This should not have taken as long as it did, school is to blame. Totally, it's all school's fault! But I guess we could mix in time taken up by work and…..stuff. Alright! I have a problem with time management! Sue me. Well no don't really sue me; I'm a very financially poor student. No more of me, its eppie time. Eppie time for loyal readers. Speaking of reviewers; Sklyer-A-Teloiv, Guardian of Azarath, Teen Freak, Realfanficts, Samanthe2121, Linzheart92, Akanu

A small brush delicately dusted away some loose dirt on an inscription carved within the wall of a certain Azarathian temple. Raven moved the brush away and blew the removed the remainder of the dust with a blast of air from her mouth. Her eyes scanned it for a moment then with a small ecstatic smile she picked up a notebook and began sketching it among her other findings. She placed her pencil between her teeth to better grip her notebook.

"Hey Ravennn!" called Beast Boy from down the long corridor.

She tried to talk through the pencil, "Heer-Here," she said after removing it and speaking clearly. Beast Boy walked up beside her and leant against the stone wall. Her ears picked up some slight panting from the changeling. "Are you out of breath?"

"Raven…this is…..a big curvy place. I must've gone in circles like eighty times looking for you."

"Well here I am, you need something?" she asked turning back to the spot from before. Beast Boy moved his eyes about to get a better look at the inscription.

"You've been in this one hall for like six going on seven hours now, can't we move on? Can't we eat? Pleeeease. I mean I skipped breakfast Raven." Raven sent him a fleeting sideways glance.

"I didn't tell you to do that. Besides you're the one who wanted to come with me once we finally got some time off. You're also the one who wanted to bring along some kind of picnic lunch or something." Beast Boy nodded his head lamely.

"Yyyes I did, its getting colder by the minuet by the way. You know we can just ask Donna keep an eye on the place for you. I'm sure she's just itch'n to get down here and start dust'n!" He said wit mock enthusiasm. Raven snickered and rolled her eyes.

"Look, even that was remotely true I can say without too much ego that I'm the foremost expert on Azarathian culture and I need to spend as much time here as I can." Beast Boy nodded.

"Yeah I see your point; this must really be like Disney Land for you." Raven turned an incredulous gape on him. "Or at least Universal Studios." Raven looked away with a shaking head. "Plus if we actually don't leave now we're gonna be late."

"Late for what?" mumbled Raven as she examined a new glyph.

"Cyborg…" She looked at him with misunderstanding. "The party that's you know….for him." Her eyes widened as it dawned on her and she frantically stuffed her research and tools in a backpack.

"I-I-I completely forgot-I can't believe it!" She ran about putting other objects away.

"Well you were just so busy," said Beast Boy as he casually watched her scurry about like a mouse. She glanced at her watch.

"We're going to be late, why didn't you tell me?!" She glided down the hall.

"Hey! I did tell you! Raven!" With a gruff breath he ran to catch up with her.

--------

When there's trouble you know who to call
Teen Titans!
From their tower, they can see it all
Teen Titans!

When there's evil on the attack
You can rest knowing they got your back
Cuz when the world needs heroes on patrol
Teen Titans GO!

With their superpowers they unite
Teen Titans!
Never met a villain that they liked
Teen Titans!

They've got the bad guys on the run
They never stop 'till the job gets done
Cuz when the world is losin' all control
Teen Titans GO!

1,2,3,4 GO!

Teen Titans

--------

Nemesis

"Robin was it here?" Robin looked up at Starfire as she hovered high up at ceiling hanging streamers. He craned his neck up to look at her and shook his head.

"No no Star you had it right the first time." She nodded and put them back the way she previously arranged them. Although as she changed back them she second guessed herself and began to once again rearrange the pattern. "Its okay Star," he called over his shoulder. She glanced down at him but let her hand go back to the ribbons.

"But…perhaps if they are-"

Cyborg now joined the two, "They're fine Star."

"Okay." She glided back down to the floor. "It still baffles me though friend Cyborg, you sincerely do not wish for birthday of surprising proportions?" He grinned and shook his head.

"Naa I don't really like surprise parties, I don't know why maybe it's just because I like to know everything that's going on. Plus you know it's not really a surprise if you've just now mentioned it to me." Starfire's eyes darted about.

