TheAlienHeart: Oh, hey! xD Omg please don't worry about it, it's just that I know a lot of readers from here are reading on AO3 now and with all the glitches and bots I was genuinely wondering LOL but, good to know! xD And hey, that's fair hehe. I'll say, I do tend to be MORE invested in couples and characters that have been through hell and back, so that's on me lmao. And I'll be honest, just to share my own headspace about this, I was never as mad at BB as you, I think LOL. I know he messed up epically but I understand why and it came from a human place of pain and I never stopped feeling bad for him. As for Raven, while she has a particularly aggravating talent for cleverly reasoning her way out of her own messes (which I can't do anything about 'cause it's just part of how I view her lol), the whole bad girl phase isn't supposed to be so much of a choice, but rather a magically-charged representation of a dissociative episode. So I guess as I processed my own feelings (cause yeah I also have to lol) I realized for me personally season two was more tragic than revolting, so it makes perfect sense that what felt satisfying to me didn't feel satisfying to you, and that's okay, I get that hehe. Hey maybe I'm just too morally gray myself LMAO XD Still, I AM glad to see you here! We'll see what happens hehe. Hope you get the giggles back. And hey, if it helps, my BBRae week stuff will be a lot less polemic (seriously, I look at it and I'm like, wait I wrote this? Where did all my edge go? lol). And THANKS! xD

Wet Dice: THANK YOU so much! Glad you're enjoying it! XD

Shadow of the Day

They barely had time to recover from the Changeling's temporary turn, because they had to start preparing for Darkseid and his allies. Every superhero on Earth was recruited. And the Titans had some extra cards up their sleeve. The Titans East and Static Shock moved back into the tower. Wonder Girl was helping Nightwing keep everyone optimistic and come up with fast, efficient – or more accurately, desperate – strategies.

"Do we have any Radion left?" Donna asked.

"Barely." Cyborg answered. "We can't waste it like last time. How long do we have?"

"Not enough." Ravager said pointedly. "More likely, days."

A few seconds of crushing silence hung in the air until Dick's phone rang.

"Batman?"

"They're close. And attacking on two fronts."

"So I guess we're splitting into two teams."

"I'll send you probable coordinates. Oh, and remember that monstrosity we call Doomsday? J'onn J'onzz thinks it's back and aligned with them."

Nightwing sighed. Great. One more evil powerhouse to fight. "Is that it?"

"Apparently Kalibak is resurrected."

"Perfect." Richard hung up and turned to Raven. "I've been thinking…"

"I already called them." The empath said. "They'll be here soon."

Donna Troy frowned. "Who?"

Nightwing grimaced slightly. "Gotham City Sirens."

Donna skeptically raised her eyebrows. "…what?"

Raven turned to her. "Sorry, I thought we could use the help."

"Oh, we need all the help we can get." Nightwing pointed out.

"I mean, obviously, but can we trust them?" Wonder Girl asked.

Raven nodded. "For this? Yes. They'd hate to have to obey Darkseid."

"Also, I think we should reach out to Ra's al Ghul." Dick cautiously glanced at Damian.

Robin folded his arms. He wasn't surprised. He'd been thinking about it himself. "Fine, but they're stubborn. They might need some convincing."

"You're very persuasive, little brother. I have complete faith in you."

Damian rolled his eyes. That makes one of us.

Dick smiled slightly and turned around. "Raven? M'gann? Can we talk?"

Raven nodded and removed a displeased Salem from her lap, placing him on the floor and joining Nightwing and Miss Martian by the table. "What can I do?"

She knew Garfield was listening intently while he innocently pretended to play video games. His ears were all perked up and slightly turned towards them.

"Well, I've been thinking." Richard said. "We have some idea of where these attacks will happen. We might need an emergency evacuation, since most people still refuse to believe this will happen. If you two combine your powers, do you think you could-"

"Make them leave?" Raven concluded.

Nightwing frowned. "I know you hate manipulating people, but it would save their lives."

The empath sighed. It was a desperate scenario, and it required desperate measures. M'gann seemed to be on board. "I actually agree."

"But can you control these many people at once?" Donna asked in a tone that was both dreadful and impressed. "We're talking thousands here…"

Raven and Miss Martian glanced at each other in silent understanding and respect.

"It won't be a problem." The empath said confidently.

Nightwing smiled at them.

"Great." Donna agreed, shaking her worries away. "I also think that…M'gann, you should disguise yourself as Raven in the battle. You weren't here when we last fought him, but I'm sure he definitely remembers her. If she's nowhere to be seen by any of his allies, it could look suspicious."

Miss Martian immediately nodded. "Of course, I've been thinking about it too."

"No, wait. I don't like that." Raven frowned when they all stared at her questioningly. "He's probably recruited someone huge just to take me down. It's too dangerous."

M'gann smiled at her. "Raven, it's a Darkseid invasion. It's all dangerous."

"No, but-"

"I'll watch her back." Conner said, suddenly approaching them and shooting Raven a reassuring look. "I won't let her get hurt."

M'gann blushed and fought back a coy smile.

Nightwing confidently folded his arms. "This is good, guys. Good plan."

Raven still didn't like it. She didn't want anyone to get hurt while covering for her. But as her eyes darted between them, she knew she wasn't winning this argument. Besides, Superboy would protect M'gann fiercely, she was sure of that. She sighed. "Fine."

