sorry for the longerish update. this chapter reveals stuff. action coming up, only a few chaps left, not too much bbrae here, but hopefully in the next chapter. thank you to all the faitful reviwers, and the new ones!!

PLEASE REVIEW


Robin wasted no time in trying to figure out more about Ace. After he told his team of his intentions, he ran to his evidence room before grabbing a small black carrying case from his personal store room. He reached the evidence room and walked inside, taking a seat at a somewhat clutter-free desk. He took out his laptop from its carrying case and turned on the power. He leaned back and thought out loud.

"What to search for…what to search for…" He stopped mid-thought. He had run hundreds of thousands of searches on villains, but not too many for neutral or heroic persons. Robin pondered just searching "Ace", but feared wasting time on Royal Flush Gang members from Gotham. He got up from his seat, after logging into his account, and headed to the door. He heard light footstep coming down the hall, and he opened the door to see her still coming.

"Hey Raven," said Robin, opening the door.

"Hello."

"I was wondering if you could help me," he asked.

"With your search on Ace? Why? Having trouble?"

"Yeah…" he replied. "I don't know where to begin."

"How about a name," she replied, growing slightly annoyed that he hadn't found anything yet, let alone started.

"Well, that's kind of the issue. What is his true name?"

"Robin," said Raven. "You of all people know that true names don't come by often around here. Why even ask that question?" He sighed, understanding her logic.

"Yeah, alright," he said. "I was just looking for a lead."

"Check his room." She phased through the floor after that last comment, her destination unknown to Robin.

"Er... okay…" He went up a floor too Ace's room. It looked undisturbed from the outside since he went there last. He opened the door to see all of the drawers put back in place. He paced about the room until finally giving up, clearly seeing nothing that could be of any help. He stormed out of the room, for the second time, and shut the door. He looked down for a brief moment and saw the Jack of Spades torn in half. He picked up the two pieces and quickly went to the evidence room.

"Alright," he said out loud, and to no one in particular. "Let's try this again…"

The living room was still, despite having multiple teenagers inside of it. Raven mediated in front of the window, the sun setting before her. The bright rays would have blinded her, should her eyes have been open, but they were closed, so she was fine. Starfire was lying on her stomach on the floor, her legs crossed in the air. She was reading a book on hot dogs, studying intently. Cyborg listened to an MP3 player privately with his eyes closed. He sat on the sofa, his legs spread out in front of him and his arms resting comfortably on the back of the couch. Beast Boy was also on the couch, but in the form of a kitten, sleeping softly. Waking up at four a.m. that morning obviously made him sleepier than usual. All had been silenced.

The doors whooshed open and Starfire looked up. Beast Boy snapped awake, falling off of the couch transforming back into his human form. Raven opened an eye, possibly out of habit, but was soon blinded by the rays of the setting sun. She quickly turned around to see him at the door. Cyborg was the only one undisturbed.

"Hey guys," said Ace.

"To where have you been, my friend?" asked Starfire. "And do you perhaps wish to read with me on the 'hot dogs'?"

"Uh, no thanks Starfire," he replied, inspecting the room. He wondered where Robin was.

"Yeah, dude, where were you? I thought you went to your room?" inquired Beast Boy.

"Uh, I did," replied Ace, unaffected. "Then I left."

"Oh, okay then." Beast Boy turned to Raven. "Don't we have something to say to Ace, Raven…?" He motioned his head in Ace's direction. She touched down.

"We have to talk to you," she said, walking towards him. His sweat dropped.

"Alright," he responded, and walked out of the common room with the two Titans.

"So, what's up?" he asked, as they talked outside the doors.

"Beast Boy had a dream last night," explained Raven.

"Except we don't think it was a dream, because I had it two nights in a row."

"Well, lots of people have recurring dreams…" said Ace.

"Yeah, but not ones about Trigon."

"Oh."

"That's where you come in," Raven told Ace. "Your powers transfer energy, emotions, and powers. It wasn't Beast Boy's dream, that's for sure."

"I can't move dreams, Raven."

"I don't think it's just a dream," stated Beast Boy firmly. "We think it's a memory."

