Author's Note: This is my first fic on the Teen Titans board. It'll
probably suck—major—but I really don't care.
Disclaimer: Like I own Teen Titans? No, I'm sorry, I don't. Too bad.
~*~My Deepest, Darkest Fear... Is Myself.~*~
A teenage girl sat on the sidewalk of a cold, dark city alone. She wallowed in—not self pity—but despair. What she wanted and she could have were totally different. Her sad gray eyes looked up and roamed the tall buildings, searching for lights. She watched as they randomly clicked off, signally good night. Good night. She laughed in her mind at the word. She'd never had a good night in her life. Even her childhood years had been filled with grief in the orphanage. That place always smelled of death when she was around. She plagued it with the smell, no good people wanted her. They shivered when they saw her. No, she wasn't that ugly, in fact, she was quite pretty, but it was the vibes that emitted from her that gave it all away. Secrets that even she didn't know.
Because she was falling into the darkness of her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that it had started raining. The more she saddened, the harder it rained. Was it coincidence? No, she didn't believe in coincidences. There were three things she didn't believe in: people that never lie, a happy day in her life, and coincidence.
Rain was the girl's name. Everywhere she went, it rained, so that was her name. It didn't matter to her what her real name was. The rain came, and so did she, so she was the Rain. Marissa had been her real name... but it seemed so long ago that she'd been called that. Marissa...
Her old black backwards cap was soggy and the wet drops had fallen through her dull coloured hair. It was a known fact to Rain that her emotions not only controlled the weather, but her looks. The fact that she was sad had made her normal green eyes turn gray and the colour of her hair was now also fading to gray. She had to compose herself quickly. She didn't want to look old. Her ratty torn jeans were dark and were beginning to stick to her skin. She was cold. Her white blouse was cleaned, but it was sticking to her skin.
Suddenly, without warning, she felt a hard hand being placed on her shoulder. The warmth of annoyance came over her as she whipped her head around to see who had touched her. There stood a tall man in a black uniform with metal guards on his shins, arms, and stomach. He was wearing some sort of mask. He looked familiar, but she couldn't put a name to the look. She stood up straight and let his hand slide off of her shoulder. He was—at least—a foot and a half taller than her, no doubt stronger than her in physical, and wiser most likely, but out of habit, she glared at him with suspicion.
"What do you want?" Rain muttered.
The posture of the faceless man made her shiver. He was still, but controlling. She told herself that she wasn't afraid—that he was just some other thug she could have fun dealing with, teaching him a lesson. But her smart, logical, and sarcastic side told a very stronger different story.
'He's no thug, Rain! He's someone else. Remember the suspicion of knowing him. It's a sign, Rain! Don't make your move just yet. He has something of great importance to say. Listen and be quiet.'
"I have something to offer to you," the man suddenly said in his eerie and calm voice, "something that you cannot decline on."
You can't tell me already that I can't decline! Rain's brave side said in an immediate uproar. You can't tell me what to do!
Lightning flashed dangerously and thunder immediately retaliated violently. "I have something of your past that you know nothing about," the man noted. Rain blanched and everything went silent for a second as she stared at him. She knew nothing of her true family, and she knew that he meant it. "Come with me and I'll tell you." Her mind warned her about him—warned her not to get too deep. When she got in too deep, very bad things happened, and she could see it happening all over again in her mind's eye, but it was her past calling her back into the dark depths. And she was wandering in it again.
Rain's eyes narrowed dangerously and the thunder clasped. "This better be worth my while," she muttered in a soft yet angry voice. She could almost see him grin under his mask. He began to walk in the alley, beckoning for her to follow, but she didn't. "What's your name?" He turned back to face in. He walked up to her and stared at her with his eyes through the mask. His face frighteningly only inches away from hers, but she kept her glare strong and furious for no good reason.
"Slade," he simply said, and he was off again into the alley.
"Slade..." Rain muttered to herself absentmindedly, as she followed him slowly. "What a name." She felt like she was taking orders from Lucifer himself and obeying them as she followed, but she couldn't stop herself. And she was engulfed by the darkness of the alley.
