Cinderblock cast Robin aside, as a child would flick a booger from its finger. Raven glanced about for the best projectile to launch at him. Cinderblock, he was like a cinderblock, how would you defeat something like that? Cyborg's attacks were bounced off like a rubber ball bounces off cement, Starfire's bolts of righteous fury were absorbed as a sponge absorbs water, and Beast Boy was as useless as an elephant trampling over Cinderblock's foot, which was exactly what he was doing. Raven flew at her enemy, hoping for inspiration as she went. She levitated a fire truck with her right index finger, aimed for Cinderblock's head, and threw it with a power that would shame Starfire's alien strength. Then, feeling a gaze, Raven turned. Only Cyborg was behind her, standing in front of the water, his mouth open, eyes focused on the villain behind her.
"Rae, watch out!" Cyborg said robotically.
She went to defend herself, but the warning was too late. A giant hand belonging to Cinderblock caught her side, violently introducing her to a nearby street lamp. Recovering quickly, Raven dodged the next brick-like attack. Cinderblock redirected his attention to Cyborg who'd been pelting him mercilessly from behind. To draw the villain away from a now battered Raven, Cyborg picked up the fire truck once used by Raven, and crashed it down over Cinderblock's skull. While Cinderblock's attention was focused on Cyborg, Robin crept up from behind, placing an explosive on Cinderblock's back. The Azarathian girl collected herself, levitating herself out of the blast range of the explosive.
BOOM!
Cinderblock flew away from the Titans, a red flame streaming from his back.
SPLASH!
He hit the water, sinking instantly.
"Wow," Beast Boy grinned stupidly, "he sank like a fish out of water."
Raven rolled her eyes and upon turning to leave she felt a gaze on her once more. She turned, but all she saw was Cyborg, standing in front of the water where Cinderblock has sunk to Davy Jones' Locker.
"Come on Rae; just take the last piece of pizza! You got nailed out there and nothing beats a piece of meat lovers' pizza to get you feelin' better."
Giving an exasperated sigh at Cyborg's demand, Raven rose, heading to the stove to make some tea for herself.
"Yeah, Raven, about today . . ." Robin picked up his adult tone, "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING? You turned your back while fighting!"
"I made a slight mistake and, had Cyborg not been staring at me, it never would have happened."
"What! I wasn't staring at you."
Robin glared at Cyborg, "You sure about that?"
"Yeah! I mean, why would I be staring at Raven?" At this Robin clasped his fingers around the Cyborg's human ear, pulling him from the room.
"What do you think you're doing?" Boy Wonder pinned his teammate against the wall, "I thought we agreed that Raven was off limits."
"We did! And she is! I dunno what she's talking about."
"Good, let's keep it that way! I don't even want to hear about another incident like this or all promises are off."
"Don't worry," Cy glared at Robin, "even though I'd love to date her, I'd hate to risk the chance of her going out with an obsessive shrimp like you."
Raven, taking advantage of Robin and Cyborg's disappearance, ran off to her room, ditching the rest of the victory pizza. What an odd day: first someone in Cyborg's direction was staring at her, supposedly not Cyborg (although he was the only one there), Cyborg insisted she have the last piece of pizza, and then Robin nearly killed Cyborg because Robin thought Cyborg had been looking at her. Something weird was going on.
Unable to determine the motive behind the boys' actions, Raven settled down to meditate. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinth-" she dropped the end of her word at a chime from her computer. Hovering over to it, she mocked the alert message, "You have one new messages." Although it was probably junk mail, she still opened it.
From: BLOCKED>
To: An apology
Raven,
I was watching you today in the battle against Cinderblock. I'm sorry that it bothered you, but I couldn't take my eyes off of you. You were fighting so well, and I was surprised at how much you had improved since we first met, although I shouldn't have been as we've known each other for some time. Well, once again, I'm sorry that I distracted you today. My best wishes for a speedy recovery.
