Disclaimer: Kenneth (the name) is mine; "The Girl" (a character) is mine, the Teen Titans and the series characters? Not mines.

A/N: Wooow I love you guys too … sorry for the long wait, this time it wasn't just school, but it was the frickin' internet connection again … sigh … well, I'll stop talking now, Malchior! Rorek! Raven! X! Get up its show time!

X: I don't –

Me: You are not going to start with me tonight!

X: Geez, touché, fine be that way.

Rorek: (sighs and pushes X into position) Let's just get this over with. (bumps into someone) Oh, excuse me miss, I have to get on stage.

Girl: Oh, sorry, wasn't looking, my fault. See you on set!

Rorek: Yes see you … what?

Me: Places everyone! Places! Lights! (Francesca flips on the lights) Camera! (Francesca jumps off deck and swings herself onto the camera and holds a "paws" up)

Francesca: Mew!

Me: ACTION!

X: (sneers) Take it easy Steven King we got this.

Malchior: I thought it was Steven Spielberg?

X: Whatever!

Me: Quiet on the damn set! Could someone throw me an aspirin! I'm getting a headache … ugh … finals suck. Please enjoy the story though, ah, my head.

Francesca: Mew?

--

Just Asking For Trouble

"Kenneth …" Raven sighed tiredly as she landed on the pavement of the parking lot with Starfire next to her. The thief upon a very familiar red R-Cycle dismounted all the while grinning and nodding his head in sneaky satisfaction, "… Kenneth … why? Why do you do the things you do? I could have just taken you across the bay!"

"No thank you girl," Kenneth chuckled and tossed the keys up and down in his palm before stuffing it in his jacket pocket and winking at the sorceress, "It's just too much fun casing trouble … plus after the dragon flight with Malchior over there – " he jerked a thumb to Malchior that folded his wings over his shoulder in a cloak like formation with Rorek dusting himself off next to him, "– I vowed to always keep my feet on the damn ground, how I was born and how I'll die thank you very much."

Raven gritted her teeth, "But did that require for you to steal Robin's cycle?"

Kenneth snorted, "Feh, I'm just borrowing it as far as I'm concerned, I'll return it once the day's through no sweat … so where the hell's the cute little alien?"

"It's Starfire … and she's inside waiting," Raven answered exasperatedly and led the way to the large structure that could very well compete with Mall of America. It was that big, maybe the reason why Starfire loved the place; big enough to hold almost everything, yet small enough to be considered homey.

Rorek gazed upon the large structure with much curiosity, following after Raven and Kenneth the wizard stated mostly to himself, but aloud, "Very interesting indeed … I've never been in this Mall before … it should prove entertaining I suppose."

Kenneth chuckled and looked over his shoulder, "Trust me Keone, this place will be more then just "entertaining", it'll be a frickin' blast if you play your cards right. Like, this one time, I got caught shoplifting right?" the thief started off his tale with such enthusiasm that Raven almost expected him to start jumping around to reenact his past. The mystics all ignoring the fact that he had used Rorek's middle name as he continued, " … and I forgot that the security guard on duty wasn't the fat old man that I could easily out run. So when I ran out of the store I was cornered by these two real fit, real lean guys, right? Anyway! I was like: "Oh, shit! What the hell am I gonna' do now?" you know what I did? I bum rushed the bastards and slid right under one of the guys then took off down into the mall and ducked down into some kind of bookstore after they chased me all over that damn place and waited it out. That, lady and gentlemen would be the first time this infamous world renown thief would have almost been caught."

Malchior chuckled, "Sounds fun, so what was it that you stole?"

The reminiscing thief shrugged, "Just a loaded Paintball Gun on display. I still got it to over at Pleasure Lamp, Ricky's holding it for me."

"Ricky?" Rorek raised a brow, "You mean Ricky Fernando? That's the one you say you're connected to? He works at Pleasure Lamp?"

"Nah," Kenneth scoffed, "I OWN Pleasure Lamp he just covers for me when I need time to get out."

"Pleasure Lamp …" Raven pulled away from the thief and eyed him wearily, "sounds … how do I say it without offence … trashy."

Rorek chuckled, "If that's none offensive I hate to see your definition of straight given point."

"I try to be nice," Raven sneered sarcastically.

Kenneth shook his head, "Pleasure Lamp, my dear cousin is a 21 and over club that I ripped off a guy in a card game. He was playing dirty, but I threw shit right back in his face. Ricky's just a guy I saved off the street and he has it in his head that we were "destined to be"."

