Giving Cyborg and Starfire a certain command, this resulted in Robin's grapple hook flying towards Slade, closely followed by Starfire's bolts and Cyborg's beam of dazzling energy. But Slade counteracted this with a force of Raven's own energy and the two opposites collided and erupted into a large explosion.

This caused the Titans to believe that Slade had been hit by the impact and was weakened, if only by a little bit. But what the they saw then as the aftermath of the explosion faded away made all their nightmares look like mere daydreams.

Something strange was happening. For all the glorious horror the Titans had witnessed, this by far was the most surreal. Even for Raven, who knew the full extent of her powers, was taken aback.

A dark shadow seemed to cast itself onto Slade. It came from nowhere, despite the room being filled with light, and lifted from the ground to frame the man in all his glory. It didn't have a specific shape as a shadow usually has – it simply reflected the true destruction that Slade was capable of.

But this was no shadow and it was obvious because it was lined with Slade's favourite orange shade. One could say it was Slade's take on Raven's powers, much like an evil copy of a saint might be painted in red. Although unlike Raven's powers, this dazzling shadow spread fear and terror into whoever looked upon it. In this case, it was the Titans themselves.

Slade couldn't stop himself from grinning underneath his mask as he saw the look of horror on the Titans' faces. He truly wished he could savour this moment and make it last forever, but this was just the penultimate act of the play. There were many more fruits to taste.

The gathered energy grew until all that was left in the Titans vision was a dark body of evil. And then, before any of them could react, it rushed into Slade, who accepted it with complete eagerness and, wielding it in his own two hands, he threw it directly at Robin.

Too shocked to move by the terrifying display that Slade had provided, Robin had no choice but to accept the hit. Orange and black lightning hurled at Robin, the very speed of it ripping through the air filled the room with screeches. He barely had enough time to cover his face with his arms.

Should a doctor ask a patient what their pain is like, naturally it would be difficult to describe it. Even if they were writhing on the floor in agony, to name the physical feeling would be practically impossible. All they would be able to do is bring it into layman's terms with perhaps a few metaphors hastily thrown in.

That is why I find it difficult to explain the excruciating torture that Robin suffered at the moment when the shadow hit his body at full force. It pierced through his entire being and the dregs of it spread to hit the remaining Titans who attempted – and failed – to beat it off as best they could.

But this energy didn't kill Robin. Far from it: Slade knew before he had pulled the trigger that he merely wanted to cause a bruise. To put an end to Robin's amusing superhero antics was like turning an excellent blockbuster off before it had time to finish. Slade relished the screams that erupted from the Boy Wonder and couldn't wait to hear him beg for mercy.

But the only Titan that Slade hadn't hit was Raven. Why would he bother wasting his time on her? She was useless: a mere human in this room. He was even ten feet in the air now, so she had little chance of striking him.

All she could do was watch as her friends perished. That would be her torture.

"Robin!"

She shrieked as her friend fell to the floor in defeat. His body shook from the aftermath of the pain. Slade's laughter barely reached his ears. Even as Raven raced over and grabbed his hand in an attempt to reassure him and give him some form of support, he was barely aware of her presence.

This was the last stand. This was all that Raven could take. She took a quick look at her friends who were suffering from the hits that they had been forced to take. The sad truth of the capability of her powers was enough to make her blood boil. She had no choice but to put everything she had into claiming back her powers. Gaining control over them was never an easy thing, as she well knew, but she would rather die than let this go on any further.

"Do you seriously think this is funny?" Raven yelled at the top of her voice, forcing Slade to focus on her. "We've shut you up more than enough times, now that you finally get the chance to scream into our ears, you think you're the greatest thing this world has to offer?"

She didn't care if Slade spat her own powers at her after this. She would do everything she could to beat him.

"It's a little pathetic of an old man to feel so powerful after defeating a bunch of children, don't you think? And don't you feel a little cheated that you had to steal my powers in order to get rid of us? Is that seriously the only way you can win?"

