Author: I've actually almost finished this story (still have to conclude chapter 20, which is confirmed as the final chapter of this story). I've decided to post this chapter along with chapter 18.. and then I'll wait a bit and post the final two afterward. I'm not going to say anything about the following chapters (at least not in this note teehee) so read to find out. n_n Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I only own anything I've created and took the time to design. That's all. DC isn't mine.
[MaraJade57]
:P Yay. Yess. n_n I actually didn't expect that from Atty either, haha, but it fits his personality. If you thought that was cool wait until you see what I have for the ending. =o Yes, in the "spoiler" I mentioned a possible hint. There is one in the next chapter (18), so watch out for it! I made it kind of obvious. nwn Nyyyaaa. Lol.
San groaned as she planted her hands onto the floor. Somehow she'd fallen asleep and had made her bed on the floor, a coldness to the air telling her that she'd been out for awhile. As she slowly got up to stand she saw the Titans were also scattered about the floor, still unconscious as they breathed evenly.
She rubbed her cheeks, trying to further stir herself to awareness. Drowsiness encompassed her entire system and she wobbled on her feet. She staggered over to the door and fell to her knees, vision blurring. She climbed back to her feet, using a wall as her support and moved down the hallway, hands placed onto the wall to steady herself.
San could hear only silence, yet faint voices trailed up from where she guessed was the medical bay. Ruba, Sari and Silvy were there. What had happened? Why had she fallen asleep? Her memory seemed hazy, but as she focused it began to get clearer.
She'd been walking to the main room, intent on telling the Titans something, but the memory ended there. What was she missing? What else had happened?
Walking.. running into Atty, he was talking, gesturing with his hands.. the door slid open.. and something spewed into the room, some kind of gas. That's when it hit her. Sleep toxin! They'd all inhaled it and was out, but the last thing she saw before she slipped under, as she was fighting against the drug, trying to rise to her feet, was the tall frame of Slade as he towered over her with Atty at his side.
She approached the hallway that connected to the medical bay, being as quiet as she could. It was difficult since her control over her body was waning. The drugs were slowly wearing off and she could feel strength gathering as well.
She heard talking and paused, listening silently.
"I recall telling you that my last apprentice betrayed me. He will betray you." She bristled at the sound of Slade's voice.
"Eh? Who are you talking about?" Ruba!
"Robin." Slade.
She squeezed her eyes shut, resting against the wall. That was a shocker.
Ruba couldn't comprehend what she'd just heard. Sari was making his way back to her side, clutching his arm as Slade stepped back. Silvy was pinned against a wall, panting, Atty's hand holding him in place across his throat.
Slade flicked his gaze to Sari, watching the older teenager intently. "He knows what I'm talking about."
She peered at Sari, confusion on her face. "You knew about this?"
He was silent, not moving, before he finally, slowly, nodded. "Yeah."
[Flashback]
It was a rainy evening, two days since he'd told Raven about the projects and the placement of each subject, their rank. He'd already spent several days tracking for Ruba, who was currently in Slade's grasp. Sari was intent on getting his friend back, even if he had to fight the psychopath himself to achieve it.
He was seated on his bed, thoughts shifting through the past few days like they were a stack of folders and he didn't pay any mind to the door opening until the bed sunk to his left. He peered over to see Robin, decked out in his costume, sitting beside him.
"Yeah?" He asked, gaze returning to normal as he studied the Titan leader. He was calm, but rigid as if preparing to say something serious and deep.
"I have something you need to know." Robin began, trying to form the correct words. Sari could tell the boy was struggling with an inner demon and voicing whatever was on his mind seemed tasking for him. He was almost about to tell him not to worry, but the hero spoke up again, halting his thoughts. "Slade.. he is my arch-nemesis.. and I tried my hardest to understand his motives." He paused, considering his words carefully.
"Go on.." Sari urged softly, curious to where he was going with this.
"I figured if I was in a guise I could trick him, get in on his plans, learn what he was scheming. I created Red X-" Sari stiffened. "-and lied to the Titans, keeping them in the dark so that I could get close to Slade without them blowing my cover. It was a mistake. Slade knew. I lost the trust of my team and my attempts to figure out what Slade was doing were foiled. I locked away the gear of my thief guise and never touched it again.. but it was stolen."
So that explained why there was someone using it.
"Slade's intent was always to test, to study, to evaluate.. and it took me a long while until he revealed why: he was searching for an apprentice.. and he'd selected me to be his heir. I wanted nothing to do with the villain. He tricked us, separated me from my team and injected them with probes, then hung their lives over my head to force me into servitude. I had no chose. I donned his colors.. and did what he asked. I was to steal, to hurt any who got in my way.. or he'd hurt them."