"Well if that isn't odd . . . can you even block an email address?" Raven thought to herself. She grabbed her communicator, calling Robin, "Hey, Robin?"
"What's up?"
"I've got a question for you; can you block an email address?"
"I have no idea. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I got an email from the person who was staring at me earlier, but it says that their email address is blocked."
Robin's voice grew stern, "I don't know if you can do that, or how to do it, but I'll bet Cyborg does."
Without so much as a good-bye, Raven hung up and called Cyborg.
"Hello."
"Hey, Cyborg, this is Raven. Did you just email me?"
"Nope, I barely escaped from Robin's death gripe."
"Oh," maybe it wasn't Cyborg, "Can an email address be blocked so that the receiver can't see who the sender is?"
"Trying to let that prankster spirit in you out?" Cy chuckled, "Sorry, but I've never heard of it. So, why do you really want to know?"
"I got an email from the guy who was staring at me and I've got no idea who sent it. The sender's address says blocked."
"Maybe Robin sent it."
Raven, noticing an angry note in Cyborg's voice, saw that she wouldn't get anywhere with him like this and simply hung up rather than trying to argue.
Robin was clueless; Cyborg was clueless, time to find someone who knew what they were talking about. Raven pulled up her messenger, scanning down the list looking for a friend who was filled with a variety of odd bits of knowledge. Lo and behold, there she was, Rusty.
Inviting Rusty to join the conversation.
Rusty has joined the conversation.
Mrs. Robin: Hey Rusty
Mrs. Robin: :o What did you do?
Rusty: I didn't do anything.
Mrs. Robin has changed her name to Rae.
Rusty has changed her name to Ruth.
Rae: You changed my name!
Ruth: Did not! I can't change your name while you're signed in.
Rae: It was changed before I got online.
Ruth: Maybe Robin did it, or maybe you're ashamed to admit that you did it.
Rae: I don't have time for this Rusty, just don't hack in and change my name again.
Ruth: You don't have time for me? -fake sobs-
Rae: I just got on to ask you about something.
Ruth: So ask already.
Rae: Is Dusty around?
Ruth: Oh boy, now I feel special. You got online to ask me about Dusty.
Rae: Oh shut up, that wasn't it.
Rae: Why aren't you saying anything?
Rae: Hello?
Rae: Okay! You can talk.
Ruth: LOL!
Rae: Is Dusty around?
Ruth: Why?
Rae: Is she?
Ruth: Nah, she's off judging some Teen Titans FanFiction contest.
Rae: Good.
Ruth: Why?
Rae: It means you won't disappear on me to work on one of your stupid stories.
Ruth: Aw, do you feel neglected?
Rae: No, I just wanted to ask you about something.
Ruth: You already did.
Rae: Something else . . .
Ruth: Oooh, what?
Rae: -rolls eyes- Any potential gossip excites you way too much.
Ruth: So? What's your question?
Rae: Well I got an email, and in it the sender was apologizing for staring at me and distracting me. My question is: How can I find out who sent it?"
Ruth: Someone was staring at you and you don't know who it was? That's kinda creepy. Well . . . lemme think –pretends to think so Raven doesn't feel bad for being computer illiterate- check the "From:" line and get the email address!
Rae: It says blocked> you brat. I'm not stupid!
Ruth: You can block people from seeing your email address! SWEEET!
Rae: So, how can I find out who it is?
Ruth: Have you tried replying to the email? It might let you do that.
Rae: I tried that while I called around trying to figure it out, it seemed to work but I don't know if they'll tell me who they are if they do get my message.
Ruth: Well other than replying, I have no idea . . . sorry
Rae: My last hope is down the drain. If you, Cyborg, and Roin don't know, who will?
Rae: er, Robin, sorry
Ruth: LOL, sorry I'm not of more use. Well, I'll talk to you later. I have a FanFic to finish.
Ruth has left the conversation.
