A/N: So sorry about the delayed update, guys. Time just got away from me. I hope this chapter makes up for it. I don't own any of the quotes taken from the episode, 'The End.' We're almost to the home stretch on this story.
"ROBIN! You are undamaged!" The green comet that was Starfire tackled me from the sky. She hit me so hard that we went over backwards, bounced in the grass, and skidded a few feet until my back collided with the base if a tree. Her arms wound around my waist, squeezing with everything she was worth. Between the collision and her hug I was having trouble getting any air into my lungs. I rapped her on the shoulder, too breathless to gasp out a protest.
"It's good to see you too," I said with weak humor, before a crunching sound overhead threw me back into battle mode. From the second story, Cyborg had charged through one of the glass windows carrying Kid Flash over his shoulder.
"Starfire!" I cried, pointing to the falling figures. She sprang away from me, using my chest as a sort of springboard that knocked all the wind I'd managed to regain right back out of me. She caught them easily. Still, Kid Flash screamed as the rough catch jarred his leg. Even from this distance I could see that his skin was gray with pain.
Overhead, the giant figure of Raven's father twisted to see what we were doing. Starfire gasped at the sheer size of him, but he seemed indifferent to her and the other Titans. I waved to get her attention. Beast Boy morphed into a squirrel and scampered into the boughs of the tree. Raven remained in the yard as Starfire brought the others under the shade with her.
"Raven," I hissed. But she was staring up at her father in stunned disbelief. Her mouth opened in horror and as he turned his head and stared down at her.
"Daughter," he boomed, stretching out his hand toward her. "Through you I am reborn. You are the vessel that contains my power. It is time that I am restored." Before she could move, before I could rush out and save her, Trigon snatched her up in his massive fist.
"Raven!" the Titans and I screamed in unison. His hand flared with white light as he clenched his fist, and then his fingers relaxed, opened to reveal...a child robed in all-white. She had chin-length purple hair and gray skin. Raven...? What had he done to her?
"You are of no further use to me," he said, casually tossing her away as though she was a outgrown doll. She screamed as she sailed through the air. Her cape billowed around her, but it was clear that she no longer had the use of her flight.
"Starfire!" I screamed, horror-stricken by the sight of my teammate plummeting to her death and being too far away to help. Painful memories resurfaced and I couldn't afford to let them affect me now. Before Starfire could set down Kid Flash though, a green pterodactyl swooped out from under the tree and caught the little girl by the arms with his large talons. Trigon watched dispassionately.
"Live or die, it makes little difference to me," he said before he turned away.
Beast Boy was himself again the moment he touched down beneath the tree. His arms wrapped the little girl secure against him as he took a couple steps to slow his incoming speed.
"What did he do to you?" he asked, holding her out at arm's length. There was no humor in his face. In fact he looked as fierce as any of the predators he could turn into. Young Raven cringed and tried to turn away from him.
"There was a prophecy. I was born so that Trigon could live again. I was supposed to bring the end of the world."
"You didn't think that was worth mentioning sometime in the past year?" asked Cyborg while keeping an eye on Trigon who had taken on a fully corporal form and was walking across the harbor toward the rest of Jump City. Raven hung her head.
"You would have tried to prevent it. But there's no stopping him. He is all-powerful."
"No he isn't," I said firmly. "If he was all-powerful he wouldn't have needed you all these years. He can be stopped and we will stop him."
"What about RyAnd'r?" Starfire asked softly. I clenched my fist. When it rains it pours in Jump City.
"We'll deal with him later." I had the feeling that RyAnd'r was hoping Trigon would take care of us and was hiding out somewhere to watch. Despite all his talk he wasn't ready to take on our whole team. Otherwise he'd have attacked on Tamaran.
"We've got bigger fish to fry right now," Cyborg agreed. "He's heading for downtown."
"All right Titans, we'd better move. Kid Flash, how're you doing?" I asked. His leg was coated with blood. It was enough to make my stomach clench with sympathy. He managed a flippant smile and a wave.
"Go. Save the world. I'll just be here, bleeding to death on your front lawn."
"Raven, can you-?"
"No," she interrupted before I could finish. "My powers came from him, don't you understand. My powers...they're gone. I can't stop him. Nobody can." My mouth hung open. Raven was powerless? That didn't make any sense. If Trigon was her father then even if she had been a vessel for his powers she should have magic of her own that she had inherited from him. She would never have been able to use magic if she didn't possess some of it already. If all it took was reading some old books I'd be a grand-master wizard by now.
"You've got to try," I prodded. "Believe in yourself, Raven. Like I do. Like we do." I gestured to the rest of the team. The child that used to be Raven looked around at us with her too-large violet eyes. Kid Flash was the only one not smiling at her, but I don't think she blamed him for that. Those little shoulders went up again.
