Hey yo, author here. Not much to say this time. For those looking for angsty BB or BBRae, hope this tides you over for a bit. For the idea I have in my head, I don't even think I'm at the halfway point of this yet. I promise the wait will be worth it! Anyways, thanks for all reviews/favorites/follows, as always it means the world, and if you're reading this and haven't done one of those, why not go on and make my day! Enjoy the chapter!

Much Love - Seadavid41

I don't own Teen Titans or any DC properties mentioned, otherwise Donna Troy would have been in the show.

Ch. 13 Connections

Robin stared up at the black and blue suit in the protective case. Illuminated by lights both from above and below, this was no outfit for a side-kick. This was the ensemble of a superhero. In all honesty, his experience with Phobia's illusions hadn't been that bad. He had dealt with some nasty manipulations of fear before, mainly through the work of Dr Jonathan Crane while he was working with his old mentor.

Through mental training he had undertaken in Gotham, he'd been able to interpret the situation for what it was…a dream, and nothing more. The visions were awful, that wasn't in question, but Robin wasn't like most heroes. Not only did he know his greatest fears, he lay awake at night thinking about them. Thinking about how they could be exploited, how they could be used to hurt those he loved. He now understood what Beast Boy had meant. Even though he hadn't been through them…through the idea of watching Red-X slay the Titans as he looked on helplessly…through the thought of failing to save Starfire as Deathstroke killed her before his eyes…through watching Bruce Wayne walk away from that circus instead of taking in a child in need…he knew these fears. They were familiar…and they would not control him.

Robin looked up at the suit before him again, and with a sigh, pulled off his mask. He was finished being controlled by what he feared. He feared the Beast, and that's why he acted to quickly every time. He was afraid of taking the next step with Starfire, and as he'd now realised, it had cost him precious time with her. He was done with childish fears. He was ready to be the man he needed to be…to be the leader the Titans needed him to be.

Robin opened the glass door, and took down the outfit. He had anticipated that he would be a bit taller at this stage, and the pants were maybe still a tiny bit too long. But he couldn't help but smile as he slipped into his new entire. Call it a dumb feeling, but Robin felt, with his outfit, much like the new moniker that he was taking on, he would grow into it nicely. However, he had one more item to tick off before he was happy.

Starfire had been sat on the edge of her bed since she had watched Robin lock himself in his study several hours ago. Her visions were no new creation of fear, or some unknown horror. They were just memories. She was back with the Psions…or back on the Citadel, the visions had jumped between the two, and she had been powerless, only allowed to look on as her captors did with her as they saw fit. Beast Boy may have believed that going through your fears before made it easier…but Starfire could not disagree less. She wrapped her arms around herself, rocking slightly back and forth. She was interrupted from her thoughts by a short knock on her door. Cyborg had already tried to check on her, but she'd asked him to leave her to her own thoughts. She wasn't ready to share what she had been shown just yet. Starfire stood up and approached the door.

"I am okay Cyborg, but I still wish to be left alone if you don't mind."

"And what if it isn't Cyborg?"

Starfire's eyes snapped upwards towards where Robin's voice had just come from clear as crystal from the other side of the door. Starfire didn't think she'd be hearing from him anytime soon. She wouldn't lie… she had been quite hurt when Robin had seemed to be avoiding her after the incident with Phobia. She could only assume that it had something to do with what he had been shown, but rather selfishly, she had needed him…and he wasn't there.

"…it depends…you were most quick to leave earlier…what has made you change your mind about seeking company?"

"I'm sorry Star…I just had to do something first…and I was hoping we could talk."

Starfire balked at the door in front of her. Robin wanted to talk? Openly? Robin never wanted to talk to openly. Although she was still a little upset with him, she decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. She gently touched the keypad on her bedroom wall, allowing the door to slide open.

"Okay Robin, I will listen to what you ha-…Robin!?"

Gone was the green, red and yellow outfit she had come to know the Titans leader for. The man that stood before her wore an outfit of black, with blue stripe moving across both his arms, meeting at the centre of his chest. She had seen this man once before, although a little older and in a different time.

"Nightwing?"

