Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans, WB and DC do. I do,
however, own Caspia and Breon, whom I borrowed from something else I've
written.
Notes: Finally, chapters 3-5 were meant to be one short chapter, but here's where we ended up. Either way, enjoy.
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Part 5: Mirrors
Raven had been sitting in her room for an hour now. It felt like the day should be over, but it wasn't. Not even close. It wasn't even noon.
She'd been through a lot lately and had, only an hour before, been told that she had very little time left to live. There was also a dangerous man, who had tried to kill her, staying in the tower; at her invitation. Her friends weren't happy that there was a dangerous man in the tower, and they were even less pleased that he was here on an invitation.
What surprised her was that this was depressing her. She had been fairly certain for years that her father would one day take control, but it was something else to have someone confirm her fears. It was also oddly comforting to know that there was someone who wouldn't hesitate to take her down when it happened.
Raven glanced at the mirror that she kept on her desk. It held no answers, only a way to talk to her father, which never yielded anything. The only answers left were the ones her guest were keeping hidden, and he was almost certainly asleep right now after being awake for most of the night.
She decided to do what she normally did: She left her room to meditate on the roof.
When she opened the door Raven began to suspect that destiny has a schedule to keep. Her guest was there, standing at the edge of the roof, staring into the city.
Trying not to be noticed, Raven quietly slipped onto the roof, careful not to step on the bloodstain still visible from her and Alex Caspia's previous fight, and closed the door.
"Hello Raven." Alex called out, not bothering to turn around.
Raven shrugged to herself at the minor defeat, "I'm impressed."
"Don't be," He said, still not turning around, "you smell of demon. Hard to miss if you know about it."
"Did you get that from your father?" Raven asked as she moved beside him at the edge.
"Yes."
The two stood there, each trying to ignore the other. The silence that Raven so often sought began to weigh down on her. She wanted, and didn't want, to ask one question. The answer could either save her or condemn her Ignorance almost seemed better
"Beast Boy offered to get my stuff from the motel where I was staying." Caspia said suddenly, "The others went out to stop some bank robbers."
"They do that." Raven said flatly.
The silence returned, broken only by the gentle whistle of the wind. Raven watched him out the corner of her eye, he seemed to be staring at one spot in the city.
"You have four choices." He said quietly, still not looking at her. "But you won't like any of them."
"What are they?"
Caspia sighed slightly, "I come back and kill you in a few months, hopefully before you lose it; I kill you now and be sure; you run and let your father take over..." He paused as he looked up at the sky; not really seeing anything, "Or you take over my job, you'd probably be able to keep going until you were eighteen, maybe a bit more."
Raven looked to her guest as he turned his attention back to the city. She knew he was serious.
"There are over a hundred half-demons in this city." Caspia said, as though it were something that had only just occurred to him, "Nine are possessed by their fathers."
He paused and it sounded as though he changed the subject again, "There's a young woman down there who was raped last year. Rita Fennel. She had a child because of it." He finally turned to Raven, "She's an accountant and a great mother. She loves her little Sam more than anything else in the world."
Raven met his eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"
"You're smarter than that, Raven." He said coldly, bending down to pick up the piece of the satellite dish stand that he had been hit with a week before. He began to idly thumb the jagged edge on one side.
His voice became matter-of-fact "You know, funny thing, my wings don't care about cloth, but I can't call them through metals." He looked at the small cut on his thumb, "It's a good thing that no one's ever figured that out; if they threw a dagger in the right place I could fall off a cliff without being able to save myself." As he finished he looked at the bit of metal in his hand, shrugged, then tossed it behind him onto the rooftop.
Raven watched as the sharp bit of steel bounced onto the concrete roof. Alex was looking out over the water, intentionally oblivious to everything else in the world. Three more years, at least, were in that small piece of metal; and Alex was offering it to her. It was too tempting.
Despite herself, she reached her power out to the improvised knife and raised it off the ground. She held it there, the point aimed for his exposed back.
And held it.
Raven let it fall with a clatter.
Caspia nodded his head knowingly, if slightly disappointedly, "It's not easy, is it?"
Raven avoided the question by looking hard at him, "You said I could have three more years, but you're older than that. What's so different about us?"
Caspia's eyes narrowed, "I don't talk about it."
Raven raised an eyebrow, "You want me to kill you, but you won't tell me why?"
He half smiled at her briefly, "Would you tell me why you tried to commit suicide, if I asked?"
Raven almost jumped, but caught herself. Even so, her right hand moved over to her left wrist and began to rub it. "How did you know?"
He shook his head, "I didn't; not for sure. But you're a beautiful young woman. You're not exactly shy," He pointed to her bare legs, "Yet you wear sleeves that barely show your fingers on arms that almost never come out of your cloak. I used to do the same thing." He held his wrist so that she could see it easily. Sure enough, Raven saw a white scar running down the inside of his forearm. She just hadn't noticed it before.
