Titan Tamer of The Swordsman

Chapter Seventeen

Apprentice Part I

A/N

Karsap: Time for the next chapter.

Yuki: So what's this chapter about?

Kotemon: Yeah why's this have part I?

Karsap: Well it's a two prater.

Yuki: He's right Kotemon, I is also the roman numeral for one.

Kotemon: Oh I still need to lean about Earth.

Karsap: Yeah you do. Oh mind if I do the disclaimer this time?

Yuki & Kotemon: Um sure?

Karsap: Right I don't own Digimon or Teen Titans, but I own Yuki Hata.

Titans Tower-Night

Night set upon Titans Tower. No clouds covered the starlit sky, leaving a full view a few glows in the sky that represented so many universes. The streets were quiet and the lights were dim. It was a peaceful night for the people in Jump and it was a peaceful night for the Teen Titans.

Except for a certain two. Robin and Kotemon, both had nightmares that night.

Kotemon's Nightmare

Kotemon's Ultimate Level form Asuramon meditated in front of what looks like a hole in the ground where this might be the Digital World but someone or in this case somemon is shown to walk straight towards Asuramon, who saw it, "Asura Bakuneken!" Asuramon shouted as he simultaneously fires off the flames from his fists of his four arms, but saw that the figure had disappeared when a gravelly voice that's so evil that it scared even the bravest of souls spoke from behind him, "My what good reflexes you have there it's a shame that you've wasted all your Digilife here with nothing to do." Asuramon turned and saw a Digimon who's main body and head that look like it's made up of other Digimon but black all over, on the back however have what looks like aura in shape of some kind of dragon with two cannons on it too. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" The Ultimate demanded, "Your new Lord, I've came here to asked you to be one of my top generals." the mysterious Digimon said. "Lord really?! I'm here ever since my creation. So no. The Fist of Asura!" Asuramon shouted as he have his yellow face out and charged at the mysterious Digimon who just sighed, "Well so much of being nice, Giga Cannon!" the mysterious Digimon shouted as beams shoot out from his two cannons at Asuramon knocking the Ultimate out. "Well I should've seen that coming since you'll ultimately defeat me as Zanbamon, but it ends here when I'll brainwash you to my side and I'll get my true partner." The mysterious Digimon said evilly as he picked up Asuramon's unconscious body and carried him though a time portal the mysterious Digimon had open and disappeared when it closed.

What might been years passed as a new area is shown a Nuckelavee-like Digimon resembling a samurai coming out of a zombified horse's back. Both the rider and the horse had golden armor on with the rider holding two swords, a youtou in his left and a Ryūzan-maru, a Zanbatō in his right. A new Digimon also appeared that resembles two spirit dragons that appeared to be merged together by multiple digital chains, "Now then who is your Lord?" he asked in the same voice as the Digimon who Diginapped Asuramon before. "You are my Lord!" the Digimon answered in the same voice as Asuramon. "Great my brainwashing works, now I'll like to show you my other top general." the Lord ordered the Nuckelavee-like Digimon, "Yes my Lord." the Digimon said as they walked out of the room.

Titans Tower-Yuki and Kotemon's room

Kotemon then awoke very scared at what he had seen. He looked at Yuki his Tamer who was still sleeping. The Digimon realized that the nightmare he had wasn't a dream but a vision of what had already happened. But can't remember what.

'Was that me? If so what was I talking about? And who was that other Digimon?' he thought half-consciously.

Meanwhile, Robin was stuck not a memory like nightmare, but actual nightmare.

Robin's Nightmare

Robin saw himself in a valley of stone. He didn't know where this was or how he got there. All that mattered is what lay ahead of him...and who who stood before him.

Slade.

Robin rushed towards his foe, throwing a punch after punch, but unable to score any hit. He struck quickly, cracking stone pillars that surrounded the ground they fought upon. He tossed his patented birdarangs at Slade, who simply used both hands to knock them aside. They dug into the pillars that Robin hadn't scratched yet. The impact shattered their foundation and the stone structures collapsed around them leaving a cloud of dust.

Robin searched the wreckage with his eyes, trying to find Slade. Until the villainous mercenary spoke to him.

"Excellent work, Robin!" the villain congratulated. "It seems we're evenly matched and equally ruthless. To be honest it doesn't surprise me." Robin gritted his teeth as he detected Slade coming closer, almost breathing down his neck. "Whether you realize or simply don't want to admit it, believe this, Robin." It was at that moment that the Boy Wonder felt Slade behind him. "You and I are very much alike."

Robin's eyes flared in anger. "I'm nothing like you!" He spun around and thew a uppercut at Slade, hitting his metal-covered jaw.

"Ugh!" the villain grunted as he crashed to the ground.

"You're a criminal, a psychopath!" Robin growled as he pulled his foe to his face, "All you care about is destruction!"

