Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Overlord, Soul Calibur IV, Fable, Legacy of Kain, The Legend of Dragoon, Prototype, Infamous, plus more to come. They are the rightful property of Cartoon Network/DC Comics, Namco, Triumph Studios, Lionhead Studios, Silicon Knight/Crystal Dynamics, and Sony Computer Entertainment, etc. Any claim I have is merely the plot and making nothing from this.

(Lord Darkmoon: We're back once again. Sorry, the minions are too busy this time to make any jibs or remarks...considering any Minion caught not working right now will be fed to the dragons, and they never tire of eating.

Gnarl: We may wish to stop doing that, Sire.

Lord Darkmoon: And why is that?

Gnarl: It seems the Browns are giving the dragons indigestion and making them turn from red scales to a sickly green shade.

Lord Darkmoon: Fine, any Minion caught not working will simply be thrown into the pot of melted chocolate and fed to the other Minions.

Giblet: Really!?

Gnarl: ….Was that such a good idea, Sire?

Lord Darkmoon: It'll keep them busy…and out of my hair…so yeah, I think its fine.)

xXx

Black Trust

Cyborg had assembled all the Teen Titans inside the tower. He had them congregate in the Common Room. It was slightly crowded, especially with the additional new members they had just recruited. One of them was still questionable to him, considering it was only a short time ago she was much like Jinx and was considered an enemy, but now she was on their side and for the moment he liked the strategic advantage in numbers. She kept in the back with her arms folded across her chest and glaring at everyone through the single eye-hole of her orange-black mask. Her attire was mostly a blue skin suit with black material pants, tank top, and armguards, with grey plating over her shoulders, elbows and knees. On her back were two katana and a grey utility belt similar to the one Robin liked to use…and the same as Slade.

Her codename was Ravager and she was in fact, Slade's daughter.

Or claimed to be his daughter, he wasn't sure and right now he did not have the time to figure it out. All that mattered was she was another set of eyes to track Robin down. Next to the proclaimed daughter of their worst enemy was Raven and Argent. He could see the two girls talking to the new Titan, reassuring that the new girl was welcomed on their team.

That was only part of what they were talking about…

Last night, Raven and Argent had made a pact to investigate the matter on their own after Raven was done explaining the situation to the silver-skinned girl. Argent was more than willing to help her out, but she knew they would need more help if they were going to perform this Coop behind Cyborg's back. Raven target Ravager because she was brand-new on the team and wasn't influence by anyone on the team save for one person…Robin. He was the one that bonded more with her, tried his hardest to show that she was truly part of their family-like relationship. Hence why she was not at all happy about being there, she was not at all pleased that they were going after Robin like he was some common thug.

"This is bullshit…I don't care if you'll excuse my language, but this really is bullshit!" Ravager hissed lowly through her clinched teeth.

"Exactly, that's why we need your help," Raven whispered back, her hood was up so no one could catch her facial expressions, which were much like Ravager's, snarling.

"I'm in. There's no way I'm letting Robin hang after all he's done for me," Ravager said, clinching her hands tightly around her arms, shooting a brief glare at Cyborg. "If I can get Cyborg alone…I can solve all our problems."

"That'll only make it worse, especially for Robin right now," Raven warned, although she had similar thoughts about her so-called teammates.

"All we gotta do for now is keep everyone who we can't trust busy, until the appointed time and find out what the real truth about all this," Argent added, moving in closer so no one could hear them.

Raven sensed someone approached behind her and she gave a quick hand gesture to them to change the topic. "So you think some of your connections might be able to help track Robin?" she said normally.

Ravager was much like Robin and her father in terms of subtlety. She knew the code and played along without batting her visible eye. "Yeah, I think I can use some of my resources to find out where he might be."

"Friends, what are you talking about?" Starfire asked, who was the one walking over to them. She had noticed them conversing together and was curious about what they could be talking about.

Raven regarded her offhandedly. "I was hoping that Ravager might have some methods that could help us track down Robin. I figured since she might have access to some of Slade's own stuff, we could keep taps on him while at the same time using his resources to help track Robin. Slade has a known obsession when it comes to Robin, so it wouldn't be surprising that he is also looking for the missing Boy Wonder."

"Oh, thank you, Ravager. I do appreciate your aid in this search, any that you can provide!" Starfire thanked deeply.

