Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/454602.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Underage
  Category:
      M/M
  Fandom:
      Teen_Titans
  Relationship:
      Dick_Grayson/Slade_Wilson, Robin/Slade, Slade/Robin
  Character:
      Robin, Slade, Slade_Wilson, Dick_Grayson
  Additional Tags:
      Developing_Relationship, long_story, deep_story, Explicit_Sexual_Content
  Stats:
      Published: 2012-07-08 Completed: 2014-11-10 Chapters: 28/28 Words: 191126
****** Take Your Medicine ******
by Kazhiru
Summary
     Robin has caught an odd case of flu. Slade, on the other hand, takes
     adventage of this, wanting to have Robin as his apprentice again.
     What will happen behind the closed doors of Slade's hideout? Read to
     find out.
     This is the uncesored one, with the sex included. this story has the
     same ANs from the ff.net, but I hope that they wont bother your
     reading experience. FF.net has the censored version of this story.
***** Chapter 1 *****
Disclaimer: Everything but the plot is not mine! I don't own Teen Titans *cry*
Hi, I'm Kazhiru and this is my first fan fic written in English. In this story,
my main goal is to explore these characters' minds and to try to write some
backgrounds, feelings, emotions, and all that mental stuff. Why? Because I need
training and it'll be fun
Take Your Medicine, Chapter 1 (Edited by SladinForever)
"But friend Robin, I must insist you stay home just this once!"
Starfire had been fussing over him the entire day and Robin finally had it up
to here.
'Just because I have the flu doesn't mean that I can't stop fighting crime and
decide to go on hiatus!'
"Starfire, please; I'm fine! Some stupid germ is not going to stop me," Robin
said behind gritted teeth as he stomped to the main room of the tower.
The alarm had gone off just a moment ago and the Titans were gathered in for
more information.
"But Robin, are you sure? What if it is something more? I am most worried about
you."
"Star, I. Am. Fine!" he almost yelled at her, turning around.
'Geez, what is the matter with her? Some people need help out there! It could
be Control Freak, Red X, Mad Mod, or Plasmus! I simply can't go rest now!
People need me! And it's not like I'd let some stupid germ stop me!' he thought
angrily.
Robin stepped into the main room where the big TV, living room, and kitchen
were. The other team members stood quietly, waiting for his instructions.
"Team, we don't know what it is out there, but we will go there and stop it.
I'm also very aware that we will have to separate to find it faster, but once
you find it, call everyone."
Robin looked at the Titans, except Starfire, seeing as she stood behind him.
Seemingly, he didn't even have any effort to turn on her. Maybe it was a small
punishment for fussing over an already-made decision. The look on his face as
he watched the other Titans, was stern, like he was saying, 'don't you even
dare try and stop me'.
"Titans, GO!"
And with that, the Titans stormed out of the building. Reaching the garage,
Robin picked up his helmet from his motorbike's handlebar and started forcing
it onto his head.
"Robin, I know you want to save the city and there's nothing we can do to make
you feel any better, but I think Starfire is right." Raven was speaking to him.
"You should rest until we know more about your condition."
Robin pulled his helmet off in frustration and turned on his heel to look at
her rather than speaking to his motorcycle.
"Raven, I will not just stand around. If you really feel that this is something
that bad, you should heal me. I know you can."
Raven took a step forward so that she stood right in front of Robin. She stared
into his mask-covered eyes with a rather sharp look.
"Robin, you need to understand. I already told you this once, and I'm going to
repeat myself to you only once, so listen up," Raven said, just to assure Robin
that her decision to not to cure him was final. "I know I can heal you, but
healing every little flu is a waste of my powers and is plain stupid. If I heal
every, single, little illness you might have, there is a slight possibility
that your future diseases will evolve into a Nosocomial infection, and that
means no antidote will save you."
Raven was dead serious as she stared at Robin with the same hard look. The
Titan leader sighed as he surrendered to her. She had a point; he had heard
about that. It was true that some viruses could and would become immune to
medicines and that was a big problem in hospitals. It was really hard to just
admit that Raven was right; his stubbornness just didn't leave much room for
that option. Nevertheless…
'I can do this goddammit!'
"Raven, I understand you," he said. "I just…I'm frustrated, that's all. But
enough talking. We need to go."
At least it was a start, Robin finally surrendering. He hung his head as a sign
that he would not fight on the matter anymore.
"Robin, just take it easy," Raven said with a small, warm smile as she looked
at him with slightly worried, but still reassuring, amethyst eyes.
"Yeah, yeah…"
Robin put his helmet back on his head lazily as he sat on his bike. He watched
as the dark girl flew ahead. With a sigh, Robin hit the gas and rode away from
the tower.
Now that he had finally gotten away from those fussing Titans, his head felt
heavy. That little encounter with the girls was really digging into Robin's
nerves. Along the way, he had gained a headache and his mind felt foggy. He
also felt a bit feverish, but he tried to hide it the best he could. After all,
he had been able to hide his sickness and nausea from his friends, so he was
confident that he would be able to hide it until he got back. No big deal.
Not much time passed before Robin parked his motorcycle by the side of an old
warehouse and jumped off. Dizziness consumed him and he almost lost his balance
the second he laid foot on the concrete. The Titan leader was barely able to
compensate his footing before he fell.
'Maybe the girls were right. Maybe some rest wouldn't be that bad of an idea…'
he thought.
Robin was starting to get very tired at the thought. He was having trouble just
trying to walk a straight line. The feeling of weakness and dizziness was
making things harder as the world was spinning in his eyes. His limbs felt like
they weighed a ton each. As the ground spun, his stomach growled from nausea.
Sweat had started to form on his face. Robin wiped it off and stopped to take a
break. The fever was rising, with benefits.
'I got to get a hold of myself.' Robin pulled himself together and shook his
head to get rid of the nauseous feeling. Unfortunately, that act just added to
it. 'Okay…' he thought. Robin's world was spinning around him again. He fell to
the ground since he couldn't keep his balance. 'Damn sickness.'
Robin pushed himself up once more and crawled to the side of the building to
hold himself up against the wall. He certainly wished the others had found the
trouble already and, better yet, gotten rid of it.
Against his better judgment, Robin decided to rest a little. Not too long by
any means, just enough for his headache to ease down. He slumped to the ground
as he leaned against the wooden wall of the warehouse. His head was killing
him. It felt like someone had been drilling a hole through his temple. Now it
was getting harder and harder just to stay focused, or conscious for that
matter. He felt dehydrated and feverish too. He was thirsty and hot. Cold
chills surged through him every once in a while, just for the fun of it.
Unable to even sit up now, Robin fell on his side, resting his head on the cold
gravel. The coldness felt cool and comforting against his hot skin. During this
time, his breathing had gotten harder and louder. The gravel stuck to his
sweating face, but he didn't care. He lay there for several long minutes until
he decided to try walking again. He had felt nothing like this when he was at
the tower. His condition had just taken a fast turn for the worse in less than
ten minutes while he was driving on the streets of Jump City.
Robin pushed himself into an upright position and then stood up. He was still
leaning against the wall for a little bit of comfort. Just when the Titan was
about to take a look inside the old warehouse, his communicator started
beeping. He whipped it into his hand, flipped the lid, and saw Beast Boy's face
on the small screen, looking right at him.
"Dude, what's wrong with you? You look dirty!" Beast Boy stated, referring to
the dirt on Robin's face.
Wiping the rocks and tiny pebbles off, Robin asked with a hoarse voice, "Have
you found it already? Where and what is it?"
Beast Boy looked grave. "We saw Slade unfortunately. He's in an old warehouse
on the outskirts of the city." The green Titan momentarily whipped out of sight
to duck away from unidentifiable fragments that were flying towards his head.
His face came back on screen. "The others are already here and were in too big
of a rush to call you."
When the screen became blurry for only a moment,Robin assumed Beast Boy had
quickly switched his location. He was soon back, leaning on a rather big wooden
thing. A crate maybe.
"Are all of you okay in there? And where exactly is this warehouse?" Robin
asked, sounding rather worried, or as worried as his sore voice would allow.
"You know that big, old, red one about a mile from the freeway?"
The screen became fuzzy again before revealing both Beast Boy and Cyborg
looking at Robin, their faces filling the entire screen. The communicator was,
after all, designed for personal use only, not group chat sessions.
"Are you all alright? What just happened out there?" Robin asked, his voice
sounding rushed.
He watched his two teammates collect themselves together.
"Well it's rather difficult over here. We don't think we can hold him much
longer," Cyborg said. "Where the heck are you anyway?"
Cyborg quickly snatched the communicator from Beast Boy's hand before pushing
him back into the fighting.
"I'll be there in a second," Robin said. "I'm at an old warehouse about a mile-
"
It dawned on Robin right when the main door exploded open, one door flying
completely off while the other hung from its hinges. A thick blast of black
smoke poured out from inside the building. Something black darted through it
and started running towards the forest. It was the fastest route back into the
city. Almost as a reflex, Robin was already on its heels, running after it as
fast as he could. His communicator was left forgotten on the ground.
With how fast the figure was running, Robin had a good feeling it was indeed
Slade. He really wished he wouldn't run all the way back to the city. His
breathing had become ragged and hard, his muscles already burning. Normally,
Robin could run much longer. And that's what worried him. He was afraid at how
weak he had gotten by a simple, little flu virus. His breathing was soon
hurting his lungs, the running strained his legs, and his head was becoming
fuzzy again. He felt a migraine coming on as well.
The other Titans either couldn't catch up yet or hadn't even tried to come
after them. Of course, they probably didn't know Robin was after Slade. The
villain seemed to have no problem jumping from hillock to hillock and dodging
the trees. Robin, on the other hand, had trouble keeping his mind concentrated
and organized, what with the pain and nausea. He was faltering and stumbling on
the bumpy ground.
Somehow, he managed to keep himself standing and running, even though his legs
protested like mad. His sides were getting scratched up by the tree trunks when
he couldn't dodge quick enough. Robin even had a long scratch on his left
flank. His suit had been torn open and his sides were bleeding somewhat. But he
just gritted his teeth and kept on running. There was nothing he could do for
it now anyway. He just hoped that his wounds wouldn't get infected once this
was all over.
The Titans were still nowhere to be seen. Slade didn't even seem tired. Robin,
on the other hand, was losing his breath. His legs and lungs were hurting more
than ever. He felt like he could start vomiting blood at any moment. Of course,
with a normal flu, that couldn't happen. There was no logical reason for that
to happen. Besides, Robin knew it was all in his head. He just felt like
vomiting. Ironically, he really could taste the flavor of blood in his mouth;
he just pushed it aside. Robin's mouth felt terribly dry while he continued to
run. His lungs felt like sandpaper and his head hurt like hell. He kept going
from one hillock to the next however. Luckily, he could still see Slade up
ahead of him. How the sick child was able to keep up with his speed was a
mystery.
After a couple more minutes, Robin finally decided to quit. His muscles spasmed
and refused to move another inch. Unable to hold himself up any longer, he
stumbled over a log in his path. Branches, as he fell, scratched his face,
arms, and legs badly enough to draw blood, but nothing serious. Luckily, he
fell on smooth moss. His head wasn't too damaged, but his lungs had all the
breath knocked out of them. His back had twisted in a tiny, arched angle, but
not enough to actually hurt. Robin wasn't able to move from the spot because of
these factors. He gasped and wheezed to get his lungs full of air, bringing in
some dirt in the process.
With Robin unable to concentrate, his pain hit him good. All his muscles ached
and his limbs felt heavy. Along with feeling thirsty, he had a problem with
salivating. In fact, the saliva was almost foaming out of his mouth. The Titan
felt his nausea, dizziness, and headache coming back to him ten fold. He
started to cough to straighten his airways and to rid himself of the foam-like
saliva, but his lungs didn't seem to have enough air to process such a simple
task. He was practically choking. Sweat was forming all over his body and his
clothes were getting wet when water seeped out of the moss from his weight. He
was now getting cold, near freezing to be exact.
'M-Must be the fever's…doing,' Robin thought groggily.
As his vision blurred, Robin saw a steel-toed boot land right by his face. He
quickly felt a tight and painful grip on the back of his neck before someone
pulled him up from the dirt. His body screamed in pain but he didn't have the
energy to protest. Robin hung in the cruel grip, his mind slowly falling into
darkness. The last thing he saw before he lost full consciousness to the world
was the green blur of the forest.
***** Chapter 2 *****
AN: *Reads the last chapter just to jog memory* Hell! She really did wonders to
it! Referring to that recent comment: I have a beta. And she is really good
too! I owe her a lot. Now, everyone will give a big group thank you to
SladinForever! Thank you for saving my authoress ass! This chapter is written
to her just to show how grateful I am!
Take Your Medicine, Chapter 2 (Edited by SladinForever)
Robin awoke with a small gasp. He had just had a nightmare where he was being
chased towards the edge of a cliff. Once he was at the edge—more like the dead
end—he turned his back to it. While backing up, he stumbled on some loose
ground and fell. After falling for what seemed like eternity, he landed rock
bottom on his back. He was panting furiously to get air to his lungs.
The dream had felt so real! He remembered the feeling of his blood freezing in
his veins, the wind rustling against his clothes, and the pain in his back. He
remembered the feeling of his lungs collapsing, the chills he had felt creeping
back along his spine as he thought about it. Robin remembered it so well: the
fading background and the black figure standing on the edge of the cliff when
he fell.
'A black figure?' All of a sudden, Robin remembered the figure on the cliff. He
couldn't really tell what it was but it surely was human. An unknown, black-
shaped human who only watched him fall and not help. Robin shook his head to
get rid of the thought. 'It was a dream! Only a dream!'
Robin pulled the covers over him for protection. Nothing was wrong, it had been
a dream, and now he was safe and sound in his own room, in his own bed. He
curled up in the fetal position, staying like that for a long time until he had
fully relaxed and became calm. The chills remained because of the cold. He
pulled the cover more tightly against himself. Darkness surrounded him. Robin
took a deep breath.
'Odd, these don't smell like my covers,' Robin thought as the musky, foreign
smell filled his nostrils.
In fact, now that he thought about it, his room had a window and there was
always at least a little dim ray of light from the moon or sun, depending on
the time of day. But this room didn't have windows. Robin cracked open the
covers and looked around the place. He definitely wasn't in his room. This room
was dark, pitch black, to be sure. The bed he was in was merely a mattress
sitting just a foot off the floor. The room was small and was made out of metal
walls. There wasn't much furniture from what Robin could see. There was a panel
that jutted out of the wall, which he assumed was a table. Beside it was a
metal box, which was screwed to the floor; most likely meant to be a chair.
They were in the far corner from his bed. Or his mattress he should say. His
actual bed was on a stand about half a meter from the floor, which was made out
of concrete. Other than that, the room was pretty much empty.
Looking up, Robin saw a single light bulb in the middle of the ceiling. He
couldn't see a switch anywhere. Not liking the fact that he didn't know where
he was, Robin pulled the covers around himself tighter to give himself a small
sense of security. With a silent sigh, he moved one leg off the bed. He quickly
pulled it back up the second it touched the floor. The room was very, very
cold.
Pulling himself together, Robin placed both feet to the cold floor. The air was
also cold. The only thing he was wearing was foreign, black, slightly-too-big-
for-him boxers and a massive black T-shirt. It was big enough to cover his ass
and the boxers reached to his knees. Even with that much protective covering,
the room still felt cold and distant. Robin quickly moved his hands up to his
forehead to feel if his mask was still on his face. It was still over his eyes,
much to his relief.
Standing in the middle of the room, Robin noticed that it was completely quiet.
The only noise was coming from his feet while he switched from one leg to the
other. Another thing he noticed was that the room smelled like…nothing. It
wasn't even that big, he noted. Maybe two-by-two meters long. It wasn't that
high either. He started to turn around in that small space, observing it for
anything else he may have missed. It really was very empty.
'And where's the damn door?'
Robin suddenly developed Claustrophobia. He practically hopped around in place,
looking for anything, anything that could be an exit. The darkness was the only
thing to blame. Panicking, he jumped towards the nearest wall and started
running and thumping his hands over the cold surface, desperately searching for
any kind of switch, door handle, loose panel, trap door, or one sided mirror.
He was now running around the room, slapping the walls and trying to find
something that sounded at least slightly different. All he heard was the soft
thump-thump-thump echoing loudly around the room from his hands and feet.
'This must be how a lab rat feels when stuck in a cage,' Robin thought
bitterly. No new sounds came yet. He was starting to get frustrated. 'Out, out,
out!' the temper-tantrum voice screamed in his mind. 'If I was able to get in,
then I must be able to get out!' He was now halfway around the room when he
heard a heavier and deeper sounding tong. While in his state of panic and rush,
he didn't even notice it at first. Robin's brain took a moment to send him this
information. 'There!'
Taking a few steps back—after regaining some of his breath—Robin took a few
deep breaths to calm himself. He hadn't even realized that he had started to
hyperventilate. For two minutes he tried to control his breathing. When he was
sure he could continue, he lifted his arm and curled his hand into a tight
fist. He started to knock on the wall, hearing for anything abnormal. The next
several knocks sounded exactly the same and he was afraid that he had lost the
spot again. After a few more, louder knocks, he heard it: a deep, echoing
clang. With a big sigh of relief, Robin looked closer to examine the wall more
carefully.
This part of the wall was a slight brown color and it smelled like rust. And it
was a door. There wasn't a door knob or anything, but it was definitely a door.
By the sound of it, Robin could tell that it was at least an inch thick, like a
security door. With a loud sigh, he turned around and saw that the door was
positioned right next to his bed. This was where he was then. He tried to calm
down. When he tried to let out a reassuring sigh, Robin started to cough
violently. It made his throat hurt and he felt like he would either run out of
breath or vomit, which ever came first. He bent over slightly, covering his
mouth with one hand and his stomach with the other. Once the coughing fit
finally eased down, he started to feel feverish and weak again. He soon
regretted running around and panicking.
Holding his head with his left hand, Robin placed the other on the wall for
support. He eased his way towards his bed, sliding his hand along the wall
while dragging his feet. Halfway there, his pointer and middle finger slipped
inside the wall. Once realizing it was a hole, he stopped immediately. Robin
traced it several times and gathered that it was about ten to fifteen
centimeters wide and about three or four centimeters long. It wasn't a big
hole, maybe two centimeters deep. Now that he found it, he already started to
wonder what it was for.
Robin tried to pull and move the hole a little, but nothing happened. He tried
putting a little more force into it, but when nothing happened, he decided to
look at it after another rest. While moving his hand away, he heard a slight
hauling sound as a large panel moved away from the wall. Stopping, he looked
back and noticed that he was actually standing in front of an open door that
had slid open. It wasn't big, only about half a meter wide and only slightly
taller than Robin. Where it led was a complete mystery. The room behind the
door was, if possible, darker than the room where Robin was. Not to mention he
couldn't see anything beyond.
Deciding to be bold, Robin stuck his hand into the room. As expected, nothing
happened. He felt like hitting himself in the forehead for even considering
something horrible would befall him just by sticking his hand through. Getting
a more secure footing, he slid his hand along the surface of the walls within.
They felt much smoother as though made of a different material. They too were
cold. Maybe they were made out of tiles?
Robin decided to step into that foreign room. To his surprise and disbelief,
there was no floor to step on. With a yelp, he fell in. It was a huge, scary
fall. When his legs finally landed on a tiled surface, Robin twisted his ankle.
Unable to put pressure on it, he fell flat on his face. Groaning, he reached up
to grab a hold of something. His hands flailed around for anything. Hitting
something hard, Robin pulled back slightly and then grabbed whatever it was he
had hit, as though his life depended on it. Unfortunately, whatever it was he
grabbed was rolling under his touch. He slipped and fell painfully onto his
side.
Suddenly, freezing cold liquid started to pour on Robin from all directions. He
started to panic again, crawling and scrambling backwards as fast as he could.
His clothes were getting drenched and were soon sticking to his skin. Even the
blanket clung to his body, slowing him down. He was even becoming queasy again.
Robin tried to escape the room, thinking the liquid was some kind of acid.
Rolling onto his back, he pushed himself up as quickly as possible and headed
back the way he came. He slipped and fell forward when he tried to dash out.
Robin's knees banged painfully into the threshold, which was ten centimeters
high, and he scrambled in until he was in the middle of the room, breathing
heavily against the floor. A deep, throaty chuckle echoed around the room
suddenly and a dim light was switched on.
"Ever hear of a shower, Robin?"
Looking up from his lying position, Robin saw Slade standing a few feet away.
His mouth was hanging wide open, like a fish on dry land.
'Shower?'
Robin couldn't say anything due to his distress. He was still too shocked to
even move. Once his brain registered what had happened, he shook his head and
then swallowed hard.
"Bastard," Robin managed under his breath. He tried to position himself to look
a little more presentable and not so miserable.
"Now, now, little Robin, it isn't nice to say such harsh words to your savior,"
Slade said mockingly.
"You are no savior of mine," Robin snorted, words coming out groggily from his
mouth. "Where am I and why am I here?"
As Robin got into an upright position, the covers around his shoulders fell to
the floor with a heavy splat. A puddle had been forming beneath his feet, the
covers dripping wet. The clothes Robin wore were completely wet and they stuck
to him. He tried to wipe most of the water away without success. Slade watched
Robin's miserable attempt to get his clothes dry with a smirk under his mask.
The wet clothes gave quite a good view of his small, lithe body.
"You are at one of my hideouts. As for your location…well, that information
will be enough for now."
Slade watched as Robin shivered from being cold. His bottom lip was turning
slightly blue. He was stomping from one foot to the other and his arms were
wrapped around him now. Robin didn't want to get into the bed, not wanting it
to get wet too.
"Wh-Where are my clothes?" Robin managed to ask while his teeth chattered.
"I threw them away; they were dirty," Slade replied. "I already borrowed some
new clothes for you, but you seem to have gotten them wet already." There was
mocking amusement in the man's voice. Robin just glared at Slade, who glared
right back. "Go turn off the water before it all goes to waste."
Slade turned on his heel and left, shutting the door behind him with a loud
clang. Robin stood still on the spot, glaring at the door.
'Like it was really the door's fault,' he thought, ending his glare after a
sneeze.
The chills went from his neck to down to his ankles. He decided to go turn the
water off anyway despite everything that had happened so far. If it was up to
Slade, he would probably punish him for wasting water. It really was up to him,
Robin knew all too well. Turning around, he turned to the shower and stepped up
to the threshold. He tried to look for the tap, but couldn't really see
anything in the dark room, seeing as the dim light didn't reach—was just a
small light above the door. With a loud and heavy sigh, Robin decided to go in
and look for it. He was already wet so why not?
Being slow this time, Robin stepped down and found his footing. Stepping in, he
ran his hands along the wall as he looked for the knob. It was on the right
wall, not too far from the shower doors. He quickly turned the water off.
Almost at the same time, Slade came back into his room. Some light came into
the little shower too; probably light from what lay beyond the main door out of
there. Robin could now see that there was also a toilet, a small sink, and a
rather small mirror above it, in the same little shower. Other than that there
was nothing else.
Taking wet steps, Robin stepped up out of the shower, watery footprints getting
left behind. He saw a black and white bundle in Slade's right hand.
"Here is a change of clothes," he said, handing the bundle to Robin, who took
it. "Try not to get these wet too." Unfurling the bundle, Robin saw that they
were black boxers and a white T-shirt with a long collar. "I will provide you
with new clothes if you happen to need some."
Almost exactly that second, Robin interrupted asking, "Why am I here and how
long have I been here?"
Slade stared him in silence momentarily. "You have been out cold for a day. You
would wake up suddenly and then drift back to sleep every few hours. You were
in really bad shape when I picked you up from the forest where you fainted. You
should be grateful that I picked you up at all. No doubt your corpse would have
rotted there if I hadn't." Slade paused. He had sounded very cold towards
Robin, who just stared at him. "Change before you get cold and sick again."
Robin glared at him. "Not when you are here," he said coldly. "Besides, I'll be
taking my leave now."
Robin tried to pass him, but Slade grabbed both wrists in one large hand,
grasping tight.
"No, you won't." Cringing, Robin tried to get away from his painful grip, but
the villain kept him close. "Finders keepers, Robin," Slade whispered into his
ear with a devilish grin, which Robin couldn't see because of the mask.
"I will escape," Robin said through the pain while he tried to pull his hands
back with no success.
"I know you will, which is why I have made some simple rules for you to
follow," Slade said with a dangerous voice.
"I have had enough of your idiotic rules!" Robin yelled, trying to push the man
away with his other leg now. Slade, of course, was like an unmovable object.
"Wait until you hear them, my little bird," Slade said into his ear. He quickly
forced Robin around, his arms wrenched behind his back. He then forced him to
his knees so that he couldn't fight back. "First, you will do as I say and you
will not attempt to escape. Second, you will do some small assignments that I
will give to you later. Third, you will eat, train, and stay here with no
arguments. Also, everything you'll need will be provided by me. More rules may
be set, but these are the most important ones. Disobeying the rules will result
in punishment." Slade leaned closer to Robin's ear to add in a whisper, "I'll
give you a week. After that, you are free to go."
Robin stopped trying to pull his arms away. 'Free to go? Are you just playing
around with me, Slade? Will you really just let me go after one week? Should I
trust you on this? Do I really have a choice?'
"And who knows, maybe you'll change your mind and decide to stay," Slade added
with a grin as he let him go. Robin fell forward, holding his body up with his
hands. The villain turned around. "I will see you in the morning."
With that said, Slade left Robin to lie on the floor, mulling those words over
and over in his head.
***** Chapter 3 *****
Take Your Medicine, Chapter 3 (Edited by SladinForever)
After lying on the floor for five to ten minutes, Robin finally decided to get
into bed. His clothes really started to feel uncomfortable. They were really
cold and he shivered every once in a while. His fingers had gone completely
numb and his teeth were chattering. Slowly pushing himself up with shaking
limbs, Robin reached for the clothes that he had dropped when Slade pushed him
away. With shaking hands and numb fingers, he removed his wet clothes and then
tried to get the others on. His first mistake was putting the shirt on
backwards; it rubbed against him uncomfortably when he tried turning it around.
Once finished changing, Robin looked at the still wet blanket, really wishing
it was dry. With a sigh, he spread the covers on the floor in hopes that it
would dry faster. So far his mind had turned on autopilot. The only thing that
was on his mind was to get warm, get sleep, and wonder, "what's the catch; why
would Slade let him go; why did he even want him in the first place?" Robin sat
on his bed, hugging his knees to his chest, preventing his lose of body heat.
Then he began to wonder: why would Slade want to let him go? Robin had always
thought that when Slade finally caught him, he would just simply lock him up
and never let go. And what was up with that one week deal? What was the man
thinking of achieving in just seven days? What could Slade do to him in that
set time? What was he really after? And how come he was so sure of
accomplishing whatever it was he wanted? Could one week really be enough?
Robin was entirely confused about Slade's new plan. He seemed to be missing the
point. His stubborn mind didn't even want to know the answer to some of those
simple things, like the one where Slade really would just let him go. All
sensible logic was fighting against this scenario. Would the villain really
just let him walk away? Would he just stand by and watch while he walked away
from his hideout and never return?
All these crazy, mixed thoughts were starting to hurt Robin's brain. The only
thing he wanted to do was sleep; an eternal slumber. He didn't want to be
bothered by them. He closed his eyes…
'There has to be a catch.' Robin knew Slade was planning something. There
really had to be some kind of hidden plan beneath the big one; he just couldn't
see it. 'Maybe you can't see it because there isn't one.' Robin shivered
mentally at the thought. He shook his head in denial. 'There was always a
catch.'
Finally giving up on his damn thoughts, Robin fell into bed, resting his head
on the soft pillow. Skipping the assumed information, he started thinking about
the facts. Robin had to stay for one week. What should he do during that time?
Should he at least try to act civil and not annoy Slade? Then maybe, just
maybe, the time would go faster and he could go home without additional
bruises? Or should he try to seek out Slade's hidden plans in secret, try to
contact his friends, and ask them to save him? Was one week really that much of
a task? And, once it was over, would he act like it never happened?
Speaking of which, would Robin's friends even notice he was away? Of course
they would; on their time anyway. What time was it? Had his one week already
started? And where was Slade? All these questions were firing at him from all
possible directions. Robin just couldn't keep his mind concentrated long enough
to really come up with a plan.
Robin sneezed again. He decided that he didn't want to stay in that poor little
excuse of a room any longer. He was cold, sick, and frustrated. Getting off the
bed, he stood up straight. His stomach growled in its own frustration. He
really was hungry; starving was more like it. When was the last time he ate? He
had been out completely for a day, like Slade said. He hadn't really eaten at
Titans Tower either; he kept vomiting at the smallest intake of food.
Walking to the door, which Slade had taken his exit, Robin knocked, seeing as
there was no form of handle. He was certain it couldn't be opened from the
inside. It echoed around the walls of his semi-bare room. Robin soon found
himself waiting for an answer. He switched feet.
'What are you waiting for; someone to knock back?' Well, it was a stupid plan
to begin with. Robin stepped backwards to look at the door. 'I wonder if anyone
heard that.'
One, where was Slade staying in his hideout? Were there any Slade-bots guarding
the place? How big was it? So far Robin had only seen this room. And who knew
besides Slade how big the hideout was? Maybe it was as big as Jump City itself,
built underneath the sewer system. Or it was a small warehouse with only the
more important rooms; training room, kitchen, and approximately two bedrooms.
It felt really disturbing not knowing anything. Robin had a bunch of questions
with no answers. He was about to start hitting the door, demanding some
answers, when it opened. Slade stepped in the room, filling the place with his
presence. When he spoke, it was full of slow, controlled seriousness.
"Evening, Robin. It's still terribly late at night. What do you want?"
"I-I want-" Robin's words were sticking to his mouth since he couldn't come up
with anything to say. He would have wanted to ask about everything, but at the
same time he didn't dare say a word. He shivered when the cold air coming from
outside his room entered. He just stood there for a moment until his stomach
decided to ask on its own. "Food! I want food."
Robin hated himself for the lack of confidence. Why couldn't he just look up
with his head held up high and be more secure about himself?
"Mmh, as I said, everything you'll need while you stay here will be provided by
me. All you have to do is ask."
Slade stepped away from the door. Robin snorted at his words.
"It was just a test then?"
"In a way," Slade admitted, leading Robin through dimly lit hallways. "There is
one thing I seek from my apprentice and that is trust. I don't require
acceptance or agreement of my opinions, just trust that what I'm doing is for
the best. There is no need to worry over petty things. And congratulations, you
passed."
Robin only nodded. He could see the logic in that. There was no reason to have
an untrustworthy apprentice or minion. That was one thing most villains lacked;
the same thing that caused their downfall.
'So Slade is once again caught up on the apprentice deal.'
They walked in silence. Robin couldn't help himself, so he yawned while trying
to stretch out his sore muscles. In the end, he hadn't been awake very long.
The only big thing that made him tired was the outburst he had a while ago.
Robin would have wanted to ask Slade a lot of things, but he couldn't bring
himself to say the right words. Luckily he didn't even have to because they had
finally reached a kitchen that had a giant refrigerator in the corner.
"Bread should ease your hunger. Of course, late night snacks aren't really the
best idea," Slade said, opening a cupboard and taking out some bread.
After setting the loaf down on the table, Slade stood in the center of the
room. Robin stared briefly at it, not really sure. When Slade gestured with his
hand in a "help yourself" sort of way, Robin stepped up to the table and took
off the clip. He really was hungry, which his stomach was more than happy to
point out. Taking out two slices, he took a bite, yawned, and repeated. He was
very tired and his eyes kept drooping. Slade just stood in the corner of the
room, watching Robin with emotionless eyes as he began to eat.
"You really should go to sleep after this. You'll have to be well and healthy
when your trial starts," Slade said as he noted the teen's struggling to keep
himself awake.
Robin paused and just shook his head, remembering the wet covers he didn't want
to go back to. With a sleepy voice, he asked, "What time is it anyway? And what
do you mean, when my trial starts?" He took another bite.
"It's about two or three in the morning," Slade replied. "Your week trial won't
start until you've awakened again."
Once done eating, the villain led Robin back to his quarters in silence. He was
too tired to ask Slade his questions. Once they arrived—standing in front of
the door to his room—he froze in his tracks. When he saw the inside of the
cold, lonely room with wet covers still lying messily on the floor, he decided
that he really didn't want to go back in there.
"My covers are all wet and it's cold," Robin said reluctantly, unwilling to
step inside.
"Well, it was your fault and this place was not designed to be a hotel," Slade
said. "I have no spare covers to give you. I honestly didn't think you would
get yours wet." Robin turned to look at him with a slight hint of worry in his
eyes. "But seeing as you're sick, maybe you should sleep in my bed." Robin
shook his head at this option too. He took a step toward his bedroom, not
wanting to share a room with Slade, let alone a bed. "Don't worry, I won't be
sleeping on it. I have some things I must take care of."
Slade started for his own quarters, walking at an even pace in case Robin
decided to catch up. He looked at his room and then Slade's back that was
retreating. He had two options: go into that dark room with wet sheets where he
might not be able to sleep due to the cold or go with Slade where he was at his
mercy and in his own territory. Besides, who knew what would happen in there.
Robin was suddenly curious. What would Slade's bed chambers look like? Where
was it located in case he needed to return after coming up with a plan to back
stab him in his sleep?
Robin had to make his decision fast or else he'd lose sight of Slade. He really
was tired and desperately needed the rest. Maybe this was a test too; a test of
trust. In the end, if Robin really wanted this week to go by fast, he would
need to start acting more civil and try to bear with Slade. He shot one, last,
quick glance at his pathetic room before finally picking between his two
options. After slamming the door, Robin ran after Slade to catch up.
"So you decided to come after all," he said, not looking at him.
Robin just nodded. Slade's room wasn't too far from his own. It couldn't be
opened by anyone but him. So the idea of backstabbing the villain in his sleep
was out of the question. When they finally stepped in, Robin saw that the room
wasn't so glorious as he first thought. Slade seemed to be a man of simple
tastes. The room was a lot bigger than Robin's though. It had a king-sized bed
and a big table full of neatly arranged documents, files, and other seemingly
important stuff. There was also a comfy looking chair, computer, closet, some
monitors on the walls, and, one of the most surprising things, a coffee maker
placed near his work table. There was also a door that led to a separate room;
maybe to a toilet and shower.
Slade made his way to the chair. He sat down and started to work on the
documents he had on the table. He also reached for a mug of coffee that had
been there; probably left it when he checked on Robin.
"You can make yourself comfortable and go to sleep," Slade said as he kept his
attention on the papers.
The villain knew full well that Robin had not taken one step towards the bed,
probably waiting for an approval of some kind. He looked at the bed temptingly.
It had black covers and white pillows and looked really comfortable and soft.
He glanced at Slade one more time. Once assured that the man was indeed working
and didn't care if he went to sleep, he got under the covers and was glad that
they were indeed the softest and smoothest he had felt in ages.
Once exhaustion took over his sick head, Robin didn't care if the bed smelled
like Slade, and he fell asleep in seconds.
***** Chapter 4 *****
Another thousand thanks to my beta SladinForever for correcting my mistakes and
pointing out my flaws, I really appreciate that. And also, a big hug and
cookies for those who have commented so far! I really love all my reviews!
But now, on with the story!
Take Your Medicine, Chapter 4 (Edited by SladinForever)
Slade sat in his chair, looking at the screen in front of him with a glazed
look. He sat with his back straight, leaning his chin vigorously on his left
hand knuckles, while at the same time, skillfully playing with a normal
ballpoint pen that had been lying on his desk. With fast motions, he rolled it
around his fingers like a miniature bo staff. The movements of his fingers and
wrist were elaborate and controlled even if he didn't pay any attention to his
actions. This was one of those things that he had to master to be really good
at it: a sleight of hand and the ability to keep control at any given moment.
He had found out that playing with his pen was really soothing to his nerves as
he directed his frustration to some outlet, rather than piling it up.
If to be really honest, Slade didn't know if the night before was a failure or
a success. In a way, he was really mad at himself. How could he have fallen
into an obvious trap like that! But on the other hand, he was genially amused.
Someone out there had decided to get him and get him for good. Who they were,
Slade didn't know. He didn't even know their motives for crying out loud.
Slade calmly set the pen back on the table, folded his fingers together, and
placed them under his chin. He started to sort out the events of the night he
picked Robin up. All of the resources were clear and safe, and just for their
sake, trustworthy. The original plan was to just break into a science research
lab that was currently working on this new prototype of an immunity-seizing
virus. It could be easily modified to either destroy the whole immune system or
to strengthen and protect its host. It would make the host practically
immortal, making it completely safe from any possible disease they might be
suffering from. As for saving the virus, the only requirement was that it
couldn't touch anything organic. So it was kept in a glass vile, hidden behind
nearly impossible to hack security doors and kept inside an indestructible safe
that only authorized personal could open. The virus could be a great weapon, a
salvation, a cure to heal fatal diseases, or something that could make sure you
die slow and painfully at your own weakness.
At this point, Slade smiled, practically grinned behind his mask. This was
something he considered as a slight lead. Now he could at least be sure that he
was rubbing elbows with professionals. Something that would need planning—at
least nearly as much as this—couldn't be done by a simple protagonist. They
would like to have someone of Slade's stature out-of-the-way; the sooner the
better. The scheme would need months of preparing; all the materials, expenses,
even outsiders had to believe that they were actually working for a super
virus. Even the slightest bit of information of the mission could not leak out
from the inner circle. Everything needed to look realistic. Even the government
would need to fall into that trap to make them even more believable. So no
wonder Slade made a mistake.
That wasn't the thing that angered him most though. No, he was mad for getting
caught. They had noticed him coming in the very second he lay foot on the soil
of that old farm. It had been a perfect setup for the scene; not too far from
the city, but far enough away from curious trespassers. And of course, if they
were going to make a virus, they'd need some guinea pigs to test it on. But,
anyway, the whole task had gone to waste when he noticed there was no virus to
begin with and that he was surrounded by enemy units. But, now, Slade
considered it as luck, even if he didn't believe in such a thing—or fate for
that matter. He had been able to set the alarms off. This resulted in the
Titans noticing and coming in to take care of the situation. That's what
seemingly caused the mysterious man to flee the scene, leaving him as a guilty
kid that had been caught red-handed.
Anyway, Slade would need to keep a low profile for at least a week to get to
know his new adversary. And, as if being ordered, Robin, the Boy Wonder, just
appeared at the scene. He was like a silver blade, ready to be taken. No one
could refuse a gift like that. And because he would have to keep a low profile,
it would just be a chance of tactic: try to get in that thick head of the Boy
Wonder. It would certainly be fun as long as it would last, seeing what made
Robin tick.
Once again, Slade was interrupted from his thoughts by a frantic rustle of bed
sheets and somewhat loud groans from his younger companion. In his short time
of observing him, he had already found out, in his current state, that Robin
was not one to sleep in peace. Every once in a while, he kept tossing and
turning in his sleep, mumbling some words under his breath. If that wasn't
enough, he sometimes drifted in and out of sleep before his brain even
registered he had awakened, and then fell back in his slumber. Sometimes, Slade
was even caught by surprise when he would suddenly jolt up, sitting straight
and panting hard, and, even more surprisingly, still asleep. This didn't last
long because he usually fell back and rested more peacefully for a little while
before tossing and turning again.
Slade actually found this highly amusing. Normally, Robin slept rather
peacefully. Hell, he never even snored—that was a relief all in its own. And it
was odd to see a young boy figure sleeping in his bed. Slade himself rarely
slept, if at all even. There was always something keeping him awake. Either he
was too busy or had something he would prefer to do instead. His body didn't
mind the lack of sleep at all.
Once again, Slade turned back to work on his computer, but hearing the presence
was distracting him rather effectively. He wasn't used to having a companion in
his personal quarters. The reason for this was really simple: he never had
company. Slade's "army" consisted of robots only. If he happened to have an
ally, or partner, he usually didn't even show them his headquarters. If he did,
there were only a few places he would show them. His room was not one of them.
But with Robin, he would make an exception. This was mainly because of his plan
of gaining the boy's trust. Hiding the obvious wasn't helping the matter. If he
was ever going to have Robin as his apprentice, he would find out sooner or
later anyway. So why even bother hiding it?
Once again, Slade tried to concentrate on his work to find out more about his
adversary. Unfortunately, the only thing he found out so far was that they had
done an excellent job at hiding their motives and that they really were working
in secret. So far, he had not been able to find a single bit of information or
slightest hint of their doing. These people had successfully stayed fully
anonymous. Congratulations on that.
With a sigh, Slade was ready to rest the case for a while. He had been trying
to seek out information since his return to headquarters. Still with no luck,
he was starting to think at this point, it would be rather unlikely to find
anything. Maybe they would do something noticeable in the near future.
Casually, Slade turned his chair around, taking a new course of work. He was
slightly glad to find that Robin had ended up sleeping rather serenely for now.
The best part was not having to deal with him glaring or attacking him at every
given opportunity. The downside? Well, during moments like this, Slade really
wished he, too, could sleep.
Robin suddenly jolted up once again, feeling out of breath. He felt like he
hadn't rested at all, like he was just tossing and turning in his sleep the
whole time. He could even recall having a nightmare, but he couldn't remember
anything particular about it. Sitting in the middle of the bed, the sheets
entangled him. He was breathless and hot, like he had slept in an oven. It made
him feel nauseous. His mouth felt and tasted like he would start vomiting soon.
"Look who is awake. Didn't seem to sleep too well, though, did you?"
Robin tried to swallow his nausea and look at that contemptibly familiar voice
in the corner of the room. It seemed that the bastard had been watching him
sleep that whole time.
"That's none of your business," he said with a hoarse voice that he wished
would've sounded at least a little bit more concerning so Slade would get the
hint and leave him the hell alone. Sadly, to Robin's dismay, he sounded like he
had swallowed a handful of pebbles.
"Seeing as you are here as my guest, I assure you it is of my concern," Slade
said, adding pressure to guest, making it sound like he was there to stay until
the one week was over. Robin was once again ready to lash out at him with a
verbal objection.
'It's none of your fucking business.'
Robin wanted to say that out loud, but the feeling of nausea was coming back
and his gag reflex was starting to give him a clear sign that he was going to
vomit soon. His hands quickly shot up to his mouth, trying to keep it in. He
jumped off and, as soon as his feet hit solid floor, he almost doubled over and
vomited up his nightly snack. Luckily, his semi-strong will helped him keep it
all in.
With wide eyes, Robin looked at Slade, who looked back at him with a neutral
look. The only gesture he got was of him pointing to a door on his left side.
With a quick burst of speed, Robin pulled it open, saw that it was similar to
the bathroom door in his quarters, and, with a loud cough, vomited up
everything he had in him into the toilet opposite the door. Slade sighed
knowingly, seeing as he expected this coming ever since that late night snack.
Getting up, he went to see if Robin was okay at the toilet, hearing that his
gagging had eased down a bit.
Robin sat on his knees, hugging the toilet. He was a little out of breath.
Slade calmly walked to his side and rubbed soothing circles on his back. He
noticed that he wasn't entirely able to reach the toilet before giving into his
urge to puke. He momentarily ignored the fact that Robin had a small fever and
had messed up the entire toilet in less than two seconds. As he flushed the
toilet, he grimaced at the smell while handing him a handful of toilet paper
that he snatched from the bar beside the door, which wasn't far from the sink
and a mirror. Robin took the wad gratefully, wishing he was someone who didn't
vomit so messily.
Vomiting was one of those experiences he truly hated. His entire chin was
coated in vomit and, somehow, was somehow able to get some on his nose. He
wiped his entire face and then threw the paper straight into the toilet,
sneezing afterward. A trail of snot had attached itself to both ends, almost
making him want to vomit all over again. It was really disgusting. He had
little pieces of food not yet completely digested in his mouth. Slade was still
stroking small, soothing circles against his back.
"Are you feeling any better?"
"Barely…" Robin mumbled, rising to his feet and feeling slightly off.
He walked back to the bed, slumping back onto the mattress while covering his
head with his hands to ease his nausea a little. For a long time he just lay
there silently, listening to Slade at the toilet. He was probably cleaning up
after him. Judging by the clinking of bottles, Robin assumed he was rummaging
through the small cabinet above the sink. His assumptions came true the moment
Slade appeared before him, holding a clear bottle filled with what looked like
murky, wet clay.
"For now, I suggest you drink this broth. It's the only thing I have at hand to
ease your stomach." Robin took the bottle from him. "Unless, of course, you
want me to hold your hair back while you continue to vomit," Slade said
casually, adding a bit of a mocking tone at the end of the sentence.
'Yeah, yeah, whatever.'
Robin didn't feel like starting a fight with him. He waved his hand at Slade
dismissively, not even looking at him as he pushed himself up again. He drank
everything down without a fight, happily drinking it fast. The liquid tasted
bitter and like sand. He was pretty sure he wouldn't have even tried to drink
the stuff if he looked at what was in it first. Robin was now gagging and
grimacing at the foul taste. Sitting back in his work corner, Slade was
laughing at him.
"This better not be a trick…" Robin mumbled angrily, still gagging.
Robin's eyes were tearing up as he winced from the feeling in his stomach. The
stuff he drank was stubbornly staying in there. In some weird way, he was glad
it did.
"No trick. This is my own self-made broth to heal all flu-type viruses or
infections that everyone catches from time to time," Slade said reassuringly,
putting the container in the trash. "But don't worry, it works. I have even
noted that it works a lot better than those antibiotics they give you at
hospitals. The only downside is the taste."
'Hm, since when did Slade start making his own medicines? When had he learned
to do such a thing anyway?' Robin thought before pushing those thoughts aside,
sort of worried that Slade would poison him.
"I tend to have a little too much free time," Slade said, slightly snickering
at Robin, reading his thoughts as though his head was an open book. 'Damn
insomnia,' he thought.
With a snort, Robin tried going back to sleep. He didn't really care that much
about Slade's company, seeing as he didn't really want to talk at the moment.
He was still tired, but he just couldn't get any sleep. He couldn't do much but
sigh as he found himself only tossing and turning, unable to go back to sleep.
"What time is it anyway?" he asked groggily.
"Six in the morning," Slade said as he glanced at the clock on his table. "I
suggest you rest. You have to overcome that illness of yours."
Robin just gritted his teeth as Slade pointed out the obvious, somehow annoying
him to no end. He hated when people did that.
"So what have you planned for this upcoming week?"
That caught Slade off guard. He hadn't even thought of that yet. "Well, I have
to keep a low profile for some time, which suits me just fine," he said,
starting to get an idea. Now that Robin was here, he could make him do all the
dirty work for him. "I haven't gone over any specifics, but I'll need to find
out some more information about an organization I have just recently
discovered. I may need you to run some small errands. I also plan to have some
small training sessions after you get better."
Slade said all of this, sounding like he knew a lot without letting anything
big loose. He would only give out minimal information, making Robin think that
there was something more.
'Good, now he won't think of me as a complete idiot without a plan.'
"So, is there anything you want? Something to drink perhaps?" Slade asked,
seeing that Robin wouldn't fall asleep too quickly. "Water; soda; alcohol?"
Robin hummed, not really wanting anything. But the thought of something to
drink was really tempting. He wanted to get rid of the horrible taste in his
mouth. Not to mention he wanted to have at least something in his empty
stomach, something better than the horrible medicine. With an airy snort, he
crossed out alcohol; he wasn't an adult, that was for sure. Water and lemonade
were both tempting. Robin had even heard that soda was good after vomiting.
Whenever his friends got sick, they always requested soda.
"Soda is fine," Robin replied.
Slade left the room to fetch it. Robin's thoughts had started to wander on
their own, not really thinking about anything in specific. Nothing meaningful
anyway.
'Wonder what kind of soda Slade has…' Robin found himself thinking after two
minutes. He really didn't want anything that special. In fact, he despised the
idea of Sprite or 7-Up. '7-Up is good when you're sick, but it's too sweet and
full of sugar.' He could have some Fanta, but that wasn't really what he wanted
either. 'Nothing orange or fruity, that's for sure.' Wanting to stay on the
norm and just drink the only soda he liked, he wished he had Coca Cola. 'Oh
please, let it be Coke! And darn him if he brings Pepsi, I refuse to drink
that, it tastes like-' Slade came in right then. Robin bolted up to see what he
brought. 'Please, let it be Coke!'
"I don't really know what kind of soda you like so I brought you the nearest
bottle available," Slade said as he filled two cups and left the bottle on his
work table. He approached Robin, one cup in hand. "It's my favorite, so I'll
have a cup too."
Robin accepted his share eagerly and happily noted, "Great minds think a like:
Coke!"
Slade walked back to his chair, holding his cup in his hands as he watched
Robin chug his down. He slowed down after two gulps. He tried to hide his burp,
being taught since childhood that it was rude and somewhat embarrassing. Robin
looked at Slade then, seeing that he was observing him the whole time, making
him feel a little bit nervous. He tried his best to ignore it.
"So, how are you going to drink with your mask on anyway?" Robin asked, taking
a small sip.
"Simple: I take it off."
Robin choked from surprise. He was now coughing uncontrollably. "Y-You just t-
take it off? After all this?" Robin managed under his breath.
"Well of course not," Slade said knowingly, making Robin feel like an idiot.
"I'll wait until you aren't looking."
'Of course he'll keep the mask on…' Robin really felt like a complete airhead.
It was like asking if he could go fly around the world on a magical, flying
carpet. 'Do I even want to know?'
The thought just crossed his mind. Robin realized he didn't really want to know
actually. Of course he was curious. Was Slade so ugly that he decided to hide
is face? Well that probably wasn't it. It was only there to hide his identity;
to have the advantage of anonymity; to hide his true emotions and stuff; to add
mystery. Slade was a logical person. Then how come a metal mask? That thing was
probably pushing against his nose all the time, his face pressed between it.
Really, if you thought about it, there wasn't much space for his nose in there.
Was it even easy to breathe with it on? Maybe it was made of metal for a
reason. It would be more durable, cooler, and help strengthen his nerves. If
Robin had to wear it, he'd probably get claustrophobic; start suffering from
the lack of oxygen; start hyperventilating; faint. Well, maybe since Slade was
used to wearing it, if he did get exhausted, he probably wouldn't panic, even
if the air suddenly escaped the room.
Wow, Robin really hadn't thought of that before…
'He probably has nerves of steel.'
After that last thought, Robin drank the rest of his soda in silence, not
really wanting to say a word. In the end, Slade wasn't that bad to hang around
with. He had his some good points and some bad points, just like everyone did.
Once the cup was empty, Robin placed it on the nightstand before making his
position more comfortable. He yawned loudly as he noticed the sleepiness had
already started making its way back to him. His mind started to once again
wander and he let it. Strangely, the smell of Slade's bed sheets was somewhat
relaxing. It didn't take Robin long to fall asleep once again.
***** Chapter 5 *****
This chapter is twice as longer than usual, but THIS is what you'll love the
most. Because I love you so much, I once again decided to make some use of my
crocheting skills
I HAVE CROCHETED YOU SLADE, ROBIN AND RED X DOLLS! Please see these links; just
replace the commas with periods:
Slade: lollingdreamer,livejournal,com/15829,html
Robin: lollingdreamer,livejournal,com/20780,html
Red X: lollingdreamer,livejournal,com/21019,html
Please enjoy the dolls and the chapter! Tell me what you think about them both
;)
Take Your Medicine, Chapter 5 (Edited by SladinForever)
When Robin woke up around eleven, he felt relatively good. His mind had rested
and he didn't feel so jumpy like in his own room yesterday.
'More like a cell.'
With a yawn, he lifted himself up in bed and felt a wave of dizziness pass him.
Ignoring it, he swung his legs over and rubbed his sore eyes. Even his head
felt better. It wasn't all foggy and sore, even if all of his brain activity
took its own time; he blamed this on morning stiffness. Robin slowly rose to
his feet, placing them on the cold floor. He shifted between each foot for a
couple of seconds before he got used to the coldness of it. Apparently, Slade
didn't seem to care about floor heating.
As soon as his feet got used to the cold, he started to do some stretches until
his back cracked and his muscles loosened. When he was finally done with his
usual morning ritual, he walked to the bathroom and first looked at his
reflection in the mirror. His skin was a tad too pale, he had obvious morning
hair, and his eyes were probably blood shot and swollen. Robin didn't dare take
his mask off in fear of not getting it back on. So, with a sigh, he splashed
some cold water on his face before looking for any useful hair care products.
Pulling the mirror open, Robin scanned the meager selection: men's shower gel,
one suspicious bottle of shampoo, since it was the only thing written on it,
and a bottle of shaving cream. Robin got the feeling that Slade had written on
the shampoo bottle himself, even if that was clearly not the case. Looking at
the other bottle now, Robin mused, 'could one do his hair with shaving cream'?
Not daring to take the risk of Slade laughing straight at his face if he
smelled liked the stinging odor of the foam, he decided to do the simple, but
somewhat useless measure anyway: try to make his hair stay in place with plain
water. With a sigh, he started to do his hair. What was he even thinking? Of
course Slade would need no hairspray. No one knew if he even had hair. And even
if he did, it would be flat against that stupid mask anyway.
Once he had made his hair at least a little bit more bearable, Robin returned
the bedroom. It all looked so constrained; metallic gray furniture, or lack
thereof: gray chair with a gray table, a gray computer, and surprise, a gray
monitor. Even the walls were gray. Only thing that brought the room some change
in color was the black covers and white pillows. So either Slade was color
blind or he cherished simple and dull décor.
Robin let his eyes wander around the room for a while longer while he memorized
every little detail. Slowly making his way to the desk, he looked around
carefully, making sure Slade made at least some careless mistake to make this a
little easier on him. The table had been cleaned with extra care. All the
cupboards were locked, the computer was shut down with a password, and even the
folders, just for them, seemed to be locked behind a little transparent safe.
Robin wouldn't be the least surprised if the coffee cup was chained to the
table. Something else managed to catch his eye. There was one piece of paper
sticking out from the safe. Robin carefully pulled it away, not daring to risk
ripping it. The paper was small, probably an A5 paper that had been folded once
to the size A6. He opened it carefully, never noticing that he had tensed his
shoulders until they fell down heavily. He read the note to himself.
Good afternoon Robin
As much as I wish for you to get well and going,
I do not like that you have rummaged through my belongings
Feel free to change into your clothes I have for you in the right closet in the
corner
Then meet me at the training room when you are ready
Slade
Damn, that bastard had everything all planned. He was always one step ahead!
Robin ripped the paper to shreds, not wanting to see it again.
"Stupid cheating note. And I thought you were something important," Robin
mumbled as he threw the pieces into the trash bin, not caring if they all got
there or not.
Robin stomped over to the closet, throwing the sliding door away with force to
relieve his anger.
Don't destroy the door
Something in Robin's mind clicked. "Darn you Slade! Stop reading me and
treating me like some stupid guinea pig! If you have anything to say, come say
it straight to my face!"
It came to no surprise that no one answered. Growling angrily, he took off the
paper, squished it into a small ball, and then threw it over his shoulder, not
caring where it fell. He started to feel something boiling inside of him. He
pulled the clothing furiously out of the closet, only to find yet another small
folded piece of paper. It fell to the floor. He quickly picked it up.
Calm your mind before your headache and nausea return
There is a big mirror hidden on the wall next to the bathroom
Close the doors with care
See you in the training room
"Close the doors with care," Robin imitated Slade with a rather sarcastic tone.
He closed the closet with one powerful slide. With deep breaths, he stepped to
where the bathroom door was and threw the suit onto Slade's king-sized bed.
With a rather loud sigh, he leaned on the wall, pressing his forehead against
the cold metal to cool his nerves. He had only been up for about fifteen
minutes and already Slade managed to strike a few nerves, without even being
there in person. Robin squeezed his eyes shut to collect himself. He lifted his
right hand to start banging at the wall, hopefully finding the place that
opened the mirror.
After banging on it for a while, he started to think of a completely different
way of trying to open the trapdoor, seeing as nothing happened no matter how
much he hit it. And what made him so sure it was the right way anyway? Somehow,
Robin just felt familiar with the way of opening the door, like if Slade had
some other hidden passages with the same kind of opening system before. Finally
deciding to give up on his method, he moved his head back. To his surprise, the
wall opened immediately after the contact had been removed. Eyes narrowing,
Robin looked at the now visible, full-length mirror and all the things beside
it, placed on hangers on both sides at about arm's length.
'You have got to be kidding me,' the thought escaped Robin as he noticed the
hairspray on the right top holder. 'Now he decides to tell me after I've gotten
my hair wet.' He sighed. 'Can't put it on now until my hair is dry. Dammit.'
Giving up, Robin took his new uniform from the bed, sending a glare at it that
clearly stated he would loathe wearing it, no matter how great it might be.
Gritting his teeth, he started to strip off his black and white night wear,
threw them on the bed, and then tried to get the new uniform on.
The suit was like a second skin. Getting it on took a bit of effort, but
surprisingly it didn't hold onto his moving back at all. In fact, the cloth was
like it didn't even exist. Man could move as freely as he'd want with this. His
first thought was that it would be the same as wearing a diving suit, but that
wasn't the case at all. Diving suits were stiff and awkward. People could
barely move in those as it didn't allow elbows or knees to fold and bend. But
this suit didn't have that problem. Besides, it barely weighed anything at all,
so it really felt like he was wearing nothing. This made Robin feel a little
awkward, but as he looked at the reflection in the mirror, he could see that
the suit was on. It was even better looking than his old one and he could say
that it suited him better. Not that he wanted to wear it anyway.
Robin examined his reflection in the mirror. The cloth showed off his abs and
hugged every curve of his body. Secretly, Robin thanked god that he had all his
muscles and curves in the right places, otherwise this suit would definitely
give him away. With a small smile, he took two steps backwards and admired his
reflection in the mirror.
The suit was mostly black with a big silver "S" on his torso. It started from
his left armpit and went over his collarbone to the right armpit. From there it
went across his stomach to the left side on his waist, where it ended at the
right side, curving through his lower abs first. The "S" worked effectively as
a divider, as the right side of his torso of the suit, including the arm, was
orange. The left hand from his elbows down was also orange and the suit also
had some little orange details on his thigh. There was also a smaller "S"
inside the bigger one, on his chest, which Robin noted with great distaste. And
just for some little extra show, or protection, there was a silver neck plate,
shoulder protectors, knee pads, and leg protectors. The suit had shoes all on
its own, so no need for them.
Not bad even if he said so himself. But Robin still didn't like wearing it.
Well maybe a little. For show. But…No! He didn't like Slade's new uniform, and
that was it! Period!
Robin stomped back to the closet and looked in there again, just to make sure
he hadn't forgotten anything. The closet was empty except for a gray case that
was placed on the furthest right corner. Curious as he was, he pulled it out
and went to sit on Slade's bed to take a better look.
It had no security codes, so he opened it without problems. He noticed then
that there were gloves and a belt to go with the suit and, even more
surprisingly, a new mask to go with it too. And, no surprise, a note was inside
it.
Use the new mask
The special glue tube on the left side of the mirror will help it stick
Come when you are ready
Robin picked up the new mask and looked at it with great distaste. 'Do I have
to?' Robin was giving in way too easily—he knew—but it was only for one week.
Not that the mask was too different anyway. It looked the same like his usual
one, but it had the curves on the ends. The curves were rather long actually,
reaching somewhere near his temple, probably only to look more threatening? 'Or
to remind people of Slade, seeing as his mask has the same kind of curves near
his eye too.' Robin made a face and seemed to get into a fight with himself.
'What the hell, it's only for one week. Then I'm free and can do whatever the
hell I please.' And with that, he jumped up and walked up to the mirror,
grabbing the sides of the mask. 'Or maybe this is a trap? A trap to see my
eyes?'
Robin really hated his inner voice sometimes. He shifted from one foot to the
other at the thought. Maybe he could just keep his eyes shut… Nah, he felt like
he wanted to see his eyes, just to make sure they were not bloodshot. Shaking
his head again, he blamed his paranoia and then quickly tore the mask off. With
his eyes still shut, he covered them with his hand and took a glimpse behind
it.
'Who knows what kind of reflecting glass and cameras that idiot uses,' he
thought.
His eyes were slightly red, but nothing bad, he noted as he smeared some of the
glue on his new mask with his free hand. Cursing Slade in his mind, he fitted
the mask in place and then went back to the case to get the belt and gloves.
Sighing in surrender as he finally got all of them ready, Robin stepped out of
the room and left the case on Slade's bed, not caring about taking it back to
the closet. As he stepped out of the room, the door closed behind him
automatically and he doubted that it would open again to let him back in.
'There's no turning back,' Robin thought. He started walking along the
corridors, not caring if he got lost or not. Slade wouldn't let him escape and
he knew it; the man would come back to get him. There were square lamps on the
ceiling every once in a while and they were lit in every twist and corner. 'So
this is my room now is it?'
Robin walked to where he thought his room was supposed to be. Slade was
probably going to make him stay in there from now on. Just out of curiosity, he
opened the door and looked inside. The room was not the way they had left it.
The cover wasn't on the floor anymore to get dry, but on the bed, all neat and
tidy. The floor and shower were no longer wet either. All-in-all, the room
looked like no one had lived there; clean and taken care of.
'Is this my room after all?' Of course it was. Everything else in the room was
right as when he came in. The hideout was no hotel after all. There was,
without a doubt, no other room like this. 'Must be a Slade-bot's doing.'
Throwing the door closed, Robin turned his back and tried to remember his
surroundings; who knew when it would be useful to know the hideout's corridors.
He then turned to walk left, away from his quarters. The halls all looked the
same, the only difference were the doors that led to who knows where. There
were twists and turns and of course some windows in order to watch from the
corridor to inside the room. These helped Robin the most. That way he could
easily tell if he was walking in circles, was in familiar territory, was going
in the right direction, or whatever. For example, he had been circling around
the kitchen for a while now.
'Damn labyrinth!' Robin growled in frustration as he noticed that he was once
again standing in front of a window that he could see led to a storage room.
Being as determined as he was, Robin decided to walk straight without taking
any turns this time. 'The corridors couldn't possibly go on forever! Or could
they?' He now walked until he came to a corner that the only way he could go
was to take a left turn. Straight forward from there was a door with no window.
Walking forward, he examined it. 'This is the door back to Slade's room.'
Robin's face fell. "This can't be!" he yelled out loud, to break off some of
his frustration. 'Fine, I'll explore every corridor if I have to!'
And with that, he took off running along the corridors. Robin noted each room
he saw in his head; conference room, living room, computer room, laboratory,
weapon storage, Slade-bot storage, place to make Slade-bots, kitchen again?
Security room, empty room… Jail? Storage, non-shooting weapons, Slade training
in a training room, infirmary… Wait, what? Halting, Robin turned around to look
in the previous room. Well, he found him. There Slade was, training with his
Slade-bots.
'Or rather making them useless junk,' Robin thought. He noticed the head of a
bot had just hit the window straight at his head's height, which made him so
happy that the window was there to guard him. Slade had really taken a liking
when training with his toys. The room was full of Slade-bots, which were
attacking him with a variety of weapons: bo staves, swords, nunchucks, spears,
and god knows what else. Slade was simply barehanded. 'How can he take on so
many opponents at once?'
That was the only thought that crossed Robin's mind at that moment as he saw
Slade fighting his way through the human-like machines. Roundhouse kicks were
performed and Slade seemed to jump from one place to another instead of staying
in one place. He was quickly surrounded by more robots. Slade jumped away again
to be a little bit farther from one bot, swinging his right arm and hitting its
neck, stunning it. Once again, he jumped behind another bot and kicked it in
the back. It flew into the bot in front of it, which hit the kicked bot to the
floor like it had been performing some kind of self-defense move. Slade seemed
to be in a rush and fully into the battle that was taking place. Robin found
himself captivated in the fight. Slade seemed entirely focused as he kicked the
bots, making his way from one side of the room to the other.
Robin was now completely mesmerized. This happened to be the first time he
could just be the observer instead of the one fighting against Slade. All of
the man's moves were coordinated and not a single emotion seemed to enter his
eye as he hit his opponents that looked like real people. He was graceful and
he seemed to glide from one place to another, not making a single sound.
Somehow he was even able to move so fast and avoidably, like he knew all the
moves that his robots were about to perform. Not even one blow seemed to hit
Slade as he had already dodged an attack. Before the bot could prepare again,
the man was already behind it to stun it with a swift move.
The bots seemed to fall like nothing as Slade moved fast and devious around
them, hitting them in every fatal organ of the human body. The Slade-bots
didn't have a chance and they were soon lying on the floor, unmoving and
tainted. Slade, on the other hand, didn't seem to have suffered from any
damage. He now made his way to the window. With that only visible eye, he
stared straight at Robin, daring him to step into the room.
"That was…awesome," Robin said, ending with the slightest bit of uncertainty.
"Yes," was Slade's only answer as he called for some new robots to clean up
after him.
Robin grimaced as he saw the broken robots being taken care of. They were
really made to look like real humans. They had all the same details and
features that humans did and they even seemed to bleed. It really made him feel
nauseous as the other bots dragged the junk metal off with no sympathy, leaving
a bloody red trail behind them. Some of the cuts and bruises looked so real
that more than once he doubted if they weren't real people after all. Even the
faces looked real and the emotions were still visible on their now lifeless
faces. They still held those shocked eyes, painful screams, and looks of total
suffering as they were dragged away. The sight really made Robin's stomach
uneasy. Only when he saw the robot's head that Slade had kicked off was in its
lap did Robin finally lose his cool and make him want to really puke.
"Robin, I understand your uneasiness, but try to remember they are still only
robots," Slade said as he took Robin by the shoulder to turn him away from the
sight. He made him look at him instead. "So I take it that you are now rested
and ready for some training?" Robin nodded slightly, not knowing if he really
wanted to train if it meant that he needed to be fighting against those robots.
"No Robin, you won't be fighting with robots anytime soon. Instead, we'll do
some warm-ups and then, if you feel up for it, we can have some one-on-one
sparring."
Slade turned to the training room that had now been fully cleaned with no sight
of the previous massacre.
"How can you be so…neutral about this?" Robin finally mumbled as he followed
Slade to one separate room, which had all kinds of equipment in it, like
punching bags and weights.
"It's what I do best," Slade said. "It's the main thing to consider when
deciding your job."
"Yeah, but…I mean like, how can you stand doing this? Why do you do what you
do?"
"I bet you'd like to know," Slade said dismissively. He walked to the corner of
the room where all the training mats were located. Robin followed behind him.
"I expect you to perform one hundred pushups for starters." Slade pulled a mat
away from the wall and sat it before Robin. He watched as he lay down and
started his exercise. "Don't forget to count or I'll make you do them from the
very beginning."
Robin rolled his eyes and started to count under his breath.
"Ten…eleven…twelve…"
Pushups had never been one of Robin's specialties and Slade knew that. His
grasp was way too weak for his taste. Not to mention he needed more strength in
his hands. Robin had already reached eighty when he started having some
problems.
"Robin, I know you have been sick and are still weak, but I know you can
perform better than that."
"Shut up and let me do it myself," Robin snarled. This took Slade off guard. He
didn't want him to snap at him. Maybe he needed to teach the kid some anger
management and manners. "Ninety-f-five…n-ninety-s-six…ninety-seven."
When Robin was one push-up away, Slade said with a smirk, "Now do ten more."
Scowling, the boy performed the requested push-ups. "Good, we'll come back to
this later, but for now some sit-ups." Scowling again, Robin changed his
position and started again with his new exercise. Unbeknownst to him, Slade was
testing Robin on his abilities with the exercises he had given him. Once the
boy had gone through the usual ones, Slade decided to praise him with a ten
minute break.
"Enjoy this rest, because we'll move onto much harder exercises next, like
chin-ups, punches, kicks, and, just to annoy you, some more push-ups, this time
one-handed."
Groaning, Robin fell onto his back, burying his head with his hands. He felt
slightly disappointed as he suddenly found out that now he could barely perform
half the effort he usually did. His sickness had really taken him down several
levels. To be perfectly honest, Robin was really disappointed, or better yet,
mad at himself about how weak he had gotten. Not wanting to look like some
stupid wimp, notably in Slade's eyes, he wanted to force himself as much as he
could. He was not weak!
Cold water was suddenly thrown onto his head. He quickly sat up and choked on
some that had entered his mouth.
"Just a boost for you. Now let's get back to work." Slade said, throwing the
plastic mug, from which he had thrown the water on Robin's face, away.
"Bastard, you could have just said so!" Robin said angrily, still out of breath
from coughing.
"I did, several times, with no answer. Besides, that's not the way you speak to
your superiors."
"Fuck you and your superiors," Robin groaned angrily.
This comeback resulted in punishment. Slade stepped down on Robin's hand that
had been on the floor beside him with his steel-toed boot.
"What was that? I thought I heard you nagging about something." Robin just
grimaced in pain and tried to pull his hand away futilely. "We can either do
this in peace without scolding each other, that being the easiest and best way,
or we can make this hard for the both of us. Which is it going to be?"
"Like you could!" Robin growled, but was already regretting his words as Slade
put more force down, shifting the position to put more pressure on his hand.
Robin almost screamed in pain as he felt the bone in his middle finger
beginning to come close to snapping in two.
"You have not given me any reason to, so you don't know. Now, answer my
question," Slade said with a threatening tone, which caused goosebumps to run
along Robin's spine.
Just for some more reassurance, Slade put forth even more pressure. This time
Robin practically screamed. "You win! Whatever! Just don't crush my hand!"
Robin yelled among the screams, trying to lift Slade's boot off.
"Now say the magic word."
"Never!" Slade stomped down more powerfully until a slight crack was heard.
Robin really screamed from the top of his lungs this time. "Please! Please, let
me go! Please!"
"Fine, if that's what you want," Slade said smugly.
He took his foot of Robin's hand. The boy took it in his other hand, as though
trying to protect it. 'Like that would even ease the pain.'
"I expect obedience and respect, Robin. So far you have not been successful
with these areas," Slade said. He then knelt before Robin, reaching his hand
for him. "Now, give me your hand."
"No!"
"Trust, Robin, trust," Slade said reassuringly, holding his hand out to him
still. Robin just looked at him like he was some kind of maniac who would rip
his hand off if he got a hold of it. Shaking his head slightly, he tried to
move his hand further away from him. Slade did not a move, just looked at Robin
with his only visible gray eye. "Trust me," Slade said again, looking deeply
into Robin's masked eyes.
Robin felt that eye piercing into him. He suddenly remembered it when he walked
with Slade to the kitchen last night:
"It was just a test then?"
"In a way it was. There is one thing I seek from my apprentice and that is
trust. I don't require acceptance or agreement of my opinions, just trust for
what I'm doing is the best. There is no need to worry over petty things. And
congratulations; you passed."
Robin still shook his head slightly, but he finally gave in to Slade's look. It
was like his stare would have drilled its way into his soul and make him do
what he wanted. Robin allowed him to carefully take his hand.
"Good boy, now let's take a look at it," Slade said, examining his hand, which
was now completely red. The middle finger seemed to be loose and was in a weird
position. "Now tell me if it hurts." Robin already told him what was hurting
before he even started feeling for any breaks and/or bruises. Slade completely
ignored him. "It seems the middle finger has been dislocated, but nothing too
serious." Slade looked back at Robin. "I can put it back, but it will hurt. I
hope you have learned something from this."
'Oh, like you're a huge sadistic bastard that will break my fingers if I
disobey?'
Not daring to say that out loud, Robin just nodded and then squeezed his eyes
shut. Taking a firm grip on his middle finger, Slade, without warning, pulled
it back and then quickly forced it upward. A pop sound as his finger was put
back into place was silenced by Robin's cry of pain. He held it in his other
hand after Slade released it, trying to stop the painful throbbing.
"You've had enough training for today," Slade said, heading for the door. "We
will postpone the rest until after you take a short nap. Now, let's get some
ice to put on your hand and some food as well since we skipped lunch hour."
Slade stopped, waiting for Robin to catch up with his back turned. The teen
still sat there in slight shock, trying out his hand, squeezing it into a loose
fist and back open a few times. Everything moved as they should, but it hurt to
do so. Ignoring it, he rose up and jogged over to Slade. They walked to the
kitchen in silence, neither wanting to say a thing. As they reached their
destination, Robin sat in a chair and looked at his hand reticently. Slade was
concentrating on other things, namely getting a bag of ice. Finding one amongst
everything else he kept in the freezer, he wrapped a towel around it before
throwing it to him.
Trusting that he would fair alone, Slade started to rummage the cupboards for
something to eat. Robin, meanwhile, was buried deeply in his thoughts.
Everything seemed to pass him by as he paid no attention to the things
surrounding him. His thoughts were soon disrupted as he got a plateful of food
in front of him. Robin just looked at it momentarily before looking at his
companion. Slade put everything on the table: bread, butter, and milk. He sat
down on the other side next to his own plate. Finally breaking from his
thoughts, Robin began to eat.
"A dollar for your thoughts," Slade finally said, breaking the silence as he
buttered a slice of bread.
A long moment of silence followed.
"You really think we could get along?" Robin soon asked.
"With some alterations, yes." Robin just nodded, brushing his hand. "Who knows,
maybe it won't be so bad," Slade added, to get him to open up a bit.
Robin raised his head from the table and said, "I guess." He ate some more in
silence. Once full, he rested his head on the table in exhaustion. He didn't
want to say that he was already tired. The nausea had really taken a toll on
him. "Thanks for the ice."
Slade nodded. "Take it with you and go to sleep," he said, taking their plates
to the sink. "You have a full day of training ahead of you tomorrow. You'll
need enough rest to fully overcome your nausea. It holds you back."
Slade started to walk away, Robin coming right behind him.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan," he mumbled quietly, even though it wouldn't matter;
Slade already made his decision.
It didn't take them long to walk to Robin's room. Slade knew the way by heart,
unlike the boy, who got lost once or twice. He held the door open for him.
Robin just stood by it, looking inside the dark, dull, and lonely space.
"Off you go now."
Robin tried to say something against this, thinking of anything to prevent
himself from going in there. "Well I…I left my sleep clothes in your room."
Slade sighed, but Robin didn't hear it. Suddenly smiling slightly under his
mask, he shut the door and headed for his room, Robin following behind. He was
half awake, half asleep as he followed him, like a duckling and his mother.
Reaching the room a few minutes later, Slade entered and went straight to his
desk with his computer. He sat down as Robin slumped backwards on his bed,
which highly amused him.
"If I say "you may sleep in here just this once", will you at least change into
your nightwear first?" Slade asked with a grin on his lips as he watched the
tired teen mumble something incoherent.
Robin forced himself up and tried to get the suit off himself. Slade was
grinning more madly now. The suit had been one hell of a goldmine for him. It
looked really good on Robin, especially now as he tried getting it off in his
half-awake state. He just squirmed around in minimal movements, trying to slide
it off his body. For Slade it was like watching his own personal strip show.
Robin was being so slow with his movements that it gave Slade a chance to
admire his chest, side, and back. It was especially difficult to get off before
his gloves, which the boy now tried to do to get his hands free.
After much struggling, Robin was finally able to get them free. He pulled the
suit off completely, ending up showing off his boxer-covered ass to Slade as he
tried ripping it off his legs, which was rather challenging. Slade was grinning
widely during the whole show. He was then able to get a good look at Robin's
nice naked body as he wore only his boxers. Then, much to his enjoyment, he
noticed that he did a slow spin around in place as he looked for his sleep
clothes. It was like the kid was modeling for him, Slade mused.
Robin finally found his shirt, making Slade lick his lips as he pulled the
overly big T-shirt over his head. He had to hold his arms up to slip it on,
showing off his abs, chest, slim waist, and delicate skin and features. It
finally slipped down, covering him completely.
"Night Slade…" Robin mumbled before he fell down, probably falling asleep the
moment his head hit the pillow.
"Night, Robin."
A small mumbling sound was heard from Robin's direction, which made Slade
smile. The kid had no idea what he was doing to him, did he?
***** Chapter 6 *****
AN: All hail to Sladinforever who was able to edit ALL of this! Now on with the
story!
Take your medicine, Chapter six
Slade had been observing Robin sleep once again after he had gotten bored while
browsing on the internet. Besides, the boy was way more interesting than that
blank screen with various letters. Robin's sleeping habits were interesting at
least to observe. This time the boy kept still. No thrashing around, no odd
sounds, and no random jolts of sitting up and then back down. It actually made
him wonder; what exactly did the boy dream about the night before. This time
though the boy slept like an angel. There was a minimum of sounds heard from
the teen and he seemed to be sleeping lightly. He had not moved at all, besides
one gesture to pillow his head with his hand. Only a slight sniffle was heard
from the boy. Other than that, the room was completely silent, besides the
constant humming of the computer.
That reminded Slade about the machine. He didn't really have anything to do
with it exactly, but he tried to get at least a little bit of work done. The
computer he had in his bedroom was mainly for browsing, seeing the computer was
a complete piece of crap. It was slow and it barely had any suitable or usable
programs with it. Well it had Word; had being the key word. He had deleted the
entire program one night while suffering from a devious insomnia. What could he
do? That damned paper clip kept nagging at him that there was no such thing as
120mm L4 MoBAT or that there was a slight misuse on the array. Besides, Open
Office sufficed much better. It was a miracle he had decided to keep it. Well,
if you get a free computer, then it was worth it, Slade supposed. It wasn't
like he had actually paid for that piece of crap. And it was still good enough
for browsing and to distract oneself when you couldn't find anything else to do
in the middle of the night.
It wasn't night right now, however. It was only the afternoon. Two o'clock to
be exact. Robin had been sleeping for one hour. In Slade's opinion, it was
about time to wake him up to continue training. To be honest, the man wasn't
happy with Robin's strength and condition; not happy at all. What kind of
muscle diminishing illness did he have? The boy could barely manage a few
hundred of each exercise and Slade knew he could do better than that. But there
was so little he could do for this problem. It was not like he could just fill
the boy up with muscle regenerating medicines and other things like steroids.
That would be unhealthy and just plain stupid. Only way to get this done was to
get the boy trained and have his stamina and strength improve on its own. This
time there were no shortcuts; no miracle pills or medicines that could get you
back on your feet in no time.
At least Slade had made something useful while Robin rested. He had made a
training agenda, with all kinds of exercises and things to perform on a daily
basis to improve on the boy's performance on different courses. Some of the
exercises were to strengthen his muscles, to make him more flexible, to improve
his stamina and endurance. Some were simple exercises to strengthen his will
and improve self-control. To be honest, Slade was proud of his agenda. It was
fool proof. It could be applied to many things and he had even come up with
some exercises that the boy would consider as fun and would do them willingly.
And best of all, it had results for both sides of the party.
For Robin it put him in good shape and it improved his condition just as much
as it made him stronger in physical and mental stability. And for Slade, well,
let's just say that it's much more profitable to have an apprentice capable of
running some errands for you. Slade really thought that this week could lead to
something. He just had to woo the boy on his side.
Slade grinned under his mask as he thought about it. Maybe if he acted nice,
made the boy trust him some more, and show him that everything he'd want would
be profited by him, he would start to develop some…affection for the other man.
Then he'd learn to trust him, to open up to him, and maybe, just maybe, give
himself up a little.
The grin in on Slade's face formed to that of a Cheshire cat. Besides, it was
always a pleasure to have one well tuned, well fit, young, willing man around.
Robin was sleeping peacefully. He was dreaming about his friends. They were all
going to their favorite pizza bar, fighting over what to order.
Beast Boy insisted vegetarian, as usual, and Cyborg wanted meat. That was
obvious. The two were always fighting over it, but Robin was sure they enjoyed
it as much as anything else. It didn't really mean anything and the teen was
sure they fought only because they could. There really didn't need to be a good
reason for it. And this he could prove that they could just buy their own
pizza, one for each. Still, they wanted to have a big pizza shared, just so
they could fight about the topping. So that's why instead of telling them to
piss off, he told Cyborg to keep his eyes on the road.
Sometimes Robin's friends were so stupid and predictable, but they were fun to
be around; they made it feel like home. They made things feel right. He
belonged there, with them, laughing with them to their jokes, having heart-to-
heart conversations about games and movies, goofing around with them, and more
importantly, fighting over the pizza topping.
Meanwhile, Starfire had joined Beast Boy and Cyborg, wanting to have mustard on
her pizza. Soon all three were nagging about their pizza topping. Robin and
Raven were the only ones who didn't have a say in their fight and sat watching
the three so at it. Once the volume rose up too loud, Raven had snapped and
made them all buy a pizza of their liking; it really was a day like any other
with his friends.
They had finally reached the pizzeria itself as the T-car was safely parked in
the parking lot. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg had already dashed to the
counter when they entered, ready to order, only to be held up behind a line.
Robin and Raven walked after them, coming up behind them, only to find that the
conversation about pizza had changed to a conversation about the movie they all
were going to watch when they got back to the tower. It was their day off, so
it was expected.
"No way dude, we are going to watch a zombie movie! I don't care about your
pirates! Besides, they are nothing special. Zombies are like, way better! They
are undead! It's so cool to watch the hero fight them down. Even if he can't
kill them, they are already dead!"
"Don't you dare call my pirates boring! Zombies are a waste of space. What's
the point in killing them if they are already dead, huh?! Pirates have these
cool, well designed ships, and they steal from the wealthy. They also have
these cool sword fights and the whole wide sea is their only companion! Pirates
it is!"
"But friends, I think we should watch a vampire romance movie. I think vampires
are like outcasts; misunderstood. They are like Zorflag; they only do it
because they have to. They are nothing bad, just being what they were meant to
be."
Robin couldn't believe that he actually considered watching a romance movie
about vampires after hearing Star. She was right; it was only their nature.
Humans were racist towards them since they thought they were bad only because
they did what they had to do to survive. Raven seemed to think the same way,
which meant three votes for vampires, and the rest…were on the losing side. So
without setting the two off, Robin announced that they could watch all three
movies.
Cheering was heard from all three. Smiling genuinely, Robin stepped forward in
line, now taking his turn to order their pizzas. The three tried to shout
behind his back to the one taking orders, but he managed to quiet them down.
Just as he was telling their orders, something hit his chest. At first he
thought it was one of his friends accidentally pushing him when trying to get a
better look, but then he noticed it was the cashier.
The man had pushed his hand against Robin's chest before leaning over the
counter to speak into his ear.
He whispered, "It's time to start training again."
His voice sounded just like Slade. He then leaned back a little to look in
Robin's eyes, who looked back at him with mild surprise that showed in his
eyes. The man had a Cheshire smile on his face and he leaned closer to whisper
"apprentice" and it sounded exactly the way Slade said it when the boy was his
apprentice. He sounded exactly like the Slade from that time. The man leaned
back, and Robin stared at his only visible gray eye. He laughed at Robin.
Laughed and shook his shoulder.
"It's time to start your training again." Robin heard it much clearer this
time. It sounded exactly like Slade, but somehow it didn't sound like the man
behind the counter laughing at his face. "Robin, we are leaving." The man
suddenly stopped laughing, now looking at Robin with a serious face. 'We are
leaving' was still ringing in his ears. He then grabbed his shoulder and pulled
him towards him. The next thing Robin noticed was that he was standing in a
gray room, standing beside Slade. "It's about time you woke up. We are leaving
to train some more. I have made you an agenda that you will follow. I think you
should try it out, now dress."
The real life Slade, as Robin noticed after being completely dumbfound of the
whole thing, was speaking to him commandingly. He still thought he was
dreaming, but after hitting his leg on the corner of the bed as he was going to
get his clothes with Slade's 'guiding push', he noticed that this was very much
real. The corner was sharp.
'Reality sucks.'
That's what Robin noted first. Right now he was missing his friends. Were they
missing him too? Looking for him? Worrying shitless? Would they be sad? Maybe
angry? They probably would be angry. Especially Starfire wouldn't understand.
She'd keep asking how he could have agreed to be with this man for one week,
why he didn't escape, or let them know if he was alright. How could he betray
them by sticking with this loony, as Beast Boy would say. One of the worst
things was that he really didn't know if the changeling would say it as a joke
or with a dead serious tone.
Was Robin betraying his friends by agreeing to do this? What would even happen
if he decided not to? Did he even have a choice? No he didn't. He had to do
this and that was it. It wasn't like you could just quit on Slade. That man
would have anyone's head before he would let anyone quit. Robin was on a
'friend-thinking' spree. He really missed them. This place where he was now was
dull and lonely. That just encouraged him to think about the differences
between being with his friends and being with Slade there. The difference
between the two was that the company was different. Slade was…Slade.
'Idiot, who else would he be?'
Snorting to himself, Robin started to get dressed in his uniform, wanting to
distract himself from thinking of anyone in particular. He didn't want to think
of his friends now, seeing as it only made him sad. Not to mention he didn't
want to think about Slade because that made him angry. The man once again was
trying to isolate him from anyone else but him and trying to brainwash him to
be his loyal apprentice.
To keep his mind off people, Robin compared his Titan uniform with his new
apprentice one, which was like comparing apples to oranges. For him, his hero
uniform was better. Though, to be honest, Robin wasn't too fond of his cape at
times because it sometimes got stuck on something. And the whooshing sound and
the feel of it billowing after you as wind caught it was kind of annoying. But
it was necessary hero attire. Every hero had a cape that was for sure. Another
point to his usual uniform; he didn't need to be scared of child molesters
while wearing it. What could he say; the Robin uniform was spacious to say the
least. It was meant for him to move freely.
The apprentice uniform was way different. You couldn't really imagine a hero
jumping off rooftops and saving children in skin tight Kevlar that just
screamed fuck me. He wouldn't dare go into public wearing this even if he could
choose from the two. Robin hated tight clothes that didn't allow much movement.
He hated, no loathed, the feeling of being trapped. What he hated most about
Slade's uniform was the stupid colors and, more importantly, the stupid S on
the chest. He despised the idea of jumping in Slade's colors. Then he felt like
he was somehow tied to the man. He didn't need anyone, and he wanted to be
free. Just himself; no one to hold him back. Robin just couldn't stand the
feeling of being held back. To feel trapped, to be stifled. He had gotten tired
of doing as other adults told him to. He just wanted to be himself.
Robin soon got the suit on, seeing that in his anxious state he had just pulled
it on as fast as he could. Slade nodded his approval and commanded him to come
with him as they walked out of the room. They had only walked for a little
while. They still had a long way to go to the training room when Slade opened
up for conversation.
"It would be helpful for me to know if you have any fears or phobias or
anything that might slow you down."
Robin stopped in his tracks, Slade stopping too to stare at him with his only
visible eye, demanding to have him answer truthfully.
"Do you honestly think that I will let you know all my secrets and flaws, just
so you can use them against me when the time comes?" Robin said, or rather
yelled, with anger and determination in his voice. "I'm not telling you
anything. I'm not that stupid."
'Can Slade really be that stupid to expect me to reveal my weaknesses to him?'
Robin was interrupted by a throaty laugh coming from the man in front of him
and that set the boy off, leaving him staring at him in disbelief.
"Robin, I'm not going to backstab you, nor will I let anyone else do that. Only
I have the authority to do that and I give you my word that I will not," Slade
explained, dead serious. "I do not lie to my apprentice. And I don't cope with
an apprentice who allows his fear to control him. I'm asking you so I know what
we need to improve on. As far as I'm concerned, I see that fear of yours as a
disadvantage and I am more than willing to work on it."
Robin had no choice but to agree, which he hated.
"I don't have any phobias," Robin stated matter-of-factly.
He started to walk again, telling Slade without words that he wouldn't
cooperate with him on this.
"Of course you don't," Slade said. "Only rare people do in fact, but do you
fear anything?"
There were two things he hated the most, Robin noted. One, Slade could keep up
with his fast, almost jogging, pace by only walking along side him and, second,
the man just couldn't let go, could he?
"If you expect me to tell you my weakness, then fine, what's yours?" Robin
asked sarcastically, not even looking at the man walking next to him.
Slade's pace didn't change at all and it annoyed Robin. Was there anything that
shook the man up at least a little bit?
"Robin, this time, it's not about me, but you. I have overcome my fears a long
time ago and I expect you to do the same."
Expectations, expectations! Robin mentally cursed the man to all seven Hells
and back for having the nerve to say that to him. But still, somehow it felt
nice to hear that for once; it was not about someone else, but him. Was he
being selfish by thinking that? Maybe, but he wouldn't admit it, would he?
"Tight spaces. I fear of getting trapped," Robin mumbled with an inaudible
voice, not even looking at the man, not wanting to let him see him in his
embarrassed state when admitting that he had a weakness.
But of course Slade heard him just as well as when having normal, every day
conversation.
"Understandable. Seeing as you have been named after a bird and you like to do
those headless tricks, jump from one roof to another, drive fast with you
motorcycle, and on top of that, being an athlete and a trapeze artist; I don't
wonder," Slade said passively, and only noticed after two steps that Robin was
left behind, standing in mild shock. He turned to him and smirked behind his
mask. "Dick, did you really think I wouldn't find out? It is obvious. Of course
Mr. Wayne is Batman. There aren't many people who can afford what he can and
have the motive for it. And besides, what a coincidence that not long ago when
Bruce Wayne adopted a son, Batman got a sidekick as well. I only wonder how no
one else noticed. Now come, we have an agenda to follow."
Slade started walking once again, leaving a dumbfounded Robin behind, but after
recovering it didn't take long for him to catch up. Soon they were in the
training room, Slade standing in the middle of it, Robin right in front him.
"This is your training program," Slade said, handing him a stack of papers that
were held in one stack by a paper clip.
Robin mumbled something that resembled the word 'okay' as he took a look at the
content. The first thing he needed to do was some stretches and then there was
some flexing, probably jogging. Not caring to read on, he just decided to get
started and, after finishing one task, he could then move on to the next. He
skimmed through a few pages to see what kind of stretches he actually had to
do. The basics, all the same ones he had to do before and, knowing Slade, he
would have to do the push and sit-ups he performed an hour or two ago again.
Robin threw the sheet away and sat down to get started with the sit-ups.
After half an hour, Robin had to admit that all these stretches were actually
there for good reason. He had to perform one hundred of each and, after finally
having finished with his last exercise, pull-ups, he could feel the ache in
every muscle in his body. And as everyone knew, there wasn't a better way to
tell that the exercises worked than an ache in your body after you have done
it.
"Good job Robin. Maybe we can get somewhere this time," Slade said neutrally,
but Robin was sure it wasn't meant as an irritant. "Next part is flexing to get
you sweat." Slade opened a new door that revealed a room that Robin had not
seen before. Being curious, the teen tried to sneak a peek behind his back to
see what was inside the room, but Slade was covering the view by standing in
front of the door. "This is what I call steeplechase. Start from here and try
to get to the end of the course."
Robin stepped into the room after Slade moved away from the door. He could say
that he was positively surprised by what he saw. The room was like a dream come
true. It had everything. It was not just a normal steeplechase as Slade had put
it, but it was more like a survival course. There were all kinds of traps and
obstacles. Some he could already see, but he knew that the course was longer
than it looked and there would be many more obstacles to come.
"I warn you right now; I recommend you be very careful. I don't want you
getting killed on the very first day by a booby trap," Slade said, pushed
against Robin's back to move him in so he could start on the steeplechase. "I
will keep an eye on you, so no need to worry. You may begin."
With a yelp, Robin was now running along the course with the help of Slade's
encouraging slap on the ass. If that slap was just for show, Robin didn't like
the man's humor. If it was for anything else, he was sure he'd chop the entire
limb off if given the chance. But for now, Robin couldn't concentrate on the
matter for very long; the course would really be the end of him if he let that
concentration slip.
The first part of the course was easy: some normal jump over obstacles, then
some car tires, after that a barbed wire fence which he needed to crawl under,
and then a two meter tall wall that he needed to climb.
That part was easy. For him at least. He then moved on the next obstacle, only
to notice that he had just stepped fifteen centimeters away from a land mine.
He thanked the Gods he hadn't stepped on it. Carefully jumping forward while
avoiding mines, he tried to get that part of the course done with, not really
liking the idea of exploding to bits after one misstep. Robin kept his eyes
steadily on the floor, looking closely for the next land mine about a meter
away, stepping further from it. His eyes were examining the ground in small
areas at a time and, when he took the next, rather long step, he was surprised,
or rather scared to death, as his foot sank into the floor. Robin then noticed
that it crumbled under him, making him lose his balance and begin to fall. His
eyes looked down wildly and a mild shock hit him as he noticed what kind of
shit he had just gotten himself in to.
This was most definitely the booby trap Slade had warned him about. Robin could
see a sharp spike under him at the bottom of the pitfall, just waiting to
puncture him in one fatal pierce. Panicking, Robin tried to reach for anything
that he could, cursing at himself for not having any of his weapons or other
equipment with him.
There was little to no time to think so he did the only thing he could. He
buried his hands and legs deep within the soil trying to slow down the fall, if
possible, stop it from happening all together. And what a help that was. It
didn't work at all the way he wanted it to. Robin was now rolling on the dirt,
hitting his sides on the rocks and scratching himself on sharp pebbles. Sand
and dust got in his eyes and he felt his face getting scuffed. He knew there
was nothing to do and the only thing that was left was to hope that he died
fast and not suffer for very long.
As a reflex, Robin curled his body into a tight ball to protect himself, even
though he knew it wouldn't be any good. He soon realized though that he wasn't
dead and he wasn't going to be. The falling had stopped and he was floating on
air. Robin couldn't recall having his eyes closed, but he now tried to open
them despite the sharp pain in his eyes because of all the dirt. Looking up,
Robin saw Slade holding him by the neck, dangling him in the air just ten
centimeters from the spike.
Shaking with relief, Robin relaxed as Slade pulled him from the pit, dropping
him on the floor about a meter from the edge. His breathing was uneven and
raspy. He hadn't even noticed that he had swallowed dirt and that his mouth and
throat was full of it.
"Lesson number one: always plan one step ahead, concentrate on the bigger
picture, not the little details, and always expect the unexpected," Slade said
as he pulled Robin up and started to drag him from the steeplechase.
Robin was coughing vigorously to get his airways clear so he could breathe
properly. Chocking on dirt and dust was one of the most unpleasant experiences.
Robin kept coughing until he had absolutely no air in his lungs. Now starting
to turn pale, his eyes watered and a hankering sound came from him. Slade,
then, decided to do the only thing he could at that exact moment. He stepped
behind the boy, wrapped his right arm around him, and shoved his finger down
his throat. Robin vomited everything; all the dirt, the half digested food,
everything. Slade pulled his hand back and held the gasping boy in his arms.
His gloved left hand was glistening with vomit and saliva. With mild disgust
from the stench the villain swiped his glove on his pants, deciding to wash
them later.
"Th-That was one h-hell of a good hidden booby trap…" Robin mumbled under his
breath while trying to catch his breath.
He allowed himself to rest against Slade, feeling his warm and hard chest
against his back. He could feel the man's chest rise and fall against him and
the slight breath on his neck as he breathed. Inhaling one big breath, Robin
tried to stand on his own two feet, but Slade held him where he was.
"Your legs won't be able to support you," he said, lifting the boy up so he had
his arm around his neck and his hand around the boy's waist, supporting him as
he started dragging Robin with him. "First we'll go take care of your wounds
and then grab something to eat."
Slade snapped his fingers to call a Slade-bot to clean up the mess they had
made.
"Wh-Why is it that I'm always vomiting around you?" Robin mumbled, still out of
breath. Slade decided not to answer. The teen was still in mild shock even if
he didn't know it himself. "Wh-Why did you have to h-have me vomiting in the
first place?"
Slade rolled his only visible eye and started to take bigger steps in hopes of
reaching the infirmary sooner.
"What else did you expect me to do Robin, mouth-to-mouth? That would blow the
dirt into your lungs, not out. Vomiting was the only logical way of getting
your throat cleaned by your body's own method," Slade said, squeezing the boy a
little to quiet him down before he could open his mouth again. "Now shut up and
stay quiet."
Half way to the infirmary, Robin had started to try to walk on his own, trying
to move his legs as if walking, but to Slade it seemed like he just kicked his
legs to annoy him. To the man's relief, they soon reached the infirmary. He
laid Robin on the bed, starting to look for disinfection materials, plasters,
and some bandages, not sure if he needed any, but better safe than sorry.
Robin in the meantime was lost in thought. Would training with Slade be like
this? He had hurt himself twice today already and both times were when he tried
to train. First he had his middle finger dislocated and now this? This just
couldn't be good for his health. And the actual work hadn't even started yet;
this was just training.
Robin was brought back to the present by a stinging sensation to his face as
Slade applied disinfectant to his wounds. He squeezed his eyes shut to prevent
him from sticking any cotton or disinfectant in them. Robin then reached for
the cotton to make the stinging stop.
"I can do it myself; give it to me."
"Sure you can. Now shut up and just lay there without another word," Slade
said, slapping Robin's hand away, trying to rub the dirt off his wounds.
Sighing in defeat, Robin decided to make himself comfortable. The sooner it was
over, the better. Slade's not so gentle touches were slowly but surely driving
him mad. The disinfectant hurt and Robin was sure the man made an extra effort
to make it hurt more than it was supposed to. There were so many scratches on
his body. All of them itched and were screaming for immediate attention, which
naturally meant that they all should be taken care of. This was currently
Slade's job. That meant he had to take care of every single wound, including
the one on his inner thigh.
Robin blushed slightly and a mental fight with himself came about.
"That's a private area!"
'Yeah, but even that place needs to be disinfected.'
"Why does it have to be done by him?"
'It's your fault for not looking in front of you; your fault for attempting to
stop yourself from falling the way you did.'
"It was self defense!"
'Fuck it was. Now shut up. You are practically screaming for more trouble,
aren't you?'
It was so embarrassing. Robin just lost to himself when trying to argue about
the matter.
Blushing even redder, he tried to hide the wound by holding his legs together
so Slade wouldn't know about it. The villain was currently cleaning some
bruising on Robin's chest and waist area, noting to himself that the uniform
was indeed what he had always thought; a goldmine. Robin could have taken a lot
of damage. Who knew what there was in that soil. Some sharp glass splinters for
sure, maybe some metal pieces…
Things usually became messy in that room. Its previous use was a waist land for
broken robots and usual common junk that couldn't be disposed of anywhere else.
After getting used to the idea of recycling, Slade decided to redecorate the
room as a survival course. He had gotten that idea after he tried to make his
way from the door to the furthest wall, trying to dodge all the trash. He
somehow managed to have one horribly sharp metal cane puncture his left leg,
but it was his luck that it didn't take long for his healing abilities to fix
it. The boot on the other hand didn't have much luck.
For their relief, the suit protected Robin from any critical damage, only
having slight bruising or loose skin. Otherwise, the boy had survived with only
a slight scare. There was not even one rock or shard that had punctured the
clothing and made direct damage.
After taking care of Robin's torso, Slade decided to check his limbs. He was
sure that his knees and arms would have at least taken some damage. When he
backed off to instruct Robin to take his gloves and boots off, he saw that the
boy was practically glowing red.
"Robin, what is it now?"
"Nothing," was the teen's immediate answer, which to Slade meant that there was
only one thing it could be; an embarrassing situation for a teenager; even more
embarrassing than admitting you were a virgin or just plain innocent.
What exactly was going on Slade didn't know. But, judging by Robin's
uncomfortable, shy blush and subconscious need to hide his middle thigh area,
he could bet that was where the problem was located.
Deciding to just be cruel, Slade decided to be blunt.
"Undress."
"What? No!" Robin jolted up in protest. "I'm not going to-!"
Slade cut Robin off by covering his mouth with his hand. It was amusing how the
boy could overreact so badly when embarrassed. Seeing trough the boy, he could
tell that it was something he'd prefer go unnoticed, but somehow he got the
idea that it was not as lethal or embarrassing than the boy led him to think.
He was slightly amused. The boy was making a show over something, acting
childish, and squirming like a school girl. Whatever was wrong with him, he
didn't know, but he had to do something before the boy bit his fingers off.
"Undress so I can tend to your wounds," Slade said determinedly.
He let go of the boy's face and stood a foot apart from the boy, waiting for
him to get on with it. Robin stared at Slade stunned. To say the least, he
didn't know what he would do. There was little to no room for objections, but
he didn't want to be half naked around the man. He'd feel vulnerable then. With
slightly shaking hands, the teen started to strip the clothing off, first
exposing his hands. He then looked at Slade pleadingly, not wanting to strip
any further.
"Go on Robin, you know we'll need to take care of almost every inch of your
body."
"But I don't want to. Besides it can't be that serious, so far there have only
been light scratches and only one was found actually bleeding."
Robin was right in that sense. The scratches were nothing that wouldn't heal on
their own and after checking the boy's airways and eyes, almost all damage was
now under control. He still preferred to check the boy thoroughly though, just
to be sure that nothing was wrong. And to see Robin's skin. That was maybe an
ulterior motive, but he didn't give a shit. Robin looked erotic, lying on a bed
half dressed, panting slightly and blushing, small red wounds marring his body,
and somehow Robin's mask was an added kink. Only thing missing was some ropes
or chains…
Shaking his head slightly to get back to the task at hand, Slade prided his
luck that Robin didn't notice him drifting. The boy was going to be the end of
him, that much was certain. If he couldn't keep his mind in check, sooner or
later he'd be in trouble because of it.
"One wound doesn't make an assumed standard. There can be an exception and the
only way to find out if there is one is to look yourself."
There really wasn't any room for arguments when Slade said it that way. They
both knew it too. When would the teen learn to shut up before he regretted it?
Silently withdrawing, Robin removed the remaining cloth, revealing damaged
elbows and knees and a long laceration which started from the front of his hip,
down to his inner thigh, and ending near the knee.
"What was it again that you said about nothing serious and only light
scratches?" Slade asked, sounding really sarcastic, deciding to take care of
that wound first. "Spread your legs."
Blushing again, but this time being smart and staying quiet, Robin opened his
legs wide, making some room for Slade to patch him up.
'Ugh, this is so embarrassing,' he thought as Slade cleaned the wound, rubbing
some of his hand-made miracle ointment on the laceration and then wrapping it
up securely in bandaging.
To Robin, it seemed to be the longest few minutes of his life. It seemed like
Slade took his time healing the wound, sometimes just slipping a little too far
than intended when adding the ointment. The man just seemed to love torturing
him by rubbing him in all the sensitive places on his thigh. Robin was sure he
did all of this to make him even more humiliated. Shivers had raked his body
and he wished Slade would have gotten it over with sooner. Right then Robin
would have wanted to hide himself somewhere and be left alone tending to his
wounds instead.
"Well then, next to take care of your hands and knees," Slade announced with a
slap on Robin's thigh. He couldn't hold back a slight hiss. It hadn't actually
hurt, but Robin disliked it all the same. Snorting again as Slade roughly
shoved his legs against the mattress to get a better look, Robin tried to
distract himself from thinking by clearing all his thoughts and trying not to
concentrate on Slade. "So how's your hand?"
He was cleaning Robin's left knee when he asked this, catching the boy off
guard.
"What hand? What do you-? Oh…" Slade was obviously talking about the one where
his middle finger got dislocated. "It's…its fine." Robin mumbled, only now
remembering that the finger had being dislocated at all.
It didn't hurt, that was surprising. Robin expected something more, like not
being able to use the hand for a couple of weeks or something. He couldn't help
but wonder if Slade had done any miracle healing for his hand while he slept.
In the end, he didn't really want to know. So he kept his mouth shut.
"Is it now?" Slade asked, switching to taking care of his hands now, the only
remaining part of his body still needing care. "No aches or pains?"
Robin hissed as the disinfecting liquid made the wounds on his hands sting.
Gritting his teeth together, he bore with the pain and saw that there was some
blood on the cloth Slade used. So he had slight bruising on his hands, so what?
Robin started to get a little frustrated with all this. Besides, all his
previous wounds so far had healed surprisingly well, so why worry over these
scratches. Besides, they were only scratches.
"The hand is fine, Slade. There is no pain."
Robin tried to hide his slightly pained look, trying to look as neutral as
possible. At the same time he squeezed his hand into a fist and then relaxed
it, admitting that it didn't hurt at all. With a nod and one last brush, Slade
stood up and instructed Robin to dress and to get ready for dinner. Robin
mumbled some slight protests, but quickly caught up with Slade seeing as he had
decided to go preempt.
