The next morning. Raven woke up to see Skyfire lying on top of one of her bookcases. He looked like he'd been awake all night, his eyes weary. He jumped silently from the bookcase, leaving the room without a word. "Is he like this after what happened last night?" she thought to herself, grabbing her cloak and following him to the main room. On the table was a note that said "Went to favourite restaurant for breakfast. Be back soon. Cyborg."
"Nice of them to leave without us," Skyfire muttered, lying on the couch. He was staring at the ceiling, his eyes full of sadness.
"I'm sorry about last night," Raven said, sitting down on the couch beside him.
"Why should you be sorry? I told you to look it up," Skyfire said, sitting up. He looked at Raven, seeing something familiar in her. "Did I tell you that somehow I feel like I've met you before?" he said, taking Raven a little by surprise.
"I've been having the same feeling," Raven said, looking at his dark blue mysterious eyes. Something inside her stirred, but she didn't know what it was. Skyfire was feeling the same way, looking nervously at her. He was about to say something, but the screen flashed red, and a picture of Plasmus, Overload and Cinderblock appeared on the screen.
"Should we contact the others and tell them about this?" Skyfire asked, jumping to his feet and looking at the screen.
"Their communicators should tell them about this soon, but we're the only ones who can get there in time to stop them," Raven said, still looking at the monitor. They both glanced at each other, running out of the room.
"So, these three should be easy to beat, provided we get the drop on them," Skyfire said, riding on a disk created by Raven's dark energy. He looked over the ocean as they flew towards the power plant the three villains were attacking. Soon the power plant came into view, and Skyfire froze immediately as it brought back that gruesome memory from his past. "I was there......at the heart of it.....I knew what I could do, but..." he thought until Raven interrupted him, shaking him on the shoulder.
"Are you okay?" she asked, looking down at the power plant. It was starting to burn, flames already engulfing it.
"I...I can't....What's happening right now reminds me too much of my past...I don't think I can," he said, his face full of doubt.
"We all need to face up to our fears, no matter how painful it might be," Raven said before flying towards the plant. Skyfire watched as she flew away, then said to himself "Sometimes it's too painful to face," then followed, grabbing his nun-chucks as he flew in to fight.
He flew towards Cinderblock, his nun-chucks spinning like propellers. He hit Cinderblock in the arm, then tried to hit him in the chest, but the large rock villain swatted him away. He hit the ground hard, but before he could get up, a blue sonic blast hit Cinderblock, forcing him back. Skyfire looked to see the other Titans there, already fighting Overload and Plasmus. He was about to join in, but a voice echoed around the plant.
"So, the Teen Titans have a new member, but yet he seems a pushover," came the familiar voice that made everyone freeze. From the fire emerged the familiar form of Slade, the golden half of his mask glinting in the fire.
"Slade, I thought you were gone!" Robin shouted as the villain laughed.
"Oh how thoughts can deceive," the villain said, looking as Skyfire tried to lunge at him. "Do you really think I'm a pushover!" Skyfire shouted, swinging his nun-chucks towards Slade's head. He was met by a blast of fire that sent him smashing through two walls, knocking him senseless. Everyone else attacked, but were all met by flame blasts and fists of rock, electricity and goo. They were all knocked defenceless, slammed into walls.
"N...no...I can't...I can't go through that again...I...almost killed...my friend...I simply...let my village burn and...and die around me...while I did nothing to stop it!" a voice in Skyfire's head screamed, and then whispers filled his head. If he wasn't unconscious, he would have screamed out loud, but a voice pierced through the countless whispers. "Do not fear your true nature...you can do something about this...don't let them die because of your self-doubt...breathe in...and unleash the true power within you...for it is a part of you...and you know you cannot hide it..." and with that, Skyfire's eyes slowly opened, a fire dancing in his eyes.
"So Raven, I guess you were right about your father double crossing me, but then, no-one double crosses me and lives, and since your Trigon's daughter, I guess you can pay for your father's treachery," Slade said, standing on a disk of flames above a helpless Raven as the plant burned around everyone. "Prepare to say goodbye to the world you once knew, for you'll soon be joining your father," Slade said, preparing a flame blast, when a ninja star flew in front of his face. He watched it return to its owner, smiling behind his mask to see a bruised and beaten Skyfire standing there. "So, you're tougher than I thought, but what makes you think you can defeat me?" Slade said, noticing Skyfire's smile.
