Chapter 6: Birthmark(Er... sorry for the wait...)

Also, be sure to re-read previous chapters, because I've made some minor and major changes to some of them, mostly concerning Michael's personality and attitude.

Fixes: There were 2 emails sent out because I had interesting problems with the chapter system, getting rid of "Chapter 6 part 1". Also, re-uploaded to fix grammatical errors in the last few paragraphs of the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, but I do own my original characters. Ha.

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(Flashback)

Torchlight lit the dark and eerie room, casting long and evil shadows across the floor and walls. Multiple robed figures stood firm, circled around a kneeling young teenager. Occult symbols surrounded his bent form. The leader, easily the most sinister of the group, spoke first. "We are here to confirm the acceptance of this young man as a warrior of our Great Master. Do you accept the Mark of Scathe, Michael?"

The boy raised his head. "Yes. I shall wear the mark of the Great Master."

The leader placed his hand upon the boy's forehead. "Then prepare yourself."

Michael snapped back to awareness, the last vestiges of the nightmarish memory fading. His hand immediately flew up to run along his forehead, thankfully to find it smooth. What had been there had long since faded on the night of his rebirth. The memory, though, had come at a strange time. Riding in the backseat of the T-car while on the way to a mission was definitely not a place to reminisce. Pushing the memory aside, he refocused himself as the car came to a stop before an immense power plant.

The six heroes entered the building almost nonchalantly, yet alert, not sure what to be ready for. Looking around, Cyborg asked, "So who's the villain de jour? Gizmo? Mad Mod? Killer Moth?"

"The report simply stated there was an intruder," Starfire replied.

"Gizmo?" Michael asked idly. "What kind of villain name is that?"

"Well, your superhero name isn't all that good either," Beast Boy replied. "You need something better, like Holy Boy, or Righteous Man, or-"

"Jesus Freak," Raven offered dryly, but with a smirk. The rest of the now-perplexed Titans turned to stare at her for a moment, quite surprised that she would add to any one of Beast Boy's jokes. The fact that it still seemed to carry her trademark sarcasm, though, abated their confusion.

Recovering quickly, Beast Boy continued with, "Ah, whatever nickname he chooses, it's sure to kick some major bu-Ungh!" His comment was cut off as he bumped headlong into Robin, who had stopped walking quite suddenly. In fact, all the Titans had stopped walking and were now staring up at a platform, including Michael. Beast Boy followed their gaze, then emitted a high pitched "Eep!"

Standing before the group was a threat even Michael recognized, despite never having encountered it. The figure stood amassed in shadow, wearing the darkness like an age-old, familiar cloak. Bale seemed to seep out of every pore and out through his suit, littering the area around him with evil perversion. Finally, as the full scope of the scene settled ominously among all the Titans, it spoke. "It's been a long time, hasn't it, Titans? A month? A year? A millennia? Far too long for my tastes, anyway." The shadow turned its head to face the group, and a single eye stared from the now-uncovered orange half of the mask. "I was beginning to think I'd never see your smiling faces again."

Robin, nearly speechless, let out a breathless, "No," as Cyborg said, "You... how did you survive?" and Michael added, "Wasn't he dead?"

"Terra took you down!" Beast Boy stated. "Way down!" The shadow only coldly laughed.

"Don't think I'll go along with you this time-" Robin began.

"Oh, Robin, you don't actually think that it's you I'm after, do you? How precious." His lone eye fell back down to Raven. "I didn't come back for you." As soon as the last word left his mask, a red mark appeared over his forehead. A mark that poured dread, fear, and terror directly into Michael's heart, as if injected with a syringe. A mark that told Michael, 'This is it. It's beginning.'

He didn't have much time to sort out his feelings, though, as Slade wound up and let loose with a spinning inferno of incandescence and evil, winding its way like a snake towards the Titans. Dodging backwards out of the way, Michael felt the very tips of his hair start to singe under the intense heat of the fireball. He squinted and followed it with his eyes, watching as it wound its way purposefully towards Raven.

-(Raven)-

Without anywhere else to go, Raven simply warped her way through the wall behind her, and flinched as the walls around her shook from the impact of the fireball.

Circling around and coming out of the ground she had before been floating over, Raven broke the surface just in time to see another streak of fire hit just a few feet away from Michael. After a few seconds, the dust cleared, and revealed Michael standing in a wide stance, arms crossed in front of him. Another few moments, and he lowered his arms, opened his eyes, and brought his stare onto her. It had all the effects of telepathy. He's after you. Keep back. Disengaging his eyes from the gothic telepath, Michael brought his attention back to Slade, then drew his sword in one swift motion. Looking around, Raven saw that the rest of the Titans had assembled next to them.

On the platform, Slade held his hands out admiringly. "Ever have one of those days where you're just happy to be alive?"

"Dude!?" Beast boy questioned.

"Yeah! Since when can Slade do that?" Cyborg finished.

Stepping up onto the guardrail of the platform, Slade jumped and spun the thirty feet down to the Titan's level, dust swirling around him dramatically. Robin's face set. "I'm not sure, but he won't be doing it for long." His stance dropped lower. "Titans! Go!"

