What he saw in the city shocked even Crow himself. The once pristine and proud skyscrapers now lay in ruins, smoke bellowing from shattered windows. Abandoned cars littered the asphalt roads, some upturned, and others with their doors and drivers hanging limply out the side. Bodies could be seen laying on the pavement, motionless and cold, the spirits that once inhabited them long gone. Crow flew over this scene, taking it all in, and with each body spotted, each fire noticed; he made a vow to himself to kill whoever was responsible.

"Wait… Raven was responsible…"

The most depressing scene, Crow surmised, was the absence of noise. The screams that he had heard only moments ago from the Tower were now distant memories, a shadow in his mind. The yells of pain and anguish were gone, and Crow only hoped that the poor souls who were responsible for such noise have been put to rest, calmly and painlessly. Not even the occasional siren to signify that perhaps there was life still inhabiting this God-forsaken place was heard.

Crow felt a searing pain tear into him on his side, and with a slight gasp he began falling, the wind rushing by his face and closed eyes. He felt like giving up, just surrendering to this inevitable future. He decided to just keep falling, as he felt it was the easiest choice.

"That was… nice." Raven smiled… she smiled!

He was still falling; his eyes were still closed, remembering past events from a life so radically different.

"Never talk to me about my Father!" Every word hurt, like a dagger slowly being thrust into my chest…

A single tear escaped from underneath his eyelid. He still fell, his messy black hair flapping madly in the wind.

"I'm sorry, Mark. Sorry for what I said before. You were right…" She was sorry. She was opening up… now I lost her.

"No."

Mark opened his eyes. Every ounce of energy was poured into reviving his weary body.

Screams invaded his hearing, and with a new-found burst of energy, Mark straightened out, coming to a stop in mid-air, his hair still glowing white and his eyes still pitch black. He ignored the pain throbbing at his side and the disgusting smell of burnt flesh emanating from his wound.

Starfire, in her mad dash to save Mark from falling to his death, didn't notice the sudden change in attitude.

"Star! Stop! I'm ok!" He yelled, and Starfire obeyed, halting in mid-air.

Mark scoured the desolated city block, looking for the one who had attacked him.

"Crow, how nice to meet you again." A voice, dripping with contempt, arose from beneath him. Mark looked down, and his palms lit on fire once more. Anger arose and clouded his judgment. All he could think about was killing the man that had caused him so much pain, the one dressed in black, the one always wearing the orange and black metal mask. He had invaded his visions and nightmares long enough.

With a cry of anger, he rocketed down towards Slade like a bullet, his body alight in blue flames and his fist extended out to his target. Slade watched him the whole time, and with a slightly raised eyebrow, he leapt out of the way.

"What's the matter Crow? No time to say hello to your good friend Slade? You still have a chance, a choice, to join me as my apprentice, so we may rule this new world together!"

Mark altered his position so his legs faced the ground, and he shot flames from his flat feet in order to slow his descent. The blisteringly hot flames compressed upon contact with the cracked and demolished road, and shot out sideways, casting obscure shadows upon himself and Starfire, who stood behind him, uncharacteristically cold and emotionless. Mark's eyes narrowed.

"This has gone far enough. It ends, now." Mark said calmly, his eyes devoid of any expression.

It had finally begun. Mark charged Slade, his mouth twisted in a sick smile, but Slade dodged the brutal attack, and flung fireballs at the speeding figure. Mark turned and weaved his way through the rain of fire and sped towards Slade again. This time, however, he halted and landed in front of him.

"What happened? Run out of steam already?" Mark still had the smile on his face, and he slowly shook his head.

"Wrong. I'm just getting warmed up." He rushed Slade, his fist blazing, and swung.

Slade side-stepped the punch and landed a brutal kick to Mark's exposed chest. Mark exhaled heavily and stumbled back, his breath coming in short and shallow. Slade walked towards him and punched him, hard, in the face, and his head snapped back, his body soon following and falling back. Mark struggled to get up, he was on his hands and knees and each breath he took felt like daggers in his lungs.

"S-St-Star-F-ire…" He uttered, as Slade's armored leg reared back, aiming at his chest once again. At that precise moment, however, an amazing burst of green light struck Slade square-on, so lethal in it's attack that it shattered Slade's armor and cracked his mask.

"You will not hurt my friend!" Starfire shouted, and the Tamaranean warrior princess lunged at Slade, her eyes full of righteous fury. Slade roared in anger and retaliated with massive fire tendrils that snaked their way towards the girl. She dodged and weaved past them with amazing efficiency, and with a cry of hate she shot Slade once again with green beams of blistering energy.

Mark coughed up blood and struggled to his feet. He could feel bile in his throat, and he vomited once again, what little food he had left in his stomach. He stood up and watched the battle unfold between Slade and Starfire.

Starfire was no longer thinking rationally. Her innocent mind had now been tainted with what horrors she had witnessed and endured. Her eyes shone bright green with solar energy and she shot Slade, again and again, weakening him under her relentless barrage of Starbolts. When she had finally ceased firing, the dust that had been disturbed finally settled, and Slade stood there, a fire shield enveloping and protecting him.