It was like the guy knew she would obey him and come. It was like he knew he could take control of her so easily. She hated it—she hated it when other people had the control. She hated being afraid; it ticked her off—major. It felt like he had a noose tied around her neck, slowly kicking the chair from under her feet away centimeter-by-centimeter. She was ticked off, but kept her emotions almost in check. Her hair hadn't turned red yet; it had turned back to black along with her green eyes. But as for the weather... a thunderstorm was brewing outside—normal was a definite no.
Rain sat in the seat that had been set out already for her. She leaned back in it with her left leg crossed over right, bouncing a little out of nervousness. She hated that feeling too; it ticked her off, but she kept it all in. Her eyes immediately had gone into scan mode, checking for anything suspicious. If he wasn't your everyday crook/thug, he was a mastermind criminal either waiting or rising. She'd figured he was already there. "Slade"—as he called himself—had gone to get something "important"—he said. She rolled her eyes, thinking of what could possibly be "important", but then again, if it wasn't, why was she here and why was she still sitting here waiting for him to show up again? She didn't bother to fathom the questions as he stalked back, holding a small file. He threw it on the table in front of her and sat down in the seat across from her. She opened it and leafed through it rather quickly. She had an amazing photogenic memory. She went back to the first page of the file. She stared at it and then up to Slade. She raised an eyebrow.
"What is this?" Rain interrogated, on the verge of anger. "Some sort of sick joke?" She felt very vulnerable and helpless. She felt like a two year-old on the streets again, crying as she watched her mother being beaten to a pulp by some random street guy. She felt frightened. It was the private life she never knew she had, and he knew it. She felt deprived of and scared. He knew her more than she did.
Slade grinned. "It's what you've always wanted, isn't it, Marissa?" he whispered gently. "To know your background—your... blood." Even as she spoke the words, she knew what the next word was. Rain felt very vulnerable. One crazy thought crossed her mind: I wonder what kind of weather that will give? Vulnerability was a very complicated emotion. She hated worse than being afraid and nervous. It was the worse emotion to feel, at least she thought that. She hated feeling vulnerable; it ticked her off a lot. She was feeling more of it than she'd felt in her life right now. She didn't like this man and he knew every single thing about her. It was practically her life's history in this little file of his. She wondered who else's he had, stored away somewhere. She wondered if they felt vulnerable, too.
"This is... not what I was expecting," Rain murmured, her voice filled with disbelief and anger. However—Slade's grin broadened.
"Not everything is in that file you're holding, Miss Marissa," Slade noted, nodding to the file. Rain dropped it back on the table and folded it shut, disgusted to see her private life—secrets out in open view for everyone to see. She glared at Slade.
"What?" Rain spat. "You got my entire life and secrets on DVD too? I want to see." Slade merely grinned underneath his mask and picked up a remote. Rain looked away from him and to the screens she'd already seen.
"My, you are a fast learner," Slade said mockingly. "This is the most important thing of my life right now. I'd expect you to be a little more... excited." Rain snorted at the remark and rolled her eyes. The usual question popped in her head as an "emotion word" was said: I wonder what kind of weather that would bring?
"Excited; don't make me laugh," Rain muttered icily. She had the distinct feeling that some rain was falling from her clouds now. "Just get on with the story so I can leave."
"Oh, I don't think you'll be leaving any time soon," Slade sighed in a matter-of-factly tone. Rain's fists automatically clenched and she screwed up her face slightly.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Rain growled angrily. Some thunder was heard from outside of the building. She could envision Slade smiling under his mask. She wanted to rip it off and smash it into a thousand pieces. He clicked on the remote and instantly, five different pictures showed on the screen: the Teen Titans.
Rain had heard a lot about the Teen Titans. About how they were heroes and how they saved the world from a lot of tough bad guys. Rain had heard about them from people she'd saved when they asked if she was a Teen Titan and she'd heard if from the thugs and crooks she dealed with when she caught them, complaining that there were too many Teen Titan wanna- bes in the world. Rain would merely laugh at them, but this was no laughing matter. She had a lot a respect for the Teen Titans having not even met them in person yet; she didn't think she'd have the guts to.
There was the strange alien girl Starfire—with her incredible strength, green beams, and flight—the telepathic/telekinetic Azarath girl Raven—who also has to keep her emotions in check—the amazing animal changing, humorous Beast Boy, the half teenage boy/half robot Cyborg, and then there was the leader, the talented, gifted, smart, and very agile Robin. He reminded Rain of someone, but she didn't know who.
