Author's Note: I know that some of you might possibly already know about Slade's origins, but for the sake of those who don't know yet, please don't spoil anything when making reviews. Also, I'm not really following the canonical version of Slade's origins. So things might be a little different from the version you read in the comics. All of the things written in this story are meant to follow the Teen Titans animated series storyline. This particular chapter is just a short introduction to the story. The real story begins at chapter 2. In writing the story, I've also taken into consideration giving additional facts from the animated series to accommodate readers who haven't seen the animated series episodes.

Chapter I

Slade. It's just one word. But this one word is all it took to cast a blanket of everlasting uneasiness upon Robin, the leader of the Teen Titans.

Slade. It's just a name. But this is the name that had constantly threatened the security of Jump City for the longest time since the Teen Titans was established.

Slade is the villain that stood for everything that the Titans are protecting their beloved city from. He had done everything in his attempts to crush our teenage superheroes: set deadly prisoners on the loose; hired an organized crime team to fight them; manipulated the forces of nature; forced or tricked members of the Titans into fighting their teammates; used demonic powers for destruction…the list goes on and on.

Sure, when the demon Trigon took control of the planet, Slade was forced to work with the Titans for a short while. Yes, he did help Robin find the missing Titan, Raven. Yes, he did help defeat Trigon. And, yes, he did help save the day from the end of the world. But he made it solemnly clear to Robin that after their little adventure together, nothing would've changed. And he'd still be nasty old Slade, the Titans' mortal – or seemingly immortal – enemy.

Robin had been known to express obsession when it comes to dealing with Slade. Although that obsession had toned down a bit, the hero had always been careful not to fall short of vigilance. And ever since Beast Boy reported that he had encountered a robotic decoy of Slade in one of the villain's former headquarters, Robin knew that Slade was out there somewhere, at large, and he must be stopped.