The bustling downtown metropolis of Prague seemed to engulf Raven, as she was simply amazed at the vastness of the city. Jump City alone was grand and up to date in terms of architecture, but Prague managed to be a modern city of civilization, while retaining the old-world feel to it. That alone in itself made it appeasing and simply enjoyable to all who graced it. She had immediately fallen in love with it, comparing it to Berlin that is. Even though the area of the city was quite different from what she had experienced in Germany, it was simply better to the senses. Her bike, the most gracious gift that was bestowed upon her by Alexa, sat idle, parked on the street, while she, still wearing the jacket that went along with the helmet, was seated at a small café, sitting out in the open air, reading a newspaper. A grin of satisfaction crept across her face as she read one of the subtitles to the paper.

"Illegal Underground Fighting Ring in Berlin Exposed; Arrests Made"

"That," Raven thought, "is quite hilarious. Rather ironic, too. I'm glad I managed to get Alexa out of that situation in time, as well as myself, but I think she would have ended up like the rest of that scum."

She took a sip of her tea, still looking at the paper as she continued to read the article upon the very thing that she despised.

"It an odd sort of way," she continued about herself, "I'm also pleased with myself that I manage to get Evanna out of there too. She's kinda like me in a way, both of us made a mistake, and reprimanded for it, and at a great cost too. Her's just happened to be a tooth, mine…well, just a little bit more."

She laid the paper flat upon the table, taking another drink from her cup, enjoying the soothing, warm feeling as it went down. Just as she finished taking a welcoming drink, she searched her pockets upon her jacket, finally brandishing the same, crumpled-up map that she had before, unfolding it.

"Ok, let's see here," Raven quietly said to herself, running her finger to the city upon it that she was in. "I'm here, and I need to go this direction," she added, running it across the wrinkled paper east, towards her destination of Southern China.

"That appears to be a slight problem," she stated, seeing what the map was telling her. "Not a single major road leads east, unless I want to take a huge detour, which will take even longer. The bike helps a lot, but I know I'm going to have to eventually ditch it, the later, the better. I'm just not seeing any roads that I can take past Hungary that will give me passage. The closest thing is a detour all the way through Moscow, or to find a way by water. One takes too much time and will cost money I don't have, while the other I can't do because I technically don't exist and they want papers for that kind of thing."

She leaned back from the map in her chair, letting out an exasperated sigh of irritation. Raven brought her hand to her temples, rubbing them.

"This just keeps getting better and better," she quietly said to herself, "not only was I dumped off in the ass-end of nowhere, almost dead, mixed up with illegal fighting by accident, and more recently, got my face beat in, and now this...this is ridiculous. I just need to relax, take a deep breath, and figure out a solution."

Raven did so, drawing in a long breath, slowly exhaling it, finding it slightly easier to focus on coming up with a plan, but it was still difficult. A "dead" superhero that lost her powers and has no way of contacting anyone that could possibly help is rather daunting, but she hasn't given up yet. She isn't about to either, coming so far, yet so much farther away from her goal and destination. If the True Master, or all that she knew what to call her by from Robin's experiences, can help her in any way, then her quest will be one of success. If she is unable to help this nearly broken soul, then all was in vain and lost. Raven really hoped that she didn't come to a conclusion on the latter.

"I've got nothing," Raven finally told herself, as if she were talking to another being, but it was only her, secluded upon the open-air café. "I need to get out and think; just sitting here is getting nothing done."

Though she had noticed it before, her eyes wandered over to a stone building, grand in terms of construction, but nowhere near the size of the neighboring skyscrapers. It was upon this building that the etched-in letters bore:

CITY MUSEUM

A slight smirk graced Raven's visage for a second upon the reading of the letters.

"I can think clearly there, besides, I need to brush up on my history anyway, it's been a long time since I read a good history book," Raven commented with a minute smile towards her new course of action, and hoping that a mere tour would yield a desired result to her conundrum.

"It's about time I take a load off anyways," Raven commented as she got up from her seat, leaving money to pay for her cups of tea. "Between trying to survive, doing chores, conditioning my body, and getting the crap kicked out of me, I haven't had much time for myself. It's about time to change that."

