A/N: Gee, thanks for those last reviews guys :D, they really made my day seeing how I've been having minor problems lately. Thanks loads and remember that I'm writing for you ;)
So here's the next chapter ... I think you'll like it ... Apropos, it's not the last one but we're nearing the end so stay tuned, I'll update after new year's so I wish you all a Happy New Year filled with success, peace and most of all good health!
Chapter 17 – Final Battle
A flash of incandescent light was seen followed by a loud boom coming from Rage's gun barrel. He took the shot to the amazement and shock of the others. Slade was the one who was the most pleased by this apparently historical event but his joy would soon turn to fear.
After he shot at Robin, Rage turned around and started firing round after round towards Slade trying to hit him. Slade ducked and ran from Rage's bullets and didn't understand what was going on but one thing was for sure, he had been double-crossed and his mind tricks didn't work on Anton.
He jumped behind a metal crate thus avoiding being shot and waited until his opponent ran out of bullets. After a couple of seconds he noticed that Rage had stopped shooting and thinking that he didn't have any more ammo he hurried towards Cyborg where he kicked his hand gun before Rage intervened.
The whole team was in a state of shock and couldn't say anything. They thought Robin was dead and that this wasn't in fact real but to their astonishment, as Rage stopped shooting and reloaded, they saw Robin struggling …. And not only that, one of his hands was now free.
Apparently Rage only pretended to be angry at the titans and when he took that shot towards Robin he didn't aim for his head but for one of his cuffs that was now lying on the ground broken in half. Robin didn't understand what was going on but seized the occasion and tried to open his others shackles in order to attack Slade.
As Rage reloaded Slade picked up his gun and tried to shoot him. He jumped to his side and aimed for Slade's head but instead shot him in the hand making him drop his weapon. As Slade kneeled down because of the pain and pressed down on his wound Rage didn't hesitate one moment and went over to Robin.
"No hard feelings ey Robin? I was only joking when I said what I said" he excused himself while trying to take Robins other cuff off.
For a moment they thought that Robin was free and that him and Rage will take Slade down but a loud yell from Beast Boy soon brushed that thought away.
"Rage, look out behind you!" the green changeling shouted trying to warn his friend.
Rage looked behind him and the next thing he knew was feeling a boot hitting him in the face and being thrown into the metal wall behind Robin. He hit the wall with a loud thud and fell down to the ground. This attack caught him by surprise and after inspecting his face he noticed fresh blood spewing down from one of his eye sockets but he didn't have time to attend to his wound as a loud battle cry threateningly approached him. In a split second Rage stood up and avoided Slade's punch that made a hole in the ground, precisely in the spot where he was standing before. He was amazed by the awesome strength that his opponent possessed and starred at the ground but in only a couple of seconds he found himself under a cascade of furious kicks and punches.
As he backed up trying to get as far as he could from Slade and go on the offensive he noticed Robin struggling to break the cuffs that held him captive and wanted to get pass his opponent in order help him but his attempt was useless as Slade was in front of him every where he went.
Seeing how he had no alternative but to fight Rage clinched his fists and went on the attack. He approached Slade who was also running towards him and attempted to punch him in the face but his arm was swiftly grabbed by the villain and he was thrown several feet near the centre of the base. He landed face down on the rough concrete and as he stood up he said to himself to never attempt such a stupid attack again. He looked around to see where his enemy was but couldn't find him. Slade's base had many crates, walls and towering structures that he could easily hide behind.
"Did anyone see where he went?" he asked addressing his friends
"Watch out!" replied Robin pointing to Rage's left side.
At hearing this Rage ducked in the nick of time thus avoiding another one of Slade's powerful kicks. He didn't wait for Slade to get up and somersaulted towards him. He delivered a kick to his opponents' head that sent him tumbling around a good couple of yards and continued his attack. Slade stood up and took a battle stance just as Rage approached him and tried to punch him in the head but Rage blocked his hit and delivered an uppercut to his chin followed by a dozen kicks and punches to the back, chest, head and side parts.
During this whole time Robin finally broke his other cuff and now had both hands free. All that was left now was to smash the cuffs that held his feet into place but that wasn't as easy as it seemed because they were made out of a special type of titanium similar to the one Doom used to trap Beast Boy some months ago.
As the fighting continued it was clear that Rage had the upper hand. Slade didn't deliver one kick or punch to his opponent who constantly and restlessly pounded him. Because of Rage's blows Slade was practically thrown back and all of the sudden landed near the underground water source. He breathed deeply and seemed to be in a lot of pain. He tried to move but could only limp around. Seeing this Rage didn't take any chances and went forward. When he was three feet away from his enemy he picked up his gun and took the safety off. Slade was apparently in a lot of pain and couldn't react so Rage started stomping him to make sure he wasn't capable of attacking. After a couple of seconds he dragged Slade near the river placing him down with his head just above the water. He pointed his gun directly towards Slade's eye and was ready too shoot.
