Without You

"Don't tell me you want to marry me too." Raven mocked as she was chained to a huge cross in some godforsaken bunker.

"Not exacly." Slade answered in his usual smooth voice. "I'm not Klarion, my dear. I want to tame you."

Raven chuckled bitterly. "Good luck with that."

She wasn't surprised; she remembered how much Slade enjoyed controlling people and what a weirdo he was with Robin and Terra. Not to mention what he did on her birthday…

"I'll marry you when you're bound to me." Adonis said, staring at her exposed body with hungry eyes.

Raven scoffed in disgust. She wasn't sure why Slade made her change into this ridiculous outfit, but it was better than having him do it himself. What she was wearing now showed a lot more skin than she would like and it seemed to be giving Adonis a whole lot of ideas.

Slade exhaled tiredly. "For the last time, Adonis, she will not be bound to you. You couldn't control her if you tried, you brainless megalomaniac."

Adonis huffed in outrage, but stayed silent. Raven frowned, because she was starting to think she knew why she wasn't dead yet and what they were planning to do to her.

"You do know crosses don't burn me, right Slade? That's vampires." She smirked.

"It's Deathstroke now." He told her calmly.

She rolled her eyes. "I'm not calling you that."

"And the cross is just to spite you. You know, to get you in the mood for the ritual."

Right, there it is. The symbol on the floor, the chains, the magic book on the corner. She knew these uncomfortable clothes – if you could call them that – reminded her of something. She'd read about witch hunters enslaving them to do their bidding. She'd seen the illustrations and she remembered because they'd made her sick. This certainly reminded her of that.

"You're trying to enslave me." The empath pointed out blankly.

Deathstroke smirked. "What a smart little witch."

Raven grunted and leaned her head back against the cross. "You know, you're not the first person to try to control me. It never works out for them."

"Oh, I remember. But I like a challenge."

Raven rolled her eyes. "This is a waste of time. You need me to consent. Enslaving rituals are a battle of will and I won't cave. I'll never give you access to my power."

"You say that now, of course, but I'm patient. We'll see how you feel after being tortured."

"Probably a lot worse. But I still won't cave." The empath said sincerely. "Besides, this is for normal witches. I'm Trigon's daughter. You're delusional if you think this will work on me."

"Oh, it will work." Deathstroke said smugly. "Blackfire brought some interesting artefacts with her. Apparently they enhance binding curses to a great deal."

Raven huffed in frustration. "Slade, just kill me already. You're embarrassing us both."

"Now, I admit you'll be harder to break." He smiled wickedly. "But that'll make it more fun."

Back in Titan Tower, you could taste the tension in the air. Cyborg restlessly scanned the city for any signs of where Slade could have taken her.

Wally West suddenly rushed inside. "I just talked to Barry. The Justice League will let us know if they hear anything."

"Gotham is on it too, I just talked to Babs." Damian said as he hung up his phone.

"Dick…you don't think she's…?" An injured Starfire looked up at Robin with teary eyes.

Robin was taking care of Kory, because whatever Blackfire had been up to in the last few years had made her a lot more dangerous and Starfire was actually wounded. He wasn't used to seeing her hurt with her being the strongest girl in the world and all that – still to be settled with Kara Danvers – and it was making him feel extremely guilty. It didn't help that Slade kidnapped his other best friend. I should have known it was a trap. Of course it was a trap.

"Definitely not." Richard said confidently. "If he meant to kill her, we would know by now. I'm sure he would have made sure we found a...a body." He winced at the last word. He wasn't the only one.

"Unless he's keeping that to throw us off our game at a crucial mom-" Jinx stopped talking when everyone either glared fiercely or looked pleadingly at her. Well, everyone except Beast Boy. He was still silently staring out the window. She shrank a little. "I'm not happy about this, okay?"

They softened up. Her voice was filled with pain like everyone else's. Besides, she wasn't wrong. Deep down they knew there was a real possibility Slade had already killed her and was simply waiting for the right moment to reveal it.

"Well, let's not go there yet, okay? Please." Robin said pointedly. "He probably wants to control her somehow."

"That's right! That's his whole thing. When I worked for him…" Terra looked over at Damian. "You might as well know; I betrayed everyone for Slade once." She said regretfully. "Anyway, back then, he made me an armor that gave him control over my powers. I'm sure that's what he wants now."

