AN: I have no excuse for my absence, save that life kicked my ass and then I went to Utah. Thus, I have created an extra-long chapter.
Outta This World: The Call Beyond Edition
Arc Two: Deathstroke
Chapter Fifteen: Betrayal of the Apprentice
Entry #77
Been two weeks since the whole Red-X thing. Slade never got his hands on the microchips thanks to the thief who stole the suit that Robin was planning to use against us, but that also brings up some other questions, like if this was what the thief was intending all along, or if he was just gonna sell the chips to someone worse.
Along with that…there's a bit of tension between the rest of the team and Robin. Not only did he build that suit to take us all out in a half-baked attempt to get at Slade, but he's also not talking about whatever went down in Gotham when he went to give the footage of the League lobotomizing Arthur Light. All he kept saying was, "Batman will handle it." Which happens to be of little comfort to those of us—and when I say that I mean all of us—who want to take action.
In other news, Slade and his minions are becoming increasingly aggressive in their criminal activities, and with Robin's increasing paranoia and obsession with catching the man, I have very little doubt that things will come to a head soon.
I just hope that it's in our favor instead of Slade's.
Titans' Tower. The Teen Titans.
It was early morning. A time that most people would be resting peacefully at. However, in Titans' Tower there was to be no peaceful slumber, no fitful rest that would spirit them away to daylight. For their enemy had arrived at their virtual gates with a message…
"Good morning, Titans." Slade said, his voice radiating a smug tone. "I do hope that I haven't woken you."
The Titans glared at the monitor displaying his visage, all of them only slightly fatigued from their early awakening. However, this didn't mean that there weren't complaints…
"Really?" Beast Boy groaned. "Five in the morning, you ass? Do you just not sleep?"
"What he said." Blitzkrieg grumbled; arms crossed in an attempt to look intimidating in his black sleep-ware.
Slade merely chuckled. "Charming, children. But I would not be calling you if I did not have a purpose."
Robin's own glare intensified. "Get on with it."
"Very well." Slade spoke, beginning whatever evil monologue that he had prepared for the teenaged heroes. "For the longest time now, ever since I first sent my pawns against you, you've been trying to discover what exactly I have planned for Jump City. But in spite of all of your efforts, Robin, you've never been able to discover my intentions." The masked man held up a finger and began to wag it in a back-and-forth motion. "Tsk, tsk, Robin. I expected better from the apprentice of the World's Greatest Detective."
Robin's teeth began to grind. "Like I give a shit about—!"
"But since you've proven yourself to be incapable of discovering my plan…I may as well show you what I have in store for this city, the Justice League, and you." Slade interrupted, stepping to the right side of the camera. This motion revealed that behind him were three things: Zero, her strange cyan-haired accomplice, and between the two, a large egg-like piece of machinery.
"I'm certain that the six of you are familiar with the concept of a Chronoton Detonator?" Slade inquired, radiating confidence as the Titans stared on in horror.
"…So that's your play then." Robin began, being the first to overcome his own shock. "Lure the League here and then freeze the city in time?"
"Indeed." The madman replied.
"If that was your plan, then why tell us this?" Starfire demanded.
"Because I am giving you children a chance to run." Slade explained. "By now I expect that all of you were shown the contents of the drive that Blitzkrieg brought to you after my meeting with him. Now, I don't care for most of you, but despite my attempt on his life, he is still ultimately my flesh and blood, and I respect Robin's mentor enough to give all of you this warning. I can trigger the Detonator at any time. Don't come after me."
The call ended, and the screen went dark. Robin turned and began to walk towards the door out of the common room, fists clenched and quivering in anger, until Cyborg's massive hand clamped down on his shoulder.
Robin glared up at the taller teen. "What?"
Beast Boy stepped up to the two teens. "Maybe you should stay here for a while and coordinate the search."
Robin's glare narrowed. "And why is that?"
"Rob, whenever Slade is involved, you seem to have a screw loose." Cyborg replied. "It might be better if you did as BB said."
"No." Robin denied with a growl. "There is too much at stake here—!"
"Robin." Blitzkrieg spoke up. "You built a super-suit that could have killed all of us in order to join Slade's inner circle. You CAN'T deny that Slade has gotten to you."
