-Chapter 14-
Raven sighed as she looked in the mirror Starfire was holding up before her. 'Damn it…' She thought looking at the cut. Starfire had actually done a very good job at cutting her hair, leaving the ends just below her butt. "It looks good Starfire." Raven said with a smile to the girl. Starfire squealed in happiness and zipped around her room tossing the mirror to the bed. Raven took the moment to glance at the hair Starfire had cut off. Like before, she watched it fade away. 'Interesting… I had never noticed that before… Then again I've never had so much hair to cut off before.'
Her thoughts were interrupted by Starfire's communicator going off. Starfire landed next to Raven, kneeling down and opened the device so they both could view the screen. "Starfire and Raven here." She said looking to the screen seeing Robin's face.
"I'm calling a group meeting in the common room." Robin said addressing more than just Raven and Starfire on the line. "I want everyone there." He paused for a moment. "Including Slade." He said before closing the connection.
Raven and Starfire shared a worried look. 'This can't be good...' They both thought as they stood up together. They hoped that Robin was not doing this to start more trouble...
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Robin sighed as he cut off his communicator and put it away. He had arrived back at the tower and at that moment, was just outside the common room. He had seen that Raven was with Starfire. Did that mean that Slade was with her or was he somewhere else in the tower? Robin walked into the common room hearing it surprisingly quiet. He would have figured Beast Boy would still be playing games at this hour. His eyes landed on the only person in the large room. 'Slade...' He thought trying to keep from getting angry as his hands clenched into fists.
Once Robin finally felt he had himself under control, he walked to the table taking a seat across from Slade. He ignored the plate of sandwiches as he watched Slade, who did not acknowledge him at all, as he stayed typing away on the laptop. "We need to talk." Robin said finally, done with the silence between them.
"Not going to wait for your friends to show up?" Slade asked as he turned off his computer and closed it, looking to Robin.
"How did you...?" Robin frowned. "Raven." He said knowing the girl must have told Slade telepathically. Damn it, so much for catching him off-guard.
"Yes." He said leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind his head in a very relaxed fashion. "Speaking of." He said glancing to the hallway as Raven and Starfire came into the room. Slade held Raven's gaze for a just second as he passed his memories from the last few minutes to her. It told her that both of them had actually behaved very well, which surprised her but she kept it from showing on her face. Raven had honestly expected Robin to attack Slade the first real chance he got.
"Friend Robin!" Starfire exclaimed with a smile as she walked over to him, taking a seat next to him. "I am most glad you have returned!"
"Yeah..." Said Robin as he glanced to the happy redhead.
Raven walked to Slade, standing before him as they spoke mentally.
"You let her cut it..." Slade said eyeing her hair that was free from the ponytail. Raven nodded to him. "Turn around... Let me see." He spoke softly, wishing she had not cut it.
"What do you think?" Raven asked as she felt Slade take a hand through her hair. Why was she feeling slightly nervous? What he thought about her hair should not matter... Should it?
"You look beautiful." Slade said as Raven turned back around to face him. He smiled very softly to her and she could feel his emotions strongly through their bond.
His compliment to her made her blush softly as she glanced away from him. "Thanks."
Robin did his best to keep from glaring at the two as he watched the silent interaction. "Do you two really have to talk telepathically?"
Raven and Slade looked to him. "Yes." They said together without meaning too. They shared a glance together before Raven looked away and took her seat beside him next to Starfire like before. Wintergreen's seating arrangement had worked out well enough before that it went unspoken between everyone to continue it.
Robin tried to ignore that they had spoken as one and chose to grab one of the sandwiches to occupy his time with instead. Starfire followed Robin's lead grabbing one of the sandwiches that was placed more to the side of plate. She could see large amounts of mustard, mints and sardines inside of it and smiled as she took a bite. Wintergreen had learned very quickly, what she liked. Starfire hoped Slade would stick around for a while longer if nothing else because she enjoyed having the butler around.
Finally, both Cyborg and Beast Boy showed up. Beast Boy's hair was wet and stuck to his face showing he had recently been in the shower. No one said anything as they took their seats and waited for Robin to speak. Cyborg took a drink from the energy drink he had in his hand while wondering why Robin had suddenly called this meeting.
