I'm so sorry--it's been a while! When I wrote the main chunk of the episode, the site that I normally used was up, but now I can't access it, and so the last part was written loosely based off the transcript.
This episode will be a shorter one, since it's more focused on Raven and it's not a situation where I can involve Ember in her problem.
Several children surround a small, pink and red box, wondering aloud in awe. The box is lifted up by a silver mechanic, before Kardiak reveals himself in the bushes. The tubes begin to suck some of the kids in, but I pull them back slowly so that they are out of reach.
"Kardiak, you're under arrest," Robin says. The villain flies into the air and shoots four tubes at us. "Titans! Go!"
I pull rocks from under me and fly up on one, the others hovering around me. "Starfire! Launch!" Robin yells from my right, and the alien Princess grabs onto his foot and shoots him to the villain.
As Robin swings his staff, he is blocked off by the silver tubes attached to Kardiak and shot back into the air. I extend a hand and a literal water slide takes the Boy Wonder to the ground safely.
"T-Rex Takedown!" Cyborg shouts as he jumps on Beast Boy, who turns into a green dinosaur. The two males charge at the villain, but before Cyborg can fire his cannon, they're both thrown into the ground before being hurled into the air.
My eyes and hands glow brown and the ground below Kardiak shakes before wrapping around the villain, trapping it there. It quickly breaks free, however, and the rocks come flying back in my direction, diverting my focus on stopping them from hitting me.
Raven hovers in the air, eyes white, and several street lights fly at the villain, which are deflected with ease. Kardiak extends its tubes towards Raven, but she turns into her soul self--a raven--and flies away.
Starfire replaces her and begins her charge, but gets hit across the jaw and is sent to the ground. Cyborg does the same, but is quickly bashed into the grass in exchange for his efforts.
I turn my head away from the defeated Titans as Robin joins them and jump up, flying towards Kardiak and using a rock to shield my body. One of the tubes attacks from behind me, hitting my spine and sending me flying forwards, away from the group.
"This has gone on long enough!" Raven declares as I reach where they stand. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Black light shoots from her hands, enveloping Kardiak before tearing him to pieces. The explosion sends me back slightly due to my proximity, but I quickly make my way closer once more.
"Dude! Way to take him apart!" Beast Boy exclaims.
The car door shuts and I look up to see an impatient Raven waiting for us in the vehicle. "Can we go now?"
The boys glance at each other before shrugging their shoulders and walking towards the car, and Starfire and I join them.
~~~
I hold my music player in my hand, the back of it touching the hot surface of the roof. Starfire flies up to the roof and over to where I'm lying down.
"Ember. Would you like to join me in journeying to the mall of shopping?" she asks. "I have found these hair ornaments that I would like to try with you."
I roll over so that my stomach is touching the roof and push myself up, rotating my body until I face the alien Princess. "Huh?" I clear my throat as it comes out croaky, but Starfire does not seem to notice.
"Would you... uh... like to have the hair done with me?" she asks quickly, fiddling with her fingers.
As the redhead shoots me a nervous glance, I smile. "Uh... sure." Once I'm up and walking towards the stairs, I look back and say, "Have you asked Raven?"
"But... she has not come out of her room. I am unsure if we should worry her."
I stop and turn my whole body, stepping back slightly to the point where my foot almost slips on the first step. My face flushes red at this mistake, and I pretend not to notice it, or my hot cheeks. "Okay. I'll ask her, and I'll come and find you when she says yes."
I look back in the direction I'm headed so as not to tumble down the stairs, give Starfire a backhanded wave, and leap down the entire flight to find the half-demon--not that I can't predict where she'll be.
~~~
I twirl in the air absentmindedly as I float over to Raven's room. Once there, I land on the ground and knock on the cloaked girl's door, loud enough that she can't ignore it.
It opens, barely, to reveal the half-demon, and she says nothing, only raising her eyebrows to warn me that she doesn't want to do anything.
"You're busy?" I confirm.
