Chapter 5

"NO!" Raven screamed.

"Yes." The Demon Etrigan growled as he stepped closer to her.

The door to Raven's guest room was knocked down. Cyborg and Robin were standing there, poised and ready to fight.

"Raven! We heard an explosion! Wha… Etrigan? What are you doing here?" Robin asked

"The child in that girl's arms is an abomination! It must be destroyed!"

Robin raised an eyebrow, this wasn't Etrigan's usual paranoid self. This was a far more passionate Etrigan, determined to kill Constantine no matter what. Why did he think Constantine was an abomination?

"That thing will corrupt and ruin all who are tainted by it's curse! End it now!" The demon roared. A host of lavamen spawned from the mix of his rage and magic.

"Raven, run!" Robin shouted as he drew his bostaff

Etrigan growled. Cyborg prepared his sonic cannon. Raven ran out of the half burnt-down room.

Alfred noticed her sprint out.

"Couldn't you take this outside," he complained, "I just dusted."

Starfire and Beast Boy came down the stairs of Wayne Manor.

"What is going on?" Starfire asked innocently

"Not sure," Robin answered, "but Etrigan wants to kill Constantine."

Starfire gasped. Beast Boy became infuriated, "Not on my watch!"

He turned into a rhino, charged into Raven's room, and rammed Etrigan and his lavamen back outside like a pile of boiling pins. Etrigan lay on the ground, he got up and looked to his underlings.

"Find the child!" he bellowed, "Find the child!"

Raven ran as fast as she could.

The lavamen took off toward Gotham City.

Seconds later, she was out of breath as she stopped near an alley. Carrying her son in an all-out sprint was a tiring exercise. Constantine remained quiet, watching his mother to see what her next action would be. Sweat ran down the side of her head. She heard the trample of footsteps, and peeked out to see where they were.

The lavamen were right behind her! Some ran past the alley she was hiding in, but one noticed her position. It screeched to the others.

"No! Stay (puff puff) back…" Raven was exhausted, her lungs hurt.

She held up a hand, saying, "Azarath… Metrion… Zinth… Zinth… Zinthos!!!!"

A dumpster and trash can sailed through the air and hit the assailants, exhausting Raven further but buying her time. With her right hand, she held the baby's head against her right shoulder. The other hand held him against her chest. She jogged a little distance. Her heart was pumping.

I'm too weak to fly. She thought. What do I do now?

Robin attacked, bringing his bostaff hard upon Etrigan's head. Cyborg unleashed his cannon, but Etrigan shoved Robin in front of it. Robin was knocked down, Etrigan picked up his bostaff, and threw it at Cyborg like a spear.

Beast Boy transformed into a tiger, and leaped at the demon. Etrigan's hands glowed, and he released fire upon the green feline. Starfire flew off to save Raven, despite Etrigan's snarls of discontent.

He squatted low, positioned his legs, and launched himself into the air. One would assume he was after the Tamoranian, but they'd be wrong. He wanted to get into the city.

Raven was getting more tired by the second, and suddenly she was surrounded by lavamen. But she wouldn't give up her son. She made a promise.

"Get back!"

The lavamen marched toward her, until a bright green beam of energy followed by a horde of green orbs rained down upon them. It was Starfire.

"Raven, you are much too fatigued to continue. Please, give me your son and I will--"

"No! He's mine! I won't let you…"

"But Raven, you know that you can trust me. I will not let anything happen to your little bumgorf."

"Starfire," she panted, "It's my responsibility. I must keep my son alive."

"Raven," Starfire said, getting irritated, "Do not be the stubbornness! He will be safe if you let me take him to some place other than here. Some place where the demonic familiars can not intrude and--"

Raven turned around and ran away, leaving Starfire in mid-sentence.

It's my baby! My son! Mine! My responsibility! Starfire doesn't understand!

Raven breathed heavily, she stopped for a break. Constantine was a heavy load. Unexpectedly, Etrigan landed right in front of her. Raven gasped. She would have screamed, but was far too weak.

"Azarathian, don't be a fool. That thing in your arms will end the world! Let me finish him."

"Stay away… you… monster!"

Etrigan was annoyed by Raven's persistent attachment to her offspring. He sauntered up to Raven and began to take the child from her! Raven held on tight.

