[Fanfiction] Master And Apprentice
Title: Master and Apprentice
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Robin, Slade and Batman, with appearances [in this chapter] from Alfred, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Superboy, Artemis and Aqualad.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Slade forces an unwilling Robin to work for him under the threat that if he doesn't, his friends will pay the price.
Master And Apprentice
Dick Grayson munched on his cereal, watching the morning scene unfold with amusement.
Bruce was fumbling with his tie, fighting back a yawn as last night had been a long night dealing with a team up with Two-Face and Killer Croc. Meanwhile, he was trying to remind Dick to finish his homework as Alfred was trying to get him to at least eat some breakfast before he left for an important meeting for Wayne Tech.
" I won't be back until late evening if everything goes well," Bruce was saying, dodging the toast Alfred was waving in front of him with superhuman speed. " After school, I want you finished studying for your Math test and draw up a plan for your Science project before you meet up with Young Justice for training."
" But that's not due until next month! And the test won't be until next Tuesday."
He had to pause to swallow. Somehow Alfred managed to shove the toast into his mouth. " Anything can happen by then. I'll pick you up at Mount Justice around nine."
Grumbling, he went back to his cereal. " Fine."
Bruce ruffled Dick's hair before he headed to the car, followed by Alfred and a bowl of fruit.
~.~.~
It was a good thing that Dick had snuck an extra Robin suit into a hidden compartment in his locker when school was over and a sudden explosion rocked the nearby bank.
It was another good thing that Bruce allowed him to tackle minor robberies on his own.
It was not a good thing that Bruce strictly forbade him from dealing with any costumed criminals.
And here he was, dealing with one of his least favourite people.
" Slade," he growled.
The masked criminal looked as he always did, a slimy and twisted figure in black and grey armour. Slade had been causing some trouble with Batman, performing thefts and assaults at ease, all to mock the great Batman. They had clashed five times before and all of them ended with Slade slipping past Batman's watch, leaving Batman infuriated.
But in the corner of his mind, there was something about this criminal that made Robin's skin crawl. More than once, he caught Slade looking directly at him and ignoring Batman altogether. And he would love to corner Robin and taunt him before Batman arrived and their little game of cat and mouse would continue again. He didn't know why but he absolutely hated Slade with a passion.
" I'm surprised. I expected to see Batman." Slade's drawl was smooth and sweet like honey. But twice as deadly and filled with poison. " But this will make things so much easier."
Quick as lightning, Slade charged towards him, easily swatting away Robin's batarangs and smoke bombs. And before Robin knew it, he was suddenly in front of him, giving him no time to react. He reached out and grabbed Robin's head to slam him to the floor with a sickening crack.
" I heard that you've joined a little group. Young Justice, I believe it's called." He ignored Robin's muffled grunts and snarling curses. " I was quite disappointed that you haven't been on the scene lately. Has Batman been keeping you safe and hidden?"
He was more concentrated trying to twist free from Slade's grip (Batman was so going to have his head later for getting distracted and allowing the enemy to get this close to him to catch him off guard). " Why the interest?" Robin growled, kicking out his legs and jamming his elbows against Slade's chest who was barely fazed.
" For some time now, I have been searching for ... an apprentice." Slade bent down so that his mouth was right next to Robin's ear and he shuddered as he felt Slade's warm breath touch his skin. " And, Robin ... I've chosen you. Congratulations."
With a snarl, Robin managed to throw Slade off with a well-placed detonator and leaped away to a safe distance. His blood was boiling in his ears and he spat out his next words. " Why would I even consider joining you?"
Slade casually brushed the dust from his shirt. " Because I have the right leverage to convince you." From his belt, he took out a strange device. " You see, little Robin, last week, when you and your friends went to disarm a certain bomb in Jump City, none of you realized that the machine guarding the "bomb" fired a particular set of rays at your friends."
Robin's eyes widened. He remembered the bomb incident last week all too well. They were all suspicious that the bomb had been a dud and those rays didn't do anything harmful and if Slade was behind it all ... " What did you do to them?" he whispered.
" The rays contained nanoscopic probes that once they made contact with your friends, they entered into their bloodstream. And once inside, they can easily kill their victim with a simple push with this button." Slade gave the device a little tweak. " Want me to test it out?"
