Obligatory Legal Disclaimer: The following is a work of fiction created by a fan with no legal rights to Teen Titans or DC comics. All characters featured in this story are property of their respective owners save for OC's which are my own creation and not featured in any official works. My ass covered yet? Good. Enjoy the story.

Genesis- Part One

In the cool darkness of Mother Weaver's office Captain Lamb stood uncomfortably at attention before his commanding officer. Though a full twenty years his junior she was a woman to be respected nonetheless. At thirty-one years old Theresa Weaver was the youngest ever to take on the responsibility of overseeing The Order of Michael. Tall and slender, her long blonde hair was pulled back into a bun and her icy blue eyes scanned the contents of the file in front of her behind gold rimmed glasses. Indeed, it would be an unusual sight to see the two of them in a room together out of context. She, a beautiful woman wearing a professional black pantsuit and just enough makeup to accent her natural beauty and he, a bear of a man that resembled a LARPer on steroids. Lamb wore the armor that was standard issue to members of The Order, a high density polymerized silver woven in a manner to resemble the long retired chainmail underneath a crisp white tabard bearing the orders insignia; a red winged longsword with a fanged serpent coiled around the blade. Mother Weaver wore a broach on her lapel bearing the same insignia. She closed the file, pushed it away from her and turned her chilling gaze to the captain.

"I am a very busy woman Captain Lamb." She said. Her voice was surprisingly deep for a woman and she spoke just slightly above a whisper but Isaac Lamb did not miss a single word. "The contents of this dossier are little more than a name and a few photographs."

She crossed her fingers in front of her.

"So tell me… why should I allow you to use valuable manpower and resources on this endeavor?"

"I know that it doesn't seem like much Mother Weaver but I have reason to believe that this girl, this Rachel Roth is in fact the Teen Titan formerly known as Raven." Lamb said. "As you are well aware the Teen Titans disbanded last year. The boy wonder has returned to the East, to Bludhaven and is currently operating under the alias "Nightwing", the automaton Cyborg has become a full member of the Justice League, Beast Boy returned to his position in the Doom Patrol and the alien known as Starfire has presumably left Earth to parts unknown to us. Raven however simply vanished without a trace. I think this is because she never left Jump City. I think she assimilated into society as a civilian."

"On what grounds do you believe that Miss Roth and Raven are one in the same?" Weaver asked patiently.

At least she's willing to hear me out. Lamb thought with an internal sigh of relief.

"Our watchers in Jump City have reported that she frequents several of Raven's old haunts." Lamb said. "She may have changed her face and name but it would appear that she is a creature of habit."

"There are many who turn their eyes from God and wallow in dens of sin." Weaver said.

She opened a silver cigarette case on her desk and took out a cigarette. She closed the case with a snap and tapped the cigarette against the lid. He was losing her.

"She's the right height and age." Lamb persisted. "Official records state that she transferred to the UJC last year from Hope Massachusetts. However, when our watchers did a little digging it was discovered that the transcripts from the girl's previous school were forgeries and there was no record of a Rachel Roth having ever been born in that town. The same can be said of her "sister" Nicole Roth. Their birth certificates, social security numbers, any legal documents that prove that they were born on US soil are all forgeries."

"It is suspicious," Weaver said thoughtfully. "But not exactly damning, not to us anyway."

"Mother Weaver," Lamb said. "This girl Rachel Roth is no girl at all. She is the Cambion Raven, a she-demon, a monster, a wolf prowling among our flock of this I am certain. I would bet my life on it."

Weaver lit her cigarette and exhaled a long stream of gray smoke from her mouth.

"Would you?" She asked coolly.

