Dragon Ball/Z/GT Fan Fiction / Fan Fiction ❯ Despair ❯ Chapter 6

Slade has once again forced Terra and Beast boy to join him. Gohan tried to stop them from leaving but was overpowered and Slade was a bit surprised when he found out who Gohan was. Gohan decided to follow them and is now behind them with them none the wiser. Robin has promised to find a way to free Terra and Beast boy from Slade's clutches but can he? Gohan is in for a big surprise when he confronts Slade and what he finds out could change the way he looks at his father forever. What surprises are in store for Gohan? Read and find out. BTW, Slade is going to be revealed in this chapter, but I'm still going to refer to him as Slade, it's just easier that way.

 

Gohan had been following Terra and Beast boy for about half an hour when they finally landed. Gohan looked around and found that they were in the middle of a mountainous area. They touched down in front of an enormous complex. It was only one story but it must have been comprised of at least ten buildings. Gohan hid behind a boulder while Terra and Beast boy got off their boulder and walked into the complex. After a few minutes Gohan got up and followed suit. He saw before him a large pair of doors made out of some type of metal. He stopped before entering the doorway however because he saw that there was a security camera directly above the doors. He noticed a small wire leading out of the wall. He pointed his index finger at it and fired a laser thin beam of energy which he used to cut the wire. After he was sure the camera wasn't working he proceeded through the doors and was shocked at what he saw. The place looked much larger on the inside. The ceiling was at least twenty feet high and at the opposite end of the room a screen stretched most of the way across a ten foot long wall and stretched all the way up to the ceiling. In the space that the giant screen didn't take up were dozens of smaller monitors that monitored various locations within the city. The giant screen was off and the room was dark.

 

“I can't sense anyone here other than Terra and Beast boy.” Gohan thought to himself. “Where is Slade?”

 

“Hello Gohan.” A dark figure stepped out of the shadows and the room lit up. Slade stood before Gohan with his hands clasped behind his back. He began walking around Gohan while studying him, making Gohan feel as if he were under a microscope. “Are you surprised that you couldn't sense my presence? Don't be. I know how to manipulate my energy as much as you do. In fact, I was using it long before you were born.” Slade stopped masking his energy and Gohan was surprised not only at his power, but at the fact that it seemed familiar somehow. Slade, seeing Gohan's surprise decided to speak up. “Is my energy familiar to you? It should be.”

 

“Who are you?” Gohan asked nervously.

 

“Let me give you a little hint.” Slade cupped his hands at his side and gathered blue energy between them. He looked at Gohan who was wide eyed and threw the attack at him. The attack hit Gohan as he had been too shocked to move but Slade hadn't put much energy into it so he wasn't hurt.

 

“How do you know that attack?” He demanded.

 

“I know more than just that. For example, I know that you aren't from this dimension for instance.”

 

“So what? You could've seen me come out of the hole for all I know. You're just trying to mess with my head. This is probably some elaborate illusion that you've come up with to confuse me.”

 

“If you don't believe me then fight me.”

 

“What?”

 

“Maybe if you fight me, seeing my fighting style will prove to you that this is real.”

 

“Actually, the whole reason I came here was to free my friends. I expected to have to fight you anyways. This way I'll be able to finish you off sooner.”

 

“Let's see if you can follow through with that threat.” With that said Slade rushed at Gohan with a speed that surprised the half Saiyajin. Gohan was quickly put on the defensive as Slade threw a torrent of kicks and punches at him, all of which he managed to block except one which sent him flying backwards to hit a wall. He fell to the floor but quickly got up as Slade was rushing him again. A punch was thrown at him but Gohan was ready this time and ducked under it and threw an uppercut at his gut. Somehow Slade managed to sidestep it and brought a leg around in an attempt to sweep Gohan's feet out from under him but Gohan jumped over it and landed behind him.

 

“Not bad Gohan, you've been trained well. However, you still aren't a match for me.” Slade stuck his arm out and swung around at an unsuspecting Gohan and snapped his head to the side. He then jumped up and performed a spin kick meant to hit Gohan's side, but it was blocked by Gohan's forearm. Gohan threw a punch of his own but Slade merely caught it in his own hand and held on with ease.