"Yes," comes her curt reply, and she shuts the door in my face. I'm tempted to hammer on her door and tell her off for being so rude, but I promise myself that I'll do the right thing and turn around to leave before I change my mind.
~~~
I carefully venture through the stores, allowing Starfire to lead the way. I try to walk faster, but Starfire doesn't see me as she hums her tune. Eventually, I give up, and lift off the ground, flying over to her.
"How do you walk so fast?" I ask her, lowering myself to only a few centimetres from the ground so that my flight isn't as apparent.
"What do you mean?" she replies, instantly and innocently.
I stifle a laugh as Starfire slows down, turning the corner and looking into a store. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."
The look on the alien girl's face as we enter the store is priceless.
I look over the room as we venture through it. It is narrow, but long, with mirrors lining the left wall, accented with hot pink. On the right hand side is a register, and a middle aged woman stares at us, before whispering into another woman's ear on her right.
As she does this, I glance at Starfire wearily, who, to my surprise, doesn't seem to take notice of the women. "Hello," she instead says, smiling at them sweetly, but I pull her back.
"Okay, Star," I say, looking in her eyes. "I don't want to sound... mean, but I've lived here longer. I'll do the talking."
Starfire only nods as I turn around to the ladies. "Hair ornaments. How much?"
The younger woman leans into the older woman's ear, whispering something unknown to me, before blurting out, "Twenty-five."
"Sure." I nod and hand a twenty dollar note and a five dollar note to the first woman, who puts it into her cash register. "Do whatever you like with mine. I don't mind."
The first woman nods and sits me down in the chair furthest from the door, with the second woman guiding Starfire to the other one.
Before I can even blink, she has a lock of my wavy hair resting in her palm, a hair curler above my head. She quickly wraps my hair around the device and steam floats above as I watch curiously.
Through the mirror, I look at Starfire, who beams back at me when her eyes meet mine. Her hair is almost done, with the hairdresser behind her now carefully placing ornaments in her beehive hair.
When I look back at myself, the woman is gone, but she quickly returns, waving a small pin with a fire emblem on it at me. I smile and give a small nod in return, signalling that I like it.
"All right," the woman says, once it's in place. "You're done."
She holds out a hand mirror but I stare at the one in front of me, on the wall. The girl in the mirror is not one that I recognise. Her hair is softly curled, showing off small streaks of red, with some tied up in a loose bun at the back of her head.
I smile, and the girl in the mirror does the same. "Thank you," I say to the woman, now meeting her eye.
She nods as I get out of the chair and walk over to Starfire, who's waiting for me at the door. "Your hair looks nice," I tell her.
"Oh, thank you," she replies. "And thank you for coming with me. Your hair looks very pretty."
"Thank you," I say. "But let's get back to the others. Maybe Raven's come out of her room."
Raven's name coming out of my mouth reminds me of the other Titans, which in turn reminds me of Robin, and for the slightest second, I ponder asking Starfire about him, and where she stands in terms of their relationship. Fortunately, I stop myself at the last second, zipping my mouth shut as we fly out the entrance to the building and up towards Titans' Tower.
~~~
I sit on the couch in the middle of Cyborg and Beast Boy as they finish their race on the GameStation. Once the character on the left crosses the finish line, that side of the screen lights up blue, and the other turns red, causing the shapeshifter beside me to pout.
"How did you win again?" he asks, leaning forward and looking at Cyborg in mock infuriation.
"Because I'm the best," the mechanic teen replies, and Beast Boy huffs before giving the remote to me.
"Alright, my turn," I declare, shooting the shapeshifter an appreciative grin as Cyborg presses a button on his controller that activates a new level.
We're in the middle of the race when the door opens, causing me to freeze. I rotate my head right to see Robin in the kitchen, Starfire with him, and realise that it could only be one person.
I slowly turn around to see Raven, stood in the doorway, with a pure white cloak around her body. Without moving my head, I look at Robin and Starfire, who are also staring at Raven in pure confusion.
The cloaked girl sighs and hums to herself happily as she moves to the kitchen. She opens the fridge, takes out an apple, and begins to eat it.
