"You know, coming here was a swell idea?" Beastboy says as he Starfire and Cyborg stand in the memorial park in Jump City. Cyborg had suggested it after Starfire began getting increasingly worried over Raven's condition, he and Beastboy had agreed she needed to be distracted since her change in mood would affect her own condition.

"Yeah, almost feels like home." Cyborg replies. "Nice to know they remember." He notes at the statues.

"Incorrect as the information may be." Starfire sighs at her statue after having read the information sheet.

They are all wearing holorings so they won't draw too much attention. Starfire's making her look like a tanned redheaded woman with green eyes wearing a pink sleeveless top and white pants, Beastboy had sighed in relief under his breath that the holoring had hidden all of the scars Starfire carry.

"Hey, don't worry, I'm sure we can get that fixed." Beastboy says while putting a hand on her shoulders, she looks up at him, giving him a sad smile.

"One side kids!" A man's voice orders to the complaints of a group of kids standing in front of Raven's statue. The Titans attention is drawn to the scene as a slick blond man in a blue suit and red tie takes up position in front of the statue with a microphone while a camera crew of three gets ready. One handling the camera one with an umbrella, shielding the man from the Jump City noon sun. And the last, a woman with a powder box busy making the man look good.

"Ready?" The man asks as the other one pulls back, the guy with the camera holds up three fingers and counts down.

"Hey! And welcome to Lionwell's Prime Time!" The man's announcement makes a knot form in both Beastboy's and Cyborg's stomachs. "Today we touch the subject of the latest 'Raven sightings' and so we rapport from the Titan Memorial Park, or as we call it The Park of Arrogance." He says with a smile, Cyborg tugs on Starfire's and Beastboy's shoulders, wanting to leave before Gary says something he would come to regret, but Starfire just remains standing. "As you have heard from other sources, we had not one, but two suspected sightings of the Witch Girl this week and on the same day! Which again opens the question, is she still here? Or was her whole disappearance after destroying the city and Titan's Tower just an act?" The man asks as he looks up at the statue behind him. "A few days ago a gang of ruffians claimed to have been molested by one claiming to be the so called hero and an hour later a group of kids were assaulted in a pizza parlor by an individual with strange powers." He continues as he turns back to the camera. "Now I know what you are all thinking, are we heading back to those times when Jump city lived in fear of the violent Witch of the Island? And as concerned citizens, we demand answers and actions to be taken against such an event from happening! Go tell your city councilmen we demand that this individual be locked up!" Beastboy and Cyborg are almost boiling with rage at the man, but theirs is nothing next to what Starfire is.

"Friend Cyborg, hold this." She says before pulling off her ring and hands it to him, revealing her true state, which is still a far cry from her old appearance. Gary is cut off mid sentence as Starfire grabs him and lifts him off the ground by his collar in front of the rolling camera. "You will cease you vile talk about Raven this instant!" She demands as her eyes begin glowing a bright green.

"Holy crap…" The cameraman gasps.

"Starfire?" The woman with the makeup box asks, hardly recognizing her.

"Star, put him down." Beastboy says while pulling his own ring off. "He's not worth the effort."

"Put me down!" Gary whines.

"No, you will cease your talk behind the back of Raven!" Starfire replies, giving Gary a good shake.

"Star, better do what Rae did, forget this creep exists." Beastboy sighs as he pats her shoulder.

"Hrmph!" Starfire grumbles after a second of thought and drops Gary on the ground before she walks off, followed by the others.

"Did you get that?" Gary asks his crew from the ground as they are busy staring after the three.

"Star, you want this back?" Cyborg asks as they walk down the streets, getting a few stares after them as he hands her the holoring.

"No, I will not hide myself here. Neither should you." Starfire says.

"She's right; we never had to hide here." Beastboy agrees as he pockets his ring.

"I guess you are right, people are used to us." Cyborg says as he disengages his own. "So where to?"

"You know, I'm really in the mood for pizza right about now." Beastboy says.

