Rocky Territory
By Letselina
Chapter Six
Slade
No mask could hide the fear, shock, and hatred on Robin's face. "Slade..." he hissed. The name had always been venomous when it came from his mouth, but now the poision lingered in Robin's mind as he stared ahead.
"No way..." Cyborg managed to say, frozen in his place.
"You cannot be alive..." Starfire whispered timidly.
"What are you doing here?" Raven demanded, her voice a low monotone.
Slade stood tall, his arms behind his back. "Titans, how nice to see you."
"Can't say the same," Robin growled, readying his weapons.
"Where is Beastboy?" the alien asked, hovering above the ground.
"The green one," Slade chuckled, his dark laughter causing most of the Titans to shudder. "Isn't life full of surprises?"
Raven narrowed her eyes, "Where is he?"
"You'll have to ask Terra about that, won't you?" the masked villain stated.
"What does Terra have to do with anything?" Cyborg questioned.
"Why, didn't you see?" Slade said, humor in his voice.
"See what?" Robin asked.
"I am not the one who took Beastboy," Slade shrugged.
The empath closed her eyes, and her fists. "Terra. She's behind all of this..." she whispered angrily.
"You always were a smart girl, weren't you?" Slade laughed again. He faced Robin, "It hurts, doesn't it Robin?"
The Boy Wonder didn't answer, only continued to glare.
"She will kill him," the villain said, his voice vicious, "You know that. And it will be all your fault."
"Shut up," Robin growled, "You can't fool me anymore Slade."
"Can't I?" Slade tilted his head to one side, mocking confusion. He held out his bo-staff, identical to Robin's. "Did you think the same about Terra?"
Starfire powered her hands, "None of us shall be fooled again," she said fiercely.
"Powerful words, princess," he snickered, "You seem confident."
"Leave Starfire out of this," the masked hero ordered, readying himself for a battle.
"Try to stop me," Slade commanded, swiftly attacking. He cried out as he brought down his bo-staff on Robin, knocking the leader to the ground.
Robin let out a small yelp as his body was once again being consumed by the strange black goo.
"Robin!" Starfire cried out.
"Teen Titans! Go!" Cyborg yelled, assuming his position as the two females jumped to battle. He blasted his sonic cannon at Slade.
Starfire's eyes flared lime green with power as she sent a barrage of starbolts at him.
Raven let out a, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" as a large object became encased in black, and came tumbling down onto the villain.
The three Titans gathered together, waiting for dust and smoke clouds to clear. As the clouds dissipated, Slade was revealed, standing in his place.
"Is that all you've got?" Slade ridiculed, quickly leaping at the trio.
"Seperate!" Cyborg shouted, jumping out of the way.
Letting out another round of starbolts, Starfire flew backwards, doing her best to dodge the masked villain who was now after her.
Slade leapt and ran across the room, chasing after the alien. He was keeping up with her, a surprise to all the Titans. "You'll have to do better than that, princess!"
"Starfire!" Raven cried. She used her telepathic power to throw shelving units at Slade, attempting to slow him down.
Cyborg began to run after the two, who were coming close to the end of the large room. "Look out!"
The Tamaranean yelped, as she smashed into the wall with full force. She fell to the ground, letting out a languid sigh as her body was encased in the growing ebony bubble.
"Star!" Cyborg yelled.
"We have to get out of here," Raven said sensibly, floating high in the air.
"There's no exit," Cyborg groaned, "And we're in the middle of the building."
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven cried, lifting a chunk of the floor beneath them.
Slade, who had already started trekking toward the remaining Titans, let out a cold-hearted laugh. "You already tried to escape, remember?"
Cyborg yelled a battle cry, shooting his sonic cannon again at the villain.
The empath tossed the floor she had lifted at Slade, hoping it would do damage this time.
The orange-and-black villain only laughed again as he leapt from the dust and smoke, smashing the surprised Cyborg to the ground.
"No!" Cyborg cried. He fought to get off the floor, but the black goo seemed to grow faster on him as he moved.
"Last again," Slade remarked quietly.
"And this time I'll win," Raven hissed in return.