Ravager heard a very faint ripping sound and her eye darted quickly to Raven. Just underneath her cloak, she spotted the empath had dug her nails into her own arm, inadvertly ripping right through the material. She wondered just how sharp her nails had to be to do that and wondered if she might have drawn blood. As if catching that particular thought process, Raven stopped her hand and tugged her cloak over her arm.

Ravager hid the smirk that threatened to cross her face. I'd be pissed off too if my best friend treated her own boyfriend like a psychopath…or maybe it's more than that.

"Hey, red-top. I think I see Cyborg waving for you to go help him start this meeting," Ravager said quickly, jerking her thumb at the said Titan.

"Oh! Then we better go help him, right, friend Raven?" Starfire said.

Raven narrowed her eyes. Starfire had been using the friend word just a bit too much lately and it was really getting on her nerves. It was as if she was acting that there was nothing wrong, as if they weren't all here to discuss the capture of the man she loved.

"I'll catch up in a second. You go on ahead," Raven suggested with her blank-tone voice, but none of them realized she was counting from ten to one to keep herself under control near the redhead.

"Okay, friend Raven," Starfire said and finally left.

Right after she left, Speedy suddenly came up to the little group. "You okay?" he said directly to Raven.

"Yeah, why are you asking?" Raven said a bit roughly.

"Cuz, I was watching you guys when Starfire came over, and I couldn't help but notice the droplets of blood that fell under your cloak," Speedy said, pointing down at the ground, right at her foot.

Raven glanced down and curse that the tell-tale sign of blood droplets had sprinkled right by her foot. Discretely, she placed her foot over the blood and started rubbing them into the carpet with the sole of her boot.

"Mind telling me what's really going on?" Speedy asked.

"So you noticed, too?" Argent commented, folding her arms over her chest.

"Hard not to. I was trained to notice the little things and when to take the shot when it was time," Speedy stated, patting the bottom of his collapsible bow. "From the fuss that Cyborg's making out about Robin turning rogue, and the fact that not all of you are on the same page tells me there's more than meets the eye here."

Raven impulsively reached out and scanned him with her psychic touch. This was something she'd never do without asking someone's permission, but things had changed and there was too much at stake to risk it. Speedy appeared to feel the touch but did not react hostilely and just bared it until she was done. There was no trace of anger or ill-intent in his mind, just doubt about why they were all here.

"If you're done with the Jedi-mind probing, can you tell me what was so important that you had to do that?" Speedy demanded with slight irritation.

"Sorry…" Raven apologized and leaned in, motioning for him to do the same after shooting her gaze around the room. Everyone was paying attention more to Cyborg as he started up catching them all up with the exhibit incident. "This doesn't go beyond us unless I think someone can be trusted…and right now that's very limited. What happened at the museum was not what anyone expected to happen, but to shorten it up: Robin was exposed to something full of powerful negative, dark energy and it changed him into something…different. We took him back to the tower and tried to figure out what happened to him, but then Cyborg decided that Robin was too dangerous and had to be contained…indefinitely if necessary. I didn't want to do that to Robin if he proved he wasn't a threat, and then Robin woke up and he seemed to have enough mental stability to be reasoned with, that is until Cyborg attacked him and Robin fled for his own safety…" She explained the rest of it, from when they started their search to the scene in front of the museum, to when Robin disappeared with an unknown girl and Blackfire.

"That doesn't make sense!" Speedy said quietly. "That doesn't sound like Cy at all; or Robin for that matter!"

Raven waved her hand to caution him to keep quiet. "I know…but things have been getting out of hand like this since the museum, and since then, Cyborg had taken charge of the Titans without question and is too focused on Robin's capture, regardless of how it's done. I managed to get Beast Boy to tell me what happened after Cyborg shot at Robin and what he told me made me feel that something else is going on here. Something's tampering with Cyborg's judgment, that much is clear, but he refused to scan himself for any tampering to his system, so we can't trust Cyborg until he is checked out."

"Why not just force him? Shut him off and run a diagnostic on all his systems?" Speedy questioned.

"Because Cyborg has kept himself linked up with the tower's security and network since we got back. We can't force him to shut down until he unlinks himself, because he can easily turn the tower's defenses on anyone who tries, and even if we did manage to shut him down, the computer would prevent it. Someone is playing with us and they are making sure that Cyborg remains active until Robin is caught," Raven answered.

"Any clues as to whom?" Speedy asked.

"I want to say Slade but if he could do something like this, he'd have done so a long time ago," Raven replied without hesitation, giving Ravager an apologetic look, who just shrugged. "It could be anyone, even someone we've never tackled with until now. What is important is that we get to Robin before Cyborg or anyone that believes his story."

