Starfire sighed in pleasure as she stretched out in her reclining chair, her orange skin soaking up the sun. “Friend Raven, it certainly nice of the boys to go to the wrestling match and let us have the day to ourselves, don’t you agree?” Raven looked up from her book and nodded, “Yeah, It’s so rare that we get a day to ourselves to just relax without the guys around. No Robin bugging us to train, no Cyborg playing his video games too loud, no Beast Boy…” Raven blushed and hastily went back to her book. Starfire leaned over an inch away from her, grinning widely. “What was that about Beast Boy, Raven?” “Alright, don’t make me-” A strong gust of wind suddenly overtook the top of the tower, blowing Raven’s book from her hands. “What is that?” shouted Starfire. “Are we under attack?” “No, it sounds like a jet!” shouted Raven. “But I don’t see anything!” The wind stopped, and a triangular shadow appeared on the roof of the tower, even though the skies were empty. A portion of the sky seemed to open up like a door. “Okay,” said Raven. “It’s an invisible jet. I’ve seen weirder.” A figure appeared in the doorframe for an instant and leapt onto the roof, denting it severely. She stood up, and put her hands on her hips, revealing herself to be a dark- haired girl of a bit over Raven’s height wearing a short, red sleeveless top and blue, spandex pants with heavy boots. A golden lariat was on her right hip, twin silver bracelets were on her wrists and her shirt bore a stylized “W”. Raven and Starfire immediately recognized her from their trek around the world. “Wonder Girl?” “I need your help,” she said. * * * Team Titans Episode 3: Girl Power Written by Crinos, edited by Captain Sarcasm * * * The image of a dark-haired woman with chalk-white skin and blood red armor appeared on the briefing room’s main screen. “She calls herself Dark Angel,” said Wonder Girl. “She is an ancient spiritual entity that has plagued mankind for centuries. She was believed to be defeated by our Queen, Hippolyta, and her Justice Society, back in your 1940’s, but she had now returned, and has sought the return of her powers.” “And you need us to help you stop her,” Raven answered. Wonder Girl nodded, “Unfortunately, Queen Hippolyta is too busy with her duties on Themyscira to deal with Dark Angel directly, and she did not wish to see her daughter in harm’s way. As the only other Amazon permitted to leave Themyscira, it is up to me to stop her.” “We shall alert the other titans immediately,” Starfire said, reaching for her communities, “Once Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy are here we shall…” “NO!” Wonder Girl yelled, grabbing the communicator from her hand. “We cannot bring any men with us on this mission.” “And why not?” Raven asked. “Dark Angel has taken residence on Aeaea, the island of Circe.” Wonder Girl displayed a map on the screen. “It is enchanted such that any man setting foot on it will be turned into a pig.” Starfire considered the prospect for a moment. “No! We can not permit our friends to become the earth pigs!” “I don’t know,” said Raven thoughtfully. “I mean, Beast Boy can already turn into a pig, and Cyborg’s half machine, so maybe they’re immune.” “You want to risk it?” said Wonder Girl. “Fair enough,” Raven said. “But I’m somewhat familiar with this Dark Angel, and she’s nearly on par with my father, if we’re going to fight her; we’re going to need help.” Wonder Girl smiled, “And I just so happen to have two people in mind.” * * * “I can’t believe I got talked into this,” jinx, grumbled to herself as she looked out the window. Next to her, Argent had long since put on her headphones and was nodding her head in tune to Scare Tactics. “I mean, I only JUST stopped being evil, and now I’m off to fight some ultimate bad guy? I don’t think I’m ready for this yet.” “Nobody forced you to come,” replied Raven, as Starfire stared wide-eyed out the window. “Oh of course no one forced me,” jinx exclaimed. “And if I had said no, then you would have accused me of secretly being a spy for the bad guys, not sticking myself in the hot water so I can keep digging up dirt with you guys. It’s not like I’m stupid. I know the only one of you that trusts me is Wally.” “No offense, but you’ve been our enemy up until a few months ago, and we’ve had spies in the tower before. It’s not like you haven’t given us reason to trust you.” Raven paused, then turned back around. “Wally?” jinx blushed. “Kid Flash.” “Oh, you’re on a real-name basis with him?” said Argent, taking off her headphones. “That’s pretty nang then, innit?” Raven shook her head. “I can’t believe he told you his secret identity.” jinx glared at her. “And why shouldn’t he? Didn’t that green guy tell you his name when you two shacked together?” Now it was Raven’s turn to blush. “How did you know about that?” “I didn’t.” jinx smiled. Raven gritted her teeth and the plane started to shake. “Raven, calm down!” said Wonder Girl. “We don’t want to have to swim there!” Raven took a deep breath and turned