"He was loved." The words stayed with Raven throughout the night as she lay with eyes fixed upon the dark nothing above her. She had always preferred the darkness, solitude, a certain distance from everyone. But here, in this place, she found each of these things that had once provided such solace and comfort now suffocated her with their inevitability. The thought that she was able to find comfort in these things merely because she knew subconsciously that the opposite was there as an option as well was a discomforting one, and it made her feel as old as she appeared.

Still, Raven was torn between the knowledge she had acquired, her suspicions, and the fact that she truly knew next to nothing of Slade. Yes, she was now rather intimately aware of his 'business' practices and all the horrors they entailed, but of the man himself she was helplessly in the dark. This dark was suffocating as well.

The lights above her began to brighten, signaling sunrise just beyond the heavily tinted windows. Raven wondered at the reason behind the tint, or if there even was one. The amusing thought that Slade was some sort of undead creature that feared the light crept up, drawing a vague laugh as she rose from the bed to dress for her morning training session.

As per usual, Raven entered the well-equipped gym, taking a towel from the rack beside the door and flinging it jauntily over her shoulder, the thought of Slade as a roving zombie amusing enough to lighten her mood. Then again, she thought as she broke into a short jog-run-walk cycle on one of the several treadmills lining one wall, for all she knew those stories came from some legend of a man living longer than he ought. Thoughts of the ridiculous creatures of 'horror' that plagued the modern movies and video games brought to mind a subject she often elected to ignore in the current days. Her friends.

What were they doing? Were they worried after her? Were they searching for her still? After so very long, Raven couldn't hope so, but knowing her stubborn friends.. She stumbled, tripping up and nearly falling before catching her balance. A humored chuckle drew her attention snapping to the door, where Slade stood with a smirk that would be mocking were it any larger.

Throwing the man a scowl, she returned to her routine, unaccustomed to having her morning run interrupted, seeing as it was something she elected to do on her own before breakfast and the inevitable 'lesson' that would cause her to lose her appetite for lunch. She felt she might have gained a bit in the last days as she maintained her appetite without Lucifer's 'lessons'.

"Don't be like that." Slade said idly as he took the place beside her, setting the treadmill to a pace just slightly faster than her own. Feeling a bit one-upped by the still amused man, Raven stabbed at the button on her workout device, speeding her pace to just faster than his. Noting the change, Slade gave a short scoffing-laugh before speeding his own device. The cycle continued until both were flat out running, breathing heavily. Raven did not want to give up, pressing herself further than she generally would on the first workout of the day, but Slade would not slow. She refused to let the man win when he had already taken so much from her.

Ten solid minutes of sprinting came to an end suddenly when Slade reached for a thing watch-looking device wrapping his wrist that Raven had not noticed before, punching a series of buttons, directly after which both treadmills immediately shut down, slowing swiftly enough that Raven nearly lost her footing. Breathing hard, hands on the handlebars of the treadmill as she got her wind back, the girl frowned, "Why did you do that? I was winning."

"No, dear girl, you weren't. But it's adorable that you think so." Despite his cocky words, Slade's shirt, an unusually casual gray that matched Raven's own, was sticking to his body and dark from sweat. Though he wouldn't admit it, Raven could see that the man had begun to tire only shortly after she had. She noted this for later, Slade wasn't built to sprint for very long, and his endurance didn't match his speed.

"Whatever", she waved a hand, using her towel to wipe her face. "I'm done here anyway."

Raven swore there was satisfaction in the smirk she glimpsed Slade sporting as she turned to leave.


"Slate swung a hand down on the invader's skull, the crack sickening him as the man collapsed.."

Raven was settled comfortably in the chair beside Lucifer's bed, listening to the story that he told animatedly, hands gesturing wildly as he spun the tale. Almost overnight the man had healed exponentially, his bruising fading as if it had been months and not weeks since he was injured to a point that he might not ever have fully recovered. It was astonishing really, but most astonishing was the change that had come over the man, also seemingly overnight.

Where he had once sat still and unmoving but for his lightning hands, swift eyes and sharp tongue before a bank of computer screens and an immense control panel, now he was a man come alive. His hands gesticulated as he spoke, eyes alight with a light not unlike that which Raven remembered lived in Starfire's. Perhaps more jaded and not quite so naïve, but quite similar. The second thought of her friends in as many days was disheartening, especially after how hard she had worked to forget everything that she had lost. There was no doubt in her mind that Slade never intended to allow her freedom, but she could keep a careful eye out for the day that he slipped. She wouldn't let another opportunity to run pass her by.

"Raven!" Snapping fingers before her eyes startled Raven back into the world of the living, where Lucifer was piercing her with a sour look. He had been recounting an even older tale of Slate, one of a battle where he took out at least half of the enemies' army by himself, before the time in which his leader, his brother, led the tribe to their doom. "Pay attention. This is history."

Raven nodded, drawing her features into nothing but pure and unwavering attention, though her mind was elsewhere. Lucifer continued when he ascertained that he had Raven's undivided attention, unknowing that she was thinking of someone not present.

