Raven followed the large Slade bot down the luxurious hallways of the mansion. After finishing her healing, Wintergreen entered the cell, asking to follow him. He brought her to a large bathroom that was clean to the bone. The white marble was bright; the golden colored drapes flung heavily from the rails against the tall windows. The bathtub was huge, as well as the shower next to it. Wintergreen had given her a fresh pair of clothes which was surprisingly her actual uniform. She felt a little disturbed that Slade had a pair of her clothes. That only meant that he had went into her clothes drawers. What made her even more uncomfortable is that he had went into her undergarments drawer to retrieve her bra and underwear. A shiver ran up her spine, but she shook it off.
After her well needed shower, she dressed into her clean, lilac scented uniform. Her cape and belt was not with her however, leaving her only in the short jumpsuit. Wintergreen advised her to put her hair up, for she would be doing a lot of activities. He gave her a black hair tie. She was confused but more curious to know what Slade had in store. She pulled her medium length, hair into a tight ponytail.
They arrived at a door, which looked different from the rest. It was not brown like the others. It was metallic. The slade bot continued down the hallway and turned to the left at the end of the corridor as if it was a human being doing its own tasks; this left her alone with Wintergreen.
"What's going on?" She whispered.
Wintergreen looked at her and lightly smiled. "Slade will like to make you stronger, so he will be training you for the next couple of weeks."
The word "weeks" repeated in her mind over and over again. She did not want to be stuck with Slade for weeks. Yes, the mansion she assumed he lived in was beautiful, but it surely doesn't change the fact that it belongs to such an evil man like Slade.
Wintergreen opened the door and had Raven go in first. She looked around the large gym area. There was a section for weights in one corner. The bench press was large with many weights surrounding it and a bar of dumbbells were neatly stacked right next to it. Across from it was a punching bag area. She noticed that there were 5 extra bags in the corner just incase one of them tears or breaks. Raven knew all too well after many episodes of Nightwing destroying theirs. Two husky Slade bots were standing in the corner. They were obviously disabled for the moment, for their heads were down and limbs lifeless. In the middle of all of this was a large area with a big cream colored mat used for combat.
Raven gulped. She was in for some big trouble.
"Slade will be with you momentarily. He is simply finishing up some business." Wintergreen turned to leave the gym. Raven was left standing awkwardly at the entrance. She rubbed her arm, still looking around the gym with amazement. She walked onto the mat and felt its softness. She walked to the middle, taking notice of every detail. She was shocked to see everything neat and organized, even the torn up punching bags were piled neatly in a corner to be taken out for trash. Raven kept a cautious eye at the two disabled bots in the corner. She surely didn't want to get jumped by one of them.
"This gym would make Nightwing cry from envy."
Raven jumped when she heard the door opened. She turned her body and came into eye contact with Slade. His large figure quietly entered the area. He also noticed her presence and her shapely figure in the new change of clothes. He adjusted his eyes to her face to avoid looking at her body. There was silence. Raven couldn't help but notice that he was moving much slower than usual. He seemed out of it and his body seemed mangled a bit. Raven's face softened. She felt a little bad for the man. Her eyes continued to scan him, and Slade noticed.
"Like something you see?"
Raven blushed at the comment. Her eyes quickly adverted to the faint mat instead of him. Slade inwardly laughed at her embarrassment.
Slade closed his eyes and lifted his big arms over his head to stretch. His body was sore from fighting the Titans, and his head was still throbbing, but it eased after taking strong painkillers. Slade looked at Raven. She was still standing in the middle of the mat, looking like a lost child. He smirked.
"Did Wintergreen tell you?"
Raven stared straight into his cloudy grey eye. "He told me that you wanted to train me."
Slade nodded and stretched his limbs even more. His wincing grabbed Raven's attention. "You are correct, so I suggest you start stretching. If you pull a muscle, that will be on you."
Raven's heart fluttered. She was anxious and worried, but she feared slightly because her combat skills were not up to par at all. Usually, she would slack on them in training at the Tower. It simply wasn't her style.
Raven rolled her eyes and started stretching her limbs. She looked at the light weighted, power cancellation bracelets on her thin campuses. She was so relieved that the heavy chains were replaced with this new style, and just in time too.
"Get on the mat."
Raven made a face at the harsh tone of his command. She didn't like taking orders from those she didn't respect, especially him. Slade balled his fists at the disrespect in her face. He took deep breaths to calm his nerves and not punch the female.
The two stood, facing each other. Raven was confused but continued standing in front of the tall man. She didn't know what to do, and he wasn't saying anything either.
