Teen Titans season 6 episode 2: Return of Slade Part 2
The group stood in front of the TV set, horrified. Right there. Right, there was their arch-enemy. The last time they had encountered him was about a year before the Titan's trip to Tokyo. Slade had split the Titans up, having Robin, Cyborg, Raven, and Starfire chase after a white robot monster while forcing Beast Boy to accept that a close friend had moved on. The Titans were so busy with other obligations that they had forgotten to find him and bring him to justice.
"What do you want, Slade?" demanded Nightwing.
"Your attendance will be more than enough for the night," replied Slade coldly. "Your fight today was only a taste of what I have in store for you. If you want to find me, be my guest. I'm at 334 Wolfman Street. Just don't expect me to be alone and unprepared."
The TV then went to static. The team stood there, shocked, not knowing what to do. Eventually, Cyborg broke the silence.
"Ok, let's go.".
"What?" asked Nightwing.
"Let's go kick Slade's butt and finally be free of him," said Cyborg as he was about to walk out. Nightwing grabbed his arm. "We can't just go after him blindly, Cyborg. We haven't fought Slade in years. We don't know what he might be capable of between then and now. Plus, he now has our foes working for him. We have to think this through." Cyborg frowned at Nightwing but reluctantly turned around to face him silently.
"Okay, first off, let's make a strategy plan. On 334 Wolfman Street, there is an old bank. From my memory, there are three ways: a front door, a back door, and a side door. All we need to do is go into three groups, and we can catch them off guard. Titans Go!" They started to run to the elevator before Kid Flash cleared his throat.
"Yes?" asked Raven sarcastically.
"Well, considering I'm the fastest guy here, how about I be your transportation?" suggested Kid Flash. The team looked hesitant. Nightwing walked up to him.
"Look, Wally. It isn't that we don't appreciate you; it's just that it might be a little awkward for us to... you know." Kid Flash nodded.
Then he asked, "Is it because most of you can't fly?".
"Well, yes," replied Nightwing, but before he could finish what he said, Kid Flash swooped up both Nightwing and Cyborg and ran them to the bank. Kid Flash released his two comrades as they bent over and breathed heavily.
"What... the…. Heck?" asked Nightwing angrily.
"Well, you said most of you could fly, so I decided to transport the ones who couldn't," replied Kid Flash nonchalantly. Nightwing looked up, furious.
"Just because we can't fly doesn't mean we don't have our own transport! I have a bike! Cyborg has a car!". As he said this, Cyborg was hurling into the nearest dumpster due to motion sickness.
"Oohh… sorry," apologized Kid Flash as Nightwing face-palmed himself. The other Titans arrived quickly and were now setting the game plan for getting into the building. Cyborg displayed the map of it while Nightwing laid out the plan.
"Ok, here's the game: Beast Boy, you and Cyborg will take the side. Wonder Girl and Kid Flash will take the back. Me, Starfire, and Raven will go in front. OK, break!". The three assumed their positions.
Control Freak lay in a chair in a control room, monitoring a live video feed of the Titans taking their positions around the building. Upon seeing them, he picked up a mic and said, "They're here!"
In the front, Nightwing walked to the door and tried to open it. It wouldn't budge.
"Ok, do you ladies have any ideas?" Nightwing asked. Raven stood forward to take a shot at it.
"Step back," warned Raven. Nightwing and Starfire stood back. Raven folded her fingers and cracked them in preparation.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she bellowed as a black light charged at the door. It did nothing to it.
"Huh," said Raven, confused.
"That doesn't usually happen. It's almost like it's protected.
''It's ok, Raven," assured Nightwing. He nodded towards Starfire as she sent green bolts at the door, blowing it down. The trio then ran in.
Cyborg and Beast Boy headed to the side door. Beast Boy was about to open it until Cyborg pulled him back.
"What are you...!?" began Beast Boy before Cyborg showed the reason. On the door, there appeared to be a wire latching from the end of the entry into a little crack in the ceiling.
"Oh!" said Beast Boy, now understanding. He nodded at Cyborg, who turned his arm into a cannon and blasted the door down. The two entered to find various turned-over desks, several one-dollar bills on the floor, and a giant open safe. Beast Boy noticed the money. Excited, he attempted to grab them for himself before getting a good "Get your head back in the game" bonk on the head by Cyborg.
"Ok, now where could they be?" questioned Cyborg.
