Blast to the Supposed Past

Alexnandru Van Gordon

(Rubs eyes yawns) I just found out I've been spelling my Latin word wrong—it's semisomnus, not semisommus. (Yawns again) Well, you can probably guess why I'm writing? But…thanks for reviewing, guys. I'm glad to hear the feedback—and I'm trying my hardest to update constantly because I, for one, hate cliffies that are dragged on for too long. If it drives me mad, and I can only imagine what it's doing to you.

P.S. I'm sorry about a few of my grammar errors. Please bear with me. By time I post these things, I'm beyond exhausted. Why is life so cruel at times—wait! I should ask Robin for the answer to that question. Looks like his luck isn't going too good for him either…

DISCLAIMER: Ask yourself this—if I owned the Teen Titans, would I be writing fan fiction about it? NO! I'd be writing the scripts for the shows and sitting back each night to watch it! Mwah ha ha!

Read, enjoy, and (for all that is good and just in this world—) REVIEW!.

CHAPTER FIVE: Enemy-forced Trust

Starfire stood wide-eyed at Grayson, mouth hung open in shock. She sat straight-backed as she listened with her hands folded neatly over her lap., absorbing all the new information in absolute silence. It was all very farfetched, but she could tell Robin—"Grayson" was not lying. He wasn't exactly the same as her Robin, but she trusted him.

"…and that's why we have to leave now, before Slade leaves."

Starfire blinked, her tears dried on her face, the taste of salt on the tips of her lips. "And Robin will not be able to stop him? Has any harm come to him so far?"

"Harm—I don't know. I returned to find him gone, but at least he was able to get all those people out."

"Then we must find him!" Starfire shouted, standing abruptly. She shook slightly from a rage born against Slade. Her hands and eyes began to glow a radiant green as she chanted the same, powerful words over and over again in her mind: righteous fury, righteous fury, righteous fury…

"Whoa!" Grayson leapt to his feet and grabbed her hands, holding them gently in his own. "Relax, star. We can get him back. We just need to be careful."

"But Slade has stolen him from us so quickly! He is stronger than he was last—and smarter too! He knows many things we do not…"

Starfire relaxed her powers and she ceased to glow. 'Righteous fury' faded from her mind and she blushed. Though Grayson was not her real Robin, the thought that he allowed her to embrace him—and the fact that he was now holding her hands) calmed her faster than anything had before. She felt comfortable and relaxed, prepared for battle.

Perhaps she and Robin would work out in the end.

"I've been thinking the exact same thing…" Grayson said, mainly to himself. For a moment, Starfire actually believed he had read her mind and heard her last thought, but he hadn't. "You said Slade knows many things we don't—and I think he doesn't. I do, however, think that the better Slade from my time followed me back here so I couldn't save myself and stop his plans."

"Two Slades…" And she thought one was more than enough for the Titans to handle. With all his years of training, Grayson would be a fair match against her Slade— possibly even the winner. But with his Slade…they were easily outmatched.

-G-

Grayson sighed heavily and his shoulders slouched downward in utter defeat. He was right after all. His Slade had to have followed him back in time—there had to be no other explanation. Slade hadn't showed up to stop Grayson when he freed the kids, and he obviously made no move to stop both him and Robin when they freed the people—it only meant he was preoccupied with something else. What else would be more distracting than meeting yourself from the future? It did do quite a number on Robin.

"What is our plan of action?' Starfire asked innocently, glossy eyes looking up at her leader with faith. For one in such a strange place, she sure put a lot of trust into a stranger.

He smiled. "Well—"

The office door was blown open. Grayson stood with his back to it, Starfire facing it with a gasp. The force of the explosion pushed Grayson forward into the girl and they landed in a pile against the far side of the room, hitting the wall before finally stopping. Dust filled the air and everything was hidden in a gray cloud.

Grayson shook his head and coughed, pushing himself off Starfire who, surprisingly, didn't appear to be hurt. She did possess super-human strength.

"I'm surprised Robin. I expected that you wouldn't have let your guard down so easily. Yet, you surprise me."

