Disclaimer: I don't own DC Comics. I'm gonna start a riot.
A/N: Sorry about the cliffhangers. Just kidding, I regret nothing. I like to watch you guys flail, although my suitemate is now literally clawing at my door after she read the latest chapter. Special thanks to rikku92, who drove two hours to my college to personally confront me about the cliffy two chapters ago and to fangirl madly with me. She also drew me a chibi Robin going insane. :D
Anyway, I've had to write and re-write this particular chapter multiple times. It's a very important chapter and, as you may have noticed, there's a lot of stuff going on all at once. It's kind of hard to keep track of what's happening to each of the characters and I want it to work. This is one of the chapters I wrote in advance during the summer (I even had the quote picked out beforehand and everything) so that I knew what I was working towards, but I still edited it heavily as the story morphed and changed into this...madness.
And it's midterms week! AHHHHHHHHHHH! That's why this chapter is up a little early: I have midterms/tests/projects so I don't want to have to worry about this chapter so that I can focus on schoolwork. I seriously want to get this done before Halloween, so I might be updating more often depending on my schedule. We're on the home stretch, guys: I might just be doing a pre-NaNoWriMo marathon as I hurry to finish this story. Several people have told me to take my time with this, but frankly I want this DONE. Not because I hate this story or anything, but because I have other ideas and I've been dragging this out for ALMOST FIVE MONTHS. You people deserve to read the whole last part in one go. I don't know how I'm going to update fast (I'll probably write during class hehe or get up at some ungodly hour like...seven am), but I'm gonna try.
"Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate."
"Abandon all hope, you who enter here."
Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy: The Inferno Canto III:9
Chapter 24: Benefits
-BB-
9:38pm
Jump City, California
Location Unknown
When Beast Boy came back to consciousness he groaned.
He sat up and rubbed his aching head. That was one hard hit he took to the noggin. Beast Boy didn't remember exactly what had happened. Some brief memories of robots and darkness and Overload went through his mind.
Come on, Logan, Beast Boy thought, think! What was the last thing you remember doing?
Glancing down at himself, he remembered that Overload had zapped him while they were fighting. His clothing smelled charred. Robin then said something…although Beast Boy couldn't remember what…and then there was darkness. He was still in darkness. Didn't Overload do something to the city's power grid?
"Hello, Gar."
Beast Boy froze instantly at the sound of the voice, his ears twitching as his heart began to pound madly. By all accounts, he shouldn't be hearing that voice since the owner was long dead. He shut his eyes and shook his head, trying to reassure himself that he wasn't going mad. Beast Boy turned his head to look.
Terra was alive.
Beast Boy backed away. She couldn't be…nothing had worked to reverse the effects of the stone. How could she be alive now? He must be hearing and seeing things.
Terra stood in the doorway dressed exactly as Beast Boy had last seen her: in Slade's unfashionable apprentice uniform. Her long blond hair fell down past her shoulders and obscured her face.
"T-Terra?" he spluttered. "N-no. No! You can't be Terra!"
Ever since Terra died he wanted nothing more than to see her face again. He and the others tried so hard to reverse the effects of the stone, but by now he had learned to accept the fact that she was truly dead. As Beast Boy looked at the Terra standing in front of him he felt his heart sank.
He threw his arms over his head and tried to will the image away. There was no way she could be alive. This was all a trick!
Terra brushed her hair away from her face. Beast Boy gulped and backed away into the wall. He didn't quite know how to handle this. The last thing he remembered was fighting off Overload at the Jump City Power Plant. Then the power went off and someone had knocked him out.
Where was he, anyway?
His heart softened as soon as he saw the expression on her face. It was that of a defeated person, of one who had no control over her situation. It was the exact expression that Beast Boy saw on her face when he burst into Slade's haunt looking for her. She turned her eyes towards him. Tears fell down her face.
"Gar…help."
She collapsed to the ground. To his surprise he saw that she was covered in blood all down her side, as though someone had cut her open with a knife. What had happened? How did…
He rushed over to her fallen figure and crouched down next to her. He slipped a hand underneath her and supported her thin body, which was trembling in pain. Who could have done this to he—no, what was he doing? Terra was dead!