Nightwing smiled at her. "Yea…I've been thinking about it for a while…and today seemed like the right time…can I come in?"

Starfire nodded numbly and stepped aside to let her boyfriend into the room. She stood staring at him as he walked towards her bed as she still didn't quite know how to react. She had no idea what kind of headspace he was in, and the conversation she thought they were going to have could now head in any direction. Nightwing sat down on the bed, and after a few seconds, Starfire moved over to sit beside him. When she sat down, Nightwing turned to her, and took one of her hands in his.

"I've never told anyone this…but my biggest fear is…failure. Whether that be failing in a mission, failing to save my friends…failing to do right by someone who deserves it…nothing frightens me more. I probably get it from my…old teacher…but I've let this decide how I act for far too long. This…fear…it's what made me think Red-X was the way to catch Slade…it's what made me nearly through Beast Boy in jail…and it's what made me be so afraid to be open with you."

Starfire was speechless. The Robin she knew would run from any conversation like this, like it was fight or flight. If this was the new attitude that came with Nightwing…she would welcome the change. She looked up at him, his black mask now replaced by a sharper blue one and traced his jaw with her other hand, which Nightwing very gently leaned into, before pulling back, still holding her other hand.

"It's time I left those fears behind and become the leader the Titans need…and the man I know I can be. So, while I'm Nightwing to everyone, I wanted to tell you one more thing Star…to show I trust you above all else. I need you in my life."

Starfire was practically in tears already, and could only nod along, not really understanding where he was going with this until he pulled both his hands away from her and reached up to his mask, pulling it off in a split second. Starfire's gasped as sparkling green eyes met cobalt blue. Nightwing let out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding, before putting his hand back in Starfire's.

"Richard Grayson…nice to meet you."

Starfire reached up and touched his cheek, using her thumb to gently massage the side of his face. In spite of it all, she couldn't help but let out a noise that was between a cry and a laugh, before launching herself into Richard's arms.

"Koriand'r of Tamaran…it is a pleasure."

The Winter months had long since rolled in and to anyone who cared, Christmas Day was on the horizon. This was not the case for the forest wildlife of Alaska, who were going about their business as they always would. Wolf packs roamed the vast expanses, their howls emanating across the terrain, letting everyone know that they had strength in numbers. Sitka spruce and western-red cedar trees towered over the forest communities, the trees rising high into the sky, their trunks holding firm and standing tall. Meanwhile, dense undergrowth growing in the shade of these goliath's supported other flora and fauna. Rivers flowed through the untouched terrain, always moving forward and never looking back, their waters nourishing the land around them.

But, there was something else in the air. A thick presence, who's very existence permeated every facet of life in this once pristine picture. It was a presence that could silence the wolves and scare the bears off the river banks. It almost seemed like it could get the trees to stop rustling their leaves in the wind, if that was what it desired. It's location and timing could never be determined. It's appearance was always sudden, it's action's swift and it's decision's final and every other inhabitant of the forest knew these facts. The wolves did not silence themselves when they sensed it and the bears did not flee when they saw it. They could only do it after it had decided to make its presence known and it had decided that they were not in danger today.

A small group of Sitka black-tailed deer had taken residence in a clearing, slightly off a stretch of meandering river. Grazing lazily on the gifts that the trees surrounding them had provided, none of them were aware that they were being watched. White eyes with no pupils scanned the group. The one in the back, yes, slightly away from the others, he would be its chosen prey. Far enough away that it could catch it by surprise and not have to worry about others in the herd getting in the way, close enough that it could ensure the kill.

It moved through the trees, without a sound, seamlessly and with grace that a creature of its size shouldn't have possessed. It eyed it's victim one last time, before dropping down from its perch, it's feet driving into the poor creature's spine. The deer let out a cry, a cry that was short and sharp, before it's throat was crushed in the vice-like grip of a set of powerful jaws. His brethren had already fled, and the forest felt that slight bit quieter. There would be no more howling of wolves tonight. Every resident of the forest knew that there was a different kind of predator prowling the darkness tonight.