Robin clenched his hands and Sari noticed how the boy's jaw clenched in anger.
"I couldn't take it anymore. I used his probes against him; injected them into myself. If he killed them he'd lose his apprentice. He didn't want that. I recall afterwards the long hours we spent removing the probes and tending to our injuries. I worked to push the Titans back into a team where they could trust me, as their leader." Robin sighed deeply, leaning to cup his face into his gloved hands. "I don't want Ruba to be manipulated by him."
Sari placed a hand onto the boy's shoulder. "Ruba is a kind and gentle soul. It will take much to twist her. We can stop him."
Robin nodded and stood, stretching. "I'm going to turn in early. If anything happens I trust you'll see to it?"
Sari smiled and lifted a hand, giving him a thumbs up. "Of course. I'm a hero, after all."
[End]
Sari stared at Slade before giving him a very dark glare, his voice like coals when he spoke. "Robin didn't betray Slade. Slade played dirty to gain an apprentice. He manipulated Robin, used the Titans to lock him into apprenticeship. Robin outsmarted him, got out, Slade didn't like that, clearly still wanted an apprentice to do his dirty work for him." He explained to her and she turned back to glare at Slade.
"Why, Slade?" She demanded, her lip twitching in restrained anger.
"To teach, to pass my knowledge on. My apprentice would have all my skills, wisdom, strategies and more at their fingertips. They'd be efficient in combat, masters of the night and well known for their talents. I want an heir. Robin was keen on traveling down the hero road, pointlessly helping people who never treat him with the respect he deserves. They idolize him when he saves them, but the second the breeze moves south they turn on him.. it is in human nature." Slade said smoothly, his tone humored and his eye neutral, as was his posture, which was relaxed. "I have no constricting rules, no laws confine me, no one to bother with. I make my own path, do as I please, when I want." They could tell he was smiling beneath the mask.
Silvy struggled against Atty, who shoved him back into the wall in warning. Sari stepped between Ruba and Slade, but she moved around him, acting as if to protect him instead.
"This ends right now." Her green-grey eyes glowing fiercely before she dashed forth. Slade moved a hand up to defend himself, but her intent was not to attack, merely to gain contact. She touched his plated armor, concentrating on the image of the park in town and red energy consumed them, teleporting them from the tower.
Night was brushing around the bend, the evening light dimming in the air as the sun set behind a few stray clouds. The air itself was stiff, teasing with the rain that was supposed to be coming in sometime early in the morning. In the horizon dark clouds framed the sky and a light wind floated in to cool the ground.
The streets of the city lay bare aside from a few stragglers who hurried home and the buildings surrounding those streets were dotted with lights still on.
The park was like a dead show, the audience retired while the stage was still propped; trees stood tall, scattered about the area like ghosts while bushes lined a few of the walking paths. A small fountain sprayed water up from a jet in a stream and various flowers were planted to give the park more color. Benches allowed for sitting and trashcans let one throw away garbage.
Central Park was where the pair were sent and there is where she wanted it to end. This was where Slade first laid eyes on her.. where she first met the Titans.. first was welcomed into something big (freely) and where she first got tangled into this mess.
She jumped away the second they arrived. "I will bring you down!"
He stood still, his head just a bit tilted. "You think you can defeat me? I expected naivete, but this is ridiculous. Ruba, you cannot win. You are but a child with a few years of training. I've spent much longer fighting, honing myself."
She flashed an amused expression before lifting her hands. "Even so.. I have something you don't. This." Her hands charged with red energy and she smirked. "Rubica Energica Mani Latica. My energy.. and all the powers that come with it.."
"If you think you can take me down.." He crouched a bit, clenching his gloved hands into fists. "Then come, show me, do what few have done before."
The clouds were rapidly approaching and the booming of thunder radiated in the air like lifted drums. The occasional flicker of lightning accompanied the thunder and, back at the tower, the Titans thought it was Thunder and Lightning watching over them.
The wafting scent of the approaching rain cast a gloomy mood to the scene, the park already dark as it was aside from large posts that were on, providing some light.
The two didn't move, having some type of meaningful staring contest as if to gauge when the other would attack. Slade decided to start it off, bringing the fight to her. She tensed, her arms moving just as Slade was before her, blocking his jabs, her body moving to avoid his well aimed punches. There is no way to properly explain this fight. It was intense, fast, full of anger, amusement, seeking something that wasn't there, trying to comprehend the events that led up to this. It was bundled with thoughts, memories, laughter, smirks, tears, rage, training, time spent alone. It all amassed into this fierce battle as they went at it. Punch, block, sweep, jump, kick, spin, flip, grab, throw, correct, land. Punch, parry, kick, it went on for several minutes, neither tiring. Determination fueled Slade and growing anger motivated Cecilia.
