Upon hearing the name, Solor immediately roared, and attacked, swiping with his claws angrily. "YOU! How DARE you show your face after you sent the H.I.V.E. after us! You almost had us destroyed! I should KILL you where you STAND!"

Slade, unclouded by emotion, only dodged, making no attempt to fight the dragon. "And yet, here you are", he said calmly. "Obviously not destroyed, and still fighting with pride and power."

After another few unsuccessful swipes, Solor changed tactics, lashing out with his tail and wings. "No one insults Solor! Fight back, coward!"

"But then I would damage you", Slade responded. "And for the job I'm offering, I need you at your peak."

That certainly grabbed the dragon's attention, and he stopped his attack. "Why would I ever consider working for a mortal like you?!"

"Because it involves proving that you are the best."

"… Continue."

"As you wish", Slade said, narrowing his eye. "How about a grudge match? You'll fight with the strongest of the underground, and should you win, a weapon shall be first prize. I want you to enter, and win it for me."

"And why would I give the weapon to you?" Solor countered. "What will stop me from keeping it to myself, and leaving you in the dust?"

"The destruction of Titan's Tower." Seeing Solor's eyes narrow at that, Slade continued. "I have discretely planted a bomb at each corner of the base. Should you win the weapon, and try to destroy it, or return it to the Titans, you will witness the death of all of your friends."

The half-dragon glared. "You are bluffing."

"Are your friends really worth risking for the sake of pride?"

"… Where is the grudge match?"

XxXxX

"Welcome, brawlers of all ages and welcome to another Cage Grudge Match! I am your host, M.O.G.! For all you new timers, that would be Master Of Grudge! I see plenty of new faces, so you better learn fast! Or else you'll be sent back to the curb with the rest of the trash!"

Solor had to admit, he wasn't surprised that this fighting rink was in an abandoned warehouse in the slums of the city. And it didn't take much to enter. All he had to say was his name and that he was here for a good challenge. It didn't matter if he was a Titan or not; any and all competitors were allowed.

"Okay then, everyone!" said a lanky man, who called himself M.O.G. His suit was pinstriped, he wore a fedora on his head tilted to the sides, and he spun a cane around his hand, while the other hand held a mike that hung from the ceiling. "Here are the rules. Number one, anything goes. Number two, if you fall out of the cage, you're out. Number three, have fun, and remember, the messier, the better."

Solor frowned as he glared into the cage. Currently, two humans were fighting. One was dressed in regular jeans and a muscle shirt, using a chain as a weapon. The other was wearing a yellow and black outfit, with a mask covering most of his face. He held a hexagonal shield with an H on it, and was blocking all of the strikes of his opponent. Eventually, the biker managed to fake out his opponent, and the teen in the yellow spandex was taken down, hitting the chain wall before falling over unconscious.

"And Johnny Rancid has taken down his third opponent tonight!" M.O.G. declared, as the audience erupted in cheers. "Is there anyone brave enough to take on the most notorious biker of Jump City and end his streak?"

"No way!" Rancid shouted out, laughing maniacally. "No one can beat Johnny Rancid! I could take on the Teen Titans with a hand tied behind my back!"

That gave Solor the perfect opening. "Oh really?" he called, drawing most of the attention to him. "Perhaps you would like to, as they say, 'put your money where your mouth is'?" He walked over to the cage door, letting some of the men take out the yellow teen before he entered, flexing his wings a bit.

Rancid stared at first, then laughed cockily. "Really? Out of all of the Titans, the overgrown lizard is the one that challenges me?" He swung his chain around in a circle, shifting his stance. "I'm gonna make a belt out of you!"

"I would like to see you try", Solor responded calmly, flaring his wings as he got ready.

The bell rang, and immediately Rancid made the first move. He whipped the chain as fast and hard as he could, but after all, he was a normal human. And Solor was not. In a quick move, the dragon had caught the chain in his teeth, and pulled the punk over to his side before he kicked him hard in the chest, forcing Rancid to let go of the chain. He then bit the weapon in half, before he flared his wings, flying at Rancid at a high speed before he hit him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and forcing him to his knees. To end it, he flipped in the air, using his tail to strike his opponent in the head and effectively knocking him out.

"Woah!" cried M.O.G., laughing hysterically. "The streak of Rancid is broken, and we have a new contender in the rink! Solor of the Teen Titans now only has to fight three more enemies before he takes on the mighty Adonis and wins the schematics for his powerful suit!"

