He could not just hear, but he was seeing something in front of his eyes:
The Titans at that moment had all taken hands and Robin could see them standing in a circle, arms locked together tightly.
"Close your eyes and concentrate," Raven was saying. "Now focus all of your energy on one thought, the one person that we are missing. If our hearts beat as one, our powers will unite as one."
The Titans all did as they were told. They closed their eyelids and obeyed Raven's chant. "Azarath, Metereon, Sinthos," they all said aloud. Again and again, the Titans continued to say the words and think about themselves.
They were all so different and yet extraordinary: the one that was half man and half machine, the witch with a dark lord for a father, the supernatural green skinned changeling, the alien girl, and the teenager with the power to move mountains.
Yet all of these differences had not destroyed their team, but brought them together. Robin knew that in his heart, they were all inside of him and praying for him to succeed. There were bonds that Slade could never break and secrets that he could never find. None of his droids or guns could destroy all of the strength that the Titans had put into their team.
Robin wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and he stood up. Now the detective's brilliant brain was doing its work and the confusion that blurred the lines between right and wrong was finally coming into focus. He had decoded the secret and now that he knew how the Darkness was fighting, he could fight back.
"You know what the differences are between us? I still have two eyes in my head and a brain that works inside ofit," Robin said with more strength in his voice.
"You have a gift, Slade, and I admit that I wanted that gift. I noticed how powerful you were, how nobody could control you or boss you around," Robin said.
Slade looked pleased with his words. "Then you should take my advice, Robin."
"I'm not through yet," Robin snapped.
"That's what I did want, until you made me your apprentice. You had no respect for me at all. I was your slave to do your bidding, a petty child that was angry but always under your thumb. When I saw the Titans crawling on the ground because of your disgusting probes, I knew there had to be a line dividing me from you.
"And then when I saw Terra being possessed by you, I knew it had to end one way or another. She looked so brainwashed and so sick, she didn't know right from wrong anymore. You stole my team, then you stole her heart. I wouldn't throw my life away pouring corruption into other people, manipulating them to get what I want.
"You'd kill my team if you had the chance. I'd die for my friends!" Robin screamed out loud. His scream was not the raging pitch of fear and agony that had always made him lash out, but a perfect announcement to get his message across loud and clear.
"You got your perfected mind and body, but at a high price. You are the one who is alone, Slade. You are the one that sold your soul to the devil at the worst cost. There is no one you can trust or rely on for help. But I'm not that desperate, I won't succumb to bowing and groveling before corruption."
"I see. You are acting within the rigid codes of the Dark Knight," Slade sneered. "A slave to your softer emotions."
"You shouldn't even be allowed to say his name," Robin said angrily.
He raised his fighting staff above his head and began to twirl it, faster and faster.
"I have a choice that I choose to live by. I am Robin, the Boy of Wonder! I am a Teen Titan!" he shouted out loud. Robin brandished his staff. Instead of charging, he suddenly beckoned with a hand and called out:
"Come for me, Deathstroke the Terminator. I am not afraid of you!"
Sure enough, his words had punctured Slade's ego and his low growl was raised into a furious roar at Robin's revolt. The masked man was the one to strike first and was prepared to bring his metal clad fist down on Robin.
But Robin did something remarkable. Instead of attacking Slade head on as he usually did, Robin drove his staff into the ground and propelled himself up over Slade's head. He tucked his head in and the boy's body arched gracefully in a dazzling perfect acrobatic performance. Robin landed on the other side of Slade, on his feet with ease.
His enemy had never been so enraged, and yet so enthralled at the action.
"Well Robin, it appears that I have underestimated you," Slade said. "Your skill have improved, though I wonder if your stamina is still with you." The two fighters prepared for another attack.
"I'll just have to treat you like a formal adversary, instead of a little boy," he warned Robin. They clashed and the staffs went driving against each other. There was choreography in every movement they took. Robin spent much of his part on the defense.
Slade's mind was partially preoccupied with keeping Robin at bay while the other half of his mind was doing the brilliant logic that he always used.
