Disclaimer: TT, DC stuffz not mine
Quick note, I lied at the end of last chapter... after watching the batman animated series, I decided I liked the character of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, so I'm including her.
"Speech"
Thoughts
The sun rose above the pale horizon, its dusky rays cascading over the land and upon three cylinders hidden away behind a ring of rocks. Parked beside it was a certain black car with a bat emblem on it, although it was empty at the time. Although, to the standard passerby, it would look like there was nothing there at all, just a bunch of reddish dirt. Cloaking devices were one of Wayne Enterprises specialties.
Beneath the ground, a distance away, a certain masked man pounded his fist on a table and yelled in fury as he entered his lair and found the three cylinders gone. Now his plans were ruined! He had to come up with another way to make that man, Nightwing, go mad, humiliate him in front of his friends and the city, and prove that heroes really were not heroes.
Well, that was going to be much more difficult now. He was up against a formidable foe - intelligence, infiltration, and espionage were not things that you could fight Batman on. Although he never thought that the dark knight would have caught up to him so quickly and taken care of business, but...
And then Slade frowned. Batman wasn't the type to just leave someone who had harmed a member of his makeshift family alone. Slade had humiliated Nightwing quite a bit already and caused Raven to be hurt several times... it was quite strange that the dark knight had just left him unharmed even if he knew about the villain.
Or had he really?
Slade's eyes widened as he noticed the little bat-device taped to his computer and he jumped aside, right as it exploded. Batman was known to be quite threatening to those who threatened the people he cared about.
"Raven!" Jinx thrust open the doors to Raven's medical ward to find her in the middle of putting on her hospital gown, dressed only in a bra and underwear.
The violet haired girl's eyes narrowed. "What do you think you're doin-"
Jinx moved over quickly, a serious expression on her face. Raven quieted immediately, sensing that something was wrong. Jinx opened the doors and looked outside briefly before going back to Raven. "There's a mob outside," she muttered. "They want your blood."
Raven groaned. "Knew it was going to happen sometime. Problem is, I'm not strong enough to fight them off right now."
"That's what I'm here for," Jinx smirked at her, though it disappeared quickly - even she found little humor in the seriousness of her friend's predicament. She felt rather sad that Raven seemed so accepting that she was going to be hated by everyone by mere virtue of who she was... a demon. Half blooded or not, she was a monster to them, and at times, Jinx fancied that Raven thought herself a monster too. Well, strike that. Often times, Raven thought of herself as a monster. She knew that, but it still hurt to see that Raven had simply acknowledged it so easily.
Of course, Raven was strong, she could deal with it, but it was hard to see someone life a miserable life knowing nothing but gloom, solitude, and pain. What kind of life like that was worth living?
Then again, she had heard that Raven had tried to commit suicide a couple times so...
"Raven, we have to get you out of here," she spoke softly again as Raven finished putting on some clothes - civilian clothes, jeans, and a dark hoodie - and Jinx handed her a wig to hide her violet hair. "Hopefully they won't recognize you."
Raven shrugged. "If they do, I'll be ready."
"Ready for what?" Jinx looked at her suspiciously. She got a light sigh in response.
"It's obvious, isn't it? I'm hated here. I not only attacked their protectors, the Teen Titans, in the past, but they also probably think I'm the reason Nightwing's gone berserk. After all, I've been there every single time he's gone crazy. And I'm a demon, Jinx. Even average people know what that means. They'll probably want to tear me limb from limb."
"And you're just going to let them?! Raven!-"
"Why not? It's not like it even matters. I'm just some insignificant life-"
"You're not insignificant to me." Jinx blurted out, a faint blush forming on her face. "I care about you."
"Oh. Well..." Raven paused. "I guess we are friends, aren't we..."
How oblivious can she be? "Uh, yeah. Friends. And as your friend, I suggest we get out of here before they break in." Jinx grabbed Raven's wrist and dragged her out of the room into the empty hall. She looked around a couple times and then swore under her breath as a bunch of shouts came from the right side of the hallway, accompanied by the sound of a couple gunshots. She looked into Raven's eyes - she seemed a bit worried - and started going down the other way. Leading them right into a dead end.
Jinx swore again and broke the wall down, dragging Raven out into the street. The violet girl looked at her, rather bemused, but said nothing. She held out a hand and struggled a bit as she repaired the wall, still suffering from the severity of her previous injures, but it was fixed in due course.
"Jump doesn't look like the happy place it once was," she muttered. "If I didn't know better, I'd say we were in a place more like Gotham. Not quite that bad yet, but..."
"Lots of stuff has been happenin'," Jinx replied, taking one of Raven's arms and wrapping it around her shoulders to help support the other girl. "Demons, Slade, and even the Justice League. Ol' GL was here too."
