Instead of focusing on the troubles he couldn't defeat, Robin geared his mind into the battles that he knew they could win. The team kicked off by defeating Dr. Light in an attempt to suck the electricity out of the city. High fives were slapped and the Titans cheered at yet another victory. Finally, the Titans hit to the arcade where Robin showed Starfire yet another wonderful earth fascination known as the moon walk.
"You have to take off your shoes before you enter," Robin said. He began to wrestle with his steel boots but Starfire stood up, thunderstruck.
"Robin, how dare you tell me to remove my footwear!" she cried out angrily. Robin raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Why? What's wrong?" Starfire suddenly flushed and looked down. "On my planet, to take off ones shoes is a symbol of disrespect and . . . immoral behavior," she said with a red face.
Robin couldn't help but start laughing. "Its not the same on earth, Star. No one means to show disrespect, we just want to keep the moonwalk from popping open." He pointed to a small vacuum pouring air into the moonwalk. Starfire glanced at the humming contraption and poked the swelling fabric of the moonwalk.
"You mean, footwear is removed to preserve its inflated condition?" she asked. "Yeah, if it gets punctured, we can't use it." Starfire didn't need to be told twice. In the twinkling of an eye, her slim legs had wriggled out of her purple boots and she clambered, somewhat clumsily, after Robin into the moonwalk.
"Ya-hhooooo!" he laughed, jumping up and down. "Watch this, Star!" Robin jumped as high as he could and tucked his feet into his chest. The boy spun his body into a full turn before bouncing down again. Starfire's hands clapped and she started to laugh as well. Her red hair swooped up and down like a robin's red wing as she bobbed around the moonwalk.
"What happens if we jump together?" she shouted above the hum of the engine. Robin just grabbed her hands and they both leapt into the air. Then they bounced down and their legs gave way. The two Titans collided in a heap on the bottom of the moonwalk, laughing until their sides ached.
Robin and Starfire staggered out of the moonwalk, still somewhat shaky after the constant jumping. Cyborg and Beast Boy turned up along with Raven. "Who won the laser tag?" Robin asked.
Raven's usual dark demure was replaced with an elusive smirk. She folded her arms inside of her robes and looked at Beast Boy. "That was so cheating, Raven," he said, looking somewhat annoyed.
"Ray was making her own pistol move all over the place," Cyborg grinned. "She kept zappin' everyone before they got a chance to fire back."
"Yeah! No wonder you got the highest score!" Beast Boy cried as he waved a card in the air. "You never said the rules included moving things without your hands," Raven said, still smirking.
"Ok, new rule!" Beast Boy announced as he waved a finger in her face. "From now on, the laser gun stays in your hand at all time, ok?"
-A-
Movie night at the Tower was going to be great as well. It was Robin's turn to pick out the flick and he had the perfect one. Beast Boy grabbed a bucket of popcorn and plunked himself on the couch. "Amigo, the master of the Couch Potatoes is here," he said, cramming popcorn into this mouth.
"Which movie did you get?" Cyborg asked. Robin held it up.
"The Mark of Zorro," Beast Boy read from the title. He raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "Is it cool?"
"Frosty," Robin grinned. The Titans all sat down on the couch as Robin bent over the VCR and slipped the movie into it.
"Action, comedy, lots of great fighting and mystery," he said. "And someone rescues the girl in the end?" Raven demanded. "Wonderful! What a heroic tale it must be," Starfire beamed.
"Its heroic, all right. Its all about a rich man that puts on the mask and goes to fight evil criminals in his time," Robin explained. He took his seat and raised the remote. But instead of showing the image of Zorro on the screen, noisy static crackling black and white appeared.
The Titans all made faces at the noise but Cyborg frowned and fiddled with the remote. "We must have a power problem," he muttered.
"No problem, Titans," a mechanical voice spoke all of a sudden. The static vanished and a masked face appeared on the screen. Everyones' mouths fell open.
"Hey, its you!" Beast Boy pointed a finger angrily. "Red X!"
