A/N: Well, here's number two! The plot starts to kick off at this point. It's also a long chapter, so a bowl of popcorn or any other suitable snacks are greatly advised.

Notice: I also forgot to mention this also takes place after the events of the comic series: Teen Titans Go!

Also, I'm not that great with fight scenes, but I tried. I hope it's adequate to you wonderful readers and as always, if you have any suggestions or critiques, I'll be more than happy to hear em'. Enjoy!

Fateful Encounter

The Titans leader sharply slammed his foot on the brakes, skidding to an abrupt halt as he reached his destination. The haunt looked entirely unaltered relative to when Slade had disappeared. The sinister base was eerily the same as Robin had always recalled, still sending a familiar chill down his stiff spine as he reminisced the darker chapters of his life under Slade's harsh tutelage.

As the mercenary's brief apprentice, Robin experienced and learned some alarming attributes about himself, Slade, and the fact that the faint line dividing good and evil was a distorted blur and never set in stone. He would be lying if he claimed the whole ordeal had been complete hell -- for there had been some serene moments of calm, although those had been few and far between.

For reasons unbeknownst to himself, he had kept the vile apprentice suit after the fallout of Slade's retreat, stashed deep within his closet in a crisp white box, along with the other countless souvenirs he had collected during his many battles with the masked man.

As much as Robin urged himself constantly to get rid of the steel-plated uniform that had tarnished his life, he discovered he simply couldn't part ways with the devious object, no matter how much he yearned for the release.

It served as a reminder to himself, and to Slade: he would prevent anything like this from ever occurring again. And a reminder dedicated to the man who had ruined his life: Slade could never have him.

With a huff, the Boy Wonder forcefully squashed the resurfaced memories back down into the murky depths of his subconscious, straightening himself with more confidence than he actually felt as he took a single, cautious step into the lion's den that served as Slade's sinister lair.

The teen stilled, masked eyes absorbing only striking shades of darkened steel. He inwardly asked himself why the hell he was doing this; because this whole thing was stupid, and he swore he had planned this out better in his head. Eventually, Robin had come to the uncertain conclusion that he was simply satisfying his curiosity, but even he knew he was bullshitting himself; or rather there was a variety of motives driving his decision.

The truth of the matter stemmed largely from curiosity; although obsession, morbid interest, and simply the fact that Robin somehow felt drawn towards his nemesis in a complicated sensation he couldn't quite describe, served as the incomplete list of explanations guiding him forward.

Nothing had changed regarding the interior of the desolate haunt. The gears and machinery continued to whirl and hum in the same hypnotizing, rhythmic echo Robin had always remembered, sending a tinge of fear and apprehension through him.

The boy cautiously approached the heart of the eerie lair, footsteps as silent as a fading ghost. Slade had left no trace of his departure and hadn't ever announced his return, which led Robin to assume he wasn't here. The Titans had been through in their search for the criminal mastermind, and the Boy Wonder was acutely aware that things could change at any given moment. Terra's abrupt, unexplained resurface from her supposed grave of petrified stone months ago only rectified that.

He made out the lone throne in the middle of the vacant space and past it, he could glimpse huge rectangular sheets of dim white; the very monitors that had been utilized to broadcast the termination of his friends from the inside out.

But if you disobey, even the smallest request, I will annihilate them, Robin. And I'll make you watch.

He grimaced, forcing down a spike of rage burning in his throat. It was almost frightening how accurately he could recall Slade's murmur in that captivating tone of suave mockery, despite having gone six months without spotting the barest glimpse of the mercanary's imposing presence anywhere.

So, do we have a deal?

Chasing away the memory, Robin gave a soft sigh and silently berated himself for endeavoring in this pointless charade. Hours trickled down the drain like sand in an hourglass; and yet he had no answers to the to the whirlwind of thoughts that continued to plague his mind. Deciding that he had wasted enough time scavenging for nothing in the dark, he curtly turned to trudge dejectedly twords the exit, but stopped short.

"Reminincing aren't we, Robin?"