The heavy silence returned again, but not for long. Caspia stepped past Raven, "I'm guessing you came up here to be alone, so I'll leave." He opened the door, "Please let your friends know that I'm going to see if I can't sniff out any others." The door closed and he was gone. Raven realized later that his last sentence was meant literally.
The dark girl sat down on the edge of the roof. She had been given four choices, and two of them were very tempting. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was scared.
The enemy she had been fighting all of her life was slowly gaining ground on her, and it didn't even have a body for her to fight. Now she was being forced to soul search in ways that she'd never considered before: Control was failing her; was acceptance the only way to stay human?
Was the real reason she'd joined the Titans the hope that she'd be killed and not have to worry anymore?
Raven wanted to survive, but more than that, she wanted to be able to live, in any way she wanted. Her father had taken that from her before she had even been born.
There was only one kind of freedom allowed for her kind. Would she be strong enough to take over the job of giving it to others? Would her friends understand?
No.
They would never understand, and she couldn't expect them to try. They did not have the same weight on them; the same fears.
Raven spent the rest of the day on the roof just looking out and thinking. Never once did she begin to meditate or chant her mantra. As night fell, she decided: As soon as he returned, Raven would find out what she could from Caspia, she would try becoming what he was.
She could only pray to be forgiven.
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Raven tossed and turned in her bed. Sleep had never been easy for her, but tonight was worse than normal. Caspia had returned, declared that he had found no more demons in the city and that he would leave them in the morning. He'd also thanked them for putting him up, but Robin seemed to have stopped listening after hearing that he was leaving. There was no love lost between those two. Raven wished that she knew why.
Starfire had been happy simply knowing that she, Raven, was safe from harm for the next few months; and Beast Boy and Cyborg were slightly put out that he was leaving. They had spent the remainder of the evening trying to convince Caspia to train with them, but had failed.
The sound of footsteps passed her room, but Raven didn't think much about it. It was just Starfire being lonely again.
Raven hadn't been able to get him alone long enough to ask him to train her. She was beginning to doubt her own resolve, but she refused to act like an impatient schoolgirl and wake him.
The footsteps came back and stopped near her door. Raven sat up, curious. Starfire was probably feeling guilty again about sleeping with Robin. For whatever reason, the Tamarranian girl thought that Raven was the best equipped to answer her questions.
Raven, for her part, wished that Robin would sit Starfire down and explain to her that if he didn't want her there, he'd tell her.
There was no sound of Starfire leaving, nor did she knock, "Open the door, Starfire." Raven called to the girl.
The door slid open, though there was no light in the hallway beyond. Raven couldn't see anything. In the darkness, Raven heard her visitor step inside. "Don't come in my room."
There was no answer, but the footsteps kept coming; faster now. Raven usually forgot that she had a sixth sense, but now she sensed something wrong. "Azarath..."
The footsteps broke into a run.
Raven jumped off her bed, putting the furniture between her and the intruder, "...Metrion..."
The intruder's footsteps reached the side of her bed then stopped.
"...Zinth..." Raven never finished the sentence. She saw a flash of light hit her in the chest, then oblivion took her.
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Slade watched through the viewscreen into the Titans' living room. Robin impressed him even more than he'd hoped when he'd escaped. Infecting himself with the probes had been a stroke of genius that even he had to acknowledge.
There was only one quality that he had to break Robin of before he'd be the perfect apprentice: Loyalty. Three of the five were now laid out in the room, gagged and disabled, only Robin and Starfire remained. Slade also took his hat off to Robin for teaching him how to defeat his friends. Those 'Red X' videos were most entertaining, and informative. The stun guns were Slade's addition though, there were times when the simple approach was best.
Slade's attention turned to the door as Robin was dragged into the room by his robot soldiers, followed soon after by a bound Starfire. Slade was slightly disappointed at how easily his robots had taken Robin, but he could correct that flaw as well.
Starfire was thrown into the center of the room on top of the other three Titans. Raven groaned into her gag as she returned to consciousness from the sudden impact.
Slade smiled behind his mask at the fury in Robin's eyes. He knew where Slade had learned how to disable his friends. He should, they had been taken down the same way that Robin himself had when he was Red X.
Slade waited until the reality of the situation set in, "Release him." He commanded his soldiers. Robin was immediately set loose.
"You're going to pay for this Slade!" Robin yelled as soon as he could. The young man grabbed one of his captors threw it hard into another. He was reaching for another when he heard Slade's voice.
"Temper, Robin." Slade said far too calmly. He was pointing at something through the viewscreen. Slowly, Robin followed the finger to see Starfire with one of the robots holding a knife to her throat. The young man's arms fell limp to his sides in defeat. "You see, Robin? I don't need ropes to hold you, you've done that yourself. Your little friends are nothing more than a liability." He turned to the girl now held at knifepoint. "Especially this one."