"Oh."

"Don't sweat it Star, now I know who went to all the trouble of decorating the ceiling." She looked away and glowed humbly.

"Thank you." Robin matched her grin with one of his own and cast a look around the common room.

"So how old are you today Cyborg?"

"You mean you don't know?" Robin looked away disgruntled. "Never mind, I'm eighteen today. At least I'm so sure that's what I am." Robin smiled and waved his hand.

"Well, who really knows exactly how old they are?"

"I do," said Starfire raising her hand. Cyborg and Robin glanced at each other than sent her some challenging nods.

"Oh yeah? Let's hear it."

"I am seventeen years, four months, twelve days, and this morning." The boy wonder and teen machine were quite frankly beside themselves. Robin bowed his head slightly in defeat. Starfire perked her head with a tinge of smugness and left them to set the table.

"Now all we need is Raven and Beast Boy."

"It puzzles me, why did Beast Boy accompany Raven to something of which he has not the slightest interest?" Robin and Cyborg smirked at one another.

"Oh, we've got our theories."

THE TEMPLE……………..

Although Beast Boy had only mentioned it in jest, Raven decided to ask Wonder Girl to go through the temple once more. The heroine honestly admitted that she had nothing on plate at the moment and thus her schedule was open. Wonder girl walked through the torch lit halls with the smallest amount of curiosity. Sure she couldn't read anything she saw to save her life but being in an ancient as well as supposedly technologically advanced sanctuary did arouse interest. She stopped in mid walk and shot an irritated look behind her.

"Okay, they just forgot to mention that this place is a giant maze." Wonder Girl looped the halls for what seemed like to her was hours on end. She tried following recurring symbols on the walls but that of course just led her around in circles. "Yeahhh, didn't think it was going to be that easy." She gave up with anything conventional and opted for random chance. She quickly walked past an open doorway then after a moment slowly backpedaled. She took a closer and saw there were three large pillars standing side by side. All around them were carvings, not the rough eroded scrolling found everywhere else; but clear and cohesive. It looked as though they were carved by laser rather than a tool. Her eyes fell upon a few markings just a little above her head. Because they were marked darker than the others they naturally drew her attention. She reached up and just as her fingers brushed over one a low thud echoed through the room. She backed away with a gasp then ran back even further when bright blue lettering projected outward from each pillar and revolved in place. Wonder Girl raised her brows at the tantalizing sight.

"Cool."

TITANS TOWER………………

"Happy birthday to you, Happy birthday to you…" All of the Titans sung in unison while Cyborg chuckled lightly. Raven of course sang with the most amount of deadpan she could muster.

Starfire capped the song with, "You look like a grocknog, and you smell like one too!" A series of giggles departed her. They laughed heartily as well and Beast Boy gestured to Cyborg.

"And so accurate." Cyborg scrunched his face into a glare. "Sorry, just a joke." Robin gave Raven a nod and upon getting her signal she brought out a box covered in wrapping paper and black energy. She set it down on the table in front of him.

"I don't wanna complain-"

"But your going to do it anyway," joked back Raven.

"All I'm saying is this better a good present because you know if it isn't…." He trailed off with a chuckle.

"Just shut up and open your present," said Beast Boy smirking. Cyborg began tearing open the wrapping paper then as he caught a glimpse of what was underneath gripped it tighter with excitement. He looked up at each of them and they nodded with a smile. He tore it the rest of the way and smiled broadly down at his gift.

"Ohhhh BOOYAHHHH! You guys got me a Wii!"

"And a two year warranty," added Raven dryly. "So please don't break after two years and one month." Cyborg laughed and nodded.

"I got it Raven, thanks you guys this great." Starfire flew up and hugged him tightly.

"We welcome you friend!"

"Before you start using it though," said Robin. "You have to promise two things: that you won't hog it day and night, and that you don't rig it to where no matter what you high score doesn't get beat." Cyborg shifted his eyes with mock suspicion."

"Now could I really do that?" Robin nodded obviously.

"Yeah you could and you would." Cyborg raised his hand.

