Ok. So based on the votes, there was an obvious demand for Speedy and Black fire. I did consider giving them a huge role, but then I thought back to the numerous stories I've read where Speedy and Robin both compete for Star's affections and I also recall seeing Blackfire always trying to frame Star. So that leaves two more: Aqualad and Ry-andr and I choose... well you'll just have to wait and see. Oh and just because one has a MAJOR role doesn't mean that the rest won't have minor roles... Okay so I guess this is the perfect time to answer some questions.

Why don't the demons look like X and Terra?

X and Terra are the demons that took on the ordeal, therefore they have to privilege of keeping their bodies. The rest aren't so lucky...

Why do you make up your own names instead of the names in the D.C. comics?

I know all about the D.C. comics. I know the whole story in fact because I've read them. I don't want you guys to be confused. Bumblebee's real name is Karen Beecher, Terra's real name is Tara Markov, and Robin's real name is Dick Grayson. I don't know about you , but I think that Richard sounds a lot better than Dick.

What happened to Raven's father?

He- Hey! I'm not ready to give you that information yet!

WARNING! This chapter has a some flashbacks so don't be surprised. And there is one part of this chapter that is pretty dark and kinda sad. Ok, here's chapter nine!

Chapter Nine

Down Memory Lane

The figures continued to march closer to them and Kori and Richard were frozen in shock. What were they going to do? Star didn't know how to harness her power, and Richard only knew martial arts. They were sitting ducks!

Richard shook his head to make sure that what he was seeing was actually real. It had to be some kind of trick. He knew such creatures didn't actually exist in the real world- only in the movies! He looked over at Star to see that she had her eyes closed and looked completely calm. What the hell was wrong with her, didn't she see the frightful creatures closing in on them? Wasn't she scared in the slightest?

Au contraire, Richard. She was exactly the opposite of calm. She had no idea what to do! They were powerless against the demons. This had to be the worst timing ever! She was trying to think of a solution to the problem, but she couldn't find one at all. She was going to kill Jinx next time she happened to appear in her room! She'd said that there were only two demons! Not Thirteen!

"Summers? Are you seeing what I'm seeing here or am I just delusional?"

She shook her head, "You're not delusional. I see them too, and there's only one way to get rid of them. We have to fight them!"

He was afraid that she was going to say that. How could he fight such creatures? But he had to admit, he had a better chance of survival if he fought than if he didn't. "Ok. Summers? Do you see the staffs and bow and arrow's they're holding? We have to get them from them. That's out only chance to get out of this!"

She nodded in agreement, "On the count of three, we charge. One, two, three!"

Both of them ran in different directions: Star ran to the left and Richard ran to the right. Richard attacked the demon with a high kick, but the demon only responded with a grunt. He attacked again, this time successfully grabbing the staff out of it's hand. He twirled the staff around in his hand, liking the feel of it. He then thrust the staff into the demon's chest and pulled it out. To his surprise, the demon fell on the ground with a crash and turned into a cloud of sinister looking black mist. 'One down, twelve more to go.' he thought arrogantly and he proceeded to attack the next demon.

Kori on the other hand wasn't as lucky as him. The demons put up a good fight, having both agility and strength despite their bulky stature. Kori knew for a fact that this ambush was meant for her and only her. That was why Richard wasn't having as much trouble fighting as she was. Suddenly, five demons encircled her. She was trapped with no where to go and all of them were attacking her at once. She compared her options. Forfeit, grab a staff, or grab a bow and arrow. She went with option three. For some odd reason she could feel a surge of power and noticed a flicker of green light in her right hand. She shrugged it off and ran to the closest demon, kicked off it's chest and grabbed a couple arrows from his shaft. Then she plunged an arrow into the demon's heart and grabbed it's bow from it's arms. She wasn't in archery in her previous life for nothing.

GA

Once again there was an uncomfortable silence, both of them too stubborn to break the silence. Bee was writing up a storm, while Victor was just sitting there watching her. He suddenly became so annoyed that he just had to say something, "So are you just going to take all the credit for the play and not let me do anything?"

Bee rolled her eyes, "Don't worry, super jock. No matter how tempting it is, I won't mess up your grade. You'll still be the star of the football and wrestling teams."

"You know, I don't have such a one track mind Bee. I don't just think about sports. I think of other things as well." he said through grated teeth. Like you. He wanted to add.

She feigned surprise, "Oh really? I would never have guessed!"

He fought the anger rising in his chest. Who did she think she was? He wasn't going to let her talk to him like that! No one ever talked to him like that!

She noticed his shocked expression and smirked, "Aw! Sparky's not used to being talked back to, is he? Well I'm sorry to break it to you, but I don't kiss anyone's ass."

