Fan Fiction ❯ Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You ❯ When Perfect Plans Collide ( Chapter 15 )

Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You

 

Chapter Fifteen

“When Perfect Plans Collide”

 

A/N: Dude! A HUGE thank you to everyone who reviewed! You people are amazing; and I'm going to work extra hard to make this story great. Now I'll answer a couple of quick questions I was asked.

 

IllegalDayNightSnappingIguana; actually no I never have read the comics. I've looked for them at comic shops before; but I've never been able to find them. Odds are if I ever do I'll wind up buying `em though.

 

scathac's warrior; Yeah, Grant did die. The HIVE gave him the same drugs that Slade used in the military specifically so that he'd take the contract on the Titans; and they wanted him to fail. It was all part of their plan to make Slade go after the Titans. I had to change the timeline of events from the original comic in order to make it work with this story, but I figured I could get away with it since it's fanfiction; and since none of it happened in the cartoon anyway.

As for the rest of you who reviewed; thank you again. The feedback so far has been amazing and I really wish I had some way of thanking you that was better than just saying “thank you” repeatedly. I know! I'll thank you all by shutting my trap and starting the story now. ^_-

 

Oh, thanks to eventidespirit too, who added this story to a C2! Mucho gracias, mi amigo. -blinks- Why am I Spanish all of the sudden?

 

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The Titans were still in bed, and still waiting. Everyone had grown more restless; which was far from being a good thing. Robin's flawless performance was suffering; not really, because he was losing patience with the waiting; but because Beast Boy's fake snoring was irritating. Raven's meditation had long since been broken and she was tossing and turning in her “sleep” quite a bit. Her emotions would not be satisfied until this thing was over, and if it lasted much longer, she might be an even bigger giveaway than Beast Boy.

Cyborg was no longer asleep. He was awake, and just as annoyed as everyone else was. He was tempted to just sit up and ask the others if they wanted to rethink the plan and go after Trigon and Slade themselves; but it was far too late for that - and there was still the chance that their enemies would play into their hands and walk in any minute. The plan was still a good one; it was just an annoying one.

 

Starfire was now “sleeping” with her face buried in her pillows. None of the others knew if this was to keep her from blinking, to keep her from speaking, or if it was just more of Starfire's trademark weirdness. Whatever the reason, she was being quiet and could almost pass for being asleep; which was something. Of course, Beast Boy was still the worst. He was tossing and turning more than any person could, even if they were asleep and having some kind of wild dream. His snoring was too loud, too fast and too obnoxious to be believable in the least and everyone else suspected he was doing it partially on purpose just to kill time.

 

All of them expected someone to sit up and say, “That's it!” since everyone was one their last nerve. None of them did, however. They all stuck to the plan. Perhaps not as well as they needed too; but they were still trying.

 

That is when it happened. There was a loud sound heard from the tunnel's exit and everyone froze. Everyone was perfectly still and perfectly quiet. Someone was coming in. It was time. As impatient as they had been, as badly as some of them had been faking it - that had all changed. Everyone did what they needed to do to be ready and for a moment; a single, brilliant moment none of them doubted the plan in the slightest.

 

It did not take long for Trigon to appear. He squeezed his way through the tunnel and wormed his way out of the entrance. He was in the room now and the Titans could all hear him. Now they simply had to wait for Robin's signal - which would be the same signal it had always been. Then they would strike and destroy Trigon once and forever; or at least that was the plan.

 

Trigon walked across the room, his own plan in mind, and stopped at the foot of Raven's bed. He looked down at the apparently sleeping body of his daughter and he smiled down at her; his mouth was open in that smile and his teeth were wet with anticipation.

 

“Time to die, my beloved Raven.” Trigon whispered; although he kept his voice loud enough that, all of the Titans could hear him. That was enough for Robin; he knew where Trigon was without opening his eyes and it was time; no one could doubt that now.

“Titan's Go!”

 

Things happened faster than anyone realized. Before he had even finished speaking the words, or opening his eyes, Robin was jumping out of bed and aiming a blast from his bo-staff at Trigon; but Trigon had been waiting for this. The demon curved in time and blocked the staff with one of his massive arms; which caused Robin to rocket backwards into his bed. Trigon's eyes flashed with deadly rainbow-colored lights; but Raven had not been sitting idly. Her anxious emotions had been a blessing after all, since was now aware of what was going on and was able to fire her own mental powers.

