38: The Aspects of Raven

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"

Calm. She was calm. She was the mistress of her emotions. She was in control. NOTHING would take that away from her. From within or from without. Time would pass. The world would change around her. And through it all, Raven would maintain the same homeostasis. She HAD to. There was no other choice…

Raven's time on Earth had changed many things. She had friends now. People who enjoyed her company, who weren't (rightfully) wary of her mere presence. A place she was coming to call home. And her new duty was certainly never dull.

But yet more still stayed the same. Her heritage and lineage were a curse that constantly plagued her — mind, body, and spirit. The threat of her demonic father loomed over her head. Now, closer than ever. And as always, she was made to constrain herself so drastically. Always unable to allow herself to feel, to LIVE, for fear of the gaps such actions would open in her defenses.

It was not a healthy existence. Even Raven herself could see that. She constantly bucked against her strict, self-enforced restraints. Her very soul was chained by the emotions she so sought to control. But it was the only way… The only way Raven could be sure that the world around her would be safe.

Her father was a heavy weight that would never leave her shoulders. She'd lived in fear of him for as long as she could reasonably remember. So much of her life had been devoted to halting his influence over her, to diverting his control. So long as he lived, she would never be free from him.

Lord Trigon, the Devilish Conquerer of the Cosmos, had plans for his daughter. Ambitions. Ones that Raven wanted no part in. Ever since her mother had shared the truth with her, Raven vowed to never stop fighting against her father. She would never let him win.

All her life, Raven had heard of the devastation and ruin he wrought. Learned of the EVIL that made up his very being. Her father wasn't just a monster. He was the King of Monsters. And it seemed that Raven existed solely to hold his insidious reach at bay.

It was a cruel joke of an existence. Perhaps the cruelest of all. A daughter, not meant to carry on her father's legacy, but to resist it until everything else faded. Until she became nothing more than a lock to hold back evil and sin.

Her purpose left Raven empty. Barely more than a vessel that loathed to be filled. A cog that resisted its use. No matter how much she strove to redeem herself, Raven felt as if she would never be cleansed of her life's original sin. Born of rape, trickery, hatred, and sin, Raven wasn't merely cursed. She WAS the curse, forever threatening to corrupt everything her loathsome lineage touched.

Within her room in Titans' Tower, Raven meditated. She hovered about a foot above her bed, sat cross-legged and cloaked in comforting darkness. It was a poor excuse for a sanctuary. But it was hers. A symbol of her current freedom, no matter how much of a facade said freedom truly was…

And within Raven herself — her soul palace, locked and chained tightly — a shadow of personified emotion scoffed, "Great. Another fucking pity party."

Raven opened her eyes, not to look without but within, staring her emotions in the face, "Your comment is unnecessary, Passion. You're being entirely unhelpful."

Passion stared back at her, "Well, maybe I wouldn't have to be 'unhelpful' if you weren't such a freaking buzzkill all of the time."

"Yeah, I'm with Passion!" Rage… raged. "This shit fucking blows! We never get to do ANYTHING! You don't let us out! You ignore us! We're you, bitch! You can't just lock us up like this!"

Raven nodded, "You are me. So you know exactly why I CAN lock you up like this. And that it's not just necessary. It's vital."

"I don't blame you, Self~!" Happiness chimed happily. "I know things are hard right now but we'll get through it together~!"

"Is it really 'together' if we're all one person?" Laziness drawled.

"Fuck you! I ain't like that happy bitch!" Rage yelled.

"C-Can't… Can't we all get a-along…?" Timidity stuttered.

Laziness winced, "Or at least not be so loud about it. No need to shout, dude. We're all in the same soul here."

Raven ignored her bickering emotions, taking deep, unnecessary breaths inside her soul, "Calm… Azarath Metrion Zinthos. Control…"

Passion didn't join in with the other shadows. It was almost strange that she was often the most reasonable of Raven's emotions. Relatable, even. Passion seemed to hold the largest portion of Raven's personality. Raven imagined that if she didn't restrain herself to such an extent, she would be a rather intense and passionate person.

