Hello!

Alright everyone, here is the sequel to Hamartia. I recommend reading Hamartia or you might be confused by the references in this story. But hey, do whatever your little heart desires. I'm giving this a high T rating. A T+ if you will, for strong language, sexual situations, and violence. On second thought, maybe I should make this an M rating. Oh well, maybe I'll change it one it gets there.

I do not own the Teen Titans or any other characters in the DC Universe. I do not own the songs or quotes at the beginning of every chapter.

Much love

BBS

Eyes on fire

Your spine is ablaze

Felling any foe with my gaze

And just in time

In the right place

Steadily emerging with grace

"Eyes on Fire" –Blue Foundation

A man ran through the dark streets of Jump City, stumbling as he felt his pursuer close in on him. Usually the chase was thrilled him, but this time, the rush of adrenaline terrified him. He turned down an alley praying for an escape. However, God was not on his side today and his path was blocked by a high wall. The frantic man turned around, a gun trembling in his hand. He pointed it in the alley's dark shadows knowing, feeling, the dark presence that had been chasing him.

"Back the fuck off or I'll blow your fucking brains out!"

Deadly silence answered him but his instincts knew something was there. His gun clicked into place, the sound echoing off the brick walls. From one of the shadows, an edge of a cloak barely flickered into the dim light. It was enough for the man and he pointed his gun toward the shadow, a predatory smile spreading on his face.

"I see you."

Suddenly, something whizzed through the air and knocked the gun out of his hand. He cried out in pain, gripping his bleeding hand and searching wildly for his attacker. He only saw him when the boy dropped from the building and landed feet first on the criminal. The man looked up and realized that it was no boy at all, but rather a man. A young man, but a man no doubt, with his jaw set in a stern line and his masked eyes glaring at the man on the ground. The man wiped the blood off his lip, staring up at the young hero,

"I knew I saw a cape, Boy Wonder. You're getting sloppy."

"That wasn't me."

A figure stepped out of the shadows, the face shrouded in darkness. Terror washed over him at the sight of the girl. He knew he felt her ominous presence. He felt like a child watching his worst nightmare emerge from the crevice of his closet. He stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the dark Titan he had heard so much about, so many terrible things.

"No," it came out barely a whisper, "not her."

He was grabbed by a gloved hand and pushed into the brick wall. His eyes were torn away from the cloaked girl and focused on the hero on front of him. He grimaced as his back was hit roughly against the wall again.

"I don't like it when people point guns at my friends," Robin's voice was deep and threatening, becoming more like his mentor's. A shiver ran down the man's spine.

"I…I'm s…"

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to her."

Still feeling the glare of masked eyes, the man forced himself to face the girl. She had not moved an inch since emerging from the shadows. He jumped in Robin's grasp when she spoke,

"You said I was sloppy."

The man looked like he was about to cry and he looked towards the masked boy for sanctuary. Robin just shook his head and dropped the man before speaking,

"I think I'll let you two talk."

"No! Please don't leave me alone with her! Please! Oh God!"

Robin ignored his screams and backed into the shadows.

Raven walked towards the cowering man with eerie gracefulness, the scent of his fear making her hungry. Her demon blood came alive, but her control kept it caged.

"Your screams are useless."

They were giving her a damn headache anyways. The man began to sob and whisper broken prayers. Under her hood she rolled her eyes and the demonic girl used her powers to hold the man against the wall. The prayers became louder and more frantic as her dark powers wrapped around him. Raven became more annoyed but she stepped closer until only a yard separated them.

"Your God cannot help you now," the man stopped his prayers and stared wide-eyed at her, "I believe you have something that is not yours."

His courage started to grow when he saw the stature of the girl. She looked human, at least the lower half of her face did. "I know people. Terrible people that will fuck you up," another predatory smile spread across his face and he dared a glance at her body, "Or maybe they'll just fuck you, princess."

The Boy Wonder reemerged from the shadows, his face twisted in fury as he began to approach the pair. But before he reached them, Raven's inner demon unleashed itself for only a moment but long enough for him to see the glint of sharp teeth and the flash of red eyes. She did not bother to cover the demonic voice that came with her own,

"Do you value your life? I will not hesitate to kill you, to devour you slowly. I'm no hero."

Once again the man was reduced to a cowering mess, all trace of courage gone, "I c-can't go to jail. You don't know what they'd do to a guy like me."

