Disclaimer: Any and all existing similarities in this story to any other works or people is completely coincidental with the exception of the Teen Titans themselves, which I do not own.
Dante trudged reluctantly down a random sidewalk. He didn't know where he was, other than that he still hadn't left Jump city. His whole existance seemed... pointless. His father was dead, and he was alone, without a clue. He had been wandering for far too long, ever since that blasted female had brought destruction to the one anchor he had to this world. But he had learned a secret, in his father's abscence. A terrible secret, one that weighed him down as equally as the realization of what he had done. It had all been a game, something that made his dad proud.
But reality finally struck him. Hard. He had done terrible things, probably ended countless innocents lives. And for what? Now he was guilt-ridden, alone, hungry, and cold.
Dante walked into a random store, anything would beat this freezing rain. He heard a hearty "Hello there. Welcome to The Carnival Creeper." Lifting his head, his bright light blue eyes rested on a plump middle aged man who didn't seem to discriminate against the boy's clothes. Dante didn't stink either, as the local homeless shelter had a public shower.
Dante nodded and forced a half smile before pretending to browse through the endless rows of costumes. I should probably head back towards the shelter, he thought. It was already lightning outside, though he didn't make a move to leave. Instead he kept walking, thinking and not looking where he was going. He tripped over a box and humiliatingly landed face first on the floor. Thankfully no one saw how pathetic he looked.
He groaned quietly before picking himself up and dusting himself off only to drop back down to inspect the contents of the box. A pitch black uniform with a simple black mask with open eye holes outlined in crimson were all that were in the box, intriguing Dante. It couldn't be that expensive, it being so plain and all. He figured, why not, and picked it up and brought it back to the register.
"You want this?" The man seemed surprised. "No one wanted it so I was actually about to toss it. People only want the either flashy or skin tight stuff these days. It's special clothe designed to absorb darkness instead of light. Supposed to be creepy." He thought for a minute. "Here you go." He handed it back. "Happy early Halloween kid." Dante tried to give the man what little money he had but he waved it away. "Don't worry about it, it was dumpster bound anyways." Dante smiled and nodded his thanks, eagerly departing the store to find that it had stopped raining. Upon reaching a street lamp, he dawned it over his clothes, noticing it fit rather well. He smiled and closed his eyes. Maybe life had its pleasent moments after all. Now what to do with it?
BLAM! Dante dropped from the impact of the baseball bat to the back of his head. When he hit the ground, the muggers started kicking him.
Raven had decided to go on night patrol, as the usually peaceful quiet of Titan's Tower disturbed her. They had defeated Trigon, but she was still a bit on edge and meditation, usually her center, was not helping right then. So she simply flew, using her magic to keep the rain off of her until it stopped. She wandered around for a good hour, finding nothing of note. She gave up, turning to go home when she saw something catch her eye. There was a fight going on down below, but it didn't look fair. The one being beat upon was on the ground getting severly kicked.
She needed to intervene. So she dropped down so that she floated above the aggressors. "Hey!" She shouted to get their attention. They all stopped and looked up, cursing to themselves before they scattered. She was about to pursue when she saw the other kid, dressed in a costume, was pretty bloody and unconcious. Raven dropped to the ground and knelt beside him, checking for a pulse.
Dante's eyes fluttered open for a moment. Was he dying? Was this the Angel of Death? But he hadn't had a chance to live yet, and he had a feeling he wasn't heaven bound.
"Please… I need more time." He gasped. "I want... to... fix this..." he passed back out.
"And you brought him here why exactly? What if he's a mobster?!" Beastboy waved his arms frantically.
"Hospital was too far. And he isn't a criminal." Raven insisted in her normal even tone, still watching the unconcious Dante, who now was laying in one of the medical room beds.
"How do you know?" Beastboy asked.
"Beastboy, calm down. Cyborg, what's his condition?"
"Bio levels honestly don't look to good. He had nanobots in his bloodstream preventing much from happening and they appear to be slowing down his healing rate which could be a problem."
"Isn't there any way you can override them? Or better yet deactivate them?"
"Maybe. Give me a minute while I identify their communication wavelength." Cyborg turned to the computer again and began typing away furiosly.
"Oh dear, is Raven's friend going to be okay?" Starfire asked concerned.
"I don't know." Robin said.
"I don't know him, I just found him." Raven interjected before turning back to Dante. She brushed a bit of black hair from his pale face. She didn't know why, but she really wanted him to recover.
"And booyah! Now we wait fo-" Cyborg started. Suddenly the computers exploded into a frenzy of beeping and alarms.
"Woah heart rate excelearating too quickly. He's gonna-" Cyborg was interupted again as Dante woke and leapt out of the bed, jumping over a stunned Starfire and landing in a defensive crouch, enlongated claws extending from his fingers. His look was wary, like that of a cornered wild animal. Robin's hand went to his utility belt, Starfire's hands began to glow, Cyborg started up his sonic cannon, and beast boy morphed to a gorilla. Before the situation could any worse Raven shouted, "Wait!" She put a hand up to her friends and looked at Dante.
"We're not gonna hurt you." She said quietly, in a voice the other Titan's rarely ever heard her use. Dante remained weary for a moment before slowly retracting his claws and standing up. He remebered seeing Raven, remembering who he thought she was. "Am I dead?" He asked quietly.
"No, but about three seconds ago you were close to it." Cyborg said, surprised and shocked still.
"Dude." Beastboy said, pointing at Dante. He was the first to notice how rapidly Dante's body was closing up. His bruises were dissapearing and his bones were already back in place.
Dante held his arm up for inspection, watching it heal. He slowly looked up at the others in curiosity.
"You've got nanobots in your blood. They were stopping much of your cell's functions and looked to be limiting your healing processes. I managed to deactivate a group of them." Cyborg explained.
Dante dipped his head in thanks.
"There are several more groups, though they seem a bit more complex. If I were you, I'd sit down. The ones linked to your mind are still active and you have a concusion."
"I'm fine." Dante said, walking forward only for his legs to wobble. Before he could fall, Robin caught him under one arm and held him up. "You need to be careful." He told him. Dante didn't say anything, just stood up and walked more slowly back to the bed with Robin supporting him. Once he had him situated in the bed Robin told him, "You can stay here for the night."
"And get some sleep. No offense, but you look like you need it. This," Cyborg tossed him a little capsule. "will let you sleep safely with the concusion." Dante nodded and swallowed the pill without water. "Now I've gotta get back to bed. Sorry, but I'm tired and I know BB is too." He pointed to the green dog on the floor snoring away. "Gnite." He said, leaving the room. Soon the others followed suit until it was just Raven left with Dante.
Akward silence clouded the room as Dante starred at Raven. She didn't know. Couldn't know. Nor could they. They would have kicked him out by now.
"Soooo. Any idea where your from?" Dante just looked at her, so didn't press the subject. "Your head wound looks pretty bad." She said. "Sorry. I might be able to help." She reached for his forehead but he pulled back. He knew what she could do. Almost as if your reading his mind, she assured him she wouldn't. That was kind of strange he thought, still waving her offer away. "Fine." She said and the sighed before walking out of the room. "Night." She shut the light off, leaving Dante all alone to soak in misery and guilt until a restless sleep finally came.