Time almost stood still as Raven and Slade squared off with one another, two powerful fighters pitted against one another, no clear winner was visible at the time. She was nervous, but anyone in their right mind would be in the same condition as she, facing her mentor and teacher of a year in combat that would cost one of them their lives, but had to be done, there was no other way, and they both understood that it must be that way. Slade chuckled, faking Raven out several times, causing her to jump in defense.

"Even after all this time," Slade started, growing closer and closer to his apprentice as they circled, "you are still nothing more than a scared, little girl, Raven."

Raven said nothing, continuing to watch her opposition, her glare unchanging.

"Well?" Slade continued, "what are you waiting for? You want to leave, then you have to go through me. There is no other way."

She tensed up, preparing herself both mentally and physically to strike out at him, looking for a weakness or an opening of some kind that would give her the upper hand. She looked him over, noticing his stance, knowing that he was prepared for just about anything that she could throw at him right now, but something caught her eye. Raven took particular notice to the eyeless half of his mask, thinking.

"His right side," she thought, "he is blind in that eye, therefore, a blind spot, if I could get momentum going, I could attack him from the right, and he wouldn't even see it coming."

"I'm waiting, Raven," he taunted, "as I said, you are going to have to come to me, it is your choice to leave, so do it."

"You should have took Robin's offer, Slade," she announced, "you might have been better off."

Slade let out a hissed laugh.

"How so?" he questioned, not caring, "because if you are threatening me, well, you aren't very intimidating at all, child."

Raven said nothing, but instead, leapt into action, soaring through the air only inches off the ground, her left hand drawn back, ready to strike. Slade's image grew closer and closer at blinding speed, his posture remained unchanged, as if he were waiting for Raven. Her fist went forward, using the momentum of her attack, ready to make contact with the black half of his mask, but a large hand grasped her smaller fist with ease. Raven was caught off guard, surprised, her body went into a full-length whiplash motion, Slade slamming her arm downward to the floor, her body following, crashing to a halt. Raven was dazed, but conscious enough to roll out of the way of Slade's left hand in the form of a fist, missing her by only inches, and putting a small hole in the floor, his fist quickly retracting out of pain. Raven seized the opportunity, quickly swinging her leg around in an attempt to take Slade's feet out from under him. He saw it before it became effective, leaping into the air enough for her foot just to harmlessly go underneath of him. She was on her feet again, ready to attack, her adrenaline pumping through her veins. Slade stared at her intently as he landed again, holding his left hand, rubbing it.

"Not bad, not bad, apprentice," he started, his voice slightly aggravated, "attacking one's weakness? My, my, I have taught you well, but before you try that again, listen to this, I have lived and fought with only one eye for many years, child, more than you have been alive, so I suggest that you don't waste your time trying to attack me from the right, I have trained myself to prevent such things. I will give you this, you are faster, you are stronger, but not enough to hope to stand a chance against me. You will meet your end here, I guarantee it."

"I don't know if it is because of that Slade," Raven managed, breathing heavily largely due to her nervousness, "I think it is because you have grown weaker. I am in my youth still, you merely got me started on your training, and I took off with it, but you, you are aged, well, old, and slowing, becoming weaker and weaker with every passing second, every second brings you closer to death, whether I help that on or not is just a matter of choice."

Slade narrowed his enraged stare that much more, showing is anger, something he rarely did, and Raven seemed to be the only one that was able to rattle him to do so.

"I am invincible!" he exclaimed, in his angered voice, "I am immortal! Neither you, nor anyone else now or ever is going to get their wish to cease my existence. Raven, I am something that will never rest, I will always be that thing you look for behind your back, haunting you 'til the end of your days."

"Enough!" Raven yelled back, "You are nothing! Compared to me, you are lower than the earth I walk on, so let's cut the chit-chat, I would really like to go home today, the sooner the better."

"Then so be it," Slade announced, "your death will be most amusing to me."