Raven closed the window. "Do I really need a secret admirer staling me when my teammates are all freaking out and trying to force me to eat pizza? NO!" Raven's thoughts streamed on, "Could today get any worse? "At that moment, the Titan's alarm went off.
The battle went as battles go; nothing strange except Cyborg always seemed to be staring at her. Cyborg had been yelled at by Robin for wading in the ocean rather than fighting, but considering their moods earlier, a wild accusation like this wasn't unusual. Beast Boy was his usual, completely boring self, and Star seemed to be greatly preoccupied, getting knocked to the ground ten to fifteen times. This made the return to the Tower unpleasant.
"What is wrong with you?" Lately Robin seemed to begin most of his lectures like this. "None of you were even paying attention! Cyborg was playing in the water, Star was looking at the clouds, and Beast Boy was blowing spit bubbles! And Raven, I thought you said the distraction as due to someone staring at you? Well you weren't paying attention just no." Robin had reached a full-fledged yell, "What's the excuse now?" His face was bright red, steam shooting from his ears as though he were a train.
"Someone was staring at me!" Raven shot Cyborg, who wasn't paying attention, a dark look.
Robin was livid, "Cyborg!"
The mechanical man jumped, "Yeah?"
"STOP STARING AT RAVEN!"
"Man, what are you talkin' about?"
"ACK!" the Titan's leader stormed out of the room, slamming things as he went.
Several weeks had passed, and after many of the fights, Raven continued to get her mysterious emails. She responded sometimes; she ignored them most of the time. Although she knew it was dangerous and irresponsible to correspond with someone who was practically stalking her, she enjoyed the pit of praise, the helpful pointers, and the break it gave her from the other Titans. She still believed that it could be Cyborg; however, she had no proof either way. After all, maybe she was just imagining his stares.
"Raven," Robin's voice crashed through her thoughts, forcing her from her dreams into the cold harsh world called reality.
"What?"
" Battle at the pier."
Collecting herself, she grudgingly made her way to the pier, while feeling an emotional mix of annoyance that her stalker might be there and curiosity at what he'd say afterwards. Like clockwork, when the battle began, so did the gaze. She ignored it for a while, but the relentless stare gnawed on her nerves. Raven landed and looked toward the origin of the stare. Again only Cyborg was there, standing in front of the water. What if—no, Cyborg couldn't be possessed, could he? He had been hanging by the water an awful lot lately. Perhaps the idea wasn't—
A glowing pink bar crashed into Raven, throwing her into the air. Jinx squealed in delight as Raven hit the water unconscious.
The Titans gasped in horror, racing to the edge of the water.
"I'll go," Robin jumped.
Cyborg caught his cape, "No, I'll go."
Tears in her eyes, Star screamed, "Both of you, GO!" and shoved them into the icy winter water.
Robin and Cyborg swam through the waters furiously, looking for Raven in even the smallest gaps. They returned to the surface for air. Star's face was wet with tears; Raven hadn't surfaced. They plunged below the surface again, searching until they were numb from the cold. Cyborg dragged himself to shore, forcing Robin to come with him.
"Let me go, Cyborg! I can still save her!"
"Man, it's too late, I don't wanna believe it either, but if she hasn't surfaced by now—"
"DON'T SAY IT! DON'T EVEN THINK IT!"
"Buddy, she's—"
"No! I won't believe it!" Robin shoved Cyborg away and began walking down the shore, searching for hope.
Cy turned back toward the pier. "Star? Beast Boy?" Nothing, no answer. "Uh, Robin, we've got a problem."
Robin's distant voice floated through the air, "You mean other than the fact that you stopped me from saving Raven?"
Cyborg turned to chase after Robin, "Hey, this is not my fault. You can't blame me for this. It's not your fault either. We both searched for her, she's gone."
"But you stopped me," Robin turned to face Cyborg, cheeks wet with tears, face red with anger, "I went to jump in, but you stopped me to argue."
