"Booyah! In your face grass stain! You can't beat that!"

Beast boy groaned in response as he dramatically threw his head back tossing his arms and a controller up in the air.

"I get it, okay? You own rainbow road."

Cyborg grinned at the statement as he continued to navigate the game screen readying the system for another friendly competition.

"But I'll still whoop your ass in Smash. . ."

A sudden gust of wind silenced the green boy's words as a few stray pieces of paper floated down to the ground. Both of the young men took a minute to process what had happened when they recognized Kid Flash standing before them.

"Yo, Kid. Whats up?"

Cyborg spoke in his usual tone. Awaiting a response he began to study Kid's face noticing the rigidity of his features solidified in an expression of terror. Realizing something had to be going on he stood and rephrased his question with a more concerned tone. Kid took a shaky breath and started speaking at the same rate of his sprint.

"ThesethreeguysshowedupandwereabouttostartwreckingtheplacesomeandJinxtriedtostopthembuttheystabbedherandnowshesmadeoutofstoneandIdontknowifshesdeadorifIcouldhavedonesomethingor. . ."

"Woah, Woah, Woah! Kid slow down. Take a breath and tell us what happened."

Kid did as instructed and took a deep breath, holding it a few seconds to calm his mind.

"Okay. . . There were these three men that were talking about setting fire to the town. . . Jinx and I went to stop them but they. . ."

He stopped and covered his mouth as he began to hyperventilate. Cyborg walked up to him placed a comforting hand on his shoulder to ground him. Beastboy, now attentive, sat on the coach awaiting the rest of the story. After a few seconds Kid gathered his strength to continue.

"They stabbed her. . . and then she turned to stone. . ."

Shock hit both of the titans Cyborg just blankly staring back at Kid.

"I don't know if she's alive or what but. . ."

Kid didn't have the chance to finish as the alarm went off. A map of the city appeared on the big screen and zoomed in to the location of the trouble. A report began to feed in on the side column of the image listing 3 people involved. Cyborg clicked into motion as Starfire flew into the room. Beastboy immediately stood and each of them looked to their stand in leader. Cyborg returned their look before settling back on Kid.

"Let's go figure this out. Titans Go!"

—

Darkness.

A kind darkness, warm. Not cold and consuming like the dreams she'd had so often of late. She felt this kind of warmth enveloping her body, protecting her from the void. Safe within her dreams for once. As with all things even the good comes to an end. She could feel the light of day clawing at the edges of her eye-lids begging to wake her and bring her to life. As much as she wanted to remain in serenity she knew she could not escape the day.

She did not immediately open her eyes, instead reveling in the warmth that persisted as she awakened. She thought the sensation strange but ignored it for the moment. Finally her eyes blinked open, their vibrant violet color consuming the light of the room as her brain constructed the reality. Rays of sunlight, still low in the sky, pierced the thin curtains and bathed the room in morning glow. She took in the room around her and tried to think if anything seemed misplaced. She struggled to remember anything from the night before until she noticed something odd.

A hand stuck out from beneath her pillow only a few inches from her face. 'Is that mine?' She thought but began to move her fingers noting that the hand in question did not move. Her right hand seemed to move freely but her left seemed to be constrained by something. That's when she noticed an arm around her waist pinning her hand in place. She felt her face begin to redden as the events of the night replayed in her mind.

She recalled the tender moment of his piercing blue eyes staring holes into hers as their bond stood fully opened. Perhaps they'd not realized it but she'd lowered her guard to him completely and utterly. Never had she let anyone into her mind willingly and the thought of her begging him to stay with her only made her blush deepen.

She became hyper aware of the person directly behind her. The soft breaths tickling her neck. The tender yet strong grip around her waist pulling her against his chest so that she could feel the hard ridges of his abs against her exposed lower back.

The redness of her cheeks deepened in shade with each realization of their close proximity. Each touch and movement that caressed her skin caused it to burn with a strange sensation. She fought to focus but found it difficult until she noticed an object floating in her view. A photo frame, once on the dresser by the bathroom, began to float towards the middle of the room. As it moved she noticed other objects following the same pattern each enveloped in her black aura. Her mind scrambled to take control but she found the objects only moved faster beginning to fly in circles around the room.

"Raven?"

His breath was hot on her neck and all at once everything froze. Her heart seemed to stop, the objects floating throughout the room paused. She thought it was all about to explode in the mess of her emotions but she felt and overwhelming calm seat itself in her mind. Through the bond his soothing stability helped her regain command and she was able to replace all the items in a moment. When all was righted she felt herself physically relax again. At that moment the bed shifted beside her and Robin sat up beside her. Looking over her right shoulder she watched as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes and yawned before stretching out his arms. His face looked so serene and unburdened, a stark contrast to the normally controlled and focused nature it usually held. She wondered if that's how he always looked when he woke up in the mornings. An unsolicited voice sang within her mind, 'maybe we should find out' and she shut her eyes noting that she needed to berate someone the next time she visited nevermore.

