Grim Arrivals
Dark, shining and beautiful. Black metal buildings glimmering in the rising sun, towering over the city with a cautious gaze. Blissful and serene, Jump City awoke from the night's sleep, stretching into the new day.
She arose silently, long arms extended in a morning stretch. 6:30 AM, read the soft red glow of the alarm clock. Time for another dose of life. Leaving her hair in its indigo mess, she quickly wrestled out of her night clothes and into a clean blue leotard. Draping a cloak around herself dazedly, she pulled on her pair of indigo shoes and stumbled out the door.
The bright hall lights struck her eyes like a knife, and she winced and pulled up her hood. Maybe her room was a little too dark after all. Making her way down the empty hallway, she heard muffled voices coming from the room at the end. A shriek, and then a bout of laughter from the other voices. She laughed inwardly. 'Beast Boy.'
Her footfalls echoed in the hall, amplified by the bare walls. The sound comforted her, a familiar sound that she had grown accustomed to. Approaching the end of the hall, the doors opened before her and the voices grew louder. Cyborg stood at the end of the bar, laughing at BB's humiliation, red robotic eye gently glowing in contrast to his human eye that teared up with laughter. Kind but clueless Starfire, who covered her mouth as she joined the laughter. Goofy Beast Boy-- who, she hated to admit, was actually pretty funny at times-- who was steaming as the others made fun of him. And then there was Robin-- sweet, caring Robin, who held a careful balance of justice and sympathy-- laughing softly in the background.
Raven floated down the steps as the others stifled their laughter to greet her. She mumbled a brief hello and mentally snatched a piece of toast, spread jelly on it, and brought it over to her open palm. She nibbled on it quietly and settled into the conversation.
"So then Beast Boy slipped and got a face full of tofu chicken! HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!" Cyborg's friendly voice called.
Raven laughed and looked at Beast Boy, whose green face still had a few splotches of tofu. He quickly morphed into a green dog and shook the food off of him and onto Cyborg.
Starfire turned to Robin and asked in her usual question of a voice, "Might you pass the toasted bread?" When Robin set it before her, she added a 'thank you' and began shoving it into her mouth. Robin smiled at her strange manners and Cyborg proposed an idea.
"Y'all wanna go to the park and toss around the old stank ball? I got the T-car all fixed up and she's ready for a spin." The T-car had been wrecked numerous times now, almost every time they left the tower, and Cy proposed this idea every time he had it fixed. But, the park was good exercise, and they always had a good time, so, each in turn, they agreed. Cyborg gave a delighted smile and went to start the car.
Raven ran a hand through her hair, wondering if she should bother to brush it, sighed, and finished her toast hurriedly. Robin took Starfire's arm and escorted her through the door as it opened for them. Beast Boy looked at Raven as he grabbed a jacket and asked, "You coming?"
Raven swallowed the last bit of toast. "Let me get a brush and I'll be right out." Beast Boy smiled and dashed out the door. "Wait up!" he called to the others.
Raven sighed and took a step toward the door. Did she really want to go? Lately the city only reminded her of the day she had reigned, that awful day when she was nothing but a vessel of destruction. She wanted to forget that, all of it, but it was inescapable, she decided. And besides, it was all over. What did she have to worry about?
She rushed into her room, fumbled through her drawers, and managed to find a brush. For an instant she looked into her mirror, but it was an instant too long. A normal image of herself looked back at her, purple eyes wide with fear, but what lurked behind it was what had scared her. An ear-shattering roar began to rush through her ears, drowning out all other noises around her, as she stared in horror at the thing behind her, and whispered the name, though she could not hear it.
"Malchior."