Preparation Chapter 20: The World as we Know it, Part III, a teen titans fanfic

The World as we Know it, Part III

The sounds were almost inaudible at the very beginning. Even so, Zerrich could swear it was a voice—voices perhaps? It wasn't loud enough to make out any words. It was only a murmur, but it was beginning to get louder. Zerrich thought on different possibilities as to what was happening, ranging from forceful takeover of his mind and body to insanity. The more he listened, however, the more he felt a presence that went along with the voices. How was he sensing this? Did he have some buried psychic ability after all?

No, that didn't make sense. He wasn't initiating this contact. Anyone with telepathic ability could tap his mind if they so wanted.

"I can't understand!" Zerrich shouted. There was only darkness surrounding him. He didn't feel his own physical presence at all. Was this some kind of trance? Or was this another vision?

He spoke to the murmuring darkness again. "I can't understand you! What are you saying to me?"

The voices increased slightly in volume. Suddenly, words started to surface. They were clear but jumbled at the same time. At no point did any of it form any kind of sentence structure. Zerrich became further confused, and even a little frustrated.

"You're not making any sense! 'Stop?' Stop what? 'Realm?' 'Alone?' 'Help?' 'Sacrifice?' I don't…"

There was a sudden wave of murmurs, but as intense as it was Zerrich couldn't understand what he was being told. Save one word.

"What? 'Surrender?' Surrender to Trigon?"

"No…"

It was the first clear word to come out of the mess in his mind. Zerrich knew it was a direct answer to his question and not part of the jumble.

"Surrender…to me."

The darkness suddenly became bathed in red as four giant and brilliantly lit eyes flashed open. Now, Zerrich had the presence of body within whatever strange hallucination or trance he was currently experiencing. The four eyes began to shrink until they were in front of him at just above his height. The red eyes created a back shadow, and a silhouetted shape was suddenly visible. Its darkness faded away, and Zerrich took in a sharp breath as the shadow revealed itself to be Raven. Her expression showed a new hatred he'd never seen from her. In addition, she smiled horrifically at him.

"You will all surrender to me!" Raven said. Her voice had been warped to a nearly unrecognizable deep tone.

"No…" Zerrich could barely speak. He reached towards Raven, trying to comprehend what was happening…what it meant. A blue symbol flashed against his fingertips, blue lines of light running jaggedly around Raven's body. Zerrich yanked his hand away in partial pain, staring at the symbol as it faded away.

"The ward?" Zerrich whispered, puzzled. Then he looked back to Raven as she began to grow in size.

"You will surrender…or you will DIE."

Zerrich's mind suddenly filled with a red energy until he could see nothing more.

"Zerrich!"

It was Robin's voice; Zerrich realized it right away. He opened his eyes to see the red glow of the dome barrier above him. The sun was setting across the ocean by that time, and the color of the barrier was dying out as a result. Robin was leaning over his side, shaking him wildly.

"Zerrich, I don't understand what you're saying! You have to get up!"

"I'm awake," Zerrich said, groggy. He was suddenly aware of the soreness in his arm. It was definitely better than a few moments ago. "What's happening?"

"You were speaking some gibberish. I'm guessing it was in Azarath. You just zoned out a few moments ago without any warning. Look, we can't stay here. Things just got a whole lot worse."

Zerrich shook his head as he squinted. He realized they had already made it to their destination further away from Trigon and the Tower. Then, he looked behind him. "Where's Raven?"

Robin didn't answer, and Zerrich turned back to look at him. "Trigon has control?"

"She attacked Bumblebee and Cyborg. Trigon's using her against us while he gains back his strength."

"That doesn't make sense," Zerrich said. He looked back towards Titans Tower. Sure enough, there was a glowing speck in the reddened sky. "The ward hasn't been broken."

"Ward?" Robin asked. "What Ward?"

Zerrich only partially heard Robin's question. He really had no proof of any kind that the ward had either been removed or still remained. The only thing he could go on was his recent vision. Had Raven been trying to talk with him, only to have her dark half take over? What had that been? Regardless, Zerrich chose to read into it. If Trigon had taken over Raven's body, the ward would have been broken. They knew it would happen anyway given enough time, but this was too soon. Had Raven succumbed to her inner demons? That would have made things different.

"I need to get to Raven," Zerrich said.

"Give her enough time, she'll come after us anyway," Robin answered. In the air, a green pterodactyl grasping Speedy in one talon made its way to the other two Titans. Upon landing, Beast Boy morphed into his human form.

"We gotta help Raven," he stated. "She's not normal! We can't leave her like this."

"We might not have a choice but to fight her full-on," Speedy said.

"I need to go back to the tower," Zerrich said. "I can get something that might help get Raven back. Or at least get me started on figuring out what has power over her."

Everyone knew that getting Raven to come back around from whatever had taken her over was meaningless to the effort against Trigon. It would probably make no difference one way or the other. Still, it didn't matter. For the time, it gave the Titans a goal. And, they weren't about to leave a good friend behind.

"I don't want to use up my strength teleporting there and back," Zerrich warned. "I'll need as much as I can muster when the time comes."

"We've got just the two that can help out," Robin answered, pulling out his communicator. "Mas, Menos."

