AN: Thanks to everyone who left a review. So long as you were logged in you should have all received a reply :)

Gizmo looked up as the doors to the base's main room opened and his leader waltzed in. "So what's the deal here? You've been with those snot munching titans for over a month. Are we getting back to business or have you thrown your lot in with that witch?"

"Technically, she isn't a witch, and relax would you? I haven't even been back twenty four hours. Of course we're getting back to business. You two wouldn't survive without me."

"Well I've kept scouting for possible jobs using the various speed cameras and security cameras dotted around Jump along with anything else I could hack into. Obviously most of them have come and gone. We're been offered a few contracts too. A few have expired but we might be able to sign up for one or two if I get in contact ASAP. If you'd look at this one first," He moved to shove a binder of paper at his leader.

"After breakfast." Jinx walked straight past him where he was sat at the computer console, ignoring the paperwork he was holding out.

"No, now. I don't like how friendly you're getting' with those goody two shoes. It aint good for business. Add on to the fact that we've been silent for a month, we're gonna run out of clients."

Jinx stopped and frowned at him. "We're hardly getting friendly."

"You're shacking up with one of them!"

Jinx faked a dramatic gasp. "I am? When did this happen?!" Adopting a scowl, she addressed him seriously. "It's not gonna stop me from doing my job. We gotta eat, don't we? That, and I enjoy what we do, when we're not getting our asses kicked. Now, I need to eat, then we can look at whatever fucking job you want. Mammoth aint even up yet so there's no point in getting started – we'll just have to repeat everything for him."

"The point is we've been sat on our asses for too long! A month of lost contracts, a month of our reputation going down the drain! Do you want to make a fucking living or not?!"

"I spent half of that month glued to the toilet," Jinx scowled. "One more hour won't kill you."

"What did you even do in the tower?"

Jinx continued on her path to the kitchenette. "Sat and looked pretty, after I'd stopped throwing my guts up. And stayed out of bird brain's way."

"And your girlfriend?"

"Is awake and recovering."

Gizmo frowned at Jinx a moment, clearly having an internal debate with himself before he asked, "Did she… you know? The news is saying it was the building collapse that killed it."

The hex caster carefully regarded her team mate. She knew the titans and the cops wanted to keep it quiet, and she couldn't really imagine Gizmo starting rumours just for fun, but then again… Eventually she answered, "She did it."

"I thought no one could touch him."

"It's a long story. Ask Rae next time you see her. She might explain it to you. Maybe." She really doubted the empath would, but she knew it was the only way to keep him off her back about it.

Gizmo looked at his leader as though she'd gone crazy. "Why the hell would I ask her? She won't give me an answer."

'Or maybe not.' "And I won't either. It's personal, and he's dead now anyway so you don't need to worry about it."

"Why did he target you anyway? You don't exactly fit into the same victim profile as the other girls."

"He had something of a personal vendetta against Raven. He thought taking me would make her go to him, and what do you know, he was right. It just didn't end the way he'd imagined." Jinx turned around to look at him. "Why all the interest?"

"We're friends, aren't we" He answered gruffly as thought it had taken him a lot of effort to say those words. "We did try and go with the titans, after Raven did her disappearing act. I don't know how much they told you. We thought you'd fucked off to hang out with the witch and went to the tower. Mammoth was ready to knock the doors down when she appeared outside and tried to get us to disappear. Dunno how she knew it was us."

"She's an empath. She probably sensed you." Putting on a big grin, she told him, "I can't believe you were that worried about me. That's so sweet."

"Stuff it," His usual obnoxious tone of voice was back, and he was staring daggers. "Forget I said anything."

"Oh, I don't think I will," Jinx replied as she opened the fridge door.

Only to find it was empty.

Annoyed, she snapped, "You boys never heard of grocery shopping?"

"I've already fucking told you! We haven't had any money coming in and Baran eats a lot!"

Jinx smiled to herself. Just like that, the H.I.V.E atmosphere was back to normal. Hiding the smile and putting on a glare just for Gizmo's benefit, she marched back over to her teammate. "Fine. What have you got?"