Raven frowned. Hal Jordan was not someone she wanted to have around. He was the type that would stop at nothing to strike her down because she was half demon, the type that saw the world only in terms of black and white and had his own notion of "purity of justice," which was not really justice at all but tyranny. Well, she knew that at least Batman was on her side. Maybe that would prevent the Justice League from hunting her down.
"Raven? Earth to Raven?" Jinx waved a hand in front of her face, and Raven's eyes came un-glazed over.
"Sorry," she murmured. "Just distracted."
"Right..." The pink haired girl gave her a worried look but decided to drop it. "Well, let's head up to the Tower then. Nobody will bother us there."
"Batman." Nightwing took a deep breath before talking to the dark knight, who was no more than a shadow walking beside him in the growing light of dawn. He got no reply, but could sense the anger, or perhaps disappointment radiating off of the other man. It wasn't like he wasn't angry or a bit unsettled himself, not after what he had done yesterday to Raven - no, she did not deserve what he did to her, he could see that now - or with all of the tricks Slade had been playing with him, but he still didn't want to fight with his old mentor. Sure, they had their differences and he had hated Batman for a while simply because he worked the way he did and treated him only like some tool to be used for the pursuit of justice. But, ultimately, walking next to the man right now, he wanted to make peace.
"Bruce..."
"Shut up and walk."
Nightwing fell silent and the continued on their merry way. Batman led them to a motorboat and began taking them across the bay, past the Tower, to the forest behind it, where they landed and began continuing up into the hills behind Titans' Tower. The sun was still no more than a tiny semicircle on the horizon, glowing faintly in the morning mist, and Richard Grayson thought that it seemed peaceful here. The freshness of the air in the forest, the slight bite of the morning cold, everything seemed rejuvenating, invigorating. Well, minus the obviously gloomy, pissed off Batman walking beside him. But the dark knight said nothing as the walked through the forest and up the hills until the trees thinned out and they came to a certain ring of rocks. Batman stopped and Nighwing looked at him quizzically. The older man said nothing and pulled a remote out of his pocket.
"Surprise," he muttered, and the air fizzled for a moment before three cylinders appeared, each one holding a body within it. Starfire, Terra, and Cyborg.
Nightwing's eyes widened. "How - they were supposed to be dead! The acid-"
"Diluted acetone," Batman muttered. "Strong enough to dissolve certain plastics and stone, but not concentrated enough to burn through a human body. Slade set it up just to make it look like it was acid."
Nightwing frowned. "So he tricked me."
"Yes, and you fell for it because you couldn't control yourself. And because you didn't think before you acted-"
"Bruce, I-"
"Richard," Batman growled in reply. "I've had enough of this. You're going to learn your lesson this time. No more nonsense from you, not at a time like this, when your city's going up in fire. Just look at it."
Batman forcibly turned Nightwing toward Jump, which was destroyed in many areas and burning in others. "Is this what you call protecting your city? Look at it!"
The masked hero's eyes closed. "I know, okay?! I screwed up! Really badly! But yelling at me now isn't going to fix it! You just want to vent your own frustration on me! You're just mad because... because... why are you even so mad anyway? It's not like I haven't lost control before, but you were never this angry."
"You'll just have to guess."
Nightwing thought for a moment and frowned. "The only time you're like this is when the people you care about get hurt..." He paused. "Raven?"
He ducked as Batman threw a punch at him, but he wasn't quick enough to dodge the kick that followed. He groaned as he hit one of the rocks.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you," Batman growled at him. "But it's time you learned your lesson."
"Fine, bring it," Nightwing was slightly dazed as he got off the ground. "I can take you. You'll find that I'm not nearly as weak as I once was."
Batman leapt forward with frightening speed and Nightwing could barely dodge aside from the vicious strike, but it was only a feint. The dark knight spun around as quickly as he had leapt forward and struck his opponent in the back of the knee, sending him to the ground again.
"That was your other problem. Pride. You were always too cocky, too overconfident in your own abilities."
"Like... you weren't." Nightwing was panting slightly, but otherwise seemed okay as he got up again. This time, he made the first move and ran straight forward, but then ducked aside as Batman struck out at him. He looped around, trying to strike the back of Batman's knees but the dark knight was faster and kicked him straight in the face. Nightwing drew back, wiping the blood from his nose.
"That feint was horrible," Batman remarked curtly. "I thought I taught you better than that."
Nightwing's eyes narrowed. "Worked plenty of times for me."
"Maybe on an amateur. I'll bet that didn't work on Slade, did it?"
Nightwing gritted his teeth and attacked again, jumping this way and that, not committing too much to any single attack. And again, Batman was faster and managed to strike when his guard was down, shoving him against one of the rocks.
