Raven appeared in her room inside the Temple of Azar. She and the other Titans had rebuilt the building years ago, long before their disbanding. She still felt weak from the battles that'd occurred. She'd been needed a lot more than usual by the Justice League, since eight of them ended up in another dimension. She folded her legs and began her mantra.
"Azarath...Mertion...Zinthos..." She repeated this for a few minutes and soon found herself at peace. She found herself just sitting silently, as she often did, alone in the large temple.
After the Titans disbanded, she'd felt most at home back here, where she'd grown up. It was a lonely life, but she'd grown used to it. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked out her window at the sunset.
"Much more beautiful on Earth..." she mused. Bringing her feet down to the ground, she walked over to the large window and softly placed a hand on the glass. She looked below at the fields and meadows that sat where large buildings and temples once stood. When they'd rebuilt this temple, they took down all of the ruins of the others. The scrap was either sent off to other dimensions, or reused for the rebuilding of this one.
She allowed her mind to drift when suddenly, she heard it. Her head whipped around at the sound. It was one she hadn't heard in years. She quickly made her way to the small desk aside her bed and shuffled through the drawers. It was then she saw it. The yellow and black plastic couldn't be confused with anything else. It was her Titan's Communicator. Old memories rushed through her head at the sight of it, and she quickly flipped it open to answer it.
"Who is this?" she asked, not sure who would call.
"Geez, Rae. That any way to greet an old friend?" a voice asked. Raven's eyes widened. She hadn't heard this voice since the Titans broke apart. "Rae, you there?"
"Yes. I'm here. You still have yours too, I see" she said.
"Well, Robin-I mean Nightwing said to hold on to it in case anything happens so..." he trailed off.
"Given your track record, I'm surprised you haven't broken it yet" she said in a teasing tone. She could almost hear the smile in his voice.
"Well, Rae, even I can be responsible too. I kept it in, like, top condition" he said, she huffed a laugh, a small smile gracing her lips. The two were quiet for a moment before he began to talk again. "So, how've you been holding up?" he asked.
"Fine. There's been a...strange occurrence in the past few days, but otherwise, fine."
"Yeah, Vic told me all about that. Alternate dimensions, crazy Superman... Weird stuff..."
"Indeed. Hal told me he found us there, Victor and I. He said we were...torturing some old man. He never found out why" she said, a small shiver running up her spine at the thought of herself torturing anyone. He caught on to the edge in her tone.
"Yeah...must be some heavy stuff. But I know that'd never happen. You and Vic have some of the best morals I've ever seen." There was a small silence, and he began again. "Rachel...you know you can still ask for help, right? I know we didn't exactly end on the best terms...but I'm still your friend, and I still care about you, you know." She nodded, even though he couldn't see her. Though she was taken back slightly by the use of her real name.
"I know. I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Another silence.
"No problem. I once I heard what happened, I had to make sure you guys were alright. I called Vic first. He said it was scary there."
"I wouldn't know. I wasn't with them when they were summoned. He ended up being pulled there trying to get them back."
"I'm still a little surprised that out of everyone, Superman was the one that went crazy. Like, he's the nicest guy in the history of nice guys! How did it even happen?"
"Well, I've been told that the Joker drugged him. He thought Louis and the child were Doomsday..." There was a gasp from the other end. "After he came down from the drug, he saw what he did, and he went crazy. He killed the Joker and decided the Justice League were the World Police, dictating all governments and all lands."
"Wow..."
"It gets worse. Those who didn't follow orders were...dealt with. You know Billy?"
"Shazam? Yeah, why?"
"In the other universe, he tried to stop Superman, and he was killed on the spot." There was a silence.
"Well, I guess love makes you do crazy things, huh Rae?" The question caught her slightly off guard.
"Yeah, it does." The two were silent for a moment. "So...are you still hanging around the Doom Patrol?" He chuckled.
"Nah, we split years ago. Doesn't anyone keep updated on little ole' me?" he asked in a fake hurt tone. "But ya, I had to get out of there."
"Why? If you don't mind me asking..." she asked.
"Not at all! I just couldn't take it is all. Steve kept bossing me around and Rita kept babying me. It sucked! It was just like going back to the start of everything. So I left. We do still keep in touch though, unlike some people" he said with a laugh. She even chuckled lightly.
"I'm sorry. Nobody ever contacted me, so I figured nobody wanted to talk. Victor and I do chat now and then, but I haven't heard from Nightwing unless it's business, and Kori doesn't talk to me either. How is she? Do you know?"
"I see her now and then. Sometimes we bump into each other at the mall and if we do, we get coffee."
"I thought you hated coffee?"
"I do, but I just go along anyways. It's always good to catch up with old friends. You should try it sometime" he said excitedly.
"Coffee?" she asked jokingly. He laughed.
"No! Catching up with friends. Seriously, Rae. It'd be great to see you again and talk some more. Besides, I know a place that serves great ginseng tea" he told her. She was shocked.
"You still remember my favorite?" she asked.
"Well, you drink it every day. It's hard to forget" he said with a laugh. "But seriously Rae. We need to meet up sometime. The place I know, it's no Depressing Cafe, but it'll do."
"I'll give it some thought."
"Great! When you're ready, you know who to call" he said with a laugh. She smiled, clicking the communicator closed.
"After all these years, Garfield, you haven't changed a bit."
I don't own Teen Titans, Injustice: Gods Among Us, or any DC characters. Well, I do own Injustice, special edition. It rules.
