"One problem you have, Raven," Slade bellowed. His voice was so strong it could have made the walls vibrate. "Is that you always ask questions. Could it not be possible that it is your own fault your powers aren't working? Could it not be completely obvious that you are inept?"

Such a slap in the face. "My powers worked fine yesterday!"

But Slade merely grinned and entwined his fingers behind his back. It was this action that made Raven debate on whether Slade had manipulated the room in order for her powers to be defective. If Slade wanted something, he got it. It wouldn't be too hard for him to get away with something like that.

"That may be so," Slade replied coyly. "But that doesn't mean -."

But Slade's patronising was cut off suddenly by a loud, harsh cry. The very sound pierced through Raven's nerves.

"What was that?" Raven cried, turning towards the direction of the scream.

Slade said nothing and stormed backed to the large computer. Immediately upon his return, the screen switched from the previous programme to several live videos.

Unimpressed with his stubborn silence, Raven stormed over to him. She made sure to keep her distance from him – a rather entertaining four metres which, to anybody else, especially with Slade's anger and Raven's impatience, made them look like an old couple bickering – and raised her voice slightly to catch his attention. "Did you not plan this?"

The question was slathered in mockery, which was Raven's intention. Slade held his peace, unintentionally cringing as he heard Raven's voice pierce through his ears. He kept his eyes locked on his screen, his hands pressing into his desk as he leant on them.

"Why did that person scream?"

A better question would have been, who screamed?

"Why are you even bothering to speak to me?" Slade laboriously replied. "Whilst I'm busy, you could attempt an escape."

Although Raven knew that she could not escape – one of the reasons why Slade had even suggested it – the reminder that she was a prisoner struck a cord and her retort came out more shrill than she had expected. "There are more important things!"

With a hidden eyebrow raised, Slade turned from his computer to face Raven, an action which made Raven take a hesitant step back. "Such as?"

But there was nothing left for Raven now. She had little hope for escape now that her powers had ceased and the thought of her clue leading the Titans to her was just too much to ask for. Now that she had nothing left, she had no fear. What was there to fear? A nasty beating? A requirement for a Titan was to learn to accept pain. To suffer a beating was, for Raven, the equivalent of being hit with a pillow.

So, what else to fear? Death? Slade hardly had the guts to pull a murder off. He claimed he had, but if he was that serious, he would have gone in straight for the kill and not put it off for so long. What Slade wanted was a toy to play with, not a body to deal with.

And so, with absolutely nothing to fear, Raven delivered a hard blow to Slade's gut.

"You will answer my question," Raven demanded.

Although he hardly appreciated the (in Slade's opinion, rather weak) punch, he couldn't help but be impressed by her determination. However, he did not let this show and masked his emotion with a glare that was infested with loathing and hatred.

"Your powers are not working," he said, straightening his posture, "because this room prevents your ability to use them."

"How so?"

"The water that is this entire room extinguishes the weak flame that is you."

Again with the riddles. Raven could admit that this room was as dull as a wet carrot but to have the odd ability to prevent her powers from being used? How was that even possible?

The first thing that might come to mind is, quite simply, magic. Some sort of spell that has been cast on the room. However, this isn't a fairytale. Extravagant problems can't be solved with an easy counteracting spell that some white knight on a horse might cast. No, this is reality and in reality, science is the only weapon Slade ever had.

Slade was somewhat of a pervert. He knew a lot of information about the Titans after years of research (it wasn't hard, the Titans being as famous as they were). But, in preparation for this huge gig he was currently pulling off, he had to think out of the box. Whilst concentrating on his homework, he had noticed that Raven had to put hours of effort into merely controlling her power. If she was distracted, her powers wouldn't be as effective. So, that would be his weapon.

But this room was empty, what could possibly distract her? The simple answer was an odourless gas that made Raven, completely unbeknownst to her, just a fraction sleepier than usual, and more inclined to daydream. To concentrate on her powers as she inhaled his gas confused her and the confusion itself distracted her from her concentration. She had been able to use her powers before because the gas hadn't crawled its way into her system. However, Raven's body was now filled with the gas, although the best thing about it was that it didn't harm anything but the mind.

To put it bluntly, Raven was a mere toy, waiting to be thrown to the dogs.

Meanwhile, Steven Wilkes, the rather irritating itch that the Titans couldn't scratch, was busy running into a shop. Average citizens looked at him with annoyance, as one usually gets impatient when a man has just pushed his way through a large crowd.

He ran into the famous Hynden's Watches, the surprised shopkeeper and behind the counter. Slamming the door behind him, he descended the stairs down to the storeroom where extra stock was kept. Why? That's what the shopkeeper wondered.

Khary Hynden, the manager and owner of Hynden's Watches, was also the shopkeeper. This was the only shop of his in the world, although he did send items to special customers. He had read the article concerning his shop, and, dismissing it as false printing, had thrown the paper in the bin. However, he was rather puzzled as to why a strange man had ran into his shop and burst through the storeroom door. He had security, but it was switch-over time. He would have to call them back to deal with this.

Pressing the silent alarm, he followed the stranger through the door and down the steps. The security rushed to the scene but it seems that Hynden had been underestimated. He re-emerged from the storeroom, slapping the dust from the suspected fight from his hands, and resumed his position behind the desk, shooing the security away impatiently.

Of course, this wasn't Hynden.

The stranger had burst into the shop at just the right moment. The Titan to visit the shop had been around the corner, out of sight from the whole thing, and had missed the quiet commotion. Hynden patiently awaited the expected visit and greeted Beast Boy with a broad smile as he entered the shop.

Taking a quick look around him as he made his way to the counter, Beast Boy came straight to the point. "You haven't seen anything suspicious around here, have you?"

His hands tightly clasped together in a polite position, Hynden replied, "Not at all."

It wasn't that Beast Boy suspected anything in particular, being the rather dim lightbulb that he was, but he had to at least feign such an act for protocol. "Are you -?"

It was Starfire's shrill scream that cut Beast Boy's words off, as well as the gun that was suddenly pointing at his face.