Chapter Text
Cyborg's POV
The Tower was quiet, almost too quiet.
Cyborg sat hunched over his latest upgrade on the common room couch, half of his arm plating spread across the table like an autopsy. Sparks flickered from his welding torch, throwing quick flashes of light across the glass windows that overlooked Jump City. Beast Boy was sprawled upside-down on the opposite sofa, handheld console clutched in his fingers, muttering curses when his pixelated character took another hit.
“You ever play something quiet?” Cyborg grumbled without looking up.
“Quiet’s boring,” Beast Boy shot back, not taking his eyes off the screen. “Besides, you’re just mad ‘cause you know you’d lose.”
“Lose? To you? Boy, please—”
The tower alarm shrieked, drowning out the argument.
A red glow washed over the walls, followed by Robin’s voice sharp through the comms. “Titans, assemble. Distress call coming from the east docks.”
Beast Boy flipped upright in an instant, game forgotten. “Guess we’ll settle that later.”
“Uh-huh,” Cyborg muttered, snapping his arm panel shut. “And I’ll still win.”
They met Robin, Raven, and Starfire at the operations console. Robin’s eyes were already locked on the glowing screen. A blip moved across the map of Jump City’s harbor.“Unknown hostile,” Robin said briskly. “Reports say he’s armed with alien tech. Civilians evacuated, but the dock’s still crawling with workers who didn’t get out in time. We contain him fast.”
“Alien tech?” Starfire’s voice rang with concern. She leaned closer, her long hair catching the red emergency glow. “Do we know from which system?”
Robin shook his head. “Doesn’t matter. If it’s alien and it’s dangerous, it goes down.”
“Or we could… I don’t know,” Beast Boy suggested, scratching the back of his neck, “try talking first?”
Robin’s jaw set. “He’s already injured three people.”
“That’s a no,” Raven deadpanned, floating closer, her cloak sweeping the floor.
“Titans—go!” Robin barked.
Robin's POV
The air reeked of salt and gasoline, the docks looming like skeletons against the night sky. Floodlights spilled yellow-white circles across the concrete, catching glimpses of rusted cranes and stacked shipping containers.
Robin landed first, bo-staff in hand. His boots echoed across the empty stretch, his pulse sharp with anticipation. Behind him, Starfire touched down in a gentle flare of green, her eyes glowing with determination. Cyborg’s metallic feet hit the ground like drumbeats, Beast Boy morphed into a hawk to take to the air, and Raven drifted down without a sound.
The enemy stepped out from behind a stack of crates. The mask was unmistakable, orange and black, one eye burning like coal. Slade’s armor gleamed beneath the floodlights, polished yet battle-worn, gauntlets glowing with vials of poisonous green fluid. Tubes ran from the gauntlets into his chest plate, feeding the venom like veins.
Robin’s blood went cold.
“Slade.”
The mercenary’s voice carried across the docks, low and cruel. “Children playing heroes. How quaint.” His single eye glinted toward Starfire. “And look at you. Radiant as ever. Tamaranian blood always fetches such interesting results.”
Robin’s grip tightened on his staff. “Stand down! Drop the weapons, and no one gets hurt.”
Slade laughed, a sound like gravel grinding together. “Oh, Robin. Someone’s getting hurt tonight. The only question is… which one of you?” He raised his gauntlet. The vials pulsed, glowing brighter.
Robin’s voice cut like a blade. “Titans — move!”
Beast Boy's POV
“Finally,” Beast Boy muttered, wings beating as he launched himself forward in hawk form. “I was getting bored.”
He dove fast, talons scraping across Slade’s helmet. Sparks flew as metal clashed with metal. Slade staggered back a step, swinging his gauntlet wide. A dart hissed past Beast Boy’s wing, narrowly missing.
“Whoa! Toxic needles?!” Beast Boy squawked, pulling up into the sky. “Heads up, dudes, he’s shooting alien hypodermics!”
“Noted,” Raven said flatly, dark energy swirling around her hands. “Stay focused.”
“Easy for you to say!” Beast Boy screeched, morphing into a rhino mid-dive and slamming into a stack of crates instead of Slade. Wood splintered. “Okay, noted—”
“Beast Boy!” Robin snapped. “Control yourself!”
