Standard disclaimers apply
GUIDING STAR
Chapter Nineteen – Wat Buddhadharma
It took them nearly two hours just to get to Wat Buddhadharma. Route seventy eight and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway had lasted only fifteen minutes at top speed. The rest of their trip had been made on a lonely, isolated road. While Robin had heard about this temple, it wasn't exactly wrought with tourists.
When they arrived at the clearing that led to the temple gate, he leaned his elbow out of the car window and stared at the temple for the first time.
The temple looked like it had been plucked from the plains of the ancient orient and plopped right smack in the coast of America. It looked like it had been there for ages, but from what Robin understood, it had only been there in the last thirty years.
The stone steps were flanked by elephants carved into the terrace while androgynous faces stared blankly out on the streets between elephant trunks. Sitting atop the huge platform was the massive stone wall. There was a single, high arched entryway. It looked like it had been carved through the ten-foot thick perimeter wall. On top of the entrance sat three huge heads, each of them wearing towering and ornately carved cone-shaped crowns.
As Robin stared up at it from the driver's seat, he marveled at how cleverly Slade had been hidden.
"All this time, he's been here," said Cyborg, mirroring his thoughts.
Beast Boy leaned over, sticking his head between the seats at the front. "Think they're going to be a bunch of Shaolin Monks with Iron Fisted Monkey Furies and Flaming Claws of Tiger Bombs?"
Cyborg arched an eyebrow at him. "Isn't Tiger Bomb a rub-on analgesic?"
"No, that's Tiger Balm. That's bad medicine. It uses tigers, hence the name."
Starfire gasped. "That is awful!"
Raven grunted. "Star, you listen too much to what this genius has to say; it doesn't have tiger. That's a myth."
Robin could let them go on discussing the merits of Tiger Balm but he decided he wanted to get this business with Slade over with. There was something very strange about this entire set up and he wanted to get to the bottom of it. That it was a trap, it was hard to tell. Considering Slade's modus operandi, he wouldn't be surprised, but there was something nagging at him; something he couldn't quite place. "Titans, let's get a move on."
They all stepped out of the car.
"So are we to just walk in there?" asked Starfire.
Robin nodded. Wintergreen did, after all, tell them the monks would be passive. "Yeah, but stay alert." It wasn't as if they could completely trust Wintergreen, after all.
After a quick survey of the area, the titans walked calmly up the steps of the temple. Their presence caused quite a stir, however quiet it was. The monks walking all over the open-air yard stopped and spoke with each other in hushed tones. There were children as well, dressed the same as everyone else.
Eventually, one of the monks approached them, serenity emanating from his eyes. His dark orange robes shuffled quietly as he moved. It was draped and wrapped around him in such a way that one shoulder and arm were exposed, but it was all held securely by a thick orange sash around his waist. He wore no ornamentation and he was bald, just like the rest of his brethren, though stubbles were evident on his scalp. He was skinny and he looked frail, but he in no way exuded fear.
"Do you wish to see the abbot?" he asked softly.
Robin didn't know if he wanted to see the abbot. He hadn't given it much thought, but he nodded and the monk bid them follow him.
Quietly, they did.
Robin noticed Raven's eyes taking in the scene with great interest.
The yard was lined with stone guardians sitting in lotus position. Everything that wasn't green and leafy was made of stone. If any wood had been used, they couldn't see it. He noted how the monks of the temple were not all Thai. It was a mixed group, particularly with the children. The younger ones peered at them with obvious curiosity.
Starfire, her hand on his arm, leaned over. "It is very quiet," she whispered.
He chuckled, his voice just as soft. "If you say too quiet…"
"No. The quiet is nice, like people around here prefer to think than speak."
"Now, if only I could take this atmosphere and put it in the tower."
Starfire pinched him in the ribs secretly and he winced. "You like the noise in the tower. Admit it."