"Glad you remembered me," the skull-faced person said from the screen. Robin's fists tightened in frustration. The last encounter had left him confused, disgusted, and distressed at seeing Red X out of his own skin. A criminal or a friend, Robin did not know. Yet the mere presence of a mystery that he could not unravel constantly provoked him.
'What do you want?" he demanded.
"A one on one with you," Red X said.
"Oh no you don't! The Titans kick butt together or we don't kick at all," Cyborg demanded angrily.
"Robin meets me at the Jump City Bridge in fifteen minutes. Alone." He held up a handful of sharpened blades "Otherwise, I find some civilians to play target practice." The threat was not one to be taken lightly to the Titans. They looked at each other for a moment.
"Rob?" Cyborg looked at him, and slowly all of the Titans glanced in suspicion. Robin just stared at the screen, his mind carefully calculating the odds.
"This doesn't make any sense," he said slowly. "Why do you want a face-off with me? What's in it for you?"
"That's my little secret."
Red X's image on the screen shifted to Starfire. "If Hero Boy doesn't come back for you, don't worry. I'll take good care of you, Doll Face," the masked man said in an eely voice. Starfire's cheeks flushed with anger. Robin glared and stepped protectively in front of her.
"Fifteen minutes, that's all," Red X said. The screen clicked off. Starfire turned around and faced Robin.
"Robin," she protested, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked at the other Titans.
"I have to do what he says," Robin said finally.
"And what if you get your butt kicked?" Beast Boy argued.
"I'll send the signal if anything goes wrong," Robin promised.
"I don't think you should separate from us again," Raven warned in a harsh tone.
"If I don't, Red X may cause even more chaos," Robin insisted. He checked to make sure his utility belt was securely fastened and fully-loaded. The Titans still looked at him skeptically.
"Look, I didn't ask for this to happen," Robin insisted.
"Didn't you?" Raven said softly. An uneasy feeling bristled in the air.
Robin was running out of time. Forcing down his irritation and deciding to ignore the arguments, he took a deep breath. "I'll keep my communicator on full alert. If I take more than half an hour, come and get me."
"If we don't do as Red X says, he could get even more dangerous. He might take hostages or blow something up," Robin added. "This might be the chance to find out who he is once and for all."
A-A
"Are the machines in position?" the slim robed man asked.
"My droids are all but neglectful," Deathstroke answered. His fingers tapped on the keyboard in front of him. He was ready to launch the greatest accomplishment of his career.
"Let us move to stage two of the operation."
A-A
Knowing he would have it no other way and knowing that Red X was not someone to be trifled with, the Titans allowed Robin to leave. Instead of watching the video, they all retired to their rooms to wait for results.
Starfire paced her room nervously. She had already re-arranged all of her china dolls, dried the dishes, and starred out of the window for too long. The Tamaranean beauty began to wring her hands together with concern.
A slight tapping noise at her door made Starfire's head jerk up. "Robin? You have returned?" she called. There was no answer. Starfire rushed to the door and threw it open. Seeing no one there, her eye fell on a small box wrapped in purple paper at her feet. The girl picked it up and pulled the card stuck on top of the box:
Dear Starfire,
Here's a little gift for you. Thanks for everything.
Your best friend,
Robin
Her green eyes sparkled in delight. "Oh Robin, how thoughtful of you," she said happily. Starfire removed the gold ribbon and pried the box open. She peeped inside to find the gift.
Instead, a tremendous explosion of fire burst from the box and sent Starfire flying across the wall. She let out a shrill cry but the impact blasted her into the wall with a powerful force, nailing her into the plaster. Starfire let out a small groan before crumpling to the ground.
Raven was meditating in her room, her deep breaths chanting in time to her meditating conduct.
"Azareth, metreon, zinthos," she murmured. So absorbed with concentration, the witch did not see a pair of hands slid the door open. The hands stretched out to her and a soft spell was uttered. Serpent-like streams of dark power emulated from the hands and drifted out to Raven.
She felt the disturbance and opened one eye. Raven opened her mouth to utter an attack but the dark power wrapped itself around her mouth, securing it silent like a gag. More thin ropes of power wound around her body like snakes, pinning her arms to her sides. Raven's dark eyes grew wide in fear and horror, but she was unable to counter attack.
