Teen Titans Presents – Robin; Torn Legacy of a Prodigal Son
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Chapter 3: Knock Knock; Who's There?
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I'm adding one thing into this. Slade's kids in my arc are nearly the same age as Robin at 15, 16, etc, and they are more spoiled than that as well as pining on Dad's attention. Except for Joey and later, Rose. Grant, though? A teen with a bad attitude who hates sharing. Anyway! You can read it in….
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Dick was awake by the time the supposed nut – ball in the hall had dragged him to his room again, beaten and patched with a wrapping around his bruised or strained wrist.
He saw a sprain and sighed deeply at the fault. That he had to ask the one who'd sent those bullies to beat him into a corner, was truly mortifying for the former boy wonder.
Dick got up and the door was miraculously, unlocked. He remembered the note with that list and dug into his pocket, finding it tucked away quite neatly. As if…
He wrenched in free and opened the damned scrap with a bite of his lip. Tasting no blood, his dark brows furrowed.
A new task had been added, and the other of a spar?
Crossed off. Reading; incomplete result.
Dick stomped off to find the only one who could have made him feel this bent out of shape on day one.
"Wintergreen…." Dick grumbled and fled the hall, to head for the one place the man would be while time stayed as it had hours ago. No clocks were Slade's way of saying, "do without the construct."
Dick snorted and threw open the door to the kitchen where Will was preparing lunch. A butler's job, but he was full of surprises, and in an apron to poke fun at later.
"I was in the dojo…."
"Yes? And? Did you beat his high score?"
Dick blinked. "Was that…a simulation cham –
"Don't gawk, child. It's unbecoming. The mission was a fail according to the footage." Will shrugged and had started to crack some eggs into a bowl with a mess of finely milled flour and a milk that looked to be non – dairy.
Odd…
"Fail? I was almost beaten to –
"Did the simulation not prove to b stimulating for that brain of yours? Slade always got a kick out of fighting his own reflection." Chuckled the gent, which made Dick gulp and try to sit down, quietly watching.
"Did I tighten the gauze enough?" Will turned to Dick as the boy looked down at his wrist. "It's…fine…You were following orders."
"That I was, as you should have been –
"I needed a break."
"And the robots were programmed simultaneously to keep going for the two-hour mark…but you didn't wait."
"I was outnumbered."
"Yet, were you out matched, was the question?" Will had gone to the stove to rummage for a steely pan above his head, arranged on a hook close by.
"Will you be staying for lunch? I'm in the mood for something Slade abhors now and again. He absolutely loathes French cuisine, and I've found enough ingredients in this dreadful "pit" to scrape up a batch of batter for some savory, crepes."
"Not, pancakes?" Dick sat at the table and leaned over to hear the pan already sizzling a bit. A very narrow edge to it, just right for a thin base and sides.
"Heavens, and ruin our appetite for supper?" Will scoffed. "I'm more to scones, yet if I made them here tomorrow, you'd have to perform better –
"I'm not here to learn to live like a criminal." Snapped the boy. Hearing his stomach making monster noises, he sat back down and was bright red, face puckered and annoyed by his tummy's timing.
"Crepes it is then." Wryly smiled the Brit, his wit a bit too much like Alfred's as Dick put his head down with a low groan onto the table top. He should have left, not taken this peace offering, but…the man who'd made up that ninja training room WAS Slade. Will was just there to fix up Robin's bruises like the last time.
And the time before that.
And last week; that near - concussion with the gears…
Or the time –
"No slouching at mealtime, child."
Dick raised his head up to see the streaming heat of a plate of perfectly shaped crepes, with toppings off to the side and greens or even a bit of balsamic. Will was offering…this?
"Your food will get cold. Please finish, and then return –
"Thank you." Dick nodded appreciatively and as quickly as he could. He'd almost dozed off, but was this worth it? What if Slade had cameras? What if Wintergreen ratted to Slade about the bots? He would, but Robin's gut was not one to mind a free bit of grub.
And far from it!
The plate shone back as Dick took his share of cheese, veggies and a lovely piece of meat in the leaner category. This, was bliss despite losing the war.
"Bon Apetit!" Dick smiled reluctantly to the elder as both nodded and sat down to chew and decide on the rest of today's plans.