"Hmm, I want to assume who it could be, but that would be fatal right now. And I know Robin enough that he wouldn't go nuts like this without good reason," Speedy remarked.

"So…you with us?" Ravager questioned, her visible eye narrowing at him.

"I want to know what exactly is going on. So yeah, until I know what the deal is with Robin, I'll help you guys…and I'll try and see who else on my team might be willing to help," Speedy vowed.

"…Understand…we can't let anyone we can't trust know about this, not just Cyborg but the rest of my team…I don't give a damn if it was in the heat of the moment or what, but they did nothing to help Robin except chase him down," Raven said and a hint of redness glowed in her eyes before it quickly vanished. "I want to help Robin and I'll be damned if I let him be betrayed again by anyone he called a friend."

Speedy was slightly afraid of this side of the empath. He heard that Raven could be scary if she wanted to be, but he never took that serious as she was always so devoid of anything, but this girl before him was someone he did not want to make an enemy. This whole thing had changed the original founders of the Teen Titans…and he feared it was more for the worse than anything. What was happening right now could literally tear the team apart, the minimum throw them all into a private civil war, neither one would end well, but he had to know the truth before he was shooting blind for the wrong target. That was a lesson his mentor and guardian Green Arrow had drilled into his thick skull since he first picked up a bow: He had to know he was aiming true before it would hit its mark.

"Got it," Speedy slowly said.

xXx

Getting herself prepared in the Netherworld, Blackfire was going over the plan with the young Overlord once more. "Your target will be attending Jump Private Institute. She's staying in a dormitory only accessible for girls. The boy's dorm is located on the far side, so you won't have to worry about them."

"How do you know where she'll be in this place?" Blackfire questioned in curiosity after he gave her the room number and a brief description of her target.

Richard answered with a bit of hesitation. "Kept taps on her in case she was pretending all the time that she wasn't a short-timed apprentice of Slade. Her powers were too dangerous to just leave her unchecked."

"Just how strong is she?" Blackfire pondered.

"She stopped a volcano from destroying Jump City, although it caused her entire body to turn to stone. We still don't understand how she turned back, but I have a feeling part of her still remembers what she did, but after she mentally suppressed that part of her life, she can be what she really wanted to be, a normal girl," Richard replied, reclining on his throne.

Tira was sitting by his right leg, hugging it lovingly. She finally had somewhat decent clothes on, or what could be considered decent. Her ripped shirt and bra were replaced with a simple brown corset, enough to give her some modesty, but still flashed most of her cleavage, leaving nothing for the imagination. She changed out her torn pants for some tight, leather trousers and laced hunting boots the Minions had fashioned for her. Where exactly they got leather, or for that matter what type of leather it was made from, left the ex-ruler of Tamaran in question.

Blackfire was not bothered at all by the psycho girl's affection, regarding her fawning really as the expected behavior of a slave: or Mistress in this case. Blackfire was used to the type of scene from some of the alien courts she had visited during her rogue space-traveling. She couldn't ever see herself sitting on the ground like some common trash and fawning herself to some man's leg. Now the large spot on the armrest of his left arm, she could see herself resting comfortably against…

Where the fuck did that thought come from?! Blackfire yelled in her mind. I can't believe I even entertained such a thought…hmm, but still, a woman needs a strong man at some point and he is showing some good signs of being a potentially tyrannical leader. Mmm, just my type. Argh! I'm doing it again! I need to get away from him. This is so not going the way I want it to go!"

This mission would be a great distraction to get clear of this imposing Overlord in-the-making. Something about him seemed to draw in power and everyone around him. If she wasn't careful, she may end up getting in more than she bargained for.

Although, that didn't mean she couldn't enjoy some of the benefits this alliance had to offer, right? One of them getting to enjoy the uprising of the man her sister had backstabbed.

It was just too delicious for her to believe. She never in her wildest dreams would have thought her weak, little sister would do such a cruel hearted act, but she did! And what a dark harvest her betrayal had sowed. The idiot had no idea what she had helped make with her actions. It was the first time she felt she had a chance to finally to put her sister in her place! It was just a matter of time now…that is if she could stop letting her mind wander where it shouldn't toward the dark, armored hero she kept gazing at out of the corner of her eye.

The little, greying servant that had labeled himself the minion master of the Overlord wobbled up to her. "Once you have achieved your objective, return here so his evilness may dominate her with his Presence Spell. With her in our midst, we can finally get this tower's gravitational system working properly again."

