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Jack Flynn groaned as the alarm clock screeched its incessant "BEEP, BEEP, BEEP" into his treacherous ears that had decided to hear the noise this morning---and every morning. He groaned as he blindly groped in the contraption's general direction, finally pressing a button that made the maddening machination mute itself. It was too late, though; he was already awake, and it was now 5:32 in the morning. If he didn't get up now, he'd never make it through his daily run around the block in time to shower before the kids were to awaken and prepare for school.
"Good morning, honey," came the quiet mumble from the other side of the bed. Awake and upright lay the form of Kerrina Flynn, James' loving wife and the most amazing morning person that he'd ever met in his life.
"Morning, love," he muttered, smiling as he sat up himself, greeting his wife with a light kiss, wincing slightly in discomfort as his wife's Bible edged him in the stomach. She read a few chapters every morning for inspiration, and he always found himself in awe of her faith; although he was also a Christian, he often found himself too busy to make room for reading his own Bible, or even to spend much time in prayer each day.
"What's on the slate for today?" Jack asked as he alighted from his bed and stumbled over to the dresser, pulling out a pair of royal blue ankle socks.
"Isaiah," she replied calmly, smiling as her eyes took in a particularly inspiring line. "Listen to this," she quietly commanded Jack, who was now attempting to locate a matching tie for his crimson button-up shirt that he'd decided to wear today, "Isaiah, chapter 55, verse six: 'Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.'"
"Mmm. Yeah, that's a good one," Jack answered noncommitally, unable to locate the elusive tie within his closet. "Honey, d'you know what happened to that black and blue tie? I could've sworn I put it in here," he murmured, confused.
Kerrina sighed, her light grin spreading at her husband's dopey ineptness in the mornings. As she set her Bible down on the bed and wordlessly rose to search the fourth drawer of their bureau, she couldn't help but feel slightly saddened that her husband hadn't caught her subtle hint to spend some time in devotion with her in the mornings instead of clinging to sleep as he did. 'Maybe men just need to be hit over the head with these kind of things,' Kerrina thought to herself, her grin widening surreptitiously as she located the hidden article of clothing.
"Thanks, dear," Jack said gratefully, pecking her on the cheek as he seized the tie and rushed into the bathroom, hurriedly getting ready for his shower.
"Jack?" Kerrina asked as she resumed her position on the bed, reopening her Bible.
"Yes?" came the slightly muffled response behind the bathroom door.
"It might be better if you went running before you showered instead of after, sweetheart," she reminded him gently.
A silence. Then:
"Of course. How silly of me."
Jack exited the bathroom and headed towards the door that led to the hallway.
"One last thing, dear."
"Yes?"
"The neighbors might give you funny looks if you go out there looking like that."
"Hmm?" Jack glanced in the full-length mirror across the room and turned the exact hue of the shirt he was planning to wear today. "Right, of course," he murmured, swiftly donning a pair of dull, grey sweatpants and his faithful grey running hoody. "Thanks, dear."
"Have a good run," Kerrina said lamely, her eyes, mind, and soul delving into the wonderfulness of her Lord once more.
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"Warm morning," the girl remarked to herself as she looked out over the horizon. It was 5:32 in the morning, and the sun was just beginning to creep its way from beyond the decorated-and-pockmarked-with-gray landscape of Jump City. Allowing herself a small smile at the serenity of it all, the girl folded herself into the all too familiar lotus position and began to meditate in her sanctuum, which really wasn't the most secure of sanctuums, considering that it was a rooftop, but it worked for her.
As she chanted her repetitive, soothing mantra, she began her initial check on her emotions to see how they had fared during the night. Her dreams usually were troubled, she knew, but otherwise she rarely recalled anything from the wispy mental creations. Normally, all she knew was that the dream had affected some part of her persona subconsciously, and that during her meditation she would have to let that emotion run its course so that it would be subdued when she wished to call upon her powers.
This morning, she felt Happy assault her first. This told Raven three things: one, Brave had nothing to say this morning, or else she would have made her presence known first; two, that she had either dreamt something horrific or absurdly, cheesily happy; and three, she was probably not going to enjoy this.
"OH MY GOSH! It was, like, the best ever!!! I mean, pizza AND french fries all in one dream! Oh, I was in heaven! And when we started swimming in the ketchup and spaghetti sauce...girl, that was such a fun time! Wish ya could remember it! Oh, well. Anyway, I just wanted to start off your day with a cheerful little reminder of your COOLEST DREAM EVER!! Toodleloo!"
Raven sighed mentally, but having Happy out of the way calmed her slightly, even as she felt the emotion settle back into a more manageable position within her mind. A sea of ketchup and spaghetti sauce? Ugh.
A moment's peace, and then Timid appeared. Raven was surprised, seeing as Timid usually went last. Perhaps last night was more tranquil than usual.
