"Ah, Terra, you walked right into this trap," The true Slade was now advancing towards Terra as he pulled out his bow staff. "At least we finally have the chance to talk."

"Mind if I talk with my hands," crossly retorted Terra, her narrowed eyes and clenched hands glowing dangerously. With a few motions of her fists, a stone pillar erupted from the wall and hurtled towards Slade. Slade nimbly leapt to the side, dodging the oncoming pillar, but was forced to somersault to avoid being caught by a second pillar that shot up from the ground.

"Good, Terra," Slade rolled on to his feet, "But not good enough!" Slade lunged and used his staff to cut Terra off at the ankles. Terra was then forced roll out of the way to avoid being jutted by a sharp jab from Slade's staff. The geomancer crab-walked backwards in a moment of clumsiness as Slade made for another lunge at her. With a sweep of Terra's hand, a large chunk of earth jutted out from beneath one of Slade's feet, sending him off balance and staggering backwards. Terra followed up her counterattack by then sending the slab of earth forward to finish the fight.

Amazingly, Slade avoided the attack by planting his staff into the ground and quickly swinging himself around the oncoming slab of earth. "Impressive," remarked Slade as he released his hold on the staff and landed on his feet, "You've come a long way since I first laid an eye on you…"

Terra glared. "What do you know about me? Oh, wait," she pretended to act as if she had just figured out an unfathomable mystery, "You wouldn't happen to have been spying on me, would you?" Terra's jaw tightened when Slade produced a small metal object, a butterfly hair clip, the one she had lost in the fight against Animo's mutated scorpion. Slade tossed the hair clip to Terra's feet. The blonde geomancer stiffly bent down to pluck the hair clip from the ground, never taking her eyes off of Slade. This only confirmed the suspicion she and Icon had shared upon first seeing Slade's image at the tower.

"I know everything about you, so yes, I have been watching you for quite some time," explained Slade.

"You also attacked me and my friend!" retorted Terra.

"I merely needed to see where the two of you stood," asserted Slade. "And I like what I've seen so far."

"Then you should know to back off!" growled Terra, her fist glowing dangerously.

"I'm quite aware of what you're capable of," Slade said coolly. "You are more dangerous than anything I've ever seen," Slade paused. "It's why you were always running…"

Terra's fists tightened, Slade's words were a bitter reminder.

"Earthquakes. Avalanches. Mudslides. Everywhere you went, you would try to do good. And everywhere you went, you would fail. So everyone would turn against you..."

"Not everyone did!" retorted Terra.

"Ah yes, then he came along," Slade actually chuckled to himself. "After all that, you managed to find yourself a travel companion. The first person that didn't reject you."

"And I've got even more friends now," Terra smiled to herself and then smirked at Slade. " And once they get here, you're going to be in for—"

"You don't really believe they're your friends, do you, Terra?" Slade skeptically arched his eye.

Terra glared. "Why should I believe you?"

"Perhaps because I'm the only one who has not attempted to use you."

"Use me?" Terra slightly lowered her fist in confusion.

"You have great power, Terra. Have you ever considered that your so-called friends may have been trying to use it for their own benefit?"

"My friends wouldn't do that," asserted Terra, "They took me in, gave me a home, and they've even been helping me with my—"

"Like the Lance Training Program," Slade actually chuckled to himself. "Touching, but a meager effort nonetheless…"

"Hey!" retorted Terra, "He did a lot for me back there!"

"And how much has that helped you so far? A few minutes ago you nearly brought this entire mine down. You need more than just a few obstacle courses and extraterrestrial opponents," Slade leaned down and plucked a stone that was caked with dirt from the ground. He held it out for Terra to see.

"Right now you are still…rough around the edges," Slade's fingers enveloped the stone. He began squeezing it to the point that the dirt coating the stone started to crumble. "What you really need is a teacher, a mentor," Slade stopped squeezing the stone. "Come with me, Terra, and I can teach you to shine." With that Slade opened his hand to reveal a gleaming diamond.

Terra stared at Slade. The man who had both stalked and attacked her and Icon was now making her an offer. How could he be trusted? Did Slade expect her to think that he was the only one who could transform her into something as brilliant as a diamond?