 

“No!”

Raven screamed, her powers flew from her hands. The timing was close; but it was enough. Raven's powers were quick enough to knock her father's head to the side. This caused his deadly blast to miss Robin completely; although it did tear a hole in the wall beside his bed and cause an explosion. Chaos had taken over the room. None of the Titans were in their beds and no one was sure who was winning the fight, or how the perfect trap had become just as screwed up as all of the other traps laid out in the past.

 

Trigon would attack, and the Titans would avoid. The Titans, who outnumbered him five to one, would attack; and Trigon would either block it or be unaffected. Beast Boy had delivered a powerful blow to one of the demon's legs in the form of a dog bite - but Trigon did not even take notice. Cyborg had fired his arm cannon; but somehow Trigon wound up on the other side of the room while Cyborg's blast destroyed a bird-a-rang that had been meant for the same target.

 

Not that Trigon's luck was much better. He would launch lasers from his eyes, hurl balls of flame from his fist, kick, smash, punch and break everything he could; but somehow the Titans managed to keep themselves from ever being seriously injured by his attacks. Starfire caught a painful punch to the gut; but she was away from him and returning the favor with a starbolt before Trigon could do any serious damage.

 

The confusion was incredibly; and that was what Slade had wanted. Already Slade and Grant had disposed of the guards quickly and quietly. Grant was an expert with guns and his silenced sidearm had been enough to dispatch the unsuspecting Tamaranian forces. Not all of them had succumbed to the quick, unprovoked firing; but Slade had struck down the two who had noticed before they could sound any alarm or fight back in any way.

 

Now Slade and Grant had arrived down the secondary secret passageway, made their way from the underground throne to the underground sleeping room and were waiting at the door.

“Which is the one I'm allowed to kill?” Grant asked, his eyes trying to follow the confusing conflict unraveling before him. (Trigon had just knocked Beast Boy into a wall; which prompted a very powerful blast from Raven.)

 

“Cyborg. He's half metal, you can't miss him.” Slade responded as his single eye swished from side to side following the conflict. “I suggest you use hand to hand; or that sword of yours. We don't want the others catching any stray bullets.”

 

“You take all the fun out of my job.” Grant complained. “Just let him survive too; I'll be around to finish him off later.”

 

Grant reached up to his back and drew his sword. He was no longer dressed like a civilian. His uniform was not unlike his father's, although it was much flashier. The blue and orange made him look almost as ridiculous as some of the second-rate superheroes at the Justice League. The mask looked almost like Batman's, only it was bright blue like the rest of his outfit. None of it really mattered though, since he had a large sword holstered on his back, and when you have a large sword, it does not matter what you wear.

 

The battle was still ensuing, and still no one could be sure who was winning. Trigon and the Titans were all taking more hits; but rather than slowing down it only prompted the combat to speed up. No one was willing to lose this battle and the worst the injury the quicker the recover and the harder the payback. That is when Slade and Grant struck.

 

Robin had been behind Trigon, he had just successfully struck the demon with a disc that froze whatever it hit upon explosion. The demon's backside was now coated in ice and it was defiantly not, what Trigon would have chosen to have happen. Before Robin could act again, however, Slade had an arm around his throat squeezing him from behind and cutting off his ability to breath or call for help. The one-eyed mercenary began whispering into the boy wonder's ear.

 

“When are you going to realize you can't win, Richard my boy?” Slade taunted. Robin fought with all his might to break Slade's grip on him; but to no avail. “Relax, if I wanted you dead you'd be dead. It's been that way since our first encounter, and it will remain that way until our final meeting. I just want you to remember that I am better than you in every way and that will never change. One last thing, before you pass out - thank you for betraying me Robin; I don't know what I'd have done if I'd been stuck with you as an apprentice.”

 

Robin did not hear another word. Neither his lungs nor his brain could receive oxygen being held like this, and despite a valiant effort, he passed out. Slade picked up the unconscious teenager and tossed him off to the side. Robin's body landed on the floor with a thud and he was defeated.

 

The others had been busy during Slade's latest of many confrontations with Robin. Trigon had continued his sparring with Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg; while Grant and Starfire had found they preferred one-on-one with each other to the group scene.

