A/N:

I swore that I wouldn't be the type of author who lived for reviews, but I have to admit that it great to hear from those of you who are enjoying my story. Thank you so much for all your support! It definitely makes me want to write more!

My eyes snapped open as a piercing alarm filled the air. Red lights flashed. I sat up quickly in Raven's bed, groggy and disoriented. Books tumbled from my chest and the mattress to the floor; I had fallen asleep while reading about séances and equally weird things.

The noise continued. It was worse than any alarm clock I'd ever heard in my life. I wondered what time it was. It was still dark outside, lightning occasionally illuminating the clouds in the sky. It looked like the storm had moved on, however.

What on earth did that screeching sound mean? Was it a fire alarm? Something else? Whatever it was, it probably wasn't meant to be slept through.

I threw back the covers, pulling on the jeans, sweater, and shoes that I had discarded on the floor before going to bed. I glanced back out the window, then grabbed Raven's cloak. Hopefully that would add a little bit of protection from the rain if it decided to come back.

I ran down the hallway. Where was I supposed to go? Where were the others? There was only one room that I was even slightly familiar with in this place—the common room. I decided to head there.

My heart was pounding in my ears and I was out of breath by the time I reached the room. Fortunately, my guess had been correct. The four Titans stood in front of the giant screen, which displayed a street map of the city. I wasn't sure what was going on, but I could see a red dot moving along the streets on the screen. Chances were that I needed to pay attention to that red dot.

"Okay, everyone," Robin spoke up as soon as I entered the room. They had obviously been waiting impatiently for me to show up, but I don't know how I could have gotten there any faster. "The Parasite has been spotted in our city. We've never fought him before, so we'll get the details in the T-Car on the way over. Let's go!"

They all turned, the boys running while Starfire flew overhead. Great. More running. I turned and followed on their heels. We ended up in the garage, before what I assumed was the T-Car. It didn't exactly look like something that was picked up at the local dealership. Cyborg jumped into the driver's seat and the others climbed into the back, so I took the passenger's seat.

I barely had time to fasten my seat belt when Cyborg called out, "Buckle up!" and slammed his foot onto the gas pedal. The car accelerated quickly, pressing me into the back of the chair as we rocketed out of the building.

The G-forces began to decline, and I felt my face returning to its natural shape. Cyborg pressed a few buttons on the control panel, and a small screen appeared out of the dashboard, showing the same map with the red dot that we had been looking at in the watchtower, now with a little "T" that I assumed was us.

"All right, listen up," Robin said. "We're up against Parasite. He's got the ability to drain any power you have and use it against you. He can also drain your energy until death. You know what that means—no hand-to-hand. You have to fight him at a distance.

Beast Boy pouted. "Man, that's no fun."

"Also, no electricity—he can absorb that, too."

Cyborg grumbled at that one.

"Basically," Robin continued, "we're really going to depend on Star and Raven for this one. You two are the only ones that can give a good non-electrical fight from a distance."

Oh no. What on earth did they expect me to do? I'd only seen Raven fight once—when she had been flying through the air and casting her spells.

Oh shit. Were they expecting me to fly? I'd completely forgotten that Raven even could fly. And then there were the spells. What were the words she had been saying? I didn't even know how it started. Asthma-bath? Abernathy? Ala-peanut butter sandwiches?

I was in deep trouble.

All too soon, the little "T" met up with the red dot. Cyborg stopped the T-Car in the middle of what looked like a sleepy street. Both sides of the street were lined with brownstones, their windows dark and the people inside asleep. There weren't any signs of mayhem at all.

The others got out of the car, so I did the same.

"Careful, Titans," Robin cautioned. "Stay on your communicator."

Beast Boy morphed into a hawk and took to the sky with Starfire. Cyborg and Robin began to walk in opposite directions. I shuffled over to the sidewalk, leaping over the puddles in the road. Then I slowly began to walk along the sidewalk. My eyes scanned everywhere. I could feel the adrenaline building in my veins. It was like I was a part of a scary movie or something.

There was a loud clicking sound behind me, and I jumped at the sudden noise, whirling around. It was nothing but an alleyway generator, clanking as it built up heat. The golden eyes of an orange cat, which was curled up on top of the machine, reflected sleepily back at me.

I felt ridiculous. Some hero I was.

Starfire flew overhead, one of her hands glowing with green power to pierce the darkness. My eyes followed her for a moment, and then stopped as they came to rest across the street. A man was stretched out on an old bench, with newspapers covering most of his body. I felt a pang of sadness run through me. How many nights had that been me, trying to use wet newspaper or cardboard to keep myself warm?

I drew my cloak closer to me to brace against a chill that ran down my spine. The whole image was too close to home. Even two years of being dead couldn't erase the painful memories I had gained while living on the streets.