"Oww… okay, maybe on occasion, I do, but like this morning—it was so annoying. Even Raven couldn't shut up…"
"I heard that." Raven shot him a glare but returned to surveying the area almost immediately.
Robin cocked a grin.
Starfire went on. "As nice as this quiet is, I do not think I would like it if I had to endure it every single day."
They were led to a man sitting quietly by himself in one of the stone alcoves. He had a small writing desk and he was scribbling furiously on a leather-bound notebook with a fountain pen. There was a portfolio beside him and it was thick with documents.
Beast Boy blinked at the sight. "Dude, is that a pen?"
Raven shot him a disdainful look. "Well, what did you expect him to write with?"
"I don't know… a feather?"
Cyborg clamped a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder when he saw that Raven wasn't even bothering to answer. "BB, just because he's a monk, it don't mean he's stuck in the middle ages. A feather for writing isn't even Asian in origin."
Beast Boy pouted but simmered into silence, crossing his arms over his chest defensively.
The abbot could hardly be distinguished from his fellow-monks from where they stood. He was just as bald and orange as the rest of them.
The monk who led them told them to wait some distance away while he approached the abbot by himself. The abbot looked up at the sound of the monk's arrival and his gaze momentarily drifted to them. He listened briefly to his monk before he nodded. The monk made his way back to them, gesturing for them to follow.
They did, and they were made to sit in loose lotus positions before him. The monk sat on the side, watching but separate from the conference. When they were settled in, the abbot smiled.
He had the same demeanor as his monk. He had no distinguishing ornaments and they could only tell he was the abbot because the monk said so.
The abbot smiled. "It is a blessing indeed to find the Titans in our temple. I am Ajahn Maha Bikkhu Kemarangsi. I am the abbot of Wat Buddhadharma."
As if on cue, a soft gong was struck in the distance, though Robin didn't think it was in response to the abbot's introduction. Robin made formal greetings and introductions. The abbot and monk listened politely as he rattled off their names.
When Robin was done, Ajahn Maha nodded. "You will be surprised at how much we know of you and your team, Robin. The little ones in the temple love a good adventure and they have found that news of your exploits provide for their ever active imaginations. Best of all, it is always the good guys who win, in your stories."
Robin couldn't resist a wan smile. "Most of the time, anyway."
Ajahn Maha had a wan smile of his own. "I think I know why you are here. We have been expecting you."
Robin nodded, accepting this. "We don't want to cause any trouble."
"That is apparent by your peaceful arrival. We appreciate how you have shown respect for the establishment. It will not be forgotten, however, we could only lead you to what you are looking for. What lies beyond its door is beyond our power. Rose Wilson, however dear she is to us, is very protective of her father. She will not let you see him quite as easily as you hope, and who are we to question her devotion to him?"
"We don't want to force anything on Rose Wilson if we don't have to. Can't you speak to her about it?"
The abbot gave a slight shrug. "I will try, of course, but the decision ultimately lies with her. Choice is, after all, Buddha's greatest gift to us. And speaking of which… have you chosen to report Slade's whereabouts? Not that I am trying to influence your decision, but I would like to be properly informed. As you could see, we are very… quiet here and disruptions like the arrival of police may distress my monks. I wish to prepare them for that if it happens."
Robin considered it. "I'll let you know. You have my word on that."
They were led to a structure farther into the temple grounds. It was somewhat isolated, but it was large, though its double doors were relatively of a normal size.
It was the monk who pushed the double doors open. It was a dimly lit structure, illuminated only by the light streaming from some small, high-set windows and the entryway. It looked mostly like a storage room, but Robin supposed that was the effect Slade wanted to make.
He figured that there had to be a door somewhere that led to another facility. There was no way Slade would live in this dump.
Ajahn Maha stepped through. "Rose? Are you here?"
For a moment, no one answered, and Robin thought they would be spared having to deal with Rose Wilson, but he felt Starfire tense, the way she tensed when she knew an enemy was coming. It brought his guard slightly at attention.