The deer was released and fell to the ground, it's death instant and as painless as it could have been. For all of the terror it inspired, this predator was not malicious, nor was it malevolent. At its core, it was a hunter, just like any other carnivore navigating the trees on any given night. It looked down at its victim, before both its eyes closed. The jaws that had just been able to crush a deer's neck shrunk away, the powerful legs it used to navigate the trees shrunk down. In the place of the apex predator, stood a thin, but built teenager, his skin as green as the leaves on the trees surrounding him, one eye heavily scarred by a gash that had long since healed the best that it could. Beast Boy stared down at the deer with mixed feelings. He sighed to himself as he picked up the carcass and slung it over his shoulder.

It hadn't occurred to him, but to any onlookers, "Beast Boy" would not be an appropriate name for the man that stood in the clearing with the slight remnants of blood still present on his cheeks. He had left that boy in California. Beast Boy had gone to Alaska to control his beast, and now whether he knew it or not, he walked taller and prouder than the trees that grew around him. This was his forest, and every resident knew it. The changeling disappeared into the dense foliage, his prize in tow, the silence he had instilled in the ecosystem around him still unbroken.

It had been an interesting few months for Garfield Mark Logan. Initially, he hadn't intended to stay in Alaska for long. It had seemed like a good place to start, both for searching for Slade and for finding an area to explore his relationship with the Beast in, away from civilisation. In the wilds of the forests he now called home, he hadn't come into contact with another living person for months. He had seen hikers come and go and wildlife enthusiasts enjoying the secrets the forests had to offer, but he was sure to never been seen. While Beast Boy wasn't exactly a big deal out here, a Teen Titan being spotted in a random forest, miles from California was bound to draw media attention. He refused to even be seen as an animal. While locals may just take a story about a green creature in the forests as just that, if Beast Boy knew Robin, he'd see a headline like that as a lead. He didn't become careless just because he was in his element.

To minimise the chance of human contact, he'd made certain sacrifices. Using his old Doom Patrol communicator, he had managed to contact Negative Man, and asked him to send a new uniform for him. A few days later, a silver orb had floated up to him in his sleep, falling onto his head with a painful thud. The orb had opened up to reveal a new uniform, in more ways than one. Negative Man's voice had come out of a small speaker:

"Hey little man, don't know why you're in the middle of nowhere. If something happened with your team…know you always have a place with us. Anyway, Mento was adamant that if you're doing your own thing now, you shouldn't wear the Doom Patrol colours. I picked the design myself. Enjoy."

Beast Boy didn't have a mirror so he couldn't exactly model his new outfit, but he liked the changes. The black and purple slim fit had been replaced with white and red, the sleeves removed in favour of a singlet. He could feel the uniform expand as he put it on, moulding itself to his lithe frame. Even better, Negative Man had included a hoodie, made of the same material. If Beast Boy did need to venture somewhere where he could be seen, he was now afforded some degree of anonymity. But, part of him couldn't help but feel a bit sad to see himself in something new. It just seemed like another aspect of his old life he had now left behind for the time-being. It did feel good to be able to shift without worrying about what he was wearing again, even when the transformation involved the Beast.

He wasn't making any unnecessary journeys into the neighbouring towns and as such, he was living off what the forest could provide. While at the start it was bearable, living off of nuts and berries, transforming into the beast took a lot of energy, and for that, he needed a lot of food. He had tried fish first. Salmon here was incredibly plentiful, and he felt that if he had to eat a living creature, killing a member of species that wouldn't impact the population as a whole was the way to go.

But, as he spent more time as the Beast, they had almost begun to develop a rapport. Beast Boy could now change into the beast and change back, nearly at will, but still had no control of its actions. Sometimes, the beast would fight back when Beast Boy wanted to take over again, so he had learn to let it have it's fun…and the beast was a predator at its core. He had only been able to watch in horror, as he, as the Beast, had killed a deer for the first time, but the Beast had been almost thankful for the opportunity to express its natural instincts. Beast Boy was now a reluctant omnivore. He would never kill a deer…but if it was slaughtered by the Beast…who was he to allow it's death to be pointless…or to let such a good source of protein go to waste.

