The capsule exploded with a loud bang and the thick smoke began to fill the room. Slade saw the young female Martian point at him before he was shrouded by the dark and murky smokescreen. He didn't need to be able to see where he was running as he knew the complex as well as the back of his hand and could have easily found his way out had he been blindfolded. He could hear the Titans' and YJs' shouts as he left the room, slapping a button on the wall that slammed the heavy titanium doors shut. He knew it wouldn't stop them, not with the Kryptonian and the Tamaranian at their disposal, but it would slow them down. As he ran away and out of the dark cloud that obscured the hallway he heard the two super strong heroes began to pound on the door, which moaned as if sharing its discomfort.

Slade ran through a second set of doors, which also closed behind him as he ran through the opening. The hallway turned into a ramp, which began to descend deep into the earth. There was another set of doors at each switchback, each one shutting as he passed through it and Slade picked up the pace as he had no desire to be captured.

He passed through switchback after switchback, turning gracefully and rapidly around each corner. He heard the sound of the first set of doors finally yielding to the Titans. Slade noticed that the air around him was becoming hotter and thicker, and it wasn't because he was feeling winded.

Slade dashed through the final set of doors and entered a large cavern. A strong smell of sulfur assaulted his nostrils but he ignored it as he continued to run. Jump City had an intricate network of underground caverns and this underground room bore a great resemblance to the lair he had when Terra turned on him during that fateful night.

There was a huge crater in the middle of the room, which contained a pool of magma. The lava slowly bubbled and popped, as noxious gas bubbles formed in the thick molten rock. The crater was surrounded by huge metal boxes which contained state of the art geothermal equipment, which provided all the power to his lair. It was a masterpiece of stealth technology as it left no signature of its presence and it was one of the reasons his lair had never been detected.

Slade ran around the crater, attempting to peer between the geothermal power equipment as he continued to run with the speed and grace of a gazelle. It wasn't until he made his way around the crater and cleared the last of the thermal generators that he could finally see the object of his desire.

Slade was calculating, if anything. Unlike other villains he never assumed his plans would work flawlessly and he always hedged his bets. And his hedge, a teleportation chamber, stood waiting for him, patiently, loyally and faithfully.

And Batgirl was standing between him and his quantum lifeboat.

"Going somewhere, Slade?" Babs smirked at him.

"Out of my way girl, I don't have time to deal with you now!"

"Isn't that a shame Slade?" She replied as she adopted a fighting stance.

"Have it your way child, and don't say you weren't warned." He growled back at her as he clicked his bo staff into its fully extended length and twirled it menacingly.

Barbara made the first move, somersaulting as she launched a volley of batarangs at Slade, who knocked them away with his staff. He immediately counterattacked, lunging with the speed of tiger at the diminutive Batgirl, who was barely able to leap out of the way while continuing to block his escape route.

"There's no way I'm letting you reach that teleportation pod." She smirked at him as she landed on her feet after performing a perfect triple back flip.

Slade understood what the girl was doing. There was no way she could match him one on one, and instead was luring him away from the escape. She was trying to buy time to give her teammates a chance to catch up with them. He knew that couldn't allow that to happen.

Slade darted to one side in an attempt to run around the meddlesome girl. Barbara threw a bolo rope at his legs in an attempt to hogtie him.

Slade surprised her by leaping into the air, doing a half flip and landing in front of her on his hands. With a superhuman effort fueled by his chemically enhanced strength, a gift from the government he received during his military days as a volunteer guinea pig, using only his arms he sprung back into the air and flipped over an astonished Batgirl. Before she could react he landed on his feet and hit her on one of her temples with his bo-staff. She immediately collapsed, knocked out cold.

"Consider yourself lucky child. Were I not in such a hurry your fate would have been final."

Slade collapsed his bo-staff and turned to the teleportation pod.

"Until next time Titans." He muttered to himself as he began to walk to his freedom.

He stopped as Raven phased out of the ground, blocking his path. Her eyes glowed white and she parted her cape, revealing a dark void from which Beast Boy emerged. The changeling immediately saw Babs supine form on the floor and ran to her, kneeling next to her as he checked her vital signs.

"She's alive Rae, but she's hurt real bad, she needs to get to the infirmary!"

Raven glared at Slade.

"Lucky for you she's still alive Slade, as I'll have to tend to her wounds. But don't worry, Gar will give you what you deserve."

"Gar? Is that your pet name for him, Raven? What does he call you? Rae-Rae perhaps?" He gave the changeling a single eyed glare. "Go ahead Beast Boy, do your worst. Not that it will matter; we both know that Raven is the one with the real power. You're nothing more than her dog on a leash."

What happened next caught Slade completely by surprise. Beast Boy leapt to his feet and charged at the villain, who at first grinned behind the privacy of his mask. He decided at that moment that he would kill the changeling and make his escape before Raven could react. He extended his staff as Beast Boy began to morph. He knew that while the green Titan was strong he also knew his weakness: his lack of discipline. The green fool always shot from the hip and fought without any real strategy. His animal instincts could be deadly, but they also made him mindless and predictable. It would be an easy kill as long as Raven stayed at the bat brat's side healing her.

