A/N: I think that I need to give you another appearance of the poor Valentine for you all. She is why this whole fan fiction got started. The girl plays a key part in this. Not very many reviews for my last chapter, so I'll try to make this one better. I hope you enjoy it!
Disclaimer: I've said this every chapter so far. You guys know it well by now. I don't own them.
Chapter 13 A Fortune's Fool
Valentine woke up from her sleep when the door to her small room opened up and spilled in the bright light from outside. She squinted because her eyes were not used to the light anymore. Darkness surrounded her every day and night nonstop. It always seemed like she was in a deep, dark pit never to be rescued. The only time she saw light anymore was when someone came to feed her.
The poor girl gave a small shiver as she saw that it was Slade who had come to give her some breakfast that early morning. Valentine shifted in her ropes that bound her hands and feet together. She looked up to Slade boldly when he stood in front of her. She glared at him as he studied her pathetic state.
Slade then bent down to her level and handed her a piece of toast silently. She took it and started to eat it with as much silence. All this time the man stared at her with that one eye showing no emotion whatsoever. It was creepy.
"What do you want?" Valentine spat out at him when she finished the toast. "You're freaking me out, but that's not something new."
"Why does your brother screw up his whole life just for the sake of yours?" Slade asked her suddenly. His voice didn't have any curious or confused tone in it. He just wanted to know why for some strange reason.
"Why don't you ask that to him yourself?" Valentine answered him quickly. Really, she didn't know why Jake was doing all this just for her. He was going against all his morals so she could be safe. She felt kind of guilty because she might not do what her brother was doing just for Jake's safety. Don't get her wrong. She would do it all, but he was doing it with no hesitation. It would take more than a threat of taking her brother's life for her to do all that.
"You don't know?" Slade asked her. "You have no idea why he keeps going?"
Valentine stayed quiet as she looked to the floor. She kind of knew why. She was too young to get to know her parents. Jake was almost in his teens when they died. It had been so hard on him. He resumed the role of parent and older brother in only a few hours. Valentine knew that she was like his sister and almost daughter to him. She was the only loved one he ever had in his life now. He didn't want to lose the last important thing.
"No," Slade said while giving her a glass of water. "You know exactly why."
- James -
James knocked on Robin's door at around six or seven in the morning. A small box was in one of his hands, and he handled it with great care. He looked down the hallway both ways cautiously to make sure no one really noticed him. Slade was no where in sight, so that must be a good sign. But James couldn't be too sure. Slade was one smart dude that shouldn't be taken lightly.
"Come in," James heard Robin yell to him from behind the door. The man came in quickly and was amazed that the teen was ready as ever for his mission. Robin was sitting on his bed looking over the file of the man he had to kill. It was information about the place and security.
"Hey, kid!" James said with his voice showing some pretend excitement for the teen. "I'm guessing that you didn't get very much sleep last night."
Robin gave a small laugh while looking up at him. "I guess I'm becoming an insomniac," he said with a sigh. "I don't want to screw this mission up. Master says that this is very important, and I don't want to disappoint him." He was only half lying to James. Yes, he wanted to please him. But the other reason was because he was feeling…strange around the man now. He couldn't describe the feelings he had when around Slade. He just wanted to get some alone time.
"Yeah," James said with a fake smile. "I just want to give you a good luck present," he said while shrugging his shoulders. He held out the small box to Robin and saw the teen look confused. "It won't bite, kid," James said with a laugh. "You look like you can't trust it."
"This better not be something that pops out at me and makes me scream," Robin said with a sly smile. "I can never be too sure with a crazy teacher like you, James."
James laughed again and handed the box over to him. "I swear that it's not that," James said. He sat down next to the teen and said, "Just don't open it till you are on the plane."
There was a small silence as Robin looked at the small box carefully and handled it in his hands like it was something extremely fragile. He then looked up to James and said quietly, "Thanks."
"No problem," James said with a wide smile on his face. He got up to leave but almost slammed into Slade. He quickly put on his brakes and said, "Whoa didn't see you there, Slade." He then whispered loudly into his ear so that Robin could hear him, "And you can stop putting those pills into the kid's drink. He's already crazy enough."
Robin put the box into his backpack while watching them with a grin. The two opposites were at it once again. He watched as James left the room after giving Robin a friendly wink. Slade rolled his eye and looked back down to Robin sitting on his bed.
"Can we go now?" Robin asked him while zipping up his backpack. He got off his bed and put on his backpack with a deep sigh. He stared at his wall in deep thought as his smile slowly faded.
