FanFiction.Net - unleash your imagination
Anom
Author of 12 Stories |
Sarah - Ah, Robin/Terra? Perhaps, perhaps. If not here, than somewhere else. I’ll guiltily admit that I like that pairing as well. Not as much as Robin/Star, but that’s difficult in Robin’s current situation, ni?
Kaliann - That’s interesting, but I can’t see Robin willingly putting one of his friends through what he’s going through. I guess if he got lonely enough he might consider it, but by the time he lost enough of his morals to consider that, I don’t think he’d really want to see his old friends again.
Wrongful Vanity - Yeah, I’m interested in more Terra/Robin interaction, he kind of ignored her in the show.
Remix17 - Well of course he gets both! And how cool is that?
Person - Batman...you’ll have to wait and see. And I agree, pure romance stories usually suck, but I think a good component of a lot of stories is the complications romance brings. After all, what is the source of Starfire’s excellent angst at the moment? Romance. Ah hah, I have you there.
Yeah, trauma abounding.
DemonicK - I’m honored you like it enough to reconsider an entire genre. Squee for me!
Oh, and I promise Robin won’t get beaten up as much after this chapter. I swear I didn’t realize exactly how much I was abusing him until I’d written out the beginning.
He needs a break.
Edited to fix some of the dialogue that was cut out in the upload process. Added a few paragraphs.
Punch, jab, kick. Repeat.
Methodically, Robin attacked the punching bag as he had been for hours. When he wasn’t out stealing, he spent his time in the gym training, regularly working himself into the ground. It was far preferable to training with Slade, who gave no quarter during their sparring and left Robin bruised and frustrated every time. Panting and ignoring the sweat running into his eyes, Robin renewed his attack, absorbed in his routine. This was his peace now, his reprieve, when he could focus on the bag in front of him and the satisfaction of feeling it yield to his strength. He paused, leaning on the bag and breathing deeply, catching his breath.
It had been weeks since his last encounter with the Titans, and he had made a full recovery. Mostly. Pushing away from the punching bag, Robin wiped sweat from his face and stood before a mirror, seeing reminders of that last fight still very noticeable across his bare chest. He traced a trail of misshapen flesh down to where it crossed with glaring claw marks, and then over to small bumps where his ribs had healed slightly misaligned. With a small shock, Robin realized that he was not dreading their next fight because it meant he would be fighting his friends, but because he was scared of getting hurt again. He’d never been so badly injured in any fight, and it had been a brutal reminder of exactly how frail he was. A human playing way past his limits.
Still looking into the mirror, Robin could see other difference these lonely months had made on him. He was stronger than ever before, and it showed on the curves of his arms and chest, but still lean, stemming from a certain disregard for his own well being and no more late night pizza and ice-cream runs with the team. It was almost like looking at a stranger, looking into that mirror. Everything about him was unrecognizable, down to just the way he held himself. Even standing in contemplation he looked aggressive, ready to attack in an instant with deadly force. There was a constant scowl on his face, and he could almost see the bitterness in his eyes through his mask.
Even the way he fought had changed drastically, Slade had seen to that. Now he fought not to subdue, but to inflict maximum damage, regardless of the welfare of his opponent. He wasn’t exactly sure how badly he had hurt the guards unlucky enough to get in the way of his robberies, but he was pretty sure some of them wouldn’t be continuing in that line of work.
Running his fingers through his hair, Robin turned away from the reflection and picked up the top of his uniform. Walking through the silent halls, the sound of his footfalls his only and constant companion, he made for his room to go to bed. Whatever the next day would bring, he didn’t bother wondering. He could be left on his own for another day of training himself into exhaustion, or he could be sent stealing, perhaps to fight his old friends. At this point it made no difference to him.
Slade had remarkably few tasks for him these past few weeks, and Robin was largely left alone. While he was tempted to be relieved by this, he knew that Slade’s inactivity only meant he had something grander planned. And when it was finally put into effect, he would be a part of it.
Reclaiming her backpack, the young girl switched from random wandering to searching for a reasonably comfortable spot to spend the night. She was currently standing on a rocky ridge, she’d felt it when she entered the desert miles ago and used it as something to follow. Now she hoped to find a cave of some sort. She closed her eyes and relaxed, feeling the land around her, her powers sensing where there was dirt, sand or rock, where they intermingled and changed, and hopefully, where there was a tunnel in the rock around her.
