Slade's Tale
Alexnandru Van Gordon
I knew a couple of you people would like it—I got more reviews in one day for chapter one than for any of my other stories. That means it's definite—the majority of the Teen Titans fans out there agree that Slade is one of the best villains ever created.
To answer a few questions—yes, I will be talking about Slade's past life, but I can't reveal everything at once or I'll just ruin my story. I like dangling you guys over the cliff, because then I can make bets on who will last the longest…just joking. I'll just be getting to work before one of you comes and hits me…
AND HERE"S SOMETHING IMPORTANT! I don't know whether or not Divide and Conquer came first in the series or Final Exam. I live in Canada and they keep switching between the two. I'm just going to assume that Final Exam happened first. If that's okay with you.
DISCLAIMER: Me?—Ha! You'd have to be insane (like Slade) to think that.
CHAPTER TWO: Closer
After Slade sent the HIVE team to send his message to the Titans, he made a little test for them. One thing he noticed when he first began monitoring them was that the Titans always fought as a team, and that didn't allow for much one-on-one scenes for Slade to grade the Titans on. It was as if they knew he was watching him, but he knew they didn't. Well, Boy Wonder would suddenly gaze in the direction of one of Slade's hidden cameras, frowning in a curious way. Once, Robin almost did notice one he walked up to the camera before his companions called him away.
That was a close one.
That actually excited Slade.
Well, he'd have to find a way to separate them somehow, and that would mean hiring a team. Quite frankly, there weren't many criminals teamed up in Jump City besides the occasional biker gang, but the Titans disposed of them too quickly. There really wasn't much of anything for him to monitor when such things happened. All in all, it was pretty unfair on his behalf.
So one day he decided to do a little hacking in the Jump City Jail files and went snooping around for a good hour before he came across something of interest. Someone was locked up inside the jail—but he wasn't a criminal. In fact, he had a clear record. It was his alter ego, Plasmus, which did the crime and had to do the time…in a manner of speaking. The man transformed into Plasmus whenever he was awake, instantly changing back to his wholly human state the moment he fell asleep or was knocked unconscious. The good thing about this (for Slade, of course) was that he was in a liquid form that could separate into many little monsters, and—this part is very important—how exactly to you knock a plasmatic humanoid unconscious? Obviously the police knew because they kept him asleep in the prison, but it was apparent that the Titans did not. Plasmus was a monster from another city, simply moved to the Jump City Jail because the other city didn't have the room to contain Plasmus if he were to wake.
Perfect. This was just what he was looking for.
A while back, he also found another humanoid monster. The creature was a mountain of stone that towered high above every man and didn't have the brain to disobey Slade. All he had to do was look at the beast and it would stare back him with interest until Slade looked away or told it to do something. It was clumsy, but very easy to control, the type of servant Slade liked.
"Cinderblock." Slade called into the darkness of his hideout. The gigantic beast stepped out of the shadows and into the light with a few heavy steps before staring down at Slade. "Bring this man to me."
He pushed a few buttons on the control panel and hacked into the security cameras at the Jail. He peeked straight into Plasmus' holding cell and focused the camera on the sleeping man inside the tube. Though he was stupid, Cinderblock understood the order perfectly and stomped off to do his master's bidding.
This would be amusing.
He sat back and continued to watch the security cameras all over the jail. A short while later, Cinderblock came storming in through the front entrance and started an uproar among the guards.
Slade shook his head and sighed heavily. Obviously the blockhead didn't have the brains to take another entrance. Of course the front entrance would have the most guards, seeing that it connected to the courtyard where the criminals were allowed outside. But as long as he didn't get caught before Plasmus was free, maybe Slade could avoid the migraine he knew was coming…
Surprisingly, Cinderblock's stupidity helped out in a better way. Not only did he grab the sleeping human form of Plasmus, but he also had a little battle with the Titans. They each gave one another a solo chance at the beast until Cinderblock headed tails and ran. Coward…
It even surprised Slade more when Robin and Cyborg teamed up. He smiled when he saw their ankles snag in the middle of their attack, and both explosions go off target. He laughed! That little show actually made him laugh! And the look on their faces when their friends took the blows…He had to see this.
It was really amusing when they started to argue—what else was new. Children always argue. But then when they discovered Cinderblock got away with another criminal…sparks flew in that conversation and Slade had to agree with the little green changeling when he mentioned selling tickets for a one-on-one battle between the former friends. One insulted the other, both agreed that they couldn't work with each other, and it ended with the robotic one leaving the team.
How splendid.
Cinderblock returned shortly after the Titans left the Jail, and Plasmus was…introduced to Slade. Well, his human side didn't seem too pleased in meeting him.
"I'm awake?...I should never be awake!"
There was the sound of terror in his voice and Slade enjoyed that. He even enjoyed it more as the man transformed before his eyes and became the infamous Plasmus. Slade gave him his orders and he, like Cinderblock, obeyed without hesitation, leaving with the stone humanoid to wreck havoc on Jump City.
