Author's Note: For the record, this is not a 'Raven Conversion fic' even if it looks like it at first.

The next sensation Raven felt was all in her head. Literally.

And it wasn't pleasant: it was the worst headache she had suffered from in recent memory. Most of her body felt similarly achy, though no pain was as sharp. Raven realized she wasn't especially cold, though she felt a bit chilled—that lingering sensation of coldness that permeates the body even after you've gone from a cold area to a warm one….

Raven slowly sat up, looking around. She was in some sort of study with a fireplace, lying on a faint-couch. The fireplace wasn't lit, but there was a stack of logs next to it, and across the room was a shelf full of books.

"Where am I?" she asked. She realized her leotard was still soaked from melted snow, but her cloak was nowhere to be seen, and that she had been covered up by a very large quilt

Getting off the couch, Raven walked over to the bookshelf and began scanning it. The first shelf she examined was lined with encyclopedia's. The second surprised her, as it was lined with several books of theology, some by C.S. Lewis, others by people she had never really heard of… A rather thick one on the end caught her eye:

Just As I Am by Billy Graham…

Suddenly, she remembered the last thing she'd seen before blacking out—it had looked like a church sign which meant...

"What are you doing?" a voice cut in.

Raven turned, extending her hands and preparing to blast. But when she saw the source, she paused. It was just a child. "Oh…"

"Hi. You're name is Raven, right? Glad to see you're up."

The boy walked over to Raven, wearing a nondescript shirt and a pair of faded jeans. "You could have been killed out in that storm."

"Storm?" Raven asked… "Who are you. How do you know my name."

"I'm Josh," the kid said. "As for you, well. Haven't you ever watched television?'

Raven sweatdropped. "Fine, but still, what storm are you talking about?"

The kid walked over to a step stool, and Raven noticed that there was a small window near the ceiling. She followed Josh and when he pointed out, she looked…

Snow and Ice were everywhere, covering the city as far as the eye could see. The sign outside the church was now buried in the snow up to the cross-beam, and the wind was blowing the snow around so hard it looked like there was a wall of fog.

"Glacier." Raven said. "I have to go stop her."

"You can't go out in that storm. You'll freeze!" Josh blurted. "What is Glacier?"

"Glacier is a very bad woman," Raven said. "She's the one who did this. How long was I out?"

"It's 10:59," Josh said.

"Two hours." That didn't bode well! Her friends were out in that storm… and…

"You slammed into the side of the church and me and my dad brought you in. You must have hit your head pretty hard. You would have frozen to death if we hadn't found you."

Raven stared off into the storm, watching as it raged on and on out of control. Gradually, she noticed Josh staring at her and remembered what he's just said. "Your father is here?" she asked him.

Josh smiled. "Yeah; he's working up stairs. He does that a lot. It's kind of like we live here."

"You live in a church?" Raven asked, arching her eyebrow.

"We travel a lot. My dad works with a lot of different pastors, helps with sermons, stuff like that," Josh answered. "Would you like to meet my father? I can introduce you to him. He can do this really neat thing with his hands and…"

"That's alright. I need to get back out there. I have to stop Glacier before she freezes the whole town." Raven sighed.

"But it's too cold to go out there on foot… and all the cars are buried under snow."

"I… I can teleport," Raven said, suddenly feeling terribly bad. Was it a sin to use powers granted by her demonic father in a church? But wouldn't it be more of one to let the city die over some hypothetical guilt?

Raven started to reach out, feeling for the twisted presence of Glacier in the maelstrom… And boy did she find it! The increasingly bonkers young woman was like a beacon, screaming in the city. Raven focused, drawing her powers from her blood…

Nothing.

She tried again…

Nothing.

"What's going on?"

Josh looked over at her. "What do you mean?"

"I can't use my powers. I can't teleport." Raven rubbed her temples. Her head still ached, but it had become duller. Either way, a headache shouldn't be preventing her from teleporting.

"Maybe magic doesn't work on Christmas Eve or something. Or maybe getting hurt or too cold turned them 'off'," Josh offered.

"I'm not hurt bad enough. And I don't think cold would do it. Why would the date matter?"

Josh shrugged. "Maybe God turns all magic off on Christmas Eve. So the only 'magic' is the manger."

Raven wasn't exactly sure how to answer that… "Um… maybe. But Christmas Eve isn't literally even the anniversary."

"What?" Josh seemed curious.

