The End: Chapter 1

Disclaimer: DC COMICS owns "Teen Titans." I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.

Raven lay in bed with Starfire's arms loosely wrapped around her. She was neatly tucked under Starfire's chin, and the taller young woman was fast asleep. As wispy breaths tugged gently on her hair, Raven felt her eyelids grow heavy.

The sight of peaceful sleep is a sedative common to all things. It is calming and soothing, and can easily draw the watcher into sleep's warm embrace. The feeling, however—the feeling of peaceful sleep is unlike any other. Raven considered herself blessed to be able to sense what Starfire felt as she slept. Her warmth, her tranquility, the unconscious happiness that brought about her small smile—all these things held Raven as closely as Starfire did physically.

In her own warm drowsiness, Raven could forget so many things. It had been months since Terra's betrayal and Slade's destruction. It had been longer since Blackfire's death and Kali's attacks. It had been longer still since Chaos had come back into her life and unlocked her powers.

But held so closely by the one she loved—the one who loved her—Raven could forget all of those pains. She could forget all her worries and her fears and her past. Letting herself slip into sleep, Raven forgot that the coming day was her birthday.

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She woke because she was alone. Starfire was gone, the portion of the blanket she claimed the night before tucked gently around her. Raven sat up and rubbed her eyes, looking around her room. The sun was already high above, light washing into her room. She stood from the bed and held out one hand. With Starfire's clothing now taking up residence in her closet, it took a fraction more concentration to make one of her cloaks fly to her hand instead of one of Starfire's tops or skirts.

The door hissed open with another small thought. She walked through the door, fastening her cloak at her neck. It was amazingly quiet. She did not hear any arguing over what would be made for breakfast or any sound from the TV. Even as she drew nearer to Ops, silence made her footsteps echo in the hallways. She tapped a button on the control panel next to the door to Ops, jerking back at the darkness she found.

The first step into the room came without incident, as did the second and third. Once she was standing beyond the doorway, however, the door hissed shut and plunged her into the dark. Her heart began to beat a hair faster, and near jumped from her chest when the lights flashed on. She threw up one arm over her eyes, holding out a hand and calling up shadows around it.

"SURPRISE!" Raven opened her eyes, and her arms fell limply to her sides at the sight before her. Streamers and balloons hung on the walls, and confetti was tossed into the air in fistfuls. Beast Boy blew a noisemaker, and he and Starfire both wore colorful pointed hats. Cyborg carried a multi-layered cake with candles, and Robin smiled cheerfully. Tables were set up behind them, loaded with food. A banner with "Happy Birthday Raven!" scrawled upon it was strung from the ceiling.

"Oh, happiest day of birth, dearest Raven!" Starfire laughed. She flew forward and wrapped Raven in a tight hug.

"Happy birthday, Raven!" Beast Boy cheered. "C'mon, light the candles and blow 'em out so we can get some cake!"

"It's my special triple-strike!" Cyborg said proudly, holding the cake up. "Three layers, three flavors of cake mix, three types of frosting! Boo-yah!" Beast Boy blew his noisemaker again, grinning at Raven when he ran out of breath. Starfire paused, noticing that Raven was not returning her hug in the least, and stepped away slightly. Raven was standing completely still, wide eyes fixed on the banner.

"What are you doing?" she whispered.

"Isn't it your birthday?" Robin asked.

"BB said it was," Cyborg said. He, Robin, and Starfire turned to glare at the green-furred young man. Beast Boy looked back at them and gave them a weak grin, blowing on the noisemaker again.

"It's her birthday!" he said in protest. "Seriously! OK, I know she never said when her birthday was, but I did some research! I dug in those files in the dusty locked filing cabinet in the corner of the subbasement, and I found out that today is Raven's birthday!" He turned to face Raven with a much stronger grin. "So happy birthday!"

"Why are you doing this?"

"It is your day of birth!" Starfire replied. "It is a time of celebration!"

"No!" Raven hissed, stepping back toward the door. She closed her eyes so she would not have to see the confusion and hurt on the faces of her friends. "Listen, thanks for doing all of this, but I…don't want a party." She turned away, and only Starfire heard her murmur, "I don't want to celebrate this." She slapped at the control panel, walking quickly out the door. Starfire went after her, and the door closed behind her.

"At least she didn't blow up the cake," Beast Boy said quietly.

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"Dearest Raven?" No matter how desperately she wanted to run, Starfire's soft call of her name stopped Raven instantly. She jerked when Starfire's hand touched her shoulder, wishing that she had not done so. Undeterred, Starfire put both hands on Raven's shoulders and gently tightened her grip. "Please, what is the matter?"

"I don't like parties," Raven said weakly.

"You said that you did not wish to celebrate 'this,'" Starfire replied. "Do you not wish to celebrate the day of your birth?"

"Starfire," Raven whispered. "I've told you about—everything. You know there's nothing for me to celebrate."