The Titans reacted by immediately assaulting the now super-powered mastermind with a barrage of starbolts, sonic beams, and bombs. Spinning his arms around him, Slade erected a fiery barrier around himself, instantaneously teleporting himself back to his original platform.

Ignoring Michael's earlier warning, Raven immediately picked herself up off the ground and shot off towards Slade. She was just in time to see one of Robin's freezing grenades finish its handiwork on the villain's shield. Unfortunately, ice didn't seem to have much of an effect, and Slade almost casually broke free. Using her power, Raven sent some of the shards on a collision course back at Slade. Nimbly, and with a grace that bested that of ten Robins, the target back flipped and rolled his way out of harm's range. Landing on a platform even lower than before, he again dodged, this time easily darting away from a very large and heavy gorilla.

Seeing an opening, Starfire flew in from above and delivered a powered-up starbolt. Without missing a beat, Slade planted himself firmly on the ground, opened up his hands and arms in a wide arc, and caught the blast with a cage of lightning-like fire. Sliding back a full forty feet, Slade dug his feet in and stopped himself. Effortlessly, he stopped the bolt, throwing it immediately back the direction it had come. The bolt, now super-powered, struck Starfire squarely in the chest, sending her flipping and reeling yards away.

Cyborg stepped up next, using the time it took Slade to bat away Starfire to fix himself a bat of his own. His biomechanical strength allowed him to easily rip free one of the monstrously huge hydraulic cylinders lining the sides of the room with ease, and he prepared for his blow with a mighty swing. Again, though, Slade was prepared almost without meaning to be. A fiery aura surrounded him, melting crisply through the gigantic hunk of metal as it passed by on its course. Dropping his now halved beating stick, all Cyborg could do was quietly utter, "Whoa!"

"Whoa? That's it?" Slade asked. "No clever comment? I was looking forward to that." Cyborg snapped himself out of his stupor, clearing his mind by throwing away his now useless blunt-trauma inflicter. He charged, but it was for naught. Dodging calmly underneath Cyborg's monstrous punch, Slade applied pressure to his thumb with his forefinger. Fire danced softly around the two digits. Single eye smiling, Slade flicked the hulking Cyborg away with one effortless twitch. The bionic strongman flew through the air, slamming straight into Raven and knocking them both to the ground.

Raven blacked out for a few moments, the mere impact enough to scatter all of her thoughts. Her powers rendered useless for the moment, she hit the ground at full speed, not even able to physically break her fall. She lay prone for a few moments as the sounds of battle seemed to grow distant to her, then very near, then all too distant again. She was broken out of her numbness only by the sudden touch of a human hand on her shoulder. It shook her gently, then seemed to ask her, "Are you alright?"

Her mind shed more of its grogginess, then realized the hand and the voice belonged to Michael. He offered his hand to help her up, but her pride and loathing ego wouldn't allow it. She batted away his hand with her own, then lifted herself back on her feet with her powers.

A rough clanking sound drew both their eyes to the scene of Robin and Slade's duel in the clockwork. Or lack of duel, considering the fact that the noise the two telepaths had heard was that of Robin's bo being forcefully dismembered via immolation. Michael ducked slightly as a piece helicoptered past his head, his eyes following it with an affronted look. Turning their attention back to the fight in the machine, they saw Robin get hit by Slade's flaming bo, causing him to fly through the air and land much farther away on a slowly rotating gear.

Worry creased Raven's face as she glanced back to Cyborg, still unconscious on the ground. "I just want this day to end." Her sad eyes turned to Michael, pleading him, or anyone for that matter, for an answer. Before one could be given, though, Slade landed deftly in between the two teens, making them jump back slightly in surprise.

"I think we both know that this day is far from over." Slade stood and regarded her, pausing for a moment. He didn't wait long.

"Yes, quite far, indeed. We have only just now come to my introduction." Seven feet of sinewy death strolled up from behind Slade. "And, I might add, it is quite the emotional introduction." Cainis smiled sinisterly, directing his cold, empty amethyst eyes at Michael. His hand, before hidden deep inside his trenchcoat, smoothly withdrew and pulled his dark sword out with it. "Come now, I can't have you interfering with the Awakening, now can I?"

-(Michael)-

Pure rage. The one term that could even come properly close to describing the state of Michael's emotions at seeing his parents' killer standing casually beside the Titan's most diabolical enemy. Before he could think, before logic could cut in and pronounce the action unacceptable, he launched himself straight at Cainis. His silver blade sparked as it drew a contrail along the ground, rising up the meet Cainis' blade at an incredible velocity.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Michael was aware that Raven and Slade were fighting. That the battle they fought was the one he should be a part of. That right then, he stood no chance against the archdemon he now faced off with. But counteracting that awareness was the blind, pulsing monster that was Michael's desire for revenge. He was totally in the fight.

Using the momentum from his blade ricocheting off of Cainis', Michael quickly adapted his motion to spin around and bring another vertical strike towards Cainis. The strike was casually flipped away as the demon twirled his sword in a tight cone, sending Michael horribly off-balance. To make things worse, he heard Raven scream in pain from another platform, breaking him out of his battle mind, as well as giving him an awful burning sensation in his left wrist. The scar running across that area twinged, and Michael cried out as well, falling to his knees with his back to his opponent.

