Hey…right so bare with me on this one this is just an idea I've had floating around in my head for months and I think I've figured out how to get this down in words. Please review this chapter and wherever possible feedback is appreciated. Many thanks.
Rosetta.
Breathing deeply the pink haired sorceress of the Hive slowly opened her eyes. Blinking a few times a blissful smile formed on her face as she glanced down at the pale arm wrapped around her. A sigh of pure happiness slipped through her lips as she felt her lovers lips press gently against the back of her neck. Slowly, velvet lips trailed down her neck, gently grazing her skin with butterfly kisses before pulling her close and nuzzling her neck.
A giggle escaped from her as she turned and pushed her lover, a violet haired demoness, onto her back. Placing both of her palms either side of the violet eyed woman's head she shifted so she was hovering above a thin but muscled body. The violet haired Titan grinned up at her as she snaked her arms around her waist and pulled her down to lie on top of her.
"Morning" Jinx whispered before catching Raven's lips with her own. Smiling into the kiss, Jinx pulled back before tracing her lips down the lithe woman's slender neck. A soft sight escaped from Raven as Jinx came to rest her head against her shoulder. The thief released a sigh of content as Raven's fingers softly caressed the skin of her back.
Moments like this, where she could simply relax with the woman she loved were scarce now that the Brotherhood of Evil had returned from their frozen state and she intended to make the most of their time together; however short lived it was. Trailing her fingers along the side of Raven's bare arm her brow furrowed as her fingers traced the smooth surface of a fresh scar. Her thoughts quickly turned unpleasant as a familiar fear, one she had tried to live with every night that Raven wasn't with her, made her stomach twist with discomfort.
Sensing the pink haired woman's shift in emotions, Raven tilted her head slightly and placed her lips on top of Jinx's head. A gentle reminder that she was here, with her and not in any danger. A small smile formed on Jinx's face at the show of affection, turning her head she found two dark violet eyes looking down at her with concern and something else that made her heart flutter.
"I'm fine" whispered Jinx. There was so much going on, so much destruction and death that she didn't have it in her to burden Raven further with her fears for her safety and wellbeing. Raven opened her mouth to say something only to find herself unable to speak as Jinx claimed her mouth with her own. Before Raven had a chance to respond properly the sound of distant explosions rippled through the air. Breaking away, Jinx twisted her head towards the window, eyes narrowed and body tense.
The sound of Raven's communicator ringing inside her jeans pocket made them both jump. Forcing herself off of the violet haired Titan, Jinx watched as the naked woman moved to the side of the bed and summoned her communicator to her. Flipping open the tiny screen Robin's battered face appeared on the screen.
"Raven I need you in Paris…Monsieur Mallah and Madame Rouge are targeting Cyborg, Bumblebee and Argent. Jinx there have been reports of explosions near you I want you to go investigate them" Raven's eyes narrowed.
"I'll investigate them with her and then she can come with me to Paris" suggested Raven. Something wasn't right. She couldn't put her finger on it but there was something different about Robin. He never liked sending people out on their own so why would he do it now with Jinx.
"No Raven the others need you now. Jinx can handle herself and then she can report her findings before moving on to the next mission" Raven didn't like this but what choice did she have. When she had first started seeing Jinx she had promised Robin that her feelings would never get in the way of her duty. Now was not the time for her heart to rule her head.
"Understood" Robin nodded before the he cut off the communication. Frowning down at the blank screen she snapped it shut before getting up and finding her clothes. Pink eyes trailed the exposed flesh of Raven's torso, taking note of the lean muscle and scars that marred Raven's skin before they were covered by jeans and a black long sleeve top. Once the dark Titan was fully dressed she turned to find Jinx already dressed and waiting for her.
"I need to go" stated Raven. Jinx nodded sadly. The violet haired teen reached out for the pink haired sorceress and pulled her into her arms.
"Stay safe" whispered Raven. Nodding her head Jinx pulled back slightly.
"You too" Raven smiled softly before giving Jinx a quick peck on the cheek and breaking their embrace. Summoning a portal to her side Raven moved to step inside.
"I love you" stated Jinx. Looking up in surprise Raven's smile widened.
"I love you too" answered Raven before vanishing into the portal.
Releasing a deep sigh Jinx struggled to ignore the horrible feeling in her stomach. Something didn't feel right. Shaking her head she made her way to the door, she needed to get her head in the game. Raven could take care of herself.
