Beast Boy leaned against a stack of unprocessed tiles left behind when the factory closed down long ago. He watched silently as his pentagram matrix drew on the evil energy in the city. The energy manifested as light that slithered along the ground like a snake. Droves of light migrated into the pentagrams at a steady rate. And four of the six Teen Titans lay within that pentagram, where they awaited their eventual destruction.

"Now that your blood is bound into the ritual, there's no need for you to be restrained," Beast Boy said with sadistic mirth. "I can release your body's bio-energy and use it with the ritual, no matter where you run too. But for now, I'll leave you where you are so that you don't try to stop me by killing this boy."

"We would never do that!" Starfire yelled.

Beast Boy smirked. "That's what I like about you costumed heroes. So noble, so trusting... and so easy to corrupt." Beast Boy glanced at Robin's motionless body. "And you can quit pretending to be unconscious, kid. No matter how many rope tricks you've learned in your life, they pale in comparison to magic."

Robin frowned, his back still turned away from Beast Boy. "It's only a matter of time before I get out of this and send you back where you came from."

"Hmm," he laughed. Beast Boy slowly waved his hand, and Robin's bindings gave way. He was free to move. "All you had to do was ask. After all... you're no threat. You have no special powers."

Robin growled and leapt to his feet, his birdarang drawn in an instant. He held it like a dagger and stood in a melee stance, but he didn't attack just yet. Robin's battle-hardened instincts told him that he was way out of his league here. Trigon had somehow infected Beast Boy's consciousness. Not only was Beast Boy under his control, but he now had magical powers that dwarfed even Raven's documented abilities. His reaction speed against Starfire's attack was faster than most super-speeders in the world. Robin would never get close enough to hit him, and even if he did it would be meaningless. If Starfire's starbolts had no effect on something as fragile as his hand, then what chance did his technology have?

Beast Boy watched Robin quietly, then bowed his head in thought. "I see. No wonder you're the leader of this team of orphans. You actually have a brain beneath all that spiky hair."

Robin slowly lowered his birdarang and holstered. "I've studied Raven's magic style with her permission. I've cataloged her physical and mental stress levels while performing it. Beast Boy may be easy to hypnotize, but even he can resist you. Your energy should be rapidly depleting, and your attention must be diverted many ways if you're controlling him and maintaining this ritual."

"You know nothing about magic," Beast Boy said, his voice laced with a feral growl. "And you know even less about me. I am the angel that fell from heaven because the man didn't love me as much as you pathetic humans. And quite frankly, I've had time to build up a grudge."

Robin frowned. They'd fought Trigon before – amusingly enough, when he erupted from a "zit" on Raven's face. That Trigon was pathetic. He could be reduced to nothing by simple chanting. But this Trigon was much different. He even claimed to be "the" Devil. And what's more, he wasn't even in Raven's body or her vicinity. Just how much strain did it put on Raven to contain this guy? How much power would she have if she didn't have to worry about entrapping her father's ghost?

"Not as much power as I have," Beast Boy smirked. Robin gasped lightly, making the possessed teenager chuckle. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. If you've studied Raven's magic as thoroughly as you claim, you should know my capabilities. Obviously, you're overestimating your studies. Raven hasn't revealed anything of import to you."

"Accept it, boy," Beast Boy said, his eyes intense and burning with hatred for all life. "Your pathetic 'God' tried to destroy me, and I dragged him to hell with me! What hope do you think you mortals have, even in the weakened state I have now! There is NO HOPE for you!!"

THOOM! The roof caved in as a massive force crashed through the fragile steel ceiling, sending support bars and paneling everywhere. A massive, black monster in the shape of a giant bird dove through the opening in the ceiling before flapping its wings in an emergency stop. The bird's four red eyes glared down at Beast Boy, who smirked knowingly at the creature.

"Daughter dearest has finally decided to join us."

The giant bird's body changed into raw magical energy, revealing Raven at the center of an aura of blackness that encompassed her like a shell. She landed on the ground, and the bird-shaped aura disappeared with a thundering boom. Raven stood between Robin and Beast Boy, her determination almost palpable.

"Raven!" Starfire cheered. "You are here!"

