Vince began to run. For the first time in his life, he felt afraid of a demon.
For Raven was changing. She began to grow in size, and her form turned black with red bolts of energy reaching out and smashing the buildings around her. The Demon Hunter Commander was caught in the falling debris of a building as she continued to grow in size. Two large, black wings sprang out of her back and stretched out across the sky. Her skin looked like a dark pearl against the black of her shadowy cloak and suit.
Cobra, Bear, and Vixen, all watched in awe and fear as Raven turned demonic. She was beautiful and terrifying and they knew they would follow her without hesitation.
"She's doing it," Vixen murmured. "She's controlling her demonic side.
Her six red eyes flashed and the Demon Hunters started to flee before her, but in a loud voice she commanded them, "BE STILL!"
Everyone froze in place, looking up at her. Cobra spotted a small, green form being lifted up safely out of the way. He heard a softer command in his mind, Remove him. Without question, he obeyed, flying up to where he lay and taking the changeling back to Bear and Vixen.
"You have hunted me," Raven said, her voice echoing through the sky. "You have chased me. You have tortured and destroyed and killed to get to me. Now here I am!"
No one stirred. No one dared.
"You fear me," she continued. "I could destroy you all. Every one of you."
There was a struggle within her. Cobra watched the agony on her face, felt the roll of her emotions. There was so much going on in there. One thought crept out, like it was meant just for him to hear: He wouldn't want this.
"But I won't," she finally said and with a blast of light, her suit and countenance shone bright white. The black wings remained, but her eyes were two bright orbs of white now, shinning out of the shadows over her face.
Cobra glanced at Bear who had looked so hopeful since Raven's transformation. His face fell now. Vixen did not look surprised, but still a little crushed. Cobra himself felt surprised as well. He thought, without Beast Boy to stop her, Raven would give in to her hate. But even as powerful as she was, he could still feel her emotions inside her. Anger and sorrow, yes, but still goodness keeping her rage under control.
Even so. He glanced down at the changeling. His aura was faint, but still existent. Raven probably could not have felt it in her shock. Cobra reached out and began healing him. Even if Raven seemed capable of controlling herself then, he thought she may need Beast Boy's help by the end.
Raven stretched out her hand and from it sprung several streaks of black energy, some of which covered each Demon Hunter, some of which flew off into the sky. After a long moment, she lowered her hand and the energy faded away.
The half-demons tore their eyes away from Raven to see what she had done. The Demon Hunters were struggling back to their feet. Except, it wasn't the Demon Hunters. They were creatures that looked very similar to humans, but with blue-tinted skin, with taller faces and noses and thinner eyes, and large, white wings.
"Look at her," a course whisper escaped below him and Cobra looked down to see Beast Boy propped up on his elbow. "Just look at her." He looked back at Raven who looked so pure and…good. He couldn't believe it. She had actually done it. She had proven to him that there was good. And he wanted to be a part of it.
"You've killed us all!" one of the braver, former Demon Hunters shouted up at Raven. "Everyone! Every non-demon will die because of you!"
Raven glanced down at him and he fell silent. "Your ancestors made a poor decision long ago. I have returned you to your natural form. You will now go back to your home planet, and you will not kill anymore."
"Gorin will destroy all of those you left unprotected in front of him!" another yelled.
"I have protected them," she said impatiently. "You had grown too powerful, but that is no longer a problem."
"What about Gorin? Who will stop him now?"
"We will," another voice said, a tall, lanky, blue-skinned woman with a dark pixie cut. She was joining them from the direction of the Tower. The other Titans, Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg, walked beside her. "You forget, our people fought demons before we became Demon Hunters. This just leveled the playing field a little."
"Giselle!" the first yelled. "Gorin will destroy everything!"
Giselle looked up at Raven. "I was able to contact the main fleet in time to warn them, as soon as I caught on to what the demon had planned. They were warned, and the demon did protect them as she said. They are still able to hold their own against Gorin's army."
"I also called the Green Lantern core," Cyborg put in. "Jordan said that thus far they have stayed away from the war because the Demon Hunters were too unpredictable, but now that you will be willing to accept some help, they can do a lot of good there."
Raven looked at the woman for a long while. The woman who had tortured Beast Boy. Her demonic side was shrieking at her to kill the woman instantly. She closed her eyes and began to shrink before them, shifting back down into her regular form in front of her. "I will help you in your war, if I can."
"You can help by staying away," Giselle answered. "You will feel a connection to Gorin, and therefore will struggle to obey your own will instead of his. But you know now, Dark One, that he will soon come to find you? You have made yourself manifest to the universe. You fulfilled the prophecy. You ended the Demon Hunters. He will come and will demand your service. You must prepare for that time."
Raven nodded in understanding.
Giselle lowered her voice. "I underestimated you. I…I am sorry."
Raven nodded again before the woman turned back and walked towards her own people. She then turned towards her siblings and the Titans and at last her eyes fell on the green boys, sitting up as best he could and staring back at her. Her legs gave out under her and she collapsed onto her knees.
The rest kept their distance as Beast Boy managed to stand and cross his way towards her and they fell into each other. Raven let small tears slide down her face as she clung to him. "You're alive," she breathed.
"I am so proud of you, Rae," he whispered back. "You did it. You did it."
"Let a brother in on the love fest!" Cyborg said, jumping on both of them. Starfire came next, wiggling her way in the middle of the huddle and pulling a red-faced but smiling Robin in along with her. Raven's half-demon siblings looked on in disgust, but Raven didn't care. She laughed, a real, genuine laugh. The first she had laughed in a long time.