Teen Titans; Epilogue Arc – Prologue: Rewind; Chapter 11: A Ticking Time Bomb
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Detonator…. Get the detonator….
I'm fine…
Where's Slade??
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A blur. The line was not so simply, and yet he felt like the control was, thwarted somehow. Dick was asked by his master to go to the basement, as the man upstairs (not God, cliché much) set up his plans to take down Mr. Wayne in that bachelor's tower. How it had sounded familiar, but…Dick did not ask for an explanation.
He'd bring the canteen of soup to her, as if an armed forces' personnel with a death wish who'd be interacting with a "dangerous" hostage.
However, the enemy that had tried to call to him, had done so by another name. Dick held his skull and winced, trying not to clumsily drop the steel thermos as he yelped on his way down the stairs to the lowest level of their "base of operations."
Slade did not call the base anything else, it would be ready to go as soon as they did their job here.
Then, it was off to Metropolis to meet with a supportive figure who had funded this whole operation.
Dick wanted to ask them, if they knew…
~Apprentice. Come in. Can you read me? ~ His ear crackled a bit as the shock wasn't too deep. Dick nodded and put a hand to the door at the bottom of the steps. Finally, he let out a brief sigh. ~ Yes, Master. I'm bringing the Titan her meal –
~ Good. I was afraid your mind had wandered off a bit…. Guess it was just my mistake. You weren't acting like yourself during our last, late session… ~
Richard raised his eyes to the door as they continued with their link.
~ Was just, tired. A lot on my min –
~You'll tell me then, Dick. ~ Slade cut him off as Richard bit the inside of his cheek.
~I'm…I…I'm sorry –
His mind flashed back to a memory of a gleaming mask looking up, as his eyes shut out the rest of the world….
He shook his head, shrugging off the cold feeling in his bones from that reminder of his sacrifice. ~It won't happen again; I will report any changes to you. I am, sorry that I offended you, Master. ~
With some energy left to swallow, Dick awaited another reprimand, a pat on the back….
I'm pathetic….
Was all he thought, however.
~See that you do. I appreciate this additional, compliance on my apprentice's own part… but don't try to cling to have my favor like that again. It is, unbecoming. ~
~Yes, Master Slade. ~ Nodding, Dick wondered if the man was aware. That a part of him was still…left to ponder the past.
~ Very good. Continue as you were, apprentice. Once you have finished with Raven's delivery, I'd like to have you all to myself for a few hours before your next mission brief. ~
Dick would have ripped his hair out. That either meant spar and bleed all over the dojo, or trying to just…cope with having Slade –
Wait! Master Slade…. Was…. why was he thinking like that??
~ And he said "your" mission. That was never normal…~
Then, but why did it scare him…
~Thank you. Master. ~ Was all Dick could utter as the link sputtered and died. The desolation; the cold stairwell and the fact that down here, no one could hear you scream…. he decided to try to laugh it off…but, all that had come out was a strained sob as he leaned his forehead into the cool metal plated doorway to Raven's cell.
This place was a prison, and he knew it.
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Of course, Raven had not felt the significant flutter in his chest, or that racing thought - train that had belonged to another. She peered up as the metal barred door clicked; a visitor had come, and his aura reeked of an intrusive force. She was tainted with it as well, and put up her guard as the unmasked boy staring back did not desire to show any expression. A perfect soldier, that was… Martyr…
"You came, but why." She looked up, a dreary look, yet desperate to discover if Dick was still in there. The Robin who'd not wanted to hurt his friends. She did not recognize that face, but he was there. Blue dusted eyes from lackluster events – being a step behind Deathstroke no matter where these missions took them. He was still alive, and she had to try one more time to call out.
"Master Slade wants you to keep up your strength." Dick lifted the thermos to place it gently before the empath like some offering to a revered deity.
Only, Trigon was no god. He was a monster that could be banished…if they only knew how…
"He's going to bring back my father, you have to know –
"Master Slade told me all about you." Dick spat darkly, snidely putting some added emphasis on the comment.
"Did he say how you became his apprentice?" Raven crossed her arms and wondered how this would eventually end. Only Dick knew the answer to this riddle.
