Robin read the printout of the parts he would need to rebuild the portable MET. These parts were very specific and specially designed. There was no legal way he could get his hands on to them. If he wanted to get back into his own body as fast as possible he would have to steal them. Something that he desperately didn't want to do, but yet his entire body filled with excitement at the prospect of stealing.
"I need to avoid detection by both the police and the Titans. There's no way they would believe what happen to me without proof. No, I have to do this Slade's way. Lets see the first thing I need is to get some top quality miniature circuitry. It has to be able to handle huge amounts of energy and transmit neural patterns. Where am I going to get that?" Robin muttered to himself.
He scanned the huge database with incredible speed taking in information and processing it at inhuman speeds. He only needed to devote a small part of his mind to locating the equipment. The rest of his mind was busy trying to devise a way to increase the portable MET power and prevent any further accidents. Finally his computer screen displayed the information he was looking for.
"Hmm. LexCorp has just recently developed a new circuitry that can handle the job and it has a new feature. The circuits can do self-diagnostics and repair damage while at the same time diverting the power flow to undamaged circuits. Oh and what's this that Luther's R&D scientist have created? An inhibitor chip that has multiple purpose including being used to protect brainwave patterns when they're being transmitted. I can use that for my machine and maybe I'll use it for more sinister. I think I'll help myself to that. Now how to get it?" Robin said eyeing the screen.
"The circuits are kept in the warehouse district but the inhibitor chip is in a high security vault in LexCorp research facility which is on the other side of town. Hmm if I'm going to pull this one over I'll need to higher some help. Computer get me the Hive Academy on the line." Robin ordered taking a seat in his no Slade's throne.
For a few minutes the screen was blank then the screen lit up and the Headmistress appeared on the screen. When she saw who was calling she began to sweat. "Mr. Mr. Slade. I didn't expect to hear from you again. Not after our last encounter." She said nervously.
A memory of torturing the women after her operatives failed him then personally handpicking her successor Brother Blood to train the Hive students incase he needed some higher help flashed through his mind. Before he could stop himself he smiled behind his mask and let out a small chuckle. "Yes our last encounter wasn't very pleasant for you. However I do require your services again and I hope that I still can count on your assistance. If it's not to much trouble I would like it if I could borrow Mammoth, Jinx, and Gizmo from you please." Robin tried to say pleasantly.
"Are you feeling okay sir? I mean you've never acted like this before in my memory of our relationship." The Headmistress said quietly.
Robin kicked himself mentally. What was he thinking acting nice to a woman who trained kids to be villains? The part of his mind that was Slade was full of rage. No one talked back to him. "Don't question me! If you have any problem with me then I suggest you ask yourself how much you want to keep on living! Send me the three now!" he said before cutting off the connection.
Half an hour later the trio of Hive agents arrived. They kept glancing at the exit trying to see how much distance they had to cover in case they had to make a quick escape. "What's the job Slade? Does it involve taking out those piff sniffing snots the Titans?" Gizmo asked rubbing his hands hopefully.
Robin gave the little demented kid a good sharp kick in the butt. He didn't tolerate that kind of talk in his presence. He commanded respect. "Show some respect Gizmo. I only asked for your assistance because I require your unique talents. I need you to break into a LexCorp warehouse and steal ten crates of advance circuitry and bring it back here. Don't damage any of it! I'll lend you some of my robots to assist you. Do this as quick and quietly as possible. I don't need the Titans to ruin my plans again. Now get going!"
When they left Robin started taking deep long breaths. What was going on? He was still acting like himself but certain criminal traits were starting to emerge. One thing was for sure he would get over his guilt about stealing once he was back in his own body. After all it wasn't him stealing it was Slade he insisted to himself.
He sent some more robots out to steal the inhibitor chip while he monitored the Hives progress. For once they weren't making any stupid mistakes. Gizmos used his pack to open the doors, Jinx hexed the cameras destroying them, and Mammoth used his super strength to carry several boxes of the stuff. When the police showed up his no Slade's robots knocked them out. They returned a few minutes later with the circuitry and left him alone with it and the newly acquired inhibitor chip.
"I can work on this later. Right now I feel like working off some of this stress. Lets see what this body can do." Robin said. He used Slade's memory to locate the workout room in the lair and decide to start out with some simple martial arts moves and work his way up.
Robin began his basics and then quickly got into much more complex moves. The power, the strength, and the agility it was more than he could imagine. He didn't feel tired or any pain. Everything was so easy there was no effort. He discovered his immortality quite by accident. He was doing a triple front flip and accidentally landed on his bo staff impaling himself. But instead of dieing he merely pulled it out and stared at the wound watching it heal. "Wow. Slade's immortal? No wonder he never gets tired!"
