Author's Note:
Sorry for the long break between chapters. I'm writing this at work and I can't do much at a time. However, I can promise that there's lots to come as I've got about 6 chapters already in almost-postable shape. What can I say? I'm an editing fanatic. But I can promise to finish what I begin, even if it take a long time.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the comments. You're all nice-awesome-wonderful people. Please continue to leave supportive and thought-provoking messages, although "u rock" is nicer than "i hate ur gutz." But I'll take what I can get, and I am glad if you like what I've done.
As always, I don't own anybody in this story, just the tale itself.
Oh, one other note. I am deliberately switching perspectives here, and the narrative should reflect that. I'm going for a looser, more conscious "voice," so when you're seeing the action from Beast Boy's angle, it should feel different. That's deliberate. So no flames about omnipotent third-person or my use of contractions. You're looking over someone's shoulder, not down on top of them. Just FYI.
Have fun!
Once the Titans had gotten that jolt out of their system, they prepared for battle. Beast Boy's face was still a perfect example of shock even as he fiddled with his controls. Batman! Everybody knew about Batman! Batman was one of the original heroes, one of those guys kids wanted to be just like when they grew up. He was in some ways the coolest hero because he, as far as everybody knew, didn't have any real "powers." He was just smart and dedicated and could handle anything! Or could he? Beast Boy started wondering why Batman would ask the Teen Titans for help. Surely the Justice League was more his style. And why did Robin have a communicator from him?
Beast Boy's ruminations were interrupted by Cyborg confirming autopilot and warning everyone to prepare to exit. Beast Boy transformed in the cockpit. Starfire couldn't help but giggle, seeing Beast Boy in his hawk-form trying to sit on the plane's seat, but Raven seemed focused inward as always. Why couldn't he ever make her smile? He flapped around, trying to get her attention, until Robin gave the command that got everybody's juices flowing.
"Titans, now!"
Cyborg hit the release button and all five wind-shields popped up at once, exposing them all to the rushing air and atmosphere in mid-flight. Raven and Starfire immediately took to the sky, while Beast Boy had to struggle with the wind, grumbling to himself about unfair superpowers and how birds weren't really meant for this. After a moment, however, he had enough balance to change into a pterodactyl instead, and reached over and plucked Cyborg out of the T-Ship as it banked off to the right, wind-shields snapping back down. With Robin hanging from Starfire's hands, they flew into the city.
Beast Boy looked around, his sight much magnified in dinosaur form. Gotham sure was different from Jump City! Both were built on a seacoast, but where Jump City was warm and sunny, Gotham seemed to exist under a perpetual storm cloud. The architecture was dark and gothic, with gargoyles and other odd formations poking out of the shadows. Everything looked gloomily majestic, both intimidating and powerful. Somehow, the whole thing reminded him of Raven. Or at least, like the front she put on. Glancing off to his left, where Raven flew, her face its usual mask of focused apathy beneath her hood, Beast Boy wondered if sunlight ever shone into the heart of Gotham, as he knew it sometimes did in Raven. But why she kept it inside was something the changeling had never really understood.
A shout from Starfire brought his attention back forward. In the shadows of the city, somewhere near what looked like the heart of town, fire spurted into the sky. Beast Boy brought his focus back to the task at hand. Robin gestured towards the evident trouble and shouted, "Let's hurry! Titans, go!"
"You say that too much," Beast Boy thought to himself, elated nonetheless. He absolutely loved being a hero, and hearing that "Titans, go" ring out always made him feel at his best. As they banked towards the chaos, Raven suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
"What is it, friend Raven? Do you sense something treacherous ahead?" Starfire asked, turning rapidly to rejoin the unmoving Raven. The beautiful alien had an innate sense for Raven's monosyllabic communication, even at her most cryptic. Raven's deep cape flapped around her legs in the wind.
"Yes. There are three of them, but one is…hidden. I can't seem to find him. But he's dangerous, more than the other two. We can't just go in there without knowing where that one is." Beast Boy thought he detected a shadow of something flick across Raven's face, but it was gone before he could name it. Robin wasted no time.
