Ch. 5: Genesis

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What we call the beginning is often the end. And to make and end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.
T.S. Eliot

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"Raven?" It was the fourth time they had called her. Her communicator wasn't responding, and neither was she. Robin sighed, finally turning to Cyborg with a nod. "Go ahead."

Cyborg barely tapped the door, the large slab giving way as it fell inwards with a resounding boom. He winced, small puffs of dust dancing around the fallen door as they all glanced into the dark of Raven's room.

"Raven?" They were hesitent to step inside, knowing that doing so was to incur her her deadly wrath. As leader, Robin stepped in first, shocked at the sigh before him.

Everything was broken, shattered, and strewn haphazardly around the dark room. The bed was slashed to ribbons and what was the frame was bent into odd angles, some parts dangling weakly from their connecting parts on the bed. A single metal bit of the leg protruded from the large window besides the bed, a vein-like spider web of cracks surrounding it. Pieces of a mirror lay scattered among the ruins reflecting the light from the hallway like tiny stars. Pages were ripped and books resembled pieces of a puzzle, the statuette she kept of the drama faces smashed among the remains of her room.

It sent a shiver down the Titans' backs as their focus settled on the broken statuette. The half that had the large grin sat almost unscathed in the middle of the chaos. And as Robin gathered the courage to pick it up, he saw the dark liquid that looked like it had leaked out of the hollow eye. Its counterpart was smashed to pieces except for the large mouth, in which were deep red fingerprints smeared in random pattern.

"Robin." Starfire whispered as she looked at the thin red rivulet running from the smiling mask, "Look."

The Boy Wonder dabbed his gloved finger over the liquid, raising it to the light Cyborg offered with a flashlight.

"It's. . . It's blood." Robin answered in a whisper. Starfire gasped, dropping the pages she had gathered in her arms. She unconsciously took a step back away from it.

"Hey guys. . . look at this." Cyborg beckoned them to the bureau, picking up the torn page there. The date in the corner was smudged and totally unreadable, so he skipped it and instead read aloud in the light of his portable flashlight.

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I'm sorry. I'm sorry I even thought about it. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I really am. But it's too late now. I'm scared. I know she's coming. I can see her wherever I go. She's always watching me, waiting for me to give in and lose control. She sees me and waits. She doesn't care that she has to wait. She knows she has me trapped. She knows that I know. And she's everywhere.

She's in the mirror. . .

She's in the water. . .

She's in my head. . .

And she's waiting.

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Silence settled among them, Starfire shivering in the dark.

"Okay then. That doesn't help much." Beast Boy's voice wavered, his nervous chuckle dying away. "Uh, can we get out now?"

"No." Robin stated surely. "We have to find out what's going on. Cyborg can I see that for a moment?" Cyborg nodded, handing the page to him and shining his flashlight on it.

After a bit of quiet, Robin shook his head. "It's not Raven's writing."

"Then who's would it be? I'm pretty sure that none of us wrote this, right?" All of them agreed with a nod. "Any ideas?"

"What if it's just a poem?" Cyborg suggested.

"Nah, Raven writes in rhymes." They all turned in surprise to Beast Boy, who shrank guiltily under their surprised stares. "I uh, might've been an ant on her shoulder when she was writing? Heh. . . . yeah." He put a head behind his head, turning and ignoring the strange stares as he picked up a ripped book and began to flip idly through its pages.

"That's not getting us anywhere." Robin said, sighing.

"No kidding." Cyborg added. Starfire nodded, crossing her arms in worry.

"Should we not then, retreat to the den for a 'brainstorming'? We will do Raven no good if our minds are hanging over."

Robin turned to her with a chuckle. "It's a hangover, Star. And that's only for when you get drunk. I still think you're right though. Maybe a bit of a late snack could do us some good."

"Dude, skip the snack." Beast Boy said with a queasy look. ""I think I'll just go and sit."

"Yeah, same here. And maybe we can gather more clues in the daylight when it's brighter. Sunrise isn't too far off." Cyborg added. Agreeing, they all began to file out, careful not to step on anything that looked like it could posibbly be a useful clue. It was an awkward balance act as they managed to get out one by one, Until Beast Boy was the last one still remaining in the room.

He followed Cyborg as they snaked past the books and scattered remains, wincing as he heard the crack of a piece of broken mirror under his foot. Looking down, he shivered as he noticed the reflection. It was as if it had wanted to be seen by him, and the shock numbed him as he stood frozen.

"Hey Cy?" Cyborg turned.

"Yeah?" Beast Boy only pointed at the bookcase that had miraculously managed to stay up against the wall, the shelves on angles and the remaining books leaning on the lower end. But what caught the two Titan's attention stood on the high end of the highest shelf, which seemed impossible because of its steep angle.

Nonetheless, staring calmly back at them, stood a little crow with four red eyes.