Our Time in Reverse – What it Takes –
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Chapter 39: Deception is the Sweetest Kind of Extra Credit
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He knew every anchor away of this ship. This captain in his ear could hijack the JLA's watchtower if he tried hard enough. Richie dug through a crawl space in the basement and one more pillar was down. One half hour to go, left .
Bb came in on his comm and did not seem to be as enthusiastic about them winning the game this mad man had cooked up. ~ I can't find it! You are really good at this, it's like you know what he'd do with hiding stuff all the time. You used to live with that creep, right? ~
Robin stuffed down his emotions and bit his lip, nodding with a brief hum at the boy. "Yeah, I learned. Mainly how to remain unseen from an enemy attacker. He locked me up like I was waiting to turn evil one day. Like I ever had a choice."
~ You do, and you still always have, Robin.~ Raven said through a split in the screen. ~ Your captor was never right fir what he did. It was selfish, but he's not sane enough to tell that his actions left you as you are because if how he treated you all that time. You have no choice but to face him. I'm the same. My family was hurt mostly because of my father's cruel –
The intercom went off as each titan heard the good word if Slade through it. Robin gripped the device and listened close.
~ Time is standing still only until you all think, to run out of breath, Titans. Hand back over my protégé and maybe I'll leave your prides intact as thanks. ~
"Slade, you are not who you appear to us, yet far worse!" Starfire yelled into the air at the masked man at the controls of Cy's perfect system. ~ I admit. I took you most of all for a careless individual; if I do win this game we're nearly done playing, I will make sure you personally know my anger. Most if all –
"NO!" Richie put his hands to his mouth. He was only acting as Slade played along. She had to trust him. That was key here. ~ No? You'd rather I take them all down, dear child? I know you don't mean to hurt my feelings. Your mother would say –
" I don't care anymore…I'm a Titan, like them. S- s -so if you want them, you have to t -t - take me down too!"
~ I see.~ The bot paused as the boy held his breath one last time. ~ Find the bombs, or perish. That is all. Be, as you were…~
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The voice in Robin's ear praised him. Coached him, prided him in his defense of the place he was placed in. The role that was only his to earn if the Titans fell. Robin bit his lip and kept looking, aiding his team as much as he could and more – Slade knew the phony bugs were going to be understood as a feint later, fir now, he'd pretend to be the big bad villain and scare the kiddies.
~ They are fine. You are doing marvelously, dear boy. Very good job making a scene; making your very first nemesis, believable. ~
It was so much of a relief that at the very last touch of a button, the countdown, ceased.
The Titans, had won the bet abd Robin's freedom. For now.
The man showed up on the screen before, but now, he was in the main room with his hands clasped behind him. His feet apart in a military stance that only he knew the reason for.
"Well done. You've bested my little test, quite well. Working together, never apart - in the future I'd like to see what else I can coax from your, conditioning here in this city. I'd like you to accept that I might one day break you apart as I well. I have reason to stay and see you fall, properly. For my student's sake."
" Not anymore." Raven blocked Robin from having to even look the man in the eye, yet he let her arm down with a touch. "It's ok." He reassured. Starfire flew over, yet her words were caught in her throat. "Robin –
"Richie." Robin told the man as his brow tightened up a bit, palms still behind his back. "Robin, this Robin here, in this city is their hero. Their teammate. You can't take that away again, because I've chosen to pursue a better side of myself."
"That's too bad, then" The man said with a hint of mock pity in his head tilt. "Because you never told them WHY your blood came back to seem like mine. Did you, my dear protégé?"
The man moved too quickly as he flung a disk to the glass as it shattered from a minor explosion. Instead of waiting fir the glass and debris to partly settle, the man flung himself into the fire. " Wait!! DON-
He didn't know, so the Slade in his ear, laughed.
And laughed…
Starfire flung herself with a gasp to fly off with Robin to the side, stopping the debris from harming them both. The wall cracked to the side of the glass, as the face of their secret soldier lay exposed, cracked with wires and an explosive count down for a face.
