Author's note: Hey guys! Thanks for the feedback so far, I really appreciate it; your reviews have really been making me smile. So please continue to give me your feedback! I don't have much more to say, except here's chapter 2!
Disclaimer: I don't own teen titans or batman
Batman swept silently through a swinging door. His strides were long and powerful. The cape fluttered behind him, and his footsteps didn't make a sound. The stealth seemed a bit unnecessary, though; alarms were blaring and lights flashing. He could only presume the thief had already acquired what they'd come for.
The real question was whether or not they were still in the building.
He had to admit, from what he'd seen so far he was impressed. Every alarm system had been disabled with apparent ease; no door had proved a challenge. Batman had passed eight security guards who were out cold; it looked as though it had been a quick fight with all of them. He could hear pounding and yelling from doors he passed, and could only assume that the thief had bypassed the security codes and locked the remaining guards in areas where they couldn't stop the theft. The only reason Batman had made it so far so quickly was that he was simply following in the thief's footsteps.
Very impressive.
He paused at the end of a long hallway and quickly glanced left and right; the line of his mouth thinned when he looked left, and he quickly started in that direction. A huge steel door was at the end of the hall, or at least what was left of it. A yawning hole had been burned through it, large enough for one man. He quickly stepped through it and found himself in a huge lab, filled to the brim with various machines that were whirring and clicking away.
He narrowed his eyes. It was difficult to see around the machines, and difficult to hear above the noise. He reached into his belt to grab his grappling hook; a view from above would quickly tell him whether or not the thief was still here.
He was aiming to shoot when he was brutally kicked in the side. His body was lifted momentarily off the ground before slamming harshly into one of the machines. Gasping, he tenderly touched his side. Nothing broken, thankfully, but the wind was knocked out of him. Steam began to whistle out of the broken machinery, and it quickly covered the area in a thin haze that thickened with every second.
His fingers curled into a fist. Now he was pissed. His gaze turned darkly toward the culprit.
It was a man, that much was clear, but beyond that he couldn't tell much. The man was covered head to toe in black and orange armor, and wore a mask that covered all but one eye. He was standing straight, legs spread slightly apart, hands clasped behind his back.
The eye glinted menacingly.
"The dark knight," the man said slowly, and Batman was instantly struck by his voice. It was smooth, low, seductive, and the way he spoke made it sound like he savored words like fine wine. "I've been dying to meet you for quite some time, though I have to admit, I thought you'd make a better first impression."
Batman scowled furiously and stood up fluidly, recovered from the blow. "You seem eager to meet me," he said in a low voice, keeping his temper in check, "but I've never heard a thing about you."
The man tilted his head to the side. "You haven't heard about me because I didn't want you to hear about me," he replied smoothly. "But I thought it was time to introduce myself. The name's Slade."
"Slade," Batman tasted the name. "And why exactly is now the time to introduce yourself?"
It was infuriating not being able to see the man's face, but Batman could've sworn that Slade was raising an eyebrow. "Certainly the dark knight can figure that out on his own. From what I've heard, you're quite the detective."
"I'm flattered," Batman growled, "but you didn't just come here to meet me. You have something that doesn't belong to you."
"Yes," Slade replied calmly. "And I guarantee you now that no matter what you do to me, no matter how many blows you land or how badly you beat me, I will walk out of this building with what I've acquired." He raised his hands slightly, palms up. "But please, I invite you to try to stop me."
Batman's frown deepened, and his body tensed in anticipation for a fight. The two stared at each other for a time, gazes locked, neither giving ground. The steam swirled lazily around them.
Then, Batman strode toward his enemy and disappeared into the haze.
Robin sprinted into the alley, arms pumping furiously and his cape whipping madly behind him. The alley was narrow, dark, and as far as Robin could tell it ended in a brick wall. Momentarily confused, he looked up and his eyes widened.
The man was leaping back and forth between the alley walls, propelling himself higher and higher until he reached the roof and disappeared from sight.
Robin grinned. He had always been dying to try this.
Getting a running start, he did an entirely unnecessary flip just for the fun of it before springing off his hands and letting his feet land solidly on the wall. Forcefully, he pushed off and landed on the opposite wall of the alley, quickly jumping off so he wouldn't slide down. He repeated the motion again and again until he was practically skyrocketing up into the air, bounding back and forth between the brick.
Three quarters of the way up his legs were killing him. He gritted his teeth and pushed on. Come on, you can do this! he thought furiously. That guy did it wearing armor; you're in spandex. If he did it and you can't, then just go die of shame right now, cuz it's not worth living with that kind of embarrassment.
