"You should have listened to him, Raven."

Slade and his duplicates stalked her carefully, moving into a triangle formation around her. The contrast between the relatively undamaged duplicates and the villain himself was startling. Slade's body was severely burned, with bits and pieces of his armored uniform sticking to the charred flesh. The few areas not burned were bruised and bloody. Patches of dead skin stuck to the steel rod as he adjusted his grip, while tendons, ligaments, and bones popped and made other sickening sounds as he assumed a combat stance. And while his exposed face was an unrecognizable ruin, his single eye was undamaged. That malevolent orb seems to pierce her soul with its calm, emotionless stare.

"I'm not afraid of you," she declared, more to convince herself than her adversary.

Slade's eye narrowed.

"You should be, little girl."

Her three opponents attacked as one.

Raven barely got her barrier up in time, and most of her concentration focused on keeping the protective black shield in place. She actually cowered for a moment, but gradually righteous anger began to fill her mind.

This was the man who had tormented them for years.

The man who kidnapped Robin and forced him to fight his friends.

The man who served as a harbinger for her father and tormented her relentlessly.

A man who now almost killed Robin and Beast Boy.

Anger quickly transformed into rage, and mystical energy flooded her system.

"Azerath, Mertrion, Zinthos!" she spat the words as a curse.

Part of her mystic dome lashed outwards, catching one of the duplicates full-on and slamming it viciously into a concrete wall. The robot created a depression in the wall and was crushed like a tin can. When the magic withdrew, a man-shaped mass of plastic, metal, and wires no more than an inch thick toppled forward onto the floor.

Slade actually paused, eye widening.

She repeated the words and her magic lashed out again, this time encasing the final duplicate completely. She closed her eyes in fierce concentration and suddenly the robot was disassembled. A hundred pieces of useless machine parts clattered to the floor.

Slade backed off a few steps.

Raven sensed his fear, and it was as nectar to her magicks. Her power fed on it and she began to laugh, towering over him as her energies enveloped her completely.

"Foolish little man! You have no idea what true power is!"

She manifested a massive bird of prey, black talons and beak thrust outward to capture her foe. Slade somehow managed to avoid the initial assault, but he only delayed the inevitable. All too soon the villain was writhing within the grasp of a gigantic mystical talon, huge beak descending to tear off his head.

Slade tried unsuccessfully to use the steel rod to pry himself free, as Raven increased the pressure. She felt the man's already damaged rib cage begin to crumple, glee rising with each wet snapping sound.

Slade threw his head back and screamed in agony.

Raven smiled, exulting in his agony. How many others had he hurt like this?

But then he began to make another sound.

It was punctuated with shuddering exhalations and coughed up blood, but the noise was unmistakable.

Slade was laughing.

"Have you gone mad?" She asked incredulously.

Keeping a vice-like grip on him, she brought the lolling body closer.

That single, baleful eye met hers.

"Daddy would be so proud of you, Raven."

Realization struck her like a blow to the gut.

Her magic flickered, shock and horror replacing had been murderous intent.

What have I done?

Slade head butted her, breaking the spell and dropping her to the floor in a heap.

"You should never let down your guard, Raven," Slade said slowly, as he regained his footing, "A fatal mistake, I'm afraid."

Blood pouring from her broken noise, Raven tried to ignore the pain and scramble to her feet as Slade closed in.

"Azerath! Met---"

Slade's blow broke her jaw and knocked the Titan ten feet down the hall.

Her head cracked against something and the world became fuzzy. As the concussion wracked her brain, Raven became to fade in and out of consciousness.

Like some horrible monstrosity from Dante's Inferno, Slade hobbled after her, wheezing and leaving a trail blood. The steel bar made a harsh scraping sound on the concrete as he used it as a makeshift crutch.

"You should have killed me when you had the chance, Raven."

She vaguely noticed something dark leap over her huddled form, barely visible in the twilight of the concourse. It struck Slade in the chest, causing him to cry out in pain and topple backwards onto the unrelenting concrete floor.

A wounded, but defiant Batman stood between her and his foe.

"Ready for Round Three?" the Dark Knight asked.

---

Robin awoke with a start.

For two or three precious seconds he stared up at Starfire's beautiful face. Worry spoiled her kind features, and the clear night sky framed her visage, a few stars flickering unconcerned in the background. Her eyes, moist with tears, widened as she realized he was conscious, and a wondrous mixture of hope, relief, and love washed over her. In that instant, that one moment of clarity, he realized just how much he loved her.

Then the pain came.

He gasped, muscles unable to give him the strength to even scream.

A low groan was all he could manage.

"Robin! Robin! You're alive!"

She began to embrace him, but quickly restrained herself. Instead, she grasped his good arm and squeezed his hand, tears created tiny pools on his chest.

"You . . . saved me?" he said slowly, brain trying franticly to piece together his current situation.

"Yes, yes! We all did! We have come to your rescue!"

Alarm flared through his pain.

"Slade!" he whispered fiercely, "Where is he? And Batman! Is he---"

"You must rest, Robin. Batgirl told me so. We will take care of Slade."

He tried to sit up.

She easily kept him down.

Finally, he submitted.

"I'm sorry, Starfire. I'm so sorry . . ."

---

Not far away, Batgirl watched this exchange.

Methodically dressing Beast Boy's wounds, she came to a painful realization.