"And all you care about, you destroy." Slade returned, gesturing to his left. The victorious fighter looked in the direction and saw the shattered debris left from the brawl. The base of one smashed pinnacle resembled that of Cyborg's head. He then scanned the rest of the shattered remains and saw the broken likenesses of the other six Titans.

"No!" Robin cried; horrified at the destruction he committed. "Who are you?!" He screamed as he tore the mask from Slade's face and threw it behind him. Once the mask was gone, he stared in bug-eyed shock at the revelation.

The face behind that smooth expanse of steel was his. The duplicate laughed heartily in the villain's voice, haunting the young teen as he released his grip on the villain and backed away.

Titans Tower-Robin's room

"*GASP*" Robin bolted upright with a gasp of terror. He quickly scanned his surrounding area and found himself seated at his worktable in his room. The entire proceedings that had just occurred were just a very bad dream. Having realized that there was nothing to worry about, he tried catching his breath as sweat ran down his face. Just as he softened is breathing, he heard the door slide open. He turned around and saw his chromatic friend standing there.

"It's him." Cyborg told him. "It's Slade.

"It was just before daybreak. The Titans were gathered in the Operations Center before the window screen, watching a video feed of Slade's face. Robin was standing behind a console that probably controlled the screen while his teammates stood at his sides. In the video, the heroes noticed that the villain was standing in some sort of industrial area.

"Good morning, Teen Titans." The smooth voice of their nemesis greeted them, "I do hope I didn't wake you."

"What are you, an insomniac?" Beast Boy yawned deeply as he asked, "Who calls at five in the morning-ow!" He cried as Raven elbowed him in the side to cut him off.

"What do you want?" The angry leader demanded.

"Well, that's precisely what you've been trying to find out, isn't it?" Slade responded through the screen, "And in spite of all your efforts, you're still in the dark about my intentions. Disappointing, Robin, I expected a little more from you." The villain mocked in his incredibly chilling voice.

Robin's eyes narrowed at the words, "Like I care what you-"

"But since you've been unable to discover my plan," The mastermind interjected, "I suppose I'll just have to reveal it myself." He gestured to his right. The video feed panned away from him and showed two of his commando robots standing next to a large object covered by a tarp. "I'm sure you're all familiar with the concept of a chronoton detonator." The tarp was pulled away as Slade said this, revealing a large, egg-like piece of machinery with a couple of red lights set into its surface. The upper portion telescoped toward the ceiling, giving a view of the circuitry inside and more sets of lights.

"No!" Cyborg cried as Starfire gasped in shock.

"Uh-oh." Raven muttered worriedly.

"No way!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Realizing he had no idea what was going on, the changeling turned to the Tamer and the Digimon who happened to be standing next to him. "Um, what's a crouton detonator?" He asked.

"It eradicates all Chronoton's within a localized area, utterly destroying the space-time continuum," Starfire said as her eyes were panicked.

Despite her best efforts, the entire explanation flew right over the green teens' head as a question mark popped up above him, "Hmm?" Beast Boy groaned quizzically.

"It stops time. Permanently." The blue mage simplified, causing the shape-shifter to cry out before fainting.

"If he triggers that thing downtown, it'll freeze-frame the entire city." The titanium African teen explained.

"That can't be good." Yuki said, "We need to stop him." Kotemon added.

"Tell me where!" The Boy Wonder growled as he slammed his fists into the panel.

"You're a clever boy, Robin. I'm sure you and your little friends can figure it out." Slade affirmed as he held up a transmitter, "However, since I control the detonation, time is not on your side." At the end of his sentence, the screen filled with static, cutting the feed.

The masked Titan slammed his right fist down on the computer keyboard with a frustrated grunt. "Fan out! Find it! Shut it down!" He barked the orders as he stormed toward the door. Before he got anywhere, however, Beast Boy and Cyborg moved in front of him, blocking his path.

Hesitant at what he was about to say, the green teen tugged on his collar, "Hey, uh, maybe you should stay here and… coordinate the search." He suggested as a big drop of sweat rolled down his temple.

"What?" Robin asked flatly.

"Man, when it comes to Slade, you've got issues." Cyborg indicated as he pointed a finger at the leaders' temple and twirled it in the classic 'this guy has a screw loose' gesture. "Might be better for the team if you sit this one out."

"No." Robin asserted as he brushed past the two guards, "There's too much at stake for me to-"

"Robin…" Starfire called out softly, stopping the Boy Wonder in his tracks. "We have not forgotten the last time you faced-"

"I made a mistake, Starfire. It won't happen again" The Titan in question confirmed as he turned to leave again, "I can handle it. I promise."