"There will be some dinner ready for us. I have assigned Slade-bots to prepare
us breakfast, lunch, and dinner from now on."
Robin just nodded at this, trying not to brush his legs together because it
would make the laceration hurt. Therefore, he concentrated on walking. Every
other wound wasn't hurting and he knew they'd all be healed by tomorrow.
After Slade and Robin had walked in silence for some time, Robin was a little
unnerved by the silence. He decided to say something.
"So…what will I do after dinner? I think I'm way too perky to go to sleep."
Slade laughed at this, turning to face the teen.
"Good, because I think you sleep too much."
Robin couldn't help but blush and turn his face away, making Slade laugh even
more. To Robin's relief they had reached kitchen, where a Slade-bot was waiting
with delicious smelling food placed on the table on the either side.
When Slade instructed the robot to leave, Robin couldn't help but think. 'This
reminds me of some kind of romance movie Starfire used to watch; there were a
table for two, candles, a waiter with a black suit and the two lovers would…'
Stopping himself right on time, Robin decided not to push the matter and sat at
the table, starting to eat so he could distract himself from those disturbing
thoughts. Slade looked at Robin slightly amused, which the teen couldn't see no
thanks to the mask. He sat down opposite the teen. Picking up a fork and knife,
Slade opened up the conversation.
"But to answer your question; I think you can do as you wish." Robin swallowed
a mouthful of food and looked questioningly at Slade. He could just do what he
pleased? What was the man up to? "Don't expect it to happen again however. I
have some things to take care and since I have no time to babysit you, I'm sure
you can manage to entertain yourself for a couple of hours at least."
Robin laid his utensils down and looked questioningly at Slade, only then
noticing that if the man actually would eat, he'd have to take the mask off.
Grinning to himself, Robin stared at the man, waiting for something. But he
then noticed that he would get caught rather fast if he didn't go along with
their little conversation.
"Like what things?"
Slade just shrugged and placed the utensils on the plate neatly.
"Paper work mostly. I have to plan ahead, fill out some files, restock, and get
prepared for the future."
Robin placed his elbows to the table, receiving a stare-like gesture from
Slade, making him take his elbows off the table, placing his hands on his lap
instead.
"Oh. So what can I do?"
Slade leaned in, making it look like the man was grinning and about to say
something really sarcastic. The mask really annoyed Robin. Did the man actually
have to wear that thing everywhere?
"Take a shower, you stink."
Robin could almost feel the smoke coming from his ears, but he fought to keep
his cool.
"Haha," he said sarcastically. "But really, can't I train on your survival
course?"
"Not tonight. I'm sure you'll find something better, more entertaining, safer
things to do. For example, you can go to the gym or you can try to meditate.
You'll find something. If you still lack activity after two hours, you may come
see me."
"Okay," Robin answered dully, staring at Slade still, waiting for the other man
to reveal his face.
They both stared at each other for a while, but they both turned then to grasp
their utensils again, Robin stuffing some food in his mouth, staring at the
older man solemnly. Slade soon got annoyed by Robin's constant staring and
decided to bring it up.
"What are you waiting for boy? Me to stuff the food in my mask thorough the
slits?"
'Not exactly, but it would be nice if you'd remove the mask.' Slade sighed as
he reached for it, Robin almost forgetting to breathe. 'It can't be; he's
really taking it off!'
Robin's eyes were wide as baseballs and he had to fight the urge to hang his
mouth open as well. With a slow gesture, Slade removed the mask and started
eating. Robin suddenly looked like he'd been hit by lightning. This time he
couldn't hold in the urge and his jaw dropped. 'This can't be!'
Slade swallowed a spoonful and couldn't stop but literally laugh straight at
Robin's face.
"Honestly boy, what were you expecting?"
'Anything but this for one…'
Slade laughed when Robin shook his head, still keeping that overly surprised
look, but then resumed his eating. Robin on the other hand was furious. He
couldn't believe it! He had gotten his hopes up for what! For another mask!
Robin felt like screaming inside his head. He felt like he could pull his hair
off.
Slade had another mask which was like a cloth. It hid his face and there were
only slight slits for his mouth and eye, but there was nothing else to see from
the black and orange fabric. At least he could shape some figures of Slade's
face now. For example, he noticed that the man didn't have a flat nose because
of the metal mask, but a sharp and straight one instead. The other thing he
could see was his lips. Rough, somewhat thin, lips, which Robin found to be
fascinating as Slade ate.
Shaking himself back to Earth, Robin started to eat, trying to stop thinking
about Slade.
'He is Slade! One can't just stare at the man! Besides, you shouldn't even be
looking at him! You have let yourself get way too close. That is not good. You
need to stop; now.'
Robin was quick to finish. He gulped down his full glass of water and then
stood up, informing Slade that he would be in the gym before he fled the scene.
Robin shouldn't have been paying any mind to him. What would his friends say;
what would they think?! The teen hero was slightly disturbed by the thoughts of
his friends. He knew they would demand an explanation for his absence. What
should he tell them? What if they were worried? Or even worse, what if they
found him before he came back from Slade's one week trial? What would they
think? They'd probably feel betrayed, cheated, and abandoned. One thing was
sure; they would not be happy.
Robin soon reached the gym and started lifting some weights, hitting the bag,
do anything he could to distract his mind. He could help but note that he
needed to distract himself a lot more than usual. What was going on with him?
Why was he even letting this happen in the first place? He should have been
going against Slade, not letting anything happen that already had; not wanting
to train in Slade's steeplechase; shouldn't be cooperating so willingly. He
shouldn't be doing any of this!
Robin started to kick the bag now, trying to blow off as much steam as he
could. He was rampaging on the gym, hitting bags and kicking targets for half
an hour until he had finally gotten himself under control. It really did feel
good to let it all out by beating the hell out of those punching bags.
Panting heavily, Robin fell backwards to sit on one of the cushioned chairs in
the corner of the room, originally designed for something else, but he didn't
care. Trying to steady his breathing, he laid on his back to rest and felt
something uncomfortable against his back. Robin reached for it to pull it out
and throw it away, but when he saw what it was, he decided otherwise. It was a
book about different kinds of exercises and flexing. It also listed some kind
of activities. Why and how it had ended up in Slade's hands, Robin didn't know.
He did know that it hadn't been used much. It was made years ago, seemingly
bought when it was new and there were barely any flaws except a few pages that
showed some aging.
When curiosity got the better of him, Robin started to read through it, somehow
managing to go through almost every unknown exercise or at least to get the
basics of them. There were a lot of exercises he hadn't even heard of. There
was also some that could be common, but he himself didn't do them very much. Oh
well, at least the book inspired him to try them out.
And with that new found inspiration, Robin tried the new techniques, trying to
get at least fifty of each done. One was showing him an unbelievable amount of
trouble; a move where he had to hold himself up with his hands, like he would
do with chin-ups, but instead he had to raise his legs straight up into the air
to lift his body. Then he would have to move his body up and down without
falling or slipping. Robin had barely reached thirty when he noticed that his
hands were shaking and his hip hurt like hell, along with his back. At least he
could feel the exercise working.
After at least of two hours of intense training, Robin felt rather proud of
himself. He could almost tell how much strength was getting back to him,
allowing him to keep going even further. Later, smiling widely and panting
hard, Robin lay in the middle of the room, trying to catch his breath. The
sweat was glistening all over his body and he could feel the sweat dripping.
The cold air of the gym hit his hot and wet skin, making him shiver. The cold
air was stinging his lungs, making breathing difficult. He could taste the
saliva in his mouth and he needed to swallow every so often.
Robin slowly rose up from the floor, first rolling on his stomach, then pushing
himself up with his hands, still panting hard, hair hanging around his face. He
leaned against the wall to keep his balance, collected his breath some more,
spat saliva onto the floor, and then slowly made his way to Slade's room,
intending to take a long, hot, and relaxing shower.
Robin slowly crawled his way to the room, taking hold of the walls the whole
way. When he was by the door, he remembered that it needed Slade's
identification to open, so instead he decided to just knock. He waited calmly
for Slade to open the door, which took about five-to-ten seconds, and then
walked in the room, making his way straight to the shower.
"So, did you find anything to pass the time with?"
Slade's voice was heard from the other side of the wall, seeing that Robin had
already made his way to the toilet and bathroom extension. He was already
stripping his suit off. Robin had already gotten rid of the clothes and now
took off his mask.
"You bet," he said with a raspy, slightly out of breath, voice.
Taking a deep breath, Robin turned on the showerhead and allowed the spray of
water wash over him, washing the stinky sweat away and letting the muscles
relax under the warm water. Smiling contently, the teen let his hands travel
through his hair and caress his skin, washing away all the sweat and remaining
dirt.
"Robin, I have one last thing I need to show you still tonight," Slade said
from the other side of the wall. It was rather difficult to hear the man
through the downpour of water.
Robin sighed, knowing he didn't actually have a choice in the matter. He
stepped out from the shower once all soap and shampoo suds were down the drain.
Shivering slightly from the cold, he cursed himself for not asking for a towel
before he got in.
"Slade, I need a towel!" Robin yelled from the inside of the bathroom, getting
the answer from the other man rather fast, now not having any problems hearing
it.
"I think you should use your spare uniform too. I have a good feeling you have
gotten it dirty already."
Robin looked at the bundle of fabric that was supposed to be his suit and he
had to agree. It smelled, it was damp, and it had dirt all over it. Messy job
this training.
"Sure."
"I will bring you a change of clothes and the towel in exchange for the dirty
uniform," Slade said.
Robin carefully grabbed the suit off the floor, keeping it as far away from his
body as not to get dirty all over again.
"Okay, here." Robin shoved it out the door, listening as Slade moved from the
other side, taking them. "Can you hand over my other clothes?"
"Just take them, Robin."
Sighing, Robin stepped halfway out the door and grabbed the clothes before even
thinking about how he had exposed himself to Slade. Noticing the steel of
Slade's boot, he saw that he was pretty much out and visible. It was plain bad
luck that he had been staring at the floor when he opened the door. What an
idiot he was. Robin quickly stepped back into the bathroom, slamming the door
closed right in front of the man's face, hiding his heat in the pile of new
clothes and towel. It was one thing that Slade knew his identity, but it still
didn't mean that the boy should let him see him. He could only wish Slade
didn't see anything.
Smiling under his mask, Slade hadn't seen anything that private. The boy had
just stepped out the door, exposing his naked, wet skin, leaving only the
slightest bit of imagination. The villain had seen Robin's chest, abs, his thin
but slightly muscular arms and legs, his head pressed down to hide his face,
and the damp hair that was dripping wet, laying flat against his skull. He
could see the tiny droplets of water sliding along the boy's torso, dripping
onto his floor. And what he loved to see the most was the waist and groin area
of him, silently cursing the door for covering the most delicious parts of him.
Slade hadn't even seen his eyes; shame.
Meanwhile, Robin had decided to get dressed to prevent anything even more
embarrassing from occurring. Last but not least, he placed the mask back in its
proper place with the special glue that was lying on the sink counter. He
finally looked himself in the mirror and decided to do completely nothing else
than comb it. Once everything was in order, Robin took a final breath in before
stepping out of his safe little place.
"Shall we go then?" Robin asked.
"Yes, follow me."
Slade led Robin out of the room, along the corridors and hallways to a room he
had never been to before. It was odd to say the least. Maybe even a little bit
creepy. Standing before them was a big control panel, one chair, and one huge
window that showed a view to another room that had absolutely nothing in it.
Both sets of walls and floors were white and made of some kind of steel-like
material that almost reflected everything in grayish tones. There was also one,
big gray iron door with a security lock on it from which you could get to the
other room, Robin assumed. Slade walked to the door, unlocking the lock, and
opening it.
"Do go inside," Slade said with little to no room to argue.
Robin had his worries about the place.
"Why? What's in there?"
Slade kept his cool, showing Robin the inside.
"As you can see, there is nothing in there and the reason why…well you'll find
out soon enough. I assure you its safe and that we can still talk over the
microphones that are inside."
Robin didn't really trust the man at all and, to say the least, he didn't want
anything to do with that room. It was like one of those cells in Arkham, expect
the walls weren't cushioned. What was Slade up to? Had he suddenly decided to
lock him in and treat him like a guinea pig?
When Slade was about to tell Robin again, Robin decided, with all the courage
he could muster, to step in, not wanting to be the object of the man's wrath.
After he was in, the door was shut behind him with a bang. He looked at the
window nervously, which now only showed his own reflection.
'Oh how I hate small, closed spaces.'
"So, Robin, do you know what this room is and what it is for?" Slade's voice
asked from all around him.
Shaking his head, Slade told him that it was a room to create fake 3-
D surroundings that looked, felt, smelled, and sounded real. They were as real
as Titans Tower, but they weren't actually there.
"So what am I going to do in here exactly?" Robin asked, feeling slightly
nervous.
Slade could have anything happen in the room.
"To train of course."
Robin could feel the rock rolling off his shoulder. So it couldn't be anything
that bad. Besides, somehow it started to sound even slightly exciting and cool
now; it could be anything. Robin felt a wave of relief wash over him and he
just had to joke about it.
"I've started to wonder why you haven't tried anything drastic yet. I mean,
like, trying to torment or brainwash me? Instead you seem to make me train
myself to death."
Slade just hummed at him before offering his opinion.
"The best and most clever solution is to take care of your physical flaws first
then proceed to the mental ones."
Robin smiled at this. Slade was trying to cover himself up, but he was caught
now.
"So in other words you gave up?"
"No, this is merely a change in tactic," Slade said in the matter of fact kind
of way. The walls suddenly started to change around Robin. The panels on the
walls were twitching and he could see small pieces of scenarios swirling in
them. "What do you think would be the best training for you? Maybe we should
start easy, probably from the beginning of the one-to-ten scale so in the
future you'll know what to expect."
The scenes were changing around Robin, from day to night, from rainy to hot and
dry, from city to a field full of flowers, until it set out to be what
apparently seemed to be one of Jump City's streets. He could feel a light wind
and there were even some people who seemed to only be passing by. All the
details were unbelievably perfect. The place seemed to be an exact replica.
Just to quench his curiosity, Robin walked down the street, looking around him.
It was awesome how the room worked. He had walked quite a distance now and
there were still no walls that would limit his journey. How it was possible, he
didn't know. Robin tried to get used to the thought of actually being in a
small room, not on a huge street, but he seemed to be failing miserably.
Everything was so real. He could smell how one man was selling fresh hot dogs
on the other side of the street. He could feel how a salesman accidentally
bumped into him, turning around to apologize in a hurry. He had actually heard
that. But that just told him that this wasn't real. Salesman would never turn
around to apologize, no matter how much in a hurry they were in.
"This is wicked awesome," Robin mumbled quietly, not meaning to say it to
anyone, mostly to himself; only Slade seemed to answer him anyway.
"I know."
"So what am I supposed to do in here?" Robin asked in awe, looking at his
surroundings.
He could see a blue mailbox, a small cafe, street lamps, and posters attached
to a brick wall. He could even feel the cobblestone road under his feet. It was
all so real.
"To tell you the truth, I'm not sure," Slade replied. "I can only give you
hints about the room's contents by the keywords I have inserted as the basic
data. Otherwise the room will create a scenery of its own, even altering it if
necessary."
"Wow," was the only word Robin could say as an answer. It all seemed so
overwhelming, so unreal. "I so want to train in this room in the future."
"Don't worry, you will."
Right then, a loud explosion was heard coming from the nearby street and Robin
could see Rancid coming from the smoke, driving towards him fast on a
motorcycle, yelling loud for the fun of it.
"Don't kid me, this is easy!" Robin yelled, reaching for his bo staff, only to
notice that he had none.
Robin quickly jumped aside as not to get hit by Rancid, wincing when the
laceration on his thigh hurt as he stretched his leg to jump. He quickly
recovered from it though. Running to the sidewalk, he tried looking for
anything that he could use as a weapon.
Finally finding a long, thin, metal pole from a garbage can that he could use
as a makeshift bo staff, Robin quickly snatched it up. He also found a two
meter chain. Robin quickly had it around his torso and was ready to bash with
his pole, running back to see Rancid coming from the nearby store with a bag of
cash. He saw how Rancid jumped on his bike and started to drive towards him,
yelling insults at the same time. When the biker was almost on him, Robin
jumped to the side, this time more cautiously, and threw the pole on the
wheels, blocking them completely. He sent Rancid flying. He crashed not too far
away. Robin quickly ran to him, trapping him with the chains. Then suddenly, he
saw how the city was slowly falling to pieces.
Staring shockingly around him, he saw the buildings collapse and everything
around him disappeared until he only saw gray; he was back in the room. He had
even forgotten he was in one to begin with. The door opened and Slade came in,
instructing Robin to follow him back to his room.
"Remember Robin, this is only to let you know what you are going to see in the
future. It will get much harder."
"I'm looking forward to that," Robin said, sounding a little bit tired.
He had the right to; the teen had been training the whole day, had wounds all
over him, and even experiencing the joys of the simulator made him feel like he
was ready to go to bed. Once again, Robin found himself soundly asleep in
Slade's bed, resting and healing. The day hadn't been so bad, even if he had to
share it with Slade.
***** Chapter 7 *****
When Robin woke up in the morning, he felt like he hadn't slept at all. It felt
like it was pretty early in the morning, but he couldn't really tell. The room
had no windows or clocks. It felt awkward to spread his arm out so that he
could reach a nonexistent alarm clock to check the time, but after swinging it
aimlessly over the nightstand, even Robin had to give up the hopes of finding
one. Sighing, he forced himself in a sitting position, curling up in the covers
to hide from the chill. The room was dark and shady and the only light was a
dim, disoriented light that shone from the screen of the monitor. The room was
completely silent except for the silent hum of the computer.
Robin moved his eyes to take a better look of the room. A small punch of
loneliness hit him. He was once again in Slade's room with no Slade around and
certainly with no friends around. Robin was missing them. Living with Slade was
so far not so fun. He was, however, slightly surprised that when living under
the same roof with Slade, it hadn't been that bad so far. It was certainly not
something Robin would have expected. He thought, that once Slade had him, he
would take him by force and bend him to be his apprentice, not afraid to use
even the most fatal kind of way to achieve that goal. But so far it was nothing
like it. Yeah, Slade had made a schedule for him and he demanded that he do his
best and even better, but that was part of the deal. The villain was like a
coach, nothing that Robin had prepared for, and this made him nervous. Slade
never acted without a plan and he certainly wouldn't act this half-assed about
anything. This just had to be a plan, which would explain Slade's (false?) act
of 'you-are-free-to-go-after-a-week' thing.
All this thinking made Robin feel confused. He just hoped he could be with his
friends once the deal was done. It was weird; the more civilized Slade acted,
the more confusing and difficult it became. During his entire spare time, Robin
had wasted on thinking about Slade or his friends. He felt really pathetic when
the best conclusion about Slade and his plans were that he just simply had
skipped the bending part and was now treating him as an apprentice candidate,
who would join him any minute. But that just didn't match. Slade would not be
that stupid.
Sighing, Robin let go of the matter and decided to let all the thinking and
plotting go, deciding to come back to it later, when he had more abiding proof.
He swung his legs over the side of the bed and flinched slightly as his toes
met the ice cold floor. He ignored the chill however. Robin sluggishly rubbed
his eyes and, after getting used to the dark, he noticed that his clothes were
set on the far end of the nightstand, folded up nicely, placed far enough so he
couldn't even accidentally swing them on the floor.
'Must be a Slade-bot's work.'
Secretly feeling thankful, Robin took the clean clothes and started to dress.
Feeling the fabric against his cold skin felt remotely nice, but he didn't want
to acknowledge that. Robin then started to stretch out of a habit. He then
remembered that it was on his schedule anyway, so he took more of that into
account. The stretches really came in handy; his muscles were really stiff from
yesterday. Well what else did he expect? First he slept a couple of days almost
nonstop, then took a sudden start to train again and…yeah, no wonder he was
stiff.
After finishing his stretches, Robin walked around the room, shaking his legs
after every step to get the blood going. Walking around the room was a good
stimulus and Robin could feel the tiredness slowly drifting away, leaving more
space for some actual thinking and observing. Soon he checked every table and
surface for a hidden note from Slade, but found none this time. It was like he
allowed him to be on his own.
Taking in the fact that he was on his own for a change, Robin let his curiosity
get the better of him. He slowly made his way to Slade's computer, almost
holding his breath from excitement. What if the villain left some really
important files open? With his glove-covered hands, he tugged the mouse to turn
the screen saver off. Since it was an old box alike monitor, it took a couple
of seconds for the screen to adjust.
'Slade really should get a new computer down here.' When the screen was finally
clear enough to view, he noted that it was pretty much in use. Slade had left
three files and one internet explorer window open. 'Yep, totally a trap.' Robin
held his breath as he shorted out his plan. He could see what Slade had been up
to, hopefully answering a lot of questions. Or maybe it was a trap or a test. A
test of loyalty or trust perhaps? Maybe he would search the whole computer to
see anything that Slade would have been doing on it. 'The last option it is,
consequences be damned! There's way too many juicy opportunities here. And who
knows what kind of dirty things he has saved up on here.'
Shaking his head to get the dirty thoughts out and the more sober thoughts in,
Robin tried to relax so that he didn't make any stupid mistakes while
innocently taking his share of Slade's business. Feeling calm enough, he
decided to take a look at the open web page first.
Harm Caused in a Science Research Lab on a Farm Not Far from Jump City
That was a screaming headline for a top article. There was a picture of a
shredded building and lot of bemoans after the lab thing. The journalist had
talked about the farm, a little about the science group and their goals, and
the rest was the bemoan of the animals, the farm, and the failed experiment.
The article had several quotes from the researchers, who all seemed to be upset
about the failed attempts at capturing a very fatal virus. There were even some
complaints of meddling little know-it-alls. Namely, the Titans. Even the
researcher seemed to think that Slade should be captured and put to an end and
they hoped that in the near future, someone would take the lead and clean the
world from the villains. That was a two page article in a nutshell.
So what did it mean? Slade had suddenly become an anti-animal cruelty activist,
but didn't care about human cruelty? Not very likely. And what exactly was the
experiment of theirs? Test a virus? Create an anti-virus? Was the goal to make
something that cured or that would kill? The only thing mentioned was that it
was supposed to affect the human immune system, but no one mentioned how.
Observing the page one last time, Robin then checked if there was a possibility
to browse the previous page. He smiled widely when there was. Clicking the back
button, he found out that the last page was about the very same topic. Even the
one previous from that and the next one and the next… They were all about the
same farm. What was it with this farm anyway. Slade really seemed to have
something against that organization. Maybe this was the "clan" Slade mentioned
when Robin woke up from nausea.
'Yep, it has to be that. What else could it possibly be?' Feeling slightly
happy at Slade's misfortune to find any real leads according to the science
researchers, Robin clicked his way back to the page that had been when he first
got to the computer. 'Next, the open files.'
The first file was about the very same "clan" but these were Slade's own notes
about the matter. The text was pretty much the same as the one he already knew,
but there was also a small note that they would soon be expanding, having some
more material transported via trucks and ships. The new base was supposed to be
the headquarters located in Jump. Robin absorbed the information quickly,
knowing a lot more about the details: The clan also had headquarters in
Metropolis, Gotham, Keystone City, New York, and a few all over the world. It
may not have been much useful information, but to say the least, Robin thought
that he had gotten enough on the subject. He then moved on to the next file.
This next file was tricky. Robin didn't really know if he should be happy, mad,
or even slightly mortified as he found that the subject of the entire thing was
of him. Every detail was there. He felt something heavy move in his stomach,
making him feel exposed. There was a horrible amount of pages about him, his
everyday routines, his friends and activities, his physical shape, and his
mental and physical capabilities. It had everything.
Gulping down a lump that had risen in his throat, Robin tried to stay calm. But
how could he when the bastard had been observing-no spying-on him? Or it looked
like Slade was obsessed about him. The villain even knew the times he usually
used the bathroom! Even his favorite food and color was listed. Every little
detail was there. Everything from small habits to usual beliefs (Robin did not
rub imaginary dust off his shoulder when he was uncertain!).
Feeling anger building inside him as he looked at the file, Robin fought the
urge to erase everything that was written there. He couldn't do that though. He
couldn't get caught. Hell he shouldn't have been looking at the computer in the
first place. Trying to control his anger, Robin clicked the file down, then
quickly checked the last one (the inventory that Slade told him about
yesterday). He left the computer, hoping that the screen saver would come back
before Slade did.
Stomping angrily out of the room while looking at the floor, Robin sighed and
made his way toward the training area. He was rudely knocked down onto the
floor about half way there. Since he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings,
he collided with Slade's broad chest. Robin hit the floor rather hard and he
could hear his spine crack. Ignoring it, he glared up at the man.
"Has the wind changed? Why so jumpy all of a sudden?" Slade asked mockingly,
pulling Robin up by the neck, not minding him when he winced in slight pain
that lasted for about two seconds. "Mind to enlighten me as to why you're so
clouded up this morning?"
"No," was Robin's strict answer, which left no room for any kind of persuasion.
"Where were you anyway?"
"Missed me already? To be honest, I was refilling the stock, and I must say
that I didn't expect you to wake up before I was back," Slade said as he stared
at Robin disapprovingly. He probably would have preferred if he stayed in the
room and not go wandering off on his own, but he ignored it for now, pushing
the matter for later day. "But now that you are here, we'll tend to some more
important business and start with today's training."
Slade guided Robin to the training room to take his course. They were soon
standing in the middle of the giant room and, after they both completed their
warm-ups, Slade had called over some Slade-bot's to bring some targets. They
were some regular paper targets, shaped like a man, showing fatal spots to aim
for; head, heart, and so on.
"Today, Robin, I will teach you to shoot. I know you have never shot anything
before, and I think it's high time for you to learn this. And no, that grapple
of yours doesn't count. I'm referring to real weapons. I have a pistol,
silenced Uzi, a machine gun, shotgun, rifle, sniper, rocket launcher, and a
bazooka for you to try. This lesson's point is for you to have a feel for guns,
and hopefully, identify the best one for you. I want you to take note on the
many aspects of a gun. The sound; assassins have to have a weapon that won't
make much noise to avoid bringing attention to themselves. Also focus on how
easy or fast it is to load and how many bullets it can contain at the same
time. The weight; I do not suggest anything heavier than you can run with. Also
note which of them is more comfortable and how hard the kickback is after the
shot. And don't forget to think on which would be more useful and practical in
use."
Slade continued his little lecture about guns, how to use them, where the parts
were located, and, before he was even allowed to shoot, he had to learn to take
it completely apart and then to put it back together. That part wasn't hard.
Robin knew how to do it. He didn't really think he'd be that bad of a shooter,
but the fact of the matter was that he just didn't like the act of killing. He
didn't have anything against guns really, but he didn't like what people did
with them. Robin could never actually kill anyone; he was still under oath
after all.
Finally, after going through all the theory lessons, Robin was allowed to try
shooting the targets. Slade had put the guns in a line on a table, not far away
from him. The mission was to shoot at least five strikes with each gun. After
the rounds had been fired, he was to decide which gun was the one he would
prefer to use in the future. He would need to use them all, Slade had said, but
the one he would choose as the best one, would be the one he would be using the
most.
Robin was now wearing earplugs and was somewhat happy that he didn't have to
use any eye protectors, seeing as his mask was protection enough. It felt weird
to be up and ready to shoot. Feeling slightly nervous of the idea of having to
use a gun at all, out of habit, his right hand began to brush off imaginary
dust. Once he noticed it, he tried to stop the act with semi-disgust, but
thought otherwise. Robin hoped Slade had not seen his hand stop momentarily or
he would get caught for spying on his computer.
'Well that's not good.'
Sighing miserably, Robin took the first gun, the pistol, took a firm stand, and
aimed. The gun felt heavy and cold against his skin and he could feel his hands
become clammy against it. Then, taking one last relaxing breath before closing
his other eye to take better aim, Robin shot at the target. The pistol did not
kickback that badly and the noise wasn't that bad either. The size was good,
was easy to hide and move around, and wouldn't get in the way.
"Robin, misses don't count. You still have five strikes," Slade informed from
behind, standing out of his range if anything went wrong.
Somehow after that first and most unnerving shot had passed, Robin felt himself
relaxing. His hand didn't even shake that badly anymore. Taking a better hold
on the gun handle and ignoring the slight dampness of his palm, he closed his
eye again and, taking a slightly sturdier and wider footing, Robin prepared to
shoot a second shot. With the barrel aimed slightly too much toward the upper
left, he moved it in its proper position and then pulled the trigger. The bang
was heard again. This time, Robin hit the target right between the eyes.
"Good job, Robin. Maybe it's true when they say you learn fast," Slade said.
Robin could only nod and grin at this, even if the later gesture went unnoticed
to the man behind him. Shooting targets wasn't that bad. It was
rather…distracting, as one would say. When he aimed, he had to clear his head
from every distraction and concentrate on the task at hand. Seeing the bullet
hit the target made him feel really proud. It made him feel like he was good at
something and being told so felt good too. Batman had hardly ever praised him
and so far being praised wasn't so bad, even if it was for shooting. Smiling
again, this time truly, he took a new aim. He could now feel all of his anxiety
flying away with every bullet.
Taking aim again, Robin shot four in a row, having one worry leave him during
each shot.
BANG! There went Slade and his stupid files. At least now he could add
something significant to it; Robin could shoot pretty well. BANG! At this
moment, he had no longing to be around his friends; he would meet them again
when the time came. BANG! Now he didn't have to worry about tomorrow or the
upcoming week or Slade. He could just shoot without a care in the world. BANG!
It was actually nice to see the head of the target fall almost completely off.
This way no one could see where the targets' middle point was.
Blowing off the smoke that was oozing from the gun just for the show, Robin
switched his weapon as the robot switched the target. Shooting targets was
rather entertaining. It was fun to see the differences of the guns in terms of
sound and power. The Sniper made a nice hole at the exact place where you aimed
whereas the shotgun almost blew the entire head off. The kickback was so strong
that it felt like Robin's shoulder would call it quits. The silenced Uzi was
boring; it didn't have much of a noise and the damage it made wasn't that
special. He preferred the normal pistol way better. The rocket launcher and
bazooka were way out of scale with the others and he could almost feel the
damage where he stood, even if the target was far away. Not to mention the
force of the shot and the noise wasn't something he preferred.
Once Robin was finally done with all of the guns, Slade approached him,
clapping his hands a couple of times.
"Bravo. You will make a good shooter, but I must disappoint you by saying that
I think we'll stick with the more compact ones," Slade said. "But tell me,
which one do you prefer the most?" Ignoring the sarcasm, Robin told him that he
liked the sniper the best, but that it was good to have a pistol with him just
in case. It may be small, but it was handy. Nodding approvingly, Slade had the
bots clean the area and take the guns away. "I will let you rest for a while.
In the evening, I'll see you in the kitchen. I have another kind of training
for you after dinner. You may eat lunch and rest your hands while you wait. But
take this as a warning; I believe you'll need to collect your thoughts and
strength, or you'll be wishing to shoot something much more lively by the end
of the day."
Slade sounded really malicious by the end of his sentence. He knew that
whatever it was that Robin had to face later would not be anything he could
face with a big smile.
"I will see you later this evening then," Slade said before disappearing around
the corner to go somewhere.
Robin, on the other hand, was left speechless in the middle of the training
room, his hands shaking from the numerous gun shots and kickbacks and having to
hold the bazooka. The day had started out weird, ended up nice, but somehow he
got the feeling that a negative change would be coming pretty fast. Squeezing
his hands into fists to prevent them from shaking, he went to the kitchen to
have a well deserved meal.
***** Chapter 8 *****
AN: Sorry that this chapter is late! My beta's computer crashed, and no matter
how hard she tried to get it fixed, she had to get a new one in the end. BTW, I
first planned to write a longer (20k words) chapter, but I decided to cut it in
half, and post as 2 separate chapters. I'm sorry, and plea with my earnest
apology that you are still reading this, and are not too mad at the long wait.
anyways, on with the story.
He felt the nervousness take over him as Robin tried to think what Slade
possibly had in mind. He had absolutely no idea, but he could bet that it
wouldn't be anything good. He knew that whatever it would be would, in no way,
be something he'd look forward to. Or that's what he thought when he heard the
tone in Slade's voice. It was as if the man was mocking him, sounding as if he
knew something the other didn't and that made Robin furious. And besides,
knowing Slade, it wouldn't be anything good, even if he tried to pride the boy.
Slade always had something hidden underneath everything. It was as if the man
couldn't think without having second thoughts or meanings for his actions. It
unnerved and confused Robin.
Robin had decided to take a fast trip to the gym instead of going straight to
the kitchen. He did his very best to release some of that pent up frustration.
The teen had tried to distract himself from his thoughts by training there,
hitting the bag and doing push-ups and sit-ups. He had already broken a sweat.
Once he had finally completed the whole list of different exercises that Slade
had prepared for him, he went to the kitchen, planning to have his dinner now.
Robin didn't care to take a shower now because he did not desire the thought of
going to Slade's shower to take one. Besides, Slade probably had something
nasty in his mind anyway, so why even bother? Oh how he would come to regret
that decision later.
When Robin entered the kitchen, he caught a glimpse of Slade's robot wandering
around, but it soon disappeared as it went through a door at the far end of the
room. Robin himself had never gone there, but he thought that it was probably
the place where the bots prepared the food or something. After Robin shrugged
his shoulders as he decided he was more hungry than interested, he sat in the
chair, inhaling the sweet aroma of potatoes, some steak cuts, brown sauce, and
some vegetables. He didn't like the vegetables that much and one could tell so
by the look he gave his plate. Vegetables were disgusting, in taste and
texture. Some of them he could eat, for example, broccoli was in fact rather
tasty, but corn, peas, carrot, and tomatoes were disgusting. Robin almost
wanted to push those disgusting multicolored plants off his plate and under the
table, but he was brought up better. Bruce had made himself very clear when he
stated that food was not something to play with and you should eat anything and
everything on your plate. The only excuse from eating them would be that you
were allergic and sadly, Robin was not; to anything.
Swallowing down his pride, Robin started from the vegetables, so he could then
flush the taste away with potatoes and steak, which were much tastier than some
stupid green peas. Without even chewing, Robin swallowed them down as fast as
possible without having to even taste them. Damn Slade and his healthy life
style. Well, healthy on the matter of food. The plate was a perfect image of
what one's plate should look like if they were trying to eat as healthy as
possible; half-a-plate full of vegetables and a salad (well salad was fine, but
vegetables?) then a small portion of potatoes and the rest was steak and sauce.
Not that living with Slade was bad enough, but he had to eat healthy now too?
What was wrong with pizza? It had olives, pineapple, and tomatoes; they were
vegetables and, hell, fruit.
Robin soon finished his plateful and drank a full glass of milk before taking
his leave to look for Slade, as he had promised. He didn't know where he should
start looking. Slade had said that they'd meet after dinner, but so far he'd
seen no sign of him. While walking around the hideout, looking for Slade, he
paid attention for a suitable escape route. As he walked, he got more nervous
with every step he took. Robin's mind kept racing, alternating from a nice
surprise to horrible shock. Maybe the man wanted to test his new found shooting
skills and make him kill animals or people? He couldn't be that cruel, could
he?
Okay, yes he could. That formed a heavy lump in Robin's throat, almost making
him want to hide and hope that Slade wouldn't find him until tomorrow and
maybe, just maybe, he'd forget the whole thing. But there was no such luck.
When Robin decided to just forget finding Slade and instead try to find a place
to hide-no, not hide. He wasn't a coward. He would just find a place where he
could strategize his next move, that was more like it. But as he turned on his
heels, he walked right into Slade. Did Robin have the best of luck or what?
"Well there you are. Hopefully all ready and excited, I bet," Slade said,
gripping his arm painfully as he shoved him around to keep walking.
Robin did not dare ask where they were going. Well he would have dared, but he
wasn't so sure if he wanted to know. They already went past the point where
Robin still knew the surroundings. Every corridor and turn looked the same and
he was sure Slade had been trying to distract him by making them walk in
circles, but what could he do about it? As long as he was down here with him,
he'd play by his rules.
Robin felt nervous and heavy as Slade took him around another corner, leading
him to a room. A small room, which Robin was glad that they were only walking
through, because he didn't like to work in small spaces. Especially with Slade.
After they exited the small room, they reached a huge room, a hall in fact. It
was filled with square shaped pipes that zigzagged, moved up and down, back and
forth, up and down, and they even had turns. They divided to even more and more
pipes and they seemed to fill the space perfectly, only leaving small spaces
between the pipes. Just the right size for Robin to crawl through. The pipes
themselves were rather big. About half a meter by half a meter or even smaller.
Robin couldn't really tell.
This would be easy. If his mission was to reach the other end of the hall, he
could do that blindfolded and with his hands tied behind his back! Robin felt a
smile spread across his face. What had he been afraid of? He had been so
nervous for this? Ha, this had to be a joke right? What a maroon he was.
"So your mission is to reach the other end of the room. There is a full glass
of water with ice cubes there as your reward," Slade said with a smug voice,
probably thinking that the water would be the perfect prize.
"I can do that," Robin said, his voice full of self confidence, almost even
slight happiness, because he really had thought about something much worse.
"I hope you can at least try," Slade said, making Robin's mood falter slightly.
Somehow he got the feeling that this was not all. "But just to be fair, I'll
give you a flashlight, map, and a compass so it'll be easier for you to get to
your destination. But after this, you will not be rewarded with such petty
things."
Slade had successfully confused Robin without even knowing it. A flashlight?
For what? The room was perfectly lit and he could get there just fine without a
map or a compass. Robin could even see the destination with his eyes if he
really took a look. He was about to tell Slade about it, but decided to keep
his mouth shut. When one was offering him something, he shouldn't turn it down.
If he said they'd be useful, they probably would.
"My robots managed to find these not long ago and they only now managed to fix
them up. They are not cleaned though, just to keep the thing more realistic,"
Slade further explained, looking around the maze he had built. "So remember, in
the future, you'll come to these kinds of situations, but then you'll have to
survive without help and without the use of your given equipment." The villain
handed Robin his supplies while getting more confused every passing second.
Maybe Slade had built traps along the pipe maze? "So, do you think you are
ready?"
Slade leaned back on one of the pipe structures, the one that was jutting away
from the others and the only one that had a "beginning". The others just seemed
to split from there.
"I think so," Robin said, trying to hide his slightly lowered confidence.
"Good, so in you go then," Slade said, opening the vent cover.
It revealed a small opening, where inside he could only see darkness, an
endless amount of small, depressing space, and where one didn't even have
enough space to crawl around. Even turning around would be impossible.
"What? You mean in there? No fucking way," Robin said with shock.
He was claustrophobic for God sakes! He was not going in there! No fucking way!
"Language boy," Slade warned. "Now as I said, get in there. This is perfect
training for you. Something to scare you out of your fear of small spaces and
something to train you to travel in air vents. Two birds with one stone."
"You got to be kidding me…" Robin mumbled.
He couldn't believe Slade even considered the idea of sending him in there. It
was a death trap!
"Oh, I forgot to tell, there is about two or three miles worth of these vents,
so I suggest that you get started so you can get to sleep today. Don't get
lost."
"I'm not going."
"You either go in there or you'll cry when I force you in there. So which is it
going to be?"
"You are evil!"
"I have heard them say such a thing, so maybe. But now, get in the vents."
"Never!" Robin was about to have a fight about this, but the look Slade gave
him told him one and only one thing exactly: you nor your friends, will see
another sunrise if you don't get your ass in the vents this instant. How can a
person with only one eye manage such a scary look? Suddenly being scolded by an
angry Bruce in the middle of the night on the rooftops seemed like a picnic
with care bears and Robin seriously considered his choices.
Finally, Robin lifted his head, and said, "I'm not going."
The answer he got was a painful grab to his wrist and Slade cruelly throwing
him head first into the black, endless, small space. Robin was about to crawl
his way out of the hell hole, but Slade shut the opening, the smallest trace of
light disappearing from within, leaving him in complete darkness. Robin could
feel the whole place crash around him. He was sure that every second the walls
were getting closer and the air was running away. He wanted to get out, to push
on the walls, and make them go away. He tried to thrash around, but nothing
remarkable happened. All he could see was still pitch black darkness, he still
couldn't move much, and he felt how his air was being sucked away. When his
attempts were futile, Robin tried to do the smartest thing in this situation.
'First, try to breath, breath, get air…no, no hyperventilating! Take it easy,
relax, concentrate.'
Robin now wished he could change his position. He had tried to turn, but that
was impossible. Thrashing and rising on his knees and elbows wasn't working
because the space was too small. Lastly he tried to curl up in a defensive
ball, but he could not bring his knees to his chest. The walls were too close,
pinning him down.
Robin was really scared. The walls were closing in on him. He could almost hear
and feel the walls tighten around him; squeezing him; making his lungs implode.
He would give everything he had for a lungful of air and to get the hell out of
there. His mind was racing, his lungs were burning, his heart was pounding
against his chest, and he could feel the adrenaline fill his veins as he
panicked. This was it. This was how he was going to die. Stuck in an air vent,
suffocating to death. He no longer saw the darkness, but a light so bright that
he was sure it was caused by the lack of oxygen, that his brain was telling him
that this was it, that he was seeing the light. He was really going to die. His
mind was racing a thousands miles a second and he started to replay his life.
Everyone knew that when you were going to die, you saw your life go past your
eyes like film tape.
He saw himself as a young boy at a circus, training in acrobatics with his
parents. He also saw his dad raise him on his shoulder, having him ride on him,
playing like he was an airplane. He saw how the flexible woman was practicing
her stunt, having herself bend to an almost inhuman position. She was so
flexible, she even managed to squeeze herself into a tiny box. Richard was sure
that even he could not fit in there even if he was way smaller than the woman.
The young boy admired her flexibility and wanted to be just like her when he
grew up. If he could combine flexibility to acrobatics, he could become almost
inhuman, imagine what one could do then! He could be like Superman! He did not
have any super powers, but being flexible and aerobatic would compensate. His
parents had thought it was great and they allowed him to watch the flexible
woman train. Sometimes they even joked about it: if Richard didn't go to sleep
by ten, they'd lock him in a crate. He had only laughed about it then.
One day, Richard had once again been watching her train, but when she went out
to town with her boyfriend, he decided to train a little on his own. In her
caravan she had many different sized crates and poles, even some books about
the exercises. Richard did not much care about the books. He liked to learn by
trying things out himself. Because he didn't want to accidentally destroy
anything by falling from a pole (he was not supposed to get caught), he decided
to try fitting himself in one of the crates. He had seen the flexible woman do
the trick so many times that he knew exactly how he needed to bend his body and
legs to fit in the box. He had chosen the smallest he knew he would fit in and,
once he had the lid shut, felt proud of himself.
His parents should see him, but he couldn't get out of the crate. If he did, he
would have to go in again. It had taken him some time to get in in the first
place. Richard soon heard voices from the outside of the box and he came up
with a plan. When they were close enough he would open the lid and surprise
them. Richard was sure that they'd be astonished, laugh, and then congratulate
him. But once he tried opening the lid, he noticed that it was stuck. He felt a
stern pull and the box was lifted from the ground. He suddenly felt unsteady as
the box swung in the air. He started to feel sick after they had taken the box
to who knows where. He had tried to yell to them to put the box down, but it
muffled his cries. Soon Richard was getting really scared.
Once the box was finally put back on stern ground, Richard was starting to feel
horribly distressed since the crate had been put upside down and he was now
almost resting on his head. Time passed and he felt his joints ache. All kinds
of resistance was futile. If he even tried to move, he'd just bring more weight
on his already squashed neck. He had cried for so long that his eyes had
started to burn and he was almost losing his mind in the dark place. He could
not get out. He could not smell, hear, see, or even feel anything. He had
already become numb from everything else expect the soreness of his muscles and
joints. He could not even breath properly anymore because of the position he
was in. He had screamed his throat sore and he was so tired that he couldn't
move an inch. Soon the small boy was wishing that he would faint so he wouldn't
be in that place ever again. He soon heard voices again.
The box was once again lifted, moved a meter or two, and then dropped down. The
box even rolled some that Richard was now resting on his side, still feeling
really uncomfortable. He would have tried to scream again, hoping that they
would hear, but he couldn't find the strength in his body. He had no idea where
the box had been dropped because it was now moving slightly, swaying. Maybe if
he could move his limbs a little to make the box look like he was shuddering,
the people outside would stop to look for it. Richard tried to struggle, but
his muscles did not move. They were stiff and sore and they were numb and felt
as if thousands of needles were pricking them. If he could, he would have
cried.
Pretty soon he heard muffled voices outside: horrified, angry, worried voices.
But he could not hear what people were saying. Soon he heard a rather loud
clonk and then a splash and he became fearfully aware. It was the sound of
water. Water had just splashed somewhere against his crate and he was worried
sick. Had he been thrown into the ocean? Is that the reason the box felt like
it was rocking? Was he now floating on the waves?
With his last strength he could muster by the aid of panic, he screamed and
struggled and couldn't help but panic further as he felt cold water get inside
the box. Richard felt like it was only a matter of minutes before the box would
be full of water and he would drown. He screamed, struggled, cried, trashed,
did pretty much everything in his power to get out. But soon his strength was
drained and he really felt like giving up for good. He then felt stomping. The
crate vibrated along with them. His groggy mind was confused. Was he not in
water after all? Then why did his box leak?
The box was soon lifted and then placed down on solid ground, this time lid up.
He could hear a lock being opened and soon he saw dim rays of light come
inside. He heard a loud horrified gasp. Soon, the only thing he could register
was a lot of worried people, him being lifted from the box, but not being able
to untangle himself from his position because his muscles were too stiff. Next
he noted that he was pulled in a warm embrace by his crying mother who planted
sweet kisses all over his head.
After that he had never gone anywhere near the boxes or any tight spaces again.
But he did not give up on the thought of being flexible. After his parents had
died, he was training with Bruce and he sluggishly remembered him teaching him
how to handle one's emotions and fears. To master other people's fear, you had
to master your own. Bruce had never been able to repel the fear from Robin,
even if he had tried with all his might. He had told him step-by-step what to
do, but during his distress Robin could not bring himself to obey any of the
advice, only shut himself from everything.
Soon the scene of Bruce and him training changed to one where he was fighting
alongside his friends against Slade. The villain had knocked him to the ground,
pointing his bo staff at him, kicking him lightly in the ribs and urging him to
rise up and try again. The fight was not over, not even near over, and the only
thing Robin could register over the pain all over his body was Slade's deep
voice that urged him to continue. That voice seemed to drill its way through
Robin's thick skull and straight to his brain. With new energy, he lifted
himself up and lunged for another attack.
Robin saw pieces from all around his life, from earlier moments to more recent
ones, but soon he was back in the vent, not moving, not breathing, not doing
anything. Soon the panic was filling up on him again, but he tried to hold
himself. He was not a child anymore, he was mature! He tried to recall Bruce's
training, tried to take deep and slow breaths, trying to avoid
hyperventilation. He even closed his eyes and tried to clear his mind, but it
did not seem to help. His mind was filled with images; images of tight spaces,
of suffering, suffocating, and pain. He was about to start trashing again, but
he heard someone call his name from the distance.
The voice was deep, manly, relaxed and it sounded so care free compared to
Robin's wailing inside his head that he soon registered what was happening.
Slade was calling for him. The other man was only repeating his name, but he
was speaking to him nonetheless. Soon the pounding of blood in his ears was
abating, he could hear his breathing, and he felt his heart pumping blood
through his veins. Robin could now taste the coppery taste in his mouth that
had gone there as he hyperventilated. He had also bitten his tongue without
realizing it. His mouth felt like sandpaper and he tried to moisten it with his
saliva to make it feel at least a little better.
"I bet you're tired. Just relax. Breathe. Close your eyes, think about your
friends, and rest for a minute."
Robin could hear Slade's voice no matter how thick the layer of steel that
separated them was. Somehow he found himself grab onto that voice as if his
life depended on it. And as far as he knew, it did. Robin did everything the
voice told him. He closed his eyes and relaxed. He let his burning forehead
rest against the coldness of the vent walls, letting his body go completely
lax, and focusing on his breathing. He could feel his mouth producing more
saliva than he could swallow and some even dripped onto the bottom of the vent,
forming a small puddle. He did not mind it. He was so tired that he felt like
falling asleep in there. But Robin didn't. He did as the voice said and thought
about his friends. He was sure that they would be really proud of him now. Or
they should. They would probably cheer for him if they were here and that made
Robin feel warm. They would never let him suffer alone and would cheer him on.
"So do you think you are ready? Now, open your eyes, but don't move yet. Just
observe the darkness." Robin did as he was told and stared. He did not fear the
dark and he couldn't even see the walls. If he tried, he could reassure himself
that there were no walls, that they only existed in his head. The thought
seemed somehow relaxing and the darkness felt rather soothing. Maybe this was
not so impossible or scary after all. Maybe he had just overreacted. "Now get
the flashlight, compass and map, and plan your route."
Robin did manage to crawl forward a little so he could avoid ruining the map in
his drool puddle, trying to stay as low as possible to avoid hitting the roof
and panicking. He then carefully unfolded the map in front of him, placing the
compass on it. Finally, Robin picked up his flashlight and took his last
calming breaths. He breathed in as much air as he could, closed his eyes, and
turned on the light. He did not see anything because his eyes were still
closed. So far nothing happened. Maybe he shouldn't open his eyes. Carefully
peering through one, he took a small glimpse of the vent before closing it
again. He had seen a vent that kept going on as far as he could make out with
his flashlight. It wasn't really bright which in a way was an advantage in
Robin's mind. The dim light was soothing. It did not make his mind jumpy or
tense. Soon he opened both eyes and was surprised how easily he could handle it
in the end. Slade seemed to have known what he was doing when he sent Robin in
there. It was as if the man knew that he didn't have any real phobia for small
places, just a small trauma that he had to overcome. Robin would never admit it
to anyone, but he was slightly grateful for the man. Or maybe the reason for
why he was able to do this was that after he started failing and yell for five
minutes, Bruce would come and get him out. Now that he was with Slade, he had
to cope. Slade wouldn't come and save him for some petty thing. Robin needed to
learn to manage on his own. For real this time.
As Robin laid eyes on the map, he was only barely able to stop his jaw from
dropping to the iron bottom of the vent. The man was not kidding when he said
there was about two or three miles worth of vents. The map showed every twist
and turn and Robin could see many loose ends on the map. He had better come up
with the right route on the first try or else he would not be able to get out.
That didn't sound good. Trying to swallow down his nervousness, Robin tried to
find the easiest and shortest route to the other side of the room and was
rather disappointed to find out that he needed to experience all kinds of
twists and turns on his way.
'Well better get started,' he thought.
Creeping through the vents was an interesting experience. Who was he kidding?
Robin would give his weapons to whoever wanted them to never be in this
experience ever again. The first few feet when he only had to go straight ahead
wasn't so bad. One could easily creep through and on the way Robin had
discovered an easy way to move.
Pushing himself forward with his elbows, knees, fingers, and toes was easy
enough. It reminded him of the army exercise where you had to crawl under the
barbed wire on your stomach. He hated how the compass and flashlight pushed
against his body as he was almost lying on them though. Robin noted that having
the flashlight's looped thread around his hand kept it near-by and available
whenever he needed it. It wasn't in the way that much anyway. The compass he
kept on his belt pocket pressed against his hip, making the spot ache, but he
ignored it. The turns to the right and left were easy enough because he could
use his hands to drag and pull himself forward. Then, when he came to his next
crossing that led either up or down, Robin was puzzled. Why oh why did he need
to take a turn down now? He couldn't go head first or he would snap his neck if
he were to hit his head on the bottom. He did not have much room to turn and
even if he could, that meant that he would need to go legs first from then on.
He did not have much choice though. He could not risk himself busting his neck
in here. How would Slade rescue him if he did? No, bad brain! Robin did not
need rescuing. Repeat: did not. He was not a damsel in distress. He was not
helpless.
With the power fed by his stubbornness, Robin leaned in to the turn, taking
hold of the opposite wall by his left hand and holding from the base where he
now was laying with his right hand. He couldn't afford to fall in there. The
first thing Robin did was to try and turn himself around so that he was no
longer laying on his stomach but on his back. He then pulled himself into a
sitting position, having his legs and behind still on the vent he was coming
from and his upper body on the turn upwards. Okay, this wasn't so bad. Robin
then tried to lift himself up enough to get his legs out from the vent he was
coming from. This became a slight problem because there wasn't much of anything
he could take hold of. The teen could only lean his back against the opposite
wall and hope he didn't slip. After that he could only use the same method;
pushing his hands on opposite walls and hoping to slide down. It wasn't fun and
definitely not easy, but it was possible.
As Robin finally reached the bottom, he decided if he wanted to travel on his
stomach or on his back, he'd end up going on his back. He had noted that
turning from your stomach to your back was, in fact, possible, but it was
troublesome and he did not like the feeling of his sides and arms rubbing
against the iron. When he had to move from the right side of the vent to the
left at the same when turning (because there was no room to just flip over), it
was not something he would like to do too many times. The suit Slade gave him
was something Robin was really grateful now for. His arms would probably be
bleeding by now if he was wearing his Robin uniform and his cape would probably
slow him down, get stuck, and… Robin did not like the thought of getting stuck.
Not at all. Shaking it out of his head, he twisted himself and continued
creeping forward.
So far Robin had only hit one dead end because he had lost count of the turns
due to distractions. Well, he bet that anyone would get a little distracted if
one found a huge dead rat in one's path. He had told Slade, but the man only
laughed it off and said something like, 'to keep things realistic'. Robin was
about to puke when he tried to creep over it without touching it, but of course
that was impossible. He could feel it scrape his back and, when the fur brushed
his uncovered neck, he jolted and hit his head on the roof of the vent, gaining
a pretty hefty headache from it.
What Robin hated the most were L-shaped turns. It was easier now that he was
traveling legs first, which he was pretty happy about after experiencing some
L-shaped turns going down. But this L-turn was made just to satisfy Slade's
urges to be as much of a nuisance to Robin as possible. So, the boy was now
legs first on an L-turn, which led up. Great. There was absolutely no chance
that he could get his legs up first, because he could not lift himself up and
turn at the same time. Was this even the right turn? Picking up the map, Robin
looked at his location. Yes, it was. Sighing, he tried to plan out what he
wanted to do. He wasn't going to ask for Slade's help on this. He would prove
himself to him that he could do this. Hm, the man was probably already laughing
at his poor attempts, probably including making a bet on his failure with his
colleagues. Did Slade even have colleagues? Slade-bots probably weren't much of
betting partners, he imagined.
Shooing the thoughts out of his head, Robin took an observing look. The only
option he found was to go back two turns, switch positions so he could come
back head first and try again. Well that sucked. Having no other choice, he had
to redo the trip, change position, and after that the turn wouldn't present a
problem. In the future, he would plan his positions with better caution.
After a while of traveling, Robin was really looking forward to that glass of
water. It was boiling hot in the vents and the air seemed to hover around, not
a single gust of wind passing by. The air in the vent was stuffy and smelled
horrible. Probably because there were who-knows-what animals rotting in there.
Robin shook slightly at the image of the dead rat in his mind. Shaking the
image from his head, the teen made his way through the tunnels once more. He
was now creeping head first in the vents and he knew he was almost to the end
of his route. After a right turn, he wanted to back up and come up with another
route. The last of the vents were covered by thick spider and cobwebs and there
seemed to be thousands of those little eight-legged beasts around, laying
peacefully on their huge nests, ready to land on Robin if he dared to crash
them.
Well this was no good. Should he turn back? This route was the shortest. If he
took another one, it would possibly take half as long, maybe more. Oh how Robin
would have wanted to turn to Slade and seek for help and assurance, but his
stubbornness did not give that thought any room. Many times he had been stuck
in a hard turn and he wanted to ask help, almost plead to be let out from those
small, stuffy, horrible smelling and hot vents, but his pride did not allow it.
He would not bend in and seek for the man's help now when he had gotten this
far already. He could do this, no problem.
"Slade?"
Boy, did he ever think? Turning to Slade when faced with spiders? Did he have
arachnophobia or what?
"Yes, Robin?"
"Why are there spiders in here?"
Robin had effectively hidden his inner fear from Slade, deciding that he wanted
the man to think that he asked this with full self confidence. Robin really
hoped that he hadn't caught the small crack in his voice at the very start of
the sentence. Once again, the teen was answered by a deep, almost forced laugh.
"To keep things more realistic. Almost all vents have spiders. I'm surprised
you didn't encounter them sooner."
Well that made sense. The little monsters would inhabit any place they could
fit themselves into.
"So I'm supposed to just creep through?"
"Well, yes, unless you want to plan another route," Slade said. "But I cannot
assure you that there won't be any other spiders that way either. Besides, they
are only spiders. I promise you, that nothing inside is lethal."
'Pfft, that is so reassuring. Thank you, Slade, for making my day,' Robin
thought bitterly.
Robin did not like the thought of creeping trough spiderwebs because then he'd
probably get his face covered by the sticky thread and those little nuisances
would creep all over him. Well, maybe if he really was so close to being out of
there, maybe he could risk it just this once.
After one last reassuring breath, Robin started to creep onwards, trying to
break the webs with his hands before they hit his face. He wasn't scared of
spiders, he just didn't like the thought of being in a small vent with
thousands of them. There was absolutely no way he could squash them all. Robin
tried to creep past them as fast as possible, praising his luck as the next
turn was going up. Now he didn't have to worry about maneuvering around and
getting spiders on his head. Some of the tough, little creepers were still
after him, but most had stayed in their home vent, leaving the chase for the
others.
'Finally, the last turn!'
Robin made a smooth twist as he stuffed himself to the left, now on the last
straight. His eyes widened slightly.
"Slade, what the hell is this?" Robin yelled when he saw the huge, fan-like
thing, slowly turning around on its axle.
Robin could now hear the rusty clonking voice as the fan turned, making the air
gust lazily.
"It's the fan, Robin. It keeps the air moving."
"I can see that, but how am I going to get past it?"
"Either you circle it, choose another route, or, if it's big enough, creep past
it, avoiding the blade of course."
Well there was no way in hell to get past it. There was no room between the
blades to creep through. Besides, the blades moved too fast and there was just
no chance Robin could make it in time. Was there anyway to get around it?
Taking the map from his belt pocket, the teen planned his route. Damn, the exit
was right after this goddamn fan. Well, at least he didn't need to creep
through that spider-inhabited vent again.
When Robin was finally only meters away from the exit, he was so grateful that
he would praise whatever God he wanted for this. The experience sure did him
wonders. If he ever got back to his friends, he needed to make some serious
alterations to his suit. There was no way someone could travel in small vents
wearing that traffic light-colored costume. He would scratch himself on the
walls, make himself bleed, the loose outfit and cape would get stuck, and he
could only hope that it would tear so he could struggle free. Was there any
suit more impractical than his Robin outfit? Starfire would love to help him
prepare a new one, that was for sure.
Robin had once again turned himself around to travel legs first and he was
really glad that he had when he noted that the exit was way easier to open by
just kicking the whole lid off its hinges.
When the cold air hit Robin's skin and the fresh air filled his lungs, he
noticed how horrible the conditions were that he had been working with. The
vents had been hot, the air was almost polluted by those corpses, and he was
surprised he could still stay conscious. The air inside had been very poor
quality. Robin noticed that the vent was about one meter from the ground, so he
had to twist his back to arch so he could plant his feet firmly on the floor.
Oh how he had missed land.
Robin's muscles were now stiff, slightly sore, and his back was killing him.
Well, after laying around and creeping in tight tunnels, one's muscles were
bound to get a little bit stiff. Arching his back, he made it crack,
potentially taking some of the stiffness away. Then, he performed some
stretches and small exercises, just to get his muscles in a better range of
movement and get the blood going. After touching the floor with his palms,
Robin looked up and saw a table with a glass full of cold water and ice cubes
in it a few feet from him. Picking it up, he drank it all in large gulps,
letting the liquid wash over his mouth, taking away the dryness.
"Congratulations Robin, I really did not think you'd make it." Robin turned
around. "Especially not on the first try," Slade said with a serious tone.
He somehow managed to expose the epic "I told you so" scene in there without
even trying.
"Well, I did it. So what now? The simulator? Something fun?"
Robin could not hide the relief from his voice. He had really started to think
that he would not get out or away from the vents. In the end, however, he was
able to do it. He had been able to creep through the maze. And now that he
examined the vents again, he felt slightly amazed. Robin had really just crept
through a maze that small? If he hadn't overcome his fear of small spaces, then
he never would have.
"Well, if you really are up to it, we might," Slade said. "I have planned a
good simulator program to run for you."
Robin started to like these exercises Slade had set for him. They were much
more colorful than the ones he did at the tower. Of course, there would need to
be many improvements for Slade to lift his training sessions to the level, or
even past, that he had with his friends. The villain had fairly lethal ways to
make him learn, but somehow they seemed to work for the best. They made Robin
wonder what was with him. Was Slade trying to break him by slowly making his
visions of the world crash? Would he try to forcefully modify Robin so that he
wouldn't even notice it himself? Or was he just trying to show that he wasn't
that different after all and that even he could become one like Slade? Somehow
the teen got that idea from the last option, but it wouldn't come true. He was
the hero. Heroes had nothing in common with the villains and Robin would never,
in any circumstances, become one. Robin had stern beliefs and he wasn't one to
bend easily. Even Slade would have to learn that.
"Okay, so let's go then. The sooner it's done, the sooner you can get out of my
sight," Robin said, hearing a disagreeing voice from Slade. He now stood next
to Robin, looking at him with what he thought was a mocking look, but he didn't
really see it because of the mask. He looked over and noticed something
familiar. "Is that the same exit?"
Robin pointed to the door they had entered the hall from.
"That's the exit, yes," Slade said with a nod. Robin was about to climb over
the vents blocking his way and get out from the room as fast as he could, but
the man grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him back. "But try to see it
from the eyes of the villain. You were able to get yourself through the vents
and get the thing you were looking for. But you can't get caught can you? So,
you will have to get out the same way you got in." Slade stuffed Robin back
into the vent before he could react. As he was about to yell at the bastard to
stop joking and let him go, Slade waved his hand as in good-bye and said, "Ta-
ta Robin; take care. I'm off to have a cup of coffee."
And with that, the lid of the vent was shut and the darkness fell around Robin,
consuming him. The only sound he could hear was of Slade's retiring steps. The
boy had a good feeling an evil smirk was behind that annoying mask when he
continued to yell at him. Once there was no sound left, Robin sighed heavily
and made his way back out.
***** Chapter 9 *****
Hello, this is SladinForever. I admit that I am a very bad beta XD I've had
several chapters sitting on my computer for Kach, but I've been in a reading
rut for a long time and haven't bothered working on betaing her work for her.
Last time Take Your Medicine was updated was over a year ago. Yeah, I'm
horrible, I know D: Hopefully, though, I'll be able to get my ass into gear and
get to editing the rest that I have so far for your enjoyment. To brush up on
things, here's what has happened:
-Robin was sick with the flu, went out to fight crime, and wound up collapsing
due to his fever
-Slade picked him up, nursed him back to health, and has been training him
during their one week training deal
-Robin has learned to use a variety of weapons and goes into a simulation room,
where he performs specific tasks that Slade sets for him
-Last chapter, Robin conquered his fear of small spaces by traveling through
ventilation and getting stuck in the process
So, everyone got that? Yes? Good! But, by all means, go back and brush up on
the older chapters since I'm such a lame ass XD I hope you enjoy this chapter.
It's actually really well written and so far is one of my favorites. Enjoy!
Kachiru's Beta, SladinForever
Kazhiru's AN:
Today I was having a boring day... school was nerve wrecking, and once I got
home, I played minecraft all day long... I was supposed to go to sleep after,
but I decided to check my email first... OHS*HIT GUYZ! DocX deliver? *Insert
intense joy* I'm sorry this chapter is WAY more than late, but hey, it's here
now. Maybe I can keep up with the phase. I have like... What? 15 chaps already
written. They only need some editing from my beta. (sorry sladin). Please, do
enjoy the story, and thank SladinForever for her patience to edit my horribly
written gibberish!
Enjoy!
As they say, the return journey always feels faster than the beginning one. The
same applied when traveling in vents. Robin had almost memorized the route and
had not taken as many missed turns as before. Soon, he reached the end of the
maze. The feeling of walking on the firm floor was really something Robin
appreciated. The vent had felt way more hot, laborious, stuffy, and, at some
point, Robin was sure he'd faint from the stink and dehydration combined.
"Oh God I have to get a glass of water. And a shower. I stink."
And stink he did. It was as if the smell from the vents were stuck on him,
making him feel disgusted. Who would want to smell like rotting fish and moth-
eaten air that had been staying still since god knows how long? Taking his
leave, Robin left down the hall, without looking back. The first thing he did
was drink three big glassfuls of water. After, he took a shower, using the one
in Slade's quarters. He felt clean after he had gotten rid of all the sweat
from the hot vents. He now smelled fresh thanks to Slade's sports shampoo. The
exhaustion from the vent experience was taking its toll and making Robin feel
tired, but he didn't want to miss the simulator practice. Slade had planned
something for him and somehow he found that he didn't want to disappoint him.
Especially not after being able to survive the vents almost perfectly.
As Robin held his loosely hanging towel on his waist, smelling fresh and
feeling it too, he found out that he didn't have the courage to touch his
training suit anymore. He could smell the damn thing from the other side of the
room. Not even the most horrifying beast would make him wear that thing before
it was properly washed. Maybe the bots would collect it if he just left it
there? Shrugging his shoulders, Robin made his way to the closet, looking for
his spare uniform that he knew would have to be there somewhere. After finding
it folded nicely in the furthest corner, he changed and then fled to the
simulator room, not even trying to hide his happiness and energy. His chest was
swelling with pride and accomplishment when he had finally overcome his fear of
small spaces. And, of course, he was really happy to leave the stinking uniform
in the room.
Finding his way to the simulator room was easier than he thought. Getting lost
not nearly as much, Robin stepped in the room without bothering to state his
presence to Slade. He didn't really deserve any kind of pleasantries after
making him go through the vent maze twice.
"Robin."
"Slade," Robin answered with almost the same cold voice as Slade had. Slade
sounded more amused than cold, but Robin ignored that fact.
"I see you were able to cope with the vents. I'm pleased. But now, if you will,
we'll start with this exercise. In you go."
Slade indicated the door that led to the room itself with his hand. He was once
again near the command center, adjusting the room settings.
"What do you have planned?" Robin asked curiously, really feeling as such.
Slade hadn't said anything about what he would encounter in the room this time,
making him feel slightly cheated. He needed some kind of clue as to what he
would see in there.
"I'll tell you when you're inside, just like last time."
Taking a deep breath, Robin decided to go in. Last time was not nearly as bad
as it had been, so this wouldn't be either. Right? Once he stepped into the
room, the scenery started to change immediately. Robin saw the panels of the
wall switch, twist, turn, and reflect artificial light. Soon they were settling
on something that looked brownish and slightly dark. The floor started to make
its change now as well. Robin could see how different types of objects rose
under him. He knew better than to move around now, so he stood completely still
until the room finished its transformation. Soon, after one clunk like noise
was heard and his surroundings lay completely still, the room started to create
smaller details.
Cold, salty, sea-like smelling air caught Robin's nostrils. It was enough to
make his hair rustle. Then, voices, howling wind, some roaring machines, and
even people talking came around. Soon the room seemed to wake up and everything
became alive. Small pieces of trash on the concrete moved from the wind and
other kinds of movement. Further away, Robin saw people standing in a crowd,
conversing, moving their hands aggressively, as if saying that they really
disagreed with whatever they were being told. Robin couldn't hear what they
were saying very well.
It always amazed Robin how this room could bring everything to life—make
everything so real. He could even feel the uneven ground under his feet. Tiny
pebbles of sand would hit his face and some trash collided with his ankles,
which he could also feel. He could even sit on one of the crates that were in
the alley he was in if he wanted to. This reminded Robin to observe his
surroundings. He was definitely at the docks, judging by the smell of the ocean
and the huge shipping crates and machines that were there to move them. Robin
could even hear a faint crashing of waves. Soon the air was pierced by the
ship's horn as it gave some kind of signal—Robin didn't know much about ship
signals really. It was a perfect replica of Jump City's docks, as far as he
could tell. All the gray and dark brown colors, all the warehouses, the
different colored crates; everything. It just never ceased to amaze Robin.
Slade suddenly interrupted him from his musings.
"Are you ready?"
Of course he was. He was eager, to be more exact. Robin just couldn't wait. He
didn't know what he had to do yet, but somehow he felt as if he actually was at
the docks, not in Slade's base. Maybe he could see Titans Tower from there? It
wasn't impossible, when the sky was clear, you could shape the island. He
couldn't wait.
"Yes, of course I'm ready. What's the mission?"
"You see those people at the docks? They are dealers. They have a huge shipment
coming in and they have strict orders: shoot or be shot. But you don't need to
arrest them. That is not your place in the story." That comment dazed Robin
slightly because that was what he usually did. Catch the bad guys and hand them
over to police. "These people have actually stolen something of yours and are
now about to ship it to the highest bidder. Of course, the police are okay with
this because they aren't very fond of you. To put it another way, they have
been ordered to look the other way." So Slade had made him the bad guy for this
one. Well it didn't matter, this was only a simulator. Right? But it still
irritated Robin. "They are after you for good and, if you don't get them first,
they are going to kill you."
Okay, so Slade had just sent him into the middle of a killing spree. Robin was
so going to get back at him for that.
"So what do you want? For me to kill them with my bare hands? Can I just
immobilize them?"
He didn't have any weapons with him for god's sake! He was not about to kill
anyone, not even if they were only mirages, or whatever they were.
"To answer your questions in order: I want you to take care of those people,
don't let anyone escape, there's only twelve of them. And of course you
couldn't kill them quickly and efficiently with just your hands. There's a gun
placed on a small crate in the right corner. Also, there are some extra
bullets. Remember, this is not one of those games where you can redo the
mission. Don't get yourself killed. And no, you can't immobilize them. Well,
maybe you can, but then they could speak to their boss. If that happens, you
have failed." Robin couldn't hold back a snort. Let them kill him? This was a
simulator, they could do no such thing. They didn't really exist. That meant
that their guns didn't exist, neither did the wounds he might get. "I hope you
get the point because you are on your own now. Take care."
And with that, the voice was gone. If Slade really thought that Robin would
kill someone, he was sadly mistaken. He still couldn't picture the fact that
Robin didn't kill. He was not going to start now, nor was he ever. But still,
deciding to let Slade at least think he was going to do this by the rules,
Robin picked up the imaginary gun, which was weird to hold. It weighted as much
as the one he had used before and it looked the same. It felt one hundred
percent real, but it couldn't be. There was no gun inside the simulator room
when he had entered, which could only mean that the gun wasn't real.
After placing the gun and extra bullets safely in his belt, which acted as a
holster, Robin made his move. First thing he always did was prepare a plan and
get a good sight connection to the target. Robin climbed up the escape ladders
and soon found himself creeping on the roof of a tall warehouse, examining his
targets. Was there any way he could just immobilize them? Was there any other
way to shut their mouths than to kill them?
Hey, he actually could see Titans Tower from here! There was a light on in the
living room window and he was sure that they were all watching a move- No!
Concentrate on the mission.
Robin's mind was clearly not producing anything useful for this and, so far, he
only noticed that eight of the men were close-by, talking, and the rest were
near the ship, getting ready. Slade had mentioned that they had something of
his. Maybe if he'd be able to get that back, he didn't need to do anything
about the men on the docks. But then maybe there wasn't anything in the ship?
This was a simulator after all. Besides, the ship was way too secure, it was
too much of a risk to be taken. Any way Robin looked at it, there was no way he
could silence the men, and if he could, they'd almost be better off dead. Maybe
if he was able to lure them in a trap? Yes, that was it. Maybe he'd be able to
lock them up in one of those huge shipment boxes. Once in there, they could be
taken to one of those oil platforms for all he cared.
Robin looked around his surroundings to look for the best shipment box for the
cause. And there it was. It was lying on it's side, lid open, almost as if it
were waiting to be used. All it needed was some slight modifications and a
possibility to lock. Maybe if he could support the lid with something and, when
they were in, he'd just need to break the supporting pole. It sounded really
simple, but sometimes simple was the best. Then he could block the lid by
driving one of the forklifts against it, blocking it. All he needed now was to
put his plan into action. He climbed back down and silently ran into the
shadows of the warehouses. No one had seen him yet. Good. He could not let
anyone see or hear him until he was ready and, so far, everything was going
according to plan. Robin quickly found some abandoned iron bars from the dock.
It was rather challenging to try to move them from there to the box right under
their noses though.
Soon, the trap was set and the only thing left was getting the forklift ready.
The shipment box was in a rather good location. It was hidden in the alley and
it was right after a sharp turn. If Robin managed to get all of them to chase
him, he'd only have to take the turn and climb over the box. Then they would
just run inside. They wouldn't even notice what hit them until it was too late.
Smiling widely, Robin made his way to the forklift. He sat on the seat and
pushed the metal shield off with a piece of steel he found while moving the
bars. Now he only had to connect some wires—he did not have the keys—and then
he'd be all set. Robin had done this before. Well, not with a forklift, but
with cars and motorcycles while working with Bruce. This wouldn't be much
harder. Except that the wires were all either brown or blue. How did this piece
of junk pass the security test? The wires had to be marked by colors so that no
danger of miss wiring caused an electrical shot. This machine had to be against
every law on vehicles, but Robin tried his luck. He just had to look really
carefully, figure out which wire came from where, and then connect them. With a
hold of his breath, he touched the ends together. The forklift started and the
motor was functioning just fine. But so was the horn. The noise was so loud, it
almost scared Robin out of the heavy machinery. This did not amuse the dealers.
No, not one bit.
"I hear him! He's by that alley!"
"Get him! Don't let him escape!"
"I'll shoot that little mollusk!"
Robin was dead meat now. He startled to his feet, wanting nothing more than to
escape. There were eight of them behind him. He had no idea where the rest of
them were.
'Slade would probably get the kicks out of this if he was looking from the
window… This is so embarrassing.'
Robin was quickly brought back to the chase as a gunshot pierced the air. He
heard an iron barrel being shot, which caused him to meep and run faster. This
hadn't gone to plan. It hadn't gone to plan at all!
It took Robin a while to notice that his chasers were showing no signs of
tiredness, but weren't actually that good of shooters either. So far, he had
not been shot, even if he had been out like a sitting duck. He could see that
some of the dealers were not comfortable with the guns as they tried to shoot
him by holding it with both hands and closing both eyes too. They even held
their hands wrong. They were not supposed to press their hands against their
chest and just hope to hit their target. What kind if idiots were they? It
almost made Robin want to turn around and show them how it was done. But only
an idiot would do that. And that turned the light bulb on over his head. Maybe
he didn't have to kill anyone if he just ran through the mob and make them
shoot each other. That may have sounded like an idiotic plan, but he couldn't
really shoot them either. He couldn't run and aim at the same time. Besides,
doing daring acrobatics was what he did best. Some of the men, who really
seemed to be newbies at this profession, even seemed to be afraid of the
slightest sound they heard. It would not be a real challenge to make them
accidentally shoot their comrades as they were trying to protect themselves
from the attacker. They'd probably even try to shoot their own shadow because
of their nervousness. All he had to do was scatter the crowd.
When Robin ran to the next turn, he jumped up and took a hold of the escape
ladder, pulling himself up and then staying completely quiet, waiting for them
to run past.
"He disappeared!"
"You let him escape? Idiots! We'll separate to look for him. Yell if you find
him!" The men nodded. Soon, they all scattered, expect the one that yelled, who
was still standing right under Robin. "Come on you coward, I know you're still
here!"
He looked around, holding his gun in his hand, ready to shoot whatever moved.
Great, he'd have to be the first one to go.
Silently, Robin made his way to the roof, making sure he didn't hear him. He'd
just have to test out how sensitive they were… Robin saw almost everyone from
the roof. He could see their positions and he could guess their paths. The roof
he was on was flat. It also seemed to have been forgotten. Some time ago,
people had probably tried to fix the roof and now it looked like they had left
without a trace, leaving everything on it. He could use those as distractions.
He could drop some tools to make noise, to scare them. Like Batman, he'd drop
on them in the shadows and make them scream for their dear life.
Smiling widely, Robin took one blank board from the pile and went into his
position near the end of the roof. He could see two people from there. They
couldn't see each other because they were on opposite ends of the path—one in
the alley and the other behind a wall. Was this made easy for him or what? Both
of the men were tense. He could tell by the way they had their shoulders
tensed. They walked slowly, taking small steps, turning around in distress as
they heard imaginary voices behind them. One of them even managed to shoot a
rat when he thought it was the intruder.
Smiling, Robin lifted the wood blank over his head, aiming for the barrels at
the corner of the turn. He could see the wood piece fly in the air and then
collide with the iron barrels, making a huge metallic sound that then rolled
them over. The men were shouting and running at the corner, aiming at the
source of the noise. The other was at his highest level of awareness and
noticed the shadow of the other person coming around to see what the sound was
about. He aimed at the corner, waiting for the shadow's owner to come around
the bend. It all happened so fast that Robin barely registered it. As he came
into view, the other shot him in the chest at the exact same moment without
thinking. Once he noticed what he had done, he rushed over to the man, trying
to stop the bleeding. He kneeled over him, trying to reassure him that he'd be
okay. Unfortunately, he looked like he could die from this very moment in mere
minutes. Robin could even see it from the distance by the way the shot man
tensed and went pale. The man kneeling was pressing the wound while holding him
by his hand, shouting for him to stay conscious, to not die. Soon, a third man
ran to the scene, probably aware of the shouting and shooting he had heard.
Suddenly stopping, he stood frozen to the spot when he saw the men on the
ground. As he collected himself together, he started to shout. He was mad at
the other. All he got back was some half-assed apologies that Robin could not
hear from the distance because he spoke in a panicked and incoherent voice.
Soon, both voices started to rise and they all but yelled at each other. As the
man laying unmoving on the ground finally breathed his last breath, the man who
had just come to the scene lost it and started to point at the other with a
gun. They sure weren't stupid enough to kill each other over this were they?
Robin decided that he wasn't sure if he wanted to wait and find out. He had
managed to trigger this event and he wasn't happy about it. The men were
delirious, they yelled, they blamed each other for the event, and, before Robin
could stop them, they both had drawn their guns and fired a shot each. The
newer man hit the kneeled one straight between the eyes. In turn, he was hit in
the throat. As he hit the ground with a horrible thump, he shook violently,
holding his throat and trying to yell despite his windpipe nearly getting blown
off. The sight was disgusting. The blood was spraying from the wound, hitting
the wall, and the man was in shock. It took all of Robin's will to not rush in
there, to remind himself time and again that this was not real. The men didn't
really exist and this was merely a simulator. But god did it look real. Robin
could see the blood pool to the floor. As he finally jumped down to look if the
man was still alive, he noted that his breath was so faint that it merely made
the blood drip out of his mouth and his eyelids were blinking faintly and
rapidly.
As Robin was about to reach for him, to help however he could, he saw him
trying to cough and, before he managed to lift him in a sitting position, he
had already choked on his own blood. The man's eyes had glossed over and he
didn't breathe. Robin knew he had lost him. He had caused the death for all
three people and he felt terrible. He stood in the middle of the corpses,
staining his boots and legs in dark red blood, looking at the lifeless beings
on the ground. He really thought that if he made the men kill each other, he
would not feel bad about it and it wouldn't be his fault. But he was wrong. He
was so wrong. Never in his life had Robin felt this guilty, nor this horrified
with himself. Because of him, three men were now dead. No, three imaginary
people. Simulator people. Only a mirage, a production of his mind. Or Slade's
mind, seeing as he was the on the other side of the wall, pushing all the
buttons. This was not real! It took all of Robin's will to make him believe
that the men in front of him were only a hallucination. A darn good one, but
still a hallucination. But Robin could smell the odor of blood in the air. He
felt how thick the liquid was slowly making its way through the layer of
clothing he had on him and was slowly tainting his legs with the shade of dark
red despair.
"Hey! You!" An angry voice woke Robin up from his disturbing thoughts. Lifting
his head, he saw another man, looking horrified. Who wouldn't when he just
found his enemy kneeling on the ground, covered by the blood of his dead
comrades that lay on the ground around him. "Y-You…You killed them! I'm going
to murder you for this!"
Raising the gun, the man aimed to shoot Robin. Knowing better than to stay
kneeling there, he bolted up, running as fast as he could and trying to find
cover. On the ground, there was some materials he could use, like the lid of an
iron barrel or the barrel itself. But a small voice inside his head told him
that it was no use. The voice was mocking him, telling him to stop running,
face the enemy, and just kill him. He had already killed three men, he may as
well kill the rest. But then there was this other voice. That voice told him,
too, to stop running, but it also told him to stay and get shot. He had killed
and he wasn't any different than his worst enemies. He was on the same level
now.
Robin's thoughts were running from one point to another, which made him do the
same. At least he was sure he had passed that corner at least three times
already. The man after him was furious. He screamed and he fired shot after
shot. None of them had yet to come near Robin, but what he was afraid of was
that the man would attract others' attention. If he couldn't come up with a
plan quick and the others found him, he would be dead for sure.
Robin ran fast, zigzagging and changing his path many times, trying to distract
the man, but so far, he had not been able to escape his wrath. There were no
ladders to escape with, nor anything suitable for cover. Things seemed to go
wrong for him. He was sure that every turn he took led to nowhere and all of
his plans seemed to crash. His mind was a mess and he kept facing dead ends
with his thoughts. He didn't want to spill anymore blood from anyone, not by
his hands and not by others. Besides, this was a simulator, right? He didn't
have to. This wasn't real. It wasn't like these men could actually hurt him.
They weren't real. And what wasn't there couldn't hurt him. Right? Robin was
trying to reassure himself, even if he liked to believe that he was just
planning on what to tell Slade once he got out of there. None of this training
made sense. What was the point of killing something that didn't really exist?
Facing another dead end, Robin found that he was screwed. This one was nothing
but physical force. He was now trapped in the alley with no other way out
except to go where the danger was: the man with a gun and a motive to kill.
Robin stood back facing the wall, eyes set before him, waiting for the man to
appear in his line of vision any minute now. He suddenly appeared, eyes blood
shot, clothes ragged, panting for breath, looking aggressive and menacing with
a loaded gun in his hands, and making it very clear that he would shoot. By the
crazed look in his eyes, Robin knew he wouldn't regret the moment he pulled the
trigger. It was only him and the man now. Two people, only one survivor. At
that point, Robin knew that there was no chance to get himself out of this. The
man was there to kill. He meant business.
"You fucking son of a bitch! You must be really proud of yourself now, huh?
Causing mayhem all around the city, murdering people, having connections! Well
it's all over now! You finally made your false move! I will avenge the very
injustice you have done, by relieving the people from their misery!
Swinging down with the back of the gun, the man missed Robin's head by only
mere inches. Instead, he managed to land a painful hit to his left shoulder,
causing him to flinch in pain and grab it. The pain wasn't real. Robin tried to
think, but god did it feel real when his shoulder stung with pain. It was the
equivalent to being hit by an iron crowbar. As he raised his head to look at
the man, the first thing he noticed was that his gun was a special, modified
version. Or at least different from the one the men carried with them. This one
was slightly bigger and made out of pure metal. It probably weighed at least
twice more than the others and it had small spikes for decoration. Robin
started to believe they were there for a reason. And he didn't want to be hit
with it again. As the man raised his hand again, Robin was already on his way
to avoid the attack before it even landed. He still managed to get a small
scratch on his left side, but the suit protected him pretty well.
"You think this is some game kid? You better stop playing around and start
fighting for real! I'm going to kill you and I'm going to take all the fun out
of it by making you feel the pain you caused for my comrades!" The man reloaded
the gun. "Let's see you dance with one leg already in the grave."
Before Robin could dodge, a loud bang was heard and a bullet pierced his leg,
destroying the muscle and making it bleed profusely. He screamed in pain. Now
it was almost impossible to believe that this was just a mere simulator. Robin
fell to his knees, the pain was almost unbearable. He had been shot before, but
one could never get used to something like this. Last time he had fainted
pretty fast after the shot and he didn't have to suffer for long, but not this
time. This couldn't be a simulator anymore. He was in real pain, the man was
real, and the blood that kept oozing from the wound certainly looked real
enough for him. His leg was shattered. The bullet had gone right through his
shin, only missing the bone by mere millimeters. The bullet itself had rammed
itself in the wall behind Robin, making the bricks crack and break. There was
no chance that this was a game anymore. No, this was real. All this time, Robin
had assured himself that nothing that happened here could really hurt him, but
this proved him wrong. He was in trouble now. His leg was useless from the knee
down and it hurt like hell. He couldn't run, jump, or kick. Hell, he couldn't
do anything now that his right leg was shattered. Robin tried to hold it and
try to stop the bleeding, trying to look for anything to use as a bandage. When
he lifted his gaze from his leg, he saw the man's knee aimed at his face. It
hit him hard in the left cheek bone, leaving horrible pain and loud protest
from his neck. It didn't like the sudden motion of being twisted back more than
it normally did.
As Robin flew backwards, his head moved back far enough to slightly hit a
barrel hanging uselessly on the wall, but luckily it didn't hurt. Or at least
he didn't notice it. His leg was hurting enough that he didn't care about the
small wince on his face. Robin tried to lift himself up while keeping a hold of
the wall. He backed himself into a corner. The man was lunging at him when he
finally got himself on both feet, supporting all his weight with his left leg
and trying to lift his damaged one as protection, wishing it would keep the man
away from him. He only slapped it away, making Robin wince. He forgot all about
the pain in his shoulder while lifting his hands to try and hit the man into
unconsciousness. As they say, redirecting pain was possible. Robin had to
agree. His leg hurt enough that the pain in his shoulder now felt like nothing.
He even managed to land an almost perfect, successful blow to the man's temple.
Unfortunately, he didn't have enough power behind it and the man only swayed
away a little. It left more space between the two, but it didn't hold him back.
Robin felt useless without being able to kick his enemy because he held a great
portion of strength within his legs. Not that his arms were weak by any means,
but he had gotten used to a fighting style with powerful kicks, professional bo
staff mastery, and almost anyone could see that almost all of his moves were
supported by his legs, the power of the punch starting from the very being of
himself. But now, when Robin was left with only his hands to fight, his chances
were reduced by a good half portion of the total. Promising to have more effort
in only hand-to-hand combat, Robin tried to come up with good alterations for
his moves, trying to come up with something that didn't require a leg he
couldn't afford.
As the man lunged forward, Robin used his good leg to jump, trying to lift
himself enough in the air to lung at him with his full weight behind his punch,
managing to make him stumble and fall. The landing made Robin wince as the
injured leg hit the ground and the wounded muscles protested as they moved the
way they normally wouldn't. Using all that Batman had taught him, he tried to
ignore the pain. As the man was pushed to the ground, he tried to jump away
from him, but didn't get very far. He grabbed him by the ankle and pulled him
down. Getting his breath forced out of his lungs as he hit the ground, Robin
tried to recover as fast as possible. He rolled over and awaited a sharp punch
from the man. As he saw the force when the punch hit the ground, making the
dirt jump and hover into the air, Robin decided that he didn't want to be hit.
He now lay on his back in the dirt. He used his hands and abs to jolt himself
up on his only healthy leg, swaying a little but managing to keep his balance.
He tried to jump away again, but the man had a hold of his hand. He tried to
pull him back. Robin was about to lose his balance for real this time, but
managed to yank his hand from him, making himself fall backwards. Luckily, he
hit the wall and was still standing.
The man was yelling in frustration as Robin kept escaping from his clutches. He
then attempted a full lung towards him. Robin tried to protect himself from the
upcoming punch by stopping him with his hands, but he had misjudged his
intentions and the force of the punch. The fist sank into Robin's stomach,
feeling like his intestines were pushed apart from each other, making him vomit
whatever he had been trying to digest.
"Don't you see, brat. Your game is played. You lost."
Robin was desperately trying to gasp for breath and straighten his collapsed
position. He saw the man preparing to shoot his brains out. Robin could already
see himself lying lifeless in a bare room with gray walls and an emotionless
Slade staring at him from the other side of the glass, shaking his head in
disappointment. He could not die in here. He was supposed to be free. After one
week, he would see his friends again. He was not going to let himself die and
make his friends' lives horrible, making them feel guilty and horrified from
his disappearance. They'd be crushed when Slade told them he was killed during
a mission in a simulator room, killed by people that only existed inside four
walls. Robin could see Starfire crying for him, Beast Boy's ears drooping,
Raven retreating back inside herself, never opening up again, and saw Cyborg
trying to hold everyone together, but failing and falling deep into depression.
He could see them mourning him, blaming themselves for his loss. He could not
let his friends see that day. Robin felt a single tear drip along his cheek.
With shaky hands, he reached to one of his belt pockets.
"Give my regards to your parents in heaven for me, will you?"
Robin felt the cold steel of the gun press against his temple. After a final
shot, everything went silent and dark.
There was a little bit of blood on Robin's cheek. No one moved. The setting
went completely still. No waves were heard anymore. No wind was playing in the
deserted alley. Not even the seagulls dared to coo. A cough was heard and then
another droplet hit Robin's cheek, making the red liquid slowly run down and
absorb into his uniform, staining it dark red. Finally, the man collapsed,
coughing up blood on him. Blood pooled out of his stomach as he leaned on him.
Robin almost fell from the heavy weight pressed to his smaller frame. He
grasped the gun tightly in his right hand with all the strength he had,
pressing it against the man, fearing that the slightest of movements would make
the whole world collapse on him. As the strength in the man's legs died, he
fell over sideways, landing in the sand and breathing it in. Robin continued to
listen to them, though they were distant. Suddenly, all thoughts deserted him.
Not a single thing crossed his mind. He soon woke from his reverie when he saw
the man try to reach for something. He looked down at the dying mass of flesh
and blood. He was glaring at Robin with all the hate he still had. Trying to
negotiate his leg to take a weak step forward, he stepped up beside him.
"You made me choose today. When you were going to kill me, I noticed something.
It was between you and me. One would live while the other died. It was either
me, a person with family and friends, had a goal, and was a real man, or you, a
simulator-created person, who only exists inside these walls and inside my
head. It took me a near-death situation to realize that I prefer my own life
over someone who does not really exist at all."
Blocking out all of the voices around him, Robin aimed the gun one more time
and ended the suffering of the dying man in front of him, only hearing a faint
sound of a gun shot. Silently, he stepped over the man with his good leg,
limping his way to the nearest wall. He used it for support with one hand while
the other held his hurting stomach as he tried to find his way back whence he
came. The simulator program wouldn't end until the other men were dead too.
Robin no longer cared to save them. They were only imaginary people. They
weren't even robots. They didn't exist. Even as the first to find him was
yelling for his comrades and taking aim with his gun, Robin already shot him
and kept going. He didn't care. He was too dirty, too tired, mentally and
physically. All he wanted to do was get out of there, take a shower, and sleep.
He didn't want to deal with this simulation anymore. He had had enough.
The seven people left were quickly taken care of and Robin was soon on the
docks. The men weren't even difficult to deal with. They were fairly terrible
shooters and were the biggest cowards he had ever seen in his life. After
standing there like an unmoving target with his immobilized leg, Robin decided
that the thugs weren't enough to save anyways. Having to kill people, they
should at least be a challenge, but these people were just plain stupid or just
there to annoy him. Why would anyone ever hire such useless shooters? He did a
great deed for the man who had hired them. There's no reason to pay someone who
can't do a simple task.
As the last person collapsed and Robin found the room moving around him, he
slowly limped his way to the door, where Slade was waiting for him. He was
sitting in a desk chair with his arms crossed, looking at him with his only
good eye. The moment Robin stepped inside the room, the pain in his leg
disappeared and he was almost dumbfounded when he noted that he could stand on
it now. There was just a slight cramp that didn't hurt all that bad. Slade
stood up from his chair.
"I'm disappointed that it took you so long to get rid of those meddling fools.
But I give you some credit for being able to overcome your false morality that
killing is always a bad decision." Slade switched positions with Robin, pushing
him into the chair. He looked at his slightly hurt leg. "I'm also disappointed
that you managed to get yourself this beaten up when the difficulty was only at
level two. Those men were probably the worst shooters ever and still you get
shot in the leg? I'm disappointed."
Slade removed Robin's boot and lifted the leg of the suit. He started to
examine his leg, feeling the muscles and seeing if there was anything wrong. To
Robin, the touch felt like a massage. He started to relax from it, leaning back
in the chair slightly, as not to show Slade that he was getting comfortable. He
didn't want the heavenly touch to go away. After limping around with a shot
leg, almost any touch felt like a massage. Robin thought his fingers were
remedial. Not daring to tell him that, in fear that he'd stop, Robin decided to
ask one question that was bothering him.
"How does the room do that? Make it feel so real…?"
Slade regarded him briefly. "Once I set the simulator, a toxin similar to Dr.
Jonathan Crane's fear toxin fills the room. It is absorbed through your skin
and stimulates the brain to show hallucinations. I make sure every human sense
filters through. With my controls, I create the voices and they are heard from
speakers throughout the room. I can also make the aromas in any specific
setting. A machine mixes different ingredients, producing said smells. After
it's ready, they're transferred through the walls inside the room. As for
feeling pain, the mind tricks your body into thinking it's real. Once you
stepped out of the room, you instantly detoxed, leaving your hallucinated mind
behind and returning to the real world. Thus, the pain vanished almost
instantaneously."
Finished with his explanation, Slade gave Robin's thigh a strong pat, letting
him know that he was indeed alright. There was no blood on him and his leg
didn't bother him at all. Even if he didn't like the idea of being drugged and
hallucinating without being informed, he still thought that the room was
shrewd. Nodding, he rose to his feet, swaying so little that it probably wasn't
even visible. But Slade managed to notice.
"I think you should get some rest. I also think you'll want to take a shower.
Therefore I must tell you: tomorrow your missions will begin. I have already
planned your mission with a small training session for you to perform before. I
suggest you get some sleep so you won't fail you first mission." Slade guided
Robin to his bedroom, holding his shoulder for a rather long time. "Robin, I
think you have been doing rather well with your training. So far, its been
successful and I suggest you keep that up."
Before he let go of him, Slade rewarded him with a small pat on the shoulder.
Robin smiled happily at this, accepting the praise he had given. Bruce almost
never praised him and he had learned to accept praises whenever they came. What
he wondered was why a praise from Slade made him feel more accomplished than
one from Bruce. He thought that it was because he had been made to do some
really challenging things today: overcame his fear of small spaces and he
survived today's simulator program. He had overdone himself, on some mental
scale at least, and he thought that he deserved the praise he had earned.
As they reached the room, Robin went straight to the shower. Even if he wasn't
covered completely in blood, he still felt as if he was. Inside, Robin enjoyed
the warmth of the water that relaxed every nerve and made him feel wonderfully
clean. I felt nice to let all those depressing thoughts that had piled up on
him when he was in the simulator wash away. After he brushed his teeth with an
extra toothbrush that was in the cabinet, he entered the bedroom, wearing his
towel on his hips and trying to sort out his hair with his hands. Slade was on
the computer and was stealing glimpses of Robin while he stretched and showed
off his chest and stomach. It was such a shame that he had to look over and
save his work and turn off the computer that he had carelessly left on all
morning. Slade would have preferred to do some bird watching instead of
checking on a few files.
"Slade, where are my sleep clothes?"
Robin was currently leaning over the bed, looking to see if the bots had placed
them under the comforters. Slade was looking too. At Robin's rear.
"Probably in the closet," he mumbled absentmindedly.
"Oh, yeah, right…"
Robin decided to take a shortcut by crawling over the bed, reaching the closet
way faster that way. After that show, Slade didn't mind if Robin slept naked.
Why cover those muscles under some overly big nightshirt? With that, Slade made
a mental note to get Robin new night wear. Maybe something more huggable? Or
maybe he would just forget the whole shirt thing. He could sleep with pajama
pants only. What had he been thinking when he provided Robin those clothes?
Well, as they say, one learns from their mistakes.
Slade turned off the computer while Robin made himself comfortable in the bed,
burying himself under the comforter to absorb the warmth. He turned on his side
so that he was facing the bathroom door. He was about to drift off to sleep
when he felt the mattress fold as another person laid down. Robin tensed. Slade
had just come to sleep next to him. He hadn't done that before. Or, at
least…Robin didn't know if he had. He laid still, as if to wait for him to
move, to reach out to him, but nothing happened. So he relaxed. It was Slade's
bed. Strange, Robin didn't even think about asking for a room for himself. It
actually unnerved him. Did that mean that he liked to be here with Slade? Of
course not. That was just stupid. Who would want to be in the same place with
Slade? That just didn't add up.
Robin tensed again when Slade turned on his side and inhaled. He let the air
venture out from his lungs, making it travel until it hit his neck and made him
shiver. Robin could smell Slade all around him now. It came with the breath.
But, he found that he didn't mind at all. Slade smelled musky. Inhaling his
scent helped relax him again, making him think that maybe this wasn't that
weird. It was Slade's room and it was his bed after all. And so, Robin let
himself drift towards sleep. He hoped that he wouldn't see anything from the
simulator in his dreams. He didn't want to see himself killing people in his
sleep, nor see himself getting killed. Almost getting worried about the night
to come, Robin tried to curl up in a ball, but was brought back to Earth by the
sound of Slade's steady breathing. Hmm, maybe it was a good thing to have him
around. Slade would protect him if anything bad were to happen. Not a single
person would dare threaten him. Somehow, Robin found his breathing very
reassuring.
As he drifted off, Robin couldn't help but muse if Slade slept with his mask on
or not. It was cut short when he was too tired to turn around and look.
Relaxing again and giving into his exhaustion, Robin soon found himself sound
asleep.
***** Chapter 10 *****
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, just this story. I'm not making any money
from it
SladinForever's AN: A new chapter edited already? How do you like dem apples!
Tis a bit short, but Kach and I decided that shortening them would be easier on
me to edit and updates could get posted faster. Chapter 11 IS longer though and
full of some good stuff, yup yup. Also, since Kach first started this, my style
of writing/editing has changed, so I'll be going back and fixing the older
chapters, so they can stay consistent. So that's that. I'll try to keep my
editing speed the same for you guys, so you don't have to wait so damn long
again :U Also, this will probably be the last author note you see from me.
Kachiru has the spotlight, not me. I tend to talk too much anyway ;p
The morning came like a pile of bricks: heavy, difficult, hard, and not alone.
Even if the night hadn't been as bad as Robin had been afraid of, it still
managed to be a pain. He woke up feeling tired, almost as if he had not had a
single eyeful of sleep the whole night. He felt as if he was almost freezing
cold, but he was sweating. He had been afraid that he'd be damned to have
nightmares for the whole night; nightmares of him murdering people, him getting
killed by an angry mob, and weird enough, being scolded by Slade. But that
hadn't been the case. For the entire night, he hadn't been dreaming at all.
Well, he did, but most of the time people didn't remember them. But he did
remember something. But, for the love of God, he couldn't remember what. The
only thing he could recall was a silhouette of a dream that was seen just
moments before he woke up. He kind of thought it had something to do with
Slade. Not that he had been able to form anything from the dark blur…
If it hadn't been the dream he remembered, Robin remembered that he had been
tossing and turning in his sleep, probably once lying on Slade's arm. But he
had been too tired to care. The night had been hot and he had been trapped in
the sheets as he rolled so much, waking up only to unleash himself from his
self-inflicted trap. Soon, though, he was cold and hogging all the comforters.
If Slade hadn't been an insomniac before he decided to have a "good night's
sleep" in the same bed with a still recovering Robin, he sure would be now. If
anyone could gather from the night's experiences, the morning after wasn't that
bright. Robin's feet were cold, his head ached, and his eyes were sore for some
weird reason—probably from his pitiful sleep.
Robin was tired. Even more so than he was before he went to sleep, if that was
possible. Oh how he hoped Slade wouldn't have a super-challenging mission for
him today or Robin was sure he'd fail by falling asleep. Speaking of the devil,
where was Slade? The other side of the bed, which he had occupied for the
night, was now empty. There wasn't an imprint on the mattress to confirm his
past presence. As Robin reached over to lay a hand on the bed, he noticed that
that side no longer held any of Slade's body heat, so that meant he had woken
up long ago. Not because of Robin, he hoped. That would lead him into trouble,
that was for sure. He couldn't help but feel slightly loose for not noticing a
man, who was big enough to kill a bear, to sneak out of the bed without him
even noticing. Robin was probably losing his touch. Well he couldn't let that
happen! He couldn't let that happen at all!
Trying to remember as well as he could, Robin tried to recall his wake ups
every twenty minutes. Slade had been there for the first four and, when Robin
had started mumbling in his sleep, waking up, and hitting his hand on the
nightstand by accident, he probably left. Robin probably dreamt about trying to
shoo something off his body for him to do such a thing. Which meant he probably
only had a maximum of two hours sleep, maybe one and a half, and was now
nowhere to be seen. Just his luck.
Now it was time for Robin to try and get his body up from the comfy bed and to
get on with his morning routines. He didn't know if Slade was expecting him to
be somewhere this morning or if he was to stay in the room. Not that he cared
anyway. Slade shouldn't get let off so easily. At times it made Robin really
baffled as he thought about the whole deal. How come he hadn't put up more of a
fight? Not that he was happy with this. He should be looking for a means of
escape! But honestly, he didn't have the time, and that small, more than
annoying voice was telling him to stay and see what would happen. He couldn't
help but feel curious. Besides, this would be the perfect time to learn
something new about Slade! Maybe something of use to blackmail him with later!
Besides, all those training programs here… No, not a single thought along that
path! His friends and his own freedom and will were a lot more important than
some kick-ass simulator program that he so had to make Cyborg build back at
Titans Tower…
'No! Get rid of those thoughts!' Robin mentally scolded himself. 'This isn't a
joyride! This is serious business!'
Though, he could enjoy it while it lasted. Besides, the most certain way to get
out of here was to stick to Slade's plan and then waltz out the building and
never come back. But the thought that this time Slade didn't need any probes to
get Robin to stay was a way of mocking him. How could he have gone that soft?
He should be screaming murder by now! Thank God he hadn't started calling Slade
'master' already. Maybe that was his plan? To lull him into a false sense of
security and take him as offered on a silver platter? Huh, that tricky bastard.
But the one thing that made Robin stay, and was probably the most influential
influence, was curiosity. Who could blame him. He had been born curious. That's
what kept him going.
So to the point, Robin was curious about Slade's new tactic. So far he hadn't
threatened him or his friends, at least not that bad that it counted, nor had
he hurt him that bad. Yeah, he got his bruises, but he had said that it was
well deserved. It wasn't like he tried to simply beat the sense into him, which
didn't seem like Slade at all. When he was Slade's apprentice, he had almost
dislocated his arm, broken his ribs, had threatened him and his friends, and
tried to make Robin do things that he normally wouldn't do in any circumstance.
But what made him change his tactics this time around? Had Slade changed since
he came back from his one month-long hiatus? Had he just realized that breaking
the hero would be no good? Or, wait, maybe this wasn't Slade to begin with.
Maybe he was a robot! Okay, no, he had seen him eat. Though, that couldn't
prove anything. Well, maybe one could rule out the robot theory. That was way
too childish. All kinds of 'maybe' possibilities were jumping in and out of
Robin's mind. But, to be honest, after so little, good night's rest and this
early in the morning, no matter how much of a morning bird he usually was,
today, thinking just didn't work for him.
Maybe he should just rest off the case, get ready, and then meet Slade. He
could think more on it later. Perhaps at a better time when he was awake? Yeah,
good plan. For now: shower. He stank of dry sweat from rolling on the bed and
his hair was stuck in the weirdest position ever.
Robin carefully stepped onto the floor, leaving the warm comforters behind. The
floor of Slade's room was cold but luckily free of dirt. The room was dimly
lit, so he had to search the walls for an on/off switch to light it up. He
remembered that there was one near the bathroom door. So he slowly made his way
there, taking small steps to avoid any objects that he could potentially fall
over on his way. It must have seemed amusing if someone had entered the room at
that exact moment. The fearless leader of the Teen Titans, in a dark room,
taking baby steps, and having his arms firmly against his sides to avoid
colliding with anything.