The mirrored shadow fixed Raven with a piercing look, "We can't keep this up forever. You know that. It's unsustainable."

"Any other option is impossible," Raven stated flatly.

"Yeah, yeah, that old argument," Passion rolled her eyes. "It's not going to last, you know. We can't keep living like this. We need to be FREE."

"Impossible."

"Is it? Or have you just given up on other options?"

"I haven't given up. I will keep doing whatever it takes to resist Trigon."

"You've stopped looking for a better way. All you do is meditate in your 'sanctuary' and rot away within yourself."

"Control is the only way forward."

"Pathetic. Resigning yourself to that is the same as giving up. We're not moving forward at all. Don't try to lie to me. Don't lie to yourself. We're nothing more than an empty husk like this. One that doesn't know when to die."

"You're being purposefully harsh to try and hurt me. You don't actually mean that. We are not suicidal."

"The bar is in Hell if that's all you can say. How much FUCKING longer can we keep this up, Raven?!"

"As long as it takes…"

Their back and forth died with Passion fuming in her passion. Raven wasn't unaffected. She could feel the emotions as if they were her own. They were. But ironclad control categorized them, pushing them onto Passion in an unhealthy reinforcing loop.

Raven disliked arguing with herself. But it had been happening more and more recently. Especially as her deadline drew closer. Tomorrow, she would turn 18. The promise of prophecy hung over her head like an executioner's blade. The 18th anniversary of her birth may very well spell doom for the whole world.

She hadn't told the rest of her team just how bad things could potentially get tomorrow. Raven knew she was being illogical. Irresponsible, even. The Titans had given her a place to belong but she hadn't actually known them for all that long.

A not-so-small portion of her couldn't help but fear their reactions. To her heritage, to the destruction she might bring upon the world, to cursed secrets she didn't even want to keep. They… They would look at her differently. They wouldn't be able to help it. They might even hate her. Tragically fragile and painfully self-repressed, Raven didn't know if she'd be able to handle her new friends hating her… everything she was, everything she represented, all of the EVIL that followed in her wake…

A sudden scathing scoff from Passion cut deep into Raven's heart — made all the worse for the fact that it came from herself, "Angsty goth bitch…"

Raven flinched, even inside her soul palace. Calm… She was calm. Don't think about Passion's devastating commentary. It didn't mean anything. Even if it came from an aspect of herself. There was nothing wrong with being goth. It worked for her, right? And if anyone deserved a bit of angst in their life, it was her.

Yes, Passion's 'critique' was accurate but exaggerated. There was nothing for Raven to pay any mind to there, nothing she didn't already know. She let the self-loathing flow off her like water. It would not do to show weakness to herself.

Besides, her other emotions were reacting enough for her already. Rage… raged, "The FUCK did you call me, you over-eager, passionate slut?!"

"H-H-Hey… there's… there's no need for that…" Timidity stuttered and stammered.

"Heh, lol," Laziness barely reacted, not even putting in the effort to spell out the acronym.

Passion didn't even glance at the other emotions, simply staring down Raven as if daring her to reply.

"Anything you call me, you also call yourself," Raven said, fighting to maintain her stoicism.

Passion glared at her with the heat of the sun in her expression, only growing more intense as she spoke, "At least I have the BALLS to be self-aware about it. At least I'm not the overall aspect wallowing in pity and angst! AT LEAST I'M WILLING TO ADMIT THAT SHIT'S FUCKED AND WE NEED A NEW FUCKING PLAN!!"

The soul palace rumbled with Passion's passion. Raven felt all of it. It was her passion too. A few deep breaths in the real world centered her again. She didn't deny Passion's points. She couldn't. Not when they were felt so intensely. But that didn't make any of this productive.

"You think I don't know that…?" Raven asked, her voice deceptively quiet. "I'm us, all of you. I'm the chains that hold us all together. Everything you think, everything you feel… I experienced it first. I KNOW. But what would you have me do…?"

