XIII

The Hunt

The first thing Zerrich noticed as he awakened was his level of strength. He felt as though he had just finished the greatest night's sleep in his life. The invigorating feeling was doused the moment he was conscious enough to comprehend past events. Then, his chest caved in around his heart. He shot up from the bed he was in, wincing as fastened tubes came loose from their mounts on his bare skin. The beeping machine next to him increased tempo as Zerrich looked around the room.

It had been the second time he'd awakened here. The last time, however, Raven was there to greet him. Now, Cyborg walked from the nearby door. He checked the mechanical equipment nearby before looking at Zerrich directly.

"Feelin' better?" Cyborg asked him.

"Raven," Zerrich stated as he tried to leave the bed.

"Hold on, now," Cyborg put a hand on Zerrich's shoulder, checking him out. "You first. You've been out most of the day. How's your strength?"

Zerrich looked at Cyborg as he considered the idea of pushing his request further. A moment later, he chose to answer. "I'm fine. My strength seems…better."

"That's good," came Robin's voice from the doorway. "Because we're going to need every bit of that energy when we go after Scourge."

Zerrich paused a moment. "Scourge. That's the monster's name?"

Robin nodded. "And he's still loose."

This time, Zerrich did get off the bed. He grabbed for his top and began to slide it on. "What has happened to Raven?"

Robin straightened himself and walked towards Zerrich. His face held a much harsher look than his usual stern appearance. "Fighting for her life."

Zerrich got the information he wanted. As soon as he had his vest-jacket fastened around him, he began walking around the infirmary. "Where is she?"

"Not here," Robin said as Zerrich simultaneously discovered the same.

He turned back around. "Take me to her."

"You have other plans," Robin stated.

"I'm a healer," Zerrich explained.

"Raven's told me."

"Then why are you fighting me?"

Robin walked towards Zerrich. "Because she can take care of herself."

"Raven's in some kinda healing trance," Cyborg added in. "It didn't kick in until we almost lost her."

"You put your hand to her wound," Starfire's voice came from behind Zerrich. She walked in from the outer hall. "I witnessed your attempts at healing her. What little you may have done helped keep her from death."

"But, I didn't have the strength. I tried, but I couldn't concentrate enough to…"

"It seemed to be enough afterall," Cyborg interrupted. "Even when they removed the rebar, there was no internal bleeding," he gave the specifics. "Your magic must've held it at bay. It kept just long enough for her own healing powers to take."

"She's still critical, but stable," Robin finished. "And, she's getting better. Right now, I need you to come with us. You went toe-to-toe with this thing the first time. I need that strength."

Zerrich shook his head. "That was a fluke. It wasn't even supposed to occur. Let me help Raven out of her trance. Whatever you wish done, I'm sure she's much more capable than—"

Robin took Zerrich's shoulder firmly. "I'm not going to debate this. You heal her, and I lose your full strength—whatever that might be. Besides, the last time Raven came out of a healing trance, she was exhausted the first few hours following. I can't risk having either of you that weak."

"And we gotta go," Cyborg said. "We've tracked Scourge some four cities away. He's stopped now, so we have a chance of getting out there and catching him."

"But we have to move now," Robin stated. "I need someone versed in these things, and you're it. As for your strength, you found a way to beat this thing down before. I'm sure you can help us find one again."

Zerrich watched the Titans as they geared up and prepared to move out. As much as he didn't quite trust in himself at the moment, Zerrich went to the temporary quarters he'd been given. There, he retrieved a particular tome before heading down to the garage. Everyone had already gotten inside the T-car, and Zerrich slid into the backseat. As Cyborg pulled out of the garage, Zerrich started searching for the few spells that had come to mind. Perhaps one of them would prove at least somewhat effective against this beast.

-

-

The T-car's hover system cut the Titan's travel time down to minimal. Zerrich spent most of the trip reading through the tome he'd brought for anything useful. Most of the listed spells were not for specific targets or demons, but it was the best he could come up with. Zerrich looked up to the front of the car. Robin was in the passenger seat, opting not to take his R-cycle in order to keep the team together.