"But that is in the past," Starfire protested. "Why can you not celebrate the good things in the present?" She smiled when Raven reached up and touched one of her hands.

"I can't be happy today." She pulled free from Starfire's grasp and walked away.

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There was absolutely nothing odd about the call the Teen Titans received late that day. It was plainly generic: there was a break in at one of the many local factories. The factory was itself plain. There was no toxic waste for a creature like Plasmus to feed off of. There were no large power conduits for Overload to suck energy from. There was nothing that would lure in any of the usual suspects.

"There's nothing here," Robin murmured. The Titans stood in the middle of the main factory floor, having already searched the building.

"Can we go home now?" Raven asked. The four other heroes looked at her in surprise. She stood slightly apart from all of them, eyes constantly darting from place to place. Starfire pushed her hurt feelings aside and started toward Raven, hoping to comfort her.

"Oh, but why would you want to go home?" The deep dark voice echoed out from shadows high above and made the Titans whirl to look. "You really should go out and celebrate a day like this." He stepped from the shadows and leaned on the railing of the catwalk, looking down at them with amusement in his blue eye.

"Slade." The name came out of Robin's mouth a whisper of disbelief.

"Terra killed you!" Beast Boy snarled. Slade made no comment, his eye locked with Raven's. Her breath caught somewhere behind her tongue, and her hands began to shake. She wanted to turn and run as fast and as far as she could.

"If you can't think of anything to do for your birthday," Slade murmured, "perhaps I can be of some assistance." On his forehead, a fiery red symbol appeared: a broken S. Fire gathered in his hands, its light dancing across his mask. Raven could see the horrible smile in his eye just before he threw the flames.

"Titans, GO!" They leapt away to avoid the fire, but it swerved in the air to crash into Robin and Cyborg. As they hit opposite walls, Beast Boy changed into a pterodactyl and flew at Slade. The villain sprang from the catwalk, flipping over the green dinosaur and hitting him in the back with another fireball. Beast Boy hit the catwalk hard enough to make it crumple like tissue paper before falling limply to the ground far below. Slade landed in a crouch, standing to his daunting height and once again turning his stare on Raven.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven clapped her hands together, and clawed hands of shadow caught Slade in their grasp. She ground her hands against each other, sensing his ribs snapping though her magic silenced the sound. Her magic did not stop the cold chuckle that rose from his throat, and with a burst of fire, her spell was broken. Slade strode toward her, hands blazing at his sides. Without looking, he dodged the star bolt that had been hurled at him.

"You've gotten predictable while I was away," he said in a disappointed voice. "I'd have thought you would learn some new tricks." Starfire frowned and aimed her next star bolt at his head. His hand flashed up and caught the energy, holding it tight. "Like I did." Fire flared around the green energy, absorbing it and growing even brighter. With a shout, Slade threw the fireball too quickly for Starfire to react. An explosion lit the dark corners of the factory for an instant. When it faded, Raven saw Starfire lying unconscious, the ground smoldering all around her.

She had to leave. She had to run. She had to get as far away from the others as she could. Now. Before anyone else could be hurt. Hating herself with every inch she put between herself and Starfire, Raven turned and tried to get away. Slade watched her fly up toward the ceiling and raised his hand. Fire erupted from the ground at his feet. It rushed along the floor, up the wall, and shot out to strike Raven in midair. She was thrown onto another system of catwalks and lay there, unmoving.

The sound of snapping metal and an angry roar drew Slade's attention momentarily away from Raven. Cyborg charged at him, swinging a massive piston he had pulled out of the machinery. A moment before impact, Slade began to glow red. The piston made contact with the red aura and melted. It separated into two pieces, one piece falling to the floor with a massive bang. Cyborg looked at the melted end of the piece he held, mouth slightly open.

"No comeback?" Slade asked. "No catch phrase to quip? Too bad." He leapt up and spun, his boot cracking against Cyborg's head. The young man was knocked flat, but Robin quickly took up his place. His bo staff whistled as it went through the air, and Robin was all too ready for the crack Slade's neck made as it broke. The masked man crumpled to the floor.

"I don't know how you came back," the boy wonder snarled, "but I was ready for you this time."

"Really?" Slade's feet put themselves flat on the ground, and he rose up as if pulled by his chest. His head rolled back into place with a pop. "I don't think you are." The next thing Robin knew was that he was lying atop Cyborg, cheek burnt from a flaming punch and head spinning. Slade crouched down and leapt, clearing the catwalk's railing easily and landing next to a stirring Raven.

"Get away!" Raven snapped. She stood quickly and tried to run, but Slade's hand was faster.

"I have a message to deliver." His hand closed on her wrist.

Pain. Incredible, unimaginable, hellish, horrible pain. The fire seared through her clothes. It burned into her skin, her flesh, her blood, her bone. She screamed and managed to pull her arm free from his grasp. Panting for breath, she looked at her arm. The cloth around her hand and wrist was gone, the burnt edge of her sleeve faintly smoking. A symbol, glowing the same brilliant red as the mark on Slade's forehead, shone on her wrist.

