Chains of Diamond

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, Batman or MIB.

Raven darted from one of the dimly lit streets into a dark alleyway, her cloak flapping wildly in the wind. She stopped for a moment, leaning against the building to catch her breath and glanced behind her. All she could see was the rain. The storm clouds hung heavy across the large dark city, drenching the buildings and roadways in a heavy downpour. It had been somewhat warm and sunny just a few hours ago, but a massive cold front had moved in, dropping it to near freezing temperatures. And if that wasn't bad enough, the north wind was blowing so hard, the raindrops felt like tiny knives of ice stabbing her all over.

She froze at the sound of heavy fabric flapping in the wind. Her breath hitched in her throat as she felt herself begin to panic. Even without the wind and rain beating down, running around in this city with less than honorable intentions at midnight was suicide. Didn't matter who you were, who you knew or how well you could fight. There were things that dwelt within in the city that would make a cold hearted killer cower in fear.

And one of those things was hot on her trail. She could feel it. The focus, the determination, the thrill of the hunt... The emotions of a predator. It was all around her, but not coming from her. Normally, her kind would've been considered the predator and any unsuspecting human would be the prey. But somehow, in this city the roles were reversed. She couldn't believe that someone as strong as herself could be brought down so easily by a pitiful human, but then again, she hadn't had much interaction with them till today. Azarath wasn't exactly what you'd call a prime vacation spot.

Raven backed a few steps away from the street, melting into the shadows. She pulled her drenched cloak tightly around her and used her powers to pull her hood closer against her face. Her foot landed on something round and slick, knocking her feet out from under her. She grunted in pain as her back hit the pavement and icy water splashed everywhere, the filthy liquid soaking into her cloak and leotard. It took a little while for her to find the strength to stand. She was so tired. It would be so much easier to just lie down and let herself be taken...

"Nngnhh...No..." She whispered, gritting her teeth. Resigning herself to die would be exactly what He... would want. If there was no will to break, no desire to resist him, then he would most definitely take over her body again. Just like last time...

Her small pale hands reached up and pulled the dark hood down, revealing her shoulder length violet hair. She groaned in fatigue as she sat up and heard a clink when her foot bumped something. Rolling over onto her hands and knees, she picked it up. It was an old bottle some idiot had carelessly discarded. So this was what she tripped on. She sniffed the mouth of the container and quickly recoiled, her stomach threatening to release its meager contents. Disgusting.

She remembered bumping into a group of locals with similar breath just a few hours before. They were a violent and perverse group, only wanting what they could get out of anyone passing by. When they had confronted her, she told them that she had nothing, hoping that they'd leave her alone. She didn't want any trouble, after all. But it became quickly apparent that they were more interested in her than any items she might be carrying. It was in a place similar to her current location. A dark alley a few hours ago, when it wasn't raining. Three of the men had tried to block her path, speaking vulgarly with slurred speech. English was apparently the native tongue of the city. None of those idiots hat enough intelligence to possibly retain enough language skills in their brains to be bilingual.

She grabbed the edge of a large dumpster and pulled herself to her feet. A flash of light split the sky and a clap of thunder quickly followed. She looked up at the tops of the buildings and tried to use the momentary burst of light to see if she was still being pursued.

Now she wished she hadn't.

Two figures watched the girl from the rooftops as she crashed to the ground again, only to get back up and start her run anew. They were quick to follow. She quickened her pace when she heard a splash behind her. She had to get out of here. There was no way she could stay here much longer. She spared a glance behind her. From what she could tell it was the smaller one that had landed. His louder footsteps were a dead giveaway. But where was...?

A pair of heavy boots collided with her midsection with enough force to knock the wind completely out of her and launch her backwards a good six feet. Raven hit the ground with a splash stunned, gasping for breath. He must've swung down from one of the rooftops when she was looking behind her. She also took note that while the shorter one's landing had been loud enough to hear through the storm, his touchdown was completely silent, barely disturbing the ground beneath him. Only his huge black cape could be heard as it flapped in the wind.

The Batman. Never had Raven been so scared of a simple human before.

Raven coughed violently as she stood, her chest heaving from fatigue. She calmed her breathing and narrowed her eyes at the vigilante. The footsteps behind her slowed to a stop. She was surrounded. There was nowhere to run or hide. All she could do was fight. Her lips curled in a light snarl as she whirled around and thrust her hand out towards the shorter figure, hoping to catch him off guard.

"Azarath Metrion --!" Raven's mantra was cut off by her own gasp when she saw the Batman throw something at her from her peripheral vision. She brought her arm up and bit back a scream, only letting out a grunt as the object ripped into her just below her collarbone, almost knocking her off her feet. But she was lucky. If she had reacted a second later, the strange bat-shaped weapon probably would've lodged itself in her throat instead of her shoulder. Raven grabbed the bloody weapon and collapsed to her knees, her head bowed. The Batman and his protégé quickly closed in the distance.

A large green dumpster in the alley sudden seemed to take on a life of its own as it started to rattle loudly. She saw the whites of the dark knight's mask widen. "Robin! Behind you!" He shouted. The dumpster came flying through the shadows, straight at the one he called 'Robin' who turned and saw it coming almost a split second too late. Almost being the key word. The boy immediately dropped to the ground, performing the splits, and ducked his head, allowing the rancid smelling box to pass over him with just a few inches to spare.

The Batman disappeared into the shadows as he rolled to the side. The moment it passed over Raven's head, the young teen immediately leapt to her feet, running in the direction her projectile was headed. The dumpster crashed to the ground where the dark knight once stood and Raven vaulted over the top, her legs pumping as fast as they could go. She ran out of the alley and into the street.

Right into the headlights of a large black car. Raven paled seeing the light and hearing the brakes screech, knowing she wouldn't get out of the way in time. Her survival instincts kicked in, forcing her powers into action. A split second before the car would've run her over, she disappeared in a flourish of black light.

I know, I know. Not a lot of dialogue, but it was more of an introduction to the story arc. This has been in my notes for at least two years, and I've wanted to post something to show that I'm not dead or anything. I cropped off most of what I had written and only kept Raven's intro for the prologue because I didn't like the quality of my writing style, and I don't want to give anything away just yet.

For those that have read my other stories, I'm going to update them. I just don't know when. I'm pretty busy and I never know when I'll have the chance to just sit down and write.

Feel free to send me some feedback. Reviews for authors are like beer. C'ept without the hangovers.