Nevermore

PROLOGUE
(Opening shot: the night sky above the buildings of Jump 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 envelops Starfire 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.)