The room was silent. For half a second, even the machines that covered the walls and fed life into the broken body of the assassin paused their beeping and humming. The air, filled with the sharp smell of medicine, thickened until it pressed against skin like insistent fingers.

And then, just as quickly, they resumed their quiet symphony. But the tension remained.

Robin's jaw clenched and the hand gripping the Ravager's hair curled tighter. The older man winced at the pain, small compared to the others than ran through his battered body but somehow impossible to ignore.

"Lie to me again, and I won't care what you know. I can find out just as much from your corpse as I can from you."

Across the room Cyborg shifted uncomfortably, partly from the assassin's confession, partly from the dark tone in his leader's voice. He had never heard Robin speak like that before, openly threatening to bring death. Not even to Slade. And as for the Ravager's employer . . . . Cyborg's mind was still reeling. How? When? Why? What did it mean? What would it mean for the Titans? Some part of him was certain it was a lie. Another part felt stung. Let down. As if the cornerstone of his belief in justice had been blasted away. It just wasn't possible. The man was a hero. One of the good guys. Say it's a lie.

The Ravager gasped out laugh, pain exploding through him. It felt like his limbs were slowly being torn off, snapped in half like wishbones. Part of him wanted to close his eyes and fall into a sleep he would never wake from. The other part of him was delighted in the torment he was so obviously bringing to his captor.

". . . not lying," he breathed, his vision clouding. "Came to . . . see me. I was . . . surprised and . . . Offered me . . . millionaire . . . money . . . I asked why. . . Said it would . . . save the world."

"So you're a hero now. Right?" Raven's voice was flat. The Ravager chuckled again and offered her a smile that served better as a grimace.

"Can't spend money . . . with no world . . . to sp . . spend it in." He lifted his bruised face toward Robin, his brown eyes barely seeing the young man through the darkness that was threatening to spill over his mind. "What's . . . matter, little bird? All men fall. Some . . . some just further . . . than others."

"LIAR!" Robin snarled slamming the assassin's head down on the bed and pulling his fist back to strike. He wanted nothing more than to wipe that horrific smile off of the criminal's face and purge his sickening lies from the air.

But before he could launch forward, a hand clamped down on his arm. His head whipped around and he saw Cyborg's grim face, his mouth set in a thin line.

"That's enough, Robin."

His low voice cut through the rage that had flooded Robin's mind, replacing it with an uneasy sense of shame. He pulled his arm out of his friend's grasp and turned away from the bed.

"He's not going to give us anything useful. Call the precinct and have them send a transport," he said shortly, struggling to keep his voice steady. To keep himself steady. He wouldn't believe it. Would not. It couldn't be true.

And yet, there was a nagging little voice in the back of his mind that said, it could be true. As it turned out, that voice had a name.

"He isn't lying."

Robin shifted his gaze to Raven, his fingers curling into fists. His entire body screamed at him to deny it. How could she be so sure? She didn't know him. Didn't know that it was impossible for the man to have had anything to do with it.

Then he looked past the shadows of her hood and met her eyes.

It was the confusion, the disbelief, and the fear inside of them that blew through him. His head began to spin and it felt as if the floor were dropping out from underneath him. Again he felt a hand on his arm, steadying him. But this time when he looked up, it was Raven's face he saw. And he was close enough now to see the anger that was also present in her purple irises. The hurt. The accusation.

Robin closed his eyes against it and pulled away, unable to figure out if she was blaming him or if he was blaming himself. He felt her stiffen beside him before moving away. A moment later there was the quiet hiss of the infirmary door sliding open, and then closed.

Cyborg watched his leader quietly, searching for some clue as to what was going through his head. Sometimes Robin could be nearly as skilled as Raven at hiding his true feelings.

"Are you alright, Robin?" he asked after a few minutes of silence. He shot a glance over at the bed but the Ravager's eyes were closed. Still, he lowered his voice as he added, "This is getting pretty heavy."

