Raven fell into her bed with mixed emotions. She was relieved that she did not have to hide the truth from her friends any longer, but she was also anxious about their reactions. After all, the reason she had chosen not to tell them was because she had not wanted to be treated any differently; she wanted the time she had left to spend with them not to be filled with caution and worry, but with happiness as they made the best out of the time given to her.
Raven sighed and finally drifted into a tired sleep.
She was the only one who got much sleep that night, as the other Titan's were plagued with worry over their friend's fate.
The next morning, the Titans woke to find that Raven was still in her room. They did their best to remain quiet so she could rest.
Finally, they could not wait any longer and went to Raven's room—only to find her gone.
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Raven woke slowly. The amount of time her mind took to sharpen told her she had been drugged. She looked around the unfamiliar room, finding nothing in it other than herself and the bed she was laying on.
A door that appeared part of the wall opened to admit Slade.
"You're awake. You awoke faster than I expected."
"What do you want with me? Why did you bring me here, instead of just killing me?" Raven demanded.
"Ah, you are speaking of my threat the other night. That was simply part of my plan. I don't mean to kill you unless you become too troublesome."
"Then why—"
"So the Teen Titans will think you are dead and not bother to search for you, allowing me the time to bring out the true power in you."
He did not have to say what he would do with her power. Raven knew that, if he harnessed Anger, he could control everyone and everything.
Lost in her troubled thoughts, she did not notice that Slade had pulled out a gun until she felt the sting of a tranquilizer dart in her neck.
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The Titans stood, shocked, in Raven's room as they finally noticed the deep red stain that covered Raven's bed.
Starfire hid her face in Robin's shoulder. Terra shook her head in disbelief.
"This can't be real," Beast Boy protested to no one in particular.
Cyborg cautiously approached the bed and took a sample of the crimson liquid. Suddenly his face relaxed. "It's not real blood," he said.
"But someone wanted us to think it was," Robin pointed out, relief in his own face. "Slade."
"We must find friend Raven!" Starfire said in alarm.
They nodded in agreement.
"Cyborg. You use the computer to try and track down her location. Or at least narrow down our search to possible sites." The hybrid nodded and the room. "The rest of you, let's split up and search the city…" Suddenly something caught his eye through a crack in the door to the bathroom. Opening it cautiously, he stepped inside quickly followed by the questioning others.
Robin opened the partly opened medicine cabinet, and was just as shocked at his teammates by what he found.
"How long has Raven been hiding this?" Beast Boy asked, taking one of the many bottles and inspecting it.
"We should have noticed sooner," Robin said, examining a couple of bottles in his own hands.
"Obviously these were meant to hide it from us," Terra answered, holding a bottle as well.
"Guys!" they heard Cyborg's call and ran to where he was.
"What is it?" Robin asked.
"Did you find her?" Terra inquired.
"Yeah…"
"Well? Where is she?" Beast Boy asked.
"About 3000 miles north of here."
"What?"
"We don't have time to ask how," Robin interrupted the surprised comments. "We know where she is, so let's go."
As the Titans headed for the garage, Robin quietly asked Cyborg, "How long will it take us to reach her?"
"If her location remains the same, about two days."
Robin only nodded grimly.
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Raven had lost track of time. With no windows in the room, she could not judge time by the sun. But she would guess that at least twenty-four hours had passed.
She was becoming noticeably weaker; she knew she had to escape soon, or Slade would win.
Raven walked up to where she guessed the door to be and felt around for the cracks that would reveal exactly where the door was. Finding them, she laid her hands on the door and focused her power into her hands. "Azerath Metreon Zinthos!"
The door flew off its hinges and smashed into the opposite wall.
Raven ran down the hallway she found herself in. Sprinting around the corner, she came to an abrupt halt. A small contingent of Slade's robots were running towards her. She turned around in the hope of retreating only to find more robots charging at her from the way she'd just come.
Raven burst through a door a few feet in front of her to enter a large abandoned laboratory. She used her powers to hold the door closed as the robots crashed against it from the other side.
Hearing footsteps behind her, Raven turned around to see more robots entering from other doors throughout the room.
Great, Raven thought sarcastically. She threw up a shield as more tranquilizers were shot at her. The robots continued to shoot until their guns were empty. Then they charged in for direct combat.
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"Come on, Cy. Can't you go any faster?" Beast Boy complained.
"Yes. Friend Raven needs our help," Starfire pleaded.
"I'm going as fast as I can. Wait, Raven's moving," he said, looking at the screen in his arm as it beeped.
"Is that bad?" Robin asked.
"Well, I think she's still in the same building. I can't tell you whether that's good or bad."
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Raven flew into the air to avoid the majority of the robots. But there were plenty of dusty objects for them to climb up to reach her. Several fell from black balls of her energy before one finally knocked Raven down. Knives and swords slashed at her as she tried to get up.
"Azerath Metreon Zinthos!"
