Thanks again to my beta reader Darth Azrael and the readers and reviewers :)
And again, sorry for the late update :(
Deep Down
Alex walked a few blocks, knowing she had a stalker in tow. She didn't really mind as long as she didn't say anything to her. Satisfied that she had absolutely no idea where she was going, she took the next turn to her right, but was completely surprised when she came across a suburban park and playground. Also to her surprise, no one was actually there on a weekend evening. Shrugging to herself she hopped on one of the two swings and began idly pushing herself back and forth with her foot. The next thing she knew, Raven was sitting on the other swing, staying completely still.
It would have been silent if it weren't for the squeaking swing set as Alex continued to idly swing back and forth.
Raven decided to break their silence by saying, "I wasn't calling you an idiot."
Alex shrugged, "Yeah well, I sure feel like one. I don't know what I was thinking. He never liked me before, why would he answer any of my questions now?" she asked rhetorically, and after a heartbeat of silence, "I hate him. For everything he's done."
She said, gripping the swing set so hard her knuckles were turning white. She decided she needed a change of subject, before she went insane. "Heh, you know what's funny? Back home, there was this playground I always used to go to when I was upset. I kind of like this. I'm surprised there's no one here, really."
"There's a bigger one a couple blocks away, they're going to tear this down and make it into something." Raven replied.
"Oh, that sucks. This is a nice little place." Alex said, and yet another silence took over them. "Raven, were there any playgrounds where you grew up?"
Struck by the question, Raven at first didn't reply, but eventually found her words, "No. I was raised in a monastery by monks, and I wasn't supposed to leave anyway."
"Oh.", was all Alex said.
"There was this one monk though;" Raven continued, letting a smile creep onto her face, "He was like a father to me. Once he snuck me out and brought me to a playground when I was little, and we stayed there all day just...being free." She shrugged.
Alex smiled as she continued to swing idly back and forth, "That sounds fun. He sounds like a cool guy."
Raven nodded, "But when we got back, they caught us, and it was his third offence—that they knew of—so they banished him. I never left the monastery again until I came here."
"Did you ever see him again?" Alex asked. Raven simply shook her head no. "I'm sorry." Alex said, brows knitted up in concern. "That's terrible."
Raven wasn't sure what else to say, and quite frankly didn't want to continue on the subject, so she decided it was her turn to change it by asking Alex something that had been nagging at her mind for quite sometime now. "Alex," She began.
"Hm?"
"Do you remember the interview with Chad Williams?" She asked
"Of course," Alex said, rolling her eyes at the memory, "How could I forget?"
"Why did you say that you looked up to me?" Raven asked, finding herself not able to look at Alex.
"Oh...uh..." Alex chuckled nervously, looking away as a slight blush found its way to her cheeks. She was honestly surprised that Raven had heard that. She decided to go ahead and tell the truth, "Well...please don't get mad, but Beast Boy told me a little about what happened with Trigon and everything, and it's just...I don't know." Alex shrugged after a moment, "I can't help but look up to you for defeating him despite how you must have felt, and after everything he put you through. It must have been difficult." Alex paused, sighing. "God, this all probably sounds really corny."
"No." Raven said, after getting over the initial shock of Alex's words. "I...appreciate it. I couldn't have done it without everyone else, though."
Alex nodded as she continued to idly swing back and forth until she felt her whole body begin to warm up rather rapidly. She stopped swinging, and looked at Raven to see if she had felt the same random effect. However, she continued to look straight ahead of her like nothing was going on so it was safe for Alex to assume it was only happening to her. Quickly following that, Alex suddenly became overpoweringly sleepy. At this point, she knew something was wrong.
"Raven," Alex drawled, fighting to keep her eyes open, "I don't feel so good..." She said, and fell to the ground in front of her, unconscious. Shocked and confused, Raven knelt before Alex and tried to wake Alex to no avail.
Quickly teleporting to the medical bay in the Titans Tower, Raven laid Alex down on one of the beds and called Robin and Cyborg to tell them of the news.
They both immediately made it to the room, "Whoa, what happened?" Cyborg asked.