His hands were clenched in such a tight fist that he could swear he was drawing blood. But he wasn't going to stoop to her level. She wasn't better than him and he wasn't going to give her that satisfaction. "Think what you want Bee. I just want to finish this so you can get the hell out of my house."

If she felt angry about his statement, she didn't show it. "Alright, impress me."

"Well. You know everyone else is just going to pretty much copy Shakespeare's works verbatim, right? Well I think that we should put it in our own words and maybe even change the story a little bit."

She thought about it for a minute, "I have to admit, that is a pretty good idea..."

"It is, isn't it?"

She rolled the eyes, "Watch it Sparky, keep it up and this room won't be big enough to contain your ego. And as much as I enjoy your company, we need to hurry it up, I need to go and visit my mom." she added quietly.

He nodded silently. He couldn't forget what had happened to her mother back in the eighth grade.

Victor and Bee were sitting at their favorite table and Bee was laughing at a joke that Garfield had told (even though it wasn't in the least bit funny).They were at lunch when the intercom called for her to come to the office immediately.

Victor rolled his eyes, "They're probably calling to congratulate you for making principals honor roll again."

Bee shrugged and made her way out of her seat and towards the principal's office.

"So, Vic. When're you gonna tell her that you like her?" Garfield asked.

He sighed in exasperation, "I told you already, I don't like her."

"He'll confess as soon as you confess that you like Raven." Richard added.

Garfield turned a bright red, "That's not true..."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of Bee's crying in the main hallway. Without even thinking he ran out of the cafeteria to see what was wrong. He caught up with her without difficulty, "What's wrong."

"It's... it's my mother. She... a car... and then..Oh Vic!" she cried as she launched herself into his arms.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's alright... I'll come with you."

But of course she wasn't ok... She was doomed to be in a coma, no one knowing when and if she would ever wake up.

His thoughts were interrupted by the polyphonic tune of her cell this time. He felt a twinge of jealousy when he wonder who could be calling her. But he shrugged it off. It wasn't as though she was his girlfriend or anything! Heaven forbid!

He watched her as her eyes widened and filled with tears before she closed her phone and took a deep breath "What?" He asked her.

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "It's my mother."

GA

"Rae?" Garfield asked, "Why aren't you eating?"

"I'm waiting for you to take the first bite so that's I know it's not poisoned." she said simply.

"I'm sorry that I cared." he said. She could be so irritable! However he dipped his spoon in the soup and sipped the soup slowly. He gave it a nod of approval.

Raven saw this as a positive sign and spooned some of the soup into her mouth. It was delicious! Even so, hell would freeze over before she ever said that out loud. "Good job." she mumbled.

Garfield knew that this would be all that he would get from her and accepted it. He'd known her long enough to know that even that compliment was rare. She didn't use to be like that when they were kids, though. Something had changed between now and then and he desperately wished for the Raven of old to emerge. But the more he waited, the more his hope for her dimmed. What had happened to her was so horrible that he didn't blame her for crawling into her reclusive shell. Whenever he thought about what happened he just wanted to wish the worst upon her father.

He could remember it well. It had all started in the seventh grade; the time when her mother married a new man soon after her divorce. Soon after, Raven started coming to school with bruises all over her body. She started wearing more baggy clothing to cover it up, but Garfield had noticed them. He'd asked her what had happened, but she just said that she was being clumsy lately. He didn't believe her of course, but he left it at that thinking that she'd tell him sooner or later. However, as the days passed he could tell that she got more and more depressed. He was persistent with his questions and she was just as persistent with her lame excuses.

One day, he just couldn't take it any more. He followed her home and waited outside the living room window.

"You're late." A voice he recognized as her stepfather's said.

"No, father. I always come home from school at this time." Raven answered.

"Are you saying that I'm wrong?" Her stepfather said with a slightly raised voice.

"No, father. I'm not... I just-"

Garfield could hear the tell-take sound of her father's palm connecting with her cheek, "You will not correct me, daughter." he seethed. "I am your superior, and you will obey me."

Raven remained silent.

"Good. Now go and pour me some wine."

Garfield heard her leave the living room and he raised his head a little higher so that he could see what was going on. She returned with a bottle of white wine and a glass. She silently poured the wine into the cup and handed it over to him.

"I don't want it anymore now that your dirty hands have touched it." he sneered. He then poured the entire contents of the glass on her head. "Clean this up."

She got up mechanically and walked to the kitchen and returned with a dishrag and cleaning solution. Garfield watched her with pity as she scrubbed the carpet. He was very surprised that she didn't cry. She just continued to scrub the floor with an emotionless expression on her face.

"Stop it. You're boring me."

She did as she was told and just sat there looking at the ground. Suddenly he grabbed her by her long hair and roughly pulled her to him. What he did next, angered the hell out of Garfield. He kissed her. He saw the tears that she had been holding back fall down her cheeks. He tried to unbutton her blouse, but she bit down on his lip. Hard

"Bitch!" he yelled.