"A long time ago, it was a holiday for another… religion, I guess you'd call it. Some sort of pagan festival. But then the people were conquered. They kept the holiday, but the new rulers forced them to change it so that it had a Christian meaning."

Josh sat and thought about that for a long moment. "I'd heard about that," he said. "I guess it doesn't matter when it actually happened, just that we keep the Spirit."

Raven sighed and looked away. "I've never really been big on the 'Spirit of Christmas' much."

"Why not?"

"Well, lots of reasons."

"Name them," Josh said, and dare Raven think it, his voice sounded a bit smug.

"Well. Where I grew up we didn't even celebrate Christmas. My first Christmas on Earth, I was alone, trying to get the help of the Justice League while they were out throwing snow-balls on another planet or running around trying to find toys for kids that would whine selfishly if they didn't get them. I wasn't really impressed."

"But you've been here a while, right?"

"Yeah. The first Christmas I spent with the Titans was nice, and I played along with the gift giving and traditions. Their good vibes rubbed off on me. But, I don't know. My father is gone now…"

"You lost your dad?" Josh blurted.

"My dad… was not a nice guy. Trust me, it's best that he's gone. This may sound odd, but my father was like the devil. Literally, a massive demon."

"Trigon!" Josh blurted.

"Yeah." Raven stared at Josh for a while. His red hair was a bit of a mess and freckles dotted his face, but he somehow seemed more aloof than he would have appeared…

"Is that why you don't like God? Because you're dad is a demon?"

"Who said I don't like God?" Raven asked defensively… She hadn't said anything of the sort—

"You just sound like you don't. The face you made when I brought up the idea of Him turning off magic tonight—"

Raven knew he had baited her this time, but he was touching a nerve she didn't want touched. "Would you like God if your entire life you knew you would drop an Arch Demon on the planet? If you had that demon's blood in your veins?"

Josh sighed and left the room, leaving Raven to think for a while… Counting the throbs of her muscles and pondering her life, Raven didn't have any idea how much time had passed when the lights went out, as did the heat. The electricity..

"Oh, no!" Raven turned around and looked out the window… "Glacier!"

The entire city was going dark, lights in the windows suddenly going off all over the town, but the storm was still swirling around, snow piling up everywhere. People would die if this kept up, and Raven had to get out. She tried her powers again..

Darn it, still nothing!

Raven turned when she heard Josh come back in the room from upstairs. "My dad said he has his own heat, but that I should start a fire for you and me."

"Right," Raven said, "Thank you. And your dad, for your kindness. But I really need to get out there and stop this before… People will freeze to death if I don't go soon."

"Why can't one of the other heroes handle it?" Josh said. "Like Superman, or the Green Flash."

Raven smiled at his combination of the latter two heroes and walked over to the fireplace where Josh was working. She helped him load it up and then watched as he lit the chemical-treated starter log. Soon, the wood had caught and the fire was burning bright. "Too bad not everyone has one of these," she said.

Josh went back up stairs and came down with two steaming cups. "I thought you might like some tea," he said. "My dad made it; it's the best."

Raven took a cup, though her anxiety didn't diminish. "I'm sorry I shouted at you earlier," she sighed. "It's hard to understand where I come from."

"People make fun of my dad a lot," Josh said. "Because of what he does and who he is. I mean I know it's not the same thing as being a big red devil and all, but I can just understand having issues with your father. Heh."

Raven found it odd that despite all that was happening, Josh wore a huge vibrant smile. "You're a good kid, Josh," Raven said. "I have a feeling you'd go stop Glacier yourself if you could."

Josh smirked, pulled up his sleeve, and flexed his muscle. "Who says I can't?"

Raven actually found herself laughing at this, and so grateful her powers weren't there. Something would have blown up for sure. Josh then took the lighter and started lighting all the candles around the room, giving them a bit of light…

"Seriously, though," he said. "Just because of who your dad is, doesn't mean God hates you, Raven. You couldn't choose who your dad was."

"No…"

"I guess you just hear all these people out there who act all spiritual and condemn everyone who they don't like… and you think that is what God is all about. But remember what those angels said, right: 'Good Tidings of Great Joy for ALL people. Doesn't that mean you too?"

"I guess."

"Of course it does. See, that is why Christmas is good—because it's about love and good news, not hate and 'condemnation'. That's what my dad says. So you don't have to be mad at God over where you come from."

Raven nodded and began to ponder what he was saying. Maybe, she wondered, was she MEANT to be here. Was Josh some sort of messenger whether he knew it or not?

