Dark Awakening

by ShadowWolf Imbrium

Sequel to Dark Dreams. Shadow and Raven have been going out for a while now but new challenges await them. A man seeking revenge threatens Shadow’s life, how far is Raven willing to go to try to save her girlfriend and what difficulties might arise beca

Dark Awakening

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans or anything else alluded to in this story, directly or indirectly, except the character of Shadow. She is my creation so I would ask that no one steals her without permission.

Forward: This story is written to be the sequel to 'Dark Dreams'. Shadow and Raven have been going out for a while now but new challenges await them. A man seeking revenge threatens Shadow's life, how far is Raven willing to go to try to save her girlfriend and what difficulties might arise because of it.

Righteous Indignation

Raven couldn't believe it. She had been beaten. All her years of practice and yet still she was defeated, seemingly without effort. Her conqueror raised a darkly clad hand to finish it.

"Checkmate," her opponent said as she slid her queen across the board to trap Raven's king.

Groan

"Sorry Raven, care to try again?'

Raven looked across the board at her companion. Shadow sat there, floating in the air, looking at her with those beautiful silver eyes. Her dark, violet, leathery wings were folded around her like a cloak. Raven turned her eyes back to the chessboard, held up by her powers as she herself was.

"No, I think I've suffered enough for today." She exerted her powers to dump the chessmen into a box on the floor then to return the box and the board to her shelf. "I haven't lost a game in quite a while," she said as she lowered her feet to touch the floor.

Shadow lowered her own feet and stepped forward to take Raven gently in her arms. "Are you upset that I beat you?"

Raven wrapped her arms around the slightly taller girl before floating up a few inches to place a loving kiss on the dark vampire's pale lips. "Never," she said once their lips parted. Shadow smiled and kissed her back.

"Let's get out of here," Shadow said when they parted. "We haven't been away from the tower in days."

"I don't know. I'm not sure if I'm ready to let the world know about us yet." They had been together for two months, yet, other than the other Titans, no one was aware of their relationship.

"I didn't mean a date, just going somewhere as friends." Shadow didn't care if everyone knew about them, but she did try to respect Raven's wished about it remaining secret.

"Well," Raven said, "I haven't been to my favorite café in a while. You would like it there, no natural light."

"Sounds lovely." Coming from most people such a statement would seem sarcastic, but Raven knew she was serious. They pulled away from each other, reluctantly. "We should let the others know where we are going though, just in case."

They pull their cloaks around themselves. Raven checked her appearance in her closet mirror. She had blushed furiously the first time the others had seen her all disheveled, she was not anxious to repeat the experience. Shadow herself never got mussed as much; she simply smoothed her hair with her hands. Once they were finished they raised their hoods and walked out.

They went to the living room and, upon finding it empty, left a note on the table for the others. Both of them then headed up to the roof. The sun was still high, only slightly past its zenith, with only a few clouds. Most people would find it a beautiful day but both girls scowled at the blue sky.

"I suppose a bunch of nice, dark, ominous clouds would have been too much to ask," Shadow said as they lifted off towards the city.

"Such things are rare here," Raven commented flying beside her.

"So where is this place?"

"Downtown a little ways, not far as the crow flies."

"How about as the raven flies?" Shadow asked.

Raven cast her a scathing look, "That was bad."

"I know," Shadow said apologetically, "I just couldn't resist."

Raven sighed. "We're almost there." She began to descend, Shadow trailing behind her now. They landed outside a plain looking building with no identifying marks. It had a large window with heavy curtains blocking the view within. Raven strode in confidently and Shadow followed. Once their eyes had adjusted to the dim light inside Shadow could tell that indeed she was going to like this place. Tables were placed randomly around, some with darkly dressed, pale people sitting at them. Against the back wall was a small stage, currently vacant except for an old microphone. A tall man with a long black ponytail peered at them from behind a counter to their right.

"Hiya Raven, long time no see," the man called over.

"Hi Sam," Raven called back and walked over to sit on one of the stools at the counter, Shadow did likewise.

"Who's your friend?" Sam asked with one raised eyebrow.

Raven lowered her hood. "This is Shadow; Shadow, Sam here owns this place."

Sam gave Shadow an appraising look, a difficult task considering he couldn't see her face under her hood. "Shadow, eh? Well any friend of Raven's is welcome here."

"Thanks," Shadow said simply, not sure how else to reply.

"So what do you have today?" Raven asked glancing at the empty stage.

"Open mike, poetry. You gonna share?"

"Not today."

"Too bad, I always enjoy your poems."

Shadow turned toward the smaller girl. "I didn't know you wrote poetry."

"It's not something I advertise," she said darkly.

"What about you Shadow? You write?" Sam inquired.

"A little, but nothing too great," she muttered modestly.

"Nonsense, can't be any worse than some of the drivel we get in here."

"Maybe later," Shadow stated simply, implying that later would likely be never.

They sat there quietly as a few people went up to the microphone to spout out some dark, as Sam put it, 'drivel'. A few of them did have some talent however so it wasn't a total loss. More people filtered in over time. One of the new arrivals, a girl with purple hair, a tattered shirt and skirt, fishnets, and boots up almost to her knees, caught sight of the two cloaked girls and headed over to them.

"Hey Raven, what's up?" she said as she sat next to them.

"Hi Eve," Raven said in a somewhat exasperated tone.

"So where have you been lately?" Eve seemed a bit too cheerful, given the atmosphere. Shadow could see why Raven might be less than enthusiastic about her presence.

"I've been busy," Raven said darkly in a tone that denied further inquiry.

"I'll bet," she was staring at the people spaced around the room. "Any good ones today?"

"A few."

"Though not many," Shadow added.

Eve looked over at the black cloaked figure. "I'm sorry, who are you?" she asked, a slight note of annoyance in her voice. She obviously had thought her conversation with Raven had been private.

"You may call me Shadow," the dark girl said, "I'm new to the Titans." Eve's eyes widened a bit.

"No you're not, I know of everyone in the Titans, and there's no Shadow." Shadow was starting to dislike her.

"Hence the 'new' part." She lowered her hood to turn those eerie silver eyes at the impudent girl.

"Cool eyes, where did you get your contacts?"

"That's their natural color," Raven interjected, annoyance permeating her voice.

Eve shut up, knowing she was about to cross the line. Raven stood up, turning to Shadow. "We should get back."

Shadow nodded and raised her hood before following behind Raven as she quickly left.

They took to the skies, Raven obviously angry. As they cleared the rooftops Raven let fly with a vicious insult aimed at their previous companion.

"I take it you are not as friendly with Eve as she would have everyone believe," Shadow ventured.

"No, I'm not. She seems to be a bit starstruck, just wants to be seen associating with someone important. Last time I was there she did the same thing, acted all friendly but snobbish. I told her to leave me alone, but I guess she didn't take the hint. When I saw how she was treating you I needed to get away from her before I did something I might regret later."

"Wow, I am flattered by your indignation on my behalf," she paused, looking back briefly, "Would you like me to go back and bite her?"

Raven knew she was joking, Shadow might be a vampire but she would never bite anyone. "It probably would be a bad idea. Robin would disapprove," she teased.

Shadow sighed theatrically. "Very well. How about I let you read some of my poetry though, would that make you happy?"

"Probably not," the empath said stoically.

"Good then." Raven looked over at her, curious. "If my poems made you happy then you would be missing the point of them," she explained.

Raven couldn't help but smile slightly, partly from understanding and part out of love for this dark girl. She would enjoy reading Shadow's works, but first she thought they might pursue some more physical activities.

Moonlit Fears

Robin sat in his room, staring at a computer screen without really noticing anything on it. He had received some bad news earlier and was eager to learn as much as he could before the rest of the team found out. He blinked blearily at the screen then looked over at his clock. Three A.M.. He blinked a few more times to make sure he'd seen correctly. He had been at this for hours. He stood up and stretched, knowing he should get some sleep but being a little to pent up to actually go to bed.

The Titan leader walked out of his room, deciding that some fresh air might help him relax. He quietly made his was downstairs and stepped onto the tiny beach surrounding the tower. His boots made crunching noises against the sand and stones as he walked to the edge of the water. The night air was cool, refreshing, and he inhaled deeply, taking in the scents and tastes of the bay. He idly picked up a small stone and threw it into the water just to watch the ripples.

"I give your form a nine, but only five for distance."

Robin whipped around to locate the source of the voice.

"Wrong way, I'm in the water."

"Shadow?" he called as he turned to scan the nearby water. "Where are you?"

"Oh sorry, I forget that not everyone can see as well as I can sometimes." A small light appeared out over the water a ways, illuminating Shadow's head and the top of her wings above the surface. "Is this better?"