"I…Terra…" he said, unsure of what to say or do. "How…are you here?"
Beast Boy's ears perked up at the sound of heavy boots. To his even greater surprise Slade stepped into the room. Beast Boy hated that suit and what it did to her. He thought it was bad enough when Slade infected the Titans with the probes, but when Beast Boy found out what Slade had done to her Slade hit a new low.
It was sick and wrong to treat someone like that. Even Beast Boy wouldn't wish for control like that on his worst enemy. His moral standards were too high. Although he felt an urge to get up and fight, he knew that Terra needed his attention first.
"Gar…I…"
Her hand reached for his. Beast Boy saved her the effort of reaching for him by taking her hand himself. There was nothing more he wanted to do than to hold her in his arms again, to re-live this part of his life that agonized him almost more than anything else.
She expired.
Tears formed in his eyes as he watched her die. Again.
"Slade," Beast Boy growled. "You did this to her!"
He transformed into a velociraptor and thundered towards Slade. He didn't even understand why he did that. All of the various emotions that he experienced over the past week overcame him like a possessed man. At once he didn't care whether this was a hallucination or not. He just wanted someone to beat the snot out of.
With relative ease Slade caught him by his open jaws and punched him hard. Momentarily disorientated, Beast Boy transformed back into a human. The mercenary took the opportunity to grab him by the scruff of the neck. Slade threw him forcefully across the room. Beast Boy felt his skin tear as his back hit the broken mirrors. With a grimace he pushed himself to his feet so that he could face Slade. He didn't care if Robin wanted to beat Slade himself. Beast Boy had held his own during the night of Terra's betrayal.
"Poor, poor Logan," Slade said, "illusions die hard, don't they?"
A cry of pain escaped his lips as Slade hit him again. Beast Boy backed away with a hand to his side. Now he could understand why Robin was so terrified of the guy. That really hurt.
Whatever this illusion was, Beast Boy knew it wasn't real. Slade was supposed to be dead. He wasn't going to go crazy like Robin. "I don't have time for this," Beast Boy said, turning away.
He needed to find a way out of here. Even though he had no idea where he was or how he got here, Beast Boy knew that he had to get out. Beast Boy cried out as Slade grabbed a fistful of his hair and yanked him backwards.
"You're not going anywhere."
Slade kneed Beast Boy in the small of his back.
This, Beast Boy thought, is not good.
-S-
9:41pm
Jump City, California
Location Unknown
Starfire woke up in shackles.
The heavy weight of the specially-made handcuffs immediately brought her on the alert. Darkness still surrounded her, but she got the sense that she was in an enclosed area. Starfire pushed herself to her knees and called out into the darkness.
"Hello? Is there anyone there?"
What had happened? Where was Robin? The last thing she remembered before she lost consciousness was Robin's frantic voice calling for them to stay together. It seemed as though he screamed out those directions a second too late.
She froze as she heard an alien tongue speaking in a harsh tone. No…it couldn't be…they wouldn't dare come back to Earth…
"The Tamaranean is awake," a Gordanian voice said. "Sir, when shall we depart for the Citadel?"
She knew it!
The Gordanians had come to Earth before when she escaped from the slave-ship. It was only a matter of time before they came back to Earth to seek her out again. She wouldn't be surprised if the Gordanians announced that the Citadel had a bounty on her head.
Of course, why didn't she see it before? The Gordanians were behind all of this business with the dust in Slade's mask. How they came about figuring out about the dust was a mystery to her, but it made sense that they would target the boy she loved first before breaking down the others.
"Who are you?" she demanded in Tamaranean.
The Gordanian snorted. "Why should we tell you, Troq?"
"I demand—"
Stars popped in front of her eyes as a Gordanian hit her in the face with the butt of his gun. With her hands shackled together there was nothing that she could do to protect herself. Before Starfire could snap back the Gordanian began to kick her.
"Pathetic."