Robin straightened up as he looked at Slade pushing his emotions away. He needed answers to the questions that were plaguing him but the question was... Was Slade going to answer him at all? "I've been doing a lot of thinking about our past interactions with you." Robin stated getting a raised eyebrow from Slade. "You're obviously willing to kill." He said thinking about Doctor Light. He pushed away the questioning thought of what had happened to the body. He would deal with that later if it has not already been dealt with. "So, why have you never tried to kills us?"
"Who says I haven't?" Slade replied with a raised eyebrow wondering where Robin was going with this. He could not seriously be thinking he was some good guy deep down, right? Cause if that was the case; he was going to have to teach the boy a lesson.
"Because we're alive." Robin stated, glad that Slade at least seemed to answer him. "Looking back, there have been many times you could have killed us... So why haven't you?"
Slade smirked. "Don't go thinking it's because I'm a nice guy." He replied knowing all eyes were on him now. "As long as you Titans were guarding this city the Justice League would stay out of it. I have dealt with the League in the past under a different name and I had no intent of dealing with them again. It's much easier to accomplish my goals with you Titans around. Besides, if I had openly killed you all then the League would rage war against me and that tends to get very expensive."
Robin held his tongue as he thought about everything Slade just said, breaking it down. "What other name have you gone under?" Robin asked first, feeling that this question was the more important question to ask first.
Slade smirked. "You don't want to know."
"If I didn't want to know I wouldn't have asked." Robin said getting annoyed. The others who kept silent looked back and forth between the two as they spoke.
"Deathstroke." Slade said seriously, losing his seemingly good humor as he lowered his arms and sat up straighter.
Robin paled and his eyes slowly grew wider as it dawned on him. He swallowed down the hard lump in his throat, thinking back to the stories he had heard involving the assassin Deathstroke, from Batman. Batman had always told him that if he EVER came up against Deathstroke, to run. Robin resisted showing the shiver that ran down his spine as he thought about the file he had read in Batman's records. Deathstroke had been a monster among men with a reputation for being a coldblooded killer who could kill you and torture you in the most creative ways if it came down to it. Batman even had accounts of when League members had faced off against Deathstroke and lost.
"I think now, you are starting to understand why she felt I was strong enough to be her mate." Slade said with a slight smirk on his face while Robin was still silent. "Since the beginning, I have always pulled my punches against you Titans."
Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire all looked confused. "Please..." Said Starfire. "Why does that name bring you to such shock?" She asked looking between the males.
Robin finally recovered and replied to her. "Let's just say he's killed a lot more people than just Dr. Light..." His eyes went to Raven. "Did you know who he was?!"
Raven replied calmly and without emotions. She knew Robin was not going to like her answer no matter what she said. Honesty however, might help this go over better than a few pretty lies. "I didn't know his past but I knew he was a killer." She stated. "I could feel it in his soul."
"And you're okay with that?!" Robin asked his voice starting to rise.
Raven nodded. "Yes." She said coldly. "I needed someone who has no limits on what they will do to keep me from my kin."
Robin gaped at her for a second before finding himself and closing his mouth, looking away. "Your... Kin... Must be something very terrible for you to bond to someone so evil..." He said bitterly before he could stop himself. Neither Raven nor Slade commented however. What would be the point in arguing against what was true? "All the times we defeated you..." Robin started, getting back to his other questions. He was not going to accomplish anything if he dwelled on what he could not change. "You planned it like that... Didn't you?"
"Except the ending with Terra. Yes. Though I will admit, the getaways were not always as smooth as planned." He replied, glad for the topic change. Anything that got Robin off the topic of him being bonded to Raven was a plus. He could feel how nervous she was when they were on the topic even if she did not show it.
Robin nodded and thought everything over. He only had one more question plaguing him but should he ask it? He looked to Slade behind his mask and then to Raven. He knew from Wintergreen that Raven had had no previous contact with Slade before that night... So how long had Slade been planning his little... Visit, to her room? "I know about the previous conversation between you all." He stated keeping his composure. "Just how long have you..." He paused as he was unsure how to ask it. "Wanted her?" He finally asked, as he could not think of a better way to put it.