Within half a moment, the twins came to a blurred stop next to Robin, having not even answered their communicators. "Sì, sì!"

Speedy kneeled in front of them, putting a hand on Mas' shoulder. "Tower," he said to both of them as he pointed to his right. "You have to go to the Tower."

"Hold on to them," Robin instructed Zerrich. The man from Azarath nodded back, placing a hand on each of the twins. The two Titans touched hands, and the world blurred around Zerrich as they sped off.

Cyborg maneuvered quickly with his jetpack to avoid a streak of black energy that threatened to slam into him. It wasn't the first attack that had come his way since Raven started her rampage, and Cyborg didn't have a chance to even comprehend what had happened. He was just now coming to grips with the fact that he would have to fight back. His sonic cannon formed from his arm, and Cyborg rolled onto his back in the air. He aimed directly for Raven and fired.

The blast was met with a black circular barrier, waves flowing at its edges. It did the trick, and Cyborg's attack never even got close to stopping Raven. Cyborg concentrated on luring Raven towards the rest of the team so they could all lend a hand in stopping her.

"Come on, Rae, keep followin' me," he muttered as he flew through the air. Two streaks of black raced past him as he dodged and weaved to avoid being struck. An entire wall of black energy came at him from his left, and he had no choice but to change direction completely. Raven stayed with him, picking up nearby cars and lampposts in an attempt to strike Cyborg out of the air. The robotic hybrid flew around to the best of his ability as he avoided most of the larger obstacles. Raven was doing a good job of keeping Cyborg from turning back towards his team. He looked over his shoulder.

"Come on, Rae! Stop followin' me!"

When his eyesight came forward again, he became aware of the large bus floating towards him.

"…ohshit—"

Cyborg plowed right into the side of the vehicle. He punched through the other side a half-moment later, spinning completely out of control. The impact with the ground caused something to spark, though Cyborg couldn't tell what right away. His cybernetic optic cut out for a moment from the impact, static blurring with his other eye's normal vision. Cyborg rolled to a stop on the ground, rather glad that most of his body was made of metal alloys. Unsteadily rising to his feet, the Titan looked over at Raven.

She hovered in place about a block away, one leg slightly bent at the knee. Her arms were lowered but out from her sides, the palms of her hands facing down. That same evil grin was still on her face, as were the two sets of glowing red eyes.

"C'mon, Raven, can't we talk this out? I don't wanna fight you."

"I'm not giving you any choice," Raven answered. "I'm not a fool. You'll never give in to my father. You'll all have to be killed."

"You don't want to do that," Cyborg said slowly.

"I've always wanted to do this," she mimicked. "Deep down."

Cyborg watched as her grin turned to a nasty open-mouthed smile. He let his hand form once again into a sonic cannon, ready to fight back. Before anything could happen, a series of golden blasts sang past Cyborg and slammed into Raven's side. She grunted from the impact but was quick to erect a black wall to absorb the hits. Cyborg turned to see Bumblebee to his left, firing with one of her stingers. She looked to be slightly drawing up her right arm at her side, and Cyborg could only assume she hadn't recovered from her fall the way she would have wanted.

The robotic Titan added his own firepower to the assault, but Raven's shield held them both off. While the barrier deflected their attacks an object surrounded in black passed by Cyborg's peripheral vision. He turned to see a car in black energy being flung towards Bumblebee.

"BEE!" he shouted, stopping his attack and turning in her direction. There was nothing he could do; the car was already at her side, and Cyborg could tell she hadn't seen it. He couldn't even aim for it before it slammed into her body. All the ambient noise of the battle went silent for a moment, and Cyborg could hear the dull thump of the impact. The car finally crashed to the ground, rolling another ten feet before settling. Bumblebee was nowhere to be seen.

Cyborg started running towards the wreck. He fired in Raven's direction for cover, each of his shots deflected by her defenses. Raven wasted little time fighting back as a blast of black energy tore up the ground under Cyborg's feet. He fell forward from an uneasy balance and his own momentum, struggling to get back up. A whip-like tendril of black magic coiled around Cyborg's right ankle, yanking him back and hauling him across the concrete. He pounded a fist into the road, anchoring himself against the energy limb.

There was a bright green flash, and the pulling at Cyborg's leg stopped. He flipped onto his back to see Starfire hovering in the air. Raven seemed to be recovering from some impact, and she turned rapidly in Starfire's direction. The Tamaranian had her one good arm tucked up at her chest as the other dangled at her side in caked blood. Her eyes were glowing a brilliant green.

"For someone who's always so loud, you sure know how to sneak up on people," Raven commented with a slight smirk.

"Raven," Starfire began, sternly, "I understand you are no longer in control. You will always be my friend. But, I will fight you regardless."

Raven put her arms out to her sides, and a moment later sections of black road pulled out of the ground. Starfire was quick to blast the pieces before they could hit her, and she was even quick enough to sneak a shot off from her hand against Raven. The girl formed a small black circular disk in front of her, blocking the attack. Cyborg got back on his feet as he tried to aim for Raven. The two girls began flying about at high speed in the air, the nearby buildings taking the brunt of each girl's attack against the other. Raven made a quick dash for Starfire creating a wall of black and shoving it towards the Tamaranian. Starfire couldn't fly out of the way in time, and the black wall of energy slammed into her.