"Get out of here," Raven said without turning around. She straightened her arm with a jerk. At the same time, the ropes binding the Titans went limp and lost their power. Starfire quickly floated to freedom, while Robin went to remove the ropes from Cyborg and Terra, both of whom were still unconscious from the severe beating Beast Boy had given them.

"We cannot leave you alone," Starfire said, flying to her friends side and powering up her greenish energies. "This villain cannot be defeated unless we work as a team."

"If you use your starbolts, you'll only hurt Beast Boy," Raven said firmly. She stared at the her father's host, who smiled in amusement at her anger. "The same goes for the rest of you guys. If we attack physically, the only one who'll be hurt is Beast Boy."

"But... we cannot leave you alone," Starfire said sadly. "I want to help save my universe."

"Then pray." Raven clenched her fist, and her raven-shaped soulself erupted to life and sent waves of wind-whipping energy in all directions. "And put your faith in me."

Starfire blinked in surprise. Since when did Raven act so... dynamic. She was like a comic book hero... or one of the 'marines' that were advertised in the television commercials. Was this another facet of her personality? Starfire did not know, but she decided to take her words to heart. She would watch, and she would pray.

"Good luck, Raven," she whispered. Starfire floated back to help Robin gather her fallen allies. Raven and Beast Boy squared off in a staring contest. Raven's powers were going full throttle and were decidedly visible. Beast Boy remained calm and quiet.

"I guess this is the part where I say, "Impressive... her power level is soaring." But then again, I'm not all that impressed. I've killed thousands of angels with much more strength and a lot less bravado."

Raven thought of her magic words – the words that focused her thoughts, drove her spirit, and summarized her magical art. Azarath, becomes, my weapon.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven's aura flared again as her power flowed freely like an erupting volcano. The raven spirit grew to its full size and gathered the energy for its powerful breath weapon. Beast Boy stood there and watched, seemingly amused by the display. When the spirit finally released its breath weapon, the green teenager finally acted.

He shouted a magical word. "Laephar!" Instantly, a giant cross made of black opal appeared in the path of the attack. A girl in a brown robe was sitting at the base of the cross on her knees, her face weighed down by ineffable sadness and hurt.

"Pain!" Raven cried. Instantly she threw one of her own telekinetic shields in the path of the attack. Her soulself's attack collided with the barrier and annihilated it after prolonged exposure, but none of the attack carried through to the cross or to the girl.

Beast Boy chuckled. "Recognize her? I'm sure you know by now that I brought a few friends with me when I left your mental prison. Pain here is completely autistic, making her an easy acquisition and a convenient source of magical energy. She's so pliant – she doesn't resist me at all. She's the perfect girl, don't you think?"

That cross must be Pain's soulself, Raven realized. Raven knew that her sisters had magical abilities of their own, since they were segregated from her soul long enough to become self-aware. But she was still amazed that they could have their own soulselves as well. Gross had a succubus... Pain has this cross... what else did they have? And what kind of magic did they use?

"Amazing!" Starfire gasped from the sidelines. She cradled Terra as the girl woke up. "Raven is truly kicking the butt, yes?"

"Don't ask me," Cyborg said, already back on his feet after some helpful rebooting by Robin. "I don't know anything about magic."

Terra slowly opened her eyes. And the first thing she saw was Raven and Beast Boy standing in an open area of the tile factory, staring each other down. "Beast... Boy?" she said weakly.

"You already know that attacking me with your telekinetic powers won't do anything but kill this host," Beast Boy said. "But I bet you haven't thought about how much strain a psychic battle would put on this boy's mind. Even if I'm possessing him, his soul will be affected by this battle too."

"He will live," Raven said, almost coldly. "He's a lot stronger than you think."

"Yes, he might live," he replied. "But that doesn't change the fact that I have the advantage." Beast Boy held up one hand, all five fingers extended. "Just five more minutes. That's how long it will take for the ritual to draw the necessary energy and activate. Once that happens, I can return to my body and draw on my full power. And without this world's "God" protecting them, I'll fully dominate this planet and all its people. I'll turn everyone into demons with my seed and start my conquest of the infinite universes anew."

Raven controlled her anger. She knew that her anger would feed him if she revealed it, with her expression or with her spiritual disposition. She kept it in her heart and remembered what Brave said to her about her nature. Raven understood herself now, and she understood how much her friends – and Beast Boy – meant to her. And with that understanding came greater strength, with which she would send this monster back to hell.