The next morning, Raven had been watching TV with Starfire and Bumblebee, holding her plush turtle to her chest, when she felt something strange. She frowned and looked around, wondering if they had some invisible foe in the tower with them, because she could sense new auras – auras that didn't belong to anyone she knew. It didn't take long for her to discard that theory though, because these auras weren't hostile at all. In fact…wait a second. She looked down at her own body and gasped, making the microwave explode and the other girls scream.

Starfire worriedly turned to the sorcerer. "What is it?"

Raven looked up at her concerned friends. "Can someone get Garfield?"

It didn't take a full minute for him to sprint out of the training room and into the ops room, eyes scanning her body for any signs of distress – but the only distress was on his own face. "What happened?! Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine." The empath guaranteed. "Breathe. I need to tell you something."

"Are you uncomfortable? Do you want another pillow?" He asked, grabbing a ridiculous amount of pillows from the pile beside the TV and turning back to her.

"Put those down and come sit next to me right now, Garfield Logan."

The Changeling fearfully did as he was told. She didn't look scared, worried or in pain, but she did pull him out of training so whatever this was, it was important.

"You were right." Raven said softly.

Gar frowned and held his breath, feeling beyond confused. Right? Right about what!?

She smiled, placed a hand over her – still – flat stomach and looked into his worried eyes. "I can sense their souls." She whispered, holding back tears. "They're good. Pure."

He breathed out loudly and widened his eyes. He wasn't as surprised as she was, because somehow he knew it would be this way. Still, it was a huge relief to be right about this and the fact that she was smiling and finally at peace with it made his heart flutter. I'm having children with Raven. This is totally happening. Gar beamed at her. "Wait, could you maybe repeat that? I don't think I heard you right."

Raven frowned slightly, because she could sense his happiness and she was pretty sure he'd heard her. "I said our babies aren't evil. They're good, like you."

"And you." He said lovingly. "But no, I meant the other part of what you said."

"I sense their souls?"

"Almost there…"

"Oh." Raven rolled her eyes, finally understanding what he meant. She couldn't help a small smile on her lips. "You were right."

"Ah! That's it!" Garfield chuckled in absolute joy. "Wow, what a rush! Is this what you feel like all the time? No wonder you're arrogant!"

She rolled her eyes again and folded her arms, but then he kneeled in front of her and kissed her stomach with so much love and care it nearly made her explode something else. She gently ran her fingers through his hair.

The shapeshifter looked up at her and smiled, with happy tears in his eyes. "I love you."

Bumblebee and Starfire couldn't hold it in anymore and squealed loudly, exploding into a chorus of aweee.

Kory called Dick's communicator. "Babe? Order pizza. We need to celebrate something."

That was the last peaceful night they'd have for a while. Nightwing spent the next few days working on strategically dividing the young superheroes, thinking about who should join the Justice League on their end and who should stay with the Titans.

When Damian hastily walked out of the elevator, huffing in annoyance, he averted the room's focus to him. Everyone else had been resting after a particularly exhausting training session – except for Raven, who was just meditating and trying to remain calm in spite of everything.

"So talking to Ra's didn't go well?" Static Shock asked.

Damian spread his arms wide in outrage to make his point. "They rather not get involved and then adapt in case he wins. I'm telling you, he won't cave without a good reason."

"Saving the world isn't good enough for him?" Blue Beetle furrowed his brows.

"Not really." Robin answered. "I've been thinking, I should just offer to go back if they help. I don't even know if he cares that much anymore, but it could help persuade him."

Nightwing immediately looked up. "No. We'll think of something."

"We don't have time." Damian argued, avoiding Rose's eyes as she approached him with a pained look on her face. "You know I'm right. I'll just-"

"Don't do that." Raven said, lowering herself from her floating Lotus stance. It's not like she was meditating anymore anyway. "We have one more player."

Nightwing and Raven exchanged a look and he frowned. "No…"

Everyone else was beyond confused and a little annoyed, because when Dick and Raven had these mysterious moments of mutual understanding, they always lasted so long.

"I know." The empath said, instinctively bringing a hand to her stomach. "But listen…"

"Raven, not him." Nightwing's face contorted in pain, because he knew she was going to make a good point about this and probably persuade him.

"Wait, are you talking about who I think you're talking about!?" Rose asked urgently, because a thought had just occurred to her.

"I've been keeping an eye on him." Raven said calmly. "He has changed. And even if he hadn't, he'd be loyal to me out of fear anyway. Not using him is stupid."

Now Garfield understood them as well. And it instantly made him nauseous, especially when he realized Nightwing was considering it. "Raven, no."

"Enough suspense already. Who are we talking about?" Static Shock asked, folding his arms. He smiled at Krypto when the space dog barked in agreement with him.

Richard sighed. "Deathstroke."

There were multiple shocked gasps across the ops room.

Terra furrowed her brows and whispered. "You're not serious."

"I'm just trying to be practical." Raven stated. "He used to be allies with Ra's. Slade can describe him the Phantom Zone and let him know that's where he'll end up if he doesn't help. He can let him know he should fear me more than he fears Darkseid."

Static Shock and Blue Beetle thought it was a joke, so they chuckled slightly, but she glared at them with such fire and determination they immediately fell silent.