Gizmo was grinning, happy he'd gotten his own way even if by default. "Two pretty good ones to start us off with. One's a contract job. Easy money. Some guy after a painting currently being displayed in Jump museum's art gallery wing. He's obviously some sort of fanatic art critic. Offering $25,000 for us to get the painting then take it to the deposit spot the following night. The joke is, when I researched the painting, it's only worth $10,000 so he's paying us over double the price. Dunno how he plans to make a profit."

"Think we could push for more?"

"Round it off to thirty? Worth a try, aint it?" Gizmo shrugged.

"And the other one?"

"Outskirts of Jump, and I mean outskirts. A little estate called Park Rise. Their only bank is going through some upgrades next week. Security systems, locks, décor, you name it. According to the plans I found online. Hit 'em mid refurbishment, hopefully when the alarms are down, and it should be easy enough. They only have one security guard on a regular basis so we should have to expect any more than three for that week and the local cop shop boasts all of ten officers including the Sheriff. Extra bonus is that it's outside of the titan's territory so we shouldn't have to worry about them showing up."

"And any idea on how much we should be able to grab?"

"More than thirty grand, if we're smart about it. It's times like these when I really miss Kyd Wykkyd though."

"So what are we gonna do? Hijack a van on the day?"

"Something like that. I'm liking it better than the painting. I mean, apart from the cut for our fence to make sure everything can vanish into the appropriate accounts, we keep all of it, and banks can hold a lot more than twenty-five grand.

Jinx nodded slowly before asking, "Any reason why we can't do both?"

"Nope."

"Contact the art critic then, before checking out the museum's security and finding us an access point close to the painting and continue from there," Jinx smiled. "We'll check the time lines for each one before deciding which to target first. Might be we just have a quiet week of good old fashioned pick pocketing and mall raiding."

Raven waited impatiently, sat on the side of the cot, for Cyborg to finish his check-ups.

"So?"

Cyborg frowned. "Almost a clean bill of health. Almost. One of your ribs still have a hairline fracture and there's the obvious problem of stiffness in your back and legs which – I can't believe I'm saying this – might loosen up with exercise. Or might not. It's possible it's permanent damage."

"So what you're saying is, either way, I can go back out on the field?" The empath asked with a small smile.

"I'm not sure yet. Robin told me about Jinx and you sparring yesterday. He said your back locked up."

"So? It was the one time, and we weren't using our abilities. I wouldn't usually fight grounded like that."

"If it happens outside of practice-"

"I'll teleport somewhere out of the way," Raven interrupted her team mate.

"You can teleport now?"

Raven shrugged. "My powers are recovering after healing completely depleted them. I haven't tried yet, but my telekinesis and shielding s back to normal."

"I don't wanna give you the all clear," Cyborg told her, his concern clear on his face. "You didn't see what you looked like when we pulled you from the rubble. This is only your third day away. You still got plenty of time to rest. No one will mind."

"I've been out of it for a month." Raven scowled. "My remaining injuries are no more than what anyone would pick up in battle and certainly nothing for me to worry about. I can fight – I'm not useless."

Cyborg frowned back at her before saying, "Alright, how about this. You can fight, but only if it's someone easy. If it's Red X, Cinderblock, Plasmas, Overload, Mumbo, or someone unconfirmed you're staying put. Let's just take it easy." He paused, before quickly adding, "Your girlfriend and her team are included in that list, by the way."

"Mumbo, Cinderblock, overload and Plasmas are easy," Raven argued.

"Maybe, but the fights don't half drag on. You don't need to push yourself. Try and spend today getting in some exercise and see how you feel. Work on your back and legs but again, don't overdo it. You don't wanna complicate your recovery. You could hardly walk two days ago."

"I'm a demon, Cyborg. I'm not going to heal at the same rate as everyone else."

"Half demon, and your human side makes up for a lot," Cyborg reprimanded her. "I'm not saying you haven't healed, or that you should be treated like everyone else. I'm saying I'm not going to throw you into the deep end, not without testing the water first."

Raven scowled, but eventually gave up when she saw her team mate wasn't going to budge on his stance. "Fine. I'll exercise today."

"That's all I'm asking. Let me know how you get on, and that don't mean I want that vague bullshit you like to call an answer."

Raven didn't show any sign she'd even listened as she hopped down from the infirmary cot and left. She made her way to the gym set up two floors below the main living quarters, but she had no interest in exercising, not yet. There was something that had been troubling Raven ever since she'd woken up, and now Jinx was gone and she had time for herself, she wanted to try and figure out exactly what it was she was experiencing.

