Chapter Ten

Raven sat in her room, in complete solitude. She had her hood up, concealing the stoic expression on her face. Tears flowed freely from her eyes, yet her face showed no emotion. She was trying to be as calm about her situation as possible.

She stroked the smooth, metal barrel of the 9mm Beretta she held in her hand.

Suddenly, she heard a loud knocking at her door. 'Who the hell is that, and what would they want?' she thought.

She quickly hid the gun and went to the door, opening it. She gasped at the sight of the person on the other side. "Terra!" she whispered.

Terra forced her way past Raven into her room and glared at her.

Raven stared at her, dumbfounded, and closed the door.

"What...how'd you get here?" she asked.

Terra stared at her for a moment, then hugged her tightly and kissed her on the cheek. She then stepped back from her, tears flowing down her face.

"How are you here, Terra?" Raven asked her.

Terra heaved a sigh and sat down on Raven's bed.

"I know what you're about to do, Raven." she said. "And I'm here to stop you."

Raven stared at her. "I...I don't know what you mean."

"Don't bullshit me, Raven. Here, look at this." She took out her letter. Raven looked at it in shock. "How did you get this?" she asked.

"I came from the future, after you killed yourself. Or rather, after your funeral."

"My funeral? So it worked then?"

"Yeah, your plan worked. Worked at making everyone miserable."

"Didn't they understand my intentions from what my letter said?"

"Yeah, but that didn't make the pain any easier. Besides, this was my call."

"Your call?"

"Well, a couple of the Justice League members came and offered to help me. I felt guilty about your sacrifice, so I agreed to do it."

"So you let them tell you what to do?"

"No, they only wanted to help. I accepted it."

"And went against my wishes."

"You never said anything about not stopping you."

"I was going to save the world! And if you stop me, then my father will come here and destroy you all!"

"Can't the other Titans stop him?"

"No, they can't. There's no stopping him from coming."

"Well, can't they fight him?"

"Are you serious?"

"You bet I'm serious."

"Trigon's a demon! He's the root of all evil! It's not like fighting Slade or any other villain we've fought! He's way beyond anything we've encountered!"

"Look, the Titans have done the impossible many times before, right? So, why can't you have faith in your friends, just as they have faith in you?"

"This is not about having faith in my friends. It's about doing what's right."

"Is it right to leave your friends in pain and feeling guilt?"

"Look, if I didn't kill myself, then you'd still be a statue! Did you ever think of that?"

"Yeah, I did. And I'd rather be statue than live with the guilt knowing that I'm alive because of your death."

"Then maybe I shouldn't bring you back to life then."

"Go ahead. One of the other Titans will come back and stop you."

Raven sighed in frustration. "What is it with you people? Why can't you let me die?"

"Because we care for you and love you, that's why!" Terra exclaimed, once again in tears.

She let herself fall of the bed, and was on her knees, sobbing uncontrollably.

Raven stared at her, tears welling up in her eyes. Seeing Terra as she was brought a new revelation into her actions. True, the world would be saved from destruction, but what good was that if she left her friends in pain over her loss?

She walked to the far side of her bed and picked up her gun. Terra stood up and looked at her. Raven glanced at her, and then went to the window. She opened it and tossed the gun out.

"You sure know how to influence people." she said, smiling.

Terra grinned and rushed over to hug Raven. She returned the embrace.

"I love you, Raven." Terra said.

Raven rubbed her back and was about to kiss her...but she was gone!

Raven gasped, and then realized what happened. Future history was changed, and Terra was stone again.

Raven collapsed on the floor and started crying.