Raven awoke, dazed and confused. She found herself on a couch, stretching her hands; she felt the soft features and
stitching as she traced her fingers upon the leathery surface. Her eyes, however, could not see as clearly as her sense of
touch. Blobs of color swirled around her, making strange noises of concern. She assumed them to be faces. Her
memories had not shot back into her psyche yet, and she found herself wondering: Where I am? She shut her eyes,
attempting to remember. Something pungent made itself known to her: Tofu, sweat, and a zoo. Beast Boy. The rush of
failed amnesia rushed into her mind, then, followed by overwhelming fear and dread. She had fainted. Slade. Power.
Bloodline. Single words reminded her of her upcoming fate. Her eyes fluttered open and the blurs became solid lines and
features. As she thought, her friends' faces surrounded her. She feigned a weak smile.
"Hey guys," she whispered out, her throat still unable to open completely.
Relief filled the air.
"Give her some space," Robin gently instructed. "Raven, are you ok? You just seized up and passed out."
Raven nodded. How could she tell them? How could she tell Robin? After his nightmares had finally just begun to abide,
how could she fill him with new worries, new fears? Her throat choked up even more so, and her lip began to tremble.
Even if she was able to reveal Slade's plan, would he just torture her even more? Invade her thoughts again? She
shuddered at another thought of a blackout. Her mind was torn. Rationality told her to tell her team, fear told her to
keep quiet. She had not realized that she hadn't answered Robin's question and was blankly staring at her hands. She
shifted her eyes up to find them all staring intently at her.
"Raven?" Robin asked gingerly.
Raven blushed, her cheeks burning red.
"Sorry, I… I was just…" she stuttered. She bit her lip.
Robin immediately assumed the role of over-protective father.
"It's fine, Ray," he patted her on the shoulder. "You just rest now. We'll take on all alerts tonight."
Raven almost let out an exasperated sigh, but at the look from Robin, she held her breath and nodded. As if on cue, the
room began to shake from the noise of the alarm. The lounge became entirely red and Raven's eyes always scrunched
up at the brightness of it. Starfire glided to the control panel. After a few moments of frantically typing, Star found the
source of the distress .
"Robbery on 25th and Maine," she reported. "12 hostages, 3 armed men."
Robin nodded.
"Move out, titans," he ordered.
Cyborg and Beast Boy glanced at each other, grins stretching on their faces. Cy cracked his knuckles and BB jumped about, all too excited.
"Let's go fuck some baddies up!" Cy shouted.
BB gave a supportive "Woo!" and both of them sprinted out the door, followed calmly by Robin and Star, walking side by
side. Raven raised an eyebrow, and they think no one knows about their secret relationship. Raven scoffed. Raven, BB,
and Cyborg were making bets about when they were going to tell the team about their nights alone together. Cy was
right next door to them, and constantly complained to Raven and BB that it sounded like screaming monkeys were
eating Robin and Star's faces off, rather than what was really making such sounds. She rested her head on a pillow and
closed her eyes. It had been a long day and she wanted to avoid and suppress the memory of Slade for as long as
possible, and sleep seemed to be the only way to do it, now that meditating had become Slade's playground. However,
she could not calm her restless mind. Planning an escape, she was going through places in which she could hide away
from Slade; the tower seemed just a little too conspicuous. She was thinking about Trigon when an idea injected its way
into her brain. She could follow in her mother's footsteps. Escape to Azarath; be protected by the monks there. Although
they had strict rules on who was allowed to enter and exit at will, she did save their planet, well, at least, her team did.
They might be willing to make an exception for her. The more she mulled it over, the better it sounded. Slade would
never be allowed to enter into her home planet's dimension; the monks would fight to the death to keep him out. She
smiled, giddy with reassurance and hope. She flew off the couch and ran to her room, not wanting to waste a second.
Each thought having a chance of being intercepted by Slade. Entering her room, she sat down at her desk and wrote a
short note to notify the team where she would be.
Going to Azarath to see mother, be back in a few months. Please don't worry about me. I'll be fine. Stay safe. Find Slade. Love, Raven.
She folded the small piece of paper, wrote Teen Titans on the front, and taped it on the front of her door. Then, she
rushed back inside her room and sifted through the piles of books, trying to find the one that contained the teleportation
spell to Azarath. After knocking at least 50 books over, most of which fell on her foot, she finally found the evasive thing
under her bed. She reached under, and pulled the dusty archive out. She then flipped through the old book and finally
found the page she was looking for, it was marked with a bright purple pentagram, and the incantations of her people's
language. Immediately sitting down in a crossed-legged position she placed her hand on the page and began to murmur
the strange phrasings. When her body glowed purple, and her eyes shined white, she began to say her own chanting of
power, thus completing the spell.
