You wake up to a darkened room;
the only thing on your mind is the searing pain in your shoulder. You sit up.
The last thing you can remember is getting your ass kicked by Cinderblock.
“You’re okay.” The voice makes you jump slightly. You turn to see Robin sitting
by your bed. You: “You scared me....” Robin: “Sorry....” He gives you a clever
grin. You: “How long have I been out?” Robin: “Only about two hours. Back at
the fight Cinderblock hit you pretty hard and you kinda blacked out.” *I’ve
felt worse.* You remember earlier when you had let slip that little detail and
you can feel yourself blushing. Robin: “Why did you take that blow for me back
there? You could have killed yourself....” You: “I’m a protector by nature. And
I’ve put up with worse than that--” You stop yourself from going any further.
*Dammit, I let it slip again...* He gives you a stern look. Robin: “That’s the
second time you’ve said that. Are you ok?” You: “Yeah, I’m fine....” His face
eases as he stands up. Robin: “You should rest now. Tomorrow we have to run a
few tests.” He steps outside again. You can hear the muffled sounds of leaving
footsteps. You force yourself onto your feet and follow them.
They go into the main room. You
press an ear to the door, the Titans’ words still recognizable through the
metal door. Robin: “Ok, everybody know why we’re here?” BB: “No, because
SOMEBODY wouldn’t tell me what the hell this is!!!!” Robin sighs. Raven: “It’s
BECAUSE of Trayce.” Beast Boy shuts up from his rant. BB: “What about her?”
Raven: “Look, we called this meeting to discuss what’s wrong with her. For
instance, have you forgotten how she almost decimated Cinderblock?!” she says
sarcastically. Robin: “She’s only been around for a day.” Raven: “But already
she’s proven to have a nasty temper.” Cyborg: “Oh c’mon, Raven! Tomorrow we
train her to use her powers, remember?” Raven: “That isn’t my point. That blast
she used on Cinderblock was nowhere close to the amount of power she is capable
of when in full combat.” Terra: “So? My powers were the same way, how much
different can it be?” Raven: “She may have Earth powers like yours, Terra. But
you are an Earth type. Trayce on the other hand is a Fire type, and that kind
of power and temper makes her deadly.” *Deadly...* the word stabs like a knife.
Robin: “And somehow, she keeps slipping up and saying something about having
had worse pain than an injury she may have suffered.” BB: “One of us should
talk to her.” Raven: “Robin, she seems to like you the best, why don’t you?”
Robin: “Me? Why?” You don’t bother to stay around for the rest.
It’s almost
“TITANS, TROUBLE!!!!” Strikes the
night air like a hard punch. Pulling on her blue cloak, Raven runs into the
infirmary to see Robin and the others standing there in front of a broken
window. Robin: “I get the feeling the discussion we had wasn’t just between
us....” Raven looks to the bed. Raven: “There’s a note.” Robin picks up the scrap
of paper. It reads:
Titans-
I know what you think of me, and
don’t think I don’t know what you said. I’m deadly, so don’t bother to follow
me. I know what my powers do, and they hurt people. I don’t try to but it
happens anyway. If I’m so incredibly dangerous, I guess I made your lives a lot
easier by leaving. And if you are still so curious as to know what I have been
keeping, I’ll say it point blank- You wouldn’t understand. I doubt anyone
reading this can come close to relating to what I’ve been through.
Trayce
Robin crunches the note in his
hand. Robin: “We have to go after her. She could hurt someone, and if she does
it could be disastrous. We’ll split up, and the first person to find Trayce,
alert us.”
Running along the rooftops of the
city, you can still feel the damage done by Cinderblock from that battle
earlier. Despite being so dizzy, you force yourself to keep running. Somewhere
behind you, you can hear footsteps on the rooftops over the sound of the
falling rain. You look back, but nobody is there. Leaping over a gap between
two buildings, the footsteps start up again. You keep running but tense up in
case you should have to try something with Fire. This time, you whirl around to
see Robin. Your eyes widen as you turn again and break into a furious sprint.
With Trayce in front of him and
slowly getting away, Robin pulls out his communicator. Robin: “Titans, I found
Trayce and got her on the run. Track my coordinates and find her.”
You reach an enormous gap between
two buildings, the bridge in the distance probably only 3 or 4 blocks away. You
turn around and Robin has caught up. Robin: “There’s nowhere to run, Trayce.
Just come back to the Tower.” You clench your fists. You: “So let me get this
straight- You call me deadly and now you’re expecting me to come back?! Don’t
make me laugh.” Robin: “Because you can’t control your powers!!!! We can help
you with that!!!! If you let us help—“ You: “I don’t need any help!” Someone is
standing behind Robin, and it’s definitely not one of the Titans. Thinking fast
you summon a bolt of Fire and launch it, Robin dodging the blast as it whizzes
by his head. He turns as he makes the dodge, exactly as you planned to make him
see the person behind him. Whoever it was is hit by the Fire bolt and falls back. Robin: “Slade!!!!”