 

“You have much potential Gohan. So much power yet you have so little experience using it.” He twisted around Gohan so that his arm was painfully pinned to his back, causing him to grunt in pain. “I know of your problems, I know how you've let people down. It doesn't have to be that way anymore. I can help you Gohan, I can help you tame and control your Saiyajin instincts. I can help you be normal.” Slade knew he had struck a nerve with his words and yet Gohan persisted. Slade saw a brown flash and looked down to see Gohan's tail flying toward his face. He let go and blocked the tail with his forearm. Gohan spun around to face Slade and got into an offensive stance. Without warning he flew at Slade and attempted to punch him in the gut but Slade stepped to the side and brought an elbow down on his back. Gohan hit the floor hard with a grunt as the wind was knocked out of him.

 

“How?” He managed to choke out. “How can you be so strong?”

 

“Easily my dear Gohan. I'm not human as you seem to take me to be. Rather, I am far superior to any human. The only human on that has ever managed to best me in battle has been Robin and he's only managed to do so once.” Gohan got up and dusted himself off.

 

“Well, what are you then?” Gohan was sure he could see Slade smirking behind his mask.

 

“I'm Saiyajin.” Gohan's eyes became as wide as saucers.

 

“But how? Planet Vegeta was…”

 

“Destroyed? Not in this dimension.” Gohan was puzzled by his statement. “Come now Gohan, surely you must have figured out by now that I'm from the same dimension as you. How else could I know so much about you?” Gohan found he couldn't argue with Slade's logic. No one could know as much as Slade unless he either told them or they were from his dimension.

 

“You still haven't given me a reason to trust you. All I've seen is that you come from the same place as me and know a lot about me but that doesn't mean anything.”

 

“Maybe you'll trust me if I show you who I really am.”

 

“Why don't you just tell me?”

 

“It has been said that there is a time for words and a time for action and now is the time for action, not words.” Slade slowly reached up to his mask and undid the clasps that held it in place. He then slowly lifted his mask off his face. When he was done Gohan couldn't believe his eyes.

 

“No. It can't be, it's just not possible!” He began backing away as if he had seen a ghost. “I won't accept it! You can't be him!”

 

“Come now Gohan, you can't deny what your eyes tell you. Especially since when you feel my energy it proves it.” The voice now sounded far less deep and cold, though it still had a sinister ring to it.

 

“But, you are nothing like him. You are nothing like my father! He was a great man and you are nothing but a common criminal!” Gohan became angry at the sight of the mocking face before him and instinctually powered up.

 

“My aren't we acting rash.” Slade said with a smirk. Gohan replied by flying up about ten feet in the air and firing dozens of energy blasts down at him. When the dust cleared, the floor was littered with small craters and Slade stood there unscathed.

 

“Are you done yet? Or are you going to keep wasting your energy like that?”

 

“How can you expect me to believe you're my father? He died fighting a powerful enemy that threatened the Earth and yet here you stand. How can you account for that?”

 

“Quite easily actually. Back before everyone left Planet Namek, your father and I were but one person. You see, I am the Saiyajin beast that inhabited your father's body. When we fist came to Earth, I was his personality. You see, your father fell down a canyon and received a head injury and nearly died. Because of that his brain was altered and I was pushed to the back of his mind so that a new personality that called itself Goku could take control. However, every time we would transform into an ouzaroo or even fight I would grow stronger. As the years went on I steadily grew stronger and stronger while waiting for the opportunity to reclaim the body that was rightfully mine. I was always too weak however, to overthrow that idiot Goku and reclaim control. All that changed however when we first transformed into a super Saiyajin. That transformation boosted my power greatly and I began to struggle with Goku for dominance. After Frieza had been defeated, Goku gathered all the negative energy within our body and cast me out, creating an exact replica of it. I was overjoyed to have a body finally, but Goku decided that I was too dangerous and left me to die on Namek. When the planet exploded I was saved by a dimensional hole probably not unlike the one that brought you here. When I got here I immediately began training and becoming stronger while learning this world's technology so that I could claim it for myself.”

 

“But you seem so much different from my father. Even if you were a totally different personality you would at least show some similarities.”

