Teen Titans Presents – Robin; Torn Legacy of a Prodigal Son
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Chapter 24: Say Freeze, Titans! – Hey, Brother
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"Activate the detonation…"
Slade closed the link moments later to swap out. He was wondering what a certain assassin had in mind to defy him now. Especially since the cameras were everywhere inside that tower.
Moving insects, walking the walls without being sniffed out.
"It won't be long now." Slade changed his view over to the door as he walked it. The bat was going to fall headfirst into the fire with Slade's latest target.
Titans or no, the city would answer to a new take – over.
"Sir!"
William Wintergreen brought one of Slade's devices with a small bit of footage from the tower that had been missed.
Slade's eye grew dark as he stomped for the exit. "Will, keep the haunt officially on lock down. The detonator won't breach it. And be sure my apprentice isn't up yet." Slade's many demands were making both men anxious.
"Will you be joining your accomplices, Slade?"
"First time you broke character, Will." Slade laughed lightheartedly.
"I've always just the amount of flexibility required of the job; you know."
/
Dick was knocked out, yet Jason still had his head on his shoulders and an eye cracked open. Slade wasn't sending him out there. He must have meant it when he said Robin needed a human punching bag.
A strange rattling had the ex – thief look up from his cot. The cell's walls shook as Jason wobbled onto his feet.
A raking tinny sound from the wall, as the unbreakable glass Rose had tried to reach through earlier, was cracked.
And X could have it. He could go find that mind control bubkis. He could…
Though, did it matter what he wanted when Bruce would be hunting him down to find out the real Jason behind the skull mask?
He thought about it, outcomes. If Slade had Richard and Bruce had Jay's honest answer, then maybe…
"Hey."
Jason looked up to see that despite what he believed; it wasn't all bad.
"Wanna find a way to Bruce?"
The figure at his door just smiled, beaten face and yet he was afraid to say no.
"No. Jay. I'm staying…I'm sorry."
/
That was an hour ago as the master of this place had only done so in letting Dick tell his brother off, just to see the look on the kid's face. After that, Dick had blacked out and found himself in his bed, strapped down until he yelled himself into a decent calm. The rattle about the haunt had him nervous. Was Slade doing something to the city, while he was….and was he, strapped down?? What was he try –
Dick bit his lip and pulled harder. The binds. This was not his bed; he was not with family or his friends to celebrate the good times. He'd made a deal to save his team with Slade; an honest to God, mastermind who was too greedy for words, found his protégé a fascination to test and string up on a wire.
His favorite little bird, now bound to his cage until its owner had returned.
Just as he could spit and snarl, it did little to ease the ache.
"Star…. guys….be safe…. I'm sorry…" Richard looked to the wall opposite his hospital bed. "I'm sorry…"
/
"We'll be heading out of the city, should the Titans learn of our trick, Will."
~ As per your request, the boy is undergoing his procedure to assure that even the Batman may be duped. Are you keeping a close watch on Ravager? She's not one for backing away from an opponent. ~ Will reminded the crime lord as he sighed and understood, his craft on the ground not needing to go very far to reach its destination.
From what he saw, the chronotron bomb had done as he'd wished.
Freeze- framed was this perfect utopia. His, and with….
Wait….
He saw a beam across the water.
No.
They had a plan b all along.
/
Grant had brought something of a force field generator to the party as Starfire was told to peek and activate its switch, just as at the same time, the city remained frozen in time.
But never forever, there was a way out of this.
"Our…. the tower is not frozen?? Was this Slade's real plan, Raven??"
"Ravager would know…" Gar stepped out from behind closed doors to pounce on the assassin's not so humble chest. "He set this all –
"Slade had a few in stock of those "devices" he's probably using for him and his crew, so I took some extras while I was on the job. No big. It worked, so I took my own tech, combined it with those do – hickies - and gave you a flippin' fighting chance against him!"
The heroes had never been "stood up" by anyone, not even Robin in that way in a long time; they were unprepared on how to handle this challenge, as well.
Cy mouthed a what, while Raven forgot to blink.