It was a heat that ran dangerously close to the surface of her skin. A simmering that reminded her of lust – something she was now well acquainted with thanks to her cotton candy haired girlfriend. It was a feeling that had never really gone away since coming out of the coma. Something that demanded feeding – she just didn't know what with. Food and drink hadn't helped, not had her activities with Jinx yesterday thought she'd found it had taken the edge off.

Entering the gym she walked into the middle of the large room and levitated, folding her legs underneath her in the lotus position.

"Azarath"

Once upon a time Raven had been unable to enter Nevermore without the aid of her meditation mirror. She had believed Nevermore existed for the sole purpose of containing her shattered emotions and separating her demonic half from her human half, created by the monks who rose her.

"Metrion"

Nothing could have been farther from the truth. It was her birth right. Nevermore was her own personal dimension, existing within her very being and within the astral realm, although until she started collecting and draining souls she would never know it's full potential. But, for now, it did its job perfectly.

"Zinthos"

When Raven opened her eyes, she found herself looking at a blood red horizon. Unfolding her legs, she set them on down the ashen grey ground. A few things had changed since she had defeated her father, things that had been what tipped her off to what Nevermore actually was.

The first had been the increase in population on spies, the raven-like birds with four evil red eyes that her father had favoured for gathering his intel – the lesser demons she had been so mockingly named after. Then had come the rapidly changing landscape.

Each emotion had always had it's own piece of Nevermore. Rage had her brimstone dystopia, knowledge her library, timid her maze. However Raven had begun noting small changes after her father's death, effecting each of the emotion's realm, until only Happy's stretch of Nevermore remained unchanged. The brimstone had spread, the landscapes becoming more and more barren with each visit, knowledge's library had crumbled, Timid's maze had become more vicious and tormenting.

Raven had called a meeting during which Rage had happily introduced Demon. Once a mere part of Rage, the power Raven had stolen from her father after his defeat had caused the split as the demonic half of her had fed and grown.

The change in Nevermore had been the new manifestation's doing and when questioned had said she needed growing room. Initially Raven had been very wary, suspicious and even scared of the four eyed apparition of herself, although in time had discovered her more reasonable – more stable – than her emotions. She was not one emotion, but many. A predator who's growth had originally been stunted years ago by the Months of Azarath. A glimpse of what she could become – or at least part of it.

Raven took a few steps forward before closing her eyes once more and summoning her emotions and Demon. As usual sloth neglected to appear but Raven had long given up on expecting that emotion to do anything. Looking around at the multitude of cloaks she frowned.

"Where is happy and timid?"

Brave stepped forward, "Timid's becoming a living waterfall. Happy's trying to cheer her up. I've told her it's pointless but she won't listen."

"I know she's never going to be anything but miserable, but what's set her off this time?" Raven asked.

"You killed someone, Raven," Knowledge spoke you. "While it was in self-defence and a logical thing to do, Timid does not see it like that."

"I didn't kill him – the church of blood took care of that months ago," Raven told the yellow-cloaked doppelganger.

"Please," Her own voice scoffed from the crowd, and Raven searched for it's source. "Damien was sentient. He had a body. Unfortunately his soul was already claimed but what more do you need before you'll call something alive?" Demon approached her, her four eyes burning with an eerie yellow light.

Demon's hair was not purple, but pure white, her skin blood red. She was the only manifestation that did not appear as an exact clone of Raven. She didn't even wear a cloak, just the leotard and boots.

"I didn't come here it talk about semantics with you," Raven glared.

"We're only talking about semantics because you can't make your own mind up, but no, you came here for answers." The demon removed her eyes from her mostly human counterpart and told the emoticlones, "I can handle this. Disperse now."

Raven watched in shock as her emoticolnes all phased through the floor. Only I should be able to do that!

Demon smiled. "I am you, and you are me. I am not just another inferior emotion. The only reason I exist apart from your conscious like this is because those monks did one hell of a good job. But you didn't come here to talk about that either. You're hungry. We're hungry. And you're in denial."

"Denial?" Raven scowled.

"You know what we hunger for, and you know how to sate it. You've been dreaming about it, you just don't want to accept it."

"Why can't you just tell me what it is?"

