As a reminder, you can find MORE of this on my SubStar (dot adult slash KajaWilder), it's posted up to about 20 there... And if you guys haven't seen an update in at least a month, please let me know! I have a busy life, and I get distracted and forget things. This story is supposed to be updated MONTHLY until it is finished (which I'm currently planning for around Ch. 30), on the 3rd Wed of the month.

And if you're just interested in discussing things with other readers, of course, you can go to my DISCORD here: h- t_ t_ p-s -: -/ -/ -discord . g-g / N9yDA8t6Cw (taking out hyphens, underscores, and spaces of course).

Part 10

"This is taking too long," Robin grumbled as he leaned back in the tall chair he occupied.
On the other side of the Cyborg-crafted surveillance van, that very team-mate shrugged, though he was starting to display nerves, too, "What can you do, though? It's the nature of these Ops. Raven knows what she's doing, and we've never seen jamming yet that can block our emergency calls."

"I too believe Friend Raven will be alright," Starfire announced from her own position on Robin's left, toward the front of the vehicle. "She would detect a threat and signal it before it was able to attack her thanks to her abilities, would she not?"

"Maybe," Robin conceded, "but just because it's never happened doesn't mean it can't. And even Raven can be taken by surprise. They'd just have to be emotionally neutral about attacking her."
"Yeah, but they'd also have to know who she is," Cyborg reminded him, "and she's in disguise. A multi-layer disguise."

"But Stukov knew who she was, apparently before the gala even started. If he knew, others did, too. I don't know how, but someone leaked the information."

"You do not think that we did so, Robin?" Starfire asked, her eyes wide.

"No!" he shouted, then, visibly calmed himself to growl, "No, it wasn't us. Someone else, probably in the JCPD. Stukov's probably got eyes and ears everywhere. It's still taking too long. Why haven't we heard her signal since the call?"

"What I want to know is why Stukov invited us into his house. Well, one 'em. It's gotta be a trap."

"Of course it's a trap," Robin shot back, "and Raven's in it. We're... we're gonna have to go in. I don't like it, but..."

"But Mr. Stukov is waiting for us," Starfire finished for him, tone much quieter and solemn than her usual way.

"Exactly. He obviously knows we're at least listening. Cy, make sure the van's totally locked down, I don't want anyone even coming close to it. Once that's done, we'll go in."

"On it," the huge half-cybernetic man said with a nod, one hand's fingers blazing over the keyboard while a hundred thousand circuits lit up on his other half to do more of the job even faster.

"How... how are those cables holding her?" Raven asked, confused. She knew well just how much raw strength Starfire could exhibit when she was angry, and knew Blackfire to be nearly as strong. In fact, in some ways, the older sister was stronger.

Alexei Stukov's expression denoted some amusement as he replied, "You refer to her super-human strength? Blackfire's captivity is manifold. The cables themselves are a new alloy comprised, as I understand it, from Iridium, Cobalt, and Aluminum. Flexible, strong. Developed by LexCorp, actually. Hasn't been released to the public, but my own labs were able to get ahold of enough to use... for research purposes, of course."

"Your biggest competitor nationally let you have something they developed?" Raven asked, sidetracked by the name-drop.

"Well, let might be a strong word, but it was... allowed," Stukov said with a faint grin, "We had to give up a fair bit to earn the rights, but it was worth it, as you can see. The material carries within it a charge, too. Decent amount of voltage, low amperage... enough to keep her muscles spasming lightly, harder to control, but not enough to hurt. I've been told the Tamaranean feels something akin to one of our own TENS-unit electric massage devices. Of course, if she applies any real pressure to the cables, the current locks them in place and they become far more rigid, and painful to wear. Oh, don't look at me like that, it's not out of choice. I'm trying not to hurt her unnecessarily. That's why you're here, after all."

"I'm here because you are being investigated," Raven reminded him darkly. She did not want to think about even one of their enemies being fed torturous amounts of electrical current because they moved.

"Yes," Stukov chuckled, "for human trafficking, drugs, extortion, the usual laundry list of crimes I may or may not have committed. The question I pose to you, Miss Roth, is... if I did all the things I am accused of, accused by Lex Luthor of, then why am I still free? Why hasn't the Batman, or Superman, or Luthor himself come to stop me directly?"