"Azarath, Mentrion, Zinthos!"
Her body flew out of the room on the wings of her soul-self raven, leaving Gotham behind. She crossed different
dimensions, and felt the still space air against her skin. Her raven cooed to her and filled her with feelings of love and
trust. She was nearing Azarath; she recognized the asteroid belt she was flying past. It had been a while since she had
seen her mother, Arella. She had left, sick of the monks' rules and regulations, at age 15. Then, she had been a child,
dreaming of life beyond the temple, now she returned, a veteran of the universe, ready to accept her heritage and thank
her mother and the Azarathians for the love they showered on her, even if she didn't know it before. A black hole
appeared before her, marked by the signature purple pentagram, she was so close. Butterflies rose in her stomach and
she began having second thoughts. However, she would not have another chance to go back on her return home, for
right as she was about to enter the vortex, her raven screeched in pain. Raven looked frantically around. Her soul-self
was being strangled. Its neck was encased in what looked to be…snake coils. Raven's eyes began to glow black and she
shot the black mass attached to her raven's neck. Nothing happened. It continued to strangulate it, refusing to let go.
She had not even made a dent. She tried again and again, nothing. Sweat and tears ran down her face.
"Let go!" she yelled.
Her soul-self could not hold on and dissolved and returned to Raven's body. She began to fall, unable to stay afloat in
the massive ocean that was space and time. She was dropping like a rock, and nothing was supporting her. She
screamed and tried to summon her raven again, but it would not respond, too wounded to help. She saw Earth, and she
couldn't stop falling. If she didn't stop soon, she would die burning up in Earth's atmosphere, and become nothing but a
pile of ash. She closed her eyes, trying to comfort herself for her upcoming demise. Right when she was close enough to
see the white swirls of clouds that decorated Earth's surface, a force caught her abruptly. She twisted around, searching
for the thing that had saved her. A hiss sounded in her ear. Her eyes widened, goosebumps erupted on her skin. She
followed the sound and gasped. An enormous cobra met her gaze steadily, its head swaying back and forth. It was
decorated with stripes of black and copper, and a silver "S" marked its forehead. No! She screamed in her head. Not
here! How did he find me!? Unable to contain himself, Slade's laughter erupted in Raven's mind. Before she could cuss
Slade out and threaten to tear his head off with her bare hands, the cobra slithered quickly, with Raven locked in its
coils, toward the Earth moving at break-neck speed. Before she knew it, they were already above Gotham. He was here
the whole time. Frustrated more than ever, Raven's genes took the best of her and she sensed her demon blood growing
more and more powerful. Fangs grew in her mouth, two red eyes developed under her blue ones, and red writings
inscribed themselves into her skin. Her hands glowing, she shocked the Cobra with her demonic power, nothing
happened still. She roared murderously and resulted to scratching and biting her living restraints, all of which passed
through the shadowy skin. It had barely noticed her frenzied attacks. Exhausted, she decided to save up her powers for
the fight that she would be giving Slade when they met. The cobra was nearing the ground quickly. The area looked
deserted. No buildings, no roads, no homes, and the terrain looked like a mix between a desert and a canyon. She
racked her brain for places in Gotham that had such exotic features and could think of none. Unless the Grand Canyon
had moved thousands of miles and just decided Gotham was the place to be, she didn't know where the hell this cobra
was taking her. She caught her last glimpse of the strange scenery and was dragged through the ground. She noticed
her body become black and the snake making portals through solid rock, just like her. The snake jerked her around,
making abrupt turns too quickly for her to register. Was this his plan for me? Get a giant snake to capture me and then
cause me to vomit on my clothes? Think of the embarrassment! Finally after what seemed to be an eternity on a living
rollercoaster, they stopped. She opened her eyes, which remained shut during the ride for fear of passing out again, and
realized the snake was gone, but there were no exits or entrances of any kind. Only a tunnel to her left gave her any
hope of escape, but when she heard footsteps coming from that direction, her heart sank. She looked around. She was
in a damp, dank cave. Only a few dimly lit candles gave any light; she could barely make out the lair, but she recognized
the shapes and the smell of the place. Sniffing the air, she detected a hint of tar and the overwhelming odor of a factory.
She looked up and was not surprised to see the original format of Slade's hideout. Giant cogs grinding together,
connected to platforms and columns of steel. The footsteps sounded closer, closing in on her. She squinted in the nearly-
pitch black that engulfed her and saw nothing still. Then, a figure emerged from the shadows for an instant and seeped
back into them.
