Chapter 22- Never Say Never Again

Feelings confident and boastful in his win over Slade, Brother Blood strode to the side of the catwalk and looked over the edge at the wreckage below. He scanned the broken support columns, and twisted shards of metal but found no signs of his enemies' survival as the debris slowly sank into the boiling sinkhole of molten steel. He wore a smile across his face before turning his back, and leaping down to another catwalk on a lower level. He landed gracefully then got to his feet and leaned on the railing overlooking the same pool of molten steel.

"It seems I turned out to be the better man," said Brother Blood as he watched the last hunk of debris sink into the lava. "But your fatality shall not be in vein though my friend. For I will simply pick up where you left off." He turned around and looked over his shoulder one last time before saying, "Farewell Slade. Our time together was most…enjoyable."

He spotted Robin resting in the same spot as before, still cradling his chest and trying to catch his breath as he sauntered across the low-rising bridge. Brother Blood shot the Boy Wonder an evil gaze as his eyes began growing red with vengeance. He came to the top of the short flight of stairs that led down to where he was resting and continued starring at him.

"Now as for you," he said in a voice crackling with anger. "DISOBEDIENCE WILL NOT BE TOLERATED IN MY SCHOOL! YOU WILL BE A PART OF THIS CLASS WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT! OTHERWISE, I WILL SEE TO YOUR DOOM! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR!"

"No," said Robin continuing to look at his feet.

"Very well then…I guess I'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way." His eyes began glowing red again as he started penetrating the outer reaches of the Boy Wonder's mind with his powers.

Robin instantly grabbed the sides of his head and started gritting his teeth in agony. He heard a loud ring and felt something moving around inside his skull, a presence of some sort that hurt like nothing he had ever felt before in his life.

"Don't worry Robin this won't hurt a bit," said Brother Blood with a smile, "It'll be extremely painful."

Suddenly, he felt the presence moving down his spine, almost as if it were electricity that began spreading out across his body and seeping into his flesh and bones.

"You're quite the persistent one aren't you," Brother Blood said in a labored voice. "Looks like I'll just have to up the ante a bit!"

As if things couldn't get worse, the pain inside his head intensified and felt as though there were thousands upon thousands of tiny needles stabbing into his brain. He let out a cry of aguish and squeezed his head even harder in an attempt to block out some of his torment. A tear slowly rolled down his cheek and couldn't control his eyes as they shot open and started glowing the same color red as Brother Blood's.

"Now there, you see," the robotic maniac said as he strode down the short flight of stares and knelt in front of Robin while looking into his eyes. "It's not so bad when you don't resist. Give into me Robin," he said in a much more stern tone of voice. "Let my powers slowly consume you and it will all be over shortly. You and I will start our new reign of terror over this city; recruiting new students, setting up headquarters around the world…think about it Robin!" He stood up and climbed the flight of stairs again to scan over the surroundings of the factory while still brainwashing Robin. "Once my headquarters is complete, the world will tremble at the sound of our name! No one would dare oppose me, not I Brother Blood and all my new students! My conquest starts here, and I shall rule the WORLD!" Brother Blood's voice grew calm again and he turned to face his new student progressively coming under his control. "Today is the day; it all begins… my young pupil."

Robin couldn't let this happen. He wouldn't be just another one of Brother Blood's pawns in his chess game of world domination. Even though the pain inside his head grew worse, he resisted the mind control all the more but it quickly started to consume him. All hope was lost and there was nothing left that he could do. Suddenly, something off in the corner of his eye caught his attention and he looked up to see a figure standing behind Brother Blood.

He noticed that Robin was no longer looking at him and slowly followed his gaze. Brother Blood's eyes shifted back and forth from Robin to his side as he slowly turned his head, but before he could see what was there, without warning…it happened. Brother Blood yelled as a hand, followed by a forearm went through his back and shot out the front of his chest.

Robin couldn't believe his eyes. As he looked over his armored shins, thighs, abs, arms, and shoulders, he came upon his masked face and was too awestruck for words while watching Brother Blood's limp puppet like body dangle lifelessly from Slade's arm.

Brother Blood looked down at the foreign object going through him and followed the thick meaty limb past the elbow, up the bulky armor plated forearm, and wrist, until he came to the hand and saw his power cell; his heart, held within the palm of it. His head twitched to the side a few times and several sparks flew out of the intrusion in his chest, but he still managed to grab hold of what little power he had left running through his body to look up and say his last final words:

"Et tu, Brute," he said in a shaky voice with a faint helpless smile across his face. "Then fall, Caesar…"

Brother Blood's power cell was ripped from his chest out of his back and his flimsy twisted body came off the arm; falling to it's knees first then landing on its' stomach and face. His human eye slowly closed and the robotic one no longer glowed, and now, there was no trace of life left in this hollowed out machine of a man.