"I agree, I also have the craving for sustenance." Starfire adds.

"All right! Pizza it is then." Cyborg says with a smile.

As they walk they notice how much the city has changed since they lived here, revisiting spots of interest, joking and generally ignoring the people they pass. Eventually ending up at Mario's Pizza.

"Looks like he's still in good business." Cyborg notes at the crowd inside.

"Hey check out the specials." Beastboy notes at the pizzas named after them. "Sweet!"

Unseen by them, one of the waiters disappear behind the counter when she spots them, emerging shortly after with an elderly man with a large graying mustache in tow, who looks at them for a second before opening the last cash register, waving them over.

"Mario, my man, good to see you." Cyborg says happily as he recognizes him.

"And Cyborg, my best customer." The old man replies smiling as they approach. "And Beastboy and Starfire, how good it is to see you here again."

"Likewise." Beastboy says happily.

"Yes, we are most happy to see you again friend Mario." Starfire adds happily and floats a little off the floor.

"Oh my dear, what has happened to you?" The old man asks as he notices her injuries.

"Too much, but I wish not to talk about it here." Starfire says a little downhearted and drift back onto the ground.

"I see, so what can I get you kids?" Mario asks.

"I think we should have the specials." Cyborg says Mario smiles at him and punches in the numbers into his register. "I see biz is booming."

"It is, after Raven disappeared, you Titans kinda became a tourist attraction for the city." Mario replies. "Say, did you ever find her?"

"Yeah, she's fine, just the whole thing with the dragon was too much for her." Beastboy adds.

"I can understand, that Gary 'Garbagemonger' never relented and neither did those protestors." Mario sighs as Cyborg hands him the money. "They should be ready in a few moments, find a seat." He says.

The group all heads up to their old seats, finding them vacant except for a dark man in a pinstriped suit under a brown trench coat that just appears to be sitting there.

"Figured you'd show up at some point." He says as he notices them.

"Erm, do we know you?" Beastboy asks, normally it was something serious if someone you didn't know just found you or sought you out.

"Sorry, I'm Harold Turner, Editor in chief of the Jump City Herald." The man says as he gets up. "I was at the Tower when you guys split." He man says as he shakes hands with them. "So I hear some rumors that Raven has been found?"

"Not to be rude or anything, but we already had to put up with Lionwell." Cyborg says before it dawns on him. "What rumors?"

"Oh don't worry; I'm not riding Gary's train to fame. What rumors you ask? Well, for one I had a Leaguer with wings asking me questions about her a month or two ago. And a few days ago, a gang of bikers reported they were assaulted by two young people who promptly kicked their asses, in that alley right over there." Harold says while pointing at the alley in question. "An hour later a group of punks decided to try and force a young man and a woman away from this very table, one ended up with a broken nose, teeth and whiplash while the rest was thrown into the square before their clothes was ripped to pieces. The man and woman promptly vanished in a puff of smoke." The Titans look at each other before Cyborg answers him.

"Raven has been found, but we can't say if it was her here, things have been pretty crazy around us for the last couple of months." Cyborg says as he sits down with the rest.

"Anything you can talk about?" Harold asks as he sits down as well.

"Only that she was very heavily involved in what happened out at the Penitentiary." Cyborg says, wondering how much Raven could forgive him for letting out.

"Yes, and she was accompanying the Wonder Woman at the party before that, at least I have been told she was." Starfire chips in.

"That was her?" Harold asks in surprise. "I told my office that it couldn't be? This I gotta hear, off the book if necessary."

"Well, we will tell you if you keep it out of the papers." Cyborg says, getting a nod from the man. "Thing is; Raven reappeared in Gotham two months ago, roughly, intending on taking up residence there. The problem was that something went wrong somewhere with someone, and the League came looking for her. After butting heads with them, she was given a series of trials she was to go through before they decided if she should be offered membership or not. Now one of those tests involved her getting shipped off with Wonder Woman to Paradise Island for some training. While there she attracted some unwanted attention, I can't specify what really and I swear I'm not making this up, but that event and her performance over there had the Amazons extend their hands to her. Raven is an Amazon now, and she was sent along with Wonder Woman to the Presidential Ball as a supplicant." Harold just stares at Cyborg while he talks.

