A/N: Great thanks to all of those who reviewed the chapter before this…and I thought only Jayman cared…and yes LRR, the rest are gone for good.

Disclaimer: As a great man, ranting and raving on a New York street corner once said to me…

"Repent! I tell you now. Repent and be afraid for the Raccoon Ragnarok is nigh! Do not be apathetic to the deliverance at hand. Throw yourselves before the streetlamps of forgiveness and lay prostrate in prayer for absolution! Leave all your worldly possessions behind and own nothing. All ages, from Teen to the very old must look forward to this day of Titans with reverence and fear!

Truer words were never spoken. I am still indebted to this man.

Robin stared into Slade's one visible eye with a look that could scare a heavyweight boxer. Slade had Raven in his grip, one hand over her mouth the other, holding a rather large, and very sharp looking knife to her throat.

"Let her go Slade." Robin couldn't keep the intense hatred from his voice.

"Oh, but Robin where's the fun in that?" Slade said, almost really asking the question.

"Let her go you son-of-a-bitch and I might not kill you."

"Robin, such language! And I suppose I'll just tell you my whole plan while I'm at it right?" Slade was laughing at him now.

Robin was still standing outside the doorframe, not having moved after laying eyes on his most hated nemesis with a hostage. Raven's eyes were moving franticly from one side to the other, and then back to Robin franticly looking for a way out, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Come in Robin, and we'll discuss the terms of your surrender." Robin could tell Slade was enjoying his position of power from the tone of his voice.

Robin took one step forward and knew that what Raven was trying to warn him about the two men, on either side of the door that were waiting in ambush.

Robin threw all his skill in a back flip and could feel the bullets passing simultaneously, millimeters from his face. Each bullet struck one unintended target, each of which was dead before they knew what had happened.

Robin recovered and ran at Slade, blood lust in his eyes, only stooping when the knife was pressed in a little, causing a trickle of blood to come from Raven's neck, her eyes now shut tight.

"Ah, ah, ah, ah Robin. If you come much closer and your little bird may have a big accident, and that would be such a shame."

"If anything happens to her, I'll make sure you suffer to your last breath!"

"Now, now Robin, I'm sure we can come to some sort of arrangement. I know what you've been doing, don't ask how, all you need to know is I'm very good at tacking people. You give all of that to me and I'll give you your precious Raven."

Robin saw no choice; Slade had him right where he wanted them. There was no way he could disarm Slade before he did his damage, and Robin wasn't going to lose any more friends.

"Alright," Robin took of the backpack and pulled out a very thick manila envelope, filled with all his evidence, including the tapes. "Here it is." Robin threw the envelope at Slade's feet.

Slade pushed Raven out of his grasp and she fell into Robin's arms, who embraced her. Slade picked up the envelope and Robin could tell he was smirking underneath his mask.

"Robin you can't possibly defeat me in combat so what keeps me from kill both of you right now?" Slade said with acid in his voice.

"The flash-bang in the package." Robin replied coolly as he held up a detonator and pressed the button.

As he did that Robin pulled Raven around and they both covered their eyes. Raven had no earplugs like Robin and became momentarily deaf.

Robin rushed forward to press his advantage against a superior opponent. Robin was only affected for a few seconds and was engaged in combat with him be for Robin could get there.

Robin opened with a left kick, which was parried away from Slade; Robin used the momentum to throw a punch to Slade's face. Slade forced the punch away and came in close to strike Robin in the neck but Robin jumped backwards and squared off his stance as Slade recovered and did the same.

Robin drew a staff and charged headlong at Slade. He swung the staff horizontally at Slade's head from the right but before Slade could make contact with his block the staff was retracted slightly and angled down, passing it in front of Slade and using the switched position end to knock Slade's feet out from under him.

Robin brought the staff down one more time and landed a blow on Slade's chest before he backed off.

Slade got up, even angrier than before. 'How dare that little bastard bird come here and try to take me down, me!' Slade readied himself for round two.

This time Slade made the first move and came at Robin. He brought down both fists with enough force to crush Robin's skull but was evaded and struck by the staff in the side. He continued the assault on Robin, punches and kicks flying.

For every blow Robin landed, five were sent at him, and two got through, they were only a few minuets into the fight and Robin was already taking a beating. He attempted to stop Slade's attacks with a strike to his head.

"Too slow Robin!" Slade dogged Robin's attack and putting his leg behind Robin, pushed him down. He grabbed the staff as Robin rolled away from him and braced it against the ground, and then he kicked it into two jagged pieces and threw the pieces as hard as he could. One went into the corner of the room, and one put a very large crack in the large window just behind Robin.

"Now, look at what you made me do Robin." Slade said sarcastically to the heavily panting boy wonder. "I'm about to give you the bill." Slade started to walk forward.

---

Raven watched as the two men entered into intense combat. At first it looked as if Robin was winning, but Slade was inhuman as he took every bit of punishment Robin could give out only to return it ten fold.

Raven could tell Robin was tiring from all the abuse he was taking. Slade was faster and stronger than ever before, they had been equals once, but Slade was now dominating the fight and seemingly not even breaking much of sweat doing it.

Raven so desperately wanted to help but her powers we useless in this room, she had tried but Slade had only laughed, and while waiting for Robin, tied to a chair she could see engraved on the walls all sorts of runes and symbols. Every protective and negating one she had ever seen and a few new ones. They completely shut down her powers.

She just ran about the room, staying as far away from the battle as possible as not to become a liability again. She backed into a corner as the scene unfolded and barely ducked in time as a sharp piece of metal came flying at her and embedded itself in the wall.

---

Robin was tired, tired of running, tired of hiding, but most of all he was tired of having the shit beat out of him, that was never part of the plan, but as a Titan, it was par for the course.

