"She's waking up!"

Raven flinched at the high-pitched voice as it pierced her ears, she wanted to bury her head under the pillow but her moving her body was a struggle. When she opened her eyes she saw Melvin, sitting in a chair next to her and half turned to face a door. When she saw who it was that walked through the door, she tried desperately to get up and grab Melvin but could only manage to fight her way up into a sitting position.

Malchior merely raised a brow. "Don't get up on my account, dear," he said as he walked over to her and Melvin.

"Melvin," she hissed. "Get away from him!"

Melvin blinked. "Why? Malchior's only going to-"

"Melvin, I said get away," she barked, making the girl jump.

Malchior calmly laid his hand on Melvin's shoulder. "Don't frighten the child, Raven," he tutted, leaning closer to her. "You've become such a harsh person, what shall we do with you?"

"You lying bastard!" she snapped, fighting to lift her hand to blast him. She reached out to her power only to be violently denied. "What-?" she asked, trying again to call on her power.

"Raven?" Melvin tried, reaching for her.

"I'm afraid you'll find that your powers are quite inaccessible," Malchior told her.

She glared up at him. "Why?"

"Well, forgive my boldness," he started reaching on and yanking the collar of the loose shirt she was wearing down. Before she could snap at him, she caught sight of a mark below her shirt. Reaching up, she took the collar from him and pulled it away from her so she could look down. Above her heart, upon her breast, was the Mark of Scath.

"No…" she breathed.

"Seems Slade got some help from an old source, my dear," he said, pulling back. "Whatever power he didn't siphon off you, he sealed."

"What's that mean?" Melvin asked.

"It means, he bound her power," he answered. "Locked it away so she can't attack him." His gaze slid over to the still shocked Raven and narrowed. "…let's give Raven some alone time, dear."


Melvin looked from him to Raven but finally slid off her chair and walked towards the door. Before he could join the girl at the door, Raven asked "Where…are the other Titans?"

He paused, shoving his hands into his pockets. "We haven't the foggiest, love," he answered before walking over to Melvin and gently shutting the door. Before he closed it he added one more thing. "We'll tell you if we find them. Sleep for now."

She sat there, still staring down the mark, listening to his words echoing in her ears.