Stepping out of her portal Raven checked her communicator for Cyborg's co-ordinates. A steady red dot on the screen indicated that Cyborg was just a few blocks west of her location. Putting her communicator back in her pocket she surveyed her surroundings. From the looks of it she has appeared in one of Paris' many narrow alleyways in the middle of the night.
A distant explosion attracted her attention from her musing and without hesitation she was in the air flying towards the source. The cold night air chilled her body, causing her exposed face and hands to sting as she scanned the streets below for any sign of her friends or the explosion.
Without warning a force collided with her exposed back, the shock and weight forcing her to fall through the air only to collide painfully with the concrete road below. The sound of cracking bones and sharp pain failed to stop her from rolling away from where she had impacted.
Reacting purely on instinct she reached out and grabbed the black gloved hands that were coming down to collide with her by the wrists, catching Madame Rouge before she landed on top of her.
"Vell Vell it seems zat you 'ave fallen for out little trap" goaded Madame Rouge as Raven struggled to keep the woman off of her. Grinning as the violet haired Titan struggled Madame Rouge forced her fingers to extend themselves, manipulating them to become as long and sharp as knives she dragged them across Ravens exposed torso. Raven cried out in pain as the sharpened digits cut through her shirt and skin, leaving bloody welts across her chest and stomach.
"Get off me!" she barked through clenched teeth.
Her eyes glowed an unholy white as she used to powers to throw the woman off of her. Forcing herself to her feet, Raven gingerly placed her hand over the cuts and frowned when her hand came away bloody. Dropping her hand she summoned black orbs to encase her hands as she waited for Madame Rouge to come at her again. The shapeshifter merely smirked at her as she stood in the middle of the street with her hands on her hips.
Before Raven could blink she felt something grab hold of her from behind and lift her off the ground. A strangled cry escaped from her as Monsieur Mallah squeezed, his hulking arms wrapped around her torso, keeping her arms pinned to her sides.
"And to zink zat you zought you 'ad beaten us" gloated Madame Rouge as the ape continued to squeeze. Black dots began to form as Raven struggled to breathe.
"This will not last long" stated Mallah as the sound of cracking ribs echoed through the street. Gritting her teeth against the pain Raven summoned her powers and forced the ebony energy to consume her so she could slip through Mallah's grip. The animal roared at her as she rematerialized in front of him.
"Wanna bet?" she asked as she propelled the ape through the air with a flick of her wrist. Snapping her head to the side she barely managed to avoid being hit by Madame Rouge's extended fist by summoning a shield to protect her.
"You cannot vin this" stated Madame Rouge confidently as she retracted her limb. Before Raven could even ponder a response a primal roar erupted from behind her, turning she barely managed to raise a shield in time to stop Mallah's fists from coming down onto her head. Struggling to keep her shield raised; sweat dripped down her face as Mallah continued to pound away at the shield. She could feel her blood trickling down the skin of her stomach and the way the bones in her chest would grind together unnaturally as she breathed and it made it more difficult for her to focus.
A sharp pain ignited along her back causing her shield to vanish before Mallah's fists struck her head; bringing her crashing to the ground. Struggling to regain her senses she lay helplessly on the ground as shock flooded her system. Turning her head towards Madame Rouge she watched through blurry eyes as the shapeshifter walked towards her, Madame Rouge retracting her extended, razor sharp limb as she approached. Blood was dripping from Madame Rouge's manipulated limb.
Raven found herself being pulled to her knees by Mallah, the gorilla being the only thing that stopped her from slumping back to floor.
"I told you zat you could not vin" stated Madame Rouge as she knelt down to look the Titan in the eye. Blood trickled down from a horrid gash in the side of Raven's head; she could feel it dampen the collar of her top as it trickled steadily down her face. The shapeshifter looked down to the communicator in Raven's pocket before taking it from her.
"And now none of your comrades will be able to reach you in time" Madame Rouge smile victoriously as she crushed the communicator in her hand before her hand shifted into the form of a very sharp blade.
A cry of pure agony echoed throughout the streets of Paris.
Jinx surveyed the damaged building with little interest. There was nothing here and no one had been hurt. Frowning in annoyance Jinx opened her communicator and made the call to Robin to inform him of her findings.
