Titans Tower
Two weeks later
Two weeks. Two whole damn weeks, and still no sign of Raven whatsoever. The lack of results was making the Teen Titans uneasy. There was that small fear brewing that the reason they did not find her was because there was nothing left to find. That thought only made them work even harder to prove it false. But at the same time, there was also the fear of what would happen when they found her. Judging from how they parted ways last time, none of them expected it to be a tearful reunion. Well maybe tearful in the form of tears of pain. Currently, Robin was searching for any leads concerning her location using the main computer, Beast boy was out searching in the city as a bloodhound along with Cyborg and Starfire. Robin's face had currently a look of deep concentration etched into it as he scanned an endless line of information scrolling past the screen. He was vaguely aware of the door to the living room opening and closing.
"You should take a break. You've been seated here since dawn and you've found nothing of importance" Doctor Fate said from behind. Ever since Raven disappeared, Doctor Fate had practically moved into Titans Tower. He assured the Titans that once this crisis had abated he would return home. Robin on his part had more than welcomed Doctor Fate since his knowledge on what had happened to Raven was invaluable to them.
"I can't, the others are still searching. I can't just take a break while they're still working" Robin said without even turning around. Doctor Fate just sighed. He could easily see that the Titans were connected by a strong bond and they would never abandon a friend, even when the friend turned her back to them. But that mindset could prove hazardous in the near future.
"Robin, I hold great respect for your ability to lead this team and for your commitment to help Raven in this crisis. But you must see the truth; even if you find her, she will no longer be the friend that you remembered, she will be the very thing you struggle to defeat every day" he advised. Robin finally stopped looking at the screen and diverted his gaze to Doctor Fate.
"What's your point?" he asked harshly. This was not the first time they had this discussion and it was really aggravating Robin. They both stared at each other for several moments before Doctor Fate answered.
"That Raven is a lost cause" he simply said.
…..
Standing in a now pretty much wrecked room, Raven observed the damage she had caused this time; the walls were covered with claw- and blademarks, the pillars were all reduced to rubble, the floor was full of cracks and craters and the roof had a huge hole in it. Luckily no one had been on the upper floor. Clapping sounds from behind alerted Raven of her one man audience.
"Impressionnant. You're improving on your skills" Iron Mask casually remarked from where he was standing at the door. Raven just stared off into space, her right eye glowing stronger.
"I just hope it will be enough to crush the Titans" she said mostly to herself. A second later she snapped back to reality and turned around to walk over to Iron Mask.
"Are they ready?" Raven asked. Iron Mask gave a slight nod as the two of them began walking down an old castle hallway.
"They're already waiting for your ordres" he answered. As he said those words, Raven felt a small rush of adrenaline, though she looked completely impassive on the outside. They were actually waiting for her orders, her orders. Raven had been told what to do for most of her life but now she was in command and it felt so liberating. The two of them soon entered another room, this one with a table set up in the middle with a map of Jump city spread out on it. There were already several other people in the room, though it was only one in the room who she recognized; the Hunter. The rest were mercenaries, and Raven had not even bothered to socialize with them. The room grew deathly quiet as Raven entered, she could also feel a few hateful glares being directed at her. There were a few of the mercenaries who did not like the idea of taking orders from a Teen Titan, even if she had supposedly quit the team.
"Alright listen up! I'm only going to say this once so pay attention!" Raven roughly said as she stood in front of the map.
"At 10 pm there will be a shipment of gold moving out of town from here" she said while indicating a bank downtown.
"It will be transported in an armored truck and travelling with a small convoy. The convoy will travel along the main highway up until here" she continued while pointing at a junction six blocks away from the bank.
"They will then be travelling along 32th all the way out of the city" she went on to explain as one finger traced the mentioned route.
"Now, your task will be to cut them off here" she indicated a spot about halfway along the 32th.
"Your job will be fairly simple; ambush them, knock out any guards trying to stop you, steal the truck and get the hell out of there before back-up arrives" she concluded. It was at that moment that one of the mercenaries decided to speak out.
"10 pm? That's only four hours away. Isn't this a little too rushed plan?" he inquired. Raven slowly turned her gaze towards him, directing all her killer intent at him.
"Are you questioning me?" she asked sweetly, all the while keeping him paralyzed in fear with her right eye that was nearly aflame with hellfire. Several mercenaries who stood close to the unfortunate one took several steps away from him, more worried about their own hide than that of their comrade. The man in question was now shaking with fear and a wet spot had appeared between his legs. His power to speak had been snatched away by his overwhelming fear, but he managed to rapidly shake his head as if his life depended on it, which it probably did. Iron Mask had had a field day last week telling the mercenaries of how Raven had killed Alexander Cole. Satisfied with the answer, Raven turned her focus elsewhere. The mercenary let out the most relieved sigh in his life that he was back in the safe zone.
