The prisoners flinched at the sounds that pulled many of them from their sleep. Screaming was not uncommon here; they were after all playthings for Ra's al Ghul, serving whatever purpose he saw fit for them, be it experimentation, target practice or merely to be used as an example in acts of cruelty and violence. What started to play on the captives fears was the fact that the cries where not coming from a nearby cell but from outside and these where not the same broken screams of the tortured, for mixed in with them was gunfire, the sound of swords being drawn and sharp shouts as orders were relayed between the guards just beyond the door separating the dungeons from the outside world.

Slowly rising to their feet, the inmates looked at one another in silence, asking unspoken questions to each other across the gloomy prison, as the sound of battle and death grew closer. The clash of steel, a voice letting out a pitiful wail, only to never be heard from again, a war cry born from blind fear and desperation that was swiftly silenced with a sicking crunch of bone followed by the wet slap of blood hitting the floor. Then came the tune of broken sobs and pitiful wailing that spoke of suffering on such a scale, that death would seem quite merciful in comparison.

Slowly as time ticked by the sound of battle died down, leaving only one sound to haunt the prisoner's ears. A man begging for his life in short gasping tones, rising in volume as their doom approached. The words spoken clearly did not buy him his life as the screams turned into a death wail followed by the sound of a body crumpling to the floor. Then there was silence.

Trapped in their cells, most unable to move more than three feet before they hit a brick wall or a set of iron bars, they waited. For a moment, some of the prisoners assumed the thing that had killed and maimed the guards outside had simply moved on, having had no orders or interest regarding them. Perhaps it had been a failed coup that had been swiftly routed out and punished? Such things were rare but not unheard of as some of the eldest prisoners could remember several instances where Ra's had ordered a complete extermination of any members that had displayed treacherous thoughts. Either way, if the screams stopped at the dungeon door it meant that they, for the moment, where safe and forgotten about.

That changed when a lock clicked, a heavy bolt was drawn back and the door opened.

"Joey?" Slade eyed the dark cells. Some of the occupants faced him peering through the gloom with uncertainty and wonder, unsure what manner of being he was, a saviour, an executioner or merely a rival attempting to claim Ra's throne? Most however clung to the shadows, hiding their faces from him. None of them spoke up, none dared. Marching forward, Deathstroke scanned each prisoner carefully, looking past his first impressions of the hopeless and broken souls residing in this place, praying that one of them was his son. "Joey?" He tried again, his voice causing those nearest to him to flinch at the sound.

The prisoners kept here was a wild collection of men, women and children from all nationalities and ages. Taken for reasons known only to Ra's, each serving a purpose by being kept alive, even if it was only to be a living trophy. Staring at a pair of children, the only occupants to share a cell, Slade felt genuine pity for a moment, wondering if any of these people could ever return to a normal life, he very much doubted it. But as he checked around once more, the answer became quite clear, none of them was his son.

Gloved hand tightening into fists, Slade felt his anger increase tenfold; of course it wouldn't be so easy. Ra's would be keeping his son close at hand, a cowards resort, a desperate ploy to shield himself against the inevitable. He had seen such a tactic many times before on countless missions, and- Slade froze, his mind traveling back to another time, another place.

Joey's green eyes stared at him in wild terror, a knife pressed against his throat. "You do this one thing Terminator, and we can all go home happy" The knife drifted across the boy's skin, dancing dangerously close to cutting flesh. His son's eyes began filling up with tears.

"I've got a better idea." Slade smirked underneath his mask, blind to his son's fear. And then he charged forward, confident in his power and speed, feeling a rush of adrenaline at his own superiority. He felt delight at the thought of being a hero to his family, while bringing vengeance down upon those foolish enough to challenge him. And then he heard a weak cry. It was the last sound Joey ever uttered as he clutched at his bleeding throat.

Letting out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding, Slade turned and headed out of the dungeon, turning his back on the broken captives. He wasn't here for them. Meanwhile his mind began repeating what his heart already knew. He wouldn't fail his son again. No ego, only the mission. Save Joey, and bring hell to those that had taken him.


Raven tried to locate Joey through his emotions as Robin blindly ran through the halls and down corridors. Right now the boy wonder was actually doing a better job at finding their missing friend, for while he might have had no idea on where he was going, every twist and turn took them deeper into the lair of Ra's which, in theory at least, meant they were getting closer to finding the man who had orchestrated this entire event, while Raven suffered a roadblock.