"Robin remind you of someone?" Slade asked nonchalantly, practically reading Rain's mind—or her expression when she'd laid her eyes on Robin's picture. She tore her eyes off of the picture and onto him. Thunder rumbled lowly. She nodded her head slowly. "Yes, he does the same to me, but who...?" He clicked on the remote and it was now only Robin's picture on the screens. Rain cocked her head confusedly. Now there was an emotion that made the weather go berserk. When Rain was confused, the weather would switch constantly. She heard the rain stop, it thundered, then hard wind, and then back to a drizzle. Her crossed left leg began bouncing again.
"I don't know," Rain admitted. She pondered what people were thinking of the crazy weather right now. Rain had not been on their forecast at all, but they didn't know Rain was coming to town that day.
"Ah, I know who he reminds me of," Slade sighed, though she knew that he knew all along. "Robin reminds me of you, Rain." At this, Rain snapped her head up to stare at Slade. What was he thinking? She was nothing like Robin—or was she? The same mystery background, the talents for being heroes, and they even looked alike. So... where was Slade going to?
"What are you playing at, Slade?" Rain questioned, skipping corners and going straight to the point. He chuckled at her straight-forwardness.
"Don't you see?" Slade said, admiring his work. He stood up and began to pace with his hands behind his back. "I need Robin on my side—he needs to understand—but he doesn't get it. I one key in stopping him is to put his friends in grave danger. But I've already done that, and it worked for a while, until he got smart enough to stop me. But this... this is going to work just fine. In fact, better I'd say."
"Again, I'm asking you: what're you playing at?" Rain repeated, getting agitated by Slade's ranting. She could hear the drizzle turn into a drench slowly. Slade stopped pacing and stared at her. She stood up out of the chair. She was unable to keep sitting.
"This—this is my plan, Miss Marissa! Don't you see?" Slade rang loudly, motioning his hand at the screen. But Rain didn't see and he saw it in her eyes. He stalked toward her quickly, again, frighteningly inches from her face, but she kept the stony look of anger plastered on her face. "Marissa—Rain—you are Robin's twin sister!"
Without warning, Rain fainted and collapsed back into the chair.
There was no sound when Rain finally began to come to. No feelings had come from her and the normal forecast was coming through now. She slowly began to open her eyes and everything was blurry for a second. Suddenly, she realized she was stuck in a room with a man named Slade—who was psychopathic and just told her that she was Robin's twin sister.
Rain jolted to her senses and everything became clear. She sat up straighter in the seat she'd collapsed in. Slade was staring at her avidly, very patient and calm. Rain wanted to strangle him.
"Ah, I see you've finally come to, Miss Marissa," Slade sighed. She rolled her eyes.
"Come to: yes," Rain muttered. "Ready to kick your butt: getting there. Excitedly joining up for your little escapade: don't think so." Slade stood up and swiftly made his way over to her. She stood up again, ready to take him on. Yeah, he may be stronger than her, but she's got the weather on her side. She glared at him.
"I don't think you really have a choice," Slade whispered.
"Oh, really?" Rain snarled. "Okay, tell me: why don't I have a choice?" Slade sighed and began to walk away. He pointed at a small machine.
"You see this?" he said.
"I'm not blind so yeah, I see it," Rain spat sarcastically. Slade grinned underneath his mask.
"Do you know what this is?" he questioned. She rolled her eyes. Was she some type of gizmo freak? No. Did she read 'Criminal's Digest'? No. Could she read minds? No. Did she know what it was? No! So why in the world was Slade asking her if she did? She nodded her head anyway, not caring to hear the name of it. "I used this on one of my tries on Robin's friends. You see, they got shot with a beam and have these little particles in their blood. When I press the button, they trigger causing them to slowly melt away. I almost had Robin completely, but he touched the beam in the end so I had to stop... or Robin would've died along with his friends."
"Wow, that's brave," Rain muttered.
"No, that was foolish," Slade snapped, "but I'm using this again."