"Any other questions?" she asked. At first she thought no one would speak after her handling of the last one who questioned her, but as it turned out there was one who dared to speak.
"Ma'am, what if the Titans show up?" he asked fearfully. None of them in the room was particularly fond of the idea of going up against them. In response, Raven gave a truly wicked grin that sent more than one chill up everyone's spine, apart from Iron Mask.
"Oh, don't you worry about the Titans. I have something special planned out for them" she said with a sinister tone. No other questions or objections were raised after that so Raven dismissed them. They all began shuffling out the door with Iron Mask in the rear.
"Iron Mask, I need to talk to you" Raven suddenly said just as he was about to exit the room. He turned around to find Raven still standing leaned over the map. He gave a nod as he stepped back inside while closing the door behind him. He quickly walked over to stand opposite of Raven.
"So, I take it you're going to tell me what your real plan is, correct?" Iron Mask asked. Raven gave a small chuckle at his question.
"Should have figured that you of all people would notice. Yes, the gold theft is not my real plan, that was just something to keep the boys happy. My real plan is far more… personal, you could say" she explained. Iron Mask crossed his arms over his chest as he regarded Raven.
"Well then, what rôle do I play in this plan of yours" he asked. Raven once again gave him one of those smiles that just screamed that someone would curse ever getting out of bed today.
…..
The hospital was one of the few buildings that never closed for the night, though its patients never cared for if it was open or closed, they slept just as peacefully. But one patient did not find any peace to sleep in her isolated room with guards just outside the door. Why they even bothered with those guards, Jinx would never understand. After all, it was not like she was in any position to make a grand escape with both her legs and arms in plaster. The nurses had given her sedative to help her sleep and had the lights turned off, but even with it she could only sleep for a few hours; her mind was overflowing with anger and hatred. All of it directed at the witch that had done this to her. Jinx felt like screaming in anger every time she thought of Raven, but by some miracle she always managed to suppress that urge. Might have something to do with the fact that the guards had orders to use stun weapons on her if she grew too violent, and Jinx already knew all too well that those two were just itching for an excuse to use them. Jinx suddenly felt another wave of pain washing over her, so she pressed the button in her hand that would call for a nurse to give her some painkillers. A minute passed and no one came. Two minutes and still no sight of the damn nurse. Now, patience was never a strongpoint with Jinx, so she began to press the button in rapid succession, her irritation growing with every click.
"Don't even bother" a feminine voice suddenly said from the darkness, causing Jinx to freeze up in fear. She nervously glanced around the room, trying to locate whoever had snuck in.
"W-who's t-there?" she asked fearfully. Her eyes were now darting everywhere in terror. She soon spotted the intruder in the form of a single eye staring at her from the corner of the room, its crimson glow paralyzing Jinx. Slowly, it began to move closer to Jinx, who was now pressing the button in her hand with even greater vigor.
"I have some use of you" the thing said as it stood right next to Jinx's bed. She was able to vaguely make out a few things of the intruder. It was clad in a cloak and had a hood over its head.
"But don't you worry" it said as a hand was raised and slowly reached out towards Jinx's face.
"The pain…will only be temporary" now Jinx could make out the black metal gauntlet that covered the hand as it hovered right over her face. The fingertips were made like razor sharp claws and what looked like a red ruby was engraved into the palm. It took a few moments for Jinx to register what it had said and by that time the gauntlet had already began to lower itself towards her, the ruby starting to glow. Once again the urge to scream came to Jinx. But this time, she really did scream.
…..
Robin was still seated in front of the computer when the alarm went off. The hero part of his brain quickly overrode the emotional part and he quickly abandoned his search for Raven in favour of checking out what crime it was that was occurring. He also contacted his team.
"Titans, do you read me?" he called out. There was a few seconds of static before he received a reply.
"Loud and clear, Rob!" Cyborg responded.
"Yes, I read you" came the reply from Starfire.
"Yeah, no problemo!" Beast boy was the last to report.
"We've got trouble at the hospital, Jinx has been kidnapped" Robin said gravely. There were a few gasps coming from the other ends.
"Are you sure it's not just her buddies finally working up the guts to bust her out?" Cyborg asked. Robin shook his head.
"She was the one that alerted the entire hospital of her kidnapping with a scream" he explained.
"But who would do such a terrible thing?" Starfire asked sorrowfully. Even if Jinx was an enemy, Starfire did not like it when someone tried to kidnap people. She spoke from experience when saying that it could be a horrible experience.
