A friend once told me that the sunrise symbolizes new beginnings…a fresh start to whatever we have in store for us for the rest of the day. Sort of a like a promise for whatever is to come.
I suppose he's right. Every day there is a sunrise, and following it is a new mission to keep things right in the world. In the Tower you can rest assured that there will be criminals to stop, peace to maintain…something to do.
I don't believe that the sun thought that today should be any different. From the window in the main room I watched it as it gradually elevated its height, commanding the trees and lampposts to cast their shadows. Bright and pink as ever.
I tend to be the last one to sleep and the first to wake up in the morning. Most of the time I hide in wait in the realms of my room, listening to the others awaken from their slumbers and head to the kitchen. But unlike the sun I had changed my daily routine, and perched on the couch with a mug of tea in hand as sunlight filtered in through the window.
Beep! Beep!
I snapped to attention. The mug I was holding was safely escorted to the floor and I pulled the confines of my hood over my head. As the alarm sounded the red brooch fastened at my collar blinked vividly, and teammates thundered sleepily yet readily into the room.
"We have some early-rising villains here," I drawled as my roommates came into vision. Robin stepped up to the computer and mechanically pressed some buttons. The town map appeared on the monitor.
"There's a disturbance at the Jump City Mall," the Boy Wonder reported. "I'm betting it's the HIVE again."
With little hesitation the five of us were in the T-car and headed for the mall. From about a block away signs of distress were already quite apparent; citizens were fleeing from the scene in a frenzy, jumping into their cars and high-tailing it or taking cover in nearby houses and alleyways.
Cyborg pulled over at the entrance. Beast Boy and I tumbled out through the same door and followed the others to the crime scene. Upon our arrival we could clearly see the damage; broken shop windows, displays vandalized, stray coins from broken-into cash registers…and among it all stood the culprits.
Ah, the HIVE Five. It sure brought back some memories. I was certain that our last ordeal gave the newest members, Seemore and Private HIVE, the impression that we would be fairly easy to defeat. I inwardly hoped that they wouldn't remember…
"Raven, whatever happened to that wonderful dress of yours?" Jinx stood some yards in front of us, tauntingly brandishing a shopping bag of stolen goods. She was flanked by her usual colleagues and the new recruits; Gizmo, Mammoth, Seemore, and Private HIVE. I seethed as both team leaders shouted their commands.
"Attack pattern Alpha!"
"Titans, GO!"
Fortunately for us, Cyborg knew this attack pattern well. He instinctively went for Gizmo, sonic cannon at the ready. I just as instinctively rounded on Jinx.
"Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" I sent trails of black energy surging from my hands to her face.
The pink haired sorceress quickly evaded my attack with a simple cartwheel. "HAAAAA!" she cried as she shot a well-aimed hex at me.
I dodged the hex by jumping away and suspending myself in the air with levitation. Jinx strategically shot more pink bolts, which were simply deflected by the force fields I produced.
As soon as the shower of hexes ended briefly, I swiftly encased her in a black orb. Within it I could see her face gain a look of fury before I cast her into the wall of the building. There was an explosion of rubble and she sank to the ground with a grunt.
Mammoth and Robin thundered about behind me as they fought fist to fist. Not too far away Beast Boy was in the form of a ram, connecting his horns with Private HIVE's shield. A strong sonic blast whizzed in front of me as Cyborg tried to hit Gizmo, who ambled about on four metal legs, cackling. And above my head Starfire dodged several eye-shaped traps and fired starbolts at Seemore.
BZZT!
"Auhhhhh…!" But maybe I should have paid more attention to the task at hand…I might have noticed that one hex coming at me.
I lay sprawled on the ground in a mound of pain. "A bit distracted, are we?" Jinx giggled as she approached me.
I tried to regain my composure and attempted to get off the ground.
"Azarath, Metrion—huhhhh!" Jinx kicked me down sharply and I skidded a few feet away. She followed, grinning sinisterly.
"Oh, has Ray-Ray lost her touch?" she taunted. "Did the ickle yellow birdie run out of luck and can't fight anymore?"
I suddenly lunged upwards, flinging myself at her and causing her to fall back. "Azarath, Metrion, ZINTHOS!" I summoned the closest thing I could find—a clothing rack parked at the front of one of the stores—and brought it down on Jinx's head. Needless to say she stopped teasing me after that.
