"They're near enough." Raven stopped in mid-flight, and her companions immediately halted as well.

"Where exactly are they?" Kakashi asked.

"There." Raven pointed in a westerly direction.

"Neji-kun, can you sight them?" Kakashi asked.

Neji squeezed his eyes shut for a second before opening them again.

"Byakugan!"

Everyone waited as Neji surveyed the place with his Kekkei Genkai, seeing everything and missing nothing. His eyes fixed themselves on a certain point, and then widened.

"I see them now!" he said excitedly. "They're together in a dark corner, saying something!"

"Lead us there, Neji-kun."

Keeping his Byakugan activated, Neji led the team forward, until he decided they were close enough. Using hand signals, the Titans signaled to the ninjas to retreat behind the wall of the closest building.

"We should take them by surprise," Robin said, keeping his voice low.

"Actually, I have a better idea," Raven said.

"What idea?" Nightwalker asked.

"I'll lure them out here," Raven offered. "I'll pretend to walk in on them by chance, feign fear and run out here. At some point, I'll trip and make it look easy for them to get me. Once their focus is entirely on me, you strike and take them down."

"Sounds good to me," Naruto smiled. "Kakashi-sensei…"

"Yes, we should go along with Raven-san's plan. Move into position."

Titans and ninjas alike silently sneaked forwards until they were in position, all concealed but ready to strike. Raven glanced at her comrades, and at a nod from Kakashi, she calmly moved towards where the ninjas were, pulling down her hood to ensure her face was fully visible. On and on she walked until she knew they were right in front of her.

"Oh!" As the two ninjas loomed up before her eyes, Raven jerked to a sudden stop, doing her best to put on an expression of surprise. "Sorry. I didn't know I wasn't alone." She gazed firmly at the two ninjas for several seconds before beginning to back away.

"Get her!"

Ah-hah! This is going well! Raven thought, as the duo leaped to their feet and launched themselves forward wildly. She immediately made her move, putting on an expression of terror as best as she could before running away on foot instead of flying. At the same time, she sent out a telepathic message to Nightwalker.

I'm coming out with them behind me! Get ready!

Got it! We're ready!

The two ninjas were now whipping out shurikens and kunais, positioning them in their hands swiftly. Arms drawn back, they hurled their weapons forward, aiming straight for Raven's back.

Raven halted them easily with her telekinesis, increasing her pace. She could sense her companions' presence nearby, much to her relief. She ran on, now and then turning round to look at the ninjas. They were closing in on her already, completely filled with determination to get her no matter the cost.

Alright, they should be in sight in half a minute! Raven warned the others. The moment I trip up, attack!

"You can't escape us this time!"

We'll see soon enough who the victim will be! Raven thought mockingly.

Soon enough, they had exited the dark alleyway. Raven ran on, then deliberately pretended to stumble and trip heavily. With some effort, she managed to let out a cry of apparent pain and shock as she went down.

Now!

They struck without warning. As Raven scrambled to her feet, ready to join the fight, the Titans and ninjas launched a joint attack on the two rogue ninjas, pouring all their strength into the attack. For a minute or so, there was nothing but chaos as the two parties fought violently, the two rogue ninjas struggling for their very lives. Raven could barely even see past the mass of struggling and shouting bodies, but she sensed the sheer terror of the two ninjas, and knew her comrades were having no difficulty in tackling them.

Nightwalker made the final move against the two ninjas. With a swirl of his hand, he lifted them upwards and left them suspended in mid-air before paralyzing their bodies entirely. Bruised, battered and exhausted, the two ninjas offered no resistance whatsoever, merely gaped at Nightwalker with open eyes and mouths.

"Whoa!" Naruto stared at Nightwalker with amazement. "How are you doing that? I thought your power lies in your ability to manipulate the elements, not control someone's body!"

"There's plenty of water in blood," Nightwalker replied. "By manipulating that water, I can control someone's body; not that I use this technique often."

Kakashi let out a long, slow breath. "Well, it's most fortunate that we're your allies, not enemies," he commented.

"Raven." Nightwalker glanced at her and gave a nod. "Do what you have to with them."

"Got it. Keep them still for several more minutes." With that, Raven advanced upon the ninjas and extended a hand forward, projecting herself into their minds.

The others waited patiently as Raven conducted her business, running through their memories for any information that would be useful. Image after image after image passed through her, but much to her annoyance and disappointment, nothing in their minds was of use. They knew nothing else that Raven and her comrades had yet to know. With a sigh of exasperation, she withdrew her mind and muttered an expletive under her breath.

"Got anything?" Robin asked hopefully.

"They know nothing that we don't know yet," Raven sighed.

Sakura groaned aloud. "And what do we do with them?" she asked, pointing at the ninjas.

"I'll send them to another dimension." Raven looked pointedly at the ninjas, and sensed their fear as they heard her clearly.

"You wouldn't dare!" one of them protested.

"Watch me." Raven stepped back and raised her arms, summoning all her power. A chant flowed forth from her lips, the language and words unknown to everyone but her and Nightwalker.

Ahead of them, the air shifted. An eerie white and blue light appeared, merged together in an intricate dance before expanding to form a visible door of some sort.

"Nightwalker, throw them in!"

"Nooo!" The ninjas howled aloud with outrage, but there was nothing they could do. Making a quick gesture with his arm, Nightwalker hurled them forward into the door. The last everyone heard of them was a long roar of fury, and then Raven was closing up the door.

"Alright, job done," Raven said calmly. "Now, Mr. Kakashi, you were saying your Hokage wants us to travel to Konoha with you, yes? Shall we get going?"

"Of course. Think you could use that dimension-traveling jutsu to get us there?"

"No problem. We just have to be far enough from here before I use that technique again."

"Why is that?" Neji asked.

"Opening too many dimensional doors in a single area can eventually affect time and space. Wouldn't want that happening, would we?" Raven was already starting to leave, and the others hurried after her.

"Alright. Here's far enough." Raven eventually came to a halt, her mind still at work. "Stand back while I open the door to Konoha." She raised her arms and began the chant again, in that incomprehensible language. The ninjas watched in awe as once again, the dimensional door was opened.

"Well, there you go." Raven stepped aside and looked at the ninjas. "After you."

"Alright!" Naruto hollered. "Back to Konoha we go! Come on!" He happily hopped through the door, and the others followed one by one. Raven closed the portal once everyone was through, and then nothing was left to show that an inter-dimensional door had been opened there.

From a safe distance, a shadowy, hulking figure watched everything in silence before pulling out a small round disc.

"S11 to N5. I've spotted the targets. They've headed back to Konoha."

TheDreamChaser: Well…who knows when they'll find out Raven IS the gem…