*Alright, I have some more rising action for you! I sure hope you like this chapter. Writing from Charlie's POV is a little difficult for me, as I love Raven to pieces! Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy!*

*For Joel*

The Portal

Kilowatt fidgeted, clearly nervous. He was running out of food by the minute and his only hope of ever existing again laid in the hands of a doubting sorceress. He listened for her voice, ready to go whenever she was.

She had asked him to give her some time to herself so she could concentrate hard enough. He remembered her words clearly.

"K-Kilowatt…if…you are real…and this is to work…I'll need time to gather my strength…I don't believe I am who you say I am…but I don't want you to get hurt, whoever you may be…I think you may have the wrong girl…maybe you have me confused with another Raven…"

He sighed. It was her, he was sure of it. How could he forget her amethyst eyes? Or her violet locks that framed her face so perfectly? The look in her eyes when she had rescued him…was one of warmth and kindness. He smiled fondly at the memory, knowing he could never thank her enough.

He remembered her determination to send him back to his own dimension. He had almost made the decision to stay in Jump City with the Teen Titans instead. Almost.

The moment he saw Mirage on the other side waiting him, he knew he couldn't stay. He had to fight by her side. He clutched his chest at the memory of her. He had always loved her, but she made it very clear that she didn't return his feelings.

Kilowatt sighed, wondering what it was he did wrong. What did Nightwing have that he didn't? He gritted his teeth, wishing he could have been the one to capture Mirage's heart.

"Just forget about her," he grunted to himself. Although he said it, he believed with all his heart that he could never mean it.

He continued to think about Mirage and the Team Titans, when he heard a certain sorceress's voice. "…Kilowatt…?"

He felt his heartbeat quicken. "Raven?" he said her name softly.

"I…" she sounded unsure, "I'm ready."

He looked for her in the dark, but only heard her voice. "Are you sure?" as much as he wanted to get out of this empty void, he found that he didn't want to risk anything happening to Raven.

She was silent for a moment before answering, "Yes."

He stood up. "Alright…Raven, I need you to focus…remember where we were in that dream?"

"…Yes."

"Focus on that," he said. "Focus on me…focus on Jump City…"

He heard Raven take in a deep breath. "Y-you're asking a lot from me…"

He bit his lip. "Raven…you said you needed help, remember?"

"…Yes…."

"Let me help you," he said softly.

He heard her breathe out slowly, before he heard her chant those azarathean words, "Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos…"

Hearing the words sent chills down his spine. He could feel himself getting stronger as he listened to her chant in that beautiful foreign language. He charged up, concentrating on her words, in an effort to link his electromagnetic powers to her telepathic powers. He too, concentrated and focused his power and energy on her.

Blue sparks were flying off his body, shooting into the dark around him. His eyes were closed, trying his hardest to erase all other thoughts from his mind.

He heard Raven speak, "I-I can't get to you," she said through gritted teeth. "Something is in the way…"

Kilowatt didn't answer back, for he already guessed what the problem was.

Mirage.

He grinded his teeth, trying to push his former love from his mind. He shook his head, shaking off her memory. But he found he couldn't get rid of her image completely. "I'm trying," he said back to her.

He heard her grunt. "Try harder…I don't know how much longer I can do this…"

His eyes opened and he saw a small opening to a portal appear before him. How could she do that so easily, while he was having trouble erasing Mirage from his mind? He concentrated harder. He concluded that she believed she had nothing to interfere in her mind, making is easier to focus on him. However, even though she was clearly an expert at focusing her energy, she didn't have much to lend.

Raven's breathing became hitched, and the portal was starting to flicker. "I-I…can't keep this up any longer," she whispered.

He could hear her struggling, and his heart dropped. "Raven, I'm trying…I'm trying so hard…" his tone was desperate, but he could only see Mirage in his mind.

Raven's voice became desperate, "Kilowatt…help me…" she begged.

His eyes were shut tight at hearing her, "Raven…" he thought to himself. "Miriam…" he saw her smile, heard her melodious voice…

"…Liar…" he heard Raven say.

His eyes snapped open. "W-what?"

The portal started die down. "You don't want to help me," she choked. "I can see your thoughts…you want to help someone else…I'm no one to you!" she shouted.

His eyes widened. "Raven, no," he said quickly.

"You are just a figment!" Although he couldn't see her, he could hear her start to cry.

He grunted. "Raven, don't talk like that!"

"You're not real, you're not real!" she was crying now, her voice muffled by her hands.

He couldn't bear to hear her like this. He watched in agony as the portal grew smaller and smaller.

"Liar! Liar!" her voice broke.

He shut his eyes again and unleashed all of his power, unable to hear anymore. He shouted and found the will to clear his mind of Mirage. He no longer saw her face, but rather saw Raven's. It was Raven he saw. The moment he saw her, he felt a strong breeze whip past his face. "Raven?" he called out.

He heard nothing.

He opened his eyes and was shocked at what he saw. The portal was fully developed, and inside was Jump City. Without any hesitation, he leaped through the portal, charging down.

He landed on something hard and realized he jumped into an old alleyway, the scent of strong coffee hitting his nostrils.

His body was no longer blue, confirming that he had charged down. He was breathing heavily, and his heart was racing. He also felt incredibly exhausted. Charles tried to stand, but he was weak. His eyes were threatening to close, begging him to recharge.

As much as he tried to fight it, he couldn't. He mumbled a barely audible, "Raven…" before he passed out in the dark alleyway.