Even as the gentle waves brushed up against the shore, their soothing and placid movements seeming to slow time itself, Raven could tell her focus was slipping. She silently reprimanded herself for allowing her thoughts to wander, which only broke her concentration further. Meditation wasn't something she did as frequently as she used to; it was simply becoming less necessary after the defeat of her demonic father. Yes, she still relied on the solace and peacefulness to retain her sanity and keep her powers in check. But she had never been one easily distracted; a Raven in meditation likes to stay in meditation unless acted upon by an external force.
Her eyes snapped open as she floated slowly back down onto the roof of the tower. She sighed and laid her hands in her lap, shoulders drooping slightly. This was getting ridiculous. She had thought that at least a healthy session of meditation would ease her mind, help to make sense of the foreign emotions she had been experiencing as of late. Those strange new feelings. She gazed out over the bay, watching the sun sink lower over the horizon. Whisps of clouds streaked across the sky, seeming to absorb the sun's radiant glow, preserving it for the coming night. The calm, warm light bounced playfully off of the sleek metal and glass of Titans Tower and bathed Raven in its glow, dappling her blue cloak a light shade of purple, as if trying to coax a lighthearted smile out of the stoic hero.
Her thoughts fleetingly returned to the book.
After the ceremony in Tokyo over a year ago before departing for home, Raven had paid another visit to the small and quaint book store she had visited. It was filled with volumes she had never known existed, and she relished in the vast collection contained in such a little library. One book, however, had stood out more than the others. It was tucked away in a corner, perched on a shelf directly at eye-level and looked almost as if it had been patiently awaiting her arrival. Upon returning to Titans Tower Raven cleared a space on her bookshelf, dusted off the section, carefully placed the book in its new home, and did absolutely nothing with it. There were some books in her collection that had never been lifted from the shelf and others that had never been perused through the entirety of their pages. Though Raven valued knowledge deeply, her personal archive contained many tomes that had been obtained for the sole purpose of combating her demonic heritage. With that facet of her personality now essentially vanquished, certain passages were simply unnecessary to experience. But this was different. The new addition, especially one of this magnitude and potential, caused Raven to feel slightly overwhelmed by the possibilities contained in its pages as the exhilaration of its initial discovery began to fade.
"Yo, Raven," A familiar voice called from behind her. "You gonna come eat with us, or are you gonna stay up here and eat with the seagulls?"
Raven flinched slightly as she snapped back into full consciousness. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she had completely spaced out the rest of her surroundings, her distraction almost lending a greater level of isolation than meditation had. She turned her head to Beast Boy. "Give me a minute."
Beast Boy saluted her and began his return to the tower's interior.
"Wait…" Raven suddenly said. It was soft, almost a whisper.
"Hm?" Beast Boy poked his head back out.
Raven brushed a strand of hair out of her face, though remained where she sat with her back to the fellow Titan. She cleared her throat, speaking more clearly this time. "Can I ask you something?"
Beast Boy stepped towards her slightly. "Uhh… Sure, Raven."
She tilted her head up, closing her eyes against the sliver of sun that remained perched on the horizon. She fought for words, trying to think how to phrase what she was trying to say. Her lips parted, but nothing came out.
"What's up?" Beast Boy took another step.
Raven remained frozen mid-breath, on the very edge of forming something audible. "Do you think…?" She faltered.
Another step.
"…What's for dinner?" Raven lowered her head in surrender to her own awkwardness, attempting to hide the furious blush enveloping her cheeks. Enough, Raven. She harshly thought. He's just your teammate… He's just… Beast Boy. Pull it together. A part of her deep inside almost seemed to laugh at her as she tried feeding more lies to herself.
"Uhh, pizza," Beast Boy said slowly, rather perplexed why that seemed like such a complicated question for her to ask. "Why?"
Raven sighed again. "Curious." She stood and followed a confused Beast Boy off of the roof. She was a Titan. She was a hero. But she was also a teenaged girl. It hadn't helped that Beast Boy had become so much more… kind to her recently. He seemed to genuinely appreciate and include her even more than usual, and seemed to gravitate towards her during the Titans' relaxation and down time. She lifted her eyes to the shapeshifter walking in front of her, and then turned her head away bashfully. No person ever before had inspired such out-of-character behavior; shyness, embarrassment, and… something else. She stubbornly refused the thought.
Normally, Raven adored logic. It was a form of retaliation against lesser learned opponents, a surefire comeback against her teammates' shenanigans, and a pleasant comfort when other thought process seemed to fail. The problem was, logic told her that everything she had been feeling was perfectly normal, not out of place, not sudden, and completely natural. Logic told her not to fight it, but to embrace it. She longed for the ability to punch logic in the face.
"Man, what does that have to do with anything?" Cyborg leaned on his elbow and spoke skeptically to Beast Boy across the table in between massive chomps of pizza.
The little green Titan leaned back, a smug grin on his face. "I'm just saying…"
"You think you're stronger than me?" Cyborg laughed.
"Pound-for-pound, maybe." Beast Boy smirked, taking another bite.
Cyborg pointed with one finger and grabbed another slice with the other hand. "As Beast Boy? Not as Bear Boy or Lion Boy?" He challenged.
Robin raised his hands. "Gentlemen, please. It's obvious who the true strongest man of the group is."
"Say what?!" Cyborg exclaimed. "Boy wonder?"
