Raven sat in the ops room of Titans Tower, a book in one hand and a tea in the other. The rest of her team were spread about the room casually lounging and enjoying a quiet day. Cyborg and Beast Boy were battling each other in a racing game while Starfire and Robin sat at the dining table, sharing a meal and failing miserably at keeping their public affections to a minimum. The day had been quiet, like many of the days that had preceded it since the Titans' victory over the Brotherhood of Evil. Two years had passed, and while many of the villains had found ways to escape their various imprisonments (after a lengthy stay frozen in ice), most had chosen to keep the Titans at a distance. Their reputation as heroes had spread far and wide, and while older heroes, particularly the Justice League, still thought of the group as kids, Raven and the rest of the Titans had proven time and again they were as formidable as any other collective.
Raven, in particular, had felt her power grow ever since she defeated Trigon. With encouragement from Robin, she had been honing her craft and expanding her abilities. She had yet to recreate the time freeze her emotions had triggered when Slade had tried to deliver the prophecy, but she had successfully frozen objects midair for extended periods. Eventually, she would attempt it on a living creature, but she couldn't deny she was hesitant to try. Her power was demonic, a hostile force to this world no matter what her team tried to tell her, and Raven feared what she was truly capable of.
Raven flipped the page of her book, smiling as the hero of the story saved their damsel. She had always been a sucker for fantasy romance, and this novel she had picked was exactly what she needed to ignore the ache in her stomach every time she saw her friends with their significant others. Starfire and Robin were a constant since they lived there, but Cyborg and Bumblebee were often seen in the halls of the Tower. The Titans East leader was finding more reasons to stay with them more often, and she was practically part of their own team now. Beast Boy had managed to convince the girl formerly known as Terra to give him a chance. That particular relationship was the worst for Raven. She had examined the girl herself and knew the memories and power of Terra were gone, but part of her still felt uneasy every time Raven saw her face. She didn't begrudge her friends their love lives, but she did sometimes wonder when it would be her turn. Most of the men she was attracted to were scared of her or turned out to be incompatible. More often than not, she realized the "darkness" she found herself drawn to was just surface level and they had nothing real to offer her. A smirk crossed her lips as she remembered the boy in a skull shirt she had once crushed on. One show of her real power and he'd run for the hills. At the time, it had hurt, but when she remembered the look on his face, she couldn't help but laugh now.
Sighing, Raven's eyes flicked up from her novel as the boys on the couch got into a heated argument over the legitimacy of BB's win. Raven was just getting ready to intervene when the hair on her neck and arms stood straight, a rush of warning shooting through her body. Raven's eyes went wide as she sprung to her feet, trying to determine the threat. The other Titans didn't seem to notice anything, but then before she could utter a word, bright light filled her vision and she felt herself disappearing.
Her feet hit the ground, her breath taken from her body at the forced teleportation. With a scowl, Raven summoned her magic, her eyes darting around for the danger. What she saw instead stilled her instantly.
She and the other Titans were standing in a familiar room, a giant white dome with a grand pedestal rising in the center. The room was crowded with people, all of whom Raven recognized immediately.
"What the fuck?" Mammoth growled from across the room as everyone came to their senses.
"Robin?" a deep, gravelly voice questioned. Raven twisted to stare.
Batman! The dark knight was in his armor, looking terribly surprised at seeing his former apprentice.
More voices of anger and confusion echoed over the room. Raven let her power simmer in her hands as she scanned each face. As her eyes fell over the people in the room, her gut clenched. There were at least fifty people in the room. Half of them were allies, superheroes from all over the globe. The other half… well, the other half were villains. Villains she had encountered and some she had only heard about.
Bumblebee, Speedy, Kid Flash, Jinx, Batman, Zatanna, Constantine.
Constantine. Raven's shoulders tensed as the man met her eyes, a frown on his face. He was… not a fan of Raven's.
Raven quickly diverted her eyes, trying to find the threats in the room. There were almost too many.
Mammoth, Brother Blood, Joker, Harley Quinn, Bane, Scarecrow, and…
Raven met his eyes as the heroes anxiously gathered together, readying themselves for a fight. Her heart was hammering in her chest. She couldn't see it, not behind the mask, but she felt the smirk on his face as he raised his hand, waggling his fingers in a mocking wave.
"Slade," Raven hissed through her teeth. Anger was surging. She blamed him; she despised him for his role in her father's plan. Even if he had ended up helping them, a part of her, a darker part she kept hidden, wanted the man dead.
Just as her rage was spiking to a high, a booming voice echoed over the dome.
"Welcome, champions!"
Raven's eyes never left Slade's, but everyone else glanced up to the pedestal where the Master of Games stood standing with glee over everyone. A collective groan from the Titans and other heroes followed the announcement.
"Not this again!" Beast Boy huffed. "Didn't we kick your butt once? You really want to go for round two?"
"More like round three," Bumblebee added, reminding BB the girls had also been subjected to the Master of Games's ridiculous contest.
