Hallo everybody and welcome to the fourth chapter of Silver Lining! I'm quickly running out of fresh things to say here, so maybe I'll just shut up and let you read. Sound good?
Disclaimer: Utterly pointless
Enjoy.
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Silver Lining
Chapter Four: Dread
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Aidan rubbed her bleary lavender eyes and rolled over, only wanting to sleep a little longer. She had the strangest dream, with a scary masked man and a really big boom in her house. The dream had scared the small child and the more it was thought upon, the more she wanted the comfort of her parents. Sitting up slowly, Aidan tried to get out of her bed but quickly discovered she wasn't in it. Aidan rubbed her eyes again and looked around. Where was she then? Aidan had never seen this place before and she didn't like it. The only light in the room crept into the murky shadows from under the door and through a tiny keyhole.
Aidan crawled to the large door and discovered the ground to be covered with years of dirt and dust. The grey particles covered her hands and knees and tickled her nose uncomfortably. Aidan let out a little sneeze and stood up. The keyhole was just her height and let her see beyond the small room. She couldn't see much, but what did meet her gaze frightened the child. The big scary man in her dream sat reading a very large dusty book. Aidan's breath caught in her throat – her dream hadn't really been a dream. She looked away and sneezed again and when she looked back, something dark blocked her view. Aidan squeaked when she realized what it must be and backed away from the keyhole.
The door opened soundlessly on well-oiled hinges and the silhouette of the man stood in the archway. Aidan swallowed hard and stared defiantly up at her captor. Though he scared her, Aidan didn't dare loose face to him or her friends would taunt her forever for being a coward. And she had to be brave for her parents.
Aidan crossed her arms and put on her fiercest face, which wasn't much. "What did you do with my mommy?" She demanded. The man said nothing. Frustrated, Aidan ran to him and kicked him viciously in the shin – which hurt her more than it did him. "You better not have done anything to her or my daddy will come after you!" The last statement contained less ferocity since Aidan was trying to hold back the tears that had welled at her eyes from her pained foot.
"Your father has never been able to touch me." Slade growled, shoving a small plate into Aidan's tiny hands. He didn't linger another minute before slamming the door behind him and leaving Aidan alone in the dark once again.
The little girl blinked a few times before looking down at the plate. Her entire demeanor lit up as an excited grin spread across her dirtied angelic face. A simple yet delicious looking sandwich stared gloriously up at her and Aidan stared happily back at it. She hoped it was peanut butter, just like she had at home. The sandwich disappeared at an astonishing rate and eased the growling of her little stomach. Now she would have the strength to escape and help her parents.
Aidan sat down on the dusty floor and rubbed her eyes; boy was she tired.
X
The sun peaked gently over the horizon and cast the bare island in the bay in a soft orange glow. Four figures stood in silence as each remembered the times when this was their home and they were each other's families. Each wore their old uniform, with the exception of Raven's altered one and Nightwing's new one.
"I still can't believe it's gone." Cyborg said quietly, staring at the bare spot where the Tower used to stand.
Raven uncomfortably broke away from the group and stared at the darkening sky. It was ironic how this exact location became the starting point for the team's end, and how it now brought them all together again.
Nightwing placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder and Raven leaned into him, grateful for the comfort. The sun said its final goodbyes before sinking below the horizon and whisking away its pleasurable light to be replaced with night's shadows.
"Maybe she was held up." Raven murmured, searching the sky. Cyborg and Beast Boy had now joined them and scanned the sky as well. A tiny star moved across the landscape and seemed to grow bigger as it progressed.
"Look, a shooting star." Beast Boy commented, pointing at it.
"I don't think that's a shooting star, man." Cyborg answered. He was right, of course.
Starfire zoomed into view, traveling faster than any of them had ever seen her, and touched down gently on the island's shore.
"I am sorry to be late." She said, stepping forward, her old uniform catching the moon's glow. "But a storm slowed me greatly." Raven smiled, relieved that her late arrival had not been due to a mishap with the Tamaranian people. "It is glorious to see everyone again. But I am saddened that it is due to Slade's horrendous actions."
"Speak of the devil, what do we do now?" Cyborg asked. Raven and Nightwing glanced at each other.
"Well, we start searching the city and checking old haunts for anything." Nightwing answered. Everyone nodded in agreement. "Now, are we going to do this the old fashioned way?" He added, reaching into his pocket and withdrawing his old Titans communicator. Smiles spread across each of their faces as they all did relatively the same thing. But despite the brief moment of joy, no one could forget their reasons for being here and sobered up immediately.
"Let us go find your daughter." Starfire said quietly.
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Aidan woke up screaming, her entire body writhing in excruciating pain that centered at her forehead. A fog cloaked her childish mind and the little girl could feel – just barely – blood trickling down her face and marring her eyesight. The agony was exquisite; the throbbing torture emanated from the center of her forehead and spread outward throughout her entire body in a wave of silver and bloody terror.