His mind, though distracted, was still able to feel the subtle changes in his environment, and by what was now pure instinct, Michael brought the blade into position at a slant behind him, catching what would have been a deathblow. Pushing off the ground with his power, Michael rocketed quickly through the air, looking for a split-second to recover…

…only to land directly in front of Cainis. The demon had moved instantly to that area, and Michael only barely deflected another strike. He stumbled away again, but was able to hold together his balance as he hopped once on one leg. By what seemed like pure chance, his airborne leg caught the back of Cainis' incoming sword and redirected it enough to only cut the end off of the left shoulder portion of his black vest. This time, it was Cainis' turn to be knocked off-balance.

As the two combatants regained their footing, though, they were interrupted by a stream of lightning that blasted apart the middle of the platform. Michael and Cainis stared at each other for a second more before Cainis smiled, jumping backwards, away from the now unstable ground. The youth quickly followed suit. As he flew through the air, Michael looked around, slowing his perception of time as much as possible to bring in as many details as he could. Pure pandemonium raged as the lightning, which stemmed form Slade, devoured several hydraulic cylinders and support columns, and soon pieces of the ceiling were falling down.

Feet touching down on the central catwalk next to Robin, Michael watched as the other Titans began their escape. He just stood, though, and watched as Slade's lightning tore the building apart. Gears fell from their moorings, cylinders from their bases, as the very foundations of the building rocked. The gears, some far larger than a double-decker bus, fell all over. Michael watched in horror as one of the monstrous things headed straight for where he and Robin were. It hit the catwalk, then rolled quickly towards the two escapers. The gear's weight proved too much for the catwalk to handle, though, and it broke free of its holdings. The ground bent up in front of Michael and Robin, impeding the latter's progress. Michael simply dropped to his knees, and using the thick yet fine fabric of his pants (along with a bit of his power to aid), slid up the newly made ramp and into the air. He spun midway in the air, preparing to hit the gear from the side with all his might to knock it away, when suddenly, everything inexplicably… stopped.

For Michael, it seemed like an eternity before he became aware of not only the situation, but of himself. It seemed as if he had just come into being for a moment. His brain did a full restart, then quickly grew perplexed as to why he couldn't move a single part of his body, even his eyes. Why he couldn't feel anything outside of himself. Why there was absolutely no noise at all.

Because time has stopped. The voice was so logical, so full of truth and reason, that Michael at first thought it came not from himself, but from elsewhere. Then, immediately afterwards, it did come from elsewhere.

Yes, young one, it has. Milante's angelic voice filled his consciousness suddenly and unexpectedly, the first contact from outside himself for what seemed like two eternities.

What should I do? How much time has passed?

None. None at all. Not even the obscure time that now exists for only you and Raven in this… peculiar situation. As for what you should do… doesn't it seem obvious? You have the power. You have the permission. Use it. Milante said it so bluntly, so matter-of-factly, that Michael was struck for a second about how stupid it was that he hadn't thought of that himself. Pushing outwards with his power from his mind, Michael built a psionic barrier around himself, and sighed heavily as feeling and movement returned to his body.

Dropping neatly to the ground only two feet beneath him, Michael immediately began to look around at his surroundings. His search didn't go far as he noticed Raven, high up on a falling hydraulic cylinder, suspended surreally in the air along with all the gears and debris. She looked around her, obviously trying to figure out what it was she had just done. Before Michael could call out to her, though, a voice joined the two inhabitants of the strange world.

"You might be able to stop time, birthday girl, but you can't stop me," Slade melodically called out from nowhere. As soon as the last word finished itself, a golden aura surrounded him, and he turned his head to face Raven. "You can't stop any of it really." His arms fell, and his body relaxed as he called over several suspended gears to serve as steps towards Raven. "I have to say, Raven, when I found out the truth, I was very impressed. All this time I had no idea. The power lurking inside you. The glorious destiny that awaits." Slade's hand trailed up to his chin in a thoughtful gesture. "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

Michael could stand no more. Lifting himself unsteadily into the air, he began his flight towards the monster. Slade's voice continued to ring in his ear, though. "Honestly, did you think you could just blow out the candles and wish it all away?" Michael watched on as he hurtled through the air. Raven ran around the circumference of the cylinder she was on, away from the prying eye of Slade. "Today… is the day it begins."

Michael stopped abruptly in mid-flight at these words, nearly dropping himself. His mind clouded over immediately.

(Flashback)

"We wait for the sixteenth year, young ones. We wait for the day when the Master will rise up, when his minions will walk the decadent Earth, and the beginning of their end is at hand. We wait… for the day it begins."

Eyes wide with pain, disgust, and horror, Michael renewed his flight towards Slade. He became aware again that the walking blasphemy was still speaking, and that he was now inches away from the cowering form of Raven. "…and no matter what you wish, no matter where you go, no matter how you squirm, there is nothing you can do… to stop it."
Raven closed her eyes and clung harder to the wall she was leaning against, fear and indecision gripping her fair features. But, as Slade lifted his hand up to grab Raven once more, Michael hit at full speed like a comet, knocking Slade through the cold, still air. Pausing for a moment to glance at Raven, Michael let out an inhuman snarl before starting again for the villain. Raven's hand grabbed his wrist, though, and Michael was forced to bring his eyes to meet the deep purple orbs. He stopped himself as he saw the fear and uncertainty in her eyes. This moment of hesitation allowed her to wrap them both in a black shroud, which resolved itself a moment later into a giant black bird. The magic bird flew straight through the ceiling of the building, then dissolved in the open air of the outside streets moments later.