Weaver picked up a photo from the file and stared at it hard. She couldn't deny the two girls favored each other. The only key differences were their hair and skin. Rachel's hair was jet black as opposed to the Cambion's unearthly shade of violet and she seemed to be of Asian ancestry, her pale skin the color of milk instead of Raven's demonic gray and they both dressed in a manner that suggested that they might meet each other at a Razor Beast concert. It could very well be a coincidence but Lamb was a seasoned Captain who had hunted the enemies of God for most of his adult life. His instincts were uncanny and this prey was just too tempting to ignore…

"Very well Captain Lamb you have convinced me." Weaver said putting the picture down. "Deploy a small unit of Knights to Jump City to assist the Watchers in their reconnaissance. If you find irrefutable proof that Miss Roth is in fact the Cambion Raven… then you know what you must do."

"Yes Director Weaver."

Captain Lamb saluted his commanding officer, bowed, and stepped backwards into the darkness, disappearing into the shadows. Weaver took another drag from her cigarette and stared hard at the Asian girl in the photo. She was handing change to a customer in a book store, a familiar neutral expression on her face. Hard to believe a half-demon would be ringing up new age rubbish in a Black Apple Books.

But that's the point isn't it?

Assimilate.

Weaver snuffed her cigarette out in the ashtray on her desk.

"We'll see."

Rachel stared out the window and into the gray afternoon as thick raindrops snaked their way down the glass. The heat was out again and she had bundled up in a black UJC hoody and a wool blanket. She felt something brush against her leg and looked down to see her sister's cat, a large heterochromatic calico staring up at her. He meowed loudly and sat down at her feet.

"What?" She asked blankly.

Ziggy meowed again, slightly louder than before. Rachel sighed and closed the book she held in her hands with a snap as he meowed again.

"Alright, alright!" She snapped. "I'm going!"

She rose from her chair and took the three steps it took to cross the living room of her small apartment and entered the kitchen. She opened a cabinet, took out a can of cat food and pulled the lid off as the cat rushed past her legs and sat down in front of his bowl by the fridge. Rachel's frown intensified as the cat looked into her eyes and let out a long pitiful mew of hunger. After a few rough shakes the loaf of cat food fell out of the can and into the bowl with a wet plop.

"Happy now?" She scowled.

She returned to her chair in the living room with an agitated sigh and resumed pensively staring out the window quietly lost in her thoughts, her book abandoned on the coffee table. A year had passed since the dissolution of the original Teen Titans and Rachel; also known by Raven by those closest to her, still had not adjusted to life as a civilian. Raven had never been the type to contemplate her future in any meaningful way. All her life she lived in fear of her father's wrath, the Demon King Trigon. That she would fulfil her role in a prophecy that would set the entire universe ablaze in hellfire but thanks to her friends the Teen Titans Robin, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy, her father was defeated never to threaten her or anyone else on Earth again. Raven cherished her new freedom and for a time, fooled herself into believing that it would last forever. Fighting evil and saving the day with those she loved the most.

But fate can be a fickle thing and as it turns out had other things in mind for the young girl. It started with Starfire being called home to Tamaran to help the people of her home world repel alien invaders. The Titans offered their assistance of course but Starfire told them to stay on Earth. Tamaran needs its princess she had said. Not the Teen Titans. After her departure the rest of the group began to fall away one by one which seems only fitting since it was the young alien princess that brought them together in the first place. Not long after Starfire's departure Robin himself left the Teen Titans after they tracked a crime boss named Block Buster to his lair in the city of Bludhaven. The Titans managed to defeat the super-powered kingpin but in the end, Robin decided to stay. Bludhaven had no resident super-hero and was overrun with organized crime and a corrupt police force, not unlike its sister city Gotham before the caped crusader returned after his years abroad. Adopting the name of Nightwing, Dick Grayson set up shop in Bludhaven and the remaining Titans returned to Jump City without their leader. The trio continued on for a time until STAR labs opened a new branch in Jump City accompanied by not only a team of scientists but a small army of highly trained high tech soldiers dubbed the "STAR Corps" as well. After the STAR Corps stopped Doctor Light from robbing a bank in record time, it became clear that for the first time in years, Jump City no longer had any need for their adolescent super heroes.

