Bonjour, les amis !

Okay, errrm, you've got every right to be angry, I admit : it's been too long since this has been updated. I take my responsibility of it, but not without pointing to some extenuating circumstances : everyday life, work, update of another story. These kind of slowed down the posting of this new chapter here. Which I apologize for.

Are there any fans of the Northern Irish band Snow Patrol round here ? Yes ? Then Big Up to ya guys for supporting such an awesome band, who gave us such fine albums as FINAL STRAW, EYES OPEN and A HUNDRED MILLION SUNS, their top three. Just bought their UP TO NOW compilation, and it's such a diamond mine. There are such delicate songs in there, and such energetic boosters as well… how couldn't I NOT love it ? How could YOU not love it ? ;) Really a very very nice band, SNOW PATROL, one of my fav's, actually ! Wish I can see them live B4 I die, me who already missed David Bowie and Prince…

Alright, enough talking about my musical tastes… wzout further delay :

And Joy !

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(FIFTEEN) _REUNITING DOESN'T GO WITHOUT SAYING…_

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"Ah, finally !"

Chris's head was like magnetized to the right, where the exclamation originated from, but he had already identified the owner of that voice.

"Hey, Danny !" Then a glance to the left. "Hey, Robin ! Well, it's nice to finally run into friends in this creepy place. I didn't feel too good in there. Being on my own in these pretty sinister surroundings… no thanks, not my best experience !"

The other two couldn't help snorting at that.

"Funny to hear you use humor." said Boy Wonder. "Since you're the tech guy of the MBC, I didn't expect this from you. Because, as you know, tech guys have that reputation of being always so serious and cerebral, if you see what I mean…" And he quickly added : "But no offense intended, really !"

"And no offense taken, Robin." replied the indigo-haired teenager. "Don't worry, I know what it's like being considered as the geek of the band. People may be led to think you have as much humour as a bathtub, if not less…"

This time, it was Danny's turn to guffaw.

"Man, what the heck's happening to you, uh ? Have you been breathing some weird gas or what ? Hilarious so isn't like you ! Not saying you're a killjoy or uptight guy, no, but we so rarely hear you joke… and there, suddenly, two funny lines in a row…!"

"Well, excuse me for unexpectedly showing I'm made of flesh and not of concrete. I guess I just remembered I was human after all…"

Robin's smile "stretched".

"I must admit that Danny is right : you are unusually funny, and while I have nothing personal against humour, it seems still a tad surprising that you utter several amusing sentences in a row. Are you sure you are… okay ? Still no offense intended, right ?"

Chris let out a sigh as his gaze made a to-and-fro between the other MBC member and the Teen Titans leader.

"Look, I know that sounds really unlike me and all, but I swear it's still me here, that I haven't breathed any suspicious gas or eaten any odd mushrooms. Guess tiredness is slowly getting the best of me…"

Part of this short speech made both his interlocutors snort again, but they still managed to retain the most important info : that Chris was tired and that it was what made his mood so curiously different…

"Would you like to rest for a bit ?" asked Robin, knowing it would be a good thing for the weary freckled boy.

"Hum… would that be okay if I took only twenty minutes to rest a tad ?"

"Will that be enough for you, Chris ?"

"I guess it will do. Remember we can't take too much time to complete this mission : the humans affected by the "dream abduction", as we could call it, are getting weaker and weaker, and it's more than certain that they will eventually pass away if we don't do anything to prevent it. So, thank you for your concern about resting time, Robin, but I alas can't afford resting for that long. Human lives are far more important than my welfare."

Robin made a small smile, but that one had a different "meaning" than the other ones.

"And your courage honours you, Chris. A hero must always put protection of humanity first. Sometimes, even our own Titan lives were threatened while fighting crime, and destruction, yet we never hesitated to take any risks needed to ensure the defense of humans. That's our duty, and we have to do it."

"I wish I could speak as cleverly and wisely as you, folks !" Danny admitted, and this again amused the party, which was relieving, given their menacing environment.

"By the way, did you find something interesting ? Or a lead as to where we should head ?" asked the freckled teenager.

"Nope, Man ! Nothing so far ! And that's sooooooo frustrating !" exclaimed Danny.

"Yeah, I've heard it enough to confirm that you are frustrated… But it's true that we still haven't got any trail, no track so far. I guess you're in the same situation ?" Robin said, addressing the red buster first, then the blue one.

