Chapter 7:Dark Spells and Dark Bruises
Disclaimer: It was here every other chapter, what's the point?
Jinx and raven moved down the hallway towards the stairs, two shadows in the night. They slipped down the winding staircase, and Raven vaulted the wrought-iron staircase, landing as silently as a cat on carpet. A heartbeat later, Jinx landed beside her. They looked at each other and nodded before splitting up, each going down a dark hallway.
Jinx slipped down the hall, thinking of all the likely spots that the Titans would have hidden her comrade. I could have moved him to the front door, the back door, or any window if I wanted him to get out quickly. On the other hand, knowing that he might attempt an escape, they could have just dumped him in a room somewhere and set someone to watch him. If I were going to do that I'd put him in the security room, so I'd be able to…uh-oh. Jinx keyed her headset. "Rae, I think they moved him to the security room."
There was a short pause, then Raven gasped in understanding. "The cameras." Jinx nodded to herself. "Affirmative. And as clever as they are they might even have a way to monitor our transmissions." Raven's reply was sharp. "Then let's move. The sooner we find him, the sooner we can get out of here. I'll try to disrupt the cameras."
Jinx keyed her 'piece off and started running down the hall. Soon she heard the pounding of feet at an intersection she passed. She put on a extra burst of speed, trying to lose her pursuers in the darkness of the museum. She dodged a birdarang as it flew past her head, imbedding itself in the walls. Man, he's pulling out all the stops. She ducked into a room labeled 'ancient weaponry', hoping to find something useful.
Inside was a vast assortment of weapons, from rock tipped spears to swords and muskets. Jinx rubbed her hands together. Reaching onto one of the many pouches on her belt, she pulled out a small slip of rice paper wrapped around a handful of powder. "Good for vanishing tricks and muzzle-loaders." She looked around for something to use as a projectile. Then she spied a cloth-wrapped bundle behind a cannon. No way…
Raven sat down in a small room and focused. Around her she felt the currents of energy moving, wrapping around each other and flowing to different parts of the building. She focused on the point above her. That's the camera; now to find the security room. She followed the trail of the cameras circuit along the halls, over and around other, similar lines. Finally she arrived at a nexus, a large point where many of the same lines converged. Good. Now to look for a slightly different energy. Raven's perceptions twisted slightly, losing sight of the energy from the circuits until a different energy slipped into focus.
Raven allowed herself a slight smile as the people in the security room came into focus. Okay, there's X, and guarding him is…Beast Boy. Makes sense, Cy and Star aren't on Robin's list of favorite people right now. Maybe he'll listen to me. Raven felt a twinge of guilt. She knew the chances of Beast Boy not having orders to attack were slight. She cut the power lines to the security cameras, a quick slice of energy cutting neatly through the power strip. She keyed her headset. "Jinx, I've cut the cameras, we're clear." "Good. Alright, let's get in there, spring him, and get out before they can hit us."
"It might be safer for you to get to the exit; I'll grab him and meet you at the spot." Jinx hesitated before replying. "You sure? They might be there." "Yes." Raven's voice didn't shake. "Let's go."
Red X regarded Beast Boy silently. The little green boy seemed preoccupied by something, and X could guess what. "You're upset because she left, aren't you?" His green captor nodded silently. "You know, maybe you should tell her." Beast Boy looked at him. "It wouldn't help. I can smell them on each other. I know how deeply they feel for each other." Red X shrugged. In truth, he had always liked the little green Titan, his sense of humor often had him smiling behind his mask when they fought. His fun-loving spirit was a bit put off by the sight of a kindred soul in such torment. "Then why don't you look for someone who would be like that with you?"
Beast Boy's went wide. "I can't leave the Titans, they need me." Red X looked him up and down. "Super heroes are a dime a dozen, they can always find another warm body that would die for the chance to join. It's becoming quickly obvious that this isn't your place anymore. I know a guy that's looking for a hero to sidekick with not far from here."
Beast Boy knew the truth. He really didn't feel like he belonged here anymore, and that Red X could tell just drove the point home. "You think it would work?" red X nodded. "I wouldn't suggest leaving immediately; Bird Boy might get a little upset if you bailed in the middle of one of his missions, but tomorrow's Saturday."
Just then, the cameras, followed by the lights, went out. There was a rush of energy that blew past Beast Boy and he heard Red X speak one last time. "I'll leave a note in your room." And with that, he was gone. Beast Boy gasped. "Raven?"
One floor up, Raven and Red X shifted back into solid beings. X wiped his helmeted head. "Whew. Thanks, kid. Now let's find J and get out." Raven nodded and they set off for the second floor.
Meanwhile, Jinx was waiting behind the door with an old civil war musket in her hands. She was crouched behind a cannon with the weapon pointed at the door when raven started talking through her earpiece. "Jinx, I've Got X, now lets get out of here." Jinx responded softly. "I'm in the really old weapons room on the second floor. Your old buddies are somewhere nearby. If you could stop by after tea, that would be great."