Then, both Titan and energy smashed into a nearby building. Debris flew out of the edges of the black field, and then the wall dissolved. Starfire floated slowly to the ground, stunned from the impact. Cyborg knew her prior injuries were making it worse for her. He charged his sonic cannon again, but before he got get a shot off, Raven sent a tendril of black energy right for his head. Cyborg shrieked a little too high in pitch as he ducked and rolled out of the way. He took three huge steps once he got to his feet before leaping for a nearby alley for cover.

As Starfire held her ground, Cyborg watched as Raven instinctively put up another barrier behind her—her back to the far end of the road. When the black energy disappeared, a new figure could be seen floating further down the street. Zerrich fired another blast of blue energy, and Raven simply floated out of its way. There were now three of them. Raven couldn't hold off all three of them, could she?

Then, a moan caught Cyborg's attention. As Cyborg looked down the alley, a hand reached into the air at something that wasn't there. Cyborg ran between the buildings to the form on the ground. It was Bumblebee, and she looked terrible. In fact, she barely looked alive.

"Bee!" Cyborg gasped. He looked back to the battle behind him, then to the crippled Bumblebee. "We gotta get you out of here."

Cyborg gently picked up Bumblebee's battered form and quickly escaped down the opposite end of the alley.

Zerrich was quite aware of what he had to do. He knew it was possible if he could just get close enough. Unfortunately, close enough meant physically grabbing hold of Raven. Then he would need enough time. There was not going to be any permission given—next to Trigon, Zerrich was going to be in for the fight of his life.

"Hmph," Raven sneered, a slight smirk pulling at one corner of her mouth. "I always wanted to get this chance. To come back around and actually beat you."

"You'll have to fight like hell for it," Zerrich answered back. Starfire hovered just off his side, her eyes still glowing. "We'll do everything to stop you."

"I was really counting on going one-on-one. I suppose I can even the odds soon enough."

"Not so long as I can breathe," Starfire countered.

"If you say so," Raven said, casually. She barely lifted a finger, and a small palm-sized orb of black shot forward at an almost invisible speed. Except Zerrich had seen it coming before it was even fired. His right arm crossed in front of where Starfire's throat was, a blue field flashing to life and deflecting the black energy away.

"Come on, now," Zerrich warned, his voice icy. "Play nice."

"I never played nice," Raven retorted, rising a little higher into the air. "And I'm definitely not about to start!"

Black tendrils flared to life, lancing at the two opponents. Starfire and Zerrich flew in opposite directions. The tendrils attacked where they had just been then split left and right to follow them. Zerrich quickly put up a small barrier to bat the tentacles of energy away. Further away, he could see Starfire blasting the black limbs with her eye beams. He looked up at Raven then charged forward. He maneuvered around the black tendrils as they swatted at him, realizing that getting closer to Raven meant getting closer to the limbs' base. They'd have an easier time attacking him up close.

He pulled away from Raven and into the air, aiming his hands down as he fired at the black energy coming from Raven's sides. The blasts tore at the limbs, separating some and causing them to disintegrate in the air. Starfire circled around below Zerrich, charging up energy in her hand. After the energy ball was large enough, Starfire blasted it towards Raven. The tendrils between the two girls were severed on contact, but when the ball of green energy finally slammed into Raven, it barely caused her to grunt.

Zerrich had another idea. He focused his power around Raven, forming two barriers directly in front and behind her. The tendrils shot out from Raven's sides, and Zerrich was able to get directly in front of her. From his pocket, he removed a small golden triangular-shaped trinket and held it in front of the barrier. Then, he let the field drop.

Unfortunately, the instant his blue field was gone, a black one had taken its place. Raven wasn't about to let her guard down, especially when she wasn't able to see. The barrier then pushed outward against Zerrich, slamming him backwards. Zerrich chose to put a hand to the black energy barrier, opening a portal on its surface. He slipped through it, exiting just behind Raven. This time, she wasn't ready for him.

Zerrich slapped the metal object against Raven's back as Starfire attacked the girl with her eyebeams. The ward on Raven's person reacted immediately to the small item. Raven growled in anger, spinning around and slamming Zerrich in the side of the head with her bare arm. The man from Azarath crashed into the ground, rolling to a stop. The trinket, however, stayed on Raven's back. Before she could do anything to remove it, the object dissolved. A quick flash of lines whipped around Raven's body. The ward symbol emerged briefly in front of the dark girl, and then it disappeared.

"First part done," Zerrich muttered to himself. "Just need to do that whole 'getting close' thing again."

Zerrich tried to get to his feet, but he quickly found his strength was being used up far too quickly.

"I've had enough," Raven declared. She looked to Starfire, putting up another black field to hold off the girl's eyebeam attacks. Then, Raven's four red eyes lit up brightly.

"Here, let me try that!" As soon as she finished the sentence, Raven fired four eyebeams of her own at Starfire. The attack traveled through the air at a much faster rate than Starfire's, and the Tamaranian took all four hits directly. If she grunted from the impact, Zerrich couldn't hear. The girl plowed into a nearby building, a small explosion blasting out of the impact crater a moment after.

