Raven let out a loud cry and held her hands up, freezing the crumbling stone in the air. The encased black power streaming from her hands were painfully heavy, pushing her down onto the floor as her arms refused to hold up all that weight. With a grunt, she threw the pillar to the side and watched the dark stone as it crumbled into dust, fogging the air with white.

The kids were coughing heavily, tears streaming down their faces as they struggled to breathe. Even as she grabbed everyone and moved out of the cloud, she was coughing herself; her lungs painfully pushing away all the thick dust that was coating her throat. After a few minutes, the dust around them cleared and everyone could breathe again, but something was still off. Beast Boy pressed himself in Raven's cloak and coughed a bit more, wheezing quietly.

"R-raben.." Starfire spluttered, her nose running. "Wha- what happen?"

"I don't know, Star." Raven looked around the dark hall. There was no way out now, the only path was blocked by the stone pillar. She felt as though someone was watching them, every fiber of her being was alert and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing up. She could hear the Titan children whimpering quietly, and they squeezed closer to her, trying to hide their faces in her blue cloak. Needless to say, there was something weird going on in the HIVE building.

Maybe this is a trap. Maybe they're watching us on camera, waiting for me to mess up and broadcast it to the entire school as some screwed up entertainment. Raven frustratingly squeezed her hands into fists, looking at every corner on the ceiling for hidden cameras. Maybe Slade is here himself, watching us. He already knows I turned the Titans into kids...

"Raben!" Robin wailed, pushing his face into her legs. "I no like! I no like! I wana leave!"

"Robin's a baby." Cyborg said darkly, but he covered his face with Raven's cloak as well, clearly uninterested in staying any longer. "But seriously can wes go?"

Raven put her hand on Robin's trembling hand. "Robin's not being a baby. He's right- we shouldn't be here. I made a mistake by bringing you guys to this place."

Without saying anything else, Raven floated down the dark hall, the Titan children in hand. Starfire tried her best to help, by holding up her glowing hands so that they could see better. Neither Robin or Cyborg said anything, they stayed in close proximity to her. Beast Boy had changed into a small rat, hiding in one of her cloak pockets. Raven winced as they all plunged into darkness, the glitching lights above them giving out. The only light they had was from Starfire's tiny hands, and it wasn't nearly enough.

Not like when she was a teenager and her bolts were powerful enough to light a building. Raven groaned inwardly at the thought, really missing the things that she had always taken for granted.

There was a sudden, different light that froze them in their tracks. It was pink, and it lasted for only a fraction of a second, but Raven saw it. And there was the unmistakable sound of something cracking, pulling away from the wall. She couldn't see what it was that was making the noise; the darkness was too thick and Starfire's bolts had gone out from her panicking into Raven's legs.

"Azarath Metrois Sinthos!" Raven gathered the children around her and made a force-field around them, desperately praying that it would be enough to protect them.

Sure enough, something heavy crashed onto the force-field. Raven felt the magic shield shift slightly, but the tension eased after the hard material slid off and onto the floor, crashing with a loud boom.

"Raben!" Robin screamed hysterically. "Raben something happen!"

"I HATE IT HERE!" Starfire wailed.

Raven let the magic around her fade, her heart pounding in her chest at the second sudden attack. "Guys, shut up! I know!"

"I dink I need to change my suit..." Cyborg whimpered.

Well great. Raven held up her hands, feeling her emotions start to well against her wall of protection. "Who the hell is there?! Stop following us!" She yelled out to the darkness.

There wasn't an answer, there was only the sounds of Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg screaming and crying. Beast Boy was nowhere to be seen, safely concealed in the pocket of her cape.

Raven shot black-matter in no particular direction. There was the crash of something nearby, but there wasn't any noise other than that. She yelled again, trying to raise her voice over her friends. "I have children with me! I repeat, I have children with me! Don't attack!"

All of a sudden, the lights came on. Raven blinked, her eyes flashing with black spots. The Titan children quieted down to whimpers, but they stayed frozen by her side, their small hands clutched in her cape. To her surprise, there was a voice that echoed down the hall, coming from everywhere at once.

"Those midgets are children...?" the voice asked incredulously.

Raven protectively spun a black spell around her friends, her face contorted in a snarl. "Yeah, they are. Not smart enough to see a toddler when you see one?"

"Funny, those toddlers look pretty similar to those stupid Titans you hold so dear to your heart." there was a small amount of movement coming from behind a pillar, and Jinx poked her head about, a grin plastered on her face. "You're cosplaying little kiddies? How fun, Raven."

Raven simply scowled, even though a small part of her rejoiced. Jinx stepped out slowly, limping slightly as she came to a stop in front of them. The two girls stared at each other for a moment, daring each other to insult one another first.

"I'm not here to hurt you." Raven said warily, keeping her eyes on Jinx. The girl raised her eyebrow in suspicion, the grin on her face still lingering behind.

"And how am I supposed to know that? How do I know that you're not here to crush my body into the ground and leave me here to die, just like everyone else?" she spat maliciously. "Just because you have some little brats with you doesn't mean shit."

"Watch your language." Raven hissed. "These aren't normal kids. I didn't pick up a bunch of random ones to cosplay, you idiot. These are my friends! These are the Titans!"

Jinx's eyes grew wide as she stared at them, studying them over with intense concentration. "You're not serious. Are you fucking with me, Raven?"

"I said, watch. Your. Language." Raven emphasized each word, scowling deeper. "I'm being serious."

Jinx squat down to Robin's level, looking at him with wide pink eyes. She poked him in the arm as if she wasn't sure he was real. Robin glared back at her, and then let out a bone-chilling scream.