Heavy isn't the word for it, Robin thought as he dragged a hand through his hair. His mind felt like a mirror that had been struck with a hammer and thousands of tiny questions were raining down. And he had answers for none of them. He didn't even know where to start.

"Why?" he heard himself ask. He turned to Cyborg, his arms folded across his chest, his voice unsure for the first time since Cyborg had known him. "Why would he do it?"

Cyborg lifted his massive shoulders. "I don't know. But knowing him, he must have had some reason for it. And a good one if he was willing to take it this far."

"But that's just it!" Robin exploded, spinning around, feeling the frustration build in him again. "There is no reason good enough!"

Lifting his hands in a gesture of peace, Cyborg took a step backwards. "I don't know anymore than you do." He turned his head towards the door that Raven had swept through. "She seemed pretty upset. You gonna go talk to her?"

Robin shook his head slowly, feeling a new kind of sickness creep into his stomach and tighten his chest.

"Why not?"

"Because you're right. There must have been a reason."

0000000000000000000000

Raven stood on the edge of the roof, as still and silent as a statue, her body angled towards the sun as if she were challenging it. Demanding that it burn away the darkness that seemed destined to forever be a part of her. Hey eyes stared out over the water, stung by the glare, though she saw and felt nothing. The rays of light were hot as they fell over her pale skin but inside she was freezing. As cold and empty as space. Her fingers inched up to her throat and dragged the corners of her cloak closer together.

But the cloth, soft and familiar, did nothing to warm the chill.

She should have expected it. Should have expected betrayal. Oh, he would not see it as betrayal. He would see it as sacrificing one for the good of the many. When faced with a choice between two wrongs, one must take the lesser of two evils.

Azar knew there was more evil in her than in a simple assassin.

There was a sharp pain in her chest, as if someone had taken hold of her heart and was viciously digging their nails into the muscle. No. How could she have? How could she have expected betrayal from him, from him? He with all his morals, with his strong lines between right and wrong. Death was not an option, even when there was no other option.

Not for a human anyway.

The nails dug deeper.

But for a demon? Perhaps death was the only option.

She chuckled humorlessly to herself, her finger rubbing the skin over her heart, as if she could smooth away the pain. If her death was all it would take to prevent the Prophecy from coming to fruition, she would have done the deed herself years earlier. Jumped from a high tower. Plunged a dagger into her chest. Locked herself in her mind until she wasted away. Azar knows it would have been a more pleasant experience than living knowing there was a beast growing inside of her, one that would one day consume her and all those things she held dear. But he couldn't possibly comprehend that.

For evil did not make sacrifices.

That is where Beast Boy found her, standing on the edge, her back to him. Standing in the doorway of the roof's stairway, he scratched the back of his neck, feeling woefully inadequate in his prospective role. What was he doing there anyway? Why couldn't have Cyborg or Starfire gone up there? Or Robin? Raven respected their leader (at least, Beast Boy thought she respected him) and had certainly never threatened to send him to another dimension. And Robin was good at this kind of . . . . talking . . . reassuring . . . thing. What could he possibly do to comfort the young woman? Tell one of his lame-ass jokes? Not that he thought they were lame or anything but he got the distinct feeling she thought they were. Probably because she had told him so. On numerous occasions.

So what? So you're just going to give up on her? Because she doesn't laugh at your jokes? Some friend you are.

Beast Boy shuffled his feet and ran a hand through his hair. No. But . . . I don't know what to say to her.

So don't say anything. She hates it when you talk anyway. Well, hate's probably a strong word but you gotta admit, sometimes you're pretty annoying. Like the time you—

Alright I get the point, he told his brain irritably. Shaking his head, he started towards Raven, twiddling his fingers nervously by his side. He half expected her to turn around, her eyes glowing that freaky red, and blast him off of the roof. He kept the image of a seagull in the forefront of his mind just in case. But he managed to reach her side without incident. Looking up at her face, he wondered if she even knew he was there.