The boy was better, by all means. But what else had changed? Nothing! He still fought without any laughs or quips and he still kept the most serious expression as he attacked.
No, something was different this time. . .
Robin had not even once made a threat about taking Slade down this time. Nor had he tried his orthodox approach of a clenched fist that Slade could easily catch in his own palm. There were no sloppy overly energetic movements that Robin usually fell into place when he was angry. Robin was simply fighting without his anger or personal frustrations distracting him. He was not thinking about his peak-of-the-mountain victory, but about the Titans. They were the only reason that he was fighting differently this time.
Bah, that was impossible! How could five teenagers that were not even present get this one masked child to attack with the brilliance of a samurai warrior? What on earth was different this time?
A chilling thought struck the masked man, deep in the darkest and most sadistic part of his mind that he dared not to penetrate. The shock of such a fact was impossible, but there it was in front of Slade, existing in the Teen Titan that stood in front of him: Robin was not afraid of him anymore.
Robin leapt into a backwards summersault to drive off a powerful kick. He was stopped halfway, hanging upside down. Slade had caught Robin by his left ankle and was shaking the boy's foot madly, irritated at his insolence.
Little did he know that it was exactly what Robin had anticipated.
Robin used his strength to drive his right ankle up where it smashed into Slade's chin. He felt a shocking vibration in his heel that shot up his leg and into the rest of his body when he realized that he had hit the target perfectly.
There was a shattering sound and the man released his grip on Robin. The boy somersaulted backwards before landing on the ground in a crouching pose. He realized that bits of metal all lay scattered on the ground. Astonished, he looked up and saw that his enemy's metallic covering had come off and broken in the impact.
Slade had been unmasked.
Should he have expected something grotesque or hideous inside?
His features were so set and firm, they could have been carved out of granite. His hair was nearly white, his short trimmed beard a steel gray color. Without the metallic black and orange coating, the man underneath had an almost patriarchal look to him. There was something deep and imperial about that man in his sharp features, his shining black eye, and his mouth that was parted back into a pleased look with even white teeth that Robin almost wanted to respect.
Almost.
But the only thing that struck clearly was a black patch over Slade's right eye and a black leather band that encircled his head.
Slade reached up and touched the eye patch. The grin on his face widened even more and Robin felt that make him shake down in his bones.
"What is it, Robin? Were you expecting more of a man or a monster under the mask?" Slade mocked him.
Resisting all urges to return to his traditional way of fighting with spurts of petty anger, Robin gave no answer but clenched his fists hard and braced himself.
Now it was Slade's turn to attack and he lashed out, the sword slicing through the air. The speed was almost too much for Robin and he jerked his head aside. It was too late and the steel blade lashed across Robin's face. There was the sound of fabric ripping and before Robin knew it, his left temple was bleeding profusely. He covered his cheek with one palm to insure that he still had skin on his head.
Slade furrowed his eyebrows as he looked at Robin, no, Richard Grayson. The face was that of a boy, but in the eyes, he saw a man was just about to break out.
They kept fighting but slowly, the iron beams of the HIVE began to bend forward as if they were melting from the heat. Iron bolts and nuts popped out of the wall like popcorn and the ground was getting slippery from the dust.
Robin was still on the defense but he wasn't losing his composure yet. Not until they kept fighting until he had been pushed backwards into a smaller chamber.
The sword now had aimed directly for his face and Robin ducked his head down. He was hit by a cold icy spray of something wet, washing off the blood for a split second. They must have hit a water pipe because water was pouring in from the blasting holes. Slade pushed down on one of the levers and the door slammed shut behind him. Robin looked up with horror.
"Are you crazy? We're both going to drown!" he shouted. Slade ignored the comment and his sword now stabbed at Robin's cape. The boy tried to leap around the small room and remind himself that drowning would not be without its own pain. More water was pouring in and streaming around Robin's ankles. Now it was up to his knees and he saw no possible exit.
Not until the water reached Robin's waist did he finally hit upon a crazy idea. When Slade's fist came in contact with Robin's face, the boy went sprawling backwards against the wall where he slumped down into the water. Slade came up and grabbed Robin by his collar, a pleased look on his face.
