Back again. There's a huge storm right now, so there go my other plans :(

Therefore, I decree it's time for another chapter of The Raven's Descent. So this is going to be a major turning point, as Robin infiltrates Slade's secret base.

K, so…

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Fucking wolves," Raven grumbled, setting her head on the grass. How did it ever come to this? Oh wait, I know.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

FIVE HOURS AGO

Brother Blood scowled. The girl had failed. It was only to be expected. No matter. He'd simply hire another mercenary for the job. The Endonomicon was crucial if things were to go as planned, and he needed to retrieve it before Robin delivered the blasted jewel to the League. If it returned to the big players, there would be no getting it back.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Robin's eyes were narrowed in determination behind his domino mask. He'd catch that Raven for sure. After all, there was no way she'd see him coming.

He barked, "Stealth mode, activate!"

Instantly, the R-Cycle seemed to disappear, fading into the air. Robin sped along the dirt road, listening in tense anticipation as the tracking device beeped faster and faster. Suddenly, the rhythm climaxed, the beeps sounding in a crazed frenzy. Robin skidded to a stop in front of an abandoned research center. Supposedly, the scientists had been developing a serum to enhance and alter DNA. Unfortunately for them, the test subjects had been rats. And once the serum had been injected, the rats developed into horrifying monsters, viciously hunting down every last scientist. Because the serum was still in its early testing stages, the side effects were undiscovered. Within hours, the rats' nervous systems had been completely fried. Their body cells soon began to break down.

Long story short, the place was shrouded in a cloud of bad luck. For Raven to have her hideout at the abandoned laboratory was...disturbing, to say the least. After all, the place had, essentially, been the site of a massacre.

Robin dismounted the R-Cycle, cautiously entering the complex, his bo-staff drawn. Dusty microscopes stood, long forgotten, on the cobwebbed tables. A fine layer of gravel and sand blanketed the concrete, but did nothing to mask the terrible bloodstains. Dick Grayson shuddered. Robin kept moving, hiding the sickness now attempting to engulf him. He poked around the lab for a solid five minutes with little success.

"I should have found it by now!" he growled. There. Jackpot. Robin tore off a poster of the periodic table. Behind it was a set of heavy titanium doors. Robin reached into his utility belt.

"Never underestimate Bat-tech," he smirked, watching as the doors slid open smoothly.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Several stories underground, Slade's mouth twitched upward. "Never underestimate Slade Wilson."

Leaning over a control panel, he activated his defense systems.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Raven panted, practically flying through Slade's underground hideout. She found him in the control room.

"Unexpect-," she wheezed. "t-ted guest...bird...boy."

Slade raised an eyebrow. "Now how would you have figured that out? This wouldn't have to do with your mistakes…"

He leaned in.

"...would it?"

Raven couldn't meet her mentor's disturbingly menacing eyes. "I...there was a tracking device on the plane. I couldn't have known it was there! Besides, I-"

"Save it, Raven! I don't need your excuses," Slade whispered. He was calm. Too calm. Like the calm before a storm.

Raven's eyes filled with terror, suddenly registering the fact that Slade's hand was, at that moment, traveling straight for her face. For the first time in all of Raven's years with Slade, he'd slapped her. Raven touched her cheek.

Her violet eyes became pools of emotion. First came the anger. It passed quickly, replaced by fear. Like a terrified dog cowering from its master. Last...the hurt.

Raven let her inner hurt show through. All the hurt she'd built up over the years, suddenly set off by one. Simple. Action. Unable to control it any longer, the hurt was released as black energy. Raven's dark energy. After all, with her pent up emotions came pent up power.

The energy traveled through glass, concrete, and titanium with little regard for any of them.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Robin fired a grappling hook at the top of the hidden elevator shaft. That is, the elevator shaft without an elevator. Strange, that Raven would need such a large complex. That is, unless she was working with someone. Robin swung into a corridor of bright, sterilized white light. The titanium walls surrounding him gleamed with the artificial brilliance of thousands of lights. As he sprinted down the hallway, however, the light grew dimmer. And dimmer. And still dimmer.

