Black Magic
Chapter One

)O(

"Raven, duck!"

The dark girl threw herself on the ground, just in time to miss a box slicing through the air right where she had been standing. Great. She mumbled under her breath as she righted herself and brushed the dirt from her cloak. Turning quickly, she saw Starfire hovering above the rest of the team and throwing her starbolts at the giant beast fighting the team.

Well, actually it was a giant, pink, fluffy bunny; but it was still a beast, and the Titans still had to keep it from destroying the city... or whatever giant, pink, stuffed, anthropomorphic rabbits did with their free time.

I hate this, Raven thought as readied herself for another attack. I mean, come on, it's a giant stuffed rabbit for heaven's sake! It's like being stuck in one of Starfire's dreams! She produced a barrier to block another incoming crate, which shattered on impact, and levitated herself to the rafters of the old warehouse in order to get a clear shot of their… er… opponent.

The white lace ribbon tied around the rabbit's neck was a nice touch. You know, for a ten year-old. Of all the things that could have been attacking random parts of the city, it had to be toys.

As she perched on top of the rafters, watching as the giant stuffed toy picked up Cyborg and shoved him in its mouth, attempting to chew his arm off. She glanced around at the rest of her team, checking their battle techniques, and looking for an opening for herself. As she looked around, Raven noticed that her new position, didn't just give her a clear shot of the pink bunny wreaking havoc on her friends, it gave her a good view of her teammates below… one teammate in particular.

Raven watched as Robin's lithe and nimble body perfectly executed a back flip, then proceeded to kick the attacker in the left, glassy eye. Perfect form, as usual. Although she was in the heat of battle (if you could call it that), Raven couldn't help but admire him from the shadows, and wonder exactly how lithe his body could be…

That's enough, Raven! She scolded herself, cheeks flushing red instantly as she tried to push improper thoughts from her head, and gain some iota of lucidity in her thoughts. This really wasn't the time to be checking out her leader. You're in battle right now, and besides… She sighed deeply as she watched her leader go out of his way to protect her best friend from a metal shipping container the size of a city bus. …he's in love with Starfire.

"Starfire!"

Raven sighed again and half-heartedly threw a sandbag at their enemy, her mind suddenly distracted by rogue thoughts. She truly hated to think about the object of her affections and her best friend in love. It was like she was between a rock and hard place; she wanted them to be happy together, but at the same time Raven wanted to be with Robin. She wanted the same thing that she caught as glimpses between her friends - a real relationship. Okay, maybe Starfire and Robin hadn't really stated their feelings for one another openly, but she always knew it was there. It was just going to take time for them to be outed and realize their feelings for each other. Which would leave Raven... where precisely?

That was certainly a question she didn't have an answer to.

Suddenly, there was the tiniest of movement out of the corner of Raven's eye and she snapped around, just in time to see a slim figure skirt around a support beam. The dark girl's eyes narrowed, and left her watchful position to follow silently after the strange shadow. Now that she thought about it, where exactly had this mutant-rabbit-toy-thing come from? As odd at it sounded, it was a little too flashy for Mumbo, and it certainly wasn't Slade's M.O. Maybe Control Freak, but last she heard he was still locked up. So... where in the world did it come from? And why was it attacking a warehouse of all things?

I wonder if that's what is controlling the rabbit… Raven slipped higher up into the zenith of the roof, hiding herself in the pools of darkness that stretched across the tim ceiling. The strange shadow skirted around another support beam, gazing upon the battle in concentration, as if trying to make the next move in a game of chess. A careless misstep forced the small person into the light, and Raven caught sight of a bright pink cloak edged in lace, a full skirt with ribbons and ruffles, and a pair of light-blonde pigtails.

Ugh. Raven recoiled at the sight. If the fluffy, toy rabbit was bad this girl was atrocious. She looked like a little Lolita girl straight from the cat-cafes in Japan. Her favorite. She sighed deeply, and let herself drop down behind the cloaked girl, catching the sickly sweet scent of cotton candy. Yep, there was no doubt about it, this girl was controlling the fluffy pink mutant toy bunny. It was like a five year-old's fantasy to have a giant toy rabbit, wasn't it?

"You're controlling this, aren't you?" She asked flatly, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms over her chest. She set herself down behind the girl, looking down at the small, smiling girl. "You know you could have just asked your daddy for a toy. There was no reason to attack a warehouse."

