Slade looked down at his bleeding hands and let out a growl of frustration. "So I can be injured. I've almost forgotten what its like to bleed." He whispered to himself. He had been immortal so long that even when he was injured he almost instantly healed. It was strange to be in a body that could be so easily damaged.
What had happened? How did he end up in this body? When he tried to use his brilliant mind to analyze the situation he was startled when he couldn't access the millions of possibilities that his super intelligent brain could come up with. Clenching his hands to a fist he let out angry shout. He was no longer himself, now he was a kid.
Curious he stepped closer to the mirror, which he had shattered earlier and examined himself. Even though he had watched and observed Robin for ages he never had taken into account what it would be like to be him. He flexed his new muscles and was pleased with their strength. He could literally feel the energy pulsating in this body it was practically screaming to be used. The outfit was a little to colorful for his taste but the mask was cool. It had been so long since his wife Addie had shot out his eye he hadn't thought about having two. His vision was excellent. He ran his hand through his spiked hair trying to flatten it out. He frowned when he saw what it looked like. It reminded him too much of when Mother May Eye had invaded the Tower.
Slade froze letting his hair stand on ends. He stumbled backwards from the mirror and tripped over a fallen table. As he fell to the ground he twisted himself into a handspring and landed on the bed surprised. "What is going on? This body is reacting naturally and I have access to Robin's memories? How in the world is that possible?" he asked himself in wonderment.
Slade hurried out of the sickbay rushing down the hallways towards Robin's room. It was so strange. He had never actually been in the Tower before only observed it through the security cameras yet he knew where everything was, every twist and turn, it felt so familiar yet strange at the same time. He finally found his no Robin's room and entered locking the door behind him.
The Boy Wonder's room wasn't very decorative. He kept things to himself. He walked over to the bed and collapsed trying to make sense of what had happen. "This is ridicules! I'm Slade Wilson the most feared villain in Jump City, Deathstroke the Terminator the greatest mercenary ever and yet here I am acting like a scared little kid! Get a grip Slade. You can figure this out. Obviously something happened to the compact MET when the transformer blew. Somehow you and Robin have switched bodies. If you use Robin's memories you can get the right information to fix this mess and maybe cause chaos among the Titans." Slade said with a leer on his face. He stood up and headed for the door when he knocked over a photo near the bed. He bent down to pick it up.
It was of Robin and Starfire at the park having a picnic. Starfire was drinking mustard and laughing her long red hair flying in the wind. Robin was eating a burger talking with her a grin plastered on his face. Though his eyes where hidden it was obvious he was in love. "Foolish emotions. Robin wastes his time and energy on that naïve Starfire. She is weak and nothing but a nuisance." Slade snarled angrily as he chucked the picture on the bed. Yet for a moment he felt strangely attached to the picture like it was a link to a happy memory, one that he couldn't access. Shaking his head he stormed out of his no Robin's room intent on finding a solution this dilemma without letting the Titans in on his secret.
He was heading to the Titans Mainframe, which housed their supercomputer that was linked to every known database in the world when he paused by a door. He didn't recall this room from any of the security tapes he watched yet it felt strongly familiar. There was an intense urge to go inside. He opened the door and blinked in the darkness waiting for his eyes to adjust to the dimness. When they did he was amazed by what he found. He chuckled to himself. "So this is my apprentice's private sanctum." He said coldly
He ran his hands over the wall reading snippets from the articles pinned to the wall. He was impressed by Robin's resourcefulness and determination to find any little scrap about him. He walked to the table in the center and examined the items on it smiling at the way Robin was so meticulous with each item. He picked up the folder marked SLADE and couldn't help but read it. After scanning it for a few minutes he frowned slightly. Robin was awfully close to the truth about him far closer then he liked.
He closed the folder and put it away. Frowning he turned and left this room. It held to many painful memories for this body and he didn't have time to examine them right now. He was so focused on getting to the Mainframe that he didn't notice that he entered the room marked EVIDENCE. He gave a long loud whistle when he saw what was in here. "This is practically a museum. I guess he picked up this habit from when he worked with Batman." Slade muttered. It was strange how when he tried to access memories that were very personal or intimate he was blocked from them. It was almost like Robin's mind had placed a barrier in front of those memories.
