"And the others?"

"I'll see what I can do, but I don't make promises I'm not sure if I can keep." Raven allowed a smile. At least something was going right. "I've been tugging their minds around for years. I think I can make something work."

"I've been meaning to ask, why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you control them like this?" inquired Aiira. "What is so important that you must leash them?"

"They're too unpredictable." There was a tang of venom in the Titan's voice. "They don't think things through, ever; just rush blindly into things, all guns blazing. I don't control them directly, they would notice, and Cyborg is immune to direct mind control. I subtly change the way they think, force them to consider what they do and act a little more patiently. I wish I didn't have to, but I don't have a choice, if I want them to survive."

"Why not just tell them to be?"

"They wouldn't listen."

"It's either you try or I do – you won't be able to maintain this iron-grip forever, and they need to be able to act independently if they're going to help at all. They will listen to you, though I doubt you've ever tried just talking to them."

"True, I haven't, but nothing is ever as easy as we would want it." Raven shook her head slowly. "You haven't been around them as long as I have. I'd be forever trying to make it up to them were to I admit what I've been doing all this time."

Noon had passed, it was near lunchtime, but neither Raven nor Aiira were particularly hungry. They had resolved their differences to some extent, and now discussed the finer points of the Titans' involvement. The day had seen a cool wind begin to blow, and this high up without cloud cover the cool air was welcome on Aiira's skin. She gets hot or cold as we do, but she does have the option to ignore it as her body requires. In this case she could feel it well and truly, like a caressing hand…the day was hot and a breeze was welcome. What can I say?

The Titan's tower rose above the city on its spit of rock, the only feature in the wide, drifting bay. Waves lapped against the rocks in the ever-encroaching process of erosion, salt-spray giving the rocks cause to shine as beacons would. The sun coloured the concrete a shade of roughened orange, the polished pipework turning into scores of mirrors all reflecting miniature images of the two beings, and the constant chatter of gulls prevented any silence but could not stop awkward moments.

"Everything has consequences, and we have to bear them eventually." Aiira looked over at Raven, concerned. "I can't solve everything and I have others to find. I have a little more time but I really do need to keep moving. We'll solve this now, get it out of the way. It's a problem to be solved early, not on the doorstep of conflict. They don't know me as well as they know you – they have less to retaliate against if things go pear-shaped." She punched the demon-girl on the shoulder. "Give me five, maybe ten minutes then come down."

Aiira walked away, threading her way back through the pipes and dropping into the hatch once more, trading bright sunlight for dim corridor, stalking through the tower back to the living room where the other four remained, now watching Changeling and Cyborg beat each other up on a fairly basic wrestling game.

"You know, it doesn't take a game to throw fists." She remarked on her way in, leaning casually on the back of the sofa, just past Robin's shoulder.

"Yea…" replied Changeling, "but then ya need to wait for the bruises to heal, and Cy leaves a lot of bruises."

"Duly noted."

"You two sort everything out?" queried Robin, more concerned on practical things.

"Yea, it's cool. She's more afraid for your safety than she lets on, all of you." Said Aiira.

"I guess." Robin got up to fetch himself something to drink. "She doesn't exactly show it."

"Would you believe her if she did? She's been like this for some time, has she not?"

"For as long as we've known her." Robin's interest in the game seemed to have evaporated. That, or he hadn't really cared before anyway. He adopted a smile that was slightly sardonic, a very common expression for him whenever he was discussing anything other than work. "What's your point?"

"Well, if suddenly she started mothering you, passing concerns about being careful, would you believe it, or put it down to one of her slightly awkward jokes?" It was fragile ground Aiira trod, and a wrong foot would spell trouble for either her or Raven. To an extent the grey-skinned Titan was right; she didn't know the nuances, the peculiarities and personalities of the other four. In that respect she was at a disadvantage, but as she had said before, it was a boon as well as a problem. They didn't know her either.

"I see what you're getting at. Even if she did show it now, it wouldn't seem right."

"You would disregard it as a poor attempt at humour." Aiira finished for him. "It wouldn't make sense. That's why you had to hear it from me."

"Because we can't guess at you." Starfire cut in. Apparently she shared Robin's disinterest of the virtual world. "We know nothing of your ways, and we can more easily see the truth within you."
"That's the up and down of it. Would you hear me out, then? This is important."

Cyborg leant back over the sofa, receiving a grunting insult from Changeling as he paused the game, and he diverted his attention to the little green man for a moment. "Hey, shut it and listen will ya?" he snapped, "Show some damn respect."

