Thank you everyone, for the ideas, compliments, and just overall encouragement.

It really helps.

Disclaimer: I don't own TT or the other villains involved with evil schemes. Now, on with the story!

Ch. 8

"Raven!!" Starfire yelled, but it was too late. BB and Raven had gotten sucked into the swirling pink vortex.

Slade laughed. "Well, it seems like your forces are depleting Titans. Do you wish to continue on? I highly doubt that you can beat me, especially now. Although it's not like you could have in the first place.

Cyborg gritted his teeth. "BB and Raven are gone, and with the three of us, we can't give up the city to them!"

Plasmus laughed, sending another spurt of purple slime. Starfire sent an onslaught of eye beams, but to no avail. The gigantic zit just morphed his body to meet the oncoming projectiles.

Robin pulled out his Bo staff. This wasn't going to be easy, going down like this. Three titans couldn't fight off HIVE, Plasmus, cinderblock, and Slade . . .

"Robin, what do we do?"

A new girl, wearing Slade's emblem, rose up on a rock. A rock made from part of the street. "You die!"

Raising her hands, the blonde girl grunted, and huge blocks of the street soared into the air, then flying at the titans.

"No." Robin's voice was monotone, much like Raven's. "WE FIGHT!"

Twirling his staff, he dove into the fray, instantly knocking out Gizmo with a heavy whack on the temple.

Starfire saw the blonde girl waving her hands, trying to hit cyborg as he battled both Cinderblock and Plasmus, and wasn't winning.

"Terra!"

The girl's eyes focused on the others with nothing other than disinterest. "Yes, widdle girl?"

"Why do you fight us? This isn't what you want . . ."

"What do you know of what I want?!" Rocks flew like crazy at the Tamaranian, forcing her to go on the defensive.

"I want to be my own person. I want to rule, I want --"

Before she could finish her sentence, a black explosion shook the stars above their heads.

Terra turned her head towards the noise, a mistake that temporarily cost her . . . her ability to see straight.

Starfire bit her upper lip. "Sorry, dear friend."

The blonde girl fell backwards into the oblivion of unconsciousness, her eyes closing as she lay on the rubble that was once part of a city.

Starfire lifter her gaze, as the black cloud above them began to form a tornado, only upside-down. Out of it, two figures drifted slowly down.

Beast Boy and Raven.

"Well that was weird." Cyborg said, taking advantage of a certain cinderblock's averted gaze, giving him an uppercut, sending the gigantic rock flying into a nearby building.

"Hey guys. Miss us?" BB smiled his typical smile, revealing yellow teeth that hadn't been brushed.

Raven covered his mouth quickly with a black aura. "We'll need to work on that, won't we?"

To this, he just shrugged. Peeling away the aura, he smirked as HIVE, Slade, Terra (now waking up), Cinderblock, and Plasmus now were beginning to charge. "What do you say we take care of this, eh?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Don't even start, BB."

He chuckled, letting out a blood-chilling roar, transforming into a dragon.

"That's new." Cyborg just looked onward, dumbfounded.

--You haven't seen anything yet.--

Raven's hands glowed with the usual black energy, but the aura surrounding her hands was easily twice the usual size.

"Yeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!!!"

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!"

Orange energy formed in BB's mouth, five times the size of Starfire's largest energy ball, and with a roar of fury both out of him and Raven, their blasts combined.

Forming a swirling mass of northern lights, the ball hit the street in front of the oncoming villains.

White.

The entire city around them was illuminated, creating a wall of light that filled every nook and cranny around them. Slade was thrown against the wall, cracking his mask. Cinderblock was thrown into the steel frame of a building under construction.

Terra hit a fountain, breaking the top off, as her suit let off a small electrical charge from the back.

Plasmus screeched, but then lay on the ground, sleeping sounder than an old guy with gas. (a/n: and that's pretty sound, believe me. OKAY!! I know that was a weird connection, but my gramps reminded me of a few . . . moments. cough don't ask cough)

Mammoth hit the ground harder than Cinderblock had, knocking him out cold, while Gizmo and Jynx fell in a jumbled heap on the sidewalk.

In one hit, it was over. The clouds of dust began to settle, while cheers from citizens rang through the air.

--You ever notice how those people only show up after the bad guys are defeated?-- BB said only to Raven.

She just smiled slightly.

"You gotta teach me that trick. THAT WAS SO COOL!!"

"Shut up, Cyborg. You don't know what we had to go through to be able to do that." Raven dusted off her arms with her hands, trying without avail to get rid of the dust that was around her, and all over her.

"Yes, friends!" Starfire, of course. "We must find out where you have been!"

"Where exactly have you guys been, anyway?" Robin's leader mode had kicked in. "And how long? You were only gone here about ten minutes."

"Long enough." Raven's smile widened, and her blush turned her face brick red. BB was glad his face was green . . . it helped hide the blush, to an extent.

Starfire looked from one to the other, then giggled with pure glee. She rose into the air, filled with an unearthly happiness.

Question marks appeared over Cyborg's head. "Did I miss something?"

Robin shrugged apologetically. "I guess we'll find out at the tower."

BB jumped at a new idea that popped into his head. Transforming into his dragon form, his wings reached from sidewalk to sidewalk. --Hey guys! Want a ride?--

Raven climbed up first, Starfire and Robin sitting side by side on BB's shoulder blades, while Cyborg occupied the rear, around the back of BB's ribs.

--Geez, Cyborg! How much do you weigh?--

"Well I'm made outta metal, so what do you expect? And besides, I think that you would know how much metal weighs . . . Your head's made out of it!"

At this the Titans laughed. BB snorted, but took off.

Raven only smiled, though. She was finally free. Free to feel, free to have fun, and . . .

Free to love.

The group sailed off into the night, appearing in the moon for a brief moment. They were on their way home. They were home.

sniff My baby's all grown up and out to destroy people!

Mushu-- Mulan

They really are, if you think about it . . . Okay, you don't care. That's fine. Sorry, this one's a bit short, but I thought that it would work better. The next one should be longer, so don't worry!

Comments appreciated! Review, and I'll continue!