Wow, it's been another long while. I am so lazy at updating… Sorry!
Well, it is March – and hurrah, because March is the one month that Robin is "poster boy" on my Teen Titans calendar. Anyone else who has the calendar will know that this year they included more characters so each of the original Titans only gets one month each. Robin is March – he was also March last year; although he was October too in 2006. Which is highly ironic, since he was apparently (and not just according to me) born in March. And he showed up in Detective Comics #38, which, according to some sources, was published in March 1940. Other sources say it was April 1940, but whatever. Close enough.
For the ironic record, February was Speedy, and January was Terra. All three of our little darlings being focused on right here.
Thankyous go out to: TheLon3Wolf8986 (I hope not disappoint, anyway!); YamiTai (not a LOTR fan myself, to be honest, although it makes for some good in-jokes, as you can see); Guardian of Azarath (Nyes, I should hope some people have figured out the gear thing by now, at least… Yay!); Quinn and His Quill (that was the officially longest review you have ever left me – I am immensely flattered. I do enjoy your theories – you are absolutely spot-on on some accounts, but oh-so-wrong on others. What did Zac tell you, BTW? Something that he shouldn't have, obviously…); Narroch (my, wasn't it epic indeed? And yes, Small Print. Funny you should mention that, you slacker… Just kidding); Simmie (we had snow here too but we didn't get any days off. Didn't stop people from skipping out, though! And I don't know what a hang-over feels like. I don't drink because I plan to keep it that way. They're caused by, among other things, your brain shrinking back to its regular size after becoming swollen via excessive alcohol consumption. Ew, no thanks…); Me (isn't it just? Heh heh. Know what else is frustrating? The fact that you won't tell me who you are!); LoopyLouise123 (there's some more reminiscing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it!); KGDiva (a lot of people have a theory about the Blood Diamond – which, FYI, I came up with first, not that crummy Leonardo DiCaprio movie – and I do wonder how many of you will be right…); TheFallenAngel67 (well, you need wait no longer! Do enjoy…); Kami-Elf (Robin? Yeah, theoretically, he should be a nervous wreck by now. On the other hand, having a little annoying double of himself popping out of his forehead didn't seem to traumatise him in the slightest, so go figure…); CrazyInsomniac (to be honest, Roy, although he does serve other functions, has taken Beast Boy's place as comic relief here, since BB is… out of commission, shall we say?); YingYang7 (yay, new reviewer! Um, I'm sorry you were so miffed, but… you seem to like my story, so forgive me?); and Flying02Fish (I'm not gonna hate you for a couple of late reviews! Some of my old reviewers seem to have dropped off the face of the Earth, so don't worry. I am glad you like Terra – she's a very unappreciated character…).
Oh, yeah, um, forgive me if you hear Terra referred to in this chapter as "Terra Markov". I know her true correct name is Tara Markov, but… since she never actually introduced herself as Tara, but rather as Terra, I referred to her real name as Terra. I know it is technically Tara. It might not even be in this chapter. It's somewhere in this fic, anyway…
Without further ado, I present to you a chapter in which there thunders a cataclysm;
Killing Time
Two apprentices stood embraced; woven together by their bodies and by their sins.
In silence, in the middle of the floor of a destroyed apartment – a montage, an exhibition of what those sins had led to.
Power. Tyranny. Destruction. Death.
A world saved by heroes – and destroyed by them too.
Or a lack of them, as it were.
"So… it could be a while before you get back home," Roy said eventually, breaking the uneasy silence.
The moment was broken and Terra abruptly let Robin go, as though she had only just realised that she was holding him to her chest.
"Yeah, I… I know," Robin replied briskly, turning back to Roy, still holding the Clock of Eternity. "I know that, Spee- I mean, Roy. Just… do your best."
Roy smiled faintly.
"To do that, I'll need the clock back," he reminded Robin, holding out his hand for it.
Robin sent him a lopsided grin as he handed it back.
"Yeah, I…" Robin trailed off as Roy gently took the clock back, seeing something flash in gold on the underside.
"Hey, what's that?" He leaned forwards to get a better look, leaving Roy and Terra to exchange bewildered glances at his sudden strange behaviour.
Robin squinted at what appeared to be some kind of strange engraving on the gold bottom plate of the Clock of Eternity, running a single leather-gloved finger over it.
Letters?
Yes, and they were in the English alphabet. Trouble was, although he could recognise the letters, he couldn't recognise the language.
Tempus Fugit.
"Tempus Fugit?" Robin read aloud, his tone questioning. He looked up at Terra and Roy quizzically.
"Latin," Terra offered, shrugging. "Tempus means time, I think."
Roy turned the clock upside-down, frowning.
"Can't say I noticed that before," he acknowledged, putting a hand to his chin in way that instantly reminded Robin of himself, for he too was very prone to doing the whole "Sherlock Holmes" act while contemplating something profound, just shy of uttering "It's elementary, my dear Watson" or smoking a pipe. Perhaps Roy had picked that particular trait up from Nightwing.
How quaint.
"It's definitely Latin, though," Roy went on, still frowning. He looked up at Terra and Robin. "Either of you have any idea what it means?"
Terra folded her arms.
"I told you, tempus means time," she repeated, sounding irritated.
"And fugit?"
Terra shrugged.
"Hey, my name might be Latin, Roy, but I don't speak the language."
Robin looked up at her, remembering the title of the book Terra had been reading the night before.
"Oh, yeah, terra is Latin for land, isn't it?"
Terra nodded.
"It can be land or earth. And given my powers, it's perfectly appropriate, wouldn't you agree?"
Roy and Robin both nodded, although Robin seemed more in earnest – Roy was still frowning over the clock.
"Fugit, fugit…"
Robin, meanwhile, was wracking his brain desperately, knowing he had heard the Latin term before. Perhaps something used as one of the Riddler's clues, or part of a prank played by the Joker?... Alfred had taught him some Latin, years ago down in the BatCave from a textbook that had been falling apart even back then; alas, he hadn't paid attention, too busy doodling on scraps of notebook paper, looking longingly at the acrobatic work-out equipment suspended high above his solitary desk in that cold, dark, dripping cave, and sighing wistfully over Barbara Gordon, who, being a few years older than him, had babysat him once or twice when Bruce and Alfred went out to their various different destinations. Even back then, when he had been eleven or so, he had had a thing for her, with her brilliant red hair and glittering green eyes and wicked sense of humour, and had spent many an hour lying in the dark in bed, half-asleep, concocting dreamy pre-teen fantasies, the most… "erotic" of which had been holding her hand while bouncing on Bruce's king-sized bed, and "bouncing" there was meant in the literal way, far from being a sexual innuendo; Robin had always enjoying springing up and down on Bruce's bed when the millionaire wasn't around, and had always managed to put up an innocent front when Bruce had complained that he thought that some of the springs in his mattress were broken.
