Nevermore/Transcript

PROLOGUE

(Opening shot: the night sky above the buildings ofJump City. Tilt down to point along a street, where a vehicle can be seen turned on its side in the distance. A figure stands atop it, and a couple of Titans are facing off with him. In close-up, they are seen as Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin, and the vehicle is an armored car whose back doors have been broken open. Gold bullion spills out to the pavement. The bearded, helmeted male figure perched on it is clad in a skintight black outfit with a light bulb on the chest, and both hands glow very brightly. This is Dr. Light-not to be confused with the character of the same name from the Mega Man game series.)

Dr. Light: Your pathetic skills can't outshine the brilliance of Dr. Light!

(He brings his hands together; the Titans scatter as a broad beam shoots toward them. Robin leaps high and flings a birdarang at the supervillain, who jumps down to avoid both it and the thrower's lunge.)

Dr. Light: You're fast, but I doubt you'll enjoy moving at the speed of light!

(He touches the bulb on his chest, causing it to glow and emit a wide-angle blast that propels Robin over the roof of a nearby building.Beast Boy comes around a corner and charges, turning into a wolf as he runs. The robber easily ducks this rush.)

Dr. Light: A wolf is no threat when it's blind as a bat!

(He throws several glowing globes at the green lupine hero. They explode in a series of brilliant flashes and leave him so dazzled that he reverts to human form and claps both hands to his head woozily. The next one in is Starfire, who flies overhead and throws a barrage of starbolts; Dr. Light creates a radiant shield around himself to block them. He drops it after she stops firing, then throws a landmine-like device into the street. Its top opens to emit a wall of radiation that envelopsStarfire and blocks her in.)

(Back to Dr. Light.)

Cyborg: (from o.c.) Watch yourself, lightweight.

(Pan to him by the armored car. He has half of one axle in hand, tire and all, and he moves in for a swing.)

Cyborg: Things are about to get heavy!

(He swings the axle down over his head, missing the enemy but creating enough of a tremor upon impact to throw him back a few feet. Dr. Light concentrates his energy in one hand and projects an intense beam that breaks the makeshift club in half. Laughing, he creates a red projectile and directs it at Cyborg; it explodes in a terrific flash and storm of dust. The view clears to show that the Titan is now embedded in stone, with only his head and hands free.)

Cyborg: Uh! Hey! Let me... (Dr. Light approaches.) Dr. Light: Now if nobody minds, I'll be taking the gold. Raven: (from o.c.) I mind. (Cut to her in midair.) Azarath Metrion Zin-

(Before she can finish the incantation, a beam connects squarely with her and sends her to the street. He walks up behind her as she starts to get up. The brooch on her cloak now shows a raven's head in its gold frame, and it will continue do so throughout this episode.)

Dr. Light: Bit of advice. (warming up) Find shorter magic words.

(She gets herself ready again; pan to a motorcycle at the curb. It is levitated and slung at the light-wielding enemy, who easily blows it apart. He nails her with another blast and drives her down the block again. Now he takes his time walking up; she has her back to him.)

Raven: (menacingly) Don't come any closer. (He stops.) Dr. Light: What's the matter? Afraid of the light?

(Cut to behind her on the end of this line. Snarling with pure rage, she swirls to her feet. Her eyes are glowing red rather than the usual white when she uses her powers. Pull back; she grows to an impossible height, at least three times as tall as Dr. Light, and thick black tendrils shoot toward him from under her cloak. He cries out in shock.)

Dr. Light: (fearfully, backing up) No! No! (He is seized and pulled in; sparks fly from him.) My suit! What are you-no, stop, you win, I surrender!

(Too late. He is dragged toward the billowing blue hem as Raven smiles viciously down at him. When she speaks, the voice sounds as if some demonic thing is saying the words along with her.)

Raven: What's the matter? Afraid of the dark? Dr. Light: I surrender! NOOOOOO!! (He is pulled in; Robin rushes over.) Robin: RAVEN!! STOP!!

(Raven's eyes return to normal in a snap. She gasps sharply and shrinks back to normal size; her cloak recedes to reveal the beaten enemy, curled up in a fetal position on the pavement and shivering in wide-eyed fear. Robin and Starfire, out of her trap, run to comfort him.)

Robin: It's okay. You're going to be all right. Dr. Light: It was...no...so dark...make it stop...make it stop... (Beast Boy and Cyborg, free of the pavement, approach Raven.) Beast Boy: Dude! Raven, what did you do?

(When she turns to face him, her eyes have again gone red and she is snarling as before. He backs up behind Cyborg with a scream; she quickly composes herself and stalks away.)

Beast Boy: What's her deal?

