Chapter Four: Both Sides of the Story

"You will stay in this wood until my return?" Starfire asked of Raven, who was sitting cross-legged on a bed of leaves, preparing to confront her fears. She merely nodded in reply. "You will be safe here?"

"Star, I'm fine, get back before they wonder where you are," Raven barked.

"Right," said Starfire, nodding dutifully. "I will return soon," she promised. And with that, she flew back to the Titan Tower.

Inwardly, Raven was furious. Not with any of her friends who she was normally irritated with, but she was furious with the one who had invaded her head.

"Abuse of power, that's what it is," she muttered to herself before she began to slowly and cautiously open her mind again and clear her head of all other thoughts.

She looked around and saw nothing but the barren black wasteland that was her inner sanctum. No intruders to steal her consciousness. But something was strangely different about the familiar landscape. She had been here recently, and for a long time, upset and grief-stricken. But when and why she could not recall.

She took a deep breath and rifled through her subconscious memory, but she noted there were holes here as well. What had devastated her mind so much?

Larkin? But surely he would have had the decency to at least announce his presence? Why would he toy with my memory?

She did find the memory of the battle with Jinx, Mammoth and Psimon outside the jewelry store and was surprised to find she had little to do with it.

Suddenly, her mind allowed her to see who the child was and why she had been so upset.

It was him. I knew it.

She remembered ushering the boy into an alley and away from the fight. She had let the other Titans believe the Hive gang was after the jewels. In truth, it was merely coincidence that Larkin had chosen the corner of a jewelry shop to create a diversion to lure the Titans out of their home and observe their fighting skills.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded of the boy who seemed around ten years old.

"Looking for you," he replied simply. "I knew you'd come."

A chill went up Raven's spine but she squashed her apprehension like a spider on the wall. "The last time you messed with me, you nearly died," said Raven.

"You're right, you killed me," said Larkin. His voice was strange, like two people speaking at once. One voice seemed to be that of an older British man, the other a small boy. "You destroyed my body and condemned me to the life of a child. You transferred my consciousness to this wretched body. Though I am weak physically, my mind is sharper than ever. I've made sure of that."

"I'm stronger than you. We've already shown that," said Raven.

"Are you so positive of that Raven?" Larkin said. "You sound doubtful."

"Shut up, munchkin," Raven snapped. "I will always be stronger than you, you little twerp."

"Would you please tell your friends to stop bullying my decoys?" Larkin said with a yawn. "I thought it would be entertaining to study the skillfulness of the 'great Teen Titans,' but I find it rather pathetic to watch them fight for something that doesn't exist. I may have to put the poor animals out of their misery."

"They can fight you, and they can beat you," Raven said bitterly.

"But can they fight you?" Larkin asked, with a hint of mischief.

"What are you saying?" Raven demanded, grabbing the youth by the collar of his shirt.

"I warn you, my friend, that you better watch your mental barriers. Something sinister might leak through."

She withdrew from the memory, trying to keep impassive.

It must have been Larkin. But he's proud and always makes his presence known. Why would he…

He must have other plans he doesn't want me to know about.

She cursed to herself, wishing she could let her mind fly like Larkin could and search for him. But she was confined to her own head, and her own mind.

I need a spell.

Starfire tried to be as quiet as possible upon returning to her home.

"Starfire!" The angry scream could be heard for miles and at an instant she found herself in front of Cyborg.

"Where have you been?" he demanded. "I thought something had happened to you."

"I…"

"Leave her alone, Cyborg, she's not a prisoner."

"Beast Boy, you are healthy!" Starfire cried, elated to see the changeling had assumed his usual shape.

"Healthy? Not yet, but close to it," he said. "Cyborg fixed me up nice."

"You didn't do a bad job on those bandages, Star," said Cyborg. "But they might have helped a little more if you'd remembered to hook them together at the end so they don't unravel."

Starfire blushed. "I am sorry. But Beast Boy is alright, and that is good."

"Hey, where did you go anyway?" Beast Boy asked, curiously.

"I needed to go for a walk," said Starfire. "I felt confined in here, after all that has passed today…" Starfire took a deep breath and prepared to voice her controversial opinion. "My friends, I do not believe that Raven could have done such a thing on her own. I cannot believe it, for she is my friend and I would like to think that she is better than that."

The two sat in silence, unsure of what to say. Cyborg walked to the window and looked out of it as Beastboy sat on the corner of the couch unmoving. Starfire continued.

"I wish to discover what has caused such a horrible thing to happen and I need your help. Could you please tell me all you know about last night and Raven's behavior?"

Cyborg made a forceful movement to turn and stare at the floor, angry, disappointed and fatigued. Beast Boy's response was a subtle avoidance of meeting Starfire's eyes as he curled into as small a position as possible to feel secure. The only thing Starfire could see in his eyes was a baffled shame and deep personal injury.

"What's there to tell?" Beastboy said, dejectedly. "Robin's almost dead and Raven almost killed him."

"But there must be more—"

"She betrayed us," Cyborg said suddenly, turning to Starfire with a strange rage burning in his eyes. "There is nothing more to say."

"She betrayed us…" Beast Boy repeated in a meek whisper. Starfire was aghast.

"How can you so easily turn your back on a friend when she needs you most?" she cried, dismayed.

"The same way she could forget all she means to us and turn her back on us," Cyborg retorted. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and calmed down. He calmly walked over to the couch and sat down next to Beast Boy.