I checked on the progress of my teammates. Beast Boy was battling it out in the form of a grizzly bear and managed to hit Private HIVE's shield out of his grasp with a powerful claw. Defenseless, the HIVE student cowered in the green bear's shadow. Robin had already overcome Mammoth somehow, and the culprit lay in an unconscious human mass at Robin's feet. Seemore had disappeared, and judging by the pieces of his headpiece that littered the ground he had also been rendered defenseless. Cyborg was in the middle of ripping apart Gizmo's gadgetry. "Booyah!" he cheered triumphantly as he threw the little boy, who emitted a wail as he soared across the shopping mall.
Robin gathered us around him. "The police are on their way right now," he informed us with a grin. "Our work here is done."
XXXXXBy the time we got back to the Tower it was about ten in the morning. The tea that I had left earlier was cold, and I dumped it in the sink. I retired to my corner in the lobby with the Book of Azar, flipping to the page where I last left off and became absorbed in the majesties and teachings of…
"Friend Raven?"
The vein in my temple throbbed violently. "What is it, Starfire?"
The redhead crouched down to my level cautiously. "Um, I was just wondering if…well…would you…um, are you busy at the moment?"
"…I suppose not." I closed the Book of Azar, figuring that it wouldn't hurt to do whatever it was Starfire wanted for once.
She seemed relieved that I didn't react in any violent way. "Wondrous! Because I am going to ask you if you would like to accompany me in the watching of a documentary!"
Robin once told me that I looked paler than usual. So I suppose it's very possible that I did pale a bit more at that very moment. "Uhm, that depends…what is the documentary about?"
"I believe that it is about an Earth creature that is called 'the shark'."
I relaxed. Thank you, Shark Week. "Yeah, okay."
Starfire emitted a joyous squeal as she bounded to the television and turned it on to the Discovery channel. She was greeted by the sight of a great white's gaping, toothy jaws—"Eeek!"—and dove onto the couch.
"Come off it, Starfire," I muttered as I joined her. "You've seen Beast Boy in that form before."
"Indeed, but when it is actually Beast Boy the animal is much less fearsome!"
I rolled my eyes behind the shadowy veil of my hood, though I couldn't agree more.
For the next few minutes we sat on opposite ends of the couch, watching the shark documentary. Starfire cringed notably whenever a shark would leap out of the water with a sea lion in its jaws, and stared in silent awe as the fish performed a graceful arc in the air before diving back beneath the water's surface. Once accustomed to watching the large predators, however, she relaxed.
"The shark is actually a quite beautiful animal, once you've thought about it, yes?" she inquired.
I nodded, silently but understandingly, in response.
"They are only feared because they are…misunderstood."
There was another bout of silence as we watched for a while without talking.
Again, Starfire was the first to break the silence. "Raven," she began, after checking to make sure we were alone, "I wish to consult you about something that I find rather important."
I slowly turned to face her. "Okay…what about?"
"It is regarding myself and Robin…"
Cripes! She wants to drag me into one of those cliché girl talks that I've read about…
"I'm sorry Starfire…I've just remembered something that I need to do…"
I rose from the couch and exited, leaving a dejected-looking Tamaranean alone in front of the television.
XXXXX
I took refuge in the garage, where Cyborg was tending after the T-car. As he bent over the contents of the car's hood and worked away on his "baby", I levitated in the lotus position a few feet away from him, occasionally handing him the tools that he needed.
I'm not sure why I like it there. Maybe because it's remote, away from the other Titans, calm…and maybe because whenever I'm in there, Cyborg's a few feet away, doing some hard work…and there's a sense of accomplishment.
Feh. I'm thinking too much about this.
It was quiet for quite a while, much like how it was in the living room. The only sounds were the sounds of Cyborg's tools making contact with the car's engine, which I tuned out as soon as I started to meditate.
Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…
Azarath, Metrion Zinthos…
Azara—"Hey, Raven."
My eyes blinked open. "Do you need something?"
"Yeah, the wrench."
I levitated the wrench up to his reach and he took it.
"Thanks." He bent back over the engine again and fiddled with some of the machinery. I was about to resume meditation when suddenly he spoke again. "So, d'you know where BB is?"
I looked at him. "Nooo…why, were you looking for him?"
"Oh, no, I know where he is." I heard him chuckle softly.
"Cyborg, is there something you're not telling me?" My eyes flashed. "He's not in my room, is he?"
"What? No-o-o! Where'd you get that idea?" Cyborg laughed. "No, he's out…training with Robin."
"Okay…and was I supposed to know that?"
"Supposed to? Well, I guess not—"
"Then why did you ask me if I knew where Beast Boy was?"
"I wanted to know if you knew!"
"Is it important?"
"No!"
"So why did you ask me if I knew?"
"Geez, Ray, I dunno! It was just a question."
"All right, good, fine. I'll be in my room." I lowered my feet to the floor and exited the garage.
I still think he's not telling me something.