"What is the difference between you and I, Robin? You have lost," he declared with triumph. Now the water was midway and the lights began to flicker out, but none of that mattered.
"Did you hear me, Robin? YOU HAVE LOST!" Deathstroke the Terminator raised Robin into the air with fierce delight.
Now!
The small red batterang ramned into his eye. There was the disgusting sound of flesh slicing and Slade screamed in the pain. He released Robin and clutched his bleeding left eye in pain.
Robin fell back into the water with a loud splashing sound. Realizing that Slade was still suffering optically, he had no time to think. Robin grabbed his steel clad arm and rammed Slade's fist into the wall.
A large enough dent for Robin was sufficient and he started to climb through. The arm reached out and grabbed the boy by his cape. Robin felt his breath nearly knocked out of him, but Slade kept his firm grip on Robin's cape, attempting to yank him back.
"You-little-upstart-" Robin heard him snarl. He sounded ready to break every bone in Robin's body with his own two hands.
With the last of Robin's strength, he used the batterang to stab Slade's hand. There was another cry of pain lost in the gurgling waters, but the grip was released. Robin ran as fast as his legs could take him.
But now he looked up and saw that literally, the sky was falling down.
The ceiling was going to caving in and crash on him in a matter of seconds. Robin could not find the precious time to run out. Noticing a large metal door that was hanging loosely on its hinges, Robin ran over and pulled it off. He drove himself onto the floor and pulled the door over his body.
The young man curled up into a little ball as tightly as he could and put his hands behind his head. He heard the sound and smelled dust and ash in the air, blinding and chocking him. Rocks were beating a steady drum on the door, weighing heavier and heavier onto Robin's back. He would just have to let the destruction come and brace himself for what would be next.
There was nothing else to do but wait. Wait and hope.
-A-
Mouths and eyes were hanging open as the Titans stood on the rocks and watched the roof of the institution cave in. Starfire turned around and buried her face in Speedy's shoulder, unable to see the insanity.
"I cannot watch," she said in a tiny squeak of fear. He seemed mesmerized, unable to pull his own eyes away from the walls that were bending in and finally, came crashing down. There was a sound like a sonar explosion and a giant mushroom shaped cloud of dust rose from the ground and drifted into the air where it touched the clouds. The walls flattened to the ground and gave a terrible shudder from the rising storm.
And then, the rumbling started to die down. The dust began to clear and the Titans raised their heads, lowered their arms, and looked. It was all over.
Nobody dared to say what was on their minds. It was impossible, there was just no way that Robin could have survived.
Nevertheless, they couldn't just walk away. It would be like simply walking away from a terrible car wreck. "We've got to-to take a look," Cyborg stuttered. Nodding weakly, the Titans approached the wreck. They did not even dare speak his name lest it betray the breaking emotion of hysteria. But Cyborg let out grunts as he pushed rocks over and Raven spread her arms apart to move boulders.
They all heard Starfire give a loud shrill cry of pain and came running. Everyone found her sitting on the ground, sobbing with her head lifted up to the sky that was starting to turn pale pink at one end. Robin's body lay at her feet and she cradled his head in her arms.
"No! No! No!" she kept repeating in sobbing tones. Starfire's cries seemed to pierce the heavens themselves and if the moon could weep, she would shower stardust upon them right now. Robin's body was bleeding and broken, his clothes in tatters and his eyelids closed. He was not moving in the least bit. They all knelt down in a circle around the fallen hero with their heads bowed low.
"X'ahl," Starfire repeated, pressing her lips to Robin's forehead. She wiped some of the blood off his cheeks and her fingers ran through his black hair.
"You are too noble," she continued to weep. Her shining tears fell off Starfire's face and glistened in the faint rosy tips of the barely coming sunrise before falling on Robin's face.
"Robin. . . don't fly away. . . please, don't fly away. ."
Cyborg lifted up Robin's wrist and checked for a pulse. The Titans eyes were all starting to full with bitter tears of salt water. They knew it was too late. It would take a miracle even greater than that of a Lazarus Pit to bring the Robin they knew back to them.
