Disclaimer: I do not own the Dragon Runes. I do not own the Teen Titans or any villains affiliated with them. I only own my characters, which are as follows: Wicca (Kali), Delusion (Dylanne), Cronos (Finn). Those are the ones in this chapter. I accept flames about MY STORY, not the topic. Thank you, dirty-witch, for bringing this problem to my attention oh-so-gracefully.

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Kali kept her hand over her friend's mouth as she watched the golden-skinned alien walk towards the items Delusion had taken from Hougan. They lay on the ground, far closer to the illusion that kept her, Delusion, and Cronos hidden than Kali would have liked. The woman known as Starfire paused when a dark-haired man, Nightwing, cautioned her against it. The bow-wielding Speedy suggested that it might be a trap. Starfire, after considering the men's words, completely disregarded their advice. She picked up the tools and brought them back over to the group, ignoring the miffed looks on Nightwing's and Speedy's faces.

As the other team discussed the possibilities of what had happened, Kali slowly brought her hand away from Delusion's face.

"I have to heal Cronos, 'k?" she whispered. "Can you keep us hidden?" Delusion nodded.

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Kali picked up where she left off, quickly completing the circle around Cronos's injury. Atop the gash, she lightly drew Ra, Dragon Rune of healing, earning a groan from the unconscious boy.

"Shh," she whispered to him, praying that the Titans hadn't head that. Looking over at the other team, she winced. They were looking around suspiciously. They'd heard. Starfire's hands were glowing, starbolts at the ready. Speedy had an arrow nocked to the string of his bow. Changeling had changed into a bloodhound, and was sniffing around. Cyborg was scanning the area. Nightwing and Troia were tense and at the ready, as was Jericho. Kali couldn't tell what Raven was doing, thanks to the dark hood her future grandmother wore.

Cronos shifted and groaned again. Speedy honed in on the noise and fired an arrow. Surprised registered clearly on his face when he saw it disappear. He hadn't missed, however. It had slid through Delusion's illusions (AN: wow. Weird combination. It rhymes!) and punched right through Kali's shoulder. The sorceress lurched as she grabbed at her injured arm, her mouth and throat working as the girl tried her very hardest not to scream.

"Ok, who's in there?" Speedy wanted to know, nocking another arrow to his bow. Kali stole a quick glanced at the Titans. Nightwing was asking Raven something, and the empath nodded.

"We know you're there!" Troia called in the teenagers' direction. Looking away, Kali inhaled and exhaled shakily, then reached for her boot. She withdrew the dagger she had used earlier in her almost-fight with Rajani. Pulling back her cape, she ripped a bit of the sleeve of her leotard away. She swallowed hard, looking at the offending projectile. The arrow was lodged near the top of her shoulder. Kali positioned the blade above the arrow. She took a shuddering breath, then cut quick and hard.

The teen barely managed to keep herself from screaming bloody murder. Barely. She'd cut down to the shaft of the arrow, right through her own flesh and muscle. She dropped her dagger on the pavement, ignoring the 'clang' it made. Kali took ahold of the arrow's shaft and, steeling herself, eased the it out of her shoulder.

"Wicca, what do I do?" Delusion whispered desperately. "They want us to show ourselves, or they're gonna shoot again!"

"When did they say that?" Kali asked, struggling to keep her voice low.

"While you were operating on yourself!" Delusion replied. A sympathetic look came over the illusionist's features. "Musta hurt really bad for you not to'uve heard." Kali nodded, sweating. She still had to heal Cronos, and Nightwing was demanding that they show themselves.