Starfire caught BB as he pretended to faint.
"You're welcome." Snipped the ornery, armored teen with a sniff in their direction.
They went into a slump of thought, afraid to say much else.
As the Titans and one foe did try to digress from there with conversation and further assumptions, a rioting wind hit the windows as they did not shatter.
Something was outside, battering the heroes with every bit of energy as Bb ran to see what the footage had taken in.
"Beast boy! Do not –
" Terra ??"
He had to gasp, as Grant frowned with narrowed, masked slits. He saw Rose doing her best to keep her toy soldier from lashing out at its keeper.
"Hiya, sis…" He sneered at the figure, the rest overhearing with individual awe.
"Um, did you…say –
"Your, sibling?" Raven was interrupted by Cy.
Grant nodded. "She's dad's little soldier, and I guess that makes me more like him than she'll ever be."
"Question; is this father figure –
"My dad is the one you guy's Bat is going up against." Starfire was explained very clearly, and that made her even more determined to get their friends out.
"And note ta' you, he's the guy who wants an heir to his legacy; even if he has to tear your city apart to get what he wants."
Grant ended, rather grimly. "But he will overtake the city, he never loses a prize that he intends to hunt down, unless you have the power to burn him alive where he stands. Ah, but I know you "teens," killing is more my passion." He chuckled and pointed to himself cockily. "Never a goody – goody hero's job."
Raven watched as Grant's eyes change from behind the metal, silver mask.
"Unless, you kids can prove me an' my pops wrong?"
/
Is this, Grant who is the assassin known as the first Ravager in fact trying to falsely state that he can be…trusted??"
Kori looked over her shoulder as the sound had been turned down, so Ravager could only watch as they discussed a battle plan inside the sound – interrogation's box.
"What do we even know about him an' Slade." Cy nodded and the rest wanted to give their two cents as well. "I mean, he says Ravager number dos is his sister, and Slade –
"They are around the same age; maybe Slade had an origin, turned evil and his kids are trying to stay close to him, even if that way is slightly…. twisted." Raven shuddered at how the jerk winked at her like some frat boy.
"Are we forgetting that Terra was taken away BY Slade against her will??" Bb riled at the empath. "I don't care if they have a great, great uncle related to Kublai Khan! I just want her back with us and Slade put on trial for a long time."
"But his records did show…. from the work of the blood." Kori gulped. They'd taken a clean set to see about a sample and Cy was confused by who had done this to a teenager – other than a secret organization.
"He said we aren't capable of killing Slade, and he'd be right…" Raven turned to the glass. Grant was yawning as if he'd lost too much sleep. Being a super serum survivor specimen didn't make her think any less of him. "Grant was an assassin back before Slade hired him to watch Robin and that, might be the key to finding out how to stop Slade from doing his worst to our leader."
"And he might just think this kid is a looney and we'll be right back into a trap." Gar crossed his arms, Cy had to sigh to that. "I mean, the probes are real an' this kid has gotta know somethin. What if we test his loyalty to Slade and make em' talk so we know he won't stab us in the –
"La la la!!! Not listening! He's the son of an even bigger nightmare! Don't go giving us bad dreams just cause' he's not running his sword into your hard drive –
"Please, friends. Robi –
"Ah! He's here!"
/
The gates did unlock in a way as doors slipped back. Mud coated the dark knight's cape and cowl as he brushed himself off, using a similar way to deflect the chronological bomb from freezing him to the air with his jet.
"Batman…"
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"You caught the Ravager?" He smoothly moved round the interrogations room to take everything in. Including some cues, the heroes might have missed.
"Batman; we got a big problem. The whole city is in freeze frame, and this lil traitor may know Slade's identity so we -
"He won't care if you know it, sir." Grant snorted and Bruce understood what the boy meant. Mental enhancements of no. "Slade is, a code name so knowing who Slade "is" won't do any good at this point."
"Told ya."
Gar said to the others. "He's probably gotten different identities all over the globe, like Madame Rouge." Batman raised a brow."
"You were with Mento?"