Aiira shifted her position slightly, so she could rest more easily on the counter, and begun. "I'm probably being way too blunt with this, but I'm not a talker, not yet. I was introspective on my home planet – anyway, as I said, Raven is concerned for all of you. More than you know and more than she would want you to believe, but to me it's clear enough." She paused long enough to wipe a stray hair from her eye. "For years now – I don't know the specifics – she's being keeping tabs on all of you; a mental link. In effect, she's been controlling you. No, I know what you're thinking," Aiira waved down their protests, "no, she hasn't been owning you for all these years. She's said it was subtle, to make you think before you act. She doesn't want any of you to get yourselves killed. I think she wanted to tell you sooner, but she really couldn't, and you know why. It's why I'm telling you now; you would have hated her for it, judged her without listening first. I'm asking you not to. If you really want to ask her to let go, you need to follow her advice."

The other four had fallen into stunned silence, their rebukes and retorts dying in their throats. Years of this unknown protector hanging over their heads…at first they had thought it a form of control, but no, it was the way of a guardian. It's true, while she had been tempted by her darker nature to take more direct control, Raven had never done so.

"I had my reasons." Raven sounded calm, quite a contrast to the worry she had shown. It was almost as if it were setting her free. In a way I expect it was. Keeping secrets for so long can grow to be a burden on any mind, and it had been a contributor to her spite and bitterness over the years.

Her arrival had timed itself well – probably not naturally – to enter as Aiira finished her speech. "Now go ahead, judge me and throw me out. I've been expecting it."

The door slid shut behind her with an awful finality, as if granting the Titans permission to speak.
"It's a bit late for that. I guessed." Cyborg sniffed. "I felt it when you started, Raven. I'm immune to mind control since Brother Blood, and I felt it. You never had any control over me, but when I worked out why you were doing it, I figured it would be best not to say." He kept his voice low, sincere. This was a surprise for Raven too, and Aiira; Cyborg had always been definitely immune to the most obvious and clear form of mind control, but still the demon-girl started in mute surprise at the bionic man's confession. "Rae, I don't know how much this means, but if it's up to me, then you're staying. I've had years now to look over what you did and why, and I can't find any issue – I just wish you had been more open, but nobody's perfect."

It was a touching little speech he made; reassuring, really. Of all the Titans, Cyborg seems to me to be the best at showing emotion, being sensitive when he needs it. He's had his problems…but we all have. Some worse than others.

"It explains why I haven't managed to get myself killed yet." Changeling admitted with a chuckle that relieved some of the tension. "You've probably saved my life enough times by now. I'm with Cyborg on this one."

"You've done more than enough." Starfire left it at that, and it remained for Robin to deliver his verdict. Strangely enough he had said nothing the entire time. Though his mask made his expression somewhat unreadable, Aiira told me that he looked to be in a state of deep thought or consideration. After what seemed to be a minute of terse silence, he finally delivered his voice. "I just want to know how long. Have I been in control of myself?"

"I never told you what to do." Replied Raven, "I never directly touched your thoughts. It wasn't my place to see your mind. I only pushed in a better direction. I never had control – that was always yours. As for how long…since Trigon. The same magic I used to help you survive also paved the way for this."

Robin nodded in understanding. "But why reveal it to us now? How does this help?"

"Because I don't want to have to keep it up any more." Raven began to pace, away from the door and round the edges of the room. She kept her distance from the others, still uncomfortable in their presence. "I've been holding sway for as long as I have because I didn't want to see any of you get yourselves killed. After what we've been through together, you guys are what's held my life together all this time. I didn't want to take such a role, even such a subtle one, in controlling any of you, but at the time I didn't see any other way. I didn't tell you because I was worried about how you would react, and I'm saying it now because I want to stop. I needed you to know why so that perhaps when I finally relinquished my grip, you would understand what I had been trying to achieve and maybe move towards such an end yourselves." Her route led her to stop in front of the giant glass front of the room. "I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't. I couldn't bring myself to."

"So there's nothing I can say to dissuade you from leaving."

"Not this time Eleanor, not this time."

"Then why did you ask me to come?"

"Well…two reasons I guess. I couldn't go without saying goodbye. That would be horribly impolite of me."

"And the second reason?"

I kissed her at that moment – just on the cheek, nothing intimate. We had dated for a year a bit back, I had let her go; I'm a warrior, and I didn't want to cause her any more pain.

"That's the second reason. In case I don't return."

Then I jumped, and was swept away into the void.