Tensing at the mere sound of his voice, Robin sharply twisted around; unable to do anything but stare in complete mute shock as the inner workings of his brain short circuited like a faulty grenade.

There stood Slade in his shimmering armored glory; a dangerous dynamic duality of black and orange. A hint of amusement graced his steely eye as the man locked his gaze solely upon the baffled teenager whom he respected, admired and loathed all at once.

Robin simply stared like a dear caught in the headlights. He had showed up here on a whim; he wasn't expecting to actually find Slade. The man had escaped the grid and everyone in the city knew if Slade didn't want to be found, he was virtually impossible to locate.

"Come now, Robin," Slade coaxed, his suave voice frighteningly gentle. "I haven't seen you in months, and I don't get a single hello?" A condescending note laced his soft tone, never removing his eye from his former apprentice. "I was under the impression you were taught better than this."

After a momentary pause that seemed to stretch for an imcomprehensable length of time, Robin jerked back to his senses, his desolate mind snapping to life like a lightbulb as the bewilderment vanished, bringing forth a sense of trepidation that was apparent from the way his concealed eyes narrowed accusingly at his arch-nemesis. The Boy Wonder's guard skyrocketed along with his suspicion and distrust, causing the hero to instantly become testy and cautious. "What did you do now?"

Slade regarded him with a stare that gave nothing away, although Robin suspected the madman was smirking, though he never knew for certain -- Slade had always been difficult to read. The teen's gloved fingers instinctively brushed over the smooth metal of his staff, griping it like a lifeline in preparation for an unexpected assult, eyes honed onto Slade's own, critically observing every miniscule movement the assassin made.

The villian chuckled, "Straight to the point as always, I see." Robin's rigid stance shifted slightly in anticipation, warily waiting for his opponent to make a move. "You really haven't changed a bit, haven't you?"

Robin remained silent, fixing him with a deathly glower as he clutched his now brandished staff tighter.

Slade's eye glinted in the dark, regarding the hero with an unreadable expression, though the boy sensed a tinge of amusement in its depths. "Let's just say," the mercenary began with a confident edge, his eye narrowing ominously, "I have been working on a complicated scientific engineering experiment, Robin; one that will guarentee my objective since the beginning."

The mastermind observed the gears no doubt cranking in the boy's head as Robin theorized the cryptic message's significance and what it alluded to.

Insides seething with irritation, Robin shot his worst adversary an annoyed look as his mind churned with a spectrum of possibilities.

Since the beginning? What's the one goal he could possibly--

Oh crap!

His masked eyes widened like saucers, face blanced ghostly pale as the puzzle pieces slowly snapped into place. He dropped his weapon in alarm as the dreadful realization hit him like a ten ton fright train.

No, no, no, no, no! Not again!

Robin tried to mask the rising panic threatening to consume and overtake his motor functions to no avail. He could tell Slade knew he had figured it out, just from the victorious expression coloring the man's radiant platnium eye.

"Precisely, Robin. Surely, you weren't so naive to think I would simply give up and drop the idea after the first time, hmm?"

Scorching anger overrode panic in an instant; curled fists trembling violently at his sides with the temping urge to lash out. The Boy Wonder conjured a livid glare of unrestrained hatred that could effortlessly erode steel and sent it hurtling in the psychopath's direction with the force of a devistating hurricane. "I don't care what you do, Slade," Robin spat venomously, his fury boiling through the roof. "I'm not letting you pressure me into another damn apprenticeship!"

The man was enterily unaffected by Robin's withering glare attempting to scorch through his steel-plated mask, which only irked the Boy Wonder more. The mastermind shook his head in mock disappointment, an unseen predatory grin alighting past his expressive eye, driving the enraged teenager further down the expansive abyss of self-destruction.

Slade smirked and yanked out his trump card from the contraption of his belt pocket with an impressive speed that could've put Kid Flash to shame. "I'm afraid you don't have the luxury of options at the moment, Robin." The bastard tauntingly waved the haunting button in front of the boy's face with a knowing chuckle. "I'm sure you recognize this, do you not?"

