Shego looked at the things Slade held out to her. "Look, slick, I appreciate the thought, but I've done this, like, a billion times without…whatever this is." She picked up a grappling hook gun and twirled it in her hand three hundred sixty degrees before setting it back down next to the exploding disc with Slade's "S" symbol on it.
"I am well aware of your capabilities, Shego," Slade responded, "but I have reason to believe you will be up against greater odds than usual."
She shrugged. "All right, Mr. Mysterious, but I doubt I'll actually have to use these. It's just a little xenothium." She looked the tools over again. "They don't happen to come in green, do they?"
Back in Jump City, the Titans finished hunting down Doctor Light and returned to Titans Tower. "Man," Cyborg said to Beast Boy when they reached the common room, "you know that corner that used to be Raven's favorite bookstore?"
"You mean the one that used to be next to the electronics store where they're building that new shopping center?" Beast Boy asked.
"Yeah, that one. Wouldn't that be the perfect place for a Bueno Nacho? We could get Nacos after missions sometimes instead of pizza, just to switch things up."
"Oh no," Raven grimaced. "You are not replacing my bookstore with some greasy fast food place."
Beast Boy crossed his arms and leaned into Raven's personal space. "You're just saying that because you were too chicken to try a Naco." He turned into a green chicken and squawked at her to get his point further across. Unfortunately for him, he had forgotten Raven's allergies to chicken feathers and therefore hatred of the species in general. She felt absolutely no qualms while telepathically picking up the green chicken and throwing him against the wall.
Beast Boy morphed back into his human shape, rubbing his head. "Ow! Seriously, Raven? It's just nachos in a taco, not like any of the alien food Star's made us eat."
"How can any of you think about food at a time like this?" Robin scowled, taking his seat at the computer. "Slade's on the loose, he has a new alliance, and we're as far from stopping him as when we left this morning."
As if on cue, the giant screen buzzed to life revealing Slade's masked face. "Good evening, Robin," he said, slightly condescendingly.
"Slade," the Teen Wonder answered, his masked eyes narrowing. "What do you want?"
"Many things," Slade replied. "At the moment I want to share some information that I am sure you will find useful. It's almost shameful how badly you need a hint. You really have been going soft."
"What are you planning?" Robin demanded, slamming his fist down and gritting his teeth.
Starfire saw this and involuntarily sucked in her breath. She took a step forward toward Robin, trying not to look too scared in front of the enemy. Slade was starting to mess with Robin's head again, which had her worried. Nothing good could come from this.
"Patience, Robin," Slade told him. "I merely thought that the Titans would like to know that a large quantity of xenothium is going to be stolen from the chemical factory in Upperton."
"By you?" Cyborg asked, taking a step forward. "Or by one of your new friends?"
"The clock is ticking, Robin," Slade continued, ignoring Cyborg's question. "Time is running out. I'm sure you would hate to be responsible for letting a thief get away with all that xenothium."
"Nobody's getting away with anything," Robin said. He could feel his hatred for Slade starting to come out. Pull it together, he told himself silently.
"We shall see about that," Slade said enigmatically. "If I were you, I wouldn't wait around for the robbery to happen."
Raven crossed her arms. "So why are you giving us the tip?" she asked, her voice full of suspicion.
"Yeah," Beast Boy agreed, scratching his green head. "What's in this for you?"
"Just being helpful," Slade said. "Is it so shocking that I would give a hint to a former apprentice of mine?" His one eye stared down at Robin.
That remark really hurt him. He clenched one hand into a fist until the knuckles were white. Starfire gently placed her hand on top of his fist. The two of them looked at each other. Neither said a word, but they didn't need to. I need to get in control, Robin thought. He relaxed his fist and let his hand drop to his side. "I'm nobody's apprentice anymore," he said calmly. "Since you're being so generous with the clues today, do you happen to know when the robbery will be taking place?"
"It won't be long now," his arch nemesis replied. "If you don't want the theft of a large quantity of a very dangerous chemical, I would suggest you start moving. Tick tock, Robin." The screen went black with those last taunting words.
"So…what do we do?" Beast Boy asked Robin.
"The only thing we can do," Robin replied. "We have to go to Upperton and stop whichever criminal is going to steal the xenothium."
Raven floated over to the smaller computer screens on the other wall and started looking for the Upperton chemical factory. Starfire thought for a second. "But Robin," she said, "would Slade truly divulge such information about himself or an ally?"
"Yeah, man," said Cyborg, "this feels like a trap. I mean, you know Slade can't be trusted."
Beast Boy suddenly jumped between Cyborg and Robin. "Dudes, I got it! It's so obvious that it's a trap, that Slade knows we'll think it's a trap, so we won't go for it, but it isn't really a trap at all! Unless…it might be a trap anyway because he'll think that we'll think it's not a trap because it's such an obvious trap that it will be a trap so it's a trap trap."
Raven broke the following awkward silence. "I have no idea what Beast Boy just said, but I found the factory in Upperton." She pressed a few buttons on a screen and zoomed in on an image of a map.
"Huh," said Cyborg. "Looks like Upperton is just north of Middleton."
"No kidding," Raven said sarcastically.
"Perhaps we should contact the Kim Possible and the Ron Stoppable for assistance if it is so near to their location," Starfire suggested.
Robin took out his communicator, hesitated, then put it back. "Slade is our villain, our responsibility. It might be dangerous to bring someone new into our fight with him."
"But she's already in it!" Cyborg protested. "And her bad guys are helping him!"
"I know," said Robin, "but she doesn't know Slade. I'm sure she's capable of great things, but she isn't a superhero. She's a normal teenage girl. The last time we brought a new girl into our fight with Slade, everything went wrong." Beast Boy's gaze dropped to the floor. He knew Robin was talking about Terra. "Besides, Slade came to us, not her. If this really is a trap, I wouldn't want both the Titans and Team Possible caught in it if they don't have to be." The team still didn't look completely convinced. "We'll call her if we need backup," he added.
The team still wasn't totally convinced that leaving Kim out was a good idea, but they also knew that when Robin was in Slade mode, not even his friends could stop him. Cyborg broke the silence. "All right, y'all heard the man. The robbery could be any second now, so we gotta take the T-Ship. Come on!" The Titans boarded the T-Ship and sped off to Upperton.
(A/N: So who is Slade tricking? The Titans? Shego? Everyone? And both Robin and Kim say they'll call the others "for backup"? I wonder how this is going to go...Next update probably later today, maybe tomorrow. It's a long one.)