Illo of his vicious act, Slade looked down at the dimly lit power cell in his hand almost as if contemplating what he had just done. Without paying the least bit of attention to Robin, he took the cell away from his gaze and looked down at Brother Blood lying next to him then grabbed him by the ankle and started dragging him away. He stopped with his victim in hand, halfway across the scaffold in the heart of the pit of boiling steel and peered at the glowing lava. He dropped the limp leg he was holding then grabbed the cyborg by his collar and with little effort, threw him in without pity or remorse. Slade turned with his hands behind his back and stood there cold as ice, watching Brother Blood slowly sink to his fiery grave. Seeing what was left of his former adversary fade away, he brought the dieing power cell to his eyes again and starred at it for a long while before carelessly tossing it in. From the incredible heat and pressure, the power cell set off a grand explosion inside the broiling steel with a loud PAKOOM! The lava pit erupted and spewed huge globing chunks of molten rock through the air like a dazzling display of fireworks. The liquid hot steel landed everyone; on machines, gears, pipelines, scaffolds, and even Slade. He looked down at the tiny drop of hot magma on his arm and stared at it for a long time while it started burning through his suit then flicked it away as though it were a pesky fly. Slade gazed over at the steel pit one more time then turned away from his cold blooded deed and began striding back across the scaffold with murderous intent still in his eye. He came to where the Boy Wonder was and Slade's eye narrowed with frustration and anger.

Robin wasn't there. Overwhelmed by thoughts of annihilation, he scanned the room with his depraved eye then walked down the short flight of stairs until he came to solid concrete. As he continued on his course, passing pipelines, huge containers, and churning machines, a pipe venting hot steam next to him caught his attention and came towards it. Unsure of whether or not he saw something, he turned a corner and was rewarded from his search by the pleasant sight of Robin sluggishly dragging himself across the floor in a feeble attempt to escape.

Slade smiled under his mask, then with arms behind his back, casually started making his way towards the war torn boy.

"I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long Robin," said Slade as he came alongside him. "From here on out, it'll just be you and me now."

Robin didn't answer. It looked as though he were either ignoring him or had finally passed out from exhaustion as he lie there, still as a rock, with his face resting against the ground.

"I find it truly amazing how weak you've become after all this time; after all that you love has been taken from you."

Robin still didn't answer.

"Seeing you, lie here truly is a sight to behold. My greatest opponent, Robin, brought to his knees and more helpless than ever before by a man he neither had the strength, nor courage to defeat." He leaned slightly over and with a smile on his face, knowing he would strike a nerve said, "Whatever would your friends think of you now?"

Slade thought he'd at least get some form of reaction out of him, but he did not. Robin remained as quiet and as still as a sleeping child. He knew the boy could hear him on account of his sinking and rising back from his labored breathing, but still he did not answer. Slade was growing quite aggravated with him now and became very angry.

"I said whatever would your friends think of you now Robin," he repeated in much more stern tone of voice.

The weary boy still did not answer.

Slade brought his arms to his sides now and flared out his chest in frustration. "Did Brother Blood somehow manage to make you def," he yelled. "Or are you being the disrespectful child that you are!"

Nothing

"Answer me Robin!"

Still nothing

"ROBIN, ANSWER ME!"

Not a word came from him.

"WHY YOU LITTLE—"Overcome by his burning rage, he reached down to grab Robin by the cape, but was met by something that truly caught him by surprise.

His hand passed through him as if he were a ghost but was something far more deceptive than that. He took his hand out and watched his body almost scramble like static on a T.V. then stuck his hand back in. Feeling as though he were baited like a rat, Slade slowly turned his head to the right and looked over to see a small round object projecting the holographic image of Robin's body. Then, hearing a beeping sound in his ear, he turned his head to the left and in the corner of the wall next to him, saw a bundle of explosive devices that he knew were seconds away from going off.

Realizing his mistake in underestimating his foe, he faced forward again and an almost aggravated grin came across his face.

"Touché Robin," he said aloud in a casual tone, "touché."

The beeping next to him stopped, and suddenly…

KKKAAABBBOOOMMM!