The dragon stopped and glared at Kenneth, "Are you trying to say he's –"

"Gay? Yeah," the thief shrugged, "but what can you do?"

Malchior cringed, "How can you live with that?"

"What?" Kenneth eyed the dragon defensively, "Gay guys are people to, not that I like them very much, but I don't hate them either. They're just … there."

Rorek sighed nervously already feeling a sweat-drop forming over his head, "Let's just drop the subject already. So Ricky's gay and works for Kenneth who's only 17 and owns a 21 and over club called Pleasure Lamp, nothing out of the ordinary there. Now where's Starfire? We've already entered this large structure, I thought Raven said we'd meet her inside."

The sudden change in subject made Kenneth and Malchior's head spin, especially when Raven went with the wizard and acted as if their conversation was never brought up. The thief and the dragon glanced at one another and shrugged, deciding that it was worthless to bring back an abruptly killed subject. Raven looked around the mall trying to spot a redheaded alien with orange skin, but it was hard to when there was just so many people around. It was a Saturday, so of course there was going to be a lot of people.

To her left Kenneth was looking around most of the stores and sneered, "I'm hungry … who's with me?"

Rorek sighed, "Well, since this morning I am sort of lacking in nutrition. So I guess I'm with you."

Malchior scoffed, "I'm getting sick of human food, I'll pass."

Raven raised a brow and looked at Kenneth suspiciously, "Do you even have any money for anything in here?"

The thief opened his mouth to answer, but "accidentally" ran into a woman, "Oh, damn, sorry." The woman shook her head, and waved her hand not even turning to get a good look at Kenneth she kept on walking. Obviously her mind was set on something else, Kenneth watched her and looked to Raven, "What was the question?"

Raven narrowed her gaze on the thief, "I asked if you had money?"

He smirked and shrugged, "No problem, come on Rorek, you comin' with Rae?"

"It's Raven," Raven growled, "and no, I'm not hungry, so once you're done stay with Rorek, and Rorek once you guys are done. Come and find me."

Rorek smiled, "You need not doubt my efforts to drag Kenneth with me Miss Raven. Have a good day – Ah!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, see ya later, come on man, let's go, I'm starved," Rorek corrected his backward stumble in order to keep up with the speedy thief. Briskly and cleverly maneuvering though the crowds Kenneth lead him to the food court, taking turns and weaving side to side. Rorek didn't know that it would be this hard to even get around a mall! Unsure of how far Kenneth had taken him Rorek stopped when he felt a flutter of something strange … something … not quite fitting in such a happy place. Pulling away from Kenneth and stopping dead in his tracks to sense and feel out the odd aura that hovered over the particular area he was in.

Rorek cringed when a small pain shot at his right shoulder, gasping, but never screaming the wizard ducked down and held his arm. Only to bit down on his lower lip when the pain shot up once more as he touched the wound, pulling his hand away to see the damage, Rorek gritted his teeth when he saw his hand covered in blood. Damn it all! I've been shot … how – Kenneth!

The oblivious thief halted his progression, sensing that he had lost the wizard turned and looked amongst the crowd, "Rorek?"

No where in sight, Kenneth began to walk back the way he came pushing away the crowd of people he called out to him once more, "Rorek! Hey man, this ain't funny, where the hel – Ahfmmm-mmm!"

"SHHH!" Rorek commanded, his good arm wrapped around the thief's head and hand resting on his mouth to shut him up, Rorek dragged him back into a random shop hissing within Kenneth's ear, "We're being followed."

"Hmmmph?" still unable to speak looked around trying to see what Rorek was seeing, but couldn't for his life as Rorek threw the both of them into a store and ducked them down behind a shelf of … Kenneth took the time to notice that it was books. They were in a bookstore! Familiar too … in fact … it was exactly the same one that he had ducked into when he was kid. Irony … the thief sang in his head as Rorek let him go, "Who's after us man?"

"I don't know …" Rorek peeked in between a few books to the outside, only to lean back and cover the hole when he spotted a suspicious looking man peering into the same shop considerably, "… but I think it has something to do with Slade. Ah!"

Rorek doubled over a bit and clutched his shoulder, Kenneth saw on the shelf a blood smear and realized the seriousness of the situation, "Shit man, Slade? Slade's doing this? I thought you said he'd kill you if you didn't see him tomorrow night! Why's he going after you know?"

