Chapter One: Realization
The double electronic doors opened and the silent purple-haired girl walked into the teens' gathering area. Glancing up from her palms both clasped around her empty tea cup she spotted Beast boy and Cyborg playing their usual video games. Starfire; sitting on the couch watching the two brawl while playing with her little silk-mutated pet, and then Robin. Just the thought of his name made a stirring in her gut she was not familiar with nor will she ever get used to the feeling. She hadn't the slightest idea of how this...emotion came to occur, if she allowed herself to call it an emotion. Nowadays if she felt a certain way too much, her powers would be unbalanced; her emotions are forever intertwined with her abilities and in order to remain in control she had to cut them off. But as of late it was growing more and more difficult for her and she believed the main reason for this was a certain spiky-haired masked boy wonder.
She figured she'd retrace her steps as to how her affection for the teams' leader came into being. He cared for her like the others did, protected her when she couldn't herself, so what was it exactly? The idea of looking at him as more than a friend filtered it's way into her mind and she began to feed off of the inquiry. It manifested in her dreams way too many times for comfort, she could hardly look at him let alone speak to him without admiring some aspect of the little things he did. A part of her felt foolish for feeling this way, he obviously did not feel the same and all the team could see how Starfire gravitated towards him. They were the perfect pairing and her?..well. Glancing over at Beast boy she sighed in distaste, it's easier to say opposites attract.
"Hey Raven, mind making an extra cup for me?"
"Huh?!" At the sound of his voice Raven jumped out of her thoughts, focusing all her energy into the tea pot in her hand, the dark matter caused the glass to shatter. The sound of the pot bursting gained the attention of everyone in the room and Raven immediately wanted to withdraw from the entire situation. She was able to gain some focus however, to catch all of the shards before they hit the ground.
"Were ok." Robin announced, Cyborg and Beast boy shrugged then returned to their game and Star to pampering her pet.
As Robin rounded the corner to help with the spilled tea all over the kitchen floor Raven guided the ball of energy omitting from her hand over to the trash and dumped all of the broken pieces into the metal bin. She then leaned against the kitchen counter to regain her breath and began chanting her usual meditation hems to calm herself.
"Are we..ok?" Robin asked, looking over at her as he ringed out the rag he used to wipe the floor. By 'we' he obviously meant Raven. She opened her eyes and glanced at him feeling her stomach jump once again, "You..wanted..some tea?" She asked incoherently.
He chuckled, "Yeah, I've been researching some Chinese martial arts. Meditation is good for focus and concentration. Tea usually helps you with that right?"
"Oh." She murmured, "Yeah.."
With those few words she walked out of their living room and back through the doors to her room; her one comfort zone. Once she was inside her dark room the goth pressed her back against the wall and pondered why she suddenly felt this way. For some reason she hoped that Robin wanted to join her for a cup of tea out of courtesy or perhaps to get to know her better. She's imagined the scenario enough to believe it could be real. To believe he honestly wanted to spend time with her.
"Foolish" She whispered. She was tired of feeling this way, it was hard to focus with some many thoughts and feelings running through her that she never dared to have before. She was confused and yet bashful, affectionate and angry at herself. Of all the people she's encountered in her eighteen years of life, Robin was the one she came to fall for? The most saddening part was that she could never have him; oh yes..sorrow always liked to creep it's way out of her as well. Irritated by this, she groaned to herself as she walked over to her book case full of spells. None of them held the kind of power she needed, she's read them all several times to find nothing of use. She needed to find a spell that would separate herself from her emotions until she learned to overcome them.
"It's no use!" She yelled grabbing one of her books and tossing it across her room. At the sound of one of her crow shaped vases breaking she turned around with a horrified look on her face. The four red eyes that stared back at her from her vanity mirror vanished and she clutched her cape in despair.
"Control it." She whispered.
Taking out her mirror she often used for meditation she sat down, crossing her legs and placed the mirror in front of her. For now all she could do was stay calm and focused until she found a way to put these emotions to rest.
"You guys notice Raven's been acting a bit strange lately?" Robin asked as he joined his other companions.
"Dude, when is Raven not acting strange" Beast boy replied receiving a slap on the back of his head from his mechanical friend sitting beside him. "Owe Cy!" he yelled glaring at Cyborg. "It's true!"
"You're always picking on her man, no wonder she doesn't like you," Cyborg spoke.
"Robin is correct, I have also noticed Raven has been more withdrawn lately." Starfire added. Leaning against the couch behind Starfire Robin placed his hand on his chin. "Don't sweat it. Raven likes to be alone." Beast boy added.
"Hmm..maybe we should check up on her-" Suddenly the lights in the tower flashed red and an alert appeared on their screen. "Titans trouble!" Robin reported running over to the titans' computer.
"Where's the trouble?" Cyborg asked.
"Jump City library! Lets Move!" Robin ordered making his way across the floor as the others followed. Raven waited at the entrance as they all headed out. Beast boy laughed as he ran with the others, "Ha ha! What's worth stealing in a library!"
"Knowledge!" Raven replied receiving a puzzled look from the shape shifter.
Working her way through the guarded halls Jinx searched for the book that might have the spell she needed to reverse this curse she was born with. Being a girl with nothing but bad luck following her around she needed a way to change her fate. She could be better, perhaps a better person or a better sorceress. All the hope she had for her future lied within the book she was aimlessly searching for. It was one of the oldest spell books ever written, it held the power that could alter the universe if put in the right hands. Buried beneath the main library, Jinx hurried through the archives and past the old decaying books.
