Author's Note: A more serious one-shot, full of un-empathetic angst. Takes place in the future by quite a few years (did you know that the first episode of season two- no, I won't spoil it for anyone), and focuses on an old enemy of the Titans.
Warning: This story will have possible spoilers from the comics, but I highly doubt that the comic plots will be followed too seriously because Teen Titans is a show for kids and the comic books are… well, they're comic books. Also, I have yet to decide but will probably use the characters real names. These have not been used in the series yet, but I don't think anyone really cares. Feel free to skip a story if it doesn't sound interesting or there are spoilers, like this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or any characters
A small smile, starting at the tip of his mouth and cautiously stretching through each millimeter of lip, plays on his face as thoughts and memories flow through his mind. There was no one there to witness the odd sight, the twitch of lips and gleam found deep within tired eyes. Crooked line breaking a porcelain face.
Once upon a time; in the past, though nobody really knew how long ago the past truly laid for such a man, he was surrounded by people. People who would cower in fear of his small, innocent smile. Once upon a time he had many objects of porcelain, of gold and silver, shining brilliantly in lingering halls and vast rooms. Once, though now he sometimes fears it was all an illusion, he had power; control and influence and capability over everything his eye could see.
He had dreams. Every man has dreams and hopes, and he was a man, after all, if one removed the mask he had cast upon himself once, upon a time. He dreamed of a legacy, desired for his name to be remembered throughout history. 'Slade' would strike fear into the hearts of billions, he would be feared more than Trigon himself, and his malevolence would be legendary. Once upon a time only one thing truly stood in his way.
The smile disappears without notice and a profound frown supplants it. A brush on the arm reminds him of his one and true constant company; maggots. Small, weak, wiggling constantly, eating constantly. Always eating at his open wounds. Making them itch, burn in prickling sensation, every little bite running up his arm, through the shoulder, up the spine, and into the core of his brain, where the pain harassed him without constraint or sympathy.
Yes, once upon a time Slade had been rich and powerful. Now, so horribly long after his days of grace, he sits in a diminutive cell with gray stone walls and hard dirt floors deep under the earth. Who was he to believe he could run forever? Prison was never a tormenting thought because he knew without question or doubt that evil Super Villains received maximum security cells of thick harsh metal, with a bed, pillow, blanket, sink, toilet, perhaps a few earned books to keep him occupied, and some company. Slade, enemy of the great Teen Titans, lives alone in the dark, bitter cell beneath the world while everyone above him forgot that he even existed.
But the crooked line returns to his worn face. Time had destroyed him, this was true, but time did not sympathize with good while casting out evil. He had heard of each fall of the Titans, or maybe he had imagined hearing them, but in the end it did not matter, because in the end he had convinced himself that the Titans failed and fell, he only regretted not being present to witness such an extraordinary event.
Cyborg, the half-robot whose brawns admirably added up to more than brains, met his final demise after his decoy pod collided with the grueling landscape of Siberia, the rest of his team captured and distant from his location. He was eventually discovered and taken to a man with the title of Dr. Pyotor Raskov, who rebuilt Victor's body to the paramount of his capabilities, but Cyborg's brain remained forever virtually inactive. Time wasted him away to nothing but a mass of man and metal, still fully operational, but without personality or individuality. Slade lives with only the regret of never controlling such an individual without constraint.
Starfire and Robin. Slade chuckles, a feeble cough and hacking from the back of the throat. He should have written a book on their future, it was quite inevitable. They fell in love not so long after his defeat, the prep and the jock. High School royalty without the school. And, as anticipated their joy was plucked from them when Starfire, the great princess of Tamaran, was placed in an arranged marriage. Slade never did learn what became of them, but it sickens him to think that they could be happy somewhere together when Richard (I assume that's the Robin in the series, there has to be 200 different ones!) should be devoted to him.
Raven… now that he looks back on the Titans, Slade can not truly deny a deep enthrallment with Raven. She was a live impossibility from every aspect. She carried the safety of billions on her shoulders with complete acceptance. Deep in her mind she controlled the formidable Trigon himself while continuously restricting all emotions; affection, agitation, anger, adoration, concern, desire, despair, disturbance, drive, ecstasy, elation, empathy, excitement, fervor, grief, happiness, inspiration, joy, love, melancholy, passion, pride, rage, remorse, responsiveness, sadness, satisfaction, sensation, sensitiveness, sentiment, shame, sorrow, sympathy, thrill, tremor, vehemence, warmth, zeal. How many emotions does he feel even now, all alone and without company? How can one control human nature?
