"Is this such a good idea?"

"Is what?"

"Introducing me to other people? I'm not exactly demure, here."

"I'm taking you to people like me and you – different. I can't exactly sneak out every night to help you out, so you might as well bunk with us for a bit while we work out what to do."

"I don't have a great deal of time here, you know." Aiira crossed her arms indignantly.

"Do you want to learn some semblance of control? I've had to do it all my life, and I know how to. At the minute I'm not caring what you need to do, but I want to avoid having the world fall apart on us if you do something you don't fully know how to control." Raven interposed herself between Aiira and the short walk left from the base of the island to the tower door. "I haven't spent my life with these impetuous idiots to let it all come crashing down."

Aiira didn't break motion, sidestepping around Raven with a pat on the shoulder, "Don't worry, you wouldn't feel it if I did." She explained, continuing along the pathway. The tower rose ahead, a giant 'T' shaped structure with an almost entirely glass-front. It wasn't a great hideout, if you wanted to stay hidden, but apparently these guys liked the spotlight. "Could you get any more obvious?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder as the blue-caped Titan glided past.

"It wasn't my idea, ok? Just…get inside, and meet the others. We have a lot to do in a very short time." Raven's voice stayed at the same low-key, slightly irritated by the lack of cooperation. But then, she was always like that – she had always been frustrated by the life she led. Aiira shrugged and followed.

The massive pair of sliding doors opened with the disturbing of dust, and Aiira looked into the gloom at the base of the tower. More presences…easier to detect now she had done it before…four of them at least. She saw where they were, but I don't think she expected them to be so…hostile. From the darkness a bright speck of blue light appeared, and then a beam of sound given form – she could tell, it had been in the information – jumping, the beam sailed underneath as she used the momentum to carry herself into the room proper, delivering a kick to the source of the beam and receiving a loud grunt in protest.

Something else glimmered at the corner of her vision, a spinning orb, green this time. Now, I remind you that Aiira was already a proficient fighter, but she was fresh, unused to it, and didn't react fast enough to evade the orb. It detonated on her arm, tossing her away into the air. Reaching out with her mind, Aiira straightened and hit the wall, feet first, dropping back to the floor quickly. She spent a moment marvelling at the little green orb – concentrated kinetic energy, quite effective. The decay back into the atmosphere generated the excess light energy, the decay itself colouring it green – before she was moving again, passing over and under, again and again, to evade the lights as they gouged chunks from the walls.

"Everyone stop!" Raven's voice was not particularly powerful, but it commanded, and did not broker any disagreement. "Will you stop all acting like children? Did anything tip you off to the fact I wasn't attacking? Grow up a little and use your heads!" she allowed a moment of anger to escape, and a corona of energy briefly flared around her. The attacks stopped – with alarming rapidity.

"Well what are we supposed to do when someone like that approaches the tower?" a Brazilian accepted voice came from the shadows.
"Maybe think a little, meathead! Now get us some damn lights, and maybe you can actually see who you're talking to." A light switch was flicked and the whole scene was thrown into clarity. Aiira had come closer to actual combat than she'd thought. One of the four, a short teenager with gelled hair held a bo-staff about a foot from her face, and…there was a bear? A green bear? A green grizzly sitting on its haunches a few feet further away, scratching the side of its head.

"Will someone tell me who you all are, and then what that thing is?" she gestured to the bear, "I haven't been on this planet for long, but I'm pretty sure you don't have those, at least, not in that colour."

The bo-staff retracted – telescopic, it seemed – to a foot of metal that the boy stowed in his belt. Once the equipment was away, he offered a short, but dramatic bow with the hem of his cloak. "I'm Robin, ma'am. My apologies for the welcoming party."

As he stood properly and they properly looked at each other, she framed a reply. "I hope that I don't get this everywhere I go, or I am going to be waiting for some time. Who're the others?"

He didn't look particularly happy with the response, but didn't follow up on it, tipping his head slightly, and pointing at each of the other members in turn. "Cyborg." The Brazilian. "Starfire." Yes, the fourth presence – she was hovering, but looked otherwise much like a scantily clad – sorry, I have limited descriptive powers when it comes to women – human girl. "Changeling." He pointed at…the bear? Well, something was definitely up here. "You've already met Raven."

"I think I'm missing something here…are you the only one who isn't…you know, weird?"

At that he looked kind of abashed. "Yea, well, I kind of don't need powers."

"Seriously, that guy cracks concrete without breaking a sweat!" a small, green humanoid snipped in. Where did he come from? Aiira furrowed her brow. The bear – oh, that was it, he was a shape shifter.