"Maybe.." replied a cold, calm voice. "He's closer than you think." The two turned to find Slade standing in the safe, motionless. Cyborg and Beast Boy nodded at each other and charged at Slade. By the time their arms caught him, they went THROUGH him, landing on the ground with a painful thud. Cyborg looked up and noticed a white light shining on Slade from above the safe door. "Uh, oh!" exclaimed Cyborg, worried. Beast Boy lifted his head as Cyborg pointed towards the projector. The projector turned off, dimming the false Slade, and the door closed on them.
Kid Flash and Wonder Girl had made it to the back door with no problem. "Ok," said Kid Flash.
"Let's get in this bad boy!"
"Wait," warned Wonder Girl.
"From what Dick told me about this Slade dude, he might have rigged this door," she explained, but Kid Flash only heard one word.
"Dick?" he asked with a smug smile on his face as he folded his arms. Wonder Girl blushed slightly and shrugged her shoulders.
" What? Can't a girl refer to her friends by name aside from codename?" Kid Flash rolled his eyes as he charged at the doors, knocking them down. Wonder Girl was blindsided.
"Ok, I guess he can be wrong sometimes," she admitted. The two entered the building, finding a box on the rotting floor. Kid Flash attempted to touch it only to have his hand slapped by Wonder Girl, giving him a don't even think about it look. The two walked around the box as it opened. They turn around and see a green mist coming out of the box.
"What the..?" exclaimed Kid Flash, but suddenly he felt lightheaded and collapsed. Wonder Girl soon followed.
Nightwing turned on his flashlight. The room was filled with money bags on the floor, mildew, and empty teller booths. Strange, thought Nightwing. Why a bank if they aren't going to rob anything? After a while, he gave up and got out his comm to update the others.
"Beast Boy, Cyborg. Anything on your end?". No answer. Nightwing looked at Starfire and Raven.
"Try again, I guess?" suggested Raven. Nightwing rolled his eyes as he turned the communicator on again.
"Cyborg?Beast Boy? Are you there?" Still no answer.
"Try Wonder Girl and Kid Flash," said Starfire. Before Nightwing could say anything, a voice came on the mic. Not Cyborg or Beast Boy's, but that of a cold, calm, sober voice with nary a spec of warmth.
"Hello, Robin. See, you've accepted my invitation," said Slade.
Nightwing was frustrated. Slade would not hurt his friends again or ruin his future with Starfire. This time, it's war, he thought.
"What do you want, Slade? Where are my teammates?" Slade let out a soft laugh that all but irritated Nightwing to the core with hatred.
"You want them; all you have to do is go into the deep down under. Good Luck."
The comm went static. Angered, Nightwing angrily grabbed a gold bar off the ground and threw it into one of the teller booth windows. Before he could do any more damage, Starfire grabbed him to calm him down.
"Nightwing! Stop!" she shouted, and he listened and breathed heavily to calm himself down.
"Sorry," he said.
"It's just that we were so close to being able to live the life we want. A normal life. Then he has to come up and ruin everything."
"Nightwing, you're still going to have it," assured Raven, putting her arm on his shoulder.
"Look, we beat these guys before; we can do it again. It's not the end of the world this time."
Nightwing nodded. They continued their walk through the place until they found the basement door. They walked down the stairs into the dark room. Then, suddenly, the lights turned on. The room was big, gray-walled, with a balcony above and a single door above. In the center of the room was a metal device with four prongs extended from it. Each of them had a table with Beast Boy, Cyborg, Wonder Girl, and Kid Flash tied to it.
"Ok," said Raven. "Before we do anything, we should look-" but before she could finish her sentence, Nightwing was charging towards the captives impulsively.
"Nightwing, stop!" warned Cyborg. As Nightwing was a few inches away, something punched him to the ground. As he was pushing himself up, some invisible force started to slam its foot on him aggressively.
"Nightwing!" shouted Starfire as she ran to save her beloved from the beating. But before she could make it, two black bolts blasted down in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. She looked up to find Blackfire flying above with an evil grin on her face.
"Hello, Kori," she greeted evilly. Starfire frowned at her evil sister. Nightwing, meanwhile, grabbed the invisible force by its leg, knocking it down. The figure then revealed itself as Dr. Light. In the air, Blackfire turned towards Nightwing and Light fighting and looked back at Starfire.
"Oh, is that your new hubby?" she goaded.
"Hmm, maybe it would be more fun if I had some time alone with him."