After her brief time with her thoughts she too sat up swinging her legs over the side of the bed in an attempt to keep herself from staring at her leaders chiseled torso. The thought reminded her of her own nakedness as she recognized she was clad in only a pair of boy shorts and bra. She moved quickly yet quietly off the bed as to not draw attention and pulled on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. She tried her best not to think on whether there were eyes on her but when she turned around and found that Robin was still in the process of putting on his own shirt she felt her anxiety ease itself.

That ease proved fleeting as their communicators began to ring. Raven's sat atop her bag against the far wall so Robin was the first to answer. Flipping the small device open to a familiar bald-headed face.

"Cyborg, is everything alright?"

Raven couldn't see the face of her teammate but could hear the exasperation in his voice.

"We got trouble here, we need you guys back ASAP."

Robin's features turned to heavy concern as he focused on the small screen.

"Whats going on?"

There was a moment of silence before Cyborg replied as if he needed to gather his thoughts before responding.

"Remember that picture we got from your old mentor? Those guys showed up and it's not good."

Robin's eyes left the communicator to look at raven. Her face was blank but her eyes spoke volumes of her inner terror. He looked back to cyborg again.

"What do you mean it's 'not good'? What's happened?"

Cyborg sighed heavily.

"Kid flash said Jinx might be dead. . ."

Robin's mouth hung open. He felt as though the statement had knocked the wind out of him. He glanced at raven again who now showed a slew of emotions on her surface. A hand cupped her mouth covering her shock and her brows were raised as well. She didn't return his gaze as she seemed to be staring off into space.

"Alright, we'll be there shortly."

*Click*

—

The green dinosaur charged again, unyielding in its crash course toward the heavily armored man. As he was moments away from making contact he felt the ground give way beneath him and he tumbled a few feet before the changeling morphed into a hawk and flew up and out of the new pothole.

He repositioned at a different angle and this time transformed into a rhinoceros and began his charge in earnest. He neared his target and instead of falling as he had before he felt a hard piece of metal stop him. Looking up he saw that the man had drawn his sword and was holding him at bay by his horn. He pushed with all his might but the man proved stronger. He pushed him back a pace and as he lurched forward again he took hold of his horn and lifted him up by the head before slamming him on the ground on his back. As he lay there, attempting to collect his thoughts he saw stars circling his head before they were blasted away by an alien princess passing by.

She sped past as she dodged another object being tossed in the air towards her. Each came closer than the last getting dangerously close to striking her from the sky. She rolled and turned headed straight for her assailant and readied a bright green bolt in her hand. she released it as she passed but it never made contact, instead one of the objects chasing her fell and she looked back to see him catch the fiery bolt of energy and swing it back in her direction. She refocused on moving forward and evading the attacks.

"COME ON!"

A blast of blue energy made contact with a black energy shield in the center of the battlefield. After a moment of continuous firing the beam let up as the cybernetic man stared down the eldest of the warriors.

"ARE YOU JUST GONNA STAND THERE OR ARE YOU GONNA FIGHT?!"

The man laughed at the goading comment.

"Perhaps if you showed me you were worthy of it."

Cyborg gritted his teeth as anger welled up within him at the challenge. Just as he was about to charge forward a black aura appeared on the ground before him. He aimed his cannon at it, ready for whatever came out but was surprised to see a raven shaped shadow erupt and his two friends emerge.

Robin and him shared a brief glance before they turned to face down the warrior. The armored man grinned viciously at Raven.

"Oh good, I was tiring of the opening act."

He began to walk toward the trio. Cyborg made to move forward but robin held him back.

"No, you two help the others, I'll hold him off for now."

Cyborg nodded immediately but raven lingered, her eyes pleading with him to be careful. As if reading her mind he offered an understanding smile and nodded before producing his sword from his birdarangs and rushing off toward the hooded man.

Raven moved to help Starfire in her fight against the smallest of the three brothers. She lifted her arms and fought for control of the objects chasing Starfire. While she could not gain full command she was capable enough to move them off their mark and free up her comrade to attack the thin framed man.

Starfire launched bolt after bolt in a heavy barrage until the objects chasing her dropped from the sky and a barrier appeared around him, shielding him from the incoming fire.

On the other side of the street the largest of the three kept busy dodging cannon fire as Beastboy charged at him over and over again as different large animals. Each swipe he managed to defend but between the two opponents he was unable to orchestrate effective attacks.

"So, are you her Knight? How chivalrous."

The man drew the sword from his back as the leader of the titans leapt forward in a downward strike. He easily parried it and used the energy to propel his blade into an attack at his left side. Robin guarded and the metal weapons clanged loudly.

"Why are you here?! What do you want?!"

He shouted as they continued to trade blows, neither gaining the advantage.

"I want nothing more than a family reunion. Is that really such a bad thing?"

The two caught swords in the center and brought them close to each other as they tried to overpower the other.

"It is when your father wants to destroy the earth."

Robin forced forward breaking the standstill and lashing out with a few swings. Each was met with a dodge or parry before they found themselves back at center fighting for dominance. The hooded man wore a terrible grin on his face.

"So protective."