"C'mon out or we're gonna haf'ta attack ya!" Cyborg called out. "Las' chance." Delusion glanced at Kali, a panicked look on her face, and mouthed, 'What do I do?' Kali hesitated, then mouthed back, 'Let them go' while using her good arm to raise her hood. Delusion nodded, then called,

"We're coming out, ok? I'm going to lower my illusions!" She did so, and when the Titans saw them, surprise was clear on their faces. There was a bit of talking among them for a second, but Nightwing soon called,

"Ok, you in the white, stand up!" Beneath her hood, Kali glared at him, sweat trickling down her face. She was in pain, bleeding, and trying to heal a potentially life-threatening injury, and he was breaking her concentration. She moved her hand over Cronos's forehead again, trying to call magic into the circle and rune she'd sketched there.

"Stand up now." There was a threatening note in the man's voice, and, reluctantly, Kali stood. Pain and growing exhaustion was making her weak as she strove to heal the unconscious boy on the ground. "Good. Step away from the boy." Kali looked up at the black-clad man, glaring.

"No." Her voice came out in a barely audible rasp, but there was enough of a silence around for everyone to hear it. She closed her eyes, fighting to close Cronos's gash and heal his concussion. She couldn't do it, not from this distance. She had to touch his skin with hers, or have her hands very close to the injury.

"Step . AWAY."

"And I said No." Kali thrust all the magic she could downward, into Ra and the circle, causing it to glow. She gritted her teeth, sweating. It wasn't enough.

"What in X'hal's name is she doing?" Kali heard Starfire ask, but she ignored it, concentrating for one last burst of power.

"Whatever it is, stop right now-" The rune within the circle flashed, leaving spots dancing in front of Kali's eyes. She suddenly felt as if she'd been hit head on by a bullet train. Her head throbbed like hell. She dimly heard someone near her inhale and sit up, but then there was a rushing in her ears and she fell back, hearing and seeing no more.

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All of a sudden, a few seconds after Vic had called out a warning, out of nowhere a voice called, "We're coming out, ok? I'm going to lower my illusions!" And not ten feet away, right where Roy had shot a few minutes before, the air shimmered. Three people could now be seen: standing, there was a dark-haired girl all in black, wearing a cape and a top hat, and behind her, someone in with hunched over a small boy with a bloody cut on his head. Laying on the ground near the person in white was a knife that was smeared in blood.

"Hera," Troia breathed, "they're just children!"

"Yeah, bu'tha' kid in white…wi'tha' knife…I'm thinking' tha' knife's za thing tha' hurt the boy." Vic looked over at Nightwing, who nodded.

"Agreed. We need to get those two away from that boy, and then Raven can heal him." Looking back toward the kids, he called,

"Ok, you in the white, stand up!" The person ignored him, holding his?her? hand over the boy's head.

"Stand up now," Nightwing said, voice now threatening. A white-cowled head looked his way, and the figure in white stood. It looked like a miniature Raven, with only small changes to the outfit. "Good. Step away from the boy."

"No." The voice from beneath the hood was harsh and grating. Nightwing could not determine the sex.

"Step . AWAY," Dick Grayson repeated, a glare beginning on his face.

"And I said No." A white light began to emanate from the boy's forehead, surprising everyone.

"What in X'hal's name is she doing?" Kori asked, puzzled. Nightwing was starting to get very annoyed with this child in white.

"Whatever it is, stop right now-" he began, but before he could finish, the light intensified tenfold, leaving everyone blinking away spots. The formerly bleeding and unconscious boy sat up with a gasp, making about half the Titans' jaws drop. The person in white swayed, then collapsed to the ground. The hood fell back, revealing a youthful teenage girl with jet black, wavy hair.

Nightwing stared. The girl looked just like Raven. The girl's eyes were closed, and a very familiar gash on her forehead trickled blood down onto her white cloak, which was already beginning to darken with blood pouring from a slash on her shoulder.

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Yay! My birthday's in 11 days! dances And another chapter, finally! I've been busy! I went to the St. Louis Mills today! Please review, and when you do, you may grab a handful of Oreos and a glass of milk from over there. points Thanks! walks away, singing the theme from Sweeny Todd

Peace and Oreos, Onyx