This is part three of eleven! I hope you enjoy it, and following along with the story! Raven… in a church? Sounds kinda scary… I don't own Teen Titans. I wonder how the nuns will treat her…? The show must go on!

Part 3: What perches on a bust of Pallas?

Raven stood there uncomfortably, looking up at the building. The beautiful stained glass windows seemed to warn her away. She, a half-demon, felt forbidden from entering a holy place like that. Well… she couldn't help it if a demon raped her mother and she was the end result, could she? The nuns wouldn't chase her out with torches and pitchforks… so… Raven touched the huge double-doors. (A/N: Just for reference, it's a Catholic church. Raven meeting a nun just sounds funny in itself.) Heaving a sigh, she pushed them open.

Church doors were never locked, she'd heard, because some people went into them and claimed sanctuary. That didn't work anymore, but back a long time ago you were safe from the law in church, and there was nothing anyone could do about it so long as a person stayed in the building. But… this church was massive, how was she going to find him?

Oddly enough, Jump City only had one church in it, and all the others were just a few miles outside of it. Strange, but true. That's how Raven knew which one to go to. She found herself in a huge, pillared room. A dais with candles was at the very head, and countless pews were all around her. The demon in her was on edge, and she looked around warily. Pulling her hood back out of respect for the building itself, she felt a little better when her face was no longer hidden. Candles and torches… and only a few electric lights… shone enough for her to see the room clearly. But it was still full of shadows on the edges. So, this is where Starfire wanted to get married…? Creepy. At night, at least. "S… Shade?" she whispered.

A nun suddenly appeared, making her jump. "Saints alive…" the sister whispered, looking at the girl's gothic outfit. From her black leotard to her jeweled belt, all the way down to her dark blue cloak. The nun crossed herself as she approached the Teen Titan. "Are you Raven?" she said softly, holding her lantern up to see better.

"Yes." Raven said, trying to keep her voice casual. Nuns made her nervous too, as though they were sorceresses that could cast a spell on her at any moment. The demon in her was ready to bolt, back out into the night where she belonged. "I was told to meet someone here at midnight?" it came out like a question, and the sister gestured with her eyes.

There, sitting in one of the many pews, was Shade. When had he…He silently gestured her over, looking very relaxed. Raven quietly thanked the nocturnal nun, and walked slowly to join him. She let her eyes travel the room. She saw incredible carvings up and down the columns, and the candles that were on the dais gave the room an almost romanticist look to it. It was an older church, that was for sure. When she reached him, he motioned her to sit. She sat, looking straight ahead, waiting for him to speak. "Are you nervous here, Raven?" She hesitated, then nodded slowly. "I get you. Follow me." He stood, and led her from the room. They were outside, and he vanished into the alleyway. "To the roof…" the alley seemed to sigh his voice out, and Raven floated upward. He was already sitting on the roof when she found him. Leaning against the belfry, he gestured that she sit again. "Better?" He asked.

Raven nodded, before finally speaking, "Who are you?"

"I am Shade." He said, looking at her sideways. "Try not to start conversations that you know will go in circles." His tone sounded a little stern, but Raven knew he was right. He wouldn't just tell her who he was. "Try asking something else."

"Why are you stalking me?" Raven asked.

"Not stalking!" he snapped, sitting upright. He quickly regained himself, calming his voice. "I couldn't stalk you if I wanted to. You'd always sense me coming, or the security system in Titan's Tower would give me away. And you know it." He pointed at her. "You keep coming of your own free will. I brought you here with a riddle, and you came." Shade gave her a rather hearty thumbs up. "Good job on solving that one, too. I wasn't sure you'd understand it in just a day."

"Well, I had help." Raven sat down next to him. She had no magic blade in her hand this time. He didn't seem the type to hurt her without reason, and he didn't seem to have one at the moment. "A friend of mine remembered the rhyme that went with your riddle's question."

"The boy wonder, Robin?" Shade asked, tilting his head.

"No, actually it was Beast Boy." Raven admitted. "Not something I expected from the likes of him." Raven looked over at him, trying to see his eyes through the little slits in his mask. But, it was no good. "Uhm… thank you… for the roses." She blushed, forcing down her powers as she spoke.

"Not a problem. I can do a little around plants now and then. Roses are my specialty." Shade said. There was a long silence, followed by, "You're welcome, Raven." He leaned back against the belfry, and Raven scooted and leaned next to him. A relative calm was in the air around them. Almost as though they were old friends. "…Is that lavender?" Shade asked suddenly, catching her off guard.

"Huh?" Raven asked, turning her head towards him.

"That smell. Is it lavender perfume?" He asked.

"Oh… uhm…" Raven flushed, pulling up her hood. "I'm not the type to wear perfume. It's probably my incense you're smelling." Raven kicked herself for meditating for so long with her incense burning. Now she smelled like she had perfume on! Why hadn't the others said anything? Oh yeah… they were avoiding her because they thought she was on her period. "Why are you dropping me riddles and asking me to meet you places?" Raven finally came out and asked. "Why do this?"