"This one is for my platoon!" he said as he tightened his finger around the trigger.
The titans saw what was happening and didn't object to what their friend was about to do; After all, the world was a much better place with out Slade, but just as they hoped to hear a gun shot going off and Slade being finished off in a pool of blood that would trickle down in the underground river they heard a grunt of pain coming from Rage and saw him suddenly kneeling down. What happened was that Slade tricked Rage into believing that he was injured, caught him off guard and shot him in the chest with one of his tranquilizing darts, but the titans didn't know this as he was out of their visual range.
Rage couldn't believe what happened and landed down with his eyes wide open. He felt a strange sensation of numbness in his whole body and started seeing Slade in different shapes. He tried to stand up and fight but the narcotic agent from Slade's dart was too strong. He fell down and dropped his gun but curiously enough didn't faint like before, yet still couldn't clearly see what was in front of him. He then noticed what appeared to be two legs and heard Slade saying: "Remember one thing, I don't tolerate double-crossing".
After hitting Rage with his dart Slade waited until he collapsed and didn't pose any threat. He stood up and picked up the gun his opponent tried to use against him and was ready to shoot but couldn't even get a good grip on it as he received a violent kick to his side making him tumble across the floor and drop the gun in the river.
"What the hell was that?" Slade asked himself having a hunch that things took a turn for the worst.
He immediately looked towards Rage and received the confirmation to his hunch. Rage was down and apparently tried to move but standing in front of him was no one other than Robin.
What happened was that Robin used the skull-key from the tip of his glove to open the lock on the cuffs rather than try to smash them and went on the offensive not even noticing that Slade had a gun.
Noticing that Slade was down Robin took out three of his exploding disk and threw them at his enemy who got a direct hit. He launched himself directly towards Slade and took out his Bo staff. He somersaulted into the air and smashed his staff into the ground as Slade dodged his blow. This didn't discourage Robin as he knew that he caught Slade by surprise and went on attacking his opponent who got back to his feet and tried blocking his blows but received several hits in the process.
When the others saw Robin fighting Slade they encouraged him to go on and don't stop until he was down.
Robin's attempts paid off and he managed to pin Slade to the wall keeping him in place by using his staff. Slade tried to push him back but to no avail. Robin was so furious that it seemed like his strength increased ten times because of the anger he felt. Seeing Slade hold him and his friends' captive and pointing a gun towards the one he loved most made Robin snap. If Rage was considered as being unstable, at that moment Robin was nothing less than a loose canon.
"This ends tonight Slade!" Robin shouted addressing his archenemy "Either you give up or I'll have to take care of you once and for all!"
Noticing Robin's determination Slade gathered all his strength and pushed him back with a powerful kick to the stomach.
"If that's the case then I hope you already wrote your last will and testament" Slade replied as he went on the offensive.
The battle that ensued was one of titanic proportion (no pun intended). They both delivered blows to each other that might have probably knocked out a normal person. Robin fought out of anger and determination to save his friends and Starfire while Slade fought out of the natural instinct of self preservation acting just like a cornered animal that would do anything just to survive.
Punches, kicks, uppercuts, somersaults followed by great slams, hand twisting … all of these succeeded one another in what clearly began to be a fight to the end between the two archenemies. After about 15 minutes during which the victor remained undetermined both Robin and Slade showed signs of fatigue but continued fighting as though a supernatural force gave them even more strength.
Because of Slade's blows Robin started forming bruises, his face started to swell up on the left side and he spat out a good amount blood. He noticed that his adversary didn't have a scratch and thought that his efforts were futile but remembering that his body, as well as his face, were all covered up he realized that this didn't necessarily mean that he wasn't injured. Little did Robin know that in this battle he started to gain ground.
A not so well delivered kick to Slade's head made Robin lose his balance and fall down. Slade seized this opportunity and proceeded to pinning him down to the floor.
"This ends tonight Robin! It ends with my total victory over your childish attempts" said Slade in order to discourage his opponent.
What Slade didn't know was the fact that Robin now took every threat as an encouragement to fight on. Not only that, but threatening and angry person during a fight had never been a smart thing to do in the first place.
Robin managed to gather his strength just like Slade did when he was down and pushed him back. The cascade of blows that ensued pushed Slade back even further making him land near one of the generators that produced electricity which was positioned near the river.
Slade seemed to be hurt but Robin didn't care, he jumped fist first towards his enemy trying to take him down one way or another but his attack went terribly wrong as Slade pulled out a wire and electrocuted him making Robin fall down in great and excruciating pain.