back around. “Listen jinx, you keep Gar – Beast Boy, I mean Beast Boy… just keep him out of this!” Starfire looked down and sighed sadly. Argent poked her head over Star’s seat. “What’s wrong girl?” “Robin has not yet told me his real name yet.” Argent shrugged, “At least you have a boy, luv, I’ve been trying to hook me a man for months.” “I honestly fail to see what the big deal is with men,” said Wonder Girl. “We don’t have any men on Themyscera and we do just fine.” “You’re kidding!” shouted Argent. “You don’t have men where you’re from?” “No, they’re forbidden.” Argent raised an eyebrow, “Then how do you….” “How do we what?” “Y’know, make more Amazons.” “Ohhh… well, Queen Hippolyta would often select orphaned mortal girls to become Amazons, after which there’s a ceremony of naming and a-” “No… I mean how you do…” “She means who do you Amazons have sex with?” jinx said flatly, much to the shock of Argent, Starfire and Raven. “What’s sex?” asked Wonder Girl. An awkward silence fell over the other passengers of the ship. “Well?” Argent nudged jinx “Tell her!” “Oh no…” jinx responded. “Too much for me.” “You’re the one who brought it up,” Raven pointed out. “Argent brought it up, not me!” “I didn’t come out and say SEX you stupid git!” “That’s where the conversation was GOING wasn’t it?” “Oh for X’hal’s sake, I shall tell friend Wonder Girl about the sex.” “NO!” all three girls responded at once. * * * From deep within the recesses of a darkened cave, a shadowed figure seating on a throne of granite was watching them through a crystal ball. “Well, hello Donna,” said the woman, sipping a glass of wine. “It’s so nice to see you again. And you’ve brought friends. I should give them a proper welcome to my island. As if on cue, the crystal’s viewpoint shifted to show a large, bronze statue of a man in armor. “Talos,” The dark figure commanded. “You know what to do.” The metal giant groaned like a rusty drawbridge and picked up a large rock. * * * They had drawn straws, and Argent lost. “All right,” Wonder Girl asked, her idle curiosity replaced with annoyance. “Now would you PLEASE tell me what Sex is?” Argent took a deep, cleansing breath. “Okay. Now, when a man and a woman-” “Does anyone else hear that?” asked Starfire. The others fell silent. A small, high- pitched whistling noise could be heard over the roar of the engines. ”INCOMING!” Wonder Girl pulled hard on the control stick and the plane barely swerved out of the path of an oncoming boulder. “Looks like Dark Angel saw us coming,” she said as she swerved to evade another rock. “But how?” Starfire asked. “We cannot be seen!” “It was you!” Raven pointed at jinx, “You tipped Dark Angel off somehow!” “Oh SURE,” jinx said. “I told Dark Angel where we were so I could get crushed to death by flying rocks and end up drowning to death in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. Or maybe we’ll explode in mid-air! That would be just SUPER!” “You know,” Wonder Girl said as she dodged. “This is NOT helping.” “Oh for the love of,” Argent unbuckled herself. “Open the hatch, I’m going out there.” “As am I,” Starfire declared. “Ditto” Raven added. The three female titans looked at jinx. “What? I can’t fly Who ever said I could fly?” “Fair enough,” Raven said as she Starfire and Argent opened the hatch and stepped out, “Wonder Girl, stay safe.” The three heroines flew in a triangular formation ahead of the invisible jet. When the next boulder came, argent formed a scarlet shield around the plane and wrapped it around the boulder, hurling it back at the island. Raven caught the next one with her dark energy and did the same. Talos, still to far away for the titans to see it, groaned in annoyance the rocks shattered on its chest. He reached down with both hands and started flinging boulders two at a time. “I have had enough of this.” Starfire said angrily as Raven and Argent continued reflecting boulders back at the island. “I will end this now.” Starfire bolted ahead of the ship, shooting towards the island with eyes and fists glowing, blasting any rock that crossed her path into molten fragments. She soon reached the island and saw the bronze giant, still hurling rocks at the plane. Starfire didn’t even slow down. “You will stop attacking my friends NOW.” Starfire plowed straight into Talos’s chest. To no effect. “Eep.” Talos’s arms slammed shut around her like a vise, crushing her to his chest. “Let me go!” she struggled vainly as the arms closed tighter and began to heat up. “I can… still… win!” There was a flash of pink and Talos’s eyes went wide. His grip loosened and he collapsed onto the ground, melting into a pool of liquid bronze. * * * “Well then,” Dark Angel sipped her blood wine. “So, dear little Donna has brought some strong allies.” The crystal ball reflected Starfire greeting her friends on the beach beneath the cliff Talos. “No matter,” Dark Angel chuckled, as the crystal zoomed in on jinx. “As did Talos and Achillies, so do these Titans have their heel.” * * * “Well, we’ve