Pushing the stupid and senseless thoughts to the furthest back of his mind,
Robin searched for the light switch once he was at the bathroom door. When he
flipped the switch, the light spread into the dark room, brightening the whole
space with a white light, expelling the shadows under Slade's desk where the
light didn't reach. It hurt his eyes only for the slightest moment, after he
blinked twice and rubbed them. He then took a quick glance around the room for
any hint of Slade's presence. Not finding any, he whirled around and sneaked
inside.
The shower woke him up from his drowsy state. Or at least it made him feel more
alert to his surroundings. He was still tired and felt as if he'd fall back to
sleep the moment he closed his eyes. But he couldn't have that now could he?
Who knew if it was midday or maybe even midnight? Robin sure couldn't tell.
This suddenly made him realize how much he missed being outside. Seeing the sun
and enjoying the warmth and the cool wind was like heaven to him. Well, at
least he still had his showers if he so wished. He enjoyed the warm water that
flowed on his skin, making small rivers on his back and gluing his hair against
his scalp. He had his eyes set on the floor, where he could see the water flow
to the drain. He also saw the water drops form on the tips of his hair and then
slowly drip to join the rest. The water always made his mind cool down and let
him concentrate better on the task at hand.
Robin wasn't very proud of himself today. How long had he even been there with
Slade? Which day of their deal was it? Okay, it was the third day, he
remembered, but the total amount of time was unknown. He had been near
unconscious for the first few days. He wondered if his friends were worried.
What would they say if they heard that he had been with Slade this whole time
and that he'd been killing imaginary people in a simulator? Would they say,
"these things happen, there's no need to worry over it too much"? Would they
take him back and give him a huge hug after being so long apart or would they
freak out? He hoped it was nothing too serious. Starfire was likely to be
confused but would welcome him back with open arms. Raven would probably be
suspicious. Beast Boy and Cyborg would probably just deal with it. They weren't
the type to let worries bother them that much. Maybe he shouldn't either, for
now. He had four more days, plus tomorrow, until he saw his friends again. It
was probably for the best to not worry about it for too long. If what Slade
said was true, he could walk back to them with no real threat. Maybe he could
say that he decided to go stay over at Bruce's until he got better. Raven
probably wouldn't buy that, but wouldn't object to it either.
Robin now turned off the shower before the water ran cold. Slade probably
wouldn't appreciate it if he used all the hot water and be late from wherever
he was supposed to be today. What was Slade up to? Darn, all these questions
made him go nuts. He had been there for more than two days and he still didn't
have any new answers since the start. Maybe he could finally just relax. Slade
hadn't tried anything too bad yet. He was not being chased down nor had he been
made to hurt any real people. Maybe Robin just needed to keep a low profile,
bite his tongue for the next five days, and then act like nothing ever
happened. He could pull that off he was sure. That way, he wouldn't need to
make himself even more confused. Maybe he would even learn something from all
this. Hell, he had already learned something. He had made it out of the
ventilation system alive, hadn't he?
That's it. From now on, Robin wouldn't pay any mind to Slade's motives. He had
been thinking his head off and now he was finally ready to give it up. From now
on, he'd focus on the moment and keep looking at his surroundings. He'd study
Slade and this place.
Finally done with the shower, Robin searched for a towel. He dried his hair
roughly, almost as if he was trying to rub in his change of plans. As he dried
his whole body of water, he did a quick glimpse of his reflection in the
mirror. His hair was once again pointing in all directions known to man, his
skin was slightly paler that normal, he had a couple of bruises here and
there—most from small accidents, like the one when he almost fell into the
trap—but otherwise he was fine. And, once again, he had to remind himself, that
it could have been worse. Slade had treated him fairly well, seeing as he
normally didn't care about strays and believed in the real meaning of living to
kill. Robin knew that he would have his way if he really wanted to; he had been
with Slade before. But back then his condition wasn't great.
Shaking his head, Robin stepped out of the bathroom, entering the main area
with his towel hanging comfortably on his hips. He knew that his clothes were
taken to be washed by bots, so he went to look for another set from the closet.
As he dressed, he wondered where Slade was, but as his stomach grumbled, he
decided that he could go looking for him. Starting in the kitchen. Now that he
thought about it, when was the last time he ate? Way too long ago that was for
sure.
As Robin stepped out of Slade's room, he was pulling his gloves on. He wasn't
completely sure about the kitchen's location and his mind scolded him for not
paying enough attention. It was high time he finally stopped whining about
"poor me, being stuck here with Slade. Oh whatever will I do?" and actually do
something about it. From today on, he'd turn the tables around. He wasn't going
to be on the losing side anymore.
With newly found determination, Robin started to search for the kitchen, with
hunger rising every passing minute. He had already found and memorized the way
to the gym, training hall, and one random computer room, but the kitchen still
wasn't in sight. He would have taken a sneak peek on the computers if the door
wasn't jammed shut. The only thing he could do was stare through the
bulletproof window. He didn't get distracted for long as he tried to smell the
air for food. When someone was cooking in Titans Tower, one could even smell it
from the garage. Starfire's cooking were especially hard to miss. It took him a
while, but after he finally found it, Robin went straight for the fridge and
dug out some food. He pulled out bread, butter, some cheese and sausage to go
with it, and a carton of milk to praise himself for a job well done. He piled
all the ingredients in his arms and then headed to the table. He almost dropped
all of them on the floor as he saw the sight before him. He just barely managed
to catch them.
"Morning, Robin. Aren't you an early bird today?" Slade asked with a smile,
sitting at the table while drinking coffee with a newspaper spread open.
How come Robin hadn't seen him when he entered the room? He didn't want to
present himself to Slade as anything other than the fearless leader of the Teen
Titans, but that was probably too late now.
"What time is it exactly?"
"It is almost six o'clock. Not that early perse, but lately you have been
sleeping like a sack of potatoes; heavy and almost completely out of it."
Slade took a sip of his morning coffee, which Robin didn't see because he had
his eyes on the food in front of him. But when he heard the sipping sound, he
instantly looked up, but he had been too slow to witness the event.
'Worry not Slade. Some day, I promise you, I will find out what you look like
under that darn mask.'
Mumbling something under his breath that might have sounded something similar
to, "didn't sleep that well, who's fault you think it was, and it's none of
your business anyway", Robin took his seat next to Slade. As he started to
munch on the corner of his bread, he noticed how he was still slightly tired.
However, he was way more hungry, so he willed his jaw to work more efficiently.
His eyes started to droop slightly as the tiredness was coming back to him now
that he was sitting still. He hoped that he wouldn't actually fall asleep. He
wouldn't hear the end of it. And he didn't want to show weakness in front of
Slade. Suddenly smirking, Robin tried to hide it by taking a sip of milk from
his glass. If he did fall asleep and hit his head on the table, he'd hopefully
spill some of the milk on Slade. He deserved it anyway.
Slade, on the other hand, felt something between being amused and mesmerized.
He was amused by how grumpy Robin seemed this exact morning. He had always
known him to be an early bird, hence the name, but now he seemed to be almost
as activate in the mornings as a snake in winter. And he thought he had been
going easy on him. Besides, he had plans for today. He wasn't going to change
his agenda for some kind of post-illness weariness. At this point Slade took
another sip of his coffee and was surprised how Robin didn't even seem to
notice and try to have a glimpse under. Not that he could anyways. Slade had
made sure that if anything was to go unplanned, there was nothing to reveal of
himself. Besides, he had made an oath to not let Robin see his face. Not before
he was a willing and obedient apprentice anyway. He would make a darn good
apprentice someday. Who knows, maybe Slade would succeed on what Batman failed
at, namely getting some discipline in that thick skull of Robin's.
Batman had taken a harsh approach on Robin, trying to push him aside but still
beat the daylights out of him with endless hours of practice. One should know
by now that the stubborn teen wasn't one to be held back. As far as Slade knew,
that was the exact reason Robin left Gotham and Batman behind. What he needed
was free range and no boundaries. What Slade wanted from him was a good
partner. He'd learn to cope someday. That's why he took a new tactic on trying
to bend Robin over. Since brute force and having harsh, overprotective father-
like behavior and the utmost urge to keep him in the dark no matter what didn't
work—which he noticed during the apprentice arc—he decided to take the casual
approach. He'd be a solid ground for Robin and, if he'd get used to his
presence, maybe he'd come crawling back like a dog that had been accustomed to
its master's house.
Slade had fallen from his reverie and came back to earth, seeing Robin munching
on his second slice of bread. To be honest, he was sure that Robin would get
accommodated rather quickly. To state his point, he had willingly entered the
kitchen and started preparing food for himself with no questions asked. He was
already acting as if this was his own home. He had already gotten more familiar
with Slade and his quarters had he not? Who knows, maybe one week is all it
took for Robin to endorse this place as his very own home. Maybe one day he'd
start to doubt which was actually better: the tower and his friends or here
with Slade. The chances were pretty slim, but it wasn't impossible. Everyone
knew, that at some point, teenagers started to doubt themselves and their place
and run away from home to the streets or the circus, just because their parents
rubbed them the wrong way. All it would take for Robin to return back to Slade
was to notice that there was something here that he didn't have anywhere else.
Like a dog, he'd return to his master.
Slade grinned under his mask with attainment as he disposed the newspaper. He
took the final sip of his coffee, then placed the mug on the solid surface of
the table. Robin was sitting next to him, eyes half shut, while he finished his
bread slowly. He looked exhausted, but still kind of mesmerizing. His lips
moved slowly as he munched on the bread, at times licking his lips to moisten
them. His hair was still slightly damp from his shower, pointing weirdly in
places despite combing it before going to the kitchen. Robin didn't move his
head much as he ate and it seemed that he had been staring at Slade's coffee
cup this whole time. Too bad he couldn't see his eyes from under the mask. One
couldn't even know if he had fallen asleep because it hid his eyes. But damn
did Robin look absolutely stunning and mesmerizing at the same time. He would
have loved to rip that annoying inconvenience of a mask off his face. Why the
hell had he approved on him having one in the first place? Slade didn't notice
that he had been staring until Robin had already finished his last bite of
bread and was now licking the smears of butter off his fingertips. He then
reached for the milk carton to fill his glass. Slade couldn't much but be glad
that he hadn't noticed anything. Which made him think: what was Robin thinking
about? Something seemed to be taking his attention elsewhere. He hadn't even
noticed him when he had woken up during the night to brush the locks of hair
out of his face. Robin had only tried to swat his hand away out of reflex and
hit it on the nightstand in the process. When he woke up, it was already too
late to see what had caused it; Slade had already disappeared from the room.
Slade politely coughed to catch Robin's attention and then proceeded to tell
him about the day's events. "Robin, today I will take your training to the next
level. I see you are already back into shape, so I see no reason to delay this
any longer than I have." Slade dug into his pocket, pulling out a small
notebook to look at. He checked a couple of dates and ran his eyes through the
supplies list in one fast motion. Once done, he nodded, marking an OK on the
lower right corner. "I'm not going to go into any details of this case yet,
seeing that you have not earned the knowledge. So no questions."
Slade snapped the notebook shut and placed it back in his pocket.
"Hey wait, so what do you need me for?" Robin retorted, noticing that he had
just been denied something. "I'm not going to do anything for you if you don't
tell me why or for what!"
Slade couldn't help but smirk. "Don't worry Robin, it's nothing that bad. No
killing whatsoever. I just have my hands full in this case of mine, so I'll
send you over to get what I need for me. That is, if you can prove to me that
you can be sent out on a mission as important as that. But don't worry, before
any mission, I will give you a small briefing of the case; what you are after,
what your rules are, and your deadlines. Easy as that."
"These items you need, what do you need them for?" Robin asked, seemingly
digesting and pondering this new information.
"As I told you, no questions. You'll see later if you are worthy."
Robin's mind was going haywire at this point. So Slade was setting him out to
do missions? Already? Outside of the base? Could he escape if he tried? Maybe
he'd see the Titans out there. Wait, did he even want them to see him? If
they'd see him, wearing Slade's colors no less, it might shock them… No, it
would shock them. But wait, did that mean Slade trusted him enough to send him
out and come back? Or did he rely that badly on the promise they made?
Robin couldn't help but ask, "So, how will these…missions be arranged?"
"That will be seen later, once you go out on your first mission," Slade
explained. "But know this: you can't just decide to return to your friends. If
you disobey the set rules, you will be punished. If you are successful, you'll
be rewarded. And don't you worry, I will be informed of any moves you make. If
you cross the boundaries of your mission, I will know."
Slade adjusted his glove. Robin chewed on his bottom lip, seemingly weighing
things in his head. "And how will you know?"
Slade didn't lift his eye from his glove. "That, too, will be for you to find
out. Who knows, maybe you'll never go on a mission. Maybe you are not worthy."
This made Robin think even harder. What did he mean not worthy? And why
couldn't he tell him anything yet? Robin decided not to try his luck at asking
that specific question, but another.
"When do these missions take place?"
This time, Slade lifted his eye to meet Robin's. He leaned slightly closer.
"Again, whoever said you'll get to go on one? Robin, I need to be sure that you
can be sent out there. So you are to face one final test, to prove that you're
suitable for these missions. You pass, you get some fresh air and new
objectives. You fail, you will remain indoors. It will be seen if you have what
it takes. So the question remains: will you pass?"
***** Chapter 11 *****
AN: Hello my dear and loved fans! I have some good news for you all! You have
been waiting for this chapter eagerly, I bet, and now you have been granted! I
have written the story to chapter 27 already, and there is one more chapter to
go before it's finished! You hear me right, the story is ALMOST FINISHED! Now
we'll only have to do some mass load of editing, and we may be even able to
keep a weekly or at least somewhat regular updating pace going on! Me and
SladinForever are on the editing so you can have this story! Though, we'd
appreciate some help in editing *wink wink* Seriously, are there anyone willing
to help us edit these chapters?
Once TYM is written, I'm plannning on starting another, more easy going, story
for you all, but we'll talk about this later.
Also, some warnings: Let's ignore the disclaimer, everyone knows I don't own
anything. But, I would like to warn you now, even if there may not have been
too much of M material so far, it's coming in the future chapters. So I warn
you if anything of these themes makes you feel uncomfortable, blease back off
NOW while you still have the chance: nudity, sexual acts, graphic gay sex,
wanking, No sugargoating some of those things your usual fics leave
unmentioned, oh, and I guess we have violence and some dead character here and
there... Maybe some minor OCs, and there might be a mention on cross dressing?
yup, that too. and what else? While you have been tapping you foot on the floor
waiting for updates I have been slaving my ass of to write this damn story. And
when I had no critic or a fan screaming at me "YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" I went and
did it ALL. no-voices in my head went "Hay, Kaz, that may be a bad idea..." so
heh, you'll just have to wait and see. Be afraid, be VERY afraid.
I just wish to remind you that this story is M for a reason, and it is going to
have Slade/Robin pairing in it. And I seriously hope that it will be worth it
since some of the contect was rather challenging to write and I hope that it
turned out right.
With much love: Kazhiru; I hope you enjoy the story.
Robin was in an unknown room. The nervousness crept under his skin, like ants
marching in his veins. It felt as if someone was poking him with millions of
small, sharp needles, impaling his fingers, toes, and the very tip of his
cheekbones. They crept upwards and he soon felt them on the back of his neck,
along his spine, and on the very back of his skull. Robin couldn't quite place
if the nervousness was entirely because of the test or Slade himself. He had
told him to meet him there and the time he had set was only five minutes away.
But Slade himself hadn't entered the room. Robin wasn't quite sure why he felt
so nervous in the first place. This was one of Slade's meaningless, stupid
tests and Robin didn't need to prove anything to him.
Then why was he feeling so nervous? Why did he feel as if he needed to be on
his toes and perform as well as he could to not disappoint Slade? Why was he
here in the first place? One small voice in the back of Robin's mind told him
it was because he secretly wanted Slade to admit he was talented. The other
small voice told him that he shouldn't listen to anything that he was told.
Slade was evil, bad, and on the wrong side of the law. Robin should have
nothing to do with him. He should make a stop to anything he might be up to.
And the most important thing was to not listen to anything he might say, and
never, ever, bend to his will.
He felt wrong for being there. He felt as if he was in the wrong place and that
he was currently doing something he shouldn't. And yet he was, dare he say it,
eager to know what was coming. Yet Slade had not shown up. It made him anxious.
He had checked the room multiple times in the small amount of time he had
already spent there. The room looked like a normal, but spacious hall. It was
obviously meant for gymnastics but was stripped bare of any kind of exercising
equipment. The room was wider than a basketball court, but much smaller than a
football field. It was somewhat overwhelming to think that Slade had such
multiple wide rooms and huge headquarters somewhere all around Jump City. Hell,
maybe even all around the world. Robin didn't know where they were, how big
they were, or what they were for. Even this, which he currently vacated, was
huge enough to fit a small military. Yet, he barely explored it at all. The
only man who would know about any of this would be Slade and everyone knew that
he wasn't giving up any kind of information about anything that he considered
his.
And now that he was back on the subject of Slade, where was he? He should have
been there already. It was a minute to the set time and Robin was nervous,
anxious, and not to mention slightly peeved. And then the doors opened. He
could hear the sharp hiss of air as they did. With long, strong steps, Slade
walked to the middle of the room where Robin was already waiting.
"Good morning again, Robin. Punctual as always." Slade cracked his neck to get
rid of all the kinks.
"Unlike some people…" Robin muttered under his breath.
Slade heard it and remarked, "No, Robin, I'm perfectly on time. Not one minute
late, not one minute early." Slade held his hands behind his back and stepped
chest-to-chest with him. "But I have not requested you here so that you could
bicker, but to perform a test." Robin could bet that Slade played out the s of
the word "test" as he said it. Somehow imagining him doing anything similar to
it seemed, well…not Slade like. Or maybe this was the other side of him that he
refrained to show others. Robin didn't know, but now that the perfect
opportunity to put his investigative skills presented itself to him, he
couldn't just say no to the offer. Humming his agreement to Slade as a sign to
continue, he soon started to fill in the facts. "This test is, among other
things, supposed to determinate if you can be sent outside this base or not."
Robin nodded to this, having heard this before. "In other words, you are to
perform a small track course I have set for you, which will take place in this
very room. Judging by your performance, we'll see if you can be trusted to be
let outside of this base. I personally hope that you will show
some…ah…promising results. I hope you can play by the rules."
"What rules?"
"Just two. One, use your ears to listen for any kind of helpful sounds and
voices and, two, do not hesitate."
Slade started to pick inside his pouches of his belt while Robin nagged about
the first rule. "What do you mean listen to your surroundings? I have eyes you
know. And what could possibly be there to hear but not see?"
Completely ignoring him, Slade held something in his hand while hiding it from
view. "Robin, could you take a look at this? I need you to examine it for me."
As curious as Robin was of the item held in Slade's now open palm, he took a
step closer to take a good look at it. It was small, barely the size of a
marble. It looked like a small gray ball with a black, camera-like lens in the
middle of it. It seemed as if something was carved around the lens. Having to
take a closer look to read what it was, Robin reached for the marble and held
it close to his eyes, almost touching the marble with the material of his mask.
"There's small text on it that says…"
Robin couldn't finish. His eyes suddenly started to hurt and a white light
filled his vision. He had to close his eyes to block it. And goddammit did it
hurt. His eyes were tearing up under the mask, feeling itchy and dry. It felt
as if his eyes were suddenly full of dirt and no matter how much he tried to
blink, the feeling didn't go away. At first his eyes had gone dry and itchy.
But the more he blinked, the more his eyes seemed to tear up. He had to use his
hands to try rubbing them through his mask, to settle down the uneasy feeling.
He could bet that his eyes were red and bloodshot. He tried to rub them the
best he could, all the while feeling his tears absorb into the depths of his
mask. Some had even managed to slip their way under the edges and were now
pouring down his face. He tried to wipe them off the best to his abilities, not
wanting Slade to see him in such a state. He couldn't believe how easily he had
fallen into such an obvious trap. He had taken it like an offered piece of
candy!
Regardless of all his efforts, Robin couldn't shake off the itchy feeling. The
only thing he could still see was white, which was slowly starting to fade to
black with a dark, purplish hue. He had to rub his eyes through the material of
his mask to get the black and purple blur to set in on solid black. Once he
opened his eyes, he saw nothing. His sight was as dark as if he was standing in
the middle of a pitch black night. Not a single outline, shape, movement, or
even a blink of light could be seen and he was starting to panic. That was low,
even for Slade. Especially for him.
"How dare you! How dare you blind me! You bastard, what is this about!" Robin
demanded, yelling at Slade, wherever he thought he stood.
Robin even expressed his extreme disapproval by scowling and swearing. A deep
laugh filled the hall, which was once filled with the bright light. Robin had
to stop his cursing so he could hear him out, now that he couldn't see him. He
would need to use his other senses to read Slade, even though he couldn't
normally, eyes open or not.
"Robin, Robin, Robin. This is all part of the test. I knew there wasn't a way
to make you blind just by politely asking…"
"Damn right there isn't!" Robin cut in, but Slade quickly overpowered him with
his own voice.
"Yet, now that it's over and done with, we may proceed." Robin could hear a
faint ruffling of clothes, probably Slade stepping forward. Soon, a soft, silk-
like material was laid on Robin's eyes. Before the cloth could be tied behind
his head, a thought crossed his mind. He wanted to jump backwards and claw
Slade's eye out, now that he was close enough, but he held himself back, not
wanting to show Slade his uncertainty. So he merely nudged his head backwards.
"No, no Robin, let me tie your eyes. Just to be sure you won't peek."
Slade laughed as he finished off his sentence, sounding evil and even smug as
if he knew darn well that Robin couldn't see anything, no matter if he had the
blindfold on or not.
"I hate you," Robin said, sounding stern, sharp, and with passion in every
word.
"Well isn't that a shame," Slade mumbled.
When the knot was finished, Slade stepped back. By the sound of fading
footsteps, he was also walking away. Robin growled.
"Where are you going? Don't leave me here!"
Soon the steps stopped and the room was completely silent. Was Slade gone? Did
he leave? What was going on?
"Let the test begin," Slade announced, the room starting to come alive.
Robin would never admit that he was afraid of what would happen. The noises
around him made him jump to the tips of his toes, ready to sprint the moment
the floor under him started to move. They were loud, screechy, and booming. It
sounded as if something was being dragged on the metal floor. It also sounded
like something really heavy was moving around and, to boot, the floor was
shaking. All around him he could hear the sound of air whooshing as the
pressure was released and once again sealed. Soon, he felt a powerful wind,
which was accompanied with a loud hissing sound as the air aimed straight at
his cheek. He would never admit that he jumped at least ten feet to the side
when he felt it. Not even if Slade had millions of security cameras with more
than enough proof that he had done just that. His heart was stuck in his throat
the whole time.
Soon, the most horrible noise of them all, a metallic screech, like something
similar to a huge metal valve beginning to turn around, released a huge amount
of air. With a loud bang and a hiss, he heard what sounded like two clocks and,
not soon after, a noise like someone was hitting a metal bar against a wall.
Then it sounded like something was falling. Air swooshed as it moved at a high
velocity. Then two similar screeches were emitted, both sounding like nails
scraping against a chalkboard, and then the falling sound again. Robin's brain
quickly acknowledged what it was: a pendulum. A huge godforsaken pendulum.
Robin didn't have time to listen to the sound for long as something to his left
made a noise that reminded him of someone taking the pin out of a grenade. The
noise that followed was an exact match of someone welding two metals together
with heat, just like a flamethrower. The radiating heat licked the left side of
his torso and made his hair fry slightly and smell burnt. He could feel the
heat on his skin and it felt as if he was standing too close to a bonfire or
holding his hand mere millimeters away from a stove.
Instinctively, Robin jumped away from the fire and started to fuss with his
hair to see if it was still intact, only to get startled by the pendulum coming
back down and making him jump again, this time slipping on the edge of a
platform and falling. He could feel as if all the blood in his veins stopped or
rushed right into his ears. It felt as if he was falling several feet. He was
prepared to hit the floor and break his legs, only to notice that it had barely
been a one foot fall. Still, it was enough to get him tumbling off his feet,
falling on his side like a toddler that still couldn't walk properly. He was
ashamed of this. Then the platform fell five inches. He was now in a starfish-
like position, holding onto the platform for dear life. Once again, he heard a
puff of wind and the platform started to travel downwards. It was moving down
slowly and steadily, like an elevator.
Goddammit, it probably was an elevator. Robin was probably lying on it with
limbs spread out and nails digging into the metal surface. Even his heart was
in his throat. Slade must have been so amused by this. He was probably having
the time of his life, filming all this on tape and laughing while doing so.
"Best apprentice ever", that's who he was. Robin wanted to scream and rage,
but, at the same time, he didn't want to give the man such a pleasure.
Swallowing a huge lump of worry and nervousness down his throat was Robin's
first step of collecting himself. He soon lifted himself up to stand. He felt
ashamed at how badly his knees shook. It was so weird not seeing what was going
on. It seemed as if his balance was off. The fact that the platform he stood on
was moving didn't help at all. When the platform stopped, Robin's knees almost
gave way again. He managed to hold himself upright, only giving way half an
inch. He so hoped that Slade hadn't seen that.
"Your mission is simple. All you have to do is get to the end of the course. It
isn't all that long or difficult, really. It's all up to you on how you will
survive," Slade explained.
His voice seemed to come from one set location, which was two feet above him
and one foot to the right. Also, a small whirring noise emitted close-by.
Robin's best guess was that Slade used some kind of small electronic device to
watch over and speak to him. Robin wasn't quite sure if he should feel glad
that he didn't have to do all of this alone or if he should feel annoyed that
he was tricked into doing this in the first place. All he got was a small piece
of scrap metal to babysit him. But, for once, Robin couldn't lie to himself; he
had never been more grateful to hear Slade's voice.
"You better start now. You have thirty feet of plain ground ahead," Slade
informed him over the transmitter. There were still more than enough noises all
around him and Robin could still hear the pendulum ahead and the fire crackling
behind him. There were so many noises that Robin expected almost anything
around him to jump on him, slice him and dice him, and cook him up if he let
his guard down. It definitely wasn't an all too encouraging setting. "Proceed
straight ahead."
Robin could hear the small device floating over his head. It stopped somewhere
ahead of him, not too far away. He was thankful that the machine hadn't gone
wandering on its own and leaving him there alone. Robin had to gulp again. The
only way for this hellish experience to end was to live through it. The faster
he got it done, the faster it was over. And with this as his objective and
reassurance, Robin took his first step.
To be quite honest, Robin had expected something terrible to happen the moment
his feet landed on the floor. Something like the panels moving or triggering a
hidden switch, which would let bullets shoot at him or some random
flamethrowers appearing, but nothing happened. Everything was the same as it
had been before. Robin shook his worry from his shoulders. Maybe this track
course was easy. Maybe it just had sounded bad; maybe he was just imagining
things. Without his eyes, he could never be too sure on what was real and what
wasn't. Thus he took the next step. It was safe, so far. Even if he had taken
baby steps on this small incline, it seemed like he had made some great
progress. So far nothing had happened, so maybe he was safe.
Robin took a small mental pause to collect himself and drop his defenses a
little. To be honest, all this nervousness was getting to him. So, putting it
all aside, he took his tenth step. Just as his boot landed on the metal
surface, a loud hiss emitted from his left and a turret of air hit him, making
him jump to the right in surprise. Just as he did so, he noticed that there
wasn't any floor to land on. Surprise and panic came back twice as hard. Robin
tried to turn himself in mid-air and extend his hands in order to grab
something, anything. Thank god he managed to grab hold of the platform he had
just been standing on. "Oh shit" had formed into a mental mantra, repeating
time after time in Robin's mind.
"Slade? What's going on!"
"Help" was a word Robin would never say to Slade, but right now, it was on the
tip of his tongue.
"I told you to go ahead."
Robin was starting to lose his nerves and his grip was starting to slip. "You
told me there was thirty feet of plain, solid ground ahead!"
Robin only received a deep voice with an I-told-you-so edge to it, repeating,
"Ahead, Robin. Ahead."
Slade's expression was now probably something between 'I'm highly amused' and
'shit this kid is stupid. I wonder if I can get him to jump if I ask'.
"Fuck you Slade, just, fuck you!"
Robin started to pull himself up. He didn't know, nor did he want to know, what
was below him. He had been shoulders deep in that pitfall from a few days back.
If he couldn't feel any floor under his feet, it probably was far enough of a
fall to break his neck.
"Well, seeing the situation-" Slade began, but Robin had had his share.
"Just shut up with your snide, clever remarks! Save it until I get out of here!
I don't want to hear it!"
Robin soon managed to pull himself up on all fours on the platform.
"Now, now, no need to be aggressive. Proceed to the right," Slade said plainly.
Robin was glad that he had managed to shut him up. The situation he was in was
bad enough. Robin was still on all fours and he reached with his hands to see
if he could measure the area he had to walk on. It was no more than four feet.
Usually it would be more than plenty, but now it seemed like way too little.
Robin closed his eyes and shook his head slightly to get rid of the nervousness
again and then proceeded to walk on. He hoped that he wouldn't start to walk
slightly to the side. Once again, a step triggered an air blast to hit him. The
air wasn't strong enough to knock him down or even hurt him, but it was enough
to make goosebumps form on his skin and to make him lose his balance only so
slightly that one wouldn't even notice he had stumbled in the first place. It
wasn't too bad, Robin decided, and started to walk onwards, hands spread to his
side for extra balance. This, of course, meant that the gusts could hit him in
the ribs and make it ticklish or have a poking feeling. Other than that, it
wasn't half bad, now that he knew what to expect at least. Robin had to wonder,
though, about his destination. He was finally at the end of his plain ground,
as Slade had put it, having walked a slick uphill the whole time. It kept going
as Slade instructed Robin to proceed to the right.
"To proceed, you will have to take a huge leap. The other platform is quite
far," Slade instructed. Robin gulped. He knew that he could jump, but it was
hard to gain the confidence to do so when you couldn't see when or where to
leap to the next platform. Was it high or low? Was it really far away or could
he get there by taking a long step? What if the platform was slightly to the
left? Would he land on the edge and roll off? "There is some space ahead of
you. You may want to run if you're nervous of missing the platform." Just to be
sure, Robin pointed straight ahead of him to confirm the exact way. "I will
tell you to jump once you are at the edge. Now go."
At a slow pace, Robin accelerated to a rather slow paced run. To be honest, he
didn't dare run at too high a speed. What if he couldn't jump in time once the
order to jump came? What if he fell? What if he kept running to the side
slightly and ran straight off the platform? What if there was some kind of
obstacle on the floor and he would either hit it or trip on it?
"Robin, your speed is not going to be enough. You'll need to run faster." Robin
quickened his pace, but only slightly. "You'll never make it if you can't go
faster." Robin wasn't exactly jogging anymore, but it still wasn't a clean run
either. "Robin, your speed is nowhere fast enough," Slade repeated. Somehow,
Robin could imagine a small hint of worry in his voice. That couldn't be right.
"Run faster, Robin." Slade was kidding, right? He couldn't be worried, could
he? "You're not going to make it. Sprint, sprint now!" He wasn't kidding, now,
was he? Shit, he probably wasn't. Oh god, he really wasn't going to make it,
was he? Robin's heart was suddenly back in his throat. He started to run as
fast as his lungs allowed him. He had to make it, he had to get to the other
side. Maybe it would be best to reach forward with his hands, to be prepared to
grab a ledge? "Run fast. Now, jump!"
The moment Slade's order shouted out of the small device, Robin all but leaped
from his spot and, with hands spread forward, was ready to grab a hold of
whatever it was that he was going to hit. He was sure that he was going to
smash against something bad at any moment now. But, instead of getting smashed,
Robin felt the floor under him. He had fallen straight onto his stomach and the
air in his lungs were knocked out as he landed and slid on the floor for four
or five feet. He tried to dig his hands into the floor to stop himself from
sliding and falling off a ledge to certain death. Soon, the sliding came to a
halt and Robin gasped in air as hard as he could to get the air back into his
lungs once again. It hurt, as if someone was hammering on his chest with a
steel-head hammer. He could taste iron in the spit in his throat and it hurt to
breath.
"Quick, Robin, get back to your feet. You can't stay there," Slade announced.
Robin forced himself to stand. "There are spiraling stairs to your left. You
must quickly run up there."
"Seriously, what is it with the hurry?"
Robin took a step, panting. He still had adrenaline pumping hard in his veins
and the banging in his ears was almost drowning out the pendulum further away.
The sting in his lung wasn't giving him any slack. Out of nowhere, the step
under him collapsed. Robin had to leap forward to the next step on the stairs,
only to have it collapsing too. He seriously had to leap again and start
running if he ever wanted to get to the top of the stairs before the top came
down on him. Once again, the mantra of "oh shit, oh shit, oh shit" was urgently
back on his mind.
"Keep running, Robin," Slade encouraged.
Robin let go of his chest in order to climb the stairs on all fours, dragging
himself upward. Climbing was even harder, now that the stairs went in a spiral.
"Seriously, Slade? Are you trying to kill me?"
Oh god he wished he could see so he could grab that small device of Slade's,
crush it between his fingers, stomp on it, then let the pendulum slice and dice
it, and then grill it with the flamethrowers.
"No, but the room just might. You are almost to the top."
The stairs under his feet and knees just gave way and Robin was sure that he
was going to fall. Luckily, the adrenaline forced strength into his limbs,
allowing him to pull himself back on the stairs and keep going.
"You better be right about that!" Robin yelled, as he continued to climb for
his life.
"Four more stairs left." Robin decided to fuck the stairs and just leap onto
the next platform. With all his might, he managed to land his upper body on
said platform. Only his feet were hanging off the edge. He almost lost his hold
on the floor due to the fling as his feet suddenly slacked down. Oh how he
wished that he could see and grab something for a good grip. No one had any
idea on how hard it was to pull their body up onto a surface if they couldn't
get one knee or leg on it. But thank god he was flexible enough to fling his
leg up and land his heel on the floor. He pushed and pulled himself up the rest
of the way and then stood up. By now, Robin was panting hard. It must have been
because of the adrenaline and the burn out that came after it. "Now Robin,
there is a round, circular-shaped wall ahead of you. A small hole is in it, so
you need to crawl through to the room beyond."
With a tired nod of his head, Robin complied. It took him a while to find said
hole in the wall, but, in the end, it had been straight ahead of him. It was
large enough for him to easily crawl inside the room. The walls were at least
twenty centimeters thick. By the feel of it, the walls were made out of the
same steel as the platforms. He heard a loud whoosh of air traveling through a
pneumatic air tube and the door behind him closed off. At first Robin started
to panic. He tried to pry the door open and slam his fists on it, but it didn't
budge. He was trapped now. He was just about to start shouting when he smelled
something familiar, something weird even. It smelled of mustard and something
sweet, of chocolate and dust, cold air, and pretty much everything, all at the
same time. And it was such a distinctive smell too. Usually one couldn't smell
that scent anywhere, especially not at the same time. You would have to know
Starfire to- Starfire! No, it couldn't be; she wasn't there. She was at the
tower, like everyone else. Unless Robin was somehow there too? He had been
climbing up, after all. Maybe he was somewhere close? No, he couldn't be. That
was insane.
"Friends, we should get back home. Silkie must be missing us."
No, that was Starfire's voice!
"Cy, I'm so going to beat you once we get back to the tower!"
"Ha, like that is ever going to happen!"
It was Beast Boy and Cyborg!
"Could you two stop?"
Raven? Yes, they were all there! Robin was ecstatic. He started to blindly
travel further into the room, trying to get to his friends.
"Guys, it's me! I'm here!"
"Robin, do you hear me? You need to get out of that room," Slade said, making
Robin stop.
He was still on the track course with Slade, so his friends couldn't be there,
could they?
"Friend Robin, is that you? We have missed you so much!" Starfire said.
Robin lifted his head to the voice, trying to find his way to it. "Starfire,
I'm here. Can you see me?"
"Robin, you must come with us."
Robin stumbled on until he hit a wall.
"Robin, you need to get out of that room, now. It isn't safe!" Slade said, but
Robin shook it off.
"Starfire, where are you?"
"I'm right here, Robin."
It was Starfire again. This time she was to the left.
"Robin, I need you to get out of there, now!" Slade yelled.
Robin was too concentrated on his friends' voices to listen to him. It seemed
as if his friends were walking away, their voices getting further away.
"Guys, you are going the wrong way! I'm behind you!" Robin yelled, trying to
gain a response.
"Robin, you need to listen to me," Slade said. "You only have a minute left.
Get out!"
Robin wasn't listening. "Starfire?"
"Robin!" The yell didn't come from Starfire, but an angry Slade. His friends,
they must be in this very room, but he couldn't see them! He could hear them,
he could smell them… "Get out of that room! It's extremely dangerous!"
Dangerous his ass, nothing had happened yet. But on the other hand, Starfire
would already be with him if she knew Robin was there too. Something wasn't
right. "Robin, you're wasting time. Get out of there this instant!"
There was a certain urgency in Slade's voice, but Robin didn't care. His
friends were talking, he couldn't even hear voices outside of the room anymore.
The only sound was of his friends. But, soon, he felt something pressing
against the top of his head. It was cold and heavy. He lifted his hands to feel
what it was. Everywhere he felt, the only thing he could feel was the roof of
the room. The roof… Shit, it was coming down on him!
"Robin!"
The shout came from two places at once. From Starfire's voice directly to the
right of him and from Slade on his left. The roof was coming down at an
alarming speed and he only had two ways to go: his friends and Slade.
"Robin, we have missed you the most."
Robin already reached for her, but it soon dawned on him. He needed to get out.
Suddenly, Slade seemed more real. He couldn't see Starfire and she didn't seem
to panic at the situation at all. This was a test, he was still on Slade's
course, and he was failing. Fatally.
"I'm sorry Starfire!" Robin yelled, turning around and starting to crawl in
Slade's direction.
"Robin, where are you going? Do not leave us behind," Starfire begged.
Soon, the other Titans were begging too. Everyone wanted Robin to turn around,
pleading him to come back to them.
"I'm sorry, guys. I'll see you in half a week," Robin whispered, feeling for
the way out.
He was already on the floor on his stomach and he could feel the roof against
his back. He only had seconds before it would fully start to squeeze him into a
pancake.
"You left us for him!" Starfire screeched just as Robin felt the door.
Goddammit, the walls were twenty centimeters thick. He would have to crawl
forward for twenty more centimeters in order to grab onto something if he ever
wished to pull himself out in time. "You have betrayed us!" Robin had to
seriously worm his way forward to reach for any sort of leverage. "You chose
him over us! How could you!"
Robin gained his escape just as the wall started to pin him against the floor
and the wall itself. "I'm sorry," he murmured and started to pull himself
forward.
His chest was literally pinned against the floor and claustrophobia was
settling in. He had yet to pull his legs out of the room. Oh god, he wasn't
going to make it. Robin tried to kick the floor, pushing and pulling his way
out with his hands and feet as hard as he could, his bones on the verge of
cracking. Unfortunately, his feet just kept slipping on the metal floor.
'I'm not going to die here, I'm not.'
"Dammit, I'm out of here!" Robin yelled, almost like a battle cry.
Robin pushed with all his might. With a horrible scrape, he managed to pull his
legs out of the room. Unfortunately, his feet were pinned. But luckily he
wasn't going to die there. He bit his tongue and yanked his feet free, which
threatened to break. Right as he was fully out, he heard a loud, heavy bang as
the room shut. Robin gasped in lungfuls of air, only now realizing that he had
been holding his breath when trying to pull himself out of the death trap. He
lay on the floor for a while, trying to regain his strength and breath. Once he
could breath normally, he felt red hot blood seep from wounds that he hadn't
realized he had received. His body hurt like a bitch because it had almost been
flattened. His pelvis ached and stung. He made sure nothing had broken and he
wiggled all of his toes to make sure they were okay. They ached but were
otherwise fine. He was sure his knee was bruised from the hard floor, but at
least he was free. Hurting angrily, but free nonetheless.
Brain functionality soon set in and Robin grinned to himself. He made it out!
He wanted to full out laugh, but he only managed the first attempt at a cry as
he was, once again, reminded of his almost crushed legs and bruised knees,
pelvis, and chest. He grimaced at the pain, but ignored it as he forced himself
back up. These were only small bruises, Robin tried to remind himself. None of
his ribs were actually broken, as he felt each one of them, just to be sure. It
was only the smarting that made him feel this bad. And maybe the fact that he
had just turned his back to his friends, no matter how artificial they may have
been.
"Slade! Slade, I made it! I'm still in the game!"
"Yes, barely," Slade admitted, sounding sour. "Shall we continue?" Robin's face
almost fell. There was still more? At least he hoped that they were close to
the finish line by now. "There are platforms scattered all around. To reach
them, you'll have to jump in the right direction."
Robin sighed. They had to be close. Besides, since when had Slade been wrong
about this?
"Where is the first one?" Robin asked in defeat.
"Right in front of you."
Robin felt the floor in front of him and then noted that the panel he was now
standing on ended after one foot. "How far is the jump?" Robin questioned,
placing himself so he could jump off with his right leg. The left still felt
slightly mangled after the previous room.
"Three feet. The rest are the same," Slade said. Without further ado, Robin
jumped. And, surprisingly enough, the next platform had been three feet away.
Robin, of course, took the chance to examine the platform with his feet. It
wasn't huge, for one. Five feet long or slightly more, shaped like a square. He
would need to calculate his jumps to avoid overdoing it. "The next one is
ninety degrees to your right." And so it went on. There wasn't a specific order
to the platforms, nor a specific amount of them. As far as Robin knew, they
were there only for the sake of practice. "The last platform is on the left."
Robin managed it just fine. "Good job, Robin. We are almost to the end. Can you
guess what's up next?"
And, to be honest, Robin could. Judging by the sound of something falling,
screeching, and wind blowing again in multiple directions… Yup, the pendulums.
He was already wondering when they'd come.
"We'll need to time this one just right. Are you ready?" Robin nodded. He knew
that he might not be the most eager person to meet the pendulums, but he would
never be anymore ready to face them than he currently was. He just wanted to
get this course done with. The sound of the pendulums swinging was a scary
thought. It sounded like they were huge, enormous even. The metal blades barely
scraped the floor every time they moved, making Robin's ears ring. It wasn't a
pleasant sound. "Jump forward." And Robin jumped. Just as he landed back on his
feet, he heard a huge screech behind him. No matter how ominous it sounded, he
was glad that he heard it. It meant that it hadn't hit him. "To the right,
fast."
Robin needed to make a jump and then somersault right after to avoid the blade.
He felt the wind on his ankle as it passed him. That had been a close one. This
must have been like playing a video game for Slade. Robin could only hope that
he remembered that he only had one life.
"Where to, Slade?"
Robin could already hear the closest pendulum. It was right ahead of him and it
was coming fast. It would hit the floor any moment now.
"Forward!" Robin was about to reflexively jump backwards to avoid the blade,
but after a millisecond of consideration, he jumped forward instead, just like
Slade had instructed. Soon, he heard two blades hit the floor, one on either
side of him. The moment they had moved away, a blade hit behind him. By the
sound of it, it would have hit him if he had decided to jump backwards instead.
How had he not managed to hear it? All he had heard were the two oncoming
blades. Thank god he had listened to Slade instead of his own brain for once.
Wait, he hadn't just thought that. "Left!" Robin didn't have time to wonder his
decision as he was already jumping that way, just barely avoiding double
blades. "Robin, sprint forward."
Robin rose back onto his feet, forgetting the whole somersault technique and
running for his life. He could hear the blades screeching behind him, one after
another. They were coming down closer to him every time they landed. When was
this over? How fast did he have to run? He almost ran full speed by now.
"Stop!"
Robin almost flew forward, could have possibly even smacked his face on the
floor if he had fallen, by the sudden halt of his movement to stop in time.
Just as he managed to straighten his back, the pendulum whooshed right in front
of him. He could feel the floor shaking slightly beneath his feet. The iron
floor even heated up momentarily, that's how close the blade had been to him.
The wind rushed so close to his face that he could smell the metal of the
pendulum. He started to doubt if he could ever will his heart back to where it
was supposed to be. It was once again in his throat and the blood was rushing
to his ears to the point that he almost missed the jump command. He leaped
forward quickly before the pendulum whooshed back. Thank god it was behind him
for now. Never again. He would swear it, never, ever, again.
"You're almost there. You'll only have to climb up those ropes in front of
you," Slade informed him.
Robin reached forward with his hands, feeling the wall in front of him with his
fingers. Sure enough, he could feel a thick net on the wall. This he could do.
Easy peasy. Robin took a firm hold and started to climb upward. He pushed
himself with his legs and pulled himself up with his hands. He didn't need to
see to do this, he could just feel the places for his hands and feet as he
went. It was easy and almost came naturally to him. Besides, it was just a rope
net, he could climb up easily. Right on his judgment, the wall had only been
about twenty feet tall, so he reached the top rather fast. Of course his legs
and arms were hurting and his wounds were smarting because of the sweat that
had entered them, but other than that, he was okay. It was really surprising,
wasn't it? He was blind and hadn't seen a thing, but he still managed to get
through the course. Hah, easy as pie. Next time, he'd do it with his hands tied
behind his back.
Robin was at the very top of the place he stood. He could feel how slight the
wind was blowing. He had been climbing upward the whole time, so he must be
somewhere really high. The wind wasn't really gusty, but it was enough to make
the tower-like platform he now stood on sway slightly. It didn't sway too bad,
more like a few centimeters from left to right. It was enough to make him feel
dizzy though. He even had to stand in a better position with his legs outspread
some more, to keep himself balanced out.
"Congratulations Robin, you have done it. There is only one thing left for you
to do."
Robin couldn't hold back a small smile. He had been blindfolded, but had still
been able to do it. Also, it felt good to be praised for it at least once. More
than that, however, he felt proud. But he couldn't celebrate yet. He had one
thing more to do, right? Maybe he could take a small break after?
"What is it?" Robin asked, placing his arms around his torso to shield against
the wind; his wounds smarted even more when it came into contact.
"I need you to step onto the edge of the platform." Robin felt the floor ahead
of him. The platform was the same kind of metal that the others had been and he
could feel the edge with the tip of his toes. He stepped forward so that they
were just barely on the platform. He couldn't wait to get down and get his
wounds tended to. Maybe he would have a glass full of water while he was at it.
"Now, I want you to jump."
Robin's smile dropped. What? He must not have heard right. He was not going to
jump! He was at god knows how high up! He could be standing on top of a damn
pillar for god's sake! For the entire course he had climbed upwards; a steep
hill, the stairs, everything. He must be really high by now. Surely a drop this
high would crush his bones to pieces. But what would the advantage for Slade be
if he had a crippled apprentice? What was the catch?
"Slade?" Robin wasn't sure if he had heard right. Maybe he was to…jump back
down the way he came? Now why would Slade have instructed him to stand at this
edge if he wanted him to jump in another direction? Maybe he just didn't hear
him the first time. Also, why hadn't Slade answered yet? "Slade!"
There was no answer. He wasn't meant to be answered. Robin swallowed. He
shifted his weight from one foot to the other. He was really nervous and not at
all sure about what he should do. He slowly lifted his hands to the silky cloth
that was still tied around his head to cover his vision. If only he could see.
But he couldn't. And he probably never would if he couldn't get down. He would
have to do this. Hell, he could do this. He would do this so he could have his
vision back and to eventually get back to his friends. He had hand climbed all
the way there and now it was time to get down. He could do this! And he would
too!
One.
Robin shifted his weight again before covering his face. "Please, don't let
anything hit my face," he mumbled under his breath, continuing to count
mentally.
Two.
Robin spread his right leg over the side of the pillar, ready to step over.
Three.
Robin then stepped over the edge and fell.
***** Chapter 12 *****
AN: Look! We ARE maintianing weekly updates! Or at least we try : P
So let's feed the fans and post this chapter... OH! and mention that I finished
writing TYM. all 28 chapters are written and done, only editing is left.
He seemed to fall for what seemed like forever. He felt the blood in every vein
rush to his head, making his ears ring, stomach churn, and cause him to get
goosebumps. As if on reflex, he already had his limbs spread, his arms flapping
in the air in attempts to keep his body in a somewhat upright position. He also
tried reaching for anything that might stop him from falling. He could feel the
air blowing on him momentarily and making his hair stand on end. He felt so
insecure and he was afraid that the moment he landed, he would break his legs.
The fall must be enormous, he had been so high when he jumped. He had climbed
upward the whole time, so the fall had to be worth at least thirty feet, though
only god knew if it was even more.
Straightening his legs, Robin would be ready when he finally did hit the
ground. Hopefully then he could keep his balance. Once the ground finally came
to, he couldn't expect it, no matter how prepared he was. The moment his feet
came in contact with the ground, they gave away. He felt his ankle sprain,
causing him to crash to his knees. He hadn't had time to properly break the
fall with his hands, but he managed to just barely stop himself from hitting
his head on the ground. He was now on all fours on the floor. He was panting
with shock, even if he wouldn't admit it. Now that he re-estimated the fall, he
came to the conclusion that it had been somewhere around one or two feet. How
pathetic. He was pathetic.
"You did admirably well, Robin. To be quite honest, I didn't think you would be
able to make it."
Slade walked up to him. Robin only knew this because of hearing the footsteps.
He was still wearing the blindfold and all he could see was black, so his
vision wasn't any help. At first, when he felt Slade's hand on his shoulder
lifting him up to stand, he flinched out of reflex, but allowed him to pull him
up anyway.
"I want my vision back!" Robin growled, feeling like hitting Slade or at least
kicking him, but he was still feeling a little dazed from the fall.
At least he didn't look like a complete wimp. He held Slade's wrist in a firm
enough hold to refrain him from moving. Slade's answer was to laugh and twist
his arm around to make him lose his grip.
"Right away, Robin." And at the very next moment, Robin could feel the hand,
which he had just held down, was ruffling his hair, giving his neck goosebumps.
Robin only relaxed his shoulders when he felt Slade's hand undo the knot that
held the blindfold in place. It didn't take him long to get the thing off and
Robin could feel his hand wander from the back of his neck and over his
shoulder, before it returned to rest on the top of his head. He had no idea why
he did this and would have wanted to pull his head away from his touch. But, to
be honest, the firm hand felt good against his scalp. "Open your eyes, boy, and
take a look."
Robin wasn't aware that he had been holding his eyes shut the whole time, but
now that he was reminded of it, he opened them. At first he didn't see
anything, only black and a faint purple color. Soon, however, the purple seemed
to expand and even get brighter in places. Soon his vision was only tainted by
a couple of purple spots here and there, which wandered like ants, bouncing
left and right on his vision like a game of ping pong. With enough blinking, he
got them to settle down. Now he could see clearly. The white room even hurt his
eyes a little, seeing as how bright it was. He had to squint to see better
without being blinded again. He soon got used to the brightness. The room
seemed to be as it was before, Slade was standing next to him, and they were
both staring at a wall.
"What's going on?" Robin mumbled, rubbing his eyes.
Slade turned his hand on his head, making him turn with him to avoid snapping
his neck. And there he saw it, the whole track course. The thing was built into
what seemed like a hole and all of those "possibly fatal falls" were barely six
feet deep and were filled with water. Yes, it seemed that on the ground there
was some kind of pool, so he couldn't have hurt himself even if he had fallen.
He could see the small platform that he had thought was a tower just moments
ago in front of him. He could also see the small round room, where he thought
he had heard his friends, and every part of the course. It wasn't even
dangerous. It even looked safe for a kid. The fire effects from the start were
far away enough to not have been able to hurt him and the pendulums looked like
theater props or some kind of toy. It had a wooden handle, but the blade was
simply made of acrylic glass with soft edges that couldn't harm anyone. Then
what explained the sound?
Robin had to walk along the edge of the training course to have a better look,
leaving Slade behind, his hand falling from his head. The sound of the metal
screeching on the floor came from a speaker and a fabric of Slade's making,
which made the friction from the blade heat up the floor. It also slowed down
the pendulum and created a loud noise. What kind of trick was this?
"As you can see, the test, as I said, wasn't actually difficult. It was all a
matter of cooperation. I wanted to see if I could trust you and if you could
trust me in return," Slade explained, stepping up beside Robin. "I wanted to
know if you could follow my instructions when I gave you an order. The fact
that we are where we are now speaks for itself, Robin."
Robin looked outraged at Slade, feeling frustrated. He had been blinded,
blinded for Christ's sake, for this? And in the end, he hadn't even been blind
at all!
"You…you cheated! You tricked me! This was…a scam! A scam all along!"
Slade held his hands behind his back as he looked at the training field that
was now slowly reverting to its original, bare form. "I didn't cheat. You just
didn't know what to expect. In the end, I got what I wanted. I know that in the
end, you will listen to me, if need be."
"But you…you blinded me! I don't even…! You just…you tricked me! You made me
believe I was actually blind!"
Slade seemed perfectly calm about all this. "I needed you to be blind for this
one, Robin. It would be easier for you to judge the commands if you couldn't be
misguided by what you saw. I wanted to know what your subconscious was telling
you. Besides, I know well enough that I couldn't just ask to blind you. You
wouldn't have let me."
"Damn right I wouldn't!" Robin cut in. "Couldn't you still have…! I fell for
that one! I really thought that you were…! It's not fair!"
Robin had trusted Slade on the marble, thinking it was just some kind of gadget
or something. How can he trust him now?
"Robin, think. Would you even imagine yourself saying yes if I asked, 'Robin,
could you please let me blindfold you? Or, better yet, blind you for a while so
you won't cheat?'" Slade had sounded as sarcastic as he could be and looked at
Robin through his mask, making him think he was raising his eyebrow at him. Not
that he could really tell… "Besides, this was the better solution because, as
you have witnessed, the effect of the marble was only temporary. I was somewhat
curious to see whether you would try to remove the blindfold or not. I'm glad
you didn't."
With the room back to normal, Slade started to walk towards the middle of it.
The room was once again perfectly still and exactly the way Robin remembered
it. Then a small pillar, possibly a really small table that barely reached
Slade's navel, appeared in the middle of the room. Robin was still angry and a
little upset. He couldn't really say what he wanted out of this situation. He
was mad at Slade for what he had done, but he was right about not letting his
sight be tainted, by any means. Also, this had been a test to judge whether he
could go on a mission outside this base…
Missions outside the base? That would mean he could sneak out and maybe even
get to see his friends! He was sick of having to stay in these rooms, where
everything looked the same, yet nothing was what it seemed to be. For example,
this room! One moment it was an open field, then it was a training room for
him. Breaking from his thoughts, Robin saw Slade pick something up from the
pillar that came out of the floor moments before. Putting his anger on the back
burner for now, he was curious to know what it was.
"What have you got there, Slade?"
Slade returned to standing in front of him. "This, Robin, is a chip. A small
tracker, to put it another way. With this, I can see where you are, what your
pulse rate is, and the condition you're in. Nothing major, just a chip to keep
track of you," Slade explained, loading the chip into a pistol-like device,
which was supposed to shoot the chip under one's skin. "Not that this will be
enough for you, once I send you out. I will also equip you with an earpiece and
microphone, so we can communicate. Don't worry, it can be turned off, but you
will still hear me at all times. I warn you, I do not tolerate being ignored."
He was kidding, right? Robin was not okay with this. He didn't want Slade, of
all people, to put a tracking device, of all things, under his skin! Robin's
anger came back full force.
"No, you will not put that in me! I am not a dog in which you can just tag your
ownership to. I will not allow it! I won't bear the thought that once I leave
this place, I'll have something in me that would tell you, my number one enemy,
my location! That is very classified information and you can't have it!" Robin
started walking away, but Slade wrapped his arm around his waist and pinned him
against his body, effectively holding him in place. Robin began kicking the air
uselessly. "Hey, release me this instant!" Robin now tried to kick Slade
anywhere he could reach, but it was ineffective.
"Just so you know, Robin, I have all my trust and faith in you. Once the deal
is over, the chip will be removed."
Slade's breath wafted on his ear and his hair when he spoke. Robin could feel
his strongly built chest against his back and something on his belt was
pressing against his lower back uncomfortably.
"Really? And how much trust could that be exactly? As far as I know, you don't
trust anyone except yourself!"
Robin tried to squirm his way out. He barely managed moving even an inch. He
felt the side of Slade's cold mask against his cheek and jaw then.
"Precisely, so I hope that you see my reason for doing this."
Robin could smell Slade's breath and the musk that came from him, but he
couldn't dwell on it for long as he pushed his head to the side, almost hurting
his neck. He then felt something cold and pointed being pressed against the
place just below his left ear. No, he wasn't going to inject him! He wasn't
allowed to! He couldn't! All chances of having some room to do as he pleased
would be thwarted if he couldn't fight back. But dammit, he couldn't even move
for Christ sakes! And then Robin felt it. It came with a wheeze of air and a
loud psssh sound as it was injected. It also hurt slightly, making him wince.
The chip inside him felt cold and foreign. It almost felt like it was sticking
against his neck uncomfortably. It itched and smarted like a real bitch. He
also knew that the infected area was now probably as red as a tomato. He
seriously hoped that the swelling would go down soon. The feeling wasn't
pleasant.
Almost as soon as it was over, Robin was released. Now that he got his hands
back, he swung around, one hand on his neck to hold the place where the chip
was while the other was pointed at Slade, ready to claw his eye out.
"You bastard! I told you to not to do it! I hate you!"
Robin raged, but Slade remained calm and only pulled a small vial of green
liquid from his belt and held it between his thumb and forefinger.
"Robin, I know that the chip will be of use later on. I wouldn't want to lose
you in the middle of everything, now would I?" Slade held the vial closer to
Robin. "The chip will be removed, as I said, but until then I recommend you
drink this. You are to drink one vial every morning for as long as that chip is
inside you, if you want to avoid the rejection. I know that your body would be
as displeased to have a foul piece of metal inside of it as your mind is. It's
either the medicine or you can watch as your body starts to reject it, first
getting inflamed and infected, and then trying to push it out on its own
accord. Trust me, it won't be pretty. The human body isn't all that adaptive
like cats are."
Robin was reluctant to take it. He knew that he had to. He knew the risks, but
he had been cheated on so many times today that he really didn't want to. First
going blind, then getting tagged of all things, and now this? He bet that just
like an animal, one could just scan the chip inside him and see "Property of
Slade". It almost made him sick to his stomach. Slade took Robin's balled fist
into his hands, then proceeded in forcing it open. He pushed the small vial
into Robin's palm and then forced his fingers to close around it.
"Your daily doses will be located in the cabinet above the sink in your
bathroom from now on. For now, take the medicine and meet me in here in half an
hour. I will give you a general description of the missions and give you the
rules that you must always follow. After that, I will hand you your equipment
and in two hours you should be on your way." Slade walked to the exit of the
room, leaving an angry, fuming Robin to stand right where he was, staring a
hole into the back of Slade's head with squinted, loathing eyes. "Maybe by then
you will have managed to get rid of your—" Slade paused to take a moment to
consider his words. "—pent up frustration and anger." Slade stopped within the
doorway and looked back at Robin. "Congratulations on gaining my trust and the
authority to attend quests outside this base. You have done well."
Slade then exited the room, the doors closing behind him. At first, Robin would
have wanted to throw the vile against the wall or perhaps even the floor with
as much strength as he could. Instead, he tore the cork off, threw it at the
door, then drank the liquid in one gulp, grimacing at the foul taste. He heard
a satisfying crash as the vial shattered against the door, which opened
automatically as it registered the movement and impact.
Darn Slade and his ways. He never could leave room for an argument.
It took Robin a while to fume out his ire. Yes, he was still slightly annoyed,
but he believed that he wouldn't snap the moment he saw Slade's mask again. The
first thing he did during his half hour of cooling down, he had gone to Slade's
medical bay. The same one he had been to two days ago. It took him about
fifteen minutes to disinfect his newly made wounds. He had to use bandages on
his sides and pelvis. Of course it hurt something fierce and was now itching
slightly, but at least they wouldn't get infected. Before he met Slade again,
Robin decided to get a small bite of something. He had no idea what the mission
would be, but he decided it was best to be prepared. Then, after half an hour
sharp, he was back in the room, where Slade already stood waiting.
"So what's it going to be then?" Robin asked.
Yes, he still felt that small buzzing sound at the back of his brain, nagging
at him to just nail Slade for what he did earlier. For once, he decided to
humor the small voice. Once he found something to annoy Slade with, he would
grab the first chance he got. He couldn't trick him or take his sight from him
without consequences.
"The rules are simple. For every mission, you will have a deadline. In the set
time, you are to complete the mission and return here, where you will get a
prize. Be late for even a second and I shall punish you instead," Slade
explained.
Slade pushed a few buttons on a small remote control that he had that
rearranged the room. It wasn't a huge change, but now there was a fairly good-
sized monitor on a table with two seats in front of it. The monitor had a map
of Jump City open and, in the middle of the screen, were many spots on the map.
They were in green, red, pink, black, blue, yellow, brown, purple, and many
more. Robin thought that they were either to mark different places or people.
The red dots seemed to be moving steadily on the screen, so he guessed that
those were people. Slade sat in a chair near him and then pulled out a small
file. He set it on the table and then began to read a report that he took out
of it.
"I can live with that. But—" Slade didn't look at him as he continued reading.
"—there shall be no assassination quests."
Robin had a tone of finalization in his voice. He would not murder anyone. At
least not on command.
"We'll see," Slade said, taking another piece of paper to read.
Robin stared hard at him. "There will be no assassination quests, Slade. That
cannot be bargained. I'm here because of a contract and this goes both ways. On
my behalf, I am not going on any assassination quests. So far you have been the
only one to have all the cards while I've been forced to stay here. So my word
is final."
Slade finally looked at him. Robin continue to stare at him, almost as if he
was trying to will his opinion into him. They stared each other down, like they
were in a match of wits. The first to break eye contact would lose the
argument.
"Is that so?" Slade finally asked.
"Yes."
"So you are implying that in the last three days, today included, has taught
you nothing?"
Robin was slightly taken aback, but he didn't break eye contact. Had he learned
anything? To say that he hadn't would be a lie. He had learned to cope inside
small places, at least to some degree; learned to take orders as well as give
them, as seen today; knew how to wield different guns because of the training;
and the simulator had been an interesting experience. He had shot a man in that
simulator.
Robin didn't know what to say, but it seemed that he didn't have to because
Slade kept going.
"Do you think I haven't made any sacrifices for this? I haven't been able to
step outside my own base because I have been forced to look after you. I
decided not to force this on you, nor force you to stay with a death penalty in
place. I have been patient Robin. Believe me, I have. I let you wander on your
own and I let you use my base freely. Now you're saying I'm actually gaining
something from all of this? I could have murdered you in your sleep while you
were weak and unconscious to the word, withering with illness."
Robin suddenly cut in, before Slade could make him out to be the victim in all
of this. They both knew he damn well wasn't. "Then why didn't you? One problem
less for you, right? There has to be something underneath all of this, that
proceeds the benefit of simply killing your enemy from the field for good. Why
didn't you kill me?"
Robin leaned forward and tried to read him. It was difficult because his face
was covered and he could only stare at the visible eye. He would have loved to
look at Slade's body language, but he dared not break eye contact. He felt the
urge to just look to see if the man was flexing his fingers or doing anything
that would indicate what he was thinking. But he didn't let anything slip or be
seen in his eye. The gaze was almost unsettlingly intense. They both tried to
stare the other down and it seemed Slade took his sweet ass time thinking.
Maybe he didn't know what to say? Soon Slade withdrew and blinked. Robin felt a
small linger of victory, seeing as he dropped the case.
"There will be no assassination quests," he finally agreed, before going back
to reading his papers.
To Robin, even if it was just a small victory, he cherished it. Slade had
accepted his rules and that was all that mattered. And, now that he once again
got to aim his sights wherever he wished, he found himself looking at Slade's
body. It was almost as if he was looking for any telltale signs of the man's
previous thought. If he was uncomfortable with the question, he'd still have
some tension on him, wouldn't he? Hopefully?
To be honest, Robin didn't see anything. Slade seemed to be comfortable, almost
relaxed. His shoulders weren't tense in any way; more like resting. He even sat
down so that he was leaning against the back of the chair with his legs
straight out in front, the heels on the floor, the tips of his toes pointing
towards the ceiling, and legs crossed at the ankles. He held the paper with his
fingers from the lower edges and read the text carefully without hurry. He
seemed to breathe evenly, his chest rising with every inhale. Slade didn't let
any part of him give a hint of emotion to anyone. It was admirable, to be
honest. Robin still had some small lingering hints that could only be found if
people knew him well enough and looked close enough. In anger, his finger or a
muscle in his arm would twitch just so slightly; in confusion, his eyebrow
would faintly scrunch; in annoyance or disgust his nostril would flare only so
slightly. Bruce had pointed out all of these flaws to him one day after he was
being interrogated. Robin had tried his best to grow out of his bad habits, he
really had. Now he believed that he had gotten rid of them completely. Or at
least he hoped he had.
Slade sure had a lot of muscle to cover, but he seemed to be in perfect
control. A strong body with a sharp mind, that's what he was. Robin found
himself lost in thought and taking in the man's broad built, like a drug he had
been craving for. It took him a while to notice that he really had been staring
at him like a child would a cookie jar on the top shelf. He quickly tore his
eyes away from his broad chest and shoulders and, at that moment, managed to
take in a small hint of confusion or annoyance from Slade. His eye twitched. He
must have been in deep thought because he even stopped reading the report for a
short while until he resumed what he was doing and then finally putting the
paper down.
"On with the mission." Slade folded his arms over his chest and then turned to
Robin. "All of the equipment you will need will be provided for you. You will
wear an earpiece with a mic at all times, that's mandatory, and also a gun,
just to be sure. Even if you won't be sent on assassination quests
specifically, I hope that you'd be ready to take down someone for good if the
situation calls for it. Unless stated otherwise, you can equip yourself as you
wish for the mission." Robin nodded in understanding. He wasn't completely
happy with the thought of carrying a gun, but at least he didn't have to fire
it unless absolutely necessary. "All types of communicating with your friends
is forbidden. You are not to reveal this place to anyone and you will keep
everything you know thus far a secret."
Robin frowned. He didn't want to be completely isolated from his friends, even
if he could understand the reason why. If there was a crime being committed,
the Teen Titans would be there to stop it. It would only be great luck, or in
his case a curse, if he didn't meet them at all.
"What if I encounter them somewhere along the way?"
"You are not to talk to them," Slade replied matter-of-factly. "Act as if they
were any other possible passerby or some hindrance on your mission. Lose them
and make sure they don't follow you, then proceed with the mission. If you do
try talking to them, I will first take you down and then bring you back here,
where you will stay. Don't even think for a second that your friends will be so
lucky." Something in his cold, deep tone told Robin that he shouldn't even try
figuring out what his friends would face if he dared break that rule. "If not
talking to them is completely unavoidable, we will see by the end of the
mission what the consequences will be. So I warn you now: any unrequited
contact with the team and it will be everyone's hide on the line."
"Sure, sure, whatever. Is it okay to talk to anyone else then?" Robin asked,
testing his luck or just to annoy him, he wasn't completely sure. Might have
been a bit of both.
"If you must. I know that there will always be at least someone interrupting
you at any given time. Don't make it a habit and don't tell them anything
important. Remember, the door you come in and out of is a one person
passageway. No one is to know about this place."
Slade placed the papers back into the folder. To be honest, Robin felt
excitement creeping up his legs and into his chest. He faintly tapped his legs
under the table. Slade wasn't only letting him out, but he just said that he
could talk to people, as long as they weren't the Titans and that he didn't say
anything about Slade or what was going on.
"Okay, so what do I do with my spare time. If the mission lasts for, let's say,
two hours, and I can finish it in half the time, what then?"
"It depends. You may ask over the earpiece if you have an idea. Remember, I
have that chip in you and I'm always aware of your location." Slade paused,
seemingly wondering about something. "Let's raise the bar: you have free time
left and you don't tell me about it. You are not to leave the center of Jump,
talk to your teammates, or enter any shops without permission. Once you get
back, you are required to give me, in full detail, what you have done and where
you have gone. If you lie, I will know, so don't even try it. If you get back
fast, I will add to your prize for completing a mission. I trust you to get
back here within the set time, but don't let down mine."
Slade stared at Robin with his eye holding such an intense look that made his
skin get goosebumps and made a cold chill travel up his frame. It dared him to
break the rule, promising pain and suffering if he did.
"Anything else?" Robin asked, hiding the effect of the stare behind firm words.
"You are not to leave Jump City or get caught. There is no room for failure
here." Robin nodded again, knowing full well that failure was never an option
with Slade. "Shall we see see the equipment, then?"
Slade stood and then rounded the table, waiting for Robin to do the same. He
did so without question. He was starting to feel better about this. He had
pretty much just received the freedom to roam around the city, with only a few
downsides. It was really generous and trustful of Slade. Robin knew that he
shouldn't take it for granted. Still, he couldn't wait for some adventure in
the city he knew and loved so much. Slade escorted Robin in front of the wall
that was right next to the entryway into the very same room they had been
staying in a lot.
"This wall is touch sensitive and will react to your touch, along with mine and
mine alone. All your equipment will be stored here. So from here, you will
gather them and bring them back. Notice that the storage space that has been
built into the wall keeps track of every weapon. By evening, everything that
was inside is to be returned. In other words, you take a weapon and don't
return it, it will make a report for me." Slade stood facing Robin from the
side. "Try yourself," Slade encouraged, spreading his hand to address the wall.
At first, Robin was wary to touch it. He had just been shown that stuffing your
nose where Slade wanted wasn't a good idea. The thought of losing his sight was
still fresh on his mind. Not wanting to look like a weakling or delay the
possibility of actually leaving the base, even for the smallest amount of time,
gave Robin enough courage to finally touch it. He wasn't really one hundred
percent sure how he should though. Would his finger be enough or should he
press his whole palm to it? He decided with the latter. The wall began to
transform itself immediately, so he retracted his arm to make sure it didn't do
anything weird. It was interesting to watch it open, that was for sure. It
seemed to be made out of small cubes that disassembled themselves before fixing
themselves back together in a different shape and location. It actually created
small stairs to the storage cabinet on the wall, along with small frames on the
side.
"That's actually kind of cool, the way this closet works. How exactly does it
work?" Robin questioned, unable to hold back his interest.
"Magnets and electrical charges," Slade put it simply, probably not trusting
Robin with the information. To be honest, Robin wouldn't either; let Slade know
something such as this. "Here is your earpiece." Slade handed it over. Robin
took it and noticed how handy the small thing was. It was the kind you placed
directly into the ear and could be used as a microphone. In Robin's opinion it
was handy; small, but could stay on, even if he was in the middle of a fight.
It wasn't even heavy. Since it was only in his left ear, his right ear was free
to listen to his surroundings. "You don't need to return the earpiece to the
storage, but you will need to take care of it from now on. Do not break it."
Slade pressed his own hand to the wall and, from within, seemed to be clicking
buttons that weren't visible to Robin, no thanks to his poor angle. Though it
seemed like it wasn't mandatory for him to see the buttons, even if he was
curious still, because the wall started to reform itself again, opening up a
medium-sized screen on the wall.
"I will give you a briefing of today's mission and then I shall escort you to
the door," Slade informed.
Robin took a closer look at the screen. It seemed to be touch sensitive, seeing
as Slade was sliding his fingers along the screen to open folders and browse
around. It was really fascinating how smooth his fingers danced along the
screen, along with tapping, curling, and, at times, pinching and releasing the
screen in order to zoom. It was mesmerizing. Robin actually had to shake his
head and tear his sight from the screen and the fingers for one second because
the thoughts that came weren't something he wished for when thinking. How could
he even refer to Slade's movements on the screen as almost caress-like. The man
didn't do caress.
"Because it's your first mission, I'll let you have something simple, yet
challenging, so you won't get bored." Slade opened another file. In it, there
was a small chip, probably a memory card or something. There was also a logo on
it. Robin decided that it was probably a military's security ward slogan. This
was easy? Yeah, right. "The chip on the screen is your objective. It's the
master security. So far, all of their security measures and codes are saved in
that one memory card. You'll need to get it for me. To be quite honest, I have
deemed it practical and useful enough to want it for myself. That will keep any
unwelcome visitors away."
Slade mumbled the last part, but Robin heard it and, without noticing it
himself at first, commented on it.
"I couldn't agree more. Red X comes and goes as he pleases."
Robin turned slightly red for some reason. Why wasn't he more conscious around
the man? He shouldn't have let Slade know that, ever. Now he knew that Red X
had been in the tower and was now probably assuming that Cyborg's security
sucked. Thankfully, Slade acted like nothing had happened.
"The security on the place is going to be a tricky one, but I think you can do
it. If I were you, I'd use the ventilators." Robin turned pale this time. If
Slade had had anymore malice in his voice, he would say that he was trying to
either be sarcastic, annoying, or downright evil for bringing his hate of
ventilator shafts up. Robin only hummed as an answer. "I will print out a copy
of the blueprint, including where the guards are. I will also give you a small
piece of paper, explaining what kind of security is in every room and on every
level." Slade pointed out small hints and locations from the screen and even
showed a possible route for Robin to take. It seemed like he had been planning
this one carefully beforehand, probably had planned on going himself, but now
that Robin was here, he decided to give the kid a chance. "I also recommend the
belt with some extra pockets in them so you can take these papers with you. You
may equip yourself."
The papers were printed and Slade received them from a slot on the wall. It
seemed that this room was made out to be some kind of logic center with an
adaptable environment for every purpose. It confused Robin, yet it made him
curious and almost excited. He was so interested in the room, wondering how it
worked and how Slade had obtained it. He would love to have a room like this in
Titans Tower.
Silently, Robin took the papers from Slade and went to the storage. He took the
belt Slade recommended, knowing that he was usually right. Besides, carrying
paper around was an inconvenience if it wasn't stored properly. He also placed
the earpiece in and grabbed a gun that he had already become familiar with
thanks to the gun handling studies earlier. The storage seemed to be filled
with all kinds of different guns, tools, and equipment, everything that would
come to mind, and more. Even if Robin wanted to wield them all, or at least the
ones he could carry, he decided to go with the essentials. It was, after all, a
sneak in-sneak out mission. With good luck, he wouldn't actually need to harm
anyone. If he was going in by way of the ventilators, he didn't even dare think
about bringing something massive or bulky with him, in fear of getting stuck
because of it. He also grabbed some light, pebble-sized bombs, only so he could
be fully prepared if something did manage to go wrong. Who knew when one would
need a good old smoke bomb anyway.
Slade noticed that Robin seemed to be ready, except for the earpiece volume and
belt adjustments. "I guess that's a plausible choice of equipment. Shall we go
then?"
"Yeah," Robin confirmed, not daring to show how eager he truly was.
He took steps wider than he normally did and almost seemed to hang onto Slade's
side, not daring to walk in front of him and blow his cover. Slade had told him
not to talk to the Titans, but maybe he could take a look, at least, to see how
they were doing. Even if Robin was almost completely in his own mind, seeing
his friends at their usual pizza place, arguing over the topping, he still kept
his mind on the route they took in the hallways. He wanted to know where the
exit was for future reference. The slightest, smallest thought that still
lingered around him told him that he should escape and that this was the
perfect opportunity. Soon they reached the doors. Slade opened them by pressing
his hand on a hand reader that recognized a user's prints. They opened with a
hiss. Once the bright light cleared, Robin saw the sea. And Titans Tower. Where
they stood faced the backyard. It was far away, but was still close enough to
see it. It was frustrating to know that he had been this close all along. He
could have been able to swim there. Go figure. Keep your friends close and your
enemies even closer. Sounded like Slade all right. Robin dared not say anything
though.
"You are now free to go. But hear me out first." Slade pulled out a small, flat
iPhone-like object from his pocket, showing the screen to him. Robin saw the
exact same map from the previous room, including all of its many colored dots
on it. "You are the yellow one. I'll be watching. Your friends are these dots
here." Slade pointed at the dots that he was referring to. "If I see you go
anywhere near them, prepare to face the consequences."
There were still plenty more dots to cover, but Robin didn't ask for them since
he was too busy fuming. Why did Slade have his friends on that damned tracking
device as well?
"Now look here, Slade, this is going too far-"
Robin didn't get to finish his sentence as Slade took a firm hold of his neck.
He unsuccessfully tried to cover up the retort as he felt the touch on his
neck, but Slade pressed his thumb to the chip that had been shot into him only
a while ago. Since the skin around it was very sensitive at the moment, he had
to bite his tongue real hard to avoid letting out a grunt from the inflicted
pain.
"And don't forget this chip here. This little sweetheart will make sure that
you don't do anything too foolish."
Closing his eyes, Robin shot his hand out at Slade's wrist, trying to tear his
hand off his neck. "What do you mean?"
Robin grunted and even let out a small hiss of pain as he spoke. The grip on
his neck was making his legs tremble, but he fought against it with all his
might.
"If you disobey me in any way, the chip will make a high pitched sound that no
human ear can handle, making them bleed. Soon, the headache will be so bad, you
will start to see things, your balance will be off, and, then, you should be
unconscious. Also, this happens automatically if you cross the borders of Jump
City."
Slade finally let go of the chip and shoved Robin away. He stumbled a couple of
steps due to the sudden lack of the firm hand keeping him upright. He managed
to regain his balance before turning to Slade.
"You bastard! I thought I gained your trust!"
Robin was even madder, now that he knew, once again, he had something in him
that totally didn't belong and that it was from Slade. He wanted nothing of his
inside of him. No tech, no nothing. By now, he would be at Slade's throat,
trying to choke him, if he hadn't stepped inside the base, the doors closing
between them. Robin couldn't even yell at him before the doors were closed.
Slade did manage to get in the last word though.
"Have fun on your mission. I'll see you in three hours sharp. Don't be late."
***** Chapter 13 *****
AN: Sorry for these two OCs. (among others?) I have no excuse for the names, I
have no idea where they spawned from. Anyways, Disclaimer states that I own
NOTHING. I bet that those OCs are also up for adoption... Now on with the
story!
Robin was standing at the entrance to the military facility. This medium-sized,
not too much attention drawing building was located on the outskirts of the
city, thankfully inside the borders of Slade's chip radius. This side of the
city was not nearly as wealthy as any other part and usually drew in the lower
class folk, but thanks to it's heavy guarding and cruel rumors, not even the
homeless nor drunkards wandered there. Of course some nosy and daring teenagers
always tried to get in, for curiosity's sake, if not less, but they usually
were stopped before the entrance. The penalty for getting caught usually
included a trespassing charge. The facility didn't look too different from the
outside. It was like any other workshop with a junkyard. Or that's what it
looked like. It wasn't too ample, but looked more like the meager outskirts of
the facility, with huge, wooden rolls, meant for storing wires, lying around
abandoned. There was also a small parking lot for the employees. To be honest,
it was the parking lot that gave it all away. If you had an army van or a
Porsche parked anywhere near a shady, dark and discreet facility, there was
bound to be something going on. Not that anything in this facility was shady,
so to speak; they just wanted to keep a low profile, but didn't seem to be
doing such a great job of it. Otherwise, the yard was protected by an iron
fence, which would at least slow the intruders down, if not stop them.
Robin had arrived at his post outside the fence not too long ago. He had
entered right away, not wanting to test Slade's patience. Of course, he would
have wanted to look for his friends, but he knew that the situation at hand
would allow no such thing. Not to mention that he had acquired a small voice at
the back of his skull that encouraged him to just play by the rules for the
last four days or so, so he could return to his friends in the end. And on the
other hand, by running these small errands, he would know Slade, inside and
out, for sure. Not to mention he was curious about the security too, but that
was a side matter.
Slade had told him via the earpiece about the facility. The military base was,
in fact, rather average. The more Robin heard about it, the easier he saw the
mission being. Well, Slade had assured him that the first mission was supposed
to be. Robin wanted to take this as such by not stressing about it. He wasn't
going to take the air ventilators. Definitely not. Slade had also mentioned
that the facility had rather mediocre or, at least flawed, security. The
cameras were average. They even had a few standard passage indicators and a
shooting range that was supposed to keep the uninvited people at bay. Slade had
mentioned that even if this place was supposed to be researching on a master
security, its own security was no better than any other place. They were paid
to build the thing itself, not to use it. It was a common miserly by the
military, but they couldn't fund everything.
Robin snuck over the fence and took a quick look around the facility until he
found a small storage-like room outside. If he was lucky, the main board was in
there. Who knew what else was inside though and Robin highly doubted that it
was only a storage for junk, so he tried to pick the lock. It was a regular
lock, the same kind everyone had on their front door. Even if it wasn't one of
the most simple ones to pick, it was still no match for his talented fingers.
Silently, he opened the door and snuck in, sealing it behind him.
At first the room was pitch black, seeing as the storage had no windows and the
lights were off, but once he aimlessly searched the walls for a switch, he
flicked it on when he found it. It seemed that the main board was not inside,
but the logic was stored in nonetheless. Not that he knew what to do with it,
but once he investigated the small electronic devices, he classified one of
them as the passage indicator source. Robin smiled slightly as he searched the
room for tools and, luckily, found a tool kit with the name "Mark Johnson,
Janitor" written on it. Okay, now this seemed too easy. Maybe the man had been
fixing the wiring only a while ago and left his kit behind? Robin decided not
to look a gift horse in the mouth and searched the kit for a screwdriver so he
could open the plastic lid of the passage indicator box. It wasn't one of the
most beautiful things he had seen. The wires were all in one big, messy stack,
all stuffed inside. This fact didn't faze Robin because he knew what he was
doing. A normal passage indicator could easily be overruled. It worked by
sending a small voltage through the entire circuit at all times and, once
something stepped in its line of vision, it sent a higher voltage spike to send
off the alarm. You could overrule the command easily by sending a voltage
through the machine, setting off the alarm silently—without the machine being
able to give away the warning signal—and then cutting off the source from the
main circuit. This stopped the alarm from being set off.
Robin couldn't hold back a grin as he danced a small victory dance inside his
head. It was an easy device to overrule—almost too easy; almost too boring. Now
he only needed to find something to get the electricity for this. He searched
the kit for a voltage meter with the ability to send voltage through it, but of
course there was none. It was an expensive device and janitors usually didn't
have one. It was an engineer's tool, not a toy. Robin frowned as he pushed the
kit further away for a while, trying to look for anything that he could use as
a supply or even as a conductor. The storage he was in now had a concrete floor
and wooden walls with no insulation. The storage was cold and bare with not
much in it. There were boxes full of junk in the corners, including other, non-
useful documents and other small items. There was also some leftover junk in
the left corner. The junk back there had probably been there for ages and, by
the look of it, was probably used when the iron fence was set up. The fence was
one of those where the holes in the grating were small enough to prevent one's
hand through. A regular fence to put it simply.
With his lack of other options, Robin started to cut some tin wires from the
fence, planning on using the metal as a conductor. He now had two, one foot
long strips of metal in both of his hands and was standing near the passage
indicator. The fence was not something he would use in any situation, seeing as
it had no cover over the metallic part and he was at a high risk of getting
electrocuted. Not a pleasant feeling at all. He knew that whatever safety
standard he would be consulting with at the moment would not recommend using a
bare electrified wire on a circuit. The only thing worse that that would be to
touch it with both hands at the same time.
Robin looked at the passage indicator and wondered if he should just skip that
whole step. But maybe he shouldn't. It would be handy if he get the indicator
out of the game. He'd have free reign and he wouldn't have to worry. And who
knows, maybe the gloves on his uniform had great insulation to them, to make
sure he was safe. However, he didn't know. Only Slade did. So Robin decided
that it may be best to just flat out ask him if that was the case. He started
to feel around the earpiece, to find the small switch that turned the mic on.
"Slade? Do you read me?"
Maybe Slade wasn't present at the moment. He didn't want to make a fool of
himself by talking to nothing.
"I do," Slade's deep voice said over the earpiece.
Robin had to hold back a sigh of relief as he noticed that he was not alone in
this. "So, Slade, is this suit grounded or otherwise safe for small voltage
shocks?" Robin asked, already starting to position the other wire to where it
was supposed to go.
He knew that the other wire would be easy, but the moment he were to put the
other one in and the voltage was able to travel along the circuit, he'd be in
trouble.
"Why are you asking? Where are you? I told you to take the air ventilators,"
Slade scolded.
Robin snorted to tell him off. "I'm not taking the ventilators. This mission is
easy, so I decided to just have some fun. Some 'joking around' if you will."
Robin knew darn well what mediocre security was made of and he was now about to
show Slade that it wasn't a good idea to depend on such low grade toys.
"I wouldn't recommend any tricks. But the suit is grounded and resistant on up
to 400 volts," Slade explained.
Robin grinned. To be quite honest, he wouldn't have had any idea on how to
proceed if the suit wasn't grounded. "Not that 230 volts would kill anyone, but
here goes."
He plugged the make-do wire in and…nothing happened. Robin took this as a good
thing. If the circuit had fried, it would have sent off the signal and, seeing
as he was still in good shape, nothing was wrong. Robin turned off the
earpiece, not wanting to hear Slade's voice anymore, and then left the storage
for a while. He had to set off the alarm for now before he could trigger off
the machine, but that was the easy part. It was easily tricked from the main
passage inductor board and, with a quick, professional cut with the wire
cutters, he got the whole machine overrun. He then removed the make-do wires
from their previous position. Now all he had left was the testing. Robin
gritted his teeth while he triggered the alarm and, with butterflies dancing in
his stomach, waited for the alarm to set off. It didn't, thank god. Robin
sighed in relief and left the storage without a trace. If the alarm had been
set off then, it meant that the passage indicators were still working and he
would have just given away his location and, thus, failed the mission. Thank
god he was still in.
Robin walked along the side of the building, keeping a look out for any hidden
cameras. Of course, there were cameras surveying the courtyard, but they were
placed poorly. They were set on the walls and, if Robin squeezed himself
against them, he could sneak under them and not get caught. He had been lucky
today. Robin then snuck to the doors that led inside. On them, there was a
thumbprint sensor and a key card reader. He frowned, seeing as he had none of
those things to grant him passage. Robin decided that it may be easiest for him
to slip in through the ventilators, after all, but once inside, he would walk
his way around the building. He wasn't going to use the ventilator shafts more
often than necessary.
Robin searched for the nearest ventilator, finding one rather easily. It was
located near the roof on the wall. Robin searched in his belt for a grappling
hook and shot it upward. The hook took a hold of the metal cover and, with a
strong pull, Robin tore it down. It was simple, yet slightly noisy and obvious,
but it did the job. He then shot the hook again and pulled himself up so he
could crawl inside the ventilator. This one wasn't nearly in as good of shape
as the one in Slade's hideout. It seemed that a small bird couple had once made
a nest there and, judging by the amount of small feathers and bones, they had
also died there. The air inside was heavy and foul smelling, along with spider
webs and other dirt and remains of animal nests. The darkness within was
something that dared you to go onwards, but gave you the feeling that you just
might not be able to leave again if you do. Robin was almost going to back out
and go a different way, but he swallowed a breath and wormed his way inside.
Robin did have a flashlight with him, which made it easier for him to make out
the tunnels in the dark. The light was a really powerful halogen light that
easily lit the whole ventilator shaft. Even if Robin didn't panic nearly as
much as he had done the last time he entered ventilation shafts, he still
loathed being inside it and decided to crawl his way through as quickly as
possible, which he soon did. The exit was right below him and, without paying
much attention, kicked the lid off and watched it drop to the ground. It made
an awful load of racket while it fell and crashed. Robin's throat had shot to
his throat as he listened for any footsteps from anyone who might have heard
the commotion. Luckily no one came by. Robin allowed himself to relax once
again before jumping down into the room below.
The room was huge and the lights were turned off. At the left side of him,
there were shooting targets; on the right was a wall of guns. It all seemed
quiet. Robin saw a door that led outside the room opposite him. It was further
away, about 150 feet. Robin took in the details of the place and decided that
this room was used to test the guns they created. It seemed as if they tested
all kinds of guns in this very room, seeing as the targets had multiple,
different kinds of damage caused to them. One was burned and another was
melted. There were also bullet wounds on the chest and head area, all so
precise that they had to be shot with a sniper. There were also signs of
explosions and some that seemed to be from a machine gun or something similar.
It was interesting if nothing else.
Robin took in his surroundings one last time and then noted that nothing was
going to happen inside the room. Absolutely nothing moved and nothing made any
sort of noise. So he took one step towards the door. The step was confident and
long and, seeing as nothing had yet to happen, even after the first step, he
deemed the room safe. He took yet another couple of steps until he had a good
feeling that something wasn't quite right. He took a look around his body and
saw multiple red colored dots covering him. Targeting dots. Robin gulped. He
then heard a loud click that sounded off twice and, then, a huge roar as a
missile was launched at him. Soon after, the guns on the other side started to
fire his way and he was trapped. He was literally a moving target. Robin jumped
backwards to dodge the slowly flying missile and then danced his way to the
wall, trying to avoid bullets. He gasped in horror as he saw the kinds of
weapons that were set up against him. They weren't aiming at him currently
because he had managed to squash himself against the wall. So the guns didn't
register him, but instead kept shooting at the unmoving, less real targets. He
saw missiles and rocket launchers, flamethrowers, machine guns, shot guns,
snipers, everything from every category. The bullets pierced the air like crazy
and Robin was running low on options about which direction to go. He couldn't
return to the ventilator shaft either, seeing as it was in the middle of the
room.
Robin tried to calm down his beating heart in order to work his brain. He had
to find shelter from the fire. His safest bet would be near the guns, so he
could at least try and crawl under their sights. He slowly started working his
way along the wall, back pressed, stomach pulled in, and laying as flat against
the wall as he could. The weapons seemed to auto target, but their range was
limited, so they couldn't shoot at the walls. That lucky design flaw was
probably the only reason why Robin was still alive. Not that he wasn't happy
for the flaw. It was dangerous to try and work oneself along the wall. He could
hear the auto target make a beeping sound every time he moved and the guns were
targeted at him. They shot, but always missed because their range wasn't very
wide. The closest ones flew so close to him that he could feel the small
currents of air that they set off in their wake.
Robin had to take several pauses from his efforts on working himself from one
side of the room to the other, since he was in constant fear that the missiles
aimed at him would actually hit him. It didn't take him too long to finally
make his way to the wall that separated him from the weapons. He had been
staring at his feet for the last thirty feet so he wouldn't be distracted by
the flying bullets. It had been helping him somewhat, but now he was finally at
the location he wanted to be in. Maybe he could crawl underneath. He was
already crouching, but the moment he heard the low huff of pressured air or
something similar, soon followed by a blast of fire, he jumped back up to
stand. The flamethrowers, always the flamethrowers. Robin gulped as he looked
at the now extinguishing flames. In his slightly anguished and distressed haze,
he tried to rake the room with his vision, trying to find a way out, and there
it was. It was so obvious it made him want to laugh. Was this a joke or some
really stupid flaw in construction? Someone could easily just walk to the other
side of the wall where the weapons were because there was a hole there. A hole
big enough for Robin to squeeze himself through. Well this was just plain
hilarious. This place seemed to be made out of stupid, easy solutions.
Robin squeezed himself to the other side, half expecting the guns to turn
around and start firing at him. Once nothing happened, he started to walk down
the hallway to the other side of the room, making his way to the door so he
could exit. It didn't take him long until he was at the door and was taking a
peek outside. There was an empty hallway with a few cameras now and then. As he
supervised them, he noted that they were those crappy cameras people bought so
they could supervise the rooms. Not the wisest thing to buy. Robin dug into his
pockets and fished out the very same flashlight he had been using earlier and
gave it a couple fast on/off clicks to test it out. The crappy cameras were
easy to fool. A regular flashlight blinded them easily. Confusing the cameras
with changing the light was the easiest solution. Again, this place was made of
simplistic solutions.
Robin leaned against the door frame and took a long breath. Soon he swung his
flashlight upward and started to blink the light fast while he ran by the
camera.
'One down, one to go,' Robin thought as he chortled.
"Robin, what are you doing?"
It took Robin a moment to understand that Slade was still capable of sending
messages to him, even if he couldn't hear him back because the mic was off.
While he continued flashing the flashlight with his other hand, he soon started
to search the earpiece for the on/off switch.
"I'm just messing around. This is so easy, a child could do it," Robin
explained with a slight laugh. "I won't even have to do this seriously. It's
actually kind of fun."
This was supposed to be a facility under the military's payroll and it was
supposed to protect a master security, which was somewhere in this building. So
far he had gotten in just by fooling with their machinery; by tricks even a
preschooler could pull off. There might not have been any sort of challenge to
it, but it was still fun. It sure was a good change from the norm, even if it
was a one-time thing. He'd only need to take a couple of loose end turns to
make whoever was surveying the cameras to lose track of his movements by
looking at the order and location of the cameras which would act up. If all the
cameras turned off in one hallway, it would most likely mean that someone was
in said hallway. But if all the cameras were shut off, it would buy him some
more time.
"You should not be fooling around, Robin," Slade said. "This is an important
mission."
Robin retorted, "Sure it is. Just let me have fun for once, okay? I'll be more
serious next time."
Robin kept on clicking the flashlight, even as his fingers started to protest
from the sudden performance of mass clicking.
"If there will be a next time, Robin," Slade scolded, but Robin silenced him by
hissing in the mic. He had heard footsteps and two people talking.
"Gotta go. I'll see you around."
Robin turned the mic off. He heard Slade grunt in disapproval on the other end
since he decided to ignore him. Robin himself had no time to pay mind to Slade
and was already looking for a potential hiding place. In his panic, he opened a
random closet and dashed inside, hiding himself within and closing the door.
The sound he heard sounded like two soldiers performing their rounds of the
hallways. Like normal checks up and such. He tried to even his breathing. He
flexed his fingers now that he didn't have to work the flashlight. The soldiers
were walking side-by-side and talking, about the cameras going nuts, Robin
understood. He tried to take a peek outside and even managed to get a glimpse.
He saw that the two soldiers were standing fifteen feet from the closet, their
backs turned to him as they spoke. They didn't seem to be in any kind of hurry,
so Robin couldn't proceed as they blocked his way. He sighed. He was stuck;
stuck inside a closet full of stupid army clothes. Army clothes…? Robin smiled.
Now that he was already acting like a total asshole, he may as well be one some
more.
In the small closet space, Robin started to pull on the army's green suit,
hoping that it was clean. It seemed to be laundry, but he didn't know if it was
clean or not. There was a name tag printed to the chest of the uniform. It
belonged to that of a sergeant and, to Robin's own judgment, the other two
couldn't be more than mere soldiers. So he tried to shake the nervousness away
from him as he readied himself for what was to come. Once he was ready, he
sighed his worries away from his shoulders, pointed the flashlight out from a
crack in the closet, and blinked it a few times so he could distract the camera
from seeing where he came out. He managed to slip out of the closet and close
the doors, alerting the soldiers. They turned around right as he quickly
slipped the flashlight in his pocket.
"Soldiers!" Robin yelled as a form of greeting. He thanked god for his poker
face as he saw the two suddenly straighten their backs and lift their hands to
their foreheads in salute. Robin tried to deepen his voice the best he could
for it not to crack. At moments like this he truly wished he was more
masculine. "I see you are protecting the base, good job!"
"Sir, yes, sir!" they both shouted in unison.
Robin was pleased that they were not disturbed by his clearly non-masculine
build, voice, and height. "I hope that you have been keeping your quarters in
as well of shape as you have been doing with this facility! I shall perform a
check on your rooms in a quarter hour!"
The distressed looks he was given was almost enough to make him blow his cover.
It seemed like these two had not been told such things before and that they had
something to hide. He could see it in their eyes. A Playboy perhaps? Try to
explain that to a sergeant or any upper class soldier. Before Robin dismissed
them he decided to try his luck and check their names stitched to their
breasts. They were Brian Miles and Brooke Moore.
"Sir, yes, sir!" the two soldiers announced again, keeping their position,
waiting to be told off, but Robin had something else in mind.
"Soldier Miles and Moore! Your ID cards, please."
Robin held his hand out, thankful for the gloves he was wearing. His small hand
would have given himself away if not for the gloves Slade's uniform had. His
original green gloves would have been a dead giveaway.
"Affirmative, sir!"
After saluting once more, they both dug into their pockets and pulled out their
ID cards. They held them in front of their faces, probably thinking that Robin
was just going to check them before letting them take them back. Instead, Robin
snatched them for himself.
"I shall fill in the paperwork of you two before I fulfill my duties. You will
get your cards back then."
"Negative, sir. ID Card is not allowed to be passed onwards, sir!" one of them
said—the taller one to be exact; Brian, was it?
"You accusing me, private? Your cards need to be updated and registered. Do you
read me?" Robin pressed.
How had he managed to pull that one off? Thank god he had. His voice was
beginning to crack and hurt from trying to sound deep. Even his throat was
starting to get sore.
"Sir, yes, sir!" the soldier chanted, saluting again as Robin dismissed them.
They went on their way, Robin watching them go to make sure they weren't
looking back. He couldn't afford to blow his cover now. Once out of sight, he
started to walk to the lab where the thumb drive was located. He was still
wearing the uniform, so he needed to continue acting like a true sergeant. If
the cameras caught him jumping and almost running down the hallway, the game
would be over. Robin tried to avoid as many soldiers that passed as he could,
not wanting to say a word in that deep voice again. He had to keep coughing
every now and then to clear and settle down the itch in his throat. It took him
a while to navigate to the doors. They required a red access ID code and Robin
honestly hoped that at least one of the two had access. He thought that it
would probably be Miles' card, so he pulled it out and passed it over the
reader. Access Denied was his answer, making him panic slightly. The passage
past the doors was probably limited to researchers only, but he hoped not. He
really, really hoped that the other card would grant him access. He needed to
get in and he needed to get in now. All he had left was an hour to finish the
mission, then he'd have to return to Slade.
Robin felt his fingers shake only slightly as he slowly placed Moore's card to
the reader, pulling it through fast. "Access granted" read on the screen and
Robin couldn't resist his sigh of relief. Which begged the question: who was
this guy? Who was this private that had access to this room? Robin investigated
the card, quickly noticing that Moore was a senior private. He was in charge of
training the new privates and taking care of the other employees. He was like
the kind soul to help anyone with their task and, just like a cleaner, he had
access to almost everywhere. Thank goodness for people like Moore.
Robin watched as the doors opened and the room was revealed. He stepped in with
a certain stride that kept up his sergeant persona. This turned out to be a
good move. The room was full of employees, all working on something. Robin
gulped faintly by the door before collecting himself back together, walking to
the backdoor, and opening it with fake certainty. He had to act as if he
belonged, as if he was there for a reason. Once he opened the door to the room,
which hosted all of the already finished projects, Robin took a while to search
for the one specific thumb drive.
"I found the thumb drive," Robin said to Slade after switching the mic back on.
He dared not speak too loud, so no one, in any way, could be able to hear him.
"Good job, Robin. Now, load the information from the thumb drive onto the small
USB reader device, which is located on the back left pocket of your belt. It
should take a while to save," Slade instructed. Robin did the work as he was
told. Just like Slade said, it took at least ten minutes for the contents to
load and Robin was getting worried that the people in the room were starting to
get suspicious of him. "You have done well, Robin. Now you will need to make
your way back and claim your prize."
The tone Robin heard from Slade (fondly?) made him feel good. Even if he had
been kidding around most of the time, Slade still took the time to tell him
that he had done well. And, for the first time in his life, Robin kind of
wanted to return to Slade's base and see what he had in store for him. Slade
had mentioned something about a prize and, for once, it seemed that he wasn't
holding anything against him. It seemed that Slade was being genuine about
this. It almost sounded like the man was proud of him, which in turn made Robin
feel high. It may have just been verbiage, but, for once, Robin just wanted to
agree with Slade and take in his words, foolishly believe that it was true.
"Return to base, Robin."
The communication was cut off. Robin took the thumb drive off the reader and
placed it back where he had taken it.
"I will," he said quietly.
Robin wasn't sure if he had heard the words himself. Maybe he hadn't said them
at all? Had he said them or not didn't matter. The fact was that he did return.
He came straight back to Slade's base, but only after returning Miles and
Moore's ID cards and having one longing look at Titans Tower.
***** Chapter 14 *****
AN: I seriously do not have anything to say about this chapter... and Just for
your entertainment I will make sure that I will say this only once, and you
will never hear this again: Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. Robin belongs
to... Slade, I can live with that.
It didn't take Robin long to reach the base. He even had some time to spare,
which he decided to use for his own use by looking at the windows of Titans
Tower. The building was enlightening and he could see the lights from the
windows as dusk was falling. He could even see the silhouettes of his friends
as they passed the large, main room window. He didn't want to say that he was a
Peeping Tom, but he had to use binoculars to see all the way to the island the
tower was built on. He could see Starfire hovering around the living room and
kitchen area, going back and forth to talk to Raven. Robin bet she was missing
him terribly. He could even see Beast Boy rising up from the couch to
participate in the conversation they were having. Cyborg seemed to be the one
that stepped in between if things got too heated. His team was probably really
worried about him and the feeling of betrayal and apology crept into every vein
in Robin. It felt like small bugs were worming around his body and eating him
away. He wished that he could at least send them a message, to tell them that
he was okay. He knew that they were all really worried. The last time they had
seen him, he had been terribly ill and could barely hold onto himself. And,
now, he was at Slade's, completely okay, more or less, but they didn't know
that. He wished that he could tell them that he was okay.
Robin sighed as he stood. He hit his pants with his hands in order to get rid
of the small pebbles and sand that was stuck on his clothes. He had set a small
timer to tell him when it was time to enter Slade's base so that he could be
there on time. And that time was minutes away. Robin laid a second longing gaze
at the tower before finally retreating inside of the base. It didn't take him
more than five minutes max to reach the room where the storage was located. He
walked to the white automatic doors and, as he got to it, opened to reveal the
room within. Next to the storage stood Slade, already waiting for him.
"Good job Robin. May I have the USB reader back?"
Slade held his palm to Robin, tilting his chin downwards so he could look at
Robin from under his brow, making an impression that he was either expecting
something from him, scolding him, or he knew something. Hell, maybe all three.
Robin noted the look, but didn't know if he should say anything. He had done
nothing against the rules, he was on time, and as far as he knew, he was safe.
Robin noted something else too: a small shine in the upper corner of Slade's
eye, which seemed to be in a discord with the look. He couldn't place it, but
it gave him the impression that Slade was smiling, that he was glad about
something, but he couldn't say what. The man was too hard for him to read.
Unable to place it, he kept looking, kept searching for anything that could
give him away. Only when Slade blinked did he realize that he had just been
staring at him, being mesmerized by the look enough to forget the time. He
hoped that he hadn't been staring at him for too long. Robin was mentally
shaken by the fact that he had been so close to giving himself up once again.
What was it with Slade that always got Robin to his weakest point when around
him?
Robin tore his gaze away and tried to look at anything else to save his skin.
He couldn't really place his vision to anything exactly. In actuality, he
looked at anything and everything; Slade's chest, abdomen, his legs, back to
his shoulders and neck, and finally to the open palm. Seeing Slade waiting for
him brought Robin back in the moment and he quickly passed the USB reader over.
What was it with him and his weird feelings? This was at least the second time
he had found himself staring.
"Mind telling me about the mission?" Slade asked, with a tone that clearly
stated that it was more like an order than a question.
Robin also took notice that Slade didn't seem tense in any way, nor was he
sounding too precise, so maybe he was trying to start a genuine conversation.
Robin wasn't quite sure if he wanted to take the bait or not though.
"The mission wasn't difficult. The security was rather low."
Robin was still somewhat mistrustful of Slade. Slade, on the other hand, was
back to the center of the room, near the monitor, plugging in the USB reader so
he could analyze the file in it. Slade had his back turned to Robin. Usually
having one's back turned immediately made Robin consider it as rude, but, for
some reason, he was grateful that Slade trusted him enough not to face him. It
would be nicer to speak to his face though.
"I knew as much. I couldn't give you anything too hard for your first mission,"
Slade said, moving slightly to the right, so Robin could see some of the files
open on screen. "Besides, I needed to make sure that you would return for a
second mission." Robin discreetly tried to hover slightly to the left to see
more. "Would you like to look at these files as I go through them?"