"No better luck indeed." conceded Chris. "We are lost in the middle of nowhere, without any clues about the mastermind's location, and we ignore where our friends are… This is one of the most difficult missions I've ever taken part in. But once you are "at the bottom", I guess it can only improve afterwards, eh ?"

The young acrobat nodded, but he was just as discomfited as his fellow teammates.

The MBC tech decided to make the most of the little time he had to regain a bit of his energy, and he badly needed that short break, because he really felt drained…

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"Why the hell are our T-com not working ? Or your own gadgets, Cy ?"

"Hey, I really don't know, BB ! You've already asked that question, and the answer hasn't changed : not-a-clue ! But my best guess is that there must be some force field or unknown energy jamming our signals and blocking them, something like that."

"Guess I'll have to go with that, uh…"

"It would be good if we could find some high location overlooking the plain." Jinx chimed in. "That way, we might be able to spot some of our teammates, wherever they are, and provided the area they are in open place, of course. So, if they're currently in a forest or so, tough luck for us !"

"Jinx for us, then !" joked the shape-shifter, winking at a certain sorceress.

She disdainfully snorted and rolled her eyes upward, shaking her head as well.

"Nothing to reply, for once ? I thought you'd make some snarky comment as usual…" he teased her.

"Whatever…" she smoothly replied, her tone dripping with condescension.

Cyborg's eye caught sight of something, in the distance.

"Hey guys ! Stop bickering a bit and look ahead !" he told his two squabbling partners.

They stopped their mild argument and followed the direction he was pointing to.

Sure enough, at a certain distance from the trio of superheroes, there was a kind of small cliff that would make a decent outlook.

"Got it ! Let's head that way !" concluded the pink-haired girl, feeling her determination renewed and thinking they might indeed locate some of their friends.

They started in the direction of that spot which now focused their hopes of reunion with their friends, and these hopes, coupled to some obvious impatience to check the surroundings from above, made them walk pretty quickly now, almost half-running.

Jinx stopped after a while and turned around to see if her two male teammates managed to follow the dynamic female she was.

Cyborg was approaching, with Beast Boy a little behind, hurrying to keep in contact with them.

The half-robot stopped and turned around as well, to see the changeling about to join them, and visibly put out because he had to force the pace to keep in touch.

Just as he arrived and tried to catch his breath, Jinx just knew that he would start ranting about how "damn too fast" she walked, that she didn't have to speed up like that, that it was difficult to follow them and yadda yadda yadda…

And indeed, there he was, standing back up, frowning as he steadied his breath, and opened his mouth to start –

But Jinx's head swiftly jerked to the left and she quickly raised her right hand, indicating that something was up and that now definitely wasn't the right time to start a quarrel.

She listened carefully, her vertical pupils slowly dilating as she did so, exactly like a feline focusing his attention on a precise spot… or sound !

Cyborg got the importance of the moment, and even Beast Boy forgot about his complaint, both now observing the spot Jinx was intensely staring at.

The bad-luck charm kept her hand up to indicate nobody should utter a single word and she kept pricking up her ears.

And there it was again !

The faint sound of a branch snapping behind a mass of bushes that was right opposite the trio.

This time, the half-robot and the shape-shifter had also perceived it, and the sorceress's eyes briskly narrowed, her pupils now getting back to normal.

She turned back to her two friends and put a finger over her lips, intimating them to remain silent some more time.

Then, very slowly, she changed the position of her body to make it face the bushes, making sure she made as little noise as possible in the process, and once she was done moving, she gradually raised her arms and stretched them in the direction of the discrete sounds they had heard.

Cyborg just as slowly raised his right arm and pointed it in that direction, his laser weapon also ready for action.

Beast Boy morphed into a wolf and bared his teeth, but didn't growl to avoid making any noise that would give away their presence.

Another sound, closer this time and coming from the left, indicating where the mysterious being was heading to.

The green wolf naturally sniffed around, in order to pick up the intruder's scent…

…and as he did so, he goggled !

