a.n. Everyone's Thanksgiving went well, I hope? Mine was awesome. My cousin and I entertained the family with old video games, then around 7 pm convinced our dads to take us to go see the fourth Harry Potter movie. :3 It was the second time both of us saw it, and we still loved it. LoL. -sigh- Krum...

raex18- Hey, long time no see. And yes, X does have his motives, but I shall never admit them in the story. X3; Thanks for the reivew. hehe. ShadowDevil- Nyeh, I don't really want a Raven/X story... and I really don't know why I'm writing it like that. XD But no, it won't turn out that way. And thanks for clarifying. :) faLLen-dreamz- The other Titans...as in Titans east... T.E. will never, ever, ever appear as that group in this story. The only people from that group have already shown up- Speedy and Aqualad. Bumblebee just annoyed me to no end. And the rest of the regular Titans... well, they really don't have a POV right now... back in chap. 12 you found out that they were captured aboard Blackfire's ship. Completely frozen. So they're kinda out of it right now. LoL. And you'll see what happens with Jinx and all. I love Gizmo! XD; VampireSelene- Ooh, braces. I had those for like three years. x.x; Fun. And I'm homeschooled too. :D All me life! (Yes, not a typo). Well, hope your Thanskgiving was good. Thanks for the review. lolopixie- Thank you very much. :3 I like thick plots. hehe. Hope I keep your interest through the rest of the story. gracefulraven- Thanks and I look forward to reading your new chapter, too. :) kidsnextdoor112- Thankee, thankee. Wow..that guy sounds... wow. o.O; Yeah, at least it's over. I have no clue what that's like ëcause I really don't have much of a social life. XD;; SabrinaRocks- Thanks, and yes, Google's great. Wow. The dude who came up with that must be ridiculously rich by now. That must be nice. LoL. Tritium- Yes, not every chapter is action-packed... but hopefully I can make the final fight good. I'm not too good with writing fights. / Glad you liked it though and thanks for the review. psycicflower- Aw, do you have an Irish accent and everything:D That's probably a really stupid question, but... I dunno why I'm fascinated by accents. LoL. Good luck on your exams. My finals are coming up soon, too. Slightly depressing, actually. Tell me if you do get to meet that guy. :) (Forgot his name already X3;) ëTwas nice talking to you. hehe.
Aw, spiracle and LM22102 are kinda... MIA...

Chapter 16

The next day Raven was so tired, she slept through most of the morning- including her early training session. For awhile, Slade didn't notice because he had been preoccupied most of the morning. However, when it was nearing noon and he realized he had not seen the dark girl all day, he sent a couple of robots to fetch her.

Ten minutes later, a disheveled, groggy-looking Raven slumped in followed by the two robots, which had accumulated numerous gashes in their armor. Slade's eye lingered on the guards as one's head twitched when sparks shot from broken circuits on its neck.

"Not a morning person, I take it?" the man commented, mostly to himself.

"They snuck up on me," defended the dark girl, a sleepy yet grumpy look in her eyes. Raven folded her arms across her chest and tried to look tough, but with her tired expression, she looked drugged. Slade admitted a small chuckle, but then his tone grew sharply serious again.

"What were you doing in bed so late? You have obligations, you know. I expected better from you, Raven." The dark girl winced at his tone.

"Sorry," she said begrudgingly. Slade's eye flicked from her to his wounded robots.

"I have a new training for you- on top of your daily practices, of course. From now on, you will fix every guard you damage or break," the man said. Raven's eyes widened with disbelief; all traces of sleepiness instantly vanished from her face.

"Robin and Cyborg were the technical ones, not me," protested the dark girl, taking a step backward. Slade gave a dismissive shrug. Although his suit had been repaired, it was still obvious which was his wounded shoulder, for he didn't move it too much.

"You'll learn," the man said simply. Raven let a desperate sigh escape. The last thing she wanted was more responsibilities. The dark girl was not exactly sure why, but she did not want to disappoint Slade's expectations. That, however, would be exceedingly difficult when she had countless things to learn.