He wondered if she knew she was crying.

Taking his brain's advice, he stepped up beside her and stared out over the water. Honestly he couldn't for the life of him figure out why she was always up there. Sure the water was nice and all but after awhile it got to be so . . . . boring. And so plain. It was just water, stretching out forever in a bunch of directions, maybe occasionally broken up by a couple of boats or the stream from some breaching whale. But otherwise, it was kinda like looking at glass. Living at Titans Tower was a pretty sweet deal and all, what with the GameStation and all the other techno-goodies that Cyborg whipped up, but sometimes, only occasionally, he missed the jungle. The oppressive heat, the thick canopy of trees that seemed to crowd down around you, the chattering calls of hundreds of different animals all within ten feet of you. The laughter of his parents.

In his very best dreams, Beast Boy returned to the jungle.

He glanced over at Raven, noting the blank expression she always wore. Really, if it weren't for the tears, and the heads-up from Cyborg, he might never have guessed that anything was wrong. But something very obviously was wrong. His throat began to itch.

"Uh . . . look, Raven," he began, swallowing. She gave no sign that she heard him. Maybe she was meditating. Maybe he should just leave her alone. Too late now, chicken. He squared his shoulders and took a deep breath.

"Raven. I know you probably want to be alone and all and that's cool, but I wanted to make sure you were okay. It's pretty harsh news, what that guy said, if its true, which I guess you think it is, and Robin too. I know you probably feel angry, or hurt, or sad, or some major combination of all three but I wanted you to know . . . ." he trailed off at the sound of Raven's laughter. Dark and toneless.

"Feel?" she asked, her eyes still staring into the sun. "Mustn't feel. Too dangerous. I don't feel anything. Not anger. Not pain. Not sadness. Nothing."

Beast Boy watched the tears run down her cheek as she spoke, traveling down her chin to where it leapt from her skin. He followed it down until it landed with a silent sploosh on the concrete edge. Then, gathering all of his courage, he raised his eyes back to her face.

"Liar."

He said it quietly but she started as if he had spoken through a megaphone. Her head turned to him and for the first time he saw the pain that swam in her eyes, endless and fresh, constantly renewing like a wound that heals only to split open again. For the second time he found himself wishing that Robin was there. That anyone other than himself was there to see that pain. To share it.

But there was no one else.

He steeled himself against that gaze, against the hurt that seemed to radiate from her. "You're a liar Raven. You feel more than any of us. You keep it all inside but you can't hide it. Not from us. Not from your friends. If you didn't feel anything you wouldn't care about the stupid Prophecy. You wouldn't care about the world being destroyed. You wouldn't be angry that someone you trusted, someone we all trusted, had sent someone to kill you. You wouldn't be hurt that someone believed you weren't good enough to let live. You wouldn't be sad because it all seems hopeless."

With a hand that trembled slightly, he reached up and gently wiped the tears from her face while she stared at him mutely. "You have to trust us Raven. Whatever happens, we'll find a way to make it right. You're a Titan. Nothing will ever change that."

Her eyes flashed for a moment and Beast Boy wondered if maybe he should have listened to himself and kept his fat trap shut.

Then, with a small cry, she threw her arms around him.

Stunned, he stared down at her, shoulders shaking as she sobbed quietly against his chest. Slowly his arms lifted and wrapped around her, the fingers of his left hand stroking her hair softly. He eyed the tendrils of darkness that seeped out of her warily but instead of causing the destruction he expected, they seemed to fade into the air, born away by the breeze.

"Shhhhhh," he whispered as he felt her tears wet the front of his uniform. At the murmur, she shuddered lightly and calmed. He felt her lips move and his sharp ears just barely caught the words she spoken.

"Why am I the way I am?"

His mind sent him spiraling back into the past, into a dark cave, where he had held another through a storm of tears. His chest burned. She had asked him the very same question, in the same broken voice. He swallowed and it felt like he was swallowing glass. His answer now felt just as weak and hollow as it had then.