Jinx and Cyborg narrowed their eyes as the sound was moving to the left end of the bushes, the enigmatic creature about to appear…

Beast Boy sniffed the air once more to make sure he wasn't wrong about the smell he perceived…

The noise had reached the limit of the bushes…

The changeling morphed back to human, impatient to speak up…

Pink hexes materialized in the hands of the grey-skinned female, and a blue light appeared inside the sonic cannon of the black-skinned male…

A dark silhouette emerged…

Beast Boy screamed to Jinx and Cyborg : "Don't shoot !" …

The silhouette briskly turned around, showing a weapon in hand…

And…

"Sam !" exclaimed Jinx, her beautiful eyes now fully opened, eyebrows raised.

"Guys ! Finally, there you are !" Sam exclaimed back, a smile replacing her expression of surprise.

The pink witch and the large robotic teenager lowered their arms and the first one walk to Sam, raised her arm again, hand open, and Sam, raising her arm as well, grabbed the young sorceress's hand, squeezing it and shaking it a bit by way of greeting.

"It's good to see you again, Jinx !" observed the African-American.

"Same here, Sam ! Been missing you and your determination… and your natural leadership, of course !" replied the girl with the cat's eyes (A/N : vertical pupils, ya know…).

The complicity bond between both girls was still that strong.

"It's so good to see you all ! Splumfies !" uttered Cathy.

They all stared at her blankly, virtually sweat-dropping.

"Yeah, hum… eh eh… that's how we Rhapsodians express joy… it's our own word for a joy shout !" explained the blond teen, awkwardly scratching the back of her head.

"I had morphed into a wolf and sniffed the air to catch a smell… and I immediately recognized your own personal smell, Sam !" explained Beast Boy.

"I guess having a teammate who can transform into any kind of animal is a most precious help, isn't it ?" she replied.

"Yup ! I'm essential to the team ! Yay me !" he yelled, making the V-sign with his fingers.

Jinx turned around and raised an eyebrow, indicating that his boasting was pointless.

"Yeaaaaah right…" she mockingly dropped.

Cathy giggled, getting the tease of the pink witch.

The changeling raised his arm, and Sam just knew these two would get into another argument… but she was so happy to have them all – or almost all - reunited that she didn't want the moment to be spoiled by a bickering, even if the latter was made on a good-natured tone.

"Okay, guys, let's not waste time arguing ! I'm glad to see you all and don't want anybody to ruin the moment ! Now, does anyone know where Danny, Chris, Robin and Starfire are ?"

"No, we don't, and obviously you don't either. So what do we do now ? Where do we head to ?" asked Cyborg, and his gaze remained on Sam, as he was well aware that, like Robin, she had the necessary authority to lead that mission, and that she definitely was the one in charge when Robin wasn't present.

Sam looked back at him, then a quick glance at Jinx, and finally at the others.

"Well I'm not sure, yet perhaps we -"

But she was cut mid-sentence by the sound of a deflagration, not that far away from their location, which was soon followed by several shots !

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[some time earlier, some place nearby… ]

"Look up there !" Robin said, as he pointed upwards.

Chris and Danny followed the direction of his finger and caught sight of a kind of small cliff.

"You want us to climb up there or what ?!" half-said- half-complained the red member.

"Eh, that's not a bad idea, you know !" exclaimed the blue member. "For if we can take a good look from this panoramic viewpoint, we might be able to see some of our friends or maybe even send a signal up in the air… or simply shoot to the sky, for the rest of our teams to perceive the noise and determine our location, then head here."

Robin gave him a frank smile.

"Chris, do you have mindreading abilities ?"

The other gave a brief laugh.

"Not that I know. I guess we just are on the same page, eh ?"

The acrobat's smile stretched up.

"No wonder Sam considers you a key member of the team…"

The jock's eyes opened up.

"Hey, I'm a key member too ! I never miss my target and am the bravest !"

Chris gave him a knowing smile.

"Well, rarely ever miss my target…" Danny corrected.

The other two snorted, then Robin took back the lead.

"Okay, guys, let's head up to that cliff and have a look around from up there !"

They resumed walking at a good pace, resoluteness back in them since they now had a goal and knew for sure where they would be going to, while they have no precise destination earlier, given that they were total strangers in this foreign world.

It didn't take them that much time to reach their goal, and they were soon staring up the bluff.

"It looks higher here than it seemed before, in the distance…" noted Robin.

"One often has the same impression with remote locations : they look smaller from far away. It's a visual effect relating to perspective." explained the MBC tech.

