Teen Titans

Carved Glass

.:Chapter Nine:.

Slade's Apprentice

The slums of the city passed by in a blur as Cyborg's car swerved to follow the dark form of Raven flying overhead. Beast Boy leaned into every turn and tried not to look as unsettled as he felt. Something was wrong. He couldn't shake the feeling. When he looked up he could see that Raven was moving more slowly, and yet she didn't seem to be faltering. She knew where they were going, but perhaps she knew what Beast Boy was beginning to feel deep in the pit of his stomach.

They were too late.

Suddenly a loud crash echoed through the streets. Cyborg pulled the car over and the two Titans leaped from it, prepared for anything. The boy that had appeared before—Shadow, Beast Boy recalled—had somehow managed to wreck Robin's motorcycle. Robin stood facing him, flanked by Raven and Starfire. Beast Boy and Cyborg quickly joined them, the former thinking that he'd like to claw Shadow's facemask off for what he'd done to Leila. But Beast Boy sensed there was something… off about Shadow. He wasn't acting all high and mighty, not grinning, not looking confident or skeptical. There was nothing left of the person Beast Boy had seen in the park. This Shadow looked sad and just tired.

"So," he said dully. "You're here."

"We've come for Leila," Beast Boy said, crouched and ready to spring if Shadow attacked.

"Well, you sure are different than I thought you'd be," Shadow mused. He looked at them with a solemn sort of expression. That look made Beast Boy feel even more anxious. They had to find her. Who knew what Slade was doing to her? "Do you truly care about her?"

The question caught Beast Boy off guard. "Of course," he said. Shadow looked at him and then shook his head, slowly.

"Then I'll take you to her. We'll only have a few minutes before Slade catches on, but that will be enough time for you to see. Come on." Shadow turned and jumped down from the car he'd been standing on.

Robin spoke at last, taking charge as he always did. "Why should we trust you?"

Shadow glanced at them. "What other choice do you have?" he asked.

"Come on," Beast Boy said, racing after Shadow. The other Titans followed him, each with his or her own thoughts on their mission. But it was clear that Beast Boy wouldn't give up, and his friends planned to stand by him—especially, as Raven sensed, if their endeavor would have a less-than-happy ending.

Shadow led them through a narrow collection of alleyways, through a few abandoned buildings, and down some cellar stairs that opened into a dark series of tunnels that no doubt ran beneath the city. That was definitely Slade's style. Beast Boy followed Shadow closely in the darkness, his heart pounding. The eeriness of the tunnels was weighing on all of them, and Beast Boy couldn't help but wonder what it had been like for Leila to live here. That must have been horrible. Beast Boy shook his head and tried to concentrate. Leila needed him now more than ever, he knew that much. And he wouldn't let her down—not like he had before.

"How much farther?" Robin's voice echoed off of the dark walls. They were deep underground, and Beast Boy got that sense of being compressed that reminded him of chasing after Terra long ago.

"Not far," Shadow replied. He led them through a series of twists and turns and then to a single iron door that had no handle. Shadow pressed a few buttons on the door's surface and then the door swung open. Beast Boy was close on his heels as they entered the room, so he was partner to Shadow's surprise when they found nothing but a simple, empty square room.

"No," Shadow breathed, darting forwards to a bare table where some chains lay scattered about. He grabbed them and stared at them, as if they held some secret he wanted desperately to know.

"What's going on?" Cyborg asked.

"He knows already," Shadow murmured. Beast Boy looked at him closely. Then he slowly began to understand.

"Something bad has happened," he said in a low voice. Shadow looked at him, and he thought he'd never seen eyes as sad as the ones that stared at him hopelessly.

"I had hoped that you could help her," Shadow whispered, "That it really wasn't too late. But Slade knows now, and he's probably disposed of her already."

"What do you mean by this 'disposed of?'" Starfire asked. Shadow's hands curled tightly around the chains until his knuckles turned white. He stared at them blankly, as if at a loss what to do with himself.

"She's gone now," he said finally, sounding very distant.

"Gone?" Beast Boy echoed. That horrible feeling he'd had came back. Were they really too late?

"She used the last of her strength to save me," Shadow murmured. "Figures that I'd spend all this time protecting her and I'm the reason she's gone."

Beast Boy suddenly felt very angry—and sad, too. But he was angry at Shadow for giving up. There was something about all this that just didn't feel right to him. He turned to Robin.

