Disclaimer: I do not own Worm, a Web Serial by Wildbow which comes highly recommended and is free online (just google it). Nor do I own Teen Titans in either their Comic, Cartoon or any other form. It is a property of D.C comics, and Warner Bros, as well as Cartoon Network and whoever else might have a slice of that pie.

Sorry this took longer than expected, I restarted it a few times before settling on this particular arc. Responses to questions in the reviews will be at the end for those who are interested in reading them. Thanks for reading! : ]

'I'm still not really comfortable with having a cell phone… what if they can track us with it or something?' Taylor said over their link, talking about the PRT phone that they were given.

The phone was, ostensibly, provided to them so the PRT could contact them in an emergency to call for aid, as well as for when their services would be required against the Endbringers. According to Miss Militia they would be sent an alert when an Endbringer was attacking and be given coordinates for a place to teleport to and receive orders. She had walked them through the procedures for Endbringer battles and they had teleported to a few of the mustering points set up by the PRT for teleporters to bring groups to the fight. The PRT didn't usually give away phones to rogues, but in the interest of maximizing their usefulness against the Endbringers they make an exception for the few capes like Strider that can teleport groups of people around the world at a moment's notice.

'Like I said before Taylor, the PRT lives and dies by its public relations, having us tracked in our civilian identity through a phone given to us to help against the Endbringers would put all of that in jeopardy. Villains only show up to these fights because they know they won't be arrested. Besides it's not like we are planning on becoming a Villain, we are merely providing a service in exchange for money.'

After their meeting with Miss Militia and their subsequent test of their teleportation abilities they had returned home for the night. Danny was thankfully satisfied with their report of some success in finding a job and had barely spoken to them outside of small talk since they had gotten home.

'Can you tell me again why we can't be a hero?' Taylor said meekly, 'It's just that I had always thought that if I got powers I would be a hero and help people. Like Alexandria does! Using my powers to make money just seems… petty somehow.'

Raven laid down on Taylor's bed with a relaxed sigh. She had discussed this with the younger girl a few times now, but it was an admittedly complex subject, especially to one who had only seen how being a hero is from the prospective of a member of the public. Closing her eyes Raven thought about a new way to explain it that might be easier for her to understand.

'I think where you are getting stuck is with this idea that Heroes, even those like that Alexandria you told me about, are able to simply fly around and stop crime. It's just not that simple, it takes massive resources to fight crime, especially supervillains, and it would be incredibly dangerous to do so on our own. We need a team before we can really make a difference without making things worse, and to build a team we need the resources to make ourselves more attractive than the alternatives.'

'Couldn't we just go out and take our Kaiser or Lung and hand them over to the PRT? Wouldn't that destabilize the gangs by taking out the leader and make the city safer?'

Raven, expecting this kind of question responded with a hypothetical of her own. 'Ok, say we did that. We go out and without any harm to civilians or ourselves we take down Lung somehow and send him off to the Birdcage. What do you think would happen as a result of that? The ABB just disappears? No. The other members of the gang would act out, trying to prove their worth even without their leader or trying to take his place and the Empire and other gangs would attack them seeking weakness. At best you would only strengthen the position of the opposing gangs, with tons of innocent casualties caught in the middle. More likely this would attract other gangs from outside of the city to come in and try and take over any vacuum. Instead of the ABB we would get the Teeth, and on top of that a gang war as the gangs figure out a pecking order.'

'Well alright I can see how that could happen and it explains a bit about why the PRT doesn't just take out the gangs, but then what's the point of being a hero if it's all so hopeless?' Taylor responds with a resigned sigh.