 

“If we hadn't fallen into that canyon, your father would be more like me. You see, we came from a bloodline of Saiyajins where the males were always more intelligent than their predecessors. He would have been much smarter if we hadn't gotten brain damage. If you can remember, Vegeta made a comment when he first came to Earth how my father created the moon blast that he used to make himself transform. How else but brain damage can you explain going from genius like that to almost total stupidity? I admit that your father was brilliant when it came to battle but that was about it. If I had remained in control even Bulma wouldn't have been able to match my intellect. Do you understand now?”

 

“But that doesn't explain why you hold back so much when you fight or why you seem to be so manipulative and mysterious.”

 

“That first one is easy enough to answer. I hold back because there is no other way for me to get any challenge out of battle. There are no Saiyajins on this planet other than myself so I must lower my strength to match the stronger humans. As far as being manipulative however, I just decided to toy with my adversaries' heads because I like to see them squirm. I enjoy watching Robin get frustrated at not being able to figure out my plans or when I'm always two steps ahead of him.”

 

“I see. I noticed that you kept referring to my dad as Goku. That must mean that you are Kakarrot, am I right?”

 

“Yes, however no one calls me that. Everyone knows me as Slade.”

 

“Interesting. And I suppose you still want me to join you?”

 

“Of course. Just imagine it, father and son, ruling the universe together. Of course I'll start by helping you control your Saiyajin urges.”

 

“That brings up another question I have. How is it that my dad still had Saiyajin urges to fight and eat so much if you had left him?”

 

“Simple. Those are biological traits. They don't have anything to do with personality. As far as those particular urges go we are exactly the same. As far as killing goes, that is a matter of conscience which depends on personality. If I kill someone it's just another body to me but Goku would only kill if he has to. Not that I go on killing sprees but I'm not near as hesitant to do it. Now, what do you have to say to my offer?”

 

“As good as you make it sound, I'm afraid I must decline. I can't work with villains like you.”

 

“A pity. If you're not with me you're against me. And I can't have anyone stand against me. You'll find that I won't be so easy to fight now that we're enemies.” He let out a roar as his hair stood straight back and turned blond and his eyes became turquoise in color. “Let's see how you fight against a super Saiyajin.” The voice was once again cold and deep but now it seemed to spell death for all who could hear it. “You should have joined me Gohan. We could have done many great things together. I can't allow you to live if you're going to insist on getting in my way. Unlike Robin you actually pose a threat to me.” He suddenly disappeared and reappeared behind Gohan before jumping up and kicking him in the back. As Gohan was flying forward Slade appeared in front of him and brought his doubled fists forward to meet Gohan's stomach. Gohan coughed up blood and fell down on one knee.

 

“Down already? I thought you were tougher than that. Perhaps Piccolo's training didn't help you after all.” Gohan merely laughed in reply as he stood up. “I can't see what you'd find amusing in your position. Perhaps you've finally seen the folly in your refusal to join me?”

 

“Hardly. I just find it funny that you're underestimating me so much.”

 

“Oh and how is that?”

 

“You're assuming that I haven't also become a super Saiyajin. Well, let me show you how wrong you truly are.” Gohan clenched his fists and brought out his power. His hair spiked up and turned golden yellow and his eyes turned turquoise. His muscles became slightly more defined and his transformation finished when he, like Slade, erupted in golden flame. Gohan's power continued to rocket upwards as he took his power up to half his maximum as a super Saiyajin. Slade's eyes widened for a moment before he chuckled.

 

“It seems that I've missed more of your life than I thought. What could've brought this about?”

 

“Just another enemy we've been fighting. Not that it matters to you.”

 

“I'm offended Gohan. Just because I'm going to kill you doesn't mean I'm not interested in your life.” Slade said sarcastically. Terra and Beast boy suddenly burst into the room, startling Gohan as he had been too preoccupied to sense them coming. They were taken aback when they saw Slade without his mask on.

 

“How nice of you two to join us. Now you can watch as I crush Gohan into the ground for trying to interfere with my plans.

 

“Leave him alone Slade. We're the ones you want, not him.”

 

“I'm afraid that won't be possible Beast boy. You see, Gohan is a threat to me and I can't allow any threats to exist.” Terra rushed at Slade, attempting to punch him in the face but she was stopped in her tracks as electricity began dancing around her body. “You forget yourself Terra. You belong to me now. I control what you do, not you. Now, unless you'd like Beast boy to be included in this little session, I suggest you just sit back and watch. Slade released Terra from his control and she fell to the floor. Beast boy rushed over to her and comforted her.

