Hello again, folks! We're nearing the end of this story, but thankfully with many more to come. This will probably be the longest chapter, with all the exciting, white-knuckle prose you could hope for. If this sensational chapter doesn't stop your adrenaline-engorged heart for five entire seconds, let me know and I will send you a notarized certificate confirming you do not exist. Feedback's always appreciated. Now enough, on with the story! I still own nothing, by the way.

Chapter 8

Greg Deych hummed softly as he washed the blood from the last session off of his hands. Captain Cold was a brave but stupid son of a bitch, and he almost felt bad after he'd taken over for Parasite in drilling the poor bastard's teeth. Almost. He'd put himself in there, though, and now he was keeping the Titan company. He absently wondered how long Slade would keep him around; probably about as long as the kid. He was spiteful like that, and he loved to make examples of people.

Deych frowned as he looked up at the restroom mirror, eying the five o'clock shadow starting to form on his jawline. Still humming that old Italian tune, he reached into his coat pocket for his razor, an ivory-handled straight blade that he'd inherited from his father, and flipped the blade into place. He was just starting to drag the blade carefully up his neck when he saw the man in the green helmet and orange spandex appear in the mirror in front of him.

"Hello. I'm Mirror Master." The man said almost cheerfully.

"What the-" He barely got the words out before the guy leaped out of the mirror and uppercut him hard in the jaw.

TTTTT

Raven watched the gangster fly backwards from the punch, crashing into one of the stalls and tearing the door off of its hinges. He let out a long, pained groan, but didn't move again. The others were all in the restroom now, trying to avoid bumping into each other in the smallish quarters. Dimension hopping was never her favorite mode of travel, but she had to admit that the Rogues had had the right idea here. They'd had several options inside the secret underground lab, but this mirror had been closest to the center of the facility, making their dispersal for the search easier.

They'd agreed on splitting into three teams. Starfire would go with Trickster and the largest of the Rogues, a super-powered thief and mercenary with herculean strength and heightened senses who'd simply called himself Rottweiler. Robin and Cyborg would go with Jinx, who's desire to avenge her own old team was enough to placate her contempt for the Titans. That left Terra and her with Mirror Master. Robin turned to face the gathered supers, his face set in a mask of fierce determination.

"Spread out and find Beast Boy and Captain Cold. We meet back here when we've got them, then tear this place apart. Whatever Slade's got going here needs to be stopped and fast." Everyone acknowledged him and broke into their groups. They all started out into the hall, Raven, Terra and Mirror Master heading down the first right corner they could find. The half-demon frowned as she reached out with her mind, trying to get a sense of the people in the general area. There were dozens of minds around them, most of them small and brutal. Beast Boy's or Cold's would stand out like a sore thumb, but there were a lot to sift through here...

"The fu-boys! Sound the alarm, we got trouble!" A rough voice barked from the end of the hallway. One of Slade's goons was trying to free a pistol from a shoulder holster, but Mirror Master was quicker, drawing one of his own laser pistols and blasting the man backwards into the wall. Several more of the thugs came around the corners, weapons drawn. There was no hesitation, they simply fired down the hall at the trio. Reacted instantly, forming a wall of darkness before them that stopped the bullets in an instant. Four tendrils shot out from that barrier to rip the guns away, and they all looked down in shock at their empty hands. Terra was on them immediately, ripping fist-sized chunks of rock of of the floor and hurling them at the thugs. They all went sprawling and left moaning in the hallway while the three ran past them. There was no telling when more of them would be coming for them, or when they would get the alarms going. They needed to move fast, and Raven swept through the minds around them as quickly as she could. More of those crude and low thoughts were all around them, but she swore she felt something...

"There, to the right!" She shouted as they rounded a corner. They turned sharply again, greeted by another pair of thugs. Raven caught them immediately, dark blasts of magical energy putting them on their backs with cries of pain. She could sense the pair of minds less than twenty yards down, both in pain but defiant. The alarm klaxons sounded, eliminating any chance at stealth now. They were getting close to Beast Boy and Cold now, though. They just needed to move a little faster.