"Then you have a choice: who are you more afraid of? Them?" she flashed her teeth once again, "Or me?"


Robin finished talking to the police officer who gave her a nod. She nodded back but turned away when the Boy Wonder faced her. She roughly pulled her hood away and watched the sidewalk across the street where a homeless woman was pushing a cart. The squeaking of a busted wheel making the only sound as the squad cars left the scene. She felt him beside her, his aura always standing out among all others. Raven didn't turn to speak to him,

"I had it under control. You didn't need to intervene."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "He had a gun pointed at you. What was I supposed to do? Let him shoot you?"

She turned to face him, her eyes aflame, "I knew he had a gun pointed at me. That's why I was holding up a shield. You told me you'd let me handle it, Robin. It's been two months since the Seraph. You need to let me patrol on my own again."

Her Anger demanded to be felt but she pushed it away. She knew she had a right to be angry and that would have to suffice for now. However, Robin's anger pushed against her along with his frustration.

"You can't always rely on your scare tactic every time, Raven. Not everyone is afraid of death. There are worse things than being dead."

"I know."

A moment of silence lapsed between the two birds. Raven felt her companion's frustration melt away and his apology emerge. He grabbed her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, okay? I just worry about you," she opened her mouth to interrupt but he raised his voice and continued, "I know I shouldn't, but I do. I promise next time I'll stay at the tower and you can go by yourself."

Her violet eyes squinted with suspicion, "Promise?"

He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, "Promise."

Raven made a show of wiping the kiss off, but he gave her a grin, "You have to admit though. We were pretty awesome back there."

Raven rolled her eyes and created a portal, "We? I did all the work Boy Blunder."

"I believe I have a missing bird-a-rang from my belt that says otherwise."

"You really need another name for those things."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Dick discs?"

Her comment made him throw back his head and laugh before he covering her mouth with his hand and whispering, "Geez tell the world my name."

She pulled his hand off her mouth and scowled, "Oh it's no secret you're a dick."

His laughter faded from her hearing as she stepped through the portal.


The Titans sat at a table at their favorite ice cream place in downtown Jump. The mid-summer sun shined brightly above them but the surrounding skyscrapers kept them in a cool shade. Out of uniform, they were all relaxed and in a good mood. People passed by but left the teens alone except for an occasional wave or greeting. Starfire happily ate her cake batter ice cream while waving at curious little kids as they walked by. She wore white jean shorts and a purple tank top, her long red hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was effortlessly beautiful and more than a couple of teenage boys stumbled over their own feet as they walked past her. Beast Boy enjoyed a vegan chocolate milkshake and he stared obviously at girls that walked by. He wore a pair of cargos and a JCPD shirt. Cyborg talked to Robin in between bites of strawberry chocolate sundae. He wore a white beater with black basketball shorts while Robin wore a similar outfit of red basketball shorts and a white T-shirt. Instead of his usual mask, he wore a pair of Ray Bans and an easy-going smile. He ate a vanilla ice cream cone as he listened to Cyborg. Raven licked at a dark chocolate raspberry concoction on a waffle cone as she stared up at the tall buildings and her general surroundings. She chose to wear a black V-neck shirt and faded jean shorts. Her hair draped over one of her shoulders in an effort to stay cool in the hot weather.

She was in the midst of licking a run-away drop of her ice cream off her fingers when she heard her name. She had the impression that it wasn't the first time it was called.

"Raven."

She looked up at the robotic man who smiled at her. Her tongue left her knuckles and she sat up straighter,

"Uh. Yes?"

"Whatcha thinking about?"

She felt the eyes of her team on her. Ever since the incident with Slade and the Seraph, her friends asked her regularly how she was and what she was thinking about. She promised herself and them that she would be more open and less secretive. It drove her insane on some days.

She sighed, "Nothing really. Just enjoying my ice cream I suppose."

The table deemed her answer as acceptable and continued whatever they were previously doing. It was almost meditative; the constant flow of people that walked by, the hum of her friends' conversations, the gentle warmth from the sun, and the calm breeze that followed. She was yanked from her peaceful thoughts when she heard a slurping noise. She scowled at its creator, Beast Boy.

"I think it's empty," she said, trying to keep the annoyance from her voice.

"Nah, there's a little more left," he replied before slurping even louder. She felt his amusement and knew he was doing it to get under her skin.

