# Death pact. Chapter 1. #
Raven cupped her freezing hands around the steaming tea mug in front of her and looked around the pitch black kitchen. Her home..Titans tower, it was where she felt most comfortable surrounded by love and friendship. She knew in a few hours she would finally be nineteen and her stomach had been in knots all night. Raven and her friends had defeated her father..ended the prophecy and two years later after the Brain with minimum crime fighting it still sparked her anxiety.
She had hoped the tea would calm her but it hadnt even touched her nerves. Raven sighed deeply feeling a little jealous of her roommates sleeping soundlessly in their bedrooms.
Raven was just about to give up on the tea and go back to the comfort of her dark room when the alarm rang so loud it actually hurt her ears. The flashing red lights caused ominous shadows throughout the room.
"Trouble." She muttered and dashed to the main computer to track the location of the disturbance. The other titans entered behind her.
"What is it?" Beast Boy asked still in his pajamas.
"Just says the subway." She gritted her teeth with her stomach still in knots..it was getting worse.
"Alright..let's go!" Robin said and they all made their way into the night.
The subway was already smoking and dark underground when the team arrived. The electricity had been knocked out. The strange sound that came with Starfire's starbolts reached their ears and lit up the benches and pillars in emerald.
"It looks empty." Cyborg said, shining his light over some posters on the walls.
"Yeah, just benches and newspapers." Beast boy shrugged.
Robin grunted. "Check every corner. Every shadow."
They separated..the girls went together to the main control room, beast boy and cyborg in the cars and Robin back above ground.
"Do you think this is a trap?" Starfire asked solemnly. The tunnel seemed neverending and Raven could sense her anxiety.
"Absolutely." She said back..there was no point in lying to her.
Starfire suddenly squeaked and shot a green bolt at the wall.
"What is it?" Raven asked and turned to look while the ceiling rumbled overhead.
"I heard something." She squeaked. Something suddenly squeaked back in the darkness. The girls turned and Starfire started blasting at random..suddenly a huge rat leapt for her and she really let out a shriek! All those big alien creatures on her planet and she chooses now to be squeamish.
Ravens ears were ringing and she tried to calm her down but the girl had flown off town the tunnel yelling alien words. Raven sighed and starting floating when she felt a tail brush her ankle. Another worse rumble overhead made her look up..her powers didn't give off much light but it was enough.. a shape moved in the darkness.
"Starfire? It's just a rat..it's nothing!"
"I agree." Came a darker, deeper voice from the shadows. Raven only had time to gasp before dodging the figure in the dark.
"Where are your friends?" Slade's deep voice asked.
"Probably on the way to take you down! What are you up to this time?" "You wouldn't believe me."
"Try me!"She screamed, throwing him against the wall. A large chunk of ceiling fell between them with a crash and soon others followed. She let him go and decided making it out was more important. She ran a few steps and then tripped over one of the boulders in the dark. Raven fell..but she fell twisting her arm out to stop her fall and heard a little snap.
Pain flared up to her elbow and she cried out. Where was Starfire? Where were the others? Where was Slade?
She tried to melt into the ground..to get to the surface and out of the collapsing tunnel..but more pain flared in her wrist and she didn't go anywhere.
"Oh..no." She gasped and stood..hearing crashing all around her!
"Come on..move!" Suddenly a large hand was on her waist lifting her up and blindly jogging down the tunnel.
"What are you doing?" She scoffed.
"Leading the blind."
"Why?"
"Because if we get trapped down here..you'll be my ticket to the surface." Now he was sounding like Slade again.
"How can you see?" She scowled.
"Night vision is built into the eye of my mask."
Raven gritted her teeth in frustration. He probably got a kick out of watching her fall. "Of course there is."
"Watch out!" He suddenly called and pulled their bodies into the wall. Raven was careful not to touch her wrist to anything. A sudden loud crash sounded where they had been standing a moment ago.
Then everything was still. They both coughed on the dust floating around in the air.