"Likewise," Raven retorted, staring her foe down.

Raven prepared for another attempt to strike Slade, knowing what he was capable of, yet, he was shrouded in darkness behind Raven's true power.

She attacked again, lashing out with her left hand, only to have it expertly blocked. Raven followed up with her other hand, another devastating blow, if it had connected. Raven continued to give it everything she had, using combination after combination of attacks in quick succession, only to have Slade match every move she made, almost as if he were mocking her. In a vain attempt, Raven went straight for Slade's head, only to have his large, powerful hand grab hold of hers yet again, but not letting go. In a panic, she attacked with the other, only to have the same thing happen, locked up in his.

"Your struggling is quite amusing, child," Slade taunted in her face, "when are you going to learn that you stand no chance of defeating me, not now, not ever?"
Raven said nothing, only bending her knees ever so slightly, then used Slade's right leg as a vaulting position, pushing her body up with her left, and using her right to connect with Slade's face, causing him to release her and back up out of surprise. She knew him all too well, knowing that if she let up, he would seize the opportunity to retaliate against her onslaught. She charged in his moment of confusion, her fist poised, ready to strike. Before he could react, Raven used her built up momentum, throwing her fist forward, her full-body weight behind it, connecting with the center of his chest. Slade skidded backwards several feet, Raven's fist-shaped dent in his armor clearly visible, but no sooner than he looked up, Raven struck again, following up with an attack just as severe as the last. She could see the intense burning hatred in his eyes, but she didn't care, he was the enemy, and she knew what must be done. As her striking distance neared, she did a small frontward flip, coming out of it, her foot the first thing to come up out of it, connecting cleanly with Slade's chin, sending him backwards off his feet. He hit the hard, marble floor with a thud, skidding to a halt. Raven stood ready, debating on to continue attacking, even while he was on the floor, but decided to stand her ground and attempt to be honorable, even at a time like this. Slade made his way to his hands and knees, holding his jaw, his mask crumpled up that much more from Raven's last attack. As he rose to his feet, she noticed thick, red liquid slowly dribbling out of the grates in his mask, seeing that he was bleeding, something she wasn't accustomed to seeing from him. She alertly watched him, knowing that he wasn't too amused with Raven's attacks. Slade let out a slight chuckle, the most sinister Raven had ever heard, surprising her.

"Seems as if I've taught you well," Slade commented, brushing himself off, "maybe a little too well, but no matter, Raven, please let me know when you want me to start trying, things may get interesting if you allow me to do so."

Raven gritted her teeth at him, his constant taunting and undermining boiling her blood, almost to the brink of losing control to her emotions. The only thing that she could really say that was of good nature that came out of his teachings was her ability to push the envelope of using her emotions to her advantage, but not losing control. She felt the intense burning of Rage beginning to take over, but she resisted, wanting to keep full control over her actions.

"Why don't you try that again Raven, then and only then will I begin to believe you are more than what you make yourself to be," he continued, his voice as smooth as ever, even with the damage inflicted upon him, he saw it as nothing.

She lunged at him, more reckless than before, causing her own downfall. Slade nimbly evaded, moving to one side as her attack missed, leaving her wide open, Slade siezing the opportunity by connecting with a strong strike from his right hand across her face, causing her to stumble backwards, nearly tripping over her own feet out of surprise and pain. Before she could recover, Slade leapt into action, going on the offensive, landing several combinations of attacks, all in quick succession with lightning-fast speed. Raven's body went with each blow, the force from them as strong as the last, unable to stop the relentless attack. he finally finished his onslaught with a sharply forced knee to her midsection, dropping her to the ground, coughing and gasping for air. Slade came down with his foot once more, slicing sharply through the air, and digging his heel of his boot into Raven's back, causing her to arch with pain, but retained enough reflex to roll away from him in an attempt to rise to her feet.

"Come on, now," Slade sneered, "I've taught you better, now rise to your feet, I wish to kill you honorably, and I can't possibly do that when you are laying on the ground all the time, now can I?"