She pushed herself off him and attempted to run away, but he grabbed her by her arm and hit her at the side of her face with the wine bottle. She cringed.

Garfield watched helplessly as Raven's stepfather pulled her hair and dragged her to the stairway. "Useless girl." he seethed. He then threw her down the stairs.

Garfield ran as fast as he ever had in his life. He ran toward her front door hoping that it was unlocked. When he got there he was glad that his prayers had been answered. He opened the door and cringed as he saw Raven's unconscious body on the floor in front of the stairs.

He hoped that luck was still on his side when he walked through the door and hoisted her onto her back. He hooked his hands under her knees and ran away from her house with lightning like speed.

When she awoke in his house later that evening, it was almost as though they had formed a silent pact. He asked no questions and she asked no questions. She just wrapped her arms around his neck and cried. They stayed lie that for hours, neither of them moving, both of them feeling comfortable in their position. Needless to say, it was the last time she ever showed him that she was vulnerable...

"Garfield, What are you thinking?" Raven asked suspiciously.

He shook his head as though it would rid him of the memory. No such luck. "Um..." he took a deep breath. He'd waited all this time to get the full the story. It was now or never. "Rae. I've always wondered what happened with your stepfather... why didn't you ever tell anyone?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she kept quiet. She surprised Garfield when she responded minutes later. "Well. He'd threatened to hurt my mother if I ever told anyone..."

He nodded. "Yeah... I know the feeling." When he was a kid he'd always been bullied by older kids because he was so short and scrawny. He'd surprised everyone when he came back well built and inches taller. But his parade was rained on when the most important person didn't care.

She said nothing, she just tried to pick an invisible piece of lint off of her shirt. She surprised him again when she decided to speak up again, "When he was there, he made me think I was of no worth." she laughed humorlessly, "I feel absolutely no remorse at his death. He deserved it."

Garfield nodded slowly. Just a few weeks ago they'd found out that her stepfather was found murdered in his apartment. The cause of death was the thallium powder found in his wine. Even though Raven sounded as though she didn't care, Garfield new better than that. She was just as unnerved as he was with the news.

"I mean after all he did- and what he almost did- he was lucky that we didn't press charges. We let him get away. We let that bastard get away..." She whispered.

Garfield saw this as a good opportunity to lean over slightly and envelope her in a hug. This caught her by surprise and a blushed stained her normally alabaster skin. "Um, Ok?" She awkwardly patted him on the back.

"He's gone now, Rae. You don't have to worry about him any more." He said comfortingly.

However I'm sorry to say that Garfield was wrong. They would see Mr. Timothy Roth sooner than they thought.

GA

It was a rather chilly evening, and a boy who had no idea where he was headed pressed his jacket closer to his body. He had been wandering for a little over a week now and he was starting to think that it had been a bad idea to begin with. He already missed his warm bed and his annoyingly attentive parents. But he wouldn't relent no matter what happened. If there was one thing that he did inherit from his parents, it was his stubborn pride. He continued to wander aimlessly down the street ignoring the admiring looks he was getting from passing women. They weren't worth anything to him now, not since her.

Just thinking about her made him want to keep going. He hadn't seen her for a little over five years, but he was looking forward to seeing her again. Even though it had been a long time, he thought about her all the time. It hurt to think that he would be with her now if he didn't have to move. Did she find another?

"Garth," she'd said tears shining in her huge onyx eyes, "why didn't you tell me that you were moving?"

" I... um... didn't want to see you cry." he said truthfully.

She hit him over the head with a book. Funny, he didn't see it in her hands before... "I just don't believe you. I'm not as weak as everyone makes me seem .I'd never forgive you if you wouldn't let me say goodbye. I care more than you think Garth..." she trailed off a rare blush staining her cheeks.

He smiled, "I'm sorry, I guess I didn't give you enough credit... Who told you anyway?"

She scoffed, "Damn right you didn't. And who do you think? There's only one person with that big of a mouth."

He raised an eyebrow, "Since when did you start using such foul language?"

"Since just now." she said indignantly.

"It suits you..."

She hit him again with that book that seemed to have a habit of appearing out of nowhere, "Shut up."

His shoulders suddenly sagged, "So I guess this is goodbye, huh?"

"Yea, I suppose so. Even though I ought to hurt you for not telling me I can't seem to bring myself to do it. I'm going to miss you even though it will be a lot quieter without you and big-mouth bickering all the time. I'll never forgive you for leaving me with him... and I-" she was silenced by his lips covering hers. Her eyes widened and her fingers slipped from her book which fell to the ground unnoticed.

He almost laughed out loud because of her inept attempt to kiss him back. He pulled away from her and hugged her tightly. "Now it's your turn to shut up."