"If you had been anyone else; I'd say you should stop wasting my time with stories like that. But is this real?" He asks getting a round of nods from them. "Wish I could see proof of this?"

"Well I have some recorded, but I'm not sure if Rae would be too happy about me showing them without her consent." Cyborg admits.

"You could always contact the embassy?" Beastboy suggests. "What?" He asks at the look Cyborg sends him before relenting.

"Nothing, yeah you could." He agrees.

"Think I might." Harold says with a smile before his eyes rest on Starfire. "Good Lord what happened to you?"

"My sister." Starfire says with a heavy note of sadness. "I was told four years ago that my K'norfka was dying and that I had to return to Tamaran. Unknown to me, this was a trap set by my sister Blackfire…" Starfire begins telling the lengthy tale of her trials, only broken up by the serving of pizza with Mario joining them and the occasional clarification from the two other Titans.

The Watchtower Infirmary:

"nevaR ekaw pu!" The voice says and she feels herself waking up to a blurred world with three shapes standing around her.

"Raven can you hear me?" A calm male voice asks, she nods a little.

"Are you certain this is wise?" Another steady male voice says.

"Mid-Night said we could." The female replies. Raven's vision gradually clears, allowing her to identify the three speakers, Zatanna, Fate and Jason, while she fumbles with the mask on her face with her left hand. "Easy, let me get that."

"What time is it?" Raven asks weakly feeling like she had been caught in a stampede.

"10:47 in Gotham, you have been out for three days now." Dr. Fate says.

"Seems injuries become more apparent on you when you change." Jason notes.

"How bad is it?" Raven asks.

"Broken arm, leg, cracked ribs and a severe concussion, Mid-Night told us to tell you, you shouldn't try working magic with it." Zatanna explains getting a slight nod from Raven. "Not to mention the numerous bruises you have."

"Did you get the scroll?" Raven asks.

"We did." Jason confirms. "But there is a problem with it." Raven looks at him with a questioning look.

"Parts of the text are missing." Fate says.

"What?" Raven asks as a small hint of worry grows in her that it had all been for nothing.

"It's like parts of the text was never written, some words and passages are missing, including the name of the spell." Zatanna explains.

"Wasn't when I looked." Raven sighs as she thinks back, unable to remember there being any missing bits.

"We think it's Shazam's doing, there are heavy traces of magic around the missing areas." Jason continues.

"For your eyes only." Fate muses, Raven raises her eyebrows a fraction before nodding. "We have gathered most of the other materials mentioned but the ritual needed is almost completely obscured to us."

"I will need to see it." Raven sighs. "Can I sit up?"

"Sure." Zatanna replies before putting a remote in Raven's left hand that governs the bed, after a little fiddling, as Fate walks outside and summons the scroll before returning, she is leaning back in the bed but is able to see the surface of the tray Jason pushes in front of her. Where Fate carefully rolls out the piece of parchment for her to see.

"It is called the Corpse Dance." Raven says while reading the title.

"The Dance Macabre?" Zatanna asks in surprise.

"Yes, what pieces are you missing?" Raven asks.

"Those here, here and here. And there is a huge bit missing from here to here." Jason says while pointing them out.

"Hmm, Hydra Venom, Feather of the First Fallen, Hair from an Ageless Mortal and a Dragon's Claw." Raven says before looking up at the others.

"I think we can manage the Venom and the Claw, but the Feather and Hair is going to be difficult." Fate says as Jason cast a worried look at Zatanna.

"What?" Raven asks as she notes Jason's expression.

"Feather of the First Fallen, means it's a feather from one Lucifer Morningstar's wings and he doesn't shed." Jason says.