(She enters a dark alley and is soon lost to sight. Fade to black.)

OPENING THEME

(sung in Japanese)

Act One

(Opening shot: the exterior of Titans Tower. It is now the following morning.)

Beast Boy: (from inside) Rise and shine, amigos.

(Inside, he is cooking at the kitchen counter, while Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin are at the table. He has donned a chef's hat.)

Beast Boy: Breakfast is served. (He carries a steaming pan over.) Robin: Thanks, Beast Boy. Everything looks great. (It is set down.) Starfire: On my planet, such a feast would mark the arrangement of a marriage. Tell me, Beast Boy, to whom are you engaged?

(Not quite ready to deal with a curveball like that so early in the day, Beast Boy shouts in surprise and jumps back. He has to catch his hat in order to keep it from flying across the room. Cyborg, meanwhile, has started wolfing down a plateful of food. When he finishes, he burps loudly and his expression changes to resemble that of a person who has just eaten a skunk. He spits the meal out disgustedly.)

Cyborg: That's not eggs! That's that tofu stuff!

(He drains his glass to get the taste out of his mouth-but instead his whole head ends up looking as if it might explode. The drink goes the way of the food.)

Cyborg: That's not even real milk!

(Beast Boy gives him a reproving frown as the door opens and Raven enters the kitchen. She pays no mind to the breakfast table and heads for the counter.)

Robin: Hey, Raven. Want breakfast?

(She picks up the coffeepot and pours a cup. Beast Boy pops up behind her with a full plate.)

Beast Boy: It's good. Wakey-wakey, tofu eggs and bakey. Raven: Herbal tea. Beast Boy: Come on, just one little taste. You could use a little food after the way you cooked Dr. Light.

(Close-up of the back of her head on the end of this. She then whirls to face the camera, her eyes blazing red.)

Raven: NO!!

(The cook gasps in fear as she exerts her powers on the plate he holds. The eggs explode like a volcano, leaving him covered with his own cuisine. He makes a strangled little noise and drops the plate; she turns away and leaves through the side door, which closes behind her. Beast Boy stands there, holding the pan of food, as a vein throbs in his temple and Robin eases over.)

Robin: Maybe you should go apologize. Beast Boy: Me? I'm not the one who just turned breakfast into a battlefield! (Cyborg joins them carrying his dishes.) Cyborg: Yeah, but after the weirdness that went down last night, you should know better than to go messing with her. (He heads for the sink.) Beast Boy: I was trying to be nice. (Starfire comes over.) But no matter how hard I try, she still treats me like tofu eggs! (Cyborg washes dishes.) You know, she's never once laughed at any of my jokes. Cyborg: 'Least she listens. I just kinda tune you out.

(Sight gag: a little storm cloud appears briefly over the disgruntled green Titan's head.)

Starfire: Raven is complicated. There is much about her we are not meant to understand. Beast Boy: Then how are we supposed to deal with her? How can we even trust her? I mean- Robin: She's our friend. What more do we need to know?

(Close-up of Beast Boy, zooming in slowly; he puts the mental machinery to work trying to sort this one out. Dissolve to him in the hall, standing before a closed door and scratching his head. After a few seconds, cut to a closer shot; he gingerly raises one fist, turns his head away as if ready to avoid a sudden explosion, and just barely taps the door.)

Beast Boy: (shrugging) Oh, well, nobody's home.

(He starts away, whistling. Pan to follow him until he runs flat into Cyborg, who has come up just behind him, and rubs his hurt nose.)

Beast Boy: Ow. (Cyborg glares down at him.) Cyborg: You might want to knock a little louder.

(This is Raven's room, then. The big Titan plants a hand on the little one's shoulder, turns him to face the door, and walks him to it. A little shudder of fear comes from Beast Boy. Cyborg knocks, much louder than his colleague's feeble attempt; on the third and final knock, snap to black. The view is illuminated the entire door falls in, exposing them in the hall-we are now inside the room, and he has smashed the door off the hinges. Both faces go slack as a big drop of sweat rolls down Cyborg's temple.)

Beast Boy: Now we both have to apologize.

(Cut to a pan across the quarters, proving beyond any doubt that Raven's tastes are about as dark as they come. Shelves filled with old books, four-eyed tragedy and comedy masks on a pedestal, oddly shaped mirror on the wall, chalices and braziers, ancient chests and lamps, a bed partly recessed into the far wall, a large globe in the near corner. The entire place is done in shades of gray and black. Back to the doorway.)

Cyborg: Uh, Raven? Sorry about the door. Raven? Beast Boy: Dude, she's not here. Come on.

(He walks in and reaches the bookshelves and masks. Pan to follow him.)