"Because we're not stupid, and it would be no fun. Besides, we have more important matters coming up I want to talk to you about."

"Do 'we'?" Raven asked sceptically.

"This is the year we become of age. Our power will become stronger than that pathetic curse the Monks cast on us. We will be able to merge our shattered soul and become whole again. Quite frankly, I'll be glad to be rid of those obnoxious emoticlones."

"No."

Demon arched her brow. "No?"

"I am completely content as I am. There will be no merging."

"I can't say I'm surprised by your initial response. We beat our father – claimed his territory, his powers as our own. Power that is locked away inside of me just sitting there. Power that we will be able to use once we come of age. What I did to Damien would not even compare to what we could do as a single, whole entity."

"I said no, and my decision is final. Now tell me what this hunger is?"

Demon smiled. "Only if you listen to my reasoning first. I won't make you come to your decision here, we still have a few months for you to make up your mind but if I didn't bring it up you'd just ignore it. Just listen."

Raven scowled, growing increasingly unhappy she had come here for answers. "Fine, I'll listen, but then you'll answer my question."

"That's the deal, isn't it?" Demon smiled, brushing her pure white hair away from her face as she pointed down the path ahead of them. "Walk with me?"

Begrudgingly, Raven moved forward. She knew it wasn't a trap. Demon might have some control over her emotions but she couldn't trap her within her own mind.

"You know all the information I am about to tell you – I wouldn't know it otherwise – it is just something you choose to forget or ignore."

The landscape rapidly changed before them, the air heating up and the smell of sulphur piercing the air. "This is Rage's segment," The empath frowned.

"We have been co-existing quiet happily, but we are not here to discuss that. First, let me remind you – as you often seem to forget – we are the same being. I am not your enemy. We share the same emotions, the same desires, even if our split might dampen down some of the connections. We both share a love for tea, both focus our advances of Jinx and see her as our mate, no matter how perverse it may be."

"Perverse?" Raven stopped walking, fire in her eyes. "How the hell is it perverse?"

"We should be courting demon lords, using our affections to gain status and power. Instead we find ourselves chasing after a human – one of the weakest species in this universe. And even more, a human who has claims to nothing. No title, no position of power, no influence in the world. Just because I don't actively seek to change this – just because I am, strangely, happy with our partner – doesn't mean that it is right. While she is our mate, she will never be considered anything more than our pet to others. She does not strengthen us. She will be our weakness and our downfall.

"Jinx isn't weak."

"By human standards, perhaps not." Demon continued walking, and Raven followed her further into the dystopia of flame and larva. "But you distracted me. Despite your beliefs, Raven, the merge will not make you into something completely unrecognisable. We will still drink tea, still enjoy the company of our mate. For the better part, your views, opinions and wishes will remain the same."

Raven released a burst of air that some would call a laugh. "Merging you to my active psyche will have much more of an impact than that. For starters, I neither want to, nor do I enjoy, killing people."

"Don't you. I know we both enjoyed ridding the world of Damien, no matter what Timid has to say about it." When Raven didn't look convinced, she shrugged. "Fine. Moving on. As you know well, when we defeated our father we took a lot from him. His titles, his familiars, his build-up of soul power, his lands. It is a bounty, one that other demons want. You are not strong enough to fight them all off, and trust me, they will come hunting you sooner or later. We might not be able to use it currently, but when we come of age and our demon blood strengthens. That curse used to separate us was only intended for a child. If we merge, not only will we be strong enough to protect ourselves and our mate from anyone who should wish to claim our power or earth itself. We will have better control over our powers. No more slip ups."

"Still not convinced," Raven told her.

Demon's four eyes narrowed into a glare. "Just one more reminded then. Our demon blood will strengthen – I will strengthen – and should you continue to decide against the merge I will continue to fight you as I always have."

"I've dealt with you this far, haven't I? Now, this hunger. What is it?"

Demon grinned. "Partially my fault, I'm afraid. What you're feeling is-"

The world of rock and fire was ripped to shreds as klaxons deafened the empath and she silently cursed as she opened her eyes to the gym in Titans Tower. Her luck couldn't have been worse.

But the klaxons could only mean one thing and she put her feet down, moving out of the lotus position, trying to ignore the aches in her legs from having sat still so long. She shrouded herself in dark energy, sinking through the floor to re-appear beside Cyborg, happy it had worked. The robotic titan didn't even jump, just send her a curious glance, which he got mental points for. Even Robin flinched when she teleported near him.