"Would you at least like to know where to look?" The four Titans heard the voice of their magical teammate ask. They turned back and saw Raven, Yuki and Kotemon standing by the keyboard, staring at a freeze frame of the robots and the detonator on the screen.

"Looks like Slade gave us more information than he realized." The Rookie said as his Tamer tapped on the keyboard. The screen zoomed in on a patch of the detonator as a set of gridlines superimposed on the image; the team noticed a small blurry image on the metal surface when it got closer. "Here, in this reflection." Yuki said as he finished zooming in.

"Oh, squiggly lines, way informative," Beast Boy quipped as he stood next to the Tamer.

A vein popped out of Yuki's forehead as he continued typing away. The blurry reflection refined into clearer backwards text. Once it was flipped around, it read-

"Pier Forty-One!" The Tamaranean exclaimed.

"The docks!" Robin stated as he turned to leave the room. Cyborg, Starfire, Kotemon, and Raven soon followed.

"You're right, Beast Boy." Yuki grinned as he rustled the green teens' hair, "Way informative." He joked as he also departed.

Beast Boy only grinned and chuckled nervously at having been shown up before he ran to catch up with the rest of his team.

Jump City Pier

Dawn began rearing its' head as the Titans reached their destination. After locating Pier 41, and the same warehouse that matched the one from Slade's video, each team member approached the grated door. Cyborg whipped out his sonic cannon and unleashed a beam. The doors were blasted away, and Robin dashed in with his fighting staff in hand. He extended it as the others followed him, ready to throw down.

However, what greeted the six teenagers and one Digimon was something none of them expected.

"Empty?" Starfire cried.

"Oh, man!" The metallic teen groaned at the realization that absolutely no traces of Slade or the detonator were inside the warehouse.

"I don't believe this!" The spiky-haired teen growled.

To add insult to injury, Slade's robotic strongmen leapt down from the ceiling, landing on the overhead beams as well as all over the floor. A few more even slid across behind them and blocked the exit.

"Well, they just came out of nowhere." Kotemon stated as he and his Tamer examined the enemies.

"Now what do we do?" The shape-shifter asked.

"We fight." Robin answered as the opposing forces started closing in. "Titans! GO!" The leader ordered as the others complied, charging into the large group of enemies. The Boy Wonder moved so fast that he almost seemed to be everywhere at once, knocking out one robot after another before they even had time to react.

A couple of commandos backed up before Cyborg's headlong dash, his right arm cocked for a punch. Before he could deliver his devastating haymaker, Robin moved in first and dispatched the two robots quickly. "Hey! I was gonna do that!" The metallic Titan protested as his shorter teammate leapt off to attack another group.

Elsewhere, Starfire primed a few starbolts in her hands, rose into the air, and performed a spinning strafe as more of the metallic musclemen surrounded her. However, the spiky-haired traffic light zipped in and wiped out the entire lot. She just stared incredulously after him once he moved on to the next group.

Next up, Yuki and Kotemon found themselves being charged by three of the cybernetic minions. The Tamer smirk as he took out his D-Arc and the Neptunemon card since he study the card.

*Cue DigiModify! Blank track*

With that said Yuki whirls the Neptunemon card card around catching it in his hand he then swipes the card through the D-Arc. "Digi-Modify..." as he shouted letting the data of the card run through it, "...Neptunemon's Vortex Infiltrate Activate!"

Kotemon could feel the power of the Digi-Modification from the Digimon go of the sea and grabbed his bamboo sword and drawn it out as it turned into the spear with the tip is designed as a shark. "Vortex Infiltrate" Kotemon shouted as he throw the spear as it tore the three cybernetic minions as the spear came back and transformed back into the Digimon's bamboo sword.

Beast Boy was hemmed in and gave a surprised little yelp before the enemies dog-piled on him. Soon after, the changeling morphed into a bull and bucked the overpowering enemies away. He snorted in preparation to charge, but just as with the three previous teens, Robin swooped into the fray and put them all down for the count without breaking a sweat. The green bull shot the Boy Wonder a startled look as he left.

In midair, Raven began her chant, about to destroy a group of minions with a single attack. "Azarath Metrion Zin-" She had no chance to finish the spell since the overactive Titan was there in a flash and blew the living circuits out of the commandos menacing her. Having no need to continue her chant, the mage just looked around, deadpan but slightly bewildered, and watched him leap across the warehouse to engage another group.

The rest of the team just watched in sheer confusion, standing against one of the buildings' walls, as their leader effortlessly disarming the enemies. A piece of a commandos' head tumbled past them, followed by a beaten attacker and Robin himself, causing the five to wince as the sound of pounding grew louder.

The Boy Wonder jumped onto the fallen robot, whose head was partially smashed away, and started bashing the remains of the metal skull with his staff.

"Uh, Robin?" Cyborg called out to their leader as he and the other Titans approached, "I think you got him."