He'd dodged….it…. kill or be killed as the robot took the hit. The robot, was charred as he….
Robin didn't stir, Richie felt his head tilting as the man's, before his decent into flames.
The real Slade just laughed in some far-off location; as he shut off the connection, truly mad in his pride as the boy watched the scene with Kori to hug him close. Raven and Cy let the sprinklers take out the fire, as the late arsonist was burned to a crisp in the water now. Totaled by his own exit.
"Didn't expect that much of a twist, did you…my, Renegade?" Slade grinned under the mask as he let it free a moment to go freshen up. "Wintergreen." He called for the man via his comm. "I'm going out. Watch Terra while I'm gone."
~ Certainly. Will you require anything else…I'd imagine your protégé needs consoling. ~
Slade didn't reply. His eyes were on the exit as the last screen in the haunt dimmed to save on power. "Just keep the rats occupied…" Slade paused, "Or, better yet. Invite them IN, to keep our newest weapon entertained."
Yes…Maybe, he did need to just get away for a bit. Just, a bit.
~ As you wish, sir. Do be careful, as always. ~
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Richie practically collapsed into bed. He was really supposed to be checking his wounds in the medical room downstairs. Raven had insisted –
~ Apprentice. Report. ~
Robin lifted his head and tore off his domino mask a soon as that face broke his timing. "Why? You, weren't there. You…. –
~ Apprentice. ~ Slade slouched and let a map come up with his coordinates before his unmasked face appeared again. ~ Meet me here in the next half hour. The robot placed a grappler hook by your bed. ~
Robin pouted with a groan and found his strength to drag his body out the window once more. Slade's tampering would hold. After all, it was all a part of the mission.
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Down by the dark docks, Robin wore his old red hoodie and black cargos. Slade was in a long brown trench and had not rid the dye from his hair yet. That would have to take a couple of washes. Robin has his sunglasses on as Slade nudged his head for the boy to take his next steps near the pier side.
"You are still, in shock."
"Should I be, sir?"
He was upset. Dick saying SIR was like a kid sassing their parent after a bad…
"You were not supposed to…. I'm sorry." Slade lied his way out of this before. He could act and Richard wouldn't tell that –
"I don't believe you, sir." The kid said in a chipped tone. His hands to his pockets, they now looked identical. Except, he resembled the bat far too easily. "What did the witch –
"Raven." Dick snorted and kicked an imaginary stone. "Her name, is Raven."
"Richard –
"Robin." Dick snipped. "You have to call me that…you…." Dick squinted at the wooden boardwalk. "You really can't trust me."
"I wanted to, but you trust them more." Slade bit his lip. "Robin, we can't have you forget why we came here. What our goal is –
"You almost killed me!!" Shouted the teen. "I thought you…. Only I'm supposed to be your protégé and…a- a- and you –
Slade came up to the kid and took his by the shoulders. "It was a lot, and I promise this; you did the right thing," He pointed to his smug face. "Okay then, I want you to hit me. As hard as you can." The man instructed. "Take one good –
Dick didn't hold back as his fist got the man in the jaw with a swing. One he'd not learned….
From Slade. The man looked back with eye wide, his jaw gaping a bit. "Apprentice –
"I'm ROBIN. You're supposed to be my enemy. Right, Master?' Grinning the boy cracked his knuckles as Slade let out a chuckle. "You had me completely fooled. Will you show me what the Titan taught you?"