But such is life. As one door closes another one opens and Cyborg was approached by the Justice League to join them as a full time member. Unfortunately, Beast Boy and Raven were not to accompany their longtime friend. Beast Boy, though as capable a super hero as any, was deemed "too immature" to be considered for initiation into the League at the time and Raven's past returned to haunt her again when she was denied acceptance into the League due to her demonic heritage. Her demon blood made her unpredictable they had said. Most of them, Wonder Woman especially, did not trust her which was a slap in the face for the young half-demon. Of course her friends defended her, saying that if not for her they never would have stopped Trigon in the first place.

"Thanks for helping with that by the way!" Beast Boy had said.

So the seven founding members of the League; Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, The Green Lantern, The Martian Man Hunter and Hawkgirl called for a vote. After much deliberation they came to their decision. Raven would not be permitted to join the Justice League at this time. Cyborg threatened to leave but Raven told him that it was okay. That he shouldn't give up his dream of "playing in the big leagues" as he had called it because of her. It was time for Cyborg to move on. Beast Boy and Raven returned to Jump City for a spell, spending their days bored out of their minds in Titan's Tower, occasionally helping out their fellow Titans but eventually Beast Boy rejoined the Doom Patrol as a full member and Raven was left alone but that too changed.

The door of her apartment opened abruptly and slammed shut jerking the half-demon from her thoughts. Rachel turned her head and saw her "sibling" Nicole standing by the door. She was dressed for the beach, wearing a black and pink polka dot bikini and sand shoes and she was thoroughly soaked from head to toe from the rain outside. Her short black hair clung wetly to her scalp and she was frowning fiercely.

Without saying a word to Rachel she crossed the living room, walked down the short hallway to her bedroom and slammed the door shut behind her. She returned a few minutes later in pair of jeans and a black and white stripped long sleeved shirt toweling off her damp hair. She dropped down on the couch across from Rachel's armchair still fuming.

"Not a fan of the rain?" Rachel asked turning her gaze back to the window.

"Not when I had a beach day with Wally planned!" Nicole snapped aggressively. "But oh wait! It's ok since he had to cancel at the last minute anyway because some dick with an ice gun was shooting up a bank or something in Central City!"

She tossed her towel away in disgust and pointed a finger at her head.

"Can you do something about this?" She asked. "I should be safe behind the walls of my own home!"

Annoyed, Rachel waved her hand in front of Nicole and the girl's form changed in an instant. She grew thinner and taller, her black hair turned pink and grew up and out into a horseshoe shape, her pale skin turned light gray and her once brown eyes were now pink with cat-like slits for pupils. The former villainess Jinx stretched and popped her neck.

"That's better." She said with a sigh as she reclined on the couch.

Licking his chops, Ziggy waddled into the living room and hopped onto Jinx's lap. She began stroking his back and he purred contentedly as she picked up the remote to the TV and began channel surfing.

"Aren't you going to strip down too?" Jinx asked stopping on a rerun of Gotham Ink. "Or have you grown so attached to Rachel that Raven has flown the coop?"

"I have plans tonight and glamour is a little more complicated than applying makeup." Rachel replied.

"Ugh." Jinx said making a face. "You're still doing that poetry thing? Don't you have anything better to do on a Friday night than listen to a bunch of whiny teenagers talk about how cool black is?"

"Like go to the beach?" Raven asked tonelessly.

"Ha ha." Jinx said as she rose from the sofa and walked into the kitchen.

A few months after Beast Boy left for the Doom Patrol a lonely Raven met Jinx by chance at a cafe. The "reformed" villainess had about as much luck as Raven in terms of signing on with a new group of crime fighters given her own criminal background and the two began spending most of their free time together, eventually using their contacts to procure new identities for themselves and starting over in Jump City as Rachel and Nicole Roth. They took on part time jobs, Raven a clerk in a bookstore and Jinx a waitress at a coffee shop next to said bookstore, and attended college in the city. Though the two had little real love for each other both were incapable of supporting themselves independently, Jinx was technically required by the Justice League to have someone looking out for her since she's a convicted felon and Raven just wanted someone to talk to. It wasn't a perfect arraignment but they made due with what they had and got by. The apartment they shared was small, leaky and the two girls butted heads constantly. Jinx was as stubborn as a mule and could be a real witch when she wanted to but she meant it when she said her days of villainy were behind her but sometimes the more things change the more they stay the same and even though Raven told her constantly that using their powers was a bad idea since they were both incognito, Jinx couldn't resist screwing with people who pissed her off. Nothing lethal of course but if you happen to sit down in a chair and it falls apart?