Raven's soul wavered with her candidness. Her aspect clones flickered. Her self-imposed chains loosened. For the briefest of moments, Raven couldn't stop herself from being whole. She smothered the phenomenon just as quickly as it came. But the damage was already done.

Unbeknownst to Raven and her aspects, she wasn't alone in her room. Someone — SOMETHING — had invaded her sanctuary. It watched her like a stalking predator, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. And with her momentary lapse in control, that perfect opportunity presented itself.

The light in Raven's room dimmed, uncontrolled magic accompanying her internal struggles. With the effect on her surroundings, a figure was made visible. A spirit. The barest sliver of a demon. Four eyes glowed red in the darkness. A fanged grin spread wide as Trigon pounced.

Immediately, Raven felt the change. An intruder bowled through the walls of her soul palace, familiar in the worst of ways. Like a bullish battering ram, her father rampaged through her mindscape. Fear — ice cold like an abrupt awakening — gripped Raven's heart.

She was almost frozen for a moment. Stuck in denial. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't be here. Not now. Not yet. But her waking nightmare didn't change. Everything she feared was coming to pass, too soon, too quickly.

When Raven finally forced herself to react, Trigon's spiritual form had made painful progress toward the core of her being. He gave no regard for her health, her safety, the sanctity of her soul. He simply pushed through everything between him and his goal of taking over Raven's soul completely — relishing the CHAOS, pain, and ruin he caused her.

Raven bolstered her defenses, fortifying her core. Then she lashed out at her father's intruding spirit with everything she had. Overwhelming emotion enough to lobotomize a healthy mind, Raven resisted. Dark power and magic poured into her soul, taking in everything, anything that might aid her resistance.

Rage surged to the fore, fighting back against her father with everything Raven had, "FUCKING TRY ME, BASTARD! YOU DEADBEAT, EVIL SHIT-FUCKED DICKHEAD! YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE! I'D RATHER KILL MYSELF THAN LET YOU WIN FOR EVEN A SECOND! I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU IF IT'S THE LAST FUCKING THING I EVER FUCKING DO!!!"

Passion fueled that Rage, "I'll never surrender to you! I'll fight! Always! You won't break me! I'm not your tool, not your weapon!"

Even Happiness, Laziness, and Timidity pitched in for the defense. And through it all, Raven SCREAMED her defiance for the universe to hear. Pure power pulsed, raging within Raven's soul. Her mindscape cracked, twisting and pushing back against the invader until the brink of collapse.

And though he started strong, Trigon's charge began to falter. Every metaphysical inch became a hard-fought battle. Raven pushed and PUSHED until she brought her father to a standstill. Then she began to force him back the way he came.

Trigon's infernal chuckle filled Raven's mind and soul, "A worthy opposition… I expected nothing less from my spawn. Persist while you still can, child. You will never truly win. This is your destiny. The very purpose of your birth. You are nothing more than a foothold to further my grand ambitions. You will never be anything more. Your resistance is foolhardy and futile. Lord Trigon does not know defeat…"

As Raven pushed him to the edge of her soul, she let out one last soul-shaking shout, "Begone, Foul Demon! I banish thee!"

Her emotions put it more succinctly, speaking with one voice as the distinctions between Raven's aspects blurred for a moment, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF MY SOUL, YOU EVIL, MANIPULATIVE, LIMP-DICKED, MIND-RAPING, SOUL-STEALING, SHIT-HEEL!"

Raven's full emotional output was restored for that one brief instant of blurred lines. Everything she'd divided and partitioned and restrained came together in her soul. Fueled by pure emotion, CHAOS and MAGIC surged.

The power was harnessed and bent to Raven's bidding by will alone. No spell shaped it. No calling came greater than her basest desire. She wanted the intruder OUT. She wanted her father GONE. She wanted to be FREE. And pure chaotic magic answered that profound demand.

The invading soul shard was pushed to the edge of Raven's soul. It was seized by hands of power greater than it could hope to muster in its current form. Utterly in her element, a demi-goddess in all but name, Raven took those hands, took that power, and SQUEEZED. With a visceral, damned shriek, a shard of Trigon's soul popped, obliterated from existence forevermore.