"It's Adonis," Cyborg told her as Robin switched the alarm off.

"So I can help?"

Robin and Cyborg shared a look before the leader of the Titans nodded.

"Stay in defence, and don't overdo it," Robin ordered.

Raven was getting sick of hearing those last three words, but nodded anyway, Beast Boy's cheer of, "She's back on the game!" cheering her up slightly.

Robin was forced to roll out of the way as two huge fists came crashing down. The concrete underneath splintered like wood. Adonis's suit had gone back to its original fire-truck red colour, but that wasn't the only thing that had changed. The hulking mass was at least two feet taller than his previous design and everything was bigger. For once it's size hadn't seemed to effect it's speed either. If anything Adonis had found a way to increase it.

Raven hung at the back of the group, producing the odd shield and throwing the occasional object with her soul self. Her mind was whirling around what Demon had been about to tell her. She didn't even see the attack that left Beast Boy airborne, the changeling landing in a painful heap not even inches away from the empath.

He let out a groan as he got to his feet. "Dude, what the hell? I know he's always been a pain in the ass but this? Haven't we usually taken him out by now?"

It was true they'd been fighting him for a while now. The hardest part had been to get him out of the jewellery store and building complex he'd been in without bringing the entire place down. They'd eventually manage to lead him onto the streets where there was less chance of collateral damage. Naturally, Adonis hadn't wanted to play along with them.

"I'm just following my orders – they don't want me to hit hard so I won't," Raven muttered to the changeling.

"Hit hard!" Beast Boy exclaimed, and it was like a lightbulb had gone off above his head.

The changeling shifted into an elephant before charging at the villain. There was an almighty 'crack' as tusk hit metal. Beast Boy managed to force Adonis back several feet but that was all. He was wobbling on his feet when he shifted back and Starfire's quick thinking was the only thing that let him dodge Adonis's quick retaliation.

The Tameranean had swooped down and grabbed the youngest Titan to pull him in the air with her before depositing him somewhere out of immediate reach.

Robin sent a bird-a-rang at the outstretched fist that had been aiming for Beast Boy, a line of rope trailing behind it which Robin held onto. The rope and bird-a-rang tangled itself around Adonis's wrist and Robin pulled, making Adonis laugh.

"No weak little punk like you is going to defeat me!"

"We need to get him out of that suit!" Robin shouted.

Cyborg moved to his leader and helped him pull back on the rope. Not entirely sure what they were planning but willing to play along Raven encased his other fist with dark energy and put all her concentration into keeping it immobile. Beast Boy shifted into a gorilla before jumping onto the villain's back, wrapping his arms over the machine's body and under in an attempt to help restrain him. The villain truly began struggling then, while Starfire begin to try and pull his suit apart.

Raven's face furrowed into a frown of concentration as she struggled to hold Adonis still. The force became too much and she was thrown back onto her ass as her control snapped.

Raven glared up at the villain from the ground as with one strong tug he sent Robin and Cyborg flying. A well-aimed punch took the alien princess down. Beast Boy had enough sense to scatter before Adonis tried to squash him. The empath got to her feet, ignoring her team-mates as they re-assembled. She'd had enough of this fight. She calmly walked towards him, grabbing the young man's attention.

"I'm going to give you one last attempt to surrender," Raven hissed.

"That's cute, angel face, but there's no way you're gonna- UGH!"

Raven had shot forward, a fist coated in dark energy hitting the suit right where the villain's stomach would sit. She not only heard but felt the metal crack under her hand. Adonis caught Raven's second punch with a mechanically shielded hand, tightening his fist and holding on, smiling like an idiot.

Raven's eyes flashed a burning white and Adonis let out a pained yell. She had concentrated all her energy on the hand that held hers captive, attacking the metal and making it shatter.

A strong, warm metallic smell halted the titan for a fleeting moment. When the hand to Adonis's suit had shattered the metal had cut into the flesh below. He was so busy inspecting his own wounds he didn't hear the low, inhuman growl vibrate from the woman's throat, was unprepared when Raven leapt at him, knocking him off balance and onto the ground, landing squarely on his chest.