Damian wasn't sure which part of that he should react to or how, so he just gave her a quick nod and thought Dick wasn't kidding when he said they weren't perfect.

"Is that better though…?" Speedy said hesitantly. "I mean, if he has control over Raven's powers…"

"It's better if it means she's alive." Starfire glared at him.

"What if he uses her to destroy the whole world?" The archer pressed. "Is that still better?"

"It's better because if that's what he wants, it means we have a chance. Okay?" Robin raised his voice and stared at him warningly. "Let's not abandon hope on day one, please."

Speedy grimaced. He hadn't meant to give in to despair. "Right. Of course. I'm sorry."

Starfire winced in pain and grunted in frustration. She couldn't remember ever feeling this angry or scared.

Dick stared at her with wide, worried eyes. "What can I do…?"

"Blackfire… did something. She's much more powerful. I can barely take her now." Kory said angrily before staring at her boyfriend with fierce determination in her eyes. "You can find my best friend while I figure out a way to stop my wretched sister once and for all."

Robin nodded surely. "I will."

Terra carefully approached Beast Boy. He hadn't said anything yet. He hadn't even moved. She placed a hand on his shoulder and he twitched.

"We'll find her. She's okay. I know she is." The blonde said quietly.

Beast Boy inhaled. "I-I…" His voice was hoarse because of the bruise around his neck. A bruise Raven would have definitely offered to heal. He spoke so quietly and quickly the blonde could barely hear him. "I can't talk about it, Ter."

She nodded and silently held his hand.

"I sent word to the honorary Titans. If anyone finds a clue, no matter how small, we'll contact each other." Bumblebee said surely as she came in. Then she addressed her team. "We should start looking in the East. They could be anywhere."

"I'm staying." Terra said.

Beast Boy turned his head slightly to look at her. Everyone else did too.

She fought back tears. "I just…I mean, we just…" We JUST became friends again. And this is Slade. She took a deep breath to calm down. "She brought me back once. I'm staying until she's safe."

Starfire, Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy stared at her with utter gratitude in their eyes. They definitely appreciated her staying. The others cared, of course, but they couldn't fully understand. She was the only one who knew Raven almost as well as they did.

Three weeks later

The last few weeks had been complete agony. They found nothing. Whatever secret evil lair the villains were hiding in wouldn't be easily uncovered. Robin had been doing slightly illegal interrogations with every criminal he could get his hands on to see if anyone knew anything. Starfire's joy had been replaced by anger for the most part. After she healed, she began training harder and harsher than everyone else. She knew Blackfire was involved and she was the only one who stood a chance against her, so if she didn't find a way to stop her sister, everyone else's efforts would be in vain.

They didn't do anything except fight crime and investigate. Jinx went through Raven's books – Starfire figured Raven would forgive the invasion of privacy in this particular scenario – and tried to find a spell that could locate her. She found quite a few, but none of them worked. Raven was either too far away or too weak. Or dead. But Jinx didn't say that last option out loud. Damian and Cyborg were hacking into every secret operation they could find. Damian also started calling everyone by their actual names.

Beast Boy was numb. After bawling his eyes out right after it happened, he never cried again. Everyone else had cried at some point. Even Damian shed a few silent tears when he felt like it was hopeless. But Garfield couldn't afford to do that. His body had healed from his injuries, but he wasn't whole. Everyone's spirits had taken a hit, but Beast Boy was just… gone. It didn't go unnoticed.

"Hi." Koriand'r approached the green Titan as he had some coffee by the kitchen counter.

He didn't make jokes anymore, or tried to convince them to try tofu, or burst into song. Everyone else realized they really missed it.

"Hi, Kor."

Starfire sat down next to him. "We need to talk."

"No, Kor. We need to keep looking." Garfield said tiredly.

It was all he did since she was taken. He spied, he sniffed and he looked everywhere for some kind of clue, for some kind of sign of her.

"And we will. Who do you think you're talking to?" Kory said fiercely. "I may love her differently, but I love her just as much as you."

Beast Boy miserably turned to her. He didn't bother denying he loved her. There was no point. "I know."