"So fiesty," the masked manipulator replied. "I know everything about you Raven. Terra told me everything."
Clenching her fists, Raven shook her head, "You won't win."
"That temper," Slade clicked his tongue in a disapproving manner. "You should better control it."
Raven cried out, sending her power to wrap around Slade. "Where's Beastboy?" she demanded.
"You'll see soon," said Slade. He hardly seemed bothered at the black magic encasing his body. "Now--" he flung his arms from his side, sending Raven's magic back at her.
Raven gasped, as her magic was repelled to her, sending her immediately to the ground. She closed her eyes, feeling the bubble wrap around her.
Robin clenched his teeth together, angry that his team had lost again. He felt the ground shift beneath him, and he knew they were being transported somewhere. 'Slade is alive.' He repeated the phrase over and over in his mind as his body floated through darkness. 'And we lost. Again.' The magnificent and glorified Teen Titans. They had always been the best. They never lost.
No...
They'd lost before.
Closing his eyes, he remembered. It was dark. Beastboy...
"When you were working for Slade, did we give up on you?"
It had struck a nerve. After Terra had betrayed them, he had given up all hope. She was working for Slade. She was just another criminal.
But they gave her another chance. Why?
"Did we give up on you?"
Because of Beastboy. He was so sure that Terra was different... Like he had been...
Then...
"STARFIRE!"
Robin thought he'd lost all... Starfire had tried to save him, but was hit... She fell. He couldn't believe it... Terra had killed Starfire. Why would he give her another chance?
Because of Beastboy. He had promised him. And Beastboy was his friend. Bringing Terra to redemption might have been the only way he could forgive himself for letting Starfire fall.
They others had failed.
All of them.
Raven... drowned in mud.
Beastboy... Cyborg... disappeared inside the earth.
Starfire... fallen in an attempt to save his own life.
Why did he want to give her another chance? She deserved to die.
Robin didn't know what to do... So he kept his promise.
"Feeling lonely since I exterminated all your friends?"
Exterminated. Like the cockroaches that lived in the cupboards.
"I wanted to be this way."
Robin kept fighting. He wanted to save Terra. He had to save someone...
"I wanted to go with Slade!"
And Slade was still alive. She was still with him...
"I wanted to annihilate you and your pathetic friends!"
The only person he could save now was himself...
"And now I never want to see your face again."
But he failed at that too... Hadn't he?
He had lost.
They had lost.
Beastboy stared at Gaia, unknowing of how to react. "She'll wake up because of me?"
"Guess so," the blonde replied boredly. "I don't know all the details but--" She was interrupted by the opening of the door, as the masked villain entered. "I'm guessing by your ever-so-proud stride things went well with the Titans?"
"It is time, Gaia," Slade said simply, ignoring her remark. He turned swiftly, exiting as quickly as he had entered.
"Oh goody," she stood, her voice thick with sarcasm. Gaia walked over to the unconscious blonde, gently setting her fingers on her forehead.
Once again, the transformation occured, and as the silver light dimmed, a doppleganged version of Terra stood before Beastboy. "Come on BB," Gaia said in Terra's stolen voice.
The cell door swung open like magic, and Beastboy stared dumbfoundedly.
"It's time to play," Gaia said, quickly grabbing his arm before he could react.
The room shifted before them, and disappeared. Beastboy felt the same dizziness he had as when she had moved them from the tower to that room. But now, he recognized where they were.
'Terra's cave?' ran through the changeling's head. Before he could question their reason for being there, he felt the ground tremble beneath him.
"Like the room?" Gaia smirked, her eyes and hands flaring gold. "It was made just to look like your girlfriend's cave."
Beastboy looked around. "We're still...?"
"In the same building," Gaia answered, "I have a surprise for you."
Beastboy faced the blonde, letting out a startled shriek as he saw a barrage of boulders encased in yellow zooming at him.
A/N: Yes, I know what a weird place to stop... I didn't want to make this chapter too long. Also, an insight on Robin. How'd I do? Lots of mixed emotions going on around here, huh... I have a feeling I'm going to write a sequel to this, because I don't like really long stories. Hmm... and what is it "time" for I wonder? Review on your way out! - Letselina