Of Shadow and Flame

Chapter 1: Split

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans. I don't even have a share in Warner Brother's or DC Comic's stock, so don't sue me if something shows up here that unintentionally matches the comics, or somebody else's ideas. Also, the whole real scenario here is mine, as well as all the new characters I bring in.

This fic is, naturally, about Raven. It won't have much of the other Titans in it, at least not in the first chapter, but they will be in here. Just read the first chapter, and if you don't like it, don't throw it in my face. Hold on until after chapter two, then flame it if you want. This is only my first fic, for Pete's sake!

Oh yeah, I always appreciate genuine criticism, so feel free to review!

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Rain came down in sheets as Beast Boy forced himself into a crouch. His arm was broken, but at least he was still alive. He looked up, teeth gritted, at the woman walking towards him.

She leaned over and placed a clawed finger under his chin.

"No...please, don't...!" he said, voice wavering. The flames lapped around them. Starfire and Robin were burning within those flames, and Cyborg's nearly indestructible body was in pieces behind her.

"You know, Beast Boy, I always liked you best," she said with a wide smirk. "If you weren't so pitiful, I'd keep you as a pet!"

Tears ran down Beast Boy's face and he tried to stand up. A meaningless effort. Raven gripped his entire body with her powers and laughed. She looked at her onetime friend through four red eyes, and with a sickening crack...

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"NO!" Raven screamed, sitting bolt upright, covered in sweat.

Footsteps echoed in the hallway and Robin jerked the door open.

"What happened?" he asked, locking his eyes on Raven. Her hair had fallen around her face, hiding it.

"Just a dream. I'm fine," Raven said in her monotone. Robin trusted her not to lie outright, but it certainly wasn't unlike her to only tell part of the story.

"What's going on?" Cyborg asked as he and Beast Boy arrived in the doorway. Starfire whisked into view behind them a moment later.

"Just a nightmare," Robin said, shifting to block the doorway. Raven's hands were gripping her shoulders so hard her knuckles were white. Robin thought he glimpsed tears, but he decided it was best to leave her alone. He closed the issue with Raven's door, at least for tonight.

Raven shifted and looked at the ceiling, letting her hands slip down to her lap. Two streaks glistened on her cheeks as she tried to compose herself and review everything that had happened.

She'd noticed the sudden increase in her powers about a week ago, but had simply taken it in stride. She couldn't afford to use much of this new power because she simply lacked the control; she might kill anyone she attacked with anything more than she was used to handling.

From there it only got worse. The power she tried to suppress kept finding ways out. The sink and view screens had taken most of the damage, which Raven had heartily denied having any part of, but Raven knew eventually the damage would spread. She'd tried intensifying and lengthening her meditation, but she simply couldn't increase her skill at the same rate her powers were growing.

Raven wiped away the tears and levitated out of bed. She was already putting on her cloak when she realized that she'd levitating without speaking the chant. Raven stared at her body hanging in the air, hanging there without anything more than a mental command.

"Azerath Metrion Zinthos," Raven said, worried, and her powers lowered her to the ground.

Raven sighed and turned to the little mirror sitting on her side table. It looked perfectly normal. So it hadn't been an emotion, but a simple reflex. Raven shivered at the thought. With that kind of reflex, she might blow someone's head off for patting her on the shoulder.

"I can't do this," Raven said, shaking her head. She reached up, deliberately with her own hands, and took one of the largest books in her collection off the shelf. It was written in a language only a choice few knew how to read. Raven herself only understood about two thirds of the characters in the old language.

She flipped it open and searched through what served as an index. For this she needed her powers, because this particular book would only show you what you wanted if you were capable of removing your own soul and placing it within the book as a guide. In short, only someone with powers similar to Raven's could see anything but blank pages in the book.

She found what she wanted and flipped the book open completely. It moved on its own to the section titled "Division."

Raven considered the spell for a few moments. It would certainly keep her from doing anything dangerous if she cast it correctly, but it would be a burden on her friends. Especially if they ever wanted Raven's help again.

Resigned to her fate, Raven set the book down and started to chant. The words weren't really in the human vocal range, so Raven had to modify the sound of her voice with her powers. The pure voice that came out was nothing like Raven's usual monotone; it sounded like something an eternal soul would speak with. Which, of course, was the point.

Raven easily divided the essence within her. She left only the healing powers to herself, and split the others apart so they couldn't become active ever again. By the time she was finished, Raven was having trouble breathing. Her soul could no longer control her words, and she stumbled through the remaining part of the chant clumsily.