Starfire charged at her sister, losing her temper, and the two wrestled in the air. On the ground, Raven was helping Nightwing fight Light until a new, unseen force lifted her off the ground. Raven struggled but couldn't get out of her invisible bonds. She turned to see Jinx and Gizmo jump down from the balcony as Jinx raised her hand in the air, thus revealing the source of the invisible force. Then a thought came into Raven's head. Wait a minute, she thought. Where is Mamm- Just as she was close to finishing her thought, a giant force rammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground hard. She looked up, clutching her ribs in pain, to face the mighty Mammoth, breathing heavily through his nose. Before she could get up, a pair of feet slammed down on her, knocking her out. On top of her, Killer Moth let out a sadistic laugh at his victory. In the air, Blackfire and Starfire were trading blows and blasts at each other in mortal combat. Nightwing looked up at the ensuing conflict and noticed his girlfriend seemed to be losing against her vile sister. But before he could try to get up and help her, Light blasted him with a painful amount of light energy. The pain surged through his head and spine. He felt like he was going to explode in agony. Then, a voice was uttered.
"Now, now, Arthur. I think he's got the point." The pain stopped. Nightwing slowly pulled himself up and examined the room. Raven was now conscious again but was now having Killer Moth's blaster pointed at her head, and Blackfire descended to the ground holding the restrained Starfire, whose hands were now in extraterrestrial handcuffs. In front of him, he was surrounded by Jinx, Gizmo, Light, and Mammoth. His vision was somewhat blurry, but on the top balcony, he could vaguely see the body of a muscular man with an orange and black oval on top. His vision returned, and he saw Slade looking down at him on the ledge.
"I know, I know," he boasted. "Sometimes I amaze myself."
He leaped off the balcony onto the floor below. Nightwing now fired up, got on his feet and charged himself toward his foe. Before he could get a blow at him, Slade faced his palm toward him, and a ball of fire emerged, knocking Nightwing onto his back. His mind was now buzzing. He lifted his head towards Slade in awe.
"How… How did you get your power back? I thought….Trigon..s-stole it back from you… years ago."Nightwing gasped. Slade closed in on him. Bending down, he grabbed Nightwing by the hair, lifting his head to Slade's face.
"Well, if you want to know, all you had to do was ask." He then slammed his fist into Nightwing's face and shoved him on the floor. Starfire opened her mouth in horror at her loved one's beating while Raven grabbed Moth's leg and yanked it, knocking him down, and aimed her hands at Slade. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she bellowed, letting out black energy towards Slade. The energy hit him, but it disappeared, leaving nary a scratch on the terrorist. Slade lifted his hand towards her, and a pair of fiery hands emerged from the ground and pinned Raven. "Now, without further interruptions, allow me to explain the story of how we got here. Four years ago, when I served under the demon Trigon, I was tasked with capturing his daughter Raven so that he could open the portal to Earth. Although I was successful, Trigon didn't take too kindly to the fact Raven nobly surrendered to me rather than having been captured beyond her own free will. My powers were stripped, and I was without skin nor mortality.
"Desperate for information, I turned toward the library of Azarath, where I discovered that my powers could be reclaimed along with my mortality in the underworld. I was intrigued, but there was still a hiccup in the plan. Trigon could take it back. Unless the second most powerful figure, his daughter, could defeat him, I could've gone down there alone, but the child would obviously not have trusted me. That's where you came in, Robin. You're her leader. Her friend. Obviously, she would trust you.
"So, I manipulated you into assisting me in my goals. Once I regained my abilities, I discovered Raven had been turned into nothing but a mere child. Fearing she wouldn't be able to destroy Trigon, I attempted to do the job myself, to painful results, but, in the end, Raven emerged as her old self and defeated her father, allowing me to keep my abilities without limitations. Afterward, I went into hiding to prepare for this moment. First, I sent one of my robots to you a year later as my warm-up exercise. Then, I spent the rest of my time training and collecting the best of the best when it came to fighting you. I remade the fool Brain's society of villains with those who had a chance of beating you. And that's why we are here," he concluded. There was silence in the room until Raven broke it.
"If you have my father's abilities, I can take it from you, you know?" said Raven, still struggling with the firearms. Slade let out a sadistic laugh.
"Child, your father gave this to me. Do you think he would be stupid enough to leave it open to the abilities of those other than himself?" Raven turned her head. He's right, she thought. Father would never have given him abilities that I could control.
"You see?" crooned Slade.
"Your power can do nothing."
"But I can do this, '' replied Nightwing as he tossed out a little t-shaped, blue and black boomerang that spun itself into Slade's helmet, nearly knocking him over. The fire hands disappeared, causing Raven to fall lightly on the floor while Starfire performed a reverse head-butt on Blackfire, knocking her back as Starfire snapped the cuffs off her. Slade, regaining his balance, put his hand on his helmet. Nightwing realized he was talking to a communicator.
"Turn it on," he ordered.