Raven took a sip of her tea, a spectator to the friendly chest-pounding taking place in front of her. After solitude and meditation had failed to soothe her troubled mind reeling with unfamiliar thoughts and emotions, the familiar petty arguments and the company of her teammates brought a small measure of normalcy and comfort to her, even if the source of her newfound confusion was seated right beside her. "If I may interrupt your 'exhibition of manly greatness,' is anyone going to eat that slice?"
"That's just a name," Robin objected with a smirk, hardly hearing Raven's request. "At least I'm actually 100% man."
Cyborg almost spit out his pizza. "Whoa, man! Not cool!"
Beast Boy laughed. "Dude, admit it. That was kinda funny."
"Well half of me is still manlier than all of you." Cyborg grinned at Beast Boy.
Aware that nothing would distract the boys from their contest, Starfire gently pushed the pizza box across the table with a smile before leaning back and returning her soft gaze to Robin.
Raven observed Starfire's expression as she reached for her slice, allowing the faintest of smiles to cross her face for an instant. It still was a shock how long it had taken those two to finally confess to each other, and was even more shocking how it took a deathmatch in a foreign land to do it. She was glad they finally admitted their hearts' desire to each other; as Cyborg said, it was about time. There was something about those two that just seemed, right. Robin and Starfire went together like… Well, Robin and Starfire. Though as much as she hated to admit it, and might never profess it out loud, Raven found herself strangely envious of them. Not of either person's specific company, but of the idea of romance in general. Maybe envious wasn't the most fitting word. Intrigued? For Raven, it seemed, that fairy tale just didn't exist. Though much more open than she had been when they initially founded the team, she still wasn't exactly a welcoming and easily approachable person. For the longest time, she hadn't been able to come close to letting loose an emotion as powerful or free as love, and still wasn't sure it was a good idea even now. Few things on earth were as planet-pounding as Raven's emotions without restraint.
"Fine, call it a draw," Beast Boy said, smiling. "I'm still calling it a win for Beast Man, right Raven?"
She was jolted back to reality by a familiar elbow to her ribs. "Beast Boy, I should be the last person you seek for a rating of your manliness." She quipped hastily, but not losing the dry tone of her voice.
Raven could feel her inner conversation returning, though. But just as she was about to wander into more self-debate, a thought flashed into her mind. What if she simply asked Starfire?
Robin snickered. "Beast Man."
Humming softly to herself, Starfire sauntered down the corridor of Titans Tower to her room. In her arms she held her little bumgorf Silkie, who chattered his various vocalizations almost akin to purring. The dinner table conversation had amused her, and even though she understood only about half of it, it was still entertaining to watch the boys' goodnatured bickering. She sighed contentedly to herself, closing her eyes: Jump City was on the verge of experiencing a long-awaited era of peace. After news of the Titans' international escapades reached American shores the floodgates had opened. Allies, like-mindsets and people ready to believe in good took a stand against evil and crime. The story of five teens that crossed an ocean to defend a city that was not their own echoed throughout the land, and was a source of common ground for people everywhere. It was nice to be appreciated and inspire good in the world, knowing that what they were doing was actually benefiting the…
"Hey, Starfire?"
"EEP!" The Tamaranean jumped at the sound of Raven's voice, startling her out of her thoughts. Silkie was thrown into the air and stuck to the ceiling above Starfire's door, but revealed no discomfort and simply curled into a peaceful ball retaining his odd smile.
Raven took a step backwards, eyeing the larvae above her. "Sorry."
"Oh, Raven. You scared the sunlight away from me!" She laughed.
"Quite," Raven said simply, after translating Scared the daylights out of me. "Hey, uh, Star'? Can I ask you for some advice about something?"
Starfire clasped her hands together joyfully. "Oh, but of course! I would love to help you! Please, enter my room of the bed and let us converse."
Starfire's room had never been the ideal place for Raven to spend time, with its various… girly elements to it. There was so much color it almost used to gag her. The door slid open and Starfire glided inside, plopping down on her circular bed and eagerly patting a spot next to her with her hand. Raven walked over and sat down.
"Now, dear friend. Begin sharing. What is atop your mind?"
Raven hesitated again, unsure just how much she should begin sharing. "Okay… Say there's this person. And this person has a friend. And…"
Starfire tilted her head slightly, a small smile creeping into the corner of her mouth. "Raven, is this person having the boy troubles?" Her eyes twinkled with excitement.
"Possibly." Raven spoke in her monotone, trying not to react. Was she really that bad at acting? How could she have guessed it already?
"Very well. Continue." Starfire nodded.
"So, the person is having… troubles. And she has access to a certain power, a certain ability and knowledge. This knowledge could be used to help her to gain insight into what she should do about her current circumstance, or it could be a portal to allow terrible things to enter her mind." Raven said, trying to be as cryptic as possible.
Starfire paused. "Is this a person you met in Tokyo?"
Raven looked at her friend blankly. So she hadn't guessed? Hm. "You could say that." It wasn't a complete lie; Raven's feelings for… (she decided not to even form the name in thought) hadn't begun in Japan, but the book of which she obscurely referenced was indeed found there.
"Very well. Continue." She nodded again.
Raven laced her fingers together, trying to appear passive. "Do you think this person should use that power to help cleanse her mind and perhaps gain insight about Bea.. About her friend, or do you think she should try to continue on with her life as normal?"