From out of the room she sensed the two minds in, a familiar purple frame burst out in surprise at the alarms, swearing and looking down either side of the hall. He stopped when he saw the trio of supers, his face melting into a scowl.

"Oh you've gotta be frigging kidding me. How the hell are you kids not dead yet? And...hell, Sam, what are you doing with these punks?" Parasite demanded, glaring at his fellow crook. Mirror Master shrugged, his laser pistols in hand and aimed at the other.

"Doing my good deed for the year. I'm a crook, but torturing children is just distasteful."

"Gonna be your last deed too!" Came another voice from behind them. Raven and Mirror Master turned in time to see Atomic's Skull charging towards them. One swing of his meaty fist sent Mirror Master flying down the hallway, and a blast of radiation from his mouth forced Raven to hide behind a barrier of magic, which wavered under that constant attack. Parasite was on Terra in an instant, trying to grab at her throat. She kept him at bay with a rock the size of his torso torn from the ground and trying to push him back into the wall at the end of the corridor, but he kept trying to move toward her. Finally he managed to climb up onto the flying rock, launching himself off of it and toward her. She tried to call up another, but his momentum was too great. One hand was on her wrist, the other her throat, and she cried out as he started to drain her power.

And then he was suddenly pulled off her, a black bird's claw seizing him in its vice-like grip. Raven stood there, eyes consumed by dark energy while Mirror Master had gotten back to his feet and held off Atomic Skull with blasts from his pistols. Parasite struggled in that grasp, starting to call on his stolen power with glowing yellow eyes. Raven wasn't having any of it. Shade wasn't here to save them this time.

"Azarath, metrion, zinthos!" She shouted the magic words, and then Parasite was slammed into the ground with tremendous force. She slammed him down again and again, visible cracks appearing in the foundation. She held him in the air for a long moment, looking over her work critically. Then she gave him one more slam to the ground for good measure before she hurled the purple villain across the hallway where he smashed into the wall hard. He laid their a moment, completely still and looking up at the ceiling. Raven smirked faintly as she heard a long, pained squeaking breath coming from Parasite as he just laid there in utter defeat. Terra looked at her as got back to her feet, offering a nod and smile.

"Thanks. I was really getting sick of that guy." Raven smiled back, but then the expression melted as she turned back to where the others were fighting. Mirror Master had Atomic Skull fairly evenly matched, ducking under his swings now that he was on his guard and jabbing at his torso. Terra decided to give him a hand, pulling two huge slabs from the wall and crashing them both into Skull. She wasn't stupid enough to think that that would work for very long, so she immediately pulled up another behind the first two. Sure enough, the bruiser broke free of his vice-like prison, snarling but staggered. He didn't see the third slab of rock coming, and it struck him squarely between the shoulders. He fell to his face then, and she followed it with a downward slam of that rock onto the radioactive villain. He groaned once, long and pained, but didn't move again. She turned back to Raven and Mirror Master then. "Come on, we've lost enough time. Let's get our friends out of there!"

TTTTT

Beast Boy woke to the sounds of fighting outside the room. His body was still aching deeply from Slade's handiwork, and he was aware that most of his costume was stained black with dried blood. His mouth hurt worse than he ever imagined it could, thanks to that drill. God, that drill. Across from him, Captain Cold chuckled faintly, but broke off with a pained grunt, and Beast Boy imagined that he'd gotten about the same treatment, though he'd been too distracted with his own pain to notice.

"Hehehe...cavalry's here, kiddo. You...you can thank me later." He heard Cold rattle through the pain. Indeed, he heard Parasite scream outside, and...Raven. Raven was out there. So was...

"Terra!" He shouted as loud as his raw throat would allow, struggling against the restraints around his wrists and ankles.