Grayson cursed beneath his breath and stood, taking a fighting stance. He couldn't see anyone, not even Starfire as he stepped away from her for her safety, but he could feel Slade's eyes on him. The man could do a number of many things that still surprised Grayson to this day. He was just too powerful to defeat.

Grayson shivered within himself. He didn't want to get caught again—he didn't want to go back to serving Slade. He didn't want his knowledge or his power…he wanted to be Robin again, a faithful hero who the world could count on to watch their back. But most of all, he didn't want to lose…

"It's you who is surprising, Slade." Grayson replied, moving around in the cloud that still hadn't settled, in search of his foe. "I thought you would have come earlier. What took you so long?"

"Still witty, I see. Five and a half years and I still can't get you to shut-up. But I guess it is for the best. After all, you are the only one I can talk to. Come here, Robin. You know you will lose…"

"Is your heart still working?"

"Pardon?"

He couldn't locate the voice, but he kept him talking. "Your heart? Is it still beating?"

"Yes…"

"Well—you've got a heartbeat and two legs—why don't you come here and give me reason to lose?"

"Don't be so childish."

"Don't be so old. Wanna play—then come outside and play. I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes you are, Robin. You're coming with me."

Grayson paused for a moment. Slade was somewhere off to his left. Starfire had remained silent, but for how long would that be?

"Raining already? I haven't caught a cold in years…"

"You can't fight with the type of illnesses I've seen you catch. Be grateful I helped you through those."

True. Though Grayson was under his control, Slade still took pretty good care of him. He sometimes treated Grayson as a son—and that drove Grayson up the walls. He hated Slade and never wanted to be connected with him in such a way…ever.

"Well, don't I feel loved…" He muttered sarcastically, moving around still. Then he thought he saw the silhouette of someone tall—but it was gone before he could stare at it directly. All the same, he moved in the direction he saw it and kept up his conversation with Slade. The strange dust wasn't going to settle anytime soon and Grayson needed to find him. Slade must have used some sort of smoke bomb…

Slade laughed, the sound echoing everywhere in the room. "Would you rather feel hurt? We don't have to fight anymore, just return to our time, and leave our past selves to allow the future to unravel as it should."

"If I wanted to do that, I wouldn't be here in the first place. This ends where it began, Slade. I'm not going to be your apprentice."

"Oh really…?" Shivers ran along Grayson's spine when he said that. "I just tied up your younger self. My younger self gave him a little dose of the serum I brought along to calm you. I still have more, unless…you would rather fight? I know how excited you get when you do…"

No…Grayson didn't want to the thrill to return. It drove him crazy, eager to attack anyone he could see, hear, and feel—even if it were Starfire. The moment he saw her, he would beat her to a bloody pulp, the feeling of guilt and betrayal overcome by the feeling of a racing heart knocking on his ribcage.

But maybe that was what Slade was planning.

Then he felt it, a stinging pain in his left shoulder. It didn't take him long to pull out the dart and identify it as one of Slade's, the needlepoint coated in the serum. To hell with that man! He had lowered himself to the cruelest of levels yet again.

Grayson could feel his heart beating slightly harder. He had little time to run before he went berserk, but he had to fins Starfire.

As if on Q, Starfire squeaked from off in the direction from which the dart was shot. She had probably been stalking Slade and was finally caught. Slade knew Grayson didn't want to hurt her and now he was putting the last step of his little plan into motion: If Grayson came to save her, he would also kill her—but if he ran, Slade would do her in himself. Either way…Starfire lost…

-St-

Starfire gasped from the second blow. Slade's Bo-staff caught her in the right side of her waist and winded her once again. The force of the blow was enough to send her flying without her powers into a wall of the office room. She hit it hard and came falling to the floor with a thud, head throbbing with pain. She had seen Robin take worse before, and now she wondered how he had survived all the beatings he took. He was merely human.

While Grayson kept Slade down, Starfire tried to pinpoint him in the mist. He, of course, caught her first with a punch to the jaw that sent her stumbling away, head tilted back uncomfortably. Her jaw still ached from the blow and she now had the pain in her side to add to it.

