The Blink Trilogy Chapter 7: Aftermath, a teen titans fanfic

A/N: So, for fans of me, the second fic is in the works. I don't exactly know all the details yet, but I do know that it will feature Slade in it. However, Slade might be taking a back seat in the second fic, due to his prime status in this one. I do know that it will be Raven centered. That is about as much as I can tell you for now.

Reviews

HeX-vAiN:Hey, I needed to make an impact. It was probably better than my first choice of who to off, seeing as how there seems to be a lot of Raven fans. I kid, I kid. And as far as the apprentice statement, Slade is already after Robin. I think I'm safe…for now.

Slade:Glad to hear you liked it. And yes, I do believe we all know that you are not a…kind man. No not in the least. I think within the next few chapters, your lust for suffering will be met and with grandeur unmatched at that.

Alexnandru Van Gordan: You know, looking back, I realized that I've gotten your name wrong every time I spelt it. Well, hopefully I got it this time. Glad you liked the mask part, as I found that extremely fun to write. Let me tell you, it only goes up from here.

You know… I really find it weird… and possibly a little creepy, that my two prime reviewers are Robin and Slade. But hey, they are like the only two people who review, along with Hex off and on. I'm not going to complain. Cheers mates.

Disclaimer: I do not own any or anything of the Teen Titans.

Chapter 7: Aftermath

"This is Ellie Parkinson, reporting live for Steel City news. Titan Tower has been completely destroyed…"

"Channel 9 Live Action News here at the devastating attack on Titan Tower. The tower is gone, and no one knows…"

"Bill Mason for Channel 12 news, brining you this breaking news. Titan Tower is gone ladies and gentlemen. A terrorist attack gone…"

"Jack Johnson reporting live from Titan Tower, little more than smoldering ruins now… This just in, we have a victim… It's the leader…

"Jason Gilford from CNN, reporting from Steel City, where the Titan Tower has been destroyed. One is reported dead, that being the Leader of Titans East…"

"One fatality marks the list, and it is one truly painful. Titans leader…"

"We have one reported causality. A fatality actually. Titans East Leader…"

"WE are live from the wreckage of Titan Tower, and we were just informed that…"

"This is Millie Ferrell, here to report with great regret and sadness the death of…"

"Truly the devastation has struck us all, seeing a Tower destroyed. However, what is even worst is the fact that…"

"Ladies and Gentlemen, it has been reported that the mayors of Steel City and Jump City will comment on this catastrophe. The saddest of the news is that Leader of the Titans East…"

"Bumble Bee…" Cyborg muttered, flicking through the channels. The news was stunning in its response time, getting to the scene of the showdown in record time. Even Jump City newscasters were on the scene, not missing a second of the action. Cyborg himself was horrified to see the tower was still burning slightly, as only the base of the former base of operations remain.

"Her name was Bumble Bee, and amazing girl with incredible powers, dying at the hands of terrorists today. With out a doubt, this attack will go down in history, as a direct assault and victory against the forces of justice…"

"This is Lance Barido for JCTV news, reporting live at Steel City. Titan Tower is gone, and Leader Bumble Bee is… she was the only fatality and causality in the incident. Of course, she led the efforts against infamous Steel City villain Brother Blood, pictured here…"

It looked like every reporter in the country was at the scene, as well as some civilians who saw the whole thing. Cyborg, who was still up even two hours after everyone else retired, watched the screen endlessly, his nerves on end. This whole thing wasn't suppose to go down like this. They were the heroes, they were supposed to win. Not Blink.

"Cyborg… why are you still up." Raven broke, walking into the darkened room. True, the whole ordeal had been horrible, but even Cyborg needed the sleep. For the time being, they were splitting Titan Tower…the remaining Titan Tower with the remaining members of Titans East. Not one of them had been too anxious to talk in the slightest, reeling from the lost of their leader. Raven knew how they felt.

To an extent anyways.

