Author's Notes

To bloodshark, you'll see what becomes of Claw in a few chapters, I guarantee it. However, I can't guarantee you that it will be all you imagined it to be.

To JP-Rider, I am planning there to be 5 more chapters, including this one, before the end of Act 2, and then we'll be at the final act of the story. And unfortunately, Jericho did have to die, which would largely increase Raven's case against Zatanna and Claw, as well as sort of have an impact on Act 3 in Raven's viewpoint.

To Xxsnow dreamxX, we are here - the confrontation between Raven and the League over the sorceress that Titans fans hate so very much - Zatanna.

Now, let's continue the story.

Back at Titans Tower, Cyborg was repeatedly calling Starfire for a progress update on recruiting Jericho.

"Starfire, come in. This is Cyborg. Starfire, please come in. Talk to me. You haven't checked in. We want to make sure that you are alive."

However, since Claw shot Starfire, she has been unconscious, unable to see or hear what is going on around her - so she doesn't know about what happened to Jericho. She also, along with the other Titans, has no clue about the true identity of Claw.

Argent walked into the room and said to Cyborg, "You get any hits on her communicator?"

Cyborg put up the tracking screen for Starfire's communicator, which shows her in the same mountain range as Nepal.

Cyborg said, "Yep. She's in Nepal alright. Question is why isn't she answering?"

"Maybe signal interference. She is probably going to be high up in the mountains. I doubt the communicator can receive calls up there."

"Well, how high up is she?"

Cyborg did some typing to activate the altitude beacon, which would tell him just how high up Starfire was. The two were both startled when they saw that Starfire's altitude was zero feet above ground.

"This can't be right. Starfire can't still be on the ground. She can fly. She is immune to the cold and the elements. Why the hell is she on the ground?"

"Maybe someone beat her there."

"You're right, Argent. We can only hope she's still alive."

After thinking he saw Terra during the fight with the White Monster, Beast Boy could think of nothing other than Terra - was she alive? Was she at a school? Does she remember who she is? Does she have her powers? Is she good? Does she still love me? That last question was the question of the day in Beast Boy's mind.

Beast Boy quickly ventured down to the volcano where Terra was petrified into stone saving the city after killing Slade.

Beast Boy thought, Well I guess Terra should know she failed to kill Slade. After all, Raven's dad brought him back and now he's fully human again. God knows what shit he is planning next.

Beast Boy turned into a cheetah and promptly ran through the halls, rushing to see his girlfriend trapped in stone.

Beast Boy reached the location of Terra's statue, and he saw that Terra wasn't there. The statue was gone.

Beast Boy said out loud, "Yes! Terra's alive. This is my chance. I can get her back."

Orbiting miles above the surface of the Earth, the Watchtower was the Justice League's headquarters as they prepared to handle the biggest emergencies on the planet.

Currently on station were: Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, the Flash, Dr. Fate, Aquaman, and the Elongated Man. The Atom was still unconscious from Zatanna's trap, though he would be awakening within an hour or so while Zatanna was off-station, now off the grid without the League's knowledge, with Claw.

Raven's soul self quickly took herself and Slade from the Warsaw cottage up to the Watchtower lower entrance. This entrance was designed for space-traveling League members such as Superman and Green Lantern.

The two entered the Watchtower but it triggered an alarm, sending dozens of League guards over to the lower entrance, where they were aiming plasma-firing M16A3 rifles.

The lead guard said, "Freeze. Surrender now and we will not shoot you." The guards were currently barricaded within a shield designed to contain the breathable air in the room. The soul-self Raven passed through the shield before manifesting into Raven and Slade.

Raven raised her hands into the air and calmly said, "Relax. We're just here to talk with the League."

Zatanna was in a nightclub in Marrakesh, Morocco, currently awaiting the arrival of Claw. She calmly sat down at one of the tables, sipping from a bottle of gin.

She knew that the Atom would soon awaken and realize her deception. However, he still did not know about her recent alliance with Claw or that she had placed a hit on Raven, or that she tried to kill Jinx, or that she killed Grant Wilson in cold blood, or that she gave away Jericho's location for Claw to execute him.

Claw walked up to the table where Zatanna was sitting at, with a bottle of scotch in his hand. Claw certainly wasn't of drinking age, but he was a criminal now - rules were of no importance to him anymore. If it felt right, he did it.

"The mission was a success, Zee. Jericho is dead. Forty-five in the back of the head and his spinal cord is severed", Claw said.

Zatanna replied, "Excellent work. To the death of Raven."