Rain shook her head quickly. "But you'll kill all of them if they do something wrong!" she retorted. "Then you won't be able to get Robin!" Fear of losing another family member in front of her frightened her and she hated being frightened; it ticked her off.
He moved in closer to Rain. "No, not if they do something wrong; if you do something wrong," Slade whispered. She shivered as he got closer and took and involuntary step back. She felt vulnerable again. "And if Robin dies, I'll still have you." She closed her eyes and focused on being angry. Calm, focus, and breathe. It was her drill to stop fuming on hatred and causing a storm to erupt as usual.
"But if you do everything I say, Rain, then Robin and his little friends will be safe," Slade said, stepping back. "I get what I want—Robin—and you get what you want—your brother."
"Then why do I have to betray him to get it?" Rain shouted, her voice full of emotion that she never let escape. Tears threatened her green eyes. "Why can't I just leave and never come back? Why can't I just go: Hey, I'm your long lost twin sister, Marissa! Nice to meet you, Robin. Why can't I just be normal?" She wanted to cry.
"Because you can't be." Rain felt like strangling Slade again. "Now get ready in your new outfit, your first mission is tonight."
"What would that be?" Rain growled, as she scowled at Slade. He threw some pictures behind his back and Rain caught them. She stared at them.
"Remember those three rings," he called, walking away. "After all, you'll be stealing them tonight and leaving Robin with a thoughtful note from me." He disappeared into the darkness. Rain threw the pictures on the table, fully memorized, and collapsed in the chair again.
So... she'd gone from rising heroine to Slade's handy girl sidekick crook so he could get Robin in less than three hours. And to think, she was getting slime like him off the street five hours ago. Now, she was one of them. But she was doing it to save the Teen Titans. She was doing it to save her twin brother, Robin. He didn't even know her yet and she was going to make one lasting first impression on him. She could see it play in her mind now, and she hated it.
"Hey, Robin, I'm your long lost twin sister who use to be someone who got the bad guys off of the streets, but now I'm Slade's sidekick so he can get you on his side! Hey, I hope you don't mind me stealing these rings. Slade wants them for some reason. Well, good bye!"
Oh, how fun this was going to be. Rain groaned and put her face in her hands. She sighed, furious with Slade and herself. What've I gotten myself into?
Disclaimer: Like I own Teen Titans? No, I'm sorry, I don't. Too bad.
~*~My Deepest, Darkest Fear... Is Myself.~*~
A teenage girl sat on the sidewalk of a cold, dark city alone. She wallowed in—not self pity—but despair. What she wanted and she could have were totally different. Her sad gray eyes looked up and roamed the tall buildings, searching for lights. She watched as they randomly clicked off, signally good night. Good night. She laughed in her mind at the word. She'd never had a good night in her life. Even her childhood years had been filled with grief in the orphanage. That place always smelled of death when she was around. She plagued it with the smell, no good people wanted her. They shivered when they saw her. No, she wasn't that ugly, in fact, she was quite pretty, but it was the vibes that emitted from her that gave it all away. Secrets that even she didn't know.
Because she was falling into the darkness of her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that it had started raining. The more she saddened, the harder it rained. Was it coincidence? No, she didn't believe in coincidences. There were three things she didn't believe in: people that never lie, a happy day in her life, and coincidence.
Rain was the girl's name. Everywhere she went, it rained, so that was her name. It didn't matter to her what her real name was. The rain came, and so did she, so she was the Rain. Marissa had been her real name... but it seemed so long ago that she'd been called that. Marissa...
Her old black backwards cap was soggy and the wet drops had fallen through her dull coloured hair. It was a known fact to Rain that her emotions not only controlled the weather, but her looks. The fact that she was sad had made her normal green eyes turn gray and the colour of her hair was now also fading to gray. She had to compose herself quickly. She didn't want to look old. Her ratty torn jeans were dark and were beginning to stick to her skin. She was cold. Her white blouse was cleaned, but it was sticking to her skin.
Suddenly, without warning, she felt a hard hand being placed on her shoulder. The warmth of annoyance came over her as she whipped her head around to see who had touched her. There stood a tall man in a black uniform with metal guards on his shins, arms, and stomach. He was wearing some sort of mask. He looked familiar, but she couldn't put a name to the look. She stood up straight and let his hand slide off of her shoulder. He was—at least—a foot and a half taller than her, no doubt stronger than her in physical, and wiser most likely, but out of habit, she glared at him with suspicion.
