The Second Curse: A TT Fanfic- PROLOGUE
A/N: This is a Teen Titans fanfic. It involves an OC and eventually a BB/OC pairing. It picks up after the Raven Apocalypse, but before the "Things Change" episode (though that will eventually be covered). Note: there is no First Curse. This is not a sequel to anything. Hope you enjoy! : )
Medina had always longed for a child, but was cursed with infertility. Her husband left her after years of fruitless efforts to start a family; each blaming the other for the lack of results. Medina tried all manner of treatments, everything from IVF to a different man every week, all the while praying for a miracle. Her efforts went on for 3 years, but she could never conceive. Finally, in a desperate last attempt, she turned to the Dark Arts. Medina made a deal with something she didn't understand, and she eventually paid the price.
The Entity she contacted has no definite title, for it is impossible to describe it with something as simple as a name. Some religions refer to it as a devil, or even Satan, but it's so much more than that. It's the quintessence of all that is negative and cruel and truly evil in this world. It's what the Devil would be made of and answer to, if there were a Devil. Medina knew it was something Dark, but it offered a ritual that promised her her wishes would be fulfilled. That was all that mattered to her; she couldn't see how something that could help her could be evil. The ritual involved a fresh, male corpse being reanimated by the Entity in order to give Medina what she wanted. She was horrified by the ritual, but sure enough, a couple months afterwards she discovered she was pregnant with twin girls. The Entity, as dark as it may have been, seemed to have given her what she'd asked for and more. It only asked for one thing in return; that she name the children as it commanded. Only after their birth, did she see how fitting the names were, and she knew it was meant to be.
The twins were born on October 31st, and though they were twins, they couldn't have been more different. One had blue eyes and hair the bright yellow-blond color of the sun at dawn, while the other had dark eyes and black hair. She named the blonde girl Dawn, and the black-haired girl Sabbath (she never could quite figure out the meaning behind Sabbath's name, but she jokingly told herself it was an Ozzy reference and left it at that). Her friends and doctors found the babies' differing looks strange, especially since Medina herself had red hair and green eyes, but she just shrugged it off. She never claimed a father, and she never revealed her secret about the ritual and the Entity. Medina figured that, considering the manner in which the children were conceived, they would have to be special. If only she knew how special they would become. But Medina didn't care about their looks; she considered them her children and couldn't have loved them more. Medina was overjoyed to finally be a mother, but her joy was short-lived.
Three months after the twins were born, Medina was found dead in her own home. Her cause of death was deemed suicide due to postpartum depression. She was found next to a Dark Arts book with a letter in her hand addressed to Dawn and Sabbath.
"My dearest daughters, I love you with all my heart and I always will. Everything I have done, I have done for you. It's time for me to go, but I have faith you will be well looked after. I can't say what lies ahead, but if worse comes to worst, your father will help you. He told me you were destined for greatness and He would never let anything happen to you. He believes you both have wonderful potential. Listen to Him, my children. Listen to your dreams. He will guide you. Grow, be strong, and fear nothing. You are far stronger than you know. I believe in you.
Love,
Your mother, Medina Jane Hellingsworth"
Sabbath and Dawn went into foster care, but trouble soon arose. The girls were first adopted by Mr. and Mrs. Collins. The Collins' were an older couple who'd spent their younger years as entrepreneurs but thought that, now that they were financially secure, it would be nice to have a family. If only they knew what they were getting themselves into. As the girls grew older they began to have nightmares which grew more and more frequent as they approached their teens. Odd, unexplainable things happened around them that their adoptive parents found most disturbing. Dawn threw a tantrum on her 11th birthday and as she stomped her foot, an earthquake struck. Sabbath was given a candle set on her 12th birthday, but was told she couldn't light them without adult supervision. Having lost a house to a fire in their younger years, the Collins' kept all matches well out of reach. Yet, every time Mr. or Mrs. Collins walked by the girls' room, they found Sabbath reading by candle light. Neither matches nor lighters were ever found. It started out as just little things like that, but it soon became too much to handle.
On their 13th birthday, Dawn and Sabbath awoke screaming. Used to the night terrors, but acting on instinct, the Collins' rushed in to check on them. The girls explained it was another nightmare. They couldn't remember much, but they said their arms felt like they were burning. When the pain didn't subside, the Collins took Dawn and Sabbath to the hospital. Within the hour, handprints appeared on the girls' forearms. It looked as though someone had come up behind them and grabbed them by the arms. The marks weren't any kind of ink or stain that the doctors could determine. They looked like a combination of bruises and burns. The girls rushed to assure the doctors that the Collins' had not harmed them, and that they had simply woken up like that. However, because no one could say exactly where the marks came from, and because the girls were under the Collins' watch when they'd gotten them, Dawn and Sabbath were immediately taken from the Collins' custody and put back in the orphanage.
After that, the strange occurrences got worse and worse. Dawn and Sabbath's night terrors disturbed the other girls in the home, as did their stories about the Dark Man that spoke to them in their dreams. The girls soon became outcasts. Sabbath and Dawn could often be seen together in the park at recess, talking in whispers and completely ignoring the other girls. Small fires would break out in Sabbath's presence, and sand castles would inexplicably collapse when Dawn walked by. Sink pipes would freeze in the middle of June while Dawn was brushing her teeth. A tree would lose all of its leaves overnight if Sabbath had been reading under it the day before. When Dawn and Sabbath fought, the sprinklers overhead would burst.
When the girls were 14 they were adopted separately, since after hearing about what went on around them, even the bravest of foster parents didn't dare take both of them. Over the next two years, Dawn and Sabbath went from home to home, never staying under the same roof for more than 4 or 5 months at a time. As they grew, their powers grew stronger. The more they practiced, the stronger they became. It became clear to the girls that their powers were related to the four elements; water, fire, earth, and air.
Dawn was frightened of her abilities, as well as the Dark Man in her dreams who tried to get her to use them more and more. She hated to practice them, and so her control over them became erratic and she often lost control. Sabbath, however, loved her abilities. She practiced every day, as the Dark Man told her. He would show her in her dreams how to develop her powers, as well as what she would someday be able to do with them. As her strength developed with practice, she was one day gifted with a pair of large, black, bat wings. The process hurt, but Sabbath thought of it as a small price to pay for being able to fly. The Dark Man told her they were a reward for how well she listened, and that if she continued to practice, he would continue to give her gifts.
Over the years, the sisters eventually lost touch with each other as they were moved from city to city. By the time the two turned 16, Dawn had run away and had been considered missing for over 6 months, and Sabbath was on her fourth foster home that year (the wings made it harder for foster parents to accept her). Sabbath's new foster family moved her to a city that already had strange inhabitants; Jump city. The new family hoped that a city that idolizes teens with superpowers might be more comfortable for Sabbath. It turned out to be the best (and worst) thing they could've done for her.