The Boy Wonder blinked. He slipped on his night vision goggles. Suddenly, something slammed into him, blasting him into a world of hurt.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Slade's eyes barely had time to widen before the black energy struck him at point-blank distance. I should have known.

Raven collapsed. She crept over to Slade, pale gray fingers trembling. A heartbeat. Good. The suit must have protected him from part of her magic. A small spark of mercy.

"So much for mastering control of my powers," Raven groaned, glancing at her hands.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Robin groaned. Only the Batman's expert field training kept him conscious. He slapped an adrenaline patch on a small patch of exposed skin. Viciously, he shook himself to wakefulness. Just in time to see...some kind of dark energy shattering every single one of the lights. And windows. He blinked in astonishment, watching as it barreled through the walls.

"Wow," was all he could muster.

"Now where could that be from? A better question...who?"

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

The dark sorceress exhaled in frustration. All those years of training. All for nothing. She thought, Might as well make the most of it.

Raven transformed into her soul-self, enveloping Slade. She flitted out through the walls. But not without being seen.

Robin fired his grappling hook in the direction of the creature.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

1:53 A.M., Jump City National Park

Shadows coalesced, forming the silhouette of a girl in a dark blue cloak. Raven glanced, through her helmet, at Slade. Still out cold. She set him down on the pine needles. The two were alone in an evergreen forest. Almost alone.

A pack of wolves prowled out of the trees. Before a single one of the snarling beasts could let loose half a howl, Raven's whirling flurry of knives decimated the whole ring of wolves.

"Fucking wolves," she grumbled, setting her head down on the grass. Her eyes closed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

A shadow flashed between the boughs of a tree. Robin had seen the whole thing. The shadow-bird turning into Raven. And now, without a doubt, he knew it was Raven he'd been hunting.

After all, the only other person he'd ever known to throw knives with such a degree of accuracy was the Batman. And he was definitely not female. At least, Robin hoped not. Wow, I wonder if he…

Robin shook off the pointless thoughts. He leaped onto a tree branch, scaling the rest of the massive green giant with ease. On the top branch, he counted down in his head.

Three...two...one.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Raven's eyes fluttered to life, just in time to see a dark shadow descending upon her. She'd sensed Robin rather than heard him, but all the same, she rolled to the side to dodge him. Robin glanced around the clearing, his eyes falling on the orange-and-black masked man.

"Who is that?" he demanded.

Raven's answer was a silenced gunshot. She didn't want to wake Slade up.

Robin dropped to the ground, rolling behind a tree. He breathed.

"I'm not blind!" Raven hissed, a wickedly curved dagger in each hand. She swung at Robin. He smirked, unleashing his bird-a-rangs. Raven stumbled back in surprise.

She snarled viciously, slashing at Robin. The two engaged in an epic battle. Man, Slade must be REALLY out of it, Raven thought. It's strange. The Slade I know would be awake by now, kicking ass.

Robin backflipped, and launching himself off a tree, he shot down towards Raven at an angle, heel pointed straight at her. Raven waited. Right before the boot made impact, she ducked to the side, jamming her fingers into the airborne Robin's stomach. He dropped like a sack of stones, groaning and clutching his abdomen.

"I guess a robin is no match for a raven."

"Don't be so sure," Robin retorted. Holding himself up by two hands, he kicked Raven, knocking her back. On his feet again, he drew his bo-staff.

Grinning, Robin taunted Raven. Come at me.

Raven charged the Boy Wonder, two double-barreled pistols drawn, firing wildly at him, now with no regard for quietness. Robin nimbly dodged the bullets, dropping to a crouch. Right before Raven barreled right into him, Robin did something very, very, un-gentlemanly.

"UTERUS PUNCH!" he shouted.

A horrified grimace distorted Raven's face. She responded by stabbing Robin's armpits.

Robin groaned, "Now that is not only unbecoming, but for me, that is REALLY embarrassing!"

Both stumbling, the opponents approached each other, circling warily. Robin managed a whack at Raven's face, following it up by a spinning kick. Her nose began to gush blood.

Raven wiped her nose, throwing herself into an elaborate series of cartwheels and backflips, increasing the rapidity of each action as the sequence progressed. She faded into the night. Robin whirled from side to side, ignoring the crimson trail staining his uniform.