The young alien girl flitted her large, green eyes to the ceiling briefly. "Forgive me if I am assuming too much about the character of this person, but I do not believe that life can ever return to 'normal' after one has experienced, the feelings."
Now Raven tilted her head in curiosity. "What do you mean?"
"For example," Starfire began, brushing her lengthy crimson hair with her palm. "Robin and I have been sailing on the ship of relations for over one year now. There was a moment in Tokyo where I feared that this life was simply not possible; a moment where he showed doubt. He wished for us to remain as heroes, and nothing more, for us to 'continue as normal.' But now I see that once you have obtained even a taste of 'the feelings' things can never return to normal."
Raven had rarely seen Starfire speak so poetically and passionately. Her emerald eyes seemed to pulsate, seemed to breathe and glower as she poured out her thoughts.
She continued. "Whoever this girl is and whoever the boy is with whom she is pleasantly associated, or perhaps at this moment is not associated, I would suggest to her to trust in what feels right to her. Act on instinct. But remind this friend that we can never go back to whatever we perceive was normal, nor should we desire to do so." Starfire raised her finger matter-of-factly at the final sentence, then folded her hands with a smile, awaiting Raven's response.
Raven paused, taking in everything Starfire had said, smoothing out her cloak absentmindedly. It was quite authentic and heartfelt, and Starfire truly seemed to care about every syllable she had just told her. "So you think that… My friend should just roll with the punches?"
Starfire held up her hands. "Oh, not at all! Do none of the rolling or physical violence."
"I mean," Raven said quickly. "Act on instinct, like you said?"
"Oh, yes," Starfire nodded happily, then waited, looking up at Raven. "Have I answered your questions?"
"Yes, I think so."
Starfire stood, appearing content. "If you need any more of the advice, friend, I would be most happy to assist you and do the conversing with you."
"Thanks, Star.'" She smiled a little smile that she usually reserved for her Tamaranean friend. The door to Starfire's colorful room opened and Raven exited just in time to see Silkie's bond with the ceiling break as he tumbled to the floor and began slinking along the ground, leaving small trails of ooze.
"Come here, my little bumgorf… Oh, and Raven," Starfire called as she walked towards her entrance, a hint of mischievousness in her voice at the last statement.
Raven turned around, and as Starfire lifted Silkie into her arms, her eyes narrowed slyly as she smiled. "I thought you said you had not made any of the new friends in Tokyo."
"…I…" Raven's mouth gaped. Starfire winked and closed her door.
Raven stepped into her personal dark domain, the heavy metal door sliding shut behind her. Velvety black magic enveloped a few nearby candles, lit them, and they floated to her side as she approached her bookshelf. She breathed in the familiar smell of ink and paper, extended her arm, reaching for the book, but hesitated. Was this really a good idea? Should she just stop now before something happens she might regret? Starfire's words came flooding back to her.
We can never go back to what we perceived as normal, nor should we desire to do so.
"Okay, Raven," She inhaled and exhaled deeply and grasped the book. "No going back."
Setting the book on the floor, the candles followed and alighted a few feet from the dusty old tome. Raven brushed her palm against the cover, the gold letters shimmering with a sudden life even in her dimly lit room. As she opened the dark blue carapace its leather creaked only the tiniest bit, as if it had aged well and welcomed the arrival of fresh eyes and a new mind. The pages were somewhat stiff and dry, but seemed in no danger of splitting or tearing, so Raven gingerly turned them to ensure that each one remained happy and in a single-piece design. Raven read methodically, analyzing each syllable, not wanting to miss or gloss over anything. She remained devoted to the book, her eyes scanning the pages, each sentence raising as many questions as it answered. Hours passed, and she couldn't bring herself to set the book down. It was fascinating, terrifying, and exhilarating. Then she finally found it, the climax of the entire manuscript, and the head point of the whole record. She read carefully.
Through extensive studies encompassing generations, the Ancient Monks of Azarath learned that travel between the realms and dimensions requires one of two necessary criteria, but never both. The first being a medium to serve as a portal, a door between the two physical realms. In tradition, this portal could be a live manifestation of…
Raven paused for a moment, skipped a handful of sentences that sent memories flooding back, and then continued.
The second is a criterion which requires no complex spells or incantations, and is only accessible through the most dedicated of meditation, where travel is achieved through the sheer will of the user. This requires complete isolation of emotion, peace in the entirety of the mind, and an unambiguous purity of the heart. Any corruption, haste, or aggressiveness could cause the rift to sever, leaving the border imperfect and rough, creating...
Raven paused again, reflecting. Did not her Meditation Mirror, and subsequently her mind, count as a separate dimension? Was it simply a different perspective of the same dimensional plane, or could the Mirror itself serve as the medium to traverse between two disparate realms, not just act as a portal into her mind? She buried her nose deeper into the pages, seeking out answers. The time ticked by as she re-read passages, trying to find something she missed. Page after page her eyes flitted, dissecting each sentence. She stood, walking over to her bookshelf and filled her arms with spellbooks, legends, and cantos with which she was already familiar. She laid out the records with the new book at the center and continued to pour over the text, comparing it to incantations and spells previously mastered. She even thought back to the treacherous dark magic of Malchior, trying to draw conclusions based on every bit of knowledge she could muster. Certain points of the book seemed to disagree with everything she knew as conventional magic. And yet… It made sense.