"You can go find Slade," he said. "I'm going to look for Leila."

There was a tense moment of silence. Everyone in the room understood now that it was too late to save her. But the Titans also knew that their friend wouldn't give up even then. So Robin put his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, looked him in the eye, and said, "Do what you have to, Beast Boy." Then, beckoning to the other Titans, he said, "Titans, let's go!" Beast Boy watched them leave. Shadow stared after them, a bit stunned. Then he moved after them, leaving Beast Boy alone in the dimly lit room. He morphed into a bloodhound and began sniffing about. It only took a few minutes of sniffing to pick up on the trail. Beast Boy raced into the tunnels, following the scent. His paws pattered against the rough ground loudly, echoing through the tunnels and filling him with a greater sense of urgency. The smell came to him more easily with every step—he knew he was getting close. Beast Boy's lips curled back and he let out a guttural growl. He saw a door up ahead and knew she was behind it. He had to get to her. He had to find her, no matter what. Morphing once more, Beast Boy felt his body stretch and solidify until he was no longer a dog but a huge rhino charging towards the door. He barreled through it and slid to a stop. The first sight that met his eyes seemed to freeze his insides.

It was blood.

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Shadow and the Titans made their way through the dark labyrinths that made up Slade's lair. They were quiet as they went; Shadow led the Titans through the winding passages, his thoughts bent on revenge. He had tried to force away all of his emotions for so long—and a part of him had thought he'd succeeded—but now they returned to him in full force, driving him forward. He couldn't bear the thought of Slade getting out of this without a scratch when his sister had paid the highest price. Where was the justice in that?

"It's just ahead," Shadow said over his shoulder to Robin, who was running just behind him. The masked hero nodded once, sharply, and pulled out one of his many weapons. Shadow felt the press of darkness around them, but instead of being frightened by it he was comforted. It was the darkness that had always given him strength. He knew that it in and of itself was not something he should fear.

The group came up to the great iron doors that let into Slade's central command chamber. Cyborg brushed past them all with Starfire rising just above his shoulder. Their fists pounded into the door at the same time, sending it flying into the dimly lit room. Five teenagers entered, each ready to fight with everything they had. Across from them, sitting on a slim black chair, was Slade.

"Welcome, Titans," he said in a low voice. "I probably should be surprised that you got here so quickly. But it seems that yet again my luck with apprentices has failed."

"You and I both know I have no reason to serve you any longer," Shadow said through gritted teeth.

"That much is true," Slade responded. "But what else will you do, then? No one else would accept you, would they? Not after all of the things that you've done." Slade's words sank into Shadow's heart like heavy stones. He opened his mouth to say something, but no sound came out. His voice was trapped inside by the burden of his thoughts, all of which told him that Slade was right; no one would ever love him now that Laura was gone.

But that didn't mean that he couldn't do the right thing. Even if no one forgave him for the things he did while working for Slade, Shadow would still fight his old master. For Laura. For himself. For their mother. The loneliness that had consumed him since his sister's death was nothing compared to the rage he felt towards the man that brought about her end.

"You should know better than that, Slade," a cool voice said, and Shadow turned and started in surprise when he saw Terra leaning in the doorway behind him. Her blue eyes were narrowed and her arms were crossed over her chest. The Titans seemed as shocked as Shadow did to see her there.

"Terra, how nice to see you again," Slade murmured, and everyone in the room felt that what he meant was that it was not nice to see her again.

"Friends never give up on friends, no matter what," Terra said, ignoring Slade and looking at the Titans with a solemn sort of expression on her face, like she was thinking. Then she turned to Shadow and smiled slightly. "And friends are always there for each other."

"This is all so touching." Slade pushed himself up off of his chair. "But I think it's time we got down to business, hmm?" The villain pressed a few buttons and the huge garage doors to the Titans' left and right opened, revealing some of Slade's ninja droids.

"Titans, go!" Robin called, and immediately the six teenagers spread out, each tackling their own group of opponents. Robin, though, forced his way straight into the fray, his ultimate goal the same as always: Slade.