"Pain, please come back with me," Raven said gently amidst the raging magic of her soulself. "Please don't help Him."

Pain remained still, lost in her own world. Her lips mumbled incoherently, and her eyes stared at the ground into nothingness. The girl's spirit was broken long ago from all the pain she'd been forced to feel in Raven's stead. Pain was a product of the negativity in Raven's life. And Raven now felt guilty for it.

"She can't hear you," Beast Boy confirmed. "She has no will anymore. Which makes it that much easier for me to control her, AND her magic." Beast Boy pointed a finger at Raven, and the blackened cross glowed with red light as it used a magical ability. Raven screamed in pain as her body was suddenly infused with indescribable anguish. Every nerve in her body was alive with torturous pain. She collapsed to one knee when the attack finally ended, leaving her breathless and cross-eyed from the intense feeling.

"Raven!" Cyborg yelled. He tried to run forward to help her, but a telekinetic bolt knocked him back with enough force to leave an indentation in his chest. Robin ran over to help him get back on his feet. They both looked over to see Beast Boy holding up his right hand, his palm facing the group and smoldering with black smoke.

"Stay out of this, boys and girls," he said softly, but menacingly. He slowly lowered his hand. "Father and daughter time is precious. You'll each get your turn to die."

Raven managed to get back on her feet. "If you kill me... you'll lose your link to this world."

"Maybe," Beast Boy chuckled. "But I never said I was going to kill you. A wise parent once told his children to 'waste not, want not'. Why waste a precious mortal by killing it when you can torture it for months, or even years?"

Raven had heard enough. She wanted him dead. The mystic sent a call throughout her mind for her sisters to help her in her time of need. If she was going to defeat Trigon, she would need every ounce of strength her body and her soul had to offer.

"They're moving into position at the consciousness gate," Brave said internally. "In the mean time, I'll bring out my soulself to help you get past Pain."

Raven wordlessly agreed. She folded her arms and again shouted her magic words, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A circle of bright green light appeared at her feet and erupted upwards. At the peak of the eruption, a man dressed in a knight's chain shirt and tunic jumped from seemingly nowhere. He landed in front of Raven gracefully and immediately drew a massive broadsword with one hand from his scabbard. He stood at the ready and assumed a swordsman's stance.

Cyborg cocked his head curiously. "Hey... doesn't that look sort of like someone I know?"

"I was just about to comment as well," the alien said. She looked at the spirit's short hair and facial features, then looked across the floor at Beast Boy. "It sort of looks like..."

"These spirits are creations of Raven's mind," Robin pointed out. "Maybe this spirit represents something for Raven."

Terra still lay in Star's lap, her eyes focusing on Raven now. "...Bravery..." she whispered softly. Starfire looked down to ask what she said, but Terra was so out of it that she figured it was nothing.

The knight rushed forward towards Beast Boy. Pain's head rose as if someone had pulled a puppet string tied to her scalp. The black cross zoomed sideways, leaving a blur behind as it intercepted the swordsman's charge. Brave's soulself slashed at the massive symbol, each strike bouncing off and doing no visible damage. Finally, Brave invoked one of her spirit's magical abilities. The spirit drew what looked like a leather bag from inside his tunic and threw it at the cross. The bag exploded open on contact and spread blinding dust in all directions. The swordsman and the lower half of the cross disappeared from view for a split second as the dust fell. When it cleared, the knight was gone.

Beast Boy smirked and held his hand up the moment the swordsman flashed into view. A unimaginably intense blast of hellfire engulfed the knight, barely a foot away from where Beast Boy stood. The hellfire continued to flow from his hand, incinerating the monster with each passing second. Finally, Raven's massive soulself gathered enough energy to attack with its dark breath. At that moment, Beast Boy cut off the fiery attack and swooped his other hand in an arc before him. The scorched body of the knight flung through the air and intercepted the breath weapon, protecting Beast Boy from harm and causing Raven to complete the destruction of the weakened knight.

"No!!" Robin shouted. But it was too late.