"Starfire, whatever you are doing to Robin, keep doing it," Cyborg said. She looked up at him, astonished at his words. Everyone chocked back their own tears and their heads turned.
"I don't know how to say this. . ." Cyborg's voice was strangely high and tight. "But he has a pulse."
"Praise Azar!" Raven cried out, and she burst into tears of joy.
Slowly, Robin's face began to return its color. Starfire brought his hand to her lips and gently kissed it. Closed her own hand around his palm, she felt his pulse beating inside like a small vibrant bird. The eyelids opened revealing shining deep blue eyes.
"Robin?" Starfire asked. He smiled faintly and turned his head aside.
"Rob! Say something! Anything!" Cyborg begged him.
"Ouch."
They wouldn't have burst into laughter, they were too grateful and too glad to have him back. But Robin felt them all putting their hands on top of his and he felt himself getting stronger.
"Oh Robin, what I would have done if you did not . ." Starfire just brought her arms around Robin and struggled to resist the tightest embrace she could muster.
"I don't get it, I just don't get it," Cyborg kept saying as he checked his scanner and shook his head. Finally, he looked at Robin with a perplexed look on his face. "I don't know how you managed to survive. All that blood loss meant you should've been dead."
"The truth serum," they heard Robin stammer. "The reflexes, even just a drop. ."
He shook his head and suddenly, started laughing as he sat up and flexed his shoulder. Robin wiped his eyes and looked at his team.
"As much as I hate to say this, I think Slade saved my life without him even knowing it."
He stopped laughing and frowned. "Where is he?"
"Robin, can't we just go home now?" Beast Boy begged. "I'm really tired. The HIVE is out, Brother Blood is dead, and we all need a good nap."
But Robin was already getting to his feet. Apparently, the serum had given him sufficient strength and he rubbed his throbbing shoulders. "I have to know if this is really over. And if its not . . ."
Robin just looked at his friends and realized they were looking at him unmasked. The deep sapphires in his face glowed with admiration for his friends.
"If it's not over, I know I have my friends to help me."
The Titans now turned to the wrecked and continued to sift through everything. Terra wasn't allowed to move anything too heavy but she did assist Cyborg in moving some of the larger pieces of rock. Raven was spinning her fingers in the air and causing bricks to move into perfect piles.
It was Beast Boy who was now trailing on the ground as a bloodhound who found something. Sniffing the earth, his eyes found a hand covered with the remains of shredded black leather.
"Found him!" the changeling called out. The Titans all stopped what they were doing and came over. Everyone cringed. All they saw was one hand sticking out of a pile of broken concrete. The rest of the body must have been underneath.
"Come on, push!" Cyborg shouted. The Titans all gasped and strained, but they managed to propel a large rectangular shaped piece of concrete off the top of the pile. Speedy and Robin quickly pulled off the stones underneath. The archer let out a yelp of astonishment and jumped back when he saw what was underneath.
Slade's face jutted out from under the rubble pile. He was lying on his back with his head tilted up to the Titans. Most of the stones still remained on the rest of his body and Robin hoped it was sufficient to keep his adversary down for now.
The Titans all looked at this man with gray dust staining his untidy white hair, his hard firm face, and gray beard. The eye patch had come off and now, red spiraling rings of crusted blood usurped the place of his right eye. More blood was running down the side of his face.
Slowly, his left eye opened just ever so barely and a faint trickle of red watery plasmas oozed out. He coughed and blood spurted from his lips. Robin felt faintly sick from looking at. Insomuch as this was the man that had made his life a nightmare, it was almost pitiful to seeing him in that condition.
"You're bleeding," Robin said in upset voice.
"This is nothing, Robin," Slade said suddenly in a raspy voice. "Compared to what you must have, its nothing more than a sprained ankle. My body will take care of healing itself."
"Not if we pulverize you first," Cyborg threatened. He aimed his canon at Slade's head.
"You know I cannot die," he said grimly.
"He's right," Robin admitted. His hand came to Cyborg's arm and the young man was astonished as Robin pushed the weapon down.