Robin watched helplessly as Starfire squirmed away from the blade, "If you hurt her I'll..." He began.
"You'll what?" Slade said with mock curiosity. "Watch her die? No Robin, even you can't fix a slit throat. But don't worry, I'm not going to harm any of your friends tonight. That is, if you're good, of course."
"What do you want?" Robin asked through gritted teeth.
"Good boy, Robin." Slade said with satisfaction. "I'm here to prove a point: No matter where you go, no matter what you do, you can't escape me Robin. Not even in your tower. I will have my apprentice back."
Robin almost growled, "I'll never join you Slade." To his side Robin heard Starfire cry out slightly, he turned to see a little blood on her neck. Robin turned back to the viewscreen, "Damn you."
Slade looked pleased, "Language Robin, really."
From across the room Starfire watched Robin's face. In his eyes she saw the pure hatred he felt for Slade burning brightly. The only thing that held him back from destroying everything of Slade's, and in so doing cause her to die, was his love for her, which also burned in his eyes. Starfire felt tears form in her eyes. She was terrified, but there was also a kind of joy. Joy that Robin really did love her as much as he said, and terrified, not only of the thought of dying, but also at how similar the love and hate in those eyes were.
Another prick in her neck brought Starfire back to the more pressing matter.
"Okay, you've made your point. Now get out of here!" Robin demanded again.
Slade shook his head, "You really have to work on that temper, Robin." Slade looked past the young man, "You can come out now." He said to someone Robin couldn't see.
It was Caspia. Robin hadn't heard him approach and had forgotten that he was in the tower. Everything made sense now. "You!" He cried out as he ran for Raven's guest. "You let them in!" Before Caspia could react Robin gave him a roundhouse to the face, knocking the other man down.
Robin jumped at him again, but while he was in the air his target transformed. Moving faster than he thought something that big could, a leathery wing slipped under and caught him. A quick flare of those wings later and Caspia sent Robin flying back across the room.
As his one time apprentice landed gracefully on his feet, Slade said, "Excellent Robin. Suspicion, vengeance, even without my guidance you are progressing. However, I don't need help to get past such simple security" He turned to the newcomer, "As for you: I see Robin has been recruiting, but I have no use for amateurs. Destroy him." He commanded his robots.
Two of them ran for the young man. The first was knocked aside with a slash of claws that barely scratched the paint on his torso. As the second leapt for Caspia, the young man was already gathering light into his hand. He caught the soldier's chest in his glowing hand. A split second later, the soldier's back exploded in a shower of dancing light and shattered steel.
"They're robots?" Caspia cried out in surprise as the broken body fell to the ground. Across the room, they heard someone clapping slowly.
It was Slade. "Bravo. Little Alex Caspia, I presume."
"Yes. You know me?" Caspia asked, folding his wings over his shoulders for comfort.
Robin looked back and forth between the two. "What does he mean, 'little'?"
Slade looked briefly to Robin, "Now, now, Robin, the adults are talking." He said condescendingly. He turned back, "It's been a long time Alex. I see that you've improved as well. My informants told me that you were dead."
"Who are you?"
"There was a time when you used to know me as, 'The Big Boss.'" Slade spoke the last word with a note of nostalgia.
Caspia's eyes narrowed with hate. "You!" Robin had to approve, until Caspia's eyes began to glow blood red that is. The winged man fell to his knees shaking and holding his head with those too large hands.
Slade didn't wait for him to regain himself, "Before you get angry, I'm not the one who sold you. In fact, I had someone there to buy you back when you destroyed the place."
Caspia looked up, the red in his eyes only a mild, fading hue now. "What? They told me that you'd ordered it."
Slade actually laughed once, "Ha. A mere hundred thousand? No, you're worth far more than that. And to a brothel? Really, Alex, do you think I'd have wasted your talents?" Robin saw the rest of the red drain from Caspia's eyes and was certain that Slade was smiling behind that mask. "Those two hid what they'd done for months, but when I found out, I wanted you back. I thought you'd died in that explosion. Pity I didn't know."
Slade continued, looking Caspia straight in the eye, "Those two are still in my service. Join me, and I'll let you have them."
Robin cut in again, "What is he, Slade? Your first apprentice?"
Slade almost laughed again, "Apprentice Robin? No. But his kind have other qualities. He's a living weapon, Robin, and they make perfect lieutenants."
Slade looked back to the other man, "I can make sure your father never takes over and you can have the ones who betrayed you. Do whatever you want with them." Slade watched as Caspia tried hard not to consider it. "Tear them apart; do what they did to you. Do whatever is in your nature to do, all I ask is that you serve me."
"Don't you dare!" Robin yelled at Caspia.
