There was a vicious roar, as the sound of intense flame blazed just over her head. Though it had been meant to rain down on them, Pearl had been lucky enough for the attack to be just a little bit too high, and in a flash she had instinctively ducked her body into a crouch, the attack only succeeding in sending a wave of air that blasted her hair back. The heat from this was harsh, but it passed too quickly to really hurt.

Still, she felt like she was baking, and the air was getting harder to breath with this much heat.

Pearl was still a little confused by what had just happened, but couldn't stop to think about it now. Maybe it had been Raven? She'd have to ask the girl if they survived this, but it looked like the outcome was in question.

She tensed up for a second as Fire let his huge arm drop and took a step forward, ignoring the throbbing heat, as something else got her attention. The other Titans had suddenly become airborne, flying gracefully over the attack as they sprung to another position to attack. Even Cyborg, who had used his enormous strength to launch himself into the air, where he landed with a well-rehearsed roll onto the ground a stones throw away from Fire's feet.

Ignoring the bonfire that used to be the T-car, Pearl grit her teeth and rushed forward, putting some space between her and any open flames on the street as she brought her weapon up with both hands and took aim directly up at the creature's head. The tiny crosshairs on the weapon almost obscured the view of one of Fire's burning eyes, and she felt her finger hesitate for a split second as the sound of Cyborgs cannon sounded off.

The creature's head turned, glaring downwards at the much smaller Titan, giving her a clear shot of the side of its head. Pearl felt a sharp breath leave her lungs, and pulled the trigger with a snap of her finger.

BLAM!

The weapon exploded with a violent sound, making Pearl backstep to keep her balance as it sent a sharp burst of white-pink energy that pierced Fire's cranium like a needle. The force of it snapped its head backwards at a sickening angle, and for a second the creature halted, its arms half-raised to attack, a piece of its head hammered away like a cracked piece of skull and sent flying through the air as a chunk of shrapnel. For a brief moment, the flame around its head took on a blazing white. Then it seemed to die down, it's burning form dimming.

Fire's shoulders slumped, as Pearl lowered her gun, feeling shocked at yet another unexpected event. Her eyes glancing quickly down at the energy gun, she was a little more than surprised when she realized that the setting of it was set almost to it's highest, the tiny glowing light on the back of its handle a noticeable yellow. She hadn't done that.

Punching the setting on the gun, Pearl swore under her breath, knocking it back down to a less lethal level. She hadn't wanted to try to kill the thing.

"Fuck! Who set-?" she swore again, realizing that the others where frozen in mid-air for the moment, all of their eyes on her. Even Raven, who was in the middle of hovering a large chunk of concrete in the air just behind her, high in the air above the nearby buildings.

"I did." Raven answered down bluntly as she ignored the girl's language, eyeing Fire cautiously. "You have good aim."

Blinking stupidly, Pearl felt a twinge of anger, but didn't have time to say anything else, before their attention was turned back towards Fire, who let out a pained grumbling. Its head twitched slightly, before it pulled it back out of that sick angle and straightened out.

It brightened its flame for a brief second, before it dimmed down again, then it seemed to gain new strength as its body suddenly roared into new life. Its neck crunching loudly as it brought its gaze down to glare directly at Pearl, the burning in its insides becoming much more intense. Its flame grew white hot, as its fiery eyes narrowed in what could pass as absolute rage. Even the temperature in the air near the thing seemed to raise.

"Get the- !" Cyborg cried out, before the creature made one quick movement, clawing down at him so fiercely it raked the pavement, sending him flying backwards in a burning spiral.

"… Zinthos!" Raven finished suddenly, tossing the heavy piece of concrete.

With its newfound speed however, the creature simply braced itself and caught the debris with both fiery hands. Letting out a cackle that sounded like rocks clapping together, it hoisted the chunk of earth up and let it fly. Directly at a shapeshifter who had just been airborne long enough to realize what kind of position he was in.

Eagle that he was right now, he didn't have time to let out so much as a screech when the boulder flew directly into him and continued soaring through the air like a meteor.

Half ducking as the rock soared high over her head, Pearl turned just in time to catch a glimpse of it streaking away over the rooftop, taking Beast boy away with it.

"Pearl! Get out of there! Move!" Raven's voice cried out.

Pearl turned back to see the sight of Fire glaring death directly down at her, and the sight of plumes of white flame pouring out of the holes she'd blasted in its head, looking like a demons horns, did its job at intimidating her.

"Eeep!"

Her voice suddenly escaping her as the huge creature stomped once, then twice in her direction, Pearl did the first thing that could come to her mind. She gripped her gun tightly around its handle, turned in place as quickly as her body would allow… and ran as fast as her little legs could go.

"No! No! No!" she screamed out, her muscles pumping as the sound of heavy stomping trailed behind her.

Racing down the side of the street and past the T-car, Pearl was glad that she decided to go with low cut boots for this costume, as the creature gave another road and swung its arm at an arc that swished through the air loudly. A plume of flame spread from its arm like a spread-fired flamethrower, but its target was more maneuverable than it seemed. The moment before the flame could contact, Pearl had reached the nearby corner of the street and dived behind the corner of the building, evading it as she picked up the pace again.

A lethal blast to the head hadn't stopped this thing, and she didn't think she could do anything that would. She'd only managed to make it mad, and for all she knew it was going to roast her alive!

