Quoth the Raven

(Teen Titans not owned by me)

Quoth the Raven


The building was eerily quiet and still. The air itself seemed to be waiting for something to happen. The light flickered on and off with small electrical sparks, but that was all that indicated that anything was wrong. Until a rumble shook the building. It was just one at first, but soon the entire building seemed to be shuddering. Suddenly a massive green shape burst through the floor, slamming into the ceiling before falling to the tiled floor and morphing into a small green boy.

He coughed and pushed himself to his knees. "Hugh... stay away from those missiles guys, they sting!"

"Beast Boy, are you still well?" Starfire floated up from the hole to ask.

"Yeah, nothing bruised but my ego I think..." Beast Boy replied.

"That's good, it's the toughest part of you." Raven commented as she rose up through the floor itself instead of using the hole Beast Boy had made. He glared at her and was about to respond before the floor below him burst apart and dropped him to the story below. Raven and Starfire were unaffected, as they were levitating.

"Stay on your guard titans!" Robin shouted, holding his metal bo in front of him. "This thing is serious."

"Hey, it could be worse. This could be boring." Cyborg grinned, holding the cannon that had been his arm in front of him. Their opponent was a massive technological accomplishment. Four tree trunk sized legs supported a huge ball of a torso. On top of the torso was a single ruby eye surrounded by a foot of seemingly impenetrable glass. Five tentacle-like arms projected from around the torso, each loading and firing missiles transferred through the prehensile tubes to the tips.

The machine took aim and fired three missiles at Robin simultaneously. He leapt back, avoiding the first in time to leap off the wall to avoid the second. He gasped as the third came toward him, but a dark energy surged in front of him and encased the missile. It exploded harmlessly inside the small bubble of power. Robin gave Raven a thankful salute before turning back to the robot.

Cyborg opened fire with sonic blasts, but they dissipated harmlessly against whatever body part he hit. The robot swung at him with one arm, but Cyborg managed to catch it and squeeze as hard as he could. The arm began to dent inward, but one stray missile slammed into him from behind, sending him flying up against the wall or Titans Tower. He broke straight through, falling into the open air, but a dark energy caught him before he could plummet to his death.

Starfire opened fire on the robot with a string of emerald green bursts of power. They blew the robot back against the wall, but the things arms began firing missiles all over the place in a continuous volley.

"Everyone, evasive action!" Robin screamed as he narrowly avoided being tagged by one of the missiles. Beast Boy changed into a small worm-like creature and started crawling away since he was too small for the missiles to get a bead on. Cyborg blasted each missile that came at him out of the air. Starfire followed his example, using her own powers to blow them out of the air.

"Enough of this..." Raven muttered under her breath as the power gathered within her body. "Azarath, metrion, z-"

"Starfire!" Robin screamed quickly. Raven whirled, to see that her teammate was being swamped by the missiles. She whirled to try to tag the ones behind her, but there was no way she could make it.

"Zinthos!" Raven finished her chant, reaching toward Starfire. A dark bubble of power encompassed the alien, shielding her from every missile that came her way. The explosions didn't do much for the surrounding room, but Starfire was left virtually unscathed.

"Raven wat-" that was all Raven heard before she felt something slam into her back, and her vision went dark.

"RAVEN!" The other four titans screamed as a human fireball flew through the hole in the wall Cyborg had been pushed through earlier. Starfire tore through the tower in an effort to reach her, but the missiles were still coming. She weaved through the missilefire, letting them slam into walls, the floor, the ceiling, anything in her haste to reach Raven.

"Raven! I am coming!" Starfire screamed as she streaked down the side of the building. Debris from the robot's wild fire rained down around her, getting in between her and her objective. She growled in her throat and brought up her arms, which here glowing bright green. Quick bursts of energy cleared the way and she finally reached her falling comrade.

The smoke from the flames that engulfed Raven stung her eyes and made her caugh reflexively, but she would not veer away. She caught up with Raven just before she hit the rocks at the base of Titans Tower. She winced in pain when the flames that still consumed Raven's clothing ate at her arms, but she refused to let go. She floated down toward the ocean and lowered them both into it.

