Raven reappeared in the tower just outside of Robin's room, and knocked on the door. Why didn't she just appear in his room? Long ago Robin had made it clear that nobody was to enter his room without knocking, barring emergencies or special situations. Robin mentally calling Raven was one such occasion. Besides, Robin was, at heart, a teenage boy who was often stressed by his lifestyle, and Raven had on more than one occasion sensed certain vibes coming from his room that she did not exactly want to think about ever again. The room's resident interrupted the chapter's introduction by opening the door.

"Come in," he instructed, and Raven stepped in. Immediately, she dropped the equipment that "wasn't" for spying to the ground.

"This was a waste of my time," Raven said with false anger. "Whoever Henry was going to see was a no-show." Raven held her breath—would Robin accept the lie? And what would Cyborg and Henry say to him? Azar help her, why was she nervous about a simple untruth? Sure, it was probably a really bad idea to lie to Robin. But if this "Ellimist" cares about Terra so much to pause time and tell me to hide her existence from Robin, I'm sure there's a reason, Raven reasoned with herself. "I'm leaving, there are things I need to do that don't involve spying on our friends." Before Robin could argue, the mage turned and left the room, her cloak hitting Robin's outstretched hand.

"Raven!" he called out for her, but was only answered with the slam of his door. Robin stormed back to his desk, and pulled out the chair angrily. He sat down, only to hear the Tower's alarms go off. Trouble, he thought automatically, and jumped out of his seat. The Boy Wonder ran out into the Ops Room, meeting up with Starfire, Beast Boy, and Raven. Red lights flashed as he approached the screen. The map of Jump City was once again displayed on the massive screen in the room, and it indicated that an attack was underway on several office buildings on the west end of the city's commercial district. A box of scrolling text gave information regarding the attack, and one word stood out above all the others.

"Adonis," Beast Boy growled, arching his brow. "I really hate that dude. Why can't he just stay in jail?" The large window facing the city opened up, and before Robin could instruct them, a green pteranodon was soaring over Dockett Bay. The other three Titans stood silently for a moment, startled by the changeling's sudden enthusiasm to get to a crime scene. Finally, Robin gave the command to go, and off they went.

The three other Titans trailed Beast Boy, and landed to find him charging in the form of a rhinoceros at the metal-suited villain. Adonis held a piece of what looked like computer machinery above his left shoulder, and laughed as he held out his other hand to stop the green pachyderm. To the shock of Robin, Raven, and Starfire, Adonis didn't even flinch as Beast Boy collided with his mechanical suit's hand. Beast Boy collapsed at the impact, and turned back into his human form.

"Oh, now this is precious," mocked Adonis, grabbing the still changeling by his neck. "Did you really think you could stop Adonis? Ha!" Before he could continue, a black disc of energy smacked into his face, and the armored Adonis grimaced. He turned to face Raven, and grinned.

"Put him down, Adonis," Raven commanded, raising a glowing hand.

"Aw, are you worried about this little runt, baby? Don't be," Adonis said smoothly, tossing the green teen aside. "He's not a real man like me. Why don't you and I go somewhere together sometime? Let me take you out some night so I can show you what a real man is like," he purred. Disgusted, Ravens' eyes began to glow.

"The only time anyone is taking anyone anywhere is us taking you to jail," Robin replied coolly. "Titans, go!" he instructed. Raven and Starfire flew at Adonis while Robin ran towards Beast Boy, who was just starting to move again. Robin dropped to the ground and held up Beast Boy's head. "Beast Boy, are you alright?" Robin asked quickly, unusual concern in his voice. The boy in his arms coughed, then tried to sit upright.

"Course I am. It'll take more than that jerk to put me out of the fight," answered Beast Boy, flashing a toothy grin. "Now c'mon, let's kick his butt." He stumbled as he rose, and Robin instinctively grabbed his teammate to prevent him from falling. It took a moment, but the changeling caught his balance, and with a silent look, the two ran together towards Adonis, who had been distracted by Starfire and Raven. The two female Titans had launched a flurry of projectile attacks that kept their masculine enemy on his toes.