Immediately upon landing, Michael began to look around at the handiwork of Raven's power. Birds lay suspended in the air, wings blurred. Pedestrians stood totally still all over, as if from some strange, three dimensional photograph. Everything looked absolutely normal. Except, of course, for the fact that nothing was moving. And that everything seemed to be shaded in blue.

Michael stood there, taking in his surroundings for a full ten seconds before belatedly realizing that Raven was standing there with him. It took him another two after that to realize that she still had his hand in a deathgrip.

"Um… I'm gonna need that later…" Raven turned, wide-eyed to look at him, then dropped his hand and quickly hiding her face in her cloak. He massaged, working the blood back into his hand. "Amazing, though, what you've done. You've stopped time for everybody but yourself, but somehow made it so that light and oxygen still moved. Utterly amazing." He turned back to face her. "How did you do it?"

"I… I don't know…" She replied weakly.

"Well, either way, we should get out of the ope- Whaaa!" Michael was cut short as a line of fire blasted across the ground he had just been standing on. Tracing his eyes back up the line, Michael saw Slade calmly standing in the middle of a ring of fire. His stance belied a mocking attitude.

"Really, child. Did you really think you could bat me away so easily? And you, Raven? Did you think it would be that easy to escape me? I have a message for you." His eyes flashed with fire. "And I do intend on delivering it, regardless of how many times I am rudely interrupted." Lifting a gloved hand, Slade shot a fiery beam at the teens. Reacting quickly, Raven raised a black wall in front of her, deflecting the mighty blast. Embers shot up, around, and under the barrier, and a sulfur-like smell filled the area.

Michael shot a furtive look at Raven. "This may not be the best time to let you know, but I sunburn easily." The telepath rolled her eyes as a sly smile appeared on Michael's face.

Using the barrier and surrounding fire for visual cover, Michael surrounded himself with white energy and flowed into the ground. Bringing only his eyes out for a moment, he spotted Slade, who was still pouring a constant wave of fire into the now-faltering black shield. Immersing himself in the concrete once more, Michael rose again directly behind his opponent. Raising both hands above his head, he brought down a power-enhanced double-hammerfist directly onto the base of Slade's spine. The fire faltered and failed as Slade slammed to the ground, ricocheted up, and flipped to his feet.

Michael's victory didn't last long as the air around him rippled again. Tearing his sword out of the sheath and guarding to his left side, he barely managed to catch Cainis' black blade, pushing the teen a full four feet to his right. Feet digging in to the rough concrete, Michael twisted his right foot around to the direction he was sliding, planted himself, and caught Cainis with a solid side kick as the demon charged. He let out a solid "Oof!" as Michael twisted his right foot again, allowing him to turn the strike into a hook kick and knock Cainis into a nearby street light. The metal rang as Cainis dented the solid pole, his sword digging a small trench in the ground as it followed after his flailing hand. Pushing off of the villain's body with his left foot, Michael spun himself around and brought the sword around in a one handed slash that cut cleanly through the pole.

Cainis, though, was much more intelligent than to share space with the holy blade's edge. He dropped to the ground as the blade sliced off only three dead white hairs. As Michael's hand whizzed past along with the sword, Cainis reached up and grabbed the back of the offending wrist. Pulling back and digging his other elbow into the small of his enemy's back, the holy blade broke free of Michael's waning grip and clattered to the ground. The pole landed heavily next to it, uprooting a chunk of asphalt from the street. Cainis pushed Michael away with a sharp kick to the backside, then stood up straight, calmly regarding his scraped and bruised opponent as dust and small debris snaked past from the adjacent battle. Why can't I hold my own for ten damn seconds? Michael asked no one in particular.

"Hm. I believe I'm the one with the upper hand at the moment. It would be in your best interest to surrender. Oh, wait, I forgot." His lips parted into a vicious smile, canines glistening. "You're going to die either way, deserter." Michael looked up at the killer, just in time to see something that his enemy didn't.

He smiled back. "Forsaken."

-(Raven)-

With Michael preoccupied with his own attacker, Raven was left all alone to fend off the pyrokinetic assault of Slade alone. Using everything she had, Raven threw heavy blunt object after heavy blunt object at the masked madman, but nothing seemed to faze him. Cars melted away at his shield, and pieces of the road simply were batted away. "Why do you keep running away from it all, child? You know it's inevitable. You know what you must do." He sighed. "I guess children today just don't respect their superiors anymore." With a flick of his wrist and a wave of fire, Slade sent the robed girl flipping into the air, where she caught herself moments before hitting a store front.

"I'm not listening to you! It's not going to happen!" Raven yelled defiantly.

"Oh?" Slade asked, cocking his head to the side. "And why not?"

Raven drew both her arms back, elbows making two arrowheads behind her. "Because I won't let you." She threw everything she had at Slade, pushing him back ten times as hard as he had to her. He slammed right into an unsuspecting Cainis, and the two villains cartwheeled to the ground, a tangle of limbs.

