"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
Raven burst free from red liquid that had held her and Starfire to the cold ground. Her eyes glowed dangerously white as she stared into the mask of Red X. Before rushing into an attack, the empath lowered Starfire, who had been knocked unconscious during their collision, to the ground. Baring her teeth, the cloaked wonder disappeared in the shape of a black raven.
"BB! That's our cue! Let's move!"
The changeling nodded as he morphed into his notorious raptor form, charging full speed at the suspecting criminal. Cyborg followed behind, sonic cannon fully charged. Red X leapt from the counter, throwing red razor Xs at the approaching Titans. The robot easily destroyed the speeding weaponry, allowing Beast Boy to use his long tail to whip their enemy into a near by wall.
The shadow fell painfully to the floor, his back submerged in pain from the impact. He shook his head to straighten his vision only to find himself face-to-face with the luminous eyes of an angry demon. Fear ripped through the white skull of his mask, penetrating his very soul as he watched the girls blue cloak unfurl a sea of darkness around him.
Swallowing his fear, Red X jumped from his cornered position, throwing a punch at the dark sorceress. Raven easily deflected the attack with a mere black shield of energy which served to block his counter kick as well. Frustrated with his failed attempts, the thief crouched down, unleashing a low spin kick.
The dark girl let a small yelp escape her lips as she found herself crashing to the ground. Her face was contorted in anger, her mind belittling her poor lower body defense. Before she had a chance to recover, a flash of silver caught her eye, a fast wind passing be her head. Her opponent had her pinned to the ground, his grey boots at either side of her stomach, Robin's bo staff pressed to her neck.
"H-How did you-"
"You spend too much time in self pity. Grabbing his weapon from the floor was easy with you so distracted, kid."
"Yo, X Boy!"
The masked fighter grunted as a blue ray of light forced his body into a wall of cabinets. Raven's sapphire eyes were filled with surprise as the man was blasted away from her. A gloved hand reached out, a toothy grin gleaming down at her sullen face, and with a sigh, Raven accepted the help.
Beast Boy lifted the fallen girl from the ground, letting his emerald eyes gaze into hers as he held her hand long after she was on her feet. A wave of heat flooded Raven's face as she averted her eyes, quickly withdrawing her hand as if she had been burned. Feeling her teammate's emotional aura fall, she thanked him in a whisper before flying over to Red X.
She remained a few feet above the ground as she stared at the frightening mask that adorned the seemingly unconscious mind below her. As Raven turned to her fellow Titans, her blue cape flapping behind her, she felt a sudden pull. The weight of the world around her suddenly became heavy and she plummeted toward the ground, her head smacking painfully into titled floor.
Blue eyes shattered in a fiery coffin, a scream flying from her lips, as the impact consumed her body. Voices shouting her name was all that filled her mind as she closed her orbs tightly, trying to suppress the pain as the stinging emotion threatened to overcome her. A sudden aura of panic blanketed her body as she became aware of the cries in the form of familiar pitches.
Raven shot upward, catching the rim of the counter in an attempt to stop the motion of her flying form. She turned her head in the direction of the noise only to see her two conscious friends trapped in a strange cage-like red containment field. Red X stood nearby, a laugh causing his black shoulders to shake slightly.
"No," the lonely girl breathed.
"It's just you and me now, kid. I hope you don't mind," the criminal called as he walked toward her. An unseen smiled formed on his hidden face as he watched her eyes bend in anger. "You're not getting too upset, are you? You might want to watch those emotions before you hurt someone."
"Shut-up!" Raven screamed, a black hand from the ground launching itself toward the mocking enemy. Her teeth ground into each other as her aggravation began to rise.
Cyborg and Beast Boy watched in horror as object all around them became consumed in black energy before exploding. The duo shot their teammate a pleading look, begging her to stop, as they watched her hands ignite in a dark flame.
"Yes, that's it. Get angry," Red X's voice echoed through every wall.
"Dude, Raven! Chill! You gotta calm down before you kill one of us!"
The green boy's words cut through her clouded mind, awakening the sleeping calmness within her. The blackness faded from her palms as her dark orbs faded to blank She stood there, frozen in a state of helplessness, shot from the chaos she had unleashed.
Red X took this as his golden opportunity. He raised himself from the floor once more and began an armed charge at the broken girl half a room away. The patter of his incoming footsteps alerted Beast Boy, his eyes widening in fear. The young boy shot a glance at Cyborg who simply nodded in approval. With no words spoken between them, the half man kneeled down, unleashing a fiery blast with his cannon, opening a tiny hole in the red prison. The changeling morphed into a small butterfly, managing to just make it through the breach before it closed.
