Unwilling Apprentice Chapter 3: Broken, a teen titans fanfic

Disclamier: I don't own any of the characters or plot themes for Teen Titans. The series and characters are owned by DC Comics, Cartoon Network and anyone who is associated with the production of the show.

Spoilers: The Apprentice parts 1&2, this is my version of these two episodes. It is different from the actual episodes and much much darker. In my version Slade did much more to Robin than just threaten his friends. To find out what you will have to read and find out.

Reviews: I love reviews, good, bad, any are good. If you Flame me however I'll just laugh and delete them. Questions submitted by reviewers in their reviews are addressed at the end of each chapter

NOTES FOR THIS CHAPTER

"quotations" speech
Italics thoughts

This chapter takes place immediatly following Chapter 2. It starts when Robin wakes up from the effects of the drug. If things don't make sense at times it is intentional because a person waking up from a drug induced haze is going to be disoriented.

WARNING This chapter is dark, I repeat dark, you have been warned.

Reviews: The outpouring of reviews so far has been amazing. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed and I hope you like the new chapter.

Now on with the story.

I came to after what I assume was a period of several hours. I try to remember what had happened but every time I try my thoughts scatter like a flock of birds and I'm left panting and exhausted by the effort. The drug that Slade gives me does this to me every time. It knocks me out and then when I finally wake up I can't think straight. A couple of tears track down my cheeks and I fight to hold them back.

Suddenly I hear the sound of the door sliding open and I try to push myself into a sitting position. My arms and legsfeel like jelly and refuse to hold me up so I fall back on the bed in a shaking heap. I can hear Slade's dry laughter as he approaches me and rolls me over so he can see my face.

"Pathetic." A wave of guilt floods through my mind but for the life of me I can't remember why I feel guilty. Through the chaos that clouds my mind I realize that I have disappointed and failed him for something. I can't remember what I failed to do though. He towers over me and fear grips by drug induced body.

"You have to work harder my dear apprentice. You will never live up to my expectations

if you don't work harder."

Apprentice? The name makes sense. Yes, I'm Slade's apprentice and I've disappointed him. I know there is something I'm forgetting though, I don't think I was always Slade's apprentice. Wasn't I someone else at some point? Someone who didn't suffer? I can't remember who I was before Slade had begun training me. Slade is still speaking and I try to focus on his words.

"You have always been my apprentice but I can't let you fully take over your duties at my side until you stop failing me. You are stronger than this my dear apprentice you just have to accept it embrace your full potential."

As he speaks I feel a sense of excitement building inside of me. If I just work a little harder I can do what is expected of me and he will be proud of me. The need for others to be proud of me is something that I know I've also tried to accomplish.

Fragments of memory flash through my mind. They are memories of another who I tried to impress but the images are not clear and don't make a lot of sense. All I gather from them are vague impressions and lingering bits of emotion. I remember being proud when I finally lived up to that others' expectations of me and I want to find that same approval in the words and actions of Slade.

The need for his approval strikes me as wrong though. There is something inside of me telling me that what he is doing and what I am letting him do is wrong. I shouldn't be striving for his approval. I should be fighting against him but I don't know why. It doesn't make sense that the apprentice would want to fight against his master.

"Stand up." At his harsh command I struggle to my feet and stand before him. It is so hard to stand but the effort is worth it when he nods in approval.

"Better my dear apprentice. Now follow me." It takes a lot of effort to force my legs to move so I can follow him but I do it because I know that it will be worse for me if I don't do as he says. He leads me into the training room and turns to look at me. I'm barely keeping myself upright and he smirks maliciously at me.

"I should beat you for failing me earlier." Fear pools in my chest but I say nothing. He walks over to me and tips my chin up so he can look at me. I know he can see the fear in my eyes but he ignores it. "I think I will." He grabs my upper arm and squeezes so hard that I know a bruise is forming.

The pain and the adrenaline that are pumping through my system relieve some of the drug induced haze around my brain and I can hear him speaking softly to me.

"I wouldn't have to hurt you my apprentice if you only listened to me." I focus on his words through my pain and try to make sense of them. For a few seconds I'm able to think coherently enough and memories that have been just out of my grasp return. I'm not Slade's apprentice, I'm Robin.

"My name is Robin." The words barely escape my lips before Slade back-hands me. I half fall to the floor as Slade tightens his grip on my arm. The fresh waves of pain that flood through me as my arm is nearly bent to the breaking point scatter any thoughts of rebellion and Slade back-hands me again before allowing me to completely fall to the floor. I cradle my arm to me and am relieved to notice that although there is a lot of pain it isn't actually broken. He lets me lie there for a few seconds as he silently fumes. When he does speak it is in a low dangerous voice that terrifies me.

"Remember that you only bring your pain upon yourself my apprentice." I try to scramble away from him as he reaches down to grab my shoulder but I'm too weak and he's much stronger. He yanks me to my feet and I do my best to gain my balance as he begins dragging me toward a cell that is located on the opposite side of the training room.

When he reaches the door he removes a key card from his pocket and inserts it into the lock. The door immediately slides open and he yanks me inside. By this point I know what is happening and I try to struggle out of his hold before the door closes behind us. My attempt at escape fails miserably and he shoves me toward the center of the room.

I land on the floor in a heap and immediately struggle to stand again. I'll fight him if I have and try to lunge past him but he effortlessly side steps my attack and grabs my wrist as I pass. His grip is like steel and I suddenly feel exhausted.