Then it was done; four black masses of power floated in front of her, runes glowing all across their surface. They were writhing in pain, trying to return to Raven's body, but she couldn't allow that.

"Kanju," Raven said, sadly, and the spell was completed. The masses swept away, through the walls without a mark, and fled to their new hosts.

"To each of my friends, a piece of myself," Raven said, leaning on the chair. Her body felt so vulnerable without her energy flowing through it, but at the same time she felt that an immense weight had been lifted from her. She could let her emotions out now, and nothing would explode. She could live a normal life, except for the memories she could never leave behind.

Raven picked up the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her skin was already loosing its inhuman pallor and her eyes were much closer to blue than purple. Raven tossed back her hood and looked at her hair, which had also lost its slight purple tint.

Raven smiled at her reflection and set down the mirror, looking around the dark room. She decided there really wasn't anything she particularly wanted to take with her. The books of magic, history, myth and poetry were no longer of much consequence to her. The mirror was pointless with no threat from her emotions. She would try to live a normal life now, and such things as alien and demon artifacts would only get in the way.

Raven walked to the closet and flung it open. She only had a few sets of clothes, all in blue. She decided that her superhero costume wouldn't be necessary, and should be left behind. Raven stopped as she reached for the dress, a slight pang of grief wrenching through her.

"I really should go...before I'm tempted to cast the counter spell," Raven said sadly. "It's for the best, after all. They don't need me, not with my old power to protect them."

Raven snatched the dress and a sweater out of the closet and shut it quickly. She didn't have any other clothes except some underwear and a pair of jeans, which she collected on her way across the room. She stopped by her desk and looked at the spellbook. The counter chant leapt out at her, and, shuddering, Raven reached out and closed the book with a thud.

Raven changed into the jeans and sweater quickly and checked through her dresser for anything she might have missed.

Raven took her cloak and tied her clothes in it, along with the stack of money she'd borrowed from the Titan's safe earilier. It wouldn't be missed from the thousands the Titans spent every week on repairs.

Raven looped her cloak over her shoulder and walked to the door. She paused and looked back at the room. It didn't look nearly as friendly as it had always felt to her. Raven shivered, at her room, and at what her powers had made her. How much had really been her, and how much was merely a manipulation done by her powers? The room looked like the kind of place a demon sorceress would live in.

Raven frowned at that thought. It certainly fit her, didn't it?

She closed the door quietly and padded down the hallway. Knowing Robin, he wouldn't go back to sleep. He'd stay up, thinking about how to speak to Raven about her dream while he worked with his Slade obsession. She knew she'd have to be careful or he'd hear her.

Raven slipped past his room and down the stairs as quickly as she could, but she still had to get past Starfire's room. She could hear the Tamaranion girl pacing. Raven shook her head at her friend's concern. They were probably all this worried, each showing concern in their own way.

Raven slipped past and darted around a corner as Starfire's door slid open.

"Hello? Someone is there?" Starfire's voice rang out. Raven slipped down the hallway away from her, cursing inwardly for forgetting the girls excellent hearing. Starfire's voice faded off in the opposite direction, still calling. But now she was heading upstairs.

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Author's note: I've based everything so far off the television series and my own original suppositions about how Raven might turn out. As an anime freak, I assumed that she had the capacity to transform if she ever turned really evil. If anyone's wondering, no, I'm not pairing Cyborg or Beast Boy with anyone, especially not Raven. Robin and Starfire are a couple at this point, and Slade is still missing after Aftershock. Beast Boy will be paired with Terra, if anyone, but that's pretty much impossible. Also, if you have a strong opinion about Raven's personality, consider it tweaked for this fic; I'm deliberately having her act weird. Feel free to interoperate the chapter titles as you please, but know that most of them are multi layered.

And, so you don't think I suck outright, I have a problem with starting stories! The day I start a story well is the day I get published!

Character talk

Man in brown cloak: "Nice Job with the intro, but..."

Me: "Yeah, what?"

Man in brown cloak: "Well...it just feels kind of rushed, and you know, there's not much dialogue."

Me: "Shut up, you good for nothing...they'll be plenty of dialogue after Raven gets out of the Tower!"

Man in brown cloak: "Oh."

Me: "Oh? That's all you've got to say? Why'd I write you in here, anyway?"

Man in brown cloak: "I'm not the writer. I'm just a character."

Me: "I'll say!"

Man in brown cloak: "Anyways, next episode: The mysterious shop! Don't miss it!" (Smiles and gives you a thumbs up)

Me: "Hey! This is a Fanfic, not an anime!"

Man in brown cloak: "Speak for yourself, you aren't in it!"