Something rubbed up against my ankles, and I looked down to see the orange cat, purring as he stroked his body against me. I smiled softly, reaching down and petting the warm fur.

And then I froze, glancing back over my shoulder at the generator. I stepped into the alley, the cat padding behind me. I placed my hand against the humming metal. Just as I had suspected, it was very warm—which is why the cat had been sleeping on it.

So why was that man sleeping on the airy bench instead of next to this generator? It's not like he couldn't hear it; he had to know it was there.

Unless he wasn't what he looked like.

The cat mewed at me, and I glanced down at him. "Better get out of here, kitty. Things are about to get noisy."

I lifted my communicator, pressing the button. It gave a soft little chirping noise. "Guys, I found him."

"Where?" Robin's voice came back through the speaker.

"About 50 feet north of the T-Car—there's a man on a bench. It's Parasite."

"I flew over that location," Starfire interjected. "It is only a man with no home."

"No," I broke in. "Trust me, that guy does not live on the streets."

"How do you know?" Robin asked.

What was I to say? Now wasn't exactly the time to go into my intricate knowledge of the outdoors. "I know," was all I said.

"So who wants to go over there and wake him up?" Cyborg asked.

No one said anything. I was positive that I'd found our bad guy. I remembered back to the day when I had first met the Titans. I hadn't had any fear then. Of course, I was also non-corporeal then, too.

But I could be just as brave now. I was the same person inside. I stepped out of the alley, but an arm suddenly appeared in front of me, holding me back.

It was Robin. He glanced at me and held up his other hand; three circular devices rested between his fingers. I wasn't sure what they were, but I figured they would rouse the guy. I nodded once.

Robin launched the disks. He aimed them so that they didn't hit the bench, but they exploded all around it. Boom! Boom! Boom! I jumped a bit, startled by the wallop the little devices contained. The noise set off every car alarm on the block. The man leapt to his feet, his skin color changing to purple, as his form grew more muscular and looming.

Robin drew his bowstaff, a mixture of determination and excitement on his face. "Titans! GO!" he shouted.

Starfire glided overhead, starbolts flying from her hands and pelting Parasite's shoulders and back. He turned toward her, just as Robin leapt into the arm, delivering a powerful swipe with his staff. Beast Boy came swooping down out of the sky, changing into a tiger right before he hit the ground; he ran toward the melee, keeping a slight distance but providing a great blur of a distraction. Cyborg's right arm converted into a large cannon, and he aimed it at Parasite and fired. The blow made the bad guy stumble, but not for long. He used the momentum to leap into the oncoming path of Beast Boy.

"Watch out!" Starfire cried over the noise of the weaponry and car alarms. The tiger almost tripped as he quickly maneuvered to get out of Parasite's grasp. Starfire came closer, continuing to rain down her starbolts. "Raven! Assist us! Use your magic!" she pleaded.

If only I knew how.

"Raven!" she called again, glancing toward me.

That moment of hesitation was exactly what Parasite had been waiting for. "No," I whispered, already knowing that it was too late. He jumped, grasping Starfire by the ankle, and the pair froze in mid-air.

She let out an ear-piercing scream that rivaled the chaos around us. I could see the energy draining from Starfire's body, pouring down into Parasite. Her skin was paling; her eyes were rolling up into her head. Cyborg's cannon continued to blast Parasite, but it wasn't having any effect.

"Star!" Robin cried out. He threw his bowstaff into Parasite's arm, knocking the purple hand away from the girl. The redhead's energy was completely gone. She was falling.

Beast Boy leapt underneath her, changing into a large gorilla and catching her in his massive arms. He ran toward me, depositing Starfire at my feet before morphing back into his human form. Her breathing was rapid and her eyes fluttering, but she was definitely alive.

But she looked like death warmed over. I would know.

"Dude!" Beast Boy snapped at me. "Do something! 'Metrion Zinthos' already!"

I had no idea what he was talking about. Was this some sort of secret code phrase?

I glanced back at Parasite. His eyes and hands glowed green, just as Starfire's had. He launched starbolts in two directions—aiming for Robin and Cyborg. Robin leapt out of the way, perching on top of a nearby car. Cyborg also avoided being hit by dropping to the ground and firing his weapon a few more times.

I watched the blasts from the cannon hit Parasite, and the brightness of his glowing body parts seemed to increase. The energy was actually feeding the freak.

"Oh shit," I mumbled. Beast Boy gave me a shocked look, but I barely noticed. "Cyborg!" I yelled. "Ix-nay on the annon-cay!" His half-robotic brain seemed to understand the Pig Latin and he stopped. He glanced at me, a bit of helplessness in his human eye. If he couldn't fire at the bad guy or lay a hand on him, then what could he do?

Robin seemed a bit shaken seeing Parasite's abilities at work at Starfire's expense. He was now maintaining a more healthy distance, trying to knock the purple monstrocity back with his bowstaff and various little explosives. But with Starfire's abilities now at Parasite's command, the Boy Wonder had his work cut out for him. The starbolts were flying all around, and Robin executed several flips and jumps to keep out of the way.