"Is this just so I'll stop destroying your toys?" Raven questioned, eyeing the injured robot to her left.

"That is one benefit, yes, but it should also teach you discipline and respect for other people's property." The man leaned forward and added in a threatening tone, "You think I like repairing all the soldiers you break?" Raven fidgeted uncomfortably under his gaze. The dark girl never thought how much trouble she caused Slade, and now she couldn't help but feel slightly guilty. Not completely guilty, of course, just slightly.

"So now what?" she questioned softly, almost respectfully. Slade looked to the new window that a few soldiers were in the process of setting in the window pane.

"Now," he said, not even glancing at the girl, "we have a new schedule. Every morning practice in the training room, every afternoon we will be outside practicing your powers, and every other time you will be working on the robots." Finally he turned to Raven. "Got it?"

"Yes," the dark girl huffed. With the Titans, she was used to at most one group practice, if not every other day, and developing her powers at her own speed. With this schedule being imposed on her, it strangely made her feel defensive, if not hostile toward the rules.

"Don't I get time to myself?" she asked.

"What for?" retorted Slade quickly.

"Meditating... eating... sleeping. I'm still allowed to do those things, right?" questioned the dark girl, sarcasm dripping. She had what Slade considered a mutinous expression, and her attitude was getting old. He leaned forward until he was eye-level with Raven, and he was so close she could feel the breath hissing from his mask.

"I grow tired of your lack of respect, and if you continue to have such little self-control, I will make sure your life becomes excruciatingly difficult. Even if I have to beat it into you, you will learn discipline. Mark my words, child." Immediately ten retorts jumped to the tip of her tongue, but she kept her mouth closed. Raven felt abashed that Slade had referred to her as ëchild,' after he hadn't for so long. The dark girl knew it had been on purpose to put her in her place and make her feel inferior. It had worked.

The man straightened and signaled for the two injured robots to leave. His hands behind his back, Slade began to slowly pace a short stretch in front of Raven. "However," he began in a lighter tone than before, "if you conform and behave, you will have a better time. You'll be trusted." At that the girl's head snapped up and she watched Slade carefully as he walked.

The man pretended not to notice her sudden eagerness, but he couldn't help sounding pleased. "Now it is completely up to you how your life here will be. Your acting up won't be tolerated anymore. You'll soon be an adult- act your age." Slade stopped pacing and looked at Raven. "You should eat now. Then you'll get your first mechanics lesson-" The man's voice came to an abrupt stop when the intruder alarm began blaring. The two immediately turned to the screen to see a blue print of the tower appear, and a large dot pinpointing the location of the intruder.

"The computer room?" Raven said to herself.

"It's probably that thief. Those robots better've put new passwords in there," growled Slade, hurrying over and bringing new information to the screen.

"I've got it," the dark girl said quickly, before being swallowed by a giant shadow raven and flying through the ceiling.

The dark girl landed right outside the computer room door; it was the only exit. Her fists were engulfed in darkness and she waited for X to shoot out. As Raven stood there, her mind searched for any possible reason there could be for why the thief had returned. A minute later the door slid open. A disc in his hand, Aqualad stepped out and stopped short upon seeing the Titan.

"Raven!" he said, a hint of fear in his voice. The shadow around the girl's hands completely vanished.

"Aqualad? What... what are you doing here?" asked the dark girl. Her surprise was evident.

The boy lifted up the burned disc, "I needed this info for an operation I'm undertaking."

"You could've just asked if it was that important. You set off the alarm and everything," said Raven, an expression close to a smile on her face. However, her brows were slightly furrowed as she attempted to figure out why Aqualad was acting strangely... almost unfriendly. Footsteps echoed from down the hall.

"Yeah, well, gotta go," the boy announced quickly, taking a couple steps backward. He waited to see if Raven made any move to stop him, and when she didn't, a relieved look swept over his face. "Thanks," Aqualad said before turning and sprinting down the corridor. Raven's expression was consumed by confusion.