Jinxed.

Coffee cup tips over and ruins your laptop with your term paper?

Jinxed.

Milk in your tea suddenly turned sour?

Jinxed.

Tip your waitresses folks.

She was a little rough around the edges but she was also the only friend Raven had at the moment which is why with a defeated sigh Raven made a halfhearted attempt to bond with her roommate.

"Why don't you come with me tonight?" She asked. "The coffee isn't bad and it's better than sitting here waiting for the power to go out."

At the mere mention of the possibility the lights above flickered slightly. Jinx exited the kitchen with a sigh of disgust and a can of diet soder.

"Any cute guys there?" She asked taking a sip. "Ones that don't wear mascara?"

"Some." Raven said. Though she felt her face heating up slightly she kept her expression neutral. "There's a guy there that kind of looks like a chubby Kurt Cobain."

"Oh la la." Jinx said with a mischievous glint in her eye. "Wait, how chubby is chubby?"

"Chubby by Jump City's standards."

"That's not bad." Jinx said thoughtfully trying to a form a mental image.

"Why do you care anyway?" Raven asked. "I thought you and Wally were a thing."

"So did I." Jinx said darkly. "But we almost never get to see each other and when we make plans he ends up blowing me off. So tonight I'm not going to worry about Nicole and Wally or Kid Flash."

She downed her soder and held out her arms.

"Glamour me up!"

"Darkness." The Goth Kid said from the stage.

He was sitting on a wooden stool. The stage in the café was bathed in a somber blue light. In one hand he held a black composition notebook and a microphone in the other.

"Suffocating darkness. Pulling me into the abyss the cold hands of fate care little for my struggles, my cries of protest. I surrender. I sink."

"Oh… my god." Nicole muttered behind her hand.

"Shut up." Rachel hissed.

"I thought you said this was a poetry thing." Nicole whispered.

"It is."

"He's not rhyming! He's just… talking!"

"Poems don't have to rhyme."

"What are you talking about?" Nicole whispered. "That's what makes it a POEM! He's playing tennis without a net, what's the point? And I was told there would be a fat Kurt."

"Derek's sick."

The audience began to snap their fingers and the Goth kid took his leave from the stage, taking a seat at Rachel and Nicole's table.

"Hey Rach." He said tonelessly. "Glad you could come out tonight."

"Nice reading Vile." Rachel said giving him a slight nod.

"Yeah I really liked the part about darkness." Nicole said rolling her eyes.

"Thanks." Vile said not detecting the sarcasm.

The snapping ceased and the owner of the coffee shop Uri Wraith took the stage. He was a very tall and very thin man of Russian and Cuban ancestry with short black hair and an expertly trimmed goatee. Typically, he spoke with a voice as smooth as black velvet but tonight he didn't seem to be in character. He adjusted the mic to accommodate his height and cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"Good evening everyone, uh, as you know it's been a week since Nightingale was last seen. She still hasn't shown up anywhere and her parents are worried sick about her so if any of you known where she might be, please let them know. Up next we have-"

"Wait Marianne is missing?" Rachel asked Vile.

"Yeah you didn't hear?" Vile asked. "She didn't show up last week and her dad was in here the other day asking if anyone's seen here."

"Are you two not together anymore?"

"No." Vile said. "She dumped me like a week ago. Why?" He asked with a hopeful edge to his voice.

"It's not like her to just disappear like this." Rachel said.

"She runs off all the time." Vile said with a shrug. "She gets into it with her folks and takes off for a week or two."

"Yeah but she never misses a poetry night." Rachel argued. "And she always stays at a friend's house but no one here has heard from her?"