Robin watched with mounted horror as Slade's thumb reached up to dangle above the red button that would inevitably kill his friends within seconds. " No! Don't do it!" he yelled.
" Say please first," Slade taunted.
He gritted out of his teeth, hating himself for resorting to begging. " Please, Slade. Don't do it."
If Robin didn't know better, it appeared that he was smiling cheerfully under his mask and he slowly and dramatically removed his thumb from the button. Robin let out a tiny sigh.
" It's quite simple," Slade continued, effectively destroying his brief moment of relief. " If you join me and you never speak to the Justice League or your friends again, I will let them to live. But if you try to rebel or object to any of my orders, I'll kill them and I'll make you watch. So, do we have a deal then?"
His mind raced. What should he do? If he tried to fight and steal the device, Slade would press the button right there and then. If he tried to escape right now, Slade will activate the probes. But if he joined Slade, he would be selling his soul to the devil. There was no one to come to the rescue, no back-up plan and nothing to make this situation better.
" Hurry Robin," Slade lightly chided. " We don't have all day. And I'm not sure if my thumb might just slip."
Finally, his shoulders sagged in defeat and it took every self-control he had to say his next words.
" What do you want me to do?" Robin asked in a hollow voice.
~.~.~
" Where is he?" Wally impatiently asked, noisily munching through a bag of chips, much to Artemis's annoyance. " What's taking Robin so long?"
" Doesn't he have school?" Superboy inquired.
" Yeah but he should be here by now. School's been over for more than an hour now."
" Maybe him and Batman are working on a case?" Artemis suggested. She was absently fiddling with the remote control, spinning it around her fingers. They knew her well enough to know that she was just as impatient as Wally.
" They would have notified us," Kaldur pointed out. He alone appeared calm. " We can start the training without them."
A rumble of thunder in the distance made Megan glance out the window. " I hope Robin comes soon." Her lips were curved into a worrying frown. " A storm is coming."
~.~.~
" Are you ready?" Slade asked, anticipation mounting in his voice. He appeared thrilled, as if he was drinking up the distant rumble of thunder and the dull flash of lightning.
Robin shifted uncomfortably in his new uniform. It matched Slade's uniform, down to the color and the design. But it didn't match him at all. " Yes," he muttered, hoping this would be quiet and painless and that his stomach would stop twisting so he could gather his scattered thoughts together.
And that the one person he couldn't stop thinking about would not be there to see him commit this crime.
Slade clasped a hand on his shoulder. " It will go fine, Robin. Our first mission together," he soothed.
It only made Robin feel more nauseated.
He gave Robin's shoulder another squeeze. Then hoisting a launcher, he aimed directly at one of the upmost windows of Wayne Tech. With three pulls of the trigger, three detonators were planted neatly, embedded in the glass.
" Here we go," Slade whispered, a horribly eager look gleamed in his eye.
BOOM!
Innocent bystanders screamed from below as a rain of glass fell upon them. A trail of smoke blurred the surrounding sky and enveloped the building. It was then Slade and Robin made their move.
They flew through the cracked windows. A woman shrieked. Someone yelled. There was coughing and smoke everywhere. " Don't mind us," Slade nonchalantly said to the several people hiding under the tables, cowering at the sight of them.
From the corner of his eye, Robin could see Bruce Wayne (why did Slade have to pick the room with the undisguised Batman of all rooms? and did he knew Batman's secret? my secret? was that he chose this place to rob so Batman could see me? was this to mock the both of us?) quietly and quickly inching towards the door near the back.
To change into Batman.
Please hurry, Robin begged, desperation melting into his internal voice. Stop him. Stop this from happening. Stop me.
Unfortunately, Slade saw Bruce too.
With a leap, he landed near the door, kicking it close and gazed down at the frozen Bruce. " Where are you off to in such a hurry, Wayne?" Slade asked in his oiliest voice.
" P-p-please! Don't kill me! I'll - I'll do anything!" Bruce's shrilly, stammering voice would have convinced all but the few who truly knew him. In fact, while his face was torn with sheer horror and panic, his eyes were surprisingly devoid of emotion.