What she sought was just under half a mile away, a small pocket in the stone where she could find shelter from the quickening winds. Terra hiked across sand and stone, holding a sleeve over her mouth and nose when the sands flew up in flurries with the wind. Finally she jumped down from a ledge to land before the yawning mouth of the cave she had sensed. At least her powers were reliable sometimes.
She settled into the cave, flashlight in hand, and set up her backpack as pillow. While she had thought sleep would be easy to find tonight, as soon as she clicked off the flashlight she realized how wrong she was. In the dark, with not even her wanderings to occupy her mind, she was left with memories. It had been several days since she had left the last small town she had stayed at, but the memory was still painfully fresh in her mind. Vividly, she could still remember trying to hold back a rockslide, swearing to herself that this time she would help, this time would be different . . . but then she’d felt her control slipping away again, as the power she exerted to push the earth back had backlashed.
The screaming was also quite vivid in her mind. As was the silence after the disaster she had only made worse, followed as always by the hate, the chase, the frantic fleeing. Terra pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging them in an effort to dispel her thoughts, but with no success. The movement only awoke the pain in bruises on her skin where people had hit her with fists and, as she had turned to run, rocks and anything else they could get their hands on.
A whimper escaped her lips, and Terra knew she would find no sleep tonight, or anytime in the near future.
Robin melted out of the shadows obediently, wondering briefly where he would be breaking in tonight and if the Teen Titans would try and stop him again. But Slade had something different in mind. Pressing a button, he called up video footage of a young girl walking down a city street. The video was blurry and without sound, obviously stolen from a security camera, and Robin watched with little or no interest.
“Watch this girl.”
Robin studied to fuzzy footage, making out what he could of her facial features, noting not much aside from a whip thin body and flowing blond hair. Regardless, he nodded mutely. Slade said nothing, and waited as the video played. As it continued Robin became more interested in what he was seeing. Apparently hearing something, the girl turned her head, confused. Something flew at her, clipping her above the eye, and her harassers came into view at the edge of the screen. The girl clutched at her head and started to run, but one of the boys dashed in front of her.
Wondering why Slade cared about one girl being assaulted on a street corner, Robin was both intrigued and bored by the possibilities. But he was not prepared for what he saw next. Waving her hands wildly, obviously pleading for something, the girl suddenly dropped to her knees, clutching both sides of her head like it was about to split. Even from the distance the video was from, Robin could see her eyes beginning to glow a hellish yellow.
Robin’s eyes went wide of their own accord as the ground split around the girl and swallowed the cars driving by. The buildings began to crack and crumble around her, and she still knelt on the sidewalk, shaking her head and silently screaming. Robin watched in horrid fascination as the destruction increased, and was jolted when the camera suddenly collapsed and the footage ended. No longer bored, Robin looked expectantly at Slade, almost eager to know where this was headed.
“Never before have I seen such raw power. If she could be taught to harness her powers, to wield them properly . . . ” He looked back to Robin, who lowered his gaze, now able to guess why he had been shown the video. With just enough snideness in his voice that he knew he could get away with, Robin quipped,
“So how am I supposed to find her? As entertaining as that video was, it didn’t exactly give me a good look at her.”
Slade already had more than enough information, which he now shared.
“Her name is Tara Markov. Five years ago she accidently leveled her hometown, killing several, injuring many. She’s been running ever since. And right now she is camping in the desert outside our very own Jump City.”
Robin looked back up, surprised by the apparent simplicity. Slade turned back to the video screen, contemplating.
“You will go to her, tell her that I can help her learn control. I have a feeling she’ll jump at the offer.”
“Yes, Master.”
Briefly Robin wondered when it had become so easy to say that. It seemed an eternity ago, but he knew he had once fought savagely to not call Slade Master, and even after losing that battle he knew he had always spat the title with enough venom in his voice to make it anything but an honorific. Now it just seemed natural, how things were supposed to be.
How things changed in such a short time, he mused sardonically.
Feeling a sinking in the pit of his stomach, Robin nodded again and slipped back into the darkness. In a few minutes, he was running for the desert, his mind a whirl of warring thought.
