This chapter is MUCH longer. I hope it makes up for all those dinky little ones I posted before.

Once again, the Titans evade my ownership. It's the sad, sad truth.


Raven was greeted warmly when Cyborg brought her back to Titan's Tower the next day. Robin had to save her from a bone crushing hug á la Starfire with a reminder that Raven was still in a fragile state. Although she had succeeded in healing herself fairly well, she was incapable of regenerating her lost blood and found herself feeling weak and tired as long as she was awake. Her restless night hadn't helped matters either.

After wittily insulting Beast Boy's intelligence, Raven retreated to her room claiming a need for sleep.

Once in her room, Raven removed her cloak and boots and sat down on her bed. She was tired, but troubled, and doubted whether she could actually sleep. As she mulled over her dream and experience someone knocked on her door.

Raven sighed and slowly rose to her feet. She trod barefoot to the door, no hood or cloak to hide under, and opened it a crack. Starfire smiled brightly at her.

"I wished to make sure you were of the okay." Raven said nothing, merely providing her friend with a quiet stare.

Starfire's happy smile faltered, giving way to a concerned expression. "You are of the okay, are you not?"

Raven could tell that Starfire was genuinely concerned about her wellbeing. This made it hard for Raven not to allow Starfire in on her fears and pains. "I'm fine," she montoned, eliciting a frown from Starfire.

"You do not look 'the fine'. Perhaps you could allow me to enter and you may share your troubles with me?" Starfire's innocent, yet intelligent question stirred something inside Raven. She felt she could talk to the girl.

She sighed inwardly and opened the door further. Starfire's delight was evident. She enjoyed being included and had a genuine like for helping her friends when they were troubled. She bounced into the room and Raven guided her over to the bed where they both sat down.

"Starfire…" Raven faltered. She didn't exactly know how to phrase her troubles.

"If this is about the man who attempted to take claim of your life, we are already aware. Robin has been doing the search for criminals who may be responsible."

Raven was touched. She knew Robin wasn't stupid and must have already pieced everything together (being shot might have been a dead giveaway), and finding answers was second nature to him. It still left a warm feeling inside to hear how much the others cared. That, however, was not what Raven was about to tell Starfire.

"Starfire, I'm not sure about what I'm about to tell you, but I think I might have a clue that could help us find the person responsible."

Starfire cocked her head. "You do?"

"I was attacked last night." Her friend gasped. "But before it happened, I had this dream. I saw a man, and… I think he might be the one who attacked me." She drew her legs up onto the bed, sitting cross-legged. Her knees received a thoughtful stare as she contemplated whether she really should have told Starfire about the dream. It was just a dream after all. It was highly unlikely the man in her dream was the same man. But he had warned her… the dream had warned her he was coming.

"We must tell Robin!" Starfire stood abruptly, startling Raven out of her thoughts.

"What? No, it's just… it's just a dream. Right?" Raven scolded herself. She was almost pleading with Starfire. Had recent events really caused her to be that desperate.

Starfire looked at Raven. Her usually joyous expression was replaced with concern for her friend. "It may feel as if it is 'only a dream', however Robin and Cyborg cannot find any other things on which 'to go'." Raven inwardly complemented Starfire on her attempt to use English terms. She was becoming better at it. "You have had feelings such as these before, and they have been right. Your life is in danger. Should we not do something about it?"

Raven was quiet for a moment. Starfire could be insightful when she needed to be. She was right as well. The half-demon slowly nodded her head and was rewarded by an unusually gentle hug from her friend.

The two exited the room once Raven had donned her cloak and boots and quietly walked down the halls. Neither said a word, worry evident in both their features. Having been attacked last night was proof that the assassin wasn't going to give up easily. He came back once. What was to stop him from coming back again?

When the two teens reached the common room, it was evident that Robin and the others had started up their research again. The main screen held a large map of Jump City, on which various places had been marked with red circles. Robin was on another, smaller computer with Beast Boy hovering over his shoulder, while Cyborg seemed deep in thought at the kitchen table.