 

“You're gonna pay for this Slade! You can't keep us under your control forever and when you slip I'm going make you regret everything you've done to her!” Gohan took advantage of the moment's distraction and thrust his open palm at Slade, firing an invisible blast of energy at him. The move was anticipated however and Slade crossed his arms in front of himself and blocked it. When the resulting dust cloud settled, Slade was standing there as if nothing had happened.

 

“Why do you continue to fight me Gohan? You know as well as I do that you'll never be able to kill your father, and as much as you hate to admit it, I am your father.” Slade walked over to Gohan, who had gotten into a defensive stance to prepare for any attack that might be thrown at him.

 

“Why do I fight you? You can't be serious. I fight you because you aren't any better than any of the other scum that's forced their will on others. I fight you because despite the fact that you are a part of my father, you represent all that I hate.” Gohan relaxed his stance and stood up, confident that he would see any attack that came his way. Slade was suddenly behind him and he could feel his breath on the back of his neck.

 

“Do you really think you can stop me? If this is the limit of your power then you might as well quit now while you're still alive.” Before he was even aware of it, Gohan's feet had been swept out from under him and he was looking at the ceiling. Slade stood over him and offered his hand. “I can train you Gohan, make you stronger than you've ever thought possible, or I can crush you.” He grabbed one of Gohan's hands and tossed him up towards the ceiling. Gohan caught himself but was caught off guard as he felt an energy blast explode on his back, burning a fist sized hole through his gi and the skin underneath. Gohan flew down towards Slade and went to hit him but an elbow hit him on the back of his neck, sending him to the ground. He swung his feet around but only caught air before getting up.

 

“Fine then, if you want to fight like that then I'll just have to bring out my full power.” Gohan didn't bother powering up and instantly transformed into his ascended super Saiyajin form. Since Gohan transformed the quick way, he couldn't access his full power but he figured he had enough to finish Slade off now. He was surprised though when Slade only looked happy at his increase in power.

 

“Very impressive Gohan. However, I have also reached the level of super Saiyajin two. You will find however, that I won't lose quite so much energy when I transform.” Gohan became wide eyed at this statement. He had been counting on the hope Slade not being able to go past the first level because he knew that Slade had only lost a minimal amount of energy from their fight where he had lost quite a bit. Slade didn't power up either and soon had Gohan wide eyed at the amount of power he was putting off. Slade smirked at the reaction Gohan was giving off. Slade now had a miniature lightning storm dancing around his body that made him look like a lightning rod. “I am quickly becoming bored with this fight Gohan, I shall now show you the true horror of what you're facing. Slade began powering up even more and Gohan quickly became terrified at what he was sensing. Slade's power now easily dwarfed both his and Cell's full powers put together and he was still going up. The entire planet began to shake and weather patterns all over the world began shifting as Slade powered up to greater and greater heights.

 

“What's going on over there Gohan?” Robin's voice came over the communicator that Gohan had brought with him. He pulled it out of his gi and saw Robin looking at him.

 

“Let's just say that I'm not so sure that I'm going to come out of this looking so good. Why? What's going on over there?”

 

“It's not what's going on here, it's what's going on around the world.”

 

“What do you mean?” Gohan asked, not really wanting an answer.

 

“The weather all over the planet is going haywire. For one thing there's a massive earthquake covering the whole planet and it seems to have its epicenter right where you're at. Also, It's snowing all over Africa, Los Angeles is being hit by several tornadoes, and coastal areas are being hit by massive tidal waves.” Gohan looked up to see that Slade had just finished his transformation. He gasped at what he saw. The man that now stood before him looked nothing like his father now. His golden hair had grown down to his waist and his eyes were now all white and had no pupils. The electric bolts sparking along Slade's body now were much larger and showed up more often. He smirked and looked like a beast ready to strike at its prey. Beast boy and Terra were terrified by his new look.

 

“I've had a lot of time to train and in that time I've found levels of power unfathomable.” Slade spoke, but his voice now sounded animalistic. He slowly stalked towards Gohan who backed away in terror.