They stayed like that for awhile, neither one of them wanting to let go. Only Garth noticed that a concealed figure was watching them. His forest green eyes mirrored hurt and he looked betrayed. But he didn't care...

He shook his head at the memory. Even though he'd been two years older than her at the time she acted so much older than him. He'd been worried about her after he heard about how her father was treating her (he'd gotten the information from a certain big-mouth). He knew that she'd changed, but he was determined to get her back to her old self.

'Don't worry Raven, I'm here.'

GA

The battle raged on for quite sometime and Richard arrogantly praised his ability. By the time Richard had made it through his eighth demon he knew that there was something a little off about this battle. None of the creatures were even attempting to hit him back! But whenever he looked over at Star, she had at least five demons trying to take a piece out of her. It didn't make any sense. Why would they...

Then it dawned on him. The strange creatures weren't just attacking them for the hell of it. They were after Star and didn't give a damn about him! He almost smacked himself at his stupidity. He quickly thrust the staff through the creatures chest and jumped over him to aid her.

There were three demons surrounding her now, and by the looks of it they were the strongest of the batch. It seemed that each time she shot an arrow at them it bounced right off. So, seeing as it was fruitless, she ditched the arrows and tried to attack them head on.

That didn't go so well...

She was once again a sitting duck. She was completely out of options unless she figured out how to use her power. She now had something else to pummel Jinx for! Why was it so damn hard to tell her how to use them? Then without warning a thought crossed her mind. She remembered the surge of power she'd felt earlier... was that her power?

She quickly dodged another blow from the demon as she thought about it. What had she been doing differently when she'd felt it? She couldn't remember doing anything remotely dissimilar to what she'd been doing throughout the battle. But she remembered having a different emotion. She was furious... but hadn't felt just pure fury. Her fury had been justifiable... righteous.

She dodged yet another blow and attempted to grasp that particular emotion. She closed her eyes and thought of something that would make her feel that way. In no time at all she could feel that familiar power surging through her veins. She opened her eyes to see that her arms were encased in eerie green orbs of light. She aimed at both the demons' chests and pushed all the emotion into the orbs. To her surprise, the orbs were unleashed and it hit the demons square in their chests. They fell to the ground with a sickening crash and turned into two identical wisps of black smoke.

She looked around, hoping that Richard didn't see what had just taken place. To her relief, he had his back turned to her and was fighting the final demon. She watched, entranced at the way he moved his body with such ease and grace. For those few moments she'd forgotten that he was the biggest jerk she'd ever met. He reminded her of her favorite bird, the Robin.

She thought back to the image that'd made her harness her amazing new power. She'd thought of the idea of Richard killing himself. It seemed so surreal that he'd ever do something as unethical as taking his own life. And yet she knew that was why she was here. To prevent that for ever happening.

She shook the idea out of her head as she caught a glimpse of Richard giving the demon the final blow. She wouldn't ever let that happen as long as she was here. She wouldn't let those demons have him. Over her undead body!

He flashed her an arrogant smirk,"Are you done staring, Summers? Or would you like to admire my perfect features for a little longer?"

She rolled her eyes. Or maybe I should do the earth a favor and just let those demons have him...

She pretended to frantically search, "Perfect features? Where? I have yet to see any."

"Very funny."

She smiled. "I know"

"So what you think those things were anyway? I've never seen anything like them..."

"I'm not sure." she lied.

He flashed that annoying smirk once again,"Whatever those things were, they hardly stood a chance."

She ignored him and started walking in the opposite direction towards her house. "I might as well go home. It's late and we've got school tomorrow."

Without even waiting for him to reply she started running home. She had a strange feeling that something wasn't right...

Richard watched her go with a long drawn out sigh. He didn't even get the chance to ask her about her name...

GA

Kori got to her apartment door feeling slightly apprehensive, but she shoved the feeling down as far as it could go and turned the knob slowly.

The apartment was just as she'd left it. She fumbled around for the light switch, but a hand reached out and grabbed hers. She opened her mouth to scream, but another hand covered her mouth.

"Nice to see you again, Kori."

TBC...

Heehehe.. Don't kill me. I have a bad habit of ending chapters with cliffhangers... Ok let me clear things up here. I hope you know who Garth is... but if not, he's Aqualad! But don't worry another one of the characters I mentioned is going to have a major role as well. So who do you think is in her apartment? It's not as obvious as it seems... Oh and it wasn't a typo. Richard and them were friends a long time ago... but something tore them apart. I hoped you like the chapter which is once again long! Almost 11 pages! So tell me what you think? Is it Good, Bad, or just plan horrific? And TBC means to be continued for those who were asking. Remember, the more reviews I get, the sooner I write the next chapter! I'm going to stop this rant right now... Ja ne!