Claw raised his bottle to meet Zatanna's toast. "To the end of Raven."

The two then took a swing from their respective choice of poisons. Zatanna always drank gin when she could choose her alcohol while Claw had experimented with scotch while he lived with Bruce Wayne.

Zatanna said, "We've got a plane to catch in an hour."

Claw said, "Jinx?"

"And the other Teen Titans. They know too much. They have to be eliminated."

"Agreed. I can hack the security and we can slip in and wipe them out. Starfire is currently unconscious in Nepal."

"Your work I assume."

"Couldn't let her get Jericho to become a Titan."

Claw took another drink of his scotch. Zatanna pulled out her Justice League wallet and left a twenty-dollar bill (of American money) on the table.

Claw and Zatanna left their empty bottles on the table as they had to catch their flight to Jump City.

With Starfire not in the city, Argent took it upon herself to get Jinx ready for her date with Kid Flash. Discarding Starfire's choice of a pink T-shirt and black jeans for the pinkette, Argent instead dressed Jinx in a black blouse that exposed her navel and in gray pants that exposed her ankles and the lower part of her legs.

Jinx asked, "So how do I look?"

Argent showed Jinx what she looked like in the mirror. She replied, "I think you look ravishing, Jinx. How do you feel?"

Jinx said, slightly deadpanning, "I feel like the mix of a Romanian slut and British schoolgirl."

"Then the outfit did it's job, I suppose. You can't be late for your date, Jinx."

"I know, I know."

Jinx put on her shoes before heading towards the main ops room, where Cyborg was still checking in on Starfire. Bushido was currently sharpening his sword in his room while Beast Boy was currently preparing Terra's room for her return.

Someone knocked at the door and Jinx went to go get it. And there was Kid Flash, dressed in a red T-shirt and blue jeans.

Flash said, "Hey beautiful. How's it going?"

Jinx replied, "I think it's going good. I'm ready for our date."

"So am I. I know this great ice cream shop downtown."

"Let's go my speedster."

With that, Kid Flash and Jinx sped out of the Tower, en route to their first date.

On the Watchtower, scanners had recognized Slade, so the guards had to ultimately shackle him up - a collar surrounding his neck plus tight handcuffs on his hands, which were then put behind his back when they added a straitjacket on him followed by chains on his legs. They needed Slade secure at all costs - they didn't want the madman deciding to kill the entire Justice League. However, Raven had identified Slade as her guest, so they chose not to execute him.

Raven, however, was not chained up - mainly because she was not classified as a villain. The guards escorted Raven to the Justice League Council, where all the present members were meeting, well those on the Watchtower anyway.

Raven and Slade walked into the Council room, unescorted by guards as the other superheroes were there, and capable of killing them (well maybe not Raven).

The head of the Council at the moment, the Martian Manhunter spoke first. "Identify yourselves."

Raven said, "Raven. Former Teen Titan and the Gem of Skaath."

Slade said, "Slade Wilson. Former mercenary known as Deathstroke."

The League had wanted Slade for a while, as he had committed no fewer than fifteen hits (those were the confirmed) plus was a crime lord and mastermind operating in Jump City. The charges racked up quickly, and there was a "Dead or Alive" notice on his head.

The Manhunter then said, "Explain your purpose here."

Raven said, "We came to talk with you. About some pressing issues."

"Then why should we not have you thrown out of the Watchtower?"

"Because it concerns one of your own. Zatanna Zatara has gone rogue."

Batman defiantly said, "You aren't speaking the truth. Zatanna wouldn't go rogue on us."

Raven asked, "If she hasn't, where is she? Isn't this her time onboard the Watchtower? Is it not her shift?"

The Leaguers had to admit - Raven was right. Maybe she did have a point in all this.

Wonder Woman added, "Her last known location was in Nigeria. Staying at the League safehouse. She is currently with the Atom."

Raven said, "Oh I doubt that."

Wonder Woman asked, "What do you mean, Raven?"

"Because two days ago, she was in Vienna murdering Grant Wilson."

The Flash inquired, "Who is Grant Wilson?"

Slade said, "One of my sons. You may know him as Red X."

Superman asked, "How could Zatanna have killed Red X? He died when the xenothium exploded."

Raven said, "Because she set it off manually. With one of her spells. The xenothium levels were stable enough for a few more weeks. Zatanna is one of the few people in the world that could cause such an explosion."

Green Lantern said, "It could be a coincidence, maybe she was trying to save your life. What are the odds she was in Vienna the same time you two were."

