Author Note: Lots of free time to write now, school's out tomorrow.
Terra didn't have time to pick up her pizza. Within seconds, the rest of the team charged into the operations room and gathered around the large monitor mounted on the wall of windows. A few mouths fell open and mumbling followed. Not wanting to seem stunned, Terra joined the group up front.
"Dude, this can't be right." Beast Boy shook his head and chewed on his lip. "When's this guy gonna give up?" His eyes drifted back up to the screen.
"I don't know," Robin answered, in his typical down-to-business tone. "But whatever he's going to do, we're going to stop him." He glanced around to make sure everyone on the team was present. When he saw them all, he gave the signal to set out: "Let's go."
Beast Boy was up front right behind Robin. Terra and Starfire were next and behind them Cyborg and Raven kept their distance so they could talk in private.
"Am I the only one who finds it a little weird that Slade suddenly turns back up right around the time Robin starts going all crazy for research?" Cyborg asked Raven, just barely above a whisper.
"No," answered Raven. "But we don't know what he's been doing. It could have been research, or maybe it was just training." She stopped her explanation to make sure Robin was too absorbed into his adrenaline rush to hear them. "I think it's too early to tell if there's a connection or not." She knew Robin had good intentions and she wanted to support him. Without clear evidence, she felt it unfair to say he was going "Slade crazy" again. Also, he definitely wouldn't be happy if he knew that was what his teammates thought. Everything worked out better if you just closed your mouth until you absolutely had to give your opinion.
Starfire took flight and picked up Robin to carry him across the bay. Cyborg was carried over by Beast Boy, Raven levitated and Terra tore up a chunk of their island.
Robin's shoes were the first to collide with the city cement. Cyborg was dropped next and the others soon followed. They only had to walk a minute before they found what they were looking for.
The city was void of all civilians-they knew better because they too knew how to recognize the dangerous villains from the easy ones. All cars were absent of drivers or passengers and the sounds of honking and tire screeching that used to fill the city's air were gone. No one was doing the grocery shopping and there were no voices. The wind didn't dare ruin the silence with a breeze.
Standing in place of the people, the noise, the traffic and the wind were hundreds of black and orange robots. They stood on the roofs of buildings, on top of cars, on the sidewalks and in the middle of the street. As soon as the Titans approached, all hundreds of heads turned to look at them. Yet there was no other movement and the robots didn't attack.
"This is giving me the creeps," Beast Boy squeaked under his breath.
"What's going on?" Cyborg was the first to ask the question everyone else only had in their minds. His question was said in a rhetorical way, because he knew nobody had an answer.
Terra folded her arms tight against her chest and stood behind the others at the back of the group. She didn't look at the robots after she got a quick first glance. In front of a black shadow swung by. Her head followed the movement, and as the figure slipped away she recognized it to be Robin. Where's he off to now?
What Terra didn't see that Robin did made all the difference. Robin had set eyes on Slade, who had appeared just as the Titans arrived. He disappeared just when he knew Robin and Robin only had caught sight, because he didn't want the entire group dashing after him.
Terra thought about going after Robin, but she knew better. If Robin was running off without telling the team, he didn't want company. Starfire would probably call you careless for that, she thought. But for all she knows I saw nothing.
When Robin flew past him a few minutes into running, Slade reached out and dragged him back by the cape. Robin's back hit the side of a building and he cringed. His expression of pain was taken back as he looked to his attacker. "What does it mean?" Robin demanded. He gestured in the direction of all the robots.
"You're certainly right to the point, aren't you?" Slade asked. He had to admit, he knew Robin was always eager to know his plan, but he usual waited for at least a few minutes. "Did you find my clues, Robin? I went out of my way for you."
Robin frowned. Don't pretend like you did a favor, he thought. "If you mean all the things you've been dropping around the city, then yes. The police know of sightings, if you keep it up they'll find you in no time."
Slade laughed in return to this but it wasn't a heartfelt laugh. It wasn't a mischievous laugh, either. It was emotionless, lasted just a few seconds and then died, like someone was turning down the volume on a radio with a fuzzy signal. "Glad to know you've kept up your skills. . . ."
"Get to the point," Robin snapped. I'm sick of hearing about my skills, he added in his head. I bet you'd talk about yours instead if you had any.
"Don't disappoint me, Robin, I was hoping for a nice talk."
Robin squirmed out of Slade's grip and sent a high kick towards his side. He was tired of talking about nothing. If the only way to get Slade to say something he actually cared about was to fight, he was more than prepared. He had been preparing for weeks.
Slade caught his foot and used it to flip Robin against the ground. Robin staggered up and ignored the pain in his back. He had protected his head with one of his hands, so, for now, he was still able to focus. Slade took out his staff and swung before Robin had time to do the same.
He stopped the attack with his wrists, but Slade was putting more pressure on him. "Do you remember how we fought Trigon together, Robin?" A smile broke out beneath his mask.
"What do you want?" Robin asked. His frown deepened and his eyes thinned into a glaring squint.
"I was merely reminding you of how well we worked together. Don't you remember?"