Cyborg fitted a power cable into his arm and pressed a button.
INITALIZING POWER RECHARGE
The smooth beeping sound of the battery juicing up was heard. He sat back in the chair and sighed, ready to relax as he charged up. Cyborg's calm tone was cut short when an unusually bright shock of red electricity shot from the plug and into his body.
He shouted at the jolt of pain shooting into his system and sending sparks leaping out of his bionic body. The power increased and the small screen reading RECHARGE now read EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN. Cyborg struggled but the cable remained into his body, draining him of his energy. He slumped over, completely immobilized.
The growling sound of the microwave had been running all of this time, muffling any other sounds in the Tower. Beast Boy licked his lips and happily grabbed a napkin when the timer went off. Grabbing a tofu burger from the microwave, he took a large bite. "Mmmmm," the changeling said, savoring his food.
Beast Boy swallowed the first bite, then took a second one., He chewed twice before frowning. He leaned forward and sniffed the tofu burger. It smelled somewhat odd, maybe a little stale. Beast Boy made a face and muttered, "Must be spoiled." He shook his head and dropped it into the garbage.
He reached for another tofu burger and put it on a plate. Carrying it to the table, Beast Boy suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion roll over his body. The juices from the first bite were still rolling inside his mouth. He yawned deeply and dragged his feet as if they weighed like stones.
"So tired," he moaned.
The plate fell out of his limp hand and crashed to the ground. Beast Boy collapsed on the tiled floor of the kitchen, snoring loudly.
At the bridge . . .
Deep waters glinted under the bridge. There was no moon visible that night. Robin adjusted his own mask and glanced. Even without the moon, the harsh white lights lining the bridge were marking himself clearly enough. He waited attentively, hoping for the slightest sound to betray footsteps.
The wind rustled and sent dead leaves rolling across the bridge. Robin gripped his bo staff sharply. He remembered the "cloaking" technique and decided to tune into his other senses. Robin closed his eyes and breathed hard. Sure enough, his ears were not betraying him. He heard the faintest rustle of fabric right behind him, right there-
WHAM!
The bo staff thrust into what looked like air, but in the blink of an eye the weapon had drove itself into a now visible black cape. Red X was jammed into the chest by the weapon and he staggered backwards.
"Smart move, kid," he retorted, throwing back his shoulders and making the cape swirl in the air. "I've got a couple of tricks on me," Robin said, licking his lips nervously.
"Same here," Red X said. "We both know these games." Several batterangers flewinto the air. Robin drove his bo staff into the ground and patrolled his body off the ground, dodging the attack. The batterangs clanked and lay embedded into the metal beams of the bridge. Robin was ready to go on offense but suddenly, remembering his nightmare, remembered how his rage had made him do things that he had come to regret.
Red X spun into a Kung Fu fist fight and Robin answered with the upper cut block. Straining under the weight of the bo staff, he propelled Red X back against the railing. "You're a good fighter," Robin admitted aloud.
"Thanks."
"Too bad you have to act like a criminal," he added.
"Acting is great for us masked guys." Red X retorted. His boot drove into Robin's chest and Boy Wonder's stomach buckled over in pain. Another X was fired and the sticky binding tape wrapped around his body.
"Not a bad actor yourself either," Red X tutted. He lunged again and Robin switched to defense, using his legs which were still free to block the moves. His twisted hands were working on his utility belt, finding a sharp point to cut the bonds. Robin let Red X grab him by the chest and drive his fist against Robin's cheek. The matter of seconds sent Robin hurling backwards, just enough time to find his dagger knife and slice through.
For a few minutes, the admirable fist fighting and choreography danced along the bridge. The moon was watching through her veil, wondering to whom the victory would be bestowed upon. Focus Robin told himself. You must focus. What is your enemy's weak point?
A memory teased in the back of Robin's mind, a familiar maneuver. Once, while dueling Slade, Robin had managed to knock half of his mask off. Now he faced Red X and got ready to attack.