Raven buckled over as Brave screamed in her head from the intense pain of having her projection destroyed. Raven's nose bled and she felt a sharp pain in her head that made her stumble, almost knocking her down entirely. Beast Boy laughed loudly at Raven's pain, while the other Titans could do nothing but worry about their friend's condition.

"That must have hurt," Beast Boy said. "But not as much as this will hurt." He lifted his left hand like a conductor, and the black cross glowed again with red light. Another surge of intense pain enveloped Raven, making her scream even more. She fell to the ground, her body smoking from all that painful magic striking her in rapid succession. When her body didn't move, the others feared she was dead.

"You have four minutes," Beast Boy noted. He looked up at the giant raven spirit as it waited for another command from its owner. "She must still be alive if that thing is here. Impressive."

As Raven started to stand again, he continued. "But the more you fight me, the more time you waste. And the more you weaken yourself. There's no way you can beat me, daughter. I've been alive since before the dawn of man. I was there to witness man's birth beside God. Do you really think you stand a chance against me?"

"I'm not giving up!" Raven shouted, showing that Brave's influence was still there. "You can brag all you like, but when it comes down to it you're still able to die just like the rest of us! Humans and superheroes alike have to deal with death, and so do you Father!"

"Heh heh heh... you talk too much," Beast Boy smirked. "But then again, so did your mother. Even as I raped her, she talked too much. In any case, it made it more enjoyable for me... heh heh heh."

Raven couldn't restrain herself anymore. "Don't EVER talk about her!" She waved her hand and used what little of Brave's soulself remained to summon the massive broadsword the knight had used before. She then reached into her mind and metaphysically held the hand of one of her other sisters, begging her for help. Raven felt Gross' mind make contact with hers.

"Real quickly," Gross said as she called upon her magic. "...I'm sorry for what I said. I... I doubt Robbie likes chicks who say things like that."

Raven was a little surprised, but a little grateful at the same time. She shared a warm feeling of acceptance with her sister. "I'm sure he doesn't."

Suddenly, Gross' succubus spirit appeared beside Raven and her giant soulself. The succubus grabbed the broadsword created by Brave's remaining power and instantly flew into battle. The succubus shot over the cross with a quick, aerial zig-zag, then charged straight at Beast Boy. Once again he lifted his hand and called upon his hellfire to incinerate the succubus. But to his surprise, the spirit charged through it as if it were nothing!

"Yeah!" Robin cheered. "Get 'im Ray-ray!" On cue, the succubus slashed at Beast Boy with its giant broadsword and cut deeply into the spirit inside. There was no visible damage on the surface, but it was obvious that the possessing spirit was in pain.

Gross' succubus reared back for another hit, when Beast Boy telekinetically catapulted her back across the field. A quick flex of her wings saved the succubus from crashing into the wall. She resumed her charge as Raven's soulself powered up for another direct assault. This time, Raven kept a careful eye on Beast Boy's movements in anticipation of a counterattack. She wouldn't make the same mistake again.

"Alright! A two-pronged attack for the good guys!" Cyborg whooped.

"Don't celebrate just yet," Beast Boy growled. The moment the succubus passed him for a side-strike, he leapt into the air and transformed into what appeared to be a pterodactyl-sized dragon with the grotesque appearance of a demonic crocodile.

"He changed shape!" Raven gasped. "He's using Beast Boy's powers too!"

"But that's not an animal," Starfire remarked from the sidelines.

"Trigon has corrupted Beast Boy," Raven realized. "Not only his spirit, but his body too."

Beast Boy swooped over Pain and her cross, but not without ordering them to counterattack the succubus. The black cross glowed red, and Gross' succubus was targeted by the painful attack which seared every nerve in the spirit's magical body. Raven felt the pain transfer to her sister, but only felt a little of the pain herself. She struggled to remain focused.

The demonic creature tried to pounce on Raven, but she quickly shielded herself with her soulself's wing. Beast Boy's ramming attack was deflected by the wing and gave the giant raven an opening for a free hit. The bird brought its breath weapon to bear and shot a rapid series of violet fireballs rather than one massive burst. The demon's legs bent in an unnatural fashion so that it was now able to run like an ostrich, and it folded its wings to facilitate the new mode of travel. Beast Boy ran and jumped over most of the attacks, but the last round of shots hit dead on. A flurry of dark fireballs slammed his side, knocking him to the ground with telekinetic force and crushing his spirit with each shot.