"Okay, can we skip the science lesson and be a bit practical here ?" once again carped the most practical member of their trio.

Chris looked at him, then shrugged with a discreet sigh.

Robin took a few steps aside to have a better look of the small cliff and try to figure out an access road up there.

"Alright, I think I foun- "

"Hey ! Look !" yelled Danny.

His two friends turned around very swiftly, ready for just anything.

But the shape floating slowly at a reasonable distance from them had a familiar look that immediately comforted them, enabling them to relax and even let sheer joy follow that relief.

"Starfire !" exclaimed Robin, instantly identifying the red hair and violet outfit of his alien teammate.

"At last we found another one of our friends!" exclaimed Danny.

"Yes… but how come she is all alone ?" wondered Chris.

But he then remembered that he himself had been on his own for a while before he came across the Titan leader and his daredevil of a friend.

"HEY STAR !" screamed Robin, waving at her.

The alien princess turned her head in their direction, yet didn't reply. Yet she still veered off and started in their direction.

But there was something really off.

Chris and Danny didn't realize it immediately, since they knew her for less time than Robin, but the masked boy could immediately "put his finger on it".

"I don't get it… Starfire looks… weird ! I know her by heart, and upon reuniting after our being separated, she should be screaming and flying straight at us to give us tight hugs. But she isn't acting that way at all…"

He was way puzzled by her quite unexpected attitude, that didn't correspond to the happy-go-lucky behaviour he knew so well and was so used to.

"I know her far less than you, Robin, but I admit that I would have expected her to show her usual unbridled joy upon reuniting with us…" conceded Chris, feeling her acting just as odd.

(A/N : the 'unbridled joy' refers to the TT episode SWITCHED, in which Starfire mentioned the "unbridled joy of flying")

"Perhaps she's just exhausted after looking for us everywhere…" suggested Danny.

While seeming at first somewhat inept, that suggestion of his didn't appear that inane, on second thought.

She was getting really close now, and they could see her face.

And her eyes.

Her… black eyes.

"Robin…" Chris started, wondering if the Boy Wonder had also noticed, yet with a hunch that he had indeed.

But the blue MBC member never got to finish his sentence…

Starfire stopped, frowned at the trio, then raised her hands, in which green orbs appeared, and shouted : "TRAITORS !" …but with her voice barely recognizable !

And then all hell broke loose !

The three boys had just enough time to goggle… and quickly jump aside after the green balls had been cast at them !

"Star ! It's us ! Your friends !" shouted the Caped Titan.

"I have no friends ! You made me believe you were… but you aren't !" she said out loud, her voice deeper and somewhat misshapen, and cast another starbolt at him.

He got out of the way with a quick push on his hands, and the two alien busters started blasting at the redhead.

"Wait ! What are you doing ?!" screamed the acrobat as he landed right behind them.

"Trying to get her !" replied Danny without even turning around, moving to avoid another green shot.

"But she's our friend !" retorted the Titan leader.

"It's not her, Robin !" replied Chris, focusing on his shooting and on his steering clear of the enemy attacks. "Have you seen her eyes ? They are completely black, not green anymore !" He dodged just in time, before concluding : "It's not the real Starfire !"

They all jumped away once more, but Robin couldn't resolve to fight his teammate… or at least what looked like her teammate ! It was obvious that it wasn't the real Starfire in front of him, but it was still her body, her appearance… and trying to kill, or simply hurt, that body didn't go without saying.

Things would have been way easier if the monster in front of him had given up the Tamaranean's body and resumed his own form, the one they could destroy without any hesitation.

Chris and Danny kept firing at their former friend, but she was moving so rapidly in the air that they barely managed to touch her. In fact, only the tech did, just once, and it didn't exactly seem that she was affected by the shot : no scream, no wince, nothing. No reaction, just as if she had been touched by a feather.

Robin pulled himself together and realized that he HAD to attack the monster, even if it kept his friend's body appearance.

He therefore threw his energy discs at her, but it missed her, just like almost all the blaster shots.

Seizing his boomerang, he raised it, but the "evil Starfire" made a swift loop and sent her powerful green orbs at him… hitting him right on the left shoulder !

Boy Wonder managed to hold back his scream, but gritted his teeth so hard that it was almost painful.