"...Umm...so...I just wanted to say...if it's okay...I know it's not very nice of me to be so selfish, but...well...I didn't sleep too well last night...all that red scared me. I'm sorry...I don't mean to be a burden...you can just get rid of me if you want, you'd be better off...I'm too weak to really be kept around anyway...scared of spaghetti sauce and ketchup, so pathetic..."
"Oh, come now, you're not worthless," another voice chided, and Raven smiled internally. She just knew that Knowledge wouldn't have gone a day without trying to tell her something 'important'. "We're all a part of Raven, and she needs us to be able to exist. Surely you remember that?" Knowledge pressed, giving Timid a rather stern look.
"Umm...yeah...but...well...she doesn't need me so much...or, at least, I don't think she does, but I don't really matter..."
"Oh, go on, please! Raven and I have something important we need to discuss. And do cheer up," Knowledge brusquely shrugged off Timid, who quickly vanished from Raven's mind without a second thought. "Now, Raven, I have a couple things to tell you this morning. First of all, you should probably be especially wary of Cyborg today, he's not exactly been having the easiest of times lately. Secondly, you should know that I'm the last emotion to speak to you this morning, as usual, so you can head downstairs and get your tea going before the rest of the team---excluding Robin, of course---gets up. Lastly, and you're probably not going to like this, but I really think that you and---"
Knowledge abruptly cut herself short.
"---Robin is coming up to the roof to talk to you. I'll be quiet for now, but when you next get a chance to meditate, I've got something important that I think you should know," she warned, fading speedily into the recesses of Raven's mind as she completed her meditation, feeling calm but slightly curious as to what Knowledge had to say. She mentally shrugged, though, and opened her eyes---she'd find out later. Whatever Knowledge had to say was obviously not crucial, seeing as she deemed it necessary to warn Raven of Robin's approach instead of pushing headlong into the advice---as it probably was advice, considering that Knowledge was very uppity and always sought to 'enlighten' Raven regarding the things she'd not consciously put together yet.
Raven knew that Robin wouldn't disturb her unless it was necessary for the health of the team. Plus, if it were a team matter, he probably wouldn't come seek her out personally, and alone, no less---he'd just use the communicator and tell her to meet the team inside for a quick briefing before heading out to tackle another villain.
Just before Robin appeared at the top of the stairs, Raven finally puzzled out what was the matter (and even without the use of her empathic abilities, although they were screaming): Robin was coming to her with a personal problem. It was extremely out of character, Raven reflected, as Robin's form materialized on the rooftop, his lithe body climbing the last few steps with practiced ease, striding out unimpeded by the door that Raven had left wide open this morning. Robin usually kept to himself all of his concerns or worries. If he was coming to Raven for help, then it meant that he probably thought this problem, whatever it was, would, as Raven had reestablished within her mind earlier, cause harm to the team were it to continue.
"Morning, Robin," she calmly, evenly stated, deciding to begin the conversation. Although Robin was a mature young man by nature, it was a large step in maturity for him to want to confide in someone else, Raven noted. As such, she chose to make the ensuing conversation easier by initiating it for him.
"Good morning, Raven," Robin replied in his own calm, even tone, walking slowly now, taking in the view and---as Raven saw it---stalling. "Warm morning," he remarked, mirroring Raven's own observation earlier when she had come onto the roof to begin her morning meditation.
"Yes, it is. So...what's up, Robin?" Oh, how she disliked that phrase! 'What's up?' It sounded like a lead-in to one of Beast Boy's horrendous jokes, if one could even call them such.
He didn't immediately answer, and she respected the silence. She was a patient soul, and an understanding one, despite the fact that she couldn't express compassion without blowing something up in the process. As an empath, she was somewhat forced to be an understanding person; knowing intuitively the motivations and emotions behind someone's actions, especially when expressed as ardent passion, allowed her to perceive not only what someone was doing, but the crucial why behind it all.
Sometimes, though, she chose to ignore those nagging voices that were her powers, powers that explained everything so calmly that it infuriated her at times. Her powers tried their best not to let her become angered, always quick to show her why other people behaved the way they did so that her demonic temper would be stamped out before it reared its ugly---and dangerous---head. Raven thought it ironic that even her inner self emulated the struggle she had initiated against her father, Trigon.
"Starfire...and I had...a fight...last night," Robin revealed at last, his back to Raven. She supposed it was because guys didn't like to show their emotion, and since Robin was particularly touchy regarding his appearance, it was no surprise to Raven that he had taken such a stance. Additionally, she realized that she had not sensed this fight; it must have occurred while the team was patrolling the city last night, thus meaning that they---Starfire and Robin---were out of her empathic range.
