I'm not updating this Saturday (even though I know I was supposed to update last Saturday), because my schedule is going to be packed, so I'm sorry about that…do I apologize too much?

Chapter Nine:

"I really don't see what's so hilarious about this," Robin informed his partner, voice smeared with contempt as Slade tried to stifle his chuckling, which only resulted in another peal of laughter. "Now that the cops are suspicious of us, they're going to be on the look out for anyone matching our description that's sneaking through Jump City. We're never going to be able to follow the Ravager, and…" His throat clenched with concern at the idea. "…We're not going to be able to rescue my friends…"

Slade nodded seriously, though Robin could see that it was a struggle for him not to collapse with mirth once more. It was somewhat incredible, actually, in a bizarre and creepy way, to see his nemesis truly laughing…and especially after everything he had just said.

Absolutely unbelievable…we've just been shot at, my friends could be dying, this Ravager person is getting farther and farther away with every second, we can't go anywhere without getting taken into custody by the cops—and I'm sure Bats will have a field day with that one—and I bet that a team of policemen will be entering the building in another ten or fifteen minutes…now I know Slade's insane.

"So," the Boy Wonder snapped, "what are we going to do about it? You're the criminal, haven't you been in a situation like this, and—stop laughing! What the heck is so funny to you!"

Slade shook his head and regarded Robin in a relaxed manner, something that, by itself, nearly drove the frantic teen hero up the wall.

"Are you meaning to tell me that you didn't find that wasn't exciting or thrilling to you in the least?"

Robin spluttered, caught off guard.

"Y—you're mental…you're completely mental! Why would anyone think that was fun? We could have just died back there, and you think it's hilarious! There were bullets flying everywhere, and if we'd gotten killed—"

"So it's 'we' now, is it?" Slade remarked, perfectly—and startlingly—solemn now.

The teenager had no way of retorting to that. He sat, back ramrod straight, with his masked eyes narrowed venomously at the other.

"I know you, Robin, better than you think I do, and perhaps even better than the other Titans do. I would not be much of a villain if I didn't. You were even my apprentice for a brief period of time, and, though you denied it then…" Slade's gaze was fixed on the boy beside him, the haunting gray eye glistening with an intensity that made Robin fidget and edge away nervously, in spite of himself.

"Being hero becomes tiresome after awhile, doesn't it?" The man went on, voice becoming soft and insinuating. "It's the same old thing, every day, and every night, with no change of pace, no break from the labor of having to save a city full of people that love you and praise you, until the one day where you happen to stumble and fail…and those same people turn on you. And it becomes even worse when villains like me come along, isn't it?" Slade let another laugh escape, though this was nasty and harsh sounding.

"All the stress, all the boredom, piled on one another, until they become a mountain, crushing you and holding you down…then 'some lunatic' comes along, and forces you to become the opposite of what you've been for so many years. I made you see what it was like to be someone exactly like me…and when you first stole, it was exhilarating—because it broke the tedium. The same thing happened with the bullets just now; evading them and capture was similar to when you took the blaster. No matter what you say, or what you try to convince your friends of, you and I both know that it is all a lie."

Robin wasn't looking at him anymore, and a tiny flicker of a smile crossed Slade's face as he realized he was getting through.

"You don't have to keep fighting, you know," he added as an after-thought. "You always have a choice."

But whether he was saying this to his own advantage, or whether he was really trying to convey a few words of advice, even Slade himself wasn't sure.

The only sound in the basement was the faint trickling of water from a broken pipeline along the wall…

And then Robin snorted in disgust and got to his feet, head hanging, and his voice low as he growled out:

"I knew you had something to gain from this…why else would you care, unless it benefits you in some way or another?"

That's not true, a pleading voice whispered from the back of his head. Tell him that's not true…

"That…"

No matter what he tried, his mouth would not form the words, and his throat closed tightly, as if he were being strangled. He couldn't force himself to speak.

"'That' what?" Robin demanded, eyeing his companion mistrustfully.

"Nothing…I said nothing."

Robin eyed him doubtfully for a few moments, as if he were contemplating trying to beat the rest of the sentence out of the man; and then he spun away on his heel, growling darkly beneath his breath and absently running one hand through his hair as he tried to think of a way to avoid the police. Slade looked on mutely, too preoccupied with trying to maintain a grip on his chaotic, and constantly changing thoughts.

I'm sorry, he told the boy mentally. I'm sorry…for everything.