She couldn't find him; her friend wasn't even a blip on her radar and no matter how much she tried to focus there was nothing to be found. Fear swept through the empath when she had first discovered this, and she had to reassure herself that it was difficult to detect anything if someone was in a state where their mind was not active like a dreamless sleep. Jericho could simply be knocked out somewhere, alive and unharmed. She prayed that was the case. The alternative was that, well, she tried to block out such thoughts and focus on her seemingly impossible task.

Twirling his staff every few seconds, Robin led them down another stunning hallway, a pair of great doors awaiting them at the end.

"This is it." Robin hissed as he threw himself at the obstacle in his path. Kicking the doors open, the boy wonder leapt inside, poised and ready to move in an instant. Raven was right behind him, her hands cloaked in dark energy, ready for battle. The office and study of the great Ra's al Ghul however was empty, devoid of any sign of the madman who called it his own. "Great." The leader of the Titans growled, moving deeper into the study the boy wonder began to search, his eyes seeking out any visible clues that could point him in a new direction. But there were none to be found, Ra's had once again eluded them.

Taking this opportunity to try once again to seek out her friend, Raven closed her eyes and reached out, casting a mental net as far as she could covering a majority of Ra's home and lair. There was a lot to take in as she was suddenly made aware of hundreds of individual's feelings.

Joey, she needed to find Joey. Shuffling through the sources of the emotions in her mind, Raven began dismissing any that were too weak or difficult to read as they belonged to those she was unfamiliar with, her brain, having mapped out those nearest and dearest to her heart, allowing her to detect and separate them with ease.

Starfire remained above them; flying just on the edges of her mental net, the alien was a mixture of hope and fear, topped off with anger. Robin wasn't that much different although his fear was starting to overcome him, the longer they looked without results the worse it would be on all of them. Mentally shuffling her two friends to one side, the hunt continued.

Shifting through strangers emotions and removing them from her mental net, Raven became aware that Beast Boy was mysteriously absent, giving off no trace for the empath to locate. For a moment she panicked, fear producing dark scenarios of death and pain that her brain absorbed like a sponge. Readjusting her focus, she sought answers for the puzzle quickly, tapping into Cyborg's own emotions. Fear was not present in the Titan's head, instead anger and will burnt bright from him, a common enough mind-set for the half machine hero, especially when he was in a fight. If something bad had happened to Beast Boy he would have called Starfire. And he would be a lot angrier and the lack of fear meant that Cyborg was sure he could handle whatever situation he was in, Beast Boy was fine, in her own mind at least. Reassuring herself of these facts and fighting off the fear that waited on the edge of her mind, Raven slowly moved on, seeking out other individuals in her net. Find Joey first, Beast Boy was going to be fine, Joey was the one who needed their help.

Probing a few beings she was not familiar with Raven detected a sudden surge of great fear from one of them, it was masked quickly but she refused to let the source escape from her. Concentrating, her eyes flashed white as she locked onto the individual, securing them in the mental net, as all other presences faded from her mind, she could now tell that the origin of the emotion was slowly moving away from her, with a sense of urgency as will and fear battled out in their mind, each vying for dominance, the individual picked up speed, continuing on their path, escape? Could it be-

Opening her eyes, Raven turned to see Robin eyeing her with concern.

"Is every th-"

"I think I've found him." She declared, causing Robin's own fear to momentarily fade.

"Joey?"

"Ra's."


News during a siege was rarely a good thing; experience had taught him that. The best one could hope for is a message that the enemy leader had been slain during the assault, perhaps causing their men to lose heart, allowing the defenders to push them back. Otherwise it was just going to be reports that spelled doom and death.

Right now, as Ra's moved towards his escape, doom was chasing him like a ravenous wolf, one he could just keep ahead of. The heroes and Deathstroke where here and engaging his best, more allies where on the way and now a new problem had presented itself.

He had just received word that the alien girl was flying above them, keeping a watch for any sign of escape vehicles. This caused the grand master of the league of assassins to stop, just for a moment. If the hero was not dealt with quickly then he could not leave.

The reports on the alien left little doubt in Ra's mind that he could not outrun her, and in a straight up fight, even his best servants could not guarantee a kill, such was her power. But the league had not survived on brute force alone for all these centuries. A diversion, he needed to lure her away long enough for him to get a head start. It wasn't a perfect plan, but he was not working under perfect conditions, for every second he remained here brought the Titans and their allies closer to him.

It took more than a minute for his plan to be laid out to Talia, losing the gift of speech was something Ra's was not pleased about, his voice carried power and all those that heard it did as he commanded or trembled at the sound. There was never any need for him to repeat himself, and so rarely to explain his choices or actions, now he had to use his hands to deliver his orders, opening him up to misinterpretation and questioning glances, robbing him of a power he had wielded for so long, absolute authority.

