a.n. MGotS- Thank you so much. :) gty- Would you by chance be the same as "gh"? Well, glad you liked 4. Lulu Cruz- They're really in character:D That is great news for me... seriously. Arigatou. Jason, VampireSelene- Thank you. gothpoet- Glad you like. Hope you like this one, too. :)

Chapter 5

Raven listened to the deathly silence that engulfed the tower. It seemed to stifle the very life out of her home. She didn't want to admit it, but she almost felt lonely.

"I should've just gone with the guys," the dark girl said aloud. She had returned to the living room to find herself some lunch. She stopped in front of the fridge and looked around. Everything was so still and peaceful – a strange concept in the Titans tower. Raven made herself a sandwich and sat down to eat, the whole while wondering where here friends might be. What if they were lost? Or hurt? What if they couldn't find Starfire? Suddenly she stopped and let out a deep breath. Why was she worried? She was turning into Robin. It was unnecessary. Raven had to have more faith in her friends and not…worry. Slade had mentioned that. The dark girl gave a cry and her head fell onto the table. It was like a war was raging in her mind between Slade's seemingly truths and her bond with her friends. It felt like Slade was winning. How could he be right? He was the evil one. Maybe he wasn't right at all. Maybe he was right only in her mind. Whatever the case, Raven knew she needed her friends. No matter how many times Slade told her her friends made her weak, something inside said her friends made her strong. For the time being, the dark girl focused on that voice.

Raven slowly ate her sandwich, every once in awhile looking out the windows. She didn't know if she expected to see the T-ship returning, or Starfire there, or even Slade himself staring back at her. But she kept checking. Once the girl finished her lunch, she decided to see where her friends were and put her mind at ease. Raven pulled the Titans communicator from the back of her belt and opened it.

"Robin? Cyborg? Anyone? Starfire?" She tried various frequencies, but there was never an answer.

"What was I thinking?" she moaned. "They're probably in another galaxy by now." As she returned the device to her belt, alarms suddenly blared in the tower. The dark girl was so startled she fell off her seat. Staggering to her feet, Raven ran over to the large screen as a map of the city popped up. A pulsating red dot appeared on one street, moving quickly. In one corner was a familiar picture of an ugly foe. Raven's eyes narrowed.

"Johnny," she practically spat. With the rest of the Titans away, the dark girl knew she would have to take care of this herself. She pulled her hood over her head and floated out of the room.

The obnoxious roar of the motorcycle could be heard blocks away. It wasn't a regular noise, but a grating sound that made passersby cringe. The driver didn't sound much better. His annoying laugh could be heard almost as far away as the motorcycle. He swerved around cars, going into both lanes, and when the road was blocked by the vehicles, he simply rode over them. He was riding down the main road and was quickly approaching an intersection with another busy street. Raven planned on stopping him before he reached that point, for she figured he would cause numerous accidents.

The dark girl waited, hovering many feet off the ground, and heard that horrible contraption long before she saw it. He drove recklessly, and once he noticed Raven, he sped up. She arched an eyebrow. He wasn't seriously going to try to run her down, was he? Her fists clenched. She was ready to use her powers in a split second. Suddenly the bike turned to the side and skidded to a stop right in front of the Titan. The biker looked up at her.

"Where's bird boy?" he demanded.

"Not here, Johnny," Raven said coldly, eyes narrowing. "Is that the only reason you came back? To find Robin?"

"My business with him ain't done yet," replied Johnny, looking around impatiently.

"You've been beaten twice. Just leave already," the dark girl moaned with annoyance. The biker tipped his helmet up and stared at Raven.

"Well, if he's not here, I'll just wait for him. He's gotta come out sometime."

"Robin is not hiding from you."

"Then why are you the only one here? Either you're the only one brave enough to face me or the only one who bothered to welcome be back." The dark girl just rolled her eyes.

"Whenever bird boy shows up, tell him he owes me a fight," Johnny added before revving the motorcycle. Keeping the front wheel in place he spun the bike around, leaving skid marks from the back tire. Immediately he took off, zipping past Raven. Her cape whipped out behind her from the wind that followed. She turned around, her eyes glowing. Her hand extended toward the escaping biker and she uttered her chant. Darkness engulfed Johnny's bike and it rose into the air. He quickly jumped off, tumbling to the ground. Raven drew the motorcycle closer to herself as the rider stood up. In his hand was a gun that he quickly aimed at the vehicle and fired; the shot exploded against the dark covering. Being so close, the blast knocked the girl to the ground and broke her concentration. The bike crashed down, too, as Raven staggered to her feet. She suddenly stopped. Johnny had the gun aimed right at her. She clenched her fists.