Taking only a moment to grab his fallen sword, Michael scrambled to his feet and rushed towards Raven. Grabbing onto her wrist, he pulled her after him towards an alleyway. Unfortunately, before his foot even planted itself on the sidewalk, he was hit from behind by both fire and lightning, sending him sprawling into the alley alone. Raven was thrown upwards and away from Michael, landing on her feet a short distance away.

Turning to face the dark duo, Raven prepared herself for a fight. Instead, she saw Cainis simply strolling towards the alley, and Slade standing in front of her mockingly again. "Now, Raven, how much longer must you resist? You know what you must do. And you know what I must tell you. I will deliver my message." In the alleyway, Raven heard the sounds of swords clashing once again. "You know that you can not beat me. And you know that whatever Michael believes, no matter how hard he tries, he will never defeat Cainis." Raven stepped backwards, doubt holding her from an all out retreat. "You cannot run from your destiny forever."

Raven's eyes narrowed. "Maybe not forever, but while I still can, I'm going to." Slade grabbed both of Raven's hands as she lifted them to attack, faster than the eye could see. Pain seared through her wrists, and the fabric underneath Slade's solid grip burned up. In the alley, Michael's own gasp of pain echoed.

"No. You will hear it now."

-(Michael)-

Pain seared through Michael's body, radiating through his wrists. His scars turned an irritated red, showing the traces of the long-gone runes. His face contorted, his mind fighting against the black haze that threatened to overtake his vision.

"Do you not see how your mission is for nothing?" The demon stood over Michael, staring mockingly at the fallen warrior. "You gave up the one thing that made you who you are. You betrayed your friends. Your brothers. And now…" Cainis swung his sword, twisting it at the last second to hit Michael across the side of the head with the flat of the blade. "… I have come to punish you. To add to the pain you feel every time we come one step closer to achieving our goal. The goal we..." The sword smacked again... "once..." and again... "shared."

Michael feebly pushed himself up onto his elbows and knees, setting his hand upon his sword. "You… think you know… everything. You know… nothing…" Frowning, Cainis kicked Lissendar out of Michael's grip.

"I think you lack the truth of the situation, mortal."

Michael smiled. "I think you do… why don't you ask Milante some time?"

Cainis' face twisted in rage, his sword raising to rain fury down on the teen. He held this posture for only a moment, though, as he reestablished his self control. His body deflated, and he let his sword arm drop. His face, though, still held most of its anger.

"Don't ever mention that name again." His eyes narrowed further. "Ever."

Michael, still wincing in pain from the beating staggered to his feet in front of Cainis. Holding out a hand slowly, he caught Lissendar as it raced towards him. Cainis stared coldly as the jewel in the center of the hilt glowed emerald for a moment before Michael let out a sigh of relief. The teen's wounds now soothed, he stood up straighter and squared his fighting stance again. "Shall we?"

Learning from his past mistakes, Michael kept both hands on his sword as he parried a vicious slash to his right and used the momentum to once more slash at the demon's head. Cainis ducked again, much to Michael's satisfaction. Boot met solar plexus as Michael's low round house kick threw Cainis back against the wall of the alley. Not wasting a moment, Michael kicked off the ground as soon as his foot touched and nimbly used the wall opposite Cainis to ricochet himself at the enemy. His sword missed by bare millimeters as Cainis rolled out of the way, bringing his sword up to cut a shallow groove in Michael's right arm.

Pain fought its way towards his brain, but Michael knew that he couldn't let it distract him this time. Landing almost awkwardly on his left hand, he threw himself airborne once more to somersault over Cainis' head and deliver a spinning slash against his opponent's guard. The guard shifted to a vertical position behind the back to deflect another strike as Michael landed on the ground behind Cainis and struck again.

The fight stretched longer and longer as the game of sword tag continued. Small cuts began to appear in many places on both combatants, oozing blood. Suddenly, the swords connected violently as the two attacked at the same moment. They both fought for control of the lock, pushing with all their might. Sweat beaded up on Michael's forehead, and both his and Cainis' arms began to tremble from the exertion.

"You cannot... hold on to this much longer... Michael..." Cainis taunted, smiling wickedly. "You know that you are no match... for me. Not with... urgh... not with the darkness inside of you."

"There is no more darkness!" Michael screamed, his eyes narrowing. "You don't know what you're talking about!" Pushing with all his might, Michael launched Cainis back into the wall.

"Hah! You don't even know how to control your own anger. How do you expect to defeat your past?" The remark hit home as Michael made a wild charge at Cainis, hitting with his shoulder and cracking the concrete behind. Forgetting about his sword altogether, Michael thrust hard with his hand and grabbed a handful of shirt. Cainis smiled as he was ricocheted off of the ground into the air. "Is that all, traitor? Show me what you've really got!"

An inhuman cry raised itself from Michael's lips, bouncing off the walls and echoing off into his soul. Pulling with all his might, he rent his sword directly through Cainis' midsection. A thin trail of blood traveled up the wall across from the sword.

The two stood, completely frozen, for several seconds. In his subconscious, Michael was aware of the distant sounds of battle raging elsewhere in the silent city. His shoulders began to heave as his body seemed to remember the strain it was just put through. Bringing his eyes up, Michael searched Cainis' face.