The cool waters felt good after the flames had scorched her skin. She kept them under for only a moment before rising out of the ocean. Raven was unconscious, and her hair was a mess. Her clothing was burnt and still smoking, and the back of her sweater had completely disintegrated, opening her back up to the biting flames. Her back was scorched and burned, but Starfire couldn't tell how bad it was. She could only hope it wasn't TOO bad.
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Finally the darkness receded and Raven returned to the land of the living. She found herself in her bedroom within Titans Tower. It looked exactly like she'd left it, which meant that robot hadn't succeeded in destroying the whole place. She blinked and looked around her room, wondering how she got there until she saw Starfire sitting beside the bed. She was sitting up as it at attention, but her eyes were closed and her breathing pattern was that of a steady sleep.

"You're not allowed in here..." Raven reminded her comrade. Starfire's eyes opened instantly, and her face lit up with unbridled surprise and happiness.

"Raven! You have awakened!" Starfire reached down and pulled the wounded girl into a tight hug, which reminded Raven painfully that her back was still scorched. "I am filled with happiness that you are okay! Nobody could tell me how badly you were injured."

"I'll be fine..." Raven ignored the pain until her teammate let go and let her settle back into her bed. "How did you guys finally stop the robot?" She asked curiously. It was a simple question, but Starfire's eyes began to tear up. "What, was someone hurt?"

"Yes... you were hurt because of my mistake!" Before Raven could react the alien had her hand clutched in a death grip, with her forehead pressed against her knuckles. "Please forgive me Raven! You almost gave up your life for me because I was careless! I am not a good friend!"

Raven blinked, then looked away and blushed lightly. "Come on, stop that..." she said. She added something else under her breath. "You're a fine friend..."

"No I am not. I am deeply, deeply, deeply sorry!" Starfire continued, clinging to her hand like a leech.

"Okay, fine, apology accepted..." Raven said more to get Starfire to let go than because she felt it was necessary. Starfire let go of her hand and looked up at her. Raven pushed herself into a sitting position with a pained groan. The blanket fell away from her chest, revealing that she was wearing nothing underneath. "Where's my outfit?"

"The old one was destroyed by the fire..." Starfire replied sadly. "I am so sorr-"

"Just get me one of my spares. They're in the closet over there. And don't touch anything." Raven ordered. Starfire nodded enthusiastically and ran over to the closet to grab one of Raven's spare outfits from the dozen or so identical ones she had. She carried it back to the bed and Raven pushed the blanket off of her, revealing her entire nude body.

She grabbed her suit and moved to put it on, then winced as her back screamed out in pain. She growled deep in her throat. "Damnit, can't even put some clothes on..."

"Let me help you." Starfire walked around behind her and put her hands on Raven's shoulders. Raven winced when her fingers touched the burned flesh on her back. "Please, you must relax."

"What are you doing anyway?" Raven asked as Starfire's hands started working over her shoulders.

"It is an old technique on my planet, it can help relieve the pain. Your body is different from mine, but it should still work." Starfire's fingers poked into the burnt flesh of Raven's back. She gritted her teeth against the pain, but soon she found that the pain was disappearing. The alien's fingers ran the length of her back, then up to her shoulders. Raven closed her eyes as her teammate's fingers seemed to hit every nerve in her shoulders and neck, relaxing her into a semi-conscious state.

"There you are." Starfire stood up beside her friend, smiling down at her. "Does that feel better?" Raven looked up at her under half-closed eyelids and nodded. She would have spoken if she had the energy... but at least she felt good. "Come, we must tell the others that you are awake." Starfire grabbed Raven's outfit and held it out to her, but Raven was too far-gone to care. She collapsed back onto the bed.

"Oh... I must have applied too much pressure. I deeply apologize." Starfire pulled Raven close and started dressing her in her normal outfit like a mother dressing a child. Raven blinked in confusion, looking up at her teammate. Her cheek was laying against Starfire's breast, but the alien paid no attention. She hummed to herself as she dressed Raven, who was beginning to blush. Perhaps it was her weakened state or the fact that she'd never let anyone handle her like this before, but something seemed... strange.

Starfire didn't seem to notice Raven's blush. She pulled her sweater on, then reached around her to tie her cloak in place before standing up. "You will regain your strength in a moment, then we can go tell the others that you are okay." She smiled.

Raven stared up at her, then shook her head and pushed herself to her feet. "I'm fine." She said. She swayed slightly before gaining her balance and walking toward the door. "Let's just get this over with."