"I don't know. We were just sitting there and then she collapsed." Raven explained.
"Okay. I'll run diagnostics." Cyborg said, dashing to the computers.
"Do you think this has anything to do with Cavallo?" Robin asked Raven.
"It has to. I can't see any other explanation." Raven said.
"Did you see anything during the fight?" Cyborg questioned as he started hooking Alex up to the computer.
"I only caught the last glimpse. He got her in the neck." Raven said, looking over Alex.
The three of them looked at each other then crowded around Alex as Cyborg moved her hair away from her neck and looked closely, "A needle mark." Robin said.
"I can't believe I missed that." Raven said, cursing herself. "Why would it take affect now though? It happened more than an hour ago."
"There are a couple answers to that question. Let me run some tests and get back to you." Cyborg answered, typing up a storm on the computer. After about a half hour of silence and worry, Cyborg exclaimed "Aha!"
"What is it?" Robin asked.
"Check it out.", Cyborg said, brining a still image up on the monitor, "Nanobots. Each one was filled with a microscopic amount of pentothal. The were rigged with an activation switch so he could release it into her blood stream whenever he wanted to. I really don't like this kid." Cyborg shook his head.
"Can you wake her up?" Raven asked, with a slight hint of hope in her voice.
"Naw, it's best to just ride it out. It'll only be another hour, give or take, anyway." Cyborg answered. Suddenly a beeping noise came from the computer, "Hey, now, what's this?" He asked as he typed away at the computer, "Somebody's trying to hack through the firewall into the security system?" He continued, more talking to himself then anyone else. "Oh-ho, no. Not on my watch."
"Who do you think it is?" Robin asked, then a heartbeat later, "Cavallo?"
"Who else would it be? Especially now? Too many coincidences." Raven said.
"Okay...so why would he want Alex unconscious and why would he want to see it happen?" Robin asked.
"I really don't know." Cyborg said, after thinking for a few moments. He shrugged and turned to Alex, who was still lying on the medical bed. "Guess all we have to do now is wait until she wakes up."
"I'll watch her." Raven volunteered.
"I'm sure you will." Cyborg commented holding back a smirk, glancing at Robin who didn't bother do hold back his. Raven furrowed her brows together trying to figure out what joke the two clearly were in on that she didn't know about.
"Whatever. I'm going to get my book." By the time she got back, the room was already empty, much to her relief. She didn't really want to deal with some more jokes she didn't even understand. However, just as she opened her book, Starfire rushed into the room, wracked with concern.
"Oh, Raven! Is Alex going to persevere?" She asked immediately.
"Yeah, Star, she should be fine. Didn't you talk to Cyborg and Robin?" Raven asked as she opened her book anyways.
Starfire suddenly looked bashful and started poking her index fingers together, "Heh heh, well, you see, as soon as I heard the troubling news of Alex being unconscious, I rushed here as fast as I could..."
Raven shrugged and looked down at her book and began to read, "She'll be fine, Star." She repeated.
"Okay. I am glad to hear that." Starfire said, and began exiting the room. Raven exhaled a sigh of relief at the silence as she continued to read, before suddenly Starfire ran back into the room, "Oh! I had nearly forgotten! Did you and Alex do the kissing and the making up after your argument?"
Raven nodded mutely as she read, but after a heartbeat she looked up at Starfire, confusion written all over her face, "What?"
"Did you and Alex do the kissing and the—"
"I heard what you said, I meant, what do you mean...where did you hear that?" Raven asked, furrowing her brows.
"I had told the others about your argument with Alex and they said that you two needed to 'kiss and make up' and then they all started laughing...is that funny for some reason? I do not get it, Raven. If the two of you wanted to kiss, should you not kiss? When I said this to the others, they just laughed even harder." Starfire pouted as she explained innocently.
Raven closed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose before she looked back up at Starfire, who was honestly confused. She cared for Starfire, but sometimes her confusion of Earth customs was annoying. "Star...'kiss and make up' is a saying that means we needed to get over our differences and just get over it. It literally has nothing to do with kissing. Alex and I are friends. Nothing more." Raven said, her eyes drifting over to Alex as she lay on the medical bed. She was surprised at how easily she could call Alex her friend now. Though, this thing with Starfire did explain Cyborg's earlier comment.