Robin was caught off guard. Slade was offering to share his information? Well
that was new. But he sure as hell wouldn't refuse.
"Sure."
Robin walked over, straining his voice and the urge to just leap over to the
monitor. He didn't want to reveal how eager he actually was at seeing the
profit of his small crusade for himself. He was very interested about the
security.
"So, Robin, how are your friends doing?" Slade asked, not turning his head from
the screen as he talked.
Robin, however, spared a nervous glance at him, not wanting any trouble.
"They're fine. They seem to miss me though."
To be honest, Robin didn't want to reveal anything about his friends to Slade.
Why had he even asked?
"I bet they do." Slade shuffled the files and opened the main one, opening up
multiple files at the same time. Within seconds, the screen filled up with
blueprints and other text files. "To be quite honest, I doubted that you would
actually come back. At least not within the time limit." Slade turned to face
him. "Well done. You made a good choice when you decided to play by the rules."
Slade patted Robin on the shoulder. The act itself was something that caught
him completely off guard. He would have wanted to smack his hand off normally,
but, for some weird reason, he didn't. Slade didn't let the hand linger on too
long, merely just patted it, and Robin could feel the warm fingers caressing
his neck and shoulders even in that short amount of time. Slade let his
shoulder go and cleared his throat.
"Well, congratulations then. As I said when you left, if you could complete the
small mission, you'd get a prize."
Robin had been staring at Slade's arm that had been on his shoulder just
moments ago, but his comment made him redirect his gaze at his face, to detect
if he was either joking or having ill thoughts. As far as Robin could tell,
Slade was completely legitimate. That or he just had the best poker face.
"What did you have in mind?" Robin asked, not really daring to put his hopes
up. Slade probably had some weird definition of a prize anyway.
"The question is, what do you want? I might just make this interesting for us.
As long as you don't have any stupid wishes like 'go into retirement forever'
or something, I will grant one small wish for you every time you complete a
mission. Nothing too big though. Remember, even my generosity has its limits."
Was Robin hearing right? He could wish for almost anything and if Slade agreed,
he would, in theory, get whatever he wanted? What was the catch? Robin had to
turn around to hide his face from Slade as he thought this over. Should he
really try and ask something? Was this a test too? Maybe he really should go
small at first and see how Slade reacted to it and then try for something
bigger? But still, the thought of one wish per mission sounded way too good to
be true. What were the limits for this anyways? How much could he ask for?
Robin lifted his right hand to scratch his chin while he thought the deal over.
It seemed like a good one on his part all in all, except for one question, the
hardest question: what should he ask for?
There really wasn't much that he needed, other than his freedom of course. So
Robin decided to ask something; something small enough to see what he could
get. Maybe he should ask something personal, something that was slightly
bordering on the deal, to see if Slade would bend the rules for things that
weren't really too serious or that would interfere with the deal they had made.
But what did he want? All he wanted was to be with his friends, but obviously
he couldn't have that. Robin sighed as he let his hand fall back to his side.
His shoulders slumped slightly as he turned around to face Slade, but he
straightened his posture to look more secure. He should just give it a shot,
right? What was the worst that could happen?
"I would like to tell my friends that I'm okay, at least. They are really
worried. The last time they saw me, I was feverish and ill, and, on the mission
we received, they really wished for me to stay back. But then I disappeared on
them. I don't want them to blame each other for what's going on. So could I
just…send a letter or something? I won't tell them anything with what's going
on, I'll just tell them that I'm okay. I'll even come up with some kind of
cover up story. You can read it through yourself if you want. You can even
deliver it yourself. I trust you to take it there safely. If you don't, I will
know once I get back when this deal is over. If that's the case, I promise you
this: you will pay."
Robin didn't even care if he was babbling. He was bargaining for his friends
here. Slade didn't react at all, at first. He just stood there, pondering,
noticing that Robin was trying to tell him by his looks that he really wanted
this. He had the look in his eyes that said he had already made up his mind and
it was final. Robin wasn't sure if Slade saw it thanks to his mask, so he tried
to add body language too. He had his chest puffed and his shoulders drawn back.
His back was arched near the small of his back and his hands were balled into
fists.
Slade stood tall and lifted his right hand to hold his chin. At first, Robin
was glad that he was even considering this, but soon returned to his posture,
not letting any linger of hope creep into his eyes.
Slade seemed to be thinking it over really well. Right now, even Robin could
tell that he was weighing his options in his head. He could see it in his eye.
Slade's eye switched only so slightly every time he changed his train of
thought and Robin bet his face wore a matching look. But, of course, he
couldn't see if that were really true. Robin didn't even know that Slade had
such a habit. It seemed that all of his observations had grown some fruit. Then
Slade started pacing. It couldn't really be called pacing since he walked back
and forth twice, almost looking like he couldn't decide which way to go.
Eventually, he walked back to the storage. Slade activated the wall and looked
inside it for half a minute.
"Return your equipment to the storage. In the future, once you return from your
mission, you'll need to get by this room to deactivate the timer. I'll think
this over as you do."
Slade turned his back on Robin. He himself finally dared to drop his pose and
slowly went towards the room in the wall. It was confusing to see how Slade
really placed his thoughts together in this and, if he was lucky, he just might
get his wish. He might actually have to thank the man if he allowed him to be
in contact with his friends. Slowly, Robin started to strip off his equipment
and the faint metal-hitting-on-metal sound was heard as he put the tools away.
Now and then, Robin chanced a glance at Slade, but he never moved. Once he
finally put everything back where they came, even the small knife that he would
have loved to have as his plan B, he closed the storage door. The sound that
was created seemed to bring Slade back to the present. That, or he had just
sealed his deal and made up his mind. It did seem that way anyway.
"I thought this over and made my decision. I will grant this for you and, as
you said, I will read it and take it there myself. I will take it there this
evening even." Robin had to resist pumping his fist in the air. There was so
much he wanted to tell his friends, but he knew that he couldn't fit in too
much. "You can write it in our quarters so that I may supervise you as you
write. Just to make sure you don't try anything funny."
Robin could swear he heard a small sigh or a voice of surrender escaping from
behind Slade's black and orange mask, but he knew that not many would believe
him if he ever confessed. Not that Robin minded. Right now, it felt as if he
had a bunch of butterflies in his stomach. He seriously felt like flying
straight to the room to write his small letter. In fact, to be honest, he felt
better than he ever had when opening Christmas presents. Not that he dared to
show it too much; he didn't want to look like a child in Slade's eyes.
Once Slade had secured the room behind them, they both made their way to the
bedroom. Slade let Robin use his desk and even let him decide between using a
computer or just writing it by hand. The option of using a computer was
tempting, but Robin turned it down. This might as well be his only letter to
his friends, so he wanted them to feel secure about the letter. His handwriting
would be proof of his personality. His carefree way of writing would also
assure them that he wasn't in any stress or danger whatsoever. Robin decided to
write the letter on normal paper with a black ink pen to indicate that he was
firm and positive in his situation. Maybe the lack of spelling errors or shaky
handwriting would assure them that he was really being honest with his letter.
Only when he had an empty sheet of paper and a pen with a full container of ink
at his disposal did he realize he hadn't a clue on where to start. He had so
much to tell, yet he couldn't mention even half of it. Besides, how could he
ever explain to his fellow Titans a reason for his disappearance? He couldn't
just tell them that he was off visiting a cousin, or Batman, or anyone, really.
If that were the case, they would assume that Robin would have at least
informed them about the situation before it took place. Somehow, he hoped that
he could just tell them the truth. But he knew that, if nothing else, it would
only make things worse; much worse.
As Robin sat in the chair—shoulders slumped and fingers playing nervously with
his pen—he noticed that his mind wandered. Maybe he should at least be somewhat
honest. He had been running after Slade once he had seen the man, but had only
gotten so far before he fainted and got picked up by an old friend who was
visiting and just happened to pass by. It probably wasn't the best of excuses,
but it sure was better than just randomly deciding to go on a holiday without
notice. He could always explain that his friend had been nursing him into
better shape and, thus, couldn't make contact sooner. Once ready, he could say
he stayed around to catch up with them and repay them for the favor. The story
wasn't too far off from the truth, which made Robin feel slightly better,
seeing as he hated lying to his friends. It was amusing how his subconscious
had turned Slade into an old time friend, who tended to an ill friend, like a
good host should. That was more or less a half truth. Slade hadn't been one of
the kindest or fairest host; not by a long shot. However, Robin had to give him
some credit. He had been a far better host than he had ever imagined he could
be. Only then did Robin notice that he was treated even more and more like a
guest, rather than someone who was forced to stay. Even now he had free time
and freedom to wander around. He even had access to the outside world now and
again. It may not have been much, but it was more than he had ever dared to
ask.
It seemed that Slade had given him even more freedom as time went by. Also, at
some point, this had started to feel more like a sleepover than anything else.
Yes, he was still pretty much kept like a sardine in a can and he still had
high expectations, but even he had noticed the freedom he was given. He could
train whenever he felt like it, could ask for things—in some cases be permitted
to have them—could eat what he wished, and, now that he thought about it, could
choose if he wanted to be around the host himself or not. Slade had left him by
himself between simulators and practices and missions even. Robin felt rather
certain that the man wouldn't mind his company too much if he was willing to
ask for it. They may have their disagreements, but at most times they got along
just fine. Like right now, for instance. Robin was doing his thing and Slade
was doing his thing: laying on the bed with his back resting against the wall
while marking on a handful of papers. For some reason, Robin didn't feel out-
of-place when Slade was silently resting behind him, making a glance in his
general direction, to make sure he was still on the right path. Usually this
kind of behavior would make Robin nervous, edgy, and jumpy, but now it was as
if Slade belonged there. For some reason, Robin didn't feel like he was turning
his back on his enemy, even if that was exactly what he was doing. The room was
silent, but not unnervingly so. It seemed that they both were comfortable in
the quiet and neither felt like talking.
Robin took another look at the white paper, which was slowly eating away at
him, mocking him, and daring him to write something on it, but, for the love of
god, he didn't know what, nor did he know how. He was slowly forming a fear
towards the blank piece of paper. It felt as if he was supposed to write
something important, but the moment he tried to press the ballpoint pen to the
paper, he changed his mind and was unsure of how to continue. He should
probably start with the fake situation, explaining what was going on, but he
was nervous. He wasn't sure if the excuse was believable enough.
Every once in a while, Robin heard a rustle of papers and a small squeak as
Slade's marker scratched the surface of the paper. Slade was doing his own
project and, seeing him so off guard, showed a whole different side to him. Not
much time later, Robin once again found himself far from his thoughts and,
instead, was noting how Slade held him only by loose chains, so to speak, and
how he received even more privileges as time went by. Who knew how close he
could get to the man if he let himself get on with it. Maybe it wouldn't be
such a bad plan if he tried to get along with him and earn his place and then
see how he could profit. It was always better being on Slade's good side. He
held the strings, even if Robin hated to admit it. So maybe he should at least
try to worm his way inside the man's defenses. If he couldn't tear him down
from the inside, then he would try from the outside. At the same time he would
extinguish his thirst for answers. He wanted to know how deep Slade was willing
to let Robin go. He already had all the small freedoms, so who knew what else
he could gain. As the saying went, keep your friends close, but your enemies
closer. Now if only he could just try getting along with Slade…
At first, the feeling of having to break the silence to start conversation was
greatly offsetting. It felt like he knew well what he had to say, but the words
got caught in his mouth. It felt like he was, once again, that small child who
was forced to apologize after a mischief he clearly knew was wrong and hurtful,
but still the words didn't leave his mouth. Robin didn't know why he felt like
making such a huge deal out of this. It was only a simple conversation. Robin
coughed to fill in the silence, from which after he proceeded to say the first
thing that came to mind.
"You won't mind if I stay somewhat truthful to the story about the fact I
fainted on the outskirts of the city? That an old friend of mine picked me up?
I know that my friends won't believe me if I said that I decided to just
suddenly wander off."
Slade finished the last line that he was writing and then laid the paper stack
on the night table. He took a good look at Robin, who had twisted his body to
face him.
"Who is this friend of yours?"
Slade corrected his position so he could sit straighter.
"What do you mean?" Robin asked, turning the chair slightly so he could look at
Slade with better ease.
"You will need a decoy. Someone who your friends won't know personally, to
avoid letting them check up on them for facts, but someone they know does
exist, so it won't seem too suspicious," Slade explained.
Robin agreed. It did make sense. He couldn't just say that it was someone from
Titans East or they'd simply call and ask.
"I haven't thought of anyone yet. Maybe Batgirl? Might as well say we have some
catching up to do. It probably wouldn't even be too suspicious for her to be in
Jump."
Slade lifted his right knee, resting his arm on it. "But can she be tracked
down? I wouldn't recommend her. But so far, she might just be your best shot.
You better hope that they can't track her back."
"I'll make it seem believable," Robin said, already starting to form the letter
in his head. The plan didn't change much from the original. "I'm planning on
telling them that she nursed me back to health and that I was going to repay
her by staying with her for a while. I think I will also mention that I should
be back next week." Robin turned to his piece of paper.
"Just try to keep it short."
Robin nodded for confirmation, even if Slade could only see his neck.
Dear Titans,
I'm sorry that I disappeared on you, but I have a reason for this. I went after
Slade as he escaped the warehouse, but in my condition, I couldn't get far
before I lost consciousness on the outskirts of town. To my luck, it was
Batgirl who found me. She said that she was only on a drive-through-trip
through the city on her way back to Gotham from a mission. She found me near a
gas station in the suburbs, where she was supposed to get a refill, and, seeing
my condition, she decided to nurse me back to health. I have been on bed rest
for the last few days and we have been catching up a lot since then. The good
news is that I'm now fully recovered and ready to go. On the other hand,
though, she asked me a favor. Batgirl is supposed to make a contract trade
further to the north, on her way to Gotham, and asked me to guide her there to
help her convince the trader. This is a quick trip, though, and shouldn't take
more than a few days, half a week tops. I should be back by next week and I
promise you that I will tell you all about it once I get back. Please don't
worry about me, I'm totally fine and healthy. I just wanted to let you know
that I haven't fallen more ill, fainted, died, or anything.
I miss you guys, but I will see you in less than a week,
Robin
"You think this is good?" Robin asked as he handed the letter over to Slade.
To be honest, Robin would have wanted to say way more than what he had in the
letter, but there was no way to do it without looking suspicious. At least he
could sleep his nights away without the weight of his friends worrying over him
on his shoulders.
"It isn't the best, but it will have to do," Slade said, pocketing it in his
belt.
Slade stood up, taking the stack of papers he had previously been marking and
placing them on his table for safekeeping. The table wasn't too wide because it
was created for just one person. The file holder was located on the corner of
the desk, right next to Robin, so Slade had to reach over him to throw the file
where it belonged. This caused Robin to get a good whiff of Slade as he reached
over. He had a unique smell on him; a mixture of oil, sweat, perhaps some
cologne, and something that was Slade himself. The cologne didn't smell half
bad.
"So when are you taking the letter over?" Robin asked.
"I'll take it before dusk. Usually your friends are out, eating that trash you
call food," Slade commented, sneering at the very thought of eating greasy food
with non-existing healthy substances on a daily basis.
Robin didn't fully approve of Slade's opinion, but kept it to himself. Instead,
he stood up and stretched. "So what do I do until then?"
"I have another simulator program ready for you if you want to give it a go."
Slade walked over to the door, allowing Robin to have some stretching room. He
stood by and waited for him to crack his back and come over.
"Do you have to ask? Of course I want to give it a go! I hope that it won't
include killing this time, though. I wouldn't like that very much," Robin
mumbled, following him.
"Well, if that makes you happy, there aren't many human targets," Slade said as
he went.
Robin answered with a simple, "Good."
The two walked to the simulator, while idly conversing as they went. Robin
tried to keep the conversation up, as he was determined to try to get past
Slade's shields. The man was almost interesting, now that he knew there were
other things to him than the sadist bastard he was used to. He also learned
that Slade never lied. The man took time to answer and, if he decided that the
question was too personal, he would leave it unanswered. Or, at least, Robin
had never detected a lie from him. It was an interesting observation to make.
It almost made him want to ask some stupid questions, like his favorite color
and food and probably some of his history, but he knew that if he started to
interrogate him, Slade might just shut up for the night. Usually he would be
more than delighted to get him to shut up, but now he wanted to keep him
talking.
It didn't take long for them to reach the simulator room. Slade went over to
the controls and indicated that Robin needed to step inside the room itself.
Robin watched for a while as Slade set up the program and registered the
difficulty settings and details. It was interesting to see Slade's fingers fly
over the buttons and program the whole room he was about to enter with code
language Robin had yet to fully understand. He soon took a couple of steps
closer to the room, but stopped by the door to look at Slade. He just had a
better idea. A suggestion, actually. Slade had given him small freedoms, so he
may as well try his luck once again. Not that it was a bad idea, actually. No,
it was a brilliant one.
"Want to do it with me?"
Slade lifted his head to look directly at his younger companion, who was half
in the room, half in the simulator. He seemed surprised that he would even ask
such a question.
"You actually want me to come with you?"
For once Robin could honestly say that he saw the slightly confused doubt in
Slade's eye. "Yeah, why not? It could be cool. Or are you scared that I will
break your high score?"
Robin grinned and dared the man to come along. Hell, this might actually be
fun. Slade laughed at this, he really did. He stood.
"You wish."
Slade hit the start button. The room breathed to life, but before it started to
move, Slade pressed a small button at the edge of the controller table, which
summoned a robot to control the room on autopilot. Taking a hold of Robin's
shoulder, he pressed him against his side, stepped into the room, dragging him,
and then closed the door behind them. As the room started to move, it ate away
Slade's words, but Robin could still hear his voice as clear as rain.
"The game is on."
***** Chapter 15 *****
AN: Ohai! I'd like to warn you of this chapter's lenght! This thing is LONG,
Sladin says it's about 20 pages! This chapter was one pig stepstone for me,
since somewhere about here I picked myself from the scruff and was like "Stop
crying about how the character developement sucks and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT
WOMAN!"
As soon as they were both sealed inside the simulator room, Robin could already
feel the floor crumble and started seeing the walls move around them. The
panels were shifting and the roof was turning. He could see small, tiny holes
forming on the roof. Robin stared at them in wonder. Soon the smells were
arriving and a thick smell of mud, soil, and moist and wet air filled his
lungs. Then he heard a huge bang and roaring thunder. The first drop fell from
the holes in the roof, hitting Robin's cheekbone. It didn't take long got the
rain to start falling, as if a storm was coming. The floor was getting slippery
and flooded with water. Robin stayed staring at the roof for as long as he
could before the roof was hidden behind a heavy sheen of cloud and fog. As
Robin looked back at the floor, he no longer saw a flooded room, but of water
puddles and mud. He soon started gazing around when he no longer heard any
sounds of the room bending around them. The only thing he could hear was loud
thunder every half a minute and the heavy rain around them. He couldn't even
see much. The fog was so deep that he could barely see ten feet ahead. The rain
felt heavy on his skin and it was cold. The water got in everywhere on his
clothes, making it feel uncomfortable, heavy, and glued to his skin. His hair
became flat and was plastered to his mask. He had to sweep them off his eyes
constantly because it had become enough of an inconvenience.
"I suggest making your clothes water proof," Robin mumbled, once the water got
through his uniform. It was annoying, tight, and didn't leave much room to move
since it seemed to constrict everywhere.
"I did, but once the material got too stiff and rubbery, I decided that I had
better things to worry about," Slade answered with an annoyed grumble, but the
hasty look at Robin's form didn't look regretful at all. "I wonder if white
would suit you at all…" Slade mused, but his voice was quickly drowned by the
announcement that passed through the speakers.
"Welcome to the simulated test chamber. We have prepared a course with a
current test level of Five," Robin heard the robotic voice say over the
microphone. He took it as the voice of the robot that was left in charge of
everything. He couldn't quite tell if the voice presented a specific person,
but it sounded like a woman. A strict one. "You will have to defeat the monster
that has been set loose on the subway. Your time is set to two hours, which is
the time left before the water will rise and present a serious threat of
drowning. The monster gains advantage with the water that has been raining in
for weeks. If you cannot defeat it before you run out of time, or before the
monster has a full advantage of the field, you will fail. Do not get separated.
Both are required to survive the simulation. Begin with the test."
"Well she wasn't very enthusiastic…" Robin mumbled, walking closer to Slade.
The fog was as intense as ever and it was hard to tell where they were now.
Robin only hoped that Slade had some kind of idea about the subway location.
"Well, compassion was not one of the things in which I considered mandatory,"
Slade said, starting to make his way forward. "But enough of her, I think I
have an idea of the subway's location. I don't remember being on this map
before, but I suggest researching the center of town would be a great start."
"Yeah, it's as good as any, I guess," Robin mumbled as an answer, but followed
Slade nonetheless.
Robin had to take longer steps than usual to keep up with Slade's pace and to
avoid losing him in the fog. The water was rising slowly, but at this point it
wasn't too alarming yet. The shoes seemed to keep the water out.
"We'll just search for any kind of shop or info signs from here. It seems to be
peaceful enough. I guess everyone is inside in such a rain…" Slade mused,
searching the sky and the road ahead for any kind of lights of the city.
So far Slade and Robin weren't even close to one. The ground was too muddy,
full of water, and rocky to be a city, he supposed. It seemed that they were on
a deserted area full of rocks and cliffs. The path was hard to travel on, but
they had a mission to worry about.
"What do you mean everyone? This is a simulator Slade. Do you really think
there would be unimportant people just waltzing around? Are we even going the
right way?"
Robin was already complaining as they stumbled onward. The ground was slippery
due to the water and, thanks to all the rocks, it was hard to find a proper
footing. At times, the rock he stepped on was either moving or weak enough to
prevent standing on his full weight.
"Of course there are people," Slade corrected. "I made this device as realistic
as possible. It's natural to walk by some random, non-important to the mission
characters. At times those characters can be important with your plan.
Sometimes they can be a distraction, sometimes just a burden, and, if not that,
a normalcy. And as for the right way, the simulator usually turns the room
around for you so that, once the room is completed, you are facing the right
direction. So our best bet is to just keep going straight until we find what we
are looking for."
"Well that's convenient," Robin said.
Right now, he had no trouble following after Slade. Who know what kind of traps
there were up ahead. He preferred it if Slade walked into them rather than
himself. They traveled onward with the rocky ground and, as they passed by some
abandoned excavator, Robin decided that they must be near some building site.
"It seems that they haven't been able to flatten out the soil yet. If I lift
you over this cliff, can you pull me up?" Slade asked.
Robin was mildly surprised at the offer. He knew Slade was as stubborn as he
was. Or at least in some cases. If the man wanted, he could have climbed up the
cliff himself. Robin was thankful that he trusted him enough to not just leave
him at the bottom of the cliff once Robin got to the top. The cliff wasn't too
high, somewhere around ten feet, but his estimated height might not be exact.
The water that was flowing down from the cliff made it look like a small
waterfall and it might have had a slight negative effect on his skill to judge
the height.
"Sure, no problem." Slade interlaced his fingers and was ready to give Robin a
boost. It was a nice gesture. Seeing Slade offer help willingly was one thing,
but not acting all annoying about it was another. Robin somewhat expected him
to just lift him up and throw him over to the other side like a rag doll, but
he preferred this greatly. He placed his foot on the palms of Slade's hands.
With a nod to the him, Slade boosted Robin up and, with the momentum and force
of the boost, it was easy for him to jump up onto the cliff and look around.
"Hey Slade, I can see a light from here! It's not too far! It might be a street
post of something!"
Turning, Robin kneeled on the ground, horribly staining the knees of his
uniform with mud and cold water, and reached for Slade. He wasn't far from
reach, but still far enough for him to need to jump to reach Robin's extended
arm. Robin himself wasn't fully prepared for Slade's twice or even thrice
heavier weight, thanks to all that muscle, and he almost lost his position and
hold on him. He didn't let go, though. Robin was adamant in showing Slade that
he wasn't just some weakling. He had crashed his chest into the dirt,
effectively covering it in mud, but he still hadn't let go. Once Slade was
climbing up, Robin started to pull him over. In the end, it wasn't too hard.
"Now that wasn't too hard, was it?" Slade said, not sounding mocking at all. It
almost sounded like he was somewhat pleased or something. But he wasn't
teasing, that was for sure.
"Yeah. Great. So let's go check out the light." Robin said, coughing on his
fist. "It's right there."
He pointed out to the fog. And, true to his word, the light was where he had
last seen it. It still illuminated that warm yellow glow, even if it was hard
to see no thanks to the fog.
"Yes, we better check it out," Slade said, once again starting to lead the way.
Robin noticed that the water had risen a little. Not too much though. It still
didn't reach his ankles. The ground under the sheen of water wasn't all that
rocky anymore, but now and then there was a lump of cement hidden underneath.
The ground was really muddy and his legs were sinking into the soil every time
he stepped. He had to pull up with every step.
"Be careful of any kind of work site tools or other junk," Slade warned. "You
don't want to get yourself hurt now, would you?" Robin could take care of
himself just fine. He looked where he stepped. And, true enough, he had his
eyes glued on the ground up to this point. He could see Slade's legs from here,
so he couldn't get lose him. "Look out for that cement lump there, Robin."
"Where?"
Robin started to look out for any kind of object coming up ahead. He was
already prepared to guard his head, but he didn't expect the cement lump to be
on the floor. The moment his concentration was disturbed, he already tumbled on
it and took two hasty steps forward. Thanks to the mud gluing his feet to the
ground, he couldn't regain his footing fast enough. He face-first into the mud.
He had been able to cover his head though. He did hit his arm on a rock
sticking up from the ground. It smarted and ached, but it wasn't too bad. It
did make him yelp though. And, sooner than he noticed, Slade lifted him back
onto his feet by the back of his uniform and was already scrubbing the mud off.
Robin had a hard time trying to cough the mud out of his mouth and to spit out
the disgusting taste of soil. Slade first swiped the mud from his face in three
quick swipes before proceeding down while Robin rubbed at his eyes.
"I warned you about the cement. Are you okay?"
Slade felt around Robin's uniform just a tad longer than he should have, but it
went unnoticed.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Just a stupid clumsy accident."
Robin growled and tried to rub his hands on his legs to get clear off all that
mud. He did favor his other hand thanks to the small ache, but it was nothing
bad, probably just a small bruise. He doubted that it bled or anything.
"Show me your hand," Slade demanded, pulling Robin's hurt hand out to take a
better look at it. He tore Robin's uniform sleeve open to look directly at the
wound. It was, against Robin's belief, actually bleeding. It wasn't a serious
bleed or anything, just a rash and a bruise. But, not taking any chances, Slade
pulled out an emergency bandage and a tube of cream. He first cleaned the
wound, applied some sort of the manilla-colored cream, and then wrapped it. "It
will ease the pain." Robin could feel Slade's hands linger on his before he
quickly retracted. "I warned you. You should have listened better. At least I
was prepared." Slade took off. Robin was somewhat speechless, but followed soon
after so he wasn't left behind. "It seems there are some planks set on the
floor." Robin noticed that. The water was slowly flowing between the planks and
the dripping of water was heard below. "We'll have to be careful from now on.
Who knows what they've left behind on the construction site before they all
went to search for shelter from the rain."
Slade carefully stepped onto the planks and almost immediately heard a loud
crack as the old, and, thanks to all this water, rotten wood caved under his
weight. It was so sudden that Slade couldn't avoid a surprised gasp as he fell
between the planks.
"Slade!"
Robin reached in for him and managed to grab him by the arm, but, once again,
he was taken aback by his weigh. So instead of stopping Slade from his fall, he
was pulled down with him. The fall wasn't too deep because it all seemed to
happen so fast. Slade fell onto his back and a loud crack and splash was heard.
Robin seriously hoped he hadn't broken anything. Robin himself landed much
smoother. He managed to land right on Slade's chest, causing him to make an
"oomph!" sound as the air escaped him. Robin's right hand was caught between
them and the left had hit the hard floor. His legs were tangled with Slade's
and his head was between his head and shoulder. Robin even banged his teeth
against the hard mask. He was sure he could tell the material of Slade's mask
by taste alone.
"Ow ow ow ow…" Robin slid his hand out from between them, resting on top of the
man for only a short while before he lifted himself up with a jolt. It only
took him a second to realize what had just happened. Regardless of the annoying
ache on his teeth, he stood up as fast as a missile while muttering, "I'm
sorry, I'm sorry! That wasn't supposed to happen!" Robin started to walk around
on the floor—more like pacing—and now and then he spit just to get rid of the
taste and the idea that he had just licked that damn mask. To Slade, it seemed
like he was panicking while trying to push away the fact that what just
happened did actually happen. Robin looked like he was trying to cleanse
himself by scrubbing only. "Oh sorry, are you okay?" Robin finally realized to
ask before offering a hand for Slade to grab.
"Yes, I'm just fine. Pristine. The fall did my back good though." Slade
disregarded the offered hand and then cracked his back to get rid of the kinks.
Slade didn't admit it, but Robin's reaction wasn't a pleasant one. He wouldn't
say that it was insulting, but it wasn't welcome either. To be honest, he
expected him to be used to him by now. "It seems that we have reached the old
part of the subway," Slade added, trying to concentrate on the mission instead
of Robin.
Only then did Robin realize to look around. "Oh. So it seems." The fall they
had endured was hard because of the stone floor and since they had, quite
literally, fallen through the roof. The water in the subway was already way
higher than it was on the surface and it already reached between his knee and
ankle. "Do you have a flashlight or something? It's getting pretty dark down
here."
This seemed to be true, seeing as this part of the subway had probably gone out
of business long ago. It was dark and deserted, with no shops or hobos
anywhere. Even the signs were turned off and collecting a thick sheen of dust,
making it hard to read what they said.
"Of course I have a flashlight. It's so convenient that I carry one around just
to be safe," Slade blurted, already having said flashlight on. He started
searching around the tunnels. "We must be on the cement edge way. They have
painted lines on the floor as a guidance for tourists. But we'll have to hurry.
Once the water rises too high, we won't be able to see them."
Robin already had a hard time seeing the lines. It was dark and the water was
at least forty percent mud. In the light that Slade shown around, Robin could
see a slight shimmer from under the water, which he thought was the line Slade
was talking about.
"By all means, lead the way then," Robin said with sarcasm all over his voice.
First and foremost because he didn't have Slade's vision; secondly because he
didn't find the lines first; and thirdly because he couldn't have the lead.
And lead Slade did. They had to wade their way in the water and, with every
step, it splashed around and made a lot of sploshing noises that echoed on the
bare walls of the subway. The walk down was seemingly boring and, with the
darkness all around, it was also really uneventful. The silence was
overwhelming. Slade hadn't opened his mouth to say anything since and Robin had
a feeling that he should break it somehow. Just a while ago he had many
comments on how Slade was, some way or another, getting on his nerves, but now
he had nothing to say. The water was rising and, at the point where it reached
Robin's knees, it made him wonder. It was about the whole simulator thing. All
of it seemed so real, but yet it wasn't. It was kind of confusing really. So
what would happen if the water kept rising?
"So…could you really die in the simulator?" Robin asked out of nowhere.
"No," said the man of few words.
The response didn't really feel like it answered anything at all. Which only
left Robin in confusion. Why? Couldn't Slade just explain it a little?
"Oh… Um…"
It sounded stupid to just mumble when he didn't really have anything to say,
but luckily Slade got what he meant.
"Well, let's just say that the room was way better built than it should have.
You know that the room makes you hallucinate pain and creates smells, as well
as people and conversations, so of course it also monitors your condition. The
machine has your vitals in check. The moment you have severe complications,
example would be a mental break down or an intense feeling of pain, it will
automatically shut down the whole process. It's the same with this water. You
see that it's real and is still raining outside." Slade pointed at the ceiling
with his flashlight to show that the water was still flowing in. It didn't rain
like it used to, but it seeped through the seam where the ceiling and wall
connected. The water was also dripping from the ceiling, but only slightly. You
wouldn't realize that fact if you weren't paying attention and Robin had to
admit that it was only then that he saw it himself. "But what happens when the
water hits the roof…?"
Genuinely interested to hear what Slade had to say, Robin looked at him. The
simulator was a really fascinating subject indeed. He would build one for
himself for sure.
"The simulator is keeping watch of your vitals, mental state, stress level,
condition, and everything else. Once you can no longer breath, the system will
already have registered your rising panic levels and your slowly rising lack of
oxygen intake. After all that, it immediately starts to drain the water out
from the room. The room may be huge, but it will be drained out very quickly
and, thanks to the almost immediate reaction to the situation, even if you have
just recently breathed in water, the room can be emptied in mere seconds to
start further measures. After the situation is reanalyzed, it will decide if
the simulation can be continued. It is a pretty handy thing if I do say so
myself. The program is smart enough to tell when you are drowning and when you
are diving. When you dive, you don't panic, unless you are running out of air,
which is monitored. So don't fear that just diving in will fool the machine to
drain out the water."
Robin had listened eagerly despite the very long explanation. "Isn't that all a
little too…oh I don't know…much? I don't mean that it's bad, because it's
great, but really, is that necessary?"
Slade had to laugh at that. Not those cold laughs he did when he wasn't
interested or wanted to make a point, but a real laugh, like he was actually
enjoying the conversation.
"You wish. Considering the amount of money I put into this, I expect it to be
perfect. Image a situation when I train here and manage to kill myself in an
illusion. Wouldn't it be a disgrace to my memory if I managed to get myself
killed from something so insignificant?"
At that Robin laughed too. For some reason it was easy to laugh with Slade. And
that brought him to notice that Slade didn't sound as taut as he had previously
sounded. Actually, he was rather bearable when he wasn't talking with that
monotone voice of his that sounded like he was judging your very step or that
he wasn't pleased with what he saw.
"Yeah, that would be a riot," Robin managed to utter between his laugh, which
he tried to contain until he just gave up and relaxed. "So did you really
design this as a training room from the beginning?"
"Mostly, yes. The thought of making this a torture chamber crossed my mind
once. Imagine you could drop people in lava and make it feel true for days.
But, in the end, a training room was what I wanted." Robin suddenly turned
stone-faced. A torture chamber had truly been Slade's first idea? "Against your
common belief, I do not torture people for fun. And I must admit that the
thought only crossed my mind when I was annoyed that you had, yet again,
crashed one of my projects. To be honest, I prefer this room as it is now,"
Slade hastily added, placing pressure on the end.
Slade didn't want Robin to get the idea that he would just decide to turn the
room against him at any point when he was in it. He knew that he shouldn't
destroy the mood now that he had managed to get some contact with him. They had
been having a genuine conversation without cussing or fighting on each others'
behalf.
"At least I'm not the only one who's driven up the walls by our tirade," Robin
said, quickly regretting it. He was an idiot for just admitting that! Slade
wasn't supposed to know that any of his plans to aggravate him were actually
working. The sudden stop of a pleasant conversation got Robin back to the
present. They were still in a water infested subway, in complete darkness and
who knows where. He didn't want the conversation to end, but he didn't want to
continue the previous subject either. Who knows what else he'd slip up. "So
where are we heading now?"
They had just arrived at a cross point in their path.
"I don't know," Slade admitted, gazing in both right and left with his
flashlight.
"Excuse me, what?" Robin asked snappily.
They had just walked onwards pass many possible right turns and now they were
heading to a possible dead end.
"The trail got lost under the water some time ago," Slade admitted again as he
pointed to the water—which blocked the view more than efficiently—in order for
Robin to see for himself that they couldn't even see their own legs past their
knees thanks to all the dirty water. "But if we follow the signs on the walls,
we'll eventually reach the subway platform." Slade flashed the light on one to
prove his point.
"Follow what signs?" Robin growled. "Those things are so covered in grime that
it's almost impossible to see what they say." Robin pointed to said signs to
emphasize his point. "Admit it, we're lost."
Robin managed to hold back a chill to his tone. The water was cold and was now
reaching over his knees. Slade was almost knee deep in water too.
"I know exactly where we are. We are about thirty feet below the surface and
the hole we fell through is right behind us."
Slade was having his cool, which annoyed Robin to no end. Couldn't he just once
admit that he was wrong?
"So you did get us lost, didn't you?" Robin mumbled with a sigh, turning his
back on Slade. He could talk to his back for all he cared. Take that as
disrespect.
"Don't you dare…"
But then something else dared them to turn around. The noise was so high
pitched, it sounded like a female scream. It made the floors shake only
slightly. It was only after the squeal had ended that the real rumble on the
ground began. The water was waving and small pieces of rock were falling from
the ceiling and splashing the water. It was hard enough to stand with all the
water and fallen rubble around, but whatever the earth shake was was making it
more challenging.
"What's going on?"
Robin was turning around to face the direction the sound was coming from. It
was hard to locate the sound itself as it traveled through the stone walls and
echoed on the tunnels, but, once he saw what was the cause of it, there was no
doubt of the matter that this was the monster they were looking for.
"Robin, look out!"
Slade shoved Robin out-of-the-way. He lost his footing and fell completely
below the water's surface. It was everywhere: in his eyes, his mouth. He rose
up to breath some fresh air and to spit out the foul tasting water off his
tongue. When Robin managed to clear his view, he finally had a proper look at
what exactly they were dealing with. It was a huge worm. Like some tapeworm or
something. Its mouth had two rows of pointy, sharp teeth. The fluke was so huge
that there was barely any room for it to turn around. It was so long that, now
that Robin saw its head, he couldn't see the other end of it. The thing kept
screaming and flailing around while Slade tried distracting it. Robin saw that
he had really miscalculated his foe and was now in some serious disadvantage.
The worm was fast. Its moves were so fast and it was practically gliding on the
water that there was no way you could move out-of-the-way once it charged at
you. It was an awkward situation. The water slowed others down a lot, but the
worm just got faster and faster. But that wasn't enough. The worm was also
strong. Every time its body hit the walls, the crash made them crack and bend.
It screamed so ferociously that it nearly hurt your ears and, when it swung its
head at Slade, he had no chance in moving away fast enough. Robin saw the thing
slam him against the wall. Not even the wall could stand the huge impact. Slade
was thrown through the wall with only the water to break his fall.
"Slade!" Robin yelled in concern, the sound attracting the worm's attention.
His eyes widened. "Oh shit!"
The worm was after him faster than he could blink an eye. He jolted to his feet
and started running away. He had to wade his way in the water. It splashed all
around as he ran. He was searching all the crooks and corners with his eyes for
any kind of hideaway. They were in a subway, what did he expect to find? Robin
took a fast turn to the left as if he was driven to a corner. There was no
place to hide in the subway, just endless tunnels that he didn't recognize. The
turn didn't stop the worm though. It made at least as sharp a turn as he did.
As it hit the wall, since it couldn't stop in time, it made the tunnels shake.
It did slow the worm down only slightly though. It didn't take long for it to
shake its head and start screaming again as it continued to chase. Robin had no
idea how to shake the worm off. The running was getting tiring and the water
was splashing up onto his face. He had to wipe off the mud now and then. As he
turned his head to look behind him, he almost had a heart attack when he saw
how close the worm already was. It was gaining speed, whereas Robin was wading
through water that reached pass his thighs. He ran faster than his limits
allowed. As he saw another sign attached to the ceiling, decided to give it his
best shot by attempting to grab it and just hope that the worm couldn't stop in
time to get him. The worm was so close that Robin could feel its breath on his
back. The mouth was wider than Robin was tall and the teeth were almost as long
as his arm was, from the tips of his fingers to his elbow. The thing's
breathing made an awful rasping and crackling sound and it smelled like all
things rotting and decaying.
Robin paid a last hasty gaze at the thing with no face, eyes, or any kind of
facial expression, but a huge, round, open mouth that was catching up with him.
As he looked into its depths, he could see its mouth for as long as its body
carried. At the end of the tunnel he only saw darkness. The worm had huge bumps
all around its mouth and they were salivating some sick, transparent goo that
seemed to be sizzling. At this point Robin was amazed that he could hear
anything else than the huge pounding of his heart between his ears. The sign
was getting closer and he prepared to jump for it. Right as that moment came,
he jumped. He had to jump with so much force behind the act to get his body out
of the water that seemed to keep him in place. He reached out for the sign and,
while he was still airborne, he made the mistake of looking behind him, only to
see that the worm wasn't as stupid as he thought.
The worm had predicted Robin's move and it was jumping after him, it's huge
mouth open. He had no time to react. He reached his hand to grab the sign, but,
because of his muddy hands, he slipped off and fell below the water's surface.
The worm hadn't expected him to fall back down, so it hit its head through the
ceiling. Huge pieces of rock were falling and splashing into the water and some
almost hit Robin. The water kept crashing terribly and the waves were hitting
the walls hard enough to almost pull Robin with them. The Boy Wonder needed all
the luck he could get to be able to duck away from all the falling stones, but
he needed more than that to be able to move out-of-the-way before the worm's
body completely crushed him as it continued to thrash around. The worm was
hitting its body on the water. Robin was pulled out from under it as the water
flooded and the waves hit the walls, taking him with them. His body crashed
into one before he hit his head from the fall and then back below the surface.
The pain at the back of his head hurt worse than anything he had experienced
before and a huge headache was forming fast. At least Robin was no longer in
the way of harm, but by the wall where there was still room for him. He rose up
for a breath of air before diving back under. It was faster to swim rather than
it was to run. If only he wasn't so out of breath so he could dive longer than
just a few feet at a time before he had to rise up to breath some more air.
By the time Robin was making his retreat, the worm had gotten it's head free
from the ceiling and was trying to get them down. It turned around in the way
too small space and was coming at Robin. The thing screamed as loud as it had
before. When it was at his side, Robin dived. He had no chance to move away
from the attacks soon enough, so he just dived and hoped for best. Robin could
hear the awful screech from under the water and could barely see as the worm
was shaking it's head. It soon kept going. I seemed that the worm had let him
go. When the worm was far enough away, Robin felt safe enough to resurface for
more of that precious oxygen. He saw the worm going along the tunnel until it
stopped by the turn they had taken a while go. It waved its head from left to
right. The scream echoed on the walls, sounding way eerier than it had before.
Finally the worm decided to turn left. Robin let out a silent prayer. Slade had
to be somewhere to the right. When Robin could no longer see it, he started to
crawl his way through the water and soon reached the part of the tunnel where
the wall had been broken when the worm threw Slade through it.
"Slade!" Robin climbed through the hole in the broken wall. "Slade?" He didn't
see him anywhere. All he could see was a tunnel as far as his eyes could see.
"Slade, are you okay?" Robin could see a slight dent on the other wall. He
deducted that Slade had hit this second wall that had also stopped him. "Where
are you Slade?" Robin tried yelling again, but he still wasn't awarded with an
answer.
He searched the ground around him. He saw a massive amount of broken stone
everywhere, but not a sign of the other man. He noted that the water was
flowing to the left, so he decided to follow it. Who knows if Slade was too
tired to move and he let the water take him. Robin couldn't take more than two
steps before he already fell in the water, no thanks to all those rocks lying
around underneath. It was only then that he noticed how much his chest had been
hurting thanks to all that running and holding his breath. Once Robin had
fallen, he didn't even bother to rise anymore. He may as well swim from here on
out, the water was high enough. Robin followed the flood as well as he could
and even tried to take right turns. He wished that Slade was okay. At this
point it didn't even occur to him that he was wishing for the well being of his
sworn enemy. The water was everywhere and Robin was completely soaked. He was
also getting cold at an alarming rate. He hoped that he wouldn't catch another
fever thanks to this. Just then he noticed that he could actually reach the
bottom of the water-infested subway with his hands. The water seemed to be
reducing? Robin kept on crawling onwards until the water was low enough for him
to start traveling by foot.
Once he stood he saw him. Slade was laying by some stairs. The water had been
declining thanks to them. It flowed down the stairs and, when Robin was close
enough, saw that the ground below the water was at least high enough to reach
to his chest. Slade had been lying at the top of the stairs. Robin thanked the
gods that he hadn't been taken further away by the flow.
"Slade, are you okay?" Robin asked, kneeling beside him. He tried shaking him
awake when he didn't get an answer. "Come on Slade. You are made of way better
stuff than this. You can take a hit, can't you?" Robin had a tint of worry in
his voice. Slade was completely unresponsive. The worry was slowly creeping in
and accumulating at the back of his brain, fearing that soon it would come in
at full force. This place was no place for the wounded. Here there was only
darkness, water, and endless halls. There was no place where you could put a
wounded companion to rest. "Slade, you have to wake up." Robin pulled his glove
off with his teeth. The smell of it and his own hand was almost revolting, no
thanks to all the dirty water flooding in and rubbing all the smells on
whatever it could catch. Robin swiped his hand on his chest before he started
to feel for Slade's breathing through the mask. He couldn't feel a thing
because his fingers were too numb from the cold. So, instead, he started
feeling for his pulse and pressing his ear against the slits in his mask to
hear if he was still breathing or not. At least Robin was feeling the pulse. It
was faster than normal, which was confusing, but at least Slade was alive. His
breathing, on the other hand, was really slow and deep. It was like the man was
asleep or something. "Ugh, come on Slade! You can't just go to sleep on the
stairs…"
Robin started to pull Slade with him so he could at least get him to the top of
the stairs where there wasn't much water and where the ground was even. He was
deeply worried because Slade hadn't shown any sign of resistance as he moved
him. It was as if the man was unconscious or something. But unconscious
peoples' pulses didn't get as high as Slade's did. His heart kept beating like
crazy. Even if Robin had been running around with his heart up his throat and
his pulse reaching the skies, here Slade was, lying unconscious. Robin could
have guessed that a normal person's pulse at this point would be around
seventy. But Slade was doing at least one-seventy-five.
"What is going on?" As great as this was, it wasn't suppressing the worry at
all. At least not now when Robin didn't know what was going on. Slade's
breathing was at a consistency of when one was asleep. Did that mean he wasn't
getting enough air? Robin proceeded to move Slade into a recovery position,
lying him on his back. He tilted his chin up to open the airways. Robin saw no
need for CPR since he was breathing. His heart seemed to be working more than
fine. There was no way he was having hypothermia, right? No, that wouldn't make
the pulse skyrocket like that."Slade, please wake up…"
Robin tilted Slade's head back a bit more and to the side to check the vitals
again. Now with better access, he could feel the exact pulse. Everything seemed
to be as it should: his body temperature was normal, so it couldn't be
hypothermia. Then what-? Another high pitched scream echoed off the walls. It
had to be the worm, he decided. Taking a glance, he saw a shadow on the wall of
a tunnel.
"We are running out of time…" Robin muttered as he kept a close watch on the
end of the hall where he saw the shadows move. The tension could be cut with a
knife.
Something suddenly grasped his wrist firmly. Tearing it off Slade's neck, it
held it away. When he realized what was going on, Robin looked around and saw a
very conscious Slade, who was staring right back at him with a very annoyed
look too.
"Get your cold fingers off my neck," he growled, letting go of Robin's wrist.
Getting up, Robin retorted, "Well sorry for saving your ass." He offered a hand
anyway. Slade approved it this time. "Are you okay? The monster didn't break
any bones, did it?"
Robin wouldn't admit it, but he had been worried about the man's health for a
moment.
"I'm just fine, Robin," Slade said, standing.
"Yeah… Well you had a really high pulse."
Robin paid a hasty look at Slade, mutely asking him if he could explain it to
him. Judging by the man's look, he could.
"Some other time, perhaps." Robin was left sighing as Slade dismissed the
question. At least he was okay. "So what happened to the fluke?" Slade asked,
cracking his back. It made a rather loud noise that echoed along the walls.
"I managed to lose it a while ago, but I guess it found us again. Thankfully it
didn't find me while underwater…" Robin pointed out the tunnel where he had
seen the worm last time. "It was right there a moment ago."
Slade started to nod, but then remembered something. "Wait, you said it didn't
see you underwater?" Robin nodded. "Well, I did take notice on the fact that,
other than having a huge mouth and teeth, it really doesn't have much else,
except for some holes on the side," Slade mused, which didn't catch Robin's
attention at all. Slade started leading the way as they spoke, so they wouldn't
lose so much time. "How do you think the thing sees? If it doesn't have eyes,
then I suspected heat vision. But that doesn't seem right since it didn't see
you under the water."
"I bet it uses sonar. That would explain all the screaming," Robin said.
When they reached the deeper part of the water again, Robin started to swim
instead of walk. When Slade the water level reached to his navel, he, too,
swam.
"Perhaps you are correct," Slade agreed. "We can use this to our advantage
though. Since the water forces us to swim and the ceiling seems to be getting
closer, I suppose one hour has already passed."
Robin had nothing to say to that. He didn't doubt that the time had already run
short on them. "How are we going to defeat it? Do you have any weapons for me
to use, because I don't."
Robin sputtered as the water got in his mouth as he spoke and swam at the same
time. He was worried that if they didn't have the right tools for their plan,
whatever that may be, this was going to end up a suicide mission.
"I do have a spare retractable bo staff for you," Slade replied, already
searching for it in his belt with one hand. "Here you are." Slade offered the
retracted staff for him and then resumed swimming. "I'll see if I can distract
it and maybe force it to keep hitting its head on the ceiling in order to make
it dizzy. You can try and find its weak spots in the meantime."
Robin snorted but didn't protest. He preferred searching weak spots than being
the distraction. "There are some flaws in your plan, but let's try it." They
didn't have to swim much further to get to the point where Robin thought he had
seen the worm. "Where do you think it went?"
The water was almost to his shoulders now. It was rising at an alarming rate
still. Maybe there was less water on the above floors. Robin really didn't want
to face a huge monster in such an environment.
"It can't be too far. It has to be patrolling somewhere. We should find a place
where the water isn't so high."
Slade headed to the left. Robin followed closely. This time he trusted Slade's
ability to tell where they were going. He also didn't bother questioning his
lead. It was hard to swim with his boots on, but he couldn't complain. When
they finally reached another set of stairs, they saw that the water was
slightly lower on the upper floor. It was flowing down the stairs like a river
and the flow was stronger here. It wasn't a bother really. It was better than
the last floor they were just in that was for sure. They were now on the first
underground level. The doors that led outside had been pushed off its hinges.
Mud filled the floor, some mounded together into piles all around. In the
middle of the room, below a broken, half-sphere-shaped glass roof, was an even
larger pile. It was so high that it almost looked like a small mountain. Mud
also covered the exit, preventing them from escaping. Luckily they didn't need
to leave in the first place.
"I guess this will do," Slade said. Robin could hear the sound that Slade's
boots made as he walked on the floor. The mud was so thick and moist that it
made sure that whatever landed on it would get as stuck as possible. The mud
reached halfway to Slade's knees. The room seemed to be suffering from serious
water damage. The walls looked weak, the water made the rocks look loose, and
the cement used to keep them in place was crumbling. Also, the ceiling seemed
to be covered with mold, the water slowly dripping from it. "Be careful with
the mud piles. There might be benches and things buried underneath." Walking up
to the large mud pile, Slade tested the surface. "It's fresh and moist. We
better keep away from this or it might start a landslide and bury us under it."
Robin was about to agree, but then the mud pile shuddered and started to move.
Slade stepped away as mud came out of the tip and started rolling down the
sides. The ground below them trembled violently like a small earthquake. Slade
and Robin braced themselves against the shakes. Robin jumped back and almost
fell in fright when mud shot into the air along with the worm's head, its mouth
agape. It screamed so loud that it hurt Robin's ears. Slade had just been
analyzing the fluke's nest.
"Shit, lookout!" Robin yelled, but it was too late.
The worm already launched itself at Slade, quickly pushing him into the ground
with its head. The teeth were only centimeters away from his face, but he had
been fast enough to grab the top and bottom of its mouth with his hands, trying
to hold it back with muscle power alone.
"Robin! The holes! The holes on the side of its head; fill them! If it is
sonar, it might blind it!"
Slade suddenly yelped as the worm skyrocketed its body up, pulling him off the
ground, and turning quickly to slam him against the wall twice. Then it slammed
him back in the floor, trying to squish him like a person would a bug.
"Fill them with what? Mud?"
Unable to answer him, Robin ran over to get some anyway. He couldn't think of
anything else. If the holes really were ears rather than nostrils, the plan
would work. Once the worm couldn't hear the echo of its screams, it couldn't
locate them. As Robin ran over to get some of the more stickier, thick mud to
fill the holes, he wondered how they hadn't filled up with mud already. The
worm did live in a mud pile. He grabbed as much as he could carry and then
dashed towards the worm's head. Robin was worried that Slade wouldn't be able
to hold on forever.
The worm was squirming and thrashing its long and round body around. Robin
chanced a look at Slade and saw that he was holding up just fine. He had gotten
back to his feet and was pushing the worm down. At times it would push Slade
backwards in hopes to knock him in the wall again. When his feet slid across
the ground because of the lack of friction, Robin decided to hurry. It was hard
to try and climb on top of the worm as it moved violently, so he decided to
climb on top of the worm's nest mud. As it came by, he'd jump on top of it.
"Slade, I'm over here!" Robin yelled.
Slade glanced in his general direction before twisting the worm to the ground
beside him. It fought back, pulling Slade above the ground and smacking him
into the ceiling. After it threw him onto the mud pile, almost hitting Robin
with the same strike, it wrapped around it, knocking mud down the side that
piled on top of Slade. The worm pressed down on him, obviously trying to
suffocate his annoying enemy. Robin didn't have time to wonder if Slade was
okay or not, so he jumped on top of the worm's back and ran to the top of its
head. It had small valves to close the holes when it was diving or sleeping in
mud it seemed. The valves opened when the worm made noise or when listening for
something, but they seemed to be closed otherwise. That's why Robin hadn't
noticed them before. Luckily Slade had.
Sitting down on top of the worm's head, Robin tried to keep hold of the mud
with his hands while gripping the worm with his knees and searching for a place
to set it in order to pry open the valves with both hands. They looked thick
and strong, so Robin judged that the strength of both arms would be needed. In
the end, he decided to support the mud with his legs as he started to pry open
the valves. Right then, the worm let out an ear-pounding screech, obviously
hurt by the forceful act. It unraveled from the pile and moved away, leaving
Slade be. It thrashed around and tried bashing Robin off by rubbing its head on
the walls and ceiling. The ride was awful and it was really hard to stay in
place. Robin couldn't hold on very well, but he had taken a good hold of the
valve and shoved a handful of mud inside the flailing worm. The moment it
entered its body, it screamed a yell so sharp that it made the windows crack.
The mud seemed to really be hurting it. The worm started to crash around so
hard that Robin was almost thrown off its head right then and there. The mud he
was holding had already fallen ages ago, but he continued holding onto the worm
for dear life.
"Robin, hold on! I'll try to distract it!" Slade yelled as he crawled came out
from inside the mud pile. He seemed to be gasping for air, obviously out of
breath.
Robin seriously wished that Slade had a plan because he couldn't hold on much
longer. The worm wasn't showing any signs of tiredness. The skin was very moist
and wet and slippery, even for a worm. There was absolutely nothing he could
take a hold of.
"Hurry!"
Robin was instantly constricted against the wall. The pain against his chest
was horrible because his ribs couldn't take such pressure. Robin decided to
gather the mud that had gotten stuck on the worm so he could be ready for the
next strike. Once a ball was ready, he started to pry open the valve, making
the worm rub its head against the wall. Robin's back tore against it, hearing
the cloth ripping in the process. He was sure he would have a killer rash after
this. But the pressure brought one good thing to his aid. Once he had gotten
the mud in his hand, he placed his fist against the valve and his elbow against
the wall. Once the worm moved further along, Robin's hand got so badly squeezed
between the two solid objects, the weaker material broke. The valve bent inward
and Robin's hand was elbow-deep in the slit. The scream and contraction the
worm was having was really strong. It curled up on the ground for a while
before rolling and crashing Robin into the mud pile. It tried to suffocate him,
too, which was working. Robin already had near to no air in his lungs from
having his chest pinned against a wall. The mud was all over him now. He
accidentally swallowed a mouthful of mud, making him cough out the air he
didn't even have.
The worm came off the pile, screaming out so loudly that Robin knew for sure
that it was in terrible pain. His throat was sore and irritated from the mud
scratching against it. He was starting to suffocate, he could feel it. He was
already gaining a huge migraine. His vision was blurring and his strength was
leaving him. Soon Robin was barely holding on and he could see the simulator
world darkening around him. As his head rolled to the side, he blearily saw
Slade near him, stabbing the worm's neck multiple times with a bladed weapon.
The only reason Robin hadn't fallen off the worm was because his hand was still
stuck. Gooey, green blood ran down the worm's body from its wounds. His
perception of time was off because one second Slade was stabbing the worm and
the next was behind Robin. He felt his arms wrapped around his stomach,
recognizing it as the Heimlich Maneuver in his haze. Slade had time to do the
abdominal thrust three times with no success.
The worm suddenly rolled, forcing them to the floor. Robin was so badly
sandwiched between Slade and the worm that he practically vomited out anything
that was in him. Not even the foul taste and some left over vomit could stop
him from sucking in tons of air every few seconds. Slade quickly grasped him by
his mouth.
"Don't hyperventilate."
Slade then let go. Robin tried to even out his breathing, but the worm moved
again, ready to slam them into the wall again. He didn't think he could take
another hit. His arm was still trapped in the hole and Slade was practically
hanging from his waist. Before the hit came, Slade placed his legs on either
side of his chest, grabbed his forearm just below his elbow, and yanked the arm
out. They both fell from a high perch, but it wasn't as bad as being thrown
against walls. Once they both hit the ground, Robin was too tired to move. He
laid down for a while, finally breathing evenly. He was really out of breath
and tired, but he was refusing to lose.
"Thanks for the…h-help," Robin said with a voice so rusty and dry that it was a
miracle Slade could even hear him.
"How many of the holes did you get covered?" Slade asked as he looked at the
worm. It seemed not to notice that the two parasites were no longer on it
because it kept thrashing and screaming.
"I… Two I-I guess," Robin rasped and tried to swallow as much as he could to
regain his voice back, but it really hurt to. His throat literally felt like
sandpaper.
"Not good enough…" Slade mumbled, but not sounding scolding. He actually
sounded worried. "The worm has eight holes… But how can we get them all
covered?" Slade took only a few seconds to come up with a quick plan. "You get
the last two on the one side while I get the other. Go!" When Robin didn't move
right away, Slade practically threw him onto his feet and shoved him away. He
picked up tons of mud in his large hand and ran towards the worm, which was on
the opposite end of the room now. Despite feeling weak, Robin grabbed more mud
as well and ran to catch up with him. When he was running along side him, he
felt more secure when they were near each other. "I'll throw you up onto its
back where it hasn't moved it as much and then you'll pull me up."
Without further instructions, Slade grabbed Robin around the waist and did
exactly what he said he would do. Robin would have protested if he had had
enough time to, but now it was too late. He was already sitting on top of the
worm and then quickly landed on his stomach to reach down and help Slade up.
Slade didn't have any trouble getting there. Once he was on his knees, he got
up, pulled Robin to his feet, and started to run back into position. They each
ran to their respected side, the worm feeling their feet pounding against its
thick flesh. It reacted fast and tried knocking them both off. It had little to
no success since it only kept moving to the left, the side where the two holes
were already filled.
Once they were back in position on the worm's head, it knew it was in trouble.
It started flinging around again, hitting the walls and ceiling. Robin and
Slade were pressed to its sides though, so they only had to deal with the
impact. It was hard to keep a grip on the smooth surface with already tired
arms, but Robin managed. He gathered mud off his body in haste, went to the
third hole, and thrust his arm inside. The worm screamed again, opening the
fourth one. Quickly grabbing more mud, Robin threw it inside before the valve
could close again. The worm wasn't at all pleased and kept throwing its head
around and screaming. Robin kept a good grip, despite hitting the wall from the
worm's thrashing.
"Slade, I'm ready! Are you?" Robin asked over the worm's screams.
Robin barely made out Slade saying, "Just this last one!" and then attempted to
fill it. But his feet slipped and he fell, crashing into the ground. With fast
reflexes, Robin jumped to the last hole and yanked the valve open. Out of the
corner of his eye, he saw Slade lying on his stomach while pushing himself up
to see what was happening. "Do it, Robin!"
The moment Robin got the mud in, he rolled to the floor and then sat up. The
worm hit its head on the walls several more times before cooling down and
dragging its head against the floor, obviously confused, blind, and absolutely
out of ideas.
"We got it!" Robin yelled in excitement, standing and running for the head to
see if they could restrain it. The worm had done enough damage, so he assumed
it was okay.
Everyone knows that assumptions are bad and makes bad things happen. Slade knew
this very well because he yelled, "Robin, wait!" It was almost drowned out by a
scream that was ten times worse than the previous ones. Jolting around, Slade
barely saw the worm hit him, throwing him against a wall. Falling to sit in the
mud, he barely lifted his gaze before he saw that the worm's rear was the same
as the front. Robin stood frozen to the spot as a second mouth opened as it
lunged at him and then swallowed him whole. Slade's eye widened in shock.
"ROBIN!" Slade's yell echoed around the subway, causing the worm to turn its
rear towards him. Its gaping mouth was open and he saw Robin disappear. For
just a small moment he saw a bump in its second throat, and then it was gone.
Robin could be anywhere inside that thing. "Robin!" Slade yelled again, running
towards the worm, ready to tear it to pieces if he had to.
The worm's middle jerked at him and hit his entire body, throwing him against
the wall. Robin, meanwhile, was contracted inside the worm. The walls were
squeezing him tight, the air smelling foul and sour, like there was some kind
of acid in the air. This was, quite literally, true and Robin could see his
skin start to turn a fiery red shade. His clothes burned and were weakening,
losing the lustrous black they once held. It was as if the acid was the sun.
Robin's hair was getting seriously damaged and was probably burning right off.
And, with no oxygen in the air, he couldn't even breathe! He was so trapped
that he couldn't even turn around. He could feel the worm's bumpy intestines
pushing against him and almost cutting into him. It all hurt so much. So much,
in fact, that he almost couldn't think. What could he do? He was going to die
here, right inside some stupid worm. Oh god it was so tight! He was trapped.
Soon, the acid reached his skin and he could feel it burning too. He was going
to die here: slowly and painfully, first suffocating to death, and then getting
digested. He had to get out; he had to get free. Robin was fighting for all he
was worth. He tried to hit, kick and claw at the walls, but it was no use. He
was out of breath and dying. WHAT COULD HE DO?
Outside, Slade held an extra blade tightly while running back at the worm. The
blade wasn't actually meant as a weapon. It was for emergency use only, usually
to cut cloth for bandages if he ran out of them. Cutting into the worm with it
would be like stabbing a bear with a butter knife. Luckily Slade was strong
enough to cause some damage at least. He kept on running, trying to locate
Robin, who could be anywhere. As far as he knew, he could already be dead.
It didn't take Slade long to notice that there was more water in the room from
the floor below and that the worm was partly underwater. Soon he had to swim to
catch up to it. With it now halfway under water, Slade went under, water
filling his mask from the slits. It soaked his suit and seeped to his skin.
Water filled his shoes, getting his feet wet. He felt that the situation
couldn't get any worse, but he had been wrong on a few occasions before. This
occurred when he failed to dodge the worm's next attack as it somehow swam
under water. It actually couldn't because it was so heavy that it sank to the
mud and was crawling along it. If only worms couldn't survive underwater…
Slade swam backwards, keeping his eye on the worm as it began to circle him.
The water level was still rising rapidly. Needing a breath, he floated his feet
to the mud and pushed off. Water fell out of the slits. He inhaled and then
went back under right as the worm was under him. Swimming to it, Slade grabbed
it with his arms, floated into a sitting position, and gripped it with his
knees. The worm kept moving as he lifted the blade above his head and slammed
it down with enough force to sink the entire blade into the worm's flesh. He
heard bubbles erupt behind him as the worm screamed with its extra set of
holes. Slade actually thought that this was a miracle since he knew the blade
couldn't cause so much damage. Yet the worm was hurting from a single stab.
Maybe he had stabbed it way better than he initially thought?
Or maybe not. The worm suddenly stopped moving and then jolted backwards,
bucking Slade off its back and right out of the water. It crashed into the
slowly disappearing mud pile. Slade fell and crashed right above the worm's
side on the mound. The worm lay there, but was still howling in pain and agony.
Looking down at it, Slade saw what had really caused the worm's reaction. His
extra bo staff was sticking directly out of it. This could only mean that Robin
had pierced it with enough force to fatally wound it.
"Robin!" Slade slid down the mud pile and reached the wound. Stabbing the blade
between the staff and hole, he started cutting the thick skin in hopes of
getting Robin out of there. "Hold on, I'll get you out!" To be honest, he was
so very worried that he was already too late. "It's okay, I'll get you out."
Slade's voice held a hint of worry for Robin's health and sanity. His fear of
tight spaces would probably give him a panic attack by now. If he fainted, only
god knew what would happen. Once Slade got a proper hole in the thick skin, he
yanked the staff out, threw it into the rising water, and then grabbed the
hole's edges with both hands. With all his might, he tore it open, blood
spurting and gushing out heavily. He ignored it getting all over him and
reached further inside. Feeling metal against his fingers, he gripped whatever
it was tight with both hands and yanked upward as hard as he could. There was a
squelch, a blood curdling scream, and Robin's head coming right out of the
worm. Slade continued pulling him, grabbing the next part of his body that he
could see. The uniform had disintegrated, showing off his blotchy, red skin
that was probably festering. Robin was now halfway out of it, his stomach
covered by the intestine. Upon closer inspection, Slade saw that it had pikes
that punctured him. The intestine looked like a leech that was sucking Robin
dry. He was only in the worm for a short while, but it had caused so much
damage that Slade was slightly sickened by it. In order to fully pull Robin out
of the now dead worm, he would have to remove the organ. Joy.
Taking the blade, he cut the intestine in half and then carefully pulled it
away from Robin's skin. It almost stuck to him indefinitely. Blood seeped from
the small puncture wounds. When the organ was fully unattached, Slade stood up
and dragged him further up on the mud pile. The water was close to covering up
the worm's wound, which meant they didn't have much time left. Sitting down and
pulling Robin into his lap, Slade examined him more closely. He had several
burned off patches of skin that were bleeding slightly. Robin's eyes were wide
open and looked horror struck, but Slade was sure he wasn't conscious. And at
least he was relatively okay. He felt a pulse and, leaning his face to his
mouth, felt him breathing, the air entering the slits of his mask. Slade ran
his hand through Robin's hair, which came off in chunks on his hand. His
clothes were so rickety that he feared the cloth would peel right off if moved
too much. Slade lifted the remaining cloth to see under it and was glad to see
little to no damage in those places. The acid hadn't reached them completely,
much to Slade's relief. Gathering Robin in his arms, he stood up and then heard
something. It was like metal hitting metal. Soon the room got really bright
briefly and he saw the simulator room slowly returning to its original state.
The water was vanishing, along with the worm and the pile of mud.
"You have passed the test," a voice informed him.
Taking a deep breath, Slade made long strides for the door into the monitor
room. Once he stepped over the threshold, he made sure Robin was still safely
secure in his arms. Stopping in the middle of the room, he watched as the boy
was slowly returning to normal. His hair was growing back to its healthy black
color, his skin was turning back to light peach, and even his clothes were
coming back together. Robin was now fine. There wasn't much of a scratch on him
either. Slade noticed that he was getting better, but it didn't matter. The
only thing Robin suffered from was being shaken up. For a moment Slade had
forgotten that it was a simulator. How careless of him. Soon Robin started to
stir. Crouching, Slade laid him at his feet. He knew that if Robin noticed he
was being held like a child, he would start to complain about it. And a child
he was not.
The first thing Robin saw when he opened his eyes was Slade. His black and
orange mask was looking at him with a slightly worried look in his eye. The
first thing that came out of his mouth was, "Did we pass?"
Slade laughed. "Yes we did."
Smiling, Robin answered, "Cool." He started to stand.
"What do you remember?"
Robin was taken aback. "What do you mean?"
"What do you remember before you fainted?" Slade clarified.
Robin took a while to reply. "I'm not sure. It was dark, scary, and I couldn't
move. I couldn't think of a way to get out and I was panicking, I guess."
Robin shrugged. He could almost see the gears turn in Slade's head. He was
relaying the happenings and came to the conclusion that Robin was in such a
foul condition when he saved him was because of Crane's fear toxin. He'd have
to be more careful with it in the future.
"I see." Slade stood and headed for the door that led into the hall. "Let's go
to bed."
"Wait." Slade stopped and turned back. Robin approached him. "You saved me,
right?" he asked, reaching him. Slade only nodded. "Why? I bet you could have
taken that worm on all by yourself. You knew it was a simulator, so I couldn't
actually die."
They walked out and headed for the kitchen for something to eat.
"Why wouldn't I? I won't just leave you to die, if that's what you're after."
They entered the kitchen and Slade ordered a robot to prepare a good meal for
them. They hadn't eaten much that day.
"It's just…" Robin scowled lightly. "Whatever." He dropped the conversation. It
wasn't exactly what he meant, but he doubted he would ever get the answer he
was looking for.
"Robin, of course I saved you."
By the look he was given, Robin could swear that Slade was promising just that.
He decided to just leave it unanswered. Once they had eaten and returned to
their room, Robin was the first to make it to the shower; he practically ran
there. He was wet from head-to-toe and probably smelled worse than a wet dog.
Once done half an hour later, he walked back in with a towel around his waist.
Looking over, he saw Slade sitting at his desk, writing something down with a
black pen in a leather bound book.
"What are you doing?"
Robin tried to take a peek over Slade's shoulder. Ending his note, he slammed
it shut and placed it in a safe. "Just notes; nothing important." Standing,
Slade pushed Robin further away with a gloveless hand. He had taken them off
because of being wet. One couldn't very well write with wet hands, now, could
they? Slade was actually glad for it as he felt Robin's smooth, yet still
slightly wet skin under his palm as he held his shoulder. Just to test the
waters, he let it slide down Robin's chest, feeling the pectorals and nipple
before dropping it. "My turn to take a shower."
Moving away, Slade pulled off his shirt, revealing his muscular, but scarred
torso for the ten seconds it took to enter the bathroom and close the door.
Robin was left standing with goosebumps running up and down his back before
stopping by his neck. He couldn't get rid of the image of Slade just a moment
ago. He had so many scars. Some crossed over others while many almost
zigzagged, marring his body. Scars told about life and Slade had many. The
scars actually suited him. Robin didn't abandon the thought even as he got
dressed in his night pants. He hadn't even noticed it, but he was really tired;
too tired to notice that Slade's torso was still the last thing on his mind.
Once he returned from the shower, fresh and clean, Robin smiled, stretched, and
laid down to sleep with his hair spread on the pillow, his hands above his
head, and the comforter tossed somewhere over his legs. Tonight, he was too
tired to think and just told Slade 'good night' without a fuss. It almost took
Slade a full minute to return it. Robin mustered a smile. He didn't know why he
was so content suddenly, but recently Slade's company wasn't half bad.
Robin was already falling asleep, but, from the corner of his eye, he saw Slade
standing next to the bed while admiring his body. But he was too tired to
remember that when the morning came.
***** Chapter 16 *****
AN: I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and tell me so. I didn't get much reviews
on the last chapter, but I don't mind. Against common believe: I do not write
this for you. Sorry. I write this form my own pleasure. I would enjoy hearing
how I did, though.
Have I improved on my writing? I know I had a really long break at a point, so
I would like to know if it did me any good? When the story progressess, I would
like to know how I did in all those different situations. So do not hold back
if you think this is cr*p, and tell me so, so I can improve.
Normally when Robin dreamed, they involved his friends. They were usually just
having fun or doing things together. Other times, he would see dreams about
driving his motorcycle. The speed would be so reckless and wild that things
just whooshed past him. At times he drove in Jump, sometimes in Gotham, and
sometimes on a sand road. Other times he would be giving it some gas from the
gas stations set within endless wheat fields for as far as the eye could see.
In other dreams he was still merged with the previous day, during which he was
beating up some monster or jumping across the rooftops or running through
alleyways. Sometimes he even dreamed about Starfire. But this time it wasn't
about Starfire at all. This time, it was about Slade, and not in the usual
sense. Robin had had dreams about Slade before, that was true. If only one
could call them dreams. Usually they were nightmares about him being chased and
hurt by an orange and black-colored, faceless man in the shadows, which
everyone knew as Slade. But, tonight, it was different. Because now it
definitely was a dream rather than a nightmare.
Robin felt calm and peaceful in his dream. No running, no fighting, and no
meaningless quarrel. In his dream there were just him and Slade. They were
still inside the base, having time off. At the moment they didn't need to do
anything, so they were in the bed chamber. Slade was currently sitting in his
usual chair and Robin was sitting on the end of the bed. They were having a
pleasant conversation, which Robin wouldn't fully remember once he woke up. He
was enjoying the conversation, whatever it was on, and it seemed that Slade was
enjoying it too. Robin was so carefree, then, and would even laugh at times
without worrying about the possible consequences of it. It seemed that they
even had a playful bet going on, trying to prove each other wrong in a
competition on who was right, which Slade ultimately won. Then Robin moaned and
stretched his arms in the air, as a sign of giving up before falling to the bed
on his back. He was still laughing and mumbling something in his defense, but
stopped mid-sentence when he felt the bed tip beside him. Looking over, he saw
that Slade had taken a seat next to him. This made Robin sit up next to him. He
looked at him in wonder before he moved to ruffle his hair and then resting his
hand on his shoulder. Robin would laugh and hold Slade's hand as he tried to
playfully push him away for messing with his already messed up hair.
The dreams kept changing scenario after scenario, some turning more bold and
grotesque as they came. First they were simple touches, a few charming words,
and, once, was something as simple as a hug, which made Robin's skin get
goosebumps in a good way. It seemed that the dreams were innocent. Robin could
remember dreams where he had been waiting for Slade to arrive from a mission or
vice versa and, once they saw each other, they'd shake hands and escort the
other inside with his hand on his shoulder. It was only after that that the
dreams got more audacious. At first it was the touches, going further, staying
longer, feeling more welcome and pleasant every time. Then it turned downright
courting. Robin remembered Slade burying his masked face against his neck, his
breath making his hair flutter. He could feel his chest on his back, like a
warm and sturdy shelter for him and only him. He could feel Slade's hand
wandering along his chest and sides, and closer to his hips. As Robin felt the
wave of pleasure travel through his body for the first time, he woke up with a
jolt. He was slightly out of breath, felt groggy and confused, and was in
complete darkness of their room. It probably wasn't all that late, seeing as
Slade was still sleeping on the other side of the bed. He was a respectable
length away; not too close, not too far. He was sleeping peacefully and
breathing slowly and evenly without moving an inch. Robin noted he laid in a
completely straight position on his back with his arms at his sides. He himself
was sitting on the bed with his legs crossed and presenting a morning wood.
This was so embarrassing. It was happening right here? Now? Thank god Slade was
asleep…
Robin started to turn around to sneak to the toilet to take a piss. His back
was to Slade and he prayed to all the gods that the floor didn't creak and that
he was silent enough to prevent waking the mercenary up. He snuck to the
bathroom and silently slid the door open. He then maneuvered himself inside
from the small opening and closed the door behind him. The slight slam made him
jump since he had heard nothing but silence up to that point. At that point,
Robin was sure he alerted the sleeping man. So he squeezed his eyes shut and
locked the door with a faint click, which was, hopefully, silent enough. Not
that Robin knew, but Slade hadn't woken up to any of those noises. He actually
had been awake the moment Robin moved on the bed the first time. To be even
more truthful, he had been watching him writhe in his sleep, but decided to
leave him be since he was obviously having a good one. It wasn't hard for a
trained assassin to feign sleep once he actually woke up. Robin was so
fascinatingly adorable when he awoke in the wits of the night. His eyes had
been half open, he still looked somewhat tired, and he had groggily observed
his surroundings. Slade noted he spent slightly longer than usual to observe
Slade himself, but, as he finally tried to inch himself to the bathroom without
being noticed by him, he decided to leave it alone. He had noticed the boy's
small problem, but even he wasn't evil enough to start torturing a man because
of his natural occurrences.
Robin, on the other hand, was standing with his legs crossed in front of the
toilet and having a decision to make: jerk off or take a cold shower. He wasn't
sure which would make more noise, his accidental moans or the shower. Of
course, the shower would be much easier to explain, so that's what he chose.
Besides, jerking off for a man who was right behind the wall wasn't what he
wished to go through. Where had that dream even come from? Did they mean
anything? At first, he was sure they were just because of hormones and the fact
that he and Slade were getting along better and almost enjoyed each others'
company. Robin wouldn't go as far as thinking of him as a friend, since it was
clear they weren't and never would be. With that cleared out-of-the-way, he
started the shower and bravely stepped under the cold spray that would wash
away his problems.
The cold water was itching and freezing his skin, making it tingle and form
goosebumps. At least it served its purpose. Robin barely had time to turn off
the shower and run to the toilet before he was already relieving his bladder.
Mornings like this made him hate his own self. It was already weird, but in a
situation like this? It just didn't make sense. Couldn't the upper powers have
chosen a more embarrassing moment for this? Robin resumed to dry himself off
from the cold water still dripping down his skin and then changed back into his
night pants. He thought he was cooled down enough to return to bed and maybe
get some more sleep. He didn't know what time it was, but since Slade was still
sleeping, it couldn't have been that much. He always woke before he did.
Robin cracked open the door to sneak into the room. Slade was still in the same
position from before and still seemed to be asleep. Robin was in luck. He
silently closed the door behind him, this time being able to silence a slam,
and then tip-toed back to the bed and got under the warm covers. It was always
nice to do so after a cold shower. He enjoyed the warmth that surrounded him
and felt content under the covers, but the moment he stopped to relax and get
back to sleep, the thoughts flowed over him like a flood breaking through a
dam, making him somewhat disturbed. Not as much as he was confused, but still.
Since when had his subconscious turned against him to team up with Slade? That
was so not fair. Robin wondered just where his mind was aiming. Dreams usually
repeated the scenes from the day before in order to clear out thoughts. Usually
some fantasy was included, but he still wondered where this dream had come
from. He and Slade had, after all, gotten along just great the day before.
Well, not actually great, but better. Was he secretly wanting to get along with
him? Well, maybe he was. Who wanted to fight until all eternity anyway? Surely
not him.
Somehow, sleep didn't come easy for Robin. His thoughts were running in circles
for what felt like eternity until he finally fell into a fitful sleep. The
dreams continued, but they didn't get any worse than they already had. Once the
morning did finally come, Robin felt tired, but there was a small linger in the
bottom of his stomach that made him feel good. He wasn't at all stressed,
jumpy, or even nervous. He was really calm, even if his eyelids felt like they
were made of lead.
"Morning, Robin."
It was Slade. He was on the other side of the room, sitting in his usual seat
and looking at Robin. It seemed that he had been waiting for him to awaken
because there was nothing on his table. No reports, no files, no nothing.
"Morning…" Robin mumbled back, rubbing his eyes. He was still somewhat tired,
but he didn't want to show it. When in the tower, he'd wake up with his usual
routine—a few minutes before six—and be ready to face the day. He did not want
that to change.
"Did you sleep well?" Slade asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his
arms over his chest.
It seemed he had been awake for a while now and was in no hurry. Robin
stretched on the bed. First he stretched his arms up towards the ceiling and
then stretched his legs by taking a hold of his foot and pressing his forehead
against his knee.
"I slept okay. I woke up a couple of times and I remember seeing some dream,
but for the love of god can't remember about what…"
Robin suddenly reddened in the face and he stopped stretching.
"Is it all coming back now?" Slade asked, half in curiosity, half teasing.
"Erm, yeah." It sure did. Not all of it, though, just the obvious. Slade didn't
know, did he? "It's nothing," Robin mumbled, rising rose from the bed and going
back to stretching, to look busy.
Slade was eying him up. Robin was distracted enough not to mind that he was
only wearing the pajama pants. Slade loved to watch how his pectorals, abs,
biceps, and all the other muscles in his body bent and stretched as he went.
"No, really, what was it about?" Slade questioned, counting that Robin
performed while his feet were tucked under the bed.
"Nothing special. I was still here, probably still in this very same situation,
and it was basically just us two. Nothing special." Robin panted between the
sit ups. He didn't want to tell Slade the truth, but he knew that if he just
told him something he'd stop asking. Maybe he should distract him? "What about
you?"
"Me?" Slade inquired, faking surprise. "Hmm, well I hardly ever sleep and even
sparsely dream when I do. I don't need to sleep much," he added quietly.
"Insomnia? No, you were sleeping just fine last night. I saw."
Robin huffed and finished his repeats before getting to his pushups.
"What makes you think I wasn't just lying there for fun?" Slade asked evilly.
Even though he was wearing a mask, Robin could feel the grin on him. He paused
to stare at him in disbelief. "You did not. You were sleeping. Hell, you didn't
even wake up when I left to use the bathroom."
"Who says I didn't?"
The mock was thick in his voice, but Robin was too defensive to notice. At
first, he didn't know how to answer other than to open his mouth like a fish on
dry land before he finally got up and left to fetch his clothes that he started
to miss thanks to the cold air.
"I don't care, really. I don't. End of discussion."
Robin went to pull an undershirt on over his head, but didn't get far as Slade
asked, "Were they sweet nightmares?"
Robin spun around. "They were not nightmares!" Realizing what he just said, he
covered his mouth.
"I knew they weren't," Slade said, his glee hidden rather well. Then he stood
from his seat and walked over to where Robin was standing near the closet.
"What are you getting at?" Robin mumbled with his shirt almost pulled over his
head, the armpits wrinkled.
"Nothing, so just relax. It's not a big deal. Besides, I had some pretty nice
dreams myself," Slade purred in a deep voice, which, combined with the feel of
his hands along Robin's sides as he lowered the undershirt in place, gave him
chills. "I'll be in the training room once you are done. I have a training
course set up for you."
Slade had a last longing look at him before he walked out of the room, leaving
Robin alone to think. Once he was fully changed, he went to the training room.
He had been dwelling on confusion ever since Slade left him this morning. He
was pretty sure that he was messing with him and just being an ass. Or, at
least, that's what he wanted to believe. It was confusing enough with those
weird dreams and then Slade, too. Luckily today's training would let him
concentrate on something else. Yeah, a distraction was exactly what he needed.
Robin entered the room. It was the one from the very beginning, with sand
serving as a floor and which had a more normal feel to it than the metal rooms.
Slade was standing in the middle of it. Robin was hesitant about meeting him
from the beginning, but since he already came this far, he decided to keep
going.
"Slade," Robin greeted, facing him in a straight standing position.
Slade greeted him as well. "I have prepared a small performance enhancement
exercise for you. I will be teaching you to trust something more than with just
your eyes. I noted that you take in a lot of detail, but you don't see the blow
coming. Be prepared and I'll show you what I mean." Slade took out a
retractable bo staff and then went into position, to show Robin that he was
ready. He nodded, Slade instantly aiming straight for his head, but, at the
last moment, redirecting the blow. Instead, he aimed at the back of his knees,
knocking him down. Robin had felt the wind rush through his hair as the staff
avoided hitting his head just millimeters from the assumed target. Slade then
pressed the staff to his neck without putting any pressure on it. If this had
been a real fight, he would have been in an instant KO. "You see what I mean?
You look at the staff, you try to read the body language, but you still don't
see it from coming," Slade explained. "I want you to learn to use your other
senses. They were, after all, given to you for that purpose." Slade moved the
staff away to let Robin back on his feet. "Are you ready to begin, or would you
like a demonstration first?"
Robin didn't fully know what Slade meant by a demonstration, but since he had
the choice, he decided to hear it out. "Good. Here, have this." Slade threw the
staff to him and then stood in a perfect posture. "If you can hit me, you can
have my respect, because that's the next thing I'm going to teach you once you
learn to duck." Slade prepared for an incoming attack. "Once you know how to
duck in this situation, you will learn to read your opponent and, thus, know
how to take him by surprise." Robin nodded in understanding and announced that
he was ready. Slade gave a nod as a sign that he was ready too. So Robin
charged. He knew that a person had a reflex to protect the head if it was
threatened in any way, so he aimed there, planning to hit Slade in the chest
and knock the wind out of him. Before he noticed it himself, Slade hadn't even
raised his hands to cover his head, but they were already by his chest with a
firm grip around the staff. "You see what I meant?" Slade lowered it and waited
for Robin to let go so he could take it back. "You have to not only see the
movement of the staff, but of my eye and how my muscles twitch when I prepare
to move. If I am too fast for you, you should use your ears. You can still hear
me even if you are not facing me. Try not to keep an eye only on the weapon
itself. After all, it isn't the weapon that kills people, it's the man holding
it. Now, stay right there and only move when you feel the need to."
After his explanation, Slade took a hold of the staff and slowly moved it
horizontally, holding it in a vertical position. Standing lax and completely
still, Robin kept his eye on the staff, looking as it passed over to his right,
then to his left. He saw how Slade's hand had a firm grip on it and the
movement tipping slightly down every time. Soon he was predicting it, knowing
that it would start turning right and then left the moment it was far enough
and then repeat. The staff was once again going left, but suddenly Slade turned
his wrist and the staff unexpectedly aimed to hit Robin in the groin, which he
tried to dodge to the best of his abilities. He had managed to save the most
important parts, but the staff had hit him on the knee.
"You see how you keep looking at the staff? You should look at my eyes and, if
possible, my hands. But the most important part is to look at my feet. From the
legs, you can see what I'm doing because, no matter what we do, we'll
automatically tense the muscles to balance out, for whatever movement is to
come. That way, also, you won't get distracted by the false moves." Slade moved
the staff back to his side. "Try again, but this time, try not to look at the
staff."
He lifted the staff once again and started to twirl it around, making it swirl
past Robin's left side, do a loop in front of him, and then swing it by his
right side, repeating the gesture. The movement was fast and it took some
effort to stay focused on the staff alone. That's when Robin remembered to look
at something else than the obvious. First, he saw Slade's hand moving the staff
around. Then he saw how he used his fingers efficiently to handle it, never
faltering. The movement was firm, constant, and fast. Soon he noticed that the
original movement was changing and then quickly realized Slade was about to
hit. From the position he was in, he shielded his sides, knowing that the
location of the staff would make them the easiest and closest thing to hit. For
the first time, he managed to cover completely. Too bad Slade aimed for his
ankle soon after, the sting from his foot telling him that he had hit him
straight on the calcareous; the heel bone. It was thanks to the direct blow to
the weight carrier that caused Robin to falter as he accidentally lost his
footing. He didn't fall because he managed to stabilize himself with his other
leg. Slade sure knew what he was doing. Now it hurt for him to stand and,
thanks to that, moving would be slower on his part.
"At least it was better than your last try. But remember, Robin, your hands are
what you can use the best. You know your own hands, so you can count on that I
know how to maneuver mine. What you don't know is what someone else can do.
Paying attention to hands is difficult. People can be deceitful. I suggest you
look at something that someone won't keep attention to for himself. That way,
he won't even notice if he's letting something out," Slade explained, starting
to swing the staff again.
This time he was moving it around in circles with one hand while raising it up
and down at the same time. The circles were, again, in a horizontal position
and Robin kept track of his hands. Slade was moving the staff very efficiently,
even if it was long, heavy, and thick, unlike the pen Robin had seen him toy
with when he thought he wasn't watching. Slade sure was talented with his
fingers and he wouldn't even doubt if he could fool him with his hands alone.
Robin carefully started to search for any giveaways from his body. He saw how
his muscles in his arm flexed every time he lifted his hand or brought it back
down. He could also see how concentrated Slade was in his work. He didn't need
to look at his hands to see that he was doing his job properly, but instead
buried his sight deep within Robin's gaze. It seemed as if Slade was watching,
reading, and observing him. The gaze seemed to dig down deep into him and
almost felt like it was burning him. Robin didn't let his sight wander though.
He wanted to see if Slade would twitch his eye when he made his move. He wanted
to learn how to read him.
Slade quickly made his move. Robin saw how the muscles of his hand tensed when
he moved the staff, but there was nothing in his eye. He did dodge though. Then
he saw Slade take a quick look at his lower abdomen and knew where he would aim
next. He quickly drew his hand to at least knock away the blow, but, to his
luck, he managed to grab the end just in time to stop it from hitting his
kidneys.
"Very good, Robin. Now, envision an opponent with a visor protecting his
vision. You may not see his eyes then, so pay attention to other body parts,
too," Slade explained, and began to swing his staff again.
This time he was using both hands, swinging it in circles, this time
vertically. Robin remembered to look at the man's legs, which, in this case,
was a great option. He could see both the staff swinging by and the movement of
his legs. Robin saw how he inched his weight from side-to-side according to the
staff's movement. Slade was putting extra weight on his right side, helping him
make his balance better. He could see him inch to the right as he moved to the
right and vice versa. He saw him bend his knees if need be and could see how he
hovered from side-to-side only so slightly to balance the staff's moves. And
then Slade attacked, Robin seeing it immediately. He saw how he managed to gain
some footing to the added weight from the right side before he swung. Robin
could hear the wind being split by the staff as it whooshed through the air and
saw the height that the hit was aimed at by the way he bent his knees. If he
just bent them without aiming any lower than he did, then he was aiming
somewhere at waist height. If he tipped any lower, then he'd be aiming for his
feet. But it was at neither of those places. Robin saw the slight arch and he
knew immediately that the blow was aimed at his neck. So he crouched, heard and
felt the wind blow over him as the staff missed its goal, and, right after he
dodged the attack, spun around to take the staff away from Slade, which he did.
"I saw you. Now it's my turn," Robin said.
Getting into a starting position—legs spread securely under him with the staff
in front to protect his body—he got ready to attack.
"Ready when you are," Slade said, taking a defensive position too.
From the one visible eye, Robin could read that he was inconspicuously saying,
"Go for it, I dare you" and was smiling. He tried to attack him, but Slade
seemed to be able to read him like an open picture book. Robin tried to
distract him by changing the attack course, but to no avail. Slade easily saw
through him. He kept an eye on him, looking at the signs and changing of his
eye and body. He was happy to announce that he was getting better and better at
reading him. He could tell where Slade was going to protect himself and what
his intentions were, but he just wasn't fast enough. Slade always managed to
halt the incoming attack before it actually landed.
In the next forty-five minutes, Robin hadn't even been close to hitting him. He
had to come up with a new tactic because it was quite obvious that just reading
his movements and trying to change the attack course wasn't going to be enough.
He had to wonder what he was doing wrong, or wasn't doing at all, to understand
what was wrong. Robin once again attacked Slade, taking a jump to the skies and
making the staff circle constantly above his head as he prepared to attack. He
knew that the most obvious way would be to just attack the head. Knowing Slade
was expecting that exact move, he, instead, aimed for his feet. Robin saw what
he was about to do of course, once he was already going through with the
action, so he couldn't really do much about it. So what was he doing wrong? He
had been reading Slade just fine, but he couldn't go fast enough. So if he
couldn't distract him or read him fast enough, what was he to do?
As soon as he asked, it came to him. Maybe it wasn't in him at all. Maybe he
was doing it just fine while Slade was doing it better. Robin then tried to
figure out how he could reduce Slade's preform. His best guess was to put
himself in his position. Slade looked at the body language and the movement of
the eyes, then there was nothing but reflex to stop the attack- The body
language…? Yes, that was the key! If Robin could make his body language less
obvious, maybe Slade couldn't read him as easily and wouldn't know how to
dodge. But how was he going to do that? Soon, Robin gained a whole new
approach. So far, he had been fighting like a wild beast with just the intent
of hitting his foe, so of course his more than presenting moves were
foretelling. So what did he need to read when Slade was dodging his attacks? If
something went wrong, Slade would only need to look at the new location the hit
was aimed for. He would then need to bend his knees in accordance with the
height of the hit and then add weight to the leg, which he needed in order to
balance him. There were a million and one small details to look at in Robin,
and now he needed to hide them all. He needed to come up with a move that was
neutral. He would still need to be in constant motion, but only enough to make
one nervous in anticipation of an attack that might not even come.
Robin proceeded to make figure eights in the air with the staff, using that as
his constant movement. He was already panting because he had been on the move
for almost an hour straight. Robin then came up with a new motion: tiptoe while
circling around Slade. He thought that if he only had a clear view of his legs,
then he'd only have to worry about his legs' performance to succeed. Though,
the fact that he was spinning circles forced his balance off, so he nearly lost
his footing. So in other words, he needed to bend his knees to gain some
friction before he could plan on attacking in any way. This wasn't going to be
easy for him.
Robin spun around Slade quickly, then finally took action. As he was positioned
with his back facing him, he prepared to jump, but instead swung the staff to
the right, adding his weight to his right foot. Slade, of course, read the
movement the moment it registered, but Robin was one step ahead. He had Slade
exactly where he wanted him. The man was covering his right side, but Robin
decided to attack straight up front by jabbing the staff on the exposed side
between his arm and ribs so that he couldn't see the incoming attack.
Slade tried to cover the blow, now that he finally knew where Robin was aiming
and managed to move his hands to cover his side, but he had no time to read his
next move. He crouched and stabbed the underside of the man's chin, making his
head snap backwards and forcing him to fall from the unstable balance. Robin
saw it like in a slow motion scene of a movie. Slade fell backwards and hit the
ground. The fall made the sand jump into the air and then hover. He had no time
to get up because Robin had jumped up and pointed the staff right at his Adam's
apple. He panted heavily down at him.
"Gotcha!"
Slade finally sneered and praised, "It seems that you have." Robin smiled and
swelled with pride. He finally retracted the staff helped Slade up. Once he was
back on his feet, he handed it over. Slade patted him on the shoulder. "Great
job Robin. Now, let's get some breakfast."
Slade rubbed Robin's shoulder. Robin didn't know why he decided to walk with
him to the kitchen with his hand there, but he didn't feel like complaining.
Even if he was still breathless from the exercise, he felt even better as Slade
rubbed his shoulder and back. Robin was swooning with pride and the only thing
upsetting the moment was that he didn't know what to do with his hands. He
couldn't reach Slade's shoulder for the position to be comfortable and he
wasn't going to have his arm on his waist. He didn't want to stop him from
petting his shoulder, so he decided to stuff his hands in his pockets. Robin
was smiling widely as Slade slid his hand against his arm, feeling how he was,
for the moment, proud of his achievement too.
***** Chapter 17 *****
Disclaimer: See chapter 1
BTW, It's now my birthday. Let's selebrate it with a new chapter of TYM!
Robin and Slade enjoyed their breakfast with slight chatter. The subjects from
the morning were still present, but not enough to affect the conversation.
Slade was telling him about his new mission. Robin presented his opinions with
eager interest at certain points. The mission itself was easy. He was to enter
the Wayne Industries skyscraper located in Jump City, grab the objective, and
return. The trip was reserved for two and a half hours, which Robin considered
was way too much time for him since he knew his way around. On the plus side,
he had all the passwords to use wherever he pleased, so it wouldn't be a
problem to sneak in or out. In fact, the only thing he would need to do would
be to hide from the observing eyes and camera lenses, and then he'd be as good
as done. Not that Robin would tell any of this to Slade. Slade probably knew
too much of him already.
Once they both finished their meal, they left the dishes for the robots to take
care of. They got to the huge white room to get Robin's supplies. Even if
neither of them had anything worth saying, Robin felt at ease. He couldn't put
a finger on the sudden change in his opinion towards Slade, but he guessed it
was because he had saved him from the not-so-fatal tape worm. And now that he
had learned to stand him, he slowly learned to respect him too. Robin had
noticed that he had held more than enough prejudice opinions on Slade and, like
the rest of the world, had dubbed him nothing more than an evil asshole who
would do the things he did merely for fun. He had learned that with Slade,
everything had a reason and every reason had something behind it. The man never
did anything without fully thinking it through. Robin was slowly starting to
understand him. The information he was gaining here would be more than useful
once he returned home. With all the new things he had learned, he could easily
come up with a plan to take Slade down once and for all! But the thought of
life without Slade, as peaceful and safe as it was, was rather uneventful. Not
that he wanted the man to terrorize the streets or haunt his dreams, but in
some sick, twisted way, Robin knew that he would miss him. Slade had been his
obsession from day one. He was a man of shadow, one who no one could read, and
who could never be beat. Robin knew that, no matter how you managed to beat him
to the edge of the world, in due time, he would always return to make someone's
life hell. Without Slade, there would only be those second class criminals to
occupy him.
On the other hand, Robin was glad to stay here, even if it was for a short
time. Slade had been almost tolerable and he always gave challenging and
intellectual conversations. He was very wise and it was always interesting to
jump into a conversation about plans, tactics, and solutions. The mercenary
always brought a new point of view to a subject or mission. He made Robin see
things, not from one perspective, but from all perspectives. He couldn't have
such conversations with any of his friends. Raven, maybe, but she would tire of
it quickly and resume meditation. Cyborg would probably love to talk about all
the high tech smarts, but even Robin knew that he was easily distracted by
Beast Boy.
"We are here," Slade said, bringing Robin from his musings to the present.
He was somewhat glad that his thoughts had been cut. If he continued like this,
he would find even more things to differ between Slade and the Titans. He
didn't want to compare the two since they couldn't be compared to each other at
all. They were different, opposites, incompatible! So to get himself back on
his feet, Robin went to get his equipment. He opened the storage within the
wall and dug out some random objects to make it look like he was picking up
useful tools. Truth be told, the only tool he really needed was his fingerprint
to open all the doors of Wayne Enterprises since he was Wayne's adopted heir.
Slade had all kinds of interesting supplies within the closet, so of course
Robin took what he deemed as the most interesting. He wanted to test out
Slade's equipment. Who knows, maybe they were better than his? He wondered if
he could modify and improve his own devices thanks to these. Robin searched
through the storage, picking up a compact grappling hook. The reeling mechanism
and wire cord was inside and it didn't take as much space as his grapple
normally did. Either the cord was shorter or Slade somehow found a way to make
very durable string that was less thick.
The next thing Robin picked up was his favorite retractable bo staff, some tiny
smoke bombs, and tiny cameras. He had no idea what he could do with those, but
they looked interesting. Robin also had his eyes set on a pair of gloves. He
didn't know what all they could be used on, but since they were in the closet,
they had to be something special. His curiosity managed to convince him to take
them on the mission. The storage held all kinds of cool equipment: night
sticks, daggers, bombs, and practically everything from laser pointers to
detonators to heavy weaponry. To be honest, he wanted to try them all. He was
like a kid in a candy store. Robin had to eye them a moment longer before he
put in his ear piece and prepared to leave for the mission. Slade looked Robin
over once he was in full gear and ready to go before nodding his approval. He
noticed which tools he had picked for himself, but didn't mention it. If he
wanted to start climbing up roofs with the grappling hook, then so be it.
"Your aim is to get the prototype of the artificial intelligence Mr. Wayne has
been designing," Slade explained.
"What are you planning to do with it once you get it?" Robin questioned, more
concerned than anything. He didn't want to go stealing from his own family and
let Slade win too easily.
"It depends. Mainly I plan on making my robot's smarter, but my curiosity is
also in mind. I want to know if Wayne has achieved something new. Artificial
intelligence is a really tricky thing that not many can understand, more or
less program…"
Stopping, Slade's brow furrowed ever so slightly when he saw Robin pass him to
make way for the exit, grinning.
"So you're basically jealous?" Slade's eye narrowed dangerously. Noticing the
scolding eye, Robin knew that he was right. "So in the end, you just want
whatever Wayne has that you don't."
Folding his arms over his chest, Slade glared, his eye piercing him, almost as
though he was trying to will Robin to be quiet. He got the hint, so he simply
smiled once more and walked out. Slade dropped the act when he was no longer in
eyesight. He knew that jealousy was far from his intentions, but he didn't want
Robin to know that. He didn't want him to start rebelling or worry. In Slade's
opinion, it was good to be prepared. And that's what he was doing: He was
getting prepared for something he felt was coming. He didn't know what or how
quite yet, but he just knew. It had been so quiet the last week, too quiet for
his liking. No one had been making any connections to him and Robin wasn't too
badly missed, from the Titans or anyone else. Of course there were tons of
curious people and several rumors going around, but no one had yet come
knocking on his door and demand some answers. Robin, on the other hand, knew
absolutely nothing. He could help Slade gather whatever he needed, without so
much of inquiries involved. It was a win-win situation: Robin received some
freedom and Slade would achieve what he was looking for. Or course it had
risks, but he knew, in the end, it would profit him better than him going out
to get what he needed or locking Robin up. Slade didn't feel like he was
keeping secrets from him because he didn't think they had any effect on his
life. With luck, maybe they could spend the rest of the week in peace and Robin
would never know. Why bother him with petty, mundane things that probably had
nothing to do with him? Slade didn't want Robin's hero complex to jump in and
go against him, now that he was trying to dull his need to sort things from
good or bad, right or wrong. Who knows, maybe he was wrong after all?
Outside Slade's base, Robin scratched the spot behind his ear where the chip
was installed as he wondered where he should get his disguise. He couldn't just
waltz in wearing Slade's trademark uniform. It would have been so easy to take
a quick turn through the tower and get some clothes, but, no thanks to the damn
chip, he knew that no such thing could ever happen. Not if he wanted to stay on
Slade's good side, anyway. Instead, Robin decided to get going and think of
something on the way.
The trip over there was short, but Robin managed to think quickly. It wouldn't
be too hard to get some kind of disguise. He doubted that Bruce would hunt him
down if he did pay him a visit. To be honest, Robin was positive that the
Titans would have called Batman for help, if only they knew how to contact him.
Maybe it would be easier for him to get a full body disguise, seeing as Bruce
would recognize him anywhere, from his hair to his mask or anything really. He
also decided to take an alternative course through the doors. It was pretty
risky for him to use his fingerprint, seeing as Wayne's database would save the
information for future reference. Maybe he should take the ventilator shafts
instead. Robin knew the blueprints of the place better than the back of his own
hand, so it would be easy and quick to navigate from one place to the other.
Then he wouldn't even need the damned disguise. Yeah, that was the better plan,
he decided. Now it was time to put it into action.
Wayne Industries was located in the very middle of Jump. The tower was easily
one of the highest buildings there, but it was also well secured. Well, to
anyone except Robin that is. He knew every single security camera position, the
shifts and locations where the guards worked, all the codes and numbers to open
the doors, and so on. Of course Bruce hadn't given these to him willingly, but
everyone knew that with his curiosity, Robin would find out about anything
eventually. So sneaking into the building wasn't a problem. It was easy to
sneak past the guards and even easier to travel through the building and avoid
the cameras. Not even the infrared sensors could catch him because he already
knew where they were located. He did have to take a thousand and one
alternative routes around the tower, but it was easy to get in. The only
problem that he faced was distracting all of the people who worked there. The
artificial intelligence was kept in the laboratory, along with some professors
and scientists working there.
It didn't take Robin long to get into the building, travel through the vents,
and to be crouching in the air shaft above the room. He was looking through the
small slits of the air conditioning vent. Everyone was working passionately,
but it wasn't long before a man in a lab coat ran in. He seemed to be talking
about something to the other men, which Robin couldn't hear due to the whirring
fan. Within seconds the men cleared the room, which he found weird, but
welcoming. First, he went to unplug the camera cord and then rushed to the
examination table that his objective was hooked up to. It looked like a small
chip that was attached to many wires and cords and there were a few lights
blinking every few seconds. Robin carefully detached the wires and then lifted
it in the air to take a better look at it. It was peculiar that he didn't know
Bruce was working on something like this. Maybe he needed to keep better track
of him and his work.
"Robin, what the heck are you doing here?" someone asked behind him.
Robin jolted around in surprise. When he saw who it was, he gritted his teeth.
"I should be asking you the same question, Red X!" he hissed, quickly pocketing
the chip in his belt.
Ah, Red X, the teen dressed all in black except for the white skull mask with
one end of the red X crossing over one eye. An even bigger enigma than Slade
could ever be. Or maybe they were equally mysterious. Either way, he was there,
and in Robin's way. The question was left open in the air, but it didn't take X
long to answer it.
"We're here for the same reason it seems. Since when have you been stealing? By
the way, love the new outfit."
If Red was trying to pass off flattery, it worked, much to Robin's disapproval.
As X circled him, Robin never took his eyes off him. He just didn't trust the
thief at all.
"You didn't fully answer my question," he said hostilely. Red X may have been
the older of the two, but Robin was nowhere near scared.