Slade grabbed Ruba's arm, pivoting, using his momentum to sling her toward a tree. There was little room, time, to fix her flight and so she slammed into the tree, the energy dissolving away from her hands. She slumped down at the base before hopping back to her feet. She twirled, trying to find Slade, but he had vanished.
The wind pitched above her and she turned just in time to see him soaring down toward her. Suddenly she was pressed into the grass, his heavier body perched atop her, pinning her to the ground. The wrists were grabbed, held down above her head with one hand alone while his free left hand grabbed her jaw. His placement made sure her legs could do no damage and he leaned close to her, masked face parallel with her own, that single steely eye glinting within.
"Give up or I will have to kill you." He said and she faintly realized that his words came out rough, portraying him being slightly tired from the fight while she was inhaling and exhaling through flaring nostrils, a fiery glare set on her face.
Her cloudy emeralds shrank, narrowing. "I'm your apprentice. You won't kill me." She said that to see his reaction.
"You've continuously disobeyed me. As of the moment you are a liability that I-" He placed emphasis on this next part. "-will remove if necessary."
She scoffed, blowing air up her face to shift the hair out of her eyes. "I'm done with you Slade.. and if you don't kill me.. I'll kill you. I will not be manipulated anymore."
He released her jaw, pressing the hand against her neck, a gesture to show that he could easily snap her neck if he truly wanted to. "My naive girl.. don't make threats you can't back up. As much as I would love to see you fail at something others have always dreamed of.. I believe it's time we indeed end this. It saddens me to lose such potential, but if a student doesn't listen the teacher must act-"
"A poetic, ironic speech, Slade." Robin's voice appeared from behind Slade. "Let Ruba go."
Slade didn't turn to acknowledge him, but answered, "Why, Robin, you've arrived at the party, but you're too late. Come any closer and I will end her life." His hand slid over to grasp her neck and he slowly rose, lifting her as he did so that he held her to his chest, holding her there with her hands behind her back, her neck confined between gloved fingers.
She snarled, a ferocious sound, and gave a warning look to the Titans.. or, more correctly, only a few of her friends. The rest of the Titans were back at the tower, anxiously awaiting the call to join in. Silvy stood with San at his side, Sari and Robin standing a few feet in front of them.
"Stay.. back! All of.. you. This is my.. fight!" She growled through her teeth, unable to tug her hands out of his single one.
She realized something, which had been overlooked previously due to her sparked anger.. her hands. She summoned up her red energy, focusing it into a sharp burst that zapped his hand. He hissed lowly and was forced to release her bound wrists, which quickly came around to yank the hand from her throat. She shoved him, darting away. She spun, a defensive posture taking hold as she glared at him.
"I will not be defeated by the likes of you!" Her anger drove her into a bitter state as her powers flared with strength untapped. Her eyes glowed and suddenly a stream of energy shot from them. She'd been so focused on him that her heat vision activated. The twin beams struck his chest unexpectedly, throwing him away. He flipped and landed on his hands and bent legs, skidding back a bit before stopping, rising to his feet.
"Impressive. You're using your other capabilities. So concentration is the key.." He mused and she huffed out air. He chuckled. "I've read the files. You are only as strong as your anger. You're weak."
"Well, I'm pretty mad, if you can't tell." The energy gained hold, crackling like high voltage. "I'm gonna-" She took a step forward, the energy popping around her. "-tear you-" Another step, one more and she was walking. "-limb from-" She was now jogging. "-limb!" She was running toward him, lengthy strides closing the distance.
"Show me your anger. Vent it out. Afterwards you will be mine again!" Slade said just as she was within ten feet. He ducked as she jumped to kick, hooking her leg from the air to spin her and toss her to the ground. She flipped over onto her belly just as he stomped on where her stomach had been and he followed her as she rolled further. She quickly placed her hands behind her head and propelled herself to her feet.
Slade was fast. He landed a hit to the stomach, she doubled over, and brought his elbow down onto her back. She was dropped to her knees, exhaustion radiating from her panting form. She winced as a hand wound through her hair, grabbing it. He tugged up, pulling her to her feet. The energy faded and she grabbed at his hand, crying out from how tight his hold was.
"Weak. Just pathetic. I expected more of a challenge. All you did was waste your energy, wailing about like a child. You need discipline." He jerked her back and she stumbled, but didn't lose her balance. "Let's end your suffering.."
She expected a final blow, some move or attack to finish her off, but what he did.. surprised her.