-Chapter 6-

"Oh my…" Said Wintergreen as he watched the scenes unfold on the many screens before him. "This is not good…" He said to himself, getting up and rushing out of the room. He arrived at Slade's room rather quickly with two robots in toe. He knocked and when there was no answer, he figured they were still asleep. It had only been around five hours since they had last awoken and Wintergreen knew it was not enough rest for either of them but Raven's friends were in trouble so something had to be done now.

Wintergreen entered the room with the robots following. One was carrying a few things for Raven while the other was carrying items for Slade. The robots stood at the doorway, staying out of the way. "Sir." Wintergreen said standing by the bed. "Sir, you must wake up." He said more firmly as Slade did not stir. Slade had never been a deep sleeper like this before. 'I know they both need rest but I must wake them.' Wintergreen thought as he pushed on Slade's shoulder, shaking the man slightly. "Sir, wake up."

Slade groaned and started to come out of his dream world reluctantly. Nothing hurt in that world with Raven snuggled beside him within their newly forming world of darkness. "What?" He asked, cracking his eyes open and looking to Wintergreen. Raven stayed curled up against his body, fast asleep. Wintergreen was trying to wake Slade, not her, no reason for her to wake up and leave their peaceful world.

"Sir, we have a problem." Wintergreen said calmly, his eyes showing the worry his face did not betray.

"What's wrong?" Slade asked waking up completely now. The shift in his mood disturbed Raven who groaned and struggled to stay asleep.

"Her friends are in danger." Wintergreen said simply.

His words register to Slade and through him, to Raven, who woke up. Raven groaned and quickly tried to force herself up as she woke up completely. "What's happened to my friends?" She asked sitting up, not caring that she was nude and flashing the elder male her chest. Her friends were more important to her than keeping her modesty. Raven's body swayed slightly from the quick movement and Slade steadied her with a hand on her back. Raven's head was swimming from the motion but she ignored it.

"It would seem many of your enemies have grouped together and captured your friends." Wintergreen said looking her in the eyes.

Raven gasped in horror as her mind raced to figure out a way she could help her friends. "I need to call Titans East." She said finally. "I have to tell them that they have to save them."

"That wouldn't work." Said Slade as he too sat up slowly. While they slept, his pain had eased but now moving seemed to reawaken it with a vengeance. "Titans East has nowhere near the power level your team does. If they couldn't take down the group, Titans East wouldn't stand a chance." He looked to Wintergreen. "Who all is in the group?" Wintergreen began to list off all the members. "Damn… They didn't hold back…"

Raven placed her head in her hands as she tried not to break down. Slade was right, against that many Titan's East would fall as well. Sorrow gripped Raven's heart as she tried to think of anything that would work. Batman was out; it would take too long for him to get here to help if he even could. The Justice League was also out as they would never come to her call. They had already made their opinion about her very clear in the past.

Slade sighed feeling her pain through their bond. He did not want her in pain and leaving her friends in the hands of their enemy was causing her pain. Slade forced himself to the edge of the bed, throwing his legs over. The burning pain was slowly getting worse the more he moved but he forced himself through it, pushing himself off the bed to rise. Wintergreen moved to help his friend but Slade sent him a look that made the man back down.

"Slade…" Raven whispered with worry as she watched him, wondering why he was getting up. His body was still breaking down and changing. Slade needed to rest or he was going to kill himself. "What are you doing?" She reached out to him with her mind to feel his thoughts but he had closed off his mind to her. She had not expected him to be able to block his thoughts from their bond but it confirmed to her that he had had some mental training at some point in his life.

"Getting dressed. You should as well." He said keeping his thoughts to himself. He knew she was not going to like his plan. He looked to Wintergreen. "Help her dress and cut her hair." He glanced back to Raven who was still on the bed and smiled. "Just short enough to where it doesn't drag on the ground I think." He said with a smirk as he forced himself to the bathroom, motioning for the drone that held his items to follow. Once behind the door he closed it and leaned against the wall getting his breath back.

Raven probed at his thoughts more but came back with nothing as Slade kept his thoughts to himself. 'There was no way he's thinking about going to save them, is he? It would be suicide!' She thought to herself before Wintergreen brought her out of her thoughts.