"Rob-er, but-I—"
"Friend Cyborg! Friend Robin!" Star, a good distance away, was waving her arms to catch their attention. "Raven is alive!"
Overjoyed the two titans ran to their teammates. Raven, still unconscious, looked pale "She doesn't seem to have inhaled very much water, or at least that's what-" Beast Boy was cut off by Robin and Cyborg arguing.
"It's your fault she's like this!" Cyborg and Robin yelled in unison. "No, it's yours! You distracted her." Glaring they continued together, "Me? You blame me? You were the one always staring at her. Oh, don't give me that crap, I saw you! Oh, and what about the "blocked" emails? Oh, come on, just admit it!"
Star and BB gazed in disbelief. BB whispered to Star, "I didn't know two people could talk in unison that long." She giggled and nodded.
"Beast Boy?" Raven mumbled.
He knelt down next to her, enduring death glares from Robin and Cyborg. "Yeah, Raven?"
"It was BEAST BOY?" Robin and Cyborg glared Beast Boy into oblivion, silently agreeing that they should have made BB swear a "hands off" oath as well.
"Just making sure that annoying voice next to me was someone I knew."
The changeling chuckled, glade to see that Raven would be all right. "So, you gonna lay there all day or do you plan on getting up?"
She sat up slowly, coughing out a little water. "So . . . I'm guessing I got distracted during the fight?"
Robin smiled, "Yeah, but don't worry about it. Let's get you back to the tower and dried off."
A cup of tea, a bowl of soup, a set of dry clothes, and a hot shower (though not in that order) later and Raven was almost back to normal. The rest of the team had insisted she go to bed, but she wasn't quite ready. Her time, she decided, would instead be devoted to reading her emails. Maybe her secret pen pal would tell her she needed to watch her right a bit better. This thought made her wound from Jinx ache.
One new message. Raven's curiosity faded when she found it was from that morning, but rose when she saw that the sender was blocked. He had replied to her last email.
Raven, you're right. It is pathetic for me to hide behind these emails. Since you asked, I'd be happy to tell you who I am, but I'd prefer to do it in person. Keep an eye out for me today. ;)
He as finally going to tell her! Had she believed he'd tell her this easily, she'd have asked him weeks ago. Then, perhaps, this incident today never would have happened. Regrettably though, it did happen and had left Raven exhausted. Yawning, she crawled beneath her covers, falling fast asleep.
A single ray of light peaked through Raven's window, barely illuminating the area near her curtains. Time to get up. She sat up, pausing in the middle of her stretch. Light had flashed off of an object in the far corner, a moving object.
"Please, don't be alarmed." A boy's voice emerged from the moving object. Could this possibly be the one who'd sent the emails? "I just wanted to apologize. I knew it distracted you when I watched you, and now you're hurt because of me," his voice was sad. The figure came next to the bed, setting a bouquet on Raven's lap. "To think you could have died because of me—" He shook his head.
"You pulled me out of the water, didn't you? Why did you leave?"
"I didn't want to leave you, but Jinx had come back and someone had to fight her. If Starfire and Beast Boy hadn't come over, I wouldn't have left."
"You want to remain a secret that badly?" Raven was shocked; he valued his identity over her life.
He chuckled softly, "That isn't what I meant. I fought her and stayed next to you to protect you for as long as I could, but when they came we decided it would be safer for you if I lured Jinx away."
"You mean they saw you? They talked to you and they didn't tell me?"
"They probably didn't find me being there strange, which would explain why you still don't know who I am."
Raven knew he wasn't anyone she suspected before. His voice was too smooth to be Cyborg, not bossy enough to be Robin, though this voice was strangely familiar. She sat in silence gazing at the figure as light slowly, yet steadily, increased. Straining her eyes, she tried to focus in the near dark room. A face, a familiar face, but not a possibility. It would be too much to hope for, this face she saw. He leaned toward her, face focusing leaving her with out a doubt that it was him. With a faint smile forming on Raven's lips, Aqualad kissed her.