Chapter 3
"No way!" Rose protested, backing away from the towering figure of Slade. "You can't be! There's just no way!"
"Why not?" Slade said, taking a few steps toward her. He stopped when he saw her scrambling away and then remained where he was, rooted to the spot.
"I don't have a father! I mean, I've never met him but I'm sure you can't be him! My father would never…"
"I'm sure this comes as a shock to you, Rose. I must admit, I was surprised to find out you were in this city myself. I hadn't seen you in so long."
"No, its just not possible!" Rose said and stamped one of her feet, clenching her eyes shut tight.
"It is Rose…" she heard him say, closer now. She opened her eyes to find him standing directly in front of her, her face at level with his chest. She refused to budge, not wanting to give anymore ground to him. She managed to keep a straight face when Slade placed a finger under her chin, raising her eyes to meet his. "Deep down, you know it. After all…you have my eyes." Rose looked up into the single eye that was looking back at her from that mask, and for an instant she felt something connect. Her eyes widened and a soft gasp escaped her. She could not see his face under his mask, but she saw a look of satisfaction enter that eye.
"No…" she said, turning away from Slade, crossing her arms tight, holding herself as it to ward off the information that was making her head reel.
"My eyes…" Slade repeated, "But you look like you're mother. You have her smile…" he started to raise his hands to place them on her shoulders.
"No!" Rose snapped, spinning around to face him. She jabbed a finger into the air, her jaw clenched and her eyes starting to gleam as she fought back to the tears threatening to pour forth. "Don't you dare talk about her! Because you're NOT my father! Now where's the door, I want out of here!" she said and spun on her heel, stomping off away from him, searching for an exit.
"Her name was Lillian." Slade said from behind her. The words hit like a truck; instantly Rose completely froze, her body going stiff. She looked over her shoulder at him, her jaw dangling.
"How did you...?" she started to ask, but the words died when she saw that satisfied look go back into Slade's eye. She looked away again, as if struggling to decide between leaving and staying. She bit her lip and then turned back around, walking back to him.
"We've got to find her!" Robin said, pacing in the living-room at Titan's Tower. The others watched with growing confusion and concern.
"Don't worry Robin, we'll find her. There's only so many places she can be." Cyborg said as he patted his friend on the shoulder.
"Not to sound cold, but why all this concern for a girl you just met?" Raven asked, tilting her head sideways as if trying to see some new feature on Robin's face.
"I don't know. I just…" he struggled for words and then sighed, slumping down onto the couch. "She's an orphan, just like I was. But I had someone who took care of me, she's got no one. She's all alone." Starfire sat down next to him and place an arm around his shoulders.
"If it means this much to you Robin, we shall do everything we can to find her." Starfire said softly. Robin placed a hand over hers and gave it a small squeeze, seeming to draw strength from her.
"Maybe we should check back at the orphanage" Beast Boy suggested. "Maybe she just got scare and ran home."
"No way" Robin said, rising to his feet again. "You saw how she handled herself against Red X yesterday. And when the Hive Five attacked us she said it looked fun. She wouldn't get scared that easy."
"Then maybe she went to get help." Raven suggested.
"I don't think so. She seemed so confident she could handle it on her own…"
"Well, you suggest something then!" Cyborg said, starting to get exasperated. Robin was silent a moment, staring at the floor as he considered what to do.
"I guess the only thing to do is fan out, search all over for her." He said. The other Titans exchanged glances and then nodded in agreement.
Slade stood as still as a statue, looking down at the picture Rose had handed him. His body language was hard for her to read-if only she could see his face under that mask. He looked at the face of Rose's mother, the only sign that it stirred anything was a slight narrowing of his single eye.
"I lost her when I was really little…she never told me anything about my father…" Rose said. At this Slade finally made a single move, brushing his thumb over the face of the smiling woman in the picture. "You must have cared about her a lot…" Rose said, hoping to maybe draw some sign of emotion from him.
"Those were…different times for me." Slade said and then handed the picture back to her. "Things change Rose. You'll understand that eventually."
"Okay" Rose sighed as she tucked the picture back into her pocket, "Let's pretend that you really are my father. Why did you leave? How could you just abandon us like that? Did we interfere with your plans or something? Or were you just ashamed…"
"It wasn't like that!" Slade snapped, surprising Rose and himself at how strongly he had reacted to her words. He took a moment to compose himself and then turned his head, staring off into the darkness. "I was a wanted man, Rose, even then. I couldn't have stayed, it would have been too dangerous for you and your mother. I had to leave."