"Because we are who we are."

000000000000000000000

The common room of Titans was traditionally a hub of activity and noise. A space where meals were eaten, movies watched and video game villains were thrashed. It was a room built for entertainment, where five superheroes could try their hands at being teenagers. Loud, boisterous, occasionally destructive teenagers.

But now it was silent and empty, even after the Titans filled it with their bodies.

Starfire came in from the left, having returned to the med-lab and found it empty.

Beast Boy and Raven entered from the right, his arm resting lightly around her waist and her face hidden safely within the shadows of her cowl.

And finally, Robin and Cyborg stepped through the main entrance, the Boy Wonder first, the machine-man second. Robin's masked eyes scanned the room, ending on Raven. He stiffened involuntarily at the sight and found himself wondering the depth of the secrets she kept from them.

For Raven, control had returned, along with the first two emotions she had ever learned; hate and anger. They whispered seductively to her from the recesses of her mind, testing the icy calm she kept herself in. She ignored them. For now.

Beside her, Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably. Some part of him could feel the rage swirling inside of her. And it served to swell the beast inside of him as well.

Cyborg stared at the back of Robin's head, torn between trusting in his leader and protecting his friends. Because he wasn't entirely sure that Robin was in the right state of mind to lead anyone anywhere.

And Starfire watched over them all. She understood now that Raven's inability to express her emotions was not what made her different from the others. It was what made her the same as them. The young alien could clearly see the anger, the hurt, and the confusion that marred each one of their faces and yet the air remained thick and silent. Did they not trust one another enough to confide those feelings? To share them? Were they so certain that no one else could possibly be feeling what they felt? She felt as if she could live a thousand years upon that planet and still not know the answers to those questions.

Robin cleared his throat and took a few steps forward until he was in the center of the room. His face was carefully blank; inside he was struggling to regain his balance. His mind lectured him on the need for focus and control. There were questions that needed to be answered, riddles that needed to be solved. He could not afford to be weak. Even if it felt like someone had just slammed a bat into his stomach.

He straightened his shoulders. "We need some answers," he started quietly, staring directly ahead. "Answers that we're not going to be able to get here. So we're going to take a short trip. All of us. Cyborg, I need you to start prepping the T-ship."

Cyborg lifted his arm and accessed the control panel built into it. "For what? Land, water, air?"

"Outer space."

"Uh, dude. Not to be Captain Obvious here, but our last couple jaunts into space haven't exactly gone so well," Beast Boy pointed out, arcing his hand through the air as if mimicking a crash landing. "Where are we going this time?"

In response, Robin moved forward until he stood in front of the giant screen that took up most of the back wall. His fingers clicked over the keys and the black screen was instantly replaced with a crystal clear picture of the earth. Several more clicks had the picture shifting; the earth sliding off to the left until only about a quarter of it could be seen. And in the center of the picture was an object that looked like a cross between a satellite and a space station. It was long and cylindrical, and at the very top, it resembled a rook.

"We're going to the Watchtower."

000000000000000000000000000000

RANDOM TITANS THEATER PRESENTS: "It's Not Easy Being Beast Boy"

Beast Boy: "You have to trust us Raven. Whatever happens, we'll find a way to make it right. You're a Titan. Nothing will ever change that."

Raven: "Really? Do you mean that?"

Beast Boy: "Of course I mean it. Let me help you. What can I do to help you?"

Raven: (Stares at him thoughtfully. Sticks out a finger and black lightning jumps towards him.)

Beast Boy: (Being electrocuted) "Yeeeeeeeeeooooooooooowwww!"

(After several moments it stops, leaving his hair sticking up wildly.)

Beast Boy: (wheezing slightly.) "Did that help?"

Raven: "Not really." (Pauses. Considers.) "Let me try it again."

Beast Boy: "Uh. . ."