Before she knew it, she was climbing the grand steps to the archaic seeming building, the gothic architecture of long ago still presiding upon the surface of the building's stone structure. Not only were many designs, ranging from simple interlocking lines to full-fledged masterpieces, were carved into the stone faces, but a clock was imbedded into the center of the front of the building. Gargoyles remained perched upon pedestals about the roof to fend off pigeons looking for a stoop, as well as scare away evil spirits, if you believed in that kind of thing. In Raven's case, she wasn't about to put anything past herself. The doors, on the other hand, where a hybrid of art and function. Though made to appear much like the rest of the building, they revolved, and were an amenity that she had long abandoned on her travels, now more than welcome to see something like that. Raven was quickly taken in by the vastness of the interior of the building as she passed through the door, the polished marble floors reflecting everything off of them with pristine mirror-like qualities. Sounds of hustling and bustling were echoing about through the emptiness of the lobby area, the only thing taking up space appeared to be the information desk, pillars to support the high ceiling, and a display of the museum's current prized exhibition, which appeared to be of prehistoric times, the grand intact skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex standing erect, surrounded by other minor displays.

"That would be interesting if I didn't already know that one existed in real life today," Raven joked with herself, lightening her mood somewhat. "I don't think they were green way back then, nothing more than just an educated guess."

Raven began to walk about; looking for a directory to what was located where in hopes of actually enjoying her tour instead of becoming frustrated in an attempt to find anything. Before one of the sets of elevators, there stood a map of the building, the cliché "you are here" side note apparent.

"Alright, apparently I'm here," Raven said sarcastically, feeling undermined, as did many people by the mere sight of something like that. "I'm so thankful that I know that now, I don't know what I could have done. Back to business though, so let's see here…"

Raven quickly scanned through the list of exhibits upon the directory, her finger stopping upon one close to the bottom.

"Ah," she triumphantly congratulated herself, "Exhibit of the Paranormal and the Occult, Third Floor. See if they have anything I don't know about already."

Without another moment's notice, Raven walked towards the elevator, one set of doors opening as several people stepped out, giving her the chance to just simply walk in. Yet, before she could depress the button to take her to her destination, a mother and young boy came in as the doors were closing. As what most strangers did, they didn't acknowledge one another, maybe a greeting and asking of how their day was, but nothing more. That ideology only went double for Raven, as with her natural…differences, but also her physical traits she now bore, thanks to Slade. Raven didn't even have to make eye contact with the small partition of a family, knowing that the little boy was staring at her, and the mother was clearly avoiding interaction. Luckily, she had grown quite used to it over the years of life, but it still hurt somewhat every time, bringing the feeling and old statement she has told herself over and over again into the light, thinking:

"I'm not creepy, I'm just different."

The elevator stopped upon the third floor as Raven had requested of it, quickly exiting to avoid the innocent, yet piercing stare of the little boy. What was not understood was often feared, and nearly all of the entire civilization of humanity except for an elite few did not understand her. Not only was she in a different region of the world, but her own features seemed to stem even more stares of curiosity and speculation, such as her ashen-gray skin, deep violet hair and eyes, one eye forever scarred to a ghost white, and that scar still present upon her pale flesh. Though the wound had long healed over since, it was still apparent, and the emotional pain still lingered. That emotional pain remained because of her mind constantly torturing her with Slade's apparition, attempting to get her to believe that he really was inside of her, but she knew better, yet, the mere sound of his voice was unsettling as it was. The center of the building was open air, allowing the mighty skeletal remains of the T-Rex in the lobby area to have unrestricted height, also giving a pleasing view below. Thus far, the museum was aesthetically pleasing to the senses, something she hadn't been able to experience for the longest time. As she had expected, the entrance to the Paranormal and Occult exhibit consisted of what looked like the entrance to a gothic castle of the Dark Ages. Though it was only a façade, it was convincing, even by Raven's standards. She entered, passing two pristine suits of medieval armor upon either side. Instead of being the normal highly-polished steel that most were constructed of, these were black as coal with red engravings upon them. Just the mere sight of them lulled Raven in.

"These are quite interesting," she commented, bending down to read the museum notes engraved upon a plate before either of them:

"Though an ordinary blacksmith shaped this suit of armor from hardened iron, the red engravings and markings granted the wearer of the armor with inhuman powers, or form what legend says. Neither the lord over those who wore these or even those who actually donned this suit of armor is known, so it is impossible to get all the facts from the speculation. For a suiting name, these rare suits of armor have been dubbed Blood Knight Armor. A hint of common-sense clearly shows that these didn't serve for the greater good."