However, not all of his actions had revolved around the Beast. He had located the location where the members of the Cult of Trigon met, and had had a "friendly chat" with a handful of the congregation. Slade had not visited their little group yet, and should he arrive, none of them would whisper a word of visit to the masked villain. Beast Boy's camp was nearby. The second Slade's scent hit the forest…Beast Boy would know. He wasn't worried about the cult members not keeping their word either. They essentially worshipped the devil and while Beast Boy couldn't match Trigon, Trigon also wasn't here right now, but Beast Boy was, and he was sure to let them known that there are plenty of devils on Earth. The Beast's appearance was quick, but the message was clear. When Slade appeared…he'd be ready.

Until then, he trained. He worked on his animal forms, the rapidness of his changes, the fluidity of moving from a flying animal to a swimming one or from ground to flight. He worked on his fitness and martial arts in his human form and he meditated to try and connect with the beast. He had limited his transformations into the beast for the time-being. His ability to control when he changed to and from the creature had developed massively, but his lack of control when he was the apex of the forest still scared him. He was hoping that meditation would fix this. Also, he still wasn't entirely happy that he still only had one way of reverting back from the creature.

"Blue is still my favourite col-"

Beast Boy forced his eyes closed and shook his head, depositing the Beast's prize on the ground, beside a small campfire he had made before he left. He was thousands of miles away from her and yet, Raven never seemed to be out of his head. If he wanted to turn into the beast, he had to think of her and if he wanted to change back, he had to think of her. That didn't even take into account that the empath was still trying to establish a connection with him what seemed like every other day.

Every time she reached out, he tried to block her out as soon as possible. He had learnt that the Beast didn't like when Beast Boy refused to communicate with the enchantress who was so clearly looking for them, and in the few instances where the Beast had gone out of control while he isolated himself, a mental connection from Raven had usually proceeded the lapse. It had been a few days since Raven had tried to reach out, and while some part of him hoped that she was finally giving up, an even smaller part of him hoped she didn't, which went against everything he thought he wanted. Beast Boy felt like he was at an impasse. He had gone into the wild to find his soul, and while he was getting closer, he felt like he was losing his mind along the way.

Night's following a successful hunt usually guaranteed some respite for Beast Boy. There was something truly peaceful about cooking under the stars, the dim amber light of the fire casting shadows on the ground, the gentle crackling of the flames providing a calming ambiance that could lull anyone into a slumber. Beast Boy ate in silence, truly allowing himself to enjoy the atmosphere around him, one of the very simple comforts he had left.

Beast Boy usually slept up in the trees, just in case any early morning hikers happened to wander across the clearing he had chosen for the night. He was mere seconds away from settling down for the night, when he felt it, that familiar presence enter his mind, working his way into his psyche, simply begging him too acknowledge it. However, he had become numb to the feeling and the voice that so often followed. This was how it had to be, for now at least. While he didn't have control, he would never return home. He was about to shut her out using Mento's teachings, before she spoke, when her voice came through loud and clear.

"You're a coward Garfield Logan."

Beast Boy, who had been walking towards a particularly large spruce tree, froze in his tracks and froze in his thoughts. Her voice was laced with venom, her tone harsh and unforgiving. Until now, Raven's voice in his head had helped him get through the silent moments…but now, he wasn't so sure he would able to listen…but for the first time, he didn't push her away. He wanted her to be mad at him. He took it as proof that she still cared. The day she stopped reaching out…that would be the day he'd lose himself.

Raven floated above her bed in the lotus position, her eyes fidgeting beneath her eyelids. She had assumed her usual position for trying to contact Beast Boy, but was fully set on taking a very different approach. Raven was finished being ignored. The anger that had been brewing just beneath the surface had been brought to the fore, all by one encounter with a little Phobia. Her rage was all-consuming.

She was mad that Beast Boy had been shutting her out. She was mad that Phobia had got the best of her. She was mad at herself for not realising Deathstroke's deception sooner. She was mad that even after nearly two months, her harming Beast Boy was one of her greatest fears, and he WASN'T. EVEN. AROUND. So, the second she had made that connection, she said the first words that had popped into her mind. She fully expected Beast Boy to still push her away as always, something he always seemed to do with such ease, which the more the empath thought about, the more it actually hurt. So she waited. She waited for him to shut her out, to move on with whatever he was doing, to just move on and forget who he had left behind.

