Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. Those rights belong to a number of people—DC comics and Cartoon Network come to mind as possibilities. So give all credit to them, assuming you can figure out who it is. My money's on DC. Avatar belongs to me, while Static belongs to Clair.

Author's Note: The entire series is based at least partially on my Teen Titans website, which can be accessed by going to my homepage if you are so inclined. Despite this, it can still be read by anyone who is not a member of the website, so don't be discouraged. Enjoy!

Mark of the Avatar

The tawny-haired Terra, former traitor and current Teen Titan, spun in reaction to the wall of darkness hurtling towards her. As her body twirled around to face this monstrosity, her hands began to exude a soft golden aura to match the glowing of her eyes. Hers was the power to control the very ground they stood upon, even from several stories up. Despite the distance, it was still childs play for her to reach out with her ability, grab ahold of the ground, and draw it upwards. Ropes of dirt and sand stretched around Titan's Tower, smashing through windows and holes in the wall to arrive near Terra almost instantaneously. Controlling their movements by the process of pure thought, the geomancer focused these earthen coils before her and conjured forth a wall of her own.

As the concussive shock that emerged from Terra's attack smashing into the dark onslaught, Avatar let out a laugh, appearing from behind the black wall. Months ago, she had been forged from the blood of Raven, the half-demon witch of the Teen Titans. Her purpose was to be that of servitude, a life of obediance and loyalty towards the Hierarchy of International Vengeance and Extermination. But an independent streak lurked beneath her silent demeanor, and Avatar was quick to lash out against her creator and take matters into her own hands.

Now, both her "parent" and "master" lay on the floor, defeated. Raven, in the midst of a psychic attack, left herself vulnerable to Avatar's own vicious strike, and her soul self was shattered. By generating a spear of darkness, the headmistress of the H.I.V.E., Static, was brought down. Drawing strength from their defeat, Avatar rose against the Titans in the aftermath of their war against the H.I.V.E. She was the final encounter, and had every intention of destroying them. Her hands, like Terra's, had a soft light to them, but unlike the golden glow possessed by the Markovian geomancer, Avatar's aura was a deep black, sharing the color of her robes. With a single wave of her hand, she released another strike, reforging the power from her wall of darkness into a telekinetic blast, pushing apart Terra's earthen blockade and sending the yellow-haired girl flying.

Swinging across the room by aid of his grappling hook, the Boy Wonder Robin, leader of the Teen Titans, caught Terra and safely deposited her to the ground. She would need a minute to recover her strength, and that was, perhaps, a minute the Titans did not have. Avatar was immensely strong, carrying all the powers of Raven amplified. Her ferocity was dwarfed only by her insanity, and she held nothing back as she brought her dark wrath down on the Titans.

With Terra and Raven down, it was time for two more to step up to the field. Starfire and Cyborg were two of the most powerful, each of them wielding forces amazing. Starfire fought with the power of starlight, while Cyborg released his torrents of sound. Their twin attacks could reduce entire monuments to rubble, but when they were hurled into the black force around Avatar, it was as if they had not even attacked at all. The force of Starfire's green starbolt blasts and Cyborg's azure beams of sound simply dispersed around the witch's shield, causing no harm to her whatsoever. But even in this seemingly hopeless situation, the Teen Titans had only just begun to fight.

Even though her shield seemed invulnerable to energy attacks, Beast Boy was willing to bet that a physical assault wouldn't be blocked off. Shifting from form to form, he repeatedly dodged her attacks and the reflected attacks of his teammates. He gambled right. In the form of a gnat he was able to pass through her shield, and while moving at a high speed he shifted once more, taking the form of a porcupine, curling up as he did so. The spiny green creature slashed into Avatar's robe, stabbing her in the back.

She screamed. Avatar had never actually felt personalized pain before--she had fed on the pain of others, yes, but it was always pleasurable to her. Quite simply, she enjoyed their suffering. The few attacks made against her were simply deflected, but here and now she felt intense pain, and she doubled over in shock. The Titans took full advantage of this opportunity.

They were on her in a flash. In most occasions, with most villains, heroes were reluctant to use full force against their adversaries--and the Titans possessed a large deal of collective power. But Avatar had tried to kill them. She released a potentially lethal attack against Static, and would have killed Terra had Robin not saved her. Raven's condition wasn't even fully known, but Avatar had done something to her, too. Given another chance, the black witch would not hesitate to release all of her force. The Titans could not afford to hold back. Not against her.

Starfire's face was savage as she plunged her hands, illuminated with destructive starbolt energy, directly into Avatar's chest. This time there would not be a shield to protect her. Avatar's skin blistered as the green energy touched her, but the Tamaranean princess was not done yet. She continued to apply pressure and energy, fully intent on killing Avatar. She was a warrior, trained to fight and kill. Avatar was her enemy, and would show no mercy if the situation was reversed. Why should she, then?

The other Titans were in similar positions. Beast Boy, in the form of a great panther, was preparing to swipe his paw and slash into Avatar's side. Robin had converted his bo staff into a sword and was poised to slash, while Cyborg had activated his finger laser. In seconds, they would all attack, and Avatar would be defeated. Their actions were abnormal, vicious. They were never like this. It was almost as if something was furthering their actions...forcing them to kill.

The witch on the floor, grinning despite her situation, revelled in their hatred. She had spawned it, and now it fueled her. Their attacks, prepared to be fully lethal, were purely representative of her power over them. And as these attacks were released...Avatar struck back.

