Innocence Lost by CidGregor

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.


Chapter 10

The nearest thing Robin could think of to describe the sight he was seeing was a great green sun exploding in front of his face, for the brilliance of the light energy bursting from Starfire's body nearly blinded him. Robin had never thought he would see Starfire become truly angry; it just wasn't in her nature, he always told himself. But that day, she proved him wrong.

A massive wave of raw, unchecked energy blasted from Starfire's hands, ripping the bars of the cage clean off as it closed in on Slade and Analyst. Slade's quick reflexes saved him from harm as he leapt aside with hardly an inch to spare. But Analyst wasn't so lucky. The star-beam hit him dead on, rocketing him backward and plowing him into the wall. His cybernetic parts – those that weren't destroyed in the blast – lost their dim glow and faded to black as they shorted out. As the star-beam faded, what was left of him collapsed in a heap, his human half groaning with pain.

Almost immediately after, Starfire felt her normal range of powers returning…without Analyst to run the machine, it had shut down entirely. But the return of her powers did not counter the wave of exhaustion that struck her a moment later; after having a child, being abducted, and releasing more power in one blast than she'd ever done in her life, Starfire's energy had finally run out. Her hands fell to her sides, and she dropped back to her knees, breathing hard. "Go, Robin…" she said between breaths, "go and defeat Slade…"

Robin wasted no time at all. He ran from the cage and planted himself between his beloved daughter and his hated enemy. "Slade! I will make you pay for this!"


Miles away, in the hospital where Starfire had birthed a child not five hours earlier, the rest of the Titans sat in silence in the waiting room, not a soul knowing what was going on. Raven sat – or rather, levitated – in a corner of the room, meditating. Beast Boy and Speedy had taken to pacing back and forth, not able to sit still. Cyborg, Bumblebee, and Aqualad sat with looks of deep thought etched onto their faces, and Más y Menos lay asleep on one of the couches, snoring lightly.

"Urrghh…" beast Boy spoke up, breaking the silence for the first time in an hour. "I hate this, just standing here all clueless! Can't we do anything to help them?"

"You heard what Slade said, man," Cyborg told him. "If we do anything to interfere, he might hurt Star and Rosefire. We're not gonna put those two in danger."

"But there has to be something we can do!" Beast Boy argued. "Anything's better than sitting around here doing nothing!"

Raven did her best to ignore the changeling, but even she had to admit he had a point. Sitting here wasn't doing anybody any good. If only she could break through whatever shield Slade had set up to counter her telepathy, they might at least be able to find out what was happening…

Almost as though answering her prayers, the telepathic wall around Slade's hideout vanished. Suppressing her surprise, Raven wasted no time in stretching her senses inside the building. In an instant she could feel Robin, Starfire, and Rosefire, as well as…

"Analyst!" she said out loud.

"What? What about him?" Cyborg asked.

"The mental shield around Slade's hideout!" Raven explained. "It was Analyst's machine again…but Starfire shut it down somehow…"

"Is Rosefire okay?"

"Yeah," Raven said. "They're fine…but she's beat…and she says that Robin's fighting Slade…but…"

"But what?"

"I still don't sense Slade…but Starfire's looking right at him…I don't get it…"

"Worry about it later!" Cyborg said. "As long as Rosefire and Star are safe, then it's time we crashed Slade's party!"

"All right, finally!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Titans, GO!" Cyborg announced. En masse, the Titans piled out of the hospital and headed toward Slade's warehouse…all but two.

Menos jerked awake suddenly, and noticed he and Más were alone. He prodded his twin. "¿De donde son los Titans?"

Más looked groggily around, shrugged, and went back to sleep. Menos glanced around as well, gave a shrug of his own, and rejoined his twin in slumber.


Slade faced Robin, his one visible eye narrowing as he sized up his adversary. "I see you've remained as persistent as ever, Boy Wonder…for all your other failings today, that at least has stayed with you. But can you say the same of your fighting skills?"

"Don't worry…I've been practicing."

"Practice only gets you so far, Robin. Time for something a little more real."

