Teen Titans Presents – Robin; Torn Legacy of a Prodigal Son
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Chapter 13: The Darkest Night
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Daylight was waning quickly, waving farewell as the mirrors swung back and forth before the hero's two shaded eyes.
Full of rage, of a disturbing revelation shown to him by his new enemies, those two; the cruelest to have taken something dear, and to torment it. Slade would pay, and Batman would avenge –
Had he ever been given a chance.
Robin stood there, unstable in his movements as this stand off eventually led to Ravager pulling out a gun.
On them both.
Two glocks. On for each bird and bat. A fluffed up scene of a torn tragedy at their doorstep as Grant didn't grin. He was too good at what he was about to commit.
"What…why did you come here??" Dick sheepishly demanded to know. "I can't see you; Slade will kill them, you have to go…please –
"Your logic on whatever he's up to is toast, Birdy." Grant snorted and cocked the gun further at the bat, while Dick stood wide eyed and shaking,
While Slade was watching everything.
"Ravager. Let him go, the Titans told me –
"No….tell them you can't find me…leave! Batman!"
"Yeah, papa winged – one." The assassin licked his lips. "Big baby bat said to high tail it, you'll save more lives that way."
"Your associate is holding my partner hostage with blackmail!" Bruce barked at the gun toting idiot son. "I'm not leaving until he's safe. Until I can confront the one who did this. Including you…"
"I'm just a puppet too, big daddy." Grant blinked, innocent. "If I don't do this for em, I'm gonna die young!" And, Grant laughed. His Joker style had a bullet whiz past Bat's head before he'd recovered to bring it back. "Told ya! You can't stay in this "city by the bay." It don't belong…to you !!" As he fired it, one hand slipped and Dick had to duck at the piercing sound.
"No!" Bruce pulled out a rang and came at Grant, who leaped back and swapped one gun quickly, for a blade while Dick was still on his knees. Completely shaken. "Step right up, and bird boy won't….heh, make the cut!" Blade to the front of his throat, Dick couldn't breathe. Victim. HE was the victim.
Because…
He let his head stay up. One drop lower, and Grant meant business.
"Let. Him. Go." Seethed the tired out Wayne, the last of his creed to ever protect a innocent from such a fate. He saw himself and Dick. Afraid to die, afraid and unwilling to lose his life.
" Bruce…"
A small croak, but something didn't fit.
"Are you going to do it?" Bruce suddenly fell within the folds of his cape and cowl. "Are you going to take that boy's life, like he took yours?"
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Dick gasped.
Testing?? If he'd….
"Bruce, why?"
Why was he playing detective now??? Save him! Save the innocent…
~ He'd rather be the dark knight than listen to you; he has a job, one that involves stopping me. If you suffer, if he fails. Well, how can you call that man a partner to anyone. Dick…~
Slade was in his ear and his message was simple. ~ I don't want him getting too close. You'll be a good apprentice and finish this. Disarm the bat. Keep him in the dark…~
Dick swallowed lightly, the blade in the way if he tried. Grant heard those words as his grip tightened. "Wanna say goodbye? I'll allow it." Bruce gawked. Dick, didn't understand, until he was let go and an item by his pouch was secretly pointed to.
"Let daddy know, kay? For them." Grant smiled mockingly, giving Dick a shove as if he had a leash to drag him back in.
No, wait.
It was just the Glock standing between them.
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Bruce held the kid's shoulders and breathed out. "Dick, are you alright –
"I…can't go."
"We can fight him, you have to trust –
" Anngh !!!" Batman staggered, his eyes seeing both, black and white spots, feelings….too electric to be here nor there.
Dick's eyes were completely masked, yet behind them was a sense of betrayal.
"I can't. Bruce; Slade will kill my friends. You have to leave.
To tazer shot out again as the bat felt it, seeing stars and the world going all a – blur.
"Are you done, yet?" Grant tapped his boot impatiently. "The big boss wants you back home, kid. Like, forever ago."
Bruce looked up at Dick, on his knees while the boy stood unharmed. His tazer in hand, but…
"It's too late." Dick fired up his weapon one last time. Ignoring Bruce's last plea.