"Give it up," the dark knight growled and punched at Nightwing's face, but the masked hero shifted his head aside right before the fist landed. And then Batman's left fist came up and caught him on the cheek. A knee to his stomach, and an elbow to the face later, and he could barely see, dazed from the strength of Batman's blows.
"It's time you learned your lesson, Richard. I hate to have to do this, but you got way out of hand. And yes, this might be a way for me to take out my anger, but you have to admit you deserve it."
"I-" He was cut off as a kick struck him on the chest and sent him flying back again.
"You no longer have the right to talk," the dark knight grumbled at him and the beating began.
"You're awfully quiet," Jinx broke the silence that had pervaded the room for half an hour. Somehow, Raven had managed to spend all that time just staring at her, not even reading one of her books or meditating, but just staring into Jinx's pink eyes and at her rather catlike face. Like, who could just stare for that long at someone? Without talking, to top it all off. Evidently Raven could.
"You ruined the silence," Raven muttered, and her gaze broke away from Jinx's face.
Jinx huffed at her. "Well, what's the point in just staring at me for all that time? It's not like you were transfixed by my beauty, were you?" She said sarcastically, and earned a smirk from her dark friend.
"Maybe I was."
Jinx returned the smirk. "Does that mean you like me?"
Raven's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"What it sounds like. Do. You. Like. Me? What else does it mean?"
"As in, like you, or like you?"
"Whichever one you want it to be."
"Well, I suppose we're friends," she said softly. "But don't get the wrong idea. We're just friends. I'm not the type to get into a relationship, especially not one with another girl-"
Yes you are. "Shut up," she growled to herself, and Jinx laughed softly at her.
"Demon problems?"
"Ugh, you have no idea, well... actually you probably do, but this is my problem."
"Awww Rae, c'mon, you gotta let me help you with your problems sometime."
"I said shut up!" Raven yelled out loud, rubbing her temples. "Sorry," she said more softly. "Not directed at you."
"You sound like a madman - er - woman."
"I guess I am," she muttered, and got up, pacing around. "But aren't we all a little bit insane?"
"Maybe, but not as crazy as you are."
"I guess so," Raven moved toward the kitchen and put a pot of water on the stove. Her gaze shifted back and she and Jinx looked at each other for what seemed to be an eternity. Eyes spoke a ton about a person, especially the way the skin around them crinkled - and the different shades of light that shone around the eyes highlighted dark bags, or perhaps a gleam in the irises, or perhaps accentuated the eyelashes. It was easy to see the dark lines on Raven's face, the gloomy shadows around her eyes, her half lidded eyelids, yet there was a twinkle to them as she looked at Jinx. A depressing person to the core, but she also seemed to be more comfortable, maybe a bit happier around her pink friend.
And of course, Jinx was basically a cat. Cat eyes, cat face, cat smirk, smooth face but also with a slight, haunting glimmer in her eyes that made it clear that she understood what suffering through life really was - she had been through quite a lot as well. Although, she wasn't exactly as forlorn as Raven was at heart; she tried to be an optimist, and when that didn't work out, well...
"My demon thinks I love you," Raven muttered. "But I think it's just as nuts as I am."
"Oh really? And why don't you love me?"
"I don't love you."
"What makes you say that."
Raven frowned. "What makes you think I love you? When have I ever indicated such a thing."
Jinx gave her a short laugh. "And when have you ever let someone touch you for so long, talked to you about your emotions, and just stare at you for half an hour? Last I checked, you pretty much shunned all the other Titans even though they were supposed to be your friends. So am I really just a friend to you?"
"Well obviously you care about me. And I guess I care about you."
"I don't think you get it, Rae. Maybe you just don't understand what love is. It's not just the feeling you get when you finally find someone bearable."
"Maybe. But to me, everyone's unbearable. Well, almost everyone."
"But then you can't say you love me if I'm only bearable to you."
"Maybe I don't love you."
Jinx raised an eyebrow. "Oh really."
"We're just friends."
The pink haired girl put her hands on her hips. "Raven-"
"Jinx," she replied smoothly. "Love's not as sweet as you think it is. Love is... bitter. Like my tea."
Jinx raised an eyebrow at her, amused, but confused as well. The fragrance of herbal tea filled the room and a moment later, Raven held out a cup of steaming liquid to the Titan. Jinx blinked at Raven a couple times, then smirked as she understood the gesture.
"Love is bitter like your tea, huh? Raven... you're so sweet-"
"Shut up and enjoy your tea," Raven growled at her.
Jinx laughed at her lightly and took a sip. "It's not as bitter as you think it is."
"Really? Well, try mine."