"Hey, hey, chill! I got it all under control! I'm just here to retrieve some
goodies to sell to the highest bidder. A man's got to eat right? I mean, Slade
probably spoon feeds you and all…" Red X sneered, Robin glaring back at him.
"What do you know about any of this?"
Red X shrugged. "I don't. I just took a notice to your new change of colors
and, according to the rumor that you have been gone for nearly a week, I just
put two and two together. Makes me wonder what you see in that kind of man…"
Walking over to a table to examine the items on it, X swiftly grabbed some to
put in his own pockets. He really had no shame, what with the hero of the city
standing right behind him and all! "I wonder how you even got in here. I had to
bust my ass to get here. I had to do my research and here you are, standing
around like nobody's business." When Robin didn't offer any kind of answer
other than a sneer, he added, "Fine, don't tell. Not like I care to know
anyway."
"What do you want?" Robin asked one more time through clenched teeth.
Red X had been emptying several tables, filling up almost a full bag before he
decided to answer. "Answers. Everyone is curious. What happened to the Boy
Wonder? Where is Robin? When is he coming back? What happened? I guess that
Slade happened, but I want details. I haven't seen him in weeks."
Red X attached the bag to his waist. He then walked over to Robin until he was
almost standing chest to chest with him. Robin could tell that he was eying him
from top to bottom, before finally standing still.
"Why should I tell you anything?" Robin asked, not seeing a reason to raise his
voice now that the thief was so close. He didn't want to draw in anymore
unwanted attention.
"Well, no reason. But I could always make a bet with you, because I know
something that you are more than eager to know about," X tempted him.
Robin eyed him carefully, trying to stay rooted to the spot, even though Red
was a few inches taller than him. Damn being short… Robin was trying not to
show any weakness during a moment like this.
"Like what?"
What indeed? What could the thief possibly know that he didn't?
Red grinned deviously behind the mask. "Like Slade, perhaps. I can tell you
about him, including what's after him." There was a hint of mystery at the end
of his sentence.
"What's after him?" Robin pried, only to get a laugh in return.
"Like I should tell you! But I tell you what; I'll let you know what you want
to know as long as you do the same for me in return. Though I'm surprised that
you don't know," Red explained, playing with his gloves. "The information is
precise, I tell you, and I must admit that only rare and carefully selected
ears may hear this. I know because I managed to be at the right place at the
right time. Lucky me, I guess. But seriously, I won't pass you a word if you
don't squeal first. I'm a curious man after all."
Robin snorted. "I shouldn't be telling you anything."
Even though he said that, Red X could tell by how his voice quivered that he
was seriously considering the exchange. If anything, Robin was at least as
curious as he was.
"Fine. Let's make a deal then," X suggested, placing a hand on Robin's shoulder
as a friendly encouragement. He held the touch no longer than a maximum of two
seconds. "I'll race you to the bank. If you can get to the diamond vault before
me, I will reveal all I know. But, if you lose, well, then you better confess
your little heart out. And please, you better not hold out on the details,
because I want to know everything." Without taking his eyes off his face, Red X
snatched one more circuit from the table it was held on. "Deal or no deal?"
Robin considered his options. If he lost, he would need to tell X about his and
Slade's deal. But was that really a big deal? Red X wouldn't tell the Titans,
would he? Robin was leaning more towards no. X may be a thief, but he was
definitely someone who could keep a secret and stay true to his word. Robin
remembered that he actually helped him out at times if it suited him. If he
decided to do this, at least he wasn't hurting for time. He still had a little
less than two hours left of Slade's time, which would be more than enough.
Robin truly was curious and now that Red X had gotten his attention, he would
find out what it was, not giving up until he did.
"Promise me that no soul will hear about this. Nothing we say is to be passed
on. I don't want anyone to know. Especially not the Titans."
Red X whistled. "Oooh, bad boy, you have been keeping secrets from your
friends! Shame! It seems that our golden boy isn't as pure as we all thought,"
Red X teased, laying a playful punch to Robin's chest, which he ignored.
"They are not to be bothered," he grumbled, giving him a nasty glare.
"I kid, I kid. And I get what you mean too. No reason to get angry here! And I
promise, I will not tell a single soul! And you can trust me on that. No one is
supposed to hear anyway. And who on earth could spy on us in the diamond vault?
That place is secured so bad that it's a miracle if we both can get in
undetected."
Knowing he was right, Robin dropped the glare. "Deal."
Red X grinned under his mask. "And the contract is signed."
He walked to the center of the laboratory, where a large glass container was
located. Inside was a huge machine that was plugged into an average-sized
projectile that Robin didn't know much about. From what he knew, the box inside
was either an external memory or a hard drive storage unit. It was a fair-sized
square of about thirty centimeters plugged into many wires. The glass had holes
punctured in it, probably to let air travel freely inside the vault.
"We shall meet inside the vault at the only blind side from all the cameras.
Whoever reaches the spot first, wins." Red X shot an X-shaped projectile at the
glass, making it explode into tiny pieces. Robin had to cover his eyes from the
shards. He then heard a loud siren. By the time he opened his eyes, he saw that
the area was starting to lock them inside. Red X calmly unplugged the hard
drive with a wide grin on his face. "This will sell for a fortune!" Robin
snorted. "Oh, and the time starts now."
Side-by-side, they both jumped into their entrance ventilator shaft and, after
sealing the opening behind them, started crawling deeper inside.
"How much would your friend Slade offer to get his hands on this external hard
drive full of Wayne's secrets I wonder?" Red X questioned.
The words were just going to have to go to waste because Robin refused to
answer for two reasons. For one, he didn't want to admit to anyone that Slade
was a friend, anything but, and, secondly, it was Bruce's property. Robin would
never disrespect his surrogate father like that. It didn't take them long to
part ways, both leaving the tower separately. Inside was just total chaos. The
guards were everywhere and workers and guests were running from all directions.
Outside was just as bad, as cops showed up and search dogs were sniffing for
clues. To make matters even worse, Robin could make out the size, shape, and
exterior of the T-Car, the blue sides that matched Cyborg's mechanical parts
shining in the sunlight. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end. If he
didn't get away from there quick, the Titans would discover him and he couldn't
let that happen. One side of the building was vacant except for the parking lot
and Robin caught a glimpse of Red X slipping through the many cars that were
parked there. He bit the inside of his cheek in frustration when he saw him
reach the street. The thief was already too far in the lead. Reaching into his
belt, Robin yanked out the grapple, aimed for a lower roof not far from Wayne
Industries, and fired. The hook caught the edge of the roof and he pushed the
button to retract the line. He easily sailed to the other building without
anyone noticing, just like Spiderman. Taking the roof would be the shortest and
fastest way to get to the bank. It was more of his style anyway, whereas Red X
used streets, alleys, and avenues.
Glancing back for just a moment, Robin saw the Titans working just fine without
him, even though he felt like he was needed. He quickly shooed that thought
from his head when he saw Beast Boy morph into a bloodhound. He fervently
sniffed the ground, probably searching for the intruder's scent and the
direction he or she was in. Robin quickly grew nervous, worried he'd pick his
smell up. But he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Red X's vent exit was
closer to their location, so Beast Boy smelled it first. His ears perked and
then he lifted his muzzle to the sky to bark. Raven soon floated up to him,
looking around. Beast Boy pointed at the parking lot to signal her and then
started running in X's direction. Robin didn't know what god he should thank
for his fortune, but then he remembered that his time was limited. Not going to
give up the race so easily, he started sprinting across the rooftop, pulling
out his bo staff as he did. No matter what, he would be first inside the bank's
vault!
After countless rooftops and streets, Robin made it outside the bank. He
quickly looked around for signs of Red X, but either he was invisible at the
moment or distracting the Titans. The latter wasn't all that plausible. In such
a tight knit race, he would try his damned hardest to get there before Robin.
But, for now, the finish line was well in his favor. The only obstacle right
now was breaking into the bank unnoticed. He had never broken into this one
before, not that he broke into banks like some greedy thug, but the point still
remained; how was he to get in? Robin gritted his teeth for while, not really
having the time to stand still and figure things out. So he quickly decided
that the roof entrance was best. He walked around the building to find a fire
escape, but it was near the top. So taking his grapple again, he checked to
make sure the wiring would hold, noticing how surprisingly thin it was. It
wasn't even half a centimeter in diameter. It actually reminded him of fishing
line. Could it really hold him a second time? He had used it once already at
Wayne Industries so maybe it had lost its strength. Well, there was only one
way to find out. Aiming at the bottom rung of the stepladder, he fired, felt
the wire wrap around the step, and then pressed the button to reel him in. He
swung for a moment, but placed his feet on the side to balance himself out and
then started walking up. The wire did hold, much to his relief. It didn't take
him long to reach the ladder, grab a hold of it, and pull his body up. After
five steps, he made it onto the roof. About twenty yards away, he saw the
entrance to the fire escape along with a vent or two. To be quite honest, Robin
didn't feel like using the ventilation shafts this time. Going in and out was
once enough for a day.
Robin walked over to the door and reached into a random pocket for a bomb. What
he felt was much different. Gripping the item, he pulled his hand out, along
with the gloves he had grabbed back at base. He felt the material with his
fingers, noticing the strange texture to them. Robin slowly pulled the right
one on and balled his hand into a fist. It fit him perfectly somehow, neither
loose nor tight. Also, the red color was a nice addition. It wasn't a color he
imagined suited Slade, but he wasn't complaining. He rubbed his fingers
together, noting that they resisted the movement quite well. Upon closer
inspection, he swore he could see itty-bitty buds, not knowing why they were
part of normal-enough-looking gloves. So maybe they weren't special at all,
just something to help with friction.
After pulling the other glove on, Robin went for another pocket and found the
bomb he was looking for. There was some sticky substance on one side of it, so
he fastened it to the lock of the door. He quickly retreated before it beeped
once and then exploded with little to no noise. The door opened with a soft
click. Robin pulled it open more and then snuck in, but not after checking to
make sure there was no alarm system attached to the frame. He was lucky for
there not to be any. With haste, he rushed in. If he remembered right, the
diamond vault was vault number thirteen, which meant it wasn't located directly
on the top floor. It was actually about three floors below him. It wouldn't be
very easy to steal something so valuable near the last floor than it was from
the bottom, so the bank's owner was being smart in that regard. Robin did
notice a few cameras in the corners of each landing, but he easily avoided them
by jumping over the railing instead of taking the steps. He made it to the
corresponding floor faster than he would have if he had taken them. There was a
single camera guarding the door that led out. He used his staff to push it
around to the other side before slipping inside.
The bank was full of people. Walking out in the open would be too much of a
hassle, given his strange uniform and all. So he quickly hid under the counter
and checked around. He was currently surrounded by a Personnel Only restroom
and either an information desk or cash register. This room had less people in
it, way less than the room ahead of him. There were two men drinking coffee and
eating buns while laughing and joking. Robin was relieved when they finished
their pause and left to do their jobs. Once the room was empty, he quickly
stood, climbed onto the coffee table, and checked the ceiling tiles. They were
pretty basic and cheap. With just a soft push of his hand, one tile moved up,
revealing a half a meter high, spacious room for him to travel in. The space
was originally planned for wires, but all that was there was a rail where they
would have been. Robin took a hold of it and pulled his body inside. Before
making his way through, he slipped the square back into place and reminded
himself that even the slightest bit of weight would cause the ceiling to fall
right from under him. So he had to find something to take hold of if he planned
on moving from here all the way to the vault door.
It was hard on Robin's hands to hold himself up in a nearly horizontal
position. He tried to hold the rail with his legs too, but they always slipped.
He was sweating and the thought of dropping made him nervous. He also didn't
know the floor's blueprints, so, at times, he had to try and sneak a peek into
the room by lifting one of the squares an inch or two only. At least he was
lucky to have such good memory and it was easy for him to navigate. Robin soon
reached the door that he had to pass in order to get behind the teller counter.
From there he had to quickly sneak into the vault without camera or human
detection. Of course, sneaking in the same way he had been doing it for the
last few minutes wasn't an option. Otherwise anyone could enter without so much
as a backward glance.
Robin was now over the door, ready to get into position. He took one more step
further, reaching out with his hand to grab the next half-foot of rail, but his
heel slipped from place. Robin suddenly plummeted, falling and swinging like a
pendulum. He tried to bend his knees up to his chin, to prevent himself from
hitting the tiles. That's what it felt like he was doing anyway. If he made one
wrong move, he would fall right through the ceiling. But he didn't have time to
worry about that because his hands suddenly slipped too. He felt his breakfast
rush through his stomach from the shocking sensation of falling. He couldn't
blow his cover now, otherwise everyone in Jump City would be after him. He
squeezed his eyes shut, flexing his body to its limit as he prepared for the
fall. But it never came. Robin was so puzzled that he opened his eyes to see
what was going on. His hands weren't holding onto anything, but they were still
attached to the rail and he couldn't understand how. He pulled himself together
before grabbing the rail with his legs. He then stretched his hand out to take
hold of it again. To his surprise, he could move it freely, even though just a
while ago it was stuck. Getting a closer look at his hand, he realized what
this was all about.
"I should've known there was something special about these gloves," Robin
grumbled silently to himself. "Reaching the bank's roof would have been so much
easier…"
From that moment on, he tried to use his gloves more and his muscles less.
Robin soon appeared near a teller counter and he looked around to spot his next
move. One of the tellers was busy with customers and several workers were
walking in and out of the vault room to retrieve papers or anything they were
asked to get. Robin also noticed quite a few cameras. Some were guarding the
cash register, some were taking a better look at the counters, and he even
noticed that some were guarding the door he needed to go through. He bit the
inside of his cheek to concentrate, analyzing his surroundings and the cameras.
They didn't move around, but were placed to guard one spot only. The camera to
protect the door was in a rather steep corner though. It seemed to be shooting
too low, only taking pictures up to the chest of everyone who walked in. Hadn't
anyone bothered to lift the lens, even a little? But wait, that was it! The
camera wouldn't be able to spot anything that went higher than the average
man's chest height. If Robin stayed high enough, the camera wouldn't even
chance a glimpse of him! Keeping his eye on the people going about below him,
he searched for the perfect moment to move. He'd have to make sure the people
in line for the cash register would be too occupied to notice him. He also had
to make sure that no one was planning to walk through the door once he made his
move. Robin could feel his fingers itch and, just for a moment, saw that all
the cash registers were occupied and no one was walking around. He paid a fast
glance at the customers and decided that this was as good a time as any.
Robin lifted the square and dropped down, making sure he put the panel back as
he fell. Grabbing the top of the door frame, he swung through the door, lifting
his feet to the ceiling. He pushed the panel upward to make his opening,
released the door frame, and swung himself into the ceiling. Robin was grateful
for his acrobatic background. He had been like Spiderman, without the spider
senses or web strings. And it was all thanks to these amazing gloves! Before he
took off, he closed the hole and breathed out a sigh of relief. He had been
holding it that whole time without realizing it. After a few feet, he glanced
in the room and noticed he was currently in the one where all the files and
papers were kept, along with some vault doors that led to the more secured part
of the bank, where only a select few could enter. Robin had no idea how he'd
get past the iron door to the vault. He didn't have the time or tools to start
cracking the security number and he knew that using any kind of explosive was
out of the question.
Robin swallowed nervously. How in the sake of god could he pass this? He looked
around in confusion, trying to search for any alternative route while searching
his belt. Maybe a laser? Could he at least have a laser! Then he could cut his
way through the wall. But there was nothing. All he had were small, pitiful
bombs and hands that allowed him to grab things without much effort. Sighing,
Robin played with the smoke bomb, trying to think. He absentmindedly fondled
the small ball in between his fingers and then tossed it in the air to catch
it, distracted with worry. Robin should already be in the vault. If Red X was
already in, he would not forgive himself for a long time. He wanted to know
what he had been talking about back at Wayne Enterprises. What had he meant
about something being after Slade? The man was okay, right?
Robin lifted the ball to his lips as he leaned on his arm to rest his head, but
he quickly pulled it away and sputtered on the square tiles. Hell that smoke
bomb tasted foul! It tasted like ash, smoke, and soot, not to mention sulfur.
Yuck, why would Slade make something like that? Robin examined the thing closer
and noticed that the surface of the ball was slightly rough and he could feel
the material that was on it. It was probably triggered to explode once it hit
something. Robin had no idea how the small ball worked or what it was used for,
but in his frustration he threw it into the trashcan in the room below.
"It'll work if it wants to. Besides, there's nothing else I can do," Robin
snapped, staring at the ball he had thrown away.
Robin's eyes suddenly widened slightly. Okay, really? What dumb luck he had!
Inside the trashcan with paper shreddings, the ball started shining an eerie,
red and flickering light and then began to smoke too. Robin could smell it all
the way from his hiding place. It stung his eyes and it smelled of real smoke.
Even the trashcan smelled and glowed like it was on fire. The smoke traveled
through the room, slowing inching its way to the ceiling. When it reached the
sprinklers, it started shooting water. Robin could hear people running from the
bank in a panic while the workers tried to put out the fire, which was turning
into a full blaze. Thanks to the thick sheen of smoke, it looked very
realistic. The workers, who had appeared in the doorway, made a full turn
around and yelled for everyone to evacuate the building until the fire
department got there. At that moment, Robin decided to jump down into the room,
deeming it his one and only chance to get inside the vault unnoticed.
Robin ran to the vault door and grumbled as he noticed that he didn't have
anything to help crack it. He didn't even have a stethoscope or any other
equipment to help him hear the clicks over the yells of panicked customers and
personnel who tried to flee the building. But Robin wasn't an idiot. Not by a
long shot. He ripped the ear piece Slade made him wear at all times from his
ear and stuck it on the vault door near the lock. To make it tap into the
computer that was in the room, he reprogrammed it. The computer was once
occupied by a teller woman who kept records of everything coming in or out.
Robin sent the sound picked up by the earpiece to the speakers wired to the
computer and then turned the volume to the max. It wasn't the best sound
quality, but he couldn't be too picky. This was all he had. When it was all
set, he placed his ear near the lock, hearing his own breathing from the
speaker. The microscope was excellent, as was expected from Slade's equipment.
He wasn't one to skim through the designing of his own tools. Robin then
nervously started to turn the dial. He knew that he had a million and one
possible passwords, but he couldn't give up. The steady sound of clicking was
heard as the small wheels were turned.
Robin could feel the sweat rolling down the side of his face as he concentrated
hard. He wiped it off so that it wouldn't irritate him. He missed the first
click on his first try. When he restarted, he got a different sounding click.
It sounded deeper, heavier, and echoed better. He then turned it the opposite
direction, listening for a similar sound. Despite listening his damned hardest,
it still took him a few tries to get the door open. He squeezed himself through
the small opening, turned around, and carefully closed the door to the point
where the lock didn't register and left him trapped. He quickly took off down
the hall, getting nervous that he wouldn't make it in time. The moment he found
the right vault, he almost swallowed his tongue. Red X was already inside,
lowering himself steadily to the center of the vault. He was only in halfway,
but he was close nonetheless. At that moment, Robin wished he could sever the
wire of his grappling hook. He searched the room for cameras with haste. He saw
that the door was guarded, along with every corner of the room. The camera on
the door's opposite wall had to be the blind spot. There weren't any cameras
looking its way and it only saw the close surroundings of itself.
"Whoever touches the camera first, wins!" Red X announced.
With a laugh, Red X lowered himself down more. Finally Robin couldn't stand it
anymore. The room was steep. It was built to deny access in any way, except to
take an elevator down and pass through the doors. X, though, seemed to know
another way in. Robin was looking at him from the top of the room, through the
reinforced window that showed what the vault held inside. There was a huge
diamond that shined in the dim light. Robin gritted his teeth as he desperately
thought of a way to get in without using the door. Deciding it had to be done,
he grabbed a fistful of bombs and stuck them together in a small area. He
quickly retreated from the glass as fast as he could. With a beep, the entire
window exploded, leaving a bit of smoke. Robin ran over to see the damage.
There was a small hole, just barely the size for him to fit through, but that
would hardly stop him. He squeezed himself through, then grabbed the wall with
his gloves, sticking in a crouching position. Robin saw how fast Red X was
falling and realized he had no time to possibly climb to the camera fast
enough. So, with all the strength he had left in his legs, he made a leap of
faith. He was falling fast and at a very steep incline. He felt the air ruffle
his hair and whip his face. Robin grit his teeth hard as his eyes began to tear
up. Thank god the use of his mask didn't make them hurt too.
Red X saw Robin foolishly jump from the top of the room and catching up at a
threatening pace. He sped up and jumped in longer, less steady steps to reach
the destination before him, but Robin was faster. He extended his hand for the
wall and grabbed it, hoping the impact wouldn't make him fall off. His side hit
the concrete hard, almost flinging his body away from the wall completely.
Thank god his gloves had a solid grip. After exhaling the breath he had just
inhaled in the collision, he reached out to touch the camera at the exact
moment as Red X. They both touched it at the exact same time. Being the only
spot unguarded, they would remain forever without any proof to who was faster.
"It's a tie," Robin said, panting as he tried to sort out his breath.
"That means we'll both say what we know," Red X said. "I'll tell you a small
part of my story and then it'll be your turn. As long as the other keeps
talking, the other has to as well. Deal?"
Robin couldn't help but agree. He wanted to know. He had to know.
"Deal."
***** Chapter 18 *****
SladinForever: I just wanna say I'm sorry for being a bad editor when it comes
to getting my job done. I would give the job to someone else but I would worry
they won't be as thorough as I am. I check for EVERY wrong sentence structure
and wrong form of a pro-noun or verb. Kaz trusts me to do the job right, and I
do. I just need to stop being a lazy fuck and get it done. Luckily, chapters 19
and 20 have been fully edited for months, so the next two chapters will be
available a few days apart from each other after this one. Again, very sorry
for not editing faster like I should
Kazhiru: Kudos to Sladinforever. I sure appreciate your beta work, and I know
that you are the best beta out there : D I'm glad we got this story going once
again. Sorry for the cliff hanger we left for you back then XD
"So, who's to begin?"
Both Red X and Robin paid a side glance at each other, merely waiting a full
second before saying simultaneously, "You!" Since that didn't work, they both
chanted, "Rock, paper, scissors!"
Robin chose rock. He knew that everyone's first pick would be scissors. God
only knew why, but picking rock always beat Beast Boy.
"Paper beats rock! Now spill!" Red X laughed in mirth, even performing a small
victory fist pump before paying full attention to him.
Robin swallowed nervously as he felt the butterflies in his stomach. He wasn't
sure what he should tell Red X and he wasn't happy that he had to start.
"Well, basically we made a deal. If I can stay with him for one week, I'm free
to leave."
Robin nodded his head at Red X to initiate that it was his turn.
"If you only tell me that much, then you're only going to get equal treatment,"
Red X said smugly, knowing the reaction this would cause in Robin. "There's an
organization after Slade."
And there it was, the Robin growl. It always made X grin knowing he could annoy
the Titan leader so easily.
"I was on a mission with the Titans, but the fever I had made me feeble and
almost pass out. That's when Slade picked me up. He told me that he would make
my friends or myself pay if I didn't agree to his terms," Robin elaborated.
The only response resembled a cocked eyebrow from Red X. "The organization is
about to kill Slade so they can cause chaos between the people wanting to take
over his position."
"Why?" Robin asked.
"Why indeed."
Robin frowned, realizing he'd have to play the game to gain the prize. "We made
a deal that Slade would train me and make me go through missions with a preset
deadline every day. If I broke any of his rules, I would get punished. If I
complied, I'd get a prize. Slade doesn't seem to have much planned out because
he hasn't tried to brainwash me yet. He seems to have gotten a more reasonable
approach on trying to gain my trust."
Red X gave him a hopeful look. "Is he succeeding?" It was Robin's turn to lift
his eyebrow. "Fine, fine, be a kill joy. You are turning out just like him."
Red X grinned, getting a grimace from Robin at being compared to Slade. The
thief waved his hand in the air as if to brush away the bad air. "This
organization is set to destroy the super villains. Its true intent is to get to
the top of the food chain without having to pass the heroes first."
This got Robin interested. How the hell could an organization manage that? What
were they dealing with?
"Slade's goal isn't fully clear to me, but I bet he's trying to get me as his
apprentice again. I won't attempt to escape, but will continue to comply with
whatever he wants me to do for the next three days and then the deal wears off.
The training has been, more or less, dealing with combat, gaining trust in
commands, enhancing my reflexes, to rid me of my phobias, and some simulator
training. I've been on two missions so far, one to retrieve the master security
and, today, the artificial intelligence. Your turn."
"The organization doesn't believe there is anyone strong enough to defeat the
heroes, so instead they decided to weed out the bad guys to cause havoc," Red X
explained, finally sounding happy with what Robin had told him. "Once every
super villain is out of the game, then every single little evildoer can step
out of their hidey-holes to fight for the open slot. That would keep the heroes
busy until the organization climbs to the top. They want to take over the
system and control the world anyway they please."
Robin was astounded. How huge was the organization; who was in it; when did it
take place; which villains were already down and out? He couldn't stop talking
now. He had heard so much already, but learned so little.
"Slade and I have finally gotten past our hate for each other. We can actually
work together now without starting a fight or trying to gouge each others' eyes
out," Robin mentioned, getting a laugh out of his companion.
Red X seemed absolutely taken by the fact that two people, who never, in any
circumstance, could work together, were actually doing exactly that. "You crack
me up, you know that? Beware boy, or you shall be behind our lines before you
can spell his full name." Robin tried to hide his surprise. Did X hint that he
knew Slade's identity? "Anyway, my turn. The organization is well hidden. Took
me a lucky shot to be at the right place at the right time. I don't know who's
in it or how many exactly, but I know that they have men all over the world,
and the plan is already in operation. Lex Luthor is down or at least locked up.
Joker is temporarily unavailable and no one knows who's next." There was a long
pause. "Alright, enough of this waltz. What have you been doing down there all
by yourself?"
Robin couldn't help but grimace at X's wink as he had asked his more-than-
demanding-to-be-answered question. "I've already told you: training. A talk
here and there. Slade just seems fixated on getting me to work alongside him.
So far we've managed that to some extent. But, in the end, I'm as clueless as
you are," Robin mumbled as Red X laughed.
"You really are clueless if you haven't caught on yet," he snickered.
"You seem like you know him well. How?"
Red X smiled at Robin's demanding look that was so eager for knowledge. "I just
like to know things. And on the streets, rumors fly. Everyone knows Slade and
everyone knows what his motives are. The man has made a deal with us lesser
beings. For this week you are completely untouchable. No one is allowed to
intervene. Even so much as looking at you would cause something to happen and I
wanted to know why. I guess I know now." Red X grinned, promising trouble.
Robin didn't even dare to imagine what kind of trouble, but he guessed it
didn't matter right now. "Slade has his eyes on the prize and it seems he's
finally ready to get what he wants. So you better stay put if I were you. Slade
can get rather…possessive with what he deems his…"
Red X trailed off and then started inspecting the camera.
"Wait, what do you mean? What is Slade up to? You know something, tell me!"
Robin demanded.
Looking at him, X laughed straight in his face. "Sorry, no intervening,
remember? I promised Slade myself that you would be left for him to…" Red
pulled in a breath and carefully considered his words. "Take," he finally
finished.
Red X quickly jabbed the camera, breaking it. Robin stared in puzzlement at
what he had said and what he did. Was there a deeper meaning to his words? Why
had he smashed the camera? Robin was about to ask this out loud, but was
interrupted by the thief shooting out the rest of the cameras with his
trademark X-shaped weapons. Robin tried to restrain him, but was too late as he
already jumped down and reached for the diamond.
"Hey, leave that there! You have no right to take it!" Robin yelled, jumping
after him.
Looking up at him with hands on hips, Red X smirked maliciously. "I have no
right? This is my job, dear bird. Just as it's the guard's job to protect it,
it's a thief's job to steal it. What would those poor guards do if guarding
valuables was useless? Then they wouldn't have a job, that's what! We can't let
that happen, can we? So, in a twisted sort of way, I'm making the world a
better place by fighting against unemployment! Now, prepare for the alarm and
I'll race you to Slade's base."
Right after he said this, Red snatched up the diamond and the alarm sounded. It
rang loud and painful in their ears and Robin saw the annoying red lights
announcing the emergency. They didn't stay and wait as they both ran as fast as
their legs would allow. They decided to take the front doors, since the lobby
was empty anyway. The smoke from before was still heavy in the air, so they got
out undetected. Red X was humming "Who Let the Dogs Out" the whole way. When
they made it outside, Robin looked at the giant town clock. It now read 2:20.
The last time he saw it, it was fifteen minutes past noon. He swallowed
worriedly because only ten minutes remained for him to get to Slade. Otherwise,
he was done for. Robin sped up some more, suppressing Red X and his heavy load
as he jumped from roof to roof in hopes of saving his hide from Slade's wrath.
If Slade wasn't angry at him for meeting Red X, he sure would be if he noticed
him late.
"Sorry, Red X, but I haven't got time for this! This mission's deadline is two
and half hours, which is running short as we speak!" Robin yelled as the
adrenaline from breaking in and out of the bank made him run faster than he had
run in days.
With his load, Red X was getting farther and farther behind. He called off the
race because of this and made his way back to wherever he lived. By the time
Robin saw the front door of the hideout, his legs were tense and aching, but he
didn't dare stop yet. Slade said the timer would go off once his weapons
returned to their place. He ran through the halls and slammed the training room
door open when he finally reached it. Gulping air into his stinging lungs, he
slapped the storage door and watched it slide open. Inside, he saw the timer.
He quickly entered and, in a hurry, tried getting his equipment back in their
place. He only had less than a minute left to go. When he was finished, he
looked back at the timer and noticed it was still counting down. Frowning, he
thought maybe it was a malfunction, but then he remembered the gloves were
still on his hands when he tapped the glass. Robin grumbled as he tore them
off—with difficulty because of his sweating palms—and slammed them back into
place. The timer stopped with just two seconds to spare. He let out a huge sigh
of relief at his luck. As he sorted out his breathing, he wiped his hands on
his legs to rid them of sweat.
"Well, that was a fairly tight call, Robin. What took you so long?" Slade asked
from behind with a voice that taunted him.
By now Robin was starting to get used to Slade's silent but lingering presence,
only making himself known when he opened his mouth. "I got a little
preoccupied," he grumbled.
He sifted through his pockets for the artificial intelligence prototype. Once
he finally found the chip, relieved that it was still intact and secure
regardless of all that jumping and running around, Robin handed it over to
Slade to take. Instead, he inspected it from his hand. His concentration was
quickly broken by a beeping sound that came from a small device in his belt
pocket. Slade pulled it out and paid a glance at it, before releasing a small
laugh.
"Red X says hi. Care to elaborate?"
Robin looked at Slade with eyes that he hoped reflected innocence. "Erm…"
Robin was playing with time. So far, Slade didn't look angry, but he couldn't
read him even if he tried. He might as well be hiding his rage so that he could
start complaining. Robin wasn't sure if he should lie or just tell the truth
about Red X. Slade would find out eventually and he knew that. Besides, why
shouldn't he tell Slade? What X had said had just as much to do with Slade as
it had with Robin. To be honest, this concerned Slade more than he could ever
imagine. And, technically, he hadn't broken any rules.
"Yeah, I met him on the mission. He was at Wayne Enterprises, stealing all the
goods," Robin explained.
He expected to hear Slade mock him for letting him be seen, but instead he
said, "I know."
He knew? What? Robin was ready to state his confusion, but Slade pointed to
somewhere behind him. Looking back, he saw what it was and turned silent. Slade
was pointing at a monitor that currently showed his lair. Inside were two dots,
one orange and one red, right next to each other.
"Oh…I already forgot about the damn chip…" Robin mumbled before he cussed about
something that sounded like, "screw you and your dog tags, Slade".
"I was hoping you would tell me about it yourself and I'm glad to know that you
didn't disappoint," Slade said as he ruffled his hair.
Robin felt shivers run all along his body, starting from his neck and ending at
the tips of his toes. For once, this wasn't one of those annoying noogies that
he had received in the past. This one was more like petting, except it wasn't.
"Yeah, well… Yeah. So, you know everything that's been going on?" Robin
questioned, reluctantly pushing Slade's hand away. The feeling he got from the
touch reminded him of his dream. A dream he didn't want to be reminded of, now
that he was merely a foot away.
"I know that you visited the bank. I heard there was a diamond that had been
stolen and I saw the two of you taking different routes to the vault," Slade
said. "Then when you mingled in there for a while, I expected you to be talking
to Red X. He's the one who stole the diamond I'm guessing. And I must ask,
should I be concerned that the two of you were alone in there?"
Robin distinctively heard his tone change. It sounded more…jealous than
concerned? Irked maybe? Slade couldn't possibly be jealous of X. They'd only
talked for about two hours, doing nothing else. Not that Slade knew that.
"We had a race." Robin was scratching his neck, but when he finally realized he
wasn't in too big of trouble, he decided to explain the whole thing, even if he
decided to leave out some stuff. "I told him about our deal and he told me
about some organization wreaking havoc. Do you know about them? They're trying
to become the dictators of the world by taking out the bad guys, trying to keep
them busy."
Slade sighed. "I'm aware. You don't need to worry about that, I have it
covered. This doesn't concern you anyway. Even though you're here, you are
still a hero."
Robin snorted. "Yeah right. No, seriously, this shit is going to fall on me
when all those freaks are trying to take your place. More importantly, I'm
worried that…" Robin had to swallow his words. Was he just about to admit that
he was concerned for Slade? Slade of all people? No, he wasn't. Robin tried to
cover up his slip. "I mean, I just want to know that you are prepared, that's
all."
Smooth move Boy Wonder, real smooth. Robin felt like hitting his head for his
idiocy. What was it with him? The moment he was with Slade it seemed like the
rational side of his brain stopped functioning.
"I'm flattered, but you don't need to worry. Nothing's going to happen. So this
was what you were talking with Red X about?"
Robin could hear the relieved tone in Slade's voice. By now he was pretty sure
he was just jealous of Red X and was relieved that they had only been talking
about some organization rather than doing something else. Whatever that may be.
"I have one villain after me, I don't really need anymore than that," Robin
mumbled.
Slade laughed for a moment. "You wish." When Robin didn't say anything, he took
the artificial intelligence for safe keeping. "Well, it's only three, want
anything to eat?"
"Okay." Slade turned and walked out of the room, Robin right behind him. "What
are we having?"
"What would you like?"
Robin had to think about that one for a moment. "I could use some pizza. I
haven't had a decent one in weeks." Slade just nodded. They were heading for
the kitchen, but Robin was in the mood to eat outside. Being inside the base
for so long was too much for now. Asking Slade for this request wouldn't be
possible though. Unless of course, he was jealous of Red X, then maybe… "You
know, it was nice to meet Red X after such a long time. I know that he's an
annoying thief, but it was nice to have some small talk with him. Also, I
enjoyed the city," he said discreetly. Slade only grunted. "It was actually
relaxing to just talk. I wouldn't mind meeting him again. I know that I can't
talk with my friends and spend the evening outside with them, but I guess Red X
can suffice."
Robin was a decent liar, but that didn't mean he wanted to do it very often.
Slade, on the other hand, was getting the hint, but the jealousy was drowning
out the voice of sense. He didn't like it when Robin chose to spend time with
Red X rather than with him. Slade was stiff, restraining the urge to ball his
hands into fists and narrow his eye.
"I just want to spend some time outside is all," Robin mumbled with a sigh.
"I've been here for a while now and the only one I've seen and talked to is
you. I'd just like to eat out where I can be around people." Robin was being
oddly honest with him. Telling the truth did feel better than lying. He wanted
to go out where it was sunny and where people were minding their own business.
He didn't feel like talking with anyone in particular, he just wanted to blend
in with the masses and feel like he was still part of society. It felt grim to
be down here, he had yet to complain, but the isolation was getting to him.
"So all you want to do is go outside? You do realize what all that entails,
don't you?" Slade growled more out of frustration than anything else.
"I do understand! I could escape, someone might notice me, my friends might be
around, I could get in trouble, I could say the things I shouldn't, not to
mention I'd have to find something to disguise myself. You can come along if
you wish, but nonetheless I'd want to go out. We do have time to kill before
the simulator exercise today anyways, don't we?" Robin rambled, getting a
suspicious and questioning leer, but he only showed determinacy.
"Fine. But I'm not going to a pizza joint," Slade answered, tearing his look
away.
Robin was cheering mentally as he took in his approval. To his pleasant
surprise, Slade was willing to come along. For once, the boy kinda wanted him
to. Otherwise, who knew if he could keep himself in line with no rules and with
all the people around.
"What if we go to a fancy pizza place of your choice? Because I crave for some
pizza," Robin bargained.
Slade sighed and mumbled, "Fine, but next time we are going for a steak."
"Sounds good," Robin said gladly, non-verbally pleading for him to hurry up.
Robin didn't get Slade to move any faster though as he ordered him to another
room where he had clothing of Robin's size. They were the perfect disguise for
moments like these. Robin wanted to question why Slade had clothes his size,
but he didn't want to risk his chances. Slade went to work on his own clothes
while Robin searched for a pair of sunglasses that were black enough to prevent
anyone seeing his eyes. He didn't pay much mind to his clothes. He knew that
the place Slade would pick would probably be fancier than the places he usually
went, but it was a pizzeria, so he didn't feel too obliged to wear anything too
fancy.
Robin returned in half an hour. In the end, he decided to wear nothing too
special or anything that could draw attention to himself. He had brushed his
hair down and off to the side without spiking it so people wouldn't recognize
him from his hair only. He didn't want people to point fingers. He wore a pair
of black sunglasses, some regular jeans, and a black, long and slim t-shirt to
go with it. He also had a jacket. He knew that it wasn't cold outside, but he
felt more comfortable with something that covered his arms now that he didn't
have any gloves on. He always felt naked without them.
Slade came out soon after. The man had a black pair of straight pants on, a
long collared brown sweater, and a jacket to match. He also wore a fedora that
was tipped over his eyes and a nice scarf hid the lower part of his face. Robin
was really unsatisfied with that, seeing as he couldn't see any of Slade's
skin. Even if the hat or scarf was removed, his face would remain a complete
mystery. Robin sighed with frustration.
"I already know a place. The owner is quite nice and knows to respect me,"
Slade said; the scarf didn't hinder his speech at all.
It was endearing how Slade managed to pull off a look of a fine man with a
proud posture without showing off any of his face. The scarf didn't seem out-
of-place at all and Robin had to admit that Slade looked rather good in a form-
fitting sweater.
"So I take it you go there often?" he asked.
"No, very rarely. I only go when I need to visit the owner."
With that, they were both out of the house and Slade drove them over to a place
that didn't look like much of anything from the outside, but really mastered
that Italian restaurant feel on the inside. Robin took it in. It was colored
with royal red walls and furnished with wooden ebony furniture. Robin listened
as Slade talked with the cashier, and after they both had agreed, the man had
showed them to a table. The restaurant wasn't a formal kind. There weren't any
of those fancy waitresses or the formal feeling to it. For Robin, it felt
comfortable. There was a man to take their order, but after he was off with it,
they were left to themselves.
The restaurant was peaceful and full of people. People were chatting and
talking with others and the clatter of silverware was heard as people ate. This
wasn't like the places Bruce had taken him. Usually at the restaurants he had
gone with his former mentor the mood was tense and people were dressed prim.
This place, on the other hand, didn't give that formal feeling and people
seemed to be here to enjoy good food and company. Something that Robin enjoyed
pretty much himself.
"This is a nice place Slade. I see why you like it here," Robin said, feeling
comfortable enough to relax in his seat without worrying about table manners or
proper posture.
Robin also felt himself at ease enough to rid of the jacket. It was fairly
warm, but Slade was still wearing both the sweater and jacket.
"Yes, it's peaceful."
While they waited for their food, the two had a pleasant conversation. Robin
was glad that Slade had taken them outside, not expecting him to be so willing
to take him anywhere at all. There were too many things that could go wrong
today, but Robin didn't feel like making this any harder than it had to be. It
was really relaxing to be here with the people. It made him feel less like a
prisoner. He didn't know fully what was it that it made him feel like that, but
he was sure that it must be good.
Robin was enjoying their conversation and the talk didn't die even after the
pizzas arrived. He had ordered a Quattro pizza. Many people disliked mushrooms,
but Robin rather enjoyed his pizza with mushrooms, shrimps, pineapple, and ham
on it. Slade had ordered a pepperoni pizza. Once Robin had tasted the pizza, he
understood why Slade was willing to pay the higher than average price. Robin
would have to bring his friends to this place once this was all over.
Robin enjoyed the delicious pizza. He almost always ordered the same one
because he knew which one was good. Plus, he didn't have to worry about waiting
for lunch or dinner while the other Titans argued over what toppings to have on
their pizzas. At least with Slade they didn't need to fight over it.
Though now, Robin felt like he should maybe try and taste out some other kinds
of pizza than the one has been stuck with for the last couple of years. He
didn't know if he dared to ask Slade to let him taste his though. Robin took
one slice from his pizza and wondered if he could exchange it for a slice of
the pepperoni. Robin wished that this time he would be more smooth than he was
earlier that day.
"Want to taste mine?" Robin asked feigning nonchalant as he handed him the
slice.
Slade looked questioningly at Robin before he accepted the offered food and,
with a small thanks, he bit on it.
"It's delicious. Want to have some of mine?" Slade asked and Robin nodded with
a smile.
Instead of just handing him a slice, Slade cut out a piece with his knife,
picked it up with a fork, and then led the end to him. Robin tried to take it
with his fingers, but Slade pulled it back with a smirk. Grinning mischievously
from the hint, Robin grabbed it with the bottoms of his teeth and pulled it
from the fork prongs. He chewed on the piece and enjoyed the salty and meaty
flavor of the pepperoni. Maybe he should give pepperoni pizza another chance
sometime.
"That is a good pizza," Robin said after he swallowed. He then licked his lips
before he swiped them clean with his napkin.
"Thought as much," Slade said, returning to eating his own pizza.
Robin couldn't help but feel the burn on his cheeks for the sudden act of
boldness, but as he saw his reflection from the knife, he was glad that it
didn't show on his skin. He took a sip of his cola to cool him down anyways.
They both ate with comfortable silence hanging in the air, neither of them
feeling the need to say anything. Robin savored the taste he had been missing
and managed to eat the whole thing before he laid down his silverware. Robin
made a mental note to thank the chef. Slade had yet to finish his portion, so
Robin had some time to just watch him. Slade had covered his face with a scarf
and fedora, but he still seemed capable of eating it without hindrance in any
way. He couldn't help but wonder why Slade hid his face, other than the obvious
you-don't-need-to-know-my-identity part. He did only have one eye, so maybe his
face was scarred. Not that Robin minded. He had a few scars of his own. After
getting thrown against walls enough times, he was sure that the skin on his
chest and back were probably rugged with scars. Not to mention the bullet scar
near his heart, no thanks to the stupid Joker and his sudden liking to real
guns.
"Why do you always mask your face?" Robin finally asked as Slade bit into the
last piece of his pizza.
Robin could hear him stop chewing for a while as he lifted his head up. He
could see a glint of light, but wasn't fortunate enough to see the eye itself.
Slade then returned to his eating before he swallowed.
"I remember something along the lines of having already told you that I won't
show you my face until I'm sure you are trustworthy," he said while leaning
back in his chair. "Why should I remove my mask at all? After this week is
over, you'd just go back to your friends and sing to them like the bird you
are. So in the end, my reasons are the exact same as yours regarding those
sunglasses."
Slade pointed his finger discreetly at Robin's glasses, but only for a second.
"You are right," Robin mumbled, instinctively pushing the sunglasses farther up
his nose to make sure they were still in their proper place. "So what are we
going to do now? Can we walk home?"
Robin liked walking after lunch because it was always good for him.
"What? No complaints about me not showing you the town?"
Robin grinned now that Slade's usual tease was back in his words. And no, Robin
didn't want to go out. He disliked shopping and huge crowds and he'd be damned
if he found himself sitting on a park bench with Slade while he twiddled his
thumbs and wondered how in the hell they got there.
"Nothing to see here really. I just want to walk some," Robin said, standing to
crack his back as he stretched.
Slade piled their plates in a small stack to ease the burden of the cleaners
before he stood up too. Robin was slightly surprised that he held his jacket
open for him. Smiling at him, Robin let him put his jacket on for him. It
seemed even Slade could be a polite and pleasant man to be around. They both
walked back to the cashier and Slade paid for them both. He also had a small
chat with a customer that had just waltz in. It seemed like he had charisma,
for he was now even shaking the man's hand. He seemed to be the friend Slade
had mentioned before. Robin stood behind him without knowing what to do until
he distracted himself by looking around the restaurant once again. He quickly
took notice of the kitchen. There was an opening on the wall, like an open
window, where you could see the chefs making their specials. Robin couldn't
resist himself as he went to attract one of the cooks' attention.
"Thank you for the food, it was delicious," he said casually.
The man, who was about fifteen years older than Robin smiled and waved his hand
through the air, like it was nothing. He leaned on the counter and winked. "I'm
pleased to hear that. I would love to see your pretty face over here again
sometime. Maybe I should make you something even better."
Robin laughed at the man and his carefree attitude. "I'll count on that."
Robin felt a sudden hand on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Slade, who
started steering him to the door, where, Robin assumed, his friend was waiting
for them, probably to tell them good-bye. He wasn't sure if he liked the man or
not, but he thanked him for the food anyway. He nodded at him and accepted the
praise with a smile.
"Always pleased to serve you. If it wasn't for you and your date right here,
this place wouldn't be standing," he said with enthusiasm.
Robin was about to protest the "date" part, but he didn't have the time since
Slade was already guiding them outside and the man was waving good-bye.
They hadn't yet even walked cross the street when Robin couldn't resist to ask,
"What did he mean his place wouldn't be standing if it wasn't for you?"
Slade was silent for a while before he sighed. "That man was trapped with the
wrong kind of people. He just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong
time. He was part of a gang I had taken down and he was crestfallen for his
idiocy. He had screwed up his chance to impress any possible boss willing to
hire an ex-thug and was just going on and on about how he wanted to be a chef
and not some stupid lowlife. I don't know what made me do it, but I left a
stack of cash for him as a nest egg. He doesn't know about me being a villain
though. I found him grieving and sitting in the gutter when I was on my walk
later that evening."
Robin smiled. "Well, it's a good thing you did. Look at the guy; he's happy and
the place is a blast!"
Robin watched Slade pull a device out of his pocket and then push some buttons.
Seeing the interested look, he said, "I'm just calling a bot to retrieve my
car."
He pocketed the device before they both started walking. Robin enjoyed the real
breeze and smells of the city since he had been so used to the simulator's fake
kind back at Slade's base. It was early evening and people were still on their
way, not caring nor minding about anyone else as they headed home for their
families. Some just seemed to be busy with shopping when the shops were still
open, but it was nice to see some youngsters just lingering around, talking
with their friends, goofing around and skating. There was also a middle-aged
woman with her daughter who was asking for some ice cream from the ice cream
cart on the other side of the street. It seemed that the city was feeling well
and everything was normal. It was moments like these that made Robin feel proud
of his heroic efforts.
"Thanks for letting me go out," he mumbled with a voice so low he was positive
Slade hadn't heard him. The encouraging rub on his shoulder made him positive
that he had.
Slade and Robin walked the beach line. Robin could see Titans Tower hovering
above the surface of the water on the island it was built on. The sun was
setting and even if it was still sunny, Robin could see the red twilight on the
horizon.
Robin and Slade hadn't talked much on their walk home, but Robin didn't mind.
He hadn't felt nervous in the least, and it was nice to know that the man was
walking beside him, not a step behind, nor was he leading him. It made Robin
realize how much freedom he got from the man. Slade let him walk beside him and
let him go outside. Even if he could have one thousand and more ways to ruin
the whole situation and possibly even escape, the thought never crossed his
mind. To be honest, Robin hadn't been thinking about escaping in a while now.
The thought was stressing and made him feel nervous. He didn't want to think
about it and he didn't want to feel like he was betraying himself and his
friends now that he had finally accepted the deal they had made. But still, the
small voice in his head told him that he was already half way through, and he'd
see his friends in no time.
"What's got you so silent?" Slade finally questioned as he broke the spell.
Robin looked at him, slightly annoyed with the sand flying up to hit him no
thanks to the harsh wind. "I'm fine. I really liked today," he said, not
knowing why he had, but not regretting it either.
"Just don't assume you're getting out of another simulator training. There's no
bargaining that," Slade said with a slight mock in his voice.
Robin noticed that the sentence was merely a joke. He laughed at his attempts
to be funny, even if he wasn't any good at coming up with funny things to say.
It was then that Robin noticed that most of the time Slade only did this to
strike up a conversation. Truth be told, the villain wasn't any good at this
socializing thing.
"I would never skip the simulator. That thing keeps me sane down there," Robin
joked back, zipping up his jacket. The wind had started to blow through his T-
shirt, making him shiver.
"If you like the simulator so much, then I can prepare it the moment we get
back. How does that sound?" Slade asked as they kept on walking.
His base wasn't far away anymore and one could see it if they knew what they
were looking for. Slade had tried to keep it as inconspicuous as possible.
"Sounds like a good idea."
Robin had to think, working on something while he did. He did things better
that way. He had been hoping that Slade had some kind of training course set
for him because he had just recently found something to take into
consideration. It wasn't bugging him too bad yet, but he wanted to know what
the line he stood at was.
"I thought as much," Slade said, ruffling Robin's hair.
He slid his hand from his neck to the top of his head, making his hair stick
out and return to something that resembled more of his usual hairstyle. Robin
really did have something to mull over. He wasn't sure yet, but he just might,
but only slightly, like Slade. He had to find out what his feelings were and
what to do with them. For some reason, admitting to himself that he might
actually care some for Slade made his stomach lurch before quickly settling
back down.
***** Chapter 19 *****
Disclaimer: See earlier chapters
SladinForever: So you can expect it, there will be a new chapter next weekend.
Also, eventually there will be gay sex in the story. Due to the site's sudden
crackdown on adult sexual content, Kaz and I decided to stay safe by removing
the sex from the upcoming chapters. There will be a note by me that shows where
the sex was removed. Luckily, to avoid any inconvenience with this, the story
will be posted in all its glory to adultfanfiction, Kazhiru's Livejournal and
archive of our own, and you are welcome to ask for hers or my e-mail
address—which we will then send the full chapter to you; just ask for it in a
review or PM us— Again, very sorry for the inconvenience, but you will have
other ways to view the good stuff still, so don't worry about that :)
Kazhiru: Don't worry, you will get your porn. And BTW, I GOT ACCEPTED TO THE
COLLEGE! Engineering, here I come!
As promised, Slade prepared the simulator for him. Robin had taken another cold
shower for the day before he deemed himself ready to participate in the test.
He was now standing in the simulator, waiting for the room to set itself. With
the everyday use, he didn't find it as interesting as before. Now his mind was
wrapped around the man operating the room right behind the glass that separated
them from each other, rather than the cool system. Robin didn't know how he
should act around him. He kind of wanted to say something, but on the other
hand, he didn't know what he should say. It was hard to tell him anything
without sounding stupid. Also, he kind of wanted some kind of attention, but he
was too afraid to ask. So far, Slade had spared him some touches now and then,
which Robin realized he didn't mind at all. Actually, he kind of liked them.
They formed goosebumps on his skin and he felt the pleasant chill travel from
the pit of his stomach to the top of his scalp.
Robin didn't dare go further. There weren't many who distracted him easily
without the aid of some stupid powder or gas, like from Poison Ivy. Yet, he
didn't want to admit any of these stupid feelings. His body may have been
growing fond of Slade's attention, but he didn't want to get into anything when
his mind wasn't in it too. What scared Robin more was the fact he didn't know
if he was into him or not. With Starfire, he had been uncertain too. He didn't
know if it was alright to do anything with her, nor if she wanted to. He wanted
to deny his feelings because he was scared they'd get in the way. He was shy
back then. He still was shy when it came to relationships; he didn't have the
guts to make the first move.
What a man he was. He still hadn't mustered enough courage to do anything else
but to lay a curious kiss to her lips. The feeling it left behind was like no
other. It left his mind empty, his stomach infested with butterflies, and he
would positively swoon. Her touches left his skin tingly and itchy. That's
exactly how Slade's touches felt. Except, Slade's feelings gave him the chills
that he could feel everywhere. Was that better or worse? At least with Starfire
he could have accepted it. His friends would accept her, he could spend his
life with her, he could walk hand-in-hand on the streets with her, and they
could have a family. He didn't think that he would have any of those things
with Slade. Not that he was sure if he wanted many of those things with him. It
was all so confusing. Why couldn't he have those feelings with Starfire? Why
did it have to be Slade that came into the picture?
This was all thanks to those stupid dreams. He wasn't even sure about what he
wanted from the man. He didn't want to jump into anything for such a stupid
reason as "it made him feel good". He wasn't so cheap. Or that's what he wanted
to believe. If anything, he wanted something more than those damn touches that
made him see perverted dreams that woke him up in the middle of the night and
have to take yet another cold shower. If he just knew how he felt about Slade—
Better yet, how did Slade feel about him?
"Robin, are you ready? You seem a bit reserved. I suggest you get it together
now," Slade's voice advised over the microphone.
It was his voice that snapped Robin out of his musings. He noticed that the
room had settled down a while ago and around him he could see a forest. The
trees were tall and broad and as far as his eyes could see, there were rocky
crops and cliffs. The spruces were everywhere, covering the sun and hindering
his sight. The ground was covered by moss and hummocks. He hadn't even noticed
when the temperature dropped by several degrees. The sky was getting darker and
he soon felt another sharp drop in temperature. It even started to rain. It was
pouring like no tomorrow. Robin swore when his hair got glued to his scalp. The
wind was picking up and the trees were swaying in the wind. The cold air made
Robin shake as the freeze even bit his bones. For the second time in a row, it
was horrible weather inside the simulator.
"We'll take it easy and keep the mission simple. Defeat the monster and you are
free to go."
The moment his voice died out, another, different voice was heard. It was loud
and high and it made the hair on Robin's neck rise up as he jumped around just
in time to see a blur of something that jumped fast beside him. He barely had
time to turn around to see what charged past as something huge whacked against
his chest, with a sound to match. He managed a glimpse of an appendage that had
just mauled him, which resembled that of a thick rat tail. He had been sent
flying backwards a few feet until he hit the ground, making the hummocks loosen
and fly in the air. The ground below the moss was muddy and wet and Robin soon
found himself in a swamp-like puddle, the water sploshing everywhere. He had to
spit some of it from his mouth. What was that thing? The tail that just crashed
into him felt like iron and moved like that of a speeding car. Robin had no
time to wonder about that before he scrambled back up to stand.
And then he saw it. It looked like a canine-like animal, with no fur or
feathers to cover its skin. Its body was slim, the skin was medium-gray, it had
two slits for a nose, thin, red eyes, large claws on all four of its boney
paws, and a thin, dinosaur-like tail. Its spine was sticking up along the full
length of its back and it stood only a couple of feet from him. The thing
opened its mouth to growl, revealing sharp, saber-like fangs and teeth, which
were dripping with saliva. The rain made its skin gleam. To Robin it looked
like a small wingless dragon. A small wingless dragon that intended to kill!
"Slade what the hell is that?" Robin yelled over the thing's growl that made
his hair stick up in the most disturbing way.
"It's a cross between the extinct Thylacine and a snake. It's more canine than
reptile, but it doesn't have any fur," Slade explained. "The tail can be used
to wrap around a part of your body and crush the life from it, like snakes can,
and contains poisonous barbs. It has a long forked tongue, like a snake's, and
it is a deep purple color. Its brain is the size of a baseball. It is fast and
cunning like a fox. It also weighs two hundred pounds. If you're not careful, a
single swipe of its paw could tear into your flesh and kill you. Same with its
teeth, so you're going to have to be extra cautious." Slade paused. "Think you
can handle it?"
Could he handle it? No fucking way!
"Yes I can!" Robin yelled, in hopes that saying the words to himself might make
him believe in them too.
The beast looked ferocious and it was just his luck: it probably had
Nephropathia epidemica—a viral hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome caused by
the Puumala virus—or something… Robin swallowed the nervousness down. He had
fought against more than enough weirder-than-the-other monsters before, all
after his hide, and yet here he was, intact and ready to keep it that way. Even
Beast Boy could turn into plenty of nasty animals, yet he had no problems with
that. So maybe Robin had no problem with defeating this thing too. It may be
angry and ferocious, but that wouldn't stop him from bringing it down. Maybe
this wasn't as bad as it looked and sounded.
"Bring it!"
Robin prepared himself. He kicked some of the hummocks out of the ground from
under him so he wouldn't slip on them. Slade, on the other side of the glass,
reached for a button. When pressed, it released a high pitched noise that made
the beast howl; a dog whistle. The hybrid charged, growling and ready to tear
him apart. Robin dug into his belt for any kind of weaponry the room might have
provided him. He kind of expected a bo staff or maybe a whip to show the irony
in "taming the beast", but he had no such luck. It wasn't any of those, but a
gun. Better yet, two guns. That thing wasn't even an animal, so he was glad
that he didn't feel much pity or compassion for it. It didn't look like
anything that existed, but more like some sick creation made by the simulator.
This simulator looked more and more like a game with obscure enemies that you
could just shoot at a bundle of pixels rather than a manhunt he had gone
through before.
Robin pulled out the guns from their holsters and aimed at the beast's chest,
trying to at least slow it down and see how easily it could be harmed. He
jumped back with his arms outstretched, aiming at it. He heard the bangs as the
bullets soared through the air and saw green blood splatter from the thing's
legs. It managed to evade the bullets' original target—the chest. What was
worse that it didn't seem to mind getting hurt! It kept coming at him with
anger that was only boosted by the petty shots. The hybrid landed its paws to
Robin's chest, who didn't have time to evade the incoming attack. It knocked
him to the ground, squeezing his chest. The hummocks smelled moist and earthy
and the water seeped through the back of his clothes and the cold water was at
least as unwelcome as the monster was. The hybrid growled and leaned over
Robin's body. He could feel its rotten breath against his face as it lunged to
bite his face off. Robin forced his body off the ground and then swung his arms
with all his might to hit it in the head. The blow was strong enough to make
them both swing sideways and the hybrid made a faint whine. Robin could feel
its teeth against his arm as he had falsely aimed the hit to its muzzle. He was
lucky it hadn't closed its jaws around his arm. The hybrid hit the ground, its
head hitting a rock and causing a painful crack to echo through the air. Robin
saw that its mouth was smeared with blood. His best guess was that it had hit
its jaw against the rock, breaking or at least cracking some of its sharp
teeth. Robin didn't have much time to dwell on it as it flipped onto its
stomach. He scrambled to his knees and prepared his guns to fire full rounds at
the hybrid's chest. He lifted the guns and fired, but the hybrid managed to get
back on his paws and bolt away. It then growled at him angrily.
Standing up, Robin aimed the guns yet again. The hybrid started moving to the
left, forcing him to circle along with it. He carefully watched as it decided
on an attack. Robin was prepared this time. He still had Slade's lessons from
that morning fresh in his mind and he planned to use them to his advantage. He
feinted to the left, enticing the hybrid to evade to the right and charge
again. It moved with fierce swiftness, making it almost impossible to see. When
it pounced, Robin jumped out-of-the-way, rolling on the ground and causing the
hummocks to fly. The hybrid landed where he had been and then quickly turned in
his direction. Robin got back to his feet and fired at it with his gun a third
time. The hybrid ducked down, the bullet almost grazing a vertebrate or two.
Growling, it started to charge. Robin took a few hasty steps back as it
zigzagged, trying to confuse him. He shot at what he hoped was a body part, but
the bullets only landed in the mud. Robin was amazed at the swiftness of this
strange creature. His self-confidence was fading as the monster wasn't showing
any kind of giving up or showing signs of pain from the cuts and bullet holes
in its legs and torso. Robin questioned his chances of winning this fight, but
quickly shook his head. This was no time for thoughts like that. If he wanted
to win, he'd have to fight for it. He wouldn't give up.
The hybrid charged head on at Robin. He replaced the guns back to their
holsters as he bent his knees and steadied himself as best he could in the on-
growing mud. The hybrid tried to ram its head into him, but he grabbed its
broad shoulders and tried to stop it. He slid back thanks to the hummocks that
didn't work as any kind of ground, but thanks to the mud underneath, he finally
managed to stop its charge before he fell. The hybrid growled as it tried to
push him over. Robin continued to push back, trying to make it stumble or slip,
or at least manage to push it off his face.
With a feral yell, Robin jerked his body to the side, toppling the hybrid over.
With a snarl, they both fell with a splash, causing the mud to splash around
them. Robin let go of the dangerous thing and then scrambled away, feeling the
rain and mud sliding off his body and suit. Growling low, the hybrid slowly got
to its paws, slipping slightly on the wet and slippery ground. It turned to
Robin and growled, baring its fangs. It flexed its paws and pressed them
against the ground before it charged. When it was a foot and a half away, Robin
pivoted so that he was behind it. He quickly jumped onto its back, trying to
force it to the ground. Surprisingly, it managed to keep its balance despite
the added heavy weight. The hybrid started to run around mindlessly, trying to
force him off. Robin held tight and managed to hold on, even as it bucked its
back. It was as if he was in a rodeo.
Suddenly, the hybrid ducked its head and lifted its back paws of the ground.
Eyes widening, Robin felt his stomach flip as the hybrid flipped over. It
forced him into the mud, crushing him between the ground and its back with its
two hundred pounds. It then rolled off, getting back onto its paws. Robin
slowly tried to pull himself up as his skin and clothes were covered in mud and
water. He shakily got to his feet when the hybrid pounced, aiming to the right.
With its claws, it hit Robin's side. He was too taken by the last blow to move
away in time. It forced him to spin around and fall back to the ground. The
hybrid landed with a splash near him, standing up proudly. Mud landed on
Robin's face as he lay on the ground, winded. Blood dripped from the side of
his stomach and he saw it mix with the mud and water. The rain hit his wounds
and made them sting. Robin covered the hurt area with his hand as he slowly sat
up, wiping the watery mud off his face with his equally muddy hand. The hybrid
now faced him, growling low. Robin was nervous because the hybrid had yet to
charge again. He was thankful for the moment where he could prepare for the
incoming attack and catch his breath.
When the small ache in his head passed, Robin slowly got to his feet. It
continued to rain heavily, making it hard to see as his hair lay over his eyes.
He shook his head to get rid of some of the water and to get the hair off his
face. He lowered his hand from his side and eyed the creature, trying to figure
out what it would do next. When he blinked, the hybrid was suddenly gone.
Robin's eyes widened in surprise. Where did it disappear to?
A heavy weight suddenly forced itself onto his back. Robin fell from the force
of the blow, his face landing in the mud. A paw pushed his head further in as
the hybrid jumped off. Quickly lifting his head, Robin gasped for air, almost
swallowing a lot of mud. His eyes stung and felt clumped with mud and he got
small scrapes all around his face as the small pebbles grated against his skin.
He spit whatever liquid had gotten in his mouth out while he coughed and
gasped. The hybrid didn't give him much time to recover as it turned and
pounced. Robin was forced onto his back as he stood up on his knees. He lifted
his arm, forcing it against the creature's open jaws that were dripping blood,
trying to prevent it from biting down. It didn't do much though as it sunk its
canines in his arm, making the blood flow from the wounds. The hybrid clawed
and snarled at him as it tried to get closer to its foe, but Robin prevented
it. He grabbed its lower jaw, forced the jaws apart, and winced when the fangs
released their hold. He tried to keep its mouth open, but it was hard. Once he
realized that it wouldn't open any wider, he tried to force his hand sideways
in its mouth so he could make sure that it couldn't close it. With his free
hand, Robin took hold of one of the long canines and twisted it. The tooth was
already loose thanks to the blow it had endured when Robin had swung it against
a rock. Once he heard a loud crack and the hybrid howled in pain, he realized
that he had actually managed to tear the canine straight out. Blood splattered
Robin's face from its gums, its fang dripping blood in his hand. He didn't
hesitate as he acted on instinct. To try saving his life, he raised the fang in
the air with the tip facing down and brought it down at the hybrid's face.
The hybrid screamed, or more like howled animalistically, as the fang protruded
from its eye socket. Robin released his hold on it, seeing as he couldn't stand
the sight. The creature stepped back, crying out in pain. Lifting its paw, it
tried hitting the fang out, resulting in tearing the wound even more and Robin
hearing it howl in pain. Blood dripped heavily from the side of its face and
from its open mouth. Robin slowly got up in a crouch and stared at it, panting.
Rain fell heavily down his face and entered his mouth. The hybrid stumbled and
fell, crashing into the mud. The fang popped out of its socket, taking its eye
out along with it. Robin felt sick to his stomach when he saw the damage he had
caused. He saw the guts hanging along the side of the hybrid's head. The sight
was so disgusting it almost made him want to vomit. The hybrid tried to get to
its paws, growling and whimpering in pain. Closing its eyelids, it turned its
solitary gaze at him. It pierced into Robin, making him freeze. He knew it
wasn't real, but he still felt bad for it. He was an animal lover at heart
after all. He almost wanted to take it out of its misery.
With shaky hands, Robin reached for one of his guns. With both hands, he held
it in front of him, aiming it at the beast. He swallowed nervously as he tried
to gather up as much strength as he could to mentally prepare himself for
taking it out of its misery. As he started to pull the trigger, the creature
jumped, resulting in Robin missing a shot. The thing was still alive and
kicking, but barely. It lunged with what little strength it had left. But, as
Robin would come to realize, the act was only a bluff. The beast hit him
straight on, forcing him off his feet and straight into the air. To his
surprise, he landed right on its back. Robin accidentally lost hold of his gun,
which was now somewhere on the ground, hidden under a mattress of hummocks. The
hybrid was jumping and growling and running in the forest as fast as it could,
hitting its sides against the trees to get rid of the pest on its back. Robin
had as firm of a hold on it as he could, but his hands kept slipping from the
skin.
Robin had gotten tired of this game; tired of getting thrown around and getting
thrashed against the ground and tired of getting torn and bitten. Also, the
monster's foul play was getting on his nerves. This simulator was at its end in
his opinion. He searched around for his other gun still in its holster. Even
though he was almost thrown off the beast's back twice, he managed to take it
out. Taking a firm hold of its almost torn ear, grabbing more of its skin than
anything, Robin pushed the cold steel of the gunpoint against the base of its
neck, aiming to blow its skull and brains out.
"Bye-bye doggy," he mumbled in annoyance. And then he shot it.
The hybrid made a faint whine as the front of its torso went slack. Robin
gasped as its lifeless body violently collapsed to the ground. He was flung
over its head to land face first, his face and chest getting scratched up as he
skid forward. He felt a painful crack as his back was bent in a position it
normally shouldn't be in. When he stopped, his legs fell, the rest of his body
crashing loudly into the ground. After a few seconds, the room returned to
normal. Robin started to feel faint, probably from blood loss. It wasn't until
the room had stopped moving that the door to the control room opened and Slade
ran inside. He gathered Robin up and took him out of the simulator.
Robin grit his teeth as the wound on his side stung. To be honest, everything
and everywhere in his body stung. But the moment he was out of the room, his
side healed, his head stopped pounding, and the taste of blood in his mouth
dulled out. It was only the pain in his back that was left. For once, Robin
wasn't more thankful of being carried bridal style in the hands of his enemy
than he was now. Slade carried him like he was one of his vulnerable but valued
possessions. Robin was just glad that he didn't have to walk himself. He laid
lax in Slade's arms, not daring to bend his back because he was afraid it would
snap. Though he may have been tired and hurting, he managed to snake his arms
around his torso, burying his face into his chest as he awkwardly hugged him.
He mumbled a weak thanks as he was taken back to the bedroom, to make sure all
of his vertebra were in place. They didn't even reach the room before Robin was
too tired to keep his eyes open. He could feel Slade's hands carefully
traveling along his back, checking the bones one-by-one, pushing them in place
if necessary. The touch was gentle yet hurried and it made chills travel along
his spine. Robin would have wanted to be awake for this treatment, but he
couldn't hold on long enough for Slade to get even half of his back done before
he fainted into a tired and restless slumber.
When Robin came to, he felt tired. He wasn't tired in the sense of wanting to
get back to sleep, but more in the way of "my muscles ache, can I rest?". His
back was aching, but it wasn't anywhere near as bad as it had been before. He
groaned as he rolled onto his back to get Slade's attention. It didn't take him
long to be at his side.
"Well good evening to you too. You went to sleep an hour ago," Slade explained,
resting a hand on his forehead.
Robin doubted he had a fever, but if it made Slade feel at ease, then he could
feel his temperature as much as he pleased.
"I'm okay," Robin mumbled while trying to push himself up to sit.
"That was quite an arch you did back there. You should consider being a
tumbler," Slade said as Robin couldn't resist the urge to crack his back.
"Sorry, they had a hero position open, so I decided to recruit," he said.
Slade laughed with a restrained voice. "I'm glad you didn't. I don't tend to
wander random circuses too often."
Slade quickly prepared for deep waters, but Robin didn't seem to catch the
meaning as he continued the joke. "Well you should. Who knows what you'll find
there."
Robin pushed himself backwards to lean on the wall so he could sit more
comfortably.
"Who knows who I'll find, is what you mean?" Slade asked.
Robin made himself comfortable on the bed. "Nah, I bet you'd find whatever it
is you are looking for without really looking for it."
Robin was starting to get drowsy again.
"I suppose," Slade mumbled before going to his work table to retrieve a glass.
It didn't take long to fetch it and he was soon back by the side of the bed. To
Robin, the glass was suspicious. It may have seemed like it was full of water,
but it seemed to be rippling, as if someone had added invisible oil to the
glass to mix it in. Slade filled the silence by telling Robin what he was
looking at. "I had to give you some sedatives. Could you drink this before you
fall asleep again? This may make you a little loose and lightheaded, but it
will kill the side effects of the simulator in no time."
Slade handed the glass over to let him hold it. Robin didn't drink it yet,
because he asked, "What side effects?"
Slade sat back. "It's a mixture of several factors really. One being the fear
gas, another being the fact it alters your mind for the amount of time you are
in the room, and how you mix reality with imagination. You have been using the
room for four days straight. The more you use it, the more adapt your body
gets. But right now, your body is hoarding the chemicals the room emits in
itself. There are still faint remnants of gas in your body, which are trying to
hold onto the fantasy you have created. In other words, your back is okay, you
are completely rested and fine, but your mind wants to hold onto the feeling
that you just fought a monster and are still recovering. This drink should
stabilize the effects and remove the foul substances from your system."
Robin had solely been watching Slade's hands the whole time as they emphasized
what he had been saying. "How long have I been like this then? How long has the
stuff effected me?"
Slade sounded more gleeful that relieved as he said, "Since you left the
simulator an hour ago. Don't worry, you haven't been acting strange from any of
the chemicals in your blood stream. Now drink up." Slade took a hold of Robin's
hand to guide the glass to his lips so he would drink it. He didn't put up any
kind of fight and drank the whole glass. Once it was emptied to the last drop,
Slade took it from him, taking it back to his desk on the other side of the
room. He then returned to Robin. "Soon you'll notice that the pain is fading
away, you'll feel less tired, and you'll feel better. Your kidneys have been
working hard to extract the toxins. They may need some rest too. The antidote
will kick in in less than half an hour and you should be fine in no time."
Robin didn't notice any immediate change other than the foul taste of the
drink. He frowned. "Has this ever happened to you?"
He didn't even know there were such side effects to the simulator, nor that he
would have to start drinking an antidote for it. How long did he have to drink
it anyway?
"No, it hasn't happened to me before. My body doesn't gather toxins like yours
do."
"How come?"
"Because its trained not to. You and I are the only ones who have used the
simulator, so the antidote is a first time experience for anyone," Slade
explained.
Robin nodded. He didn't feel like questioning his answer but he was still
curious. "If I was the first, how did you get the antidote ready so fast?"
Slade was seemingly getting more relaxed about the situation and he even went
to retrieve his work chair to set next to the bed, so he could sit on something
with a backrest. "You remember that chip I injected you with? It monitors your
blood levels. Once I noticed the unbalance piling up, I studied it, got some
men working on it, and even myself when you were off on missions."
Robin was nodding at his explanation. That stupid dog tag was keeping track of
everything. Even if he preferred to being healthy, he didn't want Slade knowing
just about everything his body did. Robin sighed since he didn't want to cause
a scene about it. He was too tired to start worrying.
"When do I have to drink this?"
Even if he didn't notice it himself, Slade heard a whine in his voice. "I guess
that this will be enough for now. If there are changes in your condition, we'll
continue with the antidote." Robin nodded once again, glad that he wouldn't
have to become dependent on the stuff. The two sat in uncomfortable silence for
a while before Slade broke it. "Do you want something to eat?"
Don't mind if he did. The pizza had been really good and filling, but Robin
wanted something to nibble on. "Maybe an apple?"
Slade nodded and went to retrieve said fruit. Robin watched him leave the room.
The moment the door closed behind him, he stood from the bed for a quick trip
to the bathroom. As he relieved his bladder, he took a look of himself in the
mirror. He was looking the way he should: hair back as it used to be, mask
still on, skin the usual healthy color. It was confusing to see himself in the
mirror, looking perfectly fine when he felt weak. But still, Slade was right.
The antidote effects were fast enough and Robin could feel just how less tired
he was. Actually, he was getting rather perky.
"Robin? Where did you go?"
Robin could hear Slade's voice from the other side of the door. Was he fast or
had Robin lost himself while staring at his own reflection? He quickly shook
his head three times before he zipped up and flushed before quickly washing his
hands. Robin walked to the bedroom quickly after noticing Slade at the doorway.
"Yeah I'm here. I had to…you know?" he briefly explained as he went back to sit
on the bed.
"I was getting worried that you had escaped on me," Slade mumbled before
handing Robin the apple.
Robin was too petrified to move. Was his bladder more than urgent for the need
to escape? So it seemed. Robin took an angry bite of the apple. He had three
more days with Slade. He could stay put and then walk off once the deal was
over. As he said this, he heard the small voice at the back of his mind,
telling him that what he had just said was only an excuse to stay and enjoy
Slade's company.
"Why would I escape?" Robin finally murmured.
Slade was taken aback. "Why haven't you, indeed," he mumbled back.
If only Robin could know the answer to that himself. With a shrug, he answered,
"I guess it could be worse."
Slade understood what he meant. He understood that Robin was finally falling
for it, and he was glad. It seemed that the week hadn't gone to waste after
all. His plot was working. Slade uttered a laugh smugly before laying his hand
over Robin's masked eyes. The frown on his face was full of confusion and
wonder. He couldn't see anything, but he could feel and hear the ruffle of
clothes and bedsheets as Slade leaned over him. Robin could see it with the eye
of his mind. He was sitting on the bed, leaning against the wall, and Slade was
leaning over him with his knee resting on the edge. Then he felt something
warm, slightly chapped, touch his forehead. Slade had kissed him on the
forehead? What? Slade removed his mask? When?
Robin was about to pull back, but Slade had already retreated to where he had
been sitting a while ago. The moment his hand was away from Robin's face, he
saw Slade holding his mask inches from his chin. The look in his eye was
positively daring.
"Am I making it worse yet?"
Robin was baffled at what had just happened, but he was more vexed at not being
able to see under the man's mask than anything. He would never get a look at
what was under it!
"Hardly," he finally mumbled, trying to lift himself up to sit up more
properly. He didn't want to slump, he wanted to look broad.
"Good." Slade gently slid a finger along Robin's face and cheek. It wasn't the
touch that got him all bothered, but the look in his eye. Slade was daring him
and the imaginative ball was once again back in his court. "I'll fetch us
something to drink."
As Slade left, Robin was already missing the touch the second the contact
broke. He was also confused. He hadn't minded the kiss at all. To be completely
honest, he had wanted it and he had liked it. The act was enough to leave Robin
petrified on the spot. If he made a move now, it would mean that he was
willingly giving himself up. He couldn't blame anyone else except for himself
for anything that happened after this point if he were to toss the ball back
into the game.
Robin wiped his forehead with his fist. The move wasn't to swipe off the fact
that the kiss had happened, nor to get rid of whatever germs there were left
behind, but more like to press it in and make him relive the moment. Damn Slade
for making him weigh his options. He knew that he couldn't just decide between
the way his body craved for it, but the way his mind screamed for it to be
wrong. Slade knew he craved for more, but he also knew that if he was the one
to decide how to proceed, there would be no escape. If Robin said yes now, he
couldn't say it never happened or that he never wanted it. What was worse,
trying to explain it to the others wouldn't be in his favor. His friends
wouldn't accept his decision. They couldn't even blame Slade for using or
tricking him, so he was on his own. And it was all his fault.
Damn that Slade…
SladinForever: Hiya! In case Kaz forgot, I wanted to let you know the creature
in this chapter was something I came up with and I wrote a bit of the
interesting fight between Robin and it. Kaz did the rest though and made great
changes to what I had already started. I even learned about the disease
mentioned thanks to her—had to look the information up. I learned something new
:D Anyway, chapter 20 is gonna rock your socks, so stay tuned!
***** Chapter 20 *****
Disclaimer: See previous chapters
Sladinforever: Well, it seems SOMEONE doesn't like our decision on leaving the
sex out of the story. Well sorry, whoever you are, its not your damn decision
is it? Kaz does NOT want to be banned. Just because YOU haven't seen these type
of stories deleted, doesn't mean it hasn't happened. It's your loss not ours
that you can't take 3-5 seconds to bookmark another site that will have the
same exact chapter with the full sex added in. If you don't want to do that,
then fine, it's no water off our backs. We don't want your shitty attitude
around here anyway
For everyone else who is not against our smart and cautious decision, we
appreciate you staying around despite this slightly annoying inconvenience.
We're not very happy about 's anti-adult content rule either, but we're going
to abide by it, whether we like it or not
Kazhiru: I'm sorry to say but I'm with Sladin on this one. I seriously don't
give a shit about you ‟not wanting to go on another site for sex‟ If you don't
care, I have news for you: neither do I. I wrote this story for my own goddamn
amusement, not for YOU. If you are not happy with the decision I made, then
sorry, you can go read those other stories by other people, because seriously,
not a single fuck was given.
Seriously: I wrote this because I enjoyed writing this. I did NOT write this to
be a comment whore and listen to your every whim. Deal with it.
Robin sat where he had been sitting when Slade left. He seemed to be deep in
thought when he returned with two cups of steaming hot cocoa in each hand. The
drinks had only been an excuse to leave Robin alone in order for him to think.
Slade wanted him to come to him willingly, because then he knew he'd be
covered, in case he suddenly started screaming rape at him later. And seeing as
Robin was now so deeply in thought, Slade had been able to get the exact end
result he had been hoping to get. He had been winning Robin over for the last
week. He had to admit that he had all the aces and Robin was losing the game,
slowly but surely. Soon he would consider the boy his.
"I brought hot chocolate," Slade announced as he sat next to Robin, who had
only noticed him enter when he spoke up.
"Thanks."
Robin took the cocoa and stared into the mug. The brown liquid in it was hot
and steaming slightly. He took a careful sip from it while hoping that he
wouldn't burn his lips or the inside of his mouth. Robin truly had been deep in
thought. He still couldn't decide if he wanted it or not. But by every passing
minute, he was getting more and more curious to see what it entailed. Robin
wanted to try, but he wasn't sure if he should give up yet. He wanted it, but
yet he wasn't sure. A completely common feeling nowadays.
Robin took a gulp of his drink to drown his thoughts. He noticed that even
Slade was drinking from his cup, but his face was turned away so he could drink
in peace. The villain intrigued Robin. He wanted to explore him and he wanted
to know him. And with these thoughts, it was harder and harder to fight against
him. Maybe he should try? Try to worm his way out of having to make the
decision? Maybe there was a way.
Slade turned around again, placing his half-empty cup on the night table. Robin
took a long gulp of his own drink before placing it there too.
"So now that I completed today's mission on time, does it mean that I get a
wish again?" Robin asked.
Robin had almost forgotten about the deal and the word 'wish' was alien to his
mouth and ears. According to Slade's look, he had forgotten as well.
"You mean the wish to take you out to lunch wasn't what you asked for?"
Slade sounded confused. He might have thought of it as one back then too.
"Not that I didn't like it, I just never said that it was my wish," Robin said,
betting that Slade was arching his eyebrow at this.
"So what is it you want? Don't ask for anything too much though. You did get to
go out after all, and it's late in the evening."
Slade crossed his arms over his chest. Trust Robin to use his freedoms to his
advantage…
"It's nothing huge. I hope." Robin mumbled the last part to himself. This was
not the time to back out now. If he ever wanted to know where he stood in this,
it would be now or never. He had fought a hybrid that was ready to tear him to
shreds, surely this was not worse? "I just wanted to ask for…another kiss?
Maybe. Just so I know where we stand, you know?"
Slade was positively surprised. He had expected some reaction out of him, but
not this soon. He was also quite surprised that Robin had managed to turn the
tables around. This wouldn't count as any kind of motion to give up, not just
yet at least. Not that it mattered. Slade was still winning no matter how this
turned out.
"Consider it granted. Forehead?" Slade teased, not wanting to sound too eager.
Robin may not have been too shy about the situation, but he still seemed
slightly unsure. Now that Slade looked at him again, he seemed to brace
himself. Maybe he was warming up to him faster than he thought. It all seemed
to work in his favor.
"No, a real kiss this time," Robin claimed boldly.
If Robin's eyes weren't covered by Slade's hand once again, he would have
noticed him grinning. Slade lifted his mask so that it was resting on the top
of his head, to avoid it getting in the way. With his right hand, he grabbed
his chin and lifted it slightly. Robin was breathing heavily and he seemed
tense. It might not have been his first kiss, but the anticipation made it just
as bad.
Leaning over him, Slade drew him into a kiss. Robin felt the shivers travel
down and back up his spine the moment those chapped lips were on his own. He
could smell Slade's shave lotion ten times stronger than he ever had before.
The smell of him was strong and was filling Robin's nose. The only thing that
kept him in the moment were the lips pressing against his own. Slade was
dominating him, making Robin too taken aback to question it. Slade had him in
complete control. Once he had kissed him, while trying to devour the smaller
lips, Robin couldn't hold himself back any longer. He tried to challenge
Slade's kiss, but it was clear to them both that he was outclassed here. Slade
could trap Robin's mouth and suck on them, leaving him to come along.
Robin didn't know what he should do with his hands exactly, but seeing as Slade
was leaning over him, he placed them on his shoulders and took a firm grip on
him. Slade turned his head to the left to deepen the kiss. His hand released
Robin's jaw, knowing that he had no intention to pull pack. Slade slid his
right hand over Robin's throat to his right shoulder, before laying it on his
chest where he absentmindedly rubbed his nipple with the palm of his hand. This
only caused Robin to sigh into the kiss and lift his knees to cover himself out
of instinct. Slade smiled into it. He would make sure that this kiss would be
imprinted on the boy's memory. Eventually he wouldn't be able to think about
anything else and would come back, begging for more.
Now that Slade finally got a kiss out of him, he didn't plan on going easy on
him. Slade licked Robin's lower lip, making him try to do the same. But when he
opened his mouth, Slade invaded it with his tongue. Robin was surprised by the
sudden intrusion. Kissing Starfire had been innocent and nothing like this, but
now that he had a taste of this, he was too surprised to even remember her
name. Slade explored the cavern. Robin tasted like the hot chocolate he had
drank and what seemed to be a mix of something fruity and Robin himself. But
the taste of ginger was what won Slade over. Robin couldn't help put moan into
the kiss as his tongue worked itself around his own and when his hand wrapped
around his waist. He felt Slade explore his mouth, tracing his teeth and molars
while making his gums tingle. He couldn't have enough of him and he wanted to
taste him too. Slade tasted like something spicy, yet there was a distinct
taste of something fleshy. Robin closed his lips around his tongue and
swallowed. He didn't want to start drooling over him.
Once Slade pulled his tongue back to his mouth, he traced Robin's lips again.
He couldn't help but gasp in a mouthful of air. He was getting out of breath
and was now panting with his mouth wide open. He tilted his head back to look
at the ceiling, even though he couldn't see a thing thanks to Slade's hand
blocking the view. Robin got a couple of good lungfuls of air before Slade
devoured his lips again. He traced his hands along Slade's chest to slide them
around him, clawing at his back in his distracted state. Slade didn't mind at
all since his own hand was already wandering to his pelvis and itching to go
lower. This wasn't left unnoticed as Robin's senses went haywire. The touches
were making him want to arch up from the bed to get some more friction. Robin
was almost panting for the kiss when Slade lifted himself onto the bed to reach
him better. Robin clawed his back slightly now that he was easier to reach.
Slade could feel the touches, but thanks to the suit he wore, it was more like
a massage for his back. Robin managed to hiss from within the kiss.
"Slade…"
Slade kissed his lips for a long time before biting into his lower lip softly.
Robin couldn't help but sigh and pant as his mouth wasn't so reserved anymore.
Slade licked the lip whence he had bitten and, as Robin brushed his fingers
against his neck, started to trace his lips against his throat. He laid small
kisses on the side and corner of Robin's lips and on his cheek and throat
before dragging his tongue against his neck. Robin whined as Slade started to
suck on it. When he pushed his knee to his thigh, Robin moaned loudly. He was
groaning slightly as Slade slowly trailed his fingers lower to his crotch
before he stopped it with his hand. He was panting loudly with his mouth open
as he held Slade's hand only inches from his more private area. Slade stopped
what he was doing to look at him. He was slightly out of breath himself, but
not nearly as bad as Robin, who was panting under him.
"O-Only kissing," Robin managed to wheeze before he had to lean back on the
bed. Resting against the wall had been a good idea a while ago, but now he
wanted to lie down. Slade had removed his hand from his crotch and even pulled
his knee away from the area to let him breath with ease. Robin was glad that
Slade respected his decision to not continue any further. He was in full
euphoria and bliss, which had only been caused by a kiss. He wasn't ready for
more. No, not yet. Slade placed his mask back on before removing his hand from
Robin's eyes. He could have sworn that he blinked his eyes in disbelief while
he got his sight back once again. "I…I need to take a shower."
Robin wormed himself out from beneath Slade and quickly sneaked himself to the
bathroom. Slade only laughed at this as he rolled onto his back on his side of
the bed. He stared after Robin, who was trying to hide the more than obvious
dent in his pants as he retreated to take the more than likely cold shower. It
wasn't long after the bathroom door banged shut when the sound of the shower
was already heard. Robin made sure that the water was freezing cold before he
forced himself to step under the spray.
He shouldn't have let himself be taken that far. Yet he had. He didn't actually
regret it, but he didn't want to go too far. Not yet. He might want to do it
later, but not now. The water that hit him in the back was cold and made him
shiver. It was almost burning him and it made his skin tingle and feel like it
was gnashing. Robin washed his face with frantic strokes as he tried to get
himself back to the current moment. The cold water was doing its task, even if
Robin was tempted to finish it himself. He stood under the spray for a while
longer before stepping out and turning it off.
The first thing he saw was the mirror on the wall. Normally, Robin wouldn't
have paid it much of a second glance, but now he found himself petrified in
front of it. Walking closer, he saw the rather big, dark purple hickey on his
neck where his shoulder connected to his throat on his left side. Robin
couldn't resist but touch it. It was slightly tender. It didn't hurt, but he
could still feel it. This wasn't one of those small love bites, but a rather
admirable and huge one. Robin felt it on him as he tilted his head to the right
in order for him to see it better. Slade managed to leave a mark on him that
would rival any other. Hiding a love bite this size would either require him to
wear a long collared shirt or maybe a scarf. Thank god his uniform had a proper
collar.
Thinking back, Robin couldn't help but to flush red when remembering how he had
gotten it. Slade had been on him, kissing him, kneeing him, biting him. Robin
felt shivers run up his body and to his misfortune the shivers seemed to have a
common destination: his not so flaccid dick.
"Dick, what have you done…" Robin wasn't even sure whom it was directed at
anymore. He decided that no cold shower would be able to get him back to normal
and make him stay that way until the morning rose anew. He reopened the faucets
so that water was once again coming from the shower head. Instead of stepping
under the spray, he leaned sideways against the tile wall and grabbed his
attention seeking cock to start masturbating. "Damn Slade and his twisted
touches…"
The sound of the shower drowned out his voice and hopefully any sound he was
about to make. The words did everything else except banish Slade from his
thoughts. It seemed that no matter what he did, the villain plagued his mind.
As he made yet another entry to his mind, Robin finally gave up and imagined
that his hand actually belonged to Slade's, right behind the wall he was
leaning on. He hoped that Slade hadn't heard anything over the sound of the
shower. He was trying to hold in his pants and sighs as he fondled the tip of
his penis, imagining that it was Slade who was doing this. It was almost
twisted enough to cause his stomach to flip, but no such thing happened. It
felt more like he had thousands of butterflies in his stomach, all flying
blindly in the dark and hitting the walls.
Robin shivered as he let his knees go weak. He slid along the wall to rest on
the floor. He took a better hold of his cock as he pulled back the foreskin and
started to stroke fervently. He couldn't help himself as he imagined Slade's
touches on his body and lips on his neck. Robin shivered at the sensation that
he wanted to be over already. He had just taken his third cold shower for the
day and, after this, he wished to be able to rest in peace for the upcoming
night. He swallowed his moans and pants as he tried to get this over with.
Slade would become suspicious if he didn't come out soon enough. Worse yet, he
would probably offer some help while he was at it.
Robin felt like he was getting close as he thought about Slade coming into the
room with him. He had to bite his lip at the exact spot Slade had bitten just
mere minutes ago to silence his voice as he finally came. He felt relaxed as
his cum smeared his hand. Leaning his back on the wall, he held his hands in
the air to avoid smearing the walls or floor. He panted loudly as he tried to
sort out his breathing. Robin felt his mouth go dry thanks to all that panting
and he had to swallow several times to get the lump down his throat, which had
formed just a while ago. Once he deemed himself ready to stand, he walked under
the shower to wash himself before turning the shower off for the second time.
After getting out, Robin toweled himself clear and dry. He tied his towel
around his waist as he stepped outside the bathroom to search for his pajama
bottoms.
Slade was lying on his back on his side of the bed, seeming pretty much awake.
Robin had a feeling that he knew completely well what he had done back there
and he couldn't hold back a blush. He couldn't look straight at Slade either
because he was afraid that he might notice the red on his cheeks as he went
over to the closet to pull out a new pair of pants to sleep in. Robin quickly
dressed with his back to Slade. Once the pants were on, he hung the towel to
dry. He took a look at Slade before turning off the lights and sneaking onto
his own side of the bed. Once in, he pulled the warm comforters over himself as
he tried to relax. Slade might be on the same bed, but that didn't mean
anything.
Robin rested quietly for a small while before he felt a hand sneak under his
comforter. Soon the arm snaked around his waist and he felt Slade pulling him
up against him.
"Good night Robin."
Robin heard the whisper in his ear and, as he saw some of his hair move
slightly as the breath hit him, he knew Slade was close. This resulted in his
hair to stick up further. Robin had to swallow several times before he managed
a voice that wasn't too shaky.
"Night, Slade."
Robin could still feel the arm around him and the breath on his neck. It was a
fact that, for the first time, Slade had fallen asleep before Robin. What he
hadn't seen was Slade smiling since he had achieved what he was aiming for. He
was sure that Robin would be plagued by the memory from this day on and, if the
blushing teen and his cool skin had anything to go by, he was already plaguing
his mind.
(LINE BREAK)
When Robin woke up in the morning, the first thing he saw was Slade. He was
sitting at his computer, reading the screen and occasionally writing something.
Robin was reluctant to rise just yet, so now he had time to inspect him. Slade
seemed to be in his own world as he worked, but when he clicked the small
floppy disk icon at the top left corner of the screen, he leaned backwards in
his chair. It seemed that whatever he had been working on had just gotten
finished. Slade then stood before walking over to a closet near his table to
pull out a small machine that reminded Robin of a printer. He also dug out some
fancy paper, which he placed in the paper slot. It seemed that he was printing
something special. It didn't take long for Slade to print out something that
looked like an invitation. Robin had no idea what the card had to do with
anything.
"It seems that you are awake," Slade greeted as he pocketed the invite he had
just printed.
He turned off his computer right after and, once the hum of the computer died,
he turned around with his chair to face Robin.
"Good morning," Robin finally answered back, now that he knew he had his
attention. He started getting out of bed. "What's on the paper?"
"You'll find out soon enough," Slade said as he walked over to hand Robin his
uniform.
"So what's on the agenda for today?" Robin questioned, while pulling his pants
on.
"Nothing much; a mission that will take place at noon and a simulator."
Robin hurried to pull his shirt on. The look Slade gave him made him feel naked
and it was making him uneasy. He had dressed in front of Slade before this, but
now he felt shy. Robin zipped up his uniform and sealed his belt before he
coughed.
"Yeah, so, breakfast…"
They both walked to the kitchen with Slade in the lead. Robin had his eyes and
thoughts on him walking beside him. Slade hadn't changed at all. He even seemed
to act like nothing had happened several hours before. Maybe nothing had
happened. Or maybe he was just overreacting.
Robin followed Slade to the kitchen, where the bots had already served them
breakfast. The bots had a full English breakfast served for them, complete with
eggs, bacon, toast, and orange juice. Robin didn't feel too hungry, but as
Slade recommended that he ate, he took some bacon and eggs. He sat opposite him
on the other end of the table while they did. Slade had his back turned to him.
Robin was slightly annoyed at his stubbornness to not just show his face, but
he was damned if he had to remove his mask in return. He knew that the only
deal Slade would accept in return of showing his face would be for Robin to
reveal his. If even that would suffice.
Robin had eaten what little he had placed on his plate and the delicious food
seemed to lift his mood. He was sure that he drank at least one liter of orange
juice by now. He liked the juice and hadn't even noticed how thirsty he had
been. The eggs had been made just perfect and the bacon was crispy. Just the
way he liked it.
"So what's today's mission?" Robin asked once he emptied his plate.
Slade had also finished by now and was placing his plate in the sink. Robin
followed his example before following him away from the kitchen.
"I'll explain once we are back in the training room."
Robin noticed that his mood had picked up some since he woke up and he even
tried to work up some kind of conversation with Slade. Mostly it was just
meaningless chitchat about how well he slept, if at all, but once they got into
a real conversation, Robin noticed that he felt natural and in his element. The
same way he did when he was with his friends. Robin stopped in his tracks to
stand astounded in the middle of the hallway. Slade also noticed that he had
stopped and stood still to look back.
"What is it, Robin? Come now."
Slade made a gesture with his hand to show Robin that he was to follow, but he
was dazed. Had he just thought that Slade was equal to his friends? That was
absurd! Robin gritted his teeth and continued walking with Slade. He didn't
want him to raise suspicion. He couldn't allow that. His friends were important
to him, not Slade. They were his priority and that was that. He couldn't allow
this. He couldn't even believe that he had thought that.
Slade led them to the training room while Robin was having an inner quarrel
with himself. He was so badly in denial of everything that it was starting to
confuse him greatly. It almost made his head hurt at how much he was thinking.
Slade was setting up the screen, but Robin was too busy with his thoughts to
notice. Slade also set up the screen to show a picture in it with people
walking in a building. At times the picture would change to show people walking
inside a house. They were all dressed nicely and it seemed like the picture was
of security footage of some gala or other formal party. Slade had finally
gotten the preparations ready as he turned to Robin, only to notice that he
wasn't paying any attention to what he had been doing.
"So, what has got all of your attention, boy?" Slade asked, flicking Robin's
forehead with his finger to spite him.
It sure brought him back to the moment. Robin shook his head furiously to get
Slade's hands off his face. "What do you want?" he mumbled angrily.
Slade only sneered. Robin was so out of it and he had to wonder why. "I'm
wondering what has gotten you so distracted." Slade buried his hand in Robin's
hair as he rubbed to his scalp. Robin was sure that he did this only to provoke
him. "Might it have anything to do with last night?"
Robin heard the mock in Slade's voice, which only made him deny him even
harder. Robin sneered back. "Why would that bother me?"
Slade slid his hand further down Robin's scalp to rub his neck. "But it does,
doesn't it? You act like you are in denial."
Not only was Slade ridiculing him, but he even dared to laugh straight at his
face. Robin was not happy about this. "I am not! There isn't anything I have to
deny to!" Robin argued and fought against his will to make himself push Slade's
hand off his neck.
"There isn't? Well answer me this. Which do you like better: girls or boys?"
Robin was too stupefied to answer at first. He took a step back to make sure he
wasn't going to grab him again. What was Slade on about? Was this a game? Some
kind of mockery? Robin didn't even know what he was suppose to say. No, of
course he wasn't gay, if that was what Slade was implying! Robin had never had
that first thought to indicate otherwise.
"What?" It took Robin a while to collect enough thoughts to make a coherent
sentence. "Well, girls obviously. What's it to you?"
Robin almost stuttered with his words. He was frozen to the spot as Slade
straightened his back.
"Fine. That means that your mission of the day is to dress up like a woman,
blend into the party, and bring me the prize," Slade explained. Robin was about
to complain before he was even finished with his sentence. "Ah, ah, aah. It was
your choice."
Robin snapped his mouth shut. He knew when his opinion wasn't to be heard.
Slade turned to the screen to show him what was going on. He saw the people
walking in and the whole lot drinking punch and exchanging rumors and laughs.
They were all dressed up in pretty evening dresses and tuxes.
"It's the gala the mayor has organized. It just started and will be hosted
until midnight. You only have two hours however. The target will only be there
for so long after all." Slade froze the picture so he could show the mayor
greeting his guests. "One of his guests, this man right here." Slade froze the
picture again to show a man with a goatee and sideburns. His hair was wild, not
nearly shoulder length, and the man himself seemed to be in his thirties. He
wore a fashionable black tuxedo. In the man's breast pocket, Robin saw a red
handkerchief. He also had a silver pocket watch. Robin also saw, as he placed
the clock in his inner chest pocket, a small leather wallet, or something
similar, as seen from the camera lens. "That man is Russell. Russel Stevens. Do
you know him?"
Slade let the video play again. The cameras were following the man's movements,
watching him walk from woman to woman, giving the top of their hands a soft
kiss. He only stopped by some higher class men to shake their hands before he
was off again. He didn't seem to stand still very long.
"I have heard of him," Robin said. "Doesn't he usually wear glasses?"
Russel scratched the crook of his nose. He was probably lifting his glasses
higher on his face, but as he noticed the lack thereof, he resulted in
scratching the bridge instead.
"Yes, he usually wears glasses to correct his eyesight," Slade replied.
Robin continued from this. "He's a dealer, right? He makes sure everything gets
to the person who wants it? He doesn't deal drugs, but he's more of a middle
man or trafficker? I heard that he deals them all: weapons, medicines, tools,
you name it. He has a rather admirable façade though, makes honest living with
his company, and that's probably the reason he got invited to the gala." Robin
followed the man on the screen with his eyes. "What do you want from him?"
Slade hummed approvingly before he explained. "Good observation, Robin. It
seems that you know the man well enough. What I want is his pass card. Because
he is a dealer, he can pass through anywhere he wants. Mainly I want the access
to his warehouse and company. You are to get me that card." Robin nodded. At
least this time the mission seemed simple enough. Besides, it was crowded with
fancy people, so it all seemed really easy. "You have two hours to bring me the
card. You might not need much of anything else than the earpiece."
Robin snorted. "I won't need two hours with such a boring place with nothing to
do," he mumbled, already going to get his earpiece.
He wouldn't need any weapons with him. This was not an aggressive mission. He
couldn't resist taking a grapple though. He also took two flash bombs with him,
just to be safe and secure. If the plan happened to backfire, he could throw
the bombs and scram. They weren't too big, so he could easily sneak them in.
"Well, you get two hours anyway," Slade said with a smug voice. "But if you
want an extra mission, feel free to listen and memorize all of those juicy
gossips they have going on." Slade laughed and Robin had to resist the urge to
flip him off. He pocketed the tools he picked out and was already leaving to
get dressed but Slade pulled him back by his arm. "Here, have this." Slade
handed Robin a small black tool that could easily fit in his palm. The device
was flat and seemed like a filter of some sort. "It's a voice altering device
piece. Take this as a compliment, but you don't sound too feminine to me. You
put the thing in your mouth, preferably on your back molar, and, with your
tongue, press it down. It will stick to your tooth and, when you talk, it will
alter your voice.
"I recommend that you practice with it because if you talk with your mouth wide
open, it won't pick up sound and the voice will be cut into pieces, sounding
broken. It's not a really reliable tool, but it's the only thing small and
unnoticeable enough to be used in this situation. The device won't literally
alter your voice, but because its inside, rather than your vocal cords, it
makes a voice that says the same thing you do. Basically it plays over your
original voice. So in the other words, what you say can still be heard if you
don't keep your voice down. The machine will only create a feminine voice to
speak over yours, so I recommend that you keep your voice quiet."
Slade showed the parts of the small tool. He also showed him how to place it
properly, also pointing out a small knob on the left corner that changed the
tune and high or low of the voice. Robin was pocketing the small black tool too
and was walking away as he was once again called back by Slade.
"Dress yourself pretty." Slade handed over the golden ticket he had printed
that morning. The ticket was the invitation to the gala. It stated the location
and all the other information that Robin still needed. He then nodded in silent
thanks. "Make sure you are at the gala by noon. By then you should have come up
with a proper name to call yourself or you shall be called Ballerina for the
rest of the day. And one more thing." Robin glanced at him, feeling slightly
peeved. "Have fun milady."
Slade laughed before he guided Robin to a room that only had female clothes and
dresses in it. Robin had a faint feeling that these were meant for Terra to be
used as a disguise. Slade left him to stand by the door as he waved him off,
before slamming it closed behind him to give him privacy as he changed,
laughing all the while.
***** Chapter 21 *****
Disclaimer: See previous chapters
SladinForever: Next chapter will be censored, just a heads up! The full chapter
on another site will be linked to you at the very top, so that you can go
straight to it from there :) And sorry for slacking again! These chapters are
just so LONG, OTL. But with some of Kaz's help, I was FINALLY able to get it
done! I will definitely try my damn hardest to finish the next chapter asap!
Again, very sorry *hug*
Kazhiru: SCHOOL IS KILLING ME! Engineering is so asdfgh... Oh, and on a lighter
note, the angry commenter before is still totally on the same boat with us, and
obviously still reading : D
Finding a dress that would suit him was a challenge he had yet to accomplish.
And Robin would never admit to finding a dress for himself. He was a man; he
didn't dress up all pretty. It was just wrong; a man shouldn't be beautiful. He
should be handsome!
Robin had to frown at seeing himself in the mirror for about the hundredth time
with yet another dress that didn't suit or fit him. He had too wide of
shoulders to wear most of the dresses and he had none of the hips to compliment
his features. Not to mention he lacked the one important piece of female
anatomy: breasts. The dresses seemed like a bag he had thrown on himself. They
were much too loose from the chest or hips, but the shoulders seemed too tight.
He had too strong of arms to fit the sleeves comfortably. If he lifted his
arms, he was sure one of the tighter silk ones would rip the seam. He would
either have to have a dress with comfortable, loose sleeves or no sleeves at
all. And that wasn't even the worst of it. Even if he didn't have overly hairy
legs, he was still proud to call himself a man and admit that he had to shave
if he intended to wear anything that didn't drag. And his legs weren't smooth.
They were muscled and strong, not the smooth and soft legs of a female. He had
to admit, he wasn't feminine.
Robin was wearing thin on patience as he was now openly pouting at his
reflection. He just couldn't pull it off. He didn't have those small and petite
hands females did. His hands were too big to fit in small sized gloves, his
hair was too short to compliment any dress without looking radical and
tomboyish, and his face was too angular. Well, his chin was almost plausible
thanks to his heart-shaped face but… NO! He did not just humiliate himself by
telling himself he was girly. He wasn't girly in any sense of the word!