Raven bit back a retort. That... that was actually a good question, and one she did not have an answer for.

Stukov wasn't finished, however, and he gestured at the mansion above and around them, then toward Blackfire again as he continued, "If all of this is just a grand cover for my darker exploits, then surely someone would have stopped me by now. Or put a stop to it in some other way. Investigated. Don't get me wrong, the Teen Titans are hardly the nobodies you used to be a couple of years ago. I wouldn't say you're as A-list as the Justice League, but you definitely hold your own in and around our fine city. More broadly, I've learned you have even been making inroads internationally after formalizing the Titans East. Personally, I think that's a grand idea. But her... the Tamaranean usurper is posing a problem, and it's not one I can see myself handling long-term."

Ravens eyes narrowed as Stukov's genteel demeanor faded into what her empathy told her was barely-restrained fury as he glared in Blackfire's direction. "What do you mean?"

"The cables and the power flowing through them are only the most obvious deterrent to her escape. Her brutal, destructive escape, I think. The IV there drips a constant stream of sedatives. A potent cocktail that it took my researchers weeks to concoct. Something potent enough to keep her barely conscious at best, and truly asleep most of the time, but not enough to cause significant harm if used. At least, not in the short term."

"What do you mean by short term?" she pressed.

Stukov sighed and stepped into the small room. She followed hesitantly, wary of both his own actions and Blackfire's comatose body as it hung from the wall of the ten-by-ten room. "I am loathe to... permanently damage such a creature. Not only could it spark an interstellar war if news got out that we- humanity- killed a Tamaranean royal, usurper or not, it could infuriate your team-mate. That's one of the primary reasons I invited them all to come in. I'd like Starfire's opinion personally. And don't get me wrong, I've certainly done my share of shady deals, but I am not the villain Luthor has painted me as. As such, I find myself... rather loathe to simply keep Blackfire snowed under for the rest of her life. Because that could indeed cause neurological damage, among other things."

"How kind," Raven said drily, "Not reducing a captive to a gibbering vegetable or just outright killing them. If you could even do that. What are you really after? I know you didn't just bring me down here, or, as you claim, arrange to meet the rest of my team just to show her to us. You could do a lot more with someone like her if no one knew she was here."

As soon as she said it, Raven cursed herself for letting it slip that Blackfire's presence had been a true surprise. To cover it up, she added, "How did she get here, anyway? Last any of us heard, she was deep in Kil'rathi space."

"Not sure what a Kilwrathy is, but the Tamaranean here was trying to make contact with certain elements on Earth I think none of us would want her to talk to. Certain members of the al Ghul family."

Raven's eyes narrowed again as Stukov turned to face her, expression serious. "R'as?"

"No, I don't think so," Stukovs shook his head, "but someone close to him. Perhaps Talia."

"Talia al Ghul is currently in Gotham," Raven hissed, "so if Blackfire is trying to contact her, why isn't she in JLA custody? Or Batman's?"

"That is an excellent question, and one I have no answer to. I only know that she was nearby and my team was able to catch her by surprise. I've no doubt that if we hadn't, she would have put up a rather impressive fight, and no doubt get you and your team's attention in another way. Anything else is supposition and guesswork. My intelligence network isn't nearly as impressive as yours, I'm sure."

Raven was starting to doubt that given the lapses in information Stukov was presenting her with, but she couldn't just outright refute it without seeming either condescending or rude. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem. People knew who she was, after all, and her persona was equally well-known. But Stukov... something about this whole operation was off, and it wasn't just that he didn't seem to be the person the JCPD and Lex Luthor had painted him as. Raven was also not naive enough to take what he had shown her at face value, either. Just because he had Blackfire locked up and sedated didn't make him innocent of anything else. Why else, what possible purpose, could he have this long hall full of secured doors for than as a prison? An extralegal one, at the very least, and a storage space for the human trafficking the Jump City Police Department, and Lex Luthor, thought he was doing at worst.

"Your friends should be coming inside any moment, my dear," Stukov said with an easy smile after several seconds, "Let's go meet them, shall we?"

She nodded and turned to the door. Perhaps too soon.

Perhaps her empathic abilities reading joy rather than anger, hatred, or fear should have clued her in.