Slade glanced to Raven. "From the beginning..." He said mentally to her. However, he looked back to Robin and shook his head. "That I will be keeping to myself."
Robin nodded. He had not expected an answer but Slade's refusal to answer told him a great deal. Slade had to have desired her for a long time now... 'I was right... He did want her safe back then...' Robin thought about few more questions he had but decided against asking. He knew if Slade was not willing to answer his last question there was no way he was going to answer these. Nonetheless, he had a few that were not so personal he needed to ask, one more pressing than the others. "So, what happens now?" He asked looking between Raven and Slade knowing both of them were required for the answer to his question.
Slade and Raven looked to each other as they discussed it privately. They honestly had not had a chance to really talk about what they were going to do now.
"I can't stay here forever." Slade stated to her. "While I am going to stop being Slade, I do have a few loose ends to tie up. Otherwise, it's going to look very suspicious if I disappear and a new guy starts hanging around here. Though I will be honest; this place is going to drive me nuts if I'm stuck here for much longer."
"Then what do you suggest?" She asked back seeing his point. "We have to stay together but I'm not abandoning my friends."
"I'm not saying abandon them. I wouldn't ask that of you. Just think of it more like... A vacation from them for a while."
Raven thought about it for a half second. "I wouldn't mind a vacation..." She nodded to him, agreeing to his thoughts.
Slade nodded back and looked to Robin. "For now, I leave and she comes with me." He raised a hand silencing the protests from her friends before they could start. "Not permanently. Just long enough for me to take care of a few things. Once everything is settled, we will go from there. By then our bond may be strong enough for us to be far apart from each other and then I won't have to deal with any of you."
"Well that would be a plus." Mumbled Beast Boy as he brushed his wet hair back from his forehead.
Slade rolled his eyes, ignoring the comment.
"What happens if we need Raven to fight with us?" Robin asked looking between them, ignoring Beast Boy as well.
"I highly doubt you will need me anytime soon." Raven said. "As far as most of the villains know, we have a killer joined up on our team. I think most of them are going to be hiding out for a while."
"Speaking of that." Robin said thinking about the incident. "What happened to the body?"
"Wintergreen took care of it." Stated Cyborg as he wondered what Robin was going to say to that.
Robin thought about it before nodding as he looked at Cyborg. It was better this way if Light's death was covered up. If the press ever found out or even thought that they had killed someone, the Titans would be shut down by the city within the week. "Good." He looked back to Raven and Slade. "I'm not happy about this." He stated more to Raven than Slade. "However... There is nothing I can do to change it, so I'll just have to accept it for what it is." He pointed to Raven, his eyes and emotions were serious. "You're in charge of him Raven. I don't know exactly what he's becoming but I know what he was. He's dangerous Raven and I don't want him becoming a greater threat to this city. Don't force me into making the choice between what is best for you and what is best for this city."
Raven nodded keeping silent. She knew what Robin was threatening. Should Slade or even herself become such a threat that he did not feel they could stop, he would call in the Justice League to deal with them. Raven laid a hand on Slade's leg to keep him quiet. She could feel that he did not like having a threat looming over them but for now, there was nothing either of them could do about it. "I understand." She said finally, knowing Robin wanted an answer from her.
"Good." Robin stood up and looked to everyone. "This meeting is adjourned." He said as he left, going to his room. He had enough things to think over now without trying to ask any other questions. He was actually rather proud of himself in that he was able to keep his calm and did not start a fight. However, he knew there was one person he was going to have to contact which he was not looking forward too...
Cyborg and Beast Boy looked at everyone before they both shrugged and went to the TV to play some games. Starfire smiled as she looked at Raven and Slade. "I believe that went very well." Said the redhead looking to Raven.
"Surprisingly yes..." Raven said, agreeing with Starfire. Both Slade and Robin had kept themselves controlled, mainly Robin, so everything had gone rather smoothly.
"When are you planning to leave us?" Starfire asked looking at Slade.
"Tonight, if all goes well." He stated glancing at Raven who nodded.
"I can have everything I need for a few days packed by tonight." She replied.
"Good."
