OOC: First off, don't kill me. I was at a serious writer's block for awhile.. -- I swear, I didn't forget about you. I wrote this chapter just today, right after I read a review by Trinity. Thus, as her review is what kicked me off my ass and out of my slump, this chapter is dedicated to you. Thank you.

hands Trinity flowers and a cookie

And now, onto what you really care about, a chapter with just a bit of a cliffhanger at the end.. evil laughter XD

Enough! We need to control our emotions.

Or what? Our bad vibes will keep you from meditating

What is your deal!

At least I am able to fly. On my planet, even a newborn can unleash the joy of flight. But you are too busy being grumpy and rude to feel anything at all!

Way to go, Raven. Okay, look. I don't know what your problem is, but get over it.

Oh Raven, come on! Why can't you just have fun like normal people? Why are you always locked in your dark room, reading your nasty old books? Why do you have to be so creepy?

Over and over again, their voices played. She saw images creeping across her mind. Thousands of times they had treated her like this, than instantly regretted it. What was she to them? Was she a true Titan, a friend? Or was she someone they kept near for one less villain? They feared her.

She could see it in their eyes sometimes. The way she moved, the way she spoke, her powers...How many times had their eyes widened in fright and had they watched her, horrified to say a word... Was she but Terra to them? Did they hold her close to keep from betrayal?

She held their team together. She kept them from falling apart, always there to reassure by her calming chants. But they took her for granted. She gave advice, she healed, she understood. She was the one they knew was there always, and even if she was mean or srcastic, Raven was a reassurance to them. A reassurance that their friendship was strong.

How strong was it truly? They drove her away... They-them. Not we or us. Them. The Titans.

Raven reached down and tore off her communicator, throwing it into the air and blasting a black beam towards it, which entered the tiny device and demolished it from the inside out. She erased all trace of being a Titan. Not now. No more.

She was free.

Violet eyes began to glow as her spirit form whipped through the city. Where should she go? Across the world, maybe... But first...

Raven went to the least likeliest place she would ever go, the Mall. Settling upon the ground, she stared at the many people walking by, the voices ringing in her ears, and slowly picked her way towards one of the Department stores.

People knew her by her costume. They recognized her and poked each other, muttering her name and stepping aside. They knew her, but for the right reasons? Did they know her for saving lives, or for losing control and scaring citizens?

When she slipped from the store she was nothing more than a regular teenager. A pair of black jeans hid her legs, something she found oddly refreshing after so long of simply bare legs. She wore a simple blue T-shirt with a black jacket over it, hooded of course. She still wore a gem upon her Ajna Chakra, and kept her cuffs, but her leotard and cloak were in her bag. She felt naked but alive, sprung afresh and new. It was amazing.

Slowly, she worked through the crowd on foot, not levitating as usual. It was different this time. People bumped her and crowded her, stepped on her feet(now wearing a pair of black shoes), treated her no better than any other teenager off the street.

As she worked back through the mall and towards the city, she was relaxed. No more worrying about the Titans. She didn't have to care. Her stride, as she was walking now, brough her towards the dock.

"Hey girl, what's in your purse?"

Raven looked up from her daydreaming to see a huge man standing before her, uncut and unshaved, a long shabby overcoat hiding his ripped T-shirt and jeans. His eyes gleamed- focused not upon her purse nor her face, but upon her breasts.

It seemed to be a curse to be a woman. At times that was all Raven could think. How many times Villains had commented on Raven and Starfire's bodies, even going as far as to look through with a X-ray vision eye, as See-more once did. Sometimes it was oddly satisfying, that they had something attractive. But other times it felt horrible. This one of those times.

"Hehe, why don't you come with me." Raven's eyes flashed angrily. He began to move closer, one hand shuffling down to a pocket in his jacket where Raven could see a large lump. Raven's mind frantically spun around, until she brought it into control. She couldn't make this into a big deal. The Titans couldn't hear about where she was.

Raven dropped her bag and outstretched her hands which were now glowing black just as the man pulled out his gun and aimed at her head. Raven took a deep breath, shaking slightly. She could move the gun, but it only took a split-second for him to shoot and there wasn't anyone to help her if she got shot.

"Ah, I know you, you're Raven, that girl from the Teen Titans. Well, I don't see any of your friends around here. Looks like you're all alone." Raven shook still, nerves getting her as she lost her cool for a moment. This was different. She had fought people with guns before, but she had relied upon the Titans to back her up. Now she was alone.

The man moved closer, a hungry look in his gaze, focused upon her still. Anger swept through her and she cried out. "No!" The black beams shot from her hand and hit him full in the chest, blasting him back into a pile of crates. Another beam shot towards the gun but the man fired in shock. The bullet whizzed through the air and sliced her arm making Raven cry out in pain and surprise and fall to the ground. Blood spurted from the wound, Raven's hand reaching out to grab it and was within moments blood-soaked. The pain astonished her. Shock swept through her body, destroying the idea of healing herself.

"I guess you're human just like the rest of us. We always thought you were a demon. It was so hard to tell whose side you were on- always stopping robberies and yet so dark and mysterious. What are you hiding?" The man chuckled, brushing the dirt off himself and reloading the gun.

"I guess I'll find out." Raven's eyes widened, the pain numbing as realization struck her to what the man was going to do with her.

"No," she said weakly. "No.."

The man crept closer and closer, one hand outstretched hungrily.

"She said no." Out of nowhere it seemed, a red X flashed and hit the man front on, knocking him back and tightening around him to bring his arms to his side. Raven recognized the attack. She had seen the same thing happen to Starfire. The gun fell to the ground besides the man, fear-struck he stared at a figure who appeared before him. The figure reached down and picked up the gun, examining it in his hands before aiming it at the man. The man flinched, visibly scared. After a pearl of laughter, the figure stuck the gun into his belt.

Raven stared at him, recognizing the figure but still numb from the pain. The pain began to overwhelm her, until the last thing she saw was a mask, of a skull with black eyes and a white mask watching her. Hands picked her up and she felt limp in those arms, unable to stay conscious, she slid into a shadow of sleep and painless dreaming.