"Scouts honor." The tower's comm. system alerted them of an incoming transmission. Robin stepped up to the terminal and upon answering the call saw Wonder Girl's face on the giant screen.

"Donna, what's happening?"

"Sorry to bother you guys-happy birthday by the way Cyborg."

"Thaffs," he answered through a mouthful of cake. Raven, who'd left Wonder Girl as temporary guardian walked up beside Robin.

"Is there a problem?" She appeared unsure.

"Well….I don't know really." Starfire and Beast Boy now exchanged curious looks.

"What do you mean?" asked Raven. "What did you do?"

"I-I-I don't know, I just pressed something and all these blue glowing letters appeared." Raven rubbed the area between her eyes gingerly. She sighed and looked back up and the panicking girl who was now biting her lip.

"Okay just calm down and don't touch anything else, I'll be there as soon as can." The screen shut off. "I'm sorry Cyborg but I don't want to leave her there with a problem."

"Oh its problem Rae we'll go to." The Azarathian cast a skeptical look around at her teammates.

"Really?"

"Sure," said Robin. "We're all a team, so is Wonder Girl, we go where there's trouble." Raven nodded with a smile.

"Okay, but I should warn you it's probably nothing and you'll just end up bored out of your mind."

Beast Boy hopped over the couch. "Naaa there was this one wall it totally had me in suspense, I can't wait to get back and finish it." They sweat dropped. "Seriously, it was very not boring."

THE TEMPLE…………………

The five founding Titans stood in silent awe at the sight Wonder Girl had led them to. Starfire gazed from one revolving pillar to another with her hands folded.

"Cool," whispered Beast Boy.

"That's what I said," exclaimed Wonder Girl. "I mean you just look at it and instantly think wow!"

"Shut up now," muttered Raven. She walked up closer to the slowly turning text. "Its one of the more early derivitives of their language."

"So you can read it?" asked Wonder Girl.

"Of course I can read it, give me second." She touched one of the glwoing icons and the lettering instantly erased itself down to the floor then a new set of ancient text flowed back upward. They all backed up in surprise.

"Now what did you do?" asked Cyborg. Raven tilted her head curiously at the text.

"I…I think I just turned the page."

"What does it say?" asked Robin. Raven's eyes roamed about the lines of moving text. It was a full minuet and a half before she responded to Robin's question.

"It appears to be a book keeping journal of some kind." Cyborg and Beast Boy glanced at each other incredulously.

"Are you saying we stumbled upon some Azarathian's bills?" She surreptitiously rolled her eyes.

"More like the financial records of the entire populous. This was before they devoted themselves to areas of the mind and spirit." She paused, during which time she changed the page again. "This is interesting, it says here that with the help of the Atlanteans they charted the nighttime skies and eventually achieved space travel."

"Were not the Azarathians as advanced as the Atlanteans?" asked an inquisitive Starfire.

"This is over a period of thousands of years." The alien red head nodded in comprehension. Raven read on further. "It goes on to say that during their travels they came upon a race within a dark corner of the galaxy and attempted to establish trade with them."

"Let me guess," began Robin. "The dark corner of the galaxy turned out to be more than a bad feeling."

"Actually it says that for decades the race of aliens they made contact with were fair traders and for a time they had a fruitful relationship. That is of course until the Azarathians realized the real rational behind the race's seemingly good nature. Oddly enough the exact location of earth remained a secret."

"They were betrayed?" prompted Wonder Girl.

"The Azarathians confronted them and found the enemy to be overwhelmingly powerful and obviously after that they severed all ties with them." Raven switched to yet another page. "The last parts of the journal say that they so feared bringing the full retribution of their enemies upon Earth that they destroyed any visible record of their presence save this temple. Another battle was fought, one in which many Azarathians gave their lives to give the others time to escape….but the rest died out."

With a pensive index finger beneath his lower lip Robin spoke, "So the Azarathians left Earth not because it was becoming too chaotic, but because they were afraid of this alien race and what they would bring with them." Raven lowered her eyes away from the glowing text sadly.

"…Yes" A soft hand fell on her shoulder and Raven saw it was Starfire comforting her.

"Here here Raven, your ancestors valiantly managed to stave off disaster. This planet's inhabitants still live because of them."