 

Starfire had done her best; her starbolts had been filled with fury and passion, he punches had been strong and many, and her dodging skills were impeccable. Grant was the better fighter, though, and he proved it. Whenever Starfire would hurl a Starbolt; Grant would dodge it or bat it away with his sword. Whenever Starfire's eyebeams were fired at him, Grant would avoid them. When she realized she could not beat him at a distance she made the worst mistake she could have made - she went for close combat.

 

She threw a perfect punch; if it had connected with Grant's face it would have beaten him, perhaps even killed him. It did not connect with Grant's face, however - it connected with the edge of his sword exactly like the Ravager had planned. Starfire screamed as her skin was split and she went backwards - that is when the son-of-Slade switched from defense to offense. He leapt forward with a speed that made his father's look unimpressive and he began to beat Starfire. Repeatedly his fist connected with her stomach and she simply was not fast enough to stop him. Grant had dropped his sword by now and was focusing only on beating Starfire to death.

 

Slade picked the sword up, and then beat Grant in the side of the face with it. It had been the sword's flat side so that his son would survive; but it got the point across since it knocked the Ravager onto the floor. Starfire also fell on the floor, curled up in a ball.

“I told you not to kill them, Grant. I thought you wanted to prove you were better than me; not piss me off.” Slade spat coldly.

 

This was the lucky break for the Titans. Grant could not stand for abuse like this from Slade. He would never allow that. He was back on his feet in an instant and he was attack again - but this time his father was his target.

 

Grant's was stronger than his father, and he was a better fighter too. Unfortunately for Grant, he was too much better. His insanity and his zeal to prove how superior he really was had destroyed any advantage he could have had. What Slade lacked in physical strength and speed he made up for with a calm, clear head. It all boiled down to one simple fact. Slade was not insane; he was just evil. Grant on the other hand was utterly unstable.

 

That is why the fight was close, but in the end, Slade was the victory. They had both taken hits; but Slade had finally ended it quickly by driving his fist into his son's throat and following that up with a knee to the groin. It had suspended Grant's attacks long enough for Slade to knock him unconscious and throw his body over one shoulder.

 

Unfortunately, this was a huge setback in Slade's “perfect” plan. Trigon had still been in battle with Raven, Beast Boy and Cyborg and Raven's patience had long-since run out. Raven and Trigon had locked their mental powers together and began focusing on one another more than anything else. This had given Cyborg and Beast Boy the opportunity to deliver blow after blow upon the demon's body without him taking any notice.

Slade stopped to watch for a moment. He was tempted to let Trigon lose this battle - which he would. Trigon's body would break if he did not turn from Raven; and the second he turned from Raven she could focus her powers on his inner-soul and destroy him. On the other hand, if he did not turn away the other titans would eventually destroy his body and Raven would be able to overpower Trigon mentally and destroy his soul-self anyway. Either way this would be Trigon's final battle if Slade did not step in.

 

Slade was tempted, he wanted Trigon dead and this was an easy way to get what he wanted. Still, Slade was too smart to do things the easy way. Instead, he reached up to the unconscious form of Grant and pulled a canister from his belt. Then Slade pulled the pin and rolled across the ground so it ended up between Trigon's legs and came to a stop at Raven's feet. Beast Boy and Cyborg both gasped, realizing what it was. Cyborg and Beast Boy wasted no time in pulling Raven away from the grenade; which broke her mental connection to Trigon.

 

“Trigon! We're leaving, hurry up!”

Trigon was not aware of what had been going on since he locked minds with Raven, but the pain surging through his body from Beast Boy and Cyborg's repeated assaults was enough to make him agree with Slade. He ran to where Slade stood with the unconscious body of Grant still over his shoulder and a moment later, the three disappeared in a flash of flames.

 

Cyborg and Beast Boy stood panting, each holding onto one of Raven's arms. Raven was leaning against the wall and using them for support as well. They were all wiped out from the battle and all of them were thankful for the departure of the villains. None of them could be quite sure as to what had happened, but after a few minutes, Raven managed to lift her head and curse very loudly.

 

“Whoa, what was that about?” Cyborg asked when Raven's profane speech had ended.

 

“The grenade was a dud.” Raven pointed out, and it was Beast Boy and Cyborg's turn to stare and swear.