"Robin !" a new voice shouted from the other side.

Sam was running in their direction.

But no, not only Sam : there were also Cathy, Jinx, Cyborg and Beast Boy !

The "cavalry" was coming in just at the right moment.

"Ah ! Finally !" exclaimed Danny, smirking but not losing their enemy from sight.

The female African-American and the grey-skinned witch kneeled by the injured teenager.

"How are you feeling, Robin ?" asked the first one.

The slim yet athletic boy grimaced as he tried to move. He was grateful to Sam for not asking the usual "Are you okay ?", because that would have been a really useless question, given the obvious "mask of pain" on his features.

"My shoulder is causing me a throbbing pain, but it could be worse… But I'm not sure I can continue fighting, because the pain worsens each time I make a move…" he informed them.

"What the heck happened to Starfire ?" asked Jinx, watching over to the duet of busters keeping the now evil alien busy, with her having apparently forgotten about the rest of the team and focusing her assaults on the two MBC teammates.

"Not a clue. We just saw her turn up, and as she came closer, we noticed that her eyes were no longer green… but black !"

"A monster who assumed Starfire's appearance ?!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"It seems so."

"Oh Man ! What happened to the real Starfire ? What did he do with her ?" wondered Beast Boy, dreading the worst.

"We will find out. But first, we must fight that impostor and defeat her ! Saving our lives is our current priority !"

Robin once again tried to get up, but the acute pain forced a scream out of him.

"Don't move, Robin. You cannot fight in your condition. You have to take some rest." said Jinx, before she turned towards the rest and ordered : "You, go and take her down !", for once taking the lead and deciding of the next step to take.

But Boy Wonder raised his hand.

"Don't mind me. Just put me behind a rock or so, and go fight her. All of you. Even you, Jinx. I can take care of myself."

"But Robin -" started the pink-haired teen, about to object.

"No !" he cut her. "I'll be alright. I can handle this by myself. You should go and help your teammates. We need everybody to win. Don't forget she's extremely powerful and rapid !"

Jinx hesitated and, after briefly pouting, she reluctantly nodded.

"Very well. I shall follow your orders." she quickly said.

Robin caught her wrist as she was about to stand up, and she immediately looked straight into his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Jinx. I know you care for me and wanted to help me, and for that I'm extremely grateful… but I promise I'll be fine and stay alive, like a good boy."

He had uttered the last part to make her smile, and it worked : she snorted and a smile crept back onto her lips.

"Thank you, really !" he added.

"Oh, don't mention it ! Just doing my teammate job ! But it's okay, you know : no offense taken ! And I guess you're right : better be as many as possible to get the upper hand over that monster who "steals" others' looks !"

She gently pressed Robin's arm and gave a last smile, then stood back up straight.

"Hey ! You coming or what ? We're doing all the job here !" yelled Danny in the back.

"Yeah, we're coming !" yelled back Sam.

"So, who wanna kick ass with me ?" asked Jinx, smirking, as she cracked her knuckles.

"All of us, I guess !" replied Cyborg, slamming his right fist in his left palm.

"Titans and MBC… LET'S BUST HER !" screamed Sam.

And they all ran to the battlefield.

The powerful Tamaranean, which they erroneously thought to be a monster, since they after all ignored she was in fact possessed, moved so swiftly in the air that it was excessively hard to touch her.

"I'm going to catch her, trust me !" cried out Cathy, frowning, as she stretched her arms… more… more… more…

The now long limbs went after the flying target but, no matter how fast they moved, it was never fast enough to get to the floating foe.

"Gurtrinz ! I can't catch her ! She's so swift… I can't follow !" uttered a visibly frustrated Cathy as she allowed her arms to retract and regain their normal length.

The four busters did their best to shoot on and on and on, but it was dead difficult to aim at such a constantly moving adversary.

Jinx cast a multitude of hexes, but it didn't seem to work neither. But then the sly sorceress got an idea and, taking advantage of Starfire being busy on the other side, she ran away and vanished somewhere.

Cathy got hurt by one of the starbolts and collapsed to the ground, wincing, her eyes tightly shut.

"CATHY !" shouted Sam as she hurried to her injured friend.

She kneeled down, just like she had before with Robin, not noticing that the Tamaranean had spotted her and was now moving in their direction.

"Oh God, Cath' ! Is it serious ?"