A massive explosion went off that shook the entire factory like a birdcage as the flaming inferno blazed through the air.

The smoke and dust had cleared and Robin, the real Robin, swung down by his grappling hook and landed gracefully on solid ground near where it had gone off. He immediately rewound his grappling hook then withdrew a birderang and another handful of explosives and cautiously made his was towards the blast radius. Robin knew the blast wouldn't have taken him out. Slade somehow managed to stay alive; after all, for him death was just another easily escapable ploy. He had survived falling into a pit of lava, twice now none-the-less, so who's to say he couldn't or didn't get out of this one.

He glanced over to the right, and as more smoke began to settle, there he was. Robin thought he would never see the day come. Slade, the most dangerous, ruthless criminal the Titans had ever come across, lying facedown and unconscious on the hard cement. Robin wasn't satisfied though that this man was down for the count and cautiously crept forward with the birderang and explosives in his hands still ready to strike. His heart was racing, and he felt as though there were a heavy weight on his chest from all the excitement, tension, horror, and anxiety that labored his breathing.

Knowing he had to calm himself down, he backed away for a moment with his gaze still fixed on his knocked out opponent and leaned his arm against the wall next to him. Slade still did not move, and as he took his watchful eyes off of him for a brief moment, he placed his hand over his aching pounding heart and took in several deep breaths. He inhaled through the nose…then exhaled through the mouth. Inhaled through the nose…exhaled through the— something next o him moved. Robin immediately came to attention and swiftly turned with a grunt to face his opponent, but he was still lying on the ground. He starred and looked at Slade's body strangely as if seeing him first time then flinched when suddenly it began to stir. Robin readied his weapons again and got in a battle stance as he watched his weary foe slowly get on his feet.

Using the wall to support his massive bulk, Slade finally stood up and turned around with wobbling legs to face Robin. He hunched over with his head hung low and at an angle while his right arm dangled in an unnatural way on account of it being wrenched from its' socket as he stumbled from side to side.

He had never witnessed Slade in pain before, and in a sick twisted way, Robin actually took pleasure in seeing him in such a vulnerable state.

Slade suddenly stopped swaying and paused for a long while with his arm nearly touching the floor and hunched over like a troll. Robin looked at him strangely then suddenly the madman's eye shot open as if he had just come alive and startled the Boy Wonder. He took a step back and came on guard again as he watched Slade "fix" himself. The masked villain never took his eye off of him while he forced his back into its' normal upright position; making a nauseating crackling sound that sent chills up Robin's spine.

"Congratulations Robin," said Slade before forcing his arm back into its' socket and let out a deep labored moan. "You successfully managed to outsmart me—"He paused for a moment as he tried tilting his head but for some reason it wouldn't move. Showing no concern for his injuries, Slade wrapped his bulky hands around his head, just under his jaw, and forced it into re-aligning with his neck then rolled it around to stretch it before saying, "A first for you I might add, but also...the last."

"What…are you," Robin asked in amazement.

"A ghost Robin," he replied. "And I've come back to haunt you."

Before Robin could even flinch, Slade moved with incredible speed and suddenly was inches away from his face.

"Boo," Slade said starring into his eyes then kneed him in the stomach.

Robin let out a loud OOF upon feeling the armor plated knee rattle his guts and keeled over in pain. Leaving no time for recovering, Slade clubbed him across the head with an iron fist then spun around and kicked him in the chest. Robin stumbled backwards but Slade was already on top of him; pounding and thrashing at him with punches, kicks, and swipes that were like being hit by hammers. Robin finally fell on his back from all the hits he had taken but before he could even take a breath, Slade grabbed him by the ankle and threw him away like a worthless piece of garbage. He crashed to the ground and slid to a screeching halt that forced the weapons out his hands. He got to his feet and realized he could use his surrounds to an advantage and pulled out his grappling hook. He fired the device upward and ascended high up until he landed gracefully on one of the pipes. Robin knelt down and withdrew another handful of explosives as he watched the entrance of the area, waiting for Slade.

"What's the old saying," said a sinister but familiar voice above him, "Fool me once, shame on you."

Robin looked up to see Slade kneeling on a pipe over him and was already jumping down to his level.

He landed softly on the hallow metal and said, "Fool me twice," then punched him in the face and sent the Boy Wonder hurling backwards, "Shame on me."

Robin started to slide off the slippery pipeline but was able to grab hold of it and swing himself over and onto another one higher up. He sat there like a giddy school boy with the pipeline between his legs and smiled at his adversary.