They looked up when the girls entered; obviously startled that Raven wasn't getting the sleep she claimed to so desperately need.

"Is something wrong?" asked Robin, clearly worried.

Starfire pushed Raven forwards ever so slightly. The girl blushed somewhat. "I just…" She fumbled with her words, still not entirely sure how to say it without looking like an idiot. "I had a dream. There was a guy and I think he's responsible." Damn her tired brain. She couldn't even make sense of her own words.

Robin raised an eyebrow.

"Friend Raven was attacked last night." Starfire supplied helpfully for the team. The others looked shocked while Raven berated herself for forgetting that vital piece of information. "And she claims to have seen the face of the man who attacked her in a dream."

"What did he look like?" Cyborg asked, addressing Raven.

"Um, well… he was kinda short, around Beast Boy's height." Beast Boy scoffed. "He had blond hair down to about his shoulders, um, freckles all over his face… I think his eyes were brown." She tried to remember anything else; the shape of his face, his stance, but nothing came. She sighed. "I'm a little tired right now. I can't quite think strait."

Robin smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry. At least it's something to go by." He turned to Cyborg. "Think you can pull up as many pictures as you can. Legal documents, newspaper photos, anything. Try to find someone that fits that description." Cyborg nodded.

Soon the entire team was working on identifying the assassin. Each member sat at a separate computer, looking over any pictures Cyborg may have found, even looking for some on their own.

Raven found her eyelids becoming heavy. She tried to stay awake and help the search, but she was extremely tired.

The young teen was found moments later by Cyborg, sleeping peacefully on her computer. He smiled and lifted her up gently. She was placed on the sofa in the middle of the room, perfectly guarded by her friends and wrapped warmly in her cloak. The rest of the team continued their research.


Brian cursed the computer. He had spent the entire night researching the Titans but came up with nothing more than he already knew. If he was going to kill this girl, he needed to piece together what he knew, what he'd discovered, and find out more. Overall, he needed a plan. He couldn't just attack her out of nowhere. She seemed to sense that.

What if she was already in danger? Maybe he could attack her while she was fighting someone else, and she wouldn't be able to tell whether the danger she was sensing was new, or just the fight. Yes. He needed to draw her out. Set her up. He needed to make allies with her enemies. But who could he talk to? Many super villains wouldn't want to talk to some boring old assassin. He needed to find someone suitable.

The next few hours found Brian looking back over all the articles of the Teen Titans. Which villains they had overcome and defeated. He needed someone small, easy to manipulate, but smart none-the-less. He smiled when he found the perfect candidate.


The day and most of the night had turned up many possible suspects. As the team couldn't identify the man on their own, they had decided that Raven had to be awake to identify the man for them.

She groggily opened her eyes to the sound of someone saying her name. Once again she was a little ticked to discover that everyone had been watching her sleep, even if briefly. Robin was hovering closest to her and must have been the one to wake her up. She tried to glare at him, but decided he probably had a good enough reason to wake her up. He was Robin after all. Now if it had been Beast Boy…

"Sorry to wake you Raven, but we kind of need your help."

Raven regarded her leader. What would he need her help with. What was she doing in the common room for that matter? Her mind was still groggy and she was still trying to wake up fully. "What do you need help with?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"We have a bunch of pictures that match the description you gave us yesterday."

Raven remembered the man in black and realised, with a heavy feeling of fear, dread, and disappointment why she had fallen asleep in the common room. Someone was trying to kill her. "You need me to identify him."

Robin nodded and reached out a hand to help Raven into a sitting position. The pictures, Raven realised, were conveniently displayed on the main screen, easy for her to see from the couch. She examined every one of them before shaking her head no. None of them were that man from her dream.

Robin nodded his head at Cyborg who pressed a button. A new display of different pictures appeared. "How many are there?" Raven asked.

"Quiet a few," answered Cyborg. "We haven't even looked out of state yet."

Raven sighed. Of course. She did give a fairly vague description. It must match millions of faces. She shook her head. Not a man on that display was her assassin.