"Yeah, I mean what would they possible gain from kidnapping Jinx of all people?" Beast boy asked, a puzzled expression on his face. Robin shook his head,
"I don't know, but I know where she is. I secretly had a tracer placed on her in case the H.I.V.E Five tried to break her out" Robin explained as he began to type in some commands on the computer.
"Got her! She's at the high school building!" he exclaimed, receiving a groan from Beast boy.
"Why did it have to be a school of all things?" he whined. Robin just sighed at his antics.
"Save it, Beast boy. We'll meet up outside the building at the parking lot and then move from there together" he said, receiving confirmation from his team before terminating the link. As he turned around to head out, he found Doctor Fate standing at the door. It was obvious that he had too heard what had happened.
"Not to be disrespectful or anything, but I don't think we'll need your help on this. We've dealt with this before" Robin explained to him. At first he had the nagging feeling that Doctor Fate would disagree, saying that they were just inexperienced kids that needed help.
"I agree with you here. But I have a feeling that there is more to this than meets the eye" Doctor Fate said. Robin blinked a few times when he registered that he had not disagreed with him.
"While there are many among the senior superheroes who feel that your team is still too young to stand on your own, I prefer to let actions speak more than age and words. Your team has made it this far without falling, and for that you have my respect" Doctor Fate explained, obviously picking up on Robin's unspoken question. Robin gave a gratified nod at hearing those words, but at the same time sad that it was not his mentor that had said them. Pushing those thoughts aside, he brought up another subject.
"What did you mean by more than meets the eye?" he asked.
"Simply the fact that there's no logic to this move. Jinx is powerless and incapacitated with no known grudge or bounty on her head. There's nothing to gain from this, other than to draw you out. But for that they could have simply picked any civilian from any part of town. There's some ulterior motive behind this, and I worry what it could be" Doctor Fate answered. Robin could not help but agree to the logic, there was something else going on here. But they could not just leave Jinx to whatever fate awaited her, even if she would just live to commit crimes another day.
"You go and help her, I'll stay here and keep an eye open for anything suspicious" Doctor Fate offered, once again picking up on Robin's dilemma.
"Alright" Robin said before sprinting past him, heading towards the garage. Doctor Fate meanwhile levitated over to the computer, his gaze bound to the red dot that blinked on the map of Jump City.
"Please, let it not be who I think it is. For the Titans sake" he said to himself. But no matter who it was the Titans were going to face, Doctor Fate was certain, that tonight would test their resolve like never before.
…..
Approaching the high school at high speed, Robin was forced to apply high pressure to the brakes to slow down the R-cycle so as to not crash headfirst into the building. He came to a screeching halt next to the other Titans already there and waiting for him.
"Have you spotted any activity?" he asked the moment his boots made contact with solid earth again. Cyborg shook his head.
"Nah, both Beast boy and Starfire have circled the area before you came and they found nothing. I've scanned the whole building and have only found one life sign in there" he explained. Robin narrowed his eyes in suspicion, he had expected more of a resistance. Doctor Fate's words rung in his ears yet again and he found himself agreeing to them more than before.
"Have you identified where exactly the life sign is?" Robin asked Cyborg.
"Yeah, it's in the sport hall" he answered. Robin quickly digested the information before turning to his team.
"Alright, we'll move in together. But watch your backs, this smells too much like a trap for my taste" he said, gaining nods of affirmation from his teammates. As one, they moved towards the doors. Robin easily picked the look and they proceeded inside. As they walked down the dark and quiet hallways, a feeling of dread settled in each of their minds. They could not shake the feeling that something was watching them from the darkness, stalking them like a patient predator. There were even a few times when Beast boy could have sworn he saw a red glowing eye staring at him from the darkness, but every time he tried to focus on what it was, it would disappear before he could even get a good enough look to decide whether he had imagined it or not. When they passed a stairway, Starfire was certain that she saw a cloak flowing up the stairs at the edge of her vision, but it disappeared before she could even alert her friends. Cyborg nearly got a heart attack when he found that someone was standing at the end of the hallway, even when there had been no one there a second earlier. But in the amount of time it took for Cyborg to blink, the mysterious person was gone. Acting more on primal instinct than on any conscious thought, the group huddled closer and moved onward with their backs to each other. None of them said anything, there was nothing they could say at the moment. Finally, after what felt like an eternity to the Titans, they reached the sport hall. Robin was the first at the door and carefully slid it open. He peered inside, carefully watching for any sign of movement. There was no light within, but Robin was still able to discern a body lying on the floor in the middle of the sport hall with its back turned to them. And catching a quick glance of what appeared to be pink hair, he was instantly inside and rushing over to help her.