"Not a bad accolade – you ever considered becoming a builder?"

"Nah, hours aren't flexible enough." Robin replied with a grin. "Pay isn't great either."

"Alright, now we have the tedium of introductions out of the way, we're starting training. Now." Raven cut across the banter, gliding across the room. The others stepped aside slightly, as if…afraid of her. She entered the stairway and disappeared without another word to the others.

"What was that all about?" Cyborg asked.

"I'm not exactly…proficient in using my powers. Not yet, and Raven wanted to teach me. More for safety than any real concern." Aiira gave in reply.
"Well, look out. Raven ain't been…well…in much of a good mood lately. I mean, she's always in a bad mood, but…more than usual."

Aiira frowned. She knew why, at least, she thought she did, and it wasn't a very fortunate case. "Is there anything unusual I should know about her?"

"Well, half of her is that city-destroying d-" Changeling's explanation was cut off as Robin elbowed him in the ribs.

"Nothing you need to know for now. It's kind of personal to her – she'll tell you if she wants. She gets touchy if we start talking behind her back."
Aiira nodded in understand and set off up the stairs, pausing in the doorway. "Hey, maybe we can talk later, if I have any spare time."

"She has to let you stop for something to eat."

"Have fun convincing her – I don't need food. None of my race do." Then she moved on, and didn't see the expression of utter terror etched on Changeling's face. For a few seconds he was mute, making animated expressions in a variety of different animal forms, until finally he recovered enough to say something. "Wha-" was about as far as he made it, before faking a collapse and passing out on the floor.

"I'll carry him up to his room…" Cyborg complained, hefting the small green man onto his shoulder and setting off up the stairs, the rest of the Titans in tow.

"Have you ever needed to meditate before?"

"Nope, my power comes naturally."

"So does mine. That's the point of it. You meditate to control it." Raven snapped. They were on top of the tower – Raven doesn't like anyone in her room, after all – in the early morning sun. Raven sat cross-legged and levitating slightly off the ground, prepared to enter the state of meditation, but that attention wavered as she attempted to convince Aiira to do likewise. "Meditation increases the power of your mind, tempers power and puts it under control."

"I fail to see how this applies to me." Aiira snapped her fingers, and watched as the air distorted and tugged, Syr forcing itself back into realspace. The weapon dropped into her outstretched hand, gaining weight in the same moment it became real, and she swung it a couple of times experimentally, the blade spinning in her hand and cutting the air past her shoulders. "Pretty much every power I'm capable of has come with limits built into them."

Raven's eyes opened, legs moving back into the folds of her cloak as she allowed gravity to reassert control and return her to standing. "Then why am I doing this?" she swept past Aiira, towards the tower hatch.

"Why are you?" Aiira stood resolute, arms folded and eyes narrowing. "What happened to patience and control?"

"I can't teach you any, if you aren't willing to learn."

"And I can't learn if you aren't willing to teach. Don't treat me like some bunked-up schoolgirl who has no idea what she's doing. I'm easy as old as you and this form has been around even longer. You said you hold these guys together? Prove it." It was as good as any confrontational speech she had made before. "I've been at this job for two weeks and you think I've had a chance to even get to grips with what I am anymore? I got pulled from my home and stuffed into this body, and told to go fight a war that involves a great deal of what you hold dear to you! You have problems, don't make me the outlet – I already have enough." The last words were edged with contempt, contempt for this girl who gave not even the slightest pause to consider others, who tossed away outsiders forgetting she was one herself.

There was a moment's pause as Raven's footsteps stopped and silence descended, both unsure of the next move to make.

"So you're quite ready to give," Raven commented without turning, "but let's see how much you're willing to take." With that she spun, hands flying out and from them an inky blackness that wrapped itself into a beam of the stuff, arcing through the air. Aiira had not been prepared for the attack, but she had been a fighter before this, and dived away before impact could be made, flicking her hand out, casting a few thin wisps of blazing light towards the grey-skinned girl. One arm went up and with it a shield of the same translucent power. Her spare hand twitched out to the side, the darkness engulfing a few stray pebbles and sending them spinning through the air.

Syr lashed out of its own accord, countering each bit of rock, shattering them against an edge harder than the toughest of diamond. She fought defensively – taking each attack and nullifying it, but no more. She was willing to fight, but she wasn't in this to harm, not yet anyway.

