a.n. VampireSelene- Eh, Slade's probably a lot of evil things. o.O; LoL. raex18- Thanks. :3 I'm glad you're still reading after all this time. Hehe. Hope you'll stay with it to the end (not much longer, sadly). devouring inferno- Thank you very much. :) When you start your story, I wish you luck. Nice s/n, btw. Boldprint56- Yes, I probably don't need telling about the story... but I like hearing it anyway. X3; You've been reviewing since pretty close to the beginning, so I really listen and respect what you have to say. It's nice you're so good to me. XD; raven717- You went to Mexico and lived to tell the tale? Hehe. Wait... are you comparing this story to Mexico? o.O; j/k. Well, it's good you had a fun time and thanks for the review. ScarletteBlue- "Would-be rescuers"... XD;; That's the perfect description for them. LoL. Thank you for the review and I'm really glad you like it. Hope this chapter keeps your interest. :3 Tritium- I just wanted the honorary Titans to be as wacky as possible for some reason... yet at the same time keeping them believable. Hopefully I've discovered that middle ground. XD; And how did Hotspot know a lever would work? Well... he could've also told Aqualad to look for a Tamaranian DDR cloaking mat... but that would've been too random. (Speaking of random, I'm in a random mood tonight. XD:;) And the battle of Hive vs. Titan vs. Raven is next chapter. Sorry. But glad you're so interested. faLLen-dreamz- You want Raven to stay good, huh? Yes, the story is ending soon. When did I start posting this... back in August? So yeah, it's about time. LoL. gracefulraven- Hehe, thanks. (What's "Boga"?) I look forward to your next chapter as well. :) lolopixie- Everyone will be here over the course of the next two chapters. Hehe. And... I dunno, maybe Hotspot is some kind of expert on... cloaking technology...? XD; You never know. And neither do I, which is rather sad. Thanks for the review. hehe. Moon's Darkness- Thank you and yes, Raven will stay on the bad side. :) psycicflower- I was wondering when you'd reply. LoL. Sucra... is that 'hey,' 'yay,' 'long time no see,' or 'I have a fish in my pocket'? hehe j/k. I think Raven was just ignoring Speedy most of the time... LoL. So yeah, she didn't pick up on the part about freeing the Titans. Glad you're still into it. ..."knackered"... sounds British. That's so cool. X3; LoL.

Chapter 23

The first rays of sun had risen above the horizon when Gizmo burst into Jinx's room again. "It's morning, it's morning! Mammoth's up... Mog's up! Let's go, lazyfluff!" He climbed onto her bed and began stepping on her.

"Get off! It's not even six!" whined the girl, sleepily pushing him to the floor. Gizmo gave a grating squeal.

"You're not serious... if you're not coming, I'm going without you!"

Jinx pulled her covers over her head. "Go ahead." The boy's face contorted into an impish scowl. With a whine, Gizmo scurried out of the room to find something to do while he waited for everyone else.

-

X and Hotspot had successfully located the dethaw lever late the night before, but never expected the process to take so long. It was like waiting for ice to melt in an environment not much warmer. Therefore, X had Hotspot sit in front of the two middle tanks, head flaring. The thief quickly complained the room was too hot and went outside the ship to wait.

Early the next morning had found the fiery boy asleep against one of the tanks. The alien substance was almost completely melted; only near the bottom of their feet was still solid. The Titans, however, still appeared frozen.

"Wake up," X said, shaking his teammate. Hotspot gave a sleepy whine, but otherwise didn't respond.

"Why'd you get us up, too?" asked Speedy as he and Aqualad slumped up the ramp and over to the thief.

"I'll need help with the Titans," he replied simply. "And Hotspot, if he doesn't wake up."

Upon seeing the fiery boy, Aqualad dumped a ball of water over his head. A long hissing sound followed as steam wafted from Hotspot, who jumped up, gave a cry of surprise, and rubbed his head. Speedy pointed to Aqualad when the fiery boy's glare searched over each of the teammates. X stepped in front of Hotspot.

"Okay, come on guys. Focus. The Titans are almost thawed." Speedy neared the tanks.

"They don't look thawed."

"We're planning on waiting till the whole process is over. Then see what happens," X explained. Hotspot again took his place in front of the two middle tanks and let out wave after wave of heat. Simultaneously, the three other boys backed up.