Out of nowhere, Slade took a strong hold of Raven's arm and leg. He brought himself underneath the thin woman and slammed her down onto the mat. Raven gave a surprised yelp when her body crashed onto the mat. Although it was soft, it still stinged. She opened her eyes and saw Slade nonchalantly standing over her with his hands behind his back. Her anger was starting to boil.
"Robin never told you to always think fast?" Slade grinned when he saw her get even more angry. He knew that his old apprentice referred himself to Nightwing, but it didn't matter to him.
She sat up and got to her feet. She rubbed her back and winced. "I thought you were going to teach me, not attack me."
"How are you going to learn without hands on experience? Now, show me what you know."
Raven hesitated. Her combative skills were not good, but she was tired of embarrassing herself in front of this man. She ran towards Slade. Her arm ready for a punch. Slade easily saw her advancement and dodged her swing. Her fist connected with air, but her other hand was taken by Slade's larger one and twisted behind her back. The discomfort brought her quickly to her knees in submission. Slade's large form hovered over her.
"You are not that great at this."
She tried to fight against his hold, but it gave her more pain. "Let me go you bastard."
Slade twisted her arm even more, making her give a louder yelp. "Language. Watch it." He released her arm. Raven rubbed her sore shoulder.
"I'm not a child. Don't speak to me like that." Raven spat back.
Slade brought his arm back in a fist and brought it down to punch her, but she quickly eluded the attack. His fist went straight into the mat, full on. He retracted his hand, shaking it to relieve the sting.
He turned around and was punched by her small fist. Slade fell back, but didn't waste time getting back on his feet. He stepped to the side, avoiding a kick to his knees. He was impressed by her quick thinking. However, it's not good enough.
Raven planted another kick to his abdomen. He bent over in pain. She unknowingly kicked the same area that was already bruised from Cyborg's shot. Raven took note of the pain evident in his eye. She knew that her kick was not strong enough to hurt the husky man that much. Whatever it was, it's a weak point. Raven made more distance between them, her shoulders went up and down with every deep pant she took. Beads of sweat were on her forehead and her arms were up and ready.
Slade looked up, "You're doing good, for an ameture fighter."
"Enough with the insults. You're the one that's in pain so far." She smirked when she saw that his expression became serious.
Slade got to his feet and charged for Raven. She knew he was going to come at her, but not so quickly. She sparingly dodged each quick jab he made, but she was lagging; she wasn't fast enough. One punch made contact with her cheek, and it was a hard punch too. Her head turned hard to the right and her body followed soon after. She crashed onto the mat. Her ponytail became loose and slipped out of the hair tie that was given to her. Her long purple locks covered her face while she lied on the mat. Her hand covered her now bruised cheek. She stayed on the mat wincing in pain.
Slade winced when he saw how hard he punched her. He didn't expect himself to be that forceful. "I guess I underestimated her endurance." Slade's demeanor became less cautious. His strict fighting instincts were telling him to leave the girl alone until she got back on her feet, but she was not getting up. He had to make sure that he didn't break any facial bones to his new prodigy. He went on one knee next to her. Her back was turned to him and her face covered by her purple hair. Slade reached and placed his hand on her shoulder to turn her around.
"Let me-oof!"
Raven retaliated by giving Slade a hard punch as well. Slade was not expecting the attack. He fell back. The impact of his mask smashing against his face was painful. He even heard a small crack in his nose. Slade slid back on the mat, grabbing the mask. It was cracked in the middle, but nothing too severe.
Raven was back on her feet. Her cheek was red, but her eyes said a different story. She looked determined. Raven saw that he was down on his side. She bolted to him and gave a hard kick to his abdomen once again. Slade gave a loud yell when she began to repeatedly kick his wound. Raven tried to stop but her body wouldn't let her. Her brain screamed for her to stop her assault, but her anger wanted to inflict more pain. More adrenaline was surging throughout her body, giving her more and more energy. Eventually she stopped her attack and looked down at her work. Slade's mask was slightly cracked, his abdomen sore, and Raven could tell the unbearable pain from his body language.
Raven bent down to his eye level and whispered, "Am I still good for an ameture?"
There was silence. Slade was still on the mat holding his wound. He stared into Raven's purple eyes. He saw her power. It was starting to show. Though he was still in immense pain, he was moved by her actions, but he wasn't ready to give up, not yet.
