In honor of the first day of freedom, I shall update this...interesting fic.
Insaneiac The Maniac: Ok...a lot of people were guessing, so I had to give Umbro credit. We'll see about that. Yeah it will be cleared up...in the next chapter, most likely.
Celtic HeiressFiona: LOL thanks so much. I updated as fast as humanly possible.
Aeris-Raven: Lol...sadly I don't think that will come about. Glad you liked it.
alena-chan: I would hate for you to die, so here I am updating. Always great to get a new reader, especially when its this far into the game.
Jordanals: Okie dokie.
CloudsHalo: I would never do that! I'm sure you'll need your hair for one thing or another in this life. LOL yeah I was hoping you would like that...and this chapter is more action, and the next chapter will be more action. Love? Slade? I don't know... LOL not quite, but something to that affect...her powers deal with electronic things...which is why she could see the cloaked warehouse. You'll see more of that later. Well, of course. If Robin had to choose who would die, it would be Mina plain and simple. Glad you liked it!
Umbro Draco: Hmmm...not quite, but close. No prob. I was glad somebody guessed it from that little clue I left. Thanks!
antiterra: LOL ok.
Mystyre: Hmmm...yeah that one was pretty mean. Nah, not stupidity...Cyborg showed up at that point, so it was him saying that. Same here, I totally understand you there. Something like that, yes. Thanks!
Cheerin4danny: -chokes- ... -smiles happily- What a turn-around. I congratulate you. LOL ok.
jambey: Sweet! A Dusty voodoo doll! YAY! Yeah about that...you'll know in the next chapter. I do care for your cuticles, so I will update right now.
Raven of the Night676: I know. Thanks!
Mina: You'll see about that in just a minute. Yeah, I wanted to show that, once upon a time, they were friends...and that's why it was so painful. He's not just acting like a jerk. Nah, not stupid. Everyone's been asking that, and I would have told you sooner...but it just wasn't ever the right moment. Hey, did you get the review? Was I right? Let me know...AWESOME! Better put it up soon, cuz I've been looking forward to it. Glad you liked it!
CalliopeMused: How unfair! I'm not supposed to get consequences for cliffhangers! LOL glad you like it.
superman35405: Wow...thanks so much! Your review encouraged me to get writing...so here is the result! Hope you like it.
Ok...looks like we are almost done. Just this chap and two others, and the stories over. Kinda odd, really. ON WITH THE STORY!
Robin clicked back the safety. "I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice choked with emotion as his finger tightened on the trigger...
There was a metallic whir as a blurred projectile knocked the gun from his hand, sending it skittering away across the lot.
"I thought I taught you not to play with guns."
A horrible numb spread through his body, his mind racing with explanations...all of which contradicted the cold, hard facts. Of course, there was a five percent chance... At that point, all logical thought died as he turned around, his eyes seeing but not believing. Not possible...he would not allow himself to be fooled, he would not lose him all over again! Unexpected and painful tears sprang up behind the fearsome mask, sprang up from his soul as his eyes drank in the sight of him, his father, his hero. As hope and faith penetrated the gray, he felt something stirring inside him. Not hatred, not anger, not vengeance. The sight of that man, standing proudly against all odds, never doubting, never wavering, a rock where others were merely grains of sand buffetted upon the winds, awoke something in his heart that had long been crushed beneath cold iron. It was the desire, the will, not just to live, but to spend every breath of life bettering the world from which it came, to be a beacon of hope for the small, the weak, the downhearted, to be that rock of protection, unchanging and true in the midst of the raging winds and black torrents of rain. That man was the very embodiement of truth and justice, the proof that, no matter how long the night may seem, no matter how deep its darkness, the sun will always return to aid the worn and weary soldeir, to banish the demons that so long have preyed upon his weaknesses and crushed his strengths. Faith is the memory of sunbeams in the face of darkness, the belief in goodness when surrounded by evil, the knowledge of justice when enduring the cruel consequences of its absense. Strength is not a matter of height and mass, but of mind, body, and soul. Strength is love, not hate. Strength is going back for the lost one, not hurrying on to glory. Strength is justice lovingly guided by mercy. Slade was not strong.
Robin was alive again.
"Hey, squirt. You look good in black." Batman towered over him, but that was comforting rather than intimidating. He smiled gently, placing a strong hand on each of Robin's shoulders as he searched his face. "Are you okay?" he whispered.
Unable to control himself any longer, he took a step forward and hugged Bruce feircely, tears streaming from behind his mask as he buried his face in Batman's chest, shaking uncontrollably. This had to be real...he wanted it to be real so desperately. "Y-you had me worried...for a minute there," he sobbed, desperately trying to control himself. It was a feeble effort.