Shielding his face with his hand, Aqualad looked at the thief. "So what if this doesn't work?"

"We call Blackfire."

-

Raven was up and in the living room just as the sun was completely above the horizon. It was the earliest the girl had ever gotten up. She didn't know why, but she couldn't sleep. She was feeling restlessness, apprehension- too much to ignore and not easy to suppress.

Raven stood at the window, looking out over the water. She checked the landscape cautiously, thoroughly, as if expecting to see what was making her feel anxious.

She was startled when the screen flashed on with Blackfire's face.

"Where is he? Where's Slade?" the woman demanded, an icy glare darting all across the room. Raven, wide-eyed, inched closer to the large couch.

"How did you... why did you... what do you want with Slade?"

"He's breaking our deal faster than I could ever imagine! And I want answers!" screeched Blackfire.

Raven tried to maintain a calm tone. "And what deal is this?" The alien woman looked as if she could rattle on forever, but suddenly her critical gaze was brought down on Raven.

"Hasn't Slade told you? Well, I'm not going to be the one to inform you. I've got that man mad enough at me. I just want my ship back! I've looked through countless rooms in your little fortress- it's mostly wasted space, let me tell you- and I couldn't find him."

"He told me the Titans brought you back as something like a captive," the dark girl said, fists slowly clenching.

Blackfire arched a brow. "He did? That liar! That's slander! Ooh, just wait till I find him!" she shrieked before terminating the link. The screen returned to normal, leaving Raven to stare ahead off into space.

"No," she hissed through fiercely gritted teeth, "wait till I find him."

-

When Hotspot had finally melted the last of the solid substance, he dropped to his knees, panting. He was still too hot for the others to approach and help up, so the other three continued to keep their distance.

Suddenly a hissing sound filled the cargo area as the glass tanks detached from their bases and slowly rose higher. The four Titans collapsed on the small platforms, beginning to show signs of life. The boys were breathing in a hollow fashion while Starfire was already stirring. Hotspot slumped outside to cool down, letting his teammates hurry forward and drag the Titans away from the tanks. It took two to move Cyborg.

Once everyone had been moved, it was noticed that Starfire was awake. Quickly all three boys surrounded her.

"Are you okay?" Speedy questioned.

Aqualad picked up one of her hands, "How did Blackfire get you?"

"How long were you in there?" X inquired. Their questions all came at once, sounding like an unintelligible jumble of noise. Starfire looked blankly at each of them, but gave a cry upon seeing the thief. She jumped to her feet, eyes and hands glowing green.

"No, wait!" all three exclaimed simultaneously, putting out their hands for her to stop.

"What is going on? Where is my sister?" she demanded, dangerously glaring at X.

"If you just hang on, we can explain everything," replied Speedy as he carefully neared her. He had his hands up in a non threatening way and motioned for her to power down.

"What happened?" squeaked a weak voice. Everyone turned to see Beast Boy sitting up, blinking groggily at his surroundings. The other two Titans were beginning to come to. X walked over to Robin and was the first thing the boy wonder saw when he woke up.

"Hey there, kid. Long time no see, huh?" greeted the thief, extending a hand. Reflexively, Robin batted the hand away and jumped to his feet, ready to fight.

"No wonder where Raven gets her untrustiveness from," mumbled X. Aqualad stepped in front of the thief, blocking him from Robin.

"Easy, guys."

"Man, you're helping a thief?" accused Cyborg as he, too, stood up. Speedy looked from his teammates to the Titans.

"A lot of stuff's happened since you guys disappeared. We need to get everyone's stories straight before going after Slade."

"What's Slade got to do with this?" demanded Robin.

"Yeah," piped up Beast Boy, who was still sitting on the floor. He was looking wildly around. "And where's Raven?"

"Those answers go together a lot more than you might think," said Aqualad. X stepped out from behind him.

"And before any cute Titans reunion, who's missing a communicator?" Instantly, all four checked their belts. It was Starfire who gave a cry of surprise.

"I was certain I had it!" she said, double checking.

"Then yours is the one Blackfire has," the thief continued gravely. "I don't know how much she heard from us, but she'll most likely hear if you guys talk on those." All the Titans exchanged looks, then stared back at the boys. Speedy motioned for everyone to follow him out of the ship. "We'll explain everything."

