A/N: Why is it so easier to write these two!!! cries I feel that I'm doing them justice but not the others. So I hope you guys get this chapter. I know Fanfiction has had some problems. Well off to the next chapter.
Ch. 7 All is set
Once the door was close, Seir slammed his fist lightly against the wall. "Beast boy? Beast Boy!"
Slade narrowed his eye, "Control, Reaper."
"Control? Deathstroke, it was BEAST BOY!" Seir's voice wanted to scream but instead it fell into a hiss. "Is there anything else I need to know about that battle?"
"The whole Brotherhood was frozen. Titans escaped and won a major victory."
Stepping fully into the light, Seir slammed his hand on the table and leaned towards Slade. "Then how the hell did Brain become unfrozen?"
Slade locked his gaze on the figure at the end of the table, "Must you ask? How did you escape dire situations?"
The young man's shoulders tensed only to sag slowly. "Allies."
"Do not let your angry blind your rational thinking, apprentice. It is one and the most stubborn flaw you have."
Seir shook his head, "I still can't believe…Beast Boy…"
"Jealous are we?"
Light blue eyes jumped up and sparkled at Slade, "Must you ask?"
The mastermind purred in a tone that Robin knew he was trudging on dangerous grounds, "Don't mock me boy."
Fear crept back into Seir, dragging him back to reality. Closing his eyes, he whispered, "Besides planning bases in Gotham and Jump City, why else did I have attend this meeting?"
Slade gathered up his papers and placed it in a folder, "Is it not obvious?"
"You wanted to reveal me to the public, so what?"
"You are going to be a key player in this game, apprentice."
A questioning glance shot at Slade, "Game?" The light bulb went off in Seir's mind and it made him sick. "I'm not going to be another Terra." With that point clear, Seir folded his arms across his chest, showing Slade that he might be Slade's apprentice, but he wouldn't follow the man blindly. "Let me rephrase, why now? I thought you said it would be safer to hide with everyone looking for me."
"Yes, but then why make them wait. They seem eager to have you back. Don't you want to be united with your ex-comrades?"
Seir frowned, his eyes focused on the door, "Not really."
"You are ashamed that you've changed sides?"
"No," snapped back the boy.
Slade chuckled, "Then why do you not want to face them?"
Seir's shoulders sagged lightly and Slade knew the boy was looking for an answer but couldn't form one. Nodding, the mastermind moved to stand in front of his apprentice.
"You don't trust me."
Slade looked down at where the small voice came from. "I don't even trust my own shadow, Apprentice."
"Then why? I won't infiltrate them; they'll be expecting it. The Titans did learn their mistake from Terra. So, knowing that fact, you just want me to fight the Titans, make it clear to them whose side I am now." Smirking, Seir chuckled, "This isn't about me is it? You want to show the world that you turned the mighty Robin to the dark side. Reveal the cards now, so you have the upper hand."
"You are truly a smart boy," purred Slade as he leaned forward and placed a hand on Seir's small shoulder. The boy's mind was becoming more twisted like his, the more time he spent with him. "You are nothing like that idiotic, lost girl, Seir. I see you as my true apprentice. Yes, it might be for the Titans and Batman, but it's always been about you…Robin, or have you forgotten that.
You need to face those last bonds that bind you to that old life. This is the only way to cut those bonds and bind yourself wholly to this new life." Slade paused, "You are learning my trade but yet you still on some level hate me for being your master. I understand that you think that you are your own master, Seir, and I respect that," hissed that familiar dark voice as the hand began to squeeze, "I know you view this relationship as more of a partnership. But you and I both know that will only bring disaster, for isn't that what happened between Batman and you?"
Seir clenched his teeth as Slade's grip tightened to the point of breaking his bone. The man's words floated about in his head. As always, he was right. Partnerships didn't last long, one's own selfish desires shattering the bond. With a master and apprentice, the bond lasted no matter what, allowing the master or apprentice to always count on where the other's loyalty laid. And that was Slade was asking…testing him on.
Slade eased his grip and stepped back, knowing full well that his words had struck Robin hard. Now it was time to put icing on the cake, "I must say I was surprised and pleased when you suggested Jump City. The others seemed to accept your idea, meaning that you are on your way to establish a nice network in the villain society."
Rubbing his shoulder, Seir shifted his train of thoughts, "Just stating the obvious. What's with this council stuff? Didn't take you as a man who joined clubs?"
A deep chuckle vibrated quietly in the room, "Villains have their own structure. I, along with others are part of a council who run the Secret Society."
"Not much of a name."
"Neither is Justice League."
Seir shrugged. Slade continued, "The Society discusses plans to strike cities and heroes. The Justice League formed to stop the crisis that of which the Society creates…to an extent."
"Let me guess, they don't know about the others right?"
"Of course and in that, we, as you will one day, oversee and balance the Society."
Seir nodded, absorbing the information. And here he thought the criminal world was simple. It was just as complex as the hero side, except you didn't know where people sided in.
"Time for training. You will need it when you go Jump City and especially Gotham," commanded Slade as he moved off towards another exit. "That and I figure seeing Brain triggered an old frustration."
Seir frowned, "Yeah, well, as much as I wanted to hit the thing there is someone else whose gonna get the full beating."
"Of course."
Seir paused, thinking that maybe was now the right time to talk about Kumi and the trip to Gotham. But, Slade had just assigned him to go to Gotham, so did he really need to ask permission still. "Kumi-"
"I know, and yes you may. You need the practice."
