Hey, here's chapter 2 for you all. And the good thing is, IT'S EARLY! I couldn't help myself I just had to keep writing! I want to start by thanking any and all reviewers of this story, especially Sir Alwick – my first reviewer and a huge boost to my self esteem at the same time. I honestly did not expect my first review to be so positive. Thanks again people! I think once I reach chapter 5 I'm going to go back through the story and possibly change some things, both chapters so far have barely been read over and spellchecked before they get posted. Anyway, ON WITH THE STORY!
~Blodh Skolir
5:45 AM, Titans Tower, Robin's Room
Robin stood in the middle of his room, stunned by the sheer volume of the scream. Snapping himself out of his stupor, he paused only to get dressed before bolting out the door, hitting the alarm button on his way.
Cyborg's Room
Cyborg awoke with a start as his emergency systems kicked in. He had programmed himself to be forcefully woken when the alarm sounded, otherwise he would remain asleep until his downtime ended. He was about to leave when something red caught his eye. Ignoring it he ran into the corridor to be met by Robin.
"What's happening?" Cyborg asked instantly.
"I heard a scream coming from somewhere in the tower!" came the anxious reply. They immediately sprinted off down the corridor to find the rest of their team. They had not gone far when Starfire rounded the corner, flying at what may well be supersonic speeds. A collision was inevitable.
"Friends, I heard a scream. What is happening?!"
"That's what we were going to find out" says Robin after picking himself up from the floor. "come on, let's go find Raven and Beast Boy." Starfire nodded in agreement before grabbing him and Cyborg by the arm and hauled them down the corridor at speeds that would make an Olympian cry.
Seconds later, they arrived outside Beast Boy's room.
"That's odd. The door's jammed." Cyborg was pulling at the side of the door, but it wouldn't budge. Robin thinks for a second before saying. "We'll sort this out later. We need to check on Raven; the scream was too high pitched to be Beast Boy anyway." He immediately heads off further down the corridor. Cyborg mutters "I wouldn't put it past the little grass stain" before sprinting after, quickly catching up to the other two.
They come to a halt outside a door with a simple plaque on, which had the name "Raven" engraved in neat calligraphy. Thankfully, this door works. Robin, Cyborg and Starfire step inside cautiously, but they were unprepared for the sight that greeted them.
Raven's Room
Raven sat, huddled into a corner with her knees brought up against her chest, whimpering whilst staring at the wall opposite her. Her face had been drained of what little colour it had, and her eyes were full of horror. As the other Titans rushed towards her, she slowly came out of her reverie. As Robin, Cyborg and Starfire drew nearer, they could see the tears coursing down her normally stoic and expressionless face. "What happened?" they all questioned at the same time.
Raven's hand shook as it rose to point at the wall behind them.
There, painted in large red letters, was a single word.
RAVEN
The other Titans (except Cyborg) gasped in shock at the name painted onto the wall in large, red letters. As they watched, a small drop of the substance ran down the wall. Robin immediately snapped into his detective frame of mind. "Still wet" he said, as he walked forwards and smeared some of the liquid onto his hand. "And it's too thin to be paint. I'm going to need a thorough analysis of this, Cyborg." He turned around to see Cyborg staring into space, an odd look on his face.
"I'll be right back, y'all." he said. "I gotta go check on something." With that, he briskly walked out the door and went down the corridor. Robin muttered "I hope for his sake that it's important" before turning back to the two girls. Raven was now clutching at Starfire tightly, more tears running down her face as Starfire tried desperately to soothe her. After a while, Raven fell into a deep sleep.
Robin waited until Starfire had placed her back upon her bed before speaking. "There's one thing bothering me. Why her? Why would the culprit target her?" There was a whoosh as the door behind them opened, and Cyborg re-entered, his face grim. "It's not just her, traffic light. I remembered seeing something in my room before I ran into you. When I went back and checked, I found that the same thing had happened to my room. After that, I checked yours and Starfire's. Same thing there. Looks like this wasn't a specific thing after all."
Robin thought for a moment, digesting the information. "What about Beast Boy's room? Anything there?"
"No idea" came the reply, "the damn door still won't open. I tried everything short of just blasting the thing down but-" He was cut off by a rapping at the window. Robin immediately crossed over to it and pulled back the blinds, revealing a pigeon. A green pigeon. Smirking, he opened the window and the green bird hopped through before reverting into the green changeling.
"Sorry I'm late guys, the stupid door wouldn't open. What's happened?" Instead of replying, the other Titans pointed at the wall.
"Oh."
10:16 AM, Titans Tower, living room.
The Titans sat in front of the TV, none of them watching the pointless comedy being shown. Raven sat in the middle of the sofa with her cloak wrapped tightly around her, while she drank herbal tea from a shaking cup. Every once in awhile, her face would contort into a grimace, and a bolt of black energy destroyed some menial object nearby. While her control had improved since Trigon's defeat, it was still far from perfect. Starfire hovered nearby, ready to provide any assistance that would be necessary.
Further behind them, Robin was pacing furiously, trying to puzzle out who could have done this. It was not hard to compile a list of possible suspects, but the problem was in narrowing it down. They had made many enemies over the years they had been Titans, all with a motive and most without an alibi. Robin's mind worked furiously as he went down his mental list, finding few possible suspects that could be eliminated. Eventually, he just sighed and went to make himself some coffee.
Cyborg and Beast Boy, however, were not present. Cyborg had headed down to his lab to run a chemical analysis on the substance found on the walls, while Beast Boy had returned to his room to puzzle out what was wrong with his doors, which should take him a few hours. After awhile, Cyborg returned, carrying a small tray that was occupied by a small beaker of water and a couple of brightly coloured pills. He placed the tray next to Raven. "Shock meds" he explained, "they'll help calm ya down." Cyborg then turned to Robin, taking him a little further away and giving him a report on his progress. "I'm running a chemical analysis now, but it's gonna take awhile. I was thinking we head down to the control room, look over the CCTV from the corridors last night." Robin nodded. "Let's go."
They had not gotten far when they saw Beast Boy heading towards them, cradling something in his arms. "Hey guys! You'll never believe it! Remember how my door was blocked and no-one could open it? Well, I took a look at it and I found these!" He grinned madly as he showed them an armful of small mushrooms. Laughing at the look on their faces, he took one of the mushrooms he was holding, tossed it into his mouth and ate it.
Cyborg looked him like he was insane, while Robin shouted "Are you crazy?!? they might be poisonous!" This, of course made Beast Boy laugh, saying "relax guys, I know my shrooms. These are perfectly edible." He bit into another before saying "Agaricus campestris, my personal favourite." with that he walked past them, still laughing. Robin and Cyborg looked at each other mutely, both thinking; 'Beast Boy knows Latin?'
Chapter 2. Still not as long as I would like, but it's getting there. Slowly. Actually, it would help if reviewers told me if they prefer short chapters or long ones. Remember to R&R, people. Reviews are carrots for the plot bunny. Any questions? Just ask and I promise I WILL reply, I just don't know how quickly. Shouldn't take long though. Meanwhile, i have my own question - did I portray the characters right? Do they speak like they actually would? do they act like they should? I'm aware that Raven may be a little OOC, but that will be explained (poorly) when Raven regains the ability to speak. Hopefully.
I just realised I asked more than one question!
I'm rambling again!
~Blodh Skolir