Still his daughter was nothing short of brilliant, truly worthy of his name. In seconds of finishing his command she had the radio in hand and was seeing that the plan was carried out, how long it took to execute however was another matter. Getting a second helicopter fuelled and ready for take-off took precious time, time that he was running out of. Once she was finished Ra's once again led them to the landing pad.

Their timing was everything in this gamble, they would need to leave the moment the alien gave chase to the distraction, a second helicopter hidden a few miles to the east, once Starfire was drawn away by the bait, he would escape unnoticed leaving no trail for the heroes to follow.

So much was in play, lesser men would have suffered a panic attack or a breakdown of some sort under all the mounting pressure, but Ra's remained calm as he walked in the body of Joseph Wilson. He would finish this; he had come too far to be stopped now.


Raven led them onwards, moving through the house as a blur, while Robin struggled to keep up. It was faint, and the trail was growing more and more difficult to follow. If the being she had detected had been Ra's then his mood was shifting quickly and his mental walls where slowly rebuilding, dampening his mental signal, whatever surge of fear that had thrown him off had now passed, leaving only a remnant of emotion to track. Still there was still something to follow, and right now that was better than nothing.

The house was empty, surprising both heroes as they continued moving. They had expected resistance, traps, and walls of enemies to slow them down. Instead the two were moving at their own leisure through the lair of one of the most dangerous men alive. While Robin never dropped his guard, his eyes and ears alert and ready for anything that could potentially try and harm them, Raven flew on almost without a care, her own focus being directed at the ever weakening trail. If she lost it now…

"Raven!" Coming to a stop, the cloaked empath turned, facing the boy wonder as he stood still. For a moment she was confused, unsure on why she had been called, eye's darting around furiously Raven tried seeking out what it was that had brought Robin to a halt, then she felt frustration as her link to the fading presence was severed.

Once again casting her mental net, Raven quickly found that their one lead had vanished. Ra's had raised his mental walls and was in complete control of his emotional state. Their window of opportunity was gone. Angry, she was about to growl at Robin, chew him out for distracting her in this crucial time but the boy wonder raised a hand. "Listen." He said.

She did, her rage momentarily subsiding and for a second Raven heard nothing, the world was silent except for a distant hum. A slow never changing beat like the flap of a humming bird's wings, or the sound of a helicopter's propeller's powering up. Eye widening in realisation, she watched the boy wonder grin before both heroes began to move, now following their ears towards the ever growing noise. Turning one final corner, Robin and Raven passed through a door that took them both outside onto a landing pad, where they saw Ra's escape vehicle prepped and ready for take-off.

"Gotcha." Robin smirked in triumph, a feeling Raven couldn't help but share but her anger from earlier still remained. The urge to reach out with her power and crush the vehicle into nothing was overwhelming. To deny the monster, who had taken their friend and lead them on this chase, his last hope of escape sparked some dark joy inside of her. How would this make Ra's feel? Scared, small, weak? He deserved to feel such things, and he would.

Stretching her arm out in front of her, Raven's dark aura consumed the helicopter, the spinning blades froze, unable to move inside of the bubble she had created, then closing her hand into a fist; the sound of screeching metal filled the air as the vehicle was slowly crushed.

Wincing at the sound, Robin quickly realised he wasn't the only one pained by the helicopter's death song. The pilot and engineer's, who had been patiently waiting for their master since Shiva's departure, were now racing towards Raven, determined to stop the demon child in any way they could. Reaching for tools or blunt objects, they would have attempted to bash Raven's head in with their bare hands if it came down to it, however before any of them got within spitting distance of the cloaked empath, Robin struck first.

Jumping towards the first attacker, the boy wonder planted his booted foot in their face, sending them stumbling backwards with a broken bloody nose. Catching the next engineer's attention, they tried to club the acrobatic hero with a wrench, only for Robin to dodge and duck under every swing.

While the crew had the same devote loyalty to Ra's as the rest of his organisation, the four lacked any real combat skill, allowing Robin to battle all of them without serious issue.

Striking out hard with a series of quick punches to the pilot's ribs and chest, Robin sent the man sprawling backwards with a quick kick, before moving onto the final engineer. Meanwhile the helicopter had lost most of its shape; its propeller was shattered with dozens of individual pieces pressed against the hull, the cockpits glass windows had been reduced to tiny broken fragments, and the craft was giving out a loud groan as its structure collapsed in on itself, reducing it to a ball of scrap metal. For a moment it hovered above the ground, still covered in the dark aura, tightening itself into as small a shape as it possibly could. Then releasing it with her mind, Raven watched the remains of the helicopter crash down onto the landing pad, wobble before becoming still.