Blackfire had half a mind to blast the disgusting little thing right there for speaking up as he did. The little cretin was just too bossy for her liking and she did not trust the minion at all. The ex-hero appeared to feel the same as he slowly tilted his head and clinched his hand and tapped the armrest, the same one that she had been eyeing for a moment.

"I can speak for myself, Gnarl. There is more to consider than just a simple kidnapping," Overlord stated.

"What's so complicated about this mission, Sire? All she has to do is go to a city and find the girl and just drag her by her locks back here," Gnarl growled.

The Overlord once more tapped the armrest. "Because the rules you understand do not apply to the world I was raised in. Humans have advanced technology to the point it can rival magic. And you're forgetting: Blackfire is a known criminal over there and there are two organizations to worry about." He held up one metal-clawed finger. "One is my ex-team, The Teen Titans, and they'll be looking for her since she was with me when I escaped." He held up another finger. "The other group is known as the Justice League. My team consisted of young superheroes, some of them being the sidekicks of members of the Justice League, who are much older and more skilled and much more powerful. They both aim to stop criminals and injustice in any form. In a simpler term that you can understand: Stop Evil."

"Bah, Heroes are all alike in the end, they can bleed just the same as a cornered sheep," Gnarl brushed off.

The Overlord narrowed his glowing eyes at the Minion-master. "All the same. We will accomplish this mission with caution. We are after all, under powered at that moment. Even you are wise enough to see that we cannot do as we please until we build up our power and resources."

"Sire, I feel that we should…"

"Bite your tongue," The Overlord suddenly commanded.

Gnarl felt his mouth work on its own and he bit down on his own forked tongue. "Ouch!"

"Next time I have to give a command…it will involve jumping from the balcony," the Overlord growled softly.

"A-Aye, Sire…" Gnarl murmured with a snarl on his lips.

"Now then," Richard snapped his attention back to Blackfire. "The Titans will no doubt be looking for any signs of us to resurface…so we'll just have to change things up a bit…Blackfire, if you come up to me, please."

She gave him an inquisitive look but conceded to his wish and approached the throne.

"What I have in mind is going to take a big part of trust from the both of us, Blackfire. If you can trust me, I'll give you the keys to an empire," Richard said as he extended his hand out to the ex-empress.

"Just what are you planning on doing?" Blackfire sneered, glaring at the clawed hand.

"Giving you something that will help you with this mission and more," Richard replied with his hand still out to her. "All you have to do is trust me."

Blackfire felt all her warning signals go off. She had practically screamed at him that she did not trust a single soul other than her own. How did he expect her to do so with just a drop of a hat like that? He was up to something as she suspected he would at some point. Obviously, that evil sword was finally corrupting him and he was giving into his new nature like an earth shark to water.

She wanted to blow him away. She figured she could at least wound him enough to fly off. That is, if she knew how to get the hell out of the Netherworld, and for that matter, back to her own dimension. She then realized that the ex-Boy Wonder was counting on that desperation. She was locked here with him and she wouldn't be able to leave, until he said she could. She was just as good of a prisoner as she was a guest with him holding the keys to her cell.

"Want to go?" Richard suddenly said, snapping his fingers at the minions. "Activate the portal! Connect it to the dimension you found me, now!"

Blackfire jumped away when the center of the room came to life as the transporter activated and a hole opened up in the middle of the circular floor. Lightning crackled thickly as the device spun wildly as it connected to its desired location.

"What's your game, Robin?" Blackfire demanded.

"I've forsaken that name, don't forget it again. I am Overlord now and I'm giving you one last choice, Blackfire," Richard stated darkly. He gestured to the opened portal. "This will be my final offer to you. Help me and I will do all in my power to help you. If you do not, then leave, never try to come to me for help again, because I will see you as an enemy and I will destroy you."

Blackfire frowned angrily at the portal. She could just make her escape and get out of this situation while she still had a chance, but lose her chance to regain all she wanted back. If she accepted, there was no telling just what she could gain with him as an ally while leaving herself open to unforeseen risks.

"How…" Blackfire groaned in frustration. "How can I know for sure you can keep your promise?"

"You just have to put faith in me in this. If you can take that one step, I'll help you go further than you could on your own," Richard declared, once more reaching out his hand to her.