"We still need to talk. You can't keep going like this. You're barely functioning. You hardly eat, and she will need you strong when we find her – and we will find her – so this isn't a smart idea. You don't talk about her, and you haven't even cried. Besides you've been…well, not your usual self. It's freaking me out a little. I'm really worried." The Tamaranean said softly.

Garfield squeezed his eyes shut. "Kor…stop. Please." He whispered.

Starfire placed a hand on his shoulder. "No, Gar."

The shapeshifter winced at Raven's nickname for him. He hadn't heard it in weeks.

"Please, just…talk to me." Kory whispered.

Beast Boy looked at her with pleading eyes. "I can't, Kor." His voice was strained. "If…if I start I'll n-never stop." He choked up.

Starfire immediately pulled him into a comforting hug and he finally broke down. His entire body shook violently as he sobbed into her shoulder.

"It's my fault! It's all my fault! Kor, I have to f-find her, I HAVE to!" The shapeshifter cried.

He could tell the others – except for Robin, who was already out on the streets investigating – had gathered around them, probably because they'd heard the commotion, but now he couldn't stop. Garfield struggled to catch his breath in the alien's arms.

"Shh…no, it's not. Of course it's not your fault. It's Slade's fault. And Blackfire's. And Adonis'. And anyone else who is involved, but it's certainly not your fault." Starfire said soothingly.

Beast Boy pulled away from her, his cheeks soaked with tears. "They got her because of me. Because I was too slow, because I let him get me, because she tried to protect me. Because I made her let her guard down."

Terra and Cyborg came closer and touched him reassuringly.

"So they took advantage of the fact she cares for you. That's what villains do. That is their fault. Kory is right. Rae will tell you that herself when we find her." Terra said sincerely.

"She may not blame me but I do. I'll never forgive myself for this." Garfield cried bitterly.

Cyborg rubbed his friend's back and wept. "Man, if you're gonna blame you, blame us too. If one of us had gotten to you in time, this wouldn't have happened. Whatever you do, just stop doing it alone. The whole point of being on a team is you don't have to do that."

Damian watched with sad eyes as the four of them cried together and hugged. He hadn't failed to notice that caring did turn out to be a weakness in this situation because it got Raven captured. When he found her running around, she clearly wasn't thinking straight. But right now he got it. This was the other side of things. Going through this alone could destroy Beast Boy. Together they stood a chance. So maybe it was both a weakness and a strength. He was about to take a step towards them when the communicator rang. It was Richard.

"I found something."

Slade was there all right. There were certain spots in town where criminals met sometimes, for scheming and exchanging information. This bar was one of them. Slade had been talking about his plans with a few other worthy-of-his-time villains. He didn't love to team up, but what was coming was huge and allies were extremely necessary now. And then suddenly everyone gasped and jumped to their feet, because six Titans barging in and putting everyone against the wall wasn't what usually happened at this bar.

"It seems we've lost all our manners now, haven't we Robin?" Slade said cynically.

"Cut the crap, Slade." Dick hissed.

"It's Deathstroke now, boy. And you shouldn't be here. Go back to your tower before you make more enemies than you can fight."

"We're not leaving without her, Deathstroke." Terra spat out before making deep roots emerge and explode the bar's floor to wrap around Slade's body.

Mambo immediately helped him phase through them. Most villains weren't eager to get involved in an unnecessary quarrel with the Titans, but Mambo just liked chaos.

Slade smirked at the blonde. "Hello, my old apprentice. How very disappointing to see you like th-ARGH!"

Slade didn't get to finish his provocation because he was attacked by an extremely furious green tiger. Beast Boy may not have been Slade's target in the personal way Robin, Terra or Raven had, but this was the second time he targeted someone he loved, so it felt very personal to him. Garfield's teeth pierced through his armor, making him scream. But Slade quickly collected himself enough to stare menacingly into the tiger's eyes.

"Everything you do to me, she will pay for." He warned.

Beast Boy immediately turned human again. "She's alive." He whispered.

Deathstroke smiled, struggling to stand up. "Yes, she's alive. Killing your pet demon would be…well, a waste."

Robin put his bo-staff down. "Fine, Slade. No games. Tell us what you mean."