"Really, Robin," Slade said, "One more outburst from you and I'll be forced to punish you. I'd hate you have to do more damage to that little neck of hers. You seem rather fond of it." Robin, grudgingly, calmed down. Slade turned his attention back to the winged man, "I am curious, little Alex, why are you here?"
The movement was fast, but Slade caught it. Caspia's eyes glanced very briefly at where Raven was laying bound and gagged on the floor. Under his mask Slade smiled, it was simply too perfect.
"It seems we're in the market for the same thing." Slade said, satisfaction almost dripping from his voice, "Serve me and I'll let you train her. She'll be an excellent lieutenant for Robin some day."
Slade watched as his old underling's hands began to glow a blinding white. This was the power that had destroyed so much before. If Alex accepted his offer then he'd have a powerful lieutenant, if he didn't then one day soon he'd make a beautiful swath of destruction. He couldn't lose.
Caspia's eyes turned to the screen, "They deserve to die for what they did." His hands were now too bright to look at directly. Slade smiled again; this was easier than he'd hoped. "But I won't be my father!" He screamed suddenly as he brought his hands in front of him.
Slade felt the fury build inside of him. At first he thought that Alex was aiming for the screen, however, on the edge of his vision he saw Robin smiling. The boy had figured out the demon's plan before Slade had, and that was the insult to injury.
Before an order could be given, even before the robots' AI could react, a large bolt of white light shot forward, completely vapourizing the knife arm of the robot hovering over Starfire as well as a large portion of its torso.
The soldier looked, almost puzzled, at the glowing hot crater where its arm should have been. Its consideration of the dismemberment was cut short as one of its comrades, propelled by an irate Robin, smashed into it causing a short in its circuitry.
Slade could only watch the fight as pride and anger battled inside of him. Robin was indeed the perfect apprentice, but he'd just lost face with him. This would not go unpunished.
He turned to the other man standing. Alex was trying to hold the soldiers back as Robin untied his friends. Dozens of tiny bolts fired rapidly from his hands, but without a chance to build up energy they could barely even scorch. Not that it mattered anymore. Slade's only consolation was that the Titans had no chance of taming either demon. Soon enough they would wreak their havoc on the city and, with luck, destroy the petty distractions to Robin's training.
Slade turned off the screen and left to take out his frustration on some incompetent informants.
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Robin walked up the stairs to the roof, according to Raven that was where her guest tended to be found. He had disappeared as they were cleaning up the mess of robotic bodies that cluttered the living room.
Raven had been right. Robin found him on the edge of the roof looking at the city. Robin could tell by his body language that he was angry. He was slightly puzzled as the young man seemed to sniff the air briefly when the door closed.
"Yes?" Caspia asked without turning.
Robin moved beside him, "Do you mind if I call you Alex?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Robin moved over a few feet, but stayed near the edge of the roof, "If it makes any difference, I'm sorry. I just thought that you were trying to make Raven be like you."
"Thanks." The older man said sarcastically, still not looking at Robin.
"I didn't mean it like that." Robin said, quickly, "I thought that you were, well, like Slade. I thought you were forcing her." Robin tried to read the man, but failed, "I'm sorry I accused you." Still no reaction. Robin tried again, "Then I'm sorry we found out about your secret, I know its hard having others learn your past."
Caspia finally turned to look at the teenager. "You think I'm mad at you, don't you?"
"Aren't you?" Robin cocked an eyebrow.
Caspia turned back to the city, "I guess I am, but that's not it. I didn't want to remember that. Do you have any idea what its like to be a slave?"
"Actually, I do."
"Slade?"
"Slade."
"Either way, that's not it." Caspia sighed, "I'm losing it. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
Robin gave him a serious look, "There may be a place in the Titans for you, if you want it. Maybe we can help."
Caspia gave a single small, half-hearted chuckle, "If you could, I wouldn't be here for Raven."
"At least think it over, maybe there's something we can do." Robin turned to leave. "It's the least I can do after tonight." He went back to the door and left the man under the stars.
"He won't join." A deadpan voice said as Robin hit the bottom of the stairs. Robin could just see the edges of Raven's hood as she leaned against the far side of a corner, her arms crossed over her chest. "And you don't want him to."
The other Titans were also standing just around the corner, "Why not?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah Rae," Cyborg added, "He kicked butt tonight, and I see the way you two talk, it'd be like having your big brother on the team."
Starfire floated over, "I must concur."
Robin came around the corner, "Yeah Raven, what's the big deal?"
Raven pushed herself off the wall and began walking towards her room, her hands still crossed on her chest. Before she turned a corner she called back, "Because he didn't know they were robots."
Starfire fell out of the air into a heap and the rest of the Titans stared in shock at their dark friend as their blood turned to ice.
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No idea when the next will be out, but it shouldn't be too terribly long. Hope you're enjoying this and please drop a review for me if you do.
