The warehouse was empty, but Robin had guessed as much. The back room was empty too.
"There must be a hidden trigger or something." Robin said as he felt around the panel they had seen Slade disappear into the day before.
"You know, sometimes finesse is not the best option. Stand back." Terra walked up to the wall her hands and eyes blazing with a power she had not used in a while. The wall before her shattered and crumbled to the ground. As the dust settled only a barren rock face presented itself.
"I think you made it worse."
"No, I got this, let me try again." This time Terra closed her eyes and reached out feeling the wall letting her conciseness seep into the rock face, she could feel the empty spots. Further, further, there, a tunnel bored into the bedrock. Terra could sense just how far the tunnel ran and how far the blockage ran. Opening her eyes Terra focused her power on the rock in question and it began to liquefy, the stone flowed away from the tunnel like water before a high wind. She let the rock pool and solidify around the rooms edges. Robin made a note not to touch the liquid rock, it didn't feel hot, but then again rock isn't supposed to do that. When the way was finally clear Terra dropped to her knees breathing deeply.
"Are you are right?" Robin asked as he helped her to her feet.
"Yeah I'm fine, just 'pant' a little, 'pant' winded. I wish you wouldn't wear that." Terra commented about the mask he wore.
"Maybe around you I'll take it off but not around Slade or anyone else." Robin had changed into his normal costume, complete with his normal eye-covering mask. The only thing he had kept from Slade's ensemble was the Bo-staff with the double blades hidden in each end. Terra was now wearing the Red X suit, minus the headgear, as her abilities were so immediately recognizable there was no reason to hide her identity. She now regretted not keeping the hairpin, as her hair kept falling in front of her eyes whenever she bent over. The flight goggles she wore helped a little but they weren't made to keep hair away, just dust.
"Down the gloomy staircase then?" Terra asked clearly knowing the answer.
"No, down the well lit, but still creepy staircase." Robin said pulling out a palm light.
Terra had sensed earlier that this staircase went down quite a ways, but as she walked it she realized that her sense in rock were distorted. After about ten minutes of walking down the twisting stairs the found themselves in an open chamber.
"Looks ancient." Terra commented as she walked around the perimeter. Placing a had on the rock face and widening her perceptions Terra could feel the age of this place. It was old, far older than any building in the city itself.
"Over here."
"What is it?"
"Looks like an alter of sorts." Terra hadn't seen this part when they walked in, the chamber had a set of stairs about halfway trough the room that prevented you from seeing the "alter." Two larger than life size statues flanked a raised platform. Each statue was cloaked and had four slits for eyes, they each held a sword. But what Robin's eyes were drawn to was the figure behind the alter and statues. A huge stone throne was caved into the wall, seated bellow it a simpler chair was seated, Slade was sitting in the chair.
"Hello Robin, Terra. You made quite a noise coming here."
"We want the necklace back Slade." Slade rose at that and seemed to smile beneath his mask.
"Now why would you want that child?" He started to walk forwards to them, they were still on the stairs. Robin pulled out the staff he had kept from Slade, spinning it around with blades out menacingly.
"To right what is wrong." Slade continued to walk forward, right to the edge of the steps. As they were still climbing them backing up wasn't an option. Slade pulled the silver trinket from some hidden pocket.
"You want this?" Dangling the trinket in front of him he walked up to Terra and dropped it. Terra grabbed it out of the air rather than let it fall.
"Do you know why I wanted you to take this?"
"No, but I wondered."
"Of course you did, after all why all of that to take a little amulet? Because it's cursed."
"What do you mean?" Terra's voice had lost its previous venom.
"Oh you don't need to worry anymore, the curse only effects those who steal it, and lasts until they give it away."
"Anyway I have used it already and have no need of it anymore. But wait there's something else you want." Slade turned around and sat down at the edge of the platform. "You have questions to ask and…" Slade stopped, at first Robin and Terra didn't know why, but then they heard it. Slade was sniffing the air, he stood and walked up to the two, lowering his head the way a dog would do and sniffing.
"I smell something, something's different. It's you Terra, you smell different somehow." Terra stumbled, as he got closer to her.
"Keep away from her you monster!" Robin growled.
"Yes that's it you smell somehow tarnished, some how less pure than you were before." He fell backwards seating himself on the alter.
"Your not a virgin anymore." Terra was shocked that he could merely know by smelling her. "Wow, I wouldn't have wished that on you ever. Robin you probably deserve it but Tara? Why Robin?"
"What are you talking about?"
"In all your time together you never wondered about the color of your eyes?"
"We're not related, I looked into it." Robin did not like the way Slade's line of inquiry was going.
"Did you really? Tara, I'm sorry for not mentioning this earlier."
"My name is Terra." Slade simply sighed and reached up to his mask.
"Robin, you didn't get your blue eyes from Tara, and Tara, you didn't get yours from him." Slade removed his mask, they both gasped the realization of what he was saying him them. Slade's face was pale, like it hadn't seen the sun in ages. His hair was white and balding. The eye that his mask covered was covered, still by an eye patch. But the most distinctive feature of the villain's face was his single good eye. It was blue, the same cerulean blue as Terra and Robin's. "You both got them from me."