Teen Titans: Trigon Apotheosis
Chapter 4 – Escape (Final)
Raven had made a right turn, the only path that was immediately open to her. She forced herself to walk calmly towards the second security gate, situated down wind some six hundred feet she estimated. With the immediate threat behind her, literally, Raven felt caught in a chokehold and almost imagined she could feel the noose tightening.
For two minutes—or in some ways what could've been two hours, Raven always was abysmal at keeping up a reliable track of time—the impromptu chase remained uninterrupted. Bearing down the wide avenue the sentry kept the distance between them consistently equal, never letting up for a moment.
Raven had never encountered this kind of situation before. She found it dubious and unsettling how the guard could act similarly bored with the whole thing while also radiating a hunger to catch her. She didn't need her telepathic ability to sense the primal instinct imparting from the man like a bad case of body odor. It was clear he was trying to set her up for something. He didn't bark out commands like, 'halt,' or, 'freeze,' like Raven normally would've expected from a prison guard, didn't threaten her with a bullet in the back, and walked at a measured pace that was both rigid and artificial, seeming like he didn't want to spring the trap early or he had all the time in the world with which to hunt her down.
Raven knew that was this was the reality of her situation, similar to being caught in a shrinking vise. Her area of freedom was shrinking with every alteration of step. On one side was the lone guard, and on the other was the security barrier, probably fortified with even more sentries and turrets to top it off as well. If it had been her, Raven reckoned, if the roles had been reversed, she would have already radioed ahead with a warning, a message to the gate guards of her imminent arrival, encoded in electronic wavelengths, something so insignificant, yet spelled so much turmoil for her.
With hundreds of yards of razor wire fences wrapping around the border between building and street, blocking all in-between routes, it was a corral to heard prisoners like livestock. All the guards had to do was wait and watch, disciplining any who tried to jump the fence with government-approved cattle prods. But Raven wondered if a few prods in the back was the worst she could expect.
She disliked how the guard was playing tricks with her. He seemed not to be content with simply putting her out of her misery, like when a squirrel meets a speeding car head on, but to perpetually drew out the suffering, like trying to shave her legs by pulling each and every hair out individually with a rusty pair of tweezers.
"Fine then, play that way. The old cat and mouse game." She quietly mused. Raven knew the way to win this particular match of wits was not to be the mouse because the mouse never wins, unless you actually believed those stupid cartoons. The window of opportunity was closing; if Raven was going to do something, it had to be soon. She couldn't rely on some unknown third party for support.
Raven hadn't looked back at the guard since this peculiar anti-climatic chase had begun. Instead, judging the distance involved by the sound of his footsteps and from the distance they had covered already, she guessed that the two of them were a fair distance, probably somewhere close to the middle, from both of the gates.
Raven wasn't a close combat expert, but if she could wrestle the guard's weapon away from him, she stood a considerably better chance of escape. She'd only have one shot at this; timing was everything, miss the mark and she would probably receive an unhealthy does of electro-shock therapy for her troubles.
She slowed, reducing her walk as much as she could without it being too obvious. It seemed to work, the distance was gently narrowing by an increasingly noticeable margin. Closer and closer came the sound of the man's footsteps. A few more seconds and Raven could…
But the guard must've been aware of what she was trying to do. He stopped with a sudden jerk, suggesting he'd walked headfirst into an invisible wall, and there he waited until the distance returned to his self-arranged length.
She couldn't overpower the man in a test of physical might. That was not what she had in mind. Surprise was the method of choice, but a burst in for a grab of the baton wasn't going to work if she couldn't get close enough. Raven had another idea; she always had a contingency plan. If that didn't work, she didn't have much to work with, and assuming she was not suffering from random spasms on the pavement, the final act would be the concluding climb over the razor fence.
Once again she slowed her pace and again the distance narrowed. Just as expected the guard froze when the distance reached the imminent contact point.
'clink, clink, clink,' went the guards shoes, then they stopped. Less than half a heartbeat Raven spun a perfect 180 degree rotation, one foot in the air, halfway through a step, and finishing with a frontal charge that would've made even Robin jealous. Two extended steps and Raven was on top of the guard.
The startled guard took a reactive step backward while bringing his weapon round in a blind swing. It was a useless gesture; Raven had already anticipated his reaction and ducked, avoiding a potential second blow to her face, passing through his legs like a mouse through a hole.
Emerging on the other side, she immediately reached up with both hands, grabbing onto the first things they found. One hand caught the stock of the guard's rifle, while the other seized the strap. The guard had already taken a defensive step backward; shifting his weight in that direction. When Raven pulled forward, the rifle strap acted like a leash and drug the guard with it.
Raven used the guard's natural weight and her own inertia to flip him onto her back, then down and over her head, driving his helmet into the ground with the force of a jackhammer. There was a large cracking sound as the helmet impacted under the force, the visor producing multiple jagged fissures along its polished surface.
She released her handle on the guard, allowing his body to topple to the pavement. The impact had resulted in the guard losing his grip of the baton; it had fallen at Raven feet and now had found its way into her hand. She flicked the switch, the weapon hummed with internal power.
It quickly became apparent that she had overestimated the enemy, it seemed he must've only been playing games with her from the start or maybe he was stalking her for purely male reasons. Whatever the reason it had proved to be Raven's tool for surprise.
"Game over," she said with a slight hint of satisfaction. Raven didn't bother swinging; she pressed the weapon firmly against the guard's neck.
There was an electric crackle, an explosive flash of blue light, a puff of smoke, and the smell of burnt flesh. Like a bullet being discharge from a gun, the sudden release of power shot the man to the ground, a considerable distance away.
