Teen Titans
Shadows Play
Episode One - Shadow Hearts
The shadows swirled and shifted, revealing glimpses of what was hidden on a darkstone throne. A pale hand, still crusted with the blood of innocents swirled with tongues of shadow and ran over the shapes off her creations.
Oh how she loved them.
The shadows opened wider, and black hair just sprinkled with silver came into view. It draped on and around a still pleasing face, the touch of years hadn't done too much damage. She smiled with a crazy look in her peculiar violet eyes. As twisting shadows scraped the dried and drying blood from her cheeks and full satin skirts, from her flowing sleeves and the bared skin underneath. She leaned back. It was almost time, almost, almost.
Soon the teenagers who had taken her daughter from her would see their mistake. It was them and their kind, those mutated freaks, that had taken her daughter from the sheltering embrace of a mother's arms to the real world, to face untold danger...
She'd been outwardly supportive for years, while she secretly plotted. Her first scheme hadn't succeeded as well as she'd hoped. She'd failed to destroy all of the brats. But this time, oh this time, she would kill all of them. In time she would return for Wither, but not just yet. Right now, she had more pressing matters at hand. Destroying the next hide out for her miscreant daughter. When Umbra was done, her beloved Shaid would have no where to go, and no where to run, but into her mother's waiting arms.
The shadow forms beside her came into sharper focus, and Umbra's lips twisted into a sadistic smirk. They truly were perfect copies. She wondered if the Teen Titans would appreciate her skill, she wondered if they'd have time...before they died.
Peace. Serenity. Quiet.
Raven basked in these, clearing her mind of all emotion, anything but peace...
It couldn't last long.
"Raven! Dinner's ready!"
Wincing, the violet haired young woman muttered under her breath.
"You coming, Rae?" a young, green man asked from the doorway. She turned and glared. He paled, as much as it is possible for one of his skintone to do.
"What have I told you?! When I'm meditating, I do not want to be disturbed no matter what!" she snapped. He hung his head.
"Sorry, Raven." he mumbled. She sighed.
"It's alright." she finally muttered and preceded him through the door, back into the tower. "So, what's for dinner."
"Tofu chicken!" he spouted off.
She sighed, but with a faint smile on her face. She was actually starting to tolerate tofu.
"She shall be the first to taste the Hearts of Shadow. She shall meet her match in the darkness." Umbra muttered to herself, eyes never leaving the shadowed orb cradled lovingly in her hands. The image burned there moved like the image on a television.
"Raven... already so dark... It will not be hard to replace her with one of my Hearts."
Cyborg leaned against his car, so careful not to scratch the paint that it would have been funny if the look on his face wasn't so serious.
Raven found it funny anyway, but didn't laugh. Her smirk was enough.
"You're late." he commented, leaning over her to kiss her cheek. She smiled devishly.
"You're early." she countered. He shrugged.
"Where do you want to go tonight?" he asked, opening his door to climb into the driver's seat.
"Away from here." was her immediate response. A crash from inside the tower, along with the cawing of a chicken caused her to wince. "Fast."
He chuckled and put the car into reverse.
"How about we check out a movie or something." he finally suggested. She nodded. He pulled into the theater's parking lot, only to find the place deserted.
"What's up here?" he asked, glancing around the silent parking lot. A few cars were still parked in the lot, but not many. And strangely enough, there were no people.
Cautiously, the two climbed from his car to look around.
"Strange." he commented.
"Definitely." she agreed.
A quick search of the lot, however, showed no signs of any mass destruction. A few overturned trash barrels and a sign that had fallen over were the only problems.
Spooked, though, they returned to the tower.
The strange events didn't start to be explained until the next morning, though.
"Raven! You're on T.V.!"
Pulled to consciousness, she drug herself into the living room to stare up at the big screen tv in shock.
She was on tv. The morning news, to be exact. And she was being blamed for three separate massacres in Jump City the previous night.
–
"Raven, we know you weren't the one who did that, but is there any way..."
Cyborg, looking uncomfortable, cleared his throat.
"Raven was with me last night."
The Teen Titans stared at Cyborg, with the exception of Starfire, and Raven. Raven was blushing furiously, and Starfire had adopted a look of complete confusion.
"What were you doing? Couldn't Raven have left while you were sleeping?"
Robin, Beastboy, and Cyborg fell off of their chairs. Raven actually smiled.
"We didn't get very much sleep."
"Then what were you doing if not sleeping? Playing games?"
"Games? YES! Games!" Cyborg said in a overly loud and panicked tone. When Raven opened her mouth, he covered it with his hand, and pulled her closer.
"Yeah, Raven's a wiz at cradle."