The wicked smile returned.

"Now. Doesn't that make you feel better?" Michael watched in horror as not only Cainis' skin healed itself, but the thread in his clothes mended as well. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Michael simply stared on, dumbfounded. "Ah, but look at the time. It seems our little session will have to come to a close for today." Michael's face dropped in confusion as he moved hesitantly into another guard. He was too slow, unfortunately, as Cainis' gloved hand caught him by the collar. "Another time then?"

A flick of the wrist, and suddenly Michael was able to inspect the top floors of the nearest 40-story office building very closely. A 40-story office building that had quite strangely become much more attached to its neighbor just a few moments before...

-(Raven)-

Panic seemed the only word appropriate to describe Raven's state of mind at this point, and in some ways, it didn't even begin to cover her emotions. Behind her, Slade blasted his way out of the two buildings Raven had just smashed him between, and was gaining on her at an appalling rate. Nothing she threw at him even fazed him; cars, trucks, light posts, offices, everything seemed too little to hurt the villain.

Raven raced on, dodging in between the crevices made by the tall skyscrapers of the inner Jump City, now not even bothering to throw anything at her stalker. A black aura surrounded her as she poured more and more of her magic into speeding her farther and farther towards an unsure destination. Anywhere but there.

After a few moments, Raven's strength began to shoot her forward, and as she rounded another corner, she found that Slade had been lost in the speed boost. Disregarding her surroundings, Raven dove into the nearest building, desperate to hide.

After carefully closing the gigantic doors behind her, she let her head droop and her eyes stare at the floor as she walked down an aisle. Her strength suddenly failing her, she reached out to grab... A pew? Finally taking the time to look around, Raven noticed that she was in a grand cathedral, probably the one built long ago when Jump City was first built. Stained glass windows surrounded her, and at the end of the aisles of pews, a heavily ornate Jesus on a wooden cross hung from the wall. Gripping her support, she felt the old stained oak subtly creak with age.

"Glad you could make it. I've been waiting for you."

Raven nearly jumped clean out of her skin as a gentle voice echoed out from the darkness near the podium at the front of the church. Turning startled eyes to the raised platform, she witnessed an incredible sight. The shadows slipped away from the dais as light engulfed the entire church. Standing regally was what Raven could only describe as a male angel, Spiked red/blonde hair fluttered behind him to an invisible wind, and white bird wings hung royally from his back, arched high behind him. His angular face wore a gentle expression, his eyes relaxed in an inviting stare. His eyes glowed gently and faintly from within with a golden light.

"Who are you?" Raven demanded bluntly. "What are you?"

The creature chuckled lightly. "Don't you think it's obvious? I would have thought the wings would betray the name of my kind to you." Lifting off the floor, he floated himself down to the same level of Raven. "As to your first question, my name is Milante. It is a pleasure to meet you." Milante bowed deeply, his wings flaring out behind him. "Perhaps you've heard of me?" A memory of a light barely at the edge of her sight came to her, from when she had searched Michael's room. Also, a journal entry. Yes, she had heard of him.

"What do you want?"

Milante's eyebrow rose bemusedly as he replied, "Oh, simply to chat. It can get fairly boring simply staring at the inside of a room all day and night."

Raven's eyebrow took it's turn to raise, this time quizzically. "Why would you be stuck in the room?"

"It just hasn't been time for me to come out until now." A grin approached his lips. "And I can't say I don't enjoy the music."

Raven's eyes narrowed in frustration. "Why are you here? Why do you want to talk to me?" She shifted her feet impatiently, favoring a bruised right leg.

"I'm here to tell a story. A history lesson, if you will." He smiled bemusedly for a moment. "Well... not exactly tell, but you'll see what I mean." At the sound of footsteps outside, Milante began to move forward. His left hand reached out to Raven. "You won't have time to look at this now. But it will explain a great amount."

Holding out her hand, Raven caught the object as it fell out of the angel's hand. It was a jewel, much the same in shape as the jewel in Michael's sword, but as small as the gem worn on Raven's forehead. It was warm to the touch.

Looking up, once again confused, Raven had time to utter, "Wha...?" before she saw Milante fade, a couple dozen feathers circling the area briefly before fluttering to the ground and disappearing as well. The light retreated with him.

"Well that was... illuminating."

Abruptly, the doors behind her creaked open, and a familiar voice called out. "Raven?"

-(Michael)-

The door creaked inwards agonizingly slow, filling the huge sanctuary with its slightly rusted racket. Michael winced, both from the sound and from his now-bruised left arm. Thin trails of blood trickled down from numerous small scratches on his body, and his forehead bore a small bump.

All in all... nope, not feeling great.

Spotting Raven, he called out her name and watched as she turned to face him. Her face held the last vestige of a mysterious look, gone in but a moment. Michael shrugged it off as unimportant to the current situation. "I'd just like to say... This hasn't been a fun day. Can we kill them now?" he asked, his voice weary.

Raven leaned against one of the pews, desperate for any rest she could get at the moment. "I doubt it. They're too strong together. And Slade has... changed."

"Yeah, I thought it was a bit strange that he could suddenly throw hellfire around." Michael slid down the opposite pew.