Back in his human form, he took off at full speed toward Raven in a race against the thief several feet behind him. His voice cried out her name as he jumped toward her, his spine arching back painfully as it was struck by a flying weapon from behind. His form was racked with red electricity as he fell to the ground, knocking Raven back into consciousness as their bodies hit the floor.
Her breath quickened as she gazed at the burned back of her fallen friend, fear trapping the air in her lungs. She gasped as his body slowly rose, shaking arms failing to fully support his tattered body. Wounded eyes pierced the girl's soul as they searched her for an answer to an unspoken question.
"H-Hey," the boy coughed as a weak smile formed across his parched lips. "Y-You…okay?" A grunt followed the words, and before she could answer, his head fell into her chest, his body limp.
"Beast Boy!" Raven cried out in desperation.
"What a pity. You know, if you hadn't been so careless, he wouldn't have been hurt."
The dark girl slowly pushed her fallen protector aside, careful not to injure him any further. She lifted herself, her body shaking in fear, causing her to fall to her knees. Guilt wrapped itself around her as Red X circled her, whisper hushed words of blame.
"What's the matter? Afraid of what you've done? Scared that he might die because of you? Or is it that you just got lost, running too far away from the future?" the shadow's voice took a darkened tone, it's haunting depths filling Raven's mind with images of Slade, as he whispered into her ear. "You can't run away from what's inside you. It's already begun."
"No!" the empath screamed, her eyes filling with red, slowly splitting in two. The black flame returned to her palms, winding its way around her entire form, bursting throughout the room. Cyborg let out a loud shout as beams from the ceiling crashed onto his trapped form, bringing his circuits to a pause, his light blue glow fading to grey.
Red X laughed as he jumped to the top of the melted vault. He began to fly toward the ceiling before phasing away. Raven's head jerked in his direction, an angry howl escaping from her voice as she following in pursuit. The two soon found themselves in a heavy battle on the roof of the notorious bank, the black fighter's agility acting as the only means of survival against the outlash of dark energy from the angered demon.
As the rubble continued to fall, bright green eyes fluttered open. The young alien gazed out at her surroundings, fear filling her orbs as her mind raced. She quickly flew through the air, faced with nothing but destruction. Seeing Robin in the path of a falling beam, the girl raced toward him, pulling him out of the way just in time.
A moan escaped his lips as she settled him back on the ground, out of harms way. "St-Starfire?"
"Robin!" the girl breathed as a sigh of relief followed. "I-I am confused. Beast Boy and Cyborg are not moving and I cannot find friend Raven or the Red X."
The black haired boy jumped into a sitting position, his masked eyes wide. His mind raced with a swarm of thoughts that made simply no sense to him as he tried to comprehend what Starfire had revealed. As if to answer the alien's last inquiry, a loud bang sounded from above them.
"The roof!"
Raven's body convulsed in pain as her opponent's ash colored boot smacked into her stomach. Falling to her knees, the girl became consumed by a fit of coughs as she failed to draw air back into her body.
"X!"
The skulled fighter thrust his head upward, managing only to place it in way of Robin's steel boot. His right hand flew to his chin, clenching it tightly as the pain burned his face. Rolling away from the Titan's next kick, Red X struggled to his feet. After steadying himself, the dark man turned to face his attacker.
"You really know how to spoil someone's fun, kid," he let a small laugh echo from his mask. "We'll meet again, I promise."
And with that, the three Teen Titans found themselves alone, their enemy having vanished into the night. Robin sighed as he walked over to his red haired friend as she cradled a fallen Raven in her arms. The dark girl moaned as she strained to open her eyes. As the world filled her mind, the sorceress gasped, sapphire orbs filled with fear.
"Beast Boy!" She cried before cringing under the weight of her battered body.
The alien and leader took to helping her to her feet, placing one of her arms around their shoulders, supporting her as they made their way back down to the bank's main room. Starfire slowly placed Raven's arm back at her side before running to lift Cyborg from his rubble grave. Robin glanced at the girl who clung to him, giving her a knowing nod. She sighed, uttering her well known chant. Beast Boy's body was consumed in a black sphere and carried carefully toward them.
With their friends in tow, the damaged Titans retreated into the shadow of the night, the weight the world heavy upon their shoulders as darkness swallowed them whole.