"Much. What are you doing out here at this time of night? I figured you would be sleeping with Raven." His mouth quirked a little at the mental image that popped into his head.

Shadow swam a little closer, her light following behind her. "Actually we were reading together when she fell asleep. I tucked her in and came down for a swim. It's not like I could go swimming during the day."

"You could always use your powers to protect yourself."

She chuckled slightly, an odd noise in the relatively calm night. "Actually I couldn't. Although I can use them to protect me during battles and such, but I can't maintain my little cloak of darkness long enough for much else." She paused, "But the question is why are you up?"

Robin sat down on a nearby rock. "I couldn't sleep."

"Is something wrong?" In the dim light Robin could tell she looked concerned.

"I just received some bad news is all, I've been trying to research more since then."

"Can I help at all?"

"Possibly, but I don't know how you might react though. It does greatly concern you."

Shadow swam up and walked up onto the beach, her light fading behind her. Robin could see that she was wearing a two-piece swimsuit and had a lot of flesh exposed. Robin's face heated up a little. He knew that Starfire wore only little more on a regular basis but it was shocking to see Shadow in such a state. She normally was careful to not expose any skin except her face. She wrung out her hair and folded her wings around her before settling on another large rock nearby.

"I'm listening," she said simply.

He stared at her for a moment. "Well, one of my contacts sent me a message today. It seems that someone has been asking about a girl dressed all in black with silver eyes. Apparently the man said she normally covers herself with a cloak as well."

"In other words, they were looking for me, and they probably knew that I would try to hide my more obvious features." She pulled her knees up to her chest under her wings.

"Yeah, pretty much what I thought too."

"Any idea who he might be?" She was looking out over the bay. Robin knew she had an idea of the reason but she was probably hoping she was wrong.

"He told some people that his father is in jail because of you. I did a little digging and I think his father is one of the hunters that chased you here." Shadow visibly stiffened at his words.

"So he might be another hunter," she said sadly. "I knew there would be others, but I hoped it wouldn't be so soon."

Robin gave her a worried look. "We don't know that for sure."

She looked over at him, eyes glowing in the moonlight. "Can you honestly tell me you believe otherwise?"

"No," he sighed, "I can't."

"So what are we going to do?"

"Well, I think you should lay low till we know more. Don't go out alone, that kind of thing."

She shuddered. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

"I don't get it, you have fought far more dangerous people, I've seen you, why do these guys scare you so much?"

Shadow pulled her wings tighter around herself. "They're different. To others we're an obstruction, just standing in the way of what they really want. But for them, my destruction is their goal. Many of them consider it their destiny to destroy all vampires, regardless of whether they are evil or not."

"But you aren't really a typical vampire." Robin interjected. "Are there even real vampires of the 'normal' kind?"

Shadow smiled mischievously, "You probably won't like the answer to that question."

Robin grinned back, "I'm a big boy, I can take it."

"Although they are rare, real vampires do exist. I only know because one time one helped me evade a hunter. He said something about 'our kind' sticking together. Strangely enough he seemed decent." She shrugged. "But not all are so nice. That's one reason I don't really fight the hunters. In some cases they are the good guys."

"How many times have you run into these guys?" Robin asked somewhat incredulously.

"The hunters? Maybe half a dozen times or so," her tone was almost casual.

They sat in silence for a time, watching the water wash up and down the beach. Robin yawned widely.

"You should go get some sleep," Shadow said.

"Yeah." Ye stood up and stretched, "You should do the same."

"I will, just give me a few moments."

"Okay," he yawned again, "just don't stay out too long."

"I won't." She continued to watch the water as Robin walked back to the tower. "Sweet dreams," she called after him.

"Sweet dreams, Shadow," he called back. "Sweet dreams."

Blood and Tears

A week later and Shadow was feeling a bit stir crazy. When Robin had told the others the following morning about the man, the team reacted in a predictable manner, they decided to keep watch on her constantly. There was no spoken agreement but Shadow soon found it impossible to find a place to be alone from then forth. At first it wasn't too bad since it meant spending a lot of time with Raven, but eventually the lack of solitude began to wear on her nerves.

Currently Shadow was sitting on the couch reading with Raven doing the same right next to her. Her tail was wrapped around the smaller girl's waist, resting in her lap, Raven was absently stroking it. The sorceress was also leaning back against one of her large, leathery wings. The first time the others had seen them like this Beast Boy had joked about how adorable they were. He had gotten dirty looks from both of them and had quickly fled the room. Since then, no one else had commented on their peculiar displays of affection.

Shadow sighed and closed her book, staring out the large window overlooking the bay. It was late afternoon so the sun was behind them and no direct light was coming in. "Is something wrong Shadow?" Raven asked without looking up from the pages of her book.

"I just want to go stretch my wings, I haven't been outside in days. I usually go out at night at least, but I haven't even done that lately."

Raven looked up at her, "You know we're only trying to keep you safe." She didn't even try to deny the team's surveillance of her.

"I know," she sighed again, "Doesn't mean I have to like it though." She paused to think a moment. "Maybe we could all go do something together as a team. Go out and have some fun while at the same time we might be able to draw him out while still not endangering myself too much."

Raven gave her a dark look. "You're proposing to use yourself as bait." She was clearly not amused by the idea.

"We're not going to find him just sitting here, and besides, the longer we wait the better prepared he will likely be." She flicked her tail up, brushing it against Raven's breasts, silently pleading for her to agree.

The empath's expression softened just a tiny bit at the strange caress. "We should wait. Robin might still learn something about this hunter."

"Don't forget, you'll all be there to protect me," her tone was rather casual.

Raven closed her book with an exasperated sigh. "I'll talk to the others, maybe we can go out for pizza or something."

Shadow leaned over to kiss her gently on the cheek. "Thank you," she said simply.

Raven glowered at her. "I hate you sometimes." Her words were empty, no sincerity to them at all.

Her girlfriend just smiled and pulled her in for a longer, more passionate kiss which left Raven breathless. "Maybe, but at least I'm a good kisser," Shadow teased.

"That you are," Raven said once she caught her breath, then leaned over to show that she wasn't so bad at it herself.

…

It took a while to convince the rest of the team to lighten up enough to allow Shadow to leave the relative safety of the tower, but in the end they reluctantly agreed. They had found it difficult to argue with the fact that, with five superheroes guarding her, it would not only be difficult but also rather stupid to try to hurt her. It also helped that on some level Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire, and Raven were all feeling a little cooped up themselves, having not gone out because they were watching over Shadow. They decided to go for pizza so they piled into the T-car and headed downtown to their favorite pizza place. Cyborg parked around the side and they went up to the balcony.

"So who wants what?" Robin inquired.

"Sausage and pepperoni!" Cyborg immediately suggested.

"No!" Beast Boy and Shadow said simultaneously.

Cyborg groaned, "I had forgotten we have two vegetarians now."

Shadow smiled from the darkness under her hood. "Perhaps we should get two pizzas, one for Beast Boy and myself and a second for you four. After all one pizza split six ways isn't much."

"She has a point," Robin said.

"You mean we might be able to get something without arguing for once?" Raven commented sardonically.

"I know, pretty amazing huh?" Robin said somewhat sarcastically.

Beast Boy turned to Shadow, "So what do you want?"

"Just get whatever, I don't really…" she was cut off by a loud twang overhead followed by a dull thud as an arrow sank itself into her abdomen. The whole team fell silent, eyes wide in shock, as she slumped and fell off her chair.

Robin took charge, shouting orders. "Starfire, find where that shot came from! Cyborg, get the first-aid kit from the Car! Beast Boy, Raven, help me get her inside!" Starfire took off towards a nearby roof where she thought the arrow had come from, Cyborg ran down to the car and Raven carefully lifted Shadow's prone body on an energy platform. She took her inside and gently sat her on the floor. Robin and Beast Boy entered right after her and she heard Robin tell the green shapeshifter to try to clear out the civilians. She knelt down beside her lover and pulled back Shadow's hood; two silver eyes, filled with pain stared up at her.

"Shadow," Raven whispered softly.

"Raven…," the empath's heart skipped a beat. She was alive, but wouldn't remain so unless something was done fast.

Robin knelt on Shadow's other side. "Try to hold on Shadow," he said as he took out one of his birdarangs. He opened it and carefully cut a slit in the dark vampire's cloak from the arrow to the edge. He pulled her cloak open to reveal Shadow's wings folded beneath, one of them pinned to her chest by the wooden shaft piercing it. "We need to remove the arrow," Robin said gravely.

"I'll do it," Raven's voice caught on the words. Robin just nodded wordlessly.