For a moment, Robin only glared at the electro-kinetic, with Blitzkrieg giving the Boy Wonder a stern gaze of his own. Then, the young detective scowled and turned away.
"Fine." Robin muttered. "I'll direct the search from here—!"
"Actually…" Blitzkrieg interrupted once again. "I think I know where that place is…"
Peir 41. With the Teen Titans.
The light slowly pierced the darkness of the Warehouse as Cyborg pushed open the doors. Once the door was fully opened, Cyborg's right hand shifted into his sonic cannon, and his eyes scanned the large—and more importantly—empty room.
Cyborg grit his teeth. "Clear."
The rest of the Titans entered the room, one after the other.
Beast Boy frowned as he, Blitzkrieg, and Robin walked further into the room. "No bots, no bomb…not even the man himself."
Blitzkrieg knelt down at the center of the room. "Dust here has recently settled…At least, from what I can tell."
"So…we have lost him?" Starfire asked, walking up to her teammate as Robin began searching a pile of broken wood.
"What do we do then?" Cyborg walked up to the rest of the group, disarming himself. "We can't just wait for him to set off that damn thing inside of the city, corrupt Justice League or no corrupt Justice League!"
"But should we risk it?" Raven protested. "He might set if off if we come after him, regardless of the presence of his targets."
Robin cleared his throat, and as the Titans turned their shared gaze towards him, they notice the small device held in his right hand.
"I think that this might be able to lead us to the bomb…and to Slade."
Zero frowned as the Titans exited the warehouse and made for the nearby sewer drain. She didn't know why her father had wanted to bother with these tricks…or why they were still bothering with the Titans. In her eyes, they should have just focused their attention on the League the moment Sean had refused membership.
As she mulled over her thoughts, the footsteps of Tenko reached her ears. The cyan-haired man crouched down beside her perch on the rooftop and spoke.
"Are they gone, then?"
"Yes." She replied. "The Titans have taken the bait."
Tenko hummed. "Then you better get into position. Things will be getting much more…interesting in the next few hours." The red-eyed man said, lifting up a sleeve of his coat and scratching his left forearm.
Zero's right eyebrow rose a little as she eyed the now unveiled arm. It was covered in two tattoos, one of a dragon with seven heads, and another symbol that she did not recognize. One that seemed to glow a faint red.
(So, you walk eternally through the shadowed realms, standing against evil where all others falter.)
Tenko seemed to scowl under the severed hand that he wore upon his face.
"Don't go poking your nose into things that don't concern you." He replied with an irritated tone. "Remember, I gave you the power that is now in your possession…and I can easily take it away."
(May your thirst for retribution never quench, may the blood on your sword never dry…)
The tattoo still glowed as he pulled the sleeve back over his exposed skin.
(…And may we never need you again.)
The sewers. Beast Boy.
Despite the slowly growing irritation of Robin and the smell of the sewers, things were going well…up until Cinderblock had smashed through the walls and attacked Robin. While he had commanded them to chase down the detonator, Beast Boy did not have a good feeling about leaving the Boy Wonder to face Cinderblock alone. It wasn't that he questioned Robin's skill—for he knew that the other teen had taken on far worse foes than Cinderblock—no, it was something else. All of this smelled like some sort of trap, like the ones that the Doom Patrol had been lured into back when they were still fighting the Brotherhood of Evil.
Then, Beast Boy's nose picked up something heavier than the smell of filthy water. Something that smell like…cinders.
Beast Boy stopped, and the rest of the Titans stopped soon afterwards.
"Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, concern clear in her voice.
"Something's wrong." The shapeshifter replied. "Can't you smell it?"
The teenage superheroes were silent for only a moment. Then, Blitzkrieg's eyes went wide.
"RAVEN! SHIE—!"
The tunnel was consumed by blue flames.
Zero.
The child of Deathstroke smirked as her—not Seventh's, her's—flames licked the walls of the sewer tunnels. She knew that the Titans weren't dead, and she doubted that they were even injured.
She was proven right as the smoke dissipated, revealing a glowing black dome holding the five remaining Titans.
The dome lowered, and Sean stepped forward, Quarterstaff drawn.
"Go, I'll handle this." He said, voice low and deadly.