Gar nodded. "You bet! I, used to fight with the Doom Patrol waay too often. They were practically family, but Batman? He hasn't –
"Tara Markov; Red X…the informant or mole I had finding out about the detonator, told me." Bruce announced. Now, I want you to listen, Titans."
Why he didn't acknowledge Grant who sat feet away, had to be a trick. The heroes had to face off against Rose, Terra, Cinderblock, Plasmus, even Overload and dozens of Slade bots.
All without their leader's tactical knowledge.
"We cannot face them with the probes keeping our full powers in "the straight line!" Starfire shook her head and rebuked. "Slade will destroy us, surely if he decides that he will no longer wish to have us in this city to protect it…should we "do with the holding the back" of his forces."
"He wants a fair fight, and if he has Robin, he won't use the probes as long as D – Robin doesn't do anything to jeopardize your safety. "Bruce cleared his throat, having gotten too emotional there a second. Starfire thankfully, was that naïve, when she certainly wanted to know who Dick was behind the mask.
In a way, they might end up finding out eventually in the end.
"Whose side are you on??" Cy did not seem to agree that being at a disadvantage was necessarily a good thing.
"Slade's taken the whole dang city hostage an' we are gonna be stuck "in time" unless we break down into his lair!" Huffed Cyborg, not satisfied with this sneak attack idea of the Bat's.
" Robin is safe –
" No, he isn't." Grant snorted from his seat behind them. "He's got Slade literally in a bind with what to do with his pretty dress – up do-
"Do not speak, cretin!!"
"I say what's the truth, he's got a master plan and it's making D – that kid." He hinted to the bat, which had Bruce grimace. "That so bold leader, into a weapon without limits. Cause he won't get to say no. He sold you and his own body to that crook. Who'd by the way, not hesitate to put me on a stake and roast me up for dinner."
"Ah! That, you speak of Robin's tormentor as if –
"He's a hunter, Starfire." Bruce came to Grant and saw none of Slade's cockiness in this one. Maybe a young Wilson, but not his later addition.
"Slade was a well-known mercenary to the Justice League, long before he came to Jump and settled it; he's doing this for some area of status and it still has me puzzled."
"He wants to set up shop, and if he doesn't?"
"Doesn't…what…?" Bb perked up his ears to Grant's words. The kid batted his eyes before opening them and near leaping to his feet, making the heroes jump with the scare tactic.
"Ka – boom ! And then, they off they fly into the distant sunset." The kid smugly grinned, pointed teeth as sharp as BB's canines. "The End."
/
Slade got his unit lit as he spoke into his arm.
"Batman has landed at Titans tower. They have a friend over and HE brought a stage five enhanced force field projector. They aren't affected by the detonator, Rose." Slade demanded it now. "I want you to pick up the pace. New target. Your brother is working with the Titans and their ally. Take them out with your toy."
~ Yessir! ~ She sounded happy to follow his lead as Rose's cry echoed past Terra, who was completely ruined up until she brought this silenced city to its knees.
"We'll undergo the reversal once the mayor and the council come to me from the lead sent right before our hit went off." He told her as the man made his way to the council hall from his latest vehicle, a jeep that was more tank thanks to thinking ahead.
"Go, make sure to keep Starfire under wraps. Knock her out if it helps, then contact me directly."
~ Signal? ~
" There are no more heroes in Jump." Slade smirked. "Make your father proud, Rosie." And off he signed.
/
Dick's body felt like it was atop rocking waves; he didn't understand how, not until it was too late. He let his lids fly up and it was dark. The cracks of light only showed the dappling day through what looked to be a cloth sack of army grade material. No teeth could tear that hide, so he tried to check his wrists. All bound up, no rope. Metal.
He tried to lift his head, yet found it weighted somehow. Dick panicked.
He felt like he was suffocating, and blacked out.
/
Slade clicked his tongue beneath the mask. The boy's readings had shown that he was awake and needed to rest a bit longer, just until he was at their new base of operations. This city was not important. Sending his message to the heroes and a nosy bat though, was.