Starfire ran ahead of her and ran down the hall. Raven followed more slowly, listening ahead. "Hello friends, I have a pleasant surprise for you." Starfire's voice said. Raven walked out into the main living room and stopped, blinking in surprise. The room was in shambles, every piece of electronics was destroyed (Beast Boy seemed to be holding a funeral service for his PlayStation 2) and the robot that had attacked was sitting in the middle of the room undamaged. "Raven has healed!"

Robin looked over at her from his position on the half of the couch that remained. "It's good to see you up and about again, when Starfire brought you back we weren't sure if you were going to make it."

"I'll be fine." Raven walked further into the room, surveying the damage and the robot. "Are you really going to make me ask?" She said drolly.

"It just stopped moving in the middle of the room after it trashed everything." Cyborg informed her helpfully from behind the monitor, which he was trying to repair. "None of us could scratch it... it just stopped moving."

"We can't get rid of it because any time we try it starts up again and gets back to this exact spot." Robin chimed in. "So I'm looking for a way to get through that shell to the circuits inside... or at least get a look at its programming."

"Do not worry Robin, I am sure that you will find the answer." Starfire walked up to Robin's side and put a hand on his shoulder. Raven narrowed her eyes darkly and turned away from the others.

"I'll be on the roof." She walked away from the others, heading up toward the roof of the tower. The others stared after he silently, obviously unsure why she was acting this way. To be honest, she didn't know either. She just suddenly was about to lose control of her emotions... and that could prove disastrous.
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Starfire stared after her worriedly, putting her hand over her mouth. "Did we do something inappropriate?"

Cybrog scoffed and shook his head, turning back to his monitor repair. "What else is new? Smiling is inappropriate to her."

"I don't know, this did not seem like her." Starfire replied.

"Don't worry about it Star, she'll come back down like she always done." Robin walked up to the shell of the metal behemoth, staring at it intently. "Maybe if we had a way to get through this shell..." He looked over at Starfire with one eyebrow raised. "This you could pry off a panel somewhere?"

"I can try." Starfire nodded and approached the massive machine. She reached into Robin's utility belt and pulled out his steel bo, which she extended to its full length. She gripped it firmly and took a batters stance before swinging with all her might.

The steel bo slammed into the machine's outer shell with a smack that echoed through the entire tower. The three boys all cried out in pain and clutched their head, while Starfire trembled with the force of the impact traveling back through her body. She let the bo drop from her hands, her body still trembling violently.

"Whoa, easy there Starfire." Robin caught her before she could collapse to the ground in shock. "That's one hard shell... there has to be a way inside it."

"Stand back already and let a pro handle this." Cyborg stepped in front of them, reaching out for the giant metal monster. He rapped his knuckles against the hull in various places, then a small needle popped out of his arm. He tapped it against one of the spots, searching around for another five minutes before winding up and plunging the needle into the machine. There was another loud echo that made the others go deaf, but the needle bent on impact instead of going in. "Geeze..."

"This isn't getting us anywhere, we need an expert on this stuff." Beast Boy commented.

"Or someone who can so through solid walls." Cyborg replied.

"Raven could help us, I am sure." Starfire exclaimed.

"Could you get her to agree? She seemed pretty upset a few minutes ago." Robin asked.

"I will try." Starfire turned and ran up several flights of stairs until she reached the top floor. She jumped out the window and flew the rest of the way up to the roof. Raven was floating above the middle of the tower in a meditative position.

The sun was disappearing behind the horizon, casting a fiery orange glow over them both as Starfire landed on the roof. "Raven, we need your assistance."

Raven's eyes snapped open. For an instant, Starfire saw a dark light flowing through them. But her friend closed her eyes and shook her head. When her eyes opened again they were clear. "What is it Starfire? This is important." Raven said.

"Are you sure you are well?" Starfire asked worriedly. "Your eyes..."

"Just a stray thought, don't worry about it." Raven replied. Despite her reassurance Starfire could still see something deep in her eyes. "What do you need me to do?"

"Assist us in opening the machine downstairs. Robin thinks if he can get inside it he can turn it off and learn about it." Starfire said.

"Of course he does..." Raven shook her head against and put her legs down, standing on the roof instead of floating. "Okay, come on." Raven grabbed Starfire's arm as a dark hole opened underneath them. The alien was caught off guard and dragged through it. It took them only an instant to appear through another hole in the main living area.

"There you are, care to take a crack at it?" Robin asked.