"For what?" she asked, but the boy was long gone. The dark girl turned to see a group of robots march up and halt behind her. They all looked at her expectantly. The foremost guard extended his hand to offer Raven her earpiece communicator, which the girl took somewhat reluctantly.

"Well?" she heard when she activated the small device. "Did you stop him?" Raven knew she the man still thought the intruder had been X, and she was torn between correcting him and letting it go.

"Answer me, Raven," Slade demanded, his tone thick with impatience.

"Uh, no... he got away," she finally replied. The man was silent for awhile.

"Fine," he said at length, "send the robots to track him and get ready for your training." Raven again looked at the soldiers waiting behind her, all their eyes on her.

"Me? Give them orders?"

"Yes," replied the man simply, as if it was something she had been doing for a long time.

"Is that what they're waiting for?" Raven questioned. Her voice betrayed her surprise and failure to completely understand this new situation.

"I told you things would go well if you behaved. As a token of my trust, you now have a squadron of obedient robots under your command. Do with them what you will, but their repair and maintenance lies solely on you. So the sooner you learn mechanics, my dear, the better."

The dark girl looked again at the squadron and, for the first time, saw the robots in a different light. The ten guards standing there were hers. They would do anything she ordered. They wouldn't listen to Slade, they'd listen to her. A whole new set of responsibilities had been entrusted to Raven, and for once the dark girl didn't mind. It was like having then pets; ten large, powerful, semi-intellegent pets. A new feeling arose in her, a feeling of authority and protectiveness over her soldiers, and a feeling of conquest to get more.

-

Aqualad surfaced on the other side of the bay after swimming from Titans Tower. His three teammates discarded their hiding places to meet him.

"Didja get it?" X asked immediately. Aqualad, out of breath, merely waved the disc between his fingers before handing it to the thief.

"All the conversations and everything?" X asked again. The other boy nodded, still breathing heavily.

"How'd it go? I mean, did you run into Slade?" questioned Hotspot eagerly.

"No," panted Aqualad with a shake of his head, "Raven." The attention of the other two guys was immediately captured.

"What happened? Did she attack you?" X demanded.

"She just let me go. Said I could've asked for any information."

"Hm," the thief said after a long pause. "Well, at least she hasn't been totally converted to the dark side."

"Maybe she'll help us after all," Speedy spoke up.

"Even if, we still have a lot to do on our own. Like finding a headquarters," replied X, looking at each of the three boys in turn. "Hopefully someone has good news for me this time."

When no one answered, Speedy announced, "I think I've got something. It's downtown, so we can keep a close eye on the tower, and completely inconspicuous. We'd never be found."

"Lead on," X said, although his eyes were set in a skeptical stare.

-

"You've gotta be kidding me," mumbled X once the group had arrived at Speedy's destination. They were right outside the Mega Arcade, which was five stories tall and bustling with gamers.

"The basement is huge and as high tech as the rest of this place, and we can keep people from coming down by saying, ëtechnical difficulties, enter at own risk, sudden death,'" Speedy said happily.

"Actually, that might encourage people to enter," added Hotspot, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked blankly at the building.

X sighed. "We've got no other option, I guess. Fine, let's use it."

-

Slade and Raven were in a corner of the Titans' spacious garage, huddled over the torso of a robot lying on a workbench. For the past half hour after lunch, Slade had been teaching the girl the basics. To the man's disappointment, Raven was not catching on as quickly as he would've liked, and he was becoming frustrated.

"No, no, no. That wire doesn't go there, it goes here," snapped Slade. He pulled a black wire from the plug Raven had stuck it in and inserted it into the plug next to it. The dark girl vented an annoyed huff and restrained herself from snapping back.

"So when does this thing finally jump to life?" she asked, skillfully suppressing a tone.