"Jinx, what happened?" he asked as he knelt beside her. He received a groan from her as she tried to turn around, but her wounds prevented her. Robin helped her roll over so she could look at him. The moment she saw who it was, she glared at him.
"The Teen Titans. I don't know if I should feel relieved or angry that you're here" she sneered at them as the rest of the team had entered and was standing around. Beast boy grunted at that.
"Same old Jinx, I see. Maybe we should just leave you here and be on our merry way?" he threatened her. Jinx just scoffed.
"Empty threats, elf" she shot back. Beast boy's only answer was an inaudible grumble.
"Save it. We're getting out of here now" Robin said as he and Starfire helped pick up Jinx, despite her objections. But Cyborg was not moving, he was staring in shock at a scanner on his arm. Robin noticed this and stopped to regard him curiously.
"Something wrong?" he asked. Cyborg, seemingly snapped out of a trance, looked up at his leader with alarm etched into his face.
"Guys, I'm still only picking up five life signs in here, but Jinx is not one of them" he said fearfully. Robin's eyes widened in surprise as he turned his gaze back to Jinx, who was now grinning maniacally at them. Without further warning, Jinx spun around to deliver a knee into Robin's gut and an elbow into Starfire's neck. The other Titans were too stunned from what just happened to act in time when Jinx came rushing at Cyborg. But instead of blasting him with a hex or hitting him with her fists, she caught him in a tight hug.
"Hey. Just what are you…?" Cyborg began to say but got no further as he suddenly felt pain shoot through him. It felt to Cyborg as if his very life was sucked right out of him. But as he glanced down at Jinx, the wicked smile she wore made him think that it might lie some truth to his assumptions. He tried to break free, but he could feel that he was growing weaker by the second while Jinx's grip on him was growing stronger. Just he was about to pass out, Beast boy came to the rescue by first flying between them as a fly before morphing into an elephant, forcing the two of them apart.
"Thanks, BB" Cyborg said between heavy breaths. He was still standing, but it was barely. Jinx had drained nearly all of his strength. Beast boy just gave a nod as he morphed back into human. Jinx meanwhile was standing immobile where she had been pushed to, her face vacant of any emotions. Both Beast boy and Cyborg were watching her cautiously as Robin and Starfire got up and surrounded Jinx.
"Umm, Hello? Anyone home?" Beast boy asked in confusion as he waved a hand in Jinx's direction, not really daring to get any closer to investigate. Robin on the other hand was slowly walking closer to her, boo staff extended and held in a two-hand grip in front of his body. Jinx did not even react to his close proximity, she actually did nothing but stand there while staring at nothing. Robin even nudged her with his boo staff, yet still she remained where she was like a lifeless statue.
"What the hell is going on here?" Robin asked as the other Titans began to lower their weapons or attacks. Wrong move. Out of the darkness, a wave of dark energy surged forward, crashing into Cyborg and Beast boy and smashing both of them to the ground.
"What the…" Robin said just before an arm made of pure darkness came out of his own shadow, coiling around his body like a snake before a hand at its end grabbed a hold of Robin's throat, strangling him.
"Robin!" Starfire cried out in alarm upon seeing her friend's predicament and was about to rush to his rescue when Jinx sprang into action again. She somersaulted right over Starfire before giving a kick into her back, sending Starfire to the floor. She then jumped on her back and pinned her to the floor. Starfire tried to break free, but Jinx simply drained her energy and leaving Starfire weak and close to death. Cyborg was by then trying to get back up but his progress was hampered when a massive black fist descended on him and kept him firmly pinned to the floor. Beast boy was himself just regaining his bearing when what looked like liquid darkness seeped up from the floor around him. He managed to give one squeak of fear before it washed over his body, gluing him in place. He tried to struggle free, but the darkness would not budge.
"Well I must say; that went easier than I could have ever imagined" a dry, feminine voice said in a monotonous tone that could only belong to one single being that the Titans knew of. They all directed their gazes to where the voice had originated from and just as they suspected, there was Raven; sitting halfway up on the benches adorning the sidelines with a smug smile adorning her face. But when the Titans saw her attire, they all made a double take. Gone was the leotard and blue cloak, now she was wearing a black and spiked armor of ancient design and a black cloak. Spiked metal boots adorned her feet while clawed metal gauntlets covered her hands and as she held up one of her hands, the Titans could see a red glowing ruby embedded in the palm of the gauntlet. The plates on her forearms were each equipped with six small curved blades in two rows of three. A brooch shaped like a dragon's head fastened her cloak to her shoulders and a red-rimmed black logo of a raven was on her chestplate, with the number 7 glowing red at its center. Upon seeing the slack jawed expressions on her former teammates, Raven tilted her head slightly in a curious manner.