Cyborg's POV
Cyborg’s cannon whirred, the familiar charge building in his chest. “Time to clip his wings.”
He aimed and fired. A blue beam seared through the nearest shipping crate, the explosion rocking the dock. Shrapnel clattered across the ground as Slade rolled clear, one vial cracking against the concrete and leaking green liquid that hissed like acid.
Slade’s eye flickered toward Cyborg, unreadable behind the mask. “Always hiding behind your toys.”
“Better toys than whatever chemical soup you’re cooking up!” Cyborg shot back, charging again. “Robin, flank him left!”
Robin's POV
Robin sprinted, staff spinning in controlled arcs. Every muscle knew the rhythm of battle, but tonight his mind was sharper than usual, keyed into every sound. Starfire’s bolts behind him, Beast Boy’s growls as he turned into a lion, the hum of Raven’s power, the whir of Cyborg’s cannon.
Slade turned, gauntlet firing. Robin ducked, rolled, and jabbed the staff against Slade’s knee joint. Sparks flew, but Slade barely staggered.
“Titans, keep pressure on him!” Robin barked.
Slade’s voice was calm, mocking, as if he wasn’t fighting for his life. “You always did rely on them, Robin. A leader who can’t protect his own.”
Robin’s heart hammered. “Shut up.”
Starfire's POV
Her chest burned with battle-fire, but Starfire’s voice was steady. “With pleasure!”
She raised her hands, launching twin starbolts. The light reflected against the harbor water, painting green fire across the waves. The bolts struck true, slamming into Slade’s chest plate and forcing him backward into a stack of crates.
Slade roared, gauntlets sparking, poison sloshing inside the vials like waves. His mask tilted up, eye locking on her.
“Ah. The heart of the team,” he murmured. He raised his gauntlet.
Starfire took aim again and froze when a dart buried itself in her side. Her mouth opened in shock. She looked down. The green glow pulsed through the shaft of the dart, veins of poison already seeping outward.
“Friends,” she whispered, eyes slightly closing. “I… do not feel well.”
Her starbolt sputtered out before it left her palm.
Robin's POV
“Star!” Robin’s scream tore through the air, raw and panicked. He was running before he realized it, staff forgotten, arms reaching. She stumbled, her flight flickering, and he caught her before she hit the ground. Her skin was pale, her breath ragged. The dart glowed like it was alive.
Slade’s eye gleamed as he lowered his gauntlet. “One strike. That’s all it takes.”
“Poison.” Raven’s voice said coolly, though Robin barely heard her.
“Star!” Robin snapped. “She needs help. Now!”
“I’m on it!” Cyborg rushed forward, scanners already flashing.
Starfire weakly tried to sit up. “Truly… it is nothing. I can fight—”
“No.” Robin’s grip tightened, holding her against his chest. “You’re done. Don’t move. I’ll get you safe.”
Her eyes fluttered, glowing faintly. “Please, Robin—”
“Don’t talk.” His voice cracked. “Just stay with me.”
Cyborg crouched, reaching for the dart. “Let me see her, I need to extract—”
“I’ve got her,” Robin barked, shifting her closer.
“You don’t,” Cyborg snapped back, scanners buzzing. “This toxin’s burning through her system. We have to move now.”
Robin’s teeth clenched so hard his jaw hurt. He didn’t want to let go, didn’t want anyone else touching her. Cyborg’s eyes burned steady, certain. “Fine,” Robin muttered, standing with Starfire still in his arms. “Titans, fall back!”
Slade didn’t move to chase them. He only tilted his head as Robin ran, voice echoing after them. “Protect her all you like, Robin. You can’t protect her from me.”
Raven's POV
They left Slade behind, his laughter curling across the water like smoke. Raven floated silently, her shadows coiling around Starfire to slow the spread of the poison. She said nothing, but inside, she felt it, the jagged burn threading through Starfire’s veins.
Robin’s desperation throbbed louder. Possessive. Protective. Afraid.
Raven’s mouth tightened. If the poison didn’t kill Starfire, Robin’s fear might destroy them all first.