Rays of darkness emerged from her body, slashing into the chests of each Titan and sending them backwards, each of them collapsing against the ground in pain. She rose then, her black robe glowing with the dark energy that came from her eyes. She hovered over the Teen Titans, raising the attack in her hands with vengeance. Now was the time that they would die.

"No!" came a shout, and a white spiral came flying from the distance, slapping the attack from the hands of Avatar. The black witch turned, only to see the white witch called Raven standing once more. "You will not harm them," Raven swore, white light surrounding her hands.

"You cannot stop me, Raven," Avatar said with a sinister grin. "My powers are stronger than yours. You have embraced the light...but you cannot hope to halt the darkness." She turned back to her prey, blasting the fallen Titans with her dark attack. They screamed.

"It cannot end this way," Raven whispered to herself, knowing what she must do. Her father had given her great power, but she denied it, altered her focus. But to stop Avatar, who was born from her previous, tainted form, she could not hope to triumph. Another evolution was needed...and that pained her more than anything.

She looked over towards Static, the fallen headmistress pierced by a black spear created by Avatar. Raven held her hand in the direction of the spear, touching on it's energy signature. It was so similar to her own, and it was childs play to absorb it. The spear faded, its energy drifting into her own body. Her cloak darkned almost instantly, taking on the signature blue shade that represented her somewhat darker self. The white energy on her hands also darkened until it was a sharp black. She was back.

"Avatar," Raven said, her voice thick and her power strong. Her clone turned, an amused look on her face...before she saw Raven's soul self, black once more, flying at her. A look of panic fell on her face then.

The great bird form surrounded Avatar, and while she tried her best to escape, she could not. She released her attacks, but they were futile. Avatar could not win. "You attacked my friends," came the voice of Raven from the soul self, speaking directly to Avatar's mind. "You tried to kill all of us. You are evil. You cannot remain!"

A flash emerged from where the soul self had engulfed Avatar, and the dark light surrounding the Titans slowly flowed into this nexus. They looked up, straining to see what had happened...and then, the flash vanished. Only Raven, clad in her traditional blue, remained. She looked over at her friends, a sad look on her face, and no words were needed to explain. They all knew...she was in pain once again.

There was a scuffling sound across the room, and Robin was once again reminded of Static. The villain was bleeding profusely, but she was still alive. "Raven," he said, but the witch was already moving. She knelt beside Static, her hands on the wound caused by Avatar, and slowly began her healing talents.

"The rest of the H.I.V.E. is gone," Cyborg said, peering around the room and glancing out the windows. "It looks like they just left their ruler here."

"Damn turncoats," Static murmered, trying to get up. "When I get back to the Academy, I'll--"

"You won't be getting back to your Academy, Static," Robin said, walking over and pulling an object from his belt. The handcuffs were on Static's hands almost instantly--rubber, designed to block her electricity. "I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere for a long, long time."

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"Static is gone," Jinx was saying to the group before her. She stood at a podium in the assembly room of the H.I.V.E. Academy, addressing every student there. The other members of the H.I.V.E. F.I.V.E.--Gizmo, Mammoth, and See-More--stood behind her, all of them feeling rejoiceful that they had finally won this revolution. Private H.I.V.E., their fifth ally, was missing. "Your beloved headmistress's 'plan' nearly led to our defeat. She betrayed all of us just to further her own agenda. And now, she's been beaten."

"Because of her, our teammate, Private H.I.V.E., is comatose. None of us know if he'll ever wake up again. Static has proven herself to be of great harm to the H.I.V.E. Academy for Extraordinary Young People, and we must now rebuild without her." Her eyes held that violet glow that came when she used her powers, but now it was simply a sign of her joy. She had beaten Static, and was now in control of the H.A.E.Y.P. But she didn't intend to retain that control. "We have had our share of headmasters and headmistresses. The most recent, Static, nearly led our school to ruin. Her predecessor, Brother Blood, fell because he only pursued his obsession with Cyborg instead of making our school grand. We have had failures leading us...but we have also had a success."

"The original H.I.V.E. Mistress was put aside by Brother Blood. He brainwashed us to believe she had resigned, but we know better now. For quite some time, we thought she had died. But recent evidence has shown that she is, in fact, alive. She was the greatest thing to ever happen to this school...and we must find her and return her to power if we want to survive."

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Robin put down the phone and turned back towards his team. "Static's been put in a maximum security containment cell," he reported, "where she'll await trial. I think we can expect that she'll be in jail for a pretty serious amount of time."

"Any sign of the H.I.V.E.?" Starfire asked from where she sat on the couch with the others.

The Boy Wonder shook his head at her question, knowing that it wasn't what she would want to hear. "They've retreated to another headquarters," he told the group. "But I'm sure we'll be able to find them eventually."

Starfire nodded, understanding, but she was reluctant to voice her next question. Raven had retreated to her room shortly after Static had been taken away by the police, and they all wanted to know how she was doing...but they none of them really needed to ask that question. Raven had been given a chance at happiness, at a normal life, and she had been forced to give it all up to save the Teen Titans. There had to be some level of resentment there, and they were all afraid that the effects of this would be extremely negative. But that was a worry for another day...a new problem was soon to arise.

"If this is over, then," Terra said, rising, "then I'm afraid I've got something none of you will want to hear."

"What's that, Terra?" Beast Boy asked from where he was sprawled out on a chair, exhausted from the battle.

The tawny-haired girl looked at her green haired friend--who was, perhaps, more than just a friend--with a sad expression on her face. This would be hardest for him to hear...but it had to be said. She just wished she could do it without hurting anyone...she had caused enough hurt in her lifetime. "I'm going to be leaving the Titans," she said simply. "I'll be gone by tomorrow morning."