A dark hemisphere rose from the ground, its telltale hum only heard by a single lizard perched on a nearby rock, which scurried away as the eldritch energy permeated the air. As soon as the hemisphere dissipated Raven quickly hid in a nearby group of boulders. She searched for a good spot from which to spy and when she found one she unpacked the scope Cyborg gave her, which looked like a metal box with several lenses on it, and unfolding the short tripod that came with it she mounted it on one of the rocks and turned it on. An LCD display lit up and she could see the top of the mesa that was over two miles away, and it quickly came into focus. The plateau appeared to be empty and when she reached out with her senses she felt Slade's presence. He was already there, hidden somewhere.

She continued to watch and saw Garfield, still in his avian form, descend from the sky and transform into his default human form. A small parabolic dish popped out of the scope and the sound of servos whirring was heard as the dish slowly moved, until it found its target. She put on a headphone set and after turning a volume knob found that she could hear with perfect clarity what was happening on the distant mesa. She knew better than to enable the comm downlink to the tower, as that might expose her presence, and instead turned on the recorder, knowing that Dick would want to review it later. She focused with the intensity of a laser; she didn't want to miss any detail on what was happening.

Beast Boy began to wander around the mesa. "OK Slade, I'm here. Let's get this over with."

Slade emerged from a group of boulders. "Good morning, Logan. Are you ready for your lesson today?"

"And what would that be?"

"Humility. You've been in the limelight a great deal lately, with your vaccination discoveries, but that is in the past. Today I'm going to teach what a mediocre superhero you have become. You've gone soft, Logan. Whatever happened to that ropey young kid? He's been replaced by a desk jockey. You're so out of shape that you couldn't possibly finish one of Robin's old obstacle courses."

Beast Boy's eyes narrowed. "I'm in better shape than you think."

"Oh, that's precious, that must be why my Rose was able to hand your posterior to you on a platter … how does that make you feel, Logan? To have a girl beat the stuffing out of you while your wife watched."

"You did something to her, she isn't normal. Even Nightwing struggled with her."

"Ah yes, Nightwing: The Alpha male of the Titans."

"What are you talking about?" Beast Boy hissed.

"Tell me, who rescued Raven from Trigon's pit?"

The changeling glared. "We both know it was Robin. What's your point?"

"My point, boy, is that Raven knows who the real man is in the group. And while she settled for you, we both know she really wanted him."

"That's not true." Raven muttered under her breath; knowing they couldn't hear her. "Gar, you know that's not true."

"You're full of crap." The changeling replied.

"You tell him." Raven added.

"So why did Robin rescue her, and not you?"

Raven held her breath, waiting to hear his response.

"He was the right guy for the job." He answered in a dejected tone.

"In other words, he was the Alpha, and you were the Beta. He gave her to you; she was little more than sloppy seconds as far as he was concerned."

Raven bristled, struggling to contain her fury. How dare Slade throw an accusation like that?

"He's never touched her, Slade. She never was his, she's only been mine."

"Do you really believe that?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good, there is hope for you. When I'm done with you, you'll be an Alpha."

"I don't need anything from you."

"That's my Gar." Raven whispered to herself as a small smile appeared on her face.

Slade paced around for a moment, silently. He suddenly stopped and adopted a fighting stance.

"Then prove it, boy. Show me what you got."

"No, I won't; as Raven would say, this is pointless. I won't spar with you. You aren't my teacher or my master … and I'm not a boy, I'm a man."

"I presume Raven told you that."

"Yes, she did … a long time ago. It just goes to show how little you really know about us."

"So … you are a man. Then why aren't you defending your woman's honor? Are you just going to stand there while I remind you that Raven is nothing more than a demoness and a whore?"

Raven saw her husband's jaw tremble.

"Like I already said, this is pointless; I'm not going to fight you. If you aren't going the train me, then I'm leaving."

"You will fight me … or you will die!" Slade shouted as he opened his attack with a spinning heel kick. Beast Boy ducked and it flew over his head. Slade continued with his spinning momentum and hit the changeling with a spinning round house kick. The older man outweighed Beast Boy by at least a factor of two, if not more, and sent the small green man tumbling, even thought Garfield managed to block the kick, which was aimed at his head, with both his arms. To his credit he got back onto his feet with a single move and his hands went into a fighting pose, one hand over his solar plexus, the other raised to protect his face.