Beast Boy: Looks like Halloween came early this year. Cyborg: (from o.c., whispering) We're in Raven's room. (walking into view) We should not be in Raven's room. She doesn't let anybody in here-ever! Beast Boy: So this is our big chance to find out more about her.

(He crosses the space. Cut to him at a dresser by the wall.)

Beast Boy: For instance... (He laughs and picks up a hand mirror, studying his image.) ...check out this beauty mirror. Who woulda thought Raven spends time sprucing? Ah! Is that a zit?

(Close-up of the mirror; he pokes at a spot on his cheek. Suddenly two pairs of glowing red eyes, one above the other, superimpose themselves on his image. They clear to leave him gasping in shock, and he drops the mirror and backs up with a cry of fear. A red-rimmed swath of black energy shoots straight up from the object, shapes itself into an arm, and grabs him. He is shaken back and forth as Cyborg pays no mind, having reached the doorway and made ready to leave.)

Cyborg: Come on, B, we should really get out- (Beast Boy is yanked away.) -huh?

(Cut to the mirror, on the floor, and tilt up along the arm's length.)

Cyborg: (from o.c.) Yo!

(It stars to drag Beast Boy down, but Cyborg is there in one swift leap to grab an ankle. Both Titans are yanked through the looking glass, which returns to its normal appearance and gives off a small puff of smoke.)

(Dissolve to within a whirlpool of dark-glowing energy. Yelling, Beast Boy and Cyborg are swept into view at the far end and careen toward the camera and o.c. Cut to a patch of outer space filled with red stars and a few large asteroids; a vortex opens over one of them and dumps the two Titans onto its surface. They stand up just in time to watch it close.)

Cyborg: Oh, man! (Long shot of the asteroid.) Beast Boy: I told you we shouldn't have gone in her room. (Cyborg taps his forearm controls.) Uh...where are we? (He walks around.) Cyborg: You're asking the wrong robot. My sensors must be on the blink, 'cause they're saying we're in Titans Tower. Beast Boy: Riiiight. So how do we get back? (Pause.) Cyborg: Guess we start walking. Beast Boy: Come on. I'm serious. We're on a rock in the middle of-

(The sound of something large shifting cuts him off. In the middle of the void, several fragments of rock rearrange themselves to form a winding path.)

Beast Boy: Oh. (They set out.) If sending us to Weirdsville's Raven's idea of a joke, I am so not laughing.

(Pan slightly and refocus on a tree in the foreground. A raven sits on one branch.)

Cyborg: Hey, she didn't send us here. You're the one who went snooping in her room and popping zits in her magic mirror.

(Close-up of the bird during this line. Like that strange reflection, it has two pairs of red eyes. Back to the two Titans.)

Beast Boy: Who booby-traps a mirror? Cyborg: Maybe it wasn't a trap. Maybe it's Raven's way home. Maybe this is where she's from. Beast Boy: Definitely creepy enough. Voice: (feminine, childlike) Turn back.

(They pivot for a look behind them, trying to locate the speaker.)

Beast Boy: Like I was saying... Voice: Turn back.

(Cut to a rocky arch over the path. Perched on it are three small black birds, each of which shows a pair of large red eyes to the camera. One at a time, they repeat the two-word instruction and continue under the next line.)

Beast Boy: Sweet! Betcha they can tell us how to get home. (Pan; he passes Cyborg.) Cyborg: Careful. How do we know they're not a threat? (Beat Boy reaches the arch.) Beast Boy: Hel-lo? Remember me? Beast Boy? If they were dangerous, I'd know.

(Cyborg is not a bit convinced that this guy knows what he is doing. Said guy turns to the arch and adopts the sort of tone one might use with a small kitten.)

Beast Boy: Hey, little guys. My buddy and I were wondering if-

(Tilt up to the arch on the end of this; the birds are gone. When the camera tilts down again, five of them have gathered at his feet. "Turn back" is repeated over and over during a pan across them in close-up. The beaks suddenly elongate and sprout small sharp teeth, and each eye splits into two smaller ones to match the raven seen earlier. Their snarls are met with a surprised cry from Beast Boy, who turns and runs smack into Cyborg; the former tumbles o.c. while the latter crashes down on the stones.)

(The birds, now multiplied into a flock of ravens, fly past Cyborg and zero in on the skidding shape-shifter. He turns into a hippopotamus and opens wide, and three of them perch on his tongue. Snap go the jaws; the prey squirms inside, and after a moment he has to open his mouth again and shake them off-they have clamped their beaks onto the lingual muscle. Cyborg, faring no better, shouts as he tries to beat off the attackers.)