….But he didn't.

Raven hadn't actually planned for him potentially listening. She didn't know if awkward silences were even a thing in someone's mindscape, but she wasn't eager to let it last. So Raven, someone known for being meticulous in nature, someone who planned ahead…improvised.

"We made a mistake. We messed up. There is no denying it. But I will not apologize again. I will not keep knocking on this door when there is no one answering. Instead of facing what happened, facing us, you ran, just like you ran from the Doom Patrol, instead sending the Herald to deliver news that should never have come from him."

She paused for a moment to see if he would respond, or give her any inclination that he was listening, or even more hopefully that he might willingly let her see through his eyes. After a moment, there was no reply, but she could still sense him. What that meant, she didn't know, so she continued.

"You are so convinced that you need to master the Beast, that your blind to what you left behind. Have I mastered my demonic side? Absolutely not, but I continue to live on with it, knowing I have friends who I can depend on...I thought I had four absolute guarantees…now I'm thinking it's closer to three. The Herald said you would come back eventually…who said that you would have something to come back too?"

For the first time in months, Raven felt something other than silence on the other end of their connection. It was faint, just a flicker, dancing across the bridged gap, like an old projector was struggling to illustrate Beast Boy's thoughts onto a canvas. But Raven picked it up all the same. She had to keep going.

"We fought Phobia today and you weren't there. I must admit, I understand what you meant when you said there were no winners when you fight her. She showed me things…things I could do…my greatest fears…and you were there…which frustrates me to no end, because you don't deserve to be there. Even after not seeing you for months, I care enough about you for you to play a role in my worst nightmares. You said when you fought Phobia, she showed you events that had already happened. So the Titans weren't involved? We don't warrant a place in your wo-".

"Don't assume that."

Raven went silent. Phobia had managed a decent impression, but like Beast Boy had said before, you can't beat the original. Hearing his voice almost didn't feal real. She hadn't realised it, but it was the confirmation that she needed. That he was alive…that this could still be fixed. His emotions were obvious now. Sadness. Despair. It was deep and ran heavy, bubbling beneath the surface, threatening to drown the changeling. Raven had him where she wanted him and she wasn't about to stop.

"Beast Boy…Garfield…you don't drown by falling in water…you drown if you stay there…if you don't accept the hand that reaches out…the hand that can pull you back…that's when you get pulled under. Listen to me. If you care at all, about the Titans…about me…reach out and prove it."

Raven waited, shielding her emotions from the titan she had tried so hard to reach over the past few months. She knew she wasn't being fair. She wasn't even entirely sure her argument was logical, but it didn't matter to her. It was having an effect. She could feel Beast Boy's anxiety rise, his uncertainty increase and his…heart rate quicken? That shouldn't have been something she could detect.

Then, without warning, Beast Boy's emotions exploded outwards, rolling over Raven in waves, and she was horrified. His emotions were primal, the inner workings of his mind relying heavily on instinct alone. She had a moment of pure clarity. He had become the Beast. The emotional stress she had put him under had been enough to cause a transformation. She had never been inside Beast Boy's mind when he was in this form and now that she was over the shock, it was incredible to feel. It was like tapping into the emotions of the wild. She could feel it's very nature. It wasn't evil or malevolent in anyway. It was a pack animal and it was lonely.

And then, Raven's world exploded into colour. She had to blink a few times to adjust before she realised…she was blinking? She was in a forest clearing, the ground covered in snow, the smouldering remains of a fire evident, with a deer carcass on a spit hovering over it. It was dark out, the only light coming from the occasional ember flickering into the night. She became vaguely aware of Beast Boy's voice, frantic and scared.

"Oh God, not now, please."

That's when everything clicked into place for Raven. The Beast wasn't Beast Boy and Beast Boy wasn't the Beast. Unlike all of his other forms, the Beast had a separate consciousness, a quantifiable identity with unique takes on its own experiences and different views on how to approach problems…and it clearly did not like how Beast Boy had been treating her. The Beast had made its presence felt, and since Beast Boy wouldn't let her see through his eyes, the Beast was willing to provide the view she so desperately desired, and Beast Boy didn't have control.