"Wait here a moment." He said and let her sit on the ground.
"I'll look around and see if we can find an exit."
"Going to leave me here?" She asked.
He chuckled and the sound sent shivers up her spine. "Of course not, my dear." So Raven waited..her eyes were adjusting again and she could make out shapes now. There were rocks and rubble everywhere no where had a clear step.
His footsteps coming back had her both defensive and relieved.
"There are huge boulders blocking both sides of the tunnel. If I had to guess..it would be about 15 yards long."
"I can move them..I know I can." She had done it with Terra before, tunneling through the rock. She lifted her left hand and managed to raise a small chunk that would get them nowhere. What was going on? All because of a sprained wrist?
Slade sighed. "I think not. Hopefully your friends will find us." She gasped and took out the communicator.
"Beast Boy? Cyborg? Starfire? Robin?" She tried everyone but all she got was static. She plopped back down and rested the back of her head on the wall.
"What are you doing?" Slade asked.
"Shhh..I'm concentrating."
She sat cross legged on the ground and concentrated on reaching the minds of the others. Maybe they had run too far down the tunnel and they were back at the entrance of the station still. Stupid trains..stupid subways..stupid..villians! Her eyes suddenly shone scarlett and her emotions took control for a few deadly seconds. Slade crashed into the rock and cement wall thirty feet down the tunnel with such force everything shook again for a moment. He slid to the ground with a thud.
"This is all your fault!" She hissed.
"As I recall, " He stood and patted dust from his suit. " Your alien friend blasted us here."
"We would all still be sleeping soundly in our beds if you weren't out here..what are you planning?!" Raven levitated with more anger sifting through. "You should have died..I should kill you."
"You can't..believe me I tried." Raven hesitated for a moment..he tried to kill himself? Was he lying?
"Why would you do that?" Unless..he was still like he was after Trigon had come and gone? Her glimpse of his skeleton face in her memory made her shiver.
"You wanted to know what I'm up to, Raven?" He began walking closer in that way of his. "Why I lured you down here so I could somehow get you alone..away from your friends?"
Taking a defensive stance once more she lifted her good wrist in warning.
"Don't come closer." She growled but he ignored her and kept coming.
"Your fathers powers are what put me in an eternal hell like state, not quite living, not quite dead. It is not how I want to live. So it must be your powers to undo this and kill me."
She couldn't believe what she was hearing..literally.
"You're lying!" She shook her head in denial.
"Now..with your wrist..I'm not sure even you have the capabilities, my dear." He sunk down to the ground as though utterly defeated. Raven lowered her stance and watched her bury his masked head in his hands.
She hesitated but walked next to him and slid down the wall to sit beside him.
"So..you've tried? I don't understand..,"
"How I'm still here then?" He chuckled sarcastically. "I've burned myself..drank chemicals..jumped off of a building. My broken bones just recrack themselves into place and it's not pleasant to say the least. I cut off my own head just to wake the next day with it magically reattached to my body."
That really made her shiver and he chuckled darkly again when he felt it next to him.
"Why would you want to die? I thought being immortal would be something to obtain with your morning coffee." Raven was actually trying to make a joke..
"Tea for me in the morning." He glanced at her for a moment as he returned the failed joke.
"I guess the first step is getting out of here." She yawned, her restless night was finally catching up to her.
"Sleep. I'll take first watch for your friends to save us." He sounded genuine but she couldn't help but wonder if he planned to strangle her in her sleep..
"Raven." She sat up and blinked hard in the dark. How long had she been asleep? Her violet eyes looked up at Slade and she had to force her instincts to squash him out of her mind.
"Hi." Was all she could think to say.
He grunted in amusement but slid down next to her.
"You were talking in your sleep..who's Arella?" His deep voice sent a shiver through her..and she wasn't quite certain she wanted to answer. She stood quickly and walked to the other side of the tunnel to try the communicator again. This time she branched out to try anyone. Bumblebee, Speedy..no one could get through.