"Step aside." Raven pushes him out of the way and approached the machine. Starfire watched her worriedly as she put one hand on the metal surface. Dark light spread from her hand, engulfing the metal monstrosity. Her eyes began to glow pure white as he dark energy started pushing inward. The metal held up however.

"I told you guys she couldn't do it either." Beast Boy said from across the room. His nose looked like it was bent to one side, like he'd tried to break it open with a headbutt.

"It was a nice try, Raven." Robin said. Raven growled deep in her throat, narrowing her eyes.

"Azarath..." Raven's hand clenched into a fist. The energy around the machine began to pulse wildly. "Metrion..." She put her other hand against the metal as the power began to pulse even faster.

"Raven, what are you doing? You will destroy it." Starfire walked up to her. She gasped however when she saw her friend's eyes. They were no longer pure white, but had turned blood red. Her cape fluttered in the wind caused by the buildup of power. Robin brought his cape up over his face to protect it.

"Raven, that's enough!" Robin yelled. Cyborg grabbed onto one of the tower support beams, but Beast Boy was flung clear out of the building, where he turned into an eagle to avoid plummeting to the ground.

"Zinthos!" Raven pulled her hands outward to the sides suddenly. The metal that had surrounded the machine broke apart into a dozen different pieces, flying through the room and impaling anything they came across. Robin and Cyborg both barely escaped being cut in half, while Starfire had to destroy several pieces before they could reach her.

Raven fell to her knees, putting her hands on the floor. Starfire approached her worriedly and put one hand on her shoulder. Raven looked up at her, for once without the condescending stare and uncaring attitude. Her expression was one of sadness... and fear. "Raven..." Starfire knelt down beside her worriedly. "What is the matter?"

"What on Earth..." Robin breathed in awe. Starfire and Raven looked up at the machine for the first time. With the shell gone... there was nothing underneath. Not even a pole holding up the head of the machine. It was now four legs underneath a large floating glass orb with the ruby gem inside of it.

"Somehow, I don't think this thing is FROM Earth." Cyborg corrected him. Starfire gently took Raven's arms and pulled her up to a standing position. The space inside the former robot began to glow with a stranger white light. A high-pitched squeal accompanied the light, echoing through the living room until it rose to a deafening pitch.

"Titans, get out of h-" Robin was cut off before he could finish when all four titans suddenly vanished into thin air.
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"Their responses are amazing..." A wispy voice said from somewhere outside Starfire's consciousness. It wasn't speaking English, or the language of her home planet... so why could she understand it? "Far beyond anything we've monitored from this planet. Could they have been hiding their true potential all these years?"

Starfire opened her eyes cautiously. She was bound to a table made of a substance she couldn't identify. The entire ship looked like it was transparent. She could see straight through the roof above her to the stars outside. The sun shone through the ship, allowing her to see deck upon deck of spirit-like beings wandering the corridors. In the room she was trapped in, there were three gaseous spirits standing over her.

"No, this one matches the logs from a different planet." A different wispy voice replied to the first. Starfire started to sit up, but the second her head was more than three inches off the table she felt all the breath being sucked out of her body.

One of the figures pushed her back down, so that she was able to breath again. "I would not sit up if I were you." It told her. "There is no oxygen outside of your bubble, just the void of space."

"Why have you taken me and my friends?" Starfire demanded to know. The spirits exchanged a glance before one of them spoke.

"We seek merely knowledge, you have nothing to fear from us." It said.

"You have taken us prisoner against our will! That is wrong!" Starfire yelled.

"Studying inferior life forms is the goal of all species." The same spirit advised her. "You will be released soon, we have no need to study you. Your planet has been well documented. Your friends however... are all unique. Especially the pale one..."

"You mean Raven! You leave her alone!" Starfire screamed angrily. She lifted one hand high enough off the table to fire an emerald bolt of energy at one of the forms. It passed straight through, continuing on through the ships walls until it plunged out into the depths of space without touching anything.

"We will discover the secret of her unusual power... whatever it takes." The forms turned away from her and floated through the hall into the hallway of the ship. She watched them leave, knowing she couldn't do anything now, if she moved she would suffocate in the void of space.

She sucked in the biggest breath she could and closed her eyes. "RAVEN!" She screamed, hoping to warn her even though she knew sound couldn't travel in space.
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Raven's eyes snapped open suddenly, and she found herself trapped on board a see-through ship. She looked around cautiously, and saw several gaseous figures standing over her. She swore she'd heard something a minute ago, someone screaming her name... but she couldn't remember who or even exactly when. She shook her head so she could focus.