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He'd rubbed his full stomach so much after heading to the next room for a new task.
Hacking.
There was a program set up on the boy's bed on a separately restricted laptop, so he took it and started the test.
"Hmm…" Dick was through a few lessons as far as what he knew, and there had to be…
There was.
It was quiet.
He lifted his head to the wall…or then it wasn't just gears, he told himself.
It was…
Tick.
Tick….
Boom….
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Dick ran down the hall and found that the doors were locked.
Lockdown.
Someone had gotten in.
Dick frantically looked up at the skylight and saw that something…was in the rafters.
He squinted just as the figure flung itself off, bounding over to a few gears and sliding off before slinging out one of …
Slade's grapples.
Dick froze and watched the blur land right of him, the main room a window into a new time.
A rather, younger version of Slade?
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He wore a bit too much silver and orange to be. Dick tried to shake it off, he was sure Will would –
"Hey." The face beneath a chain mail mask grinned as its lips peaked out. "You -
"What…how did you get in? What do you want?"
Dick felt like a victim, yet he could fight. The only thing stopping him was the fact that he still was down a few strikes if Slade's bots got a chance to record this…
They were always watching.
Rats in the rafters.
The male was not as tall as Dick, but he looked to be a bit close in age, despite his height. Maybe sixteen or so.
"You…. look like him…" The kid did a face plant and barked a laugh at Dick's face.
"Robin, the Boy Wonder?? Did I miss something here??"
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They sat at a table, and for that moment Robin knew…
He wasn't supposed to be here.
Will agreed as two bots had come to escort Dick back to his room.
"Why can't he –
"That teenager is not like you, Ravager. You'll have to do better in harassing the master if you want to grasp his attention."
Why…did he talk to that kid like…
They knew Slade? Together?
Dick lost the conversation as he was corralled to stay and finish his lessons in his room, alone.
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In a few more hours after, he was done. A perfect score.
Dick picked up the scrap of paper and looked at the next item after this one. He did himself the honor of crossing off the task and put Completed in big letters right beside it. He could not smile, but the carb rush still had to burn off.
Good news!
He saw that the next…
Was robotics…
Dick frowned.
"Great… more robots…" He muttered to himself, unhappily and rolled his masked eyes.
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"What do you think you are doing, Master Grant?" Wintergreen was sure the kid expected to be fed. He was not as snobbish when he was, yet he tended to tease the idea that Wintergreen was aware. It bothered the bloke that Slade would know, and that Robin had seen the mask of a potential adversary – had Slade known of his son's extra odd jobs?
"Dad is busy, again." Grant leaned back informally and dared to throw his legs onto the table like some ordinary gangster while seated in the kitchen with a stickler on proper etiquette.
"If you think for a moment that I'd gladly disclose any sensitive information to you, then think again." Huffed the butler as Grant crossed his arms, legs to the floor as Will came by to whack them off of his clean furniture. "Grant! Why aren't you at the academy! Slade was very clear to your mum –
"Mummy dearest didn't like what I could do. What I'm good at, and I wanna do better." Staring up at the butler and old family friend with his hood pulled off, the ruddy haired military cut blonde sat with a determined gaze up at the old timer. "Will, I'm the best! Dad knows it, but he won't –
"He won't have you become a criminal for anyone's damned sake." William put his foot down and with gloved set of fingers, went to open the door, only to find someone had come back.
Earlier than expected, in only two days.
"What is this." Slade said with his uniform a bloody mess.
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"You shouldn't have come."
"I want you to give me another chance –
"And put your life in danger, like then??" Slade stamped and made his nostrils flare. "You will return to the academy, or I'll have my robots kick you through the tunnels by force –
"Slade! He's your –
"He's trespassing, Will." His voice was strongly directed at the glowering teenager. " You should never have come back." Slade's eye turned to face the exit, his gauntlet doing the same as his arm splayed outwards towards it. "There's the door." He snipped. "We won't be meeting again."
"Dad! Act like you used to…. Joe is –
Slade came up to Grant and grappled his collar, eye to eye as the boy was too stern to be scared like Robin was.