"I never said it was Slade himself," Rorek growled, and hissed, "I said it probably has something to do with him. Ah … we need to find Raven and Malchior fast, whoever shot me probably knows I'm with them."

"Wouldn't Malchior already know you're in trouble? You two got that heart thing going right?"

"This was just a scrap, the worse Malchior will feel is a pinch since he's just a dragon and the core of our shared half. He might not even feel anything at all, it's an on and off thing I guess you can say," Rorek leaned back on the shelf and bared with the pain, sighing and turning to look through the books in order to spot anymore danger. Kenneth peeked as well, but yelped to himself when he felt something moving in his hood.

"Ah-hey! What the – "

Rorek turned his attention to the thief, eyeing him strangely as he tried to reach up over his head to his back, twisting his arms at odd angles as if to the satisfy a strong itch, "Is there something the matter?"

"Something – ah! So-something's in my hood!" he blurted, but just as he did that "something" popped up and onto the ground, mewing pleasantly with a large smile in her big brown eyes. Kenneth growled, "Francesca! What the hell are you doing here?"

"Mew meow mew masmer mewevmer heh moes!"

("I follow my master wherever he goes!")

"Not gonna ask," Kenneth bent over and snatched up the little white nightstalker, "but you shouldn't even be here!"

"Hello? Is anybody there?" Kenneth gasped and jumped back when a soft voice came up from behind him, Francesca fell to the ground on her feet mewing in annoyance that her master had dropped her. Rorek cursed in his head at his condition when a young girl Raven's age peered around the shelves of books and noticed she had customers. A hand to her heart she smiled nervously and shyly, "Oh … um … hello, how do you do – I mean – um … how may I help you?"

Rorek held his breath when his sights rested upon the girl … she seemed rather familiar, but he was certain that he had never in his life ever seen her before. Maybe she had one of those familiar faces or something … but it felt like he should know her … somehow. Long braided dark midnight blue hair, with large clutches of tendrils resting on her shoulders, bangs that covered over her left eye, leaving her right exposed as a beautiful sparkling sapphire orb. Narrowed with a strange slit, at the corner of her eyes were an elaborate designed tattoos curling in various directions. Her face was small and cute … in fact … she was just cute in general.

Though her voice, her stance, and aura told Rorek to watch out.

There was something hidden behind her precious smile.

Even for a thief with his elfin blood bred out of his system, Kenneth felt there was something wrong with her. All his life he was taught to trust his instincts and never let his guard down. So far the lessons paid off, could he be wrong about the girl? He didn't think so and glared, "Yeah, you can go mosey on back to your post at the cash register, we can take care of ourselves."

"Are you sure?" she asked curiously and looked down at Francesca, smiling she knelt to her little white nightstalker, "Ooooo! She's so adorable! Please … permit me to hold her, she's so precious …"

"Uh … I don't think that's such a good idea …" Kenneth held his breathe when she defiantly reached for the nightstalker anyway and picked Francesca up. Holding her as if she were a human baby, the girl giggled and looked up at Kenneth when Francesca reached out and tried to swat her tendrils away.

"What is her name?"

Kenneth glared at the girl, "Francesca, now put her down and leave us alone lady."

She blushed and set Francesca down, "Forgive me … I didn't mean to be so out of order, I'll – are you hurt?"

"No," Kenneth backed Rorek up when he saw her sapphire eyes widen at Rorek when the wizard shuttered from the pain in his shoulder, "go away chick, I won't say it again."

"Bu-but … you're friend … he's in need of assistance, do you want me to call the –"

"I said no! What are you deaf?" The girl shrank back at Kenneth's retort, and bowed her head submissively, turning her back to leave. Kenneth snorted, "Silly girl, can't take a damn hint." Looking back over to Rorek, the wizard glared at the thief and shook his head disapprovingly.

"You didn't have to be so rude, she was only trying to he –"

"LOOK OUT!" Kenneth grunted when the girl came back, but this time, pushed him towards Rorek, the three went tumbling down to the ground just in time to dodge a spinning disk that the zipped passed their heads impaling itself into one of the books and dropping to the ground. Kenneth sat up, seeing the thing he gasped, A detonator! Scrambling to his feet and snatching the book with the disk stabbed within it.