"Over here, bird-brains!" Raven shouted, dropping from the sky. She landed with both feet on Robin's head, knocking him out. She promptly fainted, blood loss overcoming her.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Both birds stirred, still groggy. Raven was lying on the ground, her face bandaged. She ripped the cloth off. Sure enough, her demon blood had already worked its magic. Literally.

Apparently Slade did have his forgetful moments. Still, how hard was it to remember that the little girl you'd corrupted was actually the dark daughter of an interdimensional demon and his ticket onto Earth.

She glanced around, catching sight of Robin, who was tied to a tree. Knifes were embedded around his face, mere hairs away from permanently scarring his flawless skin. Evidently Slade had been toying with her catch.

There he was. Sharpening his knife.

"Slade...how long was I out…"

"Three hours."

It certainly explained the feeble daylight beginning to seep through the inky darkness of the night.

Slade continued, "Now, Raven, there's something I need to speak to you about."

"Wasting bullets?"

"Not this time."

"Ruining your knives?"

Slade raised an eyebrow. "You ruined another one?"

"So it's about knives."

"No. We both know. You had a slight problem last night. Let me rephrase that. You ruined it, Raven. You ruined me. I made a mistake by taking you in. And now I'm going to fix that error. I want you gone. Now. You have five minutes. If I ever see you again...I will remember this."

Raven's eyes filled with tears...then quickly emptied. "Fine," she spat. "And I'LL be keeping the prize."

She marched towards Robin, who was now wide awake and trying to free himself of his bonds. A boomerang whirled towards Raven, slicing through the edge of her cloak. It was marked with a letter S. Slade.

"What's wrong, Slade? Don't want me stealing your toys?"

Slade cracked his neck. Raven narrowed her eyes, cheekbones sharply outlined in the morning light. "I see how it is," Raven continued. "And I'm fine with it."

The two ran towards each other, both unarmed. An unspoken agreement. Raven stopped short, allowing Slade to approach further. Right before he impacted, she jumped up. Slade had anticipated her move.

"I taught you EVERYTHING you know, little girl," he hissed. Raven didn't stand a chance. Or so he thought.

"I've learned a little something in the real world," Raven returned, referencing her recent experiences as a mercenary.

Slade kicked at her in midair, but Raven grabbed his foot, slamming him onto the ground. Before Slade could react, she lunged for Robin, dagger in hand. With one swift movement, the ropes dropped to the ground, and Raven and Robin disappeared in a swirl of darkness.

Slade's face twisted. "One day, the little bird will regret every flying away."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

"Why...why did you...save me?" Robin grunted, propping himself up on one elbow. He and Raven were alone in a dark alleyway.

Raven flicked away an alley-cat. It appeared unkempt, toughened, and very, very angry. You and me both, eh?

"Out of the kindness of my heart," Raven drawled.

"Sure. Because we all know you're just that great of a person."

"Fine. Because Slade doesn't deserve to get you. I've been through too much for him to just take away everything I've worked for."

"These abs?" Robin smirked, patting his flat stomach.

Raven blushed under her helmet, sputtering. "What...no. Revenge, idiot!"

She smacked Robin, sending him crashing to the floor. "And one get-away-with-a-crime card."

Robin glanced up at the mercenary. "Why not a lifetime membership?"

"You're too much fun," Raven smirked, whirling her blue cloak. She disappeared into the shadows. When Robin crept forward, inching his hand into the darkness, the only thing there was the cold, stale air. Raven was gone.

But back there, Raven had definitely been on his side. For just a few moments, granted, but they had been...allies. Perhaps there was a possibility he could make it last. Robin sank into thought. Can it be? Raven the Ruthless has a spark of good?

He glanced at the alley cat that was now spitting at him. "Probably a zero percent chance. But that's better than I anticipated."

And there was a part of him that might, just might, be yearning to get to know Raven. His worst enemy. The most interesting thing in his life right now. There was more to her than her rough-and-tough exterior, and Robin could see it. He just had to witness her real self in action. And he would.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Done! K, byeeee!

Follow, fav, review, all that. Thanks for reading, guys!