PLEASE READ!

(A/N: Hey guys, I know, it's been a while since I've done anything on this site. It's just that I'm heading off to college next month and everything's been a bit hectic, so I didn't have a lot of time to write. But I was going through my computer today looking for a story my boyfriend had asked me for, and I found this which I had started a long time ago. I thought I'd post it to see what you guys think. This story is practically brand new since this is the only complete chapter of it, so this is a trial run and I hope you like it.

TL;DR- A long time ago while watching the "Apprentice" episodes of the original Teen Titans, I thought of something. What if Slade took Raven as his apprentice instead of Robin?)

I looked around. Everything was engulfed in flames. I stood up. Four red eyes looked at me from every angle. A deep, dark voice finally spoke.

You think just because I failed on your sixteenth birthday means I won't come back again? it said. Well, you thought wrong.

I looked around and heard my friends scream in agonizing pain. I looked back and suddenly, I felt my cloak burst into flames.

Noooooo!

"No!" Raven screamed.

Raven was in her bed in her darkened room. She glanced at her clock. 10:35 a.m. She had slept in. One of the things Raven usually never does. She got up and took a shower then changed into a clean uniform. Raven walked into the commons room and saw the other four Titans staring at her while taking out decorations for Raven's birthday.

"We heard you scream." Robin explained.

"Is there anything wrong?" Beast Boy asked.

"No," Raven said in her raspy, monotone voice. "Just a bad dream. A nightmare. I'm fine."

A red flashing light came on in the Tower along with a deafening siren. Robin checked the monitors.

"The H.I.V.E. are causing trouble downtown," Robin stated. "Don't worry Raven; we'll put something together for you when we come back."

The young heroes made their way downtown. Jinx came and threw a mailbox at the team with her powers. Raven made her way over to the sorceress, her eyes glow a pale white.

"I can handle her," Raven assured. "You go get the others."

The other four Titans ran over to the other remaining members of the H.I.V.E. Raven threw a random car at Jinx with her dark powers. The pink-haired sorceress was crushed by the vehicle and did not make another appearance. Raven put down the other projectiles she had picked up.

"Okay, that was way too easy."

The empath made her way over to where she had last seen Jinx. Raven moved the car and saw a small device on the ground. The technology looked similar to Cyborg's holo-rings.

"A hologram?" Raven asked. "What's going on here?"

Her eyes widened when she realized the setup. Raven turned around to warn the other Titans when she felt a pain in her back. The empath fell unconscious. A figure pulled Raven's unconscious body into the dark of night.

Raven's eyes slowly fluttered opened. She looked around and noticed she was in a warehouse, chained to a wall. She tried to escape but somehow the chains were interfering with her powers. When she looked up, she saw the outline of a person. Whoever it was spoke.

"I must say Raven, you're a lot smarter than I had originally thought. Not many people can discover one of my traps so easily."

Slade walked toward Raven and stopped in front of her. He placed his hand under her chin. Raven tried to pull her head out of his grasp but his grip was firm on her chin.

"But I couldn't say the same for your idiotic changeling teammate."

"What did you do to him?" Raven questioned.

"Nothing that he can detect. At least for now." Slade answered, walking toward a large monitor.

The monitor played a scene from the battle. Robin and Beast Boy were fighting Mammoth when Beast Boy got a cut on his arm.

"Through that cut, one my devices was placed. You see Raven, every animal must keep a certain balance in their bodies or they won't survive." Slade explained. "Your friend has mutated DNA that allows him to take the form of various animals. If that balance is disrupted in him, what do you think will happen?"

Raven's eyes widened.

"Precisely," Slade said once he realized she caught on. "Whatever what happens to a normal animal will happen to Beast Boy a hundredfold."

"What makes you think he'll listen to you?" Raven asked. "He barely listens to the rest of us."

"Oh, I know he won't," Slade said. "But unless you want me to destroy him, you will."

"Why him?" Raven asked. "Why Beast Boy? Why not one of the others? They're all my friends. I would fight to save any one of them."

"Yes. While that is true, you feel differently for Beast Boy then you do for the others," Slade stated. "And though you don't want to admit it, you care for him a little more, you watch out for him a little more, and, believe it or not, you listen to him a little more."

Raven looked back down.

"Whether or not you'll say it aloud, you love Beast Boy. You of all people know that love is a weakness. Now, I'll use your weakness against you." Slade maliciously said.

"Why are you doing this?" Raven asked.

"I am in need of an apprentice. Someone to follow in my footsteps," Slade explained. "I had originally thought of recruiting Robin, but he is too defiant. He would fight back no matter what the odds or stakes. You, however, will lose hope at some point. You are able to be broken."

"What's your point?" Raven asked. "I could escape and tell Cyborg about the device, and he could get it out of Beast Boy."

"But how do you know I wouldn't kill Beast Boy before you got there?" Slade asked.

Raven put her head down, knowing she had no more 'what if' situations.

"Let me put it this way, if you do exactly what I say, if you follow every order, if you never speak to your friends again, I will let him live. But, if you disobey me, if you ignore even the smallest order, I will annihilate Beast Boy from the inside and I will make you watch and by the end of it all, I'll make you believe it was your fault." Slade explained.

"Fine, I'll…I'll do it." Raven said, defeated.

"Excellent," Slade said. "And I know what you're thinking. Your so-called father did not ask me to do this. This is all my own."

Slade picked up a uniform and retracted the chains holding Raven. He placed the uniform in her hands. Raven walked away to change into the uniform.

"Oh, and Raven?" Slade spoke.

Raven slightly turned her ear toward the villain.

"Happy 17th birthday."