"Who's there!?" she yelled, rather annoyed at having to play this game of hide and seek. She heard an exasperated sigh.
"Who else would it be, dear girl?" Slade answered.
He came in full sight of her then, only a couple feet from her. She glared murderously at his expressionless metal mask.
As always, one half of his mask was copper colored, which contained his one eye, and the other half was black. His outfit
resembled that of an assassin of steel, having metal guards placed in areas of vulnerability that his black, suit did not
cover well. He held his hands behind his back, and studied Raven's flustered appearance carefully, his one eye shifting
up and down her body. Much of her clothing had been ripped, a side effect of being hurled around by a giant, scaly
cobra. Her cloak and hood remained mostly intact but her black suit revealed much of her stomach and back. He also
noticed her cut up knee and thigh with some interest. He smirked under his mask. He had never seen her bleed so
much. Annoyed by his silent observation of her she pulled her cloak and hood over her body, covering her cuts and face.
His smile instantly disappeared and he returned to the task at hand.
"Hello, love. Enjoy your trip?" he said, his voice turning from frost to velvet.
Raven shuddered at such a voice. It always gave her chills. She swallowed her fear and met his gaze head on.
"It's not happening. What you want is disgusting. I would never betray my friends like that, even if I was forced to," she snapped. "I'd rather die than help you in any way."
He brought one of his hands to his chin, contemplating whether he should grant her death wish or do what he planned all along. As much as he wanted to kill her, then, he knew it would not benefit him; so therefore, he suppressed his sadistic emotions, for now.
"My dear girl, you think you'd be betraying your friends? They've already betrayed you, casted you out, like the freak that you are. Why not just fall into the expectations of you they already had? You've always been strange. Your father, the devil, your mother, the bitch that worshipped in a cult, and practically gave her soul to the destruction of the universe, how could anyone accept their bastard daughter? No they won't admit it. They won't tell it to your face, but deep down inside, they fear and despise you, just like everyone else when they don't understand anything outside their understandings of life. Face it. You're alone in this world."
Doubt, the killer of everything good, crept into Raven's mind. His accusations made sense, as much as they hurt her
inside, he was right, she was a freak. Her team never called her one, but she could see it in their eyes whenever she
meditated or mumbled strange, demonic phrases. But then, she knew Slade's tricks and persuasiveness. It was what
caused Terra to fall, and Robin to mistrust his team. Nonetheless, Second Guessing sat there, patiently waiting for her,
its jaws open wide, ready to pounce on her self-confidence, which is something she never had to begin with.
"But, Raven, it doesn't have to be this way," Slade purred. "You and I can face this miserable world together, and spit in the faces of those who do not understand idiosyncrasies. Join me, be where you were always meant to be, at my side, fighting the world."
Her mind turned foggy, common sense left her, and she found herself nodding, taking steps to Slade. A voice entered
her head, her own voice, whispering dark words of corruption. It all makes sense now, no more confusion or insecurity;
he'll take care of me. But wait, isn't he evil? No, no, he's our savior. But Robin, Terra… Poor examples! Failures! We can
be the chosen ones, the apprentice that brings him pride. She was nearing his gloved, outstretched hand. I don't know if
I want this. Do I want this? She pulled back, wary. Yes, it's what we always wanted. I'm not sure… The voice became
angry, impatient. Why do you resist? Go to him, now! Her mind regained clarity. The voice became a face, his face. She
continued to go near him, with a new plan in mind. Her raven cawed in her soul, and she knew she had to fight him, now
or never. Right as she was about to place her hand in his, her eyes became black.
"Stay out of my head!" she yelled, releasing her raven, the soul-self unleashed waves of her unbridled power upon him,
screeching with fury. She too, covered his body in her shadowy power and lifted him up and threw him down repeatedly
on the cement floor. She wasted no time, spared nothing. But on each strike of power, she felt her own body shake with
pain. She stopped and called her raven back. No she was in more than just pain, her body was on fire. She crumpled to
the ground, and spotted oozing blood on the ground, hers. She looked over, Slade was lying face down on the ground
but there was no blood pool, no scratch on his person, nothing. She looked back to herself, she was even more shreds of
clothing than before. She racked her brain. He never touched me.
"I didn't need to, love," Slade said. "But please, for the sake of your life, stop attacking me."
She snapped her head over, to find him standing, his arms crossed, his eyes filled with arrogance.
"The soul-link provides the one that made it in the first place, that's me, with a shield. This shield, in times of battle,
moves all pain suffered on the master to the soul-link slave, that's you. So any time you or anyone attacks me, only you
feel the pain, and suffer the consequences. However, it is also true that if you die, I go with you. Oh, don't even think
about trying to kill yourself. I control every muscle in your body, and anytime you or some else puts you in harm's way,
I'd simply slip in you and force you to protect yourself."
