Beast Boy stilled, even he could not deny the logic Slade divulged. Raven never seemed to fit as seamlessly as the others. But they were still friends—he had to believe that could be enough to save her.
Looking at her now, he wondered if she could ever return to normal. It almost seemed pointless.
Another Titan questioned his purpose, his intentions. Nothing was black and white anymore; Slade had crossed the line and then decimated it, tainting everything.
Kill Slade, and Raven may never come back. Yet aborting the child or putting Raven out of her misery didn't seem fair either. Every action had a consequence, Beast Boy weighed his options.
However, before he could even think to begin to act, a resounding boom echoed throughout the cavern followed by an intense wave of thick smoke that blinded all.
Robin had finally come.
In a flurry of ferocity, Slade was sent reeling to the crumbling wall, a gasp of shock and rage wheezed out of him. Raven, too, could not believe her glazed eyes, and stared around in astonished wonder.
A bolt of emerald fire painted the dark room in an eerie light, footsteps marched in. Starfire had shot a barrage of bolts, setting Slade ablaze as Robin struck out savagely, his fists and feet a blur. There was barely a fight left when Cyborg roared in, arm cannon firing, tinting the ground blue.
Slade had had just enough time to put his arms up in defense, but he was sideswiped by a tidal wave of frustration and anger. He was finally paying the price for his games, and Robin still remained in the dark about the atrocities that had been committed.
In a matter of seconds, before Raven could un-paralyze herself, Slade was down and practically hogtied. Starfire held a menacing fiery hand to his throat while Cyborg had a foot on his back. Robin stood triumphantly, a look of intense relief and unmitigated fury etched into his masked features. It seemed to be over for him.
That is, until he saw Raven.
The first thing he registered was her half-crazed expression. It seemed odd that she should look so afraid. Next was her horrible condition: Underfed, dark circles swallowed her usually bright eyes, and faded bruises lined every inch of her skin.
She was rotting.
Without so much as a squeak, Robin gave a swift, brutal kick to Slade's masked face, his ire bubbling again. But nothing could have prepared him for his last appraisal. There had been something off about Raven, more than her vacant expression and decrepit appearance, he had not been able to put his finger on it, but now it seemed so obvious that it made him sick.
Yes, she was so weak, almost half of the person that she was she was, so thin and broken. But her stomach was grotesquely distended, past the point of comprehension.
His eyes zeroed in on her swollen belly. At first he went through every disease that could have such a side effect. He considered a massive tape worm infesting her body. But from the guilty look on her face, his last and most horrible fear was realized.
It seemed that his life's pursuit was to rid the world of Slade, and yet it seemed that Slade was to never be eliminated. Not when his seed still limped on.
Robin's disguised eyes went back and forth between Raven and the fallen man next to him. When he could no longer contain his hatred and disgust, he cried with molten vehemence and dragged Slade to his feet and shoved him with all his might into the wall.
Holding him by the shoulders, he smashed Slade into the uneven rock-face again and again, until Slade's piercing eye began to roam unfocused. At this point, the villain began to laugh. It was a hollow chuckle, never undulating with the blows, steady and maniacal.
Even at the end of his scheme, he had beaten them all.
His chortle sent a sweeping chill into the air, it was unworldly in its insanity. At this point Robin snapped, and began to thrash out at the mask that had haunted his dreams for too long. The Titans watched as over and over, the seemingly perfect boy who had led them for years came down on his enemy with such wrath that the appetite for justice crossed into a different, more disturbing realm.
Scarlet draped Robin's eyes, and still Slade tried to laugh. Finally, it took the combined effort of Beast Boy and Cyborg to pull their leader off of the downed Slade. Blood and spit flew fom Robin's mouth as he writhed against his concerned friends.
"You….you will….not…" he tried to scream, yet was too enraged to finish.
Bloody beneath his suit, with shattered bones and battered muscles, Slade managed to give a final grin under the mask before collapsing into darkness.
Raven remained shell-shocked, barely able to comprehend the upheaval of events that had occurred so quickly.
Starfire remained, standing guard over Slade while Raven sat across the room, wondering what to do, when to move. Was this nightmare over? Or was a new one just beginning?
A trickle of sunlight glittered through the drawn curtains. Dawn had arrived, bringing a new day, new life.
But this gift did not extend to Raven.
Her eyes open, she had not slept for what seemed like eternity. Memories of torture, rage, and pain swirled around in her mind, preventing her from relief. The days went by in a blur of depression, she had only enough energy to toss and turn in her lonely bed.
No one came by at first, they left her be and discussed behind closed doors what they were to do while Raven was incapacitated.
Robin had dragged Slade to his own personal holding cell. It read like solitary confinement, the lights came on for only a few hours a day, and the boy wonder carried a portable monitor so as to keep a constant watch.
This was the agreement.
After the initial rescue, emotions ran high. Robin had called for Slade's execution. Starfire and Cyborg remained undecided. Raven, of course, took the opposite position (which was highly unpopular) but did not know what to do instead. It was Beast Boy who had suggested and perfected the plan to keep Slade close and watched.