Jinx looked at her quizzically, but took a sip from Raven's cup and barely managed to keep a straight face. "That's strong."
"I've gotten used to it, I suppose." Raven drank a little herself. "As bitter as I am."
"Bitter about what?"
"... I don't know. Everything?"
"I know that feeling," Jinx said softly. "When you feel like the world's abandoned you."
Raven nodded. "But mostly the fact that I've given up on myself. I'm pathetic-"
"No you're not," Jinx retorted fiercely. "Why are you always so down on yourself? You haven't done anything wrong, girl."
"Except kill a bunch of innocent people? Attack my own teammates? Just the fact that I'm a demon..."
"Oh, so it's about this whole mess in Jump, isn't it? Well let me tell you something. You didn't cause any of this. Slade did. And Nightwing did."
"And my brothers," Raven remarked gloomily. "And me."
"Okay, so maybe you did destroy a bit of stuff and accidentally hurt a couple people. But that was only in self defense. It's not your fault."
"Then who's fault is it? Why are some of those police officers' wives sitting at home, waiting for their husbands to come back but only end up getting the dreaded phone call from the station that-" Raven shook her head, trying to rid herself of the feelings of grief and disbelief that were flowing into her head, no doubt from those people that she had just mentioned. "You don't get it. I'm an empath," she muttered. "I feel everything that they do. And know it's my fault..."
"Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but you didn't cause this. Your brothers, whatever they are, did most of the destroying around here, and Nightwing's hands aren't exactly clean either."
Raven sighed. "I guess. But I shouldn't have lost control like that. Not after... never mind."
"After what?'
"No, it's just that Batman tried to help me control myself and I just feel like I let him down."
"Eh," Jinx shrugged. "He didn't look very 'in control' the last time I saw him."
Raven's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
"He said he was going to teach Nightwing a lesson is all, but I felt like he was gonna kill him or somethin'."
"Jinx! We can't just let him do that! That would be horrible! We can't let Richard-"
"Yes we can," Jinx muttered angrily. "Rae, babe, he almost killed you. And he killed a bunch of police, and he's just been real loony nowadays, ya know? He's changed since you last saw him."
"But that doesn't mean we should just let Batman kill him-"
"You're not really going to defend him, are you? I mean, he shot you right here," Jinx poked Raven's sternum, and the violet haired girl winced; her wound still wasn't completely heal and even the light poke stung. "He almost killed you."
Raven thought she hated how scared Jinx sounded when she spoke like that. She didn't want to worry anyone else with her own problems or her being in danger. But here Jinx was, suffering along with her and because she had almost died.
"You're not the forgiving type either, Rae. I can tell that much about you."
Raven sighed. "I... don't really know what to think about Richard honestly. Back then, he was my best friend and the one who understood me best. I can't forget that either."
"Do friends shoot each other?" Jinx asked quietly.
"I guess not." Raven paused. "Although it's not like Batman's going to kill him either. I think."
"I dunno, he looked pretty scary..."
"He always does though."
Jinx laughed. "That's true. But what are we going to do when they get back? It's not like you and Rich are all buddy buddy..."
Raven raised her hood and sat on the couch. "We'll just have to see."
Elsewhere
A vast expanse of empty ice stretched out in every direction, seemingly endless, boundless, dwarfed in size only by the dark sky above it. Faint glimmers of light shone down from pinpricks of white within the darkness and a single globe of silvery luminescence glowed dimly, shining down upon an enormous, complex structure made of pure ice. A palace of crystallized water.
By human standards, it was an impossibly large structure, maybe several kilometers in diameter, and stretching maybe a kilometer into the sky at its highest point. And it was not merely some block of ice either - there were intricate designs on the exterior, arches, walkways, domes, various layers of roofs, and carvings of demonic figures on the ice. Within the building's many spires, movements of blue skinned, humanoid creatures could be seen - a variant of demon under a different jurisdiction than those ruled by Trigon. As opposed to the four eyed, red colored demons, these ones were in all blue and only had two eyes, dark navy colored hair, and pointed ears and teeth. And deep within the abode, there was a cavernous chamber with icy blue walls and a platform suspended in mid air by several cerulean colored chains that held it securely to the walls. The only light in the room streamed down from above, a void of pure white that descended down and illuminated the throne upon the platform, where a shadowy figure sat, the usual vast darkness about it dwindled down to a tiny scattering masking its body and face. And if one looked closely, the figure took a human shape within the crepuscular void, a clearly female one at that. The figure appeared to be sitting, thought it was hard to tell with all the black surrounding it, and it was so still that it might have been no more than a shadow cast by something above.
Even as some of the blue demons entered below, the figure did not stir at all.
"Lady?" The demon's voice sounded. "You have visitors."
