CI: Hi peoples! … you might want to hold your fire, I know you're mad at me for not updating since a whole month but I was busy with my midterm examinations…the school board is crazy I tell ya…
Robin: you probably failed in each one --
CI: oh shut up birds for brains…I'm confident that ill get awesome marks in every subject except for mathematics…no matter how hard I try, I still fail!!!
Robin: well you will just have to try harder then.
CI: yeah….guess your right…
Disclaimer: I don't own them!
Chapter 49:
Maxy growled in a low voice as the heroes fought against the robots with much speed and agility. He hated Slade, hated everything he had done and would always hate him forever…he and his stupid friend Monte were the cause of all this, he and his little sister could have had a peaceful life but they just had to jump in the picture…
It made his blood boil…
Suddenly, a shrill scream sounded in the air which made his ears twitch. None of the heroes took notice of it, they were too busy fighting but Maxy heard it loud and clear, that scream was all too familiar…
Amy!
His mind instantly switched to panic mode as his brotherly instincts took over. Quick as a streak, he made his way around the battle, dodging blow after blow and in a distance he could see Amy's hunched form which made him even more worried.
Mom where are you when I need you?
'Going somewhere?' came a smooth, silky voice. Slade was standing in front of him with his arms crossed. Maxy could feel the smug smile behind that wretched mask. Slade was directly in his way, standing between him and his sister.
Preventing him from going to his sister who really needed him right now…
'Get out of my way' he growled in a low, menacing voice, surprising Slade. He was in no mood to have a chit chat with this guy…
'My My, aren't we feeling brave today?' he mocked and took up a fighting stance 'lets see as you are as pathetic as your sister'
Ok, that did it.
Maxy gave a battle cry and lunged forward with every intention of breaking his head but Slade caught his fist and practically crushed it in his hand, emitting a short yell from the boy. Maxy quickly got free by taking a low sweep to his feet but Slade dodged it and delivered a few kicks of his own.
Maxy dodged the first one and the second one but the next ones just went on coming before Maxy's brain could even register what was happening, he was kneeling on one knee with countless cuts and bruises.
'That was absolutely pathetic' said Slade in a bored tone and placed both hands behind his back as if he was talking to an old friend 'No wonder your sister is such a wimp, must run in the family'
'Don't. You. Dare. Insult. My. FAMILY!' he yelled angrily and threw himself at Slade with all the strength he could muster but Slade had other alternatives; he quickly took out a pocket knife and sank it in the boy's shoulder.
Maxy's eyes widened and he sank to his knees. His brain could not register what was happening, it had all happened so fast…
'Oh look, I dirtied my knife' said Slade and painfully yet slowly and deliberately took the knife out of his shoulder. The color had drained from Maxy's face as blood poured out like a fountain from his wound. The knife had cut open a main artery leading to the aorta and his heart was struggling to supply blood to his brain.
Slade gave an impatient sigh and pushed Maxy to the ground.
'Sleep well you pathetic fool' he said with a hint of triumph as he watched Maxy die.
Maxy wanted to scream, he really did but there was no one to scream to. He spotted Amy still a few feet away and with all the strength left in his body, screamed.
'AMY!!'
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Amy winced inwardly as her head throbbed with pain but still forced her eyes to open. Her head was spinning, she felt as she was going to throw up but at least she did not feel so confused anymore…
She shook her head and rubbed her eyes when she suddenly heard a familiar voice.
'AMY!!'
Maxy! Her heart shuddered and she quickly got up to see Slade standing proudly over her brother's dying body.
Wait…did I just think dying?
She squinted her black eyes to see that indeed he was bleeding out on the ground and Slade was just standing there, watching him die. Something inside her snapped, Anger clouded her vision as she charged at Slade with renewed energy, bent on ripping his head from his body with her two bare hands.
'Ya!!!' She gave a battle yell and knocked Slade off his feet with a powerful roundhouse kick. Slade was surprised beyond belief but didn't show it…well duh he never shows it…
'Don't you dare touch him you sick bastard!' she yelled at him with anger and knelt beside her brother, her angry expression changing to a soft one 'Maxy you promised you wouldn't leave me! Get up you idiot!'
The pale teen cracked open an eye and gave a small smile 'heh, I kn-new you would listen A-Amy' he coughed up some blood 'You little twerp'
'Yeah yeah, quit the small talk you baboon and lets get you out of here' she replied, relieved that her brother was all right.