He walked slowly through the displays touching each item. Everything here brought back memories and filled him with strange feelings. When he touched Mad Mod's cane he was filled with mixed feelings. One was annoyance and the other was resentment falling into his trap and losing his youth to him. That was most unsettling. Another container held a wooden puppet of him and that brought back feelings of confusion and helplessness. But there was something in here that drew Slade to far wall. A curtain had been placed in front of a glass case. He started to pull on the cord even though he got the worst feeling of dread rushing through him. He let go then smacked himself. "I'm being completely childish about this. If I'm to pass for Robin till I can figure a way back to my Robin I have to know everything about him including what scares him." Firmly grasping the cord he pulled hard revealing Robin's apprentice outfit.
Slade smiled as he gazed upon the suit. He had worked so hard to make it just the right size for Robin. It was based off his own suit with a slight difference to show who was the master and who was the apprentice. He was eagered to get Robin back into this outfit and out of these ridicules colors. Wondering what it felt like to wear it he unlocked the case and started to put it on when his head exploded.
"Ahh!" he screamed sinking to his knees. He clutched his head in his hands and bit down on his lip as painful memories surfaced. He recognized them as being from the time Robin served as his apprentice. He had enjoyed watching Robin wallow in despair and helplessness. To become something he hated and work for his worst enemy in a devil's deal to keep his annoying little friends alive. At the time he hadn't believed that they would cause so much trouble or take Robin away from him. Nor had he fully understood the emotions going through Robin. But now he did.
He felt the anguish and shame of stealing for Slade and his unhappiness of fighting his friends. His fear that he was truly like Slade and nothing would change that ever. The desperation and sadness watching his friends die. The love and caring he felt for them especially Starfire. The intense hatred for Slade but also at the same time and this was surprising the admiring of being who had complete control of everything. The memories were intense and he sensed that Robin was still trying to sort out what had happened to him during this ordeal.
Slade gasped for breath as he managed to surface from the memory recall. He was breathing in short shallow breaths. What had just happen to him was like nothing he had ever experienced not even when he had been turned immortal. One thing was sure he didn't think he could handle another onslaught of memories. He had to get out of this room.
Slade finally found the Mainframe and using his superior knowledge of computers managed to download everything he needed onto a disk, which he would look at later. Right now his new body was craving for something to eat so he headed for the main room to see what he could find to eat hoping he wouldn't run into any of the Titans.
Luck was not on his side. They were all there. Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing some stupid video game, Raven was reading one of her books and Starfire was cooking something that resembled brains. Slade couldn't help but glare at them each. They were pathetic and weak! None of them were a real match for him yet they still found a way to defy him. He was going to put a stop to that. He was going to make sure that while he was in this body Robin's friends suffered for everything they had done to him. Till then he had to act like Robin. "Hey guys what are you up to?"
They turned to face him with concern on their faces. It annoyed them. Caring about others was for the weak. Yet at the same time it made him feel pleased that they would take time out of their lives to help him no Robin out with whatever was bothering him. Their friendship was strong and that was the key to their success. He would have to work hard to break it. As they hurried over to him he couldn't help but wonder what Robin was doing with his body.
Across town in Slade's hideout Robin was screaming at the top of his lungs and bashing his head into the wall desperate to wake up from this nightmare. So far it wasn't helping much except to give him a giant sized headache. He needed to calm down, take some deep breath, and figure out what happened. "Okay calm down and take this one thing at a time. Obviously something extraordinary has occurred. Most likely when I was on the rooftop with Slade the transformer explosion caused a power surge in the transfer headbands causing our brainwave patterns to switch minds. The only ways to fix this is if I can rebuild the portable MET and recreate the sequence of events that led up to this change. What? How did I know that and why is my mind filled with hundreds of ideas? Its like I can use a lot more of my brain then usual."
Robin looked at his new reflection in distaste. The armor he wore was heavy yet flexible, but the coloring was dull. He hated having only one eye and couldn't figure out how Slade managed. When he tested his new body he found it fit and ready for anything. He already knew that he was strong so he did a few warm up exercises to test it out and was surprised to discover the flexibility and agility. He knew Slade could handle punishment but this was incredible. He didn't feel tired, hungry, or any pain. It was like his body had no sense of that at all.
Robin decided to take a look around the lair. He decided if he was going to be temporally stuck in Slade's body he should learn all he could about him. Maybe he could find a way to bring Slade down once and for all. That thought brought a smile to his covered face.