Moving to stand beside his friend, Robin offered her a small smile as he examined her handy work. Ra's was trapped. He would have no choice but to reveal himself to the Titans or face Deathstroke's wrath alone and with Starfire watching from above, escape would be impossible. They had done it. Turning away from the ball of scrap, the boy wonder was about to relay this all to Raven when he stopped dead. His mind raced, but his mouth was numb. Confused, the empath turned and followed his stare.

"Joey." She whispered.

Raven couldn't quite believe it; he was standing only a few feet away from them. After all they had been through; all of their fears and doubts that had kept nagging at them from the darkest depths of their minds, all of that had been proven wrong. He was alive. Joey was alive. Studying her friend's face for a moment the team empath was able to see that his time in captivity had altered Joey physically and no doubt mentally too. His skin looked paler, sickly, like the time he had tried eating Tamaranian food only to rush to the bathroom five minutes later. Then there was the twitch in his left knee, even as he was standing as still as a statue Raven was quickly able to spot it, the slight quiver in his leg as he fought to remain on his feet. Had he been injured? Tortured? Or was it merely a sign of exhaustion. Had he been allowed to rest, could he? Had Joey's own mind kept him awake as it relived whatever horrors it was that Ra's had forced upon him.

Had they been alone, had Talia and the rest of Joey's captives simply turned to dust where they stood, Raven wasn't sure what she would have said. She could repair the physical damage inflicted upon her friend, but the mental scars. They were far harder to heal as experience had taught her many a time. Eyes narrowing in hate, Raven tried to identify the master criminal, the man that had brought this nightmare upon the Titans her power demanding vengeance, however, nobody matching Ra's physical description appeared to be present. Coward, she thought, eyeing each of the beings standing near Joey, wondering if that one of the black clad guards could possibly the master mind himself hiding amongst his pawns until she saw what it was they were carrying on their shoulders. A body.

"Surrender." Robin ordered, meeting Talia's icy glare with his own. She wasn't going to obey him, she still saw him as Batman's kid sidekick, dismissing everything he had done and accomplished on his own over the years, reducing him back to when he was twelve years old and still a rookie. In her mind he had no right to tell her to do anything no matter how bleak her situation was. This fact caused the boy wonder to almost bark the next part of his sentence. "You're outmatched and your big escape plan just got crushed. Give us back Joey and no one needs to get hurt."

Raven almost snarled at those worlds. Plenty of these people deserved to get hurt. But she kept silent, allowing Robin to take the lead as she watched the last of their enemies silently weigh up the facts.

A flicker of movement in Talia's eyes betrayed her thoughts to the boy wonder. She was considering it. Glancing down at Jericho, for a brief second she paused for a moment. "I think you overestimate your position." She said smiling at him, her voice taking on a superior tone. Trying to fight back his anger and keep his head in the present Robin laid down the facts, determined to wipe that smug look of her face.

"Me and Raven can easily take care of ourselves for several minutes against you." He eyed the group, noticing as Raven had, that Ra's was being stretchered out on the shoulders of his guards, meaning for the moment he was out of the combat equation. "Starfire can be here in thirty seconds." He added glancing at Raven's communicator, sitting on her belt. "Cyborg and Beast Boy could be here in two minutes, three at the most." He waited, allowing Talia a moment as she processed each of the hero's names, faces and threat levels. "You might outnumber us seven to three," he glanced at Joey who hadn't moved so much as a muscle towards them. "But we easily outclass you and your goons." Robin felt a surge of pride as a look of anger passed over her face and then it was gone. Hidden behind a mask of indifference. But the boy wonder smirked; his point had clearly been made.

Then taking a decisive step back from Joey, Talia slowly raised her hands slowly above her head. Robin didn't trust the action, knowing full well that she was more than capable of slipping an arm around Joey's neck faster than most ordinary humans could perceive. While she may not have been as insane as her father, she still carried the same kind of pride and would gladly turn this into a hopeless hostage situation if only to spite her enemies. But as Joey slowly began moving towards them, neither the guards, still carrying Ra's body nor his daughter, made any move to stop their one bargaining chip.

Moving directly for the leader of the Titans, Joey never once looked back at his captors. Robin, gave his friend only a moments glance as they grew only a few feet apart, keeping his attention on his enemies as they continued to remain still. In the back of his head, a voice whispered to him, it's too easy. Ra's had fought hard for Jericho, risking the full might of the Titans, Deathstroke and the Justice League upon himself, now at the final hurdle he was giving up?