Robin scowled bitterly as he immediatly recognized the vile object. It was the exact torture device that had reluctantly forced him to cave in; to comply to Slade's demands as the man held his friends over the chasm of oblivion. He inwardly groaned, silently berating himself for not noticing this sooner.

Great. Here we go again.

Robin had expected to feel a blazing anger simmering through him, along with a bleeding desire to decapitate his rival right then and there; but instead, he found himself extremely annoyed with everything.

"Blackmail again? Seriously? Have you actually run out of original ideas, Slade?" Robin retorted crossly, throwing his arms to the ceiling in exasperation.

"On the contrary, Robin. You of all people should know I'm not one to orchestrate a tactic twice." Slade replied smoothly, hovering his finger over the crimson button.

Robin eyed him warily, "So, what's your plan then?" He gave the trigger in Slade's gloved palm a skeptical glance and looked back up at his enemy, demanding an answer through gritted teeth, "What does it do?"

As much as he loathed to admit it, Slade weilded the all-powerful deck of cards; there was nothing he could really do yet except pry the man for information, and that usually led him through an endless loop of Slade throwing around cryptic answers, which amounted to less than zero probability when it came to recieving any intel of use.

All in all, it was frustrating to say the least.

"I must say, I'm rather disappointed you haven't figured it out by now." Slade chastised with amusement, crossing his arms with a smirk as he looked down on the infuriated youth who was snarling expletives at him under his breath.

Pointedly ignoring the teenager's crude language, Slade continued his monologue, circling the brightly-clad hero purposefully. "Since you're so eager to know about my little--" The mercanary paused for unneeded emphasis, "--demolition project, I suppose I'll just have to tell you myself, since you've yet to figure out my intentions."

Robin narrowly resisted the urge to spit out a scathing remark that would've surely resulted in him recieving a black eye.

"Firstly, you should know that this is no ordinary controller."

Well, duh. I'm not that stupid, Robin thought sourly, rolling his eyes. Leave it to Slade to state the obvious.

"Secondly, tell me Robin," The man stepped forward and leaned in uncomfortably close to the Boy Wonder's personal space, prompting Robin to immediately lean away from the leering inquisitive eye that seemed to dissect him, "Are you familiar with the concept of time-travel?"

Robin hesitated, clearly uncomfortable with the close proximity as he felt his face burning up, "Yeah, what of it?" It came out more as a question rather than the harsh accusation he wished to convey. The boy scrunched his nose and gave his nemesis an odd look as he put a good six feet of distance between himself and the jerk who clearly had no regards whatsoever for personal boundaries.

He certainly was familiar with the concept of time-travel. Robin distinctly recalled Starfire's adventure through the future in the first battle with Warp roughly four years ago. The villian had attempted to sabotage their past and reform the future into his own image, but ultimately failed due to the Tameranian's interference.

"Then you being the smart detective that I know you are," Slade's eye narrowed slightly at his former apprentice as he backed away, "should be able to piece it together."

Silence engulfed the haunt for for several minutes before it clicked like a beacon in Robin's mind.

Slade wanted to do the same thing that Warp had done; only this time, with the goal of securing Robin forever as his apprentice by altering the past so the Titans never came in the picture. The teenager stared at the man with horror and fearful disbelief as he shook his head. Was he seriously going to go this far as to mess up reaility?

"Slade," Robin resorted to trying to talking the man out of it, a tinge of desperation lacing his serious tone. "Aren't you aware that if you screw with the past, you'll completely fuck up the future as well? Time and space aren't meant to be altered; the world doesn't work like that!"

Slade simply shrugged, unmoved. "You never know until you try, Robin."

Something in the way he said it so nonchalantly snapped forth some sort of wrathful deity in the riled teenager, causing him to explode like a loose cannon.

"No, you idiot!" The teen screamed with desperation, hinging on the edge of hysterics as he completely lost control of his emotions. "This will affect more than just you and I! You could unleash a worldwide disaster for Trigon's sake! You could end up killing us all!"