"Miss Raven." He said again finally getting her attention. "I think I have found something for you to wear." Wintergreen took the clothes from the remaining robot and handed them to Raven. "I had to guess about your size but I think I got it close enough to work for now." He stated as she looked over the new clothes. The clothes were simple, a white pair of underwear with a sports bra and small socks for the under garments while the top was a dark blue t-shirt with a matching pair of shorts.

"Thanks." Raven said gratefully as she started to dress. She moved slowly, her limbs feeling heavy as though filled with lead instead of bones. She struggled with her hair that persisted on being in the way. Finally, she allowed Wintergreen to come to her aid and help her finish getting dressed, his job being to keep her hair out of the way. Once she was standing on her own and dressed, Wintergreen placed a pair of cloth boots much like her own down by her feet and Raven slipped into them. "Think we can cut my hair shorten than what Slade said?" She asked on the off chance that Wintergreen would give her the scissors he just picked up. It was her hair after all.

"I'm sorry, Raven." Wintergreen said with a smile that made her think he was not sorry at all. "But I do as he requests." Raven groaned and thought about fighting him on it but just did not have the strength. At least once it was cut she was not going to step on it anymore. Wintergreen took his time gathering up her hair behind her and brushing his fingers through it to make sure he was cutting it evenly. Raven could hear the snip-snip of the scissors as he worked, cutting her hair to where the ends were just a few inches off the ground. Once it was cut, Wintergreen grabbed a brush and softly combed her hair. Finally, when he was sure she was tangle free he began to work it into sections and twists until he had finished, leaving her with a twist bun having pulled all her hair up and out of her way. He even made sure to leave slack in the long locks that framed her face so they looped down the side of her face and went back into the bun. "There." He said proudly, looking over his work. "Now when you are ready to take your hair down just tug it slightly and it all should fall out tangle free." He instructed, showing her were to tug using the mirror on the wall.

"Thanks." She said glancing to the mirror, looking over his work. "It looks good though I don't think I'll be letting it down any time soon." She said with a grin as she sat back down on the bed.

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Slade sighed as he looked over the uniforms Wintergreen had brought him. There was his Slade uniform that he could not bring himself to wear. That alias would never save the Titans. The other was his old Deathstroke uniform but that would not do either as being Deathstroke was back when he was an assassin for heir. He was left with the third choice, which was an outfit he had never worn before. It was plain and simple, not something you would wear if you were making a name for yourself, which in this case, he was hoping that would not happen. It was completely black, no identifying markings to let anyone know who he was. Slade slid on the long sleeve black shirt feeling the material that was thicker than normal but nothing that would really protect him. It was tight, clinging to his body like a second skin. He slid on the pants next, taking his time, ignoring his pain and trying to keep steady as he dressed. Once that was done, he grabbed the black combat boots and sat on the edge of the large tub while putting the socks and boots on. The robot brought over a mask like Robin's that would hide his eyes along with a black utility belt that he put on but did not think he would use. He stashed the mask in a pocket for later. Once that was done, he put on the gloves and gathered up his willpower before opening the door. He did not want Raven to know how much pain he was in right now. He did not want her to worry about him as well. After all, this whole mess with her friends would not have happened if he had not stolen her away for so long.

He opened the door and walked out seeing Raven dressed and sitting on the bed, her hair up in the tight bun. Wintergreen was gathering up the hair on the floor that he had cut off that seemed to be fading away in his hands. It went unnoticed however, as they both had turned to face Slade.

"I've never seen you wear that uniform…" Raven remarked looking him over. He looked good in black. It really showed that his hair was silver and not white.

"I've never worn this one before." He glanced to Wintergreen. "Why did you bring me three different uniforms?" He asked the man as he went to the dresser, grabbing his watch and putting it back on.

"I was not sure who you were going to be, sir." Wintergreen said seriously. "Things have taken quite a turn with recent events."

Slade smirked. "There are days I think you know me too well." He mumbled before turning to Raven who looked to him with a blank expression however, her thoughts and emotions were far from it.

"What are you thinking?" She asked him mentally.

"I'm thinking I have to fix this." He said back, watching her carefully.