She locked her eyes with his, turning her head slightly to the side, spitting blood out, her stare remaining on him. She rose to a knee slowly, then shot up from her knelt position, ready to continue.

"No more games," Raven called out, her mouth colored crimson from the blood that remained in it, "this ends here and now."

"Very well then," Slade replied, knowing what she was getting at, knowing that things were going from bad to worse for either party.

Slade attacked once more, but as per usual when either attacked one another, it was easily blocked or avoided, seeing how they knew each other's move all too well. Raven siezed the moment, taking hold of Slade's flailing hand, pulling it forward, throwing him off balance, while thrusting her elbow into his ribcage with all her might, hearing the breath in his lungs be forced out from the blow. Slade retaliated, hitting Raven across the face once more with his free hand as he retreated from her a short distance, holding his side. She lunged, Slade's boot-clad foot finding its way to her chest, stopping her dead in her tracks, causing her fall backwards, but Raven reacted, holding her arms back, and pushing herself back up, delivering an open palm strike directly to Slade's head, snapping backwards from the momentum, knowing that he was feeling the pain of whiplash. Slade saw how the finess had been removed from her style, recovering enough to take hold of her wrist and force it behind her back, putting her into a submissive hold. She struggled, doing the similar manuever that Robin used against her in the same situation, dropping down enough, and used both feet to kick Slade off of her, knocking him off of his feet with ease. No sooner than he hit the floor, he shot back up, running directly for Raven, who prepared herself for his offensive attack once more, seeing that she was rattling his nerves, throwing him off balance, and most of all, playing off of his weakness enough to where it was an advanatge, yet unnoticable by him. She blocked a kick directed at her head, slidding backwards from the force of them impact, only to be struck down by another follow-up attack that connected with her kidey area. Raven nearly doubled over in pain once more, but Slade's fist struck her across the face one more, only Raven felt her jaw crack ever so slightly, knowing that he had enduced a hairline fracture, there was no doubt about it. She felt to the floor after Slade's final blow of his devestating combination landed, nearly coming to a complete halt. A rushed wave of pain hit Raven, here sense finally catching up with her, as if they were telling her to stay down, but she knew better, she knew she had to continue, even if it meant her endangering herself to the point of death. Slade stood there, staring intimidatley at her, knowing that he had the upper hand at the moment, but refused to attack her in her downed position, something was holding him back, he didn't know what it was, but something inside of him refused to let him finish her off. She siezed the opportunity, slowly rising to her feet, feeling blood collect in her mouth from her inflicted wounds. Her eyes blinked in an attempt to see clearly, her pain beginning to blur them somewhat.

"This is getting me nowhere," she though, still watching Slade as she finally made her way to her feet, "even if I do manage to attack sucessfully, he comes back with something ten fold. I need a plan, anything that will either stall him that much longer or even help me defeat him."

Raven quickly came up with a solution, even though it be reckless, it was much better than nothing at all. She quickly reacht behind her back and drew her collapsable staff, extending it, and twirling it to a stop in a offensive stance, ready to attack, her eyes remaining locked on Slade.

"Child," he started lazily, reaching for his, "you can't possibly hope to defeat me, especially with that, you are still very naive, especially when it comes to weapons, you have much to learn."

"Why don't you prove that is true then, because I have hard time believeing anything that comes out of your mouth," Raven snapped back, watching him extend his staff as well, snapping it into a useable position of attack.

"Gladly," he hissed, grasping his free hand upon the staff, ready to attack.

Raven waited, knowing that he was going to come at her, wanting to see if she truly could stand a chance against the very man that taught her everything she knew about fighting.