crossed the first hurdle,” Wonder Girl said. “We’ve reached the island of and we’ve conquered Dark Angel’s first minion.” “But she knows we are here,” Starfire pointed out sadly. “Yeah,” Raven cast glared at jinx, who had bent over to pick something up. “Wonder how that happened.” “You got something to say then say it!” yelled Jinx, eyes glowing. “Alright ladies, lets break it up,” said Argent, coming between them. “We should save our strength for Dark Angel, right?” jinx snorted in contempt. “Whatever. Let’s just fly to wherever she is on this island and kick her butt.” “We can’t,” Wonder girl said. “Her lair is underground, and with the thick foliage it’s impossible to spot it the air. We have to continue on foot.” * * * Getting up the cliffs and over the mountains was simple enough. Raven, Starfire and Argent just flew up, Wonder Girl could leap over the rocks like a mountain goat and Argent was able to carry jinx in a bubble of energy. Once on top, the others soon saw that the forest was just as thick as Wonder Girl said. It seemed to be a carpet of green across the valley and trying to find anything from above would be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. The Titans headed down the mountains and into the valley. * * * “So,” Argent grunted, cutting through the forest with an energy machete. “What are we looking for again?” “A stone gate with stairs leading down,” Wonder Girl said, consulting her map. “It’s supposed to be in the center of the island, but nobody knows for certain.” “And why would that be?” jinx muttered as she tried to avoid stepping in mud or something worse. “Because, since the time of Odysseus, nobody has returned from here alive,” Wonder Girl said calmly. “Great.” Raven said dimly. “Do not despair!” Starfire said cheerfully. “Soon we shall find the Dark Angel and surely defeat her! No enemy can withstand our combined heroic efforts!” “She never runs out of juice does she?” whispered jinx. “Not in five long years,” Raven smiled. For the first time since they had met, jinx and Raven shared a chuckle. After a long while they reached a small clearing, and Wonder Girl noticed that the sun was setting. “Alright, let’s break for camp.” The other titans stared at Wonder Girl. “What?” “You never said this was going to take longer than a day,” Raven pointed out. “We didn’t BRING anything for outside,” jinx snapped. “I cannot believe we have been gone so long,” Starfire moaned. “Robin must be worried to sickness over our absence.” “I’m telling you right now,” Argent said. “I am NOT sleeping outside.” Wonder Girl stared, then blinked twice. “Uh, sorry… I honestly didn’t expect it to take this long either. Tell you what, I’ll see about getting us some food. Starfire, Call your boys and tell them where we are. Raven, Take jinx and get us some firewood. And Argent, use your powers to make us a shelter.” Wonder Girl bounded back into the jungle, while the other titans went to their respective tasks. * * * “You know, I honestly can’t see how you can be so quick to accuse me of being a spy,” jinx said as she picked up another few sticks. “I mean, you had Cyborg spy on the HIVE, and Bumblebee too. How many spies did we have with you? One! And she didn’t even work for us; she was one of Slade’s.” “For future reference, Terra’s kind of a touchy subject for me,” intoned Raven. “Don’t bring her up again. Anyway, you worked for Slade too.” “Yeah, for like five minutes,” jinx picked up another stick. “I am on your side, you know? I took down that metal thing.” “You like so boldly and you still expect us to trust you?” “Do you know what Talos’s one weakness was?” she fished around in her pocket. “There was a hole in his heel that was plugged up by a nail, and he would die when it was removed.” She pulled out a nail. “It seems he had a little bit of bad luck.” “I don’t buy that,” said Raven. “If that’s true, why did you wait until now to tell me?” “Because you would have said that I was only pretending to take credit in order to build your trust so you wouldn’t suspect that I was selling you out.” “I would…” began Raven. “Well, you have me there.” “What’s your deal anyway? Why are you so untrusting of everyone?” Raven put down her sticks. “You really want to know?” “If we’re going to be teammates I think I at least deserve that much.” Raven sighed and sat down on a rock. “I assume you know the details of my… background?” “Wally gave me the readers digest version of it.” “Well, the reason I’m slow to trust others is because I don’t completely trust myself. All it takes is for me to have one bad day and I could become a monster one hundred times worse than my father. I know how hard it is to turn bad into good; because it’s something I deal with every day. And then there’s you. Half the time you don’t even act like you’re sorry for the bad things I’ve done.” “Because I’m NOT sorry,” jinx said, slamming her sticks down on the ground. “I put a lot of time and hard work into the HIVE and into my gang, and I never did anything REALLY