Raven hadn't emerged from her room in the past few days.
Why is she avoiding us? Starfire wondered. We are her friends. Why won't she share her troubles with us? It was almost a relief when an alert came in. It was Ardonis causing trouble near City Hall, and the team flew out to stop him. They did, but instead of resolving some of the tension, the brief fight only worsened it. Raven hardly fought, and when she did, her powers were weak, as if she was barely using them. She didn't trust herself. Starfire thought, mentally reviewing the battle from the tower. Did she truly believe that she would loose control again? Apparently so. She walked back up to her room upon her return, ignoring the rest of the team's attempts at conversation.
"This needs to stop." Robin said, addressing the team.
"The team can't continue to function like this. We need to find out what's bothering Raven." The others nodded.
"Is it not obvious?" Starfire questioned. The others looked quizzically at her.
"She does not trust herself to use her powers. She fears that she will lose control again."
She continued. Robin shook his head.
"She's lost control before, and she's always gotten over it."
True. Starfire thought. What made this time different? She recalled how horrified Raven had looked after returning to normal.
"Hold on." Cyborg put his hands up.
"Just how are we supposed to find out what's up? She never leaves her room, and I'm not just gonna barge in. That didn't work out too well last time." Beast Boy nodded.
"Then we'll wait outside until she comes out. She has to eat sometime." They all nodded.
Apparently she didn't need to eat. They took turns sitting outside her room for days, but Raven never emerged. The occasional surge of power could be heard inside, usually followed by something breaking, but for the most part, there was silence.
Why is she doing this? Can she not sense that we are concerned about her? Does she not care? Apparently not.
Starfire walked down the stairs as Beast Boy took over for her.
She must be upset. Robin observed. She's walking. Cyborg nudged him.
"Hey Robin." He whispered.
"I just thought of something. Raven doesn't need to use the door right? She can just phase through the floor." Robin nearly hit himself for not remembering.
"I guess we should take turns waiting down here at night then." Robin muttered.
"Yeah."
Starfire stood next to the refrigerator, waiting for Raven to appear, if she appeared. She sighed. The others were sleeping down here, ready to be awakened in case Raven showed up. Starfire sighed, wishing Raven would just talk to them so that everything could return to normal. She opened her eyes, had she heard someth-
Raven phased trough the floor, sighed, and stepped towards the stove.
"Friend-Raven!" Starfire shouted from behind her. She cringed.
"What are you doing here?" She asked, turning around.
"She wasn't the only one." Cyborg said, standing in the doorway. Robin got up from the couch, and Beast Boy reverted from the insect that had been sleeping on a nearby monitor, into his normal form.
"We were so worried about you!" Starfire exclaimed as she hugged Raven.
Starfire leaned close, and brought her mouth to Raven's.