Zerrich couldn't help but rerun the conversation from the infirmary over in his mind. He still believed Robin should have allowed him to go and heal Raven. Granted, it was just as Robin had pointed out. There were tiring side effects to both exerting magic to heal as well as from coming out of a full-on healing trance. It didn't matter if the trance was interrupted by another's power, one still found it exhausting after a session.

In the end, Robin had probably been right. It bothered Zerrich that Robin would leave Raven behind, but this was his team. He knew them better than anyone else. If he truly felt Raven couldn't help herself, they wouldn't be on this wild chase across four cities. Zerrich would simply have to settle his mind on that.

There was still one thing that Zerrich couldn't shake. He didn't like the idea of leaving Raven behind. Not at all.

The target location was directly in front of them now. It was run-down, nearly abandoned save for the few hundred devoted locals that had probably been born and raised there, living in residential areas further off. Being such a small town, it was very easy to see the damage already done. Surprisingly, there really wasn't much. The team stopped and spread out across the town. At such a late hour, no one was out and about.

"Our boy didn't go on much of a rampage," Cyborg said. "Looks like he just wanted to stop for a bit."

"But, for what?" Robin questioned. "What could he want from some out of the way place like this? It wasn't just to rest. He went through three cities before turning out of his way to get here."

"Who knows?" Beast Boy said from Zerrich's right. "Let's just find him and see if we can't kick his butt this time."

"Perhaps it would be best if I scouted ahead," Starfire volunteered.

"Not this time," Robin shook his head. "I want us all to stick together. Cyborg has some readings on him from last time."

"S'right," Cyborg confirmed. "Shouldn't be too hard to find out where he's hunkered down."

"Titans," Robin commanded, "move out."

The team started into town, Cyborg waving his sensors around and following what leads he could find. Zerrich took the opportunity to walk alongside Robin.

"I got something wrong, before," he said.

"What is it?" Robin queried, not turning his head.

"Earlier, one of the partial symbols we found—it looked like the symbol for messenger. I had assumed it was referring to a messenger coming here. Either summoned here or sent here from elsewhere, but I had always assumed the messenger would come from another realm."

"What's your opinion now?"

"This creature is a scout. The messenger was whomever went to summon them."

Robin grimaced. "Slade, you mean."

"I was reading more into it. I think the broken images were talking of a formula to…protect the messenger. I had it backwards."

Robin looked at Zerrich. "And the message?"

"Guys," Cyborg's voice came from ahead. "I'm getting' some strong re-"

A sudden earthquake cut the Titan off, and a ball of flame exploded out of the ground from the local drainage system. Old pavement and dirt flew everywhere, and the fireball landed before taking on the shape of its demon form.

"You track me," the molten voice growled at them. "Yet, you do not bring my prize."

The monster took no time at all unleashing its energy on the team, fire flying in all directions. The team split up, and Zerrich put up a barrier to protect both him and Robin nearby. He turned his head to the team leader.

"The message was probably straight forward," Zerrich finished. "'Raven is here. Come claim her.'"

-

-

As soon as the attack stopped and Zerrich's barrier was down, Robin was rolling out onto the field. He already had three explosive discs in hand, but the demon maintained its fiery form. He quickly put away the discs and pulled out a different set. The freeze discs he now grasped were modified to explode early when near a source of intense heat. They would do nothing to stop the creature, but they could help serve in slowing him down or interrupting a crucial attack.

Robin bolted for a good position, dodging hard to his right as an attack came straight for him. Pulses of blue and green energy came from opposite ends as Zerrich and Starfire pounded at the creature simultaneously. The fires that made up the beast swallowed the attacks with very little trouble, flaring out slightly from the impacts. As the creature made to counterattack, Robin saw his opportunity and threw two of the discs. They flew through the air on either side of the monster, exploding early and creating walls of ice on both sides. Scourge's fiery attacks hit the walls, halted for all of a moment before shattering and vaporizing the ice. The moment was enough as both opponents were able to fly clear of the strikes.