Another spear of shadow, this time Aiira's turn with the glowing white shield. "What the hell is this meant to do?" she shouted as Raven began to chant, low tones with words that resonated in the darkness of the ether. The shadows began to gather about the pale demon-girl, forming into something far more substantial…a giant raven! A giant black raven! It explained the nickname – it was her signature, her token. Well, well, this was a treat.

Aiira rose to the challenge, Syr alighting with white fire and humming as if electrified, all in anticipation. The raven in darkness billowed forward, and Aiira swung Syr in the classic definition of a parry, and instead of the blade passing through the darkness as one would expect, the two met in a burst of spitting energy, waves of light and darkness snapping at each combatant as well as their avatars. A brilliant display broke them apart, the raven shrinking back down into its host and Syr returning to the guarded position as both noticed the stalemate.

"Alright, so you can use a sword well enough, and some fairly basic defensive manoeuvres."

"Do I still have to go through your spitting and jabbing if I'm going to do this training?"

"Maybe. I wanted to see how serious you actually were about this. As I said, I can't teach if you won't learn."

"We're not going through that again. Are you going to drop the attitude and help or not?" she crossed her arms, tapping one foot on the ground in irritation.

"You'll find that my 'attitude' is for your own safety. I don't know what you're like when you lose control, but believe me you don't want to be there when I do." Her arms lowered, disappearing back into the cloak. "Go out alongside the team next time there's a mission. I'll watch from here, see how well you handle things."

"Right. Then I guess we're done for now." Aiira sidestepped Raven, dropping into the hatch, leaving it ajar for the Titan to follow when she wished. She didn't look back, for she knew that the girl wasn't moving. Raven had a lot going on in her head, most of it wasn't her choice, and she had a hard life – she had seen it in her surface thoughts. She couldn't find out more yet, for she was not confident enough yet to delve into that mind, and even when she could…well, it would be impolite to say the least.

The tower was no maze – she had memorised the map on the way up, orientating herself at any and each junction before continuing, and peering rounds corners she could not yet explore. She knew enough to make her way about for now. Memory engrams, wonderful things.

She walked into the living room to the accompaniment of explosions and screeching tires. She dropped low, glancing round for the source of the noise – she knew what the sounds meant, generally, but had never heard them before.

"Relax. It's a game, they use it to pass the time." Robin's words explained everything, along with his vague motion to the giant television screen. Changeling and Cyborg were positioned on the large circular sofa in front of it, both mashing the buttons on a pair of controllers, the teched-out vehicles on the screen following their motions.

"Oh. It's not a pastime on our world." She replied, standing properly. "Most of our spare time is spent reading, training or in various mental challenges. We learn in almost everything we do."

"Sounds like Raven would enjoy it there."

"I doubt it. And no, I don't want to tell you why. Every race and species has its darkness. The one mine shares is probably one of the vilest." She shook off his unasked question, brushing past him lightly into the room. "She wanted me to come out with you guys next time you have to put someone down, to see what I can do."

"If Raven isn't coming, can you stand in for her? It might make things go a little smoother."

"I don't see why not. I still have to learn cooperation, but don't expect me to shape-shift and borrow that swimsuit piece of clothing she wears all the time."

From over by the television Changeling sniggered at the comment, inadvertently twitching the control and veering off the raised track his vehicle had been pelting along, and a cheer went up from Cyborg as the bionic man found himself in the lead. Robin grinned himself, but went no further, knowing that not everything people said was always meant to be an innuendo.

"I don't think that will be necessary." He managed to say, before the alarm went off.

"How convenient." Aiira observed, deadpan, watching as the game buzzed from the screen to be replaced by a blueprint map of the city, a single red light winking in the corner. "So that's our target? We know who it is?"

"Hey, hey, I can only move so fast." Cyborg waved his hand, the other tapping at the keyboard to access city security cameras until the screen shrank, other images pushing in from the side. The cameras, showing scarcely more than a shadow and some ambient red lights. "Robin, your thieving friend is back. That xenothium obviously hasn't run out yet."

"Who is he?" Aiira asked, still oblivious to who it was.

"He's called Red X." Robin began to explain. "I made the suit for an undercover Op a while back, but locked it away, then he stole it. We still haven't found out what his name is."

"Let's go people, come on, time's a-wasting!" Cyborg clapped his hands, galvanising them all into action. "You can take the car with me." He offered, jabbing a thumb into his own steel-plated chest.

"Thanks, but I can fly – or run. Whichever we need."

"Fly then, go with Starfire, she'll show you the ropes." He didn't question how – to her immense relief.

"I've been picking up these for a good couple of years now, and each time I ask you all vote on a matter of substance that I'm too hold of these investigations."