" DON'T make dumb excuses about your brother, kid. Joey is better at remembering a promise like that than you ever had at my side..." Slade hissed at his own flesh and blood, a mask in place that would leave him torn after this. "He won't cross me." Slade reminded. "And neither should you. Now; GET out of my sight."
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As the night set in, Robin forced himself to old back a yawn. Next on the list had been…controlling sleep patterns. He had a nap yesterday, wasn't it? -
Dick jumped as his doorway slid away to reveal a guest.
That kid…Did Will know he was still…
"Robin… wow! How the mighty hath fallen, eh??"
"You can't be here." Dick said with his raspy, sleep deprived voice, bags showing under his masked eyes as the hours had passed by too many to count.
"I came this way to give my regards…you got the job, the looks. Man, if only you knew…Ah, poor you –
"Poor what?" Dick rose to hear the rest; a taunt was what it sounded like to him. "What is your deal? How do you know him? And me?"
"The mask, dude." Ravager pointed to his own. "It so gave you away, and Robin is as tall as you, too. Not a great cover…so…. Did he teach you how to shoot a person, yet?"
"Huh?" Still dumbfounded by this jerk's attitude, he seemed to be hinting way too much info all at once.
"Name's Ravager, and Slade over there? He's blood ta' me. Like, literally the kind you think. So, guess what. I'm gonna leave you a piece of advice, boy wonder." Sauntering by, Grant just kept spinning his words to trap the cornered other protége in his enlightening web of conversation.
" Don't be a favorite to him, because he'll ask you to do what he does. Murder, kidnap. Rob, steal…and die for him. Oh!" Grant gasped and put a hand over his mouth as Dick's mimicked a fish on dry land. "Oh, did you think he gave a –
"I'm not here to help Slade. I'm here to take him down, by any means."
"Can't do it, not you or daddy bats."
"Why not?" Smirked the bat child prodigy. "I've gotten his plans to fail before." Dick boasted this, knowing a look alike robot didn't really count. "I even took out his best operatives with my team."
"As heroes." Grant shook his hooded head. "But to him, he's only holding back because he wants you to break like a pretzel. IF you can take his training, maybe he'll give you a shot at trying to blow his brains out."
"I'm not a killer." Dick gritted his fists as his patience was wearing thinner the longer Ravager upset him and his ego.
"Yeah, but he doesn't care." Grant said with a shrug, almost mockingly. "You should give up and tell him –
"I…can't."
The Ravager paused; his lips pursed together as he seemed to be annoyed about another topic.
"Ain't easy for a good guy like you to quit? Are you…–
"No…I, we made a deal." Dick hung his head as Grant shook his. His body shook with a withheld rage.
Dick's eye holes widened. Was...
The kid, a tantrum. Oh...great.
"Then…I can't accept it!" The brat stomped his foot and turned away to leave.
"I'll get what I want. You can't even figure out the truth, so butt out!"
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Slade did not come out of his slump for some time after Grant had finally left the base. He wanted to box that boy's ears for coming into his home while the man wasn't…
Slade's eyes came to the door of Robin, possibly as he was just done with the whole evening…Wilson's idea of introducing Grant like this had been less than insightful than his lesson on the anatomical points t-
Slade listened in. Was the boy…sleeping?
No. On that list, he'd specifically written "sleep patterns control." There was no way.
The door swung back, and there he was.
Soundly curled up on his bed in his uniform.
Unthinkable.
"Apprentice."
Slade didn't see the boy stir, so he walked closer towards the bed.
"Robin, wake up."
The boy just nuzzled into the comforter a bit, and that…
"Robin; if you don't listen and get up right now, I'm giving you a failing mark."
Getting ansty, he jostled the boy with a hand on his shoulder. He nudged, but this was –
His hand swung back, then landed at the boy's scalp. A little wake up, though not as plesent...
"Apprentice…" Slade said in his ear, very spanned out, reeling back in his little minnow from some present dreams.
"Wake. UP!"
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Slade looked over the boy's wrist as his apprentice suppressed a yawn, his eyes so tired that in the haunt nearly three days had passed and he'd stayed up for half of one without knowing.
"You got to sleep, plenty. Stop it."
The boy frowned at Slade's mask glance over at his injury. "Will sent me back here…. how come –
"You're to not speak while I'm working." He twisted the wrist to see how it would be, and it hurt!