"Right. Beast Boy, you and Raven track down whatever that is. We'll take care of the other two," Robin said, disentangling his grappling line from his utility belt with one hand. Gotham hadn't changed much; he could still get around it under his own power almost as fast as any of them could fly. He launched himself out of Starfire's grip as Beast Boy transferred Cyborg to her. As the three Titans moved towards the more visible disturbance, Beast Boy switched back to a hawk. Raven floated silent for a moment, eyes closed. She had a way of holding perfectly still that was a little unnerving, and Beast Boy found himself staring idly. Good thing she couldn't tell! Finally her eyes opened.
"This way," she said, streaking off in a direction parallel to the way their friends had gone. Beast Boy followed, his keen eyes and ears and even sense of smell searching for whatever they were chasing. But whatever it was, he couldn't locate it using those senses. "I guess I'll just have to trust Raven," he thought as he winged through the wind.
--==OOO==--
As Robin swung from building to building on his grappling cord, a fierce smile lit up his face. Of course he loved flying with his friends; there was nothing like hanging from Starfire's hands or Beast Boy's claws, or those rare times when Raven allowed him to "surf" with her on a disk of her power. But this swinging from place to place under his own power was special, too. Approaching what he knew was one of Gotham's biggest banks, he saw several figures silhouetted against the firelight on the rooftop where something had obviously erupted in flames not too long before. One filled him with a sense of belonging, but another made him almost miss the next cast of his hook. It was Batman…and Robin.
Starfire set Cyborg on the burning rooftop as Robin swung into place beside them. For a moment, they all stared. It was Batman for sure, his cape flapping, his impeccable martial arts showing themselves to be better than first-rate, as he tried to deal with something that seemed to be actually in the fire that raged and backlit the whole scene. But a bit away stood another, shorter Robin, trying to take down what looked like a half-girl, half-bird in flight. Robin shook his head; he had known Bruce had taken up another ward, but not that this new kid was his new Robin as well. The costume, the fighting style, everything was his. A touch of jealousy raced through the original boy-wonder. Then he shook himself back to the situation at hand. The city needed them. Emotions could come later.
"Starfire, take that one!" he shouted, pointing at the airborne Talon, whom Robin identified from the news reports. The Metabreed. The worst of Dakota. Great. Starfire shook her head with a perplexed look on her face and went obediently off to support the other Robin, who was apparently not faring as well against a flying foe. Gesturing to Cyborg, Robin raced forward, pulling out his retractable staff. Batman was trying to get at the fire-bound kid, Hotstreak, but he definitely needed some support. The punk was even taunting Batman.
"You think you're so hot! Check this out!" he shouted, laughing, as flames burst forth and rent part of the roof under their feet into ashes.
"Well, in case you hadn't heard, we're here to cool you off!" Robin shouted, racing with Cyborg to where the Dark Knight was leaping nimbly away from the crumbling parapet. Batman recovered himself and swung back around to land a blow, Robin a step behind. Cyborg planted himself and aimed his cannon at the Bang Baby, but it was Robin and Batman who seemed to fly as they moved in unforgotten harmony after something that threatened their city.
--==OOO==--
Raven finally landed on a rooftop that overlooked the building where the other Teen Titans were trying to deal with some pretty nasty-looking bad guys. Beast Boy could see one dude who threw fire making Batman and Robin and Cyborg do a hot-foot dance, which would have been funny if the building weren't actually burning around them. There was also some girl who could fly, doing circles around Starfire and…Robin? That was confusing. Shaking his head, he turned back to himself, then to a bloodhound, as Raven began moving cautiously into the shadows cast by gargoyles spread across the rooftop. Even at midday, it was still dark enough under the clouds to obscure their vision somewhat.
"Be careful, Beast Boy," she warned, her voice low. His ears pricked up as he caught the scent of something. It wasn't quite human, he was sure of that. It smelled like sulfur, sort of, and it made the hairs on the back of his neck and back stand straight up. And it was everywhere. Staying close to Raven, he tried to localize the scent.
