"I'm sorry, Raven, I'm so sorry." He whimpered.

He leaned over the table and looked at her face. Her smell, the combination of lavender and jasmine that she always wore, was gone and all that remained was the stench of death. Tears fell from his face and like gentle raindrops landed on her checks, dripping down as if they were her own tears. He screwed his eyes shut as he tried in vain to regain control of his emotions.

He felt a pair of hands of his shoulders and turned around. Starfire, who now stood at six feet 3 inches, towered over him. Of all the Titans she was the one who had physically changed the most. She was no longer the skinny teenager she was when they first met in front of the wedge shaped pizzeria so many years before, when Raven once told them that "maybe fighting isn't the answer". The princess now had the physique of an Amazon, with bulging muscles. Her crimson hair was now long and unruly while her attire was far more revealing, especially around her now very ample bosom.

Nevertheless, some things did not change. She drew her friend into a soft and comforting hug.

"She died bravely, Garfield, she died a hero's death." She murmured to him. "But do not blame yourself. As we all have, Raven changed, and unfortunately it was not all for the best."

The two friends remained in their embrace, finally releasing each other. The changeling, wearing his old and now slightly tight fitting Doom Patrol costume, turned to Nightwing.

"So who was this guy? What happened to the old Brother Blood?"

Nightwing crossed his arms. The changeling had been away from the team for a long time, and while much had changed, other things did not. He immediately read Dick's body language and he could tell that his former leader was disturbed.

"We don't know what happened to him. He vanished three years ago, without a trace. This new guy appeared about 6 months ago. We don't know much about him. He claims that the one we knew as Brother Blood was an impostor, a usurper. We did some research and discovered that he wasn't lying. There is a lineage of Brother Blood that goes back over centuries. Even more disturbing, we learned that they were a Trigonic cult. The one we first knew as Brother Blood, the head of the HIVE academy, was a mentalist, and he had nothing to do with Trigon. We've suspected for some time that the kid, whose name we've learned is Sebastian, killed Brother Blood and took his place."

The changeling looked visibly disturbed.

"Trigon? Are you saying that the new Brother Blood has ties to Trigon?" He asked incredulously.

"I'm afraid so. He was obsessed with Raven from the moment he arrived. He would say strange, creepy things about her, of mingling their blood, drinking her essence and even stranger things."

He switched his gaze towards Cyborg.

"I want to see him. I want to see what happened."

"Are you sure, B?"

He nodded grimly. "I am."

Cyborg had always recorded their missions with his cybernetic eye. This of course limited playbacks to whatever he was watching at the time. Years later, he added holographic sensors to his gear and was now able to record missions in a full 360 degree panoramic and 3D recording. The Tin Man nodded and a small sphere popped out of his shoulder. The morgue suddenly transformed and they were in what appeared to be a large cave. Unlike his predecessor, Sebastian's goons were men and women, armed with powerful energy weapons, which they fired at the Titans.

Beast Boy quickly found Sebastian's image and approached it. He then located Raven, who was engaging the henchmen, destroying their weapons and knocking them out with her dark energy. Gar was immediately able to see that she was being sloppy and careless with her tactics. Sebastian so far had been silent, but finally he made his voice heard.

"You will be mine, Raven, and I will return you to your father as a token of my devotion."

Raven blasted him with her dark energy, but he easily dodged her attack. Gar could see from the expression on her face that she was irritated by the young boy, but had to redirect her attention to a new brigade of goons that arrived while Sebastian vanished into the cave's deep and dark shadows. Garfield searched for him, ignoring the holographic battle that raged around him. After a few minutes he saw Blood suddenly reappear with some sort of projectile weapon. He aimed at Raven, who was facing away from him, and fired.

"Raven! Look out!" The changeling shouted at the holographic image of the half demoness, who was levitating above the battle.

The holographic Raven neither heard him, nor reacted. He couldn't see the projectile, as it sped like a bullet. All he saw was a cloud of red mist form around Raven's back. The giant bullet was expansive and it left a huge hole in her chest. She slowly rotated, and had a shocked expression on her face. She looked down at her chest and saw the gaping cavity where her heart used to be. She opened her mouth to speak, but only blood came out. Her indigo eyes rolled up and she fell to the ground, where she landed with a dull thud.

Sebastian crowed triumphantly as he cast his weapon aside. Then he ran to Raven's corpse and began to lick up her blood from her wound.

Starfire was the first to react, and she pelted Blood with her star bolts. Once again, he leaped out of harm's way and vanished into the shadows. The playback froze with a close up on Raven.

"I've seen enough." The changeling announced in grim and firm voice.

"I'm sorry, Garfield, if this is anyone's fault, it's mine. I'm the team's leader. I should have grounded Raven, she wasn't fit to fight."

The changeling didn't acknowledge Nightwing's mea culpa and instead focused on the holographic Raven, whose crumpled figure looked like a broken doll.

"He's gonna pay for this." The changeling growled in a guttural voice.

"We will bring him to justice, Gar, you have my guarantee."

"Justice? Screw that! I want Blood's head on a pike. And I'm coming back to the team."

"Revenge isn't the Titans way, you know that."

"Yeah, I know. Doesn't mean I don't want to kill him … so where do we start?"

Nightwing tensed up.