No-one moved for a moment, which seemed like an eternity to Mark. He studied Slade, watching for any potential movement. It was at that moment that he noticed a slight disturbance behind Slade's back.

"STARFIRE! LOOK OUT!" Mark screamed. Time slowed down, and it felt as if his legs now weighed a thousand pounds. He flew towards Starfire, but he knew that he was already too late. Starfire's head turned to her right, a puzzled look upon her beautiful complexion. Mark was only able to watch in horror as Slade made his move. With a flick of his wrist and a twisted smile beneath his cracked mask, Slade brought the staff around him all in one motion and landed a direct blow on Starfire's head, shattering her spine and vertebrae and cracking her skull open. Her once vibrant and joyful green eyes now glazed and pale, the life rapidly draining away from them. Not a sound emerged from her lips as she fell, as she was dead before she hit the ground. Mark swallowed back another urge to vomit. His face was pale, and his eyes were wide in horror.

Slade turned back to face Mark, his eye glinting in a sadistic happiness.

"Do you see? All your friends are weak, except for you and Raven! Join her and me; this is your final chance." Mark slumped to his knees once more, and he lost all urge to fight.

Slade proceeded towards the defeated figure cautiously, his staff still withdrawn.

"They are really gone… everyone… all of them…"

"What other option do you have?" Slade continued. "If you don't, I will destroy you here and now, and you will never see your precious Raven again. You know, she has mentioned you a few times." That got Mark's attention. He slowly looked up and met Slade's gaze.

"It's true. She killed the rest of the Titans save Starfire quite efficiently, but not even she knows why she spared you. Perhaps she had a soft spot for you, perhaps the soft Raven pleaded with her." Mark's eyes narrowed.

"She is not soft."

He rose to his feet, fury flowing through his veins and arteries, powering his body and fueling his hatred towards Slade.

"I take that as a no." Slade said, almost with a disappointed tone. They were standing a mere two feet from one another, Slade holding his staff tightly, and Mark clenching his fists, blue flames snapping and crackling over his fingers and knuckles, penetrating the empty air.

Slade struck first.

Slade swung his staff sideways, parallel to the ground, aiming for Mark's chest yet again. It seemed almost impossible for Mark to dodge it. Almost. Mark didn't need to dodge it. He snapped his fist out caught the staff in mid-swing, snapping it cleanly in two, the lose piece falling with a clatter to the pavement below.

"You've improved. Most imp-." Slade never got to finish his sentence, as Mark had swung fiercely and his blow connected with Slade's face, effectively shattering his mask with a fiery fist. The pieces of his mask fell to the ground, accompanying his shattered staff.

"No more talking." Mark stated simply, he swung a quick left fist that found its target, Slade's chest. Slade bent over, trying to absorb the blow as much as he could, but the damage had been done. Mark grinned sadly, and delivered a vicious fiery uppercut that snapped Slade's neck instantly. Stumbling backwards, Slade attempted to recover, slowly rising back to his erect form, his face now visible to a city destroyed.

With a sickening crack, Slade's skull reattached to its neck, and he smiled.

"You're going to have to do better then that." He said simply, and charged towards the flaming figure of Mark.

Mark was beyond caring about what had just happened. He wished for this to be over, as every punch he threw took its toll onhis weary bones.

Before he knew it, an armoured fist rammed into his face, flinging him off his feet. He felt as if he had just slammed into a brick wall, and his body crumpled to the ground.

"I'm in a forgiving mood today, Crow. I'll give you another chance to join me. Think about it." Slade said simply as he approached the crumpled form of Mark.

Mark made no movement, not even a sound. Slade continued to approach, walking slowly and deliberately.

"Your choice, Crow" Slade said as he raised his leg, aiming at Mark's exposed neck.

"Big mistake, Slade."

Mark's head snapped up, and his eyes were black once more. There was no way to describe the hatred he felt towards the sadistic criminal mastermind. No words could convey the pain and anguish he felt at that precise moment. Blind rage consumed him, and with an eerily calm voice, he replied.

"The name's Mark, Asshole."

Mark reared his flaming fist back and punched Slade's exposed chest, breaking his ribs and puncturing his lungs.

Slade gasped, his eye widening in horror. Mark, however, was not finished.

He willed more energy into his fist, and before long the flames had burned away Slade's armor and clothing, leaving his chest exposed. With a final yell, the flames on Mark's wrist erupted and writhed in astounding fury, burning a ragged and burnt hole through Slade's chest and emerging on the other side. However, Slade still remained standing, His eye still wide in shock and his mouth hanging open limply. Mark withdrew his arm and stood up, his eyes cold and merciless. He aimed his palms at Slade's figure and forced more energy to erupt from within him. It was at that moment that Mark noticed something amazing. Fire no longer erupted from his palms, but rather pure energy. An awesome beam of light emerged from his hands and met their target. What was left of Slade simply disintegrated. His bones, tendons, organs, all met the same end, each turning into ash and falling to the scorched earth.

Such was the end of his Legacy.