You need money, she can't provide that (yet) so she offer's an artifact as collateral.

"I can't pay you with money..." she begins.

"That's kind of a problem for me. Money is generally the best method of being paid. Don't tell me the Titans are broke?"

"We're not hurting for money. But it's a joint account. I can't pull a large sum of money from it without the others noticing. I need this to be kept a secret..."

"So then none of you have your own money? You just share it all?"

"Not all of it. We all have a portion we keep separate. But all our individual accounts combined aren't even half of the team account."

"It's not good business to go on I.O.U.s, if that's what you're leading up to..."

"What I'm saying," she responds irritably "is that I can offer something as collateral until I can pay you PROPERLY."

It's not the first time you've worked out an arrangement similar to the one she proposes. But even if she is a hero, that does not exclude her from the possibility of trying to pull one over you.

"So what would you offer as the collateral?"

She reaches into her cloak and pulls out what looks like a whistle made of blood-red metal. It has a band of gold on both ends, and the metal has symbols carved along the base. It's about the same size as a cigarette, and she offers it to you like one.

"This is an artifact I was given when I left Azarath. It's one of the few things I have to remind me of home. I fully intend on paying you and getting this back."

She puts it in your hand and closes your fingers around it, only letting go when she's sure the object will not fall.

You take a moment to examine it more closely,but you have no real basis on judging it's worth (or potential lack thereof).

"So what is it? Some whistle that takes you back home or something?"

She scoffs at your ignorance before answering you.

"No. It's an old magical artifact. It was supposedly used in old rituals and ceremonies to summon aid from demons that were not as evil as most were."

You almost drop the damn thing in panic, but manage to avoid it.

"Why the heck would you have something like this?? Isn't it generally a bad idea to mess with demons in the first place!?"

"Sometimes it became necessary. Most demons are pure evil, but some of them aren't. As long as they were careful in how they bartered with the demons, my people's ancestors have been able to reach a fair trade with demons in times of **** need. It's saved our people many times when we've had no other options available."

"So if this thing is that valuable, then why was it given to you?"

Raven doesn't answer you, and just looks forward blankly. You are a bit irritated at her for not replying, but getting mad won't help.

"Okay, nevermind that then. Why give it to ME, if its that valuable?"

At that, she looks at you and responds.

"Because for one thing, its useless in your hands."

Huh...?

"There's a certain way to use it. But without my help, you wouldn't be able to summon a demon even if you wanted to."

Why would you want to?

"Second, I meant what I said earlier. It is an important piece of my home. And I do intend on getting that back. But for now, I need to offer you something as collateral.

"And lastly, it's the only thing of value I always carry with me."