Where would she be now if not for Slade? He was a monster, but a man, and at this point she was slipping into the mindset that perhaps this wasn't really so horrible. As the thought crossed her mind, a melodic 'boom' echoed through the speakers, followed by a rushing noise that might have been a gush of wind, or a tidal wave.

On her feet in an instant, Raven was on alert, and finding no source of the noise in the room, she assumed it must have come from somewhere outside, obviously, dashing through the door to find it. The rushing sound persisted, flowing through the hallway loudly enough that Raven couldn't hear the generally loud tap of her shoes against the floor.

"Slade!", she shouted with intending to, calling for the only other person that she was certain was in the vicinity. Flushing as she turned into the large room in which they often sparred, Raven's eyes fell to Slade, standing calmly in the center. In his hands was a tablet, broken in two. Raven couldn't make out the markings from where she stood, but a light was emanating from them, and it seemed the noise was as well.

"You've accepted your role far more quickly than I would have assumed. Splendid." He spoke calmly, his voice cutting impossibly through the deafening sounds.

"What are you talking about?!", shouted Raven, arms up as the edges of the room seemed to produce a whirlwind that began to surround the two of them. The force shoved her steadily towards the center of the room towards Slade, who still appeared as calm as if the wind were nothing more than a summer breeze.

"I think you know precisely to what I am referring, my dear, and it's about time that you admit to it. You've already accepted it, that is undeniable."

Raven struggled to keep from being shoved ever closer to Slade, the markings on the tablet becoming ever more clear. The language was old, dead, as dead as her own planet, the planet from which it had come. Understanding flooded her being so suddenly that she no longer fought the wind, approaching slowly, but of her own accord as her eyes flashed over the language of Azarath. As she grew close enough, she could identify the language, but struggled with the exact meaning, the curving characters bastardized with her father's demonic native tongue and twisted to serve Slade's purpose.

"When the child becomes woman and accepts her fate, all powers shall be unleashed to seal it. As the sun sets on the third day, the one who rises will conquer. But if the conqueror fails to claim the prize, there will be nothing left." Slade chanted the words, then repeated them, the second time in the language in which they were inscribed, a vile tongue that brought bile to Raven's throat.

"I don't understand!" Raven cried aloud, anger and fear fighting for triumph within as the girl fought for any sense of control in the chaos. Slade laughed as Raven took another step closer, now no more than a foot from him.

"It means that your time has come, my Raven. It is time for you to become that which you were created to be. A bride."

With the words, the winds died, the tablet glowing brighter than the sun and shattering. Splinters of stone struck Raven's face despite her raised arms, too quickly for her to block. Sharp pain shot through where the stone splinters embedded themselves in her flesh. Her fingers lifted automatically to trace the curve the splinters formed, recognizing the character as one so often drawn on stones and thrown at her by those who didn't understand what she was. But no, the extra line winging out on the side changed the meaning entirely. Rather than the slur that she couldn't translate into any human language, so cruel was it, it meant something more akin to 'Chosen' or 'Challenger'. The meaning gave her hope, hope that perhaps she had a chance of finding victory.

The hope must have been apparent on her face, as it drew a laugh from the man so very close to her. "Don't mistake that mark for a sign you may rebel against fate, my dear." He tapped the matching mark on his own cheek. "This merely binds us together. Tomorrow, we duel, and the outcome will be the same no matter the victor." Raven's stomach turned to lead as the man smiled peacefully, perfectly content with the knowledge he was about to impart. "The victor claims the loser as prize, and is bound to them eternally. So you see, there really is no chance of fleeing from your fate. There never was."

Morning broke too soon for Raven's taste, she had slept no more than an hour in five minute stretches between fitful and long periods of wakefulness. She would fight today against the man who had made her proficient in combat. It had occurred to her early in the night that perhaps that was why he trained her, to make for a better battle and to provide hope which he could then smash before her eyes.

The man was sick.


Raven wrapped herself in her arms as she stared out of the darkened window, seeking comfort if only within herself. Escape was useless. The compound was a veritable fortress, and without her powers she would stand no chance against what Slade could do. And when she really got down to it, what would she be running to? Yes, she was an apt fighter, and very good at keeping her head in battle. But without her abilities, how effective would be really be as a hero?

She thought of Robin, and the abilities she had sensed deep within him so long ago when they first met. He had an outstanding amount of stamina even without harnessing what he held deep within, she suspected a strand of DNA gone wrong had ended up being a help, giving the boy an increased capacity for pain. And the training that she knew he had undergone with Batman's tutelage. She laughed wryly as the thought floated by that she now had a similar story. Family gone, taken under some strange man's wing, it was only too bad that this man did not have her best interest in mind.

Forehead tipping to press against the window, Raven closed her eyes to savor the last moments of peace she would have for the foreseeable future. She spent these minutes in silence, broken by the 'ding' that signaled her summons to the arena.

It was time.