Slade attacked once more, leaping a short distance, coming down with the staff, slicing through the air with quick retrot, Raven dodging it, and it snapping into the floor with a distinct sound. Raven countered with the tip of her staff, snapping it up enough to catch Slade right underneath of his chin, popping his head back, and giving Raven time to strike again. Her staff swung true, sending him straight to the ground after being struck in the left temple, his mask caving in around it. She froze for a moment, thinking she had actually defeated him, but it was soon shattered, seeing his body stir yet again. He shook his head violently side-to-side in an attempt to rid himself of the pain and blurred vision, knowing good and well that Raven would have easily ended his life if it weren't for the very mask he wears upon his head and face. Slade advanced yet again with renewed vigor, swinging the staff, missing Raven by only a hair, following up with various weaker strikes, each either barely missing the nimble female or blocked by her own similar staff. Slade finally managed to find a hole in her stonewalled defense, thrusting the tip of the metallic staff sharply into Raven's abdomen, then taking the same end, swiftly snapping it upwards in a similar manner that she had done to him, Raven falling onto her back from the force of the painful blow. His staff came down again before she could rise, going cleanly across her stomach, making a distinct, sickening sound as it connected with her flesh, forcing her to flinch upwards as he struck. She lashed out of pain, taking her staff in a swinging manner, throwing it outwards, attmepting to take her master's feet out from underneath of him, only to have him gracefully flip backwards as she did so, landing without a sound.

"Have you had enough yet, Raven?" Slade questioned, twirling his staff in one hand, "or do you still wish for death? Either way, I can grant them."

"I'd rather die than serve under you for another waking moment," Raven coughed, managing to speak, her midsection burning with pain.

"So you do pick the latter of the two after all," he replied with amusement, "how so very noble of you, dying for a worthy cause, Raven, that doesn't seem like you at all. Last time I checked, why the only person you looked out for was you."

"That's a lie and you know it," Raven growled, "the whole reasoning behind this was to protect them, not anyone, especially not you, is going to hurt them. Even if I do die, I swear to Azar that you will go with me, you will harm no one any longer."

"Quite a bold statement from a desperate individual, Raven, for once, forget about your pride and do the right and intelligent thing, stop this foolishness and I will forgive you, but at a weighty punishment."

"You can take your offer and shove it, I am leaving, one way or another, and you are the only thing standing in my way, so if you were to do anything intelligent for once, it would to be to let my by, and maybe, just maybe, you would live to see another day where your pathetic plans fail and blow up in your face," she said in a rushed, angered voice.

"Then so be it, child," Slade announced, "if this is what you truely wish, than who am I to stop you. Again, your death will be most amusing, and you cannot say I didn't try to help."

Raven said nothing more, tossing her staff aside out of anger, feeling Rage attempting to take over, but knew it would spell doom for all if she did. She quickly brought her hand back and gripped the handle of her katana, swiftly drawing the razor-sharp blade, the distinct sound of the metallic blade leaving the sheath resounated crisply through the open air. She twirled it about, stopping in an attack ready position, the red lights glaring ferociously off of the cold steel. Slade chuckled, starting slowly, then throwing his head back to let out sinister laugh, almost as if he had witnessed something truly hilarious. He quickly recovered, focusing on Raven once more.

"First you attempt hand to hand, then you come at me with your staff, and now this," Slade motioned to the glimmering blade, "both of your previous attempts were in vain and complete failures, so what makes you think you hope to defeat me at something you hardly know anything about?"

"It's a lot simpler than you think, Slade," Raven replied, still glaring, "you see, I take this sword, swing it in a lateral motion, take your head clean off your shoulders, and find a way to clean the blood from the sword, as well as my clothing, if any were to come in contact with it."

"My, my, aren't we confident?" Slade sneered, slowly raising his hand to put it upon the handle of his own blade, "you may have destroyed my most prized sword, but that doens't mean I have another."

He drew it in a similar manner that Raven did, sharply cutting through the air, dropping his staff with his other hand, then gripping the sword just below his other.

"I promise to make it as quick and as painless as I possibly can," Slade informed in a sickening manner, really feeling as if Raven was sealing her own doom.

