AN: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last chapter. You all are so kind and I appreciate all of you so much! As promised, the beginning of Part 2. Enjoy!

XOXO Gwen

Part 2

Chapter 19

Raven's eyes opened slowly, blinking in the hazy morning light that streamed through her window. A familiar smell tickled her nose; someone was making waffles. Raven loved mornings when she woke up late to the smell of breakfast floating through the tower, where the sun shone through the windows and everyone had a calm, lazy aura.

This would be one of those mornings if it weren't marred by the unsettling thought that it was one of her last.

Raven rolled onto her back as the full impact of yesterday's events hit her. Now, in the calm of the morning after, she wondered if her plan was really a good idea.

Robin had once told her she was one of the most hopeful people he knew. Raven had acknowledged it was true: throughout the entire disaster of her fathers ascension to Earth, she kept fighting and hoping and trying to find a way to defeat her father. She knew now what a mistake that was. The fact she had defeated him was a miracle, and miracles don't happen that often.

This time, she was done playing around. She was done taking chances when the fate of the world and the safety of her friends hung in the balance. There was only one way Raven knew of that would be sure to stop Trigon, and that was the destruction of his portal.

When she told the Mayor that she would go along with her plans, the woman didn't believe her.

"What?" she whispered after Raven made her declaration.

"You're planning on killing me, I'm planning on letting you," Raven said with impatience.

"Why would you do that?" the Mayor asked skeptically. She watched Raven carefully, clearly trying to determine her motives.

"We both know that Trigon will rise in six days," Raven began. "The first time Trigon was supposed to come, I thought I could stop him. I'm not so naive now."

"So you're telling me you want to sacrifice yourself for the greater good."

"Yes. I'm a hero, I swore to protect this city, the world, and my friends. They shouldn't have to go through this again. No one should." Raven stopped speaking and waited for the Mayor's response.

She narrowed her eyes at her. "Though your logic seems to be in line with the rest of ours, I'm having a hard time believing you."

Raven sighed. "I would too. It's not everyday someone walks willingly into their own assassination. But I promise you, I'm telling you the truth. I can't do this again. If Trigon rises I'll die anyway. At least your way I'll be the only one."

That seemed to satisfy her. Raven spent another two hours in the office going over details. They were determined to do it on the night of the gala so that the shooter will be able to get away without being noticed and the press would think it was some assatination attempt and not ask too many questions. Raven's murder would go unsolved.

There was one flaw to the plan that Raven was quick to point out: her healing abilities. She was normally very grateful for them, but in this situation it made her difficult to kill. Once she passed out, her healing would be involuntary.

She quickly solved her own problem though with the recollection of a spell Malchior had taught her. She normally avoided anything from his teachings, but for this she would make an exception. The spell would essentially put a block on her powers. It would only last for 24 hours, but it would be enough to inhibit her healing. The Mayor intended to have someone shoot her there, which would work just fine with the application of Raven's spell.

Raven couldn't believe she was thinking about all of this so rationally. She stared blankly at her ceiling as she went over all of the details again in her mind. She was planning her own murder. How twisted is that? she thought before hauling herself out of bed.

She had a nervous feeling in her chest. How was she supposed to walk into the common room and talk to her friends like nothing was wrong? How was she supposed to act normally when she knew these would be the last four days they had together? Raven felt tears threaten to overflow when she thought of that. She shook her head to clear it. She couldn't think about that right now. She just couldn't.

Raven never had to worry about pretending to be alright. A flash of red and the wail of the alarm pulled her from her thoughts.

Great, she thought sarcastically. Apparently the villains didn't get the memo that we're a little busy this week. She fastened her cape around her shoulders, pulled the hood over her head, and flew towards the common room.

Starfire did not understand it, but there was something about Red X that got under Robin's skin almost as much as Slade did. She watched him nervously as she flew above his roaring motorcycle, expertly maneuvering through the streets of Jump City towards the Museum of Natural History. Robin had told them that if they were going to install an exhibit of precious gemstones, they needed a better security system. Apparently, they did not listen.

The team arrived at the columned entrance in record time. This museum happened to be a frequent target, so they knew the way there well. Starfire walked up beside Robin as he checked the latest report from inside. She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. Much to his credit, he looked up and returned her smile.

"Thanks Star," he said softly. He didn't have to specify for what. Starfire knew how they could calm each other like few others could.

"Alright team, it looks like X is still inside. Raven and Starfire come with me through the front, Cyborg and Beast Boy go through the back. Titans, Go!"

Starfire sprang into action at his command, taking to the air and shoving the doors open with no trepidation.

She was about to call back to Robin and ask where in the museum they were going when she caught sight of a huge banner in the lobby proclaiming that the gemstones were on the third floor. She swooped down to pick up Robin, carrying him up to the third floor balcony as Raven followed behind.

They were coming to a set of closed doors at the end of the hallway with a sign above that indicated they were in the right place. Black energy covered them as Raven telekinetically threw them open.

Starfire saw Red X immediately. He clutched a black bag with one hand and in the other had a sparkling ruby necklace. He stuffed it into the bag as he turned to face them.

"You guys got here pretty quick. Must be eager to see me," he said tauntingly.

"Red X," Robin said with a grin. "Looks like you've been caught red-handed."

"Hold on there, Robin. You haven't caught me yet." With that he made his move, darting towards the back of the exhibit.