"Fool me three times," he called down to him, "and all bets are off!"

Slade looked up at him for a moment then back down at his feet and noticed a small shiny ball bearing that he already knew was another explosive.

KKKAAABBBOOOMMM!

A massive explosion went off and engulfed the area in flames, splitting the funnel he was standing on in two like a cheap Popsicle stick.

Robin shielded his face and turned away from the ascending fireball then looked back to survey the damage. Out from the rising smoke, Slade leapt at him with an angry roar but being the nimble acrobat that Robin was, he clenched his legs around the pipe he was sitting on and swung himself around and hung from the bottom of it. Slade missed his target and angrily turned back to see his former apprentice already jumping and swinging his way higher and higher up the winding sections of conduits like a monkey. His eye narrowed with frustration then feeling the rage boiling inside him, quickly leapt onto pipeline after pipeline in pursuit of the Boy Wonder.

He was easily three or four stories up now, but Robin paid no expense to the daring heights and continued along his vigorous journey higher, and higher, and higher up the winding conduits of pipelines. He dangled by his feet off one of the hollow funnels and looked back for a moment to see Slade hot on his tail, but as his foe tried to come at him, he quickly pulled himself up and continued his ascension.

"This is growing quite tiresome don't you think," said Slade, making his way closer and closer towards Robin.

"Actually, I think we're just heating things up," he said in a sarcastic voice as the two landed on separate pipelines and looked up and down at each other.

"Indeed we are," said Slade while waving him a salute.

Robin gazed at him strangely then looked down to see a round symmetrical device planted on the side of the conduit he was kneeling on.

PPPAAAKKKOOOMMM!

The bomb detonated, and the area went up in a huge flaming inferno, sending Robin soaring back nearly a hundred feet into the air. He started rapidly descending towards the hot molten steel far below, but quickly withdrew his grappling hook and fired it at the ceiling. It stuck, and as he was yanked upwards, he spryly glided onto a near-by scaffold. Robin landed on his feet and immediately fell to his knees, trying to catch his breath. He was so tired. Slade was wearing him down, and it was only a matter of time before he would be too exhausted to fight again, but he had to keep going.

Without warning, a hand fell on his back that threw him across the scaffold and sent him tumbling down a long flight of stairs. He managed to roll into the last step and kept himself from falling over the railing by planting his feet and grabbing hold of it. Almost instantaneously, Slade had already descended the long flight of stairs and was behind Robin with a fist cocked back. The crazed madman delivered a mighty blow to the Boy Wonder's kidney that shot a stabbing pain up his side and caused him to let out a wailing cry of agony. Slade did not stop there though. He bashed Robin's other one then cupped his hands together and hammered him between his shoulder and neck which forced him to his knees.

"Don't worry Robin," said Slade after grabbing him by the hair and yanking his head back. "This'll all be over shortly."

Robin let out an angry growl of disapproval.

"Soon you will no longer have to worry about the city any longer. Soon you won't have to fight this losing battle. And soon…you will be reunited with all of your precisions, little, friends."

Overcome by vengeance and newfound stamina, he reached back and grabbed Slade by the throat and belt and in a labored grunting voice filled with anger roared, "Not if I CAN HELP IT!"

With all his might Robin spun to the side and tossed Slade over his shoulder, but the masked villain wasn't so willing to let go and took Robin with him. The two fierce worries were thrown down the adjacent flight of stairs and tumbled down them until they both flew off the edge and fell over the railing.

They fell, and fell, and fell, until finally the two rough riders landed hard on another catwalk far below with a loud CLANK that echoed throughout the factory. Slade was only slightly fazed even after such a long descent, but immediately rolled over on his stomach and got to one knee when he noticed something coming at him in the corner of his eye.

"EEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH"

Robin came charging at Slade with one of his birderang swords in hand, cocked behind his back, and with all his might and fury, slashed him across the face. As the edged weapon made contact with his face, the psychotic villain's head swung upwards with the direction of the blow.

It was like they were frozen in time while the two remained fixed in their stances; not moving a muscle as they stood their like statues. Robin had his feet planted firmly in the ground with his arms extended together down by his thigh in the finishing position of his move, and Slade, still kneeling down on one knee, had his head and body turned to the side. Finally, Robin had slowly moved out of his spot and drew his sword back in preparation for another strike.

"Get up," he exclaimed trying to catch his breath.

