(I do not claim any rights to the characters mentioned in this story. I am however, the original writer of this fan-fiction).
Chapter one: Shadows
Four red eyes cut through the shadows like knives. In them there was no love or mercy, there was no life or joy. There was only unfathomable hatred. In this darkness lurked a great evil, older than time itself. His unquenchable thirst for death and chaos was the only desire his black heart had ever known. Shadows swam and seethed at his feet, expanding and contracting like a living heart. The darkness took on the faces of the countless souls he had consumed. They clawed the air, desperately trying to escape the ever spinning void that contained them; their anguish only made him stronger. But he had remained passive for too long, he grew restless and hungry. The shadows took the form of a perfect sphere and rose from the abyss into their master's clutches. The orb's black skin cracked and peeled, floating away like ashes of burning paper, revealing its true vibrant green and blue surface. It was planet Earth.
"You cannot run from destiny, daughter... Anywhere you hide, I will find you. Cherish the fleeting time you still have"
The demon muttered, in a thundering voice. He grasped the sphere with one black talon, his fingers spread black veins of corruption where they touched. With a sadistic laugh, the demon opened his jaws to swallow the planet whole...
All hope had abandoned Raven the second she woke. "He's found me" she whispered in a small, terrified voice. A cold sweat broke out across her brow, and her breathing came shaky and sporadic.
Fear griped her heart like a steel trap. "It's over" She thought "It's all over"
She had to get a reign on her emotions before theyconsumed her. (Before he could consume her)
Raven sat herself upright in bed, and forced herself to take deep breaths. "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos." she chanted her mantra quietly, emptying her mind of all that troubled her.
Raven finally regained control of her emotions, although she was still quite shaken up. She winced from her hammering headache, no doubt a backlash of her father's visitation. Raven stumbled from her bedroom into the living-room. Beast Boy was passed out on the sofa as usual. This time however, he had manged to transform himself into a house-cat in his sleep. He was curled up snugly into a ball of green fuzz. Not particularly wanting to wake her talkative team mate, Raven levitated a mere inch off the floor, and glided over to the balcony door. But as she turned the door knob, Garfield's cat ears pricked up. Raven glanced back at the couch to see two shiny yellow eyes peering back at her.
"Rae, is that you?" Beast Boy mumbled groggily, as he stretched out his front paws, his claws digging into the leather. He hopped up onto the arm of the couch where he sat down, wrapping his tail neatly around his feet. "Where you going?" asked the sleepy talking cat.
"It's none of your concern." Raven shot back coldly. The Titans had only officially been together for a month now, and she wasn't sure what to make of Beast Boy yet. He exhibited large amounts of mirth and small amounts of wit, but he seemed utterly lacking in maturity. He perplexed her, to say the least.
"Geez, I may be the only one who can turn into a Cobra around here, but I'm defiantly not the only one with venom." He observed, as he morphed back into human form.
"Look, just leave me alone." she mumbled, as she exited out the patio door.
The night sky was blank and starless; the city lights made it too bright to see anything more than the occasional satellite. The air was so cold she could see her breath, but it was just the kind of cool relief that Raven needed. At last she felt like she could breathe. Raven found her gaze drawn to the distant radio towers; they jutted upward into the sky even higher than Titan Tower. Their blinking lights looked like specks of blood at the points of daggers.
Raven found herself envisioning the flashing lights as eyes, rather than beacons. The towers seemed to group together, merging into one dark form and looming menacingly above the city. Raven heard that familiar twisted laugh, as she had heard it a thousand times before in her nightmares. The temperature suddenly seemed to drop ten degrees; a harsh gust of wind came rushing over the lake, sending chills up Raven's spine. The cool air no longer felt pleasant. A void, empty presence seemed to wash over her: Hopelessness and dread. "I'm fifteen now, I've got just less than a year ...I can't stop him, I can't stop destiny"
Raven sank to her knees, "No..." she whispered bleakly.
"No. what?" came an aloof reply, snapping her back to reality.
Beast Boy had snuck up without her knowing it, and now stood arm's crossed with a perplexed look on his face. "What's wrong Raven? Why are you out here? - And why are you on the ground?"
Raven found herself more annoyed than moved by Beast Boy's concern.
"I thought I told you it was none of your business." she snapped.
Beast Boy raised his palms above his head innocently. "Easy mama, I'm just trying to help."
Raven picked herself off the ground, trying to maintain dignity. "Well, I didn't ask for your help." she growled, shoving her way back inside; Beast Boy followed.
"But that's what teammates are for. They're there to share stuff with." Garfield explained, a cheesy smile plastered to his face. Raven's only response was an annoyed grunt.
Beast Boy took this as invitation to continue. "So what's got ya down Raven, Global warming, the low economy, Cyborg's cooking?" He said the last part with a toothy grin.
"No. You wouldn't understand." She replied bitterly, letting her words hang...
"You're right, I wouldn't..." for once, his carefree tone had vanished.
"I haven't gone through what you have been through- But I've had my share of hard times too, we all have. Joining the Titans has given me a chance to have a fresh start. Look, I know it's difficult trying to find your place in this team, but try to open up. The hurt won't ever start to heal if you hold it all inside... We all have our demons Rae."
"Shut up..." she muttered, anger building.
" I will- I will. you have the right to your own privacy. But if you ever need to talk, I'm a pretty good listener." He said with a small smile. He turned and left down the hall, disappearing into his room.
Who is being the mature one right now? Asked a mocking inner voice. He tried to reach out, and I pushed him away.
Raven knew that going back to sleep would mean more nightmares, and that wasn't an option. She also found she was unable to go back outside because of her newly found and irrational fear of radio towers.
So, she did what she always did when she needed to recollect her thoughts, she began to read.
If Raven had learned one thing in her short time on earth it was that humans had no shortage of excellent reading material. She shortly became engrossed in a book she had borrowed from Robin.
It was written by some guy named, Stephen King. Raven could tell by the author's work that they both had a lot in common.