'It is NOT all hopeless! For one Heroes act as a deterrent for Villains from crossing a line. They protect innocents from the fallout of Villains and make it difficult for them to go after each other. By creating a stalemate as a status quo they keep people safe from the violence. Like I said before it's all about having a team. A team can fight the gangs by having enough strength to act as a deterrent from other gangs moving in, while discouraging the gangs from going out and causing trouble, lest they attract attention from the heroes. One person no matter how powerful cannot be everywhere in the city at once, but with a full team we can patrol and try and keep the villains from being profitable by seizing drugs and weapons and stopping theft. Capturing the lower tier ones and keeping the gangs from expanding territory. Then we could slowly push the gangs back and using our resources, provide an alternative to the gangs for the local economy and most importantly attract capes to join the heroes instead of the Villains. THAT is why the PRT is so focused on Public Relations. It is by far the most important part of being a Hero to them, they NEED people to see them as the obvious Heroes, the obvious best place to go if you get powers. It's the whole reason for their existence.'

'More important than saving people?' Taylor said skeptically.

'Well in my last dimension this is where I disagreed with my team and with the Justice League, our version of the Protectorate. The PRT focuses on appearance and uniforms as well as overt usage of powers in a 'family friendly' way as their method of positive press. Robin had a similar philosophy, he always asked me to avoid using some of my more effective takedown methods in public, as they tended to terrify the public, whom we needed to think of us in a positive light to ensure our funding and special legal status were maintained. I always thought, however that in the end successful completion of our goals, i.e. taking down the bad guys, was in itself the best possible PR. Especially given how hard Brockton Bay is being affected by the gangs, I think the people would be happier with and more interested in joining a team that is effective in controlling crime than one that is full of family friendly, G rated heroes. One of the things that I think your world does horribly is its treatment of the Wards program.'

'What do you mean? What's wrong with the wards, they aren't really supposed to fight just train in their powers according to PHO?'

'That's exactly my problem with them though. They don't really seem to train their recruits. They either try and stop them from fighting entirely until an S-class threat comes around or they wind up against Endbringers and are killed, or they fight just as much as the adults, but with way more restrictions. They don't compensate their wards enough monetarily, which makes crime so much more appealing, they force them to fight with the safety on keeping them from maximizing their potential and the youth guard and other bureaucratic nonsense makes them incredibly unappealing. When you add in that trigger events for young people often mean something is wrong at home or at school, going to the government and following their strict rules for little money and fewer chances to fight doesn't seem appealing. People that have powers WANT to use them, and often will use them to get out of their current situation. They might commit a crime to get out of their whatever caused them to trigger, and while the wards might take in someone with a criminal history and take into account trigger events when pressing charges against a Parahuman, they still are a wing of the government. People, especially young paranoid and traumatized kids, are rightly afraid that they will be put in a situation where the PRT can force them to do things or else they would be charged. Add in the fact that they need parental permission, possibly from parents that are involved in their trigger event, and the whole system just doesn't engender an environment of trust and ease of entry. Especially for those with 'scarier' powers and tinkers who fear regulations.'

'It sounds like you have an idea for an alternative though. You've told me that one of our plans is to create a team, and you have sold me on that, but it's more than that isn't it.' Taylor paused, thinking about everything Raven had told her about her plans and about her past. 'You want to create an alternative to the PRT and the Wards. Like the Titians from you own world.'

'Yes I do,' Raven replied slowly, deep in thought. 'I-well have a lot of plans admittedly. We need resources to work on our plans of getting me a body, allies to help us with the preparations for that as well as to find a way to get my friends memories restored. I just thought that while we are at it we should try and create a team for when we transition into full time heroes once we achieve those goals. The rogue thing was always a temporary solution, by delaying our heroics we will be in a better position to affect real change.'

Finally convinced of the plans that Raven had laid out, Taylor let the conversation die down. She had been extremely distressed to find that she was now just a passenger in her own body while someone else drove. In truth she still was rather distressed, but she really didn't see any other options. Raven had control, and there was nothing she could do about that. At least it seemed like Raven was becoming a friend. It's hard to get closer to a person than sharing a body, and maybe once she got her own body Raven would let her on the team they were building. They had figured out in the first few days after the Locker incident, that Taylor had gotten Parahuman abilities of some kind. They didn't know what she could do as Raven's presence somehow blocked her from the power, but she was sure that with Raven's help she could learn to use them to be a hero on her team!