"Aww, but friend Raven, we just got you back!" Starfire pleaded, putting on her pouting face. "I do not want you to leave us again so soon!"
"I'll come back Starfire. I won't be gone for very long." Raven said trying not to roll her eyes at Starfire's puppy eyes.
"But friend, who am going to do the hanging out with while you are gone!?" She asked as tears welled up in her eyes making the green gems sparkle.
'Gods she's an extortionist!' Raven thought while she endeavored to avoid the guilt-filled look Starfire was giving her. "Why don't you use the time I'm away to hang out with Robin more." She countered knowing how easy it was to turn Starfire's attention back to Robin. At least it normally was.
"Oh!" Starfire's eyes widened at the thought of spending more time with Robin. It was the thought of her alone with Robin that reminded her of a question she had forgotten to ask Raven before. "Friend, I had almost forgotten to ask!" She exclaimed with a happy blissfully ignorant smile on her face. "I wanted to know if perhaps I could watch you and Slade mate sometime?" She asked completely oblivious to the look of shock on Raven's face. "I was informed that is polite to ask to see such interactions."
Raven sat in shocked silence as she looked at Starfire. Surely, the girl had not truly asked what she thought she had... "Starfire..." She said slowly, trying to get over her shock and slight embarrassment. "Who told you that...?"
"Wintergreen." She said looking at Raven curiously. "He informed Beast Boy and I that it is considered rude to spy on someone when they are mating and that if one wishes to watch they are to ask first. So I am asking."
Slade's shoulders shook before finally he busted out laughing, holding his sides. "By the Gods she's an idiot!" He said to Raven as he tried to stop laughing. Leave it to Wintergreen to give this ditsy girl a way to ask such a question.
Raven collected herself and ignored Slade's words and laughter. "I'm glad you think this is funny!" She snapped with a mental growl to him.
"Very." He replied as he calmed himself but still chuckled.
"Starfire..." Raven started as she tried to piece together her reply. "I appreciate your asking... But no..." She replied trying to keep her blush from showing on her face. "You can't watch us mate." She said hoping that would be the end of it.
"Oh…" Starfire looked to Slade who was still chuckling if only because he did not know how else to react. "Why not?" Starfire asked looking back to Raven. "Is it because he is not as pleasing as a mate should be?" She asked thinking back to their previous conversation.
Slade's chuckling stopped in an instant, hearing Starfire's words. Raven flinched, feeling the great shift in his emotions. 'Fuck…' She thought knowing Starfire had just jabbed at his pride without knowing it. Then again… It was her fault Starfire even thought that in the first place. "It's not that Starfire…" She said struggling to quickly think of a reason to give her but her mind drew a blank.
"I have nothing to hide." Slade said leaning back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest, trying to admit of air of calm about him but Raven could feel otherwise. There was anger beneath that calm exterior. His eyes watched Raven carefully as he allowed his emotions and thoughts to brush against hers. He was angry that she had presented him as less than he really was. Pride and anger were his faults… Nevertheless, she had faulted him first by not taking pride in his skills to bring her pleasure. Instead of standing up for him and speaking truthfully in the first place, she coward and led them into the situation they were in now. Now he was left with something to prove. Not to Starfire, but to her. "Watch us if you want. Just don't interrupt."
"Oh, that is most wonderful!" Starfire said clapping her hands together in front of her. "Thank you very much! I am eager to watch and learn how humans mate!" She said before quickly zipping off to go spread her cheer to Beast Boy.
Raven thought about yelling at Starfire to wait but she stilled herself looking away. She wanted to yell at Slade, tell him he had no right to make that choice for them both. Again... She did nothing. It was only when she felt Slade's hand on her arm did she noticed he had stood and was ushering her to follow him as he grabbed his scythe and computer. She could feel his thoughts as she stood up. Slade wanted out of there before Starfire could relay her 'good news'.
Raven followed him quickly as they left going to her room. "Why did you say that?" She asked as they walked quickly together. "Now Starfire is going to be following us everywhere..."