Joey was almost close enough to touch now. He was almost safe.

No, Ra's wasn't doing anything, his mind corrected itself, Talia was calling the shots as her father was currently incapacitated. Why? Age? No, he looked like he had just regenerated himself, his hair was a rich black with only the slightest hint of grey, and the Lazarus pits properties should have allowed him to fight off any aliment or disease that could bring him down. So why was he being carried out like that? A trick?

Joey stood almost shoulder to shoulder alongside his friends. Turning the blond hero faced Talia and her loyal group of foot soldiers that held Ra's aloft. Robin didn't know what he would have done if he was in his friend's position, scream abuse at his captors? Coldly mock their failure or simply let silence do the talking for him? What must Joey have been through?

Believing he had the situation for the most part under control the boy wonder was about to tell Raven to call in all the Titans and finally bring this ordeal to an end. But as Robin was about to give the order, from the corner of his eye he saw Joey's foot racing towards his face.


Starfire wasn't happy about being put in reserve. She understood the need for the position having well learnt the value of the strategy and how a single unit, waiting for the right moment, can change the outcome of even the largest of battles. But no one in any of those grand schemes and epic wars had ever been comfortable waiting for the order to strike, all while friends and comrades fought and died on the battlefield and she was no different.

Keeping her eyes peeled she tried to focus on her objective, her communicator was attached to her belt all while she was ready to move at the first beep. The castle beneath her was old and strong and had survived against both the elements and many conflicts of the past, but against her strength the stone reinforced walls would crumble like Styrofoam. If she was needed. Every minute was agonising, as her mind raced with questions, how were things going? Had they found Joey? Did they need her help but were unable to contact her? Should she go in and aid them, but in doing so she risked allowing Ra's a chance to slip away. Eye's flashing with power, born from her frustration, she prayed for an answer. The human expression, no news is good news, was clearly not meant to be applied in such a situation as this.


Robin didn't roll with the kick; in fact he didn't do anything except stagger backwards, his head becoming numb while his ears rang with the blow. The boy wonder had been sucker punched and while his instincts were already moving his body into a defensive stance, Ra's was already lashing out with a second powerful strike. Talia on the other hand was moving in time with her father, Raven had been stunned by the sudden betrayal of Joey, taking her focus off the ball, allowing the daughter of the demon's head to reach for her radio. In a moment the plan to distract the alien was in motion, robbing the Titans of their most powerful asset, but the battle was far from over.

Eyes flashing white with power, Raven turned on Joey, gripping him with her dark aura, then spinning around, she mentally threw her friend away from them, buying Robin time to recover from the surprise attack, meanwhile her own mind was racing with questions. Why?

Turning to the six black clad warriors that had stood silently holding their master's former body, Talia instructed them to focus on Raven, while her father, who had quickly recovered from the demon child's throw, was now once again attacking Robin, only for the boy wonder to match and counter every strike thrown his way. Throwing her radio aside, Talia reached for the holster on her shoulder, drawing a small but powerful pistol.

Stretching out a hand, Raven focused on the crushed up remains of the helicopter, her dark aura engulfing the wreckage, then before Talia had even time to aim, she had sent the scrap ball flying towards the assassin.

Rolling to one side, Talia managed to get off a single shot that struck a black aura wall, rendering the attack harmless. But Raven's focus was then divided as the six black clad warriors joined the fray. Leaping backwards, giving herself room to move, the empath began ducking and diving away from numerous attacks, all while she reached for her communicator.

Robin had always been impressed with Jericho, since the moment he had first seen the blond fight he had sensed a kindred spirit. Both were incredible martial artists at a young age, drawing moves and teachings from a variety of styles. Just like the boy wonder, Joey had been taught many of his skills while still a child by his parents. But whereas Robin had been taught acrobatics, gymnastics and some basic self-defence, Jericho had been taught survival skills that would have made the regular armed forces look like the boy scouts. And yet the blond hero had never once carried an attitude about it. Always willing to teach and learn, Joey was free from any of the arrogance that often came with being a prodigy, it didn't matter if he had several years more hand to hand experience than Robin, he was always listening to the boy wonder's lectures during sparing practice, silently praising his leader for his hard work and dedication to the subject.

They had spent hours together in the gym, teaching, talking and opening up to each other. For a while Robin thought there was no one on the team he could rely on more in the heat of battle. Until a certain somebody just happened to be Joey's father. But even then, when he had been bitter and hurt over it, the boy wonder had never expected to find himself in a situation like this.