"Robin!"
Robin blinked as Terra sharply accentuated his name, realising that he had digressed into daydreaming.
"Sorry?"
Terra shook her head sparingly, sighing.
"Earth to Robin, come in Robin," she quipped, knocking on Robin's skull and making him wince.
"We seem to have lost all contact, Houston," Roy added with a grin, looking up from the clock's underside.
"Ha. Ha." Robin's expression was utterly deadpan. "Really, I think I just cracked a rib laughing."
"Robin, do yourself a favour," Terra replied dryly. "Actually, do yourself two; one – pay attention, and two – stop hanging around with Raven. She's slowly but surely smothering any personality you have."
Robin raised his eyebrows, opening himself up for more fire;
"Look, even that is a Raven expression. You're just like a male version of her; I never remember our Nightwing being that way."
"You still don't like her?" Robin was slightly amused, but not at all surprised. "Even when she's been dead all these years?"
Terra sniffed.
"You can't say it wasn't a mutual feeling. She never trusted me, and she never wanted me to be part of the team."
For the first time since meeting this older Terra, Robin could feel a spark of his anger towards the Terra of his own time being ignited, and being directed towards the Terra in front of him now. Older version or not, she was still the same person, and fifteen years ago this Terra too had betrayed the Teen Titans of this time, sold them to Slade, telling him all their weaknesses, their darkest secrets, their fears, just as the sixteen year old girl had done all but a few months ago in his own time. He knew that this Terra regretted it deeply now, and had never forgiven herself for it, deeply redeeming herself to once again become the good, courageous person she truly was beneath the corruption and deceit Slade had manipulated her with.
But even so… Terra and Raven had never really gotten on, rubbing each other up the wrong way, Raven perhaps a little jealous of Terra's sudden ability to control her powers while she had to meditate every day to keep hers under control. And Terra… Perhaps it was merely Raven's mistrust of her that had caused the earth-mover to dislike Raven back, because Robin knew it must be difficult to be nice to someone who clearly thought you were bad news, but he admitted that he hadn't exactly trusted Terra either, especially when she had turned up again out of the blue claiming to have sudden control over her awesome powers. In fact, it was he who had taken it upon himself to monitor her, checking in on her to see what she was up to while feigning overt friendliness – something which he had become accomplished at from all those rich-boy parties he and Bruce had attended, where it was compulsory to have a broad grin on your face and pretend you were absolutely delighted to be talking to whichever bimbo or drunk businessman had cornered you. But even despite his concealed detective and spy work, she had still eluded him, outwitted him and the other Titans, attempting to save only Beast Boy by getting him away from the island while Titans Tower was under attack.
In this time, that had been a long time ago; in Robin's own, still raw and painful, only a few months before. Yet even now, even at thirty-one years of age, Terra still seemed to be stabbing at Raven, the teenaged telekinetic, the murder of whom – and the other Teen Titans – in which she had helped conspire. Robin understood that even though Terra was sorry for the Titans' death, she would never like Raven, but fifteen years was a long time – Robin himself had only been alive for sixteen – and he couldn't understand why Terra couldn't let her dislike of Raven go. Even now, she had just brought up that raw subject, that Raven had never wanted her to be part of the team, when it had happened so long ago. Could Terra truly not even forgive a dead teenaged girl, one who had died with her friends over fifteen years ago?
"How can you still hate her?" Robin asked, his voice soft and sad. "After all this time, and after… after you helped to kill her?..."
Silence.
Terra stared at him as though he had physically slapped her in the face, her forget-me-not blue eyes wide, the right one almost obscured by a frond of blonde way hair so that she somehow resembled Slade.
"Do you realise what you just said?" She asked him finally, her voice so quiet and broken he could barely hear her.
He immediately regretted his words, but then… they were true…
"Terra, maybe you should… I'm sure he didn't mean…" Roy, who had been standing there as something of a third party up until now, suddenly came over to the earth-mover, taking her by the shoulders.
Terra barely noticed her friend, instead still staring wordlessly at Robin, who simply stood there hopelessly, not knowing what else to add to a statement that had already said too much.
There was another painful silence, broken only when Terra finally spoke again;
"You little bastard," she hissed, still being held by Roy. "You haven't got a fucking clue, have you? You just-"
"Shh, T," Roy soothingly interrupted her, putting a finger to her lips. "Lay off him, he's just a kid."
Normally Robin would have been insulted at that, but he didn't have it within him now, seeing how upset Terra had become by his words. He hadn't meant to upset her, but he simply couldn't understand what her problem with Raven was, even all these years later.
"He doesn't understand, Roy," Terra spat, shaking her head and getting Roy's finger from her mouth.
Roy nodded, a tiny faint smile on his handsome face.
"I know he doesn't, Terra, and that's why you shouldn't blame him. Like I said, he's only a kid, and he's not from this time. That must make it harder for him to understand anything at all…" He pulled Terra into his powerful build, holding her to his chest. "But I can understand you, Terra. That's why we're pals, right?"
Terra clung to him and burst into tears. Roy kissed the top of her head, right on the crown of her flowing blonde hair, and rocked her slightly.
Robin bit his lip, then attempted to approach, but Roy caught his eye and shook his head, mouthing "Don't". No sooner had he stepped back into his original place than Terra suddenly pushed Roy away and abruptly walked out of the room. In the silence that ensued Robin could have sworn that he heard muffled sobs coming from the stairwell.
Roy raised his eyebrows at Robin's bewildered and disheartened expression.
"Don't worry, kid," he said airily. "She gets like this sometimes. Don't be too quick to think that Bruce has been the only one affected by everything that's happened this past fifteen years."
"Terra's not mad, is she?" Robin was genuinely surprised by the revelation.
"No." Roy shook his head, sighing. "She just… well, she can get upset easily. Just watch what you say to her."
"Shouldn't we go after her?"
"No, just leave her alone for a bit. She'll come back in a little while, once she's calmed down. She's probably just out there on the stairwell."
"I didn't mean to upset her like that," Robin said mournfully.
"I know," Roy said cheerfully. "You just started spouting off without thinking about it, and you were up to the neck before you realised what you had said."
"Well…" Robin folded his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "Yeah, okay… But I can't understand why she's still so hung up about Raven, even after such a long time."
Now Roy gazed sadly at him.
"Robin, isn't it obvious? She feels terrible for helping Slade to destroy the Titans, but the only reason she went with Slade in the first place was because he promised to help her to control her powers. Raven had always had a similar problem, struggling to maintain control over powers that were destructive if not bridled and handled with care, so Terra naturally warmed to her, feeling that she could relate to her. But Raven shunned her, mistrusted her and disliked her no matter what she did, so Terra grew to hate her simply because she shut the friendship she was offering out. That initial liking Terra had for her soon turned poisonous, to the point where I think the real reason she betrayed the Titans to Slade… was to kill Raven. She never wanted Beast Boy to be hurt, even attempting to save him, and I don't think she really had it in for you or Cyborg or Starfire either." Acknowledging the expression on Robin's face, he added; "Anger and hatred are very consuming emotions, Robin, as it jealously. All of them can drive a person to do terrible and regrettable things."