The black-clad anti-hero sighed aloud. That made an odd sound come out of his voice distorter. But, finally he spoke to her. "I like you." he said bluntly. Raven's pupils shrank in shock and she stared at him. She flushed deeply and the bell in the belfry gave a hard swing, all by itself! She reached quickly and stopped it with her powers. She didn't want to give every nun in the church a heart attack.

"Ah…" Raven didn't have a sarcastic comeback for something like that. "Uhm… Thank you?" she finished lamely. She mentally kicked herself. She found her eyes wandering Shade's body, eyeing his skintight outfit… pink stained her cheeks and quickly looked away. "You seem… okay." She murmured. This dark, odd stranger liked her? Forcing and forcing and forcing her powers back into check, she looked at him. Trying futilely to see through his mask and get a good look at his eyes.

"I'm glad you think so." He said. Shade leaned forward a little, looking past her. Raven turned her head to see what he was looking at. She didn't see anything that looked out of the ordinary. She turned back to face hi– he was gone!

"Ah… where to now?" Raven automatically looked for a rose. And, she found one. Inside the church's bell, hanging from the weight that was there to make the bell ring… attached by a string, was a yellow rose. (A/N: Yes, there is such a thing as a yellow rose. They're just hard to come by in a lot of areas. They're rare to find growing somewhere.) She found herself accepting the circumstances, and didn't bother to scold herself.

She wanted to see him again, whoever he was. He was smart, dark, shrewd and……

"I like you."

It echoed in her mind. In Nevermore, where her emotions lived, they were clustered together here and there. Was the elusive emotion, love, going to make an appearance after all these years? No one could seem to decide. Even anger seemed to be at a moment of silence, trying to figure things out.

Raven looked at the flower, holding it to her nose. She inhaled gently, the sweet scent clouding into her mind. Raven, for the first time in her life… had a crush on someone. Two roses bloomed on her cheeks. Raven gently levitated the flower she'd been given, watching it float in midair. She sat there on the roof for the longest time, silently thinking to herself. Her emotions warred over what to do next. She badly wanted to know who he was… She spotted the tiny note, and slowly removed it. Holding her breath, she unfolded it and set the rose in her lap. Folding her legs Indian style, she read it.

What perches on a bust of Pallas, right above my chamber door? Two days, midnight again.

"Hmm…" Raven said, starting her long fly home.

She arrived on the roof of Titan's tower, and it was two-thirty in the morning. Raven quickly teleported to her room. Laying down in bed, she threw off her cloak and looked at her latest gift from Shade. A yellow rose… she scented its sweet smell one more time, laying it on the head of her bed. She was too tired to get it into water just yet. She just needed to rest her eyes for… just a few… moments…… Raven's eyes slid shut, and a contented sleep took her over. Exhausted from being up two night in a row, she knew she would sleep later than usual again…

Shade removed his mask, shrouded in darkness. He smiled to himself. She actually seemed to like him! The riddles, the mysterious meeting places… she kind of liked him now! His latest riddle wouldn't be much of a challenge, but he didn't want to frustrate her… or worse yet, have her get it wrong. He heaved a tired sigh, sitting on his bed. Gathering and keeping Raven's interest was a challenge, but she was worth it to him. It was all going his way. For once, everything was going his way……

The next day…

Beeen! Beeen! Beeen! It was almost noon, and the alarm was going off! Raven awoke with a start, pitching herself out of bed. She clattered rather ungracefully to floor, threw her cloak on and ran towards the common room.

The entire team was already there, Robin typing away at the little computer that always seemed to know what was wrong. "Plasmus is at the waste disposal factory again! Titans, go!" Robin thrust a finger into the air, and they were off!

They crammed into the car, and Cyborg hit the turbo! They jetted across the water, Beast Boy squealing like a little girl the whole way.

Plasmus had taken his usual spot at the end of the conveyer belt. A barrel of waste would approach the end, and he would grab it. He picked up what was probably his tenth one, draining the neon green goo into his gaping maw. Hissing and burbling, Plasmus grew a few inches. The sludge monster picked up the next, only to have his arm frozen by one of Robins flying disks!

"Haven't we done this before?" Robin stood at the head of his team. "Well, if you fail a class in school, you gotta take it again!" He leapt forward. "Titans, go!" He drew his bow-stick and slashed!

Plasmus came apart like putty, splitting into six different pieces. "Aww man! This happened last time too!" Beast Boy whined.

"Five against six…" Cyborg said, his arm becoming his sonic cannon. "Split up?" He asked. "One of us will have to deal with two of 'em… and keep running until the others can come to help."