Ducking under a swing for his head, Robin tried to kick out at Joey's legs, only for his opponent to jump aside the attack. Rolling backwards the boy wonder tried to put some distance between him and Jericho, as the ringing in his head remained, throwing him off balance.

But Ra's pressed the boy, never once allowing him a second to recover. Like walking, fighting in Joseph Wilson's body was alien but familiar, the moves he used where the same attacks he had used a thousand times against his enemies. The boy's body was used to the rigors of combat, so there was little to no resistance of the flesh whenever he made to strike the detective's prodigy. And yet, there were flaws, Joseph Wilson's muscles cried out for rest, as Ra's continued his never ending assault on the boy wonder. Kicking Robin hard in the ribs, he experienced a sharp pain in his own leg, even as his opponent was knocked back by the blow.

Time was not on his side, just like everything it seemed that he was going to have to claw his way to victory. But while Ra's was unable to keep up the battle for long, his superior experience and fighting style solidified his victory, the boy could not defeat him, and the dark child would be brought down by Talia and his men. Everything wou- Ra's wanted to hiss out in pain as Robin ducked under a skull shattering punch only to deliver his own, right into Joey's solar plexus driving a gasp from the mute.

Robin's body was sore and his head may have been fuzzy, but you didn't spend years fighting alongside someone to not notice some irregularities. The first was Joey's entire fighting style, lethal. That was the best way to describe it, where normally Jericho fought defensively, using a variety of moves, that would often cause opponents to hurt themselves, or leave them wide open for quick but precise counters, here it was a barrage of pain, designed to break bones, cause fractures and beat someone into bloody submission or worse. This was not Joey.

Then, if he needed any more clues that something might have been off about his suddenly treacherous friend, was the execution of this sudden style shift. Joey was fighting like a man who had seconds to live, every move was wild and filled with power, as if there was only this one moment to finish everything, Joey was normally conservative, always aware that danger could present itself at any time and he never threw everything he had into a single battle. It had been something Robin had always admired about his friend.

Kicking out at the blond, Robin's leg was knocked aside and Joey thrust his open palm into the boy wonder's nose. It hurt. A lot. Staggering back, the hero was just able to perceive a foot once again flying towards his face. Throwing himself to one side he managed to avoid a second knock to the head.


If she had been human, Starfire might have missed the small black dot in the distance slowly rise up against the grey sky, if she had been human she might have lost track of the object when she blinked, believing it to be a speck of dirt, or a distant bird. If she had been human, the distraction wouldn't have been needed at all and Ra's would have one less problem hounding him.

But Starfire wasn't human, and Tamaranean eyes could rival those belonging to a hawk. Identifying the distant shape in seconds as a fleeing helicopter, the orange alien knew what was happening and with a burst of speed was tearing through the sky after the vehicle, all while she reached for out her communicator. This was it, just as Robin had suspected, Ra's was trying to trick them and then slip away while they were distracted, once more the madman was running and hiding rather than face the Titan's in combat. Eye's burning bright green with fury, Starfire flipped open the yellow device in her hand, then refusing to let the helicopter escape her sight, her thumb quickly sought out a button, allowing her to call the entire team at once.

Quickly closing the distance between herself and the fleeing cowards, Starfire could hear the dial ringtone over the rush of wind as she continued to accelerate. She needed to make contact with her friends quickly, let them know that Ra's had once again deceived them and that they were wasting their time fighting his minions. But, once they learnt that this nightmare was almost over, that Joey was within reach… They could do this, they had come so far already. In a few minutes this would finished and they could all go home.

Inspired by that bright thought, Starfire pressed on, following the helicopter as it flew further and further away from Ra's home, the pilot desperate to lead the alien on as long as a chase as possible. It didn't matter to what happened to him, he was one of many pieces in the master's great game, and under his rule and guidance the world would prosper. It was these thoughts that filled the pilots mind as he drove ahead.

For the master.


Ducking under a kick, Raven reached out with both hands, her dark aura engulfing one of the unconscious guards, then before her attacker could strike again she had sent them sprawling away as the unconscious body of their comrade flew into them from behind. No time to rest, the empath was forced to bring up a protective barrier as Talia once again took a shot at her, this time aiming for her head. Not that it mattered as the bullet struck Raven's shield with little effect. Robin had been right, she and the boy wonder could more than handle Talia and her little band quite easily, and while her own communicator had been damaged in the fight, Raven wasn't too worried about back up at this point. Once she dealt with Ra's daughter she could focus on Joey and try to figure out what these monsters had done to him.

