Dante's Ride

Chapter 2: The Swarm

Earlier the night before…

The air was silent as the moon hovered above the midnight sky. Glossy winds willowed against the tower as small waves crashed against the rocky island shore. A dark globule like figure squirmed along the corners of the tower, faint glints of light from various objects formed the outline of the figureless object.

Raven hadn't been sleeping well, she struggled to focus her mind and rid herself of the strange images that were continuing to bring themselves into her head. Although she remained motionless in her sleep her eyes continued to pulse as she squinted, sweat forming on her face until she finally stirred into conscious reality.

Her eyes snapped open as her breathing suddenly increased. A wave of cold swept over her body as the sweat began to dissipate. She shivered. Her breath was actually visible. Her eyes scanned over the room. Everything was silent aside from her erratic breathing. She wasn't convinced though, she felt a presence in the room; she wasn't alone.

Slowly Raven rose from under her covers, the cold surrounding air seemed to thicken as puffs of smoke resonated from her breath. Her arms instinctively wrapped themselves around her body as her head rotated, scanning the room continuously.

All she could see was darkness.

Her breath slowly became controlled as her heart simmered. The room itself seemed to grow warmer as Raven calmed down, and her mind cleared. It was just my imagination. She though to herself as she began to relax, slowly letting her body fall back towards her pillow. The covers were merely inches from returning to her body when the crimson lights flashed across her eyes, the loud speaker howling throughout the tower. Raven bolted up from her bed. Her hood remaining clearly off of her face as she stared wide eyed at the flashing red light.

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Raven had since escaped the confinement of her chilling room. Her hood, as typical, was cascaded over her head. The flashing red lights faded from her view as she entered the main room. The lights were still dim. The sky was opaque only the faint outline of objects was observable. Robin was already there, the only other one there. "What's going on?" She called out, her voice although monotonous as usual held a tinge of a commanding tone.

Robin looked up from the computer screen, turning around to face Raven, his eyes narrowing, "not sure, something's tripped the security from inside the tower, but I can't pinpoint what or where exactly."

The door to the main room slid open from behind Raven as both Starfire and Cyborg entered the room. "Robin." Starfire's voice broke, quickly fading though as Beastboy slowly sauntered in behind the two.

"Dude! What's going on? How am I supposed to get my beauty sleep with all the flashing lights?" Beastboy yelled, his arms flapping about a bit as his friends simply stared down mildly amused by his antics.

Robin repeated what he had told Raven, before turning to the computer screen once again. A large image of what appeared to be a see through version of the Tower formed on the large window, the light easily illuminating the entire room. There were several flashing circles on the map in different locations. Robin turned around to face his friends as the screen came to. "It appears the security was tripped in these 3 areas," he began as he pointed at the flashing marks. "They all seemed to have been tripped simultaneously so there is no way of telling where exactly the target came in from, or where it may be now." He paused looking back at this team who all seemed to easily understand his words, aside from a somewhat befuzzled changeling. "Cyborg, go with Beastboy and check the roof point, Starfire will go with me to the point near the ventilation system, and Raven, You check the storage in the basement." He paused, as they all nodded, "Be careful, we don't know what got into the tower."

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Raven slowly sauntered down the dimly lit hallway. Separating from her comrades as she neared towards the stairway. As much as Beastboy would have complained Raven didn't mind being forced to take the stairs to the storage room. Robin was particularly keen about making sure they avoided the elevator in any emergency.

She reached the doorway to the steps. Her hood canted slightly off center as it hung behind her neck. Darkness flooded her vision as she quietly opened the door. She slowly descended the stairway, her hand keeping to the rail as she searched for a switch of some form, the only light in the barren dungeon came from the faint red warning lights in the ceiling, hardly worth calling even a glow. Her eyes managed to adjust though to the murky room as she reached the bottom floor.

She had been silent the entire time, her eyes scanning the room as best she could, looking for anything out of place. She began to cross the room, heading towards the far corner, where the tower had detected the breach. The already low lighting became fainter as he neared her destination. The only sound resonating in her ear came from the soft drizzle of the condensation from a heating pipe.