Ace stood there, took off his glasses, wiped them off, and put them back on. "It's not a memory; it's a vision. And it was mine. I did not mean for it to be passed onto you. My visions do that sometimes." He trailed off.

Raven looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"

"What Beast Boy saw… it's going to happen. Soon. I don't know how soon, but it won't be long."

"Oh great," said Beast Boy throwing his hands into the air. "Trigon's going to come back, chase me around some destroyed wasteland, and then kill me!"

"Not you Beast Boy," corrected Ace.

"Me," finished Raven.

"How do you know that?" asked Beast Boy.

"I had a vision Beast Boy," she replied. "A little different than the one you had, but I think I still got it from Ace. Is that right?" She turned to him.

"Depends. What did you see?"

She told them.

"Whoa," exclaimed Beast Boy. He turned and looked at Ace, and took a step back from him.

"I never had that vision Raven," Ace said quietly. "It's your own." She stepped back in shock.

"Ace, I saw my father. I saw you… and Slade… and my father!" Raven said.

"I know!" he exclaimed in reply. "It's not mine, I swear!"

Raven paused. Beast Boy's eyes dashed around the room, going from Ace to Raven. She spoke up.

"Alright, how long do you think we have until all of this comes true? Until it all unfolds?"

"I can't be sure. The world isn't on fire yet, so I really-" Ace was cut off by the Titan alarm system. The red lights blared and flashed all over their faces.

"Titans! Trouble!"

The three ran back into the common room at the sound of Robin's voice. He stood at the large screen with flashing red lights all over it.

"What's the trouble?" demanded Raven.

"The world's on fire!" yelled Cyborg. Her eyes narrowed and looked at Ace, whose eyes had grown wide. Beast Boy nearly fainted.

"Not exactly, Cyborg," said Robin. "Just downtown. Buildings have been torn down and crumbled." He pressed a button on the keyboard and a red dot that had been blinking earlier expanded and turned into a picture. It showed the city, torn, broken, and burning. Raven's eye now grew wide. Beast Boy's eyes as well.

"This can't be happening," stated Beast Boy.

"What do you speak of now Beast Boy?" asked Starfire, noticing her friend's worry written all over his face.

"Uh…" he stuttered, wondering if Raven wanted the others to know. He turned to her, and she spoke.

"It's a vision that Ace and I both had," she began. "Ace saw the world on fire, and I saw who was behind it." She folded her arms.

"Whoa," said Cyborg. "Hold up. You and Ace had the same visions? And why the heck didn't I know about any of this?"

"And I?" asked Starfire.

"Raven, did you tell anyone about this?" questioned Robin.

"Beast Boy knows."

"Okay, NOW I'm confused. How does HE know but not any of us?" yelled Cyborg, circuits fuming.

"Ace passed the vision onto Beast Boy by accident. He wasn't even supposed to get involved."

"Involved?" asked Robin, growing frustrated. "Raven, you'd better not be hiding anything. Our city is on fire, and you know other important information?" He walked right up to her and pointed a finger in her face. She swatted it away and opened her mouth to reply but did not. Another red dot on the screen had turned into a picture and showed Slade rampaging around the city, using fiery powers to help destroy the buildings.

"SLADE!" yelled Robin. "Let's go team! Raven, I hope you know a way to stop this. I haven't seen Slade with these powers since-"

"I know." He raised a brow.

"Where is Ace?" asked Starfire. He had indeed gone. He no longer stood by Raven and Beast Boy. Robin's eyes darted around the room, looked at shrugs all around, and then shrugged himself, mentally deciding to deal with him later. After all, Slade was back.

"Titans, GO!" At Robin's final command the team ran through the doors, heading for downtown.

It was the exact image of Raven's vision. Although the image on the Titan's screen showed bits and pieces of the scene, in person, it was eerie. She was used to seeing her visions come true, but to have shared it with two other people, one of which who doesn't have visions, was the scary part. The look on his face was depressing. He looked disgusted, shocked, scared, and angry. Then they saw Slade.

Robin jumped over to him first. "Why are you here, Slade?" he demanded, getting out his Bo Staff.