"It has begun." Raven spun to look at Slade, staring as he rose into the air. His arms came up, and energy crackled like lightning from his body to everything around. The factory trembled, thousands of rivets and bolts snapping simultaneously. Metal warped and buckled. The factory began to collapse.

Raven watched as Robin, Beast Boy, and Cyborg ran toward the nearest exit. She searched for Starfire, eyes widening in horror at what she found. The alien still lay unconscious, and the ceiling above her had broken. Tons of concrete was held up by buckling machinery, and only for a second more. The metal and the concrete plummeted down toward Starfire. There was no way to stop its fall, and no one would reach her in time.

"STOP!" Light washed over the world, and time did as she commanded. Raven stood up shakily, wide eyes staring. The wreckage was stuck in midair, the boys in mid step, and no more sound rang out. Even Slade was frozen, the destructive energy flowing from him stopped in lightning arcs. She shook herself from her staring and dove down to Starfire, pressing a hand to her chest. Color flowed back into her, and she returned to consciousness.

"Dearest Raven?" she asked. Raven pulled her close, and Starfire felt her trembling. "Raven, please, what is going on?"

"You really shouldn't keep your friends in the dark." Raven turned, horrified, to find Slade moving to stand as he always had: arms held behind his back and his gaze amused. He started to walk down through the air, easily pushing aside time-frozen objects that were in his way. "I must admit that I'm impressed, Raven. I had my suspicions of you hiding something about yourself. And then to learn of this exceptional destiny of yours!" He chuckled. "It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"

Raven threw up her cloak, pulling herself and Starfire down into the shadows. They emerged on the street outside the factory, and Raven immediately started to run. Starfire followed her, catching glances of the time-stuck city around her.

"What did he mean?" she asked. "What destiny does Slade speak of?" Raven made no response save quickening her pace. "Raven!" Raven stopped, and did not jump when Starfire took hold of her hand. "Please, what is happening? What frightens you so much?"

"It's…it's my birthday," Raven whispered. "My birthday is supposed to be the start of something—horrible."

"And there's no way to stop it." Slade leapt from a rooftop and landed before them in the center of the street.

"How did you—?" Raven croaked.

"There is no escaping me, dear girl," Slade murmured. "Just like there is no escaping your destiny." Starfire moved to stand between Raven and Slade, hands and eyes aglow.

"You will leave her be," she snarled. "Or I will make you leave." Slade laughed at her and put his arms behind his back, standing completely still.

"You can try." Starfire flew at him before Raven could cry a warning. She struck him with every ounce of strength in her body. There was no other way to fight him, because it was not the safety of the city or the world that depended on her victory. Raven was all that mattered; her safety, her happiness, her future depended on Starfire defeating Slade. He had to be stopped, and Starfire knew it.

The thunderclaps that were her punches were echoed by the whip cracks of Slade's breaking bones. She could not keep track of how many times she struck him, or what she had broken. She soldiered on, pummeling Slade until she thought he would shatter like glass with the next blow. He did not shatter, and he did not fall. He remained on his feet, only bent in strange contortions according to his broken bones.

Starfire paused, doubt festering in her chest. She froze when the popping began. It started from his legs and traveled up his body. He jerked wildly as bones were set back into place. With every healing, pops like cracking knuckles rang out. His spine straightened, and his head twisted back from staring at the world behind his body. Starfire's eyes widened as Slade put his arms behind his back once again.

"My turn." Twin pillars of fire surged from the ground, writhing and twisting in the air. One of the pillars roared over Starfire and turned about as the other rushed at her head on. They crushed Starfire between them, enveloping her in a massive explosion. When the light faded, she lay unconscious in a smoking crater.

"Starfire!" Raven cried. She rushed to the other girl, crouching down to reach for her. Slade's heavy footfalls drew her attention away.

"There is no stopping this," he said. "Skies will burn. Flesh will become stone. The sun will set on your world, and it will not rise again! Time won't wait forever, birthday girl. You can't run away from who you are!" She tried to hold him back with her magic—by hurling cars and pieces of the street at him—but he continued to advance. He came closer and closer, but she could not and would not move. Fear held her in place, but she would not run again—not without Starfire.

Slade's hands shot out and grabbed her upper arms. She howled as the fire burned down into her bone and pulled herself free once more, spinning about and falling to her knees. The pain lingered, but she did not try to smother it away with her hands. She did not want to touch the symbols she knew lay burned on her body.

"The message will be delivered," he said. "If I have to kill your friends to do it, so be it." Rage swelled up at his words, and she summoned her sword. With a shout, she thrust the sword back through her cloak. She felt it stab into him, but did not wait to see if it had any effect. She heaved Starfire onto her back and flew as fast as she could.

Slade pulled the sword from his stomach and tossed it aside, watching it fade away before it touched the ground. He turned his gaze to the small, shrinking speck in the sky and chuckled. It would be all too easy to find them.

—to be continued—