"We're on our way." The line went dead mere seconds before the door was blown off its hinges. In one sure motion, Jinx pulled the butt of the rifle against her shoulder, took aim at the doorway, and fired. The screw she had found for an improvised round hit dead center her target's chest with a metallic ping. "aw, man. Was that really necessary?" In the doorway stood Cyborg, who was attempting to pull the screw out as a normal person would a splinter. Behind him stood Robin and Starfire. Robin looked at her triumphantly, while Starfire seemed a bit embarrassed.
"Alright, Jinx, you've been busted. Give up." Jinx smirked. "In all the time we've known each other, when have I ever given up?" Flipping over the cannon, she whacked Cyborg across the human side of his head with the rifle, dropping it and spinning to avoid Starfire's starbolts. Robin jumped at her, combining two birdarangs to form a sword. He swung repeatedly, narrowly missing Jinx each time. Starfire helped Cyborg to his feet, and the two watched their leader attack the purple-haired thief. Starfire leaned over to Cyborg. "Raven would not be happy." Cyborg just shook his head in response.
Robin continued his assault on Jinx, spinning through the air and attempting to kick her in the face. Deftly she caught his foot, twisting it so that he lost his balance, sailing past her and landing on his back next to the window. Coming to his feet with a flip, he drew his extendable staff, launching himself at her again. Calmly, Jinx scooped her foot under the discarded rifle, kicking it up into her waiting hands. She met his attack head on, and the two weapons clashed. Jinx kicked Robin in the shin, bringing him to one knee. She then flipped over him, hitting him in the back of the head with the muzzle to stun him.
Starfire glanced over when an arm rested on her shoulder. Red X was standing there calmly, taking in the fight. "She's off to a good start, but he's angry now." His nonchalant voice caught Starfire off-guard, and she didn't attack. "Things are not as they should be; it is difficult to know who to cheer for in this battle." Red X nodded. "Raven will be here soon; then t5hings will truly become difficult for you, my dear. I'm sorry for your loss."
Robin caught jinx by surprise, sweeping her feet out from under her. He stabbed down with his staff, and Jinx brought the rifle between them to block. Robin's titanium staff tore through the steel and wood of the rifle, and Jinx had to jerk her head to the side to keep from becoming a kebab. She kicked Robin in the stomach, doubling him over long enough for her to recover her feet. She fell into a stance and Robin raised one eyebrow. "You know escrima?" She nodded. "An old friend taught me several weapon styles, I just like this one the best." Robin smiled. He fell into a stance of his own, his staff held just as the grand master had taught him.
The clashed, their respective weapons slamming together hard enough to make the watchers wince. After only seconds, Jinx's weapons crumbled before Robin's. Undaunted, she flipped backwards until she stopped in front of a weapon rack holding a variety of swords. Withdrawing two ancient Chinese machetes, she threw herself at Robin again. Now on equal footing, they crashed together like tidal waves, spinning and slashing, they were a blur of metal, flesh, and bone. The bystanders stared in awe as the two warriors before them met in an almost epic duel.
Through the red haze, Robin was impressed. He had never suspected that Jinx would have stood up to him this long. I've still got a trick or two. Quick as thought, Robin flexed the staff, snapping it into two pieces and leaning away from Jinx's double overhand slash. He slammed the halves together, Jinx's head between them. She crumpled to the ground, already unconscious. Robin stood over her, blood dripping from one of the staff pieces where it had broken Jinx's skin. Jinx's eyelids fluttered, and robin lifted the staff for a final blow that would knock Jinx out for several hours. Then his world exploded.
The walls around the door bent inward, and the doors were ripped off their hinges. They flew into the room, one striking Robin dead-center with the force of a hurricane, and the other imbedding itself into the wall. Cyborg, Starfire, and Red X were blasted to their feet as the flying doors revealed Raven, eyes blazing crimson and her lips crept back in a feral snarl. The walls around her bent away from her, the force of the power radiating off of her. The weapons in the room glowed with a black radiance and began to disintegrate from the force holding them. She strode into the room, her eyes on the pile of debris the covered Robin. When she spoke, her voice was like many, as if many voices of different pitches had been given words through her.
"Don't touch her." The words, spoken in a dreadful whisper from the many voices, held a promise of retribution. The pink-haired girl on the floor seemed to be the only one who was unaffected by the momentous force that occupied the room. The sheltering debris lifted itself from the dazed boy as the entire room became sheathed in black. Cyborg looked at Starfire in horror. "She's going to kill him." Starfire could only stare, terrified by the figure that advance slowly toward Robin. As he was wrapped in black energy, Robin seemed to come out of his daze. He trembled when he saw Raven.
Her hair was blown about her face by a wind that touched only her, and her eyes glowed the darkest red he had ever seen. Her teeth were bared, like an animal that was frenzied, beyond coherent thought. Or a demon. Raven's power wrapped around him, lifting him off the ground bringing him to eye level with the girl who floated several inches off the ground. "Raven, I-" He never finished his sentence as he was thrown through the wall next to him like a pebble in a tornado. He met the brick wall across the street, colliding with it with a solid thud and he slid several feet to the ground. The wall he had passed through a moment before exploded outward, giving Raven a clear view of the street.