"Yes, please. You may stop now." Starfire pleaded as she walked over to her enraged friend. It wasn't until she put her hands on his that his walloping ceased. "We are victorious."

"Slade's got his finger on the button, and we've got nothing!" The masked vigilante growled as he stood up and retracted his staff. "Does that sound like a victory to you?" He added before stalking away, leaving the others staring after him worriedly.

Outside the warehouse, the sun slowly rose over the horizon as the sea air blew over the docks. After dispatching all the robots, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Yuki and Kotemon stood in front of the doors the titanium bruiser blew out, trying to figure out their next move.

"Okay. We know the chronoton detonator was here." The bionic teen said as he examined a panel on his right forearm, "Now we just have to figure out where it went."

"How are we going to do that?" The Tamer asked as he scratched his chin as the Digimon watched.

"That's easy." The greenling grinned, "We should split up and-"

"Waste hours searching only to come up empty-handed?" Raven interjected flatly as she approached the quartet.

"Well, when you say it like that…" Beast Boy trailed off as he scratched the back of his head.

"Raven is right. We must find some way to track the device." The auburn-haired teen said as she touched down next to the group.

Robin approached the rest of the team on the end of the Tamaranean's words, and then cocked an eyebrow quizzically at the sound of echoing footsteps. In the distance, a man was walking between two of the warehouses; a large shadow was cast on the wall behind him.

"FREEZE!" The fervid Titan shouted as he chased the possible suspect with the other Titans quickly chasing after him. This spooked the poor man as he shot off in the opposite direction. Before he could escape, a birdarang flashed into view and embedded itself in the concrete. Robin followed the projectile down, landing in front of the man, and threw him against the wall. "Tell me everything you know about this!" He snarled as he held up a small crest with Slade's S insignia on it.

"I… I…" The frightened chap could only stutter and mumble inarticulately.

"Answer me! NOW!" The Boy Wonder shouted as he shoved the man into the wall, harder.

"I've never seen it before!" The terrified man cried, "I don't know anything! Honest!"

Once he finished saying this, two hands grabbed Robin by the shoulders, pried him away from the innocent bystander, and threw him on the ground. Before he could get up, the masked teen felt his right arm get pinned behind him as a weight rested itself on his back. "You said you could handle it." He recognized the voice to be Kotemon's and noticed the others approaching.

"I am handling it." The pinned Titan growled as he struggled to get free.

He then felt a hand grab the back of his head and forcibly turn it to see the terrified man slumped over on the ground with Starfire kneeling next to him, trying to comfort him. "Is that what 'handling it' looks like?" Yuki asked angrily.

The leader had no response as the Tmae eased his grip to let the teen up. "We're wasting time." Robin growled as he strode away from Yuki. The innocent man quickly stood up and fled the scene before the spiky-haired Titan could harm him again.

"You know, just 'cause we're trying to catch Slade doesn't mean you have to act like him!" Beast Boy shouted angrily after him.

This hit the Boy Wonder in the worst possible spot as he stopped dead in his tracks. "Don't you ever compare me to him!" He shouted as he whirled around and walked back to the group, "He's trying to destroy the city. I'm trying to save it!"

His words lingered in the air as the other six Titans stared blankly at him, not at all convinced of his reasoning for overreacting. That moment was then shot and burned when Starfire let off a violent sneeze, accompanied by a starbolt that shot from her nose. When her sneeze finished, all sixof the others were stunned and smoking from the blast.

"Gesundheit." The cloaked mage muttered.

"Forgive me. I am allergic to metallic chromium." The alien teen apologized, her face flush and her voice sounding a bit congested. "There must be a source near- AH!" She got ready to sneeze again. This time everyone bailed before the shot was let off. "CHOO!" She let the nasal starbolt free, causing a gigantic mushroom cloud of dust to engulf the area. "Sorry." The sick Titan groaned as the smoke cleared.

The other six soon returned; Beast Boy from behind a trash can, Yuki and Kotemon popping out of a wooden crate, Robin rappelling down from the warehouse roof, and Raven passing through the wall. Cyborg was the only one who simply walked up to her.

"Interesting." The bionic awed as he looked down at a screen on his forearm. On it, there was a graphical readout on his panel.

"Not really." Starfire sniffed as she wiped her nose, "On my world, chromium allergies are quite common."

"No. The key component of the chronoton detonator is a metallic chromium chore, which means-" Cyborg explained as he closed the panel on his arm.

"Starfire can track it!" Beast Boy grinned at the realization. The other Titans gave her a confident stare while she just sniffled at the thought of having to subject herself to her allergies.

Jump City Sewers

Finally having their tracking device, Starfire led the group underground, leading them through a dark and moist sewer tunnel. Before passing around a bend, the Tamaranean unloaded another high-powered sneeze.