-

Raven rose through the floor in the middle of the large guest room, which Slade had taken as his. All the shades were drawn over the windows, making it appear nighttime still. She wasn't far from the foot of his bed and she could see a bare arm on top of the covers. His mask and suit were strewn across a side table.

Raven's eyes glowed white. She was tired of having her emotions messed with. When she had wanted answers, it seemed she mostly got lies. The girl wanted a straight, truthful answer for once. She wanted to know what Slade was really up to- what he had been up to this whole time.

With a sharp wave of her hand, all the curtains drew back, an explosion of light following. Slade was startled awake and the first thing he did was grab his mask. He held it up to his face the whole time since he wasn't wearing the black coif the mask attached to.

"Raven?" he exclaimed, sitting bolt upright. The mask hid his face, but not the messy white hair spiking in all directions. "What are you doing?" She stalked forward a few steps, eyes white and hands glowing black.

"What are you doing making a deal with Blackfire?" shouted the girl. Across the room, a lamp on a stand was devoured by shadow and shattered. "And I don't want any more lies! If you're really into this whole trust issue, why don't you try the truth for once?" One set of curtains grew black and pulled apart into numerous shreds, then fell to the floor.

"Calm down, Raven," Slade said quickly, extending his free hand. A giant shadowed hand appeared, grabbed Slade's baggy shirt and pressed him against the wall. The girl wasn't even thinking about how strange he looked in an undershirt and pajama pants.

"Tell me that once more and I'll throw you out that window," she hissed. "Now tell me- what was this deal with Blackfire?"

The man vented a defeated sigh. "I wanted her to lure the Titans away so you'd be left by yourself."

"Why?"

"For this," he replied, gesturing toward her with his left hand. "I wanted a worthy apprentice. I wanted you on my side."

"Why?" The man gave a shrug of his good shoulder. His right shoulder, the wounded one, had bandages on it still. Currently, that arm was busy holding his mask in place.

"To see if I could."

"This has all been a game for you?" accused Raven, brows furrowing even more.

"Maybe at first, but not anymore, Raven, believe me."

"So what really happened to the Titans?"

"They were captured by Blackfire. I don't know how, bu they were. She put them in some kind of freezing tanks on her ship." He slouched against the shadowed hand. "Then she came here. I told her to leave, and that's what she was doing when you saw the ship on the computer. She went to Europe."

An expression of confusion mingled with betrayal dominated her face. As she tried to comprehend all of it, the girl tried to keep a stern look. Raven's voice betrayed her, for it had lost all of its force. "But... Blackfire said you stole her ship."

"I did no such thing. It was that X. Charming fellow, isn't he?" The dark hand disappeared and Rave slumped on the edge of the bed, wearily staring at the floor.

"They've been captured all this time?"

Slade took this opportunity to slip the black coif over his head and attach the mask to it. Cautiously, he sat next to her.

"Why did you lie to me?" demanded Raven, an edge of fierceness returning to her tone. She looked up and stared expectantly at his masked face.

"I thought you'd go after them. Would you have?"

"Probably," the girl replied quickly.

"And what about now?" asked Slade as he leaned on his knees. Raven looked back to the floor.

"I have no reason to save them anymore. And I have no reason to trust you anymore, either."

"But you can understand me- my motives, my reasons- can't you? You see why I lied to you," said Slade slowly. He watched her expression closely as she kept staring at the floor.

"I can see your reasons. But your motives are still completely indiscernible," the girl replied in a hollow voice. With effort, the man lifted his wounded arm and rested a hand on Raven's shoulder.

"We can work on that. Anything else on your mind?"

"I want all the lies to stop."

"They should, now that we've resolved a few major issues."

The dark girl looked up at him critically. "How do I know that's not a lie?"

"You don't. You just need to trust me."

"My trust in you is gone," Raven said coldly and in a tone to close the discussion. Slade snickered lightly.

"Well, we can work on that, too."

-

"Are we ready yet, people?" shrieked Gizmo once everyone had gathered in the main room. His two teammates still appeared tired.

"I'm not going anywhere until I've had some breakfast," Jinx said haughtily, heading for the kitchen area.

"What, are you kidding me? It takes you five hours for you to finish chewin' the first slappin' bite! We're going now!"

"We will go when I say so," the girl replied firmly, a deadly stare in her eyes. Suddenly the Master of Games appeared behind her, so quickly and silently it was as if he popped out of thin air.