She closed the book with a sigh. Perhaps it was foolish to think a single night of study could yield dramatic results. The book's premise had a tantalizing promise; interdimensional travel, at will, on call, without negative repercussions in either realm if executed correctly. It was a manuscript constructed by the ancient Monks of Azarath, then hidden away for generations before a physical copy somehow found its way into this world, seeming to appear directly and solely to Raven. It just seemed too good to be true. However, it was still too early in her research for Raven to decide if this was the case or not. She stood slowly and walked over to her nightstand, placing the book carefully next to her Mirror. This would be a task for another day. She glanced over at the small clock. 12:45 a.m. Hardly the latest she'd ever stayed up reading, but a subject as demanding as this would require her full concentration, and her full energy.
After readying herself for bed, she burrowed deep beneath her covers, now aware of the soft pitter-patter of raindrops on her window. With each raindrop, her eyes began to close until finally…
Raven's eyes flew open in alarm and she sat up in her bed. A cacophonous crack of lightning that rattled her window had awoken her, but strangely, the thunderstorm had vanished. She looked out the window curiously. Not a cloud in the sky. Hadn't it been storming not long ago? She couldn't have been asleep for that long; it had felt like merely an instant in slumber. She brushed her covers off of her and went to the window, drawing the deep sapphire curtains closed. She paused, overcome by a strange feeling of another presence.
"Beast Boy, Cyborg, get out of my room." She said flatly, as thoughts of their late-night pranks flooded her mind.
No response.
Raven slipped on her ruffled boots and slid her cloak over her shoulders, clasping it together. She walked to her door and opened it.
"Beast Boy, don't make me…" Raven froze as her door slid open. It emptied not into the hallway of Titans Tower, but into another room. This room was small, the walls a deep but intense shade of indigo, with cartoonish skulls painted in a mosaic pattern across them. The design aesthetic seemed mildly dark and depressing, but the blues and deep purples were a rainbow of hues in contrast to Raven's room. A handful of chains hung from the ceiling, and cobwebs graced the corners of the space. Multiple books lay strewn across the floor, each bearing a specific symbol or set of symbols, and a bookshelf in one corner overflowed with more volumes. Raven rubbed her eyes, taking a second glance. The entire room seemed so geometrical and absolute, almost resembling a cartoon, with virtually no soft curves and creases. It came across as extremely basic and straight-forward in its architecture compared to the elegant gradual lines of Raven's bed, its hood-like headboard arcing gracefully over the covers. In this room, off to the left, a four-post bed stood sentry. The vertical columns were carved in the likeness of serpents, their forked tongues pointing downwards, and a purple dust ruff drooped to the floor. And sitting atop the bed was a small young lady clad in a soft blue cloak, a book concealing her hooded face.
"Um…" Raven started.
The strange person lowered the book, an expression of surprise suddenly enveloping her face.
"Ahh!"
Both parties let out a short scream, dark energy crackling and expelling from their chakras like lightning, bursting a small nightstand to splinters. Raven slammed her door closed and whipped around, sliding down to the floor with her back against it as if holding it shut. Breathing heavily, her heart racing, she glanced across the room to her Meditation Mirror and the book. Is it possible…? No, that couldn't be. How? She had to be dreaming. But no… Is it really…?
Silence on the other side of the door. Raven debated with herself what she should do. She was still trying to process what she had seen. Even if it was true, and it had worked, the book had spoken nothing of this. Interdimensional travel didn't seem the same as discovering separate versions of her universe. Why was it showing her what appeared to be… an alternate reality?
After a moment there was a small, quiet knock. Raven slowly rose to her feet, turning to face the door. Anything on the other side, she reasoned, must have come from her mind. And as dark of a place as that usually was, she had faced far worse before. The metal door slid open, and Raven looked down.
The girl was a replica, a mirror image of herself, but clearly of a separate dimensional plane. Her appearance was far more simple and rudimentary, but somehow charming and familiar. She gazed at Raven with large glassy eyes, her small mouth parted in shock. The cloak she wore was closed and seemed to envelope the rest of her in its subtle waves of blue fabric, only revealing a small lower portion of her face, with those large eyes piercing through the shadowy cowl. The dimensions of her head dwarfed the rest of her body, yet in a fashion where nothing seemed terribly out of place, and was almost cute. She was considerably smaller, only about two-thirds the size of Raven, but she could sense a deep power and magic pulsing through this strange interdimensional doppelganger. Raven's thoughts immediately went to her emotional doubles, the manifestations of various personality traits and sentiments. But this was unlike anything of that realm. She briefly wondered in a panic if this was the same dimension that had spawned Larry, but the thought soon passed. The girl continued to look upwards at Raven before finally speaking.
"Um… Hi."
Raven blinked. "…Hi." The girl spoke with the exact same vocal inflections and slight rolling rasp that she did, yet somehow with more diction, and a brighter more playful tone. It was odd, but not off-putting.
The girl, who had been floating steadily up to this point, lowered herself to the ground to sit in her lotus position. The cloak parted, revealing that this girl's apparel was indeed identical to Raven's, with the exception of small boots with skull emblems on their soles. Raven hesitantly followed, stooping and assuming her meditation stance. There the two of them sat facing one another, each in their own room of their own dimension, staring across time and space at themselves.
The smaller Raven blurted, "I can't believe it worked."
Raven's heart jolted a beat, though she remained stoic on the outside. Had this version of herself been attempting to contact her? "What do you mean? Did you… Come from my mind?"
