Authors Note: Wow... um... to all you delightfully delirious people who like my story... THANKS! Don't start taking those pills, at least not till after you've reviewed this chapter ok? Apologies to every one reading this, I hate it when authors don't update regularly but I have an excuse! Due to obsessive behaviour I am only allowed on the computor every other day... or when no one's paying attention...
IMPORTANT: IF ANY ONE GOES OUT OF CHARACTER PLEASE TELL ME! CHANCES ARE I HAVEN'T NOTICED
Anyway thank you to:
AinoMinako - You weren't at all harsh... but thanks,
evilsangle - Wait for it! I hope you like it
white Wolf Guardian - Glad you've enjoyed it thus far,
sillymail - Thank you, I hope you like this chapter too
babal002u - I can't wait either
cheeseshirt - Agreed
xdire.vixenx - I'm on British TV so I haven't seen Season 4 yet... but I've always though Slade was cool
TheSkeet - Thank you, I do so like flattery
Angel Caida - Enjoy...
whitedarkness - Thankyou and doing so
ShadowVixen - I hope I am...
Al the Pirate - Me too... I hope I do well...
Sugarhighnutcase - (like the name) I think so too, but it's mainly RaexSlade at the moment (I don't honestly know who it's going to be)
DragonStar - Aww shucks. You have me blushing...
Mad Pierrot Le Fou - Thank you! Personally Slade is one of my favourite characters and I'm praying I don't ruin it. I too hate it when they go OOC... Once again thanks, you've just given me an idea...
Firedoll22 - I can but try, I'm very glad you're enjoying this so far
DarkJamAB -Yep, Slade is cool
Barar Midori Zeco - I'm also glad I lost the bet, this is rather fun, and trust me any review is very encouraging
Shedevil1416 - Thanks, I'm doing so now,
Disclaimer: All together now... I don't own the Teen Titans so don't kill/maim/sue me ok?
Despite the Slade incident last night the Titans were having a very normal day. Starfire was experimenting with new food ingredients and trying to incorporate them into a Tameranian meal… no one was brave enough to go near her in case she asked their opinion on the toxic sludge. Robin was training, something every one was relieved about. They knew from experience that Robin attacking several punching bags was far better than Robin going psychotically obsessive and trying to track down the criminal mastermind that was Slade. Of course Raven was on the roof reading one of her books and Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing a new computer game on the gigantic TV in the living room.
"You little grass stain! There's no way you can beat me!"
"That's what you think tin-man! No one can defeat the master of kung fu!"
Apparently it was a fighting game…
"And Cyborg sees his opening! He uses a double kick combo and… YES! I win little man!"
"Dude! No fair!" the two titans familiar ranting of winner and loser continued as the empath of the Tower entered the room, hovering a few inches above the ground as she made her way to the kitchen and her herbal tea, still reading her book… 'An Experts Guide to Chess Strategy'.
Raven looked up sharply as the smell reached her nose mere seconds before her friend realised she'd entered the kitchen
"Raven!" for a panicked second the sorceress considered fleeing before she realised her friend didn't have any suspicious materials in hand for taste testing. The empath shut her book and resignedly replied.
"Hello Starfire," the alien seemed depressed… or at least slightly less hyper than normal…
"Friend we have used all our supply of sauce of Tabasco!" Raven internally winced as she saw the bowl of purple sludge on the counter and realised where the five bottles had gone, "And I must travel to the store of food to purchase more, will you accompany me?"
"Sure but I want a cup of tea first," neither of the girls noticed the boys freeze as her words reached them. The excitable alien squealed in delight.
"Glorious! I shall prepare for our visit immediately," replied Starfire as she flew out of the room to get changed, leaving Raven waiting for her tea to boil. From behind the couch Cy and BB stared at her. The terrified shape shifter spoke first in a hushed whisper.