"Well, Robin. You might as well know. Let's just say when life hands over that kind of power to a little girl, someone must correct that wrong."

"What are you talking about!? Are you stealing her powers or something?" Beast Boy was growing impatient.

"Well, that would be delightful but unfortunately it isn't possible, no. My associates and I have been working on…well, breaking her, if you will. There is a ritual, you see. A ritual for binding a witch to one's will, for submitting them to it."

Beast Boy instantly felt nauseated. Every Titan's eyes widened and every villain's eyes sparkled.

"Are you saying you control her now?" Mambo was fully interested.

"Not yet. Sadly." Deathstroke turned to Robin again. "Your friend has been proving to be somewhat resistant to the process. Of course, I expected this from her. But still, it is only a matter of time until she breaks and consents."

"It will never happen." Starfire hissed.

Slade smiled evilly. "Are you sure about that? I would argue everyone has a breaking point for a single moment of weakness when facing endless torture. And I only need one moment, really."

Their bodies stiffened. Robin held his breath to hide his worries.

"You're torturing her?" Beast Boy asked through clenched teeth, moving slowly in Deathstroke's direction as if he was preying on him.

"Of course I'm torturing her." Slade mocked. "I see you're still falling for women you can't save. Tell me Beast Boy, what should I tell her about his meeting? I can't decide what would hurt the most…telling her what an actual wreck you are or implying that you're better off without her."

Garfield's blood boiled and he saw red. He transformed into the Werebeast and took one step towards Slade before remembering his words. Anything you do to me she will pay for. He couldn't contain his anger, so he just charged at every other villain he could see. If it wasn't for Starfire's intervention, he would have killed someone for sure. When he turned human again, he was panting and sweating and he still looked rather menacing. There was something dangerous about his stance that the others hadn't really seen before, but his heart was just painfully tight.

But Deathstroke wasn't worried. He knew he wouldn't be touched. "Don't worry, I will tell her you said hello." He laughed as he stepped out of the bar and disappeared into darkness.

When Slade got back to his lair, he went to see his captive right away. The girl with white hair and an eye-patch had been watching her.

"Hello, my dear. Have you met my daughter? Rose, did you introduce yourself?" Deathstroke said calmly.

Rose Wilson looked up from where she had been sharpening her swords. She was all for being evil, but this whole thing had her feeling a little weird. "I suppose I didn't see the point."

"Raven, this is my daughter Rose Wilson. Rose, this is Raven."

Of course it's his daughter. "She has your eyes." Raven mocked.

Rose immediately tensed up.

Slade smirked. "So guess who I ran into today."

Raven's body was a wreck. She felt weaker than ever and looked thinner than ever. They unchained her every now and then, mostly because they needed her alive and couldn't afford her dying from thrombosis, but her arms were painfully sore because most days, she hung on the cross for hours. Whenever the smell got too bad, she woke up to someone throwing a bucket of cold water at her and that was it, so she felt utterly disgusting. Rose made sure she fed and hydrated just enough to stay alive. And then there were the wounds. Every day they cut, burned and beat her. Anything that wouldn't kill her was valid. Dried blood was mixed with dirt and sweat on her smug face. She was nowhere near her breaking point.

"Is this the part where you tell me they're better off without me?" Raven asked in a slightly groggy voice. She was really tired from barely getting any sleep.

Slade smiled slightly. "Well, some of them are, for sure. I think my old apprentice and your shapeshifter have been getting along again…maybe all they needed was for someone to take you off the equation."

The empath swallowed dryly. "He's not mine."

"He's not?"

"No. So, good for them." Raven glared defiantly.

Her heart was breaking a little, but there was no way she would let him know. Besides, if Beast Boy and Terra were dating again, she would be happy for them. She would hurt, obviously, but that meant they were both alive and well. In reality, right now she couldn't care less who was dating who; she just wanted to go home.

"Yes, they're certainly better matched. You're not built for that, are you? You were bred to destroy."

"True."

"So let me assist you. I could help y-"

"I don't need your help, Slade. I could have my own apocalypse if I wanted. You're nothing."

Rose looked up at that. She had been watching her father, Adonis and Blackfire take turns torturing and humiliating this girl for weeks and she was still making snarky remarks. Rose was starting to like her. Deathstroke didn't lose his cool. He just smiled wickedly and spilled hot oil over Raven's shoulder. Her scream was deafening.

