Hey everyone, it's my first foray in to Teen Titans fan fiction since the 5th grade! Yayyyy!

A few things you should know:

1. I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing.

2. It's been a while since I watched the entire series in full.

3. I make a lot of references, especially to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

4. Check out the songs I put in the beginnings of the chapters, because I most likely have better taste in music than you do.

5. I may update sporadically. This is because I get very bored and very distracted very easily.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Let me know the way

Before there's hell to pay

Give me room to lay the law and let my go

I've got to make a play

To make my lover stay

So what would an angel say, the devil wants to know.

-Criminal, Fiona Apple (Tidal, 1996)

There are some things that are just impossible to control, and to a control freak like Raven, that fact drove her mad.

Take prophecies, for instance. Damned things, the lot of them, their vague and ominous warnings written in dead languages she could barely make out, and most were worthless anyway. It was difficult to tell the difference between a prophesized apocalypse and a prophesized rise of a fast food chain.

But worthless or not, she had bookshelves full of scrolls and tomes that held recorded prophecies. One such scroll was laid out on the floor in front of her now, the words eluding her as the candlelight flickered and her eyes strained to read the thing. She reached a hand toward her herbal tea (1) and shook her head violently when the now-cold liquid touched her lips. Giving up on the ancient text for the moment, she carefully placed the yellowed paper in its wooden case with her hands, judging that even her powers weren't gentle enough to handle such an artifact. Grabbing the candle and the teacup, she made her way to the door of her room, blew out the candle, and continued into the hallway.

Lo and behold, a flash of a green house cat darted past her, followed closely by an angry cyborg, yelling something about not messing with his computers. Raven pressed herself against the wall as to avoid getting trampled, and glanced down the hallway after them. Outwardly, she rolled her eyes, but she knew that their antics don't bother her now nearly as much as they did when she had first joined the team.

When she entered the kitchen, she was mildly surprised to find Robin seated at the table, hunched over a mass of papers. She noticed Starfire singing out of tune as she rummaged through cupboards, and suddenly Robin doing his work out in kitchen made a lot more sense to her. She even caught him sneaking stares at her from time to time. He looked up when he saw her and gave a curt nod in greeting, while Starfire beamed that bright smile and hugged her enthusiastically.

"Happy morning, friend! It is much past the time that you normally wake in the morning, is it not?" The redhead released her and held her at arm's length.

The half-demon glanced at the digital clock on the stove. 10:03.

"Yeah, I was in my room reading for a while. I just came to refill this," she held up the teacup sheepishly.

"Of course! Let me clear a space for the kettle."

With Starfire setting about moving the pots and pans related to her latest experiment, Raven tore open a teabag, just when the other two Titans entered. Cyborg was still fuming, but Beast Boy followed him almost demurely, if it weren't for the slightly smug smile.

"This is the last time I'm telling you, B.," Cyborg lectured him. "My computer system is highly advanced and really shouldn't be fucked with. It's not your average PC."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," the shapeshifter replied, bored. "But I really wanted to order something online for Elisa."

Elisa was Beast Boy's girlfriend of three months, the first one after Terra. She was a cute, curvy brunette with a hint of a Spanish accent. They had met at a local comic book store, both buying the next issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 (2). He had boldly asked her to a movie right then and there, and they immediately hit it off. Raven thought that although Elisa was nerdy and very shy, she was no doubt good for Beast Boy's healing. Terra's betrayal, death, and ultimate reappearance sans her memories had shattered his trust more than he let on, but Raven was an empath. Every time they were watching TV and a romantic scene came on, she could feel the sharp pang of hurt that he emitted. He did a good job at hiding, but she knew.

"You couldn't have used the computer in the common room?" Cyborg asked him exasperatedly, jolting Raven from her thoughts.

"Robin was using it!" Beast Boy protested.

The kettle whistled loudly, making everyone jump. Raven rushed to the stove to remove from the heat, burning herself slightly in the process. She faintly heard Robin communicator go off, and he quickly opened it.

"Shit," she cursed under her breath. She really needed to stop hanging around Kristen, the barista at her favorite café. Her highly evolved vocabulary was suffering.

"Guys," Robin interrupted Cyborg before he could continue the argument. "The lieutenant of the new Magic and Unusual Powers Unit at the police station wants to speak with us. Can we wrap this up?"

Any bad feelings in the group dissipated in seconds. Raven could almost see the red-orange aura of annoyance fade from Cyborg and the yellow-green of stubborness slip from Beast Boy. She could definitely feel it. They might not always get along, but they were always on each other's side.

"So glad you all could make it on such short notice," the older man said over his shoulder as he led the teenagers through the police station. "This new phenomenon is…Worrying." The lieutenant attempted to smile, but it came out as an unnerving grin.

They came to a steel door at the end of the long hallway, and the man punched in a code. "We figured that since you have experience with magic, you could guide our new unit in making us effective to the public."

"Certainly," Robin said politely.

"As you can imagine, this is top secret information. If you would take the utmost care not to leak anything to the press..." The man trailed off, knowing they got his point.

"You don't have to worry, sir," Robin assured him. The lieutenant nodded, satisfied.

"You all should probably make yourselves ready. It's quite a disturbing sight."

With that warning, the lieutenant pushed his shoulder against the heavy door and it creaked open.

The Titans gasped.

(1). Herbal tea is disgusting and isn't real tea. No tea leaves, not real tea.

(2) Told you.