"Robin here" stated the Boy Wonder as his face appeared on the small screen.
"Hey Robin just ringing up to let you know that I can find nothing here. No indicators of who caused the explosion and no one has been hurt" The Boy Wonder frowned at the pink haired sorceress in confusion.
"Jinx what are you talking about?" now it was Jinx's turn to look confused.
"Erm…you sent me to investigate an explosion near me?" The Boy Wonder shook his head as his frown deepened.
"Jinx I haven't told you to do anything since I told you to meet up with Raven. Speaking of which is she there I need to speak to her but her communicator isn't responding" Pink eyes widened fearfully.
"Robin you sent her to Paris to help Cyborg out with Monsieur Mallah and Madame Rouge"
"No I didn't" stated Robin. After a few moments of silence the panic began to set in.
"Oh God Robin you have to send someone to her now" pleaded Jinx.
"I'm on it. Jinx go back to wherever it is that you're staying and I'll be in contact asap. Do not move from there" ordered Robin before shutting off his communicator.
"No Robin don't…" but he was already gone.
"Dammit!" screamed Jinx. Breathing deeply she tried to call Raven's communicator.
"Pick up…Pick up…Please pick up Raven…Please Rae…" nothing. Tears began to form in her eyes as she made her way back to the apartment she and Raven had been staying in while the occupants were away on a trip. She couldn't stop the worst case scenarios from playing in her head. She felt sick to her stomach with worry.
Ignoring the fact that she had lost the fight and now tears were streaming down her face she picked up her communicator and started calling Raven once again.
"Please Raven…Please…"
Staggering down an empty alleyway a violent coughing fit overcame the battered violet haired Titan. Leaning against the wall for support she pressed a ripped piece of her shirt against a particularly deep wound to her chest. Blood dripped from her lips onto the ground, adding to the slowly growing puddle.
Somehow she had managed to give Madame Rouge and Monsieur Mallah the slip but she knew it wouldn't be long before she was found. Unfortunately fate wasn't on her side. Before she could even gather a moments respite she could feel something wrap around her body. Within seconds she was hauled off her feet and thrown into the side of a parked car.
Landing painfully on her side she could feel the shards of glass from the broken car windows cut her face. Releasing a groan of exertion she thrust her bloodied arm forwards and the car that now had a massive indent from where she had collided with was encased in her dark aura before flying towards Madame Rouge. The agile shapeshifter changed the structure of her body to unnaturally maneuver out of harms way while still charging towards the now standing Titan.
It all happened to quickly. A grimace formed on Raven's pale face as Madame Rouge stood in front of her, a victorious smile gracing her red lips. Glancing down Raven's eyes widened as she stared at where Madame Rouge's arm had gone through her. Blood was pouring from the edges of the fresh wound, covering the villainess's leather gloves.
"Now you shall pay vit your life"
Though she couldn't see it Raven could feel that Rouge's arms had gone straight through her lower chest and exited out her back. The violet haired demoness choked on her blood as she struggled with the pain overloading her senses. A horrible despair accompanied the pain. She was going to die.
Madame Rouge retracted her arm, her limb dripping with blood as Raven wobbled on her feet before collapsing onto her knees. Bowing her head forward Raven didn't see how Madame Rouge raised her closed fist above her, her hand forming into a large hammer ready to crash down and deliver the final blow that would end her.
"Get away from her!" bellowed a deep voice as a blue beam of energy collided with the villainess, propelling her through the air.
No longer having the strength to keep herself upright Raven felt her body tilt to the side before gravity pulled her down. Bumblebee barely managed to catch the injured Titan before her head collided with the ground. Keeping Raven's head in her lap she eased Raven to lie on her back.
"Oh shit Sparky you have to get over here now!" barked Bee in a panic as Raven coughed heavily, blood spilling over her lips and down her chin.
"Jinx….tell Jinx…." She couldn't breathe properly, it hurt too much.
"Easy girl whatever you gotta say to Pinky you can tell her yourself yeah? Cause you ain't dying on us yet we need you too much. Jinx needs you" comforted Bee as she stroked Raven's blood matted hair.
Jinx was pacing back and forth now. She kept trying to contact Raven but the more times she failed to receive a response from her violet haired lover the more of a frenzy she drove herself into. Raven was hurt. She knew it. She just knew. The very idea forced her stomach to twist horribly to the point she wanted to be physically sick.
