"Sending trouble your way, leaving cryptic clues for you to unravel. I was testing you. For some time now I have been searching for... an apprentice. Someone to follow in my footsteps. And Robin - I've chosen you. Congratulations."
—Slade to Robin
Slade contacts the Titans to unveil what seems to be his master plan: a Chronoton Detonator. However, it proves to be merely a trap, infecting the Titans with nanobots that will kill them at his command, in order to force Robin into being his apprentice.
Tropes:
- Applied Phlebotinum: Metallic chromium powers a Chronoton bomb.
- Artistic License – Chemistry: Chromium is treated as so rare, Starfire's allergy to it only reacts to a solid sphere, even if that sphere is hundreds of feet away and in a sealed container. In real life, chromium is found in stainless steel and chrome plating; if Starfire's allergy is that sensitive, she should be sneezing constantly.
- Batman Gambit: The Chronoton bomb was a dud, and was there for the right moment that the Titans had nanobots shot into them so that Slade could have leverage over Robin. In addition, Cinderblock attacked Robin so as to get defeated and lure Robin to Slade's lair.
- Berserk Button: Never ever compare Robin to his worst enemy! It hits him in all the wrong spots.
- Blackmail: How do you get an Honor Before Reason Badass Normal to serve at your side, as your evil apprentice? Threaten to kill his friends from the inside out.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Subverted. At first it seems that Slade is being a typical supervillain, announcing to the heroes that he has a bomb that will stop time forever in Jump City, and giving them enough time to find it. As Robin finds out, however, the bomb's real purpose was to inject deadly nanobots into the Titans, allowing Slade to blackmail Robin.
- Call-Back:
- The team cites Robin's previous undercover jaunt as a reason for wanting him to sit out the raid. He insists that it was a mistake.
- Starfire's Brutal Honesty in pointing out that Robin and Slade are the same haunts Robin, even in his nightmares.
- Catapult Nightmare: Robin wakes up from his nightmare like this.
- The Chessmaster: Slade is this in spades. How do you get Robin separated from the Titans, ensuring he doesn't get infected by the bots as well? Send a hypercompetent villain to attack Robin personally, forcing the latter to send the other Titans to disarm the bomb.
- Downer Ending: Ends with Robin blackmailed into being Slade's apprentice under threat of having the rest of the Titans murdered.
- Evil Costume Switch: Subverted; Robin does not actually do the Face–Heel Turn that his friends think he's doing, and he is forced to wear the costume by Slade.
- Evil Laugh: Slade does one after he knocks Robin down the first time, very low and muted.
- Forced into Evil: Robin, to save the Titans.
- Forced to Watch: Slade promises that if he triggers the nanobots, he'll make Robin watch.
- Heads I Win, Tails You Lose: How Slade gets Robin to join him. Heads: Robin would join Slade as his apprentice and sever his ties with the other Titans. Tails: If Robin refuses the offer to join or rebels going forward, Slade can activate the nanites in their bodies and likely have them killed, if not tortured, while he is Forced to Watch.
- He Who Fights Monsters: Robin's about to brutally interrogate a random dockworker Batman-style about the bomb; Raven stops him, and Beast Boy points out that Robin doesn't need to act like Slade. Robin's not amused with the comparison.
- I've Heard of That — What Is It?: Beast Boy doesn't know what a Chronoton Detonator is.
- Just Between You and Me: Deconstructed. It looks like Slade suffers a bad case of Bond Villain Stupidity when he randomly announces to the Titans his plans of detonating a Chronotron bomb, even giving them time to save the day. It turns out Slade is fully aware of Robin's paranoiac obsession with catching him and the Titans' Chronic Hero Syndrome. Unfortunately the heroes bite the bait and the time bomb turns out to be a fake, leading to them being infected with deadly nanobots, while Robin is forced to become his apprentice if he doesn't want to watch his teammates suffer a gruesome death.
- Malaproper: Beast Boy asks Starfire what a "crouton detonator" is.
- Never Say "Die": When Slade tells Robin about what he will do if Robin disobeys even the smallest request, he says he will "annihilate" the Titans and force Robin to watch.
- No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: When the Titans walk into a trap set by Slade, the team prepares to fight against an army of robots that ambushes them. Instead, Robin takes them all out single-handedly before the rest can even begin fighting properly, leaving the rest of the group horrified at how out of control he's gotten. The same happens to Cinderblock later on.
- Plot Allergy: Starfire's chromium allergy is only introduced so that the team is able to find the Chronoton Detonator, is used rather inconsistently throughout the episode, and is never mentioned again after this.
- The Needs of the Many: When Cinderblock ambushes Robin, the latter shouts at the Titans to go on and disarm the bomb, leaving him behind. Even Starfire obeys, with reluctance. Slade was counting on this, considering Robin got obsessed with disabling the bomb.
- Wham Episode: Everything from the past few episodes is explained immensely, and the Titans are at risk for the first time from a greater villain.
- Wham Line: Slade gives one to Robin when questioned on where the trigger for the detonator is.Slade: Trigger? There is no trigger. Because there is no detonator.
- What the Hell, Hero?: The Titans call out Robin for acting like Slade, from yelling at them for not finding the bomb at the docks to interrogating an Innocent Bystander that happened to be passing. When Beast Boy points this out, Robin calls him out and tells him to never compare him and Slade.Beast Boy: You know just because we're trying to catch Slade, doesn't mean you have to act like him.(Being compared to his worst enemy hits him in the wrong spots)