After five or six different displays, Raven spotted him. The picture was a little fuzzy and looked somewhat like a paparazzi shot. She pointed at it. "That's him. In the middle."

Cyborg selected the image. A website appeared on the screen, along with info regarding the man in question. The name Brian Teatime showed up in bold letters at the top of the page.

"He's an assassin," whispered Beast Boy in awe. Raven rolled her eyes. That wasn't much of a surprise. He did try to kill her. Twice.

"Apparently he lives in a small town called Dew's Bay." Cyborg was looking through all the information. "Can't say I've ever heard of it. What do you think he's doing in Jump City?"

"He was probably hired." Robin glanced worriedly at Raven. She felt nervous. She knew someone was trying to kill her, but it was still hard to digest. "I don't think it's safe for Raven to be alone-"

"No." Raven interrupted her leader, knowing full well were he was heading with that statement. "I don't need a body guard."

Robin sighed. "You're being targeted. You're weak. I think it's time you accepted the fact that you may need help. We're your friends Raven. I thought you knew that."

Now she felt somewhat guilty. Robin really knew what to say to get what he wanted. Damn him. "What exactly do you have in mind for me then," she said, slightly reluctant to accept help.

"I want to set you up in the infirmary with someone guarding it. That way no one has to go in your room." Raven inwardly applauded his thoughtfulness. "And you get to rest. You obviously need it."

Raven blushed. Robin had a point; she had fallen asleep while she was working.

"But for now, I think maybe we should have something to eat." Cyborg cut into their conversation, and Raven noticed for the first time how hungry she was. "What do y'all want?"


After a well put together lunch made by Cyborg, Raven was ushered down to the infirmary where a new argument was taking shape.

"I'll stand guard," Robin stated, as if there could be no more argument.

"No, dude, you're the only one out of us that can actually do any research." Beast Boy's remark earned him a glare from Cyborg. He laughed nervously. "E-except maybe Cy here."

"Perhaps I should stand the guard," Starfire piped up. "Raven would feel more comfortable with me?" It was asked like a question, and when everyone else looked at Raven as if for an answer, she just shrugged, muttering something about not really caring.

In the end, Beast Boy and Starfire refused to back down and it was decided that the two of them would watch over Raven as she slept. Although not all together comfortable with more people watching her sleep, Raven agreed to let them stay in the room with her.

She finally crawled into the infirmary bed with a full stomach and the comfort and security of her friends standing guard.


"Hey Pitsniffer! I'm low on soda over here!" The shout carried across the restaurant to an annoyed waitress. She sighed and compliantly took his empty cup to get it refilled.

Brian new immediately which person he was looking for as he entered the building. The young man kicked his short legs in boredom as he played with some unseen gadget under the table.

Get his pack, Brian reminded himself as he quietly approached the boy from behind. Get his pack and don't let him grab for anything.

Swiftly, Brian snatched the pack of the boy's back and, ignoring loud protests, lifted him effortlessly into his arms and carried him out of the restaurant. He plopped the kid in the passenger seat of his car and sat down next to him.

"Hey, I was eating in there Barfbrain!" he shouted, rattling Brian's eardrums. "I had half a burger left!"

Brian ignored his complaints and gave the kid a level stare. "You're Gizmo," he stated.

"So?"

"So, I need your help with something." Gizmo glared at him, but said nothing. "What do you know about the Teen Titans?"

Gizmo continued to glare. His hands started to sneak towards his pockets where he probably had some dangerous gadget. Brian grabbed his wrists before he could grab it. "A don't like to talk about them." Gizmo said, snarling. "They're just a bunch of brainless losers."

"From what I hear, you do most of the losing."

When Gizmo failed to make a comment, Brian forced his hands to his sides and tied him up. "Hey! What are you doing?!" The boy shouted.

"I want to talk to you, and unless I can trust you not to pull anything out of your pockets, I'll have to play it safe."

"What do you want from me?"

"You know the Titans." Brian smiled. "I want to know the Titans."

"Fine." Gizmo said, giving in. "But you owe me a burger."


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