That piqued the dragon's interest. So Slade was after a suit that increased his strength? If he was as diabolical as Solor thought, then it meant a lot more destruction in the near future.

"I'll take him on!" a familiar voice roared, and suddenly Mammoth was barging in, grinning sadistically. He grabbed Rancid's head and threw him out the door before turning to Solor. "You caught me by surprise last time, you iguana. But this time Mammoth's gonna make you go extinct!"

Solor only grinned. "If I die, then I deserve to. Only a fool would suffer death under your fists."

That seemed to enrage the strong teen, because when the bell rang, he wasted no time in attempting to hit Solor with his fists. The dragon, meanwhile, dodged narrowly, only moving slightly to avoid Mammoth's charge. It was easy to see what the monster would do next; his muscles were so large the slightest movement was a dead giveaway. Finally, in the middle of one of his swings, Solor grabbed his fist with his tail, pulling on it and forcing the giant to the ground. Then, before Mammoth could get back up, he quickly stomped the armored teen, hitting him in the spine and hearing a satisfying crack. He then allowed Mammoth to jump up, and start swinging again, before he uppercutted the goateed teen and kicking him between the legs. Finally, to end it, he mustered more of his inhuman strength and brought his fists together down upon Mammoth's skull, forcing the brute to the ground. He grunted as he tried to get up, but eventually, the H.I.V.E. member collapsed, knocked out.

Before M.O.G. could even announce the victor, another villain got into the ring. This one was a bald man, wearing a black and red outfit. His slanted eyes hinted at asian decent, and his stance held the utmost confidence. "Katarou will make short work of this challenger!" he cried.

"Oh great. An overconfident martial artist. I thought I was trying to avoid stereotypes here", Solor mused, before charging. While he didn't have any formal martial arts training, Solor had more than enough durability to handle the attacks. Katarou got many blows in, from simple jabs, to complicated spin kicks. But Solor always stood back up, cracking his neck and giving a look that said, "Thank you sir, may I have another?" before charging back into the fray. After about fifteen minutes of this, Katarou was thoroughly exhausted.

"H-How… How are you still… standing?" he panted, barely able to hold still.

"Simple", Solor replied. "You can't hurt me." With that, he did his own spin kick, cutting into Katarou's chest with his toes and effectively knocking him out with a shallow wound to his chest. The martial artist was carried out, while M.O.G. played to the crowd.

"You've seen it here, folks! Solor, the Teen Dragon, is invincible! Not even the super powered Mammoth or the highly skilled Katarou could bring him down!" He entered the cage, holding the mic to Solor. "So, man of the hour, what made you decide to take on the C.G.M.?"

Solor considered telling the truth, that he was being blackmailed and forced to fight, but in the end, he only smirked. "To prove that I am the best, with or without my fellow Titans."

XxXxX

Robin worked frantically at the computer, looking for any sign of his teammate. All the while, the other Titans were slowly joining him.

First was Starfire, who was worried about the dragon. She had heard him yelling at their leader, and made her way into the living room to ask what happened. She was shocked to see the damage done to the sofa, and Robin laying there in a daze. Once she heard the story, though, she found the leader at fault; after all, Solor is their friend. He should've had more confidence in him.

Beast Boy and Cyborg were brought in next. Well, Cyborg was brought in. Beast Boy, thanks to his better hearing, heard his friend thundering down the hall and quickly joined him. Anyway, Cyborg was brought in to put into the computer all the data they had on their draconic teammate. It wasn't a surprise that little information came back about it; he explained that he only started living in the United States recently, and his tribe was very disconnected from the rest of the world.

Finally, Raven joined everyone else. Although only for a brief time; she ended up going to the roof to meditate, saying that she would try to find him using her powers. She was one of the two that was closest with him, especially the past day since she had been the only one that hadn't irritated him.

Now, after a few minutes of silence, Beast Boy decided to use one of the spare computers, but instead of helping search, he decided to check his email. Some of his fans had asked for info on the Titans, and since the changeling was such a people person, had given a few of them his email address. And now, by the looks of it, it was going to pay off. "Uh, dudes? I think I found something."

The first behind him was Starfire, who quickly grabbed him and turned him around. "You have found information on Friend Solor?! Quickly, share it, so that we may know he is well!"