“Yes, hello Robin.” You: “Robin,
who is this guy?” Slade: “So, you still haven’t told your little friend here
about me? Shame... I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do it this way.” Before you
or Robin can react, Slade leaps forward and hits Robin over the head, knocking
him unconscious to the ground. You: “Robin!” Slade: “So, this is the new
Titan.” You: “I’m not a Titan, damn you!!!!’ Slade: “Temper, temper. Let’s not
get carried away.” You: “What do you want?!” Slade: “A proposition I think you
will find most intriguing.” You: “And that would be......” Slade: “To join me
in the ranks against the Titans. To be my apprentice.” You: “I’m nobody’s
lackey.” Slade: “If you accept the position of my apprentice, you won’t be a
lackey. You will be a leader. I can teach you how to control your immense power
and with it, harness the city. What do you say?” You think a moment, then look
at Robin on the ground, then at Slade. *Robin had cared when I was hurt.... I
at least owe him for that...* You turn to Slade. You: “I wouldn’t join you even
if my life depended on it.” Slade: “A daring move, especially when still
recovering from the last incident. You’re just like your mother.” You: “NEVER
EVER talk about my parents!!!!!” You leap forward absolutely infuriated that
Slade DARE bring up your parents. You twist your body in the air for a flying
kick. Slade catches your foot easily. Slade: “Too slow.” Using the torque of
your turned back, you spin all the way around, smashing your other foot into
the side of Slade’s head. He immediately lets go.
Opening a wary eye, Robin looks up
to see Trayce fighting Slade using a series of... karate moves? No, she was a
superpower-type, not a combat artist. But nonetheless, her quick and darting
movements were definitely the martial arts. Getting slowly to his feet, he can
see a little more clearly- Trayce’s eyes were glowing red, almost like they
were ready to fire a bolt at Slade.
Going in for a spinning back kick,
Slade catches you off guard and hits you hard in the back of the head, just as
he had done to Robin. You are getting very dizzy from the force of the blow,
but you refuse to stop fighting. NOBODY mentions your parents without getting
hell from you. Somewhere from behind Slade comes a hard blow. As Slade turns,
you can see Robin back on his feet and fighting again. Slade turns on you and
lands a crushing kick on your shoulder. A sickening snap follows the blow as
your arm goes completely numb and a searing pain shoots up your shoulder. You
force yourself to clench your fists and eyes shut. Fire shoots down your arms
and something forms in your hands, something long and thick. You open your eyes
to see two beautifully crafted katana blades in hand, each baring the emblem of
Fire. You turn to Slade, who has Robin fighting for his life.
Slade lands a hard hit with his
bowstaff on Robin, knocking him to the ground. Raising his bowstaff over his
head, Slade prepares to strike the last blow when something rams him hard from
behind. Slade catches himself in mid-fall. Trayce is standing over Robin, a
pair of katana swords in her hands and her eyes glowing a bold red. She strikes
a fighting stance. Slade leaps at Trayce as she too springs forward. The blades
of the katana in her hands glow as they turn into a live fire, becoming little
more than a scarlet blur as she slashes countless times with swift and sharp
movements. Slade falls back but suddenly leaps forward, smashing his bowstaff
onto Trayce’s crossed katana blades, shattering them into red energy. The force
of the blow knocks Trayce to the ground.
Approaching the would-be Titan
with her back turned to him, Slade has yet to teach this indignant girl a
lesson.
Your back to Slade, your hand goes
slowly to your left boot, grabbing the switchblade you kept hidden inside. You
whirl around and swing at Slade, the blade striking him across the chest. You
step back, the blade in your hand almost trembling. Slade looks at the cut,
then at you. Slade: “You haven’t seen the last of me.” He throws his hand down,
a smoke pellet clouding the rooftop. When it clears, the only thing you can see
is the dropped switchblade.
Badly weakened from countless
blows, Robin can see Trayce just standing there. She falls backward, Robin
running forward, catching her.
Still very weak from the fight,
you faint. You expect to feel the hard ground, but instead are caught by two
strong arms. Robin’s arms. He lays you gently on the ground and puts a hand to
your neck. You can feel your heart beating, but it hurts badly. *Oh no, not
again....* You black out.
Tracking the signal from Robin’s
link, Raven comes to the rooftop of an old factory. Trayce is lying on the
ground and Robin is kneeling right next to her. Raven touches down on the roof.
Raven: “What happened here?” Robin: “Slade.....” Raven looks down at Trayce.
Her shoulder is turned at a sickly angle, and one sleeve of her shirt has been
torn completely off. Raven: “We have to try to keep her warm so she doesn’t go
into shock.” Robin takes off his cape and drapes it over Trayce’s unconscious
form. Raven: “C’mon. We gotta get her back to the Tower.” Back at the Tower,
Trayce appears to be fairly resilient as she wakes up. Raven: “What happened
back there anyway?” Trayce: “I got my ass kicked by Slade.....” Raven: “Try not
to move your shoulder. Slade did something to break and dislocate the bone.”
Trayce “That’s it?” Raven: “That’s very serious, Trayce.” Trayce’s hand glows
Earthen green as she places it over the broken shoulder. It too glows green as
it shifts into place. Trayce takes her hand away and moves her shoulder. Raven:
“Did you just—“ Trayce: “Heal myself? Yep. A little knack I learned with my
powers.” Raven: “While we’re on that topic, you’ll want to get some rest.
Tomorrow we need to test your abilities.” You: “Ok....” Raven walks outside as
Robin steps in. You: “Hey....” Robin: “Uh, hi. I just came in to apologize....
you know, about what we said earlier....” You: “No problem. I don’t blame you.”
Robin smiles. Robin: “Why didn’t you tell me you knew the martial arts? That
was awesome back there.” You can feel yourself blushing. You: “I try to be
modest.....” Robin: “Sure.... Well, I’m gonna let you rest now. See you in the
morning.” You: “Ok.... Good night.” Robin steps outside.
You can’t help but think- What’s
with Robin? Pretty hard to say there’s nothing wrong when he stammers when he
talks to you and blushes when you talk to him. Oh well. You could confront him
tomorrow. But whatever it was that gave you the heartache would have to be
stopped. *Before it happens again....*