Her internal struggles weren't kept so internal at all. For her immediate surroundings, Trigon's invasion was a cataclysmic event. Raven's power rampaged past the limits of her soul. Unstoppable, untouchable, and utterly overwhelming, a maelstrom of chaotic energy swirled around her physical form — a reflection of Raven's soul.

Her room — her sanctuary — was torn to shreds by hurricane-force winds of might and magic. Everything she'd come to treasure in her time on Earth was smashed and shattered in equal measure. The ruinous effects of Raven's defiance were not so easily limited. The other residents of Titan's Tower were given a sudden rude awakening as their home was torn apart from the inside out.

Walls crumbled. Entire floors were torn up by the boards. Ceilings and supports caved in on themselves from sheer unholy power. The rest of the Titans were made to exploit their powers to escape the devastation.

Vic awoke with a start and swore as he was forced to blast his way out of his own bed. Damian — having stayed up late to work — came to attention instantly, treating the situation like the disaster scenarios his father had drilled into his head. Kori and Garfield were in a similar situation to Damian, though they had stayed up for recreation rather than work. They were still forced to quickly escape the crumbling tower.

Once the Teen Titans were safely outside the wreckage, they gathered and took measure of the situation. Immediately, they noticed one of their team was missing. They didn't get much time to begin organizing a rescue before Raven's role in the destruction was revealed.

Raven floated cross-legged as if still merely meditating in the eye of the literal storm. Debris whirled around her, carried by mighty magical winds. Her whole body glowed as if set alight by purple flames. As the destruction spread and the tower fell to ruin, Raven's form — paradoxically so peaceful and so tortured at the same time — floated down to the ground.

The boys had to hold Kori back from immediately rushing to her friend's aid. Even with the rubble beginning to settle, power poured from Raven in great crashing waves. A clap of lightning shook the land and sky as Raven pushed her final push, obliterating a portion of her father from existence. Only then did the maelstrom around her even begin to settle down.

The winds died. Power retreated back into Raven's soul. The gradual absence was almost melancholy in nature. Torn and tortured, the sudden end pulled at Raven's raw and ragged emotions. When she finally opened her eyes, she was met with wretched ruin, surrounding her as a reminder of the damage that followed her like a shadow.

Her sanctuary was gone. The home she'd been making here was gone with it. Crumbling as if it never was. Destroyed without a chance of defense. A cruel warning that she would never be safe. Her father could reach her at any time. Everything she knew and loved… made into a temporary and fleeting memory by the threat that would always loom over her head.

Looking around at her ruined home, her emotions whole for once due to the fresh, scarring wound of her father's invasion, Raven cried. Slow, almost deceptively gentle tears trailed down her cheeks. Her usual control and stoicism disappeared as if gone up in smoke. All that was left was a damaged, broken young woman, worn down by the weight she was forced to bear since birth.

With the danger seemingly passed and her friend now crying, nothing could have stopped Kori from rushing to Raven's side. A blur of alien affection slammed into Raven, wrapping her in a tight hug. She could feel Kori's worry and compassion. And with a choked sob, Raven couldn't help but return the hug as if it were her only remaining lifeline.

The boys came over as well. There was confusion and concern in their souls. But Raven couldn't see the fear and hatred she had been dreading. She was simply their friend, hurt and in need of support. They accepted her completely, even with the destruction she'd wrought upon their home.

"Guys…" Raven whispered, her voice hoarse and full of emotion like nothing her friends had ever heard from her. "I need help…"

"I shall always stand by your side, friend Raven!" Kori declared, unwilling to hear a word of the opposite.

Vic laid a comforting hand on her shoulder, offering his unconditional support, "Anything, girl. Just say the word."

"Yeah, you're our friend. We're not just going to abandon you for a little bit of damage like this," Garfield added.

"You're one of us," Damian said firmly. "Part of the team. Your problems are our problems too."

"I-…" Raven faltered for the briefest of moments, an irrational part of her unwilling to share the burden. She shook that part of herself off, conviction firming as she felt the shared conviction from her friends in turn.