As Robin approached the enemy, he noticed that Adonis' suit looked different. It was still his classic red-and-gray color, but the suit itself looked more massive, more bulky. It was almost as if there was more of the suit. Robin would have pondered what that meant, but unfortunately, he didn't have to. In an instant, a previously unseen contraption on the back of his suit whipped open, revealing a mechanical extension of some sort that resembled a large metal spider's leg. It rose from Adonis' shoulder impossibly fast, and in a terrifying moment, connected with Starfire's side as she flew past. The alien princess was sent careening to the ground, breaking the road as she slid along it.

"Starfire!" Robin cried out with equal parts fear and anger. He pulled out his bo staff and used it vault himself into the air towards Adonis, let out an intelligible shout. He raised the staff above his head, determined to swing it down onto the villain's face, but was stopped by a large mechanical hand.

"Ah-ah-ah," taunted the smiling Adonis, and tossed Robin into the air, straight into Raven's flight path. The two heroes tumbled to the ground. Luckily for Robin, Raven broke his fall… by acting as an unwilling cushion. Both let out an oomph as they hit the ground, and Robin looked over to see Beast Boy, in the form of a tiger, being manhandled like so much dead weight. He watched helplessly as Adonis threw the big cat at Starfire, who had just started to stand up, and could only reach out his hand in desperation as Beast Boy barely turned back into himself before toppling her to the ground. Adonis laughed as the four Titans rose, each holding an injured body part.

"Ahahaha! This is priceless! You puny Titans are even more wimpy than the last time we fought. How pathetic!" Adonis grinned as he picked up the strange machinery again, having put it down to deal with Raven and Starfire. "It's been fun, but I have to go now. See you real soon, Titans!" he said victoriously, and pressed a large red gem on the front of his suit. A bright red flash forced the Titans to avert their eyes, and when they could see again. Adonis and whatever he had with him were gone without a trace. Defeated and sore, the four Titans gathered together just as a familiar blue-and-white car pulled in, its tires squealing as it approached them. Cyborg and Henry jumped out of the front seats and ran over.

"Guys, what happened?" Cyborg asked worriedly, concern on his face. Beast Boy coughed.

"Adonis happened, that's what," the green teen answered. "He had a new suit that kicked our butts hard."

"Cyborg, where were you?" Robin asked with a stern tone.

"Henry and I were out. I only got the alert a few minutes ago, and we got here as fast as we could," Cyborg explained. Henry looked out over the Titans and knit his brow.

"Adonis did this to you?" he inquired. "And so fast?" This puzzled the teen.

"I told you, new suit," Beast Boy fired back, sounding defensive. "I don't know where he got it, all I know is that I'm gonna tear him a new one if he—"

"Beast Boy, that's enough," Raven interrupted. "Getting angry about it won't do anyone any good. Let's just get back home and go over what happened.

As the Titans treated their injuries, Henry found himself alone in the large Ops room. He looked through his phone aimlessly, noting things that were different since he'd received it. Some things, like his music and pictures, had remained untouched, but websites like Facebook and Twitter failed to connect to their respective servers. At least I can still use the internet, Henry thought positively. He examined news websites, noting their similarities to real-world news. He found it interesting that the one that reminded him of NBC used multicolored symbols in their logo, and that the Fox analogue used a similar font style. His comparison thought process was interrupted by a voice.

"Henry." It was Raven, speaking in her soft monotone. He looked up at her from his position on the couch, noticing that her hood was up, hiding her face. "We need to have a little chat, you and I." Before he could say anything, Raven opened a dark portal beneath her and pulled Henry into it with her. A sudden feeling of cold swept over him, and he shuddered once as they reappeared. He fell onto his behind as they came out of the portal, and quickly stood up. He saw Jump City in the distance, and the Pacific Ocean (or whatever they called it here) in the spanning in the opposite direction. He would have been in awe if Raven hadn't interrupted his admiration of the world around him.

"Let's be honest with each other. I saw you and Cyborg in the park today. Don't ask why. All I know is that you and Cyborg were talking to someone who looked an awful lot like Terra, and I planned on interrupting. But before I could, some voice starts talking to me, calling itself 'the Ellimist.' I've never seen or heard that name, ever, and somehow this Ellimist is involving itself with you. I don't like it one bit, so if you're here do anything that hurts me, my friends, or this city, let me tell right now that it will not work, understand?" With only her eyes visible from within her hood, Raven looked threatening. Henry gulped, knees shaking. He knew very well that Raven could be scary when she wanted to, and although they were standing in broad daylight, he felt very small around the empath.