Notes: Finally, chapters 3-5 were meant to be one short chapter, but here's where we ended up. Either way, enjoy.
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Part 5: Mirrors
Raven had been sitting in her room for an hour now. It felt like the day should be over, but it wasn't. Not even close. It wasn't even noon.
She'd been through a lot lately and had, only an hour before, been told that she had very little time left to live. There was also a dangerous man, who had tried to kill her, staying in the tower; at her invitation. Her friends weren't happy that there was a dangerous man in the tower, and they were even less pleased that he was here on an invitation.
What surprised her was that this was depressing her. She had been fairly certain for years that her father would one day take control, but it was something else to have someone confirm her fears. It was also oddly comforting to know that there was someone who wouldn't hesitate to take her down when it happened.
Raven glanced at the mirror that she kept on her desk. It held no answers, only a way to talk to her father, which never yielded anything. The only answers left were the ones her guest were keeping hidden, and he was almost certainly asleep right now after being awake for most of the night.
She decided to do what she normally did: She left her room to meditate on the roof.
When she opened the door Raven began to suspect that destiny has a schedule to keep. Her guest was there, standing at the edge of the roof, staring into the city.
Trying not to be noticed, Raven quietly slipped onto the roof, careful not to step on the bloodstain still visible from her and Alex Caspia's previous fight, and closed the door.
"Hello Raven." Alex called out, not bothering to turn around.
Raven shrugged to herself at the minor defeat, "I'm impressed."
"Don't be," He said, still not turning around, "you smell of demon. Hard to miss if you know about it."
"Did you get that from your father?" Raven asked as she moved beside him at the edge.
"Yes."
The two stood there, each trying to ignore the other. The silence that Raven so often sought began to weigh down on her. She wanted, and didn't want, to ask one question. The answer could either save her or condemn her Ignorance almost seemed better
"Beast Boy offered to get my stuff from the motel where I was staying." Caspia said suddenly, "The others went out to stop some bank robbers."
"They do that." Raven said flatly.
The silence returned, broken only by the gentle whistle of the wind. Raven watched him out the corner of her eye, he seemed to be staring at one spot in the city.
"You have four choices." He said quietly, still not looking at her. "But you won't like any of them."
"What are they?"
Caspia sighed slightly, "I come back and kill you in a few months, hopefully before you lose it; I kill you now and be sure; you run and let your father take over..." He paused as he looked up at the sky; not really seeing anything, "Or you take over my job, you'd probably be able to keep going until you were eighteen, maybe a bit more."
Raven looked to her guest as he turned his attention back to the city. She knew he was serious.
"There are over a hundred half-demons in this city." Caspia said, as though it were something that had only just occurred to him, "Nine are possessed by their fathers."
He paused and it sounded as though he changed the subject again, "There's a young woman down there who was raped last year. Rita Fennel. She had a child because of it." He finally turned to Raven, "She's an accountant and a great mother. She loves her little Sam more than anything else in the world."
Raven met his eyes. "Why are you telling me this?"
"You're smarter than that, Raven." He said coldly, bending down to pick up the piece of the satellite dish stand that he had been hit with a week before. He began to idly thumb the jagged edge on one side.
His voice became matter-of-fact "You know, funny thing, my wings don't care about cloth, but I can't call them through metals." He looked at the small cut on his thumb, "It's a good thing that no one's ever figured that out; if they threw a dagger in the right place I could fall off a cliff without being able to save myself." As he finished he looked at the bit of metal in his hand, shrugged, then tossed it behind him onto the rooftop.
Raven watched as the sharp bit of steel bounced onto the concrete roof. Alex was looking out over the water, intentionally oblivious to everything else in the world. Three more years, at least, were in that small piece of metal; and Alex was offering it to her. It was too tempting.
Despite herself, she reached her power out to the improvised knife and raised it off the ground. She held it there, the point aimed for his exposed back.
And held it.
Raven let it fall with a clatter.
Caspia nodded his head knowingly, if slightly disappointedly, "It's not easy, is it?"
Raven avoided the question by looking hard at him, "You said I could have three more years, but you're older than that. What's so different about us?"
Caspia's eyes narrowed, "I don't talk about it."
Raven raised an eyebrow, "You want me to kill you, but you won't tell me why?"
He half smiled at her briefly, "Would you tell me why you tried to commit suicide, if I asked?"
Raven almost jumped, but caught herself. Even so, her right hand moved over to her left wrist and began to rub it. "How did you know?"
He shook his head, "I didn't; not for sure. But you're a beautiful young woman. You're not exactly shy," He pointed to her bare legs, "Yet you wear sleeves that barely show your fingers on arms that almost never come out of your cloak. I used to do the same thing." He held his wrist so that she could see it easily. Sure enough, Raven saw a white scar running down the inside of his forearm. She just hadn't noticed it before.
