The Ways of Magic

A/N: Hey, Matt K. here. I usually wouldn't update this much this fast, but I'm recovering from being hit by an 18 wheeler. I guess that works out good for those of you who like this story, because I have plenty of time to write it. If you decide to review my story, please tell me if you think I should keep Rorek in my next one, because I'm thinking of continuing this story line that I have in my head. Don't worry though, this story is not over yet, not by a long shot. Enjoy the story. Oh yeah, I like the ending of this chapter.

Chapter 3:

Rorek was standing on top of Titans Tower looking down at the city below. Suddenly, a figure landed beside him. He was clad all in black with a hood covering his face. "Well," the figure said, "You must be Rorek." Rorek looked at the new figure and said, "Yeah, that's me. Who are you?" The figure gave a cold laugh, "The real question here is 'Who are you?'" He pointed at Rorek and continued, "Another important question is...what's your purpose here in Jump City?" Rorek shook his head and said, "I don't know. I guess it's to eventually join the Titans and make this world a better place." The strange figure said in a cold voice, "You don't have a clue, do you?" He gave another cold laugh, "You know she's going to betray you, don't you? You can feel it in your heart, can't you?" Rorek took a step back, "Who's going to betray me?" The man in black chuckled, "She's empty inside, just like you. Just like you." An angry look came over Rorek's face, "You can't be talking about Raven! Raven is my friend, she would never betray me!" The man advanced a few menacing steps toward Rorek, "Rorek, you know I am talking about Raven. In your time of need, she and the rest of the Titans will leave you to rot." The man looked up at the sky, "It's time for you to depart. Remember what I said." Rorek said, "Time for me to depart?" The man nodded, and raised his hand towards Rorek. Rorek felt himself being pushed over the edge of Titans Tower.

Rorek was falling extremely fast, faster than gravity should be able to take him. Just before he hit the ground, everything went black.

In Titans Tower, both Raven and Rorek woke up screaming.

It was Saturday morning, and the Titans were almost done with breakfast by the time Rorek made it down. Cyborg offered him some breakfast, but Rorek turned it down, saying he wasn't hungry.

Rorek heard the voice from his dream in his head, 'Time for you to depart.'. Rorek thought 'Yes, it is time for me to go. The Teen Titans will manage without me.' He looked at everyone and said, "I'm going out for a little while, I'll be back later." He felt guilty about lying to his friends. "If they are my friends." After all, he had been at Titans Tower for two weeks. He had assisted in taking down his fair share of bad guys, and still they did not offer him a spot on the team. As Rorek left Titans Tower, he felt a pang of guilt about leaving Raven.

He walked towards downtown Jump City, determined to not return to Titans Tower, because for some reason he knew that his dream last night was not just a dream. That man...that voice had seemed very familiar to him, and he believed what the man said. "What would cause Raven and the other Titans to betray me?" he said out loud. He felt himself being drawn to a place where the powers of magic flowed freely from the earth. This would be a good place for him to meditate...and to train.

It was late afternoon at Titans Tower, and Starfire was eating an egg, cucumber, and bologna sandwich while watching Cyborg and Beast Boy play video games. She shoved the sandwich down her throat in the typical Tamaranian style of eating and said, "I have not seen our friend Rorek since this morning. Do you think he is in danger?"

Cyborg looked at Starfire and said, "No, Rorek can take care of himself." Beast Boy agreed, "Yeah, he can definitely watch out for himself." Two days before, Rorek had used his magic to stick Beast Boy to the ceiling after several failed attempts by Beast Boy to make a joke.

Starfire looked reassured, "Perhaps, like Raven, he just needs some time alone."

Cyborg wasn't listening anymore. "Yeah, what she said." He mumbled as he tried to catch up with Beast Boy in their favorite racing game.

Raven paced around her room, unable to shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. She was worried about Rorek, although she would never admit it. For some reason she didn't understand, she had seemed to have been in Rorek's dream as an observer. She began to look through her books, determined to find some reference to a strange figure in black.

After an hour of searching, it hit her. She immediately sat down and began to meditate, hoping to use her empathy skills to locate Rorek. She hoped she was not too late.