"Raven, you have to believe me, I am not here to do anything malicious. I don't even know why I'm here," Henry answered. "You guys were my absolute favorite characters growing up, and now that I'm here, seeing you in the flesh and blood… it's overwhelming. Why would I want to do anything to you?" he asked, feeling good about his reply. Raven only shook her head.

"I don't care about being your 'favorite characters' growing up. That doesn't matter. Here, in this world, our world, we are very real. We all have lives, real, actual lives, and honestly, I don't appreciate being considered a two-dimensional being that exists for your childish amusement. I have a history, I've lost people, I've hurt people, and I've made friends. All of it is very, very real, and you would do well not to belittle it." As she had ranted, Raven had prod her finger into Henry's chest. In her excitement, Raven's hood had come down, and for a moment, Henry just stared at her. After regaining his composure, Henry responded.

"I know that. I'm sorry if I seem like I don't, but this is all a big shock for me. It doesn't help that my family thinks I'm going to be comatose for the rest of my life. I'm in a very weird place both physically and mentally right now, so excuse me if I seem rude. I also have cryptic instructions from the Ellimist warning about some threat, and that I need to help you gather allies. That's why we met with Terra. We're going to need her, whether you like it or not."

Raven stayed silent, removing her finger from his chest. She thought over Henry's words. A threat? Need Terra? She would have to look into it. For now, she would deal with Henry.

"Fine. If you trust this Ellimist so much, then I will cut both it and you some slack for the time being. But if you do anything that puts my friends in danger… Well, I think you know what I'm capable of." Raven left the last sentence hanging in the air. The two locked eyes, sharing looks of equal intensity. "For now, Henry, you are a guest in my home, and the others seem to like having you around. If things change, I'd like to make sure there's no animosity between us. So, let's be civil to one another." With that, Raven offered her hand out slowly. Henry smiled and accepted it, shaking firmly. Her gray hand felt cool and small in his, and for a single moment, Henry felt as though he belonged. The moment passed, and the two broke the shake. Raven opened one of her portals below her, and they reappeared where they had been earlier. They appeared just in time, too, as the remaining Titans were leaving the infirmary with bandages and gauze visible.

The remainder of the day held a strange air to it. The four Titans who had faced Adonis were more or less recovered (thanks Raven's magic), but still felt embarrassed. It had been a long time since they had suffered a defeat so swiftly, and having lost to Adonis made the defeat all the more painful. Beast Boy had spent an unhealthy amount of time training, and returned to the Ops room with a few rips in his outfit. Henry still donned the silly Teen Titans apparel, and silently wondered about when he would get to trade it for something else. Surely Robin had something he could try on. As night fell, Henry and the five Titans found themselves quietly sitting on the couch. The silence was broken by klaxons going off, and instinctively the Titans rose. The computer screen served its purpose as it always did, and alerted the Titans as to what the issue was.

"The electronics store on Dunder Avenue and Mifflin Boulevard. Titans, go!" Robin commanded without hesitation. Henry, however, did hesitate.

"What about me?" Henry asked, not wanting to be left behind. With no response, Raven merely formed a black disc of energy and once again created a sort of handle for Henry to grab onto. The flight was still unnerving—he was standing on energy, and if he remembered correctly from his fifth grade science class, energy was not matter, which meant that he was standing on nothing. On any other day it would have freaked him out, but the past two days had drastically altered what Henry would consider normal. Henry couldn't believe it; had it really only been two days? Well, if I count the day I 'died' and later fell to Jump, I guess it's three… which makes today day four? Henry wondered. He shook his head and cleared his thoughts, and noticed that Raven was already moving to land. Henry noticed that the others had landed closer to a building whose advertising distinguished it as "Sir Cutt's Discount Circuits." Clearly, this is where the problem was. What the problem was,

"Wait here," Raven instructed as they landed. "Stay out of the way and I'll come back for you when we're done."

"But I can help!" Henry argued, following Raven as she left. She turn to face him, and once again held his gaze.

"You're untrained, and you'll put everyone else at risk."

