To say the mirror exploded was a dire understatement.
Aside from the glass face completely being smashed, there was a magnificent, thunderous BOOM, followed instantly by a shockwave that threw Starfire forcefully into the Tower wall. It was just as though an atomic bomb had been detonated. Out of the shattered mirror, huge tentacles of darkness burst, slithering into the world from nowhere, as if from another dimension. They snaked along the Tower, hugging its walls and spreading rapidly, choking the building in its grasp.
Starfire rejoined the Titans as they watched from the huge hole in the living room's window. From what had been the mirror, darkness was continuing to pour out, as though it wouldn't end. One particularly long tendril shot straight up into the sky, and as it reached the clouds, the sky turned from dark blue to blood-red in an instant.
"What is happening?" Starfire cried. "Is this his new power?"
Beast Boy looked to Cyborg, agreeing silently with the half-robot's pained look. "We have to get to Raven," he said harshly. "Now."
No one needed to be told twice. Each of them jumped out of the window and flew to the roof, Robin and Cyborg being carried by the other two. The sight when they reached the very top made each of them shriek in horror. Raven was lying down – in mid air – her eyes lifeless and her body motionless. The Titans rushed to her side at once, mentally putting two-and-two together.
"Oh man, oh man...come on Raven, wake up..."
"You must wake up! Raven, you must!"
"Raven, please don't...I mean, you have to..."
She didn't answer, but her face contorted into an expression of immense pain. As it did, a loud crackling sound came from below. Robin and Cyborg ran to look, just in time to see the final explosion: black thunderbolts arched out of the darkness, each one followed by what looked like multi-coloured comets. Each of these 'comets' in turn flew rapidly in different directions across the city. As they disappeared, the cloud of darkness below imploded, leaving nothing more than what appeared to be the remains of Raven's handheld mirror. It fell to the rocks below.
Raven's face changed back to the dull, lifeless expression she had had before. Her eyes were completely black, as if there were no soul within, and she continued to float a couple feet off of the rooftop, not moving an inch.
"What...just happened?" Robin turned on Cyborg, suspicion crossing his face.
"Look, man," Cyborg held up his hands in defence. "I had no idea that that was going to happen. I don't even know how it happened."
"What do you know?" Robin shot back. "I know you know, because you and Beast Boy helped Raven the last time that she lost control."
Cyborg looked nervously to Beast Boy. "Well..."
"Spit it out. We need to help Raven."
"This probably won't help at all, dude," Beast Boy mumbled. "But like you said...last time...well me and Cyborg decided to sneak into her room-"
"-you decided it! I knew we were going to get in trouble." Cyborg finished for him, indignant. "Then Beast Boy found that mirror and teleported us-"
"-it was an accident! Who the heck booby-traps a mirror? I was just looking!"
"Anyway," Cyborg continued, ignoring Beast Boy. "She called it Nevermore. It was...her mind. This whole world, in her head."
Robin didn't seem too surprised, but Starfire was appalled. "Then this...'Nevermore'..." she whispered. "It has been...unleashed?"
"Mirror Master wanted to escape into its reflection," Robin guessed. "But, being a part of Raven, it rebuked him, and instead he accidentally brought the reflection out, like he did with Beast Boy earlier."
"How on earth are we going to get all of this," Beast Boy waved his arm to indicate the tendrils of darkness that were swarming slowly over the city. "-back into that tiny mirror?"
"It's quite simple, actually." The voice they heard was the last that they expected. The Titans whirled around to face...
"...Raven?"
But, it didn't look like Raven. Or, perhaps a better description would be that Raven would never be caught looking like she did now. Her cloak was bright yellow, and past the shadow of her hood they could see thick, geeky glasses.
They looked from the comatose Raven to the yellow one, trying to figure out what was going on. The new Raven spoke,
"Yes, I am Raven, and I can help you reverse this cataclysm."
"Who says that anymore?" muttered Beast Boy, but got a pinch in the arm from Cyborg.
Starfire's eyes were as wide as saucers. "Raven? But Raven...she's here...and there...but you're...?" She couldn't finish any of her questions, too shocked.
The yellow Raven seemed to understand Starfire's reaction, and smiled slightly. "Nevermore is Raven's mind. Literally. So, all of the different sides of her personality belong in her mind, correct? With her mirror broken, the world of Nevermore is escaping into the city, including myself. I am Raven's intelligent side."
"Oh. That explains the glasses," remarked Beast Boy, struggling to keep from laughing, even knowing that in the back of his head that the situation was beyond terrible.
"So, all of the different sides to Raven's personality will be running amok through the city?" Robin asked.
"Precisely," Raven replied, pushing her glasses up her nose, ignoring Beast Boy's snort.
"Wait a second," Cyborg stepped forward. "You're talking in third person, as if...well, the other Ravens talked like they really were the real Raven."
"Hence, intelligent. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm not my own person." Raven said simply, gesturing her glasses.
"Other Ravens?" Robin turned on Cyborg. "You mean you met these...personalities?"
"Only a couple," said Beast Boy. "But they weren't as weird as this one."
"Thank you," Raven glared. "Only Beast Boy could make an emotionless personality feel terrible."
It hit home, and Beast Boy felt worse than terrible. "No, it wasn't like that-"
"Moving on," Raven continued, ignoring him. "To recapture the world of Nevermore, you simply have to repair the mirror." At this, she held up the charred remains of the handheld mirror. The frame itself was relatively intact, yet there was no glass left inside.
"So, what...we call a glass-fitter?" Cyborg scoffed.
Raven patiently shook her head and traced her finger around the edge of the empty frame. "No, you must find the pieces. They've been scattered across the city; stolen by the others...the others like me." At the last word her voice shook, as though it had been painful to say.
"How many pieces?" Robin asked, seriously.
"How many Ravens?" Cyborg raised one eyebrow.
"Nine. Well, now there is only eight left to locate." She produced a shard of the shattered mirror, and fitted the piece snugly back inside the frame.
"Eight more pieces?" Robin put his hand to his chin, thinking.
"Eight more Ravens?" Cyborg raised the other eyebrow.
"Yes, that is what I said, is it not? You had better find them as quickly as possible. Some of the...others...they will not appreciate being told that they have to return to the mirror."
"Do they think of this 'Nevermore' as a prison?" asked Starfire.
"If you think about it enough, yes."
"Do you, Intelligent Raven? Do you believe that you were imprisoned?"
Raven looked away, hiding her face behind the shadow of her hood. "That does not matter," she whispered. "The real Raven must awaken. That is what matters most of all. Without her, we are nothing, and without us, she is...well you can see for yourself..." She waved her arm in the direction of the real Raven, lying lifeless in midair.
Robin put his hand on Starfire's arm, warning her from continuing her interrogation. "Okay, Titans," he said seriously. "We have to find the other pieces. We'll split up. Starfire and I will head east. Beast Boy and Cyborg, you search the west. Contact if you find trouble, and make sure you retrieve all the pieces. Raven's life depends on us...all of them." He finished, looking at the yellow Raven, who barely managed to smile back at him.
"Go," she said. "Every piece must be restored."