Blowing a strand of hair away from her face, Starfire glared at the Gordanian. If anything, she felt that she was far from pathetic. The Gordanian soldier looked down at her and sneered.
"What do you believe is going to happen, Troq?" The Gordanian soldier asked. "Your identity and location was given to us by one of your so-called friends."
"W—what do you mean?" Starfire demanded. "None of my friends would betray me!"
No one would ever betray her! She trusted her friends here on Earth. Even if what the Gordanian said was true Starfire knew that none of her friends would betray her willingly. That fact alone made her even more upset.
"Well, I have to admit, they had a little help."
Starfire stiffened at the sound of the voice. She turned her head and found her sister Blackfire striding into the room. A malicious grin spread across the older Tamaranean's face.
"What are you doing here?" Starfire demanded.
"Why? Surprised to see me, little sister?"
Yes, Starfire was surprised to see her sister here and not chained up like she was. The Gordanians were her enemies as much as Starfire's.
"Have you not forgotten what the Citadel has done to us?" Starfire growled, her eyes beginning to glow. "Even if we must be enemies, let us at least be united against the Citadel."
At least that got Blackfire's attention. Although Starfire liked to be nice to her sister Starfire never understood why Blackfire held such resentment towards her. They had gone through so much together…how could they now be enemies? After a moment's hesitation Blackfire's face changed into a smirk.
"I'm taking matters into my own hands," Blackfire said. "I've made a deal with the Gordanians."
Horror overcame Starfire. No sane Tamaranean would ever make a deal with a Gordanian. Out of all the people Starfire expected, she would have never expected her sister to trust the Citadel. Since both of them were heirs to the Tamaranean throne it was both political and literal suicide to make a deal with the Gordanians.
"The Gordanians cannot be trusted!" Starfire spat. "Even you should know that."
Blackfire did not seem to have an answer for her, but by now Starfire didn't care. She didn't want to see her sister anymore. As stream practically hissed out of Starfire's ears Blackfire stood up, brushing imaginary dust away from her arm.
"Well, as much as I would love to stay and chat, little sister, I do believe that I have Tamaran to take over." She snapped her fingers at the Gordanian soldiers. "Do whatever you want to her. I don't care."
No, Starfire thought, she would not…
Starfire pressed herself against the back of her prison, trying not to tremble as two Gordanians approached her. Despite herself, Starfire felt afraid. There was no one here to help her defeat the Gordanians. After her experience at the hands of the Gordanians last time, Starfire vowed never to let herself fall into their hands again.
"I believe we have some unfinished business to take care of, princess," one soldier said, lifting up his spear threatening.
Starfire's green eyes widened in fear.
-C-
9:48pm
Jump City, California
Location Unknown
System back online.
The world around him flickered to life as his backup batteries took over. For a moment Cyborg stayed on the ground. His real eye opened slowly. He groaned and lifted a hand to his infrared eye. It was broken. At least that eye was replaceable.
The only problem was that he now couldn't see well in the dark. For all of those years he had taken infrared vision for granted. Now, when he needed it the most, it just had to go out.
Cyborg sat up and checked his system to make sure that nothing else was wrong. His monitors said that all of his internal systems were fine, but that his vision was kaput. After glancing around at his surroundings he tried to use his GPS to pinpoint his location.
"What the hell…" he murmured, tapping the screen on his arm. "Come on…"
It wasn't working. He next tried to locate the other Titans through their communicators, but it seemed as though they were all offline. Where could they be? Unless everyone else was kidnapped as well, their communicators should at least be able to send out a signal.
Someone ran by in white robes.
"Brother Blood…"
Immediately he pushed himself to his feet and began to chase him. Without his shoulder lamps or his infrared eye to guide him through the dark Cyborg bumped his way through the building. It was a wonder that his quarry didn't hear him and sound the alarm. Cyborg rubbed his nose (which he just hit against a doorframe) and continued to chase Brother Blood.
He found himself running through a maze of corridors. Even though the power was shut off he could still detect Blood's movements through the use of his censors. As he ran he checked how much power he still had left in his system. Only a few more hours worth of power left before his system would shut down again.