After a while Josh sat down beside her new perch—she had taken a seat on the foot stool and watched the storm outside grow more and more violent—and they sat and sipped tea in silence.

The storm outside raged on, dark clouds covering the night sky and sheer white vanishing in the now-dark Jump City. Raven feared that even if she could get to Glacier and stop the witch somehow that

And then, all of a sudden, a chill ran up her spine, and she saw that all the candles were out and the fireplace was no longer lit… And Josh was gone too.

Just then, the clock struck midnight, a hollow chime echoing throughout that old stone church…

Raven got up and ran to the stairs, and looked up. Completely dark. She started up the stairs…

"Josh!" she yelled. "Josh! Where—?"

"I'm right here, Raven," his voice came from another room, the one the study opened into. She went back down and looked in there, to find it empty as well, and then she turned around when she heard a noise…

Josh was kneeling over the fireplace, lighting another log. "What is it?"

"You vanished," she said in a way, almost… accusingly, she realized… Why?

"I went to go check the time," he said. "It's midnight now, Christmas Day. Merry Christmas Raven."

"Why did all the candles go out?"

"Um… because we don't celebrate Hanukah in this church?" Josh tried.

"Funny. It just seemed odd they would all go out together. And the fireplace."

"Well, I'm lighting it up again. Hey, now that Christmas Eve is over, maybe you're powers work again."

Raven realized suddenly that THAT had been the chill she felt earlier—and the emotion was probably what had blown the fires out—she could FEEL her energies again. She didn't know if Josh was right, or if it was just that she had recovered or warmed up enough, but she was glad to have them back.. "I think I can teleport again," she said.

Josh walked around to the far side of the bookcase, bent over a box, and then carried something over to Raven—a coat and a pair of very warm-looking sweat pants.

"Here; these were left here and put in the lost and found. Just remember to bring them back when you're done.

"Thanks again, Josh," she said.

"No problem," he returned. "Go get 'er!"

"I will." Raven closed her eyes, once again felt the mad presence, and vanished into the dark…

oooo

Glacier walked through the streets, and anything that struck her fancy, she took. Teddy bears, Rabid Furbies™, Inaction Hero™ dolls… it was all hers, in her twisted mind at least.

Suddenly, a black Raven-shape appeared, and Glacier realized the one that hadn't been frozen was back.

"Raven was your name, they say," Glacier called out, "but to me you're just another bird. And I have plenty of stones!" As she said the last sentence, Rei's voice twisted from her typical Galadriel-esque manner into a snarl, and she hurled ice-spikes in every direction, hoping to skewer Raven on one or two of them.

"This may sound very cliché," Raven's voice echoed from around the street. "But I think you're firmly on the 'naughty' list this year!" Black energy appeared from underneath the girl, tendrils wrapping around her and hurling her sky ward.

Raven was up there waiting with a new spell. "Magnus Flarenium ZINTHOS!" Raven shouted, and a fireball blasted out from her hands, slamming into the ice-girl. Mist exploded off of her and her body slammed into the snow.

"FOOLISH GIRL!" she shrieked. "I am GLACIER, daughter of Raiden! You dare strike me with dark fire?"

"Shut up," Raven said, wrapping more dark tendrils around Glacier, some around her mouth, and restraining her…

Suddenly, snow began to float off the ground and enter a growing blue aura around the girl…

Raven withdrew, realizing that she could still control ice even bound and gagged.

"FREEZE!" Rei extended her arms forward and a huge stream of ice and sleet burst out of nowhere, arcing towards Raven. Raven gasped and drew from her powers, hoping she could stop the attack..

"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" Raven yelled. Black energy formed a shield in front of her, and the ice-beam collided with it, immediately making the air around Raven even more frigid than it was. But Raven pushed back, drawing on her powers to hold the blast back. And then she saw something that surprised her. Rei was actually struggling…

Not only that, but the ice in the immediate area was breaking up and entering her aura…

"Hey," Raven shouted, suddenly with an idea. "Ice queen! You and you're brother…" Raven felt very odd doing this, but it was her best shot.. "You're both nuts! Raiden doesn't exist!"

"LIAR!" Rei shrieked, raising her hands higher. "DIE!"

The beam grew larger, and more and more ice was ripped off the ground and air and went into her aura, fusing with her ice power and becoming part of the beam…

"No, really!" Raven smirked. "He doesn't exist because… Slade killed him!" Yes, Raven knew, that was lame, but it was the only thing she could think of on short notice. "And then.. I fed him to my dog.. er… Beast Boy!"