It was easy at first because the villain was unconscious. He slept for days, and Robin only went near him to check to see if he was still breathing. Food was shoved through a small hole in the door once a day, which only opened when Slade was a good distance away.
The walls were thick, dull, and practically indestructible. Yet, the masked man hardly did anything of concern. He usually kept to his bed, sitting cross-legged as if he was meditating on top of it. When food came, he ate a few bites. He slept soundly—snoring could be heard buzzing out of Robin's pocket late at night.
None of his actions suggested anything unusual or diabolical.
Nevertheless, Robin could barely take his eyes off the little monitor. Every time Slade moved in his cramped cell, Robin's fingers twitched, his eyes dilated, his palms began to sweat.
Yet, it would not last like this forever. No one breathed a word about it, but the predicament was obviously temporary. Keeping Slade hidden in the bowels of the tower felt off and strange.
Robin did not change his position, this much was clear. Death was the only suitable end for such things in his mind.
This was why Raven stayed in her room.
Her transition back to any semblance of normalcy was difficult. For the first few days, she had been out of sorts, out of her mind; however, the truth began to settle, the dust was clearing, and it seemed obvious that she and Slade should and would never be. What had she been thinking?
For a moment, her delusions had appeared grounded. She was already having his child, might as well stay down in the ground with him forever. Any hope of rescue had been beaten out of her. Her team's coming had muddled everything.
But remembering her past life upon her return, full of seemingly petty worries like refereeing Stank Ball or trying to fit in, began to remind her that what had happened in the tunnels under the earth was a nightmare that was impossible to wake up from.
There was no going back.
She mused about where she would go, what she would do, how she could balance raising a child, especially his child, in a world that would never understand just how much she had suffered. Not like she wanted to advertise it, but the thought of walking around in the city, passing normal people who would never see and feel what she had made her skin crawl with a furious angst.
In some of her darker moments, she played with the idea of just ending everything. Then, she wouldn't have to stumble into the unknown, blinded by her past, never progressing into a content future. It felt as if she had a cement block tied around her throat as she struggled against the rising tide of black, hopeless waters.
Fate was never going to release its chokehold on her life.
Sighing into her nighttime-colored pillow, she pushed herself up while the weight of the universe clung to her back.
Stiff-legged, she stretched half-heartedly and shuffled toward the door, the panes snapped open dutifully as she approached. A cool breeze greeted her bare legs as she stepped into the darkened hallway.
Sleep still hung in the air like a heavy yawn, quiet snores drummed out in the white noise of early morning. Her oversized shirt fluttered with each step. For the first time in months, she had the unmistakable urge for a massive cup of tea.
The lounge was brighter, the sun beginning to overwhelm the sky. A few dusky splotches tinted the couch, and she sat on them, watching the yellow fight the gray. When the coloration of nighttime was fully eradicated, Raven's eyes began to droop at last.
A sensation on her shoulder shook her out of the deep dark. Slowly, almost regretfully, she opened her weary, bloodshot eyes.
"Hey…"a squeaky voice welcomed gently. "Sorry to wake you."
She inhaled loudly, and then yawned like a lion. Her eyesight was still slightly blurred, but it wasn't hard to perceive the large, green blob that stared down at her as she lay on her back, burrowed into the leather cushion.
"Iss'ok," she mumbled up at Beast Boy before yawning again.
She sat up and rubbed her eyes intently. It had been dawn when she was last awake and the sun was still high in the sky now. Disappointed at her inability to sleep for more than a few hours, she flung her violet head back onto the couch.
"How long have I been asleep?" she asked grumpily through closed eyes.
A tiny snicker answered her, but she was too dazed to snap back with a retort.
"You'd think after a day and a half of sleep you'd be happier," Beast Boy giggled out.
At this she thrust her heavy lids open and stared wide at the smirk spreading on his emerald face.
"You're kidding," she said, clearly disbelieving his mischievous smile.
Again he laughed down at her, his miniscule fangs glistening as the sun poured in.
"Nope. None of us wanted to wake you, looking all peaceful," he explained. "But, I think it's been long enough…but, then again maybe not."
He added this last bit as he watched her face pale. But she regained her composure quickly and shrugged. No wonder she felt like her arms and legs were twenty pounds heavier. Again, she pushed herself up to a sitting position and rolled her shoulders as she felt an acute soreness begin to prick in her neck.
"Ugh…great," she breathed out in a huff.
It was still eerily silent in the lounge, only her and Beast Boy.
"Where are the others?" she asked lazily, stretching her arms as she stood up.
A cough was heard from behind, and Raven whisked around to see the rest of her team standing next to the main door, fully clothed and ready. Their quiet entrance made her cheeks flush with a mixture of embarrassment and defensive anger. Why were they acting so solemn? Wasn't that her job?
"Oh," she blurted. "Are we going on a mission?"
She couldn't remember the last time she had acted the hero. Courage seemed to have abandoned her, along with Sanity and Self-respect.
Maybe she needed a punching bag.
Robin glared but said nothing, Starfire stared straight through her, and Cyborg was intently studying the ground. Beast Boy shuffled uneasily, but it was obvious he would break the silence when she gave him a quizzical brow.