Beast Boy's eyes read Full Tilt for a second, until he shook it off and turned back around. "And you guys said having fans know my email address would be a bad idea", he said cheekily, opening one. Attached was a video file, and upon moving it to the main screen/window, he pressed play. The Titans were shocked to see their teammate participating in what appeared to be a cage match, and his opponent being the gigantic Mammoth. They watched as he easily took down his enemy, and even outlasted Katarou's skill. It was like they didn't even know their friend. He was a monster when fighting like this, without a team to back him up. Then they heard his answer to M.O.G.'s question.

"Bah. I bet I could take him", Beast Boy said. "At least in video games, anyway."

"Why does he wish to prove he is the best?" Starfire asked, obviously confused. "He has never had these kind of thoughts before, has he?"

"Well, it would explain why he acted so strongly when I said that I might be able to take him", Robin mused. "Where he's from… he must be a strong warrior. Fighting might be the only thing he knows."

"Would also explain why the dude is useless when it comes to computers", Cyborg said. "Maybe we've been riding him a little hard lately…"

"Wait a minute", Beast Boy said. "Looks like Solor's done with his next opponent! He's getting ready to fight the champ!"

The titans turned back to the screen, staring as Solor's final opponent entered the cage.

XxXxX

"You've seen it here, folks! Solor has taken down four opponents, something thought impossible here in the grudge matches! Only one teen has ever lasted this long, and now our challenger is ready to take him on!"

Mechanical footsteps filled the air, along with the cheers of the spectators. Solor stood his ground as a very menacing form entered the ring. Of course, it wasn't too impressive to the dragon, but everyone else stared in awe. There was the hulking form of Adonis, the champion of the grudge. Only his face was visible, thanks to the suit he wore. Red was the primary color, with a secondary of grey, and the sound of the mechanics behind it were barely audible. It was as if this really was what he looked like, but the challenger knew better. After all, they were fighting for the schematics behind the suit.

"I have to admit, I didn't expect anyone to get this far", the younger boy said, cracking his 'knuckles'. "But this is where your winning streak stops. Nobody can take on Adonis!"

For some reason, Solor began laughing. "The Greek God of Beauty? That is the name you chose for yourself?" He laughed a little more, actually supporting himself against the cage. Once he managed to calm down, he shot a very evil smirk at his opponent. "Fine. If you are Adonis… then I shall be Ares."

Of course, the young teen had no idea what the dragon was talking about, and only glared before charging. His mechanical fists slammed against the diamond hard scales that Solor sported, but the force of the attacks threw him back, his head flying left and right with every punch. Eventually, he stopped the attack.

With his teeth.

"What the…? Let me go!" Adonis cried out, trying to pull his fist back but to no avail. "You're scratching up the suit!"

Solor only grinned maniacally, and suddenly lifted Adonis up by performing a suplex, arcing his back and throwing the much larger form behind him into the wall. He then quickly spun around, jumping onto Adonis and beginning to throw punch after punch, getting loud grunts of pain from the suited teen. Finally, Adonis managed to kick him off, getting up and showing the dents in his power suit.

"No one hurts Adonis!" he shouted, before charging. This time, he grabbed Solor by his face, and threw him into the ground, actually eliciting a cry from his opponent, before throwing him into the air and spiking him into the ground. When Solor stood, he was surprised to see his lip was bleeding.

"Hmph", he snorted, looking amused. "You managed to make me bleed… very well. It is time to finish this." With that, he charged one final time, much faster than before, and stuck his claws into the suit, damaging it terribly before he ripped the chest plate off, revealing Adonis' skinny, weak body. He grabbed the teen by the shirt, pulling him out of his suit, before he struck him hard with his tail.

Needless to say, the teen didn't stand a chance.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" M.O.G. cried, having to be especially loud over the deafening cries of both cheer and dissatisfaction from the audience. "ADONIS HAS BEEN TAKEN DOWN! OUR NEW CHAMPION, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, IS SOLOR, THE TEEN TITAN!" He entered the cage, holding out the rolled up schematics to Adonis' suit. "You have more than earned this, kid! You're the new champ! Who you gonna fight next? The audience is dying to know!"

Solor gave a quick once over on the schematics, satisfied, before he rolled it back up. "No one. I am done."

"What?! B-but you need to protect your title!"

Solor glared at the announcer, causing the smaller man to cower a bit. "I have proven I am the best. There is no need for me to prove it any longer." He started leaving. "Should anyone wish to face me out there, though, I will be more than happy to oblige. Just not now. I have an errand to run."

