Disclaimer: Muahahaha! I have kidnapped the owner of Teen Titans and…okay I couldn't do that with a straight face. No, I don't own Teen Titans and I didn't capture whoever does own it. Sadly I am just an American writing about Teen Titans to get rid of my nerdiness.

Author's Note: Hello again everybody! Thanks for sticking with me all this time. I know it kind of took a while to get here, but finally, we are at Slade's new secret lair! Now, I have another teaser question for you all. When has Slade met Oriole before all of this? What is their "shared past?" It was already revealed in Chapter 12 if you're Sherlock Holmes or a friend I told the plot to. So, if you can guess it, send it in as a review and I'll tell you if you're right or wrong. Hehe, have fun!

Now, sit back and get excited for Chapter 13! Review please!

Oriole Chapter 13: She Shouldn't Have Looked

Oriole

12:21 am

One week after capture

Location Unknown

Oriole snuck into Slade's tech room. After spending seven days roaming the halls and doing chores for Wintergreen, she knew practically where every room was in that damned house. Disturbingly, she found a camera feedback on multiple screens, showing every single window, door or ventilation system. As if it was needed. The security placed on the mansion made it a fortress, impregnable. Focus! She snapped at herself.

She sat down at Slade's computer and found it password protected. Sara smiled. Now that was just being careless! Reaching into the hidden compartment in the heel of her left combat boot, she pulled out a small USB-looking device. Bruce had given it to her for life threatening situations. The way Oriole figured, being captured by a twisted and sadistic creep qualified for a life threatening situation. She plugged the device into the computer and automatically the word (or rather name) "Adeline" was punched in on screen. Who's Adeline?

The first thing that popped up on the computer screen was a file entitled "Contracts." In other words, it was his hit list. It had been updated just yesterday. Looking through it, she found many demented truths about who Slade was after. First was two people, a man and a woman, with the last name Thompson with too x's meaning deceased after it. But something else caught her eye before she could see any more. As she scrolled down, horror sent an unpleasant shudder down her spine. In second most wanted hit list was the name "Bruce Wayne." Sara froze, eyes twice their normal size.

"No," she whispered.

"What are you doing in here?"

Slade

12:22 am

Location Unknown

Slade stood behind the computer chair where Sara was sitting. On screen was an old picture taken of Wayne and the two teens. He had one arm around each of them and had a rare smile on his face. Sara, on Wayne's left, was beaming up at the camera, her eyes glittering with laughter. Dick was also smiling, confidence, arrogance, all emotions wrapped into one simple smile.

Sara spun around, anger and fear colliding in a very alarming mixture. She stood and, in her defiance, uttered something she probably shouldn't have. "Isn't it enough you have Ro in this hell hole? Now you have to go after Batman too?"

Slade mentally swore at himself. He shouldn't have let the security in here slip. If Dick had found all of this…well needless to say, it wouldn't be good. Sara coming across this was problematic, but not too terrible. After all, he knew one of her little secrets too. But threats would only come if she did something stupid. For now though, maybe Slade could use this to his advantage. He hadn't even talked about Wayne yet. "Why does it matter to you what happens to Wayne? He found out how much trouble you were and shipped you off to Jump City so that Dick could deal with you. He abandoned you the first chance he got."

"That's not true!" She said this a little too quickly. "Batman," Slade almost laughed at how she insisted to call everyone by their hero name, "is the closest thing to a father I have! No one's taking away any more of my family!" All anger suddenly melted away into misery. "I can't bear it."

This speech merely reminded Slade that he was dealing with Sara, the seventeen year old girl that'd lost her parents, not Oriole, the superpowered hero that'd seen more horror than most people three times her age. It also seemed to highlight how much of a grudge, for lack of a better word, she would have if Slade told her what really happened to her parents. But still, the bonds between Sara and Wayne had to be broken. "He's not your father. He doesn't care. Why else would he send you where he couldn't protect you? The Titans couldn't give you the same protection as Wayne should have. A real father would keep you as close as possible when you were in danger."

She shook her head and tried to deny it, but her trembling lips said otherwise. "That's not true! He did what he thought was best. And…and I'm not going to fall for your stupid mind games!" Her voice lowered as she attempted to block him out. "My name is Sara Marie Thompson. I'm seventeen years-"

"Sara, don't you." Slade's voice became a dangerous growl.

"I became Oriole four years ago when-"

Out of anger, Slade backhanded her hard across the face. Her knees buckled and she clutched her cheek, startled. "Pay attention when I'm talking to you, Sara. Or there will be punishments."