Blackfire wanted to just fly through the portal to get away, be done with this growing craziness and just treat it like a bad memory. That stopped her. She looked back at all her memories and every single one of them turned out bad. They were all done because she had done things on her own. Did she want to keep following that path? Would she keep following that pattern as long as she kept running away like she wanted to; let it turn into a bad memory? The person sitting before her was not the heroic, golden boy that had her sister's affection. He was hurt and angry. He had motive that she could rely on, it was the only thing she could trust so far.

"…I-If I do trust you…will you do everything I want? Even if that means killing Starfire?" Blackfire questioned critically. She took one step toward the throne. "Will you allow me to kill her?"

The young Overlord sighed and she thought she had him. He wasn't going to change and was about to throw that in his face, when he spoke before she could.

"I never would have considered such a thought. Starfire…I loved her and in her darkest moments I was there to lend her strength and give her the courage to succeed where she couldn't alone. I'm offering you the exact same, Blackfire. Not love, no. You laugh at that emotion, I know. What I want is to know that you will be there when I need someone when I fall down, someone that will help me when the darkness falls over me. But I want to know now, Blackfire. I wish to avoid that pain again…for I will not fall prey to it again," Richard said with raw emotion.

Tira looked up at him and hugged his leg more tenderly; wanting to remind him he had her now. He looked down in response and the anger burning in his eyes deemed.

Blackfire thought to herself, could she do that? Could she risk everything by agreeing to his terms? Staring down at Tira, using her as an example what she could gain, she saw the instant affect she had over the Overlord. He took her existence into consideration and if she could prove herself to him, would she have that same influence on him? Was that something she even wanted?

"You didn't answer my question, Overlord? If it came right down to the moment when her life hangs in the balance…will you allow me to end her life?" Blackfire repeated vehemently and gazed at him intensely.

This was the moment that would decide for her if she could and she knew he understood this. It was all on him now.

He slumped back against his throne and studied her. Oh, he knew what she wanted to hear, what she was expecting him to saw. The old him might have tried to make a gamble and play it up just to gain her trust. To get her to do as he needed her to act, but he actually wanted her on his side. But she needed to give him just a bit of proof that she would help him and not stab him in the back like her sister had. To gain that he would have to return that trust in the same manner that he was asking of her, though…

"I said that I wouldn't kill her myself. I owe her that much out of respect, but if I must, I'll crush her. I'll make her as helpless and frightened as she made me when she turned on me and I will allow you to tell me how you want her destroyed," The Overlord decreed. "That I will do for you."

His voice never wavered and the conviction in it was solid. Blackfire could not find a single hint that he was going to go back on his word. Like before, she could not detect a lie, he meant every single word as he had done with her since they started collaborating. Her nature wanted her to just shoot him in the face and fly away, laughing at him as she got away. It was a part of her, deep inside, that made her suppress her impulse.

She approached the throne and gave him her hand, placing it on his and sitting down on the armrest of his throne. "Better make this all worth it to me, Dark Wonder…"

He did not expect his heart to jump with so much excitement when she took his hand. It pounded thickly and sent his blood flowing hot and fast. "You won't regret a second of it."

"Prove it then," Blackfire challenged.

"As the lady wishes," he replied and then snatched his hand away from her and surprised her when he grabbed her shoulder and dug his clawed hand into her flesh.

From his shoulder down to the hand he had placed on her, his armor and flesh rippled into black-muscle-like tissue with an inner red glow. The arm re-crafted on itself and bulged out and snaked like tendrils, the same that were used to devour the Reaper thug in the ally. Blackfire recognized this and felt she had been betrayed, but it was too late to do anything! The tendrils had borrowed into her body and she screamed as the black mass wormed its way into her body. The Overlord groaned some as the mass poured out of him, still not used to the pain that followed the change.

Through the intense pain that burned through her body as the tendrils worked their way through, she thought she was going stay conscious to witness her body be absorbed into his. What she saw in her blurring vision was The Overlord's hand letting go of her and the tendrils reformed into his arm. The last trails of black tendrils he had sent into her body finished swirling into her flesh and she felt her chest burning like a sun in annoy. She started to fall then and he was up from his throne and caught her. In her ear she thought she heard him whispering words of apology.

Holding her tightly, the ex-hero cradled her to his chest. "I'm so sorry, Blackfire…be strong! You can survive this!"

He saw the last faint trails of the black mass he injected into her body disappear into her chest and she blissfully blacked out.

"Master?! What did you do to her?!" Tira exclaimed in amazement. "Did you kill her?"