"So you don't care about him, then? The shapeshifter?"

Raven rested her head against the cross she was chained to and tried to slow her breathing. There was no point lying about that. He already knew. "No stupid questions, please."

Slade laughed evilly. "I suppose considering how we captured you, that was a stupid question. You know, Raven, I never thought Beast Boy would be your demise."

The empath chuckled bitterly. "Yeah. You and me both."

Meanwhile in Titan Tower, Garfield couldn't stop pacing back and forth.

"At least we know he's not killing her! That's something, right?" Cyborg said.

"Yeah but if we don't find her soon, this is worse than death…" Damian pointed out.

Beast Boy started panting. "No! It…I mean yes we have to find her. We have to. Like, yesterday. But she can't die. I haven't even figured out how to save her soul yet!"

The other Titans exchanged confused looks with one another.

"Ah…are you going to tell us what you're talking about?" Terra frowned.

"Oh! Um…yeah so apparently souls exist and they do go somewhere after we die and Raven said she can't get into Heaven so she'll be all alone in some Purgatory dimension forever and I haven't even figured out how to change that yet so no matter what she cannot die!" Garfield blurted out at once before stopping for air. "I mean she couldn't die either way, I'm not ready to los- I mean, you know. You know what I mean! I'm not…you know what? I'm not. I'm not ready to lose her and I'm sorry if that sounds petty and selfish and awful to say that she can't die because I can't lose her but I can't! So…we just need to find her." He finally stopped talking as his eyes began welling up.

That was a lot to take in for everyone else, so there were a few seconds of absolute silence.

"I agree." Robin finally said before standing up and walking to the shapeshifter's side. "Raven is tough, BB. She's the toughest person I know. Slade won't break her, not before we find her. And then we'll take those things off of her and she'll heal herself and we'll put this whole awful thing behind us." He put a hand on his green teammate's shoulder. "If you're selfish then so am I. I can't lose her either."

Beast Boy gave him a sad but grateful smile. He's right. Of course he's right. We'll save her together.

"Yeah let's just focus on keeping her alive. Don't worry too much about the soul thing, I mean, worst case scenario I'll keep her company. I'm definitely not going to Heaven." Damian said casually. When everyone stared quizzically at him, he shrugged. "I've…killed people."

They gasped quietly, and Dick froze up. His mind was racing. He knew being raised by a group called the League of Assassins could mean actually experiencing it, but Damian was so young he'd hoped he hadn't gone through something like that.

"…still want me in the group?" Damian asked cautiously.

Richard just pulled his brother into a tight hug. For once, he gratefully accepted it.

Starfire smiled fondly at the two boys and then turned to Terra. "How are you? You know, with seeing Slade again."

Beast Boy moved to sit down with them.

Terra sighed. "I'll feel better when we make him pay for everything he's done."

"I'm right there with you." Garfield muttered seriously.

Starfire and Beast Boy exchanged a meaningful look. It meant she's alive and we'll find her soon. "I think Raven would want you to eat something." Kory told him.

Beast Boy rolled his eyes. As tight as his heart was for knowing she was in pain, there was a considerable amount of relief for learning she was alive and they could still save her. "Fine, but just so I can kick Adonis and Deathstroke's asses."

That night, Beast Boy slept in Raven's room. He hadn't stepped inside since they took her. When he walked in and saw the plush turtle he gave her on her bed and the drawing he made of her on her bedside table, his chest ached – and not in a good way. It was unbearably painful. She was hurting alone somewhere and he couldn't do a thing to help her. He hadn't felt this powerless since his parents died.

Garfield cried again. He wrapped one of her capes around his body and lay on her bed. He was sore from all the sobbing and his eyes were swollen, but he still cried himself to sleep hugging her plush turtle to his chest and inhaling her scent. Before he fell asleep, he made a decision. He would be strong during the days. He would train harder than ever, he would let his friends comfort him and he would stay healthy and function properly and look for her, because that was what she needed him to do. And then he would reserve the nights for weakness, hopelessness and despair.

