Several minutes earlier…
Slade saw the disc flying towards his face, and he broke his gaze with Raven, easily deflecting the projectile with his staff. The disc shot to his right, exploding a few feet away as chaos reigned below him. The blue and black clad Nightwing was sprinting in Slade's direction, easily defeating the bots standing between the Titan and Slade. The villain's blue eye watched the man approach with a smirk on his face. Nightwing was entirely fixated on his enemy; he didn't notice the rest of his team being overwhelmed by the other bots; he failed to recognize the lack of resistance in his path to Slade.
As Nightwing came beneath the catwalk Slade stood on, he jumped and pushed himself off the top of a bot's head, nimbly grabbing onto the metal edge of the overhead floor and vaulting himself over the rails. His feet landed hard on the ground, the sound of metal creaking and rattling from the force echoing around the two men as Slade smirked beneath his face and settled into a fighting stance.
Slade extended his staff to its fullest length, prepared to attack the young Titan in front of him. The anger and jealousy he felt was coursing through his body, steadying his heart into a determined rhythm. He saw Dick Grayson the way Raven did, a consequence of their connection: loyal, brave, strong, willful, kind, just. So much of what Slade was himself yet more. She considered him her closest friend, the one who knew all her secrets, but Slade was the one thing she couldn't admit. He didn't need to guess why. He knew it. He felt it whenever the guilt shot through her. A shame she didn't want to acknowledge. A friend she couldn't bear to lose. Even if Slade knew Raven did not feel for Grayson what he obviously felt for her, Slade could not shake the fear that if she was aware, she would prefer the perfect prince of Jump City. That she would choose the white knight, and Slade would be left alone, again.
The two men locked eyes, and without any quips or taunts, they launched at each other. Their staffs collided in a flurry of motion. Nightwing's adult strength was still no match for Slade, but his speed was better. Nightwing spun and dodged each of Slade's strikes, but his counters failed to land as Slade smacked his staff away over and over again. When Nightwing grew frustrated with his failed weapon strikes, he tried to land a kick in Slade's chest, and the bigger man grabbed his leg midair and yanked Nightwing off-balance causing him to stumble forward straight into Slade's knee and get his hair caught up in one of Slade's hands.
"Always so impatient, Robin," Slade taunted as he punched Nightwing hard in the side.
Grunting, Nightwing twisted out of Slade's grasp, striking Slade's side with an elbow. "You're right," Nightwing spat out, blood dribbling from a split lip, "I am impatient. For you to be rotting in cell!" With a yell, Nightwing advanced again, trying to sweep Slade's feet with his staff. When Slade easily hopped out of the way, Nightwing threw a sharpened disc, catching Slade's mask on one cheek and leaving a clean gash on the metal.
Slade scowled, his rage building further. As Nightwing pressed a series of strikes with his staff, Slade parried and managed to lock up the weapons in a standstill. Their faces were inches away as each pushed against the other, anger radiating off both.
"Face it, boy," Slade spat, "even if I go to prison, you'll never be rid of me. I'll always be in the back of your mind." Slade leaned in closer, surprising Nightwing as Slade hissed so only Nightwing could hear, "I'll always be in hers."
Nightwing's eyes widened, shock making his blood run cold. An impossible thought seared into his mind, a paranoid thought that he would never be able to shake. Shouting, Nightwing pulled away from their contest, flipping backwards with fury in his eyes as he reached for his belt.
Slade stumbled briefly at the loss of pressure against his staff but regained his footing quickly and was about to rush the Titan again when his mind was consumed by Raven.
Fear, confusion, despair. He felt his throat constricting with hers, a sweat breaking out on the back of his neck. His eye left Nightwing, searching for her in the madness below. He saw her dark blue cloak being swallowed by electrified bots. He had designed them to temporarily suppress her magic, all for the sake of the hundred of thousands watching, but he never believed they would get near her. They were programmed not to harm her, but the fear he felt as their hands reached was real.
Deeper, he realized quickly. Her fear was beyond the bots. She was afraid of him. She had seen him fighting Grayson. She feared for her family, and as he understood the rush of emotions coming between them, his mouth felt dry when he realized he was breaking her heart.
Slade's eye was on the bots surrounding his little bird, not watching Nightwing until the man yelled and a blinking disc sailed through the air. Slade had milliseconds to react, and he took no time in making his decision. With a fluid movement, Slade spun with his staff, hitting the disc on the edge and sending it flying into the bots surrounding Raven. The disc exploded on their backs, creating gaping holes that sent the bots crashing to the ground. He watched her eyes rise in surprise, meeting his blue one from across the room, and Slade focused his mind on her, letting the warmth of his presence comfort her.