"No, Tira…it was a risk I took, a very dangerous one," he replied, picking Blackfire up bridal-style and carried her to the bedroom.

"S-Sire…What…What the hell kind of spell was that!?" Gnarl demanded in fear and awe.

"A gift of Soul Edge," Richard explained over his shoulder.

He and the sword had talked about his special ability to assimilate organic and even inorganic matter to heal his body and even create some unique changes if he deemed. Richard remembered that he changed form when he devoured that Reaper and wondered to himself if he could pass that ability on somehow. In response, Soul Edge had explained that he could with a bit of concentration. It was a pricy risk to take, though. The worst scenario was that he ended up devouring Blackfire by accident and killing her…or warping her into something horrid and mindless.

By having her believe in him, he felt the chances would increase in their favor and she would respond successfully, and it showed his instinct was right. He had thought to try it on Tira, as he knew he could trust her completely…but he didn't want to risk killing her at all. So he picked Blackfire to be his first test subject so if it did fail, it wouldn't be such a bad loss as it would have been with Tira. Now that he understood how it worked, he felt he could perform the technique somewhat easier. With practice, he knew it would be nothing at all to replicate and he already knew just who else he wanted to do it on.

"Tira, follow me," he commanded.

As faithful as she had proven, she obeyed and was by his side in a flash.

"What I did to Blackfire was to try and strengthen my allies and I plan to do the same with you, but I had to be sure that it worked," he revealed.

"You could have tried it out on me, I would have accepted your gift happily," Tira replied.

"Yes, but out of the two of you…you're more important to me than she is right now," Richard admitted.

"Aww, my master is so kind to care for me so much!" Tira beamed and did a happy twirl without slowing down her pace.

"Yeah…well, it worked so once Blackfire wakes up and adjusts to the new changes I made on her, which might not be pleasant to me, I will perform it on you," Richard said. "I want to see how well she takes to it to see if there are any bad side-effects."

"Oh! You mean, I'll be able like you?" Tira said with stars in her eyes.

"In a sense. Soul Edge said that I can re-create the shifting ability I possess, but for those that I do this on won't be as strong as I am. They'll have to work on strengthening it somehow and each one will be unique, so there's no telling how they will develop," Richard replied just as they entered the bedroom.

He placed Blackfire on the bed and tried to lay her down comfortably.

"Sire! I must protest! Do you think it is wise to give your powers to others?! I mean, after all, what's the point of being an all-powerful Overlord when he gives all his power away?!" Gnarl screamed in displeasure.

"The smart kind. Absolute power corrupts, Gnarl, no matter the soul. If I spread that power around, maybe I can deter that a bit, and I want my precious ones to be able to protect themselves. I am going to have enemies and they will play by their own rules or no rules at all. I won't have the few people I decide to trust to be used as tools to get back at me," Richard answered.

"It sounds completely foolish…spreading power around. It's unseemly for an Overlord…not at all evil," Gnarl snipped his opinion.

"Luckily, that chose is not up to you," the new Overlord said lowly, beginning to get irritated with the Minion-master.

Gnarl shot a glare at his master as he knew the new ruler of darkness had his attention on the brunette girl. This one was proving to be the most stubborn of all Overlords. He'd have to trend carefully…

"I'll pretend you didn't just do that," Richard said without looking at him and breaking the greying Minion out of his train of thought.

Gnarl paled and averted his eyes. "S-Sorry, Sire." Oh, yes. He would definitely need to be wary of this one's actions.

"Whatever," Richard grumbled.

Quaver remained in the back, just smirking and snickering at the treatment his superior was receiving from their new Overlord. It was a refreshing sign to see the Minion-Master be taken down a peg rather than him, who was usually made the whipping-minion for everyone's irritation. He did not missed the beatings that came with the job, but he had a role to play now that the Minions had an Overlord once again. He rubbed the edge of his fake eye as he continued to watch Gnarl's growing frustration with trying to boss around the young master.

Hehe, your little games have come to an end, Gnarl. We have a REAL Overlord leading us and I will see that he leads us as an Overlord is supposed to lead his faithful servants, Quaver thought gleefully to himself and clutched his wand tightly.

It was an hour later that Blackfire began to stir awake. Everyone had waited around her to start awakening, wondering what will happen once she was consciousness. Her eyes blinked open as she started to become aware of her surroundings and then memories flashed before them of what had happened. She jerked up screaming only to be stopped by an armored hand on her shoulders.

