A/n: Alright so there's a little implied RobXStar in this chapter, just because it's so inevitable. I won't ever have them do much gushy stuff as I personally hate the pairing. My goal as clearly shown in the pairing listing, is to work away from that, and end in Rob Rae


I don't own anything

"Slade!" The words escaped Raven's lips as no more than a whisper, earning a glimmer of satisfaction from the only visible part of Slade's body, his eyes.

"Sweet Raven, we meet again." His tone was cool and slow as he approached her. She rose up defensively, her eyes beginning to glow a pure white. She flinched as he held up a hand, her arms rising defensively. "There is no need for that; I'm not going to attack you. At least not yet. I have…a proposition of some sorts."

Raven arched her eyebrows; nothing that involved Slade was ever good. Only suspicious. She mentally scolded herself for letting her guard down after her fight with Mammoth, she should've remained prepared for any sort of confrontation from any person despite how imperative meditation was. She wasn't sure what was keeping her from flying away, but it probably had to do something with the question that was lingering on her tongue.

"Why should I listen to you?" Her voice was shaky, but her eyes faded from the vibrant white back to the normal creamy brown color. She watched him crouch down to her level, his arms resting on his knees.

"Because, sweet Rachel." He began. The name caused her blood to run cold, her new warm-toned skin taking on a paler shade. She opened her mouth to speak, but he continued, cutting her off. "That's right. I can see right through you. You're forgetting I worked for your father at one point. He was sure to prepare me in many ways if you tried to escape from what was supposed to be your destiny. But that's irrelevant. I'm looking for a temporary partner of sorts."

"Partner? I don't see why I would be an ideal choice. I'm a Teen Titan." Raven's eyes narrowed. This didn't make sense to her, his logic; nothing about Slade ever seemed to make sense. That was probably why the thought of Slade drove Robin so crazy.

"I'm not asking for this to be a long term deal. I'm not expecting it to work. I'm not even expecting you to agree. Merely to try." Slade rose up to his feet, the action prompting Raven to follow in his footsteps and try as well. "You know as well as any other Titan that my record with apprentices isn't exactly impressive. But I have something that you could learn to covet, and you have the abilities to get what I want."

"Continue." Raven's suspicions only rose at Slade's proposition. Her first assumption was that he would use her powers to take the City down, in which case she would make sure to get as far away from him as possible.

"I have the abilities and technology to help you control your powers without the painfully obvious and sometimes annoyingly long mantra that you chant." Slade pulled a single metal cuff from a pouch on his belt, and extended it towards her. "This cuff has the ability to harness your powers. There is a dial on it that determines how much energy you exert. Along with training you mentally I would be able to train you physically, and with this cuff you could turn off your powers completely to train."

"Get that away from me." Raven flinched, shoving her wrists behind her back. "I don't fall for your tricks Slade. I'm not a dimwit like Terra." Her nose scrunched up in distaste as she continued. "You have still failed to specify what it is that you would be getting out of this deal, and while you make a rather convincing case, I can't go around worrying if that cuff will bind with my skin, selling my soul to you, or something ridiculous along those lines."

"Oh Rachel -"

"Don't call me that."

"Very well. Raven. I've learned a lesson or two with the absurd turnouts of my former apprentices and partnerships. With both come trust, and sometimes you have to give a little to get a little." The way he spoke was clean and formal, though the current situation left Raven enraged at how calm he was. His voice, though very smooth and refined, sounded like nails on the chalkboard that was her patience. "The cuff will not attach to your skin, that's where you must put a little faith in me, and in turn, I will put a little faith in you." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a small key. "The key to the cuff."

"And your own motives?"

"There is someone in a city far from here that has something that I want. Call him what you want, many believe that he is a Prince of Crime of some sorts. The heist will take place two months from the end of the week. I hope to know by the end of the week as to whether you are willing to forge this temporary alliance, in which case more information pertaining to this situation will be at your fingertips. Despite my motives I know you are aware that I am a man of my word and that you are free to leave this arrangement within the first month. But I will have you know that if my secrets are leaked, then yours will be as well."