"Lucifer is real?" Raven asks in surprise, it had been her understanding that Lucifer was just a figure of speech or a loose description of a collective of people rather than a single real person, because Hell was so fractured no one would ever be able to unite it the way the Morningstar was to have done.

"Unfortunately, but he abandoned Hell many years ago." Zatanna says. "Constantine should know where he is, unless he just made up the encounters he's had with him."

"So the ritual?" Fate mentions and Raven's attention returns to the scroll.

"Hmm, in order to conduct the ritual, the Vessel must acquire the listed remedies and the assistance of the following; a damned soul, a heavenly soul and two grand practitioners of the mystic arts. Also a place of great mystic power must be the location of the ritual. The casters must cast the following spells in this order; The Damned casts the Invocation of Nehek, thus willing the prepared body to move. The Agent of Heaven must then sanctify the event, thus giving Heavens permission. The Litanies of Balance must be uttered by the grand mages while the ritual takes place, thus stabilizing the ritual. Once animated, the Vessel must dance the Dance of Death till the soul settles." Raven reads aloud.

"That sounds wrong on so many levels." Wally mentions.

"That's magic for you." Raven sends back after she finishes. "Did you get it all?"

"Yes, we will see what we can do. We will need to look into the modifications we need to accomplish this for them all." Fate says before he and Jason heads out the door.

"Zatanna, how are you holding up?" Raven asks as Zatanna is also beginning to head out the door.

"I'll be ok, don't worry about me. Thank you for asking." She says while giving Raven a slight smile before walking out the door.

"No problem." Raven replies before drifting off to sleep again after letting her healing powers work, setting them to very low key.

Raven wakes up later when Mid-Night bangs something against the doorframe and curses under his breath. As she watches, he pulls an odd floating chair backwards into the room before turning to face her. "I see you are awake."

"Since you are so quiet." Raven replies, she does feel better than when the others visited. "So how long am I going to be stuck in that?" She says while motioning at the chair.

"Only till your leg heals, which I guess will be a very short period of time after your head does. Now, let's see how the rest injuries are doing?" He says as he walks over to her left side and look at her arm. "Hmm, they certainly healed fast." He notes at some of the bruises. "I would as a doctor recommend you not try and work magic in your current condition."

"Duly noted, but I can adjust the rate I am doing it in." She replies flatly as Mid-Night pulls out a plastic ballpoint pen.

"Let me show you something. You are using it right now?" He asks, getting a nod. "Ok, follow the pen with your eyes." He says while moving the pen slowly from side to side in front of her. "As I have understood, magic needs a lot of concentration to work, with a concussion like yours, a little thing like this." He says as he quickly taps Raven on the head with the end of the pen, causing a black discharge of energy to race off her and over the floor before disappearing in the far wall. "Can cause unpredictable results." He finishes as Raven blinks a few times at the impact. "I can take the chair away again if needed."

"Ok fine, I'm a hazard being around if I do it. But I can't wait weeks or months for this to happen naturally." Raven sighs.

"So I heard, but you will have to wait till your head is healed properly before you can mend the arm and leg. But the damage should be completely gone in three weeks, unless complications arise. And I need to warn you, if too many complications arise you may suffer lasting damage." Raven groans at the time frame.

"So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?" She sighs.

"Rest, it will only take longer to heal if you provoke it too much." Mid-Night says.

"I'm going to go nuts if I'm stuck in here."

"Well, if you lay off the magic, you are free to move around the station in the chair, it was designed for you restless types with concussions. The important thing is not to strain your head, so physical and strenuous mental challenges are verboten and rest when you are tired." He explains, trying to sound positive.

"So at least I am fit for monitor duty." She sighs.

"I'm sure Michael would appreciate the company, guy spends most of his time there." Mid-Night adds as he walks over to push the chair next to her bed. "Want to go see?" Raven just gives him a short look before throwing off the covers.

"Well don't you look comfy?" Terrific notes as Raven drifts over to him in the main hall of the satellite.