And he was looking at Robin, asking the silent question.
Why?
He swallowed thickly, unable to keep the burning sensation rising up his throat.
Because I have to.
Just then, two security guards barged in from the side door, batons raised, shouting and rushing towards them.
" Handle the guards, will you?" Slade called over his shoulder, content to mockingly stand above Bruce Wayne both figuratively and literally.
Robin had no choice as he leaped over the table to deal with the people he would have never attacked otherwise. Robert Daynes, he thought guiltily, as he knocked out the man with a flying chair. He always gave me candy and a smile whenever I stopped by at this place for a visit.
The second security guard went down with a solid kick to the stomach. Kyle McSymthel. Two kids in elementary school. He showed me a picture of them once. The oldest was just a year younger than me.
" Perfect," Slade purred, as the two guards went down with barely a fight. " Just as I had expected of you. And now, one final thing before the curtain falls." From his belt, he drew out a gun. " We can't have a robbery without firing a gun once, can we?" he chuckled to himself, as the terrified people under the table began to flinch and muffle their screams.
He handed the gun to Robin, much to the latter's shock. " The honour is all yours. Why don't you shoot our beloved Mr Wayne for attempting to escape, hmm?"
Feeling cold sweat trickle down his neck, Robin stiffened. The gun in his hands felt foreign and heavy and he just couldn't stop shaking. " W-what?" he choked out. " What about the new technology device? I thought we came here for that. No need to shoot anybody." Bruce's expression did not changed, though his eyes darkened (with anger? or was it dread?).
" Why would I bother stealing something I could easily attain any other time?" Slade lazily drawled. He seemed to thrive under the authority he held against Robin and the rest of the hostages in the room. " So go on, little bird. Shoot Mr Wayne," he smoothly goaded. " Unless ... you're trying to stall for time? Hoping that the Bat will come to save the day?"
Even if he was stalling for time, Batman would not show up. At least not with Slade towering over Bruce like a watchdog. He could try to distract Slade, toss a smoke bomb and lunge towards him in a crazied state, hoping to buy Bruce enough time to change. But then Slade could easily press the button to end his friends' lives and eventually put the pieces together to figure out that Bruce Wayne was Batman.
Robin didn't even realize that Slade was circling around him, much like a beast toying with its frightened prey. " Remember, you promised me," Slade murmured for his ears alone. One of his fingers casually brushed against the device that held the fate of his friends. " You swore to me you would obey me."
He couldn't and he wouldn't shoot Bruce. There was absolutely no chance Robin would ever shoot Bruce. For the past four years, he looked to Bruce as his mentor, his teacher, his protector ... and his father. He was there when that fateful day happened and he was there when Robin felt that the pain and loneliness would never end. He taught him not about revenge and hate but about justice and the strength to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. It would be the greatest betrayal for him to do to shoot Bruce with the one weapon that had ended his parents' lives.
But the lives of his friends were at stake. Before meeting them, he never truly fitted in with the other kids in his class. Wally was always there with a joke and to make him forget his troubles, even if it was for a little while. Kaldur was the big brother he never had, always encouraging and keeping him grounded on reality. Megan could brighten his day with a smile and she wasn't afraid to overcome boundaries to pull him into a hug. Superboy, still young and learning, was the one he talk to about anything and not get judged for his opinions. Even he didn't know Artemis for very long, they could both relate as the only two normal humans in their group and he found himself relating to her about many mundane things that he never noticed or cared about until now. They've become an important factor to who he was now and he couldn't let them die like this.
What should he do? What could he do?
Gritting his teeth, Robin made his decision.
His hands shook even more and he was afraid he might drop the gun. Tears pricked the sides of his eyes. From the look that Bruce gave him (both of worry and confusion), he saw that Robin was crying and breaking inside.
I'm sorry.
He pulled the trigger.
~.~.~.~
Author's Notes:
This was a prompt from the yj_anon_meme, where the request was a plot similar to the Teen Titan's episode Apprentice where the villain Slade forced Robin to work for him in order to protect his friends. I couldn't resist using some of the quotes and ideas from the episode itself.
And of course, one from the Joker in The Dark Knight.