"I'm here," said a disembodied voice. It was the voice of a young girl; a voice like Terra's, slightly accented, probably Brooklyn. It was strange how she tried to be anonymous while making her presence known. It was so like her father and it gave Robin a slightly uncomfortable prickle.
Ajahn Maha, however, looked unbothered. "Good. The Titans are here to see your father. Will you let them?"
Again, silence prevailed before the reply came. "No." Her voice echoed in the cavern-like structure and it was hard to tell from which direction it was coming from.
Unable to help himself, Robin spoke. "We have business to settle with your father."
"No," she repeated. "You're going to take him away. I won't let you do that."
Robin detached himself from Starfire and stepped forward, speaking to the darkness. "Rose, I don't know what you've heard about your dad—"
"I know what he's done," she said. "But I can't let you take him right now."
Robin took a deep breath. He had had enough of that kind of conversation for today. "Rose, we're going to do what we have to do whether you like it or not, but we don't want trouble. If you don't tell us where Slade is, we'll ask Ajahn Maha and when he tells us, we're not going to let you stop us."
Ajahn Maha sighed. "Rose…"
"No!"
"Robin! Above you!"
He hadn't seen it coming, but Starfire's keen senses had, and her warning had come soon enough. He whipped out his bo-staff and met the blow. A loud ring sounded through the room, followed by two more strikes from the side and front, both of which Robin blocked with expert precision. He jumped back, landing in stance and holding his bo-staff at the ready. The titans behind him were on instant alert.
Robin whipped out his smoke bombs, disks lodged at the ready between his knuckles.
Just beneath the rays of light, not too deeply in the shadows, someone stirred.
Robin turned his head slightly to address the monks. "You two… move back."
Ajahn Maha and the monk looked terribly stressed, but they said nothing, doing as Robin told them.
"Go away!" Rose yelled. "Just leave him alone! He isn't hurting anyone."
"He's hurt enough people, Rose."
Rose growled in frustration. She wasn't the most patient of adversaries.
She jumped out of the shadows and for the first time, they saw who Rose Wilson was and she ceased to be a mere name.
She was petite, with shocking light blue eyes, but strangest of all was her hair: it was pure white and it fanned her face like the wings of an angel.
Rose held a bo-staff as well and she swung it at Robin. She didn't move with the same grace he did, but she knew how to use it, and apparently, she used it well enough.
Robin blocked and jumped over her, aiming to strike, but she evaded it, as if she saw it coming a mile away. She was strong, too; her strikes sending jarring vibrations crawling up the bones of his arms. He threw the smoke bombs, hoping to confuse her, but it was as if she walked right through the air pockets and came out swinging. He spun, flipped and turned complicated strikes, but she met all of them with startling competence, distinctly raw as it was. He jumped, landing on an elevated crate and turned a cartwheel in the air over her head. He caught her on her back, but he hadn't hit her hard enough, mostly because he had pulled his hit to keep from killing her. It was an error in judgment. She was much stronger than she looked. With an angry yell, she spun and promptly clobbered Robin by his shins. It was incredibly painful, sending him flying back against a pile of potentially dangerous spikes of wood. He shot a birdarang, hooking it on a ceiling beam. The rotting wood gave, but the leverage was enough to swing him to safety. He landed awkwardly, his shins throbbing in pain. He struggled to get up, but he couldn't. His legs had gone unbelievably numb.
Beast Boy transformed into a gorilla and made a grab for her, but she evaded his grasp as well, landing a well-placed blow to Beast Boy's gut. He doubled over, transforming back to himself with an agonized yell. Rose's foot swung back and Beast Boy changed into an armadillo, rolling into a protective ball. He was sent hurtling to the far corner of the facility, crashing unceremoniously into a pile of more junk.
Cyborg fired, his canon set at stun, but Rose turned a graceful backward summersault, avoiding the blast. She landed firmly on her feet, tossed a plank in the air with her bo-staff and kicked it, sending it hurtling in Cyborg's direction.