Robin nodded in understanding, the expression on his face still one of deep confusion.
"So… all Terra ever wanted… was for Raven to be her friend?"
Roy shrugged.
"That's what I can gather from what Terra has told me over the years," he replied breezily.
"But if Terra regrets what she did, why does she still hate Raven? Is it because she blames her?"
"Possibly," Roy agreed, "but in truth I don't actually think that she does hate Raven anymore. I think that she's sorry for what she did, and deeply horrified and ashamed that it was her hatred for another girl that drove her to do it. In the end, all it was… was typical girl bitchiness, and Terra turned it into something far more terrible. So I think that she truly doesn't hate Raven the way she did, but masks her true sorrow and kids herself that she does, because it makes the pain easier for her."
Still Robin remained silent, feeling worse by the second for what he had said. He had been angry, of course, at Terra's seeming insensitiveness, but now… now he understood.
"And Robin," Roy went on, his voice soft and barely audible, "you have to understand that when you look at Terra… Well, you see a beautiful blonde woman, gifted with incredible power, control over the very earth we stand upon… but you also see a murderer, because that's what she is. She regrets it every morning she wakes up, with every breath she takes, but the past remains unchanged even for all her regret and sorrow. There is blood on Terra's hands, and there always will be, and her soul is tainted with sin, even for her redemption. Imagine how that must feel, every day of your life… If that doesn't screw a person up, then I don't know what does."
"But I…" Robin trailed off hopelessly, not really knowing what he had been intending to say anyway.
"Look, just don't say it again," Roy advised gravely. "She knows that you didn't mean to upset her, so don't mention it again and she'll forgive you, okay?"
"Fine…" Robin moved his gaze to the Clock of Eternity, now back sitting perched on Roy's pillow. "Still no idea what tempus fugit means, huh?"
"No, but…" Roy's blue eyes seemed to glitter now with something Robin supposed was excitement. "…I know where we can find out."
He knelt down beside his bed and fished something out from underneath it – a large cardboard packing box. Looking over his shoulder, Robin saw that it was filled with books, all different kinds, trashy paperbacks to pulps to old, beautiful leather-bound specimens like the ones occupying the library wing of Wayne Manor. Roy sorted through them roughly, retrieving a tiny paperback from the bottom of the box – it looked as though it had seen better days, as the cover was hanging off the spine and Robin could distinctly see that it had been scribbled in.
Roy straightened up, flipping through it. He looked up briefly at Robin, grinning when he saw the bewildered look on the teenage boy's face.
"It's a Latin phrase book," he explained, looking back down at it. "Used to be mine when I was at East City High School learning Latin. As you can see, I didn't treat it with very much respect…"
"But you kept it?" Robin asked, quirking an eyebrow.
"Sure. It holds some dear memories, like the many initials in hearts of girls that I fancied at one time or another…"
"Oh?" Robin leaned over in interest.
"Hey, hey!" Roy closed the book again, sounded harassed. "Butt out, Sherlock!"
Robin stuck his tongue out at him and stalked away again.
"It's not like I'd know them…" he muttered darkly as he skulked off back across the apartment.
Roy shook his head, flipping through the phrase book.
Robin was looking at the photographs on Pallais' empty tank again when he heard Roy excitedly calling his name;
"Robin! Come here, I found it!"
He would have pretended to not hear him, but he too wanted to know what those two little words meant, and so he half-ran back across the room to where Roy was standing, one long finger pointing just below the two printed words; tempus fugit.
"Tempus fugit," Robin read aloud, squinting slightly at the tiny print, "translates as… time flies."
He looked up at Roy, frowning.
"Time flies? How appropriate…"
Roy shrugged apologetically.
"Guess the Latin sounds a little more mysterious, huh?"
Robin nodded.
"Yeah, kinda..."
He retrieved the clock for the third time, carefully turning it upside-down so that he could read the Latin words inscribed upon the bottom again.
"Tempus fugit… time flies…" he read off again, his voice hushed.
It was then that the clock began to do something, quivering in his grip, pulsing with some kind of power. Shocked, Robin dropped it back onto the bed and jumped back from it.
"What did you do to it?" Roy snapped. "As if you hadn't broken it enough…"
"I didn't break it in the first place!" Robin replied irritably.
Even so, Roy placed his hands on Robin's shoulders and drew him further backwards still away from the clock. There was some kind of gold, shimmering aura surrounding it, something Robin had never seen before in reference to the timepiece.
The door suddenly swung open again, heralding the return of Terra; the blonde earth-mover didn't seem very pleased.
"What the hell are you two doing in…?"
Terra trailed off as she came to Roy's side, her blue eyes wide.
And rightly so, as now a beam of golden light had erupted from the very centre of the clock, expanding as though a spotlight on a Broadway stage.
"Didn't know that thing had torch functions," Terra muttered as the three of them stood gazing at it, simultaneously mesmerized and freaked out.
"I don't think it does…" Robin's voice was weak as he replied.
A dark shape merged from the light, taking on a humanoid shape. Gradually, as it stepped from the heaven-like glow onto the shoddy floor of Roy's apartment, the creature came into full light, revealing its true form.
A man, certainly, a very tall and willowy figure with long-layered white hair and matching moustache and goatee beard. His complexion was dark, almost weather-beaten, and he was old, although not frail; Robin would have put him to be in his seventies from the way he looked, judging by the lines at his eyes, mouth and forehead, but the way he carried himself was that of someone well over half his age. He wore flowing black and crimson robes and a thick gold chain at his neck, strung on which was a heavy gold watch, one that reminded Robin of a Victorian pocket watch. And his eyes… were brilliant green, just like that biker guy's, and just like Seth Elliott's…
"Cool!" Roy exclaimed, finding his voice. "A genie!"
The tall man turned his head slightly in Roy's direction, and the look in his brilliant eyes was one of disgust.
"I am no genie, mortal," he replied in a low, ominous voice. "I have many names, but "genie" is not one of them. You, however, may address me as the "Master of Time", for that is my official title."
Despite the friction between them, Robin, Terra and Roy all exchanged a glance; it was one that distinctly said "Cornball!".
"Right," Roy said, his voice disguising laughter. "So some guy pops out of a clock and we're supposed to believe that you're the "Master of Time"? Sorry, grandpa, but I think you've come to the wrong place, 'cause none of us are buyin' it."