Cyborg: Get 'em off me! Get 'em off me! (running o.c.; they follow) Cut it out!

(Back and forth they go. Beast Boy, as an ostrich, followed by Cyborg, then the flock. The flock, dodging a sonic cannon shot, then Cyborg riding Beast Boy in llama form and firing away. One dodges a few shots and buzzes past him; he hunches down over his mount and fires another round. We then see the creature fly low, and in response Cyborg growls and blasts straight down at it. Fractured by the energy, the stone path starts to crumble away; the two Titans trade the classic "uh-oh" look and Beast Boy's ears droop sadly just before they drop out of sight. Cut to the broken edge of the path, seen from below, and pull back. Cyborg has one hand buried in Beast Boy's pelt and the other dug into the broken rock. Close-up; he starts to haul the green animal up, but a very familiar voice stops him cold-not so much the speaker, but the tone.)

Raven: (from o.c., cheerfully) Hey, guys.

(Pull back a bit. On the underside of the path, she can be seen from the knees down. However, her boots and cloak are bright pink rather than the usual blue, and the cloak does not hang down as it would if a person stood on his head. Cut to Cyborg's perspective; she is hanging upside down with no ill effects whatsoever, and she waves. Her wristbands have also gone pink.)

Pink Raven: What's up? (Close-up of Cyborg.) Cyborg: (small voice) I don't know anymore.

(Pull back to frame all three. The camera turns 180 degrees to put Raven right side up and the two interlopers upside down.)

Cyborg: Whoa!

(He and Beast Boy slam down onto the path. Raven giggles as the latter stands up, back in human form.)

Beast Boy: Raven?! How did-where are-what just- (A question mark pops up by his head.) -why are you wearing pink? Pink Raven: (giggling) 'Cause it's my favorite color. Beast Boy: It is? (Cyborg gets up.) Cyborg: Look, I'd love to talk fashion, but I don't suppose you know how to get home. Pink Raven: The Forbidden Door.

(Pan slightly to put her out of view and frame the rest of the path, which runs under a couple of other arches and stops at a distant asteroid.)

Pink Raven: (from o.c.) It's the only way out, but you don't want to go there. (Back to the three.) Not now. Beast Boy, Cyborg: Uh...yeah, we do. Pink Raven: 'Kay, but don't say I didn't warn you.

(Cut to the nearest arch. Making airplane sounds and stretching her arms out like wings, she runs through it and down the path.)

Cyborg: (from o.c.) Have you ever seen her this happy? (He and Beast Boy walk after her.) Beast Boy: Dude, I didn't even know Raven could do happy.

(Their images fade away. Cut to a peaceful-looking landscape under a bright yellow sky; a stone arch springs overhead, and they appear beneath it.)

Cyborg: Now where are we?

(Dissolve to a long overhead shot and pull back slowly. A path goes on and on, threading through that arch and bisecting a huge meadow filled with pink grass and trees. Fade to black.)

Act Two

(Opening shot: the serene pink landscape and yellow sky. A small strawberry floats past the path; follow it over to two extremely bewildered Titans.)

Beast Boy: I think this might be where air fresheners come from.

(Giggling from o.c.; pan to bring Pink Raven into view next to them.)

Pink Raven: Good one! Cyborg: You're laughing? Beast Boy: At one of my jokes? Pink Raven: Sure. I've always thought you were funny, BB. But hey, looks aren't everything.

(Laughing even harder now, she takes her leave of them. Cut to the exterior of the Tower and zoom in toward the roof.)

Robin: (from roof) Raven...

(Cut to her, meditating up there.)

Robin: (from o.c.) ...you okay? We stopped by your room and the door's been knocked down.

(He and Starfire come up behind her on the end of this. Raven's eyes pop open, wide as saucers, and she laughs uncontrollably for a few seconds. The sound scares the other two Titans out of their wits; she cuts it off by clapping both hands over her mouth.)

Raven: (blushing profusely) Need to be alone.

(She stands up and hurries to the door leading to the stairs/elevator. The camera placement makes it almost appear as if she passes through the barrier.)

Starfire: (to Robin) Many of your Earthly ways are still strange to me, but that was...just plain freaky. Correct?

(Cut to just inside the wrecked door of her room. She looks in around the frame, enters, and puts the wall back in order with an easy motion of the hand. Walking in a bit farther, she stops short at the hand mirror on the floor.)

Raven: (horrified) No.

(Cut to the pink meadow; the camera points down from the treetops, where a few four-eyed ravens have perched. Pan to bring Beast Boy and Cyborg into view, making their way along the path that runs on and on toward an arch that looks very much like the one they started at.)

Beast Boy: She ditched us! I can't believe Raven ditched us! Next time I see her, it's not gonna be pretty.