"Three minutes left! Then your friends will become fodder for the ritual!" Beast Boy shouted as he shifted shape into a cross between a green alien like the Martian Manhunter and a porcupine. The pin-covered demon "exploded" its upper layer of skin, as if it were a balloon that had been inflated too much. Pins flew in all directions and stabbed into anything they touched. Raven quickly shielded her friends with one wing of her giant raven, then shielded herself with the other. Pain's black cross instinctively moved into position to protect her, leaving Gross' succubus free to move again. But before it could react, the succubus was caught in the crossfire and was impaled by hundreds of these bullet-like pins. The spirit burst into magical debris, and Brave's sword fell towards the ground before stabbing into it.

Raven wordlessly called out to Gross. There was no answer. She called again, and again no answer came. Gross had completely vanished.

"That attack wiped out her energy reserves," Brave said grimly. "Her spirit was destroyed along with her succubus. She... put too much of herself into it."

Raven couldn't help but feel guilty. Gross must have tried to fight her hardest because of her. But because of that, she died along with her spirit. Raven felt tears in her eyes as her heart boiled with rage and the pain of loss. She'd lost a part of herself.

Beast Boy reverted to his mundane form as he motioned for Pain's cross to stand beside him. He smiled at Raven. "You should thank me. Negative spirits can cause trouble unless you do something about them."

"She was a part of me!" Raven said angrily. "I don't care how negative or positive she is! She's my 'sister'!" It was hard for Raven to tell whether she was the one saying that, or if it was Brave declaring her anguish. Both of them felt the pain of losing a part of themselves. And they both knew that they could be next.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, you smell good when you're angry." Beast Boy inhaled deeply, taking in the odor of the battle and the magic around them. "I just love a good drama. So much negativity to feed off of."

"...We have to calm down and think," Brave said supportively. "Yelling at him only makes him stronger still. And he enjoys our pain."

Raven sensed the pentagram matrix nearby reaching its crescendo. Evil energy gathered from the city snaked its way into the matrix and stored all the energy her father would need to recreate his body and reunite his soul with it. If that happened, everything was for naught. He would be unstoppable. But this fight was showing her just how unstoppable he was even when weakened. She didn't think she could beat him, no matter how many of her sisters helped.

"Raven!"

The magician turned around. Terra was standing on her feet, a single line of blood running down her cheek from where Beast Boy pricked her before Raven arrived. Starfire was standing behind her, helping her stand since she still seemed to be in bad condition from her initial beating.

"We're here for you," Terra said firmly. "Don't forget that."

"Yes!" Starfire chimed in. "We are here to help you!"

"You bet we are!" Cyborg added. "We ain't letting nobody mess with our friends."

"You can count on us," Robin said. "Don't be afraid to ask."

Raven wished she could say something hopeful to them, to keep their morale up. But at this point, she wasn't sure there was a way to win. The matrix was building up with energy, and it was only minutes away from releasing Trigon's main body with the energy of her friends. And when he reunited with it, he would be unstoppable.

Suddenly, Raven realized something. It was only minutes before Trigon's main body would be remade. But then, he would have to reunite with it. And for that, he had to do the same thing he did to Beast Boy if he possessed him through her. Beast Boy would have to touch Trigon's main body.

Which meant that until that happened, Trigon's body was an empty shell with no power of its own. It was just a big target. But in order for it to be born, Trigon needed a lot of energy. That was what her friends were bound to the ritual for. How could she save them...

"You can do it Raven!" Terra cheered. The other Titans followed suit and rooted her on, hoping that their words would keep her spirits up. Raven stared across the battlefield at Beast Boy and smiled confidently. It was the same cocky smile that B.B. and Cyborg saw on their trip into Raven's mind, where they met Brave and the other spirits.

"You have two minutes left," Beast Boy grinned. "And with Pain at my side, you can't touch me. You've felt so much pain in your life, that she's stronger than any of your positive emotions. You can't beat me with them."