Robin leapt into the air and prepared to make a lower attack into Red X's chest. Instead of targeting with a punch, Robin drove his steel-rimmed boot into Red X's face. There was a melodious sound of metal crashing against metal.
Bullseye!
Red X was shaken from the blow, enabling Robin to leap up and deliver another powerful kick to the head. The villain went sprawling to the ground.
Robin bent down and picked up Red X by the lapels.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" Red X said. Robin's hand came to his face and he pulled the mask off.
The white skull mask clattered to the ground. A lump of ice just dropped into the bottom of Robin's stomach.
"No..."
Where a face should have been, a small black screen was inserted.
Robin released the droid and grabbed his communicator. "Titans! Emergency!" he shouted into the screen. "Red X is a droid. I repeat, it's not a person!" he said. There was no answer. Robin frowned and shook the communicator.
"Titans, this is Robin! Come in!" he begged. Still no answer. The tension in his stomach was tightening up with ever ypassing second. Robin left the droid and jumped onto the R-Bike. Jamming his helmet onto his head, Robin slammed on the pedals and speed off. He was hunched over, his heart pounding in time to the beating tone as the motorcycle hit various bumps along the road.
-A-
The Tower was still standing when he got back. Not only that, but it was rather quiet. Robin typed in the security code and the doors slid open. "Titans! Are you there?" he shouted. His voice echoed in the long hallway. Robin set aside his helmet and ran up the stairs.
At first he noticed the interior was fine, nothing had been ransacked or destroyed. He even heard the sound of the television. "They must still be up watching the movie," he tried to convince himself with relief.
Robin stepped into the main control room. It was dark with only the light from the movie screen illuminating the room. He frowned in suspicion; no one was on the sofa but The Mark of Zorro was still playing on the screen.
Da-a-da-da-dum blared the trumpets. Zorro swung onto his horse and rode out of the ranch. The scene continued for several more moments until Robin heard of a buzz of static and the screen went gray. Then it went completely black and the lights clicked on.
"Having trouble tonight, Robin?" taunted a deep voice from the back of the room..
A shiver went down the teen's spine and he slowly turned around.
"Slade," he said angrily. The masked man was standing in front of the sealed doors, leaning against it with his hands locked behind him. The sight of his very enemy standing in the Titan's headquarters was making Robin's blood begin to boil.
"Robin," his adversary nodded. "We meet again."
Robin tried to ignore the fact that his knees were shaking and his mouth was getting dry. Not too long ago he would have lunged out at Slade without a moment's thought. Yet tonight, something suspicious lingered in the air; he could sense the danger had penetrated far deeper than just breaking into the Tower.
"I thought you-"
"Were dead?" the masked man suggested, chuckling softly. "No, but I'm sure your friends were certain that I was gone. You knew fully well that it would take more than a slight 'aftershock', shall we say, to finish me off."
"The mask," Robin stammered. He pointed a finger. "There was dust on it."
"I couldn't have you lulled into a false sense of security, could I?" Slade shook his head in dissaproval. "You just need to be kept on your toes, needed to be reminded of why you should be afraid of me. After all, fear is merely a prelude of respect, isn't it?"
His footsteps came closer but Robin began to back away, slowly towards the wall. His hand curled up behind him and he reached for the back of his utility belt. "Where are the Titans?" he demanded. Slade remained silent.
"Where are they?" Robin yelled out loud. "Tell me or I'll take you apart," he threatened, flicking out a small red battarang.
Slade just raised a hand and snapped his fingers. Two droids sprung out from the shadows and grabbed Robin by his shoulders. Unable to throw them off, he was thrust down into the chair, heavy mechanical hands weighing him down. He started to struggle and curse between his teeth. Slade stepped forward and simply pulled the batterang out of Robin's hand.
"Patience, Robin," Slade said. His fingers closed over the batterang and easily crushed it in the palm of his hand until it was nothing but splintered pieces of metal. "You'll see the Titans soon enough. But not yet, you're not ready."
"Ready for what?" Robin demanded.
