"Iccarus," Slade murmured as he switched off the TV, "I rather like it."
"I don't," Robin said miserably. Damn, damn, damn. He hadn't thought that someone would catch him on TV. Damn. This could really screw things up. At least they didn't know it was him.
"Whether you like it or not, it fits you. From now on you will be referred to as Iccarus. 'Robin' is the name of a weak, silly songbird, anyway."
Robin growled. The point of being Robin was to represent swiftness and joy, the embodiment of a hero. He was NOT about to be named after some lame myth.
"Like Iccarus, you shall soar higher than the sun -"
"And then come crashing down? I've heard the myth before."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of it - you will not crash down. You will become the most respected and feared being in the underworld, as I am."
"Whoopie."
Suddenly Slade's hand shot out and slapped Robin across the face. Robin winced in pain, but forced himself to not cry out.
"I do not like your tone," Slade said calmly, "you'll need to learn how to tame that tongue of yours."
Robin glared up at Slade with his best 'Go to hell and DIE' face. Slade just chuckled emotionlessly and began to walk to the center of the room. "Come, we must begin your training."
'Oh, this should be fun,' Robin thought, following Slade. He wasn't that he was worried about his ability - he was fairly confident in that. It's just he wasn't sure he would like Slade's method of training.
Unfortunately, he was absolutely right.
They faced each other in the center of the room with a spotlight over them. Robin got into a fighting stance. Slade stood with his arms crossed.
"Now," he said, "try to hit me as hard as you can."
Robin smirked inwardly. 'Gladly,' he thought. He moved forward, swinging his fist -
And jerked to a stop.
"Ah! What -"
Looking around, Robin found that some sort of metal clamp had come up out of the ground and grabbed Robin's ankle. He couldn't move it at all.
POW!
The next moment Robin was seeing stars as Slade cracked him across the chin. Robin swayed and just barely managed to keep balance. "Hey! How the heck am I supposed to fight with this thing on my foot!?"
"Well, you'll just have to endure, won't you?" Slade said, grinning. He hit Robin again, who just barely blocked it.
"THIS is the training? Getting beaten to death?"
"Beaten, yes, death, no. That wouldn't be very cost-effective, now would it? You see, your problem is that your former mentor - oh, I know all about him, I assure you - has spoiled you. If you're going to learn anything you'll need to be smacked around a bit."
"What are you, my dad now?"
"I OWN you, Icarus. That's close enough for me."
"Don't you dare call me tha -"
Slade hit him again. The conversation was over. As much as Robin tried, not being able to move about made it extremely difficult to fight and block. He was getting hit more than he hit back, and he would sway back, just barely staying up. That's when he realized what this reminded him of: a clown punching bag. You punch it and it comes popping back up. His humiliation was complete.
He tried not to cry out, but as time wore on, it got more and more worse. It wasn't long before he was yelling in pain, and his cries echoed throughout the hideout.
~
"Robin? ROOOOOBIN! Where are you?"
It was evening now and Starfire was still searching the city, with nothing to show for her work. She floated over Town Square for the umpteenth time and sighed. She rested on top of a nearby building and put her chin in her hands. She stayed like that for a long time, watching the sun slowly set and the city lights flicker on.
Suddenly she felt a presence behind her, and she stiffened. Leaping off the building, she floated in the air and spun around to face her stalker. She gasped.
"Get over it," he snapped, "I need you to tell me what the hell's going on."
- - (*whew* This is getting hard! Poor Robin, I love him so much but treat him so bad. :P
Starre ~ I checked out your story - it was great! Seriously, continue that soon! And as for the special guest - uh, Batman? NO! Okay yes. :P I guess it was pretty obvious especially with that last line. ^_^
Loselen Snowstar ~ Good point on the Icarus thing. I dunno, I just kinda went for random Greek names, I think it worked out.