He raised his arm for protection and blocked the projectile, but it had been a decoy. Rose was on him, slamming her bo-staff to the back of Cyborg's head. He toppled to the ground, stunned by her strength.
Raven reached for her with her dark powers but the tendrils missed every single attempt to catch the agile young girl. Rose came at her, eyes ablaze with fury. Raven's immediate response was to protect herself, but for some reason, Rose slipped past her shield and swung, clobbering Raven by her midsection. Raven crashed against the wall and then face down on the floor, dust rising where she hit.
There was a blast of green, Starfire's bolt singeing a lock of Rose's hair. Rose turned on her, bo-staff aimed to brain Starfire.
Perhaps shocked that Rose would attack someone who couldn't see, the abbot stepped forward. "Rose Wilson!"
It probably affected Rose, to an extent. Whatever the abbot's voice had done, it might have shattered Rose's focus. What happened next was too fast for anyone to make out clearly.
Starfire raised her hands, catching the bo-staff in her grip and swinging Rose towards the wall. Rose slammed against it with a yell, cracks forming where she hit, but amazingly, she kept her grip on the weapon, swinging right back and slamming Starfire with the same, destructive force. It was, however, evident that Starfire was stronger. Starfire yanked the bo-staff towards her and she caught Rose by the neck.
Rose snatched something from beneath her shirt and Robin watched her pull it out with growing horror.
It was a semi-automatic gun and she had its barrel pressing against Starfire's temple. If in the next two seconds Rose pulled the trigger, Starfire would be dead.
Robin yelled—he didn't know what he said. All he knew was that the thought of losing Starfire ripped through him like knives. He pushed himself to his feet shakily, desperate to do something.
But for some reason, the gun didn't go off in the next two seconds, and it was enough for Starfire to toss the bo-staff aside. Perhaps she didn't know that a gun was aimed right at her, point blank; perhaps she didn't care, though that would have been highly unlikely, but she dealt with Rose without fear. Starfire's hand charged and then fired a bolt, sending Rose tumbling back; unconscious in the shadows while the blast of star bolts and gun fire mingled in the air.
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Robin skidded to Starfire's side on his knees, unmindful of who saw him. He cupped Starfire's face in his hands and checked her from side to side with urgent need. The imprint of the barrel was clear to see on Starfire's left temple and he smoothed a thumb over it. It turned his stomach.
So close…
"R-Robin?"
She was unharmed, and he let out a breath, a strange weakness suddenly overcoming him. Still clutching her face in his hands, his head drooped forward in relief. He shook his head to steady his rattled nerves.
"Starfire, are you alright?" Raven asked pointedly from behind them.
Cyborg fell beside Starfire, scanning for her vitals just to make sure. He gave a thumbs-up sign a few seconds later.
Beast Boy scampered out of the junk, newly conscious. "What the hell was that?"
Starfire frowned, somewhat confused. "I am fine… was that a gun?"
A stab of anger rose in Robin. "Yes! Starfire, you have to be aware of these things! What if she fired? What if she—she had it aimed to your head. Did you know that?"
"I felt something, and I did think—I wasn't sure. I could smell the powder, but she wasn't doing anything, so I took a chance—"
Robin groaned. "Oh God… you don't take chances with a gun, do you hear me?" He tried to control the shaking that was creeping up on him. "You don't…" He was going to pop a vein. He knew he was.
Raven knelt beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Robin, you have to calm down. She's fine. We have business to take care of. This could wait."
Robin took deep, calming breaths, knowing that Raven was right. He pried his hands away from Starfire, getting to his feet and meeting the anxious stares of the abbot and monk.
He ignored their concern for the meantime. He had other things to see to. "We need rope," he told them. "Lots of it."
The monk, with a quick word from the abbot, scampered off. The abbot stayed to go to Rose.