"Two minutes is too long a time to wait," Raven taunted. "So let's fast-forward a little bit." Raven crossed her arms over her chest, and her eyes glowed white like a burning star. "Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" She shouted the last word and released a pulse of magical power, which infused with her massive soulself and gave it an aura so bright that it blinded everyone in the room. The giant raven then flew up above Raven and entered the dual pentagrams before exploding into its component energies. Raven's magic infused with the pentagram matrix and brought the ritual to its immediate fruition. There was no sacrifice - no loss of life in order to provide spiritual power. It was nothing but Raven's untapped strength - the strength of a demonic demigod.

A massive portal of red light erupted into being between the two pentagrams, right beside the other Teen Titans. They gazed in utter shock as Raven brought about the very thing she was supposed to be preventing!

"This is NOT what we had in MIND!" Terra shouted.

"Trust me!" Raven yelled over the roar. "When you see Trigon's body, throw everything you've got at it. It may take a while, but you CAN destroy it! I'll keep him from uniting with it!"

"But... I thought we were supposed to die when this happened." Starfire said nervously.

"Don't think about that now!" Robin ordered. "Just follow the plan."

"You call THIS a plan!?" Cyborg squawked.

"It looks like a plan to me," Robin said, drawing three of his bombs from his belt and holding them like shurikens. "Teen Titans, get ready!"

"I hope this idea is as good as it sounds," Raven thought.

"It's better than nothing," Brave countered. "Let's just hope it works."

Beast Boy laughed loudly opposite of Raven. "You really are interesting, daughter. I must admit that I haven't had a child as amusing as you since Hitler. I never would have guessed that you'd summon my body yourself to save the lives of your friends. How wonderfully foolish."

Raven magically called out to Brave's sword, which was still impaled into the ground. She summoned it to her and grabbed the hilt when it flew its course. Raven stared coldly into the eyes of her enemy – into the eyes of the boy she loved. "Now, you just have to get by me, and you'll win. But I promise I won't make it easy."

Beast Boy laughed. "Very well. Then say good-bye to your WORLD!" He pointed at Raven, and Pain's soulself activated as it had many times before. It glowed red and sent out a wave of pain towards Raven. But before it could take effect, a massive force overwhelmed the attack and prevented it from reaching her. The wave of pain was countered by a wave of gentility.

"Mouse!" Brave said, surprised. She and Raven felt Timid's presence at the edge of their consciousness. "YOU did that!?"

Timid tried to hide her embarrassment, which psychically projected to her sisters even though she didn't want it to. "I-I... hope it's enough."

"That's unbelievable," Brave said in awe. Pain's attack was completely neutralized, and the black cross' continued assault was being stopped as well. They were literally immune to the cross' attack now!

Beast Boy growled when he realized that this tactic wasn't working. He quickly dispelled Pain and her soulself, and then he changed into the crocodilian dragon again flew overhead. Raven commanded her soulself to reform and attack, which it did with startling speed. The giant, four-eyed raven smacked Beast Boy with its wing, telekinetically knocking it down to ground level. Raven then rushed forward and slashed at it with Brave's sword with all her might. Trigon's spirit received a deep gash that made Him roar in pain. Raven then "grabbed" Beast Boy telekinetically and threw him across the room into a rusted tiling machine, away from the portal where his body was manifesting. Raven walked slowly towards where He crashed, ready to cleave His soul to ribbons by hand if need be. She would have Beast Boy back, no matter what she had to do to get him back.

"It's coming through!" Robin shouted. He and the other Titans gawked as Trigon's head squeezed out of the portal, like a baby being born from a woman in labor. Tormented screams punctuated the "birth" from whatever hellish dimension the portal opened into. The head of Trigon poked out, and it looked up at the Titans with a blank, feral stare and its maw gaping open.

"That thing is alive!" Cyborg yelled.

"Devils are animalistic until they've reunited with their soul!" Raven yelled back as she sword-slashed at Beast Boy repeatedly. He dodged and ducked under the soul-killing weapon, using many different demonic forms to aid in his battle. "The body will fight back until Trigon reunites with it! But He's weak enough for you to kill if you destroy his entire body before it regenerates!"
"It can regenerate too!?" Cyborg shouted. "You've gotta be kidding. His head is already as big as a dump truck and we have to destroy the whole thing!"

"Who cares how big it is!" Terra said, her eyes glowing yellow as she made the earth rumble around her. "Just keep hitting it before its arms are free!" Starfire nodded in agreement and powered up her starbolts.