Firing with her weapon two more times, Talia threw the gun down once its clip had been emptied and charged straight towards Raven. If the empath so wished the woman would have spent the remainder of her life pounding away at the black barrier that protected her. Compared to the likes of Cinderblock or Mammoth, Talia wasn't even able to make a dent in the shield. But as much as Raven wanted to take this woman down a peg or two, she had bigger priorities. Focusing on the ball of helicopter wreckage, the empath lifted it up a few feet of the ground before hurling it towards herself and Talia.

The demon's daughter was quick to react and leapt aside once more avoiding the oncoming projectile, but this time was different, this time Raven was not distracted by Ra's foot soldiers, preventing her from following through with her attack. As Talia came to a stop, she saw from the corner of her eye a swirl of darkness. A second later she felt a foot being driven into the back of her head. Staggering forward, momentarily stunned, the demon's daughter tried to push herself back onto her feet, fighting through the pain and surprise. But Raven wasn't going to allow Talia a second's recovery time.

Falling back onto one leg, Raven unleashed a blur of kicks, each hitting their intended target point on Talia's body. Then, following through as Joey had once taught her, the empath swung her whole leg in a roundhouse kick, striking the side of her enemy's head. Down went the demon's daughter.

Looking over to where Robin and Joey now fought, she could see that the boy wonder was trying to pull their friend into an arm lock, one which Jericho was fighting against with every fibre of his being. Exhausted, the blond hero was breathing loudly, every muscle in his body screaming out for air and rest. But there was none, for he continued to resist, to try and strike out at Robin with any free part of his body.

Racing towards the two, Robin redoubled his efforts, putting everything he had into holding the blond teen still. "Raven, I need- arhg!" The boy wonder's head was knocked back as Joey had just driven his skull into his captor's chin. But still Robin did not let go. Grabbing at Jericho's one free arm, Robin pulled them both back while placing his foot into Joey's spine, pushing the blond forward with his leg. "We need to calm him down." He yelled as Raven arrived.

The wild look in Joey's eyes chilled Raven, they were animalistic, frenzied. Robin could have broken every bone in the crazed teen's arms and he would still try and beat them to death with them. Pain, hate and rage where all mixing into one and Raven wasn't sure what she could do to help her friend. But she was going to try.

Shaking his head wildly from side to side, Joey snapped his teeth at the empath's approaching hands. Digging his knee sharply into the Jericho's back, Robin was able to distract him long enough for Raven to lay an open palm on either side of the blond's head. Instantly the boy wonder felt the struggling teen weaken, his arms grew slack, his body became still and the frantic breathing was replaced by deep gasps as Joey stopped pushing himself and began to relax. The wildness was gone. For a moment, everything was looking better, they had him. Raven could fix whatever mind control madness they had inflicted upon Joey, they could all go home.

"This isn't Joey." Robin almost let go of Joey's arms, out of surprise, but quickly caught himself and tightened his grip on the now relaxed teenager. What could she mean, it had to be him, in mind no, but in body yes. This was Joseph Wilson, Ra's had done something to him, turned him into a puppet, but they could fix that. "Who are you?" Raven snarled, staring into the eyes of Joey.

"Raven, they've done something to him." Robin began to explain, as Joey's hand's tightened into fists. "Drugged him, I've seen it before. We need to get him help." The blond began shaking his shoulders, trying to slip free of the boy wonder's grip, the frenzy was returning, but Raven didn't even seem to notice, if anything she seemed to be bringing it back. Her hands where no longer laid flat on his head, but gripping it tightly, her slender fingers digging into the sides of Joey's skull.

"This is not Joey." She stated again, anger bubbling in her words. "There is someone else here."

"Someone… else?" Robin growled, pushing back into Joey's back again with his knee as the struggling increased. "Who? A telepath?"

Detective mind racing, Robin ran a list through his brain on who could possibly be infecting their friend's thoughts. Psimon? No, he was still in that comma. Brother Blood? No, this wasn't his MO. Who could Ra's have found who co- Ra's?

Eye's darting over to the still man's body. Unmoved since his loyal guards had left him there for a moment, Robin saw it all. A confused mess of questions and answers, start to align perfectly into one horrifying image.

Why would Ra's al Ghul kidnap Joey Wilson? That had been the question plaguing the Titan's and Deathstroke and now, they had the answer.

To get a new body. That's what this was all about, another scheme to cheat death.

Anger surging through him, the boy wonder gritted his teeth together and drove his kneel hard into the back of Joey's spine. "You're in there aren't you?" Raven looked away from Joey's face for a moment to stare at her furious leader before returning her attention to the blond Titan. "You took him just so you could escape death?"