The mist seemed to swirl and she stood, dashing to the side, just as Slade came leaping forward with his Bo-staff raised high above his head. He brought it down on the cement with an ear-piercing crack where she had last been a second ago. Allowing her no time to prepare a defense, Slade came at her with another horizontal attack and caught her on the left shoulder. She flew back into the same way, head coming into contact first. Now stars danced across her vision.

As her vision focused, she was able to witness the Bo-staff whipping forward vertically toward her head. With a gasp, she closed her eyes and raised an arm in defense—only to meet thin air. The blow never came, but she still heard the Bo-staff clang against something else made of metal.

Prying open an eye, she stared in gratitude at Grayson. He stood with his back to her, his own Bo-staff raised horizontally to block the blow. Each man put forth a grand amount of strength into their weapons, hoping to push the other back—but each stood relatively still. Neither wanted to lose. That was something Starfire learned a long time ago.

She noticed how Grayson seemed to be panting as if he had been running for quite a long time—or as though he was somewhat excited. Was he shaking form fear or fatigue—or was he shaking with fury? He was stiff, but appeared ready to tear Slade apart. Even the aura around him didn't feel right to Starfire. He lusted now for…blood?

"Run…Starfire." Grayson whispered as both men brought their weapons back and forth once more to attack. Each blocked again and they paused once more in hope of pushing the other back. "Go…"

"I…" Starfire was lost now that it came to words. She had to help Grayson! He was her only hope of finding Robin and saving him. He, too, was partially her Robin. Her Robin… Was she his Starfire…?

"Starfire—please!" He demanded and this made Slade laugh.

"It's her own funeral, my boy. Let her choose if she wishes to live or die."

"But…Grayson…" She was on the brink of tears now. How would she find Robin if Grayson wasn't with her? She would never be able to take Slade down on her own, let alone find out where he was holding her friend. She needed him…

"Just go!" Grayson barked, and the battle between him and his worst enemy continued. "Look for Robin—and keep hidden. I'll be with you in a moment."

"Not going to stay?" Slade whispered. "You won't go far in your sanity if you don't have the serum."

"Do I look like I care?"

Grayson leapt over a sweep kick from Slade and landed perfectly, delivering a kick to his former master's head and knocking him further into the eerie mist. He glanced over his shoulder once at Starfire, pleading in his eyes, before running after his foe.

"I hold you to your promise…" Starfire whispered, listening as the two men grunted and groaned from blows taken by surprise. Then she forced herself to her feet and ran along the area of the room with a hand on the wall. She soon found the office door, pausing briefly in sorrow before running out to find Robin…her Robin…

-S-

"My boy. Society created the monster." Then he paused, giving time for the words to sink in. Society wasn't the only thing to blame—the military too, and all their freak scientists. It was because of them they created an indestructible monster…but he was only a monster in the sense of killing. All else—they referred to him as a masterpiece.

Well, now the masterpiece was the master and his art, his finest creation, had yet to be complete.

Upon that thought, he stared back at Robin, his one good eye previously looking away as his mind wandered. Everyone's mind wandered, they needed someone more experienced to get it on track…like Robin.

"Are you still eager to learn what face lies behind my mask?" Slade asked smoothly, keeping his voice soft and gentle like any adult would speak to their child. "Does it ever keep you up at night, wondering who it is that haunts your life, follows you in your shadows? Do you even whirl around with the feeling of eyes watching your back, expecting to see someone hiding just barely within your sight? Does it still drive you insane…?"

The hesitation from Robin was long, but the boy's face almost returned to the apathetic look he had been trying to maintain to keep his cool in Slade's presence. The frown was slight now, Robin's mind obviously racing. Slade knew he knew the answer—the boy was merely trying to put the picture down in words in a way that would not weaken his own defense. Even a captive could push the captor around if they were careful.

"If I didn't—would I be in this position?"

He was struck by the boy's honesty, even more so that the former Boy Wonder didn't try to mask his question to sound like anything but a question. No witty remark, no questions of his own… Robin had cut straight through the childish games and went directly to the problem. He did want to know what face hid behind the mask, and he wasn't going to pretend that he didn't.