"Oh. I apologize for my misunderstanding." Starfire said, slightly sullen.
"Its okay, Star. Don't worry about it." Raven said.
Starfire nodded, smiling, "Thank you, Raven. I think I shall return to the others now." She said as she exited the room.
Raven let out another sigh as she sat on the bed next to Alex, and once again began to read. She found for the second time that day that her thoughts wouldn't let her concentrate on the book she was reading. Instead, her thoughts wandered to the conversation she just had with Starfire.
Did the guys really think that about her and Alex? She knew they were just kidding...but, really? Raven knew she warmed up to Alex rather quickly compared to most other people, but that was just because Robin pushed her.
Wait—she wasn't going to do this. Not all this analyzing. There wasn't anything to analyze. She and Alex were simply friends, nothing more. Just like she'd told Starfire.
Raven's eyes drifted over Alex as she remembered the purple blouse she'd tried on earlier and how it hugged her curves. Raven's face suddenly became flushed and she immediately looked away, embarrassed by the thought. She the decided it would be best to sit in the chair in the corner of the room, and proceeded to concentrate on her book, no matter how hard it was.
After about an hour of very loose reading, Raven heard a mumble come from Alex. Raven was immediately at her side, "Alex?" She asked, carefully.
"Mmh..."Alex murmured.
"Alex, can you hear me?" Raven asked.
"Mhmm..." Alex answered, slowly opening her eyes then quickly shutting them again, "Bright." She mumbled.
Raven quickly rushed over and dimmed the lights, "That should be better." She said as she got back to Alex's side.
Alex opened her eyes again and after slowly taking in her surroundings asked groggily, "Why do I have all these things attached to me and why do I feel like crap?"
"You went unconscious at the playground. Cavallo gave you a shot of Pentothal, but made it so he could release it whenever he wanted it to. He also tried to hack into the security cameras." Raven explained.
Alex shook her head in disbelief, throwing her hands into the air haphazardly. "Well that's just awesome.", she said, trying to get up only to realize the wires from the computer were holding her back. She sighed, irritated, "Can I take these off?"
"We better wait for Cyborg." Raven stated, wanting to be on the careful side. She quickly called the rest of the Titans and told them about Alex waking up. They soon arrived, each giving Alex a hug.
"I am relieved that you are okay, Alex!" Starfire said, hugging Alex.
"Thanks, Star." Alex said. She looked up at Cyborg, "Can I take these off now?" She said, motioning at the wires attached to her head.
"I should run a few more tests first. Just to be careful." Cyborg answered, making Alex sigh in irritation again. "Don't worry, they should be fast." He said as he started typing on the computer.
"Alex, tell us what happened between you and Cavallo." Robin urged.
Alex rolled her head to the side, not really wanting to talk about it. However, she knew Robin wouldn't let it go so she decided to go ahead anyway, "I saw him in the food court, so I went up to him asked him what he was doing—"
"Why didn't you tell Rae and Star you saw him?" Beast Boy asked, confused.
"I didn't want to start a big fight; I just wanted to talk to him..." Alex explained, albeit irritated. This really was the part she wanted to avoid all along.
"What did you two talk about?" Robin asked, straining his voice. Alex wasn't certain if he was holding back anger or not.
Alex sighed, "I asked him what he was doing there, but he didn't really give an answer. He asked me to join him and Slade, I said no. Then we started talking about our past and then we fought."
"Wait—what?" Beast Boy asked, thinking that he heard wrong. "He asked you to join him? Like, 'Luke, join the Dark Side' join?"
"That's what he said." Alex nodded.
"Why?" Beast Boy asked again.
Shrugging, Alex answered, "Dunno, but when I said no, he said he was going to Plan B."
"Do you think Plan B has anything to do with any of this?" Robin interjected, motioning to the now deactivated nanobots.
"Knowing John, probably. But I have no idea what any of this means." Alex answered, waving her fingers around.