"How long was I asleep?"
"You mean..is it your birthday yet?" He asked with a chuckle that sent another shiver through her. Raven could feel him standing behind her as though it were yesterday..could feel his large hands gripping her arms before he let her fall. Her fists balled in anger again and she raised a boulder about the size of a bowling ball..it was all she could lift..
He just stared at her..waiting..but she growled and threw it into the wall to shatter into bits. A new rumble overhead had them both pausing.
"Feel free to crush us," Slade began. "They'll find your dead body and me still here waiting..it would be very boring without the company." She realized he was being serious instead of jabbing and she sighed again, coming back to slide next to him like he had her.
"I could use a little more sleep." She sighed and leaned her head against the wall. When he didn't say anything she turned to look at him and found him staring down at her..creepy. "What?" She said through gritted teeth. He didn't look away as he responded.
"I heard something." Then she heard it too..a rumble. She thought of her friends trying to break through the rock.
"Is it..?" She started to ask but he suddenly grabbed her upper arm and pulled her up with him. Raven let him out of shock.
"No. It's the tunnel!" They backed up to the middle where the trembling was the least. Thoughts of being crushed and not being able to do anything had Raven in a panic.
"It'll be okay, Raven." It irritated her how calmly his voice sounded when she was terrified. Then she realized he was prying her hands off his forearms where she had him in two death grips. The tunnel rumbled again closer and she gasped..spinning to face the noises. It was easy for him to say everything would be alright..he would come back..she wouldn't. What was wrong with her powers right now?
His arms suddenly wrapped around her waist and pulled her against his chest.
"What are you doing?" She growled and tried to jump up but he just held her tighter to him.
"I said it would be okay. I meant it," His voice was at her ear again and memories of her birthday had her shivering again. He felt it. "The tunnel is collapsing..I will shield you. If I die..I'll come back. Don't move me until everything is still."
She didn't know what was worse..being trapped with him or being trapped with his dead body. What if she got crushed anyway?
The rumbling got worse and louder and Raven actually pressed her back into him..she never really thought of how tall and wide shouldered he was until now. He would be able to cover her completely.
"Thank you." Raven said through gritted teeth and braced herself when the rocks and boulders began to crash. He had night vision..he could see.
Slade cursed above her and was jerking her around. Suddenly hard rock hit Ravens stomach and he drug them down onto the ground. With the wall at her front and him wrapped completely around her..she actually felt safe. He tucked her head down into his shoulder and Raven squeezed her eyes closed.
Through the tumbling of rocks and rubble and between coughing on the dust, she could hear him muttering in her ear.
"I'm still here..you're still here." It was the one time his voice actually soothed her nerves instead of caused them.
"I think we'll be o-" Slade suddenly grunted and partially fell on top of Raven. She held herself up and realized a boulder had fallen on him..he was crushing her but she was sure the rock was crushing him more!
"Slade?" She hated the way her voice shook. He didn't answer her.
"Slade!"
Raven lifted her arm..
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" The boulder was encased in her dark energy and Raven heaved! The thing flew off of them both and she took an amazing lungful of air while immediately feeling weak.
He was unconcious..he didn't breathe and still didn't have a pulse..because of his trapped physical state she was sure. Raven put a hand over his chest and examined his body for outside or inside injuries. She sensed nothing. Like he was a walking shell..had he died? Died protecting her?
More rumbling at the far end of the tunnel had her jerking her head up. Raven hovered over Slade with glowing hands..she would protect him this time. A sudden burst of light at the end of the tunnel blinded her a moment.
"Raven!" It was Robin! They had blasted through the tunnel! After a few blinks she realized it was just Robin and Cyborg with his blue lights giving off a faint glow.
"Is he..dead?" Cyborg asked and Raven nodded her head.
"We need to bring him with us." She said and they both looked at her as though she had been breathing in too much dust.