"Well at least one of the two of you is thinking clearly." That thought was just for her. Raven had just turned her attention back to the clearing when the Beast started running, moving through the forest at an unbelievable speed. She was confused for a second, but then quickly realise that the Beast knew there was nothing to go off where Beast Boy was. It needed to bring her to a landmark, something that could give a location. Raven tried to take in the surroundings around her as the Beast moved but it was moving too quick. She could still here Beast Boy's thoughts, desperately trying to wrestle back control. She could feel him panicking. It was a bizarre experiencing, being in a single person's head, but feeling two different sets of emotions.

Suddenly, she felt Beast Boy's panic disappear, only to be replaced by a feeling of acceptance. Raven didn't even have time to consider what that meant when everything changed. Suddenly, the Beast was gone, and Raven was briefly looking through the eyes of Beast Boy. Then, her vision was gone, replaced by the mental wall she was so used too. Then, a single thought, clear as crystal echoed through her head.

"I hope that proved it."

Raven's eyes snapped open and she plummeted onto her bed. She didn't even realise that she had been breathing heavily. She had felt what had caused him to change back…what he had thought as the transformation occurred.

"Are you still you?",

"Blue is still my favourite colour."

Raven got off her bed. There was research to be done. She hadn't seen a lot, but it was a start. It was snowy. It was night time, that could give a time zone and the surrounding trees had been absolutely massive. It may not have been enough information to pinpoint the changeling, but it was the best lead any of the Titans had found in months. Even with all of this at the forefront of her mind, there was one inescapable fact that prompted a thousand questions. Beast Boy had developed a way to control when he changed back from the Beast…and he was doing it by thinking of her.

One week before Phobia's attack…

Deathstroke glanced at the pitiful fools that surrounded him. Having followed up on another target, in search of both followers and answers, he was beginning to get sick of the typical human follower of Trigon. They lacked conviction or even the most basic will to think freely. They were members of the cult so they could have a higher power tell them what to do…and Deathstroke hated weak-willed men. Currently in Pakistan, he was running out of locations to visit. He had grown stronger with each follower he rallied to his cause, but had yet to find answers regarding the block in his powers.

"Which one of you pathetic fools is the head of this congregation?"

"There is no need to shout Mr. Wilson…I believe I can be of the assistance you seek."

Deathstroke's line of sight moved directly in front of him and he was immediately intrigued by the individual who stood before him. He had seen some higher ranking members of the Cult of Trigon wearing robes and garments of the like, but the man before him was cut from a different cloth. Adorned in black robes, with a hood and collar that kept his face partially obscured, his outfit was embellished with markings as red as Trigon's own skin. The Mark of Skath was tattooed on the insides of both his forearms in red. Although he couldn't see his eyes, just from the lower half of his face, Deathstroke could tell, the man was old...how old he couldn't tell.

"Hmmm…not often I am called out by name…perhaps you can be of some assistance. How do you know of me?"

The man cackled to himself. "Slade Wilson…brought back from death itself to deliver the message to the gem, before being betrayed by Trigon the Terrible, only to reclaim his soul himself. As the self-proclaimed, but unquestioned leader of the Cult of Trigon in this dimension, it is my job to stay up to date on recent affairs."

In a very rare case, Deathstroke was momentarily speechless. He had assumed the entire world, and the population within, except for him and the Titans had been annihilated. Now, it seemed that Trigon had some chosen favourites all along.

"Don't be startled by my knowledge…I have no ambition for power anymore…I merely seek to keep the Cult alive."

Deathstroke snorted. "Seems a little unambitious for someone who claims to essentially be all-knowing."

The man gave Deathstroke a hideous grin before pulling down his hood. The man's face was wrinkled and almost appeared to be pulled tight along his skull, giving him sunken eyes and cheek bones that protruded outwards. Two red gems were embedded above his eyebrows, an homage to the four eyes of Trigon.

"My ambition is to make the Earth a hell for men…and I know I am not the man to tear the world asunder…but I am more than happy to assist those who have the potential to do it. Abaddon, leader of the Cult of Trigon, at your service."