The streets of Khalg Gnol were in ruin. Grey and black rockcrete buildings lay in ruin, long-abandoned by the former imperial citizenry that had resided there. Paint peeled off walls and the new occupants scurried through rat-holes and vast underground piping in search of something to survive on, living or dead.

Flashes of black lightning scarred buildings further, the newest occupant of this vast derelict city leaving its mark. The storm above waged war against the earth, showing no signs of abating, for this was no ordinary storm. It was a warp storm, the thinning of the veil between reality and empyrean, a tide of emotion and destruction seeping through the cracks in space. People found themselves fused to walls or the floor or even each other as the wind of change ran rampant, and unreasoned fights broke out in every area of the city, the red mist claiming victim after victim. Of course, there was one battle that drew the eyes both mortal and beyond.

Menthis rolled aside through the rubble, responding instantly as the daemon lord charged, bellowing like an enraged grox, baring aside piles of brickwork and cement, swinging his sword in great, decapitating arcs in his attempt to destroy his far more lithe opponent. In a moment she was on her feet once more, and a spasm of willpower jetted a lance of black energy from her hand into the back of the daemon. The spear split the pulsing red skin to let forth a torrent of black, poisonous blood and the daemon lord did not slow.

Recovering from his earlier blunder he approached more cautiously, heeding the council of his own thoughts instead of the mindless daemonic bloodlust – for all the corruption, some thin remnant of Kulsk remained. The daemon-blade descended upon Menthis with a trail of bright light in its wake, and once again she rolled neatly from the blast, but it was not an act of flight.

As the blade had come down she had dived forward, bringing herself under the creature's bulky guard and driving Asa into his leg. The purest darkness that made up that weapon set off every nerve in his body, the daemons inside writhing in agony at this attack on their essences, but no, Menthis was not done yet. She twisted Asa within the wound and tore sideways, tearing it free and half severing the leg in the process, using the momentum from the tug to swing round and bury the blade once again within the daemon's leg. This time there was not enough muscle and flesh to halt Asa, and with a triumphant shout Menthis watched the leg come free in a seething rush of polluted blood and gore.

Deprived of one of his limbs, Kulsk toppled sideways to the ground, skin suffering yet further on the broken concrete, but he was not done. A daemon lord rarely gives up on his prize. He still had his sword and now he could see his target. She moved like quicksilver and he lashed out, hungry for blood, and the dark spot of evil blocked it and froze. For a moment the two were locked in that moment, his prodigious strength battling her mental strength as she channelled it as her own fury, then the blade shattered. That beautiful daemonic weapon splintered and exploded, coming apart with bits of metal and wet organic matter, both alive and dead, and the champion of darkness moved in to finish the job.

The daemon lord Kulsk, barely even a warrior and already doomed to oblivion, now beset by daemons for his failure and every nerve in his body screaming out in pain…but it was still not the worst he could feel. Menthis now stood atop him, straight and Asa pointing tip-first to his rusting chestplate, and she looked down at him, staring into his eyes and into his soul. In that moment, before he even felt death, his soul was torn from him. Ripped from his mortal form then shredded by Menthis, fuelling her as no meditation could do. Then she killed him, dropping to one knee and powering the tip of that awesome weapon through the armour and toughened skin into his swollen, distended heart, using only a fraction of the power she had taken.

He died within his birth into daemonhood, his soul no prize for his masters, only for that woman, skin too black to reflect even the barest light, knew what a soul was truly worth, and she had taken it. She wrenched the blade free from the lifeless body and looked to the sky, for she had a message for the daemonic lords of the Empyrean.

"Gods of chaos! I know you hear my voice!" she shouted over the sound of the unnatural thunder, more for dramatic effect than anything else – the daemon gods would have heard her at a whisper. "I offer you this chance now, send your daemon children against me a second time and it will not be only they that bear the pain of defeat, you will feel it too! Dare send your soldiers against me again and you shall be cast down! Consider this your warning, and heed it well."

To be truthful, Menthis did not know whether or not she would have been able to dethrone the chaos gods. She had drawn a great amount of power from that dead creature, but there had been some measure of bluffing to it. There was plenty more souls and their energies, the life and existence of all creatures could belong to her if it was necessary. Perhaps her threat was not yet possible, but in time it would be.

The husk of a daemon was already dissolving, skin tightening around distended skeleton as the power that had held it in the material realm came undone. Menthis hopped off the creature and moved away from the battleground, back into the city. This place would serve as a good base of operations, but not in this state, she decided. It would need a lot of work, and for that she would need workers, and reliable ones. The rabble that inhabited this place would be replaced with trained warriors, who could follow her command unquestioningly.