(As he says this, the scenery dissolves to the outer-space region they were in before. They are back on the winding stone path. Cut to a long shot and pull back briefly, then back to them.)

Cyborg: Hey, I know where we are! We're in that place where I didn't know where we were before.

(Raven pops up in front of them, her back to us, and startles the daylights out of them. Her cloak is now gray; cut to a close-up, revealing a very sad and fearful facial expression.)

Beast Boy: (furiously) Where were you? Shopping for robes?

(Sight gag: his head grows a few sizes and flushes an angry red, with a vein standing out on his temple, and she shrinks to midget size in his shadow and starts to cry. The two quickly return to normal size as her tears stop.)

Beast Boy: Whoa. Easy. (Cut to them.) I didn't mean it. Please don't- Cyborg: (from o.c.) Hey!

(Cut to him. He points ahead down the path toward the asteroid at the end; they are closer now.)

Cyborg: That's that Forbidden Door, right, Raven? (She nods worriedly; he starts to run.) Come on, y'all! We're almost-

(A high metal wall springs up from the stone surface to block his rush.)

Cyborg: Whoa!

(More walls emerge to box in the trio. Dissolve to an overhead view of the area; a large maze has assembled itself here, ad the camera tilts up to show it filling much of the stretch leading to the asteroid. Inside, Beast Boy turns into a hawk and flies up toward the open top of the labyrinth. Just as he is about to surmount the walls, a force field crackles to life and sends him crashing to the ground. He sits up in human form and rubs his head.)

Beast Boy: Great. (Cyborg breaks out his cannon.) Cyborg: Oh, man, we gotta get outta here!

(He fires a few bursts at the walls but does not even put a scratch on them. Gray Raven speaks up for the first time; her voice matches her expression perfectly.)

Gray Raven: It's a maze. You can't get out. You have to go through. I can show you the way, but when we reach the end, you won't like me anymore. (looking at Beast Boy) He already doesn't like me. Beast Boy: Come on. That's not...

(She has already started down the way. The two boys stare after her with a fair bit of irritation.)

Beast Boy: Gee, Raven, moody much? Cyborg: Yeah, she's like a whole different person.

(Dissolve to another part of the convoluted architecture. Gray Raven's voice is heard from around a corner shortly before she walks into view.)

Gray Raven: And...remember the time I called you both immature pinheads? I'm sorry for that too. And also the- (Cyborg and Beast Boy round the corner.) Beast Boy: For the hundredth, millionth time... Beast Boy, Cyborg: (leaning toward camera) ...we forgive you!

(Cut to Gray Raven, who has stopped at a wall. She waves timidly toward it, and it slides open like a pair of interlocking doors to reveal a short path that leads out of the maze. Tilt up, putting her out of view, to show two tall stone statues positioned to either side. They wear long cloaks and have faces that match the masks in Raven's room. Each has only one arm, on the side toward the wall next to it.)

Gray Raven: (from o.c.) That's the end. (Cut to the three.) Beast Boy: Sweet! Cyborg: All right, Raven!

(They head for the egress, but she does not join them. The eyes of the smiling statue glow red, followed by those of the frowning one, and they slam together back to back. Three quick half-turns put the smile in view, then the frown, then the smile again. Close-up of each hand in turn; long swords materialize in them, and when the camera pulls back, we see that the double sculpture has now grown a second set of arms.)

Cyborg: What? Beast Boy: No way. (Cyborg groans.) Gray Raven: Told you you wouldn't like me when we got here.

(She drops out of sight, but the guys have no time to worry about her-the stone giant is advancing toward them. Suddenly the screen fills with static and resolves to a view of a screaming man running from a huge green monster. More static, which clears to show a chef working in his kitchen.)

Chef: Now the salt.

(Pull back into the operations center; this is a show Robin is watching on the window/screen, as was the previous clip. He lounges on the couch while Starfire paces behind him.)

Chef: Stir continuously until thickened.

(Cut to Robin. He works the remote; from the TV's direction, a Western starts up.)

Starfire: May we go see if she is feeling better? Robin: She said she wanted to be alone.

(Another click, and the screen again fills with static. It clears to give a view of the end of the outer-space path; tilt down to Cyborg and Beast Boy, who back nervously along it. The sound of swords being drawn is heard, and here comes that sculpture guardian with both blades ready to go. As it bears down on them, Beast Boy becomes a hawk and flies away, and Cyborg lets loose a blast from his cannon that does no damage. A sword clangs down on the stone next to him. That green hawk swoops down, talons extended, only to be caught in one of the two free hands and squeezed cruelly. It changes back into Beast Boy as Raven's voice is heard once again-but this time, she sounds radically different.)