 

“It seems that you're not totally over your cowardice. Perhaps I should cure you of that myself.” Slade disappeared and at almost the exact instant had planted a foot into Gohan's side. Gohan clutched his injured side but was then kneed in the back and then the gut as he flew forward, causing him to double over on the knee and cough up blood. The knee was withdrawn and a rib was cracked by another kick. Beast boy and Terra could only sit by and watch with terror as Gohan was tossed about and beat on like a rag doll. Gohan couldn't even gather his thoughts under the assault he was receiving from Slade. Just as he was recovering from one blow, it would seem as if a hundred more were rained on him from all sides, causing him to become disoriented. Eventually Gohan lost too much energy and fell back to his normal form, causing Slade to stop his assault. He stepped back and admired his handiwork. Not one inch on Gohan's body was unscathed by a cut or a bruise or a gash. Not quite satisfied yet Slade struck a foot out with lightning speed and floored Gohan. He calmly walked over to Gohan and put a foot on his chest.

 

“I suggest you seriously reconsider your decision to join me Gohan because if you don't, let's just say I won't let you have an easy death.” He then began to slowly apply pressure to Gohan's chest. A crack was heard as one of Gohan's ribs broke and Gohan let out a short but loud cry of agony. More pressure was put on and another rib broke, resulting in another heart wrenching cry. Beast boy and Terra held each other and Terra cried onto Beast boy's shoulder at hearing Gohan's torture.

 

“Doesn't this scene remind you of anything Gohan?” Slade asked with a mocking smirk. “This is how your loving uncle tried to kill me. It was the first time you'd ever used your power in battle. Imagine the pride I felt as I saw my boy nearly kill a warrior that I couldn't even scratch. I thought to myself then that you would grow to become a fine Saiyajin warrior. Of course that bumbling idiot Goku was just astonished and worried about you. It was proved to me then that you would have great potential as a warrior, but your harpy of a mother wouldn't let you do anything but study and let your body waste away. How pathetic. And Goku served her every whim as if she were some all powerful tyrant even though he could have killed her with the flick of a wrist. I bet he serves that woman to this day.” Another rib was broken and another cry heard as yet more pressure was put on. “Do you know why I haven't killed you yet Gohan?” Slade asked, quickly changing the subject.

 

“Because you're a sadistic bastard that likes to torture people?” Gohan managed to choke out through the pain. The pressure on his chest only increased and Gohan could tell that more of his ribs were about to break.

 

“Now now Gohan, we don't need any of those snide remarks now do we? I haven't killed you because I know that you want your friends to go free. Am I right? That is why you're here isn't it? To stop me and free your friends? I can guarantee that you'll fail at stopping me, but there is a way for you to free your friends. Would you like to know how?” Gohan remained quiet. “I'll take your silence as a yes. I'm going to make a deal with you Gohan. If you join me I will let them go free. Of course Terra will have to keep my probes within her and Beast boy won't get an antidote because I need an incentive for you to stay, but I won't bother them unless you force me to. So what do you think, do we have a deal?” Slade already knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from Gohan's own mouth.

 

“Fine.” He muttered. “I'll do it.”

 

“What was that? I didn't quite hear you.”

 

“I said I'd do it!” Gohan practically yelled.

 

“That's my boy. I'll just have to remove Terra and Beast boy's memories of my face and they can leave.” Slade reverted to his normal form and released the pressure he had on Gohan's chest, allowing him some breathing space. He then walked over to his discarded mask and put it back on, the one red eye glowing as he did so. “Now I must erase Terra and Beast boy's memories of my face.” His voice was once again cold and emotionless.

 

“Wait, don't we have a say in this?” Beast boy had regained his courage after Slade had lost his mini lightning storm and freaky hair.

 

“No, I'm afraid you don't. You see, once I saw that Gohan was with you, I decided that I would use you two to lure him to me. Now that he is here, I no longer need your services.”

 

“But how do we know that you won't do something to us when you erase our memories?” Terra asked suspiciously.

 

“Come now Terra. You of all people should know that I don't operate that way. I only kill and manipulate when it is in my best interest to do so, and it's in my best interest for you to forget my face and leave. Why would I do something counter productive and kill you or harm you?” Terra couldn't argue with his logic and neither could Beast boy. For as long as they had both been acquainted with Slade, they had never known him to use such reckless tactics.

 

“But what if we don't want to leave Gohan behind? What if we'd rather stay here than make Gohan work for you?”