The heavy silence returned again, but not for long. Caspia stepped past Raven, "I'm guessing you came up here to be alone, so I'll leave." He opened the door, "Please let your friends know that I'm going to see if I can't sniff out any others." The door closed and he was gone. Raven realized later that his last sentence was meant literally.
The dark girl sat down on the edge of the roof. She had been given four choices, and two of them were very tempting. She didn't want to admit it to herself, but she was scared.
The enemy she had been fighting all of her life was slowly gaining ground on her, and it didn't even have a body for her to fight. Now she was being forced to soul search in ways that she'd never considered before: Control was failing her; was acceptance the only way to stay human?
Was the real reason she'd joined the Titans the hope that she'd be killed and not have to worry anymore?
Raven wanted to survive, but more than that, she wanted to be able to live, in any way she wanted. Her father had taken that from her before she had even been born.
There was only one kind of freedom allowed for her kind. Would she be strong enough to take over the job of giving it to others? Would her friends understand?
No.
They would never understand, and she couldn't expect them to try. They did not have the same weight on them; the same fears.
Raven spent the rest of the day on the roof just looking out and thinking. Never once did she begin to meditate or chant her mantra. As night fell, she decided: As soon as he returned, Raven would find out what she could from Caspia, she would try becoming what he was.
She could only pray to be forgiven.
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Raven tossed and turned in her bed. Sleep had never been easy for her, but tonight was worse than normal. Caspia had returned, declared that he had found no more demons in the city and that he would leave them in the morning. He'd also thanked them for putting him up, but Robin seemed to have stopped listening after hearing that he was leaving. There was no love lost between those two. Raven wished that she knew why.
Starfire had been happy simply knowing that she, Raven, was safe from harm for the next few months; and Beast Boy and Cyborg were slightly put out that he was leaving. They had spent the remainder of the evening trying to convince Caspia to train with them, but had failed.
The sound of footsteps passed her room, but Raven didn't think much about it. It was just Starfire being lonely again.
Raven hadn't been able to get him alone long enough to ask him to train her. She was beginning to doubt her own resolve, but she refused to act like an impatient schoolgirl and wake him.
The footsteps came back and stopped near her door. Raven sat up, curious. Starfire was probably feeling guilty again about sleeping with Robin. For whatever reason, the Tamarranian girl thought that Raven was the best equipped to answer her questions.
Raven, for her part, wished that Robin would sit Starfire down and explain to her that if he didn't want her there, he'd tell her.
There was no sound of Starfire leaving, nor did she knock, "Open the door, Starfire." Raven called to the girl.
The door slid open, though there was no light in the hallway beyond. Raven couldn't see anything. In the darkness, Raven heard her visitor step inside. "Don't come in my room."
There was no answer, but the footsteps kept coming; faster now. Raven usually forgot that she had a sixth sense, but now she sensed something wrong. "Azarath..."
The footsteps broke into a run.
Raven jumped off her bed, putting the furniture between her and the intruder, "...Metrion..."
The intruder's footsteps reached the side of her bed then stopped.
"...Zinth..." Raven never finished the sentence. She saw a flash of light hit her in the chest, then oblivion took her.
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Slade watched through the viewscreen into the Titans' living room. Robin impressed him even more than he'd hoped when he'd escaped. Infecting himself with the probes had been a stroke of genius that even he had to acknowledge.
There was only one quality that he had to break Robin of before he'd be the perfect apprentice: Loyalty. Three of the five were now laid out in the room, gagged and disabled, only Robin and Starfire remained. Slade also took his hat off to Robin for teaching him how to defeat his friends. Those 'Red X' videos were most entertaining, and informative. The stun guns were Slade's addition though, there were times when the simple approach was best.
Slade's attention turned to the door as Robin was dragged into the room by his robot soldiers, followed soon after by a bound Starfire. Slade was slightly disappointed at how easily his robots had taken Robin, but he could correct that flaw as well.
Starfire was thrown into the center of the room on top of the other three Titans. Raven groaned into her gag as she returned to consciousness from the sudden impact.
Slade smiled behind his mask at the fury in Robin's eyes. He knew where Slade had learned how to disable his friends. He should, they had been taken down the same way that Robin himself had when he was Red X.
Slade waited until the reality of the situation set in, "Release him." He commanded his soldiers. Robin was immediately set loose.
"You're going to pay for this Slade!" Robin yelled as soon as he could. The young man grabbed one of his captors threw it hard into another. He was reaching for another when he heard Slade's voice.
"Temper, Robin." Slade said far too calmly. He was pointing at something through the viewscreen. Slowly, Robin followed the finger to see Starfire with one of the robots holding a knife to her throat. The young man's arms fell limp to his sides in defeat. "You see, Robin? I don't need ropes to hold you, you've done that yourself. Your little friends are nothing more than a liability." He turned to the girl now held at knifepoint. "Especially this one."
