I just wanted to point out something about the last few chapters, and that is a few of you wanted to know why Ravager was hanging out in a pipe instead of Slade's secret lair. The Titans, with Jericho, had invaded the abandoned warehouse a while back, so the empty sewer pipe was their lair after that, until the Titans blew it to pieces. Anyway, I guess I might as well get on with writing the story.

-T-

The light was overly bright when Ravager opened her eyes, and she closed them again quickly to avoid the discomfort, swaying her head back and forth on something soft as a wave of pain hit her. She forced her eyes open again and discovered that she was staring at a white ceiling with bright fluorescent lights built in. She ran a hand along whatever she was laying on and felt soft fabric, like a cot or a bed of some sort. She was able to focus a little better and saw that she was in a small room with two white walls that she could see, one in front of her and one to the left. She couldn't see what was behind her. She turned her head to the right and sucked in a breath when she realized that the other wall was just a line of bars. She was in jail! But how? She woke with a start and sat up.

"It's about time you figured out where you are," a female voice said. Ravager just now noticed that there was another bed in the cell, across from her, and a skinny girl with blonde hair in a ponytail was sitting on it with a dull look on her face.

Ravager quickly put a hand to her face and let out a small sigh of relief. Her mask was still on. She knew her face had to be covered with blood and bruises underneath, in token that the Titans had not been standing around idle. She wanted to ask the girl how long she had been asleep, but she only glared at the blonde with distrust. How could she have messed up enough to where not only the Titans defeated her, but shipped her off to jail in her unconsciousness? What a disappointment she had to be to Slade. All of her training and trust that she had shared with her father, and now she had practically ruined it.

"Are you okay? You look kind of wounded," the girl said.

Was she okay? What a stupid question. Nearly every part of her body hurt, but she just gritted her teeth a let herself bear it. That was another way she had been trained over the years. You had to feel the pain, but not let it get in the way of battle. It wasn't always easy, but that was her life.

"So," the girl continued, seeing that it was obvious her new cell make wasn't going to asnwer her last question, "who are you? I've never seen you in here before."

Ravager licked her dry lips. "You don't know?" The girl shook her head. Ravager ran her hands along her belt and was not surprised to find that all of her weapons were gone. "I'm Ravager."

The girl blinked. The name obviously didn't ring a bell. "Really. Well, I'm Samantha. Call me Sam." She reached out a hand, which Ravager just ignored. After a few seconds of silence, Sam crossed her arms and leaned her back against the wall. "So, am I supposed to recognize you or something?"

Ravager pondered the question for a moment. Not many people would know who Slade was at first or even second glance. He always made his moves in the dark, or when no one was looking. Best to follow after her role model. "I guess not."

As if she had read Ravager's mind a few moments ago, Sam said, "You've been here for about two hours, asleep the whole time." Her eyes traveled from Ravager's mask and over her tight body-suit, examining the rips and tears in the costume and flesh. "What happened to you?"

"None of your business."

"It looks like you got in a fight with a buzzsaw."

Ravager glared. "Maybe I did. What's it to you?"

Sam shrugged.

Ravager swung her legs over the side of the cot and touched the floor gently. It was no surprise that everything was hurting. The dark Titan, Raven, was the one who had especially dished out the beatings, and it seemed as if the rest of the team was just following her. It was almost like Raven had been the leader of the Titans there for a few minutes.

"Well, I've got to get out of here," Ravager said impatienly.

"Get out? You've already had some medical treatment. You aren't-"

"Did they take off my mask at any point?" Ravager demanded, throwing her sharp glare over at Sam, who stuttered.

"I- I don't know. How would-"

"Just tell me if they did or if they didn't! I know you saw."

"Not that I know of. And besides, why does it matter? You're really strange, you know."

"I didn't claim to be anything else," Ravager barked. She extended her arm. "Help me up."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "I'm not here to cater to all of your needs."

Ravager was infuriated. This girl had no respect for her! True, she didn't even know who Ravager was, but she would learn soon enough. "Let's get this straight, princess. As long as I'm in here, which isn't going to be for long, we go by what I say, go it?"

"Woah, I don't think so. "The girl held up a hand.

"I'm not going to be here for long," Ravager repeated. "But if I need help at any time, I expect that you'll do it."

"Since when have I become your slave? And what's with the mask? Are you some kind of supervillain or something?" Sam said sarcastically.

Ravager smirked, her eyes narrowing. You don't know how close you are. "I think you'll find good reason to do what I say."