"Didn't she tell you?" he replied cryptically. Robin's eyes narrowed. "Ah, it's simple. I have a little unfinished business to deal with. Nothing personal against you Titans, or to your city either. I just think it… sets the mood." His eye narrowed, showing amusement.

"Well cut it out," yelled Robin, the rest of the Titans still behind him. "This city has had enough of you, and so have I."

"I don't think so, Robin. In only a few more moments, I'll be able to get what I came for, and take my revenge."

"What would THAT be exactly?"

"Ask your friend Raven." All Titans stared at her. She blocked out their glares for a few moments to think. Then it hit her; she shot open her eyes.

"He's bringing back my father, just so he can take revenge on his betrayal," she answered. Starfire gasped.

"But how?" she said. "You were the portal last time, were you not? Must we lose you again?"

"Are you kidding?" Beast Boy screamed. "We can't let this happen, Raven. We won't lose you again."

"Ace," said Robin firmly. "That's how he'll do it." Raven now realized Ace's purpose in all of this.

"You're right, Robin," she said. "Ace can take my ability to become the portal, and use it to become the portal himself." Beast Boy's jaw dropped.

"Wait a sec, Robin," he said. "How'd you know about Ace's powers?"

"Research."

Slade jumped into the middle of their little group discussion. Every Titan took a step back. He raised his arms and flames shot out, causing the teens to drop to the ground and try to cover themselves.

"We're done discussing this," said Slade coldly, pointing an arm at Robin and unleashing fire in a flamethrower-like manner. Robin covered himself with his cape but remained motionless. Slade then stood in an almost crucifix stance, unleashing fire from his palms, spinning in a circle, and hitting all the other Titans, sending them flying. He walked around them and towards a tall building, planning on getting to the very top. It was one of the few which were not destroyed.

Beast Boy had fallen right next to Raven, face down. She lifted her head and groaned, Beast Boy watching with his opened eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"How the heck did Slade get his powers back?"

"I'm sure Ace has something to do with it," she replied. "He's been giving Slade all of his powers, and planting visions into all of our heads." Beast Boy shook his head.

"No," he said. "I don't think he'd plant those visions into our minds on purpose. Why would he? He doesn't have anything to gain from it." She nodded slightly, getting up slowly as well. Beast Boy did too.

"Wait," she said, thinking. "Maybe he was trying to warn us. Maybe he needed us to know Slade's plan, to try and stop it."

"Could be," said Beast Boy. Just then, Ace shimmered into sight.

"Hey," he said, out of breath. "My father thinks I'm at the top of that building, waiting for him." Beast Boy grabbed Ace by the collar.

"What on Earth is going on?" he yelled. "We've figured some stuff out but we're not sure what's true and what isn't!" Ace pushed Beast Boy's hands off of him.

"You guys are right. Everything. My father needs me to get Raven's powers, become the portal, and help trap Trigon," he said. "Once we have Trigon where he's vulnerable, my father will kill him."

"What about you?"

"I'll die as the portal."

Beast Boy groaned. "Okay, well we don't want that! And we definitely don't want Trigon back." Cyborg and Starfire began to stir, and Robin uncloaked himself from where he was protecting himself.

"I have to leave," said Ace, seeing Slade nearly at the building. "Good luck." Raven grabbed his arm.

"There is no way we'll be able to pull this off," said Raven angrily. "If Slade can stop my father we can't possibly be able to stop him."

"You'll have to," he replied, gently removing Raven's hand from his arm. "Try this, though, it might come in handy." He slipped a brass ring on Raven's middle finger. Beast Boy growled.

"The Ring of Azar."

"Yes. Use it well." He shimmered out of sight. Raven removed the ring from her finger and inspected it. She grabbed Beast Boy's hand and slipped it onto his finger. He managed to blush slightly, despite their dire situation.

"Here," she said. "You use it. It will probably help you more than it would for me."

"Titans," said Robin. "We have to follow him, move out!" Beast Boy nodded to Raven, and went with his teammates to get Slade.

"I hope this works out…" he thought to himself, looking at Raven.


okay!you read it, let me know what's up, REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!