"But what about yesterday, with those gross green guys? I did pretty good then!" Henry felt confident in his abilities, despite only having had them for a short amount of time.

"No. I don't even know who we're fighting, and I can't let you endanger yourself like that." Just then, the loud whine of the stores speakers pierced through the air, and a familiar voice spoke.

"Greetings, Titans! It is I, your arch-nemesis Control Freak! I have this whole place set to explode, and if any of you even tries to do anything, everything and everyone inside will be destroyed! If you don't want that to happen, you have to agree to negotiations!" Raven groaned. Control Freak? She couldn't believe it. How had he escaped from jail this time?

"Raven, we don't have to time to argue. We'll go to the others and plan something." Annoyed, Raven agreed, and the two ran over to the front of the building where the other four were. From their perspective, they couldn't see Control Freak.

"So how do we deal with him if he has hostages?" Cyborg was asking as they joined the group. Robin grimaced.

"I… I don't exactly know. This is unlike him and it's unsettling." Among the Titans and Henry, there was a soft murmur of agreement. "Right now, it looks like we'll just have to see what he wants and try to plan around that." Again, everyone agreed. The teens pulled away, and Robin yelled. "Alright, Control Freak, we'll negotiate! Where and when?" After a few moments of silence, the speakers whined again.

"You need to send someone who isn't a Titan inside to negotiate for you!" Control Freak laughed. It was brilliant, forcing his enemies to beg and plead a civilian for help. Gemlon certainly had great ideas! Not as great his plan for later, but Control Freak couldn't help but feel giddy.

Instantly, all five Titans turned to Henry, who reacted by raising his open palms to the group.

"Whoa, I thought I was 'untrained' and all. Raven, you literally just said I'd put everyone at risk. Now you want me to go in?" Henry asked angrily. Robin stepped towards him and put a hand on Henry's shoulder.

"Henry, I really can't make you, but there are peoples' lives at stake. You have powers, unlike any of them, and you heard Control Freak. He says that the place will explode if any of us tries to do anything. He might be bluffing, but I can't take that risk." Robin's words seemed heartfelt, and for a moment, Henry had a strange feeling of nostalgia. This was the Teen Titans he knew and loved, doing the right thing to protect people. He felt a warmth in his stomach, and looked back to Robin.

"I'll do it," he agreed. Robin smiled, and reached into his belt for something. He pulled out a small earpiece and offered it to Henry.

"Here, wear this. We'll be able to communicate and hear what you two are saying. If you can get him into a position where we can do something, Raven will get us inside and we'll handle him. Just give us a code word," Robin instructed. Henry fit the earpiece into his ear—which wasn't all that pleasant—and thought. After much deliberation, Henry settled for 'fan,' and went in.

Inside the electronics store, Henry noticed something missing: electronics. Whatever Control Freak had done in such a short amount of time, he had gutted the entire place of anything valuable, leaving eerily empty shelves and displays. Behind the counter in the back stood Control Freak, his long red hair looking much weirder in person than it had in the cartoon. Henry was slightly unnerved as he walked towards the villain. As he approached, he noticed the tied-up clerk next to him. The poor man looked like he was in his mid-twenties, with short blonde hair and a blue employee's uniform on. Control Freak looked Henry up and down, until he was only a few yards away.

"So, this is who the Titans sent? Hilarious. Why do you have so much Titans' apparel on?" asked the redhead suspiciously. Henry hesitated, noticing the special remote control in Control Freak's right hand.

"I, uh, I guess I'm just a really big f—err, enthusiast," Henry answered, almost using the code word prematurely. "Lucky me, huh?" he chuckled nervously. Control Freak smiled, causing Henry to grow even more worried.

"Yes… lucky. So, Fanboy, when you go back to the Titans, tell them I want two things: All the computer equipment the city uses, and a date with Starfire." Internally, Henry recoiled. That was just gross to even imagine, and he struggled to keep his cool. Outside, Robin had played the conversation aloud so that all the Titans could hear it. When Control Freak made his demands, Starfire retched and turned away from the group to throw up, and Robin tightly balled his empty fist.

"Uhh… sure," Henry agreed. "But before I go, I have to questions." Control Freak narrowed his eyes.

"I'm feeling generous. Ask them."

"First, why do you want a date with Starfire?" Henry asked, stalling to figure out a way to use the code word.