Raven was vaguely aware of people shouting but didn't care to stop and listen to the voices. She was too occupied with her quarry, enjoying the shock and fear she felt pouring off of him. Coating her hands in dark energy once more, creating blades at the tips of her fingers, she began to dig at the man's metal shell, quickly ripping through the panels, wires and then what she found underneath. It was an uncontrollable desire, a need to see that ruby red liquid stain her skin. To finally sate that hunger.

"I surrender! Please!" Adonis's voice had rose several objectives as he tried to move in his suit but found himself unable, the heavy metal trapping him with the circuits damaged, trapped in a prison he had built.

Raven merely smiled.

Strong mechanical arms suddenly grabbed her, pulling her off of her victim and for an instant she fought back. A look of horror quickly flooded her face however, and she couldn't even tell Cyborg to release her as icy fingers of shock invaded her system.

"Someone call an ambulance," Robin quickly ordered, and Raven properly studied what she'd done, the skin she'd exposed underneath Adonis's suit glistening with too much blood.

The empath suddenly lurched against Cyborg's grip, the titan quickly letting go when he heard Raven retch. She fell to her knees on the concrete and said goodbye to her breakfast. After a moment Cyborg attempted to move the empath's hair away from her face. She could feel him concern though he reminded silent. She soon wished Robin had decided to do the same.

"What the hell was that?"

Anger was the only emotion she could feel from her leader. She kept her head down to the pavement. She could still smell the blood, could feel that hunger bubbling back to the surface. "I need to move." She wanted to finish the job, to lash out of her friends, and only years of practice and self-discipline kept her grounded. "Or you need to move him."

"You need to tell me what that was about!" Robin argued, so she tried Cyborg instead.

"You need to move me or you need to run. Cyborg please." She had started to sweat with the effort of containing herself, and although she'd done her best to keep her voice calm and steady she felt Cyborg's flicker of fear seconds before she felt his arms as he lifted her to her feet.

In what could only be called an act of extreme bravery he picked up the empath and ran, pulling round a corner into an alleyway before setting her down. He had a stream of questions he wanted to ask his teammate, but settled for "is this far enough?"

Raven nodded as she felt her own feelings of horror push the hunger out of the driving seat. She held her hands out in front of her as though they were contaminated. "Thank you."

She heard Starfire's feet touch the ground beside her. "Beast Boy will assist Robin with the ambulance and the police."

"Thanks Star," Cyborg nodded, before asking Raven, "You okay?"

"No." She answered simply. She had learnt it was better not to hide things from her teammates, especially not things like this. "Is he okay?"

"He'll live," The robotic titan answered. "I don't think you cut too deep. What happened?"

Raven refused to look at either of her two teammates as Demon's words rang through her head.

'Partially my fault, I'm afraid…'

How had she missed it? She no more than whispered the words, but Cyborg heard her. "Blood lust."

"Raven?"

"Blood lust," She repeated louder. "Since waking I could feel something, but I didn't know what it was." She dared to catch Cyborg's eyes. "I would have been more cautious had I known."

"Killing the shadow…" Cyborg didn't need to finish the sentence. He had quickly caught on to what the empath was saying.

"I didn't know," She repeated quietly, disgusted with herself.

The atmosphere in the common room at Titans Tower had never been so tense. Robin hadn't took his eyes off Raven since coming back. The empath herself sat visibly hunched in on herself. To say that she felt bad – guilty – over what she'd done was an major understatement.

When the police and paramedics had arrived Robin had been quick to declare the damage had been done accidently while trying to remove the suit from the villain. Whether he had been protecting Raven personally or just the team's reputation in general she didn't know. They had been lucky that even the media hadn't decided to hang around once the fight had gotten into full swing.

"So, care to tell me what the hell happened?" The leader of the titans eventually asked.

"From my perspective at the time? I was attempting to remove his suit when part of it cut his hand and I… just lost it." She still refused to look at any of them.

Raven knew her teammates were fully aware of what she was capable of. Dr light, Slade, Trigon… several times she had lost control and gone overboard – on the cases of the latter two she had been in full control. Her friends' looks of horror and shock never sat any easier with her though each time it happened.

"But you didn't 'lose it'" Robin stated. "Your eyes didn't change."