"For the birth of the new H.I.V.E institution!" called another voice. "And the extinction of the team known as the Teen Titans!" The doors parted and Brother Blood stepped forward. He leaned over the captured boy and bowed in a gesture of mocking respect.
"Well done, Robin," Brother Blood grinned in his face. "Thanks to the alliance between the H.I.V.E and your formidable rival, the Titans will be vanquished."
"We have removed your team and now they are detached, unable to use their powers. They are in the currently newly established Academy," Slade said. "And ready to be terminated."
For a moment, Robin was too dazed to speak. The reality that his team had been captured snapped him back into conscience. "But how could you have done it? Neither of you knew our security codes!"
"Terra deciphered your weaknesses, remember? How ironic that such a puny girl proved herself to be so useful even after a mental breakdown."
"Terra was just a kid and you-you," Robin shook with rage. "You poisoned her!"
Brother Blood seized Robin by his lapels. "And I suppose the Titans did any better?" he sneered. "You sent a member of your own team to spy on my school."
"Using deception to infiltrate the enemy. How clever of you, Robin," Slade complimented him. "You pick up on my techniques so well. I knew you still had some similar qualities within you."
There it was, the same accusation that taunted Robin and teased his patience day in and out.
"We are going to destroy the Titans at our ceremony on the next full moon!" Brother Blood shouted in a cry of triumph.
"No you wont," Robin insisted. "Because you don't know everything about the Titans."
He hadn't pulled out his last card. Neve before had Robin tried to rely on "outside" help or pull the unnecessary strings. But if his friends were in such dangerous conditions then drastic measures had to be taken. Maybe he was getting in way over his head. Maybe he wanted to stop Slade once and for all. But with the H.I.V.E also ready to strike and the Titans captured, Robin was going to have to swallow his pride.
"I've got connections with other crime-fighters," Robin said boldly. "When they find out an operation like this is going on, you're all going down."
Neither of the men seemed fazed by Robin's threat. To the contrary, Slade seemed interested.
"I highly doubt any of those self-righteous vigilantes will be interfering at this late in our plans, even one as persistant as Gotham's famous detective. Though I do wonder what he would think when he found out you were once employed by me, Robin."
The taunt was a flaunt in Robin's face. To let his mentor know that he had been forced to work with an enemy, stolen weapons from warehouses, and fought against his friends...
Brother Blood's insane laughter broke Robin's train of thought. "Ha ha ha! Did you really think that calling upon 'higher powers' would stop us? Why Robin, we've been given permission by the most influential man in the country!" Brother Blood removed a piece of paper from his robes and thrust it in front of Robin's nose.
"Lex Luthor?" Robin blurted out. This was insane! How could something this chaotic and the bloodbath be permitted to happen?
"You see, Mr. Luthor was quite generous to provide such an elite private institution with funding and security," Brother Blood smirked. "And if anybody else would try to intefere, especially a so-called 'League' of annoying action figures, then the press would be breathing down their necks about a plot to assassinate Mr. Luthor."
"No! I wont let you do this!" Robin yelled. He growled and strained but the robots held him down.
"Enough," Slade ordered the droids. They removed their hands from Robin and he stood up, massaging his aching shoulders. "You'll tire yourself out before the fight."
Robin balled up his fists. "I'm ready to fight now," he threatened both men. They both remained in their positions. "I said, I'm ready, Slade!" Robin snapped. "It tooks months of research but I finally found out everything I needed to know about you."
"Is that so?" Slade said retorted. "It's of little consequence at this point. But if you think you're so clever then please, enlighten me."
"I will. I know you were once working with the military and you signed up for an experimental program of truth serums. That's what gave you enhanced stamina and strength. And you hid it from your family while taking on the job of an assassin: Deathstroke the Terminator. That's what you called yourself when you went out to kill people. But it wasn't enough, was it? You didn't trust your family with your secret and everyone else suffered because of your selfishness."
Robin paused and added, "Your right eye...and your sons."
Slade calmly removed a long thin capsule from his utility belt. "You've done your work well, Robin," he said in a pleased tone. "Losses and sacrifices must be made for a greater cause. Survival of the fittest."