Robin tore off yet another dress. Anything that was higher than his knees was
out of the question. He had square knees. They didn't look good in a dress. His
feet were rather big too, so he would look idiotic in any kind of revealing
shoes, like women's sandals. And he definitely couldn't fit his legs into
stiletto heels! Not only were they pressing sharply against his toes, but the
zipper could barely go all the way up because of his muscled shin. The one pair
he actually did get on, he refused to use. How in the hell women walked in
those things was beyond his comprehension. Stilettos were not for him in the
first place.
Robin tore off, once again, another dress, grunting in annoyance. This was a
doomed idea anyway! There simply wasn't a dress for someone like him. He looked
awkward in a mere Armani suit even. Robin sighed and scratched his head,
ruffling his already messy and static hair even further. He hadn't even gotten
to the point of worrying about how to hide his eyes and he was already facing
major difficulties. Robin ought to have quit the whole thing and he should have
just gotten himself out of the room and demand to fit on some suits. He was a
man and he demanded to be treated as such.
Slade on the other hand had been final with his words. He had locked the door
behind him and Robin knew that he wouldn't let him out if he wasn't dressed.
Robin kicked a nearby stiletto in frustration as he cursed Slade. He knew that
this was some kind of punishment by him or God himself. For what, he didn't
know. Maybe it was for fighting with him earlier and hiding his feelings. Right
now, he would take back his stupid banter of the morning and admit that he
liked to dress as a man. Even if it meant that he'd have to say that he
preferred men. Which he did not. He had never thought of any man as anything
more than a friend. Never. Either he wasn't gay or Slade was the only who made
him all confused like he was now. Just then, Robin heard a clatter as a hanger
fell from the rail it was on, breaking his train of thought. The distraction
came right on time, because if he was left to think another second, he would be
even more confused than he was before.
Robin rose up to examine the fallen hanger. It seemed that the stiletto he had
kicked had hit the dress that was hanging from said hanger and thus caused it
to fall from its place. He lifted the dress to examine it. It was red, just
like his hero uniform's chest, which pleased Robin immensely. It also had some
yellow with gold linings and only one suspender. It had frills on it. Below
that was a flower made by the same garment as the linings. It was a nice
looking dress, he had to admit.
Oh the hell with it! He might as well just try it on. That's what he was there
in the first place for, right?
The dress had a zipper on the left side, so it was easy to put on. The frills
on the right tickled only slightly but they were so soft that he enjoyed the
feeling of them brushing against his shoulder. Once Robin zipped up and evened
out the dress on him, he looked in the mirror.
It wasn't too bad for a dress. It didn't sit, but he knew none ever would
anyway. It was slightly on the loose side in the waist and breast area, but it
was okay. The golden flower on his right chest looked intimidating and the red
and yellow colors reminded him of his original uniform. The dress hem reached
past his knees, which was good since it hid his manly knees from view. There
was a long slit on the side that revealed half of his thigh, which made the
dress look tempting and graceful. It made it easier for Robin to move around
since his legs could move freely. If the situation aroused, he might even be
able to run in it! Finally, a dress that didn't make him look absolutely
ridiculous while wearing it. If he could find something to stuff in his hips
and chests to pass off as breasts, it would be near perfect.
Robin's smile suddenly faltered. He saw his Adam's apple moving up and down as
he swallowed and his arms were still slightly too muscular to fit with the
dress. And he still had to shave. Robin frowned and started to search for
something to wear to hide his arms. He rummaged through the piles of clothes
and found ones he had missed. At the end of one, there was something that
caught his attention. Robin hadn't noticed it before he had actually thrown it
against the wall on accident as he searched. The thing made a small clicking
sound as something solid hit the wall, and Robin went to find the cloth once
again. The cloth had fallen on a green silk scarf and Robin picked up both. At
closer examination Robin noticed that it wasn't a cloth at all, but a choker.
The choker was green with a lucid rhinestone diamond hanging from it. It was
the shape of a tear drop. It seemed like it was a tear yet to fall. Robin
examined the thing before he walked in front of the full body mirror and, out
of curiosity, tried it on.
The choker was thick enough to hide his Adam's apple from view and as he slid
the silky green scarf on, he had to smile. The scarf was transparent enough to
show the dress and his arms, but it smoothed them out, making them appear less
muscled. Robin was glad. He had found a perfect dress and the colors made him
happy. It was like a more formal, female version of his uniform. Robin went on
to hunt for shoes. After skipping every pair of stilettos, which he absolutely
refused to use, he found a pair of platform shoes. The mahogany sole was rich
and it clattered when he walked. The shoe itself was red just like his dress.
Robin was pleased with his finding. He was returning to the full body mirror
when he saw something from the side of his vision. It was black and the garment
looked like it was part of some wetsuit. He had no idea what it was. It looked
like some very stupid pair of boxers and the material was so thick that it
looked like it would add a few pounds. But then it dawned on Robin. Maybe it
didn't make one fatter, but it was more for someone who had hips. He just hoped
that his skin could breath through the cloth and it wasn't too sweaty.
Robin took the thing with him and looked at himself from a smaller mirror on
the make-up table. On the table, to his surprise, he found some balloons and a
red mask with gold linings that covered the upper half of his face without
looking too offensive.
"Jackpot."
Robin laughed as he moved to the bathroom to shave his legs. He'd have to take
the dress off if he'd want to wear those things to make him have some hips.
Once he had shaved and put everything back on, he looked at the mirror. It was
time to dry and fill the balloons with water. He had seen Beast Boy use water
balloons as breasts before as he had taunted the girls. In Robin's opinion,
those things had seemed rather realistic. He had taken a random pair of bras
with him and was now weighing his options. He didn't want to make his chest
excessively huge and he knew that his dress wasn't meant for D cups either.
Robin tried to have some decent A, nearly B cups pair, and noticed that it was
harder to get equal amount of water in both balloons than it looked. But after
some trial and error, he finally got it right and he had to admit that he
looked good. Now he only had to mind his movements and be sure to not to kneel
or bow too deeply to accidentally flash anything. He didn't want anyone to
discover his secret.
[http://ic.pics.livejournal.com/lollingdreamer/14362454/16221/
16221_original.jpg]
Robin was about to step out from the bathroom, but on the last thought he
decided to add some lipstick and rouge. Not too much, but only slightly to make
a difference. He refused to wear a wig so he just made sure that his hair was
okay. He had combed it backwards against his head and wore a hair band. The
hair on his forehead formed a small, round, wave-like addition to the hairdo
and from the sides of his face, he let a couple of bangs fall along his face to
frame it. He looked cute, yet intimidating. Slade would be proud. Robin
suddenly blushed as he thought of him. He hadn't even noticed it, but he knew
now why he wanted to look good: he wanted to impress Slade. He didn't know why,
but he did. It wasn't like he was even coming with him, so why bother?
Robin settled the silk scarf on his shoulders more securely and grabbed a small
purse with the invitation tucked in as he excited the room. He was about to
knock on the door to let Slade know that he was ready, but froze just at the
last second to grab a pair of long, red gloves to hide his manly hands. He
didn't have well pedicured fingers either. He didn't want anyone to mock him
for his calloused hands and hard knuckles. Robin pulled the gloves on before
knocking on the door. It was open for him almost immediately after.
"Well, you sure took your time. You―" Slade cut himself off when he saw Robin
exit the room. He examined him thoroughly, admitting to himself that Robin
indeed looked good. Even with the color choices he was stunning. Slade had to
quickly recompose himself before Robin noticed his slip. "―Look good. Have you
thought of a name?" he inquired.
The door closed behind Robin as he froze for a moment. He had almost forgotten
about that. "Um, will Christine do?" he mumbled, throwing a name at random.
Christine wasn't half bad. He had no idea where it came from, but it had a nice
ring to it.
"Christine it is then. I'll take you to the gala."
Slade took hold of Robin's hand and led him through the hallways. Robin
couldn't help but blush over the fact he was leading him like they were a real
couple going to the dance floor. To get his mind off this, he absentmindedly
toyed with the mouthpiece that was to alter his voice. He fondled it in his
fingers for a while before lifting it to his lips and slipping it into his
mouth. He pressed it against his palate and was almost surprised to notice that
it actually stayed in place.
"So how do you adjust this thing?" Robin asked, almost shocked at his own
voice.
It sounded really odd and different. It flickered from deep to high and broke
off here and there. Robin shut his mouth in fear of making the same sound
again.
"There's a wheel on the side. Roll it with your tongue," Slade advised in
slight amusement. Robin, of course, started searching for the wheel, only to
get scolded right after. "Try not to make that face in the near future,
especially if you don't wish to be found out at the party."
Robin tried to even out his grimace as he adjusted the wheel. "I can always say
that I got some food stuck between my teeth," he said without thinking.
Robin's voice cracked and was suddenly such a deep baritone that he had to
cover his mouth and hide his face for the absolute mortify he felt. Slade only
laughed at this, probably highly amused by Robin's antics.
"That wouldn't be a womanly thing to say, Robin."
The boy tried to adjust the dial once again, only to end up with a way too high
pitched voice that was more shrill than what a real women could achieve. Slade
tried to help him by giving which direction to turn it, but Robin was
embarrassed enough as it was and ended up turning the dial too much one way or
the other. Finally getting sick of his incompetence, Slade reached for him.
"Here, let me. Now say aah."
Robin was about to shake his head and deny his help, but before he could
protest, Slade had a firm hold of his jaw and his forefinger was already in his
mouth, reaching for the dial. Robin made a surprised noise that slightly
resembled the "aah" sound Slade had requested. He didn't know if he should bite
the finger or not, but as he noticed his voice actually changing, he relaxed
and let Slade adjust the thing. His voice went from shrill to something
slightly deeper and, soon, started to sound more feminine. With a final turn,
it finally resembled a kind woman with a delicate voice. It was almost
astounding as his own voice sounded so different and foreign to his own ears.
Robin couldn't wait for him to be done with the adjustment. Having Slade's
finger in a place where it definitely wasn't welcome was more awkward than it
was disturbing. Once he finally announced that he was done, Robin was more than
eager to close his mouth, even if he did so too early, which accidentally
allowed Slade's finger to brush against his lips as he retracted it. Robin had
to rub his lips automatically afterward.
"Is it any good?" Robin finally asked, hoping his face didn't rival the
tomatoes that were set at the breakfast table this morning.
"Pristine. Now, try getting used to using it. Try some high and low voices and
see how it works," Slade recommended with an encouraging tune in his voice.
Robin gave a questioning glance at the man, but tried it out anyways. "I don't
know what to say." Robin's voice was perfectly in sync with a woman's gentle
tone and hearing his voice alone made him excited. "Oh wow, this actually
works!"
At the "works" part, his voice cracked, reverting it to his regular voice for a
moment before it adjusted back to the girly warble. That's how Robin found his
limit. The machine would talk over his voice as long as he kept it at an indoor
voice. He then tried to sound excited, scared, overjoyed, and even slightly
rushed to see if he could get enough emotion behind his words without cracking
the voice.
"Good job Robin. You better train more while we drive there, then you'll get to
try it out in action." Slade was proud that Robin had mastered the thing as
fast as he had and was glad that he was eager to learn how to use it.
"Remember, when adjusting the wheel, only use slight movements. It's a rather
delicate project after all."
Robin nodded. He was getting over his previous embarrassment thanks to the
excitement he now felt. He was more than eager to test out the small project.
The next thing he knew, he was trying to master as sultry and seductive of a
voice that he could muster, just to see if he could get Slade to retract. When
it was laced with a slightly husky, but absolutely tempting voice of a female,
Robin was glad to find out that Slade had indeed been taken aback. Even if it
was for the shortest of time, Robin saw the small twitch in his walk and how
his brow arched, which pleased him. He couldn't hold back the alluring smile on
his face as he walked to the car, leaving Slade to walk behind and stare after
him.
Soon, they were outside Slade's base, ready to step into a rather fine looking
car—probably rented out just for this one night. Robin had waited for Slade to
catch up. Once there, he opened the back door of the limousine. Robin didn't
comment on his help, even though he was eligible to help himself. He hoped that
Slade was just as considerate to not laugh at his stumbling with the platform
shoes. First of all, he had tried to get to the car the old fashioned way, by
leg first. Everything else followed while he took a leap in, until he noticed
his error thanks to the ten-centimeter high sole of the platform shoe. Giving
himself some more height, he decided on a more feminine kind of way to approach
the situation: lay his ass on the seat, then bring his feet in while minding
the hem. Yet, Robin forgot to lift his leg high enough and accidentally banged
his heel on the side of the car. But hey, this was the first time he wore
heels. He deserved some credit.
"I'm not fit for this female role, am I?"
Robin wasn't asking it as much as he was admitting it to himself and Slade. The
man had to agree, but a reassuring pat on his shoulder was all the comfort he
needed. "You'll get the hang of it. Just try to empathize."
Robin felt reassured, but he knew that he was too clumsy for the such a petite
person he had dressed up to be. No, he didn't really stumble with his feet and
he had somewhat mastered the use of a higher heel already, but he kept
forgetting that he was a delicate woman in a beautiful dress. He couldn't just
get rid of his previous habits that quickly or easily. He wasn't used to acting
in a female's point of view, but if he wanted this to go well tonight, he had
better master it pretty soon or he'd be doomed.
Robin had gotten rather silent for the ride. Mostly because he was trying to
clear out his brain and concentrate on the female role. Once he stepped out of
the car, he would have to act like a graceful woman. And on top of that, he had
to act natural and manage to steal the pass card. So the heels he wore were the
least of his problems.
And with those thoughts, it didn't take long until the car already drove close
to the entrance of the gala. The robot that had driven them there wished Robin
a good evening with a static voice, but it was Slade's words that finally got
his attention.
"Enjoy the party and don't drink too much, m'lady," Slade sneered, friendly
shoving Robin on his arm to get him to move.
Robin slapped Slade's hand off and playfully added, "Don't worry, I'll be too
young to drink anyway. See you in a bit."
Robin didn't plan on staying at the gala any longer than he absolutely had to.
Outside of the car, he could see people walking into the huge white marble
building, all wearing beautiful and fancy dresses and suits. He could hear
people talking all around him, as well as the clatter of high heels against the
pavement as women walked on the pavement with their lean and long legs. Next to
those beautiful women were men strutting alongside, looking handsome with their
hair slicked back and the shining cufflinks holding their collars and ties to
match their companion's dress. And just then, Robin realized what he had gotten
himself into. He was lucky that he knew well the proper etiquette when
attending a formal party. Now if he could only manage to act like a proper snob
lady, he'd be all set. Robin leaned out his now smooth and shaved leg and rose
to stand with class. From now on, he couldn't afford mistakes. If he could at
least make himself believe that he was a rich, confident and stylish lady, he'd
be all set. Luckily, he knew that he was. He hoped that he could believe on
those thoughts, if only for the next hours or so. Robin paid his last good-byes
to Slade before closing the door silently. He then fixed the hem of his dress
nervously before walking all the way into the building, reminding himself to
step with his heel and not with his whole sole.
The building was more impressive from the inside than it was by the outside,
even if Robin had taken a liking to the marble pillars outside. Inside, there
were high alcoves and tall red curtains and long carpets. People were all
around, some sitting by the fire on really comfortable looking chairs while
others just enjoyed the company by trading topics near the huge table filled
with food, snacks, and drinks. Some people were even taking a stroll on the
dance floor, the music playing loud enough to be heard around the house, but
not enough to drown out people's conversing. Robin was sure that even if this
was a gala, there had to be a high entry fee to be able to attend this. With a
house this big with so many people to attend to, there had to be more than just
fundraiser money involved. And even if the mood was actually rather enjoyable,
the sheer amount of people who had come to attend was impressive. On the black
and white marble floor, there were more than enough people doing their own
thing. It seemed almost impossible for Robin to find the one person he was
looking for: Russell Stevens.
Robin zigzagged in the crowd, trying to avoid bumping into too many people,
while minding his dress and posture. Even if Russell wasn't a man to draw
attention to himself, the man wasn't hard to find. He was a man that was
attracted by attention after all. He was sitting on one of those huge red
armchairs by the fire, enjoying a chat with his colleagues and their wives. It
was clear in the man's gaze that he had not brought his own companion along.
His eyes were practically undressing his friends' girlfriends with his gaze and
the looks that were passed dared them to come along into the game. But the
girls were too shy and modest to answer his needs, not with their boyfriends or
husbands right there with them. It was a wonder none of said colleagues had
taken the hint yet. But the fact was that there he was, with people, Robin
didn't have the guts to just waltz in and intrude. He didn't know what to say
to the man even if he dared to step into the conversation. But, if he was
lucky, he might get his attention without putting himself on the line.
With that, Robin went to stand and lean against the nearby wall that was right
at the end of Russell's gaze. If the man could read him right, he would be over
here, asking about him in no time. Girls did this all the time. Something about
subtle hints and all that. But Robin was no girl. So he didn't know if it would
actually work or not. In the end, he ended up in his thoughts, thinking about
another idea. Maybe a more direct approach? Would getting on the dance floor
next to him work? That was easier said than done. Robin wasn't that good with
slow dances. And this wasn't a disco, this was a formal ball. He had danced
formal before, sure. He knew the steps, for men that is, and even then he was
slightly stiff. Maybe he just hadn't gotten to relax with his previous dance
partners and was too nervous to actually enjoy the dance. He already had one
not so pleasant dance partner in his mind and anyone could take a wild guess on
who that was. Wait, this was a formal prom. The teen princess Kitten wouldn't
be here, would she? No, even she wouldn't recognize him in this dress. Now
Robin, focus. He lifted his eyes from his platform shoes to look at Russell. Or
at least the armchair the man had vacated just a while ago. Don't tell him that
he had just lost him!
"Why so glum, princess?" a man, who was suddenly standing right next to him and
offering Robin a drink, asked. Robin turned to face the man only to recognize
the familiar face. It was none other than Russell who had retrieved, what Robin
hoped, was a glass of punch. Robin took the glass and paid a hurried glance at
the bottom of it to make sure it wasn't spiked. Not that he could have seen if
it was tampered with, anyway. Usually people couldn't see, smell, or taste if a
drink was spiked, but he promised himself that if he would come to feel faint
at any point, he'd call Slade immediately.
"I…It's nothing." Robin smiled at Russell, even if it was just a small tug at
the corner of his lip. "Mister," he added quickly.
Robin wanted to appear polite and, even if he knew exactly who he was dealing
with, Christine did not.
"Pardon my rudeness, I'm Russell. Russell Stevens."
The man offered his hand for Robin to shake and he accepted it immediately. He
reminded himself to hold his fingers loosely together and not squeeze very
hard, or at all. He didn't want to hear any jokes about his good grip.
"Christine. Pleasure to meet you," Robin cooed and he was glad that his voice
was altered. He couldn't imagine himself blabbering like he just did.
"No, the pleasure is all mine. But tell me, what is such a pretty thing like
yourself doing here, and not to mention, alone?" Russell wrapped his hand
around Robin's shoulder while he flirted and sweet coated his words
shamelessly. Even if he had to cringe when the man leaned too close to his
liking and acted like he had just found his future soul mate, Robin couldn't
say that he minded. After all, this was what he had wanted, to get the man's
attention, and now he had it. Slightly too much so, but he had it all the same.
Russell then turned Robin to face the dance floor and pointed at the people
dancing. "Shouldn't you be over there, having fun and showing off that sweet
body of yours?"
As Robin thought Russell's words couldn't get more cloying, he found a whole
new ultimatum. Apparently, Robin had to stifle both a "yuck" and a fit of
laughter, because he himself knew exactly what was behind the dress he wore,
and it was far from the "sweet body" Russell had mentioned.
"I couldn't possibly!" Robin slapped his hand on the air as if brushing off the
topic. Thank god the project altered his voice automatically, because he knew
that he couldn't master such a sweet tune. "I'm too shy to go out there alone."
Robin hoped he looked at least slightly more sincere than he felt. He took a
fake sip of his drink to pretend a blush. He seemed to sound good enough for
Russell as he slowly dragged his fingers against his bare arm, which caused him
to shiver from head-to-toe and almost swallow the voice altering device. He was
glad that he hadn't because Russell had already continued his pursuit.
"Why did you come here then, honey? You don't dance and you seem too shy to
socialize. You are like a sheep in the middle of a pack of wolves. You could
use someone to show you around."
Robin could have painted wolf in bold letters on Russell's forehead because of
how he was hitting on him, but he had to play along. "I like the mood. I also
love to meet new people."
Robin smiled shyly. He knew that Russell was already onto him and he didn't
want the man to hump his leg too. If this is what girls had to deal with every
moment they step outside their front door, he was glad to be born male.
"Oh, anyone in particular?" Russell cooed.
Robin flinched as he felt the man's hand that had just been petting his arm now
sliding against his side to his waist. He had to swallow down the lump in his
throat. "Just one."
He had made that sound more like a question than it was an answer. He forced
his eyes to stare at Russell's own. He was so glad that he had a mask on his
face, so he wouldn't see the more than worried look he now adorned. Russell
seemed to make his own opinion of his look and the smile he wore was one to
make sure that everyone knew that once this night was over, this particular
woman would be spending the rest of the evening in his bed. Robin didn't plan
on letting that happen. Ever.
"Care to take a spin on the dance floor, sugar?"
It wasn't that much of a question anymore since Russell was already leading
Robin away from the spot they had been standing. Which was probably a good
thing because Robin didn't trust his voice right now. He feared of snapping at
him.
Russell led Robin by his arm to the dance floor, but they made a quick loop by
the huge dinner table so they could find someplace to place their glasses.
Russell had been occupying Robin the whole time, talking about himself, his
job, his reputation, and his wealth, to which Robin hadn't paid much mind. To
be honest, he didn't care that much. Everything the man had said, he had read
from his files already. Once he was setting away his glass of nearly untouched
drink, he froze, eyes glazed straight ahead of him.
"But it wasn't until a couple of years ago when my company finally got the kick
that made it what it is today… Are you listening?" Russell asked as Robin had
not nodded back to him in a while.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine," Robin mumbled.
Russell followed his gaze to see what had caught his "sweet heart's" attention.
"Ah, you are looking at the Teen Titans. We know each other rather well."
'We do?' Robin had to ask himself. He couldn't imagine dealing much with the
man in the past and he was on the Teen Titans himself. Not that the man knew
that. So instead, he asked, "You do?"
Russell only laughed wholeheartedly and took Robin's arm again. "Of course I
do. Would you fancy to meet them? Of course you do! Come, I'll introduce you,"
Russell instantly insisted, nearly dragging Robin by his arm to his friends.
Right then, Robin felt as if he should fight for his life. Anything to stay as
far from the other Titans as he could. He couldn't trust himself around them.
He had missed them so bad for the last few days, he was sure that he couldn't
keep his cool. He was afraid that he would blow his cover immediately. He
wanted to run to them, talk to them, tell them to not worry about him, yet, he
was too scared to even fight back Russell's grip as he dragged him closer to
his impending doom. Robin hoped that he didn't seem too hesitant since Russell
had seen it clear that he had wanted to meet them, but now it took all his will
power to keep on walking. It seemed that his legs had just frozen in place when
he saw Starfire among his friends. She looked tired, worried, and one could
even say depressed. Robin hated to be the cause of her distress. Fortunately,
Beast Boy was already cheering her up and offering her some grapes. They all
seemed to be there, even Cyborg and Raven, and everyone had dressed up
formally. Robin only had to wonder what got them to arrive at this occasion?
"Good evening, Titans," Russell welcomed himself into their conversation,
pulling Robin along. Robin couldn't even put to words how nervous he felt at
the moment. Slade was probably watching this whole ordeal from his monitors
with a grave look. Russell, as obvious as he could be, ignored the Titans' wary
greetings and continued. "I wish to introduce you to Christine."
Russell put his hand on Robin's waist, squeezing his side to emphasize the
point. Robin felt really embarrassed. If only his friends knew who he was, all
hell would be let loose.
"Hi. Nice to meet you."
Robin was so nervous that his voice-altering project would fail him now that it
mattered the most, but it never did.
"Nice to meet you too," Cyborg answered.
From his quick greeting back, Robin noted that he had filled his place as
leader for the time being.
"Hey, aren't there five of you? Where's the last one?"
Russell was pointing at each of the Titans, leaving the question hanging in the
air. The last of Starfire's happiness seemed to have been sapped from her at
that moment. Robin had to wonder if she could even fly in her current
condition. He hated himself for causing so much grief in his friends. They were
so badly dependent on him. This made Robin wonder: would it always be like this
if he left them for good?
"Robin is absent and taking care of personal matters at the moment," Raven
cleared up.
Raven sounded almost offended, but after all, this was Raven they were talking
about, so she just sounded strict and emotionless. Her words didn't ease
Starfire at all though. Robin, on the other hand, was slightly relieved. If
Raven said that he was taking care of business, rather than admitting that he
was missing, that meant that Slade had given them his letter. A small victory,
but a victory nonetheless.
"I'm sure he is alright. I bet he misses you as much as you do them," Robin
said earnestly, without thinking his words, with his metaphorical hand on his
heart.
All of the Titans stared at him for a long while before Beast Boy cut in. "I
bet you are right. He said he would be back soon."
Robin saw the gleam of faith in his eyes. He knew that the kid had placed his
trust on his return. Robin had to smile encouragingly at him.
"Why is it that you have come to talk with us?" Starfire asked, finally feeling
comfortable enough to let herself into the conversation, which delighted Robin
immensely. He still liked her after all, and he couldn't endure to look at her
when she was so sad over him.
"I wanted to meet you all. I have seen you do all these wonderful things for
the city and I ought to thank you for that."
Robin felt so uncomfortable speaking from someone else's point of view for a
change. It was harder and harder to hold back his true feelings and opinions
when they got the conversation going. It seemed that the Titans liked Christine
as much as they liked Robin. The feeling of being accepted by his friends was
overwhelming.
The conversation was soon picking up with them all and even Russell seemed to
get himself in a rather nice conversation with Cyborg over some mechanics. The
man even offered to get him some parts, so long as Cyborg paid him a call. Not
that Robin had been paying any attention to him, he merely made sure that the
man didn't escape on him. Robin was busy with Starfire.
"Girl's gotta stick together. He'll come back in one piece and all of your
worry would have been for nothing," Robin tried to reassure her. "It's okay to
worry, but you shouldn't let it take over you."
At some point, Robin was sure that he saw her smile and laugh along with the
others. He was having such a good time that he barely even remembered his
original mission. It was just so easy to let his guard down around his friends.
He was overjoyed to reunite with them, sure, but he also felt guilty for
causing this. Guilt was starting to creep higher and higher on his list of
concerns. It felt like maggots were gnawing at his skin and he was worried that
his friends might someday hate him for all he had done. But soon, the mission
came back, haunting Robin, reminding itself to him, and he was making his way
to have a word with Russell when he felt a tug at his arm. Looking over, he saw
that it was Beast Boy.
"Erm, hi, Christine," he mumbled, his ears twitching slightly.
Robin realized he was slightly distressed. "Hello Beast Boy. What's up?" he
asked, not even remembering to act his part. But thankfully for him, Beast Boy
hadn't seemed to notice.
"You seem like a pretty cool person, you know, and I was wondering… Would you
like to dance with me?"
Beast Boy had blabbered the whole last sentence out in one fast breath, making
Robin blush. Dance with Beast Boy?
"Me?"
Robin was kind of surprised that he wanted to dance with him, but at that
moment he remembered that he was, after all, dressed up as a girl. Beast Boy
had no idea that he was just asking his best friend to dance with him. Oh no,
he couldn't possibly have a crush on him when they just met!
"Well, it's a good song and I kinda like it and I would like to ask you and…"
Beast Boy rambled.
Robin had to hold back a laugh. Good song? In any other situation, he would be
nagging about how boring the song was and question why they couldn't play
something more…modern on the speakers. But Robin had to stop the boy from
embarrassing himself even further.
"Sure," Robin replied, to Beast Boy's delight, for his eyes seemed to lighten
up.
"Really?"
Robin couldn't resist smiling, even though he knew he would look like a
complete idiot with that face. At the moment, he had to admit that Beast Boy
seemed too cute and naive for his own good.
"Yes, really. You asked, didn't you?"
He couldn't help but tease, but it went unnoticed.
"That I did. Come on, I call the bids to the next song!" Beast Boy declared,
and took Robin by his wrist to pull him on the dance floor.
Robin tried not to stumble with his shoes as Beast Boy obviously was eager to
get to the dancing part. He couldn't help but laugh. Once they both were on the
floor Robin was surprised that Beast Boy even knew how to dance. He had taken
hold of Robin's waist and the fingers of his left hand were entwined with his.
If it wasn't for the gloves he wore, he would feel the smooth skin against his
palms. Robin was, in one way, glad that the song was a slow one, so he didn't
have to put up with Beast Boy's usually annoying and immature self, but the
closeness he had to endure now was almost unnerving. He could feel his breath
on his neck and was able to smell him since his head was on his shoulder. Beast
Boy danced so close that he was almost pressed against his chest, and the
height difference made it slightly funny. Robin had to always remind himself
that he had to let Beast Boy lead.
With how slow the dance was, Robin felt like it seemed to last for hours. He
could feel Beast Boy's arm on his waist and his fingers traced small circles on
his skin. He almost wanted to push him slightly further away, but he didn't
dare. This moment had to be the longest and most awkward four minutes of his
life. But as the song ended, Cyborg was clapping his hands at them and Beast
Boy turned as red as a fire truck. It took no time for Robin's not-so-charming
knight without a white horse to swoop over him and continue where Beast Boy had
left off.
"May I have this dance?" Russell had the decency to ask, but Robin knew that he
wouldn't accept 'no' for an answer.
"Of course, Russell," Robin tried to purr at his ear.
This was for the mission, Robin reminded himself, as he grudgingly placed both
his hands on Russell's shoulders. He rested his chin against his collarbone
while Russell had his hands on his hips. Robin would pay anything to push them
away as he massaged his skin through the red dress. This evening had so much
wrong in it that it wasn't even funny anymore. He had been reduced to a mere
fool and one might even say a whore for two hours of his miserable life, and it
wasn't even with his consent. Now, he just needed to grab the pass card and get
the hell away. What time was it anyways? Robin took a look at the clock and
almost felt his heart at his throat. He already spent nearly two hours on this.
He had spent an hour and a half joking around and had only half an hour left.
Robin almost dug his hands into Russell's shoulder in his panic, but it just
caused him to moan in his ear. Robin suddenly recoiled. He was enjoying this?
Robin shuddered. This was turning vile. He didn't want to be in any contact
with the man and, right now, he was practically forced to be pushed against
him. He could even feel his groin against his thigh. He hoped to god that he
wouldn't come any closer. One, because he had man bits down there that he
didn't want Russell to know about, but mostly, he just wanted him as far away
from him as physically possible, preferably out of his life as well.
Robin felt Russell's deep breaths on his neck. His fingers got bolder, going
lower, pressing harder, and massaging wider areas. Robin hated it. He had to
gulp down the disgust in his throat as he slid his hands against his chest,
causing his breath to falter. Russell moaned when Robin slid his fingers under
his black dress jacket. The man traced his lips against his neck, which Robin
hated with every fiber of his being. All he wanted to do was scratch his face,
but since he wore gloves, he would have to resolve with his purse making sweet
contact with Russell's face. Not that he dared to do that. He needed the pass
card, not more attention.
Robin searched Russell's inner pockets for the card, making him moan and nibble
on Robin's neck. The bastard thought he was feeling him up! Good thing, because
it distracted him from what Robin was really doing, but dear Christ, he hated
how close the man got. He was too close for comfort, invading Robin's comfort
zone completely. He eased his fingers into Russell's inner chest pocket and
grabbed the pass card in his hand. He then slid his hand against his chest and
down his side before sliding the card to his purse. And Russell didn't suspect
a thing! Thank god. Then the dance ended and Robin was glad to push him off.
"You're a good dancer," Russell commented in a purr.
Robin felt like gagging. He didn't have time to think though as Russel got
closer to him, his hands feeling the sides of Robin's mask before taking a grip
on it. He didn't have time to pull it off as Robin already had his firm grip on
his wrist. He wouldn't let him take his mask off.
"You shouldn't," Robin mumbled, pulling his hand off his face.
"Or maybe I should?" Russell intimidated, but Robin took none of that. What
kind of mixed signals was Russell getting? No meant no!
"Not on the first date. Oh, look at the time! I should be leaving," Robin
commented, taking a step back to get Russell off his neck.
"On the second date then? Can I have your number?"
Russell was sticking to him like glue, but luckily Robin had thought a resolve
for this. "I would be offended if you wouldn't want one," he cooed.
Smirking, Russell was digging in his pockets for pen and paper. In this state,
he didn't even notice the missing card. Robin smiled as he took the offered
items. He couldn't even hide his evil smirk as he wrote on the paper.
'Enjoy her company, you sick piece of grime,' Robin thought to himself as he
wrote Kitty's cell number on the paper. 'Consider this payback.'
Don't even ask why he knew Kitty's number, he just had a bad habit of
memorizing all he could about his potential opponents, so he knew how to take
them down when the time came. And this was one of those times. Robin still wore
the devil's smile as he handed the paper back. He then took a more than
alluring retreat, indicating with his fingers a "call me" gesture before he
walked off. He wouldn't, repeat, wouldn't, do this again. Ever. Robin was
almost running to the exit when he was stopped by someone's words.
"Christine, freeze." Robin somehow couldn't move. Maybe it was the snide tone
in Raven's voice, or something else completely. Robin carefully turned around.
Not many feet away stood Raven. She hovered to stand only a couple of feet from
him. "I saw what you did," she said, her unemotional and cold voice digging
under Robin's skin, making him shiver in nervousness.
He couldn't afford this tirade. The Titans could decide to fight him any minute
now and that might cause him to reveal his identity, or worse, hurt them.
Neither was an outcome that he anticipated.
"What are you talking about?"
Raven didn't buy Robin's innocent voice and words at all. "Don't act coy. I
know that you stole something and I want you to return it," she demanded. She
didn't move at all and it was intimidating.
"I didn't take anything," Robin tried once more, taking a step backwards. He
would flee, but he wouldn't fight. He didn't have any equipment to fight with
except his fists and he wouldn't hurt his friends.
"I will tell you one last time: return what you stole or face the
consequences," Raven threatened.
Right then, Robin ran. Raven wasn't letting the subject go and he knew it. The
only option was to flee, as cowardly as it seemed. Robin heard Raven call for
the other Titans and Beast Boy was on his heels in no time. At the moment, he
was the fastest of the group and the shoes Robin wore were seriously hindering.
He almost made it to the fire exit door, but was pulled back as Beast Boy took
a grab of the dress hem. Robin, of course, had been running during this chase
and now that he had been rudely halted, the dress was almost pulled off of him.
Thankfully, the suspender kept it somewhat in place, so only one of the water
balloons he had used as a fake breast fell out.
Beast Boy stared at the thing like it was an unknown projectile from Mars
before he turned his confused face to Robin. He even looked a little shocked.
"Who are you and who did I dance with?"
Robin tried to pull the hem from Beast Boy's grasp, but his grip held tight.
"Fine, if you want them so badly, have them!" Robin yelled with his girly
voice, which cracked only once.
Robin gravely hoped that the Titans couldn't recognize the small crack in his
voice with his true persona. He didn't have time for that though. He shoved his
hand down the collar of his dress and pulled the other water balloon off as
well before throwing it straight at Beast Boy's face. He made a sound of
surprise, which was similar to a yelping dog, as the water smeared Beast Boy
all over. He let go of Robin's dress to wipe the water off his face, giving
Robin the opportunity to make a mad dash to the door. He ran up the stairs to
get to the roof while rummaging through his purse for the hook shot and smoke
bombs.
The Titans weren't far away. Raven and Starfire were right behind him thanks to
their ability to fly. They were almost reaching him when Robin pulled the hook
shot from his purse and shot it at the roof, to pull himself up faster so he
wouldn't need to run up the stairs. He just barely missed Starfire's dive and
Raven threw random objects at him, almost knocking him down, but his hold on
the grapple was sturdy. He was glad that it reeled him up rather fast, faster
than he anticipated. Once he was up there, he ran to reach the edge of the
building.
"You must stop!" Starfire yelled, dashing after him.
But Robin was already in position, right at the edge of the building. The other
Titans were by the door, so Robin did what he had to do. He threw a flash bomb
at them and, without worrying what would happen, turned himself around to wrap
his scarf around the wire that would reel himself down. The bomb went off only
a little after Robin turned his back to the teens. He was glad that he had. The
flash was so powerful that it made the edges of Robin's vision white and he was
sure his friends would be blind for a while.
"I'm sorry!" he yelled before jumping off the building and sliding along the
wire to get to a lower level.
Robin knew that what he did was for the best. He had to stop his friends from
tracking him so he could complete his deal with Slade. He missed them too, but
he needed to get back. What he had done was for the best, but why did it feel
so wrong? Why did he feel like he was betraying his friends? Robin shook his
head and rushed downwards on the wire. At this precise moment, it wasn't
important to get back to Slade. Robin needed to get his priorities in order. He
was really afraid that after this, his friends would hate him and desert him.
But, deep down inside, he knew that they would never do such a thing. And if he
was lucky, they'd never even know. Robin felt so much guilt for them that he
felt it at the bottom of his stomach. With his whole being, he wished that his
friends wouldn't hate him.
Robin soon hit the floor, but couldn't quite control his footing with the
stupid shoes on, so he fell and scraped his knees and arms as he tried to
protect himself. The moment he finally managed to get himself to sit up, he
tore the shoes off. So far, they had only been a hindrance! Robin wrapped the
now ruined scarf around the shoes and made a make-do backpack with said scarf.
He didn't dare leave anything behind as evidence. Robin then took a mad dash to
reach Slade's base. He had only five minutes to reach his destination. He
couldn't possibly make it! But he tried anyways. He ran as fast as he could,
scowling and wrinkling his face every time something dug at the sole of his
feet. He didn't have time to wonder about such a thing. The Titans would be
gaining on him if he stopped for a moment. Not that he could stop anyways,
because he knew that time was essential now.
Robin tried to take not so obvious routes, but he favored all kinds of short
cuts, and by the time he reached Slade's base, he was sure that he had just
broken all his previous records with his speed. He was thankful that the doors
opened automatically for him. Making a mad dash at the room with the storage in
it to return his earpiece and the rest of the junk to call off the timer, Robin
heard the faint taps of the sole of his feet hitting the floor and echoing
against the walls. He rushed into the room and threw all of his tools in their
proper place without thinking. Only then did he stop to breathe. His lungs
burned like never before and everything stung. His head was pounding and he was
panting so hard that he thought that no matter how much air he got, it just
wasn't enough. Robin turned to look at the timer, to see how much time he had
left, and his next breath hitched. He stared at the counter in disbelief. The
line of round zeros blared at him like a last sentence. Robin couldn't do much
more than pant for breath and to try swallowing down the foaming drool.
"You are late, Robin." Slade appeared behind him, looking disappointed. Robin
knew that he was. The man also looked rather mad for some reason and Robin
retreated to lean against the wall. "You know what we promised as
consequences."
Slade leaned over Robin and grabbed him by his arm to pull him up.
"I'm sorry, I tried to get here as fast as I could, but I got the card! The
Titans, they were there, and-!"
Robin was cut off when Slade shushed him while taking the card from his shaking
hand. "No excuses, Robin. Communicating with the Titans was also on the list of
unforgivable actions. Just be glad I'm not punishing you for that too."
Grabbing his arm, Slade dragged Robin out of the room, guiding him down the
hall. Robin tried resisting him the whole way, but he was too tired from his
running and it took most of his concentration to just even out his breathing.
"I'm sorry for this, I really am, but you leave me no choice. Don't take this
as an act of cruelty, because I hate to do this. Just remember that hardships
build character, Robin."
Slade took long steps, making Robin jog to keep up with his pace.
"What are you planning to do?" Robin questioned.
Slade's lack of an answer only made him more nervous. He knew Slade was not a
man known to spare the rod. And then they entered a room. It was odd to Robin,
because honestly he had been expecting something like a torture chamber. He
wouldn't even be half surprised if it was. He could take a hit, that was for
sure, so he was more than surprised to see a small room with nothing inside of
it expect a box that was two feet every which way. It definitely wasn't a huge
box. Robin bet that Slade kept all of his tools in there.
Slade dragged Robin to the middle of the room to stand by the box. He was
almost surprised that he didn't fight back too much. Robin, on the other hand,
was nervous as all hell, but he also wanted to know what was inside the box.
Slade hadn't said anything yet. He could do a number of things: whip him, cut
him, beat him, anything. Whatever he planned to do, the tools were inside the
box. Robin couldn't help the nervousness that crept up to his neck from the
bottom of his churning stomach. It felt like it was filled with butterflies,
all flying around in panic as chaos was released inside his very being. It made
him tense and his hands itch. Slade then pulled Robin against his side,
pressing him so tight that he couldn't even move, not even an inch of his
limbs. Slade then knelt in front of the box and, while still holding him, took
a key from his pocket to open the padlock. Robin didn't dare fight against the
man's hold. The room was filled with the sound of his heavy breathing and the
faint click of the lock that was opened. Slade then removed the lock and opened
the lid of the box. Robin peered inside, prepared to see all kinds of tools,
only to find it empty.
Robin was so confused. He didn't know how to react except gape with his mouth
opening and closing like a fish on dry soil. He had planned on asking what the
heck this was about, but he couldn't address his thoughts in words. All that
came out was some random gibberish like, "Slade, I, what, this, I-" without any
sense really. Slade then stood up to stand, Robin still hard pressed against
his chest. Once he stood to his full height, Robin couldn't reach the floor
with his feet anymore.
"I'm sorry, Robin," Slade murmured into Robin's ear, the words like ice cold
water pouring onto his back. He felt like he had just swallowed a glassful of
ice cubes at once.
"Slade, no! No, no, no, no, no! Don't, please, please!" The last plea wasn't
one of those moaned begs like the words before it, but more like a scream of
absolute horror. Oh god, Slade wasn't going to do what he thought he would.
Slade was lowering Robin inside the box. He was thrashing and kicking as hard
as he could, fighting against his grip, as if his life was on the line. "Slade!
Don't do it, no! I'll do anything! Please, let go! Don't!"
Robin yelled, whined, begged, and cried for all he was worth. He thrashed in
Slade's grip, ready to go on a full rampage if it meant that he wasn't forced
to go inside the box. Oh god, Slade would stuff him in and lock the lid and
he'd leave him down there to die! It would be dark, cramped, the air would be
so thick, and he wouldn't be able to move. The space would become smaller and
smaller, crushing his bones as the walls ground him to mush. Robin could see
himself as his bones snapped and broke as the walls constricted against him.
"Don't do it, I beg of you, please!" Robin managed to get his hands free. He
tried swinging them in the air, to catch whatever he could. He even tried to
grab and scratch at Slade, whatever to get him to let go. But nothing helped.
The man was strong and Robin was already sitting inside the box with his knees
against his chest. Slade forced his hands to stay put while pressing his head
down and sealed the lid. The moment he had let go, Robin started to claw at the
lid, trying to force it open. He could barely lift it one millimeter, letting
only a sliver of light into the box. Not soon after, the lid was forced shut
once again and Robin heard a click.
"Slade let me go! Please let me free! Slade!" Robin pleaded and begged, not at
all ashamed of his cowardice. It was like reliving the moment of his youth.
Robin felt the tears stream down his cheeks. "Slade, please, let me go!" Robin
was losing his confidence and will to fight. He just wanted to go unconscious.
"I'll return for you after two hours."
Robin could note the sorrow in Slade's words. If Robin had been coherent
enough, he would know that he was truly sorry for what he had done. Instead, he
felt rage take over him. He wanted to yell, wanted out, and wanted to tear
Slade a new one for locking him up like this.
"Slade, you bastard! I hate you! You are the vilest thing of them all! You are
a complete waste of flesh, an idiot, a…" Robin was ready to think up more
curses to call him, but he didn't get the chance when he heard Slade's
retreating footsteps. Sadness soon overtook him. "Why Slade? Why do you do
this? Slade, I'm so scared! Please, let me go! Slade, help me! I'm so scared!
Take me out of here! Slade, you promised me! You promised me you would never
use this weakness against me! Why have you taken your words back? …Slade
please, open the lid! Get me out of here! Slade…!"
Robin knew he was pleading and whining like a little kid, he couldn't deny
that, but he was just so terrified of the enclosure. The emptiness of the box
came crushing against him. The silence was so overwhelming. It seemed that
every sound was swallowed up by it and crushed by the limited space in the box.
The only sounds he heard were his own gasps, the loud sound of blood pulsing in
his veins, even the loud ringing in his ears and the popping of his joints, but
most of all, he heard the retreating footsteps outside the box and then the
sudden, loud slam as the door was shut. Robin instantly felt the panic
overwhelm him. It was too tight. The box was too narrow. He had to bury his
head to his knees to fit and his hands were in an extremely uncomfortable
position. He felt his joints becoming stiff and was feeling faint. His neck
hurt and he felt like his skin was impaled by hundreds of needles. Suddenly,
his skin became cold as ice, even as if his insides were burning him alive.
This was it, he was going to die. Not because of the lack of space, but because
his body was killing him. He was burning from the inside out. Robin could swear
that his guts were twisting and clenching inside of him, forming knots. It felt
like they were about to snap if he tried to reach out to push against the walls
to try and break the box. It was like something was about to make him collapse
in on himself. Robin could feel saliva foaming from his mouth and he was
shaking. He was shaking like a weathered leaf in the autumn breeze. He could
feel the walls pushing against him everywhere. Robin tried to gasp for air, but
it was like breathing old air, which wasn't right. That meant he was only
getting carbon dioxide to his lungs instead of oxygen.
Robin weakly tried to push against the walls in a last ditch effort, but he
only managed to squeeze himself into a more uncomfortable position. The box's
edge was making him curl into sharper angles. He hurt, his blood wasn't
circulating properly, and it felt like the pincushion for every needle in the
world. Every time the sharp point stuck deeper and deeper into his skin, Robin
cried and moaned in pain. The box was so dark that he barely saw a thing, but
he hated it. He couldn't push away the fact that he was inside a box and
couldn't get free.
He would never get out of this box. He'd be mummified inside of it. His skin
would rot and maggots would eat him alive. It wasn't long before he started to
hallucinate. It seemed like the box walls were bending, coming closer, crushing
him. He could feel maggots as they bit his skin on their way up his feet. Robin
couldn't take it. He started to crash. He tried to hit and stomp on the worms
to kill them, but no matter what he did, they just kept coming. The walls of
the box intimidated him and the air was too thin to breath.
"Slade please. Please help me," Robin begged weakly.
He started to hyperventilate, trying to take in all the air he could. He didn't
stop, even when the headache was too bad to bear. The blood came rushing to his
brain and he felt heavy. He felt so heavy and stiff it was like all his weight
was packed to his head. He couldn't even move it anymore. His lungs hurt and he
felt as if there was something impaling his whole chest, pushing past his
intestines and crushing his lungs until it reached his heart, tearing and
shredding it. His mouth and throat had suddenly gone completely dry, almost as
if they were stuffed with cotton. His lungs stung so bad that he couldn't even
describe it with words. Robin's last words, before he felt like he was
drowning, were a moan and Slade's name on his lips. Soon, sweet, sweet darkness
consumed him, turning his brain off and letting him rest. Robin got to enjoy
the bliss of ignorance, even if it only lasted for a moment…
***** IMPORTANT NOTICE and chapter 22 *****
I NEED YOUR HELP!
I know many people want to read this story, and are waiting for the next
chapters, and here is a note on how you will get them!
I HAVE WRITTEN ALL 28 CHAPTERS OF THIS STORY! It is all finished up on my hard
drive.
BUT!
I have taken very ill. I have been depression ridden for ONE WHOLE YEAR and I
am still fighting with recovery! I have been completely unable to edit this
story by myself, because my worn state wont let me finish anything, and the
whole thought of having to spent the mental strength I do not have on editing
this makes me want to curl up in a ball and cry.
SO I AM SEARCHING FOR EDITORS!
I need people's support for this story!
So I come to you, my fans, for help!
Anyone who is willing to help me edit, can approach me by PM OR email at
kazhiru@hotmail.com Helping edit will also add as a + points in the competition
below!
I ALSO HAVE ANOTHER NOTE!
I WILL REWARD MY FANS FOR BEING ABLE TO STICK UP WITH THIS FOR ALL THIS TIME!
How you ask? Well, You can enter a competition in one or both of the two
categories!
I have a SLADIN WRITING CHALLENGE! and a SLADIN ART CHALLENGE! The theme is
free, but Mentioning TYM gives you + points! So any SLADIN work is welcome! The
participating entries will not be rated by quality or quantity, but about the
thought of the work. I will judge them according to the message, plot, or
feeling that the story brings. Everything is allowed from angst to romance.
from k rated to M/E/MA. No previous experience is needed. So no, you don't need
to be neither Picasso or a Shakespeare, it's the thought that counts.
You CAN ENTER BOTH but you can ONLY WIN ONCE! so entering both gives you twice
the chance of winning!
Once you finish your entry, email it (or email a link of it) to me at
Kazhiru@hotmail.com also Include a way of contacting YOU in case you win the
price!
AND WHAT IS THE PRICE you ask?
THE PRICE IS TWO(2) PERSONALLY HAND CROCHETED BY ME SLADE DOLLS COMPLETELY FREE
OF COST AND EVEN THE SHIPPING WILL BE PAID BY ME!
One of the dolls is a price for the best fanfic of the category, and the other
is for the best fanart of the category! One person CANNOT win both, since you
can be a victor in only one category, but you CAN enter both and increase your
chance of WINNING!
THE COMPETITION WILL END A WEEK AFTER THE LAST CHAPTER OF ALL 28 CHAPTERS OF
TYM IS PUBLISHED!!!
AND HERE YOU CAN SEE THE PRICES!
http://justawind.deviantart.com/art/Slade-dolls-346290286
[http://fc07.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2013/002/c/0/slade_dolls_by_justawind-
d5q67am.jpg]
AND NOW TO THE MUCH AWAITED CHAPTER 22 OF TYM!
Consciousness soon returned to Robin. At first, he didn't even remember where
he was or if his eyes were open or not, because the darkness was equal inside
the box. The velvet black was like a cloth over his face. It kept him from
seeing anything and Robin hated that. He felt the chills but swallowed them
down with the dry lump in his throat. At first he was sure that he'd break down
completely when reminded of his current situation, but soon it dawned to him
that he was just way too tired to react.
The box was as small as ever, as dark as ever, and absolutely nonetheless
stressing than it was twenty minutes ago. The only difference was that Robin
couldn't find the strength to care. His mental strength seemed to have given up
when he had lost conscious. He was still alive if that was of any use, even if
he had been in the box for a while. It shouldn't bring any difference if he was
awake or not. Robin tried to fight his fright inside his head. He knew that all
the fear was only between his ears, and with deep, long and controlled breaths,
he might just make it.
Robin tried to hug his knees closer, hoping they would no longer scrape against
the box's walls. He felt how cramped his back was no thanks to the tight box.
His neck was aching really bad and he felt an annoying sting in his neck every
time he tried to turn his head. Robin didn't falter though. It was extremely
uncomfortable, yes, but he absolutely refused to freak over it. He breathed
deeply and felt the sweat forming on his face slowly fall, sometimes from the
tip of his nose. Robin faintly shuddered every once in a while. Forcing his
eyes closed, he tried to imagine himself outside of his box. Better yet,
imagined there was no box. He was sitting hunched in a corner, leaning against
the wall. He had his knees hugged against him, he was cramped, but there was no
sense crying about it.
Robin had lost track of time as he just laid there, not thinking of anything.
His ears merely perked up slightly when he finally heard the faint sound of a
lock being opened and the screech of the hinges as the lid was lifted. He did
raise his head as he saw light filling in the darkness though. The light was
bright enough to hurt his eyes. The room was so white that Robin had to close
his eyes again, to prevent them from forming tears.
Slade had been the one to open the lid. He looked down at him, sitting down
inside the box, and noticed that he hadn’t tried bolting out of his
confinement, like he thought he would. This actually worried him slightly.
Slade had expected Robin to be thrashing, panicking, and yelling at the top of
his lungs, perhaps even cursing his name and very soul to Hell. Instead, he was
unresponsive, except for the eyes opening and closing. Slade didn't think Robin
would stay in the obviously uncomfortable position in which the box more or
less allowed. To be perfectly honest, he had been unsure about the whole box
thing. Perhaps it wasn't a smart move to shove him in there, reverting all the
progress he had made, but he couldn’t let his failure go unnoticed. Slade may
have learned to care about him, but punishment such as this was needed to keep
him in check. Tardiness wasn't acceptable. Robin knew the consequences for
being late and, being a man of his word, Slade had given him his punishment. It
had been a huge risk, but it had to be done. He would find a way to turn this
in his favor.
Reaching for Robin's shoulder, Slade gave it a small, reassuring squeeze and
shake, to silently assure him that it was over. He then pulled him up out of
the cramped semi-fetal position and saw how disheveled he was. Robin silently
enjoyed the touch, but his legs were like jelly, threatening to give way at any
moment. Once he was lifted to stand, he felt a tingle in his legs―like millions
of needles poking at him as the blood rushed through uncomfortably―but it was
strangely reassuring since it meant he was alive and would be okay. Walking was
difficult as his legs were rather stiff, but he managed to step outside of the
box. Once completely out, he tried flexing his joints to get rid of the kinks
and to get the blood going. When he felt ready to leave the room, Slade laid
his hand on his shoulder for support and helped steer him through the seemingly
endless hallways.
“Thanks.”
START START START!
Robin walked beside Slade as he rubbed his face and pulled his hand through his
hair. Robin removed the headband he wore to get his hair like it used to be,
even if it didn't stay that way for long as it reverted back to the way it was.
Robin sighed and hoped that Slade had some hair gel hidden somewhere for him to
use. He didn't like straight hair, it was blank and boring and it didn't
support his personality at all.
"For what?” Slade had turned to face the teen and Robin felt Slade's grip
tighten on his shoulder for a moment. It wasn't one of those intimidating
touches, but a reassuring one instead. The touch was like Slade's silent words
telling him that he was at his side. Somehow it was something that Slade would
do: Show how he felt with his acts and deeds rather than saying them out loud.
Somehow it really fit the situation.
"For helping me out.” Robin had to stop himself from saying “For not leaving me
there.” To be honest, Robin could have yelled, raged accused and swore to all
gods, he could, and maybe even should have jumped at the man and clawed the
single eye he had left out of his miserable face. But Robin didn't feel like
doing any of those. He was tired, but only in the emotional level. His mind
told him to get back at the man for using his weakness against him even if he
had promised to not to do that. Robin would have loved to yell at the man and
get some of his frustration out by doing so. But he didn't want to. Robin just
wanted be silent for a while. It was more than worth it when Slade returned,
and instead of mocking him, he had lifted him up and escorted him out of the
damned room. At that moment, when Robin was finally out of the box, standing,
or more like leaning on Slade, Robin couldn't feel hatred for the man. While
waiting in the box filled with nothing, not being able to even think, Robin had
silently supported an idea about letting all his fear pend up to hate that he
would love to take out on Slade. But once he was out the box, both his fear and
hate diminished to thin air.
Suddenly the only thing he felt was gratitude and he wanted to just relax. He
had been so nervous inside the box, that once he finally felt himself safe all
he wanted to do was let Slade take care of him so he wouldn't have to think
himself.
There weren't really words for it, but only thing Robin got out was a silent
thank you for the man, and Slade pulled on Robin's hair. Robin always
remembered hair pulling as something that someone's parent or caretaker did to
punish the child who wasn't listening or was extremely unyielding or mean, but
even if the movement was the same, it didn't hurt. Slade had taken a fistful of
Robin's locks and he shook on them slightly, enough for it to feel, but it
didn't hurt any. It merely made Robin smile.
Only Slade could make hair pulling seem gentle. Robin felt too carefree to swab
Slade's hand away from his hair, but the man took his hand back by himself.
Slade petted Robin's hair and scalp and Robin enjoyed the gentle feeling of
Slade's palm massaging the area he had just shaken. Slade then let his hand
fall on Robin's shoulder and the boy felt Slade's fingers massaging the naked
skin they found there now that the scarf wasn't on the way. Robin couldn't help
but enjoy the feel of Slade's glove against his skin, and he blatantly leaned
on Slade. Slade stopped his petting for only for a couple of seconds when he
was taken aback by Robin's gesture, but he recovered quickly, and after he gave
a fast and tight squeeze on Robin's arm, silently pulling the kid closer to
him, he resumed to let his fingers travel and massage Robin's skin, seeing if
he could get the other to shutter.
Robin did shutter, after all, but only so slightly. He couldn't resist it with
the man's touches. And for some reason, he was welcoming them for once, and he
was enjoying them.
"Slade?” Robin moaned out, ashamed that he had moaned, and ashamed that he was
blushing.
"Hmm?” Slade let his hand wander lower, letting his hand rest on Robin's hip.
The man was inching his fingers lower, reaching to the middle tight to where
Robin's dress had a slit at the hem. Slade felt daring and lifted the hem with
his fingers an inch or two before Robin took a hold of his wrist to stop him.
"Mind if I change back?” Robin was referring to the dress, and Slade knew it.
The man had an idea that Robin would have wanted to change back to his normal
clothes since he returned to the base two hours ago.
Slade had nothing against Robin changing back to his usual clothes, to be
honest, he preferred Robin in his usual attire, but Slade didn't want to let
the boy go too easily. He had Robin right under his nose for almost a week now,
but he had no idea how hard it had been for Slade during that time. Especially
after that one kiss. Slade couldn't address it in words, but when he had
previously had a taste of the boy, he couldn't help but feel greedy and want
another bite. Not to mention the gala today. Slade would have wanted to get
there himself, maul that darn dealer to oblivion and get that darn pass card
and Robin back under his room. And Beast Boy! If he were to meet the Titans on
a fight again, he'd make sure that the kid had a broken wing.
"I wouldn't mind at all. In fact, I would be more than pleased to help you get
out of that dress.” Robin noticed that the man was no longer by his side, and
Robin was no longer leaning against him, but the man was more likely leaning
over him. Slade had moved himself behind Robin, and he had both his hands on
either of Robin's tights and Robin felt how the cold iron of Slade's mask was
pressing against Robin's shoulder, and Robin could clearly feel the man's
breath against his cheek.
"Slade?” Robin questioned when in lack of anything better to say. He didn't
know what the man had meant by the previous words, but somehow this made it
pretty clear, but really unnerving on the other who was nervous yet shy at the
same time. Robin couldn't see Slade behind him, only thing he saw from the side
of his eye was the man's mask right next to his face. Slade had rubbed the mask
against Robin's shoulder, sliding the thing off his face enough that the mask
no longer covered the man's lower face. Robin didn't see that though, because
the mask hindered his vision, but he could feel the man's chin pressing against
his shoulder. Slade's beard was scratching against Robin's smooth back and
shoulder, and Robin felt Slade's chapped lips against his shoulder before the
man kissed the junction point where his neck met his shoulder.
Robin felt Slade's hands wander up his tights, riding the dress' hem up with
them, and Robin grasped Slade's wrists. The man did make Robin feel almost
unnervingly good, but he didn't want the man to get much farther, not yet.
There was still the small voice at the back of his skull that told him to not
get lost in this. That small little voice which was persistent told him that
this wasn't right. Robin was too nervous and worried to let Slade go any
further. “Slade, you shouldn't.” Was all the boy could muster up to say though.
The other just countered Robin's hold and took Robin's wrists to bend them
backwards so Robin couldn't resist. Slade didn't bend the arms back enough that
it would hurt, just enough to be out-of-the-way.
Robin felt how the man rested his chin on his shoulder, and how he leaned his
chest on Robin's back. Robin could feel the man's heartbeat on his back, and
the man's thigh and waist brushed against Robin's arms, and Robin
subconsciously leaned against the man.
"Don't be such a tease. You were completely fine when being danced by other men
just a while ago. How about just one final dance?” Slade took both of Robin's
wrists in a firm hold of his left hand, and with his now free right hand he
massaged Robin's chest. Slade made sure to pay attention to Robin's well-toned
pectorals before sliding his hand along his abs.
Robin couldn't dress the feeling to words. At the same time he felt
unbelievably unnerved, yet he only wanted to let go, lean to the man and let
him take him. But still that little voice nagged at him, making him resist.
Robin was in between rock and a hard place at the moment. He wanted to let go
and just enjoy the moment, but yet he couldn't because he was afraid of the
consequences. He was afraid that whatever he was to do would shun his friends
from him, and worse of all, he'd give up for Slade. And now we weren't even
talking about the fact that Robin was nervous of sex in general.
"Slade, we are in a hallway.” Robin tried to reason, but Slade had none of
that.
"I know where we are, but do you mind?” and then Slade did something that got
Robin to moan. It felt like the man had his hands everywhere. Slade's fingers
were under the hem of Robin's dress, massaging the tender skin of his inner
thigh, and as the man once again lifted his mask enough to lay kisses and suck
on Robin's tender skin at his neck Robin couldn't help but whimper only so
slightly. It only took a bite on Robin's previous love bite to cause the teen
to throw the cautiousness to the wind if only for a little moment. To be
honest, his mind wasn't so badly against this anymore.
And no, he realized did not mind this at all.
Robin wriggled his hands against Slade's hold. He couldn't get his hands free,
but he managed to take a good hold of his fingers and glove. Robin moaned
rather loudly as the man sucked on Robin's neck, forming yet another love bite.
Robin had leaned his head backwards to rest it on Slade's left shoulder to let
the man have all the access he needed. From the current position Robin could
see a few stray curls of hair from the back of his vision, but his sight was
blurry at the edges so he couldn't really say what color Slade hair was, it
might as well be white.
Robin couldn't see any visible skin, but Robin was moaning in the man's ear,
and seeing as Slade's breathing got more rugged and his touches more daring
Robin noticed that the man was enjoying it.
Knowing this made Robin want to respond in some way. He wanted to get his hands
free so he could claw at the man, strip him of those damned gloves that
prevented him from feeling the man's actual touch, and feel the man behind him.
At least he wanted to expose some flesh so he could kiss the man back, sink his
teeth on the man's neck and mark him just like he had done to him. Slade's
touches were slowly driving him crazy and Robin was fighting against his hold
on his arms.
Slade then slid his hand up on Robin's inner thigh until the man touched the
material of the thick cloth Robin had under the dress. The same cloth Robin
remembered to put on so he could get some more mass to his hips, and never
before had Robin felt so angry for a piece of cloth before. It wasn't until now
that Slade was rubbing against the tight material, making Robin thrust his hips
forward in hopes that the man would touch his more tender area. Robin had to
groan as the man's fingers finally ghosted over his erection. The cloth was the
death of him, he swore. It was too tight for him at the moment, and it felt
like it was crushing him, not a pleasant experience. The cloth was tight as it
was, but now it felt unbearably tight. Also, it was too thick that Robin
couldn’t fully feel Slade's touches at their full capacity. The thing was a god
damned chastity belt!
Robin whimpered as Slade gripped his groin, and pressed his middle and fore
finger right below Robin's balls before sliding the fingers downwards before
pressing them against Robin's cloth covered hole which made the boy shutter.
Robin almost doubled over in pleasure, pressing his backside against Slade's
front. This caused him to let him loosely grasp at his hips while gripping
Robin's groin again.
Robin was withering in Slade's clutches as the older man rubbed his cock
through the fabric, and fondled his balls through the thick material, made
Robin wish that Slade would just rip the whole thing off already. Robin moaned
at the touch and he pressed his back against Slade's chest and he buried his
own chin between his shoulder blades as Slade kissed the kid's neck.
At then Slade's other hand started to travel from Robin's waist to massage his
stomach, and Robin had to arch backwards to shy away from the touch as Slade
pressed his fingers against Robin's navel. Slade didn't let Robin have much
time to adjust though before he pressed his palm against Robin's chest, Rubbing
Robin's left nipple with the palm of his hand before he slid his hand downwards
to let his talented fingers continue.
Robin moaned once again and he took a hold of Slade's wrist then, making the
man momentarily stop rubbing on Robin's chest, but as Slade noticed that Robin
was just tearing off his glove the man decided to praise the boy by going back
to ravishing the teen's neck with his kisses and bites.
Robin couldn't get Slade's gloves off as fast as he hoped, and as his hold
slipped for the second time Robin tore his own gloves off first before he
finally got Slade stripped of his glove. Once the glove was off Slade had his
both hands under Robin's dress hem, teasing the boy. Robin then proceeded in
taking off Slade's other glove too. Once his hand was finally revealed, he
started kissing his fingers, seeing as it was the only visible and available
skin.
Robin didn't get to go much farther before Slade had Robin's hands captured
from the wrists once again and Robin was pushed against the wall. Robin leaned
his back against the wall and Slade held the boys hands above his head, holding
the kid still.
"Those pants of yours must be extremely uncomfortable, let me help you with
those.” Slade dipped his fingers under Robin's waistband which immediately
caused Robin to shiver as he felt the man's bare skin against his.
Slade was standing so close to Robin that their chests were pushed against each
other, and Robin didn't mind the least. In fact, since Robin's hands were once
again held in place, only thing Robin could do to plea for contact was to try
and press his chest against the man and grunt his hips forwards in hopes that
the man would hurry up pay some attention to his cock which was leaking at this
point.
"Slade.” Robin moaned in a plea while looking at the man through half lidded
eyes. Half lidded because he had to fight to keep them open. Robin wanted to
squeeze his eyes shut, moan, pant and let himself sink in the pleasure Slade
made him feel.
"Robin?” Slade didn't know what exactly he was asking of the teen, but he loved
teasing the kid. Conditions be damned, Slade would enjoy this moment fully.
"Please.” Robin was too far gone to be ashamed. He was pleading, and at the
moment he didn't know anything else expect the man who was making him beg
shamelessly for release.
"What do you want?” Slade asked, acting as if it wasn't obvious. The man dipped
his fingers further under the pants and slid his fingers along Robin's hips
along the kid's waistband, making the other pant.
"Take them off.” Robin thrusts his hips forward, rubbing his front on Slade's
hand. Slade smirked at this, even if Robin couldn’t see that thanks to the
black and orange mask that Slade wore.
"Isn't that what we are doing? Undressing you? You wouldn't want to wear a
dress for the whole day now would you?” Slade's voice was filled with fervor as
the man slid his hand around Robin's waistband to where the Robin's backbone
ended, from where he slid his hand down, sliding his finger's against Robin's
butt crack as the man pulled Robin's pants down.
Robin was almost twisting himself to knots in Slade's hands as the man managed
to keep his cool and stay so controlled as he was, not rushing to strip Robin.
Once the pants were under Robin's butt, he returned his hand back to Robin's
front to pull them fully off with Robin's underwear, finally revealing Robin's
dick from the taunting prison.
Robin enjoyed the cool air against his brick, and the kid had to make a silent
praise to no-one particular for letting him free from the tightness of his
pants which were really getting uncomfortable, borderline painful on him.
Slade let the pants drop on the floor and pool on Robin's knees from where the
boy kicked them off. Slade watched as the kid tried to inch closer to the man,
but Slade laid his hand on Robin's chest to prevent the kid from moving: “A-a-
ah, we still have to undress you.” Slade murmured on Robin's ear, making the
kid bury his head on Slade's shoulder.
"Who’s a tease now?” Robin forced the words out as he dug his chin on Slade's
shoulder, trying to rub his cheek on the man's mask. He was bound up, there
wasn't much he could do. Slade only laughed at Robin's remark which the boy
panted out between breaths, but Slade knew that he was, indeed, teasing, and
resumed on stripping the boy. You could only tease a person for so long. Slade
lifted the hem of the dress, pulling the dress up to Robin's wrists before
Slade changed the hand he used to hold Robin up against the wall to pull the
thing off Robin completely.
"My, my, my, haven't you been exact with your costume.” Slade stared at Robin's
bras with a smirk, causing the boy to blush.
"I had to keep those water balloons in place somehow. As you may have noticed,
I don't have breasts.” If Robin wasn't so embarrassed, he would have been
astounded by the fact that he managed to make such a level headed and coherent
sentence in his current state.
"I have noticed that, all right.” Slade purred as he slithered his hand behind
Robin to open the seal of the bra behind Robin's back, causing the bra without
shoulder straps to fall off effortlessly.
Slade didn't wait for invitation before he attacked Robin's chest, pushing his
mask halfway off against Robin's shoulder so that Robin still couldn't see
Slade's face thanks to the mask as the man assaulted Robin's nipples.
Robin gasped as Slade no less than devoured the hard nubs into his mouth while
he fought against his restraints. Robin couldn't get his hands free from
Slade's hold, but Robin opted with strapping his legs around Slade's waist
instead. Robin tried to bring the man as close as possible, groaning as he felt
his semi-hard, clothed erection against his fully hard and weeping one. Robin
automatically started to work his body against Slade, rubbing their erections
together, causing Slade to grunt against his chest.
Slade gently bit on Robin's nipple to cause the other to moan out loud and push
hardly against Slade's groin. Slade really enjoyed hearing those voices being
emitted from his small companion. Not letting Robin go easily he licked on the
nub, then rolling his tongue around it, before he slightly bit on it again as
he slightly pulled on the nub with his teeth before he once again licked on it
apolitically. Robin was panting hard for the whole time, fighting against his
restraints as Slade proceeded to repeat the act on Robin's other nipple.
"Slade please.” Robin groaned at the ministration of Slade pleasuring his
nipples which were almost rash by now, and even the smallest brush made Robin
flinch. “Please, I can't take it anymore...” Robin begged, pleading the man to
just let him cum already. Robin was practically shaking with tension already,
and Robin wished that he had his hands free so he could finish himself off
right now.
Robin was sure that Slade was filled with mirth when he heard those words.
Slade finally lifted his head from those pink and hard nipples to look Robin in
the eye as he slid his free hand down his chest and over his stomach to get to
his groin. But he stopped just before Robin's penis, causing him to groan in
anticipation.
"Maybe I shouldn't?” Slade asked, and Robin knew that the man was teasing,
mirroring back his own words from before. And never ever had he hated himself
more before. Correction, hated Slade.
"Slade, don't tease!” Robin exclaimed in a grunt. He knew that Slade had given
him a choice, and right now he was flipping his friends an imaginary bird as he
gave in to his own desire and lust.
"Please, I need to-!” Robin grunted, and once again pushed himself against
Slade, shamelessly pressing himself against the older man.
Slade finally lowered his hand on Robin's groin as he took a hold of Robin's
hard erection and gave it a firm squeeze.
"What do you need to do?” Slade pried, causing Robin to bite his inner cheek to
hold back his groan as the man held his cock in a firm grip. Even Robin could
feel how he pulsated against the man's calloused hand. The man's rough and cool
skin felt incredibly good against his hot dick and Robin would have wanted to
will the man's hand to move.
"I need to cum.” Robin almost couldn't get the last words out of him as he was
already grunting as Slade gave another hard squeeze. “Please, Slade! Just jerk
me off!” Robin growled through gritted teeth.
Slade could be heard smirking at this and the man was obviously glad and
pleased that he had gotten Robin to ask for it. “As you wish.” He then pulled
Robin's foreskin back before taking a better grip, causing the boy to moan as
he finally started thrusting his fist around the kid, pumping him. Slade made
long and fast strides, changing the pressure from bottom to top. Once there, he
rolled his thumb over the head, smearing the pre-cum and letting the hand move
faster, even if the semen dried up quickly.
Robin was panting and grunting as Slade jacked him off, and Robin squeezed his
legs harder around the man. He also reached his head on Slade's shoulder to
bury it on the black cloth on Slade's neck, and Robin moaned against the cloth,
letting Slade feel it against his skin, making the man press harder and move
faster.
"Slade-” Robin whined on Slade's neck as the man pressed his thumb against the
slit in Robin's penis, causing the other to shutter and a couple drops of pre-
cum flowed down Robin's pole and the kid moaned deeply on Slade's ear. Man,
Slade loved hearing Robin say his name.
Robin could feel how he was now harder than he had never been before, and his
face was as red as his mask from the gala. “Slade, I'm going to cum.” Robin was
moving in rhythm with Slade's thrusts, pushing back to Slade every time the man
pulled down, making Robin grunt.
"Then cum for me my bird,” Slade said and whirled his fingers around the glans,
trailing his fingers along the dickhead before he gave a few hard and fast
thrusts on Robin and the boy finally got off, shooting a spray of cum on
Slade's fingers and Robin knew that he might have stained Slade's uniform too,
but he didn't care. As Robin came he hissed Slade's name like a snake straight
to the man's ear and Robin dug his nails to Slade's hand that was holding him
against the wall.
Robin was still panting hard as he had just cum, and only when he had managed
to short his breathing out some he dropped his legs from around Slade's waist
and Slade lowered the teen to sit on the ground before the man knelt before
him, taking off Robin's platform shoes that had just a moment ago been digging
against Slade's back.
Robin was still in a haze provided by his orgasm and he felt perfect;
absolutely relaxed and at ease. “That was great,” he managed from his abstract
state as he leaned against the wall, too tired to get up.
"Good to know. Come now, you should get a shower. I'll get a bot to take care
of the clothes,” Slade said as he helped Robin stand. Robin only mumbled in
protest, letting Slade help him up. Robin leaned against Slade and let the man
support him as he walked to their room, wanting to take a shower since the cum
was drying on his tights. Robin was semi bothered that he was walking around
naked in Slade's base, but after all, there were no-one else to see them, and
Slade had certainly seen him now. Besides, he was still not quite there to
mind.
"Wait, don't you need to-?” Robin asked, referring to Slade's hard on, which
had been left completely unattended.
"Are you offering?” Slade asked, making Robin quickly recoil and mumble
something inaudible. “Don't worry yourself over it. We still have time for that
and I'm patient. We'll get there all in due time.”
Slade supported Robin to their room where the shower was waiting for them.
Robin couldn't wait for it. He knew that the shower would perk him up. After
all, he felt like he could take on anything and, to be honest, he was somewhat
looking forward to the simulator mission this evening.
***** Chapter 23 *****
Chapter Notes
     AN: YAY! All the chapters are edited! Now it will be weekly updates
     on every Monday! I am so glad for all the help I got with editing,
     and let's all have a round of applause for the editors! You know who
     you are, and I am forever grateful for your help!
     On second note: I see that people are not really baited in to working
     some extra for crocheted Slade dolls, but I don't really mind. You
     can just enter in the raffle with a comment, and I will pick the
     lucky ones from the hat. Drawing or writing an entry will boost your
     changes, of course!
Robin took a quick shower as Slade had recommended. The boy had worked on
autopilot, and it wasn't until he was back in his comfortable apprentice
uniform with his regular mask until he snapped out of it. Slade had just given
Robin the best orgasm of his life? Why wasn't that bothering him any? Other
than the obvious reason: It felt good. Robin had no idea how he could have let
himself go so easily. But to stick to the truth, Robin felt no remorse. There
was still that small fuzzy feeling inside of him. It was like warmth that was
radiating right from the middle of his chest through his ribs to everywhere
around his body. It was a good feeling, and it certainly made Robin feel
lighter. Robin walked with light and carefree steps with a rather wide and
content smile on his lips to the simulator room where he knew Slade would be
waiting.
“Evening Robin.” Robin took a glance at Slade, who stood by the monitors, and
stuttered, “Um, hi.” Robin didn't quite know if he should act any different,
but decided that he didn't have to. There was no need to make things awkward,
besides, Slade seemed to act like the way he used to. Of course he didn't act
like nothing had happened, but the man didn't make a fuzz about it either,
which pleased Robin. Not that he'd expected the man to change his behavior over
something as stupid as a hand job, but one could never be sure.
He was kind of confused about all this wasn't he?
“Yeah. So, what's for today?” Robin was referring to the simulator. There was a
monitor screen that clearly stated “Computer generated simulation designed to
challenge character's physical and emotional limits. Effort level: 8” With bold
red letters.
Slade noticed that the other had caught a look at the screen and elaborated:
“It's a feature installed to the program. The monitors have been keeping
statistics of your behavior and your progress as well as your general
statistics. Now the program has randomly generated you a program that is to
create as difficult and challenging trial for you as a person. I remind you
that you will step in on your own volition, since things can get rather
personal in there.” Slade proceeded to rub Robin's shoulder that still managed
to get the boy to have the now very familiar kind of shutters. Not that Robin
minded, actually, he went and gave Slade's hand a firm squeeze before he
stepped in to the actual simulator room.
“We'll see what the future brings us.” Robin commented as he stepped in.
“That's a good attitude.” Slade commented as he hit the start button and the
vault door closed behind Robin with a loud hiss and the room already started to
rearrange itself.
Robin looked as the panels merely vibrated slightly before the room set as it
was, looking exactly as it had before. Robin was clearly confused, it seemed
like nothing had changed the slightest, had the room malfunctioned?
“So Robin, ready to begin the test?” It was Slade who stood behind him. But it
couldn't be, Slade wasn't inside the simulator, he left outside to take care of
the controls. Robin took a good look at the man, and it really did look like
the him. Maybe the man had come along after all?
“You decided to come along too?” Robin walked beside Slade, who nodded at him.
“I will join you shortly, I'll just have to take care of a few things first.”
Slade said but soon the simulator announcer came to life: “Today's mission is
an elimination quest.” Robin looked up, but he couldn't identify the source of
the voice.
“There's a man in the location set in your communicators. He is planning to
explode the mayors building, and he has to be taken care of. You cannot let the
man live, because if he can get away, even when taken to custody, he will
continue his plan due to his loyal henchmen, who are to act upon command. If
the man is taken to custody, they are to take care of the plan alone. The man's
only intention is to take out the mayor's building before he proceeds to kill
himself, it's a personal vendetta. In order to stop him, you must take him out
before he can do anything himself.” The announcer explained, and Robin took a
communicator from Slade, and true to the word, there was a red dot blinking on
the map, marking the man's location.
“Only way to fail is by letting the man take care of the mayor's building or
giving up the mission, or neglecting your partner. You may proceed.” And then
the intercom went silent.
“You heard the voice Robin, go get some weaponry from the usual storage, and be
on your way, I'll catch you up.” Slade said and gave Robin a reassuring tap on
the shoulder before he pushed the kid on his way.
Robin had to stop to wonder why he had to get his weaponry from the storage
since this was a simulator, but he shook the thought out of his mind. The
simulator might just as well been about him starting a regular mission with
Slade. The man had said that things would get different from now on.
So without any further though Robin went and retrieved his weapons. This time
Robin knew to take a gun with him or otherwise it would get messy. For the sake
of the mission, Robin decided to take almost everything he could get, if not
for anything else, for the sake of being able to try them all out. Maybe not in
a mission centric way, but he'd try to find a way to test them.
With that in mind the boy dashed to the front doors to start his mission. When
the sliding doors slid open, fresh air hit Robin like a welcome wind in summer
day. It was sunny outside, with seagulls flying and squawking around, and not
far ahead Robin saw Jump city. What a perfect day it was.
Robin was practically jumping around the city with glee as he enjoyed the warm
summer weather. That, and he still felt rather content and satisfied from
before. Somehow, it felt like things made sense now. It wasn't such a drag as
it had been before to survive his day by day business. Being with Slade was
relaxing in some extent, he now didn't have to worry about the lives of
thousands and some as he was the protector of the city, and his missions had
been rather simple and clean, and Slade always was there to tell him what to
do. Besides, the man was actually rather good company. With these simulator
missions Robin could easily drop his act and just play around. These simulators
were like a huge video game brought to a whole new level.
Robin made his way to the area marked on his communicator. He was now standing
on a rooftop of the house on the other side of the street. Robin stood
observing, trying to see through the windows to identify his target. And there
the man was. The room looked like an office of some sort. The man was filling a
briefcase with what seemed like a communicator, a detonator most likely, and
weaponry. Even Robin could tell by the man's movement only than the man meant
business. He didn't falter as hesitate as he carefully and without hesitance
laid every instrument on their beloved place, making sure that nothing was in
miss array, nor there was any chance for an accident. The man double checked
all his weapons before he slid them on the brief case, and the man's posture
itself said that he knew exactly what he was doing.
Robin knelt on the roof to reach for the gun that he held attached to his belt.
This was one of those which you could modify if needed, and he had all the
needed parts in a separate pocked at his belt. Robin took the gun apart while
he looked at the man through the window. The man had a blood red suit. Unique
on itself, but the man had nothing else. Robin was surprised due to the lack of
any kind of mask, or something else to cover his identity, but he soon
understood: The man was on a mission to take out the mayor's building, then
himself. The man held pride to his work, and he wanted to die with an
impression of pride to his work, and no remorse to what he had done. Robin
watched as the tanned man with black, sleeked back hair slid his finger along
the surface of the gun, before he brought the hand back to his face to inspect:
The white gloved hand was pristine, and Robin could see the man's thin whiskers
move as the side of the man's mouth twitched slightly as the man was
criticizing the weapons' cleanness. They were dealing with a perfectionist.
Robin made sure to attach the silencer, and he made sure that the pipe was
secure and the cross hairs actually were aiming right. Robin wanted to make
this right and take care of the man at once. He was now alone in the room,
preparing for the show, and if the man would remain alone, Robin could easily
clean out the murder scene after he was done.
Robin aimed his gun, and fingered the trigger nervously. Once he'd shoot, he'd
have to act fast. The gun may have a silencer, but it still wasn't a miracle
maker. A silencer did not kill the voice with a slight “pew” or a “pit” voice
like they did in the movies. The voice was still enough to alert any possible
passerby, and enough to cause Robin's ears to ring because he didn't have any
earplugs.
Robin felt his hands sweat under the grip he had on the gun as the boy waited
for the perfect opportunity when he couldn't miss. He may not have killed
anyone like this before, but the act was familiar enough on itself, so it was
almost as if he had done it before.
Robin aimed, and the cross hairs were pointing precisely at the back of the
man's head, and Robin knew to lift the gun up just a little, because the gun
fired slightly lower than aimed.
And then Robin pressed the trigger.
Nothing happened.
Not even the trigger had moved no matter how hard he tried to push it down.
“What the-?” Robin questioned, and then gun was pulled from him by invisible
hands. The gun was suddenly black, even darker than midnight sky with pure
white outlines. The gun rose to the air and soon contracted and broke into
pieces. Small useless pieces that made the gun absolute trash and which Robin
could no longer fix. These useless pieces fell from the sky, and Robin looked
at the ground where the pieces were now falling like rain or confetti. And
under there stood the Titans.
“Robin, step back from the roof.” Raven's hands were glowing black but she soon
relented the magic as she had accomplished her task: Get Robin rid of his
firearm.
“Titans, what the-” Robin started, trying to ask why they were here, somewhat
of happy to see them. He could maybe have a word with them, for once, they were
meeting face to face with no costumes.
“Robin, get off there.” It was Cyborg this time, and Robin nodded. The boy
walked to the edge of the building to slide himself down along the drainpipe.
“Hi guys, how have you been?” Robin walked over, hand held out for a shake.
Cyborg walked towards him and Robin reached his hand for a high five like they
used to greet.
“We are good.” Cyborg reached his hand up and they both high-fived, but he
quickly gripped his wrist and painfully bent his arm behind his back. Before
Robin could react, he grabbed his hand too, doing the same bending maneuver.
Once secure, Robin heard a click. There was something cold, not too heavy
pressing against his arms, and Robin couldn't get his hands apart too much.
Handcuffs.
“You are bad though.” Cyborg said as the others came up behind him.
“You have to relent yourself to custody, Robin.” Raven said but Robin tore
himself from Cyborg's rip on his shoulder, taking a few steps backwards.
“What? Why is this?” Robin yelled, trying to pull against the handcuffs but
they didn't give. “We are friends, remember?” Robin gazed at the others with
distress in his eyes. He was so confused, what was going on?
Starfire flew over to Robin with her eyes glowing bright green, and her hands
sparked with the green light that she had formed around her hands. She didn't
fire at him though, but once she was by him, Robin couldn't evade the bitch
slap aimed at his left cheek. Robin almost fell on his right side, fumbling
with his feet for a while, but he managed to right himself against the
building's wall.
“You are not a friend, Robin!” Starfire yelled and she was fighting against her
anger to not just maul Robin to pieces.
“Starfire! What is going on! It's me, Robin!” Robin straightened himself to
stand straight and he positioned himself in to defensive posture, not willing
to fight the girl he called friend.
“You betrayed us! You left us for Slade, you abandoned us to be with that mad
man!” Starfire aimed another blow to Robin but he evaded it this time, and he
watched as Starfire's punch went pass him, over his left shoulder to hit
straight through the brick wall behind him. Robin gulped so loudly that he was
sure that the other titans heard him. Starfire meant business. She was
seriously pissed.
“Starfire, you don't get it! I never left, I'll come back! It was just a deal!
I never abandoned you guys, I'll come back with you!” Robin reasoned while he
jumped to the side to gain more distance to his so called friends. Robin saw
how they were all veracious to get to him for leaving, but Robin didn't
understand why they couldn't listen for his reason.
“We don't want you back, dude. You are no longer the Robin we knew.” Beast boy
said, and Robin could hear the sad tune on the boys words, but somehow Robin
got the idea that the boy didn't feel any sadness to him, only hate.
“Beast Boy's right. You used to be the Robin we all knew…The Robin we all
loved! The Robin who would do anything for his city: The Robin who couldn't
take a holiday off or enjoy a day off from saving his city, the one who
couldn't let pleasure and relationships get over his work, and you are not
him!” Cyborg cracked his knuckles before he too joined Starfire in the game of
trying to hit Robin. Robin on the other hand tried to keep as far from the
titans as he could, just to save his own hide.
“No! I still am him! I'm still a titan!” Robin avoided Beast boy who had
changed in to a rhino and tried to hit him on the wall. Robin had jumped over
him, and now he had hit his head on the brick wall. Robin already felt sorry
for him, but he didn't dare to go help the smaller one up: He couldn't turn his
back to the other three.
“No you are not, Robin. You are no longer a Titan, but Slade's apprentice. Even
the badge at your chest says so.” Raven said as she rose some fallen bricks
from the ground to hover in the air before she fired them at Robin, who barely
managed to avoid the attack. He got two good hits on him, one on his right
shoulder and one at his left hip, but he was intact. Robin was panting already
while he gritted his teeth to not whimper in pain. Even if he was sure that
nothing had broken or caused serious damage from the blow, it still stung
pretty badly. He wasn't like the others were: He was a human, a regular old
fashioned human with better than average durability to pain and some skill in
martial arts. He was disadvantaged: three against one, three people with powers
against one with only luck on his favor.
But even then: His friends were right. As Robin took a bitter glance at the
badge on his chest, the one where there used to be a huge yellow “R” on black
bottom, standing for “Robin” Was now a shiny metal “S” that to the Titans
seemed to mean “Slade's”.
“You are not the Robin we once knew. You are just another puppet for Slade. You
left us so you could be with him. And last time we checked, you didn't even
complain.” Raven said as her eyes turned white for the smallest of moments, and
Robin felt the ground below him rumble, and soon it started to shake. The
ground was cracking below him, and he noticed that Raven was lifting the patch
of ground up, probably intending to flip it over and crush Robin below the
mass. Robin didn't have time to see that though, as he jumped backwards with a
flip, landing on his feet in crouch, and he quickly stepped over the cuffs
holding his hands behind his back, and he now got his hands back to the front.
“What do you mean?” Robin asked, preparing to run if things got any further
astray.
“You fell for him!” Cyborg had been charging his beam for the whole time and
only warning was the yell he got just now. Robin barely managed to evade it,
but the aftershock flung him against the brick wall, causing him to hit his
head and momentarily knock out his breath.
“I didn't-” Robin fought the pain and he pushed himself off the wall, only to
get hit by Starfire, causing him to fly in air for a while before he hit the
hard pavement, sliding along the rough surface for several meters, gaining a
really nasty rash to his right side.
“You said you loved me! But what you said was a lie! You lied to me, lied to
us! You left us to be in love with Slade!” Starfire was walking towards Robin
and every step cracked the pavement. She was furious. And Robin saw that she
was depressed enough to not be able to fly. Robin had to rush to get back to
his feet before the titans got to him. Thanks to the blow and the hard fall,
Robin was now slightly limping on his right leg, and he favored the left. The
pain was so much, but it held no comparison to the words.
“You sick faggot! We could have been able to accept it if you said you were
gay, we could even be able to tolerate the crush, but we won’t accept
betrayal!” Beast boy charged at Robin in the form of a wolf, and he dug his
fangs in Robin's leg, shaking it furiously, causing Robin to lose his balance
and yelp in pain as the teeth broke the skin with minimal effort.
“I never betrayed you!” Robin cried out and then tried to kick Beast Boy off,
but he didn't budge. The kicks only made the bite hurt even more.
“Liar! You joined Slade! You committed crimes! You hurt people, you hurt us!
And now you are here to murder a person! A human person! Robin, you truly have
changed, you have fallen low.” Cyborg said as he walked to them, and Robin saw
that they was rising up a fist to land a punch, and Robin was positive that the
wet in his face was not blood from the bruises but water from tears.
Robin's hands shook like no tomorrow, but he couldn't stop now, he fondled his
belt in search of something, anything to use, and in the end he found a fistful
of light and smoke bombs, not having time to choose which were which and how
many to use he threw them all to the ground, and without warning they all
detonated. Robin barely had time to cover his own eyes, and the light that
shone around him hurt his eyes even if they were closed. The smoke made him
cough violently and his eyes to water, but also did the same to the titans.
Beast Boy turned back to human so he could rub the water off his eyes and then
Robin fled. He couldn't stand around any longer, it was clear that his friends
had no intent to let him go without serious injuries. He knew that they
wouldn't kill him, but he was sure that what they would do would be worse. They
would hand him over to the police, pummeled and hurt with bruises that would
never heal and he would spend the rest of his life in intensive care:
Handicapped department for criminally insane.
Robin was so shocked as he felt the tears on his cheeks but he didn't have time
to cry. He was afraid that he would be heard and the titans could follow him
and attack. Robin fled as fast as he could with almost broken legs, and every
step hurt. Every time he took a step he felt his body press downwards and every
bruise in his body hurt like it was made anew. It was as if his body was
covered by flames that were burning him and peeling off his skin, and he didn't
like it. Robin was in shock that his friends did this, and they said all those
things. Robin ran as far as he could, he tried to get the titans lost from his
tracks. He was too afraid to return to the base, he was afraid that they'd
follow him and take Slade with him when he'd reveal his hideout. He couldn't
reveal the hideout. Robin ran on the narrow alleyways, and as he crossed yet
another corridor, turning a sharp turn to right he felt a firm hand on his
shoulder and with a yield he was pulled up.
Robin's mouth was soon covered by a hand with a thick glove over it that
prevented Robin from biting on it. they was directly behind Robin so he
couldn't see the person, but Robin knew that the man was dragging him forwards,
getting them higher and higher still. Then someone had pulled Robin on a fire
escape, and from there Robin saw how the Titans ran, or flew, below them,
searching for him. Robin was panting furiously, but not much sound could be
heard thanks to the glove over his mouth.
Robin heard the other behind him, he was holding Robin so close that they were
practically pressed against each other, and Robin could smell a really familiar
musky smell from the other, but the smell was dampened by the thick smell of
blood, tears and dirt that came from Robin himself.
Robin was still in such a daze about what had happened that he couldn't form a
word, even if the hand had retracted.
“Thank god you are okay.” A more than familiar voice came from behind him, and
Robin was finally allowed to turn around to face his savior, even if he already
recognized who the man was Slade.
“Slade. Thank you, thank you so much, the titans, they were after me.” Robin
panted, and he latched on to Slade, holding to the man as if the other was a
lifeline.
“Shush now, it's okay.” Slade helped him stand while petting his hair. Robin's
hair had gotten all messy and on disarray as he had been fighting, but Slade
made it just the way it had been.
“I'll patch you up, you tell me what I missed.” Slade picked up health aid and
started to take care of Robin's wounds, disinfecting them and then bandaging
them.
Robin started to talk almost immediately, starting with the fact that he
couldn't kill the target yet and how the Titans had attacked him. He told Slade
how he couldn't attack them, and how they had put handcuffs on him.
“Don't worry about the handcuffs.” Slade quickly finished bandaging Robin, and
to Robin's displeasure he noted that he looked like a mummy now, even if you
couldn't tell that since the bandages were under his uniform. Slade proceeded
to the cuffs, and with some kind of laser pointer he slowly started to cut on
them, melting the iron as he finally managed to cut Robin's hands loose from
the restraints. Robin stared at his now freed hands with depressed look as he
sounded rather sad while saying: “They said that they'd hand me over to the
police.”
Slade took Robin's hands and held them for a while as he said: “No police is
ever going to get us. You are safe now. Now come.” Slade helped Robin up and
escorted the other away from the fire escape to somewhere Robin hoped was more
secure so he could get some ease to the pain.
“I'm sorry, but you will have to endure this longer. As much as I care for you,
I wouldn't want to see this city terrorized by anyone else except me. We've got
to take care of the target before it's too late.” Slade helped Robin move
around, even though he was doing rather well already. His bruises hurt, but
Robin was enduring it. He didn't want to madden Slade too.
Together they made their way through the alleys. Robin held to himself for the
whole time, staying silent and following after Slade. It was as if the kid had
fallen into his little world haunted by his own thoughts. The thoughts were
confusing and they haunted him, and he couldn't understand them no matter which
point of view he chose to approach the subject. The Titans were against him,
they said all those hurtful things, and they were right. Somehow, the titans
had turned from his friends to his enemies. And the worst part was that Robin
didn't know if he was the protagonist or the antagonist in his own story!
The titans had caught him in the worst possible moment, gun in hand and finger
on the trigger. Even he would have wanted to kick his own ass if he'd seen
himself at that rooftop then! What had gotten into him! Titans only took care
of the enemy, handing them over to the police no matter who they were or what
they did, but now, Robin was ready to kill. The titans had been right in so
many things. Robin felt the sting is his eyes, it was like his eyes were
burning and Robin had to seal his eyes shut to prevent tears. He had changed.
The titans were right, he had once been the stick up leader of teen titans, the
one who kept them all in line, the one who would do anything to protect his
city. He even put his relationship with Starfire on hold because the city
needed him. His city. And look at him now, here he was, with Slade, he had
turned his back to the city while he was unaware. At the same, he had turned
his back to his friends. And he had done so almost willingly by his own
volition. They may have had a one week deal, but look at him: He hadn't even
tried to sabotage his missions, he hadn't tried to escape not once, he didn't
try to take contact the Titans except to tell them he was still alive, and
after every single mission he returned to his supposed to be prison to his
supposed to be tormenter. Slade had practically been letting him go free for
almost every day for the past three days, and every day, instead of struggling,
instead of leaving hints for his friends to follow, instead of trying to
escape, he returned to Slade, ready to face yet another mission.
Had he given himself up so easily? Was the “S” on his chest really what the
Titans had thought. He was Slade's now wasn't he? Nothing more than a pathetic
person who left his friends to stay with his enemy. The enemy who he said he
hated but whose touches he adored? It was so confusing, so distressing, Robin
did not know what to think. His friends could have given him anything, maybe
even more than Slade ever could, yet he was here. Why? He did not know. His
head was filled with fog that blocked him from thinking straight, and he
couldn't snap out of it. He couldn't see through the heavy sheen of fog and he
couldn't snap himself out of his thoughts to concentrate on anything else
around him. He was a failure, the titans were right, he was a bad person, he
had turned foul. Robin was nearly falling in to pieces.
“Robin, are you okay`” Slade called from distance. Or so Robin assumed, he
couldn't concentrate on the moment. “Robin it's okay, snap out of it.” Robin
felt hands on his arms, shaking him, and Robin stared at Slade's mask that
wasn't far from his own face. “Don't let the words affect you, the titans don't
know a thing. You stayed for your own reasons, it was your decision, you chose
what was right for you.” Slade said. Robin tore his hands away from him. What
did Slade mean? He had not stayed, he just went through the deal so he could
return after the week. Return to his friends. Robin was almost seething. This
was just a simulator. Robin reminded himself, almost chanting it in his head to
make the thought sink in. This wasn't true, just a simulator, and illusion.
“You stayed because you knew that I could offer you something that your friends
couldn't. Something more than just friendly love.” Robin was almost petrified.
He didn't know what to say. His friend never wanted to see him again, there
could be nothing he would have done to make them hate him! He couldn't have
abandoned his friends for a fling! Friends were something eternal,
relationships come and go, but friends stay. He couldn't have chosen anything
over his friends. What a jerk he had to be to leave his friends and his city
for something as pathetic as a crush. Robin deserved a good hit on the head for
that. Robin was so confused.
“I stayed?” Robin was asking the question. He couldn't answer to it himself, he
hoped that Slade could.
“Your friends had you cornered. Either you return to them, act as if nothing
happened and denied you innermost feelings, or you go with me. You tried to
compromise. You really did, you tried to get the best of both words, but we all
know that you can't always have what you want. You tried to keep their
friendship, you tried to stand to your city. You stayed with me, fought like
me, and went on missions with me, and you thought that what we did would
eventually be for the best. Your friends didn't support your beliefs though.
You were made to choose.” Slade explained. Robin felt his thumb on his face,
tracing his cheek gently.
“This is some kind of alternative universe, isn't it? A simulator's sick
twisted reality.” Robin mumbled bitterly. Would it be like this in the real
world? Would he have to decide between friends and Slade? He couldn't make the
choice, but he knew that in the end, he'd stay with his friends: Unhappy, but
at least he stood to his purpose: He did what was expected of him, heroes did
not turn to the other side, they were an example to the others.
“This could be.” Slade mumbled, not really answering to the question.
Robin noticed that they were standing on a dead end alley, and Slade was
standing close enough to him that one could say that they were holding each
other. Slade had his other hand on Robin's arm, and the other traced his face.
“You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you might get what you
need.” Slade said and Robin heard the determined edge to it, and Robin
understood what the man had meant. Robin had wanted his friends, wanted them
really bad, but couldn't have them, so instead he got what he truly needed:
Someone to look after him so he wouldn't have to be the one always showing the
lead to others. He got that something that finally let him relax enough to earn
that day off he never had taken before.
“Thanks.” Robin mumbled and rested his shoulder against Slade's shoulder. The
cold steel felt really good against Robin's hot face. Robin was suddenly so
tired. His friends had said all those horrible things to him, he just wanted to
sleep. Be a simulator that it was, Robin was still between rock and a hard
place. It seemed like the simulator had created a whole new possible future.
What happened after the one week deal they had made? Robin had not dared to
think about it before, but the simulator forced him to face it. There might be
a chance where he'd have to choose between the two. There even might be chance
that he lost the other.
“Come now, Robin. We'll have to finish what we started.” Slade mumbled and once
again helped Robin to walk around. They still had some time left to take care
of the man with his foul intentions to explode the mayors building.
“Why can't we just find the explosives and trigger them off so they won't
detonate?” Robin tried. The titans never killed. Robin was afraid of what he
had become.
“You know that it's no use. The man will just try again. Only way to stop it
once and for all is to kill him now. You know it.” And Robin knew. Deep inside
he knew it, and he understood. That's probably the reason why he only nodded at
Slade, ready to fire the final blow if it came to it.
Nothing else was said between the two as they made their way out of the dead
end alley.
“Let's try again. Too bad that they broke your gun, now it has to be done the
old fashioned way.” Slade whispered to Robin. They were both watching the man
who walked on the alleys. Slade and Robin had agreed to kill the man in battle,
since Robin had gotten his gun destroyed.
“Let's get it over with.” Robin was ready to begin with the mission. His leg
was hurting really bad, but he ignored the pain. If he survived this simulator,
he'd get to relax and the pain would be just another memory.
“Let's go.” Slade confirmed, and they both jumped down the building's edge to
surround the man on the narrow alley.
“What the heck!?” The man yelled, holding his hands in front of him as he took
a spin on his stance to see that Slade blocked his way further, and Robin
prevented him from returning backwards. The man held his briefcase close to his
body as if he was protecting the thing.
“Nothing personal, I just need the mayor's building for my own purposes, I
can't let you destroy it.” Usually Slade wasn't too chatty with people when he
intended to kill, well, usually he wasn't too chatty with anyone, but he knew
that Robin needed the silent support. The kid needed the thrive.
“Who do you think you are?” The man held his briefcase close to his chest with
both hands, and he looked like he was angry, and more than ready to fight back.
It was then that Robin decided to speak up, not happy with being ignored as the
man acted like he wasn't there.
“We are the ones who will stop you.” Robin ran to the man and aimed a kick at
the man' swinging his leg in the air, but the man bended backwards low enough
to evade the high kick aimed at the man's chest, and as Robin turned back
thanks to the velocity of his kick, the man hit his briefcase on Robin's back,
before landing a kick on Robin's behind, causing the other to stumble on the
ground. Robin had misjudged the man. The man was way faster and flexible than
he had thought, it seemed like the man was swirling, almost dancing, as he
avoided Slade's punches that came his way. The man was too fast to hit, and he
evaded almost every punch. Robin noticed that in balance the man's punches and
attacks weren't the strongest. The man didn't seem too though either.
Robin lifted himself up. If he'd manage to land a good blow or two the man
would be dazed enough to be taken care of. He'd only have to catch him.
Robin ran to Slade's aid, throwing punches and kicks, but none of them hit the
target. The man was too fast to read. Robin tried his best to see what the man
was about to do, just like Slade had taught him. He looked at his body
language, his eyes, his feet, but the man was simply too fast. Robin aimed
another blow to the man's face, but the man bended backwards, grasped his wrist
and flung Robin over him, turning his own power back to him. Robin hit his back
painfully on the ground with a loud thumb and a crack, and the man rolled on
top of him, holding Robin in place.
“Get off!” Robin tried to fight the man off. Robin pulled at his arms and
flailed them around, but the man's grasp didn't let go of his wrists even if
the man didn't have enough strength in his arms to keep Robin still.
“Gladly!” The man finally yelled, and let Robin go. The man jumped off and he
took momentum from Robin's stomach, almost kicking Robin's stomach flat as he
jumped to the air, and the moment the man was off him, Robin understood why the
man had let go. Slade had aimed a high kick on him, but now that the man was no
longer there, the kick was aimed at Robin.
Robin covered the best he could, and Slade managed to redirect his kick only
barely, hitting inches from Robin's head.
Slade didn't wait for another moment but already launched at the man, wanting
to take care of the scum who almost made him hurt his apprentice.
Robin also rose back to his feet, and he watched at Slade and the other who
fought before him. They both were really fast, and the man avoided Slade's
attacks, even if the man tried to make the man trip while he tried to hit the
other unconscious. Robin watched as Slade was about to hit the man to his left
side, but the man evaded it by dashing to the right, Slade was then preparing a
kick to tackle the man, but the other jumped up, making Slade miss again. And
then Robin noticed it, he could read Slade's movements very well, but not the
others, but maybe that was all that he needed. Robin ran to join the fight. He
noticed that Slade was about to kick the man's face. Out of instinct, he tried
to evade by ducking, so Robin aimed low, preparing a hit once he was on the
ground. The man knelt, and Robin kicked, he managed to hit the man straight to
the nose, causing the other to howl in pain and grasp his nose as he flew
couple of feet in the air.
The man slid across the alley until his back hit the wall. Taking out his bo
staff, Robin readied it like a spear that would impale his head.
“Do it Robin.” Slade watched as Robin lifted the stick over his head, ready to
hit, but before he could, a green bolt hit Robin on the side and caused the kid
to fly on the wall on his left, almost going through the whole wall.
“Robin!” Slade yelled after him, but he couldn't run to check if the other was
okay. The titans had found them.
“Step away from that man!” The titans yelled, and Cyborg aimed his cannon at
Slade, but Slade managed to jump away from the way. Raven was already causing
the streetlights to bend as she used them to try and hit Slade. He also was
avoiding Beast Boy’s bear claws that threatened to tear him to mere shreds in
seconds.
As Robin got himself back to his feet, he saw how the man was getting back to
his feet as well, he took his suitcase and he ran. The man was escaping now
that Robin and Slade were distracted. A smart man he was.
“Robin, stop the man, I'll hold back the Titans!” Slade yelled as he got hit by
the street pole and Slade rammed himself on the wall behind him. “Go!” He
shouted at Robin.
Robin looked at Slade for a moment, but once the man got back to his feet and
he hit Beast Boy straight on the boy's face, causing the other to retaliate and
turn back in to human Robin decided that Slade could fight for himself, and he
ran after the target.