Raven: (from o.c., spoiling for a fight) Yo! Eight-Eyes!

(Cut to her, launching a flying kick. Her cloak is now green.)

Green Raven: Hai-yah!

(The kick slashes across the statue's head and sends it toppling to the ground.)

Green Raven: Whoo-hoo! In your faces!

(She leaps at the foe, now back on its feet, and dodges one sword slash after another without changing the little smirk on her face. Up she goes, index and middle fingers of one hand extended together, and brings them straight down the length of the rock body. Smoke billows out to follow the trace; cut to a close-up of the surface, which breaks apart along the new cleavage. The two halves drop away, leaving Cyborg and Beast Boy staring in pure amazement at this new incarnation of their fellow Titan.)

Green Raven: Hoo-ah! High fives! Come on!

(Beast Boy stares a bit more, his jaw slack, and then shakes his head vigorously to clear it.)

Beast Boy: What is your deal?! First you nuke breakfast- (Cut to the trees, full of red-eyed ravens; he continues o.c.) -then finally laugh at my jokes- (Tilt down to the three.) -then you're all weepy, and now you're a Marine? Make up your mind. Who are you?

(Green Raven directs a quizzical look at him as grinning Pink leaps into view and glum Gray slinks up.)

Green, Gray, Pink Ravens: I'm Raven. (Poleaxed by the sight, Beast Boy faints.) Cyborg: Happy...timid...brave. Pink Raven: (pointing at Beast Boy; he gets up) You forgot dopey.

(She laughs, but Cyborg is thinking very hard and starting to figure a few things out.)

Cyborg: Different sides of Raven's personality. We're not in Raven's home. Beast Boy: We're in her head. Raven: (from o.c., normal tone) And I want you out.

(The blue-cloaked girl drops into view in front of her three duplicates, who fade away.)

Raven: The mirror you found is for meditation. It's a portal into my MIND-NOT A TOY!

(The last four words are aimed at Beast Boy and spoken through gritted teeth. A big drop of sweat rolls down his face. Pull back to the treetops; the ravens are still watching.)

Beast Boy: (chuckling) My bad.

(The birds fly away in a great commotion of squawking and flapping wings.)

Raven: You have to go-now. Cyborg: Hold up. What's going on here? (Close-up of her.) Raven: Last night, something...got loose. Something bad. Beast Boy: (from o.c.) Oh, no, you don't! (Pull back to frame him.) I've had it with this mystery-girl routine. I want to know exactly what we're talking about here.

(There is an unholy roaring from o.c. Cut to a gargantuan black vortex that has formed over the horizon; the ravens are flying into it. Gradually this retreats from the top down to expose a super-king-sized humanoid male with red skin, flowing white hair, and four glowing yellow eyes. He is clad in a black and gray loincloth, steel wristbands, and a belt similar to the one Raven wears, as well as a jewel on his forehead. The belt is silver, set with black stones, and a matching piece is set at the throat to match her brooch. There are short, curved black stripes on the arms and chest. This is Raven's father, the demon Trigon.)

Trigon: Hatred shall rule.

(His voice is the same as the one overlaid with Raven's when she snared Dr. Light at the beginning of the episode. Tilt down to the horizon; he also wears shin guards to match his wristbands. Raven and the boys stare up at his sheer size.)

Raven: (as al three back up) Let's just say I have issues with my father.

(Cut to Trigon, who moves steadily ahead and leans down with a roar, giving the camera an extreme close-up of his face. Fade to black.)

Act Three

(Opening shot: the three Titans standing before Trigon. Tilt up to his head, he roars, throwing a scare into all of them. Beast Boy and Cyborg turn to run, but Raven holds her ground. A quadruple blast from those glowing eyes hits the ground just in front of her, forcing her to jump clear. Those enormous feet stomp down the path after Cyborg and Beast Boy, who are making a beeline for a portal set into the base of a rock formation-the Forbidden Door. A beam hits just in front of them and brings that plan to a very abrupt halt. Raven drops into view facing Trigon.)

Raven: Azarath Metrion Zinthos!

(She creates a shield around herself, the boys, and the Door; daddy not-so-dearest unleashes another blast that cuts a long furrow in the stone as it races toward her. So much rock and dust is thrown up that we cannot see whether her barrier is holding. The screen fills with static-Robin is changing channels again. Stop briefly on a tropical waterfall, then flip to a man and a woman about to kiss, then cut to him on the couch, remote in hand. Starfire pops up behind him.)

Starfire: May we now go see if Raven is better? Robin: She wants to be alone.