Cyborg slowed down as he came to a closed door at the end of a hallway. He looked down at his sensors again. Brother Blood was waiting for him on the other side of the door. After taking a deep breath he pushed the door open.
"Why, Cyborg," Brother Blood said, his tone dastardly delighted, "how good to see you."
Rage filled every pore and mechanical cell of Cyborg's body as he stood in the doorway facing his arch enemy. Yes, Cyborg now considered Brother Blood his arch enemy. The man tried to brainwash him while he was at the HIVE Academy. It didn't take a genius to know that Blood was still pissed that Cyborg was the only person he wasn't able to brainwash.
The HIVE Headmaster stood alone in the empty room. Cyborg supposed that he should be suspecting a trap, but it wasn't as if he had anywhere else to go. For all he knew, this whole place could be a trap.
"Where are my friends?"
"They're having a little…get together…with some old friends." Brother Blood smirked. "Just like we're going now."
Anger surged through Cyborg. Robin was so wrapped up in his little theories that he barely considered the idea that Brother Blood was behind this. It angered Cyborg that it was Brother Blood who was behind this.
The events leading up to this confrontation clicked together in his mind. Of course, ever since Blood took over the Academy he had planned this attack. He stole information about Slade from the previous HIVE Headmistress. He sent out Overload to the power plant, where he then made Overload cut the city's power as more of the dust infected the Titans. One of Blood's henchmen must have broken into the Tower and stole Slade's mask to get a sample of the dust.
"Where am I? Where are your goonies, huh?"
Cyborg looked around his dark prison. Now that he stopped to think about, why hadn't he seen any HIVE kids around? Brother Blood was more of a coward when it came to fights. Instead of fighting his own battles, Blood always used the HIVE kids to fight for him.
"That is inconsequential. "
Inconsequential? Nothing about this situation was inconsequential. This was a matter of life and death.
"Why am I here?" Cyborg demanded. "Who triggered the dust?"
"Why, I am the one who triggered the dust."
Brother Blood's face broke into a smirk as he said this. Robin asked this question all the time: who benefits? Of course the HIVE would benefit. After Cyborg's infiltration of the Academy it made sense that Brother Blood would be pissed.
"I knew it," Cyborg growled, crackling his fists. "It had to be you."
"Who else would have done it? It was only too easy to goad you…Victor."
Cyborg's blood ran cold. The HIVE Headmaster smirked at Cyborg's dumbfounded expression and examined his nails.
"Oh please, don't act so innocent. It really was quite stupid of you to come to my school under your real name, Victor."
Cyborg hated the way Blood said his name. He also hated the fact that Blood was right. When Robin offered him the chance to work undercover Cyborg immediately created that hologram for himself. But he couldn't let Blood get to him like that. Robin said that Slade knew his secret identity and had allowed that to get to his head. It didn't matter if Blood knew Cyborg's secret identity. His friends were in trouble. He needed to help them.
"How did you trigger the dust? How do you know so much about my friends?"
"When you hacked into the HIVE database we hacked into you…and did a little research of our own. I thought it prudent to attack your leader first. The previous Headmistress left a considerable amount of information concerning the criminal mastermind Deathstroke and of his…obsession with the Boy Wonder." Brother Blood smirked. "And that poor boy thought that no one else knew…"
"Enough talking, Blood!"
Cyborg had to stick up for his friends. He had to bring down Brother Blood. The Teen Titans had allowed him to roam free for far too long. This was the HIVE's class project: to screw around with the Teen Titans. Cyborg's lips thinned as his right arm transformed into a sonic cannon.
"You're going to pay for messing with my friends."
"Oh really?" Brother Blood raised an eyebrow. "I'd like to see you try."
-Rae-
9:39pm
Jump City, California
Main Street
She saw the world in flames.
Each step that she took was another agonizing step into this desolate destroyed world that used to be her home. Jump City looked as if a thousand atomic bombs had hit it, but instead of incinerating the people grotesque statues lay scattered on the streets. Out in the bay Titans Tower lay in ruins in an ocean of molten lava.