Raven reached one hand up to caress Shadow's cool, pale face in a silent apology for what she had to do. She then reached up with her other hand to the shaft that protruded at least a foot from the leathery wing. Shadow's face contorted with pain as Raven's careful grip shifted the part of the arrow that was inside her. Dark energy glowed along the shaft as Raven used her powers to phase the arrow so she cold pull it out without causing even more damage. Her violet eyes locked with Shadow's silver ones as she removed the arrow and set it off to one side.

Robin reached up himself to pull her wings back so that he could better see the extent of the damage. The undamaged wing fell away towards Raven and Shadow weakly stretched one hand towards her. Raven firmly gripped the gloved hand in her own with tears in her eyes and was rewarded with a small squeeze of reassurance. Robin then pulled away the wounded wing and groaned slightly. Raven forced herself to tear her eyes from Shadow's face to look at the wound, she gasped loudly. Robin had pulled up Shadow's shirt to expose the skin, which was covered in a shiny, silvery liquid that Raven could only assume was what passed for blood in the vampire's body. Amidst the blood was a small hole above and to the side of her navel.

Just then Cyborg returned carrying a large white case, which he sat next to Robin. He blanched as he saw Shadow's wound but didn't say anything as he moved off to the side to stand next to Beast Boy. The shapeshifter was also looking rather pale, a nice trick given his skin's normal color.

Robin opened the case and began rummaging through it. "Raven," he said without looking up, "are you able to heal her?"

"Don't you think that if I could I would have by now?" she replied angrily. "Healing takes energy from me and the person I'm healing, she's so weak that if I tried I would likely kill her."

"We'll just have to get her back to the tower then. Maybe if she gets some blood in her you will be able to do something," Robin's tone stated clearly that he wasn't sure if Shadow would last that long. He pulled out some bandages and tried to staunch the flow of blood as best he could.

Shadow squeezed Raven's hand ever so slightly to get her attention. "Raven…" her voice was just a whisper, "I'm sorry." Tears glistened against the backdrop of her silver eyes.

"Sorry? What for?" she asked softly.

"I'm sorry that I might have to leave you, and that we couldn't spend more time together."

"You're not going to die," there was anger and conviction in her voice, as if by saying the words it would be true.

Shadow cracked a wane smile. "I don't know if I have a choice in the matter. But at least if I die I got to be with you for a little while."

Raven bent over her and kissed her on the lips. "You're not going to die," she repeated as she pulled back. She sat up and gave Robin a hard look. "Give me your birdarang," she demanded.

"Why?" Robin was obviously curious what the sorceress could want with his favorite toy at such a time.

"Just hand it over," her tone allowed for no further arguing.

He picked up the small red boomerang that he had used to cut Shadow's cloak off the floor and handed it to her. Raven released Shadow's hand and took it, setting it beside her for a moment. She began to roll up the sleeve on her left arm exposing her pale forearm.

Shadow's hand reached up to grasp her right wrist, "No," she pleaded.

Raven turned back to stare into her eyes. "I must, it's the only way."

Emotional pain replaced the physical pain in her eyes. "You can't, I won't."

Anger pervaded Raven's voice, "I won't sit by and watch you die when I can do something about it."

"Please, don't." Tears were streaming down her face.

Raven reached up and tenderly wiped away a few tears. "I'm sorry." She looked around the room and levitated a cup over from one of the deserted tables. She dumped the contents on the floor and set it down, picking up the birdarang instead. The gothic girl opened the little weapon, exposing its sharp edges. Across from her Robin's eyes went wide as he realized what she intended to do. He started to say something but was silenced by a glance from Raven's amethyst eyes. Raven set the edge of the weapon against her naked wrist. The edge was cold, Raven found it odd that she even noticed. She closed her eyes and quickly pulled the blade down with a sharp intake of breath. The birdarang dropped from her fingers as she opened her eyes and looked down at the bright red liquid flowing down her arm. As her blood threatened to fall to the floor Raven held up the small cup to catch the precious fluid. When the cup was about half full she set it down and passed her hand over the cut, sealing it with her powers.

The dark girl moved to kneel next to Shadow's head. She gently lifted the vampire's head and tipped the contents of the cup into her mouth. Shadow drank reluctantly, pausing only once for breath. A shudder passed down her body as she finished and Raven moved closer to her injury. She placed her hands above the wound, blue energy enveloping them as she directed her focus into Shadow's body, questing to determine the extend of the damage. Raven could tell that no major organs had been pierced but there was still the danger of extreme blood loss. She focused her powers into coaxing the tissues to knit, pouring as much of her own strength in as she could while trusting that her blood would provide enough strength to Shadow to sustain her thought the accelerated healing. After a moment Raven pulled away, she didn't dare try to do more lest it push Shadow too far. She glanced up at her patient. The silver eyes were closed but her chest rose and fell steadily, the healing process must have exhausted her to the point where she had fallen asleep.

Raven stood up and walked over to a nearby table where she laid her palms on the tablecloth and took several deep breaths. It was only by force of will and the force of her feelings for the other dark girl that she had been able to rein in her powers. Behind her Robin began cleaning and bandaging what remained of the hole in her abdomen as well as the hole in her wing. Beast Boy and Cyborg were still standing of to the side, just trying to stay out of the way.

Just as Robin was finishing, Starfire came in from the balcony carrying a scruffy looking man by the collar in one hand and a broken bow in the other. Upon seeing Shadow he barked a laugh. "You're wasting your time," he gloated, "I treated that arrow with garlic and holy water. Soon that monster will be just a pile of ash." He was obviously quite proud of his achievement. Starfire shook him hard to shut him up.

Raven was seething. This man was happy that he had nearly killed her girlfriend. It didn't matter that Shadow was immune to garlic and holy water. It didn't matter that her beloved vampire was going to live, this loathsome human was proud of what he had done. Raven had closed her eyes moments before to help her focus on calming down; now, had they been open, they would have been glowing red and there would have been four of them. Black flames erupted around her, encompassing her entire body. The table that she was resting her hands on splintered into a thousand pieces and crashed to the floor. She refused to turn around or even open her eyes for fear of doing something she might, or might not, regret later. "Get him out of my sight," she growled in a dark, unearthly voice. Behind her she heard Robin say something to Starfire but the dark girl couldn't spare the attention to actually discern his words.

She felt more then heard Starfire's departure and forced herself to calm down. The black flames around her diminished then faded entirely. Several more deep breaths and she opened her, now normal, eyes. She turned to face the others, expecting fear on their faces from their brief encounter with her demonic side. Instead she found anger that was being directed at the odious man who had recently been carried from the room. Robin was packing up the first-aid kit so Raven ventured a look at her unconscious girlfriend. The winged girl's shirt had been pulled back down to cover her belly, Raven thought that she almost looked as if she had just fallen asleep and wasn't actually hurt. Robin snapped the white case closed and shot her a reassuring smile before turning to Cyborg. "Cyborg, could you go pull the car around? Try to park someplace shaded." The tall half-metal man nodded and left the room quietly. The Titan leader then turned back to Raven. "You think you can carry her down?"

She nodded solemnly and lifted the tall girl off the floor with her powers. Raven walked over to the floating girl and lovingly folded the vampire's large, dark violet wings around her unconscious body before pulling her black cloak up to cover those. She glanced up at her face and noticed a tiny spot of red blood, Raven's own blood, on those pale lips. Raven gently wiped it away and raised the dark hood to cover much of her face.

Robin headed downstairs with Beast Boy right behind him. Raven and Shadow brought up the rear. As they climbed down the stairs and exited the building they were surrounded by people, the customers that had bee forced to leave. Some of them looked mad that their dinner had been interrupted but most just appeared curious. Raven had to suppress an urge to hid Shadow from their prying eyes. Fortunately Cyborg pulled up and Beast Boy and Robin were able to clear a path. Robin opened the backseat door and Raven set Shadow inside before climbing in herself and resting Shadow's head on her lap. People outside stared at her as Robin got into the passenger seat and Cyborg drove off. Beast Boy shifted into an eagle and flew after them.

They drove slowly through town, making sure to stick to well maintained roads to avoid unnecessary shaking that would agitate Shadow's wound. As they approached the bay Cyborg flipped a switch on the dash that changed the car into hover-mode. The car jerked slightly as this happened and Raven gave the back of the metal Titan's head a dirty look.

Cyborg navigated them over the water and into the garage area on the tower's ground level. They unloaded their teammate and took the elevator up, making their way to the mad lab. Once there they closed the curtains and laid their patient down on one of the beds.

"Raven, you should try to get some rest, I'll watch over her for you," Robin said.

"I'm not leaving her," she was obviously prepared to argue should he attempt to force her to leave.

He didn't say anything else so Raven pulled a chair over so she could sit near the bed. Despite her determination her own weariness soon caught up to her and she drifted off into a deep, dreamless sleep.