"I know it's just….." her voice was drowned out by an apparent cloud of disconcertion. It was then that Wonder Girl who spoke up.

"Are they still around?"

"No," said Raven. "They-They were whipped out by Trigon about three years ago." She shook her head.

"No I mean the alien race they encountered." Raven focused her attention more so as Wonder Girl corrected her.

"Yeah they didn't happen to mention what they called themselves exactly did they?" asked Beast Boy.

"No, for some reason it makes no mention as to what the name was at all. But from what I can tell they're still out there….some where." A bone chilling silence, one that easily personified the thought of such a mysterious foe, glided throughout the room and made each of them shiver. Robin took the leader initiative and rescued everyone from the confines of the still quiet.

"Well, then its good thing they don't know about us and that they're probably far away somewhere." Cyborg nodded in agreement.

"Rob's right, whatever these bad men were they're gone now and we don't have to worry about em'." Raven lifted a hand to her head and nodded with closed eyes.

"Yes, you're right. Donna if you could turn this off please." Wonder Girl nodded and looked about for the symbol she'd touched earlier. Her hand moved about raggedly until she chose a symbol at random and the text disappeared. Robin nodded with finality and gestured for them to clear the room; they filed out one after the other with Raven bringing up the rear. Beast Boy poked his head back in to find Raven stealing one last look at the pillars.

"Hey." She twisted her head back at him then looked forward again. "You okay?" She dropped her gaze with a sigh.

"I'm fine." She swiftly walked past Beast Boy leaving him with a minor irate feeling. He followed after her, not noticing whatsoever that the symbol Wonder Girl had touched now began to emit a pulsating glow.

TITANS TOWER………………..

Robin watched Starfire, with adoring fondness, as she, Cyborg and Beast Boy went a round or two with Cyborg's Wii. The two boys without a doubt enjoyed it but Starfire positively laughed and squeaked with rapturous enjoyment. Cyborg only had the sports game that came with the system but that was literally more than enough to keep anyone entertained for weeks.

"Ugh! Ouch!" Raven's grunt grabbed his attention. She stood by the open refrigerator moving aside something that had fallen out onto her foot. He walked over to the counter and after leaning against it cleared his throat. She stole a look at him then returned it to the fridge. "What," was her sharp reply.

"Is something the matter Raven?" She threw her hands up from the annoyance of hearing question over and over again.

"Why would anything we've learned bother me? Its ancient history, I don't see why everyone thinks there's something wrong with me." Robin scratched an area just above his eyebrow.

"It's just the subtle things Raven; you're even more distant than usual. You're a little clumsy," he said noting the cans of soda rolling around beside her feet. "You're never clumsy."

"Will you all JUST DROP IT!" To say a pin drop could be heard was to grossly underestimating the situation. The three over the couch didn't even bother to pause their game. Raven swallowed as faintly as she could and closed the fridge and quietly walked out of the common room. Robin's steady gaze followed her all the way out with narrowed curiosity.

"Rob what was that?" Posed Cyborg. Robin barely shook his head.

"I don't know, something's bothering her though. We may never find out what it is."

--------

Raven entered her room in a huff, taking off her deep blue cape and throwing it aside. The angered, distraught, and all around tired Titan fell down upon her bed with a heavy sigh. Her hands roamed over her face, the quiet stillness of the ceiling stared back down at her.

"It's impossible," she whispered. "Everything I've ever known…" She closed her eyes and without knowing allowed herself to drift off into slumber. Images flooded her dreams; images of when she visited Arella and saw the flaming devastation that was once her birthplace. Her father's deep and malevolent laugh seemed to echo everywhere. Short gasps escaped Raven as she twisted and writhed on her bed.

I'm not afraid of you!

Silly girl, I'm not the one you should be afraid of.

It seemed that Slade, dead or alive, still managed to haunt the dreams of more than just the boy wonder. The shrill sound of the tower alarm jerked Raven out of her slumber and she sat bolt upright. Her head throbbed slightly. A tired groan crawled up from her throat and she rubbed her eyes.

"What now?

