A/N: I Do Not Own Teen Titans in any way, shape, or form.

Chapter 10

His wings burned and his muscled ached as he flew and flew, but he refused to let Starfire out of his sight. The fact that Robin was on top of him ordering him to go faster and basically backseat, or back, driving didn't help at all. They'd gone so very far from the Tower and from Jump City itself. They weren't even sure where they were at this point. But one thing was for sure, they knew they were heading for Slade's newest lair.

They soon arrived at what looked like an abandoned mansion. A true 'House on Haunted Hill'. Starfire and her kidnapper quickly landed and disappeared inside. Beast Boy swooped down and landed as well. Robin jumped off of his back and sprinted for the door with Beast Boy, now back in human form, right behind him. They burst into the mansion, but found nothing. It was completely silent; dust and cobwebs painted the enormous room.

"Damn," said Robin, looking around. "Where'd they go?"

"I can't hear anything," said Beast Boy, his ears listening very carefully. He took in a big sniff of air and said, "I don't smell any-any-achoo!"

"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled at him.

"Sorry!" Beast Boy screamed back at him.

"Great, if he didn't know we were here before he does now," cursed Robin.

"Of course he knows we're here!" said Beast Boy. "He wanted us to see Starfire get nabbed and he wanted us to follow him or whatever that was, I'm gonna guess a Sladebot, here. You're lucky I didn't throw you off of my back you-" He paused when he finally caught a scent that wasn't dust and stale air. "Blood. I smell blood… Ravens blood! She's here! And… and… Slade! I smell Slade! They're this way!"

He immediately took off into the west wing of the mansion with Robin right behind him. As he ran the scent got stronger and this both excited and scared him. Would he find Raven alive or dead?

Suddenly a shriek came from down a long hallway, causing both men to stop in their tracks. Only one girl could shriek like that.

"That's Starfire!" said Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy, focus!" Robin yelled at him. "Where's Slade?"

"He's this way," said Beast Boy. "But Starfire's that way!"

"Fine, you go get Starfire and I'll get Slade!" he said and sprinted off down the hall.

"Like hell you will!" Beast Boy shouted and ran after him. He caught him and pushed him up against the wall. "Listen, you fucking asshole, are you really gonna ignore Starfire? Isn't this what you said you'd never do?! This is it, Robin! This is your big test, don't you see? I betcha right now Starfire's watching you and Slade's telling her that you won't choose her, you'll choose him. Well prove him wrong, for fuck's sake! Go after Starfire!"

Robin was fuming, but actually found himself unable speak. Beast Boy was… right. And just like that, it all finally clicked for him.

"Oh my God," said Robin with realization. "I… I almost did it. I almost forgot about Starfire to get Slade. What the hell's wrong with me? What've I become?"

"I've already told you a hundred times!" said Beast Boy. "You've become a prick and an asshole! Now what're you gonna do? You going after Slade with me or are you gonna go save Starfire?"

Robin stalled for a moment then said, "I'm going after Starfire."

"Good, then go!" Beast Boy said and threw him down the hall towards where Starfire's voice had come from. "You get the woman you love and I'll go get mine. By the end of the day, Slade's gonna be ours! Now go!"

"Right," said Robin and he bolted down the hallway.

As the men departed, a camera hidden above them focused and unfocused on the now empty space. Slade thought to himself after seeing the scene that unfolded between the two while Starfire continued to cry, but now it was for different reasons.

"It appears I've misjudged Beast Boy's intelligence," said Slade, scratching his chin. "Either that or I haven't been imaginative enough."

"You will not be victorious!" said Starfire. "Robin is coming for me! He has chosen me, not you!" She was tied to a chair, her powers neutralized thanks to a disk imbedded in her skin at the base of her neck.

"Only because Beast Boy figured out my plan," said Slade. "Had he not said anything, dear girl, your precious Robin would've continued on after me."

"It matters not!" said Starfire. "He has made his choice! He loves me!" Slade backhanded her hard without a thought. She winced with the pain, but she was lucky enough to have a high tolerance for pain.

"And his love for you has just signed your death certificates," said Slade. "Trust me, you won't be exiting this building alive and neither will your love. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other business to take care of." And with that he swiftly left.

Beast Boy ran as fast as he could down the halls, following the scent of Ravens blood and Slade. He was actually glad to be rid of Robin. The man was impossible to work with and if, God forbid, he found Raven dead Robin was the type of person to say, "Told you so."

He stopped for a moment and sniffed the air again. He turned about until he found where it was the strongest. Once he'd gotten it he took off again. But he didn't get too far. As he was about to run through a doorway, Slade stepped in front of him.

"Whoa!" said Beast Boy, inches from running into Slade.

"Hello," said Slade and in an instance had punched Beast Boy in the face so hard he was floored.

Slade reached down, grabbed Beast Boy by his collar, and pulled him back up. He slammed him against the wall and delivered another blow to his stomach. Beast Boy finally realized what was going on and decided it was time to fight back. He turned into a hummingbird and flew a bit away from Slade then turned back.

"Where is she?!" he asked, wiping the blood away from his nose and lip. "Where's Raven?!"

