Chapter Seven: Awakenings
Blackfire was content, and so did, it seemed, the rest of the world. Even though her eyes were still closed, she could feel the faint touch of the first rays of sunlight coming through the open windows, hear the faint music of birdsong- oh, man, I've really got it bad if I'm starting to think as corny as this, she thought.
But, much to her inner voice's surprise, she didn't really mind much. In fact, she didn't mind thinking like that at all. In the past, such thinking would have got her killed- or worse. But this wasn't the past, and she wasn't in some forsaken corner of the galaxy's underworld; she was here, in the Titans Tower, sharing a nice, comfortable couch with Raven, both of them naked if not for Raven's cloak draped over them.
Wonder if she felt the same way too-
"Um, Blackfire?" Raven said from below her.
"Mmmph," Blackfire mumbled, holding Raven closer to her, loving the way the Azerath's skin felt against her own-
"Blackfire?"
"What?" Blackfire mumbled happily as she ran her hands over Raven's naked back-
"Blackfire, wake up," Raven gently insisted.
"Don' wanna wake up," Blackfire whined. "Wanna stay here, wi' you," she sulked.
"You have to wake up, Blackfire."
"Mmm, but why?" Blackfire pouted, her eyes still closed.
"Well, you weigh a lot more than I do, for one."
"So?"
"And you're on top of me."
"Didn't seem to bother you last night," Blackfire smirked mischeivously, still half-asleep.
"And second, I'd like this to remain between the three of us."
"But Raven," Blackfire began- then her eyes shot open. "Wait, the three of us?"
"Good morning, Blackfire," Robin calmly said from above them.
That did it. Blackfire jerked awake, grabbing her discarded clothes, blushing furiously even as Robin studiously kept his back turned toward them. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT YOU WERE STANDING THERE THE WHOLE TIME HOW LONG WERE YOU WATCHING US YOU DIRTY LITTLE-"
"Not long enough to see anything," Raven assured her. "Here, let me help you with that."
A wave of dark energies engulfed Blackfire, Raven, and the clothes strewn across the floor. As they receded, the Tamaranean was slightly surprised to see that not only were the two of them fully clothed, but looked as if they were neatly pressed and ironed- they even felt warm to the touch.
"Huh, I always wondered how you got that thing on," she told Raven distractedly, before refocusing her fury on Robin. "Now WHERE WERE WE-"
"Pipe down, Blackfire, before you wake the whole Tower," Robin laughed as he turned back around to face them. "Like Raven said: I didn't see anything, don't worry. But seriously, you two are lucky enough I was the one who woke you two up- I mean, of all the places you two could have chosen, you chose the rec room?"
"This wasn't exactly planned, Robin," a slightly blushing Raven said before the fuming Blackfire could snap off a reply.
"I can see that," Robin laughed, and shook his head again. "The rec room," he repeated disbelievingly. "I thought you guys knew how early I wake up," he continued, referring to the good-natured ribbing he sometimes endured on the subject.
"Yeah, for training," Blackfire said hoarsely, still blushing. "You know- outside? Or in the training room? Sheesh!"
"I can't train on an empty stomach. Besides, you two have a lot more to worry about than me waking you up," Robin said calmly as he walked past them, and both Raven and Blackfire perked up; neither of them needed Raven's powers or Blackfire's experience to tell them that the hammer was about to fall.
As indeed it did. Robin picked up the TV remote and pointed it at the TV, which started broadcasting a news program. "Taped this last night," Robin explained conversationally, as the news broadcast prominently displayed the pictures of raven and Blackfire.
"Uh, we can explain…" Blackfire began, wearing the biggest conciliatory grin she ever made as Raven buried her face in her hands.
(scene change)
From her vantage point in her office, high in an adjoining building, Simone Page watched the convoy of trucks drive into the Aquinas warehouse. A quote from a story she had long since thought she had forgot suddenly entered her mind: "If such a sinister design isn't worthy of Atreus, it is worthy of Thyestes."
It didn't have anything to do with the situation at hand- but the story it came from did. 'The Purloined Letter', by Edgar Allan Poe, and she thought no reference more apt as she saw the large trucks move into the warehouse under both full police protection and Aquinas's own internal security force as well as heightened levels of hired help.
If it were up to her, Aquinas would not have spent so much on security- hell, she wouldn't even have bothered with the Rent-A-Cops; though Jump City was up to its neck in costumed maniacs (who'd cut through conventional security like a hot knife through butter anyway) its levels of 'normal' crime were a national low, and certainly not at the levels Gotham City was infamous for. The men designated to guard the convoy were nothing more than smoke and mirrors.
Yet, the small army still served its purpose, convincing anyone who saw it that it guarded something of value- and indeed it did, although what was in those trucks was far different from what the transport manifests listed down.
If the authorities thought it was bad enough that Aquinas was transporting Xinothium into the city, then the truth was certainly nothing they would-
Page's train of thought was interrupted when her cellphone started ringing. "Yes, Herman, what is it?" she said, recognizing the number.