The Titans did not argue, and Samantha allowed them to pass.
"I suppose I can't convince you to join us?" Samantha questioned.
Sean fell into a stance. "No."
The dark-haired assassin grimaced. "Fine then."
The two fought amongst the dying embers.
Underground. Seventh.
Seventh watched as Slade beat Robin to a bloody pulp, the older man taunting his young opponent about the nanoscopic probes that had been planted in his comrades, his lack of skill, and his slowly failing body. Quite honestly, Seventh—also known as Tenko—found himself becoming bored with this…charade.
You know…you could bring this to an end…
'Silence.' Tenko commanded the Dragon, and the seals on his bandaged arm blazed a soft red, and the voice screeched in agony and protest. 'It will end when I say it ends, no sooner, no later.'
(And what about your—our—brother?) The Other spoke.
Tenko grimaced. 'He can be a hero if he so wishes. Either way, it will not disrupt the plan.'
The Dragon laughed. It was pained and hideous, but it was a laugh, nonetheless.
Do you really believe YOU can pierce into the depths of Hell to wake a single man? Beyond that, do you truly believe that a single man can hold back the forces of Trigon?
Tenko allowed himself a wiry smirk as Robin finally surrendered. 'His mark holds and torments you now, does it not, Drake?'
The Dragon became silent in contemplation…and in fear.
The blue-haired man lifted a small, hand-held radio up to his mouth, and spoke.
"Zero. It is done. Return to base."
Jump City Sewers. Blitzkrieg and Zero.
The blaze had died, and the combatant had tired. Both of them were in differing states of injury. Samantha's armor had cracked and broken, and one of her arms hung limply at her side as electric burns covered patches of her exposed skin. Sean's clothes had turned a vibrant white as he had synchronized with Light in an attempt to overcome his opponent. He was favoring one leg, and several patches of his own uniform were burnt away by the heat of Zero's flames.
"Still…time…" The electro-kinetic gasped out. "Give…up…"
"…Never…" Samantha snarled, unwilling to surrender.
A small crackle came through the remains of Zero's helmet.
"Zero. It is done. Return to Base."
Zero smirked and pulled a smoke grenade off of her belt. "You heard him. Time to go!"
"Wait—!"
Zero threw down the grenade and was gone.
Slade's hideout. Robin and 'Seventh'.
Robin grunted as his fist struck the punching bag. He had allowed his obsession with defeating Slade overcome his common sense, and it had led to this. The Boy Wonder could guess at a few of the outcomes that would most likely occur, and all of them were terrible.
Despite anything that the former assassin said, it was obvious that he did not intent to just eliminate only the members of the League who were part of the Doctor Light conspiracy. It was likely that Slade sought to kill them all—or at least, as many as he could.
And Robin wanted no part of that, no matter what certain members of the League had done.
The punching bag burst open as Robin landed another strike and spilled its metaphorical guts onto the ground, and a dry chuckle echoed throughout the grey painted training room. Robin wheeled on the source of the noise immediately, fists raised.
It was the cyan-haired man he had seen earlier. The one with the severed hand on his face. The one who was most likely Slade's second apprentice.
"What do you want?" Robin grumbled, lowering his guard.
"Just admiring your work." The man spoke, walking into the room with his hands behind his back. "No need to be so hostile, boy wonder."
As Robin turned to the next punching bag, the man spoke again. "Actually, there is one thing that I do want from you. Just a favor, really."
Robin grimaced. "And what's that?"
The man pulled a book out from behind his back. Its cover and bindings were purple, and it was covered in runes that Robin recognized.
Runes that Raven had used to better secure her door after Beast Boy had knocked it down.
"I want you to deliver this book to your friend Raven." The blue-clad man handed the book to Robin. It was…heavier than he had expected it to be.
"…what does it do."
The man smirked under the severed hand on his face. "She will know when the time is right."
Robin frowned and looked the man in the face, trying to search for his eyes behind that matted blue hair. "Who are you even?"
He grinned. "Most know me by my slave name, Seventh. Those who are my closest friends and allies call me by another name…another name that you will learn in time."
Titans Tower. Blitzkrieg.