He knew Slade would give her anything but a quiet life. He knew she would be exploited, twisted the way he was being twisted. It was one thing for him to steal some new technology, it was a completely different low for him to consider imprisoning a lost runaway. His face betraying none of these thoughts and his feet unwavering as they silently moved over the cool sand, he checked a small locating device, veering toward the blinking light that marked where Terra was currently hiding. And all the while, Robin kept hearing that quiet question in the back of his mind; Was he going to do this to her? Force her into the life he was leading?
He was getting closer, there wasn’t much time left to think about it, and if he stopped and pondered, Slade would know he had stopped moving and question. So he kept running, now leaping over increasingly rocky terrain while his mind argued,
I can’t do it.
I will do it.
Noone deserves this
I have to
I won’t be able to live with myself if...
It’s her or me
Shaking his head to clear the thoughts, Robin checked his locator again. He was almost there. He had to make his decision. He thought again of the blurry face he had seen, the desperate child pleading for those who had attacked her to run before she unwittingly unleashed her powers. He could almost imagine the face, and found himself likening her to Starfire unconsciously. He imagined her with a certain naivety, she would cling to the first person who offered to help her because she scared and insecure, it wouldn’t cross her mind that someone who held out their hand to help would have something hidden behind their back. Slade would be more than willing to take advantage of her trust. Robin imagined a girl who knew nothing of the epic good versus evil battle he and his friends had participated in, a runaway who left a trail of destruction despite her best intentions.
He couldn’t do this to her.
In a split second he had decided, and Robin did not allow himself to think of the consequences that he could suffer if this went wrong. Flicking his earpiece, he activated modifications he had secretly been working on, the ability to turn off the wretched device. He had been saving the precious and costly gift of separation from Slade’s watchful eyes for when he truly needed it, and now seemed like a good time. He could make up any excuse he wanted later, mechanical failure, something like that. Crouching above the cave his locator told him the girl rested in, Robin spoke as if his Master could still hear, testing his alterations,
“Slade, come in. Slade.”
He repeated the name, knowing that if Slade could indeed still hear him, he could expect a fierce berating for such an informal title. There was only silence. He had done it. And now he had precious little time to save Terra from sharing his miserable fate.
Jumping down, he entered the cave, every sense on alert for Terra. The cave was dark, apparently uninhabited, but in the corner Robin caught sight of a travel-worn backpack sitting next to the nearly dead embers of a fire. Feeling no guilt about the invasion of privacy, he opened the pack. Nothing of much interest, just a flashlight, some food, a water bottle and a jacket as beaten up as the pack.
Setting it back down, Robin wondered where she was. He should have been relieved to take the chance to say he couldn’t find her and go home, but he’d already cut off communications, this was the only chance he had to warn her. With an exasperated noise, he darted out of the cave, looking to the side for any sign of her.
He ended up almost running right into her instead. Catching himself, Robin skidded to a halt as Terra jumped back with a yelp of surprise. There was a pause, and Robin very quickly looked her over. She was even skinnier than she had been in the video, covered in dirt and ragged clothing. Even in the darkness her eyes shown as brilliant blue, drawing his gaze away from her battered appearance.
She’d been crying, he could see the red rim around her eyes that left no doubt, and now there was fear in those eyes. Terra started to back away, edgy and ready to run like a frightened rabbit. Robin, knowing his appearance was not that reassuring, tried his best to sound friendly. But it was difficult when he had barely spoken in months,
“Don’t run, I’m not here to hurt you.”
The girl halted, perhaps frozen by the harshness in his voice. Her own voice quavering, yet held strong by suspicion, she asked,
“Who are you?”
Speaking quickly, Robin shook his head, mirroring the gesture with one hand.
“That’s not important. What’s important is that I know who you are, Tara, and I know the problems you’ve been having.”
Terra’s eyes went wide in horror, and Robin feared he had blown it. She was going to run. But for whatever reason, more fear or even hope, her feet stayed stationary. Robin dared to take a few steps forward, watching her carefully as he got closer,
“I know you don’t mean to do the things you’ve done, and I understand that you’re scared. But I know someone who can help you.”
Shattering his preconceptions about the girl, Terra suddenly narrowed her eyes and snapped defensively.
“I don’t need help.”