"Do you really want to know?" asked Slade in an even voice.

"Where is she?!" he yelled again.

"Tell me, what went through your mind when you saw her blood on the roof?" asked Slade.

"I'll ask you one more time," growled Beast Boy. "Where's Raven?!"

"She did put up one hell of a fight," said Slade. "I wouldn't have spilled nearly so much of her blood had she cooperated. But even a woman as desperate and defeated as Raven would put up a fight when finally faced with death."

Beast Boy had had enough of this. He let out a yell and attacked Slade. He went to punch him, but Slade simply moved out of the way. As Beast Boy stumbled past him he grabbed hold of him and slammed him against the wall again. Beast Boy swiftly turned into a mouse and dropped to the floor, running a little bit before turning back and morphing into a rhinoceros. He charged at Slade and hoped to impale him with his horn. Slade stood his ground and at the last moment moved out of the way and grabbed his head in a chokehold.

Beast Boy struggled for a moment, still in his rhinoceros form, and then turned into a boa constrictor. He wrapped around Slade and began to choke him back. Slade actually found it difficult to move, but managed to free his arm. He reached up and grabbed Beast Boy's snake head and bent it back, meaning to snap his neck. Beast Boy released his hold a bit and Slade through the snake off of him. He then grabbed his tail, whipped him around, and smacked his head right into a wall, knocking him out. He fell to the floor, unconscious, and changed back to his original form.

"Well that certainly was tedious," said Slade.

Cyborg had been following Beast Boy ever since he'd left the apartment to go see what had happened to Raven. He'd been about two minutes behind them the entire time and now he stood in the empty mansion, looking around for any sign of his friends. He could hear faint voices but wasn't sure where they were coming from.

"Yo!" he called. "B? Robin? Star? Where're ya?"

When he didn't receive an answer he made his way inside, unsure of what he'd find. He took about five steps into the mansion when a large tile of the floor gave way. With a scream Cyborg dropped through the floor and would have plummeted to his doom had he not shot his hand and grabbed onto the floor. He was alive, but stuck dangling in the darkness beneath the old floor.

"Well, well," said a voice above him. He looked up and there stood Slade, hands behind his back in an amused manner. "It seems my attempt to split your team apart has been successful thus far. Even after all Robin's put you through, you're still here and ready to save your 'former' teammates."

"It has nothin to do with them once bein my teammates," said Cyborg. "They're people and I'm not about to let some fuckin maniac kill 'em." He then began to retract his arm and pull himself back up to the surface.

Slade placed his foot on Cyborg's hand and said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Why? Ya gonna kick my hand off? I'd like to see ya try," said Cyborg, his hand tightening its grip so much that the floor creaked and the tile actually cracked.

"You're forgetting that I have a slight advantage over you," said Slade. "I'm up here and you're down there."

"Don't worry, I'll be up there in just a sec," said Cyborg, continuing to pull himself up.

Slade narrowed his eyes and took a few steps back. Just as Cyborg reached the top the tile of floor he was holding gave way, giving him no time to save himself again. Slade stood with a remote in his hand, listening to Cyborg scream as he plummeted below into the darkness.

"Sorry to make a liar out of you," said Slade, tossing the remote aside.

Cyborg would have been sure he was falling to his doom had he not been made up of mostly robotic parts. All he knew was that when he finally hit the bottom he'd probably break a few pieces of himself, but he'd live. At least, that's what he hoped. But he didn't even have enough time to finish all these thoughts when he hit the bottom. He slammed onto a hard surface and on his stomach, slamming his face.

For a moment he lay there, letting the shock leave his system. "Damn, I gotta install an airbag or somethin," he groaned and slowly lifted himself up. It was pitch black so he turned the flashlight built into his shoulder on. He looked around and saw that he was in some sort of boiler room in the basement of the mansion. He slowly pulled himself together and got to his feet.

He looked for a way out and after a minute or two found the door. "Boo-yah," he said to himself and headed for it. But just as he reached for the doorknob an odd noise arose that grew into what sounded like a machine running. Cyborg looked around, but then felt very dizzy and tired. His flashlight flickered and then slowly went out.

The door opened and there stood Slade. "Hello, again," he said. He then reached forward and simply pushed Cyborg backwards. The poor man had no strength and fell right over.

"Wh-What've you done to me you bastard?!" said Cyborg, feeling his body failing on him.

"I've extracted all of the energy from your battery's power cell using my generator drainer," said Slade. "And, in another thirty seconds, you'll shut down."

"You're not gonna kill me that easily, Slade," said Cyborg, unable to even keep his head up now.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on killing you," said Slade. "Your robotic body is a work of genius and I'm going to exploit it for all its worth. I hope you'll enjoy your new post as the commander of my robotic army."

"I'll never help you," spat Cyborg, his eye shutting down.

"Oh," said Slade. "I think you will."

And, with that, Cyborg's body shut down due to lack of power. Slade smiled and exited the room, knowing Cyborg would be there when he returned. He still had a few Titans left to deal with. All in all, his plan was working out quite nicely.