Slade turned around to look at the Boy Wonder with an eye full of hatred and rage and starred at him for only a brief moment before bringing his hand up to his face and slowly running his index finger along the lengthy slash across his mask.

Robin met his gaze and starred back at him ready to strike, until Slade came at him with an angry roar and hurled a fist that sent the young vigilante stumbling backwards. Another blow came at him, this time to the face, and Robin let out a loud groan as spit shot out of his mouth. So many punches and kicks met with every part of his body he couldn't keep track of how many times he had been struck because each one sent him in another direction. Robin wasn't sure if he had passed out or not during the onslaught of vicious beatings, but he found himself resting against the railing and had trouble seeing out of his right eye on account of how swollen it was. With his head hung low, he sluggishly pulled himself back onto his feet and marked the one-eyed madman with a scolding look. In a labored groan he bent over and picked up his sword off the ground and readied to strike, but then Slade did something he had never seen him do before.

He was always one for fighting hand to hand, or with his staff, but this was totally not his style. As Robin came in a battle stance, Slade immediately reached behind his back and pulled out two lasers guns, one in each hand, then pointed them at his former young apprentice.

Robin gasped, and suddenly a borage of glowing red light came hurling towards him. Despite his wounds, he acted fast and leapt off the scaffold and onto a narrow pipeline suspended in mid-air above them. He sprinted across the hallow conduit, careful not to trip over his feet and pulled out a birderang in his free hand as more and more laser rays whizzed past his head. Robin hurled the device at Slade, but he turned swiftly to the side and evaded the maneuver with little endeavor. Seeing this as the perfect opportunity to strike again, the Boy Wonder leapt off the pipeline and came at his adversary with a steel-tipped boot but he too was also able to quickly dodge that. Robin landed next to Slade and swung his sword at him but missed his chest by mere centimeters. He came at the madman again and again, swinging vigorously with his sword, trying to inflict the least bit of damage but each attack hit nothing but air.

Slade went on the offensive now and swiftly brought his gun up to Robin's head at nearly point black range. The Boy Wonder glanced down the short barrel of the laser for only a short lapse before Slade pulled the trigger and fired. Robin let out a labored cry of pain as the shot whizzed millimeters past his face and brushed across his shoulder as he dodged the attack. Despite his new injury, the young vigilante ignored the pain caused by his wound and swiped the ray-gun out of Slade's hand then spun around and planted his foot in his chest. The one-eyed nemesis wailed after being struck again as he stumbled backwards but regained his ground and pointed his other laser at him and fired. Robin evaded each shot that came his way with incredible agility until he came face to face with Slade and swiped the gun out of his grasp. Slade allowed him to do this, however, and once his young adversary thought he were gaining the upper hand over him, he clubbed him across the head in a downward strike that sent Robin stumbling over the edge of the scaffold.

The Boy Wonder fell a great distance until he landed on another catwalk far below that forced the saliva to shoot out of his mouth upon impact. Slade came out of the position from his last move and casually reached behind his back to pull out what looked like a symmetrical grenade with his symbol engraved on it. Without looking for his target below, he pressed a button on the device then reached out and held the explosive over the edge and let go of it as if throwing away a piece of garage.

Robin had finally rolled over on his stomach as to try and recuperate from his fall, but his break was short lived as the round explosive landed and bounced its' way towards him until it rolled to a halt next to his head.

"No," he said in a shaky labored voice before taking what little strength he had left to move himself as far away from the explosive as possible.

KKKAAABBBOOOMMM!

The scaffold was split in two and the blast from the explosion propelled the dieing Boy Wonder further across the bridge.

Robin lie there; tired, broken, beaten, and hopeless. He didn't even have the strength to get up, let alone keep on fighting and the reality of it all came crashing down on him. He failed. He couldn't protect the city, he couldn't protect his friends; and he couldn't protect Starfire from the evils of this deranged man. He thought about her while he rested there with his swollen face lying against the cold crosshatched metal of the scaffold. The glowing shimmer of red hair, the soft feel of her delicate skin, the cheerful laugh that touched his heart, her radiant smile; all the wonderful times they shared together before she perished (Remember, Robin still thinks she's dead). His comforting thoughts were abruptly interrupted when the metal beneath him shook violently then stopped. He slowly lifted his head and looked up only to have any pleasant thoughts going through his mind be taken by the dreadful sight of Slade sauntering his way towards Robin. He didn't care though, however, and let his head fall back down against the hardened steel; he only wished Slade would dispose of him quickly and stop tormenting him.