In the blink of an eye Slade closed the distance between him and Robin, swinging a metal-clad fist at his opponent. Robin blocked the blow and countered with a couple of quick strikes to Slade's unguarded stomach, but his fists struck only the hard metal of Slade's armor. An instant later Slade's fist swung again, striking Robin in the side of the head. He was thrown sideways toward the ground, but his reflexes proved as quick as Slade's. He caught himself with one hand to the ground and pushed off, flipping himself right-side-up and a little away from Slade. The villain leapt for Robin again, now wielding a staff. Robin whipped his own staff from his utility belt and blocked the savage blows that Slade rained down on him. Robin was forced on the defensive for much longer than he was used to; Slade's defenses were nearly perfect…nearly

A brief opening presented itself to the Boy Wonder, and he took it without hesitation; as he caught one of Slade's strikes with his staff, Robin's foot shot forward at Slade's unguarded flank. Again, his armor seemed to absorb any real damage, but the force of the blow knocked him backward enough for Robin to get his footing again and go on the offensive. But just as Robin had done, Slade countered every blow Robin threw with almost frightening ease.

"You haven't learned much since we last fought, Robin," Slade said between blows.

"I've learned more than you think!" Robin countered. He flicked his wrists, and his staff separated into two shorter ones. Like lighting he brought one down, forcing Slade to block it and leaving him exposed to a strike from the second, which Robin delivered straight to his face. The short staff clanged loudly against the metal of Slade's mask, knocking the villain sideways.

"Impressive…" he said once he regained his balance. "Perhaps you've learned a few new tricks after all…but then…so have I."

In an instant a smoke bomb was in Slade's hand, and he slammed in to the ground in front of Robin. A plume of thick gray fog filled the Boy Wonder's vision and sent him into a coughing fit, causing him to lose sight of Slade completely. He braced himself for the imminent flurry of blows from his opponent, but they never came; in fact, as the smoke cleared, Slade seemed to have vanished entirely.

"SLADE! COME BACK AND FIGHT, YOU COWARD!" Robin screamed.

"Robin…" Starfire's weak voice reached his ears. "He…he took her…"

Robin's heart froze. His head whipped around toward the clear case where Rosefire had been held; it was open…and empty.

"There…" Starfire said, pointing to a door marked 'Stairs.' "He went that way…please Robin, you must catch him…"

Robin nodded and ran for the door. He shoved it open and stared straight up the center of the square stairwell. At the very top, he could see the shadow of Slade spiraling upward. But Robin couldn't afford the time to circle all the way around.

"Time to make myself an elevator," Robin said. He pulled free his grappling hook and fired it straight up the stairwell until it latched securely into the ceiling. He steadied his grip and clicked a button on the handle, and the cord reeled itself in, pulling Robin up the center of the stairwell with uncanny speed. He saw Slade's shadow reach the top and blow through the door to the roof, but now Robin was mere seconds behind him. The grappling hook pulled the Boy Wonder to the top, and he leapt onto the landing, yanking the hook out of the ceiling as he did so. He landed smoothly, kicked the door open, ran out onto the roof…and promptly froze in terror.

Slade stood at the very edge of the roof, atop the low wall that served as a guardrail. It was hardly wide enough for someone to plant their feet firmly upon. One good kick would send him plummeting ten stories down to the ground, which Robin wouldn't have minded…but what terrified him was that Slade was not standing there alone; he held Rosefire under one arm almost carelessly, glaring at Robin.

"Take another step, Robin, and you lose your child here and now," Slade threatened, moving his arm ever-so-slightly toward the edge.

"No…" Robin said weakly, the fury gone from him in a heartbeat. "Please…don't hurt her…"

"Good boy…" Slade whispered. "You know, Robin…I must say I underestimated you and your girlfriend today. I suppose I put a little too much faith in Analyst and his device. And now that it's out of commission and Raven's telepathy is no longer blocked, your friends are most certainly on their way…"

A sound from Slade's left attracted both his and Robin's attention; Starfire stumbled onto the roof from a second stairwell, breathing heavily. She took one glance at the scene before her and gasped. "Rosefire!"