Grinning even wider, Dick and Slade sparred in another enclosed warehouse on the pier, the heroes leaving Dick to his bonding session as the man allowed the kid a chance to change and freshen up back at the haunt. A rattle of their dishes of tea had the kid look around. "I will say that the longer you have the wool over their eyes, the greater my plan will end up from taking control of this city. It's not been easy –
Slade saw the china rattle. A quake. He threw his body over the boy as the cup shattered by the dias. The man let some dirt at the ceiling of the haunt layer his shoulders as Wintergreen panted into the room, "Sir! Action is required; the subject –
Dick looked up with brows deepened. "Slade?" He resembled the curious, clingy kid that Slade had groomed on the man's compassion. "Wait here, Robin." Slade showed his concern in one leaving glance, and for the closest moment, the haunt felt far too empty. "He'll return, young Robin."
Will was instructed to use the name as well. If the boy pulled from that persona at the wrong time, he'd let his walls easily collapse. A good actor could live their counterpart's life for lengthy periods of time. Slade jogged back over with a hand scooping over a sweaty midline only about fourty minutes later. Richard's tea was replaced three minutes before the man's return. The screens grew brighter as the man let his arm down where the controls made up his wrist Ann metallic vambraces.
"Thank you, for staying put."
"Master, was that…. the project? The one that –
"I'll show it to you, some other time." Slade informed, cutting away the whimper on the boy's lips with a few sentences. "For this time, right now, I want you to take a deep breath and express everything you are feeling right now. I can't have your emotions read by that witch. We talked about what she is capable of, so well go back over the lesson on guarding yourself, psychically, first."
The night was very odd. Vibrational beats from the screens aided in the whole experience as the two sat on the floor in a seated position meant for meditation.
"Center your breathing. That's it. Good…" Slade was softer tonight, heavily supportive. He was willing to prepare Robin for his return to the tower with a fresh perspective. He would not let life and death ex –
Robin sniffled and shook his nose and mouth; the sobs came unexpectedly as a hand found his shoulder. "I…. I was afraid you would, sir…" Cracked tone, the boy's tears dropped their state as Robin vented everything, never holding back.
Apparently, he was wondering if this team was more sincere than he wanted to admit, and yet to deceive them would take a greater amount of discipline since the Titans were supposed to be a very pinnacle part of Richard becoming an assassin. "They wouldn't know how to take your betrayal, yet found a way." Slade disclosed as the kid rubbed his eyes.
"There was a convention over at Star LABS." Slade explained, "I came home, but never empty handed." Slade motioned up to the screens as a picture if a microscopic robot raised the boy's head to it. "What is that….the project?"
"No, but it will allow you to never again be questioned by the heroes. The plan for now is to keep chasing, keep hating me and take from that anger. Do it, topnotch them aside finalized the last piece."
"Are you going to show yourself this time?"
Slade shook his head. "Not yet. The robots are very useful. I want two more uses to run their programs along, and can say, that you won't have long to wait." Slade smiled, their time finishing up. "You know the drill, apprentice."
Robin nodded with a frown. "Yes, master." Richard stood up: arms behind his back, as the merciless swing from Slade's gloved gauntlet made the kid see stars before the last strain of night had been erased from this California air.
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By the early morning, he was in his cloths for work, his uniform, and lying on the same bed his legs had flown from. Yet, his head…
A twinge of an a he made the boy check himself in the adjoined bathroom mirror of his room. He'd healed the bruise by its appearance, but Robin could still "feel" where his master cared enough to make the blackout that much more believable. He held his cheek and sighed. When this was over, they'd go somewhere worth living. No more bats, plotting or –
A loud knock came to his front door as the teen nearly stumbled over the sin in surprise.
~ Friend Robin?? It is nearly the noon after…you are, alright? ~
His mental drain wasn't from the hit as the boy groaned out a sigh. "I'm fine, just aches –
The door swung back by the magnetic push of something else in his way. "Come on." Cy was there, Raven took as her hood stayed up and just as ominous as they could believe.
"We gotta run some tests. It's for your protection, promise."
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So, what was that quake? Was it Tara? Will Slade ever set boundaries or is Robin that hopelessly stuck to him even after he makes his first kill? What do the Titans want to test Richie on, now? Find out! Chapter 40; needles and pins, like the song.