"This isn't your fault, I chose to mate you. This is my fault." She said softly. Slade could feel her pain and guilt.

"I stole you away." He said seriously. Raven was taken aback by the guilt she felt from him. "I promised not too but I did." He continued before she could interrupt. "I could have waited another day and came back. I didn't have to bring you here but I had hoped if I got you here you wouldn't want to leave." Slade laughed aloud ignoring the look he got from Wintergreen. He groaned and gripped his ribs with a hand trying to ignore the knives in his body. "I never would have dreamed you would have mated me." He said ignoring his pain, glancing away from her.

Raven stood up and went to him, laying a hand on his arm that was still across his ribs. "I will have mated you for nothing if you go out there and get yourself killed. We'll figure out a different way to save them."

"If I can't fix this, how the Hell am I supposed to protect you?!" He mentally yelled looking back at her. His emotions getting the better of him. She could feel his anger but she could also feel that it was not directed at her but himself. There was something in his past that brought this out of him. She could feel it but did not know what to do. He was doing a good job of keeping his memories from her for now. It was not only that however, the look in his eyes spoke for him. His pride was on the line and this was not something he was going to back down on.

Raven sighed and looked away from him. She knew from dealing with Robin and even Beast Boy, that a man's pride was not something they could afford to lose. If she did not let Slade try, she was pretty much telling him that she did not think he was strong enough. Even if she knew he was in pain and not at his best, she had to trust him. She chose to mate him for a reason, did she not? It was not because she had ever thought of him as weak before. Why should she suddenly think of him as such now? "Okay." She said aloud, looking up to him again, forming her own resolve. "I trust you." She said knowing now she truly did.

A wave of relief rushed through Slade hearing that from her. He swore even his body felt better knowing she was placing her trust in him again. Slade reached out, laying his hand against her face tenderly, cupping her cheek. Raven smiled softly and nuzzled into his hand. Both of them were wishing he had not put on his gloves yet. "Let's go save your friends. Just this once." He said with a grin.

Raven smiled and nodded. "Any idea how we're going to do that?" She asked as they left the room with Wintergreen following behind, a small smirk gracing the butler's lips.

"At this point I'm making things up as I go." Slade said with a grin walking with her at his side. They were heading back to the control room. Slade had to see the situation for himself. Hopefully from there he could get a plan going.

"Lovely…" Raven mumbled rolling her eyes but had a small smirk on her lips.

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Jinx sighed, rubbing her temple again. At the moment she was listening to some of the male villains who had joined up with her team, argue about what to do with the Titans they had captured. She glanced over at said Titans seeing them trapped in the same orange domes Atlas had contained them with before. Robin had come too first but could not escape as they had stripped him of all his gadgets. Cyborg was the next to wake up but as he was running on reserve power, he was no threat.

"Look." Said the pink-eyed witch. "The plan was to call Slade and sell him the Titans." She said stepping into the middle of the group shutting them up. "If he's captured Raven maybe he'd pay a high price for the whole set?"

"But…" Spoke Dr. Light. "What if he didn't capture Raven…?" He asked trying to keep in a shiver thinking about the woman who haunted his dreams.

Everyone shared a look at that thought. No one had thought about that until now. "Maybe we should hurry up and call him…" Mumbo said as he twirled his wand while sitting by the trapped Titans.

Jinx quickly pulled out the old Slade communicator she still had. She hit the call button and waited as it rang. After a few silent minutes, she hung up. "Maybe he's busy…" She said glancing around at everyone. She could see the group starting to get restless and with so many, how was she supposed keep them all in line? "Hey guys! Tell us how the fights went." She said with a catty-grin. Bragging would keep everyone rather busy while she waited to call Slade again.

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Slade sat down in his control chair quickly; glad to be off his legs as he and Raven went over the recorded footage of the Titans' quick defeats. Raven had been shocked by it but he was not. He knew what their enemies knew. Together they were strong, alone they were vulnerable. Also, having them so distracted and disheartened by the capture of a friend helped to weaken their resolve to fight.