"I have my personal reasons. Next question," Control freak answered with a straight face.

"Second, may I see your remote? I mean, I like the Titans and all, but I really like your work to. You're really one of Jump City's most dastardly villains." Control Freak perked up at the compliment.

"You think so?" He asked.

"Yeah!" Henry replied with forced enthusiasm. "I mean, really, you're one of the coolest bad guys around! The Titans are old news. Everyone knows them. But you… you're so unknown! Nobody knows much about you, so all we know is what you can do and it's so cool!" At this point Control Freak cautiously put the remote on the counter and slid it over to Henry.

"Ten seconds, because you've told me how the people really feel." Henry quickly picked up the black remote, examining it. He noticed the spiked end, and noticed a small red crystal on the top of the remote. It looked unnatural, as if it didn't belong. In awe for a second, Henry snapped back to reality.

"Wow, the craftsmanship of this is truly amazing! You know, I'm a real fan of anyone who can do anything as impressive as you," Henry hammed, emphasizing the code word. The attentive Titans understood the signal, and Raven opened up a portal underneath of them instantly. Meanwhile, Control Freak beamed, then snatched the remote from Henry.

"That's nice and all, but I need you to go tell the Titans what I want," the redheaded villain demanded. A green glove tapped Control Freak on the shoulder from behind, and he turned to face it.

"The answer is no," Robin said plainly, and struck the large villain. Control Freak flew over the counter and landed in the aisle, next to Henry. He bent down and took Control Freak's remote, grinning. Before he could do anything, Beast Boy transformed into a large green octopus and ensnared the villain, who was grumbling angrily. He opened his eyes to see Cyborg's sonic cannon point straight at him, along with the glowing eyes of Starfire and Raven. The nerd gulped.

"Oh, h-hey g-guys," he laughed nervously, breaking a sweat. "So, Starfire, do you still want to—l" he started, but stopped as the green light from Starfires' eyes glowed brighter. "I-I-I'll take that as a 'no,' then. Too bad," said the villain sadly, dropping his nervous act. He whistled, and a large mechanical being stepped out of the corner of the room, previously unnoticed by the heroes. It charged into Cyborg's side, knocking him into Starfire and Raven. Startled, Cyborg accidently fired his sonic cannon, narrowly missing Beast Boy and Henry. Starfire's starbolts flew past them too, exploding on the other side of the room. The confusion caused the changeling to loosen his grip on Control Freak, who slipped out of the green tentacles. He swiped the remote from the still-shocked Henry, and pressed a button on it.

"So long, Titans! We will meet again, I promise you!" he laughed, and disappeared in a brilliant flash of red light. When they could see again, Control Freak was gone, but his mechanical minion wasn't. Thankfully, it had disoriented itself after attacking Cyborg, and was swiftly defeated by Jump City's heroes. Henry watched as the brief battle finished, and looked around. Where had Control Freak gone? That was the question of the day. With nothing left to do but free the captive employee, the Titans (and Henry) returned to the Tower, having lost a second battle with a minor villain.


Robin scowled, and slammed his fist onto his desk. Why? Why had they lost twice in one day? It didn't make sense! Sure, they had "off" days sometimes, days where they just didn't click for some odd reason or another. But this wasn't one of them! Something else was afoot. He knew that much, thanks to the fact that both Adonis and Control Freak had suddenly disappeared in a red flash. Robin didn't want to jump to conclusions, especially since neither of the two had worked together previously, but it seemed too much of a coincidence that the two had fought and left in a similar way. Lacking anything further to go on, Robin left his desk, choosing to instead vent his frustration in the training room. It helped him to clear his mind and relax, and losing twice in one day had certainly done a number on the young leader.

In the Ops room, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Henry glumly messed around on the GameStation. Nobody seemed to care too much about the results of the game, which sent warning signs to Henry. However, he lacked anything to do or suggest, and decided that maybe it would be best to just go with the flow this time around.

