A/N: Hey all! While this is a shorter update, I did also revise Chapter 7 a bit. Thanks for reading and enjoy! :)

Two Weeks Later

The clock beeped 3 a.m. at Titans Tower just as the sirens began to wail.

Raven—who was curled protectively around her pillow—woke with a gasp, practically choking on her sheets. Fumbling, she unfurled herself gracelessly from her circular bed and flew around the room, throwing on her uniform. She was still strapping on her boots as she bolted out the door.

The hallway was alight with a violent red tint as the alarms toiled. The shadows pirouetted madly on the walls, chasing their tails. Raven could hear frantic yells as she ran.

"Go! Go! Go!" Cyborg chanted from somewhere. "This isn't a drill, people!"

Several loud thumps echoed in between the siren squeals as Cyborg pounded on Beast Boy's door. Raven rolled her eyes. How the shape-shifting annoyance managed to sleep through the deafening noise, the Empath had no idea.

"Yo, BB! Move your ass!"

"Huh? Hey! What's goin' on?!" came Beast Boy's confused squeak.

"What do you think?!" Cyborg bellowed back. "We got a mission!"

This only elicited more sleepy whines from the changeling and Raven was quite sure that Cyborg would have to drag the boy kicking and screaming from his room.

Amidst this stupid chaos, Starfire had emerged quietly from her quarters and had caught up to Raven. In an uncanny twist of character, she floated gloomily beside the gothic girl as the two entered the lounge together.

Dashing to the controls, the girls soon had the raging distress signal switched off and were mapping out the fastest route to where the trouble was taking place.

It was a robbery at Wayne Enterprises—the second one in two months. Raven and Starfire glanced weightily at each other.

Not only was the site a favorite target of Slade, but the last person who had attempted to steal from there was none other than Robin—disguised, of course, as Red-X.

As the resident pessimist, Raven was wary to jump so quickly to conclusions. Starfire, on the other hand, was not known for such caution. She put a heavy hand on Raven's shoulder and squeezed. Her viridescent eyes glittered, spurred to life, as she searched her friend's hidden face for a flicker of hope.

"Could it be…?"

Cyborg and Beast Boy cut off Starfire's words as they sprinted noisily in. The alien quickly released Raven and turned back to the mainframe computer. A scarlet curtain of hair blocked her expression from view as she fiddled with the controls but Raven could sense her turmoil. A sympathetic frown tugged at the Empath's lips and she prayed to any god that would listen for Robin's speedy homecoming.

Oblivious, the boys were still bickering as they came onto the scene.

"…for the last time: I. Don't. Have. Rabies! JEESH."

"You cannot tell me that THIS…" Cyborg waved his organic hand in Beast Boy's face. "…looks normal. IT'S TURNING GREEN!"

"Dude, I have green skin and green hair and green blood!" the shape-shifter responded as he swatted Cyborg away. "It's probably just spit!"

Testing this theory, Cyborg tentatively wiped his swollen, bitten palm on his steel chest cavity. For once, Beast Boy was right.

"AH, MAN! YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR THIS!" Cyborg screeched as he ran for the sink.

"IT'S NOT MY FAULT!" Beast Boy challenged hotly, shaking his fist. "IF YOU HADN'T TRIED TO KILL ME, THEN I WOULDN'T HAVE HAD TO BITE YOU!"

"I WAS TRYING TO WAKE YOU UP!"

"COULDA FOOLED ME!"

"Quiet!"

Raven's snarl immediately settled the foolish conflict. Beast Boy gulped and Cyborg's mismatched face paled as the odd pair took in her furious expression. Her violet eyes had turned a brilliant red and sparkled dangerously from beneath the cowl. Fangs began to extend over her bowstring lips. Her shadow grew long and sprouted horns.

"The coordinates have been downloaded into all of your locators," she whispered scathingly, sparks flying from her mouth. "Move. Out. Now."

Beast Boy and Cyborg sprinted out of the room—in the former's case, literally—with their tails between their legs.

Raven and Starfire, on the other hand, trotted side-by-side as they followed the boys, small grins stretching. A newfound optimism was singing a siren song as the Titans responded to the break-in. What if this was the development they had been waiting for? It couldn't be coincidence, right?

Even still, as the Titans careened through the moonlit sky, Raven couldn't help but remember her nightmare.

A small, sad voice whispered to her:

"Too late."