"I'm sure she's fine." Vile said impassively as he turned back to the stage.

"Geez." Nicole frowned folding her arms across her chest. "What a sweet heart."

The night carried on. One by one readers took the stage and Nicole managed to hold her catty comments to herself save for the truly terrible poets. At closing time everyone said their goodbyes and the two girls exited the café and stepped out into the cool night air.

"Well that was about as fun as I thought it would be." Nicole said stretching. "Now let's go do something REALLY fun."

"It's late. We should get back." Rachel said.

"Come on!" Nicole whined reminding Rachel of Ziggy begging for food. "It's barely midnight. Let's go check out that new club that opened up downtown. One of the bouncers came by the coffee shop the other day and gave me his card and told me to come by so we totally have an in."

"I don't think so." Rachel said with a frown.

"Come on Rae!" Nicole said putting her hands on her hips. "When's the last time you did anything besides drink your gross tea and brood? We did your dumb thing so let's go do mine."

"I'm not exactly the "clubbing" type Nicole." Rachel said beginning to lose her patience.

"No, Raven isn't the clubbing type." Nicole said. "Rachel gets dragged out by her sister to go dancing and mess with frat boys."

"I said no!" Rachel snapped. "Do what you want! I'm going home."

She turned and started down the street. Nicole sighed causing Rachel to pause.

"Look…" Nicole said awkwardly. "I'm trying to meet you halfway here okay? I know we aren't exactly in each other's fan club but… your friends are gone. Mine are gone. Neither of us has anywhere else to go so… I don't know. Whatever."

Rachel stopped and sighed in resignation. She turned her head and gave her "little sister" an annoyed glare.

"I'm not going to dance." She said flatly.

Nicole flashed her "big sis" her usual Cheshire grin and winked at her.

The two girls got out of their cab and stepped onto the sidewalk outside of the club and Raven sighed in irritation at the sight of the line of people waiting to get inside. The line started at the front door, stretched down the length of the sidewalk and curved around behind the building, a building Raven was already somewhat familiar with. The half demon had been here a few years ago with her friends on a night out with Starfire's sister Blackfire although what charm the dilapidated building had had been stripped away like flesh from a corpse. The building had been repainted, new lights had been fixed to the walls outside and a blindingly bright neon green sign in the shape of a stylized V had been placed on the roof. When it was announced that Star City's most popular night club Verdant was finally opening a location on the west coast, it was a pretty big deal although for the life of her Raven couldn't see the appeal. Stand in line for four hours to get into a refurbished warehouse full of drunk, over-privileged college kids only to be turned away by some beef bus bouncer with a middle school education?

"Pointless." She thought pulling up the hood of her jacket.

"Awesome! He's working tonight." Nicole said with a wide smile. "Come on!"

Raven frowned and followed Nicole who was practically skipping past the line of people as they made their way to the front of the line. She waved to a tall square jawed bouncer who smiled back at her and waved them over.

"Hey." He said with a sly grin. "I was hoping I'd see you here tonight."

Nicole blushed and giggled while Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Laying it on kind of thick Jinx." Rachel thought.

"Hey Mike! This is my big sister Rachel. We were bored so we thought we'd come check the place out. Can we come inside?"

"Anything you want." He said removing the green velvet rope from the stanchion. "Maybe I'll see you later?"

"Maybe." Nicole said giving him a wink and brushing her hand against his shoulder as they walked past.

The two walked down a dark hallway and could hear the faint thumping of bass heavy dance music playing.

"You're not really going to try and… hook up with that guy are you?" Rachel asked.

"Hell no." Nicole scoffed.

She pushed open a set of padded double doors and the two girls stepped out onto the main dance floor of Verdant. The club was filled with attractive twenty something year olds dancing to loud music and flashing lights that came from the floor and ceiling.

"Now this is more like it." Nicole said with a grin.

"Pointless." Rachel grumbled.

"Come on sour puss." Nicole said practically dragging Rachel to the bar. "Let's get a drink."

They arrived at the bar and Nicole began trying to wave the bar tender over.