--------

The gothic Titan entered the common room in the middle of clasping her cape back around her. She was then surprised to see Galfore's face on the large screen. Starfire, already among the others, extended a greeting of her home world.

"X'hal princess," he answered back.

"I hope you are well my kinorfca," said Starfire with a smile. He nodded back with a small smile but it was fleeting.

"I am afraid I am the bearer of troubling news." With an inquisitive frown Robin walked closer to the screen.

"What's happened?"

"Our colony on Artirus Prime was destroyed this morning, long range sensors have determined that the aggressors originated from the Scelestus System." A look of distress crossed the alien princess' face.

"A-Are you certain?"

"A scout shuttle dispatched to investigate has yet to return, my council suggests allowing a commission to explore the situation further." Raven turned her hood to its upright position. "However, the difficulty lies within finding someone who is either courageous or foolish enough to go."

Beast Boy moved closer to whisper to Cyborg. "Nobody calls just to say 'hi' anymore. It's always trouble this….save the planet that…"

"So you need a volunteer?" asked Robin. Cyborg began waving his hands madly.

"Oh no no no no Rob don't-"

"You would do this?" asked Galfore hopefully. Robin shrugged with a smirk.

"You've been there for us I think it's only fair we do the same."

"It is settled then, I will send you the coordinates. May X'hal be with you." Abruptly his transmission ended. And Robin found Starfire clasping her arms around him tightly.

"Oh Robin I am elated that you have done this generous gesture for Galfore. Incidentally though, I wonder if you are fully aware of the dangers we will face." Raven quirked an eyebrow.

"What do you mean? What's in the Scelestus system?" She turned a particularly grave face to Raven.

"The Psions…"

JUST OUTSIDE THE SCELESTUS SYSTEM……………..

From out of nowhere the aperture of a hyperspace window appeared and shortly after the T-Ship exited at normal speed. Within the confines of her pod Starfire read a text message sent to her via a Tamaranian satellite.

"Galfore has instructed a contingent of battle ships to remain on stand by should the need arise." Robin cocked his head back at her in perplexity.

"Your people really don't like these guys do you?"

"Yeah, how bad could they be?" asked Beast Boy halfheartedly.

"You do not understand how 'bad' they really are," insisted Starfire. "Decades ago they whipped out the inhabitants of an entire planet rather than allow one spy to make contact with one of our agents."

"Yikes, overkill…" muttered Cyborg.

"Indeed, a treaty between them and Tamaran has forbid both sides from trespassing on each other's territory. Until this moment it has never been violated. While they are lacking in physical attributes, their mental prowess should never be trifled with." Beast Boy issued a jaded sighed and flicked a bit of dust off his control console.

"Well you know I'm all about making an entrance but where are they?" Robin shrugged but stop midway as something ahead of him grabbed his full attention. "I mean its just plain rude to set up a meeting and then be a no-show…"

"Beast Boy…" Came Raven's voice, obviously intimidated by the sight ahead of them.

"…Is it really so hard to show up on time? You set your clock, you go by your clock, and you show up on time-"

"Beast Boy!" The team shouted at him in unison.

"What?" His aggravated confusion dissolved into apprehensive wonder. Straight ahead of them an enormous object appeared to be decloaking. The enemy craft dwarfed the T-Ship with zero effort whatsoever. What light was cast by a distant sun was soon blocked out by the dark massive ship. "Okay…that's an entrance." Starfire felt the air in her throat catch.

"We're being hailed," said Cyborg. Robin opened the signal on his screen and was met with nothing but darkness. However, a voice soon penetrated the comm. system.

"We are the Psions." The voice was soft and cold. Robin snapped out of a minor trance and answered.

"We're the Teen Titans, we-"

"Prepare for transport." The screen, although already dark, went blank. Robin twisted around in his seat to look at his friends.

"What did he say?" None of them answered, for a second later all five Titans were consumed by a rippling field of green energy then disappeared. The T-Ship was left floating aimlessly before the Psion cruiser.

The Teen Titans rematerialized alongside each other in a dimly light circular room. As soon as they were in their physical form again quiet whispers and chattering broke out among hundreds of unseen onlookers. Robin glanced to his left to see a lone Psion finishing his use of a device, presumably the device that transported them. The five heroes looked everywhere but their hosts appeared to be shrouded in a completely opaque dark balcony. Robin felt Starfire ease behind him.