It is not the end of the world, she thought angrily, my birthday is not yet here…the time for opening the portal has not yet arrived.
Flaming red symbols burned over every inch of her body; the words of that terrible prophecy etched permanently into her skin. She could feel the heat of flames caress her pale skin and hear the shrill terrifying cries of her father's demon soldiers.
But it was all a lie.
It still terrified her that she couldn't see anything but flames. Even though she knew it was a lie she could understand why Robin acted the way he did when he was infected with the dust. Now that she was infected herself, it was all she could do not to bloody panic. She withdrew into the confines of her cloak and shut her eyes tightly.
When she opened them again she saw the streets as they really were. Everything electronic was shut down, except for the few electronic devices now running on batteries. People were milling around in confusion, bumping into each other in the darkness. Raven didn't mind the darkness. Secretly, she thought it was cool. But no electricity meant that no one could turn on the lights to get rid of the nightmares.
Glass tinkled as someone smashed through a store window. She whipped her head around at a sudden noise. Several young men were throwing bricks through a large store window. What were these idiots doing?
"Azarath Metrion Zin—"
Her incantation fell short as she saw Trigon tower over the city. Whatever words Raven planned to utter died in her throat. Trigon raised his arms towards the heavens and split the sky open. Demonic monsters flew in swarms towards him, the sound of their leathery wings buzzing loudly.
"Raven!"
She turned at the sound of her name. Several cop cars pulled up beside her, their headlights blinding the would-be thieves. Several thieves dropped what they were holding and ran for dear life. JCPD cops broke into a run after them, yelling hoarse commands for them to stop. Raven leaned against a wall with a hand to her head. A cop strode up to her, clearly uncomfortable that he had to talk to her instead of Robin.
"Are you feeling all right?" the cop asked. "Should I call an ambulance or—"
"I'm fine," she replied.
A shadow of doubt crossed the cop's face, but he stayed silent on the subject. Raven knew that she—and everyone else—should be at the hospital now, cleaning their nervous systems of the dust. Instead he changed the subject.
"Where are the rest of the Titans?"
"I don't know," she replied, massaging her forehead. "We've been separated."
Right before Raven had been torn away from the others she heard Robin cry out for them not to separate. The robots that attacked them in the dark captured and separated them all, so that no one could help each other. She remembered how the Robin managed to cure himself of the dust: a little light and a little common sense. Was there anything she could do to make them see the truth of their visions? Although, once infected with the dust there was nothing the victim wanted to do than run away from everyone. Raven glanced down at her glowing hands and grimaced.
"What happened? Are they okay?"
"I don't know."
The cop lifted his walkie-talkie to his mouth. "Chief, we have a problem."
Raven glanced back at the shattered store window as the cop relayed the information to the JCPD. That power outage did more than just turn the light off. Electricity must be down everywhere. Security must be down at every single major company in the city. The Jump City Maximum Security Prison's security must be in disarray.
"The most important thing to do right now is to power the city back up," she said.
"Overload fried everything. We can't just—"
"This is a matter of life and death!" Raven snapped. "My friends have been infected with dust, and if you don't enable the power they—will—die!"
The cop backed away, the expression on his face unnerved. Raven was aware of just how creepy and angry she sounded, but she didn't care. The perpetrator knew that he couldn't personally hurt Raven—so he decided to hurt all the people she loved instead. She forced herself to calm down.
"I'm sorry. I've been infected too, and I'm struggling to keep my sanity."
"What should we do?" Johnson asked.
Inside, Raven flinched as everyone turned to look at her. She didn't like being placed in the position of leader. Raven didn't trust herself enough. What if she made a wrong decision? What if she wasn't able to save her friends in time?
She also didn't know what to do.
The Titans could be anywhere in the city. Hell, they could be outside the city for all Raven knew. But if all they needed was a little light to see the truth, then maybe the JCPD could bring in floodlights or…something. She would find a way to make this right.
"Find a way to bring light into the city. I'm going back to the Tower to contact the Justice League. They are supposed to come here and help."