New Memories

Raven woke with a start, silently berating herself for having fallen asleep. Sunlight was fighting through the curtains; she must have slept all night and into the next day. The gothic empath yawned and stood up from the small chair that she had slept in. She stretched and peered over at the bed next to her. Shadow was still lying there; someone had removed her damaged cloak and covered her with a light, white blanket. Raven moved closer and laid one hand on her cool face. Shadow's hand reached up to press her hand closer, her silver eyes opening to look up at her.

"Good morning," the girl on the bed whispered.

"Good morning, how are you feeling today?"

Shadow smiled weakly. "I suppose saying 'like I've been shot' would be a bit redundant, so I'll stick with just better."

Raven cracked half a smile at her lover's grim attempt to amuse her. "Did you sleep well?"

Shadow's expression fell and she turned her face away, dropping her hand to her side. "I dreamed of Azarath," she said sadly.

Raven was flabbergasted. "How is that possible?"

"That's not all, I saw your mother too, and…your father. Memories, your memories. They're still there in my mind. Not everything, but it seems like the major events. I remember when you joined the Titans," tears were brimming, "I remember what you were destined to do, what you did do…," she trailed off.

Raven backed away, eyes wide. She had never told Shadow about any of that because she had feared that the other girl would never want to see her again, well that in addition to her normal reticence to talk about her past. She also knew that none of the others would have told her either for fear of what Raven might do to them if they did. "You must hate me now," she said sadly.

The winged girl turned back to look into those violet eyes, incredulousness plain on her face. "Why would I hate you? You had no choice, and in the end it was you who drove him off." Her voice was much stronger now, although still sad. "If anything, I thought you would be mad at me. I know how much you value your privacy, and now I have your memories, your thoughts, in my head."

"But that's my fault." Shadow gave her a curious look. "I forced you to drink my blood, it must have effected you differently since I'm mostly human." She spoke calmly, but underneath the façade she was trying to suppress her fears.

"So does that mean you aren't going to leave me?" Shadow also seemed eerily calm, but Raven suspected that she was also attempting to hide her feelings. The empath took one gloved hand in her own pale hand.

"I'll have you for as long as I can."

Shadow squeezed her hand and labored to sit up, slight pain creeping into her features. She wrapped both arms around the smaller girl and Raven gently did the same. Shadow was the one person that she not only tolerated hugs from, but actually enjoyed them. "Thank you for saving my life, by the way," Shadow whispered into her ear.

"Anytime, just don't make a habit of needing me to."

…

It took a little while, but with Raven's help Shadow was able to change into some clean clothes. Raven felt a little odd seeing the dark vampire undressed; although they had been together for a while, they had not yet progressed into the kind of activities that required that much clothing removal. The small holes in her chest and wing and been covered with heavy bandages, the only visible evidence of her near mortal wound. She was able to get partially dressed herself but required assistance with her shirt. The heavy black garment was specifically tailored with two slits in the back for her wings. The winged girl could get it on but could not twist enough at the moment to button up the slits.

Once fully attired in blood free clothing they made their way from Shadow's room to the main room. Upon entering they were both greeted by four bright smiles from the couch. Starfire tried to rush up to hug Shadow but stopped when the dark girl stepped back quickly, hand shooting to her abdomen and cringing in pain at the sudden movement.

"I appreciate the sentiment Star, but right now one of your hugs would be rather painful," Shadow said stoically.

Starfire seemed slightly abashed. "Sorry," she mumbled.

The three of them moved to the couch, Shadow moving rather carefully, and sat down with the boys.

"So how are you feeling?" Cyborg asked.

"A little unsteady, rather sore, but other then that I'm fine, thanks to all of you."

"We didn't do much," Robin said modestly, "Raven did most of the work."

"Indeed," Shadow said hollowly.

Starfire spoke up, "Is something wrong my friend?"

"It's nothing," her voice was a little cool. They all fell silent, curious, but unsure how to ask more. "So did you find the guy who shot me?" she obviously wished to change the subject.

"Yes," Starfire responded, her face growing angry. "I found him and ended up taking the zolwarg zordmorking chlorbag to prison," her tone suggested that she had had a few more interesting punishments in mind.

"Yeah," Beast Boy interjected, "I figured Star was going to tear him apart, or at least Raven would when she…" Cyborg and Robin elbowed him hard. Raven just glared malevolently; she hated it when she lost control and did not enjoy being reminded about it.

"So, uh, how are things between you two?" Robin ventured warily.

The two dark girls exchanged a glance. "Fine," they said in unison with the same odd tone.

Robin was skeptical. "Look, normally I wouldn't pry, but something is obviously going on between you."
Shadow shot Raven a question glance. "You might as well tell them. They will probably figure it out eventually anyways," the smaller girl said with a sigh.

The winged girl closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking a deep breath, then turned to face her teammates. "It appears that there were some side effects from Raven's little selfless act yesterday." Shadow rarely talked directly about her dependence on the blood of others. The Titans were used to her using euphemisms though.

"Side effects?" Robin asked, concerned. "Like what?"

"Well it seems as though I have acquired her memories from major events in her life," she delivered this statement in the same bored tone many people would use to discuss the weather.

"You have her memories?" Cyborg sputtered. "How is that possible?"

She gave him a hard look, "How would I know?"

"That is interesting," Robin began, "You mean that by drinking human blood you gain that person's memories?"

The vampire growled at him. "You make it sound like a good thing," she said scathingly.

"Well it could be an interesting benefit, prick someone's finger and learn their biggest secrets. Imagine the next time someone is trying to threaten the city, you could learn their plans before they could put them into motion."

Shadow and Raven looked pissed. "If you think," Shadow's voice was eerily calm, "that I am ever going to drink from a human ever again, you are sadly mistaken. If I had known I wouldn't even have allowed it yesterday, even knowing the cost. A person's memories are sacred, a part of who we are, no one has the right to take that, even if they're only a copy."

Robin's mouth worked for a moment but no words came out, he had been struck dumb by her calm tirade.

"Please Shadow," Starfire pleaded softly, "I'm sure he didn't mean it like that."

The dark girl turned her eyes toward the alien. Starfire shrank back under her gaze. Shadow stood up, clutching her belly for a few seconds and began to walk out. "Thank you again for saving my life," she threw back as she exited the room.

The five original Titans looked at each other. Even Raven seemed slightly surprised at Shadow's reaction as well as at her last, incongruous statement. Robin stared at her as if she had all the answers. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean it like that," he stammered to her as if she had been the one to storm out. Raven just stared after her, wondering if perhaps her demon side had affected her girlfriend and hoping that there wouldn't be any more side effects.

Side Effects

Two and a half weeks had passed and in that time no one, not even Raven, had seen Shadow. Several of them tried talking to her through her locked door but there was never any answer. They all knew she hadn't left because small amounts of food kept disappearing from the fridge every night and her chores were always done. The team would wake up and find the dishes done or the living room cleaned. Once, they tried having a stake-out in the main room to catch her, but she didn't show up that night; Raven guessed she had either heard or smelled them so had avoided that room. In the end it became clear that, short of breaking her door down, Shadow was going to remain unseen until she decided to show herself.

Raven wasn't taking this too well. She hadn't realized how much she had become accustomed to the winged girl's presence. She had grown fond of waking up next to her cool body. A couple times she had sat down to read and had even lifted one hand to stroke Shadow's tail before she had remembered that it wasn't there.

Even Ajna, Shadow's fruit bat friend, was affected. One night the tiny bat had flown in through an open window and had settled in Raven's hair. Raven, apart from her annoyance at having been used for a perch, felt sorry for the little creature. Ajna normally slept in Shadow's room, but apparently even they bat didn't want to be near her in the mood she was in.

Currently the Titans, except Shadow, were all sitting on the couch watching a movie that Beast Boy had rented to try to lift the malaise that had permeated the tower. Raven, lacking interest in Beast Boy's taste in movies, had located a book earlier and sat reading, ignoring the screen completely. Ajna sat sleeping on her shoulder; the sorceress had finally convinced her that her hair was not to be used as a nest.

Raven glanced up at the screen for a moment; things were exploding all over it. The dark girl didn't get it, she would have thought they would get enough of that kind of thing in real life. A few minutes later Ajna stirred from her shoulder and flew off, Raven was almost sad that she had left. The little creature had been a kind of link to Shadow.

Someone cleared their throat behind them.

They all turned around, movie forgotten, to find Shadow standing behind them, Ajna settling in her hair. The vampire looked worn around the edges. Her face was slightly drawn and she squinted a bit as if the feeble light hurt her eyes. Other than that though, Raven still thought she looked beautiful.