We had searched for three days, and we had found no sign of our leader. We turned up every stone, searched every nook, looked at every cranny, and still nothing. It was if Robin had just…disappeared.
We all knew that Slade had something to do with the disappearance of our leader, but none of us were willing to voice it. I suppose we were—and still are—in denial. For all we know, Robin may either be dead, or made into a brain-chipped slave of our enemy.
Regardless, we still searched.
And then we found him.
But it was not as we had expected it to go.
He was dressed up in armor akin to my father's—to Slade's—own armor, and he fought us. He won—of course he won, he's the student of Batman himself—and escape with some sort of prototype blaster that had reached the field-testing phase.
We all had theories of course, of what Slade had done to him to turn him against everything he had fought for, but it was Raven who supplied the most logical answer. That he had something that could be used to destroy us, and that was how he was manipulating Robin.
We just didn't know what at the time.
But we found out quickly.
Jump City. Blitzkrieg.
I was out on patrol when word came in from the Tower. Robin had hit the Wayne Enterprise tower, and was most likely doing some of Slade's dirty work.
The plan was simple: Grab Robin, find out what Slade had over us, find eliminate the problem, and then arrest Slade.
Things went wrong almost immediately.
Light let out a cry as soon as a lanky arm stretched out of the surrounding shadows and grabbed onto one of my grappling hooks. Not even seconds later, the cable I was dragging myself on was reduced to nothing but ash…along with the device itself.
I executed a roll as the ground made its fast approach, distributing the kinetic energy and preventing me from getting anything other than minor bruises. And then I saw our assailant.
It was the same man who had confronted me along with Samantha the day me and the other Titans had fought Plasmus…but something was different now. The man carried himself with a confidence that rivaled Slade's. And something in his crimson-colored eyes told me that he might be even more dangerous than Slade himself.
"Sean!" Light screamed from within my head. "You need to run, the amount of power I am sensing from him—!"
"Oh relax, fox girl," The man interrupted. "If I wanted good old Blitzkrieg dead, I would have killed him already."
…What the fuck!?
I let out a shaky breath. "Alright, if you aren't going to fight me, then what are you doing here? And…and how did you—?"
"Doesn't matter." The man interrupted. "What does matter is the first question. And the answer to that is: I have something that Robin has been looking for."
"…The location of Slade's base?" I asked, and the man nodded, extending a hand that held a small, black thumb drive.
"Why give this to us? Don't you work for him?" I questioned him, taking the thumb drive from his hand—a hand that was noticeably larger that his other one.
He smiled under the severed hand. "Correction. I've been using him. And now that I have what I want…"
"You're using us to dispose of him." I finished, that grim realization settling in my mind.
The smile began to stretch from ear to ear. "Exactly, my dear Kirk. Make no mistake, we are not friends, we never have been. We're only allies of…convenience."
My communicator crackled with static, and Cyborg's voice came on the other end. "Blitz! Where are you?"
My eyes went wide. Had they already subdued Robin? I took my eyes off of the strange villain and went for my communicator. "Cyborg! Were you able to capture Robin?"
"No, but we were able to discover what Slade has over us. What about you, what's keeping you?"
I looked back up. The villain was gone.
"…I know where Slade is."
Titan's Tower. The Teen Titans.
"Those things are inside me!?" Beast Boy yelled as the rest of the Titans stared at the screen displaying a scan of the shapeshifter's bloodstream. "EW!"
"They're inside all of us save Blitz." Cyborg explained. "Probably some screwed-up plan to get you on his side as well."
"Wouldn't surprise me." The electro-kinetic grumbled out. "Bastard lacks any empathy whatsoever."
"Agreed." Raven accented."
"With such technology, Slade could destroy us whenever he pleases." Starfire mused.
Unless Robin does whatever he says." Beast Boy observed. "And you guys thought all of my ideas were crazy."
"That's because they were." Blitz replied, tone as dry as the Sahara Desert.
"So…what now?" Raven asked, turning to her teammates.
Slade's hideout. Robin and Slade.
"Thrilling." Slade whispered as they watched Robin fight the Teen Titans on his monitor. "With you trained in my ways, the League would not stand a chance. All you needed…" He said, placing a hand on the Boy Wonder's shoulder. "…was a little…motivation."