"So why didn't you ever try to find me?" She said, her voice starting to get shrill as years of pent up sadness and anger bubbled to the surface. "Do you have any idea what it was like, growing up all alone? To always be by yourself, with no one to help you or take care of you?"
"Yes, I do." He said. This actually choked off the words in Rose's mouth, and she fell silent. She clenched her fists and locked eyes with the ground, tears starting to crawl down her face.
"I used to watch all the other kids…and I wished I could have what they had so bad. I never had anyone tuck me in or read me a bed-time story or give me a present on my birthday. I felt so cheated. Like I did something wrong and life was punishing me…"
"I'm here now Rose" she heard his voice move closer. She raised her eyes to look up at him. He reached up and, much to her amazement, brushed one of her tears away from her cheek. His hand felt warm.
"What do you want with me?" she said through the tightness in her throat.
"I want exactly what you want." Slade said, stepping away from her, starting to walk in a small circle around her. "I want to be your father, Rose, and so much more. I want to teach you. To guide you through life. To help you reach your full potential. We can be a family at last."
"A family?" she said, a hopeful note in her voice. Slade stopped and looked deep into her eyes.
"Rose, I have had so many apprentices in the past, so many disappointments. Mistake after mistake. And then there's you, my own flesh and blood." He placed a hand on her cheek, brushing some of her hair aside. She closed her eyes and leaned her head onto his palm, actually seeming comforted by his touch. "With you as my apprentice, there's no limit to what we could do. The world could be ours."
"The world?" Rose said, a sudden note of alarm rising in her voice. She backed away from him, leaving his hand floating in the air as she pulled her face away from it. She looked him up and down, the look of peace on her face turning into one of mistrust. "You want to do to me what you tried to do to Robin and to that other girl." She said, shaking her head in disbelief.
"You know about all that?" Slade said, sounding almost amused.
"Yeah, I know they had to evacuate the whole city because of you! The Titans were the ones you tried to protect everyone when you were…"
"Oh yes, just like the marvelous job they did protecting you from Red X." Slade said sharply. It took Rose by surprise, and she found herself at a loss for words. "Or how they protected you from the others at the mall today. You've seen how weak they are Rose, how pathetic. You know they'll fail in the end. They aren't strong enough to protect you, or anyone else. I'm the only one who can."
Rose was silent for several moments, as if actually weighing Slade's words. She ran a hand through the length of her hair and then looked him dead in his eye.
"They may not be perfect, but neither am I. And they haven't given me any reason to doubt them. They didn't abandon me when I needed them. And I want to leave now."
"I'm afraid I can't let you do that." Slade said, taking several menacing steps forward. But Rose stood her ground, refusing to give an inch to him.
"Or what? You'll just force me to stay? Real nice way to show your daughter how much you care." She said icily. Her words actually struck Slade, freezing him where he stood. He turned his own gaze to the floor now, his fists trembling with tension as he tried to control his frustration.
"You are…free to leave, if you wish." He said. A door opened several feet away, but Rose did not move for it immediately. She hesitated, as if searching for something else to say. Slade turned his back and looked away from her, and Rose bit her trembling lip as she finally turned to the door. She glanced through it, finding a tunnel with lights strung along the wall that she hoped would lead her out of here. She glanced back over her shoulder at Slade for just a moment and then started walking.
Slade remained frozen till he heard the echo of her footsteps fade. Then he approached another wall and pressed his hand to a small square panel, causing a section of the wall to pull away, revealing a mirror. Slowly, hesitantly, he reached up to his head and removed his mask. He looked at his own reflection and then, mask in hand, smashed his fist into it, shattering the reflective glass into countless pieces. He placed his hands on the wall to support himself and then stood there, breathing heavily, seeing himself reflecting in the countless small mirrors that now lay scattered across the floor.
Rose shuddered against the night air, wishing she had a coat to wrap around herself. She folder her arms for warmth and started walking back to the orphanage, the only home she really knew. She tried not to feel any sadness, yet she kept replaying some of Slade's words in her head. I'm here now Rose. We can be a family. I want to teach you, to guide you through life. They aren't strong enough to protect you. I'm the only one who can.
A single tear crawled down her cheek as she walked through the night.