Have a Heart

Alexnandru Van Gordon

Blah…Chemistry mid-term today. I'm sick of studying, but once this is done I still have biology, physics, math, english, latin, and social to worry about, so hey…it all comes back at me. I felt like torturing someone, so I picked Eric (that, and I have to update for the competition soon).

Good luck to anyone else with mid-terms. For those of you who don't….I envy you…OH YEAH! INSANEIAC THE MANIAC LIVES! Do you hear me? HE LIVES! Isn't this wonderful? He just had a few…technical difficulties (John: Yeah—for a year) –shut up John!—but now he's back! Yay! That inspires me to update more…

DISCLAIMER: (Still laughing hysterically).

CHAPTER TEN: To rule or destroy…that is the question

"He knows."

"I know he knows—but we don't know."

"…not yet, anyway."

Cyborg shook the man again, both fists twisted in the stiff material of the man's suit jacket. Lifting him off him feet, he drew him close, face-to-face.

"There was a woman, a kid, and a young man. Why were you after them and where did your buddies take them?"

Raven, who resolved to levitate peacefully beside the two, rolled her eyes and tried to concentrate again. "I could always enter his mind…"

The man blanched at the thought.

"No, no…" Cyborg shook him again. "I'm making progress."

"Dude…he's almost as green as me." Beast Boy pointed out. "Quit shaking him before he pukes on you."

Cyborg grumbled something and shook him again.

Raven didn't say anything. Starting with her chant, she secretly pried into the man's weak mind...

-E-

Home sweet home…or not. Actually, anything but. Aside from nearly bleeding to death on the car-ride 'home', Klaus and Muriel were shoved into the backseat beside him, both of which were put to sleep by his father's sedatives.

Well…at least he wasn't alone—although his entire plan was going to be a lot harder now that they decided to tag along. But he really couldn't blame them. It was his fault entirely that they were stuck in this predicament.

He should have stayed in Germany to make sure they took the plane to Brazil. Now…he had no idea what was going to happen to them, especially Muriel and her unborn child. What would his father do if he found out her child didn't really belong to Eric?

Too much to think about…too little time…

They drove to a twenty-storey high building within the city limits and pulled into the underground parking lot. There were only a few other vehicles down there, employees of Church and the many scientists he hired for his cause. Other than that, the place was isolated. There was an elevator near the far end, and in front of it stood a man and a woman with a wheel-chair, but no one else.

"I trust the cat's got a good grip on your tongue?"

Eric didn't say anything. Besides a slight nod to his father, he tried to ignore the man completely. It wasn't that hard to do either, considering the agonizing pain in his legs…

They stopped near the elevator and opened the doors. Muriel and Klaus were lifted out before Eric slid out toward the end. The wheel-chair was for him and when the woman moved to help him in, he brushed her aside entirely. But, for extra precaution, a pair of cuffs held his hands together as one of the men looped the wheel-chair tight around his waist to keep him from going anywhere—what a laugh.

"Take him to the labs and set him up immediately." His father ordered, gesturing to the men as they loaded captives up onto the elevator. "I'll be with you shortly."

And with that, his father disappeared. Eric hadn't the slightest idea where his father was going, but he hoped it all worked out.

Slade had better be a man of his word.

-MC-

He knew the mercenary was following them. It was something to be expected of someone with Slade's reputation, but it still made him uneasy. The man was too…unpredictable. One second he'd be fighting for one cause, and the next—in less than the blink of an eye—he'd be fighting for another. It was hard to deal with people like that.

It was like trying to run on quick-sand.

So, he took the stairway up to the labs instead. If he was going to confront the man, then it would be alone because—he had no doubt—Eric was certain to have swayed the man's thoughts at one point of time or another during his capture. Eric was just like that. He was smart enough to make it look like he was losing…

So, what was David Church really scared of? Slade's unpredictable mind or his son's unpredictable mind?

After ten flights of stairs, he reached the top viewing room. It was a long dark room that circled the center lab—which took up three stories on its own—that was fitted with no windows aside from the glass walls facing inward. From here he could see everything.

"What exactly is your boy working on?"

Mr. Church shoved his hands into his pockets and walked up to the glass walls. Far off to his left, hidden in the shadows, the mercenary leaned against the solid wall casually with his arms crossed and his eyes pinned on the lab before him.

"What else? Weaponry."

"For whom?"

"For myself and a few buyers. Why?"

The man shrugged indifferently. "It appears everyone wants to rule the world these days. It makes me feel…less original."

Church smiled inwardly. "Don't feel bad. We don't want to rule the world."

Silence.

"We want to destroy it."

"You're son mentioned something along the lines of that."

"Are you a family man?"

"Why would you ask that?"

He himself shrugged, acting as nonchalant as the other man. "You refer to him as my son, as though that really means something to you. Everyone else sees him as more of my…creation."

"You're still a father, nonetheless. And perhaps you think he doesn't just seem like a 'creation' to you."

He didn't want to talk about that.

"Are you a business man?"

"I am."

"Then let's do business. Follow me." Turning sharply to his right, he started along the long circle toward his office. Finding the hidden door on the far side of the building, he opened it and stepped inside, letting it fall closed behind him. Slade slid inside before he had to touch it and was already by the far window looking out down upon the city before Mr. Church could reach for his desk phone. Dialing up one of his men, he ordered them to grab the money for Slade's job.

"Your pay will be here shortly." Church turned toward the door. "Feel free to leave."

"I don't want your money…"

He knew something like this was going to happen. It was inevitable.

"Then what do you—"

Naturally, the only thing that could interrupt was the sound of an explosion—from within the lab. Opening back office door, he ran back into the viewing room and stared down at the battle before him. Much to his surprise, he found Slade standing casually beside him.

Down below, Slade's robots had broken in, and—close behind him—so had the Titans.

"Right on schedule."

Whether he was referring to his commandos or the Titans, Church didn't care. In the blink of an eye, his had swept the inner blade from his sleeve into his right hand and stabbed it in the general direction of Slade's neck.

Just as fast, Slade had his arm up to block the assault. They held the position for a moment, one pressing hard against the other.

"I can't take over the world if you destroy, Mr. Church. And when push comes to shove…I always win."

"Or so you think…"

-A-

I've got to go now. Chemistry starts right after lunch and I have to go eat and re-read anything I'm a little dim on. Have a wonderful day though—I hope I can get back to my other stories soon.

Until Again,

Alexnandru Van Gordon