Please, for the love of all that is good in fanfiction, write a review. Even better, make it thoughtful and specific as to why you think as you do. Reviews are the ambrosia with which writers sate the muses. I swear on pain of eating Star Fire's pudding that I will personally respond to every review. Note that I reserve the right to base the thoughtfulness of my response on that of the review.
Time: 2210, 30 SEPTEMBER 2010
Location: Titan's Tower
" 'Good God!' he cried, 'can it be, can it be, that I shall really take an axe, that I shall strike her on the head, split her skull open... that-' "
"EXCELLENT!!!"
"-I shall tread in the sticky warm blood, blood... with the axe... Good God, can it be?-"
"SUPERB!!!"
"…"
"Whowhowhohahaahaaaaaahhh – HIGH SCORE!!!"(1)
"Beast Boy."
"UBER COMBO!!! EXCELLENT!!!"
"Beast Boy."
With a soft snap, Raven closed her lined and worn copy of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and walked over to where Beast Boy sat busy abusing the buttons of a Gamestation controller.
Leaning over, Raven nose was practically touching the green changeling's head, "Beast Boy."
"Nnngh…" Beast Boy wasn't being particularly receptive at that moment.
He was so engrossed in the game that he was physically reacting to what was happening on the extra large plasma screen. His thoughts were completely focused; a series of linearly repeating chains and combinations swaying on astral branches as he reacted instinctually to the repeated stimuli of the game.
For a moment, Raven amused herself by watching as he flinched, cringed and shifted himself in perfect sync with the bare assed monkey scrambling around onscreen. Her friend's eyes were so wide and intense, she briefly wondered at the comparison between his current expression and that of the boys when several bystanders had had their dresses inadvertently ripped off by the shock wave from one of Cyborg's sonic blasts. Was it possible that-
Deciding to leave that thought in the dark depths of whatever pit it had crawled out of, the lavender haired sorceress sat down at the morph's side and grabbed the other controller. She found the pause button and hit it.
The mashing stopped, "Hey, what gives?!"
Leaning in until she was almost nose to nose with him, she calmly asked, "Beast Boy, do you want to have your lower GI tract ripped out through your nostrils?"
His consciousness no longer resembled a laser light flashing Morse code. Instead it became closer to a bubbling cloud leaning first one way, then another. The war between his wariness and irritation towards her and his desire to resume draining his already abysmal IQ flickered like tinny lightning.
Eventually, wariness and common sense won out, "Uh, no."
"Then turn it down. Now."
The cloud was already reforming back into concentrated pulses as his conscious quickly began to return to the game and ready itself for more bare assed mindlessness. The idiot must really be into that game.
"Ok, ok, geeze!" the speakers were soon muted and the button mashing resumed as if it had never been stopped in the first place.
Rolling her eyes, Raven resumed reading the Russian classic. Novels of any sort were relatively new to the half demon. When Raven had arrived on earth, her only literature was what she was able to take from Azarath. Those books were largely magical or philosophical in nature and she'd already read most of them many times over in her studies with Azar and the monks. What novels she did read were solely for self-education. After all, what could a novel do when its primary purpose, provoking thought by stimulating emotions, was rendered useless by Raven's imposed exile from emotions. She literally could not feel anything except the barest whisper of emotions. It was if she had been living in glass vacuum, watching as the rest of world flickered by with only the faintest echoes and breezes reaching her.
Trigon's defeat at her hands had changed that. In a single moment, the glass prison that she had created for herself with the help of Azarath's monks was shattered. She could truly feel and, oh, it was breathtaking. At long last, everything she had fought, begged, prayed and wept for had come to pass. And she was terrified. After so long standing still and impartially watching the world race by, she was dropped in the middle of the great scramble of life. The emotions of her teammates whipped passed her at a breakneck pace and it was all she could do to just keep up.
