Blast to the Supposed Past

By, Alexnandru Van Gordon

-Okay. This is the second fan fiction I've ever written and I would really appreciate it (if you R&R) that you give me at least one piece of constructive criticism—even if its spelling corrections! I have a basic plot down for this, but all suggestions you give me will be taken into deep consideration for the way my story will go.

-Thank You

Summary—Slade's up to something and the Teen Titans are determined more than ever to stop him. But what happens when two persons come from the future—one aiming to aid Slade's plan and the other to save Robin from a terrible fate? Can that person's terrible future be changed by traveling into the past—and can the Titan's trust him? Read to find out…

CHAPTER ONE:

Slade waited in abandoned warehouse with his hands behind his back. He stared out from one of the main level windows at the T-tower on its island across the sea from the docks. He had sent the message and they heard it loud and clear—or should he say, Robin heard it loud and clear.

In one hour.

He remembered how the boy's frown deepened and his shoulders rose slightly to stiffen in a buried rage the moment he said those words. He knew how to get on Robin's nerves and he was somewhat surprised the boy had such an obvious weakness he was unwilling to strengthen. The boy was a prisoner of pride.

I'll be there.

That was all he needed to hear. Somehow he had called the tower to find that all the other Titans were gone. But that was fine with him. He wanted to speak with Robin alone anyway—he was to come alone, and Slade knew all to well that the boy was too proud to bring a friend along. He would fall into his trap and then it would be too late.

"Foolish." He said aloud to no one in particular. His androids did not answer in words—they answered with actions, and so he was alone. But not for long. Soon Robin would stand by his side, his apprentice once more—his apprentice once and for all. Even if he had to lock him up for a year, or tie his hands behind his back and lecture him for hours on end, he would make Robin see his ways one day and the boy would have no other choice than to like it.

But it made it fun. It was fun to hit Robin's nerves, to force him to do something he desperately did not want to. He took pleasure from watching the boy struggle, both physically and within. Yes. The former Boy Wonder would stand by his side and he would stay there even as the world crumbled and his friends perished along with any hopes of escape. There was no escaping it now.

Slade was gifted by fate. Fate was allowing him to choose one person to be his apprentice—any person, and he would have them. Robin didn't realize the blessing placed upon him. Slade wanted him and so he would take him—

In one hour.

-R-

Robin could feel the rush of adrenaline pumping throughout his whole body. This was it—this was his one chance to take Slade down once and for all, to end the plague that was infecting his mind and driving him to insanity. Yes. Once Slade was gone he would be sane again. He would be happy again.

Yet, he still wondered how such a generous opportunity to defeat Slade had come along. Was his luck suddenly brightening, or would his be his undoing? Would he kill Slade—would Slade kill him? Or would the villain succeed in another way…

He shivered as he sped up his R-cycle. The events he had experienced as Slade's apprentice still gave him nightmares even on the calmest of nights. He was going mad, bent on discovering Slade's true identity and bringing the criminal mastermind down before all hope for sanity was lost to him. Was this how he would perish, driven to insanity and defeated no matter which way he went? Was every road to end in a dead-end?

The warehouse by the docks came into view as he rounded a corner, ominous and dark in every way possible. Had it not been Slade's lair in Robin's mind, the place would appear nothing more to him than an abandoned building that could be put to use if someone would just take the time to fix it up.

He slammed on his breaks and parked beside the warehouse. Maybe he should turn back—he still another mission to worry about. Forty people had ended up on the missing list down at the police department in one night. The Titans were called about the strange event in the morning and they had been investigating the matter since. Mass murder? Terrorists? Who knew! The other four split up to speak with people who might know something and Robin had been on the phone with what was supposed to be a secret gang in Jump City. The gang didn't steal or violate laws—just beat up anyone from the wrong side of town if they stepped on the ground of their community. Robin hadn't arrested them yet because the guys they fought with were already criminals wanted for one crime or another and he still had yet to find out who all the members were. Anyhow, fifteen of the missing people were from their side of town and the gang leader had actually called Robin first about the matter. That was when Slade popped up on the main screen in the living room and Robin had to hang up.