"Hellfire? How do you know it's that?"

Michael let out a sigh of relief as he settled himself on the floor. "Some of the... others in the Cult were able to summon and use it, but not very well. It wasn't exactly an easy talent to master." His back cracked as he leaned forward and stretched. "Oh, yeah. That's gonna hurt for a while..."

Raven found a spot on the floor to become interested in. After a few moments, she spoke up again. "What... what should we do?" Her eyes met his. "We can't just keep running."

Looking thoughtfully around, Michael replied, "Well... I think their mission right now is to just deliver a message. Cainis already delivered his to me... so I guess all that's left is for Slade to give you his."

"But... that's exactly what they want." Exasperation was barely evident in her voice.

"I know. But... sometimes you do have to give your enemy what they want. If just for a moment. Hope for an opening. Or an insight on what they're planning next."

Raven contemplated the floor again. "What do you think the message is?"

An eyebrow rose. "You don't know your own prophecy?"

"I... I do. It's just... I've wished so hard that it wouldn't... I almost believed it for a while... but here I am, about to be... about to do... unspeakable things." Raven wiped her arm against her face.

Michael frowned, then reached into his pocket, pulling out an item in a brown wrapper. Opening the chocolate bar, he broke it in two and offered half to Raven. She simply stared at him. "What? It's energy. If this keeps up, we're gonna need all the energy we can get." Michael set the half into Raven's palm. Eyeing it for a moment, she took a bite.

"So. What's our next move, then?" Michael asked.

Taking another bite, the pale Titan thought for a moment. "What exactly do you know about me?"

Downing the last of his chocolate, Michael leaned back, putting his weight on his hands behind him. Taking a moment to chew and swallow, he gathered his words. "Well... lots of things. Like who your father is, where your power comes from... even the original plan for what was going to happen today."

"Oh?"

"Well... just be glad the Cult got broken up before this day. It would have been quite a bit more problematic if there were over a hundred cultists shooting at you, too."

"So... why did you join them in the first place?"

"Well, I used to tell myself that no one understood me. I guess it was mostly because I never really fit in with anyone at my school. I was always a bit of an outcast, a loner. I used to make friends with the kids no one else would talk to, trying to be nice to them. I put everything into those friendships. I didn't want them to feel like I did, y'know?" Michael pushed himself forward again, wrapping his arms around his knees and drawing them close. "But... they all kinda left me later on. Some moved away, others moved on to other friends... Raul passed away. He was always a real good friend... anyway, after being friends with them for so long, I was viewed as sort of a... well, a freak by my classmates. And even as we all grew older, and my old friends stopped being viewed as outcasts, I still remained a target. So, I switched schools." Michael paused for a moment, then laughed. "Didn't take me long to fall in with the bad crowd, really."

Raven stopped nibbling the chocolate for a moment. "So... what? You started doing drugs or something?"

"Heh. No. A few of the guys I hung around did that, but I stayed away. Part of my upbringing, thankfully. No, the problem was the fact that I felt so lost, and alone. So Zach, my friend in high school, introduced me to the Cult. He'd been a member for about a year by then. It kinda felt like... a home, of sorts. I mean, I had my parents, and they loved me, but... I just never really paid attention to that. And so there I had this new source of attention. Somewhere I belonged." Michael's head rolled back. "God, I was an idiot."

Raven tilted her head to the side, a sly smirk on her face. "Aren't you not supposed to use His name in vain? Isn't that one of your rules?"

"Er... yeah... it is... Um. Still working on that..." Michael replied sheepishly. "Anyways, I-" Michael cut off abruptly as he heard someone just outside the door. "Aw, crap!" His sword leaped out of its sheath into his waiting hand as he shot to his feet. Raven wasn't far behind. "Guess who."

-(Raven)-

Dust swirled dramatically inward as the great doors of the church flew open with a heavy slam, shaking the walls. Staring through her fingers, raised to protect her eyes, Raven beheld Slade, arms together, ready for another attack. Michael moved past her, setting himself in a defensive position before her. Gathering energy between his palms, Slade released a burning gale upon the innards of the church, intending to set it ablaze. Caught by the full wave of malevolent energy, Michael flew up over Raven's head with a grunt and landed several pews away before fire enveloped his position. Fear gripping her heart, the telepath took one more terrified look around the church sanctuary before laying her eyes once more upon her assailant, hunched over his handiwork.

"Its just you and me now, kid." His head cocked to the side. "Are you finished running now, or must we play this pointless game of cat and mouse all evening?" Raven barely let Slade finish his sentence before she had bolted for the nearest side door at full speed. "Well. I guess we do," she heard him say.

Turning several corners and pushing through one more door, Raven emerged into a side alley next to the church and ducked out of the way just in time to avoid a withering column of flame meant for her. Ignoring the melting brick next to her, Raven ran for the open street mere feet away from her just as a flaming wall blocked her progress and an annoyed Slade walked up behind her. "You're making this much more difficult than this needs to be. Why not just surrender to your fate, child?"

