Summary: Post-Birthmark. Can life just go back to "normal" for the Teen Titans? Or will the admittance of the deeply-buried and long-denied make it impossible for Raven to conceal the truth of her destiny?

Author's Note: The reason I haven't posted definite pairings for this fic yet is because I really don't know who it would be. I'm also basing it as much on the show as possible, and the pairings seem to be Starfire and Robin, and Beast Boy and Raven. Robin and Raven, however, understand each other better than the other pairings. And I think regardless of where Raven's feelings lie, Beast Boy likes her. So that was the angle I was playing in chapter four. I don't know if I'll do it again or not. Again, I'm just riding with what I think the characters would do.

Everyone who reviewed, thank you so much. You make it worth writing. Without your comments, I wouldn't have the slightest idea where to go or the confidence to keep writing. Thanks so much. You're all wonderful!

Legal Note: Don't own Teen Titans in any form. Wish I did. Don't sue me, NYU has all my money.

Raven sat on her bed trembling. What had happened? The ease with which she had begun to lose control terrified her. How could she continue controlling this? Should she tell the other Titans?

No. I can't tell the other Titans. What would they do if they knew my past? The ramifications of my very existence. I am a half-demon. I am the daughter of the master of evil. And while I'll fight that evil until the day I die, I am what I am. Slade was right about one thing, I can't run away from who–what—I am.

Raven's heart fluttered, but still felt heavy within her chest. A strong sensation of purpose washed through her gut. Resolve. The trembling stopped. Her body relaxed. She sighed heavily, and closed her eyes. After a few moments, she opened them, her unreadable mask back in place. But her eyes shown with the quiet intensity of one about to fight the good fight.

But I can stand and fight. I will stand and fight.

Out of the blue, she remembered something Azar had once told her. She longed for the comfort of Azar's voice and wisdom.

Azar had said, "Evil always wins unless good is very careful."

I will be very careful.

Beast Boy strode up to Robin's door, still not entirely recovered from the episode in the hall with Raven. Something was terribly wrong, and if there was hope of fixing it, the obsessive leader of the Titans would find a way.

Robin had been at his computer since the end of the meeting. His instincts told him that the symbol on Slade's forehead was the key to unlocking the secret of his impossible reappearance among the living. What Raven had said about Slade being dead had really rattled him, but what rattled him more was the question of how to defeat him. What would they do? Kill him again?

Besides, Robin had already tried that, to no avail.

In his mind he resolved the questions down to the big ones: How had Slade returned? What did he want with Raven? What was his mission this time? What was that goddamn symbol? Why had Raven been branded with similar marks?

Robin pounded a tightly clenched fist on his desk. While he hadn't been entirely lucid at that point, Robin remembered the church. As he had leaned on her for support, he had seen the patches of her leotard that had been burned from her arms. He had seen the angry red patterns Slade must have put there. The markings had glowed, like fire had coursed through them, and Robin found he couldn't imagine the pain they must cause Raven. But she didn't even seem to notice. The marks had found a home in her skin.

And why did they disappear? If those were burns, where did they go? Raven could heal herself, but not so quickly and without any expenditure of effort. What the hell did they mean? What were they for? Why did Slade plant them only on Raven?

The questions really just turned in an endless circle.

Beast Boy knocked. "Robin?"

Robin minimized the open windows of his computer. The masked Titan opened his door and, stepping to the side, gestured for Beast Boy to enter. "What's on your mind?"

"It's Raven..." Robin suspected that was what was on everyone's mind recently. But what had pressed Beast Boy to come to him? He waited for the story.

Beast Boy related the incident in the hallway. "Dude, normally her eyes just do that freaky red glowy thing when she gets angry. Or she blows something up. But this time, she was in some serious pain. And it was so fast! I didn't even think I'd pissed her off that badly this time."

"Raven's been through a lot, Beast Boy. And Slade's still out there waiting to come after her again at any time. If I were her, I'd be ready to lose control too."

The changeling shifted his eyes back and forth, and debated telling Robin what he had seen. What had worried him so much. He realized he had to, for Raven's sake. He was too worried to let this one go. Even though he knew if she found out he'd told on her, she'd put his head on a post outside of her room.

"But dude, when she was flipping out, she had her head kind of down. I'm not that tall, but with her bending over a little like that I could kind of see the back of her neck. There was some kind of weird, red glow coming from there and I stole a glance at it. I just wanted to make sure she wasn't hurt or anything. Robin, dude, it was bright red and glowing, and looked sort of like that thing that Slade had on his head. What the hell is that thing anyway?"

Robin thought about this. He told Beast Boy he hadn't yet identified the symbol. What he did leave out was that he had already known of the markings, however it was news to him that the markings would reappear on Raven without Slade's instigation.

The two teens stood in silence for a moment, thinking about everything. Beast Boy suggested, "Maybe Slade gave her those marks to try to control her somehow. What if he's trying to use her emotions to get at her powers for some reason?"

The masked Titan's jaw dropped. "Beast Boy, you just said something intelligent."

"No way! Seriously? Yes! Go Beast Boy, you're a smart one–"

"Give it a rest." Beast Boy sobered up. Robin was impressed how serious the green kid could be sometimes. Sometimes he felt Beast Boy was very protective of Raven, especially after what had happened to Terra.

"So what should we do?"

Robin replied almost casually, "I'll have a talk with her. See what she might know about all of this. In the meantime, we'll just have to keep a close eye on her. I worry mostly about what this has done to her mentally."

"Me too."

The two boys stood uncomfortably for a moment, before Beast Boy excused himself. The door slid shut behind the changeling with a quiet whoosh, leaving the Boy Wonder alone once more in his room.

He would talk to Raven. But first, he would decipher that symbol on Slade's forehead.

Yay, another really fun chapter to write. Especially because I have NO IDEA what the plot is going to be. I love suspense. Hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! As always, open to suggestions.