The figure did not appear disturbed, though it frowned behind the mask of darkness. Who dared disturb her? Nobody would just come unannounced except for...
Several figures in black cloaks, as dark as the shadows surrounding her, hoods raised so that their faces could not be seen, entered the room. The scythes strapped to their backs were equally as black as their cloaks, signifying where they have come from.
"Lady." They greeted her in voices that sounded very hollow, like there was no substance to them at all. "You know what we are here for."
"Tell your master that it's not his business," she muttered back. Her own voice blurred and crackled, jumping between different pitches and tones so that it was hard to tell exactly what she was just by sound alone. Almost like she was a swarm of beings herself, instead of a single entity. "He should have no interest in Trigon's affairs anyway."
"Lord Trigon is one of the master's greatest supporters. We cannot have the girl running around free any longer. The business with her must be settled and Trigon freed. The master's patience is limited."
"And I said that he should stay out of it. Unless he wishes to cross me, he will not touch her. And neither will you."
"I shall tell him that that is your reply then. He will not be pleased, but he will let you do as you will for now," the cloaked figures bowed before the lady and disappeared.
The shadow gave off a noise of frustration and rose off of her throne.
Time to go fetch her, otherwise he'll be angry with me. That wouldn't be good. The dark figure disappeared into a portal and appeared outside of the ice palace, at the edge of the frozen domain. It gathered up its energy and opened a portal, revealing an image of Earth. Focusing further, the portal shifted to an image of the Titans' Tower, then onto Raven. The figure decided that she would just observe the girl for now, since she could not pass through the portal anyway. Always had to wait for the right time to strike.
Batman watched as the sun finally rose above the horizon and began casting its warming rays over the land. But unfortunately, the batglare was too much for even the sun to handle, and it decided to hide behind a cloud to avoid the intensity of Batman's stare at it. A moment later, it began to drizzle, and a moment after that, Nightwing groaned.
"Awake?" Batman grumbled at him.
The Titan rubbed his head and sat up, patting his body to check for wounds. He frowned as he found a whole bunch of bandages around his chest and limbs. "You beat me half to death then decide to take care of me. What the hell? I thought you were going to kill me."
"Self control, Richard. Learn it."
Nightwing sighed. "I know I was wrong, okay?"
"So don't let it happen again."
"I... Words cannot express how sorry I am," Richard got on his hands and knees and touched his head to the ground. "I know you don't believe me, but I do feel bad about losing control of my anger. I won't make any excuses."
"I already forgave you Richard. I'm not the one who you should be apologizing to. But I wanted to make sure you knew your place. And to curb your pride, because I know from experience how being overconfident can ruin everything."
"I understand. But Raven won't forgive me as easily as you did."
Batman raised an eyebrow. "I didn't know that I was the forgiving type."
"No, but you're like family to me. Raven... we grew apart long ago."
"You don't know until you try."
"Bruce, I know. Raven will be out for my blood. Trust me."
Batman's eyes narrowed. "That was another one of your problems. You always gave up too easily. You never even bother to try. Always keep fighting until the very end. I believe I taught you that as well."
"Yes, but..." Richard cut off as he got a glare from Batman. "I suppose you're right. Change of heart."
"We're heroes, Richard. We're not just vigilantes. Because we don't exactly abide by the letter of the law, we have to show that we are people who stick unwavering to justice, morals, and virtue. The instant we waver from our convictions, we're no better than the criminals we hunt. That's why we don't kill. We do not have the right to judge the villain's punishment for his crimes - that is left for society to determine."
Nightwing nodded. "I remember you saying that when I asked you why you never killed the Joker. You could've saved so many lives if you just got rid of him."
"If society wanted him dead, they would have done it themselves. I already operate outside the law. I wouldn't dare to go so far to have his blood on my hands."
"I guess I never really understood until now, after experiencing all this firsthand. But that brings me back to Raven. She doesn't exactly fall under your definition of a hero, does she?"
"No," Batman admitted, and looked at Nightwing critically. "You're afraid that she won't understand our whole 'what it means to be a hero thing' and won't forgive you."
"Yeah, well even if she can see that I've changed, she never really believed in the whole hero thing anyway. It won't matter to her if I've suddenly become the paragon of virtue by human standards."
"That's not it," Batman grumbled. "You're afraid that you've destroyed her faith in 'human standards' altogether. You're scared that she will think of humans as a whole as trash because of what you and everyone else has done to her."
"Maybe."
"You'll just have to find out, won't you?"
"I..." Nightwing paused and merely nodded. He then turned to the three cylinders containing the Titans. "And what about my friends?"
"The liquid is a powerful sedative. I would prefer to ease them out of unconsciousness rather than have them wake up suddenly. Right now I'm slowly diluting the solution to lessen its effects."