"We're leaving tonight so what does it matter?" Slade asked while still trying to keep his emotions controlled as he asked the same question to himself. Why had he said that to the girl? He was a rather private person so why did he say he did not care if someone watched? Did he say it just because he was angry? No... It could not have just been that... Did he want to show that she was his alone to touch? Some part of him agreed with the thought. He wanted to show the world she was his in every way...
"But... We're coming back at some point... Are we not?" Raven asked hesitantly as she tried to understand his thoughts. She could feel he was having some internal debate in his mind. Was it because he wanted to steal her away and never bring her back?
"At some point." Slade said glancing to her as they arrived at her door. Raven input her code and walked inside with him following. Slade left his scythe against her wall by the door like before. "Start packing." He said as he went to the bed and opened his computer again turning it back on, setting it on his lap.
Raven looked away from him and went to her closet, looking for one of her suitcases. Once found, she began the long debate over what to bring and for how long she should pack for. Thoughts from before came to her in the silence between them. Why did she not fight against him? Why did she not put her foot down and tell Starfire no? Raven knelt in her closet looking at her clothes but not really seeing them. 'Why do I never stand up for myself...?' She asked herself sadly, looking to her hand. She flexed her fingers, sliding out her long white claws. 'I know why... Because I have never believed, I held any worth... What is there to fight for when you're worthless?'
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Starfire smiled as she hovered behind Beast Boy and Cyborg as she waited for the game to end. She had learned a long time ago that they did not like being interrupted in the middle of a game. Once the match was over, Starfire quickly grabbed Beast Boy and before the boy even knew it, she had him in the air and out the door.
Cyborg blinked and then blinked again, while what just happened settled in. "Well... Starfire has started kidnapping people... Great..." He said to himself as he went back to the game with a shake of his head. He was taking a break from the computer codes and the best way to relax was to enjoy some video games!
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"Yo! Star!" Beast Boy yelled as he struggled to get out of her iron grip as she flew down the hallway. "Starfire you're going to break my hand!"
Starfire stopped flying down the hallway and let go of Beast Boy. "Oh, please forgive me!" She said quickly feeling embarrassment flood her cheeks. "I had forgotten my own strength in my excitement!"
"Excitement over what?" Beast Boy asked as he fanned his hand in the air trying to return blood flow to his fingers.
"I have gotten permission to watch friend Raven mate with Slade!" She said loudly.
Beast Boy stood there in shock as it sunk in. "Wait... WHAT?!" He asked with huge eyes.
"Yes!" Starfire said with a giggle. "I asked permission like Wintergreen said and they have said that we can watch them as long as we do not interrupt! Is that not wonderful?! I will finally get to see how humans mate!" Starfire said as she spun around in the air.
Beast Boy was quiet as his thoughts consumed him. He was torn between wanting to watch but not at the same time. Now that he thought about it... Could he really handle seeing her fucking someone else? He loved her once... What if seeing her with someone else brought it all back up again? He knew he could deal with it if she was happy... But... Was she? Beast Boy snapped himself out of his thoughts. "You know Starfire... Neither of them are human anymore, right?" He said grounding himself back down to reality, which was something he hated to do.
"Oh... Yes, you are right… However, friend Raven said she was built the same for sex as humans." Starfire said landing before Beast Boy thinking on the matter with a finger to her lips.
"Yeah well, if you do watch them, just don't expect everything to be the same when you finally get a hold of Robin." Beast Boy said with grin watching the redhead blush. "I'm thinking their version of sex is going to be a bit rougher than what you're going to like." Beast Boy said thinking about the bruises on Raven's arms that he knew she did not get from sex.
"Oh. Okay friend Beast Boy!" She said with a smile. "I shall due to remember that! Are you going to do the watching of them with me?" She asked knowing he was great at spying on others and would be of great help to her in this endeavor.
"I don't know." Beast Boy said with a shrug as he turned around and started walking back to the common room. "I haven't quite decided yet. Just let me know when you think they're doing it and I'll decide then." He said with a wave back to the girl.
"Okay friend!" Starfire said with a wave back. She turned around and started to head back to her room, floating down the hallway, humming a happy little tune as she went.
