Even though Icon was currently an organism with that was in many ways stronger and faster than a human, he was scared. Slade apparently seemed to be aware of what Icon was currently capable of, and yet that single eye did not reflect any worry or anxiety. Instead, Slade looked as if he was the true predator in this new game of cat and mouse.

"You," Icon poised himself, "Are SO going to get it…"

"Was that a threat?" mocked Slade as he pulled out his bow staff.

"It's a fact!" With that, Icon went at Slade like a speeding bullet. Icon scored a clean hit, tackling Slade with such force that the man was sent skidding backwards. However, when Icon made a u-turn Slade quickly extended his staff and caught Icon at the ankles. It was then Icon's turn to be sent sprawling as he was sent face first into the dirt.

"It seems we have much to discuss…" Slade said coolly as he elegantly picked himself up from the ground.

"I don't have time for small talk," Icon got back to his feet and prepared for a second round against his opponent.

"Oh I think you'll have more than enough time," Slade was oddly placid.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Three, two, one…" The instant Slade had counted down to one, a high-pitched noise accompanied a flashing red light from the dial on Icon's chest. Icon was engulfed in a red light and had once again resumed his human form.

Slade seemed to smirk from behind his mask. "Don't think I haven't taken a little time to get to know you before today…"

There was nothing that could have described the dread that was welling up in Icon's stomach. Here he was tens of feet below the Earth's surface, the Omnitix had timed out on him, and to top it all off he was trapped with an armed sociopath who seemed to know Icon better than he knew himself.

"Uh oh…" Icon nearly uttered the words in a whimper from his paling lips. That single eye on Slade's mask was viewing him the same way a cat would watch a canary in a birdcage.

"Quite right," hissed Slade as he began to move in.

After summoning whatever courage he had left in him, Icon managed to direct his hands to his commissioned utility belt. Following a bit of fumbling, Icon grabbed a portable hand held weapon similar in design to the ones used by the masked androids. Since there had always been a risk that the Omnitrix would time out on Icon during a mission, the Titans had been provided him with at least one method to defend himself. Icon fired the weapon. Much to Icon's shock, Slade deflected the oncoming laser bolt with his bow staff and smacked the handheld weapon out from Icon's hands, disarming him. With another twirl of his staff, Slade manipulated the handheld weapon so that it fell perfectly into his outstretched palm.

"You should really be more careful, you could hurt yourself with something like this," Slade chided mockingly as he then proceeded to crush the handheld weapon with his bare hand.

Icon reeled back out of fear and astonishment as Slade then tossed the remains of the weapon to the ground. "Now, where was I?" Slade's body relaxed as he put away his bow staff. Much to the criminal mastermind's amusement, Icon was now desperately tapping away at the Omnitrix's buttons, vain attempts to reactivate the device.

"Don't bother with that, you know just as well as I do that the Omnitrix will not be operable again after such a short time. So you might as well listen to my proposal."

"What?" Icon was both baffled and shocked. First, Slade had just made it known that he knew what the device on Icon's wrist was, and then there was the topic of Slade's ever so desired conversation.

"I'll put it in more simple terms. I'm making you an offer, a deal," Slade paused. "Should I make things even simpler?"

"I know what a deal is!" retorted Icon. "And whatever you're selling I'm not buying!"

"So Beastboy has already begun to rub off on you," noted Slade, scratching the chin of his mask. "I see that I was correct in arranging this meeting…"

Icon was floored. "You mean this whole heist—"

"Was planned simply for the pleasure of meeting you and your friend." Slade seemed to be smirking with glee from beneath his mask.

Icon scowl intensified. "You're the one who was tracking me and Terra in the desert!" It had been becoming more and more obvious since he had seen Slade's face on the screen. The masked androids, the listening device, Slade's mask…they all had that distinct copper and black pattern.

"You are a clever one," Slade's voice was ironic.

"Well if you wanted to meet us, why'd have your robots attack us?"

"I had to test the two of you, Icon," Slade said it as if what he had done was the most obvious and reasonable action imaginable.

"Test us?" The ever-increasing unpleasantness of the situation suddenly spiked for Icon.