"NO NO NO NONONONO!" Rei shrieked, and the harder she screamed, the harder she blasted. Raven continued to taunt her, eventually having to angle the deflector field she'd made, sending the ice beam arcing towards space…

Rei became nothing but a silhouette in the brilliant cold-energy maelstrom, and then, Raven added salt to the wound. "By the way, 'Glacier,' Merry Christmas!"

"You will be silent," Rei said, suddenly reverting back to her calm manner before the final push. Raven was driving backwards by the force, the icy air licking at her even through the warm clothing Josh had given her…

Then it was over, and the entire town was free. "And Merry Christmas, Jump City," Raven whispered. Her friends, she saw, were no longer Titansicles…

She floated down, to them, reviving each one of them from the cold sleep… Once they were all awake, confusion began.

"How did we survive that?" Cyborg asked. "It should have killed all of us."

"Esp-p-pecially… m-me…" Yin said, still shivering even as Raven wrapped him in dark energy…

"I guess we got some sort of… Christmas miracle after all," Beast Boy said. "Thanks, Raven."

"Yes, thank you for helping us on this most joyous of days…"

"Starfire is right," Robin said. "It's nearly one in the morning. It's Christmas Day. And after a night like tonight, what do you say we go back to the tower and exchange presents early?"

"S-sounds g-good to me," Ragnarök said, also shivering though certainly not as much as Yin…

"Where is Glacier?" Robin asked. The Titans all shrugged and started walking in disparate directions.

"Dudes, I think I found her," Beast Boy shouted after a quick run around and scout…

And found her he had, or what she was now. Where Rei had been standing, there was now only a figure made entirely of ice.

"Whoa. Any chance of the white Catalyst fixing this one, man?" Cyborg asked Ragnarok.

Raven answered for him. "No," she said. "Whatever she's done to herself, there's no undoing it. There is no soul in here. Utterly empty inside," Raven said sadly. As if on cue, a chill wind rushed by, blowing over the Rei sculpture and shattering it to a million tiny pieces.

oooo

The following day, the city had more than one reason to celebrate. Not only was it Christmas, but the Titans had averted a disaster that could have 'grinched' the whole town…

Raven had given no more protests about the event Robin had scheduled, and showed up with everyone else. Nobody asked her what had gotten her to change her mind…

Yet, anyway…

As Hark the Herald Angels Sing trailed off into the next song, the Titans began to step down.. all of them but one…

O little town of Bethlehem
How still we see thee lie
Above thy deep and dreamless sleep
The silent stars go by

Yet in they dark streets shineth
The everlasting light
The hopes and fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight

Raven. And the entire group of gathered citizenry was floored. But not because it was awful, as one would think. It sounded amazing. Raven wasn't even cutting lose, just singing at a reserved, measured volume… And a song that seemed to suit her.

"Whoa!" Beast Boy blurted. "That was amazing."

"Most marvelous," Star agreed.

"Where did she learn to sing like that?" Robin asked, his eyes wide through his mask.

Cyborg and Beast Boy walked over to Collin, who was sampling some punch that had by some miracle not frozen. "Wow," Victor said. "That was a surprise."

"I wonder what changed her mind about the season," Beast Boy said… "Seriously."

"I don't know," said Rag… "But it really shouldn't surprise anyone that Raven sings so well. After all, she is voiced by T—"

THWACK!

"I am NOT letting you break the fourth wall on Christmas!" Cyborg blurted at Rag, who was now lying on the ground half buried in the dirt and rubbing his head.

"Sorry," Rag said weakly.

On the other side of the courtyard where the celebration was taking place, Raven backed away from the microphones. That had certainly been… an odd experience. And she could feel the eyes of the crowd on her the same time… Was it shock? Was she just awful? What—

Suddenly, Yin ran up beside her and wrapped his stretchy arms around her several times, pulling her into a very-much unwanted glomp. "Raven! You were terrific. I—wow. What made you change your mind about Christmas?" he asked

Raven smiled, but looked away. "You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you," she said…

Elsewhere, Rag was chatting with Starfire when Robin spied them. Rag clearly had something behind his back and…

"So, Kori," he said. "On this planet we have this tradition…" and then, he pulled out a small piece of mistletoe and held it up above him and Starfire…

THONK

Robin suddenly blazed in faster than Impulse and knocked Rag to the ground, grabbing the mistletoe out of thin air.