The odds now turned to Slade's favor and with no one to oppose him it looked as though this was the end. Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy were captive and couldn't move, Starfire was tranquilized and also held captive, Rage had been shot with a tranquilizing dart and Robin had been electrocuted. After all this time, after all of their fights, after all of their efforts, the titans were now only one step away from total annihilation … and it didn't look like Slade would hesitate to help them take that step.
As Robin fell down Slade triumphantly got up and started laughing at his wounded adversary. He kicked him a couple of times to add insult to injury.
Robin couldn't believe it … he spent all of this time trying to catch Slade and take him down and in the long run Slade won. Seeing how he couldn't move enough in order to oppose his adversary Robin decided that an honorable death was all that was left for him, although not saving his loved one and friends wasn't so honorable in his opinion.
Slade picked Robin up by the collar of his costume and with a furious yet sadistic gaze looked straight into his eyes. He pinned him the generator and held in his right hand the large wire that he used to electrocute him in the first place.
"Like I said before, this ends tonight!" Slade said with a confident tone "And rest assure that I will kill all of your friends slowly; not to mention Starfire, oh how I'll enjoy finishing her and keeping your unborn child as a trophy"
After saying this he started to threateningly approach Robin with the wire that he held "You have been a formidable warrior Robin, but in the long run, I've just been a better fighter … Now say good nigh-"
Before he could finish his sentence and carry out the execution Slade suddenly stopped. Seeing this Robin didn't understand what was going on. Slade hesitated to kill him and further more seemed to be in pain. The moment Slade stopped he immediately opened his eye wider than before.
After a small grunt of pain Slade let Robin go and stood in the position he was. A small line of blood started flowing down from the side of his mouth through his mask. He reached for his spine and noticed fresh blood on the tips of his fingers. The next instant he fell down to the ground and behind him stood a limping Rage with a pointy metal rod that was full of blood.
Seeing Slade down Robin didn't hesitate one second and tried to get up to his feet. It had been a demanding and rough battle but in the end they've won, the titans finally defeated Slade.
Not being able to get up by himself Rage helped Robin back up and they both spat on Slade with disgust.
"Are you alright?" Rage asked leaning to Robin as he too couldn't stand up straight.
"What do you think?" Robin rhetorically replied "But how did you …"
"… get back to my feet?" he interrupted "Ugh … When he shot at me he hit the wooden cross on my necklace. He only injected a small dose of tranquilizing substance, not the whole thing … Ugh … Oh thank you Lord! Thank you!"
It seemed as though Rage's prayers have been answered. The small wooden cross around his neck practically saved the whole team. Now Robin wasn't a person that believed in a particular divinity, let alone in Rage's orthodox Christian God and dogma, but this event had indeed pleasantly surprised him.
After he regained his breath Robin saw Slade lying on his back and breathing hard. He went over to him and took him by the collar of his costume, repeating the gesture that Slade had done on to him.
"Well? What are you waiting for Robin? Ugh … Isn't this what you have always wanted? Isn't this the moment you have been waiting for all along?" said Slade who was practically dying.
"You threatened my friends, you tried to kill me and you said you would cut out my child straight out of Starfire …" Robin replied summing up what Slade had in mind to do to him and to the ones he cared for.
"Yes, and don't think I wouldn't have done it or that I'll beg for your mercy …"
"Do it Robin" said Cyborg who was still captive "Do what you have to do"
"Yeah, take him out man!" Beast Boy intervened "You saw what he's capable of … "
"No, a life in solitary confinement with daily beatings is a much better punishment than death!" Robin replied wanting Slade to justly pay for all of his wrong doings.
"If you won't kill me now I'll recuperate and come after you!" Slade threatened while showing no sign of fear in the face of death. After all, why should he? He'd been dead before, he knew what death really meant.
"I am sorry to say this Robin but the others are right" said Rage who took his friends palm and handed him his gun that he previously scooped out of the river "You can either risk by sending him to jail or you can finish this right here and right now. It is you call!"
"Damn it Robin just shoot him already!" ordered Raven who grew rather impatient of the scene of forgiveness and so called justice that unfolded in front of her.
Robin was now put into a great dilemma. On one hand he wanted to make Slade suffer for everything that he had done and not kill him but on the other hand by doing so he risked Slade recovering, breaking out and coming after him once again, so the only thing left to do in order to stop him was to take him out … permanently.
He thought about this for several seconds, analyzed every aspect, took into notice every possible risk and what outcome would result from his actions and finally reached a decision … Slade had to die! No question!
"Do it!" ordered Slade as he watched his long time nemesis straight in the eyes with full determination and lack of fear.