Robin snarled and grasped the former mercenary's wrist in a grip that most would have considered to be bone-crushing. "Motivate THIS!"
The young apprentice of Batman threw a punch that Slade caught with little effort, and the criminal mastermind threw the younger man across the room. Robin—to his credit—managed to land on his feet after executing a mid-air flip.
Slade let out a low chuckle. "Robin. That was cold, ruthless, and very dishonorable…you're becoming like me with every passing second."
The young detective let out a furious roar and charged Slade, letting loose a flurry of blows that most people would have failed to dodge.
Slade was not most people.
Slade dodged all but one blow, a kick that caught his head and cracked the mask. Robin gave the man a smirk that spoke of his utter defiance as he ripped Slade's insignia off of his uniform and threw it on the ground.
The smirk died as soon as Slade charged at him again, throwing a punch that the Boy Wonder was too slow to dodge.
"I have much to teach you." Robin heard the voice of his enemy over the ringing of his own ears and felt Slade's fist close around a scruff of his clothing and lift him into the air. "You have learned the thrill of victory and I am now teaching you about the sting of defeat. Soon, you will learn about gratitude from me as well."
He threw Robin to the side and began to speak again. "I made you my apprentice, gave you my knowledge and the means to elevate yourself beyond what you were." Slade trailed off as he drove a vicious kick into the Boy Wonder's side. "But all you care about are your foolish little friends!"
Slade stepped away again, the trigger for the probes now in his right hand. "Perhaps…I should put an end to that."
"Wait…" Robin's voice echoed throughout the room as he slowly stood on his feet. He thought for a moment about attacking Slade once again…but ultimately decided against it. The gap between them was far too wide and the consequences of failure…
"Don't." He said, falling to his knees. "I'll do what you say."
"Good boy." Slade chuckled. "And from now on, I'd like you to call me—!"
Something whizzed in the air behind them and struck Slade in the back of the head with a heavy crack.
"GAH!" The criminal mastermind turned around, and his eyes went wide.
Standing in one of the doors to his observatory were the other Titans…including his wayward son.
"Penny for your thoughts, asshole?" The little shit said, a cheeky grin most likely on his face as he flipped a small copper-colored coin.
Slade began to tremble in rage as he heard Robin rise to his feet, reaching for the activation trigger…only to find nothing there.
"Looking for this?" Robin's voice reached Slade's enraged ears as the older man turned to the Teen Titan. His eyes went wide as Robin crushed the device in his hand…and then leapt at Slade and struck him once again.
"TITANS! GO!"
The former mercenary let out pained groan after pained groan as the Titans attacked him again and again.
'Where the hell are Seventh and Zero!'
With Seventh and Zero.
Samantha's eyes went wide as she saw her father's rapid defeat at the hands of the Titans. Then, those same eyes narrowed with a dark determination as she turned to her comrade. "Come on, we've got to help him!"
She turned towards to the elevator to the lower levels…only to not hear a second set of footsteps follow her own. Zero turned back to the other apprentice, and found him still staring at the screen, the wrist of the severed hand angled upwards.
"…Tenko?" She spoke, uncertainty creeping into her voice.
"Samantha…" He said, placing his left hand into the left pocket of his trench coat. "I really do like you as a person, but…" He paused, as if contemplating something, then he turned towards her. "You are far too loyal to Slade for my liking."
Then—faster than the mortal eye could conceive—he darted forwards and slammed a fist into her stomach. That blow alone knocked her unconscious, and she slumped to the floor. Tenko smirked and withdrew a flip-phone from his pocket.
"It's me. I need you to take someone far away from Jump City…but not so far that they can't be brought back…"
He closed the phone and turned back to the computer console that he had been observing earlier.
"Now, where is that stupid self-destruct button?"
"AGH!" Slade screamed as Robin kicked him one last time, fully shattering the mask and sending him flying towards the nearby elevator. As the formerly masked man recovered, he heard his underground fortress begin to crumble and fall into itself, as if to solidify his defeat. As he watched the Titans make their retreat, he mumbled to himself, voice full of rage. "Until next time, Titans…until next time."
As the elevator made its accent to the escape tunnels above, Slade pondered the current state of affairs, even as the elevator reached the top of the shaft.