Raven watched one screen in particular that showed a live feed, her eyes on her friends. Starfire and Beast Boy had both woken up soon after she started watching the screen. Every part of her being wanted to rush to her friends' aid and save them. She wanted to kick the ass of everyone who hurt them. Yet as she was right now, with only just enough strength to keep from being in her true form, she was useless. Even if she let go of her control and used what strength and magic she had left, it would not even be enough to throw up a decent shield.

She glanced to Slade who was pulling up maps of the area on the computer screen, making a lay out of the place. His fingers flew across the keys quickly as he made the computers do his bidding. Wintergreen had left them saying something about finding a certain item. What he was looking for she did not know and did not ask.

"It would seem they tried to call me." Slade said off handedly to Raven, peaking her interest.

"Why would they call you?" She asked walking to him. A brief thought that he had set this up crossed her mind but it was quickly crushed by their bond and his own emotions for what has happened.

"Perhaps they want to sell them to me." He said turning his head to face her as she stood next to him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "The world thinks I stole you away." His eyes widened and smirk came to his lips as an idea hit him. "Oh, this could work out well for us…" He said thinking about it.

Raven raised an eyebrow resisting the urge to drive into his thoughts and read his mind. "How?" She asked simply and with a dull tone as though she was uninterested in his plan. Which was far from the truth and Slade could feel it.

"They're going to call back again." He said looking back to the computer and resuming his typing. "You'll see." He said with a smirk knowing that if he did not explain it to her it would bother her.

Raven growled at him softly, knowing he was being cryptic just because he could. "Whatever." She said trying not to let it get to her. She failed though and Slade laughed from the emotions washing over her. "Shut up!" She snapped without too much venom in her voice, going back to the screen her friends were on, trying to ignore her mate and his smug satisfaction that she could feel from him. 'Goddess give me patience to deal with this man…'

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Jinx rolled her eyes while listening to everyone brag and bicker. A few had wandered off on their own looking for entertainment. She knew they would be back when called so she did not worry about it. After all, once they cashed in on selling the Titans off, everyone was going to want their share. That was when things were going to start getting ugly around here again. A glance to Control Freak, who kept giving her heart-filled eyes, sent a creepy shiver up her spine as she looked away. 'Well uglier at least… Ugh.'

"Alright guys, shut up!" Jinx yelled as she opened the device to call Slade again. "I'm calling him again." Everyone went quiet at that as the ringing tone sounded.

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Slade smirked and glanced to Raven. "I told you they would call back."

"Great prediction." She said being sarcastic as she sat in a spare chair Wintergreen had sent down using a robot. "But you're not masked and I'm here. How is this going to convince them you didn't steal me away?"

Slade smirked. "They aren't going to see us. I have an old recording of my image that is going to play on their end of the communication. It's very easy to set up. But, you're going to have to keep quiet and let me do the talking." He said getting a little firm with her. "Got it?"

Raven rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest not saying a word.

Slade looked back to the screen and connected the call.

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Jinx almost gasped when the call went through this time and the masked Super Villain was on the screen before her. "Slade!" She said with a smile and a soft blush. "Word on the street is that you captured Raven." She said trying to force confidence. The man was nothing if not intimidating. "Well, I've got an offer for you! Pay us 15mil and you can have the whole set!" She said pointing the device to the Titans, making sure they were in view before bringing it back to her face. "What do you think? Want to make it a complete set?"

Slade was silent for a moment. "It's an interesting offer." He said in his cool crisp way that told her he was thinking it over. "However." Slade spoke with a tone that was curious to her. "I did not capture Raven."

"But…" Jinx stammered. "The Titans posted it everywhere that you broke into their tower and took her!"

"If I had bothered to break into the tower Jinx, I would have killed them all in their sleep." His voice was cold and hard showing his annoyance with her.

"Oh…" She swallowed hard recovering from the blow. "Well then 14mil since it's not a complete set!" She said thinking at least everyone would get a million dollars out of it and be set for a while.

Slade laughed and it sent such a chill down her spine as she felt her blood turn cold. "Oh no. No deal Jinx. I know who has Raven and I have no intent of getting involved in what will commence once she learns of what has happened to her friends while she's been away."

The blood drained from Jinx's face at Slade's words. Raven was not captured… She was with someone even Slade did not want to go against?! "Who…?" She asked softly.

