Once the burning subsided at the nip of the netherwinds against her skin, it was hard for Raven to admit just how good it had felt to unleash her violent tremors into the abyss of the portal world. Thoughtless and dangerous, but good all the same as she slowly recovered to her human form. Yet, the infinite depths of this place, known in Azarath as te kosmoz'athian portae, or the endless gateway of worlds, seemed utterly unimpressed by her otherwise destructive power.

In these moments after, Raven rested with her back to the ethereal bridge, welcoming the vibrations of release throughout her body. She felt as though she could simply vaporize, drift away and dissolve into the sky as cosmic wind, and all would be as it should have always been; a blissful nothingness. The feeling was short-lived, however, because behind her heavy eyelids, Raven could still see their collective terror as her soul-self tried to swallow them all in darkness, cringing at the sounds of people screaming and the splintering of glass and plaster. She wasn't sure what had exactly happened once she realized the portal failed to take her from the nightclub along with her friends. All she could remember was the searing pain of her flesh, and the blinding rage that followed, for all she wanted was to ride the euphoria just a little longer. Let me take care of you.

It seemed as if only seconds passed before Raven had wisened to what she was doing, but still found herself without the will to stop. So she instead willed to escape to the one place she believed could withstand her destruction. A place that could not be destroyed, for her darkness had consumed it once already: Azarath. But in her desperation to keep herself from harming others on the edge of erupting, Raven drew a weak gateway, which led to her crash-landing amid the kosmoz .

Raven marveled at the vast and sacred darkness of the portal world while climbing to her feet, regarding the brilliant lights fracturing from the crystal corners of grand archways that spanned on as far as she could see in every direction. She knew it was dangerous to linger between realms like this, for it was said that losing one's bearings within the kosmoz was as easy as forgetting to breathe. And at present, Raven understood the superstition, for the beauty of this place was, in a word, breath-taking.

But Raven didn't fear for herself as she bided her time in the portal world. Due to the nature of her father's prophecy, dimensional manipulation was among Raven's most natural abilities, so she knew summoning a portal home would be an easy feat. Especially now, as she experienced a sense of emotional neutrality, like a numbness following her impassioned outburst, her power pulsated at the end of her fingertips as she drew her phone from her coat pocket. Upon realizing it was dead, now with a healthy-sized crack splintering from the top corner, Raven repocketed it with indifference as getting a signal between the fabric of realities was already unlikely. Besides, she felt no urgency to go home to face her friends just yet.

She'd instead take in the kosmoz with care, her eyes gauging the illusion of distance within this place that she understood had no obligation to the physical dimensions that ruled beyond the gateways. But Raven observed anyway as her fingers mindlessly brushed along her back where her skin prickled in memory of the spilled drink. It was like ice, so cold that it burned as it streamed down until being caught by the fabric of her dress. And that woman, whose contagious panic enveloped and choked Raven like a cloud of thick smoke, her hands shook as they hovered without ever touching Raven's skin. It was like she was both terrified of who Raven was, but also specifically for Raven.

It didn't make sense yet, but she understood that the woman wasn't simply clumsy, and whatever it was that happened in the nightclub was intended. Like a whistle blown for a trained dolphin, Raven put on a show for whoever was watching.

But at present, in the overwhelming tranquility of the kosmoz, Raven wasn't much concerned with why someone would set a trap for her tonight. Instead, in her grounding numbness, she felt only a faint sadness, something close to grief, for a night she thought she'd have as a token of rewarded faith. Let me take care of you.

Raven smiled at his voice in her mind, sweeter than honey dripping on her lips, which set off a deep fluttering in her stomach. Even if she wasn't ready to face the wake of her destruction or the concerned faces of her teammates, she was ready to see Gar. She needed to. And as unsettling as the need was to have, Raven's skin still tingled in memory of his.

As her dark magic gathered around her open hands, Raven's eyelids dropped easily in anticipation of drawing her portal to Titan's Tower. Naturally, a vision of her friends in the common room began to take shape behind her eyes, first etching Koriand'r lounging contently on the floor, leaning up against Dick's leg. He'd be scrolling some archive or another on his tablet in a brooding, contemplative silence, entirely impassive to the noise around him. Kori would be watching the TV with genuine interest while Vic and Gar barked at each other between attempts to smack the game consoles from the other's hands. But then, Gar would look up at her and smirk, scooching closer to Vic so she would have room to sit beside him. And that was the feeling she'd follow to get back, the one of home, of belonging.

But before she could take that first step through the gateway, Raven heard her name ricochet throughout the kosmoz; faintly at first, but quickly the sound churned and tumbled around her like thunder.

Raven!

She clutched at her chest as if to stop her heart from dropping her stomach. Robin.

Raven released her portal door with a soft crack as she spun around with her eyes scanning the dark void above her, narrowing her gaze on the crystal archways as if the source would reveal itself. She held her breath, waiting for the voice to return.

Raven...

His voice twisted in her mind, sounding strained and nearly broken.

Rae...

Raven continued searching the seemingly endless kosmoz, but when the sound began to fade from her earshot, she panicked. Quickly, Raven pulled the skirt fabric of her dress higher around her hips so that she could lift and cross her legs comfortably beneath her. Drawing an extended breath, she centered her thoughts around the echo of Dick's voice.

Whether just a beacon within her memory or some lost place beyond the kosmoz, Raven would answer the call.