Raven frowned at all the words Slade put to her. "Why would you call this temporary?" She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. She was disgusted at the curiosity that was overpowering her subconscious. Sometimes the line that separated her good from evil wore very thin or became smudged.

"This is temporary because I realize how difficult it would be to get you to comply with a long-term arrangement. Also, everything is temporary. Life. Marriage. Partnerships." Slade gave a small shrug. "You are free to test out that cuff. It's yours to keep. Consider it a free gift."

"Why would you give me something that could work against you?" Raven arched an eyebrow, slowly reaching out for the cuff. She grabbed the key first, and slipped it into the hole of the cuff, testing out the fit. Her fingers slipped around it, testing and probing it for some kind of homing device, or a poison, or something devious.

"Simple. You don't know how to work it. It would benefit you in no way without proper instruction, and even after rigorous training with the band it would become a training wheel. It's not meant as a permanent fix." Slade allowed his hands to fold behind his back. "It's merely…incentive." Raven arched her eyebrow at the interesting choice of words. "Admit it Raven. You'd love to be able to control your powers easily. Meditating only gets you so far."

"I can't betray this entire city." Raven tried to ignore the annoyingly surreal offer. Her head dropped to stare at the wooden dock, she tried to shut him away, shut this absurdity away.

"It's not betrayal. It's temporary. And I happen to know you are having a falling out with your friends. So I have another proposition for you." Slade exerted a small breath that Raven could only comprehend as a sigh, before continuing his side. "Spar me. If you know instantly that you are uninterested, you may leave. From there if you decide to say yes, we will engage in a 3 day long boot camp session. That would put us at Thursday. Thursday afternoon you return back to the Titans. Saturday you give me the final verdict."

"First of all, my falling out is only with Robin. And, why would you be so willing to give up your hideout to someone like me? Someone who could easily turn the tables on you with a simple phone call?" Raven crossed her arms. "This isn't making any sense. There's no logic, no deep thought to any of this. It's completely ridiculous."

"On the contrary, it was extremely thought out. I know a few things. I know that you don't have your communicator with you at the moment. I know that you left the tower unaware of where you would stay until you returned, if you were going to return. Also, if you believe I would take you to my lair, you're painfully mistaken. Our activities will take place in a warehouse not too far from here. I'm sure you'd find the accommodations…suiting." Slade turned his back to her, turning his head to the side so that he saw her out of the corner of his eye. "Warehouse 13. If you don't arrive within the hour I will assume the offer is void." And with that he walked away, turning the corner clean as he disappeared from her sight.

Raven scowled, glancing down at the band. She allowed an orb of black magic to sphere around the band, and closed her eyes. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She muttered, trying to figure out the manufacture and history of it. She could feel the story of the metal as she screened it, and after finding nothing particularly wrong with it, she sighed. If Slade was true to his word, and the bracelet was just a handy prop, then the next two months could help her grow more than ever. But if he was playing her, toying with her mind, dangerous and horrible things could happen.

"It's just a week." She whispered, beginning to walk. In horror she halted to a stop, realizing what she had just said. "A week with Slade." Her lips pursed together. Technically it was only three days. Curiosity getting the better of her, she slowly began to walk away from her spot, rounding the corner at the storage unit, glancing up at the large numbers above them. She shrugged when she saw that she was standing in front of Unit 25.


Robin collapsed onto the couch, his chest heaving as he panted for air. Sweat dripped down his forehead, causing the edge of his mask to irritate him slightly. Fighting Overload had proved to be a little more difficult than usual. Normally Raven was able to activate the sprinklers with the flick of her wrist, but even if the sorceress had been there, that easy way out wouldn't be possible as it would ruin the thousands of dollars worth of equipment used to stock the Mega Arcade.

Needless to say, despite their victory, all of the Titan's were stripped of energy. Except for Starfire of course, who was bouncing around the kitchen. Cyborg took a seat at the computer, having remembered the priorities that still lingered before they had been called out. Beast Boy on the other hand, seemed more than eager to join Robin on the couch. He rounded the sofa, ready to belly dive into the middle of the cushions. His foot stubbed on a piece of splintered wood from the wrecked coffee table that hadn't been taken care of.