"But how did I he get like this? Of course my nightmare, in it he was being experimented on. His super intelligence, his heightened fighting abilities, his immortality must be a result of it. But that doesn't explain why he became a criminal. I got to learn more about Slade's past. But if what will happen if I dig into his past? Will I become more like him?"
To distract himself from that train of thoughts he started inserting the new circuitry inside the new MET casing. He would need the computer boards to program the machine and create a link between those two things and the neural interface. He still needed the transmitter array, crystal emitter, power pack, and fix the headbands. There was so much to do to do and he had to make sure that he could recreate the accident without causing harming anyone. He couldn't risk losing his only chance to be returned to his body.
It took him all night to insert the circuits in the right place and figure out where to position the inhibitor chip. He then set out on creating some new neural headbands making sure that everything was in the right place stealing parts from the original one so that he could create the proper link.
He decided to test the neural headband out and to see if he could get inside Slade's mind while he was in his body. It was around midnight when he initiated the MET. Placing the headband on his head he concentrated hard thinking about his life. But Slade's memories were getting mixed into his thoughts. He couldn't control the flow of images so he cut the connection.
"Best not try that again. At least not until I've perfected it so I don't get affected by the memory backlash. Slade's mind is full of pain and horrors. The strange thing is I can't tell if those are because he caused them or they were done to him." Robin whispered.
He needed to take a break. He looked around for a place to crash and was annoyed there wasn't any. Being an immortal may be cool but it has some definite downsides. What was he suppose to do to relax?
Staring at the original MET he got an idea. He could spy on the Titans! Eager to see what his enemies no friends where up to he quickly typed in the right code and the screens instantly showed him the sleeping Titans. What he saw disgusted him greatly.
Beast Boy was halfway out of his bunk bed drooling. Turning up the volume he could just make out what he was saying. "No need to swarm me ladies. You'll all get a piece of Beast Boy, Jump City's greatest hero!" Robin rolled his eye and focused on Cyborg.
Cyborg was sleeping peacefully recharging himself after an action packed filled day. His systems should be back to full power in a few more hours. By the look on his face he was dreaming of a huge meaty breakfast. Shaking his head he muttered, "How pathetic. His newly upgraded security system has failed him and even when he's connected to it during his recharge he has no idea I'm hacking his systems. What a big disappointment. Lets see what the girls are up to."
With a tap of the keys he zoomed in on the image of Raven who was sleeping peacefully. Her cloak hung on her vanity and she was snoring softly. A quick assessment of her room showed that she was prepared incase of another surprise attack by his (Slade's!) robots. He smirked underneath his mask pleased to see at least one member of the Titans wasn't a complete idiot.
His heart pounded in his chest as he brought up the image of Starfire's room. He desperately wanted to see the girl he loved with all his heart. When he looked at her bed he didn't see her. He changed the angle of the camera and ran scans but she wasn't in her room. Uneasiness filled him and he quickly manipulated the cameras till he was viewing his bedroom. What he saw stopped his heart.
Starfire was sitting on his bed holding Slade's hand in hers trying to comfort him. She was talking to softly for him to hear. Slade looked positively frighten. He was very flushed and sweat dripped down his face. He looked like he had just woken up from a nightmare. Starfire handed Slade a teddy bear dressed in his uniform and left the room. Slade snuggled close to the teddy bear and went to sleep.
Robin let out a growl of anger and slammed his fist down hard on the computer counsel breaking the connection between him and Titans Tower. "How dare he! He shouldn't be allowed in the same building as Starfire let alone in the same room being comforted by her. How could Starfire fall for his act? There's no way Slade could ever act like me! And what is with my apprentice getting close to the young alien princess and sleeping with toys. How childish that is. I'll have to beat him for that one. What am I saying? Why am I acting like this? I got to find out now. Computer, hack into the Titans Mainframe and download any information on this incident and search for all possible side effects of the MET. Tell me why I would be acting like Slade and him me. Begin now."
Robin went back to working on the portable MET. He printed out a list of where he would get the replacement parts, building more robots to replace the damaged ones, and working out. By the afternoon of the second day in Slade's body he found out the same thing Slade did about why they were changing. It was just taking longer because he was in an adult body.
Determined to get back in his own body before he got to comfortable in Slade's body he sent out his robots to steal the computer boards he needed and decided to learn more about Slade's past. Much of Slade's mind was hidden from him. At least the part of who he was before he became a psychopath trying to destroy the city and control him. He had already tried removing the mask and found that he couldn't so he still didn't know what he looked like under the mask and it was making him mad.