evil. I just knocked over a few banks and stole some valuables. I’m not going to play the tortured angst filled hero just because I took some loot.” Raven raised an eyebrow, “If you’re not sorry, then why change sides?” jinx looked down and sighed, “Cause… I met two people; one of them was somebody I might have become if I had stayed on the same path I was on. At first I admired her, but seeing her in the flesh made me realize that she wasn’t somebody that should be admired, and that if I stayed on the path I was on, I might end up doing something I really was sorry for.” Raven nodded, “And the other person?” jinx smiled, “Wally. He… well, he showed me that maybe I could be more than a pathetic two bit hood who hanged around with other two bit hoods, that maybe I could be somebody who felt good about themselves without hurting people or stealing.” jinx didn’t realize it, but tears were making their way down her face. Raven smiled and put her hand on jinx’s shoulder. “I’m sorry about accusing you of being a spy.” jinx smiled, “Forget it. Let’s get back to camp.” * * * “And you’re certain that you don’t want us to meet up with you?” Robin asked over the communicator. “We could be there in the T-ship in a few hours.” “No Robin,” Starfire said. “If you were to come here, you would be turned into the pigs. It is best if you stay away from here.” “Alright,” Robin said solemnly. “Call me if any trouble comes up, and be careful.” “Robin, one thing before you go…” “Uh… yeah Starfire, what is it?” “Tell me, what is your name?” “It’s Robin, you know that,” “No, I mean your REAL name.” Robin gulped. “Uh, why do you want to know that?” “No reason, I am simply curious.” “Uh, well you see,” Robin began to stammer, “My… well my name is… well…” Starfire smiled. “It is alright, I understand if you do not want to tell me.” Robin gave a quiet sigh of relief. “Oh great, so we’re cool?” Starfire cut the transmission without responding. Robin turned to see Cyborg and Beast Boy staring at him. “What?” Robin asked. Cyborg shook his head, “Dude, Starfire is going to kill you.” “Totally,” Beast Boy added in. * * * Argent was putting the finishing touches on a crude, dome-shaped hut, roughly the size of a small house. Giant, red hands of plasma had simply scooped out bare rock from the ground and were molding it like clay. “Well, that wasn’t so hard,” Argent said, turning off her powers. “It’s not much, but it should do right for now.” It was at this point that Starfire walked past Argent, grumbling in a language that Argent couldn’t understand in. She sat down near a rock and huddled into a crouched position. Argent, sensing trouble, sat down next to her. “What happened?” Starfire looked up at Argent, a sour look on her face. “He wouldn’t tell me his secret identity.” “Oh come on Star,” Argent patted the pouting Starfire on the back. “It’s not that big a deal.” “But why, why would he not tell me? We are close, we have fought together, we have even performed the making out together, does he not trust me?” “It’s not that he doesn’t trust you Star,” Argent said reassuringly. “It’s just that, well, boys are gits. And sometimes they do stuff that hurt our feelings, but it doesn’t mean they don’t care.” Starfire sniffed and gave a smile. “Are you sure?” Argent smiled. “I’m positive.” “But friend Argent, how do we make boys not stupid?” Argent shrugged. “I find throwing rocks at them works.” Argent and Starfire chuckled. “That is a joke is it not?” Argent nodded. Starfire smiled. “Jjust checking, I still have not gotten the hang of the earth jokes yet.” “Living with Beast Boy, it doesn’t surprise me one bit.” There was a rustling from the woods, and Argent and Starfire turned to see Raven and jinx entering the clearing, holding twin bundles of sticks. “You have returned, GLORIOUS!” Starfire said cheerfully. “We have, but Wonder Girl hasn’t,” jinx said, looking around. “I hope she’s okay,” Starfire said. “Her well being is essential to our mission’s-” There was a great snapping of trees and the earth started to shake, as if with the footsteps of a giant. Wonder Girl stepped out of the clearing, dragging something huge and scaly behind her with one hand. “Hope you ladies like fresh Basilisk!” Wonder Girl grunted as she slung the 20-foot long serpent creature over her shoulder, landing with such force that it tossed the other titans a few inches into the air. Starfire stared at it as a man trapped in the desert stares at a coke machine and Argent, Raven and jinx just stared. “Not enough?” Wonder Girl shrugged. “I can get another.” * * * “Oof, I can’t believe I just ate five pounds of a roasted imaginary monster,” jinx said, patting her swollen stomach. “Truthfully, that is the third largest amount of reptile flesh I have ever consumed,” Starfire said as she reclined back. “You wouldn’t think something that poisonous would be edible,” said Raven. “But there you go.” Wonder Girl picked her teeth with a piece of bone, and then flicked it into the basilisk’s piled-up remains. “Alright, we