Cyborg, Beast Boy and I meet Robin and Starfire at the kitchen island, moving swiftly but quietly so as not to disturb Raven's happy mood.
"Um... hey, Raven," Robin says, after a moment's silence. "Haven't seen you around much lately."
"Yeah, 'cause she hasn't left her room for a week," Beast Boy says, and Cyborg glares at him before pressing the green teen's head down.
"I, uh... like your new look," Cyborg amends.
"Thanks," Raven says.
I remember Beast Boy's snooping and what he told us, but don't say anything in order to save the green teen from more trouble. "So, when do we get to meet this friend of yours?" Robin asks, defeating the purpose of my silence.
"Soon," Raven replies, smiling.
"I am unable to wait!" Starfire exclaims, grabbing Raven by the shoulders. "Beast Boy has told us much about the Malchior and how he remains trapped within a book, but—"
"Now how would Beast Boy know something like that?" Raven cuts in, leaning to the side to look at the Titan.
Beast Boy smiles cheekily and rubs his neck anxiously. "I may have kinda... been, ah... a fly on the wall in your room?" he gets out, turning into said fly and fluttering around.
To my utter surprise, Raven doesn't get mad. In fact, she smirks. "Funny," she begins. "You look more like a rat to me." Raven only looks at Beast Boy as he turns into a rat and smacks into the ground.
"You morphed me! How did you do that?"
I clamp my hand over my mouth to stop myself from laughing, before removing it to reply, now grinning widely. "Shouldn't you know?"
Robin turns his attention away from the incident as an alarm sounds, examining it for a second before exclaiming, "Titans! Move!"
We run out of the room, and Robin and I reach the top of the staircase first. The other soon catch up to us and I fly down the stairs, using my temporary communicator to track the location I should be headed to.
~~~
I dismount from the R-Cycle and lift sharp rocks into the air around me. Kardiak soon comes into view, but inside his main heart is a young girl. Immediately, I pull one of the rocks into each hand, but drop the rest.
"Oh, man!" Cyborg exclaims at the sight of the girl, and Starfire lets out a small gasp.
"Hand-to-hand," Robin says, putting his discs away. "We don't want to hurt her."
Kardiak attacks quickly, utilising his hostage and our hesitation, shooting the suction tubes at us and forcing us to scatter across the street. Beast Boy jumps onto the top of Kardiak and looks at the girl inside.
"Don't worry!" he says. "We're gonna get you—"
The girl lets out a shrill scream, causing Beast Boy to turn around. He's met with one of the suction tubes, and as his head begins to get pulled in, he turns into a rhinoceros to avoid getting sucked in. Kardiak sharply moves the tube, flinging Beast Boy away.
I run up to Kardiak as the others gather around a recovering Beast Boy. Before I can get close enough, however, Raven spawns in front of me, still in her white cloak.
"This time when I break you, stay broken!" she snarls. "Necronom Hezberek Mortix!"
As black electricity flows from Raven's hands as a result of the unfamiliar curse, Robin rushes forward. "Raven! Careful! The girl!"
The half-demon opens her mouth and more black energy flows through it, slowly enveloping Kardiak and the girl inside.
I look on, frozen in terror. "Raven, stop!" Beast Boy roars, louder than I've ever heard from him before.
"I... CAN'T!!" Raven shouts as her eyes now begin to shoot the black magic.
As the little girl screams, I spring into action, pouncing onto Kardiak and hacking through the heart. I hear a sonic cannon right by my ear and three explosives, but don't stop. As the magic ceases, I pry open the small hole and the trapped girl leaps into my arms.
"What is wrong with you?" Beast Boy barks at Raven, who responds by disappearing into the floor.
"I don't think it was her fault," I say, before turning my attention to the girl in my arms. "Here. I'll take you to your mummy, okay? How does that sound?"
The girl only nods, but I don't expect her to say anything, let alone to a total stranger. I glance at the others.
"We'll meet you back at the Tower," Robin tells me, and as I walk through the hole in the building, I hear the revving of the R-Cycle's engine and the flapping of wings.