Starfire was down at the police station, going over the events with the commissioner. Usually, this was Robin's job, but the kindly alien had offered to take over for him so he could work on the current issues. The last Titan, Raven, was in her room, searching through all of her books for any mention of the Ellimist. Like Robin, she too was frustrated, but for a different reason. She was more focused on the how of Henry's arrival, and secondly the why. Henry seemed nice enough, but she couldn't help but have a minor nagging in the back of her mind. There was a je ne sais quoi about himthat agitated her, and Azar be damned if she wasn't going to find out! Her search yielded nothing, and in a last resort she retrieved her magic mirror to enter Nevermore.

The yellow-and-pink colors of her mindscape were oddly soothing as usual, but Raven wasn't here for comfort. However, she couldn't help but feel slightly more optimistic. She was in Happy's realm after all, and the area seemed to have that affect. She saw her other selves—Emoticlones, as they had come to call themselves—and walked over. In front of her stood Knowledge in yellow, Timid in gray, Rude in orange, Happy in pink, and Sloth in brown. With them stood a purple-clad version of herself, Passion. Passion had only recently joined the group, after Raven had finally grown to accept that she really did have friend and could trust her teammates. Passion also surfaced when Raven did something she enjoyed, but only barely. Raven was still unsure of this "newcomer" and made every attempt to avoid confrontation. Missing from the group was the green-wearing Brave, who was somewhere else keep tabs on Raven's embodiment of Rage. Spotting the true Raven, Knowledge stepped away from the group.

"You know why I'm here," Raven said bluntly. The glasses-wearing Emoticlone nodded.

"Yes. You need our help to learn more about the Ellimist," Knowledge stated.

"And Henry!" called out Happy, walking over to Raven and Knowledge. Raven rolled her eyes.

"I really don't need this right now," Raven protested, to no avail.

"Awww c'mon Rae, don't tell me he's not cute," teased the happiest of the Emoticlones.

"You say they about every boy we know," replied Raven.

"And he's so mysterious!" said Happy with amazement. She came behind Raven and put a hand on her shoulder, motioning with the other. "Where did he come from? Why is he here? It's so mysterious…" she trailed off.

"And attractive," muttered Passion. Raven pushed Happy off of her, groaning.

"This is why I don't talk to you anymore. Happy, stop talking to Passion, she's a bad influence. Rude, keep those two apart, will you?"

"Nope," came her reply. Raven shook her head.

"Well, this has been a huge waste of my time," she complained. "Thank you Knowledge for being the only sensible person here." With that, Raven reappeared in her bedroom. Frustrated, Raven dropped to the floor and crossed her legs. She closed her eyes and began to repeat her mantra. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos, Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"


Much later on the other side of Jump City, a blonde teen lay awake in her bed, unable to fall asleep. She looked over at the dim display on the digital clock and silently read it: 11:54. She let out a sigh and sat up, coming to terms with the fact that she wouldn't be sleeping soon. She swung her legs over the side of her bed and walked to her closet. Her heart quickened as she pushed aside few shirts, dresses, and other articles of clothing that she had elected to hang up. She stepped into the closest, trying to get to the very back of it. On old, nondescript plastic hangars hung clothing that she hadn't touched in ages, let along looked at. She looked took a long look at the ripped uniform, and a single tear slid down her cheek as she recalled how important the outfit had once been.

The girl returned to her bed, sitting sadly. Next to her bed was an old nightstand, one of the few things that the foster agency had permitted her to purchase for herself. The girl pulled open the drawer slowly, almost expecting the single item inside to be gone. It wasn't, and she examined it carefully in her hand. No longer functional, the device in her hand was now a memento of times gone by. Its screen was shattered, broken just as much as the polymer cover. Taking a moment to remember once again, the girl put the useless equipment back into its drawer. Only she knew it was there, and if anyone had asked about it, the girl could say it was broken. The only tell-tale feature of the device was the golden letter T on the outside, split right down the middle.


AN: It's been quite a while. Too long. I'm so sorry. Life just got in my way, I grew distracted, and my senior year became more important than writing. Life happens and I really do apologize. To anyone who reads this and doesn't understand, it's been just about a year since I've touched this story. I'm trying to do more though, but with college coming up, it won't be frequent. Hopefully there's still a few people who care enough to give me an opinion. As I always have been, I'm open to constructive criticism, advice, suggestion, or general comments. Feel free to PM me about anything if you'd rather, I don't mind at all!

Well, looks like I'm back into this life. I'm glad.

As always, have a fan-freaking-tastic day!

Cortexin