Robin watched helplessly as Starfire squirmed away from the blade, "If you hurt her I'll..." He began.
"You'll what?" Slade said with mock curiosity. "Watch her die? No Robin, even you can't fix a slit throat. But don't worry, I'm not going to harm any of your friends tonight. That is, if you're good, of course."
"What do you want?" Robin asked through gritted teeth.
"Good boy, Robin." Slade said with satisfaction. "I'm here to prove a point: No matter where you go, no matter what you do, you can't escape me Robin. Not even in your tower. I will have my apprentice back."
Robin almost growled, "I'll never join you Slade." To his side Robin heard Starfire cry out slightly, he turned to see a little blood on her neck. Robin turned back to the viewscreen, "Damn you."
Slade looked pleased, "Language Robin, really."
From across the room Starfire watched Robin's face. In his eyes she saw the pure hatred he felt for Slade burning brightly. The only thing that held him back from destroying everything of Slade's, and in so doing cause her to die, was his love for her, which also burned in his eyes. Starfire felt tears form in her eyes. She was terrified, but there was also a kind of joy. Joy that Robin really did love her as much as he said, and terrified, not only of the thought of dying, but also at how similar the love and hate in those eyes were.
Another prick in her neck brought Starfire back to the more pressing matter.
"Okay, you've made your point. Now get out of here!" Robin demanded again.
Slade shook his head, "You really have to work on that temper, Robin." Slade looked past the young man, "You can come out now." He said to someone Robin couldn't see.
It was Caspia. Robin hadn't heard him approach and had forgotten that he was in the tower. Everything made sense now. "You!" He cried out as he ran for Raven's guest. "You let them in!" Before Caspia could react Robin gave him a roundhouse to the face, knocking the other man down.
Robin jumped at him again, but while he was in the air his target transformed. Moving faster than he thought something that big could, a leathery wing slipped under and caught him. A quick flare of those wings later and Caspia sent Robin flying back across the room.
As his one time apprentice landed gracefully on his feet, Slade said, "Excellent Robin. Suspicion, vengeance, even without my guidance you are progressing. However, I don't need help to get past such simple security" He turned to the newcomer, "As for you: I see Robin has been recruiting, but I have no use for amateurs. Destroy him." He commanded his robots.
Two of them ran for the young man. The first was knocked aside with a slash of claws that barely scratched the paint on his torso. As the second leapt for Caspia, the young man was already gathering light into his hand. He caught the soldier's chest in his glowing hand. A split second later, the soldier's back exploded in a shower of dancing light and shattered steel.
"They're robots?" Caspia cried out in surprise as the broken body fell to the ground. Across the room, they heard someone clapping slowly.
It was Slade. "Bravo. Little Alex Caspia, I presume."
"Yes. You know me?" Caspia asked, folding his wings over his shoulders for comfort.
Robin looked back and forth between the two. "What does he mean, 'little'?"
Slade looked briefly to Robin, "Now, now, Robin, the adults are talking." He said condescendingly. He turned back, "It's been a long time Alex. I see that you've improved as well. My informants told me that you were dead."
"Who are you?"
"There was a time when you used to know me as, 'The Big Boss.'" Slade spoke the last word with a note of nostalgia.
Caspia's eyes narrowed with hate. "You!" Robin had to approve, until Caspia's eyes began to glow blood red that is. The winged man fell to his knees shaking and holding his head with those too large hands.
Slade didn't wait for him to regain himself, "Before you get angry, I'm not the one who sold you. In fact, I had someone there to buy you back when you destroyed the place."
Caspia looked up, the red in his eyes only a mild, fading hue now. "What? They told me that you'd ordered it."
Slade actually laughed once, "Ha. A mere hundred thousand? No, you're worth far more than that. And to a brothel? Really, Alex, do you think I'd have wasted your talents?" Robin saw the rest of the red drain from Caspia's eyes and was certain that Slade was smiling behind that mask. "Those two hid what they'd done for months, but when I found out, I wanted you back. I thought you'd died in that explosion. Pity I didn't know."
Slade continued, looking Caspia straight in the eye, "Those two are still in my service. Join me, and I'll let you have them."
Robin cut in again, "What is he, Slade? Your first apprentice?"
Slade almost laughed again, "Apprentice Robin? No. But his kind have other qualities. He's a living weapon, Robin, and they make perfect lieutenants."
Slade looked back to the other man, "I can make sure your father never takes over and you can have the ones who betrayed you. Do whatever you want with them." Slade watched as Caspia tried hard not to consider it. "Tear them apart; do what they did to you. Do whatever is in your nature to do, all I ask is that you serve me."
"Don't you dare!" Robin yelled at Caspia.
