Thin Patience

The sun had gone down on Jump City. It was quiet, except for the cars sitting at red lights with their occupants waiting to get home. What was worse was the heat. Even though it wasn't normally this hot in the evening, nature had decided that Jump was overdue for a long scorching hot night. The piers were empty of people looking for a good time. Everyone was inside, turning whatever form of AC they had on high. In the middle of the bay Jump City surrounded, the waters on the shores of the isle lapped each other when they could go no further.

On the isle was a structure unlike any in the surrounding area. In fact the structure was possibly the only of it's kind. Titans Tower was a building shaped like a giant "T" and had a view of the entire city. A basic watch tower, sure, but also the home of five extra-ordinary teenagers: Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin, The Boy Wonder. At this point, every one of the Teen Titans were sound asleep and all of them were grateful that Cyborg had updated the Tower's AC a month ago because it was now being put to good use by being blasted.

Events were unfolding, though. Even as the citizens of Jump slept, deep in the caverns under the city, a mystic power was waiting anxiously to be released. Actually, it was an inter-dimensional demon that was waiting to be released so that he could wreak havoc on the world above. Trigon was pleased that the time was soon ending and that his daughter, Raven, would soon become the portal, but there was only one that thought that it was taking forever.

Trigon marked his servants with the mark of Scath: A twisted 'S' with spikes seeming to be protruding from it. Trigon's power was still not at its height, but even with one servant on the Earth, the Teen Titans were already well aware of the damage and destruction that could occur. His servant, even before Trigon had given him his powers, had been feared in Jump City. His name: Slade.

While Slade normally had patience, he was in no mood for it right now. He actually despised being called anyone else's servant. He was only doing this to complete a deal. But the end reward was beginning to seem farther off with every second. Perhaps it was because if he did a job for someone else, he liked it to be quick and clean. This 'job' was dragging out and while it was sorely entertaining to beat the Titans, Slade was beginning to wish he could just move the stars himself to save time.

'Maybe a little excursion,' he thought.

Silently, he sneaked into the night. Hey, he could do that. Trigon couldn't do anything without him really. He was like the go-between for Trigon and Raven. When Trigon could talk to Raven, Slade would be long gone and off the hook.

Jumping on the rooftops, Slade pushed himself. He couldn't deny that his newly found powers were fun, but sometimes just physically pushing one's self could be rewarding. Slade turned his attention towards Titans Tower. He could have smiled. Something of his own could sooth his nerves quiet a bit. How to travel? Slade decided to take one of his favorite routes.

Going in and around the rough parts of Jump, he came across some of the run down buildings that desperately needed to be torn down. At a one story building he stopped. Below, he knew that there was an old lair that was once his own. The night he had almost died, that had been the location.

Triumphantly, Slade threw out his arms as though taunting the frozen, rock-hard statue far below that was once his apprentice, Terra. He should have known that she was a little traitor from the start. If she could betray the Titans with such ease, why not him? Yet he was alive and she was an incarcerated prisoner.

At the shore, Slade took a direct approach and began to let heat and fire carry him to the isle. Landing with ease, Slade looked up at the building. Security for him would be up to its maximum thanks to Cyborg and Robin. No matter. Slade walked up to the wall. Placing his hands on the wall, he amplified heat into it. He could practically feel the wires that the heat found.