"Who's in charge here?!" His voice echoed in the large room. Raven's eyes, hidden behind her hood, shifted about in search of someone they could see. "You're in violation of the treaty between your race and the people of Tamaran. What do you want?"

"Robin…" All heads turned to a voice that had called his name. The Psion stepped into the dim light, his facial features hidden behind a hood similar to Raven's. They noticed several sharp blades attached to his fingers. "…And the Teen Titans, known far and wide."

"You will answer his question now please." The Psion turned his stare on her.

"Tamaranian: species 3969, a battle hardened and headstrong race but impetuous during a critical situation."

"Like the lady said, you wanna answer the man's question already," said Cyborg with his arms crossed. The Psion observed him for a moment, as though he were a computer analyzing data.

"Terran homosapien: species 1573, a primitive and backward race of whom defiance and insolence seems to be their foremost tongue."

"You know us, we get it," said Robin. "So who're you?"

"I am the commander of this vessel, that will suffice."

"Whatever, look we came here to find out what's going on because as I was trying to point out earlier you're all on the wrong side of the fence. We would all like to avoid a war here so if you could take 'your' ship and go home I think that would work for everyone just fine." But it was as though the Psion commander couldn't understand his words.

"The Psions act however and whenever we please. Our voyage into this region of space is not one of waton impulses. Not long ago we discovered a signal being emitted by a subspace beacon. The beacon was traced to the third planet of this solar system." A holographic image appeared before them and their mouths hung ajar as they were shown none other than Earth. "The frequency matches that of a race we believed to have been long departed." He could see their attention was still on the glowing picture of their planet. "What do you know of the Azarathians?" Raven shot a astonished gaze at him.

"What?!...N-No! You're the alien race they made contact with! You're the one's who used them as means to invade!"

"The bold seize opportunities, the meek allow them pass by with mournful regret. They are gone from this very dimension, this much we know. But what remnants still exist on your world? If there are any we must know."

"So what if there are?" posed Beast Boy with attitude. "What're you gonna do about it?"

"They stood between us and our ultimate goal for many gernations, according to this new evidence they still exist in some way on Earth. Therefore, I believe what we would do about it is completely obliterate your planet." Beast Boy's eyes widened and his arms hung loosely at his sides.

"Oh…"

"All I wanted was a nice birthday," muttered Cyborg regrettably.

"No! We won't let you!" Vehemently declared Robin. He readied his staff as did the other Titans with their various battle stances.

"Your feeble powers are not a match for us, you will yield all of the information you know then we will debate on whether or not to invade or destroy your world. If in the end you will not comply then we shall simply find another with which to draw the necessary information. Resistance on your part will be all but futile."

"You'll forgive me, I never agree with the odds," growled Robin. "TITANS GO!" At Robin's command the Titans darted forth in all directions. Cyborg and Starfire fired wildly up at the observers. The light from the sonic blasts and starbolts illuminated dozens of fleeing Psions. Robin dove at the Psion commander but just as he brought his staff down he was sudden struck with a tremendous pain in his head. With a howl of agony he fell to his knees prostrate before his enemy. Starfire glanced over her shoulder and saw her significant other in need.

"We shall be a blight across the galaxy, and everything we touch shall wither and die." He stretched out his hand to the subdued boy wonder for the only reason for which could be terrible. Quick as lighting however, Starfire dove in and scooped up Robin without difficulty. He quickly recovered and instructed Starfire to head for the computer terminal he saw earlier. At his signal she let go of him and he landed on the Psion standing by it.

"TITANS! Over here!" Raven forced a section of the floor to come up behind her in her retreat. The Psions following behind were but smashed flies on the other side. One by one they gathered around Robin, he activated the transporter and within seconds they were gone. The Psion commander stared at the now vacant spot around the terminal.

"Destroy them."

--------

They didn't bother to buckle up as the only thing on their minds was to get away as fast as humanly possible. Robin, his head still throbbing, yanked back on the throttle making the T-Ship flip backward and fly in the opposite direction.