"Are you nuts?" Rachel had to practically yell over the thumping music. "She's going to card you."

"Yeah but that's where you come in." Nicole said pulling out her ID and holding it out to Rachel. "Do your magic glamour thing."

"I'm not doing that." Rachel said angrily.

"Come on!" Nicole said. "What difference does a few years make anyway? Please? Just one little drink?"

She stuck out her lower lip and pouted. Rachel growled and felt a vein pop in her head.

"Fine." She said through gritted teeth.

Nicole's ID glowed faintly and Nicole grinned at Rachel as she handed it over to the bartender.

"What can I get you?" She asked returning the card.

"I would like an Evil Stepsister." Nicole said flashing her sister an infuriating grin.

"And for you?"

"Water." Rachel said flatly.

"Party pooper." Nichole said as the bartender went to fix their drinks.

The bartender returned a few minutes later and as she handed the drinks to the girls she leaned in so that Nicole could hear her over the thumping music.

"Hey I have to ask, what kind of moisturizer do you use?"

"What?"

"It's just that you look so young! I'm totally jealous!"

She went to go take another drink order and Nicole looked down at her ID. The date of birth now read 1980.

"You made me thirty five?!" Nicole hissed.

"What difference do a few years make?" Rachel asked sipping her water and walking away to find a place to sit.

Rachel took a seat on a long green couch and sighed, doing her best to tune out the distracting music and flashing lights while Nicole tore up the dance floor.

"I'll give her an hour. Then we're out of here." Rachel thought.

And so she sat there, waiting for what felt like an hour but when she checked the time on her phone, merely fifteen minutes had passed. She groaned, sank into her chair, pulled her book out of the pocket of her jacket and tried to read, that is until the first drunk guy wandered over to her and tried to pick her up.

"Hey there baby." He said. "Wanna take a look at MY hardcover?"

"Not interested."

"Come on, I just googled like, sixteen pickup lines involving books." He said sitting down next to her. "If I stroke your spine, would you open up for me?"

Rachel looked up from her book and glared at the guy, who though slightly drunk, was still sober enough to see murder sitting less than two feet away from him, and grinned awkwardly before rising and backing away. Rachel returned to her book. Sometime later another guy sat down on the couch. Annoyed, Raven looked up ready to tell him to back off but saw that he was sitting a respectable distance away from her, not right next to her like the last Casanova that tried to pick her up. He was about her age, tall and kind of gangly, wearing a white JCU hoody and dark blue jeans. He held a bottle of water in one hand and was typing a message on his phone with the other. He let out a bored sigh, pocketed his phone and reclined back in the couch. Rachel started to return to her book but the guy said something.

"What?"

"I said which one is yours." He repeated a little louder, motioning to the dance floor. "You're sitting here, alone, reading a book in what I would have thought to be impossible reading conditions so I just sort of assumed you're probably here against your will, keeping an eye on an irresponsible friend. Kind of like a parent keeping an eye on their kid at a park, you know?"

"How observant." Rachel said dully.

"Well, I am a Criminal Justice major." He laughed. "I'm also a Tommy."

"Rachel." She replied. "You go to JCU?"

"Ah! Another detective." He smiled at her.

Rachel felt herself return the smile and the two began to kill time by talking about school, their classmates, and mutual interests. Tommy was a nice guy; funny but not annoying, smart but not geeky. Rachel actually found herself having a good time, so much so she didn't realize that two hours had passed since he sat down.

"It's getting late." She said standing up. "My sister and I have class tomorrow."

"Oh shit!" He said checking his phone. "Damn it! Uh…"

He stood up next to her and scanned the crowd looking for his friend. He pointed him out to Rachel, a tall jock type grinding against a blonde girl in a red dress, and clicked his tongue.

"Yeah, I'm not getting in between that." He said.

Rachel snorted, disappeared in the crowd and reappeared a moment later with a sweaty and tipsy Nicole in tow.

"No, not yet!" Nicole protested. "This is my favorite song!"

Rachel rolled her eyes and the three exited the club.