"You shouldn't fight me apprentice." He tightens his grip on my wrist and I have to make a concentrated effort not to scream. "Just give in and it will ease your pain." He reaches up and grabs a set of shackles that are hanging from a chain. He then lifts my wrist and clamps the shackle around it. My other wrist quickly follows and I'm left hanging there with the tips of my toes barely brushing the ground.

The pain in my shoulders is terrible but there is nothing I can do to relieve it since I can hardly touch the ground. Slade walks around me a few times before stopping in front of me.

"I'll break you apprentice." That is all he says before he begins to beat me. Every so often he will stop and speak to me for a few minutes about how I belong to him and will always belong to him and how I will make such a wonderful apprentice when he finishes training me. I listen to each of his words and slowly I begin to believe him. He calls me worthless and a failure as his apprentice and if I want to do better I have to strive to do better in his eyes. I eventually even find myself nodding as he speaks and slowly the beatings become fewer and fewer.

I don't know how long I hang there but by the time he is done I can feel the combination of blood and sweat as they cause the shirt to cling to my back. He really did a number on me this time. As suddenly as it started my punishment ends and I find myself laying in a heap on the floor as Slade releases the cuffs.

My wrists are sore and my arms feel like one hundred pound weights and there is no way I can move on my own. I see Slade standing over me. "We aren't done yet. You really disappointed me earlier apprentice. I can't let you off easily this time. You aren't learning fast enough so I'm going to have to teach you a lesson the hard way." Fear overrides the pain of my body and I feel numbness spread through me. I watch in terror as Slade removes the drug from the pouch on his hip and measures a dose. I notice that it is just enough to leave me disoriented and conscious.

I'm too tired to move when Slade kneels down beside me and injects the drug into my arm. Almost immediately it is difficult to think andit is hard toremember where I am. Slade is smiling at me now as he removes a key from his pocket and walks over a long door that is built into the floor of the room.

He opens the door to reveal a space just big enough for a person to lie in and then returns to my side. He lifts me up in an almost gentle manner and places me inside the small space. I'm still aware enough to know what is happening. He's only used this punishment once before. It was immediately after he captured me and was his way of breaking me. I knew that when the door closed there would be no light and the only sounds would come through a small vent that allowed me to breathe.

The door closes and I'm left in absolute darkness. Almost immediately the combination of the drug and my own fearmakeme begin to panic. Then I hear it. It is a recording of Slade's voice that tells me over and over again that I'm Slade's apprentice and that the friends I used to fight with are actual my enemies.

The panic grows in my chest as the drug takes more and more control of my body. I know that there is no escape but I struggle anyway. The space is so small however that I can hardly move and fear paralizes me.

As I lay there and listen to the voice of my downfall I use my last coherent moments to silently beg forgiveness from everyone that I'm going to betray. The other Titans won't understand what has happened to me. They will simply see my role as Slade's Apprentice as the ultimate betrayal. As for Batman, well I already failed him when I gave into Slade. I betrayed the one man who cared about me enough to treat me as a son. Tears track down my face as I think about how much the knowledge of my failure will hurt both Bruce and Batman and I suddenly hate myself with every fiber of my being.

I truly believe that I have failed him. I couldn't protect my mind and I let Slade slowly but surelydestroy everything that made me Bruce's son and Batman's sidekick. I know that by the time I'm released from my punishment I won't have a will to fight anymore and the person that everyone knew as Robin will be gone and only Slade's Apprentice will remain.

Okay guys that is a wrap for chapter three. I warned you guys that this chapter would be dark and I lived up to my promise. Now on to my reviewers.

silverkitcat: Thanks fore reading my story. I hope that you continue to read even if you don't know a lot of the characters. I actually plan to focus a lot more on the relationship between Robin and Bruce Wayne/Batman then on Robin's relationship with the other Titans. The other Titans will definitly be there though. Keep reading and thanks for the review.

Alexnamdru Van Gordon: It is always good to see repeat reviewers. If the beginning of the chapter didn't make a lot of sense chalk it up to the fact that Robin is being mentally and emotionally destroyed. He isn't going to be as sharp as he normally is. I added the serum because I don't see Robin truly breaking without it. I think Batman trained him better then that but training can only go so far. I also agree with you that Robin's relationship to Batman is a big part of him. The relationship will play a big part in later chapters. Keep the reviews coming.What part of Canada do you live in? I'm in Ohio which is US Eastern time zone.

rixietrixie91: Is that detail enough for you or do you want to read more? I'm going to try avoid relationships for now though. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter and keep reviewing.

Queen-morganalefay: I'm glad you like my first person writing style. I agree that it is much harder to write in than third person but I like the challenge and believe it makes me a better writer overall. I usually only write infirst person when I'm trying to do harsh emotional angst and I find that you can explore a character's inner emotions when they are narrating. I was hoping that I got Robin's character right. I'm glad you like the first chapter. I figured an open first person chapter would be best and it gets the reader interested. Thanks for reading and reviewing and I hope you do so again.

blaze: I'm sorry I made you sad but I'm glad you enjoyed my story.8 ) As for the prologue, I tried to keep that pretty open. In truth I am more of a Raven fan then a Starfire fan (bet you couldn't guess that one with all the dark and gloomy running around)but I'm going to try and keep this fic couple free. Keep reading and reviewing I appreciate the feedback.

Kellalor: Good to hear that you found a first person angst that you actually enjoy. I like them but only if they are well done and I've gotten so much positive feedback on the style from another story I wrote in first person that I decided to try again. Keep reviewing I appreciate it.

Crazy Girl Person, Little Red Ravenhood, and KaliAnn, I hope all you guys enjoyedthe new chapter and continue reviewing.