Terra nodded, her arms folded; Robin merely blinked up at the tall man, for some reason believing that this was not this guy's idea of a month-early Halloween prank. This guy was here for a reason, that much was certain.
"On the contrary, Roy Harper, I have come to precisely the right place," the Master of Time said, an icy snap to his slow voice.
Roy blinked, paling.
"Wait a second… you know my-?"
"I know all, Mr Harper," the Master of Time interrupted. "I have watched over this world and many others since time began, I know of every person that has ever walked this earth, and I know of the ones that have yet to walk it." He turned his gaze on Terra, who was regarding him sceptically. "I know of your history also, Ms Markov," he went on, causing the colour to drain from Terra's face too.
Before either Terra or Roy could react to his words, the Master of Time sharply turned his attention on Robin, sending a shiver down the Boy Wonder's spine.
"But the reason I am here is not for either of you," he said deliberately, peering very hard at the boy in black standing in front of him quivering slightly, half from fear and half from the fact that he still didn't feel one hundred per cent following his run-in with Johnny Rancid.
"I have come for you, Richard Grayson," he went on, indicating one long, thin finger right at Robin to accentuate his point. "I have come for the Avenger…"
Why am I not surprised?...
"Sorry, pops, but the kid isn't signing any more autographs tonight," Roy cut in sharply, pulling Robin back away from the Master of Time.
"What do you want with him?" Terra asked defensively, putting a hand on Robin's shoulder, protective despite her earlier anger at him.
The Master of Time uttered a long sigh.
"Perhaps I misphrased that term," he admitted, his voice low. "I am not here to take him away-"
"Not even to take him back to his own time?" Terra asked, frowning.
"I am afraid not. At least, not yet. The Avenger shall indeed return to his own time to right what is wrong, but only after he has fulfilled his destiny and broken the prophecy once and for all."
Robin stared at him, wide-eyed.
"What?" He squeaked. "I can't… I mean… I'm not ready, I can't take on Slade-"
"The time is almost nigh, Richard Grayson; you must be ready, for if you are not-"
"Hold up!" Robin interrupted, annoyed. "Do you know what he did to me the last time I faced him?"
"Of course I know, but you must-"
"Then you'll know that I'm not ever going to subject myself to that again!" Robin finished, interrupting the Master of Time for a second time.
"That which does not kill you can only make you stronger," the Master of Time replied simply.
"Yeah, well, he almost did kill me!" Robin snapped. "And then he possessed me with a demonic form, and then he really did kill me, and all my friends. So thanks, but no thanks."
"Richard, please-"
"Stop calling me that!" Robin spat. "You have no right to call me that. My mom was the only person who ever called me that, so don't, okay?"
The Master of Time sighed heavily.
"Would you prefer Dick? I am aware that-"
"I would prefer it if you would take your stupid broken clock and cram it up-"
Robin was cut short as Roy slapped a hand over his mouth, silencing him.
"Hush up, Robin, or he might give you a power wedgie or something…"
Robin shook himself free.
"I don't care!" He bit out angrily. "I'm sick of prophecies, I'm sick of Slade, and I'm sick of being the freaking Avenger!"
"You would shirk your destiny now, when the time draws ever nearer for you to fulfil it?" It was more of a statement than a question, but Robin met the Master of Time's steely gaze even so.
"What does it matter if I do or not?" He spat. "This place is fucked up already, and Terra has already told me that even though Slade killed the older me in this time, he never found the key. There's no way he can ever-"
"Richard, do not upset yourself," the Master of Time replied calmly. "I am not here to force you to do anything you do not want to. But before you make any decisions you must understand the urgency in which I come to you."
Robin snorted but was sulkily silent, feeling Terra squeeze his shoulder reassuringly.
"Fine," he muttered darkly. "I'm listening…"
"Good." The Master of Time nodded curtly, seemingly satisfied. "It would seem that the prophecy in question has something of an expiry date; that is to say that the prophecy must be fulfilled by midnight tomorrow or the Orb of Azarath itself will turn to solid worthless stone, rendering it completely powerless."
"But that's great!" Robin burst out. "If it turns to stone then Slade can't use it for evil! And I don't have to have my butt kicked all over again!"
"If that were merely the case, Richard, do you think I would have come here tonight?" The Master of Time asked him sceptically, his tone an explicitly bored one.
"Well, I…" Robin trailed off, thrown. "So… there's more?"
The Master of Time nodded gravely.
"I am afraid so, yes. It would appear that the main perpetrator in this equation, the one you call "Slade", has not been acting alone, both in this time and in your own."
Robin briefly looked at Terra, who mouthed "seer" at him.
"Yes indeed, Ms Markov," the Master of Time chimed in idly. "The person who has been helping Slade is indeed a seer, a most devious and clever woman who has, as Ms Markov I'm sure will back up, been pulling the strings on Slade's fulfilment of the prophecy since Day One."
Robin nodded impatiently.
"Yeah, yeah, old news," he said dismissively. "Terra's already told me all of that stuff."
The expression that crossed the Master of Time's face – a half-amused, half-irritated one – at that reminded Robin strongly of Alfred, and reminding him of the time when Alfred had actually caught him leaping up and down on top of Bruce's mattress (minus Barbara Gordon, but you couldn't have everything).
"Well, this seer has foreseen that Slade will fulfil the prophecy tomorrow at midnight, and-"
"But… the key!" Robin spluttered. "He hasn't got-"
"That is where the problem lies, Richard," the Master of Time interrupted him softly. "The seer has revelated that the key will come into Slade's possession tomorrow night, just in time for the Summoning."
"And how is it that you know everything this seer seems to predict?" Roy asked suspiciously, still not believing that this guy was entirely for real.
"I am the Master of Time, Mr Harper," the mysterious man replied calmly. "I know all."
Roy folded his arms, still disbelieving; Terra didn't seem to be much more embracing either, but Robin couldn't blame either of them. He was having a hard time believing it himself, and had this guy not started spouting about the prophecy and addressing him by his correct title – not even "Dick", but "Richard" – he would not have believed it either. It really was seriously corny, as though out of a low-budget sci-fi flick; really, a guy appearing out of a clock…
"So… what?" Robin asked, sighing heavily. "I'm the Avenger; how do I stop him?"
There was no trace of amusement in the old man's eyes as he spoke the three devastating words;
"You kill him."
The silence that followed was unbearable, bouncing around the walls of Roy's broken apartment, somehow louder than anything Robin had ever heard.
It was Terra that finally broke it, her voice shaking, her hands protectively on both of Robin's shoulders.
"Don't do this to him," she whispered, her voice catching with her every word. "You can't do this to him. He's so young, don't force him to kill…"
"We all must fulfil our destiny, Ms Markov," the Master of Time replied uncompassionately. "Richard Grayson's is to stop the prophecy. It will not be pleasant, but that is what he must do. And if the only way to stop Slade is to kill him, then that is what Richard must do, no matter his age. You should know that better than anyone, Ms Markov."