"I'm not coming home."
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The whooping and horn blowing sounds of a job well done brought Slade to turn and see Grant, with his arm hung over a disheartened boy wonder's shoulder. It crushed Slade that he'd have to break them up. Even while Terra, despite his rule being broken…she'd kept the heroes away. They'd collected the burned out Bat on the street as Dick turned his head from the sight now playing on one of Slade massive, screens.
His heart rate had gone up. The picture of it was monitored up there, Slade though was the only one who could see it.
Now, he was showing Dick his own motions. He was owned, a simple experiment to test…
He was going to break down at any second, so Slade couldn't have an apprentice knee deep in his own tears.
" Ravager." Slade snapped from across the room, letting his commanding voice carry.
"Give the boy some space."
Grant shrugged his arm off and crossed them proudly by the entrance.
Dick, was afraid to take that steps up to Slade terrifying throne. He had wished Grant had never removed his arm. Never left him alone…
"Apprentice. Come here."
Dick's stony steps were leaden as he tried, finding himself brought finally powerless, to his knees as Slade caught the boy, bringing up his chin just as the tears had begun to fall.
"I…hurt Bruce…I….I…..no…..not –
" Shush, Robin. Listen; you did well, By far, I could have not asked for a better performance." The man was softer, coaxing. Dick trusted that voice far too much, yet he'd done as he was told, to save four lives. He'd promised, while Bruce had risked hiss getting wounded for his answer...
~ Where's Slade. ~
"You did as you were ordered to. The Batman won't come, he won't hear you."
"He…" The kid nodded, letting the man's thumb wipe back a stray droplet. "He never did." The let his forehead fall into Slade chest as he just burned out. The brightest star, now pulled in with a man holding the force of a dangerous, supernova.
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Terra was still in her holding cell. The robots had been destroyed, while Starfire and Gar had located the bat crumpled outside their view by the pier.
How that brought back bitter memories of a lost leader for Kori, once she saw what that same individual had done to the older vigilante.
"Is…is he gonna be ok, Cyborg?" Gar's ears drooped as Bruce stayed both masked and on a seat to soon awaken. "He was knocked unconscious…I can't tell the face…A yell…laughter…"
"Joker?" Gar piped in.
"More like some crazy teen –
"Stop." Starfire warned her allies to desist with the negative chatter. "The man of the bats must now rest and shall rise to tell us if he wishes to. When he "comes to the to." We cannot know until that time passes, so…do not do in the shoving and pushing now, please!"
"Starfire. There's –
"I picked it up…." BB whiffed the cowl, and Kori put a…
"You two know who did this!" Cy accused with a finger to Bb's roundish snout.
"I…..uh, can't tell cause of all the shark repel –
"Beast boy…. please…Do not say it…"Starfire shook her head. "We will find the one responsible. It is not a teen nor an ager."
"Star, I…I'm sorry." Cy rubbed his neck. "You gotta come clean. Does Bb know who did this to the Batman or not? If you don't tell us –
"It's immediately a form of treason." Raven finished. "If you want to protect whoever that is that hurt him, you'll only be hurting the person more by not saying anything. You are protecting the abuser."
Starfire and Gar exchanged glances.
"I…I know how it went down. My scent tracks memory." Gar sighed and Kori gripped her arms to her chest.
"They were waiting. Gunpowder, fear….it's all pretty bad to me. But I can smell, salt. Hormones, confusion…worry. And then charred skin…ugh… it's really on his cape. I smelled…burning, and then…"
Cy sat up. "An attack, but who? Fire? Guns? A laz –
Starfire bit her lip.
"Thermal." Raven pursed her lips, putting a hand to Bruce's skull.
"No, something lower tech…and from someone just as determined to kill…"
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"I think it's time I told someone."
"Terra.." Gar had found Raven in the tower while everyone had gotten Batman to the med bay in one fell swoop.
She was down In a safe place. A far from insecure look on both of their teenaged faces as Gar picked up the vibes of some conspiracy going on under his nose.
