Ahh, Chapter 15! I'm able to update again! Woohoo!

Chapter 15

Slade strode through his mansion, actually humming a little tune under his breath. He was headed for his study, and his intention was to check up on his young protégé. Robin did not know it, but he had hidden cameras posted all over that school and its grounds, so Slade's eyes were never far away, and nothing was ever a secret to him.

He passed by a mirror and smiled when he caught a glimpse of his own reflection. It was often surprising how utterly and completely nondescript his chosen visage was. Brown hair, brown eyes, and a face that anyone would have described as a "face-shaped face." If he were to walk into the middle of the nearest town, shoot someone in the middle of a crowd in broad daylight, he doubted that anyone would be able to describe him. If someone were able to do so, then he would simply change himself again. It was amazing what could be done with makeup or tiny surgical implants that left no scar with their addition or removal. Even Robin had no idea what he really looked like, and that was the way he preferred it. The less the boy knew, the less power he had, and the more power that Slade held over him. It was an arrangement that suited Slade completely, for what was life without power? Power was what he always wished, and he never allowed anything or anyone to stand in his way. In order for his power to continue after he was gone, then he would need an apprentice. That was where Robin came in.

He reached his study and stretched out in his favorite chair, switching on the screens. The first few showed only other students and faculty, but Slade had no interest in them. What he wanted to see was Robin.

He found him: he was out in the riding ring, going through paces on the back of a strawberry roan. Slade saw him walk, trot, canter, trot, walk, and then canter again. At a cue from the instructor, Robin reined in his horse and held it to the fence while the instructor set up some equipment in the center of the ring. Ah, jumping equipment. So Robin was to learn to jump. This should be interesting.

Slade kept his eyes fixed on the screen as Robin followed the teacher's instructions and jumped. He almost lost his seat but managed to regain it, losing only a stirrup in the process. Slade smiled. He'd seen Robin tenaciously holding on to the mane of his mount, so he knew the boy was determined not to disgrace himself.

If I were there, Slade thought, I'd tell him that there's no disgrace in falling off, but in only failing to get back on.

"Good job, Robin!" the instructor called as Robin trotted back to the front of the jump. "Want to try again?"

Slade saw Robin slip his foot back into the stirrup and smile. "Just once more, Jerry."

For a moment Slade felt the hot wave of jealousy wash over him. Robin never spoke in that way to him, nor did he smile. Not once had Robin ever smiled at him, and his every word to his supposed mentor had been full of hate and disgust.

As soon as he realized what his thoughts were, Slade laughed aloud. "What are you thinking, you old pirate?" he asked himself, not caring if Karlton heard him. "What do you want, the boy's affection and regard? His obedience is all that is important." Still amused, Slade turned his attention back to the screen. He watched Robin finish his lesson, thank the instructor, and felt the slightest echo of jealousy as Robin joked with Jerry until the man shooed the boy back to his classes.

The jealousy faded the next instant as Slade spotted something following Robin. It was barely large enough to be seen, but its bright green stood out against the dark grass that it was slipping through. Suspicious, Slade enlarged the screen until it could be seen plainly: a mouse. A green mouse.

Karlton, working downstairs polishing silver, heard the explosion and the sound of breaking glass. He knew that his master was angry about something, but what he didn't know was that Slade had put his fist through the screen.

"He broke his word," Slade snarled, removing his hand from the broken remnants of the screen. "He broke his word, and so now the deal is null and void." Calling for Karlton and the car, he prepared to leave for Camden Hall to retrieve his apprentice.