Robin looked over his shoulder at Starfire, just to make sure she was alive; unhurt. In those two precious seconds, he faced the reality of how quickly he could have lost her. All it took was a pull that lasted a heartbeat. If Starfire had acted a bit slower, Rose could have killed her anyway. He wanted so badly to hold Starfire right now. His psyche was screaming for reassurance that Starfire was whole and well, but he had things to do. He could love and scold her later.
As Robin crouched to Rose's unconscious form, the abbot looked up at him with guilt.
"I did not know she had a gun," said the abbot. "Had I known I would have warned—"
"It's not your fault," said Robin, meaning what he said. "A gun is always easy to hide."
"Your friend—"
"She's okay. She's alright." He was telling himself as much as he was telling the abbot. Centering himself to get his focus back, Robin looked at Rose's sleeping face. He didn't know if she looked like her father; he had never seen Slade's face, but he could tell she had Slade in the blood; the skill at fighting; the viciousness; the intensity of her movements. He couldn't understand exactly how she beat him. It was so clear that he was so much more superior than she was with the bo-staff. He wasn't sour-graping, it was just fact. He moved like a veteran and she moved like a beginner. There was nothing to explain how she could have beaten him, but she did. He thought maybe it was her speed; but what speed it was! It was almost as if she knew what he was going to do before he thought it.
He was still trying to figure it out when the monk returned, bringing with him, not rope, but yards of orange silk.
"Forgive me, but this is the best I could find."
"That'll do," said Robin. He told Raven to check Rose for weapons, particularly sharp ones and she did, diving into the most unlikely hiding places she could think of, as well as the likely ones.
Raven stepped back when she was done. "Unless she's got a switchblade up her ass, she's clear."
They proceeded to wrap her, shoulder to feet. She looked like she was in a bright orange cocoon, but it was the only way to be sure that Rose couldn't wiggle out of it. She had shown too much skill to be taken for granted. Thoroughly incapacitated, they set Rose to the side, leaning against the wall. Her head was bowed forward and she would be asleep for a while, but that was completely fine with them.
She looked uncomfortable, but they didn't particularly care at that point. She looked just about like any pre-teen, but there was apparently nothing ordinary about her, because she had almost beaten the Titans single-handedly; almost killing one of them in the process.
"Okay, here's the million dollar question: What the hell is she?" Cyborg asked the abbot. He hadn't liked being one-twoed, especially not by a puny little kid.
Raven sniffed. "She's slightly precognitive. I felt it. She knew what we were going to do before we did it. Definitely not normal, but she's untrained, which is why she lost it when her focus was shattered."
Beast Boy's eyes widened. "Is that how she beat Robin?"
Robin's lip twitched but he made no reply.
Raven, probably aware of how it was affecting him, replied with a slight smirk. "Yes. And I think her speed isn't normal either. Did you see how fast she was going? The only reason Starfire caught her was because Star wasn't using her eyes."
Ajahn Maha nodded. "Raven is mostly correct. Rose does have peculiar powers of intuition, but when she wants to, she could see far into the future. Apart from that, she is indeed supernaturally fast, and quite strong, too. That little girl could carry up to thrice her weight."
It confirmed Robin's suspicions and it made him twice as worried. "That little girl is also obviously a daddy's girl. When she's not so little anymore..." He let his words trail. He was well aware that no one deserved to be condemned for acts they haven't committed, but the possibilities were clear enough and he could see that everyone was thinking it.
Robin placed a hand on Ajahn Maha's shoulder. "We tried the polite way—obviously, it didn't work. Will you tell us where Slade is?"
Ajahn Maha stared at him before his eyes roved momentarily to Starfire. He nodded. "I shall." He told the monk to stay with Rose, to keep her tied when she woke, no matter how much she pleaded or threatened to be let go.
The monk nodded in acquiescence.
The abbot rose, telling them in a soft voice to follow him.
Robin hadn't expected that the abbot would bring them to Slade. Again, the strangeness of the entire thing struck him, but at that point, he was too rattled to think too much on it. He kept his guard up; saw that the rest of the titans were doing the same. It would have to be enough.