Zerrich fired back from the air this time, and Cyborg backed him up on the ground with a sonic blast of his own. Beast Boy flew directly over the monster in pterodactyl form, an old truck in tow. He dropped it on the creature's head, knocking it to the ground. However, the searing heat of Scourge's fire form melted through the truck's frame, and Scourge simply stood back on his fiery feet. The halves fell on either side of the beast, and it continued to attack the Titans. The team maintained their fight against the Firnusium, and the fires were starting to lash about angrily. Cyborg cued the other two blasters on the team, and all three fired at once against Scourge. It made a growling noise, and Robin knew it wasn't happy. The trio coordinated a second attack, striking again in unison. It wavered slightly before striking back at the team members.

Robin chucked an explosive disc during the third organized strike, causing the monster to roar into the night. It shed its fire form and took for the sky. Robin pulled out another freeze disc, throwing it ahead of the creature as it flew. Sure enough, the Firnusium's body temperature was hot enough to set the disc off early, and Scourge had no choice but to plow through a thick wall of ice in midair. It disrupted his ascent, and Zerrich was the first to take advantage. Three blasts of blue energy slammed into the creature's body, but while it wavered slightly there was little effect. Scourge threw a single ball of fire like a bullet at Zerrich. The man from Azarath was just as fast putting up his own protective barrier.

When the blue field dropped, Robin watched as Zerrich began chanting something. A moment later, a blue arc of power flew from Zerrich's fingers. Before they could make contact with Scourge, the beast returned to his fiery form. The energy danced around the flames, not able to have any kind of noticeable effect. A stream of sonic energy pierced the creature's form, and Scourge turned to face Cyborg on the ground. The Titan rolled out of the way as two balls of fire completely destroyed the pavement he had been standing on. Scourge's body returned to solid form before landing hard on his feet, causing the ground to shake. He showed no sign of weariness, turning to run straight for Robin.

The Boy Wonder had three explosive discs out, and he threw them for the creature as he began his own run. They made impact with Scourge, forcing him to slow in his charge. The explosions served more as cover while Robin made his approach, bringing his bo-staff out. He leaped over the explosions, swinging his staff from over his head straight down. Scourge raised his flesh-pink claws, catching the staff in hand. He twisted his wrist just slightly, and the staff snapped in two. Robin felt a sense of déjà vu as he landed on the ground with the rest of his bo still in his hand. He swung around and planted what was left hard against the creature's ankle.

The limb didn't even budge. What it did instead was kick into Robin's gut, sending him flying some twenty feet away. He landed hard, rolling to a stop. He looked over to see Zerrich attempting another spell, but Scourge was fast enough in returning to his fiery state before the magic could do whatever it had intended. There had to be some way to keep the creature in his solid form. He was still formidable even in that state, but they had a much better chance of defeating him solid than as fire.

But, how?

Cyborg hit the creature from behind with another sonic blast. The fires of the beast simply parted out of the way to allow the beam to continue through. The creature reformed and turned around, blasting at Cyborg with a huge fireball. Beast Boy was quick to swoop down and grab Cyborg before the blast could hit. Scourge chased after the two Titans, but Starfire came in from the monster's side with a strafing volley. Scourge changed directions immediately, charging Starfire down. He made no attempts to fire.

Instead, Scourge reached out with a fiery limb and grabbed Starfire before she could peel away. Wings of flame wrapped around and engulfed her, and she disappeared within the demon fireball. Robin was forced to do nothing but watch on the ground.

"STARFIRE!"

The other Titans were quick to pursue the beast, trying to blast at the flames without hitting Starfire. The only problem was that Starfire couldn't be seen. Every so often, a green flare would erupt from within the monster's body. All it seemed to do was cause the creature to spiral about. Robin took in the fact that at least Starfire was still alive, but even the Tamaranian was not invincible. They had to get her out of the monster's flames.

Robin watched as the other Titans chased the creature around the night sky. The rooftops of the small buildings were simply too low to give Robin the lift he was used to in the city. The creature's current fiery state would not allow him to use his grappling hook, though the fight was now too high up for him to reach anyway. Robin found it hard to control his emotions knowing Starfire was running out of time. He had to do something.