Character(s) or Pairing(s): Robin, Slade and Batman, with appearances [in this chapter] from Alfred, Kid Flash, Miss Martian, Superboy, Artemis and Aqualad.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Slade forces an unwilling Robin to work for him under the threat that if he doesn't, his friends will pay the price.
Master And Apprentice
Dick Grayson munched on his cereal, watching the morning scene unfold with amusement.
Bruce was fumbling with his tie, fighting back a yawn as last night had been a long night dealing with a team up with Two-Face and Killer Croc. Meanwhile, he was trying to remind Dick to finish his homework as Alfred was trying to get him to at least eat some breakfast before he left for an important meeting for Wayne Tech.
" I won't be back until late evening if everything goes well," Bruce was saying, dodging the toast Alfred was waving in front of him with superhuman speed. " After school, I want you finished studying for your Math test and draw up a plan for your Science project before you meet up with Young Justice for training."
" But that's not due until next month! And the test won't be until next Tuesday."
He had to pause to swallow. Somehow Alfred managed to shove the toast into his mouth. " Anything can happen by then. I'll pick you up at Mount Justice around nine."
Grumbling, he went back to his cereal. " Fine."
Bruce ruffled Dick's hair before he headed to the car, followed by Alfred and a bowl of fruit.
~.~.~
It was a good thing that Dick had snuck an extra Robin suit into a hidden compartment in his locker when school was over and a sudden explosion rocked the nearby bank.
It was another good thing that Bruce allowed him to tackle minor robberies on his own.
It was not a good thing that Bruce strictly forbade him from dealing with any costumed criminals.
And here he was, dealing with one of his least favourite people.
" Slade," he growled.
The masked criminal looked as he always did, a slimy and twisted figure in black and grey armour. Slade had been causing some trouble with Batman, performing thefts and assaults at ease, all to mock the great Batman. They had clashed five times before and all of them ended with Slade slipping past Batman's watch, leaving Batman infuriated.
But in the corner of his mind, there was something about this criminal that made Robin's skin crawl. More than once, he caught Slade looking directly at him and ignoring Batman altogether. And he would love to corner Robin and taunt him before Batman arrived and their little game of cat and mouse would continue again. He didn't know why but he absolutely hated Slade with a passion.
" I'm surprised. I expected to see Batman." Slade's drawl was smooth and sweet like honey. But twice as deadly and filled with poison. " But this will make things so much easier."
Quick as lightning, Slade charged towards him, easily swatting away Robin's batarangs and smoke bombs. And before Robin knew it, he was suddenly in front of him, giving him no time to react. He reached out and grabbed Robin's head to slam him to the floor with a sickening crack.
" I heard that you've joined a little group. Young Justice, I believe it's called." He ignored Robin's muffled grunts and snarling curses. " I was quite disappointed that you haven't been on the scene lately. Has Batman been keeping you safe and hidden?"
He was more concentrated trying to twist free from Slade's grip (Batman was so going to have his head later for getting distracted and allowing the enemy to get this close to him to catch him off guard). " Why the interest?" Robin growled, kicking out his legs and jamming his elbows against Slade's chest who was barely fazed.
" For some time now, I have been searching for ... an apprentice." Slade bent down so that his mouth was right next to Robin's ear and he shuddered as he felt Slade's warm breath touch his skin. " And, Robin ... I've chosen you. Congratulations."
With a snarl, Robin managed to throw Slade off with a well-placed detonator and leaped away to a safe distance. His blood was boiling in his ears and he spat out his next words. " Why would I even consider joining you?"
Slade casually brushed the dust from his shirt. " Because I have the right leverage to convince you." From his belt, he took out a strange device. " You see, little Robin, last week, when you and your friends went to disarm a certain bomb in Jump City, none of you realized that the machine guarding the "bomb" fired a particular set of rays at your friends."
Robin's eyes widened. He remembered the bomb incident last week all too well. They were all suspicious that the bomb had been a dud and those rays didn't do anything harmful and if Slade was behind it all ... " What did you do to them?" he whispered.
" The rays contained nanoscopic probes that once they made contact with your friends, they entered into their bloodstream. And once inside, they can easily kill their victim with a simple push with this button." Slade gave the device a little tweak. " Want me to test it out?"
