Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
Slade: Beginnings

Halfway up the mountain, the danger of their leaving was truly realized.

It had been just another day of traveling up the big sloping trail emptying out into another Unknown City on the other side of the mountain. Slade walking, panting, lungs heaving, sweat rolling off his cheek from the sun in midday. Psyche hiding in shadows, growing in power, making sure no one was following them. Little did she know, Psyche wasn't being as thorough as possible. Someone indeed was following them, and stealing all of their secrets.

"Let's stop." Slade said, sitting down on a large boulder.

A black streak hurled towards him and stopped immediately before the huge stone. Psyche appeared from the dark coating looking almost as equally exhausted. She did look happy though, Slade thought, even though the thought of only being halfway up the mountain was discouraging. Psyche took a seat next to Slade.

She glanced over at him. The sun was gleaming down upon him, and he didn't look very healthy. He was truly exhausted, drained of all of his energy. It was hard to imagine that just two days before she had seen him running from the museum, from the town, from his life. And she had done exactly the same thing.

Her life had been pretty normal until she found out about her shadow powers. Psyche had been just another girl in the Kurou Middle School, sharing gossip and joking with her also normal friends, but that would be no longer. Her parents were loving…enough. They gave her everything she could ever need, yet there anger and bickering almost brought her to the brink of insanity. In the heat of all their fighting, she had always been blamed, than forgiven by being bought more happiness. The sad thing was that, for a while, it had worked. Then back to the quarrels and arguments, and she noticed that in her parents hearts there were no longer feelings, just dark shadows. That thought ate at her and caused her so much pain inside that she began to feel the dark shadows as well.

And one night she turned into a shadow.

"Did I tell you how I found out I had my powers?" Psyche asked, staring blankly into the forest. Slade shook his head. It never really occurred to him that she came about the powers. He'd always assumed that she was born with them, not acquired.

Her arms wrapped around her knees. She looked over at Slade, and with all of the honesty in her shadowy heart, told him her full story.

Slade could tell that she didn't like abilities at all. They made her feel significantly different from others. But she had definite reasons to feel so diversified. The first time her powers were used they accidentally harmed her father because he was angry with her. Other times it just happened, and even if it didn't hurt anyone at all people judged her. Though the most devastating thing happened on the same day she met Slade. It happened, unfortunately, at the place where she was the most vulnerable, where no one knew her secret. It happened at school.

Pain struck through Psyche's heart that day at Kurou Middle School. When the accident took place all of her friends were around her. Misery, cessation of friendships, it all took place. It all started her stupid teacher making a comment on her test grade, then thew students laughing. She was always one to get the highest grades of the class, yet on this test she misread one section of directions and got all the answers wrong. Her teacher didn't allow her to retake that portion of the test even though Psyche could tell that the teacher knew what she did wrong. And because it wasn't normal for her to get anything wrong.

"I'm disappointed with your scores," she said. "I thought you could do better."

The class turned and stared at her. Why were they looking at her? They all took a dramatic "ohhhhhh"; why had her stupid teacher said that!

Their voices became stronger and stronger in her mind and she just couldn't take it any more. Her hands clenched in a fist of dark power. Psyche's eyes glowed in pure darkness.

"Oh no! It's happening again." Her body was now enveloped in shadows. The whole classroom was looking at her, surprised. By now the teacher had tried to get the students out of the school and signal the principal, but to no avail. She was already uncontrollable, and nothing would be able to stop her.

Psyche glanced up at Slade during this point in the story. His eyes showed empathy for her, which was all she needed. "You know, I almost wish someone had been able to stop me then. That wasn't the end of the story Slade. There's one more part."

In that days evening paper read an article. That article was all about a girl with amazing power. A girl that lived in the city for many years. A girl who had friends like everyone else, but not anymore. She would have to be sent away. The article read as follows:

School is Destroyed by Student

Today at Kurou Middle school a dark evil took place. A student there, a girl named Psyche Crow, completely wiped out one wing of the huge middle school. One witness states, "No one did anything wrong, and just suddenly she was glowing in dark light. It was pretty freaky." Our interviewers tell us that the witness was very upset on her beloved school being partly destroyed.

