Ugh. Okay, so to start this off, I would like to apologize for my unexpected extended absence. I was- am- grounded from my laptop, and therefore was not able to access my writings. Because I am still technically grounded, I have moved my writing so I can view them via phone as well, but writing is a lot more difficult that way. I am doing my best to still write and post chapters of my stories, though.

Full Disclosure: I still do not own anything, sadly.

Anywhosen, ON WITH THE STORY!

Within a minute, all of the Titans were gathered in the common room, anxious to see exactly where Thorne was and what she was up to. The monitors showed that she ad been all over the planet, alerting people to her presence and causing mass panic. Rain in the desert, endless snow in the Bahamas. She had done something to the people of every nation. Not only had she frightened them beyond belief, but it seemed she had hexed them as well. Under the panic was a thick coat of volatile anger, causing more trouble than was really needed.

"She seems to be somewhere in South America- in the wilder jungles of the amazon. But her trail has been too easy; it took us almost no time at all," their leader explained, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck thoughtfully.

"So what you're saying is that this is probably a trap," Bumblebee summed up, her wings twitching impatiently.

"Yes. There is about a ninety six percent chance that this is a trap," he admitted. "But there honestly isn't a way to get around this. The more time we spend thinking, the stronger she'll get. This isn't a villain we can wait out; she's too unpredictable."

"What do you mean? What has she done other than cause mass chaos?" Beastboy asked, perching carefully on the edge of the counter.

"People believe that she's some divine deity come down to change the world. There are people all across the globe that have started worshiping her. There's an entire country in Egypt that has begun building a statue in her likeness. Not sure if it's another hex or if it's just the crazies come out to shine," Cyborg explained, glancing mournfully at the statistics on the screen.

"Is it wrong to say that she is totally my new evil idol?" Jinx muttered, to which her boyfriend let out a chuckle. One look from the boy wonder stopped them both in their tracks.

"We need to end her. Soon. This mission is mandatory for all Titans and will commence in one hour. Take the time to do any preparations you need to. Dismissed," he instructed, turning without another word and leaving the room.

A bit more tan an hour later, Thorne sat on a large chair fashioned to look like a throne, lazily moving one of her knights to capture Slade's pawn. The radar beeped in the background, alerting them to the ever growing proximity of the Titans.

"I'm bored," she complained, flicking her wrist to slap Red-X's hand away as he tried to make a move for her. "Can't we go out to meet them?" she asked hopefully.

Slade resisted rolling his eyes. He replied, "Thorne, dear, you know the plan. It won't work as well if we're out there."

"It would still work," she grumbled,

"How is it that you chose her over me again? Why?" Red-X complained, twirling an X in his hand anxiously.

Slade shrugged and said, "Simple. You're an amateur."

Crossing his arms like a petulant child, Red-X responded, "Am not."

"Point proven."

Suddenly, Thorne cried out, "They're here!" She clapped her hands in excitement and the room dimmed so there were two spotlights, one on her and one on Slade.

"I want a spotlight, too!" complained Red-X. Thorne shot him a scathing glare, and he quieted down immediately.

No more than a second passed before the door was blasted in and the Titans stood, Cyborg's sonic cannon still glowing and humming with energy.

Before Thorne could utter even a single word, Robin's voice demanded, "Tell us where Raven is." The rest of the team seemed to wait with baited breath for a reply, and Starfire's hands subconsciously tightened around the strap of the bag that hung on her shoulder, which she hadn't put down since their visit to Raven's room. It held the broken bits of Ravne's mirror, the closest thing to Raven Starfire had.

"Tch, Robin. Are you so blinded by love for your teammate that you didn't even take the time to appreciate your surroundings? Did you pay no attention at all while I was teaching you?" Slade chastised, shaking his head sharply. "I'm disappointed."

Now, it wasn't that Robin hadn't noticed Slade. Batman's apprentice, leader of the Titans, Slade's apprentice. . . these titles had made him excellent at observation. So while, yes, he had noticed Slade, he hadn't taken the time to consider what his presence meant. His eyes flickered between the pair, suddenly concerned. "Don't tell me that you're his newest apprentice," Robin snarled, his gaze landing once again on Thorne.

Thorne gaze a single, humorless laugh at that, her eyes glinting darkly. "That, dearest Robin, would imply that I am below you, or Slade for that matter, in some way. I'm not. We're partners."