Starfire gasped. "We have to do something!" Cyborg nodded. "I don't think we have a choice, Star. Can you fight her with everything you got?" Starfire paused for a moment, then looked down at Robin as he lay in the street. Her eyes hardened, and she nodded. "We both have jatra to be concerned about. I will not let her hurt mine." Cyborg nodded and armed his sonic cannon. "We'll have to be fast."
Unnoticed, Red X stepped from the shadows, gathering up the injured Jinx and a cloth sack she had secured to her belt and setting off into the night.
Raven floated down to the alley's height, regarding Robin for a moment. As she floated, all of the debris from the alley glowed with a dark light, levitating and beginning an orbit around the demon in blue. Cyborg jumped from the newly made balcony, his sonic cannon armed. He swung at Raven using gravity to propel him and the sonic cannon to add more damage to his strike. At the last moment, however, A black bubble became visible. Too late too evade, he hit it full force. He was repelled backward, powdering the basement wall of the museum as he crashed through it. Starfire flew above Raven, tossing starbolts down at her. They too bounced off Raven's shield. Starfire was so occupied with her target that she missed the topmost portion of the chimney flying at her until it was inches away. It hit her head first, dropping her to the street below.
Cyborg was just climbing from the wreckage in time to see her fall and move to catch her. Beast Boy also chose that moment to enter the alley. He flinched at the sight of Raven. "Red X got away from me. What's going o-" His jaw fell as he saw Robin. "She's gonna-" "We know." Star and Cyborg said at the same time. "We have to stop her." Raven dropped to the ground, the black bubble around her disappearing. "You wish to fight me? Then take your vaunted leader." She threw Robin at them, knocking them all down with his body. They stood shakily, standing side-by-side against their former ally.
Robin pulled another staff out, readying it. "Raven, you've crossed the line. You're now a criminal. And the Teen Titans will treat you no differently than any other nutcase destroying our city." Raven laughed, a sound that sent shivers down her former team mates' spines. "Do your worst."
They charged as one, once again a single unit. Starfire flew Robin into the air and threw him, preempting his attack with a hail of starbolts. On the ground, Cyborg fired his sonic cannon as Beast Boy morphed into a cheetah and sped towards his target. Raven smiled coldly before her body blurred and she disappeared. She appeared again behind Starfire, scissor kicking the flying Titan in the neck from and spinning her in the air. The alien girl's starbolts jittered crazily and one caught Robin in the back, knocking him to the pavement. Beast Boy became a pterodactyl, snatching up Cyborg and carrying him into the air, where he continued his cannon's assault. Raven glared at Starfire and a jagged beam of black energy lanced out, striking Starfire in the back. Starfire grunted and sailed toward the earth.
Raven smiled humorlessly. She disappeared again, teleporting back to the ground where Robin was trying to catch the falling girl. She appeared in front of him, stopping him up short. With incredible speed, she swept his legs out from under him. Still in the air, he was helpless as she struck him in the face, shattering bone and sending him tumbling back to glance futilely at the alien girl he had tried to assist. Raven moved as a blur, catching one of Starfire's arms and swinging her upwards again. Right into the path of Cyborg's cannon. He stopped short, afraid to injure his teammate. Raven was above him. Before he could utter a warning, she drove a straightened hand through the membrane of Beast Boy's wing, causing it to crumple up against his side. He spiraled towards the ground, shrieking in pain. He landed as a human, a bloody hole clearly visible through his suit and tricep. Cyborg landed on his feet, running at Raven and swinging his fists. Raven reached out and caught the axe-handle blow from both hands with a single hand. Cyborg was stunned. With a strength she had never had before, she lifted the Titan over her head, throwing him at the other Titans that had crawled toward each other.
Beast Boy groaned as he held his arm. "How did she get to be so powerful? There's no way." Starfire helped Robin into a sitting position. "We cannot defeat our former comrade using our normal methods." Robin nodded. "We need some new tricks, she knows us too well for our old ones to work." Just then, they heard sirens in the distance. Robin's eyes widened and he reached for his T-com. "Calling all units responding to the museum disturbance: this is Robin of the Teen Titans. Keep your distance! Repeat, keep your distance! The disturbance in question is beyond standard law enforcement personnel. Attempt to contact Titans East for reinforcements ASAP!" Robin gave a yelp as his communicator exploded in a flash of black energy.
Raven smirked. "The mighty Robin, calling for help? Wonders never cease. You want to quit? Want to run back to your little tower? Fine." Black energy consumed them and they fell tumbling through the void. They emerged minutes later, falling through the roof of their living room. Cyborg immediately gathered the others up and began hauling them to Med bay to treat their wounds. They were a dispirited and broken group that night. They slept in the infirmary, Starfire wrapping her arms around Robin. Cyborg plugged into a small outlet in the wall, powering down for the night. In the darkness, a lone figure crept out into the hallway. He was humming Lynard Skynard's 'freebird'. Green hair topped a tanned boy's head as he made his way to the elevator, riding it down to the first floor. Stepping out into the starlight, his skin looked greenish as he rubbed a bandage around his arm. Then he took on a more human color as he breathed in the night air. "Freedom. Who knew she'd have to hurt me to make my head clear? I feel like a drink." Then he changed into a bird and flew away.