"I'm afraid it's bad news, sir."
"Damn- what happened?"
"Apparently an attempt to extract had been made."
"What?" Simone yelled, her face a mask of incredulous rage.
A nervous secretary poked her head in. "Is anything wrong, Miss Page?"
"No. Now get out," Simone said coldly, only resuming the conversation once the secretary had retreated. "Nosy secretary," she said brusquely. "Now, what was that you said?"
"An attempt to extract has been made," Herman repeated. "Two unknowns, lots of hardware, cybernetic enhancements, enough to literally self destruct themselves- if my team had been there, I don't think we'd have been able to take them on."
And both of them knew the kind of arsenal Herman and his men liked to lug around with them, as well as Herman's grasp on any given military situation. If he said he couldn't have taken them, he couldn't have taken them, plain as that. "Damn, damn, damn damn!" she cursed. "Where they came from and who sent them will just have to wait. For now we have to find out where they have taken Denton."
"That's something else I need to tell you." There was the sound of Herman clearing his throat. "Denton's free."
"What? But that would mean she-" Simone paused. She could practically see Herman grimly nodding his head, and her lips thinned into a narrow slit.
"There were hostages too. Her adoptive parents it looked like, and taken out unharmed," Herman continued, the implications obvious: Jessie Denton had taken out enemies that would have had a battle-hardened squad of men for breakfast- all while rescuing two hostages unharmed. It appeared that Aquinas's finest had seriously underestimated their prey.
"I see," Simone said. "What are you doing now?"
"We're following them from a safe distance, sir. Apparently, after the fight she took off with her adoptive parents in their car," Herman said. "That's all we'll be doing, unless you have further orders."
"No, not yet," Simone said, her hand on her forehead.
But although things may have just got a whole lot more complicated than she would have liked, she at least she knew where Denton was. At the moment, that was the only thing she could count on.
Well, that, and the fact that she was about to kill three birds with one stone…
(scene change)
"…and that's the whole story," a sheepish Blackfire said, as Robin goggled disbelievingly.
"Raven," he said slowly, turning to the pale Azerath. "Is this true?"
"Sorry, Robin," Raven shrugged apologetically.
"And you two didn't think that what you did was… extreme, in any way?"
Both girls had the grace to look away. Behind Robin, the broadcast continued with what the media was already calling 'The Second Noodle Incident'. "Well, I'm waiting for an answer," Robin continued.
"Actually, Robin- no," Raven said, a tone of quiet defiance in her voice, and ignoring the disbelieving looks both Blackfire and Robin directed at her.
"This isn't like you, Raven," Robin said disapprovingly. "I thought you'd be able to control your emotions better."
"Who are you, her mother?" Blackfire countered scornfully.
"No, just someone who's seen what could happen if Raven loses control," Robin replied calmly.
"Oh yeah? So have I!" Blackfire snapped back. "And-"
"Blackfire, wait," Raven said, placing a hand on Blackfire's shoulder. "Look, Robin, I… I'll admit what I did last night was a bit extreme, like you said," Raven said, holding up a hand to stave off Blackfire's reply. "But after what that guy said about Blackfire- what he said to Blackfire… I hope you can understand," Raven said.
Robin fixed them both with a hard gaze, before unexpectedly lightening up. "You know what? I think I can- kinda," he laughed as he looked back at the screen. "If that guy said the same thing about Starfire, I guess I'd have gone a bit crazy myself. Guess I just got a little flustered."
He then fixed them with an impish grin, his hands on his hips. "But I just can't let you two off the hook, can I?" he asked. "Nope, nope, nope!"
Blackfire and Raven looked at each other, the same look of befuddlement on their faces. O-kay, their faces said, something weird was definitely going on.
"So, to make up for it, you two are going to take over Beast Boy and Cyborg's chore sheets for today," Robin said, clapping his hands together.
"Um, sure," Raven said, uncertainly. "Robin, are you feeling all right?"
"Never better, Rae, never better!" Robin affirmed. "Well, I've got training to do! See you two later! Don't forget your chores!" he said cheerily as he practically pranced out of the rec room.
"Well," Blackfire said slowly. "That was weird," she said, to which Raven could only nod. "But on the bright side," the Tamaranean continued, "at least we can count on using your magic-"
"Oh, and one more thing!" Robin piped up, sticking his head through the doorway. "No magic, okay! It's not good to cheat!" he said, before ducking back through.
Which meant the first thing Beast Boy saw when he woke up and got out of his room, was Blackfire armed with mop, bucket and handkerchief tied around her head, grumbling to herself. "Ask me and die," the Tamaranean growled as she practically assaulted the floor with the mop.
"O-kay, I won't," Beast Boy said cheerfully, stopping Blackfire in her tracks.
"Wow, it's so nice someone's in a good mood," she snapped back sarcastically. Normally the look she gave and the tones she used that accompanied her statement would have been enough to stop a rabid rancor in its tracks, but apparently Beast Boy's animal instincts hadn't registered the fact that his life was in danger.