But they did not, and she did not react until it was too late. The needle and plunger were already beneath her skin, pushing what felt like several cubic centimeters of something into the soft, pliable muscle of her rear end.

She tried to fight it even while she spun to backhand Stukov, anything to get some distance before she used a shadow-portal to warp herself out of the mansion.

But her body took the concoction, which she was actively willing it to push out through the same hole the needle had just vacated as she turned, and ran with it.

Ran hard, and fast, and by the time Raven's will caught up with her magic, it was too late. The world span with her, then twisted sideways, and she knew no more.

"Mr. Stukov will be with you in just a moment," the seventy-something woman told Robin, Cyborg, and Starfire as she shut the door behind the large part-human, part-machine. "He's just finishing up with Miss Roth. Allow me to show you to the study where he'll be meeting with you. Would you like me to arrange something to eat? Hors d'oeuvres? We have some delightful caviar from the Baltic, and I'm sure you haven't had a chance to eat much this evening given your work."

"No, thank you," Robin growled. Of course, Cyborg perked up at the mention of a snack, but it was Starfire who was most enthusiastic.

"I would love some of the caviar of the Batlic! I have heard it is the best!"

Elena Markov nodded with a soft smile, "Indeed, that is what they say. I'll have a serving tray brought in. Here we are, just this room here. Make yourselves comfortable. Mr. Wayne, of course you are to be allowed to perform whatever security check you require while you wait. Mr. Stone, if you wish to check the champagne there for poisons or other illicit substances, Mr. Stukov would not be offended. And you, my dear," she turned toward Starfire, "I'll have your caviar brought immediately. Ring the bell there if there's anything else you require. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy your evening."

She left without giving them a chance to ask for anything else, but Robin didn't seem to mind. In fact, he was more than a little frustrated that he was being told how to do his job. As if he needed permission to sweep for bugs, traces, traps, or whatever else! He wasn't doing it because Stukov offered or gave him permission. He was doing it because he was Robin, world's second-greatest (for now) detective!

Cyborg, at least, didn't do more than a cursory scan of the alcohol before he picked up one glass and downed it far to quickly to savor its flavor and bouquet. "It's clean. Can't detect any traces of anything except... paint, really, and not a dangerous level."
"I believe I have the reason for that here," Starfire, who had ignored the fine champagne and her boyfriend's increasing paranoia to examine a somewhat out-of-place easel that stood near one of the windows, which was currently curtained off. "I did not know Alexei Stukov was a painter."

"He's not," Robin grumbled, "but his daughter is."

No one bothered to ask how Robin knew that. Of course he had used the last several hours since the information on Stukov had been sent their way to dig up everything he possible could on Stukov and his family.

"Got a daughter, huh? Other family to worry about? What about the staff, if things go south?" Cyborg asked, downing a second glass and turning away from the drinks to march toward the center of the room. His right ear's cybernetic enhancements powered on, no doubt to listen for danger from outside the room, or perhaps for Raven's approach.

"His daughter's name is Elena, too," Robin groused, "and Stukov's a widower. They were about done with a somewhat messy divorce when she turned up dead. Of course fingers were pointed, but I actually think Stukov's clean on that one. One of his enemies took the rap, at least."

The door they had entered from vibrated with someone tapping twice on it, and it opened to reveal a young woman a couple of years older than themselves with long, sandy-blonde hair that hung down one side of her face and a silk housecoat thrown over what looked like gym apparel. "Excuse me, Teen Titans? I'm Elena- Elena Stukov. My father asked me to bring you to him, actually, if you don't mind."

Robin's eyes narrowed, "We do, actually. What's taking him so long? Where's Raven?"

"I honestly don't know," the woman said with a shrug, opening the door further to show the hallway with no one else visible behind it. She glistened with sweat, or perhaps a shower. "I just got done with my workout when he sent me the message to bring you to him. I'd like to go finish my shower, so if you don't mind...?"

"Alright, we'll come along," Cyborg murmured, throwing a cautionary glance at Robin. It was better, he thought, to cooperate for now. Especially if this woman, his own age he thought, wasn't involved in whatever it was Stukov was doing.