(Another flip brings jungle sounds from the TV's direction; irked, she turns away. Cut to a profile close-up of Trigon; he fires another eye beam, and the camera pulls back to a long overhead shot of the area. Raven's shield is indeed holding up. Close-up of her.)

Raven: (with great effort) Get out of my mind! Now!

(Pan to Cyborg and Beast Boy. The Door has now filled with a whirlpool just like the one that carried them into this place to begin with.)

Beast Boy: And leave you alone with that? Cyborg: Not gonna happen. Raven: It's my problem. I'll deal with it. If I lose, you'll be stuck in here forever.

(Pulling his hands back, Trigon produces a ball of energy between them and swings it forward to throw a mighty burst at his daughter. It breaches the shield, and a second shot blows it apart altogether. There is a great cloud of dust, which clears to show her still on her feet, arms crossed to protect her head. She swings one hand behind her in a sudden lash of telekinesis.)

Raven: Go!

(Beast Boy and Cyborg are flung screaming toward the portal, but skid to a stop just short of its mouth. She flies up toward his level and fires a black salvo from her hand, annoying him enough to make him start trying to swat her down. Her evasive maneuvers make this a rather tougher prospect than it might seem at first; his next eye blast also hits nothing. The two fellows watch, then look at the exit, and finally trade a knowing look.)

(The free-for-all continues. Raven dodges Trigon's attempt to crush her between his palms and lands a shot on his chest. She is behind his head in the briefest instant, but he whirls and scores a direct hit that drops her like a rock. He catches her-knocked senseless-in one broad hand.)

Trigon: Rage shall consume you. Cyborg: (from o.c.) Yo!

(Pull back; he is standing on a nearby mountain ledge and has his cannon locked and loaded.)

Cyborg: Sounds like somebody needs a time-out.

(His blast is blocked when the demon raises a forearm, but with the chest left wide open, a second shot finds its mark. Trigon stumbles backward, letting go of Raven, and topples over the edge of the asteroid into empty space. Raven tumbles helplessly toward a high-speed hello with a granite slab, but Beast Boy, as a hawk, is diving down at top speed. Close-up of her; his talons close on her shoulder, and she starts to come around with a barely audible moan. Pull back to ground level. He sets her down safely, leaving her to fall to her knees with a small groan, and drops back next to her in human form.)

Raven: You stayed? I thought you didn't like me. Beast Boy: Thought you didn't like me. (She smiles.) Cyborg: (from o.c.) Yo, I like both of you. (Cut to him.) Now get your butts over here!

(A growling Trigon rises slowly over the ridge behind him. Pull back and tilt up as he gets fully erect and raises his arms.)

Trigon: Feel my fury!

(A four-pack of eye blasts blows up the ground at Cyborg's feet and sends him diving for cover. Raven and Beast Boy both take to the air-he as a pterodactyl-to continue the offensive and get backup from their partner's cannon. He bobs and weaves through the barren landscape to dodge the blazing bursts and returns fire as he is able. The last round gets Trigon good and mad; close-up of him as he leans down to hit the big man point-blank. Before he can deliver that finishing stroke, though, he yells in surprise and his head is pulled backward. Cut to behind him, revealing that Beast Boy has wrapped his talons around that mane of white hair and started hauling back with all his strength. Trigon is dragged off balance to crash down among the rocky peaks, but is soon sitting up to shoot at Beast Boy, who flies away.)

(The screen fills with static and then cuts to Robin on the couch. Once again Starfire eases her head up behind him. The sound of a baseball game comes from the TV's direction.)

Starfire: May we now- Robin: No!

(She drops out of sight with a groan, and he works the remote again. More static, which resolves to Cyborg on the run from Trigon's fusillade. Beast Boy flies overhead and picks him up as Raven passes them both. The scarlet leviathan waves away the dust, looks around a bit, and moves away; tilt down to the group huddled behind a small ridge. Beast Boy is human again.)

Raven: He's too strong. Even with your help, I cannot defeat him. Cyborg: So call for backup! What about all those other you's? Beast Boy: Yeah, the green one kinda kicked butt. Raven: It still wouldn't be enough. None of my other sides have the kind of power we need. Beast Boy: Not alone-but what about together? (Trigon's footsteps approach.) They're all part of who you are, right?

(The camera shakes as dust floats down around them. Cyborg peeks over the ridge and sees the demonic figure nearby. A couple of eye blasts send the Titan ducking back behind the rocks.)

Cyborg: Go for it! We got your back.