One villain at a time.

"Let's get this over and done with." He muttered and took off his helmet, cape flapping gently behind him in the wind. "Today it ends."

-R-

It was easy enough to get inside—once you defeated all the Slade-bots and found yourself somehow on the roof after all your jumping around and flipping about until nothing was left around you but scrap metal and sparking wires. He had made a mess—but who cared? It was Slade's problem his robots couldn't fight properly.

Sighing, he found the roof's fire exit and opened the door, wincing as it creaked. The hinges were a little rusty, but they made no further noise as he slipped inside through the impossibly small crack and left the door ajar in fear it might make too much noise if it were to close on its own. He had learned the hard way when he was a sidekick that some inanimate objects had a mind of their own and alerted villains of a hero's arrival just for the heck of it.

Heart throbbing in his throat, lungs pumping harder than ever to make up for the oxygen wasted during the battle, he calmed himself before starting down the long dark stairs toward another door not too far away from him down the narrow hall. This one made no noise as he twisted the doorknob and pushed it open slightly to peek inside. It was dark, but there was a faint light on inside, the light from a small lamp suspended form the ceiling. This was the fire escape to one of the offices.

He pushed the door opened slightly further and slipped inside. No one was there—and no one could hide in there for there was nothing to hide behind. There was a chair in one corner and another on the opposite side of the small room, but that was about it. Someone, however, had been in there and that could have been Slade.

Robin walked over toward the office door and grabbed the doorknob. He could hear gears working one the other side, factory machines once more activated for reasons he would soon find out. Then he paused. Taking a deep breath, ready to fight with everything he could, he turned the knob and pushed the door opened…and—

—It slammed back shut in front of him, the sound bouncing off every wall in the building. Someone locked it from the other side and he froze in surprise. He swore under his breath, his hand gripping the doorknob so hard it broke off from the door. He cursed again and stared at it in his hand. There goes the element of surprise, but who did that? Slade? Why?...

Now that the doorknob was broken off, so was the only lock, he pushed on the door, but that unknown person was still on the other side. He managed to open the door a crack before it was slammed shut again.

"I don't have the time for this…" He muttered, glancing around the dreary room for signs of another door. No. there was only this one and the fire exit. He would have to find another way.

Turning around, he headed for the roof. He would deal with the person later once he found Slade.

The door creaked and he froze with his foot about to lift off the ground to step. He glanced over his shoulder…

The dark figure leapt toward him and they were sent flying back into the fire exit door. As old as it was and as hard as they hit it, the door gave way instantly and they laid on top of it in a moment of shock and pain, Robin on his back beneath his attacker. He expected the man to hit him or something, but he didn't. He grabbed Robin's wrists instead and pinned them to the ground (door, in this case) beside his hips, sitting up astride over his legs.

Robin struggled and tried to see his attacker's face. The man wore a trench coat, the tie tied around the waist to conceal the rest of his clothes. On his head he wore a black and white movie, detective style hat and a scarf around his lower face to hide his nose, mouth, and throat. He wore a mask over his upper face, two angry white eyes glaring at Robin for a moment as the Boy Wonder squirmed under his powerful grip. Besides that, Robin could tell nothing about the man besides the fact that he was young, maybe just twenty or twenty-one.

"Let…go…" Robin muttered, trying whatever he could do to free himself. The man was silent and remained so until he calmed taking a breath to glare back at the man in fury.

"Stress is going to kill you one of these days." The man said, his voice somewhat muffled by his scarf. "You'll start spitting up blood soon."

"You don't know me!" Robin spat. "And who are you, anyway?"

"Shhh!" The man hissed, looking up the dark stairway and then back into the dimly lit room over his shoulder. "I'm not here to lecture you—I know how much you hate it. I'm actually here to save you."

Save him? Save him from what—victory, gaining back his sanity, the knowledge of who Slade was? He didn't care what this guy's intentions were—he had something important to do and now was not the time to talk.