"When all the pieces are assembled," replied Slade quickly. However, the man didn't have the same amount of control over his temper as Raven did. The dark girl looked to the end of the table. In an unorganized pile were the arms, legs, and various other pieces that still needed to be attached to the droid.

"Great," Raven sighed, an exhausted slouch rounding her shoulders. "Are we supposed to completely fix it today?"

"We'll see."

-

Gizmo cackled as two jail officers fell unconscious before him. "This is way too easy, really. Can't they get anyone challenging?"

"I'd rather not waste my powers on feisty humans," scoffed Jinx, fixing her pink hair. Once Gizmo moved out of the way, the girl bombarded the thick jail door with her powers. When the smoke cleared, all that was left were a couple of bent hinges.

"Nice," the boy inventor said with a wicked smile. Johnny Rancid appeared in the doorway.

"Okay, let's go," called Jinx, motioning for the prisoner to follow, but Johnny stayed where he was.

"What's goin' on?"

"We're the room service," Gizmo snapped sarcastically. "Whaddaya think, Einstein? We're breakin' ya outta this stupid joint." Annoyed, the girl put a hand on Gizmo's shoulder to calm him down.

"Who are you, anyway?" questioned Johnny skeptically.

"We're the Hive and we're recruiting you. Your services are needed," Jinx replied professionally.

Gizmo knocked her hand off him. "Yeah," he added, "now we're gonna break out Dr. Light. He's another idiot who got himself locked up like you did."

-

With a feeling of accomplishment and triumph, Raven finished connecting the right arm to the droid's torso.

"When he's all put back together, will he be mine, too?" the dark girl asked as she covered some exposed shoulder circuits with an armor plate.

"No," Slade replied immediately. "Just be content with what you have now." A cold silence fell between them. Raven walked around to the other side of the table and began repairing wires around the shoulder. She worked diligently and silently, and by ignoring the man, she clearly showed her distaste for his snappish behavior.

Finally Slade added, "The more trustworthy you are, the more responsibility and power you will earn."

"So it's a bribe?" questioned the girl flatly, looking up at the man. "Be nice and get stuff?"

"I would never bribe you, my dear," Slade said firmly. "It's a deserving reward. For your maturity in discipline and respect, you prove yourself worthy to handle the responsibility. So you get it."

Raven was about to reply when alarms went off and a red light began flashing in the garage. On a small screen next to the door, pictures of several criminals came up, and behind that was a road map of the city. Three red dots marked jails that had been hit. Several other dots indicated where the escapees were currently headed.

"Dr. Light, Cinderblock, Johnny Rancid... all escaped?" read the dark girl with widening eyes. Her head jerked back to Slade. "We've got to stop them!"

"What for? They're leaving the city," the man replied cooly, inspecting the robot on the table.

"But they broke out of jail!" protested Raven.

"Yes, and much later than I expected, too," mumbled Slade. "With their powers, they could've forced their way out countless times earlier. But at least they're leaving the city. They'll be someone else's problem now." Raven eyed him critically.

"But they're part of my responsibility. They broke out of jails in my town. I should-"

"No, you shouldn't," Slade interrupted. "Get back to work." He nodded at the robot torso and stared at her until she finally returned to fixing the circuits.

The dark girl worked in silence for awhile, Slade constantly watching her technique. After a couple of minutes, Raven spoke up. "Can I ask you something?" The man glanced from the robot to her, as if trying to discover what kind of question she was preparing.

"That depends on what kind of answer you're searching for."

Raven hesitated. "I just wanted to know... how did you lose your eye?"

Slade stared long and hard at the dark girl, debating whether or not he could tell her. Finally he said, "It's the price I paid for slow reflexes. In my old profession, you could count how many mistakes the men made by the scars they bore." Raven stopped fiddling with the robot to listen. Slade looked to the far wall as if trying to remember part of his life he hadn't thought about in ages.

"Were you a soldier?" asked the dark girl. Slade's head quickly snapped back, all traces of him being lost in his memories was gone.

