CH3: The Bleed
The quality time Raven and I spent together included activities such as ignoring, glaring, and annoying one another. I didn't think I could take much more of this. I would ask her the simplest of questions, and she would go off on a tangent for hours about how villains were the scum of the earth and how it was my fault we were stranded in this infernal dimension. Part of me was hoping I would die of hunger or thirst so that I no longer had to endure her pontificating. But I came to discover that the scenario I was hoping for would never come to pass. It had been days and not once had my stomach growled. It was odd to say the least. It seemed that while the utilization of our powers came at the cost of our stamina, our hunger and thirst were never affected. Sure, space and time worked differently in pocket dimensions, but I was not expecting this.
It begged the question if we were even aging while we were trapped here. And if we made it back, would we return right after we had disappeared, or would months' time have passed back on earth? I felt as if we would find out soon because I was now fully recovered. Raven who was also back at one-hundred percent looked anxious to test out our theory. Surely if we duplicated the circumstances that knocked us into this dimension the first time, the feedback would hopefully knock us back to our normal dimension. Or at least a facet I could get us out of with my own powers.
"You ready?" she asked.
I nodded.
We positioned ourselves opposite of each other several meters apart, unsure of what was going to happen. The plan was for me to teleport Raven as I did when we were over the Pacific mid incantation. She should finish her mantra right before I warp and if all went according to plan, her powers would repel or react to my own and generate the same feedback loop that knocked us into this void.
'Here we go.' I levitated off the ground and started to head towards Raven. My cape trailed behind me like a lightning bug's bioluminescent trail while Raven began her mantra.
"Azarath…"
I closed in and prepared to envelop her.
"Metrion…"
I started to wrap myself around her and began the teleportation phase. I didn't have any particular destination in mind seeing as how we were trapped in nothingness, but I had home in my concentration the entire time.
"ZINTHOS!"
Raven's black magic once again reacted to my teleportation and I felt the power building up on itself. The void's thunderclouds began to recede and I could tell we were dimension shifting again. As everything began to fade around us, I noticed Raven's eyes were beginning to close and she appeared to become limp. She was losing consciousness. I desperately fought through the magic blast to make my way to her but the closer I got, the weaker I became. Eventually I also lost all consciousness.
…
When I came to, I felt awful. My body was all cramped up and I was completely drained of energy. I tried to move but it wasn't easy considering I was holding someone in my arms.
'Raven…'
I could barely process what had happened. The feedback loop must have taken its toll on us. As I became more aware of our current circumstances, I could tell something was off about the titan. She was cold, and still unconscious.
'Hey, wake up!'
I shook her gently go try to snap her out of it. The last thing I wanted was a grouchy titan on my ass again. But she still remained unresponsive. This was not good. I placed her on her back and put my ear to her chest. There was a faint thump, but it was very weak. Not to mention… she wasn't breathing. Was she? Her heart was working but she wasn't breathing… that makes total sense.
'Dammit…'
I took off her cape, unzipped the back of her outfit and pulled it down, and positioned her airway for receiving CPR. Turns out you do learn a thing or two in health class other than practicing "safe sex". I started to do chest compressions, but her bra kept getting in the way. I didn't want the wire to dig into her flesh either which left me with one option.
'She's going to kill me.'
I undid her bra leaving her top half completely exposed. Her breasts were perky. They were a fair size and her gray skin gave them an appealing ambiance. I blushed and shook my head. This was no time to be a pervert. I then continued with the compressions.
'Sixteen…Twenty-two…Twenty-eight.'
I placed my mouth over her own and gave her two rescue breaths.
'One, two.'
I backed up a little bit and saw that her chest was still not moving. Again, I attempted to revive her.
'Sixteen…Twenty-two…Thirty. One, two.'
Again, there was no response. What is going on? She wasn't dead due to her having a heartbeat. But she wasn't breathing. I was so confused. I put my head on her bare chest and listened again just to be sure her heart was still pounding. It was, but she still wasn't breathing.
'I don't understand this…' I lifted my head from where it rested and positioned my hands on her chest for a third attempt to revive her. I was startled to find out that Raven was NOW fully conscious and was staring at me in horror. She looked over to where her bra was, and then looked to find me with both hands on her fully exposed bosom. Her face turned redder than the pepperoni at my favorite pizza joint back in Jump City.
She took her legs, put one on my either side and flipped me over to the ground so that I was face down. She then wrapped the rest of herself around me and held my arms in a hold. This was the thanks I got for trying to save her life?
"What, in Trigon's name, do you think you are doing?" She asked trying to muster up as much bravado as she could in her voice.
She pressed my arms against my back up high, so high, I thought she was going to dislocate them.
"Talk!" She practically shouted.
The pain was so intense it was hard to compose a concise sentence.
'Woke up… you weren't breathing… faint heart beat… CPR.'
After a couple seconds, I felt her hold on me loosen. Blood was circulating to my arms once again.
"You're an idiot."
She let go of me completely and gathered her assets whilst covering her breasts with one arm. She then proceeded to get redressed.
"Peek, and you'll end up with a black eye." She threatened.
Out of courtesy I complied with her "request" but I didn't see how that made a difference. After all I've seen her almost completely naked anyway.
When she was done redressing she gave me a scowl.
'Now what?'
"When we managed to reproduce the feedback loop, my powers were completely drained, more than usual. That mixed with the blast no doubt left my body fragile. When my body is compromised, I sometimes slip into a healing trance that speeds up recovery. During it, my body appears to not be breathing, but I am. Very shallow, unnoticeable breaths. You recall my heart was still beating was it not? So OBVIOUSLY, I wasn't dead."
She looked at me like I was a dumbass. Her scolding tone was no help either. Next time she appears to be dead, I will probably just leave her there. But I went through the trouble to revive her. A titan! And she lectures me on how she was fine all along. How was I supposed to know that was a healing trance, coma, whatever? I walked up to her so that my face was inches from hers.
'You're welcome.'
After my sarcastic remark she didn't death glare me anymore. I could tell she was finally seeing things from my point of view. There was no way I could have known she was in a healing trance.
"Whatever." She responded coldly.
With that very awkward situation behind us, we finally managed to process where we were. It appeared our attempt to reproduce the feedback loop was successful seeing as we were no longer in the void. However, our new environment wasn't anything to be thankful for either. The atmosphere around us was red as blood and constantly shifting, almost like we were in Van Gough painting. Floating land masses were spread out through this dimension that were a couple shades darker than the sky. It looked as if Mars had exploded.
But the major thing that caught our attention were the gateways that could get us home. In the sky, across the horizon, and beneath current standing were what appeared to be portals. Doorways into other worlds, dimensions, and realities. It was actually kind of beautiful to look at.
'I think we found out how we are getting back home.'
Raven nodded and looked as relieved as I did. All we had to do was find the right portal that connected to our Earth, our dimension. Hopefully it was nearby. But as luck would have it, it would be awhile before we stumbled onto a portal that led to a world even remotely like ours.
I flew off the landmass we were currently on and Raven closely followed.
'Let the search begin.'