"For some reason," Raven commented upon finishing her gathering of information, "I'd expect something like that from the museum, calling it what they wish and having no idea what it actually is. I suppose it's better than nothing, and I certainly don't know anything, so let's just leave it at that. Besides, how would they know about the armor having "inhuman powers"? Did they try it on? It's this exact kind of thing that causes me to lose whatever respect I do have for the scientific and historical community. Once more, people fear what they do not understand."

Raven continued on, hoping whatever other displays were present didn't have information of the same manner of ignorance. A rather old looking book in the confines of a glass case grabbed her wandering eye though, leading her up to it.

"Ah, the Tome of Archias," Raven said to herself, "I've heard of this one, a spellbook once belonging to a powerful wizard in the 1200's. Though, nothing much is actually known about him, nor his book."

Her attention was completely grabbed by what lay on the pages that were opened. It was a spell of course, but it was one of summoning locked energies within one's self, and that did apply to Raven, as her powers were begging to get out, but she was kept away from them. As another part of her going away gift from Alexa, Raven produced a small camera from her pocket, taking several photographs of the pages, and possibly hopes to use them to her own good later on. With immediate interest in the exhibits, Raven continued to dwell into the information before her.

"The Sword of Avalon," Raven said in awe, "I never thought I'd see it in person, but many royal figures have carried this weapon, and it is said to be cursed by the first owner, a king who was assassinated because of greed, and all those who wield this sword out of spite and personal gain will meet a terrible fate. This sword alone has changed the history of Europe, shaping it to what it has become today. Only a legend, but much like all the other artifacts and relics in the exhibit, interesting."

Raven's tour of the information-rich exhibit ended, and much of the day had been spent amongst it, but as she was leaving, ready to exit the doors, a voice sounded:

"Here, is the mighty Tyrannosaurus Rex, a carnivorous flesh-eater, and one of the mightiest of the dinosaurs…"

The voice trailed off in Raven's mind as she was attempting to place a name to the one who owned it, turning to see who it was emanating from.

An older gentleman possessing black hair, a stripe of silvery-white upon either side stood there, leading a tour. Yet, he remained oddly familiar. He also wore round-rimmed spectacles, his face thin, but not bony. This man was not irregularly tall, but taller than the average male of his size. His tall, thin frame was dressed in a brown suit, looking the part of an intellect all to well. The only distinguishing factor in Raven's mind was his dialect, the way he spoke, and how he did in that manner, it was all too familiar. Just as she was about to approach him, an aid of some sort walked up to him, Raven well within an earshot of them.

"Professor Light," she called to, holding a clipboard, "I need you to go over these new files on the carbon dating of those bones you requested."

"Ah, yes," Light replied, taking the clipboard from her, "thank you. I'll be in my office going over these, hold my calls, no visitors please."

"Light…" Raven thought, and it was instantaneous, "Dr. Light, I knew it. I don't know what he's up to…but I'll find out."

Raven followed the two of them as they walked across the expanse of the lobby, heading for the small cluster of offices along the walls of the right corner. The secretary, or what she presumed to be, sat down at her desk as Light entered his own office, closing the door behind him. Without another thought, Raven approached the desk.

"Can I help you, Miss?" She requested of Raven.

"Yes, you can actually," Raven replied, "I need to speak with Do-, er, Professor Light on a matter of importance."

"I'm sorry," she sincerely informed, "but Professor Light is busy at this moment, I can set up an appointment for you if you wish. The soonest possible time would be next…Friday at 3:00 p.m."

"I'm not waiting over a week to speak with him," Raven defied, "it is extremely important."

"I'm sorr-"

Before the lowly secretary could reply, Raven already stormed past her desk, going up to the door belonging to Professor Light's office, and the lettering said he was also the head of the archeological department of the museum. Raven rapped her knuckles upon the frame of the door in quick succession.

"I'm busy, please come back at another time."

Without another thought, Raven simply opened the door, slamming it upon the wall as she threw it open. Light looked up from his desk, startled, not even realizing who it was at first.