"You're done," she said in monotone, before using her telekinesis to yank the empty cup from his hand and tossing it in the garbage.

"Hey!"

"No powers in public, Rae," said an amused Cyborg as he tossed away his empty bowl.

"Yeah, typical Raven, always trying to draw attention to herself," Beast Boy joked as he picked up a discarded tabloid off a table. He grabbed a newspaper for Robin and tossed it towards the Titan's leader.

Moments later an angry growl escaped the usually masked boy who pushed the paper towards the middle of their table and pointed at an article. They immediately recognized the grainy photograph as one of their newer villains, Predator.

"'To Catch a Predator'," Beast read the title and grimaced, "laaaame." He leaned away from the paper as his friends continued to read and picked up his tabloid.

Starfire spoke up, "He has been sitting down for a while. It's strange that he is coming back into the photograph now, is it not?"

Cyborg's eyes stayed on the paper as he answered her, "It's "lying low" and "back into the picture", Star and I guess he missed Raven."

Robin shot him a look and the robotic man put his hands up in surrender, "Hey I don't like it either man but it looks like Raven has got herself an arch nemesis."

"Ooooo!"

Raven finally spoke up, rolling her amethyst eyes, "It's a villain not a crush Beast Boy and no. Predator is not my "arch nemesis". I'm offended you would even consider him to be in my league."

Robin grinned and Cyborg laughed.

Starfire grabbed the paper and folded it back up, "I'm glad he does not frighten you friend. After all, you did beat him without your powers."

Raven nodded, returning her attention to her ice cream, "So there you have it. The search continues for my arch nemesis."

Beast Boy's laughter caused their heads to turn towards him.

"Oh my God. This is too great."

He put his tabloid in the center of the table, eagerly waiting to see his friends' reactions. Plastered across two pages, in bold lettering read, "Jump City's Hottest New Couple: Starfire and Robin" Below the caption featured pictures of the two after battles and around the city with the rest of the team carefully cropped out.

"Oh my goodness! This is not true," Starfire cried as she lifted the paper closer to her. Her green eyes shot towards Robin, "we are not the couple!" The Boy Wonder just laughed and pulled the paper away from the distressed alien,

"Star, it's okay. It's just a tabloid. Most of it is bullshit."

She visibly relaxed, but Raven's mind remained strained. The demonic girl pushed back her jealousy and the hurt she felt. She knew that people preferred to pair the gorgeous, friendly Starfire with the city's pride and joy, Robin, the Boy Wonder. Jump City could not fathom a world where their golden boy would end up cuddling with the mysterious, creepy Titan even though it was what happened most nights at the tower. Their relationship was a secret to the public for protection and even concealed from their friends. They just knew things had changed between the two birds since the Incident two months ago.

"Raven. Helloooo, Rae-Rae."

Again Raven was pulled from her thoughts, her emotions tucked back in their cages. She felt her team's eyes on her again until they locked on the green shape-shifter.

Beast Boy shook his head, "God you are spacey today. We wanted to know if you're ready to leave."

She stood up in her chair, indicating that she was ready to go. Raven mumbled as she threw her trash away, "I'm not spacey. I'm just tuning you out."

She followed her team out the door and jumped slightly when she felt an arm around her shoulder. She was greeted with the handsome, dimpled smile of the Boy Wonder. Happiness jolted with excitement in her cage and a blush crept along her cheeks. His voice was quiet but playful,

"So if this week's tabloids say that I'm with Starfire and last week's said that you are rendezvous-ing with Red-X, does that mean we are having an affair?"

Her voice was mock seriousness, "I suppose we are. But, I have to admit something to you…"

His grin grew wider, expectant.

She continued, miraculously not returning the smile, "I don't know how to say this but…I've been seeing the T-car on the side also. Don't tell Cyborg."

Two weeks ago, a tabloid announced that the Titan's resident mechanic and the team's mode of transportation were in a committed relationship. It was the only thing the magazine had published that barely touched the truth.

Robin laughed loudly, "You home-wrecker! He'll be crushed. All this and I have to manage to pay child support for Jinx and I's love child?"

Raven's face broke into a small smile, "What a mess we've gotten ourselves into."

He sneaked a kiss on her forehead before letting his arm drop from her shoulders.

"Yeah but at least I have you."

.