After posting the first three chapters, I have come to a terrifying conclusion: I am losing momentum. When I first began this story, I was still overwhelmed by the emotions that assaulted me after first seeing "Birthmark". I could not rest until Raven was saved from her fate. Now that I am beginning to come to terms with this new knowledge, I am finding it harder and harder to type this chapter. But have no fear! I know where I'm taking this, and with YOUR help, we shall arrive at the destination together! For your love of Teen Titans, read and review! Give me reason to march on into the jaws of Cerberus! We SHALL overcome!
Layman's Terms: I've had some writer's block. Please bear/bare with me.
Author's Note: It has come to my attention that the perfect soundtrack for this story is "Like a Stone" by Audioslave. Feel free to spin this mother out.
Special thanks to Triforce90, Scorpio Serpent, and anyone else kind enough to review. And to FaRaven, I am glad I was able to fulfill your Raven-oriented needs.
That's the problem with prophecies. They're never crystal clear.
Mammoth, awakened by his roommate's screams, came running down the hallway, Gizmo close behind. Upon reaching her bedroom door, however, he stopped and allowed the mechanical midget to go first. He knew better than to barge into Jinx's room uninvited in the middle of the night. Or at all, for that matter. Still, the sound he had just heard radiating through the apartment subdued any fears he had of his leader's quarters, replacing them with fears of his friend's safety.
"What the smeg is going on in here?" The diminutive genius's voice rang throughout the hall. Only he could take a question regarding a friend's well being and make it sound like an insult. Mammoth waited several seconds, and when a bright flash of light failed to present itself, he ducked down and squeezed through the doorway.
Jinx was sitting up in bed, covered in sweat, and shaking badly. She was terrified. "What happened?" Mammoth's thunderous voice was mixed with concern. "There's not much time…" Jinx's voice was barely more than a whisper. She looked past her friends and at the Hello Kitty clock on the wall. It was just after 11:00 p.m. She had less than one hour.
"We have to go now." Mammoth and Gizmo simply stared at her. Suddenly she had found her voice. "WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" Mammoth and Gizmo jumped. Jinx leaped out of bed and began searching for something to take the place of her pajamas. "Go where?" Gizmo squeaked. Jinx froze. It had just occurred to her that neither of them had any idea what was going on. She had to explain to them what was about to happen, and she had to do it without sounding insane. When she stopped to think about it, she began to wonder whether or not she was insane. Without turning, she answered Gizmo's question. "Titan's Tower."
To say that her companions were Thunderstruck was an understatement. There were quite a few reasons why this information was so ground shaking, a few of them being: A: They only seemed to stand a chance when one of the Titans was out, whether it be Robin or Cyborg, B: The last time they had entered Titan's Tower, they received a thrashing that still brought pains of embarrassment to this day, and C: the easiest way to send Jinx on the warpath was by mentioning her ex-boyfriend Cyborg/Stone. All these and more had occurred to the two males standing in her room, and it would have been moronic to believe they had not occurred to her. That's why Mammoth's question was so simple. "Why?"
Jinx turned to the duo. "Because in 56 minutes, Raven is going to kill herself."
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Raven walked towards the center of the roof and began to set up her things. It was a clear night, and a full moon shone down upon her. A cool breeze brushed her face as she gazed out over the bay. "Tonight is a wonderful night to die" she whispered.
Soon she was surrounded by a ring of candles, a thick spell book set out before her. Kneeling down, she shrugged out of her cloak, which fell to the ground behind and around her. The last item was unwrapped, and she placed the knife down in front of her. This blessed weapon now served two purposes: A knife to end her mortal life, and an instrument of God to cleanse the evil. There was one more thing she felt she had to do, and in a way, it was this act she feared the most. She had to expose her "birthmark" to the outside world. Leaning forward, she began to read from the spell book. She had no idea how Slade had performed this task, but she knew what she had to do to accomplish it.
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The trio raced down to the sub-level parking garage and headed towards Gizmo's car. Why he had insisted on restoring a Gremlin, Jinx had no idea. (Sorry, couldn't resist) As Jinx climbed into the passenger seat, Gizmo ran around to the driver's side and Mammoth struggled into the back. Jinx glanced into the rearview mirror and barely suppressed a laugh. Imagine Shaq stuffed into a clown car.
Grinding gears, Gizmo, barely peering over the dash, roared out of the ramp and into the street. Jinx would have felt a great deal better had she been allowed to drive, but Gizmo would never allow it. It was his baby.
Now came the moment Jinx had been afraid of. After forcing her teammates to get dressed, the only way she got them into the car was through threat of physical harm. Now that they were en route, they wanted answers. The first question was obvious, and therefore proposed by Mammoth. "How do you know about this?"
Jinx hesitated. "Because I had a dream about it." Was all she could come up with. Gizmo snorted. "Fair enough. May I ask why we should even care?" Jinx knew it was complicated, but the flat out answer was, she wanted to help Raven. She was a teenage girl first, and a super villain second. There was no way she could explain this to her male companions, but how could she describe the severity of Raven's actions without sounding insane. Realizing honesty may be the best policy; Jinx took a deep breath and spit out, "Because if Raven dies, the world will come to an end." You could have heard a pin drop if the engine wasn't coughing so badly. Without waiting to be prompted, she began to tell them everything she knew.