 

“And our plan has backfired.” Starfire was still a wreck, but she was also still strong. The others had not seen how bad things were and all three of them gasped and hurried to her side. Raven had to float over to the redhead, who was struggling to sit up on her side, and when she got there, she had to fall on her knees at the other girl's side. Beast Boy and Cyborg bent over the two looking worried.

 

“How bad is it?” Raven asked.

 

“The pain is sever, but I will be alright.” Starfire reassured her. Then Starfire's eyes, which had been only half-open until now, widened to their full size. She counted only three friends around her; and that was wrong. “Where is Robin!?”

 

All of the Titans began a frantic search; although it was so short the only real searching was a matter of eyes flashing around the room and heads jerking in every direction before the boy wonder's limp form was identified in the corner where Slade had left it. Starfire tried to get up, but Raven flat out refused to let her and pushed her back down.

 

Instead, Cyborg hurried over to the unconscious body and bent down to check his vitals, although a moment later he quickly stepped backwards. Robin's eyes were still closed, but his mouth was open and he was now coughing - waking up. It took a while, but Robin's unsightly combination of coughing and struggling to sit up finally ended with the boy-wonder propping himself up against one of the half-destroyed beds and breathing heavily. When his eyes finally opened, he kept them pointed at the ground, rather than turning them to his friends.

“Did we all make it?” He asked quietly.

 

“Yeah.” Raven responded.

 

“I'm here.” Beast Boy chimed in.

 

“Still standing.” Cyborg added.

 

“Robin you had me so worried when you would not awaken; I am so happy to see that you are not hurt but we must get healers now or I fear the damage will become -”

 

“Starfire.” Robin cut her off, and she fell silent. “A simple `I'm okay' would have done just fine.”

 

As they were prone to do from time to time, all five Teen Titans began to laugh. They all enjoyed the laughter, and let it go on as long as they could.

 

Because they knew it would probably be their last group laugh for a while.

 

When the laughter finally did die away, it was replaced by silence. At length Robin broke that silence.

 

“I'm sure we've all got the same things going on in our heads.” He said. “They beat us today. We aren't safe anywhere in this castle. Our plan backfired. Who was the other guy with them? The King and Queen won't be happy; and neither will Bruce or Galfore.”

 

“Gee, you're even more cheerful than I am for a change; kudos Robin.” Raven replied.

 

Robin looked up this time. He looked into the eyes of his friends and there was not a trace of depression, despair or discouragement in his eyes. If anything, he looked pleased. He wore a tiny little smirk on his lips and there was a passion burning behind his eyes. “We lost today; but that's okay. Forget how bad things look now and remember this: We are not going to lose in the end. They could have killed us; but they didn't. They wanted us humiliated, wallowing in our self-doubts and pity. Well I'm not giving them what they want. I won't lie; I don't know how this will end. We could win, we may all die. But I do know this; I won't stop. I won't be beaten. I won't give up hope until I'm dead; because I'm fighting for what's right. I'm fighting for all of you. That's why I'm not letting today get me down.”

 

No one responded to what Robin said; but they all smiled. None of them really knew when the end was, or what the outcome would be. Because Robin was right; he was fighting for them and each of the Titans could honestly say in their hearts that they were fighting for the others too. The reasons may be different for some; and that was hardly the only reason they were fighting - but that was all just details. The bottom line was clear.

 

The villains should have finished them off when they had the chance; because the Teen Titans were not giving up. Not now, not ever.

 

“Dude.” Beast Boy chimed in suddenly, breaking the silence and causing all eyes to shift onto his green person. “That sounds great and all, and I'm totally for fighting to the end; but like Star said, can we call the healers?”

 

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“Some plan.” Trigon growled, his fury rising as he paced back and forth throughout the caverns the villains had recently taken to using as a hideout. They moved their base of operations frequently for safety sake; although none of them expected to see the Titans recovering from their most recent beating anytime soon.

 

“The plan was to humiliate the Titans and prove our superiority; it worked perfectly.” Slade responded bitterly. “You're only upset because you were injured; which is your own fault.”

 

Trigon narrowed all four of his eyes in a menacing way, but he did not respond to the claims verbally. Instead, the dark ruler turned and looked down at the stony floor where Grant still lay unconscious. Slade had shown no mercy to his son and had not bothered to clean or treat his injuries in the slightest. Then Trigon made his next verbal move.