Sam crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows with a challenge. Ravager sighed. It was time to get rough. In the flash of one swift motion, she siezed the girl by one wrist, kicked her in the stomach to subdue her, and flipped her over onto her face on the tile floor. Twisting Sam's arms upward behind her back, Ravager let one knee fall hard between her victim's shoulder blades. The entire movement had been so quick that Sam had no time to react even if she had tried.

"You don't know who you're dealing with," Ravager said coldly. Sam panted beneath her and made an attempt to double over, but she was pinned tight to the floor. "Now, are you going to cooperate with me or make this difficult?"

Sam moaned a little. "I guess I'll help you."

"I thought so." Ravager released her cellmate and stood up. "We're not going to be friends, but I might help you if you help me, if I feel like it."

Sam sat up and held her stomach, cringing painfully. "You've got a pretty swift kick there. Do you take karate or something?"

What a stupid question with an obvious answer. Ravager grinned evilly at the other girl. "As long as I'm here, it lookes like we have a few things to learn about each other. Now tell me how tight the security is in this place."

-T- 1 month later

"Hey dude, are you gonna wake up anytime today? It's almost noon!" Beast Boy beat his fist on the heavy door impatiently.

Inside the room, Jericho opened his eyes and found that he was lying in an unusually soft bed and facing a large window. He squinted in the light, confused and disoriented. For a moment or so he couldn't remember where he was until his eyes slowly adjusted to the bright light enough to where he could see. He focused around on his surroundings, expecting to see the cramped room of the hospital, but was relieved to discover that he was in his room in Titans Tower. What a relief. That hospital had been starting to give him cabin fever.

He stretched slowly, careful not to strain a tender muscle or hurt his ribs again. Most of his injuries had healed, save for a few scratches and bruises. He pulled the thick covers down and sat up, running a hand through his hair. He had been out of the hospital for awhile now, but he had grown accustomed to waking up in the morning and seeing the small recovery room.

Raven had been to see him a few days after he had been wounded by the bomb explosion, and she had tried her best to heal him as much as she possibly could. It sped up his recovery, but most of his injuries were healing independently. Jericho still felt tender and fragile, even now. He had to be very careful with what he did or the moves he made, so when the Titans were called out into the city for a danger call, he was usually left behind to sit around the tower by himself until they came back. He didn't like feeling useless, and had recently insisted on joining them the next time they were called out. Robin had refused to let him. "If you're going to stay with us, we're somewhat responsible for your health", he had said.

Now Jericho got out of bed stiffly, supporting himself on the nighttable beside the bed. He figured this was sort of what it felt like to be an old man. He changed clothes slowly. Robin had told him not to rush himself in anything until he was completely well. As slow as it was going, Jericho didn't feel like he would ever be well again. After brushing his hair with a comb, he headed out into the hall so Beast Boy would stop prodding him to get up.

"So you finally decided to wake up," Beast Boy teased. "I was starting to wonder if you were okay."

Jericho nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay," he signed. "Just a little sore, though."

"Well of course you are, you're still wounded. By the way, Robin wants to see you in the kitchen."

Jericho walked down the hall. The sound of his footsteps echoed unevenly, in token of the limp in his sprained ankle. No amount of ice on it had seemed to help, and they had been back to the doctor about it, though all he did was give Jericho more pain medicine. The gentle teenager spent most of his time groggy from medication, and he was starting to build an immunity to the pills. He guessed he would just have to live in pain for awhile, but he refused to complain about it.

When he finally reached the kitchen, he met Raven's sympathetic look from the chair where she sat, her arms crossed and resting on the table in front of her. He smiled at her, but the gaze they held was interrupted by Robin saying Jericho's name, who turned to face his friend.

Robin's expression was serious. That wasn't unusual, but something seemed to be different, like the other boy knew something that obviously wasn't good. He extended his hand, which held a white envelope between the fingers. "This came for you in the mail," he said plainly.

Jericho, confused at the grim looks he was getting, took the envelope and turned it around to read the addresses. His real name was not on the front of it, but his alias and the address of Titans Tower. He glanced up at Robin again, who just looked back. What was the big deal about this envelope? It was probably a letter from his mother to check up on how he was doing.

He slid his finger beneath the paper to break the seal, but something with the writing caught his eye. The return address. It didn't say much, just one word.

Jackal.