The slightest ripple of surprise, and possibly aggravation, darted across the male's facial expression, but it cleared just as swiftly. "Partner?" he asked, his voice slow and calculated. To anyone who knew the boy well, they knew that particular voice meant he was not at all happy with the situation at hand, but attempting to remain calm.

"It's a tentative trial run," Slade said. It appeared that he was just as unexcited by the arrangement as he former apprentice was.

"Anyways," Thorne interjected, her eyes glinting in obvious irritation. "I have an organization to eradicate, so, if the two of you ladies are finished speaking, I'd like to continue on without further ado." She flicked her wrists upwards sharply, and the lights came up, revealing a terribly white room, floors and walls alike. It was completely spotless, so one couldn't tell just how close they were to a wall until they'd run into it. The ceiling was also hidden by a blinding white light, making it impossible to look up and see how high it was.

Thorne tapped her throat, and her voice became amplified, echoing off the white walls and bouncing back in an eerie manner. "Welcome, Titans, my esteemed guests, to my world of fun. There are a few rules and warnings if you intend to survive my funhouse, which, with any luck, none of you will. Do not stand on a tile for more than three seconds, do not fly higher twenty yards, do not stay still for too long, do not make loud noises, do not get on my nerves or in my way, and for the love of everything, do not say 'Titans Go'. I'll probably vomit on my pretty white floors," she explained sharply, smiling through the entire speech. She stepped down from her little stage and began walking towards the Titans at a relaxed pace.

Robin tightened his grip on his bo staff as Beastboy, finally putting the plan into action, stepped forward from the ranks. "It doesn't have to be this way. Give us Raven. We can convert you, help you be better. We've done it for others," he offered.

"There is no better for me. There is no good side to me. I have destroyed your precious Raven," she spat, her eyes flickering uneasily at her last statement. Before Beastboy could process this, she was continuing her spiel."I. Am. Darkness!" shrieked the woman, her right hand flinging outwards angrily. Beastboy yelped slightly as a sphere of her energy completely encased him, suspending him fifty feet in the air so he was no longer in her way.

"Titans, attack!" Robin called, to with Thorne rolled her eyes and muttered something about stupid loopholes and flicked her wrist. The room seemed to buzz with electricity. As Starfire and Argent descended upon the sorceress, much of the team was attempting not to die. Kole, who had been standing completely still in shock, was alarmed as an invisible laser fired at her. She crystallized immediately, and the laser deflected towards the platform Thorne had previously been on.

The battle raged on, with lasers and disappearing tiles dispatching those who broke Thorne's "rules" while Thorne and Slade and, occasionally, Red-X, went head to head with the furious and mourning Titans. Beastboy, furiously attempting to remove himself from the sphere, was mostly watching the fight. Mostly watching Torne, to be exact. He need to find a small weakness, something to help them win. It wasn't until he was watching her against Robin, watching the way she seemed to know what he was going to do before he did it, that things began to click.

The way she knew her way around the tower, the way she smelled like weathered pages and lilac. The slender form of her fingers, and even the way she had morphed him back into a human.

His banging became even more frantic, his fists slamming and bashing the black energy. Before he knew it, he had become the Beast, his giant paws finally managing to shatter the sphere. If he was going to make this work, he had to move fast.

"Starfire! The bag!" he howled as he shifted into his human form. She gave him a look of confusion as she shot starbolts, but let the bag fall from her shoulder, dropping into his waiting hands. He clamored up onto the stage, the only space that seemed safe from disappearing tiles, and emptied the bag's contents. He started hastily shoving the shards of glass back into their placements, thankful that he was wearing thick gloves as his hands where safe from the jagged edges. Within a minute he had assembled the mirror, and he brandished in for the villainess and everyone else to see.

"Thorne! I know your secret!" he cried. He put the mirror down and allowed the black hands to yank him inside, ignoring Thorne's curses of protest as she flew in after him. Unbeknownst to the pair in the mirror or any most of the Titans, mainly due to the lights shutting off within seconds, two more bodies dove into the mirror before the glass began falling apart once more.

Hi! So, I know that this level is awkward and choppy, especially the ending, but I promise that there's a method to my madness, and that I'll be updating more frequently (hopefully).

To those who've previously read the fic, you'll see that I'm changing things up a bit. A bit more sophisticated, a bit less juvenile, hopefully. Also, I've got to keep you on your toes.

Thanks for sticking with me and taking all of my bullshit in stride, guys.