that he'd missed a procession that was supposed to be for his announcement as the new MAYOR!
He fumed and wanted to clock Deathstroke for abandoning his moral –
Wait? Did he say he had a new, project?
Lex buzzed in to see how the labs that the killer had pilfered were fairing, while he sat at home and tried to get cool after his office with a view…. had an inappropriate sun roof installed without his permission…
What did Deathstroke not tell him?
A call was coming through. He shuffled his contacts around until the name rung a bell. He twitched. Shit.
Slade, again?
The man didn't have a choice as he picked up the chat and his computer allowed the male hog's face to grace his presence.
"How droll. You, lost? Are you going to ask me to pay you double for another of your hair brained tactics?" The man sat and drummed his fingers in to the desk's wood where he sat, trying to keep his brain from exploding.
~I was calling to catch up. Did they not postpone the candidacy until next week? You still have a chance, Luthor. But, no. ~ Slade shook his head to state, ~ My apprentice is in the middle of some, reprogramming…I wasn't going to have enough time on my hands for another search and destroy mission as it were. ~
"Busy playing "school teacher" without a license?" Lex raised his brow, almost knowingly. "I know for instance, what you did," He raised his finger to the man, frowning at the figure on his computer screen.
"You made a false –
~ Bruce Wayne was in the way. I just, had him lay low while his ward is given a taste of freedom from his law and order. Being how we know the truth the Bat carries. ~
"I'd keep that to myself if I were you." Lex rubbed his temples with a groan. "Are you done, then? What's so important that you had to call me on my day off from that –
~ I'm not immune to your heroes, Luthor. And you, more than realized this when I paid them back in Metropolis. ~ Slade reminded the villainous tycoon. ~ I'm only here to let you know; that in two months, no less, in time my apprentice will be ready to face his former mentor. We'll be training at a secluded base I have ready in Bludhaven to start. I need only one thing from you –
"A new brain, Deathstroke? You've seemed to have forgotten that I only fund winners –
~ If you don't like it then, I can expose the fact that YOU made the construction of that prototype suit a possibility. Lex…Superman is mine, and I'd give him up to your team of scientists IF you'll promise to cooperate with me. ~
"Wait…Superman, he was shot with your toy. The one the crew caught on tape?" Lex was impressed, however, reluctant when it came to signing a check over to the infamous Terminator.
~ I'm very good at what I do, and I know you are too. I can hand over his civilian name and address, his history. You can ruin him, as he ruined a part of your life... ~
"I…am tempted, but as a sellout?" Lex shifted, keeping his composure in his seat. "I'm not that cheaply bought and sold. Come up with a bigger offer…then, we'll talk business."
The screen went blank, returning to the home page, then a ping* sounded – it showed up in his mail folder, the next lure from that slippery vermin. Pointing at the touch screen, Lex's eyes bulged from their sockets when he'd gazed upon the male's proposition. A grin, how devilishly enticing… "Well, well…A chance to chase out the competition. I guess I was wrong about you, Slade…" Chuckled the cue ball villain, as he leaned over his desk to seek out the reply icon. "Bruce's funeral is all you want, a chance to swipe everything he has up from under that billionaire playboy's feet. And quite a feat it would be…Deal."
And he pressed, send.
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As for poor Raven and her daddy issues back in the watchtower…
She still had to concentrate. This was big, even bigger than Slade himself. Robin was in danger and here even out of orbit, she could feel it.
~ I know I'm not supposed to say anything, ~ Aqua lad tapped on the glass of his bubble and telepathically spoke. They were contained. Due to being infected with the updated probes that Slade had sent with Garth to wake up the heroes in Jump, he'd easily harmed Raven as well, and this meant that she couldn't get over to her friends until a cure was…
"There is no way back…" Raven felt her concentration breaking. Her breathing got heavier and thicker inside her own mind. Something was dragging her down, like before in Slade's mind!
Faster and faster, until her psychic walls started to collapse all around….What? Who was trying to intervene! -
~ Stay calm. We aren't going to give –
~ NO. THE END!….WE ARE ALL DOOMED TO PLAY A ROLE!…..THE BAT WILL –
~ GET OUT!!~! With a lasting cry out, the message had been received.