"I was wrong!" Terra spat, tensing up. "That wasn't my destiny; Slade only told me it was, but he lied to me! He lied to me all my life, he corrupted me, he told me I belonged with him because of all the horrible things I had done on his behalf-"
"Then does he not deserve to die?" The Master of Time asked softly, his glittering green eyes, so much like Seth's, fixed on the earth-mover.
"Yes, but not at Robin's hand!" Terra snapped back without missing a beat. "I'll do it, or Roy will, or… or Lex, or even Bruce, but… but not Robin. You can't force him to kill, not at sixteen… It'll destroy him, just like… just like it destroyed me."
"A most noble offer, Ms Markov, and one that is most loyal and admirable," the Master of Time replied dryly. "But I am afraid that it cannot be so. Richard alone is the Avenger; it is only he who can stop Slade, as contrary as that may seem."
Robin felt Terra's grip on his shoulder's tighten again, so that it almost hurt, yet he found it slightly comforting in the face of this terrible revelation, one revealing that he would have to become a murderer or die trying.
"Look, there must be some other way," Roy said desperately. "He's just a kid, you can't brainwash him into murdering someone…"
"I am not brainwashing anyone," the Master of Time replied calmly. "This is Richard's decision, and his alone to make. Neither of you must influence him or attempt to sway him. You must let him choose for himself, and if he does not want to do it, then he does not have to. But he must understand what will happen if he does decide against it; it could mean the end of the world as you know it…"
"I still don't see why I can't just burst into Slade's little hidey-hole and shoot a quiverful of arrows at him," Roy muttered. "That would get the job done just as well, and without a single drop of blood on Robin's hands…"
"Because you are not the Avenger," the Master of Time repeated, sounding, for the first time, irritated. "Why can't either of you grasp that?"
"Because it doesn't make any sense," Terra replied angrily. "Whose bright idea was it to make the "Avenger" a sixteen year old boy, anyway?
"
The Master of Time shrugged, seemingly bored with argument, and turned his keen gaze back on Robin.
"Have you come to a decision yet, Richard, or do you need more time to think about it?" He asked softly.
Robin merely gazed back at him wordlessly, but both Roy and Terra seemed disgusted and outraged by that statement.
"What the hell?!" Roy spluttered. "How on earth do you expect him to make such a choice in about five seconds?!"
"You're asking him to kill someone," Terra added coldly. "It's hardly as trivial as choosing a pizza topping…"
"Do not interfere," the Master of Time threatened them, not even glancing in their direction. "It is a life-shaping decision and Richard must choose by his own judgement."
There was another few seconds' silence. Then;
"I'll do it."
Robin's voice was so soft that it was barely audible, and yet the tone was very firm, determined.
"Robin," Terra whispered, "you don't know what you're saying, you don't know what you're getting yourself into-"
"I do, Terra," Robin interrupted her, his voice strangely calm. "I don't want to kill, but… I'm the Avenger. I have to stop him, and so I will."
"A most admirable attitude, Richard." The Master of Time seemed pleased, but Robin did not smile.
"Let's just get it over with," he said grimly. "Come on, we can go now and I'll kill him while I still have the nerve…"
Roy opened his mouth at that, but the Master of Time headed him off;
"I am afraid that is not possible, Richard. There are many rigid rules laced within the prophecy, and virtually no loopholes. You must play this game how it is meant to be played, and to do that you must listen to every detail that I tell you. If you were to burst in upon Slade now, he would most certainly kill you. This assault must be pre-meditated if it is to succeed."
"So where do we come in?" Roy cut in, his voice sharp.
"You?" The Master of Time asked pleasantly.
"Yeah," Terra replied in Roy's stead. "Us. We're hardly going to let him do this alone, even if Robin has to do the killing."
"Hmm." The Master of Time considered their words somewhat mirthfully. "I suppose you would be of some help; that is, if Richard wants it. In this final phase of the prophecy, all depends on him, and his decisions. If Richard decides that he would rather do this alone, then you must respect his wishes."
"No, I want their help," Robin said quietly. "I think I'm going to need it…"
"If that is what you desire, Richard." The Master of Time didn't sound particularly enamoured with the idea, but grudgingly let it pass.
"It is." Robin's masked eyes narrowed at the old man. "I also "desire" for you to stop referring to me as "Richard"."
The Master of Time seemed to ignore that, his glittery-green gaze drifting from Robin's face and the defiant expression on it. Instead he turned his attention to Terra.
"You know where Slade resides, do you not, Ms Markov?" He asked her.
Terra folded her arms and snorted.
"What, don't you?" She challenged him. "I thought you know everything."
"I do, but before I can tell you anything, I need to know what you are already aware of."
Terra sighed and rolled her blue eyes.
"Last I knew, he was at the GothCorp Electricity Plant; at least that's where I-"
"Wrong." The Master of Time interrupted her somewhat smugly.
Terra shrugged.
"Then he's moved location. I don't keep track of him, you know."
"That is obvious."
"Well, that's your job, isn't it?" Roy snapped in Terra's defence. "You're the one that "knows everything", right, O Master of Time and All Things Divine…"
The Master of Time smiled thinly.
"Are you mocking me, Mr Harper?"
Roy pretended to consider that accusation.
"Yes, I think I am," he decided finally.
"Shut the hell up, Roy," Terra hissed, elbowing him in the ribs.
"I was defending your honour," Roy hissed back, seeming hurt.
"There are better ways of doing it," Terra murmured.
The Master of Time shook his head in disgust, turning back to Robin.
"You are sure that you wish for these two to help you?" He pressed confidentially.
"They're my friends," Robin replied icily, "and both one-time Teen Titans, not to mention two of the only surviving members of Batman's Titans. I wouldn't have anyone else in this world."
He felt Terra squeeze his shoulder at that and Roy made a quick obscene gesture at the Master of Time while he was busy staring at Robin as though seeing him in a new light.
"There is a strange sense of nobility about you, Richard Grayson," the old man decreed finally, his voice slow and decisive. "And I do not understand where you got it from."
It took a few second for Robin to realise that had been a crack at his parents; Terra and Roy seemed to realise it at the same time and Terra grasped hold of Robin, feeling him struggle in her grip.
"That was a really lousy thing to say," Roy said lividly, shaking his head in disgust. "His parents are dead, but you must know that…"
"I do." The Master of Time seemed utterly unruffled, watching in mild amusement as Robin fought in Terra's grip in an attempt to get at him, tears streaming down his pale face contorted with anger.
"Well, so are mine," Roy hissed. "And Terra's. So if you think the three of us are just going to stand here and let you slag off our parents, then you've got-"
"It wasn't meant as an insult," the Master of Time replied airily. "It's just that circus people, particularly from the Gotham area, aren't usually known for such admirable qualities."