Robin pulled out his communicator, making contact with Cyborg. "Drive him closer to the ground! Get him to come down!"

The fight continued on above. Streaks of energy and fire flew everywhere, but in the midst of all the chaos was just enough movement towards the ground. Little by little, the fight was coming out of the sky. Robin made a mad dash to get directly under the combatants. When everything was as set as it was going to be, Robin clicked his communicator back on. "Try and hit him at the same time! Wear him out!"

Cyborg signaled to Zerrich, and both lined up to strike. As the beast pulled out of a spiral, the Titans were there to hit him. Blasts of energy struck the creature dead on. The flames exploded out, replaced from a seemingly infinite center of fire. Robin pulled out another freeze disc, chucking it hard at the monster above. It exploded early, but the chunk of ice continued towards Scourge until it struck him. Ice shattered and vaporized into nothing, but not before offsetting the beast. Two more simultaneous strikes from Cyborg and Zerrich forced the creature to return to its solid state. The fire shed from Scourge like an old skin, and the demon's wings spread back out to keep it in the air. Within its clutches was an unconscious Starfire.

Robin growled as the monster held Starfire over its head by her neck before hurling her at the Titans. Zerrich was quick to surround her in a blue barrier, gently bringing her to the ground. He landed next to her, tending to her wounds. Robin sprinted for her immediately. He could see her charred skin as he approached, and the sight made his heart collapse and stomach force bile near up to his throat. Her hair had burnt to above her shoulders, and what was left had blackened and curled. Her clothing was fused to her body, smoldering all over.

Just as he reached her and collapsed at her side, he noted the burns were not as bad as he originally had thought. Still, her eyes were closed, and she was unmoving. That was when Robin began to pay attention to the bright glow coming from Zerrich's hands. The man from Azarath grasped Starfire's wrist and lower arm sending his healing energy into her. Robin took a breath to ask the obvious question.

"I can take care of her," Zerrich muttered before Robin could speak, trying to keep his concentration. "Go."

Robin nodded once, getting up and sprinting back for Scourge. There were only Beast Boy, Cyborg and himself to face the Firnusium now. Scourge was quick at dashing across the ground for Cyborg, so quick that the Titan couldn't get out of the way in time. I balled fist crashed into Cyborg's chest, sending him backwards. Beast Boy was a second behind the attack, morphing into his T-Rex form and biting down on Scourge's body from behind. The ten-foot tall monster returned to his flame form, forcing Beast Boy to withdraw his attack. Scourge turned around to face the larger creature, ready to tear him apart.

Robin took the moment and threw two of his freeze discs. The devices exploded in front of and behind the demon, cutting off both his attack and escape route for the moment. Scourge increased his fury, letting the flames melt away at the barriers. During those few moments Robin attached a timed explosive disc to his newly heat-tempered birdarang. He wasted no time throwing it into the fiery monster. Before Scourge could take off, the disc exploded.

Flames scattered everywhere, the invisible blast-wave momentarily evident as the fires were pushed away. The inferno screamed as it rapidly devoured the oxygen around it in an effort to maintain itself. Quickly, the scattered fires reformed, flaring out as the monster underneath reappeared. His demeanor didn't phase, but the fact that he returned to his solid form was a sign in itself.

Beast Boy found his moment to retaliate, morphing into his sasquatch form. He grabbed the other beast around the neck, slamming it into the ground. Beast Boy growled as he slashed at the creature's face, causing very little damage. Scourge's flesh-colored claws shot upwards, grabbing at Beast Boy's own neck. Using one of his legs to kick Beast Boy's body up into the air, Scourge had no trouble driving the green creature into the concrete beside him. The dark ground cratered on impact, knocking Beast Boy out. Scourge lifted his other fist, rearing to drive it through the Titan's chest. Robin was fast to throw an explosive disc at the limb, but Scourge only fidgeted slightly before pulling back again for the blow.