Zerrich finally stood up, facing towards Raven's back. "You wanted one-on-one," he said, trying to redirect her attention. "Here we are, then."

"I don't think it'll be as much fun this way," Raven sneered. "You'll barely be able to put up the kind of fight I want."

"Why don't we find out then?"

"I won't be so fair, this time," Raven turned around, looking Zerrich over. "As you can see, I'm not holding back!"

With the last word, Raven fired two bright blue orbs of energy straight at Zerrich. Before they could hit him, they veered to his left and right. Zerrich's instinct was to run forward, and doing so saved him at least some pain if not his life. The orbs flashed brightly, firing bolts of electricity against each other in a furious blaze. A few bolts of lightning lanced out at Zerrich from both sides, sending enough electricity into him to shock his system. The man from Azarath fell to the ground, his musceles slightly jittery from the jolt.

"I think this is going to be harder," he muttered into the ground. Before the next attack, a series of explosions fired all around. Zerrich heard the blasts more than saw their flashes and soon realized why. Smoke began pouring into the streets from all around. A pair of hands grabbed at Zerrich's shoulders, hoisting him onto his feet. On instinct, the man began to run where the help was leading him. They pierced the smoke enough to see an alleyway, and Zerrich made his way in. Robin helped tug the man a little further down the corridor, placing him lightly against the wall.

"Are you doing better?" Robin asked.

"I was for a moment," Zerrich said, "then I used just about everything up again."

"Did you do what you needed to?"

Zerrich nodded. "Partially, at least. I still have something else to do. I have to get in close again."

"What are you planning?"

"To get into Raven's head."

Robin blinked. "I thought you weren't psychic."

"I'm not. But I know one particular trick. Look, the short story to what's happening…"

Zerrich could hear it coming. He stopped talking and grabbed Robin's shoulder, practically yanking him down a turn in the alleyway as a stream of energy flew down where they had just been. Raven was trying to flush them out, and they were trapped. At least, they would be if Zerrich didn't act fast. Zerrich placed a hand against the wall Robin was planted against, and a portal flashed open. Zerrich pushed them both through, and Robin and Zerrich appeared a few blocks away.

"At first I thought Trigon had become powerful enough to take over Raven's body, but that would have meant Raven's ward to keep Trigon out would be automatically broken. It was still there—I just now tore it down. It's Raven's mind that's reaching out to Trigon, allowing him to take control."

"Raven? She's purposefully letting Trigon control her?"

Zerrich shook his head. "Not on purpose, I don't think. I'm not going to pretend to know what's causing this; I don't. But, I'm hoping I can reach into her mind and bring Raven back to the surface. Maybe supercede whatever is happening."

Robin looked down the alley they were currently in. "Have you tried this before?"

Zerrich took a breath. "Not really…"

Robin gave Zerrich a look. "What do you mean, 'not really?'"

"Well, I mean never, actually. But I'm going to need a few seconds to delve into her head. She's not going to give me those seconds willingly."

"Agreed," Robin looked from Zerrich back down the alleyway. Then, the Boy Wonder looked back to the man from Azarath. He smirked slightly.

"What the hell? Let's give it a try."

The one good thing was that whatever spark Cyborg had heard from crashing into the ground, it hadn't been his jetpack. Unfortunately the battery was low to begin with, so his quick journey to an emergency hospital was cut short. Huffing it on foot but being careful with the fragile Bumblebee, Cyborg made his way to the closest hospital in the area.

The streets at this point were quiet, but Cyborg knew that the closer he got, the busier it was going to get. The people trapped in the city were taking a pummeling along with the city itself, and every hospital within the dome would be packed by now.

"C'mon, Bee," Cyborg encouraged, his hydraulics and gyroscopic joints absorbing the shock of his run. "Almost there, now. You just hold on a little longer and we can get someone to patch you up."

"Treatin' me like one of your little mechanical projects?" Bumblebee asked, quietly. "Screw down some bolts and replace some loose panels…a little oil and I'm back in shape, huh?"

"Save your energy," Cyborg answered. "Don't want you passin' out on me before we get there. And, no, I didn't mean to say…"

"Oh, hush, Sparky," Bumblebee soothed. "I know you didn't. But you gotta get back in the fight. People are countin' on the Teen Titans. Besides, I never cared…cared for the idea of cuttin' in line."

"Now, what kinda sense are you tryin' to make? And didn't I tell you to save your energy?"

"People are hurt…all over the city. Hospitals around town…doin' their best to help people. They're fightin' their fight just like we are. I became a superhero…to help people. If some doctor saves my life in place of someone who had a chance…just because of who I am? I can't be selfish like that."

"I can't just let you die," Cyborg said, sternly.

"Who ever said…you could stop it?"

"Don't start talkin' about quittin' like that! Not on me or this city!"

"Sparky…"

"No, I don't care! I'm not about to give up on you."

"…hurts…"

At that, Cyborg did finally stop his run. He looked to Bumblebee, her face in a weak grimace. He was quite adept at physics. He had calculated the impact of the car against Bumblebee. He had considered the fact that she had shrunk herself down just after the impact, flying across the alleyway. The light weight of her body in small form prevented the damage from going further—but enough had already been done.