As they followed her out into the long hallway that ran he shorter distance through the mansion, Elena put that thought to rest quickly, however. "As for your other question, Mr. Wayne- can I call you Robin? Well, the staff wouldn't put up much of a fight. They've been instructed to give the three of you free reign throughout the mansion and grounds for the evening, until you're satisfied with your investigation. If you were to attack one of them, that would be a different story, but you'll find most of my father's employees are just regular people. The biggest threat would be the rather mundane security, I'm afraid."

Robin seemed like he wanted to ask Elena what she knew about her father's shadier business, but bit his tongue for now. If what they had overheard him telling Raven was true before her communications had cut out, then they weren't necessarily enemies, and he didn't want to drive a wedge between father and daughter by accusing him of something they had no proof of.

Of course, if they did find proof, then he would hold nothing back, either.

Elena led the three Titans to the back side of the mansion, then up one flight of stairs, before turning to a single double-door that opened onto a balcony. "My father's on the ground floor out there," she told them with a shrug, "He asked me to ask you to have patience when you go out there. Not everything is what it seems. Even if it's shocking... whatever that means. Ask questions first, shoot later, or something like that. Anyway, if there's nothing else, I think I'd like to get to my shower."

"No, that'll be all," Cyborg told her, deciding to take the lead since Robin was getting increasingly antsy and Starfire seemed enamored with the palatial building itself. "Thanks for showing us the way."

"It's my pleasure, Mr. Stone," she chirped, then gave them a jaunty salute before turning and making her way further into the mansion's second-floor halls.

Out on the balcony, it took all three of them several seconds to realize what they were seeing. In the center of what should have been, and probably was, a dance floor or outdoor party venue complete with brick barbeque grill, was a razor wire-capped titanium cage that rose at least twelve feet in the air. Cameras lined the top, all aiming inside, though one at the far end was pointed rather noticeably at the balcony where they stood.

"I knew it was fishy," Cyborg growled, "Where were all the staff and security, if the place is locked down for the night? Someone should've been in the halls, but we only saw the two guys at the gate, two at the door, and the older and younger Elena."

"And Mr. Stukov," Starfire pointed out, rather unnecessarily.

Alexei Stukov himself was standing in the center of the cage, his shirt off, with arms folded over a muscular chest, which looked oiled in the floodlamps turning the late evening into bright daylight within the hastily built but sturdy structure. "At last, the Teen Titans. Here's the deal. I have your friend, Raven Roth. I'll give her up, freely, no harm done aside from a tiny pinprick and maybe a headache... and a few regrets. If one of you- just one, your choice who- can beat me in a straight fight. No holds barred."

All three immediately prepared to jump, or in Starfire's case, fly down into the ring, but he held up a warning hand, "Before you go off half cocked, consider this. You don't know where Raven Roth is. You don't know what state she's in. You don't know what fail safes I have in place if you don't do as I say. I'm not here- I didn't arrange for you to be brought here, set this cage up, get rid of my normal security- to hurt any of you. But needs must. One of you fights me until it's clear who the victor is. TKO or true KO. Obviously, non-lethal. I don't want to die any more than you do."

Robin, still tense and ready to jump in at a moment's notice with the word that something, anything had happened to Raven despite Stukov's assurances that nothing would, clenched his teeth. But what could he do? Nominally, Stukov, who was by all accounts just a regular human if well-trained and fairly powerfully built, would get slaughtered in a caged match with any of the Teen Titans. Why would he ask to fight them, and give up Raven as the prize if he lost? He had to know he'd lose. "I don't like this," he growled softly, knowing Starfire and Cyborg would hear anyway.

"I do not like it either," Starfire replied. "He is planning something."

"'Course he is, Cyborg rumbled, completely failing at actually being quiet but trying anyway, "but what choice do we have? I'll do it."

"No, I will," Robin shot back, "I'm the one who-"

"I believe I should be the one," Starfire interrupted, "as I have the greatest strength. I can win by ring-out easily. If I understand the rules."

"You do," Stukov chuckled, keeping his relaxed stance, "but I think you'll find it's not as easy as it looks, Princess of Tamaran. Of course I'm planning something. I wouldn't have issued the challenge if I didn't think I would win. Which brings me to my next point. If you lose, and I knock your representative out, I need you to do something for me."

"Why would we do something for you?" Robin called, "You've kidnapped one of our own and are holding her hostage. Give me a single reason why we shouldn't level the building."