"If you have any sense, girl, you'll stay right where you are!" Slade threatened again, his voice turning harsh. He extended his arm further, until he just barely had a hold on the baby dangling over the edge.

"Star, don't move!" Robin ordered.

Starfire stayed where she was, but to Robin's utter amazement, she no longer looked worried. In fact there was almost a trace of a smile on her face. Slade noticed it as well.

"What do you possibly have to smile about, Starfire?" he said, glaring at her.

"You have failed, Slade," she said. "Your associate has been defeated and his machine disabled. You are cornered, with no escape. You shall not have our daughter for your apprentice."

"You forget, Starfire…I still have my bargaining chip," he countered, gesturing toward the child.

"Your threats will not work, Slade. Rosefire is safe."

"Safe? Safe from a ten-story fall to solid concrete?"

"Star, what are you doing?" Robin hissed.

Starfire gave him a brief glance, one that said simply, trust me. Robin swallowed hard, and fell silent. Starfire looked back at Slade, or more specifically, at the child clutched in his arm. "Rosefire…look at mommy!" she cooed.

The infant turned her sparkling green eyes toward the sound, and let out a small giggle. Starfire scrunched up her expression into a funny face, and the infant giggled louder. Starfire made another funny face, and Rosefire laughed more.

"Enough!" Slade said. "You were warned."

Robin's heart stopped as Slade extended his arm a bit further, but Starfire continued to make funny faces at the child. "No…Slade, don't…"

"You should have realized, Robin…" Slade said coldly. "If I can't have this child…no one can."

And before Robin could even begin to react, Slade released his grip…and the child began to fall.

"ROSEFIRE!" Robin screamed, his feet paralyzed, rooted to the spot as he watched his daughter drop out of sight. The weight of guilt slammed upon his soul almost instantly…he had failed, again…and now his daughter was gone…

But then he caught Starfire's face out of the corner of his eye, and she didn't look even remotely afraid or upset. What did she know that he didn't?

And then his question was answered; amazingly…impossibly…Rosefire reappeared. The child floated straight back up, still giggling, and flew - flew, Robin's stunned mind barely registered - straight into her mother's waiting arms.

"What…? How…?" Slade said, for once speechless.

Starfire gave him a knowing smirk. "On my planet…even a newborn knows the Unbridled Joy of Flight."

Slade glared daggers at Starfire, momentarily forgetting about Robin…and then he realized his mistake. He spun back and looked toward the Boy Wonder…

…or rather, the bottom of his boot.

Robin's flying kick slammed straight into Slade's chest, throwing him backward…and out into nothingness. And just as he began to fall, the other Titans arrived.

"Dude, it's Slade!" Beast Boy said. "Robin just kicked him off that roof! Is he nuts? He's gonna kill him!"

"Raven, use your powers!" Cyborg demanded. "Slow his fall! The Titans don't kill!"

Raven indeed stretched out with her powers, but not to catch Slade. She looked deep within the falling figure, just to be sure, and then simply let go.

"Raven…?"

Slade kept falling.

"Raven…! Do something!"

"…no."

"Are you insane?" Cyborg nearly screamed. "He's gonna die!"

"No…he won't."

"What do you mean, he won't die?" Aqualad said. "No one could survive a fall like that!"

"Just watch," Raven said simply.

And watch they did, as Slade hit the ground with a loud crash, making a small crater of ruined concrete around him. A second later Robin dove off the edge of the roof himself, reeling down on his grappling hook as quickly as he could. He touched ground roughly, abandoned his grappling hook, and marched over to Slade's body. "No more, Slade!" he said, beside himself with anger. "You're finished! Stop hiding behind that mask of yours and face me head on, you coward!" He bent down, grabbed the side of Slade's mask, and ripped it off.

"You first, Robin," came Slade's cold…and still mechanical…voice.

"No! NOOO!" Robin screamed, staring furiously at the mass of dark gray circuitry of the android behind the mask, and the cold laugher of Slade…the real Slade, issuing from a microphone in the mouthpiece.

"Another day, my boy. Another day."