"Did you guys drive?" He asked as Nicole stretched as high as she could and yawned.

"No, we took a cab. You?" Rachel asked.

"No." He said frowning. "We'll never get a cab at this hour and the buses have stopped."

"Great." Rachel sighed. "I guess we're walking."

"Let me walk with you." Tommy offered. "You shouldn't be walking home alone with a drunk girl on your shoulder."

"Thanks." Rachel said, not voicing the fact that if someone did try to rob them they would have to be the unluckiest person in the whole city.

The three started down the street, Tommy chuckling as Nicole continued to twirl and dance drunkenly as she hummed to herself.

"How many drinks did you have?" Rachel asked with a frown.

"Just the one!" Nicole said with a giggle. "Pinky swear!"

"Not surprising." Tommy smirked. "She looks like she weighs ninety pounds soaking wet."

"Look who's talking, scarecrow!"

"Won't your friend be mad at you for leaving him behind?" Rachel asked.

"Peter? Nah, he dragged me along to be his wingman but he seemed to be doing alright on his own. Besides, I'd spend the rest of the night worrying if I let you two walk home alone."

"You could check on us if you got her number!" Nicole called from ahead of them.

Rachel's eyes flashed red and she blushed. Tommy laughed and didn't press the issue.

Across the street, a pair of men inside of a white van watched them pass. One wore a headset connected to a remote listening device.

"- if you got her number!" The thin girl called.

"This is taking too long." He muttered to the driver. "We've been following them all night."

He removed his headset and tossed it on the dashboard of the van.

"What are you doing?" The driver asked as his passenger opened the glove box.

"A more direct approach." He said taking out a handgun.

He got out of the car, tucked the handgun away behind his waistband and disappeared into an ally across the street. The driver sighed, pulled a rosary out from under his shirt and whispered a short prayer.

"Nostra potestate divinitus venit."

"Yeah so Pete put in like, two tablespoons of baking powder, not teaspoons."

"Wow." Rachel scoffed.

"Yeah. Pan overflowed, caught on fire, and nearly burned the classroom down." Tommy laughed. "Mrs. Jones was PISSED!"

Ahead of them a hooded figure stepped out of an alleyway. Nicole walked right into him and he shoved her to the ground. Time seemed to slow down. Rachel watched Nicole fall, her head hitting a mailbox and knocking her unconscious. Rachel saw the man's scowl, the only part of his face that wasn't obscured by his hood. She saw the glint of metal as he drew his handgun and stuck the barrel in Tommy's face. Tommy paled and he held up his hands.

"W-whoa." He said.

"Give me your wallet!" The man growled.

"Okay." Tommy said gently, lowering his hand towards his back pocket. "Okay, just be cool."

He took out his wallet and tossed it to the thief, who caught it and scowled at Rachel before turning the gun on her.

"No purse?" He asked.

"I don't carry cash." She said darkly.

"Just go away." She thought. "Just leave!"

He growled and cocked the hammer of his gun.

"Give me that necklace!"

Her hand clenched the silver T she wore on a silver chain around her neck, a gift from Beast-Boy before he left for the Doom Patrol.

"No!"

"Rachel, just give him the-"

The thief pistol whipped Tommy and knocked him to the ground. Rachel's eyes flashed red and she let out a roar of anger.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

A blast of black energy erupted from her hand, striking the assailant in the chest and sending him flying back. He slammed into a street light and slumped to the ground with a groan of pain. There was a metallic groan and the streetlight glowed black as it began to wrap itself around him like a snake enveloping its prey. The anger passed and Rachel's eyes returned to normal. A shiver of horror ran down her spine.

"Holy shit!" Tommy exclaimed behind her.

"T-Tommy I-"

Suddenly there was a sharp pain in her neck. She let out a surprised gasp as she felt her body go numb. Her legs gave out from underneath her and she began to fall, only to be caught and gently lowered to the ground. Tommy smirked down at her as he brushed a lock of hair from her face and touched the blue tooth headset in his ear.

"Identity confirmed."

Raven groaned as her world went black.