Here's chapter 12! Again, it's another short chapter, but it's all I've been able to muster up since my last update. Things are getting really juicy now, so I can't wait to see what y'all think!
Enjoy! (Please review!)
**LATER THAT NIGHT**
Raven awoke in a cold sweat. She blinked several times as her eyes adjusted to the light and her mind adjusted to its re-found consciousness. She tried to rub her head, but her hands didn't move. They couldn't – the table on which she rested had restraints which kept her firmly pinned down.
She'd been unconscious for nearly two full days. The last thing she remembered was being in the Titans' living room and seeing an unconscious Jinx lying on the couch.
As she took in her surroundings, she panicked at her current predicament. She started breathing more quickly and heavily as reality seeped in.
"Where am I?" Raven wondered aloud, trying to turn her head to see the empty room she was in. "Beast Boy? Are you here?"
She stopped searching when she saw something on the left side of the table, and she recognized it instantly. Medical equipment, just like what she saw in the books she read about pregnancy and childbirth. She recognized the fetal monitor and the handheld medical instruments resting on top of it.
"I'm going to give birth in this Azar-forsaken place?" she complained.
"Yes, Raven, you are," whispered a cold, heartless voice from behind her.
She felt a hand gently touch her shoulder. "In just a matter of hours, you will give birth to your first children. How do you feel?"
"SLADE!" Raven gasped loudly. "You're behind this! I should have known!"
"Calm yourself, Raven," he replied coolly, walking to the end of her table by her feet so she could see him. "Don't get all worked up now, you've still got traces of the sedative in your system. You're not even in labor. Not yet, anyway."
"Go fuck yourself, Slade!" Raven shouted furiously.
"Tsk tsk tsk," Slade shook his head in disapproval. "I'm honestly shocked by your promiscuity, Raven. Getting pregnant before marriage? What a shame. Although, despite your introverted nature, you are half-demon, so maybe it's not too far-fetched."
"Yeah, and you're an excellent role model," Raven spat sarcastically.
"Indeed I am," Slade answered. "I'm focused, determined, level-headed, intelligent, and a natural leader."
"I've had enough of you!" she shouted angrily. "Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!"
With her eyes closed and her teeth clenched, she expected to feel the usual release of her black energy, but she felt nothing. Her eyes reopened wide with her fearful realization.
"My powers! They're not working!" she screamed.
"Correct," Slade answered. "Those restraints holding you to the table are cancelling your powers. You are going to stay right where you are when you give birth, and we have everything set up so that the birth will go smoothly."
Raven could practically see the smirk forming on his face beneath the mask. She knew that yelling at him even more would be pointless, so she didn't bother raising her voice. She simply glared at him through the one eye-hole in his mask.
"We will even provide an epidural for you, to ease the pain," Slade added. "I'm sure you'll accept my very generous offer. Jinx, on the other hand, has not been so appreciative of my hospitality."
"Jinx?" Raven inquired aggressively, now forgetting about how pointless yelling might be. "What have you done with her?! What does she have to do with all of this?"
"I assure you, she's fine, albeit a little malnourished," Slade responded. "But that's her own fault. I have offered her food and water, and she refuses to eat. Not my problem."
"Where is she?!" Raven screamed.
"Relax," he raised a hand, gesturing for her to quiet down. Then he pointed his thumb over his shoulder at the wall behind him. "She's right over there."
Raven glanced past the psychopath and saw the former Hive-5 member hanging from the wall by all four limbs.
"Jinx!" Raven yelled to her. "Are you okay?"
Raven listened for Jinx's reply, but Jinx was too weak to respond. The only sound Raven heard was the slight jingling of the chains binding Jinx to the wall as the hextress moved slightly.
"You see?" Slade said plainly. "She's fine."
"Let us go, you worthless trash!" Raven demanded violently, thrashing about on the table.