Slade adopted a fighting stance, and would let the changeling come to him. The changeling behaved as expected, lunging at him while he morphed into some useless animal form. Did Beast Boy not know that man is the ultimate predator?

What Slade did not expect was the transformation that happened before his eyes. As Beast Boy began to morph Slade recognized that the target would be some sort of biped, perhaps a giant ape or a lumbering dinosaur. Time appeared to slow down as Slade watched in mild horror while Beast Boy began to transform into a creature one would expect to only encounter during a fever induced nightmare. He watched as the boy's extremities transformed into razor sharp claws. His torso swelled, its muscles as firm as if they were made of steel. And the head, its face was something primeval, beyond anything found on any creature that roamed the Earth or swam in its seas.

The leviathan slashed at the one eyed villain, who was barely able to leap out of the way. The inhuman blow landed instead on a nearby console, smashing it to bits. As Slade stared at the green monster before him he caught a glimpse of Raven in his peripheral vision. She was still healing the Batgirl, but she was watching the fight. Slade saw something he had never seen before: Raven was grinning, but it wasn't a nice grin. It was the grin of a female with the blood lust, and lust it was as her 4 demonic eyes were now glowing red. Then it clicked for him, she was watching her mate toy with its prey, for that is what Slade was at the moment, he was the Beast's prey.

Slade realized that this creature was a composite of every creature on Earth, a green chimera, a creature that was only supposed to exist in nightmares, and yet was right in front of him, playing with him, as if he were a mere mouse.

Slade decided to fight fire with fire and swung at the Beast's head with his bo-staff. He connected with the monster's head and a loud cracking sound was heard. The Beast did not even flinch and Slade stared in horror as his staff fell apart, completely broken by the impact.

The Beast snatched Slade, grabbing him with a lightning fast sweep, wrapping his claws around his torso and dragged him to the edge of the crater, which had a safety railing around its perimeter. It pressed Slade against the metal barrier, immobilizing him. Slade squirmed in vain as he tried to free himself and the Beast lowered its head so that it was face to face with Slade and emitted a bone rattling roar that echoed throughout the cavern. It then pulled away while still holding Slade trapped against the railing, and Slade thought the monster looked … smug.

"Bravo Beast Boy, well done. I clearly underestimated you. You have defeated me." He turned to face Raven. "My apologies Raven, he is indeed worthy of you." He continued in his signature monotone. "Since you have the upper hand, I would like to propose a deal …"

"No deals Slade. You don't have anything we could possibly want!" Raven hissed back at him.

"I beg to differ, Raven. I indeed have something you want, something very valuable."

"Like I already said Slade, we aren't interested, you can't bribe us."

Slade raised his hand, exposing the ring on his finger.

"Do you know what this is, Raven?"

Raven stood up, ceasing Barbara's healing process as she stared at the ring.

"Yes Raven, this is the Master ring that brought Terra back to life. If I give this to you, you will be able to break the stony curse that claims Terra's flesh for once and for all."

Raven shook her head while the Beast snarled at Slade, who ignored him.

"My freedom for Terra's life, Raven. That seems like an equitable trade, don't you agree?"

Raven clenched her teeth, trying to keep in anger in check.

"We'll confiscate it from you Slade. No deal." She hissed angrily.

Slade shook his head.

"I was afraid you would say that. You do know what would happen if the ring is destroyed, don't you?" He asked.

"Yes, Terra would remain trapped in stone until the end of time." She replied.

Slade nodded his head.

"Good, I just wanted to be sure that there was no misunderstanding."

Slade pulled the ring off of his finger and tossed it into the pit. The Beast released him immediately and leaped over the railing, while Raven jumped to her feet and ran over to where he jumped, from where she saw that Beast Boy had morphed into a falcon and was diving after the ring, which now tumbled towards the lava below. The green falcon caught up with the falling ring and caught it in his talon. Raven waited for him to pull out of his dive, but as she watched in horror he too began to tumble. He had blacked out from the searing heat of the boiling magma, which was now just yards away from his falling body. Raven raised her hand.

"AZARATH, METRION, ZINTHOS!"

A black bubble appeared around the unconscious bird and Raven summoned it back to her. As it returned she deposited the injured falcon on the ground and her healing blue light made it appearance. It was then she heard a loud hum that grew louder and louder until it fell silent.

Slade had escaped.

The falcon opened its eyes and blinked. It then extended its claw and deposited the ring in Raven's hand after which Beast Boy morphed back into his human form.

"I'm sorry Rae … that was … really stupid." He said as he stood up.

Raven slapped him across the face. She then stared at him before breaking out into sobs and tears, burying her face in his chest. Barbara, now back on her feet, watched as he wrapped his arms around Raven, and they remained in their embrace until the others caught up with them.

-( scene break )-

A single scene chapter.

Slade got away, like he always does. But we're not done yet, so stay tuned.