"What's the matter Robin," he said as he picked him up off the ground by his collar and held him in front of his face. "Feeling a little, worn-out?"

He did not answer.

"Even I am amazed at how long you've held out after all this time. Dealing with Brother Blood and then me; I must say I'm surprised you didn't just give up."

Suddenly fueled by his will to win, Robin yelled, "AS LONG AS THERE'S STILL A BREATH LEFT IN MY BODY, I'LL NEVER GIVE UP," then punched him across the face and kneed him in the stomach.

Slade dropped him and was knocked backwards after being unsuspectingly struck by his thought to have been beaten opponent.

Even now as he was out of the retched hands of his adversary, Robin was still exhausted and could barely move on. He leaned against the railing as it being the only way for him to support his weight and starred down at Slade as the crazed man slowly picked himself up off the ground.

"That's the last time you'll ever fool me again." He rose to his feet and cracked his knuckles before saying in the most bone chilling sinister voice Robin had ever heard from him, "Now Robin, the time has come for me to finish you off!"

In a feeble attempt, the tired Boy Wonder charged with his fist cocked back and swung at him but Slade effortlessly moved out of the way and planted his hardened fist into the boy's stomach with all his anger and might. He didn't stop there though. The crazed madman leaned down then swung the back of his balled hand upwards like a club across his former apprentice's face and began his onslaught of vicious beatings. Slade was doing it, he was actually doing it. With each punch and kick he delivered, he was slowly, but surely, killing Robin.

As his young foe swayed from side to side, the evil one-eyed man grabbed him by the neck and threw him away like an insignificant piece of trash to the other side of the catwalk. His limp weary body slid to a halt and Robin somehow found the strength to get on all fours and try to crawl away but Slade was all ready behind him and grabbed him by the cape and continued his savage mauling.

After being kicked in the chest again Robin stumbled back, trying to regain his ground. Battered and bruised, he stood there holding his side; one of his ribs had been broken and felt as though it were cutting into his flesh. Slade charged again, throwing another fist that he managed dodged but the next attack he wasn't as fortunate as Slade landed a round-house kick on his back. Robin was instantly shot forward and off the edge of the scaffold where it had been split in half from the explosion and in desperation reached for the ledge as he fell and grabbed hold of it. Dangling by one hand, he looked down at the scorching pit of molten steel that was broiling like lava below him. He dangled there helplessly as Slade slowly made his was over and looked down at the struggling Robin holding on for his life then started taunting him.

"Ha, Ha, HAHAHAHAHAHAHA AH HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA HA," he laughed in a sinister voice standing over him. "Look at you, barely able to stay alive and at the edge of your doom. No matter how you tried to ignore it, you always knew this day would come. You always knew it would end this way."

Robin didn't answer and tried to pull himself up but he didn't possess the strength to do so. The entire complex grew quite and suddenly a loud noise could be heard coming from outside. It sounded like marching.

Slade slowly let his head fall back as he looked towards the ceiling and smiled underneath his mask; taking in the pleasant uproars of what was coming this way.

br--

Over the howling wind, churning rain, and clashing thunder and lighting, the sound of parading footsteps shook the ground under the wake of its' perfect unison. On the wet streets of Jump City, there lay a small rag-doll once belonging to a child resting on its' side in the middle of the paved road. The vibrations of the shaking ground caused its' blue artificial eyes to slowly come open as the noises grew louder and louder. It gazed forward with a lifeless stare that made it look as though it had just waken from a slumber until a metallic foot came down and crushed its' plastic head.

The hazy silhouette looked down at what it had just stepped on with burning eyes then looked back up as more of his comrades came marching up behind him. There were thousands of them. Robots, androids, automatons; a mechanized army of circuitry and metal; acting as the emotionless henchmen of Slade's evil empire. A bolt of lightning crackled over the city and illuminated the dark figures with a blinding light for a brief moment in time before all that could be seen now were their red and white glowing eyes in the eerie darkness.

br--

"Do you hear that Robin," asked Slade after letting out a long sigh of satisfaction while listening to the marching of his legions. "That is the sound of tyranny…of desolation…of power! From your demise and the awakening of my armies, a curse shall light upon the limbs of men! Domestic fury and fierce civil strife shall cumber all the parts of Jump City!"

In the middle of his speech Robin's fingers began to slip and lost his grip on the edge of the scaffold. He was about to scream but Slade reached down in the nick of time and grabbed him by the wrist before he could fall.

