Hey, sorry this is up so late. Work experience week has been hell. My heart goes out to any who spend the majority of their job filing. I've never done anything so tedious. Anyway, apologies again. Now – ON WITH THE STORY!
P.S. Do I have to put a disclaimer on every chapter? Or is the one on the first enough?
~Blodh Skolir
7:30 PM, Jump City, The Meeting Point
The Titans looked to see who the source of the voice was. His form was enshrouded in dark, unfortunately, meaning they had no means of knowing who it was. Slade chuckled at their confusion before turning to the figure. "Now, about my payment..."
"Go ahead."
Slade smiled again when he turned around – although his mask had no face, his emotional state was obvious. Hestrolled casually towards Robin, taking something from his belt. A knife. With one swift slice, he cut Robin's bindings. The figure in the background stepped forward. "I told you that you could kill him; not set him free. What happens if you lose?"
Slade laughed again. "I will not." He swiftly moved to attack Robin; the teenager was still recovering from his fall, so Slade landed the attacks easily. Robin was knocked back, finally coming to his senses. He stood, wobbling slightly, but nevertheless took a battle stance. The two combatants came together in a whirlwind of limbs, moving almost too quick to see. They matched each other blow for blow, until Slade managed to break through Robin's defence, sending him flying to land I front of the others.
Robin struggled to his feet, but a swift kick from Slade put him in his place again. Robin was now unable to stand, at Slade's mercy. Slade chuckled again, raising his fist to put an end to the Boy Blunder. Robin closed his eyes tightly, accepting his fate.
But the blow never came. Slowly opening his eyes, he looked up at Slade. A look of surprise was fixed upon Slade's face, which was looking down to his chest, where there was a bloody arm protruding. A bloody, green arm. The fist withdrew, leaving Slade free to fall to the floor, dead. As the Titans looked around, however, the only person in sight was the mysterious employer, who was still standing in the same place.
Raven was stunned by what happened. "Where did he..." the cloaked figure interrupted.
"Go? Why Raven, he never left in the first place." the figure discarded his coverings, revealing the green teen, covered in Slade's blood. "Let this be a warning to you. Next time we meet, your lives are forfeit." With that, he turned to leave.
"Why? Why not just kill us now, while we are unable to fight back?" Robin, foolish to the last. Beast Boy turned around. "There is no point in fighting an incapacitated enemy, right Robin?" Beast Boy kicked Robin to the floor, laughing as Robin coughed up blood from the force of the blow. "However, I do enjoy kicking them when they're down." With that, Beast Boy once more planted his foot in Robin's chest.
Raven spoke. "Why? Why are you doing this, what the hell is wrong with you?!" the hero now turned villain turned to her. "The only thing wrong with me is you." He grabbed Raven's chin and forced her to look him in the eyes. The cold, blood red eyes. Raven was speechless, having learned just what was wrong. Before she could open her mouth to say anything, though, she felt a blunt object strike her head, and she quickly faded from consciousness.
Beast Boy grinned and turned to the others. "Once your leader recovers, I suggest you run. Fast. A single mistake will sign all your death certificates". He turned to leave once more. Upon reaching the door, however, Beast Boy found it to be locked. "What the...?" Looking closely, he noticed a faint pink aura around the handle. He couldn't help but chuckle before diving backwards to avoid the orange and yellow streak that was Kid Flash.
Beast Boy had to give them credit; they had almost had him. However, now that the element of surprise was lost there was no way he could lose. As Kid Flash charged once again, he neatly sidestepped and stuck his foot out, sending the other teen sprawling. He quickly knocked him unconscious with a swift kick to the head. Now, he just had to find Jinx. Of course, he was proven wrong when a wall shattered in pink energy, a furious hex-caster standing in the recently excavated doorway.
She fired wave after wave of her neon pink energy at Beast boy, but not a single shot hit him. He was just too quick. Before Jinx knew it, he was behind her and holding her in a choke hold. Chuckling evilly, he said; "I shall repeat my warning. Next time I see you, you are all dead." And with that, he released the confused spellcaster, who promptly fell to her knees gasping for air. When she turned around again, Beast Boy had gone. Sighing, Jinx got up to release the others.
Beast Boy was standing on top of an adjacent building. He watched as the Titans limped back to their now destroyed Tower, barely able to hold back a laugh. He turned around then. He had much to do, and very little time to do it. His first stop would be the local Metahuman imprisonment facility. He had heard interesting things about a certain new villain. Of course, he wouldn't simply neglect the others. No, he would use them as well, but merely as fodder.
It was a simple matter to circumnavigate the "best security system Jump had to offer", and in short order he had everything set up. Now, all he had to do is wait. However, he remembered a little trap he had placed earlier, and decided to see what it would achieve. Wake, my pet, and strike them down. He felt the connection dissipate, and knew his plan was working. He would have results soon. What they were, was yet to be determined.
9:00 PM, What's Left Of Titans Tower, Infirmary
As Raven awoke, she saw the concerned faces of her two unharmed team mates hovering over her. As soon as Starfire saw she was awake, she enveloped the poor sorceress in an excessively powerful hug. Raven's vision began to waver. As soon as Cyborg noticed, he pulled the Tameranian princess off of Raven. As soon as her vision returned to normal she asked, "How's Robin?" Cyborg sighed, a bad sign.
