"You know, Dr. D, there's this thing called rush hour traffic," Shego said, staring out the car window at the bumper to bumper situation on the freeway. "You couldn't have left half an hour earlier?"

"Of course not, Shego," Dr. Drakken snapped. "I have to beat Professor Dementor at the evil baking contest and I couldn't find my lucky potholder."

Shego gave him a funny look. "You have a…lucky potholder?" She dug into his supply bag and pulled out a small blue potholder with an embroidered daisy. "This? We're running late to the villain convention for this thing? Seriously?"

"I assure you, Shego, it is a very serious matter," Dr. Drakken replied, snatching it out of her hands. "It is not just some 'thing', it is a family heirloom of many generations! The Lipsky family bakers have always carried it whenever they…"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Still, if we had to go get Grandma's potholder for your stupid bake-off, why aren't we taking the jet? I'm missing the workshop on evil cosmetics."

"That's a thing?" Drakken asked.

"Hey, it takes effort to look really bad and really good at the same time." She propped her feet up on the dashboard.

He swatted them off. "Are you crazy, Shego? I just stole this car, you can't mess it up yet! And for your information, after our last stint with Team Possible, the jet is in need of some serious repairs. I couldn't possibly bring a half-broken jet barely holding itself together to my bake-off…I mean the villain convention! Think of the image!"

"…so you're driving a stolen minivan?"

It was indeed a stolen minivan. Specifically, a minivan with a "Number One Soccer Mom" bumper sticker, a couple of dents, and sticky juice stains in the back seats.

Drakken was tired of Shego's attitude. "At least it's something I stole! That has to help my image a little bit!" He took a deep breath. "I'm going to turn on some music."

The mad genius (or so he called himself) reached down and turned on the radio. It immediately went to the usual driver's preferred station…which was playing "Call Me Maybe".

"NO!" Shego yelled, grabbing the dial. "I can live with blue weirdos having bake-offs with lucky potholders driving minivans, but this is too far!"

"SHEGO!" Dr. Drakken screamed, pushing her hand off. "I'm the boss here, you're the sidekick! I sign your paycheck! If I decide to listen to my tunes, you have absolutely no say in the matter!" He immediately began to sing along at the top of his lungs, "Here's my number, so call me maybe!"

Shego rolled her eyes and propped her feet back on top of the dashboard. Drakken was going to scold her again, but she showed him a green fiery glowing hand and he backed off. Two green glowing hands and the music was also turned off.

"Honestly," she commented, inspecting her finger nails, "I don't know why I put up with you."

Back in Jump City, the alarm sounded through Titans Tower. The five teen super heroes dropped what they were doing and rushed to the common room. Robin arrived first. He ran to the computer to see what was going on.

"It's a break-in," he told the others, "at the chemical factory. They're not sure who it is, but we need to get over there now. Titans, go!"

The team ran to the garage and jumped into the T-Car, with Cyborg at the wheel and Robin shotgun. Cyborg started the engine and they zoomed off to the other side of town.

"That chemical facility recently began a top secret project with experimental xenothium," Robin said as they sped past the video store. "If that's what was stolen, my money's on Red X."

"I don't think so, dude," Beast Boy replied. "Red X hasn't been spotted in town for almost a whole year."

"Yeah man," Cyborg added, "how would X know about a top secret experiment anyway? He lost the xenothium scanner. I wouldn't be surprised if it's Gizmo trying to power his little machines of mayhem with that stuff. That kid needs some serious help."

"The Gizmo does not often break in to the factory of chemicals, friend Cyborg," Starfire commented. "Perhaps it is not he after all."

"Of course it's not," Raven said in her usual creepy monotone. "Cyborg just wants an excuse to kick Gizmo's butt. I wouldn't be surprised if it's one of the lesser bad guys. Probably Doctor Light or Professor Chang or something."

Cyborg pulled over and parked in front of the factory. He checked his sensors as they walked in. "I got a lock. Whoever it is, he's on the second floor, near the xenothium."

"Then let's meet him," Robin said with a determined look.

Following Cyborg's lead, the Titans ran past what looked like a battle zone, which was covered with exploded chemicals and knocked out security guards. "What's-his-face sure packs a punch," Beast Boy said, looking around.

Footsteps were heard. "He's heading toward where they keep the xenothium!" Cyborg said.

The team ran as fast as they could to the guarded cell. In the previous scuffle, the lights had been turned off. All they could see was the pale, sealed door leading to the forbidden chemical. A familiar-looking silhouette jumped out of the shadows and stood in front of the door, placing a small disc on it.

"FREEZE!" Robin yelled.

Raven flipped the light switch.

The Titans had the shock of their lives.

Standing there in front of the door was not Red X, Professor Chang, Doctor Light, or even Gizmo. It was a man clad in metal, with one eye hole in his mask. He was a large, towering man, built for combat. They knew him at once, though they could not believe it. Robin narrowed his eyes and said what they were all thinking.

"Slade."

The disc exploded and the door flung open. Slade ran in to fetch his prize. Robin jumped in after him and kicked the tube of red substance out of his arch-enemy's hands.

Slade did not seem disturbed at all. In fact, his voice sounded amused. "Robin, what a pleasant surprise. I honestly wondered if you would make it."

The villain dodged two sonic blasts from Cyborg as he bent down to pick up the stolen tube. It turned black and was levitated away from him by Raven, her eyes glowing white. Slade threw an exploding disk at her, blinding her and making her drop the coveted object. Beast Boy flew down to catch it as a pterodactyl, but Slade easily fought him off with two simple moves and ran out the door. Robin wasted no time in running after him, yelling, "Titans, get him!"

The other four members of the team hurried after their leader and his target. Starfire flew ahead and floated in front of the hallway exit, blocking Slade's path. "I am sorry for the inconvenience," she stated plainly, "but you must stop here."