The rapid beeping told him his time was about to run out, throwing the book high within the air of the three story mall he got down when the book erupted and everyone screamed in panic when the bomb went off. Malchior and Raven already on the far side of The Mall stopped to turn when they felt/heard/sensed the chaotic bomb explode. Looking up at one another, Raven turned around and flew towards the chaos already knowing that Starfire and the Titans would be there to check it out. Malchior followed on foot, "What do you suppose the disturbance is?"

Raven heard Malchior question within her head and she shook it with a shrug, "Not quite sure … but I feel malicious intent, not greed so we can rule out the Hive and all the other silly villains …"

"So would that not leave Slade?"

The sorceress slowed and landed next to Malchior at the scene of the crime, she sighed and bit down on her lower lip, "Let's hope not."

--

"We must get out of here," the girl informed desperately, gripping Rorek's unharmed shoulder and pulling him to the back of the shop, "obviously people wish you for dead. What be your friend's name? Call him to us! Quick!"

"Wha – hold on – wait! Kenneth!" As the girl continued to drag Rorek as he tried to call back to the thief in the mists of all the smoke.

Kenneth turned around when he heard his name called and found Rorek missing. "Rorek!"

"Kenneth! The girl! Get to the back! Quickly!"

Kenneth gritted, "Fucking girl, who the – Francesca! Let's go!"

The nightstalker backed up when Kenneth ran passed her then took off after her master jumping up upon the shelves of books and piles to keep up quite easily, but yelped when a stack was too weak to hold up her small form. Falling to the ground, Francesca called out to her master, but he was long gone and she was trapped under the heavy books. No! Master! Ah! Stupid books! Retracting her claws she scrapped one off her then dug herself out to the surface. Huffing and panting the poor nightstalker hissed when she smelt danger.

An enemy, familiar in scent she bared her fangs in warning when a bunch of odd drone like creatures walked passed her. Metal with not a soul to be had she backed up and glared at the odd silver, black, and orange things that marched on towards her master's direction without noticing her.

--

Malchior glared at the ground and tilted his head so his ear could pick up an odd sound. He could have sworn he heard Rorek and Kenneth … but … the chaos all around was too loud for him to tell precisely where it was coming from. Distracted from his concentration, Malchior grabbed Raven and pulled her away from a danger when a sharp disk sliced through the smoke of the explosion and nearly took off her head. Raven followed the disk and recognized the symbol, "Slade."

"TITANS! GO!"

Malchior frowned, "Robin."

The dragon and the sorceress looked at one another unsurely then charged into the smoke in order to help with whatever issue was to be had. Slade had finally decided to show himself … but what Raven was unsure of was the style … it wasn't like Slade to attack a mall or go against his own commands. Something seemed … rather … off about the whole thing.

Raven halted in her flight and powered up, bringing her hands high into the air she screamed, "Azarath! Metrion! ZINTHOUS!" grasping the smoke she had it vanish to even out the playing field. Nearly plucked from her perch when a Slade Bot jumped up with a staff to slam her down. She erected a barrier to block, then shaped the barrier into a raven claw and squeezed the circuits out of the robot. Taking the parts and flinging them at various other robots, especially those that snuck up behind Robin.

Her leader looked back feeling something happening too close for comfort behind him, up to Raven he nodded, "Thanks Rae!"

"Thank me when it's over!" Raven shouted back and picked up a bench about to throw it, but stopped it in mid-air when Malchior jumped over the last bot Beast Boy was taking care of and slaughtered it.

The dragon snorted, "Now it's over. Such an annoyance."

BOOM! All heads turned up to see the their next challenge, but all they saw was Starfire's glowing form throwing countless starbolts at a missed robot whom was aiming at Robin. Literally annihilating the problem she looked down from the second floor to find her friends. Spotting them staring at her in wonder she smiled and waved glad that everyone was okay, "Friends! I have been worried about your whereabouts! Tell me, where had the Slade Robots come from?"

Cyborg shook his head, "I don't know Star, but we're going to find out. I saw a few of them go into that store and no other. Robin?"

"You heard him," Robin scowled, "follow the lead. Titans! Go!"

Malchior glanced to Raven, "Do you ever get tired of that?"

Raven growled, "Not now Malchior." Taking to the air she followed after her leader and the rest of her team thinking to herself, Slade … but I thought Rorek said he wanted to see him tomorrow night? This isn't like Slade to go against his word … well, not out right, and if he wanted Rorek dead anyway he could have done it in secret … why public? Why make a scene?

--

(sighs tiredly) I just can't continue with it. Not the story, just the chapter … I'm tired … night … (falls asleep on her keyboard after clicking the submit button)