"Blackfire! It's okay! You're fine, everything is fine now," Richard said reassuringly.

"Like hell! You tried absorbing me, you fucking bastard!" Blackfire screamed, trying to knock his hands away from him.

He flinched as her blows really hurt. She had every right to freak out and beat on him, just he wasn't sure if he could take the abuse as he thought he heard a bone crack in his left arm from one nice blow she delivered against it with her fist. Managing to hold on, regardless, he waited until she realized he wasn't going to let go.

"Let me go!" Blackfire yelled into his face.

"If you will chill for a moment, I can explain myself and why I did what I did," Richard replied to her, gripping her shoulders tighter.

"Just shut it. I don't want to hear a thing from you!" Blackfire snapped, her eyes lighting up in warning she was going to fire her eyebeams.

"Fine, I just thought you might like to hear you've got abilities similar to mine, but if you're just gonna keep on bitching, I'll just leave you be," he jeered and pushed her away as he stood up from the bed and walked off.

"W-Wait, you gave me powers?" Blackfire gaped in shock.

"Nah, you didn't want to let me explain, so I'm just gonna leave you be," Richard replied, smirking underneath his mask.

She flew up off the bed and nearly tackled him. "You…you gave me powers?!"

"Will you listen to me now? I can explain why I did if you'll let me," Richard said.

Blackfire nodded vigorously.

"All right then. I figured the safest way for you to infiltrate the school in Jump City without being caught by anyone was to be able to hide your appearance. I remembered my shape-shifting ability from devouring that thug and Soul Edge told me that I can transfer a bit of that power to others. Now, you're not as strong as I am with it, but you'll be able to make them grow, and more importantly, you'll be able to shift like me," Richard explained.

"This…this is what you meant by trusting you, wasn't it? I had to show you that I could before you gave me this power?" Blackfire surmised.

"Yes, it was, Blackfire," he admitted truthfully and then suddenly felt the world spin when she tackled him down and started ripping his mask away. "Hey, what are you…?!"

He was quickly interrupted when she got his mask off his face and smashed her lips against his, grinding them against his teeth and nearly forcing his mouth open. He felt her body grind down against his and her hands yanking off his helm so she can run her fingers through his silvery hair. The faint taste of copper filled his mouth as their lips probably got shredded some from the force of the kiss. This was not a kiss he was used to. It was powerful and needy. The total opposite kind of kiss Starfire and him would share. At made him think about all the kisses he shared with her and compared them to this one and he found it beat them all.

He pressed his mouth against hers and she moaned eagerly as he started to respond to her ministrations. He ran his hands over her back, neither seemed to care that he was clawing up her back with his taloned gloves. The sounds of clothing tearing ripped loudly and scratched up metal was produced from the heavy make-out session. Blackfire was leaving faint nail marks in his armor when she ran them over his chest and shoulders. Richard had finally remembered that his hands were more dangerous and could possibly cause more harm than good as they roamed her body. Blackfire did not appear to care at all as she continued to lock her lips over his, as if she was trying to suck his face right off.

The two finally came up for air and Richard was left completely dazed on the cold, black stoned floor. Holy kisses Batman… he mentally said to himself as his glowing eyes spun somewhat from the daze the kiss left him in.

"Mmm, better than what that space-flake sister of mine can do, huh?" Blackfire teased, looking just as blown away as him, straightening up to sit just slightly on his waist.

"That's for sure…none of them were ever like that!" Richard said out lout, shaking his head to get his dizzy vision to clear up some.

"I've always been the better one…in everything," Blackfire said huskily as she ran a finger over his chest-plate, up to his bleeding lips and caressed them tenderly.

He caught the challenge in her words and smirked up at her. "Can't wait for you to prove that."

She chuckled sensually and arched her rear up and leaned forward so she could hover over him. "Call this just a taste until I get back with the prize. I wanna give these powers a try out!"

"Just remember this, Blackfire. I gave you this power to help you hide from the Titans and your new abilities are young so you cannot take them all on…not yet," Richard reminded.

"Okay, I'll play it your way without any fuss, Overlord," Blackfire said, inching back down to his lips. "If this is what I get for giving a little trust, then I can't wait to see what's next to come."

The young Overlord himself started to entertain some nice benefits that could come with this new relationship with a villain. Blackfire planted a light kiss on him before she pushed herself off him and started to straighten her skirt, which had at some point risen up. She looked at the rest of her condition and found that the Overlord had been very overzealous in the moment. She smirked in triumph over the effect she had over him.