A sonic wave slammed into Scourge's face, distracting him enough. Robin went full sprint with two bird-a-rangs in hand. Both flew for the creature's wrist, the one pressed against Beast Boy's neck. They would do little to hurt the creature on impact, but Robin had made his aim count. Both weapons slammed against the particular muscles bulging slightly at the wrist and forearm. The precise impacts forced Scourge's limb to twitch, his fingers momentarily releasing from around Beast Boy's neck.

The moment was enough as Cyborg, his metallic chest caved in and punctured, followed up with a second blast against Scourge's gut. The creature buckled slightly as Robin approached, rolling over Beast Boy and picking him up and away from the monster towering over him. Robin's roll came to an abrupt stop as Scourge quickly grabbed at his cape. Beast Boy tumbled out of harm's way, but now the Boy Wonder was in his place. He reached in his belt for another explosive disc, one of two he had left. As he was lifted into the air by his cape, Robin prepared to jam the disc into the demon's mouth.

There was a sudden blast of dark blue energy against the monster's body. The energy, instead of exploding as usual, cascaded around the demon before fading away. Robin used the moment to pull out his last bird-a-rang and sliced at his cape just above Scourge's grip. He tumbled to the ground, rolled to his feet, and finally fled from the monster as it slammed an open clawed hand into the concrete he'd landed on.

"The potency within you has diminished," Scourge said to his new attacker in a molten growl, retracting his claws from the concrete he'd pushed them into.

Zerrich stood on the other side of Robin, firing another quick blast at the Firnusium. Scourge put up a powerful arm, absorbing the blast and letting it surround the limb and dissipate. The creature then extended his arm, forming a ball of flame between its fingers. When the fire surrounded his hand, Scourge suddenly became confused. He scoffed as he fired the blast at Zerrich, but the man from Azarath extended a barrier around his left arm and swiped at the fireball coming at him. The flames dispersed violently, but they did no visible damage.

Zerrich smirked slightly. "So has yours."

The situation had changed. Robin knew it immediately. Evidently, so did Scourge. He growled and leaped for the air, only to get hammered by streaks and beams of bright green energy. Robin's inner excitement nearly ran off on its own as he scanned the sky behind him. There was Starfire, floating in midair. She still looked like a disaster, but Starfire showed no signs of any discomfort. If she did—and Robin suspected as much—she maintained a tough exterior.

"Titans!" Robin yelled, an increased vigor in his voice. "TAKE, HIM, DOWN!"

Blasts of blue and green attacked the monster in the air, and it wrapped itself within its wings. Scourge fell back to the ground, landing cleanly despite the barrage attacking him. Robin took the disc in his hand and prepared to sling it, when he felt something grab his wrist. He yanked at the grip, looking up to see Zerrich at his side.

"How many more of those do you have?"

"Two," Robin answered.

Zerrich was quick to wrench the one disc out of Robin's grasp. "Hand me the other one as well."

"What are you doing?"

"The effects on him are temporary. He'll regain his strength and revert to his fire form again soon. How do you set these off?"

Robin blinked for a second. Realizing he was wasting time, he reached for his second disc and gave it to Zerrich. "Safety switch hidden at the seam. They explode on impact."

Zerrich quickly took back to the sky, blasting at Scourge along with Starfire and Cyborg. The beast jumped into the air again, coming back down onto Zerrich. The wings flared out and a large claw reached into the sky to strike at him. Robin was quick to grab another of his freeze discs—the type he'd brought the most of—and sling it in front of him. The clawed hand hit the disc, causing the gas to surround and immediately freeze around it. It slowed the creature's swipe, but not his descent.

Zerrich put up a barrier to block the attack, but the energy field crackled and disintegrated on impact. Zerrich fell back to the ground, and the monster hovered dangerously over him. Robin sprinted for a bird-a-rang on the ground, picked it up, twirled on his feet and chucked it hard at the Firnusium. The razor tips spun furiously towards the monster, and the bladed edge of one side placed itself right into Scourge's flaming eye socket. The demon reared back as the blade fell away, screaming a kind of sound only a monster could make. Furious, it made to charge at Robin, raising its iced claw at him.