"What? Is it something else?"

"Armor. It's…from your upper arm. Digging into my back somethin' fierce."

Cyborg tried to adjust his cradled hold on Bumblebee to get the armor out of the way, but she shrieked quietly as a new kind of pain attacked her body. Cyborg reluctantly kneeled to the ground, trying desperately to get Bumblebee more comfortable. He couldn't give her much time to recover—Cyborg would have to get back on his feet as soon as he could if she had a chance.

"Sparky?" She practically whispered. "I haven't…been feelin' my legs since…I got hit. Can't make 'em move either, and I t-tr…I tried before you found me."

Cyborg had calculated that possibility as well. He hadn't tried testing her reactions at all, concentrating solely on getting her some help.

"I'm suddenly wishing I was a doctor instead of a computer'n'mechanical wiz."

"I know," Bumblebee smiled back. "Don't beat yourself up over it."

"We have to go."

Bumblebee's hand reached for Cyborg, resting on his lower chest. "There's no where left to go. Except back."

As if on cue, a muffled explosion fired way in the distance. Cyborg instinctively looked towards the lower part of the city. The sun had set, causing everything to get darker. As a result, the flashes in the distance were slightly more prominent. The battle continued, and in the middle of that fight another of Cyborg's friends was at risk.

He looked back to Bumblebee, ready to slowly hoist her back up and continue his journey. She looked up to the sky, her eyes focused on something far above. Before Cyborg looked up, he noticed her hand on his chest. It was still there, but it had gone limp. He adjusted her slightly, and the hand fell back to Bumblebee's body. For a moment he didn't do anything.

"No, Bee…" he sighed, quietly. His right hand reached for Bumblebee's face, lightly closing the lids of her eyes forever. His heart, mostly a cybernetic work of ingenuity, pulsed in a pain he hadn't felt in a very long time.

Zerrich's back slammed into the building behind him. He only fell the two feet he'd been lifted off the ground by Raven's attack, but the slight daze the impact had put him in was enough to cause him to stumble.

"I'm not just interested in beating you this time," Raven said, matter-of-factly. "I'm going to kill you."

A black orb that flashed with a deep nastiness bowled its way towards Zerrich from Raven's position. He was quick to react even in his daze, and one hand came straight out. Instead of his usual barrier, a transparent series of polygons formed a rounded defense, neatly catching the fury of black energy. The new barrier completely folded around the black orb, and then it flew back at Raven. She sidestepped to avoid it, but Zerrich gestured his hand in her direction. The counter attack veered over and slammed into Raven anyway. The polygon barrier exploded first, followed by the black energy orb. Raven grunted loudly as she flew backwards. Zerrich bolted forward, his hand glowing in a blue hue.

Raven recovered quickly, however, sending a blast of lightning towards Zerrich. The blue energy around his hand flashed instead into his normal defense, holding off the bolts as they struck at him. He then concentrated on various points around the fight zone. Buildings were suddenly covered in a very dark shadow, far too dark than the new evening should have allowed. Zerrich's shadows maintained themselves as he slipped through a portal under his feet.

He appeared through one of the shadows masking the blue hue of his doorways, and sure enough Raven was attempting to find out which of the deep shadows he would pierce from. Zerrich flew straight for Raven's back, but the girl was again just sharp enough to turn and defend herself in time. The dark girl's defensive barrier was met with Zerrich's own. Both barriers collapsed, forming instead into protective covers for their limbs as they began to fight hand-to-hand. Raven's attacks were faster, and Zerrich still found himself on the defensive even after getting so close.

"Robin's lessons just went right past you, didn't they?" Raven said effortlessly as she attacked with magic-encased hands. Her leg came up and slammed into Zerrich's left ear. He rolled away from the fight; the now dazed feeling prevented him from fully preparing for Raven's next attack. He got a protective barrier started in time to catch a massive stream of energy before it hit him directly, but he still flew back at a tremendous speed. Unlike the last similar attack, there was no building for Zerrich to smash into. He simply slid and rolled across the concrete until stopping in a slump.

"Harder," Zerrich huffed, trying desperately to get his strength back. "Much…harder…"

Robin jumped out of the alleyway as Zerrich flew backwards and across the ground. His staff was out, and he was already taking a swing at Raven. She turned surprisingly quick, putting up a small field to block the weapon. Another streak of black energy threatened to cut Robin in half, but he took the one back-step that put him out of range of the strike. His staff, however, took it at the very center and broke in two. Robin was quick to improvise, using the two pieces to attack Raven in furious combos.

"Why don't you try your hand-to-hand training with me!" he shouted as he attacked his teammate. Even with her magic, Raven's parries were nowhere near enough to hold Robin back. The Boy Wonder made plenty of hits, causing the demon girl to grunt with each impact. She was occupied now, but Zerrich was far too weak to make his move and take advantage of it. Robin wasn't stupid. He wasn't so arrogant as to think he was going to knock her out, and he knew Raven wouldn't let him get this close again.

"There's no point," Raven finally said, firing off a shot of black energy into Robin's chest. It was his turn to grunt as he flew backwards, flipping in the air and landing roughly on his feet.