Bursting through two large double doors with her magic that rusted the metal hinges Jinx laughed to herself. "To easy.." Walking to the middle of the room she saw the thick heavy book sitting on its pedal stool waiting for her to take it. As she reached toward the book a blade caught her sleeve pinning her arm against the wall behind her. "Hey!" She yelled, more concerned about her wardrobe then the fact that she'd been caught.
"Seems your luck just ran out!" Robin yelled as Jinx ripped her sleeve out of the blade's hold. "Huh, how original." Jinx scoffed.
"Titan's Go!" Cyborg and Robin yelled in unison.
Her eyes flashed a neon pink as Jinx struck magic shock-waves towards the ground eradicating the floor beneath the titans knocking both Cyborg and Robin off of their feet. Beast boy transformed into a crow and began swarming around the pink-haired girl. Rebounding off of the pedal-stool; while avoiding Starfire's green blots, Jinx leaped into the air catching the green bird then sending a shock-wave through his tiny limbs. As she landed on the ground she tossed the exhausted beast boy at Starfire who caught him just as he returned to his human form. Raven picked up several books and shot them at the sorceress who jumped around with the agility of an acrobat. "Owe!" Jinx whined as one of the heavier books knocked her off of her feet.
"What happened to your friends?" Raven asked. Meaning the students she studied with at Hive academy. "I work alone now, and if you don't mind I've got what I came for." She replied picking up the large book. At the sight of the book Raven's eyes widened, she knew what Jinx was trying to steal. It held all the spells too powerful to be left in the wrong hands. Spells so powerful they could help keep her powers under control.
"Rae! Your letting her get away!" Cyborg yelled as he ran past the derby. "Huh?" Raven muttered as she now saw Jinx running towards the exit in the back of the library archives; she immediately took off after her.
"You're not getting away!" Robin yelled throwing several of his heat seeking bombs at the young witch. Jinx turned around and sent shock waves at the disks not realizing the catastrophic results it would have. As the two forces collided they sent off a devastating explosion destroying the library entirely whilst sending the teens flying off of their feet in several directions. Pushing a large piece of concrete off of him Cyborg stood up and ran over to Starfire, the only titan in the same area as he was.
Using his lazer canon and Starfire her star-bolts they blasted through the rumble to find their other teammates. "Hey BB! You ok!" Cyborg yelled. "Robin! Raven!" Starfire yelled.
"OOhhh" They heard someone moan. Pushing away a large book shelf they found Beast boy slumped over a pile of books. "You are alright?" Starfire asked helping him to his feet.
Clutching his head with his hands Beast boy sighed, "Ohh I'm never coming to a library again" "Not like you ever have before" Cyborg replied.
"Robin! Are you harmed?" Starfire exclaimed as their wounded leader joined them. His cape was torn and several other places on his suit but other than those small casualties he seemed perfectly fine.
Clearing his throat he glanced around the destroyed remains, "Where's Raven?"
The goth stood further away in between the ruins of the library and her friends trying to find her. In front of her lied Jinx buried underneath a library shelf and beside her the book she tried to steal. Raven remained frozen in place as she pondered on what she should do; the right thing she should do.
"Go ahead Raven." Jinx taunted. She reached out and pushed the book over to her, the purple haired girl looked down as the novel slid to a stop against her feet. "Take it, prove just home much of a 'hero' you are" She laughed.
"Don't act like you know me." Raven replied. Jinx laughed again, and before she could reply the other titan's found them.
"Raven!" Beast boy yelled. "Sweet! you caught her!"
The dark-haired girl only glanced at him and the shape shifter moved away from her icy glare. "The authorities are on their way, good work team" Robin said.
"Well...Minus destroying the entire library.." Cyborg shrugged.
Once the teens were back at the tower Raven returned to her room without a second glance or mention to anyone.
She walked up to her bed and glanced around the room as if someone would catch her in the privacy of her own dorm. Taking a deep breath she pulled out the book from her cloak, "It's for the best." She whispered. Once Jinx was captured and the team was occupied with helping clean up the library wreckage, it gave her just enough time to steal the book before anyone noticed.
The spells it contained and concealed power it held would surely help her emotions remain sustainable. She's wasn't a thief or a villain; she told her self that sometimes heroes must prepare for the worst. And if she couldn't control her demonic power, the worst would surely come, one book out of thousands shouldn't be that important.
Now all she needed to do was make sure no one knew she took the book, the other Titan's wouldn't understand.
Suddenly there was a knock at her door, she bent down and shoved the book under her bed; admittedly not the best hiding place but the fastest she could think of.
Typing in her pass code to her door Robin opened it as she sat down on her bed trying to look as casual as possible.
"May I come in?" He asked.
"Sure." Raven replied placing her cloak off of her head so that he could see her face.
"Look the Team and I have noticed you've been a bit...preoccupied lately. If something is bothering you, you know you have us to talk to..It's always good to get something off of your chest."
"Really?" She asked standing from her bed to walk over to him. "Yes," He replied confidently, "It's not good to keep things bottled up. That's something we both should have learned by now."
"And what have you kept bottled up Robin?" She asked looking up at his perfect angular face. Looking down at her she noticed his face turn slightly red as he was now being put on the spot.
"Nothing..I just." "Exactly" Raven interceded. "It's much harder than we think it is." She was daringly close to him now, glancing from his eyes to his lips, she couldn't help but imagine what would happen if they leaned in a bit closer to each other. She pulled away as the day dream began to play in her mind, she needed to stop buying into those ridiculous scenarios.
"Thank you for your advice Robin, but this might be something I have to work out on my own." "Oh" He muttered, seemingly caught in his own day dream.
"Understood." He replied, he walked back out into the hall and closed her doors behind him.
(Leave a review? The first chapter of a story is never interesting enough to me. Let me know if you're intrigued!)