"Fine. Then I'm off to go see Raven. If I don't come back... well, you'll know what's happened," he smiled weakly. Batman did not return the smile, and he sighed, figuring that the dark knight was not in any mood for jokes. Setting off for the Tower, Nightwing could not help but feel a little scared at the wrath of the demoness who awaited him.
"Bruce!"
Batman looked up at the sound of the voice. "Barbara? What's wrong?" He looked at the screen in his car and was surprised to see her unmasked, but otherwise in her Batgirl costume. Tears were streaming down her face and she seemed to be standing in front of a dead body with her cape draped over its head.
"Bruce - Tim - I couldn't get there in time - they - oh Bruce, it was horrible..."
Batman's eyes widened. "You mean he's -"
Barbara rubbed her eyes, trying to shake away the tears. "Not just him. The League called and according to them, they got to Super girl, Flash's family, and even some of the Amazons too. And they haven't heard from GL in a while - "
"Who's 'they'?" Batman said darkly.
"Bruce, you can't possibly hope to go up against something that's capable of throwing the League for a loop by yourself..."
"Tell me."
"Bruce-"
"I just want to know."
Barbara looked at him with red rimmed eyes, wiping away her tears and adopting a more stern look. "Okay, but you have to promise me you're not going to do anything dangerous. I - we - already lost Tim. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you too."
Bruce Wayne tugged down his mask and looked at her with a pair of piercing, azure colored eyes. "I won't be reckless."
"What does that mean - oh, whatever. Nothing I say is going to stop you anyway," Batgirl looked down at the ground, defeated. "Fine. I did some research because these things have been giving us some trouble for some time, and this is what I turned up. They're demons, and judging by the whole four red eyes thing, they're minions of Trigon. Bruce, we're in over our heads. The whole League wouldn't be able to handle it if that guy managed to find a way here-"
"Barbara. I... I'll try to make it to Tim's funeral. When will it be?"
"I don't know yet. It's just... it's so hard to believe that Tim's gone." Barbara sighed and put on her mask. "Bruce, what's going on? Nothing like this has happened since Darkseid. Superman's holed up in Metropolis, still in shock that Kara's dead, I suppose, Wonder Woman's gone back to Themyscira for a while, and Flash, well... he's the only one who seems to be okay."
"He's Flash," Batman grumbled. "He tends to get over things pretty quickly. It's the others we should be worried about. If those demon things attacked once, they'll be certain to attack again. We have to be ready. And that includes you. Don't let it get to your head too much. Keep calm, we'll figure out something."
"They killed Tim!" Barbara practically wailed at him. "And you're telling me to shove that aside as if that was nothing and keep calm? How can you be so... heartless?"
Batman closed his eyes. "It just feels like what happened with Jason all over again." (For those of you who don't know, go look up Batman/Under the Red Hood, or go read the comics, or look up Jason Todd) "I just can't let myself feel it too much, or I know that it will overwhelm me. It's something I have to carry in my heart, just like all the other people and other times I have failed. But I can't let it get to my head, or I'll only end up failing more." He looked at Batgirl meaningfully. "Same to you, Barbara. I'm not saying you can't feel anything, but you can't go to pieces over it either, or we'll be in deep trouble."
The auburn haired girl sniffled a couple times. "I guess you're right. Sorry, I shouldn't have called you heartless."
"I'm not that sensitive," Batman muttered. "Anyway, you'll have to take care of Gotham by yourself for now. Alfred and your father can help you. Just remember not to take any unnecessary risks, okay?"
"Got it," she mumbled. "I- never mind. Just get back as soon as possible, okay?"
"Don't be scared. You'll be able to handle it. I know it."
"Thanks boss."
Nightwing took a deep breath and entered the Tower's common room tentatively, unsure of what he would find there. As the doors slid open, he saw Raven slumped over on the couch with her hood up, as if she were sleeping and Jinx sitting next to her, sipping a cup of tea. When he got closer, he was surprised to hear them chatting calmly, Raven's voice a monotone and Jinx's slightly more impassioned, though soft as well - he remembered that Raven didn't like loud noises - but Jinx's voice didn't seem to be soft only for that reason. There was a sense of intimacy about it that suggested something else.
"We're just friends, Jinx," he heard Raven say a bit forcefully, and saw the disappointment come over Jinx's eyes, but a fierce determination there as well. Raven's hood shifted slightly, indicating that she knew he was there, but it turned back after a moment - she was not going to openly acknowledge his presence.
He decided to try anyway. "Raven." No answer. "Raven, please... actually no, I'm not going to ask you to talk to me or answer any of my questions. But please, I'm begging you to listen to me."