Robin back-flipped out of the way as the demon used the ice block as a sledgehammer, pummeling it into the ground. The concrete shook so violently that Robin tumbled off his hands before he could get back onto his feet. Chunks of ice pelted off his body as he rolled to safety. The fires of the monster's eyes flared menacingly as it bared its teeth. The blue of its skin began to brighten, and the fiery yellow encased its body once more. The flames seemed to make their own roar as the shape of the demon walked towards Robin to make a final strike. Green blasts and sonic beams pierced the fires as its burning wings extended and its right claw rose into the air again.

Suddenly, the monster's body exploded out. Fires sprayed everywhere, dancing about on their own before reforming. Moments after, the flames shed away to reveal the demon underneath once more. Robin flipped off his back and onto his feet, yanked suddenly off the ground by his shoulders. He looked up to see Starfire carrying him out the monster's way. From his new vantage point, he could see Zerrich below. He was chanting something before releasing a handful of blue energy at the monster. It again cascaded around the demon's form.

"Starfire!" Robin ordered, "attack him while he's solid!"

Starfire wasted no time, blasting at Scourge with her eye beams. The creature physically stumbled all of one step to his side. A sonic blast, two streaks of blue energy…and a large green tail slammed into Scourge from all directions. It was the impact with Beast Boy's tail in T-Rex form that actually caused the monster to fly backwards. It was quick to spread its wings for balance and land on its feet, the demon's own tail thrashing about angrily. Two balls of fire formed at its fingertips, both flying for Cyborg's position. The Titan ducked one, but could not roll away from the other as it slammed his shoulder. The armor broke away, causing Cyborg to scream out as he fell over.

Beast Boy charged forward again, slamming his large T-Rex head into Scourge and sending both into a small building. They crashed easily through the wall, sending debris and smoke everywhere. A moment later, a black purple and green blur shot out of the cloud of dust. Beast Boy skimmed roughly across the ground some thirty feet away until he rolled to a stop.

Starfire swooped in low with Robin in tow. She blasted into the hole in the building with her eye beams, sending more debris in all directions. The knocked out part of the wall began to glow from within, and the fiery demon blasted its way out onto the streets. It roared as it threw another ball of fire for both Starfire and Robin. The Tamaranian let Robin go and pulled for the sky. Robin easily rolled to a landing as the demon prepared to strike again.

Out of the corner of Robin's eye was Zerrich, hovering in place and muttering something to himself. An instant later, he chucked the last disc Robin had given him towards Scourge. The Boy Wonder could see the blue tinge around the disc as it sailed across Robin's field of view. The device sank into the Firnusium's flames.

Again, the explosion forced Scourge's fiery form to fly in every direction before it began to reform at center mass. The fires snuffed themselves out part-by-part, and Scourge staggered a moment before planting his powerful clawed foot forward for balance. It's ten-foot tall stature regained itself as the wings on Scourge's back spread out. Zerrich blasted at the demon with his blue energy, and again the streaks cascaded around Scourge. This time, however the streaks of energy brightened, flaring about like electrical strikes. Scourge roared in protest, unsure of what was happening to him. Admittedly, Robin wasn't exactly sure what was happening either.

Zerrich began uttering a series of words Robin had never heard before. The chant got louder, just before Zerrich administered a final strike. A stream of blue energy looking more like colored wind leapt from Zerrich's hands, reaching out towards Scourge. The beast roared loudly as the wind-like and electric-like powers surrounded him. Suddenly, the monster leaped for the air.

"Keep him still!" Zerrich shouted. "We can't let him break loose!"

Thinking fast, Robin pulled out his last two freeze discs, throwing them for the airborne Scourge. Both discs plastered against its wings, freezing them solid. The monster fell back to the ground, struggling to free its wings from their entrapment. With a determined roar, the wings retracted harshly, shattering the ice encasements and sending fragments and powder in all directions. It drew in its legs at the knees, preparing to leap for the sky once again. Robin had nothing left to stop it.