Slade caught his mood shift and started to get worried. Robin was thinking too hard about this again. The boy had presented his problem over the matter in combat practice the other day. When he had said yes to the final challenge it felt like nothing, but after a day of dwelling on it, killing a person seemed kind of scary. He wasn't so sure of himself anymore. Slade had ordered him to forget the person and only dwell on his mission. After this first kill everything would be fine.
"Don't forget what we talked about, Robin," Slade told his apprentice sternly. He then smiled a little under his mask while reassuring him. "Feeling nervous is natural, though. It will give you the thrill and make you strive to keep going during your kill. You will learn to love it."
"Yeah," Robin said while turning around to face his master. He gave a small, forced laugh while saying, "I guess it's just nerves."
"Ready?" Slade asked him.
Robin gave him a cocky smile and said, "More than ever!"
- Robin -
With a heavy sigh, Robin fell into his first class seat in the plane on its way to Lima. He had just stood in line for hours, and when he left Slade the nerves were taking complete control over his body. He just needed to relax. The teen smiled slightly to himself while settling into his big seat. First class all the way! He could get used to going on missions. This thrilling feeling was something he was starting to love just like Slade said he would.
The plane took off and had been in the air for a few hours till Robin finally remembered the box James had given him. He whacked his forehead when he remembered and took it out quickly. The man sitting beside him in the window seat glanced to the box and then went back to reading his paper.
The box was simple leather and looked to be a giant ring box. Robin opened it slowly and saw a note on the top of some other things. He picked it up with his eyebrows rising in interest and wonder. He quickly read it with confusion sweeping over his face. It said…
Dear Robin,
I know that what I'm about to write to you is going to seem strange, but please bear with me. You are not the apprentice of Slade. You are really part of a superhero team called the Teen Titans and they live in the USA in Jump City. Really, you're the leader of this team. Slade just wants you on his side because you're a great fighter and some other reasons I don't know. But Slade made another kid switch places with you in Jump City so that is why your team is not looking for you. I had to erase your whole memory to fool Slade that I was for him. But I'm really a spy for the CIA and have been with Dragon Academy for years giving information to the CIA. I have two people at Pulcallpa that will tell you where to go so we can get you back to your team. I hope this stuff clears things up for you and gives you back the memory you lost. Have any questions then just call me on my cell phone. I'm sure Slade gave you a communicator before leaving. I hope you make it back!
Your Friend, James
Robin read and reread the letter about five times to try and grasp any familiar information. It seemed like what James had said was true, and Robin so desperately wanted to be because everything seemed to fit. He had suddenly woken up completely confused about small details here and there. He also felt weird around Slade sometimes as if he didn't belong there, and also him feeling bad about killing the man for his mission. His scattered and mixed up puzzle pieces were finally placed together in his head.
But something was wrong. James said he would get his memory back, but he wasn't getting anything. The emptiness was still there inside him. Maybe James was just pulling his leg again. But would James be this evil? Robin was just now even more confused.
Robin put down the note and started to go through more things in the box. The first few things were articles about the superhero team. The last things were pictures of his team members. He picked up the first one that was of a cyborg. His smile was friendly and something snapped in Robin's head.
"Cyborg!" Robin breathed quietly out the name. He gave a small gasp while covering his mouth with his hand in surprise. How did he remember that name? He had seen this person before?
The next one was of another teen with green fur and big eyes that sparkled with mischief. He had on a goofy smile that would make anyone laugh. "Beast Boy," Robin said to himself with a nod. How did he know all these names?
The third picture showed a girl that looked depressed and dark. A blue cape covered her whole body and she was glaring at the camera with those violet eyes that showed no emotion. "Raven," Robin said with a frown. This was just too confusing. He almost didn't want to see the next picture. But something inside of him pushed him on.
"Starfire!" Robin said as he stared at the last picture of the beautiful alien girl. She was smiling shyly at the camera and waving to it innocently. He seemed to know this one the best. He knew that he knew these people somehow, but he could not come up with at least one memory to back it up. He had all this information about his true self, but with no proof it was pointless.
Robin grabbed his communicator and quickly dialed up James's number with tears of weariness and the utter most confusion threatening to escape his eyes. He commanded his emotions to leave him when the voice of his teacher came on the phone, cheery as ever.
"Oh hey, Robin! How is the plane trip? I'm sure first class is pretty cool."
"I opened up the box," Robin said quietly as he held up all the photos of his so-called "friends".
"Oh," James said. "Why are you calling me, Robin? Do you remember anything?"
"Nothing!" Robin yelled into his phone. The man next to him jump in fright of the teen's sudden out burst and glared at him. Robin ignored the man as he waited for James to answer.
"What? What did you remember?"