The chair can actually double as a bed, as it supports her spine all the way up to her head, and with an adjustable armrest that lets her broken limb rest comfortably while it is padded on all surfaces. Her legs and lower body are covered by a padded metal lid that doubles as a desk on her lap, before it slopes with her knees. Raven thought she looked like some kind of sentry robot, John had mentioned the chair was designed so the occupant could fight if needed since it was made so it couldn't just trip over in case of sudden movement. Mid-Night had demonstrated this by giving her a light push that had her rocking back and forth.

"I'll be glad when I can get out of this." Raven shrugs as she halts next to him, letting up on the joystick that controls the chair.

"Think we all would." Terrific says with a smile. "So you want me to show you the ropes of the ever exciting monitor duty?"

"Well I am unfit for almost anything else right now, but I can't just lie in a bed for weeks on end." She explains.

"All right, it's quite simple. This part is really all about receiving calls and assigning the right people to handle the situations and as you know, teleport them to where they need to be. Now the teleporter is something else, when we get a call from a Leaguer on the surface, we can trace their coordinates by their communicators that will be displayed here." He says as he points at a black bar on the console the first of three. "When they need to be moved, we have to type in their start coordinates in and then the destination. Since most people always talk in names and not coordinates, we just have to accurately guess where they want to go precisely. I made this list long ago, but I can memorize it now." He says as he hands her several pages of names and numbers that she glazes over before putting down again. "Now there are some places we can't reach and I listed them on the last page, like inside Fate's Tower. Other than that, from here we really are the voice of the League, since everyone will be directing her calls here. And that's all there is to it really."

"Sounds, monotonous." Raven notes.

"Depends on your view I guess." Terrific shrugs. "I like it, coordinating is a second nature to me when I am not working in the lab. Besides I have time to do my crosswords from here. Oh and help Oracle out with that pile of files you sent her." He adds with a smirk, telling Raven that some of that paper is now heading her way.

"Guess I can help you with some of that, but I'm not a scientist." She sighs.

"Don't worry, Oracle has sectioned up most of it, I and Atom are dealing with the most of the biology and tech notes, Oracle is currently tracking down the people that were supplying him with materials. What I think is yours will be his notes on the magical stuff, since none of us has the faintest clue about most of that." Raven looks slightly relieved he's not leaving the budget to her, before thinking about something.

"You know that will be letting me read about a ritual that trapped the most powerful mystic entity in existence?" She says.

"And?" Terrific shrugs with a raised eyebrow as if it was not a concern. "I can put together a working hydrogen bomb in my shed at home if I get the parts."

"Just checking." Raven shrugs back with the one shoulder she can move without hurting.

Later:

"Oracle to Watchtower." The voice crackles from the speaker, breaking almost 10minutes of silence between Raven and Terrific, the longest period in two and a half hours where the pair had alternated in taking calls, deploying heroes and reading.

"Watchtower receiving; go ahead Oracle." Raven replies with the same sentence she had settled on after deciding that it didn't really matter who answered and the most people didn't seem to care either.

"Raven is that you? Or am I talking to a machine?" Oracle asks from the other end, for some reason Raven is a little wounded by this.

"It is. What can I help you with Oracle?" She replies, ignoring the feeling.

"Well, I was calling to hear how Michael was coming with his part of the research on the stuff you found at Luthors. Is he around?"

"The men's room at the moment." Raven replies.

"Ah. So what are you doing on monitor duty? Thought you were with Fate?" Raven speculates Barbara already knows but is just striking up conversations.

"Oh I am, got the spell we need. Problem is I had to get hold of Black Adam to get it, and now I'm stuck in a wheelchair up here."

"What?!" Oracle nearly yells.

"Only temporarily, broken leg and arm that I can't heal before my concussion goes away. The important thing is we are almost set to get the Founders back when we get the last few bits and bobs." Raven replies flatly.

"And how are you being in a wheelchair not important?" Oracle barks.