should put out the fire and get some shut-eye, we start out at sunrise and we’ll need our energy.” “Oh you’re no fun,” Argent said playfully. “We haven’t even got to know each other or anything yet. The night’s still young. Wonder Girl stared at her. “Are you insane? We’re trying to save the world; we have no time for games!” “Come on,” Raven added in. “At least until the fire goes out. Who know, could be fun.” “Yeah, don’t be such a downer.” “Yes, please Wonder Girl?” Wonder Girl sighed. “Alright, but just until the fire goes out.” Starfire clapped her hands happily, “Glorious, what should we do first?” Wonder Girl thought for a moment. “I know! You guys can tell me about this ‘sex’ thing.” The other four girls looked at each other. “…um…” said Raven. “Yeah,” said Argent. “Hmm…” said Starfire. “Argent drew the short straw,” said jinx. “Hey!” “Well, you did! Fair’s fair, and you never were able to tell her anything so it’s still good.” “She does have a point,” Raven smirked. “Alright,” jinx said with a resigned sigh, “It’s like this...” * * * “… and that’s where babies come from.” she finished. Wonder Girl’s mouth hung open in shock. “That’s…. that’s DISGUISTING! I can’t believe you’d actually let men DO that to you!” “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it sister,” jinx said coyly. Argent and Raven tried to avoid looking at her. Starfire, however, seemed confused. “Argent, I think you may be confused, that is not where the babies come from.” She looked at Starfire. “Alright then, tell us how they do it on Tamaran. Should be good for a laugh.” Starfire grunted indignantly. “Very well! It’s REALLY like this…” * * * “…and that is where the babies REALLY come from.” Starfire said triumphantly. A chorus of crickets began playing as the Titans stared. Argent put her hands over her mouth and ran to a bush. “…Wow,” jinx said. “I had no idea the Tamaranian mating cycle involved so much… goo.” “…I think I prefer the way jinx said it worked,” said Wonder Girl. “I’ll say this much,” Raven smirked. “Robin’s going to be REAL surprised when he reaches third base with you, Star.” * * * “Alright,” jinx said, “Lets pretend none of us have a boyfriend. If you could be with any titan, which one would it be?” “Aqualad.” “Aqualad.” “Aqualad.” “Aqualad.” “Robin.” Starfire glared at Raven. “What?” * * * “And when he opened the door, he saw his closet was full of…. Gorrbargs!” The other girls stared at Starfire quietly, Raven holding an ice pack to her right eye. “On my planet such an occurrence would be terrifying.” “Should I find it ironic that this is the least scary thing I’ve seen her say or do tonight?” jinx asked. “Probably,” Argent said. It devolved into laughter shortly after. If there had been pillows, someone would have thrown one. “That’s right fools,” Dark Angel purred into her scrying crystal, “Have your fun while you can, because come tomorrow the fun will be mine.” * * * A huge monster lumbered through the forests It was roughly humanoid, although it scaly skin, a single horn in its forehead and a single, huge eye below it and goat-like legs. The five female Titans were watching it from behind a tall rock. “I recognize this beast,” Starfire said gravely., “He is a minion of the dread wizard Haryhausen.” “Starfire, I keep telling you that was just a movie.” Raven said. “Quiet you two, you’ll give away our position,” Wonder Girl snapped. The beast craned its head around, looking for the source of the noise. “Now!” The Titans leapt out from beyond the rock and jumped the monster. A quick dust cloud later and Wonder Girl had hog-tied it with her lasso. “Now talk, beast,” Wonder Girl demanded. “Where is Dark Angel?” “Over the next hill,” the monster spoke in a flat, gravelly tone. “But you will never penetrate the inner sanctum. Dark Angel has fortified it with over a hundred undead soldiers.” “That’s all?” Argent said, a hint of disappointment in her voice. “I don’t think this lady is taking us seriously.” * * * “That is NOT a hundred troops.” Argent said, her earlier confidence gone, “That is A LOT more than a hundred.” Looking down on the vast plain the titans could see well over a thousand undead soldiers in grimy armor, setting up fortifications and marching in formation. “Friend Wonder Girl, I thought your magic lasso forced others to tell the truth. Why did the Cyclops deceive us on the numbers of our enemies?” Starfire asked. “Maybe he was just bad at math,” jinx though aloud. “Well, he didn’t really lie,” said Raven. “That *is* ‘over a hundred.’” “Ow,” said Argent. “An English girl beaten in semantics by a monster. That’s not going on the highlight reel.” “It does not matter,” Wonder Girl said gravely. “We came here to do a job, now let’s go down and do it.” Starfire smiled and pounded her fist in her hand, “Yes, onward to victory!” Raven and the others smiled and nodded in agreement. Down in the valley, pair of skeleton soldiers watched as a large dust cloud appeared at the crest of the hill and began to descend. “Looks