All that was far from being ready. She had her part to play in this, and so did the gods of chaos.

"I'm sorry to cut this off so abruptly, but I probably should be going." Aiira told the Titans, having cleared up the rather delicate scenario. "I have others to ask for aid and I don't want to impress myself upon you any longer than is necessary."

"Short visit." Raven remarked without emotion.

"I have no idea how long this will take each time – I want to avoid running out of time. Besides, I want to give you all space to think. You know of my need, but I can't force you to follow."

"Do you always sound so noble?" asked Robin.

"I don't really know now, do I? You can't really tell what you are without the help of another."

"On Tameran, a display of kindness or respect in this amount would only be awarded to the planet's ruler. Whether or not it is an exaggerated notion here, I cannot say." Starfire added, lending towards her overly-formal speech. "But I can reliably inform you that being noble is not a quality that you should shun."

"In truth I was hoping to avoid being pompous or haughty." Aiira waved a hand. At the resolution of some of the more troubling matters they had relaxed somewhat, spent a couple of hours talking and finally invited Aiira to dinner. The goddess had declined, along with the explanation that she no longer needed food, that it would have been wasted.

In that time, the shadows had lengthened, the sun had dropped from the horizon and the moon had risen to a bright night indeed. The lights in the tower had dimmed, thus allowed the moon to conjure long, curling shadows from everything in view of the massive glass window. The pale light and quiet room created an atmosphere to which you could warm to, and one that was faintly romantic for anyone who felt it was right.

And they were. Starfire was spending most of the evening on Robin's shoulder, staring at him with a look that spoke of longing, affection, and a great deal other things that I can't be bothered to list here. Maybe if you buy me a drink one day I'll tell you the full list. All in all it had been a good day, even with the rocky beginnings, for things had been resolved faster than I think I would have been able to. "I'm glad, really, and surprised, that I was greeted so well. I hardly expected to have been accepted so readily." Added Aiira, offhandedly. "I will return, if you will allow it."

"Come back anytime." Changeling replied, "always cool to have another friend." He added companionably.

"In that case, I should probably be going. Drawing out goodbyes in any case is always so awkward." Syr pulled itself into being with a drawn-out whine, and, holding it above her head, Aiira sliced down, the edge catching on the walls of reality and tearing them apart. Really it was just casting herself into another dimension, so all she could see was a swirling mass of colour hanging in the air. She glanced back at the other five, giving hem one last wave in goodbye along with a confident smile, then she stepped through.

Reacting to her presence, the portal closed behind her in a defensive measure built into the fabric of reality itself, her perceptions for scant moments becoming that of a god and not of the physical plane, consciousness flipping past dimensions in a quick search for a likely location. There were many that radiated innocence, some of pain. It was the latter she was interested in – pain meant war and conflict, conflict meant two sides, and that generally meant a right and a wrong side.
They weren't identifiable from the nexus that joined them…but you could still stand out, even there. Aiira found herself drawn to one that looked to be unfortunate; within its own dimensional cluster there were dozens of others, alternate realities latched onto it in a strangely parasitic relationship. Perhaps the parent dimension could offer some warriors, or answers at least.

Although the distance seemed vast in the web of dimensional cascades, time was not a factor there, and the portal was open and she was on the surface of a new planet in a time incomprehensible. With a growl the portal closed behind her, and Aiira took a look at the world she was on.

Forests…and thin jungle. Not bad; if there was civilisation it would probably be nearby, at least. There were plenty of animals – birdsong and the rustling of undergrowth were common and all over the place, and there were signs of intelligent life…further off. The air was saturated with consciousness, many different lives passing many different ways…this would prove to be an asset or a problem either way, though. She wouldn't find out if she didn't take a look.

Syr in hand, she set off into the forest, wondering how, if she encountered anyone, she would differentiate them as friend or foe.

Well, yea. Aiira did well with the Titans – much better than most and it was frankly a miracle for someone in her position. I'm glad for her…very glad. She had not been given as long as I had to adjust, nor did she have the influence I held in my own universe. Speaking of which…yes, Eleanor and I had shared a relationship. About a year, as I said, but I had not wanted her to be caused too much pain were I to be killed. Warriors live solitary lives for a reason, though mine was not the life of a…conventional warrior. Rapture, that city she had lived for so long in, it had almost destroyed her mind, the pain she had gone through. I had saved her, I had repaired the damage to her mind and spirit, and given her a better life.

I'm not sure if it was a good idea, but as now, I did what I believed best, as much as I could anyway. I still had one last gift for her.