"Really, Robin," Slade said, "One more outburst from you and I'll be forced to punish you. I'd hate you have to do more damage to that little neck of hers. You seem rather fond of it." Robin, grudgingly, calmed down. Slade turned his attention back to the winged man, "I am curious, little Alex, why are you here?"
The movement was fast, but Slade caught it. Caspia's eyes glanced very briefly at where Raven was laying bound and gagged on the floor. Under his mask Slade smiled, it was simply too perfect.
"It seems we're in the market for the same thing." Slade said, satisfaction almost dripping from his voice, "Serve me and I'll let you train her. She'll be an excellent lieutenant for Robin some day."
Slade watched as his old underling's hands began to glow a blinding white. This was the power that had destroyed so much before. If Alex accepted his offer then he'd have a powerful lieutenant, if he didn't then one day soon he'd make a beautiful swath of destruction. He couldn't lose.
Caspia's eyes turned to the screen, "They deserve to die for what they did." His hands were now too bright to look at directly. Slade smiled again; this was easier than he'd hoped. "But I won't be my father!" He screamed suddenly as he brought his hands in front of him.
Slade felt the fury build inside of him. At first he thought that Alex was aiming for the screen, however, on the edge of his vision he saw Robin smiling. The boy had figured out the demon's plan before Slade had, and that was the insult to injury.
Before an order could be given, even before the robots' AI could react, a large bolt of white light shot forward, completely vapourizing the knife arm of the robot hovering over Starfire as well as a large portion of its torso.
The soldier looked, almost puzzled, at the glowing hot crater where its arm should have been. Its consideration of the dismemberment was cut short as one of its comrades, propelled by an irate Robin, smashed into it causing a short in its circuitry.
Slade could only watch the fight as pride and anger battled inside of him. Robin was indeed the perfect apprentice, but he'd just lost face with him. This would not go unpunished.
He turned to the other man standing. Alex was trying to hold the soldiers back as Robin untied his friends. Dozens of tiny bolts fired rapidly from his hands, but without a chance to build up energy they could barely even scorch. Not that it mattered anymore. Slade's only consolation was that the Titans had no chance of taming either demon. Soon enough they would wreak their havoc on the city and, with luck, destroy the petty distractions to Robin's training.
Slade turned off the screen and left to take out his frustration on some incompetent informants.
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Robin walked up the stairs to the roof, according to Raven that was where her guest tended to be found. He had disappeared as they were cleaning up the mess of robotic bodies that cluttered the living room.
Raven had been right. Robin found him on the edge of the roof looking at the city. Robin could tell by his body language that he was angry. He was slightly puzzled as the young man seemed to sniff the air briefly when the door closed.
"Yes?" Caspia asked without turning.
Robin moved beside him, "Do you mind if I call you Alex?"
"Yes."
"Okay." Robin moved over a few feet, but stayed near the edge of the roof, "If it makes any difference, I'm sorry. I just thought that you were trying to make Raven be like you."
"Thanks." The older man said sarcastically, still not looking at Robin.
"I didn't mean it like that." Robin said, quickly, "I thought that you were, well, like Slade. I thought you were forcing her." Robin tried to read the man, but failed, "I'm sorry I accused you." Still no reaction. Robin tried again, "Then I'm sorry we found out about your secret, I know its hard having others learn your past."
Caspia finally turned to look at the teenager. "You think I'm mad at you, don't you?"
"Aren't you?" Robin cocked an eyebrow.
Caspia turned back to the city, "I guess I am, but that's not it. I didn't want to remember that. Do you have any idea what its like to be a slave?"
"Actually, I do."
"Slade?"
"Slade."
"Either way, that's not it." Caspia sighed, "I'm losing it. I don't know how much longer I can keep this up."
Robin gave him a serious look, "There may be a place in the Titans for you, if you want it. Maybe we can help."
Caspia gave a single small, half-hearted chuckle, "If you could, I wouldn't be here for Raven."
"At least think it over, maybe there's something we can do." Robin turned to leave. "It's the least I can do after tonight." He went back to the door and left the man under the stars.
"He won't join." A deadpan voice said as Robin hit the bottom of the stairs. Robin could just see the edges of Raven's hood as she leaned against the far side of a corner, her arms crossed over her chest. "And you don't want him to."
The other Titans were also standing just around the corner, "Why not?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah Rae," Cyborg added, "He kicked butt tonight, and I see the way you two talk, it'd be like having your big brother on the team."
Starfire floated over, "I must concur."
Robin came around the corner, "Yeah Raven, what's the big deal?"
Raven pushed herself off the wall and began walking towards her room, her hands still crossed on her chest. Before she turned a corner she called back, "Because he didn't know they were robots."
Starfire fell out of the air into a heap and the rest of the Titans stared in shock at their dark friend as their blood turned to ice.
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No idea when the next will be out, but it shouldn't be too terribly long. Hope you're enjoying this and please drop a review for me if you do.