"Due to the potential daemonic threat thou ist commanded as thus. The council shall debate further on the matter of thine rebellious nature and-"

"I intend to pursue the matter now, regardless of whether or not you consent to it or not."

"Thou shalt risk thine authority?"

"It's no risk to me. After all, think about what I know, how hard I am to kill, and how dangerous an enemy you would gain. I am going to find this, and you are not going to try and stop me."

When I finally asked, Menthis admitted – in confidence – that when she visited the first place, she didn't really know where she had ended up. Her blade split the stuff of reality, she passed through and closed it with her mind, knitting it tightly together as if it were a piece of cloth in a sewing machine, then finally she looked to see where she had been taken. To be frank, it looked very bleak and depressing, more so than the expression she had adorned. The landscape was a barren, rocky wasteland of various shades of grey. In the distance a vast column of smoke rose from a collection of buildings that took up the greater part of one of the horizons. She had attempted to take the portal somewhere where darkness held sway, and thus it probably lay in that direction, and so she set off towards it. Her power flowed to her legs, and she began to run, faster, quicker, more elegantly, until she was travelling at about three-hundred miles per hour. The landscape became a blur but she watched it flash by in perfect detail, skirting around rocks or other features of the landscape without breaking step.

That is not to say that she saw the artillery shell coming, however.

It detonated a few metres off-target, throwing her sideways from the point of impact as she became well aware of the sound of other falling shells, high-pitched whining attacking her ears even as shrapnel attacked the rest of her. Asa, her own blade, a similar make to Aiira's and pitch black, exploded violently into reality and lashed out at shards that threatened its wielder. Menthis felt more in control that Aiira had – more time practising, a higher understanding of the weapon, it responded to her more, was more attuned with her than Aiira was with Syr.

Momentarily a dark prescience seized her and she took a leap of faith, hurling Asa into the sky from her hands, the gamble paying off as the shell exploded well out of damaging range. The blade returned to her hand unbidden, task complete, and Menthis resumed the sprint before the artillery emplacements that were firing could draw a new bead now their first salvo had been extinguished.

Looking properly now, she saw the barrel flash as the weapons ignited their payload, delivering another few tonnes of death into the skies, and she decided to try something new. Drawing in on her will and reaching forward, she found the weapons in her mind's eye, glowing as if…alive. No matter. Drawing on her reservoir of power she directed a massive surge of kinetic energy into the first gun emplacement, holding it all tightly within control until the last minute as she snapped back to her own vision to watch the spectacular detonation. Normally, the target would have been tossed about – with that much energy, probably with most of their organs pulped in the process – but to a fixed object, the damage was magnified one-hundredfold.

She tried again, moving ahead briefly before the latest salvo could make impact, but this time focussed on the crewmen manning it, and tried heat energy, several thousand degrees of it. Holding it all in check was difficult, she realised, and she released it before she was quite prepared.

Nonetheless as she withdrew she was quite sure that the crew members had just been cooked thoroughly. She checked her reserves – probably not a good idea to try that again, or use much other sort of power, for that matter. She needed to expand her horizons a little, increase the pool of power she was able to draw on. To do that would require time and patience…she had time for one more shot. She energised a little of the remainder into a small crackling orb in the palm of her left hand, then threw it, quite calmly, like a tennis ball, into the joining line on a ridge in the landscape. The darkness in the orb exploded into vacuum calculated to drag the rock out with enough force to pulverize it. The result was more or less what she intended – an alcove, safe from the eye-level and some measure of natural protection against the elements and the bombardment which showed promises of continuing.

Diving into it she muttered an incantation and threw up a shield that would block out the noise and hopefully the explosions and shrapnel.
Well, it explained the wasteland, she thought, as she properly settled in; constant shelling like this would wreck any environment, especially if they took to shelling everything that came into range. Once she had finished the enhancement, the next objective would be to push forward and work out how much cooperation these guys were willing to offer. She may not look it…but Menthis was a shrewd negotiator.

Well, would you disagree with someone who can pop your brains at almost any distance?

Aiira was still coming to terms with what she could do, she was fresh to the fight and knew less about it than I or Menthis. Well, truth be told, I knew very little about it too, but by this time I had been given plenty of room to figure things out…a good many things. I knew about Aiira, though I had not yet met her, and I knew that we would need each other's help to make it through this. She was more powerful than I was individually, but I had influence that she did not. I too had been given a prophecy, and so of course, I had taken more extreme measures, given the more extensive time period I had available to me. Still…