"Doesn't look like they're giving up," warned Cyborg. Without warning a single powerful beam erupted from the Psion ship and narrowly missed their space craft. They were jostled around something fierce.

"Do we want to know how close that was," said Raven.

"Nope," replied Cyborg.

"Cyborg input the coordinates for the jump to hyperspace!" Ordered Robin. "I can't shake them for long!" Just as he said it one shot from their pursuers was true and the solid beam cut right through their shields and tore Raven's pod free from the whole of the ship. The resulting flash caused Robin to look away then return his gaze with stunned horror.

"RAVENNN!" Screamed Beast Boy. Within her pod Raven frantically look about as the space around her spun like a rollercoaster.

Warning! Warning!

The computerized voice prompted her.

Warning! Decompression is imminent.

"What was that?" she asked the computer. But it needn't have answered. The canopy glass suddenly cracked down the middle. "Oh no…" Beast Boy sent a frenzied look of panic at his leader who in turn sent a desperate look over at Starfire. She sent back a nod of readiness. She spoke into her comm. link.

"I am coming Raven!" With the push of a button Starfire decompressed her pod and opened it in order to fly out to Raven's rescue. The Tamaranian moved between flying debris and scattered laser fire. They were somehow able to sense that Starfire had departed from her ship and began concentrating a majority of their firepower on her. She reached Raven's pod just as the canopy was nearly covered by cracks.

"Starfire?"

"Raven!" Her voice was slightly muffled through the glass. "You must exhale as much as possible!" The red head stole a quick glance at the T-Ship, now off balance from missing a large piece. Raven searched desperately for her emergency oxygen mask but soon found it had been damaged. "RAVEN! You have no other alternative!" Reluctantly she was forced to agree, and emptied her lungs of every bit of air she could force out. She nodded at her teammate and Starfire punched away the feeble glass. Almost immediately Raven felt every square inch of her body begin to tighten. So distracting it was that Raven barely noticed that Starfire was already well into the process of pulling her back to the T-Ship at break neck speed. Time was running short, as Starfire knew well from Raven's slacking grip. Raven's eyes began to darken but her fading sight made out a clear barrier forming around her. Starfire brought Raven and herself back into her pod. The second the air flowed in Raven heaved a tremendous breath that would have forced a third lung to form.

"She's got her!" Shouted Beast Boy happily.

"Good but we've still got other problems," grunted Robin. It was a miracle that he'd been able to avoid the multiple shots from the Psion ship. Robin's ability to pilot the small craft became hindered. "Cyborg can we still jump?"

"Are you kidding man, we're minus one pod."

Starfire stared wide eyed at their pursuers. "We cannot evade them for much longer!" Suddenly, without warning, ships of Starfire's home world exited hyperspace and immediately began firing upon the Psion vessel. The enemy ship was a force to be reckoned with, as it managed to defend against its new aggressors and continue bombarding the Titans. Starfire hollered something in her native tongue through her earpiece. A long moment later the Titans were once again taken from their ship but by means of the Tamaranian's own beaming technology. Not a second after they abandoned ship the merciless beam shot through the hull and blew it into a hundred flaming pieces. Galfore knew now was the time to cut losses and ordered an immediate retreat

JUMP CITY………………

Three girls walked home from school in the late afternoon. It was always growing dark by the time the basketball games were over. They chattered about various things as they walked.

"So Terra are you gonna ask Alan out or are you just going to goggle at him for the rest of the year?" Terra blushed with an aversive gaze.

"What makes you guys think I even like him?"

"You were staring at him when he sat out; he wasn't even on the court."

"He was standing against the wall."

"I rest my case," replied her friend smugly. They reached a street corner and the three friends were forced to part ways. "We'll see ya tomorrow."

"Bye," called Terra. One of her friends turned back and with the assistance of her hand mouthed the words 'call him'. She waved her off with a playfully irritated smirk. She walked on by herself. Terra never feared walking these streets on her own. Many houses were very close by in this neighborhood and the family that had taken her in had many friends in close proximity. As she walked Terra felt the wind pick up slightly, then came a strange sense of foreboding. It was as if a somehow dormant vigilance was warning her of approaching trouble.