Raven added, "It wasn't a coincidence because Zatanna hired Grant to kill me. She set off the xenothium in a last-ditch attempt to kill me when I beat Grant."

Batman asked, "Then how do you know Zatanna did it?"

Raven said, "Because Jinx told me. Zatanna hired Jinx first and intended on me killing her before Zatanna killed me. Gets rid of both witnesses. However, I saved Jinx's life and she told me."

Aquaman had a question for Raven and said, "We know that Jinx is a criminal associated with the defunct HIVE Academy. Why did you believe her?"

Raven said, "She was telling the truth. I'm an empath - I can sense feelings and I am a lie detector. Jinx was telling me the truth. Do you want me to show you because I did tape it."

Raven opened her backpack and a red-black glow surrounded a DVD. Raven promptly sent it over to the Elongated Man, who inserted it into the Council Video-Player.

The monitor turned on, and began to play back Jinx's interrogation.

Raven continued, "Let's get down to business. Who hired you to kill me?"

Jinx paused, uncertain of what to say. She then said, "The Justice League."

Raven asked another question. "Who from the Justice League approached you?"

Jinx said, "Zatanna Zatara."

Raven said, "So the Justice League doesn't have a contract on me. Only she does."

"So, I don't think Zatanna knew that when she hired me."

"She did know that - she knew you wouldn't survive a fight with me. If her plan worked perfectly, I would kill you, Zatanna would come and kill me, getting rid of me and her only witness to the truth."

"Even if that was possible, Zatanna never intended on giving it to you. And now you're in danger from her. Zatanna is now going to try to eliminate us because we know of her corruption."

The Justice League was shocked at the video Raven had shown them - they were now beginning to get suspicious of their resident magician.

Raven said, "There's more. Zatanna is now associated with Claw, who has killed over a dozen people in the past few days."

The Elongated Man asked, "Who?"

"Twelve members of the Church of Blood. Professor Chang. Doctor Thom Delgrado. Rose Wilson. Joseph Wilson."

Batman asked, "Do you have any idea who Claw is?"

Raven said, "Slade told me. You may have known him as Robin. Richard Grayson."

The Flash said, "Dear God. We called a vote of confidence upon the request of the other Titans against Robin. We voted against him."

Raven said, "And now he's out for blood. My blood. And his blood."

The Martian Manhunter asked, "Why?"

Raven said, "Because Slade freed me from the prison Robin trapped me in."

Wonder Woman said, "Wait a minute. Why do you believe Claw and Zatanna are aligned?"

Raven said, "Joseph Wilson, aka Jericho. His location was unknown to almost everybody, even his father, Slade. I knew and," Raven's voice went lower as she continued on, "I told the Titans where to find him. Zatanna found the video containing it and sent Claw his way. Jericho never stood a chance."

Batman said, "How could Zatanna have acquired that information?"

Raven replied, "I told the Titans when I was in Titans Tower when I dropped off Jinx. You have cameras in there, don't you Bruce? I know who you are. Spend enough time with Robin and you figure out his identity. Slade knows as well, so don't take it as a surprise."

Green Lantern said, "Raven, we realize you are right. Zatanna has gone rogue. Why? Why would she do such a thing?"

Raven said, "When I first came to you, Zatanna tried to kill me and I was forced on the run because of her. After I slayed Trigon, I gained his power and Zatanna thought that power was a threat to her. So she set up the contract against me."

Slade remarked, "I would take her words to heart. Zatanna is too dangerous to be left alive. At the moment, she is more dangerous than myself."

The Martian Manhunter asked, "Then where is the Atom?"

Suddenly, the Atom finally shows up in the Council.

The Atom said, "I'm sorry, but Zatanna knocked me out. She's gone rogue. She wiped the safehouse computers to hide something."

Superman said, "We know everything now. Raven told us about Zatanna's doings and the crimes she has committed."

The Atom asked, "Where is she?"

Raven suddenly realized something terrible, thanks to her empathy. She said, "Shit! Zatanna's in Jump City. She and Claw are going to kill Jinx."

Wonder Woman asked, "Does she have her powers?"

Raven furiously said, "No! Because of the goddamn power suppressor I put on her. I need to get back to Jump now. I don't want more blood on my hands. Slade, with me."

Aquaman said, "Wait a minute. Slade is a wanted criminal. He cannot leave the Watchtower."

Raven rhetorically asked, "Has he done anything wrong while he was on board? I thought so."

Raven's powers then unchained Slade from his restraints. Raven grabbed Slade before her soul-self promptly consumed them both, now racing towards Jump City.