"I don't have to beat you with my bare hands," Raven said, menacingly. "I'll do it any way I want."

Robin was quick to pull out three explosive discs and hurl them at Raven. She was even faster getting a protective barrier up as they exploded just ahead of her. Robin's next weapon was his birdarang, and he threw it directly for Raven's chest. The dark girl made no attempt at a barrier this time. Instead, her four eyes glowed a bright red, and her hand flashed in front of her as the birdarang was about to strike. The grab was so fast Robin hadn't even seen how she had done it. Her hand was just in front of her chest, the birdarang safely in her grasp before one of the blades could sink into her.

She held that pose for a moment as the glow of her eyes died down slightly. She smiled evilly. "Excellent throw. You lined up perfectly with my heart. It might have actually done me harm if I still had one."

"You're a regular comedian all of a sudden," Robin said dryly, reaching for his utility belt again. "Don't tell Beast Boy. It might kill him to know he's got competition."

"I figured it'd be better if I just killed him myself," Raven stated, "Right after I imbed this little toy into your skull."

"You know what?" Robin started, pulling a small device from his belt. "Keep it."

On the very top of the device in Robin's hand was a button. At his last words, he pressed it. Raven suddenly convulsed, every muscle in her body tightening uncontrollably. The high voltage coming from the internal mechanism within the birdarang prevented Raven from doing anything, the amount of electricity far surpassing any kind of tazer weapon on the market. In fact, it would most likely have killed anyone else.

Raven however, was still very much alive, if not in terrible pain. Unfortunately, the effects wouldn't last long. Robin could already hear the electrical buzzing from the birdarang draining away. Raven's other arm slowly began to move, becoming stronger against the electricity attacking her. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Robin could see Zerrich running towards Raven. Ignoring the effects of the electrical device, Zerrich lunged for the dark girl and placed an open hand against Raven's forehead. In Zerrich's other hand, something green began to glow. The two of them froze in place, locked up by either the effects of the birdarang, or whatever Zerrich had started.

This was what Zerrich had asked for--just a few seconds. Now, Robin watched in the hope that whatever he was going to do, it might actually work.

At first, there was only blackness. At least, there was nothing else visually. There was a sound within the void…an ambiance. It sounded like voices. Specifically, it sounded like the voices Zerrich had heard earlier when he had zoned out. Before he could tune his mind to hear it more clearly, the blackness gave way to a new scenery.

There was one thing Zerrich noted right away. This wasn't how he had pictured the inside of Raven's mind. A blood-lit starscape covered everything. It was endless, bottomless. The landscape itself was severely barren, a cross between a desert wasteland and an asteroid field. Dead trees sprouted up every so often, adding to the feel of lifelessness surrounding the man from Azarath. Zerrich was just happy he had made it in the first place.

It was an old technique, delving into one's own mind this way. There were those from Azarath that did so to help manage their thoughts more effectively, using objects that reflected themselves—either metaphorically or literally—to create a temporary portal deep into their psyche. Raven had long ago told him of her mirror, and he'd always suspected she had a much greater need of this spell than anyone from Azarath.

It was this spell he'd enacted, but not all by itself. In the outside world only a few seconds would pass, but if the second spell he'd cast was successful—speeding up the process of both their minds for just that short timeframe—he would experience what would feel like a handful of minutes before the bond could break.

Those minutes were still very little time. He would need to work immediately.

Obviously, he didn't think finding Raven within her own mind would be easy. That is, until he saw the form across the desert landscape. It was cloaked, a hood covering its face. The different hues of the cloak faded from one to another, similar to some of the multi-toned dresses and attire he had seen from some of the dimensions he'd been.

He sprinted for it, wasting no time. There were no guarantees this was the representation of Raven's trapped persona, and something about it felt far too easy. As he got closer, he could see within the darkness under the hood. It was Raven's face. She was staring slightly towards the ground, aware of nothing going on around her.

Almost too quickly, a huge blot of purple and black streaked in front of Zerrich's position. The giant phantom suddenly stretched out its massive wings as it rolled slightly to its right before climbing into empty space towards a large floating rock. It overshot the large platform, turned in the air and began flapping its wings as it landed on its new perch. The dragon-like creature folded the giant wings around itself again, ducking its head ever so slightly.

This creature had something to do with what had happened to Raven, that much was obvious. But, where had it come from?

Zerrich ventured a few quick steps towards Raven again, gauging the large dragon for a response. The only thing it seemed to do was follow his movement. He went forward with his run, closing the gap between Raven and himself. The voices around him grew louder, more distinct.

"What do you want?" he asked aloud.

"That was my question for you," was the reply, though it felt entirely separate from the ambiance. Zerrich looked to the dragon again. Its head was on him, making no other movements.

"You're Malchior," Zerrich realized out loud, keeping his voice calm.

"No," said the voice. The dragon's mouth did not open with the words. It stayed perfectly still, simply watching him. "The creature represents that which keeps my bond strong."

Zerrich looked around. "What bond?" He was wasting time here. He turned his head towards Raven, again running for where she stood.

Then, something hit him. There was a blurred streak before the impact, and Zerrich flew to his side. He landed in a roll before struggling back to his feet. He looked up to where Raven was, but a new figure stood before him. This one was draped in a red cloak.

