Hikaru and Terra rushed through the tunnels. The drainage tunnel stank of salt water and rust.
His communicator crackled back to life now that they'd escaped the electromagnetic interference. Static burst through, then Robin's voice cut clear.
"—eraph, Terra, if you can hear this—rendezvous point beta. North warehouse cluster."
"Copy," Hikaru said. "We're mobile. Status?"
"Regrouping now. Move fast—Slade's still out there."
They picked up the pace.
The team assembled in the shadow of a rusted shipping container, battered but intact. Starfire had a nasty burn across her shoulder. Cyborg's left arm sparked intermittently. Beast Boy nursed bruised ribs. Donna's armor showed fresh dents. Kid Flash limped slightly. Raven's cloak was torn.
Robin stood at the center, mask cracked but eyes sharp.
"Sound off," he said.
"Trapped in a cage rigged to electrocute after sixty seconds," Cyborg reported. "Had to reroute my own power core to short the system before it fried me."
"Pit trap," Donna added, jaw tight. "Twenty feet down with promethium spikes. Had to climb out with a dislocated shoulder."
"Mirror maze," Kid Flash muttered. "Every reflection was rigged with motion sensors and explosives. Took me three minutes to find the real exit."
"Hallway filled with fear toxin," Raven said quietly. "Had to meditate through it while the walls closed in."
Beast Boy didn't say anything. He just looked exhausted.
"Collapsing floor into a flooding chamber," Starfire whispered. "I barely melted through the ceiling in time."
Robin's expression darkened. "He isolated all of us. Knew exactly where we'd position ourselves based on past formations."
"He's been studying us," Hikaru said. "Every fight. Every pattern. He built this entire battlefield around what he expected us to do."
Terra flinched. "Because I—"
"Gave him false intel," Robin interrupted. "Which means he doesn't know what we're about to do next."
Hikaru met Robin's eyes. Saw the calculation there. The tactical shift.
"You've got a plan," Hikaru said.
"Slade's entire strategy relies on predictability," Robin said. "He counters what he anticipates. So we do the opposite of everything he expects."
Cyborg's canon whirred. "I'm listening."
Robin pulled up a holographic schematic on his gauntlet. "Slade expects us to scatter and flank. So we group tight and push center. He expects ranged attacks. So we go full melee. He expects me to coordinate from the back. So I lead the charge."
"Aggressive," Donna said. "Reckless."
"Exactly." Robin's smile was sharp. "Reckless is the last thing he'll predict from us."
Raven tilted her head. "And when he adapts mid-fight?"
"That's where you all come in." Robin gestured to the team. "We rotate formations constantly. No pattern. Pure chaotic coordination."
"Organized unpredictability," Hikaru murmured. "I like it."
Terra swallowed. "What about me?"
Robin looked at her. Really looked at her.
"You're going to hit him with everything you've got," Robin said. "No holding back. No fear. Just raw power."
Her hands shook. "I don't know if I can—"
"You shattered contaminated ground to save both of us," Hikaru said. "You've got this."
Starfire's eyes glowed. "Then let us finish this."
Robin nodded once. "Titans—move out."
They found Deathstroke exactly where Hikaru knew he'd be.
Center of the kill zone. Standing beneath a flickering light. Sword drawn. Waiting.
"Predictable," Slade said as they approached. "Regrouping for one final push. How noble."
Robin didn't slow. "Pattern Omega-Inverse. Now!"
The team charged.
Not scattered. Not flanking. Just a straight aggressive blitz with Robin at the front, explosive discs already flying.
Slade's head tilted slightly—the first crack in his composure.
He moved to counter the discs, but Cyborg was already there, sonic cannon screaming. Slade dodged, but Donna slammed into his guard with her shield, driving him back three steps.
"You're breaking formation," Slade observed. "Desperate."
"Nope," Kid Flash said, appearing at his flank. "Creative."
A supersonic punch connected with Slade's ribs before he could block. The mercenary spun, promethium blade slicing through where Wally had been a microsecond ago.
Starfire's starbolt hammered into his back. He rolled with the impact, coming up ready—
And Beast Boy, as a gorilla, tackled him from the side.
Slade twisted mid-fall, planting his feet and hurling Beast Boy over his shoulder into Cyborg. Both went down hard.
"Better," Slade admitted. "But not enough."
Hikaru dove in, his sword blazing with concentrated light. The blade sang through the air—Slade caught it on his promethium sword, but this time it didn't shatter.
"Interesting," Slade said. "You've upgraded."
Hikaru pressed the attack, slashing in rapid combinations. Slade parried each strike with minimal movement, analyzing, adapting—
Raven's dark energy lashed out from behind. Slade sidestepped, but Hikaru was already there, forcing him to block high while her soul self wrapped around his ankles.
"Now, Terra!" Robin shouted.
Stone erupted beneath Slade's feet. He cut through Raven's hold and leaped back, but Hikaru transformed to light, appearing in his landing zone with sword already swinging.
Slade blocked, the impact sending sparks flying. For just a second, Hikaru saw it. The crack in the armor. The moment of genuine surprise.
Then Slade adapted.
His bo staff extended, sweeping low. Hikaru phased intangible, but the staff's momentum continued into Donna's legs, sending her skidding back. Slade fired a wrist-mounted grapple that wrapped around Kid Flash's ankle mid-sprint, yanking him face-first into the dirt.