"And he's a good fighter. And he's resourceful. And we're desperate." She concluded.

Terra rubbed her arm and took a deep breath. "Shit. I…I think you're right."

"No, what?! Raven, he tortured you for months!" The Changeling spat out. He was feeling absolutely disgusted at this whole idea and his protective instincts kicked in. There was no way he could let Slade near her again. "He tried to enslave you!"

"I remember." She said dryly, folding her arms.

Fucking. Idiot. Gar walked up to her and held her right hand, miserably bringing it to his chest, placing her palm over his heart. "I'm sorry. I just…it's just…"

Raven softened her face. "Look, I've been thinking a lot about this. No one hates it more than me, trust me." She looked Gar in the eyes. "I reached out to Dr. Strange and they're facing something huge there too, so we can't count on them. I just think we can't afford to hold grudges this time. I mean, I'm…" She gestured towards her abdomen. "And we have nearly no Radion left. We need to play all our cards."

Complete silence reigned for several moments as the reality of her words hung in the air.

"I'll keep an eye on him." Ravager suddenly said, quietly but firmly.

Nightwing analyzed Rose's sure face then turned to Raven and Garfield again. The shapeshifter seemed to have accepted her plan, though he obviously hated it. Dick hated it too, if he were being honest. "Okay…pull him back."

The empath nodded decisively. "I'll go prepare everything."

As she floated away, the Changeling followed. "Wait, I'll set it up! Just sit down and tell me where stuff goes!"

Jinx, Ravager and Terra followed them to help as well.

Nightwing sighed. "Okay, let's figure out who goes where before they come back. Krypto, I assume you wanna be by Clark's side, right?"

The alien dog shot Conner a regretful look.

Superboy's face was taken by a smug grin. "It's all good, Krypto. You should go. I'll be fine, I promise. I'm Superboy."

Krypto merrily flew over to him and licked his face.

"Okay, then." Nightwing smiled fondly and proceeded to running scenarios with Cyborg in order to figure out who should stand by which front of the fight. Most of them would be wherever Darkseid was, so the second team would be a lot smaller and fight some major threats as well, so it would need some powerhouses. He decided to lead the second front himself, since the others would have the Justice League to guide them, and he trusted his own team the most. They just needed a few extra hands.

After much consideration, they came to a consensus. It wasn't ideal, but it would have to do. The Hall of Justice was already crowded with superheroes preparing for war, as it should be. The ten superheroes on Nightwing's current team would remain in Titan Tower to focus on the second front alongside Wonder Girl, Terra, Aqualad, Static Shock, Blue Beetle, Kid Flash and Jinx and soon to be joined by the Sirens and…apparently, Slade.

"So why are they getting all the Radion we have again?" Blue Beetle asked as Cyborg handed the substance to Barry Allen. "I mean, Darkseid could change fronts."

"Pretty sure he'll want to take the Justice League down first." Wally said. "I mean, with them being the world's greatest heroes and all that, right?" He added, making air quotes.

It did make sense, which is why Nightwing agreed to it when Batman said they needed as much Radion as they could get. But Richard still had a bad feeling about it. He shook it off.

"Yeah." Damian shrugged. "We'll probably get Doomsday…" He smirked at the name he usually used to refer to Raven. "…as in, the actual Doomsday…or something."

Wonder Girl realized Garfield was reentering the ops room. "Well, I'm sure the Changeling can manage something to take him out, right?"

The shapeshifter froze under everyone's expectant gaze. He'd only come back so he didn't end up killing Slade as soon as he laid eyes on him and remembered what he did to Raven. But now they were all staring at him, expecting him to take someone out. "Uh…who?"

"Doomsday. The evil one, not your girlfriend."

Garfield faltered and bit his lip. Doomsday was pretty menacing. Why was this suddenly on him? Maybe because you can change into big and menacing creatures, dumbass. Obviously, he wanted to do it. It involved saving the world and protecting Raven, his children and his friends. It involved feeling proud of himself and making her proud in the process. "Well, I…"

"Of course he can." Cyborg said confidently. "Donna, tell me all we know about this Doomsday so I can process some data and try to figure out what kind of badass hybrid this will take." He turned to his green best friend. "That way you can prepare, man!"

The Changeling exhaled and smiled. "Okay, that'll help." It would certainly be easier than coming up with something on the spot and making it from scratch. "Thanks, dude!"

"Guys?" Ravager called out.

As soon as Rose Wilson knew she had everyone's attention, she stepped aside and Deathstroke walked in, followed by Raven, Terra and Jinx. Jinx was the only one who seemed even slightly relaxed.

"Nightwing." Slade nodded at the Titan leader, then glanced around the room to see if he should acknowledge anyone else. Garfield was glaring at him with hellfire in his eyes, his muscles all tensed up as if ready to attack. "Beast Boy."

"It's Changeling now." The shapeshifter hissed through clenched teeth.

Deathstroke considered mockery, but it would be pushing his luck, so he took one step away from Raven instead and watched the shapeshifter's muscles immediately relax a bit. Interesting, that's progressed. Apparently a lot had changed since his banishment. He nodded slowly. "I see. Well, then. Nightwing. Changeling. Titans."

There was palpable tension in the air.

