Author's Note

This is the chapter that refused to end. Sheesh.

RavenFlyingSolo: I'm probably going to be jumping back and forth between the show and the comics, not to mention making a bunch of stuff up. As for Raven reading minds, it has to do with the bond she shares with Robin from entering his mind. I'm going to go into it but I thought I'd clarify that she can't read anyone else's mind and she's not actually reading his.

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"Come on, Cyborg. Just a couple rounds?"

"No way Robin. Last time I had to replace my arm, not to mention I think part of your bo is still lodge in my head."

"Starfire?"

"Hmmm? As I recall Robin, our last encounter ended with the breaking of your wrist, which necessitated the plastering of your arm and you were most . . . . crabby? For several weeks."

"Right. Never mind. Beast Boy?"

"Dude, I know I'm not a rocket scientist, but I'm not that stupid."

"R—"

"No."

It was a perfect day. The sky overhead was a brilliant blue, completely devoid of any clouds and the sun shone brightly, its rays pouring down over the earth and everything on it. A light breeze blew in every once and a while, just to keep the temperature from climbing too high. The sea stretched out like a polished mirror, seeming to go on forever.

Deciding that a day like that shouldn't be wasted in doors, Robin had ordered all of the Titans outside. When that had failed, he had dragged them out one by one and deposited them down near the beach. Then, taking a page from Cyborg's book, he had locked the Tower doors and changed the pass code. Now he was trying to convince one of them that a great way to spend the day would be to spar with him. Crossing his arms over his chest, Robin studied the members of his team, searching each one for a weakness to exploit. Cyborg had plunked himself down onto a rock and was fiddling with the keyboard built into his arm. A brazen challenge would probably be enough to entice the man-machine. But since Robin could clearly see part of his bo staff protruding from the back of Cyborg's metal skull, he decided to skip over his friend. Behind his mask, his eyes shifted to the right. Starfire had wandered a little ways toward the beach, probably to check on the small garden she kept there. Absently he rubbed his wrist, half-remembering the searing hot pain that had shot up his arm. She was out. Beast Boy had transformed himself into a dog and was sprawled on his back, exposing his belly to the warm sunrays. Too easy. He turned his head to the left and his eyes narrowed speculatively.

She sat in the shade of a large boulder, her cowl drawn up despite the heat. A heavy looking book sat open on her lap and her eyes were focused intently on the page. A smile twisted his lips. In the past few weeks he had come to realize a few things about the dark empath. Despite all her control, she had almost as much trouble resisting a challenge as Cyborg had. That is, if you put the challenge right.

"Come on Raven. You're not afraid to get your butt whooped, are you?"

Very slowly her eyes lifted until they met his. "Someone's gotten a little cocky."

His grin widened and he pretended to buff his nails on his tunic. "Well, maybe you should teach me a lesson or two."

She snapped the book closed with one hand and set it aside as she rose to her feet. "Oh, I'll teach you alright. We'll see how well you learn."

Beast Boy rolled to his feet and morph back into his human four, jaw hanging open from Raven's response. Then he glanced over at Cyborg's, whose eyes had widened as well. They stared at each other for a moment.

"Dude. This is going to be the coolest thing ever."

"Not if one of them dies."

Beast Boy waved the idea away with one green hand and rolled his eyes. "Please. Like Captain America over there wouldn't stop it from going that far."

Shading his eyes with his hand, Cyborg watched the two teens as they made their way over to the practice area, a contrast of motions; Robin's short, nimble steps and Raven's smooth, almost gliding gait.

"Twenty bucks says Raven takes him down," he predicted. Beast Boy stared at him in disbelief.

"No way. My money's on Robin, all the way. Ten minutes, tops." He scratched the back of his neck and shuffled slightly. "And I only got ten bucks."

"Deal. Let's go get better seats."

As they carefully picked their way over the island's rocky, uneven ground, towards the flat plateau they used to run obstacle courses, Robin snuck a few glances at his soon-to-be opponent. She was facing forward, eyes on the ground, her expression neutral. No anxiety, no excitement, no nerves. At least, not that he could see. Who knew what she could be thinking. But to all outward appearances, she was calm, as if she was just about to make some of her early morning tea. It occurred to him that he didn't know very much about Raven's fighting style; they'd never really gone hand-to-hand since she tended to rely on her supernatural abilities a great deal more. The things she could do with her mind never failed to amaze him but he found himself curious now about what she could do with just her body. He knew she had at least some martial arts training. They had battled briefly atop Wayne Enterprises when he had been working for Slade and he recalled that she hadn't had much trouble blocking his blows. But then, he'd only been going half-speed. He cracked his knuckles and promised himself that she wouldn't keep that calm demeanor for very long.