Robin watched with mounted horror as Slade's thumb reached up to dangle above the red button that would inevitably kill his friends within seconds. " No! Don't do it!" he yelled.
" Say please first," Slade taunted.
He gritted out of his teeth, hating himself for resorting to begging. " Please, Slade. Don't do it."
If Robin didn't know better, it appeared that he was smiling cheerfully under his mask and he slowly and dramatically removed his thumb from the button. Robin let out a tiny sigh.
" It's quite simple," Slade continued, effectively destroying his brief moment of relief. " If you join me and you never speak to the Justice League or your friends again, I will let them to live. But if you try to rebel or object to any of my orders, I'll kill them and I'll make you watch. So, do we have a deal then?"
His mind raced. What should he do? If he tried to fight and steal the device, Slade would press the button right there and then. If he tried to escape right now, Slade will activate the probes. But if he joined Slade, he would be selling his soul to the devil. There was no one to come to the rescue, no back-up plan and nothing to make this situation better.
" Hurry Robin," Slade lightly chided. " We don't have all day. And I'm not sure if my thumb might just slip."
Finally, his shoulders sagged in defeat and it took every self-control he had to say his next words.
" What do you want me to do?" Robin asked in a hollow voice.
~.~.~
" Where is he?" Wally impatiently asked, noisily munching through a bag of chips, much to Artemis's annoyance. " What's taking Robin so long?"
" Doesn't he have school?" Superboy inquired.
" Yeah but he should be here by now. School's been over for more than an hour now."
" Maybe him and Batman are working on a case?" Artemis suggested. She was absently fiddling with the remote control, spinning it around her fingers. They knew her well enough to know that she was just as impatient as Wally.
" They would have notified us," Kaldur pointed out. He alone appeared calm. " We can start the training without them."
A rumble of thunder in the distance made Megan glance out the window. " I hope Robin comes soon." Her lips were curved into a worrying frown. " A storm is coming."
~.~.~
" Are you ready?" Slade asked, anticipation mounting in his voice. He appeared thrilled, as if he was drinking up the distant rumble of thunder and the dull flash of lightning.
Robin shifted uncomfortably in his new uniform. It matched Slade's uniform, down to the color and the design. But it didn't match him at all. " Yes," he muttered, hoping this would be quiet and painless and that his stomach would stop twisting so he could gather his scattered thoughts together.
And that the one person he couldn't stop thinking about would not be there to see him commit this crime.
Slade clasped a hand on his shoulder. " It will go fine, Robin. Our first mission together," he soothed.
It only made Robin feel more nauseated.
He gave Robin's shoulder another squeeze. Then hoisting a launcher, he aimed directly at one of the upmost windows of Wayne Tech. With three pulls of the trigger, three detonators were planted neatly, embedded in the glass.
" Here we go," Slade whispered, a horribly eager look gleamed in his eye.
BOOM!
Innocent bystanders screamed from below as a rain of glass fell upon them. A trail of smoke blurred the surrounding sky and enveloped the building. It was then Slade and Robin made their move.
They flew through the cracked windows. A woman shrieked. Someone yelled. There was coughing and smoke everywhere. " Don't mind us," Slade nonchalantly said to the several people hiding under the tables, cowering at the sight of them.
From the corner of his eye, Robin could see Bruce Wayne (why did Slade have to pick the room with the undisguised Batman of all rooms? and did he knew Batman's secret? my secret? was that he chose this place to rob so Batman could see me? was this to mock the both of us?) quietly and quickly inching towards the door near the back.
To change into Batman.
Please hurry, Robin begged, desperation melting into his internal voice. Stop him. Stop this from happening. Stop me.
Unfortunately, Slade saw Bruce too.
With a leap, he landed near the door, kicking it close and gazed down at the frozen Bruce. " Where are you off to in such a hurry, Wayne?" Slade asked in his oiliest voice.
" P-p-please! Don't kill me! I'll - I'll do anything!" Bruce's shrilly, stammering voice would have convinced all but the few who truly knew him. In fact, while his face was torn with sheer horror and panic, his eyes were surprisingly devoid of emotion.
