"Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos!"

Mark stumbled back, the amount of energy striking his already bruised chest knocking him off his feet and he landed roughly on the remains of the church. He arose quickly, his eyes resting on a cloaked and hooded figure standing on the other side of the street. The fire that raged behind it gave it a demonic aura, long shadows cast in front of it due to the light emitted from behind. The figure approached, taking slow and steady steps, its hands glowing darkly. It wasn't particularly tall, roughly the same size as Mark, but its presence was intimidating, yet at the same time, expected.

"Hello, Raven." Mark said, his voice now devoid of any hope.

The figure looked up and grinned, bearing its grotesque teeth in a fiendish way. It was Raven, but a much different Raven. Her cloak was no longer deep blue, but rather a poisonous crimson, matching the perverse colour of the sky. Her eyes, her beautiful azure eyes that were once full of a hidden fear, were now a malevolent scarlet. All four of them full of hatred in its most primal form.

"Raven, I know you're still in there! Answer me!" Mark demanded, the figure still approaching with the smile still plastered on its grey skin.

"RAVEN! Snap out of it!" Mark yelled. It kept approaching. "Please…"

There was no answer, no reassuring voice in the back of his head to calm his troubled soul. Mark closed his eyes and apologized.

"I'm sorry." Mark said sadly. His arms felt like lead as he raised them, building up energy in his body, ready to expel it fiercely and dispose of Raven in the same way he did Slade.

"I-I'm S-so-r-ry t-t-o-o."

Mark's eyes widened. "No…" He said softly, tears forming in his eyes as he remembered what Starfire had said in the Tower

"All is not lost." He was going to avenge his friends' deaths, but he was also going to save Raven.

He lowered his arms and rocketed towards Raven, determined to pound her evil side to a pulp. A trail of fire blazed behind him, and with a final shout he swung at Raven.

Raven was already prepared however, and with a chuckle she formed a black shield of energy that protected her from Mark's relentless onslaught.

"You are pathetic. You couldn't save anyone. You couldn't even keep your promise."

Raven said calmly, her red eyes penetrating Mark's very soul.

"I'm… not… PATHETIC!" Mark yelled, and with a final burst of energy he punched Raven's shield, white cracks appearing on its smooth black surface. He kept punching, the cracks snaking their way to the top and bottom of the shield, until with a final kick, Mark shattered the shield, and Raven was left defenseless for a brief moment. Mark lowered himself to the ground, his chest rising and falling quickly as Mark took short, sharp breaths.

"You could've been like me." Raven hissed. "No matter. You will still fulfill your prophecy, and you will enjoy it. Much like I did."

"M-Ma-rk! U-se m-me a-ag-ai-i-ns-t h-h-er…"

"What?" He was hearing things again, voices, familiar ones. They were unnerving, yet strangely reassuring. Mark turned back to Raven, his eyes still blazing white.

"You still haven't defeated her, have you?" Mark asked quietly, his eyebrow slightly raised in a sign of skepticism.

Raven's eyes narrowed.

"Of course I have. She has been crushed, and hatred rules!" Raven replied, rising to her full height in a sign of confidence. Mark, however, noticed the slight flicker that invaded her sadistic smile. It had diminished. He shook his head and replied, this time with more effort behind his words.

"No you haven't. Hatred doesn't rule. You're mind is still torn in two, and you are losing strength." Mark's hands erupted in flame once more, as he took one step towards the evil that had manifested itself in the form of his friend Raven.

"You are wrong! Hatred is the strongest emotion, and it conquers all, even the pitiful spirit of Raven." The figure replied, taking a slight step back.

Mark shook his head once again, and a smile formed on his face.

"No, you're wrong. Hatred isn't the strongest emotion…"

Mark began, lifting off and hovering in the air, his body engulfed in majestic flames. Raven's eyes widened and she took another step back, her red boots stumbling over splintered wood and shattered brick. Her eyes were no longer a dark crimson, but rather a bright white, a brilliant light emerging from them much like Mark's.

Mark's eyes were no longer wrathful; sorrow filled his mind, flooded his senses and clouded his vision with tears.

Mark smiled. It was a genuine smile, a smile of victory through tremendous losses, a smile of hope. A slight chill ran up his back as he proceeded to utter then final two words that would seal his fate, for better or for worse.

"…Love is."

"That's it! You've finally realized your true prophecy!"

"MARK!" Raven screamed as light erupted from her eyes and arms, momentarily blinding Mark as he retreated a few steps, his arms covering his eyes in an attempt to shield his face from her awesome radiance. Raven rose to the air, her eyes and arms still emitting an amazing light, shining her brilliance upon the world she created.

"S-st-op F-fi-gh-ti-ng." the words barely emerged from her mouth and it was unclear who exactly said it. With a sigh, Raven's eyes glazed over before finally closing and her whole body fell to the barren ground below.

'Raven." Mark exclaimed as he rushed towards her, catching her before she hit the dirt.

"What are you doing? You can't possibly hope to defeat me! I have already beaten you, again and again, why fight it?"

Raven didn't answer. Her azure eyes narrowed, staring at her evil counter-part. She was standing on a large chunk of rock that floated in endless black. The landscape was radically different to what lay outside her mind, but in here, her feet were firmly planted on a rock platform that defied gravity. The platform was relatively large, but it was utterly barren, devoid of any pebbles or litter that may be used as projectiles, thanks to Raven's ceaseless meditation and clear thoughts.

"Congratulations. You have effectively come back from the dead, thanks to a few short words from your boyfriend. Want a medal?" Raven asked snidely, mocking her counter-part.

"I want you, to…get…out…of…my…head!" Raven replied, slowly pacing each word she spoke in order to ventilate her anger.

"Tut tut Raven, let's not get angry! You do know what happened last time that happened." Raven said, smiling her twisted grin.

"Shut up." Raven said simply, raising her arm and creating an impenetrable shield of dark energy, effectively protecting her.

"You make this too easy. You're practically asking me to attack first!" Raven mocked gleefully.

"Bring it on." Raven whispered quietly, cursing under her breath at letting herself being influenced to such an extent by Beast-Boy's action movies.

Her pure evil counter-part grinned malevolently, bearing her sharper-then-normal teeth.

"With pleasure."

"He doesn't love you! He never did!"