So caught up was he in his thoughts, he didn't notice the poison-coated arrow pointed at him as the door to the elevator opened…
Later, at Titan's Tower, with the Teen Titans…
"Am I done yet?" Beast Boy asked, his voice muffled by the large and cumbersome device that was currently attached to his head.
"Yep," Cyborg replied, letting out a sigh of relief. "The Titans are officially probe free!"
Beast Boy and Starfire cheered as the three Titans dragged Robin off to create what they described as the ultimate breakfast, leaving Blitzkrieg and Raven mostly alone in the common room.
"You know," Raven said as she stared at the chaos that had now consumed the kitchen. "I had been afraid that Robin had fully fallen to his own darker impulses…"
"And now?" Blitzkrieg asked, turning slightly towards her.
"I see how foolish I was." She replied. "I think that is because he has us to rely on…just like we all have each other."
Blitzkrieg turned away and smiled.
Elsewhere. Luminous.
Luminous frowned as another hour passed by, his red-haired companion humming some nonsense song to himself while the large, armored figure next to him—apparently named Saeld—remained silent. After a moment, the light-wielding vigilante decided to speak.
"You said he would be here." He growled out. The reply came in an instance.
"And he will be." Cire responded. "Death Hand has never broken his word, and he will not start now."
Just as Cire finished, the door into the large room burst open, with Death Hand and another walking in.
The other was rather unremarkable, as the only notable feature was an eye-patch over the left eye. Otherwise, she would not have look like anyone other than the average college student.
Death Hand, on the other hand, was dressed to grab attention. Aside from the pale, severed hand that was somehow attached to his face, he wore a blood-red trench coat, and dyed-white hair tied back into a ponytail.
"Greetings, comrades!" Death Hand cried out, fully intent on announcing his arrival. "We are gathered here today to discuss our shared goals! The dissolution of the Teen Titans…and the salvation and remolding of our world."
The woman cleared her throat. "And how is doing…whatever it is we're going to do going to save the world?"
Death Hand said nothing, instead choosing to roll up the sleeve of his left arm displaying a variety of tattoos that glowed an ominous red color. The glow intensified, and moments later, a flash of red occurred, blinding all in the room. When the dust cleared, a boy who couldn't have been much older than Cire himself was lying on the floor of their meeting room. As the boy groaned, Death Hand darted towards him and placed for fingers on his head, leaving his index finger hovering just above his right eye.
"Now, Drake…" Death Hand began, voice as soft and as cold as his namesake. "I have set you free and given you a physical form, but you are still bound to me. Meaning that if you act against me and my interests, your newfound freedom is forfeit. Do you understand?"
The boy nodded, as silent as a graveyard, and Death Hand smirked.
"Good. Now, I need you to answer a single question: Where. Is. The Doom Slayer?"
Lexcorp Tower. Metropolis.
Lex Luthor hummed as he swirled a glass of fine white wine in his hands. Business—on both sides of the world—was going well. His Legion of Doom was almost finished assembling. All he needed to do was tie up a few loose ends and all would be ready for the next phase of the plan.
Speaking of loose ends…
Luthor deactivated the World View and turned to the man who had just entered his office. "Is he dead?"
Malcom Merlyn—also known as the Dark Archer—nodded. "It's done. And I have retrieved the files that he had."
Alexander Luthor Junior smiled. "Good. Do be a good man and bring that to our good friend Calculator…soon the whole world will know what the League has done…and how Slade Wilson died trying to stop them from committing further atrocities…"
Arella stared down at the world from the immaterial. So much had gone wrong, so many plans upended…just for the dark ambitions of a man who was once greater than he once was. Soon, chaos would consume the multiverse, and perhaps she was to blame.
She had, after all, been the one to start all of this. Sean was hardly the first one she had brought to her world from other dimensions. No, the first one was a man of unique…Insight…
"Hello there."
The mother of Raven wheeled around, searching for the source of the sudden voice, and found a being in a red cloak.
"Do not be alarmed." It spoke. "My name is Samur Mayker…and I believe we can help each other…"
AN: And thus ends Arc One…I'm going to work on Desolation for a bit, but I will return.
Also, the secret of ALJ is reveled...to those who can notice it.