Fingers lost their victory grip on the club when a loop of electricity caught her unprotected hand causing it to go numb all over. When she had turned the weapon on, she hadn't realized she'd set the power level all the way up. The sudden and violent discharge of the batons batteries had overloaded the weapon and it now laid, a hot and smoking mess, on the ground its outer case melted coupled with fried internal circuitry and a battery spent beyond recharge, it was a useless piece of junk now. Fortunate as she was to only have suffered a slight feedback in current, it was only by virtue of the guard's armor, intentionally designed to resist electric shock, that both were still alive. After all, it wouldn't do to have a guard's own weapon turned against him.
Raven massaged her numbed fingers, trying to restore feeling. Her afflicted hand shook from the electric zap and was turning a lazy shade of red from where the heat had burnt it. It was a good thing they were numb, or she'd suffer from the pain.
Her work was not done though. The flash cause by the systematic discharge of had given the guards reason for worry and they would be here soon, ready to shoot first and never ask questions.
Raven quickly searched the unconscious guard for any useful items; the rifle was the first thing she took. It was significantly heavier than it looked, but even Raven didn't have any trouble carrying it with the strap. She hoped the extra effort would be rewarded with some extra firepower. In addition, she filched the whole of the guard's utility belt, which held a mixed bag of items, some more useful than others. Amongst the procured good were things like extra clips for the rifle, a flashlight, batteries, gum, a radio, pack of cigarettes, lighter, hook and rappelling wire, and pictures of semi-naked women. Raven used the lighter and burned all the pictures on the spot, much to her immediate satisfaction.
There was someone else who found this agreeable, since they started to clap their hands in applause. Raven turned to see whom it was and saw a girl of about the same age as herself, black hair with shining silver eyes wearing a black uniform and trench coat that looked remarkably like something the Nazi Secret Service would wear, minus the swastika. The girl was half obscured in shadow on the other side of the razor fence, standing in an alley where the sun's rays seemed afraid to reach.
"Not pleasant is it?" the girl spoke.
"What isn't?" Raven walked onto the sidewalk, within arms reach of the fence that separated the two of them.
"Getting a jolt of electricity through your hand," she said, pointing to Raven's burnt and numb hand. "I had someone fry my hand with my own stun gun once. I promised him that I would return to demonstrate just how it felt."
"How long have you been watching me?" Raven's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Despite felling better from the favorable turn of events, she still was not in the mood for idle chitchat with a stranger.
"Since you left the terminal," the girl said matter-of-factly.
"So were you planning on ever helping out?"
"I figured Raven the famous Teen Titan" She said, her voice filled with sarcasm, "would be able to handle a single guard. Certainly saved me the trouble. Damn cops."
True, Raven did enjoy handling the situation herself, proof to herself that she still was more than useless, but that wasn't an excuse for this girl to be using the situation to her own amusement. Cabaret this was not.
"I see why Speedy was so upset. Your unpredictable, Alexis." Raven said her name as if describing a brand name of lavatory disinfectant.
Alexis nodded in acquiescence. "Whatever he told you I'm sure it is a reputation I well deserve, Raven." She pulled the flap of her trench coat back with speed that make it act more a cape, unsheathed a sword from some hidden 'pocket.'
The familiar markings upon the blade and handle identified themselves to Raven.
"How did you get that sword from Knives?"
"I didn't steal it if that's what you're going to accuse me of." Alexis used the refined blade to carve out an improvised door in the fence. Raven didn't wait for her to finish before pushing through.
"You should show more respect to the person who's helping her out." Alexis was slightly miffed at Raven's hasty attitude and lack of courtesy. She shrugged the anger off long enough to pass through before turning around to use a mini-welding torch and reattached enough of the fence's links to hold it closed.
From a distance, you couldn't tell she had just sliced through the fence with a sword, like a key in a sardine can. But not all the guards were as dumb as the one Raven clocked. This cosmetic reattachment would only delay them for a brief time. But by then Raven and Alexis would be well on their way out of the city.
…………………………………………………………………………………
Both girls had walked in silence since taking to the back streets of Jump City. Neither one was much for small talk, preferring to keep their thoughts focused on escape; it would've been difficult to hold a discussion above the sound of the sirens anyway.
A short time ago, multiple alarms began casting their howling ambiance over the city, sounding uncomfortably akin to the ones found in prisons. The sound echoed and reverberated down the streets originating from somewhere atop the buildings. When the sound grew louder, Alexis and Raven realized that they had approached too close to a major street and had to curve their direction.
Alexis never explained where they were going,
"So how then?" Raven asked out of the blue.
"Hmm?" Alexis paused, needing a refresher.
"The sword: explain yourself." Raven said to further push the issue.
"Right, I found it."
"Found it? Where?"
"In the tunnel, after you guys abandoned me there."
"When?"
"I don't know, when I woke up right after you guys abandoned me there."
"That doesn't seem plausible."
"You calling me a liar?" Alexis was becoming more visibly aggravated.
"You're avoiding the subject." Raven wasn't calling her a liar, technically, but it did seem that Alexis was trying to avoid the subject. But some of what she said made sense anyway. Raven remembered that Knives had lost his sword in the tunnels before she had entered his mind and met Id in the process.
Both girls entered an uneasy silence; it seemed there would be no more talk on the subject today.
"Fine then," Raven finished. It wasn't as if Knives meant anything important to her anymore. If he dropped it, then he should be the one to fight for ownership of it.
For all her misgivings, Raven felt relieved to be in the company of a familiar and friendly, if only marginally so, face. There were certainly a lot of other people she might've been paired up with that would prove to be fare more culpable to deal with.