"I don't like your tone." Robin stated, sounding so much like his mentor everyone in the room, with the exception of Alex, took a subconscious step back.
Alex rolled her eyes, "Sorry," She said in a way that indicated that she really wasn't, "My brother is working with your arch enemy and injected me with an anesthetic for some unknown reason. I think I'm inclined to a little 'attitude'."
"Okay, the tests are done. Alex, you seem fine. I can't find any reason to keep you here." Cyborg interrupted as turned away from his computer, not wanting an argument. With a sigh of relief, Alex immediately began taking off the wires attached to her head. "How do you feel?"
"Eh...sleepy. My head hurts a little. Other than that, fine." Alex answered.
"You should just take it easy for a while then." Cyborg said.
Alex rolled her eyes, "Yes, doctor." Cyborg smirked.
Free from the wires, Alex jumped off the bed. However, a second too late she realized this was a bad idea as it caused a dizzy spell, and made he start to fall backwards.
"Be careful." Raven warned as she placed a hand on Alex's back, helping her to balance out before she fell back on the bed.
Alex blinked and shook her head from the dizzy spell, "Thanks. I guess I'm worse off then I thought." She chuckled nervously, before adding to Cyborg, "But I don't need to stay."
"Aww...look at you two. You really did kiss and make up!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he made a kissy face towards Raven and Alex.
"Uh...what?" Alex asked, clearly confused.
Raven walked over to Beast Boy and smacked him upside the head, "Ow!"
"Beast Boy, I'm afraid you are confused. The term 'kiss and make up' does not have anything to with the kissing, and Raven and Alex are merely friends." Starfire explained matter-of-factly to Beast Boy. Raven sighed deeply and placed her head in her palm as the boys started laughing.
"Whoa. What did I miss?" Alex asked, looking at the other occupants of the room
"Nothing." Raven said a little too quickly, only making the boys laugh harder. Raven glared at them, causing there laughter to die down some as Starfire looked around confusedly.
"Was I not correct, Raven?"
"You were right, Star. They're just idiots."
"...Anyway..." Alex started through the laughter, "I'm going to get something to eat, I'm starving." She said, quickly making her way out of the room. Raven followed, wanting nothing more than to be away from the idiotic laughter. "Seriously, what was that about?" Alex asked.
"Nothing. They're just being morons." Raven repeated.
"Oookay." Alex said
They entered the common room, and Alex immediately made her way to the kitchen as Raven made her way to her usual spot. Alex decided that she felt like eating apple slices. Getting out an apple and a knife, she started carving away. However, on her second slice, her grip slipped and as she tried to compose herself, the knife reached the edge of the counter. As she tried to catch it before it fell over, she accidentally ended up tossing it to her other hand, then as she tossed it back to her dominant hand, it ended up flying straight into the air. She reached out to catch it, but a moment later realized this was a bad idea and decided she was going to let it phase through her hand and land on the counter. As soon as she activated her power, a sharp pain ran through her head, causing her to grunt and immediately deactivate it. The knife came flying down and protruded itself right in the palm of Alex's hand, causing her eyes to widen in shock as blood started gushing out.
"Raven." Alex squeaked. No reply. Raven was actually concentrating on her book, and she'd like to keep it that way, so she simply ignored the entire commotion she heard. "There's a knife in my hand."
"Your observation skills are frightening." Raven stated, head still buried in her book.
"No...I mean—just look please." Alex said, grunting from the pain.
Raven sighed and looked up to see Alex holding out her hand with her face scrunched up in pain as a knife was indeed protruding from her palm, "What happened?" Raven demanded.
"I—it—the knife—gaahhh!" She said, frustrated, thrusting her hurt hand towards Raven for emphasis, as if that would explain everything, "My power isn't working!" Alex finally got out. "I tried to use it and it gave me a sharp pain in my head...just like that time in Tennessee..."
"Give me your hand." Raven commanded, and Alex walked over, doing as Raven said. "This is going to hurt."
"Ahh...ouch, ouch." Alex groaned in pain while Raven quickly pulled the knife out, as blood spilled over the table. Raven immediately began healing the wound, giving Alex almost instant relief. The wound completely healed after a minute and Alex sighed happily, "Thanks."