"You'll see soon enough." Slade said with a grin. "The news has shown your little group. If she didn't know before, she does now." He disconnected the link just as the sound of a news helicopter was heard flying over them.

Jinx swallowed hard and looked to everyone in the group. Even the ones who had left were back with the hopes of being paid. However, the conversation that everyone heard informed them of otherwise.

"What… What did he mean he didn't capture Raven?" Doctor Light asked with a hesitant glance to the shadows around him as though said woman was going to step out of one at any moment.

"Well crud sucker…" Gizmo said ignoring Doctor Light. "What do we do now?" He asked, looking to Jinx along with a few of the others.

"It would seem there is no hope of getting paid." Said Mumbo as he got up, twirling his hat and placing it back onto his head. "Tata kiddies!" He said with a grin on his blue face. "If there is to be no money in this adventure then it's time for me to hit the stage once again!" With a tap of his wand to his hat, he was gone with a poof.

"I'm out of here." Said Punk Rocket who walked off. Control Freak followed along with Fang who was figuring he could hit a few jewelry stores on his way back to Kitten to make the girl happy. Going home empty handed to that chick was never a good thing.

Bully Numerous looked around at everyone weighing in his options. "I'm out too." He said finally with a wave. "Not worth sticking around anymore. See you-all!" He said heading off on his own way thinking about all the places he was going to hit on his way home. If he was honest with himself, getting food first sounded like a good idea. Dividing burned a lot of energy.

Adonis rolled his eyes watching them leave. "Hurry up and call someone else chickie." He said addressing Jinx who glared at him. "I want to get paid for my services." A lustful grin crossed his face as he looked up and down her body. "Unless you'd like to pay me another way."

Jinx rolled her eyes and tried not to think about blasting him to pieces. She failed of course but at least she did not act on it. "Just give me a minute to think." She said taking her seat again. She glared down at the Slade-com and tossed it away in her anger. Why were things not going the way they planned? Everything else went according to plan so why was this part not?

"We… We should leave…" Said Light timidly. His words went ignored however as they always did when it concerned Raven. None of them really knew what she had done that turned him into such a coward but neither did they care.

"Just shut up." She said looking the group over. "I'm trying to remember some other numbers…"

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"See." Slade said with a grin to Raven as he watched some of the members of the group leave. "This is working out to our advantage."

Raven had to admit that having so many leave was a good start but there were still too many for him to think he could take them all on. All of the true heavy hitters were still there. She did not voice her opinion however knowing such words would not help anything. "Now what?" She asked hesitantly unsure if she wanted to know his answer.

"Now, Master Wilson does what he does best." Said Wintergreen bringing their attention to him. Standing behind the butler was a robot carrying a weapon in its hands.

"I see you found that thing after all." Slade said pushing off the chair with great effort but kept the pain from showing on his face. Walking to the robot, he grabbed the weapon.

Raven's eyes widened as she saw what it was. It was the double bladed scythe that he had stolen from hell. "You still have that?" She asked walking over to them getting a better look at the weapon. The long staff was jet black while the sharp blades were a dark metal coated with what seemed like a thin glaze of black that made them look even darker than they should have been.

"I've never been one to give up a good blade." Slade said as he tested his control with it, twirling it in his hand feeling the ease in which he controlled it. A slight amount of disappointment came to him as no flames coated the blades. Ever since he lost the demonic energy from her father, he had not been able to call flames to the blades. Then again, was he not changing into the same thing Raven was? Perhaps power over fire would be his once more? Then again, perhaps not. Who knows just what abilities he was going to get out of this. Slade turned to Wintergreen and grabbed his mask from his belt placing it on his face. "You know, saving people has never been something I was good at." He said addressing the man.

"True sir. But you are the best there is in battle." Wintergreen dipped his head to him. "I wish you both luck and please do come home when you're done."

Slade nodded to him and turned to Raven, extending his hand to her. "Now I will save your friends." Raven went to him, taking his hand in hers. He pulled her close and she knew what he was planning. She wrapped her arms around his middle tightly as he set the teleporter to the right co-ordinance. Slade held her tightly once more with one arm and they were gone.