None of them noticed that Slade had creeped up behind them and was about to strike Amy with his bo staff.
CLANG!
Batman had appeared out of nowhere and blocked the blow with his own staff, both pushed against each other as the two bewildered teens just stared.
'Normally a person would take the hint and get going' Batman remarked dryly making both of them blush. Nodding at each other, Amy supported Maxy's weight and helped him away from the struggling pair.
'Well well, if it isn't the legendary Batman, I thought you weren't the third world country type' said Slade.
'Surprise surprise' replied Batman with the same sarcasm as both withdrew their staffs and picked up a fighting stance.
'Doesn't matter, you are too late'
'Lets decide this as mature grownups, shall we?'
And they fought.
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(Flashback)
'But dad, I really want to perform with you and mum!' whined the six year old as his father and mother put some powder on their hands.
'No son, we are doing this without a net, its too dangerous' replied his father and ruffled his son's hair lovingly 'besides, your mother will have my head if I let you perform'
'Oh John' his mother poked John with her elbow and then turned towards her son with lovable eyes 'sweetie, you know how much I care about you and you how I would feel if you got hurt'
'Yeah, I suppose' the boy looked rejected and the look in his eyes could melt even the toughest of hearts 'But I really really want to…please?'
'I'm sorry honey, maybe next time' said his mother and kissed him on the cheek 'wish us luck'
'Good luck mom' he hugged her and then they were gone.
Moments later he heard the snapping of wires and watched his parents fall fifty feet to an agonizing death…it took his breath away and that was the only time he had cried so much…
(End Flashback)
His mind throbbed with pain and even though his eyes were shut, it felt as if he was looking at a slideshow which was going wayyyy too fast…
(Another Flashback)
Robin and Batman sprinted over buildings with speed. Ever since Commissioner Gordon had called Batman and told him Joker's latest activities, Batman had sprinted off without warning and now Robin was struggling to keep up with him.
'You're going too slow Robin, pick up the pace' Batman said in his emotionless voice, making Robin groan inwardly must that man find fault in everything I do?
Moments later, they arrived in the alley where Joker was suspected to be…
But he wasn't there now, which just added to Batman's frustration. Instead, there was a note lying on the ground with a badly drawn cartoon bat on it. Robin figured that Joker had left a little ''something'' for Batman…which led to even more frustration and who was he going to spend it on?
Him, duh.
Neither of them suspected that Joker was still present until Robin heard a strange popping sound, immediately followed with unusual numbness in his chest. Batman heard the pop and without looking at his ward, followed the noise. Robin tried to follow him with a quick pace but every step he took seemed to bury itself in the ground…Batman was like just five meters away for crying out loud!
That numbness went even number and Robin felt his movements slow down. This was so strange, he had never felt like this before. His strength was leaving him and he couldn't even utter a word…no matter how badly he wanted to…
Shakily, he reached out and tugged at Batman's cape like a little child who would tug at their parent's clothes to buy candy.
'Not now Robin' said Batman gruffly as he examined the note that the joker had left for him. Robin wanted to scream ''Yes now!'' but he couldn't find the strength to even make a noise so he kept tugging at Batman's cape until he finally turned towards him with an impatient sigh but Robin saw his masked eyes go wide with horror and that's when he decided to look at his numbing chest.
It was soaked with blood, there was a hole under the loop of his 'R' badge where a bullet had pierced through his uniform. Blood was dripping down his chest to from a small puddle below. He looked back at his mentor and that was the first time he saw emotion in Batman's eyes.
But his strength was fading, his knees gave out and fell towards the ground but Batman's string hands caught his thin frame as soon as he fell. Robin felt tired…so very tired and he liked the warmth Batman was giving to him right now, he just wanted to close his eyes and sleep.
'Hold on Robin, please hold on' Batman's voice drifted somewhere above him before he blacked out.
(End Flashback)
Robin felt numb in his head, he didnt have the strength to open his eyes and his arms felt limb in their sockets.
What the heck is wrong with me? He thought. Those visions kept circling around his head but he couldn't recognize anything in these visions, they were so confusing but yet, he thought as though he had seen the people in his visions before…it seemed all too real.
(flashback)
Robin found himself in a living room with a huge TV and a semi-circular couch. There was a coffee table In front of the couch and on it were a few boxes of Pizza.
Five teens were sitting around the pizza-topped table. There were two girls and three boys but none of them defined the definition of normal.