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A gust, as her meditative trance had ended abruptly. She'd won…he wouldn't take her…
Raven's body fell to the base of her containment shell. She groaned and Garth banged on his, before calling out to any personnel on the ship. "Hey! We need some help over here! Hey!"
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The heroes returned to find that Garth was in a state of shell shock from Raven's attack. She wasn't moving, but he didn't know if she was healing while sleeping it off. She usually floated or…
"Raven!" Cy and Bb bounded over to the teens and looked for signs of infiltration around the room.
"Were you both attacked in our absence?" Starfire tried to remain compassionate, even when she needed a hug right now more than they did…
"No…" Garth shook his head slowly. His hair was plastered to the sides of his face by an early breakdown. "Raven, contacted something. It tried to take over her body and she…stopped it."
"The sorceress was almost, what?" Green Lantern swung over to open a part of her unit to check. "Vitals are clear, but her heart is slowing down. She's just healing. Not the same way we have documented –
"Course, the league thinks we're mini felons… What else is new?" Bb grumbled and looked for a place to sit and rest awhile.
"What of our friend, Robin? Was she not successful this time in –
"She was blocked. Look." Sighed Aqualad. "I don't think Slade is the only one behind how he controls us without the trigger. Robin said he has the power now to telepathically control your leader if he wants. He'll end up doing the same thing he did to me through some "neuro – link" command."
"I don't care for his tactics, all the same, "Diana turned to Kid Flash and Manhunter, who were bringing a now recovered Mr. Wayne with them arm in arm to have a seat in the med lab, "We still have to try to pin down these attacks without our own ambush... Batman is not yet left out of commission, but Clark now has less of his strength recovered to face the enemy. And with…."
Their faces fell. "We cannot forget, "Manhunter tried to add in, "That Slade knows of our weaknesses as well. Batman may be up to par with his tactics, yet without Green Arrow and the Flash, we have only our wits to keep him preoccupied."
"Slade. Deathstroke. They're way different than how I remember." Speedy showed up via the transport beam. "We need to get in his head, like he got into Rob's."
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Cy jumped in, "But Rae was the only Titan we had who could –
"Cyborg. Wait." Speedy cut him off. "There, is one more hero we didn't try to ask. Two, if you count her mentor in the dark arts."
"Dude…you don't mean."
GL didn't like where this was headed. He put up a finger, yet the words didn't roll from his lips. But Raven's.
"con…stantine…." She moaned softly, before falling back asleep inside of her glass bubble.
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"More like shouldn't !" KF grew anxious, as Bb ducked from his flailing friend's arms.
"Johnny is a clown, and he's not funny! Zee is only into his magic because her dad trusts the guy – but I don't! Neither does –
"Ollie knows he's a little screwy." Roy forced back. "But, we can't get back at the assassin who took half of us out without getting our hands messy –
"Is this "Constantine" not a very humorous, individual?"
"A Laughing Magician, Star." Cy cleared up the tension with his logic. "John Constantine is like a demon hunter or exorcist of the supernatural. Ghosts an' stuff. A private investigator, but he has ta make you pay that one price you just don't wanna pay or he won't do diddly for your case, at all."
'Wouldn't you get cursed by his voo – doo magic if you said nuh - uh??" Shuddered Bb with a gulp.
"You forget that Robin cannot be saved - if a being with Raven's own magic is making our own efforts completely meaningless."
"Star is right, and Robin would think so too." Speedy smiled at the princess as she nodded back to her team. "I believe we have been given a way in which to find Robin and to bring peace to our worlds if there will or should be a looming threat as Raven has sensed by her countless visions."
"But, what if the price is one of us??" Bb ran to KF as they clung to each other, yet Wally shoved Bb to the floor. "Quit it! He's just a nut who's into witch craft –
"Warlock, actually."
The heroes would have waited, yet Raven's body was a conduit. She was lifted up onto her feet and began to speak in a British accent, a bit of Welsh mixed in.
"How goes it, everyone? Oh, or… was this at a bad time?"
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Bb clammed up and went full turtle into his shell. KF dashed up to the glass and put his hands to his hips.