Glancing back as she raced down the vacant street, she caught a glimpse of it rounding the corner after her, its footsteps still booming loudly in her ears. Turning ahead again, she could only let out a breathless groan as she tried to cut over to the other side of the street where there were a few things she might be able to hide behind.

Grunting loudly from the effort as she slowed for a fraction of a few seconds, Pearl whipped her head back again as she kept moving, this time sweeping her arm back at the same time, bringing her weapon back and getting a bead on the creatures shoulder.

BLAM! BLAM!

The light burst from the barrel of the gun again, but she didn't stop to see if it had any effect. That would have been futile, since it was a lower setting now than it had been when it didn't work the last time. Instead, Pearl let her ears tell her as she turned back and began her sprint again, her breath ragged as she clenched her eyes shut.

Just keep running, for the love of god!, her mind screamed at her.

There where several heavy thumps that told her that the creature had stumbled back, but it was still coming! She heard it roar loudly again, though. Before she had time to react, another burst of flame poured down from above, this time directly on top of her!

"AAAAHHH!"

Her run faltering, Pearl suddenly found herself completely engulfed in white hot flame! She couldn't breath! Stumbling forward, she fell hard onto the pavement, her body suddenly convulsing as a wave of agony swept over her skin. Nerves screamed unbearably at her as the flame caught nearly every part of her body, and she could feel herself blistering open and charring.

She couldn't react. For a moment, all she could do was thrash forward and let out a pitiful whimper. The idea of rolling suddenly occurred to her, and in as quick a flash as she could muster, Pearl made her best attempt at it, twisting herself out of the inferno and onto the cold concrete again.

This time however, the pain didn't ease the moment she got out of it. She was still on fire, her clothing still smoking and feeding the orange flame.

Hearing another thud once again, she twisted over again painfully just in time to see a burning foot stomp down into the raging flames only a few feet from her. Tilting her eye up, she caught sight of Fire glaring down at her just in time to receive a harsh blow directly in the chest from a huge metal pipe coated in a black energy.

Knocking it backwards several steps, the pipe drew back again, and Raven came into view just in time to swing her hands forward and drive the weapon into Fires abdomen with a sick thud.

The blow sent embers flying into the air, like what you would see at a campfire. For a moment, Pearl almost couldn't feel the pain she was in. The sight of the embers…

"Pearl!" Cyborgs voice called out just before there was a powerful hissing sound, an extremely cold air suddenly sweeping over her and clouding her vision with a white vapor.

She could only grimace further as the intense chill racked through her body, triggering a shudder that only made pain shoot through her nerves even harder. Turning her head up, she saw from the corner of her eye that Cyborg has kneeled down towards her, his hand changing from the shape of some strange device back into the normal one she was used to.

"Just stay still Pearl! Don't try to move!" Cyborg ordered, his voice sounding more panicked than she expected as he raised his arm and turned on his communicator. "Robin! Starfire! We have an emergency!"

"Cyborg?" Pearl croaked out, slowly turning over and onto her back, ignoring the pain as best she could, feeling her eyes begin burning harshly as several tears rolled down her face. The pain was still coming.

She knew she had to be a sight. She knew exactly what fire could do to a person, and with this level of pain she had to have suffered a lot of damage. Her hair had all been burned off, her skin blackened and cracked, and from the feel of it her clothes and even her gun had been burned into her skin. She couldn't tell if it was third degree, but it was very close if it wasn't.

For the moment, everything else in the world didn't seem to matter. Raven was taking care of Fire, but that seemed like something unimportant right now.

"Just be still, girl! We'll get you help! I'm getting the EMP's!"

"Cyborg, it's ok." She answered softly, her other eye creeping open and looking up at him. "I… think I… that I can… heal this."

"Are you insane?!"

"I promise I'll never play with matches, okay?" She answered, more tears rolling down her charred cheeks as she spoke through the pain. "I will heal this. Just… give me a moment. Please? Give me… a moment? Please!"

Though Cyborg didn't know it, this had just become something personal for the healer. She'd been hurt before just like anyone else, but this was like nothing she had ever done before. Laying there charred like a piece of hamburger, Pearl realized that if she was going to be expected to heal others from such things, it would be foolish of her to try to if she couldn't even heal herself from it.

For her, it would be foolish.

"Go help Raven." She breathed out, her green eyes blinking slowly as she lay motionless. "I have to… use my powers for this."

Before Cyborg could answer, Pearl shut her eyes for a moment, taking a ragged breath in and holding it before she let it out. As Cyborg watched the burned girl open her eyes again, he felt a little less panicked about the situation as he saw the girls eyes take on a glow. There was a slight swirl of a pinkish white energy that drifted around the whites of her eyes, as he gaze became slightly vacant, staring at the empty space up in the night sky. After a tense moment, the green of her eyes faded to a much lighter shade more akin to the color of a pearl. Like her namesake.

Standing up, Cyborg kept his gaze on the poor girl for a moment before he looked back up to see the creature Fire finally catch hold of the piece of pipe Raven was wielding against it and tear it from her powers grasp. Clenching his fist, he glared at the creature as he tried to come up with a better idea than what they where doing.

"This thing is going to wish it had never been lit." he said lowly, his voice speaking a certainty that no one would dare argue with.

Pearl couldn't agree. She hadn't heard it at all. Her attention was turned onto herself, as she tried to start undoing the damage.