"Cause I can't sleep Raven. Cause every time I change the channel, some reporter is reminding me how we messed up. Because every time I listen, I hear HOW OUR INEPTNESS KILLED SOMEONE! Raven, Titans East is gone! GONE!" Cyborg exploded, not even turning to face his teammate. It wasn't hard to see that Cyborg and Bumble Bee had something going on… and that even in his façade of strength, Cyborg was suffering.

"Yes but right now, you lead us. We need you, of all people, to be well rested." Raven reasoned, before jumping as a glass exploded into the wall beside her. Turning back to Cyborg, she could see his hand open, facing the wall.

"I swear to whatever is up there Raven…don't tell me what to do right now." Cyborg mumbled, a highly threatening tone escaping in his voice. "Since Robin was kidnapped by that scumbag Slade, we have been running non-stop for the entire day. Bumble Bee is DEAD, Robin is GONE, and we have some super villain we can't beat."

Raven raised a hand to the side of her face, and felt a drop of blood slowly trickle down her face. Obviously, the glass had cut her. However, what worried her more was Cyborg, who hadn't slept since this morning. After all the stress, and not to mention the repeating, and very humiliating defeats, Cyborg needed sleep. They needed a leader, and if Cyborg couldn't lead, who would?

"How's Beast Boy?" Cyborg finally asked, breaking a long and greatly unwanted silence. Cyborg had been confused on that matter of a good while. Should he respect him for taking the match, or punish him for getting beaten nearly to death, and being reckless. 'Did he honestly do anything I wouldn't have?' Cyborg thought to himself, before lifting the remote again.

"Better than before, but he is pretty badly beaten. He'll be out for a while…" Raven started, before clicking into a reporter.

"The biggest question was, through out the entire battle, no one saw Robin or Starfire, two of the Teen Titans finest. Has Robin abandoned his own team, and taken Starfire with him? Is Robin jumping ship…"

Cyborg just stared at the screen blankly, slowly taking in the things that were just said. Raven herself stared, and felt an almost blinding amount of anger boiling up inside her. For everything Robin had done for this city, and Steel city. Through all the hell and the hardships, they dare accuse Robin of running away. And as if on cue, Cyborg raised his arm to the TV, and destroyed it with a single blast.

Slade's Lair ------

Slade laughed, watching the newscast with a sinister smile hiding beneath his mask. Over and over, the same line kept repeating itself in his head, and over and over again, he pressed the mental replay on that line. It was too sweet to imagine. The reporters who had at one time or another praise Robin now turned against him, and shot him down. The city that revered Robin as a gift from the heavens to compete with the overwhelming tide of crime, had turned on its angel, and in turn turned him to a devil.

"Mayor Rubin! Do you have any comments on the fact that Robin was nowhere at the scene, nor participating as it seems?" A reporter piped up, as Slade changed to the press conference. He wanted to hear more of the cities turning on Robin. In turn, Slade could press that on Robin, and twist the boy even more. Slowly, Slade flicked a switch nearby the monitor, and smiled as he watched the press conference, his one eye giving away the joy from the entire ordeal.

"Yes. I am both shocked and disgusted that someone who would call themselves a leader and a crime fighter would let this happen, and even more so seeing as how it was Robin. How cold do you have to be to let the leader of a branch of your own faction die?"

"And your comments to the Titans that tried to save the Tower..."

"I don't know how I could thank them, seeing as how we still have a destroyed Tower, and a dead leader. The only thing I can think of is that I thank them for fighting to try and save it, and not leaving their fellow man behind."

The Dark Room ------

"…and not leaving their fellow man behind." Came the answer from a speaker somewhere in the room. However, at that time, Robin could care less about finding some stupid speaker. The news had ripped into him like the claws of a lion. For years he dedicated his life to serving the public, to remove crime from the streets, and here were the thanks he was due.

He was being blamed for the death of Bumble Bee, and the destruction of Titans East tower. The cities that loved him for months, now turned against him in bitterness. 'A bunch of miserable ingrates' Robin's mind hollered angrily, as Robin himself desperately tried to block out the voices blaming him. It was then, at that moment, that it hit him. Hit him hard as a stone.