"OK, Slade … you want a fight … you got one."

Beast Boy lunged at Slade. The two exchanged a series of kicks and strikes, which were successfully blocked by both. Slade dropped and swept the changeling off his feet with a kick and jumped on him, pinning him to the ground.

"You need to do a better job of anticipating a change in tactics by your opponent!" Slade howled at him before leaping back to an upright position. "On your feet, Logan! We aren't close to being done."

Raven saw her husband bare his fangs as he quickly rose to his feet.

"Gar, stay in control, don't let him get to you." Raven muttered sotto voce as she continued to watch from her hiding place.

Beast Boy attacked Slade with a vehemence and velocity that surprised the older man, who was barely able to parry his attacks. Raven continued to watch, her entire body tense with apprehension. Garfield was able to connect a kick to Slade's head, and knocked his mask away, revealing for the first time ever what his face looked like.

His hair was short and was platinum blonde, and he had a platinum goatee on his face to match it. He also had an eye patch covering his missing eye. An angry snarl appeared on his face while Beast Boy smirked.

"So who's the Alpha, Slade?" The changeling taunted him.

"Gar, don't be stupid." Raven spoke to the screen.

Unfortunately, being that she was almost 2 miles away, there was no way he could hear her. Feeling emboldened, he launched another attack. This time Slade, his face still uncovered, easily parried Beast Boy's jabs and kicks. Garfield kicked with even greater ferocity, and jumped in the air, hoping to deliver a devastating spinning round house kick.

Time slowed down for the changeling as soon as he jumped into the air. The kick was perfect, truly flawless, he felt elated when it connected with Slade's ribs and a smile appeared on his face. His victory was short lived however, as Slade lowered his arm and trapped his leg before it snapped back. Beast Boy landed on his other foot, and his face expressed that he fully understood the precariousness of his now indefensible situation. Still holding his trapped leg, Slade kicked him three times in the groin, with rapid fire snap kicks. The changeling howled in pain and his standing leg collapsed. Slade released him and Beast Boy fell to the ground, writhing in agony, defenseless while Slade's huge and imposing figure stood menacingly over him.

Miles away in her hiding spot Raven leaped to her feet, her face smothered in anguish.

"Slade!" Was the only word that came out of her mouth. Without thinking, she conjured a portal and was about to step into it when she felt the icy presence of cold steel pressed against her neck. She felt a small trickle of blood slide down her neck as the razor sharp blade broke her gray skin.

"No sudden moves, witch … we knew you were here watching the whole time."

Ravager had a katana in each hand, and she struck the scope with the other sword, slicing it in half. The wounded device began to spark and sizzle as it went through its death throes, until it fell silent.

"Oh what a shame, I broke your pretty toy."

A blast of dark energy, which seemed to come out of nowhere, slammed into Rose, while a black shield appeared around her neck, protecting it from the blade. Ravager fell onto her butt but quickly got up. Raven's right hand was encased in dark energy.

"You're good, but tell me, what do you see in that loser you call a husband? He fights like a girl, but you, you kick butt."

"Insult him one more time, and I'll send you to another dimension from which you'll never return."

Rose smiled upon hearing the threat. "I have no doubt you could do that. But you wouldn't want something to happen to little Marky, right?"

Raven snarled at Rose.

"Why do you help him? Just because he's your father doesn't mean that you have to be like him."

"Why shouldn't I be like my dad? Just because Jericho rejected dad it doesn't mean I have to do the same."

"Rose, there's no compelling reason to serve him. You don't have to follow him just because he's your father … trust me, I know this from personal experience."

The expression on Rose's face changed, and she gave Raven a critical look. "Yes, I heard about how you betrayed your father … don't get me wrong, I'm glad that you did. I just can't fathom why."

"Why did Jericho leave your dad?"

"He didn't … dad left him. Joey always was weak; dad told me that there was no place for him in the family business."

"There's nothing weak about your brother, he's a brave man and he has my respect. Being good isn't a weakness."

"You still haven't told me why you betrayed your father. What kind of daughter does that?"

Raven frowned. "Just because he sired me doesn't make him my father. And in your case the same is true with Slade. Did he raise you? Did he protect you?"

"You've heard the saying, Raven: blood is thicker than water."

"And what about your mother? Is she also evil?"