"I believe it is this way." She groaned, her voice congested. The others were behind her and threw up their arms to protect themselves from the blast. After a moment, they continued slogging through the water.

At the back of the group, Robin looked uneasy as he gave his friends a worried look. "Look, guys, uh-about earlier." He called out to them.

They turned around to face him, but before he could continue speaking, Raven cut him off, "It'll have to wait." She said as she pointed ahead of them. Once they faced in the direction she was pointing in, they noticed a small speedboat in the tunnel, with the detonator, back in its original compact form, loaded in the back. A commando guarding the rig caught sight of the group and quickly moved to work a panel on the dash.

"Titans! GO!" The Boy Wonder shouted as he ran to intercept the boat. Beast Boy transformed into a hawk as they charged.

Before they could reach the device, the robotic minion pressed on the throttle, causing the boat to speed off down the tunnel.

"Quick! We can't let him get away!" Robin called out. To everyone's surprise, a section of the wall smashed out next to him, and a large stone hand reached through and dragged him away.

"Robin!" Starfire cried worriedly as the group peered into the hole. Inside, they saw a very large and blocky villain they hadn't seen in a while: Cinderblock was the one who grabbed their leader.

"Get the detonator! GO!" Robin shouted as he leapt over the hulking stone behemoth and delivered a few kicks to its head.

All but Starfire followed his order, she watched worriedly at the fighting. "Star! You heard the man!" Cyborg called back to her.

"End it quickly and catch up!" The orange-skinned girl shouted before reluctantly set off after the rest of the group.

The masked Titan leapt from one support column to another and stayed just ahead of Cinderblock, who destroyed each one with a single blow.

"Only fair to warn you-you caught me on a bad day!" The Boy Wonder threatened as he touched down on the ground. With a growl, the stone behemoth charged the much smaller teen as he did the same. Before the two collided, Robin vaulted high over his opponent and hurled a pair of bolas-weighted balls connected with a rope. These landed on the head and tangled up around it. Dazed by the projectile, Cinderblock struggled to remove it while the spiky-haired Titan took advantage of the situation and delivered a devastating flying spin kick.

Further inside the tunnel, the speedboat zoomed ahead, staying just ahead of a flying Starfire, who was carrying Cyborg, with Raven, Yuki, Kotemon, and Beast Boy flying right behind her. The robot pressed one of a row of buttons on the control panel after glancing back at his pursuers.

"Defense mode activated." A computerized voice confirmed as the words appeared on a small screen above the buttons. As a result, two lasers on the stern opened up with a barrage of shots that forced everyone to swerve back and forth. The chase moved around a junction as Starfire kept dodging the shots.

"I will not be having attitude from a boat!" Cyborg yelled as he broke out his sonic cannon. However, the fusillade of bullets never let up, causing the flying team to continue weaving through the air to keep from getting blasted.

Back to the leaders' fight, Robin landed in a crouch, and then pushed off from the ground for a flying roundhouse kick that staggered the rock villain. Another kick, a crushing left hook, and Robin touched down in front of the dazed enemy and seized him. Cinderblock was then thrown down onto his back.

"Where is he!?" He demanded as he climbed atop the monsters' chest. "Where's-huh?" A beeping from his opponents' right hand drew the victorious teens' attention. He quickly glanced over to the source and saw a small tracking device in Cinderblock's open hand. Robin climbed off the villain and picked up the item. The screen showed a map of the area with two flashing dots. Upon closer inspection, the masked Titan noticed one dot as an arrow pointing to another dot in the shape of a stylized S. Realizing what the flashing mark represented, a cold smile stretched across his face, now knowing exactly where to find his archenemy.

Underground Lair

Deep inside an underground lair, far away from any fighting, Slade watched on a large monitor as the Titans continued their pursuit of the speedboat. He was surrounded by large machinery that worked continuously without rest, releasing sounds of clanking metal throughout the room.

"Hurry, young Titans. Your time is running out." He advised to no one in particular. On a high catwalk behind him, a door blew out in a giant explosion, sending a large cloud of smoke into the room. Slade didn't even flinch at the explosion.

"Actually," A voice came from inside the smoke, "we just went into overtime." The smoke cleared to reveal Robin as he entered the lair.

"Robin. Welcome. I've been expecting you for some time." The chilling mercenary greeted as the young Titan dropped to his level. "I was beginning to wonder if Cinderblock was too much of a challenge." He turned around to face the boy and held up the transmitter to the detonator. "Looking for this?" He asked as he made his approach. "Well…" He placed the device on a spotlighted patch of floor, "…here it is." He backed away and stood on the opposite side of the transmitter. "If you want it, come and take it." Slade finished. Silently, Robin charged, and the fight began.