The teacher of the student says that she was very shocked to see one of her best students unleash such power unexpectedly. The damage occurred at 1:30 p.m. today. There are no recorded deaths, yet four students are hospitalized and are in extreme care.

The parent of one of those children states, "I do not want my child to go to school again until I know that they will be completely safe. As soon as my child gets out of the hospital I am going to switch him out of Kurou Middle School, and hope that others will do the same. I truly believe it isn't the best learning environment for students." We can tell by this statement that she is very angry with the school. "She has the right to be," another child's parent states. "We send our kids to school expecting the best for them, yet this happened anyway. Her child is now in danger. How would you feel if this happened to your child?"

There are rumors that the principal of the school will shut it down for renovations. This has not been confirmed though. "He should shut the school down. Without the whole east wing there won't be enough room for all of the students!" Others believe that the school should be shut down permanently, and build another new school under new management. "It is also the principals fault for allowing dangerous students to go to their school. For that I do not believe that the principal should work in this town ever again.

The principal has not yet commented on any of these remarks. The student Psyche Crow has been said to have ran away, and hasn't been seen. There is a reward to anyone who brings this dangerous "criminal" into the police's hands. Neither of the child's parents has contacted anyone. If anybody knows the child's parents please tell us their number and address so the police can get in touch with them immediately.

If you have any additional info please make certain to contact someone.

"Now you know everything," she whispered.

Slade listened carefully throughout the whole story. Knowing all of this didn't make him feel any different about Psyche. She had her secrets and he had his. Slade knew that he could be able to trust Psyche after her telling him everything. He wouldn't give up his past so easily though. Not quite yet, anyway.

Down the trail a bit, not that far away, Liannaka opened her communicator once again. Odysseus would hopefully like the news she sent him. She definitely needed some respect from him after all these years in his…service. "Master, I have good news. Very good news."

"What is it?" Odysseus was in his normal mood: angry.

"It's the girl, Psyche. She has a more shadowy past than her pitiful powers," it was no use, Odysseus had finally won. "The girl…She destroyed the Kurou Middle School. This must mean something. Even though she is no match to your infinite power, she still has potential."

"And? You are wasting my time with your silly story! Just destroy them!"

Liannaka knew it would be easier to get rid of them than to make them work for Odysseus, but she was certain that if she did this that it would help them in their reign of evil.

"Master, why not try to get the girl to work with us? She could be helpful."

Odysseus grunted. He obviously wasn't sure that the plan would work, but decided to let her do whatever she could without getting in danger. He still needed an assistant. How could he rule the world without her?

So, without hesitance, Madam Liannaka ran up the trail trying to catch up to Slade and Psyche, and, if she could, get them to work for her. Liannaka had truly, finally, become evil.

All day Slade and Psyche kept going up the immense mountain, even in the scorching heat. Slade wished he could travel in the shadows along with Psyche, or at least she would stop doing it. He didn't have anybody to talk to at all. Sometimes she'd slip out of a shadow to rest or give him a report, but that was all. Slade knew though that Psyche needed to practice. Maybe someday even she'd be able to carry someone in the shadows with her.

"Boo!" Psyche jumped out of a shadow and right in front of Slade. Slade didn't look phased at all. In fact, he just walked around her.

"You aren't any fun, you know that?" she giggled. Slade wondered if she knew how vital leaving Kurou was to both of them.

"This isn't really helping us get off this thing any faster," Slade said in a monotone voice.

Psyche gave a childish scowl to him and then grabbed him by the arm. "What are you doing?" Slade yelled at her. Psyche just laughed, and suddenly all Slade could see was darkness.