"If I needed anything else from this small utopia, it would be the perfect place to eventually retire." The man groaned a bit and made sure that the chip was doing a proper job of keeping that boy in utter disillusionment.
He was getting that education, now that Rose was going to be the possible last one standing to face his little bird in heated combat. She was good, yet she was cunning and devious; almost a bit like Grant in the mood - swing department. Robin's caution made him a better candidate since he wasn't as reckless as most might have believed. He was trained by the greatest detective in the world, after all.
Only when provoked did he lose his temper, as Slade had made his apprentice originally in the first place during the probes' unveiling.
Now, he wanted to die, was that it…
Slade would remove the chip in time, only once Dick had gotten into his head that he'd survive as Death stroke's legal heir. Unless Rose got to be a more cut throat assassin than Wilson's one, Renegade.
He'd be sure to tone down on trying to keep her temper. They'd need it in a short while to throw the bat off of his trail.
/
The city was grey in a sense, or it was lifeless only to those unaffected by the blast from the detonator Slade had built with stolen tech and data from a ways back. Bruce saw the damage as Raven meditated and failed to reach Robin and Terra. They were unable to call out, since their ways had been blocked off.
"Terra can't take it…He's gonna get her! –
"Bb." Cy nudged the teen and motioned to a rather puzzled and annoyed bat at the controls. "Not a good time to freak out –
"He's gonna tear her apart, Cy!" Bb didn't care. "Her head is all messed up because of what her uncle did to her, and she still didn't find out what happened to her big bro. He's probably gonna find out that –
"If he does, that responsibility with Markovia will be under League jurisdiction." Batman grunted to his younger ally.
"And what about "the Ravager?" Starfire put a hand to her lips and felt the distaste just from speaking the man's title. "Is he not a threat to us? He may be working for Slade."
"That could be a full possibility as well." Batman nodded grimly. "If he is, we have the authority to take him in and bring him to justice. The man who raised him is just as to blame as the person he's become on his own."
"But, he's still a minor, kinda." Cy frowned. "We left him in the cell to think about how he can spill on Slade's lair, but is that gonna be enough? He's got Slade –
"DEATHSTROKE."
Raven corrected. "Terra told us that " Deathstroke" Slade's mercenary alias was hired to see to her being brought back to her uncle, but our "Slade" had other plans and the deal was broken."
She continued to chant silently as the team had to nod in unison.
"Terra is worth saving, but Grant is a crook who hurts people too…and, well, he kills! A lot!" Bb didn't want a killer in their tower. What could they do? Start a war? "Can't you just beat him up and get the answers like you do with joker or –
"He's sane. More than Joker, a sociopath like his father."
"Oh, so you can do with the hurting, but you…. cannot?" Starfire didn't understand this stance at all either. "Robin is for what we know, perhaps being taken away from us -he may already have sworn his life to Slade and we may not get the opportunity to free our friend from the man known as Slade's clutches! You cannot –
"He's a living bomb."
Batman was sure if he said it, that would be an issue. "I'm going to talk to him, see what else he hasn't revealed about his own findings."
"He worked with the new Red X, right?" Cy asked the Bat. "Then, he can't be that dim. He's gotta know as much as X told us."
"I hope he'll cooperate." Batman lowered his eyes from the keys to swap to the door. "I'll do whatever I can to get answers quickly, but I can't guarantee the same for Terra or Ravager."
"But – dude!" Bb exclaimed to the bat. "Terra's been brainwashed!"
"She's a meta human who is capable of destroying entire cities." The bat rumbled. "I have one shot at this; if Grant refuses to help to put away his employer…. then, your team has to stall and then we'll have to eventually fight Slade to take back the city."
The three heroes looked at Batman with wide eyes, frightened for their lives, because with the probes this was their outcome to look forward to.
Pure suicide.
/
Getting long! Next chapter still no idea for the title. Hope this – oh! Just got one Chapter 25: Home Sweet Haunt; Double Crossers. Terra's judas contract freak out will be in later chapters when she destroys herself by expending her powers, later. So read on and stay curious!