I would never hurt you, Slade's thought drifted between them. His body was facing her, his back to Nightwing as a result of his spin, and the Titan lunged. An explosion behind Slade sent him sprawling to the floor facedown. Before Slade could recover, Nightwing was on him, his foot kicking into Slade's sides. Slade rolled, kicking out with his leg and just barely catching Nightwing's knee and giving Slade enough time to shift away. Still, Nightwing did not relent on his attack. The young man did a spinning kick and hit Slade across the face with his heel with enough power that Slade had to grip the rails of the catwalk to not fall over the edge. With his back again to the Titan, Nightwing jumped to finish the fight. His arms wrapped around Slade's neck in a headlock while his foot kicked out Slade's knees, so the larger man was kneeling as the Titan tightened his chokehold.
Slade viciously elbowed Nightwing's abdomen and worked his other hand on trying to break Nightwing's grip. Nightwing was struggling to keep Slade in his hold, but with each strike to his stomach, Nightwing squeezed harder, hoping the armor Slade used to protect himself wasn't high enough to block the pressure of the choke. As Slade's eyes began to blur, he pushed his body harder, needing to free his neck or else pass out and let all of it be for nothing. With all his strength, Slade forced himself to his feet, fighting against the Titan with each rising inch, and pushed his feet against the railing, sending both men backwards.
Nightwing's back slammed into the other railing, his grip loosening enough to allow the blood to flow through Slade's head once again but not enough to allow the villain to escape. As Nightwing struggled to regain his hold, Slade began to twist, shooting one leg behind Nightwing in attempt to throw him backwards over his hip. Sensing what Slade was trying to do, Nightwing defended against the throw, sending another brutal punch into Slade's ribcage.
Ow, Slade thought in annoyance. The way Nightwing was fighting was far more vicious than his normal style, and he was holding nothing back. Normally, Slade could still handle the brat without too much trouble, but unfortunately, he'd given the Titan his back and Nightwing was not ready to lose that advantage.
In the air, Starfire was flinging dozens of green bolts at the seemingly never-ending bots. When an explosion sounded below, Starfire glanced down seeing Raven emerge from a group of smoking metal corpses. Darting through the chaos, the alien sped to her friend, seeing the way she evaded the bots but never attacked.
"Friend!" Starfire called out, shooting lasers at an oncoming bot. "Are you okay?"
Raven glanced up at Starfire. "I'll be fine! Look out!" Raven pointed, the motion weak as she recovered feeling in her muscles.
Starfire shot upwards, narrowly avoiding a blast from a bot flying at her. Angry, her eyes blazed green, and she directed a massive starbolt at it, the heat so intense it melted a hole straight through and collapsed to the ground. With a frown, Starfire stared down at her friend. "This is getting quite annoying!" she called out.
Sorry, Raven mouthed to Starfire. Rubbing her arms, Raven began to feel the blood flowing into her fingers once again. Bots were still trying to approach her, but Raven jumped into the air and floated just above the fighting near Starfire, giving herself time to recover the use of her hands.
As she rose in the air, her eyes went immediately to the fighting on the walkway. She knew Slade had destroyed the bots. She still felt his warmth soothing her. His terror that she was hurt or hated him was stronger than any rage he felt toward Nightwing, but as she saw Slade trapped in Dick's grip, struggling to maintain consciousness, she felt the same fear.
Starfire heard the small gasp escape her dark friend, and when her green eyes followed the direction Raven stared, she found the source. Slade was losing.
That was not part of this plan, Starfire thought, unsure of what to do. Slade and Dick were both on the walkway with Slade caught in Dick's hold. No matter what the larger man tried to do, Dick was adamantly maintaining control. Biting her lip, Starfire glanced anxiously at Raven who was desperately trying to regain use of her fingers. Her face was paling as panic was setting in.
Another group of bots were flying towards the two women, their blasters trained on Starfire. Not wanting Raven caught in crossfire, Starfire flew away, bringing the bots near the walkway and maneuvering so she was below them and looking straight up at the massive water pipe directly above Dick and Slade.
As the bots swooped in closer, Starfire tried to remember the angry and hurtful way Dick had spoken to her earlier. The dismissiveness he displayed at her wanting to speak to Raven. When the heavy blast left Starfire's hands, she felt no guilt when it went wide of the bots and hit the pipe straight on, breaking it open and dumping a waterfall onto the two men with such force that it split them apart and nearly washed them both off the catwalk.
The bots, soaked with water, continued the chase, forcing Starfire to spin and fly away, but she took a fraction of a second to meet Raven's eyes and give her a quick wink.