Keeping her communicator in her hand she jumped as the little device vibrated in her hand.
"Raven?" she asked as she answered only to come face to face with Cyborg. Normally the cybernetic young man was very cool and collected, betraying nothing of his emotion but to see tears in his one human eye and an expression of pure sorrow on his features did nothing to put her at ease.
"Cy what's going on? Where's Raven? Is she okay? Please tell me she's okay" pleaded Jinx as she started crying. Cyborg swallowed the lump in his throat.
"Herald's gonna come over and pick you up Jinx. Raven needs you now more than ever"
Before she could interrogate the mechanical Titan the sound of a horn blowing attracted her attention and through a portal stepped out Herald.
"I have been asked to bring you to Paris by the Titans. Please follow me" instructed the masked Titan. Jinx closed her communicator before following the masked Honorary Titan through his portal. Within mere moments she stepped out of the portal and found herself in a hallway currently occupied by Cyborg, Argent and Bumblebee.
"What happened?" asked Jinx as she approached Cyborg.
He opened his mouth to answer but he found himself lost for words so he closed his mouth, closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Bumblebee approached the distraught young man and placed a hand on his shoulder before turning her sorrowful gaze to Jinx.
"She's in there Jinx. But she's not doing so well" Jinx didn't need anymore information and quickly entered the room that Bee had indicated at.
Bloodshot violet eyes opened slightly at the sound of the door opening and despite herself a small smile formed on her bloodied lips as she watched a familiar pink haired sorceress enter the room. Too weak to get up and pull her into her arms Raven had to wait for Jinx to come to her. She felt so tired and yet she was afraid that if she closed her eyes then she would never wake up again.
Jinx sat on the edge of the bed and drank in the sight of Raven's ruined body. There was so much blood and she could tell by Raven's shallow breathing and tormented expression that the violet haired Titan was in a lot of pain.
Horrible despair clawed at her heart as she held Raven's bandaged hand in her own. Though she refused to admit it out loud she knew what was going to happen to Raven. But that didn't make it any easier for her to accept. Just this morning she was lying in bed with the woman she loved, dreaming of a future that involved both of them being happy and now she was faced with a future without Raven in it.
Then the tears came, unbidden and steady as she struggled not to sob. This wasn't fair. None of this was. Raven couldn't die. She was so strong and independent. The Mistress of Shadow. The woman she loved.
"I'm sorry…" came a pained whisper.
A tormented expression formed on Jinx's face as she looked away from the sight in front of her. She couldn't bare it. She couldn't handle seeing Raven like this.
"Just hold on yeah? Just hold on a little longer for me we're gonna get you some help and then you'll get better and then everything can go back to how it was" her voice was breaking from the sorrow in her heart but she couldn't help it. She couldn't stay strong when she was faced with the real possibility that Raven was going to leave her.
"I'm dying" stated Raven weakly. Just hearing the woman's admission forced Jinx out of her denial and to face the reality of the situation. Glancing to the bloodied towel covering Raven's lower chest Jinx slowly reached forward and lifted the towel.
A sob escaped from the pink haired sorceress as she recognized the wound for what it was. A death sentence.
"I should've came with you. I should've protected you" sobbed Jinx as she clutched Raven's hand tightly to her cheek.
"No" whimpered Raven. If Jinx had come then she would've been hurt or worse. In her heart Raven had never been more grateful for fate to have at least been so kind as to spare Jinx a painful end.
"Please stay with me" begged Jinx. A life without Raven in it was a life she didn't want to live. Raven was struggling to keep the darkness at bay. She had managed to stay awake just long enough to see Jinx one last time but now her time was running out. Her wounds were too extensive; she had lost too much blood. She could feel her body shutting down, her heart slowing as her body grew weaker.
"I can't"
Jinx was sobbing uncontrollably. This wasn't happening. This was just a nightmare and soon she would wake up from it. What would she do without her? The only reason she had for living was fading away beneath her fingers and there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it.
Raven's eyes reluctantly began to close as her heart slowed to a stop. And all too quickly the violet haired demoness faded away.
"NOOOO!" the cry that echoed from within the room shook the others to their very core. The despair that rang out through the halls pulled at their heart strings. It spoke of a pain far worse than any wound, an eternal pain that would alter someone's life forever.
And there wasn't anything anyone could do about it.