He despises the other Titans, a hate for them digs deeper into his skin everyday, but how can a man abhor one so like himself? He pretends that she has found happiness after such suffering. Trigon did escape in the end, and Raven bared trials and tribulations too terrible and lasting for Slade to recall. He heard that she had been cleansed of all evil, and could finally feel emotion. He knows that she uses such a gift to its fullest potential.
Slade lets his head fall back against the cold stone wall and contemplates. What about that green one? The actor, he recalls. Cyborg had called him 'Salad Head,' but his real name was… Beast Boy. Slade was sure that his double-agent broke the green one's heart when he was sixteen, but he was quick to pick up the pieces. In fact Slade suspected that Beast Boy had his eye on the unfeeling and cold Raven. Time chastised him ruthlessly when he lost control of his powers. Raven was replaced by her dark side and Beast Boy was consumed in anger, morphing into demons. He had found peace, at last, with the death of his love. But… but, she returned. And somehow he knows that they found a once upon a time together, because time knows no discrepancy.
Slade snickers, his shoulders roll with amusement and a twinkle reflects in his eyes. His snickers form into a coarse rumble of chuckles in the back of his throat and the crooked line returns to his lips. Unexpectedly a whimper releases itself from his throat, it's an appalling sound that echoes off of the stone that cages him. A second one follows, pathetic and damaged, and the stone sends it back to his ears mockingly. He snivels in shame, leaning against a wall blubbering like a baby. Sobs vibrate from his chest as his body shudders in pain. His hands cover his face in disgrace while his legs clasp to his chest, tears falling to the filthy floor.
Here lives Slade, deep underground while the world lives without him. Once upon a time he was powerful, feared, surrounded by people, full of dreams. But time had betrayed him, it deceived him, it punished him without mercy or forgiveness, without understanding or pity, it ripped down his throne and cast him into the dark.
Warning: This story will have possible spoilers from the comics, but I highly doubt that the comic plots will be followed too seriously because Teen Titans is a show for kids and the comic books are… well, they're comic books. Also, I have yet to decide but will probably use the characters real names. These have not been used in the series yet, but I don't think anyone really cares. Feel free to skip a story if it doesn't sound interesting or there are spoilers, like this one.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans or any characters
A small smile, starting at the tip of his mouth and cautiously stretching through each millimeter of lip, plays on his face as thoughts and memories flow through his mind. There was no one there to witness the odd sight, the twitch of lips and gleam found deep within tired eyes. Crooked line breaking a porcelain face.
Once upon a time; in the past, though nobody really knew how long ago the past truly laid for such a man, he was surrounded by people. People who would cower in fear of his small, innocent smile. Once upon a time he had many objects of porcelain, of gold and silver, shining brilliantly in lingering halls and vast rooms. Once, though now he sometimes fears it was all an illusion, he had power; control and influence and capability over everything his eye could see.
He had dreams. Every man has dreams and hopes, and he was a man, after all, if one removed the mask he had cast upon himself once, upon a time. He dreamed of a legacy, desired for his name to be remembered throughout history. 'Slade' would strike fear into the hearts of billions, he would be feared more than Trigon himself, and his malevolence would be legendary. Once upon a time only one thing truly stood in his way.
The smile disappears without notice and a profound frown supplants it. A brush on the arm reminds him of his one and true constant company; maggots. Small, weak, wiggling constantly, eating constantly. Always eating at his open wounds. Making them itch, burn in prickling sensation, every little bite running up his arm, through the shoulder, up the spine, and into the core of his brain, where the pain harassed him without constraint or sympathy.
