Alexnandru Van Gordon- I know, I KNOW, that's partly my fault for not updating soon enough. I'm sorry, really I am, for not getting that done. And you're right, I don't think Robin has yelled at his team in a very long time; you'll find out a great deal why he does that and why he's acting so angrily in this chapter, with his conversation with Star, and I think that will clear up a lot of the confusion over why he acted the way he did: he's doing it because he wants to keep his distance from them. He's so reluctant to let them back into his life because he knows it would remind him of the past, and what happened to him. He's trying to forget it ever happened, but as soon as he sees the Titans, he's back in the midst of all the pain and suffering that he had felt in Slade's custody. I'm trying to keep true to what I've done, and the comics, trying to get everything down the way I want it to, but sometimes it's just so hard, you know? Sometimes I lose track, but I'm still trying to keep with what I know, and what I've done in the past. Thanks for reviewing!
Insanity 101- Bitter indeed. And no, it's not a RobStar or BBRae... not really. It was just something that happened, with the clothing designs and whatever, but there's going to be no kissing in this fiction! Absolutely no kissing (although tender moments, like the one between Nightwing and Star in this chapter, sometimes do make an appearance). And you have to think about this: Nightwing went through hell. I PUT him through hell, and now he's back in the place where he WENT to hell. See why he's bitter? He just doesn't want to remember the past, but everyone brings it back up. He wanted to forget what happened with Slade, with them, and with them just being here, it totally freaks him out. Also, you have to realize, he still carries a lot of the guilt from the previous two stories. He let his friends die, he let himself get manipulated by a madman. He fought against the people who care about him, and almost abandoned the principles Bruce had taught him. Everything he went through, everything he became, violated every single moral, value and characteristic of his character, so what's Nightwing supposed to do? Like Batman, he keeps it in, and, like a powder keg, he can explode at a moment's notice. And thank you on the Troia aspect: I always pictured her, of all people, would treat Nightwing like a child. He's acting like one, and she's gone through relatively the same thing, no question about it, but she "survives" the side effects of working with Slade, while he just seems to be "enduring" them. Thanks for reviewing!
Rogue-Aquarius- LOL yeah, I decided not to move all my fictions. I'll probably still go the Yahoo group thing, but it'll be for some of the stuff I can't exactly post on here, like songfics and scripts and whatever. So yeah, isn't getting rid of me that easily. And thank you on the comic incorporation. I always try to do the best I can to make this not only a cartoon Teen Titans Story, but also a comic book Teen Titans story. Some of the histories and the backgrounds of the characters are richer, more colorful than in the cartoon series, and the comics really are a source of information and inspiration. To make the stories as ACCURATE as possible, I try and get every moment "comically" correct. Of course, at the same time, I'm trying to set these characters up for other aspects of their character which aren't in EITHER the comics or the show (hence the Troia/Slade situation. I gave birth to that sucker all on my own!), so I can still add my bit of flavor, and my dab of personality and style to the situation. I give myself just enough room to play, while still making it believable and mostly accurate, and that is what I'm most proud of! Oh, and if you want Batman stuff, check out my newest fiction collection, Gotham Knights: the Cat and Bat Collection. It deals with every single facet and complication that is the romance of Bruce Wayne/Batman, and Selena Kyle/Catwoman. I have such great ideas... Thanks for reviewing! AQUARIANS ROCK! YEAH! Lol!
KaliAnn- I can respond to e-mails, I'm just... lazy. LOL, sorry, that's not a good excuse... I promise I'll try and be better at doing that, ok? Yeah, the Hall of the Fallen was a very emotional piece that I wrote, but it seems like such a natural thing... in the newer incarnation of the Teen Titans (i.e with Wonder Girl/Cassie Sandsmark, Superboy/Conner Kent, Robin/Tim Drake, etc.) they actually DO have an actual memorial INSIDE the Titans Tower that honors all of the Titans who died, including Jericho, Terra, and Troia (who I'm debating about killing off at the moment... the idea's tempting). So I thought that it would be cool to have something similar. And don't worry: Nightwing will come to realize that he's being an idiot, all in due time. Thanks for the review!
Infamous One- LMAO you said it! Thanks for reviewing!
Dlsky- Ahhhh, detail. It is the key to any good story, and I'm happy I gave you an accurate description of the outfits! I even saved the ones I liked to my desktop, and had them open when I was writing those parts, just to make sure I got everything correct. And yeah, Donna's not one to stand Nightwing's childish behavior. I mean, she's gone through basically the same thing, and she's still in one piece, right? She can't stand to be near him right now because all he has been seeing when he came back were the bad memories that he wants to forget. It makes her sad for him, and at the same time, it annoys her like no other. And thanks for the compliment on making everything believable. I always felt that stories that are driven by the Characters instead of the plot seem to be richer, more realistic than if it just went on plot alone. That's why I have parts where you get inside these characters' heads (mostly Troia and Robin, but that's besides the point lol) and see what they see. You get a good idea on the characters' intentions and their characteristics that way, what makes them who they are, and I'm happy I could accomplish that feat! Thank you very much! Thanks for the review!
