Next chapter for you :)

Raven watched the blade bite into her skin, stifling a gasp of surprise. Slade was right; although she could see the glistening blade break her skin and bring her dark blood to the surface she couldn't feel it. A memory sprung, unbidden, to the forefront of her mind. 'Some blades are so sharp that when they cut you, you can't even feel it until later.' She could remember a blade, almost identical to the one currently drawing scarlet designs on her arms, being brought to red lips, a tongue running over its metal. 'That is the kind of blade I will be using on you my child.'
"You remember now don't you Raven?" Slade whispered eye completely focused on his knife as the empath began to feel the pain. "How your father branded you. How I will brand you." Raven shied away from the blade as it was once again lowered to her burning flesh, the memory from Azarath still playing in her head.

"But he wasn't there. He didn't brand me. He made me do it." She protested, wincing as Slade snatched at her arm, forcing it to lie still as he continued his 'branding'. "But that mean you're not here. That's why my friends can't see you." The villain chuckled.

"But my dear if I'm not here how could I be doing this?" He asked, putting the knife against the hollow of the girl's throat.

"I don't know." Raven's eyes flashed white with power as her soul self left her body. Silently she thanked her need to keep secrets, Cyborg hadn't known she could leave her body and therefore couldn't stop her from doing it. Her soul pulled at the ropes binding her body breaking them within seconds before returning to herself.

"Impressive." Slade commented, pressing a hand against her stomach to keep her still. "But it's too late to stop me." The blade pressed against her jugular and then fell through to the pillow as she dissolved into her soul self again. "You can run from me Raven but as long as there is darkness in your life I will be there." Slade yelled after her as the jet black bird flew through the floor.

//

Raven fell to her knees in the evidence vault, cradling the arm that Slade had been cutting. She ripped a piece of tattered cloth from her cloak and bound the intricate wound gently. It would heal soon enough but she didn't have time to lose any more blood. Quickly she scanned the room for anything she could use to her advantage. Slade had the strange ability to avoid everything she threw at him. "Tick tock Raven." The dark voice came from the shadows. "You can't hide in the dark forever."

"How did you find me so quickly?" Raven asked him, backing away from his hiding place as he stepped into the open, waving a small device.
"I never stop watching you Raven. Never." He moved closer menace shining through in his movements. "I will always be with you my dark bird. I will never stop." The villain's voice dropped to a whisper as he leaned in towards the girl who was pressed against the wall in her attempt to get as afar away as possible from Slade. "Tell me Raven. Are you afraid? Is it terror coursing through your veins?" He grasped the front of her ruined cloak, lifting her to his eye level. "Or is it anger? Fury at the fact that I can do this to you? Rage towards how easily you are defeated? Or maybe you enjoy the experience of being hunted. Darting through the shadows as prey forced no longer to be predator. Tell me Raven. How does it feel?" He pushed his face close to hers, eye narrowed.

"I don't feel." She hissed in defiance. If she was going to die she sure as hell wasn't going quietly. Her power flared out around her, encasing her and her attacker in its darkness. The Titan levitated them both to the ceiling before slamming Slade down with all the force she could muster. Amazingly he landed on his feet, rolling neatly to avoid damage.

"Are you wondering why you can't hurt me Raven?" The mark of Scath shone proudly from the darkness. "Why I am stronger than anything you have ever faced?" The voice was behind her. Too late she turned only to be thrown into the floor, a small crater splintering the concrete where she landed. The empath coughed into her hand, unsurprised when she saw the blood on her palm and dragged herself to her feet.

"No." She breathed. "I'm wondering when you got so damn talkative." Power flared briefly around, flickering out seconds later when a stabbing pain shot through her chest.
"The darkness is not always silent my dear, sometimes it just needs to make itself heard." He said softly, pacing towards the girl, lifting her by her throat and smashing her petit, already broken form into the shelves, causing crates to crash down around them. Raven's eyes fluttered closed.

//

Starfire screamed when the door still refused to open, eyes glowing a dangerous green as she threw a large starbolt at the sheet of metal, effectively blowing it up. Without a glance at the stunned, and slightly scared boys, she flew inside. "Friends. Raven is not here." Her tone was puzzled but at the same time filled with relief.

"How did she get out?" Cyborg murmured, picking up a piece of torn rope from the bed. "This should have blocked her powers."

