Parade of a Thousand Birds

Chapter Twenty-One: Slade

Robin fidgeted in his seat of the bioship, his anxiousness was getting the better of him. He wanted to prove himself to his team, to prove to himself that he was not going to betray them. He took a shaky breath, hands clenching into fists. He needed this... He was going to be fine..nothing wrong was going to happen. Afterall, he fought with the League of Shadows before, and won, he could handle not losing it in front of his team.

"Hey.." M'gann placed a hand on his shoulder, sensing the rise of stress in the boy. She gave him a reassuring smile.

Dick looked up, mirroring the smile, not wanting his teammate to worry. He had to keep his mind focused, he could deal with his inner conflictions later.

"The base is coming up. We have our teams. M'gann and Wally will deal with the north perimeter, Artemis and I have the west, Kaldur has the south, and Superboy and Robin will have the east" Roy showed a holographic map, pointing to the center. "Our job is to prevent the transaction between Bane and The League of Shadows, taking whatever the cargo is and bringing it into Justice League custody."

The team nodded slowly in understanding, preparing for the drop off. "M'gann, set up the mind link."

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Robin was pleased to end up with Connor in this mission. He is the only one who understands the situation between him and the assassins. Connor stayed silent, but Robin knew he was being supportive. Robin sat on the cold ground, a cloud forming in the cool air as he breathes. It was definitely a brick night, it made Robin want to curl up near a fireplace with a large mug of hot chocolate. He pulled out his binoculars and started to scan the outside of the building. There was not a sign of anyone, but that was to be expected from assassins. Robin would be humiliated more so by his past if the people he worked under were amateurs. Connor nudged Robin, pointing to the nearby treeline, a few leaves rustling. Shit, the building was a decoy. Robin quickly stood up, motioning silently for connor to follow.

'Guys, Connor and I are going to check out the forest, we might find something there. Keep your eyes on the warehouse, we will be back shortly.' It wasn't a complete lie, there might be something less shady at the warehouse than in the forest, but that is still action.Bane was in that building, but Robin did not care at all about the lowly villain, he wanted a challenge, Robin wanted the real action to himself. He had a new thirst for blood when his feet touched the ground, like an animal hunting prey. His mind calculated many solutions, many outcomes..he was preparing himself for the worst.

'Be careful' Was all that kaldur replied back with.

Connor gave dick a questioning look but followed behind as Robin snuck into the shadows of the treeline, disappearing completely. The kryptonian was baffled, one second he was there and the next the boy wonder was gone.'Robin, where are you? I cannot see you.'

No reply.

'I lost Robin.' Superboy frowned over the mind link.

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Robin briskly jumped from tree to tree, eyes scanning his surrounding. He felt bad for ditching his friend, but the Kryptonian would only get in his way and Robin would put him in far too much danger. He couldn't allow that. Robin froze slightly as he reached a clearing, he felt surrounded.

Ambush.

Robin grinned widely, they were expecting him to come alone, the adrenaline beginning to flow through his veins.

"Come on out Renegade, I know that you are there."

Robin stopped dead when he heard that name, thrill was replaced with wrath. He knew that voice, that cold indifferent tone that he had to hear, the voice that fueled his nightmares. Robin hopped down the tree, into the clearing. "Slade."

A figure stepped out of the treeline, Robin knew that orange and black mask all too well. "Renegade, it is time you stop this foolish game of hero and return to where you belong. "

"It is Robin now, and it is not a game." Robin snarled, his hands once again closing into fists. "I am a hero now!"

Slade shook his head. "And you came here to kill the assassins in your supposed mission. That is not very hero-like of you Robin" he spat out the name in scorn. "You are a killer, that will never change."

"I was not coming to kill.." Robin's voice shook a bit, uncertainty beginning to fill his mind. The thrill he had was not for justice like the others..it was the thrill of hunting to kill. "I am a hero now..." He whispered more to himself, but both slade and himself did not believe the words.

"I am growing tired of this stupidity." Slade attacked before Robin could comprehend, grabbing his arm and twisting it violently behind his back. "You could never become a hero, you lived in the shadows your whole life, you will never escape it.

Robin let out a scream of pain, biting the inside of his cheek to stop himself enough to speak. "Y...You're wrong! I can change!"

Slade laughed a bit. " I am ? You joined us not out of the revenge for tragedy of your parents' demise, but out of the guilt." Slade whispered soothingly. "You sensed the presence of death, and instead of stopping it..you were curious and wanted to watch."

"NO! " Robin screamed, trying to move away from the other but his grip was far too tight! "I didn't know! If I did I would have stopped it!"

"You were curious to see who that man would kill, you treated the rest of that circus like toys, seeing which one would break first. Little did you know that it would be your most precious toys that would break."

Images rushed back to robin of his parents' death, his stomach churned violently and his knees gave out. Slade let go of his arm. "N-no..I didn't want them to die..I-I didn't.."

"Do not kid yourself Renegade. You betray all that you meet, the more they trust you, the more thrill you feel when you betray them." Slade kicked Robin square in the stomach. "You have grown soft, the Renegade I know would have slit my throat before I could of grabbed his arms. It is time you go back and train."

Robin gasped out in pain, his vision going blurry as he was kicked across the clearing. "I-I changed..." Robin coughed , fists clenching. "I will not betray them! Ever!" Robin stood up, shifting into a fighting position. "You will have to drag my dead body if you want me to go back to that place." A snarky, overconfident smile soon replaced his grimace. "I will not lose to now, or anytime in the future."

"A child as always...That will never change.I will not fight you, instead, you will come back crawling to me..You will see." Slade seeped into the shadows. "When you are caked in blood and have nowhere else to run to..you will return to the shadows. Your true home. Until then Renegade, I look forward to that day."

And wit that, Slade had slipped into the shadows, leaving Robin alone with his dark thoughts. "I won't betray them...I won't.." Images of his previous nightmares filled his head, images of his comrades dead bodies piled up and him on the top laughing. Robin hunched over, heaving and gagging as his stomach churned more. There was so much red..so much death..it would make anyone go off the deep end. Robin slowly stood up again, wiping his mouth before he let a dark cackle escaped his lips. Who was he kidding? RIchard Grayson went off the deep long before this. He was mad for even once thinking that he could change who he was.