0000000000000000000000000000

Author's Note

For anyone who doesn't know, the Watchtower is the base of the Justice League. I'm using the one that orbits the earth as opposed to the moon base just because. I'm going to admit here that I'm not the biggest JL fan so things are probably going to get a little made up. Some people might be out of character. I'm doing some research but it's kinda tricky, especially since there have been a lot of JL's and a lot of JL members. But I'll do my best.

Sariii: Thank you. I actually really rated it M because I like to drop the F-bomb and sometimes I get a little carried away with it. Been trying to restrain myself. There's probably going to be some kind of intimate scenes later on. If you'd like, I'll warn you ahead of time. As for the cliffhanger . . . . maaaaybe.

Sprox: Glad you're enjoying it and that you think it's funny. I always laugh at my own stuff but I'm never sure if other people are laughing too.

RavenFlyingSolo: Thanks a lot. I'm considering writing the Courage and Anger Show. Na na na na na na na na maybe.

RavenOfAzerath: awww, shucks. Me? Really? Thanks!

xdire.vixenx: Thanks. I have noticed that Raven can sometimes be portrayed as a bit . . . loose. Demons. As for your funeral, there will totally be a 21 gun salute. Well, maybe more like 5 gun salute. And they're gonna be cap guns. But it'll smell the same. Basically.

Accius: Too obvious perhaps?

miraculasacies: Yeah, it wasn't very nice of me. But glad you liked it!

raggedywings: I hope it is shocking. Glad you're diggin' the story!

Cherry Jade: For some reason, I think Robin is so awesome when he gets all crazy and whacked out. Thanks for reading and reviewing.

Absentia:……whoa. After I read your review about 9 times (ok, so maybe it was 30, but who's counting?) I fell out of my chair because my head had swollen so large that I lost my balance. So. I'm guessing you don't want it to be Batman? I dunno. Frank Miller's Batman seemed awfully violent to me. Anyway, thank you so much for the awesome review. You know, I didn't originally like Starfire. And then I started reading the comics and there was this one moment that totally clinched it for me. I'm going to put it in the story later so I don't want to ruin it right now. But they did really dumb her down which is a shame, 'cause she's a really powerful character. I'm glad everyone seems in character. I'm really doing my best to stay as true as I can. And I'm glad the plot seems interesting. I'm not much of a mystery writer but I do like to try and keep people on their toes. Thank you for all the technical bits as well. Please, if you enjoy editing, feel free to point out any mistakes you find. I'm used to it. Though I do have to say that I did actually intend to use "murdersome" which, you are correct, is not a word. Yet. I kinda have this thing with it and I figure that if I just keep using it, eventually someday, it'll make it into the OED. This is the definition. "Murdersome (adj.) : having, or involving, the vague or unconscious desire to inflict mortal harm." HA! Sounds good, right? Thanks again for the awesome review and don't be so hard on yourself.

mysti-eyed: A lot of people have been the Ravager. We're going to find out who he said he was working for next chapter. Glad you're liking the story.

Chica De Los Ojos Café: Thanks a lot!

JPElles: I think Robin is a great detective. And his arrogance is much more of an I-can-accomplish-anything vein more than an I'm-better-than-you-are vein. I think Robin is always much more of a risk taker than Batman is, which is probably why several Robin's are dead. Thanks for the review and glad you like the story.

Lost1n7heDark: Maybe someday. Thanks a lot.

Angel Caida: Maybe. Bruce Wayne does have a lot of dough. Thanks!

Crzy Grl: You're welcome. And thank you. Hmmm. Might be Batman. Might not. I wonder if you guys would be seriously pissed if I whipped out someone stupid like Antman or something…..hmmmm. Probably.

Princess Viv: I thought it was a pretty cute moment. Thanks a lot!

Darkofthenight: thanks!

Harmony8390: Dude don't die. I can't afford another 5 cap gun salute. Thanks for reading. Glad you like the story so far.