Robin regained his breath. He took a step back and put up another stance. Slade was still just walking towards him, his hands behind his back, almost as if he were taking a leisurely stroll.

He stopped a few yards away, saying nothing.

Robin summoned up all his reserve strength; this was it, the defining moment of his life. He would not fail his friends, his team, and his mentor.

"Come on, mother fucker. Let's get this party started."

"Someone really aught to teach you some manners Robin, but… as you wish!" Slade ended charging at Robin.

Slade remembered all the training he had under taken in the last year, traveling all over the world, looking for the most skilled martial artist and learning their most powerful attacks, and then relishing in the look of horror on their faces when he killed them with their own techniques.

How he and his partner had strong-armed his way into control of many weapons markets, the ones they didn't already dominate anyway. How they'd gone to the future president and made his campaign, giving him unlimited resources, tarnishing his opponent with rumors and conjecture, paying off every gang, and every syndicate to make sure votes went his way.

Slade would have his prize, he wasn't going to let some punk teenager with some fighting skills stop him, he was going to pound the little bastard until there was nothing left but pulp. Then he'd do the same to Raven, maybe allowing himself a few luxuries first.

Slade was bearing down on Robin, who had not changed his stance; he grabbed out to throttle him and realized his mistake too late.

'No! I've seen that stance before!' Was all Slade thought as he did exactly what Robin wanted him to do.

Everything was in place, the guards, the evidence, the fight had gone in perfect accordance with the plan, Robin knew how Slade would react to every move he made, he was driving him right to where he was, Robin knew he alone couldn't beat Slade in hand to hand combat.

Now that Raven was in place, he wouldn't have too.

As Slade attempted to grab him, Robin counter forcing away Slade's arms with his and taking a hold of Slade, he kicked his right leg into Slade's stomach and rolled onto his back.

Slade was fling upside down through the air, right for the now very easily broken window, his doing. The whole fight had been staged; he had acted from them like a puppet only he was too blind to see it. The he saw the culmination of their plan, Raven had come up slowly behind him and was now about to spear him in the chest with as much force as she could muster.

'Well played.'

The broken end of the staff hurtled into Slade's chest, and doubled the force with which he exploded through the window. Slade made no noise as he fell the 38 stories to the street below.

"Well played Raven, nice work." Robin said looking over to her as he stood up, only to find her lying on the ground, a pool of blood gathering around her head.

That's when things got worse.

Robin felt an extremely intense pain that took his breath away and found the other half of his staff sticking out the right side of his chest. Robin looked at it and only found one thing to say.

"Ow…"

The pain only worsened as he was hit so hard that he went flying back to where he had dropped his backpack at the start of this fight. Robin only knew one person who hit like that, only one person that could sneak up on him. Robin was still lying face down on the ground, but as he was tiring to pick himself up, and after some coughing and sputtering he chocked out.

"Hey Bruce," cough "how's" cough "it goin'?" cough cough.

"I'm sorry it had to be this way Robin, I really am, but I can't let this country fall apart, It's coming apart at the seam, and I've fought too long and too hard to protect. No, no not to have it all pissed away by some politician."

"So," cough "to save the country" cough cough "you got into bed with" cough cough "with a murderous thief?" cough cough cough.

"Sometimes to do God's work you have to shake hands with the devil, Robin. Slade's dead now, I have you to thank for that. Although I most likely would have done it myself soon enough, and now here we are, you couldn't go quietly into the night, I had to track you, but I knew you'd contact me eventually. I knew your plan would work, or at least part of it would. You made my life a little easier and you gave me a perfect opportunity to get rid of you as well. All this has been going on right in front of you, and you were to wrapped up in rage and self-pitty to see it."

cough "You've gone off the deep end Bruce, how can sta-" cough cough cough "ging a coup be called 'saving the country." cough

"I'd love to stay Robin, I really would but I must be going." Batman moved forward, intent of finishing Robin off, and putting this whole ugliness to rest.

"I've been" cough "on to you, since the first day." Robin almost whispered but Bruce Wayne heard him.

He said Laughing "Oh? And I wouldn't count on your other sources backing you up. I own all those networks, and the rest will meet various accidents. It was sloppy of you Robin, I thought I trained you better." He was standing on the backpack next to a crouched Robin now, about to finish the job.

"You did." Said Robin laughing as he held out the same detonator for Bruce to see.

The explosion from beneath his feet was small but enough to throw him off his balance and enough to give Robin time to jump up with his last ounce of strength.

He embraced Bruce harder than he ever had before, tears falling from his eyes, Bruce was aught off guard and could do nothing as Robin led them to the ground with himself on top.

"Shi-" Batman was cut off by the broken piece of staff being forced by the floor farther through Robin and into his heart.

"…bringing the total number of people arrested in connection to the campaign fraud and treason charges to 13. While Victor Jayman was last seen in Columbia, President Elect Adams called for unilateral action to find Jayman. Jayman's running mate, Ian Gainsborough was killed whenF-16s from the Air-Forces 33rd fighter wing attempted to force his private jet down, but when they were attacked, they shot him down over US waters…"

"Will someone lower that damn TV?" Robin Whispered, pain still ran through him, very intense pain.

"Robin?"

"Raven. How long have I been out?"

"In and out for a month."

"How are you, I saw the blood…"

"Just a nasty hit to the head, it's been healing nicely…"

"We won?"

"Did you ever doubt?"

"No not really."

A/N: They are off to their new lives, what they do is up to your imagination. That was great fun writing, all of it. This was the longest chapter yet. I hope the regulars among you are satisfied with the ending. Bet you didn't see that coming by the way. It's been real guys. Peace!