And then Richard smirked. "Did you enjoy your vacation, Slade?"

Deathstroke's body stiffened slightly while the heroes politely held back laughter. He hadn't forgotten about the Phantom Zone for a single day – in fact, not even for a single second. "Are you the funny one now, Nightwing?" He gestured between the still uncomfortably intense shapeshifter and the Titan leader. "Have you switched roles?"

"A lot happened while you were grounded, Slade." Dick smiled and leaned back on the chair, enjoying the whole thing a lot more than he thought he should. This man had haunted his younger self's dreams, after all. "You're not here for catching up, though."

"So I've heard." Deathstroke responded, doing his best to sound unbothered while not being disrespectful. Raven would send him back in a heartbeat – maybe even to the Phantom Zone – if he didn't play this right. She didn't need to threaten him. She didn't need to say anything – she was just standing there, tall and stoic, with her arms crossed over her chest. They both knew what would happen if he stepped out of line.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ravager smirked at her father. "Damian needs help."

Raven fought back a smile and turned to M'gann. "I guess we should discuss the evacuation. Also, I need strawberries."

A few days later, Raven and Gar were enjoying a rare moment of peace early in the morning, sitting by the table, her drinking her tea while he had his cereal.

"So have you been able to work on something to fight Doomsday?"

Raven didn't love the idea of him going up against that monstrosity, but she also knew it made sense since he could be a monster too. And she had faith in him. She just wanted him to prepare. No amount of faith would keep her from worrying.

"Mmhm." Garfield nodded before resting his elbows on the table and his chin on his knuckles, smiling dreamily at her. She had her hair pulled up into a ponytail again and he thought she looked more radiant than ever. "You're glowing."

"There's no such thing as pregnancy glow." She stated pointedly. "That's a myth."

"How can it be a myth if I'm witnessing it right now?"

Raven glanced at him and saw his adoring eyes and loving grin. She rolled her eyes, but smiled anyway. That face always melted her heart.

"Can I touch it?" He asked excitedly.

She sipped her tea before answering. "You don't need to ask for permission, Gar."

"But I noticed you don't like it when people touch it."

Raven smiled softly. "That's considerate of you, but you're not people. You're the father."

Garfield instantly beamed at her and placed his hand on her abdomen, caressing it gently while he leaned in to capture Raven's lips in a slow, long kiss. She smiled wider against his lips and he gave her a sweet peck before kneeling down to whisper to her belly. "Hey, there. I love you guys so much. So, so much."

Salem jumped onto her lap and brushed against her, making Gar chuckle happily.

Raven rolled her eyes, but there was no annoyance on her face, only amusement and love. She gently stroked her boyfriend's hair. "Are you sure you're prepared to fight that thing, Gar? Don't make me lose you now. Not now."

He grinned and sat on the bench again to look into her eyes. "You won't. I prom-"

The Changeling stopped talking at the same time Salem ran away to hide, because they both heard the commotion. And Raven sighed tiredly, because she could sense it coming.

"Okay just because we all want to fight the God-like overlord, that doesn't mean we have to like each other." Poison Ivy said pointedly, coming into the ops room.

"Well, for once we agree." Wonder Girl stated, coming in right after her.

They were followed by an overwhelming, loud avalanche of opinionated people all discussing amongst them. The tower had been complete chaos since the Sirens – and Red-X – arrived. Apart from it being crowded and the expected bickering that came with enemies sharing a space and working together, they were all constantly tense and on edge from knowing Darkseid's attack could happen any second.

Poison Ivy immediately came up to the table and leaned on it, addressing Raven. "Halfbreed, you never mentioned your friends were assholes."

"How did you not know that?" Red-X asked, casually leaning against the wall. "It's like, the one universally known truth about them."

The empath raised an eyebrow. "You're not exactly a sweetheart, Ivy. What happened?"

"Literally nothing." Nightwing huffed tiredly.

"Not nothing." Ivy turned around and pointed at Wonder Girl. "She doesn't get to talk to Harley like that."

Donna rolled her eyes. "All I said was she needed to take this seriously."

"Excuse me?" Harley Quinn eagerly raised her hand, making everyone stare at her giant grin. "Yes, hi! I don't take things seriously."

"She really doesn't." Catwoman shrugged. "It's never been a problem."

"Well, this is different." Nightwing argued. "This is bigger than everything we-"

"Maybe if you'd kept these teams more balanced, you wouldn't have to pick on her." Ivy said, looking around. "I mean, what is this? The suicide squad?"

"Our side does seem a bit empty." Selina pointed out worriedly.

They all glanced around at their reduced numbers. They were unarguably a force to be reckoned with, but in face of what was coming, not necessarily sufficient. Most supervillains had once again joined the New God's side.

"We'll have Raven's spirit army with us." Bumblebee said. "That's a few thousand extra hands that can't be killed."

Catwoman tilted her head in thought. "…alright, that's better."

"Not to mention we have the Siren sorcerer herself!" Harley Quinn said cheerfully, gesturing towards Raven.

"I mean, to a point. She can't really fight because of the whole pregnan- ouch!" Blue Beetle stopped when Static Shock elbowed him, shaking his head in disbelief. Jaime was about to complain when he realized what he'd done. "I…I mean…"

It was too late. The Sirens knew what he almost said. So did Red-X. Silence reigned for a moment as everyone widened their eyes. At least Slade wasn't there.