He had removed all the exits to any chance of escape for her. Her body was broken it felt, and her soul was cracked as well. He strode gracefully to her and kneeled beside her. He placed his hand on her stomach.
"Wait," Raven coughed. "What are you doing?"
He paid her no mind, and started mumbling to himself. His hands and eye turned a grotesque orange and Raven felt her wounds begin to stitch themselves up. However, he didn't completely cure her, for she still had a few tender places with minor cuts. He returned to normal and she felt him smile under his mask.
"Can't let you get too healthy," he said, chuckling.
She felt weak and increasingly heavy. It was at this point of vulnerable physicality that Slade lifted her into his arms and
began carrying her in the direction of the tunnel. More candles lit the tunnel, but still they shifted in and out of the
shadows. Never in the light for more than couple seconds. Her vision was clouded and her mind even more so, but she
knew it was coming. The moment Slade had been waiting for. He wasted no time with her, a lesson learned from Terra
and Robin. No more waiting months to hatch a plan or slowly corrupt a titan, he had new power, and he wasn't going to
let it go to waste. She called out to him, into his mind: Slade, no, please. I won't fight back any longer. Just give it time.
She was scrambling for a desperate attempt at holding off a monsoon, but to no avail, she sensed his mind was made
up. He lowered his head to her ear.
"Don't worry, love," he whispered. "I'll do all the work."
She tried to muster up a quick jolt of power in her body, but the attempt was met with a shock of pain. He laughed.
"Won't fight back, eh?"
He sighed.
"Suppose I'll have to do this the hard way," he murmured. "Pity, and I so hoped that you'd at least make it to the bed before I had to do it."
The last statement greatly frightened her. It was obviously as she feared, but a small part of her hoped he was just
going to lock her in a cell. She heard him mumbling again, but she couldn't make out the words. A spell? She wondered.
Becoming entranced by what he was silently chanting, she hadn't realized the shadowy chains that had formed around
her neck, wrist, and ankles. When the chains turned to solid silver, she snapped her head down, confused by the sudden
weight and shook her head, scoffing. Chains? How pathetic. Immediately she tried to summon her magic to burn the
pesky suckers off, but as the magic flew through her body, it stopped, blocked. She tried again, and came to the same
conclusion. Whipping her head back up at Slade, waiting for an explanation, the chains disappeared into her body, but
she could still feel their presence on her skin, yet somehow under it as well. Another trick, she thought. And to think we
thought he was hard to defeat before. She feared for the future of the world, a world she was destined to destroy with
Slade. He had reached the end of the tunnel, pulling Raven out of her thoughts; they had arrived at a chamber. She
assumed it to be his. A nicely furnished room, with a large, round table, a screen lodged into the wall, and chairs of all
sorts. This did not surprise her, what caught her eye was the decoration. Newspapers clippings, maps, and architectural
designs covered the walls, while the table contained all sorts of gadgets and weapons on its' surface, such as knives,
grenades, guns, blasters, and even, what seemed to be, miniature nuclear bombs. She raised her eyebrows, slightly
impressed with his determination to be completely deranged. What man hid beneath that mask? She wondered.
However, a more frightening thought made itself known. A door, a door made of steel was seen on the left side of the
room. A door, Slade was rapidly approaching. She squirmed in his iron clutches, and he responded with holding her
tighter. Turning the knob, he pushed it open. It was as she expected, as she feared, as she dreaded. A bed. A massive
one. It covered half of the small room, and was incredibly intimidating to her. He walked over, nonchalantly and gently
placed her on its soft bed sheets. The room smelt of overpowering incense, and she found the source in a bundle of
candles melting in the corner. She was still looking at the candles when Slade flicked a knife out. Her eyes widened, and
she held onto a tuff of bed cover much too tightly, her knuckles turning white. He noticed her expression and scoffed,
clearly unimpressed.
"Stupid girl, this isn't for your flesh," he spat.
Raven relaxed only for a second, but seized up just as fast when he deftly cut through her shredded clothes with ease,
leaving her exposed, only clothed with a bra and underclothing. He then flicked the knife across the room, and began to
undress himself. Raven looked away, not wanted to see the disgusting creature beneath the monstrous mask. He
shrugged her off, not deterring from his task. She heard his clothes peel off, like shedding skin, onto the carpeted floor.
She then heard the tapping of his fingernails on steel, tinkering with his mask. No one had ever seen his face. Curiosity
getting the best of her easily, she slowly tuned her head around and eyed him. Of course, she thought sarcastically.