"Titans East Tower is gone… Bumble Bee is dead… how?" Robin muttered out, staring into the blackness of the room. To him, being a Titan was almost like being immortal. To him, the words 'dead Titan' couldn't be pair together. Yet it was. "NOOOO!" Robin hollered at the top of his lungs, throwing himself about to try and free himself. So many emotions rushed to Robin, so different and so powerful.

He felt great sorrow at losing not only an HQ, but a symbol of the Titans power. He felt the sorrow even more so when contemplating the now dead Bumble Bee, and how devastatingly powerful the affects of it were. A leader of the Teen Titans was now dead, and a Tower destroyed. Everyone now knew that despite the strength and power of the Titans, they were mortal. They could be killed.

He felt deep regret and inward hatred at being stuck as a prisoner instead of helping his team. The reporters were right to an extent… there was no Robin to fight the attacker. 'It is my fault… I let the Titans down, I let them all down. What kind of leader am I, leaving my team and followers to die and be defeated like that.' Robin heard inside his head. He wanted to deny it, all of it, but he couldn't. He felt it was true, that he himself did nothing at all to try and help the Titans. He let them down.

Yet most of all, he felt the burning hatred towards the devils that committed the deed. One he knew had to be Slade, and the other could only be his… apprentice. The mealy mouthed punk that could teleport from place to place within a heartbeat.

"Yes, I have this final comment. Since Robin did abandon his duties as protector of Jump City, and leader of the Teen Titans, I am officially labeling him a threat, along with the other perpetrators of this crime. To me, Robin is as bad as they are." The voice came, smacking Robin hard across the face. "That is all for questions."

And then silence. Silence except for the heavy breathing of Robin, and the sound of a man breaking down, and weeping as he is abandoned by everyone.

Titan Tower ------

"I'm warning you; do not go in there Speedy." Raven repeated, firmer this time. Speedy had been on a war path since the battle, demanding to speak to Starfire, as to why she didn't show up at all. Speedy, of course, had no clue in the slightest that Robin had been missing, and Starfire blamed her self. How could he have? Over the course of the night, the Titans had been too busy tracking down information about Blink to do anything.

"I don't care Raven! She abandoned us in our time of need. Just like Robin had! At least she is here to question!" Speedy yelled, his regular brash attitude backing his words. However, his words would soon find their way to his stomach, as Raven's dry look suddenly turned sinister.

"If I were YOU, I would turn around, and walk away. You know next to nothing about what happened, and you have NO RIGHT to even begin to accuse anyone in this Tower." Raven countered, her eyes alone nearly scaring Speedy senseless. Deciding that perhaps this wasn't the wisest course of action, Speedy turned around.

"Fine Raven. Protect your friends well, because I don't trust either of em now!" Speedy growled, before walking away. Slowly, Raven felt herself calm down, then back up against the wall. She slowly brought a hand to her face, and rubbed it in aggravation, before pulling it away and looking at it.

"Robin, where are you? Your friends need you right now." She muttered, before going back to her room, seeking retirement for the night. Besides feeling utterly defeated physically, she needed to be alone. It had been too long without sleep, and the Titans needed to rest up.

Med Bay ------

Beast Boy finally opened his eyes, slowly, to begin his first steps into the world, since being beat to jelly by Blink. The very first thing he noticed was not the pain, nor was it the exhaustion from the stress. It wasn't even that he felt like crap for losing a fight to Blink. The first thing he noticed was a can of beer sitting on a bed stool beside him. Even Beast Boy, who at times wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, knew what it meant. He had a visitor.

"Get lost." Beast Boy muttered, hearing a grunt of disappointment coming from the window. Beast Boy himself slowly turned his head to see Blink, looking out the window, and holding his own can of beer. It had become a weird meeting ritual of sorts. Blink had beer, Beast Boy had the questions. Seemed to him like a fair trade. "You killed her you know."

"First thing first mate. I did not mean to kill the lass. I thought she had gotten to safety." Blink muttered, staring out the window. "I never wanted anyone dead."