"I was born with a curse. Not of self or soul. But of family. I am Raven… Daughter of Trigon the Terrible-…"

As Raven shared her story, the metaphorical shoulders of her soul lightened with every word. She didn't bother to rein in her emotions like usual. What use would it be when Trigon could seemingly reach her no matter what?

Every aspect of herself shared the spotlight at some point or another. Her Rage and hatred. Her Timidity and ever-present fear. Her Laziness and false contentment with the way things were. Her Happiness at finding a place to belong with the team. Her Passion — an undying HOPE that things could get better…

She stressed just how DIRE her situation was. How ungodly powerful her father was and how doomed the world would be if he had his way. Maybe it was some kind of last resort of deflection, one last try at pushing them away for their own good…

It didn't work. Not even a little bit. If anything, the conviction she felt from each of her friends only grew stronger. Really, Raven should have expected nothing less. And the vast majority of herself was glad that her last kick of self-loathing and low self-worth was doomed to fail. Her friends were heroes, committed to sticking with her until the end, whatever it may be.

"… Goddamn," Vic muttered after Raven finished her damned backstory. "Your dad fucking sucks."

Even Garfield was frowning, so unlike his usual expression, "For real, Rae. So not cool. I had no idea you were going through all of that… Man, I feel like a terrible friend for not helping sooner."

"How terrible~!" Kori gasped. "The issues of daddy do not even begin to cover it!"

Raven couldn't contain an amused, teary snort at that, "Yeah, my situation has a bit more world-ending consequences than what usually comes with 'daddy issues'."

An intense frown clouded Damian's expression, already lost in consideration and planning, "The contingency I had planned won't work. I vastly underestimated the danger presented by your situation, Raven. This whole thing might be above our pay grade."

"Might?" Vic scoffed. "Raven said this scary dude has devoured galaxies before. GALAXIES, Damian. There's no 'might' about it. If we try to deal with this on our own, we're fucked. Hell, even the whole League might not stand a chance."

"Uh, not to change the subject," Garfield spoke up. "But we kind of need a new place to stay now too."

Raven's heart ached at the scene of their surroundings, "Shit, guys, I'm so sorry…"

"The nonsense, friend Raven!" Kori denied her apology with a frown. "You are not of fault here and we do not blame you! We are simply the happiest that you are safe!"

Damian's brows furrowed, frowning even further, "Yes, we'll have to relocate. And your concerns about Trigon's threat level are noted, Vic. We'll need to call for some very heavy support. If only there were a way to solve both problems at once…"

As if his words were heard by something greater, a doorway shifted into existence in the wreckage of Titan's Tower. A certain bar's Genius Loci had come to like keeping an eye on its guests, even when they weren't within its domain. The door had already been nearby in the same city. Now, it simply shifted where it opened by a few miles at the Genius Loci's blossoming will. A sign that said 'Dead End' flashed into existence above the suddenly appearing doorway.

Raven jumped slightly at the abrupt display of magic. Something almost unknowable stared back at her from the other side of the portal door. Power like nothing else Raven had ever known filled the immediate area. Calming. Accepting. INEVITABLE.

She wasn't alone in her surprise. Garfield whirled around to look at the door the instant it appeared. Something about it filled him with caution on an instinctive, base level. The animal kingdom inside him fell silent for the first time since his empowering. Respectful. As if bowing before an end that all life knew would come eventually.

"What the heck is that?!" He exclaimed, pointing unnecessarily at the door.

Damian examined the door, the sign above it sparking something familiar and almost excited in his eyes, "Ah. That would be perhaps the best answer to our current problems."

"The End is Dead?" Kori jumbled the sign's writing in her usual endearing manner. "I do not understand. How can the doorway be a dead end? Would it not give another option of travel?"

"That-…" Vic raised a finger in protest only to let it drop after a moment. "No, you're right. A doorway is usually, like, the exact opposite of a dead end."

"The Dead End is the name of the establishment on the other side of the portal," Damian flatly informed.

