Chapter 4: The help of a . . . friend?
The Titans search the city all night and come up with nothing. With the rising of the sun, Robin can't think of anywhere she would go. In Raven's mind, this planet is alien.
"Alright team," he says over the communicators, "Let's call it for now. Head back to the tower."
"No way, Robin," Cyborg says. "She's out here somewhere."
"Friend Raven is very afraid," Starfire agrees. "We can not leave her in such a distressing state."
"I know," Robin replies, "but we are not going to get anywhere on empty stomachs and no rest. We may even end up overlooking something important."
Two reluctant agreements come back to him. Beastboy hasn't said much but a quick check on Robin's tracker confirms he's heading back to the tracker.
Beastboy tends to get . . . touchy on the subject of Raven. He'll never admit it to Robin or Cyborg, but he has feeling for her. Maybe it's fear of rejection that keeps him from acting on those feelings but Robin is glad he doesn't. Getting involved with a friend you live and work with can get messy, as Robin himself learned the hard way.
Fully aware of how hypocritical it is, Robin gets back to the tower and while everyone goes to get some rest he orders chinese food for when they wake and pulls all the security footage of the incident with Mind Bender, trying to find any clues as to where he went.
He is able to catch him on three different traffic cameras before loosing him. He was on foot and headed north, but there's a whole lot of city to the north. And whose to say he even kept going in that direction? He was smart enough to get away with a few robberies before even being suspected in them so a little misdirection like going north when he want to go west is simple enough to conceive.
When Cyborg is finished recharging Robin will have him run a more sophisticated search for Bender.
Robin leans back and rubs his jaw.
Raven is another matter entirely. To figure out where she's gone he might as well spin a globe and go where his finger lands.
Okay, that is not entirely true. She is looking for a way to get back home. The Raven he knows could go there easily but she seems to be in a younger mind set: at least one and a half years younger, since she remembers being on Azarath only yesterday and hasn't even learned how to meditate yet.
Robin hops to his feet and makes his way to the Titans library. Beneath a choice shelf he pulls finds a safe and quickly punches in the code and pulls out one of four flashdrives.
He returns to the couch in the main area and pulls out his laptop and plugs in the device. A code and facial recognition flash on the screen before he's allowed to view the files.
Batman taught him he should always know his enemies--and his friends.
He skips over the file titled 'Weaknesses' and clicks on the one of her past.
Prior to joining the Teen Titans, code name Raven lived on Azarath where she was taught to hone her inherited skills and keep them in check. Above all she was kept hidden from her father Trigon the Conquerer. Through her he sought to destroy earth.
After summoning her father to Azarath, she was taken to his realm where she stayed for three weeks before escaping to the place he could not follow: Earth. Upon arriving she sought the help of the Justice League to stop the coming of her father but they sensed darkne--
Robin closes the laptop. Would she seek the Justice League again? Probably not. She wanted them for their strength, right now she needs magic.
To be safe he sends Bruce a message, telling him to call if she goes to him or the other members of the league.
He pulls up one of Cyborgs programs and sets it to run facial recognition through out the city. At least if she is still in Jump, they'll know.
Satisfied he has done all he can at the moment, Robin decided he should really get some sleep.
Before his head even hits the pillow, he receives a notification. Raven's energy signal has been detected leaving the tower.
Raven
In the shadow of the T-tower, Rachel sits on a large boulder, watching the waves crash beneath her again and again. Despite how relentless and unforgiving it looks, the water is actually very soothing.
Far more relaxing than she has ever found meditating to be. Even so, her mind and emotions can not fully settle and black energy crackles half heartedly across her skin. Shadows writhe at her feet.
She senses the approach of someone behind her. She knows it's the one in charge, the one called Robin. It's strange but she feels connected to him, like she knows his essence as a part of her own.
"I saw Azarath," she tells him without turning. Her voice sounds wrong. Hollow. "There's no one left."
She involuntarily pictures the petrified corpses, the ruins, and the flames. When she woke after releasing her pent up powerneven those were gone. She couldn't stand to be there any longer and returned to Earth, back to this tower.
A whole civilization wiped out. The only home she has ever known.
"I'm alone."
And that is the horrible truth of it. Even as she learns everyone who took care of her is dead, a tainted and selfish part of her only cares about how alone she is.
They probably screamed when her father came for them, but these tears are for herself.
She claps a hand over her own mouth as a sob escapes her. Her control slips further away.
She turns to Robin who is advancing. "Stay back."
"You are not alone. Come inside with me and we'll take care of this." He stubbornly presses forward and had she not drained her energy on Azarath, she is certain the pulses of energy swirling around her and occasionally hitting him would have killed.
Rachel tries to harness her abilities for the sake of him but it doesn't work, and he keeps coming forward.
"I dont want to hurt you," she says with a gasp. She takes a step back and feels the splash of the waves. Her heel finds the edge of the boulder and her instincts keep her from falling.
"Raven," he says calmly, eyes flitting to the amount of space left behind her on the boulder, "listen to what I'm saying."
"Stop calling me that! It's not my name!"
"I know that's not your name. It's just what you like to be called. Your real name is Rachel Roth. I know that because we are friends."
At the sound of her own name, the energy around her lulls long enough for Robin to get within two feet away.
He holds a hand out to her. "Let me help you."
The turmoil inside her continues to manifest itself around her. She nods, taking his hand.
Faster than she can processes, he pulls something from his belt and jabs it into her upper arm.
"Just a mild sedative," Robin says as the edges of her vision fade and he bodily lifts her off the ground. "You're okay."