Rose replied through clenched teeth. "Don't speak of her!"

"Why not? Did something happen between you and your mother?"

"I don't want to talk about it!"

Raven felt waves of anger, sorrow and guilt emanate from the girl. Something was wrong, but she realized that now was not the time to press the point. Rose pointed her sword at the portal, which was still open.

"That will take us to the other mesa, right?"

Raven nodded.

"Then let's go. You're hubby's hurt; dad says maybe you can do some of your magic to fix him up."

"You and your father are going to pay for this."

"Do you want to help him or not?"

An exasperated sigh escaped the demoness's lips. "Fine, let's go."

Rose collected the remains of the scope and the two women stepped through the portal and found themselves before Slade. Raven ignored him, and ran to her husband, who was supine on the ground and knelt next to him.

"What did you do to him?" She seethed.

"I don't know, which is why I sent Rose to get you."

Beast Boy continued to moan in pain.

"Gar, I'm here, it's going to be OK."

She placed her hands on him and her eyes glowed black. After a few seconds she got up and turned to face Slade, her fists balled and four crimson red eyes glowedon her face.

"You ruptured one of his testicles!"

"Can't you fix it?" Rose asked with a smirk on her face. "I thought your magic could heal stuff like that."

Raven levitated up to Slade's still unmasked face. "If you ever hurt him again … you'll wish you had never been born. And yes, I can heal him, but I'll need some privacy."

She returned to his side and conjured a black bubble, which obscured their view.

"You really busted one of his balls?" Rose asked.

"He needed to be taught a lesson." Slade replied as he slipped his mask back on.

"She looks pissed."

"She is, and one thing I have learned over the years, is that it is unwise to incur her uncontrolled wrath."

"Well, maybe you'll remember that the next time before you kick him in the nuts. You know the green brat isn't hers. Holding him hostage might keep Beast Boy in check, I'm not so sure about her."

Raven's black dome stayed up for about ten minutes, until it finally disappeared. The changeling was standing on his feet, looking wobbly and pale while Raven was drenched in sweat, clearly exhausted by the healing effort.

"Well?" Slade asked.

"He's OK, no thanks to you." She spread her arms and one of her black disks appeared on the ground. "I'm taking him home, he needs to rest."

"I haven't dismissed him." Slade replied.

"Ask me if I care." She replied. "And he isn't returning until I say so."

"You seem to think you're in charge."

"He's in no shape to train with you, if that's what you call maiming your apprentices. He isn't coming back until I say so. And if you do anything to Mark, you'll be sorry. Now if you'll excuse us …"

Raven wrapped his arm around her shoulders and they stepped onto the black disk, which immediately took to the sky, zooming away at top speed until they were no longer visible. Slade turned to his daughter.

"You destroyed Cyborg's little spy box, correct?"

"It's dead, I brought it with me."

"Good, Raven and Logan saw my face. That's bad enough, but at least they don't have any digital images."

Slade took the device's remains from Rose and began poking through its wreckage.

"Cyborg used some Interesting technology in this, I'll be sure to borrow some of the designs."

He continued to dissect the scope, systematically removing subassemblies and components, until he remove a printed circuit board that had an unoccupied slot in it.

"Where is the memory card that goes in this slot?"

"You didn't say anything about that."

"You mean you don't have it?"

"No, I don't."

Slade shouted angrily and hit her, knocking her down.

"Raven took it!" He bellowed at her. "Do you know what this means? The Titans have pictures of me now. My secret identity has been blown! I can no longer travel incognito anymore; every airport in the world has face recognition systems. I would be detected, and would risk being captured!"

"I'm sorry, dad … I didn't think of that … maybe the memory card is shot, the box was shooting sparks when I sliced it in half."

Slade continued examining the scope's wreckage. "The socket was optically isolated, the memory card is intact … Cyborg did his homework, unlike you."

"I'll get it back."

"Too late, they should already be back in the Tower by now."

"So what do we do?"

Slade gazed off in the distance at Titans Tower.

"Something I don't want to do."

-( - )-

The Titans, old and new, were gathered outside the infirmary, shuffling around nervously while Cyborg and Raven tended to the changeling inside. Robin, Wally, Connor and Bart exchanged nervous looks with each other.

"Is it true? Did Slade really …" Robin asked Bart.