"What do you want?" Rain muttered.
The posture of the faceless man made her shiver. He was still, but controlling. She told herself that she wasn't afraid—that he was just some other thug she could have fun dealing with, teaching him a lesson. But her smart, logical, and sarcastic side told a very stronger different story.
'He's no thug, Rain! He's someone else. Remember the suspicion of knowing him. It's a sign, Rain! Don't make your move just yet. He has something of great importance to say. Listen and be quiet.'
"I have something to offer to you," the man suddenly said in his eerie and calm voice, "something that you cannot decline on."
You can't tell me already that I can't decline! Rain's brave side said in an immediate uproar. You can't tell me what to do!
Lightning flashed dangerously and thunder immediately retaliated violently. "I have something of your past that you know nothing about," the man noted. Rain blanched and everything went silent for a second as she stared at him. She knew nothing of her true family, and she knew that he meant it. "Come with me and I'll tell you." Her mind warned her about him—warned her not to get too deep. When she got in too deep, very bad things happened, and she could see it happening all over again in her mind's eye, but it was her past calling her back into the dark depths. And she was wandering in it again.
Rain's eyes narrowed dangerously and the thunder clasped. "This better be worth my while," she muttered in a soft yet angry voice. She could almost see him grin under his mask. He began to walk in the alley, beckoning for her to follow, but she didn't. "What's your name?" He turned back to face in. He walked up to her and stared at her with his eyes through the mask. His face frighteningly only inches away from hers, but she kept her glare strong and furious for no good reason.
"Slade," he simply said, and he was off again into the alley.
"Slade..." Rain muttered to herself absentmindedly, as she followed him slowly. "What a name." She felt like she was taking orders from Lucifer himself and obeying them as she followed, but she couldn't stop herself. And she was engulfed by the darkness of the alley.
It was like the guy knew she would obey him and come. It was like he knew he could take control of her so easily. She hated it—she hated it when other people had the control. She hated being afraid; it ticked her off—major. It felt like he had a noose tied around her neck, slowly kicking the chair from under her feet away centimeter-by-centimeter. She was ticked off, but kept her emotions almost in check. Her hair hadn't turned red yet; it had turned back to black along with her green eyes. But as for the weather... a thunderstorm was brewing outside—normal was a definite no.
Rain sat in the seat that had been set out already for her. She leaned back in it with her left leg crossed over right, bouncing a little out of nervousness. She hated that feeling too; it ticked her off, but she kept it all in. Her eyes immediately had gone into scan mode, checking for anything suspicious. If he wasn't your everyday crook/thug, he was a mastermind criminal either waiting or rising. She'd figured he was already there. "Slade"—as he called himself—had gone to get something "important"—he said. She rolled her eyes, thinking of what could possibly be "important", but then again, if it wasn't, why was she here and why was she still sitting here waiting for him to show up again? She didn't bother to fathom the questions as he stalked back, holding a small file. He threw it on the table in front of her and sat down in the seat across from her. She opened it and leafed through it rather quickly. She had an amazing photogenic memory. She went back to the first page of the file. She stared at it and then up to Slade. She raised an eyebrow.
"What is this?" Rain interrogated, on the verge of anger. "Some sort of sick joke?" She felt very vulnerable and helpless. She felt like a two year-old on the streets again, crying as she watched her mother being beaten to a pulp by some random street guy. She felt frightened. It was the private life she never knew she had, and he knew it. She felt deprived of and scared. He knew her more than she did.
Slade grinned. "It's what you've always wanted, isn't it, Marissa?" he whispered gently. "To know your background—your... blood." Even as she spoke the words, she knew what the next word was. Rain felt very vulnerable. One crazy thought crossed her mind: I wonder what kind of weather that will give? Vulnerability was a very complicated emotion. She hated worse than being afraid and nervous. It was the worse emotion to feel, at least she thought that. She hated feeling vulnerable; it ticked her off a lot. She was feeling more of it than she'd felt in her life right now. She didn't like this man and he knew every single thing about her. It was practically her life's history in this little file of his. She wondered who else's he had, stored away somewhere. She wondered if they felt vulnerable, too.