Little Raven looked slightly confused. "I-I Don't think so. Did you come from mine?"
Raven shook her head. "Not that I'm aware of. So, you are not one of my other selves, then; one of the emotional doubles?"
Little Raven paused, appearing to be thinking. "Oh. No, I'm not an Emoticlone."
"Oh." Raven blinked. 'Emoticlone.' That was cute.
"I'm guessing that you're me," Little Raven said simply, addressing the primary issue both of them were thinking about. "From a different world."
"I guess so," Raven said softly, still unsure what to think of all this. She was sitting here having a conversation with… Herself. Normally not activity to be considered completely abnormal for her, except this time her company was physically here, and didn't appear to have existed in the same universe, the same reality, as she did. Everything past Raven's door was brighter, more vivid in hue, including this smaller Raven. The thought returned to her; it was as if time and space had created a cartoon version of herself. Despite having spent the entire night diving into the literature and theory of such possibilities, it was taking a while to sink in what was occurring. Her gaze fleetingly wandered to the books strewn across the floor. "Were you reading?"
"No, in this dimension we use books as rugs."
Clearly another version of myself. "So what were you reading?" Raven said, not missing a beat.
"How to talk to a part of myself. I just didn't expect to summon you, or for you to be so… Tall," Little Raven said, rather impressed.
Raven's brow furrowed. "Wait, you were trying to achieve interdimensional travel, too?"
Little Raven's gaze floated to the ceiling. "Not exactly… I was trying to access one of my Emoticlones. Try to filter down to a single emotion to understand my true thoughts and desires. I didn't know I was summoning your world, though."
That E-word wasn't getting any less strange to Raven, but a different question arose. "You seem like you knew of my world already."
Little Raven gave a small nod.
That explained why she wasn't that surprised. Raven mused.
"Here, I have a wealth of almost unlimited information and knowledge at my disposal, and it's not limited to my universe alone," She continued. "There are articles, books, and other media referencing your universe in a fair amount of detail, almost as if it weren't a separate dimensional plane but simply a series of events that happened years ago, the antithesis of the Teen Titans I'm part of. I have seen fleeting glimpses into your world, small flashes where our lives gain closer resemblance for just a moment. My dimension's physical and magical boundaries allow my powers to be virtually limitless; a property I have read is not present in yours. The people of your universe are more restricted in their abilities, even magic."
Relaxing as the fascinating conversation progressed, Raven tilted her head and said gently, "No power is limitless."
"No," Little Raven admitted, and then snapped her fingers, a pot of hot tea and two cups suddenly appearing out of thin air, encased in black energy. They lowered to the ground, the magic seeping away from them harmlessly with a sharp *pop.* She snapped the fingers in her other hand, instantaneously summoning a portal to appear in front of Raven where one of the cups phased through into her hand, fully filled with tea. The bright and vivid coloration of the teacup abruptly faded, matching the palette of Raven's dimension. Little Raven shrugged and smiled meekly as she snapped her fingers again, closing the portal. "But I like to think mine comes pretty close."
Raven tried to hide her shock. On-command physical manifestation of whatever she was thinking, and power that transcended dimensions. That would be nice. As the smaller Raven poured out her own cup, Raven took a timid sip of her own, closing her eyes as the tea flowed over her tongue. Chamomile. The longer she was around this strange and charming doppelganger, she began to feel more comfortable and at ease, but also swarmed with questions she desperately wanted to ask. This Little Raven appeared to be well-learned, intelligent, aware of her powers. It appeared that transcending dimensions and alternate reality was no new concept to her, nor was it one that instilled the sense of possible absolute danger as it had to Raven. Strikingly, she also seemed quite controlled over her emotions. Raven continually could detect her mood, and it didn't appear like she was attempting to quell it or push any thoughts or feelings back inside of her. She had even smiled bashfully, playfully.
Raven pressed further. "Why were you trying to reach your… Emoticlone?"
Little Raven took a sip from her teacup. "It's… Complicated."
"So is this." Raven said bluntly.
"…There is a Beast Boy in your dimension, right?" Little Raven said, somewhat shyly. Her eyes flashed a small twinkle.
Raven's heart did another little hop; that twinkle, so familiar. Not unlike the one she had witnessed in Starfire that day. She lowered her cup a bit and replied slowly. "Yes."
Little Raven's expression softened. "A while back, the Beast Boy in my dimension had accidentally activated this weird crystal. It trapped me inside and released five distinctly different versions of myself: the Emoticlones. But there was one in a purple cloak that simply wouldn't leave Beast Boy alone. It seemed like it was… drawn to him. I asked the others about it later and they said that it was my 'Passion' self. Um… Some other stuff has happened since then, but the major point is that now I'm getting really confused. Things are different between Beast Boy and me now, and I want an unbiased, unfiltered opinion of what I'm really thinking. I feel like the only self I can trust on that subject is, her. So I was trying to bring her out."
Raven listened carefully to everything her small double was saying. While her motives were remarkably similar to the reason why Raven was seeking to gain insight on a different dimensional level to help her sort out her emotional turmoil, she couldn't shake a feeling that crept up as Little Raven was speaking: the Raven of that dimension seemed much more free and positive than herself, especially on the topic of romance. This smaller Raven was actively pursuing measures to learn more about her romantic side, whereas until recently Raven had traditionally pushed the subject as a whole out of her mind.