Almost cruelly, in a way that probably would have made Slade proud, Robin said matter of factly,
“The crater where there used to be Esna City told me differently.”
“How did you...?”
With that, Terra blanched. The reminder of what she’d tried so hard to forget had a devastating effect, and as she trembled in shame a faint tremor ran through the ground around them. Panic lighting up her eyes, Terra looked down at the ground, her lips forming silent protests. Thankfully, the tremor quickly died down. When Terra looked back up at Robin, there was no more fight in her eyes, and she said weakly,
“I didn’t mean to...I never meant...”
Somehow managing to sound reassuring, though he was very out of practice, Robin put a hand on her arm.
“I know. I know all about you, Tara, that’s why I’m going to help you.”
There was the smallest glimmer of hope in her eyes as soon as the words left his mouth, and Terra relaxed a bit, tempted by the idea. Even as tempted as she was, Robin still saw distrust, that well learned fear in her eyes. He couldn’t realistically expect any measure of trust though, he just had to hope she was desperate enough to take his word on this. Partially wary, partially hopeful, she asked,
“You are?’
Robin nodded and gestured that she should follow him. Climbing to the top of the cave once more, Robin waited until she had joined him, then pointed into the not so distant city,
“Do you see that tower? The one shaped like a T.”
Terra nodded, looking at the odd building that stood silhouetted against the bright backdrop of Jump City. Robin felt an acute nagging in his chest, anxiousness that he was going to get in trouble for this despite his best intentions and attempts at deception. Regardless, he continued, knowing this was one of the few times he could still do the right thing and perhaps make up for some of the harm he had done and would continue to do.
“The Teen Titans live there. Go to them and tell them you need their help, they’ll be more than happy and capable of giving it to you.”
Terra tore her eyes away from the tower and back to Robin, in equal awe of him as the prospect of help.
“Why are you doing this for me?”
Guiltily, Robin hung his head,
“You deserve their help.”
Terra looked back to the city, but kept watching him from the corner of her eye.
“You got a name?”
“No.”
Without waiting for a reply, Robin slunk back into the darkness, vanishing before Terra could begin to form a thank you. Again running swiftly, Robin felt better than he had in a long time. He couldn’t stop the lopsided grin that emerged on his face. Just as unfamiliar as the smile he felt on his lips was the surge of elation that came with it. He’d done it. He’d won a small victory against Slade. And while he wasn’t exactly sure he’d gotten away with it, the simple fact that Terra would be a Titan because he had taken this chance was enough to drown out any fear of punishment he might have felt.
Slipping back into her cave, Terra dug into her backpack and flicked on the flashlight, glancing down at her supplies. She was running low on food again, and the nights were getting colder. She’d need a place to stay soon. She remembered hearing about the Teen Titans a few times during her travels. Apparently they were some sort of vigilante group, personal protectors of their city. In other words: Kids like her who managed to keep their powers under control.
Some people had all the luck, she thought with a trace of bitterness and more than a small amount of envy.
“Why not?”
She sighed quietly under her breath, pulling her jacket on and gathering her meager belongings. It had been too long since she’d slept in a real bed, and even if she was sure she didn’t want to parade her problems in front of the Teen Titans, if they were supposedly kind enough to let her hang out for a while, she wasn’t going to refuse. Stepping back outside, the girl looked over the bay at the tower again and breathed in deeply,
“Alright, that’s it. I’ll just see what they’re like. I mean, why should I get them involved in my problems if I’m not even sure I want to stay?”
That was all this would be, she tried to convince herself, another pit stop on her endless road. Because the more she thought about the strange offer, the more cautious she was about taking it up. Better to pretend she wasn’t going to the tower in hopes that the boy had been truthful, she was less likely to be hurt that way.
“Report.”
He didn’t sound pleased. Which was expected, as Robin was quite obviously alone. He was worried for a moment though, there was no comment on the ‘failure’ in communications. Reporting in an almost monotone voice, Robin lied easily,
“She ran from me, and I pursued. By the time I’d caught up, The Teen Titans had already gotten to her. It seems they knew about her too. I realized that I couldn’t gain Terra’s trust by defeating the people trying to befriend her, and fell back.”