Robin would have been surprised at just how many thoughts were streaming through Raven's head as she walked a few yards away from him. Her supply of tea was running low; she needed to go to the store. The cape she was wearing was beginning to fray a bit at the edge. The Yankees had lost again last night. Fucking Jeter. What's the point of paying someone a hundred million dollars if all they're going to do is fly out? One of her library books was overdue. Or not. Maybe it was due next Tuesday. How had Slade gotten involved with Trigon? That hadn't been in the prophecy, had it? Where was she going to get a copy of the Prophecy? Had she packed one? She must have. In the blue chest? No, Malchior was in that one. Fucker. The white one? Maybe it was in one of her scroll cases. One of her socks had a hole in the heel. Must remember to buy socks and tea.

They reached the practice area and turned to face each other. Dressed in a slightly bagging tuxedo, Beast Boy suddenly sprung up in between them and, reaching up, pulled a microphone down to his mouth.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls of all ages, welcome to the main event! A colossal clash of Teen Titans! In this corner, standing five feet, five inches, weighing in at one hundred and ten pounds, deathly in need of some sunlight and hailing from God only knows where, is the Queen of All Things Creepy and Terrifying, the one, the only, RAVEN!"

Raven quirked one eyebrow in Beast Boy's direction. "Nice," she drawled sarcastically. "Why do I have to be announced first?"

The shape-shifter grinned. "It's alphabetical, baby."

"Super." Pause. "And don't call me baby."

He shrugged. "Suit yourself. And in this corner, standing five feet, five inches, weighing in at one hundred and twenty-five pounds with his utility belt, personally trained by the Cape Crusader himself and probably color-blind, the Amazing Boy Wonder, ROBIN!"

Robin frowned at the green changeling. "What do you mean, probably color-blind?"

"Dude, have you ever LOOKED at your costume before?"

"What? It's blue, right?"

Cyborg popped in between them, placing one hand on Beast Boy's head and shoving him down. Over his cybernetic parts was a black and white stripped referee's shirt.

"Okay guys, I want a good, clean fight." He pointed one thick finger at Raven. "No powers."

"I won't need them."

The finger shifted to Robin. "No gadgets."

Robin bared his teeth. "Wouldn't want anyone breaking a nail."

"You might want to prep the Med-Lab Cyborg. Someone's alter ego is about to be broken."

"Yeah?" Robin drew his right arm back so that his hand was near his chin and he pushed his left hand forward, fingers curled slightly. The fingers of his right hand twitched slightly in a come-get-some motion. "Show me what you got."

She tilted her head, ever so slightly. "Visually challenged first."

His eyes narrowed at that and he leapt forward, swinging first with his right arm and then with his left, seeking to catch her off guard with simultaneous punches from both sides. Her hands flew out from within the depths of her cloak, crossing in front of her chest and blocking both strikes. Her fingers closed over his wrists, yanked them up, and then she drove her own fists into his chest. He flew backwards but managed to get one hand out in time to flip himself backwards and land gracefully on his feet.

A little surprised at her speed, Robin was forced to take a step back and reassess the situation. Raven might rely almost entirely on her abilities in battle, but that apparently did not mean she had been lax in training her body. Well, alright. His fingers flexed inside his gloves as he looked at her with a newly raised level of threat. She acknowledged the subtle shift in his stance with another slight nod. One hand flew out to the side, flinging her cloak back over her shoulder. The soft breeze caught it for a moment, snapping it dramatically before it settled into place. Her hands lifted to hover just under her eyebrows; her eyes watched him over her knuckles and she mimicked his earlier taunt. He grinned and dipped a little lower, hunching up onto the balls of his feet.

They shot towards each other as if in response to some unheard bang of a starting gun. Robin had always been confident in his abilities, even before Batman had trained him. Life with the Dark Knight had only served to heighten that confidence. Batman had taught him to trust his body and his mind, because undoubtedly someday, in some situation, they would be all he would have to rely on. So he took great pride in his martial arts skills and he didn't think it bragging when he considered himself the best fighter on the team. But Raven was making him reconsider that position. Every punch he threw was blocked, every kick failed to hit its mark. It was as if she knew exactly what move he was going to make a split second before he even knew. And the speed at which she threw out her own strikes was fast enough to give him no small amount of trouble.

Sitting up on the rocks above the practice area, Beast Boy and Cyborg watched the flurry of action going on below with a great deal of enjoyment. It was almost as if two of the best fighters from their favorite video game had suddenly come to life and decided to duke it out in front of them.

"Go Raven! Told ya she was going to kick his ass."

"Dude, please. He is so just toying with her right now."

Having finished tending to the small patch of Tamaranean plants she had brought to Earth with her, Starfire made her way over to where Beast Boy and Cyborg were sitting. Her eyes, however, were also caught on the two figures battling for bragging rights. She bit her lip as she watched one of Raven's strikes caught Robin under the chin, snapping his head backwards. He responded with a punch of his own that just barely grazed the empath's cheek but it was enough to have her leaping back, giving him room to plot his next move.

"Friends? Have Raven and Robin gotten into a disagreement?"

Beast Boy shook his head while taking a long slurp from a cup of pop and shaking a huge, red, foam finger that had ROBIN printed on it in white lettering. "Nope. Robin totally goaded Raven into sparring with him. And now they're battling it out for the Heavyweight Championship of the Tower."