Two months later

Raven wasn't keeping track, but she felt like she'd been in this bunker for ages. Adonis liked torturing her just as much as Slade. Blackfire came in the least, because apparently she had been busy with other parts of whatever evil master plan they were all involved with. Rose cut her once or twice when Slade told her to, but Raven could tell her heart wasn't in it. But right now, in this exact moment, they were all glaring at her.

"I'm sorry, is this taking longer than you thought?" Raven smirked. "Am I ruining your weekend plans?"

If she was being completely honest, the torture was starting to get to her. Not that she would cave – that was out of the question – but she contained her snarky remarks a lot more now. Sometimes she couldn't, though. It was the only form of entertainment she had.

"Just break already!" Adonis walked up to her and punched her hard in the stomach.

Raven winced in pain and bit her lip to suppress a scream.

Slade sighed disapprovingly. "…did you just break her ribs?"

"I definitely heard something snap." Rose pointed out.

Deathstroke glared at his fellow villain. "If you accidentally kill her, I swear…"

"I won't kill her!" Adonis shouted, grabbing her hair and forcing her to look at him. "You hear that, bitch? You're not getting away that easy."

Slade quickly pulled him away from her – because he had no confidence in Adonis' self-control – and glared at her himself. "It might be taking a little longer than we thought, my dear, but we will get there."

"At least now we're all frustrated with this situation." Raven stared back at him.

Deathstroke watched her intently for a moment, then smirked. "You know, you're really not as intimidating as you used to be."

It was true and she knew it. Her eyes were glazed and her speech was slurred and her skin was black and blue. Her body was limp and she was having a hard time supporting her own head. But none of that could matter, because she knew if her will faltered even a little, even for a second, then it could be taken from her for good. She knew once they actually started performing this ritual, her mind needed to be a fortress. The desire to give in and stop the pain would be alluring.

"Have you even decided on who's going to rule me yet?" Raven asked teasingly. "I mean, you keep talking about subduing me but there are four of you. I can only be bound to one."

"Me, of course." Deathstroke hissed at her with hungry eyes.

Raven looked over at her other captors. "Blackfire? Adonis? Did you agree on this? Rose?"

"As a matter of fact, I did not." Adonis said pointedly. "I think I should get her. That would teach that little green shit some-"

"Oh shut up. Both of you. You know who she goes to." Blackfire warned.

Slade glared at her.

"Clearly you two can't be trusted with this." Blackfire matched Deathstroke's intensity. "What are you implying here? It won't be you, Slade. We've talked about this, she goes to him."

"Him?" Raven raised an eyebrow.

"Darkseid. The plan is to give you to…" Adonis' voice trailed off when both Slade and Blackfire glared at him.

Komand'r turned to Raven again. "Yes, well…I suppose you might as well know. Darkseid is planning a complete takeover. This pathetic world will belong to him soon and if we hand you over, that will secure us high positions in his new world order, you see? It's really not personal. I'm mostly here to get back at my sister." She grinned wickedly.

"Darkseid, is it? Never heard of him." Raven lied. She had definitely heard of him.

"Yes, well. I'm actually rethinking that plan." Deathstroke was staring hungrily at Raven.

The empath realized she liked the angry glare a lot better than this one.

"You're what?" Blackfire hissed.

"I'm thinking I might prefer keeping her."

Komand'r grunted loudly. "I knew you were a pervert. You both are! This isn't a game. That's his army backing us. We can't cross him."

"But she could. She could take him." Deathstroke said without removing his eyes from their captive.

"That's your plan? To make her fight him for you?" Blackfire rubbed her temples.

"And rule the world myself, yes. She doesn't use all her power, but if we make her…"

"And what are you planning to do about his army?"

"If she beats him, they'll follow me. Besides, we have allies too."

"Well, we're definitely not doing any of that." Blackfire said intently.

"It seems like you still have a lot to figure out about this plan." Raven pointed out smugly.

Deathstroke glared at the empath. She looked way too comfortable. "No, she's right. It's tempting, but…too risky. You go to Darkseid. Let's make it official, actually."

And then Slade walked to the fireplace on the corner, pulled out a long iron piece with an omega symbol at the end and smiled at it. Raven fidgeted slightly in fearful anticipation. He approached her slowly with a wicked grin and pressed the end against her chest, iron-branding her. Raven's bloodcurdling scream was like music to his ears.