"You take that back!" Robin screeched at him, clawing at the air in front of him.
"Not an insult, huh?" Roy snorted in grim amusement. "It certainly insulted Robin. You pretty much just referred to his whole family as scum."
"He can call me what he likes, Roy!" Robin spat, trying to prise Terra's arms away from where they were locked underneath his ribcage. "But I'm not having him saying stuff about my mom and dad! Terra, let go!"
Terra shook her head and looked up, the words she spoke directed at the old man in front of her;
"You know, if I wasn't so afraid that he'd kill you, I would let him go," she told him coldly. "As it stands, seeing as you have already turned up here and told him he has to kill Slade, I'm doing this for his own good rather than yours."
The Master of Time only smiled.
"Most sensible, Ms Markov."
"You think this is funny, don't you?!" Roy accused him, utterly disgusted.
The old man blinked.
"Funny, Mr Harper?" He asked innocently. "Why not at all. It is just that… well, there is simply no way that Richard Grayson could possibly kill me; I am far too powerful to be harmed by his mortal martial arts, or the rather impressive control over electricity he has managed to acquire."
Roy blinked at that, confused.
"Control over…?"
The Master of Time smiled indulgently.
"Oh, there is much Richard has not told you. Much indeed…"
"Yeah?" Roy raised his eyebrows. "Well, here's something I haven't told you yet, Mr Time Master, although I should have when you first appeared out of that damn clock; get the hell out of my apartment!"
"I have not told you all that you must know if you are to be victorious against-" The Master of Time began to protest.
"We heard enough," Terra interrupted him coldly. "Thanks for the information. See you around."
Meanwhile Roy slid one foot under his broken bed, hooking out his bow and arrows with a single neat little kick. Within seconds it was loaded up and pulled back, held with deadly poise and precision by Roy Harper's powerful form. The silver tip of the arrowhead glinted in the light from the fire, pointing directly at the Master of Time's heart.
The Master of Time chuckled softly; even Robin had stopped struggling, instead watching Roy.
"A mere arrow cannot kill me either," the old man told him softly.
"This isn't a "mere" arrow," Roy replied, a trace of a smile on his handsome face. "Let's see what a steel-alloy tipped arrow fired by me, Arsenal, would do to you, huh?"
The Master of Time shook his head pityingly.
"Such arrogance…"
"Want me to back up that claim, hotshot?" Roy challenged him.
The Master of Time shook his head again.
"Do not waste your precious "steel-alloy tipped" arrows; they won't work anyway..."
Roy scowled and released his hand—
The arrow moved faster than any of them could even attempt to follow, slamming with a thunk into the Master of Time's chest, right into his heart…
"Hmm, nice shot," the Master of Time admitted, looking down at his chest. "You truly are very talented, Roy Harper. Were I but a mortal such as yourself, I would most certainly be dead. Unfortunately, as I recall saying before you shot me, it simply cannot kill me. So…"
The old man grasped hold of the polished wooden shaft of the arrow and tugged it back out of his chest, leaving no wound to speak of; the rip in his black and crimson robes even repaired itself as he drew the arrow away from his body. The arrowhead was clean, shining as it had done before it had entered the Master of Time's chest; the old man examined it for a few seconds, then offered it back to Roy.
The silence that followed was as taut as the string of Roy's bow. Robin and Terra simply looked on wordlessly as Roy hesitantly reached out and took his arrow back. Another few seconds passed, before Roy simply dropped both the bow and the arrow to the floor, where they clattered loudly in the absence of words.
"Excellent," the Master of Time said eventually, sounding extremely pleased with himself. "I did not come here this evening expecting to be treated with such hostility."
"Sorry the welcoming committee wasn't quite what you had hoped," Roy spat, trying to hide the fact that he was shaking slightly from the shock.
The old man shrugged.
"Truthfully, I've had worse. Now, as I can see that my presence is much abhorred, I will keep this brief."
He looked at them each in turn; the Avenger, Richard Grayson, held back by Terra, pale and shaking, half with rage and half with shock, streaks of drying tears down his face; the earth-mover, Terra Markov, still clutching at Robin even though he was no longer struggling in her grip, dressed in tight black lace and leather and her cascade of long blonde hair obscuring half of her face; the archer, Roy Harper, tall, powerfully-built and handsome, yet now as pallid and shivering as the dark-haired teenaged boy beside him.
Now that they had seen only a glimpse of his power, they were afraid of him, even the earth-mover, who could tear the world literally in half if she so wished.
He knew they were listening, and would do as he told them.
"Tomorrow night, at the first stroke of midnight, the Summoning Ritual will begin, for Slade will have the key in his possession. I might add, of course, before you say anything, Richard, that the Avenger of this time is already dead, killed by Slade himself three years ago. You think it is a coincidence that you were thrown forwards fifteen years to this time, even though you had planned to go back only ten hours? That the clock managed to work even though it is missing a gear?"
Robin stared at him, speechless, and for a few seconds the anger he felt in light of the Master of Time's words about his parents was forgotten.
"You… you did that?" He spluttered, feeling faint.
"It was necessary, I am afraid," the old man replied calmly. "Don't look so alarmed, there is no way I would have let you come to any harm…"
Again words failed Robin, and the Master of Time took advantage of his silence;
"You are here to do the work of your fifteen-year-older self, who, unfortunately, met his rather messy end at Slade's hand three years ago. Tomorrow night you must vanquish Slade and break the prophecy, or I may assure you that this world will become an even worse place to live, ruled by a tyrant with powers you cannot even begin to imagine."
Robin swallowed and nodded nervously.
"Ms Markov is indeed right," the old man went on. "Slade has moved location since she spent the last few months of her pregnancy with him at his hide-out; his latest lair is situated within the still-standing below-ground regions of Wayne Enterprises."
How ironic…
Again Robin nodded wordlessly.
"However… it is a complex web of security. Slade's minions will be everywhere." He looked at Terra and Roy. "That is where you two come in. It will be your job to assure that the Avenger reaches his destination."
Terra and Roy both nodded, as speechless as Robin was.
"Leave it late, so that Slade will barely have time to react, and so that even if you should fail, the "expiration" date on the prophecy itself will run out. You must, however, stop him from beginning the Summoning Ritual at the first strike of midnight, for once the ceremony is begun there will be nothing you can do to stop it. Once within the circle of working magic, Slade will become untouchable to you, and invincible. Even if you are unable to kill him before midnight, if you can distract him until the twelfth chime, then the Orb of Azarath's power will no longer be accessible to him. And after that twelfth chime, Richard, your birthright as the Avenger will be lifted from you, whether you are victorious or not."
Robin nodded a third time, still unable to speak.
