Teen Titans: The Eternal vs. Mortal Love Story - Book One

Chapter 31

With my gloved hands, I put myself to work and began digging.

~

(Amber's POV)

My body became aware of burning. Not the burning sensation that Slade abused me with, but a burning that provided promise, a bitter, powerful burning with much less speed and much more pain. An acidic burn...

My eyes slowly opened, revealing the darkest part of the mansion, Slade's main headquarters. Like his old hideout, this was a mirror copy.

"Glad to know you've awakened," he ruptured my curiosity, stepping in front of me.

I wanted to protest, I wanted to yell, but my mouth was gagged in that same burning sensation. Come to think of it, my wrists were burning like crazy. My protests of pain were growls, struggles to rid myself of the burns. But I was restrained. What in the-

"Vervain ropes, dear. You're restrained by them," he said, amused. I stopped, and stared up at him with the most hateful look I could give him.

Slade ignored my eyes and bent down to my level, meeting my hateful face.

"You haven't proved your worth as my apprentice. Remember your oath to me, Amber. Remember that you serve me only. You're going soft."

Tears threatened to sting my eyes, pool before falling over as he went on. I didn't want to cry because I disappointed Slade. I wanted to cry because I was angry. I wanted to get out of this life as his apprentice. I wanted to go back to being the Amber Monroe that belonged with the Teen Titans.

He brought his masked face closer, and whispered what triggered my fury.

"Your humanity is showing."

With a quick movement, I head butt Slade's face hard, and knocked my chair over, breaking it into pieces. Even though the Vervain felt like fire, bitter, merciless acid, I tore the ropes off my wrists and took the gagging rope out of my mouth. I stood tall and strong, letting my instincts run their course, taking over my body.

My eyes changed, darkening at the whites, and my teeth extended, baring my fangs as I blurred over to Slade and uppercut him.

My own voice, now sounding possessed by several demons didn't even scare me as I crouched down and straddled Slade.

"You don't OWN me!!!!"

I punched him hard in the face, bending the mask, causing damage. I could have sworn I heard a bone crack.

I knew what was coming next. As I predicted, Slade unleashed his anger towards me by creating a massive fireball. In the same split second he exerted it to hit me, I threw my force field up and hardened it, to the point where it could feel like real, fire proof metal.

One by one, Slade kept trying to burn me to pieces with his pyro ability. But second after second, I grew a backbone and kept the force field going without a problem.

That is, until I felt my insides begin to burn.

I instantly dropped to the ground, clutching my abdomen, where it burned the most. I already knew what was happening.

The Ultraviolet probes were activated.

Pathetically, I went from rebelling against Slade to begging for him not to kill me, as soon as those probes activated inside my undead body.

"No! No, please!" My lungs were running on hope, hope that I'd still be alive within the next three minutes. Hope that maybe, just maybe, I'd get out of this.

The pain began to spread throughout my entire body, my arms, legs, hell, even to my face. It was the intense fire, acidic, machine-powered fire that felt the need to caress me deeply, me being the host.