"Beast Boy? Just hang on! We're getting you out of here!" He heard Terra shout back, then the clatter of feet on the hard tile floors. A few seconds later, he saw the most beautiful sight in his entire life. She was a little battered and worn from the events of the last day's events, but she still looked every bit as wonderful as the day he'd met her. She didn't hesitate, running up to him and practically throwing her arms around him. She kissed him, heedless of the dried blood on his lips, and he was all too happy to welcome that moment of warmth from the girl he loved. She drew back then, and when she saw the extend of what was done to him, her eyes widened and her hands went over her mouth.

He was a mess, to say the least. Numerous, slashing cuts ran across his chest, which was laid mostly bare after the top right half of his costume had become too damaged to stay up. His shoulders and the tops of his feet had deep holes where the power drill had gone through him. His face was swollen horribly from the beatings and the drills taken to his teeth. When she looked down at his bound hands, she saw that three of the fingernails from the left had been torn off.

"Oh, Beast Boy..."She said on the verge of tears. He smiled weakly at her, even if it hurt like hell to do so.

"I'll be fine. Just...get me out of these, alright?" He looked down to his restraints, which Terra set to almost instantly, kicking herself for leaving them that long. "How'd you guys find me?"

"Captain Cold. He sent some of the Rogues to come help us." Terra answered, finally getting the leather straps off of his wrists and then the ones around his ankles. He tried to stand, but he screamed as electric jolts of pain shot through his feet. Of course. His feet had been drilled. Slowly, he looked over at Captain Cold, who grinned faintly at the two of them with bloody teeth, Mirror Master working his own restraints.

"Thanks, dude...almost makes up for that first time you froze Raven."

"Put it on my crime tab, kid. We'll figure out when we're even when we're out of here." Cold replied, standing with a bit of help from his fellow Rogue. Raven joined Terra at his side then, frowning at the sight of his bloody body. Without a word she reached out and began to channel her magic. Slowly he felt the pain begin to dull, and while it still lingered, it wasn't so crippling as before. Looking down at his feet, he saw the holes slowly starting to seal up. He'd be able to walk again, but more importantly, he felt whatever drugs Slade had put in him to suppress his powers purged from his system. He could change again, and he was so glad for that he could almost have kissed Raven. He settled for giving her hand a quick squeeze, smiling faintly.

"Let's get out of here. We got lots of bad guys to stop today..."

TTTTT

"You do not seem to be so mean as the villains we are used to fighting." Starfire said to Trickster as she tossed one of the thugs across the room and into a stack of crates. The colorful man grinned over at her as he tossed a handful of what looked like marbles at another group of armed men. They landed at the men's feet, and they stopped their gunfire for a moment to just stare in bafflement. Then the tiny balls burst and filled the air around them tear gas. All of the thugs went down screaming, writhing on the ground as they choked and tried to claw the stinging agony out of their eyes.

"Who says ya gotta be mean to enjoy this job? Just need equal parts mental health issues and mortgage payments! And bilateral symmetry!" He shouted, raising his gag nose tipped shotgun and firing at an ambitious goon that had tried coming at them in a forklift. The vehicle halted in its tracks, the acid eating through the metal and forcing the driver to leap out with a curse. The Tamaranian looked at him a bit puzzled. "Hehe. It's a snotgun."

"You'll hafta forgive him. Jimmy's off his meds again." The man called Rottweiler said, holding up a pallet of wooden crates over his head before hurling it at a retreating group of Slade's men. "Ex-wife and two kids I got full custody of. College fund ain't gonna build itself. He's right, though. Ain't nothin' in the job description says I gotta be a total jackass." Starfire could at least partially understand that. While she certainly did not approve of his methods, and she wouldn't hesitate to beat him into submission if she caught him committing crimes in Jump City, his devotion to fatherhood was respectable.

"You know, Tamaranian," a voice called out from her right, where she turned sharply to view the speaker. "I'm getting real sick of having to beat you and your friends stupid just for you to come back again. Isn't that kind of the definition of insanity, to do the same thing over and over and expecting different results?" It was Sportsmaster, standing atop the pile of crate pallets in the massive storage room. Electrocutioner was beside him, his gauntlets crackling with energy.