"She said that I wasn't spending time with her. Pfft!" Robin pressed on, beginning to pace, yet still keeping his face mostly hidden from his teammate. Raven thought it oddly fitting that Robin, the boy who hid behind a mask, as secretive and as paranoid as his mentor, continued to conceal his visage from someone whom he'd known intimately (as a friend) for years, now.
"'You spend too much time looking for Slade,' she says! Why can't she see that I'm doing what's best for the team? I have to go after Slade! I have to research, find patterns in his methods, his activities, so we can figure out where he's going next and stop him, just like any other criminal!" Robin's voice edged up in intensity, continuing to pace, and even beginning to gesticulate and motion with his hands. Raven didn't need her empathic powers to see that Robin was seriously bugged by the issue, more so than she had judged previously; he was losing his precious control over his body, allowing it to move independently.
"He's not just any criminal, Robin. You know that," Raven admonished, keeping her voice just as even as Robin's had been before the issue with Starfire set him alight with emotion.
"Of course I know that! That's my whole point, Raven! Slade isn't any ordinary criminal---" and here Robin practically spat the word out as if it offended him by remaining on his tongue for more than a nanosecond, "---like Mad Mod or Cinderblock. Slade is a dangerous enemy of the Teen Titans, and as leader I have to do everything within my power to stop him, both on and off the field! Why can't she see that?" he groused angrily, his hands delving into his hair and tugging at the un-gelled-for-the-moment coif.
"Robin, Starfire does see all that," Raven began after allowing a few moments of silence to reign so that she could gather her wits. "What Starfire also sees is someone that she cares about staying up all night staring at a computer, drinking pot after pot of coffee, determined to stop villains or die trying." She permitted that to sink in for a moment, and indeed her last few words abated Robin's hair-shuffling and irritated pacing.
"We've all come close to dying. I nearly died when I took on my father; you were there, Robin, you remember it. Beast Boy and Cyborg almost died in my mirror when we fought Trigon inside of me. Don't you remember when we all came out of my room, Robin? Cyborg had to power down and recharge his cells. Beast Boy didn't make a single joke for days afterward. When we first met Starfire, she was running from those aliens that were going to subject her to a life in chains...or maybe they would've been kind and just killed her, instead. And you, Robin...you were in life and death situations with Batman before you came to Jump City, and since then you've been crushed, smashed, clubbed, drugged, mind controlled...and Starfire's been there to see it all. She's worried about you, Robin. Can't you see that?" she pushed the final nail into the coffin, using Robin's own words against him in an attempt to force him to see what she saw: Starfire's real reason behind their fight, and behind everything, for that matter, was her compassion for everyone and everything. She simply cared too much to let an injustice go unnoticed and unresolved.
There was silence, again, as a light breeze passed over the rooftop, bringing with it tantalizing promises of summer and warmth, of laughter at the beach and splashing about in the water, and of freedom from all the cares and responsibilities that the world imposed on its inhabitants.
"Of course I see that, Raven," came the throaty reply from Robin. His back was not to her this time---instead he was perpendicular to her and slightly to the left, hands on the rusty rooftop railing, staring out over the city that he had vowed to protect as the sun slowly ascended to its seat in the morning sky, the tireless ant that endlessly worked to serve the greater good of his Queen, Mother Earth, not bothering to stop and think about her reasons behind her wishes, or even what her wishes entailed beyond its own duties. It never complained, never questioned, and, as a result, never failed.
"Then go and spend time with Starfire while you both still have it. Talk to each other. Go on dates. Do...whatever it is that you two do together," Raven fumbled here, not exactly certain what two lovestruck teenage superheroes were supposed to do with their time, "None of us know how long we're going to be here. I'm still surprised that I am, after Trigon..." she trailed off, not wishing to relive the memory.
Robin nodded, and Raven knew then and there that the problem had been resolved. Robin wasn't going to like anything impeding on his time investigating Slade, but Raven was confident that he'd find time for Starfire during the nights as much as he did during the day.
If she was being honest, though (and how could she not, since her emotions would surely let her have it if she were not), she felt a little jealous of Robin. He was having all these problems with Starfire---and with Slade---that pushed him to his absolute emotional limits. He was allowed to feel! The sheer injustice of it all struck her with unavoidable force; he could feel and have no consequences!
No, that wasn't true. This fight he'd had with Starfire, that had been a consequence of him indulging in his emotions. He sacrificed his masterful control over his feelings and opened himself up to a whole world of pain and let-downs, a world that coincided with hope and beauty.
She wished that she could afford that luxury.
"We've got that press conference at eight sharp this morning. I want the team ready to go by 7:20," Robin crisply switched topics, already heading for the stairs that led to the lower floors of the Tower. Raven nodded as the boy---man---something in between---departed, leaving no audible traces behind.
Well, except for one.
"Thanks," he whispered as he shut the rooftop door quietly behind him.
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