Slade chuckled at his victory. No jail cell could hold him for long. He glanced back at the pile of dead guards he had left behind. Without a second thought he threw his hand forward at the wall, bright flame bursting from his palm to obliterate the obstruction. After stepping over a few more corpses, he leapt from the twentieth story to the top of a nearby parking garage. The cool night air did not reach the masked villain, as he raced through the night to his lair, to begin plotting his revenge…

The next day, Tylan felt good enough to get up and walk, which he did, Raven always by his side. He went out to watch their morning training session on the obstacle course.

The timer started as a horn blared, sending Robin through the obstacle course first. Empty ground seemed to stand before him, and Tylan wondered just what kind of obstacle course this was.

Without warning, a forest of metal spikes came popping up out of the ground. Some retracted then, while others remained extended, and the cycle continued, a random pattern of spikes emerging and disappearing every second.

But Robin was far too quick to be deterred by these simple obstacles. He wove through the metal impalers, and vaulted off his bo staff like a pole vaulter, landing safely on the opposite side of the metal spikes, which immediately retracted into the ground. Next, a bank of lasers revealed themselves, all firing at random.

Robin was not daunted. Charging the brightly flashing lasers, he jumped and ducked, bobbed and wove to avoid the deadly light beams. Hurling an explosive disk at each cannon, he then leapt back, awaiting the mighty explosion that followed soon after.

The next obstacle was a set of gates that opened and slammed shut so quickly Tylan thought Robin would never make it through. And in a way, he was right. Robin didn't dash through with sheer speed, but used his titanium staff to prop each gate open as he passed through.

The final obstacle was three robots shaped like giant humans. The first one succumbed to a volley of electro-disks. The other two turned to try to track Robin, but the Boy Wonder was able to elude their mechanical stares. He clambered up the back of the one on the left, then smashed its head with a well-placed boot. As the mechanical mammoth crashed to the ground, Robin sprang into the air, and, twisting his body around so as to get the maximum possible force, swung his bo staff at his final adversary, who slumped down, head completely severed.

The Titans cheered as Robin's time displayed itself on the board. 1:18. "Yeah, Robin! That's a new record!" cheered Cyborg. Then he frowned. "Wait… you beat MY record!" Beast Boy laughed hysterically in the background at Cyborg's frustration.

Tylan's eyes were wide. "Man, no wonder you guys beat almost everybody!" When Robin gave him a glare, he backed off. "I mean, Slade is the only one you haven't beaten, right?" Then he thought a moment. "Hey, did you guys fight a man in a suit of armor that was really dark gray? He said he was going to kill Raven because he didn't want to take the chance of her fighting him too." Raven was surprised at his near-photographic memory. "Did you guys ever beat him?"

Robin pounded his fist into his hand, the thrill of victory now gone in the painful reminder of defeat at the hands of the Perfect Thief. "No. We never did. We've only faced him two times, and both times he ran off before we could," he sulked.

"Oh." Tylan regretted saying anything, and the topic was never raised again. After the morning training session, in which Raven did remarkably well, almost beating Robin's time, Raven found Tylan in the garage with Cyborg.

"So, by redirecting the excess electricity used to funnel the electrons in the cathode ray tube, you can use it to boost range on the T-communicator." Tylan and Cyborg were both bent over one of the yellow contraptions, which was open, wires and circuits laying everywhere.

"I see," said Cyborg. "And by adding a mode to communicate by radio only, we can save battery! Why didn't I think of that!" He turned to see Raven in the doorway. "Man, Raven, your boyfriend's really smart!"

Rather than retort, Raven simply smiled. "I know. He's pretty great." She slipped up beside Tylan, and gave him a hug. He returned it and kissed her head. She then turned to leave.

"No, really Raven, it's ok! You can stay," Tylan said, and Cyborg nodded agreement.

"It's all right guys. Besides, there's too much testosterone in here for me. I'm going to go read a book."

"Suit yourself," replied Cyborg. Tylan looked a little disappointed, but it was lost immediately as he began to talk technology again. Raven smiled at how well the love of her life was fitting in with her friends. This might be who I was destined for, she thought. With that thought, she returned to her room to meditate.

Tylan and Cyborg began building a new jetbike, and between the two of them, it was almost finished by the end of the day. Both were in high spirits as they entered the main room for dinner.

But no sooner had they sat down, than the alarm rang. "Looks like Cinderblock is attempting to break into the prison. He's probably trying to set Slade free. Titans, let's move out!"Robin made a break for the door.

Raven turned to Tylan as the other Titans rushed past. "I'm sorry," she whispered, "but you'll have to stay here. Cinderblock shouldn't be too much of a challenge anyway, so we'll be back soon." She pulled him down for a quick kiss, then took off for the door as well.

Tylan sighed. He hated not being in on battles.

So, I'm sorry this chapter isn't as great as maybe you thought it would be, but believe me, the next chapter will be amazing! I promise!

Please rate and review, you know nothing new goes up until the old is reviewed.