For a few minutes, she remained motionless, eyes closed. Finally, her eyes opened. They were pitch black. She looked up at him, rage lighting her eyes like a forest fire. She seemed to fly right at him, nails curving into claws. Slade caught her wrists. A hiss passed through her pulled back lips, fangs gleaming in the little light there was. It was as if she were a vampire from those old horror movies. Her coal black eyes glared at him coldly.

In that moment, Slade saw all of the raw power buried in the depths of her mind. Such potential, and she leaves it on the shelf to collect dust. Why? But he already knew the answer. Though she wouldn't admit it, Sara was afraid of her powers; afraid that if she let them out, they would control her as it did now.

"Let me go!" She hissed.

Slade wasn't going to let her lack of control interrupt him. "Sara, everyone dies eventually. All I do is make a person's little time on Earth go by faster. Besides, Wayne has had so much pain in his life. I think it would be a favor." For both him and myself.

"No! Leave him alone!"

"Nothing you do or say can save him, Sara. Accept it." He knew it was cold, but he wasn't going to lie to her. She'd know if he did anyway, so there wasn't any point.

She disregarded it. "Let me go! I hate you!" The black began to recede back to her pupils. Finally, she was out of power, out of strength, and out of will to keep defending Wayne.

Slade waited to let go until her claws had fully returned to nails. She slumped down to her knees, her chest shaking with silent sobs. Well, at least something was accomplished tonight: he'd broken through. He'd gotten to her. And most importantly, he reminded her that he was in charge, that she had absolutely no power.

Robin

5:30 am

Location Unknown

Sara was considerably quieter at breakfast that day. Her eyes kept darting nervously to Slade as she ate. Normally it was just an awkward silence until Sara finally struck up a conversation, but now no one was talking.

Robin kept asking in his mind, "Are you okay?" over and over again until it became a chant.

Finally, "Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" According to Sara, it was next to impossible to lie in your head, so Robin relaxed…but only slightly. After all, she did say next to impossible.

"I don't know, you just seem quieter than usual."

"Don't worry about it. I just had a bit of an epiphany last night."

"About what?"

"That Slade is a bastard and deserves to rot in hell…Sorry, I don't censor myself in my head."

Robin almost laughed. Whatever Slade did, he was glad it happened; Robin had been a little worried about her, worried that she would fall for Slade's mind games. "Why, what happened?"

Abruptly, she cut off communication. Robin took that as a, "you don't wanna know." Still, he didn't like her keeping secrets, especially now. They had to keep each other sane until they got out of there. Wouldn't that mean that she should trust him with everything?

The grandfather clock in Slade's living room chimed midnight. Right on cue, Sara knocked on his door. They'd been meeting late every night to plan how to escape. Routinely, Sara unplugged the security camera.

"Good evening, ma'am." Dick said in a false Southern accent and tipped an imaginary hat to her.

Sara laughed, "I think you mean good morning. It is midnight after all." She perched herself on the bed, looking up at the camera and frowned.

Dick glanced at it. "Yeah, I hate it too."

She grunted and looked away.

"Are you okay?" Dick asked for the second time in a row. He sat next to her and put a hand on her shoulder.

Sara shrugged. She stood and walked over to the window. "I wish we could at least hear from someone. Not knowing anything is making me feel isolated."

Dick followed her and took her hand. "Well, I'm still here. When we get out, you can do whatever you want."

Her hand slipped out of his and she held it away from him. "That's just it, Di. I don't know if we can escape. Slade's got this place wired better than freaking Arkham!"

"Sara, it's okay. We'll figure something out."

"No, you won't. It's been a week now, Dick. I'm not waiting anymore. We're doing this my way now."

Dick sighed. He knew there was nothing he could do to convince her otherwise, so why bother? "What did you have in mind?"

"We're leaving. Tonight. From what I can tell, there's a forest not too far from here. If we make it there, it'll be hard for him to find us. And there are only guards at night. The security system reboots over night and starts up again at about six. Only the cameras stay on, but Slade won't be watching right now."

"Why tonight?"

She hesitated, trying to figure out how to put what she was thinking into words. Finally, she merely shrugged and replied, "I just want to get out of here as soon as possible. Seriously, Slade's attitude is starting to get to me."

A smile played on his lips."Okay, so what's the plan?"

Sara smiled back. "You're in?"

"Duh!"

"Alright. Well the plan is simple."

Author's Note: Haha, aren't cliffhangers terrible? So, Sara has a plan to escape. You know, I've already had enough of Slade myself. And going after Bruce? Grrrr….bad Slade. Will Sara's plan work? Will Robin and Oriole escape? Tune in next week! Review please. Hope you enjoyed!