To speak to Slade in this manner is never a good thing, but the adrenaline pumping through Raven's veins couldn't stop her whatsoever. Furious energy gathered in his hands as he glared at Raven, despising the words that screamed through her lips.

"So what will you do after this? Face it, you are nothing without us. The feeling of losing to your younger enemies is some freakish gratification for you: you thrive from it. That's why you relish the taste of seeing us suffer without finishing us off! You don't have the guts to kill us!"

Slade's only visible eye widened in disgust, bloodshot and manic from the disgusting truth that was being thrown in his face.

"Even now, you choose to listen to me explain the facts to you when you could have killed me minutes ago!"

The energy that Slade clutched in his gloved hands began to bubble with hatred and anger. He would not tolerate this.

"So prove me wrong! Kill me already!"

His chest heaving, his arms outstretched and his hands glowing, Slade would not let the opportunity to teach this brat a lesson pass.

"I said, kill me!"

Robin was nothing to him anymore. He had previously decided to let Raven mourn for the loss of her friends but he would not allow her to believe she was right. Perhaps he would let the other Titans suffer from her death. Raven's death alone would result in a terrible fear that would scar them forever. After this, nobody would dare speak back to him again.

And so, he thrust all of the power that he had collected over the past week and shot it at the young teenager who stood in his way. The energy was so overwhelming that it coated the entirety of the room, leaving no space for natural light to make its mark. It swallowed up all of Slade's precious belongings that had allowed his plan to work. It covered Slade himself from the view of the Titans and all that he could see was the black and orange colours of the energy battle before him.

The power was enough to kill them all. Nothing could stop it: even Slade had been so driven by anger that he didn't care if it put an end to himself. He knew the damage it would have on Jump City would be enough to satisfy him. This was the end. This was the climax of his brilliant plan.

But he forgot that these weren't his powers. They were Raven's and like a dog running back to its master, Raven had the ability to call them back. Her eyes shone fiercely as she faced the power that ran towards her and caught them. She didn't need to hold up her hands or make a show of it: all she had to do was concentrate.

The energy stopped mere inches before her. Her body shook from the weight and strain of it but she was too focused to stop. She gathered the energy into a small cluster and in a matter of seconds, she threw it back at Slade who was still hovering in the air. He didn't have time to react.

The energy pierced through his heart, making him endure ten times the pain that Robin had suffered. His armour clashed with the power and increased the pain. The sheer size of this punishment caused the energy to release a scream that made Slade's screams inaudible to the Titans.

Even when Slade fell to the floor, unconscious and defeated, he was still suffering from intense pain. This pain would last like an untreatable disease, forever tormenting his body. In effect, what he had planned to do to the Titans had been thrown back at him tenfold.

"Is he dead?"

Raven shook her head.

She had what it took to kill Slade. She could have murdered him over and over, but her moral ethics naturally overruled such an act and death was the easy way out for such a man. This was the best punishment that she could have delivered. This is what he deserved.

"But what if he comes back?" The uncertainty in Beast Boy's voice wasn't enough to make Raven think twice. She had finished the task and in doing so, made sure it would never be repeated.

"He won't," Robin's assurance echoed that of Raven's. "And if he does, he won't stand a chance."

"But," the Titans began to gather in a small cluster, looking down upon the pathetic villain with disdain. He was clearly out of it, but his body still shook from the pain. Starfire was as unconvinced as Beast Boy. "But what if he does come back? He is no ordinary man. What if he manages to steal more than just your powers next time?"

It was unlikely that Slade would be able to pull of a bigger gig than this, but the thought of him making a comeback with much more in store drained the blood from Raven's face and sent a shiver down her spine. It was more than she could bear.

So, she forced it out of her mind. To still fear what Slade may or may not be capable of would have meant that he had won anyway, even if the picture wasn't painted that way.

Raven would not let him win, no matter the cost.

AN: Thank you to everybody who read this. Your reviews inspired me to finish it and I greatly appreciate your feedback and critiques.