"Blood and destruction shall be so in use," he continued as he brought the weary Boy Wonder up to his gaze, "and dreadful objects so familiar, that mothers shall but smile when they behold their infants quarter'd with the hands of war!"

"Just because…I'm gone," said Robin in a shaky voice. "It doesn't mean…you're off the hook Slade."

"Why Robin, whatever do you mean?"

"Someone…somewhere, will fight you!"

"Perhaps," said Slade before letting go of him.

The top half of Robin's body slammed against the hardened steel and began slipping off but he was able to slide his fingers in several of the groves before he fell but still had his lower body hanging off the edge.

"But not likely from what I have in mind for this world," Slade continued as he looked down at his helpless apprentice.

"No Slade! They'll pick up where I left off and succeed where I failed! They'll defeat you and you'll be destroyed once and for all!"

"Even so Robin," with his hands behind his back, Slade effortlessly kicked him in the face and caused him to loose his grip. "You won't be around long enough to see it!"

Robin dangled barely by one hand again and looked down at the fire bit below then back up at Slade. The evil madman walked over and placed his foot firmly over his hand and stood there, almost taunting him. Robin paused, looking up at Slade, and waited for the unbearable pressure of his foot to overwhelm his hand.

"Never again Robin," said Slade in a sinister voice.

Robin starred strangely at him as if seeing him for the first time. It was almost as if he had heard these words come from Slade before, but when? This was all like some kind of bad dream, except this time it was real. The situation was real, the pain was real, everything was real, and this time he wouldn't wake up from it.

"What…what did you say," he asked in a confused voice.

"Never again will you dawn the mask and cape! Never again will you foil my plans! Never again will I have to deal with your incompetence and lack of vision ROBIN!" His voice settled but in a voice still sinister and crackling with anger, he said, "And never again, will you be there, to save the day…"

Focusing all his weight on his leg, Slade began slowly crushing Robin's hand underneath him.

Robin let out a cry of pain as he felt joints, tendons, and bones snap and crackle under the weight of his predecessor's foot. He tried to hold on but the pain was too great and let go, however, Slade's planted foot kept him hanging for the ledge.

"Farewell Robin," said Slade. "Just tell your precious Starfire when you see her again…that you failed."

This was like some kind of bad dream, except this time it was real. Slade was real, the pain was real, everything was real, and this time Robin wouldn't wake up from it. This was it, this was the end.

Slade released his foot over Robin's hand and let it slip underneath him and off the ledge.

Robin watched as Slade's figure disappeared into the distance, and felt the heat from the lava rush over and overwhelm his body. Screaming, the Boy Wonder began slowly falling into the lake of fire.

The End

A/N:

PSYCH! NO, NOT REALLY! IT'S NOT REALLY THE END! I JUST THOUGHT I'D GIVE YOU GUYS A HEART ATTACK RIGHT THERE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Anyway, I'm really sorry everyone for making you all wait so long for this one, but I have a good excuse for it. As of two days ago I am no longer a student in High School. That's right, schools out for me and I'm graduating on the 24th of May. Because I no longer have to worry about school and won't be starting my summer college classes till May 31st, you can expect these next…2 or 3 chapters to be updated A LOT FASTER since I have A LOT MORE time on my hands. This chapter would've been updated sooner, based on my time standards of living in Colorado, but at 8 p.m. I went and saw Star Wars: Episode III which kicked mountains of ass, so I was gone for quite awhile. Anyway, sorry again for the long wait of I think close to 3 weeks, but rest assured these next chapters will be updated sooner. Hope everyone liked this one, and yes it is a bit of a shocker isn't it and I left you with another cliffhanger. Next up, prepare to be BLOWN AWAY! The HIGHLY ANTICIPATED and EXTREMELY SHOCKING chapter: "Some Adversaries Never Die."

Who or what is Slade really?

Prince of Darkness- As you just found out, no, Brother Blood did not actually kill Slade. HOWEVER, the tables have turned and now Blood's the one who ended up dead, hehehehehehehehe! I did that whole "making no move to avoid death" thing on purpose. I wanted you to think Slade might be dead, but I also wanted to leave the possibility of him surviving open to you as well. Thanks for the review.

dlsky- It's good to see a new reader, and I'm happy to know you think I did a nice job of portraying Starfire in pain. I wanted to bring Starfire back, but I didn't want people thinking she'd undoubtedly be the one to save Robin so I had her pass out again. This way she's in a position where she's in no condition to save anyone, not even herself, plus when you think about it, it was actually Brother Blood in turn who saved him…subconsciously at least. Anyway, I also wanted you to think that it was Cyborg who had returned to save him with the metal hand and at first I had the description with sharpened finger-tips but I knew that'd give it away that it was Brother Blood. Hope you enjoyed this chap, and thanks for the review.