"You are a snoop! No way. So shouldn't have trusted any of it…ahh….Raven summoned you?"
"Actually, we met up inside the Astral void." He explained. "John Constantine, on that note. By gods! What a grim an' bloody welcome it is up in this stuffy tower yah' got. Did I really not get the invitation, earlier?"
"Don't be wise right now, Johnny." Speedy shot back and came up beside KF to see into Raven's now bluer gaze.
"We need your help to dive into the mind of a sociopathic criminal. And one who's in cahoots with someone just like Raven."
John's own brows furrowed as he took in the information quietly. "That's why she was so frantic to find where I was hiding off…That's it? Well, what's the direction your perpetrator was of in?"
"His name in our neck of the woods is Slade." Bb piped in "Here in Metropolis and to the Justice League, he goes by the alias, Deathstroke." GL spoke right beside the computer monitor, to show the images of Slade's exploits to the Laughing warlock.
"I know im'."
The team sighed.
"He's a real wild card. Bags of tricks, that bloke. Zee hates fighting him when she'd been on call the last time in Star city. He can be as stealthy as any proud tiger…Is that beastie here, what you're off to catch red handed?"
"YES." The teams said aloud.
"I, can talk…" Bruce tried to get himself up for a moment to be involved. "Slade is after controlling or destroying the League and the Titans are how he's controlled….Robin. My ward. He was blackmailed into becoming the man's soldier. A protégé to the crime lord in order to save the Titans…He can't break free. Raven found out that her father may have something to do with Dick's sudden telepathic connection to Deathstroke. That Slade, might be countering our attempts by, using magic."
"And you want me to do as she did and get zapped, just to find out if he even has a weakness? What's the catch –
"There should be no such thing, Mr. Constantine." Starfire replied. "Robin is the leader of our team and he was wrongfully convicted of numerous crimes – when he could not control what was being done to us…or himself… Slade has made him into someone we do not recognize. I do not wish to se anyone else suffer…. He must be set free. Will you not, help us…?"
"Here it comes…" Bb whipped back into his shell as soon as Raven's possessor had paused to run her (his) chin and think on the payment….
"What's it gonna cost?"
"We will pay you. Whatever. Match your price –
"Bats, it's not money I'll only get outta this deal." Chuckled the body snatcher, "You realize my services are as skin – flint as Slade's? Nah. I need a balanced measure to keep the universe well - aligned."
"Just don't eat our brains!" Bb yelled out and turned into a mouse, hiding in the corner by the extra monitors.
"Why would I? Humans don't have much to give up in that category, sorry lad. So, say a few batwings from your dimension? I…have a perfect species in mind."
"Huh?" KF cocked his head. As did the rest of the Titans
"They make great smokes in my dimension."
" Barbaric." Wonder Woman cringed.
"How much." Bruce pulled out his unit and started to throw a signal up to Alfred to make the order, right away.
"A bushel should be plenty. We need those "bats' to keep the "gnats" at bay." He nearly made Raven wink as Batman's stoic personality shielded him from being teased by a pretty, unwilling face.
"Done." Bruce clicked the device shut. "What else."
"A memory. And then I can be satisfied."
"Why not one of Slade's when you go to haunt em?" B asked in his human form again, curiously.
"Unappetizing." The magician said, "It has to be young and pure of heart." The team all looked to Starfire.
"You may have one of my memories….if that is what you wish…"
"I do, and the price is now paid in full. You'll sleep off the headache by tomorrow, lov. No hard feelings. I can make the swap once you get the memo. Say….midnight, tonight –
"But we just got up here!" KF gawked. "Are we owls to him?"
"No, but I can take that just fine." Bruce nodded to Speedy, who looked to the possessor with a sure glance. "We'll be at the watchtower. I'll allow for your signature to be recognized by the transporter. No funny business, or you're out. Got that?"
"I'd love to stay an' chat, but I've got a plane to nab. See you in the next hour, team!"
The groups were left off of the connection as John let free his temporary host, and that let poor Raven heal up the rest of herself before another visitor could shake up the watchtower's security.
One big, midnight party in outer space. Bruce grumbled under his breath. "The one who always laughs last…"
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