Harley's face lit up when she turned to Raven. "Ravey, you're PREGNANT!?"

Poison Ivy folded her arms and smirked, staring between the empath and the Changeling. "You're kidding me. You let him knock you up?"

Red-X chuckled, addressing the shapeshifter. "Couldn't fight the animal urge to reproduce, could you? Nice. I respect that."

"What kind of atrocity are you growing in that demonic womb of yours, prophecy child?" Catwoman's eyes sparkled, because she was utterly intrigued.

"Guess that armor's self-defense mode doesn't save you from yourself, does it?" Static Shock whispered to Blue Beetle, who was busy shooting Raven an apologetic look.

The empath sighed heavily, rested her elbows on the table and rubbed her temples, feeling beyond exhausted at this point. Garfield was rubbing soothing circles on her back, but even that could barely help.

"Now this is interesting information…" Poison Ivy smiled wickedly.

Donna Troy scoffed. "What's that supposed to mean? See, I told you this team-up was a bad idea…"

"I'll just erase their memories later." Raven muttered tiredly. She didn't even have the energy to care that much. Can Darkseid just get here already?

Harley Quinn pouted and Catwoman frowned, but Poison Ivy huffed loudly. "Well there's no need for that, I thought we were friends."

"Some friends." Starfire mumbled.

The truth was they were all stressed and grumpy. Pamela turned around to argue with the alien princess and the room burst into a loud mess again.

"Excuse me!?"

"You heard her. You were just threatening to use this information against us!"

"I did no such thing."

"Yeah I didn't hear any threats."

"Please, your tone was very threatening!"

"Well your tone is very rude!"

Gar leaned closer to Raven, with very concerned eyes. The tower had been overloaded with emotions lately on top of her pregnancy, and he could tell she was struggling, but she couldn't leave either because that was risky. He wasn't sure how to help.

"Are you okay?" He whispered.

Raven looked at him with watery eyes and quivering lips as cups started levitating an inch into the air and he knew she was about to break.

"HEY!" The shapeshifter yelled in a surprisingly demanding tone. "Everyone SHUT UP!"

It was enough to make the room fall silent.

Garfield shook his head disapprovingly at them, stroking Raven's hair while she took deep breaths to control her feelings. "Honestly, have you no shame? Can't you spare her?"

His words did instantly increase the levels of shame and regret in the room.

"Ah- sorry…"

"Yeah, sorry."

"My bad."

"Sorry, Ravey!"

At that exact moment, Damian and Slade stepped out of the elevator, averting everyone's attention to them.

"So?" Nightwing asked.

"You were right; your old friend here is very convincing." Damian said, walking up to Rose. "They're in. They'll split into two teams too."

Catwoman nodded. "Well that's more like it."

"And I suppose I'm expected to fight with you, is it?" Deathstroke asked.

"Where I can keep an eye on you." Raven glared at him, fully recovered. "Yes."

"Right." He said, still avoiding her eyes. "Just like the good old days, then."

It was a good thing that the alliances were settled when they were, too, because three days later, Cyborg shouted as he checked his sensors. "IT'S TIME!"

No one had relaxed in weeks. They were all ready to go.

"Raven. M'gann. Evacuate everyone. We'll be there soon." Nightwing commanded.

The two heroines nodded at him and teleported to the main front of the battle first. They joined hands and combined their powers, reaching out to every mind and soul that could be in harm's way. The Justice League and the other heroes soon joined in and watched as people evacuated with no resistance. It took a tool on them, taking control of that many people at the same time. It was also one of the most impressive things any of them had ever witnessed.

Raven nodded at the Justice League and ignored the twinge of fear most heroes still felt when they looked at her. She teleported with Miss Martian to the Titans' side to evacuate the second front. At this point, the news was covering the strange event happening as the sky darkened around the world and wondering how it was all connected. When the empath and the Martian combined their powers, there was no chance of resistance for mere mortals. They led everyone to safety as the world watched in awe.

By now they were both exhausted and Raven realized M'gann was about to turn into her to fight this war in her place and despaired. "No, wait." She grabbed Miss Martian's arm. "Don't do this. You used too much power. If you look like me, they'll target you."

Gar was already pulling her away, rushing her to go hide, and Miss Martian was already looking exactly like her, only attempting a reassuring smile.

"Raven, please." The Changeling begged. "Please, you need to go."

She really did need to go, because the armies of Apokolips started arriving, landing all around them. "But…"

Starfire grabbed her arm. "Friend, look at me. They will be fine."

Superboy was already by M'gann's side. Raven turned to look at Starfire and Gar. Their eyes were pleading and urgent. She placed a hand over her belly. I have to go. "Okay."

Raven focused and opened a portal to the underground bunker, gave Gar one last urgent, desperate, passionate kiss – causing a rather large crack on the floor – and was dragged by Starfire, crossing the portal with her, shooting him one last meaningful look, because she knew their communicators wouldn't work in there. "Don't die!"