"Ooooohh~…" Kori made a sound of realization. "That makes more of the sense. And you know of this 'Dead End', friend Robin?"

Damian nodded, "I do. We'll be able to get all the help we need there. Mr. Barkeep is more than powerful enough to deal with even this threat."

"How…?" Raven asked, her voice raw. "How can a bartender possibly hope to stand up against my father…? Don't… Don't make me hope, Damian…"

Damian held her gaze, conviction like steel in his eyes, "I am not lying, Raven. Nor exaggerating. If Mr. Barkeep deems your problem worth dealing with, it is as good as solved."

Raven glanced at the Dead End's doorway. The strange, unknowable power soothed her worries. It stoked a small ember of hope within her soul. Something promised that it would all be okay in the END.

Looking back into Damian's eyes, Raven nodded shakily, "Okay… I trust you."

Damian nodded right back at her, "I promise I will live up to the trust you've placed in me. I will do everything in my power to ensure Mr. Barkeep hears you out. Take heart, Raven. Salvation lies on the other side of that door."

Raven could feel his conviction as readily as she could feel her own hope and fear. She could feel his belief, so assured in everything he was saying. As far as he knew, everything he promised was true. As far as he knew, this Dead End doorway would change her life completely. Raven couldn't stop her ember of hope from flaring due to his sheer, sure-hearted belief.

Unable to extract herself from Kori's embrace, Raven floated forward. Step by figurative step toward the door. Toward her future. Kori floated along with her, a constant support. The rest of the team — her friends — joined her hopeful journey. Though one of them was noticeably less enthusiastic than the rest.

"So, uh…" Garfield hesitated. "We've gotta go through the door? THAT door…?"

"What's your deal, man?" Vic asked.

Garfield shuddered involuntarily, staring at the Dead End doorway, "I don't know, it just… It wigs me out, man. Feels like Death or something.

"Heh," Damian chuckled at that for some reason but said nothing more.

"Well, suck it up, man. Raven needs us," Vic reminded.

"Yeah…" Garfield took a fortifying breath and began walking toward the door with the rest of them. "Yeah. I've got your back, Rae. Even if this 'Dead End' place makes me feel like I should be rolling over and showing my belly…"

Even with Raven making the first 'step', Damian was the one to reach the door first. Beneath his steely conviction, his emotions were strange. There was honest, almost childlike excitement. A yearning for something that had been set aside by duty. The 'Dead End' brought that yearning back to the fore. Raven had never felt his emotions anything like this.

Damian paused before he could open the door, "There is something you should all be prepared for. The Dead End is a neutral establishment. Please do not shoot the villains."

"Huh the what-now?" Vic blinked.

Damian just nodded, "Precisely."

And with that, he opened the door and walked straight into the Dead End. His teammates were left with nothing else to do but follow him. Kori, curious. Vic, confused. Garfield, committed but still slightly hesitant. And Raven, hopeful beyond what words could describe.

As soon as Raven crossed the threshold, she was hit by a domain of Magic and Concepts — assaulted and welcomed warmly in equal measure. It was like no other place she'd experienced. Even Azarath, a whole other dimension, couldn't compare.

The bar was alive. And it was happy to see her. Inviting her in like a guest. Extending a hand of Courtesy and Hospitality. Then there was the magic. In the air and saturating the very walls. It was a genuine Domain. Like what she'd been slowly crafting her sanctuary into before tonight. No, better. Better than anything Raven could hope to accomplish with her current metaphysical knowledge.

She was nearly floored by the magical feel of it all. A place to stop and rest your head. A place for neutrality and comradery. A place where journeys came to an end.

The others were just as floored. But in their case, it wasn't because of the magic of the Dead End and its domain. They were stunned by the space within the Dead End being blatantly impossible. Walls that were too far apart for any reasonable building. A bar that seemed to stretch and twist back around on itself like a Mobius Strip. Causes and effects that just… didn't line up as drinks were poured by invisible hands before they were even ordered.