Knocked off his feet, Slade was carried to the edge of the catwalk by the flood of water. His gloved hands latched onto the rails, keeping his body on the walkway as water continued to pour from the pipe. Pulling himself to his feet, Slade scanned for Nightwing.
There, he thought as he found the man dangling from the edge by one hand. Water was drowning him, making it difficult for him to hold on. Standing straight, Slade rubbed at his neck and stalked over until he was glowering down at the Titan. His heavy metal boot stepped on Nightwing's fingers, and even through the roar of the water, Slade heard Nightwing's cry of pain as the bones fractured.
When Slade lifted his foot to stomp down on the hand, a blast of dark magic hit him square in the face, and his body was thrown backwards all the way to the other wall. His back crashed into a pipe, and Slade felt his spine bruise at the contact.
Collapsed on his knees, Slade lifted his head. Emerging like a goddess from the night, Raven stepped fully from her shadows, her hand still raised and eyes glowing white. When their eyes met, Slade couldn't help but smile. Despite her emotionless mask, he knew she was smiling too.
Groaning, Slade stood, his hand reaching for his bo staff and extending it with a grin. "You Titans really never learn."
"No," Raven replied, walking beneath the broken pipe and deflecting the pouring water away from her body with magic, "we don't, but you will."
Chuckling, Slade inched forward in a fighting stance. "Is that a threat?"
Raven's eyes were bright white, and her mouth quirked into a smirk. "A promise." Behind her, Nightwing was lifted onto the walkway by black energy where he lie panting for breath and cradling his hand. His eyes were following Raven as she moved closer to Slade, and despite his exhaustion and pain, it was obvious he wanted to stop her and fight himself.
As Raven got closer, though, her eyes burned brighter, and Slade felt the calm in her mind radiate into his, an acceptance overcoming her. Magic bloomed at her chest, and Raven brought her hands up, holding it in her hands before she released it, her hands extending to her sides as the darkness swallowed her. Slade and Nightwing and the millions watching stared in awe as the blue-cloaked woman changed before their eyes. The storm that had once clouded Raven's mind was gone, and there was nothing but clarity left. When the magic faded, the blue cloak and black and red leotard were white as snow.
Slade stepped back, a memory of her defeating Trigon in this state coming to him. He had seen the power she wielded then, and his chest thrummed with pride at seeing her this way again. With the confidence of a madman, Slade drove his staff towards her, aiming the blunt end for her chest.
His body came to a halt, everything stilling as Raven raised her palm. Black energy coated him and his staff, and with a snap of her fingers, the staff turned to dust in his hands. With another twist of her wrist, Slade was pushed back against the wall, his arms and legs spread. Trying to struggle against her power, his muscles barely twitched.
Cocking her head, Raven observed him with a wicked smile growing. In her head, she couldn't help but think how similar this position was to the one Slade had kept her in for hours a few nights ago.
You do it better, Slade teased her mentally. And you will pay for this, little bird.
Raven raised a brow, a heat building at Slade's promise.
"Learned your lesson yet, Slade?" Raven quipped.
Narrowing his eye, Slade tried moving again to no avail. With a sneer, he replied, "I'm about to teach you a lesson you won't forget, girl."
"Hmm," Raven hummed, "I don't think so." With a swipe of her hand, the armor on Slade's body was ripped from him, leaving him in nothing but the tight black underarmor and his mask.
You were right, Slade, Raven thought with amusement, that is a good move.
Cute, Slade replied dryly.
Keeping Slade in his compromised position, Raven turned to the ongoing fight below. Bots were lying in shambles, but her friends were still struggling against the remaining few, having been exhausted by the prolonged encounter. With a chant, Raven's eyes glowed brighter and she stuck out a hand, magic shooting from it and dismantling the rest of the bots. Giving the Titans below a curt nod, Raven looked at the contraption on the walkway attached to the water supply. The timer only had five minutes left, and Raven used both of her hands to detach the pipes at once, crushing them closed to prevent any of the red liquid from escaping. With the threat to the city neutralized, Raven looked over her shoulder at Slade with a sly smile on her face.
"It's over, Slade," she said with finality. "You're under arrest."
Looking between the destroyed bots, the dismantled contraption, and Raven standing proudly over it all, Slade laughed aloud, the sound sending shivers over the other Titans. "So it is," he said with all the tone of an insane man. But the difference between a madman and a man in love was impossible to tell.
A/N: I hope I didn't leave you all with too big of a cliffhanger with the last chapter. I was planning for 30/31 to be one, but that would have left it as a massive chapter. Also, this story has surpassed 100k words which is crazy! Thank you again to everyone who's read this far and been enjoying the story. Your comments, likes, and reviews have been really encouraging to get this finished up.