That was the most important thing to do right now. It wasn't their fault that they weren't here yet—Superman did mention that they were going to stop by Gotham City first. No one knew when the perpetrator would strike next. Raven allowed her soul-self to envelop her as she flew off in the direction of Titans Tower.
Even though the electricity was probably down at the Tower too Raven knew that Cyborg built backup generators. Once she powered up the backup generators (which she knew wasn't fried by Overload's sparkling spree) she planned to contact the Justice League.
-BW-
10:47pm
Gotham City
Arkham Asylum
Batman ran.
He followed the sound of the Joker's laughter echoing through the trees. The cold wet air permeated his lungs and soaked his uniform, but Batman didn't care. He didn't care about anything else except the Joker. Here was undeniable proof that the Joker was out wreaking havoc in Gotham.
As he neared a clearing he saw the Joker standing on top of a large boulder, examining his nails as he stood there waiting. The madman looked up at the sound of Batman approaching. His eyes widened in gleeful anticipation.
"Hello there, Bats," the Joker said, waving at him, "I thought I heard someone following me."
Just the sight of him almost brought foam to Batman's mouth. How had the Joker gotten out of Arkham and not triggered the alarms? Where were the dead bodies? The party favors? Or was the Joker simply messing with him before delivering the final punch line?
"What are you planning?" Batman growled.
"Oh stop being such a worry-wort. It took you long enough to figure out that Clayface was only a distraction. Now that I have your attention, I guess I'll reveal my plan."
The Joker took something out of his pocket. As Batman squinted he saw that it was the ragged "R" from Robin's uniform. His heart nearly stopped beating. His eyes went from the "R" to the Joker's face and then back again. There was no way…no way that the Joker did that.
"Robin's in Jump City—"
"Oh really? All that drama with the dust…such a thing to put such a young boy through. When I heard about it I thought that bird boy could use a visit home." A wide, wicked smile spread across the Joker's face. "So I decided to bring him home."
With a roar of anger Batman lunged forward towards the Joker. Abandoning all rationale, he decided to confront the Joker head on. That's what he did last time they confronted. All of the rage he felt when he learned of Robin's predicament came out that night he faced the Joker.
The Joker ducked and dodged Batman's fists, laughing all the while. Was it just Batman, or had the Joker gotten faster since they last fought.
The Joker managed to punch him hard in the face. Batman stumbled back, momentarily disorientated. Since when had he gotten so slow? The Joker may be insane, but he wasn't a fighter. Still laughing, the Joker used Batman's pause to hit him again.
"What do you hope to accomplish from this, Bats?" he asked, shoving Batman back to the ground. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Where is Robin?"
"Now…now…let's not be too hasty. Your baby bird is fine…for the moment." The Joker pulled out a pack of cards and began to shuffle them. "I'm sure you've noticed my little cards and birthday presents all around Gotham. Let's play a little game, shall we? Each of these presents are located in famous landmarks around Gotham. Each present contains a puzzle piece. Put the puzzle pieces together and you will have the location of your little birdie-bird."
The present. So Batman hadn't been imagining things when he saw that present in the alleyway. He should have opened it when he had the chance. Then he would be one step closer to finding out where Robin was being held.
"Ah, doesn't this bring back memories, Batsy?" The Joker asked. "Remember when I used to kidnap your kid all the time? It used to drive you so nuts."
Well, it still drove him nuts. Batman wouldn't allow anyone else to get hurt. He still felt partly responsible for allowing Dick to fall into Deathstroke's trap. He should have stopped Dick from leaving Gotham, he should have taught him better, he should have—
"Tell. Me. Where. He is."
"Oh Batsy, that's no fun. Ya know, I thought about killing him many times just to mess with you. You always have a few spare kids hanging around." The Joker's tone changed from easy going to serious. "This time I mean to bring Gotham to its knees. And if that means killing bird-boy, then I will do it."
"You're not going to get away with this—"
"Oh, but I already have. And, one more thing: you only got three hours to find them before I start leaving pieces of bird-boy for you to find."