The empath squeezed her eyes shut and rested her head against the cross, panting heavily. "You know I'm not caving, Slade. Is this worth the risk? When I get my powers back…"

"Well that simply cannot happen, can it? If you don't kill me, Trigon will. So I'll make sure that never happens." Deathstroke said confidently.

Raven opened her eyes and glared defiantly. When she spoke again, her voice wasn't slurred or strangled anymore. It was low and menacing. "You better. Because if it does, what I'll do to you will be far worse than death."

"Is that a threat?" Slade laughed at her. "Do you really think you're in positi-"

"It's a promise." Raven said coldly.

He could tell she meant it. The way she said it made him feel a bit…cold. Slade Wilson wasn't easily intimidated, but for a split second he feared the possibility of her ever escaping. She wouldn't forget or forgive this.

"You said you could break her, Deathstroke. She's clearly nowhere near compliant enough and it's been nearly three months." Blackfire impatiently glanced between them. Do I need to do everything myself?

"Maybe I am going about this the wrong way." Deathstroke hissed angrily, slightly losing his composure for a moment. "Maybe I shouldn't just hurt your body; maybe I should be attacking your mind. That's where all this impressive resilience is coming from, isn't it?"

"No shit." Rose mocked. When the other three villains stared at her, she just smirked. "It's just…it's kinda obvious, isn't it?"

Slade glared at his daughter and she fell silent. Then he turned to the empath again and regained his cool and collected tone. "Maybe I should just bring one of your friends here and kill them in front of you. Maybe the shapeshifter. Maybe that will do it."

Raven chuckled quietly, though it made her entire body ache.

"What's so funny?" Deathstroke was getting annoyed. A part of him admired her resistance, but most of him found her extremely aggravating.

The empath shrugged. "If you bring him here…you're dead. He will kill you."

Komand'r scoffed. "Please, he can't take all of-"

"You've never met him motivated, Blackfire." Raven coughed and spat out some blood. Then she smiled bitterly with her teeth and lips all bloody. "One look at me and he will lose it. You have no idea. So…your choice."

She was being sincere. She knew what he was capable of and she was certain if he saw her like this anyone who had anything to do with it would be in serious danger. And there would be nothing these people could do if he got angry enough. Slade could tell she meant it too.

"You're very frustrating, you know that?" Deathstroke slapped her across the face and decided to leave before he accidentally killed her.

Raven decided to hold back the snarky comeback this time. She was beaten enough.

"Does she sleep tonight?" Rose asked casually while the others were walking out.

"No. Let her suffer." Her father answered pointedly.

Slade's daughter sighed disapprovingly from where she was sitting near the bunker's entrance.

"What?"

Blackfire and Adonis were already gone.

Rose stood up. "Well, sleep deprivation is effective for making her more compliant, yes, but if you go overboard she won't know where or who she is anymore and then she can't comply or consent and the ritual won't work."

"Fine. Let her sleep." Slade spat out before walking out wondering why his daughter was being more level-headed than him about this.

Rose Wilson walked over to Raven and unchained her. She didn't mind holding a knife to her throat anymore, because now every time she did this, Raven's limp body just gradually fell down to the floor. She noticed Raven's skin was raw under the chains.

The empath grunted on the floor. "Rose…"

"What?"

Raven moved slightly and winced in pain because of either the broken ribs or the iron-branding on her chest or the multiple wounds and bruises, but she managed to lie on her side. "Why do you obey him?"

"Because I want to."

"No, you don't."

"I'm not some victim in need of rescuing, Raven. I chose to be evil."

"I know. That's not what I asked." Raven coughed blood again.

"You lost me."

"Just because you're an evil bitch, doesn't mean you have to do it on his terms. Why do you do what he tells you? Do you love him? Is he an amazing father or something?" Her voice was groggy and hoarse again.

Slade's daughter rolled her eyes. "I thought you said no stupid questions."

Raven chuckled slightly. Rose couldn't help but smile a little.

"I could swear you hate him from the way you look at him, and yet you obey him." The empath pressed.

"You wouldn't understand." Rose said bitterly, looking away.

"Yes, you're right. I don't know anything about controlling overbearing fathers."

