Raven caught the falling body as its lifeblood poured across her, painting her dusky skin a garish crimson. A final blast of energy shot out in a semi-sphere, knocking her teammates from their horrified half-crouches and onto their backs, powerless to stop what they had realized too late.
Arform winked out of existence as the world righted itself. The sun dipped back below the horizon, the holes in the world closed seamlessly, and gravity regained its hold on the floating debris. Only the Titans, Jon's body, and the man in the linen suit remained.
Raven reached forward as the last gurgling breath left the man she had killed, not with hands or wings, or even her tail, but with the ebon energy that was her birthright. Two hands formed, the left dainty and feminine despite its size, the right clawed, monstrous, and tinged with red. They passed into and through Jon's body, and when they emerged they held two glowing, incorporeal forms.
One was clearly Jon, and he rested peacefully within Raven's soul-self's manifestation. The other was a struggling, frenzied monster.
"Zarach," Raven stated, glaring coldly at the beast to her right, "you are immortal, and I cannot destroy you as I yearn to. I can, however, bind you to remain in Hell for the remainder of eternity. You have been judged for your sins, and are banished by my right as Valkyrie."
And, with an anticlimactic, almost apologetic pop, the demon that had plagued Jump and an unknown number of other worlds disappeared.
"R-Raven," stuttered a voice behind her.
She turned to see Robin, wide-eyed and discomposed, staring at shock at the corpse held in her arms and the spirit of the man held gently by her powers. He stopped, unable to voice words to match what he had just witnessed.
"You can heal him, right?" asked Beast Boy in a small voice from her other side. His eyes pleaded with her, silently begging her to confirm that this was all part of some master plan that they hadn't been let in on.
Raven sighed. "He's... dead. I can't bring back the dead." Her eyes turned towards the unassuming man that stood apart from the three teens. "But He can."
All eyes turned to the man, and he nodded. "Yes Richard, Garfield, I can. However, should I?"
He raised a hand to stop the tirade forming on the lips of the two boys. He continued, "Jon has commended his soul to you, Raven, and entrusts you with his final fate. You could send him to Heaven, which he richly deserves, where he will know sorrow, pain, and suffering no longer. He has suffered more than most, and his expiation is complete. If I bring him back, he would start with a blank slate, able to once more accrue sin and fall foul of all the snares Lucifer has been granted leave to sow for mortal souls. There is no guarantee that he would make it to Heaven when he died again. Also, even if I brought him back," and He looked at Raven with compassion and love, "he could not remain in this world with you."
Raven nodded, sad but resolute. "I understand, Father. Jon did not go to his eternal reward, however. He chose to stay. And, by your own admission, you must honor that exercise of will."
"So I must." He gestured, and Jon's body floated from Raven's unresisting arms to float in the air. Another gesture sent healing light to wash across his body, closing the rip in his throat and soothing the scrapes and bruises of battle. Finally, both the body and soul of Jon approached Him, and He gently lowered the soul back into the body. With a brilliant flash, both disappeared.
Raven stood on shaky legs, a tremulous smile on her face as she reached for the man who was no longer within her grasp. "Thank you, Father."
"You're welcome, my daughter. May you find peace, love, and happiness."
And he was gone.
The two boys stared, slack-jawed at where the miracle had taken place, and then turned to Raven. She wrapped her wings about her in imitation of her cloak and wrestled her emotions back under control.
"Raven?" Robin asked, his unmasked eyes clearly begging for an explanation.
She sighed. "I guess I owe you all an explanation. It's been a very long day for me. Let's go back to the tower."
So they stepped through a portal and returned home.