The small figure whirled around suddenly, and Raven stared into wide, surprised blue eyes, framed by her bright-blonde bangs. She looked at Raven silently for a minute before saying anything, her expression surprisingly calm and stoic for someone wandering around in a doll's dress.

"It is mine! I created him myself." Her voice was filled with pride, and she tilted her head to the side, a wide grin splitting her lips. "I thought he was most adorable! Look! Look!" She pointed to the rabbit, trying to take off Cyborg's robotic arm. "He's playing, isn't he simply lovely!"

"That... that's not what I would call it."

Her face fell and she pouted. "Oh? I think you wouldn't know fun and cute if it smacked you in the face."

Raven sighed and rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe she was arguing with a little girl. "I don't see what that has to do with anything. Now, stop this before you hurt someone or do anymore damage."

"No!" She squatted down on the thin steel beam she was standing on. "I want to watch some more! It's so much fun to watch him play!"

Raven groaned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Stop this," she repeated herself. "I don't want to have to take you into the police."

"Oh no! They're no fun, they don't let me play at all." The girl pouted again and stared deeply into Raven's eyes, her lower lips trembling. "They always take my toys away." The Titan sensed no fear or anything from the strange girl, only a strong veil of joy and playfulness, as well as a bristling sense of powerful magic, churning under her surface. This girl was very, very strange indeed.

"Why are you doing this?" Raven asked sternly, ready to chastise her for her wrongdoings.

"Why are you asking all the questions? Just because you're an adult doesn't mean you get to control me. That's no fair!" The girl huffed and crossed her arms over her chest in a floury of lace and bows. She stopped moving for a second and simply stared at Raven, weaving a spell between them. A long minute passed, and Raven could hear the battle continue on below them, but she couldn't seem to pull herself away from the stare of the strange girl.

"I like you. You're not like the others... you seem like you could be lots of fun!" She giggled behind a gloved hand and smiled. "I really hope to see you again soon, so we can play!"

"Huh?" What did that mean?

Raven watched as she curtsied, then muttered the strange words. Suddenly, a shock of glittering pink magic smacked Raven heavily in the face in a shower of sparkles and feathers. Stunned, she stumbled on her feet for a moment, before her concentration and plummeted to the ground below, barely noticing which way her attacker ran off. Somewhere in the haze of glitter, she caught the sight of her frilly, pink dress disappearing into the darkness.

"RAVEN!"

Robin, seeing she was in danger, immediately dropped his fighting staff and ran to catch his falling teammate from certain doom. The two of them tumbled to the ground in a tangle of arms, legs, and capes. Robin's breath caught in his chest as he stared in shock at the still and silent girl in his arms, eyes wide behind his mask. He shook Raven gently, calling out her name until she stirred out of her haze.

"Thank God." He cradled her to his chest and cooed soothingly in her ear.

Wow… Raven thought as her eyes fluttered open to stare into her rescuer's handsome, but worried, façade. She allowed herself the girlish pleasure of enjoying his chest pressing into her body as he held her. No one needed to know after all. I never noticed how warm he was.

"Raven," he said softly, his voice wavering. "What in the world happened? Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Oh… Raven thought as her mind came-to completely. Right. I guess I should tell him where that blasted girl ran off to. She sat up on her own, and pushed herself out of his arms and into a shaky standing position. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. But did you see that girl? That rabbit was being controlled by some... I don't really want to call her a sorceress, but I guess I have to. She ran off that way." She pointed to the door on her right. "If we move fast, we might be able to catch her."

"Yeah, Cyborg and Beast Boy saw her," Robin said, standing up as well but feeling strangely devoid of energy; it was as if a strong sense of shock had come and gone, and that feeling had left him on empty. "Both of them and Star went to try and catch her." He studied her for a moment, noticing she looked a little pale and sickly. Raven blinked calmly at him before anyone decided to speak.

"What happened?" The masked Titan asked quietly, as if nervous about the answer he may receive. "I mean one second you were fine, and the next you were... here." He motioned to the ground.

Raven thought about it for a moment, trying to recall what had exactly happened as she stood up there, but everything seemed like a bright, pink blur and she suddenly had a hard time really understanding what happened. There was a girl... and the rabbit... and that was as far as she could get with her memories. She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her head, feeling a sharp pain start to form behind her eyes as she tried to think. What happened? she asked herself, I remember there was a girl… and some kind of magic… but why can't I remember anything else! I don't remember any of the details.