I couldn't keep standing around like this. Robin needed help. The whole team needed help. I had to do something. I couldn't just keep pretending to be a hero. It was just putting everyone in danger; Starfire had depended on me and it had gotten her zapped.

Besides, why was I acting scared? It's not like I had to fear death. I knew what waited on the other side. There were worse things out there. It was time to be brave. It was time to be the girl I had been that day in front of the convenience store.

I glanced along the street, then back at Parasite. A plan was forming in my head. Sort of.

"BB, watch Star," I ordered, running over to Cyborg, who jumped up and met me halfway. "Here's the plan," I started, cutting right to the chase. "Rob and I will create a distraction. I'm going to need you to fire at those power lines and knock them down." I pointed up at the lines that ran along the street.

"But he absorbs electric power," Cyborg protested.

I motioned toward the many puddles that filled the street. "So let's see him absorb 7200 volts while standing in water."

Cyborg grinned, understanding. "I gotcha back, girl." He re-armed his cannon. "I'll be ready when you are."

I sprinted back toward Parasite. The adrenaline rush was intoxicating by now. I concentrated on it, letting it block out all fear and reason. Now it was time to make good with the distraction. Really, I could only think of one.

So he liked to drain people's energies. Let's see how he would react to the dead girl.

As soon as I got close, Parasite managed to slam a flurry of starbolts into Robin. The teen flew back, slamming into the windshield of a parked car. He stirred, but not without obvious pain.

That was the last straw. My every thought was on my target. No hesitation. I continued running full-tilt.

Parasite was beginning to turn around—to find his next victim. I slammed into him linebacker-style. He was much larger than me, but I had the element of surprise and a lot of energy. He stumbled back. His hands gripped me reflexively to brace himself.

My eyes fell to the ground. We had stopped short of any of the puddles. So much for my brilliant plan.

That was the last strategic thought I had.

And then the sucking began. Literally.

It seemed to dive straight to my core, trying to siphon out my very soul. My mouth opened wide, but I couldn't breathe—I couldn't even scream. I already felt like I couldn't move if I tried with all my might.

Stay in the body, I told myself. Stay alive.

Then there was screaming in the air, but it took a moment for me to realize that it wasn't coming from me. It was Parasite! I could feel him wanting to let go of me, but he couldn't, just as I couldn't get away from him. His form seemed to shrink—his head becoming more and more skeletal. And then his torso appeared to rip into two; each half became its own form—like some strange conjoined twin that shared a pair of legs. A bubble of inky black magic poured from his mouths, flowing down his torsos like unhurried lava.

I heard Cyborg shouting, but I couldn't make out any words over the chaos.

Stay alive stay alive stay alive, I chanted in my head.

An loud boom! rattled off to the side, and suddenly we were being knocked over by a spray of water. I suddenly felt air and water rush into my lungs and I gasped, sputtered, and spat as I fell on top of the mutating purple mass. I felt Parasite's hold on me loosen and I struggled to get up, but the high-pressure spray surrounded me, disorienting me and pushing against my weakened body.

A green blur grabbed onto my cloak, whisking me free of Parasite's grasp. Seconds later, I found myself facedown on the sidewalk.

There was another explosion—this time sounding like Cyborg's weapon. Even though my eyes were closed, I could see flashes of white light through my eyelids. More screaming. Sizzling. And then nothing but the continuous noise of the damn car alarms, which sounded almost peaceful in comparison to the explosions.

And then came talking and shouting from the buildings, and nearby coughing, groaning, and muttering—presumably from the rest of the team. I opened my eyes, seeing the other Titans littered on the sidewalk with me. Starfire was sitting up now, but still looked pale and like she was about to vomit. Robin sat beside her, covered in scratches and bleeding from a large gash on his forehead. Cyborg crouched next to the pair, beginning to check them over.

Using every bit of strength I had, I rolled over to face the street. My wet hair fell into my eyes, but I didn't even have the strength to lift my hand and brush it back. So I looked through the drippy strands at the mess that had been created.

A nearby fire hydrant had been completely blown away, overflowing the streets with its high-pressure shower. The power line was down, thanks to Cyborg, its end resting in the road. A transformer on a nearby power pole spewed smoke, all of its power completely blown out as the electricity had rushed to the ground.

And Parasite lied unconscious in the middle of the flood road. His appearance was relatively back to normal—no more double heads or weird blackness. Now his body smoked and crackled like fried bacon. Gross. But he was down. And there was no way he was getting up any time soon.

Ugh, and neither was I.

Beast Boy squatted down next me and pushed my hair out of my face. "You are absolutely nuts," he said, looking at me with a goofy grin.

I smiled back at him. Then I passed out.