Hidden Hospitality

Written by Lexi

Chapter Eight: A New Trait

It was all silence now. Nothing but the cold, plopping, wet sound of strong rain, splashing hard against the ground. Her blank, soft blue eyes stared up, eyeing up at his one strong, grey eye peaking out of his mask.

The awkward moment seemed to last an eternity to the two villainy beings. The world around them was spinning, out of wack. It was almost as if common sense had no existence to them anymore. Life, and everything in it, made absolutely no sense.

Finally, in an attempt to break the stage, Slade rose up to a stand and held his hand down to her. "Are you just going to sit there crying your eyes out, or are we going to go home now?" His voice was now giving an unbelievable attempt in sounding cruel.

'Home...' The word echoed in Lexi's mind like a bellowing horn, letting loose in a wide, open, empty cave. She uneasily, grabbed onto his palm and stood herself. He almost immediately let go and shot off in the direction Rose had retreated in. Lexi paused for a second, gazing, and then ran off with him.

The next day...

A green changeling sat alone in a plush, red cushoned hair in a silent waiting room. The occasional passings by of doctors and surgeons were slightly irritating. It was like the world didn't know what had taken place, or didn't care.

Beastboy cradled his head in his hands, feeling an intense shock of worry and angst. His friends, they had all been hospitalized due to the night before. Robin had taken two broken legs and a spraned wrist from his gaping fall through the floor. Raven, having the least damage, had cracked her skull slightly, but the doctors assured it was nothing critical.

Cyborg, had been a tricky case. Though the health-experts were convinced his human half was perfectly fine, his mechanical parts were another matter. Embarrasingly, they were forced to get a mechanic to check up on his other half, but, he turned out just fine.

Starfire, on the other hand, was a different and alarming matter. Apparently, she had been diagnosed with , a deadly lung disease caused by breathing in volcanic ash.

The idea baffled the doctors and Beastboy, there was no way the fire could be described as volcanic. Raven had said that Slade's new apprentice had caused it with her powers, so she must have been a pyromancer.

But, pyromancer's powers didn't come from volcanoes, usually. She also said there had been ONE species on a different planet, pretty similar to humans, but with certain differences.

They took residence on a planet, not from Earth's galaxy, called Latara. So obviously, they were convieniently named Latarans. A very, cliche, renassiance type life. With kings and queens, battles and sorcery, an ordinary fairytale land. One difference, was that each infant was born with an incredible ability, the element of fire.

Considering the fact that the Lataran's realism factor was a very dim thing, they believed that the power was a gift from some sort of Sun-God. The idea wasn't so far fetched to them, because they're people were much like an ancient civilization.

But, when Raven's people, the Azarathians, became interested in the newly found, diserted planet, experts were sent to study it. They returned with intriguing news. The land had been filled with ruins of castles and building, and an extreme amount of ash had been discovered all around. When inspected thoroughly, the ash had been identified extremely similar to Earthly, volcanic ash.

It was insanely strange, how could a planet so far away, have some connection with the other?

Leading back to Starfire's condition, the conclusion to the others was that Lexi had been Lataran.

"But it's impossible," Raven argued to Beastboy later on, lying in her hospital bed, calmly. "The Latarans were an extinct race, no life was ever found."

Beastboy squinted his eyes in frustration. "Well if it's the only explana-"

"It isn't."

"How!"

"Because," The dark aura-given hero stated. "She could just have a scientific connection with the power. She might not even be a pyro, for all we know."

Beastboy shrugged and stood himself up, and brushed himself off. He headed towards the door grumpily. "I'm going to get some food, you want any?"

She shook her head in response. Just before he could make his exit, Raven haulted him with her mystic voice.

"Beastboy... I'm not crippled. The rest of us are fine, it's not like any of this is your fault."

Her voice was strangely reassuring, and kind. Beastboy nodded and left the room, not saying anything back.

Slade's powerful fist slammed loudly on his wooden desk with a booming crash. He growled under his breath in frustration. He grumbled under his breath as he stood up from his desk chair, and turned around, pacing himself.

He was dressed casually at the moment, a grey t-shirt and simple jeans. He couldn't ponder a reason in his complex mind to dress in his uniform, because, due to recent "problems..." him and the two teens would not be meeting the Titans again for a little while.

And oh, that girl... Lexi. What had happened the night before had occured in such a tragically random moment it made his head spin. Why had he comforted her? He didn't care for her, so he believed. True, she was different. Gifted, despite her many flaws. She was breakable as well, which was a perfect trait for an apprentice of Slade's. Weak, silently open to his manipulation. It was near amazing how easily he had convinced her to join him in the beginning anyway.

That was another thing that tumbled through the mercenary's head. With Robin, Terra, hell even Rose, it had taken months to lure them into his powerful grasp, Lexi had taken a mere four weeks. It was almost as if the young, confused girl had wanted all along to be fighting for him, or more likely, by his side.

Slade admited to himself, that he wouldn't mind having a partner, rather than apprentice. After all, Rose had been closer to that lable than any other, but that was more of a father daughter team anyhow. The Robin deal had more been a longing for control over the stubborn boy. Terra... well Terra had been for multiple reasons. Love, somewhat contributing to the cause, but not fully.

His one good eye drifted over toward the small picture frame, displaying a photo of Slade when he was around 25 or so, and a young woman with lucious brunnette hair flowing down to her shoulders, and an elegant yellow rose placed neatly in her hair.

Slade Wilson let out a yell in absolute fury, snatched the picture, and threw it hard against the wall. It crash-landed to the ground, shattering the glass.