"Before I shoot you I have to find out who is under this mask of yours" Robin replied being happy that he will finally get to see the face of the one who endangered and hurt him, his friends and innocent citizens for so many years.
Robin reached for the back of Slade's head and took off the mask that concealed the face of the person that haunted every corner of his mind and every part of his dark side. He slowly took it off and from underneath appeared the face of a very mature man, probably in his 40's or middle 40's, with abundant blond-grayish hair, a neatly trimmed beard which was now stained by the blood that poured from his mouth, strong features and a patch over his right eye (thus confirming Rage's story of Slade's handicap).
His stare was cold and full of hate and slightly startled Robin; on the other hand it made Rage smile. He was glad to see the one that killed his platoon finally getting what he deserved.
Robin stood up and aimed the gun towards Slade's eye determined to finish what his wife had started. For seconds he had flashbacks of how long he had waited for this moment, of what he had to endure, of what he made him go through, of how he failed because of him and couldn't believe that this was happening, he was only one step away from becoming a true hero.
"Any last words?" Robin asked laconically, almost sententious.
"As a matter of fact, yes! Don't think that this ends here; I will be avenged, one way or another!" replied Slade ready to give up his soul "Now shoot!"
At the sounds of these words Robin slowly grasped the trigger pulling it all the way back and shot Slade straight in his left eye. Slade's body now laid lifelessly on the floor and a small puddle of blood started flowing from underneath his head. To make sure he was dead Robin fired all of the bullets hitting Slade in the head, heart, stomach and lungs, after which dropping the gun on the cold floor.
It ended, this was the end of Slade's tyranny … He came back before but now he had no chances of returning. Robin was finally a true hero!
After shooting Slade everybody rejoiced and congratulated Robin for his decision. They didn't like taking anybody's life but when it came to Slade they made an exception.
"Good job Robin … Good job!" said Rage with a deep voice as he patted his friend on the back, congratulating and supporting him in case he had any regrets.
"Thanks Rage" replied Robin as he took out his skeleton key and gave it to his friend "Use this to free the others, I'm going to help Starfire"
"Sure thing" replied Rage taking the key and rushing but still limping towards his friends.
Rage did just as Robin had instructed him and took off the shackles that kept his friends into place. Beast Boy hugged Raven and was glad to hold her in his hands once more and Raven started crying being glad that this was all over. Cyborg rubbed his wrists also glad of being alive and grabbed Rage in a friendly yet tight victory hug.
"You did it man! You and Robin did it! You finally took care of Slade!" said Cyborg congratulating his friend.
"Do not give me any credit, Robin is the hero, not me" said Rage who was suffocating "Now please let me go, you are killing me with affection".
"Oops, sorry man, didn't notice I was breaking your bones" replied Cyborg chuckling.
"Where's Robin?" asked Beast Boy as he approached his friends with Raven by his side.
"There, he's helping Starfire" replied Raven pointing towards his current location.
After giving Rage the skeleton key Robin proceeded to help the girl he loved. When he saw her she seemed to be peacefully asleep, just as he always liked to see her, in all of her innocent and angelic alien beauty. He used a glass cutter to cut around the lock that held Starfire captive and opened the door. He took his loved one out, laid her on the ground and patted her cheek to try and wake her up.
"Wake up, oh God please weak up" demanded Robin who almost seemed to be praying while slightly touching her cheek "Wake up Princess, wake up".
The others approached and hoped everything was okay. After a couple of seconds Starfire opened her eyes and seeing Robin she asked who was there. Overjoyed by this Robin took Starfire in his arms and kissed her for the longest time ever. When the two young lovers separated they slightly panted for air.
"What is the occasion?" she asked but shortly after noticed that she was in a new place "Wait a quarknar, where am I? I am suppose to be in the room of safety in Titans Tower not … ugh …Slade is dead!"
This came as a total shock to Starfire as the last thing she remembered was feeling drowsy inside the safety room and quietly going to sleep.
"Yes, I finally did it, he's dead and he won't be bothering anyone ever again" Robin replied happily.
"But how did it happen?" the confused alien girl asked
"It's a long story, I'll tell you on the way to the tower. Come on friends, let's go home!" said Robin as he picked up Starfire carrying her in his arms and proceeding towards the door.
As everybody left talking about what had happened Rage remained behind and told everyone that he will shortly catch up with them. The others were okay with the idea and didn't ask any questions.
Rage walked towards Slade's corpse and kneeled with one foot next to him. He took out of his pocket two foreign coins that he placed over his eye lids, a needle and some thread that he put in one of his dead enemies pocket, got up, did the cross sign and said:
"Moze li Bog da te postavi na mesto gde pripadas i moze li Isus da te osudi i kazni kako zasluzujes"
Translation: "May God place you were you belong and may Jesus judge and punish you as you deserve!"