"She is like us. Or else she could not have opened the doll." One of the figures above her stated in a low, wispy tone of voice. "And yet... she's not like us."

"We must discover the key to her existence." A different one stated. "Or else this could pose a threat to us."

"Agreed, we must begin the experiments." Still another one proclaimed. Raven smirked and looked around the ship again, seeing the sun barely concealed behind the vaporous hull of the ship. She blinked when she saw something between her and the ship's ceiling. It was a table, and on it she could see a solid figure that stood out on the ship. It looked orange and purple... Starfire.

"What should we do with the others that came with her?" One of the spirits asked.

"We will deal with them soon, first we must discover this one's secret. Begin draining away her energy." The misty figure said. Raven looked up at it for the first time, her eyes fading into pools of white light.

"You leave her ALONE!" Raven leapt off the table, her entire body pulsing with black energy. It cut through two of the spirits like a sword, slicing them into pieces and dissipating them into the stars. Her powers held against the void of space, giving her a movable bubble of oxygen, but it wouldn't last long.

"The life form has become hostile! Kill it before it can escape and its secrets are lost!" The figures said as they reformed before her very eyes.

"I'm not escaping." Raven growled, lashing out again with a massive burst of dark power. Several more of the mist creature dissipated, along with an entire section of the ship. But once again they all began to reform as they had before. She gasped in pain when one of them came up from behind her and touched her shoulder. Her entire body twitched, as if it was sucking the power right out of her.

"Get... away... from... me!" She screamed and let out a burst that disintegrated everything within fifteen feet of her position. She took the chance to float up through the ship, but several more of the mist creatures surrounded her and she was growing weaker by the second.

"Put her in Storage until her powers fade." One of the forms suggested. Raven whirled around, looking at them. Through one of the creatures she saw Starfire now watching her, screaming frantically about something.

"Starfire!" Raven started to move toward her, but she felt something pulling her in from behind. She whirled and saw a miniature black hole formed in the space behind her, sucking in her and all the surrounding mist. "No!" She whirled and tried to get away, but her powers were fading and even if she was at full power she didn't know if she could have fought it.

She reached out for nothing in particular, but to her surprise she saw Starfire plunging toward her. She had her eyes tightly closed and was holding her breath, but she was reaching out blindly for her all the same. Raven lunged desperately, afraid for the first time she could really remember. She reached as far as she could. Their hands clasped just before Raven was drawn into the black hole, pulling Starfire along after her.

They found themselves floating in a dark void, they could see nothing in the darkness except each other. For some reason, there was enough of an atmosphere here to let them survive, but it was still cold. So they were huddled close together for warmth... and because they didn't want to float away from each other in the weightless void. "Raven... are you well?" Starfire asked, reaching up and gripping her shoulder.

"I'll... be fine." Raven replied softly. "You could have died pulling a stunt like that..."

"Yes... but I failed to save you... and now we are both trapped here." Starfire replied sadly. "I am sorry..."

"You apologize too much, you know that?" Raven replied, stroking the alien's cheek. Starfire blinked and looked up at her. Even Raven was confused by this. She wasn't like this... but since they'd been in her bedroom... so close... she hadn't been able to think of anything else. Now here they were again, lost in this void for how long neither of them could guess.

"Raven... there has been something in your eyes all day." Starfire commented, staring into her eyes with a worried expression on her face. "Tell me what it is... I want to help you."

"I don't really know..." Raven replied soft. "It's something... unfamiliar."

"Is it... love?" Starfire asked. Raven stared at her silently, knowing she'd probably just been figured out. In her entire life love had never played much of a factor. She enjoyed hanging out with her friends as much as anything, but since Starfire had helped her so intimately... and she'd felt so comfortable for the first time in her life.

"I... think so..." Raven blushed lightly, unused to discussing, or even feeling, things like this.

"Somehow, I knew that was it." Starfire smiled slightly, reaching up to stroke Raven's cheek. Raven stared at her intently, not sure what to do now. "I am very happy that you have been able to experience it at long last..." Her emerald green eyes bore into Raven's. She was suddenly very aware of their proximity. Their arms holding onto each other, their breasts pressed together...