Finally he was on the last leap, and gasping for breath he caught the edge of the roof with his fingers and slammed into the wall. Breathing harshly, he groaned in agony and pulled himself up with trembling arms, finally managing to roll onto the roof.
"Not... As much fun... As I thought it'd be," he panted, and gritting his teeth he forced himself to stand. He could see the thief sprinting across the roof; he was a good distance away. Taking a few short breaths, he began to run, slowly at first and then picking up speed when his legs decided to stop feeling like jelly. And suddenly he was grinning madly, lost in the thrill of the chase. The adrenaline felt like the thrill of circus performing, only heightened to an entirely new level. He had never felt more alive.
He was just starting to catch up when the thief reached the edge of the roof; a huge gap lay between it and the next building. Without even slowing down, the man took an enormous leap. Robin's stride faltered as he gawked in amazement. The thief sailed through the air before landing smoothly on the next roof without even having to roll. He stood and turned, arms crossed, to watch Robin.
The boy swallowed nervously and met the man's gaze from across the gap. "Geez Louise, are you even human?!" he shouted in disbelief.
The man stayed silent. "Rude," Robin muttered under his breath. "Didn't your mother ever teach you to answer really important questions?" He looked across the gap and narrowed his eyes. It wasn't the height that bothered him; he was a flying Grayson, after all. Rather, it was how far he'd have to jump. The distance seemed astronomical. And there was nothing for his grappling hook to cling to; the only way across was to jump.
He looked up nervously at the thief. The man was just... Watching. Like this was some sort of a test. Robin furrowed his brow in confusion. Something about this was very wrong. This man should not have had so much interest in him; it wasn't normal behavior for a criminal. The man should be running; actually, he really shouldn't have even been interested in talking to Robin in the first place. He was obviously far more dangerous than the average criminal, and had nothing to gain from bantering with a kid.
So what was this guy's game?
Robin ran his fingers through his jet black hair. The smart thing to do would be to head back to the lab and try to find Batman. He'd get yelled at, but at least he wouldn't be a big splat on the pavement. They could figure something out together.
And yet... There was something about this man that drew Robin to him. He wanted to understand the man's interest, and in some odd way he didn't want to disappoint him.
His gaze hardened, mind made up. He jogged back a little bit and then turned towards the gap. Then, with a deep breath, he began to run with every ounce of energy he had. His feet slapped against the roof; his heart pounded furiously in his chest.
Then, reaching the edge, he pushed off with all his might and flew.
Batman rolled across the ground, grunting in pain. This guy had a vicious kick. Grimacing, he climbed to his feet for what felt like the hundredth time and stood warily in the haze, which was now so thick he could barely see his hands when he held them out in front of him.
Not being able to see in a fight was usually a distinct advantage for the dark knight; the problem was that Slade also knew a thing or two about fighting without his sight.
Batman stood with narrowed eyes, completely unmoving, his senses on high as he waited for any sign of his enemy.
One quiet footstep from his left was all the warning he got before a fist flew out of the mist and toward his face. Snarling, he caught the punch at the last second and pulled with all his might, forcing Slade closer to him. With his other hand, he threw a vicious right hook that slammed into Slade's mask. He cocked his arm back to repeat the motion, but Slade was too quick for him and, grasping Batman's wrist, brutally flipped the man back onto the ground before kneeling above him and raining punches down on the dark knight.
With a growl, Batman violently rolled over and changed their positions, slamming Slade hard against the ground. He began to beat the man, hatred fueling every punch. Slade's mask began to dent beneath the force of his blows.
And then, the mask fell off.
Batman instantly stopped, eyes wide in shock. This wasn't Slade; this was a robot. Where the man's face should've been there was instead a screen.
And on the screen, a clock was counting down from ten.
Scrambling to his feet, Batman ran blindly through the haze and toward the door, throwing himself through the hole. He didn't stop running until he heard a soft boom from behind him; the floors and walls shook, and the lights flickered, but then things returned to normal quickly enough.
He breathed heavily and covered his mouth with his hand. That had been close. It was impossible to tell if the bomb had been ticking away the entire fight, or if it had simply activated with the removal of the mask.
He preferred the second option. If it had been the first... Well, if he had removed the bot's mask ten seconds later, he would more than likely be dead.
He took a deep breath to regain some sort of calm, but he just as quickly exhaled it in a sharp gasp. Slade's words rang in his ears. And I guarantee you now that no matter what you do to me, no matter how many blows you land or how badly you beat me, I will walk out of this building with what I've acquired.
The man - the real man - had gotten away. Which meant he had passed right by...
"Robin," he whispered in horror, and took off down the hall.