(A/N: I tried putting this in a crossover fic with TT, but won't let me. So for now, I'm leaving this in the normal category.)
"Azarath Metrion Zi-"
"Explain to me why I have to say that again?" The floating position that the purple hooded girl was in was broken with the confused and almost condescending tone of the 16-year-old boy in front of her. She stumbled to gain her footing on the cemented rooftop of the T-tower and clutched the edges of her hood for security before pulling it down so she could study him.
"It is not a necessity. I say it because it is my mantra and this is the one sentence that gives me control over my powers." She was monotone, despite the fact that his tone had degraded her character unbeknownst to him. A small smile was a big enough sign from her, that she was not in the least bit phased.
"So, it only works for you?" His crystal blue eyes stared down at her wine colored ones, unsure if she were as accepting as her teammates had said.
The purple hair swayed with the movement of her head being shaken from side to side slowly, "It may work for me along the lines of psychic power, but it can also be a basis of concentration for another. Superboy, meditation may seem mindless, but it requires the utmost concentration…concentration directed to one's own being, to one's emotions. To be in control of your emotions enables one to be able to think clearly."
"I guess I understand that," The Kryptononian mumbled as he fiddled with the edge of his black shirt. The way she talked made him feel like a complete child, as if he were not a part of this world…no, as if she were not a part of this world, otherworldly.
Seeming to sense his thoughts, she reached out hesitantly and lightly touched his arm in awkward comfort, still with that small smile on her lips.
"Let us sit down. I will direct you into your meditative state." She went down with him and they crossed their legs. "Now for the positions of your hands, you can do whatever seems comfortable with you. Some people like to do this." One hand came up and placed itself horizontally in the middle of her chest while the other was brought up beside her body with the index finger and thumb touching.
"Or this." Her arms crossed over her chest, her hands placed in her armpits, and her shoulders scrunched up by her ears.
"I personally like to do the more well known position. The placement of the hands is right here." His eyes followed her hands to her knees. Both of her hands had the index fingers and thumbs touching, similar to the first position.
Superboy automatically copied her position and seemed comfortable with it. His eyebrows narrowed, waiting for the deep calm she had described to him before the session.
She spoke with just a hint of amusement. "Close your eyes….Now take a deep breath….Good, now another, clear your mind of any thought; release all the stress, anger, and worry that you have; void yourself from any emotion."
She listened to his deep breaths. They were all calmed, but there was one apparent emotion that decided to stay inside his mind. "All emotion."
He growled with the volume of a radio turned to low, "I'm trying, Raven."
"The best thing to do is to not think about it at all."
The focus that she had on his concentration broke just as his eyes shot open to meet hers.
Many would have taken the glare he had on as a sign that he was angry with her, but Raven understood his frustration, the completely urgent need to grasp the complicated logic spoke volumes to her.
"Is that even possible?" Oh, how little he knew, Raven thought with just a bit of pity, but she was happy to pass on what she had discovered at an age where most children still suckled on their thumbs.
"Maybe an example will explain better…," she paused for a moment and thought of what would be best. A breeze started to pick up, and her hair began to whip around her face. An idea struck her mind with the hope that it was simple enough for the clone to comprehend.
"Tell me, what is my hair currently doing?"
The Kryptonian clone scrunched his face and replied, "It's fluttering all over the place, especially in your face."
Raven's lips twitched vaguely. He did not even realize that he had rhymed just now. "And this is caused by?"
"…The wind…."
"Think of it in this perspective; my hair belongs to me and the wind is not my own, yet it manages to move something I own. This causes a disruption with anything I try to do. Now, relate your emotions to my hair. It is being affected by outward conflict that you may or may not control, which, in this example, is like the wind."
"I understand the analogy…"
"…But you do not understand how to solve it." Another small smile appeared, "That is because you did not allow me to finish. The simplest way possible is to tie my hair back. I manipulate it so that it will not bother me. It is a similar concept. With your feelings, you have the control to cast it aside to help your concentration, but since it seems quite difficult to understand, try to focus on your breathing, instead."
Superboy did as she had suggested and as a result he was able to clear his mind. The frustration that Raven had sensed was gone, along with any disturbances.
"Straighten your back a bit more….Relax your arms."
His face twisted with annoyance and he uttered a small but forceful, "Too much."
"Sorry," she replied softly, understanding the feeling. After all, her teammates seemed to interrupt her ritual on a daily basis. With a soft sigh and a feathered touch to the brooch that clasped her cloak into place around her neck, she got into her previous position and mouthed her mantra.
To the naked eye of an outsider, the silence would have seemed uncomfortable, but it was a state that was almost impenetrable. It was a student, teacher setting in the metaphysical world. Both of them were polar opposites when it came to their auras.
He was passionate and fiery, while she was calm and icy. If he gave off a spark of a thought that was bound to break him of his concentration she would sense it and push her soul self to take in the disturbance and encourage him to fill the void with a tide pool of calm.
A good fifteen minutes of meditation seemed well enough (and a miracle) for Raven, be it that her soul self was at the limit. She could only sustain enough control and power for that amount of time.
Just before she was about to retract, the door that led to the inside of the tower opened and slammed into the wall next to it. The unexpected sound had her soul self fly back into her body. The force of the metaphysical being had her flying uncontrollably towards the metal fencing behind her.
Expecting the impact, Raven curled herself for the collision, but instead of her body connecting with the three solid, metal bars, she hit a wall made of muscle. A small "oof" indicated that her breath had been knocked out.
Gasping, she clutched at the shirt beside her and looked upwards to a worried looking Kryptonian.
"Dude, nice reflexes." It did not take Raven even a second to recognize the annoying snicker of a certain green changeling.
"Beast Boy…." The immediate turn of her head towards the boy had her mind spinning for a moment. "How many times do I have to tell you? You do not need to change into a rhino to open that door!" More spinning, her head could not stay upright and she unconsciously tilted her head to Superboy's chest and groaned silently.
"Hehe, sorry Raven. I just came up here to tell you that the pizza is here. You might want to get a piece before Kid Flash…er –I mean the other Kid Flash, gets to the whole thing." Beast Boy scratched his head sheepishly before he turned around and disappeared into the tower.
"Will you be alright?" Superboy leaned in close and was practically breathing in her ear. Too intimate a gesture, her eyes popped open at the realization of just how close she was to the clone. The clasped fingers slowly uncurled, as not to discourage the mentally younger teen –god forbid the warnings his teammates had told her when they practically begged her to teach him what she knew. She hastily walked backwards to give themselves a bit more breathing space.
Quickly, before she could let on the immediate blush that was forming, her cowl was pulled over her head. A mumbled, "I'm fine," led Superboy to believe something was definitely wrong. He studied her with intense eyes, not believing her words, "Your heartbeat is higher than normal."
Thank Azarath for the hood for her blush deepened, without the cowl her typically pale skin, now turned to a scarlet fire would be as bright as the sunlight. Out of habit, during the times of extreme nervousness, she pulled her cloak in front of her body. There was always the scary thought of having that blush travel down to her exposed legs and someone questioning if she were alright or sick.
"It's nothing….How about we go down and get some pizza?"
His attention was unnecessary, especially if it was for her sake. The look he gave her was thoughtfully blank before he nodded. Her cloak swiveled around, billowed in a way that could rival the always brooding Batman, a man she had yet to meet personally.
As she reached the doorway she felt Superboy walk behind her a little too close for comfort, but she shrugged it off and lightly brought about the topic of preferred pizza flavor.