Slade's eye narrowed dangerously at the child as he briefly took those words into consideration before dismissing it moments later. The mastermind was confident he knew what his machine was capable of. A warning edge laced his cold whisper, "As much as I-"

"NO!" Robin screeched furiously, reaching his peak of frustration with the impossible immortal. "YOU JUST DON'T GET IT, DO YOU?!" Quicker than lightning, he snatched up his staff from the floor with a roar before hurtling the weapon at Slade's mask like a javelin.

Slade had anticipated the move; catching the object easily with his free hand as his angered glare intensified at the child's rash outburst. Snapping the metal between his fingers, he chucked the broken splinters of Robin's staff back at him, sending shards flying at the teen like lethal daggers. If Robin wanted a fight, he sure as hell was getting one now.

The acrobat nimbly evaded the mercenary's assault and launched a series of flash grenades that exploded on impact and managed to disorient Slade for a split second, giving him a slim opening to make a break for the trigger.

Robin seized his opportunity, reaching for the device as fast as he could, but Slade was quicker, snatching his wrist in a vice grip and wrenching it mercilessly down until it snapped like a taut strand of string.

A shrill screech of agony ripped through the thin air like a lightning bolt as Slade applied yet more pressure to his dislocated arm, straining the bones to an unnatural angle as Robin frantically tried to yank his fractured limb away to no avail.

Slade roughly released him before launching a brutal kick to his stomach, effectively knocking the wind out of Robin. The boy staggered backwards with a gasp of pain before pivoting around with a snarl, hastily using his good arm to blind his opponent with smoke bombs.

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction he had created, Robin gathered his bearings, taking a deep inhale. Clenching his teeth, the teen reset his arm as quickly as he could manage, a horse yell tearing through his vocal cords. Dimly aware of the throbbing agony pulsing through him, he brandished six bird-a-rangs between his good hand and threw them with deadly precision just as the dense smoke began to disperse.

The stylized metal weapons collided with their intended target; Slade's glove. The mercenary grunted as the impact forced him to release the trigger. Both parties watched as the lethal cylinder cruised across the smooth surface before approaching a convenient crack between where Robin and Slade were squared off, abruptly getting stuck in the middle of the battlefield.

A second of intense anticipation. Then, as if reading each other's minds, they both dived for the controller on the floor at virtually the same insant.

Time seemed to fade into nothing as the two appeared to suspend motionlessly in midair flight; desperation and determination on the forefront of their thoughts in a surreal moment of gravitational distortion as the world's clock froze before reverting back to reality with the force of an uprooted forest as it split the ground to shreds.

Robin skidded forward like a baseball player striving for home base with a single second left in the championship playoffs, blinding lights illuminating an even scoreboard. In this lethal game, a win or a loss would be inevitable; the stakes much higher than a championship trophy to claim as the victorious prize. Everything was at stake here; if you lost the round, you didn't have a chance to win the war, for it would already be over. It was winner take all; in the literal sense.

Slade's palm was outstretched, ready to snatch his creation back, but the sole of Robin's metal shoe beat him to it. A harsh crack emerged as the renegade apprentice crunched through hours of the mercenary's vigorous work, rendering the device useless. The man's demeanor drastically darkened as the temperature surrounding the already frozen room plummeted faster than a sinkhole.

Robin's stubborn glare darted up challengingly at the man who looked about ready to skewer him with his bare fists. "You, are going to regret that," The man hissed icily, bloodlust tinging his murderous tone. Hearing the familiar line made the teen that much more confident to rub salt in the wound. Robin retaliated, face twisted with rage, "I only wish I'd done it sooner!" he spat harshly, his tone laced with the barest touch of sarcasm. The mercenary's vexatious glower intensified, penetrating through Robin's shell of confidence, leaving only foreboding fear wedged in the fragments that screamed: You really fucked up now, haven't you?

A fist blurred past his face, just barely skimming past his ear as Robin threw his head to the side on instinct. Slade's fist tore through a metal gear like a chainsaw shredding through soft butter, right where his head had been a millisecond ago. The man's other knuckle curled into his chest, seizing folds of loose fabric, sending the writhing boy sailing across miles of machinery.