Raven nodded, "We should tell the others about your power."
Cyborg walked in, followed by the others, "What about her power?"
"It's not working. Like the time I was drugged in Tennessee. This whole thing is getting ridiculous." Alex said, becoming angry
Robin's masked brows furrowed in deep thought as the rest of the group continued to talk.
"It'll wear off, right?" Beast Boy asked, worried.
"Yeah. I mean, it did then. You'd think it would now. But still..."
"Sorry, Alex. I should have had you check that before you left." Cyborg said guiltily.
"Don't worry about it." Alex shrugged.
"...What's with all the blood everywhere?" Beast Boy asked, just noticing the blood on the counter and table.
"Oh...uh, just...don't ask." Alex replied sheepishly.
"Guys." Robin said suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention. "What if this is Cavallo's Plan B, to somehow temporarily render Alex powerless?"
Everyone stood around quietly as they absorbed the information Robin had given them.
"But like...why?" Beast Boy seemed to be the only one brave, or stupid enough to break the silence.
"I don't know. Alex, do you have any ideas?" Robin turned to her.
Alex looked deep in thought while she contemplated what he could want. Not really coming up with anything she answered with a small chuckle, "Uhh, to kill me? I really have no idea." Her answer was met by five sets of glares, "Sorry." She said, looking down. "John and I were practically strangers growing up. All I know about him is that he's smart, and he'll pretty much do anything to get what he wants."
"I thought you said you watched him play chess when you were little." Robin countered.
"Chyeah, he'd be on the stage and I'd be on the ground with all the other little brothers and sisters while we waited for them. It's not like he invited me to spend some quality time with him." Alex explained. Robin sighed, nodding in understanding.
"Uhh...what are we going to do about her power not working?" Beast Boy asked, somewhat frantic.
"I guess there's nothing we can do but wait." Robin answered grudgingly with a small shrug. "If what Alex says is true, and the same thing happened in Tennessee, then it should wear off in a little while. It also makes some sense of why Cavallo was trying to hack into the security system; as if he was trying to see if it worked or something." He finished with his brows furrowed in thought.
"I...really hate him." Alex muttered disdainfully.
Starfire suddenly yawned, causing a chain reaction around the room. Robin nodded again, "Why don't we all get some sleep? It's been a long day."
"Best idea I've heard all night. Goodnight y'all." Cyborg said, exiting the room.
"Pleasant dreams, everyone." Starfire called.
"Night guys!" Beast Boy exclaimed.
"Night, you guys." Robin said, before turning back towards Alex, "We'll figure this out."
Alex nodded and even added a small smile, hoping he was right.
"Goodnight, Alex." Raven said.
"Night." Alex said, walking over to the couch, "Hey, thanks for...well, everything you did today." Raven nodded before heading to her room.
XXX
A good half hour had passed before Raven realized she wasn't going to be able to fall asleep. The reason for this was simple; once she had entered her room and placed her head on her pillow, relishing in the peace and quiet, that same damn song from that morning kept repeating in her head over and over again. What was worse—or better, she wasn't really sure—she was hearing it in Alex's voice.
You make love to everything you touch, it's a natural reaction, it's a sensual attraction,you play me like I am made of strings, I'm the violin, a melody I want your lips to sing, if you only knew how hard it is to handle, how bad I want a scandal.
Raven groaned and uncharacteristically punched her pillow in annoyance. She couldn't believe after everything she went through that day, the stupid song was still there. She had to hear that song one more time to get it out of her head. She knew that would make everything okay.
Getting up, she made her way to the computer room and sat down in front of the computer. Step one finished. She nearly face-palmed when she realized she had no idea what the song was called, or who it was by; and there was no way she was going to go ask Alex.
Step two: search the lyrics. Raven opened up a search engine and began typing in some of the lyrics she knew, hoping it was enough.
"What are you doing?"
Raven nearly started in surprise, for the second time that day. She was losing it.
She turned around to see Cyborg leaning against the door frame before he walked farther into the room.
"I thought you went to sleep." Raven said, turning back towards the computer.
