Moving on at a snail's pace. You know how it is. Experimenting with shorter chapters so it's not so much to take in at one time. Let me know what you guys think of that, if you have a thought towards it. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I make no claims to Teen Titans.

Chapter Eleven: Fluid Convictions

Raven's temper raged, unchecked. Things blew to pieces as she soared by. People ran from her and the explosions. Moans and shrieks of the dying was music to her ears. This was what she was. Terror, and malice, and blind violence. She allowed the emotions to fill her to the brim, and she let out a terrible battle cry.

By the time she was done with this city, there wouldn't be enough left to fill a thimble.

No time was wasted calling Starfire from Titans East and heading out into the city. The violence they saw floored them. Raven, so steadfast in her convictions to save those that couldn't save themselves, was the bad guy.

"What do we do?" Beast Boy asked as the three men stood in the streets, thunderstruck. Robin didn't have an answer. The destruction was overwhelming. Most of the criminals they faced needed boatloads of henchmen or devious planning. All Raven had at her disposal was a whole lot of rage, and that was more than enough. They couldn't see her past the skyscrapers, but her raucous screams were audible.

Starfire flew in a moment later and landed. Her hands were clenched around a tattered blue cloak. Tearstains made her cheeks shine. Robin took the blue fabric from her and saw that it was stained with soot and blood. It was enough to spur him.

"Bring her down," Robin said as he let the cloak pool at his feet. "Try not to kill her."

"Try?" Cyborg asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Would you rather let her keep going this way?" Robin asked, looking at the cloak on the ground.

"She would not want this," Starfire said. Before they could exchange another word, she tore down the street, looking like she was fleeing rather than preparing to battle her closest friend. Robin followed on his motorcycle as Starfire took to the skies, and Cyborg jumped into the car with Beast Boy. Robin burned rubber as he ripped through the streets, trying to avoid looking at the bodies around him. Even if they could get her to calm down, what then? How would they justify this to the citizens of Jump? They couldn't lie about it. The Titans never lied.

Yeah, keep riding that high horse, his brain told him, bringing back reminders of Slade and Terra.

A scream cut through the chaos, high and pure. Robin tried to urge the motorcycle faster; Starfire had met Raven head to head, and it sounded like the alien was losing. He slid to a stop at a large intersection, choking on the stink of burned blood. Star and Raven clashed in the clouds. Streams of green and black relentlessly pounded the surrounding buildings into gravel. Cyborg and Beast Boy arrived moments later.

"Cyborg, try and shoot her down," Robin said. It was as though someone else was giving the orders. "Beast Boy, get me up there." Beast Boy morphed into a pterodactyl and grabbed him around the arms. Robin's shoulders ached as Beast Boy pumped his wings, hauling him into the sky.

As they drew level with the battling women, Robin winced. Starfire was a mess. Blood oozed from her nose and mouth, and bruises were already forming on her scraped limbs. An ugly slash rode up her back, perilously close to her spine. Only the ferocious green of her eyes showed she still had energy to spare. Robin signaled to Beast Boy, and the pterodactyl banked around to flank Raven, who didn't look much better. Both of her shoes were gone, and she bled from the base of her skull. Black energy sparked around her save for when she gathered it in her hands to throw at Starfire.

"Wait until she's open, then swoop in!" Robin called up to Beast Boy. The dinosaur nodded as his muscles strained from the effort of holding Robin in the air.

Suddenly, Raven cackled and vanished in a puff of dark energy. Robin swore as the former Titan reappeared above the pair and sent her power down, lancing into one of Beast Boy's wings. Beast Boy's dinosaur roar of pain turned into the screams of a man as he morphed back into a human, sending both men plummeting. Starfire cried out as she shot after them, racing them to the ground. Robin reached and caught her around the wrist, then was jerked towards the ground even faster as Starfire extended her arm for Beast Boy. His arm was nearly dislocated as Starfire caught the back of the unconscious boy and leveled out. She slowed, trying to drop Beast Boy as gently as she could onto a grassy curb. He slid a little as he landed. His arm was bleeding heavily.

