Teen Titans: The End of the World
Chapter One: Prologue
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never have been. Wish they were. Won't lie.
A/N: Enjoy. I figured something new might help while I try to figure out how to finish my other stories. The chapters are prolly going to be pretty short for now. We'll see what happens the more involved I get with this.
Let me know what you think.
First act I wake to find the hope/ To see you simply staring back at me
~ Blake Lewis. End of the World
The Tower living room was dark and eerie as the small group stood there in a profound silence. Most of their allies, friends really, were already setting up the scenes for battle down below as they prepared for the biggest fight of their lives. Starfire had gone down to prepare with the others, unable to handle the intensity of the situation and not ready for what could be the end of them all. She refused to say goodbye and, when her friends insisted, she merely left the room and left them all to wallow in their despair. Deep inside they knew she was stronger than any of them because she had faith in her friends, but they couldn't help but let a little bit of reality in. They tried to stay positive and strong and, on the outside, they appeared as strong as they sounded.
Beast Boy left shortly after Starfire did; mostly he was trying to follow her optimism but they all knew he was scared and they let him deal with it on his own terms. He tried his hardest to make jokes and keep everyone's spirits up and, downstairs in the melee of meta-humans and normal humans alike, he was actually doing a pretty good job of it. Back upstairs, though, the atmosphere was somber as the deeper bonds of the team dealt with the gravity of the situation.
"Are you ready for this one, Rob? I know you and Slade seem to have a rather sordid history," Cyborg asked, placing a large hand on his shoulder. Over the years Robin had quickly caught up to his height and they had grown quite close, almost like brothers. The two young men were close to 22 years now and physically embodied the Titan name; they had put aside their differences years ago and, at times like these, they worked hard to make sure their family stayed intact.
"I sure as hell hope so," he grimaced, clasping his own hand upon the metal man's shoulder. They shared a weak smile while Cyborg patted his back and glanced towards the window.
"Whatever happens," he said. "Make sure you take care of her." He gave one last look back and walked down with the rest of their teammates, leaving the two birds alone before the world came crashing down on all of them.
Robin walked over by the window and put his arms around the petite woman scowling out the dark window, looking at the destruction that was heading their way. She leaned back into his embrace and let out a weary sigh.
"It always seems to come down to us against the world, doesn't it?" she murmured, never taking her eyes off the impending doom. "I'm ready for someone else to take up the mantle. I think I'm done with this whole 'saving-the-world' mumbo-jumbo….. I want to retire. Can we?"
Robin chuckled and kissed the top of her amethyst hair. "I could go for retirement…. Well…. Maybe a nice, long vacation. What do you have in mind?"
She was silent for a moment before replying, "I always heard Disney World was nice this time of year. Don't they call it the 'Happiest Place on Earth' or something? That could be promising. I bet they don't have maniacal villains hell-bent on taking over the world there."
Robin let out a long, loud laugh, the first one in days it seemed and turned her around to face him. "You make it really hard not to love you, you know that?" He kissed her passionately and then rested his forehead against hers. "We'll get through this, won't we? Good always wins, right?"
She smiled and raised his chin to look down into her violet orbs. "You do not actually doubt yourself now, do you? What happened to the eternal optimism in your crusade for all things good?" She sighed and kissed him lightly on the corner of his mouth. "We've fought worse and won before. We've already been here once; the second time can only be easier to navigate once you're familiar with all the crossroads."
He brought her into his arms and held onto her for a long time before letting go and grabbing her hand so they could head downstairs. "Raven," he breathed, unable to find the right words. "If something happens….. I don't know what I'd do…. But if, somehow…. If we get separated… or worse…."
"Don't worry," she interrupted, squeezing his hand as they entered the elevator. "We'll find each other. I'll meet you at the end of the world. You remember the place?"
"I'll be waiting," he said, smiling as the elevator doors closed with a ding.