"Dozens of innocent lives, your teammates included, my daughter... and, of course, you'll never find out what's really going on. Why Luthor set me up... any of it. And believe me, as much as I'd like to see that egomaniac brought down a few pegs, I can guarantee he's only the tip of a very large iceberg."

"Give us Raven," Robin growled, "then we can talk about anything else. No negotiations while you have one of our friends hostage."

That was when Starfire, her eyes and hands both blazing with vibrant, brilliant verdant light, launched herself from the balcony and down into the makeshift cage.

That was when everything went wrong, too.

Inside the cage itself, several planes of force hummed as they activated, locking Starfire in a too-small cube, with barely enough room to stand. Stukov grinned, "Just as planned."

Above the alien girl, Cyborg and Robin were distracted by a smoke-bomb that had been activated between them.

Sixty feet or more below them, nearly a mile away, a heavy armored van started moving, taking the chamber that held Blackfire and Raven with it. It accelerated quickly, confident that in the single-vehicle wide passageway, which ran straight and true for more than a few miles, there was no reason to go slowly. In fact, haste was necessary. Raven Roth was about to regain consciousness, after all, and it would not do for her friends to be nearby. Not with what had been injected into her system.

Raven Roth woke quickly, when she did. Her eyes flashed open and she tried to levitate to her feet, arms and legs opening into a combat stance. None of that happened as she intended. Her eyes opened, and she woke to what at least felt like full consciousness, but her body did not move. At least, not as she had intended it.

Raven blinked. Why was she worried about a threat? Memory came back fuzzy, indistinct, but it did come. The gala. The manor. Stukov. Blackfire. Blackfire in the room with her. Why was the room rocking slightly? Why did the floor vibrate? Why was Blackfire chained to the wall?

Azar, she looked so tasty. Almost as good as Starfire did.

Mm... she was deliciously horny, and Raven liked it. She could use Beast Boy...

Nine Hells, she'd probably fuck him as himself right now. If only he was around...

But Blackfire was.

Why was she so horny?

Why did she even care?

Her demonic side howled for release, to be set free. And what was the harm, really? Blackfire was evil, they knew that. She could use her for satisfaction, leave her chained up, and Stukov could deal with her. Yes... Stukov. Handsome, genteel, suave... villainous. He had to be. All the things he'd told her, and then drugged her with... something.

Something that had knocked her out. And was that why she was so horny?

Azar, she was horny, and Blackfire looked so good, so inviting, just hanging there, vulnerable...

No, Stukov. Drugs. That must be what he'd dosed her with, something to make her horny. An aphrodisiac.

Aphrodite.

Greek Goddess of Love, Romance, Passion, Sex, and so on. Sex was good.

She wanted it.

Raven grinned. If there had been a conscious onlooker, they might have found the expression legitimately creepy, for it was not the kind of grin Raven was prone to. It was, for lack of a better word, lascivious. "Oh Blackfire... I think I have a present for you..."

Of course, it was not that easy. As Raven stood up in the still slowly-rocking room, Blackfire herself melted away. In its place, a robot. A familiar robot with a stylized S symbol on it.

Eh, that was alright. It had enough appendages to get her off, Raven was sure. The robot would do.

"I'm sorry," Stukov said quietly to Starfire as the same gas that Blackfire had volunteered to test for them filled the forcefield. "This isn't what I wanted. I had no choice."

Starfire's eyes fluttered for several seconds, and she hit the ground as smoke billowed from the balcony behind her.

On that balcony, Robin and Cyborg both coughed, though the smoke was not all that stinging, and certainly not truly toxic. It was only intended to obfuscate, after all. Intended to hide the figure that, as the smoke cleared, had both of the Titans on the second floor of the mansion stand up straight and ready themselves for battle.

The voice that responded to Stukov's statement was not angry. In fact, while calm it sounded almost amused. "Oh, don't be like that, dear Alexei. You didn't put up that much of a fight either, did you? You got what you wanted out of our arrangement. And now, I've got mine."

The last of the smoke blew away, revealing a bronzed mask and a half-cyborg body, as tall as but far more lean than Cyborg's own. Robin growled a single word, his voice husky and suddenly far more furious than it had been even moments ago. "Slade."