"Nothing," Robin repeated with confusion in his voice. "I don't know what you're talking about. How can I know these people all my life when I can't come up with one, single memory of them? Why can't I remember?" He lightly pounded the table in front of him in frustration and this got the man next to him to scoot a few inches away while glancing at Robin every now and then.
"Robin," James said quietly. Robin couldn't see the pain on his face as he said, "I'm sorry. I don't know what to do now. Please forgive me for doing this to you."
"I know what to do," Robin said with his voice having a dark tone to it. "I'm calling Slade and demanding for an answer. No more lies."
"Oh no!" James yelled back at Robin quickly. "You will blow my cover. He can't know that you know what's going on. Robin! Don't you dare hang up on me! Listen to…"
Robin hung up with a disgusted look on his face. He wanted answers NOW! James brought this upon himself when he gave this box to Robin. The teen was now pissed and not ready to give up on getting this memory of his back.
- James -
"CRAP!" James yelled loudly from where he was in the cafeteria when Robin hung up on him suddenly. He frowned deeply as he quickly dialed up Slade before Robin could. He smiled a little when he heard Slade pick up.
"Hess?" Slade asked him with a hint of confusion in his voice.
"Oh, Slade!" James said with pretend joyfulness in his voice. He quickly got up out of his seat and threw away his trash while talking to the man. "I just called to see…um…if Robin made it to…the airport."
Slade seemed very skeptical as he answered, "It went well."
"Cool," James said, trying his best to give himself some time. He quickly walked to the doors of the cafeteria while saying, "That's cool. You know what? I totally forgot what I was going to say next. Don't you hate it when that happens?"
James walked through the doors and stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Slade standing there. That one cold eye of the man narrowed dangerously at James as they both hung up. He opened his mouth to say something to Slade, but he was cut off when his cell phone rang.
"I have to take this," James said to Slade with a sly smile. Slade watched him leave closely. He knew that James was hiding something at this very moment. He slowly started to follow the man silently. He wouldn't get away with whatever he was doing. Slade would make sure of that.
James opened up his phone and heard Robin yell at him, "What the heck are you trying to do here, James? I'm sick of being left in the dark. Let me call Slade! No more games!"
"Fine," James yelled back. He started to run down the empty halls of the Academy. He heard footsteps behind him, and a look of panic crossed his face for a few seconds as he picked up the pace quickly. "Go call him, Robin. But he's going to come after you no matter what, and you will be stuck being his apprentice for the rest of your life. Or you can just go ahead and kill this man for your mission. Those two options have the same ending. Life with Slade."
"Stop confusing me!" Robin demanded harshly. "What else can I do? I can't trust anyone now. Not you or Slade. I have nowhere to go at this point."
"Go to Pulcallpa, Robin," James said firmly. He flung himself into a boy's bathroom and said to the teen, "Act like nothing has happened. I'm on your side. I want to help you get your old life back. I can't do that if you don't trust me. Two of my people will be there to help you even if you want them to or not. Please, kid, trust me again. I won't let you down."
"I got to go, James," Robin said after a small pause. "Slade's trying to call me. And the man next to me is looking scared."
"Robin, no!" James said but was too late once again. He gave a small, frustrated grunt while going into a stall.
Slade burst into the room and looked around in search for James. He heard a flush from a toilet. A young man walked out of the stall. His dark brown hair hung in his face and hid his green eyes. The man wore the Dragon Academy uniform. He walked past Slade and smiled a little while nodding to him as his own form of greeting.
The man started to wash his hands and kept a sharp eye on Slade in the mirror as the other man searched the whole bathroom for James silently. The man looked back down to his hands and looked back up to see Slade standing right behind him. Somehow Slade knew it was James.
The man jumped a little from surprise and turned around while saying, "Dude. What is your problem?"
"You mess up my plan, James," Slade whispered harshly down to the man, "I mess up yours." Slade threw his fist back, and James (in his other form) stopped it from hitting him by holding it above his face with two hands. The two had the same strength as they struggled for power. Slade smiled evilly as he pressed a button on his wristband of the hand in James hands. A purple mist came out of it and James had no time to cover his mouth.
"That's low!" James said while letting go of Slade's fist as the stuff quickly took over his body. He blacked out, and the back of his head hit the sink before he collapsed on the tiled floor.
Slade stood over the unconscious body and watched as the young man transformed back into his original from. James had been a very cleaver opponent. He befriended Robin from the start, and with his always joking attitude almost tricked Slade. But Slade knew a man's true colors from just one look at them. Too bad James never knew that. He would now have to pay the deadly price.