Archer ~ Thanks! (Everyone, this is my good buddy Archer, SAY HI! ^_^)
"I don't," Robin said miserably. Damn, damn, damn. He hadn't thought that someone would catch him on TV. Damn. This could really screw things up. At least they didn't know it was him.
"Whether you like it or not, it fits you. From now on you will be referred to as Iccarus. 'Robin' is the name of a weak, silly songbird, anyway."
Robin growled. The point of being Robin was to represent swiftness and joy, the embodiment of a hero. He was NOT about to be named after some lame myth.
"Like Iccarus, you shall soar higher than the sun -"
"And then come crashing down? I've heard the myth before."
"Ah, but that's the beauty of it - you will not crash down. You will become the most respected and feared being in the underworld, as I am."
"Whoopie."
Suddenly Slade's hand shot out and slapped Robin across the face. Robin winced in pain, but forced himself to not cry out.
"I do not like your tone," Slade said calmly, "you'll need to learn how to tame that tongue of yours."
Robin glared up at Slade with his best 'Go to hell and DIE' face. Slade just chuckled emotionlessly and began to walk to the center of the room. "Come, we must begin your training."
'Oh, this should be fun,' Robin thought, following Slade. He wasn't that he was worried about his ability - he was fairly confident in that. It's just he wasn't sure he would like Slade's method of training.
Unfortunately, he was absolutely right.
They faced each other in the center of the room with a spotlight over them. Robin got into a fighting stance. Slade stood with his arms crossed.
"Now," he said, "try to hit me as hard as you can."
Robin smirked inwardly. 'Gladly,' he thought. He moved forward, swinging his fist -
And jerked to a stop.
"Ah! What -"
Looking around, Robin found that some sort of metal clamp had come up out of the ground and grabbed Robin's ankle. He couldn't move it at all.
POW!
The next moment Robin was seeing stars as Slade cracked him across the chin. Robin swayed and just barely managed to keep balance. "Hey! How the heck am I supposed to fight with this thing on my foot!?"
"Well, you'll just have to endure, won't you?" Slade said, grinning. He hit Robin again, who just barely blocked it.
"THIS is the training? Getting beaten to death?"
"Beaten, yes, death, no. That wouldn't be very cost-effective, now would it? You see, your problem is that your former mentor - oh, I know all about him, I assure you - has spoiled you. If you're going to learn anything you'll need to be smacked around a bit."
"What are you, my dad now?"
"I OWN you, Icarus. That's close enough for me."
"Don't you dare call me tha -"
Slade hit him again. The conversation was over. As much as Robin tried, not being able to move about made it extremely difficult to fight and block. He was getting hit more than he hit back, and he would sway back, just barely staying up. That's when he realized what this reminded him of: a clown punching bag. You punch it and it comes popping back up. His humiliation was complete.
He tried not to cry out, but as time wore on, it got more and more worse. It wasn't long before he was yelling in pain, and his cries echoed throughout the hideout.
~
"Robin? ROOOOOBIN! Where are you?"
It was evening now and Starfire was still searching the city, with nothing to show for her work. She floated over Town Square for the umpteenth time and sighed. She rested on top of a nearby building and put her chin in her hands. She stayed like that for a long time, watching the sun slowly set and the city lights flicker on.
Suddenly she felt a presence behind her, and she stiffened. Leaping off the building, she floated in the air and spun around to face her stalker. She gasped.
"Get over it," he snapped, "I need you to tell me what the hell's going on."
- - (*whew* This is getting hard! Poor Robin, I love him so much but treat him so bad. :P
Starre ~ I checked out your story - it was great! Seriously, continue that soon! And as for the special guest - uh, Batman? NO! Okay yes. :P I guess it was pretty obvious especially with that last line. ^_^
Loselen Snowstar ~ Good point on the Icarus thing. I dunno, I just kinda went for random Greek names, I think it worked out.
Archer ~ Thanks! (Everyone, this is my good buddy Archer, SAY HI! ^_^)