Yes, once upon a time Slade had been rich and powerful. Now, so horribly long after his days of grace, he sits in a diminutive cell with gray stone walls and hard dirt floors deep under the earth. Who was he to believe he could run forever? Prison was never a tormenting thought because he knew without question or doubt that evil Super Villains received maximum security cells of thick harsh metal, with a bed, pillow, blanket, sink, toilet, perhaps a few earned books to keep him occupied, and some company. Slade, enemy of the great Teen Titans, lives alone in the dark, bitter cell beneath the world while everyone above him forgot that he even existed.
But the crooked line returns to his worn face. Time had destroyed him, this was true, but time did not sympathize with good while casting out evil. He had heard of each fall of the Titans, or maybe he had imagined hearing them, but in the end it did not matter, because in the end he had convinced himself that the Titans failed and fell, he only regretted not being present to witness such an extraordinary event.
Cyborg, the half-robot whose brawns admirably added up to more than brains, met his final demise after his decoy pod collided with the grueling landscape of Siberia, the rest of his team captured and distant from his location. He was eventually discovered and taken to a man with the title of Dr. Pyotor Raskov, who rebuilt Victor's body to the paramount of his capabilities, but Cyborg's brain remained forever virtually inactive. Time wasted him away to nothing but a mass of man and metal, still fully operational, but without personality or individuality. Slade lives with only the regret of never controlling such an individual without constraint.
Starfire and Robin. Slade chuckles, a feeble cough and hacking from the back of the throat. He should have written a book on their future, it was quite inevitable. They fell in love not so long after his defeat, the prep and the jock. High School royalty without the school. And, as anticipated their joy was plucked from them when Starfire, the great princess of Tamaran, was placed in an arranged marriage. Slade never did learn what became of them, but it sickens him to think that they could be happy somewhere together when Richard (I assume that's the Robin in the series, there has to be 200 different ones!) should be devoted to him.
Raven… now that he looks back on the Titans, Slade can not truly deny a deep enthrallment with Raven. She was a live impossibility from every aspect. She carried the safety of billions on her shoulders with complete acceptance. Deep in her mind she controlled the formidable Trigon himself while continuously restricting all emotions; affection, agitation, anger, adoration, concern, desire, despair, disturbance, drive, ecstasy, elation, empathy, excitement, fervor, grief, happiness, inspiration, joy, love, melancholy, passion, pride, rage, remorse, responsiveness, sadness, satisfaction, sensation, sensitiveness, sentiment, shame, sorrow, sympathy, thrill, tremor, vehemence, warmth, zeal. How many emotions does he feel even now, all alone and without company? How can one control human nature?
He despises the other Titans, a hate for them digs deeper into his skin everyday, but how can a man abhor one so like himself? He pretends that she has found happiness after such suffering. Trigon did escape in the end, and Raven bared trials and tribulations too terrible and lasting for Slade to recall. He heard that she had been cleansed of all evil, and could finally feel emotion. He knows that she uses such a gift to its fullest potential.
Slade lets his head fall back against the cold stone wall and contemplates. What about that green one? The actor, he recalls. Cyborg had called him 'Salad Head,' but his real name was… Beast Boy. Slade was sure that his double-agent broke the green one's heart when he was sixteen, but he was quick to pick up the pieces. In fact Slade suspected that Beast Boy had his eye on the unfeeling and cold Raven. Time chastised him ruthlessly when he lost control of his powers. Raven was replaced by her dark side and Beast Boy was consumed in anger, morphing into demons. He had found peace, at last, with the death of his love. But… but, she returned. And somehow he knows that they found a once upon a time together, because time knows no discrepancy.
Slade snickers, his shoulders roll with amusement and a twinkle reflects in his eyes. His snickers form into a coarse rumble of chuckles in the back of his throat and the crooked line returns to his lips. Unexpectedly a whimper releases itself from his throat, it's an appalling sound that echoes off of the stone that cages him. A second one follows, pathetic and damaged, and the stone sends it back to his ears mockingly. He snivels in shame, leaning against a wall blubbering like a baby. Sobs vibrate from his chest as his body shudders in pain. His hands cover his face in disgrace while his legs clasp to his chest, tears falling to the filthy floor.
Here lives Slade, deep underground while the world lives without him. Once upon a time he was powerful, feared, surrounded by people, full of dreams. But time had betrayed him, it deceived him, it punished him without mercy or forgiveness, without understanding or pity, it ripped down his throne and cast him into the dark.