"There is no 'we', Gar. You retired from the team 13 years ago. You're out of training. You aren't a Titan anymore."

"Bullshit, I'm stronger than ever."

"Maybe physically, but you aren't prepared to be a Titan again. And besides, you have a family. The last thing I want to happen is to have to tell Terra that something happened to you."

"But Dick …"

Nightwing raised his hand, gesturing him to be silent.

"You're going to have to leave this to us, Gar. The entire extended Titans family is going to help. We will capture him and he will pay for what he has done."

Gar balled his fists.

"I'm extended Titans family too! You can't shut me out of this, Dick. Raven was my friend. Do you really expect me to just go home and forget what I just saw?"

Starfire placed a calming hand on his shoulder. "We will never forget what happened." She soothed him.

Gar placed his palm on his forehead and began to weep.

"Why was she so careless? Why?"

"It's hard to say." Nightwing replied. "It happened slowly, over a very long time. It happened so slowly, that we didn't notice … or I chose to not notice."

Starfire looked away, with a troubled expression on her face.

"Star, you know why, don't you?" The green man asked.

"I do, but Raven asked me to keep secret what she confided to me."

"Star, she's gone."

"It is dishonorable to violate such confidence."

She paused.

"But it does involve you, so perhaps you deserve to know the truth."

"The truth? What truth?"

Starfire's face suddenly became very solemn.

"She was in love with you, and when you reunited with Terra, she was heartbroken."

The changed stared dumbfounded at the princess.

"No … that can't be true. She didn't feel that way about me, she couldn't have."

She dropped her head.

"It is true, dear friend. After you left the team and married Terra, Raven withdrew from us. She suffered great loneliness and endured it alone. I was afraid that what I saw in the future, where she became insane, was going to happen. I tried to engage her, for years. I did not relent and eventually she confessed her love and her sorrow for losing you."

Beast Boy looked absolutely stunned. He tried to speak, but only garbled words came out. He then ran back to the table where Raven's body rested. He stopped in front of her, his body trembling. Then, he screamed at his dead friend.

"Why didn't you tell me, Raven!? Why!?"

He fell to his knees and began to bawl. Starfire knelt next to him, wrapping her arms around her dear friend. He quickly regained his composure and stood back up. He caressed Raven's now ice cold face with his fingertips.

"And why didn't I ever tell you?"

-( scene break )-

Terra paced around the family room in the house. The TV was now silent as was the entire house. Jake was in his room. She had just called into work and the kid's schools to excuse everyone, as they needed to cope with the news.

Raven and the Titans frequently visited the Logan household and the children couldn't remember a time when she wasn't a part of their lives. She often gave the children presents, typically books and other educational materials. Jake and Melissa were bright and precocious for their ages, and Melissa, who was now 13 years old, often engaged Raven in stimulating and intellectual discussions.

Melissa was sitting on the couch and looked up at Terra, who continued to pace nervously.

"Mom?"

Terra stopped with a jerk, as she snapped back into reality.

"Melissa?"

The girl stood up and hugged her mother.

"Mom, why was Aunt Raven so nice to us?"

"Why shouldn't she have been?"

"I mean, why did she like us so much? Don't take this the wrong way, but sometimes I felt like she was my mother, you know, like a second mother."

Terra ran her fingers through her daughter's blond hair.

"I'm not sure, but I'm grateful that she cared so much about you."

Melissa looked up at her mother. The girl was blond and had no powers. She looked more like her father than her mother.

"You and Aunt Raven didn't always get along, right?"

Terra chuckled. "That would be an understatement. We used to hate each other's guts."

"So what happened? How did you bury the hatchet?"

Terra paused and looked out the window. The Tower could be seen in the distance.

"I'm not really sure. I guess that it just sort of happened. Actually, though, I think I know why she cared about you so much."

"You do?"

"This is going to sound crazy, and don't take it the wrong way. Your father has always been faithful to me …"

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

Terra cupped Melissa's face in her palm.

"Your father and Aunt Raven, they were in love with each other … they … just didn't know it. She loved you because she loved your father."

Melissa looked confused.

"Mom, are you serious? How can that be? Dad married you."

Terra smiled.

"It's complicated, but don't worry, your father and I love each other, very much."

The front door opened and the changeling entered the house. Terra ran to greet him.

"Gar, are you OK?"

He kissed his wife and hugged his daughter. They could tell immediately that he wasn't himself at the moment and was visibly agitated.

"I suppose … I need some time, some alone time. When I'm ready, we'll get together and talk, OK? It won't be long, I promise."

"Yeah sure, you want the family room?" Terra asked.

"Sure."

They left him alone in the room, and closed the folding doors as they left, allowing him his privacy. Gar surveyed the room, which was the family's hub, where they hung out together. The couch set looked worn, from many years of heavy use. They were planning to replace it soon, as the upholstery was beginning to fray.

He closed his eyes and recalled the many happy memories associated with the room. When he reopened his eyes the room looked different. The sofa set no longer looked worn; in fact it looked brand new. He then saw that he was sitting on the couch, holding a can of root beer in his hand.

And Raven was sitting opposite from him, on a large recliner they no longer had, drinking a cup of tea.

-( scene break )-

I warn you, dear readers, that I have no idea of where this story is going.

And thanks for all the reviews. I had no idea of how this dark story would be received; and was actually expecting it to be ignored.