Jump City Sewers

Racing down the sewer tunnel, the speedboat unleashed another burst of laser shots at the pursuing heroes. Cyborg returned fire with his cannon, but was whisked off by Starfire as she dodged another fusillade of bullets. One shot from the boat sent the green hawk tumbling out of the air for a bit, before it righted itself and fell in behind a passing Yuki, Kotemon and Raven. Now, the sonic cannon was blazing steadily, putting both of the speedboat's guns out of action in short order.

The commando at the helm opened up the throttle and zoomed ahead, but failed to evade his pursuers as the flying Tamaranean gradually pulled even to hold her bionic friend over the deck.

"Thanks for the lift!" Cyborg grinned in determination as he gave his mode of transportation a 'thumbs-up.' She let go of him and trailed behind the speeding vessel. As soon as the bionics' feet touched the deck, he bolted toward the commando, who started punching buttons furiously.

"Autopilot engaged." The computer on the dash confirmed as the words appeared on the small screen.

As soon as the commando finished punching the buttons, Cyborg clamped his right hand on the robot's shoulder. The minion shot the bulking African a surprised glance before he found himself launched over the stern and sent splashing into the water.

On the deck, the wheel was turning itself under the control of the automatic pilot program. Cyborg seized it and tried to steer manually, but only succeeded in tearing it away from its base. Starfire then landed on the deck and stared wide-eyed at the damage. Tossing the wheel aside, the titanium Titan began hammering several buttons in an attempt to stop the watercraft.

"Invalid code." The computer stated as it displayed the two words on the small screen. After a moment, the speedboat began swerving back and forth, giving the two yelling Titans a radical ride.

"How does one halt this vehicle?!" The auburn-haired teen cried under Cyborg's constant yelling.

Thinking quickly, the genius, semi-robotic teen seized the computer panel and ripped it from the dashboard entirely. Surprisingly, this proved to be effective as the speedboat came to a stop once it emerged into a large open chamber. Starfire smiled placidly as Cyborg regarded the ruined hardware. Soon after, Yuki, Kotemon and Raven landed on the deck, followed by the green hawk that reverted back to his human form.

"Please tell me that's not how you're planning to stop the detonator." The mage deadpanned as she noticed the separated panel in her friends' hand.

Surprised, the bionic in question blushed a bit as a big drop of sweat rolled down his temple, "Uh…"

"You do know how to stop it, don't you?" Beast Boy asked, presumably knowing what his answer would be.

"How hard could it be?" Cyborg questioned as he threw the panel overboard and crossed the deck to the detonator. Kneeling next to it, he reached toward the surface and was surprised when the housing telescoped upward. The surprise caused the bionic to fall backwards with a grunt. "Ooh." He groaned, realizing just how far he was in over his head.

Yuki then took out the Datamon card.

*Cue DigiModify! Blank track*

He spins the selected card around gaining it in his hand then he slide it through the D-Arc. "Digi-Modify!" He pauses letting the card read through "Datamon's Digital Bomb Activate!"

After that happen Kotemon glowed yellow.

?

Meanwhile at the outer space where all the Digimon Kotemon or his Digivoltions had defeated all in floating jail cells. Suddenly the jail cell that's holding Datamon glowed the same kind of yellow as Kotemon, "Not again?!" the Android Digimon asked as it stopped glowing as it started. "I'm so scared" Mushroomon stated as the other Digimon are too scared.

Jump City Sewers

"Here we go! Digital Bomb!" Kotemon shouted as he shoots computer viruses from his sleeves, but it didn't work, "Whelp I'm out of ideas." Yuki said sheepishly.

"Whatever we do, we should do it before Slade decides to trigger this thing." Raven cautioned the two boys.

Slade's Lair

Robin kept trying to reach the activation switch, but every time he got close, Slade was there to knock him away. Most recently kicking him so hard he flew off to the side and slammed into a wall.

"Come now Robin, I was expecting more. I haven't even broken a sweat yet." He said before hitting him again and causing Robin to stagger before regaining his footing with a growl and charging again.

They went back and forth: Robin would attack, Slade would dodge and counter, neither gaining any real ground, but Robin felt as if Slade were toying with him as he caught his next hit.

"Good technique, though certainly not perfect yet." He said before twisting Robins arm and tossing him away. Robin bounced off the floor a few times before hitting the wall and slumping down.

He stood on shaky feet and jumped at Slade, only to be caught in the ribs with a hard punch that knocked the wind out of him and left him slumped over on his hands and knees, panting at Slade's feet. Slade merely chuckled at Robin's misery.

Jump City Sewers

Very cautiously, the Titans gathered around the detonator. After locating a small square panel, Raven removed the screws holding it in place via her telekinesis. Once those were gone, Cyborg slowly reached over and removed the panel. Behind it was a rotating, glowing red sphere.