-partnership-

His body ached in about a million and one places, but Beast Boy still forced himself to open his eyes; even though waking up would bring with it a wave of painful reality.

He knew he'd been knocked out—he remembered that from back in the city, and he'd assumed from there that he'd been taken captive by the thugs that had stuck him with that tranquilizer and tossed him in that net. However, it was still a bit of a shock to wake up in completely alien surroundings.

Beast Boy blinked multiple times to help adjust his eyes to the darkness, as he tried to assess what sort of position he was in. He couldn't move his hands, or his feet…so that meant that whoever had taken him hostage must have chained him up.

As if that could restrain him.

The changeling smirked, and tugged lightly on the shackles, testing their strength. They were pretty thick…but that shouldn't be a problem for him. Once he broke free, he could find out if any of his friends had fallen prey to the invaders, and where exactly they were.

Gorilla's a good choice.

Beast Boy bit his lip and focused, as his limbs began to grow rapidly, straining at the chains that bound him. It shouldn't be long now, he thought hopefully…

But a second later, he let out a scream of agony, as a shock of electricity racked his body and caused him to stop morphing; he hung there instead, panting and heaving for air.

The pain had been so intense, it was almost unbelievable…

"So I was right, then," came a familiar gravelly voice from out of the shadows. "The chains must be fixed somehow, so that we can't use our powers to escape."

"Raven?" Beast Boy called out hopefully, squinting blindly into the black that surrounded him everywhere. "Is that you?"

"Yes, I'm here, Beast Boy."

"Friend Beast Boy? You are awake?"

"Star, that you?"

"Indeed, friend! It is I!"

Beast Boy gave a small smile that no one could see.

"Nice to know you guys are here; what happened to us? And…" He twisted uselessly against the chains that held him, half-hoping that he could catch a glimpse of where they were. "Where are we?"

"We've all been captured—with the exception of Robin who's still in Jump—by some sort of maniac, who knows Slade, some way or another," Raven explained, filling him in on all that he had missed. "He wants to use us a bait, so that Robin will follow and be captured as well. But it's okay, because he's with Slade."

Beast Boy shook his head incredulously.

"Robin's with Slade? How is that okay?"

"Because they've teamed up together to save us," the Goth countered logically. "I don't know much more than that, and only because Starfire was threatened earlier, before either of us woke up."

"And we are…where?"

"Aboard a hovercraft, that's part of a fleet. We're heading south from the city."

Beast Boy sighed, and took this all in.

"So, what are we going to do?" He asked dumbly, overwhelmed by the ton of information that Raven had just heaped on him.

"…I have no idea," she responded softly, and the changeling thought he caught a hint of despair in her voice. "I managed to contact Robin, and tell him where we were going, but…until we land, or he finds us…"

"We're stuck," Beast Boy finished for her, his tone flat.

"Afraid so."

Starfire, who had been silent for some time, piped up helpfully, with:

"Perhaps when friend Cyborg awakes, he will be able to construct some sort of means to free us?"

"Yeah, if he doesn't get shocked first," Beast Boy growled resentfully, wincing at the memory.

The three Titans fell silent.

-partners-

"Tell me."

"I'm busy; piss off."

"I'm perfectly serious, you know."

"So am I; leave me alone."

"You started to tell me before. I want to know. Tell me!"

"You sound like a spoiled little three year old," Boris quipped, finally looking up from cleaning one of his guns to shoot Naomi a disdainful look. The other bounty hunter paid no attention to his comments, but kicked over the nearest box of ammunition, scattering the contents all across the floor. Boris gritted his teeth and, resisting his desire to grab his partner and strangle her, bent back over his gun again, cursing in German.

"Whatever it is that you know, it was enough to keep the Ravager from killing the both of us!" Naomi ranted, and knocked over another crate of supplies in her fit of frustration. "That's something worth taking note of! So tell me!"

Boris chucked the cleaning cloth at her head.

Naomi groaned and flung herself huffily onto the nearest box, before fixing Boris with a look that would have made other men shoot themselves, to spare themselves her wrath. As it was, Boris only gave her a casual glance, before he immersed himself in his task again, humming softly.

"What's the connection between the Ravager, the Terminator, and the kid?" She asked in a low voice. "What is it about those two that would make DeFarge hesitate killing us?"

Her partner sighed and ceased all activity; Naomi took this as a good sign, and pressed her advantage.

