Fire
"Raven! It's time," Robin called through her doorway. By that, he meant time to begin the process to revive Terra.
The door of her room slid open, and she followed Robin into the living room silently.
All of the others were there, waiting for both their leader and their key for this whole project. Robin addressed the team.
"Alright, Titans. You know the score. We're going to bring Terra back today... or at least try."
Beast Boy glared at Raven angrily like he had the other night. His entire mind was consumed with the thought that Terra would be his again. Nothing else mattered.
"Raven," he growled. "For your sake, get this right today."
"I will."
Cyborg walked into the desolate edge of the city where a massive junkyard guarded the outskirts and a dump truck stood near the wired fence. They were approaching their destination quickly.
Cyborg had decided to stop here to look for something while the others sat in the T-Car. Raven's arms were full with several volumes of magic spells, charms, incantations, and potions. She was searching for the set of spells that would free a frozen or trapped being gradually.
Starfire peeked over her shoulder, holding all sorts of beautiful bowls, pots, and bottles in her lap. Some were brand new, others looked thousands of years old. None seemed mistreated.
"Raven, I wish to know the purpose of these containers," Starfire inquired.
Raven shifted her eyes from the pages of her books to the curious Tamaranian in the neighboring seat.
"They're for the Kaean spell I learned to give a trapped person a body. But they can't leave the spot the spell was performed."
Starfire looked puzzled. "Kaea? What is that?"
"One of the moons of Azarath nearest the temple. They're experts at entrapment and conversion spells on Kaea, so I thought I'd use their methods first."
Raven knew that the people of Kaea were also very spiritual. They saw gods, spirits, and demons in everything, both good and evil. Which made her wonder: would Terra be the same once the spell was used? Or would she be changed somehow?
Cyborg got back into the car and pulled out a huge battery pack triumphantly.
"Just in case."
The T-Car sped along the main bridge of the city. They were right near the abandoned factory they hadn't been inside for months since it was destroyed. When they had just passed it, a monstrous steel bar slammed into the car with a force so powerful it busted the door off and sent the Titans flying onto the bridge.
Beast Boy looked both shocked and frightened at the same time, as he ran with Cyborg along to the bar to see if they could find out who was wreaking havoc. Steam poured from the edge of the bar where the red-hot metal had just started to cool down.
The two came nearer to it and Beast Boy put his hand out to touch it. He yelped and jumped back. His glove had been torn through, and blistered, scorched green skin took its place.
"Fire," Robin gasped. "That could only be one person, then..."
Raven widened her eyes and enclosed herself inside an orb of shadow energy. She backed away from the factory until she reached the edge of the bridge, driven by nothing but raw fear. She couldn't go any further backwards.
A figure darted out from behind the factory and sailed onto the top of the cables above her head silently.
"Look up."
She did.
A steel gloved hand lashed out at her and caught her by the waist. She didn't have to act any more to know that the hand belonged to Slade.
He leapt down, but kept his firm, burning grip on her. She swayed as he landed, still grasping her torso. He pushed her in closer, which took barely any effort. She would have given anything to break free but he was too powerful.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Raven?" his voice was so cold that she shivered, even though his hand was sizzling-hot. "You knew I would come back for you eventually."
As he purred these last words, with a hint of a smile under his mask, Robin charged at him wildly.
"SLADE! LET HER GO!"
"Robin. This is a surprise. It doesn't matter to me, anyway. I'm still ready for you."
Raven felt his voice rumbling with every word against her. A chill went down her spine.
"All of you," the masked maniac hissed.
He tightened his grip on Raven even more, jabbing into her ribs and choking her. She gasped and fell to the ground in fiery pain. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her up again mercilessly. She was as fragile as a doll and they both knew it.
"Aaaauuggh!"
"You've been a bad girl. I came to finish your friends off."
As he said this, he leaned in to her and she spun her head around, away from him. She struggled and cried for help, but whenever one of the Titans tried to help her, he shot a snakelike stream of fire out at them and knocked them back.
"I also came to make you tell them. Now, Raven."
"N-never," she whimpered.
"If you don't, I will burn them to a crisp." His hands began to flare up and she squirmed again. "Then you'll be all alone."
"No..." She was losing strength. She could feel Slade draining it out of her.
"Is that what you want, Raven? To be alone?"
She tried to ask him how he knew the very words told to her almost a year ago, by yet another evil bastard. But she was too weak to talk and the memories themselves made her weak emotionally.
"With no one to help you the day you fulfill the prophecy?"
Raven trembled in fear and pain until she was truly too exhausted to even stand. Was this some energy-sucking power Slade had gained, or just his usual strength? Whichever it was, she finally sank to the ground and clenched her teeth. She breathed heavily and sweat trickled down her face.
Finally she spoke.
"N-n-no..."
"What was that? Resist me, and I'll destroy all of you."
"Y-you... can't... you aren't a... aren't a-allowed to," she realized. He couldn't harm her more than he already had. "If you... d-des... troy me, Trigon will... k-kill you." It hurt her to say her father's name.
"Destroy this!" came the voices of Robin and Beast Boy in unison. Despite Slade's assaults, the team was dashing to her aid.
Robin pulled out his staff and struck him across the face. Beast Boy had morphed into a tiger, and slashed his fierce claws at his chest, leaving bloody streaks in their place. Starfire soared above him and delivered a mighty starbolt to his backside. With each blow Slade shuddered and stepped back a little.
The villain's hands flared up again and he roared, blasting himself off the bridge and after Starfire. They shot bolts of red and green at each other at exactly the same moment. The two shots met and exploded violently, knocking them both back.
Cyborg lifted Raven onto his shoulder and rushed her to safety inside the T-Car white the others were fighting.
His chainsaw arm popped out suddenly and started repairing the T-Car. As soon as the door was fixed on, Raven screwed her eyes up in pain and sent a blast of shadow energy at Slade, knocking him into the ocean.
It took all of the strength she had left. She could focus no longer. The pale empathy passed out in the back seat as the others rushed towards the car.
"Dudes! We have to get out now!" Beast Boy called.
He, Robin, and Starfire got in the car and they sped away from the point where an unexpected encounter had interrupted their true plan for Terra.
As they drove along, Raven stirred, dimly aware of where she was and what had just occurred. Her eyes fixed on the containers Starfire was holding, and she remembered what she had to do.
She did no more before she stuck her nose into a nearby book once more and hoped that she could still act at her full potential so soon after the battle.