He wandered around aimlessly for a while noticing that Slade liked to keep things in the dark. How he avoided tripping over something was beyond him. He came across a computer panel in the back of the room next to some screens. He fingered the panel a sense of familiarity growing in him. Without thinking about he punched in some codes and the computer screen came to life. "Wow. There must be thousands of programs and files on this thing. I wonder, Computer display any information regarding a MET device."
Immediately three-dimensional display of the device appeared on the screen along with several detailed notes. Robin began to read about the device. "Lets see the Mental Experience Transmitter is designed to transfer brainwave patterns to people via their REM patterns. Once mixed together the subject begins to experience a full in depth vivid imagery that eventually rewrites a person brainwave patterns causing them to act like that person. Potential side effects including brain damage, insanity, behavioral changes, even death. But risk is part of the game and nothing worth having comes easily. I'm sure that once I fine tune the transmitter and rewire the circuitry I can easily make the device work with out the use of headbands in the portable device. Then my apprentice will be mine. What! What in the world am I talking about?"
Robin backed away from the panel and fell over the original MET. As he got up he noticed with some annoyance that the security to his lair hadn't been turned on nor had he thought about going over his plans to control the city. He had a criminal empire to run. He frowned as he watched the video monitors display different parts of the city. He should be out there causing havoc and getting rid of the Titans once and for all.
Robin slapped himself hard across the face twice. "What's gotten into me? This isn't like when Starfire and Raven switched. At least then they maintained their own memories, personalities, and behavioral patterns. I seem to have access to both mine and parts of Slade's mind and I'm more inclined to react like he would. These impulses are strong and I got to keep them in check."
Strolling over to a workbench he removed the twisted blackened remains of the portable MET. It was completely destroyed. The only thing it was good for now was scrape metal. If he was going to get back into his own body he would have to first figure out how this worked and then with the computers help come up with another one that would return him to his body. As he sat down he shuddered wondering what Slade could be doing at this moment in his body with the Titans. He clenched his fists tightly together. If he hurt Starfire in anyway he was going to kill him.
Slade had just made his presence known to the rest of the group and now they were flocking over to him to examine him. He found their concern to be both distasteful and welcomed at the same time. "Back off will you. I'm not dieing you know." He said forcing them away from him.
"Man what are you doing up out of bed. I thought I told you to take some time off. You've been through a terrible ordeal. With getting electrocuted and thrown off a rooftop your lucky your injuries aren't more serious. Still with your concussion it would be better off if you rested." Cyborg told him trying to lead him back to the medical bay but Slade shook him off.
"I don't need some half robotic freak telling me how to take care of myself. I'm doing just fine on my own thank you very much." Slade snarled at him
"Dude your not acting like yourself. Well you are and you aren't. I'm no doctor but I think the stress of last few days is getting to you. Maybe you should take a break." Beast Boy advised.
"Who are you to tell me what to do? I'm the leader of this team and it's my life. If I want to endanger it whose going to stop me?" Slade asked. These brats were starting to annoy him. They just couldn't take a hint he wanted to be left alone.
"Robin, please let us help you. I know that you're not in your right mind right now. We can help you if you just let us. If your not going to go to your room will you at least sit down in here where we can keep an eye on you?" Raven requested
"Fine. But no fussing over me got it? I'm not a baby alright?" Slade said.
"Yeah we know even if your acting like one. Come on dude I just got Galactic Racers 5000 3D and I need a partner to play with. Star get us some grub on while I beat the pants off our diminished leader!" Beast Boy said dragging Slade over to the couch and thrusting a controller into his hands before he could protest.
"Come on man put your money where your mouth is. I'm going to beat you so fast it won't be funny." BB said already playing the game.
Slade just looked at the controller dumbfounded. They wanted him to play a computer game? What kind of test was that of his skills? He wanted to snap Beast Boy wrist for even suggesting he tried. He started to reach over to do so when he stopped and instead started playing the game.
It was a great way to test Robin's hand eye coordination and watch the Titans in there natural envierment. He also could get them to be more cooraptive with him if he went along with them. He soon was lost in the game trying his hardest to win. He always had to win. When he beat Beast Boy he let out a whoop of surprise. He smiled and thought to himself that was actually fun. He enjoyed himself.
It was like that for the rest of the day. He would try to harm the Titans, but at the last moment would stop and save them. He tried to crush Cyborg by dropping a car engine on him, but stopped by shouting a warning. He almost chocked Raven with her cloak but instead asked her to teach him how to mediate. Starfire was the hardest. He found her in her room knitting something. He was already to grab the needles and stab her to death when she turned and smiled at him.