"He's not even deserving of death. I want him to know we'll take him down if he ever dares to hurt people again."
Robin came closer, not fearing his enemy now that he had been defeated. "I want him to be afraid of us."
"Robin, you were superb inside there. I knew you had it in you," Slade said with a breath of fascination. "All you needed was the right motivation. I taught you that, you cannot deny it."
"No, the Titans and my teacher taught me how to survive," Robin said somewhat irritably. "All you taught me was how to turn away from others."
"If you want to be strong enough to survive, you have to let go, Robin," Slade said with another fit of coughing. Even now, he was still struggling for one last grip on the boy.
"I won't let go. I wont run away," Robin said coldly.
"But why?" Starfire's shaking voice was heard; thin, sad, and sweet. She looked mournfully at the crushed man on the ground, her red eyebrows turned down unhappily. Starfire would never be able to grasp the concept that a person could push himself to the brink of total corruption willingly and with glee.
"Slade, why have you done these terrible things to us?" she asked him tearfully. "What worth do you get from it ? Why have you spent your entire life destroying others?"
"Because he destroyed his own past and he cannot atone for it," Robin said aloud. "Instead of going back and correcting, shame only pushes you forward and makes you continue to do terrible things."
Slade grabbed Robin by the collar and pulled the boy down close to his face. He lifted his neck barely until Robin could hear his deep voice, still managing some of its silvery sound even under all of his pain.
"But it was more than that, Robin. You know I was looking for something else," he said in a voice so low, none of the other Titans could hear it. But Robin knew right away what it was and the message stung him between his ribs. "You know what I really wanted."
"You wanted a son," Robin said in a low voice.
Slade gave him a terrible sickly smile and nodded.
He released his grip on the boy and Robin stumbled backwards and shook his head.
"You don't deserve to be a father."
He turned around and walked a few steps off. He couldn't bear looking at Slade anymore. It stung too much to know that a man had offered Robin everything and anything and yet Robin could not accept it.
A warm hand came onto Robin's shoulder. "Robin, let us forget this," Starfire suggested. "Just let it go." Robin turned around to face her. The girl felt her breath get caught in her throat as the early morning breeze drifted through their hair. He looked like that vision of the future, the one called Nightwing, so determined and strong.
Then Starfire broke out into a warm smile. "Come friends, we must return to the Tower and prepare a feast of initiation."
"Initiation?" Everyone looked at her curiously.
"Of course! To celebrate our victory and the return of our dear friend, Terra," she said gesturing to the blonde haired girl.
"Um, guys, I think you should check this out." Beast Boy said in alarm, pointing upwards. The Titans' heads all turned up to the sky with astonishment.
The faint glow pink of the morning was getting stronger and the tall figure stood out against the colors as he floated down from the sky and touched the ground. The Titans watched the darkness draw back and the colors of the man come forward. His bright red cape fluttered in the wind, his blue clad arms folded across his chest.
"Titans!" he called out as he came forward. "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I think so," Cyborg said. "But we're in major need of some breakfast."
The man smiled broadly showing fine even white teeth. Then his smile turned to a face of shock as he looked around the wreckage before his eye fell on Deathstroke the Terminator, now a defeated villain.
"What on earth happened here?" he said.
"It's a looooooooong story," Beast Boy said. The man uncrossed his arms revealing a bold red S imprinted on a yellow background. Beast Boy's eyes bugged out and his jaw nearly hit the ground.
"Woaaah! It's you!" he blurted out. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to meet you!"
"The pleasure is mine," the Man of Steel said, accepting Beast Boy's handshake. The changeling was bubbling over with enthusiasm.
"I've got a whole book of papers and stuff about all the things you've done in Metropolis. You've been my icon for a long time and I think you're great," Beast Boy said proudly. "I've always wanted to be a superhero like you."
Then he paused. "Ah, why are you here? Don't you have like some big important meeting with the League or anything like that?"
"We had no idea the HIVE was up to something until a signal was triggered yesterday," Superman said. One boot turned over the remainds of a metal door. "Lead. I can see Luthor had a hand in all of this. He'll have some explaining to do at his next press conference."