They were ready for Slade. This time, he wasn't going to get away.
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The facility looked a lot like a hospital.
The walls, floors and ceilings were white, presumably sterile. It had amenities like a bathroom, a small kitchen, a no-nonsense dining area and the occasional black-faced socket.
To reach the facility, they had to take a hidden elevator from the old building. It was cleverly camouflaged by seemingly random stacks of wood that retracted upon the closing of the elevator doors.
There was a short walk down a hallway where they first encountered what looked like Rose's room. There was a plain bed with plain sheets, but along the walls were posters of pop stars, rock stars and the occasional teen superhero; mostly Aqualad and Speedy. She had a television, but Robin supposed a signal was impossible so far underground. Underneath the television was a DVD player and a gaming console that looked like it had been recently played. To one side of the room there was a huge shelf that consisted of books, DVDs, videogames and compact discs. Judging by the size of the collection, Rose certainly didn't watch much cable. The facility was supposed to be secret, come to that. They certainly wouldn't risk having over a talkative cable guy. Probably the only ones who knew about the facility were Lillian Worth, Wintergreen and Rose.
The entire set up clearly cost quite a bit of money, but as Wintergreen said, Lillian Worth had the financial capability to provide for it.
The abbot brought them to a room, and what they saw there shocked them into silence.
Robin and the rest of the Titans stood around the body of a man they didn't recognize. He was noticeably a man of bulk; clearly muscular before; grown flabby from inactivity. There were machines attached to him indicating his vital signs with beeps and ticks. Two drips were attached to his arm keeping him constantly hydrated and the respirator nearby helped him to breathe.
The lines on his face had been smoothened by sleep and they could see that one eye had been mangled beyond recognition. What little was left of his hair was white, much like Rose's, but it could have been age. Parts of him were scarred with burns; healed now, but judging by the scar tissue, the burns had been severe. Like this man had been dipped in a pool of lava. It could have been…
"W-What is happening?" asked Starfire uncertainly. The silence was pregnant beyond belief.
Everyone turned to her, but no one said anything for a moment. Finally, Beast Boy spoke. "Is that Slade?"
The abbot did not wait to determine whether Beast Boy was addressing him. "Yes, this is Slade Wilson. He has been in a coma for months now. He went to one William Randolph Wintergreen initially for help… I assume you know him since you knew where to look."
Mutely, they nodded.
The abbot continued. "Mr. Wintergreen knew he couldn't help Slade by himself, so he brought Slade to the hospital. He contacted Ms. Lillian Worth immediately and with Ms. Worth's resources, they were able to get Slade out of the hospital a few hours later with little problem. I understand that the city was in a bit of chaos at the time so the doctors couldn't be entirely bothered by details such as strange medics taking a patient out of their hands. Slade was brought to a more private location but was eventually transferred here after quick construction of the facilities. He has been here since."
Robin tried to summon his logic. "Didn't the contractors ask any questions while they were building this place? There had to be a lot of people involved. Someone must have said something."
Ajahn Maha shook his head. "They thought they were building a clinic for the monks; a valid assumption. Even we get sick at times. The camouflage at the entrance wasn't placed until after they were done constructing the facility, so they had no reason to suspect. And people seem to find it off-putting to question men of cloth about anything that might suggest we are doing anything improper."
Irritation surged in Robin. "Well, aren't you? Doing something improper? Harboring a known killer—"
Ajahn Maha made a soothing gesture to quiet him. "We are merely giving him a place to heal. We were not hiding him; no one asked about him until you came. We are not a brotherhood to judge, Robin. All we know is that this man has needs; needs we could provide. Ms. Worth offered a sum of money and it helped in the upkeep of our temple and the orphans in it. You understand that it is beyond our beliefs and our means to have refused him."