"It's just temporary, besides Mr. Terrific has me reading up on the ritual Luthor used."

"Those people in your head better be grateful for all the trouble you are going through." Barbara sighs. "Sorry, I just get easily worked up about this. Joker decided to try and drive my dad nuts by shooting me, been in my chair ever since." Raven just goes silent at the revelation. "Bruce was worried sick."

"And your father made it through. For what it's worth, I'm sorry."

"Don't be, I got back at him two years ago when he tried to finish me off, broke most of his teeth with one of my batons. So he made me a paraplegic and I've given him a fake smile. Unfortunately finding a good dentist is easier than a new spine."

"Ever asked Fate or Zatanna?" Raven asks wondering why the League hadn't moved in.

"No, I didn't know any of them before it was healed. Zatanna did offer to look for something when I met her, but told her not to bother, didn't want to cling to hope that she might find something for me when others needed her help more. Anyways, find out anything worthwhile on the ritual?" Barbara asks as she changes subject.

"Well, it's actually several rituals they mixed, so far I have found mention of two very powerful summoning rituals, the ones said to coax higher beings to come to the summoner. And so far I've found three binding spells also meant for very high caliber beings and I am talking way past Etrigan's level. The interesting part is how they managed to cast it; I begin to see why Luthor needed Circe and Tala to work it."

"They are that good?"

"They are both thousands of years old, Fate may have more power in his helmet but they have the experience. The good thing is that they are mostly out for fun, unfortunately they have a very bad sense of humor."

"How when compared to you?"

"I'm a novice really; I got a crash course and can't really control it. Everything else is telekinesis or astral projection."

"Probably hit harder them tough." Barbara adds.

"Well, now I do, had I met either of them a year or so ago, I would have had my butt handed to me." Raven replies truthfully as Terrific plops down next to her. "Terrific is back."

"Yeah, Oracle?"

"Ah Michael, I was just wondering how things are coming at your end." Barbara asks.

"Well, his science is solid and advanced, at the moment I am reading up on the restraining devices he had installed." Terrific says as he leans back and picks up his stack of paper. "He initially only planned for one, but down the road he decided to make another one when he apparently was talked into trying for Wonder Woman, Circe's idea it seems."

"I feel so special." Diana grumbles.

"While Circe seemed to want to make a big deal out of it, Luthor was more interested in the ritual, seemed to be a tradeoff between them." Michael continues. "She got Diana and Luthor got his ritual."

"Go figure." Barbara replies. "Down here I am crunching numbers of Lex Corp's budget; they are in deep trouble and have been ever since the direction changed. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before their stocks will drop like a ton of bricks when it's discovered."

"Hmm." Bruce mumbles. "I need to talk to Richard at some point, have Barbara send him a copy of the numbers."

"Bruce wants you to send a copy to Richard." Raven says.

"Already sent, Bruce has been looking for the option of acquiring Lex Corp for some time now. Mostly as a way to render Luthor penniless in case he returned." Barbara replies. "But with Mercy running the show, and making money, it was impossible."

"Ok, good to hear from you Oracle." Michael says.

"You too. Oh, hey Raven, how's that dog of yours? Seems Zinda has grown attached to him, or at least she is pestering me to have one of her own."

"Ah thanks for reminding me, forgot he jumped with me the last time." Raven says before opening a small portal, where Cerberus rushes out and begins barking happily.

"Well someone sounds happy." Oracle notes.

"Hey boy." Michael says to the dog, letting it sniff his finger before patting it.

"Well, I better get going; this stuff isn't going to read itself. You get well Raven, and I mean it." Barbara says before killing the link.

"Told her about your condition I take it?" Michael asks.

"Yeah." Raven says while dropping her hand to stroke Cerberus. "Can I persuade you to dial up Nightwing for me?" She asks and pretends to stretch for the dial.

"Heh, sure."

Authors Notes: So if you have press related issues, send in Starfire :) Next chapter the Founders are going to have a little action of their own.