"I'm not sure," She whispered slowly, eyes squeezing shut tighter. "I remember seeing her, then talking with her… and then there was pink magic… but not like Jinx..." her voice trailed off as all the images she tried to save melted into oblivion. "I can't remember any of the details. What she was wearing, what she looked like... none of it."

Raven's eyes shot open to stare in Robin's concerned face, teetering on her feet.

"Are you okay?" He asked, all of his muscles poised to save her again from another tumble. After all, she must have looked about ready to fall down at any moment.

"I'm fine," Raven said, eyebrows knitting together in concentration. "I just… I don't remember anything that I should, and it only happened a few minutes ago. It's not exactly like I have Beast Boy's memory." Her eyes darted up to the rafters, only to find darkness. There were no clues or answers hidden up there anymore. "I should remember these things."

"You said you remembered a pink magic?" Robin asked carefully, trying to stir up memories in his companion. It was beyond strange that she didn't remember anything that had just happened. After all, Raven was almost as good as he was at catching and deciphering clues.

Raven thought slowly for a moment, then nodded. "Yes. It had to be a form of magic, that I know. But… I really don't remember anything we said, or the words she whispered for the spell… just this flash of pink glitter and feathers."

He couldn't help but snort a little at the thought. "Feathers?"

"Don't ask." She sighed and looked at Robin. "Maybe it was a spell of forgetfulness."

Robin looked genuinely shocked, but that slowly melted into a form of anger. No one messed with a Titan and got away with it. Especially not Raven. "Well, let's hope not. I won't let any of my friends forget that they're a Titan." He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked into her eyes for a long minute again, as if searching for an answer hidden in her deep, plum depths.

"Robin," Raven whispered, taking a nervous step back. She had never seen him look at her with such compassion before. It felt very strange and not at all like him; not that he wasn't a good friend, he just wasn't all touchy-feely. And, quite frankly, she wasn't either. He needed to cut it out right now. "You will not find the culprit in my eyes," Raven said flatly, raising an eyebrow. "I promise."

His cheeks stained a light pink and he suddenly cocked a small smile. "It doesn't hurt to look." That was enigmatic. Robin gave a weak laugh and jerked his head toward the door. "Are you up for a chase?"

"No," Raven replied, brushing off dirt from her cloak as she inspected the rest of her body. "But, I know I really don't have much of a choice. So I guess I'll go on one anyway."

Robin grinned brightly at her, knowing that was Raven's own way of saying 'Teen Titans: GO!'. He nudged her shoulder and started for the door. "That's my girl. C'mon, I'm sure the others caught up with your mystery sorceress."

"Let's hope so." Raven nodded in agreement and the two of them rushed out the door and into the damp, evening streets. Unbeknownst to both Raven and Robin, there was a pair of black cat ears starting to poke through the top of the Raven's plum hair.

)O(

"I can't believe she got away!" Beast Boy cried and kicked a random pillow across the living room as all five Titans plodded into the space. All of their spirits were severely disheartened at the loss of the villain's trail. Everyone wanted to catch their culprit, after all, they really didn't want to fight another fluffy, pink, mutant bunny any time soon.

"Well," Robin spoke in his 'leadership' voice, as he pulled up the master computer. "We know that she uses magic, specifically something that has a pink discharge, Raven can confirm that. And we know that she was very interested in Raven... for whatever reason." He logged all of this on the master computer and began searching for any clues as to whom their strange sorceress might be. The Titan database came up completely blank.

Great.

Everyone sighed deeply.

"So, what are we going to do?" Cyborg asked, sitting down on the sofa and propping his feet up on the table.

"Well, we can't really do anything until we have more clues about her," Raven spoke up as she approached the master computer. She stepped a little strangely, because there was a strange throbbing at the base of her spine, and it continued to ache all through her back and hips. She really had no idea why her back would hurt so much. Maybe it was from the fall (she prayed it was that), and hoped that it wasn't an effect of the strange, pink magic.

"That's true," Robin agreed, as he shut off the computer. He glanced around at his weary teammates and nodded in agreement. "We're all tired, so let's get some sleep and we'll start work on this tomorrow."

The other Titans had no protests, and with some muttered 'good nights', each one retired to his or her own room. As Raven closed and locked her door, she realized her fingers felt a little strange, as if they were becoming shorter, but she thought nothing of it. After all, it had been a long night. Tossing her cloak onto the floor, she crawled into her bed, drawing the covers tightly around her petite body.

Tomorrow… She thought sleepily, as her paw reached up to bat at an itch in her pointed ear. Tomorrow we'll find this girl, and figure out what's wrong with me…