"What are you, then?" Zerrich questioned.

"I am Raven," the being spoke. Within the deepness of the voice, Zerrich could suddenly hear Raven. He realized the sound had been there when it had spoken previously.

The head tilted up slightly, revealing four glowing red eyes underneath the cloak's hood. "I am the Rage deep within her soul. I am more a part of her than she would prefer. Until now, I have always been suppressed. But, now I am the dominant in her mind. This vessel belongs solely to me."

Zerrich straightened. "You're wrong. In this state, you're merely your father's little puppet."

"You do not belong here!" Rage exploded, her body was cast in red energy, her arms flying free of her cloak. "I cast you out!"

A nearly invisible force of energy blasted across the distance between Zerrich and Rage, the wavering effect indicating its dimensions. Zerrich bolted to the side and out of its way, clenching his fist in preparation to counterattack. However, he felt no energy gather around his fingers.

"Your strengths do not work here," Rage taunted.

Zerrich cursed to himself. The man from Azarath had only let his mind travel deep within Raven's. His powers would have only worked had he traversed there physically as well, but he couldn't risk the consequences of being trapped. There was nothing else to do but run.

He was in a mad sprint once again for his only target. Again, Zerrich heard the whoosh of energy as Rage let off another spell meant to cast him away. He skid to a halt, letting the energy fly just in front of him then began his sprint again. A third blast sounded, and Zerrich made a desperate leap for the Raven frozen in place. His hand made it to her forehead just as the majority of the blast hit him.

Immediately, it felt as though Zerrich were being pulled backwards. The spell was attempting to banish him from Raven's mind, and only the fact that his hand had made contact with the rest of Raven's persona was preventing him from flying into the darkness. Now, however, he felt the oddest sensation. He felt the slightest presence of his physical body in the real world. The banishment spell was taking effect.

In all honesty, Zerrich wasn't so sure his plan would work; especially with the realization his powers were removed without his body to accompany them. Now, he had the slightest connection to his physical being. Would it be enough?

Do it! He had nothing to lose. He reached with his other hand, reciting the incantation he'd done twice that day, just before they had flown out to the rest of the team. This time, however, there was one last enchantment.

His physical body pulled harder at his spirit, and Zerrich couldn't be sure if it was because of the banishing spell or because his time was running out. He recited the rest of the words, screaming the last syllable as a final wave of energy slammed into him from Rage's fingertips.

His hands detached from Raven, and Zerrich began flying away from the desert wasteland. Immediately, he felt as though something were being stripped away from him. As he was sent hurtling away, he could see it. A blue tinge flashed across Raven's face, symbols forming like a barrier around the representation of the dark girl's remaining persona.

Raven's ward, the one he had disrupted earlier, had been superceded by a source within Raven's mind. It had taken or allowed direct control of Raven's demon side. To be stopped, Zerrich surmised that the barrier would have to be rebuilt within Raven's mind. Specifically, it would have to be placed directly around her psyche, cutting off whatever was intruding. There hadn't been time to redo the entire spell, so Zerrich had done the next best thing. He had transferred his own ward to her mind.

Just as clearly as the ward's successful transfer—and it was something that hadn't been visible before—was a deep red line leading from Raven to Malchior. From Malchior, the red beam shot out into nothingness, presumably beyond Raven's mind and body to Trigon. The beam began to disintegrate, fluctuating and dissolving away as the ward prevented its interaction.

Malchior finally made a noise, the head rising and wings flaring out as it screamed. The sound became distorted as the dragon began to disintegrate as well.

The entire scene became bathed in white, and Zerrich became acutely aware of the electric current zapping his body. Then, white faded to black.

Robin watched as Zerrich made contact with Raven. He watched as they froze in place. He watched as nothing happened. A few seconds passed, almost too quickly for Robin's liking. Nothing was happening. The shock mechanism inside the birdarang continued to die down, and the electricity zapping across both individuals was becoming less effective.

Then, there was a white flash followed by a massive blastwave. Robin hadn't even had time to put his hands in front of his face. The blast smashed into him, sending him flying off his feet. The flash was too disorienting for the Boy Wonder, and he landed roughly against the cement under him. His head knocked pretty hard against a curb at the end of the street, creating a series of flashes within his own head. As the bright light died down around him, so did his vision. Robin could do nothing to prevent blacking out.

Raven groaned slightly. Her eyes blinked away the blur in front of her, though the pain throughout her body stayed right where it was. She uneasily put a hand to the ground, waiting for the tremors to settle. She was able to get herself to her knees before she looked around. Robin was passed out on the ground several yards away. She looked to the rest of the narrow street, noting the damage everywhere. Suddenly, her mind clicked back into focus. She exhaled a very ragged breath as she began to remember.

Her mind was able to recall everything. She knew what she'd done. She remembered every detail. She looked around for Starfire and Bumblebee. Neither of them was nearby, and there was no telling how badly she'd hurt them. All the details had come flooding back. She hadn't been able to stop it. Her body did whatever it wanted, the evil inside her completely commandeering her person. She couldn't fight it off, no matter how hard she had tried. That is, until something else had gotten into her mind.