"Agreed." Robin nodded. "Titans, separate!" The five teenage super heroes took off in different directions. The various pieces of Plasmus watched them go, and split up as well. Each went after one Titan…

…and Raven got stuck with two. Grunting in annoyance, she summoned her powers. Machinery was outlined in black as she fled down a narrow corridor. She thrust out her hands, and one of the two Plasmus minis was crushed! The other paused, looking at its comrade. Out of nowhere the first reformed with a sickening squelching sound. "Just when they couldn't get any uglier…" Raven muttered, gesturing again. The machine she'd used to smash the Plasmus mini lifted itself. Then, it came down again. She picked it up again. And dropped it again. She crushed them both, over and over and over. Sweating with fatigue, she finally tossed the machine back where it was. She was out of breath, and goo was all over the place. "……yuck." She murmured, turning to go.

Suddenly a tongue lashed around her ankle! She cried out in alarm, hitting her butt on the ground. Her loss of emotional control had made her lose her powers for the moment. The two Plasmus minis she had smooshed repeatedly had joined into one, and this one had a mouth. Stubby legs, a huge beak-like mouth, and a long tongue. Just as ugly, in Raven's opinion. But, now wasn't the time to comment. She was being reeled in like a fish! She slid along the ground, grunting and pulling at what had snared her leg. She physically grabbed a metal beam, but it was no good. Raven's rather small frame gave out, and she was forced to let go. She struggled to get control again, but she just couldn't!

Suddenly, the Plasmus mini's tongue was slashed into pieces, and the main body exploded! Raven stared in shock as a slender figure emerged from the smoke. He was carrying a pair of exploding disks, much like Robin's, and a short blade that Raven was sure looked like a pocketknife. "Shade…" she whispered as he stuffed his equipment back in his belt. He offered her his hand, and she took it. She stood with his help, looking into the slits of his mask. "You saved my life." She whispered, unable to take her eyes off of him.

"He wasn't your type." Shade said, letting go of her hand. Raven wished he hadn't. Deep down… she'd wanted to keep holding his hand. "Your friends are waiting for you." He gestured for her, then vanished behind the machinery.

Raven turned quickly to where he'd retreated, "Thank –!" he was already gone though… "you…" she murmured softly. She sighed, frustrated that he didn't want be seen by her friends. She decided to respect his wishes, and keep him a secret.

"Raven got chased by two of 'um!" It was Cyborg's voice that Raven heard no more than thirty seconds later.

"Track her, Beast Boy! Use your nose!" Robin's voice.

"No need, dude! She's this way! Look at the wrecked machines!" Beast Boy was leading the charge, pointing forward with one finger.

"I hope friend Raven is okay!" Starfire was flying Raven's way fast.

Raven saw that the little monsters were defeated, and quickly knelt to the sludge. Smearing some on her cloak and a little on her face, she stood just as her friends came into view. "It takes more than a giant booger to take me out." She said, looking at them flatly as she always did. She looked as though she'd been battling the Plasmus minis like the others, and thusly got a little sludge on her…

"Dude! Raven took two of 'em out! I had big problems with just one!" The green teen looked shocked. His shock soon turned into a grin, though. "Awesome! Pizza to celebrate!" He pointed, and they saw the sleeping man that was the human form of Plasmus. The police would be by, along with the special containment team assigned to keep the monster asleep.

"Sounds good." Robin agreed. "As soon as we get this gunk off of us…" Even Raven had to agree with that.

Later that day, all of the Titans appeared at the pizza parlor. They argued about what kind of pizza to get. Beast Boy wanted veggie-lovers. Cyborg wanted the meaty special. Robin wanted pepperoni. Starfire wanted marshmallow-mustard-chocolate-chip… but that was quickly ruled out. Raven sat there, watching them for the longest time. Soon, she grew frustrated and snatched the menu from Cyborg. They fell silent as she read the menu, then called the waitress over. "Bring us the biggest triple-cheese, stuffed-crust, deep dish pizza you've got." She said firmly. She looked at each of her friends in turn. None of them dared to argue with her. Raven allowed herself a small smile, which only Starfire noticed.

As they struggled the slice the thick pizza once it arrived, Starfire spoke up. "Raven? You are feeling… uhm… better than normal, yes?"

"What makes you say that?" Raven defended, putting up her best sour look.

"Well… you were victorious over two of the Plasmus pieces. Then, you are taking leadership over what form of the pizza we should ingest. And just moments ago, you smiled." Starfire looked happy for her, but a little upset at the same time. The other Titans turned and stared.

"Raven… smiled?" Beast Boy said. "Nuh uh! No way!" Raven didn't even have to say anything, he'd jumped to her defense so fast.

"It was probably your imagination." Cyborg said wisely as he could. "Hunger'll do that to ya." He said, gesturing to his grumbling stomach. "Raven just got tired of watching us argue. I haven't had a good deep cheese pizza in a while… sounds good!"

Well! Raven certainly took care of that argument! Remember, this is part three of eleven! We've got a great story going on, and it's only getting better as it goes! Please stay tuned, and review if you would like! Thankies!