KaliAnn- Yes Starfire does have to get up, but she won't be because she's out cold right now. No I really don't think these bad guys could get in a partnership without killing one another or betraying the other, that's what makes em' bad, lol. I know I did the exact opposite with updating sooner, but that'll happen now that I'm out of High School, and there'll be at least 3 more chapters. Thanks for the review.

Infamous One- Of course Slade wants to destroy the world, and he couldn't get any parking tickets in Jump City because he can't drive! He's only got one eye, so he has no depth perception! LOL, anyway, yeah Slade was just screwing around with Blood, I mean cause come on…he's Slade! Look at how much he did it to Robin in this chapter! So did you catch on to the Shakespeare in this one? It's straight out of "Julius Caesar," and quoted by my favorite character Mark Antony. Thanks for the review.

Lance Arkel- It's cool you took longer to review, shit happens in all our lives, so it's no biggie. Sorry I took so long to update! The flashback to be honest in the beginning was more of a filler to make the chapter longer, but I did also want to show some of how Robin's hatred for Slade developed and his relationship with Starfire. I don't know if you noticed or not how I put in where Starfire almost foresaw Slade wanting Robin instead of the city during their little conversation as a little foreshadowing to the events of the Apprentice episodes. I wasn't actually going to mention the storm again in this chapter, but I took your advice and went for it when I was talking about Slade's robot armies marching through the streets and how the storm worsened when they showed up. Starfire taking the same steps as Robin, really does put some hope back into the story, otherwise this story would be a little too dark and serious. It's like that movie Brave Heart, without that crazy Irish guy the movie would've been WAY TOO serious, and I think it was time my readers felt some relief from an otherwise hopeless turn of events. I'm glad you think I did a much better job of portraying Brother Blood as a villain, because, yeah…the cartoon didn't do a very good job I think either. Villains of course have to be cocky, but there's always that one who isn't the most cocky because deep down inside he knows he can take on the other guy and win, which of course, is Slade. So, are you telling me there's a Star Wars song out there called "Duel of the Fates?" Cause if so, then I think I need to change the title of my last chapter because I thought I was being creative here and it sucks that, that…title I guess was already thought up. Man that sucks! So do you think I've overdone it with the Shakespeare because what was in here was probably the last that I'll put in for the rest of the story. So do you still think love will prevail? I mean, Robin is like…pretty much toast, haha, that's kinda funny when you think about it, being he's all falling into a pit of molten steel. But yes I'd have to say things are going to get a little more intense. The next chapter will be but it'll reach what I think will be its' SECOND climax, if that's at all possible, then slowly start to lighten up a bit then get all intense again…I hope I haven't said too much…Anyway, thanks for the review and sorry this took so long.

Van Gordan- How could I forget about Brother Blood man, I had to like REALLY KILL HIM this time around, and I had to have Slade be the one to deliver the final blow that would finish him off. If Blood would've prevailed he would've just made him his student, which was what he was doing until Slade came up behind him and ripped his power cell out of his chest, MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No I couldn't have Blood prevail and the idea of dragging on with him making his academy would've been crappy, and besides I REALLY wanted Slade to finish him off in a much cooler way. I had that planned since day 1. So was seeing my newly updated chapter another gift from heaven? LOL, so now that Slade has pretty much won, what do you think will happen now, and NO, you do not know the twist that can be added to this story! I'm sorry if I sound offensive here, but you have NO CLUE what I've got in store for YOU MY FRIEND and EVERYONE ELSE. I thought I'd just have 3 key twists in these last few chapters, but I got a great idea one day of how to blow everyone away and knew it would really spice things up. Really, you're gonna be like, "Holy Blindsiding Batman!" HAHAHAHAHAHA! Yeah Starfire is in a real pickle right now, and Lance Arkel over here still thinks love will prevail but I think he's in for another big surprise. So yes you did get your wish of seeing Robin duke it out with the winner, but where did you get the idea that Starfire would even show up at all? She's passed out right now, and I'm sure you thought it would be her to save Robin at first but no, it was Brother Blood instead. Well thanks for the review, and I'll catch up with you on my decision of whether or not I'll be writing a sequel. I'm beginning to think my idea may be a little too…farfetched if you asked me.