The Joker threw his head back and began to laugh that grating hysterical laugh. It was that psychotic laugh that haunted Batman's nightmares and kept him up at night. It was the sound of a madman in triumph, of a man who simply wanted to watch the world burn.
"Batman?"
Two orderlies dressed in blue scrubs and jackets stepped into the clearing. They held flashlights in their hands and shone them at the dark knight. Batman flung an arm over his face to block the light. Great, just great, what a way to ruin his night vision.
"We saw smoke and Dr. Arkham asked us to see what it was," one orderly, a burly man with a bald head, said, "it came from the Batmobile. Is everything all right?"
Everything all right? No, everything wasn't all right. Robin was in trouble and it was all the Joker's fault. Batman's first hunch about the dust was correct: the perpetrator was using it to get to Batman. And how could they not see the truth in front of their eyes? Did they not hear the sound of the Joker's godawful laugh? Wasn't that why they came?
"STOP HIM!" Batman shouted, pointing towards the Joker.
Startled, the orderlies directed the beams of light towards the boulder. To Batman's great surprise no one was standing on top of the boulder. There was nothing there except moss and air. Confusion filled him as he stared at the empty boulder. If anything, the Joker should have been visible in the light.
"Stop who?" the second orderly asked.
"The Joker!" Batman snapped. "I saw him running through the trees! He's here! Now!"
The two orderlies exchanged started glances. Gulping, the first orderly who spoke gathered up his courage to talk to Batman.
"Batman, the Joker is locked up. If he had escaped I think there would be more of us out here looking for him."
Snorting, Batman glared at the two orderlies. What did they know? They were only hired grunts here to keep the pyschos in Arkham. They weren't trained like he was. No matter how much time they spent with the Joker in Arkham they would never know the Joker like he did.
He was wasting time.
"No, I saw him. He's masterminded a plot to kill Robin and I need to stop him!"
To his own surprise, Batman found himself sounding a little hysterical. He wasn't panicking, but his growl grew rougher as he spoke. The poor orderlies noticed this sudden change and proceeded with the utmost caution.
"Batman, calm down!" the second orderly said. "We heard the news about Jump City. Just because the Titans are missing doesn't mean that—"
"I don't have time for this."
"Batman, you can see the Joker for yourself," the first orderly said, beginning to sound nervous. "We'll take you to him."
Batman turned and loomed over the two orderlies, fury evident in every syllable of his words. He wasn't just furious at the fact that the Joker had escaped. He was furious at himself for not noticing the warnings in time. He was furious that whoever triggered the dust in Jump City was winning. Bruce held himself to high standards.
He wasn't going to fail now.
"I don't need to waste time going to Arkham. I saw the Joker with my own eyes. That's all the proof I need. If I were you, I would go right back and tell Dr. Arkham that the Joker has escaped."
He ignored their desperate pleas as he raced back towards the Batmobile. Batman only had a few hours to collect all of the puzzle pieces hidden around the city before the Joker began to torture Robin. If he ran into the JLA then by God he would get them to help. If they thought he was crazy—no, no he wasn't crazy.
He was just determined.
-R-
9:37pm
Jump City, California
Location Unknown
A television screen flickered on. Robin forced his breathing to slow as he looked up at the screen. Wasn't the entire city under a blackout? How could this be powered? Unless…of course, the perpetrator meant for this to happen.
What is this? Robin thought, confused. What's going on?
Slade's face appeared on the television. Instead of sitting down to watch Robin got up and began to search the small room. As long as he had light around he wouldn't hallucinate. As his eyes adjusted to the light he saw that the walls were made of metal. Unlike his room in Slade's haunt, however, he could see the outline of a door. Immediately he went up to it and pressed his hands against the door, but it wouldn't budge.
No…no…come on! He thought, pushing harder against the door. I have to get out of here…
Robin realized that nothing he did would make that door open. Slowly, he turned towards the television screen. So far Slade's words had gone over his head. If this was meant to scare him, then it wouldn't work. As he listened to what Slade had to say, however, his heart sank even lower in his chest.