Little Raven noticed the sudden silence between them as Raven thought and attempted to lighten the air again with a gentle question. "So… Have you met your Emoticlones?"
Raven stiffened instinctively. "Yes, I've met them," She said quietly. "But unfortunately, the circumstances were much darker than yours."
This caught the smaller Raven off guard. "How so?"
"Our powers are driven by emotion, correct?"
Little Raven nodded, though mostly it seemed she could use her powers in various emotional states without major deviation.
"The higher the level of emotion experienced, the more dangerous your power becomes, right?"
Little Raven suddenly seemed to pause. "…Um, no. I haven't really had a major problem with that."
Raven lowered her head solemnly. "You spoke of my world being restricted by physical and magical limitations, and you're right. Feeling too much can unleash an incredible amount of energy, and I have no control over where it goes. If your situation happened in my universe, individual emotions of mine able to run free in physical manifestation, the results would be much more catastrophic. The last time one of them got loose, I… she almost killed someone."
The smaller of the two looked somewhat crestfallen, as she listened to Raven's explanation of the fragility of her world. When her emotions had run rampant, they actually hadn't run anywhere, and were contained in the tower for much of the time. Even for the period when they were truly unleashed onto Jump City, only minimal damage resulted with no casualties. Her fellow Titans had said that one Emoticlone never even left the Tower, and only one of them put up a fight upon capture. The way Raven spoke, if the wrong emotion gained the upper hand for a fleeting instant in her mind, never even crossing the border to physical being, the results could be absolute and tragic. "I see."
"Not to douse the mood," Raven said, feeling as though she had upset her counterpart.
The little one suddenly looked up. "If I'm following you, the emotions you experience seem to be many times more powerful than your normal, static self."
Raven nodded.
Little Raven leaned forward a bit. "What about your 'Passion' Emoticlone?"
Raven lowered her head, trying to disguise the redness returning to her face. "Never met her," What seemed like ages ago, Beast Boy and Cyborg had stumbled into her mind via her Mirror. Raven had intended on dealing with her dark inner influence herself, but her two friends had stayed to help. She was deeply touched by the sheer dedication of them both, but especially of Beast Boy. Up until that point, she hadn't thought the little green shapeshifter thought anything of her. It was Beast Boy who had suggested merging the collective strength of her other selves to defeat the dreaded influence deep within her. She had summoned the most powerful of her emotions, and the battle had been won. But there had been one mysterious Raven present; a Raven clad in a purple cloak. The idea of an individual part of her being solely associated with passion, love and affection was an interesting thought to Raven. It was probably the least accessed part of her, the most infrequently visited area of her personality. It made little logical sense that such an emotion could be powerful enough to aid her in defeating a force as omnipresent as Trigon had been. "Could you tell me the colors of cloaks that your selves wore?"
"Pink for Happiness," Little Raven recollected what her teammates had relayed to her. "Gray for Timidity, Orange for Laziness, Purple for Passion, and Red was Rage."
Momentarily wishing her own red-clad Emoticlone had simply been a representation of her rage and rage only, Raven couldn't deny that the visual characteristics of her own emotional selves were identical to Little Raven's. Still, it proves nothing. She thought stubbornly.
Little Raven observed her counterpart for a moment. "Look, I can imagine that in your world you need to keep a firmer lid on your emotions. It's maybe not to the extent that you do, but I have to keep a cap mine, too. But even for us we can't trick ourselves. I can tell you're trying hard to. But trust me, denying the presence of an emotion isn't the same as suppressing it; if anything, it just grows more powerful behind your back."
Raven blinked. "That makes sense," Was all she could manage. It seemed the other Raven was waiting for something. If she was going to admit it, it might as well be to herself. "…in theory, my 'Passion' Emoticlone does exist; I've seen her, merged with her, but only in the face of combat. I had to."
The smaller one set down her teacup, thinking. "Do you think she helped?"
"Yes."
"Raven," the little one addressed her properly. "From everything you're telling me, it's amazing that side of your personality even exists. I have a luxury in my dimension; my emotions don't seem as earth-shaking or dangerous as yours. I'm a little freer to express myself. I've never yelled at someone and broken a car in half. Probably the most dangerous uncontrollable display of my powers was when a magic octopus came through a crack in my tooth."
"Wait, what?"
"It's a long story," Little Raven waved her hand. "My point is it seems like you have a lot riding on you. You and I both try to put restraints on our emotions; you, seemingly, out of protection for the people around you. But there is such a thing as being overprotective. And I don't believe that every emotion carries the same level of danger with it. How could it? Some feelings were meant to be felt more than others. Love, happiness… Joy."
The two fell silent, Raven processing what her smaller dimensional twin had said. She looked up to see the Little Raven looking at the ground, introspective, but with a faint smile. It was almost as if talking to her had allowed the little one to step away from herself and gain a touch of insight on what was causing her own inner confusion. Not much more was said after that, not much needed to be. It soon came time for the two to part ways.
"Thank you. It's not often I'm able to carry on intelligent conversations." Raven said, smiling warmly.
The Little Raven returned the smile and nodded. "Hopefully we'll speak again someday," Her eyes suddenly filled with a white, pulsating light. She lifted her arms and rose up, levitating. Raven stood, not expecting this display. Sharp, narrow beams of light erupted from behind the smaller of the Ravens and danced off of the walls brightly. "Azarath metrion ZINTHOS!"