"There's nothing in the history books." The junior speedster replied.

"If I was Garfield I'd make sure that nothing was officially recorded." Wally added.

The girls also exchanged hushed whispers until the infirmary door slid open. Beast Boy came out, hand in hand with his wife. All eyes were upon him.

"Are you OK?" Wally asked.

Beast Boy sighed.

"I know what you're whispering about, so let's just get this out of the way: yes, it's true, Slade kicked me in the nuts and one of them popped."

The boys, Wally and Nightwing all winced. Bart unconsciously reached for his crotch.

"Raven was able to repair the damage with her blue light and according to Cyborg I should make a full recovery … now could we please not discuss this anymore. It was both painful and humiliating, and I'd rather just forget about it, OK?"

The crowd didn't budge.

"Anyone who is still here at the count of ten gets toilet cleaning duty for a whole month. And there are twenty seven toilets in the Tower." Nightwing warned the throng. "One, Two …"

By the time he reached five, all of the junior Titans had fled the scene.

"You still have the magic touch, Nightwing." Jinx snickered.

Grayson grinned. "They are a squeamish bunch … Garfield, you should go and rest … you too, Raven, healing him took it out of you."

Raven nodded. "Sure, I know we could use it, but before we go you should have this."

She reached into her jewel belt and extracted an SD card from one of the compartments, placing it into his hand. Cyborg recognized it. "That's the memory card from the scope, right?"

"It is. It should have video of Slade …without his mask."

The hallway fell silent. Grayson stared at the SD card in his palm, and a huge grin broke out on his face.

"How did it happen? Why did he take his mask off?"

"He didn't … I knocked it off his face … why do you think he kicked me in the nuts?"

Nightwing cradled the SD card in his hand like it was a precious jewel. "What an incredible break. We caught him once, but he escaped before we could unmask him … let's have a look at it."

The group moved to the common room, where Nightwing inserted the card into the mission console. Before he could start playing it, there was an incoming call, whose source was displayed on the screen as "Unknown".

"I think we know who's calling." Raven remarked.

"I'm sure he's ready to bargain for it." Nightwing added as he pressed the answer button. Slade's masked face appeared on the screen.

"I want that memory card." Slade bluntly announced.

"I'm sure that you do … I'll make a deal with you: I won't make any copies of it and give it to you if you release both hostages to us."

"Unacceptable."

"They what do you propose?"

"I'll give you the boy, but Dr. Pontone stays with me."

"Works for me." Raven muttered under her breath. Her husband gave her a mild and subtle elbow in the ribs.

"Not good enough." Nightwing replied.

"It's my best offer."

"I refuse it."

"Then they both die."

"You wouldn't dare."

"I certainly will."

"We'd hunt you down if you do … and it will be a lot harder for you to hide."

"You know me, Nightwing, I'll simply disappear for a long time, but I'll return. But little Mark, his loss would be permanent, which would be … tragic."

The room fell silent. Grayson saw the anxious looks on the Logans' faces.

"OK, you have a deal, with one condition: I'll finish training Beast Boy."

Slade started passively from the screen, his mask hiding whatever contortions his face was going through while he considered the offer.

"I have your word that you won't make a copy of that memory card? And if you think of doing it in secret I have equipment that can detect if it has been read."

Grayson nodded. "You have my word. I haven't seen its contents yet. So, do we have a deal?"

"Yes, my former apprentice, we have a deal … tell me, Raven, how did you retrieve the card without Rose noticing?"

"I have my ways, Slade … now send Mark home … if he's harmed in any way, there will be hell to pay."

"The child is unharmed and Rose will arrive with him at the Tower's dock in 30 minutes … do not keep her waiting."

Before severing the connection he spoke one more time. "Well played, Titans, well played. But the game is far from over."

-( - )-

It was a blustery day and the wind formed whitecaps that lapped against the dock. Dick and Cyborg agreed to handle the exchange, as they both insisted the Logans, who were standing a few dozen yards away along with Starfire and Mar'i, were too emotionally involved to perform the delicate and danger fraught transaction. There were hundreds of sailboats plying through the bay's choppy waters, taking advantage of the vigorous breeze. A small radar dish had popped out of Cyborg's shoulder and was scanning the bay.

"She's five minutes late." Garfield complained unhappily.

Cyborg pointed with his arm. "I think that's them over there."