The Changeling opened his mouth to respond, but the portal closed before he could. Well, time to go fight monsters to keep her safe. He turned into a Godzilla-Kraken hybrid. The Titans, the Sirens and Deathstroke engaged in battle against the alien armies and the many villains that aligned with them. So far, they were stronger than their enemies, but also severely outnumbered. Nightwing, Red-X, Robin and Ravager ducked and dodged, sliding and twirling skillfully, moving like the precise killing machines they could be. Terra revolved the ground beneath their feet, making the earth literally swallow their enemies. Blue Beetle harnessed and redirected energy, blasting villains away left and right.

It got a lot easier once the League of Assassins joined them and an army of angry spirits rose from the floor. Wonder Girl smiled confidently and battled her way through the armies of Apokolips with her Lasso and incredible strength like a force of nature. Aqualad and Static Shock combined their powers to electrocute several of their enemies. Bumblebee, Superboy and Raven-transformed Miss Martian took over the skies, knocking villains and aliens out everywhere. Cyborg shot with his cannon and engaged in hand-to-hand combat, bending foes to submission impressively fast. It almost got easy at that point. They had the upper hand. But the big menaces hadn't arrived yet.

Garfield was ready, of course. He was taking monstrous aliens down across the entire length of the battlefield, but he was looking for someone bigger to fight. They had been expecting Doomsday. Or Braniac. Maybe even Steppen Wolf. So imagine their surprise when Darkseid himself landed right in the middle of the fight, an evil grin on his face.

Nightwing's eyes widened, along with every other heroes', and he hastily pulled out his communicator. "Hello!?"

"Yes!?" Batgirl quickly answered.

"Darkseid's here."

He was already attacking. Superboy, Wonder Girl, Terra and Blue Beetle were making an impressive effort holding him back, but Nightwing was beyond worried. There were a few short moments of silence before someone spoke into the communicator again – they were some of the longest seconds of his life.

"Help is on the way." Batman finally said, voice unwillingly dripping with concern.

Garfield thought about helping the others against Darkseid, but then he spotted Doomsday about to attack Donna from behind and charged at him. This was a monster he knew he could take in his current state. It was easily the most violent fight he'd ever been in. The atrocity that was Doomsday and the enormous green hybrid growled, sinking claws and sharp teeth into each other's flesh, bleeding onto the floor and rolling around on it, crushing everything on their way.

Superman and Flash got there to back them up, carrying the five Radion bullets they had left, and quickly joined the others in fighting the New God. Zatanna and Martian Manhunter walked through a portal and worked on attempting to shield the young heroes' minds. It was unexpected and rushed and they hadn't prepared for this, because all the signs pointed towards Darkseid's arrival elsewhere. He'd clearly misled them on purpose and changed fronts at the last second. The heroes just weren't quite sure why; they just weren't quite sure who the ambush was for.

Darkseid scanned the battlefield with his eyes as he easily fought back his enemies, looking for his target. He certainly remembered the Changeling decapitating his son, Cyborg shooting him with Radion and Supergirl exploding it on his face. He remembered the Amazons and Kryptonians. And he definitely planned to get revenge on all of them. But he wanted her first. He knew she'd been behind their former victory over him, he knew she'd taken his mightiest ally down in that invasion and he knew she'd grown too powerful for him to sit comfortably while she wasn't beaten. Besides, he still held a personal grudge against her for resisting her enslavement. Darkseid wanted Raven.

And then he laid eyes on her. There she was, elegantly flying around, defeating his forces left and right. Except…something seemed different. There was something off about her. The New God forcefully pushed through her mental shield and noticed the heroine grab her own head in pain. Superboy shielded her body with his own, instinctively protecting her. The Changeling continued to fight Doomsday – and apparently gain the upper hand – without even flinching. Something was definitely off. He threw a powerful punch to the ground, making it tremble and shifting the air around him, sending the heroes flying in multiple directions, and took the opportunity to fully crack her mental shield.

M'gann screamed when Darkseid penetrated her mind. Reveal yourself. Before she could even think, her body had involuntarily shapeshifted back to her own appearance. Her eyes widened when he angrily spoke inside her head again. WHERE is she!?

"Are you okay!?" Conner asked urgently as soon as he could catch a break, holding her pained face in his hands. She looked absolutely distraught. "M'gann?!"

She wasn't okay at all. She tried to conceal the bunker from him and not let him see it, she really did. But his mind was simply too powerful. Miss Martian sobbed when she realized the New God had left her alone and started moving in a very specific direction. She stared into Conner Kent's concerned eyes. "He knows where they are."

Superboy's eyes widened and he looked around for Nightwing or the Changeling. He couldn't find Dick, but Garfield was holding his own against Doomsday and completely focused and unaware Darkseid was about to attack the love of his life, who happened to be carrying his children. Conner's face distorted in pain and doubt as he wondered if he should tell his teammate about the New God's move or not. He decided to help him take Doomsday down first, because it needed to be done, so he quickly kissed M'gann's forehead to reassure her she'd done nothing wrong and flew to the shapeshifter's side.

Raven had been focused on commanding her unsettled spirits from a distance when it happened. An evil presence swirling around in her guts, trying to rise to the surface and take over. It was uncomfortable enough, but the worst part was she instantly knew what it meant. It was Trigon, finally deciding to make another move. He was pressing harder than ever before and seemed stronger than he had been since she trapped him.

Go back to the shadows. I'll never cave.

I don't need you anymore, treacherous daughter. Thanks to you and that surprisingly useful mutant, there are others I can take now.