"Du-ude!" He cried, lifting his foot into his hands, jumping around on one foot until he managed to collapse on the couch. "Why didn't anyone take care of that?" He whined, contorting his body around so he could see the damage done to his foot.

"You stubbed your foot. You'll be fine." Robin muttered, his eyes narrowing as the morning's events were brought back to his attention. He sighed, leaning back so his entire body was sprawled on the side of the couch opposite Beast Boy.

"It's alright Friend Beast Boy! May I have the look?" Starfire had drifted over to the couch and allowed herself to drop down in the middle of the changeling and the Boy Wonder, her legs crossed. She turned her body to face Beast Boy, an optimistic smile adorning her face.

"Starfire, he's fine." Robin urged, feeling his face flush up slightly at the attention Starfire was giving Beast Boy. He didn't particularly like it when Beast Boy and Starfire talked as they did in situations like the current one. Both tended to be a little too friendly in the conversations, giving him a bit of unease.

"But Robin, what if Friend Beast Boy has developed the fungus of toes or some sort of illness pertaining to his foot?" Starfire's head turned to face Robin with wide eyes before she turned back to tend to Beast Boy. Robin fumed at the goofy grin Beast Boy was giving Starfire, and resorted to turning away from both of them.

"I don't see how you'd be able to tell seeing as he's already green." He muttered, getting up and walking over to Cyborg. He could see the robot man was trying to hack a database of some sort.

"You gotta cool off man." Cyborg muttered in a soft tone to Robin. "Or you'll lose both of them." Robin turned away, his face flushing. It wasn't difficult to know what Cyborg was talking about, and it made him a little upset to even think about losing Starfire. "Are we going to look for her?" Cyborg asked, setting aside the keyboard and mouse to swivel his chair around to meet Robin.

Robin glanced back at Cyborg. He shook his head. "We'll wait and see if she returns tomorrow. If she isn't back by tomorrow night, then we'll look for her." He raised a hand to scratch the nape of his neck. "I don't know where she could go."

"I dunno. Back to…wherever she came from?" Cyborg shrugged as well, raising a hand to rub below his nose. "I don't think you're taking this as seriously as you could be." This comment initially bothered Robin, but he decided that losing one Titan was enough for the day, and let it pass, instead using the emotions to reflect upon the situation.

Robin took a deep breath, trying to analyze the situation a bit more. It was easy to see where Cyborg was coming from, Cyborg and Raven seemed to have a close Brother-Sister bond. She had been the only one to step up and help him repair his car when it had been obliterated; something about it having to do with the fact that she understood what it was like to put her into something.

"I'm just worried that we might have driven her away from her home." Cyborg sighed, raising his hand to scratch his real ear. "She doesn't show it, but she's really delicate and the smallest of off-sets could throw her completely over the edge." Robin's first instinct at Cyborg's was the assumption that "over the edge" was somehow related to a life of villainy.

" 'We'? No. It was because of me that she left. And I know she's delicate Cyborg. Everyone is delicate. That doesn't mean you walk around them like they're glass." Robin didn't even notice that his conversation with Cyborg had attracted the attention of Starfire and Beastboy.

"What I think that Friend Cyborg means is that while your argument with Friend Raven may have caused her to leave, not any one of us did the 'stepping up' to try and prevent her from leaving." Starfire stepped towards the boys, her hands folding neatly in each other.

"Starfire…" Robin said gently, taking a breath to keep his tone calm and collected. "Please…stay out of this." He spoke almost in a pleading tone. He really did not want to get more people involved in this. He could understand Cyborg putting in a suggestion or two to set him in the right direction, but when it extended further than that, things tended to get complicated.

"I will stay right inside of this!" Starfire showed a persistence that took Robin aback. "Friend Raven is out on the streets doing the 'god knows what' eating the cuisine of 'who knows' without us, her friends to show her the 'loving' and the 'support'. I will stay right inside of this." Her eyes narrowed slightly as her lips turned into a pout, her hands unclasping from each other as she crossed her arms.