"It seems so real, doesn't it?" Slade said. "Being the clever boy that you are, I knew that you would be able to resist the effects of the dust in my mask and figure out how to defeat your own imagination. It was a simple test of wills, and you passed. Congratulations.
"All this time you were probably wondering 'who benefits?' since I know that is how the Bat taught you to think. None of this is for my benefit, Dick. This is all about you.
"You see, I have thought long and hard about how I let you get away. Then I thought of a more secure way to keep you as my apprentice: you injected the probes into yourself to save your friends. I will admit that my plan was flawed. It was something I should have foreseen. At the same time I admired your quick thinking. It was clever. But as I said before: the Titans are holding you back.
"Right now each one of the Titans and your dear guardian Bruce Wayne has inhaled the dust. Wayne has inhaled a rather special strain…one that acts more slowly so that he and the pesky Justice League would not notice right away. Thanks to Terra's infiltration, I was able to secure the necessary information to plan a way to torment your friends in the worst ways possible. I wanted you to see how they were holding you back…how Wayne was holding you back. Once my agents attacked them all your team became useless. That is why you must not work with a team or even with…a partner. Not even a partner as skilled as Bruce Wayne.
"This time, Dick, you cannot put yourself in harm's way to save them. They are not as strong-willed as you are. They will succumb to the torments of the dust and there is nothing you can do to stop it.
"You see, dear boy, you and your friends acted exactly as I predicted. Who triggered the chemical reagent? Why, you did. I know you cannot let me go, especially after our pleasant but brief time as master and apprentice. Although Terra is my apprentice I wanted you first. Terra was also kind enough to go through the evidence room and plant a motion sensor in my mask. Once you touched my mask it triggered a motion sensor to the first agent, who then triggered the dust. As you may have noticed, things began to escalate from there. Overload conveniently provided a massive power outage, so your friends cannot turn on the lights to escape from their nightmares. By the time dawn arrives they will all be dead by their own hands.
"I will arrive shortly to administer the antidote to you, since you regrettably had to be infected as well. Don't even think about trying to escape. You can't escape this room. I made sure of that. Besides, the dust should keep you occupied long enough."
The message ended.
The lights flickered off, leaving Robin in complete darkness.
The imaginary Slade shoved Robin to the ground, but Robin didn't try to resist. Numb horror enveloped him. Everything made sick sense. How could Robin not have foreseen this? He understood Slade's twisted logic better than anyone and the same time he understood almost nothing about the man. He had been thinking too narrowly, too much like a good guy.
Hopelessness infused every pore in his body. If Slade was truly dead, then no one would be coming. No one would know he was here, alone in the dark with nothing but this nightmarish monster for company. Robin put his hands over his head and began to sob. He almost wished that Slade was alive. At least then there would be someone to meet, someone to beat, someone other than himself to blame for this.
Who benefits?
I do, Robin thought, shaking in horror. I benefit.
A/N: *grins evilly*
You guys have no idea how long I've been waiting to post this chapter. It's just…yeah, I've been writing towards this one scene for a LONG time. These are the scenes I've been envisioning since the very beginning of this story. This is the reason why I wanted to explore the problems of the other Titans instead of just Robin: BECAUSE THEY ARE ALL INFECTED WITH THE DUST.
As I was thinking about who triggered the dust my first idea when I started writing was the Joker. I thought long and hard about who would be smart enough to mess with people like this...especially within the actual episode. Then I realized: who else would be cool enough to trigger the dust? Slade himself. He doesn't have to be alive to screw with people this well. Then somehow this turned into another apprentice story. Slade's twisted logic is so much fun to play around with…and so is screwing around with everyone's heads.
Of course, half of you probably expected something like this to happen. Hell, this story is labeled under "Robin and Slade" for a reason. But for me the most important thing was making everyone lose their minds. I spent so much time building up to this point that I was afraid you guys wouldn't like this twist once I revealed who was behind the dust. And since Slade's REALLY dead, how will everyone survive?
Review…if you dare.