"You don't understand, Star," he said at last. "You weren't there. You didn't see him. Might I remind you that though you may still trust her, I watched as she tried to tear our friend to shreds, holding Beast Boy back only because it was Raven and because I figured it had to be some sort of morbid joke. But Raven said it herself. She finds few things funny. I saw the blood come out of his skull, Starfire. I heard BB's pained whimper and the crack of his leg breaking as he hit the stone." Cyborg tried to smile at his friend on the other side of the couch who was analyzing a fly that had landed on the coffee table.

"I felt her magic working on me. I tasted the blood in my mouth, mixed with salt water from the sea. You can't understand Starfire, because she didn't rip out your heart and slice it up like Freddy Krouger. You weren't the one she destroyed."

The only thing positive emotion Starfire had at that moment was that Raven had not been there to hear this.

"I… I am sorry…" Starfire said at last, unsure of what else to say. Perhaps now is not the time to discuss Raven's innocence, she thought to herself.

Suddenly her eyes widened as she realized her communicator was going off.

"Well, I shall leave you to your thoughts, farewell!" she said hastily, before turning into the hallway and running to her room.

"I need your help," said Raven evenly.

"I would be honored to help you," said Starfire.

"Er, great. Listen, I know who's responsible for this—"

"Well then we shall show him that no one hurts our friends!" Starfire said, heroically.

"Uh, yeah, but we need to find him first. That's where I need your help. I need specific book. It's in my room in a box under my… why are you looking at me like that?"

Starfire blinked. "You are permitting me to enter your sleeping chamber? While you are not present?"

"It's the only way short of me sneaking into Titan Tower and getting blown to pieces by Cyborg," Raven replied. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."

"I'm sure if we explained that you are not at fault—"

"It won't help," said Raven. "They're too shaken right now, I'm sure of it. We have to get this guy on our own, and then we'll tell them."

After Cyborg's speech, Starfire knew Raven was right. But still… "We may need them in battling this person."

"No," said Raven. "He's stronger than I thought he was. But I've grown stronger too since we last met."

"You have encountered this murderer before?" Starfire looked surprised. Raven gave her an ironic smile.

"Of course. No one could pick out my mind from the myriad of others out there unless he'd already been inside it before and could identify the feel of it." Raven almost laughed at the horror-struck look on Starfire's face. "But I'll explain it later. Right now, I need that book."

Starfire tried to make sure Beast Boy and Cyborg were preoccupied before she ventured to Raven's room. She retrieved the book Raven had wanted from the box and gave it a triumphant smile. Tucking it under her arm, she left the room, so excited that she was about to clear her friend's name that she didn't think to check if anyone was watching.

"What were you doing in Raven's room?" asked Cyborg as he was walking along with a grilled cheese sandwich in one hand and a soda in the other.

"I…" Starfire started. "I was looking for something." It wasn't a lie.

"It wouldn't be in her room," Cyborg said shaking his head with a nostalgic smile. "She hates people in her room. I'm sure if she ever found out you were in her room…" But he stopped mid sentence. The smile disappeared and he shook his head. He continued on his path down the hall and Starfire heaved a sigh of relief.

She was making her way to the roof to fly away so she wouldn't have to use the elevator, when she noticed Beast Boy coming down from the roof.

"You can't read up there," he said, noting the book. "It's too dark."

"I was going up to look at the stars," the Tamaranian replied. "This book says Venus is particularly bright tonight." She was surprised at how easily the white lies were slipping out of her mouth and thought Raven would be quite proud of her. Shrugging, Beast Boy let her go.

But unfortunately for Starfire, something went wrong.

As she tried to leave the tower, the book weighed her down as if she was trying to lift the whole tower off the ground. Confused, she tried again and again, but the book would not let her leave the roof.

"Damn it, I forgot," said Raven when Starfire contacted her to notify her of the hitch in the plan. "That book won't leave the tower. An anti-theft thing."

"So what will we do?" Starfire said, her eyes desperate. Raven sighed.

"I guess I'll have to go to the book," she said. "You can't let Cyborg or Beast Boy see me do you understand?"

"You're coming here?" Starfire sounded worried. Cyborg's monologue was still fresh in her mind. "Raven, if you are caught…"

"We'll try and explain if we're forced to," said Raven. "Whether they believe—whether they want to believe it or not is up to them."

"But…"

"Meet me on the roof," said Raven. But before Starfire could respond, she lost contact.

"I don't like this…" she muttered to herself. "Not at all."

Starfire waited on the roof for hours, ever anxious that at any moment, Beast Boy or Cyborg would come through the door and ask what she was doing. But they never did. Starfire waited so long that eventually she fell asleep.

"OK, come on, let's go, Sleeping Beauty," Raven hissed into her ear. Starfire gave a start and then nodded.

"What time is it?" she asked with a yawn.

"Just past 2 AM," Raven replied. "Do you have the book?"

"I… yes," Starfire nodded and handed Raven what she had been using as a pillow. Raven flipped through it until she found the spell she needed. She muttered to herself, concentrated, and muttered the words again. She paused.

"Alright, it's done," said Raven.

"What did you do?" Starfire asked.

"It's sort of like a compass. I shaped a mind probe to Larkin's mental pattern, and it's seeking him out and directing me to him. When I come in physical contact with him, I can really hit him where it hurts."

"Where is that?" Starfire asked.

"His mind," Raven replied curtly, revenge flaring in her eyes. But she frowned suddenly and the vengefulness transformed to suppressed anxiety. "That's not right…"

"What?" Starfire asked, looking worried.

"Larkin's closer than I thought," Raven said gravely. "He's somehow in Titan Tower."