"I wanted to apologize for the past few weeks," her voice was a little rusty, like she hadn't spoken in weeks; which, Raven reminded herself, she probably hadn't. "I needed time to think, to work some things out for myself."

Robin stopped the movie and stood up. "I'm sorry, for what I said. I…" Shadow held up a hand to stall his apology.

"I know, you didn't mean it like that. I overreacted, and I'm sorry, to all of you."

Robin smiled, "Don't worry about it. I can only imagine what you're going through. I'm just glad you are feeling better."

She gave them all a hopeful look. "So we cool then?"

Four smiles answered, all but Raven. The gothic teen stood up and walked around the couch to stand in front of her girlfriend, "You had me worried about you," she said darkly.

Shadow's eyes went wide. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to worry anyone."

Raven telekinetically pulled Shadow's head down for a kiss. "Never do that again," she said in the same dark voice as she released her. The others had big silly grins on their faces. Raven returned to the couch and Shadow joined her.

"So how's your injury?" Beast Boy inquired.

"It's all healed up, still a little tender though," she replied.

"What about your wing?" Robin asked.

Her wings were folded around her. She opened one slightly to reveal a scar in the leathery surface. "I suppose it was inevitable that eventually something had to mar them," Shadow sighed lightly.

"They're still beautiful," Raven said stoically as she gently caressed the open wing.

"So, uh, how are you dealing with the…other stuff?" Robin tried to ask tactfully.

Shadow smiled slightly at seeing him flustered, then her expression grew sad. "You mean the memories? They are all still there, swirling in my head. I'm beginning to sort through them though, starting to make sense of the chaos."

"Chaos?" Raven inquired darkly, she obviously didn't like the idea of those memories being chaotic. They were her memories after all.

Shadow looked deep into her eyes. "Not chaotic in content, although some parts are a little disturbing. They are chaotic in a sense that they have no order and that there are gaps."

Beast Boy was intrigued. "So any good, juicy stuff?"

Shadow and Raven gave him identical dirty looks. "They might be in my head but they're still her memories," the winged girl sad evenly. "If she's not going to tell you these things, I sure won't either."

"Good answer," Raven said without taking her dark gaze from the shapeshifter.

Robin interrupted before Beast boy said anything else that might anger the two pale girls. "So have there been ay other side effect?"

Shadow sighed and closed her eyes briefly. "Just one other that I've noticed. My powers have been acting strangely, I can't figure out why."

They all looked concerned at this news. "Strange in what way?" the team leader asked.

"Well, half the time when I try to summon a ball of light, a ball of darkness appears; and sometimes, nothing happens at all."

"This is serious," Robin said, "without your powers you are at a serious disadvantage during the day."

Shadow had been staring intensely as the floor like it held the answers to her malfunctioning powers. "It may be only temporary," she said hopefully. Raven leaned over to place one hand reassuringly on her girlfriend's leg; she would have grasped her hand but they were both covered by her wings.

"Until we know more you probably shouldn't go out during the day." Raven hated to suggest this given the vampire's recent seclusion.

To her surprise, Shadow agreed. "I would likely get in the way anyways." She said morosely.

The others were shocked by her pessimism that they could not think of anything to say. Shadow stood up, yawning and stretching. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I've been up for like half a week; thinking and stuff. I think I'm going to go to sleep." She walked quietly out of the room, Ajna still sleeping in her hair.

Knocked Out

Shadow was staring at the ceiling in her room. It was late at night, pitch-black to everyone except her. Next to her Raven's warm body was pressed against her with one arm thrown across Shadow's chest. Sleep had deserted her, leaving her with her thoughts. Earlier this week there had been a robbery during the day and the team had rushed off, leaving her behind. Her powers were still sporadic, randomly failing her no matter what she did.

Raven stirred slightly, disrupting her train of thought for a moment. She had talked with Robin a few days before and had decided that it should be safe for her to go on nighttime missions because, even without her powers, her strength and speed still made her a formidable fighter. Shadow had been relieved, for some unknown reason she had almost feared that she might be forced to leave the Titans because of recent events. Of course she had known that her friends would never actually throw her out but logic, she had found, rarely had much impact on fears.

The dark vampire inhaled deeply, trying to calm her mind as she remembered Raven doing. The scents and tastes of the room filled her mind. The smell of Ajna in the corner, the scent of musty books from her shelf, the delicate kiss of lavender from Raven's hair. But that wasn't all, cutting through the stronger smells was something that bothered Shadow immensely; the dull, metallic scent of blood, Raven's blood, still flowing under the pale skin not more than a few inches from her. Shadow, with her hyperactive senses had always been able to smell it, but it was different now, she had tasted it, drank it. Her blood was what had not only saved her life but was also at the root of her current problems, her fangs started to grow out, the equivalent of her salivating, before she could rein in that urge. Silently the dark girl swore to herself that she would never give in to that side of herself, never.

Shadow went back to contemplating the ceiling and was just about ready to try counting Tamaranean grishniks, a strange creature that Starfire had told her about, when the Titan's alarm started going off. Raven woke instantly and they both dashed from the bed, grabbed their cloaks, then flew out the door. They flew down the hallway, passing Cyborg who was running, and entered the living room.

"What's the emergency Robin?" Cyborg asked as he tromped into the room.

"Dr. Chang's goons," the masked Titan explained, "They're ransacking a chemical storage facility downtown."

"Those losers?" Beast Boy yawned, "At least this won't take long."

They all rushed out of the room and in a matter of minutes were flying and driving downtown. The six heroes quickly reached the crime scene, just in time to see at least two dozen men, in their odd parody of has-mat suits, boil forth from the building. About half of them were loaded down with barrels of various chemicals while the rest were armed to the proverbial teeth with the strange weapons that the mad scientist employed.

"Titans, go!" Robin shouted as he ran to the nearest science club reject and placed a solid kick into his solar plexus. The rest of the team followed suit. Shadow leapt into the air and came down on top of one of the men, knocking him and his weapons to the ground. She didn't have time to see how the others were doing as she was quickly confronted by three more of the strange criminals.

The dark girl drew her sai from her belt as they leveled their weapons at her. She shoved one sai into the closest barrel then swiped upwards with the other, knocking the gun out of the man's hands. She grabbed the end of the weapon as it came back down and swung it at one of the other two. The third man fired his weapon. Hideous pink goo spewed from the end, straight at Shadow. The winged girl jumped up and threw her second sai. The pink slime shot underneath her, striking one of the man's cohorts, as the thrown weapon pierced the tank on his back, causing it to explode, encasing him in slime.

The winged girl landed, briefly looking around to check on her teammates. The other Titans were making quick work of the remaining henchmen. Shadow smiled, if she didn't hurry there would be none left for her, she thought. She bent down to retrieve her weapon from the slime gun's barrel. Suddenly a mass of goo slammed into her side, plowing her into a nearby streetlamp. The lamp bent as her back impacted the pole. She fell to the sidewalk, covered in slime and looked up to see who had hit her. In the chaos of battle she couldn't discern the culprit. She began to push herself up off the sidewalk, trying to slough off as much of the goo as she could. Her ears twitched as she heard the soft slap of feet on the ground behind her. She whipped around just in time to see a large metal pole bearing down on her. The pole smacking against her head was the last thing she remembered before consciousness fled.

Trapped

"What do you mean you can't find her?" Raven asked in a cold dark voice that made Robin want to hide in the nearest bomb shelter.

They had easily defeated Dr. Chang's henchmen, but as they were rounding them up they had noticed that Shadow was nowhere to be found. The Titans had searched frantically but were only able to find her twin black sai. Raven was toying with one of those deadly weapons now, having hung the other in her own odd belt. Her violet eyes were locked on the masked Titan who was trying to locate the signal from Shadow's communicator on the Titans mainframe computer.

"I mean I can't find her signal anywhere in the city." Robin replied warily. They had been up almost all night. It was almost daybreak now.

Raven looked down at her girlfriend's weapon. She had been twirling the point against one finger and had drawn blood without realizing. The tiny hole in her skin sealed with a thought. "She has to be somewhere," the empath snapped.

Beast Boy came up behind her. "Look, we'll find her, she's our friend too." The pair of amethyst eyes swung to him, he shrank under that angry gaze.

"Besides," Cyborg added, "she can take care of herself."

Raven looked back down at the obsidian-like sai. She was digging it into her finger again. She let the pain give her some focus then took a deep, calming breath before sealing the puncture wound again.

"Maybe you should get some rest," Robin said, a little put off at his friend's seeming inability to feel pain at the moment.

"I'm fine," she said distantly, still staring at her finger where her blood was slowly drying.

Starfire placed her hand on the dark child's shoulder. "Please, we will let you know the moment we find anything."