The answers to all his questions were on the computer in protected files. He needed the proper access code to unlock the files and he hadn't been able to think of it yet. But he was getting close. He could feel it. "This isn't that hard! The code must be something that only Slade knows yet would be easy to remember but what? I've tried everything I can think of and none of my hacking tricks work. I'm the greatest criminal mastermind in the world. I was the top assassin for higher for years. I have gone up against the Justice League, Teen Titans, and survived the experimental government test to create an immortal being. Surely I can figure this code out! Immortal that's it. He created an eternity code so the password must be eternity. Yes I'm in!"
"Let's see. This one labeled Journal. Let's see. The last entry was dated the day before the switch. Everything is going according to my plan. Robin is surviving the nightmarish memories I'm sending him. He doesn't realize that while he fights to conquer my memories he is making it easy for me to reshape his mind. He is slowly turning into the perfect apprentice. One who is completely loyal to me and devoid of all morals. His body is also changing as well. I can see it when I observe the Titans. He is becoming more obsessive, filled with more anger and hatred. Soon he will be mind. Talk about being self-deluded. Slade is really full of himself." Robin muttered not at all impressed. He thought he would be dealing with a more morbid side of Slade.
He found another entry this one was from the time he became Slade's apprentice. That memory still tormented him. He had never felt so powerless before. What kind of sick joy had Slade gotten out of it? "Tonight I accomplished my goal. After months of careful planning and testing I have captured Robin. The Boy Wonder is the perfect person to follow in my footsteps and rule beside me. He is smart, young, and relies on his own physical talent to survive. Even though in the past he has let others hold him back such as his mentor Batman and his team Robin has proven that he is willing to do anything to get the job done. Something the hero world frowns upon when it comes to keeping secrets from friends. He is my other half. He is vicious, dishonorable, and ruthless like me. He is so much like me I often wondered if he ever met my sons. Grant and Joseph would have loved Robin and so would Rose. Yet I mustn't dwindle on the past. Not when I have a new heir. Soon the world will fear Robin."
"Grant? Joseph? Rose? Who are they and why does he compare them to me? I wonder if there in this file listed Family. Lets see here we go. Whoa who is she?" Robin whispered as he gazed longly at a photo of a tall dark hair and eyed women in military garb. She was talking to a man who could have been an older version of him if his features where a little darker. When he looked at her he was filled with intense feelings of desire and love. He also feared and respected this woman. He had to know more about her.
There where hundreds of photo's, love letters, and other mementoes stored on the computer. Each one told a story. It took him the rest of the day and most of the night but he finally put all the puzzle pieces together and what he learned shocked him. His own research had revealed some of the facts but not all of it.
Slade had enlisted in the army at an early age and had become friends with a man named Wintergreen and a woman named Addie Kane. The three of them were the strongest, fastest, smartest people in their unit. No one messed with them. They had each been selected to take part in a secret government experiment. Slade was the first one of the three to go through the process. Others had died before him, but he was the sole survivor and the experiment had greatly changed him. He had gained new fantastic powers and the first thing he did with them was use them to get rid of the men and women who had done this to him. He had then disappeared with Wintergreen who remained with him at all times.
Addie had tailed them watching to see what they did trying to learn what had happened to him. At first they did nothing but soon the criminal underground feared the name of Deathstroke the Terminator, a notorious hitman for higher. Addie didn't know it was Slade. All she knew is he was courting her and she wasn't making it easy for him. She wanted a husband who could match her wit and wouldn't hesitate to fight for what he believed in. Slade was also looking for a woman he could view as his equal. They found each other and where soon married. They were blessed with two sons. Grant who resembled his mother and Joseph who resembled Slade with lighter features. They where a happy family for a while but that soon changed.
Addie didn't know about Slade's underground life. His life as Deathstroke took up a lot of his time so he grew distant from his family. He tried to be a good husband and quit but he was hooked on the thrill of it all. Then the unthinkable happened.
A relative to one of the persons he had terminated had figured out who he really was. He took his revenge by kidnapping Grant and threatening to kill him. Slade went after him and succeeded in saving Grant's life and disposing of the man, but there was a price to pay.
Addie was infuriated that Slade would become a mercenary. That he would put their lives in such danger. He tried to calm her down and explain his position but she wouldn't hear of it. She took a gun and shot his eye out. When she discovered that he was immortal she freaked out. She gathered their sons and left.
Slade was alone so he hooked up with Wintergreen again to try to ease his pain. He left the states and headed for the Oriental desperate to find a way to forget his troubles. He spent many years there and it was here that he met the second love of his life. A woman named Lilly. She was his lover and helped ease the sadness in his. She was a great comfort to him when he learned that Addie, Grant, and Joseph were dead.
Lilly gave birth to a daughter named Rose. He spent some time with her trying to relive the days but it wasn't meant to be. It seemed his life was meant to be nothing but pain and sorrows. He lost both Rose, Lilly, and even his friendship with Wintergreen became strained.