If Robin expected Ra's to answer him verbally he was disappointed as the resistance only continued physically, as Joey's body was pushed to the breaking point.

"Raven can you get him out?"

Robin didn't know what it was he was asking, in truth he didn't actually care. Who knew what would happen to Ra's once she forced him from Joey's body, would he die, his spirit or mind or whatever it was that he transferred into Joseph fade away into nothing, or would he get lucky and once again avoid his fate?

"I'm trying." Raven growled, "He's fighting me."

"How can I help?" Robin asked desperately, wondering if he could weaken Ra's by attacking Joey's body or if that would only be harming their friend.

"Hold him; he can't keep this up forever." Robin nodded and swallowed hard. If any of the other Titan's where here this would have been easy. Starfire, Cyborg or Beast Boy could have held Ra's down long enough for Raven to do whatever she wanted. But the boy wonder could feel his arms start to sag, and his leg ache. He was tired, his adrenaline and anger were the only things keeping him going but Ra's kept fighting him, kept pushing both Robin and Joey's bodies closer to exhaustion and the Demon's head wasn't going to stop, he wouldn't not until he had won. "Almost there." Raven growled, her eyes flashing from white to a bright crimson.

The boy wonder was pulled forward by a sudden lunge from Ra's as he tried to strike at Raven with Joey's own head. Only at the last second was the leader of the Titan's able to pull the blond back and prevent the mental battle from being interrupted.

Raven's eyes were now a burning red and Joey was starting to shake violently. Ra's was no longer struggling against Robin as the body of Joseph Wilson was being wretched free from his control, and that made the demon's head quite angry. With a mental roar he tried to hold onto his collapsing hold but Raven was there, fighting him at every turn, and she wasn't alone. He could feel it, the mind of Joey Wilson was retuning into consciousness.

He had come so far, struggled against impossible odds and never once backed down from the challenges that arose in his wake. All his life Ra's had been a fighter, a ruler yes, but first and foremost a fighter. He had battled for everything he ever had, clashing with man, nature and even death itself.

But he wasn't going to win, not this time. Raven's eyes burned like the heart of the sun and for a moment, Robin felt true fear, as it was not two eyes that blazed under her hood but four. And then with a great scream of rage, she threw her hands away from Joey's head and fell backwards.

Immediately Joey was still. It was as if he had been struck dead, all life in his body was gone. There was no more struggling, no more shaking, only stillness. Acting on blind instinct, Robin released his friend and moved for Raven who was lying still on the floor. Finger searching for a pulse, the boy wonder let out a gasp of relief as he felt her blood flow move strong and steady. She was alive; turning away he crawled towards Joey, repeating the same trick.

For a moment Robin could feel nothing and he panicked. A million things could have just happened and any one of them could have killed Joey. Shock, trauma, sheer exhaustion. Perhaps Raven had simply overdone it.

"Joey?" Robin whispered, his finger still desperately seeking a sigh of life from the blond's wrist. "Joey?" He tried again a little louder as his free hand shook the still body of his friend. He got no reaction. Abandoning the wrist, he moved to the neck, seeking any sign of life. "Joey please wake up."

Robin's eyes were starting to droop. He didn't know why his body was choosing now of all times to stop working, here when he was needed most but the boy wonder wasn't going to accept the approaching darkness silently. Struggling with Joey's still body, he tried to lay him flat on the ground. "He- help." He managed to cry out as he pushed himself up onto his knee's placing his hand's above Jericho's heart. "Help me."

Raven didn't stir. Eye's closing; Robin found it took a herculean amount of effort to open them again. "Help!"

Trying to remember his CPR training, that felt so faded and from so long ago, Robin was momentarily robbed of the world as once again his eyes closed themselves, but during that moment of darkness where his brain so desperately wanted to sleep, the boy wonder heard the sound of heavy footsteps racing towards him. "Cyborg?" He croaked weekly.

Then, Robin was weightless, flying away from Joey. If his body wasn't so tired and numb he would have felt the impact that had sent him through the air, instead his body saved the pain for something to be processed later. Right now it needed rest; everything else would have to wait. The boy wonder was unconscious before he had hit the ground.


A/N: Almost done guys.

Next up: Slade vs. Ra's. And perhaps Joey finally goes home? Or not.

Thanks for all those who reviewed, as always it is most appreciated. Thank you again for all those who read, and hey it's not too late to give some feedback before the end. Anything I can improve on be it grammar, style or just how I write I would really like to know.

Until next time.