Well, here I am again, sitting at my desk at 9:30 in the morning, and looking forward to a whole day of fiction work. I've got two more parts to do on Gotham Knights: Two Sides, Two Stories (which, btw, is partly up-- the first part is already posted) as well as a chapter or two on Teen Titans. I'm aiming to put myself ahead, like I did this time, and just write one chapter after another. I actually wrote this piece directly after chapter 2, 7 word pages worth, but I wanted you guys to "settle" on one chapter before you devoured the next lol! I don't want to overload you guys too much!
Oh, btw, there's a foreshadowing thing in this chapter, dealing with Nightwing. If you could figure it out, I'll give you a cyber cookie! Anyway, enjoy!
Quicker than the Flash, he was out of there, striding back the way he came until he reached the door. He shouldn't be here, in this place, with these people... What did they know about what he needed and how he felt? Nothing, that was what. They didn't know of the personal hell he'd been through, the nightmares for months on end, the nervous anticipation that made him jump at every sound, scream at every dark shadow, and haunted his very soul. He had gone through months of psychiatric therapy with Doctor Leslie Thompkins, thanks to Bruce and his connections, and still, that didn't work. He had so much anger, so much rage... so much fear. The brainwashing had worn off, but not the side effects. Slade had done the unthinkable: he'd gotten to him, and it was something he severely didn't like. Sometimes he wondered if he was ever going to get back to normal again, or if that was even possible anymore.
Somehow, he doubted it, and that was why he chose to bury himself in work, to keep his focus on the creatures of the night instead of the ones inside his own mind.
He thought he'd gotten over it all, had gotten used to the way things were, how different they were and would be in the future, but coming back to the Titan's Tower, seeing everyone again... It just made the pain clenched inside his heart and mind bubble up and resurface.
"Robin?" It was Star again, coming up behind him. Funny, she had always been there for him... She hadn't changed a bit in that respect.
Not bothering to correct her, he still couldn't shake himself out of his anxiety induced funk. "Go away."
"Robin, please, tell me what is wrong. You are acting so strangely--"
"I have my reasons."
"No, that is not what I mean. Of course you are angry, but I have the inclination to believe that you are not angry at us. Perhaps you are experiencing something else, something that causes you to act with aggression, and you are taking it out upon us. Your friends."
Leave it to her to hit the nail on the head. "Just leave me alone."
"You are afraid; afraid of us, of what has happened to you, of him. You fear Slade, do you not?"
"...Not exactly."
"Then please, tell me what is wrong. Please, Robin, tell me what is troubling you. Perhaps I can be of assistance in helping to alleviate your feelings."
Out of anyone in the world, it was always either Raven or Starfire who was able to sooth him, to talk to him of personal matters, the two who genuinely seemed to care. More than anything, he wanted to bear his problems with them, hoping... for what? Forgiveness for his actions? For comfort from the weight on his shoulders? The strength to face what he feared?
The part of him who was raised by Batman and enforced and strengthened through a year and six months of hell refused to let him show a single sign of sentimental, emotional weakness. "Just leave me alone."
Her soft touch gripped his jaw powerfully, and drew his gaze into her two, gorgeous green-on-green eyes. "Do not ignore me, please. I am only here to help you, Robin, but you continually make it hard for me to do so. Do not cast me aside like a Grandelschlurb does to its mate after breeding season. I am not going to let you drive yourself to become reclusive, secretive, and ultimately alone."
Well, this was new. Shocked at her boldness, he was caught off guard. "Star, I--"
She hushed him. "Please, no more excuses. Tell me what is really bothering you."
He sighed, and slumped his shoulders, defeated. "It's just that... being here, in this place... It's filled with memories: good ones, bad ones... And right now, the bad is getting noticed more than the good. Everything that's happened to me has happened here, and I left because I couldn't deal with it. This place... the memories... they were smothering me. I was so mad at Slade, at myself, and afraid of the future, what I could become, and what he had done to me. All of this, all of you... were a reminder of it all. So, I left."
Starfire listened closely, and she brushed a tear from his eye with a delicate finger. "I'm sorry, Robin. If I knew what it is that you are going through from experience--"
"Trust me: you don't want to know."
"If I did, perhaps I could be of better assistance. Perhaps Troia--"
"I don't need Donna. We have a bond, but it's different, too much the same. She and I... we're a lot alike, too much, in fact, to be of much help, and I don't need a person like that. I just need someone who gets me, who understands me."