like a dust storm,” the first creaked out. “Yep.” As the cloud got closer, however, they could begin to make out five small figures inside of it. No, this was no dust storm, but the undead warriors would soon wish it was. Within her stronghold, Dark Angel smiled wickedly. “They’re here.” * * * The skeleton soldiers barely had time to react as bolts and waves of green, black, red and pink energy tore through their ranks, like knives through butter, throwing up vast waves of dirt and the shattered remains of the skeletons that had been in the line of fire. Immediately the undead soldiers picked up sword, spear, and shield and charged the Titans, who broke up formation to each take on the warriors on their own. A group of soldiers near the back picked up man-sized longbows and took aim at Wonder Girl, sending a flurry of arrows her way. Wonder Girl saw the arrows coming in mid-melee and threw the soldier she was scuffling with into the path of the arrows and blocking the rest with her armlets, deflecting them into the soldiers all around her, finishing by pounding her fist into the ground, hard enough for the earth to crack open around her and swallow up some undead soldiers. Raven and Argent each floated above the soldiers, their hands glowing with energy as they fired into the crowd. They bumped into each other and smirked in unison, then floated back- to-back above the unholy legions. “Azarath… Metron… ZINTHOS!” A massive sphere of red and black erupted, consuming and scattering the zombies, leaving only a massive crater. Starfire could have been in the air, but, like Wonder Girl, she was a physical fighter, and preferred to go against her enemies hand to hand. Letting out a guttural yell, Starfire gorilla pressed one of the larger soldiers, shattering him to pieces. She picked up the fallen warrior’s spear and flung it at an incoming group of enemies, impaling them all to a nearby rock. jinx also fought on the ground, gracefully leaping and dancing about like an acrobat on the backs of the zombies, flinging her bad luck energy about, causing them to fall apart at each touch. As she leapt onto the next zombie, it grabbed her by feet and threw her to the ground, and jinx was piled on by a dozen undead foes. “jinx, no!” yelled Starfire as she slammed the heads of two zombies together. Starfire flew to help her downed ally, only to have the pile explode with pink energy. As the smoke cleared, jinx stood there unharmed. “What?” jinx asked. Despite the strength of the Titans, the battle continued on for several hours, although we’ll cover the rest of it in this tiny paragraph. By the time the last undead soldier was finally killed, then killed again, then killed a third time because a bit was moving, it was just after sundown. “Oh man,” jinx fell to her knees. “I’m exhausted.” Starfire smiled as she waved one of the warrior’s swords about, its helmet on her head. “Glorious victory! I could defeat twice that number!” Raven held up a skull of one of the fallen undead warriors, and then shattered it with her TK. “I wonder what Dark Angel will send after us next.” “Oh, I think Dark Angel is done sending things to fight her battles for her.” “How can you be so certain, Wonder Girl?” Starfire asked. Wonder Girl looked up from the pile of warriors. “I didn’t say that.” Raven looked over to Argent, who just shrugged and shook her head. “Then, if it was none of you,” Starfire said slowly. “Then who… said… it?” And evil laughter echoed through the valley as a thick mist enveloped the battlefield. The titans quickly gathered together. “So, you have defeated my bronze titan, killed my Basilisk, overwhelmed my Cyclops sentry, and bested my army of the living dead,” A pale, dark-haired woman in red walked out from somewhere in the mist, “But now children, shall you deal with me, DARK ANGEL!” “You have to admit, she makes for an impressive entrance,” Argent consented. “jinx, I don’t suppose you have any of those old attack patterns from your days in the HIVE academy we could use do you?” Raven asked. “Raven, I’ll level with you… the Hive boys were none too bright. Those ‘Attack patterns’ all basically boiled down to ‘hit them with everything you’ve got and hope it works.’” jinx admitted. Starfire clenched her fists, her eyes glowing green. “I like that plan.” Starfire let out a battle roar and charged at Dark Angel, the other titans following behind her. Dark Angel simply cracked a smile and waved her hand, knocking the Titans off their feet with a magical shockwave. “Okay…” Raven said, rising to her feet. “Direct approach won’t work, lets try something else.” “Got an idea?” Wonder Girl asked. “Just follow my lead.” Raven smiled. “Azarath…. Metron….ZINTHOS!” A pair of boulders rose from the ground and slammed into Dark Angel, sandwiching her between them. Wonder Girl threw out her lasso, entangling it around the rock and Argent pitched in by wrapping the boulders in a chain of red energy. “That ought to hold her,” jinx said cautiously. The boulder shook violently