"It always felt like an unreachable idea before..." Raven muttered, almost unconsciously moving closer to Starfire. "Something you all talk about... but I would never be a part of..."

"What does it feel like now?" Starfire asked, half-closing her eyes, but still staring into Raven's.

Raven kissed her gently on the lips, then pulled back about an inch to stare into her eyes. "It feels like... heaven..." she leaned down and kissed her again, pulling her close. Starfire kissed her back, closing her eyes and running one hand through her short, purple hair.

Raven closed her eyes, taking in every sensation she could find. Her hands ran around Starfire's small, smooth waist. She inhaled Starfire's surprisingly earthy scent, which intoxicated her beyond reasoning. She could hear the alien's breath beginning to come a little faster than before as she opened her lips and let her tongue slide into Raven's mouth.

Raven's heart was pounding fast as emotions she didn't recognize flooded through her. She'd always been so sure of herself. Now here, in this moment, she felt so ignorant. She didn't know what to do. It didn't seem to matter though. Starfire pulled her close and stroked her back, opening her eyes halfway as she undid her cloak with one hand, letting it float away in the darkness.

Raven let her hands wander up and down Starfire's body, taking in the feel of her smooth skin and the softness of her curves. Raven reached up and touched Raven's left breast lightly through her sweater, as if experimenting with something unknown. Raven opened her eyes slightly, but did not complain.

"That we know love..." Starfire kissed Raven's lips as she reached up and grabbed the neck of Raven's leotard, pulling it off of her shoulders. "Is a great gift..." She kissed her lover's neck lightly. Raven moaned softly and moved her head to the side. "We should never forget..." Starfire finished as she pulled it off of her arms, leaving her breasts bare.

They kissed again more passionately, moaning into each other's mouths. Raven's hand ran down Starfire's side gently, her fingers tracing small paths along her flesh until they reached her thigh, then turned and slid up her skirt. Starfire gasped into Raven's mouth as her fingers grazed up against her thin panties underneath her skirt. Starfire's cheeks turned red and she gave a louder moan than before.

"Raven..." Starfire moaned into her ear as Raven's fingers ran up and down the front of her panties. Starfire shuddered when Raven moved her hand up to grip her skirt and panties, pushing them both down her legs with her hands. Starfire quickly pulled off her top while Raven was occupied, leaving her completely nude once her boots were removed.

Raven moved up her body and kissed her passionately again. Starfire broke it off in a moment however so she could move down Raven's body, gripping her leotard again and pulling it down her legs, pulling her shoes off at the same time. This left Raven wearing nothing more than her jeweled belt around her otherwise nude body.

Instead of traveling straight back up, Starfire stopped to kiss her leg gently. Raven watched curiously as the alien worked her way slowly up her leg, kissing up her knee and into her inner thighs. Raven blushed and moaned slightly as Starfire kissed up past her sensitive areas, traveling up her stomach, and across the peak of her breast until she finally reached her lips.

They kissed passionately, both burning with desire. They clutched each other's backs, and Starfire raised her leg in between Raven's. Her thigh rubbed against Raven's prone vagina, sending waves of ecstasy coursing through her body. She moaned loudly and clutched her shoulders tightly. Starfire reached down with her hand, her fingers playing across Raven's slit teasingly.

Raven squeezed her eyes shut, spreading her legs open wide in the hope that Starfire would continue. Her fingers pressed inward, pushing past her outer lips and into her body. Raven buried her face against Starfire's throat, groaning loudly and clutching her tighter than she'd ever held anything before. She thought she felt something else, but it disappeared in a moment.

Starfire held her close, one hand running gently across her bare back while the other explored as deeply into Raven's crevice as it could. Her thumb pressed against Raven's clitoris while the rest of her fingers explored deeper inside, drawing yet another ecstatic groan.

"Starfire... this is..." Raven panted. Her hips were moving back and forth, moving against Starfire's body while her hand stroked every crevice to be found between her legs. This time Raven definitely felt something else, something welling up deep inside of her. She couldn't figure out what it was, but she wanted to feel more.

"I know..." Starfire replied softly, running her hand through Raven's hair and kissing her earlobe as her fingers continued to writhe around. Raven clutched her tightly, the feelings building. In the past, all of her emotional releases had been negative. Anger, hatred, despair, desperation... this was her first positive release... of love.