His eyes trailed to the girl floating just a few meters away and robin followed the gaze for a split second.

"Too bad the betraying bastard has to die."

His words triggered an overwhelming surge of anger. Robin pushed forward through the standstill again and raised his sword to attack but his opponent was prepared. With his chest undefended the man swung his great sword with unbelievable force. Robin was quick to react but the blade was far too long to completely evade. The tip bore its way through his uniform and a few inches of flesh as it passed. The man sidestepped as Robin's body went into a brief shock and he fell to the ground. Blood gushed from his new wound and while he could tell it wasn't a fatal strike, the gash was deep and was bleeding heavily. The pain still rendered him immobile and bound him to stay in his knelt position.

The bond carried the excruciating pain to Raven and she felt it rip through her like it was her own flesh being cut. She turned immediately to see the the boy wonder clutching his new wound above a growing pool of crimson liquid. Her heart only raced faster as the man beside him lifted up his arms with blade in hand, ready for the final strike. She moved faster than she even know she could. She escaped into her soul and flitted through the ground before emerging as a shadow between the man and his prey. She extended her arm as she rose and black talons emerged from her hand catching the blade as it fell.

"Sister dearest, how good of you to join me."

He sneered through his sharp teeth. The look only filled her with contempt as she snarled back at him and tossed away his blade like it were a small toy.

"Who are you?"

She spoke through gritted teeth, lamenting the idea of actually speaking to the man who'd plagued her night terrors for so long. Despite this she couldn't turn down her best opportunity to learn more. The man continued to sneer at her almost condescendingly.

"I suspect you already know. . ."

He side stepped and began slowly walking around her. Raven stood her ground but kept her eyes trained on him, wary of her pained friend behind her.

". . . Alas, I will give you a proper introduction. We are 'Family' after all."

The emphasis he placed on that word, 'Family', seemed so venomous to her.

"I am Jacob, Eldest of the three heads but only slightly younger to you, dear sister."

He bowed before her in a courtly manner though never fully lowering his head as he watched her. Her scowl never faltered, never showed the layer of fear that lay beneath the porcelain surface.

"The brutish one. . ."

He glanced at the large man now wrestling for dominance with Cyborg and the gorilla form of Beast Boy.

". . . is Jared. Our youngest brother. . ."

He gestured to his other side where star fire had progressed to trading star bolts for shots of dark energy.

". . . is Jesse. We've been waiting a long time to finally meet you."

He smiled at her, his teeth fully bared. Raven continued to let rage well up within her. While she would normally fight to keep her down she knew it was the only side of her that could possibly hope to standup to her newfound siblings.

"The meet and greet has gone on long enough. It's time for you to leave."

She spoke forcefully as she tried to mask her inner terror. Images of her dreams appeared in flashes as she blinked but she held on to the soothing calm that still made it through the muddied pain of her bond. Jacob chuckled at her words, unsettling Raven as she tensed up.

"But we've only just arrived and there's so much we have yet to do. . ."

He stopped his pacing just a few feet to her left. She watched his eyes linger on the man behind her. His grin widened as he mentally plotted killing his prey. Raven sidestepped obscuring his view. The action annoyed him as his face switched to one of anger.

"You needn't worry. Father asked to keep him alive. He said he wants to repay him for his false hope."

The words broke her. Rage bubbled to the surface and took control. Four red eyes emerged from beneath her blue hood and she charged with black talons. Jacob must have expected her attack as he sidestepped out of the way. As he expected to out wit her he prepared to strike but was surprised when she turned about almost immediately throwing a claw at his face. Her talons met flesh leaving deep cuts across his left eye. He recoiled from the attack and staggered a few feet cupping his face with his left hand. Raven stood, rage still close to the surface as she watched him. He pulled his hand away noting the blood before looking back at raven, a new malice in his red eyes.

"I've waited a long time for this."

He raised his hand before her as an aura of magic engulfed it. Within that moment her entire body seized in the black magic and she was unable to move. As she struggled panic began to set in. No matter how hard she thrashed about his magic was too powerful and she could not break free. His grin widened at her squirming and he began to tighten his grip. In response to the motion she felt the aura begin to shrink in size crushing her body along with it. She could feel nothing, no friction or material, save for the excruciating pain that now accompanied her flesh being compressed. After a few seconds she could audibly hear the sound her bones cracking under the pressure.

She cried out in pain and everything stopped. When it did she opened her eyes she found his deranged expression changed to surprise. Looking down she noticed a familiar yellow and red blade coated in blackened blood sticking through his gut. The sword withdrew and Raven was released from the death grip.

She thought she would feel relief but instead the following motion of falling to the hard pavement only aggravated her broken and battered bones even further. She cried out again as she hit the ground and within a moment Robin was beside her. He looped an arm under her legs and around her waist as he picked her up, struggling against his own wound to do so.

"Titans, fall back!"

He yelled. Their allies were quick to disengage and respond as Starfire immediately searched out cyborg, lifting him away from the battle. Beastboy transformed into a pterodactyl picking up Robin and Raven before heading off in the direction of titans tower.