"And you may have some explaining for us," cut in a deep voice.
Starfire gasped when she saw the next newcommer. Was this a demon from the dead of night coming to haunt them? Indeed, with his black horned head and clocked in a black cape, his darkness stood out sharply against the faint delicate morning colors.
The Titans all cringed except for Robin, who limped forward to the tall shadowy figure. The man looked Robin up and down, then turned his head right and left to examine the damage done to the H.I.V.E.
"I see you've been keeping busy," the Dark Knight said at last.
One corner of Robin's mouth turned up. "We all have."
"You put yourselves into a lot of danger."
"I know. We got lucky."
"Luck has nothing to do with it," Robin's mentor cut in sharply.
Beast Boy peeked from over Robin's shoulder and eyed the man. "You, uh, you're not gonna take Robin away from us, are you?" he asked meekly.
"He could always use more training," came the response.
"NO!" the Titans cried, swarming all over Robin in defense.
"Please, do not make Robin leave us," Starfire begged to Batman. "He has been the best team leader and best friend for all of us."
"He's the only reason we're all here," Cyborg insisted.
"He sacrificed himself to save it," Raven said.
"When they put it that way," Superman said as he walked up to his teammate. "I suppose there's nothing we can do about it."
"We could," Batman insisted. "But I can see standing against the Teen Titans would be a foolish thing to do."
"Then what do you suggest?" Superman smiled.
Batman glanced back at Robin. "The HIVE has been destroyed, Luthor's been exposed, and Deathstroke the Terminator has been defeated. All we can do is let them continue to do what they do best."
The Titans cheered among themselves and chatted with Superman for a few minutes. It was during that time when Batman drew away from the crowd, back into the shadows, and Robin followed him.
"I, uh, think I owe you an apology," he said with eyes cast downward.
His mentor glanced over his shoulder. "For what? You've done nothing but work on being dedicated to the cause."
"It wasn't always like that," Robin said bitterly. Words forced their way out of his mouth as he kept talking, faster and faster.
"I was angry and furious that I couldn't defeat Slade, so I abandoned my friends and lost their trust. I fell into his trap. I became his apprentice and did the very things that you told me not to do." Robin sighed in defeat. "I'm sorry."
"Robin," Batman said firmly. He looked at his former sidekick calmly.
"Everything that you have done is in the past. It's not for me to decide-or punish-for you. Only you can be with terms for your errors."
"But, I thought you would hate me. I thought you had given up on me!" Robin insisted. "I walked out on you two years ago and you didn't say a word."
The dark man stood silent and mulling for a moment. "You think these past two years I never interferred with your plans...because I was angry with your decision to leave Gotham City?"
Robin nodded.
"I let you go because there was nothing else I could teach you. Experience had to be matched with your skills," Batman said at last. "If you can say that you've learned from the last two years, and will continue to lead your team, then consider the rest of what was said to be water under the bridge."
"I want to keep being a hero like you taught me to be," Robin insisted.
"I only gave you a mask, Robin. But you made yourself into what you are today." Batman's hand came to Robin's chest and he touched the R shaped badge on it. "It is what lies within yourself that makes you the hero."
The rest of the Titans came around Robin. He couldn't remember what had happened next exactly, but he did recall an argument over pancakes and recalled Starfire hugging him, Speedy making some dry remarks, and Raven talking with enthusiasm to Terra.
The moon was exhausted after her adventure with the Titans. Robin watched her glow grow dimmer and dimmer as she moved west while her friend, the sun, was rising up out of the east. A few rays of shining sunlight crept beyond the horizon and swept across the sky like an eagle. The bright shine hit Robin's badge, causing the gold to glint in the light, winking like the brightest star in the sky.
I knew you could do it, all of you the moon said softly as she bid them all farewell. Well done, Titans.
Robin was grateful that the struggle with himself that had at last come to rest. There would be other journeys to take and other fights up ahead, but Robin knew that he had the abilities to face whatever trials would come his way.
He would face the morning with his friends and family, every day and every time.
THE END