Something close to a sigh of relief removed much of the tension in his mentor as he returned the hug. "Me too, squirt. Me too."
"Interesting. It seems I underestimated you, Wayne. Apparently bats are much more hardy than I thought." Father and son broke apart and whirled around to see Slade standing barely three feet away from them, the struggling figure of Raven clasped in his arms. "Apprentice! You failed to complete your task. I am a man of my word, Robin."
Raven's eyes were wild, a long cut down the side of her face oozing a steady trickle of blood as Slade tightened his grip, the glint of metal shining in his hand. Robin moved to attack, but Batman gently held him back, silently communicating the plan. "I know 'fair' isn't in your vocabulary, Slade, but blackmailing someone into submission says nothing of your fighting skills. Put the girl down, and let's have this out the old-fashioned way: hand-to-hand."
Slade laughed quietly. "And why would I do that?"
The batarang was in his hand and flying towards Slade in the space of two seconds, finding its mark in the pistol held to Raven's head. Just as it had with Robin, the weapon skidded across the lot and out of Slade's reach. "Because, otherwise, I will be forced to kill you."
Slade smirked behind his mask, though his mind was racing. The return of Batman was certainly not in the plan. Fighting the Dark Knight alone was hard enough, add Robin and possibly the alien and shape-shifter to that equation, and it was shaping up to be quite a situation. Oh well. The harder the battle, the greater the victory. With a snap of his fingers, Slade summoned two robots from the depths of the warehouse to hold Raven. It was spine-tingling, how they seemed to appear out of thin air. "I'm in a fairly good mood today, Batman, so I'll humor you. I make it a point to honor the wishes of the dead." Slade charged, a cold glint in his eye that could only mean he was thirsty for blood.
Batman sped towards his enemy, throwing an unsuspected smoke bomb to the ground and fading itno the black cloud. "I thought we were fighting hand-to-hand," taunted Slade, eye searching the smoke despite the burning. A sudden kick to his lower back sent him stumbling forward and out of the smoke, fast dissipating in the chill winds of Gotham. The outline of Robin was visible first, hazy in the remaining smoke but still visible. "Two against one, Batman? Is that what you call a 'fair' fight?" Before the boy could react, Slade leapt forward, brutally kicking his legs out from under him and burying his metal boot in Robin's chest. A wet cough and a breathless gasp brought a smile to his lips. Somehow beating Robin never got old.
He would pay for that lapse in concentration.
Batman sprang from the smoke like a demon from the shadows, a black bo-staff smashing into Slade's chest with enough force to crack ribs. Rare pain burned inside him, momentarily stunning the villain as he backed away. Not fast enough to avoid Batman's next attack.
The first kick deepened the pain in his ribs, the second cracked his mask, the third nearly knocked his feet out from under him. With more effort than usual, Slade pulled back. Enough!
Stars sprang up before his eyes as Slade smashed his own staff into the back of Batman's skull. Blinking to clear his vision and realizing that that would hurt in the morning, Bruce ducked a second blow and sent his own flying at the masked psychopath. He was really going to enjoy making this guy pay for what he did to Robin.
Mina had been through her share of near-death experiences, but that one was, without a doubt, the closest and most terrifying. Generally, when someone points a gun at your head, you feel afraid for your life. Most people do not feel sorry for the individual wielding the gun. Maybe it was her unexplainable feelings, maybe it was the way he said "I'm sorry", but Mina felt almost more afraid for Robin that she did for herself. She couldn't imagine what it woudl be like to go through life knowing that someone was dead because of you. She gave a silent thanks to whatever higher power might be looking out for her as the gun was knocked from his hand, savimg more than one life.
"Ok, so I'm alive. That's a plus." Aside from that stroke of luck, it was hard to find a positive side to this situation. Robin, Batman, and Slade were viciously fighting, neither winning nor losing, Starfire and Beast Boy were down, and Cyborg was...deactivated. Even with all he had done, Mina hoped the half-robot was still alive. Doing her best to stay hidden from Slade, she crept away from the fight and toward the figures of her fallen comrades. To her great relief, she found that Beast Boy was conscious, sitting up carefully and rubbing his head with a quiet groan. "Oooh...anybody catch the license plate of that bus?"
"Are you all right?" asked Mina, ignoring his joke. Now was just not the time.
"I think so..." he mumbled, getting to his feet with a hand from the short girl. "Wait a sec, where's Cyborg?"
"He's...well, he's not something you need to worry about right now. Come on!" Mina grabbed his hand and pulled him after her, still trying to stay out of sight. Starfire was collapsed against one wall of the building, her hair matted with dried blood and her eyes closed. Beast Boy gasped, dropping down beside her and taking her head in his hands. "Star..."