"And I promise just the opposite for you," she retorted, wanting to get this over with as soon as she could, no matter the cost.

Neither said another word, only awaiting the other's next move, knowing good and well that if either of them made the simplest mistake, it would cost them greatly. Raven tensed up, gripping the handle of the slightly curved sword, preparing to attack, knowing that Slade was going to counter, but didn't know from where, only her alertness would be able to catch it in time, or she hoped anyways. Unbenownst to her, Slade was just as tensed, for once, a worthy adversary pushing him to his limits, acutally making him try. He knew that Raven was many time stronger and more skilled than Robin, Robin was able to fight him on an even field, but he could never actually win unless the other Titans helped him, but Raven was different, she could defeat him by herself, and he knew it, it was only a matter of outsmarting his dangereous foe to remain standing, and that was a battle itself. She broke the errie silence first, charging Slade, her footsteps pounding against the marble floor. With all her might, she swung the steel-bladed katana in a downward lateral motion, Slade quickly reacting, snapped his blade in an upward motion, counter Raven's attack. The swords clashed, a sharp metallic sound resoundated as they made contact, each locking up and staring each other down. Raven pushed off first, slicing in the other direction, only to miss Slade by a hair. Slade saw the opening Raven had left and struck, but Raven reacted quick enough stop him from being successful. The steel blades connected many times over, each in rapid succession, many attacks also missing their target just barely, cleanly cutting trough the air with a distinct sound. If anyone were to witness this battle, it would be one that was hard to believe, the insane speed and strength of these two combatants pitted against one another in a fight to the death was awe-inspiring. Each could almost read the other's mind, knowing when and where their next attack or strike was going to be, as if they were playing a deadly game of chess. Once more, the blades collided, and remained locked in place, neither giving, or gaining any ground. Slade siezed the opportunity, twirling the blade of his around, parrying Raven's to the side, and struck with deadly accuracy, bringing the razor-sharp edge across Raven's left arm, the fabric of her upper arm tore with ease, following the force of the slice, blood and gore traveling with it. Before Raven could react, she felt Slade's foot hit her squarely in the chest, sending her backwards, falling to the ground. She shot up as soon as she hit, surveying the damage he inflicted upon her. Her ashen grey hand was stained crimson with her blood, the wound flowing profusely. She wiped her hand off on her thigh, reaching for her sword that landed short by as well, and rose to her feet once more, feeling the warm runnels of blood flowing down her arm, almost sickening her. After wiping her brow, saturated in sweat and blood, she took her stance one more, seeing Slade was standing erect, holding his sword directly in front of his face, blade vertical, the blood from Raven's fresh wound still slowly running down the edge of it, the light glistening off of it.

"Will you look at that?" Slade hissed, "it seems to be your blood, I really should watch what I am doing, things may get a little...messy."

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven yelled out, raising an open hand to Slade but nothing happening.

"What's the matter, child? Your pathetic powers not working anymo-" he was cut short by a steel I-beam from the roof swinging and connecting hard with his chest sending him off his feet and into the wall that wasn't far away, rolling out of the way in time to avoid being crushed by the massive piece of steel. He quickly retrieved his katana, his vision refocusing on Raven, who had risen to her feet and begun to charge. Slade vaulted off the wall, his wounds starting to affect his abilites only a slight bit, barely noticable, but Raven knew, but she herself was feeling the same way. Slade skidded to a halt, waiting for Raven to attack, raising his blade to come down with all the strength he possesed. Raven reacted, going low as she slid in, slicing upwards, connecting with Slade's, but forcing his away, and leaving him vulnerable. She struck again in quick succession, her sword going into a lateral slice in the other direction, cleanly cutting across Slade's exposed midsection, the only area on his body not covered by armor or weapons. His eye widened with horror as he felt the burning sensation of extreme pain from Raven's last attack, dropping his blade, falling to his knees, Raven jumping backwards to avoid any kind of tricks, knowing that he wasn't finished yet. Slade covered the wound with his hands, retracting them to find blood, the material of his clothing ripped away as well, but it wasn't as horrific as he thought it to be. He saw that if she had went any deeper, it would have been the end of him, but he knew that luck wasn't a factor to rely on, especially at a time like this. He looked up from his wound to find Raven charging him once more, ready to finish him off for good, but he had other plans, dropping to one side, and tripping her with his own legs, giving him enough time to get his katana and rise once more. Raven fell to her hands and knees, jumping back up and continuing to watch Slade's every move.