I have to let him go.

Heart heavy, she set the green Titan's head back down on the make shift pillow she had made with her cape, took a syringe out of her utility belt, and walked over to Robin and Starfire. She quickly knelt beside them.

Robin's head tilted slightly to look at her.

"Hey, Babs," he murmured weakly, "Guess I screwed up pretty big this time, huh?"

She reached out with one hand and gently stroked his cheek, "I forgive you, Boy Wonder." Her voice cracked at these last two words, but her rising emotions did not prevent her from injecting a sedative into the leader of the Titans.

"What are you doing!" Starfire exclaimed, alarmed.

Robin barely had time to blink before he was put under.

"He has to rest!" Batgirl insisted, standing up, "Do you want him to be in pain?"

Abashed, Starfire shook her head, still holding Robin's hand.

"You better take good care of him, Starfire," she said, voice choked with emotion.

Then she turned away and began to signal the Batwing.

The cold night wind made her eyes tear.

At least, that was what she told herself.

---

I have to finish this quickly. That adrenalin shot Barbara gave me won't last much longer.

Batman paused only long enough to make sure Raven was stable and then went on the offensive again.

Slade attempted to counter his blows, but it was obvious even his body had limits. Limits which had finally, mercifully, been reached.

They lurched and attacked each other like punch drunk boxers in the final round of a heavy weight title bout. There was no grace, no poise, no elegance left in their movements. It was slow and ugly and brutal.

And finally, it appeared to end.

Batman took a punch to the face and countered with a roundhouse of his own.

Slade's disfigured head snapped back and his body followed, thudding against a doorway and sliding to the floor.

Batman staggered against the wall, keeping his eyes on the fallen man.

Stay down, damn you!

Slade slowly raised his head from his chest, sole eye staring up at him.

"Well done, Batman," Slade rasped, no longer attempting to conceal the pain in his voice. He made a single attempt to get up, but his limbs were too slow to respond, moving only a few inches at best.

"Give up, Deathstroke. You're beaten," The Dark Knight commanded, mustering up all of his remaining strength, and standing firm in the center of the hallway.

I've only got a minute or two remaining.

"Of course, you didn't exactly play fair. I'm afraid you owe much of your success to the Titans," He spit out a molar and wiped his mouth, "Hardly sporting."

Batman began to feel his pain threshold falling, as the adrenalin burned through his system. Too many wounds to count began to demand recognition.

Slade's head lolled to the side, as if his neck muscles simply couldn't hold it up anymore, "I couldn't have done it better myself. Bravo, hero."

"Surrender."

"I don't think so, Batman. I don't do surrender."

Suddenly the wall next to them burst open like a dam. Chunks of concrete exploded outward into the hallway. Batman barely had time to jump out of the way, but still found his legs pinned a few moments later.

He looked up in time to see a massive creature he recognized as Cinderblock, one of Deathstroke's thralls. The huge hulk gently picked up the villain and turned to leave.

Batman struggled to free himself, but he was hopelessly trapped. If he forced the issue, he'd wind up with two broken legs.

He threw his last two Batarangs, but they bounced off Cinderblock's concrete hide.

The monstrous humanoid paused amid the rubble of his makeshift entry, and Batman caught a final glimpse of his foe.

"Do say hello to Robin for me, won't you?"

Cinderblock stepped through the hole in the wall and out of sight, as Deathstroke called out a final time.

"I'm sure you'll have a lot to talk about."

---

It took several minutes to get extricated from the rubble, and by the time Cyborg finished getting him out, Deathstroke was long gone.

As much as Batman was loath to let Slade Wilson go, reality forced his hand. Three of the Titans were seriously hurt, and he was in no condition to pursue.

He took a moment to set Raven's jaw, much to Cyborg's discomfort, and limped ahead while the Titan carried the mystic.

All in all, the teens had performed well. He hated to admit it, but he and Batgirl probably owed them their lives.

Not that they would ever know.

---

The roof was eerily peaceful, compared to the carnage below.

Batman and Batgirl stared at the Titans, Batwing hovering nearby. Cyborg had already placed Beast Boy and Raven in the T-ship, and had just picked up Robin.

"Robin comes with us," Batman said.

"I don't think so," Cyborg replied.

Starfire's eyes flared, "You will not take him. I will not let you."

"Batman—" Batgirl began, but a quick glare silenced her.

All four heroes tensed.

"Wait."

The voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, but it carried the power to stop all of them in their tracks. Four pairs of eyes looked at the form Cyborg was holding.

"Put me down, Cyborg," Robin ordered.

All but Batman began to protest.

"Now!"

Cyborg complied, but kept a hand on his leader to help steady him. Robin either didn't notice or didn't care.

"Batman. I have something to say to you."

The Dark Knight nodded.

"You are like a father to me. I owe you more than I can possibly repay. And I will always be grateful."

Robin paused, taking an unsteady breath. While his body was in a weakened state, the words that followed contained nothing but strength and determination.

"But I'm not going to do this anymore."

With his good arm, he pulled off his mask.

"It's time to grow up."

He ripped off his cape.

"It's time to move on."

Finally, he tore off the "R" emblem from his chest.

"It's time to graduate."

He extended his arm, and let all three items fall.

"I quit."

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Author's Note: Nothing left but the Epilogue. Leave a review.