But could Slade also be right to some degree? Were the people who had not driven her away only interested in what her power could provide? Was that the only reason why the Titans were willing to deal with her occasional destructive outbursts of power? Now that Terra thought about it, she had even suggested to Icon when she had first met him that traveling together would be beneficial because it would offer the two of them protection. Could that companionship have been built on Icon's need for a battle partner who could protect him between transformations and her need for a more skilled partner? Were her friendships actually based on such profit?

Terra's train of thought was interrupted when her fists tightened and she felt an odd pinch in one of her hands. She opened her hand to see her butterfly hairclip. It was then that she noticed the small crack that ran through part of the hairclip. A single memory came flooding into her mind.

The hairclip had been broken. A pair of small yet dexterous hands had taken the time and effort to fix the hairclip, just for Terra. There had also been those bulbous yellow eyes that had looked up at her. Those eyes had shown something: genuine compassion. At that moment, Icon had been trying to help Terra through her ordeal; he had been trying to assure her that she could somehow gain control over her power. Icon hadn't gone through the trouble of helping her through that one week of training in the desert because he felt like it was necessary for his own survival or benefit. He had gone through the trouble because he had wanted to help Terra as a friend. Friends were willing to make sacrifices for each other. The Titans were no exception.

Terra looked up from the hairclip. "I've got another idea," she glared at Slade, "I'll find a way to shine on my own!"

Unbeknownst to the two of them, a green gopher had just popped its head out from the ground from behind Terra.

"A valiant effort, Terra," Slade actually laughed, "But also a meaningless one. As I've said before, you won't get what you truly need from the Titans. As a matter of fact you don't even belong with the Titans."

"Yes she does!" Unable to contain himself, Beastboy had reassumed his human form and had joined Terra's side. For once, the changeling looked angry.

"And I suppose that you're any wiser?" Slade slowly shifted into a fighting stance at the sight of the new arrival. A dark portal suddenly appeared on a rocky wall by Beastboy and Terra. Slade's body unconsciously tensed when Raven stepped out of the portal with a red ten-foot tall Tetramand.

"Do you think we'll be getting the year off now?" Icon happily began cracking all four sets of his knuckles.

"Oh yes," Raven was gathering energy in her palms.

Slade took a few steps backwards as he took the scene in. Despite being a master martial artist, he still knew better than to push his luck by facing his four opponents at once. Acting quickly, Slade reached for his belt. "One of you will need my help. And until that day comes," he pulled out a metal sphere, "I'll be waiting…"

Slade threw the sphere to the ground. It emitted bright flash of light before releasing a thick vapor. The four teens instinctively shielded their eyes. By the time that the vapor had dissipated enough for them to see again, Slade had vanished without a trace. Not even a few footprints were visible.

"He's gone…" gasped Beastboy. Despite the number of times that Slade had escaped from the Titans, he had never ceased to astound them with his elusiveness.

XXX

"Some night," Icon drew up his knees to his chin as he sat on the shoreline, watching the rising sun. The team had long since returned to Titans Tower and was resting up from the recent battle. Despite the fact that the sun's rays were beating down upon her, Icon still felt an odd chill throughout his body. The only thing keeping the chill from spreading was the company of Beastboy and Terra.

"Well it's not every night you meet a bad guy like Slade," pointed out Beastboy.

"No kidding," agreed Terra, "He gave the creeps." It took everything in her power not to shudder at the memory of Slade. There was just something about them that was so…unsettling. Perhaps it was the menacing look in his eye, his smooth sinister voice, or maybe it was simply the fact that Slade had been stalking her and Icon for so long.

"Tell me about it," grimly chuckled Icon, attempting to cover his anxiety. They had always said that you would fear something less if you knew more about it. Icon had assumed the same thing when he and Terra first discovered that they were being followed in the desert. If they found out who the culprit was, they would be able to face whoever it was head on and be able to lay their fears to rest. However, that something was Slade. Finding out that it was been such a person had not laid anything to rest. Instead, Icon's worries were only greater than before.

Icon thought back to Professor Paradox, to the face that the time traveler had worn when he had been asked about the mystery assailant. It was now no wonder to Icon why Paradox had been so grim, he had been asking about Slade.

The most frightening aspect of it all was that the Titans would have to face Slade again, that man was going to make sure of it.

"At least when he shows up again," began Beastboy, "We'll be ready."

No Flames Please.