"Titans, go!" Robin called. Not that Starfire needed the cue. Red X may be fast, but Starfire flew faster. She was soon above him, raining down starbolts which he jumped to avoid. Before she knew what was happening, he disappeared. She looked left and right for him.

"Looking for me?" his voice sounded from behind her. She turned to find him standing on top of a case, but was too late to avoid his attack. He fired two expanding, sticky, restraining X's at her, knocking her to the floor and pinning her there.

She thrashed against her restraints, but even her Tamaranian strength had difficulty breaking them. As she struggled she watched Red X fight with the rest of her team.

Raven was wrapped in red within seconds; X used multiple restraints to incapacitate her. Robin's staff clashed with two metal X's in the villains hands. Just when it seemed as if Red X was getting the upper hand, a stream of blue crashed into his side. Cyborg had arrived.

Though the girls were still struggling to free themselves, it was now three against one. Not good odds for Red X, though Starfire did not feel too bad for him.

She returned her full attention to the task of freeing herself, using beams from her eyes to cut through the elastic red substance. It took awhile, but it worked. She soared up in the air, ready to help however she could.

Red X had moved closer to the door in that time, leaving a sparking Cyborg in his wake. Robin had positioned himself between X and the door, a smart move. Starfire flew quietly behind him as she saw Beast Boy in tiger form creeping up from the side.

"Give it up X," she heard Robin say from below. "There's nowhere to run."

"Maybe not right now," the thief replied, "but something tells me you're about to move."

Before any of them knew what was happening, X's two metal weapons were flying to his right, headed straight for Beast Boy.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire screamed, but it was too late. The x-shaped blades sliced into the tiger's side, eliciting a howl that tore through the museum.

There were no words to describe the jolt of fear that coursed through Raven when she heard Starfire's scream. Aside from the fact Starfire was screaming anything, it was his name.

Beast Boy.

Raven's mind didn't have time to process much. It went into overdrive, focused solely on the task of freeing herself and finding Beast Boy.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she shouted, forming an explosion of black energy to cut through Red X's bonds. She flew up into the air, desperately scanning the exhibit to find her teammates.

When she caught sight of him she almost fell out of the air. He was in his human form, blood oozing from his side as he lay groaning on the floor, a pained expression spread across his face. The others were running towards him as Red X headed towards the door.

"Robin, Cyborg, go get X!" she shouted as she flew towards Beast Boy as fast as she could. They seemed conflicted, but trusted in Raven's healing abilities and turned to corner Red X.

Raven collapsed roughly on the ground, not caring that the carpet burned her knees. Her hands were already glowing and she was crouched over Beast Boy's side.

"Hey," she said softly. "Come on Beast Boy, keep your eyes open. I'm here, you're going to be okay." Starfire watched her nervously.

"Raven?" he asked weakly. He smiled faintly. "'Course I'm gonna be okay. You're here."

Raven returned his smile, glad he was still talking to her. "Beast Boy, what happened?"

He grimaced again as another wave of pain hit. Raven worked faster. "Red X threw those blades of his at me out of nowhere. They nicked me in the side-oh," he groaned as Raven's magic set in.

"I'd say this is more than a nick, but whatever it is, he's going to pay for it," Raven said softly but intensely. She had just finished closing the tears in his organs and focused on sealing the skin.

"Beast Boy, I'm going to have to put you under. It'll help you heal faster." As much as she hated to do it, she knew it would do him the most good.

She finished not ten seconds later, leaving the unconscious Beast Boy with a jagged, raw scar. She would have to fix that later; right now she had something else to attend to.

Across the room, Cyborg and Robin were still grappling with Red X. Time to put a stop to this, Raven thought as she rose slowly. After all of the time she spent suppressing her emotions, letting one out felt good. And Rage was more than ready for it.

"X." Her voice echoed throughout the room, an ominous warning of what was to come.

All three of them turned to stare at her. Before the villain knew what hit him, he was completely encased in black. With a flick of her wrist she drew him closer and set him hovering before her.

"Someone's in a bad mood," he taunted. Raven tightened the energy bonds in response, pushing the air from his lungs. He gasped.

"Let's get one thing clear. No one threatens my family." She paused to let her words sink in. "Here's what's going to happen. You will leave Jump City and I will never see you again."

"Or what?" He squeaked with what little breath he could take.

Raven smiled coldly at him. She decided he needed a physical explanation instead of a verbal.

She thrust her hand up, slamming Red X's body into the ceiling. His pained grunt gave her more enjoyment than it should have. Now she let go of his body, letting him fall all the way from the forty foot ceiling back to the ground. She heard her teammates gasp before she caught him in her powers again right before he hit the floor.

Next his body went flying into a wall. Raven felt slightly guilty when she though she heard something snap. But only slightly. The image of Beast Boy's bloody side still glared in her mind.

Finally she brought him before her. "Goodbye X. I'd say it's been fun, but it hasn't." She released him and he collapsed to the floor. His hand instantly shot to his belt, pressing the red x there and disappearing from the room. Right before he left Raven thought she heard him say something that rhymed with "glitch," but she couldn't be sure. It only made her smirk grow larger.

"Uh, Raven?" she heard from behind her. Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin all stared at her with mixed expressions of joy, fear, and awe. She pulled her hood up as she reined herself back in. She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I would say I'm sorry, but I'm not." She walked past them back towards her sleeping teammate. "Let's go, Beast Boy needs help."

Starfire picked him up with ease and moved silently back to the T-Car. The only one who spoke was Cyborg.

"Well alright then."