Suddenly, the device the other four titans were on activated, and a wave of electricity went through each of the tables. The four grunted in pain. Slade then ran towards an opening next to the machine and threw it. Nightwing got on his feet, looking at the opening and the tables. He came to a decision.
"Starfire, free the others! I'm going after Slade!" he shouted. Nightwing charged through the opening after the madman. "Nightwing, wait!" shouted Starfire as she soared toward the door. But at that moment, a blue laser grid appeared before the opening, blocking her off. "No!" she shouted.
Before she could do anything else, Black Fire charged and blasted Starfire to the ground. Meanwhile, Raven was fighting with the H.I.V.E. trio when she remembered that her friends were still being tortured. As she used a dark magic shield to block Mammoth, she looked at her surroundings: Nightwing having gone through the opening, Starfire and Blackfire fighting in mid-air, and the device. Starfire smiled, having come up with an idea. She twisted her body with Mammoth still trying to force himself through the shield before deactivating it. After jumping out of the way, Mammoth was forced to charge into the machine, torturing the other titans, destroying it, and knocking him out. The four started to get back on their feet.
"Thanks, Raven," said Beast Boy. Light jumped behind him and sent an energy blast. Beast Boy, luckily, noticed in time and turned himself into a turtle to avoid it. He then turned himself into a gorilla and went to town, battling Light. The rest joined the battle. Raven was dueling with Jinx and Gizmo, Kid Flash was in combat with Moth, and Wonder Girl was engaging the recovered Mammoth. Before Cyborg could do anything, he heard a familiar voice behind him.
"Hey, Cyborg!" it said. Cyborg turned to face Brother Blood. Blood, the former head of H.I.V.E., had gone after the Titans years ago, primarily focusing his antagonism on Cyborg. Blood, though, had been defeated by the Titans and was sent to prison for three years. Great Cyborg thought. There's a face I really didn't need to see again. "Hey, Blood," said Cyborg sarcastically.
"I see jail time has treated you right."
"Don't patronize me, Robot!" yelled Blood.
"Thanks to you, I lost my H.I.V.E. membership and whatever fundings I had left! So now, It's time to give you back the suffering you placed upon me." Cyborg smiled.
"Sorry, being ugly is something I don't care to be provided, Blood!" snarked Cyborg. Blood, in anger, engaged his mortal foe.
Nightwing didn't know how far he had run. And frankly, he didn't care. As he was running, he saw Slade turn the corner into another room. Nightwing followed suit. When he came to the opening, there was a problem. The room was covered in an endless maze of mirrors from the ceiling to the walls. Knowing to be cautious, Nightwing carefully edged into the room, examining each pathway. As he approached the end of one of the paths, he saw a figure. It was Slade. Nightwing ran to it and slammed his fist into what he thought was Slade. But it turned out to be nothing more than a reflection of him in the mirror, now smashed. He turned around to find Slade's reflection in various mirrors in the room.
"Great," groaned Nightwing.
He continued along the way as Slade was goading him.
"You know, I thought you would've been smarter all those years ago. When I manipulated you."
Nightwing was now in the process of smashing any mirror containing Slade.
"All it seemed to take was to say that I wouldn't have wanted Trigon to have done what he did to Earth. Frankly, I could have cared less."
He finally stopped the smashing. Breathing heavily, Nightwing turned around at least three times before finally speaking.
"Where are you?!" he demanded.
Behind him, one of Slade's reflections came to life and approached him. Nightwing turned around in the nick of time to see Slade about to bring his fist upon him. Nightwing jumped out of the way of the fist and landed on his feet.
"Still, if you had remained my apprentice, We could've done great things. Terrible things, yes. But great.".
"Why?!" yelled Nightwing.
"Why are you doing this to us?" Slade snickered under his breath.
"Why? Why not? This is just the way the world turns, Robin. I think we may be destined to do this for the rest of our existence. I have a family now. Just like you."
Having had enough, Nightwing charged at Slade, knocking him through the mirrors and causing them to crash into a storage room. Nightwing was the first to stand up.
"Your"family " is nothing more than a bunch of criminals and terrorists. That's a crime gang!" he exclaimed.
Slade got up and charged in return at Nightwing, plowing him through four wooden boxes before slamming him to the ground. Nightwing's outfit was now covered with rips and tears from the beatings. As he slowly got back to his feet, Nightwing drew out a pair of blue bars and crossed them as a sign of threat.
"Impressive," noted Slade.
"I've updated my arsenal as well." He then drew out a sword. It was at least 5 inches long, and the blade itself was in a jagged pattern with an orange hue to it.
"I call it the Titan Slayer," bragged Slade.