She flung her head back and let out a piercing scream. It seemed to echo through the dark void, causing it to shimmer from the sheer force of her passion. The very essence around them began to crack open, broken by Raven's powers fuelled by this formerly untapped emotion...
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Robin lied on the table, looking around at the spirits wandering through the ship around him. There wasn't much else he could do. He'd been able to watch Raven and Starfire's attempts to escape, but didn't know what had happened to them. He'd tried to talk with the spirits, but it seemed they weren't interested in him or Cyborg anymore.

He looked up curiously when he thought he saw a flash of light. He blinked in surprise when a large ship rammed into the... well... ghost ship. It plowed through the mist like a missile until it came to a stop right next to Robin. The door opened, and a space suited Beast Boy leapt out, using a jetpack to make his way to Robin.

"Beast Boy? How did you find us?" Robin asked in amazement.

"It was just a matter of tracing your teleportation signal through space to this exact location by using an enhanced electroscopic magnifier." Beast Boy replied.

"You did that all yourself?" Robin asked, even more amazed than before.

"Well no... I had to look up an old friend of yours, that's why it took so long." Beast Boy gestured to the cockpit. Robin looked, and saw a pointy-eared silhouette inside the ship. "Now come on, I don't think these things like us being here." He stuffed an oxygen mask onto his face and lifted him up, carrying him back into the ship.

Robin made his way to the cockpit while Beast Boy waited for the signal to pick up Cyborg in a similar manner. Robin opened the cockpit door, and watched Batman at the controls, maneuvering them close to Cyborg outside the window.

"The mist concentration is getting thicker by the second. You'd better make it fast Beast Boy." Batman spoke into the headset he was wearing. Robin walked up behind him, staring out the front window. "Once you have him, we're getting out of here."

"What? Raven and Starfire are still out there somewhere!" Robin exclaimed. Batman turned around in his chair and looked up at him. He'd grown since the last time they'd met, but at his full height the bat would still eclipse him. "We can't leave them behind."

"All I'm picking up besides you and these things are pieces of space debris." Batman turned around again as Beast Boy made his way into the ship with Cyborg. "Raven and Starfire are probably dead."

"No, they just disappeared!" Robin grabbed the seat and forcibly turned it around. Batman stood up to his full height. He made no threatening moves, but Robin backed away a few steps and put his guard up just in case. "This is my team, not yours. I'M not leaving anybody behind..." He looked up as the lights started flickering.

"That is those things sucking power away from the main engine." Batman told him. "Soon we won't be able to leave, soon after that we'll all suffocate." The two stared each other down intently. "You chose to stay in this Robin, you knew the kinds of choices you would have to make." The stare down continued. "Make your choice."

The door opened before Beast Boy and Cyborg trotted in. "Hey look who's... here..." Cyborg trailed off. Him and Beast Boy stared at the two caped crusaders facing off in front of the terminal. The lights flashed again, and this time didn't come back on. The red emergency lights flashed into operation, however.

Robin looked out the front windshield, then looked back as Beast Boy and Cyborg, who were still standing there, dumbfounded. Finally Robin looked up at his mentor again and lowered his gaze to the floor plates. Batman put one hand on his shoulder and squeezed before moving deftly into the pilot's seat and starting the engine up on full thrust.

The ship started to move backward... then they all felt the engine die. Batman looked up at the ceiling with an unreadable expression on his face, as usual. "The power's gone."

"You mean... we can't get back?" Beast Boy asked worriedly. "We have the space suits... can't we make it back in those?"

"We'd be burned to ashes upon entering the atmosphere." Batman replied.

"So that's it..." Cyborg said for the rest of them. "We're stuck here until we all either suffocate, or those things decide to bust in and finish us off."

"Titans..." Robin turned to look at Beast Boy and Cyborg. "I'm... sorry... we'd be out of here by now if it wasn't for me... Raven and Starfire are gone... and I killed the rest of us..."

"We're not dead yet." Batman stood up and walked over to the cockpit door. Before he made it however something rocked the ship, sending everyone aboard toppling to the ground.

"Oh what now!?" Beast Boy exclaimed loudly. "Are they coming to kill us all yet?"

"No, it felt more like an energy wave of some kind." Robin lurched to his feet just in time to be sent to his knees again as the ship rocked a second time. "But where are they coming from?"

"Uh... guys..." Cyborg pointed out the front windshield. They all watched as a section of space seemed to bend outward, sending a ripple through the misty alien ship that had enough force to send their own vessel lurching uncontrollably. "Does anyone have any theories?"