"I can't," she whispered. Beast Boy reached out and touched her shoulder, squatting down so that they were eye to eye.
"You can do anything, Rae. You saved us in the Citadel, and you can stop that big ugly demon-guy now. You got this." He beamed at her. Kid Flash groaned and tapped Cyborg on the ankle, which was the nearest part of him he could reach from his seated position.
"Sucks to be you, man. Two couples and no girls to spare."
"Well you're obviously fine," I said, rolling my eyes. "Stay here and try to get in touch with the League. Tell them not to move in unless they're absolutely sure that we can't handle it." We both knew that meant that only unless we were dead or dying were they allowed to intervene. This was still my city, even if there were giant demon lords and angry Tamaranean princes roaming around in it. Flash nodded his understanding as the Titans and I gathered together to formulate our plan of attack.
Getting downtown was more awkward than usual with only Starfire and Beast Boy capable of flying. We decided against taking the T-car because it would take too long. We didn't know what Trigon was planning and we couldn't afford to waste precious time driving. That meant that Starfire was carrying both me and Cyborg across the city while Beast Boy carried young Raven in his talons again. It didn't come as any surprise to me, but Cyborg kept glancing back at the changeling as though he'd never seen him before. Maybe some of what Kid Flash had said had hit home. There were two couples in the tower now, and that left Cyborg the odd man out. He never talked about girls much, and it didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that he was too self-conscious to believe girls would be interested in him. He had fangirls just like Beast Boy and I did, but whenever we were mobbed in the street they treated him like an exotic car they could pose beside rather than throw themselves at him the way they did with me. With my hero-blinders on I'd never really paid it much thought, but as he glanced back one more time, I saw the hint of envy in his gaze.
"Robin, look!" I felt the ripple of shock go through Starfire a second before I heard her shriek. She couldn't point with Cyborg and me in either hand, but I turned to see four figures flying toward us. They looked like...us. A white starbolt shot fired again and I tucked in my legs to avoid being hit in the shins. Before I could react, a blue stream of energy fired from a ghostly version of Cyborg that was flying with large robotic wings strapped to his back. He took aim again, and Starfire banked left hard to avoid being hit.
I fired a pair of birdarangs back at the approaching phantoms that looked gray versions of the Titans. The first bounced ineffectively off the gray Cyborg's chest, but the second one impaled itself in the wing of the white eagle that was their Beast Boy.
"Titans, split up!" I shouted, releasing Starfire's hand as my doppelganger swung toward me on his own grappling gun. I pulled out my bo and hit him square in the stomach. The wind rushed out of him and we both plummeted to the ground as he lost his grip on his grappling gun.
"You won't win," my mirror said to me. "Looks like Batman will have to come and save you again."
"Why? You think you're some kind of challenge?" He raised his arms to fend off the blows from my staff. To my surprise, his boot shot out and hit me in the ribs, knocking me onto my back. He didn't waste any time leaping on me. My bo clattered out of my hand as I was suddenly on the defensive. Around us the others weren't doing much better. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Cyborg blasted off his feet by his doppelganger's energy stream. Overhead there was a shriek as Starfire went crashing out of the sky. A white comet streaked after her laughing an evil laugh that was chillingly similar to the way her sister Blackfire had laughed while she was torturing her.
With a growl, I kicked my doppelganger away from me and threw a smokebomb at the white tiger that was circling Beast Boy and Raven, who were crouching behind a pile of rubble. The smoke confused the other Beast Boy long enough for Raven to run to safety. The white tiger pounced and a green gorilla caught it and tried to fend off the sharp jaws and raking claws. I threw another smoke pellet that hit the white tiger in the side, distracting it long enough to give Beast Boy a chance to disengage.
"Dudes, I didn't realize I was this tough," he panted, doubling over as the white tiger circled to face me.
"You're not," said Cyborg darkly. "I can kick your butt any day of the week..."
"Titans, switch!" I shouted. There was a moment of confusion before my words sank in. Cyborg gave a whoop before he ran to intercept the white tiger. Those sharp teeth clamped down on his metal arm, scraping and scratching ineffectively. Cyborg smiled.
"Careful, you might hurt yourself."
I ran to provide cover for Raven while Starfire took on rogue Cyborg and Beast Boy took the other Starfire. It was over quickly. My team is after all the best.
"See, I told you I could kick your butt," Cyborg told Beast Boy as everyone assembled around me. Beast Boy smirked.
The smiling didn't last long. Our defeat of his minions drew Trigon's attention and he swiveled his massive head in our direction.
"I tire of allowing your pointless existence."
Beast Boy's eyebrows rose. He glanced at the little girl behind us and laid one hand beside his mouth to whisper, "Guess he really is her dad."
Before I could respond, the four of us were engulfed in red-hot flames.