"This is... not what I was expecting," Rain murmured, her voice filled with disbelief and anger. However—Slade's grin broadened.
"Not everything is in that file you're holding, Miss Marissa," Slade noted, nodding to the file. Rain dropped it back on the table and folded it shut, disgusted to see her private life—secrets out in open view for everyone to see. She glared at Slade.
"What?" Rain spat. "You got my entire life and secrets on DVD too? I want to see." Slade merely grinned underneath his mask and picked up a remote. Rain looked away from him and to the screens she'd already seen.
"My, you are a fast learner," Slade said mockingly. "This is the most important thing of my life right now. I'd expect you to be a little more... excited." Rain snorted at the remark and rolled her eyes. The usual question popped in her head as an "emotion word" was said: I wonder what kind of weather that would bring?
"Excited; don't make me laugh," Rain muttered icily. She had the distinct feeling that some rain was falling from her clouds now. "Just get on with the story so I can leave."
"Oh, I don't think you'll be leaving any time soon," Slade sighed in a matter-of-factly tone. Rain's fists automatically clenched and she screwed up her face slightly.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Rain growled angrily. Some thunder was heard from outside of the building. She could envision Slade smiling under his mask. She wanted to rip it off and smash it into a thousand pieces. He clicked on the remote and instantly, five different pictures showed on the screen: the Teen Titans.
Rain had heard a lot about the Teen Titans. About how they were heroes and how they saved the world from a lot of tough bad guys. Rain had heard about them from people she'd saved when they asked if she was a Teen Titan and she'd heard if from the thugs and crooks she dealed with when she caught them, complaining that there were too many Teen Titan wanna- bes in the world. Rain would merely laugh at them, but this was no laughing matter. She had a lot a respect for the Teen Titans having not even met them in person yet; she didn't think she'd have the guts to.
There was the strange alien girl Starfire—with her incredible strength, green beams, and flight—the telepathic/telekinetic Azarath girl Raven—who also has to keep her emotions in check—the amazing animal changing, humorous Beast Boy, the half teenage boy/half robot Cyborg, and then there was the leader, the talented, gifted, smart, and very agile Robin. He reminded Rain of someone, but she didn't know who.
"Robin remind you of someone?" Slade asked nonchalantly, practically reading Rain's mind—or her expression when she'd laid her eyes on Robin's picture. She tore her eyes off of the picture and onto him. Thunder rumbled lowly. She nodded her head slowly. "Yes, he does the same to me, but who...?" He clicked on the remote and it was now only Robin's picture on the screens. Rain cocked her head confusedly. Now there was an emotion that made the weather go berserk. When Rain was confused, the weather would switch constantly. She heard the rain stop, it thundered, then hard wind, and then back to a drizzle. Her crossed left leg began bouncing again.
"I don't know," Rain admitted. She pondered what people were thinking of the crazy weather right now. Rain had not been on their forecast at all, but they didn't know Rain was coming to town that day.
"Ah, I know who he reminds me of," Slade sighed, though she knew that he knew all along. "Robin reminds me of you, Rain." At this, Rain snapped her head up to stare at Slade. What was he thinking? She was nothing like Robin—or was she? The same mystery background, the talents for being heroes, and they even looked alike. So... where was Slade going to?
"What are you playing at, Slade?" Rain questioned, skipping corners and going straight to the point. He chuckled at her straight-forwardness.
"Don't you see?" Slade said, admiring his work. He stood up and began to pace with his hands behind his back. "I need Robin on my side—he needs to understand—but he doesn't get it. I one key in stopping him is to put his friends in grave danger. But I've already done that, and it worked for a while, until he got smart enough to stop me. But this... this is going to work just fine. In fact, better I'd say."
"Again, I'm asking you: what're you playing at?" Rain repeated, getting agitated by Slade's ranting. She could hear the drizzle turn into a drench slowly. Slade stopped pacing and stared at her. She stood up out of the chair. She was unable to keep sitting.
"This—this is my plan, Miss Marissa! Don't you see?" Slade rang loudly, motioning his hand at the screen. But Rain didn't see and he saw it in her eyes. He stalked toward her quickly, again, frighteningly inches from her face, but she kept the stony look of anger plastered on her face. "Marissa—Rain—you are Robin's twin sister!"