"She's alive," Mina reassured him, a thumb at the base of the alien's wrist. "Just knocked out...the impact..." Her heart ached for him, knowing what it was like to see a friend bleed. WIth difficulty, she pulled him to his feet. "She'll be fine, Beast Boy. Right now we need to take care of--"
A yell of pain pierced through the air, and both whipped around to see Robin skid to a hault, one hand clasped around his upper arm. As they drew closer, he grimaced, pulling something out of his arm with another scream. It was a dagger, small but sharp, covered up to the hilt in Robin's blood. Mina's stomach turned as she knelt beside him, admiring his strenght and cursing his stubbornness as he attempted to stand and rush back into the fray. She grabbed his uninjured arm, and would have been dragged alone after him had he not stopped and turned towards her. "At least let me bandage that. You won't be any help if you bleed to death," she almost pleaded, ripping a long strip of cloth from her ragged shirt and wrapping it around his arm carefully. Robin made no move to resist, but his eyes were glued to the ground, not looking at her even once. The second she was finished, he murmured a quick "thanks" and charged towards Slade and Batman, giving no signs of injury whatsoever. He was truly amazing...
The wound from the knife blade hurt terribly, but Robin ignored it and the already blood-soaked bandage. He had to get to Raven...the only problem was Slade was likely to throw more darts if he saw Robin anywhere near her, and the next might have a more detrimental affect. The villain's plan clearly did not involve Raven's freedom. If he could just free her, Slade woudl have nothing to dangle over his head, nothing to threaten him with.
"Robin...listen carefully...I know where the key is." Raven's voice whispered in his ear.
Confused, Robin thought back to her while dodging a punch from Slade. "Key? What key?"
"The key to the handcuffs. It's in his utility belt, second compartment to the right. I'll try to take out these robots."
Robin mentally nodded, his brain seeking out the best way to get the keys from Slade. Once Raven had her powers back, her danger from Slade would be greatly reduced. Now he just had to get the keys...
With a roar, Robin charged, head down and legs pumping, to smash into Slade like a whacko shot out of a circus cannon. Momentum overcame what he was lacking in mass and sent both Robin and Slade tumbling to the ground with a loud thump. Boy Wonder had about five seconds before the initial shock wore off, mabye less. Wriggling his hand along the cold, iron belt, his fingers met with the hilts of throwing knives as he searched franticly. Second compartment to the right...
With a threatening growl, Slade threw Robin off of him, springing to his feet as the boy hit the ground with a dull thud. The impact knocked the wind out of him, and he gulped down air for several seconds before attempting to move. Luckily, Batman jumped in to occupy Slade, leaving him a clear path to Raven. If he could just get to her...
But nothing was ever that easy with Slade. The mastermind himself might be occupied at the moment, but that was saying nothing of his robot army. Dozens of them dropped in front of Robin, efficiently blocking his path as they raised laser guns and aimed for his chest. Taking a deep breath, he took up his fighting stance... Robin froze, glancing to his left, then his right. Mina and Beast Boy smiled encouragingly, but it was the changeling he devoted his attention to. That smile spoke a thousand words, and all of them were more comforting that anyone could ever know. He had friends.
Robin nodded, and all three attacked, Beast Boy morphing into a gorilla and smashing two robots at once with his massive fists, Mina punching and kicking with fierce determination. His bo-staff in hand, Robin rushed out at the mindless pawns seperating him from his Raven. Come Hell or high water, he would save her.
"Quite amazing, for someone of your age. Tell me, Wayne, how did you survive?" taunted Slade, his bo-staff locked against Batman's as each struggled to overpower the other.
"I've taken worse hits than that," he grunted, pushing Slade back slightly with considerable effort.
"I think not. You said goodbye to that boy as though you were spending your last breath. What a shame that it wasn't enough to repair the damage." Any headway Batman had gained was reclaimed as Slade unveiled a hidden supply of energy, steadily shoving the Dark Knight backwards. "All the same, he certainly cried enough. Kicked and screamed like a child of two."
Batman growled low. "Good." With lightning speed, he dodged to the side, leaving Slade pushing against empty air. The villain stumbled forward, and Batman took advantage of his shock by cracking the thick, heavy staff across Slade's spine, bringing him to the ground. "If he can still cry, that means you have yet to crush his heart. As long as he has that, you will never truly control him."
"How poetic," sneered Slade, recovering from the blow and standing, once more, before Batman. "But a heart can be stopped with the push of a button."
"Is that a threat?" growled Batman, glaring fiercely at Slade.
"A threat? No." Slade advanced until they were eye to eye, matching hatred. "It's a promise."
Ok, couple things I gotta say. I was not pressured into bringing Bruce back, he never died in the first place. This ending has been planned since chapter 9. Review please!