After a moment's thought, Robin grudgingly nodded. There was one more thing they had to do, just to make sure. Robin looked at Raven, his eyes pleading. He knew Raven could draw latent feelings, even from those long past. Emotions, especially strong ones, left imprints, and from such emotions, there were always glimpses of a person's identity. Raven could find out if this was Slade with her powers but he couldn't force her to do it. Raven had explained that she never liked intruding into anyone's mind. She described it as going into a church and stealing right from its walls, but she knew that if she had to, she would.
To Robin's relief, Raven stepped forward, standing herself at the head of the bed. "I have to peek into his mind; try to search for images attached to his emotions so I could read his memories. I won't hurt him."
The abbot studied her a moment before he nodded.
Permission confirmed, Raven placed her hands on the man's head and closed her eyes. It took only a minute, maybe two, but Raven was clearly distressed nearing the end of her search and then she was stepping away from the bed, wrapping her arms around herself before falling to her knees on the floor.
Robin was crouched beside her immediately, trying to determine if Raven was in danger of passing out.
Raven had her eyes squeezed shut and she took deep, hefty breaths through her teeth.
Robin put a firm hand on her shoulder. "Raven? Hey, Raven. Speak to me. Are you alright?"
She gave a grunt of effort before she began to nod.
The abbot looked worried, watching from several feet away.
Cyborg knelt on the other side of her, scanning her vitals quickly.
Starfire placed a hand on Beast Boy, her concern plain on her face. Beast Boy began telling her what was happening in a hushed voice.
Slowly, Raven's eyes opened, her shoulders growing less tense.
Robin eyed her critically before he looked to Cyborg for the results of his scan. Cyborg gave a nod, confirming that at least physically, Raven was sound.
"It's just—" began Raven by way of explanation. "I hadn't expected the biting cold. It was like his emotions were sealed in solid ice. He has this great desire to be powerful, an obsession for controlling everyone, but his other human traits had been swallowed by his madness…"
"Raven," said Robin, clutching her by her shoulders. "Is it Slade?"
Raven's face became the picture of dead calm again. "Yes."
There was a collective sound of drawn breaths, from Robin most of all.
When he was sure that Raven would be alright, he rose to look at the man on the bed again.
It was hard to believe that the man whom he had cultivated a near-obsessive hatred for was now lying helpless before him. He looked at Slade's face; that had been part of his obsession as well, to see the man behind the mask, and now here he was.
The respirator was the only thing that stood between Slade and death. Robin, for all his revulsion to kill, did allow himself to think: All I have to do is pull the plug and it'll be the end of Slade for good.
But of course, he couldn't do it. He simply could not take this life that couldn't even breathe by itself.
Robin had always envisioned his final battle with Slade to be explosive; horrifying; heart-stopping; death-defying. Perhaps if those were the circumstances, causing Slade's death wouldn't grate on his conscience. Defending himself from Slade was a hell of a lot different from killing.
To have Slade so vulnerable; so easy to kill; left a repulsive taste in Robin's mouth.
No, Robin told himself. If Slade ever wakes up, I'll be there to meet him, but for now, if Slade dies, it's not going to be because of me.
He felt Starfire's warmth as she clung to his arm. "Robin… are you alright?"
"Yeah." He realized that he had barely formed the word. He hated this man with a passion, but he found himself turning away, clutching Starfire's hand tightly. Between finding Slade, comatose, and having almost lost Starfire to a bullet, he was sapped of strength. "Titans, let's go."
The others followed him.
Robin let Starfire lean on him as they made their way out of the facility. He held her hand and he tried to get as much comfort from her presence as possible.
They remained speechless through out the entire ride up.
Robin tried to be positive, tried to find relief in the fact that right now, Slade wasn't hatching a plan to overrun the world. Slade wasn't planning an attack on the tower. Slade was in no condition to kill anyone. He was comatose, and he was caught. Unless he woke up, there would be no worrying about Slade in the meantime.
The world was safe, his friends were safe, Starfire would be safe.