It was about nine 'o' clock at night, and Robin was finishing his patrol of the city when he saw something strange. On top of one of the high rise buildings, there was a strange gathering. It looked like a group of cultists of some sort. They were all dressed in gray cloaks and were all chanting around a fire. Robin said, "Can people get any dumber?" and used his grappling hook to hoist himself up to the top of the building.

Rorek was in a daze. He had begun to try and find out how far his powers would go, and the results were surprising. He found that he could unleash massive amounts of energy by simply visualizing it. Extended his staff and several fiery meteors, each about the size of a baseball, rocketed away from him and exploded when they hit a wall. After that, he made a beam of green energy that seemed to disintegrate whatever it touched.

Rorek gave a half smile, "If anyone tries to betray me now, they will pay for it in spades. I just hope that I am wrong about believing that guy."

He looked around at all of the destruction he had wrought. It was impressive, to say the least. Rorek saw something he hadn't seen before and said, "How did I miss that?"

It was now nine thirty, and four Titans were starting to get worried about Rorek's whereabouts. After all, Rorek may not be an official Teen Titan, but he was still a good friend, and a very capable fighter.

For the past half hour, Starfire had been asking them to help her find Rorek. She had asked, and asked, and asked again before Cyborg gave in. "Ok Star, I'll go help you find Rorek."

As Cyborg and Starfire were preparing to leave, Raven came down from her room. "I'm going with you." she said in a voice that brooked no argument. The three of them left.

A few minutes later, Beast Boy emerged from his room, where he had been reading his comic books. He looked around and noticed that everyone was gone, and decided that the others had gave in to Starfire's constant begging. He sat on the couch and began to watch TV. He was halfway through his favorite show when his communicator beeped. "Beast Boy! I need help!" It was Robin, and he was asking for help, which odd because Robin was always able to take care of himself. Beast Boy said, "I'll be right there."

Seconds later, a green bird was flying toward downtown Jump City.

Robin was fighting a losing battle. He had originally thought that he would be dealing with a group of teens who were dabbling in the supernatural. However, when he made it to the top of the building, things immediately went downhill. The leader, who Robin hadn't seen because he was dressed in all black, had said, "Kill him."

The cultists had immediately attacked, and Robin was surprised by their sheer speed. It was incredible, they were so fast that Robin could not even hit them. After a short while of taking a beating, Robin had decided to call the others. He called Titans Tower, and the only one there was Beast Boy, who said he would be on his way. Robin had tried to call the others, but one of the cultists kicked his communicator out of his hands. Robin watched it arc through the air before shattering on the concrete roof of the building.

Suddenly, a small green bird swooped over Robin's shoulder and turned into a giant Tyrannosaur. Beast Boy used his tail to knock two of the surprised cultists unconscious. However, there were still at least six left. Robin couldn't tell exactly, because they were moving too fast.

Beast Boy morphed back into himself and yelled, "Who are these guys?" Robin whipped around, catching one of his attackers in the chest with his staff. "I wish I knew!" he said. Robin noticed the cultists that they had knocked down were getting up. It looked as if there was no way only the two of them could win. Robin yelled to Beast Boy, "Retreat, we need the others if we're going to beat them."

Beast Boy turned into a huge Pterodactyl and grabbed Robin. They flew back toward Titans Tower.

Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg had looked everywhere for Rorek, and had found no trace of him. After a fruitless search, they decided to return to the tower, hoping against hope that Rorek would be there. As Cyborg pulled his car into one of the garages, he noticed a large Pterodactyl land near them.

It was Beast Boy and Robin, and they looked as if they had lost a fight with a lawnmower. Starfire, Raven, and Cyborg rushed over to them, anxious to know what had happened.

The Titans were sitting around the table, discussing Robin and Beast Boy's fight when suddenly the door to the dining room opened. A very tired looking Rorek staggered to the table. He noticed the Titans were wearing worried looks. "Sorry to make you guys worry about me. I was...training."

They heard a noise from outside the room, and Rorek said, "I brought someone who I think you might want to meet." Into the room stepped a very pretty girl with blonde hair.

The Teen Titan's jaws hit the floor, and Beast Boy managed to squeak one word.

"Terra!"