"Dude… Raven's been acting really weird lately…" the bionic teenager answered in the same tone, carefully keeping the sorceress in sight in case something even stranger happened
"Yeah, like she's happy…"
"Ya think it's got something to do with her sneaking off last night?"
"Dunno… maybe. But where would she go?" Beast Boy nodded Raven only really left the tower on missions or if the group dragged her out. She'd need someone to show her around…
"D'ya think…?" a shocked Cyborg turned to his friend as the same thoughts flew threw his mind.
"Nah… she can't,"
"But Dude?"
"Raven have a boyfriend? She'd say something…"
"I dunno… you know Rae likes her privacy. Maybe she likes the secrecy…" Cy stared at his friend in astonishment. Beast Boy had said something intelligent… not that it would last he knew as he saw a familiar light shine in his green eyes. "Or maybe he's…" Cyborg slapped him round the head before he said something really stupid…er than normal
As Beast Boy and Cyborg were talking about Ravens odd behaviour, Robin had finished his workout and walked to the kitchen to get a glass of water. He paused as he spotted the sorceress waiting for her water to boil for her tea and smiled.
"Hey Rae,"
She nodded once in his direction to acknowledge his existence before turning back to the stubbornly unboiled kettle.
"Robin,"
"I wanted to say thanks for last night,"
"You're my friend Robin. I'm just glad you listened,"
"Still, it meant a lot to me." Raven didn't respond as the kettle boiled and she started to go through the familiar motions of making the perfect cup of herbal tea. Robin desperately searched for a topic, something that would keep her from leaving after she'd made her tea, something that would let him keep talking to her… His detective mind clicked, where had she been last night?
Raven sensed the question before he asked it and calmly avoided it in her perfect monotone.
"Robin one of the reasons I consider you a friend is your respect for my privacy. You never pry and that means a lot to me. Anything I can do in return I'll gladly do. Last night you merely needed someone to talk to and a bit of common sense."
Raven glided out of the kitchen with her tea in hand… Robin had the sneaking suspicion he'd just been blown off for something he hadn't even asked.
"Hey man!" Robin stopped his martial arts routine to face his friend.
"Hi Cy," Robin took one look at the serious, slightly worried expression in his friends eye and sighed. He already knew where this was going.
Cyborg started first, "Rob…" and was promptly interrupted by the Boy Wonder.
"Look if it's about last night..." Robin let his sentence trail off as he saw the confused look on Cyborgs face.
"Uh no… but if you wanna talk..."
The teenage martial artist quickly interrupted him. He really didn't want a lecture. "What were you going to talk about?"
"You talked to Rae right?"
"Yeah…"
"Did she tell you where she was last night?"
"No."
"Oh…"
"Cy it's Raven, she can take care of herself,"
"I know, I know. It's just…"
"What?"
"Well... BB had this really weird idea and I was wondering if she'd said anything to you…"
"What did Beast Boy say?"
"Maybe Rae was out last night... on a date?"
"No! She'd have told us…"
"That's what I said… never mind man…"
Robin watched as his friend walked out of the gymn.
"It's a good story,"
"I never thought of you as a closet romantic Raven," Slade hid his amusement as the sorceress looked up from the marble chessboard to glare at him, one eyebrow raised.
"I enjoy the description," Slade held her gaze for a few seconds before relenting.
" 'The rain held off, though lightning flickered round the ranges all night, turning the clouds indigo, and the full summer foliage of the forests surrounded us…' " a curious expression crossed the sorceress emotionless façade as she recognized the quote from 'Across the Nightingale Floor'.
" …'in a sea of green…' You've read it?" Slade merely inclined his head in a silent affirmative.
"I also have copies of the rest of the Otori trilogy if you wish to read them?"
"Thank you," Her smile was brief, a stranger would never have caught the quick upturn twist of her lips, but Slade was watching.
They both turned their attention back to their game, allowing the silence to deepen. Despite their expert playing both of them were starting to lose interest in the game… not that either of them would suggest stopping. Their conversations had lasted slightly longer with each game and although neither of them would admit it… the company was far more pleasant than the competition…
"Slade?"