All of a sudden Terra froze. It felt as though her entire body was vibrating. Terra couldn't move or scream or do anything to help herself. It was the most frightening feeling she'd ever felt; there was nothing she could do. Then a bright light shown above her and her head cocked upward at its origin. Slowly Terra's feet left the ground and she lifted up into the light.

TITANS TOWER, several hours later………………

Galfore arranged for the Titans to be returned home as quickly as possible. Cyborg greatly lamented the loss of their (that is "his") T-Ship so much that he put off drawing up the designs for a new one until further notice. Raven sat in sickbay with their holographic doctor checking her respiratory functions.

"I'm fine," Raven droned.

"You're sooo certain," replied the doctor with cheek.

"The Tamaranian doctors said I was fine."

"And when at least one of them is an expert in human anatomy I will agree." Raven rolled her eyes but knew as she did that he was right. The doors swished open and Beast Boy entered sickbay.

"How's she doing?"

"She'll be fine, fortunately she wasn't in the vacuum of space long enough to suffer any permanent damage."

"I'm glad to hear that," said Beast Boy smiling at Raven. She looked away. "Can you give us a minuet?" he asked the doctor.

"I'm sorry I have to finish my exam-"

"Computer deactivate medical hologram," said Beast Boy regardless. The doctor's image rippled from view and they were alone. "Raven, ever since you read us that journal in the temple you've been acting strange." Her eyes locked on him emotionlessly. "Well…stranger than usual." He forced the tiniest laugh out of her which in turn turned a nearby beaker on its side. "I told you years ago that you're not alone Raven…….nothing's changed since then." Raven wanted nothing more than to avoid it, but why? It wasn't as though he were trying to get a life's confession out of her.

"How would you feel…..if you found out that everything you've ever known about you're people was a lie?"

"Raven not all of it was a lie."

"It was all a cover up for why they actually left Earth, why didn't Arella ever tell me? Didn't she trust me?" Beast Boy sat down beside her on the bed though kept enough distance between them for Raven's comfort.

"She was your mother Raven, I'm sure she loved you very much." Raven tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"She had a strange way of showing it." She hopped off the bed and pulled off the clip on her finger monitoring her heart beat.

"Raven…" called Beast Boy. He followed her out into the hall where they ran into Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg; all with grave faces. "Now what's happened?" Robin held a file in his hands.

"We just caught a report on the police database about a suburban family who swear they witnessed a girl being sucked up into the sky in a beam of light." Raven and Beast Boy glanced at each other.

"Like an alien abduction?" suggested Raven skeptically.

"That's what they're saying. The police of course took it as seriously as a cat in a tree but the family did manage to give their sketch artists a fairly good description of the girl. And we would've let them deal with it, except the girl's description matches one of a certain ex-Titan we've been keeping an eye on." He slipped a photo out of the file and handed it to Beast Boy. His grip on the photo tightened.

"Terra…."

SOMEWHERE IN THE GALAXY………………

The Psion commander walked through the dimmed hallways as though he had wheels instead of feet. He entered an observation room overlooking a laboratory. He gazed steadily down at a prisoner lying down on a padded table.

"What is your progress?" he asked in his soft voice.

"The subject is currently in a mentally subdued state: subject is also in perfect physical condition and has potential for remarkable terrain manipulation. Unfortunately the subject appears to be hindered by repressed memories; they are attempting to resurface them as we speak."

"Take great care with your procedures, we do not want out new specimen damaged." The head scientist nodded in obedience.

"If we are successful, what will our next course of action be?" The heartless alien continued to stare down at the 'subject'.

"What we always do; observe, learn…and exploit." Down among the working scientists Terra lay on the table with no straps or restraints, she made absolutely no attempt to stop them because she couldn't. She stared up at a pulsing red light, her limbs feeling as though they weighed a hundred pounds each. From one of her wide open slightly twitching eyes a single tear of helplessness leaked out.

The End

Well, how's that for a dark turn of events. Definitely this season will turn out to be darker than the others but mostly because of mental abuse rather than physical. But still bearing in mind that this is supposed to be a TV show for all ages, so things will be thought of appropriately. Review please!