"Quit stalling!" Raven exclaimed, knowing good and well that she had him.

"Do you actually think...that I would let...you..kill...me?" Slade managed, still holding his midsection with one hand, blood still visibly flowing from the wound underneath it.

"You might as well, you aren't going to last much longer in your current condition, so stop avoiding them inevetable, it is time for you to lie down for good, like you should have done many times over in the past" Raven informed, snapping her blade into position, ready to continue her attack.

Slade readied himself, knowing that the time was coming near, it was soon that only one of them would remain standing. They both lunged at one another simotaneously, blades ready to strike one another. They clashed, Raven quickly following up with another attack, bringing the razor-edge across Slade's right forearm, easily slicing the skin open. Slade continued as if nothing had happened, bringing his sword down swiftly across Raven's upper right shoulder, leaving a moderate gash from there to just below her collarbone. She flinched with pain, but continued, her sword finding its way to Slade's thigh, blood following the path of the blade as it exited his skin. Blow for blow, strike for strike, Raven matched Slade's attacks, he likewise, she attacked with such vigor, enough to get close enough, putting a deep, jagged etch down the bronzed side of his mask, the one containing his lone eye, almost completely blinding him, but he countered, slicing her right shoulder open in timely fashion. Both combatants backed off from one another, heaving, gasping for air. Both bore wounds from battle, both were in as serious condition as one another, almost evenly matched, but Raven knew she had one more trick up her sleeve, something that could permanently turn the tide in her favor. She held the blade out in front of her, putting her free hand around the blade, being carefull not to cut herself.

"Azarath...Metrion...Zinthos," Raven slowly and quietly stated, pulling the blade through her hand with precision, turning the metallic steel into a energetic black, her powers fusing to the weapon. Slade's eye opened with surprise and curiosity, seeing that she was coming up with something of her own, neither his teachings or her powers, but both combined.

"Any last words?" Raven quipped, seeing his concern in his eye, "the angel of death is calling for you, so why don't you just do as you should and answer that call, it makes life that much more simple if you do so."

"Come at me with everything then, Raven, if anyone were to defeat me, I would want it to be someone of the likes of you, but still, you aren't going to accomplish that task," Slade replied, blood still dripping from time to time from the openings in his mask, even beginning to flow out around the eyehole, making him a distrubing sight for anyone to see.

"As you wish," Raven said in a low, threatening voice, drawing the energy enflamed sword back, charging him.

She swung, missing, Slade dodging every attack, even one that came within a hair of his neck, even ripping the fabric upon it, but not breaking the skin. Slade retreated a short distance, bringing his sword up to block Raven's downward swing, but was mistaken. Instead of blocking as it should, Raven's energy-enhanced blade sliced cleanly through Slade's as a knife through hot butter, severing it into two pieces, the larger of the two sticking into the floor, the remaining piece still gripped tightly in his hand, a sharp point still existing. As it cut through his sword, it also came down with deadly precision, cutting through the armor upon his chest, digging deeply into his flesh, and not exiting until it was into his midsection. Slade, horrified, staggered backwards some ways, blood running from the extensive wound, looking up to find Raven drawn back yet again, ready to finish him off. Slade quickly reacted, taking the remaining bit of sword he had, and thrusted with all his might into Raven's right shoulder, the broken metallic piece piercing with ease, and exiting the back, stopping Raven dead in her tracks, shock upon her face, dropping to her knees. Slade hobbled over and managed to pick up Raven's sword as she lost her handle upon it after Slade ran her shoulder through. She sat there on her knees, gripping the sword handle, trying to remove it, but it was all the way through, causing her severe pain, tears running from her eyes, mixing with her wounds, making the sense of her crying crimson tears. He staggered over, snapping the blade up, stopping it right at Raven's chin, causing her to look up at him sharply. As he did so, he also noticed that were Raven had removed one of the I-beams from the roof, rock and other debris had started to crumble, making the area very unstable.