"I would ask you to surrender peacefully, I do not wish to harm you." Stafire said, looking up at the two costumed men. Both of them stared at her in amazement.

"...has that ever worked?" Electrocutioner asked with what seemed to be genuine curiosity. Starfire frowned as her eyes started to glow bright green, starbolts forming in her hands.

"I would ask you this if you did not harm my friends so much as you have. Now I will settle for beating you into the ground!" And then she rocketed toward the pair, launching her bolts along the way. Both men managed to dodge those balls of alien energy, but Sportsmaster grunted as he suddenly found himself lifted off his feet as Starfire tackled him. They both went flying into the ceiling, where the alien began to pound at his face and chest as hard as she dared. Bellow her Electrocutioner had engaged with Trickster and Rottweiler, trading blows with the big man while he tried to avoid the colorful gag-themed weapons. The alien then seized the dazed Sportsmaster by the front of his outfit, hurling him straight down to the concrete floor. He hit it hard, gasping to try and recover the breath that had been knocked out of him. He swore then, barely rolling out of the way in time to avoid Starfire's follow up stomp. He scrambled to his feet, and the orange Titan swung straight for his head. Ducking under the punch, the big man countered with a solid kick of his own that sent the wind out of her lung. Sportsmaster took immediate advantage of the situation, closing in on Starfire and jabbing hard at her ribs. She staggered back, gritting her teeth with the pain, and tried to push back against the onslaught.

The mistake was a simple one, so slight that she wasn't even sure it was a mistake. A punch came at her face that was an ounce or two harder than it should have been, and traveled no more than a fraction of an inch further than he'd intended. It was enough for her to secure her victory, though. Her hand flashed up and caught his wrist in a crushing grip, earning a sharp cry from the villain which was silenced suddenly when her knee slammed up into his face. The dark hockey mask shattered on impact, and she could feel his nose crunch wetly against her kneecap. He flew backwards with an arch of blood gushing from his broken nose, several teeth clattering on the floor before he landed in one of the crate pallets. Striking the wood with a resounding crash, Sportsmaster groaned for a long moment, starting to rise but then falling back against the splintered heap. She looked back at Electrocutioner as he desperately tossed aside one of his gauntlets, the acid from Trickster's snotgun eating away at the red metal. Rottweiler seized his chance then and bolted at man that had hurt Cyborg so. The shoulder-check knocked Electrocutioner off of his feet, and soon Rottweiler knelt over him, raining blows down on his face. Thankfully he seemed to be aware of the Titans' feelings toward lethal force, and was pulling his punches. After around ten seconds of that barrage, he was satisfied that his foe wouldn't be bothering them again that day, and stood up with a nod toward the alien princess. She smiled back in return, offering a gesture of approval she had seen performed many times before. The man stared at her for a moment.

"...wrong finger, kiddo. You wanna do that with your thumb unless you're looking to pick a fight." He corrected helpfully.

"This is Raven. We've got Beast Boy and Captain Cold. Parasite and Atomic Skull are down, too. We're heading back to the restroom." Starfire looked down at her communicator with a sigh of relief. She was about to reply when Robin's cut in.

"Um...guys...go ahead and cancel that order to meet back at the restroom. We've found Slade's gameplan."

"We are on our way, Robin! You need not worry about Sportsmaster or Electrocutioner, either!" She chimed, clipping the communicator back to her belt and gesturing for the two Rogues to follow her. For a moment she wondered why Robin had sounded so nervous over the comm. It sounded as if they had beaten all of Slade's super-powered minions. What else could there be that disturbed him so?