He and the boy engaged their weapons. Trading blow for blow, Nightwing was slowly being strained and hammered, but Slade seemed to be on his feet and his guard. Slade eventually got the upper hand by slamming Nightwing's bars so hard that they snapped in two. Slade extended his hand, letting out a fireball and knocking Nightwing towards the other side of the room. The hulking madman towered over the young man and lifted his sword above his head. Nightwing reached for his belt, drew out his Wing Ding Batarang, and tossed it at Slade. The device blew up in front of Slade's face. Slade walked backward in shock as Nightwing got up to his feet and went to town on Slade. Slamming his fists into his helmet in rage, all Nightwing wanted to do was to end this madman once and for all. But his punches did nothing to break the helmet. Eventually, Slade grabbed Nightwing's fist and twisted his wrist. Nightwing screamed in agony as Slade bent his arm forcefully. Slade rose to his feet, lifted Nightwing off the ground, and tossed him to the floor. Slade then pressed his finger to his helmet to activate the intercom. "Control Freak set the explosives." "But, Slade, the others are still in there." "Just do it!" ordered Slade. Suddenly, explosions went off, and ceiling pieces started to collapse. Slade ran to a nearby elevator and disappeared out of sight.
In the main room, the Titans and the Brotherhood heard the explosion as the ceiling collapsed. The brotherhood began to run up the stairs to the door while the Titans were in pursuit. Starfire stopped abruptly.
"We can't leave without Nightwing!" she explained.
Before the team could say anything, Starfire charged through the doorway, now that the laser beam gate was down, to find her man. The others ran up the stairs.
Nightwing dragged himself toward the elevator, his breaths ragged and shallow. Blood dripped steadily from the gash on his side, staining the floor beneath him. His fingers trembled as he reached out, barely able to pull himself forward another inch.
Starfire's heart pounded against her ribs as she frantically scanned the wreckage. 'Please, please let him be safe,' she whispered to herself, dodging a falling beam. When her eyes finally landed on Nightwing's battered form, relief surged through her, quickly replaced by terror at his condition. 'Beloved,' she murmured, her voice trembling, as she rushed to his side. Placing her arms under his nack, she lifted the beaten body up and flew out of the area with it.
The Titans paused at the doorway, torn between following Starfire and escaping the crumbling building. Raven glanced back with a furrowed brow, but Beast Boy gave her a reassuring nod. 'She's got him. We need to move.'
The Titans got out safely as the building collapsed. Starfire landed and gently dropped Nightwing onto the ground. He tried to stand up, but he buckled and collapsed. Starfire and Beast Boy propped him up.
"Dude, save your strength," suggested Beast Boy.
Nightwing once again buckled.
"I have...to...get..to...Slade!".
Starfire lifted him.
"Later. But not tonight," the tamaranean replied sweetly.
She flew away with him as the others, except Kid-Flash and Cyborg, flew away. Kid Flash smiled at Cyborg.
"Wanna have another?"
"Nope!"Cyborg replied cynically and began to walk back.
"Hold still," advised Starfire.
She needed steadiness if she was going to help sew up her beloved's wounds. She knelt on the bed in their room while Nightwing sat on the edge, allowing Starfire to patch him up after their fight earlier that night with Slade. Nightwing had only a few scars on the back, but the pain was still deep. After a few minutes, Starfire had finally sewed the last stitch. As she pulled the thread up, Nightwing gritted his teeth in pain. The pain slowly faded as a warm hand lay on his shoulder in assurance.
"There, all done," said Starfire, smiling.
Nightwing stood up and checked his wounds.
"Thanks. Hey, where'd you learn to sew?" asked Nightwing.
Starfire grinned and folded her arms.
"Tamaranian stitch class," she replied.
"You never know when it could come in handy."
She then kissed him on the cheek. She grabbed him by the arm as he was about to leave their room.
"Nightwing, you shouldn't have recklessly chased after Slade. You could have gotten killed." She contorted, concerned.
Nightwing lowered his head.
"I know. It's just that… we were so close! So close to being able to live our lives normally… then HE had to come back with an army and ruin this!"
He slammed his fist on the door in anger. Starfire could sense his frustration.
"Listen," she replied.
"It's ok; I'm not mad. We can wait to do the quitting of the team. You didn't fail me. We can still fight Slade, and then we can finally have the life."
Nightwing smiled. He then opened the door to find Cyborg leaning against the wall, his arms folded, with a sneer. "Cyborg, listen!" started Nightwing, but before he could finish, Cyborg held up his hand and smiled. "Hey, no need to say anything. I understand you wanna have a normal life, and that's good. I guess earlier, I was jealous that I was too much of a robot to be normal." He held out his hand. Nightwing shook it.