Hey everybody! I'm back with a new fic! This is the sequel to Earthshine, so if you haven't read that, read it now. You don't even have to read it all, just read the last few chapters so you'll know what's going on. This is unhappy, as usual. At least no one dies this time.
Full Summary: A couple months after the events in Earthshine, the team begins to fall apart. Fights are more frequent and friends soon become enemies. Slade soon realizes how weak they are and he has plans to stop them for good. Is love and friendship enough to save them, or will the team be destroyed?
I'll only say this once throughout the whole fic: I don't own Teen Titans. Get it? Got it? Good.
Never Meant To Be
Chapter 1: Broken
Everyone was silent as they walked into the main room of Titans Tower. They couldn't believe what had happened just a few hours ago. They had thought it was gonna be a normal mission. They hadn't known that they were going to fight Slade. But, when they had fought Slade in the past he had wanted one of them for some reason. Robin and Terra had been his apprentices, and he had needed Raven to fulfill a prophecy and destroy the world… but this was different.
A green horse was limping to the center of the room, an unconscious Raven on his back. He would have turned into a larger animal so he could carry her, but he didn't have the energy. Robin was walking beside him, steadying Raven so she wouldn't fall off. Starfire was carrying Cyborg. He was missing a leg and part of an arm. Robin lifted Raven off of Beast Boy and laid her down gently on the couch.
"Friend Cyborg, you are alright, yes?" Starfire asked the metal man as she set him on one of the chairs.
"Yeah Star, I just need my toolbox and I'll be able to fix my leg", Cyborg replied.
"I shall go get it for you." Starfire's voice was sad and detached, not her usual happy self. She departed from the room, leaving Cyborg with his face buried in his hands, and with Robin and Beast Boy tending to Raven.
Out of all the Titans, Raven was in the worst shape. Dried blood was caked on her head, ugly bruises and cuts covered her body, her left arm was sprained and one of her ankles was twisted in a weird angle. The only proof that she was still alive was the slow rising and falling movement of her chest. She had been so focused healing the others that she forgot about healing herself.
Robin felt so dizzy he could barely stand up. Both of his arms ached where they had been broken before Raven had healed them. He too was covered with bruises and small scars.
Beast Boy was sitting on the floor, looking at Raven with pleading eyes, asking her with his mind to wake up. She wasn't floating, wasn't healing herself like she had done long before. He was afraid that she would never wake. Beast Boy couldn't stop the river of tears flowing from his eyes. Without Raven, he, they all, would have died.
Normally they would have gone to the hospital, but a strange illness was going around, and every hospital from Jump City to Gotham City was full. Slade had chosen the time to strike well. He had been his strongest when they had been their weakest. He had started the sickness himself.
Starfire then came back with Cyborg's large toolbox. Physically, she was in the best shape, with only a few cuts and bruises to show that she had fought. But, although you could not tell just by looking, she had been torn apart inside from that battle. They all had been. She gave the toolbox to Cyborg, who began to halfheartedly repair himself, and floated to another chair. Her usual fiery green eyes were now dull and glazed.
No one spoke. No one needed to. They just reflected what had happened. The hours passed slowly, but they didn't notice. They didn't care. If sadness was a raindrop, the tower would have become a sea.
What happened?
They remembered all the good times the team had had together. Or tried to at least. The team had been in bad shape for a long time now. Raven and Beast Boy fought much more often about pointless things. Once they almost tried to kill each other. Robin was having difficulties controlling the group, and Cyborg and Starfire were slowly drifting away.
Sure, they had failed missions before. They had been in bad shape before, but they had never almost been killed in battle. They had never had their spirits broken.
Broken. That was the only word to describe them now. You couldn't look at them anymore and believe that they were the same people that had done next to impossible things. They that had saved countless lives were now broken. They that had made their city a better place were now broken.
But now that they are broken, could they ever be repaired?
Well, there's the somewhat depressing chapter one. The other chapters will be much longer than this, don't worry. Sayonara! I love constructive criticism! (hint hint)