"I don't know who you think you are, but you have no business barging into my office, now leave this instant before I call security."

Raven casually closed the door, locking it, then turning back to face him. It was then when he realized who it was.

"I see you are doing rather well for yourself, Dr. Light," Raven quipped, watching his pupils shrink in fear.

"No," he protested, becoming visibly frightened, "yo-y-you're dead, this isn't possible, you aren't real."

"Obviously not, I'm speaking with you, aren't I?" Raven calmly stated as she advanced forward, Light scrambling from his chair and desk, knocking his chair over in the process, as well as scattering his recent work off the desk top.

"Stay back," he warned, "whatever it is that I did to deserve this haunting, I ask for forgiveness, please don't hurt me."

"For the love of-," Raven growled, becoming frustrated by his skittish attitude towards her. "I'm not dead, I'm not going to hurt you, so please, stop, sit down, and relax."

"H-how do I have your word?"

"Either do it or I'll break more than my word," Raven warned, causing him to immediately take a seat after quickly picking it back up.

"H-h-how are you n-not dead?" Light quickly questioned, "From what I heard, you died along with Slade."

"Died?" Raven quickly replied, "It's a long story, but I killed Slade, and I managed to escape. He's dead, I'm not, end of discussion."

"Is that where you received that scar from?" He continued, interested in her appearance, but also wishing to keep her at bay.

"Yes, enough catching up, I need you to help me."

Dr. Light sat idle for a moment, perplexed.

"Say what?"

"I said I want you to help me, plain and simple. You help me; I'm out of your hair. If not, I expose you for what you really are." Raven plainly informed, feeling as if she had leverage over the villain.

"You come into my office and threaten me?" Light boldly contested, "Whether you realize this or not, but I do have a degree in Archeology, so I am a professor of the study. This is where I have been since your…displacement. You can say I was scared straight in a sense. I have a clear record in this country, and unless you have evidence to extradite me, I suggest you back off with your threats if you expect to get anything from me."

"Listen to me, you freak," Raven finally broke, grabbing him by his collar across the desk in a flash, "I have lost my powers, I need to get back to Jump City, and you are going to help me."

"Why should I fear you and help you in your little quest if you don't have your powers, you pathetic excuse of a hero?" Light boldly protested.

Raven quickly slammed his head off of his desk, knocking his glasses free, and then returning him to his original position before.

"Just because I don't have my powers doesn't mean I can't snap you like a twig and make you beg for your life. Now, before I get really mad, sit down, and listen to my proposition." Raven warned, releasing him, pushing him back into his chair.

Light was disorientated, holding his head from the blow Raven had dealt with the help of his hardwood desk.

"Now that we have an understanding, Arthur," Raven flatly commented, reading his desk nameplate as she held it in her hands, quickly throwing it over her shoulder onto the floor. "Will you be…civilized and not present any more interruptions?"

Feeling his head and the excruciating pain Raven gave him, he merely nodded; ready to listen in hopes of not receiving any more punishment.

"Glad that we are seeing eye-to-eye now," she informed, "I need to get back to Jump City. Do you know how I can?"

"…Okay," He managed, feeling for blood upon his head, but there was none, "First things first, do you have any kind of ID on you at all? You said something about being dumped off or something."

"That's the problem," Raven admitted, "I technically don't exist right now, but I do have this," she added, pulling her communicator from her pocket, sliding it to him.

"If you have this, then why do you need my help? Can't you just call the Titans to pick you up?" He queried, picking it up to study it, seeing how he had never been allowed to touch such a piece of equipment before.

"I would if it worked," she informed, "something's wrong with it. It comes on, but I can't get a signal to send a message, and the battery is dying. Can you fix it?"

"Do I look like an electronics expert?" Light flatly stated, seeing she was in no mood for his quips. "…Right then, I'm sorry, I do not posses the expertise to repair your communicator unless I had the schematics of its construction."

Raven merely looked on flatly.

"You're kidding, right?" Raven added, "The only expert upon electricity and other related things, and you don't know how to repair a simple communicator?"

"As I said," Light narrowed his stare, "I do not know how to fix it. I know how to harness the power of electricity, not fix electronic components. There's a much larger difference between the two than you think."