"Just try it," she dared in a threatening tone.

"I have better things to do," replied the biker with a shrug. He picked up his motorcycle and hopped on, keeping the weapon pointed at her the whole time. Raven folded her arms across her chest. If she were the smiling type, a sly smirk would've been plastered on her face. Johnny started the bike and sped off, continuing his destructive path down the street. The dark girl extended a hand.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." Darkness surrounded a tall street light, lifting it off the ground. As Johnny neared it, it was swung like a baseball bat and hit the biker right in the gut, throwing him off his bike. He hit the ground and stayed there. The street lamp twisted around the man several times like a snake.

"That oughta hold him," Raven said to herself. After a final glance around the scene, the dark girl flew back to the tower.

The unnerving silence welcomed her back. She, more than the other Titans, loved the rare moments of silence in the tower, but this time it was different… it was odd. The notion that she might hear Slade's voice at any moment seemed to shroud the room: a threat underlining the silence.

Raven looked around the living room. Just as she left it – perfectly quiet. The dark girl sighed. She didn't want quiet anymore. She wanted to hear the boys playing their video games with the volume high – sometimes so loud that the furniture in the room would shake. She wanted to hear Starfire announcing some other Tamaranian holiday or tradition, then trying to get everyone else to celebrate with her. She wanted to hear the smoke detector blaring, letting them know dinner was ready. Heck, she even wanted to hear one of Beast Boy's lame jokes.

Raven shook her head. She couldn't be that desperate.

The dark girl pulled out her communicator and tried to contact her teammates. Again, no answer. She sighed and slumped onto the semicircular couch. Suddenly the large screen flashed on with a picture of Slade. Raven jumped, but quickly regained her cool disposition. A long silence followed before Slade spoke.

"Why do you go out and fight the 'bad guys'?" he asked, a sarcastic emphasis on the last words. "It's not your job. You don't have to do it. That's why there are policemen. You owe the general public nothing."

"I fight because I can. Because I have the powers to do so," she replied. The dark girl figured it useless to stay silent now that he could see her.

"Because you have powers you are singled out and feel it your duty to defend people who barely recognize your existence. Those ungrateful people only remember you when they need saving. You save them again and again, yet get nothing in return. Why even bother?"

"Most of the bad guys have powers like I do. They're too strong for the police. Normal people don't stand a chance against them," argued Raven.

"Normal people? You mean those without powers?" He paused. "Like Robin?" The Titan glared at Slade as he continued. "My dear, if the city folk were suddenly without super heroes, others would step up. Normal people. You live like you owe a debt to the city, like you're bound to this crime-stopping life forever. But you're not. You were never appointed to this line of duty. Nothing is keeping you here."

"It's the right thing to do," she protested. She clenched her fists and stared at him with all the hatred she could muster. His lone, unblinking eye stared back. Why did he never blink? That was just plain freaky. It never showed emotion, unlike her eyes did. It never showed weakness. Was it because he had such a grip over his emotions? Raven envied him for that.

"Who's to say what's right?" replied Slade, shrugging his shoulders.

"Certainly not you," she hissed. Her enemy chuckled.

"Raven, your friends are gone. Are you going to fill in while they're away – fighting their battles, doing their work?"

"Why not? They'd do the same for me," she replied bluntly, folding her arms across her chest. She stood steadfast; she would never sit in his presence. The dark girl had to always be on guard. If Slade could sneak his contactors into the Titans Tower, what else could be there? His robot soldiers, maybe? Raven didn't want to think about it. She just knew she had to keep her senses alert.

"Would they do the same for you?" Slade asked, as if mocking her statement. "If they returned and found you gone, would they look for you after you refused to go look for Starfire? Would they show that amount of friendship after you denied it to them?"

"Starfire is just fine – the boys were overreacting," Raven defended herself, wondering how he knew about the earlier scuffle.

"Is she, now? Are you sure?" The dark girl's eyes narrowed as she glared at the screen.

"What do you know? Tell me!" demanded the Titan.

"Don't expect your friends to return anytime soon," Slade said cooly. With that the screen flashed off.

"He knows something," growled Raven to herself. Her fists clenched and her eyes glowed white. Why was he playing games with her? Why was he messing with her mind? Was this all an elaborate plan to tear her from her friends? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Her cape swirled around her and she felt her emotions surge. Suddenly the semicircular couch flew up behind her, hit the ceiling and fell back down. The rest of the furniture did likewise as the room trembled. Just as quickly as everything had started, it stopped. Raven's eyes returned to normal and she held her head. She sighed.

"I really need to control my emotions."

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Next update: Sept. 18th or 19th.