It was humbling when you have to acknowledge yourself as the emotional equivalent of six year old. Slowly, she allowed her emotions to come out as she tested and employed them, methodical as any scientist. Still reluctant to show her friends vulnerability despite all they had done for her, she allowed novels to become a sort of window into what was, for lack of a better word, normal. Novels, short-stories and all the others were no longer useless words or potential temptations. Instead, they became a way to experience life without the pain of failure.
Not that she made the mistake of thinking they were a substitute for the real thing, as so many others had done with their fantasies. No, they fed Raven's hunger for a full life and gave classifications for what had previously been an unidentifiable.
Cyborg's booming voice broke through her reverie, "Alright ya'll, food's ready!"
Blasted noise. As much as she loved and needed her friends, it was almost impossible to concentrate on anything outside of her room if more than two of them were in the Tower. Raven breathed out heavily and maneuvered around Beast Boy, who took the opportunity to turn the volume back up to skull rattling levels.
Cyborg, having just finished setting the food out, took immediate offense, "Beast Boy, turn that blasted thing off and come eat!"
Of course, things could never be simple, "No way dude. You guys can eat your nasty death burgers, but there's no way you're getting me t'-" Beast Boy was cut off by an increasingly impatient Cyborg.
"Come on man, give me some credit. How long have I been cohabitating with your sorry green butt and weirdo appetites? There's veggie pizza with spinach and tomato. I even had Robin buy soy ice-cream with chocolate sauce for desert."
Beast Boy was ecstatic, "Ahhh, Cyborg I love you!" Even more than most teens, food was near and dear to the changling's heart and it was one of the few things that could lure him away from the TV; probably had something to do with maintaining a metabolism capable of morphing.
Raven wearily shook her head as she made her way over towards the spread that Cyborg was so loudly advertising. It was a source of continuing amazement for her that someone hadn't been killed over food. The arguments over condiments alone had made her want to strangle herself with her own cloak. Speaking of forced asphyxiation…
The elf literally leapt over couch and sprinted over to the table to collect his plate. Beast Boy dodged past Raven and dove into the seat she had been about to take.
"Haha, too slow!" He cried triumphantly.
Like she cared. Still, there was a tradition to these things at the Tower so she gave him one of her characteristic remarks about his maturity, or lack thereof.
Starfire was the last to appear, gliding over the counter and into her seat next to Beast Boy, "Ah, friend Cyborg, it smells truly divine. May I enquire as to-" A yellow bottle of Heinz mustard sailed through the air and into the Tameranian's waiting hands.
"Thank you, gracious friend!" she said as her hamburger was quickly soaked in mustard.
The human portions of Cyborg's face were curled into a giant grin as the genial man served everyone their drinks and napkins, "I'm telling ya' guys, I know my stuff."
Cyborg may have enjoyed bragging as much as any testosterone driven former linebacker, but the man was a consummate chef and years getting acquainted with their individual tastes had only made him better.
Cyborg untied his apron and plucked that ridiculous chef's hat off his bald head before sitting down at the table and digging in with the rest of his teammates. Raven only lightly picked at her well cooked meat. Due to the nature of her powers, the empath rarely had to expend physical energy. Furthermore, the demon half of her physiology needed little in the way of sustenance.
A few more bites and she was done. Raven stood up lightly from the table and pushed her chair in, returning her plate before reclaiming her old spot on the couch. It wasn't long before the rest of her teammates were done and lazily making conversation as their stomachs did their duty.
This was her favorite time at the Tower. Her friends were exhausted from a long day's work and after eating they were content to simply lounge quietly in one another's company with only the sunset and maybe the TV for illumination. Their emotions were like a warm, gently flowing river of blue, dark purple and orange that she could bask in even while she read or meditated.
Grabbing her book, she began the slow and sure process of re-immersing herself in the world of a guilt ridden student. The minutes flowed by like sand, oh so slowly at first and then faster, faster.