Her eyes widened. No.

Yes, daughter. Your spawn is mine. I'll take over them now so they never grow up to defy me like you. How does it feel to know despite all your efforts, you ended up serving me anyway?

She didn't waste time arguing, she just directed her energy towards protecting her offspring. Raven's hair turned white as she focused on shielding her children so Trigon couldn't corrupt them. But he had gathered strength for this, and he hadn't been this eager since she imprisoned him. Protecting them caused more pain than resisting him on her own ever did. Sharp, blinding pain. Her stomach was wrenching in agonizing contractions and her head was nearly splitting. Raven grunted and fell to her knees.

"What's wrong!?" Starfire was by her side in a heartbeat, eyes darting all over her friend's body, looking for the source of her distress. "Raven?!"

"I-I…" The empath struggled to stand on her feet again, with the Tamaranean's help. She took a deep breath and steadied herself. "I think-"

"Where ARE you, sorcerer?"

A visceral, menacing voice echoed as the deafening sound of metal bending made them flinch. The bunker was being invaded. Starfire and Raven stared at each other wide-eyed for a terrifying second, because it was Darkseid's voice. The empath opened her mouth to argue, anticipating Kory's reaction, but the Tamaranean was faster. She hastily pushed her friend as far away from them as she could – praying that the harsh impact against the back wall wouldn't endanger her pregnancy – and turned around to face the New God, eyes and hands glowing in bright green and violet energy.

Raven tried to get back on her feet and help her friend, but she was still focused on keeping Trigon's influence away from her children, and the truth was she couldn't afford to let Darkseid near them either. Not that there was time to think of what to do, because after taking a powerful hit from the alien princess that made him stumble backwards, the New God angrily threw her against the side wall, with force beyond anything Raven had ever witnessed. It would have instantly killed any human by breaking every single bone in their body. To the empath's relief, she quickly noticed it had only left her friend unconscious and severely wounded.

Raven got ready to fight him, because he was walking towards Starfire and something about his stance made her think the Tamaranean was about to be brutally murdered. She was still in her White Raven state, so she confidently levitated, encasing her whole body in white energy. She didn't have a baby bump yet, so there was no reason for him to suspect anything – unless she showed weakness. "I'm right here."

Darkseid immediately forgot about Koriand'r and turned to her, a greedy smile forming on his face. Finally. He pressed against her mental shield, but she was putting up a fight – like he knew she would – and in her strongest form. The New God took a step towards the sorcerer, eager to attack, but then something awfully confusing happened. He watched, puzzled, almost baffled, as her glow died down and she fell to the floor, grabbing her own head and stomach, hair turning purple, and let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Raven damned her father more than she had in her entire existence, because a new wave of even more painful contractions started. Protecting her offspring against him was her top priority, because if there was one thing she knew about them, it was that they would be powerful. Trigon knew it too, obviously. And if he corrupted them now, bringing them back would be nearly impossible. So she once again directed everything towards the inner battle she was secretly in, dreadfully aware of Darkseid right there and the fact that she certainly wasn't strong enough to fight both him and Trigon at the same time.

Great timing, dad.

You must let me win. If he kills you, they die too. At least I won't kill them.

I'll never let you near them.

You don't have a choice, daughter.

When she grunted in pain under her breath, Darkseid cracked her mental shield. More accurately, he easily completely took it down. And then his eyes widened slightly and his wicked grin got much larger and greedier as he uncovered the reason she was struggling so much. He watched in awe as she protectively and worriedly wrapped her arms around her stomach, because she knew he'd seen it. "Well this is an interesting surprise…"

Gar's blood ran cold when Raven's spirit army dissipated into thin air. That could mean a lot of things, and none of them were good. Best case scenario, she was tired, and he noticed Darkseid was gone. It was a good thing Superboy was there, because for a second there the shapeshifter faltered and Doomsday nearly got the best of him. He wasn't the only one despairing, though. Without her army all his friends were much more exposed and his mind raced as he tried to make an impossible choice between staying and helping them save the world and going after his family. It was agony. He had to do both.

She's alive. She can take him. She'll use white magic, his mind reasoned, but his instincts shouted at him to run to her. And he meant to. It was all he wanted to do. But Doomsday would follow him and endanger her further. He had to finish this first.

Jinx glanced over at Superboy and Changeling; they were still busy with that mutated atrocity. She had immediately understood Raven was in trouble when the spirits disappeared. Garfield and Conner would certainly rush to help her as soon as they could. But then again…she might not have that long. She glanced at Kid Flash, who was running across the entire battle, saving people and incapacitating several menacing alien creatures. Jinx made a rather brave, bold, slightly insane call and teleported to the bunker.

The enchantress realized Raven was indeed in urgent need of assistance, because for some reason, she was on her knees, eyes rolling back in her head as their color flickered back and forth between violet and red. She was panting and sweating and Jinx instantly knew Trigon had something to do with it, so she did her best to keep Darkseid away from the sorcerer, shooting him with powerful misfortune blasts.

Unfortunately, it did little to slow him down, but it definitely irritated him. When Darkseid invaded Jinx's mind, he didn't just pry. He went in deep and destroyed it, tainting her good memories with pain and planting doubt and fear everywhere. The enchantress let out a chilling scream and Raven's desperate eyes widened in clear anguish for not being able to help yet another friend who tried to protect her, but only for a second, because they became scarlet red again and she went back to miserably trying to handle her own pain.