Deathstroke was wary of the self-proclaimed leader of the cult. Clearly, he was well-informed, but the man seemed chaotic and unhinged. Deathstroke wanted to take this world for himself…Abaddon seemed content with watching it burn while he burned with it.

"Very well Abaddon. Trigon bestowed certain powers upon me when I was tasked with delivering the message to his daughter. Now, I have nearly recovered them all. I have travelled the world, visiting the meeting places of your congregation, and as more of them fell in line behind me, the more I felt my power surge. But yet, one power still alludes me…"

"The power to call forth the fire demons that were so effective for you before?"

"Yes…I will take this world…but I need an army to do it…I need the armies of Trigon."

Abaddon nodded along, and as Deathstroke finished his sentence, a serious look adorned his face for the first time.

"I have the answer that you seek…but be warned Slade Wilson, son of Odysseus. With the power you seek comes fatal flaws…I will help you as long as you understand this."

Deathstroke laughed. "Once I have my army, I will be a God in this world, what flaw could possibly impede me?"

Abaddon's face became adorned with a sinister smile. "Do you know why I have never sought out more power than I already have Mr. Wilson?...It is because power brings weakness…I have watched mortal men ascend to thrones only for those thrones to be brought tumbling down. I have watched the rise of self-proclaimed Gods only to see those Gods fall, because they were ONLY Gods after all. In my lifetime, both you and I have witnessed the fall of Trigon the Terrible on this very planet….and you wonder if there is a flaw that could bring you, a mortal man, down. The true way to maintain power…is to keep the darkness alive. Trigon may have been defeated…but the idea of him has existed for centuries and will continue to live on in the shadows. Evil only has the power we give it Mr. Wilson and we must each be our own devil…to make the world a hell for all. So don't worry…if you succeed and raze this world, I will bask in the flames…if you fail…I'll patiently await the rise of the next would-be God."

Deathstroke sized Abaddon up, scanning over the man who seemed to have knowledge far beyond his years should allow him to have. "Sounds like you are afraid of power."

"I never said I wasn't…now, back to your little problem. It is really quite a simple fix. You can't command the fire armies of Trigon, because they are not yours to command."

Deathstroke looked at Abaddon, his mask hiding the puzzled look on his face. "But I have commanded them before? How have I lost this right, and maintained everything else?

"Because every other power gifted to you by Trigon was simply that…a power. Commanding armies? That requires rank…status."

"Are you saying there is someone on this godforsaken planet that outranks me?"

Abaddon smirked at him. "Of course there is…tell me Deathstroke…when a father dies…who does he usually leave his belongings too?"

Deathstroke was getting sick of Abaddon's little puzzles when he realised how simple this one was.

"…His children. Raven…she has the power I seek?"

"Yes, the only heir of Trigon on this planet, the armies are at her command, should she so wish, but to invoke that power, she would need to fully succumb to her demonic heritage."

Deathstroke let out a sigh of frustration. "So how do I take this power from her?"

Abaddon took a deep breath. "The gem was born of evil's fire. The gem shall be his portal. He comes to claim. He comes to sire the end of all things mortal…there's a reason the prophecy doesn't say specifically say Trigon…she is the answer to your problem and your gateway to burning this world to ashes."

Deathstroke straightened himself up, and stared Abaddon directly in his cold and lifeless eyes.

"TELL ME WHAT I MUST DO!"

Abaddon grinned, a sickening amount of glee on the old man's face for the topic being discussed.

"You must gather all the followers you can…take Raven Roth to where she became the portal for Trigon to enter this world…and kill her."

Deathstroke breathed in the freezing air as he emerged from the private flight he had managed to negotiate. The sun had just risen on a cold and snowy morning. He wasn't one for travelling in economy. He was well-funded and would allow himself the luxuries he deserved. The first step of Abaddon's instructions was nearly complete and he had only a handful of sites left to visit and obtain undying loyalty from. Then, and only then, would he return to face the Titans. He would lay waste to their tower and everyone inside, he would extract Raven from her home, and he would take her to where she became the portal and spill her blood onto the stone floor. It was his destiny. Deathstroke adorned his jacket and hat to conceal his identity, and walked off the air strip into the cool Alaskan country-side.