Chapter One: The Lone Raven

Here we go, so this is an additional story in Panic's universe and Panic will appear in here sightly but this story takes place between "Panic of the Past" and "Pandora's Panic Box" (The fourth story in the series) This entire story with focus on Raven as the main character and so I hope it gives you some insight into her character

Today Panic invited me to come visit her humble home, well, Avengers Tower where she now lives along with the rest of the super powered team, reluctantly I agreed due to how she begged and pleaded with me to come. To be honest, I would rather have not attending this carefully planned gathering that Panic so intently asked of me to join but because she is such an amazing friend I felt it necessary to be there for her.

After all of the many favors and kindness she has shown me since our first encounter I could not imagine turning her down on such a simple request and so, that is why I am currently rifling through my closet like a mad woman in attempt to find appropriate attire to see the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, again. While I am on good terms with her father Tony Stark, I do not believe the other trust me as much as he.

Most of their uneasiness springs from their encounter and battle with my father, Loki, God of Mischief and Lies, which is such an ugly shadow to continually live under, and am constantly judged for. While I have never done anything to deserve to be treated as a national threat to a world I was born on, I somehow still am treated as such due to my parentage which I had no choice in.

My mother is a hard-working woman, her job is managing Sam's Club Departments around the area and reporting back to the higher ups, she works late at night and sometimes so long that she asks if Panic would be able to let me spend the night so I am not alone for so many hours at a time, while typically I would be inclined to ask, today I do not want to.

Panic is stressed as it is, plus with Mr. and Mrs. Stark worrying about baby proofing, buying toys and bottles, and all the other necessities that come along with having a child, it does not seem like that good of an idea. They're already busy with their own family issues while Panic has been withdrawing into herself, more than I have ever seen her do.

Her fears are centered around the future which has yet to come, she is afraid of what will happen once the baby arrives and where she will fit into this new family. The one she had before this revelation will be broken, well is broken, due to this child's existence but in complete honesty, Panic always has been a bit over dramatic and is definitely over thinking things.

And while I have no experience with having a younger sibling nearly twenty years my junior, I think she does not have a thrill for the changing of an entire perspective of a whole world around her. She has had many life changing events happen so perhaps that could possibly explain Panic's lack of drive towards new endeavors and experiences.

I on the opposite side of the line, enjoy living more on the edge partially due to my lack of teenage rebellion and never having done crazy things throughout my years and will try anything to get out from under my fathers shadow. Panic continually laughs at my expense at my attempts of teenage rebellion, often telling me I am about as scandalous as Sandra Dee, whomever that is.

"Goodbye Mother, I shall be at Panic's home if you need to get into contact with me," I call out to her. Even without slipping through the door into her room, she's asleep, I already can tell from the silence that follows after my announcement. Oh well, I shrug, closing the front door to our nice, middle class apartment in New York City that we only are allowed to stay in because of Panic's father.

Mr. Stark was kind enough to relocate Mother and I here when he decided that he would not be building his home back on the land where it previously was. Instead he contacted my mother and asked her if she would be happy to relocate somewhere else. She has told him we could not afford such a move and that it would ruin our lives if we did.

I remember him telling her, as she had her cell phone on speaker phone, not to worry about the moving costs or the rent for the place he'd picked out for us and she stared at the phone, confusion as plain as day written across her face. She began to weep and thanked him over and over again and told him he did not have to do that for her.

Then he said that he did, that Raven, myself, was his daughters best, and only friend and that he didn't want this distance to ruin a friendship that could last a lifetime and if that meant dulling out some thousands of dollars to keep us together, so be it. It was one of the happiest days of my life, for I had not ever had a friend before Panic and never dared to stand up for myself.

It is not that I can not defend myself, no, it's that I do not want to do anything that makes me like my father Loki, I want to be as different from his as day is from night and if that entails bullying so be it. At least that will make me a better person, teach me to treat everyone better and as equals because that is what we all are. Powers or not, that does not make anyone better than each other.

Panic and I for example, she have no powers, but she uses her brains as her most valuable asset and always does things for the good of everyone, and I, who am cursed with powers of magic and mind reading but hate even the idea of using them but had I ever need to, it would be for the good of the world and for my dear friends that I care for.

She and I are about as different as two people can get but yet we are friends, she understands me, and I understand her. While Panic and I are different, we both strive for the same reward we want to reap. Acceptance, and breaking the social standard of what is good and acceptable, and what is not, and that is why we understand each other so well, because we both have something to prove.

As soon as I pull myself out of my thoughts, it dawns upon me that I have not been to this towers since when she found out about my parentage and suddenly my nerves are rattling on overdrive. Peeling the glass door open, I enter into a large open room with a counter before me. The sound of an elevator door opening signals me to another presence in the room.

Glancing over, I see Panic standing there in the doorway of the elevator, leaning her right side on the door to keep it open. She's dressed in grey jeans with holes ripped up up the leg, a black long sleeve T-shirt with a skull in the center and black and white stripped sleeves. Her long red hair falls down in messy, natural curls and a smirk is present on her lips.

"Wanna stand there all day or would you prefer to head up to the main floor Rae?" she asks, humor in her tone. Stepping aside when I pass her. I step into the elevator and watch as the door closes up it and begins heading upwards as we elapse in silence.

A/N: So I know this may seem a bit boring but this is only the first chapter and there won't be a lot of chapters as this is a mini story type thing but I have a few things planned so be sure to favorite and comment on this story so I know you all want to see more of what happens between Panic's series