"Something like that," he replied in a tone to end the discussion. "Once you finish that arm, that'll be all for today."

Raven's attention was again captured by alarms ringing throughout the tower. The screen next to the door flashed on again with a map of the city, a picture of Plasmus and a red dot heading for the city limits.

"Another one? This can't all be a coincidence- something's up!" exclaimed the dark girl, dropping her tools onto the table. Just as she turned to the R-cycle, Slade reached across the table, grabbed her hood and pulled her back, almost choking her in the process.

"I told you before- they are not your problem. Now work!"

Raven stared at him with cruel disbelief. "But something's up. All those prisoners are going toward the same place, and they're far too stupid to have come up with any plan themselves. They-"

"They are no threat to me," Slade interrupted firmly.

"On their own, no, but together- they could dismantle your entire robot army," protested the dark girl. She picked up a welding torch and pointed it at the man. "And when that happens, I am not fixing them."

-

X walked around the spacious basement of the Mega Arcade, which was well lit and had many chairs besides those connected to the video game machines. Most of the monitors, built right into the wall, were blank; extra computers for people to bring their own games to play. It was these that Speedy and Hotspot were using to hack into all kinds of cameras all over town.

"Done," Speedy said, entering one last code into the computer. "Now if all those evildoers even run a red light, we'll know about it." At his somewhat-sarcastic tone, X arched a brow.

"You don't sound convinced," said the thief. Speedy slouched in his chair.

"I still don't think you've got very much planned. It's obvious when people are making stuff up as they go along."

"Working on a team ain't something I'm used to, but I do have a plan. You just have to follow it," growled X, glaring at the archer.

"So what've you come up with?" Hotspot asked, looking up at the thief from his seat. X withdrew from his belt the disc Aqualad retrieved from the Titans Tower.

"If fishboy got everything I told him, then this has all the last know coordinates of Blackfire's ship, and all the conversation logs between her ship and the tower. And if you guys are as good as I think you are, we'll find her ship in no time. Then we'll pay Blackfire a little visit, save the Titans, bring ëem back, and crush Slade." He paused to look at the other three. "Tell me if I need to make it any simpler." His gaze landed on Speedy.

The archer shrugged begrudgingly. "Well why didn't you say so in the first place?" He extended his hand, waiting for the disc. X tossed it to Speedy, then crowded with Aqualad and Hotspot around the monitor to watch.

-

The Hive surveyed their escapees with smugness. Dr. Light, Johnny Rancid, Cinderblock, and Plasmus and Mumbo broken out by Mammoth were there.

"We need a couple more, just to be sure," Jinx said to her teammates, "but I know Slade can't possibly stand a chance."

"I sent a message to Atlas- he was one of Cyborg's personal enemies," Mammoth replied, dropping into a chair and letting one arm hang over the back. "If he shows, he shows."

"Yeah, well I got something ten times better than that," Gizmo cackled gleefully, bopping past the other two, holding a large mechanical platform. It was almost as wide as the little inventor was tall and had a bull's eye on the top, directing where one was to stand. Gizmo set it down in a clear space halfway between the Hive and the gang of new recruits.

"I met this guy when he wrenched me right outta this world- and in the middle of my lunch, too, that idiot. But seeing as how he can steal people's powers, he might come in handy if this crud-munching bunch is the slappin' best we can do." The boy whipped out a remote control and pressed the topmost button. Instantly the room darkened as blue light in a cylindrical shape appeared above the platform.

"What is that?" Jinx cried, half in fear, half in amazement.

"This can rip anyone from anywhere- even other galaxies or dimensions. Took me forever to get it right," replied Gizmo as he watched particles start to appear and combine in the blue light, slowly forming something bigger. Finally, the light disappeared, the room returned to normal, and there on the platform stood the Master of Games.

--
Next Update: Dec. 5th... ooh, my mom's b-day.

I have a question to all you writers out there... how do you add those long lines to break up sections in the story? LoL... I have no clue how to do that...