"We should have been killed, back in his office, Boris," she murmured. "You and I both know that. There's got to be something special about Robin and Deathstroke that would make him think twice. You know—tell me."

Both of them sat still for a minute or two…

And then Boris crumbled, and set his gun off to the side as he met Naomi's triumphant and eager eyes.

"All right," he said reluctantly. "All right…well…I, like I told you back in the city, DeFarge and Deathstroke are bitter enemies, and how Deathstroke had been hiding out in the city for awhile under another alias, until he pulled a dumb stunt that caught DeFarge's attention, giving him a means to fight him…thus the whole attack on the city thing, right?"

"Right, right," Naomi said dismissively. "I got that much. So, what'd he do?"

"A few years ago," Boris began, "the Teen Titans are formed in Jump City, with Robin—who left the Batman's side back in Gotham—as the leader."

"Yeah…"

"…The thing is, I've heard stuff about this kid. You may think he's some bratty little hero, and everybody's golden boy, but…there are a ton of stories, about how he's extremely vicious in fights…how he tears up all his adversaries…even how he might be crazy."

Boris tapped the side of his head, as to emphasize on Robin's possible insanity.

"All of them are good fighters…if you'd seen and heard the stuff that I have, you'd—"

"I get the point," Naomi said irritably. "Go on."

"Okay, okay! Well, Robin keeps leading his friends into battles against Jump's big villains and criminals—and they keep winning. And pretty soon, he actually even attracts the attention of Deathstroke himself."

That made Naomi's jaw drop. She mouthed wordlessly, trying to find a way to convey her utter shock that some puny little punk could impress a renowned mercenary…and failed. Boris ignored her, and plowed on with his tale.

"Naturally, he keeps testing the kid by baiting him, and putting challenges in his way. Robin nails them all, and then some—he even disguised himself as a thief, fighting his friends and stealing valuable technology, just to try and catch Deathstroke. Eventually—this is going to blow you away, I guarantee it—the Terminator steals a chronoton detonator, and threatens to freeze the city for all time with it. The Titans go running to stop him, and Robin gets separated from the others…but he keeps going, and meets up with Deathstroke himself.

"They fight, while his friends try to get the bomb…but it all turns out to be a lie; Deathstroke, unbeknownst to the other Titans, injects them with nanoscopic probes, and blackmails Robin into being his 'apprentice.'"

Naomi stared, wide-eyed at her partner.
"I guess you underestimated him, eh?" Boris added waspishly, and she nodded blankly.

"The kid's, being the 'noble, self-sacrificing defender of justice' that he is, has no choice, but to serve Deathstroke, or let his friends die. So, he steals for him, and is helpless to oppose him in anyway. 'Course, he keeps resisting, and then the other Titans start to figure it out, and save him. That's part one of the whole story."

Naomi, unable to speak until now, shook her head and let out a sharp exhale.

"Wow…"

"I know."

"…Now I know that kid's insane…I mean, who, in their right mind, would pass up such an incredible opportunity like learning from the Terminator?"

"Heroes," Boris mumbled in agreement. "I'll never understand them…"

Naomi paused.

"I don't get it, though…Robin escaped…Deathstroke would be ticked, right?"

"That would seem to be it, but, apparently…"

"He's still wants to make the kid his apprentice?"

"Well, no…the reason, according to a few of my sources, that the Ravager wants to get his hands on the Boy Wonder is because he knows that Deathstroke would follow."

"Like I said before, because he wants to make him his apprentice again?"

"And like I said before: No. Rumor has it that, after the whole blackmail thing, the Terminator thought it over, and…you know…"

Naomi leaned in, so that she and Boris were face to face, looking appalled and yet terribly intrigued.

"Oh, no; don't say it…don't tell me…he's going—?"

"Soft," Boris whispered, and the two of them recoiled, shuddering at the thought.

"That's pathetic," Naomi proclaimed. "Someone of his reputation getting all guilty and emotional over some undeserving twerp…that is, without a doubt, perfectly pathetic."

"You don't need to convince me of anything," Boris said, raising his hands in mock surrender.

Naomi chewed her bottom lip, processing this, as she rested her head in her hands.

"So," she said slowly, summing it all up. "He blackmails the kid. Then he feels bad for the crap that he pulled. Meanwhile, DeFarge finds out where he's been hiding, and figures out that Deathstroke is getting weak…so he wants to capture Robin and his little teams, because he knows that Deathstroke will try and rescue him, to make up for his misdeed earlier."