"I know!" he said. "Man, Blackfire, I feel charged today!"
"That makes two of us," Cyborg said as he emerged from the corridor. "I- huh, Blackfire? What are you doing?" he asked at the sight of Domestic Blackfire™.
"I'm mopping the floor, Cyborg," she said sweetly, before her voice several octaves and a couple of degrees. "What the frelling kriff does it look like I'm doing?"
"Whoa, someone woke up on the wrong side of bed this morning!" Cyborg laughed. "I thought I was supposed to do the mopping today," he said. "Come on, Blackfire, spill."
Blackfire's eyes narrowed. "Sure thing!" she said with a malicious grin, and dunked her entire bucket of soapy water over Cyborg's head.
For a moment, there was silence, and Blackfire wondered if she had gone too far. Just because Cyborg had water-resistant electronics, didn't mean that he'd enjoy having a bucket of water-
"Blackfire?" Cyborg asked, in a flat tone of voice.
"What?" Blackfire replied with quiet belligerence. If Cyborg wanted a fight, she'd-
"Good one!" Cyborg laughed, giving her both thumbs up as he was joined by Beast Boy's hysterical mirth. Blackfire wondered if she should take a look outside Beast Boy's window, just to see if the sky was blue in this world as well.
"You guys all right?" she asked, a purple glint surreptitiously appearing in her eyes. Considering the enemies the Titans faced, it wouldn't be out of place for someone to take over their minds, or something.
"All right? All right? Blackfire, I feel great!" Cyborg said. "I had this amazing dream last night-"
"Hey, me too!" Beast Boy said.
"Um, what kind of dreams?" Blackfire asked, as a suspicion began to grow in her mind…
"Oh, Raven, they were the most wonderful, most lovely dreams I have ever had!" Starfire proclaimed as she flitted (there was no other way Raven could describe it) around the Azerath, whom she was helping cook breakfast.
"I… see," Raven said, as her own suspicions rose to the surface. "So, uh- what were those dreams about?" she asked nervously. "Ack!"
"I was with Robin," Starfire sighed dreamily while cutting the crusts off the bread, blissfully unaware of Raven's attempts to put out her impromptu bacon and eggs flambé.
"With him- how, exactly?" Raven asked as she scraped an unrecognizable mess out of the pan.
"We were getting… married!" said in the same wistful tones, drawing the syllables out in one . "You were there, and so was my sister, and Cyborg, and Beast Boy- oh Raven it was beautiful!" Starfire said, throwing her hands up in the air, along with the sandwiches she had been making.
"Starfire!" Raven yelled.
"Yes?" Starfire asked turning around, plates in hand, onto where the bread slices and their fillings dropped in perfect order.
"Never mind," Raven sighed, partially in exasperation- partially in relief.
(scene change)
The man from Exclusive Results cursed under his breath as he held the submachine gun close to him. In the darkness of the sewers, he was reasonably sure there'd be some cover, and considering his experience fighting in similar situations in the ruined cities of the Middle East, he was reasonably sure he'd be able to escape.
At that thought, the man smiled bitterly, as he crept along the sewers. To think he'd requested a transfer back to the States because he thought he'd have safer jobs. Too late, he realized that whatever he hated about the warzone, at least they didn't have costumed maniacs running around like they owned the place.
He'd been hired a few days before. A woman phoned the company, needing someone to 'cover the Jump City Sewers' and 'prevent the known criminal Red X' from escaping. At the time, he didn't know why they hadn't called the cops, or the Titans.
Now he did. A few cops losing their lives, or the Titans getting hurt- that got headlines. Mercs? Nobody'd miss a gun-for-hire.
He raised his small communicator, and was relieved when it finally picked up a signal. Hundredth time's the charm, he thought, and adjusted the gain until he heard a voice.
"Is anyone there?" he whispered. "Is-"
"Look behind you," the voice on the other end said.
The communicator dropped into the water as he swung his arm around, shooting wildly as he frantically ran away in the other direction. He didn't care where he was running to, to late for that, just as long as he-
" 'Look behind you'," Red X said as he seized the mercenary from behind. "You just can't get good help these days- arrrgh!"
He stepped back, holding his head in his hands. The mercenary, unbelieving of his good luck, decided to push it by charging his opponent; after all, that was what he was being paid for-
"Not now!" Red X snarled as he aimed a high kick that hit the charging merc right on the chin. Judging by the loud crack that ensued as his boot connected, the now unconscious civilian contractor would have a hell of a time with a broken jaw when he woke up.
But at least he's human, Red X thought through the haze of pain. The impure Xinothium was beginning to take its toll on him as the minifactories in his body began to feel the strain of refining it. Even as the pain subsided, he could feel a dull pain deep within his entire body or more accurately, deep within his bones, where the minifactories were located. He was running out of time, and his body knew it.
He grinned bitterly when he found himself wishing for more time- might as well wish that none of this had happened to him in the first place.
Not to Jessie, at least, he thought, as he staggered off into the darkness.