"It… burns… badly… but I'll live…" the Rhapsodian said with difficulty, trying to smile to comfort her worried sick friend.

"I will carry you out of th-"

"SAM ! WATCH OUT !"

The black teen looked at Chris, who was pointing upwards.

Her golden eyes turned to the sky… and immediately widened !

Starfire was above them… and was holding an enormous green starbolt !

"DIE !" she screamed, gathering her strength to cast down her attack.

But right in that moment…

"YAAAAAAAH !"

"AAAAAAAAH !"

The first scream had been uttered by Jinx, the second one by Starfire.

The Bad Luck Charm had surreptitiously crept behind the alien princess and gathered her energy… then released it in the form of a gigantic hex, aiming at the back of their former teammate.

And Starfire had received the magical projectile right in the middle of her back, shouting both out of pain and surprise, and the magical projectile disappearing from her hand.

But the now infuriated foe, although somewhat hurt, still found the physical resource to quickly gather another huge starbolt.

"YOU WILL DIE !" barked the redhead, ready to launch the large green sphere.

And she threw her arms… but not at Jinx : at Sam and Cathy, who were still observing Starfire from the ground !

"Shit !" screamed Jinx, realizing that the alien princess, who she thought to be some monster, had trapped them about the target of her attack, and that Sam and Cathy risked the worse.

But she was helpless, from where she was…

Sam and Cathy tried to move away, but the starbolt was already closing in rather fast…

BAAAAAAAM !

The green orb crashed against… a black flat shape positioned right between the magical projectile and its potential victims !

A shape that somehow resembled… a kind of shield !

The Tamaranean let out a roar of fury and cast another blast, but the latter once again crashed on the black surface.

The livid alien prepared another starbolt, yet this time threw it at Jinx.

But just like before, a dark matter appeared out of the blue and blocked the attack, thus saving the Bad Luck Charm.

Starfire madly turned around to try and find what was causing this new trick, looking at all her adversaries present…

…until she spotted a cloaked figure hovering in the distance, with two black spheres in front of her !

Starfire's eyes narrowed as she gritted her teeth even more than she already had, and she hurried in direction of the mysterious newcomer.

But the latter vanished at the last minute.

The alien princess screamed out her rage and, again, looked frenetically around her, and even above.

But not below…

And she should have, because a silent silhouette rose from under her and, once positioned behind her, stretched her arms towards the red hair and her eyes shone white.

"Azarath Nullum Potent !" exclaimed the cloaked person.

Starfire turned around just in time to see a blinding light overwhelm her…

… and then everything went black for the possessed girl !

She swooned and started falling, but the winner wrapped the loser in a black aura and took her back to their friends.

"Raven !"

" Rae !"

"Oh God !"

"No way !"

"Can't believe it !"

"But how… ?"

They were all lost for words.

The miracle girl landed by her friends and cautiously laid the unconscious alien on the ground.

Jinx had run to Sam and taken Cathy in her arms, carrying it alone since she had a superior strength compared to the other Titans.

The three soon reached the rest of the team and gazed intensely at the Azarathian.

"Raven ! We've missed you so much !" exclaimed Sam, who now had a special bond with the Dark Titan.

"Good to see you, Rae !" said Robin, wincing a bit from the pain.

"It's good to see you too again ! But I see that two of you are injured ! Let me heal you, and we will talk later !"

Once Cathy and Robin were back to their usual condition, Raven gave a panoramic look to all faces eagerly waiting for her explanations.

"Okay. I guess you thought I was dead, right ?" she asked, keeping her deadpan expression.

"We… we didn't know, in fact…" ventured Cathy.

"Appearances could lead us to think so, but you are so powerful that we just couldn't accept the thought that could have died that way. In a fight, perhaps, but caught by a kind of "snake water"… no, we couldn't resign ourselves to believe that you were killed like that !" explained Sam.

"True… after all, you are the one and only Raven, the most powerful Titan !" happily said Jinx.

"Hey ! How do you know she's the most powerful one ?" asked Danny, raising an eyebrow.

"Some things are obvious, and it is obvious that someone wielding such a powerful magic IS the most powerful on the team…" answered Robin.

"We have no proof I'm the most powerful, so please let's just forget this pointless argument…" intervened the emotion-restrained girl.