The door to Raven's room was suddenly slammed closed, a heavy wind gusting from it briefly. Raven lifted her arms in front of her face, feeling her cloak whip and unfurl behind her. After a moment, the room settled back into its normal state. She lowered her arms, looking around her room. She hastily opened her door, finding the familiar empty corridor of Titans Tower in front of her, gazing at the teacup in her hand that her twin had not retrieved. She ran over to the window and opened the curtains just as a massive crack of lightning lit up the night sky. She flinched, then settled as the pitter patter of raindrops against the glass echoed.
Raven stood there for several minutes, watching the raindrops slide down the pane in a peaceful, harmonious, almost methodical fashion. Finally, she unclasped her cowl pin and laid her cloak at the foot of her bed. She kicked off her ruffled boots, sending them sailing across the room, and collapsed onto her bed, exhausted from the interdimensional experience she had just taken part in. And she didn't move from that spot until the sunlight crept back over the horizon.
A cool evening breeze brushed against Raven's face and she closed her eyes, savoring the serenity of the moment. She meditated on the rooftop of the Tower. Not because something was currently bothering her, not because she felt her powers becoming restless, but for the simple joy of it. She breathed in the crisp refreshing air, a smile on her face. No flairs of energy, no random bursts of magic. In the week following her conversation with herself, Raven had been experimenting, observing, and gradually allowing certain personalities a little more leg room. Perhaps some emotions weren't so dangerous after all.
The rooftop access door opened, light from inside pouring out into the night sky. "Hey, Raven?"
"Mm?" She responded without moving or opening her eyes.
"We're about to watch a movie. Robin and Starfire's pick, so get ready for some kind of rom-com, but we're short one Titan. Wanna join us?" He motioned downstairs with his signature grin.
Raven thought for a second. "Sure," She smiled, lowering herself from levitation onto the rooftop once more. She glanced over her shoulder and motioned with her head. "C'mere for a sec'." She said.
Beast Boy wandered over to her, slightly confused but not questioning any of it. "What's up?" He had noticed a small change in her recently. The others didn't seem to have caught it yet, but he could sense something… happier about her. Her quiet, low voice remained but somehow there was a brighter inflection to it. When she walked he noticed she didn't drag her feet as much and her posture seemed not as downcast. There was something all around that just seemed more positive about this mysterious Titan, one that Beast Boy had given up on trying to fully understand long ago. Back when she was under the influence of Malchior, her personality temporarily lightened. After the defeat of her father, Raven's personality seemed to lighten. Beast Boy could only wonder what was going on now, but knew better than to directly ask.
"Remember last week when you found me up here and I asked you what was for dinner?" She said, staring out over the water.
"Yeah. Pizza night." He recalled.
"I couldn't have cared less what we were eating that night."
Beast Boy paused. "…'Kay?"
"I meant to ask you something. Do you think there are other universes out there?"
Beast Boy paused again, not prepared for such a deep, profound question. He finally shrugged. "Probably. I mean one of my friends is half-robot, one's an alien, one's dating an alien, and one reads instead of playing video games. So literally anything's possible."
Raven allowed herself a soft smile before continuing. "If there's another universe out there, if there's another Beast Boy and Cyborg and Robin and Starfire… Do you think anything between you and I would be any different?"
"I hope not. I've put a lot of time into getting to know you." He nudged her arm playfully.
Raven absorbed this statement. He didn't even hesitate, not a little. Beast Boy's instant response was that he's fond of their current relationship, and fears for anything that would change that.
"Seriously, though, Rae," Beast Boy spoke, bending his legs and resting his crossed arms on his knees. "I try not to think about that. Imagine if things had gone just a little bit differently in the past. I might not be here right now… You might not be here right now. That's scary."
She turned her head to face him fully now, surprised by this deeply thought response. He never stopped surprising her.
Beast Boy looked up at the stars, twinkling in the black velvet of the sky. There wasn't a cloud out there, the moon glowering brightly, casting its silvery luminescence onto the landscape. He turned his head to look at her, watching the moonlight slide smoothly down her silky hair, dappling her deep eyes with bright shimmering reflections. He looked back up to the stars. "What's that thing they say? Like… if you go back in time and do something tiny it can change the future in a not-so-tiny way? Well, if I hadn't come up here to get you for the movie, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this night sky with you."
Raven's eyes shone. She felt the warmness returning to her face. Let him see it. She thought happily.
Beast Boy turned to look at her again. "You know what I mean?"
The warmth intensified, and she quickly turned away. "Yeah." She said. Okay. Maybe not yet. Small steps.
The young green Titan stood, extending his hand out to her.
Raven glanced at it. "I can get up fine by myself, Beast Boy." She said flatly.
Beast Boy grabbed her wrist and hoisted her up, catching her with his other hand resting on her back. "And I could stop telling bad jokes whenever I want."
"That I don't believe," Raven said, brushing herself off as she began walking towards the access door. "Come on, BB. Let's go watch a movie."
Beast Boy stared at her. "Did you just call me…"
"Coming?" She called as she descended down into the depths of the Tower.
"Hey, wait up!" And in a flurry of green, the changeling morphed into a sparrow and fluttered down into the Tower.