TTTTT

There were definitely more than four cloning tanks here. Robin counted at least ten lined up in two rows, and he had no idea if there were more in the corners of the lab he couldn't see. Most of them seemed to be empty, though two in the row to his right that had something that looked vaguely human floating inside. Upon closer inspection, he could see that, indeed there were human beings floating inside the tanks. The same face stared out at the lab through the thick glass, eyes unfocused. They looked to be just about twelve, and he swore he could see it growing even as he watched.

"Where are the others?" Jinx asked, looking over several of the tanks suspiciously. "No way in hell he's only made two of these."

"Quite right, Jinx. I've been rather busy with them." They all heard the voice around them, scratchy and filtered from the old PA system. A light above them suddenly switched on, illuminating the overhanging off they hadn't noticed before. The observation glass was probably reenforced, so Robin didn't bother with any of his explosives yet. "I have to say, I'm surprised to see you here. Found yourself a new team?"

"Yeah, and you're going to pay for what you did to my last one." Jinx grated from between clenched teeth, her eyes beginning to glow as she hurled an arch of bright pink energy at Slade. It struck the window, crackling for a long moment before it dissipated. The former HIVE member glared at the one-eyed man through that heavy glass, already trying to work up more energy. Robin put a hand to her shoulder, staring up at Slade as well.

"Carlson said two weeks at least to grow them. How'd you manage it in one?" The Titan leader asked. Slade chuckled at that, pacing as he watched the gathered teens below.

"Ah yes, this is the part where I rattle off the details of my plan in some grand display of self-congratulation. No harm it it now, though. You're too late to stop the process." He droned, his good eye fixed on Robin. "You would be amazed what a simple tweak to a formula can produce. For example, a few alterations to the standard venom mixture produces quite a growth stimulant. Introducing it in the early stages of cloning does wonders in speeding up the process. And of course..." He reached over toward one of the consoles in his office then, tapping a single button. Behind the Titans, two doors opened, and the heavy clatter of boots on the metal floor souded. "The standard drug is quite useful on its own afterward."

There were ten of them, all dressed in black and orange uniforms similar to those worn by Slade's drones, though these were obviously not machines. On their right wrists, Robin saw a familiar device with a bright red tube connecting to the back of their heads. The boy wonder's eyes went wide; They all had venom tubes.

"Quite impressive, aren't they? Nearly as skilled as I was at their physical age. And I didn't even have venom to help me then." With those words, the clones of Slade all reached for the devices on their arms simultaneously, pressing a few buttons before they fixed their gaze on the Titans. Before their eyes they began to grow, grunting and growling as the steroid filled their veins. "Within a week I'll have enough to secure the city. The Justice League won't dare to challenge me, lest I let my...children run rampant in the city. Pity you won't be around to see it."

"They will never leave this building!" A green bolt of energy struck one of the clones in the chest, and then there was a sudden flash of purple, red and orange. Starfire tried tackling the hulking brute with gritted teeth and glowing eyes, forcing it back several back before it dug its heels into the ground, stopping them dead in their tracks. From the corner of his eye, Robin saw Raven, Trickster and Rottweiler charging into the room as well. The odds were evening, but still not good; Only Starfire, Cyborg and Rottweiler would be able to fight the venom clones directly. Everyone else would have to keep their distance, keep their attacks at range and try to cut those venom tubes.

"Titans, go!" He shouted, reading the first of his explosive boomerangs and hurling it at the nearest clone while the gathered supers began to fight. His weapon struck home, staggering the monster, but little more. He saw Cyborg and Rottweiler slugging it out with two more, while the one Starfire had rushed lifted her up over its head and slammed her down into the ground. Robin snarled and drew a sling from his belt, throwing it at the clone as it raised its fist to strike her again. The rope wrapped around it's legs, throwing its balance off and sending falling face down. Starfire took full advantage, reaching for the venom tube and ripping it out as hard as she could. The clone cried out in the agony of the absence of its drug, but was quickly silenced when the alien began to rain blows down on it. She didn't have to pull her punches here. She hadn't been finished with that first opponent for more than a second before another had swept her off her feet, smashing her into a wall and hammering at her ribs. Robin prepared another sling, but found himself swept aside as well by a herculean backhand.