"Do you know what this is?" he asked, holding up a syringe full of a clear liquid. The small prick at the end shinned sharply in the harsh light. Robin had the feeling that he wasn't going to inject any vaccines into him.
Like lightening, Slade lunged for Robin and grabbed the boy by his shoulder. The syringe plunged into Robin's arm, making his body go cold and then hot. He collapsed to the floor, feeling as though thousands of tiny fiery worms were crawling under his skin, into his mind, filling him with pounding emotions. Robin clenched his muscles, trying to fight off whatever was twisting inside of him.
"The same serum that altered my body is now coursing through your blood," Robin heard his adversary say. "If you are able to resist serum, you'll not only survive but thrive on the same powers that I once have. Just imagine it, Robin. You'll be undefeatable."
The worms were crawling in his stomach, stinging into his memories, nagging in hundreds of tiny hissing little taunts.
"Don't-" he gasped as he writhed on the floor. "Don't want it."
"No matter. If the serum kills you then we'll just ressurect your body in the Lazarus Pit," Brother Blood gloated. He rubbed his slim hands together like a mad scientist. "You will emerge all purged of past guilt, your conscience completly devoted to your new master."
The Lazarus Pit. Robin shuddered inside when he remembered the high price it paid for restoring life to a corpse. Mortals who dipped into its waters were never fully restored to sanity. All that remained was their hatred and a new roaring insantiy that plauged the mind. The Lazarus Pit was not ressurection of life: it was the birth of a nightmare.
"You are evil. .. . you killed Terra. . ." Robin's faint voice trickled out of his mouth.
"No Robin, you did," Slade accused him.
"I knew that you would deduce the solution of Terra's secret before anyone else. That is why she turned away," the low voice taunted in his ears. "She thought the changeling had betrayed her secret but really it was you who started the chain of events that drove her towards me. You are the cause of her downfall."
He wanted to say no, he wanted to protest. But the truth serum stung in his body and made his senses heavy. Robin heard his mouth speaking and the words tumbling out from his lips without control. "My fault," he said quietly. Darkness was closing in over him, exhaustion from resisting the serum was taking a toll on his body.
Robin staggered to his feet but no more than two steps taken forward and he collapsed again onto the ground, completly unconscience.
"Success at last," Brother Blood beamed with delight. "I will have the Titan known as Raven draw blood for the Lazarus Pit and we shall begin shortly."
"And what about the others?" Slade inquired.
"The green changeling may become a worthy animal with the proper genetic mutation," Brother Blood said slowly. He stroked his chin in thought. "I will have to deal with Cyborg myself," he added through clenched teeth.
"And the alien girl?" Slade asked.
"Princess Koriand'r from Tamaran. . . . well, her planet may pay a high price for her ransom, providing the right communication will go through." Brother Blood was preoccupied in speaking into his transmitter while Slade strode up to the massive glass window that spread out over the bay.
Idiots, he thought to himself. Simple-minded fools who lusted after money and slaves all the time never thought about greater ambitions. He had seen too many of them plan feebly and fail miserably.
Ever since the puny H.I.V.E graduates had broken into Titans Tower, Slade was impressed to discover that the Titans were not easy adversaries. Much of that was thanks to their persistent leader. Robin was the superior of his two apprentices; Terra had just been an overly-emotional cog in the wheel. But Robin was still here and his determination to succeed proved his use in the long-term plan.
There were two ways of destroying the Titans: kill them or use them. It meant separating each and every member and using their powers against each other until self destruction would make their bonds of loyalty break. This was the day when they would fall and never rise again.
A-A-A
As the Boy Wonder was being taken hostage, focus was directed on someone else. The moon finally flitted out from behind a few clouds, casting a faint yet noticable glow upon the city. And somewhere in a deep cavern where only the bats could be heard, a single shaft of light was coming down. It was a call for help that would not cease until it had been answered.
The cry was urgent and the response swift to action.
Help!
A pair of bright blue eyes opened and someone gasped for breath.