"No! Stay… away… you…" Raven tried with all her strength to hold on, but Etrigan's strength was not worn out like her own. The baby began to cry. Etrigan snatched the child away from her. Raven screamed.

Etrigan grinned, "No one to save you now, little beast."

Raven reached out, and clutched the demon's arm, "No… please… I… made a… promise."

Etrigan slapped her across the face, she collapsed to the ground.

She felt so weak.

She failed again.

Etrigan suddenly felt a grinding then burst of pain in his back. He had been hit by the Cyborg-Robin combination of the Sonic Boom. He loss grip of the baby, who sailed softly into the air. Raven saw this, and pulling all her remaining strength together, she made a desperate effort… and caught her son.

"Run, Raven. Go." Robin assured her.

Etrigan whipped around and snarled.

Starfire flew in. She looked at Raven, and understood that Constantine's mother could not go on.

"Here… Star…" Raven huffed as she fainted

"I will not let you down." Starfire said as she took the baby and fled the area.

Etrigan grumbled at his folly and failure. He turned to the Teen Titans. Cyborg was helping the unconscious Raven, and Robin was ready to deliver another wallop.

"Big mistake, humans," Etrigan griped, "Let us hope that the mistake you have made will not cost you your lives… if not the world."

A bright white light flashed, and Etrigan disappeared. A faint echo was heard as he departed.

"Because if that happens," spoke Etrigan cryptically, "not even a legion of angels can rescue you from harm."

---

"Take a good look, Beast Boy," Raven said as she was breast-feeding Constantine, "It'll be the last one you'll ever get."

Beast Boy couldn't take his eyes of Raven's chest and exposed breasts, until Cyborg slapped him upside the head (twice). He then cringed and tried the impossible – to be mature enough to look away. Fearing another slap from Cyborg, he succeeded.

Starfire sat down next to Raven.

"I'm sorry, Star," Raven said gloomily, "I… I didn't know what got into me. Thank you… Thank you for taking care of my son."

"You are most welcome, friend Raven."

Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy all had their backs to Raven and Starfire's conversation.

Robin said in an irritated tone, "Is he done?"

Raven chuckled, "He's been finished for some time, it was just amusing to see you three stand there all stiff."

Starfire giggled.

Robin turned around, annoyed and relieved. Raven fixed her top, and then handed Starfire the baby. She stood up, and looked at the Teen Titans.

"You all have been the best friends anyone could ask for," she began.

"Giving me a home… giving me support… giving me… a life."

"Raven, what are you trying to say?"

"I'm sorry… but this is where I leave you."

"What!?!" a shocked Robin said

"Raven, you can't…!" Cyborg added in a grieve voice

"Yeah, Raven, I'll do better. I'll be a better baby-sitter. I promise." Beast Boy said desperately

"It's not you… It's me… and my son. I knew that I would be a burden on all of you, and I was… I still am. As long as I remain here, I am impeding your lives. It's not your responsibility to take care of Constantine, it's mine. I… I'm so… sorry."

She slowly walked up to each of the Titans, and embraced them. Starting with Robin, she whispered, "You encouraged me to not remain hidden, and you knew when I needed support. Say goodbye to Bruce and Alfred for me."

Then she approached Cyborg, "You were there when I was scared, when I was in trouble. You helped me regain control and remain strong. Take care of yourself."

Then Beast Boy, "You always brightened up my day. You knew how to cheer me up, and encouraged me to be better than I was. Don't ever change." She gave Beast Boy a small kiss on the cheek.

Last, she turned to Starfire. The Tamoranian did not understand, but the tears flowed.

"That time when we switched bodies,1 I will never forget. All those times when you told me things that no one else could. Your attitude on life made mine more than constant cynicism. I never had a sister before. But if I had, I would have wanted her to be you. Not like you… but you."

Starfire set down the baby on the bed, and the two embraced for a long time.

"I know that when you have children, Star. You will be a great mom. You are destined to be."

"I am jealous of you, Raven. Though it is not my nature, I am. You have which I do not, and that which I have wanted my whole existence. You have a son. A son to call your own."

"But I have a family," Raven answered, "My own little nest is here, with all of you."

Raven let go of Starfire, picked up Constantine and her belongings, and walked to the door.

"But now it is time," Raven said in a teary voice as she looked back, "for this little Raven to leave the nest."

Just like that… she was gone.

And it was then that the Teen Titans disbanded, and Father Thomas would wake up the next morning unable to see.