 

“My dear Terra, he won't be working for me, he'll be working with me. You see, Gohan is my son.” Beast boy and Terra gasped in unison when they heard this news.

 

“Whoa, so you're so bad that even your own son hates you. Maybe that should tell you something.”

 

“You may look like him, and you may know all of his techniques, but I will never accept you as my father!” Gohan managed to choke out while forcing himself to his feet through the screaming agony his shattered ribs were giving him. “I've only agreed to join you to free my friends. My father sacrificed his life to save the Earth, he didn't spend his time thinking of ways to enslave it.! Comparing you to him would be an insult to his achievements.”

 

“Go ahead and keep telling yourself that. Eventually you'll stop lying to yourself and you will truly enjoy all that I have to offer you. Now it's time for you to heal. Come with me.” Slade motioned to Gohan to follow and he reluctantly did. “Stay right there you two, I shall be back shortly. Not that you could leave yet even if you tried.” Slade then turned and led Gohan away, though Gohan followed reluctantly. When they arrived at their destination, Gohan was surprised at what he saw. They were in a medical lab that had rejuvenation chambers similar to the ones on Frieza's spaceship back on Planet Namek. Slade walked up to one of the white chambers and pushed a few buttons on a panel that was next to the glass porthole on the door. The door lowered to the floor and Gohan walked in. As soon as he was in a breathing mask dropped from the ceiling of the chamber and Gohan strapped it on and prepared for the liquid to begin filling it up once the door closed. Once the chamber had filled up Gohan began to feel a little drowsy and his eyes became heavy.

 

“Take your rest Gohan. Tomorrow you'll be given your uniform and get your fist assignment. Don't worry about your friends, I am a man of my word and will send them away safely just as I said.” With that he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving Gohan nothing to do but go to sleep which was exactly what he did.

 

**With Terra and Beast boy**

 

A few minutes after Slade left he returned to Terra and Beast boy.

 

“I've got things to attend to so I'll make this quick. Just walk over to the main screen and stare at it. I assume you know what a hypno screen looks like?” Beast boy nodded his head, looking back at some bad memories of when Mad Mod had invaded Titan's tower and put everyone to sleep with knockout gas. He shuddered as he remembered all the times he was woke up only to find himself covered in drool. “I know of your encounter with Mad Mod and I can assure you my hypno screen works differently than his. My device allows me to target specific memories and replace them where his was designed to completely empty your mind. This will only take a few moments and you will be free to leave once the process is complete.” They didn't move so Slade decided to encourage them. “Of course I won't make you go through with it but I'll just have to lock you up in here and make Gohan think you left. It's your choice really, but somehow I don't think you like it here that much.” They then walked over to the screen which quickly changed to a black and white swirl that continually spiraled around. They were quickly hypnotized and the screen went black. They recovered and turned around to find Slade was no longer in the room with them. Beast boy got the message and grabbed Terra's arm and started dragging her towards the entrance.

 

“What are you doing Beast boy? We can't leave here without Gohan. He's our friend.”

 

“Come on Terra we have to go. Gohan is staying here so we can leave; let's not make it a waste. Besides, once we get back to the tower we can help the others plan an escape for him.”

 

“I guess you're right. I just don't feel comfortable leaving him alone with Slade like this.”

 

“Don't worry about Gohan, he can take care of himself and besides, Slade took him to heal remember? It wouldn't make sense for him to start healing someone and then turn on them a minute later. Even I can see that.”

 

“Alright then let's go.” Terra and Beast boy then turned around and headed out the door. Once outside Terra summoned a boulder for them and they shot off towards the tower. Once they got there they went in and were greeted with a bone crushing hug courtesy of Starfire.

 

“Welcome back friends! Are you well after your encounters with Slade?”

 

“Yes Star we're fine. Now please let us go so we can breathe.” Beast boy managed to strain out even though his chest felt like it was caught in a vice grip. Starfire giggled in embarrassment and quickly let go.

 

“Where's Gohan? We lost contact with him a while ago.” Raven asked from the couch. Beast boy and Terra looked to the ground sadly.

 

“You'd better go and get Robin and Cyborg. We've got something to tell you guys.”

 

“What do y'all got to say?” Cyborg walked into the commons room followed by Robin.

 

“Where's Gohan, is he okay?” Robin asked.