She looked to the ground in front of her, and she saw Zerrich. He didn't move. She gasped slightly, crawled to where he lay and turned him onto his back. Had she done this? He'd jumped at her; that she could barely recall through the haze of the electric attack. It couldn't have been her. He must have absorbed quite a bit of electricity.

Either way, he was not responding at all. He was, in fact, barely breathing. His skin, upon closer inspection, showed signs of electrical burns, a slight smolder rising from his body. The durability of Raven's demon side mostly protected her from the greater damage of the birdarang. Zerrich had not been so lucky.

A realization struck her almost as hard as the electric birdarang. The ward that Zerrich had helped her with was gone. However, she had gotten used to its presence, and she could still feel it within her being. She sensed the warding instead surrounding just her mind. She looked down to Zerrich again. Is that what he had done?

It made sense. He'd gotten into her head and recreated the barrier further in her mind to cut off Malchior's control spell. How Zerrich had come to even guess at that solution astounded the dark girl. Now, however, there was just the protection of her mind. Trigon had already taken control of her body once, and Raven could do nothing to stop it. He could do so again once he realized what had just taken place.

Then, Raven's mind took on one final moment of clarity. As Trigon had been able to see and control her mind, Raven had been able to at least see her father's own thoughts. Beyond those thoughts, however, Raven could also sense her father's potential as well as his current capabilities. It was all far too overwhelming, but there was one thing now worth noting. And it involved her.

The ability to leave. Trigon had the ability to leave this world, this realm, and go anywhere he pleased now that he was free. His only need to stay was to regain his strength before doing so. But, Raven shared in that ability. Since she was the object responsible for its creation, Raven could traverse the barrier as well. More so, the barrier would not remain stable for long without her presence. Being allowed to tap into Trigon's knowledge had at least one advantage; she never would have figured any of this out on her own.

She was the only one capable of doing so, but she wasn't going to be able to leave using her conventional abilities. There was no time to setup the materials needed to create the dimensional door here and now; Trigon would stop and take control of her long before then.

She had one chance. One spell that Malchior had taught her. With the warding in place, she would probably be able to do so without worry of losing control again. It had been all of seven seconds since she'd realized Zerrich was in bad shape. She wrapped an arm around him, preparing to take him with her. She couldn't do this alone.

She was about to prepare the spell when she heard a noise. It was a familiar sound, most often a welcome one in tight situations. This time, however, she was sure it was meant as something else. She looked over to where she heard the sound of Cyborg's sonic cannon activating. Sure enough, he stood there with the weapon pointed directly at her.

At first, everything seemed straightforward. Raven was no longer the girl Cyborg knew. Raven had become the demon that she had always been trying to suppress. Their original intent was to try and bring her back, but Cyborg doubted that chance very much. It was now a matter of stopping her. Very little thinking was needed beyond that reasoning. Too many people had already been hurt.

Cyborg had run down the streets leading to the alleyways he'd used to get away. He had run a quick scan of the area to make sure he hadn't gotten lost. His mind was clouded with all sorts of dark emotions during those moments, but there was still that one thought which was driving him. He had to stop Raven, and it no longer mattered how. He had made it to the end of that one alley that exited out into the street Raven had followed him to.

There were signs of battle everywhere. The toppled car was still on its side, the sight of which infuriated Cyborg all the more. Windows were shattered all over, and there was glass just about everywhere. There were various craters in the ground and on the sides of buildings. Robin was motionless against the curb on the other side of the street. Zerrich's lifeless form was sprawled across the concrete with Raven crouched at his side. The details as to what she was doing were neither understandable nor important to the Titan, and Cyborg had powered up his sonic cannon. All he had to do now was take aim and fire the weapon.

Then, Raven looked up. Her eyes were the size of saucers as she looked to Cyborg. It took a moment for Cyborg to think through his haze and realize a very important fact. There were only two eyes now. The demon glow was gone from them, replaced instead with this look of terror. And, on Raven—considering how little of her emotions she showed—terror was easily recognized all over her face.

Cyborg didn't move. His face stayed as it was, his aim still directed at Raven. It could always be a trick, and he'd only have one chance.

"I have to leave," Raven finally said. Her voice was no longer marked with the deep evil that had been there before. "I can't stay any longer, or he'll take control again. I won't be able to prevent it."

Raven's hand rested against Zerrich's chest. Her other hand wrapped around his back, lifting him slightly off the ground. She was preparing something, and Cyborg had to decide whether it was a lure to make him drop his guard or not. He held his aim.

"Stop him. Stop my father. Delay him as long as you can. If he gains enough power, he'll chase after me. You have to slow him down."

Cyborg watched as whips of black energy flew around the girl, and it almost made his trigger mechanism twitch. He checked his fire, if only for another moment to see what was about to happen. The black energy turned white, and a section of the concrete below Raven and Zerrich turned to pure energy. Their forms began to glow with it before sinking into the light, and with a booming flash, the light was gone.

As were the two Titans.

A good, silent five seconds passed before Cyborg finally powered down his sonic cannon, the only sound to follow being a groaning Robin from across the street.

"Raven," Cyborg whispered. "Please tell me you know what you're doing."