(Beast Boy gives her an encouraging nod and runs after Cyborg to assist in the diversion. A small smile crosses her face and then disappears as she closes her eyes and begins to concentrate. Her hood is down at this point, but a dissolve shows her with it up. Opening her eyes, she crosses her arms in front of herself as the camera pulls back; a sudden gust of wind stirs the dust at her feet, and her duplicates rise from the ground. One of them is so close that her cloak blacks out the screen. Fade in to no fewer than six Ravens in cloaks of pink, gray, green, yellow, brown, and lavender. Yellow Raven wears glasses, perhaps representing her cerebral aspect. Well after the arrival of this group, a seventh alter ego pops up, clad in an orange cloak. She digs something out of her ear, opens her eyes sleepily, and burps-Raven's lazy side.)

(They scatter; cut to Raven as they form a large circle around her. All eight rise into the air and hover several feet above the ground, and the seven doubles start to spin about her center point, faster and faster until they are visible only as colored blurs. The formation gradually turns white, sucking up a little grit due to the airspeed, and the whole screen is washed out from the brilliance-except for Raven's form, which can be seen fuzzily at the center.)

(A huge flash puts the camera near Beast Boy and Cyborg, the latter firing his cannon at will. Trigon counters with a storm of bird apparitions from his hand; Beast Boy turns into a pterodactyl again and takes to the air. Cyborg is quickly beset by the flapping things and loses control of his shots. The giant smiles evilly down at him and does not notice Raven rising behind his own head-her tightly wrapped cloak now pure white. He swivels to look her full in the face, and the wind blows her garment open to reveal that her outfit is also white instead of black.)

(White Raven hurls a mass of black energy, which forms itself into a band that encircles Trigon tightly from shoulders to waist. Her next words take on a very deep and terrible tone.)

White Raven: You are going back where you belong! Trigon: Never!

(He breaks loose of her binding spell. She rises into the air, arms crossed in front, and her eyes and mouth start to blaze with the same dark force that pours from her hands. Cut to Trigon and pull back; he sends two huge beams from his hands toward her. The two energies meet at a point between them and cancel out; it becomes a tug-of-war, with the balance point shifting back and forth between them. Beast Boy, back in human form, and Cyborg have their hands full trying to keep those birds from pecking them to mush, but they suddenly disappear.)

(The standoff between White Raven and Trigon continues, with the former slowly gaining ground. One final groaning effort sends her beam surging into his face; there is an incredible flash when it hits, and the screen clears to show that he has turned into another copy of her, with red eyes and a dark red cloak. Red Raven drops to the ground in front of the white-clad real thing, revealing herself to be perhaps a foot tall, and raises her head to expose two pairs of those glowing eyes. Her body disintegrates into a bolt of energy that crackles into White Raven's, throwing her into an unbearable rictus.)

(One final flash leaves the screen filled with smoke, which clears to show only the Titan standing on a rock-back in her normal blue cloak and bowed as if she has just taken the beating of a lifetime. As she straightens up, the wind reveals her black outfit beneath. A moment later, she moans weakly and collapses backward only to be caught by Cyborg and Beast Boy.)

Cyborg: We gotcha. Beast Boy: It's okay. (They set her on her feet; she blushes.) Raven: (rubbing head) Thank you...friends. Beast Boy: So...we really are friends? Raven: (nodding, with a small smile) Mmm-hmm. Beast Boy: And you really think I'm funny? Raven: (smile fades) Don't push it.

(Dissolve to the exterior of the Tower; it is now nighttime. Close-up of Starfire's hand inside, straining toward a door to knock, with Robin's fingers wrapped around her arm to pull it back.)

Starfire: (from o.c.) Please! Let us simply- (He pulls her back.) Robin: (from o.c.) Raven asked us not to disturb her!

(Pull back to frame them on the end of this. They are outside the door to Raven's room.)

Starfire: She could be weeping and- Robin: I don't want to bother her! (Close-up of their hands.) Starfire: (from o.c.) But if we merely-

(The door opens. Head-on view of the two; she relaxes with a gasp and smiles, and he tumbles backward to the floor. Pull back to frame the entire doorway, in which Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven are now standing. Robin gets to his feet.)

Robin: Where have you guys been? Cyborg: Just getting to know each other. (Raven smiles and blushes.) Starfire: Come, friends. We shall prepare a new breakfast feast. Beast Boy: It's a little late for breakfast, Star. Maybe just some herbal tea. Raven: Actually, breakfast sounds...nice.

(Beast Boy is caught off guard momentarily by her change of eating habits, but he quickly smiles as stars flash briefly in his eyes.)

Beast Boy: Breakfast for dinner? Coming up! (He runs off; Cyborg goes after him.) Cyborg: Oh, no! I'm cooking this time!

(Cut to the exterior of the Tower.)

Cyborg: (from inside) We're having real eggs!

(Pull back slowly and fade to black.)