Without warning, Rain fainted and collapsed back into the chair.
There was no sound when Rain finally began to come to. No feelings had come from her and the normal forecast was coming through now. She slowly began to open her eyes and everything was blurry for a second. Suddenly, she realized she was stuck in a room with a man named Slade—who was psychopathic and just told her that she was Robin's twin sister.
Rain jolted to her senses and everything became clear. She sat up straighter in the seat she'd collapsed in. Slade was staring at her avidly, very patient and calm. Rain wanted to strangle him.
"Ah, I see you've finally come to, Miss Marissa," Slade sighed. She rolled her eyes.
"Come to: yes," Rain muttered. "Ready to kick your butt: getting there. Excitedly joining up for your little escapade: don't think so." Slade stood up and swiftly made his way over to her. She stood up again, ready to take him on. Yeah, he may be stronger than her, but she's got the weather on her side. She glared at him.
"I don't think you really have a choice," Slade whispered.
"Oh, really?" Rain snarled. "Okay, tell me: why don't I have a choice?" Slade sighed and began to walk away. He pointed at a small machine.
"You see this?" he said.
"I'm not blind so yeah, I see it," Rain spat sarcastically. Slade grinned underneath his mask.
"Do you know what this is?" he questioned. She rolled her eyes. Was she some type of gizmo freak? No. Did she read 'Criminal's Digest'? No. Could she read minds? No. Did she know what it was? No! So why in the world was Slade asking her if she did? She nodded her head anyway, not caring to hear the name of it. "I used this on one of my tries on Robin's friends. You see, they got shot with a beam and have these little particles in their blood. When I press the button, they trigger causing them to slowly melt away. I almost had Robin completely, but he touched the beam in the end so I had to stop... or Robin would've died along with his friends."
"Wow, that's brave," Rain muttered.
"No, that was foolish," Slade snapped, "but I'm using this again."
Rain shook her head quickly. "But you'll kill all of them if they do something wrong!" she retorted. "Then you won't be able to get Robin!" Fear of losing another family member in front of her frightened her and she hated being frightened; it ticked her off.
He moved in closer to Rain. "No, not if they do something wrong; if you do something wrong," Slade whispered. She shivered as he got closer and took and involuntary step back. She felt vulnerable again. "And if Robin dies, I'll still have you." She closed her eyes and focused on being angry. Calm, focus, and breathe. It was her drill to stop fuming on hatred and causing a storm to erupt as usual.
"But if you do everything I say, Rain, then Robin and his little friends will be safe," Slade said, stepping back. "I get what I want—Robin—and you get what you want—your brother."
"Then why do I have to betray him to get it?" Rain shouted, her voice full of emotion that she never let escape. Tears threatened her green eyes. "Why can't I just leave and never come back? Why can't I just go: Hey, I'm your long lost twin sister, Marissa! Nice to meet you, Robin. Why can't I just be normal?" She wanted to cry.
"Because you can't be." Rain felt like strangling Slade again. "Now get ready in your new outfit, your first mission is tonight."
"What would that be?" Rain growled, as she scowled at Slade. He threw some pictures behind his back and Rain caught them. She stared at them.
"Remember those three rings," he called, walking away. "After all, you'll be stealing them tonight and leaving Robin with a thoughtful note from me." He disappeared into the darkness. Rain threw the pictures on the table, fully memorized, and collapsed in the chair again.
So... she'd gone from rising heroine to Slade's handy girl sidekick crook so he could get Robin in less than three hours. And to think, she was getting slime like him off the street five hours ago. Now, she was one of them. But she was doing it to save the Teen Titans. She was doing it to save her twin brother, Robin. He didn't even know her yet and she was going to make one lasting first impression on him. She could see it play in her mind now, and she hated it.
"Hey, Robin, I'm your long lost twin sister who use to be someone who got the bad guys off of the streets, but now I'm Slade's sidekick so he can get you on his side! Hey, I hope you don't mind me stealing these rings. Slade wants them for some reason. Well, good bye!"
Oh, how fun this was going to be. Rain groaned and put her face in her hands. She sighed, furious with Slade and herself. What've I gotten myself into?