Suddenly, blackness formed out of the shadows in front of them, a blackness darker even then Raven's soul-self. Beast Boy threw himself out of the way and returned to himself again, unsure what to do next, but Raven had no such inhibitions. Almost as if she had been expecting it, she launched herself into the air and lifted some nearby crates with her power. They exploded upon contact with the living shadow, but the being seemed unaware of the attack. Raven's eyes glowed black, and her hands burned. She switched from lifting things to actively striking with sharp lances of power. The changeling, meanwhile, shifted from foot to foot, unsure what to do, watching her fight darkness with darkness. Somehow, his instincts told him that a physical attack would not be a good idea.
"Beast Boy," she shouted as she struck the unflinching shadow that only seemed to grow larger, "stay back. Don't let it touch you, no matter what!"
"What do you mean?" he asked, hastily backpedaling away from it, instincts validated. As he looked at the shadow now, part of it kind of looked like a person.
"She means," whispered a hard voice that seemed to come from everywhere, "that I can do this!" The shadow launched itself at Beast Boy who changed quickly into a fox to dodge it, but it was faster even than he. As the shadow almost closed around him, he felt himself enveloped in Raven's familiar dark power. She dropped down beside him, hands spread wide as she held a dome around them. The shadow broke over it like a wave on the shore, pulsating against the shield, and for a moment it seemed to merge with Raven's own black light. Beast Boy, human-shaped again, couldn't actually tell her dome apart from that she defended against when they touched. Then it recoiled and struck again.
"What is this thing?" he asked, awe-struck.
"I…I'm not sure," Raven said, her face set in concentration. Beast Boy had heard Raven mad, almost happy, hopeless, courageous, and all shades of irritated, but he had only once heard her voice tinged with this kind of fear. Like the shadow, whatever or whoever it was, was really bad. Bad like Trigon had been bad.
"Uh, Raven? How are we supposed to fight it?" Beast Boy asked.
"I'm not sure," she said again, this time with a familiar snap in her voice. Then she looked across at him, as though making a choice. "Stay here."
"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, as she left him enclosed in her dome, slipping out of it and back up into the air. As Beast Boy watched, she resumed her attack on the shadow. As the darkness let go of Raven's shield, its attention now fully on her, Beast Boy tried to get loose, but even his strongest animal powers couldn't break through Raven's wall of dark light. Then, all at once, the shadow retreated and disappeared altogether.
"What the…?" Beast Boy started. Then, looking up at Raven, who would have looked astonished if she displayed facial expressions, he shouted, "You can let me out now!"
"Oh. Sorry," Raven said, waving her power away. She landed back on the rooftop beside him, unable to hide her troubled eyes beneath her shadowy hood.
"Why did you do that?" he asked grumpily.
"I didn't want you getting in the way," Raven said, that same harsh edge to her voice. Beast Boy crossed his arms and glared at her.
"I can take care of myself! You should know that by now!" He flailed in irritation as Raven sighed.
"I do know that, Beast Boy. But this one is way out of your league."
--==OOO==--
The fight felt like pure artistry. Robin was astounded by how much he had grown. Not only was he several inches taller now than he had been the last time he had fought alongside his mentor, but he was almost as fast as Batman. His instincts had been honed, too; he was far better at gauging Batman's moves and providing appropriate cover or support with cat-like reflexes. What Robin really wanted to do was to level this guy all on his own, to show Batman how far he'd come, but after the first blast of flame, that didn't seem plausible. Cyborg, maintaining a stationary position off to the side, fired his cannon many times, but Hotstreak used his fire as a shield somehow. It made it harder that they couldn't get anywhere near him for long without getting burned. Robin was about to call Starfire down from her fight when something very strange happened.
From below, out of one of the holes Hotstreak had burned in the roof, came a sudden shadow, intensely black against the grey-ish sky. It rose from the darkness of the space below and moved directly towards Hotstreak.
"Ebon," Robin heard Batman say as the Dark Knight moved to try to intercept. But as soon as the shadow reached Hotstreak, it engulfed him and retreated. A heartbeat later, a shout from Starfire above showed that Talon, too, had been pulled straight out of the fight from mid-air. Starfire gripped the arm of the other Robin and carried him to where her Robin stood waiting.