"I think she already knows," he said with a smirk, and then, Starfire and Robin leaned forward into an embrace followed by a long kiss that Starfire would later describe as "most glorious"…

oooo

Far away and yet very close, Ragnarok slowly made his way down the hall. The door at the end of the room read "Garfield Logan"—it was a dressing room or something. Heck, Collin didn't know how movies worked these days…

He knocked.

"Who is it?" came a familiar voice from inside. Beast Boy. Garfield Logan of Earth-312: Collin's Earth. He had only seen him once since the day of that fateful battle against Delirium, and that hadn't gone the best. How would Gar react? Would he lash out? Attack Collin? What would happen, Collin didn't know. He'd just have to find out the old fashioned way.

Rag knocked again, and Beast Boy impatiently blurted, "It's open!"

He opened the door slowly, giving Gar the time to take in the scene before he did something rash…

"You…" Beast Boy said absently, through a lot of pain. "I thought you were gone for good this time."

"Hey, Gar," Rag said. "I just came to say hello… And to give you something."

"I didn't get to ask you this last time--what happened to Delirium—or whatever that other you called himself?"

"It's okay, Beast Boy, he's taken care of."

"No, not Beast Boy. Not anymore. Just Gar. Garfield gets me made fun of. I—" Gar Logan, Hollywood star looked away. "I lost them all, man. I don't have anything left. Where did you run off to? Another universe? A place where we're all alive and still happy."

"Beast Boy, I'm sorry. I was a coward. I came here to give you a Christmas present."

"Christmas is over, man." Gar said bitterly. "And stop calling me Beast Boy."

"Sorry.. It was yesterday—in the place I live now. Think of it as a late Christmas present, I guess."

"What could you possibly have?"

"Come with me," he said. Rag placed his hand on Beast Boy's shoulder and then focused his energy through the Dark Catalyst in his right gauntlet…

FLASH!

Suddenly, they were in a dark underground gave… and a statue was nearby.

"Why did you take me here!" Gar blurted. "As if there isn't enough wrong with my life now!"

Collin looked down sadly, but walked over to Terra's statue and placed his left hand on it. And white energy began to coarse over it.

Stone became flesh once more…

And as the girl collapsed at Beast Boy's feet, Collin smiled into Gar's astonishment. "Merry Christmas, Gar," he said. And with that, he vanished…One more stop.

oooo

Back in the reality we know and love, Robin sat at his desk in the crime lab, tapping out a report of the battle with Rei the previous night, when suddenly, the familiar sound of Dark Catalyst energy discharging brought a chill to his gut…

He drew a birdarang and spun around…

"Collin," he said. "What in the blazes are you doing?"

"I just thought I'd do something for you for Christmas. There's someone would like to see you…" Rag held out his and, and the Dark Catalyst discharged again, this time reality bloating like an egg and spinning around…

To reveal Jack Drake…

"Dad…" Robin whispered. He was otherwise was speechless.

"I thought maybe you could spend a few hours together. I don't guess he could stay here without messing up the balance of reality but…" He trailed off, because he doubted he was even being heard: Tim was wrapped in a father's embrace, tears escaping his mask…

"Merry Christmas, Tim," Rag whispered…

oooo

And far away, on the other side of Jump City, Raven walked slowly into a church, wearing a holo-ring and bearing a gift as well as the coat and sweat pants.

She looked through the door and saw some people inside, shaking hands, hugging... Wishing each other a holly jolly Christmas. Raven didn't see Josh, and sighed. She didn't even know his last name and there were probably twenty Joshes at this church. She turned to go, when suddenly the same came out of the bathroom as if on cue…

"Raven!" he blurted, and dashed over… "I recognize you! You need a better disguise."

"Well, this disguise wasn't meant to fool you," she said with a little smile. She didn't want to break anything with her emotions... "I just came to give these back and to give you this…"

Raven handed Josh the clothes and the package, and he beamed at her. "Thanks Raven. Merry Christmas."

"You too, Josh," she said…

As Raven left, Josh called at her. "You know, you should have gotten me two gifts. It's my birthday."

"You were born on Christmas? Well, happy birthday, then." She said, and then continued out the door…

And as she walked away, she thought about what he'd just told her… Could he—? Raven glanced back over her shoulder, her eyes a bit wider…

Nah… that was ridiculous…

Wasn't it?

Yay! I got it out earlier than expected. But unfortunately now I don't have an excuse to not work on my college applications! -.-