"Perhaps maybe the fact you should never have underestimated me," Skyfire said darkly as a light shone from his back and formed a pair of large dragon wings. As the light faded, Skyfire's eyes started to glow a bright blue. Beams of light fired from his eyes, knocking Slade away. He then looked to Slade's three minions, his hands igniting with fire. Without a word, he launched a blast of flames at Cinderblock, then sent a blast of air at him. He turned to Plasmus, launching a blast of water at the goo monster, then clenched his fist causing the water to freeze, trapping Plasmus in ice. He looked at Overload, dodging a blast of electricity and firing a lightning bolt that caused the villain to collapse. Finally turning to Cinderblock, he surrounded his fist in rock, running at the stone villain and landing a powerful punch in the centre of his chest, knocking the rock monster onto his back.
"Very good. I will admit I underestimated you, but you still forgot one little thing," Slade said, aiming another fire blast at Raven. Closing her eyes, Raven looked away, waiting for the fire to hit, but heard someone else yell in pain. She looked up to see Skyfire standing there, his wings folded in front of him like a shield, blocking the flame blast. As the flame blast stopped, Skyfire fell to his knees, then fell forward, his wings burned. "So, you can control fire yet you can't stand up to it," Slade said, walking towards Raven. He didn't notice the black mist that was surrounding Skyfire's body, or the fact that his eyes were opening, now burning a deep blood red. Slade didn't notice until he felt a cold chill in his spine.
Without a sound, Skyfire rose into the air, his eyes still closed. His skin had turned almost completely white, and his clothes had turned black, as had his dark blue hair. He also had what looked like cuts all over his arms and his clothes had become torn. His eyes slowly opened, burning a deep blood red. Cinderblock and Overload got up as Plasmus broke free from the ice. They assembled behind Slade, watching as all this unfolded. "I....am Shadowfire, and you will regret ever awakening me," came the low, shadowed voice. The three minions moved forward to attack, but Shadowfire seemed to disappear. They all looked around the plant, but suddenly Cinderblock was struck by a thousand punches and kicks in about a minute, before falling to the ground with a mighty crash. Plasmus soon saw Shadowfire as he landed, preparing to strike. He wasn't prepared for the blast from Shadowfire's eyes, piercing through him and reducing him into several puddles. Shadowfire then turned to Overload, firing a blast of pure shadows straight at the electricity villain. The blasts pierced right through him, reducing him to a computer chip.
As all this took place, an army of Slade drones and fire monsters appeared from nowhere, moving in to surround Shadowfire. "How pathetic, to think that you can hope to defeat me," the dark shadowed voice said, an orb of shadows forming around him. The orb contracted as Shadowfire's body curled up, and as he unfolded his body, the blast was unleashed, wiping out the monsters and drones, disintegrating them in an instant. Slade was nowhere to be seen, and Shadowfire started to return to Skyfire, the mist disappearing. In an instant, Skyfire was lying, motionless on the ground, the other Titans around him. He was still alive, but was exhausted beyond anything. Without saying a word, everyone helped carry him to the T-car.
"So, you had those powers, yet you never revealed them to anyone," Raven asked as she and Skyfire stood on the roof of the Tower, watching the sunset together. It was the day after the encounter with Slade, and Skyfire had only woken up two hours ago, spending most of the time explaining his powers to the others.
"They were a painful burden, and I thought I could live without anyone knowing about them, but I guess now, I know I made a mistake," he said staring at the sky.
"If it helps you feel any better, I don't think any different of you even with your wings or powers, even your shadow powers," Raven said, looking into Skyfire's eyes. She felt that same feeling stir inside her, and didn't know what to say, even as Skyfire put his arm around her. She leaned closer to him, liking the way he body was close to hers. They stood there, watching as the sunset beyond the horizon and the stars started to shine in the night sky. Somehow, they both knew how each other felt, and were both enjoying being so close to each other. And so they stood there into most of the night, his arm around her, and her body close to his.