"So," he managed, forcing his voice through the immense pain, "now comes the endgame, you have fought quite valiantly, I will give you that, but you were no match for me to begin with."

"Finish me off, I don't want to hear your senseless drivel," Raven replied, gritting her teeth, still clutching the sword handle, blood running down her arm, dripping onto the floor.

"Why should I, especially when I can teach you your final lesson, Raven," he informed with a hiss, running the very tip of the katana around edge of Raven's face, letting out a quiet, sinister laugh.

"I swear to Azar you had better take the chance you have now, because if you don't, I will come back for you and I will kill you," Raven threatened, loosening the blade slightly, the blood flowing more profusely around it since she allowed for a larger hole for it to escape.

Slade sharply raised the sword above his head with one hand, the other behind his back.

"Remember this, Raven," he informed, his voice quivering somewhat from the pain he was in, "an eye for an eye, because, child, you and I are soo much alike, well, it is disturbing."

Before she could respond, she heard the sound of the sword cutting through the air before she saw it come down. In a split second, the blade came across her right eye, starting just above her eyebrow, cutting deeply into her face, and ending about the middle of her right cheeck, blood and gore erupting from the wound, following the path of the sword as it cut through. Raven let out a blood-curling scream, one the likes of no one had ever heard before from her, both hands flying up to cover her eye, blood gushing from the fresh cut. Slade only laughed, even throwing his head back in enjoyment in her pain, bringing the blade up yet again, this time was to end her life once and for all. Her head convulsed violently, then snapping straight upwards, both hands flailing outwards, blood dripping from them, the right side of her face covered in nothing but dark red, her right eye wasn't even visible.

"AZARATH, METRION, ZINTHOS!" She exclaimed at the top of her lungs, the area around her began to splinter, fissures developing in the marble floor, black, archaic energy erupting from her vessel, striking the roof as well as the walls, violently rumbling the entire underground area. Large pieces of concrete fell from the roof, hitting the floor around her. A shockwave erupted from her, stretching out in a circular shape, hitting everything in its path, destroying it. Slade was hit by it, lifted off his feet, and hit the ground, looking up, his eye widening, his pupil shrunk to almost nothing, watching a large slab of rock fall, too fast for him to evade. It crushed him, only his hand was visible from underneath the rubble, blood quickly pooling out from his crushed body. The place continued to cave in, larger and larger pieces falling, crashing to the ground, shattering. She looked up, falling to the floor from her levitating state in which she erupted with massive amounts of energy. No sooner than she attempted to lift her weakned state up, a slabe of concrete landed on her foot, easily crushing it. She cried out in pain, holding her leg, pullin at it, trying free it, but it was no use, she looked up, seeing more rubble from above falling, nearing her.

"So this is how it ends," Raven thought, watching the deadly debris come closer and closer, "at least I know Slade will harm no one any longer. If I die, he will go with me, I think he has a head start though. This seems like an eternity, but in truth, I know this is only a few seconds, the whole life before your eyes thing seems to be true to its word, too bad mine has been filled with horror and anguish. I do know one thing, one of the few things I am proud of, and that is my feelings for Garfield, especially since the feelings are mutual, if it weren't for him, well, I would have given up on life a long time ago."

No sooner than Raven made peace with herself, the rubble began to hit the marble floor, some pieces hitting her, one hitting her in the right side of her ribcage, breaking them, knocking the wind out of her. Before she could truely react, darkness consumed her, cold and unforgiving.