Aidan passed out before she even encountered the worst of it.
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Raven phased Cyborg and Nightwing back to the apartment before phasing herself off to the industrial area of the city. She knew Cyborg would drive his car and Nightwing would use his sleek black motorbike. The more ground they covered, the better.
Raven wanted to check the old rarely used warehouses first. Slade had always favored them greatly all those years ago, and she hoped he still did. The warehouses now sat unused and mainly empty; the rare few that did enter them either bold or stupid enough to do so. Ever since Slade had placed explosives in them five years back the police had patrolled them regularly for a few years, catching several gangs and making enough drug busts worth enough to feed a third world country for several months. But in this day and age they were left alone to sit and rot until the city decided to knock them down.
The first few that Raven entered were devoid of any sign of mildly intelligent life; the main residents being a myriad of bugs and large rats.
With every building Raven entered and left her resolve and hope began to slowly deteriorate. She knew that this was only one small part of the city, and that her four friends were scouring the rest, but Raven couldn't help her feelings. The city was huge and they were only five people in the midst of all the chaotic mess and Slade could be changing locations with every move they made. Raven tried to strengthen her resolution and think of more positive things – like how she was going to rip every limb from Slade's worthless body when she found him.
Taking a deep breath, Raven entered another warehouse. She only had three more to search and then she could go on to a different location. Rats squeaked in surprise and scurried away from Raven as she walked around the building. Her flashlight barely penetrated the gloomy shadows and she constantly thought the phantasms were more than they appeared to be. Raven turned to leave when yet another shadow moved in the darkness – and this time she was sure she wasn't imagining anything.
Raven could see the barest outline of him in the gloom and when she trailed her flashlight in his direction, he had disappeared.
"Where are you, you lowly bastard." Raven muttered, gyrating on the spot. "What little is left of your wretched soul leaves behind a trail on the air. I could find you in the dark." She added, a little louder.
"Then why don't you." Slade delivered a well-aimed kick that deftly knocked the flashlight from her hand. Raven, her anger rising, turned and watched the light clatter away and blink out of existence. With a furious wave of her hand ebony power enveloped the light switch near the door and flicked it on.
Slade stood with his hands clasped behind his back atop a precarious pile of crates; though she knew, with some sour displeasure, that he wouldn't loose his sure-footing.
"What did you do with her?" Raven growled.
"Playing the worried mom now? Touching." Slade answered sadistically. Raven's eyes glowed white and a crate flew through the air towards him. Slade jumped over it, grabbed a chain hanging from the ceiling and gracefully dropped back to the ground.
"Now, now Raven. The last time you attacked me all those years ago I wasn't too fond of it; so I've done my research. A little reading, you might say." A black aura surrounded Slade; but before Raven could throw him, it dissipated into black smoke.
"Frustrating, isn't it, not being able to control something." He stepped closer and realization dawned on Raven in an icy wave of cold. Slade reached into one of the pouches on his belt and withdrew a silver chain. Set into a small cage was a tiny black stone about the size of a bean. "Useful, sticking around your father for a short time. One picks up handy things." Raven clenched her jaw in fury and tried to throw him against the wall again. The chakra stone glowed red (like her own) and the power dissipated.
"Where did you get that?" Raven snarled, her balled fists crackling with ebony power. Only two ways existed to obtain another's chakra stone, and neither were pleasant things to endure. It could be taken if the person was no longer living or it could be taken by force. Raven didn't want to think of how Slade had managed to acquire one.
"It hardly matters. That certain someone won't be missing it." His words were cryptic acid, yet simplistic horror at the same time. Raven had been lifting another crate but it haled jarringly at these words. Her jolt of emotions caused her to lose control of it and the crate crashed to the floor and shattered into pieces. A few unshed tears escaped her hardened eyes and Raven clenched her jaw against the onslaught. Slade gleaned satisfaction from her pain, despite the fact that she tried to hide it.
"Where is she?" Raven asked, her entire aura emanating barely restrained rage.
"Now Raven-" He started. A crate flew at him, dangerously close to hitting its target.
"Where is she?" Raven screamed.
Slade's eye narrowed; he had had his fun, but now it was time to go. "Until next time." He hissed, melting into the shadows before she could react.
Raven flung more crates at the empty shadows before she collapsed to her knees, screaming in agony, frustration and pure terror for her child.
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Oh wow was that fun. I had originally planned to have another page after this, but I decided to be mean and have a little fun at the same time and just let everyone guess why certain things happened and what this means. But boy is the next chapter going to be fuh-un. I really hope that this curve-ball I've planned won't be expected, because that would just blow the wind right out of my sails. Well Anyhoo, drop a review and yell at me in indignant horror if you'd like, or some other synonyms of various power.