Raven looked up into Starfire's emerald gaze then dropped her own eyes to the floor; she knew when she was beaten. "Very well, but you had better let me know if you discover anything," she delivered this statement in a deathly monotone that promised dire consequences should they delay a single heartbeat in alerting her.

The cloaked figure walked quietly from the room and proceeded to the solitude of her own room. Once there she gently sat Shadow's twin blades on her nightstand and lay down, determined not to sleep. Her mind however, had other ideas and as the exhaustion of the night caught up to her she dropped off into troubled slumber.

…

Elsewhere, another dark girl awoke. Shadow's head hurt, a lot. She felt the top of her head tenderly; there was a rather large lump there. She also noticed that her cloak and gloves were missing as well as, as she learned after a brief search, her communicator. She groaned and looked around her cell, for that was what it was. The small enclosed space was circular, maybe ten feet in diameter and of similar height. The wall was unmarred white with no widows, only a thin outline of a door. Above her she cold see the sky lightening through heavy criss-crossing bars that made up the entire ceiling. She flew up and tested the bars; they were too strong for her. Her feet touched the floor again and she tried a few experimental kicks and punches at the door; she didn't accomplish anything except that now her hands and feet hurt as well as her head.

A small panel next to the door that she hadn't noticed slid open revealing a tiny screen. The screen flickered to life and a rather ugly man wearing strange glasses and a tube up his nose appeared on it. "Ah, I see my guest is awake," he sounded rather pleased at this obvious fact.

"Who are you?" Shadow demanded, "What do you want with me?"

The odd man looked slightly crestfallen. "You mean your friends didn't tell you about me? Pity." He paused out of seeming disappointment before continuing. "I am Dr. Chang. As far as what I want with you, well, let's just say I've heard a few rumors about you that I am anxious to verify, and possibly duplicate in others. After all, I'm sure there are people that would pay quite a bit to possess your speed and strength.

"I'm no one's lab rat," Shadow said darkly.

"We'll see. It's several hours till noon, but I hope you brought your sunscreen." Shadow punched the screen, breaking it and cutting herself in the process. She absently sucked at the shallow cuts. Her own blood wouldn't help her but she didn't want to leave any for that man to play with later.

The sky was much lighter now and a thin sliver of sunlight illuminated the top of one section of the wall. Shadow focused, trying to see if her powers were working. Nothing happened. She stared at the sunlight, not sure what to do. "Raven," she whispered to herself, "If you can hear me I could sure use some help."

…

Raven woke and shot from her room, she had slept a few hours, it was now mid-morning. Somehow she had heard Shadow's quiet plea in her sleep, somehow she knew where to look for her. It only took her a few seconds to reach the main room and land behind Robin but to her it felt like much longer.

"I know where she is," she breathed once Robin had turned from the screen.

His eyes widened in shock. "What? How?"

"Doesn't matter, we need to hurry."

"Slow down," Cyborg yawned. He Starfire and Beast Boy had been dozing on the couch but had stood when the dark sorceress had entered the room. "How do you know?"

Raven whipped around, eyes glowing white. "No!" The cushions of the couch slammed into the ceiling. "There's no time!"

Cyborg and Beast Boy had, unsuccessfully, attempted to hide behind Starfire at Raven's outburst. Robin, however, had maintained his composure. "Okay Raven," the team leader said as the cushions landed on the others, "lead the way."

The dark girl led them all up to the roof and created an energy platform to carry them into the city. The platform zoomed along, rushing over the rooftops.

"Uh Raven?" Beast Boy ventured after a moment, "I know we are in a hurry but could you slow down just a little? We're going to start flying off here."

She looked back at them to see Robin and Beast Boy hanging desperately onto Cyborg trying not to fly off. Starfire had given up attempting to remain on the platform and was flying behind them. Raven growled softly but slowed down just a little bit.

"So where are we going?" Robin asked once he had ascertained he was no longer in danger of being blown off.

"I'm not sure, but she's this way."

"How do you know?"

The normally stoic girl actually looked slightly flustered. "I just do," her voice was distant.

"You said there's little time, is she in danger?"

"Yes, I don't know why but we must find her before noon."

They glided over the city for a few more minutes in silence until the platform slowed then stopped. "Something wrong Raven?" Robin asked.

"She's near," she was looking around the nearby rooftops as if for a sign. "But I can't tell which way."

Robin turned to the others. "Fan out, check all the surrounding buildings." Starfire and Beast Boy dove down to the nearest buildings, the shapeshifter morphing into a hawk. Raven set the other two down on the ground and they too began searching. The empath was beginning to worry, not something she did often or well. She closed her eyes and strained her gifts, hoping, somehow, to sense Shadow among the multitudes of emotion surrounding her. Time was running out, she had to find her!

…

Shadow was starting to get rather worried herself. She had plastered herself to one side of the wall, as far from the sunlight as she could get. The golden light covered most of the circular wall and the floor now and was steadily creeping closer. Her powers still refused to work and more pounding on the wall had failed to yield results.

The dark vampire tried pushing herself closer to the wall but found she couldn't. Oddly she recalled the first morning she had awoken in the tower. She remembered telling her new friends that sunlight wouldn't kill her, only cause her great pain. Staring at the edge of light that was creeping closer she began to wonder if that was as true as she had believed it to be back then.

Since her transformation she had been exposed to sunlight only a handful of times, and never for longer than a few seconds. Given the amount and duration that faced her she wondered if it might kill her. She thought of her friends, of Raven, finding this place but there being nothing left of her except a pile of ash. Would they even know it had been her? Tears brimmed in her eyes at the morbid though but she consoled herself with the fact that, should that happen, at least Dr. Chang couldn't experiment on her.

It was strange, faced with death, either by sunlight or at the hands of Dr. Chang, she had thought she would be terrified, yet she was more upset about her friends. She had faced death before but this was different, this time she knew it was coming. Tears slid down her cheeks, one for each of her friends. Robin with his fierce determination, Starfire for her eternal joy and innocence, Cyborg with a shoulder to lean on, Beast Boy's childishness, even through the irritation, and Raven, part demon, yet still a hero. "I'll miss you all," she whispered softly to herself, "and Raven, I love you."

…

Raven stood on the street, stunned. She had been trying to locate Shadow empathically, and now her girlfriend's emotions filled the gothic girl's mind like a beacon. She easily located where it was coming from now; a squat little place at the end of the block. Her communicator was open in her hand, strange, she didn't remember pulling it out. "Robin," she called into it, her mind was still on the beacon, it was almost like it was someone else talking, "end of the street."

"We'll be right there," came his response on the screen.

Raven flew down the street, stopping in front of the heavy double doors and waited for the others to arrive; she didn't need to wait long. Robin tried the doors and found them locked securely. "You sure she's in there?" he asked the dark girl. She nodded confidently. Robin turned to Starfire. "Star, could you open the doors please?"

"With pleasure." Her eyes glowed green as she took a firm grip on the doors and easily ripped them off the hinges. The Titans walked in, cautiously surveying their surroundings. It appeared as though the ground floor was storage. The area was open with crates scattered everywhere. There was no sign of Shadow or of any guards.

"Which way Raven?" Robin asked.

The sorceress closed her eyes and focused on the exact location of the emotional beacon. "Top floor," she opened her eyes, staring at the ceiling, "we need to hurry," her voice was forcibly calm.

"Let's go then," Robin said.

They quickly located a stairway and rushed upward to the top floor. The door slammed open as the five heroes crammed into the room. This room was open like the one below but instead of crates there were tables covered in chemicals and equipment. The center of the room was dominated by a large, cylindrical, metal containment device that stretched to the ceiling. Dr. Chang and about half a dozen of his henchmen stood near the cell, huddled around a couple of monitors. They had flipped the screens off and looked up at the Titan's entrance.

"Well, if it isn't the Teen Titans," Dr. Chang said pleasantly, "To what do I owe this visit?"

"We are looking for our friend," Starfire menaced.

"Your friend? I'm afraid I haven't seen anyone here recently." The strange man smiled wickedly.

"You're lying," Raven growled.

Just then a loud bloodcurdling scream erupted from the central container. The scream echoed through the room, permeating every nerve of the Titan's bodies. Dr. Chang just grinned. "At the sound of the scream, the time will be about noon."

It took half a heartbeat for the meaning of his statement to sink in. Anger blossomed on all five of their faces as comprehension dawned. They started towards the sadistic man but stopped almost immediately. Shadow's prison had started to glow with dark energy. All eyes swung to Raven but she looked even more surprised then anyone. The metal began to bulge outward like an over-inflated balloon. It continued to expand until it cracked and exploded with a culminating crescendo of the scream inside. Several of the henchmen were knocked out by flying shrapnel and a figure, glowing with black energy leapt out of the column of sunlight inside to land, panting, on all fours on the floor.