"Hmm?"
"Why did you become a villain?"
"… it's a long story,"
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Are you sure you want to know?"
"Yes, but only if you wish to tell,"
"Very well… Several years ago, when I was still quite young, my parents died. I had no other family and so decided to enter the army. As I was only 15 I had to lie to get in… but that wasn't very hard. Due to natural aptitude I rose quickly through the ranks, becoming one of the most highly decorated soldiers living at a very young age. One day, when I was 19, I volunteered to be part of a highly secret military experiment to create a super soldier. The experiment was a success, resulting in increased strength, agility, endurance and raising my intelligence from above normal to genius. However it had one major flaw… it drove me almost completely insane,"
"Almost?"
"Yes, there was still a flicker of me left. I was honorably discharged, with my career gone I would have broken down if it wasn't for one thing…"
"Yes?"
"… Addie… she was my wife, for two years by that point. She kept me sane… and mostly human, intensive meditation and combat training gave me control and I eventually learned how to live with my new condition… Due to its similarity to my old life I took up the role of mercenary… but out of respect of Adeline limited myself to a rather strict moral code. I never killed any who were guilty of anything less than murder… whether that's why people wanted them dead or not. One day someone discovered who I was and broke into our house. She was strong. Even though the attacker was professional she gravely injured him… but not before she was stabbed…"
"Did she die?"
"Not then… although I sometimes wish she had… I found her in the hallway. She had lost a lot of blood but was otherwise fine. It would've taken too long to take her to a hospital and I had a fully operational infirmary in the house. As we shared a blood type I gave her as much of my blood as I could spare… probably a bit more, and bandaged her wounds. A few days later she woke up… I had accounted for almost everything except…" Raven gasped as she saw his mistake.
"Your blood…"
"The chemicals still present had the same effect on her as they had on me. Unfortunately I was not as nurturing as she'd been, she went completely insane… By that point she was no longer the woman I loved… she was paranoid… barely recognized me… there was a struggle. She had healed quickly and was as strong and agile as me… and she had no inhibitions about killing me.
She managed to get to the weapons cabinet and loaded the first pistol to hand. I was still trying to subdue her and gave her the opportunity she needed… one shot… somehow she missed… enough to save my life, leaving me with a badly scarred face and missing my right eye… I don't quite remember what happened next but when I came to Addie was dead, her blood on my hands… after that very little held meaning for me. I stopped being a mercenary. Instead I decided to work for myself… hence the criminal you see before you." For the first time in his confession Slade looked up at Raven… and saw a single tear flow from her eye. In one swift movement he caught it, his curled fingers pressed against her ivory cheek for mere seconds before withdrawing, stunned at his impetuous action. He looked into her hypnotic violet eyes, expecting any emotions but what he saw. She knew what it was like to kill someone you loved without memory… she understood…
"Who?" Raven didn't hesitate.
"My mother, there was a ceremony to cleanse my soul. It didn't work but it did cause me more pain than I ever believed possible… when the pain receded my mother, my mentor and a dozen other priests… every one who had ever shown me any kindness… After that I came to Earth, my mothers birthplace, in a futile attempt to redeem myself…"
"It wasn't your fault…"
"Or yours… but even knowing that doesn't stop the pain,"
"No." The two sat for a moment, each thankful for the others company before Raven broke the silence with a small smile.
"So… how old are you now?" Slade felt himself respond to her resilience with a smile of his own.
"25… you?"
"17." Slade nodded, both knowing that although their ages would seem young to an outsider, they hadn't beentheir agefor a very long time…
Robin knocked on her door. No one answered... weird. Raven was always a light sleeper…
With a strange feeling Robin flipped open his communicator and gently tapped a few buttons. He could only get an approximate view of where she was unless he chanced alerting her... she was in the Southwest quarter of the city...