"Raben!" he shrieked, flailing his arm and hitting Jinx square in the nose. "Get the strange lady away!"

"You might not want to touch them." Raven said tonelessly. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of amusement as she watched Jinx rub at her nose. "They're a bit unstable; they don't know about their powers."

"Apparently." Jinx glared at Robin and took a small step backwards, facing Raven again. "So why are they kids anyway? Last time I saw them, they were the same age as you, and weren't afraid to kick ass when they needed to."

Raven squinted, letting the ass comment slide. "That remains... confidential. But I need your help to turn them back. I can't do it myself for some reason, and you're the only person who's magic is equivalent to mine."

"So. You need me, for once." Jinx crossed her arms and smiled again. "You're not having your other Titan friends help you?"

"That's none of your business." Raven spat.

Jinx grinned wider. "Won't you have to tell me eventually?"

Raven glowered silently. As much as she hated to admit it, Jinx was right. She had to explain what was going on, but she couldn't do it here. The kids were too alert and awake, and she didn't know who else could be watching. She sighed and put down the magic barrier she put around the kids, and dropped her hands.

"I'll update you on what happened." Raven said darkly. "But I'm not doing it here. The place looks empty, but I now know it's not."

To her surprise, Jinx's face dropped. "Actually, you're right. I'm the only one who's here."

"Where are the rest of the HIVE students?" Raven crossed her arms over her chest.

Jinx's pink eyes darted around. "Same deal, Raven. Confidential."

"Touche." Raven looked down at her friends, who were staring at her with wide eyes. They were scared, no doubt. Beast Boy was still gone, but she felt a slight quiver coming from the side of her cloak. Absentmindedly, she put a hand over the lump to soothe him. "We need to hurry. I'm being followed by Slade, and if I get caught, I might lose my friends."

"You're being followed by Slade?" Jinx let out a curt laugh, throwing her head back. "Hell, what's with your luck? Taking care of the Titan kids AND being stalked?"

Raven glowered at her. "Just follow me, and don't talk, okay?"

"Whatever you say, captain." Jinx said amusingly.

Raven buckled Beast Boy into his seat, breathing a sigh of relief. He was getting sleepy, his eyes were drooping closed from the day's events. Not that she could blame him, they had a bit of a bumpy day. All of them were quietly snoozing in their seats, Robin and Starfire resting against each other and Cyborg dead asleep against the window. She gently patted Beast Boy's hand, and he looked up at her with sleepy green eyes.

"It's going to be okay." she whispered, so that Jinx wouldn't hear her up front. "I'm going to turn you back and everything will go back to normal. I swear."

Beast Boy looked at her sadly, as if she had just told him that she had taken away his blanket. "Does the bad guy hates us? Does he wants us dead?"

"Dead?" Raven blinked, taken aback by the subtle question. How the hell did he manage to figure out these depressing things anyway? She had made sure to keep all adult conversations quietly. "Of course not, Beast Boy. The bad guy will not hurt any of you."

"I didn't means me." Beast Boy said quietly, fiddling with his hands. "I means will the bad guy kills you dead?"

"Don't worry about me." Raven said, almost fiercely. "I can protect myself; but my main priority is you guys. Now go to sleep, okay BB?"

"Okay." he settled down in his sleep and sleepily put his head against the seat, closing his eyes. "Raben? I wuv you."

Raven raised an eyebrow. "Uh.. yeah. Sleep tight." She climbed to the front, feeling dizzy and confused all at the same time. Beast Boy just told her he loved her. Well that was a first, out of everything she had been through.

Of course, it didn't mean anything but childlike innocence. He was a kid, who's protector just happened to be Raven. He thought of her as his mother, a parent figure. So yeah, he was going to say something like that, especially when he was getting tucked into bed. That's what kids did, didn't they? She grit her teeth as she settled herself in the drivers seat and grabbed the steering wheel, starting the jet into the sky. She wouldn't know what kids did- mainly because her childhood was filled with meditations and reading books, keeping to herself because she was told that she was evil and couldn't be out with anyone else.

"So.. everything go okay with the pipsqueaks?" Jinx asked languidly, resting her feet up on the dash. Raven scowled.

"Everything's fine." she gripped the steering wheel harder. "How am I supposed to trust you?"

Jinx eyed her with surprise. "What?"

"How am I supposed to trust you? I know that you agreed to help me, but how am I supposed to know you're not in alliance with Slade and that you're not planning to slit my throat while I'm asleep? You and I don't have the most... stable past." Raven looked at her, her dark eyes staring at her, daring her to lie.

But the sorceress shrugged. "You don't, I suppose. But I will tell you this- I'm not in any alliance with anyone. Especially not Slade."

"Why not?" Raven challenged. "I thought you were a HIVE student."

"I was. But I'm not anymore, so shut the hell up about it." Jinx snapped. Then she softened, her body relaxing a little into the seat. "Things happened."

"Things..?"

Jinx shrugged again. "Everything turned to shit, basically."

Raven let out a short laugh, one that she reserved for idiots. "So aren't you going to tell me what happened?"

"Tomorrow." Jinx said simply, putting her head on the seat herself. "I'm too tired for this shit. We'll exchange horror stories, okay? But touch me in my sleep, and I'll kill you."

"I'll keep that in mind." Raven said dryly.

Jinx didn't say another word, instead, there was a soft snoring noise. She was already asleep, looking smaller than she usually did.

Raven put the jet on autopilot and stared at the darkening sky, not feeling tired in the slightest. Even though she felt anxious, she still felt a little bit relieved now that she had found someone who could help her. But there were still so many mysteries, so many questions, so many obstacles to jump over.

Slade was still coming for them. It was just a matter of time when.

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