"Something tearing apart the fabric of space." Batman replied simply.

"Oh is that all? What a relief." Beast Boy exclaimed sarcastically. The ship lurched again as the special bubble gave one last burst, then seemed to shatter.

A dark shape stood out against the outline of stars and mist around it. It opened a large beak and roared into the darkness, a pair of massive wings spreading to full extension. It looked like the shape of a raven... but its eyes were not Raven's usual white or red... but instead they were glowing emerald green.

"It's Raven!" Beast Boy exclaimed happily. "We're saved! I mean... she's alive!"

The dark shape swept one massive wing across the misty ship. The mist seemed to be sucked into the darkness around her, banishing it completely from site. The giant raven swept through the ship, absorbing every piece of mist that it came into contact with before coming right up against the vessel carrying Batman and the rest of the Teen Titans.

Robin gasped as its head plunged into the cockpit, its emerald green eye coming right up on him before it swept through him like a ghost. The raven then vanished deeper into the ship, out of sight. Soon the regular lights came back on. "They got rid of the ones draining our power." Batman noted, gesturing to the console. "Someone get us out of here while I go make sure everything's fine."

"I'm coming." Robin brushed past him and walked out into the main corridor. Batman went behind him, following him through a few passageways until they reached the engine room. They stopped when they entered. Raven and Starfire were lying on the floor, unconscious in each others' arms, and also completely nude except for Raven, who was still wearing her jeweled belt.

"What happened here...?" Robin muttered curiously. Batman didn't say anything. He simply reached up to remove his cape, draping it over the sleeping girls. With that he turned to leave, so Robin turned to follow him back toward the bridge.

"You were right, Tim..." Batman said as they walked. Robin stopped and looked up at him in surprise. Batman looked down at him for a moment, but didn't elaborate on his comment as he resumed walking. Robin watched him, then smiled slightly and followed him down the corridor.
________________________________________________________________________________

Starfire opened her eyes with a soft groan. She found herself lying on a cold steel floor, with something drapped across her nude body. She rubbed her eyes with one hand and sat up, letting the cape slide off of her body. She then noticed Raven lying on the floor beside her, still unconscious. She remembered being with Raven in that other dimension... but how had they gotten here? She couldn't remember.

"Raven..." Starfire reached down and shook her new lover's shoulder gently. Raven stirred and opened her eyes halfway. The alien thought she saw a flash of green run through them, but it was gone as quickly as it had appeared. "I do not know where we are, or what has happened."

"We're fine, Starfire. We're on a ship headed home." Raven told her sensibly. Starfire blinked confusedly. "I was able to get us out of there... thanks to you." She said.

"But I did nothing." Starfire rubbed her head confusedly. Raven sat up beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"You did more than you think..." Raven blushed slightly and looked down at the floor. "I always thought 'emotion' meant anger, hatred, frustration... those were the ones that always gave me power before. You made me tap into a new power..." She looked at Starfire again, staring into her eyes.

"The power of love?" Starfire smiled. Raven nodded solemnly. The alien grinned happily and pulled her into a tight hug, pressing their still bare breasts together between them. "Then you and I are as one now Raven." Raven blinked as Starfire pulled back, staring into her eyes again. "On my planet, love binds all who share it..."

Raven stared at her, then cracked a smile and put her hands on Starfire's shoulders. "Sounds good to me." Raven replied. They pulled each other into a gentle kiss, moving closer to teach other. After years of traveling through the darkness, Raven had finally found a beacon of light.

THE END (End theme: "Under Your Spell")

I lived my life in shadow
Never the sun on my face
It didn't seem so sad, though
I figured that was my place
Now I'm bathed in light
Something just isn't right

I'm under your spell
How else could it be
Anyone would notice me?
It's magic, I can tell
How you set me free
Brought me out so easily

I saw a world enchanted
Spirits and charms in the air
I always took for granted
I was the only one there
But your power shone
Brighter than any I've known

I'm under your spell
Nothing I can do
You just took my soul with you
You worked your charm so well
Finally, I knew
Everything I dreamed was true

You made me believe

The moon to the tide
I can feel you inside

I'm under your spell
Surging like the sea
Wanting you so helplessly
I break with every swell
Lost in ecstasy
Spread beneath my willow tree

You make me complete.