"Starfire." Beast Boy set a hand on Starfire's shoulder, causing Robin to clench his fists. "We've all just had a long day. Take it easy on him; he's got a lot on his back right now. Fighting won't get any of us anywhere. I dunno about you but I'm going to take an early night. If you want we could take this off your mind and go…shopping tomorrow?"

Starfire's eyes lit up in delight at the word 'shopping', and her hands clasped again as both her legs popped up, a wide smile stretching across her face. "Oh friend! That would be most delightful! I can show you the store of hair ornaments, the store of socks, and I can even show you the man who uses the mustard on the dog of corn!" She giggled a little.

"Great." Robin muttered to himself, turning back to Cyborg. "Did you find anything?" He tried to hold in his irritation, picking up a pencil and gripping it as he heard Beast Boy and Starfire depart the room.

He didn't realize what it was that made him so touchy about Starfire. After Tokyo they had tried to be more than friends, but a long trip to Tamaran left Starfire breaking off their short-lived relationship for the safety of their friendship. When she returned they had tried to resume things as they were before her departure, but somehow it was different. Showing public displays of affection around friends or even strangers seemed to leave Starfire in such a state of embarrassment that she couldn't even hold Robin's hand. At one point she had even admitted that she could now understand why he believed that a super hero life left complications when it came to relationships. The whole situation was touchy to Robin, but he wouldn't let Cyborg notice that it bothered him enough to bring the problem up to him.


Raven stepped into Unit 13, looking around. A rumbling from the concrete beneath her caused her to give a small shriek, and when the doors to the storage unit closed automatically, her eyes began to glow white as a defense mechanism.

"Sweet Raven, don't be afraid." Slade's suave voice echoed throughout the unit. Raven could feel the concrete beneath her lowering, and soon she could see a small slit of light appear from below. "This isn't a trap I can assure you." Slade's voice consoled. Raven lifted an arm to shield her eyes from the blinding fluorescent light that began to fill her vision, though after a few blinks she was able to lower her arm and see comfortably. The sight that she was presented with shocked her. The cement base of the storage unit had lowered into a large, bright room. It was clean and the walls and floor were all concrete with some sort of lighting fixture installed into the ceiling to illuminate the room.

Raven could see three doors on one wall, on the wall next to there was a long row of weaponry, the wall next to that was just a bunch of training equipment, and the wall next to that was a large, floor length, room length mirror, with a punching back hanging off center to the right. In the center of the floor were assortments of black training mats.

"What is this?" Raven found herself asking, glancing around to pinpoint where Slade was. She could tell he was behind one of the doors. But which one?

"You've asked enough questions for the moment sweet Raven. I would appreciate it if you could set that cuff to full and slip it on for me. You can put the key wherever you like, it is of no use to me. Then we can proceed with the sparring session that I brought you here for."

Raven glanced around, almost unsure of what she was going to do. Reluctantly she allowed the key to unlock the cuff, slipping it around her wrist and clasping it shut. She grunted as she felt it move to fit her wrist easier, and switched the dial to 'full'. She felt no difference and initially believed that he was lying to her. She held the key in her palm and stared at it. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos…" Nothing. Not even the smallest spark of dark magic. Raven, wide-eyed, slipped the key back into the hole of the cuff and felt a rush of relief when it willingly snapped off. She was glad to know it hadn't attatched to her skin, or something preposterous of the sort.

"Was I bluffing? Stop fooling around you insolent child." Slade's voice snapped her out of her actions and she quickly clipped the cuff back on. She pulled the two plastic cards from her leggings and set it down in a corner with the key on top. As she turned around she was shocked to find Slade standing directly behind her. Her surprise only heightened as he grasped her legs and chest and hoisted him up above his head.

A large scream escaped her lips as she felt the ground move from under her, a discomfort bubbling in her chest as he tossed her over onto the mat. She landed with a thud, her hand rushing to cradle the back of her head as she glowered up at him. "What the hell was that for?"

"Rule one: always be aware of your surroundings. I really did expect a little more of you Raven."