"I do."
The time was now. Just as it had been with the demon girl, now was the time to strike. Now was the time for the apocalypse, the Armageddon, the end of the world, and he was going to be the one responsible for bringing it all full circle. It was his plan, his motives, his desires. Everything was perfect, everything was in place: all he had to do was summon her, beckon to her, and it would all be done.
Deeply gazing into the glass orb on the pedestal, his masked face glowed in white, ethereal light, reflecting off his one exposed eye before lighting up the rest of the room. Smiling to himself, he called to her, waiting for her to make her presence known through the ball. "Oh mighty of the Arcane, mother of chaos and discord, your faithful servant humbly summons you into the mortal realm. Hear my call, dark priestess, and hear a proposition you simply cannot refuse."
Almost instantly, the orb burned blood red, and cloud formations began to spin faster and faster inside. Sparks shot off from its surface, blue, green, red, and tumbled to the floor like a waterfall of fire, as the candles that were light around the room blew out from an unseen, abrupt wind. Magic hummed in the air, and Slade could almost taste the power it held: such power he'd only experienced three times in his lifetime. Aside from the arcane magic of Trigon, his former master, the only one who could produce this much magic, this much primeval power within an instant, was her.
Oh yes, her.
SLADE. Her voice, straight in his mind, set his blood boiling, and he drank in the dark energies that she was capable of mustering.
"My dear Madame, how long it's been sense I've heard your voice inside my mind."
WHAT IS IT THAT YOU HAVE SUMMONED ME FOR? TO DOUBLE CROSS ME YET AGAIN? YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER THAN TO PLAY WITH WHAT YOU DO NOT UNDERSTAND.
So she still remembered. He cringed. "Don't take me for some fool. I knew what I was getting myself into. I knew I was just going to owe you a favor someday, in payment for my... interjection."
YOU COST ME A GREAT DEAL, SLADE. YOU COST ME TIME WITH MY FAVORITE PLAYTHING.
"But I thought time was unlimited for you."
LIES. AND THAT IS NOT THE POINT, YOU IMBECILE. I COULD KILL YOU WERE YOU STAND AT THIS VERY MOMENT, AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO DO TO STOP ME?
"What?"
NOTHING.
"Please, Madame, you still had your playtime. And if I do say so myself, I think it made more of an impact."
MAYBE SO. WHICH IS WHY YOU ARE STILL ALIVE.
"Then let us remember the fond memories, and smooth out the bumps in our relationship. Starting with a business proposition."
BUSINESS? WHAT SORT OF BUSINESS?
He grew smug. "I know where your plaything is."
TELL ME.
"Not so fast. I want something in return."
LIKE THE LAST TIME? AND DOUBLE CROSS ME WHEN YOU GET THE MOMENT TO STRIKE? YOU TAKE ME FOR A FOOL.
"No, it has nothing to do with that. I wouldn't dare take your dear toy away from you. I want something else."
I CAN SEE INTO YOUR HEART AND YOUR MIND, SLADE. YOU WANT THE BOY.
"Yes."
WHY?"
Wasn't it obvious? "I'm in desperate need of a successor. Things didn't... work out the way I wanted them to. Both my real sons are dead, Garth and Joe, and my daughter has yet to make her appearance anywhere in the world. Besides, I've grown... attached, to him. This time though, I want you to do something a bit more. Exert a bit of your supernatural muscle, so to speak."
SUCH AS?
"I want his mind completely wiped. Stripped clean of everything but the essentials, such as his training, and the darkness in his soul. I want him to be perfect, the perfect son, undamaged, and completely at my beck and call. I don't care how you do it, just as long as it's permanent, and wouldn't damage him too much. Hell knows I've tried it my way, and it failed. And you can play with the rest of the Titans as much as you want, and gain new toys to do as you will to them. Just leave Robin to me. And I'm sure Raven's father would love to have her back, so if you'd kindly deliver her to Trigon, you'd be doing me a favor. He always did want to get to know his daughter better... and it might actually be fun to watch the world end."
INTERESTING. YOU HAVE ME INTRIQUED, SLADE. BUT I KNOW YOU BETTER. WHAT IS THE CATCH TO THIS LITTLE DEAL?
He had her right where he wanted her. "You can have your little toy on one condition: we do things my way. We follow the plan I have concocted to the letter, no games, no catches, just perfect in every way possible. When I tell you to jump, you do it, regardless of how high. I tell you to affect time, you do it without any questions. You do as I ask, and I swear to you that you will cause so much pain and destruction that you will have done the unthinkable: you'd crush self-identity and hope itself. Isn't that what you've always wanted? What you always dreamed of? I can make it happen, as long as you follow my directions... partner. Do we have a deal?"