There was still no answer, but he caught sight of Jinx's eyes narrowing at him. The cat-like glare was not helping his nervousness at all. And evidently, Raven could sense it as well, because she turned slightly again. He saw her mouth twitch.
"I know you can sense it, Raven. I'm not the same as I was before. I've changed. Please, give me a second chance."
"You almost killed her!" Jinx spoke angrily. "Tell me one good reason I shouldn't try to kill you right now."
"Since when did you care so much about Raven?" He looked at her quizzically.
"You wouldn't understand. You're too busy thinking about yourself to notice what other people are thinking."
"I know. I'm sorry. I've been an egocentric, overconfident fool for a long time. But that's different now."
"Isn't that what they all say. They screw up 'cause of their own pride and then come running back, begging for forgiveness. Well, I'm not buying it."
Raven turned away from him again.
"Please, I'm begging you. I screwed up badly, I know."
"If you knew that, you wouldn't be showing your ugly face here," Jinx got up off of the couch and walked over to him, putting a single finger on his chest and pushing him back. "Now leave. Raven obviously doesn't want to see you."
He saw her hood shift again, and this time he could see a bit more of her face. Her mouth curved downward into a frown, but not an angry one - she seemed sad. Well, okay, maybe a bit angry. "I don't think she wants me to leave."
I don't. I know you've changed, Richard. But still, that doesn't mean I can easily forget what you've done. I... no, not to me. I can't forgive the fact that you killed all those innocent people who had nothing to do with us. And for a lot of others, you destroyed their faith in heroes. You showed them that we're no better than those criminals that we fight, that we're perfectly capable of killing when provoked, just like the supposed villains we fight off. Don't drag innocent people into our fight, Richard. I won't forgive you for it. And secretly, Raven was pissed at him for trying to kill her too. She might have tried to commit suicide before because she thought of herself as worthless, or even a blight on mankind, but she didn't appreciate him "passing judgment" on her. Who was he to judge her? He didn't have the right to kill her. She hated the fact that he considered her dangerous just because she was who she was, a demon. Couldn't he see that all of them with superpowers were just as dangerous as she was? In fact, most of the time, she kept herself under control the best out of all of them and was the least destructive out of the heroes she knew. The nerve! He first tried shunning her, then imprisoning her, then finally killing her just because she had lost control a little.
Yeah, she had killed a few people. Did he think she was some cold hearted monster that didn't feel bad about it? She felt all of their pain, and the pain of every single one of the families of the people she had killed. And he had shoved that pain right in her face again when confronting her about it. What irked her even more was the fact that he had done exactly the same thing she had, and claimed that he was justified. What a hypocrite.
So no, she would not forgive him so easily. Raven turned away from him again.
"Raven, I need you. You're the only person who can understand. I know I lost control, but if you don't give me another chance I'll never recover."
"And why should we care?"
Raven didn't feel quite the same way that Jinx did. As much as she hated to admit it, she did understand. He had screwed up royally because he had been blind to his own hubris. And as Pride, she knew exactly what that sin meant and how it ruled the hearts of men. So yes, she did know why he had done what he had. But did that mean he was excusable? Or redeemable?
But she did care. Raven turned toward Jinx and sensed the other girl's emotions as well. Curious. Anger, because he had tried to take away someone she cared about, but... fear and jealousy?
Suddenly she understood. Jinx wasn't only afraid of losing Raven because of Nightwing's stupidity, she was also afraid of losing Raven to him. That would explain why she was trying to get him to leave.
"But there can't be anything between us. There just... can't. We have to only be friends," Raven said more to herself than Jinx, but the pink haired girl heard it.
Jinx turned to face her, surprised, and not a little hurt.
Honestly, Raven didn't quite understand why she felt that way herself. Was she scared that it would make her emotions spiral out of control? Or was she scared of rejection? Or was she scared that she would end up hurting the person she cared about the most? After all, the way she was right now, she really had nothing left to lose besides her own worthless life. If she got close to Jinx, then she would have the whole world to lose if the girl was harmed in any way. It already pained her enough to see the hurt look on Jinx's face, even though the girl had said nothing. But she could hear her thoughts.
Why does she have to be this way? Why can't she just accept the fact that we love each other? And God, why, why is she so willing to accept him back and not my love? Ugh.
Raven could not help but smirk a little. She really did care quite a lot. And Nightwing? Well, he was dying to be accepted back into her good graces for whatever the reason. Wasn't it supposed to be the other way around? She was the weird one, trying to be accepted into society. He was the ideal hero, well once was, as Robin, the Boy Wonder, sidekick to the great Batman. Well, she could tell that he was truly repenting for what he had done. Of course, that didn't fix everything, but at least it was reasonable to assume that he wouldn't do anything crazy in the near future... was it?