Two great wings, wreathed in black flame rose from her back and two red eyes turned to Dr. Chang. A low growl issued forth from her throat. "Do you have any idea how much that hurt!" Several beakers and other objects exploded around the room with in accentuation of the last word. The doctor backed into a table at her fearsome tone and even the Titans took an involuntary step backwards.

"Shadow?" Beast Boy whispered.

Her head snapped around to bring those glowing red eyes to bear on them. Her friend's just stared back, worry and fear clear in their features. Shadow's wings drooped, the dark energy fading and her eyes dimmed before regaining their normal silver hue. Raven rushed over to kneel beside her, completely ignoring everything else in the room.

"Shadow, are you alright?" her voice was uncharacteristically gentle.

"Raven, what is happening to me? How did I do that?"

"I don't know."

Robin stepped forward cautiously. "Your blood Raven, it must have transferred your powers with your memories."

Shadow was stunned, "Why didn't they appear sooner then?"

"They must have remained latent until just now," Raven explained, catching on. "Your heightened emotions and pain must have unleashed them."

"Interesting." Dr. Chang had been standing nearby, having been temporarily forgotten in favor of Shadow. His muttered word reminded everyone to his presence. He realized his error and tried to run but Starfire quickly flew over, lifting him off the floor.

Raven turned to Robin. "We should get her home."

He nodded. "Beast Boy, can you see if you can find her cloak and gloves?" The green comedian gave a rather comic salute before starting to root around the makeshift laboratory. Meanwhile Raven was helping Shadow to her feet. Once the worn Titan was securely upright Raven noticed her lacerated hand. The sorceress quietly healed the cuts with her powers, not bothering to inquire into the cause.

"Are you okay now?" Robin asked the taller girl.

Shadow looked at him, a remnant of her agony lingering in those silver pools. "Other than a bit of a headache I think I'm fine, physically at least." Beast Boy cautiously came over and held out her protective garments, which she took graciously. "I don't suppose we could go home now." The dark girl was obviously still shaken from recent events.

"Of course," Robin said, "Can you fly alright?"

"Yes," it was odd how strained her voice was. Raven wasn't used to her being unsteady in any way.

"Then Cyborg and I will take Dr. Chang to jail and Starfire, Raven, and Beast Boy can escort you home."

"I really don't require an escort."

Raven spoke up in her usual monotone, "I will go with her, perhaps the others should go with you."

Robin reluctantly agreed and the six Titans, Starfire still carrying the odious scientist, left the building. Shadow flinched as they stepped out into the daylight, raising one gloved hand to shield her already hooded face.

"You alright?" Raven asked, concerned.

"Would everyone quit asking me that." She was clearly annoyed since a lamppost behind her suddenly bent over in a surge of black energy. Shadow didn't seem to notice.

"Fine," Raven was a little annoyed herself, but fortunately she was more experienced with controlling her powers. "But you still need to calm down."

Shadow gave her a hard look that softened after a moment; she knew Raven was right. "I will try," came her solemn reply. And with that the two of them flew into the sky, leaving their friends to deal with the evil doctor.

Tantalus

The presence of a second emotionally driven telekinetic certainly made life interesting over the next week. Never before had the boys realized how much effort Raven actually invested in controlling her powers. Shadow, it seemed, needed a bit more practice. As of yet it seemed she had little control. Computer monitors exploded, dishes cracked, and once the entire sofa flipped over, simply from the emotions that the dark girl had never before had to control. Over the course of a few days she became increasingly reclusive, not to the point of locking herself in her room again but to the extent of spending a lot of time alone and keeping her distance around the others.

At the moment she was alone with Raven, sitting on the floor in the vampire's ill lit room. Raven had been trying to teach her control since they had discovered Shadow's newly acquired gifts. So far any attempt at conscience control had eluded the winged girl, and, to make things worse, her original powers were still not back to normal. As far as she could tell her old powers had been altered by the new so, hopefully, mastery of either should bring mastery of both.

Shadow was regulating her breathing, pulling air in and letting it go in a slow rhythm in time with her heart. Drawing oxygen in over four beats then releasing it over another four. At the same time she was chanting Raven's mantra. Across from her Raven was chanting in time to Shadow. Both of them had their eyes shut in quiet focus.

Raven opened her eyes and fell silent, just watching her girlfriend for a few minutes. The other girl continued with the monotonous chant. Raven knew that, if Shadow wanted to, she could continue for hours. It was odd how the winged girl reminded her of a panther resting on a tree branch; beautiful, calm, but extraordinarily dangerous.

"Is something wrong, my Raven?"

It took a second for the sorceress to realize that Shadow had inserted the question between the repeating mantra. The other girl hadn't opened her eyes or even broken the steady rhythm.

"I was just watching you," she explained.

"I trust I am suitably entertaining."

"Always." Raven stood and stretched. Shadow finally opened her eyes to look up at her. "A little stiff?" she teased, then sighed, "I suppose I am too." The vampire pushed herself off the floor and stretched, spreading her impressive wings till they almost touched the walls. Raven floated over to her and those large, leathery wings folded around them both. They shared a brief, chaste, kiss, all that would be safe, before separating.

"I wish we could do more," Shadow said with a touch of sadness.

"I do too," Raven replied, "and we will again once you get a better grip on your new abilities."

"I know."

"Come on, it's almost dinner time and I'm sure you could use something to eat."

Shadow motioned for her to lead the way so she walked out with the taller girl following right behind. They walked in silence down the hall heading towards the living room. While they were still a little ways from the main room Shadow suddenly stopped. Raven turned to her and started to inquire but Shadow motioned her to silence, pointing into the room. Raven, not possessing her companion's preternatural hearing, crept closer till she could hear her friend's voices.

"…not serious Robin," came Cyborg's voice.

"Can you honestly say that it hasn't occurred to you?" Robin said in a serious tone.

"But she is our friend," Starfire chimed.

"I'm not saying she isn't," Robin responded, "I just mean we might want to watch her. Potentially she could become stronger than anyone. If all she has to do is drink someone's blood and she gain's their powers then given time she could become unstoppable."

"But Shadow would never do that!" Starfire pleaded. "She seemed disgusted when Raven forced her to drink just to keep her alive."

"Look, power can be intoxicating is all," the team leader paused, "Besides I'm not sure she hated it as much as she claimed. She once admitted to me that she did sometimes crave human blood and it was only her reluctance to hurt someone that stopped her." At the conclusion of this revelation several innocent objects around the room exploded.

Raven looked back along the hallway to see Shadow shaking with anger and tears streaming down her cheeks. She stormed into the room to confront her friends, Raven could only follow numbly.

"I trusted you! I told you that in secret for a reason!" Robin could do nothing but sit mutely through the dark girl's verbal onslaught. "It's true I've had urges to bite you, all of you." The stuffing tore itself from a nearby chair. "But I would sooner endure countless hours of torture like what the Dr. Chang put me through then actually hurt any of you! I don't want more power; I don't want the power I already have! I never asked for this, any of it. I was just trying to do what I could to help people. If you truly fear me so much, then maybe I shouldn't be a Titan anymore!" She had pulled out her communicator and with her final statement had thrown it at Robin. He dodged and the device skittered across the floor.

Before Shadow or anyone else could say anything Raven walked forward to stand beside her girlfriend. "If she goes, then so do I," she announced.

Four sets of eyes had widened during Shadow's tirade and now four jaws dropped. Starfire was the first to recover. "Please, no one wished for either of you to leave."

"Yeah," the half-metal man said, "you can't leave, we know you would never try to hurt us."

Even Beast Boy, cowering slightly at the random explosions and the vampiric fury, tried to reassure her in his usual comedic manner. "You gotta stay, who else am I going to share my new recipes with?" Silver and amethyst eyes gave him a look that could peel paint at his jovialness. After a brief moment they transferred that look to the remaining Titan, Shadow's tail twitching in agitation.

Robin sat there, completely flustered. "I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean…. Please don't leave."

"'I'm sorry' isn't going to cut it." Shadow glared at him. "I won't leave, at least not yet, but this is far from over." She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room. Raven telekinetically retrieved the discarded communicator then also walked out, albeit a bit more calmly.

The little sorceress almost had to run to keep up with Shadow as she glided back to her room. The winged girl slammed the door shut behind her so hard it fell out of the frame. Raven entered and set the door back in place with her own gifts. She then set the communicator on the desk before turning to look at Shadow. The winged Titan's back was towards her but Raven could see that she was still trembling from anger. Raven was impressed that she hadn't accidentally blown up half the tower yet.

"Were you serious about leaving?" Raven asked stoically.

"Were you?" the other girl shot back.

"I believe you already know. Was Robin telling the truth?"

"Which part? About me craving human blood sometimes? Well the answer is yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Shadow turned to face her. "I was afraid you would leave me if you knew. The only reason I told Robin was to ascertain he would do what was needed should I ever hurt anyone."

Raven was a little shocked at this statement but quickly recovered. She moved closer and pulled her violet hair back to expose her pale grey neck. "Go ahead," she said casually.

Shadow took an involuntary step backwards. "What!" she sputtered.

"If you want to, then go ahead, do it." Again her voice was incongruously casual.

Shadow's eyes were wide, disbelieving. "You know I won't."

"Exactly." The dark girl let her hair fall back down. "You might have my memories but you still somehow forget that I have a dark side too. I know what it is like to be at war with your instincts. My father tried to force me to do evil things, but I was able to overcome that. I know that you can hold back your dark side too." Raven stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Shadow's own pale neck. The other girl tried to pull away but Raven held tight. She knew that if Shadow really wanted to break her grip she could easily, yet Raven had a feeling the taller girl wouldn't force it.

"Raven, we can't," Shadow said weakly, "It's too dangerous."

"I don't care," she replied darkly. "I believe that you can control yourself, and I'm going to prove it."

"No, please…" tears were glistening in her eyes.

"I trust you."

Shadow couldn't stand it anymore, she clamped her eyes shut and let it happen. Raven floated up and pressed her lips to Shadow's. The winged girl's lips were cold, as usual, but resisting. Raven opened her mouth slightly and lightly brushed her tongue against her girlfriend's lips. She tasted salt from frustrated tears. She pressed herself closer, eliminating any gap between them. Her fingers were entwined in Shadow's long black hair. One hand disengaged from her hair to caress the cool face.

This was too much for Shadow. The girl suddenly relaxed under Raven's soft embrace. Her tail, wings, and arms came up to finally reciprocate the embrace. Her own lips parted to allow her tongue to flick out, touching Raven's lips and tongue. Raven could sense the energy building and tried to transmit reassurance and trust to her girlfriend. The dark energy faded and Raven held the kiss a moment longer before separating.

"Feel better now?" Raven asked mischievously.

Shadow answered by drawing her in for another passionate kiss.

"Yes," she replied when it ended, "I needed that." She gave her a serious look. "Do you know how close we came to being blown up though?"

"Yes, but we didn't. Now if you can not blow up Robin next time you see him that will be the next test."

The winged girl sighed, "I suppose I'll have to forgive him eventually."

"You have a right to be angry, but yes, eventually you should forgive him."

Shadow tightened their embrace, "But for now, maybe we could forget about everyone else."

Raven gave her a small smile. "Sounds like an excellent idea to me."

Date

Despite Shadow's assurance that she would eventually forgive Robin, not a word passed her lips to the Titan leader for a week. Robin tried several times to apologize but the dark vampire refused to acknowledge his attempts to placate her. He even once sought out Raven in futile hope that she might intervene on his behalf; his plan failed miserably.

Fortunately for him as well as their furniture, Raven's forceful embrace seemed to have triggered something in the amateur telekinetic. The random violent explosions had stopped and she seemed to finally be getting ahold of her new powers, although as of yet she was still unable to actually use them constructively. Her old powers had even started to return to normal although there was still trouble when she tried to conjure any light bigger than a marble.

At the moment the winged girl was playing a game with Beast Boy and Cyborg, and trouncing both of them thoroughly. On the TV three cars were racing along a track at such a speed that, had they been real, any collision would have been catastrophic. The black car in the lead decelerated, slamming into the gray car tailing it, running it of the road.

"Dude!" Cyborg exclaimed as his car exploded in virtual flames.

Beast Boy laughed. "I guess Shadow's too tough for ya." The black car slammed into the green one, flipping it so it met the same fate. "Dude!"

Shadow just smiled wickedly and hit the nitro button, skidding across the finish line. "You two need more practice."

The two boys exchanged a stunned glance. "Come on," Cyborg said to her, "best two out of three?"

Shadow shook her head sadly. "Your funeral."

They started a new game and were well into it when Robin and Starfire entered and walked around to sit down on one end of the couch to watch. Once again the black car streaked over the finish line far ahead of the others; Cyborg and Beast Boy groaned.

Shadow held out the controller to the tall redhead. "You want to try? I'm getting tired of beating these two." Starfire snatched the controller and began pressing buttons, seemingly at random.

"So, uh, Shadow, where's Raven?" Robin asked cautiously.

The dark girl gave him a very cold look but otherwise ignored him. "You know, Shadow," Cyborg interjected without his eyes leaving the screen, "you can't hold a grudge forever."

"I know, but I can't just forget. He is my friend and he violated my trust. As far as I am concerned that's almost as bad as what that mad scientist did to me."

At this Cyborg did turn from the TV. "How can that compare?" he asked incredulously.

Her voice took on a hard tone, "Dr. Chang was evil so I had no reason to expect anything better. However I expect more from a friend, even though the slight was less, the betrayal made it worse."

Robin's eyes were wide. "I had no idea, I'm sorry."

Those silver eyes swung to him, "Well now you know. It's not that you told them, it's that you had sworn you wouldn't."

"I'm sorry," the masked Titan repeated.

Shadow's expression softened just a bit. "Just give me a little more time."

They all sat in silence till the game was over. As soon as all the virtual cars had finished Beast Boy, having lost, flung himself back on the couch. "So where is your girlfriend anyways? I haven't seen her in a while."

"She was in her room last I knew. She said she had something to do in private."

The green shapeshifter looked curious now. "What did she need to do?"

"No idea, she said it was a surprise," Shadow replied nonchalantly.

"Aren't you curious?"

"Not in the least," the winged girl leaned back, "She'll tell me when she wants."

"Indeed she will," came a dry voice behind them. Five heads swiveled to focus on the girl standing just inside the room. Raven was standing there, but not the same Raven they all knew. She was wearing jeans for starters and a light, blue shirt with a hood hanging down her back a little. Her boots had bee replaced with black shoes and her cloak was completely absent. She was also smiling just a little, an expression that looked mildly out of place on her pale face. "Well, how do I look?" her voice was a little unsure.

Everyone was stunned by her transformation but Shadow was able to speak despite her shock. "You are beautiful as always, but why the sudden change of attire?"

Raven seemed a little flustered, not a common condition for her. "I, uh, wanted to look nice…"

"Any specific reason?"

"I was thinking that you and I…could actually…go on a date."

The three boys and Starfire had almost recovered from the initial shock but this half-mumbled announcement stunned them all over again. Shadow, it appeared, was unfazed, a façade she maintained only with considerable effort. "Do you mean an actual date? You know that our secret will be out f we do that."

Raven came over and sat next to her girlfriend. "I don't care anymore. Several weeks ago you nearly died, then I couple weeks later I thought I lost you again. I am not going to let my insecurities prevent us from enjoying our time together when I have no way of knowing how long we will actually be together."

Shadow wasn't sure what to say. Not only had Raven just spoken more in the past few minutes than she sometimes did in a week, but she had admitted that she had been afraid and worried! "Raven…."

"Please, for just a little while, can we pretend to be…normal?" she was almost pleading. Raven, pleading!

Shadow took Raven's hand in her own. "You could never be just normal Raven, you will always be special. But we can still go out if you want to. However I do have one request."

"What?"

"Be yourself, you're kind of scaring me at the moment, not to mention the others." Raven looked around at her other fellow Titans. Robin and Cyborg were just sitting, unmoving, with their eyes wide. Starfire seemed a little curious at her friend's odd behavior. Beast Boy had been inching away slowly.

She turned back to Shadow with a wry smile at their discomfort. "I think I can handle that."

The winged girl smiled back and stood up, pulling the sorceress up too. "Shall we?" she asked. Raven placed a quick peck on the taller girl's cheek and nodded. The two girls walked out of the room, still holding hands, leaving the other four staring after them.

-New Memories

-Raven's father is the demon Trigon the Terrible and her grandfather is actually a demon god, although her grandmother and mother in both cases were human she is still technically at least a quarter demon.

-Zolwarg zordmorking chlorbag is taken from a couple episodes. In "Only Human" Starfire calls Atlas a zolwarg tuvek-plixing zordmorker. Zordmorking chlorbag is taken from "Mother Mae-Eye" although chlorbag is also used in forces of nature when she calls Beast Boy a 'chlorbag varblernelk'.

-Knocked Out

-Grishnik was used in "Stranded" when Starfire says 'It appears the grishnik has got your tongue'.

Added bonus: A wonderful new girl in my life drew a great picture of Shadow. I invite everyone to see it currently this is just a sketch, but it's still quite impressive. It's located here--> http/