Rose bit her lip. She kept forgetting who Raven was. "Well, your goals didn't align with yours. You chose to go against your nature. It's dumb if you ask me. My father may be a creep but our goals align."

"I'm not always good. I won't be good to your father when I'm free and I won't feel bad about it. I'm half-demon, Rose. Sometimes I'm just evil. But I do it my way, not his."

"This isn't going to convert me…"

"I'm not trying to. Sometimes I just need to talk and you're the only one here with a brain." Raven wasn't lying. But she was also very much hoping she could convert Rose.

Meanwhile in Titan Tower, Garfield had decided on not trying to imagine what Slade or Adonis or anyone else had been doing to her, because every time he went there he could feel his mind slipping away. If he gave in to it, he would go crazy for sure. So he focused on rescuing her. He imagined what it would be like to finally hold her again. Every night he went to sleep thinking about it, which is why his dreams were so good. He dreamed of her every night. Dreams about the parts of her only he got to see. Dreams of her smiling at him, carefree and flushed under orange and purple skies. The dreams weren't the problem at all, the problem was waking up.

Beast Boy woke up from another amazing dream to realize she was gone again. She had been gone for almost three months. And just like it did every morning, his heart broke and sank all over again. He cried until his muscles were sore and dragged himself to the shower. And then all he thought about all day was her. No one had given up on her, but they had started living again. Raven was still number one priority, but since they had nothing to go on, they needed to continue functioning. He didn't hold it against them, he just couldn't do it.

He did pretend. He sat there with them on the couch when they watched a movie, he was there for meals and he even tried to participate in the conversations. But he didn't laugh. If he even so much as chuckled, guilt would pierce his heart, twisting the knife and sucking the air out of his lungs. In reality, they were all a sad version of their former selves – he was just the worst one. But he was training harder than ever. And like some cruel ironic joke, he finally started getting taller. He actually thought he could have taken Adonis back then if he had been this strong. He thought of a thousand ways he could have done it. But unfortunately, that didn't bring her back.

Garfield saw the sky and remembered gazing at the stars with her. He saw the sea and remembered swimming with her. He entered the ops room and remembered playing video games and reading with her. He went to the roof and remembered dancing with her and meditating with her. Everywhere he went, he saw her. She was haunting him and he didn't even want it to stop because it was all he had for now. Besides, in some twisted way it made him feel closer to her. If she was out there somewhere in pain, he thought he should at least be miserable too.

Beast Boy approached the kitchen counter and sat down next to Starfire, who passed him his cereal. She had noticed how difficult the mornings were for him. The shapeshifter frowned when he noticed Dick wasn't there yet. That was weird. But then just before he could say anything about it, Robin rushed into the ops room.

"I have something. Not her, but something."

Everyone leaned forward eagerly. Something was more than they'd had since their last meeting with Deathstroke.

"I know whose army that is. The one that seems like it's following your sister." Dick looked at Starfire. "And her new powers. I know where they come from. I know who's behind this."

"Well that's a little more than something!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"Yes, well, I kept seeing this symbol. Just like when Trigon came and I kept seeing the Mark of Skath. This one is…well, an omega symbol, which seemed more generic, but…I asked around and I looked it up and I know who it is."

"Can you stop being mysterious already and tell us?!" Terra practically shouted.

"It's as bad as Trigon, actually. It's Darkseid and the armies of Apokolips."

Terra grunted. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Man, we cannot catch a break!" Cyborg exhaled.

"That's bad news." Damian stated plainly before sipping his coffee.

"Let him come." Starfire suddenly said with fierce determination. Everyone stared at her wide-eyed. "Now that I know what I'm up against, I can fight it. I'll call Clark. He's fought him before; he might know a weakness. And then I'll figure out how to stop Komand'r."

"I'll help you." Beast Boy said quickly. I need something to do so I don't lose my mind.

Robin seemed a bit surprised at first, but then he shook his head and nodded surely at them. "Well, the love of my life is right as usual. This is good. Now we know. Slade is probably working for him, which means we have some time. I heard he's still preparing."

"I'll tell the other Titans." Terra stated.

"All right, then." Damian smiled confidently. "I guess we're kicking some legendary alien butt."

Without You (David Guetta)