Raven and Jinx were back to back, trying their best to keep three more clones at bay, their magics doing little more than slowing them however. One of them had briefly been trapped by one of the half-demon's raven claw constructs, only for it to break free with a surge of strength and a roar. It's heavy fist swung at her head, and she tried to pull up a barrier in front of her she knew would arrive too late. The blow never came, however, as Jinx blasted the clone with an arch of her own energies, sending it sliding back several yards. It was back at them a moment later, and Raven had barely enough time to form a wall of darkness around them. Two of the clones were beating savagely at the barrier, and it wavered under the vicious attack.

The both realized what was wrong with that picture around the same time. The third clone came from behind them, seizing them both by the throats as they turned to face it. The others immediately turned and started toward their fellows fighting Cyborg and Rottweiler while the two goth-looking teens were held and strangled by the brute. As she struggled for air, Raven could see three of the clones were surrounding Rottweiler, drowning the man in a hail of fists, and Cyborg was being held back by another while it's fellow beat at his face and chest. Robin and Starfire were both on the losing end of their fights as well, the Tamaranian set on both sides by clones that batted aside her strikes easily, while Robin was being soundly whipped about like a disobedient puppy. Raven's vision started to blur then, and she knew that soon she would run out of air, or that her throat would simply collapse.

Then, suddenly, the clone's grip slackened and it roared, clutching at the back of its head as venom spurted from the slashed tube. Raven and Jinx fell to the ground sucking down great lungfuls of air as fast as they could, looking up at to her savior. It was Terra, eyes blazing yellow as she shot the hail of sharpened slivers of stone at the clones. The one that had been holding Cyborg's arms back cried out as it's venom tube was slashed as well, the others quickly raising their arms to shield themselves. Cyborg and Rottweiler were quick to resume their attack, the Titan blasting his attack into one of the tanks with the white noise cannon while the Rogue had pulled the legs out from one of his, using it's body as a weapon to bludgeon the others away before hurling it over at Cyborg's. Raven noticed then that Captain Cold was beside Terra, solid spikes of ice firing from his cold gun at one of the straggling clones trying to flank Cyborg. Two of the icicles struck home, the first sinking into the monster's chest, then second piercing through the left eye and into its brain. That still left four in fighting shape, but now numbers were in their favor. Slowly, Raven rose to her feet, helping Jinx up to her eyes with a nod and a crooked smirk. The pink-haired girl returned it, turning to their remaining foes.

TTTTT

Slade's good eye twitched as he stood in shock at the display before him. His clone soldiers were being systematically destroyed before his very eyes, and there was nothing that he could do about it now. Cold. Another goddamned traitor had ruined everything, and now he had nothing to work with in this city. He thought briefly of going down there and breaking Robin and Terra's necks, leave the Titans with something to mourn aside from Beast Boy's mutilation, but it was gone when he remembered how hilariously outnumbered he would be down there. Then, thinking on it again, he noticed the problem down bellow. Beast Boy was nowhere to be seen. He knew full well that the Titans would never have left the boy alone after they'd come to all this trouble to rescue him. So where was the little green bastard?

The figures appeared in the window right before his eyes, the man in green and orange smirking at him before he leaped out with a heavy kick aimed at his chest. Slade caught Mirror Master's foot and twisted, sending the other villain spinning to the ground. He almost didn't see the giant green tiger following after the other, and wasn't able to dodge in time to keep the claws from raking over his chest. Flesh split and he felt hot blood running down his torso, the tiger morphing back into Beast Boy's human form. The Titan looked almost as bloody and beaten as he'd left him, save that the holes he'd drilled into his feet and shoulders were sealed, and the swelling of his face had started to go down. They both glared at eachother, waiting for the other to make the next move.

"Stay out of it. He's mine." Beast Boy said almost absently to Mirror Master. He looked pretty happy to listen to that demand, and a few seconds later he was down with the others fighting the remaining clones. Slade chuckled faintly.

