Chapter 3: The Trouble With Trust
Training had gone well, Robin set us into pairs and then he got brutally beaten by Shadow, his partner. Everyday, Shadow seemed to exhibit new powers that prevented us from even defeating the previously seen power. Robin hated being second, especially to the new Titan. Nothing exceptional happened during the day, except when the crime alert sounded and it turned out to only be a small bank robbery. Shadow was allowed to go solo for some minor experience and showed Jump City just how efficient he would be at his job.
Robin left us the remainder of the day to ourselves and went off to get pizza with everyone, except Shadow and I. I merely refused again, which was normal and Shadow stated that the never liked pizza. Leaving us the only two Titans to the Tower. The way home and the elevator to the living room was silent and too be honest, awkward. Mostly, because he didn't say anything. Normally, I'd be more than perfectly happy with it, but I was nervous for whatever his teaching was going to be. When we reached the top, his voice surprised me. The sharp order of, "Follow me," shot through the silence and I instantly questioned what his intentions were.
"Where are we going?" I asked, as we past the living room and headed down the hallway with our rooms.
He shrugged his shoulders, "Depends. Will you be more comfortable in your room or my room?"
"What the hell do you mean?" I inquired sharply. "Why are we going into any room of ours?"
"My room it is then," Shadow muttered quietly to himself. And continued down the hall, even after I stopped and folded my arms. Shadow stopped and cast an icy glare towards me from over his shoulder. "Is there a problem Raven? Mind telling me the problem?"
"Why do we have to go into your room?" I repeated.
"I don't think that practicing this stuff in the living room would be safe for the other Titans. If you start trashing things and demolishing furniture, it would be wiser to do it in a close-off area. I don't know what impression you have of me Raven, but I don't think Batman would have recommended me to become a Titan if I was a criminal. I hope I haven't given you a reason not to trust me."
I guess that made sense. But that didn't stop me from not liking the idea of us being alone in the same room together. His powers set off a bad vibe, not like villain-bad, but something else. Something deeper that didn't quite make sense, but I couldn't very well tell him that the aura he put off seemed bad. Continuing to door of his room, he wordlessly opened punched in the code and then gestured for me to enter. There was no light emanating from his room, just shadows. The hallway light only seeped in enough to cover the threshold. Even though my common sense told me to be apprehensive, I refused to show him that I was. Swallowing my nerves, I entered and impatiently awaited for my eyes to adjust. I heard him enter after me and shut the door; sealing us in a complete, eerie darkness. By the time my night-vision kicked in, I barely saw his hand grab my shoulder and steer me further into the room. The weird thing though was that I had normally had perfect night-vision, but in his room I could barely make out a thing.
"Hey! Let go!"I shouted back at Shadow when his fingers tightened for a fraction of a second. I feel like I might have overreacted a bit when I shouted at him even though his grip wasn't particularly strong at the moment. He instantly snapped his wrist back at my demand and without a word took a step back towards what I think was a desk along the wall. I heard a small pop and I had to quickly shield my eyes when the lights shot on to reveal Shadow's bedroom. I was correct in assuming the object he stood near was a desk. An old mahogany desk with a neat stack of aged newspapers on it. A manila envelope and white folder lay next to them with clippings and other crumpled notes next to it. It must of been important...and secret because Shadow closed the folder and stuck it in the envelope when he saw me looking at it. I didn't press him about it either. Glancing around, I saw a wardrobe with a door hanging open, a small set of chairs next to a crammed bookshelf and a four-poster, king-sized bed. Everything in the room from the curtains to the bedding was a very dark grey. Overall, it was a simple room.
Looking back to Shadow I saw small clouds of a black fog-like substance being pulled into his fingertips. Taking a tentative step forward, I reached out to touched one of the small clouds. "What exactly is that stuff?"
He cast me a smug look and raised an eyebrow. "Looks like I've impressed somebody." I frowned at his response, which caused him to smile wider and explain. "You know how I can absorb shadows that are nearby to me. Well...I can also steal shadows. Which kinda is why my name is Shadow Snare; I ensnare them. I can keep them within my body forever if I wish and change them to meet my needs. So if I was fighting somewhere that didn't have many objects that cast shadows because it was too bright out, then I have a personal stockpile of shadows for my needs. I just happened to be using it to shroud my room."
"Then why couldn't I see through it, if it's only darkness?" I asked.
"Because the shadows I use aren't only darkness. They've been magicked to work in whatever way I imagine. You couldn't see through it, because I willed it to be that way. I just prefer it dark."
"Why does it matter that you can steal shadows though?" I narrowed my eyes.
He sighed heavily and put a hand through his hair. His grey skin seemed even paler in the light and without the mask he wore on missions he seemed more vulnerable to scrutiny by Jump City's occupants. "It matters because I can replicate living people and animals all the way down to their personalities. For example, if I steal Robin's shadow, I could make another exact Robin, but under my control. But I can't make another Robin out of shadows collected from other things. Shadows are a piece of yourself, like a bit of your soul."
"Oh," was all I could say. I was too busy trying to understand my own thoughts. He certainly seems to trust me. But I can tell that he normally doesn't talk about this a lot. Clapping his hands together, he forced a smile and turned back to the desk and opened a drawer.