"For one life thousands would be saved from corruption and decay. One death, and a hundred lives in exchange- it's simple arithmetic…we have to correct and direct nature, and, but for that, we should drown in an ocean of prejudice. But for that, there would never have been a single great man. They talk of duty, conscience- I don't want to say anything against duty and conscience;- but the point is what do we mean by them. Stay, I have another question to ask you. Listen!"
"No, you stay, I'll ask you a question. Listen!"
Starfire screamed.
The gentle flow of emotions around Raven were rocked by tidal waves as adrenal fueled reflexes pushed the primal terror and anger of animal instincts into the air. The sorceress had been around the Titan's far too long to not know what real danger felt like. Surrounding the couch with a black void of energy, the sorceress reflexively flipped the piece of furniture up to act as a physical shield between her and whatever intruders had dared to disturb the Titans in their own home.
What she saw caused her to nearly drop the couch. Starfire was standing inches away from the hulking form of a man in black armor and a cape. Her friend's charged star bolts threw a lurid green light on the man's cowled face. For a tense moment, no one breathed as the man stood unmoving in the face of seeming annihilation from eyes and a hand that burned liquid green. Recognition suddenly flashed through Raven. She had seen this man before, somewhere.
"You can put that away now," his voice was harsh, like metal rasping on metal.
"You are the…Man of Bats?" the Tameranian asked tentatively.
It could be no other. Batman stood absolutely motionless in a relaxed stance that his younger protégé mirrored in so many ways, yet was not him: looser, less forward leaning-more sinister. His aura was unlike any other she'd ever encountered. . At last Raven understood what Robin had talked about when he said that the Dark Knight's mask was only a small part of his presence. The cape, the armor, the mask, they were channels for something else. (3) It was if despair, rage and some flickering entity that could only be madness had been frozen right at the edge of self-destruction and focused to a razor's edge by sheer will.
Starfire dropped her hand, extinguishing the florescent glow of her star bolts. It was like a signal: the couch relaxed back into its original position as Cyborg's sonic cannon returned to his usual arm and the growling wolf once again became the diminutive jester. There was an awkward stand off as the young super heroes tried to make sense of the situation.
Cyborg was the first to beak the stalemate, "Sooo, you're looking for Robin, right? Sorry, but he's not here: off patrolling."
The confusion and apprehension roiling off Cyborg were palpable. They were a thick vapor on a cold day; all boiling and billowing through the air only to condense and settle on the floor and in the microscopic cracks of the walls.
"I would have preferred for him to be here, but I did not come specifically for him." Surprising: the vigilante's aura had flickered with momentary bursts of uncertainty and perhaps-could that be anxiety?
If it was anxiety, it was nothing compared to what her teammates were feeling as the Dark Knight fully explained himself, "The Justice League is holding a meeting of all meta-humans and their allies on December tenth, 11:30PM GMT. This includes you," he said, turning his head to get a full sweep of the Titan's.
If he hadn't had it already, their attention was fully his. Them, the Teen Titans, were being invited to attend a massive gathering of super heroes at the Watchtower? Raven was certainly surprised. The few impressions she had received had led Raven to believe that the Titans were regarded as something of a joke within the old guard. What had changed?
Batman's attentions suddenly shifted, focusing on something, "Leave it," he growled.
"Wah, w-why? I-I mean," Raven turned to see Beast Boy looking very much like one of his startled animals. He was practically tripping over himself as he held the held the remote in a death grip with a very guilty expression on his face.
"Security is paramount. Did you not wonder why I came here when a message could have been sent?" The edges of the Bat's will became more focused, mirroring a beam that locked onto the flickering essence of her friend.
Beast Boy's hands were gestulating widely as he did his best to hide his discomfiture, "Uh…yea, I-uh, why did-"
"By Azar, way to make an impression Beast Boy."
Batman wasn't irritated, despite his tone. If anything, he didn't seem to care, "With so many of us in one spot, we can't risk our enemies taking advantage of our absence or attacking the assembly. Radio transmissions can be intercepted and my voice," he gestured towards the remote in Beast Boy's hand, "can be overheard."