Slade said nothing, which, to Robin, made it seem like his deception had succeeded. Feeling a faint sense of triumph, something he had not felt in a long time, Robin was barely able to contain the smile that still threatened at the corners of his mouth. After a long silence, Slade ran his fingers over the keyboard thoughtfully,
“Is that so, Apprentice?” Robin did not move, a warning going off in his mind. Slade continued, his eye gleaming and his voice taunting, “Because to me...it sounded more like this:”
He pressed a few buttons, and Robin heard his own voice echoing from the speakers,
“...I know someone who can help you...”
“All according to plan so far, although I’ll admit I was wondering why you tried to turn off your communicator. But here, you seem to get a little . . . confused.”
Panic rising like vomit in his throat, Robin resisted the urge to run, now knowing how Terra had felt when he had appeared before her. On the speakers, his traitorous voice continued,
“...The Teen Titans live there. Go to them and
tell them you need their help...”
Slade switched off the recording, his point made. Looking at Robin, he awaited an explanation.
Robin’s mouth opened and closed a few times, as though he were trying to explain himself. In truth, his mind was blank. There was nothing he could say to defend his actions, and Slade wasn’t really waiting for an excuse, he was just enjoying the absolute terror on Robin’s face.
Robin knew the first hit was coming, but didn’t block it. Climbing back to his feet, he quickly debated whether or not he felt like fighting back tonight. After Slade hit him upside the jaw, Robin felt a flare of rebellion. He didn’t have to take this. Screaming, he pushed off the floor and kicked out, aiming for Slade’s chest. Slade caught his ankle and swung him into the wall. The impact nearly knocked him out, and Slade let Robin dangle from his grip, waiting to see if he had any fight left.
Feeling warmth sliding down his face, Robin knew he was bleeding and was so used to such things by now he didn’t care. Slade wondered if he had broken Robin too quickly, that had easily been the shortest fight they’d ever had, and he’d known Robin to continue fighting after such injuries with only more fervor than before them. Now the boy wonder just hung there like a slab of meat, dripping blood on the floor. Releasing his ankle, Slade let Robin drop.
“If you think you ‘saved’ Terra, you are sadly mistaken.”
Robin didn’t seem to be listening, but muttered in a voice devoid of anything.
“I know, Master.”
Before he could finish standing, another kick had knocked the wind from him.
“I didn’t say you could leave, young man.”Slade stomped down on Robin’s back, pinning him to the floor and grinding his metal clad heel into the boy’s back, “Modifying my technology, undermining my orders...admirably underhanded, Robin. But not good enough.”
There was no threat to the Titan’s lives this time, Robin noted. This whole situation was a grand game of chicken. Slade could dangle their lives in his face all he wanted, but if he ever did kill them, there would be nothing to prevent Robin from taking his vengeance. Of course, then the Titans would be dead, and revenge would be a small comfort after the fact. Or maybe Slade was just trying to wean Robin off that particular threat in hopes of eventually not needing it.
In truth,Slade was hesitant to kill the Titans. At this point Robin had accepted the situation, he would do what he was told and he would take any punishment handed out because he didn’t think he had a choice anymore. Killing the Titans would give him a choice again, and Slade didn’t want to lose a perfectly good apprentice over a small indiscretion like this. Besides, plans changed all the time, and he happened to be excellent at adapting. Terra would still be his in the end, and perhaps her time with the Titans could be turned to his advantage.
“Don’t think of this as punishment for disobeying me, but rather for not being able to do so successfully.”
There was no point in fighting back anymore. As Slade lifted him by the front of his uniform, Robin let himself blank out, retreating to the far corner of his mind. This wasn’t the first time he had been beaten, it certainly wouldn’t be the last, and at this point he just wanted it over as quickly as possible.
Besides, Slade was wrong. He had saved Terra, or at least given her a fighting chance.
Yeah, her real name is Tara. How deliciously coincidental. I’ll probably stop using that spelling though.
Updates will be less often now, as I don’t have as much pre-written and now I have to balance between Robin’s situation and Terra’s, which I have a feeling will be annoying.
Chapter 4 - Robin does not get injured, but may be accused of being a hedonist. Terra introduces herself tothe Titans and Slade disassembles robots.
And, for your viewing enjoyment I have for you a blooper comic! See, I can draw as well as write!
.?locimg50&
There will be more of these to come. And maybe a “Did you know?” tidbit where I talk about the comics.
:
:
:
:
