Suddenly, the dark sky was broken up by green shooting stars zooming across the dark expanse. Only they weren't stars. Noisy chatter filled the air as robotic monkeys burst from the fields and swarmed the rear truck. The next few minutes passed by in flurry of moments that almost seemed indiscernible from one another. Adrenaline pumped through her system and blood rushed in her ears as the status of the mission flipped on its head (because of course it did).

"Robin! Superboy! Raven!" Aqualad's commanding tone crackled over the comms. "Our truck is under attack!"

"Ah! The truck!" Raven cried as she launched up into the air and surged after the monkeys with a fistful of shadows engulfing each fist as she chased after the swerving vehicle.

"Kinda figured" Robin deadpanned as he stared down their own robot-encrusted truck.

"I HATE monkeys!" Superboy growled, eyes narrowing on the scene before him as hatred flowed off of him in waves. It was enough to make Raven to stumble under the pressure of it.

"Robot monkeys! Haha! Totally Ivo's tweak-style!" Robin cackled as he pulled up alongside the kryptonian and switched the motorbike's mode over to one more suited for battle. Up in front, Raven had flown ahead and was using her shadows to blast off the robots clinging to the sides of the truck, barrel-rolling on occasion to dislodge wayward monkeys who thought she was a good perch. "Hey—hey! Switch your bike over to battle mode!"

"No point" Superboy refuted as he launched himself from the handlebars, up onto the bed of the truck and proceeded to smash any monkey that came within range.

"Or not!" Robin panicked as he quickly reacted, jumping from his own bike in an attempt to avoid the inevitable collision which resulted due to Superboy's actions.

With Superboy atop the bed of the truck, Raven flying alongside and Robin in the rear, they were managing—just barely—to keep the swarming monkeys at bay. Superboy, who held a hatred for both the monkeys and a grudging contempt for Black Canary, happily took his anger out on the green-eyed contraptions whenever they came at him. As for Raven (who was trying not to kill or catch her teammates in the crossfire), she was stuck with trying to multitask between scrapping monkeys off of the side of the truck, staying level with the bed and doing her best not to get pulled under the wheels or knocked aside by the wayward vehicle as it swerved this way & that. Robin, on the other hand, simply danced between the monkeys with a pair of baton sticks in either hand, smashing whomever was unfortunate to meet his path before moving on to the next. He didn't even seem to be breaking a sweat. At least until Superboy was suddenly blinded and tossed from the truck with enough force to dent the pavement.

"Superboy!" Raven cried, pausing in her tirade to glance back at the downed krypton.

"Raven! Pay attention!" Robin snapped, knocking aside another monkey that had leapt for her in her moment of distraction.

"But Superboy—"

"—Will be fine. Get the driver!"

"…Fi—ACK!" She had barely moved forward a pace or two before the out-of-control truck suddenly swerved so violently that she was bodily tossed aside into the field of wheat next to her.

BOOM!

Q'urad ghiba! [Stupid monkeys!] Raven cursed as she flew for a few metres before landing in a heap of invasive wheat stalks. The screech of wheels & metal on tarmac sounded in the distance as the young witch sat up and tried to regain the breath which had been knocked from her upon landing.

"Caw?" Hugin nudged her cheek in concern.

"What a…landing, eh Hu?" Raven wheezed before she pushed herself up on to her elbows in order to figure out where she was. Wheat stalks grew tall and far for as she could see and the indigo helmet which she had worn previously, now lay discarded off to the side and baring a rather large crack across the crown. That collision with the wayward truck had done a number on it but she was just thankful that it had held out long enough to guard her cranium against any further injuries. Feather-light fingers ran over her forehead as she checked whether the gem on her forehead had been cracked or damaged in anyway—it wasn't, thankfully. "Biat Azar! That was close!"

Overhead, a brief streak of red and blue (accompanied by the manliest of little girl screams) told Raven that Robin had been able to yank the driver from the front in her absence and jump to safety just in time. But that still left Superboy unaccounted for. Eery laughter which had plagued them for the past couple of minutes, filled the airways once more. Raven cringed at the noise and tripped over her own feet (much to Hugin's chagrin) just as the monkeys flew overhead with what appeared to be their prize clutched between them. That red chest contained the disassembled parts of the android and Raven's curse was snatched from her lips by the breeze blowing through the fields.

Jumping up and down a few times in an attempt to see over the wheat, the witch tried to see where she was before giving up entirely and taking to the air. With Hugin fluttering next to her as she cleared the stalks, she was able to discern that she had been tossed a fair way; far enough that Robin—who remained standing in the middle of the road further ahead—looked like no more than a blip on the horizon. Leaving behind her broken helmet, Raven made for the road (after a few wrong turns) as she tried to remove as many strands of wheat from her body as possible. It was like sand—the grains got into places who just didn't want them to be!

"Superboy!" Robin's sudden call quickly garnered Raven's attention as she alighted down on the tarmac, pulling it over towards her fellow bird. Following his line of sight she found the missing kryptonian leaping after the fleeing monkeys with a look of rage upon his face. Burns decorated his cheeks from where he had been blinded only moments before and the amount of rage & frustration that flowed off of the boy made her legs buckle and her throat close up.

"Aqualad to Robin" Aqualad addressed the bespectacled boy over the comms as he linked both teams, "We've lost our cargo. Did you—?"

"—It's gone" Robin dejectedly sighed. "And so are my partners"

"Aqualad to Superboy, radio your position. We'll help you"

"I don't NEED help!" Superboy snarled, "I don't WANT anyway!"

"Superboy?"

"I think he ditched his comm"

"SUPER!" Kid Flash deadpanned sassily. "Now, we can't even track HIM"

"…He's out of my telepathic range too" Ms Martian added after a moment. "What—what about Raven?"

"Aqualad to Raven, radio your position" Aqualad tried the young witch next.

"Hi? Yes, hello!" Raven replied, tumbling over her words as she pulled yet another stalk from her hair. "I'm here!"

"Raven!" Kid Flash chirped, "Are you okay?"

"I look like a fa'zea…!" She pouted, spitting out some wheat as Hugin chirped in her ear.

"Raven, radio your position! Where are you?" Aqualad persisted.

"It's okay, Aqualad, I can see Robin up ahead"

Gingerly climbing to her feet, Raven rose into the air and took off for the blip she'd recognised as Robin on the horizon. It took a hot minute for the young witch to scoop up her familiar and make her way back up the road to where one of her teammates , she found the disorientated driver slumped over at Robin's feet, whilst the rest of the armed guards lay sprawled about the tarmac. Further down the road lay the remains of the upturned truck which had seen better days.

"Dude, you look like a scarecrow!" Robin greeted the witch. He appeared fine, if a little relieved that she was unharmed. Though his lips did twitch at the sight of her familiar gnawing at the wheat grains that stubbornly clung to her locks.

"That's what I just said!" Raven pouted, arms crossed.

"This Professor Ivo" Ms Martian mused quietly, "If he IS alive, seems to be two steps ahead of us…Maybe, we—we should contact Red Tornado?"

"Tornado always tells us to handle things ourselves" Aqualad replied, "And the mission can still succeed if we recover the parts BEFORE they're reassembled"

"Oh, that's a GREAT plan!" Kid Flash sassed, his tone full of sarcasm. "Except for the part about us not knowing WHERE TO LOOK!"

"Maybe we do" Robin grinned smugly as he trotted over to one of the many downed monkeys caught under the wheels of the truck. Out came the trusty extender cable which he plugged into its back, and easily hacked into the monkey's biometrics with an ease that almost seemed like magic. "We'd have heard by now if the decoy trucks had been attacked, so how did these monkeys know EXACTLY which trucks to target? Ha! The parts have GPS! The monkeys can track the signal! Which means I can track 'em with the one I captured!"

"Uh, that less 'captured' and more 'dead" Raven pointed out, nudging the limp tail with her toe.

"Tamato—tomato" Robin waved off as he brought up the two signals on the one map. "Looks like both sets of the parts are converging on…Gotham City?!"

"Gotham? Innit your hometown?"

"Yeah…"

"That far south?" Aqualad came over the comms. "M'gann and I won't get there any time soon. I'm sending Kid on ahead to meet you. Aqualad out"

"Definitely a disaster" Robin hummed as he called for his bike before he began to shed the outer layer of kevlar in favour of his costume. "Heavy on the 'dis"

"Earth is so weird" Raven murmured under her breath as she simply pulled her cloak over the kevlar and retreated within the confines of her hood where it was safe. Once dressed, the two birds (plus one familiar) headed for Gotham City on the hunt for Ivo and his overpowered android.


3 August 2010

City Limits, Gotham City

The two birds were reunited with the speedster at the city's outskirts, where the silhouette of the skyline was rim-lighted by the shine of the moon. Raven (and by extension, Hugin) found it much easier to keep pace with Robin on his cycle than the armoured truck from before, but she was still a little surprised when Kid Flash pulled up alongside them just as the road became lined with street lamps. He too, had shed the kevlar.

"So, you changed too?" Robin greeted.

"You kidding? Ugh! I feel naked in civies" Kid Flash laughed.

"Ewww!" Raven scrunched her nose up in disgust at the image that painted [The ginger in a scarlet & golden motorbike helmet, matching boots and nothing else].

"Ha! You still tracking the parts?" He chuckled at the witch's remark before pointing the question at the boy wonder.

"They were heading THROUGH Gotham, but they veered" Robin replied, lips twitching up in amusement, "Wait—! Dude! They're at my school!"

"Which is where…?" Raven asked. The two flinched like they'd forgotten she was even there.

"Uh…"


3 August 2010

Gotham Academy, Gotham City

Robin's school, it turned out, was the esteemed Gotham Academy that stood with more gilded corridors than the Palace of Versailles, complete with a new Superboy-shaped hole in the lobby. It was easy enough to track the others (Kid Flash having run ahead to assist Superboy) by the loud commotion coming from the direction of the gymnasium. Robin barely bothered to yank on the brakes as he skipped from the bike and threw the doors open with Raven hot on his heels. She barely had time to blink before she was greeted with the sight of Kid Flash & Superboy meeting them at the door. Over their shoulders, sat back in the bleachers like a king on his throne was Professor Ivo and in front, the infamous android, complete with every power of the Justice League.

"Biat Azar…!" Raven breathed, eyes wide as she watched Robin's projectiles just sail straight through the android without nary a scratch left behind. Of course, that was before Amazo retaliated by throwing them all back across the room without breaking a sweat.

"…Access: Captain Atom" Amazo intoned, his hand lighting up as he used the Leaguer's power to blast a hole where Kid Flash had just been.

"Crap!" Kid Flash cursed, diving behind the bleachers with the heat of Atom's blast licking at his heels.

"Access: Black Canary" The screech was loud and grating as it knocked the speedster from his feet once more, this time clutching onto his ears in pain. Amazo threw volley after volley of attacks at them, each time using a different power from one of the Leaguers. Superman, Martian Manhunter, Black Canary, it was all the same. They'd throw a punch and he'd counter with the combined force of the Justice League whilst Professor Ivo watch on, smugly, two robotic monkeys at his side.

That was until one of Atom's blast swung wide, tearing up the bleachers and the floor until they contacted with Hugin. Hugin was her familiar—her anchor to this mortal plane—and as such, like every other being of Chaos, was protected with their very lives (they could always reincorporate if needs be). So when that concentrated blast connected with the four-eyed bird, causing Raven to flicker in and out of existence, she didn't even bother holding back. Her control completely snapped, breaking apart like porcelain as she surged up into the air with shadows blazing.

Oppressive dark blanketed the gymnasium as tentacles shot this way and that, piercing whatever and whomever they could reach. Suddenly ten feet tall, cloak rippling against the ground in an unseen wind, with skin flushed scarlet and four eyes burnt crimson, she roared her distress unto the heavens. Violent rage, the kind accompanied by whispers of her father in her ear, flooded through her veins. It told her—commanded her—to rip, to tear, to kill and she was more than ready to do , Ivo, android—all were fair game. They wanted a fight? She'd give them a massacre.

"Holy shit!" Superboy gasped, backpedalling away from a wayward tentacle which had almost skewered his head.

"Note to self: Never piss off Raven" Robin mumbled dumbly, eyes wide as he watched the little witch lose it. It was moments like these that the boy detective was reminded of the fact that she was more than just some girl, that she was in fact half demon and as he stared up at that enraged expression, he was just glad that her fury was focused elsewhere. At least until his eyes alighted on his best friend caught up in her dark web. "Shit! Kid!"

"Raven…little tight!" Kid Flash wheezed as he found himself entrapped in a strong hold, the shadow squeezing tighter and tighter until he could no longer breathe. "…Rae!"

The shadows were proving to be rather stubborn and durable as Robin tried to pry his friend free, not even his assortment of tools seemed to be working. Save for the taser which just seemed to anger them more as the ones holding the speedster squeezed tighter whilst others moved in closer to Robin and tried to rid themselves of him. (As the destruction around them grew, Robin could see dollar signs in practically every corner because he knew that the Wayne Foundation would be making a rather hefty donation to the school at some point in the near future).

FWISH! BANG!

"Ah!" Raven gasped, hands coming up to cover her eyes as a single arrow of light pierced the darkness. The shock was enough for her wrangle back enough of her former control as she crumped back to the floor, shadows retreating back beneath the confines of her cloak as if they had never been there at all. On the floor, she curled up around Hugin with a quiet whimper falling from her lips; curling tighter and hiding her head when she felt Kid Flash's own anger and fear as he too, collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. She'd felt fear from others before, of course, but she'd never purposefully made someone fear her so badly before and it made guilt prick at her heart. In her mind's eye, her father cackled gleefully.

Ivo, who had once calmly laid back against the bleachers now looked terrified of the witch—terrified and also slightly intrigued. Like he was trying to decide if he should get Amazo to copy her power for later use. The android in question was currently stuck hopping between Martian Manhunter and Captain Atom in an effort to avoid the witch's magic. Combined with the command to protect his master, he was almost spread too thin, something that Superboy was more than happy to take advantage of whilst his teammates lay sprawled about the gym.

"Oh! Yawn!" Ivo smirked, reclining back against the bleachers now that the threat was gone, only slightly more ashen-faced than before. "Normally Amazo would study and mimic your abilities during battle, like with that little witch, but what's the point wasting the time on you? You're such poor copies of the originals"

"So everyone keeps saying" Superboy growled, barely able to keep his temper in check. "IT MAKES ME ANGRY! YOU WANNA SEE ME CHANNEL THAT ANGER?!"

"Oh great" Kid Flash sighed dejectedly as he finally regained his breath, though his ribs still hurt. "He's gone ballistic too!"

"Maybe not…" Robin replied with a calculating smile as they watched the kryptonian leap about the gym, this time going for the lean professor instead of the overpowered android.

"Amazo! I told you! Protect your master! Priority Alpha!" Ivo spat out as he dove from the bleachers in an attempt to avoid the angry kryptonian. He'd almost made it to the witch still curled up on the floor when a hand wrapped itself around his ankle and threw him aside.

"Captain Atom" Amazo intoned, laser cutting through linoleum like it was made of butter.

"Raven! Move!" Robin called as he flew passed.

Raven could feel the heat of the attack graze her back but she refused to move as guilt-ridden tears tracked down her cheeks. She deserved this for hurting her friends, her familiar, her teammates; for hurting people she cared about again. She had promised herself all those years ago not to repeat that mistake and yet here she was, doing the exact same thing. Jumping in front of the (stubbornly) prone girl, Robin pushed Ivo away with a kick to the chest and a cheeky taunt on his lips, though it was forced as concern for Raven filled him. She didn't look hurt, but that was by no means a measure of insurance.

When Kid Flash joined in on their 'little game' he barely made it a metre or two before he was tossed once more, this time landing somewhere over near the door just as Superboy joined him at his side. A handful of batarangs were palmed without warning, slicing straight through the air and Amazo's head as he switched to Martian Manhunter's density shifting. Not a second later, Superboy shoved a fist straight through where his head should be and as the android changed gears to access Superman's powers, he suddenly found himself without a head.

"Quick! Help me disassemble him! Now!" Robin raced over, already starting to tear the pieces apart.

"Dude" Kid Flash hobbled over, "The guy has no head"

"Don't take any chances!" Aqualad greeted as he and Ms Martian finally reappeared.

"Superboy! Are you all right?" Ms Martian flew over to the battered kryptonian to help him to his feet.

"M fine" Superboy smiled in reply, "Feeling the aster"

"Ah! Raven!" The martian quickly exchanged the clone for the prone witch and slightly singed familiar still lying on the floor. "Raven? What happened?"

"What happened? What happened? She went berserk is what happened!" Kid Flash snapped, still cradling his tender ribs.

"Um…"

"Her familiar" Superboy helpfully nodded to the four-eyed bird peering back at them through indigo folds. Though he too, had been caught off-guard by Raven's sudden ferocity, he also felt a sort of kinship through their rage. Hers, protective and unwieldy and his, sour and animalistic. Perhaps Raven would benefit from the same training as him?

"Oh" Ms Martian sat back on her heels, one hand still resting on the younger girl's shoulder. When she'd asked more on the companionship between witch & familiar, Raven had compared to that of the martian and her bioship. A tight bond, almost one & the same and truly impossible to put into proper words.

"Oh? That's all you have to say?" Kid Flash scoffed, "Unbelievable! She tried to strangle me!"

"Dude, she wasn't exactly thinking" Robin defended weakly as Superboy trotted over to the girls and bent to scoop up witch & familiar. Pulling her close, Superboy couldn't help but feel a surge of smugness flow through him as those small arms emerged from the depths of her cape just long enough for her to wrap her arms around his neck and bury her head in his shoulder, as she silently pleaded for forgiveness. He could've done without the bird nestled in his hair, however.

"You're seriously taking her side?! Dude!"

"No one is taking anyone's side" Aqualad interjected diplomatically, "Because there are no sides between us"

"Whatever…" Kid Flash scoffed, turning away with his arms crossed in indignation.

"Speaking of sides, where's Professor Ivo?" Ms Martian piped up. But there was no answer because the professor had long since disappeared under the cover of chaos.


4 August 2010

Mount Justice, Happy Harbour

"…The Amazo android is in pieces again, safely being analysed at the two separate Star Labs" Aqualad reported, "But Ivo escaped and since he originated the tech, he's arguably more dangerous than the android"

"Capturing the Professor will be a League priority" Black Canary replied.

"But we understand your mission encountered…other complications" Martian Manhunter continued, eyes narrowed. Raven refused to meet his eyes—or any of them, really—finding the floor much more appealing.

"Complications come with the job" Batman stepped forth, "Your ability to handle them has impressed the League"

"The whole League?" Superboy asked, specifically searching for one hero's approval.

"Given time, yes. Kryptonians, as you know, have very hard heads"

Was—was that a joke? Raven's brow scrunched up in confusion. Did BATMAN just make a joke?

"Of course, there's no shame in asking for help. That's why the League exists, because there are some problems even we cannot handle individually"

"Please!" Robin scoffed as he held aloft the very flash-bang arrow which had yanked Raven from her tirade. "If we needed help, we never even get the chance to ask! Look familiar? You were following us! Babysitting! You still don't trust us!"

"We didn't follow you" Batman replied as Green Arrow stepped forth to compare the arrow to one of his own.

"…And that's not your arrow" Robin trailed off when he saw the jagged tooth next to the smooth head. "But that means—"

"Speedy!" Kid Flash chirped, eyes lighting up.

"He has our backs!" Aqualad agreed.

But I thought his feathers were red…? Raven puzzled, glancing up at the green feathers that fluttered before her eyes.

"Ooh! Souvenir!" Kid Flash happily plucked the arrow from the archer's hand so that he could add it to his ever-growing collection.

"…Ahem!" Superboy coughed, garnering Black Canary's attention now that the post-mission debriefing was done. "Uh, I'm ready"

"Good, then I'll be here" Black Canary smiled, eyes dancing over to the witch who remained hidden beneath her hood. "For the both of you"