"I don't need saving." Robin replied harshly, pushing the man back. The man did so and offered a hand to help Robin up. Robin, of course, ignored it and stood on his own. "Now leave me alone. I'm busy."

He stepped around the man and headed for the office door. Placing a hand on the old hard wood, he prepared to push it open when—

"—It's a trap." The man said softly.

Robin froze once more. He wanted to open the door—his heart was racing now, but he held back his excitement for another good battle. Instead of continuing onward, he glanced over his shoulder at the young man.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"There are people on the other side being held prisoner." He said as though he hadn't heard Robin's question. "You'll try to save them, but Slade will beat you as he cheats and you will lose. They're the forty people who went missing last night, and unless you are his apprentice again he will kill them one by one."

"I won't ever be his apprentice again." Robin growled, more to convince himself than the young man. "Thanks for telling me though. All I have to do is find another way in and save them without getting no—"

The man held up a hand to silence him. Robin was surprised, but held his tongue as the man pulled at the collar of his coat and peeked at his shoulder.

The man sighed and returned his attention to Robin. "That won't work. You'll still get caught and end up in the same situation if you'd have entered through that door. Face it—you should leave Slade to your friends. They can handle him if they worked as a team."

That really got on Robin's nerve. Slade was his deal—no one was going to take him down but Robin!

"Look, sir, I've been doing this for years. I might be young, but I'm certainly not stupid."

"I know." The man said smugly. "You've already finished grade twelve through that internet school you went to each night last year on your computer—and you're only fifteen. Wayne would have taken you away from Jump City if you fell behind in your schoolwork and you couldn't go to school if you were on call 24/7. So, as smart as you are, you did what you could and finished early so you could stay with your friends. Sweet, isn't it? Couldn't stand being a follower and you love all your friends—it killed you the first time you were Slade's apprentice, and you don't believe you could live through it a second time if it were to happen again. But I doubt that. You want to run in blindly now."

"How do you…" Robin was shocked. How did this guy know so much about him? Did Wayne send him?

"Don't look so surprised, kid. This is reality—and so far you're going to be Slade's apprentice if you go to fight him."

He could be caught—but he had to risk it. He didn't care who the heck this guy was!

"Look! There are forty innocent people being held prisoner in here and I have less than an hour to save them. I know my friends won't be here in time to do anything about it—and I doubt you'd do anything about it even if you could! So excuse me if I'm running in blindly, but my life is worth much less than theirs." He bowed formally and straightened, turning to leave. "Now if you'll excuse, I have the urge to lose."

"Wait!" The man pleaded. "If you become Slade's apprentice, they won't be the only ones captured. Slade will take over about half of the world, but his primary goal is to get you. He won't start making plans about world domination unless you're by his side—whether you like it or not."

"Look!" Robin whirled around so fiercely, the man took a small step back. "I don't know what planet you're from, but the future hasn't been decided yet. I could save all those people today and Slade could run like he always done—I don't know! And how do you know if he wants me to be his apprentice or not? The last time I checked, he tried to kill me."

"But he kept you alive when you were dying from his nanoscopic probes." The man pointed out, his white mask eyes narrowing. Robin could tell he was about to attack again. "I'll carry you away from this place even if you come along kicking and screaming—but I won't let you jeopardize the world!"

"Who are you!" Robin hollered, now sick and tired of this man.

The man pulled his scarf down from his mouth and took off his hat.

Robin backed away a step, hitting the door with his back—but, surprised, it didn't open yet. He didn't care if it did anyway. What he saw both amazed and horrified him. It couldn't be…it just wasn't possible…

"Robin—I'm you."

-A-

Like it? Tell me if I should add something, and try guessing who the second guy is—you might be surprised, I don't know. It all depends on hard you think—but think too hard. You might miss the answer altogether.

Please read and review. I won't continue the story unless I have at least three people liking the first chapter. If you like it—then tell your friends to review it for me, it would be a big help.

-Thanks

-Alexnandru Van Gordon