 

“Yeah, he's healing right now but he's not coming back anytime soon though.”

 

“Why not Beast boy? Where is he?”

 

“He's working with Slade now.” Gasps could be heard around the room as the latest information sunk in.

 

“He didn't have a choice.” Terra said sadly. “It was the only way Slade was going to let us leave and he was beating on Gohan pretty badly. I'm surprised he didn't pass out from the pain he was going through.” Robin growled in anger.

 

“Blast you Slade! Blast you and your obsession with getting an apprentice! This is getting old!” He slammed his fist into a nearby wall, putting a hole in it.

 

“Actually, Slade doesn't want Gohan to be his apprentice. The reason he wants him is because Slade is his dad.” Everyone in the room looked like they were going to die when they heard that.

 

“That cannot be true! Gohan is much too good of a person to be parented by someone such as Slade. It must be a trick!” Beast boy shook his head.

 

“Gohan practically admitted it, but he didn't like it one bit though. We don't need to worry about him turning against us, but we need to find a way to get him out of there.”

 

“Agreed. We'll work on that once Cyborg and I find a way to help you two. Until then we'll just have to hope that Slade doesn't make us fight him. I don't think we could beat him.”

 

“I don't think we'll have to worry about that. With the beating Slade gave him Gohan's probably going to be out at least until tomorrow. By the way, I heard you talking to Gohan and saying something about erratic weather. Do we need to help anyone with that?” Terra asked, curious about the short conversation Gohan had with Robin earlier.

 

“No. Almost as soon as it went haywire it went back to normal. The Justice league is making sure everyone's alright so thankfully we can just stay here and focus on the problem at hand.” Hearing that seemed to take a load off everyone's shoulders as only Robin and Cyborg had heard about it.

 

“Why are you guys out here anyways? I thought you were working on something for Terra.” Raven asked, hiding her growing concern for Gohan. She didn't want to admit it, but she was growing rather fond of the Human/Saiyajin hybrid as he was the only one she could truly identify with.”

 

“Right, almost forgot. We've got an idea on what to do about those nanoprobes. We're gonna try using an EMP cannon to fry their circuits.”

 

“Not a bad idea.” Said Raven.

 

“Thanks for all your effort you guys. When I let Slade into your tower I thought you'd never trust me again. I'm so sorry for that.” She hung her head in shame. She felt a hand fall onto her shoulder and turned to see that it was Beast boy's.

 

“Don't worry about it Terra. We've long since forgiven you. Even Raven trusts you now and I think she still doesn't trust me.”

 

“Of course I don't trust you. You're always after someone with a prank and you always try to trick me into eating that tofu junk.”

 

“Are you making fun of the way I eat?”

 

“No I'm just telling you that you have bad taste in food.”

 

“You see what I have to put up with Terra? I think I'm the only one around here that likes tofu. You'll eat tofu won't you?” Terra stared at him for a moment before bursting out in a fit of laughter.

 

“You know you're cute when you pout like that.” She said in between laughs.

 

“Well at least someone around here appreciates my good looks.” Beast boy said. “Of course, Raven never shares anything with us so who knows, maybe she admires me too.” He said with a smirk.

 

“Oh yes, I can't take my eyes off your wonderful body.” Raven replied sarcastically while rolling her eyes.

 

“As much as Cyborg and I would love to stay here and watch you guys squabble, we've got work to do. If anyone needs us we'll be in my room.” With that Robin and Cyborg turned around and walked down the hall.

 

“Well guys, as much as I'd love to stay here and talk it's getting late and I'm tired. I think I'll get some sleep now. You coming Terra?”

 

“Yeah, I'm pretty tired too. You guys should get some sleep too. If we do have to fight Gohan tomorrow we're gonna need all the energy we can get.” Starfire and Raven both agreed and everyone went to their own respective rooms except for Star who decided to try and convince Robin and Cyborg to get some sleep as well. She walked up to Robin's room and saw that the door was already open. She walked in and saw that Robin and Cyborg were working at a table in the center of the room.

 

“We are all going to sleep and I believe you should do the same as we may have to fight Gohan tomorrow.” Cyborg and Robin looked at her and Cyborg looked at his right arm and yawned.

 

“Star's right Robin. It's midnight already and we need to sleep sometime. I think we should hit the sack for now and work some more tomorrow.”