Robin felt the gashes on his legs as he ran, and the spot where Beast Boy had
bitten him hurt really bad, not to even mention his sides were killing him.
Robin didn't slow down any though, because the man was fast, and if he couldn't
keep up he would escape once and for all. The man was obviously faster than
Robin, but Robin had the tools, so he took his bop staff and he aimed it and
threw it at the man's feet, causing the other to stumble and fall. Robin
watched as the man fell to the ground, and Robin ran to punch the man in the
face, causing blood to splash from the man's nose and the lip that just split
as Robin hit the man unconscious. Robin felt the adrenaline rush through him,
he knew that he had to hurry, the titans were after him, and they would take
care of him and Slade if he didn't kill the man now.
The man laid unconscious on the dirty ground, and Robin lifted the man up
enough to sit on the ground awkwardly. The man was still unconscious, his
breath was uneven and rough, and his head rolled to the side like a rag doll.
“You won’t feel a thing.” Robin whispered to the unconscious man as Robin took
hold of the man's head with both hands and violently he twisted it in his arms
until he heard a horrible crack from the man's neck. He had killed a man with
his bare hands.
“Robin how could you?! You monster!” Starfire practically screamed, and only
then Robin noticed that the other had been watching him for the whole time.
Starfire had seen him commit the worst crime known to a man.
“You monster, you betrayed us and you killed that man! You truly are the most
disgusting-” Robin could hear the Tamaranian curse and cuss him in her native
language and Robin grimaced. “I didn't want to believe it, but you really
belong to Slade. A Slade you are, a traitor, a whore!” The last one really made
Robin feel sick. Since when did Starfire learn a word like that? Robin was too
taken back to even manage to speak a word to his defense.
“You let Slade touch you, fuck you, and you let him change you, you are
disgusting. I bet you beg the man to do it!” Starfire had tears in her eyes and
Robin felt like there was a hollow area in his chest which was filled with ice.
Starfire said so many hurtful things, so many things that made Robin wish that
it was all over already. He had killed the man, he cleared the mission, why
hadn't the simulator ended already?
“Starfire, please, let me explain-” Robin begged, only to get a hit on his side
by the girl's green bolts that were aimed at his chest, meant to keep Robin
away for good.
“No!” Starfire yelled, and aimed bolt after bolt at Robin, and most of them hit
the target. Some of them hit him really bad. “I never want to see you again,
you are a no friend of mine, Robin!” Starfire seethed, she more than seethed,
she was mad, furious, angry, and in complete despair and Robin was in so much
agony by every shot she fired at him.
“Starfire…” Robin mumbled silently as the bolts ceased, and Robin saw that the
girl was coming at him, ready to start hitting him with her bare hands.
Robin, feeling more than hurt inside, was in such mental agony about how he had
gotten Starfire so mad at him that he almost lost the will to fight back. Robin
felt Starfire's fist against his cheek and Robin fell to the ground with a
grunt. He almost wanted to die by the hands of his best friend.
But then Robin heard a really familiar voice. It was a pained grunt, almost a
yell, and it was coming from Slade. Robin couldn't see the other, but he heard
that he was in trouble. The titans were finally able to get the other down.
“Slade!” Robin yelled at the man, hoping to hear the other yell a “I'm okay!”
To Robin, but he didn't. Robin lifted himself from the ground so he could run
after Slade as he yelled for the man, and he listened for any kind of answer.
“Robin-!” Slade started to yell something at him, but the last thing Robin
heard was a
“Don't listen to that horrible man!” as both Starfire's hands smashed at either
side of his head, smashing against his ears, blowing Robin's eardrums to
shreds. Robin screamed in agony.
It felt like his ears were stinging, it was like his head was filled with water
or at least acid as the air was felt against the walls. It stung with pain he
couldn't compare to anything else. Robin could hear the loud hum in his ears
every time he breathed, and the pain was enough to cause Robin to try and shake
his head in order to escape the pain, but it only agitated the ear. Robin felt
like it was harder to stay standing up as his world kept swinging. But that
wasn't even the worst of it. There was a loud ringing in his ears, it was loud
enough to drown all the voice, and Robin felt himself go deaf. The shrill
ringing almost made him mad, but he couldn't afford that now, he couldn't hear
Slade!
Robin turned to kick Starfire as hard as he could, and as he caught the girl by
surprise he managed to hit her off.
Robin fought to stay upright as he ran to Slade. At this moment, the only thing
Robin could think was Slade. He had to get the man away from the titans. The
titans may hate him and want him dead, but right now Slade was only one who
still was by his side. Robin couldn't afford to lose the man too. Robin owed
Slade.
Robin ran back to Slade, and he noticed that the man was panting heavily. Slade
looked like he had taken a beating, but the man was still standing and fighting
back with all that he had. Most of the man's damage was taken from Raven whose
eyes were now glowing white.
Slade whipped around to face Robin as the man noticed that Robin had arrived,
and the man was furiously pointing at some deserted alleyway not far behind.
Robin couldn't hear the man's yell over the ringing in his ears but he was
rather sure that the man said something like this: “Get away from here!”
“Not without you!” Robin yelled at the top of his lungs, way louder than
necessary. Robin couldn't hear his own voice so he couldn't know if he was
yelling or not if it wasn't for the slightly sore throat that the yell left
behind.
Robin knew his friends. He knew what they were good at, but he also knew their
weaknesses. Robin dug in his belt for anything useful, ready fight against his
friends with teeth and nails to get both himself and Slade out of there alive.
Robin's hand found a glue bomb for the first, and Robin already knew who to
throw it at. Robin threw the thing at Beast boy, causing the other to be
covered by goo that stuck the small boy to the floor. Beast Boy tried to turn
in to anything either strong or big or something that could fly to be able to
get himself free, but the glue stuck hard and kept the other pinned. Beast boy
was prevented from moving for good.
Robin then ran to avoid Cyborg’s punches that came at him. Robin jumped out of
harms way, avoiding the attacks. The ringing in his ears was a serious
disadvantage since he couldn't hear Raven preparing yet another attack with her
chant, but he could at least see her lips moving. Robin dug around his pocket
and picked up a very small sphere which he soon flipped to Raven's mouth,
almost making the other choke, but at least the spell was broken. Raven fell
from the sky, hitting the ground and it looked rather painful.
Robin saw Cyborg's lips move, and the snarl and growl was obvious on the man's
face, and Robin knew that the other was raging at him. Robin knew that the
other was furious, but he also knew that when Cyborg lost his patience the man
became careless. Robin quickly maneuvered around the much bigger teen to turn
the other off in to sleep mode, and Robin pushed the other over.
Robin turned around again to see that Starfire had caught up. Her lips were
moving fast and tears were flowing down her face, and her hands were swinging
the air in front of her chest. Robin couldn't tell a word of what she was
saying.
Robin grimaced at the pain all around his mutilated body, but he forced it to
keep going. He'd have to take out the last of the Titans before she decided to
shoot another bolt at him. He knew that he couldn't stand anymore of those
bolts.
But then Robin noticed that he didn't have to. Slade had suddenly appeared
behind her and with a fast tap to her spine she fell unconscious to the ground.
At that moment Robin ran to Slade so they could support each other. Slade had
his hand once again on Robin's cheek, and Robin rested his face against the
gentle touch. Robin saw from the man's eye that Slade was talking to him, but
Robin couldn't hear.
“What? I can't hear you.” Robin yelled, he was unaware of his yelling because
he still couldn't hear his own voice. Slade then looked at him for a rather
long moment with a concerned look before them man lifted his hands to touch
both of Robin's ears. Robin felt the touch, he heard the loud ringing and the
loud hum of his blood rushing in his veins. Robin took Slade's hands to his as
he vocally assured the man that he was okay as they both started to return to
their base.
Robin helped Slade walk jut as Slade supported him. It looked like two drunks
staggering to stay up with the help of each other, and robin thanked the higher
ups when no-one was there to see them.
The base was just like it was when they left, and Robin turned to face Slade.
“Thanks.” He yelled once again, this time it was Robin who reached to kiss the
other. Slade lifted the mask so Robin could get what he wanted. The kiss was
tender and it seemed like Slade was also thanking him through the kiss. Robin
noticed that the kiss felt different from before, it was tingling, and it was
as if he couldn't get enough of it. Robin had his eyes closed for the whole
time, he didn't know if it was for the fatigue or for something else, but he
didn't care.
Finally they parted and Robin opened his eyes only to notice that Slade was
nowhere to be seen. Also, their base was neither there no longer, and the walls
of the simulator were surrounding them.
Robin realized that the simulator was over. Finally over.
Robin watched as the doors opened to the observatory, and he saw how Slade
walked over to him, and escorted him out of the simulator room. Robin was
almost petrified to see the other walk from the observatory, but finally he
understood that the Slade in the simulator had only been another figment of the
simulator just like his friends had been. Robin didn't mind, at least now he
had the real thing back. Slade took Robin to the observatory and Robin was
almost taken a back when he could hear humming and beeping but none of that
annoying ringing in his ears the moment he stepped over the threshold,
realizing that he was out of the simulator's effect range.
“Slade?” Robin asked, almost as if to make sure that he was truly hearing
again.
“Robin.” the other said, and Robin heard it. Robin was really relieved to know
that.
“You passed.” Slade gloated, and Robin was more than glad of the praise. “You
killed the target and didn't abandon you partner.” Slade had his arm around
Robin's shoulder, the closest they could get to a hug. Robin held the hand that
was on his shoulder with his.
“Yeah, now let's get back.” Robin mumbled. He was tired, and he was more than
looking forward to be able to fall on their bed and relax.
Slade laughed and ruffled Robin's hair before they both walked to their room.
In the room Robin tore off his uniform so he could relax on the bed and feel
the cold and soft garments devour him. Robin felt the slight pain in his back,
but he knew that it was only because of the strain, and the pain was
diminishing now that he finally got to relax.
“That was quite a simulator, wasn't it.” Slade asked. Robin thought in silence
for a while. He ran the whole thing through in his mind, and he frowned at the
memory of his friends he faced in the simulator.
“Yeah.” Robin sighed and hugged the pillows.
“I warned you though. I said that things could get pretty personal over there.”
Slade was sitting at the end of the bed on Robin's side, and Robin was glad
that the man was around.
Robin didn't quite know what to say. He felt like he should continue the
conversation, but he couldn't find any words to say. Robin turned to his side,
turning his back to Slade, as he buried himself under the covers. Robin was
mulling his thoughts, thinking of his friends, and thinking what would happen
if he'd ever tell them about this. Could his friends just abandon him like he
was said to do.
“Robin, don't think of it too much.” Slade said and held Robin's angle and
petted it slightly through the cover. “There might even be chance that it won't
ever come to that. It wasn't the past you were fighting against. Future
varies.” Slade reasoned as he tried to get some eye contact with the other, but
Robin wasn't up to it. Slade waited for the kid to snap out of it for a while
longer, before he took back his arm to rest it on his knee. Slade wasn't one to
comfort, he never was and never would be. It would be for the best to let the
kid fret. Slade let out a faint sigh without noticing.
Robin turned enough to look at the other, even if he was still mainly hidden
under his covers, and only his head was visible. Robin observed the man for a
while before he finally felt bold enough to ask: “What did you see?” Slade only
made a grunt like sound that reminded Robin of “huh?”
Robin decided to turn around enough to be fully facing the other before
rephrasing: “You said that it can get pretty personal down there, so you know
so by personal experience. What did you see in there?”
Slade shook his head while mumbling something that to Robin sounded like “Smart
kid.” before the other finally started to talk. Slade considered his words and
it was clear that the man didn't want to tell any more than necessary. “I
relive the past. Mainly the moment when my right eye was shot.”
Robin stayed quiet for a while, not knowing if the other was sad or nonchalant.
One could never tell with Slade.
“I guess you really are a Cyclops under that mask.” Robin joked, but Slade was
oozing with sarcasm:
“Very funny.” Slade rose to stand to walk to face the closet. Slade was
seemingly searching some cloths from the closet, but Robin knew that it was
merely an act. Robin sat up so he could lean against the wall and his cover
fell to his lap, letting Robin's upper body bare. Slade did pick up something
from the closet though and he threw it to his night table. Robin didn't know
what it was, but he supposed that it was just a decoy anyway.
“Thanks, though.” Robin had successfully gained Slade's attention. Slade let
his eye wander to Robin's slightly scarred upper body, reminding him of his
true age. The teen was young, but so what, everyone ages eventually.
“For what?” Slade had to ask. Slade leaned against the wall, standing next to
the closet, waiting for Robin's answer.
“For the simulator. The simulator had created you in it too. I couldn't have
been able to face the titans if it weren't for your image right there.” Robin
threw his legs over the edge of the bed while he scratched the back of his
head, making his hair messy.
“You’re welcome. It was just a simulator though.” Slade watched as Robin rose
back to his feet, and flexed his back, and Slade could hear the pops to the
other side of the room. He didn't complain though, who would when Robin was
only wearing boxers and was flexing his abs and chest at him?
Once Robin was done he walked over to Slade, and the boy was now standing in
front of him, not even feet away from him. Robin had to face up to look at
Slade since he was rather short himself. Robin reached Slade to his chest.
“You'd have done the exact thing even if it wasn't.” Robin stated, and Slade
leaned forwards to hover over the teen.
“You sure?” Slade asked, the Titan's leader just hummed. Robin might have been
right.
“You'll find out what to do about it eventually. Besides, things tend to play
on your favor, so I wouldn't be too worried.” Slade leaned against the wall
once again, and he saw that Robin had a rather calm look on his face. Slade was
glad to know that he had said the right words.
“I told you you'd do it outside the simulator,” Robin laughed, taking a step
closer until they were a mere inch apart. “Thanks for that.”
Robin had to stand on the tip of his toes to reach high enough to plant a kiss
to Slade's jaw—it took little effort since his boots were steel-toed. Robin
then took one step backwards, and Slade stared at the other. Robin was still
smiling, but Slade was grinning under his mask. He had finally managed to wrap
Robin around his finger. Took him long enough.
Before Robin could retreat any further, Slade wrapped his arm around his waist
and switched around so that Robin took his previous spot on the wall. Robin
felt the cool surface against his bare skin and almost gave him goosebumps.
“How about we try again, and you will try and aim somewhere else than the
mask.” Slade murmured. Slade was leaning to Robin's level, not far from his
face. Robin could hear and feel Slade's breath as it passed through the slits
on the man's mask, Robin could see how Slade kept looking at him, waiting for
Robin's move. Slade had both his hands against the wall on either side of
Robin, but the man wasn't touching Robin in any way. Other than the fact that
Robin was between the wall and Slade, the kid was completely free. Robin
watched Slade with his only eye and Robin knew what Slade was waiting for. He
was waiting for his consent. Slade gave Robin a chance to back away, or accept
the situation with all it's possible consequences. Robin swallowed hard before
he reached his hand on the edge of Slade's mask at the man's chin, and Slade
took a hold of Robin's wrist. Slade was merely warning Robin, the hold wasn't
enough to stop Robin from moving his hand. Slade was trusting Robin to not
remove his mask.
Robin had one last hesitating glance over Slade's shoulder as the boy stomped
on his stand nervously before he buried his neck on Slade's neck. Robin
couldn't see much because all the shadows were hiding the other, so Robin
decided to close his eyes. Robin tried to resist the temptation to just tear
off the mask and actually look at the man. Robin had his eyes sealed shut and
he slightly lifted the mask. Robin didn't remove it nor did he lift it up, he
just pushed it aside enough to be able to kiss the corner or the man's mouth.
Robin could smell Slade really well from here, and he was enjoying the man's
cologne.
Slade didn't wait for any further invitation once the kiss was laid, and pushed
the boy against the wall, pinning the other against it with his own body as he
devoured Robin's mouth. The position was only slightly awkward thanks to their
height difference, but Robin would grow to fit in, even if it would take a
couple more years.
For them to be the same height, Slade lifted Robin by the waist and held him
there so he wouldn't slide, using his body to pin him. They hadn't broken the
kiss once while doing this. Slade kissed Robin hard, trying to part his lips
with his tongue. Once open, he slipped it in and explored every inch of him.
Robin too was eager to participate, and he had his arms around Slade's neck,
pulling the other even closer, as Robin fought with Slade's tongue with his
own. He may not be too experienced, but he was good at mimicking what the other
man did. Robin moaned at the kiss when Slade bit on his lip before licking the
same spot, making Robin shiver. Robin had his legs hanging uselessly above the
floor a while ago, but he now locked them around Slade's waist, pressing his
crotch into him. With his fingers, Slade dug them against his naked flesh and
bit his lips hard enough to break through the tender skin. Slade licked off the
blood, massaging the wound before he slid his tongue against Robin's, making
the teen taste his own blood. Robin moaned and sucked on Slade's tongue,
tasting the coppery liquid on the other, and Robin faintly bit on Slade's
tongue, not too hardy, but enough to make Slade thrust his hips against Robin.
Robin moaned again, letting Slade's tongue from his intense kiss. Robin slid
his hands to back, clawing at his skin through the fabric. Robin couldn't help
but open his eyes, but only thing he saw was the color of orange that dominated
his vision. Slade's mask was almost pressed against Robin's face, and only
thing the kid saw was the orange part of it.
Wanting to feel every inch of this muscular man's skin against his own, Robin
hugged his arms around him, pulling his chest closer. He then attacked his
lips, mimicking him by tracing his teeth against them, caressing it with his
gentle touch before gently biting. Slade then devoured Robin's mouth once
again, making the other let go of his lip. Robin slid his hands around Slade's
waist to fondle with Slade's belt, trying to get it off as it was digging into
his abdomen. Also, Robin wanted to strip the man of his clothing.
Slade gave Robin one more long kiss before he separated to bite on Robin's
neck, forming small bite marks, before he finally proceeded to suck on Robin's
neck, forming an angry red love bite. Robin couldn't help the small whimper
that daringly passed his lips. The bite didn't quite hurt, but it ached
slightly and it felt uncomfortable.
Robin had Slade's head between his shoulder and cheek, and Robin couldn't help
but try and cover from the other who kept biting on his flesh. But it didn't
stop Robin from getting Slade's belt off. With a click, he dropped it to the
floor with a slight thump. Slade quickly kicked it underneath the bed to keep
it out of sight.
Slade then traced his lips down Robin's chest. Slade had his other hand still
around Robin's waist, but the other was now against Robin's abdomen, keeping
the other still. Slade slid his tongue against Robin's pectorals, tasting the
other who was on his hold before Slade took Robin's right nipple in his mouth.
Robin tried to push himself off the wall to meet the man, but couldn't. Robin
was panting as Slade rolled his tongue around the nub, before the man bit on
it, and Robin felt as Slade scratched his teeth against it, making the other
shutter. Robin had to swallow and close his mouth to prevent making any more
noise. Robin kept clawing his fingers at Slade's hips as he pressed them
together, trying to feel much more of him. The boxers that hung low on his lips
were thin enough to let him feel the other man against him, but he couldn't say
same of Slade. Finally, Robin got a good grip of the hem of Slade's shirt and
lifted it up towards his torso, all the while sliding his fingers along his
sides. Robin could feel the man's hard and defined muscles, and Robin couldn't
resist but to slide his whole palm on Slade's sides and feel the body. Once
they were to his armpits, Slade stopped teasing his nipples long enough to pull
it off for him. Slade pinned Robin between the wall with his body to prevent
the other from falling. Robin kept watching Slade's muscular torso as the other
was taking off his shirt, and Robin slid his hands against Slade's abs, chest,
before he started kissing the man's collar bone.
Slade had to tear off his gloves to be able to get rid of the shirt which he
now threw as far away as he could before pushed Robin's chest back against the
wall as the man started to lick on Robin's other nipple, making sure it got an
equal treatment.
Robin reached his head backwards to let out a throaty moan. Robin hissed
through his teeth as Slade kept biting on the tender flesh. He kept up the
scratching on his back, massaging his muscles.
Robin could feel Slade's semi erect cock against his fully erect one. He tried
pressing them together, but cursed at him for his overly clothed state.
Slade then laid a final kick on Robin's nipple as the man lifted Robin up to
slightly more, and Robin could feel Slade's cock pressing against his bun. At
then Robin hissed through his teeth as Slade kissed below Robin's chin.
“Slade-” Robin panted, and Slade trusted against Robin, and Robin uttered a
grunt like sound as he felt the man's cock against his ass. Slade was big, or
at least he was bigger than he was. Robin felt himself blush at that. They
wouldn't do it, would they? Robin was nervous, he hadn't done this before, and
he wasn't quite sure if he wanted to do it yet. Robin shivered partially in
pleasure and partially because he was nervous as Slade slid his hands against
Robin's hips to rest on Robin's waistband. Robin could feel Slade's hands
slither under the brim of Robin's boxers, and then Robin grasped Slade's
wrists. Robin kept opening and closing his mouth but the words seemed to be
caught on his throat, but at least Robin managed to shake his head.
“Slade, I don't think I'm-” Robin stuttered only to get Slade to kiss him to
silence him.
“You are not ready for it yet.” Slade said against Robin's lips. Every time he
shook his head, their lips brushed together; that's how close they were. That's
how close he was.
Slade then started to lower Robin down, and when Robin finally felt floor under
his feet Robin was quite confused to see that Slade himself was kneeling in
front of him.
“Let's try something else then.” Slade had his fingers back under the brim of
Robin's boxer's and Slade kissed Robin's hip bone, making the other shiver as
Slade was rather close to his privates at the moment.
“I'll do this to you so you know how to return the favor one day, won't you?”
Slade said against Robin's skin. Robin pressed his behind against the wall, but
he was slightly leaning over Slade as Robin had his hands clenching on Slade's
shoulders.
Slade pulled the brim slightly lower, not low enough to reveal Robin's dick,
but low enough that Slade could nuzzle his nose on Robin's pubes. Robin
couldn't resist the small shutter and a moan as Slade talked, and he could feel
the warm air through the thin fabric brush against his cock.
“Won't you?” Slade teased, waiting for Robin's answer before he would continue
any further.
To be honest: By this point Robin had already forgotten what they were talking
about.
Who could blame him, Slade was practically sucking him through his boxers.
Slade had just mouthed Robin's dick through the fabric, tracing it with his
mouth, and blowing the hot air against it, making Robin wither. Robin hoped
that a nod would count as an answer, because he didn't trust his voice at all.
Too bad Robin had to resort to speaking up after all, because Slade seemed to
refuse looking up to acknowledge Robin's nob. Robin dared to look down at
Slade, but only noticed the man's bare upper torso and the black and white mask
which was facing him. Slade lifted the mask to the top of his head. With his
face to his groin, Robin wouldn't be able to see his face, but he stuttered
nonetheless. It seemed like it was staring up at him.
“Ye-” Robin hissed as Slade faintly bit on Robin's hip bone, forming a hickey
down there too.
Slade seemed to gather that answer as good as any, and the other finally
lowered Robin's boxers, letting Robin's cock spring free, and Robin pushed
himself fully against the wall. He felt shy all of sudden.
Robin refused to look down at Slade now, even as he felt his hand pull down his
foreskin right before trailing his wet tongue from the root to the very tip.
Robin shuttered and he knew that he was leaking pre-cum by now, and Robin
squeezed his eyes shut. Robin was groaning silently as Slade rolled his tongue
on the tip, tasting the dripping pre-cum. Soon the man closed his lips on the
glans and Robin felt the man's teeth trace the tip. Slade knew better than put
any real weight on the touch since a man's penis was a really tender part of
any man's anatomy, and he didn't want this to be painful. Slade sucked on the
tip before swallowing the whole length down, making Robin moan so beautifully
that it was like music to his ears. Slade may not repeat this act too often in
the future, but if it meant hearing those moans being emitted from the other,
he just might. Maybe on some rare occasion such as his birthday…maybe.
Robin moaned as the man moved his mouth on his brick, making Robin's knees
weak. Slade then pressed his other hand on Robin's hips to keep the other down,
making sure that the kid couldn't move any. Robin wished to bury his hands on
the man's hair but resisted it, he knew that Slade wouldn't allow it.
Robin was panting really loudly as Slade sucked on the tip, rolling his tongue
around the other before he swallowed Robin's whole length down once again, and
Robin tried to cover his mouth with his own hand but Slade took hold of Robin's
wrist and he twisted the hand behind Robin's back to make sure that the kid
wouldn't even try again.
“Slade, I-I'm going to-” Robin grunted and swallowed loudly, before he moaned,
his throat almost sore as Slade deepthroated him, causing him to come in
Slade's mouth.
Once Slade retreated from Robin he spit the cum on the floor and let the kid
slide along the wall to sit on the ground. Robin was panting really hard and he
was exhausted.
Slade kissed Robin on the forehead one last time before he pulled his mask back
in place. Slade then went to get his clothes which h put back on, and once he
was back to where Robin was still sitting, he noticed that the other had fallen
asleep. Robin was resting peacefully, leaning against the wall with his head
lolling to the side, lip swollen and neck and torso littered with bite marks.
Slade smiled fondly at him as Robin's mouth moved in his sleep as if he was
saying something. Slade pulled Robin's boxers back up to Robin's hips before he
picked Robin up. He then carried the kid to the bed where he covered him with
the blanket and let him sleep.
Slade watched Robin sleep for a while before getting up to shower before
sleeping too.
***** Chapter 24 *****
Slade woke Robin early that morning. Robin wasn't tired per se, but it felt as
if Slade had woken him up from a deep sleep and he still felt like he wasn't
fully up yet. Robin dressed himself with his uniform and followed Slade to the
kitchen.
At the breakfast table Robin didn't feel like talking too much in that specific
morning, so he just sat on his stool, eyes half closed as sleep tried to force
them shut. Robin greeted Slade with a grunt to the man's general direction as
an acknowledgment.
Robin had had a really interesting dream that night. He had been calm, but
slightly sad at the dream, but at the same time he felt like he was in such an
ease that he just let himself linger.
In his dream Robin hat been sitting on top of the Titans tower. He had been
watching the sunrise. The sun rose from behind the city which still laid in
deep slumber. All the streetlights seemed to be red, a rare car drove on the
the streets occasionally, and not even the earliest joggers were yet to go to
run their morning route or take their dog out for a piss.
The moment was beautiful, and almost even surreal when usually the city was
deserted and almost devoted of life.
The wind seemed to be nonexistent in that spectacular morning, but still Robin
had the need to hug his other knee to his chest and lay his chin on it.
The city may be beautiful to watch, a true eye candy, but it didn't get Robin
from his thoughts. His thoughts were still somewhere far away from the present.
Robin noticed, that the man in the mask had his thoughts even then. Robin
missed Slade. He had finally returned to his friends, he was the happiest he
had ever been, Or so he was supposed to be. Yet he kept missing Slade. But
Robin didn't know what to do about it.
The sun slowly inched higher and higher in the sky, and Robin saw how the
shadows escaped it's warm and bright rays.
Robin found himself wondering if he should return to Slade. He knew that he
couldn't. Slade and him had nothing in common. Slade was an assassin, and not
to mention, criminally insane. Robin was not, he was a hero. Robin didn't know
what he wanted. He knew that if he was to return to Slade, he would most likely
need to drop the hero act. Even in his dreams there was no place for childish
hopes of Slade changing to be good. Slade would truly make Robin his
apprentice, and Robin would have to forget protecting his city and start living
as an assassin himself. And he knew that he couldn't do that. He had
expectations, he had friends, he had a liability. He protected his city, and he
couldn't let that go. Robin felt like every single person in that sun bathed
city were his responsibility, his to take care of, his to protect. He had to
stay and take care of them like they were his own. He couldn't leave them to
fend for themselves.
Robin sunk deeper to his thoughts. He knew that being with Slade was what he
secretly craved. The man made him feel different, he made the hair at the back
of his neck rise up when he spoke to him and his skin tingle with eagerness and
lust when he touched him. The man also brought challenge, yet the man brought
him as an equal partner. But that was something he couldn't have.
They truly were too different. If Robin were to go with Slade, he'd have to
adapt to Slade's way of things: Try to dominate the world, kill innocent people
and rule with iron fist. He knew that he couldn't maintain his black and white,
good conquers all, superhero life with the other man. Slade wouldn't allow him
to.
Robin watched the lite red sky with a rare purple, almost grayish blue; clouds
and Robin frowned. It was difficult to be him. What he wanted and what everyone
else expected: were two different things, and he couldn't please everyone no
matter what he decided. Yet, Robin couldn't abandon the thought of leaving. He
was curious, and he was attracted to the man like a moth was attracted to light
For once he wanted to be selfish and just get what he wanted, but he couldn't
even allow himself that. Mostly because he was afraid of actually getting
exactly that. He was afraid of what Slade would make him in to. He knew that
being a hero would no longer be an option, and he wasn't ready to give that up.
Only the thought was enough to make him trash all the thoughts he had of
packing his things and going for it before he even got a look to his back pack
neatly tucked away in the back of his closet.
"Robin?" Came a voice behind him, and without turning around Robin looked to
his side, waiting for the person to walk to his line of vision. It was Raven,
dressed in her usual black and blue attire with the hood pulled down.
"It's beautiful out here. Is that why you are up so early?" She asked, and sat
beside him. She crossed her legs as she did for meditation and she looked at
the calm red sky. Robin merely nodded as an answer, not feeling like saying
anything.
"Are you okay, Robin?" Raven asked, and turned to face Robin. Robin turned to
face her, not knowing what to say. Robin had already seen the best part of the
sunrise, it would be only polite to face the person you were talking to.
"I guess I am." Robin nibbled his gloves with his fingers. Robin had to be a
masochist to even consider leaving. He was happy here, he knew that things
would be different at Slade's. The man would make him change, he would make him
turn his world view upside down. Everything was so clear before he went to
Slade for that one week, now, the only thing he had were half-assed opinions
and a thorn mind.
"You don't look like you are." Raven commented, and Robin lay his gaze on the
roof they were sitting on. He didn't have enough strength to look at Raven.
Robin knew that what he had was lust for the man, and that he didn't truly want
anything that came along it, not the missions, not the killing, and definitely
NOT the rule over the world thing. Their so called relationship couldn't work.
Light and dark couldn't co-exist in one space at the same time. Slade and Robin
were like two sides of the same coin, so close, yet never at the same side.
Why couldn't he accept that?
"Do you want to talk about it?" Raven asked, and she really looked like she
wanted to help. She may hide her emotions, but she wasn't heartless. Did Robin
want to talk about it then? Not really, but he knew that he needed to. But how
weird would it be to explain to your best friend that he wanted some one, but
would never have the guts to act on it? If it were up to Robin, he would stay
as a titan forever, hiding the thoughts of Slade deep withing a box only
reserved for his most hidden and denied feelings and thoughts.
"I'm just thorn between two options Raven, I don't know if I can choose." Robin
finally admitted, and he rubbed his left arm as if it were cold all of sudden.
"And what may those options be?" Raven was obviously trying to pry Robin to
open up a little, and so the other did: "To stay or leave? I want to spend some
more time with someone I met before. I don't know if it's the right decision."
He admitted. Robin didn't really know what he wanted to hear. He hoped that he
could accept the answer none the less, because usually he was too stubborn to
see what was right in front of him because he wanted to see it his way so badly
that he denied anything else. But Raven's answer wasn't like that.
"Well I don't know. It's your life after all, do what make's you happy, it's
you who is living it after all, and you only die once." But before Robin could
even ask for further explanation or support the only thing he noticed was a
shake on his arm, the one he had just rubbed, and the next thing he saw was
Slade's bedroom and the man's mask not far from his face as the man woke him up
for breakfast.
Robin didn't know what to think of the dream. But it was not to be ignored.
Robin would be freed so to speak in two days. He had only today and tomorrow to
spent with Slade and then he was free to go back home. It had never occurred to
Robin, to think what would happen after this one week, but the dream forced him
to face it. Would Robin miss Slade? Most likely: his touch, his presence, sure,
he would miss that, but would he really be bold enough to act on it? Not
likely.
That morning Robin was too preoccupied with his thoughts to comprehend words,
but he didn't have to. That morning Slade and Robin coexisted in perfect
symbiosis. Robin didn't even have to ask, just reach out his hand, and Slade
would already be handing over the milk carton that previously would have been
too far for him to reach. He didn't need to tell Slade what he needed, the man
just knew. What was the most surprising was that the link went both ways. Robin
had just poured coffee for himself, and he had automatically offered to pour
some for Slade too. Robin knew that Slade drank his coffee black, and he also
knew that the man always had a cup in the mornings. Robin noticed that before
he could even ask if the man wanted any, Slade already held his cup for him as
the man read the news section on the morning paper.
All this was quite unfamiliar to Robin, but it was rather fascinating.
They ate their breakfast in comfortable silence. Robin didn't mind the silence
at all, but once Slade rouse up to stand and lead Robin to the mission room, it
was time to break the spell.
"It's rather early in the morning, but the mission requires as little attention
as possible." Slade set the monitor up to show up a location of a warehouse.
Robin recognized it as the very same warehouse that belonged to Russell. Robin
still thought of the man with distaste.
"You will get in with the pass card you stole, and in there you will copy their
computer's data records, customer records, items shipped et-cetera, on a thumb
drive, and you will make sure to move all the wooden crates in C hall's left
corner to the loading platform. A truck drove by one of my bots will pick them
up." Slade was handing Robin the pass card and one thumb drive. Robin accepted
them both and pocketed them to his belt. "It's a simple mission. If all goes
well no one even knows you are there, so you wont need much preparation." Slade
opened the storage, and Robin took his bo staff just to be sure.
"In simple: Stun the guards, clean the exits, download all data on a thumb
drive, and ship all crates to the front loading platform to be taken away by
cars driven by my bots. You have one hour."
Robin nodded and took a stunner with him. "Simple enough, I'll be quick." Robin
said and stroked Slade's hand while looking the man in the eye: "I'll see you
in an hour." Robin then run away to be on his way. The time line was pretty
meager.
Robin noticed that it truly was pretty early in the morning. The sun hadn't
risen yet, and the ground was still glittering with morning dew. The warehouse
hadn't been too far from their base, near the docks. Robin was only glad for
that, one hour didn't really give you much time for your possible traveling
between the base and the warehouse.
Robin made sure to circle the warehouse once before he took the guards out from
every exit, making sure that they couldn't communicate with each other. This
was something he had learned pretty well with Batman. Robin sneaked behind the
guards, silent, hidden in shadows, before he hit the stunner at the neck of
whoever it was who had the night shift that day.
Robin didn't have time to move the now stunned bodies, so he left them lay
there. He knew that the duration would be longer than he needed, so he wouldn't
have to worry about them getting up too early.
Once Robin made sure that he had all the guards laying around on the floor, all
unconscious, Robin ran to insert the thumb drive to the computer and he copy
pasted all the files to the thump drive, and Robin saw that he had 20 minutes
before all the files would be transferred. That had to be mean many files then.
Robin decided to use the time as productively as he could by starting to move
the crates to the loading platform.
Robin noticed that there were rather many crates scattered around, but the
platform wasn't far, and Robin saw that the cars were already waiting on the
yard. The bots were waiting to start loading the trucks. Robin nodded as he was
pleased, maybe this mission could be taken care of with haste. Then he'd have
pretty much the whole day with Slade, and Robin was looking towards that.
Robin lifted the crate with a grunt and he carried it to the platform from
where a bot took it to the car.
Robin carried the boxes, and he took a haste look at the time, he still had ten
more minutes of the mission left, and he'd have to hurry. Robin lifted the last
crate and he carried it over, and he was lowering it to the pile where the rest
of the boxes waited to be shipped, something hit the crate. It looked like some
kind of shuriken, except that it had a small round device on the middle, and it
made peep like sounds. A bomb. Robin immediately dropped the box, not caring if
there was something breakable inside as he tore the bomb off, not daring to
destroy whatever it was inside those boxes as he threw the thing to the air.
The bomb detonated before the projectile was too high and Robin was hit by the
aftershock and he flew backwards for a couple of meters. The smoke created by
the bomb seemed to be everywhere and Robin couched really hard to try and get
his airways clear. His eyes watered thanks to all that smoke.
Robin couldn't see much, but he heard a rather nasty screech like metal being
bent and soon a small explosion followed. He also heard bangs and clanks like
something was hitting metal with who knows what, and as Robin tried to make his
way towards the voice, his journey was interrupted as something hit him. Robin
hadn't seen it early enough to evade, but now that he looked at what had hit
him, he noticed that it was one of the Slade bots. The Robot was twisted and it
was in rather bad condition as if something had taken it apart. The metal was
dented and twisted, and small sparks were flying from the circuit as the wrong
wires touched each other and the robot short circuited. Robin threw the bot off
of him before it would overload.
Robin took two steps backwards. He was wary, and for a reason. Whatever it was
there, had just taken out the bots without much effort spent in the task. It
couldn't be the titans, since Robin couldn't recognize the bomb thrown at him.
"Who's there!?" Robin yelled, and only got silence as his answer. Robin spun on
his stand, he couldn't see more than a feet in front of him thanks to the
smoke. What a cheap trick to take out his sense of sight.
What a cheap trick to take advantage of it. Robin only saw the boot for a
second before it kicked him straight on the face. Robin flew backwards until he
hit the ground, and he had to rub his nose to confirm that it wasn't broken.
Thank god it wasn't.
Robin lifted himself to his feet, and he closet his eyes. He knew that his
vision was no good, he couldn't let the intruders win though. Robin heard steps
from his side and he automatically swung, and he felt how his hand had managed
to block a hit from the intruder. Robin didn't let the attacker have time to
retreat his hand before he gripped it and forced it behind the intruder's back.
Robin then twisted the person against the ground before Robin bashed the
thing's head against the cement pavement.
Robin felt slightly sorry, but he had better things to do. He had to get the
thumb drive before those guys knew about it. He couldn't let anyone know Slade
was behind this.
Robin gave a fast kick to the attacker just for good measure before Robin ran
to the computer. He was thankful to notice that the computer had finished
loading the files on the thumb drive, so Robin took the thing off and pocketed
it, and just as he was about to turn his head he saw another bomb that was now
jutting from the computer's keyboard.
Robin jumped backwards just as it detonated and Robin was boosted away from the
room. Robin hit his side against the wall, but he didn't let it hinder him as
he already bolted to his feet. Robin ran back to the platform, and he was
pleased to notice that the smoke had already dissipated, but he wasn't happy to
see that all the bots had already been taken care of. The loot was untouched
though.
"What do you want?" Robin yelled and tried to get sight of his attacker, but he
was too slow. Whoever it was had already laid a punch on him from behind, and
before he could face another one, someone had hit him in the air. As Robin
tried to maneuver himself around in the air, ready to land, something hit him
on the back, making him crash on the ground.
Robin looked up as a staff was hit on the ground mere inch from his face. As
Robin looked up he saw three men. All dressed in white, hoods covering their
faces, ready to fight him.
"What do you want?" Robin grunted as he kicked himself backwards to get some
distance between them. Robin then retracted his bo staff.
"Slade." They all hissed simultaneously before they charged at Robin. One was
hitting from the air, and the other two came from both sides. Robin acted fast
as he used his staff like a spear to hit the one from the air before he threw
it on the man running to the left, then Robin used his staff to hit the last
man left, hitting him on his head, making him stumble and crash onto the floor.
"You won't get him." Robin growled as he stood on a ready stance, prepared to
hit them again, making sure that they wouldn't rise again.
But then Robin felt a hand on his belt, and before he could turn around there
was something pressed against his neck and it made Robin jolt. A stunner, it
felt like a thunder shock as the volts traveled around his spine, made his
muscles tense and ache as Robin fell on the ground. Even if the object barely
touched him for the slightest moment, His muscles did no longer obey his
commands as his body mistook the electric shock for the brain's signals, and
Robin twitched on the ground.
"Oh we will get him. It was easy enough to know you'd be here since you stole
the pass card yesterday. Slade on the other hand will be even easier to lure
out of his hiding hole." The man said, and Robin now saw that instead of three,
there were four men around him.
"Sorry Slade, I might turn out late." Robin thought and tried bite his teeth
but his body didn't move.
Robin tried to will his body to move, to fight. He couldn't ball his fist, he
couldn't get his body to stand, and he couldn't even make his mouth form words.
He was completely immobile.
Robin felt the man's leg dig into his side. The boot pressed really
uncomfortably on his ribs and Robin would have groaned if he could. The man
made Robin roll around before he kicked the teen on the air and with another
heavy roundhouse kick hauling Robin against the wall, and Robin felt how his
brain was smacked against the back of his skull and how his world danced around
him as he hit his head on the concrete wall.
The wall didn't get a scratch from Robin's assault, and Robin slid down into a
pile of polystyrene backing boxes which softened his fall if only slightly.
This time Robin did groan. He finally got back some control of his body, and he
got up. He still felt how some of his muscles ached and twitched every now and
then, and how his head tilted to the right on it's own accord multiple times a
minute, but he could still move. Robin was just thankful to move.
"What do you want?" Robin growled and faced the men. Robin knew that he was in
no position to run back to Slade, his only option was to stay and fight.
"Didn't you ask that already?" One of the men taunted as the four men circled
Robin, surrounding him.
"You know what I mean! What do you want out of Slade!?" Robin saw that his bo
staff was too far for him to reach. He would need it to fight. Even his stunner
was now possessed by one of the four men. Robin was trying to buy time by
talking. The fight seemed rather outnumbered, but he didn't let that face him.
He'd have to get his staff back.
"We want nothing of the man. The less the better, actually." The man talked of
Slade with such distaste that Robin had the idea that the man wouldn't even
touch Slade with a ten feet pole. That confused him. Usually when people wanted
something of someone, it was revenge or information.
"We didn't plan you in this originally, but once we saw what your absence did
to the Titans and the city, we noticed that it would only ease our task, so we
all decided that just as Slade, you would need to go." Another man talked, and
they were closing in a circle, leaving Robin even less room to work with.
"Explain!" The situation was getting rather tricky. Robin decided that he
couldn't afford standing on his feet any longer, and he had to get away from
the enclosing trap before the men could reach him. Robin ran straight to the
man who had previously talked and he jumped to the air, and took momentum off
the man's shoulder as he bolted himself backwards, jumping straight out of the
circle with a somersault in the air, and he landed facing the men who were now
all in a line, facing him.
Robin ran to get his staff then, he needed it to fight.
"Don't take this personally, you are nothing more than a mere decoy. We have
seen how close you are to Slade, he will come to get you, and when he steps in
to our trap, we will kill him. Once he is done with, it's your turn." They
explained and ran towards Robin. Robin couldn't see their faces thanks to the
hoods, but if he had, he would have seen the devoted look in their eyes.
Robin jolted then, ready to fight. He jumped up in the air, and he took one of
the men with him. In the air he laid the bo staff on the man's throat and he
forced the man to the ground as he himself took one step backwards, and he
swung the staff to the other man who was coming at him. Robin realized that he
had acted too early, before he saw the man, dawning on him that his staff
didn't reach him. Robin had stopped the movement once the staff was by the
man's face, and it was an inch from his nose. The man was too petrified to
move, so Robin took the opportunity instead and he stabbed the staff on the
man's face, causing the man to growl and grab his face in agony.
"Why do you want to kill us?" Robin demanded and started to swing the staff on
his arm in circles, ready to make another blow. The third man, the one he had
taken down first, was already standing back on his feet, and Robin felt
nervous.
"For the same reason everyone else: We want power. We want to be on top of the
food chain." They said, and two of them charged. They came from both sides of
Robin, and when they were by him, Robin knelt and kicked in a swoop, intending
to tackle them both, but they weren't stupid enough to fall in his trap. They
both jumped in the air, and both landed their feet straight on Robin's face,
and Robin was sure that his nose broke in the process. Robin groaned as he lay
on the ground, but he couldn't let the men escape, he grasped both their ankles
and with the strength and grace of an trapeze artist he swung himself from the
ground to kick them both at the back of the skull, making them both fall on
their noses as Robin lay on top of them, pressing their faces on the dirt with
his feet. Robin couldn't lay still but he jumped back on the move, hoping that
the strength he took to jump would crash the men's faces on the ground. No such
luck.
"What kind of power would killing Slade offer you!?" Robin spat and he was
furious. The man who was still grasping his bleeding nose was the one unlucky
to face Robin as the kid rammed his staff to the man's stomach before he hit it
to the man's head, hammering the other to the floor with his staff.
"Nothing on it's own. The big picture looks promising though." The floored man
laughed as the two men from before took hold of both of Robin's hands and held
him still as the third man approached. Robin tried to fight their grip but the
hold was strong.
"Once we kill the bad guy all the lesser evil scum will try to reclaim the
position he once held. It will cause an uproar. When all the good guys are too
busy to fight the scum, we will sneak to the top without them noticing. No-one
will suspect a thing. Once we are up there, there's no tearing us down, all
tracks have been covered!" Robin felt the first blow on his cheek, and he was
sure that one of his teeth was loose. He spat on the man's face.
"You immature little brat!" The man cursed and hit Robin on the chest, making
Robin loose all the air in his body. Robin wheezed for breath as his stomach
cramped, and he was only standing thanks to the assistance of the two holding
him on his stance.
"We have already seen what your mere absence did, we can't wait to see what
Slade's absence will do to boot. Once the others saw the flaw in the Titan's
group, the lack of a leader, the voice of reason, the man with the plan, they
have all been trying their luck. Now that the titans are at their weakest it's
their moment to strike. One of them almost succeeded." The man hissed on
Robin's ear, way too close to Robin's personal space. Robin may be out of
breath, but he still had some fight in him, he bit on the man's ear the best he
could, and the scream the man emitted was victory on itself. Robin didn't hold
back either, he made sure to dig his teeth together and he swung his head like
a dog, wanting to make it hurt as much as he could, and as the man tore himself
from Robin, Robin felt the piece of meat in his mouth, pulsating, and bleeding.
Robin spat it on the man's feet. He could still taste the blood and it made
Robin sick. Almost made him gag and vomit. Human's stomach wasn't made to
ingest blood, it was only natural to vomit it all out if any of it got to his
stomach.
"I will kill you myself for this!" The man was in full rage, and for the first
time Robin was afraid for himself. The man was so mad that Robin knew that he
would be in for a world of pain for this.
"Once Slade is done with, I will cut you! I will crate you like cheese, piece
by piece, starting from your ears. I will snap your fingers one by one, and I
will make extra sure that I shatter your fucking knee caps, and I will feed
your own toes to you while they are still intact now that your feet bend to
serve the cause!" The man cussed and Robin felt the shiver run up his spine.
He had to escape, he couldn't stay around any longer, he had to do anything in
his might to escape!
Robin fought against the restraints, but he couldn't get his hands free, he
kicked as hard as he could, he kicked everywhere he reached. He kicked the men
on the shin, he kicked their knees, and he even tried to kick their face since
he could actually bend his leg to hit over his shoulder, but nothing helped. It
was like they didn't even feel him there. Robin yelled in desperation, once he
saw the third man come at him with a knife in his hand Robin panicked. He
kicked his steal toed boot as hard as he could on the approaching man's face,
and he heard a pleasing crack as the man's nose shattered and dug right in to
the man's skull, and Robin jumped. He bounced from the man and he performed a
backwards flip.
Robin was now standing on his feet behind the men who were holding him, and his
hands hurt like hell. Both his arms bended on the shoulder in an angle that was
inhuman and Robin felt tears of agony flow from his eyes as he had twisted them
both from their sockets just in desperation to get away.
Robin bit on the throat of the man standing on the left and he heard the man
yield in surprise and then scream in pain. At least the man let Robin's hand
free. Robin felt the other man's hands on his throat and Robin immediately fell
backwards, taking the man with him. Robin tucked his feet on the man's stomach
and he threw him off, and now free from their clutches he started to run as
fast as he could to escape.
They were all mad, he had to get away. Robin panted hard as he ran, he tried to
desperately search for a place to hide, and he tucked himself behind crates.
Robin was in panic, he couldn't think straight. The mission was ruined,
everyone would find out, the whole ground was covered in blood. The men would
find him and kill him, he was sure of it.
Robin saw how his arms fell uselessly from his sides, and Robin swallowed. He
would need to get his hands back on their place. Robin pended himself so that
his hands dragged the floor, and he stepped on the palm of his right hand, and
then he stood up. He jolted up as fast as he could and he felt the tug on his
arm. Robin screamed in pain and agony when it didn't work. He did it again and
he screamed and cried the whole time. The men would find him thanks to the
noise he made, but he needed to get his arms on place. On the third time the
right hand was on place, but it moved like a stiff iron bar. It hurt like hell
to move, and Robin could already see the bruise on the shoulder, and Robin knew
that it needed medical care. Robin bit on his teeth so hard that he heard them
grind.
Now the left arm. Robin repeated the process, and to his displeasure he noted
that it was way harder to get back in place than the right arm had been. Once
it finally sunk back to it's socket Robin cried in pain so intense that he
almost saw white spots at the back of his vision, but he couldn't let that face
him. He needed to get going now.
Robin ran from behind the boxes, and the moment he was out of his safe haven a
boot connected with his face.
"You are so fucking persistent!" The man growled and hit Robin on the ribcage
so hard that Robin heard one of the ribs crack, hopefully it didn't break.
Ribs heal. Ribs grow back. Robin chanted in his mind.
"Stop resisting already!" The man growled and planted a fist on Robin's face,
and Robin's lip split, and he could taste his own blood.
Robin spat the bloody saliva from his mouth on the man's face, and in his rage
the man hit Robin against the fall behind them, and Robin groaned. This was not
going as intended. Robin hoped that Slade was there with him, he would save
him. No, he hoped the man was as far away as possible, he didn't want these men
getting what they were after for, he didn't want Slade dead too.
Would Slade even be worried for him, would he come to search for him as the men
had said? Small voice in his mind craved for the man and almost begged for him
to come for his aid, but the voice of reason wished that the man wouldn't even
consider coming.
The pain was digging into his bones, and Robin was almost blinded by it. He was
already hyperventilating. It felt like he couldn't get enough breath, the fight
drained him from all the air. He was so out of breath.
And then Robin felt the man hit his open palm on Robin's chest right over his
lungs, and Robin saw the open spot he had just unconsciously revealed to the
foe. Robin felt the air in his lungs press against him, and suddenly he felt
heavy as if something was pressing hard against his brain. Robin saw black
spots on his vision, and his knees gave way as he fainted.
Everyone knew that if you hyperventilate and then someone hits you on the chest
you will faint. Why hadn't he controlled his breathing?
Robin couldn't feel the hands digging into his mutilated body and carry him
away, and he certainly didn't feel worry at the back of his skull as his
unconscious body hung uselessly on the shoulder of his captor.
***** Chapter 25 *****
AN: Remember to participate in the free Slade doll give away! A comment is all
it takes, just tell me you want one.
Robin's head twitched to the right sparsely even when he was unconscious. The
twitching had lessened significantly, but some of it remained. It wasn't as
obvious as it was before, but it was still there. It would wear off soon
though. For now, Robin's body hung uselessly from a hook on the ceiling, and
every muscle in his body ached. He was unconscious still, so he couldn't feel
the pain. At times, ignorance truly was bliss.
Robin's body was in bad shape. He had bruises everywhere, and his face and body
were doused with blood, even if the bleeding had already stopped. It was a
miracle that he didn't have any broken bones except some fractures on his nose
and ribs.
Robin hung like a corpse ready for slaughter from the rope that was tied to the
ceiling, holding him high in the air.
The warehouse air was cold, and under Robin was the hard concrete floor. The
warehouse was filled with old junk, giving it the simple appearance of a
warehouse meant to store all the needless junk. But what gave it away was the
row of computers at the end of the warehouse.
There were also several people walking around the warehouse, doing their thing,
examining the monitors, and talking in hushed voice. They all were dressed in
white hooded robes that covered their face. It seemed like a small cult of some
sort, it was almost creepy.
The people were talking, or more like whispering, nodding and waving their
hands in demonstration, and soon a person walked under Robin.
Robin's unconscious body had been hanging in the same spot for several hours,
and the blood had already coagulated and started to mar his skin with a layer
of stiff dried blood tainting his form. His legs hung uselessly in the air and
Robin's arms were tense from being kept over his head for such a long time, and
if conscious, the boy would have complained about the lack of blood circulating
in his arms. But Robin wasn't conscious. He looked practically dead when his
head was twisted almost unnaturally as it hung lifelessly behind him twitching
sporadically, and not a single one in the room felt remorse for what they had
done to him.
The person who had just walked to Robin watched as the captive's mutilated body
hung lifelessly on the hook over him. Robin was too high for anyone to reach,
but they didn't have to. The person walked over to a lever and started a
machine which tugged on the rope that held Robin, causing the kid to twitch and
swing faintly. Soon the small project which held Robin's rope started to move
on the rail it was attached to, moving Robin from his previous spot to the
middle of the room where everyone surrounded him, and once the machine made an
abrupt stop, Robin's body swung rather dramatically from side to side, and it
caused for Robin's head to be tossed from behind to front, where it laid
against Robin's collarbone. Robin looked like a life sized rag doll.
The people were standing on a circle around Robin, until someone stepped
forwards. He was presumably the leader of the pack.
The man held something that was similar to a remote in his hands, and the man
ghosted his finger over a single button that was on the controller. The man
scrutinized Robin's unconscious form hanging from his ceiling for a while
before he did anything. The rope-like wire that was tied to Robin's wrists was
almost cutting in to Robin's skin, and the rest of the rope was attached well
to the roof.
The man finally pressed the button when it was time to wake up the sleeping
bird. The railing was controlled with electricity; electricity which now was
led through the rope that held the captive in place causing Robin's once still
figure to twitch and convulse as the shocks hit him. It wasn't until Robin was
fully conscious and screaming bloody murder when the man finally lifted his
finger from the button that caused the course of electricity hit Robin.
"Nice of you to join us." The man said. Even if he was looking up, Robin
couldn't see anything else of the man except the man's chin and lips that
fielded a smile filled with mirth. Everything else was covered by the man's
hood.
"Fuck you." Robin growled, but his voice broke by the middle, and the fatigue
in his voice didn't make his threat sound convincing. The fact that the sudden
awakening and electrocution only made his breath erratic didn't help any
either.
"Tut-tut, that's no way to speak to your captor, you might get punished." The
man sneered and pressed the button for a second. Even if it was only for one
second, it was already too long for Robin's tastes, and it made the kid tense
like a pole for a second before he could relax again. The hit wasn't as bad as
the stunner had been, but it wasn't pleasant anyway. At least the twitching of
his head had died down. "You should learn your place." The man growled, and his
threat, even if it was way more convincing than Robin's had been, held near to
no authority to Robin.
Robin felt more than one emotion when he got woken up. Pain was one of them,
his hands hurt, the rope cutting into his skin; but the aching in his arms was
the worst. He just wanted to lay them down and let the blood rush back to his
fingers which he no longer could feel. He knew that doing so would tingle and
hurt, but it was better than losing the limbs all together. There was, or
course, the general ache and hurt all over his body, especially his shoulders,
but he faked rather well that he was in no pain. He wouldn't show weakness to
these bastards.
He also felt anger. Almost rage. He was angered for being taken as a hostage,
he was angered that they had actually succeeded in doing so rather easily, and
he was absolutely fuming towards them since he knew exactly why he was here
for. He was just a decoy to lure Slade out of his base.
Robin hoped that he wasn't tied so well so he could help himself down and tear
the men to pieces himself before Slade got here.
Another distant feeling was worry. Worry for what they would do to Slade if he
arrived, worry for what the man would do to him once and if Slade managed to
save him.
Robin wouldn't want to admit it, but there was also a mite of fear hidden
behind all the other emotions; not fear for his own security, but for the fact
that Slade might not come at all. After all, the fact that Robin and Slade had
gotten rather comfortable with each other didn't mean that the man actually
cared for him enough to come and save his hide.
"What do you want from me?" Robin growled. He knew that there had to be a
reason for waking him up. They could have just lured Slade, killed the man, and
then silently killed Robin as well, but since they woke him up, there had to be
something they wanted of him. Probably something as trivial as some sadistic
pleasure of torturing him, or more likely, information.
"Does there have to be a reason?" The man pressed the button again, making
Robin almost bite his own tongue off, but thankfully he had known to expect the
shock to come and was smart enough to make sure his tongue wasn't between his
teeth then. He was now rather sure that it was only some sick pleasure they
wanted out of torturing him, or they just wanted him awake to keep them
occupied.
"I wonder how long it will take for Slade to come and get you. I bet he's
already on his way." The man gloated, and Robin felt like spitting at him. Just
to spite him.
"What makes you think he is coming at all?" Robin growled, hate clear in his
face.
"Why wouldn't he? We have seen you with him. We have seen you going in and out
his base. You have been with the man almost for a week now, only leaving for an
hour or two to get something for him, and then you return to him. We know
Slade. The man doesn't let anyone in his base, there are only so many people he
gets along with, and it seems that you are one of them. I bet that the man is
too reluctant to let you go." The captor mused and Robin saw how his finger
rested on the button without actually pressing it. Robin decided to ignore it,
they'd shock him if so be, there was no need to fear it. It was clear that they
didn't want to kill him before they were done with Slade first.
"What makes you think we get along? The man hates me, we are sworn enemies!
Nemesis' even." Robin growled. He knew that the men had to have known this
already, he was Robin after all. There wasn't a soul in Jump City who hadn't
heard of him, especially as ex-protégé of the Dark Knight and Robin was sure
that they knew exactly which relationship he had with the mercenary.
"Even better. Slade is known for his need to have revenge, and also his
possessive urges. I bet he wouldn't let anyone else off you than himself." The
man teased, and shocked Robin just for good measure.
"Lucky me." Robin sputtered over the foam in his mouth. He was salivating
rather badly at this point, and he was only lucky that he hadn't done any other
even more embarrassing bodily functions when the sick sadists enjoyed watching
him twitch under the course of electricity.
"I think that we should hurry the man even more." The captor mused, and he
scratched his chin. The man didn't have a beard or anything, thus it was a
rather comical move. Robin didn't even dare to say anything just then, not
wanting to give the man any ideas.
"I know, let's make you call for him." The man finally concluded, and he looked
like he had just come up with a master plan.
"I would never!" Robin growled and tried to fight against his restraints with
minimal success. The rope was expertly knotted and Robin couldn't loosen it by
any means. These guys must have known how to expertly restrain someone, usually
the enemies made poor knots and their attempts to keep someone captive were
average at best. Seriously, in most of the situations where escape was
necessary, the simplest solution was to wiggle free from the restraints, it
worked in most cases. Not with these guys though, it seemed.
"Oh we don't want you to actually say anything coherent, just wailing will do."
The man grinned and pressed the button, making Robin yelp, but he didn't give
them the pleasure of hearing him shriek.
"I will repeat this as many times as needed, each time lasting longer than the
other." The man pressed the button once again, and Robin screamed silently. The
voice was stuck on his throat, which he was secretly glad of.
"Come on, scream. Let me hear you sing, birdie." The shock lasted longer than
the others, and Robin almost twisted himself in to a knot when he convulsed
wildly. The electricity made his muscles jam and Robin actually bit on his
cheek then, unconsciously tearing a small piece off. Robin squirmed and
whimpered. When the shock finally wore off, he was panting and he felt a trail
of blood and saliva run down his chin and drip down his uniform's chest on to
the floor, making almost decorative little splatters on the concrete. Robin was
suddenly glad that his hands were tied or he might have unconsciously swung
them around, or worse, hurt or scratched himself.
"I know that you have the sweetest voice, let us hear it." Robin spit at the
man this time, hoping to make the man stop cooing at him. He wanted the man
would just drop dead. He was aiming for the spit would hit him straight on the
face. All those things he wanted, but none were granted. He barely had strength
to sputter all that saliva from his mouth, almost spilling it on himself, only
managing to land the damn climb on the man's feet. He would only need a sec to
get his wits together and try again, and then he'd strike.
The man saw his pathetic act of resistance as simple manifest of disrespect.
"I'll show you disrespect." The man growled intimidatingly, and pressed the
button so fast that Robin only twitched slightly with a groan of discomfort,
but before Robin even got to finish his groan the man pressed the button down
again, making Robin's groan increase volume and form in to a full out cry. He
hadn't meant for it, but he couldn't control it. As the electricity coursed
through him Robin felt how his stomach lurched and how his muscles felt like
someone was twisting and pulling at them, and Robin screamed. Robin yelled,
screamed, and out rightly shrieked. Once the electricity was finally reverted
once again, Robin was moaning weakly, feeling faint and tired. He felt like
vomiting. His muscles twitched every now and then with the aftershock as the
tremors still coursed through his body. The ghost pain still lingered after
every shock, and Robin's eyes teared up. He hurt badly, but he refused to plead
for the man to stop or any other action of relinquish.
"That's more like it, now was it so hard?" The man seemed to praise Robin for
obedience, which only made Robin stare at the man with the best death glare he
could hold up. "Practice makes perfect as they say, so let's try again." The
man seemed to get too much pleasure out of this. It was sick.
When the next shock hit him, Robin did wail. The pain was pure agony. The worst
part of it was that it wasn't a direct pain, such as in an arm or any place he
could pinpoint; he couldn't fight back. No matter how much he struggled or
tried to kick it away it was still there. Nothing he did could possibly lessen
the pain, and there was no way out of it. The pain was everywhere, traveling
down his arms, to his chest, then to his head, stomach and soon separating ways
to his feet until it hit the very end of his toes.
Robin bit his teeth really hard in hopes of drowning his voice, and he almost
succeeded.
Once the tremors died down, Robin was panting hard. His body was still
twitching slightly, and Robin had to spit out all the excess saliva out of his
mouth before he drowned himself in it. Every part of Robin hurt. He was getting
really tired of this shock therapy of his, and he knew that it showed. He no
more had much strength to do anything else but pant and hung where he was
lifelessly until he was forced to twitch and jolt and scream again.
"You are starting to understand the main idea of this, but I see no Slade yet.
I guess we'll just have to aide you." The man smiled with the most sadistic
smile filled with more glee than one could ever muster, and his grin seemed to
reach from ear to ear. If there was something Robin wanted to do, it was to
swipe off that smirk from the man's face once and for all.
"Get the water." The man growled menacingly, and Robin stared eyes wide with
horror as two of the men excluded themselves from the circle and went to get
the already filled bucket from near the wall in front of Robin.
No, they wouldn't, it was painful enough as it was! Robin stared in fright as
the men carried the huge and heavy looking bucket, one could call it a vat, in
their arms, and it was clear that the men had some trouble moving it around.
Judging from the men's rather muscular body, the vat truly was as full of water
as it looked like. The men carried the vat from each side, and it was clear
that they didn't want an inch of Robin's body not covered by the liquid.
"Don't." Robin whispered. He hadn't yet decided if he wanted the men to hear
him, but the moment when the words came out of his mouth just merely loud
enough for him himself to hear, he decided that he didn't want to share his
fright. He would not surrender.
The bucket was lifted in the air with the help of a forklift that already
resided in the warehouse, and Robin stared at the two men who were holding at
the sides of the vat. Once they finally were on his level, they lifted the
bucket up, and Robin saw them waver for only so slightly before they threw the
shockingly cold water on Robin, making Robin shiver uncontrollably. Robin
sputtered and spit the water off his mouth and he blinked his eyes to get it
off.
The water flattened Robin's hair against his skull, washed some of the blood
off from his skin, and soaked his uniform so that it clung to his body like a
second skin. The water was everywhere, and Robin tried to shake it off with no
success. He looked like a wet dog.
The men didn't even mind the water that now flooded the floor. Robin with his
electricity was hanging from the ceiling, far away from them and they knew that
they couldn't get the shock themselves.
And when the man pressed the button again, Robin shrieked. The electric shock
seemed to be tenfold and Robin was sure that if he hadn't been tied in air he
would have trashed himself against every solid object there were and he'd have
split his skull already. A thought that was almost welcome if it meant that he
no longer had to feel the electrocution. Compared to the bloodcurdling scream
he now wailed out with the utmost despair placed all the previous whines to
shame. All the previous screams sounded like a faint whimper of a child holding
back a cry after he scraped his knee. This scream was loud enough to cause the
blood hammer in Robin's ears, and he felt how the lack of air caused his chest
to hurt and he felt it all the way in his head as the migraine welcomed itself.
Robin screamed for so long until there was no more air left to use in
screaming, and outside the building the crows flew in the air in fright from
the trees they had comfortably rested in only mere moments ago.
The pain seemed to go on and on, and Robin couldn't quiet down his screams even
slightly, for god knows how long. He only managed to breath for a moment which
the captors granted him by turning off the electrocution for only the mentioned
purpose. The moment he got his lungs full of air again the pain started anew.
He didn't know how long he kept screaming, but he knew that it ended the moment
when the main doors were crashed open. Robin barely managed to turn his head to
look as the doors were dramatically swung open with such a force that they hit
the walls with a loud bang. At the doorway stood Slade.
"He came." was Robin's first words he managed to hiss with his raw and sore
throat that he had acquired from all the wailing. Robin hadn't had much time to
think if the man would come or not, but now he had never been more glad to see
the mercenary.
Slade had come personally. Or at least it seemed so. There was no guarantee if
the man was a robot, once again sent to deliver a message, but Robin highly
doubted it. He knew that the other men in the room couldn't tell it, but Robin
saw the emotion in Slade. The man was not pleased. Robin saw it in the way
Slade's shoulders moved as he walked. The man looked menacing, strong, and
masculine. It was clear from the way Slade held himself; the man was trying to
intimidate the men with his pure presence alone, letting them know exactly who
the superior in the room was.
Slade's eye seemed darker than it ever had, filled with something that Robin
couldn't name with any other word than blood thirst. Slade had come for him.
Robin was relieved.
Slade walked in the middle of the room, positioning himself in front of the men
who were all now facing him, leaving only a meter or two between them.
"Explain." He demanded, and the moment Slade had come to his halt, the doors
all slammed shut and automatically locked up, trapping everyone inside the
warehouse within it.
"You have just stepped within a trap." The man who had been responsible for
Robin's current condition spoke up. Slade wasn't intimidated the least. If
judged by the man's posture, Slade seemed like he was rather homey to be exact.
Slade had his hands behind his back and he stood tall with his back straight.
"You think so?" He finally asked, and Robin saw that Slade had sneaked a look
at him. Slade probably was examining his condition. Robin couldn't face the man
then. He didn't know if it was because he didn't want the man to see him like
this or for the fact that he had let himself be captured in the first place,
ending up in this situation and thus being a burden. Robin fixed his death
glare on the men instead, not willing to show weakness, not now when Slade
actually did come for him.
"Do you like what you see?" A man asked from within the circle as he noticed
Slade's stare. "Your bird sings most beautifully." The same person taunted, and
someone had to have pressed the button once again, since Robin was once again
twitching and screaming, making himself jump and wail on the robe like a fish
just pulled from the water. Robin felt so ashamed for showing such weakness in
front of Slade, but he couldn't keep himself shut.
When the pain came to a abrupt stop Robin was panting again, his heart was
beating erratic and fast, and he felt the tight squeeze on his lungs thanks to
the screaming, but once he got his eyes forced to open he saw that Slade had
moved. Slade now held the controller in his hand, reached high so no-one could
reach it. It almost looked like the man was holding it up from a child who
tried to jump up to get it, if it wasn't for the other hand that held the man
responsible of the remote from the throat, and the man's toes barely reached
the ground from the height. It was almost satisfying to see the man struggle in
Slade's hold. He couldn't breathe thanks to the hold and his hands were around
Slade's arm, trying to tear it off his throat, and his legs were kicking the
ground, only touching the ground faintly, but not getting enough friction to
actually do anything about it. So close, yet so far, it must have been
frustrating, agonizing even, to be in the man's position.
The other men stood petrified on their spot for the slightest moment it took
for them to take in the sight before them after they all lunged at Slade,
trying to save their friend from the man's hold. Slade threw the controller
away, forgotten for the moment, as at least a dozen men charged at him.
Robin hung useless on his place as he watched the fight unfold in front of him.
Slade seemed like a bear woken up in the middle of the winter from his
hibernation. He didn't stand long on his place before he already was charging
yet another blow or punch at the next in line of his wrath. The only thing
Robin could do to help the man in his fight was to keep an eye out for him and
try to direct him. From his position he saw everything that happened under him,
but no-one heard his advices as everyone ignored him in the middle of the
fight. Not that he could blame them, his voice was all but sore and almost
completely used, and the small words he managed to say sounded rough and
pained. It was as if someone was cutting his sentences short and his voice
broke more often than necessary as his voice betrayed him.
"You will die here Slade." One of the men announced as someone jumped on
Slade's back and hit him with a stunner. It was as if the man wasn't affected
at all, only angered further. Slade threw the man off his back, throwing him at
someone else.
"Once we are done with you, that pretty kid of yours shall follow." The man
taunted, and some even laughed, all egging Slade on.
"After we're through with you, we will take care of the rest of the villains,
and when the heroes are too busy, we'll sneak past them." The man revealed to
Slade, and this time it was Slade's turn to laugh.
"What makes you think that you can get us down? Even the heroes couldn't, what
makes you think you can? You can't even get Batman on his knees; you're just a
small bunch of people with fame rushed in their heads so bad that it's messed
with your sense of reason." Slade took a gun and shot at the man in question
right through the skull. Silence was ruling the space, and everyone was in
shock. The bullet had seared through the man's forehead and the man's lifeless
body sunk on the ground, unmoving and still.
"Welcome to reality. You are not in the little leagues anymore; this is not a
game, but real life. You wanted me here, you got me. I hope you know what you
were after, because you have certainly got it." The others attacked, and it was
clear that they did not plan on anyone else dying today. They actually held a
rather good opponent to Slade, and he was outnumbered. But the mercenary
certainly wasn't overpowered.
After that Robin couldn't see what went on below him as someone had thrown a
smoke bomb, and the whole warehouse was filled with smoke. Robin tried to see
what was going on, and for the moment it seemed like everything was still. The
smoke swallowed everyone within, and no movement was in sight. But then the
sounds filled in. Robin could hear sounds like metal hitting metal, and
something hard colliding with flesh, with an occasional cry or grunt of pain.
Robin could hear that most of them were from the captors, but some of them were
from Slade too. If there ever was a moment when Robin wished to be able to see,
it was now. Robin wanted to help, he wanted to see.
Soon a person emerged from the smoke, and Robin saw him running towards
something lying on the ground, and Robin recognized it as the remote used to
control the electricity.
Robin took the moment to warn Slade about it, but he merely got out the man's
name before he was once again being electrocuted, but the pain ended with a
hard impact to his backbone, bum and back as Robin realized that Slade had
somehow managed to cut the rope that held him up the air, and that the boy had
just fallen down on the concrete.
Robin bit his teeth as he forced himself to stand up. He felt how the blood
rushed in to his numb arms and the feeling was the most unpleasant. He ignored
it though, because he had to get rid of the rope holding his hands together.
"You are not escaping from here!" The previous man yelled and was about to
slash Robin with a knife, but Robin jumped back and let the man cut the ropes
for him. Robin massaged his wrists as he said, "Thanks for that."
The man was not pleased with that, and aimed another attack. Robin noticed that
the blood still hadn't fully recovered in his hands, and that they were rather
groggy at most. Robin's hands were like dead weight on him, and they felt so
heavy to move that Robin decided to just ignore them for the moment and try to
make do with what he got.
"Robin!" Slade yelled and threw a gun at him, but Robin couldn't catch it. His
arms couldn't move fast enough to catch it, and his coordination had been off,
and sooner than he had noticed both he and one of his captors were both running
at the weapon. They both made a mad dash for it, and Robin knew that he
couldn't get a good enough grip of it as of yet, so he kicked it even further.
The man was now stumbling on the floor, but Robin was already after the gun,
and he managed to fumble the thing in his arms. Robin tried to lift his arm to
aim, but noticed that he still didn't have the strength to do it, and his
hesitation had cost him a punch as a boot collided with his head and Robin fell
to the floor.
"You will die here." The man growled as he walked over Robin, and Robin saw
that the man was preparing to hit him with the knife, preparing to sink the
blade in time after time until Robin was filled with punctures. And just as the
man was about to hit a loud bang was heard. The blood was dripping on Robin
from the man that stood over him before he fell on top of Robin. Robin had
managed to maneuver the gun on upright position and he had fired it at the last
possible moment, and the bullet had teared straight through the man's chest.
Robin was horrified as the man was still alive, breathing ragged and witching.
Robin had only hit the man on his lung, and if nothing, the man's death would
only be slow and painful.
"You son of a bitch." The man panted between wheezes before he bit on Robin's
collarbone in last defense, and Robin yelped before he managed to roll them
over so that Robin was on top and the man was on the bottom, and the other
tried to reach his hands to throttle Robin. The enemy couldn't get a grasp
though as Robin had managed to get his gun on the man's chin and fire. With a
last bang and splatters of blood on the floor the man stopped moving for good,
and Robin felt a sting of tears at the edges of his vision. He had just killed
a person. A real person.
It was self defense. Robin tried to assure, and a small part of Robin agreed
with him. A small voice in his head tried to comfort him by telling him that it
had not been any different from those numerous opponents in the simulator, and
that exact thing scared him the most. Killing the man hadn't been nearly as bad
as he had anticipated it to be.
Robin was torn from his thoughts with a loud groan as another person was thrown
at him, this time the person was already dead. Slade had taken care of him. It
seemed that they were on the winning side of the fight, and that there only
were a couple of people left to oppose them. The smoke was already fanning out
around them. Robin lifted himself up once again and he ran to Slade, preparing
to fight side by side with the man. "Are you okay?" Slade asked, sounding
nonchalant but Robin knew that the man was asking it because he was worried.
"My hands are a little numb but I'm fine." Robin said, belittling his wounds.
Slade only sneered at him not believing him for a moment, but not bothering to
argue about it. Robin was good enough to stand, and apparently good enough to
fight, and that would have to do for now.
"Slade look out!" Robin exclaimed and ran behind Slade, and as Slade himself
turned around he saw that Robin was protecting him, standing before him when
someone charged at them with a steel pipe raised for a blow, and before Slade
could stop it, the pipe connected with Robin's shoulder with a loud thud and
Robin fell on the floor by its force. Slade was enraged as he tore the pipe off
the attacker's arms and hit the person on the neck with it, making sure to
shatter the backbone for good and paralyze the poor soul.
"Robin?" Slade was by the other's side and Robin was holding his shoulder and
hissing in pain. "Don't worry about me, just go." He hissed and fell on the
ground, momentarily blinded by the pain to not be able to lift himself up.
Slade turned to face the remaining people, and they took a step backwards,
preparing to protect themselves from the other's hidden rage.
Robin didn't even look up from the dirt to see what Slade did to the men. He
was slowly edging on and off of conscious and everything hurt. For a moment he
just wished to lay there in a small bundle and fought to stay conscious. He
wanted to stay up and fight, but at the moment he was glad to know that Slade
was there to take care of it. Slade would take care of everything.
"Robin, are you still conscious?" Slade picked Robin up then, and Robin had no
idea of how long he had been just laying uselessly on the floor. He noticed
that they were the only ones left, and the warehouse was left in such bad shape
after their fight. Many machines and crates were destroyed, and several objects
lay shattered on the floor, but Robin was too tired to mind the foul state of
the building. There were people lying on the floor, and Robin couldn't tell if
they were unconscious or not. He knew that police would pick them up later.
Robin mumbled something to Slade to announce that he was still conscious and
then he buried his head on Slade's shoulder as the man carried him away from
the warehouse. Robin didn't keep track of any of their surroundings and he
merely even noticed that Slade had already taken them to the base and now laid
Robin on the bed.
"How did you find me?" Robin mumbled, and relaxed on the soft bed. Robin knew
that he was in rather bad shape, completely wet and marred with blood. He would
ruin the sheets for sure.
"The chip, remember?" Slade said as he rubbed the skin on Robin's neck, and
Robin knew exactly what the other meant. "You and your damn dog tag." Robin
growled with no real malice in the words. He was glad that Slade had found him.
Robin then dug his hand to one of the many pockets in his belt. His hand felt
foreign to move, it was heavy and the movement hurt. Not heeding the pain Robin
took the item from his pocket and he held it out for Slade to take. "Here."
"What is it?" Slade took the item from Robin's fist and Robin let his hand rest
on the bed. "It's the thumb drive I was to fill for you. I'm sorry I let the
crates get damaged." Robin mumbled and his voice did sound sorry. Slade only
hemmed at this. Slade laid the thumb drive on the night table as he said: "I
don't need it." Robin stared at the man in confusion, he didn't quite
understand, why was he asked to retrieve it if the man didn't need it? "All
those missions I sent you on were to prepare me against those men who captured
you today. I don't think that they will be a problem anymore." The man
clarified and Robin seemed to be satisfied with the answer.
Slade brushed Robin's hair out of the boy's eyes before he excused himself for
a moment. Slade hadn't left the room for longer than couple of minutes, but
Robin felt the man's absence.
"Drink this." Slade asked once he returned back to the room, and offered Robin
a glass filled with some weird foreign liquid that looked vile in Robin's eyes.
It smelled like mud, and looked like acid. "Why?" he had to question, but he
drank it anyways. He knew that Slade wouldn't make him drink anything that
would harm him any further.
"Shush, just go to sleep. When you wake up tomorrow, you should be fine. All
those wounds will be healed, and you will feel rested. Now sleep." Slade pulled
the covers over Robin as the other laid the empty glass on the night table.
There must have been something to make Robin tired mixed in the drink because
Robin felt sleepy already. It was harder and harder to keep his eyes open for
every passing second, but every time he opened his eyes he saw Slade's mask
facing him, and sleepily Robin tried to reach it.
Slade watched Robin with dumbfounded expression as Robin scrabbled for his
mask, but it seemed that the other was too tired to lift his hand high enough
to touch.
"Thank you, Slade." Robin murmured in a voice so silent that it almost went
unnoticed.
Last thing Robin noticed was that his hand fell back on the bed and that
Slade's mask was possibly even closer to his face now as the darkness claimed
him. Robin fell in to a deep sleep that kept him unconscious for one full day.
***** Chapter 26 *****
One full day later Robin stirred his eyes from a heavy and dreamless sleep. The
small clock that Robin had not seen before was on the night table. It seemed so
out of place on the table. He knew that Slade had only placed the thing there
so Robin could know how long he had slept for. He wished that the clock would
have been there before so he'd known what time of day he was awake, but he
guessed that time was irrelevant here. No matter what the time was, once Slade
required him, then he did.
Robin didn't know the exact amount of hours that he had slept, but the date on
the corner of the clock told him that it was now the last day with Slade for
him.
Robin jolted up to sit on the bed. He couldn't go home like this, he was
bruised all over! Forgetting for a moment the actions of yesterday, Robin
started to map out his body. He knew that Slade had given him something to help
with the pain and possible bruises, but one never knew how well they did in the
end. Robin was pleased. He ran his hands over his body, trying to see what kind
of condition he was in, and was glad to note that all of the wounds were minor.
He didn't hurt at all. He was sore, yes, sore all over; his muscles and joints
were stiff and his hands and legs ached, but he didn't hurt per se. He had some
nasty looking bruises, but all the possible cuts had healed. So, if you ignored
all the purple bruises littering his body, he was in rather good condition
considering what had happened yesterday.
Robin smiled and was about to thank Slade, but noticed that the man wasn't in
the room. Well, why would he be? After all, he had been unconscious for one
full day and it was already noon. The man would probably be on his own business
by now. Or he could just be in the kitchen. Robin hoped that the man was in the
kitchen, since he wanted to thank him. Robin did not admit that he had hoped
that the man was present to talk to him and explain to him what would happen on
his last day. He did not want to admit that he felt like he had swallowed ice
cubes that had fallen down through his throat and into his heart, freezing his
intestines, when he noticed that this truly was the last day he would share
with the man. Of course Robin wanted to return to his friends, but he also
didn't want to leave Slade. He had grown to get along with the man, and
starting tomorrow he'd probably have to fight him off tooth and nails to stop
whatever plan the man had in motion. It was back to being enemies for them
tomorrow; Robin couldn't even lie to himself to say that he wanted that.
Robin threw his legs over the bed to rise up and stand, staggering slightly. He
was still slightly weak, but once he got his footing right, he managed to walk
without a falter.
The first stop was to the closet. Robin opened it and reached for a new
uniform, since the last one was in pretty bad shape from yesterday and Slade
had probably already disposed of it. Robin did not touch the uniform though. He
was too petrified to move for the moment as he saw his red, green and yellow
colored uniform folded neatly at the bottom of the dresser, so that the black
and yellow R badge was visible. The uniform had clearly not been there before.
Robin reached out for it, feeling it in his hands. The material was way softer
than the other uniform's was, and the cloth seemed at least one hundred times
more familiar. Robin clasped it in his hands as he remembered his friends,
family, and mentor. It had nearly no memories of Slade, only those where the
man was causing him mental and physical turmoil, turmoil which he didn't want
to be reminded of today. He chose not to wear the uniform, he would meet his
friends soon enough, and just for today, he could enjoy his last day without
them. Robin folded the uniform back up and put it in the bottom of the closet,
taking his apprentice uniform to wear instead. Any other day, Robin would have
said that he'd rather bite his fingers off than willingly wear anything with
the man's insignia on it.
Today would be an exception.
Robin made a quick trip through the bathroom to check if all of his bruises
were covered and to make sure that he was presentable. He was delighted to
notice that his face had no major bruises or cuts on it, and that otherwise, he
looked quite healthy. There was a small, almost unnoticeable bruise on his
right temple, but he was just glad that there wasn't anything worse. He
wouldn't want his friends to worry over him tomorrow. Or at least that's what
he told himself; another reason was that he didn't want to look bad in Slade's
eyes.
Robin raked his hand through his hair to pull it back to the way it usually was
before he went to search
for Slade. He had an inkling that the man would be in the kitchen; although
even if he wasn't, Robin would gladly have something to chew on, he was
starving.
As Robin stood in the kitchen doorway he was glad to notice that Slade was
sitting at the table, sipping some coffee. “Good morning Slade.” Slade was soon
aware of the boy who was walking into the room, and nodded his head to him.
“Good day.” Robin shook his head slightly as he noticed Slade's silent remark.
If it was already past noon, it was no longer morning.
Robin went to retrieve something to eat and sat next to Slade, unaware that the
other's gaze had followed his every move.
“It seems that you have made a nice recovery,” Slade noted as Robin met the man
in the eye. “Yes, about that. I wanted to thank you, whatever it was that you
made me drink yesterday, it sure did the trick. Thank you.” Slade took the pot
of coffee that he had made for himself from the coffee maker and poured some in
a cup to give to Robin, which he was very grateful for.
“I also notice that you chose to wear the uniform that I gave you.” When Slade
had said the words, there was something in his voice that Robin recognized.
Mirth, perhaps?
“Yeah, for today at least, when did you get mine? I didn't know what we would
be doing today, so I chose to wear it. Do you have any plans,” Robin questioned
as he began to eat; he had not eaten anything in a day, and the food was
delicious, thus very welcome.
“I don’t have any plans. Originally, I would have made you run on some small
errand for me to prepare against those idiots, but as the problem is taken care
of, there is nothing on the agenda for today. I got your uniform for you while
you were asleep. Your tower may be very well guarded, but it still isn't
impenetrable.”
Robin nodded and was secretly glad that he didn't have to do anything, but also
he knew that it would get boring. He didn't have anything further to add to the
conversation, so he busied himself with his food.
They ate in silence. It was a comfortable silence that neither of them wanted
to break, but there was a twinge at the back of Robin's mind that told him that
he should say something. That something in particular would be him thanking
Slade for saving him yesterday. He knew that he was more than relieved to see
Slade coming after him, and he knew that he was truly thankful. Thanking the
man for healing him seemed to be way easier than thanking him for saving his
life. Robin chewed as slowly as possible to prolong the silence so that he
wouldn't have to start the conversation. A part of him truly wanted to thank
the man, namely the good and rightful part, but another part just wanted to
walk away from the room without saying a word. Robin had finished his food and
was walking to the doorstep when he stopped to turn around and look at Slade.
The man was looking at him, probably wondering what was going on, but waited
for Robin to talk.
“Thank you.” Robin mumbled and stared at the floor.
“For what?” Slade turned in his chair so that he was facing Robin, waiting for
him to particularize.
“For saving me yesterday... I was sure you would leave me there to die. I
didn't want you to come and endanger yourself, but you came anyways… I'm glad
that you did, and I'm very grateful.”
Slade leaned back on his chair, resting his back and arms on the table. “Very
grateful you say? What would you do to make up for that?”
Robin stared at the man for a while before he finally got back his ability to
form words: “What? What do you mean?”
“As much as your words mean, I would love to know exactly how thankful you
are.” Robin felt a small tug at his lip, almost making him smile. “Trust me,
I'm very thankful.”
“Prove it,” Slade dared, and Robin felt the smile spread until he was almost
grinning. He understood what the man was after, and he wasn't the least bit
against granting it to him. Damn, he could say that he wanted it as much as the
other did; fuck what his friends said.
Robin took a few uncertain steps, standing so close to the man that their knees
were touching. Robin
then bent so that his face was level with Slade's, he was sure that the other
man could smell his breath through the slits of the mask. Robin lifted his
hands to the man's mask, not sure if Slade would even allow the action, but as
Slade did not move to stop him, he lifted the mask just enough to reveal his
lips. Robin noticed that Slade had a short white beard, and as he kissed him
the stubble tickled his chin and cheeks. He wouldn't have it any other way.
The kiss started casually, being merely a long kiss with no tongue in it. Slade
did not move from the place where he had been sitting, letting Robin initiate
the kiss. The younger of the two grew concerned for only a second due to
Slade's lack in returning the kiss, but Robin reminded himself that the other
had actually urged him to it. This was one of those tests Slade was so fond of.
Without using words, Slade was asking Robin if he wanted it, daring him to
pursue it if he was sure about his opinion. And Robin was rather sure that he
did want it.
Robin was nervous for a moment as he opened his mouth to kiss Slade more
eagerly, allowing his own tongue to trace the man's lower lip. The man tasted
tempting and felt alluring, and the act was oddly familiar. It didn't take much
for Robin to get more urgent with his kisses, wanting to devour the man. He let
his tongue taste him, and feel him, inviting the other to the small dance, and
Robin was really glad when it did.
Slade subdued Robin's lips with his own, causing the teen to moan into the
kiss, and Robin felt the other’s hands on his lower back, pulling him even
closer. Robin's knees resisted the pull on his back for only a moment before he
relented, letting Slade pull him forward until he was sitting on the man’s lap.
Slade’s hands traveled over his back, and Robin locked his arms behind his neck
to pull the man even closer. He willed to merge all his previous worry,
appreciation, and absolute need for the man in the kiss. Robin pressed his
chest against Slade’s much broader one, and wished that he could feel the man's
chiseled muscles without the hindrance of clothes. He played with some stray
gray hairs that had peeked out from under Slade's mask with his fingers as he
devoured the man's lips. The kiss had soon formed into a battle within their
mouths, and neither of them was willing to revert. Their tongues clashed and
traced each other’s teeth, and Robin even tried to bite on Slade's lips to get
the man to lose his cool. But it seemed that no matter what he tried, Slade
always found something even more arousing to play on him, making Robin nearly
whimper into the kiss.
Robin had to cut the kiss short to gasp for air, but he didn't let Slade rest.
He attacked the man's lips again with a new fervor, loosening his hold from the
man's shoulders to slide his arms down Slade's chest and abs. He let his
fingers feel the muscles and grope the man through his uniform, feeling pleased
with himself as Slade grunted into the kiss.
Robin found himself with new hope of claiming the man's mouth, but of course
the man was one step ahead with a plan already in the works. Slade thrust his
pelvis forward, rubbing his groin on Robin's, causing the teen to moan. The man
was hard, and Robin could feel him even through his clothes. He couldn't deny
it, he was too. He was hard and erected and practically begging for the other
to do something about it. He thrust back against Slade just as eagerly, and as
Slade's hands traveled down his sides, rubbing his chest and pressing on his
stomach; Robin grunted, burying his head on Slade's shoulder. Slade may have
won this round. Robin panted in the man's ear, and he laid small, absentminded
kisses on the bare skin he found below the ear. Slade turned them around and
pressed Robin against the table so hard that the edge of the table dug into his
back, but he didn’t mind.
Slade let his hands roam all over Robin's torso as he claimed Robin's mouth
again and Robin submitted to the man's caresses. Slade practically pinned Robin
to the side of the table, devouring his lips. He shivered as the man's hand
reached downwards, finally reaching its destination, grasping firmly on Robin's
cock and squeezing the thick muscle.
As he began kneading the throbbing erection, Robin moaned loudly, abruptly
breaking the kiss as he arched his back against the table, making his head hit
the surface almost painfully. There was a small string of saliva hanging on
Robin's lip which was being grandly ignored as Robin pushed himself against
Slade's big and talented hand. At this point Robin was so far gone that he
didn't care if the man
bent him over the kitchen table and fucked him right there, as long as it meant
that the man wouldn't leave him dry.
“Oh god, Slade, please!” Robin whimpered, lifting himself up to close tightly
around the man as he desperately and shamelessly rubbed himself on Slade,
feeling that the man was at least as hard as he was.
“Would you like it if I took you right now? Fucked you so hard that you
couldn't even remember who your friends were,” Slade murmured into Robin's ear.
He gasped; yes, he wanted it! He needed it! He felt like he would burst if the
man did not touch him right now. And it wasn't just because of the need to get
off, he wanted Slade. Not just anyone, but Slade, the man who had been a pain
in his ass ever since he decided to move to Jump city. Now the man would be a
pain in his ass in more ways than one. Or at least hopefully he would be. He
cared for the man. He cared for him more than he was willing to admit, and he
couldn't hide it. He needed Slade; he wanted him close to him, and right now,
he wanted him inside of him.
It took Robin a while to be able to convey anything meaningful other than
moaning and panting and a random declaration that was distinctly similar to him
chanting the words “oh god” over and over again.
“Who is Starfire?” Robin managed to pant with a broken voiced whisper, now that
he had gotten a moment to breathe. To Slade those had been just the right
words.
The man pulled Robin closer to himself, if that was even possible, and kissed
him eagerly. Robin was enthusiastic to answer the kiss. Slade slid his hands
against Robin's back and slithered them around to Robin's sides before lifting
the kid up. Slade was now standing, holding Robin as if he was hugging the
teen; Robin automatically wrapped his legs around the man's waist, afraid that
he might slip from his hold.
Slade did not wait for any further invitation as he took Robin with him to
their bedroom. Robin did what he could to distract the man by licking and
kissing his neck, smothering the man with kisses. Slade almost decided to have
Robin against the wall, or against the bedroom door, as it was getting harder
for him to walk a straight line to the bedroom without swaying or hitting the
walls, thanks to the other's teasing, but Slade refused to be weak minded
enough to even consider such a thing.
Once they had finally made their way to the room and the door was slammed shut
behind them, Slade threw Robin onto the bed. The other watched as Slade
straightened his mask, fighting to get rid of his belt so that he could strip
himself.
Robin on the other hand was more than eager to see what Slade looked like
beneath all that armor. Slade unstrapped the metal plates, letting them fall to
the ground with loud thumps, and then began throwing off his gauntlets; Robin
was pulling off his own gloves as he waited for Slade to get rid of his shirt.
Slade had only just pulled off his shirt as he got on the bed to help Robin
with his. Slade more than secured Robin down on the bed by sitting on Robin’s
legs with his own, and began pulling off the uniform he so enjoyed on the
other. He appreciated Robin’s body way more than that cloth, even if it didn’t
have his claim on it. After the shirt was nearly torn off Robin, Slade let his
sight devour Robin's body, enjoying what he saw. He let his hands fall onto the
other's body now that he didn't have clothing to protect him.
Robin shivered as Slade's calloused hands felt rough and strong against his
skin. He tried to reach out for Slade, but the man pinned both of Robin’s hands
above his head with one arm, playing with his smooth skin and tracing his abs
with his other hand, and then finally sliding it up to tweak Robin's left
nipple. Robin automatically curved his back and tried to reach up from the bed
to meet Slade's touch. The man tweaked and slightly twisted the nub, letting
his thumb knead the sensitive nipple before he traced his fingers along Robin's
chest. He repeated the act to the other nipple before tracing his touch to the
way lower regions on Robin's body.
Robin was breathing heavily the whole time, feeling slightly nervous. The man
was going to take his virginity after all; he had never thought of any man like
this before, and yet here he was, pinned on a
bed under Slade, and biting his lip so that he wouldn't moan out his name too.
Robin sighed as he could feel Slade's touch on his cock through his pants, and
he wished that the annoying garment would be taken off already.
Slade teased Robin by cupping his balls through the cloth, causing Robin to
moan as he thrust upwards. Slade let his hands slide up and down Robin's cock,
pressing enough for Robin to feel it, but not enough to give him any kind of
satisfaction. Robin was panting by now. It wasn't until Slade slipped his
fingers under the waistband of Robin's pants to tease the skin under, that
Robin tore his hands back from Slade's hold to feel Slade's broad shoulders,
strong chest, chiseled abs, and firm back with his own hands. Slade was
handsome. He was strong, masculine, muscular, and everything Robin admired in a
man.
Robin practically grunted out the man's name as he started to kiss Slade's
shoulder, intending to leave his mark on him. After all, Slade had marked him
not too long ago; it was time for him to get his revenge.
Robin heard Slade’s breath hitch in his throat as he caressed him with his lips
and his tender touches. Slade himself was clawing on Robin's hips before he
once again began to dig his fingers under the waistband, tugging slightly.
Robin lifted his hips in invitation for the man to get rid of his pants. Slade
didn't wait for any further permission; he pulled the other's pants to his
knees, letting his hands feel Robin's now shaved legs with his touch.
Slade had nothing against hair; in fact, he would have preferred to know that
the young man in his arms was truly becoming an adult already. The man didn't
fret in it for long; he had a far more pressing matter at hand in the moment.
He grinned as he slid his hands down Robin's stomach, the kid may not have much
hair on his chest, but the happy trail traveling down his stomach and towards
his boxers showed promise. Slade felt the trail of hair with his fingers as he
traced it downwards, following it to the waistband of Robin's boxers, which
were hanging rather low on his hips at this point.
Slade let two of his fingers trace the very base of the glory hidden underneath
the garment, feeling the warm bush of hair that protected the prize. Slade let
his fingers slide along both sides of the cock as he pulled the boxers
downwards, making Robin moan and breathe fast with impatience. Slade then
pulled the boxers off with both of his hands and threw the pants away from
Robin's knees, making sure to throw them as far from the bed he could.
And wasn't it a sight. Robin was laying on the bed with only his mask on, taut
muscles tensing, and chest rising and falling with the other's breath. Robin
had the body of a swimmer, broad on the shoulders and slimming downwards. Robin
lay under him, spread on the bed with knees bent slightly, and Slade couldn't
resist himself as he thrust himself up against Robin, connecting their groins
and rubbing their manhoods together. Even if Slade still had his pants on, he
enjoyed feeling the hardness of Robin under him. He may have always admired the
kid from afar, but now the kid was about to be his.
Robin was already weeping precome, and the transparent liquid was smearing on
Slade's pants as Robin shamelessly thrust against the man, eager to have some
more contact between them.
Robin was panting, moaning, and wriggling under Slade as he clawed his hands on
Slade's torso, leaving red trails behind as he scratched the man's sides. Slade
had hair on his chest, which Robin pressed his head into while trying to muffle
his moans to mere whimpers. Robin was close to being pudding in the man's
hands. Those strong hands that made him go so mad under his touch; Slade's arms
were totally something up there in Robin's “Must love” list. Strong, muscular,
and talented. The hair on the man's arms was tickling him as he explored every
inch of Robin's skin, and Robin loved it. He let his hands rake downwards on
Slade's body until he was tugging at the man's waistband. He was more than
eager to strip the man of the last piece of clothing on his body; a request
that Slade was more than willing to grant. Slade lowered his hands from Robin's
much smaller ones and moved them for him, helping Robin to strip the man of his
pants.
And man was he impressive? It was first time that Robin had seen the man's
cock, and even if he had
felt it through his clothes several times, those rare occasions did not do
justice for the sight of it. Slade was thick if anything, but the length wasn't
a disappointment either. Not that Robin knew what to expect anyways. He could
not compete with Slade in the area, even if he didn't think of himself as
smaller than average for his age. He just hoped that he didn't seem like an
immature child in Slade's eyes.
Not that the matter was a deterrence as Slade kicked his pants off as soon as
possible, mounting Robin again, and pinning him to the bed as he buried his
head into Robin's shoulder, allowing Robin to hear the man's raspy breath.
Slade had their pelvises thrust against each other; his hand was squeezing them
both in his huge fist and Robin enjoyed the feeling of the man over him.
Slade’s broad body covered Robin almost perfectly under him, and their legs
were tangled together. Robin felt the other's strong legs rub against his, and
he found himself regretting his decision to shave his legs. With Slade, Robin
didn't feel any uncertainty of his own body; it seemed like Slade was only
encouraging him to be the man he was supposed to be. Many girls swooned over
him and the Titans, and more than once did he have an uncertainty of himself as
he looked at the models in the advertisements along the city; perfect people,
not with a single trace of hair or fat on their body. Slade somehow managed to
walk in and prove that masculinity truly was a whole different matter
altogether.
The man was perfect: tall, strong, and proud, and most of all confident, with a
great status behind him. It truly was a thing in itself to let the man dominate
him and show Robin his exact place. Slade did not let his whole weight crush
the teen, but nevertheless Robin felt secure under the man, he felt like he was
the only thing keeping Slade in position, and he felt good for it. He may have
been submitting himself fully to the man, but he wouldn’t want to be anywhere
else. He wanted to be overpowered and taken by him, he wanted to feel him,
touch him, kiss him, and he felt like he wouldn’t be able to remain in his skin
if the other teased him any further!
“Slade, please!” Robin groaned. He wasn't completely sure what he was asking
for, but his body was tingling all around, telling him that he wanted more.
More of what, he couldn't say, but he could start with devouring the man's
lips.
“Take off the mask; I want to be able to kiss you,” Robin said boldly, and
Slade stopped for a moment to consider. Robin almost felt regret for opening
his big mouth and most likely ruining the mood with his greediness, but Slade
surprised him yet another time today.
Robin was almost gawking at the man as he reached his other hand to the back of
his head to unlock the clasp that kept the mask in place. Robin felt how his
heart had sped up and how his breath had gotten stuck in his throat. He
couldn't believe that Slade was actually taking his mask off; this was such a
luxury and a treat in itself.
Robin tried to see under the mask as Slade lifted it off, but the shadows
swallowed the entire exterior of the man's face. Robin found himself holding
his breath as he watched the man's hand move slowly further from his face,
until suddenly the man moved faster than a snake, causing Robin to gasp.
Slade had just flipped the mask over and covered Robin's own face with it. The
mask was on sideways so that it only hid Robin's upper face, not allowing him
to see a thing from under the mask. Slade held the mask in place and enjoyed
Robin’s moist lips which were slightly apart due his astonish. The mask covered
everything on Robin's face except the tip of his nose, his lips, and his
defined jaw.
Slade laughed deeply at Robin's shocked expression and claimed his lips now
that his mask was no longer in the way. Robin sighed into the kiss before he
answered the man back with his own kisses. He hadn't quite meant this when he
asked Slade to remove his mask, but Robin didn't dare defy the man. As long as
it meant that the man was showing him his appreciation, like he was now, Robin
was fine with it. The only downside was that he couldn't see the man at all; he
could only feel the man's kisses and touches and hear the bed sheets ruffle
under them.
He wished that he could see what the man was doing to him, he wished to let his
eyes ravish the man, but he couldn't. It was a clear trade-off, his sight for
the lips, which were proving themselves worth the
trade every passing second.
Robin moaned and thrust upwards, growing seriously impatient as the man's lips
claimed his own over and over, before Slade began traveling downwards. He
kissed Robin's jaw and the jugular in his neck, and bit down where his shoulder
met his neck before licking the spot on the collar to ease the ache. Robin
shivered as Slade kept pleasuring him, and he moaned as the man sucked on his
shoulder, forming yet another hickey on him as a mark of ownership.
Robin was panting hard enough for the man to need to keep Robin's chest down as
he moved even further downwards. Slade's face was almost pressed against
Robin's hot chest and Robin could feel the man's beard tickle it. He could feel
the man's nose touch his skin every now and then and moaned as Slade's cheek
pressed against Robin. Slade then moved to his destination and licked Robin's
nipple, rolling his tongue over the nub before sucking on it. Robin almost
tried to wiggle free from the touch as it felt so unfamiliar, but he moaned
earnestly as Slade kissed the nub, tracing his teeth over it and biting it
slightly. The nipple was a really sensitive part of Robin and the kid was sure
that he would feel a small ache and tinge way after the sex was over if the man
kept on going. Slade rolled his tongue around the nub once again before sucking
on it and placing another lick over it. Robin's chest was moving up and down as
he nearly hyperventilated under the man's caress, but Slade's touch calmed him
down as he caressed his pectoral with his free hand that was not holding the
mask. Slade finally kissed the nipple goodbye before blowing hot air on it,
which soon felt like ice as the saliva cooled on Robin's skin. Slade then moved
to repeat the act to the other nipple.
“Slade please, god, stop teasing.” Robin managed to gasp as Slade bit on his
nipple, making Robin emit an embarrassing squeal. Slade only laughed with the
nipple still in his mouth, causing cold, pleasant shivers to travel along
Robin's spine. Robin arched his back as Slade traveled his way down, kissing
Robin's stomach and trailing the thin line of hair with his tongue before
getting even lower. It took everything Robin had to stop himself from coming as
Slade nuzzled his nose in Robin's pubes. Robin had an idea of what was going to
happen, and he found himself looking forward to it, even if he did not want to
come just yet.
“God, Slade!” Robin elongated the last letter in the man's name unnecessarily
long as the man closed his hand on the base of Robin’s cock, pulling back the
foreskin and trailing his tongue slowly from the root of the cock to the very
tip, finally rolling his tongue around the head. Robin was trying to hold his
breath to stop himself from breathing erratically as Slade coiled his huge hand
around his cock and gave it one firm tug. He began licking his way down to the
underside of Robin's cock. God did the man know what he was doing. Robin was
leaking precome so bad that he could smell the bitter scent of it himself; the
aroma flowed in the air and began filling the room. The smell was thick and it
screamed of the sex that was soon to come.
Robin moaned again as Slade kept traveling further down, leaving Robin's
weeping cock behind, pressing it against Robin's stomach with his arm, tenderly
and leisurely rubbing it. Robin was getting shivers so bad that he wanted to
lock his knees together to push Slade further, but the man found Robin's balls
and licked them with his tongue, even cupping one in his mouth, causing Robin
to spread his knees fully open. He let Slade have all the space he could
possibly need.
“God, please, don't!” Robin found himself begging. He did want it, he wanted it
so bad! But he was afraid that if Slade continued any further he would come
prematurely. He didn't want that, and he was pleased to find Slade slowing
down. The man stopped rubbing his cock but didn't stop playing with his tongue.
Robin didn't want the man to stop; the man was tasting them, kissing them, and
brushing his tongue between them along the small rut.
“Please, just-” Robin was out of things to say, he was currently on a cloud so
high up that he could assure that he was in heaven. All his thoughts were a
haze and he couldn't concentrate on anything else except the touches and
caresses he was receiving. “Slade, please, I want-” He still wasn't quite sure
what he wanted, but Slade seemed to know that for him.
Slade moved once again, feeling confident that Robin wouldn't be coming just
yet. The man traced his
tongue down along the crack, needing to push his hand under the teen to hold
him up, so that he could finally reach Robin's entrance. He began licking the
hole, making Robin tense up and blush so hard that he became glad that the mask
was covering his face. He was so embarrassed that Slade had gone down there. He
did not want to see it, it was embarrassing and wrong, it was dirty, and Slade
shouldn't be doing it.
“Don't.” Robin begged, as the blush threatened to travel down his throat. He
didn't want to see it; even the mental images were too much. The act was so
unfamiliar, so wrong on so many levels, yet Robin found himself moaning and
gasping as Slade forced his tongue inside the boy. Robin lifted his knees onto
Slade's shoulder in half-assed effort to cover himself.