"Well it looks like you failed miserably at that task then..." Beast Boy retorted, before coughing slightly. "…dude"

"Even when you're hurt mate, you keep a lip. I like that bout you." Blink responded, before taking another sip of the beer. "Listen, as far as I am concerned, the fight was ended before I could finish you, so you win."

"Huh?"

"Now I need you to listen to me mate. This is serious now. The cities have turned against your mate, Robin. They're blaming him in part for this."

"HOW?" Beast Boy yelled, startling Blink. If the Titans found out he was in here, there would be hell to pay. Silently, the two waited patiently to see if anyone was coming, before Blink continued.

"He wasn't there. They are saying he deserted." Blink replied, taking another sip, before crushing the empty can. "They are calling him a coward."

"That's not fair! After all he has done for Jump City, they turn their backs on him now!" Beast Boy uttered, looking devastated. Soon, more silence gripped the room, before Blink began again.

"BB mate, I need you to do me something. From now on, you need to start training more. There will come a time where you and I will fight again. I guarantee you this, I won't be holding back mate." Blink mumbled, before looking down at the floor. Beast Boy finally clicked into the fact that Blink was hurting from something. Be it the fight they had, or the fact that he killed someone, Blink was hurting.

"Blink… Why are you doing this? If you hate the killing, why are you…?" Beast Boy inquired, seeing Blink shift uncomfortably.

"You won the fight BB. That means I have to find a way to resurrect your lover gal." Blink replied again, before turning to look at Beast Boy. That was when it hit him to the fullest effect. Blink had tear marks, running down his face. "I don't know why I do it BB. I just don't know at all. Yet sometimes a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." Blink finished, before disappearing.

"Blink, you darn fool." Beast Boy stuttered, before slipping back to sleep. 'Nothing but a darned fool.' Was Beast Boys last thought, before his mind went back to rest.

Slade's Lair ------

Slade turned off the last of the monitors, letting himself bask in the darkness of it all. The day could not have gone better. From since he plucked Robin from his Tower, and up until he watched Steel and Jump city turn on the dedicated hero. It was all so perfect, so well worked. Everything was going to plan.

Everything except for one individual. An individual who would soon learn the true meaning of the word apprentice. At least until Robin finally came to the right side.

That individual had just appeared behind him, and was looking rather smug about himself... behind the now hidden tear marks that was. Slowly, Slade stood to his feet, and turned to face Blink, who in the dull lighting of the lair, looked as though he had become a god.

"Very good Blink." Slade muttered dryly. Blink slowly rubbed the back of his head, before locking eyes with Slade once again. "Considering you lost to that pathetic changeling, and lost control of your powers in the middle of a fight." Slade finished, a disapproving tone matching his voice.

"What can I say? The fool has a good left hook." Blink jokingly retorted. Behind the mask, Slade smiled even more. "How's your guest? I presume he's now just another corpse."

"Not in the slightest."

"That's good mate. Don't want to spill blood where it doesn't need to be spilt."

"I think it's time we set some rules… Blink." Slade began, his voice going from a masked laid back tone, to one of cold seriousness.

"Like what? No blinking after ten o'clock mate?" Blink joked, not quite getting the full intent of the statement. Blink himself thought nothing was wrong, and that in a matter of moments, everything would end in a nice fine package.

"For instance, I believe it is about time you started addressing me as 'master'," Slade countered, more seriousness coming from his voice.

"I think not. I may be your 'apprentice' but you are sure as hell not my 'master'," Blink replied, slightly angered.

Slade raised his wrist to his chest, and looked down at it, before staring at Blink again. "A pity…" Slade muttered, before pressing a button, and watching Blink drop to the floor, suddenly screaming horrendously and gripping madly at his forehead. "I was hoping you would make this easy on yourself…Damian." Slade replied without remorse, before listening silently to the screams of brutish agony escaping Blink's lips, as he tossed and contorted in unimaginable amounts of pain.

A/N: This might show you just how mean I can be. I mean, I am torturing my own character. I'm evil. Or at least, unstable. Anyways, I guarantee all the fans of Slade out there that the rest of this story will appeal to you greatly. Anyways, until the next chapter, I'm out.