Seir sighed. Figures that Slade would know everything. Trudging down the stairs, he once more plunged into the darkness.
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The rest of the day was a blur of pain. Slade bots poured in from all angles of the training room, flying over the obstacles as if they were nothing but pebbles. Robin fought tooth and nail with his bowstaff, which quickly became two broken smaller poles in each hand. Throughout the session, Slade told of him areas to strike best. At first, he was reluctant to strike a person in such vital spots. All his life, he had been trained to hit a person only to knock them unconscious or render them useless. Even during the war, he had made sure to fire at the arms or legs. Yet, while time progressed he had gotten tired of watching out not only for the reinforcements but the wounded soldiers as well. They never stopped until they were dead.
He had gotten so tired. The whole world was against him. He just wanted to make it safe for his men to pass by.
A robot lunged at him and Robin twirled his staff, sending it stabbing into the bot's leg. The robot collapsed behind him.
One…two…three…
Bang. Robin looked down to see his forearm spilling out a river of blood from where the bullet had sheared past his skin. He heard the cocking of the gun.
Behind him metal scrapped against the floor, a metal arm dragging up a piece of metal to throw at its' opponent.
Without hesitation, Robin twirled around and fired his gun, watching as the bullet hit the wounded soldier. The dead man's head jerked back, followed by his body. Dull eyes stared up at the gray sky and soon were covered by blood.
The broken half of the pole flew out his hand and twirled through the air hitting its' target. The robot fell backward, the pole jutting forth from its face. Robin just stared at the fallen robot. For a moment his mind was blank. Then with the clanging of footsteps behind him, it all came back. The fallen robot no longer was the unknown soldier but in its place was a shattered jar with a large brain spilling out on the floor. Pure rage spurred his mind into cold accuracy as he spun around, delivering a shattering kick at the last remaining robots' neck. The neck snapped like a twig and instead of wide white eyes and a black and orange face, he saw the face of an elder man. A man with a snow-white beard and green eyes stared at him with a blank look: life snuffed out.
One side of him wanted to scream.
The other wanted to smile.
Landing lightly on his feet, Robin regarded the carnage around him. With the adrenaline rush dying, memories surfaced causing his eyes to fallen upon themselves.
Slade walked up to the boy, "What is the matter?"
If the sneering got to Robin, the boy didn't show it. Those dull eyes fell to the floor. "I was annoyed."
"What?"
"I was annoyed when I made my first kill. I…I just wanted him to stay down."
Slade growled, realizing that the boy was reliving a memory. Jerking Robin's head up, he forced the boy to look at him. "You did what you had to do to survive. It's was either him or you or your men back then."
Something sparked in those eyes and gazed up at Slade. The mastermind frowned mentally. He had forgotten that Robin was just a teenager. He might act beyond his age but there were things that took time to get over. And killing for the first time was one of them.
"So you felt annoyed, that does not matter. All that matters is what happened in the end."
Robin nodded, "We did win…"
"So you did not kill in vain, and neither will you do such as my apprentice."
In a small voice, Robin whispered, "The end justifies the means."
"Correct." Letting go, Slade dropped Robin on the floor.
"I wanted to scream, Slade. Let everyone know what I did; make them take away the pain. Does it ever go away? The guilt of ending someone's life?" A pause. "Is it okay to start to like it…to want to smile?"
Slade pondered over the questions his apprentice was spilling. They were the same questions that he once asked himself. And in the end, "You can only provide the answers to those questions. As for liking…it depends. Do you want to be like a psychopath and get all your highs off of killing, like the Joker?"
"No."
"Then don't start to like killing, for once you do, it will become a darker desire than stealing. But…"oh how to word this, "if it against someone you hate, then allow yourself the small victory and smile."
Robin narrowed his eyes, sorting and discussing with himself the information Slade provided. Slade felt something stir inside of him. Clearing his throat, the mastermind nodded towards the door, "Now, go get clean up for dinner."
Without a word, Robin turned and left the training room. When he was sure he was gone, Slade sighed and rubbed his face. He had hoped that maybe the child had come to grip with everything that had happened during the war. It seemed as such when Robin was being persecuted out in the crowd. There were different levels of acceptance and the boy was still struggling with some issues. Then again, getting over your first kill was something that took time. Even the infamous Deathstroke found himself time and again aching slightly with guilt when he remembered such innocent times.
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Turning on the shower, Robin cranked the knob all the way to cold and slide down the wall. The ice-cold water washed over his body, numbing the scraps and bruises he had earned that day. Rising his hands, the teenager looked at them. They were hands of an acrobatic, then the hands of hero, a son, a partner, a teammate, a leader and a brother. Now they were the hands of a traitor, a thief, a torturer and a killer. Once they brought love upon a touch, now they only bring pain.
Closing his eyes, he sorted his mixed thoughts and memories. After his first kill, he didn't even cry, just continued on and on. He started to kill more often and soon inflicted others. Yet, like Slade said, it was all to protect his men and end the war. He didn't do anything out of vain, not just for the fun of it. Opening his eyes, Robin stood up and clenched his hands. He hadn't fallen that far. All, he was doing was ensuring justice in a different manner. The confidence he felt earlier today shored up in him. Turning off the water, Robin knew what had to be done. Sacrifices had to made; power needed to be gained to achieve the ultimate goal.
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A/N: Whew, ok time to go back to the others now. Can't you just feel the love! So, a heads up cause finals week is approaching fast, meaning I might be a little slow in updating. But don't freak out cause if I'm not posting it means that I'm studying with a little break in between to write up the next couple of chapters.