and exploded. “One can never be too sure.” Wonder Girl replied. Starfire was quick to act and fired straight into Dark Angel’s face, distracting her for long enough for Starfire to rush forward and punch her in stomach. Or try to, at least. “That doesn’t hurt,” Dark Angel caught Starfire’s fist and twisted it, grinding and twisting her bones with her hand. “In fact, you’re starting to bore me.” Dark Angel threw Starfire into the sky, only to be struck by bolts of red, pink and black energy, forcing her back, groaning. She cast a shield in front of her, but Wonder Girl had run behind Dark Angel and slammed a fist into her back, slamming her through her own shield for the others to continue blasting her. “She must be vulnerable to magical attacks!” Raven shouted. “I will keep that in mindn” Starfire said as she returned. “I WILL NOT BE HUMBLED BY MERE CHILDREN!” Dark Angel struggled screaming to her feet, her energy warping the air and land around her. “NOW YOU SHALL AGAINST THE POWERS OF HELL THEMSELVES.” Dark Angel bellowed. Raven and Starfire just looked up at Dark Angel with contempt. “Been there.” “Done that.” They each raised a hand to Dark Angel and unleashed their energies at her, but the beams seemed to curve and twisted around her, merging together and blasting out and expanding sideways, crashing into the Titans and blasting them out of the air. Dark Angel came speeding out of the explosion towards Wonder Girl, pinning her by the throat to a rock. “Now now,” she cooed. “We wouldn’t want anything to happen to the little princess, would we? No, we’ve got something special planned for you.” “What… do you mean?” Wonder Girl grunted, trying to break her grasp. “Oh, that’s right… you don’t remember. Well, it would be a shame to spoil the surprise, but I do want to build up some suspense.” “What are you talking about?” “I don’t desire to rule the world, little girl. If I did, it would be mine already. It’s harder than one would think to subjugate an entire population, and the satisfaction of being supreme overlord can only carry one so far. I would much rather perfect my art of cruelty on a single subject. I was actually intending on destroying the life of Hippolyta’s firstborn child, but Donna will do just as well as Diana.” “This was…all a ploy to attract me?” Donna gasped. “If so… destroy me… if you can.” “Still the same spark. But this is not the time yet. You still have so much more to live for… and so much more to come crashing down,” Dark Angel leaned in close. “On the worst day of your life I shall come to you, and on that day I shall end you by my own hand. You will die, and be forgotten, returning to the clay from which you were formed, and all your happy days from now on will be haunted by the specter of that knowledge.” Dark Angel pulled her hand back in a fist. “And now I shall give you a taste of your own death, so that you may better know the end that awaits you.” ”Don’t you know it’s not polite to strike a lady?” Dark Angel turned to see jinx standing in the portal to her stronghold, her hands behind her. ”Ah, the turncoat,” said Dark Angel. “You survived the attack of your quote-unquote friends. I guess it was your lucky day. Even so, you are no match for me without them.” jinx smiled. “You’d think that wouldn’t you, but, then again, there wasn’t much of chance for me to beat you WITH their help either.” “You are a smart one.” Dark Angel smirked. “I’m more lucky than smart,” she said. “Like, have you ever calculated the odds that when you attacked me, I’d not only fall into your private lair, but also into your private library?” jinx pulled a book with red binding and a skull on the cover from behind her back. Not a skull design, mind you, the actual face of a skull. Dark Angel’s smile faded. “So I decided to catch up on my reading.” jinx said calmly. “It was laying out in that musty cobweb heap you call a hideout. I guess you never figured that we’d get that far, so you never bothered to hide it or put any more guards there. Bad move on your part.” Dark Angel forced a nervous smile as jinx thumbed through the pages of the book, “There’s no way you can read that. The language has been dead for centuries.” jinx smiled, “Actually I can read it just fine, I got top marks in ancient languages back at the HIVE academy. Lot of interesting spells in here, too.” “Did you see the warding enchantments?” “This volume is offensive spells, not defensive.” “I know. I meant the warding spells I had placed on it to prevent anyone but me to safely read it.” The text began to glow from within, and the pages flapped endlessly as if in a strong wind. The glow became stronger, and jinx was unable to hold onto it as pure magic surged through her body, knocking her to the ground and the book into the air. Dark Angel dropped Donna and strode over. “Donna,” she said, energy charging in her hand. “I hope you’re paying attention.” She raised her hand, levitating jinx to eye-level. “jinx… Tamsin Patscovitz… I know you, jinx, I know what’s really