YOU BARGAIN WITH YOUR LIFE THEN: YOUR AMBITION WILL BE YOUR UNDOING, SLADE. A BEING SUCH AS MYSELF WOULD RATHER KEEL OVER AND DIE BEFORE ACCEPTING SUCH TERMS.
"Do we have a deal?"
Silence. Moments passed by, causing him to shift his footing. Was she going to agree? Or was she going to refuse? She couldn't... this was too good of an opportunity. She couldn't say no, she couldn't...
He awaited her answer.
"Hey guys, is there any way I could play?" Troia asked sweetly, edging closer and closer to Cyborg's left side on the couch. She poked him in the gut playfully. "Is there any way I could verse Beast Boy, Cy?"
"You'd have better luck finding a flamingo in the Arctic," replied Raven, laughing slightly.
"Not a chance," Cyborg said through gritted teeth, ignoring the girls and focusing entirely on the TV. "I've still got to whoop BB on this level. I rule at this one, but he's already about 200 yards ahead of me."
"Eat my space dust, Computer with Legs," joked the changeling, laughing heartily. "I'm going to kick your butt all the way to the moon and back!"
She moaned, and got up, suddenly deciding that maybe grabbing a bite to eat was better choice. "Boys will be boys," she muttered, and rolled her eyes.
However, she never made it there. A sharp, burning pain erupted from her chest, and she uttered a muffled scream before she fell to her knees, slamming her forehead on the corner of the Titans' island and cutting it open.
Raven, however, reacted immediately, and ran just quick enough to catch the dark-haired teen in her arms. "Donna, what's wrong?" With wide eyes, she was helpless as a gash six inches wide appeared on the other's stomach, bleeding profusely as Troia screamed in terror, her wild eyes searching everywhere at once.
Her mind was in absolute chaos as she frantically dodged Raven's face. "Oh God, not again, please not again! No! NO! Not again! Oh God! Oh God!" Terror blinded her beyond anything she'd ever known, and she screamed over and over again, trembling from head to toe in convulsions. "Don't touch me! DON'T TOUCH ME! OH GOD! No, not again! NOT AGAIN!"
Before long, their game forgotten, Beast Boy and Cyborg rushed to her side, and stared dumbfounded as Raven tried keeping the girl in place. "A little HELP would be nice!"
"Got it!" replied the changeling, and immediately turned into a gorilla to counteract his friend's strength. He held her legs down as Raven and Cyborg secured her arms, but she was so strong, so ferocious...
"Get away from me! GET AWAY FROM ME! OH GOD, it hurts, it HURTS! Not again, please God, not again! Help me, help me! SOMEBODY HELP ME! HELP ME!" She was crying now, involuntarily thrashing about until she managed to dislodge her friends with a tremendous burst of power, and flew directly towards the opening door...
...Straight into Nightwing's tense but firm arms.
"Help me... help me..." She burned out as blackness crossed her vision, giving into fitful sleep at a dead faint.
He stared down at her, then at Starfire who was standing beside him, and picked her up, resolve in his eyes. "Raven, prep the medical scanner. I want to know what the hell happened here."
"She just... went ballistic."
Cyborg tried to explain, but was tongue-tied. Eventually it was Raven who spoke up as she walked towards the medical wing, with Nightwing and the gang not too far behind. "She was fine one minute, then she was gripping her stomach, and hit her head on the counter. I don't know what happened but... that gash across her stomach just appeared. Nothing physical caused it, from what I can see, but something did. Something most likely supernatural."
Beast Boy spoke next, as he shifted out of his animal form. "The next thing we knew, she was on the floor, screaming for help. She was scared out of her mind."
"Raven, can you search her mind? See what exactly she was so afraid of?"
"I can try." She placed a finger to Troia's temple and squeezed her eyes shut in concentration. Seconds later, she recoiled, almost fainting from the sheer shock until the changeling caught her in his arms. "Thank you, Gar," she murmured, and groaned, rubbing her eyes with her fingers.
"What did you find out?"
"Nothing. Her mind's in chaos, Nightwing. I can't tell what she's afraid of because her mind's so screwed up with memories of the past and the present... It's like finding a needle in a haystack that's a mile high as well as wide."
"Will Friend Troia be alright?" asked Starfire.
"I don't know. We'll have to get her hooked up to the scanner to find out."
A soft voice muttered in the darkness, and it took everyone awhile to realize that it was Troia. "Dark... Dark An... Angel..."
"What?" Nightwing bent a little and raised her up, trying to hear. "What did you say, Troia? Can you hear me? What did you say?"
"Dark... Angel... Dark Angel... She's... coming. Run. Run away... g-get... away... if you w... want to live. She... she'll kill you all."