XxXxX

Slade was grinning behind his mask as he looked at the schematics, committing everything to memory, or as much as he could. "Very well done", he said cooly, looking at Solor.

"I have done as you asked", the dragon scoffed. "Now give me the detonator to the tower. Our business has concluded."

"Oh, but our business, my young friend, has only begun", Slade replied, placing the paper on his desk. "After all, why should I let you go?"

"You gave me your word", the dragon snarled. "You promised that you would not harm the Titans if I got that for you."

"And I have kept my word", the villain replied. "But now you need to keep getting more weapons for me, if you wish for your friends to live."

Solor snarled only, cursing the fact that he had fallen for such a technicality.

"Don't worry", Slade said, walking up to his captive audience. "One day, I will let them go. When you learn to love your new job, my apprentice, and no longer care about your so-called friends."

For a moment, Solor was silent, his hair covering his eyes. "What did you call me?" he finally whispered.

"My apprentice."

At the repetition of the phrase, Solor suddenly roared and charged, pinning Slade to the wall. "I already HAVE a master! I serve NO ONE but him!"

"Oh?" Slade said calmly, narrowing his eye. "And what will you do? You serve me now. I am in control of this situation."

"So you believe", Solor growled. Suddenly, the hand that held Slade up began growing, as did the dragon. His humanistic features melted away, and his muscles bulged against his scales as his neck lengthened. Slade could only stare in horror as a new monster was facing him, looking him in the eye and eliciting the fear that most could not collect.

"I believe you shall now discover that I have been in charge this whole time", the dragon growled, his voice much deeper and laced with a quiet roar. "I have always been the better man… or should I say, better dragon."

"I-I don't understand!" Slade cried, feeling the claws starting to dig into his flesh. "You're only half dragon! You have been since the beginning of the Titans! How can you turn into… a monster?!"

"Who says that I was ever half mortal?" Solor growled. "The Titans do not know of this form… and they will never know, if I have anything to say about it. Perhaps I could use a snack… it has been a while since I've had anything to eat."

"NO! Please! W-we can be reasonable! Just don't eat me!"

Solor only grinned. "The detonator. Throw it to the ground and destroy it." Slade could only comply, pulling the detonator out of his pocket, and soon stomping it, destroying it. Satisfied, Solor let the human go… although he now faced the desk that held Adonis' schematics. With a snort, he shot a fireball out of his nostrils, lighting the desk on fire. "There. Now you cannot use this machine against the city. And should you ever threaten my friends again… I will hunt you down and destroy you personally."

Slade, too scared to do anything else, only nodded.

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

The dragon left the hideout in a mess, shifting back to his smaller, more agile form.

XxXxX

Later, at the pizza place, Solor was finally enjoying some food, taking a bite of his deep dish, all meat pizza. Without Beast Boy or Cyborg arguing, he was able to get a whole pizza for himself. He was currently taking a bite of his third piece, when a voice shouted out above him.

"Dudes, I found him!"

The dragon looked up, seeing a green macaw flying above him. As soon as it landed, it shifted into a familiar face, and Beast Boy made a face as he eyed the pizza. "Dude, all meat? Really?"

"I respect that you do not eat meat. Respect that I do", Solor replied, taking another bite of his pizza. He knew if BB was here, then no doubt the rest of the team would find him. And of course, he was right, since not a few seconds later, Starfire arrived, gripping him in a bone crushing hug.

"Friend Solor! We have missed you!", Starfire cried happily, beaming as the dragon hugged her back. "Robin has not been very fair to you! You should be on the team! Please come back!"

"Yeah, man", Cyborg said, walking into the pizza place with Raven and Robin. "I could teach you how to use a computer, so you won't mess it up again. It's nothing to leave for."

"I'm sorry, Solor", Robin admitted. "I should have trusted you, and I shouldn't have made assumptions. Just because someone is known to commit a crime doesn't mean they're always planning to commit one… I still don't trust Jinx, though."

"No one ever said you had to", Raven deadpanned, making Robin glare at her.

Solor looked around at all of them, and he remembered how worried he had been for their safety only hours ago. Were they that worried about him that they would come after him, even with the threat he made? He smiled, and reached over, pulling all of his friends into a unique hug, where his wings wrapped around all of them. "If you were that worried about me… then I shall return. I shall remain a Titan."

Needless to say, there were many reasons to celebrate that day.