"Brave, boy, but foolish. I'm going to enjoy throwing your corpse to your little friends before I leave." He lunged forward then, his heavy boot swinging at the changeling's head. The green Titan morphed into a gorilla before he could connected, however, the kick deflected against the ape's enormous arm. He started to move, but was flung backward by a swing of the other first, right where the slashes in his chest were. Snarling he ducked under the next punch, reaching out to grab the gorilla's arm and using the momentum to hurl Beast Boy at the reinforced window. It cracked loudly when he impacted it, but didn't break, the dazed changeling reverted to his human force. Slade was on him immediately, bolting forward and booting Beast Boy in the gut before he reached down to grab him by the throat, jabbing at the red slashes where he'd cut the boy earlier. He screamed as several of the wounds were reopened, blood running freely down his chest.

The moment of triumph didn't last long as he watched the green teenager morph again, suddenly a raptor appearing before him. The one-eyed man cried out sharply as dagger-like teeth sank into his arm and a hooked claw slashed at his calf. He pushed away from his opponent, leaving a bright red trail. He blocked out the pain, trying to focus his body toward mending those gushing wounds, but it wasn't quick enough. He sidestepped the next slash of that sickle-like claw, swinging for the raptor's ribs. His fist traveled through empty air, and his eye went wide. There was now a hummingbird hovering before his face, then flittering off behind him. He turned just in time to see the hulking green bull charging straight at him. The air gushed from his lungs as he was swept off his feet, carried on the Titan's head and into the wall. He felt his as if his spine were ready to snap from the force of that blow. He brought his elbows and fists down on the animal's head, and his knees into its neck. A well-placed blow between the eyes dazed Beast Boy again, forcing him to revert into his human form. The uppercut that followed sent the Titan flying then, crashing into one of the office desk in the center of the room. With a roar, Slade took a bounding leap that left him standing above BB. His first came down on the green teen's face, then again and again, blood flying from both his own wounds and Beast Boy's as he reopened old ones. He grabbed the boy by the jaw, leaning into snarl right into his face.

"You took my apprentice from me. Your life doesn't pay for that, but feeling your spine crumble in my hands will have to do." His hands were around Beast Boy's throat now, squeezing as hard as he could while his victim gasped and choked under him. The sight brought a smirk to Slade's lips, even as he strangled the life from Beast Boy. Slowly, the struggling became weaker, and his smirk grew into a malicious grin under that featureless mask.

Beast Boy's eyes shot open then, and he too roared, but this one one of an animal. He began to grow, and grow until Slade was forced back. His eye went wide at the lion now standing before him. There was no hesitation; Beast Boy surged forward and put Slade on his back, hind claws raking at his torso while the forelimbs pinned the villain's arms down, teeth snapping in his face. Slade screamed in pain, and it was beautiful to Beast Boy at that moment. His teeth sank into the man's shoulder, pull him up as he bounded toward the cracked window. Weakened by the earlier impact, it shattered and the two of them went sailing out into the cloning lab. They landed in bloody heaps, Slade unmoving while the youngest Titan panted heavily, back in his natural form.

"Beast Boy!" It was Terra, and the changeling lifted his bleeding head up to see her running to his side. She pulled him in without a moment's hesitation, letting his head rest in her lap. The others gathered around him a moment later, save Rottweiler, who bent the sturdiest pipe he could find around Slade's unconscious form. "Beast Boy, Garfield, you're bleeding bad. We need to get him to a hospital now."

All eyes were on Mirror Master. He sighed.

"I suppose I could use a little good publicity. Might help with my sentence the next time I'm at trial." While he prepared to bring the Titans in through the largest reflective surface he could find, Beast Boy looked up at Terra weakly. He smiled through bloody teeth.

"Told him...I'd never let him hurt you again." He looked over at Slade, still unmoving and breathing shallowly. "Looks like I kept that promise." All was black a moment later.