"If he's dead..then leave him there." Robin said bitterly..
Raven really didn't want to explain everything to them and she wasn't sure she could carry him home. She looked at Cyborg.
"Please..carry him for me." "Have you lost your damn mind?!" Cyborg hissed at her and glanced at Robin for a moment..he was the leader after all but he wasn't her parent.
Raven stood and gritted her teeth again but she couldn't lift him with her powers. She was wiped after the boulder.
"If he's dead..then move him to the surface." Raven said. He would wake up..she just didn't know how long it would take. "He saved my life." She spat out and met Robin's shocked gaze.
"He saved my life." Raven said again and Cyborg didn't wait for permission, he picked up Slade's limp form and they climbed up to the surface.
"Where do you want him?" Cyborg asked.
"My bedroom." She answered honestly as she would need to have him close by while she looked through her spell books. Raven just hoped he didn't wake before they got home.
Cyborg put him in the backseat and with Robin scowling they rode in the car to the tower. Beast Boy and Starfire gaped as they watched a seething Robin stomp in and Cyborg carrying a dead Slade up the stairs with Raven on his heels.
"Are you sure not the infirmary?" Cyborg asked and Raven nodded. Once he was placed on her bed Raven wasted no time going to her shelves and tearing volumes off to flip through.
"What are you planning, Rae?" He asked gently and Raven considered telling Cy everything. He was always the first she confided in with these types of things.
"I just need time and space to work." She answered honestly and he sighed but nodded. He looked at Slade one last time and then left the room. Raven locked the door behind him and then went back to the books.
After several of nothing she sighed in frustration. Raven walked up to Slade and looked down at him. He really did protect her..because he needed her to die for good? Why would he want that?
She let her hand brush over his armor..it was cool to the touch. She found her fingers running up his leg to his hip..up his stomach to his collarbones. What did he look like underneath all the armor?
Raven suddenly reached out her hand..needing to know what was under that mask. Her fingers pinched the edges and she found the hooks to unfasten it..
His arm shot up and grabbed her wrist before she even had it unhooked all the way! She gasped and tried to jerk her hand back but he didn't let go..
"Where are we?" He rasped and Raven realized his mind was still in the tunnel. She pried his hand off of her like he had with her down there..
"My room. We made it out of there." He seemed to relax then. "Because of you." She said and he met her gaze head on..how long had he been conscious before deciding to snatch her hand away?
"You're Welcome." His voice sent shivers down her spine again and his gaze lowered.
"You got hurt." He said and she looked down at her scratched and bleeding leg. She flicked her cape over it to cover her body completely.
"I'm fine." "Robin must be thrilled I'm here." Slade muttered.
"Yeah, he's not.. they think you're dead. Do you want to die still?" She asked..her voice becoming clipped at the Robin comment.
"Yes. I would like to die..and stay dead." "Well, I'm trying to help you."
"Why?" He asked..and suddenly she thought of his large body protecting hers..pressed against hers.
"Everyone will be better off." She answered honestly.
He laughed and it sent a tingle down her spine.
"So what now?" He asked.
"I..don't know." She answered honestly and couldn't help but realize he made no move to leave her bed.
"Do you sleep in your uniform, too?" He chuckled.
Raven's cheeks tinged a little pink and there was the Slade she knew. The prying, antagonizing and overall ass of a man.
"No." She clipped her tone.
"Can I stay the night?" Slade asked and the tease crept back to his voice.
"W-what?" She had expected him to rise from the grave and take off into the night like some supervillain.
"I'm dead anyway. To your friends..what would they think if my body just disappeared?"
He had a point..
"Or I could just keep killing you until morning." Raven scowled, not liking that he had a point.
Slade sat up and stood finally. Raven tensed and realized a moment too late that her powers still weren't up to par.
He turned to look at her then..his eye trailing down her form.
"Are you going to kill me?" Slade asked and she wasn't sure if he meant until morning or for good with a spell, either way she couldn't at the moment.