-T-

A chill ran through Jericho's body. The name alone made him run a finger over the scar on his throat. That man. That reason he didn't have a voice today.

At the table, Raven looked like she wanted to come over and put a supporting hand on his shoulder, but that was out of character for her. Robin still stood ramrod straight beside Jericho. How did they know that this letter was something bad? Did they know who Jackal was, like they had past experiences with him?

Jericho forced himself to move and opened the envelope with great caution. There was no telling what could be inside. But when he looked, there was only a single piece of paper. He slid it out and unfolded it slowly, ready to drop the paper cover his head for anything that could fall out or be thrown at him. But there was nothing, just a short letter with limited words.

I'm sure you know who I am. It's been a long time, but let's get to the point. Bring your father to me; we have some unfinished business to take care of. You have something I want, as do I you. Don't delay. You know where I'll be found. -Jackal

Grant's face suddenly flashed in Jericho's mind. He quickly folded the letter back up before anyone saw the words. He looked at Robin and signed, "How did you know this was bad news before I even opened it?"

Robin looked at Raven, as if to tell her to take the floor. She did. "Jericho, I'm a telekinetic. But sometimes I see things, like visions of the future, or the past. That's kind of what happened with you."

"You saw my past?" His heart started pounding. What if she had seen too much? What if she knew who his father was?

"A glimpse of it, yes. So I know who this Jackal man is and what he did to you." Her eyes softened. "I'm sorry."

Jericho looked down at the paper in his hands. Maybe it would be better to just tell them. If his suspiciouns were right and Jackal had somehow managed to get a hold of Grant, which in itself would be a hard and dangerous job, he was going to need help. But he couldn't be sure about anything right now, and he especially did not want to bring Slade with him when he went anywhere.

Jericho had to go after Jackal for the sake of Grant. For his brother's safety, he had to at least chance the fact that

Grant was what Jackal had referred to as something Jericho wanted. It had to be done.

"If there's any action that needs to be taken, we're going to help you," Robin said. The serious air about him had not changed in the last few minutes. He seemed to be all business, just the way Jericho felt- minus the confusion in the latter.

Jericho nodded his thanks. Raven stood from the table and motioned for him to follow her into the other room, which he did. Jericho had gotten to trust Raven even more over the past month. She acted differently toward him than she did to everyone else; she was almost nice with Jericho. She deserved to know things and trust him the way he trusted her. So no secrets. He planned on eventually informing her of the crush he had on her, as hard as that would be, but right now she needed to know other things.

"Are you okay?" Raven asked. Jericho nodded and handed her the letter. She shook her head at first, holding up her hand to stop him. "It's not right for me to read your mail, you know." When Jericho insisted with a thrust of his hand, she took it from him in her thin fingers and unfolded it slowly. Her violet eyes scanned over the words, then met his gaze. "What does it mean?"

"That's what I want you to know," Jericho signed. "I have a few things to tell you."

"You don't have to tell me anything you don't want to."

Jericho shook his head. "You need to know. Raven... this man Jackal had me as a hostage because he wanted something from my father, who thought he could move fast enough to save me. Which he did I guess." He touched the scar on his throat again.

"He didn't move fast enough to save your voice," Raven said. She wasn't accusing or downing anyone, just pointing out a fact with a slight sympathy.

"Exactly. But the important thing I want to tell you is, well..." Jericho didn't know where to start. How did he just tell someone this, especially Raven? He felt embarrassed and shy around her anyway, and this was nearly torture. What if he told her and she never wanted to have anything to do with him again? He swallowed repeatedly, struggling to wet his dry mouth and throat and failing miserably. He glanced back at Raven, who stared at him patiently.

Her look said, "tell me whenever you're ready". He would never feel ready- he was putting a lot at risk to tell her this. But he had to tell.

His hands felt heavy as he lifted them to sign. "It's... it's about Slade. He's... well-" -he paused and sighed before continuing- "Raven, I can't walk out of here without telling you this. He's... he's my father. Slade is my father."

-T-

There, he said it. Took long enough, I know, but I didn't want any rushing going on. Review, please, and get ready for the big showdown that's coming in the next chapter, which will probably be my last. This is the kind of story that sort of had a mind of its own, like I knew where I wanted it to go at first but it went in its own direction. Still came out all right though, don't you think? I just want to thank everybody in advance who's R&Rd, especially Kaiser. Great reviews and tips coming from his direction. Big thanks to everybody else too. So, I'll be waiting for your all's reviews. )