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Dick's jaw locked up, then his voice had begun to crack as he replied back. "He, told me not to speak –
"But you can't help it." Frowning, Raven got up even as her magic blocking collar forbade her from getting too close. Her arms clasped to stay still if she provoked her providers. "He didn't train you to fight. He took you from your family. And now, he wants you to kill your father –
"He's not my father!!" Dick seethed and took up the thermos, chucking it with a yell at the wall behind the goth teenager.
She did not flinch. "If you kill Bruce Wayne; if you let Trigon, use me to come into this world to let it be destroyed, then Slade will not only win you over your "false" loyalty... He'll also be allowed to –
"Stop…. Talking!" Dick breathed, seething and falling to one knee temporarily as Raven's words found a way towards his guarded heart and mind.
"I can still find him in there, it's your mind. Our leader is NOT a Martyr." Raven professed this, "He's a –
~ APPRENTICE! ~
A scream through the link sounded, as Raven telepathically shook, covering her own ears.
"He…."
Dick's fists clenched, balling up as he breathed, in. Then out…. trying to will back…his own voice.
The voice of a madman.
Raven shook her head, knowing what would happen. "Don't reply. Please –
"SHUT U –
~ MARTYR! THAT'S ENOUGH. I'm sending the robots to see you to your room. ~
Raven felt it too. That voice. It wasn't, whole….?
Dick's face scrunched up in pain from the mental drain, but thankfully he'd not be training with the madman before…his mission…tonight…
~Yes, Master. It won't happen again. I'll await their arrival. As you wish… ~
No reply, as the clanking of steel boots came to the door no more than a few moments after. Dick turned away from the empath, and yet Raven could see that her words had left an effect. His hands were still shaking.
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The robots took him away, up the stairs, to his room for a simple time – out.
She lowered her eyes and looked back at the bots, hoping Slade could see her expression.
~We're not giving up. The Titans will stop you, and I know Robin's secret. ~
She hoped. Well, but that was a feeling that could not last. Slade had to see the light, and Gotham was the place to put him back inside of that Pandora's box as the biggest threat to their recovery plan. The tempting object that shook the world over and released all the evils onto mankind, where a small bit of hope tore away its power over the people to have lifted the lid.
If only she could continue to be that hope for Dick…
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Bruce's return to see Lucius Fox was, a startle. The headline read; "that the billionaire CEO was on the hit list of every known crook in Gotham," yet Bruce explained that he'd annoyed a very important figure which had lead to their feud in the first place.
"What are you going to do to stop them?" Mr. Fox sounded intrigued by if the Bat would return to his late-night work.
"I made sure to put my best staff on the job. Do you know about the Teen Titans, Lucius?" Bruce leaned forward in his seat as BB in his dragonfly form out the window, buzzed past. The words; shatterproof and bullet proof would not scare Slade. But a pterodactyl in your face, might.
"I've heard of them helping out in the west coast. They've got a headquarters there, right? A giant T, the tabloids said."
"Yes, and I've asked for them to see about protecting "me" until we find the one who's put out the hits…" He meant just one hit, and he meant his civilian identify, but Lucius would come to later wean Wayne's fib out.
"What about…" Fox leaned over with his brown eyes shimmering full of hope. "The Bat?"
He whispered this, playing his part well. Slade had to be watching from the shadows on a feed that only he could locate inside the Towers.
"Wayne Enterprises is not the only source of this killer's discontent." Bruce said with a gaze towards the window. "I think, the Bat might have to go out for a bit and do some late-night digging, you know. Just to scare off the –
" Bruce!" Fox tugged the man close enough to keep this between them. " Don't get yourself killed. Do you hear yourself? Batman would..."
He was funding the crime fighter, and he and Bruce were practically family. Lucius pulled away.
Batman was no exception. Slade killing him, or Robin….
"What about your ward? The Grayson kid. Wasn't he studying off in –
Bruce gave Lucius a look that implied something more behind the eyes of that billionaire playboy. The older male froze.
"Oh, God…he's a hit? On the list, too??"
"IT would seem, and I do know…they already took him out." He watched as Lucius's expression changed to something darker.
Lucius shook his head with a sad sigh. "I'm. Sorry…Mr. Wayne…. That boy –
"He won't be the only victim, which is why I need your help, Lucius…" He whispered into the older man's ear. " Go, spread a new rumor."