She arrived at her destination. Her eyes narrowing on what little she could see of the scene. A large crack seemed to have been formed into one of the airway pipes. The pipe was warm, heat slowly hissing out onto her face as she examined the scar. "Something seems to have caused it to collapse on itself." She murmured as her hand came to the wound. The pipe crack itself had been indented inward as though something had been on the outside pressing its way in.

Slowly she rose stepping back away from the line of heat coming from the pipe, reaching for her communicator. She grasped it in her hand, about to open it when a large ear shattering crash snapped behind her as it broke the silence. Her communicator slipped from her fingers as she spun about peering into the echoing silence. She noticed the silhouette of a strange molding liquid like form.

Her eyes squinted through the darkness trying to make out the objects form. It was changing too rapidly though to give it any thought as Raven bent low to grab her communicator once again. Something though stopped her from contacting Robin. The form although shapeless seemed to be radiating a strange sensation in Raven's mind. Whatever it was it was trying to communicate, Raven sensed that.

Raven's eyes fluttered heavily as she did a double take on what she saw before her now. It was as though she was looking into a broken mirror, well a mirror that somehow distorted the colors of reality. Before Raven now stood a clone, easily as pale and gloomy as herself. However the cloak and hair was black, as were here shoes. The clone's grayed eyes leered back at Raven as though trying to look through her, open her mind and seek what little truth there was to be had.

The clone seemed to stumble upon something as it back peddled a few steps away from Raven, its blackened arms rose up defensively as it blinked in alarm, however not a word rose from its lips. Raven's vibrant lavender eyes narrowed slightly on the creature, her lips split as she raised her voice, "What are you?" Her crisp set tone cut through the uneasy silence like a brick on glass.

The creature's head canted to the side, twisting almost to the point that a normal human's head would have snapped, or at least made a crackling pop from the stress. As its head returned to its normal position an equally monotonous and domineering voice called back to Raven, "Angela Roth…Where have you been hiding?"

Raven's eyes widened for a split second before she was able to take control of them and redirect them at the creature. "I don't know what you are but you don't belong here…" Raven began as she pulled her hands back, her eyes slowly beginning to radiate with a familiar whitening glow. A black film like cover formed around Raven's right hand as she directed her fingers like claws in the direction of the creature, the oh so familiar words she used began to echo in her head as she chanted them with a stern heavy tone, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Five individual black finger sized molds projected out from Raven's hand as they whipped through the air at the creature. A blank stare remained plastered on the creature's face as it was struck by every hit. At each of the point of contact the creature's body appeared rippled and torn as an oversized hole expanded outward, distorting the image of the false Raven. Within an instant the humanoid figure broke and collapsed into a figureless mass of thick black glue. Raven's eyes pierced through the darkness as she examined the motionless mass for a moment. Her heart was pounding in her chest as uncertainty flooded her thoughts; I need to warn the others.

Raven once again lowered her body to the floor as she retrieved her fallen communicator. However as she rose to full height her eyes latched onto the figure of the shapeless molding substance. The figure was forming into Raven once again. However unlike before it wasn't taking on the shape of her clothing. It was replicating Raven nude. The seemingly exposed creature's body lay on the floor as though wounded, its back facing the air. Its torso twisted to the side exposing its bare chest, as its head lifted to meet Raven in the eyes. A softened, defeated look seemed to radiate from the creature's false eyes.

Raven stood stunned by the sight. The creature remained perfectly still as its pale eyes locked with Raven's. A faint red glow began to form around the intruder's eyes, as Raven's own widened in shock. Her hand quivered for a moment as it brought the communicator to her face, flipping the yellow cover up. Raven's panicked voice called into the device as a mischievous grin formed on the creature's face.

"Robin!" was all she managed to call out before the communicator once again cascaded to the hard concrete floor. Raven's body likewise following with the device as a low thud reverberated outward from the impact. Raven's eyes were closed, as her body lay skew. Her cloak and leotard appeared torn and tattered, exposing various gashes and cuts. A small trickle of blood dripped down her nose and ears. The creature she'd been staring at was gone, and the only sound that echoed throughout the basement of Titan's Tower was a small repetitious beat of condensation off the broken heating pipe.