"Raven," Jinx's pained expression was gone - she didn't really think that Raven would admit to loving her so easily, did she? - and instead, Jinx was looking at her critically, trying to figure out what the violet haired girl was thinking. She frowned. "I don't get you. You're not just going to forget what he's done to you and everyone else, but you want to help him at the same time. What's your deal?"
"Exonerating him at this point isn't going to happen, but we still shouldn't let him go to pieces. I'd love to say that we should help him because we need him to fight Slade and my brothers, and it would be beneficial for us to work together, but that's not it."
"Then what is it? You're not going to tell me that you're gonna 'help him find himself' out of respect for your past friendship, are you?"
"I don't know. What do you want me to say? That it's because I loved him?"
"You did, didn't you."
"Raven, you loved me?" Nightwing's eyes widened in shock.
Raven finally fully turned toward him and lowered her hood. The slight redness at the edges of her eyes and the furrow of her brow and the downward curve of her lips made it look like she was about to cry, but he knew that she wouldn't. She was too strong for that - she would hold it in and deal with it.
"Yes, I did," her voice was husky, laced with grief. "Do you know how hard it was when you and Star started dating? You never noticed, did you?"
"I... errr... no."
"You didn't notice when a girl - and of all girls, Raven - loved you?!" Jinx practically shrieked at him. "How self centered can you be?!"
"Well..."
"Jinx, stop it. That was over a long time ago. I almost went to pieces over it, but I pulled myself together like always and tried to ignore it-"
"Oh my god. You're never going to tell me that you never stopped loving him 'till now, are you?"
Raven nodded her head slowly. "Right up until the moment he shot me."
Nightwing slumped to the ground. How could I have missed it?
"I don't know. You tell me," Raven replied to his thought. Her voice was back to its normal monotone, the moment of emotion gone. "But I guess I should thank you for trying to kill me. Helped me get over that obsession."
And you don't need to worry about competition, Jinx. Whoa, where had that thought come from? She had a mental image of one of her emotions inside her head, one cloaked in a lavender colored cloak. Lust? No, that one had a deep violet colored one. A related emotion then, but not quite Friendship either, which had more of a bluish tint to it.
And then a different Raven came up, cloaked in a dusky tan color. That one she knew, that was Denial.
Jinx sighed. "Whatever. Forget it. Damn it all. Welcome back, Richard."
Nightwing merely nodded meekly.
4:00 am. Raven watched as the hours passed, the quiet darkness of the night infusing itself into her being. She felt most comfortable during the night, she supposed that was due to her demon heritage, even though night was the time that her demon acted up the most. Of course, she had learned to not sleep while it was dark because of her demon in the first place - every time she did, she would have horrible nightmares of torturing demons and being tortured alike, terrible gory images plaguing her for years upon years, eons of pain, even though it was only actually a couple hours... she would wake up sweating and shaking, telling herself it was only dreams, but she could never quite shake the feeling that it was very real, whether it had already happened or was to happen. So, she had simply stopped sleeping at night. Easy enough.
Except for right now. Raven sensed something in those dark shadows that was really unnerving, some sort of demonic presence within them that was totally unwelcome. Actually, it wasn't just her imagination. There really was something there.
"Show yourself," she called out. "Who are you?"
You don't remember me? How sad.
"You never told me who you were to begin with."
True. Listen, Pride. I need to meet with you to discuss something of vital importance. It is crucial that I see you as soon as possible.
"One. My name's Raven. Two. How am I supposed to trust you? You still haven't told me who you are."
Ah yes. You see, I shall tell you in person. It will be easier that way. As for trust, you must realize that I can take you by force if I need to. I merely thought it would be polite to ask.
Raven frowned at the darkness. "And what about my friends?"
What friends? The girl with the pink hair? She can come if she must. It will not be as safe for her as it is for you, however.
"Uh, that's fine. She can stay here. I just want to know how long I'll be gone so she doesn't worry."
A day, no more. Not for now, at least.
Raven sighed. "I really have to do this, don't I."
It is not as if you have anything better to do. Your human heroes lack the power to fight Trigon's forces, let alone what else waits in store for you.
"Something else worse than my father?" Raven's eyes widened in shock.
I said it was imperative that we meet. Now, if you do not mind, leave a note for your friend if you must, and I shall open a portal for you.
Raven took a deep breath and pulled on her cloak, stepping into the darkness surrounding her. The cold embrace of the crepuscular void consumed her and after a moment, she was gone.
A/N: Okay, so this chapter's quality might be a little lower than the others, but since I've been neglecting to update 'cause of tests, I decided to write this all today and get it out because why not.
Anyway... Lots of stuff coming up, I'll be updating faster now since I have more time.