"What happened? Where'd they go?" Cyborg asked as they gathered to survey the damage. Starfire neatly ducked into the building and came up with a fire hose that promptly extinguished the remaining flames. Without Hotstreak to encourage them, the fires were now much smaller and more manageable.
"Ebon took them," Batman said, standing behind Cyborg. "They have retreated. You will return to base with me for a full debriefing." Cyborg's jaw dropped and even Starfire looked a little taken aback by Batman's cold manner. Robin shook his head a little at the familiar attitude, and saw with some satisfaction that the other Robin was also not entirely comfortable with Batman's attitude.
"Please, could someone tell me why there is another Robin?" Starfire asked, turning towards "her" Robin. "I know of your small, amusing doppelganger, but this," and she poked the second Robin in the arm, "does not seem to be quite like him."
"Hey! I'm not a 'this!' I'm a person!" shouted the shorter boy.
"I apologize. I only meant that I am most confused by the presence of two Robins. Is this one of the 'things of the guys' that I am simply not to understand?" She looked around expectantly. Cyborg sighed.
"I think we ought to…" But before the Titan's leader could get any farther, they were all interrupted by a shout from Beast Boy, somewhere above them.
"Nooo!"
--==OOO==--
As Beast Boy stared at Raven, trying to figure out how exactly to respond to her comment, his animalistic senses suddenly blazed in alarm. Raven and Beast Boy whirled around at almost the same instant, and to their horror saw the black thing rise up again, faster and more purposely than before.
"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted. They were both right in its path! But instead of getting out of the way herself, Raven flung her power out wide, like a whip, and pushed Beast Boy clear off of the building. In midair he switched to a bird, streaking back as fast as his wings could carry him back to the rooftop, but he was a moment too slow. The instant Raven could have escaped was lost; the shadow fell upon her like a mudslide, engulfed her, and retreated. Raven was gone.
"Nooo!" Beast Boy found himself shouting as he dropped into his normal shape again. He raced across the blacktop to the place he thought the shadow had come from. To his surprise, he could actually see it: a whirlpool or a cloud or some kind of nightmare, blacker than the natural shadows around it, writhing against a wall like a tempest at sea. Beast Boy approached it, not entirely sure what would happen, or what he would do, when he got there. But he had to do something.
"Stop!" The order was barked from behind, and the force of it literally halted Beast Boy in his tracks. Turning in surprise, he found everyone behind him, gathered on the rooftop's edge. Batman stepped forward, his hand out. Ranged behind, Robin and Star and Cyborg and another, shorter Robin, stood battle-ready, having raced to help at his cry. In a few long strides, Batman was beside the green boy.
"Don't touch it, whatever you do." His voice was cold and emotionless.
"But Raven's in there. It grabbed her!" he shouted.
"I know. But Ebon will only pull you in, and you cannot escape him."
"Ebon?" The name sounded somehow familiar, like something Robin would have been rambling about over newspaper clippings. Beast Boy knew he should have read the news more often! The others came to stand with them, their eyes locked on the dark vortex.
"Ebon," Batman began, "is a meta-human from Dakota City, leader of the so-called Metabreed gang. He possesses incredible intelligence and is both calculating and malicious. He is a being of shadow and can travel inter-dimensionally from any place of darkness to any other, instantly, taking along any who fall or are pulled into what is left of his body." Batman, looking more shadow than man himself, stared intently at the roiling darkness before him.
"But then friend Raven…" began Starfire.
"She'll be okay, Star," Cyborg quickly comforted her, his voice warm but firm. "Raven's stronger than he is."
"I do not know what to expect. Raven is also an inter-dimensional being, and shadow as well. She does have very similar abilities. I did not anticipate something like this." The Bat's eyes narrowed.