Her power erupted like an atomic bomb, destroying everything in the room, and leaving Raven exhausted. She made herself stand up and leave through the one door Slade's robots had not entered through.
Opening the door, Raven was almost blinded by the sun as she stumbled outside, and into an unfamiliar city. Judging by it's lack of people, Raven guessed the city to be abandoned.
Hearing more pounding footsteps, Raven sensed as best she could the direction of the Tower and made her way as quickly as she could in that direction.
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The bleeping resonating from Cyborg's arm suddenly ceased to sound, the red dot on Raven's location suddenly disappearing. The faces of all of the Titan's paled in fear.
"What happened?" Terra demanded.
"I don't know. I can't get a signal from her anymore…"
The dot and beep suddenly returned. All of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"I wonder what happened," Cyborg murmured.
"What does that mean?" Beast Boy pointed to Cyborg's arm, where the red dot was again moving.
"She's heading towards us," Cyborg answered.
"Well, c'mon! Let's go get her!" Terra pronounced.
After nearly another hour of driving, the T-car turned around a corner and Cyborg slammed on the brakes as he and the others stared at the site before them.
Raven, looking sickly pale and thin, hovered above dozens of Slade's robots.
She was not doing well. For every one she brought down, another two seemed to appear. Bloody cuts marred her body, her infamous cape torn.
"Titans, go!" Robin shouted, and the Titans charged into battle.
The violet-haired girl turned to look at her friends. And in her moment of distraction received a deep cut in her side.
Raven clamped her hand on the wound and tried to float further out of reach. But her exhaustion, illness, and recent blood loss had drained her energy. Raven felt began to feel lightheaded as she pushed herself higher.
The Titans watched as Raven suddenly passed out in midair.
Beast Boy changed into a large bird and caught Raven as she fell. He dropped her into Cyborg's waiting arms.
"C'mon," the hybrid yelled to the others, who were currently fighting back the robots. "I got her, let's get out of here!"
The Titan's piled back into the T-car and Cyborg left skid marks as he made a quick turn and sped down the street.
Raven slowing came back to consciousness. She opened her eyes to find her head in Terra's lap and the anxious faces of Beast Boy, Starfire, and Robin staring at her.
Raven's eyes abruptly widened. "Stop the car!" she cried.
Cyborg immediately complied. A large hole appeared before them as a result of the laser beam that had been aimed for the speeding car.
The Titan's evacuated the car, taking cover in a nearby alleyway. Raven doubled over in a violent fit of coughing. Her hand came away slick with blood. She attempted to hide it, but the others noticed. She saw sadness in their eyes as they looked at her.
She gave them a hard look in return. "I don't want your pity," she told them. "I lived a better life than I ever thought I could." Her look softened. "Thanks to you." She gave them a confident smile. "I'm not dead yet. And I believe somebody needs to be taught a lesson." The look she gave them advised them not to argue.
"Yeah! Let's go kick Slade's butt!" Terra cried.
"All right," Robin said with a glance in Raven's direction. "Titans, GO!"
They exited the alley to find themselves amongst an army of Slade's robots. So they fought, bringing down a dozen only to find another twelve rushing at them. Robin immediately took down the man controlling the laser. Raven's friends were relieved to see that she was holding her own against her attackers.
Until Slade appeared.
Raven sensed him behind her and turned. He held a gun pointed at her chest, and she knew it did not contain tranquilizers.
"Come with me now, quietly, or I will shoot," Slade ordered.
Raven remained still. She was tempted to choose the latter option; to end the pain, escape from Slade's grasp, and destroy her father hold over her once and for all. She looked at the other Titans, still too involved in fighting their own battles to have notice Slade's appearance. She did not want to leave her friends sooner than she had to. So Raven stood, indecisive, with a gun aimed at her heart.
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To my reviewers:
Arrendi: Wow. Thank you! I'm touched! I'm not certain I'm worthy of all that praise, but I really appreciate it. I'd be honored to read and review your fictions. Thank you so much!
DelofDani: Yes, that's true. I'm glad you found it interesting.
TeenTitansGirl14: Thanks so much! You've been a great help, so I'm glad you like it.
violett witch: Thanks! Obviously I was worried. I'm happy you enjoyed it.
Rachel Faith Black: Thank you very much for the compliments!!
RavenGhost: I'm happy you liked it! Thanks for the review!
002(): Thanks for all of the reviews! Any suggestions?
Aya Sadaka(): The situation is rather humorous. Anyway, I want to thank you for your support. Thank you so much!!!!
1ne 2wo 3hree 4our GO!(): I did and I will continue. I'm glad you like it! Thank you for the review!
Possesed Angel: I'm glad you think so. Thanks!!
DarkMystic: Thanks you! And thanks for the luck, I think I'll need it!
CoRrUpTeR oF mInDs: I'm happy you like it! Hope the wait wasn't too long!
Goddess Grief: Thank you!! I'm sorry, this is my first Teen Titans fic, so I don't have anything else for you to read. But thanks for the review!