"Yeah, so did you. What are you doing up?" Cyborg asked.
"I wanted to look something up." Raven answered.
"Yeah? Like what?" he asked as he got closer to the screen.
"I thought you went to sleep." She repeated.
Cyborg chuckled, "I made it so I get warned whenever anyone is on at night. Beast Boy keeps getting on in the middle of the night to look at—"
"If you finish that sentence I swear I'll—"
"Myspace." He smirked. "He's addicted to Myspace and Facebook." Not able to hold back his curiosity, Cyborg asked again, "So really, what are you looking up?"
Raven gave a defeated sigh, "A song."
"Really?" He asked, raising a brow in disbelief. Raven usually didn't go for music.
"Yes." Was all she said.
Shaking his head with a smirk, he understood that Raven wanted to be alone, "Alright. I'm going back to bed. Good luck."
"Goodnight." She called as he left. She continued to type in the lyrics she knew for the song then hit 'enter', clicking the first song that popped up.
Step three: listen to the song. Sighing with relief, it turned out to be the exact song she was looking for. As she listened, through the most part, she found herself pretending Alex was singing. She didn't think too much about this as it was through Alex she first heard the song, anyway. After the song finished, she sighed contently, turning the computer off.
Returning to her room, she lay back down in her bed, resting her head on her pillow and pulling her covers over her, ready for sleep to finally take over her.
Step four: sleep. As she closed her eyes, contentment filled her as she once again relished the peace and quiet.
XXX
The next morning Raven went to the common room as per her usual morning ritual. She was a little surprised to see Alex still sleeping when she entered. After her tea she sat down and began reading. Not before long, though, she began to feel an intense presence of fear and sorrow. Not knowing where it was coming from, she looked up from her book, and over at the couch where Alex was, who she assumed was still sleeping. She got up from the table and went over to Alex and noticed Alex's face was slightly scrunched as if she were in pain. After a closer look, Raven saw a single tear fall from Alex's eye.
She must be having a nightmare...Raven thought.
Raven reached down and gently shook Alex's shoulder, trying to wake her. As soon as Raven did, Alex's eyes shot open as she jumped up, looking around at her surroundings before she started quietly crying in her hands.
Raven, confused, didn't know what else to say other than, "It's okay, it was just a nightmare."
Not daring to look up, Alex mumbled as she shook her head, "No. It happened."
"Whatever it was, it's in the past. You can't change it." Raven said.
"I miss her." Alex sniffled, as she placed her feet on the ground in a sitting position. Raven took it as an opportunity to sit next to her.
"Who?"
"My mom." Alex answered, trying to wipe the tears away as new ones appeared. "I wasn't enough for her."
Confused, Raven asked, "What do you mean?"
"She..." Alex swallowed the lump in her throat, "She killed herself. Overdose. I wasn't enough."
"Don't say that about yourself." Raven chided. "People who commit suicide only think about themselves."
"She was fine until dad died." Alex's brows furrowed at the memories, "Then she started drinking and stuff again...dad had gotten her off of all that when they met. But she kept blaming his death on herself."
"What made her think that?"
"I really don't know." Alex sniffled again, followed by silence except for Alex's few sobs.
Raven decided to go a step further, hoping she wasn't stepping over any boundaries, "What made you think of all this now?"
Alex shrugged, "John and I kind of talked about her a little yesterday, so I guess it just has me thinking of her." Raven nodded, still feeling the anguish that was coming from Alex.
"I understand. Sometimes I still think about Azarath." She confided.
"Do you miss it?"
"Sometimes." She nodded again.
"I dislike this feeling. Intensely." Alex mumbled with a sniffle as she placed her chin in her hand, resting her elbow on her knee.
"I know. But you should try and go back to sleep, you'll feel better when you wake up." Raven advised before getting up.
Alex nodded, knowing she was probably right. "Okay. And...thanks."
"Don't worry about it. Just get some sleep." Raven said, returning to the table. Alex lay back down and covered herself with the blanket. As she shut her eyes, she realized that talking to Raven had somehow made her feel a little bit better.
Song: Deep Down - Saosin
This chapter was meh.