"Teen Titans, GO!!" Robin threw his three bombs at Trigon's face and leapt aside. The demon roared at the pain of the explosion, which was followed by a dual attack from Cyborg's sonic cannon and Starfire's starbolts. They both fired until they exhausted their immediate energy and stepped aside to recharge naturally. Terra used her geokinetic abilities and shot spikes from the ground into Trigon's head, impaling it in multiple points. Remarkably, the demon was alive even though the spot where its brain should be had over a dozen earthen spikes driven through it. Trigon's mouth opened wide, and a humongous blast of hellfire erupted from his maw. Terra quickly caused walls of earth to rise in succession as each wall was blown to bits by the hellfire attack. Finally, as it was about to reach where she stood, Starfire flew in and swept her out of harms way. The hellfire continued through the factory wall and exploded against a neighboring building, reducing it to ashes.

Elsewhere, Beast Boy tried to get past Raven by transforming into various fast forms, all of which Raven intercepted with well-timed magic attacks or her sword. Finally, when they were in an area that was relatively open, Raven utilized her sister Smart's magic and called upon the ultimate telekinetic shield. Smart's "Ego Shield" surrounded her and Beast Boy in an invisible, hazy barrier that isolated them from the rest of the factory. Raven and Smart were so strong when working together that even the possessed Beast Boy would have a hard time breaking out. But that also meant that Raven wouldn't be able to escape without lowering the shield. And she didn't plan on doing that until one of them was defeated.

"You can't win, daughter," Beast Boy said as he back up and stalked from side-to-side, like a panther waiting for the right moment to attack. "If you 'kill' me, I'll simply enter your body. I can do that because not only do you have some of my DNA in you, but you also carry some of my soul. You have the potential to be exactly what I am – a demonic god. All you have to do is give in to your hatred."

Raven slid a strand of hair back into place. "I already saw this movie. I won't go to the dark side."

"Joke all you like, but this will end with you on my side or on your knees!" Beast Boy changed shape into another demon – this one something like a giant maggot with a bony syringe for a prehensile tail. Raven blocked his blows with a telekinetic shield localized on her forearm, while attacking with Brave's spiritual sword. The sword had no physical form, but it clanked and clashed like a metal sword anytime it struck Trigon's soul. Trigon dodged under one of these strikes and shot its needle-tipped tail at Raven, but she managed to deflect it with her shield. The tail sputtered green juice from the tip, which turned the ground it touched into a tiny amoeboid with an aura of evil inside its tiny plasma body. It died off quickly, but it made Raven wonder just what her father was trying to inject her with.

"I'll return to my former greatness in one body or another," Beast Boy yelled. "If you insist on keeping me away from mine, then I'll just have to take YOURS!" With that, his tail slammed through Raven's shield and pierced her forearm like a long ice pick. Raven screamed at the sudden pain, then tried to yank it free. Before she could though, the syringe-like tip folded on itself so that it looked like a fish hook now. Raven's arm caught on the hook part when she tried to pull it free, which only solidified the hold that it had on her. Raven swung her sword at the tail, but Beast Boy rushed forward and caught her wrist with his clawed hands.

The demon looked at her evilly, his snaky tongue flicking in anticipation. "You've been caught, my dear. Once I put my venom inside of you... you'll be mine. And your dear friends will die by your own hands."

Raven's soulself erupted from her body and bit down, hard, on Beast Boy's demonic tail. The demon roared in pain as the super-spirit bit the tail in half, then wing-smacked him away from Raven. Raven collapsed to her knees and cradled her arm, which was still caught by the hooked tail and being filled by the disgusting venom her father spoke of. She couldn't pull it free, nor could she burn it away with her magic. But since it was pulled free of Beast Boy's body, it started to dissolve on its own into the same amoebic ooze that spewed from it before.

Beast Boy regrew the tail instantly. It was like a salamander who'd lost its tail, only the regeneration was much faster for this demon. Beast Boy hissed and laughed at the same time as it watched Raven pant from the venom in her system. Slowly but surely, it was infusing her soul with more and more of Trigon's evil.

Raven felt her worst nightmare coming to life. Her human appearance faded away and was replaced by the red skin and the four eyes associated with Trigon's species. Raven was no longer human.

She was a monster.