"No." She answered honestly. "But you'll have to play dead..when my friends come around."
"Will you eventually find a spell to kill me?" His deep voice asked.
"Is that really what you want?" Raven asked.
"It would make you and your friends lives easier." It really sounded like the fight was leaving his tone..he just seemed..tired.
"Never cared about that before." Raven crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin to look defiantly up at him.
He glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Happy Birthday." Slades eye met hers and the sudden ball of anxiety was back in her stomach.
"Thank you." She said reflexively but the slight shake of nerves could be heard in her tone.
Slade took a few steps closer to her and tilted his head in that way of his.
A loud knock at her door had them both jumping back to the real world.
"Raven?" It was Robin. Shit! Slade chuckled lightly at her and noiselessly went back to play dead on her bed. Raven rushed to the door and after checking one last time that Slade was in position, yanked it open.
Robin looked past her to his body and he didn't look amused in the slightest.
"What are you planning on doing with his body?" Robin asked through gritted teeth. "It can't stay here forever."
"It's been about five minutes." Raven couldn't help but snap back.
"You know what I mean." Robin growled, his leader voice in full swing.
"I promise I will get him out of here by this afternoon. I just need a little sleep." Her eyes were getting heavier at the thought..while her friends had been sleeping she had been up in the kitchen drinking tea.
Robin's face softened as though he really had just looked past his pride to see how roughed up she was.
"You're not going to sleep next to his dead body are you?" He joked but had a hint of seriousness to it. Her friends knew she was weird but..
"My reading chair..in the corner." There was an awkward pause.
"Well..good night." Robin said and turned to walk away.
"Night." Raven said so he could hurry along.
She slid the door closed and locked it against further peeking..mainly Beast Boy.
Raven turned back to him sitting upright on the edge of her bed again.
"You're free to leave whenever you want." Raven said..seeing no reason for him to stay here. She could get up early and disappear for a few hours just come back and say she did what was asked of her and that was the end of it.
"Not quite yet." His voice took on a teasing tone and he stood once more. "You wanted to take off my mask..didn't you?" He already knew the answer to that but he asked anyway because he wanted to hear her say it.
Ravens heart suddenly began to pound..was he going to hurt her for that? Her palm lifted out of habit to defend herself but there was little magic in her to use.
Slade was quick.
His armored hand gripped the wrist of her raised arm gently and slowly but forcefully put it down to her side.
"You don't need to fear me anymore Raven. I'll let you take it off..so you can understand why I want to die."
She didnt move an inch.
"Or I can take it off."
Raven refused to get in touching distance of him again as her arm still tingled from his grip but she watched. She watched him reach up to gently unhook it and then..
What shocked her first was the two hollow pitch black eyes or..eye sockets the white of bone contrasted starkly. After that Ravens mind finally put together that his whole face was nothing but skeleton. Was his whole body like that? He was already half dead..Slade just wanted her to finish the job.
"Do you understand now?" "Why wouldn't you ask me to just to get your body back? Or put your soul in someone else?" Raven asked.
"Would you have willingly done either of those things? For me of all people?" The skeleton face asked her and Raven had to turn away from the sight and look at her door instead. No, of course she wouldnt but he had saved her life when she needed someone so she would do something for him. That depended on which spell she found first the one where she killed him or got his old body back and reversed Trigons magic.
"If I can get your old body back will you promise to still not harm me or my friends or the city?"
"I promise." Raven turned back around in time for him to have hooked his mask back in place..becoming the Slade she knew.
"I'll be in touch to check on your progress." Then Raven watched him easily unlock her usually complicated window and step out into the night air..so he could still fly. What other abilities had Trigon given him that had stuck? The fire? Raven thought to their scuffle down in the tunnel because that's what it was. A scuffle and not a fight. He could have really hurt her if he had wanted to.
Her violet eyes focused back on her now empty open window with the sun coming up in the background and she went to lock it.