I don't let the girl down, but wander through her house as she points me to her parents' room. I knock on the door, expecting a quick answer, but it takes a few seconds before the door creaks and opens.
The second the girl's mother is in view, I drop the child to the floor and she runs to her mother, sobbing and hugging her waist. The mother looks at me in shock, and I struggle for what to say.
"What happened?" the mother asks me.
"You daughter was held hostage by a villain named Kardiak," I explain, but it ends up sounding as though it's straight from a case report. "You don't have to worry anymore, though. Your daughter's safe now and unharmed, and the villain that attacked her has been defeated."
I stand in front of the woman, waiting for any reaction, but she gives the one that I least expect--nothing. "Thank you," she mumbles, lifting her daughter up and over her shoulder, stroking her affectionately.
"That's what we're here for," I reply smoothly, before smiling at the small girl and using two rocks to pull myself into the air, in the direction of the Tower.
~~~
As I enter the Tower and walk past Raven's room to the living room, I notice a white light shining from under the door and stop, hand poised to knock. A scream from the girl inside brings my hair on end, and Robin runs past me, followed by the other Titans.
The Boy Wonder kicks down the door before I have the chance to, and I quickly run in. "Raven!" Robin shouts as he enters, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg behind him.
I notice a purple tail slink through the hole in the roof, revealing a black dome that subsides to reveal Raven. He lied to me," she says to herself slowly, as if to make sense of the recent events. "He lied. And I gave him what he wanted."
"Come on!" Robin shouts, and Statfire lifts him, along with Cyborg, up through the hole to face the creature.
"Raven, are you—?" Beast Boy asks.
"Please," the dejected girl says, back facing us. "Just get out of my room." Beast Boy turns into a bird and flies away. I watch Raven for a few seconds longer, before holding onto two falling rocks with my hands and rising up to where the other Titans are.
The second I fly up, I'm hit by a stray starbolt, sending me flying down to the ground. As I recover, I glance at our opponent--a large dragon--and watch as he blasts Starfire out of his mouth with fire.
Smirking, I rise to Malchior's level, just out of any melee attack range. He breathes fire at me, but I close my eyes, allowing it to pass through me. When the dragon sees that I'm still standing, he growls in anger and lunges at me, and I pull up a boulder and shield myself with it.
The claws dig in as I push the boulder back, slowly edging my way closer before peeking out behind and blasting fire at Malchior, sending him back only slightly.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven incants as she rises through the ground, blasting black electricity at the creature. He begins to breathe fire, which she avoids, but I part the flames in the middle, directing them elsewhere.
Raven takes another shot at Malchior, but he shields it with his wing. She pulls a piece out of the Tower's roof and hurls it at the villain, who attempts to spit fire out before I redirect it once more.
Malchior continues to fire at Raven but blindly swings at me, hitting me around the left side and knocking me to the very edge of the Tower. I roll over, but this time, it's too late for my interference, as Malchior's mere seconds from overpowering Raven with his beam of fire before swooping her up into his clenched fist and carrying her off, into the air.
I sit up and prepare an attack from behind, but I stop when a book flies into Raven's hand. I watch as her lips form a spell, and I know it works when Malchior lets out an agonising scream.
The dragon is soon enveloped in black energy, and Raven tries desperately to hold her ground. Once Malchior is safely in the book, Raven slams it shut and falls back to the roof.
I run from my position over to Raven, suddenly unstuck, and her white robe changes to her usual indigo one. Cyborg hauls her over his shoulder and carries her down, in the direction of the spare bedroom, the rest of us following after.
As we walk, I turn to glance at Robin, who turns around a second later to find me staring absentmindedly at him. My cheeks flush red as I quickly fly in front of Cyborg and choose to lead the way, so as to escape the situation.
There's a bit of fluff at the start, but I just wanted to show Starfire and Ember's relationship a bit more--I feel it's mostly been her with Robin, and Cyborg here and there.
And also, if anyone knows how and where I can watch the show again, that'd be great, because I can't really write without it. I'm gonna try again, and then try a VPN, but I'm doubtful.