Mark awoke to find himself in a darkened room. The various medical equipment that lay scattered on the bench beside his bed indicated that this was the infirmary. He looked around the sterile room, examining all the various tools that were present beside him. He opened his mouth to yawn, but a sharp pain in his side caused him to stop abruptly. He lifted his dirty school shirt and examined his side. It was severely bruised, and Mark figured that his ribs were probably bruised as well. With a slight sigh, he retired back to his bed and closed his eyes again.

He was unable to go to sleep, however, as he was interrupted by a faint knocking on the door. He swung his feet over the side of his bed and planted them firmly on the floor. Sensing there was nothing wrong with them, he slowly applied more pressure to his ankles, and with a slight push with his hands, he stood up. He walked cautiously towards the door and unlocked it, the door sliding open silently on its wheels. Standing in the doorway was a very welcomed figure in Mark's eyes. Raven stood there, her purple eyes showing no emotion.

"How do you feel?" She asked quietly.

"Better. Of course, with my bruised rib I won't be able to laugh at Beast-Boy's jokes, so I'm a bit shattered." Mark said, adding the final phrase with a slight smile.

Raven couldn't help but smile back, even if it was slight. She seemed uncomfortable, as if she wished to say something, but she couldn't find the right words. After a slight awkward silence, Raven bid a quick farewell and started for her room, cursing herself in her mind of what she had thought that she would achieve.

"There will never be anyone like you... you're a freak! You will never be loved. You can never love! haha... you will always be alone. Your so called 'friends' will leave you after they find out what you are destined to do, and your father will reclaim you!" No he won't...

"Stop denying it. He will come... He has an apprentice, Raven. Slade will get you... Your precious Crow won't save you then, because he doesn't care about you."

Yes he does! He is like me! Leave me alone! "I will never leave, Raven, and you know it. I'll be back..."

"Raven?" It was Mark, his voice and face both carrying a concerned tone. "Are you alright?" Raven turned to face him.

"I'm fine. Leave me alone." She said abruptly as she continued to walk down the hallway.

Mark looked slightly rejected, but with a sudden revelation, he looked up and replied.

"It's not your fault, Raven." Mark said quietly. Raven hesitated, tilting her slightly to the left.

"You don't know anything about me." She started. "Don't even try to comprehend. I helped you meditate, but that's as far as it goes. Don't try to get into my head. Beast-Boy and Cyborg did, and it's not something they wish to remember." Raven hissed angrily. Mark, however, did not back down. He continued, each phrase that sprung from his mouth a memory from a life never lived.

"Raven, you have to listen to me. I can feel it when you constantly put yourself down, you feel as if you're defenseless against the will of your father, and that you are powerless to change your fate. But listen, Raven. You are not powerless. The only thing certain in my world, and I'm certain it's the same with yours, is history. History has been written, but the future hasn't. If you cannot comprehend that, Raven, then perhaps your Father's will actually is winning." Raven stood rooted to the spot, her eyes and mouth wide in shock. Only one word, one question circulated her mind.

How?

She slowly turned, this time her eyes flashing a crimson red to shield the shock that she felt.

"Never talk to me about my future! Never talk to me again about my Father, or about my Birth!" She said, her voice a deadly whisper.

"If I don't, then who is? Do you expect to fight your father on your own? That's what friends are for, Raven. You just haven't realized that yet because you have spent most of your life running from your father."

Raven's eyes narrowed. She never told anyone about this, about her prophecy, or of her father.

How does he know?

"How do you even know about my father?"

Mark hesitated, for the first time since he began this verbal assault.

"How do I know about all this?" He asked himself. Every event, every moment spoken, came from a part of his mind that he never knew existed. They burst forth, every word strung together to form a sentence that Mark didn't even know the meaning of. But Raven did, however, and they seemed to have the most impact on her.

Then it dawned on him.

They were connected, that's why.

"Because I... My mother. Slade said, my mother was from the same place your father is from. We are connected, Raven. I know these things because it is as if we are brother and sister. It's as if we have a connection. I feel what you feel and you feel what I feel." Raven slumped. She opened her mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

She turned away from him, her eyes turning back to their original purple, and she simply said "I have to go."

She walked briskly away from him and towards the end of the corridor, the sound of her feet growing fainter until she turned and entered her room, when they ceased completely.

Mark looked upon her retreating back and bowed his head dejectedly.

"I'm sorry." He uttered to no-one in particular, and he turned also and headed back to his bedroom.