James slowly opened up his heavy eyes with a wince as his head gave him a dose of extreme jolt of pain. He looked around the place he was sitting in while slowly taking it all in. The big room was dark and ominous. The air in it was steamy and humid and instantly made beads of sweat drip down James's forehead. Pipes lined the walls and stuck up randomly through the floor or ceiling. They must have been under the school in the boiler room or something.
"Where am I?" James asked himself. He tried to get up even though his head kept protesting against every move. James frowned deeply when he realized that he was handcuffed to one of the big pipes in the room. He leaned his head against the warm pipe while panting, as his stomach took a dramatic spin.
The man leaned one way as his stomach said no to his lunch. He threw up on the dirty floor next to him as his head spun out of control. He was so dizzy and weak. He couldn't quite remember how or why he was here. He was in a miserable state.
"Hello, James," Slade said suddenly from in the dark. A faint light turned on above the tied up man, and now James could clearly see the villain.
"Slade," James growled in anger as his memory came back from just looking at the mad man. His hands behind his back formed into tight fists as he kept glaring at Slade. "Let me go! This is stupid! You have no reason to keep me here."
"Really?" Slade asked him. His voice had a hint of triumph in it. He walked up to James calmly with his hands behind his back in his usual, relaxed stance. He looked down at James with mild interest in his eye. In the inside he was loving this moment. He very much enjoyed seeing the strong fall under his power.
James gave a deep sigh while his brain tried to figure out what Slade had just said. This was different. His brain couldn't keep up with everything, and it was frustrating for James. He felt lost and confused inside. He finally looked up to Slade standing beside him and asked, "What do you want?"
"Look at you, James," Slade said with a wicked laugh. He lightly kicked the man's leg. "Oh how you have fallen." He bent down to James head and watched the man glare back at him with fury and rage burning in his eyes. Slade went on and said, "You have information that I want and need. I'll give you a choice, James, because I think we can both be gentlemen."
"What are you talking about, Slade?" James asked Slade after a small pause of silence as James picked through what Slade had just said. Boy, was this stuff making his brain go slow! But he tried his best to seem confused as to what the man was saying.
"No more petty lies, James!" Slade snapped at him with his eye narrowing dangerously at the man. "You can tell me everything about what you plan to do with Robin and what you have already told him right now peacefully, or we can do this the hard way. Please don't go all superhero on me, James. I'm saying this because it's a waste of time on my part and you won't win, I can swear to you that. I'm not someone who gives up easily."
"I guess we have at least one thing in common, Slade," James spat back at him. "I don't give up, period. Do your worst."
Slade stood back up with a frown planted on his face. He gave a deep sigh before asking, "Tell me, James, have you ever read the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare?" The two were gentlemen enough to go about this in a nice manner.
"Pure torture," James said with a cocky smile. "Tenth grade English class. My evil teacher was Mrs. Hall. Now that I think about it, you and she have many similar qualities."
"You have a good memory," Slade said while returning the witty and quick comment with an unseen cocky smile that was hidden behind his mask. "So you must remember the plot and characters in the play. Do you remember the one line Romeo says right after he kills Tybalt, and do you know the meaning of it?"
"O, I am a fortune's fool," James recited as his smile faded. He kind of knew where Slade was taking this. "He meant that he was fate's fool or that fate was against him. It was said that fate had killed both him and Juliet at the end and they had no way of stopping it from happening."
"Good," Slade said with a nod. "Now, do you believe in fate, Mr. Hess?"
"I believe that God has chosen my path for life," James said proudly. "I follow only him. But he knows this world he has created and controls it. Everything happens for a reason. So I guess that would be kind of like fate. So to answer your question, Slade, I do believe in fate."
"So you're a religious man," Slade said. He bent back down and stuck his face into James's. Slade then looked down to the man's chest and saw the small cross around his neck and smiled evilly under his mask. He grabbed the cross and yanked it off the man's chest. James didn't protest, but his cold look could kill.
Slade dangled the cross in front of James's face. He then took out a picture from his belt while saying, "Maybe, James, your God is turning fate against you." He put the picture next to the cross and saw the man's eyes widen in surprise and fright.
"Abe!" James whispered to himself as he stared at the picture of his son. He was wearing the same necklace Slade was dangling in front of him right now. It was obvious to Slade that the two were father and son. A sick feeling started to form in the bottom of James's stomach as he saw his problem now. What a mess he had made!
A/N: Was that a good little twist for you guys? This chapter took a long time to do because I had two options for it. I could either go with this plot and have Robin not remember his past or do have him remember and carry on with the fic quickly. Both would end up with the same ending, but this plot seemed a lot better than my first idea. I hoped you guys liked it. Please review! Thanks!