Slade withdrew his tongue and rolled it along the ring of muscles, causing
Robin to shiver and clam up. Slade let him do no such thing before he already
penetrated Robin's hole again, practically fucking the teen with his tongue.
The words were stuck on Robin's tongue as he dug his fingers into the sheets,
holding onto them for dear life. “Oh god,” Robin moaned before whimpering for
Slade to stop, the plea was half-assed and Slade knew it, Robin was enjoying it
way more than he let on. “Stop,” Robin plead with a broken whisper as Slade
took his sweet time stretching the other's hole with tongue before finally
pulling back, leaving Robin short of breath.
“That was-” Robin was lost with words. Amazing was the first thing that came to
his mind, followed by words that were similar, but with a few minor
differences.
Slade reached over him to the night stand, another hand still holding him in
place, but Robin didn't notice as he was too busy panting for air, which he was
sure, had deserted him for good.
Slade leaned back behind Robin, which he could tell since the weight in the bed
shifted, and soon he heard a loud pop in the air as if someone had opened a
cork or something.
“You want some more, don't you, Robin?” Slade asked, finally talking back to
Robin now that his mouth wasn't so occupied.
“Oh god yes,” Robin whispered and Slade hummed in appreciation. “It's nice to
know that I'm that good. Good enough to be called a god,” the man teased and
soon something cold was poured on Robin's stomach. It was too thick to be
liquid, but not quite as thick as hand cream. Nevertheless, Robin hissed at the
cold and reached his hands over his head to grasp onto the headboard of the bed
with all of his strength. Slade licked his lips as he watched Robin tense up,
noticing how his muscles moved and twitched beneath the pale skin of the
other's.
“Warms it up quite efficiently, don't you agree?” Slade murmured into Robin's
ear, making Robin shiver as he felt the hot breath on the side of his face and
the man's beard tickling his cheek. Robin was panting so hard that random
strings of hair were fluttering in the air, landing on his face every time he
inhaled, and pushing off as he exhaled. The lotion on his stomach was still
cool and making Robin's skin get goose bumps. The icy fluid was slowly dripping
down Robin's side, making him shiver as it began dripping onto the sheets.
Robin accidentally rolled over and hissed as his back got a feeling of the cold
and slippery goo.
“What is it?” Robin hissed as the lotion finally started warming on his
stomach.
“Lubrication,” Slade explained as he dipped his fingers in the lube, tracing
them along Robin's stomach. He then moved to his chest, rolling his fingers
along each of Robin's nipples twice before scratching Robin's sides, making the
other hum in pleasure.
“I am going to prepare you now, last chance to back down,” Slade admitted as he
dipped three fingers into the pool of lube on Robin's stomach. He started from
the base of his cock and worked his way up to his chest. With a generous amount
of lube on his fingers Slade placed the digits at Robin's entrance, waiting for
further approval.
“Why would I ever? Just fuck me already, Slade!” Robin was practically drooling
under his mask, being more than ready and eager to have the man inside him. He
wanted, no he needed to have him, as cheesy as that sounded; he felt like his
erection would kill him if he didn't get release soon.
“With pleasure,” Slade said as he thrust the first finger past the ring of
muscles and into Robin's hot cavern. Robin didn't mind the slight twinge, and
it didn’t really hurt, it just felt awkward. Of course it felt awkward, after
all, nothing was meant to go in down there, only out, and it wasn't even his
finger up there.
Slade lifted Robin's left leg up high to give himself more room and ease Robin
some. Slade moved the finger back and forth inside Robin, twisting it and
making a “come hither” motion with his hand, causing Robin to gasp in surprise.
Slade did not leave the kid any time to react before he pushed a second finger
in. The second finger felt even more uncomfortable than the first and there was
now a rather faint, distant throb of pain. Robin withered as Slade twisted his
fingers in the hole, thrusting them deeper and further. He began twisting them
around again and hooking his fingers, causing Robin to moan. Slade was pleased
and grinned to show it; Robin had finally begun to slowly thrust back against
his fingers. Slade decided to add the last finger just to be sure; Robin
frowned then, the pain finally present. He groaned as Slade moved the fingers
in him as if he was fucking him with them, but it wasn't until Slade twisted
them around and curled them, hitting Robin's prostate, that Robin began to
moan. The man rather enjoyed hearing Robin's moans and whimpers.
Slade thrust his fingers in and out twice more for show before withdrawing
them, much to Robin's dismay.
Robin was withering on the bed as Slade ran his whole hand over his stomach,
gathering lube in his palm before rubbing it all over his penis, making sure he
was fully covered by it. Slade then lifted both of Robin's legs onto his
shoulders as he positioned himself at his entrance, making him try to push back
against him, much to Slade's pleasure. The man's cock was throbbing for action,
and it was finally time to grant it after waiting so patiently.
“It will hurt, brace yourself,” was the only warning Robin got before Slade
buried himself to the hilt, getting quickly past the most crucial part, just
like pulling off a band-aid. Robin uttered a yelp; he could feel Slade's balls
against his skin, that's how deep the man had thrust himself in. A scream was
caught at the back of Robin's throat, the sudden intrusion hurting. The ring of
muscles gave way to Slade's cock and Robin felt like his ass was being torn.
Robin was gasping for breath for a moment as Slade didn't move and inch inside
him. He leaned forward to whisper to Robin's ear: “I couldn't wait. The pain
will fade, I promise.” Robin listened to Slade murmur in his ear and he nodded.
The pain was already fading, but the sharp stab like twinge was not a pleasant
experience. Robin waited for a moment longer until the pain at his entrance
faded, feeling how he had been filled like never before. Robin fought off the
lump from his throat to speak, “Move, just- Move!” and began to thrust himself
against Slade.
Slade did not need any further invitation. He pulled backwards so that only the
tip remained sheathed, preparing to penetrate robin yet again, this time not
intending to stop.
Robin gasped; the movement was just as brutal as the first had been, but it
didn't hurt nearly as bad this time. He was moaning and panting as he arched
his back to better adjust himself for Slade's intrusion. Robin twisted his head
back to expose his throat, moaning Slade's name as the man hit a spot within
him, making him jolt like a course of electricity had just seared through him.
Robin moaned and locked his feet behind Slade's back. The mask was starting to
slip from Robin's face as he moved his head, but Slade didn't care to hold it
in place as carefully as he had a moment ago. Not that Robin would have seen
anything anyways; he had his eyes sealed shut in pure bliss.
“Slade!” Robin moaned, trying to aid the man by thrusting with his legs,
pulling him closer every time the man pushed in. Robin's palms were turning
white due the force he was using to grip the headboard.
Robin moaned again as Slade did a particularly deep and hard thrust, followed
by four really fast ones as the man resumed with their rhythm.
“Keep talking Robin, I love your voice,” Slade growled and Robin felt the
vibrations of his voice go straight down to his cock. Slade sounded positively
arousing, his voice hoarse and filled with lust and need. The man said he loved
the noises Robin made; did he even bother to notice what his voice did to
Robin?
“Shit, do that again. Harder, faster, deeper.” Robin moaned the words out in
between thrusts and Slade complied with every word, hitting the spot right on,
causing Robin to whimper.
“Keep that up and I will make sure you are limping home to your friends,” Slade
growled and Robin almost screamed as the man took Robin's dick, giving it hard
yanks while devouring Robin's lips at the same time. Robin came on the spot. He
didn't know if it was the words or the actions, but Robin felt his head go
light as he shot his come onto his stomach, smearing Slade's hand in the
process. His muscles clamped around Slade, making the man come with a grunt,
all while buried deep within Robin.
Slade fell on top of Robin after that, covering the other with his body. Robin
didn't even care to complain about the man's weight. He liked himself just
where he was, supporting the man that had just made him have the best orgasm of
his life.
They both panted hard for several long minutes after that. Slade pulled himself
out after a while;
Robin was still in such a haze that he didn’t even notice. He couldn't form
words, he wanted to say something to the man, but he couldn't think of anything
that sounded at least remotely sensible.
Robin's limbs felt like they were lead, heavy and difficult to move, but still
he forced his hands to coil around the man lying on top of him in an awkward
embrace.
Slade didn't seem to be able to form words either; he laid one last long kiss
on Robin's lips before stealing back his mask and clasping it tightly in its
place, not letting Robin see a thing.
“That was amazing,” were the only words Robin could form. In fact, the only
thing he could come up with, when he thought about words to describe the moment
was amazing. The word repeated itself time after time in his head, polluting
his thoughts.
Slade only grunted in reply, not denying it, but just not caring to elaborate.
“May I ask why you did not show me your face?” Robin asked. He did not feel
hurt because the man did not trust him enough to show him his face. Precaution
was important, they both knew it.
“The same reason why you are still wearing your mask,” Slade mumbled and
reached his arm to the edge of Robin's mask, looking as if he would take it off
Robin's face, but not making a move to do so. “I can't trust you to know my
face, just as well as you won't trust me.” Slade moved his hand to gather Robin
in his arms before rolling over, switching their position so that Robin was
lying on top of him, both in comfortable position.
Robin pondered Slade's words for a while after that. He knew that the man's
words were the exact truth and nothing less. Yet, he felt like they were a lie,
in one way or another. Maybe he would show the man his face one day. Not today,
not tomorrow, probably not in a long time, but one day, he just might.
“You are thinking so hard I can practically hear the wheels turning in your
head. Just go to sleep,” Slade murmured.
Robin then buried his head in Slade's chest, making himself some room in the
man's armpit, and followed the man's advice.
They were both asleep sooner than they had thought possible, and neither of
them was bothered to trouble their mind with such pathetic thoughts as this
being their last time together like this. Once they woke up again, everything
would go back to what it once used to be.
Yet, they both slept peacefully, completely ignorant to their current
situation.
But no perfect moment lasts forever.
Robin was the first one to wake. They hadn't slept longer than one hour max,
but neither of them cared. Robin was content just lying in Slade's arms for
another quarter of an hour before he finally deemed himself ready to face the
day. Slade looked so good when he was asleep. The man's mask was where it used
to be, but the naked body that was displayed before him was a sight to behold.
Robin let his eyes travel up and down the man's body for a moment as he decided
to rise up, with a wince, to get dressed
before he got a boner.
Robin silently and carefully sneaked his way through the room to the bathroom
where he showered and looked in the mirror. His throat, neck, and shoulder area
was filled with small love bites. He still had some of his bruises from
yesterday, but he was fine, for the most part that is. He wondered how he was
going to cover up the bruises on his throat, and hoped that his uniform had a
collar to hide them. He'd have to make something up for his friends to explain
his swollen lip, but he guessed that he could blame it on an accident of some
sort.
Robin sighed as he exited the bathroom to search for his clothes. Their clothes
were scattered all around the room and it took a while for Robin to find all of
his own. He was already pulling his pants on when he realized that he'd
probably be kicked out rather soon, so he decided to wear his Titans uniform
instead. Robin sighed as he pulled off the pants he was just about to pull on,
going instead to retrieve the other uniform from the closet.
Robin held the Titans uniform in his hands with a forlorn look. He thought that
he'd be happy to go home to his friends, but for some reason it was hard to
even think that this was the last day that he was going to be with Slade. His
faith was only made weaker by the fact that he'd actually formed feelings
towards the man; and considering what they had just been doing on that bed mere
hours ago, this was extremely difficult for Robin.
He had to get his priorities sorted. His friends were his priority; his job
protecting the city was his priority. He had been eating up borrowed time for
the entire past week; it was time for him to return home. Robin sighed as he
began to dress.
“Don't be so sad, I bet your friends will shower you with love and attention
once you are back at the Tower.” Robin hadn't even realized that Slade had
woken up. The man was sitting on the bed and obviously checking him out. Robin
pulled his pants on with a blush on his face. Slade may have seen, touched,
maybe even licked every part of his body, but Robin still felt embarrassed to
parade around naked.
“You know that I would always be pleased to have you stay here,” Slade offered,
but Robin had to shake his head sadly.
“I can't. I signed up for this hero thing a long time ago, and now I'm
suffering the consequences,” Robin said dramatically with a fake smile on his
lips. He was trying to play up the situation with a joke to ease the mood.
“I figured as much. I thought that I'd be able to bend you and make you stay. I
thought that if you spent enough time here, I'd get you brainwashed enough to
want to stay, but the longer you stayed, the more I realized that you would
never be kept here against your will. Hence your name, you are meant to fly
free,” Slade said while he stretched. He went to get a clean uniform from the
closet, reaching over Robin's half clothed body to get it, leaning closer than
was probably necessary. Robin knew that the man was doing it on purpose.
“Better late than never,” Robin mumbled and blushed as the man brushed against
his naked torso, making him shiver.
“Who knows, maybe a different time and situation could present us another
chance. I'm not giving up on you yet.” Slade grinned and brushed his hand up
and down Robins arm, making him unconsciously lean closer, yearning for the
touch.
“I would be disappointed if you did,” Robin managed to reply before he forced
himself to step back, getting some distance between them so that he could pull
his clothes on.
“I want these dog tags off me, Slade,” Robin announced once they were both
modest and fully clothed. The other merely nodded while explaining that it
could be done by turning off the chip with yet another injection, and once done
it would leave the body naturally.
The trip to get the chip removed wasn't nearly as awkward as Robin had thought.
They used the last hours they had to act as civil as they could, neither of
them worrying too much about their very near future. So the last of the time
they had together was spent completing the unfinished business they still had
and trying out some test courses they had used before. They even ended up
having yet another row of sex after Slade announced that as colorful and
blinding as Robin's uniform was, he found Robin absolutely irresistible in it,
and that he really would like the idea of tainting the hero. Not that he hadn't
done it before, but now that Robin was back in his own colors, it seemed even
more personal.
Evening came too fast for the both of them. The sun was setting and it was
already nine o'clock. Slade had escorted Robin all the way to the front doors,
standing at his doorsteps like a statue, watching as Robin walked away from
him. Robin was already by the gates when he turned around to see Slade still
watching after him. The man nodded to him, turned around on his heels, and
walked inside his base, no doubt preparing to change all the passwords to make
sure Robin didn't bring his friends in uninvited.
So this was their story, one week together and now it was over.
Robin felt a sting at the side of his eye, and he was sure that he would start
crying any minute, but the tears never fell.
After all, he was the hero of Jump city, the leader of none other than the Teen
Titans; it was time he returned to his duties.
Robin laid one last look at Slade's base before turning his back to it and
walking into the sunset. From where he looked, the sun seemed to be setting
behind the Titans Tower, which could be seen out at the sea. It formed a bright
halo around the Tower and the sky was red.
The Titans were his friends now and forever, and it was time he returned to
them.
Robin bitterly laid his last goodbye to the man with the black and orange mask
as he prepared to return to his friends, all of whom had probably missed him
badly.
With that Robin started to limp his way to the tower, his ass hurt too much for
him not to.
***** Chapter 27 *****
Chapter Notes
     AN: Please note that this is the LAST WEEK left of the FREE SLADE
     DOLL RAFFLE! Please leave a comment in which you announce your
     participation if you have not done so already! I will announce the 2
     winners in chapter 28 on Monday 10th of November. Remember; that all
     participants who announced their participation with a comment have a
     chance, but leaving a fan-art/fanfic will improve your odds!
The first week back at the Tower with the Titans was a blast; the time seemed
to fly by as they all wanted to hear how he had been doing and whether he was
okay. It was like meeting a long lost friend again. Their reunion was amazing;
they had all been thrilled to catch up with each other, and went out to eat
pizza like they always had.
The second week went slowly as everything began to settle down and routine hit
Robin. He tried to think about Slade as little as he could.
By the third week he had to remind himself every waking moment of the day to
not think of the man, and when he would sleep, he would sleep restlessly and
dream of the man with the orange and black mask.
And after a full month had passed, Robin found himself missing Slade more than
he had ever thought possible. He couldn't say whether or not he was glad that
Slade had kept as much of a low profile as he did. One side was glad that the
man wasn’t causing mayhem around the city or trying to taunt him, but the other
side missed him even more for it.
It wasn't fair. It seemed that no matter where he stayed, he was never happy.
His thoughts had just been running in circles for days now, and the only thing
he could think about anymore was Slade. Robin was just so confused. He thought
that he'd be content with his friends and with his duty as a Titan, but every
moment that passed just ended up making him miss Slade more.
Even his friends began to notice that everything was not alright with their
leader. Starfire had tried to do her best to keep Robin's mind occupied, which
he was really grateful for, but sadly, it did not work. At first, Beast boy
encouraged Robin to play some games with the team, attempting to get him to
spend time with them, but gave up on that a little over a week ago.
Raven and Cyborg had both given Robin his space, thinking that he would snap
out of it sooner or later.
Now, Robin would just do what was necessary to protect the city, locking
himself in his room or going outside to sit on the roof whenever he returned to
the Tower. He ended up spending most of his time on the roof however, just
looking at Slade's base until he either had to eat, sleep, or take a leak;
whichever came first.
So, it did not come as a surprise that he was once again sitting on top of the
roof. The sun was rising and Robin had stayed up all night sitting on the roof,
thinking and wondering about his next move.
The poor boy was torn between two options and it was practically impossible to
choose between them. He didn't want to leave his friends, he was still really
happy here, just being with them. The only thing that kept him from feeling
completely content here was the nagging voice at the back of his skull and ache
in his chest. He couldn't quite explain it through words, but he felt like
something was missing.
It was like the feeling that you get when you leave your house and realize that
you left your keys back inside the locked house; except not quite as intense.
Or the same as the feeling Robin would get when he would visit Alfred and Bruce
on Christmas. After spending the holidays with them he would return to his
friends with an empty feeling inside of him due to their sudden absence; except
it was much stronger than that. It was distantly familiar to the feeling that
he had whenever he saw Terra's statue. It was hard to explain really, but it
felt like there was a worm slowly eating away at his conscious, and he really
couldn’t endure it much longer.
It was like missing the last piece needed to complete a puzzle, but he couldn't
just go and fetch that missing piece. Robin had to keep a hold of his friends,
and he had a city to protect; he couldn't just turn his back on it all. His
friends would never welcome him back if he even considered leaving them for
Slade. Besides, he had been with his friends for years, loved them for years;
he had only truly known Slade for a week. He couldn't throw his life away for a
crush that had formed in just one week's time.
If only he could somehow have both, or at least a little bit more time to think
about it.
The sun rose to the sky slowly, and Robin still hadn't stopped deliberating. It
was as if he was indulged in a case where he just couldn't find the culprit,
even if the answer was right in front of his nose.
“Have you been awake all night again?” a girl's voice sounded behind Robin, and
he almost thought that it was Starfire. She used to come looking for him every
now and then, asking if he wanted to go to the “place of shopping” so they
could “do the buying of clothes and delicious earth treats” or such nonsense.
Robin still didn't know why he had always agreed to go with her; God knew he
needed something to distract him.
Robin awoke to the present with that thought. No, he didn’t need a distraction;
he needed something to keep his thoughts intact. He couldn't deliberate for a
moment without his thoughts straying from him.
Robin looked up at Raven and nodded to her, scooting over to let her have some
room to sit. “I lost track of the time.”
Raven sat close to him, her knee pressing into his thigh as she crossed her
legs, “Again?”
“Yeah, again,” Robin answered to her tease as he leaned backwards, letting his
elbows keep him upright. Robin bit his lower lip as he kept looking out into
the distance.
“You have been acting really distant for weeks now,” Raven stated, and Robin
just nodded. He knew it himself and he couldn't deny it, there was no use
denying it. Besides, he had a feeling that Raven knew about it already. She
gave him the impression that one way or another, she would know what was going
on; she was like that at times. Robin reasoned that it was because of her
emphatic powers, but one could never be sure.
“I haven't meant to be, I just have had a lot on my mind, that's all,” Robin
mumbled. With a sigh, he let himself slump on the roof, staring at the baby
blue sky.
“Maybe if you talked about these things with us,” she suggested. Robin laughed
at that, if only it was that simple.
“Robin, maybe everything isn't so difficult. Maybe the easiest answer is truly
the most obvious one. What can you possibly lose by talking about what's on
your mind?”
“Everything”, Robin thought. He wouldn’t dare risk losing his friends.
“I'm just saying Robin; a true friend is always there to support their friend.
That's why I think that you should talk to us; you need to give some to get
some,” Raven mused, rising up to stand.
Robin pondered Raven's words, thinking that she may just be right. It wasn’t
fair to keep the events of the entire week hidden from them, but at times it
was just better that they didn't know.
“Robin, we have all seen that you are not completely happy here. We just want
whatever it is that makes you happy. Just once could you ignore your
obligations and pursue your dreams. You have always gotten what you wanted, but
have you ever gotten what you needed? Maybe now is the time to fill that empty
spot of yours.” Raven patted Robin on the shoulder and left him to his
thoughts. She was already at the door when she stopped, “Just promise me that
you won’t turn evil.”
Robin jolted around to look at her, but she had already left. How did she know
that? He wouldn't turn evil! Never!
So somehow it seemed that Raven already knew. How did she? Did it even matter?
He guessed it really didn't. She didn't mind, so there was no harm done. But
now that she knew, should he tell his friends? He should, shouldn't he? What
would his friends say? They would probably think that he was insane, but maybe
he could assure them otherwise.
What if they turned out hating him just like the Titans in the simulator did.
They wouldn't, would they? Raven certainly thought that they wouldn't.
How could they ever understand? It was one thing in itself to understand that
he was probably gay, but with Slade? He had gone mental.
“Friend Robin?” Robin jumped up to stand. How badly had he been lost in his
thoughts that Starfire was able to sneak up behind him? He was losing it!
“Yes, what is it Starfire?” Robin walked over to his friend who was waiting at
the door.
“Raven said that I should bring you to the room of eating. She said that you
have matters to discuss with us.” Robin worried his lip then. “Did she really?”
Starfire only hummed and nodded before taking Robin's hand and guiding him to
the kitchen.
Robin was dumbfounded; Raven had just made his decision for him. There was no
way that this could end well. Robin followed Starfire with a feeling of
foreboding slowly creeping up on him; he wasn't ready to tell any of his
friends yet! What if they didn't accept him? How was he ever going to tell
them? Robin was beyond nervous.
By the time they had reached the kitchen everyone else was already there,
sitting in a circle around the dinner table as they waited for him to arrive.
How did Raven get them all together so fast?
Starfire let go of Robin's hand, leaving him to stand in front of the table as
she took a seat next to their friends.
“Erm, where should I begin?” Robin mumbled. He was too nervous to sit down with
the others, so he just continued standing.
“Tell us about your glorious mission with friend Bat Girl!” Starfire exclaimed
and Robin physically flinched at that. He knew that that white lie would come
to bite him in the ass later.
Robin had to cough to hide his discomfort. “I wasn't with Bat Girl,” Robin
confessed awkwardly. He could see the confusion on everyone's faces. Well,
maybe not on Raven's, she held her cool as usual.
“Were you with Batman then?” Starfire asked in confusion and Robin shook his
head. “Anyways, it doesn't matter. Nothing in that letter actually happened; I
sent it so that you would know that I was okay.”
It was Beast Boy who corrected his gesture and snapped: “Then where were you?!
We turned the whole city upside down and we couldn’t find you anywhere! I tried
to follow your scent, but I didn't sense you anywhere! I thought that I smelt
you at times, but I lost the trace! Starfire was a wreck!” Robin tried to hold
his head up the whole time that Beast Boy yelled at him, and only cowered
twice: once when he heard that they had searched all around and again when he
heard about Starfire.
“I am really sorry for that, but you had no reason to worry, I'm okay. See, I
made it back without a scratch.” Robin tried to joke his way around, but
judging from the look Cyborg gave him, he wasn't amused.
“We found your communicator in the forest. We thought you were kidnapped!”
Robin's eye twitched. Well, yeah, he kind of was, but everything turned out
well in the end.
“I know… I should have given you a sign of some sort sooner, but I couldn't.
You just have to trust me, the week wasn't that bad!” Robin tried to defend
himself. As he was about to get more breath to continue speaking, Raven stopped
him.
“Robin, just sit down and relax, start from the beginning. No lies, no sugar
coating, just tell us from the beginning to the end: what happened out there?”
Starfire nodded eagerly to this: “Yes, you should tell us, friend Robin. I am
the most eager to know what has happened to you.”
Robin bit his lip, but sat down regardless. His friends were right, he had to
tell them. He would just skip the most embarrassing parts, or at least save
them for later. If they reacted well to what they heard, he might reconsider
and tell them the full story.
Robin fiddled with his gloves as he sat at the end of the table. He took a
couple of deep breaths to cool himself down before starting from the very
beginning.
“You remember how we were on a mission when I disappeared? I was feeling really
weak, but I saw Slade running out of the warehouse and I couldn't just let him
escape,” Robin mumbled, remembering running in the forest and jumping from
hillock to hillock, trying to keep up with the man. The others just nodded; he
could see that some of them were holding back objections. He knew that they
didn't approve of him running after dangerous criminals with a high fever.
“I couldn't follow him far. I tripped on a stick and fell to the ground. The
last thing I saw before Slade picked me up was the forest and his mask right in
front of my face,” Robin confessed, looking away as he heard Beast Boy and
Starfire gasp.
“Slade took you? Are you pulling my leg?! Please tell me you didn't just say
that you stayed with Slade the whole week! He probably chained you to a wall
and tortured you and tried to brainwash you into that whole apprentice
stupidity!” Beast Boy sounded furious and Robin knew that he had really low
chances of assuring him that he was truly fine. Not to even think about telling
him how fine he actually was.
“BB, let Robin explain, I want to know how he escaped.” Cyborg slapped his hand
on Beast Boy’s mouth and judging by the muffled screams, the other was still
protesting. Robin decided to ignore them.
“It wasn’t like that at all,” Robin mumbled, continuing before anyone else
could interrupt him, “Well, at first I was rather panicked and Slade wasn't
pleased when I managed to fall in the shower with my blankets and ruin them.”
Robin laughed a little then, hoping to lighten up the tense mood a little by
doing so.
“Slade then relocated me from the small, empty, dark room to… somewhere else
after that.” He had left unsaid exactly where the man took him for a reason.
The others weren't ready to face the truth yet. “But we did make a deal. He
promised that if I stayed one week at his base, then I could return home safe,
unhurt, and without a fight. That way I knew that you, as well as I, could be
safe,” Robin said. This caused an uproar of yelling from everyone except Raven.
Many things were said and accused then: “How could you?” “Why would you agree
to that?!” “Why didn't you just escape?”, until finally Raven asked, “What were
the terms?” It seemed that the others were just as interested in the answer
since they all quieted down to listen. Robin was just glad that they had
finally stopped shouting.
“It was rather simple really. I had to stay for the week and do whatever Slade
had in mind for me. After that I, all of you, and any other possible civilians
would be safe. Once I had stayed for a week, I was free to go. It was only one
week of my life in exchange for my freedom. He at least quieted down slightly
since our deal. You may not have noticed, but he hasn’t attacked since then.”
Robin started to wonder about his last words. Was Slade gone? Did he stop his
attacks? He wouldn’t have just left, would he? Robin hoped that he didn’t. He
wanted to see the man again sometime. Maybe Slade was keeping a low profile so
that he could plan his next move? Maybe he was waiting for Robin's first move?
Robin liked to hope.
“He threatened your lives if I didn’t stay. It would certainly be difficult and
annoying at times, but after all, one week is such a short time that no matter
what happened, I could take it,” Robin tried to reason, but as the other's
faces didn't show any recognition he decided to just go on with his story.
“Anyways, after all that, the first day began.”
Beast boy managed to interrupt him right after his sentence, demanding to know
why the count of days hadn't already started. Robin tried to explain that Slade
had required him to be healthy before they started anything. He didn't get the
message across too well, as Raven had to make a black veil of magic to surround
Beast Boy's head, making his voice drown out.
“Thank you, Raven.” Robin gave her a truly appreciative look, hoping that it
showed his gratitude. She just nodded at him. “As I was saying, Slade healed
me, and made me do some tests to confirm my condition. I have to admit that I
wasn't in the best shape then.” Robin decided not to mention the mishaps of the
first day to his friends. He didn't know why, but he wanted to give them as
positive of an image of Slade as possible. Maybe it was because a small part of
him wanted his friends to accept him. Accept them, really.
“The first day wasn't anything special really, just Slade being the annoying
bastard that he is, and me being weak with fatigue. The second day on the other
hand was a whole different matter.” Robin shook his head, remembering that day.
It was a really confusing day after all. “Slade taught me how to fire guns.”
Starfire gasped, “You did not harm anyone! Please, tell me you did not!” Robin
laughed and reached out to pat her on the shoulder reassuringly. “No, I didn't
hurt anyone,” he whispered; he was beginning to feel more comfortable with the
situation. He knew that the best way to get his friends to accept the week with
Slade was to act cool about it. Also, he kind of found comfort in the memories;
they were fond memories.
“Slade also helped me! He helped me to overcome my fear of small spaces.” Robin
remembered that day well, he had been so scared and so angry then. He wanted to
attack and kill that sorry excuse for a man; funny how much things had changed
in just a couple of days.
“How did he do that?” Raven asked, removing the bubble from Beast Boy now that
he had finally calmed down. “He made me crawl in ventilation shafts. They were
disgusting, dirty, and hot; designed like a maze. I don't remember being so
disgusted and scared at the same time in my life.” Robin smiled, but decided to
continue the story just a little further: “Slade helped me when I freaked out
and now I am no longer afraid of tight spaces.”
Just wait until they hear about the box he was forced into on the fifth day…
and what happened after. Robin would lock himself in a box if it meant that he
would get a hand job like that again. He blushed slightly just thinking about
it and tried to cover it with a cough. He didn't want to act like this in front
of his friends!
Robin tried to come up with something, anything, to say so that he wouldn’t
continue thinking about Slade’s hands. “Oh, I almost forgot! Slade has the most
amazing simulator room in his base! It can create any kind of scenario possible
and make it seem real! Anything that happens within looks, sounds, smells, and
heck, even tastes real! It was the best training I have ever had! Once, there
was a giant worm in there that I had to defeat! It was the only time that we
went in the simulator together; Slade ended up saving my hide in there. Not
that the simulator could have killed me, but he did anyways. That happened on
the third day,” Robin mused, almost losing himself in his thoughts. He looked
at Cyborg and suggested that the Titans make one just like it, to which he
answered with an excited “Hell yeah!” Robin was thankful that none of them had
asked him why Slade had saved his hide, but he had a feeling that Raven might
be wondering right now.
“The third day was exciting all in all. It was the day that Slade weighed my
ability to keep a promise-” a little white lie to substitute trust, he would
mention it to his friends if everything turned out well – “to see if I could be
sent outside the base for missions.”
“Did you pass?” Beast Boy jumped in his seat from excitement. “Yeah, for my
first mission, I had to get a disc filled with security measures and whatnot
for Slade. All the missions had a time line and a purpose. I had free reign
along the city as long as I didn’t contact you. If I did well and obeyed the
rules, I would be rewarded with a prize, and just as well, if I failed, I would
get punished.”
“So it was you who took it! We knew that the disc had been stolen, but we never
got to arrest the guy. So, I take it that you managed just fine, what did you
get as a prize?” Cyborg asked, reaching his hand out and making a gesture with
his fingers, indicating for some short of payment.
“I got to send that letter to you. As long as it couldn't be traced back to us
in any way, shape, or form, and didn’t tell you too much, I got to say what I
wished.” Starfire clapped her hands at that: “I was most relieved with your
letter to us, friend Robin. I read it every day while you were away!” Robin
smiled at Starfire, she was so naive and innocent; he was glad that such a
small piece of paper could make her happy. “I'm glad it made you less worried.”

Robin then felt comfortable enough to go fetch himself a glass of orange juice.
Beast Boy loved orange juice, so they always had some in their fridge. Robin
filled his glass and then returned to the table to continue.
“On the fourth day, Slade showed me how to not trust my eyes too much in a
fight. It turned out to be really useful later on. I ended up going on another
mission where I had to steal an external memory unit from Wayne corp. I met Red
X there and he dared me to a race, whoever reached the vault at the Bank with
the diamond in it would be the victor.”
Beast boy jumped up to stand then: “Dude! I so saw and smelled you there!”
Robin laughed and nodded. “We almost got you!” Best Boy continued before Cyborg
interrupted.
“Well you sure have been busy! It's like the whole Red X incident all over
again. You sure you aren’t turning evil on us?” Robin went silent after that,
it sure seemed like he was.
“No! I would never turn my back on you guys!” Robin tried to defend himself.
Thankfully he had Raven on his side: “Robin would never betray us. He might
someday walk a different path, but we will still always be friends. Right,
Nightwing?” Robin was thankful that he had Raven as a friend. She always
understood and supported him, and where she went, the others followed. She
would truly make an amazing leader one day when he wasn't there to guide them.
“Thank you, Raven.” Robin smiled fondly at her and once again Beast Boy was
jumping excitedly in his chair: “So you finished the second mission! What did
you get?!” Robin blushed again and brushed his fingers through his hair out of
nervousness. “I asked for a little bit more of a-” Robin considered his words
for a moment, but couldn't come up with anything better- “personal thing.” The
others went quiet, but Beast Boy couldn't resist himself. “What? What was it?!”
Robin had no idea how to answer that. “It wasn't anything special, just a small
thing.” He shrugged it off, ignoring Beast Boy's pleas as he continued on with
the story.
“Well, the fifth day you are more familiar with. Slade made me wear a dress, a
red dress with a yellow flower. Ring any bells?” Beast Boy stood up so fast
that his chair fell over. “No way! You were that girl?! No, that's just not
right! Not right!” Beast boy looked positively disgusted as he walked over to
kitchen to wash his face and hands.
“Ha, I knew it! Whenever there is a girl for BB, there's got to be something
wrong with her!” Cyborg teased before lifting his arms up in surrender. “Sorry
man, just messing around with you, I didn't mean it. One day, you'll find that
lucky girl who won’t be a man in disguise.” And then Cyborg lost his cool
again, falling into a fit of laughter while wheezing “I'm sorry” over and over
again. Even Raven had a small chuckle with everyone else.
“I knew that she wasn’t girl when she threw a water balloon at me, but it was
you? Why, oh why, Robin did you not just reject me?!” Beast Boy sounded almost
miserable as he returned to the group, slumping down onto the table. “I had to
keep my cover and steal that pass card. I may have gotten the card, but I
didn't quite win the mission,” Robin mumbled. Beast Boy lifted his head to look
at Robin with round eyes: “You mean you lost?” Robin nodded to that.
“As punishment, Slade locked me in a small box for two hours. I admit that I
completely panicked, I'm not very proud of that particular moment,” Robin said.
He grabbed Starfire’s hand when he saw that she was about to blast the table
into pieces. “But Slade made up for it after that, I promise! No harm done!
Besides, I think that the experience did well for my fear anyways,” Robin
mumbled as his face turned beet red. The Titans just assumed that it was due to
him having to dress up like a girl, admitting that he had been scared, or the
sudden rush of stopping Starfire from turning their table in to a dark pile of
ash.
“Yeah, and Slade took me into the simulator again. The simulator was…” Robin
winced at the memory, he was still afraid of the Titans that were in the
simulator. He didn't want to anger them, ever. He never wanted to end up in
that situation again. Replace one fear with another, yeah right! “The simulator
was made to be as personally challenging as possible. It showed you your worst
moment, be it future or past, and made you face your fear.” Robin clenched his
teeth and let go of Starfire's hand as he slumped in his seat, suddenly looking
tired.
“What did you see in there, Robin?” Raven asked as she leaned closer to touch
his shoulder. Robin was thankful that she did because the touch reassured him,
allowing him to continue. “I saw you. All of you, and you hated me. You wanted
to put me in jail and were trying to kill me. Starfire wanted me at least dead.
I had to fight against you all,” Robin mumbled. He knew that he had to tell
them, he had to get it off his chest.
“Robin. That would never happen, we love you,” Raven assured, and Starfire
hugged him. The other two began supporting him verbally, “Yeah man, we'll be
friends till the end of time”. Robin smiled at them, feeling so happy that he
had such good friends.
“Thanks you guys, I really appreciate it. You may not believe me; but in his
own way, Slade did support me,” Robin mumbled. He suddenly became incredibly
red in the face, remembering how the man pushed him against the wall before
sucking him off. Robin pretended to sneeze so that he could have an excuse to
cover his face. He was sure that if he stood next to a fire truck, the only
thing that would give him away would be his green pants.
“Anyways, about the sixth day: that was the only day I truly could have done
without, and this time it wasn't even Slade's fault,” Robin mentioned, trying
to be serious again. “I woke up early to go on a mission. I got inside a
warehouse with the pass card I had stolen the day before. I was supposed to get
some items, but I was assaulted before I could finish. I was kidnapped and
beaten up pretty bad.”
Everyone gasped, seeming worried. Robin already regretted mentioning anything
that had happened on the sixth day.
“But as you can see, I survived. Slade came to drag me back to his base; he
probably wanted me back so that I could finish the deal,” Robin tried to joke,
but his friends only seemed to worry further. Robin sighed, “Do you remember
who we fought against when I disappeared? They were the guys who kidnapped me.
They had set Slade up; he didn't actually have anything to do with the accident
at the warehouse. Red X told me more about them on the fourth day and I snooped
around Slade's computer on second day. We don't have to worry about them
anymore; we, Slade and I took care of them. They should all be locked up by
now.” “At least what is left of them…” Robin mumbled the last part under his
breath, not daring to say it out loud.
“They were after what everyone seems to be after these days: power. Slade
stopped them though. It seemed that they had severely underestimated Slade's
strength,” Robin said. He clenched his jaw as Starfire asked him if he was sure
that he was okay.
“Slade carried me home that day; I was too beaten up to walk by myself. I slept
pretty much the whole day, and when I woke up the next afternoon, I found that
Slade had nursed me back to almost perfect condition. We ended up spending the
last day just talking and enjoying ourselves. We didn't have any plans so we
just relaxed.” ‘Among other things,’ Robin thought. If this kept on, Robin
would never stop blushing. Slade had truly been wonderful to him during that
week; at least once they had gotten to know each other. “By the evening, I
walked back home,” Robin whispered.
His friends nodded at him and Cyborg patted him on the back. “It seems that a
lot happened in one week,” he said, smiling at Robin. Robin only mumbled a
“tell me about it” as an answer.
They were all silent for a while, until Raven broke the silence, and Robin’s
comfort zone. “I asked you to tell us everything, now tell us about Slade.”
Robin cursed inside, but the others seemed to think it was a good idea.
“Yeah, how was Slade? I bet that he was a big meanie, making you do all kinds
of sick and twisted things!” Beast Boy said with a sneer. Robin only laughed at
him, not taking any offense.
“Slade was better than I expected.” ‘In more than one sense,’ Robin added
mentally, smiling at the thought. “Once I had gotten to know the man, I kind of
learned to appreciate his company. He is not that bad after all. Well, he is
still the bad guy that we have all learned to hate, no doubt about that, but he
is nonetheless human.” ‘Definitely a human, no doubt about that,’ Robin
thought.
“I actually liked his company at times, he truly does challenge me. It's like
meeting your equal; we had some really good discussions and actually got along
rather well towards the end. I ended up liking his company,” Robin added as an
afterthought. The silence that he got as an answer made his stomach lurch.
Maybe his friends didn’t want to know that?
“But I still came back; I would never give up what we have! You are more
important to me than he is, even if I crave his company every once in a while,”
Robin assured, and to his surprise it was Cyborg who accepted him first. “I get
you. You value our friendship over his. You showed us once again that the Red X
accident could never happen again with you. You are a rational thinker, Robin.
You would rather choose your friendship with us, which could last forever if
you let it, than a one week rip off that could possibly backfire on you later.”
Robin was surprised that he had managed to wrap it up so well, without even
knowing the situation. If they only knew that his feelings for the man went a
little bit further than that.
Raven of course agreed with Cyborg, and once the second in charge Titans made
up their mind, the other two were quick to follow. Robin felt more than
relieved. “At least I can agree with the fact that a lot did happen that week,”
Robin admitted as he made himself comfortable in his chair. Maybe he should
tell them, maybe they would accept him. Raven at least would.
“Plus, I learned a lot of new things: I learned how to fight better, I learned
how to handle guns, and I even learned how to control my fear of tight spaces.”
Robin looked at them all with hopeful eyes, so far so good. He whispered the
last part, “I also learned that after leaving Slade, I miss him terribly.” His
voice was such a silent murmur that he wasn't even sure if his friends had
heard him.
“How can you miss a monster like Slade?” Beast boy spat in disgust. Robin was
so ashamed that he couldn’t even look the other in the eyes. “Slade is
everything that is bad wrapped up into one person, that's why we fight against
him!”
“Shut up BB! I think that Robin truly does miss him. He had been with him for a
full week; the man even treated him like a person. Maybe if he gets a little
more time, he’ll get over it,” Cyborg said to reassure his green friend, but
the words didn't reassure Robin.
“I agree with Robin. My big sister is a horrible vlorknark at times, but I
still do miss her every once in a while.” Starfire sounded almost sad when she
said it. She probably still wished that her sister would have turned out
differently. “I think that whatever makes Robin happy is good enough,” Starfire
said, and both of the girl’s began to hug him. He would have been blushing and
honored if he hadn't just realized that he preferred Slade.
“What? You mean that you agree with this?” Cyborg deadpanned as Beast Boy
yelled beside him, agreeing with him.
Raven's look quieted them both. Robin couldn't see the look she gave, so he
couldn't really tell what it was, but whatever it was, it wasn't good judging
by the expressions on their faces.
“I-” Robin started, but he realized that he hadn't thought of anything to say.
He had to collect his thoughts to come up with something to add, “I truly do
care for him.” Robin gulped down the lump that had just crept into his throat.
“Is he your friend, friend Robin?” Starfire asked with big eyes that were
filled with wonder. Robin didn't know how to properly answer her; Slade wasn't
exactly “a friend”, not in the word's true sense. He couldn't really say
exactly what he was. They weren't really together, so they certainly weren't
lovers, and “an occasional fuck” would be too cruel, even for him. Robin
decided to nod uncertainly, not being able to think of anything better.
“Oh,” was her intelligent answer and Robin felt like hugging her. He knew that
she had been crushing on him for a long time, he had been so blind to it at
first, but he saw it now. Robin gathered the girl in his arms anyways, he
couldn’t be angry at her. After all, he had been crushing on her just as badly;
too bad he hadn't been man enough to admit it earlier. But on second thought,
he was glad that he hadn't, otherwise things might have gotten too awkward
after this.
“Is he a good friend to you?” It was an innocent question, and Robin smiled at
her. She was so pure; she rarely thought bad things of anyone. It was a
surprise that she could keep her mind positive enough to support Robin,
especially now that the guys thought that he had lost his mind. Robin buried
his head in Starfire's neck, enjoying the feeling of her soft skin against his
cheek and her hair brushing against his face. She smelled sweet, like
strawberries. “He has been good to me,” Robin whispered in her ear, getting
hair in his mouth. He then retreated and wiped his face. This was the exact
reason why he hated long hair.
“So you miss him, so what? What are you going to do about it?” It was Cyborg
that spoke this time, Beast Boy nodding along beside him. The green boy seemed
to be more curious than mad at this point. Robin guessed that that was a good
thing.
“I honestly don't know,” Robin admitted. Cyborg smacked him on the back rather
hard, almost making him hit the table, “Just forget him then.”
“I can't.” Robin had started to clam up; he wasn't comfortable with Cyborg
questioning him. He sounded like he was at least somewhat okay with the
situation, but one couldn't be sure as the man's words differed from his
actions.
“Why? Don't tell me you fell in love with him or something!” Beast Boy suddenly
started to laugh so hard that Robin became all red and ashamed. There was no
use denying it, the cat was already out of the bag, he was caught.
Robin seemed to find the table really interesting all of a sudden as he slumped
against it, not daring to lift his head up. He let his hair fall down so that
it would hide his face. He felt beyond awkward as all his friends started to
surround him, standing over him while he sat with his forehead pressed against
the table. Cyborg stopped laughing, “You are kidding me right?”
“Robin you are serious?” Beast Boy asked, pushing himself between Raven and
Robin, trying to get a closer look at Robin’s face. He answered with a mere
nod.
“Friend Robin, are you and Slade together?” Robin had to look up to see her
face. She seemed to be too innocent of a being to fully understand the meaning
of her question, but her expression told Robin that she meant exactly what she
had said. Robin shrugged, “It's complicated.”
“Shit, you ain't kidding,” Cyborg mumbled as he slumped onto the nearest chair,
not believing his ears. “What are you going to do about this?”
Robin shrugged once again, not really knowing what else to do except sigh and
rest his forehead on his palm. He buried his fingers in his hair, “I don't
know. I wish I had some more time to find out.” Robin shook his head and rose
up to walk into the living room, eventually sitting down on the couch. “Like
you said, maybe I'll just have to get over it. I have you guys, and I have my
obligations to the city. I can't just go chasing after a man.”
Beast boy jumped over the back of the couch to sit next to Robin before having
a heavy fit of laughter. “This is so hilarious! I can't believe you are gay and
your first crush is Slade, of all people! Dude this is so messed up!”
Robin shook his head and laughed with him. Beast Boy may still be in some kind
of shock, but as long as he wasn't yelling at him, Robin was happy. They were
all responding better than he had expected. Honestly, Robin had expected Beast
Boy to yell at him, to complain and nag, he had expected Cyborg to declare him
a madman before leaving the conversation all together, and he had expected
Starfire to cry. Raven would probably go to her room to sulk either way. None
of their reactions quite matched his expectations, proving that he didn't
really know his friends that well after all.
“Robin, maybe you should try to get together with Slade,” Raven suggested.
Beast Boy, who was still in fit of laughter, thought it was a joke, “Yeah, you
totally should! Just walk right over to him and ask for another week! I bet you
wouldn’t last a day!” Robin hit him in the arm, “I just might, so watch your
mouth!”
Starfire flew over to them and pulled Robin up by his arms, “I think it is a
wonderful idea! You should go right away! Please, do visit us often! At least
once a week!”
Cyborg was by Robin's side in a flash, “What!? You can't be serious! Robin
isn't going anywhere!” Beast Boy just kept laughing harder and harder, he
probably thought that this was amusing, “Dude! Are we seriously fighting over
whether or not Robin should go live with Slade?!”
Soon even Raven came to participate in the tug o’ war that was going on between
Starfire and Cyborg. Poor Robin was stuck right in the middle of all of it;
thank god Raven did not start pulling on his arm as well or he seriously might
have been ripped apart.
“I think that it's up to Robin to decide what he wants to do. If he wants to go
with Slade, then he will. It's his life; we cannot live it for him,” she said
with a grave voice, making everyone else go quiet.
“Are you for real? Do you seriously agree with this?” Cyborg asked in
disbelief. She only nodded before asking, “Is there anyone else who supports
Robin and thinks that he should stop pining and pull himself together?”
Starfire was immediately holding her arm up, and as Raven stared at Beast Boy,
he decided to follow the lead of his crush and raised his arm. Robin knew that
his voice didn’t count, but he felt comfortable enough to lift his own hand. He
couldn't believe what amazing friends he had been blessed with.
“Are you all okay with this?” Cyborg whined and as everyone else nodded he
sighed, finally relenting. “Okay, but if you come back hurt, I will skin that
idiot after I have said “I told you so” to you!” They all laughed after that
comment before becoming grave.
“Anyways, try and stay alive with him, and promise me that you won’t turn
evil,” Raven said. Robin stared at her in disbelief, “Wait, you were serious?”
Raven only shrugged, “When am I not?” Robin's jaw figuratively dragged on the
floor.
“Friend Robin, this is fantastic! The day is still young, you must leave at
once!” Starfire started to drag a protesting Robin to the doors; she was almost
ecstatic. “Now?” Robin asked in confusion. It was clear that Starfire meant now
as she continued to drag him out of the door. “You must be missing your love;
you must go claim what is yours now! Then, you must tell me everything about
it!” Robin shook his head. He still didn’t believe that they were serious until
the door was rudely slammed shut behind him and he was standing on the island,
all alone, while his friends were inside the tower. Robin shook his head and
rubbed the back of his neck, waiting for a while just in case they suddenly
realized what had happened and came after him.
He stood on the island for half an hour, and when no-one came he covered his
eyes with the palm of his hand. They didn't even let him pack, how long did
they want him to be there? A day? A Week? For the rest of eternity? Robin felt
the need to stretch his back and laugh out to the sky. Had he really been that
miserable that his friends felt to need to throw him to the sharks when
presented with a chance to possibly cheer him up?
At least he no longer had to worry about them; he truly had the ability to
return to Slade now! All of his options were open. Robin had no idea what he
would say to the man once he saw him again, if he was even still at the base
that Robin knew about. He'd have wing it. Hopefully he would sound at least
somewhat rational. With that, Robin started to walk to Slade's base, making
sure that his friends couldn't follow him. He even turned off his communicator
so that he was truly untraceable.
It didn't take long until Robin was standing on Slade's doorstep. He suddenly
felt nervous, he couldn't be sure if the man would even want him back. They had
had no contact whatsoever in the past month and Slade was probably just
enjoying his Robin free time. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, if Robin
returned home now; he could survive without any further embarrassment.
“What are you doing here, Robin?” Robin was alerted of the sudden presence only
to notice that Slade was standing right in front of him. How had he not noticed
the man opening the door or coming out to stand front of him, how deep in
thought was he?
“How did you know I was by the door? I never even knocked.” Robin questioned,
watching as Slade made himself comfortable by leaning against a wall.
“Give me some credit, I have traps set all around, and besides…” Slade gestured
towards the camera lens pointed at them, “You are standing in my camera’s
view.” Robin looked at the camera for a while before laughing awkwardly and
shrugging.
“Doesn't matter, I came here for a reason,” Robin said, trying to sound secure.
Slade pushed himself off the wall to stride imposingly towards Robin, only
stopping when he was hovering over him so closely that their chests were almost
touching. “And what, pray tell, is your reason?”
“I came to make a deal.” Slade seemed to consider it for a while before nodding
and laying his hand on Robin's shoulder. “What are the conditions? How am I
going to benefit from it?” Robin began to reconsider the whole thing, not
feeling secure enough, but Slade was standing so close to him that he thought
he might just have his chance.
“If you can keep me here with you, I promise that I will stay. But you must
promise me that you won’t try to make me do anything that I'm not comfortable
with, such as killing. I want to be able to visit my friends; I promise that I
won’t tell them our location.” Slade closed the gap between them so that they
were chest to chest. He lowered his arms around Robin's waist to pull him even
closer. Robin had missed Slade’s firm body.
“For how long is this farce of yours going to last? What exactly am I to gain
from it?” Robin had problems continuing as Slade turned them around, pushing
Robin against the wall in the exact same spot that he had been leaning against
just a few minutes ago.
“You'd get a chance to have me for keeps and if I decided to stay, I wouldn’t
leave.” He groaned as Slade rubbed his knee against his crotch, digging his
fingers under the hem of Robin's shirt.
“Tempting,” the man agreed and Robin tried to continue through his moaning. It
had been too long since they had done it. Robin tried to think of the amount of
time that they should spend on a trial period. He didn't want anything too
long, nor too short, he just wanted to be sure of his decision when the time
came.
“It will be for one month. A one month trial, and once the time is up, I'll
have to decide. You have one month to make me stay.” Slade laughed at that,
enjoying the shivers that ran along Robin's skin as he brushed his hand
upwards. He continued to knead Robin's groin with his leg. Robin himself was
clinging to Slade's arms to keep himself in check.
“My, Robin, I think I have already won you over.” Slade covered Robin's eyes
before lifting his mask up, allowing him to devour Robin's mouth in a long and
deep kiss. Robin opened his mouth eagerly and kissed him back earnestly, only
stopping the kiss as he pulled back to say, “We'll see about that.” Slade
growled before lifting Robin up. Robin locked his legs around Slade's waist as
the man carried him inside the base.
Robin watched over Slade's shoulder as the sliding doors closed behind them and
said his silent goodbye to the Titans. He'd see them again later, but they
wouldn't need to wait for him to return today.
Robin smiled as he let Slade carry him and was busy trying to get Slade naked
as they went. He was more than eager to spend a night with Slade after a month
of no contact whatsoever from him. Oh how Robin missed this.
It didn't take long until Slade had taken them to the familiar bedroom that
they had stayed in a month ago. It was in the exact same condition as Robin
remembered it to be, but the furniture held no interest to him as the man who
haunted his dreams was standing right in front of him. Robin tore off his
gloves before attacking Slade. He took the man’s armor off, enjoying the loud
clunking sound that the iron made as it hit the ground. In the meantime Slade
was busying himself with Robin's belt. Soon neither of them noticed that they
were already practically naked, both only wearing boxers. Slade was pushing
Robin against his work table, making the table’s edge dig uncomfortably in
Robin's lower back. Robin clawed at the man's back, trying to get him even
closer and Slade was biting Robin's neck, making him moan.
“I missed you,” Robin admitted as the man kissed his way back up to Robin's
lips, halting only an inch from them and staying in place for a while. Slade's
mask was only pulled up enough to show his lips and jaw, Robin had finally
gotten used to the fact that the mask was to stay.
“I'm glad that you returned,” Slade uttered against Robin's lips before
claiming them in a searing kiss. Robin responded immediately, already welcoming
the other’s tongue in his mouth and starting to play by coiling his tongue
around Slade's. Robin was relieved that Slade wanted him back; it meant that he
had missed him too, even if he hadn't said it. Robin pushed his small body
against Slade's, who broke the kiss so that they could breathe. Robin's lips
were already red and slightly swollen.
“Slade, I want you,” Robin moaned, beginning to kiss the man's neck and
shoulders. He moved his hands through the man's hair and down his neck, finally
taking the chance to try and mark Slade. He slightly bit his skin, dragging his
teeth against the hard muscles on the man's neck before kissing it. He sucked
on the skin with more force before biting into the flesh, not hard enough to
draw blood, but hard enough for Slade to feel it. Robin then licked the
slightly purplish bruise before kissing it tenderly. He retreated from the spot
to kiss Slade on the lips once more, placing his hands on Slade’s chin and
truly enjoying the feeling of his beard between his fingers.
Slade trailed his finger up and down Robin's spine, making the other shiver
every time his fingers went slightly too low; Robin was excited with
anticipation. Slade then raised both of his hands to Robin's shoulders, pushing
him backwards and breaking their kiss. He whispered in Robin’s ear, “I see that
you are rather eager, but how about you return the favor from before.” He
pulled back and smirked almost evilly, Robin couldn’t help but question what
favor he was talking about. “Remember, the one on the fifth day? Right after
the simulator?” Robin had to think back to the moment and blushed furiously as
he remembered.
He hadn't even thought of his words then, and now they had come back to haunt
him. Robin's face was burning up as he thought about it for a while. He didn't
want to disagree per se, but he felt nervous and embarrassed. He didn't know
what to do and was a little shy. Could he even do it? Robin nodded shyly and
uncertainly as he tried to look at Slade's eye, but the mask was pushed up and
prevented him from seeing it. One day they should come up with a mask that only
covers the man's upper face; it would be nice to see his eye while they did it.
It would probably be good for Slade to see something behind his mask as well.
“Good, now get down to it.” Slade kissed Robin on the lips before pushing him
down by his shoulders. Robin was reluctant to get to his knees, so Slade ended
up pushing a little harder, giving him no choice. He did not mind though, being
pushed down wasn't as awkward as having to get down by himself.
Robin looked at Slade's clothed groin for a moment, not knowing what to do, and
eventually decided to just play around for a bit, hopefully getting more
comfortable with the idea as he went.
Robin gently laid his hands on Slade's hips and licked his lower stomach from
the waistband of his boxers to his navel, lightly dipping his tongue in it.
Robin had no idea what would feel good and what wouldn’t, but he was sure that
Slade would tell him if he had managed to do something wrong. Robin then kissed
his way from the navel down to the hipbone, planning on making another bite
mark by sucking on the skin there. It was harder to form a hickey down there
than it was to form one on the neck, Robin noted.
“Robin, stop fooling around,” Slade encouraged and Robin nodded. He looked up,
seeing that Slade had put his mask back in place so that he could watch him.
Robin smiled shyly at the man before returning to the task at hand. Slade's
cock was already aroused and making a tent out of his boxers. Robin felt
nervous knowing how close it was to his face. He pushed his fingers under the
waistband and slowly pulled the cloth down, revealing the other's manhood,
standing tall and erected and pointing at his stomach. Robin took Slade's
boxers off all the way before tossing them to the side, not taking his sight
off the man's cock the whole time.
He knew that Slade wasn't small, but seeing the thing itself made Robin
nervous. He took a quick look up at the man as he mumbled, “I’ve never done
this before.” Slade rubbed his hand on Robin's shoulder, encouraging him. “Just
don't think about it too much, and do what you think you would enjoy yourself.
Just cover your teeth with your lips and I'm sure it will be fine.” Robin
nodded; it was easy to say that he shouldn't think about it. He tried to ignore
the nervousness he felt as he started pulling back the skin. He was somewhat of
curious about it. What would Slade taste like, was he bitter or salty or
something else completely? Robin licked the tip shyly, just getting the feeling
of it. He didn't quite know what he had expected, but he couldn't taste
anything yet.
He decided to try being bold, and attempted to recall anything that Slade had
done to him previously. Robin then rolled his tongue around the tip, hoping to
get a taste of it, but didn’t end up properly getting one. He continued on,
licking the underside of the glans and tracing the vein to the tip. He took it
into his mouth and licked all along the tip, sucking on it before retreating
with a faint pop. Slade tasted mostly salty, but there was also a slight
bitterness. The taste was neither bad nor good, but Robin did like the overall
package. The smell wasn't bad either, slightly musky, but the natural scent was
what made it worth it.
Slade broke Robin’s train of thoughts by burying his fingers into his hair.
Robin understood what he meant by it and was glad that the man didn't force him
to move just yet. Robin decided to get some momentum. He put the tip into his
mouth once again and nervously wrapped his fingers around the base of the
shaft. He took in a little bit more than he previously had as he started
moving. Of course he couldn't get it all in on the first try, but he was sure
that as he continued, he would get a little bit more in every time. He dared to
suck harder around the shaft, making his cheeks cave some. Slade was now
starting to guide Robin's movements, which meant that he must be doing
something right.
He moved the hand that wasn't holding Slade's cock to his balls and fondled
them some, squeezing slightly. Robin was getting a little bit more secure with
what he was doing. He could taste Slade's pre-come in his mouth and he was
enjoying the feeling so far. It was difficult to move properly along the
other's length, as saliva only did so well. Robin tried to move faster and
harder, but the pre-come on his lips was like glue, making him have to lick his
lips every now and then. This wasn't half bad; maybe he could even get good at
it, if given the time.
Robin remembered Slade swallowing around him and wondered if he could do the
same. It couldn't be that hard, right? He started to take in more and
swallowed, but he felt like he had taken more than he could handle as his
throat started closing against the hard cock. He gagged and pulled back,
thankfully remembering to cover his teeth so that he wouldn't scratch Slade. He
was glad that Slade understood what had happened and didn’t hold him in place.
Robin swallowed the uncomfortable feeling and blinked a couple of times before
trying again, this time with success. He hummed around Slade's dick, sounding
pleased with himself. The fact was that he was; he was getting better at the
act already.
Robin took the dick out of his mouth and licked the length from the very bottom
of the base all the way up to the tip and then back down before kissing both of
the man's balls. He returned to the tip and laid a kiss there. He rolled his
tongue around it before taking it into his mouth and sucking. He could hear
Slade groan and his voice went straight to his cock; it felt amazing to know
that it was him that was making Slade feel like that. Robin took the whole cock
into his mouth as far as he could and swallowed it with a small hum. Slade
pulled him back, slightly out of breath.
“What is it?” Robin asked with a slightly rash voice and eyes filled with
wonder. Slade pulled the kid to his feet.
“That was very good, but right now I suggest you choose whether I fuck you on
this table or that bed over there.” The man was cooing in Robin's ear with such
a deep voice that Robin momentarily forgot the question. He couldn't decide; he
just wanted to do it. “I don't care,” Robin groaned and Slade pulled Robin's
boxers off so fast that he barely even noticed it. He felt the air as it hit
his nearly throbbing cock. “Table then.” Slade spun Robin around and slammed
him on the table. Robin was leaning on his stomach with his legs spread out in
front of Slade. He tried to turn his head around to look at the man behind him,
but he could barely catch a glimpse of him. Slade had a hand pushed down on
Robin's back, pinning him against the table so hard that he couldn't move an
inch from his position.
“Never lube when you need it,” Robin heard Slade complain as he sucked on two
of his fingers, shoving them both into Robin's anal canal, making him groan and
gasp. Robin almost swallowed the first words with a whimper, “Warn me next
time.” Robin moaned before he even got to properly end the sentence as Slade
shoved his fingers in and out of him, breaching deeper before hooking his
fingers. He then started scissoring; making Robin hit his head on the desk as
he groaned. “God, Slade, just fuck me!” he begged, but Slade shoved one more
finger in and scissored it before taking all of them out, leaving a slight
sting behind for Robin as he prepared for the intrusion.
“This is the warning you requested,” Slade said, his voice oozing sarcasm as he
murmured the words in Robin's ear. He thrust himself into Robin’s tightness,
making him nearly scream. Robin panted for breath, but Slade didn't leave him
much time to adjust. Thankfully the man started moving slowly in the beginning;
when Robin started arching his back for better access, he began to move faster
and faster. Slade had one hand on Robin's back and other on his hip as he
slammed himself into the other over and over, searching for the prostate.
Robin panted so hard that it made his mouth dry; fog was even forming on
Slade's lacquered wooden table every time Robin exhaled. Slade then hit Robin’s
prostate straight on, causing the teen to moan loudly. His chin was pressing
against the table’s surface rather painfully, but he didn’t even notice. Robin
moaned as Slade took a couple of slower strokes, moving slowly out of him
before striking back with full force, penetrating him from behind with his deep
thrusts .“Slade!”
Robin called the others name in ecstasy as he tried to push himself off the
table, but he was unable to budge from the man's hold. Slade loved to watch
Robin’s back muscles move under his skin as he squirmed around, his shoulder
blades writhing. Robin was skinny and lean, and from this position Slade could
truly see it. The boy was arching his back, his ass high in the air, and trying
to push himself backwards with his hands so that he could reach Slade better.
Robin grunted as he arched forward with every one of Slade's thrusts, the table
was digging annoyingly on Robin's hips and his legs were stinging.
“Slade, I want to see you,” Robin moaned and Slade pulled himself out
completely before grabbing the other's leg and spinning him around, promptly
slamming back in. Robin was nearly lying on the keyboard now and neither of
them paid any attention as the mouse fell off the table. Robin moaned and
lifted himself onto his elbows to rest as Slade spread his thin legs, holding
his knees in place.
Robin panted every time that Slade slammed in. The teen reached his hand
towards Slade and managed to pull him closer by his neck. He pushed Slade's
mask away from his face so that he could kiss him, but the kiss didn't last
long as Slade took Robin's cock in his hand and started to jack him off. Robin
moaned into the kiss and moved his head so he could kiss Slade's shoulder. He
wrapped his legs around Slade's waist and curled his hands around his broad
shoulders.
Robin grunted as he felt a sensation of swelling at the bottom of his stomach
and a tightening in his balls. He barely managed to grunt a warning to Slade as
he came, emptying his load on Slade's hand and his own lower stomach, covering
himself with come. He grunted loudly and his muscles tightened around Slade,
making him grunt in return as he emptied himself into Robin. He slumped on top
of Robin and they both panted hard in each other's ears.
“That was intense,” Robin panted, throat sore and mouth dry.
“Welcome back,” Slade growled before biting Robin's neck, causing him to wince
slightly. Slade sucked hard on the skin before licking it several times,
leaving a rather big hickey on a spot near Robin's throat where anyone could
see it. “You’re mine now Robin; don't even dare to question it,” the man
murmured before getting up to his feet. Robin nodded as an answer, not feeling
comfortable talking with such a dry throat. Robin had no objections to Slade's
claim. Damn, he even felt flattered by it! But now he was tired, and all he
wanted to do was go to sleep, preferably in Slade's arms.
Robin tried to lift himself up to sit on the table, but didn't get far before
wincing, yelping, and falling down onto his back. Slade only laughed at that
before collecting the other in his arms, carrying him over to the bed. “Poor
thing, I might have gone a little bit too rough on you.”
“No kidding,” Robin teased, but kissed the man on the lips anyways.
“Shush. Rest now,” Slade teased and kissed him for so long that Robin no longer
had anything to add. They both were content curled up under the covers, even if
Robin had to search for a while to find a comfortable position. The feeling of
cum dripping from his ass wasn't pleasant, but he was too tired to care. Robin
curled up in Slade's armpit and rested his head peacefully against Slade’s
chest. They were both asleep within minutes.
The upcoming month was going to be one long ass month to spend.
***** Chapter 28 *****
AN: Thank you for sticking along for this story! It has taken several years,
but now it's finally done and published! Yayy, congratulations for me ^^ And it
sure has been a long trip to make, but worth it all the way.
Also, the Slade doll winners have been chosen.
One doll goes to Anna who entered with a fan art piece via email.
The second doll goes to Aguna on fanfiction dot net
Congratulations on the winners! I will contact you and we will go over
everything by email!
The passing months sure had been interesting. The time seemed to fly with them
both, and overall they were both very content in each other's company. Of
course, there were moments when it wasn't so.
Slade and Robin got along rather well, but they always managed to pick up a
fight over the most mundane of things. Once they had a small fight over the
matter of who gets to watch which channel on TV, which Slade won. In the end,
Robin had ended up sulking in his place on the couch with his feet on the table
in disregard, shoulders almost to his ears, hands folded.
But as anyone can guess, the pair would have been very lucky if their fights
were about such mundane matters like watching TV.
Slade absolutely loathed Robin's friends. It was a hard one to swallow as the
man absolutely refused to be civil with his friends or even try to get along.
Even worse, the man refused to spend time with them all together. Robin could
only be grateful that Slade didn't deny Robin his weekly visits with his
friends. Robin didn't mind too much. He knew that if he'd forced the man to
come along, things would have gotten pretty awkward rather fast. His friends
still didn't fully approve Slade either. Also, the fact that when he was with
his friends he had all his attention to said friends, which was a thing they
all approved of. It was almost like a rule with them, when you are with Titans,
you don't talk of Slade, and the same goes the other way. Of course it upset
Robin, but there was not much he could do about it. Not everything could be
perfect.
Robin couldn't exactly say that he was drifting away from his friends as he
spent more and more time with Slade, but he didn't see them as often as he used
to. Robin knew this was all because of his own decision not to meet his friends
at times, so it didn't bother him too much.
Some other major fights he and Slade had had were about missions. They had once
had a mission where Slade was supposed to kill a rather important person, and
of course Robin disagreed. They had had a huge fight about what to do until
they both had had enough of each other, Slade had gone on his mission, killed
the guy, while Robin went to sulk with his friends.
Robin had stayed almost a week at his friends before Slade had swallowed his
pride and decided to come negotiate with Robin's friends to get the boy back.
Of course things had been rather sore after that, but once they finally got in-
to an agreement, complete with make up sex, the mishap ended up only strengthen
their relationship.
The second major fight they had was when they tried to come in-to an agreement
with a lifestyle that suited them both. Slade refused to change his ways about
killing and the man had made it painfully clear that he would not stop with his
plans to take over the world and maybe even get the Titans under his boot.
Robin on the other hand refused to stop his heroic lifestyle for Slade, and he
refused to cause harm to innocent people, and unlike Slade, Robin wanted all
the best for his friends. Of course at the beginning they both had sulked in
disagreement, and the next few days were spent with only the most intimidating
glares aimed at each other with more than plenty of hurtful words. At the time,
they had even started to fight. Not those normal married couple fights with
yelling and throwing things, but an actual fight. The yelling was replaced with
kicks, punches, whacks, smacks, and possible broken bones and horrible bruises,
and the only thing similar to normal fighting couples was the fact that they
did throw objects too. Anything that got on their way was tossed either to the
wall to be shattered in million pieces or towards the other in intend to maim
and hurt. At the end they had both been equally beaten with some broken bones,
swollen eyes, bruises, scratches, burns, and slash marks. It took them time to
recover, and as they both sat in their shared bed after nearly a week of
refusing to even spend time in the same room, they noticed how much they had
truly missed each other. Things weren't always pretty with them, but they
realized that if they wanted to make their relationship work, or even to spend
it somewhat in peace, they'd have to sacrifice something for it.
The day they were both finally healed they locked themselves in a room where
they wouldn't leave from until they had come in to an agreement.
It was Robin's idea that they both write down things that they were not willing
to desist on one stack of paper, and things that were not that important in to
another stack.
After that it was a little easier to try and mend things in to a somewhat of an
agreeable solution.
They had decided to take an indifferent, nearly neutral way with the Titans.
They decided that they would not work with them, nor would they try to fight
against them. They also decided that they would not work on their cases. If
there was a monster causing havoc at the city it was for the titans to deal
with, not Robin. It was a hard pill to swallow for Robin, but he agreed. The
next thing they agreed on was that they would both need to agree on their
quests. They would not harm any civilians, and the guy they were after would be
eliminated for the greater good. Robin had to bend his morals to understand and
agree on that one. Slade himself had to remind himself every time not to hurt
anyone who wasn't part of the mission. He wasn't happy nor pleased, but as
Robin had already given up so much, he saw it only fair that he did too. The
last thing they agreed on was that Slade could still pursue world domination,
but with different approach and different goals. They agreed that Robin would
be a part of said monarchy of the world if the situation arouse, and they'd aim
to make the world better for the majority of the people and not just for the
two of them. Slade had almost decided to abandon the whole deal at that,
resuming his old ways, but after some thinking he decided that once he'd shape
the world the way he wanted it to, people would, in the end, be content and
satisfied with the out coming results.
So in the end, they both had to change their morals slightly for them to work.
Robin could no longer maintain the black and white, good and bad kind of
lifestyle and he had to think things like: "This will help the majority of
people" and "in the end, it's easier to kill this guy so he wont come back to
bite us in the ass". Slade also had to extend his way of thinking himself in-to
a bigger perspective. The man had to consider other people's opinions too,
Robin's opinion being a rather huge factor.
The change came slowly and with a bit of hindrance when they both tended to do
things without thinking, ending up fighting afterward. Once they both finally
came to actually think about the other before themselves they ended the
arguments and fights before any decision could be made, thus ending the mass
load of problems, and once they both became adjusted and started to know each
other enough to know what the other would think of the situation at hand, they
learned to make compromises without fighting over it.
Robin was really glad of that. Later it seemed like they could both understand
and appreciate each other's values better, and it sure made their lives easier.
So in the end, Robin wasn't the absolute good person who fought only the bad
guys an locked them up in jail, he became the vigilante who took out the trash
before they could affect their plans.
Slade hadn't changed from his evil ways to good, no not at all, but he no
longer targeted just anyone he was paid to kill, but he picked his enemies more
carefully. So far it seemed to work great, They both balanced each other. Slade
helped to make Robin understand that he couldn't safe everyone, and that not
every person was worth fighting for. Robin on the other hand was pretty much
Slade's conscience, or more like "The nagging brat who wouldn't let him get
laid if he refused".
The next major fight they had was once again because of Robin's morals. For
once the fight had taken place off stage with them both arguing about it almost
daily. Robin wasn't glad at all, but Slade was persistent. For once Robin
didn't even consider leaving to go to his friends to sulk about it, it was a
fight they both had to deal with themselves. Slade wanted Robin to kill.
Which Robin was of course against the whole idea of taking someone's life, but
Slade was persistent to explain him that he couldn't be that naive. Some people
were evil by default, they said hurtful things, and they never considered
anything that was at least a little helpful or kind to someone else. Some
people killed, raped and stole things in a daily basis, Robin couldn't possibly
be naive enough to feel remorse for all that trash he met. Robin's retort was
that everyone deserved a second chance. Slade of course had taken it upon
himself to show Robin, that even if you give them chance after chance, they
will revert to their ways after a certain amount of time has passed. Their
fight had lasted for days, and it only got solved when Slade's life was
threatened and Robin had to shoot the opponent himself to safe the one he
loved. Robin had been upset after the murder he had committed, and even Slade
saw that Robin wasn't made in to a killer, the boy had too strong a conscience
for something like that, and if all this sulking was how he would react to it,
it almost wasn't worth it. Having a sulking and sad Robin wasn't entertaining
at all to Slade. Later the man had to admit that he hated seeing Robin like
that because he truly did care for the other.
So finally their decision was that Robin wouldn't have to kill. Slade would
deliver the last punch, and Robin would have no say over the matter if he did
it or not. Also, they agreed that if there was a life threatening situation,
Robin was ordered to kill the one trying to kill either Slade or himself with
no questions asked. Also, the main target was a foe who was to be taken out by
whoever had the chance, and once again, Robin had no say in the matter.
Of course the decision was bothering Robin and it gnawed at his morals and self
conscience, but he knew that it would be better for the both of them. Slade on
the other hand was already plotting for a way to loosen Robin's morals even
further to shape the boy the way he liked as the time passed. After all, they
now had their whole life ahead of themselves if Robin decided to stay.
So of course they both had fights and disagreements. Hell, the two of them in
particular had had rather many disagreements, and they fought almost everyday
about something, and it sure wasn't easy to get along with the mercenary. At
times they were both so completely annoyed and mad at each other they barely
could stand each other, but somehow they always managed to make up by the
evening and there was nothing better in the world than going to sleep beside
the other.
Also, there were times when they both wanted their own space. Neither of them
were clingy and they both liked to keep their distance, so it just seemed to
work out. At times either of them was on a mission or somewhere on their own
for longer period, making the other worry like hell, and they almost always
found themselves missing the other. There was nothing better than being
separated for a couple of days and then reunite. It was amazing to return home
to someone who had been waiting, eat some good food, chat, and then get lost in
passion as kisses were laid everywhere, almost as if to check that there were
no new scars or bruises anywhere, and then sink in to bed and have passionate
sex till the early hours of the morning.
It was always those times that Robin knew that he sure did care for the man a
lot, and he could even say that he loved him. Yes, they had their
disagreements, but they did have their good moments too.
"I think that I do care for him, Star. I think that I love Slade." Robin said
to Starfire as they sat in the roof of the Titans tower. Robin was once again
at his weekly visit with the titans, and they had a great day that day. They
had gone out to eat pizza, they had talked, and played video games until the
alert had gone off. The Titans had asked Robin to come along with them just for
old time's sake, and Robin had agreed. By the evening they had all had a small
game before everyone went to sleep, except for Robin and Starfire who were
sitting at the roof, watching the late night sky.
Starfire had been really friendly during the passing month, and she had always
been eager to hear how Robin was doing, if he was well, how was it like to live
with Slade, and if he enjoyed the kisses and the "shags" and all those things
she had read from various books she had found, or heard from others.
Robin would always blush when he heard her asking those questions, but he would
always say that he was fine, he would tell her if he had had a fight and if
they had solved it, and that it was actually rather peaceful and relaxing, but
not to forget eventful, to live with Slade, and that yes, the kisses were
breath taking and sex was amazing. He would always be red from the face and
awkward when she asked, but Robin had learned that there was no way he could
worm his way out of her questions, and that she would only get more persistent
to get an answer if she was ignored. Besides, as embarrassing as it was to have
a curious and easily excited friend as Starfire, Robin found that he quite
liked her just the way she was. Or at least he preferred the embarrassing
Starfire to a moping Starfire that he had gotten rather accustomed of at the
early stages of his and Slade's relationship. It seemed that Starfire acted
cheery and happy every time Robin was around, but the moment he left she
started to cry, worry, and get generally depressed as she had lost her love.
Sometimes Robin had stayed in the shadows to look after Starfire. He felt sad
that she had taken it so hardly. It took him a lot of explaining and assuring
that one day she'd find her own Mr. perfect and that even if they could never
be truly together, that didn't mean that they couldn't be close friends. And
after a certain amount of time, the facade of being happy changed in-to a
genuine feeling of happiness. Robin could still see the jealous looks sent at
Slade's direction and the longing look that was reserved just for Robin every
now and then, but Robin knew that deep down Starfire was truly happy for them.
Robin knew that she wouldn't desert him.
But now was no time to think of that. It was the last day of their one month
agreement and Robin would have to know his answer if he ought to stay or not
once he decided to return to Slade.
Today, the mood was peaceful and the calm ease lingered in the air. Starfire
was asking questions like usual, but this time she had asked if he loved Slade.
Robin guessed that she only wanted to know if he was happy and if it was truly
so, then he should say yes to Slade today. To be honest, Robin didn't know how
to answer. He was rather content with the setting, and he truly did care for
the man, but he was still concerned for his friends.
"That is the most delightful to hear, Robin." Starfire smiled and hugged Robin.
She was glad to know that Robin truly was in love, her friend did deserve
happiness.
"Friend Robin, does Slade also love you?" Starfire asked the most innocent and
sincere question. Robin had to take a moment to think about it. Robin did not
know, Slade had never said the words to him. Slade was too proud and too wary
to say such a thing. The man probably thought that admitting that he felt so
strongly of someone might be a weakness that could only be used to blackmail.
Robin hoped that the man would say them though. It wasn't every day that Robin
heard such words, and it sure was reassuring and lovely to hear him say it.
Robin himself was almost too scared to say the words too. Maybe he was scared
that Slade wouldn't know how to answer him, or if the man wasn't able to say
the words back. He wasn't scared of abandonment or the man leaving or deserting
him, but he still was nervous.
But the question remained: Did Slade love him?
Robin had to think back about their whole relationship: if there was anything
to prove how much the other cared for him. Yes, they had fights, but now he
searched for all those good memories. Slade was a man who wasn't too talkative.
The man would merely nod or make a small hum like sound to tell that he had
heard Robin. At first Robin hadn't even been sure if the man paid any attention
to anything that he said, but when he asked the man what he had said, the other
could easily repeat Robin's last words word for word. He hadn't questioned
Slade after that.
The man sure wasn't too vocal, but the other was always doing something with
his hands. Robin had noticed that when the man was reading papers he used to
play with his pencil and roll it with his fingers. When the man was reading a
news paper he usually was tapping his other foot on the floor, and at times
when he sat, the other wasn't even aware but he tapped his fingers on any
surface he had. That only happened when Slade was really comfortable with
himself and his position, but Robin found the habit rather soothing. At least
then he could tell that the other was truly concentrating on something, or that
the man was comfortable. Other wise Slade was still like a statue, not giving
away anything by his body language, his speech, or his looks. Every time they
stepped outside their base Slade came stoic like a statue, and it was clear
that the man didn't feel comfortable out in the open, the man was almost
paranoid. But thus it was clear that the man was one of those "do it yourself"
handy men. After all, it was really admirable of the man how he had build and
designed his robots himself, and how he had managed to build the simulator.
Slade truly was smart when it came to those things.
Robin could remember how he used to read books. Slade had made him read a lot
of books about weapons, how to fix them and take a part, fighting styles, and
many, many other books, and Robin had actually been rather interested himself
about the subject. He found himself asking for more books, and of course Slade
would always find him something. Robin enjoyed studying new things. But of
course when you get a lot of books, you run out of space for said books rather
fast. The tabletops were full of books and they seemed to be everywhere. Robin
of course had complained about it to Slade and the other had only hummed as his
usual reply and Robin had sighed and gone out for a long walk. Once he returned
back to their base he saw that there was a rather huge, cool looking bookshelf
that was made out of stainless steel. Robin went to look at it immediately and
noticed that it was brand new. He could also see that it was self made as the
welt junctions were slightly protruding, but it was excellent work. Really
stylish, and the gray bookshelf seemed to match with the black room.
When Robin had turned around he saw Slade at the doorway, watching him: "You
can put your books in it." He had stated, but before the other could make his
exit Robin had run over and kissed the man straight on the lips once he had
moved the mask slightly. "Thank you, Slade!" he had said as the man made his
hasty retreat. Slade wasn't too sentimental. Once the man had left, Robin had
immediately started piling his books in the shelf. It was clear that Slade had
build the bookshelf himself, and Robin was truly glad. It was kind of sweet of
Slade to do that.
Robin could remember other similar cases. There was one time when Robin
complained about the worst migraine he had ever dealt with, and when he went to
get some water, there had mysteriously appeared painkillers on the table.
It seemed that Slade tended to Robin's need when he needed it even if Robin
hadn't actually asked for anything. There were also times when Slade just
seemed to know what Robin wanted, and it was great to know that someone was
looking after him. Also, there were all those small touches and looks, and not
to mention, Slade's jealousy.
It was true, Slade, even if he denied it every time you'd ask the man himself,
was rather jealous, not to mention possessive. Slade got agitated if he knew
that Robin was possibly with someone, or at somewhere, where Slade couldn't
reach him. It was clear that the man did not like sharing. The man from the
gala had already suffered his fate as he had mysteriously gotten in to an
accident when moving one of his shipment boxes, but the said box had dropped on
the man's hands, breaking his fingers for good. The man could hardly hold a
pencil anymore! At first Robin had been furious for such a narrow minded act of
pure selfishness, but secretly Robin knew that he was flattered. Not that he
would ever tell anyone about that. But overall: yes, Robin was sure, the man
did love him. Slade may not have said the words aloud, but his actions proved
his feelings way louder than his words ever could.
"I know that he does." Robin said with a smile, and Starfire hugged him again
and she seemed to be joyous. "That is the most relieving to hear, now go tell
him that right away!" She was already pulling Robin up to his feet and pushing
the other to be on his way. Yes, it was rather late, and Robin was supposed to
give his answer today, so Starfire did have a reason to be hurrying Robin.
"I'm going, I'm going!" Robin exclaimed with a laugh before he waved his hand
to Starfire before he got on the road.
Robin walked as slowly as he could to stall for time. It seemed that his
situation was rather simple and that his answer would be obvious, but Robin
couldn't be sure. Could he seriously change his ways for good just to be with
Slade? Was it worth it?
Well, Robin would think about that later, but now he had his answer to give.
Robin went straight to Slade who he knew to be waiting for him at the doors of
the base.
The man's posture didn't tell anything, but Robin knew that Slade was nervous
and itching to know Robin's answer. Otherwise the man wouldn't be waiting for
him to come back. Yet there he was, standing at the doorway of his base with a
posture that was supposed to look patient, but Robin knew that the man truly
wasn't.
"Welcome back Robin." Robin smiled at the other as he walked to stand next to
him. Slade had not changed much. Some people say that when you begin a
relationship the person changes, and maybe for a moment that is true, but that
person clearly did not know Slade. Maybe the man was just a little bit more
open minded and relaxed, and nearly not holding back as much as he used to in
Robin's company, but the truth was that the man hadn't changed at all. He was
still the iron willed man who had a tight discipline. Robin was thankful that
he was at least as organized as the other, since both of them frowned when they
saw things out of their places.
"I take it you went to see those friends of yours again?" Slade asked as they
both walked inside the base. It wasn't cold outside per se, but they both
preferred to stay indoors.
"Yeah. They are all doing fine." Robin informed just to smite Slade. He knew
that the man was secretly waiting for any kind of bad new to happen for the
titans, and it was almost funny how spiteful the man could be. "Good to hear. I
bet your friends were trying with all their might to turn you against me."
Slade said with a more serious than a joking tone. Robin had a small laugh at
that. "No, no they didn't. If you'd visit them even once you'd see that some of
them are actually rather okay with us." Robin was fully referring to Starfire,
but Slade wouldn't know about that. The man decided to keep his distance from
the other Titans. Just because he happened to like one of them didn't mean that
he'd have to suddenly be friends with the whole lot of the damn brats.
"Your friends must be sadists then." That was Slade's way of joking, he didn't
master the art at all, but at times the man had some really nice comebacks. He
was learning, but slowly.
"Not so much as they are opportunists." Robin mumbled as he remembered how
Starfire had shooed him to come talk with Slade in the first place.
The two had nearly walked their way to their bedroom, but as they were standing
by the door Slade had halted Robin, and the man was obviously impatient, even
if his posture didn't say so.
"So what did you decide, are you going to stay or not?"
For once Robin didn't have to wait too long for his answer. He felt comfortable
right here, and his answer seemed to make sense in his head.
Robin rose up to stand on the tip of his toes as he lifted Slade's mask to lay
a long and passionate kiss on the other's lips. The kiss was not urgent, nor
was it slow and tender, but it was one which made Slade groan and kiss back
while maneuvering them around so Robin was pushed against the wall. The kiss
itself was enough to make chills run along Robin's spine, and make Slade
tighten his hands around Robin's arms to make sure that the other could not
pull back. It was as if they both were trying to devour each other and get as
much of the other's taste and feel that they could. Robin would have locked his
arms behind Slade's neck if he could, but the man held Robin's arms against the
other's chest so he couldn't, so instead Robin opted to dig his hands on
Slade's uniform and feel the man's waist and abs through the material. Robin
was more bold than usual during the kiss and he groaned as he bit on Slade's
lower lip before sucking on it after pulling back, leaving them both to pant
heavily.
"Was that a yes?" Slade asked only slightly out of breath, but Robin knew that
the man was aroused as well, he could feel Slade's heat and more importantly,
the man's groin that was pushed against Robin's lower stomach.
"If you took that as a no, then I must have done something wrong." Robin mused,
and he was practically eating Slade with his eyes, and inhaling the man with
his breath as they stood so close. "Let me try that again." Robin mumbled
against Slade's lips before he kissed the man again, and Robin knew immediately
that Slade was more than pleased with his answer if the way the man was
devouring his lips had anything to go by. Slade slid his hands down Robin's
arms and then he lifted them above the other's head, holding them in place with
one hand while the other traveled down Robin's chest. Robin moaned in to the
kiss as the hand brushed his nipple and Robin kissed back even harder while
thrusting his crotch against Slade. The kiss they had was almost bruising, and
they both seemed to be reluctant to pull back to breath. They both had pressed
their foreheads against each other as they panted hard. "Dear god, Robin, how
long have I waited for you to be mine." Slade growled before he sunk his teeth
on Robin's neck, biting down hard to make a visible bite mark on the other's
neck. "Say it, Robin." Slade pleaded, or more like demanded as he laid small
kisses and an occasional bite on Robin's neck as he slowly traveled upwards.
"I'm yours." Robin mumbled, totally lost in the pleasure as the other teased
him with those delicate kisses, and just as Robin was getting used to the
tender feeling the man bit down, making the other jolt and gasp of delight. He
knew that he wouldn't be wearing anything but turtlenecks for a while because
his neck area was completely littered with hickeys. Deep down inside Robin knew
that he would do no such thing as he took pride in every single mark. He felt
proud of them, they were marks of Slade, the tags the other used to mark him,
to mark his property. "I'm yours, yours only, please take me." Robin moaned as
his knees almost gave out as the other pushed their pelvises against each
other, and Robin could feel the other's manhood through the clothes that
separated them from each other. Robin wanted to be free from the man's hold, he
wanted to kiss back, he wanted to feel the man, and he wanted to let his hands
roam around the other's body and strip the man naked one article of cloth at a
time.
"Only if you promise to never leave. To stay by my side till the end of days."
Slade groaned on Robin's ear with voice so deep Robin's knees buckled and he
was glad that he was held in place by Slade who pinned Robin's body against the
wall with his own. "I promise, I'll die fighting beside you." Robin groaned and
reached to bite on Slade's jaw that was finally in reach. "Good." The other
murmured and devoured Robin's lips once again in a chaste kiss with tongues
clashing, but Slade pulled back before the kiss could get any further. "I
finally can admit that I trust you enough to show you something very personal,
and I trust you to never abuse this." Slade spoke with grave voice and then
tightened his hold against Robin's wrists enough to cause the other to flinch
as the pain traveled through his body in shocks. The hold said that Robin
shouldn't even consider crossing Slade with this one.
Slade let go of Robin's hands and let them fall against Robin's sides and the
other felt a small ache at his shoulders as the blood rushed in his veins.
Slade stood back enough so they were no longer touching, but the man didn't go
far. Robin was confused of what the man was about to do before he saw the
other's hand travel up to the other's face and grab the chin of his mask. Robin
stood breathless as Slade tore the mask off and threw it on the floor. The
man's face was hidden for a moment as the man stared on the ground and shook
his head to let his hair move more freely after being hold in place by the
mask, but as the man finally lifted his face to look at Robin, the other got
breathless. It was as if Slade's stare was drilling in to Robin.
Slade actually did have blue eyes. Not dark, almost silver, clear blue, almost
steely eyes that appeared dark under the man's mask. Slade had white, army
style cut hair and a goatee. He had a handsome face and Robin couldn't resist
running his palm over the other's skin, feeling the surface and the shape with
his hand. The man was stunning, but the most attention seeking part of the
man's face was his black eye patch. It appeared that the man truly had lost his
other eye. Robin curiously brushed his thumb over the other's cheek and the eye
patch, feeling the material. He didn't dare to put any weight on the delicate
touch, he feared that it might hurt Slade.
"You took your mask off." Robin said astounded as he tore off his gloves to
feel the other's skin even better. "I like it." Robin buried his fingers in
Slade's rough and short hair as he kissed the other. The kiss was slow and
tender, and Robin didn't want it any other way. He slid his hands down Slade's
neck to his shoulders and then down his arms until he was holding the other's
hands in his shaky hold. As Robin retreated from the kiss he gave Slade a small
squeeze on the hands to reassure himself more than anything. Robin was kind of
nervous, he knew that he trusted Slade and that he should not hold secrets from
him, but he was nervous. It had been so long since he had done anything like
this. Robin lifted the other's hands and almost let them drop from his grasp
when he hesitated, but finally he decided to act brave and just do it. Robin
lifted Slade's arms to the sides of his own mask and held the other by his
wrists to keep them there. "Now mine turn." Robin whispered, almost scared of
the mere words. He hadn't showed his eyes to anyone in a long time. Only some
people in Gotham still knew what his eyes looked like without the mask, but
here in jump he he had learned the habit of keeping it always on. At first he
wore it because he forgot to take it off after a long day, and soon he learned
that he didn't have much time to rest at all and he had to be ready 24/7 so he
didn't have time to glue the mask on every single time. In the end, he had
gotten accustomed to the mask, and he even forgot that he was wearing it.
Robin saw how Slade took his gloves off before he clawed his fingers under the
mask, and Robin hoped that the man would tear it off like a plaster. Taking off
the mask didn't hurt at all when you used the solvent, but when you tore it
straight off, it would sting. After all, the mask was designed to stay on even
in the most intense of fights.
Thankfully Slade did it as fast as he could. Of course Robin flinched and
grimaced, and sealed his eyes shut as if to prevent the tears as his face got
irritated, but thankfully the pain dulled fast and Robin could open his eyes.
It was weird being without his mask: the air felt cold against his face and
everything looked slightly brighter, almost more clearer.
"Your eyes are bright." Slade stated as he locked Robin's head in place by
cupping the other's cheeks. Slade stared Robin straight in the eyes as if he
was judging them, taking in to memory every single detail and shade.
To Robin this was extremely unnerving. He still had to get used to seeing
Slade's face, not to mention the man's emotions when they were apparent on the
other's face. It felt so different now when the man had a face to go by, he was
no longer the anonymous character with no expression, and suddenly the man
seemed way more human.
So as Slade observed Robin's eyes, Robin had his chance to feast his eyes upon
the man as well. The eye patch was still a huge question that remained
unanswered. Robin loved to listen to Slade tell the stories about how he got
his scars, in return Robin would do the same. It was one of their favorite
pastimes when they were both exhausted after a good round of sex: laying in the
bed, tracing the scars as the other told how he got them. Robin had most of his
scars thanks to knife cuts, gun shots and fires, but Slade's scars seemed even
more interesting, they all had a story behind them. Not that Robin's hadn't.
Most of the scars were thanks to his own stupidity and indiscretion as he no
longer had Batman to help him out, or maybe they just didn't feel like anything
special since they were so familiar to him.
"How did you lose your eye?" Robin broke the silence, and he was afraid that
Slade wouldn't tell him, but the man only smiled almost evilly to him: "I'll
only tell you if you tell me how you got the gun shot wound on your shoulder."
Slade pushed his palm against the exact spot where the scar was and Robin bit
his teeth. He had left that one unmentioned, it wasn't as if he was ashamed of
it, but he somewhat feared that it would reveal too much of him.
But after all, they had already stripped off their masks, so he might just as
well tell? Right?
"The Joker shot me. He shot me straight on the chest and almost ended up
killing me. Batman got really worried and scared and decided to kick me off
from the business in attempt to keep me safe. See how that turned out." Robin
shrugged and Slade was obviously looking if the other was telling the truth. He
nodded, so he must have been convinced.
"I see." He said as he soothingly rubbed his thumb over the old scar.
"I once participated on a military test. It was a long time ago and I'd rather
not dwell on it too much. Basically, they wanted to create super soldiers,
namely: me." Slade started, and Robin understood that the man was now telling
him way more than just the story of how he lost his eye. They both took that as
a sign to move to their room and take a seat so they could indulge in the
recitation. "Not many survived." Slade took that moment to brush his goatee,
but he continued the story swiftly "But the ones that did got power. You may
have noticed yourself that most of my physical powers are stronger than
other's, and now you know why. Rapid healing powers that make you nearly
immortal is just one of them." He mused and of course Robin took this moment to
interrupt: "Wait, you just said that you can not die? Do you mean that me and
the Titans have been fighting against an invincible foe for all this time?"
Slade only shot him a grave look and said: "Me and the titans, as in, you no
longer consider yourself as a titan?" Robin huffed at that and crossed his arms
in defiance "I will always remain a titan!" Slade left Robin's question
unanswered.
"After I realized the advantage I had, I became a mercenary. I did many things
back then, and as you know, if you aren't careful enough, things might just
come back to haunt you later. They wanted to know who hired me, and they had a
hostage." Slade didn't seem too nervous on the outside, and maybe he truly
wasn't. Robin couldn't tell. "They had my son."
"You have a son?" Robin exclaimed in disbelief. He didn't know how to react if
he ever saw him. "Two sons, and a daughter actually." Slade mused and laughed
at Robin's dumbfound expression.
"Do I know them? What if I meet them?" Robin was somewhat of nervous, he didn't
want to deal with the sons of his lover. What if they were older than him,
they'd probably have a grudge. And then it dawned to him: "You have a wife?"
"If you see a woman around in this base, let me know. No. I don't have a wife.
And you just might have met my family, one can never know, but we aren't
exactly close, no need to worry about them." Slade dismissed Robin's questions
and went on with the story: "Anyways. I couldn't rescue my son before they slit
his throat wide open. No need to worry, his fine. He can't speak anymore since
his vocal cords were destroyed, but he is still alive. My wife wasn't too glad
to find out that her husband was off killing people and thus getting his family
in danger, and as an army combat instructor she really had no problem aiming a
gun." Slade ended and made a mimic of a gun with his fore -and pointer finger
and made an expression of shooting himself in the eye. Robin still had his
mouth open, jaw hanging low as he was so confused, and Slade's almost comical
expression managed to snap him out of it. Too bad he didn't have much better
things to say than an "Oh."
"But anyways, that's in the past. You can't redo it, and even if given the
chance, I wouldn't." Slade said and leaned closer to Robin. They were both
sitting on their bed since the bedroom didn't have many chairs in it, and thus
Slade leaning forward made Robin have shivers as he anticipated what the other
would say next: "I'd rather focus on the here and now." The other put pressure
on the words "here" and "now" as he crawled on top of Robin, making the other
fall on his back on the bed. Robin felt intimidated as he saw the man's
expression, it was like the look of a hunting beast who was nearing it's pray.
It made Robin even more excited.
"Now where did we leave off, I think it was something like this." Slade groaned
as he pressed their crotches together and trapped Robin's lips in a searing
kiss. Slade was on a dominating mood as usual and made sure that Robin was so
far gone in ecstasy that he hardly had anything to say in defiance. Not that he
would have, but right now Slade wanted to hear only moans, groans and maybe
some shrieks and shouts from the other.
Slade pinned Robin down with his body as he let his hands travel on the other's
sides, teasing the other, touching with his fingers the most delightful of
ways, making the other sink in bliss when Slade touched the bare skin from
under the hem of the other's shirt, but never traveling further.
"Slade," Robin moaned as he arched his back as he tried to get more friction
"Please, stop teasing me." Robin clawed Slade's back as he tried to get the
other closer, or steer the man to go further, but Slade denied him. "What do
you want me to do?" The other asked as it was the most simplest of thing, and
Robin groaned. "Touch me." And Slade did. There was a small line on Robin's
stomach visible as the other's shirt had ridden up and Slade traced his fingers
along the skin. Robin was hot under Slade's touch, and Slade enjoyed the
warmth. Robin was squirming and trying to move under Slade, trying to get more
contact, but Slade held the other still.
Slade buried his face in Robins neck and he laid small bites on Robin's skin,
traveling further down, and Robin could feel the other's nose move on his skin.
It made him ticklish. Robin sneaked his arms around Slade and pushed his arms
under the other's shirt to massage the other's back and make Slade groan as he
once again pushed himself against Robin, making their erections brush against
each other. The clothes they wore were starting to get on the way.
Slade lifted himself up a little so he could pull Robin's shirt off, and the
other didn't hesitate to lift his arms to help Slade on his task. They were
almost tearing the other off of their clothing, stripping each other as if it
was urgent. And maybe it was, Robin felt like he would burn alive if he didn't
get the clothes off his skin. It didn't take them long to get fully naked, and
Robin felt the cold air of the room hit him, but thankfully he had the hot body
of Slade to keep him warm. Slade had pulled Robin to sit on his lap, and Robin
was eagerly rubbing their naked bodies together, feeling their erections brush
as they got pinned between them. Robin had his arms locked behind Slade's neck
as Slade held Robin's waist in a firm hold.
"I feel nice so I will let you ride me, with lube." Slade murmured on Robin's
ear as he fished the tube from the nightstand drawer and gave it to Robin. The
other nodded in response, and Slade could feel every nod on his shoulder as
Robin's chin got pressed against him. Slade let his hands travel against
Robin's back, feeling every curve. He traced his hands down the backbone,
feeling the arch of the other's back, and he kept going until his fingers were
between the other's butt crack. Slade traced his fingers down, not too down to
even touch the puckered entrance. He slid his hand up back again, then down,
reaching maybe a millimeter lower than before, causing Robin to shiver. The
skin down there was so tender, and having Slade caress the skin was even
better, it made Robin want to arch against the fingers and plea the other to
move lower.
Robin hissed a moan once again at the feeling, but soon remembered that he had
the lube still in his hands. Robin snapped open the cork and took Slade's hand
from his waist and squirted some on the other's palm. "Since you are already
down there." Robin laughed before he took some himself and started to rub it on
Slade's cock.
Slade hummed and resumed caressing the tender skin between Robin's butt cheeks
as he teased the entrance with his other hand.
Robin shivered as the cold gel made contact with his ass, but the feeling was
short lived. Robin worked more smoothly on Slade's shaft to fasten the
foreplay, already eager to skip to the fun. Slade's cock was hard, and when he
slid his hand down, the gel made it slippery. Robin had both hos hands on the
job, one keeping a firm grasp on the base as he pulled back the skin, and the
other teased the tip, and Robin knew that Slade was already leaking.
It was then that Slade shoved two of his fingers deep in to Robin, causing the
other to gasp and give Slade an unintended squeeze which the other welcomed
with a groan.
Slade worked fast to stretch Robin, he himself was getting impatient to be
buried withing the warm tightness of Robin.
It didn't take long until Slade pulled his fingers away and had his hands back
on Robin's waist as he lifted the other up so he could position his cock right
on the other's entrance. Robin could feel it nudge against his hole, and he
enjoyed the feeling as Slade moved his hips, causing the erection to brush
against Robin's hole, and then sliding between his cheeks. Robin reached down
to take a hold of Slade's shaft to position it correctly under him so it would
be easier to lower himself on the other. Robin took a firm hold of the other
and positioned himself so that he would be right in top of Slade's erection,
and as Robin bend his knees he let himself be impaled on the hard erection.
Slade groaned as he took a firmer hold of Robin's waist and lowered the other
slightly, letting himself sink withing Robin's cavern.
Robin did not need long to adjust on Slade's length, a fact that both of them
were rather pleased with. Robin didn't need to be told to start moving. He
started a slow rhythm, and with a small assist from Slade, he improved his
pace. Slade's cock made it's way withing Robin's tightness every time Robin sat
down on Slade's cock, devouring the whole length. Slade hummed in pleasure
every time Robin slammed himself down on him, and he sighed when the other slid
up, milking him with every stroke. Robin tried to angle himself just right so
Slade would hit his prostate, and when he did, the other moaned loud and bit on
Slade's shoulder. Robin fell off the rhythm with his moves but thankfully Slade
kept him in array and helped Robin keep up the pace. Slade grunted as he got
more impatient and couldn't sit still any longer, but moved up every time Robin
slammed down, making the other moan as he hit his prostate. Robin was already
at the very edge, his cock weeping precome and waves after waves were traveling
up and down his spine every time he slammed down. He could feel his cock throb
and his balls tightening as he was closer to coming: "Slade, I'm coming!" Robin
yelped and shot his load on Slade's stomach. "Slade, I love you." Robin moaned
as he was shaking with the tremors of the orgasm, and that exact moment Slade
came too, buried deep withing Robin. He panted loudly on Robin's ear as he
emptied himself withing the other, waiting for the white spots behind his
vision to die out. Slade noticed that he was holding Robin in tight grip with
his hands around the other, Robin snuggle in his embrace. "Likewise, Robin."
Slade finally admitted, he did love the other, but he was a coward because he
couldn't say the words out loud.
Slade slipped out of Robin and turned them around so Robin was resting on his
back. Robin was still sated, and he was glad that he had dared to say the
words. He was also glad that Slade had returned his feelings to the best of his
abilities. Robin was really comfortable when Slade kissed his lips long and
passionately, mapping every inch of the other's mouth, before he broke the kiss
and went to clean himself. Robin watched tiredly as Slade swiped off Robin's
come from his stomach with a towel before the man put some clothes on.
"I'll go lock up, I won't be long." Slade mentioned and Robin nodded tiredly.
It was already late, and the day had been tiring for him. Slade looked at Robin
with longing, obviously wanting to join him in the bed, but he knew that he'd
have to go lock up for the night.
Slade went to walk out the door, but turned around in the last minute. He went
to retrieve something from his work desk drawer and he then placed it on the
nightstand by the bed. Slade laid a quick kiss on Robin's forehead with a
murmured "good night" before he exited the room.
Robin yawned tiredly but he was too curious to see what Slade placed on the
table to go to sleep. Robin had to lift himself up some to see that on the
table there was a small folded paper and a keyring with keys. Robin looked at
the keys for a while, but decided to pick up the note instead, and he opened
it.
Robin, you know that I care for you
and if you got this note, then I assume
that you do too.
I know that I don't say the words
too often, but I do love you.
I leave you two keys, they are
with the letter. One key is for
your new motorcycle since
your original one was left with
the titans.
Besides, since you now go
by my colors, I only saw it as a necessity.
The other key is a master key
for every room and door in this base.
If you dare to lose the key I will
not let you in before you find it
again, is that clear?
Also, if I were you, I wouldn't
bring your friends to stay over
without permission.
-Slade
Robin jolted up to sit on the bed and he had to read the note again three more
times to fully understand the note. He got keys to the base? Full authority to
anywhere withing this base, this base was huge! And a new bike! He couldn't
wait to see it! But that would have to wait for tomorrow, Robin was too sore
and tired today.
"You were supposed to be asleep." Slade murmured as he returned to the room,
and the man barely got to bed before Robin had jumped the man, hugging the
other. Slade was surprised at the gesture, but he let Robin hug him long enough
for Slade to get a full lungful of air. "Thank you, Slade." Robin purred and
kissed Slade on the cheek as they parted. Robin didn't get to pull away though,
as Slade took a hold of Robin's chin to lay a long kiss on the other's lips
before they both went to sleep, Robin once again in Slade's arms. "Promise me
you'll show me the bike tomorrow?" Robin mumbled and Slade ruffled the other's
hair. "First thing in the morning." Slade promised, and they both fell asleep.
Right now they were comfortable in each other's arms, and right now they were
both happy with just the two of them. But who knows what tomorrow brings along.
Not that either one of them were concerned, they'd face it together.
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