And then there were the patrons of the Dead End to consider. It was a colorful cast as always within the Dead End. Mundane citizens and obviously criminal mooks filled in most of the space. Some of Gotham's biggest named villains casually sat around the bar together, drinking and talking as if they were all old friends. Even Deathstroke — the villainous mercenary the Titans had fought just last night — was there, inoffensively enjoying himself. He raised a glass in a cordial greeting when he noticed the Titans.

"What… is this place?" Garfield asked in disbelieving awe.

"Feels like we stepped straight into the Twilight Zone," Vic muttered.

"Oh?" Kori cocked her head curiously. "Is this not normal for the bars of Earth?"

"No, Star," Raven said, her voice quiet and stunned flat. "No, it's not."

Damian ignored their collective astonishment, striding up to the bar with a familiarity that said he was well-used to this impossible place, "She Who Gives Exquisite Headpats. I have returned."

The woman behind the bar, beautiful in a way that was somehow haunting and relatable at the same time, smiled at Damian, "Hello, Damian. It's good to see you again. It's been a little while since you've been back. We've missed you."

The villains at the bar also greeted Damian as if he were an old friend. It was completely unlike what the Titans were expecting. These were infamous villains. And Damian was the primary sidekick of their collective greatest rival. Yet they all just greeted him with a strangely simple sort of fondness.

"Oh, great," Two-Face 'audibly' rolled his eyes. "The little death munchkin is back."

"El Pequeño Diablo has returned," Bane rumbled behind that trademark mask of his.

"It was good while it lasted, boys," Penguin said. "But if Robin is sticking around, you mooks best start packing a spare pair of pants again."

"Dammit…" A mook sighed. "I'll never get used to his jumpscares…"

"For real," Another agreed. "This Robin is by far the scariest one to bump into in a dark alley."

"It's 'cause he's still so tiny," A third added. "Someone his size shouldn't be stalking people from the shadows with a sword. It's not right. It makes him feel like some kind of real-life, heroic Chuckie doll."

"Little Dami~!" Catwoman squealed excitedly, jumping up from her seat on slightly unsteady feet. "Did you come to visit me~? Aww, you're such a good boy~ You've always been my favorite, you know~? Shhhh~ Don't tell the others~"

She came at him for a glomping hug but Damian stopped her with a spray bottle he kept on his utility belt for exactly that purpose, "Bad, Aunt Selina. Down. And stop spiking your special milk. No one likes a drunk kitty."

"Your father does~" Catwoman 'purred' with a chuckle.

Damian gave her another spritz for that, his expression deader than dead. He turned back to the deathly beautiful lady behind the bar, "May I speak to Mr. Barkeep? I require his aid."

"Hey, little Damian. What's up?"

Then HE appeared, entering the scene behind the bar. And Raven's breath — her EVERYTHING — caught in her throat. Oh, God… He was transcendent. He instantly stole all of Raven's focus. Perfectly her type as if he'd been crafted for her. The messy silver hair. Those intense stormy eyes. His style — dark, gothic, and oh-so-gorgeous.

And it wasn't just his looks. He was the something greater that Raven had felt from the other side of the door. He was intimately connected to the entire Dead End. It was his domain, his power Raven was getting so high on.

There was just something MORE about him. A force of personality and self that Raven could barely begin to comprehend. And the power. Oh, God, the power. She felt it in the depths of her soul. Even just a tiny taste of it left her entire being TINGLING.

Raven's emotional aspects came back to life just to whisper infatuation in her ears.

"How the fuck can someone be so fucking hot?!" Rage fumed.

"Mmm~… Think he likes cuddles~?" Laziness drawled.

"Wow, oh wow~! He's, like, super pretty~! I can't wait to meet him and talk to him and get to know him and-!" Happiness chimed.

"Oh, God… Why are all the hot goth boys so intimidating…?" Timidity whimpered.

"Gorgeous~ Perfect~ And if Damian's right, the one person who can solve our daddy issues… We NEED him~!" Passion purred.

"Oh, fuck," Raven herself exhaled very, very, very quietly as those stormy eyes turned to her and the rest of the Titans. "I am so screwed…"