"Well…you see…" he began but then sighed, his thoughts not in order. "We were kinda hoping that we can discuss the…er…situation with the, um, you-know-who."
In an earlier time, she would have regaled him with sarcastic praise and mockery, but this was no laughing matter. Immediately, she bristled, ready for a knock-down-drag-out fight. Her opinions hadn't budged on the subject, even if her feelings had.
"Well, what about him?" she growled out.
Another awkward silence cricketed. Robin gave Beast Boy a meaningful stare to which the shape-shifter gave a slight nod.
This exchange was not lost on her. How obvious could they be?
"Something needs to be done," Robin said gruffly. "It can't stay this way, he's too dangerous."
"Look, I know it's weird, but you don't trust the police to keep him locked up, and I don't want a guiltier conscience," Raven said, heat building in her cheeks. "So, this is the only way."
The cycle continued, Robin and Raven scowled in frustration at one another. Was this all they were waking her up for? Another useless screaming match that would only result in anger? What was the point?
Her inner demon began to break through the careful barriers, exploding like lava. Her face didn't budge, but she could tell that he was just as furious. The air was stiff with anticipation and fear. No one breathed, all was quiet. The rest of the team awaited the break in the silence.
"Well?" Raven finally spat out. "Anything else to say? Or are you going to try to convince me that murder is the right thing to do?"
A quick, haughty grin lit up her leader's face at the fact that she ceded first, but vanished almost as fast. In response, she took a stutter-step forward, her instinct taking over. Robin drop-stepped and the glaring intensified.
It shouldn't have surprised her that Starfire was too wide-eyed to intercede and that Cyborg looked almost bored with all the drama. But, it did catch Raven off-guard that the little, green boy that couldn't keep his mouth shut at a funeral stepped between the two, his eyes alight with worry and disappointment.
"Hasn't Slade already done enough to break us apart?" he challenged, giving the two hard looks.
Raven felt as if she had been struck. For the past few weeks she had been avoiding everything and everyone, and it all came crashing down on her again. Her anger evaporated, leaving a gaping hole for sorrow to fester into.
Robin also appeared contrite, and Raven hoped that the wedge between them could be repaired, but it only seemed to get messier as the days passed.
"Look," he finally responded, his masked face screwed up in an attempt to muddle through the words tumbling through his mind. "I'm…sorry. But we can't keep him here forever. I mean, he's gonna eventually know that his…offspring…is…here, right? I doubt that even under constant surveillance, he'll never stop trying to hunt you and…it…down. I've already failed this team and you once, and look how that turned out."
At this he gestured his green glove at her ballooned stomach. They had another month or two.
She grimaced at Robin's obvious anxiety and crossed her arms tightly. Maybe more than anyone, Raven knew how much he cared for the team but, if she was being honest, she knew how much failure ate away at him. Her presence was a constant reminder of all of his past regrets. She wondered how much of this entire charade was about her, and how much was about him.
"I'm sorry, too," she said as monotone as she could, keeping the waves of emotion choked down. "I don't know what to do either. Maybe I should just go away for a while…"
"No!" all four of them exclaimed at once.
The immediate response was touching, and she had to steady herself again before continuing.
"Let me finish," she replied, holding up a finger. "If I go away and remain under the radar, Slade won't be focused on you anymore, the Titans can still keep going. I mean, can you really see me trying to take care of a child while you guys are crime fighting? Not to mention doing that while also watching Slade like a hawk? Not to scare you, but he's probably already figured a way to bust out of here. I mean we got him locked up, but when does he ever actually stay down?"
This was the crux of the argument. Robin had a permanent solution to this mess and Raven could see him trying to keep his lips tight, his jaw clenched.
She just didn't see it that way.
"I don't want to see you go more than anyone here," Beast Boy said proudly. "But, I think you got a point, Rae. I mean, I think it would be wicked if you could kick bad-guy ass with a baby strapped to your back! Would be like a radioactive, super Sacaga…wee-ya? or however you say her name…"
Cyborg gave a gleaming grin but didn't make any cracks, even though he desperately wanted to. Starfire just looked plain confused, as always when Beast Boy referenced anything. Raven thought Robin's jaw was either going to fall off or would crack under the pressure he was putting on it.
"But, anyway…" the spastic teen continued. "Your plan makes the most sense. You could even stay in the city! We could be neighbors! Except we would have to stay incognito, if you know what I mean..."
He gave Raven an eyebrow wriggle.
Leave it to Beast Boy to cheese up a delicate, bat-shit crazy situation like this one.
Robin finally unclamped his teeth enough to open his mouth when a blaring siren shrieked from above.
Raven gave a tiny leap, but no one noticed her temporary squeamishness. The main frame was lit up with a fuzzy picture of Slade's darkened cell.
"Speak of the devil," Cyborg muttered as he ran to the control panel, his fingers flying over the buttons.
Robin began barking orders, Starfire flew at light speed out of the room, followed by Beast Boy who was already in lion form, but Raven couldn't hear over the roaring building in her ears. Her dark blue eyes latched onto the images before her, but couldn't get her mind to accept them.
Slade was gone.
He escaped.
The world got small, but the target on Raven's back magnified.