Shadow attached his shadow to one of the droid's and flung it around forcefully, smiling in grim satisfaction as he heard the crunch of machinery being slammed together. He saw Terra crushing some of the droid minions with large stones. Starfire and Raven were flying in a tight circle, using their powers to take out any droids in Robin's way. Cyborg took out a few droids by punching them before using his arm to hit them with his sonic blast. Shadow turned his attention back to his own fight. The room was packed with darkness, which gave him control of all the droids. But the droids seemed to be figuring out his patterns, and would move out of the way whenever he tried to attach his shadows to them. Even so, Shadow had little trouble catching them and sending them flying into the walls and ceilings. If they got too close, he would send his fist into their faces. The feeling of metal and microchips breaking against his knuckles seemed to energize him, fueling the anger burning inside. We have the upper hand. Shadow thought confidently. But when he turned and saw Robin was calling up to Starfire and Raven, his confidence wavered. It took Shadow a few moments of intense concentration before he finally heard what the leader of the Titans was saying: "Slade escaped, and he's set this place to self destruct!"

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The chamber Beast Boy had erupted into was like a hospital room, with monitors and a simple operation table and lots of sharp objects. A large black robot was positioned over the table, holding instruments covered with more blood. It backed away when Beast Boy entered, revealing the still form of Leila on the operation table.

Wires had been threaded into her skin with needles, and blood covered the simple white sheet covering her body. Her face was pale and still, her hair spread out around her like dark silk ribbons. She looked like Snow White, dead and pale but still beautiful somehow. Beast Boy felt his animal form melt away, revealing his own small self. And he did feel so small and powerless. He really was too late. Any hope he'd had of saving her was gone. Still. He couldn't leave her.

Beast Boy crossed the room and gently wrapped his arm under Leila's shoulder, lifting her so that her pale face leaned towards him. Tears filled his eyes as he stared down at her face.

"The operation is complete." Beast Boy jumped and turned to see that the robot had spoken to him. It held up a bloody piece of metal—a sort of computer chip. Looking back at Leila, Beast Boy noticed that all of the blood came from a spot in her side. He touched her cheek gently, sighing. All of his anger had dissolved into a mind-numbing sadness. All he wanted to do was stare at her forever, but he knew that the other Titans would need his help. Beast Boy buried his face in the crook of her neck, feeling his body shaking but knowing that he would need to go soon. But he knew that once he let go, that would be the end. And he couldn't bear to say goodbye to her. Leila was the first person since Terra he had opened up to, the first to heal that hole in his heart. And she'd more than filled it. She had made him feel new again. Better. And now she was gone.

Thump, thump, thump… The soft pulse moved against his skin, faint but distinct. Beast Boy froze. He tucked his arms more protectively around Leila's small body, listening and hoping despite himself. But there it was again, that soft thump of a heart accompanying his own. He looked down at Leila and noticed that her skin was less pale than it had been.

"The operation is successful," the robot droned. Beast Boy stared at Leila's face, feeling his heartbeat stutter in his chest when her lips parted slightly and she let out a low, soft breath. Letting out a strangled cry of relief, Beast Boy hugged her to him again and tried not to cry anymore. There was no reason to cry now. Leila had come back to him. She would be okay. Beast Boy gently set her back onto the table, brushing her hair back from her face.

"Can she be moved?" he asked the robot, wondering if it would respond.

"The operation is complete. Her vital organs have restarted and she is stable." The robot crossed to one of the monitors and plugged something into one of the keypads. The wires began recoiling, the needles letting out a hiss as they slipped out of Leila's skin. The robot moved over to the table and began patching all the little puncture holes, working with neat, precise movements. Then it backed away and beeped twice. "Task completed. The girl is taken care of and the device has been removed."

"Good work," Beast Boy said, not really sure if the robot understood but feeling grateful towards it anyways. It beeped twice and then seemed to shut itself off. Beast Boy gently slipped his arms under Leila's body, one beneath her shoulders and the other beneath her knees. She was still wearing her tattered jeans, but the robot had removed the rest of her clothing for whatever operation it had preformed. Beast Boy managed to tuck the white sheet carefully around her body so that it covered her up and then he ran out of the room, back the way he had come. His priority at that moment was getting her to a safe place. And then he'd come back.

He had a score to settle with Slade.


Author's Note:

Thank you for reading the latest chapter of Carved Glass! :) I am about to start my Western Civ class, so I am in a rush (haha). But I hope that you enjoy and that you're intrigued with the way the story is progressing. Honestly, I thought the next chapter would be the last one, but now I'm not sure, since this chapter is shorter than I thought it would be (I just felt it should end here, and after much deliberation I decided it was where I'd cut it off). So the next chapter may or most likely may not be the last chapter. We'll see =v= Thanks!

-Lion