With nowhere else to turn, Raven enveloped herself in the black miasma of her magic and flew through the burning barrier behind her. The fire was enough to make quick work of her remaining energy, and her protective field failed seconds after leaving. Cringing, Raven tried desperately to concentrate on continuing on, but it was becoming harder and harder to channel any sort of power whatsoever. Losing focus, her flight speed began to decrease as well. "I can't... I can't give up... I have to keep go- UNGH!" Her sentence ended breathlessly as Slade plowed into her back at full speed, sending whatever air she had in her lungs violently out. His momentum carried them much farther, and all Raven could do was try to maintain consciousness as the world began to swim before her.

Waking up a moment later, she realized that she had landed rather hard on Jump City's most prominent radio tower. Weakly, she pushed herself up, trying with all her might to escape the grasp of Slade. A mere three steps away found her again in Slade's hold as his grip tore at her cloak, ripping the back of her jumpsuit clean off along with it. She fell to the ground as pain enveloped her entire back. Slade's hard voice cut through, now angry or determined, she couldn't tell. "What you have concealed you will become!" Turning on the ground, Raven tried to level a defiant stare, but all she could manage was an involuntary gasp and a wide-eyed look. "You have run out of choices, little girl."

Gathering all the energy she could possibly muster, down to her very core, Raven threw herself to her feet and lunged at the dark messenger. Her attack proved futile once again, however, as Slade caught her wrist and sent yet more pain blasting across her body. "What do you hope to prove by opposing that which you were conceived for? What makes you think you can break a prophecy set in motion centuries before you were born? For how mature you try to act, Raven, all you are is a naïve little child, without anyone to run to."

Tears now streamed down the gothic girl's face, mirroring the flood of pain that had become her entire consciousness. Crying out in agony, she felt the last of her energy flee her explosively, the runes blasting outwards to expose themselves through her rapidly dissolving clothes. Her scalp itched, and through tight eyelids she could sense the meager light outside waning, then fail. She fell to her knees as her captor released, and held herself to try to dam the pain. A muffled sound reached her ears, and after a while she realized that Slade was still talking. Willing herself back to some semblence of control, Raven opened her eyes, and fell back in shock at what she saw.

The pain she had felt on the inside had poured itself gleefully upon the landscape surrounding, twisting and tearing it until it looked a pale shadow of its previous splendor. Buildings lay in ruins, torn asunder as if by sheer waves of despair. Lava flowed out of every pore in the city, staining the sky with it's crimson glow. Citizens of the city stood frozen not in time, but in stone, their faces captured forever in a look of agony. In the distance, Raven's eyes fell on the Titan Tower, crumpled and defeated upon it's lonely rock in a sea of fire. Somehow, even at this distance, she knew that the stone figures at it's base were her friends.

Only one word escaped her mouth. "No..."

"Yeeees." Slade's voice seemed to come alive. "Look at it. Drink it in." His gaze did just that, turning to look over the city. "Behold the world you are destined to create!"

"NO!" Raven's head throbbed as her entire being tried to reject her surroundings. "I won't do it!" Hands gripped her throbbing head, and she realized that they were her own. She removed them slowly, stepping back. "This is just a VISION! It can't be real!"

Slade's hands gripped her arms from behind once more, but thankfully agony did not accompany them. "This is the future, little one. The future you were destined to create the moment you were conceived in your mother's womb. From the beginning..." He drew in his breath, then let it out appreciatively. "... this is what you were meant for. And nothing can stop it." His voice turned icy. "This will come to pass. I will make sure of it."

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Raven blacked out again as it seemed the entire world flashed with lightning. Pain tore at her head, threatening to break it open. Her weak frame shook in the wind as floor after floor rushed past her, keeping her company in her descent to what she hoped to be a quick end. She closed her eyes in anticipation of the cold...

...And felt warmth take hold of her, wrapping around her and carrying her to safety. Azure eyes fluttered open, slowly adjusting to the idea that they would continue to see. Feeling returned to her body, and the warmth transformed into a gentle cradle of two arms, holding her up. The face in front of her swam into focus a moment later, and she found herself staring into worried green eyes. A hint of a smile tugged at the corner of her lip. "A little... late, aren't you?"

Michael ignored her question, but smiled back, an unfathomable look clouding his eyes. "Let's go home."

-(Michael)-

Finishing the bindings on the last bandage he was applying, Michael leaned his head against the window in front of him, feeling every bit as drained as he knew that he looked. He turned as he heard Cyborg's footsteps at his door.

"How's Raven?"

"A little banged up, but she'll be good to go with a little bit'a rest. How 'bout you? How are you holding up?"

Michael turned back to the window, and the rain that had begun falling a moment before. "I'm... I'll be fine. I'm just a little shaken, that's all." He turned a shaky smile to his new mechanical friend.

"Good. Good. Well... I've got some news for you. A guy named Ant called. Said he was your pastor."

Michael's eyes raised expectantly. "Yes... go on..."

"He said... he said that he'd found the one you were looking for."

Even though he'd been prepared for it, he didn't fully believe it. "What?"

"Ant said he found Kayt."

-----------------------------------------

Well, I guess that's finally done. That... um... that took a while... more than a year...

But, dear fans, do know that I do fully plan to finish this fanfic. I've got a lot of thought put into this, and I really do want to see it through. Well, now that I'll be getting four hours of sleep, I think I'll just leave it at this. Remember to read and review, because reading brings fun, and reviewing brings virtual chocolate chip cookies!