"I needed to see how I could help you."

"HELP US? You almost got us killed!"

"You need that help, Icon," insisted Slade. "It makes you stronger. That's how you've been able to survive, you don't just endure, you adapt!" Slade paused for a moment. "It's what I like about you…"

"Where are you going with this?" asked Icon edgily.

"I'm offering you a chance to increase that strength," Slade extended a hand.

Icon would have remained frozen on the spot from the shock at Slade's words if he hadn't heard a familiar beeping noise emanating from his left wrist. "Sorry," retorted Icon as he made for the Omnitirx's dial, "But I'm not interested—" He was just about to slam his hand down upon the dial when Slade quickly lunged at him.

Icon felt his left wrist seized in a vice-like grip as his arm was painfully twisted behind his back. Slade then proceeded to pin Icon facedown on to the ground and gripped Icon's remaining arm, immobilizing him. "At least hear me out," hissed Slade into Icon's ear.

"Why?" grunted a struggling Icon.

"Because you're still unrefined," Slade tightened his hold, "You have potential but you still lack complete control, you still have more boundaries to push," Slade turned his attention to Icon's left wrist.

"Aren't you tired of being restricted by that device's limitations? Wouldn't you rather be able to use it to its fullest extent, to be able to always transform into the form that you desire, to no longer worry about a time limit?"

"Wh-what makes you think, ack!" Icon gritted his teeth in pain from the hold that Slade had on him. "What makes you think that you can do that? How do you know?"

"It's merely simple deduction," said Slade. "If we join together, we can uncover the secrets of the Omnitrix…"

"I told you I'm not interested! I'm with the Titans—"

"Icon, you don't honestly believe that they are truly your friends, do you?" derided Slade.

"What do you know?"

"They only accepted you when you and your traveling companion took care of their little house problem."

"How do you know about—Wait," Icon's scowl deepened as a thought occurred to him, "Was Plasmus another test?"

"You catch on fast," Slade's voice was laced with amusement. "But as I was saying, you're nothing more than a tool to them."

"Why should I believe you?" Icon was trying to hide his insecurity with his antagonism.

"Because I've taken the time to understand you Icon," Slade released his hold. Icon scrambled to his feet and quickly distanced himself to one of the rocky walls. It wasn't until he tried to engage the Omnitrix did he notice the strange feeling in his right arm. It was an odd mixture of numbness and a burning sensation that was shooting through the limb. Icon clutched his right arm in discomfort as it dangled limply at his side.

While Slade had had Icon pinned to the ground, he had gripped Icon's right arm in such a way that it would be incapacitated for a period of time. Slade had undoubtedly wanted to ensure that his one-man audience would continue to listen.

"You once led a peaceful existence, but destiny called," Slade returned his focus to the Omnitrix, "And with destiny you were faced with danger and loss. You then had to learn to become stronger fast or risk facing even more loss. But even all that effort may still not be enough. I'm the only one who can help you with that; your so-called friends only want you to prevent them from suffering loss. To them you're no more of a tool than the Omnitrix," Slade paused again so that the words could sink in. "So, Icon, what will it be?"

Icon stared at Slade hard. True, he and Terra had not been made members of the team until they had defeated Plasmus, and come to think about it, a reason Icon had gained the approval of each Titan in the first place was because he had prevented them from suffering loses. Most of the trust he had gained had been from fending off the H.I.V.E and helping Robin to safety. Heck, it wasn't until he had made short work of Dr. Light as an Ectonurite that he had been able to gain Raven's approval. And then there had been Terra, had she only traveled with him to seek protection? Was that the only reason anyone had ever wanted him around, for the Omnitrix? Perhaps there was a ring of truth in Slade's words…

But wait; there were a few holes in Slade's logic. Icon began to remember moments disproving the man's words. When Icon had received that head injury, the Titans hadn't been concerned about the Omnitrix. The Omnitrix hadn't been provided medical attention, given a bed, or offered food. Terra and Beastboy hadn't been waiting at a bedside for the Omnitrix to wake up. It had been Icon, the person that had been the center of everyone's concern. No one had paid any attention to the Omnitrix, the one thing that would supposedly have made Icon valuable. If Icon had been no more of a tool than the Omnitrix, then wouldn't he have been cast aside as dead weight? Wouldn't the Titans have tried taking the Omnitrix for themselves if its bearer had been out of action? And why would anyone have waited at his bedside if no one had really cared about him?