in your heart. I know how you fight the chaos that is as much a part of you as your heart.” Dark Angel reached out and put her hands on jinx’s shoulders. “You think that foolish, reckless boy, that… male knows what you are like? If he knew for even an instant the darkness within your heart, he’d reject you, just as they all would. But you don’t need them, any of them, because you have me.” “I have you…” jinx said dreamily, her eyes half lidded. “You have a power in you that could unmake the world. All you must do is cease fighting yourself. Embrace it, as I have. That… boy you love could be your eternal plaything. You could have anything you desire.” “jinx…” groaned Raven. “No…” “Anything…. I… desire…” jinx repeated in her trance. “I could…NOT!” jinx’s eyes glowed, and Dark Angel was blasted back on a wave of pink energy. “Please,” jinx said in contempt. “I quit evil to get away from assholes like you.” Dark Angel looked up to see Donna holding the book open front of her. “Foolish girl,” she laughed. “I told you to pay attention! That book will work for me, and me alone!” “It seems to be working… just fine,” she said, dreamily. A voice from… somewhere else took over her body as she read. “Yad chokmah gal Salamoh…Per vires Herakles…Para karteria apo Atlas…Para dynami apo Dzeus… Para tharros apo Akhilleus…Per accelero Mercurious… By the will of Divine King Zeus, Earth-Shaker Poseiden and Unseen Hades… By the life of Mother Hera, Love-Bringer Aphrodite and Home-Keeper Hestia…By the might of Craftsman Hepheastus, Warmaker Ares and Huntress Artemis… By the Mercy of Healer Apollo, All-Knowing Athena and Orator Hermes…I banish thee to the darkest pits of Tartarus. May Themis shine upon me, and may the fates cut thy life short.” Dark Angel screamed wordlessly, twisting the space and time around her into strange and unnatural shapes as a vast black chasm opened up beneath her and a thousand black, grasping appendages tore her from this world and into the next. The book slammed shut and Wonder Girl fell. * * * It was dark, and empty, but somehow warm. Also, someone was poking her. Wonder Girl opened her eyes. “You are awake, GLORIOUS!” Starfire cheered. “Ow, Starfire please,” Donna groaned, holding her head. “Be happy a little less loudly please.” “Not bad,” said jinx. “I didn’t know you had that kind of magic potential inside of you.” “To be honest, neither did I,” said Wonder Girl. “But, my creation was magical, so I suppose I may have some magic within me.” “Makes sense,” said Argent. “What became of her book?” “We burned it.” Argent said, indicating a dying fire, nearby. jinx pouted. “I didn’t even get to photocopy it.” The other titans laughed, except for Raven, who was standing away from the group. jinx cautiously approached her. “Raven… I’m….” jinx began, but Raven stopped her. “No… I’m sorry. For a second there… I thought you really had abandoned us. I should have had more faith.” “It’s alright… and thank you…” jinx said. “She almost turned me evil again. It was really seeing you that helped me snap out of it.” jinx and Raven exchanged smiles, and then embraced. Starfire quickly joined the hug, as did Wonder Girl. Argent stood there with arms folded. “Can we go home now? I probably didn’t make this clear enough before but I HATE CAMPING.” * * * “As far as I’m concerned, you’re all honorary Amazons,” Wonder Girl said as Starfire and Raven exited the invisible jet. “I shall tell my mother and sister about your brave exploits.” “You honor us,” Starfire said with a bow. “If you’re ever in the area, look us up,” Raven said with a smile. “It’d be nice to spend time together without having to stop an evil plot.” Wonder Girl nodded. “If you are ever near Themyscira, don’t hesitate to stop by, I’ll make sure you receive a heroes welcome. But no boys,” she added. “They’re forbidden.” Raven and Starfire waved as the others flew off, and turned around to see Robin waiting for them. “Hey guys, how was the island of doom?” Robin asked. Starfire looked away. “Uh… I think I’ll go catch up on my meditating, or see what Beast Boy is up to. One of those. Maybe both,” Raven said as she hastily phased through the floor. Robin took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Starfire…” “You do not need to say anything.” Starfire said coldly, “I understand how important your identity of secret is and I…” “Dick Grayson.” “…What?” Robin stepped into the moonlight. For the first time, his blue eyes reflected it. “My name is Dick Grayson.” Starfire gasped. “But, I thought your secret identity…” “It is important to me Star, and Batman would kill me if he found out…” Robin embraced Starfire. “But that’s not as important as you.” “Oh Robin…” Starfire whispered… And that, true believers, is as far as we will pursue the story at this time. Good night, and god bless. STARRING: Beast Boy: Greg Cipes Cyborg: Kary Phayton Raven: Tara Strong Robin: Scott Menville Starfire / Argent: Hynden Walch WITH: Dark Angel: Susan Eisenberg jinx: Lauren Tom Wonder Girl: Dakota Fanning