Ring Ring

Thankful that she had thrown up a silencing ward around their room before going to sleep, Raven yawned and stretched before walking over to the phone on her desk.

Ring Ri-

"Good morning this is Raven," she said in her calm unemotional voice.

"Good morning Raven this is Dragon, I hope I didn't wake you," came a perky feminine voice through their phone.

Dragon, Raven thought, 'I guess she got my number from the PRT. I wonder how closely together she is tied to the system if they were willing to give away my information that easily, all the more reason to keep as much private as possible.'

"Hello Dragon, it's truly a pleasure to talk to a hero of your incredible caliber. I assume however you aren't calling me just to say hello, how can I help you?"

"Well you are correct, this is a business call. I was hoping to talk to you about hiring your services, both on my own behalf as well as for The Guild. I wanted to talk to you quickly before anyone else got to you." Dragon said teasingly.

"Ah I had hoped that might be why" Raven replied with a bit more warmth in her voice.

While she may have been playing the experienced and confident hero while discussing her plans with Taylor, she was rather nervous about everything that had been going on. This was the first time that she had been without her friends and their support in years, not to mention that her current plans involved her being a leader, something she had never before considered. She still had not let herself process having the prophecy come true and having her Father exile her to another dimension. She was terribly worried about how her friends were doing in this dimension, as well as everyone back where her Father was. Besides the incredible amount of guilt about what had happened, Raven was also secretly relieved that it was all over and that she was even still alive. For now she was completely focused on her goals, first settling herself and her new friend Taylor into a position of relative strength in this dimension and then working on fixing herself and her friends. Only then would she allow herself time to mourn those she lost and deal with the consequences of her failure to prevent her Father's conquest.

"I would certainly be interested in working with both you and The Guild. How exactly can I be of service?"

"As a representative of The Guild I am authorized by Narwhal to offer you the same contract that Strider works under. We would pay you a monthly retainer and then would pay by transport to and from various locations. The purpose of The Guild is to deal with S-Class and other major threats worldwide and we do have the permits to transport capes across borders of allied countries. This wouldn't keep you from accepting other jobs, we would just ask that you put our needs ahead of others, excepting Endbringers of course. According to your file you also offer services as a mercenary in addition to teleportation? Assuming we can test out your skill and power-set that is also something The Guild would be interested in."

"That would be acceptable, I understand that outside of my teleportation abilities you have no idea how capable I am in a fight. I don't really have a reputation yet, but I look forward to working with The Guild in the future. Hmm, could you send me a copy of the contract you are offering through the Brockton Bay PRT? And what was it that you were interested in hiring me for?"

"Yes that will be perfect, I will have them print out a copy for you to pick up now."

Dragon hesitated for a few seconds and Raven was hit with the thought that she was hesitating on purpose, perhaps to build up suspense or draw in her interest, but quickly shrugged it off as irrelevant either way. Dragon was undeniably one of this world's foremost hero, and had more than earned the benefit of the doubt when it came to manipulative actions.

"My own interest in hiring you is for a side project of mine I have had on the backburner for a few years. Tell me have you ever heard of the Tinker called Sphere?"

Quickly asking Taylor her thoughts, Raven replied curiously, "No I can't say that I have."

"He was a Tinker that specialized in self-sustaining systems, before he got caught in a Simurgh attack. He went insane, either from Her Scream or from losing his family and eventually joined the Slaughterhouse-9 as Mannequin. Before that however, he had started building a biosphere on The Moon. He had excellent funding and sent a large amount of resources and tinker-tech of his own design to The Moon. To cut to the chase, my plan is to build you a space suit and see if you can teleport to The Moon to get the tinker-tech and other materials he left there and bring it to one of my bases. I considered sending a ship of some kind, but was worried The Simurgh might intervene. Hopefully your teleportation will ensure she leaves us alone, and if she does react we can always stop. What do you think, can you do it?" Dragon said eagerly.