"I don't remember asking for your life story, or an excuse," Raven replied, staring back, putting him in his place, "do you know anyone that can?"

"I'm sorry, I don't," he nonchalantly replied, sliding the communicator across his desk back to her.

"Well," Raven began, attempting to find a solution to her dilemma, "can you find me transportation?"

"Depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Depends on where you need to go and when," Dr. Light offered, "I may be able to help there, anything to get you out of my hair and to leave me alone. You've put me into a state of mild psychosis and insanity for long enough."

"So I've accomplished something after all," Raven stated with a smirk, knowing she did have the advantage at the moment, powers or not, "I need to get to Southern China."

"China? What for? I thought you wanted to get to Jump City."

"It's a long story that I'd rather not share, so can you or not?" Raven pressured, awaiting an answer.

"I'd assume as soon as possible," Dr. Light presumed, "I may be able to help you, but what do I get from this exchange?"

"You get to stay alive, that's a plus," Raven threatened, and rightfully did so, "I took Slade out, what makes you think I won't do the same to you in a heartbeat?"

"Alright, alright, enough with the hostility," he pleaded, seeing she was more than serious in her threat. "I have an…acquaintance in Hungary, he owns a plane, with all of the necessary stops, he may be able to get you to China."

"What kind of an acquaintance?" Raven pressed, having a feeling that it was something…shady.

"Nothing illegal, so quick with the assumptions," Dr. Light stated, "He has given me several treks to various cities about Europe. I'm sure with an extra fee; he will fly you to China."

"You're paying for it," Raven quickly informed, "if you want me out of your hair and me on my way, then you'll foot the bill."

"Do you have any idea on how much that will co-" Light began, only to receive a seemingly "death-stare" from her, and knowing it could quickly turn into more than that. "Right then, well, I'll be sure to have it charged to my account."

"Where at in Hungary?"

"Here," He stated, sliding a small map across his desk, one more in depth than the one she carried. "The airport he operates from is circled on there."

"See how much easier it is when you cooperate with me?" She reasoned, being more than sarcastic with this former villain, or perceived former villain.

Light only made a face as if he was laughing, but did share in the sarcastic region of things as well. If anything, that was one of the very minute few things that the duo shared common ground in. It was very small indeed though.

"What's the name of the pilot?" Raven requested, checking the location upon the map once more, then glancing up from it to lock eyes with him.

"That's…irrelevant," Dr. Light stated, getting an expression of resentment from Raven. "Look, do you want help or not?"

"Do you want me to break something?" Raven quickly snapped back. "What the hell is his name?"

"I told you, it's irrelevant," Light reiterated, scribbling something down upon a piece of paper. "I'll give you the plane's identification number and the hangar that it is located in."

"How can I trust you?" Raven stated, knowing her enemy all too well.

"I'm not dumb enough to incite your anger twice, Raven," he drolly replied, "I will be sure to call him and let him know to expect you. Pray do tell how you plan on getting there so I can make an educated guess."

Raven pondered for a moment, not quite sure if her transportation would truly make it. The bike Alexa gave to her as a rather gracious gift was indeed in near pristine condition, so her contemplation didn't take long.

"Within a mere matter of days," she solidly informed, more than sure of her estimate. "3 maximum. If haven't made it to this "contact" of yours by then, I suppose that you can forget about me, but I will make it before then. You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Whatever," Light quickly replied, Raven not exactly on the top of his most enjoyable people to be around. "Just do whatever it is that you need to do, show up, and he will take you wherever it is that you're wanting to go."

"As I've said," Raven added with a smirk of sarcasm as she stood up, "see how much easier thins are when you don't be an ass? I would like to…thank you for your services, and I do hope you remain on this new leaf that you've turned, it suits you."

"Because of this little "encounter", I am guaranteed weeks upon weeks of therapy again. Not only are you the scariest…creature I have ever seen with my own eyes, but you continued to torment me even in your perceived death. I need to renew my prescriptions."

Raven merely huffed a laugh at the insatiable man's sheer mental instability when it came to her. If anyone reviewed the situation under nearly any circumstance, they would arrive to a similar conclusion: Dr. Light was clinically instable and near the point of mental insanity. An intelligent man driven into this insane state of mind by his own paranoid nature was truly sad indeed. It didn't matter though, this was all old news to Raven, especially since she was the culprit responsible for what had happened to the mind of Dr. Light.