"My dear Raven, you are not in the position of power here, I am," Slade replied. He slowly made his way around the table to Raven's right side, and leaned in toward her face. "You are going to give birth to my future apprentices, Raven. They are going to be the world's greatest assassins. And there is nothing you or the Titans can do to stop me."
"No…" Raven whispered, completely overwhelmed with despair.
"Yesss," Slade retorted, letting the "S" sound at the end of the word resonate throughout the vast, empty room. The echo sounded like a snake to Raven, and it chilled her to the bone. She thought of how appropriate the snake analogy was, given the nature of the man who uttered the sound.
The door opened in the far corner of the room. Raven could make out the faint outline of a man walking toward the table. As he stepped into the light, she saw him – an older man, much older than she guessed Slade was. He was wearing a gray suit with a black shirt, and he was bald with gray hair on the sides.
"Raven, I'd like you to meet the man who will be delivering your baby," Slade announced. "This is my confidant, Wintergreen," he pointed to the man in the gray suit.
Wintergreen looked at Raven and gave an acknowledging nod. He then reached to a small shelf next to the medical equipment and grabbed a medical apron, which he proceeded to put on.
"We…we will stop you, Slade," Jinx suddenly remarked weakly, as she tried to regain some of her strength.
Raven looked up at Jinx and sighed in relief.
"Jinx! You're okay!"
"No, I'm not," the pink-haired hero replied. "We're not okay, Raven. Slade is going to kidnap your newborn children and raise them to be criminals. Then he's probably gonna kill us both afterwards. And if the other Titans try to intervene, he'll kill us all before your babies are even born."
"NOOOOOO!" Raven exclaimed wildly. "There's not a chance in hell that you're going to get away with this, Slade!"
"You know, you Titans have said that countless times before, but you've never been able to stop me," Slade said condescendingly. "I seriously doubt that the results will be any different this time."
"Wanna bet?" Raven heard a delightfully familiar voice call out.
Suddenly, the room became fully lit as the lights switched on, illuminating the figures of Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Kid Flash standing thirty feet away from Raven's table.
Slade turned around and saw them. He had to suppress a gasp but his calm exterior betrayed his surprise.
"Let them go, Slade," Robin demanded firmly.
"Robin!" Raven cried out. "You guys shouldn't be here! Slade will kill us all!"
"We're not leaving without you, Raven," Cyborg replied.
"Jinx!" Kid Flash called out, then rushed to her side. "Are you okay? Did Slade hurt you?"
"I'll be fine," Jinx answered feebly. "Just concentrate on kicking Slade's ass for me."
"This is all very touching," Slade interrupted dryly. "But I believe I had made myself clear to you puny heroes. 'If you attempt to rescue them, I'll kill them on the spot.' Your stubbornness will cost you dearly, Titans."
"If you lay a finger on either of them, I'm going to slit your throat, Slade," Robin threatened.
"You won't get the chance, Robin," Slade said coldly.
As soon as he finished speaking, row after row of Sladebots dropped from the ceiling and littered the room. About a hundred of them stood waiting for Slade to give them the word to attack.
"That's the best you can do, Slade?" Robin jeered condescendingly. "More robots?"
"Oh, don't you worry your perfectly-gelled head about that," Slade hissed. "I have a secret weapon, an ace in the hole."
"And just what might that be?" Cyborg inquired, sporting a cocky attitude that didn't go unnoticed by the villain.
"Not 'what', Cyborg," Slade answered menacingly, "but 'who'."
Without warning, a masked female figure dropped from the ceiling. She landed gracefully like a cat and spun around to face the Titans. Her thick, white hair whipped around her and came to rest behind her back, shining brilliantly in the fluorescent light.
"Well it's about time I got some action," she said with a seductive teenage tone.
She unsheathed two razor-sharp katanas that were slung over her shoulders and adeptly spun them around in her hands before finally gripping the handles and taking her battle stance.
"Say, where's the baby-daddy? He's gonna miss out on all the fun."
...