"Well, Raven's battling it out. Robin's just sorta taking it like a little bitch," Cyborg corrected, letting out a loud "BOOH-YA!" when Raven landed another blow.

"I told you, he's toying with her. Just wearing her down. My ten bucks says he's gonna school her."

"Your ten bucks are going to be MY ten bucks in about two minutes."

Starfire stared at her two friends, shifted her eyes to the flurry of movement below, and then turned back. "Am I to understand that you two have placed monetary value on the outcome of Raven and Robin's sparring session?"

Beast Boy nodded. "Yep. You want in?"

She considered briefly. "Ten of the bucks that Robin shall be victorious."

Robin swung his arm out, knocking Raven's fist off course with his forearm. The longer they fought, the more he learned about her style and the easier it became to defend against. Easier maybe, but still not easy. He just barely managed to dodge a well-aimed kick. She wasn't quite as fast as he was but she was quick enough to prevent him from out-maneuvering her. His knee shot up just in time block another kick and he leapt up to avoid the cleverly timed leg sweep. He swung his fist down as he descended but only felt air as she stepped to the side. Hitting the ground, he immediately swung back with his elbow. Raven blocked the blow with both hands and stepped forward with her right foot into the back of his knee, pitching him forward. He grunted slightly as he fell to his knees; she kept her hold on his arm, shifting her grip into a very effective arm bar. If he couldn't out-maneuver her, the he was going to have to try and overpower her if he wanted to win. And he did want to win.

Before she could trap his legs and fully immobilize him, he shifted his legs beneath his and pushed off the ground into the air, flipping back over Raven's head. A jolt of pain shot through his arm before Raven released her hold on it; he'd pulled it just a little too far and probably hyper-extended it. Before she could recover from her surprise, Robin wrapped his good arm around her neck and gripped the wrist of his other arm, catching her in a choke hold that was loose enough to allow her to breathe, but tight enough to make movement difficult. And in that moment, he learned a number of interesting things.

She was small; despite the fact that he probably had at least a dozen bruises or so thanks to her, it felt like if he squeezed too hard, he would crush her. Her hair was soft against his cheek and smelled faintly of vanilla. And her ears were adorable; small and delicate. He couldn't resist placing his mouth close to one, his lips practically brushing it.

"Ready to say uncle?" he asked.

Raven's response was swift. Two hands flew up to grab hold of his forearm, tugging down. At the same time, she dropped her weight and bent forward, throwing him over her shoulder. Robin landed hard on his back, the wind knocked out of him. She was on him before he could think to move, pushing his injured arm down to the ground at a right angle. She slipped her own arm underneath his bicep and over his wrist, locking her fingers around her wrist. Then she lifted her arm slightly.

Pain flared up his arm again and he tapped the ground with his free hand to signal his surrender. Immediately she shifted her grip and he felt the cool, oddly numbing sensation that was the trademark of her healing powers. When she finished, he sat up and rubbed at his elbow while staring at her in disbelief. He'd lost. He couldn't believe it.

"You know how to wrestle?" he asked finally after a moment, unable to believe that Raven, Raven of all people, had spent any amount of time rolling around on a gym mat. Raven pulled her cowl down and shook her head, smiling her slight smile.

"No," she said, reaching out to tap a finger against his forehead. "But you do."

He was instantly transported back to their conversation on the roof the night before. His eyes narrowed sharply. "You're going to have to show me how to control that."

There was a brief flash of something in her eyes before Raven rose smoothly to her feet and held out a hand. "Yes," she said a bit forcefully, making him wonder if that had been her mission all along. "In fact, why don't we do that right now?"

Robin chuckled as he clasped her hand and pulled himself up. "Are my thoughts that bad?"

"Oh, I suppose not. And I agree with you. Someone probably should explain the concept of underwear to Starfire."

He flushed scarlet and shot a sideways glance towards the alien girl who was deep in conversation with Cyborg. "Ah—"

"Beast Boy can be something of a slob but I don't think neutering him is the answer."

"Um—"

"Your porn tape? I found that the other day, underneath the couch cushion. I put it in the incinerator."

He shut his eyes. "Listen, Raven—"

"The probability of us ever having sex is slim to none, especially if you keep wearing those tights. It IS bound to cut off the—"

His eyes popped back open and he held up a hand. "OKAY! I get it. Let's go meditate. I've always wanted to learn."

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RANDOM TITAN THEATER PRESENTS: "Alternative Uses For The Bible."

Raven: "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion—"

Beast Boy: "Don't you have any spells that don't use those words?"

Raven: (eyes him balefully and holds out finger) "Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus—"

Beast Boy: "AHHHHHH! (runs away in terror)

Starfire: "Friend Raven, what are the meanings of those mystical words?"

Raven: "They aren't mystical words, Starfire. They're books of the Bible."

Starfire: "I see. And is this Bible a frightening book?"

Raven: "Only to the illiterate."

Starfire: "Then why did Beast Boy appear so frightened?"

Raven: "Were you under the impression that Beast Boy could read?"