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Robin rubbed his face as he input the code to his room. Once inside he leaned against the door and took off his mask rubbing his eyes. Why was everything so complicated? He shoved off the door and put his mask back on going to his computer on the desk, turning it on. He threw himself down into his chair and listened to the hum of the computer booting up as the screen flicked to life. Once it was finished booting up, he typed in his password and loaded up the connection to his old mentor. The bat symbol flashed, taking over the screen while he waited for the call to connect.
After a few minutes the call finally connected. Robin smiled seeing Alfred's face on the screen.
"Master Grayson." Alfred said with a large smile. "It has been a long time since you have called. How are you doing?"
Robin smiled. "I'm alright, though things have gotten… Complicated… Is Bruce there?" He asked not really wanting to talk to him but given little choice in the matter.
Alfred nodded. "He is, just give him a moment." Alfred said as he left the screen, allowing camera to zoom out showing Robin a nice view of the bat cave.
Robin kept his face emotionless as he spotted Bruce in only the lower half of his uniform sitting on one of the medical tables in the room. Robin could see the dark bruises around his ribs letting him know Bruce had most likely broken a few very recently. Alfred went back to wrapping them tightly. "What happened?" Robin asked before he could stop himself.
Bruce looked up at him and almost glared. "Bane." He said shortly. "Why are you calling?" He asked gruffly. "Last thing you said to me was that you never wanted to speak to me again."
Robin winced knowing that probably was the last thing he had said to Bruce in anger. "Yeah… Well, it's complicated… This involves an old enemy of yours…" Robin said gathering up his courage and thoughts. "Do you remember Deathstroke?" Robin asked knowing it was a rhetorical question. It was not as if Deathstroke was someone you could easily forget.
Bruce turned serious. "What about him?"
"Well… It turns out he's Slade…" Robin said watching Bruce's emotionless face as he continued. "And now he's Raven's mate…"
"WHAT?!" Bruce bellowed, standing up with wide eyes, ignoring the pain in his ribs and Alfred who tried to sit him back down.
Robin sighed rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah… Like I said… Things have gotten a little complicated and I don't know what to do…"
"Explain it in detail." Bruce said as he sat back down allowing Alfred to finish his work, binding his ribs.
Robin took a deep breath and explained everything he knew in detail. From Slade kidnapping her to the conversation he had just finished with the man not long ago. They were silent for a while as it sank in. "What do I do Bruce?" Robin queried, clearly in need of direction. "Do I call the League to come take care of him or do I let him go?"
Bruce thought about it all for a few moments. "Let him go." He said after much internal debate, looking to Robin with hard eyes. "Deathstroke… Slade has always been on his own side. If he says for now he is not your enemy, then take his word for it and let the past go."
"How can I do that!?" Robin asked slamming a fist onto his desk as he stood up. "After all the evils he's done, how can I just let him go?!"
"You don't have a choice!" Bruce yelled back. "You're not strong enough to take him down and neither am I!"
"But the Justice League could!" Robin yelled back.
"No they couldn't!" Bruce shouted, stilling Robin's tongue. "Think about it Robin." He said forcefully but was no longer yelling. "If Raven herself had EVER let go of control, do you think anyone could have stopped her?!" Robin dropped back into his chair. "She's given her power to Slade; a man who was already dangerous before when he was just a human. Now he has the power of a God flowing through him. Do you really think anyone of us could stop him?"
"But… What about Superman…?" He asked while the memory of what Raven said before flashed through his mind. "The Demon Lords are strong enough to knock out Superman in one hit." "How would we… Stop him?" Robin asked finally seeing the truth.
"We don't." Bruce said coldly. "We just have to hope Raven will keep him and herself controlled."
"What if we lose her?" Robin asked as the fear finally settled in.
"Then we lose her. Just pray she doesn't destroy the world if it comes down to that."
After a moment of quiet as everything set in, the rest of the conversation was pleasant as Alfred took over the conversation making sure everything else was all right. He was rather interested in Wintergreen being at the tower but said nothing on the matter though Robin did question the smirk on his face. Did Alfred and Wintergreen know each other?
Robin disconnected the feed after everyone said their goodbyes. He leaned back in his chair thinking about what Bruce had said. 'I don't have a choice but to let him go… Bruce is right… No one could stop him… Raven what have you done?!'