"She always said her powers were influenced by emotions right?" Beastboy said, looking at the bed a frown etched upon his face. "When she saw that she was tied down she was terrified. Angry as hell but terrified." His eyes shot wide when a cursory glance at a sheet that had fallen to the floor showed him a lot of fresh blood. He sniffed carefully. Raven's blood. "Uh guys?" He picked the sheet from the floor showing it to his friends.
"We need to find her now." Robin hissed through his teeth, tearing his eyes from the bloodied sheet. "If she's lost that much blood. I really don't like her chances of surviving this." The other Titans turned away, refusing to meet his masked gaze, or the truth they knew was shining behind the fabric. A crash from below caught their attention.

"Raven." Starfire breathed softly, panic filtering back into her voice. She plunged her hands into the floor, tearing the metal back before flying through, her teammates right behind her.

//

A cold blade slid across her arm, jolting her awake. She was cold, colder than usual, and it suddenly occurred to her exactly how much blood she had lost. "Glad you could rejoin me Raven." Slade chuckled. She focused her eyes on the floor; all the files Robin had so painstakingly organised had fallen when Slade slammed her into the shelves. She could feel splinters of wood that had embedded themselves in her back and shifted uncomfortably. The masked villain chuckled mercilessly holding her tighter. His grip was painful on her throat and she could barely breath, but the hand on her arm was causing enough pain to keep her conscious, the bone felt like it was splintering under the man's strength.

"Why are you doing this?" She spat through clenched teeth, refusing to scream.

"Because I can." Slade laughed. "I am the only one who can do this to you. No one else could even get close." Raven growled when he placed his head next to hers. "All it takes is a little darkness Raven and you are all powerful." He whispered directly into her ear. She turned her head away from his, her eyes catching a glint of light on the floor. A Slade mask, she noted dully as the man continued to whisper. She wasn't paying attention to him anymore. That was when this had started, only hours before, she realised. When she lifted the mask, she'd started coughing. 'Was just some dust that got down my throat. That's all.' There shouldn't have been dust; they'd only closed his file the day before. Slade's fist smashed into the side of her head, setting a ringing through her ears. "Did you hear me Raven? Or is your life fading into the darkness?" The empath spat blood from her mouth to the floor.

"Neither. I stopped listening ages ago." She told him, locking eyes with his.

"Now that's not very polite is it? The shadows finally get a voice and their mistress doesn't even listen." Slade crooned, sliding a gloved finger along the bruise that was forming on her cheek. He threw her across the room again. "It doesn't take much to be courteous my dear." Raven flinched at the endearment he insisted on using. Her eyes flickered to the light switch, remembering. 'Leaving her in total darkness… three in the morning…cave… flicking the lights off…' Slade had only ever attacked her in the dark. "The shadows don't like to be ignored Raven." His voice was louder now and the empath looked up to see him standing over her, rage shining in his steel grey eyes as again he lifted her from the floor.
"Why the shadows Slade? Why not you. Because it is you I'm ignoring. Isn't it?" She choked near the end as the mans grip tightened again. She felt like one huge bruise but she kept talking. "Are you the shadow here Slade. Is that why no one else can see you? Was it that dust in your mask?" She watched the villain's eye carefully, barely catching the hint of panic cross through its depths. "What happens if I turn on the light?" Slade roared, crashing his fists into the girl's body with the punishing force that he had not unleashed until now. Cracks echoed around the room as her bones broke under his hands.
"It doesn't matter Raven. You are Mine." He growled his voice feral, as the still defiant girl refused to scream, instead biting down on her lip, letting the blood run freely down her face.

"No." She whispered. "Azarath…" A fist collided with her stomach. "Met-rion…" Another to her chest. "Zinthos…" A tiny spark of power hit the light switch, forcing it upwards and flooding the room with a harsh light. "I am not yours." The empath breathed watching the man fade, his single eye still surprised. "And neither is Terra or Robin." She added, satisfied that he had been defeated. A door opening nearby alerted her to her friend's arrival. Raven let her head fall back to the cold floor, breathing slowly. "I'll get up in a minute." She whispered to no one. "I just need to rest for a second. That's all." She added explaining her actions to the blinded shadows. Footsteps sounded next to her head, followed by someone falling to their knees. A cry of her name. "I'm ok." Her voice trailed off, she felt numb now. Her vision greyed around the edges. "Just need a second…" Someone was crying above her. The sound echoed strangely. Another someone was stroking her hair. It felt strangely nice. "Minute…" Her eyes fluttered closed of their own accord and she was lost in the dark once again.

I am getting into a nasty habit of killing my favourite characters. But have no fear for I have not finished this story yet.