"Up!" Robin called, and Starfire grabbed his other wrist and did as she was told. Raven shot energy at them and Cyborg, who was blasting blue sonic bolts at her. Starfire swerved around the poorly aimed shots with ease and sent out twin lasers from her eyes, forcing Raven to dodge. A sonic blast clipped her thigh, making her shriek.

"Raven, stop this!" Robin shouted.

"You will fear me!" she screamed, throwing another bolt of energy.

"I tried! She will not hear!" Starfire called to Robin over the wind. "She is out of control!"

Another sonic burst made Raven's hair ruffle, and she turned, taking careful aim at Cyborg.

"Die!" she screamed at him.

"Now!" Robin shouted. Starfire whirled in a circle, building force, and threw Robin at the demoness. Raven turned, throwing her energy blast, but it whistled past Robin. Starfire shrieked behind him. Raven couldn't do more than brace herself as Robin collided with her waist. He clasped his arms around her, pinning her elbows to her sides. They fell together towards the earth.

"If I go, you're coming with me," she snarled at him, grabbing fruitlessly at his arms. Only then did Robin see the exhaustion in her eyes. She was spent. The world slowed as Robin's focus narrowed on her. The wind around them went silent.

"Why are you doing this?" Robin asked.

"I am the future queen of Hell. This is who I am," Raven replied.

"You have no idea who you are!"

Robin released her, but her grip on his arms grew tighter. Her gaze flicked about his face. After a moment of searching, she averted her eyes.

"Apparently."

The scream of the wind returned. Raven let out a scream of effort, and blackness blossomed around them. She could only slow them before they hit the ground, but it was enough to keep them alive. Robin felt ribs crack as they were smashed between Raven's weight and the concrete. He prayed he wouldn't puncture a lung. Raven tumbled off him and came to a stop several feet away.

"Robin!" Cyborg called. Robin winced, but didn't try to sit up. He turned his head and saw Cyborg standing over Raven with his sonic cannon pointed at her face. Raven was looking into the light, as though entranced.

"Dearest?" Starfire asked, and Robin looked up to see her drawing near to him with a heavy limp. One arm hung at her side. Robin gingerly climbed to his feet, and his chest screamed with pain. He bit his lip, trying to breathe shallowly even though he desperately wanted to pant from exertion. After a moment, he was able to get a handle on the pain.

"I'll be fine. Couple of ribs broke, I think," he told the alien. "Are you alright?"

"My shoulder is dislocated," Starfire said. "But an injury on my other arm prevents me from fixing it." Robin beckoned. Starfire came closer, closed her eyes, and grit her teeth around a cry as Robin popped the joint back into place.

"Thank you," she said, her smile still tense. Her skin was more red than flesh-colored.

"Where's Beast Boy?" he asked, looking around.

"I put him in the car. His arm is very broken," Starfire said. She looked around Robin at the fallen demon. "What shall we do about her?"

"I think she's alright, for now." Robin walked over to Cyborg and Raven, each step sending a knife of pain through his torso. Raven's eyes were closed.

"Think she passed out, but I didn't want to take any chances," Cyborg said, lowering the sonic cannon. Robin sighed.

"Put her in the car and we'll put her in one of the cells in the Tower," he said. "We'll deal with her once we've had a chance to rest."

"What'll we tell the mayor?" Cyborg asked.

"Who knows? Probably that she was afflicted by some kind of mind control or something," Robin said wearily. He didn't have to say what they might have to do if this sort of behavior continued.

Robin forced himself to look around at the bodies on the ground. He was no stranger to carnage, but it made him sick to think that Raven had done this. The Raven he knew would be sicker. He shook his head. They would simply have to help with clean-up and move on, as Jump often did. For now, he wanted nothing more than to lie down and sleep.

With a tired wave of his arm, Robin led his team home.