"We beat the Slade bots. They can't touch you again, Terra. Raven; what are you doing here? What is this place? Is –
"Beast boy…I have to tell you.."
"No," Raven was pushed away as Terra felt a welling inside her chest take hold. She stood; his eyes speculating a change, his fists bound to end up in fits as she drank in the sight of her own betrayal. "Raven is helping me, to come to terms with my past. And my present predicament. I'm a mole – or was! I didn't want to be. I didn't know…but, I've decided to leave."
Beast boy was reverting to a form she'd only hoped wouldn't come. A wolf.
She, in sheep's clothing to pull the wool over his green eyes.
"Why?"
"I was protecting him, and myself."
"You…Slade."
"No." Sadly Terra turned to Raven. "He's hurting someone else, your leader. My supposed competition. But Slade won't take me back. Not as his apprentice, he tricked me. Kidnapped me, molded…"
She had to stay in control.
"You lied to us!! Why?"
"I…"
"Beast boy!" Raven shot at the green hero. Terra's head colder now since Raven had quieted the rumbling before the blonde could ultimately shatter those four walls. "She's not with Slade. He has Robin and with Terra working to gain back control of her powers, you need to listen. She's not our enemy."
"But…" Terra bit her lip, a sob escaping barely. "If we don't stop him, Robin may be…I' m so sorry…I didn't know…I'm sorry…!" He cries were difficult as Gar, despite it all, he knew who'd attacked the bat. He KNEW that Terra was telling the truth as he came to the ashamed, crying face with a fear so deep in her heart. He came to her and hugged her as he had when she'd lost control in the mines.
And it felt safe. She was going to be ok..
"It's ok, Terra…we're going to help you, I promise…it's ok….I'm sorry for not trusting you, Rae….you're both my friends…I want…to get him back…"
She nodded and tried to put a strand of hair behind her ear with a trembling set of fingers. "Will you guys do it?"
She sniffed up at his determined stare. Raven nodded, already onboard. "Will you help me save Robin, and stop… Slade?"
Terra sniffled and pulled away, her eyes shining as they had when he'd first met her in the desert.
"I thought you'd never ask." Was his reply. That for certain, Terra was in fact a true Titan all along.
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Terra was out, so who'd gone back in?
Dick was still a mess before Slade had set his eye to hit Grant.
"Terra is no longer in the running as my protégé. She's chosen her fate." Slade turned towards the screens. The Titans were divided. Starfire was beside the bat's med bay cot. Cy was trying to see if any city cameras would pick up where the perp had high - tailed it.
Slade had erased those a long time ago.
Grant was standing, still as confused as ever.
"So, is this it?" The boy put up his hands to ask. "Do you just give him a cookie and send him off to bed? I flipping spooked the Batman, dad! I did what I could for the cut. So, who wins?"
"Win?" Slade didn't look at Grant as a father would.
No.
"This was a test. Robin passed because of his loyalty. You did as you had to, but…you almost crossed the line, Grant."
"I..."
Ravager was the one? Dick didn't budge from the floor, he knew what was –
"Apprentice. For your extensive treatment under the hands of my "associate" I give you full permission to do as you please with him. If you fail to abide then, your friends…will pay the price." The trigger was there, in hand as Grant's guns went full out.
"Not today, papa! I don't do playin' the lackey -sack!"
His bullets cut through the air, right past Slade's face.
The trigger remained intact.
"Protect your master, apprentice. Or the Titans will perish."
Dick's body swayed as he stood, his legs not trying to fall down, yet they could. But…
He felt for a weapon in his pouch. A rang like his former mentor's.
Sharper. Deadly, as he yelled out a cry and charged at the boy spewing gun fire in every pull of that lousy trigger.
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Stopping here and there will be a twist later! Grant gets beaten by Robin?? Slade allows it?? Terra is out for being Slade's number one lap dog, Robin if he defeats Grant, is at the top spot but is that the only competitor?? Will our boy wonder fall down, losing face? You'll see a flashback scene in the next chapter. Hope it was good enough to pass. Read on. Find out more in chapter coming up…Two Brothers – Spinning out of control.