Teen Titans – Severing Old Ties; Sibling Rivalries –
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Chapter 16: Steady As She Throws? More Soap – Dramas to Come!...
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This was…...ugh, such a delay. Well, hope it was worth the wait!
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Dick Grayson was the prodigal son of John and Mary Grayson, the ward of Bruce Wayne. He was NOT some lunatic's song and dance monkey!
Dancing, did not come naturally to everyone, yet a boy who had been born up later in the yoke of the social elite's world? Slade huffed at how easily this was to dodge, how he got annoyed very quickly as well as admired the boy testing his opponents. This could be over, yet Dick thought of himself as a performer by how he twirled his weapon to knock down a few mind – controlled heroes. Even with a grimace, the boy wonder was doing his best to keep Rose...
Slade blinked. Ah, well. Maybe he had underestimated the brat for far to long.
"Lookie what we caught!"
Cardiac and Grant stood by Rose as she smirked at the heart catcher's pick.
Ravens' kids and…. Star!?
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Dick looked up, the one after him being no more Hotspot or Wildebeest, but Pantha as she jumped in to pummel the little guy, Slade running over to wear down Dick's attacker.
"What do you think you're doing?? Back to your end of the arena, Dad!" Rose shouted, mad with power as she increased the risk and brought all of the few, fellow hero Lightening to do Slade a big thanks of his mind – controlled own. "You shall bow before our new leader!! Swine!"
With her strength and Lightening's elemental abilities, the two were again on the mat, Pantha threatening to take the mask off of Dick's face as payment. Rose nodded, and Slade looked away, ashamed.
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"Victory! You have been unmasked, Robin. You are no longer in charge." She tossed the item to Cardiac as his tendril metallic arms came to grant the item to the Queen. "Well done, and such a pretty view…Take him to a cell and give him a few moments to recover…." She turned sharply to her father once Dick was left to his mellowed mind, still thinking up a plan as he and the others were dragged away as well. All but…. Starfire.
And Slade.
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"I think Psimon has the power enough to see that you won't defy your HIVE leader…. Doctor! Assist and make her face my father…"
The evil scientist appeared and began to case his hypnotic thoughts onto Kori as she struggled, her screaming enough to break the sound barrier. "STOP!! I shall…. never…. NOO!!!"
The stun faded as Kori was set in a set of strange cuffs to each wrist. Her throat, a collar to never allow her full strength to erase anyone. Rose pointed at Slade, the serum already putting him back in better shape and Rose KNEW he still had some stamina to face a few teen heroes.
Or, alien heroines.
"You'll fight, get rid of your disgust in this man and drop kick him until he coughs up blood!! So, commands your, queen!!"
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BB and Cy heard the scream and ended up running into trouble too soon, Starfire had gone too far ahead and the poor woman was being tortured…
"Bb! I need you to hang tight, they won't hurt anyone that bad."
"We are the enemy to them!" Argent scoffed. "Our pain is nothing if it isn't useful to that villain's cause, and I mean Rose and her sibling."
"Grant is using Rose, and somebody had him to the job with pay…" Eli rubbed his chin, the footsteps of soldiers and guards approaching from only feet away. "how do we get into the arena, Cyborg?" Raven turned to their co leader as he thought. "We need to distract the guards, get in their heads and do a sneak attack…"
"Underground! Dude! Rae and I can totally –
"Dig? As in…with a mole? Gladly…. Ah…Bloody, brilliant…" Sighed Argent as Eli crossed over to see if there was a hidden doorway. "Can you read between their auras?" He rubbed his chin and squinted at the solid rock of the complex's inner wall. "Who's been here and who went below to check on the prisoners?" He turned to Raven who nodded. "I'll try…but it won't be quick."
"Well, it had better be a smashing deduction." Frowned Argent sarcastically. "We're about to be bounced from the cult's doorstep for good!"
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Jericho stood by and watched as his allies were pushed to their limits. Staying with Starfire was clever, yet unexpected. The fact that he was floating out of Psimon's view. He had to find Robin. Help him out of this mess before –
"Intruders; Queen. There were Titans spotted entering your complex only –
She turned from her seat, sword in hand as it swung out, slicing through armor as the guard somehow ended up hugging his half naked frame and squealing!
"I….want them all in cages! Do you hear me??"
"Do you even listen to the words coming out of your own mouth??" Slade shouted as Kori landed a punch, even as he'd just managed to brace himself into a wall. No abilities but to endure each swing.
"You…. need…to…. stop….this! –
"I won't."
Slade stood, eye wider than it had been when Rose had first called out, back when she'd adored his very law. Yet now?...
Rose looked beside her as Grant got his knuckles cracked long enough to dive past the exit to find those so-called idiot Titans. Slade felt his stomach go numb as Kori landed a punch directly into his unprotected abdomen. Damn! Dick had his work cut out….
As Rose had decreed, he coughed up a bit of blood, knowing he'd be healed in only minutes before Kori was finished having her kind of revenge. She WANTED this was what he'd assumed from how Grant was acting, yet maybe she really was on his side. So wrapped up in her false delusions that this was her home now, her temple to herself and no one else. By that sneer she gave, it didn't look half like the protégé and his own flesh and blood of a bastard birth….
He saw, an empty set of eyes that twisted him, his spine on fire as Kori blasted it, as Rose and Grant just –
~You should have left the saving to the professionals…! ~
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Slade brought his eye to shoot up as veil unclad itself from the backdrop.
They all looked and pointed, yet Slade recognized what was fending him off at the worst of times.
"Joey??" He cried out next, "Don't try to save anyone! Get AWAY !"
He growled and near pleaded.
"NOW."
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Starfire was left open as Psimon did his work well on the others. She just blinked back with a cackle and threw a bolt before Jericho could run and hide by his abilities. "Bring him to me! Don't let my idiot brother escape!"
Grant however, walked off as Rose took charge. Slade cried out to Rose, yet she wasn't going to pay attention. Possibly not for a long time. "Traitor! Your form shall not fly away! I shall capture you for our queen!" Lightening went after Jericho, his powers not working on the brainwashed hero as he clung the only exit, the rest being his ability was all he had. He fought, yet it was futile as the guards caught the little hipster from the air as he was dragged to see his family torn apart, but together.
They were still here, so he gulped in some air and Joey reached out to the one person who might still believe in him.
~ Let me…do what you want. To save them. You want dad, but he's not the one. ~
Slade saw the emotion as he shook his head, no mask on as her shouted at his son to quit. Joey was a quitter, once. Now, he was a damned hero.
A cape with a death wish, as Rose only pointed for Psimon to work quickly on her younger brother's fixated frame of mind.
"No! Joey !!!"
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