Following orders, Cinderblock made his way to one side of the city while Plasmus went to an old factory where he could consume more grotesque products to build up his already towering figure. As expected, the four remaining Titans showed up and started out with a light attack with the basic "everyone-gets-a-shot-and-then-we-wrap-this-up" routine. When that didn't work, they pinned Plasmus down with a few beams from the factory and Slade actually began to worry if his plan was going to work.
It just so happened that it did.
Evidently, Plasmus wasn't too pleased with the fact that he was recaptured after having just been rescued from jail. In protest, he separated his body parts and scurried after the Titans as five little monsters as Robin and his team dashed from the room. They braced the door but even the children knew there was no escaping the creatures. So, in the end, the Titans ended up splitting up.
Just what Slade wanted.
Beast By, Starfire, and Raven were the first to go, putting up something of a battle when they were attacked, but they didn't really amuse Slade in anyway possible. His eyes finally fell on Robin who, by that time, fell down onto a conveyer belt and whipped out is Bo-staff. Slade had a Bo-staff and it was actually his favorite weapon, second to hand on hand combat. It was interesting how that seemed to be the Boy Wonder's favorite too…
When one end of the staff was broken, the boy merely grinned and extended the other end. However, to the boy's dismay, Robin reached the end of the conveyer belt sooner than expected and went over the edge with the fifth piece of Plasmus. The creature fell to its death, but for some reason Slade felt slightly upset when he realized Boy Wonder was going to die this time. Escaping one fatal fall was lucky—twice would be nearing impossible.
Adieu again, Robin.
The metal break and finally too far for Robin to keep his grip. With a final shout, Robin was jolted and began to fall to his death—
And was saved by a robotic arm that shot out to grab his own.
Slade's fist came crashing down on the control panel before he could calm himself, and at least ten buttons were smashed in as sparks began to fly. He should have known that Cyborg would return. It was just like a child to come back to his friends after a good quarrel.
Friends…who needed them?
Oh well. Maybe he would test them again to see if that was just fate that kept these children alive, or if they really did have any talent at all.
He continued to watch the Titans the rest of the night and had to roll his one good eye when he saw Cinderblock captured in the background. The mechanical monster caught him as a sorry gift. How childish indeed…
Mental note to self: Try to find someone with brains the next time you want to test the Titans.
His anger left him instantly and he ignored the growling blockhead in the background as he listened on in the Titans conversation. Here was what got his attention—
The two boys were smart enough to put together the little detail that neither Cinderblock nor Plasmus were capable of putting together a plan. Both out in the city doing crime at the exact same time—not likely something that would happen by chance.
A small clap for each of them.
He placed his hands behind his back and watched as the Titans left for home to rest and relax from the battle. But there was a slight moment when Robin stared into the shadows and Slade worried that Robin had seen the camera. A friend called out to him, as usual, and he was quick to reply. He spun around and ran to catch up with his friends, passing the odd feeling of being watched aside.
Yet again, that was close…
-R-
He couldn't help but look. Call it intuition or just the jitters, but he swore someone was watching him. It was just like when your exposed skin burned under the summer sun. There were few places with shade and that meant wherever you went, you would most likely have to put up with the burning sensation on our flesh. It was beginning to drive him nuts.
He looked around and stared off into the shadows, the preferable for someone to put a hidden camera. He was about to go and check too when someone called him, and Robin, not wanting to worry his friends, spun around with a grin and ran to catch up. A much as he wanted to stay, he had to start his research on this Slade guy. Call it paranoia, but he felt that this new criminal could also be behind the little show with Cinderblock and Plasmus. The two of them were just too stupid (Plasmus in his plasmatic sate only, of course) to make up a plan on their own. There just had to be someone else pulling the strings.
He almost shivered. There he was again—caught in his detective habit of obsessing over a case. If he wasn't careful, he'd finds himself in a loads worth of trouble really soon.
But a little research never hurt anyone…
-A-
Well, Boy Wonder, a little turns into a lot and if you knew what trouble you were headed for, you would quit while you were ahead. Oh well, ladies and gentlemen, if not for the Apprentice Episodes, I don't think I would as interested in the Teen Titans show as I am now. I can't have Robin get away with it in my story—I have the pleasure of putting him through that hell again, and this time from his enemy's point of view.
Anyhow, I know this one was short, but there is only oh so much you can write about when you're re-explaining a twenty minute long show (remember that there are commercials in between). I will try to make future chapters longer, and I guarantee that the Apprentice chapter(s) will be long reads because they cover a lot of ground and they are just so interesting. Masks might be a goodie too, but up next is the Forces of Nature chapter unless I throw in my own episode somewhere along the way…Anyhow—I'm up for suggestions if you have any to throw at me (but not hard—I beg of you!), but I hope there's nothing too wrong with my story so far. I know I forgot about the butler, but I'm having an argument against the producers on that subject. They say it's Wintergreen—but Wintergreen was Slade's Staff Sergeant in the Army when they worked together—I highly doubt he would work for Slade like the show suggests, so I'm just going to call him Carlton. Happy? Sad? Just tell me because I've got two ears…
Bidding you farewell for now,
Alexnandru Van Gordon