"Since waking from the coma I've been feeling a nagging sensation – a hunger of sorts. It wasn't having any real impact other than annoying me so I figured I would be able to figure it out in my own time. It's blood lust. This incident proved that. Disposing of Damien must have triggered something in my demon physiology. I just… I could smell his blood and something within me snapped. If I'd have known I never would have took the offensive."

"We have a civilian seriously injured by your hands," Robin told her sternly, as though she were oblivious to the fact.

"I will find a way to control it. I was just caught off guard," Raven said, though there was no conviction in her voice.

Blood was more than common on the battle field. How could she control it if there was no warning? Robin seemed it agree.

"How can you control it when you had to get Cyborg to physically remove you from the scene? What would you have done if we had left you?"

Somehow, Raven didn't think they'd like her answer. She shook her head like a stubborn child, refusing to answer. Her silence was enough of an answer for Robin.

"You're too dangerous to be on the field."

"Dude, come one! We would have gotten our butts kicked if it weren't for Rae," Beast Boy spoke up. "It was only surface wounds, and she stopped didn't she? This is nothing compared to what she did to Dr Light that first time."

"We're not the law. If we ripped apart every villain we faced we'd lose the trust of the city, and face the consequences."

"Not the law, huh? Where was that attitude when you were pushing the Commissioner to get a warrant in Rae's name?" Cyborg asked.

"He was killing innocent lives!"

"And Raven killed him. Now see where it's gotten us!"

"Friends, please! Let us not fight. Raven needs support, not punishment. On my planet many a great warrior has fallen afoul of the lust for blood. It is something that can be easily remedied," Starfire spoke, and Raven found herself giving the alien and thankful smile.

"I know it can be controlled and supressed with meditation, just like everything else I've learnt to control. I was caught off guard. I made a mistake. I won't let it happen again," Raven finally looked at her leader.

Realising he was well and truly outnumbered should anyone call a vote, he eventually told Raven, "Next time when I tell you to stay in defence, listen to me."

Raven decided not to reply and Robin had started to walk off when the console started bleeping at them. While it wasn't as loud as the emergency klaxons it still resonated throughout the tower, demanding an answer.

"Were we expecting any phone calls?" Cyborg asked.

"No." Robin turned and walked over to the large console, hitting the enter key. The call connected and the Titans were greeted with the sight of Batman.

"I wasn't expecting a conference call," he said dryly.

"We've just got back from a call. What is it?"

"Have you been watching the news?" The masked vigilante asked.

"We heard about the crime reports and the rise in gang crime and domestic violence. Who do you think it is? Scarecrow?"

"No. He was in Arkham, until this morning. There was a riot at the prison today. One of the worst we've seen. Naturally, some of the prisoners used the chance to escape."

"Only some?" Robin asked.

"A lot of prisoners were killed during the riot. The none-metas and some of the gangs. Others, like Captain Cold, are receiving medical attention as we speak."

"Arkham always loses a few prisoners with each riot," Robin shrugged.

"Not like this. The camera feed had been stopped and destroyed, and over half of the bodies showed no sign of a weapon. Not everyone in there has the means to kill with their bare hands. It's being classed as suspicious. We think it was perhaps a break in. The police are currently investigating."

"So who escaped? And why are you telling me?" Robin frowned at the image of his mentor.

"Scarecrow, as I already mentioned. Killer Croc and Ivy, the Joker and Harley. And I'm telling you because the police have decided to keep the media from publishing anything until they've cleaned up the mess and found the culprits for the murders as well as whoever started the riot in the first place. I wanted you to be aware. I think it was an outside job."

Robin frowned. "Do you want a hand? I could come down for a couple of days."

"No, I just need to find out who's behind it all. I've already called in one or two favours."

"Well keep me updated," Robin told his mentor, who didn't reply before he ended the call.

Robin, in turn, didn't say anything to his teammates as he left the room.

"I don't know who's got the bigger stick up their ass. Robin, or Batman?" Beast Boy quipped.

"We must not talk about friend Robin as such. He is just under a lot of stress at the moment," Starfire tried to defend her boyfriend.

"Batman's problems are only his because Robin makes it that way. He's gonna spend the next five days locked away in his room for nothing," Cyborg told the alien. "He does this to himself."

And Cyborg knew, from previous search histories on the system, exactly what their leader would do, starting with hacking the GCPD servers and downloading every last piece of paper of the current case.