"All I remember is every horrible thing you've ever done to anyone," Robin spat. "You might have helped us then, but whatever you're doing now is proof that it wasn't a lasting relationship." He broke down under the pressure and kicked Slade's ankles as he bent down to get out of the way. As planned, Slade lost balance and fell.
"If you want me to tell you anything, I expect better behavior, Robin." Slade pushed himself up and put away his staff. He put his hands behind his back and held his wrists together. "You do want me to tell you, don't you?"
"I want you to tell me why you sent us out to the city to fight motionless robots." Robin took a few steps back from Slade, to make sure he was in full view and couldn't get away with any secret exits.
"It's simple, actually," began Slade. "Beneath your city are hundreds of planted explosives, set to be trigger by any slight geological movement in this area." He turned his head at Robin and shrugged. "I suppose you're lucky Jump City doesn't have natural earthquakes."
Robin said nothing and let him continue, but at the mention of earthquakes he stood still in silence out of confusion. Slade was right: Jump City didn't usually experience earthquakes. Unless . . .
"But you do have a wonderful little geomancer who I'm sure would be delighted to try and stop all my robots with her powers." Slade straightened his posture and waited for the pleasure of Robin's outburst.
"Leave her alone," Robin said, "I think you've done enough."
Slade extracted a button from his pocket and smiled. "If you want to save her from the guilt of being responsible for this city's destruction, I suggest you get back to her quickly."
Robin flung himself at Slade and tried to grab the button out of his palm. Instead, Slade caught Robin and bent his arms crisscross across his chest so Robin was contained in a straight jacket made of his own arms. Robin struggled but Slade held on tight. "Stealing won't get you very far, Robin."
Finally, Slade let him go and Robin tumbled in the opposite direction. "We'll stop you. You can count on it."
"Don't worry," said Slade, "I will." He pressed the button and the countdown started. "Fifteen seconds until my robots come to life," he called as Robin took off.
Robin raced back to the others as quick as his feet would allow him, but he counted to fifteen and past in his head. He bit his lip and hoped Terra hadn't gotten a chance to fight yet. Just wait a little longer, please, he thought.
When he came to where the rest of his team was, his eyes widened in shock. None of them were fighting, but, then again, neither were the robots. They stood like statues just as they had did when he left.
"Um, nice to rejoin the team," said Beast Boy. Robin didn't bother with him and moved straight to Terra. He put his hand on her shoulder and asked "You haven't used your powers at all, have you?"
Terra raised an eyebrow at him. "I did a few times," she said, to Robin's horror. Terra couldn't understand why he looked so mortified, so she just continued. "Star and I tried hitting a few of the robots to see what would happen."
"What did you do in specific?" Robin asked, "any earthquakes?"
"I shook the ground a little, yeah. Nothing too big, just enough to try and wake them up, you know?"
Robin removed his hand from her shoulder and stared vacantly in the direction he'd seen Slade last. "So he lied to me," he said. "But . . . why?"
"Mind telling us about this?" Raven asked.
"Yeah, if you know something, Robin, we wanna know too." Cyborg nodded to Raven-he had been right, hadn't he?
"I saw Slade," Robin said, almost against his will. He hated telling his team about Slade because he knew what they all thought about it. Besides Terra-at least he thought she understood, even if only a little. "I chased him for a few minutes. He told me there were explosives under the city that would be triggered by even the slightest geological disturbance . . ." He glanced at Terra to see her face, but she turned away. "He said he'd activate the robots so we would have to use her powers to fight them." He said "we" instead of "Terra" on purpose, because he didn't want to bring all the attention on her. "But . . . she did and nothing happened. The robots aren't even doing anything."
Starfire felt a raindrop tap her on the nose and looked at the robots. They were frozen, still. "Perhaps Slade's device was faulty and did not work as planned," she offered.
"I doubt it," Robin said. He shook his head. "Slade is the type of person who would make sure that his mechanics were set up correctly. I don't think it was an error."
Terra hadn't blinked in what seemed like forever. Her gaze was set in a random location, but her eyes were watching. He was going to make me destroy the city. She bit her lip a little too hard and then regretted it. It didn't bleed, but she ripped the skin a little. I dare him to try and mess with me again, he'll be dead, and he'll be sorry.
"Let's go home," Beast Boy whined. He did so only on behalf of Terra, who he noticed seemed to be drowning in misery. At least, that's how he looked at it. "There's nothing going on here, it was all trap."
"But what if it was not?" Starfire asked with worry spread over her. "What if we leave and then something terrible happens?" She hovered just above the asphalt.
"Ow," Terra whispered. Her hand moved up to her shoulder and she frowned. She had just felt a sharp pain, like a needle point. It was gone now, but replaced by a strange chill that caused her to shiver.
"Hey, Terra, you okay?" Beast Boy asked. He didn't hide his concern for her sake anymore and walked over to make sure she was alright.
"I'm fine," she said. "I just feel weird . . . like a . . . headache or something. I probably just need some Tylenol." She smiled and nodded to him, but it wasn't the truth. Her head didn't hurt at all.