My eyes flew open. I was breathing hard and I could feel tiny beads of sweat running down the side of my face. I was lying on my side, on a cold stone floor. I took in my surroundings, trying to remember anything that had happened earlier in the day, assuming it was still May 9th. Everything swam in and out of focus, but there was no mistaking the distinct form of two human figures lying beside me.
Everything came rushing back to me in the next moment. Robin and I had gone on a mission to investigate suspicious activity at an abandoned warehouse located in Blood Haven. Reports stated that there had been strange flashes of light and loud noises accompanied with the presences of an unknown man skulking around the place. The suspicious activity had had nearby residents concerned for nearly a month, not to mention that shortly before the disturbances began a robbery had been reported from a museum known for its ancient relics. A precious stone, from ancient Egyptian times, had been stolen along with a two hundred year old ceremonial dagger.
Robin and I had been in the warehouse when we must have tripped some sort of security system and were gassed, but not before we caught sight of the notorious Jump City thief, Red-X. After that it all goes black.
Red-X must have been responsible for this…but how, if he's lying next to me as unconscious as a lump of coal. There is no way he would have allowed himself to be caught in his own trap, let alone make himself vulnerable to an arrest.
Movement from the darkest corner of the room caught my attention. Peering into the dark, I could only make out what looked to be a humanoid figure. I cast out my senses but felt my powers hit a wall and bounce back to me. "What the-?" I cast them out again but felt nothing this time. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck rise, this wasn't right; only a few were strong enough to reject my power.
I moved cautiously over to Robin's side and tried to wake him. The only response I got was a mumble that sounded like a no. I shook him again a little rougher this time but only received another mumble. I sighed in exasperation, "Of all the times to sleep in…". I sat back on my heels and looked around the room, no sign of our mysterious guest. Then my gaze fell upon the other sleeping beauty in the room. I crawled over to the thief and tried shaking him awake. At first, I only received a slight twitch but the second time I heard him mumble something that sounded strangely like Raven. In the next second, he shot up, as if from waking from a nightmare, and preceded to head-butt me. He instantly lay back on the floor holding his hand to his forehead and I fell back on my rear end holding my head in the same way. "Ugh X you are-".
Right then a deep and melodious laugh sounded from the dark corner of the room, I felt my eyes widen and my heart beat faster; I knew that laugh. From the shadows, Malchior stepped forward and focused his electric blue gaze on me. "My sweet Raven, even now you still manage to bring forth a feeling of… amusement." Words had never failed me before but now, out of all the times, I couldn't seem to find any. Luckily, it seemed Red-X had enough words for the both of us. "Somehow, I don't get the impression that you know sweet Raven all too well Blondie."
Malchior shifted his gaze to the thief and the look he gave him made me shiver; it was loathsome and scornful. Malchior then jumped down from the scaffolding and made a slow advance on me, while keeping his gaze on X. "I was really hoping the other one would wake up before you. He isn't as much of an annoyance", Malchior said. As he came closer, I unconsciously began to move closer to X and Malchior paused at this. I didn't know if it was possible or not, but it seemed as if Melchior's look of loathing only intensified. "Fine, you will understand" he said through clenched teeth.
He then moved to the center of the room and pulled back a sheet to reveal a scepter with the stolen stone placed at the top. Then, using his magic, Malchior brought the three of us to kneel at the scepter, awakening Robin. "Raven you will see I promise" he whispered as he pulled out the stolen ceremonial dagger and touched its tip to the stone. Tendrils of dark magic sprouted from the stone and hit the three of us square in the chest. I had braced myself for pain but oddly enough it didn't hurt; it felt more uncomfortable than anything.
Before I knew it, images began to play before the three of us like a movie, a movie that allowed us to experience everything. Realization began to dawn on me; the images were of the three of us, Robin, Red-X, and me. We were watching our previous lives play out before our eyes; we had been reincarnated. The last few images were of the three of us standing up to a grotesque looking man, a man who resembled my father, and an image of me plunging the stolen ceremonial dagger into the chest of the man and myself. Then everything stopped suddenly, and I collapsed to the floor.
That is what had happened after we had blacked out from the gas; the three of us had relived our previous life…a life in which I had sacrificed myself for those two young men, who had to have been Robin and Red-X. "You see Raven; these two only lead to pain and death. Every life in which you have lived, they have been the cause for your sacrifice. I have come to end this cycle, to be your savior. My sweet Raven, I have realized how much you actually mean to me. You are special Raven and you belong to me. Come with me and I will give you the world, I will give you the one thing you want most…freedom to feel without losing control." His last words hit home…that was the one thing I had always wanted and still want.
"You're lying, there's no way" I said in a cold tone.
"Oh but there is my sweet, and I am the only one that has the power and knowledge of how to do it."
"Raven don't believe him" said Robin. Malchior once again began to come towards me but Robin blocked his path. I looked around for X, but the thief had slipped away like he always managed to do. Malchior stopped, "Raven" he said before vanishing from sight. I cast out my senses but he was gone.
Robin opened his communicator, but I stopped him. "Please Robin, I don't want anyone involved…this is my problem, only my problem." He nodded but had a look on his face, as if he were about to argue. "Raven it isn't just your problem, it's mine too. And I'm not going anywhere until we figure this out…together." I looked at him and knew he wouldn't give this up, he was Robin, he was my leader, and he was my best friend. I nodded to him and he shot back a small smile.
"Come on; let's get back to the tower." I followed him out to his R-cycle and climbed on, wrapping my arms tightly around his lean torso. After all these years of being a Titan, I was still deathly afraid of motorcycles. He kicked it into gear and we began the journey back to Titan's tower.
(Red-X POV)
I watched the two birds begin the ride back to their tower. "It seems I won't be going anywhere either bird boy, not until this is all figured out." I guess the best place to start would be with Blondie… looks like a little recon is in order. It shouldn't be too hard to locate the guy, especially if he has a history with Raven.
Speaking of the angel, maybe sticking around for a little longer won't be so bad…as long as I get to drop in on my favorite Titan once in a while. Maybe while digging around for answers I can dig up a little something on the sorceress…like why she drives me absolutely crazy every time I'm around her. Every time I see her I can't help but get this feeling. It's as if I can't help but to feel drawn to her. Like a moth to a flame; it's a pull so strong that it should feel as wrong as…well, me dating a hero. Yet it feels as if it's the only right thing in the world.
End of Chapter 10
(A/N): So this was the last chapter for An Old Kind Of Love, but I am planning on making a sequel. So stay tuned. In this last chapter the Titans are around the age of 16. Please review; this is my first finished story so I would really love to hear what you all thought about it. Also, if you have a couple of reasons as to why Raven should end up with Robin or Red-X I'd love to hear them because I'm kind of stuck between the two. Anyways, thank you to those who reviewed before and kept up with the story. Until the sequel, bye!