"He has several fractured bones, minor internal bleeding and a bad concussion. He'll be out for a while." Raven just nodded before staggering over to the Boy Wonder's bedside. Placing her palms on his chest, she immediately healed the worst of his injuries. It would take no less than a day to recover now. Unfortunately, the same thing went for her. She toppled to the floor, once again unconscious, because she had used up her energy reserves.
Cyborg sighed, catching the limp form of Raven. He had guessed something like this would happen. She still hadn't fully recovered from her head injury. Beast Boy had hit her hard; her skull had been fractured. Although, he recalled, she had gasped sharply when she looked at Beast Boy's face. Perhaps there was something he was missing? After all, this had all happened rather suddenly. He sighed. He would have to wait until she woke up.
9:30 PM, Raven's Mind.
Raven was confused. Why was she here? It would be best to ask Knowledge, as it was probably her who had called. If it wasn't, then she would probably know why anyway. As she passed through the first barrier, she immediately noticed something was wrong. The normally copious flowers of Happy's domain were wilting, the air tasted stale instead of vibrant, and the sky was an ominous grey.
Narrowing her eyes, she spotted two figures in the distance. They appeared to be fighting. As she watched, one of them was struck down. The other, satisfied, stalked off towards the Forbidden Door. Raven hurried to the prone figure. Her breath caught as she identified the owner of the pink cloak. Happy. Quickly checking Happy's vitals, she was relieved to find she was only unconscious. She hurried towards the Door, aiming to catch whoever did this.
On the other side of the door, she found herself in Timid's maze once more. She quickly navigated her way through, trying to find Timid before the figure found her. Her heart sank as she heard Timid scream. She rushed to the source, to find Timid fleeing from the same figure from before. Raven frowned; it was not one of her emotions, so how did it get in her mind? Oh well. Eliminate first, ask questions later.
She hurried after the two, sometimes catching sight of the dark figure. Eventually, they came to a dead end that was decorated by one of the horrific moving statues found in the maze. However, this one had been split into dozens of pieces, and Timid was dangling in the air, help up by her throat. Raven tackled the figure, and Timid sprawled on the ground, wheezing for breath. As Raven was checking up on Timid, the intruder decided to make a break for it. He barrelled past Raven and through the walls of the maze. The walls were much thinner now, reflecting the state of the occupant.
Raven wasted no time in pursuing the figure, emerging in Brave's domain. The room was what looked like a Japanese dojo, the walls lined with weapons. In the centre of the room, a spectacular duel was taking place. Brave was fighting the strange figure from before, and for the moment it appeared she was winning. With Raven here, this should be an easy fight.
Unfortunately, the figure sensed her approach, and grabbed her by the forearm. With a colossal show of strength, he sent her soaring through the air into Brave, knocking them both to the ground. Raven stood up, wincing. "Sorry. If I hadn't interfered you would have won." Brave shook her head. "I was getting exhausted anyway. I wouldn't have been able to keep up much longer." They both headed through the Forbidden Door. They were going to stop whatever this was, and they were going to do it as soon as possible.
They progressed through several domains, finding their shaken occupants and recruiting them. Happy had also appeared, a hysterical Timid in tow. Raven was glad she had regained consciousness.
As they passed one domain, though, the room was curiously empty. There were no signs of a struggle, either, so the occupant must have been elsewhere. The collection of Ravens continued through the Door. The entourage couldn't help but feel amused; they must look like some sort of rainbow comprised of people.
On the other side of the Door, they were once more standing on a narrow path made of rock, leading up to the final Door. The door out of Raven's mind. If the figure managed to pass through, then he would be in Titans Tower, and wreak untold havoc. They could not afford to let this happen. As they walked, however, they quickly noticed two figures standing by the door. One appeared to just be standing calmly in front of the door, her deep purple cloak whipping around her. That was strange in itself, because there was no wind.
The other figure appeared to be trying to strike her, however for some unknown reason he was never able to. His heavy blows stopped just millimetres away from contact. Raven and the others rushed forwards. "What the FUCK is Love playing at?!?" screamed Raven. "Not long ago, she was to weak to even STAND, and now she's trying to kill it by herself?!" It just didn't make sense. If she was so weak before, it was a miracle that she was even standing, let alone somehow stopping all his attacks.
The different Raven's fanned out, planning to surround the enraged figure. As it saw them approach, however, it immediately flipped through the air, landing behind the bulk of the group. As it landed, it immediately swept their legs out from underneath them, leaving the majority of them sprawled across the floor. Using this to it's advantage, it used the pile as a sort of springboard, leaping clear over the rest of them and Love, straight towards the Door.
Just as the figure reached the swirling vortex that lead to the outside of Raven's mind, the vortex disappeared completely. The figure ended up flying straight through the now obsolete arch, almost sliding off the edge of the platform. Looking around, it saw Love smirking, her hand on the side of the arch. Swirling masses of energy were travelling through her arm. Before it regained it's balance, Brave executed a perfect flying kick, sending it soaring through the air and into the blackness below.
Finally, I got it finished! I cannot even start to explain how relieved I am at getting this done. Extra thanks to DarkRapture, who helped me overcome the writer's block that hit me like a Grav-Hammer (HALO reference) halfway through this chapter. I'm not sure how many more chapters this story will have since we are nearing the ending, but I am aiming for 12. Why 12? SIMPLE! It's my favourite number, ever since I saw the South Park movie with the retards in the classroom trying to answer 'What is 5 times 2?' Others who have seen this movie will know why. I hope. I'm not sure when the next update will be, so please just sit tight until then.
~Blodh Skolir