He was filled with rage, anger, and hatred. He was going to make the world pay for his pain. He used his powers to build himself a vast criminal network and was intent on ruling the world. Never again would he let emotions like love and happiness control him. He would live alone forever.
But something's are impossible to do. Slade became bored and lonely with his immortal existence. He wished to share his power with someone because his empire was so big it was getting hard to control by himself. Also he yearned for companship. So he began his search for an apprentice.
For many years he searched for someone who was strong enough to one day survive to survive the process into becoming immortal. The child would have to be partially trained and smart. So many other requirements were to be filled but he soon selected Robin and tried to capture him. He succeeds and failed for the first time in life so now he was intent on recapturing him. So that was his life.
Robin stared dumbfounded at the computer screen. He was still trying to make sense of what he read. He had never in a million years expected this. Slade had once had a family and friends? This had to be a lie. There was no way any of this was true yet he knew deep down it was. "Forget this. It doesn't matter what mine his past was. It is of no consequences right now in the present. If I am to have any chance at a normal future I must complete construction on this device. The only way the MET is going to be fully functional by the end of this week is if I get involved with the game. Now things are getting interesting."
He prepared himself for the task of stealing the miniature high-powered transmitter array. He needed it in order to transmit his neural patterns from one interface to another. This time he was going to steal one that didn't have such a tendency to cause feedbacks and was more compatible with the rest of his stolen equipment. He chose to steal from Wayne Enterprises because he knew their system inside and out. Nothing and no one would stop him.
That night he waited on the ledge of the roof across the building bidding his time for the right moment to strike. Security had been upgraded considerably since the last time someone broke in and attempted to steal something. That had been him and the Titans had rudely interrupted him. This time he was going to make sure nothing prevented him from acquiring the item his prize.
He leapt across the street landing silently on the roof of the Wayne Enterprise building. He slid open a secret panel in the panel and dropped down into the secret passages that ran all over the building. Following the pipes he came to a stretch of wall that ran just outside the vault. Pressing on a concealed button the wall open. From there it was a simple matter of using his weapons to disable all the alarms, put the cameras in a loop, and stroll right into the vault and pluck the transmitter array from its casing. "This was to easy. I need a bigger thrill." He said to himself as he turned to leave.
"Freeze! You're under arrest for trespassing, breaking and entering, and burglary. Surrender now!" ordered the head of security as his team of commandos surrounded him. Each had blaster aimed directly at his chest and the safeties were off.
Robin gave a long harsh laugh. "Fools. Do you really think you can stop me? Your welcome to try but I guarantee that it will be the last thing you ever do in your pathetic little lives." He took out his bo staff and crouched into his battle stance ready for action.
One minute everyone just stood there frozen to the spot. No one was sure what to do. The guards had never run up against an intruder asking for a fight. Who was this guy? Didn't matter he was toast. Cocking their guns they began shooting full force.
Robin was fast moving blur. He reacted as lighting speeds and attack fast and hard showing no mercy. He whirled his staff around cracking skulls and spreading panic and fear all around. Using his super strength he crushed his opponents weapons, bloodied them up, and left them for dead. He was about to kill the head of security when his conscience snapped back into place. He looked around in horror at the pain and destruction he caused and was stunned by what he was about to do. He dropped the man in terror and ran away as fast as he could.
When he got back to the lair he set down his prize gently before he started throwing a fit of rage. He tore out computer councils, threw robots around, and broke several pieces of irreplaceable equipment.
"How? How could I almost cross the line and kill someone in cold blood. What's worse is how could I do it without a thought or a care? I can't possibly be enjoying this? I'm nothing like Slade! I would never enjoy causing pain to others. I'm not a psychopath! Yet look at me. I'm hooked on the thrill of evil, I'm fighting dirty, and I'm starting to love this life. The power, the wealth, and the fear it inspires. I'm losing myself to my darker impulses. Soon I will cross a line I can't cross. I don't want that to happen. I need to get back to my body before I start wishing I could stay in this one forever."
The rest of the week was a blur of activity. Robin stole the rest of the stuff he needed and worked on trying to make the device safe and prevent this situation from happening again. He kept an eye on his friends and Slade and what he saw continued to rival him up. He hated watching Slade have fun with his friends while he was stuck all alone and miserable. What was worse is the madder he got the quicker he succumbed to Slade's desires.
Finally the portable MET was finished. He ran every simulation to make sure that it would return his brainwave patterns back to his body and prevent him from losing any memories during the transfer. There was slight chance the whole thing could blow up in his face and kill him, but that was a risk he was willing to take. Now all he had to do was get Slade to wear one of the neural interface headbands, which wasn't going to happen. Sighing loudly Robin knew there was only one way he was going to accomplish this job. He would need help from the one person he trusted above all us. Starfire.