Desperately, Robin shot his grappling hook at random, managing to snag it upon a hanging metal beam. He then used his momentum to maneuver himself higher in the sky before he flew at his foe like a human slingshot, shoe outstretched, ready to nail him in the face. His eyes widened with pure panic as Slade seized his foot at the last second, slamming the boy ruthlessly down on the rough surface. Robin moaned, feeling his rib crack as he hit the floor hard. Dark spots wavered in his bleary vision, and he managed to stand upright again on unsteady feet with a raspy inhale, ignoring the deep, wet crimson that stained his ankles and leaked through his ragged uniform.

The weakened teen made a move to strike with an uppercut, but the mercenary's boot tip crashed into his chin and sent him stumbling backwards with a howl of anguish. His spine collided with grooves, something different than metal. A soft whirling hum reached his ears and he swiveled around, coming face to face with Slade's newest invention.

It almost looked like a revamped cronoton detonator in a sense. It had the same wide cylindrical structure, presumably composed of steel. An eerie icy blue rippled from its blindingly hypnotizing core, hissing like crackling lightning bolts. A prism of colors looped from the center outwards, the minature vortex swirling gently like a blended rainbow floating through the atmosphere. It looked like something ripped directly from a futuristic video game; a complex portal with the potential to cause a dimensional rift or some other universal disaster. He contemplated just how was it scientifically possible to create this... this-- Robin frowned, trying to unearth the most accurate label to effectively describe what futuristic mechanism beheld his disbelief -- contravention in the timeframe of six months.

The teenager stared at the contraption for a long hard moment, wondering if this was actually reality, or if Slade had hit him too hard and he was hallucinating from excessive damage to his prefrontal cortex. Robin stole a glance behind him. Complete silence; save for the time-machine that hummed in the recesses of his hearing, harmonized by the clanging gears overhead. Slade was nowhere to be seen; which both unnerved and slightly relaxed the hero. Nevertheless, because he was Robin, he refused to let his guard down anyway, keeping his senses alert for any possible indication of an ambush.

Air whizzing by his right side was the boy's only warning. Robin careened himself to the left, narrowly missing the deadly S shaped Slade-a-rang that had been hurtled in his direction with an impressive precision very few could match. Slade stepped out of the shadows, his dark eye flashing menacingly at the troublesome teenager who had bested him once before; a feat that made the mercenary both proud of his former apprentice's improvement, and livid that the teenager had outsmarted him and managed to catch him off guard, demolishing his carefully crafted plan that would've permanently destroyed the Teen Titans and allowed him to rule the city with an iron fist and a perfect heir.

This time, Slade knew better than to underestimate Robin again.

"You're not going to get away with this!"

"Oh, I believe I will, Robin," the villian hissed, sliding out his staff from thin air. "For time will no longer be on your side." His eye darted to the machine and back again, narrowing ever so slightly. Robin knew the villian had another trick up his sleeve; there had to be some sort of control switch concealed somewhere on Slade's doomsday device. The only thing standing in the mercenary's way was Robin himself; for he was stationed directly between Slade and his unconventional invention, stubbornly defiant and unwilling to give an inch of ground, bracing himself for the inevitable war that was bound to break loose any moment now.

Deciding to take the initiative, Robin rushed forward with a battle cry, barring his own staff in an upward arc; Slade intercepting with his own blow. The two rivals shared a fuming glare of determinative confidence, smoldered with steely resolve that was as tangible as a scorching blaze enveloping one's frostbitten fingertips.

I won't lose to you again!

A/N: And that's a wrap for this chap! I hope I kept them relatively in character; Slade is such a pain to write. As for Rob, well, he's just fun to write. Much easier. Gotta love this dynamic duo -- oh wait, nevermind that's Batman and Robin's thing. The Titans will most definitely make an appearance sometime in the next chapter. I ain't got a rough outline for nothin'!

Peace, yeast and make a feast!

-Void