"Oh," Raven stopped short of walking out the door, turning to face him again, "one more thing. If I so much as hint any kind of…offensive action taken against me, oh, let's say, an "accident" while in transit, I will be sure to come back and make you beg for death. As I said, you're lower than the earth I walk on, and I won't hesitate to finish what I started."

"Alright, already," he exasperatedly replied, "just show up, that's all you need to do. No tricks, no traps, just a free plane ride, that's all, I promise. You've managed to survive this long on wits alone, and so have I. Please, leave me be, that's all I ask."

Raven could tell that he really did mean his words by now. Not only was he telling the truth upon her proposed transit to China, but the fact that he feared her with every fiber of his being, and only wished to be left in isolation away from her.

"Dr. Light?" Raven queried as she placed her hand on the doorknob, ready to leave.

"What?" He answered, still ever-vigilant, as well as defensive towards her.

"…Thanks," she managed, finding the moment rather awkward, not only showing an act of kindness in general, but one direct towards a known villain of the Titans.

Stunned, it didn't require any words to express the rush of thoughts that came forth from Dr. Light's subconscious, and was too dumbfounded by said thoughts to reply, only to watch the violet-haired mysterious woman of Raven exit his office, gently closing the door behind her.

"It's official," he said to himself as he collected his work back upon his desk, "I'm insane….I knew I should have stayed on my medication."

Meanwhile, Raven had already found herself back across the street, donning the helmet upon her head, preparing to embark and continue upon her quest to meet the True Master and learn whatever she possibly could, and then hopefully go home. Though, the sight of a pink slip tucked into the windshield of the bike and the molding of the body in the front caught her eye.

"A parking ticket?" Raven said half-heartedly, almost amused, "sorry, but I've got places to go, and I won't be around long enough to pay it." She crumbled it up, tossing it to the pavement beside her boot-clad foot. "Besides, that's highway robbery. Even tickets back in Jump City were nowhere near that much."

Without another wasted moment, let alone thought, Raven jump-started the motorcycle, revving the engine as she disengaged the kickstand, preparing to continue upon her way, and hopefully one step closer to achieving her ultimate goal of nearly 3 years in the making: To return home.

"The odds may be stacked against me," she thought as she maneuvered the vehicle down the metropolitan avenue. "but I'm not about to give up, not when I'm that much closer. Any normal person would have given up by now, but guess what? I'm not normal. Oh, I'm far from it. I may be "different" indeed, but it is that individuality that has pushed me this far. I was able to accept these new experiences into my life in hopes of bettering myself and preparing for what lay ahead of me. Hienrich nurtured me back to health as I was at the brink of death. Not only that, he helped condition my body back to a strengthened state. Hienrich and his mother are most deserving of my gratitude indeed. Though my body was in tune once more, my mind was far from it. That is where Alexa and Hans came in. If it wasn't for them, I would lack the determination, the confidence, and the very drive that is propelling me forward at this very moment. Though he did teach me a thing or two about fighting, as well as conditioning, he taught me more than that. He taught me that no matter how bleak things seemed…they could be a hell of a lot worse. All humor aside, it is no truer than his very teachings he blessed upon me, and I thank him for that greatly. Then there's Alexa. Very…eccentric for a female definitely, but it is that very uniqueness about her that allowed me to bond with her as a friend so well. She and I are very different, both comparatively to each other as well as people around us, but that is what gives us strength as friends. Opposites attract indeed. If it would have been anytime before all of this had happened to me, she is the type of person that I would have definitely avoided. This little endeavor of a trip of mine has…changed me greatly. This change is something that I did not perceive happening, but it is necessary. If I am to survive, if I am to continue, and if I have any hopes of returning to Jump City and the Titans, I must accept it. This change is drastic, but I fully and completely welcome it, as I have been blind to all around me, and it has truly opened my eyes to what I have been missing out on for my entire life. It is a must that I return to the Titans, as not only will I be able to share this with my closest of friends, but hopefully share the feelings I have for Garfield. He and I know and acknowledge one another, now it is only a matter of time before we are reunited. That is reason enough alone to remain as determined as I am. Without that….everything upon this earth is worthless. Garfield is far from it."