Dick bit his lip, knowing how to bite down, but the question of that boy…He wouldn't tell Slade.
~Not like his security cameras didn't see it. ~
He'd be punished, so it was enough that when he woke, he was still dog tired. Still with more drama to iron out, as Slade just carefully looked over his damaged "contraband."
"Batman never gave you the proper training in staying awake. for long hours of the night. The dark knight didn't think you could?"
"I did fine –
"And trespassing wasn't an issue, Dick?"
Dick's head did a double take. "The door was –
"I should have set up better precautions. Seems you won't be taking the initiative as I'd hoped."
Slade moved up the wrist to check the arm upwards, seeing a bruise by the kid's shoulder.
"The training session in my dojo was too much, so I allowed you to rest as you'd wished." He let go. The kid took his wrist and cradled it, now rebound in a similar military fashion as Will had done.
"I told you." Slade reprimanded sternly. "That the only person you should be taking orders from is either Will or myself. No one told you to leave this room."
"It wasn't –
"Then, I guess we can't trust one another. But Robin; the young man you saw in the haunt…did he speak to you about anything else?"
Oh god…Dick grew paler by that one eye's correct assumptions.
Gulping, the kid had to speak, or…
The kid would…
"He…guessed that I was Robin, by my mask, sir..." He pointed to Slade's spiked one on his young face. Slade's eyes turned warmer by a hair as he rose to go. "That boy...if you should ever run into him, and I am certain you may – you are not to engage. Let him kick you, punch you till your nose runs, but DO NOT speak to him. He knows only what I wanted my enemies to realize; that the bat's kid is mine now."
Dick felt his blood run cold at the man's words. Owned…that was.
Not right…
Bruce never owned him. He had cared…and….
"He, was close to my age, and he didn't…. he wanted to see you."
"Nothing more than an old acquaintance from my former years." Slade lied. The boy however, was not deterred.
"He, said you wouldn't give him a chance, to be honest with –
"You are not to speak about –
"But, he –
" What, you want to know, is better left unsaid, Apprentice." Slade snapped with a hiss over his shoulder. "That boy will never learn, and apparently, I'll tell you just this…He was my first choice for an apprentice. He screwed up, almost lost his head in battle so I kicked him out. He's nothing but an arrogant little brat, and you shouldn't pay any mind –
"To your son??"
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Slade just stood there.
"What else did you keep from me, if we are being honest?" Slade's eye was distant. It, was odd seeing him this way, not angry...
Dick crossed his arms, knowing that wasn't the time for reverse – blackmail.
Slade huffed through his nose and said nothing. Not until he'd reached the doorway with the first aid in hand. "You'll be without supper as punishment for going outside the halls, AND for failing to stay awake during your test. You'll retake it again when I have decided that you are ready. For talking back, you'll be given another list to make upp for your failures, and by tomorow we'll spar to get you up to par with any missed lessons."
Dick shook his head, protesting in a hoarse croak from a lack of sleep. "This isn't right. You can't! –
" Goodnight, my apprentice…"
Slade closed the door as Dick ran to see if it would budge, but a weird line of light filtered all around the frame.
He was locked in…
Dick pounded the door with his good fist in a fit of frustration and tiredness. He had to get out…why didn't he try it when he'd…
Because, he wasn't alone here. And Slade had made time irrelevant in the haunt...
Like a form of military torture, he'd have to win back his superior officer's trust. He'd have to suck up to the boss…
Like that kid Ravager…
Who else? It felt like Slade had interviewed a couple of people, but his kid? Was he insane??
Robin slumped onto the floor, head in his hands and gritted his teeth, seething as he refused to cry just yet.
Slade had kids, and they…were as underhanded as he was.
And wanted him out of their role, as Slade's favorite?
Damn it…was just, too much…
Dick slumped further onto the floor, guessing he'd have to get up eventually.
He did so moments later, not wanting to mar his still crumbling permanent record in this "school of evil." His head hit a pillow, and soon, very soon, the boy wonder was out like a light. He'd not even bothered to change out of his uniform.
Another thing he'd be reprimanded for, come daybreak through an invisible window...
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