 

“Umm where is this sack and why do you wish to hit it?” Cyborg and Robin stared at Star for a minute before bursting out in a fit of uncontrollable laughter. “Was it something I said?” She asked confused.

 

“Star, hitting the sack is an Earth term for going to bed.”

 

“I see. You humans have some strange ways of saying things. I guess I shall go and hit the sack now. Goodnight friends.”

 

“Good night Star.” Cyborg and Robin said in unison. Star turned and headed to her own room and Cyborg followed suit a few minutes later, leaving Robin alone in his room. He continued working on the EMP cannon for about half an hour before he also went to bed. He didn't bother with the security as Cyborg had already initiated lockdown before he went to his room. The next day everyone woke up at about eight and went down to the commons room to eat breakfast. As usual Beast boy and Cyborg fought over whether or not they would be eating tofu or real meat and of course Cyborg won.

 

“Come on Cyborg, let's get back to work on that EMP cannon.” Robin said as everyone finished eating. They both got up and were heading to Robin's room when their main screen started beeping. Robin ran over to it and started typing at the keyboard in front of it and when the screen turned on they saw something that none of them expected. The face on the screen was none other than Batman.

 

“What's wrong Bruce?” Robin instantly knew something was wrong because Batman never contacted him like this unless something was gravely wrong.

 

“I've got some video you might want to see. Uploading now.” A few seconds later a space view of Earth took the place of Batman's face. For a few seconds there was nothing but eventually a small speck could be seen approaching from Earth's atmosphere. The speck grew larger and larger until it could be seen that it was a rocket. The camera followed as the rocket flew past it and Robin was taken aback by what he saw. As the rocket passed by Robin could see the side of it and after about half the rocket had gone by a grey S could be seen on one of the panels. At that time Batman appeared on the screen again and spoke up.

 

“About five minutes after the rocket disappeared we received a transmission from it. Here it is.” This time Gohan's face filled up the screen and he didn't look too happy.

 

“Whoever is listening to this must listen carefully. This message must get to Robin ASAP. If you get this message Robin you must find a way to get to the planet Tamaran. Slade has decided to enslave the planet and use its warriors to overrun Earth. By the time you receive this message we may already be there but you must try and beat us to the punch. I've read up on the planet Tamaran and they have some very powerful warriors there and if Slade manages to gain control then it could spell disaster not only for Earth, but for the entire galaxy. I cannot stress the importance of you stopping us from executing this mission.” Gohan looked around for a second before looking back at the screen. “I can hear him coming so I have to make this quick. If you're listening to this I'm sorry Starfire. I tried to dissuade Slade from going but he said something about his robots being too weak to do anything. I just hope that Cell doesn't try anything while I'm away though I don't think he will.” Gohan looked off the screen for a second and looked back. “I've gotta go now so you guys had better get moving.” The transmission ended and Batman once again dominated the screen.

 

“We'd love to send a team to help you guys out but we're still helping people out from that weather disaster yesterday. We can lend you a ship if you need one though.”

 

“That would be good. Our ship isn't big enough for all of us so it would be very helpful.”

 

“Alright then it's done. I'll be down there within the hour.” The screen flickered off and everyone looked to Starfire to see her reaction to the latest news about her home planet. Surprisingly, she seemed rather calm about it.

 

“Are you going to be okay Star?” Robin asked. Even though she wasn't giving a large reaction on the outside, he feared Starfire was going to overstress herself by not saying anything.

 

“I will be fine friend Robin. I just hope we can reach my home planet in time. I have been hoping to show it to you all and it seems that I will be able to. I can only hope that we can stop Slade from committing this horrible atrocity against my people.”

 

“Even if he does manage to enslave your people, we'll stop him Star, just like we always do.”

 

“I hope so Robin. I truly hope so.”

 

Before I say anything else I must say that I don't own Batman or the Justice League. Not sure if I'll be bringing any of them into the story but I just might. Who knows? I bet no one would have guessed that Slade would end up being Kakarrot. I'm not so sure if doing that was a good idea but if it was tell me so I can sleep peacefully at night. BTW, as I write the next chapter of this story I will also be trying to write the next chapter of my other story, Internal Darkness as I have been neglecting it for this story. Hopefully I'll be able to get one or both chapters out in a reasonable amount of time.