"Robin there you are. How are you feeling?" Starfire inquired
"I'm fine Star. I just wanted to see what you were up to." He told her.
"I'm fine thank you for asking. I have decided to try a new Earth hobby called knitting. I find it very relaxing. Right now I'm knitting a sweater for Silky. I have heard pet owners do that. Do you think that Silky would look better with a blue or red sweater?" Starfire asked.
"Um I'm not really the best one to ask about that. I guess red would be the color to go with it because it matches your hair. I'm going to go work out. Bye." Slade said backpedaling. This conversation was making him a sick. He wanted to tell her she was being stupid to worry about something so frivolous. Yet he didn't want to cause her pain.
"Stop right there mister. Raven told you couldn't do strenuous activities because of your concussion. Do you want to cause your brain to swell up so much you die?" Starfire demanded grabbing his arm.
"Let go Star now! I'm not a child. I can take care of myself." Slade ordered shoving her away.
"Robin please don't. I care too much about you to see you hurt yourself. You can workout tomorrow when you're better. Please for me?" Starfire pleaded.
"Oh alright. I'll go to my room and get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow Star." Slade told her He gave her a reassuring smile and took her hands. "Don't worry Star. I'll be back to normal tomorrow."
"I hope so. Now go get some rest. I'll check in with you later." Starfire said happily.
Slade did go to Robin's room and did a few simple exercises and practiced with all of the Boy Wonder's equipment. It was amazing how easy it was to use it and how naturally his fighting style came to him. True Robin was nowhere near perfect, but that's where training came in. He could turn Robin into the ultimate fighting machine.
The events of today finally caught up with him and he fell into bed exhausted. He was a little steamed that he was tired, but not much. It felt good to be able to sleep in warm comfy bed.
That night he had a nightmare. Robin's memories and nightmares were mixing with his own. As he tossed and turned in bed he found it impossible to wake up as he was bombarded with painful memories. There was some of Robin agonizing as Starfire ran away from them and him being Red X and fighting the new Red X. Also memories of being a mercenary and losing his family haunted him. He woke up to someone calling Robin's name and he screamed "Addie!"
"Robin snap out of it. You were having a nightmare. Everything okay now." Starfire said. She was sitting on his bed with her hands on his shoulders trying to comfort him. She leaned in and hugged him and he hugged her back. "Its okay its okay. I'm here now."
"Starfire it was terrible. All those memories racing through my mind I thought I was going to drown. If you hadn't woken me up I don't know what would have happened to me." Slade told her.
"Since you've been having nightmares lately I took the liberty of reading up on what humans do to help them out as well as drawn on my own experiences. When I was small my kanorshishca Galfore would sing to me or give me a nightlight so I wouldn't have nightmares. Since you're a little old for those things I did something else. Here I bought it for you." Starfire said happily handing him brown teddy bear that had on his outfit. "I hope you like it."
"I love it Starfire. Thank you. No one has ever given me such a thoughtful gift before." Slade said honestly. He was touched by Starfire's kindness and selfless nature. It reminded him of Addie. "I think I'll call him Wonder Bear. Thanks again for the gift. I'm going to try and get some rest now." Slade said hugging the bear to his chest and snuggling under the covers.
Starfire got off the bed and headed for the door but paused for a moment. She turned to face Robin and asked. "Robin, while you were sleeping you were talking in your sleep. You woke up screaming the name Addie. Who is she?"
"Just someone I use to know a long time ago. Think nothing of it Star. Good night." Slade said sleepily as he fell back to sleep. This time no nightmares haunted him.
Across town in the darkened hideout Robin had just completed his task of finding out what the portable MET was made up off and with the computers help him find a way to switch him back. Since there brainwave patterns had been switched and certain memories were blocked off it became clear that there souls still resided in the right bodies. That's why they were still responding the way they would naturally. If they didn't switch back soon the new brainwave patterns would permently be altered. The solution was to recreate the accident as soon as possible.
Robin glared angrily at the computer screen as he read what parts he needed and how long it would take to completely rebuild the device. He could take some things he needed from the original device but for certain rare parts he needed to steal those.
"Well you've been a criminal twice before in your life and you can do it again. Its not like you can just buy these parts. Just remember the sooner you get those parts the sooner you'll be back in your own body with your friends." Robin told himself trying to justify the actions he would take once morning came.