The Next Generation
Chapter 8: Dreams and Memories
"Blaze! You know I just can't stand her!" Tawny moaned as her dark-haired cousin caught up with her in the hall.
"Yes, but please, try to get along." Blaze replied.
"Why is she here anyway? You claim to have nothing to do with it." Tawny looked Blaze over for some hint he was lying.
"She said Dad sent her with some important message about Dad's old DNA scanners picking up some weird transmissions."
"Blaze, that could be important, why else would Robin send her?" Tawny rolled her eyes.
"Oh, yeah. I didn't think of that." Blaze grinned sheepishly.
"Well, ask her you retard!"
"Hey, that's usually my name, but you can have it, Blaze!" Tyger said, jumping up.
"If you dare take a picture of me now, I will kill you." Tawny growled.
"Look, guys, it's late. I'm going off to bed." Blaze replied and left the two fighting.
Why did Dad send Aly? Something must be up. Something big.
Blaze stretched as he flopped down on his bed. Suddenly he felt really tired.
"Nite, guys!" He called then fell asleep.
A spiky-haired boy was running down a long hall. He was following someone, someone breathing heavily and leaving a trail of blood. The boy was eighteen, almost a man. He wore a black cape over red and green outfit. The boy's eyes were covered, but you could tell they were scrunched up in frustration and determination.
"Slade!" The boy yelled.
"Hurry, Robin, you're losing yards." A voice gasped.
Suddenly, a door opened up ahead and led into a room full of machinery. Large barrels were all around, chemical barrels, acid barrels. The form of a man could be seen, running down the rickety bridge that went across the room.
"Come back here!" The boy yelled again, his voice deep.
"Dear Robin, I am not running away. It is you who left the Titans!"
The figure turned around. He was bleeding at the jaw and arm, which had been broken. His mask was cracked showing tufts of brown hair. His step was a limp due to a knife in his left leg.
"Shut up!" The boy yelled and jumped forward. The man hit him hard. But instead of the boy feeling the pain, Blaze did. He felt himself fall back, just like the boy, and even saw through the boy's mask.
"You left Starfire, Robin. You were afraid she would not want you after the crime you committed."
"No!" Blaze heard himself yelling, but it was not his voice.
"Yes, Robin. After you reckless pursuit killed a villain, she never looked at you the same." The man laughed a cold, heartless laugh.
"Starfire accepted me. I left because… because I had other things to do!"
"You lie." The man cackled again. "You lie, and hide from the truth."
"The only one hiding is you, Slade!"
"No, Robin, no. I am no longer hiding. You are now. Hiding from Starfire. Hiding from the Titans. Hiding from yourself." The man choked, as he was injured in many places, some internal.
"I am not hiding!" The boy yelled.
"Robin, you are. She hates you." The man grasped part of the rickety railing behind him and leaned on it. Underneath the two boiled and bubbled a pot of chemicals.
"She … loves me…"
"Robin, she hates you." The man laughed again, but this time the railing behind him gave way and the man fell.
"Slade!" The boy yelled and looked down.
There, the man stood holding on to the bridge for his life. But he was too weak, he wouldn't make it much longer.
"Robin," the man wheezed, "I leave you with these parting words: You may kill me now, but I have a newer and better apprentice. I will return. And when I do, you will be old and your children will be the Teen Titans!"
"Goodbye, Slade. Every thing you did to me, all the pain you caused me, will end here." With that, the boy stepped on the man's hands and the villain fell into the boiling pot of chemicals.
"ROBIN!" Came a shriek as a girl flew across the room and grabbed the boy. Her auburn hair gently brushed his cheek as he held her and watched the bubbles settle down.
"I'm sorry, Star, for everything. But now it's over." With that, the boy gently picked her up and walked off.
"Ahh!" Blaze yelled as he woke up. "I must have had a nightmare." Blaze shook his head, his hair wet with sweat. "That wasn't a nightmare… it happened, to Dad. I was Dad. It was a memory. Dad's memory."
Blaze closed his eyes as hid nightmare replayed in his dreams. The voices of his parents also ran through his mind.
"Your father could see Slade, but we could not."
"Starfire risked her life for me, son, and I caused her so much pain. I hurt her while I was ill from the fumes of Slade's mask; I hurt her when I left that crazy night and almost killed myself. Star is my life. I'll never lose her."
Blaze shuddered as one voice remained in his head: "I will return. And when I do, you will be old and your children will be the Teen Titans!"
Blaze closed his eyes. "Slade is back." He whispered into the darkness of his room.
What does Blaze's 'vision' mean? Who is Slade's apprentice? Can the Titans' children protect themselves, let alone the city?