They had never known his age, but Raven had always assumed him to be old. How wrong she was. He was maybe late
twenties, early thirties at most. His face was beautiful, almost too perfect, and she wondered if it was a side effect of his
resurrection. His face was pale, his almond eye was a dark green, and his features were flawless (except for the eyeless
half that was only marked by a faint scar), cheekbones resting high on his face, a strong jaw, and perfect skin that
seemed to radiate in the dim room. His ruffled, black hair, with tints of copper highlighting it, hung wildly upon his head.
He smiled at her bewildered expression, revealing perfect white teeth. She longed to touch his skin, and feel its smooth
features. Physical attraction told her to accept and love this man, rationality and past experiences told her to fight to the
very end. He strode confidently to her side, his eye studying her, as if really seeing her for the first time. Of course, he'd
always had known she was going to be beautiful, but now, as she matured into a woman, she had morphed into a lovely
being. She had darker hair now, more auburn than bright purple, her eyes remained large and deeply blue, now he saw
that they shimmered and glowed with fear, her skin was always a lovely shade of white, and her body, once so painfully
thin and weak, was beginning to mold into an older shell. Raven squirmed more uncomfortably under his scrutinizing
gaze and shuddered. He chuckled.
"Don't worry, love, you'll be warm soon," he coaxed.
She saw and sensed the lust began to overtake him. As if acting on command, he held her down with his arms, unable to go another second without touching her. At a last effort, Raven squeaked out her thoughts to him, begging him to reconsider, to somehow get him to spare her pain: Slade, please, don't do this. He smiled at her pleading. Lowering his head to her ear, he whispered:
"I'm going to empty you, and fill you in with me."
Before she could try to beseech him again, he jumped fully on the bed, his hair falling down about his face, his eye
burning with anticipation. She opened her mouth, trying to stall, but he would have none of it. His lips crushed against
hers, and she lost all thought. She kissed back instinctively, her basic impulses washing over her. Surprised by her
reaction, Slade stopped and began to laugh and laugh; he then tore her bra and underclothing off and threw them
savagely across the room. Lost in the ecstasy of the moment, she barely noticed. They sank deeper into the plush bed
together, intertwined and silent. She felt the soft sheets of the bed against her bare skin and breathed rapidly in unison
with Slade. He had moved from kissing her mouth, to her stomach, letting his true emotions out. She sensed how
desperately he wanted this plan to work, how desperately he wanted someone of his own blood. Pity ran through her,
but was soon replaced by his untamed lust. A lust she could not fight, not with his strength and power weighing down on
her. She found herself becoming lost to him, following his actions. When he poured licks and kisses on her neck, she
would dig her nails into his back, making him moan with sweet pleasure, when he rolled and turned she would attach
herself to him and even enjoy the swirling of the moment, and when he caressed her body and whispered her name in
her ear, erotically, she would breathe out his name in return. However, when Slade knew she was open to him and
ready, he began to fill her. The pain shocked Raven at first, she thought he had stabbed her with a blade, but then as it
continued she began to feel its warmth radiate through her body, and sighed with bliss. Slade sat up, taking a brief
hiatus from this exceptional night. His eye never left her body, always studying and observing her reactions. Astonished
that she was so easily swayed by his touch, he began to feel immense power and control emulate from his very core.
She had loved him. Although, later she would never admit such a thing, she could not deny that he had taken over her
soul and body, at least, temporarily. Her eyes remained closed, abnormally happy. Perhaps she is thinking of someone
else? He thought. However, when her eyes fluttered open, and she gazed into his face, for a moment, maybe just a
second, he could see she was content to see him there before he saw her sadness seep into her eyes. He smiled. How
easy she fell to me, he thought. He then lowered to her again, feeling her hair, her flesh, her breasts against him, and
continued to lavish lust upon her. Yet, the event came to a close, and Raven was so incredibly happy it was over, yet
also partially sad. She could not refute the joy she felt when his body brushed and swayed with her own, how his hair
felt in her fingers, or his lips swept against her own, feeling the gentle, yet overpowering nature of them gave her such
solace in her life. Nonetheless, the night ended and Slade detached from her side, running his fingers through her soft,
tangled hair.
"Rest now, love," Slade cooed.
She immediately obeyed and fell into a deep slumber. Not allowing the shame and guilt to enter her last waking
moments of bliss. Slade grinned at her willingness to follow his instructions. It would not last he knew, but then, her
rebellion, that he was sure was to come, would be snuffed out, she would completely fall to him, and he would rule the
world with her at his side, insurmountable. Slade softly leapt off the bed, went to the candles, the last flicker of light in
the room, and blew them out.