That night after the movie had ended (it had indeed been a romantic comedy), the popcorn cleaned up, and the Tower in its nightly lockdown mode, the doors to the main room slid open. One of the light switches became encased in deeply hued magic, and a single overhead light blinked to life. A mystical young lady clad in a dark blue cloak walked down the steps to the kitchen area. She retrieved her kettle, prepared a small amount of tea, and leaned against the counter as she waited. Once it was done, she opened the cupboard and reached for one teacup unlike her others, a single chalice bearing a stark difference to all of the others in the Titans' inventory. She poured it, and walked over to the massive main window as she sipped its contents peacefully. After a few moments she turned and walked back to the kitchen area, poured the remnants of the tea into her cup, and exited the room. The light blinked out, the doors slid back shut, and the room was silent once more.
In a once-forbidden room of Titans Tower, the girl set her cup down and picked up a mirror. The small gems flashed as she held it up to her face with her eyes closed. Three words gently escaped her lips, almost inaudible.
"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…" She opened her eyes and a light hovered in them momentarily before the mirror's face became ablaze with energy. The girl closed her eyes again, letting herself fall into the mirror as it reached out and drew her through its portal.
Raven opened her eyes to find herself standing on brightly colored ground. Rolling hills loped playfully into the distance as if they were really enjoying being hills, and a handful of fir trees dotted the edges of the apparent valley in which she had appeared. The sky was dappled in bright, vivid, warm colors as if in an eternal sunrise. She turned around, becoming aware that she was not alone in this land, and caught sight of a person meditating atop a hill not far away, their back to her. As she walked towards the hill, the feeling of being watched returned. She glanced off towards a cluster of trees to her left, and two bright red eyes met hers. Raven stopped walking and stared at the eyes, shrouded in darkness. The eyes seemed to emit their own energy and glowered sinisterly. But Raven felt no fear or anger as she continued to lock eyes with this mysterious entity, the identity of which Raven knew was no mystery. The energies surrounding the eyes grew until it finally paused, then slowly retracted back to their source as if drained, powerless, defeated. They blinked once, then again, and a third time before finally narrowing and disappearing into the brush. Raven straightened her back, satisfied, and continued walking.
As she neared the crest of the hill, she became aware of a strange sound. Humming; the meditating figure was humming contentedly as she levitated quietly, calmly. Raven ascended to the air behind the person, folding her legs into Lotus position and placing her hands on her knees. The humming stopped, and the figure stirred.
"Forgive my intrusion…" Raven began formally.
A soft giggle was heard from the figure. "No worries, Rae-Rae. I've been wondering when you'd visit."
Raven relaxed, letting her shoulders droop. She felt her heartbeat slow to a peaceful and steady rhythm. "It's hard to find this kind of tranquility nowadays."
The figure turned towards her. "If you know where to look, there is harmony in even the most tumultuous heart." The words came quietly, but gave away no impression of frailty. Rather, the tenderness with which this figure spoke conveyed a more powerful heart and mind than Raven had ever fathomed.
As the person came to fully face her, Raven allowed a smile to cross her lips. "I'd like to ask you some questions."
The young girl levitating in front of Raven revealed an affectionate and honest smile caressing her familiar face as she lowered her purple hood. "What would you like to know?"
-The End-
Dearest readers,
This is the first narrative text I've written in a long, long time. It's been even longer since I've put so much care into one project, probably because my literary composition has consisted of mostly college work for the past couple of years. So, here you go. Allow me to clear a few bits of information, the first being context. I did my best to stay true to the canon of both shows, referencing several episodes including the original series' "Nevermore," "Spellbound," and the "Trouble in Tokyo" movie as well as the new series' "Matched" and "Meatball Party." Forgive me if anything in my narration conflicts with the story universe of either show (I acknowledge that the Teen Titans Go! comics are intended as canon to the original series, but I omitted them from my inclusion to give a more powerful 'what if' when Raven describes the consequences of her own Emoticlones breaking loose, as this did indeed happen in Issues #42 and #44, "Pieces of Me" and "Red Raven" respectively).
While my personal preference is to the dramatic scripting, beautiful art direction/design, and raw intensity of the original Teen Titans series, I have an affection for the new Teen Titans Go! T.V. series as well, namely the first two seasons. The difference between the two shows is similar to how I describe the visual appearance of the two Ravens. Dark, powerful, heavily burdened, and empathetic... Charming, cute, modern, and easygoing. They're two separate interpretations of the same universe, just as the Ravens in our story are two separate manifestations of the same hero. While some fans cry 'blasphemy' on the new series, I feel as though that's missing the point and doing the writers of both shows a disservice. Teen Titans Go! is not the original series. But to me, that's the idea. It brings an entirely new demographic age group into the Titans' universe and the DC Nation, and it encourages active thinking in minds that compare the two. I just find that downright cool. For me, the original series is dear to my heart because it was what I grew up with. For budding Titans nowadays, this new series will serve the same purpose.
Small closing note; if you're wondering, yes I am the same megaFAUCET as the one on DeviantArt. I believe I am the only megaFAUCET on either site, because no one else but I could devise a screen name so ridiculous (I've seen some gorgeous, majestic screen names on both websites). My gallery is plastered with numerous BBRae and Teen Titans crossover drawings, available for your viewing pleasure or displeasure at .com
So, what do you think? Not bad for a first fan fic? Want more? Hated it? Don't quit your day job? Let me know y'alls thoughts and reactions.
Sincerely,
~megaFAUCET