At this, Cyborg took the opportunity to speak up, "Eh, don't you think you're worrying too much?" Batman worry too much? As if Robin weren't a big enough clue.
Cyborg continued on, "I designed the Tower myself. The security systems are all top of the line, and nothing gets, ah-uhmm," He trailed off as he realized that he was bragging about the security systems that had just been breached.
Batman glared at Cyborg for a moment more before allowing the blank whites of the mask's optics to be swept over the whole group. Raven absently noted how out of place the man looked amidst the junk strewn wreckage that made up their living room.
"Remember, the tenth of December, 11:30PM GMT." With that, he turned his back to the super powered teens and began gliding away. For someone so large, his movements were completely silently. The effect was uncanny.
"Wait," Starfire moved in front of Batman to block the exit, "do you not wish to see Robin?" she asked, her forehead uneven with concern. The force of his glare alone nearly moved the alien powerhouse, but she still determinedly held her ground in the face of the older man.
"No." Beast Boy and Cyborg were going saucer eyed. Apparently Starfire wasn't aware of who she was dealing with either.
Starfire wasn't about to give up just yet though, "Please, I am sure that Robin would wish to talk to you. He was most upset when he heard about your latest injury."
Once again, Batman's inner aura deviated from neutral gray and the low burning red as a brief cascade of doubt played through him. Raven was vaguely conscious of feeling curious as to what was causing these unusual flashes. Nevertheless, the mask held firm.
"Get out of my way." It was so quiet, but something in the way he said it, in the way his body subtly moved scared her friend. Despite her ability to effortlessly brush aside the human in front of her, Starfire froze up, too concerned about the Boy Wonder to move, too intimidated to mount any resistance.
The half demon began to feel the first scrapings of Rage against her bars. She begged release. Raven found herself growing more and more angry even as she violently tried to suppress it. It had been like that, ever since HE had been defeated. It was as if Trigon were determined to haunt her in any way possible.
Try as she might, Raven could not suppress her growing anger. She was mad; mad at Cyborg and Beast Boy for being so obviously in awe that they made fools of themselves, mad at Starfire for acting like such a coward and mad at this arrogant mortal who had so casually violated their home so he could order them around like slaves.
She had expected better. He had, after all, been the only one to give her a second glance after the magician Zatanna had labeled her evil. It was Batman who had directed Robin to her, providing the initial catalyst for the Titans. Sneering slightly, Raven chastised herself. She'd lived with Robin all this time. She should know.
"I can see why he's so fond of you." Raven's head snapped back up.
Starfire was equally startled and blushed accordingly, "H-he is? How…?"
Batman's aura had returned to the cold gray, "Robin said as much. He makes a habit of praising each of you in his reports to me."
Beast Boy grinned shamefacedly, "I guess I probably shouldn't have hidden those stank balls in his uniform last week, huh?"
The Dark Knight twisted his head slightly to pin the changeling under the blank whites of his mask, "Perhaps not. You four are his life." Bitterness, but why?
The comment effectively killed all discussion. He brushed past the now unresisting Starfire and strode down the dimly lit hall.
"Do not forget."
And he was gone.
Red Notes
1) It's supposed to be the onomatopoeia for a monkey.
2) You really don't know how hard this chapter was for me to write. You just don't know man! I mean it was like, stare at keyboard, "Hey, this sounds good…" type, type, type, read "RAAUGGH!!! IT FRICKIN' DOESN'T WORK!" Delete three pages and start again. Even now, I'm still pissed off because my Batman isn't nearly as cool as E Kelly's and Raven should sound more existentialist. Any critiques or suggestions that you can offer would be most appreciated.
3) Two homages to two incredibly awesome fictions. The bit about Batman's mask is from E. Kelly's Living in the Red Light, one of her Gotham Noir stories that show just why Bats became known as he isThe second comes from Another Man's Cage, a LotR fan novel (also here at FFN) that showcases Feanor's family before the Trees were destroyed by Melkor.