"Where are we?" Slade asked Psyche slowly. They were drifting through a sea of gloom, yet Slade didn't feel any worry. The shadows brought a certain kind of safety to him somehow. In the midst of there floating through the blackness, Psyche explained, "I'm finally able to bring you with." She had a smile on her face.

Suddenly Slade didn't find Psyche at all to be annoying, or childish, or immature. Slade was glad she was with him on this journey. For the first time in a while he was truly happy, and he didn't want her to go. He wished they could both stay in this darkness, where time stood still and no pain was felt.

"We are reaching the top of the mountain. It will be easier to go down the mountain than it was to climb it," Psyche spoke. Slade mustn't have been aware of how long they were in the shadows. His comatose state stretched time forever, and he didn't want it to stop for anything.

"Master, Master! Please Master Odysseus, you must pick up. I have horrible news!" Liannaka was terribly distressed, and pacing up and down the vast and lonely mountain.

"What is it?" Odysseus hated being interrupted, especially by someone screaming through his communicator.

"I've lost them. I couldn't keep up. Her powers have evolved faster than I could have ever imagined. She's able to bring him into the shadows and now they are going twice as fast. They must be already at the top! I don't know what to do, there is no way to reach them fast enough, even with my powers."

Odysseus was clearly upset. Through the communicator things were shattering, breaking, being destroyed. "Do whatever it takes. I do not want them leaving the mountain alive, understood?"

"Yes sir, I shall not fail you," yet Liannaka knew in her heart that it would be near impossible. They with their young and energetic bodies would be off the mountain before she was even at the top!

"Get it done, or I'll have to take care of it myself!" The communicator went snowy, and Liannaka trembled. She must get the job done, or who knows what Odysseus could do!

Slade's happiness suddenly stopped as he was dumped out onto the ground. Psyche came out of a shadow as well and landed right on top of him. Slade blushed and quickly got up, looking the other way. Little did he know, Psyche was also blushing a fiery red.

"S-s-sorry…I kind of just…well…landed…because of…" Psyche was stumbling for words.

"Yeah," Slade couldn't help but smiling. This was so embarrassing! He had to say something witty, or at least something to stop the awkwardness.

"Hi," he was so stupid! Hi? That was all he could come up with? Hi?

"Um…hi," okay, he had helped the awkwardness grow!

"Maybe we should go?"

Psyche looked down from the big summit. She could barely see towns below. Her face flushed and she started stumbling. Her foot tripped on a rock, and soon she was rolling down the mountain.

"Psyche!" Slade took after her, running as fast as he could, but he tripped as well and came down the mountain too.

Finally, after rolling for quite a long time, they both stopped. "Are you okay?" asked Slade.

"Yeah, I knew I shouldn't have looked down. I'm kind of afraid of heights. Kind of stupid, right?" Psyche was embarrassed again. This time he refused to say something dumb in any manner.

"Not at all," she smiled at him.

They both walked down the mountain in silence then. Rolling down the hill had at least gotten them down hastily. Psyche thought very hard as she was walking down the peak. Why did she feel so embarrassed over such silly things?

Slade was also thinking, but about something different. Why couldn't he stop smiling? He was happy, yet he knew that of any time to be ecstatic wasn't now. He was on a mountain running away from the city he grew up in with Psyche, and who knows what could be following them at this very moment. Yet none of this really meant or scared Slade at all. Ever since he went into the shadows with her, nothing really mattered much to him. Was this how she felt all the time?

It was dusk, and they were both becoming exhausted. Setting up a camp would take a large amount of time, and so they both stopped near the shade of some trees. Once everything was set up, it was already dark. The stars were shining brightly.

"It's amazing, isn't it? They seem to be larger and more bright than ever," Psyche looked dreamily up at the night sky. Her face lit up from the moonlight. His eyes looked up at the stars.

"Maybe we are closer, being so high up on the mountain? I could just look at them for hours," Slade commented.

And so they just sat there for a while. They didn't say anything—just sat there. Soon they had both drifted off to a deep slumber. Yet Liannaka didn't rest at all; no she was still up to no good, trying desperately to keep up to the youngsters.