"I think we should get to work, shouldn't we? We have a lot to accomplish." He mentioned to me. Digging around for a second, Shadow then retrieved a dusty, black jewelry box with golden symbols embroidered into the leather band around the side. It looked extremely old. At this my curiosity peaked, but I didn't move from my spot. Carefully, he slid off the top and pulled out, to my surprise, the most plain looking chain I'd ever seen. The box made it seem like it's contents would be expensive and ornate, but instead was just some thin-iron chain necklace. Yet, Shadow still handled it with such care. Setting the box on top of the desk, he turned back to me and held it out for me to see in the light.
I took a step forward and reached out slowly to touch the chain. Shadow didn't speak, instead he watched me as my fingers grazed the rusted metal. Even though it bore no charm, a small hook hung off the bottom center to bear one. What's so damn important about a rusty chain? Retracting my hand, Shadow answered the question I had in my head. "This isn't an ordinary necklace as you may have wondered. This is half of a very powerful family heirloom of mine. It can do extraordinary things. Nobody even knows everything it can do."
"Half?" I asked. "Where's the other half? Where's your family?"
Shadow gave me a sad look, "Gone," was all he said. The only thing that made me wonder then was he never specified if it was his family or the other half of the necklace that was gone. Shaking out of sad demeanor, he plastered on a fake smile and held up the necklace. "Take your hood off and turn around Raven. Don't ask questions. You can't go to where we're training if you're not wearing this."
Immediately, I wanted to argue and tell him to quit ordering me around, but I figured it wouldn't get us anywhere. I did as he asked and stared ahead at his bookshelf. He stepped up behind me and quickly clasped the chain around my neck. It felt heavy...and cold. Really cold. Shadow grabbed two chairs from the corner and then set them up facing each other, next to his window. "Sit, please. The first few times doing this people tend to fall over so its easier to just do it sitting." I complied and once we were sitting across from one another, Shadow told me the final step, meditate. Closing my eyes, I focused my power; it took little time given it was something I did almost everyday. I floated effortlessly off the chair and tried to relax.
For a minute, nothing seemed to happen. What's the damn point of this? If he was only going to meditate with me then I would have refused! Snapping my eyes open to glare at him, I gasped when I wasn't even in Shadow's room anymore. Or even Titan Tower for that matter. Everywhere I looked I only saw white, just white nothingness. "Shadow?" I called out quietly. Only silence met my response. I repeated his name with more urgency in my tone, but to no avail. It was just me. Wake up! You have to be dreaming or something! It was then I felt how cold the chain was around my neck, it seemed to be the only thing I could feel here besides fear. And the fact it was glowing bright white and pushed off its light in waves that spread out of the expanse of nothing. I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. Now I'm stuck literally in the middle of nowhere!
"Not nowhere Raven. Here is everywhere." Shadow's voice cut through the silence and I spun around to meet his gaze from few feet away. I didn't realize how heavy my breathing was until I spoke. Probably from being sent to a place of nothing and being scared shitless.
"This place," I motioned around me. "What is it?"
"I call it the Middle. It's difficult to explain what it is exactly. And I've already told you where it is. It'll be something I'll have to tell you about later. This is only part-way to where we're going. Just don't ever take that necklace off when your in here. If you don't wear it, I can't find you. And I know one thing for sure. You don't want to get lost in the Middle. Follow me." Grabbing me by the forearm, Shadow pulled me forward towards what I assumed was the way he came.
As we continued on, the glowing in the necklace dimmed, but a bright light appeared ahead of us. Looking back at me, Shadow smirked and murmured, "You may want to close your eyes." The light increased in intensity and soon I had no choice but to shield my eyes from it. The next time I opened my eyes, I felt like I traveled back in time. The room I was in looked like something you would see in a castle. It appeared to be a study, with massive rugs stretched over flagstone flooring. High-vaulted ceilings and heavy-paned windows showed a rainy exterior and full moon hidden partially by storm clouds. Extensive ceiling-high bookshelves spanned across the back wall and opposite of them was a sitting area in front of a huge lit fireplace. Most of the room was open space. This one room could easily account for almost all of the Tower's rooms together. Looking to my left was a pair of doors that must of led out to the rest of whatever this place was.
I must of had my ever-present questioning scowl on my face since Shadow chuckled at my confusion. "We'll be training here. And before you ask, this place is from my past." Shadow let go of my arm and headed towards the massive bookshelf on the wall. He must of knew exactly where and what he was looking for, because among what must of been a thousand or so books he telepathically summoned a tome to his hand from the very top row.
Flipping through the pages, he spoke carefully, like he knew what he was going to say would get a rise out of me. "I need you to do exactly as I say, Raven. Do you understand? You have to trust me. I won't have you do anything that will put you in harm's way, alright. You're safe, so I just need you to stop controlling your emotions."
"What! No, I can't. I'll destroy everything!" I replied, backing away from him.
Shadow shook his head and snapped the book shut, "No you won't. I know you won't. It's not like you could anyway." Just then he tossed the book at me, but when I went to grab it, it passed through my fingers. Like I wasn't even there. It thudded onto the ground behind me, having passed through me as if I was just a ghost. "Nothing here can be harmed by you except for you and I. We're the only things that are still real here. I can still touch this stuff because I had touch it in the past. I just need you to trust me Raven. That's all I need. Why can't you do that?" He questioned, slowly nearing me and grabbing the book again.
With the book in hand, he just stood there watching me. My gaze shifted down to my hands and sadly whispered, "Because I can't trust myself."