If Slade wanted to play dirty, then so could Gotham's son and perfect protector.
Mr. Fox nodded, as if he'd heard about the company going bankrupt.
He was coming to his senses, and Dick wouldn't hold back.
Cy's eye in the sky or fly on the wall cam blinked back from inside the wall, as Bruce nodded right to it.
Lucius was being used, but it was for family.
And Bruce would not lose anymore of the ones he cared for so deeply.
He just hoped that he wasn't wrong. Slade's motives still were a hit or miss. He could be anywhere, and that…. scared even the Dark Knight to rise and scour the city streets.
If he wanted to end up shot, come morning.
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BB landed by Star on the next roof. The Wayne Towers was, a fun place to sky dive or reminisce about the world below.
Starfire sat with her knees to her chest and a frown on her lips. Her complexion was a lighter tone. Summer had ended, and Dick…he was not able to see the bay where they…
She hid away her eyes as Gar tried to slip over as a big-eyed kitten to comfort his dear friend.
"It's ok Star…. He nuzzled her face and tried to keep her from coming apart before the big announcement.
"R... What will he be once he is returned to us?" Starfire soon spoke, and her words were wiser than any of the League's.
"He'll be Robin…. but, I don't know…" Beastboy sat beside her and morphed into a human again as he swung his legs over the side of the tall building.
"We can't stay teens forever, but this isn't kid stuff. It's real and…. Slade…." Beastboy held back his displeasure with a sniff. "He's one bad dude, and the Titans have to stop him to save…. our leader… -
"Yet, Raven is with him and she says…" Star took in a breath.
"RAVENSAYSTHATROBINWILLNOTBEHARMEDANDOURTIMEWILLREVERYONCESLADEANDTRIGONAREVANQUISHED, YETIDONOTBELIEVETHATISALL –
"It has to be, Star!" BB turned to her as her eyes had started to sparkle with tears of a starlit night.
"I…sorry, but it can't be the end of the Titans. Raven is always so –
"Yet Mr. Wayne is aware that his life is in danger; he almost…welcomes his end…" She shook away her tears again. "Robin would say not to fear the unexpected. He would say we are strongest when, together….and yet I fear this "drifting apart" that we are afraid to know….is going to win…"
"It won't; because we have you an' Cy, and Rae and me. We can face him, Starfire. But you have to try to be strong. Because…I can't…." Bb felt his chest flutter. Something was wrong. His eyes screwed shut as his teeth gnashed, his head to his chest and hand clutching his heart.
"Beastboy? What is –
A roar and his body morphed painfully; Star was there without asking why. His eyes became blood red as the coursing aura surrounding, her friend was speckled - and Starfire's eyes lit up by just how.
"The evil man known as "Slade" will NOT control my friends! Bring him back! Ruthmorkforal!! Andgarthanscalk! Rutha! Let him go now, please!! BEASTBOY!!"
/
The sky fight drew in Bruce's attention.
Right now, someone was activating the probes to get to Batman. As much as he wanted to fight back, Cyborg shooed the thought off.
~ We'll get aholda' Bb an' Star. We have KF and Roy in the building. They won't let ya' down. ~
He logged off as an eerie sound by the door had Lucius bolt from his seat.
It was brute force that brought down the pillar, The metal face in their way was robotic. Bruce knew it. This wasn't the plan. The Titans were distracted, so he messaged out to KF via C.O.M.M in his suit; who came and dove at the attacker, only to find a Sladebot where Robin's face might have –
"Bomb…. bomb!" KF clutched the thing's shoulders as it flailed about, and he shoved it to the ground as its chest insert ticked down to zero. Bruce grabbed Fox's arm as KF zipped over to catch them both. "JUMP!" They all crashed through the window as the blast decimated Wayne's office to smithereens and ash.
In its chest.
His first attempt, was to scare.
Always to make a scene.
As long as Slade didn't think to do that to his ward…A sickly bile rose in Wayne's throat.
"Mr. Wayne?"
"Bruce!"
The shock, the flash of light, or the probes being a pain to withstand…. Bruce drifted off and saw no more of the madman's tricks.
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