Icon then looked at his right arm that was dangling uselessly at his side. Slade had claimed that he was the only one that could help Icon. But would someone who cared for Icon's well-being have done something like this to him?

"Well, Icon?" Slade was getting impatient. Icon gave his response with three simple actions. He first shot Slade a glare, moved his left wrist close to his face, and pressed his nose to the button that engaged the Omnitrix. Icon felt a powerful grip take a hold of his left arm for the second time that day. He looked up to see Slade's eye narrowing in irritation. Icon winced in pain as Slade slowly began to tighten his hold on his one remaining good arm. "Perhaps you need a little more persuasion…"

Icon found himself dropping to his knees, yelling in pain as Slade suddenly applied even more pressure. His arm felt like it was on the verge of snapping in two. "Are you reconsidering?" Slade's narrowed eye was now signaling sadistic glee.

"No, he's not!"

Slade looked over his shoulder to see a certain indigo-cloaked sorceress rising from a dark portal that had formed in the ground. Upon hearing the explosion that had separated Terra and Icon, Raven had been one of the team members that had been sent to check up upon the two on the account of her phasing abilities.

Icon took advantage of the distraction and turned the Omnitrix's dial with his nose. He quickly proceeded to use his nose to ungracefully slam the dial.

Slade turned his head back in Icon's direction when his single eye caught sight of a green flash. He quickly discovered that his hand was no longer encircling the slender arm of a teenage boy, but was now barely clutching a very large and muscular red arm. Slade looked up to find himself staring back into the four yellow eyes of one very aggravated Tetramand.

Icon easily broke free of Slade's hold and used two of his four hands to swat the man across the cavernous room. Slade smacked into a rocky wall before his limp form slunk to the floor.

"I told you that you were going to get it," said a stone-faced Icon as he observed Slade who was slumped against the cavern wall. A few small groans told Icon and Raven that Slade had not been killed by the impact.

"You got him!" Raven actually sounded astounded. She quickly pulled out her communicator. "Robin's probably going to give you the rest of the year off—" Raven suddenly paused for some reason.

"What is it?" Icon cocked his head in curiosity at Raven, who was staring at Slade intently.

"We have to make sure if it's really him."

"What?" Icon's face slackened. "Wh-what do you mean?" Had he just risked losing his arms earlier for nothing?

"Well, there was this time that Slade sent us on a wild goose chase one time with a copy of himself…"

"Maybe it is him this time!" Icon approached Slade to remove the signature black and copper mask. The thought of having successfully brought such a criminal to justice began to sink in, it was exciting Icon. "So, do you think Robin will really give me the year off?" Icon's smile quickly vanished upon removing Slade's mask. Instead of a face, Icon was staring back at a dark computer screen and some wires.

"He would have," noted Raven.

The computer screen suddenly lit up. On the screen was the number five. The five then became a four, and the four proceeded to become a three. An odd computerized beep sounded off every time the number on the screen changed. "Oh snap!" Icon's four eyes widened upon realizing that what he was facing was more than just a mechanical duplicate. He felt his heart stop when the computer screen reached zero.

Icon shut his eyes, bracing himself for what was to come. This was it!

The explosion rocked the cavernous room, sending a barrage of rocks tumbling down from the ceiling.

However, there was only one odd thing about the whole occurrence. Icon didn't feel a thing. He had felt no heat or force from the explosion, or the crushing weight of the falling rocks. Icon tentatively opened his eyes to see himself surrounded by darkness. He eventually allowed his eyes to fully open and then turned his head around to make more sense of what had happened. Any questions in his mind were answered when he saw Raven with an outstretched hand that was brimming with dark energy.

"N-nice call there," breathed Icon as he wiped the nervous sweat from his brow. He was truly grateful for the magical shield that was covering the both of them.

Raven shrugged. "Just returning a favor."

No Flames Please.