Chapter 2 In The T Car

The Teen Titans whooped and cheered as they drove toward the scene of the crime in the T Car. Usually, Raven would join in on the discord and the chaos, but not today. Today, she was far more preoccupied. Her emotions were running wild, what with the dream she had. She tried to keep her feelings in check, but nothing that she said to the other Titans would get them to knock it off.

"I am so pumped up right now!" Cyborg said. "Maybe we can stop for burgers after we defeat Gentleman ghost!"

"Oh the yes!" Starfire said. "The patties of beef tucked between the adorable little buns are quite the meal!"

"Pfft. No ways! If wes gonna get anything, we gets a burrito! Burritos be the bomb!" said Beast Boy.

Cyborg glared at his green skinned teammate. "Maybe in an alternate universe!"

Beast Boy gawked. 'No! In this universe!"

"Dude, burritos are nasty. They taste like a tortilla full of poop!"

Starfire giggled. "You said the poop!"

Raven rolled her eyes. This immaturity was so typical of the Titans, and yet at the same time, so disappointing. She buried her face in her hands and covered her ears with some telekinetically constructed hands, just so she didn't have to hear the toilet talk.

"Now, now," Robin, who was in the passenger seat, said with a smirk. "We are a superhero team! We do not need to engage in such childish behavior."

Raven sighed and removed the telekinetically constructed hands from her ears. Wait, what? Their leader was actually saying something...sensical. Not yelling at the top of his lungs, bragging about his achievements. He was actually saying something legitimate, something that Raven could respect. She smiled.

"That's a good point, Robin. Thank you!"

Robin flashed an egotistical smirk. "Why, of course it's a good point, Raven! I am the King of good points after all!"

"Ooh!" Beast Boy said. "You got a town called Good Points and made yourself the king of it? That be awesome, yo!"

"Indeed." Starfire leaned forward and ruffled Robin's hair from the seat behind him. "Our little egomaniac is actually moving up in the world."

"WHAT!" Robin shrieked. "I am not an egomaniac thank you very much! I am the best!"

This time, it was Raven's turn to smirk. "That sounds like something an egomaniac would say."

Robin flashed her a glare so heated that it almost made up for his lack of laser vision. "I. Am. Not. An. Egomaniac! I am the best superhero of all time! I even served under Batman, for crying out loud!"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Oh great, here we go."

"In fact, I only took you loons under my wing because I felt sorry for you. You had absolutely no experience as superheroes. I practically had to drag you off the streets like the good guy that I am!" Robin laughed and leaned against Cyborg's shoulder. "You all would be stuck in the most pathetic excuses for lives if it wasn't for me."

"Hmm. Yes," said Raven. "I'm sure that Starfire being a princess on Tamaeran would certainly be a pathetic excuse for a life."

Cyborg laughed and whooped. "Ooh! Sick burn! You just had your point batted right back to you, Robin!"

"Oh the yes! You have just got the served!" Starfire chimed in.

Robin's face turned crimson. He slowly pulled away from his teammate's shoulder and crossed his arms as he stared out the window. "Someday, I will make you all respect me," he grumbled.

Raven sighed and looked out the window herself. Her mind wandered to the villain that they would have to fight. The Gentleman Ghost. Originally a British gentleman named James Craddock, he had abilities that would even make her, arguably the strongest member of the Titans in terms of superpowers, blush. He could become intangible, teleport, and become pretty much immune to all other forms of superpowers. While the Titans hadn't battled him before, Raven had dreaded the day where they would have to. She imagined that she would have to unleash a boatload of power, power that was more than she had ever used before. Power that would cause her to become prey to the influence of the darkness within her.

Raven whimpered inadvertently. It would be just like her dream, her nightmare. The only difference would be that she wouldn't be harming any alternate versions of the Titans. No, she would be harming HER versions of the Titans. She would be harming her friends, her annoying and immature friends. And the worst part? She would be so consumed by darkness that she wouldn't care.

"Mama, are you okay?"

Raven felt her skin crawl at the sound of Beast Boy addressing her as...ugh, Mama. She hated that name; she really did. It was meant to be a symbol of his affection towards her, but just served as a reminder for her to get a restraining order against him sometime in the near future. If he wasn't as daft as a doornail, she definitely would have yelled at him for it already. However, she knew that doing so would be a pointless endeavor.

"I'm fine. Just worried."

Beast Boy blinked. "Is it about that dream you had?"

The other Titans turned toward her in interest. "What dream would that be, Rae?" Cyborg asked.

Raven sank deeper within the protective folds of the cloak. "It was just a stupid nightmare."

Starfire placed her hand on the sorceress' shoulder. "Friend, you have been getting an awful lot of nightmares recently. On Tamearan, this would not be considered normal. We would even believe that it indicates you are haunted by an evil spirit."

Raven chuckled. "Well, I am half demon, so that does make sense." She grasped the edges of her cloak. "But that's not why I'm worried. I'm worried about fighting The Gentleman Ghost."

Robin laughed like a seal. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that, Raven! The Gentleman Ghost doesn't stand a chance against me!"

Raven batted an eyebrow at him. "Glad to know that you consider this a one man show as opposed to a team."

Robin shrugged. "What else is it supposed to be?"

Raven shook her head and turned back toward the window. She watched the street pass by her outside, the colorful scenery looking more and more crowded as they approached the center of town. Beast Boy put his hand on her shoulder.

"Mama, if yous ever needs to talk some more about the dreams you have, or anythings else that bothers you, you knows I'm always here."

Raven sighed. "Thanks." She would probably take him up on that offer. Despite the fact that they had broken up, she still trusted him. He was arguably the closest friend she had within the Titans. Starfire was too peppy, Cyborg was too obnoxious, and Robin was...yeah, no.

BRING BRING BRING BRING!

The sound of alarm bells going off turned the Titans' attention toward a bank at the end of the street. The Gentleman Ghost was in there. He just had to be.

"Alright!" Robin exclaimed. He unbuckled and got out his trusty staff. "Stick close to me everyone! We're all going ghost busting!"