"Listen to the feisty one. We will leave now," he said calmly. Slowly Jinx turned to face him, her expression a mask of fear and surprise. The recruits quickly lined up to disembark. There was no thought from any of them to question Mog. Gizmo bounced over to his teammate, a look of pure glee dominating his face.

"So, are you ready, Your Fluffness?"

"Fine, yes, go, go, go!" replied Jinx, hastily moving out from under Mog's sights.

With a cackle, Gizmo donned his backpack which then sprouted four long, spider-like legs. "All right, everyone, move out! We're going to take on the tower!"

-

"Friends, I cannot believe that Raven has turned against us," Starfire said with an indignant expression. "That is complete flbbnark!"

"She may not be totally on one side or the other- even ours. But she's definitely not on Slade's," Speedy replied quickly.

Everyone was in the basement of the Mega Arcade and it took all four boys to explain to the Titans about Raven. It also took everyone else to keep Beast Boy off different video games. Even though X had shown them the conversations between Slade and Blackfire, Starfire remained stubbornly skeptical.

"Perhaps she is under some evil mind control and cannot help following Slade," the Tamaranian suggested. "Perhaps-" Robin laid a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Star. We'll ask her when we get her back. You guys work on getting Raven and leave Slade to me," he instructed his team. Upon receiving an acknowledging nod, he pointed toward the door. "Titans,--"

"Hold your horses, Dudley Notright," X announced quickly. The team spun to face him, their expressions impatient.

"If there is anything I have learned over the past week or so, it's to have a plan before going to the tower."

"We've fought Slade before, man. We're what you call experts," Cyborg retorted, glaring at the thief.

"Obviously," shrugged X. "Not just anyone could get themselves frozen in a tank for days, now could they?" Cyborg remained silent but continued shooting a death-glare at X. The boy continued unruffled.

"Sure you've gone toe-to-toe with Slade, but not Raven."

"Raven will not fight us!" Starfire interrupted, her eyes glowing green.

"She will if Slade tells her to," Aqualad said. He and the other honorary Titans were off to one side, staying out of most of the conversation.

"I refuse to believe that," protested Starfire, crossing her arms across her chest. Aqualad gave a defeated shrug and a small shake of his head. Leaning back against the side of a game machine, he said no more.

"Still, she's gotten a lot more aggressive since you've left, and more powerful. We don't know what Slade's told her- be careful around her," said X.

"We're coming, by the way," Hotspot spoke up as he slid next to Starfire.

"Guys, really. We can handle this," said Cyborg. Speedy strung his bow and tested the string. "No, you'll need our help. Believe us."

An alarm sounding from the corner monitor caught everyone's attention. Hotspot was the first one there to check it.

"The Hive's on the move," he related. "Looks like they're heading for the tower." His head snapped around and he looked from X to Robin, awaiting some kind of order.

"Okay, that's it," Robin called. "Titans, go!" Everyone rushed for the stairs, Cyborg dragging Beast Boy away from the video game he had been winning.

"But... 9th level... so close!" he moaned, vainly reaching for it.

-

Raven was meditating in front of the large windows when alarms blared. Startled, she nearly fell to the floor. Just as she put her feet on the ground to investigate, Slade rushed in, completely in uniform.

"What is it?" he demanded, making his way over to the screen. The familiar windows appeared: map, video footage, profiles.

"The Hive seems to have gotten a whole lot bigger since last time," snarled Raven with a hateful glare at Jinx's picture.

"So," Slade sighed, leaning his hands on the controls, "this is what they've been up to." The girl's head suddenly jerked around.

"You knew about this?" she shouted, pointing fiercely at the screen, eyes glazed with disbelief.

"I just knew something was up. I didn't know when or where, though. I see it's here and now."

"You knew the who, though?"

"Vaguely. I was piecing things together," Slade replied distractedly. His fingers were flying across the keys as he summoned his squadrons.

"Then why didn't you do anything about them?" cried Raven with an accusing tone. Slade looked up and straight at her, though still hunched over the keyboard.

"Because, my dear, they weren't such a threat then and I didn't have enough information." The dark girl looked from him to the screen and back again.

"Is this a threat?"

Slade sounded as if he were smiling. "Get ready for battle, my dear."

--
Next Update: Thur., Jan. 19th

"We're what you call experts," ...anyone watch Mythbusters? hehehe