Raven's mind was a blur. She stood up and stumbled backwards, one hand on the wall for support and the other across her abdomen, as if that would keep Trigon and Darkseid away from her children somehow. Her eyes kept changing back and forth and her father kept pressing, and now the New God was staring at her hungrily and there was no one left between them, because Jinx was shrinking in on herself in the corner, absolutely broken, and Kory was still passed out. Desperation rose up Raven's chest and tightened her heart.

You must let me win and fight him, daughter.

NEVER.

"Who's the father, Raven?" Darkseid asked in that low, menacing voice. He didn't expect her to answer, of course. He just looked inside her mind again. She was struggling against her father and it was incredibly easy to invade her thoughts at the moment. He quickly accessed the image she was trying to conceal from him. It was hazy at first and all he saw was green. But as she grew more tired, the image became focused. And then he saw the Changeling, clear as day, smiling affectionately. "You're kidding me."

Raven frowned in distress and hopelessness and fell to her knees again as the emotional struggle of trying to resist two evil entities at once wore her down.

The New God was ecstatic, because this was much better than he could have imagined. Simple revenge wasn't his only option anymore. She was carrying offspring and it belonged not only to her, but to another hero he held a huge grudge against. The shapeshifter who decapitated his son and distracted him. He could get back at both of them and gain something extremely precious in the process. "Well, I came here to kill you, but now I think I'll take you with me and have what lies in your womb."

Raven held onto her stomach tighter and shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut and trying to focus enough to stop time again so she could fight one overpowered incarnation of evil at a time, but Trigon was pressing too hard. No, no, no. PLEASE, no!

"They'll be loyal to me." Darkseid said in a much smoother voice. He had no worries at this point. She was getting strained between Trigon and him and far too worried about protecting her babies to fight. He could actually savor this. "They'll be my greatest asset." The New God watched her face distort in fear and regret as she looked up at him before going back to grunting in pain as her eyes changed colors again. He had to hand it to her, her willpower was impressive and he had to admire her strength, but that just made him want her spawn even more. "As for you…you can join me and watch them grow, but they'll answer to me. If that's not acceptable, you can give birth and die."

Most heroes hadn't noticed Darkseid going for the bunker in the chaos that was the battlefield. Nightwing for one had been looking around for him – only stopping to proudly watch Garfield and Conner split Doomsday in two – while holding onto the very last Radion bullet. So when the New God resurged, Richard quickly subdued the alien enemies he'd been fighting and asked Cyborg to cover him. He positioned himself and aimed, hoping to end this war before more young, heroic blood was shed, but then…

A rather shocking sight made most people freeze, several hearts stop and their breaths catch in their throats. An iridescent energy trap was projected into the air beside Darkseid. Raven was inside, her back bent backwards, arms stretched out far behind her body, knees bent so her feet were nearly touching her hands, head leaned back as far as it would go. Her muscles were visibly rigid and she was having tiny spasms all over her body. It looked extremely painful, but that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was her irises seemed completely gone; her eyes were entirely white as if they had rolled so far back in her head all you could see was sclera. She was clearly out of it and unable to fight.

"BEHOLD!" The New God's voice echoed across the battlefield, making sure anyone that hadn't already noticed them turned around and gasped in shock. "Your sorcerer is MINE, Earth." He bragged evilly. "As is the damned SPAWN inside of her."

Nightwing's world turned upside down, because Raven seemed gone and in pain and Starfire was nowhere to be seen. He turned to Changeling in utter despair, only to see the shapeshifter's equally desperate eyes fixated on Raven's floating figure. Wally took one look at Gar's face and looked around desperately, trying to find Jinx, because he suddenly had a terrible feeling in his gut. It didn't get any better when he couldn't see her anywhere.

The Titans held their breath. And everyone who didn't know about Raven's pregnancy yet gasped in shock once again and widened their eyes at the realization. Even if they weren't close, every superhero's spirit took a serious hit at that moment, their confidence vanishing entirely, because seeing Raven like that was unsettling, scary and an ultimate testimony of how severely unmatched they were at this point.

Garfield's huge eyes suddenly turned fiery as he frowned decisively and refused to let despair overtake him. She needs saving. They need saving. SAVE THEM. There was only one creature he could think of that would make a difference now, but it was so far beyond anything he had ever tried. It was risky and dangerous, because it was a highly intelligent being. But none of that mattered, because the traumatizing sight of Raven's body hovering in that painful position as she twitched and frowned and her chest rose and fell heavily in torment was more than enough motivation and more important than anything.

Nightwing furrowed his brows, trying to figure out what his teammate was shapeshifting into. Garfield kept getting bigger and bigger, and the green mass seemed to be stretching in five different directions as he grew larger, almost in a way that resembled a…ohhh. Richard's eyes widened as he realized the Changeling was turning into a giant, green, star-shaped being, because he'd read about this creature. He wasn't the only one in shock. In fact, the general focus had fully switched to Gar's transformation, and Darkseid's smug grin had turned into a vicious glare, because he recognized this form as well.

Starro the Conquerer was joining the fight.

Shadow of the Day (Linkin Park)