She didn't know how long she laid on the floor. It could've been minutes, or hours, or years for all she cared. Never in her life had she felt more exhausted, not even after one of their most toughest fights. She turned her head to the small pile of children sleeping on the couch. They hadn't moved very much, except for Cyborg, who liked to kick and mutter things in his sleep.
Raven heard another small crash from where Starfire was, and she quickly lifted her head and groaned. "What the hell are you doing, Starfire?"
"Playing." was the sullen answer.
"Well stop being so loud! The rest of us are trying to sleep."
Starfire floated over to Raven and sat on the empath's stomach, her wide green eyes filled with sorrow. "I sorry, Raben. Truly."
Raven sighed and laid her head back onto the floor. "Whatever Starfire."
For once, Starfire didn't say anything else. She quietly rolled off of Raven and settled on the floor beside her, putting her hands behind her head like Raven was. She glanced up to make sure she was doing it right, and then she put one of her legs over her knees and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. She made loud snoring sounds, and much to Raven's irritation, made small farting noises with her legs.
Raven closed her eyes tighter and tried to get lost in her mind, as she once did.
Azarath Metrios Sinthos. Azarath Metrios Sinthos..
She felt the distinct feeling of falling, and when she opened her eyes, she was back in her homeland. Finally.
She floated a couple inches off the ground as she meditated. She thought fiercely of any spells, any potions, any deals she could make with her Father or other magic figures to try and turn her friends back to normal. Absolutely nothing came to her mind, and she angrily opened her eyes and smashed her fists onto the ground. She breathed heavily, knowing she was losing control.
How the hell am I going to turn them back?! They can't stay young forever. Raven blinked back tears of frustration.
Suddenly, a loud scream broke her concentration and shattered her homeland around her, and she found herself back in the Titan Tower. She looked beside her to see Starfire gone. Another wail trailed through the halls.
Raven immediately got to her feet. "Star? Where are you?!"
The small alien flew out of the kitchen and into Raven's stomach, crying heavily and wrapping the blue cape around her for comfort. "R-r-raben.."
"What is it, Starfire?" Raven tried to make her voice comforting and gentle, but she still felt an angry twitch in her eyebrow.
The little girl kept crying, snuggling her face into the blue fabric. Raven gulped back her anger and knelt down, gently smoothing the red strands from Starfire's face. "Did you see something?"
"D-dere was a loud noise!" Starfire blubbered, wiping away her tears. "I did not want to see it, I was so scerd, Raben! No fight! I no want fight!"
Raven bit her lip and picked up the sobbing child, trying to summon motherly instincts to calm her down. However, nothing really came to mind, and she stood there for a moment feeling like a complete idiot. "It was probably a rat." she said at last.
"No! Twas bigger." Starfire insisted, staring at her with an angry expression on her face. "Go look, Raben! Make it go away."
The empath sighed with frustration as she set Starfire down, but netherless floated to the hall where Starfire was. As the little girl said, the hall was dark and there was a strange banging noise from the other end. The very sound sent chills up Raven's neck, and just to be on the safe side, her hands glowed black magic.
Starfire wasn't far behind her, quietly whimpering. "Raben..?"
"Yes, Star?" her own voice was a whisper, and she fiercely scolded herself for being scared. She was a Titan, for god sakes.
"What if it a bad guy?"
Raven pondered over the thought for a moment, feeling her stomach twist with anxiety. She had forgotten about her duties as a hero. She couldn't lug around four kids, fighting bad guys. They'd be killed.
"I.. I don't know, Star." she answered truthfully, slowly turning a corner and flipping on a light. To her relief, she didn't see anything. But the banging noise was still persistent.
"I could fights. We could alls fights." Starfire babbled, her tiny hands now green. "I knows that Rwobin can kicks, Cyborgs has all kinds of shooty things, and I can flys! But Beast Boy a baby. He do nothing."
"None of you will fight." Raven said fiercely, her hands clenched into fists. The banging noise was getting increasingly louder.
"I wanna!" Starfire pouted, tears surprisingly gone.
Raven turned another corner, just as the banging noise stopped. It was disturbingly silent now. She could hear Starfire's rapid breathing, and her own heart thudding inside of her chest. What..?
Something exploded out of the wall, sending chunks of drywall flying at them.