 

“If he hadn't turned against you in the battle things would have gone much better; and it was your idea to bring him along. You assured me he would not be a problem, Slade.”

 

“No.” Slade responded at once with a devious tone to his voice. “I told you my son hated me and would do anything to prove he was better than me. I told you he would probably work for us only for the chance to show me up. You took false assurances in thinking he would only attack our enemies.”

 

Trigon roared out in anger and turned around with a glaring growl. It was obvious that the demon was restraining himself from attacking Slade; but Slade did not blink. The one-eyed mercenary continued to stand strong, proud and tall without the slightest sign of remorse or fear.

 

“Well, what now?” Trigon asked at length when his temper was finally under control. “Do you have any more brilliant, perfect plans?”

 

“Of course.” Slade replied arrogantly. The smug smirk that had been plastered to Trigon's face was suddenly turned upside down; he had obviously expected another answer.

 

“What is it then?” Trigon asked, caution in his voice.

 

“The Tamaranian's are a warrior culture. They have a lot of primitive beliefs and belief systems; but one in particular caught my eye.” Slade responded with a child-like glee in his voice. Perhaps it was from what he was explaining, or from the fact, he was making Trigon wait to hear it. Either way he was enjoying it. “There's an old cult here on the planet that worships an idol called K'monte. The cult was harmless for a while; but recently it got a new leader. He's been rounding up slaves to dig for some ancient relic. Here's the fun part; anyone who they recruit as a slave who tries to escape, or refuses to dig, is used as a live sacrifice to K'monte. From what I've heard this cult is almost as deranged and sick as some of the ones that worship you.”

 

Trigon was starting to see where Slade was going with this, but there was something missing. “You want to use this cult against the Titans somehow?”

 

“Indeed. It just so happens that the cult's new leader; the insanely sick one, is one of the head royal healers up at the castle. I daresay the Titans will be back under the care of the healers after that last battle.”

Trigon suddenly understood. His eyes widened in a combination of twisted pleasure and newfound respect for Slade Wilson. The last plan may have been perfect; but this was sheer genius. There was a small problem, however.

“How do we get in contact with these cultists?” Trigon asked.

 

“As usual, I'm ahead of you.” Slade replied. “Please step forward, High Priest Vladim'r.”

 

Footsteps echoed in the cavern and Trigon turned his head to the right. Of course, he had sensed lifeforms in the deep darkness of the catacombs; but he had chalked it up to wild animals. It was not a wild animal that stepped forward though; but a Tamaranian man. He was not much as far as Tamaranian's went. He was built more like an average human being. His hair was red and long, pulled back into a ponytail. He had small scarlet goatee. Instead of traditional warrior garb, he wore a white robe with a large green banister down the front - the symbol of a Royal Healer.

 

“Trigon the Terrible, this is Vladim'r, High Priest of the Cult of K'monte; or as it's more affectionately known on this planet; the Cult of Everlasting Pain.”

 

Vladim'r bent down low. “Master Slade and I have already spoken. I was to be the backup plan in the off chance your attempt was unsuccessful. I have checked, and if the Titans are placed under my care, my follows and I can take two of them to our temple. When we get them there I assure you they will be given only one choice; dig or die.”

 

Trigon's face twisted into amusement. He was an expert when it came to deranged cultists, as cults all over the universe worshiped the tyrant. In fact, Raven's mother had been a cultist from Earth. “Once again Slade you've proven to be more useful than any other human I've ever met.”

 

“You approve of the plan, then?” Slade could not help but rub it in a little with his sarcasm in the statement.

 

“Yes.” Trigon snapped back curtly, deciding to overlook the sarcasm that dripped from Slade's voice. “I have only question left.”

 

“What is it, Master Trigon?” Vladim'r asked with a tiny smile tugging at his lips; it looked like he would be getting a new set of slaves.

 

“You said you could only take two of the Titans.” Trigon confirmed. “So which ones are you taking?”

 

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A/N: Hmm. Trigon's asking a good question; unfortunately you'll have to wait till chapter sixteen for the answer. Don't worry though; I've already got chapter sixteen AND seventeen planned out in detail. I just need to write them and you'll get two updates in the very near future.

Until then, thanks for reading, reviews would be cool, and remember: expect the unexpected.

 

-Golden-sama