"Ah ! See ! No proof !" triumphantly repeated the jock.

"Let's. Forget. It. Please." calmly but firmly insisted the gothic female, frowning. "I will rather let you know what happened to me after I was dragged into the lake. Well, as soon as I was underwater, I used my powers to create a sphere of air around me, thus ensuring I could still breathe. Then I decided to explore the bottom of that so-called lake and try to see if there was some weak point to it. That's when I discovered a protruding red surface, like the globe of an eye, set firmly in the mud. When I approached, that stuff lit up and started glowing on and off, light growing and diminishing alternatively, incessantly. That's when tentacles of mud showed up from behind and stuck to the surface of my sphere, obviously trying to force their way inside. But dark magic isn't a barrier one can trespass, or at least not at the cost of countless difficulties. Anyway, the battle began, and while the tentacles continued to enter my shield, I could feel that a violent current was trying to push me away. I focused my energy then sent a dark ray into the red globe. A formidable noise followed and the tentacles went haywire and covered the entirety of my sphere, writhing frenetically. I continued my attack and could see rocks being cast at me from a distance, but I reinforced my protection. You probably didn't see anything by then since you most likely were already gone. It took me a while, but I finally managed to make the red surface explode, and as it did, it dragged away all water. I mean, all water got sucked up into the place where the globe had been. And once it was all over, once everything was quite again, no more rocks, tentacles or powerful current, I let the sphere disappear and found myself in a wide and very deep crater, where the lake used to be, but where water had vanished from, leaving only an immense puddle of mud. And at the exact spot where that mysterious protruding stuff was, a hole had appeared. That's how it all happened underwater. Then I took a moment to meditate and regain part of my strength, as I knew you'd need me and therefore my powers, but I didn't want to waste more time, so after a while, I decided I had recovered enough of my energy and started looking for you. That's when I heard that din, with Starfire's attacks, your blasters' shots, Jinx's hexes, Cyborg's beams and so on, and therefore did I head here. The rest, you already know."

There were a few seconds of silence as the whole thing sank into the minds after sinking into the ears.

"Okay, so, uh…" began Beast Boy "…what did you do to Star exactly ?"

The empath turned her violet gaze to him.

"I neutralized the evil entity that was haunting her body."

"What ? Are you saying it's the REAL Starfire ? Not a monster that took her appearance ?" incredulously commented Cy.

"No" she replied "It really was Starfire. But there was an evil spirit inside of her, and it perverted her somehow, and led her to consider you as her enemies. I deduce this from the fact she was attacking you when I arrived here. I could sense the insidious magical "parasite" inside of her. I'm pretty certain that it negatively influenced her mind and made her believe you were actual enemies. We will ask her once she wakes up."

"It's really good to have you back, Rae !" said Robin, smiling.

"Oh yes, it definitely is !" added Sam.

"The team is complete again ! Splumfies !" shrilled Cathy.

They all looked at her like she had grown a third head.

"BOOYAAAAAH !" yelled Cyborg.

They were all smiling again.

Well… except for one person.

"What's the matter, Chris?" asked Raven, narrowing her eyes because she sensed something wrong with him.

"Jinkies ! You are all pale !" Cathy let out with visible dread.

"Chris…" started Sam.

"I'm… feeling… a tad dizzy…" the MBC tech slowly uttered.

And before anyone could ask or say anything else, Chris's eyes rolled up and closed, his body crashing to the ground !

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And… cliffhanger !

That's one of my specialities, and I've done it so many times now… which sure DID drive some readers mad, like, for instance… YOU, dear Ana ! XD

Anyway, I do hope that was good enough for ya, guys. I apologize again for the long period of time since last update and… well, I do hope that it will take SC101 less time for her update, this time. ^^

Did I already say that I LOOOOOVE Snow Patrol ? I did ? Ah, okay. So, nothing more.

Oh, yes finally, something more : The Flaming Lips are going to release a new one. I think it's titles OCZY MLODY, or sth like that. That's polish language, so please be merciful wz me abt spelling… Anyway, I'm curious to see what those crazy OklahomEn have up their sleeve this time !

Alright, time to let the curtain fall. **turn to the right** Ana, please ? Would ya mind ?

Till nXt crazy time, Folxxxx !

Peace, Love, Ecstasy !

(Dixxy)