That was good. To rid him of his innocent little thinking mind, Slade could train it to realize fully the cruelty of the world. It was one of the first few steps in breaking him.

"So you admit—you are still bent on discovering the truth? Why? So you can hunt me down? You will remain with me for as long as either of us lives, and—trust me—if anyone will be hunting anyone down, you will always be the prey. You don't need to chase me anymore—if anything, I suppose you would want to run."

Robin sighed, quite maturely for his age actually. If he was masking rage, he was doing it well. "No more running—no more chasing." He said blandly, almost as uncaringly as Slade spoke. "This ends now—whether I win or lose. The real question, Slade, is: Why hide in the first place? You've proven to be smarter, stronger, more powerful than me, and you have me where you want me. Right? Why hide? I want to know at least something—why deny me that?"

Why indeed.

"One thing?"

"At least."

Slade paused, but he knew what to say without giving too much away. He knew the boy was planning something and he would get to the bottom of it soon. Robin wouldn't be able to keep anymore secrets from him in the near future if tonight went as planned, no matter how incredibly smart he was himself for his own age.

"Wilson…Slade Wilson."

Robin said nothing. He diverted his eyes back to the desk—but he wasn't looking at the desk. He was talking to himself within his mind, piecing together an unwritten code Slade, too, was eager to decipher. There was more to Robin than what met the eye, but Slade was prepared. He had been prepared for quite a long time…

"Slade is real first name?"

He nodded. "Yes. I have been identified with another name—a fake name when I fought the older heroes of your genre, but Slade is my real first name. And you?"

This weighed down on the boy, but he did not try to hide anything. "Grayson…it is my last name, but I doubt you need to know my first name."

"Why? I gave you my first name."

"Only out of your own free will. You know me as Robin—I know you as Slade, and tonight we both know each other's last names. It's fair."

So the captive was trying to push around the captor.

"It's hardly fair…" Slade smiled behind his mask. Tonight was truly a pleasure. "…but I suppose I will let it go—for now."

It was, as Robin had said, indeed fair. Whether the boy liked it or not, he had given valuable information that only someone trusted should know—same as Slade. It was another of the first few steps into breaking the child and bringing him closer to Slade's side as his apprentice. The position was only opened for one person and that was him.

Slade's future self had been right—the serum did work. Robin was far more relaxed than he had been when he first woke and now he was falling further into Slade's trap.

How…perfect.

-A-

Dun dun dun… What will happen… Hmmm? Oh—sorry about the short peek of the battle between Grayson and Slade2, but I promise that there will be further detailed action scenes in the near future—and yes, Slade1 and Robin will have a one-on-one in this story. How many times?—I won't tell. That's why you have to read.

(Bedroom door creaks open in the background…)

Alex.: (Turns away from lab-top upon hearing the noise—) EEK! You're not supposed to come into my story until wwwaaaayyyy later on—I'm talk'n, sequel! You'll spoil the story!

???: Sorry…I was just curious (lightning shocked) Ouch…

Alex.: Get out of here before A) someone figures out who you are, or B) you electrocute yourself.

???: Sure. (Exits back into the darkness of the hallway silently, tiptoeing away as not to wake anyone who is, able to sleep, sleeping)

Sorry—I do have a guest star, made by me, in the sequel, but my character is just a plan secondary char. He/she strikes no interest in the major villain(s) mind(s), and is only there to make a couple of dilemmas work out—Robin is still the man character and the whole two stories revolve around him. I will also include the JL and Speedy, and you'll be surprised when I bring them in—or bring you to them, so to speak. You'll have to continue reading to find out what I mean.

PS: PLEASE REVIEW! I WILL NOT CONTINUE WRITING UNTIL I GET AT LEAST THREE NEW REVIEWS—EVEN IF THEY JUST SAY: Keep writing.

PPS: People who have already reviewed previous chapters are included. The reviewers don't have to be new (winkwinknudgenudge).

-Thank you

-Alexnandru Van Gordon