What happened next caught Robin off-guard. Instead of leaping for the air, Scourge collapsed to one knee. His form started to warp and disintegrate, returning to its solid form for a moment before doing it again. The demon was in some kind of flux within the surrounding magic. The blue energy on the outside swirled around him, while the charged energy within swam across the beast's form. Zerrich grabbed Robin's attention as he pulled a violet crystal or stone from his vest pocket. He said two final words before throwing it at the demon.

The blue energy turned a blinding white, howling like winds from a massive explosion. A shockwave followed, knocking Robin off his feet. Once he hit the ground, Robin felt the wave of energy reverse itself. The wind nearly threatened to pull him towards where Scourge was standing, but before Robin could reach for anything to hold him in place the winds evaporated. The brilliant light died out, and everything was eerily quiet.

Robin found that he had been panting, though he couldn't tell if it had been from the long battle or the sudden adrenaline increase from the last few moments…or both. Robin shook his head slightly and looked just ahead of him. Scourge was nowhere to be found. The ground where he'd been standing had a large ash mark in its place. Within the large mark was a violet stone. Robin glanced quickly over to Zerrich. The man from Azarath was on his knees, his hands propped against his upper thighs setting his elbows outward while he rested.

Before Robin could try and get up on his own, something tucked under one of his arms and hoisted him to his feet. He turned around to see Starfire standing there with a weak smile on her face.

"Star!" He almost shouted. His first reaction was to hug her, but his trained instincts kept their distance as they normally did. In this case, it was a good thing; an afterthought of causing Starfire more pain in her current condition struck Robin suddenly.

"Does it still hurt?" Robin asked her.

She nodded once. "I have felt great pain before. Although, I would much prefer not to have that experience again at any time in my lifespan."

Robin still couldn't help looking Starfire over. Her hair had still been burnt pretty badly, most of its length completely gone. What was left showed signs of life only at their roots while the rest remained blackened and curled. Her skin up close still showed signs of burns, but it was still an improvement from moments earlier. Robin forced a slight smile, not wanting his worry to show through. He sighed and looked to the rest of the team now stumbling closer.

Cyborg took his time as he stepped towards the group. "Sorry, y'all. I ain't drivin' us home tonight." Robin made a quick note of the Titan's injuries. Caved in chest panel punctured at the center, busted shoulder armor and wires hanging from Cyborg's right arm and a slight sparking from some loose connection in Cyborg's left hip were clearly visible. He also showed some charring all over his metal frame, but there was no telling what other damages he might have sustained.

"I'm gonna have to pick gravel out of my butt for weeks," Beast Boy quipped as he slowly limped over, his jumpsuit shredded. He stopped just left of Zerrich sitting on the ground way back on his ankles. The green Titan looked at the blackened scar on the ground just in front of the intact part of the wall across from the team. He was the first to ask the question.

"So, like…is he dead?"

"Trapped," Zerrich said, gesturing to the stone. "You can't really kill a demon. You can trap them or banish them. Or send them home."

"He's trapped in that stone?" Robin asked.

Zerrich nodded, showing signs of weariness. Whatever feat he'd just pulled off, it hadn't been without its trade-off. The other slumped a little more, letting his head fall forward. He was still able to keep from collapsing, though not by much.

A sudden motion just happened to catch Robin's attention. Two blocks down, on the roof of one of the two-story buildings, something moved.

"Someone's watching," Robin said, his voice low.

"Huh?" Beast Boy started. "One of the locals?"

"This guy's not a local," Robin answered, starting to sprint down the road.

"Wait!" Beast Boy shouted. "I think we're a little too beat up to go chasing after anyone right now!"

"Agreed," Starfire shouted. "I shall accompany you!"

Robin turned for a moment and looked back to the team. Everyone was injured or worn down except for him. Starfire was still capable, but that would leave the team vulnerable if she came with him. At the same time, this looked to be the only opportunity Robin was going to have at finding a culprit who had remained hidden for near six months.

"Starfire, I need you to get everyone back to the T-Car. Make sure everyone stays safe. I have to take care of this now, or things will get a lot worse!"

"Robin!" Starfire yelled back as Robin turned away. He didn't respond as he continued his sprint. He heard nothing more from Starfire after that.