Slade pounced on the unexpected Raven. She fell back onto the mat. Both her wrists were pinned to the mat by Slade's gloved hands. His grip was strong and his body weight was heavy on top of could feel her breasts against his chest, and her body was warm. He didn't know why, but he liked this position. Her violet hair was strewn over the mat around her head. She struggled to loosen his grip, but it wasn't going to work. She had no point but to stare at him and face defeat. Their faces were so close. She could feel his warm breath against her mouth,but her face was still determined. Slade smirked underneath his mask when he saw a faint blush come across her pale cheeks.
"Impressive." Slade began, "but not good enough."
"Now that you will be spending quite some time with us, I'll upgrade your dormitory, but don't think that I won't take it away when you go beyond the rules.."
Raven could hear his voice harshen when he gave her the threat, but she tried not to focus on it. She gave Slade a suspicious look. "An upgrade?... What? I get a cot with no bugs?
Slade chuckled at the smart comment. "Even better."
Raven followed Slade down one of the long hallways. She wanted to ask so many questions about the mansion, how he was able to afford it, if anyone else lived with him. She shot those questions down, not planning on asking the mercenary. She highly doubted that he would answer them. Slade stopped in front of a brown door. The handle looked fancy and was a gold color.
"Oh. No cell?"
"Like I said, it's an upgrade."
Slade opened the door and stepped to the side for Raven to walk in.
Raven was amazed at the beauty of the room. She had a queen sized bed in the center of the room with vanilla colored bedsheets. There was white carpet all throughout the room. A bookshelf with what seemed to have 100 books neatly stacked and a personal bathroom on the other side, concealed by a door. A small table to read or do work was next to the entrance and there was a rocking chair facing the tall windows into the city.
"I assume you like it." Slade was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He liked seeing her so astonished. He didn't know why he gave her such an exquisite room so quickly. He certainly debated doing so, but he felt like she deserved it for now.
"I...I don't know what to say.." Raven said with shock she meandered around the room slowly, looking at the valuables.
"A thank you would be great."
Raven glared at Slade. She hated when he made her feel like a child. "Thanks..."
Slade stood straight. He winced slightly in pain. "Wintergreen should be up to give you dinner soon. You should have clothes in your drawer if you want to freshen up."
Raven didn't know why he was being so nice to her. It wasn't long ago when she spat in his face. She didn't want to admit it, but they did have an internal bond after his services to her father. Trigon not only gave him powers, but also a history of herself. Some secrets she held dear to her from the past were revealed to him. He knew the weaknesses of her powers and most importantly, to herself. The information of her emotions were also told to him by her father. Although she knew he did not understand and know every inch of information on her, he knew enough to understand her on some level. There's no denial that something is linking them together. Raven nodded, indicating to Slade that she understood his message.
Slade walked out the room, gently closing the door to her grand room.
Raven lied in her comfortable bed with a full stomach. Not only did she get an upgrade in her room, she received an upgrade in meals. It benefited her greatly considering the fact she was losing weight from a lack of food. Everything is turning well, but she missed her friends. She longed to see them in the Tower. She wanted to see Cyborg and Changeling have their usual fight; Nightwing's serious self, and Starfire's bright smile.
Slade has been treating her well, but that doesn't mean she's going to be open to him now. She needed to keep her guard up. Slade can't be trusted, bond or no bond. However, she couldn't help but recall her moments with him. It was very rocky in the beginning, but everything seems to be smoothing out...so far. She still doesn't know what his intentions for her are, but he surely seems to have something planned.
The thick creamy colored covers were brought even closer to her face. She felt like a child snuggled in a sea of blankets. She inhaled deeply, smelling a scent of vanilla. A satisfied smile came across her lips. She certainly was not complaining about her arrangements, but why was he treating her so nicely? Is he working for her father again? "Of course not! That's ridiculous."
Raven closed her eyes to prepare her mind for sleep. She gave a small chuckle to herself when she heard one of her emoticons. "What if he's starting to like you?"
Raven wanted to laugh at the thought of that. She started to believe that her emotions were becoming delusional. There's no way she and Slade could be a thing, no way at all. A man like Slade will never have passion for a significant other. He's evil and selfish; that will never change, no matter how many fancy things he flaunt in her face.
Raven was starting to drift off to sleep until she heard her Love emotion whisper in her mind, asking,
"Slade might not like you, but do you like him?"
She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, taking in the warming scent of the covers again. Her body started to drift off into sleep. However, in the back of her mind, she continued to hear Love ask the question again in a quiet whisper,
"...Do you like him?.."
Sorry that I was not able to keep my promise of posting this chapter a lot sooner but I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Don't forget to review, like and follow!