One girl had flowing red hair with the greenest eyes he had ever seen. She had orange skin and was wearing purple clothes and arm gauntlets on both arms. She had a sweet voice and her skin glowed like honey; she was talking- or rather chattering to everyone, regardless of who was listening. The other girl was completely opposite. She had short dark hair with deep, indigo eyes and a ghostly skin to match. She was wearing a black leotard and a blue cloak to hide her entire form. She had an annoyed expression on her face and a grey-covered book in her hands; obviously annoyed, she was eyeing the red head with a frown.
There was a small, green guy wearing a black suit with a purple stripe in the middle. He seemed to be the most enthusiastic one…second to the red head and seemed to be arguing with his fellow teen who was a well-built African American. He was half-human and half-robot and was arguing with the green one over Pizza.
However, the thing that shocked him was that the third guy was identical to himself, only that he was wearing a different costume consisting of red, yellow and green and a mask over his eyes to conceal his identity. He seemed happy, content and was trying to quell the fight between his two friends as the red-head chattered on.
He was shocked…that couldn't be him, it just couldn't be. He didn't even recognize the other teenagers in the picture…yet he felt as if he did.
'Oh I so enjoy the night time!' exclaimed the red head.
'Can we start eating…please?' asked the gothic one in an annoyed tone.
'Yeah, as soon as I break Beast Boy's head for putting tofu in my pizza!' the cybernetic teen hollered at the one called Beast Boy.
'This is revenge for killing my beloved cow brothers! You will pay Cyborg!' Beast Boy retorted in a mystical voice.
'Why you little-' Cyborg got ready to punch Beast Boy but was stopped by the identical him.
'Guys! Stop the fighting right now!' The clone yelled angrily at the two, shutting them up immediately.
'But Robin he-' Cyborg began.
'Ok forget what he did Cyborg, you can kill him later' Robin interrupted the mechanical teen as the gothic girl looked at him.
'And I will help' she said, making both boys smile as Beast Boy gulped.
'You guys are mean' he said in a dejected way but that disappeared as soon as it had arrived 'Dig in everybody!'
The red head looked confused 'Why Friend Beast Boy? Do we require shovels?'
Everyone looked at her. 'No Starfire, its just a phrase' Robin explained.
'Oh' she said and looked at the Goth who was eyeing the pizza 'why do you not do the ''digging in'' friend Raven?'
'I don't want that disgusting Tofu in my mouth' Raven replied and the bits of tofu were enveloped in black aura and thrown in Beast Boy's hair.
'Hey!' he exclaimed 'aww now I am facing two days of bad hair day!' he whined, making the rest laugh 'what? What I say?'
(End Flashback)
That vision started to get blurry and soon faded away. Robin found himself in a sea of colorful memories, confused about what was the truth and what was the lie. Another vision son appeared in front of him, but this time with a darker persona.
(Flashback)
The Robin in the vision was the same as the one in the earlier vision, his uniform was just a little battered and he was in a room with lots of gears, like in a clock. He was facing none other then Slade with a murderous look in his masked eyes
'No way would they ever work for-' he began but Slade interrupted him.
'Its not them I want Robin, its you' he said smoothly.
'What?' Robin said in disbelief as Slade started to circle him with his hands behind his back.
'Leaving strange clues for you to find, toying with your mind. I was testing you for you see, for some time I have been looking for. An apprentice' his face was barely inches away from Robin's 'and I've chosen you, congratulations'.
'What makes think I'm going to-' Robin started but stopped as Slade showed him the controller which held his friend's fates.
'If you swear to serve me, swear to obey my every whim and never to speak to your friends again, I will allow them to live' he had a sadistic tine in his voice 'But if you disobey, even the smallest request I will annihilate them Robin' he smiled to see Robin's shocked expression 'and I will make you watch'
(End flashback)
His doubt about Slade grew in his mind…and if these visions were just memories recorded in his mind from earlier encounters, it just proved one point.
Slade had been lying to him.
But at this point this was the least of his worries, his memories were now just a spinning cloud which was spinning really, really fast and the worst part was that he wanted to wake up but couldn't.
He was lost in his own mind.
Yay…
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CI: now poor Robbie faces a dilemma: how to escape from one's own mind.
Robin: you just want me to go 'cuckoo' don't you?
CI: dude, you don't need me to do that!
Robin: Grrrr
Laterzzzzzzz!
CrazyInsomaniac