Twenty minutes later, her friends were wide-eyed and stunned. "Why don't those other jerks know about this?" asked Gizmo. "I don't know." was Jinx's response. She was emotionally exhausted after the telling of her tale, and she didn't have the energy to keep arguing. She had to save her strength for what was still to come. The sorceress turned to the goliath and the whiz kid. "I know you think I've lost it, but you have to believe me. I know what is going to happen, I know what has to be done, and I know what will happen if we don't. I can't explain to you two how I know this, because I'm honestly not sure. All I can do is beg you guys to help me. I can't do this alone."
Villains or not, they were moved by their friend's plea. If she felt so sure about this, then there had to be some truth to it. "I'm in." was Mammoth's reply. Gizmo snorted. "Well I think you're both nuts. But since I'm the only one who can hack into the Tin Can's security system, I guess I don't have much choice."
Jinx smiled. Despite what other people may have thought of them, they could depend on each other. "Thanks guys. Now here's my plan."
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After nearly thirty minutes, the incantation was nearly complete. The words were only part of it, however, and she had to be in the right emotional state for this to work. Raven filled her mind with the most painful memories she had ever experienced: Malchior's lies. Terra's Betrayal. Her confrontation with Slade. Pain came flooding back to her, so much that her powers began to manipulate the candles and send them flying and circling around her. She finished the last few lines, and for the second time in her life, not to mention the last week, the change began to occur.
All over her body, the demonic runes and symbols began to appear on her skin. Wherever the touched cloth, it was burned away. The pain hit her in full force, and as she threw her head back and screamed, red light poured from her eyes. Her hair began to grow, not stopping until it fell down to her shoulders. After thirty seconds, the pain subsided, and Raven found herself in the two piece remnants of her clothing. The candles, now twisted and stressed, settled back into their previous positions. The light from the symbols began to fade, and while they were still very visible, they no longer burned. As she looked down at her newly exposed body, the fear and pain she had felt last week came flooding back. Any doubts she had been harboring about her decision were vaporized as she looked over the evil markings. She had to do this.
Raven was about to pick up the knife, but then remembered she still had time. Twenty minutes, give or take. She had promised herself that much. Trying her best to relax, she waited for the clock tower to sound midnight.
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A little known fact regarding Titan's Tower was also one of the most obvious. If anyone stopped to take the time to think about it, they would wonder how the R-cycle and T-car reached dry land, what with the Tower being situated on an island. This situation was resolved by use of an underwater tunnel leading from the basement of the tower, across the bay, and opening into the basement of a privately owned warehouse. This underwater passage, just like the Tower itself and any necessary supplies and repairs, had been donated by Jump City during the last major revamp of the subway system.
At the end of the tunnel, one would find themselves at a great set of double doors leading into the garage and guarded by a security console. It was this console that Gizmo was currently hacking into, and after only five minutes, the doors slid open with a hiss. The trio stepped inside, wished Jinx good luck, and sent her on her way up the stairwell. After a five minute head start, Mammoth walked over to the wall and smashed the console.
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The security alarm began flashing and blaring, arousing the Titans from their sleep. All but Raven, who was oblivious to the commotion while seated on the roof. As Robin, Starfire, Beastboy and Cyborg raced downstairs in the direction the computer prompted, they assumed their dark friend was presently passing through the walls and beating them to their destination.
Beastboy was the first through the door, but made the mistake of hesitating to look for the main light switch. His error cost him when a huge hairy fist sent him hurtling through the air. Cyborg was right behind, and raising his sonic cannon, let loose with a blast that struck Mammoth square in the chest. The villain had been expecting this, however, and was able to stay on his feet while sliding thirty feet across the floor.
Starfire was the next in line, and as was her ritual, she flew high into the air and let loose with half a dozen starbolts. Mammoth was enveloped by a cloud of smoke and dust, and Gizmo, who had been hiding in the shadows, took this opportunity to even the odds a bit. Striking a series of buttons on his controller, a metal disk launched from his backpack, flew within six feet of Starfire, and exploded, enveloping her in the orange force field the Titans had been introduced to at the Hive academy.
With Starfire out of the fight, the teams were three to two. Robin was determined to keep the odds in their favor, and extracting his bo-staff, he rushed forward towards Gizmo and his four robotic legs. It had occurred to them, Cyborg in particular, that Jinx was nowhere to be seen, and this only heightened the amount of awareness the Titans had to display.
The fight continued for several minutes when an electronic beeping began to emanate from Cyborg's arm. It was Midnight.
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Raven was shaken from a self-hypnotic state by the echoing gong of midnight. Heart laden with sorrow for having to put her friends through this, she picked up the knife, muttered a silent prayer to anyone who might care, and raised the weapon over her head. Her body tensed as she began to swiftly bring her arms down. It felt as if she was moving in slow motion. Eighteen inches of distance remained. Now twelve. There was six inches from contact between the weapon and the soft flesh protecting her heart when a sharp pain flew into her hands. With a bright purple flash of light, the knife flew from her hands and landed several feet away.
Raven looked up to find the source of this interruption. There in the doorway of the stairwell, arm outstretched after delivering her recent attack, stood the young hex princess she had come to loathe so much.
Jinx lowered her arm and slowly began walking towards her.
Chapter Four has been delivered. Read and Review.