The Master of Time stood there a while longer, seeming to bask in their silence. Finally he turned, his robes whipping out behind him as he made his way back over to the Clock of Eternity. He touched it and that golden glow, like the one in Terra's eyes as she unleashed her powers, began to surround it again, pulsing larger and larger until Robin, Terra and Roy had to shield their eyes from it.
"Good luck," were his final words to them, his emerald eyes fixed on Robin in a way that made the boy shiver.
The old man began to fade into the light, his outline growing fainter and fainter by the second, until finally they lost sight of him completely. The glow itself faded too, as though a spotlight that had suddenly been cut off at the mains.
That terrible, uncomfortable silence seemed to ricochet around the room still, even in the absence of the strange Master of Time.
Finally, Roy broke it, the laugh that accompanied his words weak;
"So I guess this means that we don't get three wishes, then?"
Terra decked him.
TT
Robin lay awake in the distilling darkness of the coming dawn, on his back on the cold floor of the church back-room. The blankets of his make-shift bed were drawn tightly around him, and he was wearing his older-self's black fleece over his boxer shorts, but still he felt cold. It was a strange coldness, though, not one that made him shiver as such, but something else; something that gnawed away inside him, as though it was some horrible creature that had somehow gotten inside of him and was trying to eat its way back out, getting closer and closer to the surface, true, but never enough to break through.
He wriggled uncomfortably – not the most pleasant metaphor. It reminded him of Alien, where that nasty… thing… had burst out of that guy's stomach…
Cyborg had thrown up when Beast Boy had made them watch it. So had Beast Boy, actually.
Over the back of the couch onto the floor.
Raven hadn't watched it, instead reading a book happily in her designated corner of the couch and zoning out into a world of her own. Starfire had fled a third of the way in, frightened out of her mind despite the fact that, of the five of them sitting there in the front room of Titans Tower, she was the one who was actually an alien.
And Robin had had difficultly sleeping that night, even though he knew that it was not real.
Like tonight.
Only the knowledge of what was to come was very real indeed.
Not even a foot away from him, Terra slept soundly on her side; he could see the curve of her hip beneath her blankets. Her gold hair fell all over her upper torso, glinting slightly in the miniscule slivers of dull dawn light creeping in through the gaps in the boards at the windows. Robin had to admit that she was very beautiful, but he had no desire whatsoever for her.
He had a feeling that Roy did, however.
He had apologised to her after arriving back at the church, and she had graciously accepted it and hugged him tightly and then cried a bit, seemingly forgetting that she was still clinging to him. Then she had kissed him goodnight on the mouth and wandered off as though in a trance to get ready for bed, and he had realised that Roy was right – Bruce wasn't the only one who had gone loopy…
He had drifted to sleep eventually, but it had been fitful and restless, so that he had awoken two or three times in the dark, gasping for breath despite the coldness of the night, maybe because his blankets had become so tightly twisted around his body he could hardly breathe; his dreams too had been broken, senseless, with no structure apart from the recurring glimpses of his dead friends, of Bruce, Terra and Roy as they were now, of Slade, his parents, and Seth Elliott…
Speaking of, the Blood Diamond had slipped down underneath his sweater, the jewel and the chain cold against his bare chest beneath the fleecy material. He hooked it back out, as it had been uncomfortable, and held the jewel as high above his head as the chain would allow. He could barely see it, just a miniscule red glitter now and then when the light seeping in caught it.
He untangled himself from his blankets and shifted over the twelve or so inches of floor that separated him from Terra; he knelt next to her and clawed at her shoulder to wake her up. Her blue eyes fluttered open but he knew that she could barely see him in the darkness.
"Robin?" She asked him sleepily. "What's up, baby? You have a nightmare?..."
Robin shook his head, knowing that she couldn't see that either.
"No… I just…"
Terra lifted up her blankets and pulled him under with her, much to his surprise; before he had realised it he was curled up against her warm presence, one of her arms draped over his back.
"You know, even Beast Boy never got this far," she murmured, giggling sleepily. "Into bed with me, I mean… even though we are both still wearing our pyjamas…"
Robin squirmed uncomfortably.
"Well, I wasn't trying to… this wasn't what I-"
"I know, I know…" Terra sighed languidly and kissed his hair. "And believe me, nothing's gonna happen here; if nothing else, I'm fifteen years older than you. But you could do with some comfort right now, honey… Trust me, I know how scared you are about tomorrow. "
He couldn't argue, or deny it, because he was trembling a little even now when he thought about it, and given that he was so close to her, she could probably feel it. Strange, though; despite all the horrible things she had done, he still felt a weird connection with this Terra, an insatiable trust and liking of her, something which he was unable to place upon the Terra of his own time, the fifteen-year-younger teenaged girl who had betrayed them. Perhaps because this Terra… ran so parallel to him; she had been forced to be Slade's apprentice, and she too had been forced to kill, and…
"Terra?"
"Mm?"
"I… uh…" Robin closed his eyes even in the dark, barely daring to ask…
"Did… did Slade ever… rape you?..."
He physically felt Terra stiffen slightly and could have kicked himself; but still, he had to know…
There was a very long, painful silence.
"Yes."
She said it so softly that he barely caught it, and had he not been lying right next to her, he probably wouldn't have.
But he did, and his heart sank.
"I… When?"
"He… he did it more than once, Robin…"
Terra sounded near tears again, and again Robin froze up as he heard her words.
More than once…
It had been terrible for him, maybe because it had been homosexual more than anything else, and it had really, really hurt. But at least… at least Slade had only done it once, and for a reason; at least he had that much to be grateful for, even if it was little compensation.
But Terra… well, in all fairness, it didn't surprise him, because Terra was female and very pretty, and surely Slade, even if he was a psychopath, had male needs just like every other guy. But that was just it; male needs. There would be no logic behind it, no reason…
"Strange…" Terra made a sound halfway between a sob and a giggle. "He used to do it when he was angry or frustrated, like it used to calm him down…"
Robin closed his eyes tight at that, sickened; that raping someone would calm Slade down, the idea that he enjoyed it…
"The first time was a few weeks after the death of the Teen Titans," Terra murmured, more to herself, but because he was so close against her, listening to her heartbeat, he could hear every word, and every breath. "We were training in the workout room, and he started getting a bit too close for comfort, and then he just… He… he didn't even ask me, he just… he didn't want to have normal sex with me, Robin; he wanted to rape me. Maybe it gave him some kind of feeling of power or something…"
"Couldn't you have gotten him off you?" Robin asked her in despair. "I mean, he had twelve of his robot commandos holding me down, and I don't even have any powers… Couldn't you have hit him off with a rock or something?"
"He told me not to resist him, so I didn't."
Terra's voice was almost toneless now. Her arms wrapped around him tighter, holding him as though he was a security blanket or a favourite doll – something that gave her comfort.