A curious part of her mind wondered if she could repair her clothes as he could and imaged her outfit fixed. To her amazement, where her clothes were torn, faint ripples of black-and-red mass covered the ruined areas and mended them. "Oh, sweet X'Hal…This is going to be so much fun!"

The Overlord picked himself up from the ground and placed his mask back over his face. A minion had retrieved his helm and presented it back to him. "Blackfire…"

"Mmm? Oh, yeah, yeah…I'll promise not to overdo it. I'll grab the girl and come back as soon as I can," Blackfire brushed she assumed was another warning.

"That's good to hear…but I said that you just had to watch out for the Titans. If you come across anyone else that deserves what's coming to him is fair game," the Overlord said with a dark smile under his mask.

Blackfire eyed him in wonder. "You're giving me the clear to hurt people?"

"Call it practice. The more you use your new powers the quicker they will develop," Richard replied matter-of-factly. "Do whatever you like with them."

"Oh, I love this new you!" Blackfire purred and latched herself against him, hugging him close.

"You want to know something? I like this side, too," Richard murmured to her softly and then eased her off him. "Now you have a mission to get to."

Blackfire blew him a kiss and flew off to the still active portal and ascended up into the blazing center of the roof, a few of the Browns went with her, as her escort to make sure she would return safely.

"Sire, you want to be more careful in the future. Entrusting others with power is a dangerous gambit!" Gnarl warned.

"It was a chance I had to take, Gnarl. I need her now," Richard stated firmly to the greying minion. "If I am to grow, I must gain the trust of others."

"And when you cannot gain that trust, Sire?" Gnarl questioned.

Lightning crackled over his hands. "Then I use other methods."

Gnarl grinned at that. This new Overlord was nothing like the others he had served under. He was unpredictable and had to his horror, some morals, but in a way, that was something he liked in this young man. It reminded him of another Overlord, one that he actually missed.

I wonder just how much more of his real father is there in him?

Gnarl wobbled off to who knows where and the throne room was busy with activity. Richard had started giving out orders to all the Minions and instructing them with clear orders, wanting to get the tower in better shape than the state it was in right now. He needed to get the tower ready to support more people along with the Minions. Once he had Terra under on his side, he could use her powers to speed up the tower's repairs, but there was no point in wasting time until she was brought to him.

Soul Edge had also been busy. He had been working on studying Richard's new body and understanding it better. It turns out his DNA was unstable. The energies that swelled up inside him from the sword's own power and the hidden suppressed powers from his heritage had caused a massive upset in his genetic structure. If he had been allowed to grow slowly into his powers since his birth, his body would have matured and stabilized with the power. But with the conflicting energy of an Overlord and his own chaotic, destructive forces merging, it left Richard's body struggling to adapt to the new changes. It was just by some twisted kind of miracle that he was able to survive the changes and not go completely insane…that might come later if Richard gives in too quickly to his dark power, and that was a great risk right now.

But because of the disruptive manipulations to him, Richard actually gained more abilities than anyone could image. Soul Edge could see it. It was all there as bare as his soul. It was just a matter of time before these powers were safe enough to allow his vessel to use. For now, he was still growing and adjusting to his new role. The boy needed time now to grow and he feared that may not be accessible. That was why he suggested into Richard's subconscious mind to send Blackfire out to retrieve the Geomancer. There was too much at stake to leave to chance and the sword had too many moments in its existence to trust anything to chance...far more than anyone was aware of…

xXx

A/N: I'm going to stop the poll here. It's well established who wants who and I've worked out the final outline that includes the mistresses who were given the best reasons when casting a vote. So no need to vote anymore just review on the work, but I still will accept creative ideas from anyone so still feel free to leave one. And also…can we get a bit more creative with the reviews? All I've been seeing from people is "Good work" "More!" "Update now."

Let's explain something. Reviews are the rush anyone who writes fanfics live for. We like it when people take the time like we have in writing these fanfictions for you people to enjoy, so we feel all that time was worth the effort. Just leaving a three to four sentenced review just makes for a disappointing e-mail check and also, it doesn't inspire for faster updates. You want more chapters out? Then you need to step up and make the writer feel the need to write more. If we feel we're just wasting our time with a story, we put it on hold or stop it all together and work on something we feel is more important. So if you want to read more, you gotta get more involved. That's all I wish to say on the subject, and this will be my only time saying it. Thank you for listening and taking the time to read this.