"How considerate of you," he replied, before pulling out a laser gun and shooting at her. She nimbly dodged every shot without a scratch, but the distraction was enough for him to scoot past her and turn the corner.

Robin ran after him, calling the Titans on their communicators. "Seal all the exits! Don't let him leave the building!"

Obediently, Raven found the door to the stairs and the nearby elevators, telepathically turning them black and shutting them. "He's stuck on this floor, Robin," she said.

Cyborg chimed in from elsewhere in the factory. "I got a lock on his heat signal. He's headed toward Robin's coordinates."

"Then it looks like I'll have to take him down," Robin said through gritted teeth.

"Robin," Starfire warned, "you must use the caution. Do not allow Slade to enter your cranium."

"Star's right," Cyborg added. "You gotta keep your head together, man. The last thing we need is for you to into obsessive Slade mode on us. I'm sending his coordinates to everyone so we can find you once you got him cornered."

"I can take him alone," Robin insisted, hearing footsteps ahead of him.

"Like we haven't heard that one before," Beast Boy replied, morphing out of his hunting dog shape from which he had been tracking Slade's scent.

Robin made no reply. If he ever bothered to make a list of the things he hated most in the world, he knew Slade would be on top of the list. Their enmity wasn't the usual cat and mouse, hero and thief kind. It was personal. All the other enemies the Teen Titans fought merely committed crimes. Slade was an expert manipulator, and there was more than one instance of him messing with Robin's head and exploiting him. The memories of what he had been through over Slade only made Robin detest him more, and increased his desire to catch this criminal mastermind.

Robin rounded a bend and saw Slade standing there with his back to him. He jumped, posed to land with his feet on Slade's mask. Slade whipped around just before, grabbed the Boy Wonder's ankle, and slammed him into the wall. In his other hand was the tube of forbidden xenothium.

"You're going to have to do better than that, Robin," he taunted.

Robin quickly got back to his feet. "What do you want with the xenothium?" he demanded.

"Oh, I think you will enjoy it immensely," he answered, "but I'm afraid I must keep it a surprise."

"You can't surprise me. I know all your tricks." Robin whipped out his bo staff and advanced on his arch foe, landing a solid kick to Slade's stomach.

This barely fazed Robin's opponent, who swung back several strong punches. Before long, there was an intense battle happening. The two were almost evenly matched, but somehow Slade kept getting the upper hand. Robin lunged for the xenothium, but Slade tripped him, making him miss his target and land flat on his face.

"Embarrassing, Robin," Slade said sternly. "I would have expected more from a former apprentice of mine." Robin tried to get up, but felt Slade's heavy boot pinning down his back. "You really have been going soft, haven't you, Robin? Disappointing." He shook his head like a disappointed father looking at his son's failed math test.

Robin could feel his face reddening as his anger rose. Stay cool, he told himself. Don't let him into your head. Not this time. He rolled out of Slade's reach and sprung back to his feet, attacking as soon as he caught his breath. The two were once again locked together in an even fight. Robin pulled out a birdarang and sliced Slade's hand, making him drop the precious chemical, then shoved him as far from it as possible.

Right on cue, a green snake slithered into the room, morphing into Beast Boy, who picked up the test tube with a smirk. "Dude, butter fingers much?" he asked. He transformed into a kangaroo and placed the xenothium in his pouch. He turned around to hop away, but was shot with Slade's laser gun, falling on the ground in human form.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire exclaimed, showing up with Raven and Cyborg at the perfect moment. She helped him to his feet. "Are you the okay?"

He nodded. "I think he missed. He only barely hit my ear. I was just surprised."

"And that's why you squeaked when he hit you," Raven said, hovering over the scene.

"Dude! I did not squeak! Hey!"

Those few seconds were all Slade needed. He broke from Robin and swept the xenothium from where it had rolled to on the floor. "I'd like to stay and chat," he said, his one eye on all five of them, "but I have an appointment to keep." He began sprinting away down the hallway.

"Slade!" Robin called after him, following in pursuit.

Cyborg shot a few sonic blasts, then checked the scanner on his arm. "This place is a dead end," he said. "Slade's backing himself into a trap."

"Not if he's Slade, he isn't," Raven replied, flying behind Starfire toward the end of the hallway. Cyborg and Beast Boy followed close behind.

When they reached the end, the Titans saw their leader gripping his staff, pushing against Slade, who was holding it from the other direction.

"It is very rude to keep me from my appointment," Slade commented.

"What are you planning?" Robin shouted.

"What makes you think I'm planning anything?"

"Breaking into a factory to steal a highly dangerous chemical all by yourself? No henchmen, no robots? This is hardly typical behavior for you."

"How well you know me. We are so very much alike." He snapped the staff in half and shoved Robin away. He pulled an exploding disk with his signature "S" on it, and attached it to the wall. It exploded and created a huge opening. "Now I must…"

Raven blocked the hole with a black force field while Cyborg landed two punches on Slade's one-eyed mask. This gave Robin the time to jump onto Slade's back and try to drag him down. Slade struggled with the boy for a while, always holding the precious xenothium just out of Robin's reach. Cyborg and Starfire prepared to fire, but did nothing out of fear of hitting Robin by mistake. That gave Slade an idea. He pulled out his laser gun and blasted Starfire in the stomach.

She let out a little cry as she fell to the ground. This time, Slade did not miss his target. After half a moment's hesitation, Robin let go of Slade and ran to Starfire's side, yelling her name. Using the distraction, Slade smashed his prize on the ground, causing an explosion of red smoke. The force threw Beast Boy against Cyborg, preventing him from firing, and Raven was too blind to keep up the force field. They heard his voice saying, "Until next time, Titans." When the smoke disappeared, so had Slade.