When they emerged from underground, they found that Rose was conscious but too tied up to do anything but glare.
Her face was red with effort. In all likelihood, she had probably petted and bullied and struggled to get out of her bindings. Certainly, the monk looked weary enough.
"Are you giving him up to the authorities?" she asked through grit teeth.
The titans waited for Robin to make the reply.
He nodded gravely. "Yes, Rose. We have to."
Her face crumpled, tears falling from her eyes.
Robin, his emotions strangely gone blank, was not affected by the fall of her tears. "Cyborg, call it in."
Cyborg nodded. "Connecting."
Robin looked to the abbot and the abbot nodded, understanding. He excused himself, telling them that he had to prepare his monks for the arrival of the police. The monk scampered after him in relief.
"I hate you!" hissed Rose from the floor. "Didn't you see that he couldn't do anything in his condition? He's sick… he's dying! Leave him alone!"
Robin shook his head. "We couldn't do that. We couldn't just walk out of here and let him be. He's killed too many people; hurt too many."
Rose yelled obscenities through her sobbing but the titans merely reacted with a slight wince. Her mouth was filthy and they weren't keen on matching her on it. Finally, she settled down. She was still crying, but the cursing had stopped, at least audibly.
Starfire shifted and Robin was surprised when she crouched down to Rose's side. She pulled a handkerchief from inside her shirt, tenderly wiping the tears from Rose's face. Rose was just as surprised as everyone, but she stared up at Starfire with less contempt.
"I—I didn't want to shoot you, you know," said Rose all of a sudden.
Robin reacted badly from within. He wanted to yell at Rose for it, but he bit his lip upon seeing that Starfire merely smiled with a gently put, "Oh?"
Rose nodded. "I've—I've never shot anyone. It doesn't—when you're holding a gun to someone's head it's not easy to pull the trigger. Those dudes in the movies make it look so easy, but it's not. When it hits you that you have someone's life in your fingertips, it just… it's not something you take lightly."
Starfire placed a hand on Rose's head. "I am glad you think so, Rose."
Rose sniffed to clear her nose. "Your instincts—they have merit. I saw some of your future and it told me that. Also, well—things are going to get tough for you for quite a while, but Mar'i will help."
Starfire arched an eyebrow. "Who is Mar'i?"
"If you let my father go I'll tell you?" It had been put like a question, like a child asking an adult if she could have a cookie before dinner.
Starfire answered her inquiry with a chuckle. "Then no thank you. I will just have to wait and find out for myself, if indeed it is in my future."
It took a while for the police to arrive. Wat Buddhadharma was a long way off the main roads, but when they arrived, the Titans felt a great relief. While Slade Wilson couldn't be put on trial and sentenced until he woke up, he would be in the FBI's custody, and that would have to do.
However, in spite of the heavy burden lifted from off his shoulders, one question hovered in Robin's mind and possibly on everyone else's: If it hadn't been Slade, then who the hell was behind it all?
To be continued…
Closing notes: As a bonus at the end of the fic, I'll be providing a link to my Writer's Cuts. Yes, those written scenes which veered off tangent so scandalously that good taste simply flew out of the text like a bat out of hell. It's not going to be pretty, so read at your own risk. I am very serious about this warning. If your read those clips, you might have to douse your eyes with Clorox if you want to forget that those clips ever existed. And if the Clorox doesn't work, don't blame me. I warned you!
There's probably a route 78 somewhere out there, and Benjamin Franklin, just like JFK, Roosevelt and George Washington, has lent his name to a parkway, bridge or avenue in all fifty states, but the way I used them in this chapter probably doesn't fit in the San Francisco road-scape. It's a made up road. I considered using an actual highway and road and stuff, but heaven forbid I put a Buddhist temple right smack in the middle of some Mr. and Mrs. Smith's backyard. And since I'm the type of person who likes going around Manhattan saying, "Let's go to this place! I saw it on TV!" I figured I'd do the considerate thing and come up with a place that doesn't exist.