"Now, now!" the Master scolded. "This is a new tournament! A true test! No tricks or hidden motives."
"Yeah, right," Robin snorted from beside Raven.
Her teammate clearly hadn't spotted Slade, but based on the amusement and anger she felt from the villain, Slade had clearly seen Robin. Raven subtly shifted her body in front of Robin, and Slade's amusement only increased. He was enjoying her discomfort.
"For once, I agree with the baby bird," Harley Quinn laughed in her deranged way, "let's get him!"
A chorus of agreement came up from the villains, all ready to pounce on the Master, even the heroes appeared ready to swat the man from his pedestal, but the Master of Games raised a hand and continued calmly.
"I understand your hesitance! But look!" he pointed to his chest where his amulet was conspicuously missing, "I have no way to take your power this time. This contest is the ultimate competition. To test the might and skill of the greatest among you!"
"Then where's Superman?" Kid Flash joked, noting the missing Justice League member.
The Master laughed loudly once. "It had to be a fair competition," he grinned, his sharp teeth gleaming. "A Kryptonian is hardly fair competition for human lifeforms." His eyes went over the few non-humans in the room, including Raven, "Mostly human, at least."
There was grumble of dissent at the dig, but no one seemed particularly keen to argue with the fact. There were few who could stand up to Superman, and the villains didn't seem particularly keen to volunteer.
"And why would we subject ourselves to this?" Zatanna inquired.
"Because the reward is my medallion!" the Master grinned, gesturing to the magical pendant which appeared in a sealed container. "Whosoever wins the competition will be given it as a token of reward, to use or destroy as they see fit."
Silence. Raven felt the prickle of interest that spread over the villains. She sensed the spike of fear from the heroes, realizing what some of those here could do with such an item. And just like that, Raven felt the energy of the room shift. Before, not a single soul cared what the Master of Games said; they were not going to compete. Now, the greed and trepidation inspired by the medallion changed their minds.
The Joker was the first to come forward, his permanent smile growing wider as he eyed the Batman with a sick glee. "Sign me up!"
Like dominos falling, heroes and villains agreed to compete, their eyes on the prize, but Raven was keeping hers locked in a staring contest. Slade hadn't moved a muscle.
"Then let us begin!" the Master shouted, clearly thrilled with the turn. "This competition will test your skill and will, but also…" he trailed off, a wicked smile on his face, "your teamwork."
"Teams!" Scarecrow shouted, angry.
The Master of Games ignored the disgruntled shouts, mostly from the villains, and continued, "I have hand selected each of you and the partner you will be paired with based off your performance in the real world. Here, you will find a partner that you have excelled with. A person with whom you have conquered and triumphed like no other. You will compete alongside each other, eliminating other pairings until there is only you. Then…" the Master grinned, "we will see which of you is truly the greatest."
A wave of uncertainty went through the crowd. Raven finally broke her stare from Slade, glancing at her companions as they came to the realization that beating the other teams would mean fighting one of their own. Raven frowned, trying to figure out who the Master would pair her friends with. She wouldn't make a move against her friends. She couldn't do that. Not again.
"Now, for the pairs!" the Master announced, and the floor shifted beneath their feet. Each person was moved against the wall forming a great ring around the center pedestal. Raven's eyes scanned the room, feeling uneasy not knowing where Slade had gone.
"Looking for me?" a smooth voice whispered beside her.
Raven had to hold in her scream. Her eyes snapped to his, standing only a foot or so away. His arms were crossed, and he looked at her with that annoying glint in his eye like he was so much better than her. Raven scowled, her fists clenching as black coated her hands.
"The contest hasn't started yet, Raven," Slade tsked, "you wouldn't want to cheat now, would you?"
The Master of Games was monologuing in the background, but Raven was tuning him out. She vaguely heard him announce names of pairs as lights came on and people walked to meet each other.
"The only good thing about this, Slade," Raven spat, "is that I'll get to repay you for everything you put us through."
Slade rolled his good eye as a chuckle rumbled in his chest. "My, my, you have grown into yourself, Raven. And to think you were the precious little gem freezing time just to get away from me."
Shame lit Raven's cheeks on fire as she remembered her previous cowardice. "I wasn't afraid of you. Not then. Not now."
Slade snorted, looking down at her. "No, you're far more afraid of yourself."
Just as Raven was about to retort, a light shone down on her. Blinking, she looked back to the center as the Master gestured to her.
"Last to introduce but certainly not least!" he was saying, "the greatest pair. The most notorious two. The Duo of Death! Raven and Slade!"
If her heart had been beating, she couldn't remember the feeling.
A/N: I'm back! For those who read my longer Slaven story What We Do in the Dark, this is going to be a much lighter and quicker read. This was just a fun idea I had while writing my other story and I wanted to get it down before I move to the much darker sequel. For those who didn't read my other story, I hope you enjoy this one!
Full disclosure for the rest of this story, I'm not going to try too hard with keeping non Titans' characters accurate to comics since I don't know as much about them. This is really just a fun, quick story that won't be more than ten chapters.