Robin, the Titan's Robin, nearly fell over at this. Batman, not plan for an eventuality! That was like pigs flying! However, as he considered it, he himself had never noticed the parallels between Raven and Ebon, either, in spite of following the news about Dakota. Although technically they were very alike, Raven was still so different from the Metabreed leader. Besides actually having a body, she also had an active power. And a heart. Robin moved next to Beast Boy who could not take his eyes off the shadow.
"What can we do?" Beast Boy asked anyone who might answer.
"We can only wait." Batman's toneless voice had rarely sounded so heartless. "Either she will return to this side or Ebon will absorb her and disappear from this location. I believe…" and he spoke very quietly, "it largely depends on her."
--==OOO==--
What felt like hours of nervous heartbeats passed in silence. Ebon's "footprint" grew and shrank but never disappeared entirely. It seemed to fluctuate, as though attempting to do something, but what a shadow whirlpool could be attempting to do, no one had any idea. The only sounds were the city noises from the street, and the approaching sirens of the police and fire department to deal with the ruined and burning bank below.
"Ah!" Robin cried out in sudden, lurching vertigo, breaking the otherwise silent vigil and clapping his hands to his head. The world spun in front of his eyes, and he found himself on his knees. Robin was dimly aware that Batman had kneeled down to support him, and to prevent him from striking the ground. He also had some sense of the Titans gathered around, all but Beast Boy, who looked at him worriedly but whose gaze went back to Ebon's shadow.
Robin closed his eyes completely and looked inward. It was Raven, he was sure of it. The bond between them had never been so open, or so painful. Robin felt like something was literally pulling on his mind, trying to yank it from his body. He realized that his link with Raven might be the only way of reaching her, so instead of resisting it, he let go into the feeling that was drawing at him. With his eyes closed, the physical world abruptly fell away and he spiraled into shadow.
Robin was floating, dimly aware that his mind was probably part-way between the real world and Ebon's world. He could see only unending darkness, not the same kind that filled him when he traveled with Raven's soul-self, but something far more sinister in its absolute lack of light. It seemed to surround him and go on forever, like being in space without a single star, nothingness in a void. There was whispering too, even laughing, all of it cruel and harsh, echoing back and forth from the darkness, Ebon's voice and thoughts. Then, somewhere in the expanse, he could also hear Raven. She was shouting, but the words were lost in the cavernous space.
"Raven!" Robin cried out. The bond was now like a bridge in his mind, and as he moved one careful step farther along it, he could see Raven in the blackness. She was holding her power around her and flying blindly, resisting tendrils of ebony shadow that tried to wrap themselves around her. Did she seem to be getting weaker? Or was he just imagining it? Raven's power's normal ebb and flow was more strained, certainly, and he could have sworn at one point it faded entirely into the surrounding darkness that was Ebon himself.
"Raven, this way! Raven, follow me!" he shouted, things clicking into place. She needed an anchor to find her way out, an anchor that only he could provide. Robin called to her again, hoping that she had heard him through the inky galaxy. He reached for her with his mind, as though he could somehow draw her near with his own stubborn will. He felt tension, as though he had thrown a grappling hook and she was now using it to pull herself along. He bent all his strength to the line of whatever it was that led to her. A dark bird, dark but a relief against this unending blackness, rose up before his eyes, and he felt a touch in his mind. Somewhere, Raven's voice whispered, "thank you, Robin." Then the real world came rushing back.
Robin opened his eyes to see the cloud on the wall suddenly enlarge. Raven's body flew violently out of it as though launched from within, landing in Beast Boy's unsuspecting arms. Robin tried to rise to his feet, but was struck with dizziness again. Batman wordlessly gave him an arm, then led him to where Beast Boy held the dark girl. His green skin was pale, still a contrast to Raven's grey skin which was unusually colorless even for her.
"She's unconscious," the changeling said, his voice shaken. The look on his face was some bizarre mixture of confusion, relief, concern, and something else. Beast Boy made no move to hand Raven over to Cyborg, who was hovering protectively, but instead cradled her gently. He looked at Robin, whose head was finally starting to clear. "What were you yelling about?"
"I…" Robin hadn't realized he was yelling aloud. He flushed slightly, then turned to look at the others. But Batman came to the rescue, as always.
"Let us return home."