"The chromium core." The metallic teen whispered, so as to not alarm anyone. "Very unstable. No sudden moves." He then held up the removed panel where Beast Boy transformed into an octopus, reached over, and took it from him before setting it aside gingerly and turning back into his human form.

As the bionic reached toward the machinery, Starfire got ready to sneeze-her allergy exacerbated by being this close to that much chromium-and threw everyone into a panic. Thinking quickly, the blue-cloaked Titan created a shield around the Tamaranean's head in an effort to contain the force of the coming blast. Luckily, it held, and the result of the blast blew her hair wildly out of place.

"Please continue." The alien sniffed as she shook her hair back into place. Everyone gave her a worried look, but she returned the stares with a wide grin and an embarrassed little giggle, signifying that she was better.

Returning his attention to the detonator, Cyborg held up his forearm, which now showed a panel with a circuit diagram of the device. Underneath the screen, three lights began flashing. "Okay." He said as he extended an acetylene torch from his left forefinger, "Now all we have to do is decouple the-"

"Uh Cyborg!" Kotemon. But it was too late, as the chromatic Titan used the torch to sever one of the cables running to the core. Once it was severed, the core began beeping and rotating very quickly.

"Well that doesn't sound good." Beast Boy identified as they all stared at the core with shocked expressions.

Slade's Lair

Back inside Slade's lair, Robin tumbled across the floor, lying there for a few seconds as he tried to catch his breath. Once he did, he slammed his left fist against the tiles with a loud groan.

"I understand your frustration, Robin." The overpowering menace sympathized as he approached the down Titan, "You hate losing as much as I do. One of the many qualities we have in common."

Once again, the masked teens' sorest spot had been poked too hard, and he leapt off the ground into an uppercut that lifted his opponent clear off his feet. Two more punches sent the armored criminal genius to the floor, but he caught himself in midair and landed in a crouch before running off. Giving him no quarter, Robin landed a string of savage blows that dropped him flat on his back.

Victorious, the Titan stepped over to the transmitter and picked it up. "It's over, Slade!" He declared as he looked at the device.

"On the contrary, Robin." The mercenary voiced from the shadows as the small device sparked.

"Huh?" Robin uttered as he stared down in total confusion; the transmitter broke apart in his hand with a small crackle of electricity.

"This is only the beginning." Slade eerily affirmed as he stepped out from a dark recess among the machinery.

"Where's the real trigger?!" The Boy Wonder demanded.

"Trigger? There is no trigger-because there is no detonator." The villain revealed. Robin's eyes widened with shock at his words, his mind filling with thoughts about the safety of his friends.

Jump City Sewers

Back to the rest of the team, the detonator core was still beeping and spinning wildly. Beast Boy's teeth were chattering a mile a minute as the three other teens stared over Cyborg's shoulders.

"Moment of truth, y'all." The designated bomb disarmer whispered as he held up a finger torch. "Everybody ready?"

"I can't watch!" The greenling cried as he covered his eyes. Even though he was scared, he still parted his fingers to give his left eye a clear field of vision.

Before the metallic Titan could rake his flame across a couple of other cables, Yuki placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him, "Wait." He called out. "What if Slade predicted this and switched the cables?" This suggestion just made everyone worry even more. "Try that one." The Tamer offered as he pointed to a cable on the far end of the core.

Holding his breath, Cyborg followed his teammates' instructions and severed the far end cable. Once it was detached, the core stopped its activity entirely. The red glow faded and left the sphere looking like an ordinary metal ball.

Beast Boy, Raven, Yuki, Kotemon, and Cyborg sighed loudly and visibly with relief as Starfire smiled happily. The moment was short lived, however, as a loud, urgent alarm went off and elicited gasps and wide-eyed stares from all six. The core started spinning and glowing again, and red lights flowed from the ball through the cables that were not cut.

The alarm slowed down a bit as the red lights on the detonator's housing started pulsating. The topmost section retracted slightly as a result.

"We blew it!" The shape-shifting Titan screeched loudly. "We'll be frozen in time forever!"

The alarm gave way to a steady drone, and the whole device shorted out and crumbled into a pile of junk. Beast Boy was just about ready to throw a fit, but stopped when the rig fell silent.

"Um… why are we not frozen in time forever?" The scared green teen asked.

"Because this wasn't a chronoton detonator." Cyborg responded as he examined the device, "It was a fake!"

As the team tried figuring out what exactly was going on, a mounted gun popped out behind them at the prow, and swept back and forth, strafing all six Titans and knocking them overboard. One by one, their heads broke the surface, showing no apparent damage from the assault.

"BLEEH!" Beast Boy shook off the water from his head with a cry of revulsion. "So aside from the nasty taste of sewer water in my mouth, I think I'm okay." He explained as his tongue hung out of his mouth.