"Yeah," Raven managed. "I can cradle his -""
"RAVEN!" Cyborg had the Titan off her feet, over his shoulder, and out of the room before she could protest.
"Um...reconvene...whenever Raven and Cyborg are finished with their ... make up ritual...."
"Cradle Anyone?" Terra grinned at Beast boy.
She hunted, and she killed. She was shadow, she was the shadow of one who lived her life in the light. Like a bird of prey, she stalked the night. She walked the streets.
And she had Raven's face.
"Isn't that Raven? She's one of the Teen Titans, you know." one person commented. Another chimed in with sounds of aw.
"How does this girl exist without killing these people herself?" the shadow muttered, raising a finger. Two wet cracking sounds, and the bystanders lay in pooling blood, their necks broken cleanly.
A scream, then another. It quickly turned into another massacre.
"Titans! There's trouble downtown!" Robin called out.
Starfire and Beast Boy looked up from their boardgame, and Terra and Cyborg from their racing game.
"Who is it this time? Slade?" Terra chimed.
Robin looked a bit pale and shook his head. "No, it's Raven."
Cyborg took a look around the room and noted her absence. "No, wait... you guys can't actually think that Rae..."
"Has anyone seen Raven since earlier?" Terra broke in. No one chimed in. Not even Cyborg.
"Regardless of who this is, we have to stop them. Titans, let's go!"
Hands gripping the wheel just a hair too tight, Cyborg muttered to himself.
"I don't believe they think that Rae..." he sighed. "Well, they'll see. Raven's not against us."
He paused, eyes focused on the road.
"I just wish I knew where she is. She picked a great time to go missing."
The Shadow turned and watched the fleeing persons with mild interest and a sadistic lust in her eyes. Faintly smirking at their terror, she was not surprised when five figures approached her.
"Raven?"
Disbelief in his voice, the Shadow knew that this male must have been her mate. She looked him up and down and licked her lips. 'Nice,' she thought.
"Raven... why....?"
The mechanical man raised a hand to reach for her, but the Shadow smiled.
"Because, this is who I am."
"No, it's not"
"Isn't it? How would you know anyway? You're just my boy toy, a nice one at that though." The eyes Raven flicked over Cyborg's metallic frame were approving.
"Raven, you must stop this. It is most definitely wrong!" Starfire sang out as Cyborg backed away, the human part of his face expressed pain none of the Titans had seen before.
"Raven, I'm sorry, but we have to take you in." Robin crouched into a fighting position and gave Cyborg a pointed glance. "TITANS! GO!!"
The Teen Titans moved forward as one. Starfire grabbed Robin's hand and took off into the air, with Robin reaching into his utility belt for one of his miscellaneous items. Cyborg reluctantly hopped on the rhino Beastboy had become and they avoided the clashes of earth on psychic power where Terra was protecting them from Raven. Cyborg charged up his arm blaster, and aimed the device at his lover.
Grief in his eyes, he fired.
She avoided the blast, though, and he seemed relieved. She didn't dodge Robin's grappling hook, as it wrapped around her three and four times.
Falling to the ground, her eyes shined red.
But there was only two of them, and Cyborg noticed.
His mind wasn't working well, though, so when Beast Boy changed into a crow, he didn't move fast enough and ended up sitting on the green boy.
"Cy! Come on, man, focus!"
The mechanical man rolled off of his friend, but found that a stray boulder had knocked Raven out.
She lay on the ground, already tied from Robin's rope.
"Good job, Titans." Robin commented. Cyborg glared, and took one look at Raven before storming off.
No one said anything as they took Raven to jail. They all wondered where they'd gone wrong, though.
When the Titans returned to the tower, they found Cyborg sitting in the living room, in the dark. Terra and Starfire dismissed themselves quietly, and Robin followed suit after apologizing to Cyborg.
Beast Boy, however, sat on the other end of the couch.
"Listen, Cy... We're all sorry, but... did Raven ever say anything to you about-"
"She wouldn't turn on us. We were her friends." Cyborg insisted, blindly. Beast Boy clammed up, and sighed.
"You should get some sleep. It's been a rough day."
For once, not even Beast Boy had a funny comment for the situation.
Finally alone, Cyborg flicked on the tv.
"Raven, a former member of the Teen Titans, escaped from her high security cell today and is back on the loose. Citizens of Jump City are being warned to-"
The news broadcast blared, and Cyborg jumped. "She... escaped."
He stood up and paced to her room. He had to see for himself if something was really wrong. He'd use the mirror again and enter her mind if he had to.
Knocking gently, he was shocked when someone answered.
He was even more surprised when it was Raven.
End Episode One.