An explosive pellet detonated at Starfire's feet, the concussive blast knocking her from the sky.
Cyborg charged. Slade sidestepped, drove his elbow into Vic's exposed neck joint, and the Titan collapsed, systems flickering.
Beast Boy shifted into a tiger. Slade caught him mid-pounce, slammed him down, and delivered a precise strike that left him unconscious.
Hikaru came in fast, sword already swinging. Golden-red flames erupted along the blade's edge as he struck. Slade's eyes widened fractionally behind his mask—the fire forcing him to adjust his parry angle, unable to redirect the blade as easily with divine heat threatening exposed joints in his armor.
Their weapons met in a screaming clash of promethium and burning light. The mercenary shifted his weight, tried to redirect Hikaru's momentum, but the flames made close contact dangerous. He settled for slamming his palm into Hikaru's solar plexus instead.
The air left his lungs. He stumbled back, gasping, the fire sputtering out.
Raven's magic surged. Slade hurled shurikens that disrupted her concentration, forcing her on the defense.
Donna roared, swinging her sword. Slade parried once, twice, then hooked her ankle and drove his pommel into her temple.
She crumpled.
Sixty seconds. He'd taken down six Titans in just a minute.
Robin attacked from three angles simultaneously—explosive discs, grapple line, escrima sticks.
Slade deflected the discs, cut the line, and caught the sticks one-handed.
"You've improved," Slade said. Then he twisted, yanked Robin off-balance, and delivered a brutal kick to his midsection.
Robin hit the ground gasping, mask cracked further.
Terra's hands glowed. The earth trembled.
"Don't," Slade said calmly.
But she did.
Stone erupted everywhere—spikes, walls, pillars—a chaotic storm of geokinetic fury. No control. Just raw, desperate power.
Slade moved through it like he was strolling through a park.
A pillar clipped his shoulder. He grunted but kept moving.
Terra pushed harder. The ground split beneath his feet.
He leapt clear, landing—
Right where Hikaru had been waiting.
Light-form. Full speed. Morningstar blade drawn.
The promethium sword came up to block.
Their weapons met with a sound like thunder.
Hikaru reformed, pressing the attack. Golden flames crawled up his arms, spreading to his blade with each strike.
Slade's eye narrowed. "Upgraded."
"It was a gift," Hikaru said, slashing high. Fire trailed the arc.
Slade parried, riposted. Hikaru phased, the blade passing through light.
He reformed behind Slade, blade descending wreathed in holy fire—
The mercenary spun, impossibly fast, and their swords locked again. Heat radiated between them. Small scorch marks appeared on Slade's gauntlets where flame licked too close.
"Clever," Slade admitted, adjusting his grip to avoid the worst of the heat. "But you're still—"
Terra's stone fist hammered into his back.
Slade stumbled forward. Hikaru didn't waste the opening—golden fire blazed hotter, forcing Slade to break the blade lock or risk serious burns. A light construct chain wrapped around Slade's sword arm while flames danced along its length.
The mercenary hissed, the heat conducting through his armor.
Terra raised both hands. The ground beneath Slade liquefied, then solidified around his feet.
"Now!" Hikaru shouted, pouring more fire into the chain.
Terra's eyes blazed. Stone encased Slade's legs, then his torso, climbing rapidly.
The mercenary struggled, but the earth responded to her will.
"You've grown," Slade said, almost approving.
Then his free hand moved. A flash grenade.
The world went white.
Hikaru's vision cleared just in time to see Slade break free of the stone prison, armor cracked and scorched but functional. Smoke rose from the burned sections.
He moved.
A sweep kick took Terra's legs out. She hit the ground hard.
Slade's blade descended toward her throat—
Hikaru tackled him, flames erupting from his palms as they collided.
They rolled, came up fighting. Sword against sword, fire against promethium.
"You care about her," Slade observed, blocking a strike. "Weakness."
"Strength," Hikaru countered, pressing the attack. Every swing left trails of golden-red fire in the air.
Behind them, Terra struggled to her feet. Blood trickled from her temple.
Slade's movements grew more cautious now, avoiding the flames where he could. The heat had compromised sections of his armor, created vulnerabilities he couldn't ignore.
His kick connected with Hikaru's ribs.
Then the promethium sword came down.
Hikaru blocked, but barely. The impact drove the flames back, scattered his concentration.
Slade's boot connected with his chest. He flew back, hit a container hard enough to dent it.
Vision swimming. The fire sputtered out.
Terra screamed. Stone spikes erupted toward Slade.
He dodged most of them. One grazed his leg. He didn't even slow.
Three strides. He was on her.
Terra raised a barrier. He shattered it with one strike.
His blade pressed against her throat.
"Checkmate," Slade said.
Hikaru struggled to his feet, flames flickering weakly around his hands. Too far. Too slow.
"You fought well," Slade continued, looking at Terra. "Better than I expected. But sentiment made you weak. Both of you."
Terra's eyes met Hikaru's across the battlefield.
He saw the calculation there. The terrible understanding.
"Don't," Hikaru croaked.
Her hands pressed against the ground.
The earth screamed.
Not an attack. A collapse.
The entire battlefield gave way—every container, every trap, every carefully constructed kill zone.
All of it falling into a sinkhole with them at the center.
Slade's eye widened. He leapt back, but the collapse was too fast, and Deathstroke vanished into the cascading rubble.