"Raven!" Beast Boy called out as the rubble continued to fall, the lighting going out, the air full of dust and debris, "Raven! Where are you? Raven!"

A large metallic hand grabbed his arm.

"Come on, man, we got to go," Cyborg informed, pulling at him.

"No, I'm not leaving without Raven," he boldly replied, attempting to get free of Cyborg's grasp.

"Don't be stupid, man, you and I both know if she hasn't come already, then," he stopped, both know what he was getting at.

"We need to at least look for her when it is clear," Beast Boy pleaded with him.

He nodded, tugging at him, telling him it was time to go. Cyborg and Beast Boy, along with the honorary Titans made a break for the elevator, dodging debris and rubble as it fell, knowing the place was coming down. The pushed past some of the few remaining robots, all deactivated from the complete power outage, all but one, 001, as he followed closely behind Cyborg. He noticed the robot out the corner of his eye, turning around, slidding to a halt, ready to fight. The robot stopped, holding up his hands, widening its artifical eye, attempting to show he was not hostile.

"Please, I do not wish to fight, I am an ally of Raven's, please," 001 stated, still holding his hands up.

Cyborg still aimed his Sonic Cannon at the machine, but Beast Boy stepped in front of him.

"Leave him be, he's with us, I know he is," Beast Boy stated.

"How can you trust him, he's just like the others," Cyborg pointed out.

"Think about it, Cy, " he continued to plea, "he is still online, the rest are offline, he actually hesitated to attack, he isn't like the others."

"Whatever," Cyborg replied, starting to run again, "I just want to get the hell outta here before this place caves in completely."

"I have to agree with you on that," 001 replied, following closely behind them.

Beast Boy glanced back, watching the roof beginning to fully collapse, a wave of grief coming over him, his common since telling him that Raven's chances of surviving were dwindling fast, and hope seemed to go with it as well. He broke his eye contact with the deteriorating facility, leaping into the elevator as the doors closed. He looked up, finding all the honorary Titans, weary and battered from combat with the robots, some more serious than others. Robin and Starfire had already went to the surface before the below ground area began to crumble.

"That could have went better," Argent commented, looking at some of her newly-made friends, some nodding in agreement, but others asking for her silence, knowing what had happened just by Cyborg and B.B.'s body language. Beast Boy turned to the robot, seeing his posture was unchanging.

"So what's your deal?" he finally asked, trying to take his mind off of Raven's possible outcome, the elevator shuddering as what seemed to be an explosion going off beneath them.

His eye locked onto B.B., turning his head to look easier.

"What do you mean?" 001 replied, confused, "I am nothing more than a machine."

"Right, seriously though, I could just tell that you were...well, different from the others, you seem to act on your own, do what you want, reguardless of what the others were told," Beast Boy stated.

"Raven helped me realize that I was able to do so, and if I know her the way I do, I am sure that she will turn up, but we must get to safety first, as your cybernetic friend stated, by the way, what is his name?"

Cyborg glanced over at the Slade-bot, still having his doubts.

"Oh, him?" B.B. pointed at him, "that's just Cyborg, hey, from what I hear, you and him are built based off the same plans, so that would make you almost related wouldn't it?"

"Not now, Beast Boy," Cyborg calmly ordered, still thinking of Raven, but knowing he meant it all in good nature, trying to lighten the mood somewhat.

"I see your humor, green one, but he is right, we must remain calm and mature at a time like this, because, as to you, Raven is my, well, friend as well, I know I am nothing more than a machine, but I view her in a similar way as you do."

"I know, I know," Beast Boy replied, "glad that you feel that way, or whatever you go about doing to get there, but as soon as the dust settles and it is safe to begin, we need to find Raven, I know she's down there still, and I know she is still alive, it takes something greater than this to..." he hesitated, unable to speak words, the words that seemed to be coming more and more of a reality with every passing second.