And he was looking at Robin, asking the silent question.
Why?
He swallowed thickly, unable to keep the burning sensation rising up his throat.
Because I have to.
Just then, two security guards barged in from the side door, batons raised, shouting and rushing towards them.
" Handle the guards, will you?" Slade called over his shoulder, content to mockingly stand above Bruce Wayne both figuratively and literally.
Robin had no choice as he leaped over the table to deal with the people he would have never attacked otherwise. Robert Daynes, he thought guiltily, as he knocked out the man with a flying chair. He always gave me candy and a smile whenever I stopped by at this place for a visit.
The second security guard went down with a solid kick to the stomach. Kyle McSymthel. Two kids in elementary school. He showed me a picture of them once. The oldest was just a year younger than me.
" Perfect," Slade purred, as the two guards went down with barely a fight. " Just as I had expected of you. And now, one final thing before the curtain falls." From his belt, he drew out a gun. " We can't have a robbery without firing a gun once, can we?" he chuckled to himself, as the terrified people under the table began to flinch and muffle their screams.
He handed the gun to Robin, much to the latter's shock. " The honour is all yours. Why don't you shoot our beloved Mr Wayne for attempting to escape, hmm?"
Feeling cold sweat trickle down his neck, Robin stiffened. The gun in his hands felt foreign and heavy and he just couldn't stop shaking. " W-what?" he choked out. " What about the new technology device? I thought we came here for that. No need to shoot anybody." Bruce's expression did not changed, though his eyes darkened (with anger? or was it dread?).
" Why would I bother stealing something I could easily attain any other time?" Slade lazily drawled. He seemed to thrive under the authority he held against Robin and the rest of the hostages in the room. " So go on, little bird. Shoot Mr Wayne," he smoothly goaded. " Unless ... you're trying to stall for time? Hoping that the Bat will come to save the day?"
Even if he was stalling for time, Batman would not show up. At least not with Slade towering over Bruce like a watchdog. He could try to distract Slade, toss a smoke bomb and lunge towards him in a crazied state, hoping to buy Bruce enough time to change. But then Slade could easily press the button to end his friends' lives and eventually put the pieces together to figure out that Bruce Wayne was Batman.
Robin didn't even realize that Slade was circling around him, much like a beast toying with its frightened prey. " Remember, you promised me," Slade murmured for his ears alone. One of his fingers casually brushed against the device that held the fate of his friends. " You swore to me you would obey me."
He couldn't and he wouldn't shoot Bruce. There was absolutely no chance Robin would ever shoot Bruce. For the past four years, he looked to Bruce as his mentor, his teacher, his protector ... and his father. He was there when that fateful day happened and he was there when Robin felt that the pain and loneliness would never end. He taught him not about revenge and hate but about justice and the strength to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. It would be the greatest betrayal for him to do to shoot Bruce with the one weapon that had ended his parents' lives.
But the lives of his friends were at stake. Before meeting them, he never truly fitted in with the other kids in his class. Wally was always there with a joke and to make him forget his troubles, even if it was for a little while. Kaldur was the big brother he never had, always encouraging and keeping him grounded on reality. Megan could brighten his day with a smile and she wasn't afraid to overcome boundaries to pull him into a hug. Superboy, still young and learning, was the one he talk to about anything and not get judged for his opinions. Even he didn't know Artemis for very long, they could both relate as the only two normal humans in their group and he found himself relating to her about many mundane things that he never noticed or cared about until now. They've become an important factor to who he was now and he couldn't let them die like this.
What should he do? What could he do?
Gritting his teeth, Robin made his decision.
His hands shook even more and he was afraid he might drop the gun. Tears pricked the sides of his eyes. From the look that Bruce gave him (both of worry and confusion), he saw that Robin was crying and breaking inside.
I'm sorry.
He pulled the trigger.
~.~.~.~
Author's Notes:
This was a prompt from the yj_anon_meme, where the request was a plot similar to the Teen Titan's episode Apprentice where the villain Slade forced Robin to work for him in order to protect his friends. I couldn't resist using some of the quotes and ideas from the episode itself.
And of course, one from the Joker in The Dark Knight.