"After that one night he didn't do it again for months and months, possibly one or two years… But then, one night… I can remember it so clearly, like it was… yesterday…" He felt her shiver and could have cried for her. "I was in the shower after a training session, and the door opened, and he just… well, you can gather what he did. He started doing it every night after that, whether I was training or in bed or in the shower; he used to hunt me out and have his way with me… I was weak back then, Robin, I used to do everything he told me to, let him do anything he wanted… It was addictive to him, I think, you know, like a heroin addict; he didn't do it so much because he liked it, but because it was habit – because he felt that he needed to."
"Right." Robin was utterly disgusted. "He needed to humiliate and violate you; he needed to hurt you…"
One of Terra's long gentle hands went to the back of Robin's head, as though he was a tiny baby, or a little kitten.
"You know, Robin… I think he did."
"You're defending him?"
"As if. I hate the bastard, and you know it. After everything he's done to me, and to my friends, how can I not? But… I understand him, Robin, probably because I've spent so much time around him. Trust me, he's almost as mad as Bruce. His obsession with that prophecy has driven him over the edge, he's so desperate to fulfil it. For fifteen years he's thought about nothing else; wouldn't that drive you crazy?"
"But it's all greed!" Robin pointed out. "Everything he's done… it's all for power!"
"Well of course. That's why he's a bad guy, remember?"
"But he drove himself mad! It's not fair to compare him to Bruce; he went crazy because of grief."
"I wasn't comparing him to Bruce, because you're right; they can't be compared. I merely said that Slade is about as ga-ga as Bruce is, and it's true – he is."
"Well…"
"I've already told you the rest," Terra went on softly, her voice small and sad. "That one night when Nightwing beat me to a pulp, then left me that note, which I made the mistake of bringing back to Slade… He didn't rape me that night, he just… I thought he was going to kill me…"
"And you walked out on him," Robin added. "Smartest thing you ever did…"
"I know…" She hugged him and he felt her cascade of blonde hair fall all over him, becoming static as it brushed across his fleecy sweater. "But then I went back to him again… But, you know… in all the time I was there with him, pregnant with Dick's child… Slade never laid a hand on me. Maybe he had lost the need for it, the addiction, or maybe he was disgusted by me, impregnated by his most hated arch-nemesis. Maybe he couldn't stand the feeling of having to be so close to my swollen stomach and knowing he was practically touching Nightwing's offspring…"
"Or maybe he knew that he couldn't push you around anymore," Robin hissed. "You should have killed him in his sleep, you should have-"
Terra grasped him firmly by the elbows and roughly shook him.
"Don't talk like that!" She spat. "Don't be thinking like that, especially not when you know what you are going to have to do tomorrow. You're speaking poison, Robin, and I'm telling you stop, right now!"
He quivered in dark silence and she held him to her again.
"You're scared, aren't you?" She whispered, her tone softening again.
"No." His voice was defiant, but she still saw through him.
"Robin, I'd be worried about you if you weren't. There's nothing creepier than a completely emotionless killer."
Robin was silent for a while.
"He… the Master of Time, I mean… he really expects me to kill Slade, doesn't he?"
"I think that's the general idea. If he is to be believed. I mean, he knew a lot, sure, but… Slade's seer knew everything too, and even though Slade still listens to her even to this day, I don't think he really trusts her."
"You think he was lying?"
"No…" Terra replied slowly, "not exactly. Well, he could have been, I guess, but then, he might not have been. I mean, there probably is truth to what he was saying, but… I don't know, I just didn't get a very trustworthy vibe off him. I think you should take everything he told you with extreme caution. Don't just go charging into Slade's lair wielding a tommy gun, is what I'm saying. Analyse the situation first, see if Slade really is planning to perform the Summoning."
"And what if he's not?" Robin asked her bitterly. "Apologise for the intrusion and back out again slowly?"
"Robin, I… I just don't want blood on your hands. You're too young for this, too young to have such a burden hanging over you for the rest of your life…"
"I'll be fine." Robin breathed out deeply. "I can do this… I mean, I want to. I know that sounds awful, but I do. I just… it still scares me. You know, a little bit."
"Or a lot."
"Were you scared?"
"When?"
"When you… when Slade made you… the Justice League, they…"
"Oh." He felt Terra shake a little even now. "Yeah, I was shaking like a leaf in fall… But I… I convinced myself it was right, that I was fulfilling my destiny…" Terra's voice was bitter as she spoke now. "So I did it; just one little twinge to trigger a whole landslide. Once I'd done that I couldn't do anything anyway, even though I regretted it as soon as the first rock began to fall. I tried to stop it, in fact, but I wasn't strong enough back then to hold it all back…"
"I… you think I'll regret it?"
"I don't know… this is different, Robin, although that doesn't make it any more right. But Slade… he's evil, he's done horrible things, to you, to me, to our friends, and to this city, and Jump and Metropolis and… Hell, he deserves to die. I… I just wish that I could do it for you, or Roy could…"
"But there is already blood on your hands, Terra," Robin whispered.
Terra smiled in the dark and kissed his hair.
"Right. So a little more wouldn't make much difference, right?..."
Robin shivered and curled against her, his masked eyes sliding shut. He was suddenly very tired and, even though dawn was already breaking outside the destroyed church, he felt the need to sleep.
But even as he drifted back into the restless dark world that beckoned him, lulled by the rhythm of Terra's heartbeat and the warmth of her form, he couldn't help but question her last words, and wonder if she was truly right.
TT
Mm hmm, indeed, indeed…
Fun times lie ahead indeed, kids.
On a mostly unrelated note, I saw The Number 23, starring Jim Carrey, last night. Although I wanted to see it, I had my misgiving, since it was directed by one Joel Schumacher, a.k.a: The Man Who Destroyed Batman. Batman and Robin – let's not discuss it. It's too painful…
But it was actually pretty good. The irony of the movie was that Jim Carrey's character, Walter, had a teenaged son. The son's name was none other than Robin. Now, it is ironic enough that his name was Robin when it was Joel Schumacher who directed the film, since it is note-worthy that, of all the five big-budget Batman movies (not including the 1966 TV series spin-off movie, aptly titled Batman: The Movie), only Joel Schumacher's Batman films had Robin in them. Tim Burton's didn't, and neither did Christopher Nolan's.
But here's the killer. Jim Carrey's character's full name was Walter Sparrow.
His son was therefore called Robin Sparrow.
Now would someone like to tell me WHO IN HELL CALLS THEIR KID "ROBIN" IF THEIR SURNAME IS "SPARROW"?
Tch. Some people…
Anyway, that amused me throughout most of the film. It's good, BTW. If you can catch it, despite what the critics have said, see it. It's probably out in the US by now, though…
Anyway, update… whenever.
RobinRocks xXx