'Wow. Dragon needs our help!' Taylor giggled to Raven. 'We should definitely do it, just think of how much good she could do with that stuff, maybe she could even figure out a way to stop Mannequin.'

'Yes but this also would paint a target on our back. I doubt Mannequin would take kindly to someone taking his tech. This could get the attention of the Slaughterhouse-9 way before we would have anywhere near the capabilities to deal with that kind of threat.'

'Hmm true, but having Dragon as an ally, or at least friendly towards us in the future, is an incredibly valuable opportunity. Not to mention that if The Guild hires us as a mercenary then we would likely wind up fighting those fuckers anyway. I also don't like the idea of a group of Murderhobos dictating what jobs we take.'

'I agree' Raven replied angrily. The Slaughterhouse-9 symbolized everything that was wrong with this dimension in her mind and enraged her. She was a hero, despite her own demonic origins, and yet these humans were more demonic than she had ever been. While Raven had always avoided killing in the past she had no problems admitting to herself that the nine were a group she would not hesitate to take out if given the chance. They had kill orders for a damn good reason, something she wished her previous dimension had in hindsight. How many might have been saved if Batman or even the cops had killed someone like the Joker one of the countless times he was captured.

"I should be able to teleport to The Moon," said Raven. "As I told the PRT I just need the coordinates of wherever I am teleporting to. As I don't know lunar longitude and latitude or whatever the equivalent is, I guess a picture would work. Or a location on a map, but that shouldn't be a problem. I assume you can work out the legal details as I am unaware of what the laws are over confiscating Tinker Tech and on lunar teleportation. The only question comes down to payment. You are providing the spacesuit and it was your idea in the first place, but I am the only person that can provide this particular service. I know Tinker Tech is worth a fortune, especially from someone like Mannequin, plus the other materials which I am sure are valuable in their own right."

"Yes yes don't worry, I am sure we can reach an agreement on payment," Dragon said with a huff.

She was not really annoyed with the young Rogue, but liked to act a bit more like a teenager might when talking to younger capes. She found that they responded better to someone who acted like a peer rather than an authority figure like Colin does with his Wards. This was the fulfillment of a plan that she had been thinking about for years, and would possibly open up many avenues of research for her suits and other tech. As much as she hates to say it, Mannequins tech was excellent and could be used in so many different ways; from growing food or housing people, to mass murder and environmental catastrophes. With better insight she might even be able to come up with countermeasures to his current 'body' and take care of one of the banes to Tinkers everywhere. It was well known that Mannequin targeted other Tinkers and she had lost more than a few friends to that madman over the years he had been with the nine. To be able to use some of his tech to help people and save lives would be just a bit of karmic justice in her mind.

For those wondering, lunar locations are given by Selenographic coordinates which work basically exactly like Longitude and Latitude on Earth.

Dead Pann: this probably won't be AS Dark as Worm Canon unless things go totally off the rail. A lot of the problems Taylor encounters in Canon are due to her becoming a villain and then smashing apart the status quo everyone has going on in Brockton. Like with Bakuda and the whole bomb in the head thing.

Xbox432: As to her costume, I looked at a bunch of different takes on Raven. From the cartoon to the comics, and decided to go with the one from the comics that to me had a better look color wise. Although I didn't mention it last chapter it certainly is more conservative than the comic one, I will make that more obvious in the future. Unlike in the Comic world Raven/Taylor doesn't have to show off skin to titillate young male readers. So for now, before she can upgrade it once she has more money, it's just a purple leotard and a baggy purple cloak to help cover her up a bit. If not to stay warm and simply not show off quite as much skin, then to protect Taylor's more modest disposition. If people are unhappy with this, any suggestions? Maybe something with more of an Armor aspect?

Question to people who are perhaps more aware of the DC world than I am. Does Raven need to breathe? Like could she just go to The Moon and be ok or does she NEED a suit? With the whole Demon thing it's unclear. She has so many different powers it's hard to narrow it down sometimes what exactly is canon.

Anyway thanks again for reading, I hope you enjoyed.