Boris didn't reply.

"That's it, isn't it?" She pressed, suspicious. "Or…Boris, what is it?"

"You've got most of it right…DeFarge knows that Deathstroke will try to catch the kid. But—and this is the part that is especially going to disgust you—the reason Deathstroke wants to rescue the kid is because—"

It was at that exact moment that Julius burst through the door; Boris immediately grabbed his gun and pretended as if nothing had been happening. Naomi, however, didn't bother to try and conceal what they had been doing, but instead threw him a filthy, frustrated look.

Julius only raised an eyebrow appraisingly at her expression, icy eyes sweeping over the room and focusing in on the scattered debris that littered the floor.

"The Ravager wants to see you two," he informed them. "I suggest not keeping him waiting…"

He swept out of the room as haughtily as he had entered, his footsteps echoing into the long, metal hallway behind him. Naomi waited until the sound had faded entirely, before turning to face Boris with a mix of exasperation and regret in her expression.

"Best not keep him waiting, I suppose," was his only reply.

-partners-

Wade was sitting at his desk again when they arrived, casually sipping from a glass of wine and looking extremely pleased with himself. As soon and Boris and Naomi set foot through the door, he stood and spread his arms in a gesture of welcome.

"Ah, you brought them, Julius. Excellent—come in you two, I've been meaning to have a word. Would you care for something to drink?"

The two bounty hunters exchanged wary looks.

"No, thank you, sir," Boris answered for the two of them.

Wade shrugged, not the least bit disturbed.

"Very well…it's a good year, though, you don't know what you're missing…well, come, and have a seat. I want to have a word with you. You," he growled and pointed at Julius. "You can leave now."

"Yes, sir."

Julius obeyed, shutting the office door behind him as he went. With a grunt, Wade settled himself down opposite of the pair, taking another sip from his glass, before he spoke.

"I've been thinking about what you told me, when you were down in the city—"

"We would just like to tell you ourselves for a moment that we apologize for letting the boy slip away," Boris exclaimed, jumped in smoothly. "We knew that he was the primary target, and yet we—"

"—and I've decided to give you both a special mission."

Naomi did her best not let her eyes even flicker in Boris's direction.

"A mission, sir?"

"Yes," Wade went on comfortably, swilling the contents of his glass, "a mission. You two worked hard to track down and retrieve the Titans; I figured it was only fitting that I should assign this particular job to you.

"Though you may think differently, the boy plays a key part in my plot; and, unfortunately, someone down there seems to have figured that out, and is doing everything in their power to stop me from getting him. Now, there is another factor to add in: I captured the boy's team, because I know that he is undeniably loyal to them. It only makes sense that he would try to rescue them, especially after hearing that alien girl scream her head off awhile back. So while…someone may be with him, and convincing him to lie low, it will not be long—unless he has already done so—before he will want to save his friends."

"I don't get it," Naomi said slowly. "What do we have to do with any of this?"

DeFarge gave her a chilly smile.

"Well, my dear, what I want is for you and your partner here to return to Jump City. I want you to investigate the whereabouts of the boy, and, if he has set off to find us, track him…lead him along, and lure him to me."

Boris licked his lips nervously.

"But…you have his team members…why not just use them as bait to lure him after us?"

"Indeed, that's what I told them…" Wade smirked. "It's merely a form of intimidation, my friend. But, while they will prove useful at some points, they will also attract the attention of the police, something I will not be pleased by, should it happen. Your job, aside from getting him to continue to follow us, is to remove all obstacles that should stand in his way. That includes the police."

"You…" Naomi struggled weakly with the full weight of the situation. "You want us to go down and make him follow us…and you want us to kill police or any other people if they try to hinder them…as well as destroy anything else that gets in their way…so that they have a clear path to you?"

"Exactly."

"B—but—" Boris was horrified. "It won't work! The police will surely kill us, and if we draw attention to ourselves with mass slaughter, we'll be caught and killed for sure! There are….there are millions of things that could go wrong on a job like this!"

Wade smiled wolfishly, and drained the rest of his wine.

"Well, now…that's your problem, isn't it?"

To be Continued…

I hope you liked this chapter. I know, the action has been pretty much non-existent in this story, but I promise it'll pick up soon. I wish I could say more, but I've come down with something, and I'm not feeling too great.

I'll see you guys soon!

—Rebel