"I have to find them and get rid of them before Odysseus does," she muttered while running through the vast trees of the mountain.

While she was running her anger and frustration with Odysseus unleashed on all of the trees in her sight. If someone wanted to find her, they couldn't have an easier trail to follow in a million years.

"How hard is it to find some stupid kids? It's not like they can just disappear in mid air!"

The wrath of her powers and the screams of her frustration could be heard so loudly in the deep forest, even Slade and Psyche could hear them.

"Let's go," Slade had already picked up most of their camp items and was looking back to see how far away the yells were.

"It'll be faster if I take you. She won't be able to see us." Psyche held on to him and immediately they were sent back into the shadowy plane where they drifted, more quickly than before, through the vast darkness around them.

"How will we know if she is near us? How do we know where we are?" Slade had just thought of these questions. All he could see was the darkness, nothing else. How would they know when they were off the mountain? How would they know if the person following them were right behind them?

"I can see both planes at the same time. You can only see the one where you currently are. Mine kind of switches on and off, sometimes being fuzzy and sometimes being seen with much clarity. I've done this so many times now I'm able to see the mountain very well. Don't worry, I wouldn't offer you up to this stalker on a silver platter!" There was the giggle again. It echoed through the shadows, and he felt the same way he had the last time he was there. That made him feel secure, even though this probably was the scariest time of his life.

"Thanks…I think," Slade looked over at Psyche. She was chuckling slightly. He'd made her laugh!

"Just about a half a mile to the bottom of the mountain," she told him softly.

Slade looked more extensively at the darkness that was flowing in all directions around him. People are afraid of the dark, yet the way he felt at this moment was the opposite. He felt extremely calm. Were these shadows as scary as people make them out to be?

"I hope you don't mind me asking, but is the person still following us?" Slade wished he could see both planes as well.

"I kind of hoped you wouldn't ask that because she is really close. Do you know her?" Psyche asked.

Slade wondered who it could be. "I didn't see the face, but it must be someone I know. Describe them to me."
"It is a woman, if that helps." Good, Slade thought, it isn't Odysseus.

"Not really," Slade said.

Psyche told him, "Whoever she is, she has immense power. You should see how much chaos she is causing!"

Slade pondered this…chaos!

O' mighty lord of chaos, whomever that may be, give your command to me, and you will set me free

Slade muttered this out loud a couple of times as if it were a poem he had memorized. He remembered it from something, though he wasn't quite sure what. It sounded so familiar. Chaos…King of Chaos, which was what he had nicknamed his father, Odysseus. But why did the poem seem so familiar!

"Will you stop muttering? It is hard to see two planes at once, but with your constant muttering it is making it really difficult! What is that stupid poem you are saying anyway?" Psyche was teasing, he could tell, but there was some truth. His muttering must be annoying to her. Again, he was embarrassed.

"Oh…sorry," he said.

She looked back at him, having lost her concentration and knowing that she wasn't going to gain it back anytime soon. "That's okay. But really, what is the poem about?"

"I'm not sure. You triggered something when you referred to her as chaotic, though. Why can't I remember where I heard it?" Slade felt like beating his head against a nice, thick wall.

After a while of just floating and no speaking, Psyche started to writhe in pain. She had an expression of anguish on her face, and she began shrieking. The darkness surrounding them started to dissipate, and Slade tried to get her to speak.

"What's wrong? Why are we going back to the other plane?"

"I can't be in here as long as I thought I could, especially with you. The shadows tried taking over me, and almost succeeded. We have to go back." Psyche was clearly distressed. Her face's expression was deeply hurt and scared. They would have to fight against what was following them.

"Are you ready?" Psyche asked through her pain. Her teeth were clenched tightly together in her discomfort.

"Yes," Slade told her. Whatever it was that they must battle, it wouldn't let it scare him.

Together Slade and Psyche crossed onto the other plane, unafraid of what the future may hold.