"Diagnostic sensors say I'm just fine." Cyborg confirmed as he checked his forearm panel before knocking water out of his ears.

"I don't feel any different either. You Kotemon?" Yuki added as he turned to his partner, "Yes I do Yuki." Kotemon said.

"Whatever that beam was supposed to do, it didn't do it." Raven chimed as she wrung water out of her hair.

"Then… we are victorious?" Starfire asked happily as she brought her hands together above the water.

Unbeknownst to the entire group who wasn't a Digimon, deep inside their tissue cells, inside their very veins, tiny metal spheres, marked with Slade's S, attached themselves to their blood cells-deposited by the beam that hit each one of them.

Slade's Lair

In a completely different area of the city, a hulking figure watched on a bank of monitors as the tiny metal orbs flowed through the veins of his unsuspecting targets.

"Nanoscopic probes, courtesy of a good friend of mine." Slade explained as he approached the row of five monitors, each marked with the name of one of the Titans. The screens showed a picture of the blood vessels and readouts of their vital signs. "The chronoton detonator was merely the bait for a much larger trap." As he continued explaining, a small push-button device extended itself from the inside on his wrist and settled in his hand. "You see, with the push of a button," he teased the button with his thumb as Robin glared at him, "my probes will destroy your friends from the inside out." as he continued speaking.

"You can't control them." The defiant Titan defended, "No matter what you threaten, they'll never obey you. Besides it didn't enter Kotemon's body"

"Yes a slight insight, but this isn't about your friends, Robin. It's about you." Slade admitted as he began circling the young Titan, "It's always been about you."

"What?" Robin voiced his confusion as he watched the criminal walk.

"Sending trouble your way. Leaving cryptic clues for you to unravel." Slade listed, "I was testing you. For some time now, I have been searching for… apprentices. Capable people to follow in my footsteps." He said as he leaned into the Boy Wonder's face, "And, Robin, I've chosen you. Congratulations."

The masked Titan was disgusted at the thought, "No way would I ever work for-" However; his bravado fell silent when the manipulative genius held up the button, his thumb just barely clearing it.

"If you join me, if you swear to serve me, if you never speak to your friends again," Slade frigidly stated, "I will allow them to live." Robin stared in mute fear at this ultimatum. "But… if you disobey even the smallest request, I will annihilate them, Robin. And I'll make you watch." The terrified Titan gaped at the villains' words. "So, do we have a deal?"

Jump City

Finally free of the sewers, the other six Titans emerged from a manhole into the streets of Jump City. The events of the day lasted for so long, that the sun had set long ago, giving way to the nightlife.

"Robin?" Starfire spoke into her communicator as Cyborg helped beast Boy up onto the street. "Robin, please respond!" After a moment of silence, she lowered it from her face and turned toward the others, "Why does he not answer?"

"His locator's been deactivated. We have no way to find him." The African Titan explained.

"Not good." The changeling stated as he brushed himself off.

"You don't think Cinderblock got the better of him, do you?" Kotemon asked, "I hope not Kotemon." Yuki said.

"Robin, please. You must answer." The worried Tamaranean said into the communicator again. Still not getting a response, she tried again, "Robin!"

Slade's Lair

"Please respond!" Starfire's voice called out through a communicator on Robin's belt.

His normal outfit had been abandoned and draped over a pipe in Slade's darkened lair. Piercing the darkness, a pool of light gleamed from above, silhouetting a figure in the harsh glare. Inside the light, a black glove was pulled on; a steel wrist guard was snapped into place; a belt was buckled under a chest that was orange on the left side and black on the right, with a silver S emblazoned over the heart; a neck piece fastened under the figure's chin with the help of another figure standing behind him. Upon closer inspection, the silhouette resolved into Robin. With the outfit complete, the ex-Titan resembled a smaller version of Slade.

The normally defiant and calculated Boy Wonder had no words for his predicament. He had no plan, no tactic; nothing that he could think of to save his friends came to him. With that in mind, his countenance portrayed that of a sullen, defeated look.

"I know it seems bad now." The victorious villain said as he stepped into the light behind his new apprentice. "But trust me, you'll learn to like it." He added as he passed the young teen, stepping back into the shadows.

Robin alone, standing motionless in the white light from overhead. His expression did not change one bit. The only thoughts running through his mind were those of worry and fear of the wellbeing of his friends as the light shut off above him, surrendering the entire area to the darkness.

A/N: DUN DUN DUUUUN. A cliffhanger and what's this? Kotemon have a dark past that Yuki nor the other Titans didn't know about well it's part of Yuki's destiny but who's this other Digimon that appeared in Kotemon's dream. And did Robin go to the dark side? Find out next time on Titan Tamer of The Swordsman. R&R