And inflatable Kodiak boat, its outboard motor roaring, pulled out from the flotilla of sailboats and approached the island.

"Smart, once Rose leaves she'll disappear back into the forest of sailboats, we won't be able to follow her without being noticed." Nightwing remarked.

The small Kodiak bounced over the choppy waters as it approached the dock. In addition to Ravager and Mark, there were three Slade-bots on board. One of them was running the outboard motor while the other two were brandishing plasma rifles. As the boat approached the docks Rose threw a rope at Nightwing, who secured the boat to the dock.

Mark was crying as Rose came ashore, carrying him in her arms, with a scowl on her face. The armed Slade-bots followed her.

"The memory card, if you please."

Nightwing handed the SD card to Rose, who in turn handed it to one of the robots, which plugged it into a slot in its arm.

"The child, if you please." Grayson replied.

"Not so fast, Titan. I need to verify this."

Starfire levitated, star bolts forming around her hands and a fierce look on her face. Raven and her spouse adopted fighting stances while Cyborg armed both of his sonic cannons.

"The boy, Ravager, now." Nightwing growled.

The robot nodded at Rose and she handed Mark to Grayson. Without saying another word Rose and her entourage jumped back into the boat. She slashed the mooring rope with one of her swords and they took off into the bay. Garfield and Raven ran to the dock, and Nightwing handed the boy to them. They smothered the boy with hugs and kisses, and for the first time since the kidnapping the boy looked happy.

"Come! We must celebrate Mark's safe return!" Starfire cheered. "I have sent Bart to buy some cake for the party."

As they made their way back to the Tower, Nightwing and Cyborg fell behind the group.

"Don't you think it's odd that Slade gave up the boy? BB and Raven won't look a gift horse in the mouth, but it's more than obvious that Mark's more valuable to Slade than Alexa." Victor asked the masked Titan.

"The same thought crossed my mind."

"So … why did he give us Mark?"

"I think Lex Luthor knows the answer to that better than we do."

"Road trip to Metropolis?"

"It's overdue."

-( - )-

Mark is safe! But what will happen next? Will the Titans abandon Alexa to a well deserved fate? Will Raven take a rain check on the dinner BB promised her?

And now, mail bag time. We're on our way to 1300 reviews! You're spoiling me! Thanks!

Shadico – Right now, she's really screwed.

GreenMongoose – I will continue to explore what makes Rose tick.

Katt In The Boxx – Some mothers don't care for their children.

Chayse-man – That obvious, huh?

7SheWolfShaman7 – Rose got little more than a rushed treatment in the TTGo! Comics. Even after she became a Titan in the real comics, she was a tormented soul.

7SheWolfShaman7 – Maybe they can get take out?

Adventuresstime – Now way could BB turn bad!

krostovikraven1 – Indeed, where did Mark come from? And Slade is a weirdo in his obsession with apprentices.

Anoymous136 – Well, he does seem to have a strong hold on her. And she hates her mother for some reason.

SuperNolon – Send my regards to Sadie!

chica13 – He was just a clueless nerd with the hots for Alexa.

Just a Thinker – In "The One Eyed Bandit" I did portray Rose as a Titan.

titanfan45 – Alexa is sociopath. What else would we expect from her?

mlbv-grimm – Thanks, will do.

Anonanon – You don't actually expect me to give something like that away, do you?

Soulsurfer2112 – It is fun. Readers also hated Rachel, Raven's clone in "A Bullseye On Her Back". She was ever easier to create.

The Cretin – Reading fan fiction while on the job? I'm shocked! So shocked that I have to confess that also do that!

Death Stroke The Kid – I'm still debating which way to go with Rose.

DeeThom – No way would BB be an easy target.

Hayhay12 - It would take a season or two.

Bluedog197 – Alexa is self centered and has no scruples.

Guest – Thanks for the heads up!

JOHNXgambit – And Slade knows that his controlling grasp on BB has been weakened.

JasonVUK – Well, he does sound different when he portrays Slade. The hallmark of a good voice actor.

Hairul The Nightrage Beast – Now I know I spoiled you with those long chapters. But really, sometimes a chapter can be too long, especially of it rambles, don't you think?

BartWLewis - Poor Alexa, she's just a misunderstood sociopath!

Dragonkyng – We're getting there. There will be a lot of epilogue material too.