"What's the matter Titans? You look like you've seen a ghost" she inquired. Robin was the first one to shake of the shock of seeing Raven again and tried to speak, but the hand clamped around his throat made his words come out as nothing more than garbled nonsense. Seeing his predicament, Raven gave a slight wave of her hand and the grip on his throat lessened. Robin immediately began to greedily suck in much needed oxygen before directing all his focus to Raven.
"Listen to me Raven, that crystal is corrupting your mind. You must get rid of it, or you'll lose yourself to it" he tried to reason with her. At first, she just stared at him, looking like she was in deep thought. But then she burst out laughing, a truly evil and wicked laugh that sent chills down all of the Titans spines. Even Beast boy, who had made it one of his missions in life to get Raven to laugh, wished that he never had to hear that laugh ever again.
"Give up my most precious accessory? Now why in the name of Trigon would I ever do something as stupid as that?" Raven asked amusedly as she got up from where she was sitting and began to lazily walk down the stairs.
"After all, it has given me access to spells, incantations and powers beyond my wildest dreams. Just take Jinx for example" Raven said while gesturing to Jinx who was still pinning Starfire. Robin first stared at Jinx as if he had just noticed her. Something seemed to be registered in Robin's mind as he turned an accusatory glare at Raven, who by now had reached the bottom of the stair.
"What have you done to her?!" he demanded angrily, causing Raven to grin even wider while the glow of her right eye intensified.
"Glad you asked. You see what I've done is simply kill her and then raise her from the dead. But with some small adjustments to her lifeless aura I've created a hunger in her for the one thing she can no longer have; life force. And for that reason she will hunt all living creatures on a hunt to drain all their life out of their bodies in order to sate a hunger that can never be sated" she explained with proudness. The Titans all now looked first at Jinx in horror and then at Raven in disbelief. None of them could believe it, that a friend of theirs would do something so hideous. But the evidence was standing right there in front of them, smiling like the devil himself.
"Why did you do it? She was no longer a threat to anyone, least of all you! So why would you kill her and turn her to this abomination?!" Cyborg suddenly asked, nearly bursting into tears. It was no secret that during his short time infiltrating the H.I.V.E. Academy, he had developed a crush on Jinx. Although those times and emotions were long gone now, he still felt great anger and sadness at seeing Jinx reduced to this. Seemingly reading his thoughts, which she no doubt did, Raven turned her wicked smile and malicious gaze to him.
"Simple, because I felt like it. Why, sad you can't get down and dirty with her any longer?" she mockingly asked. Cyborg now glared hatefully at Raven, at that moment forgetting, or ignoring, the fact that they used to be friends.
"You goddamn monster!" he snarled out at her, causing the other Titans to look at him in surprise. Though deep down they could not help but agree with Cyborg for surely only a monster could do something like this. But Raven seemed to be untroubled by the accusation. If anything, she seemed to find it amusing.
"Please Cyborg. We're supposed to be enemies here, you don't need to flatter me" she said amusedly. Cyborg now looked ready to throttle her, but the massive fist kept him pinned to the floor.
"What exactly do you want Raven?" Robin asked. Raven turned her gaze back to him as she answered.
"It's quite simple really; I want payback for what you did to me last time we saw each other" she said, her earlier amused tone disappearing to be replaced by a cold and harsh tone while her right eye glowed a blinding red. It was clear that she was still quite pissed about it.
"Please Raven, don't do this. This is not you. This is not what you want" Beast boy suddenly said with a pleading tone. Raven stared at him like he had just gone mad or something. She then shook her head while giving a small smile.
"Oh, I assure you; this is most definitely what I want" she said. Her gaze then traveled over each of the Titans in turn.
"But it would be no fun for me if you could not defend yourselves. So…" Raven said as she snapped her fingers and the bindings holding the Titans down disintegrated while Jinx jumped back to her master's side.
"… I suggest you prepare yourself" she finished just as the number 7 disappeared and the number 6 appeared, black mist flowing out from under her cloak. The Titans meanwhile were scrambling up as fast as they could while preparing for battle. Something told them that this fight was going to be worse than the last one, because this time it was Raven who had ambushed them. And by the look on her face, she would not be as hesitant to harm them as they had been last time.
"Titans go!" Robin cried out as he and the others charged at Raven. This was no longer a battle to save a friend, this was now a battle to defeat a villain.
…..
Tonight would have been a beautiful night as far as Doctor Fate could determine from where he was standing on the roof of Titans Tower; the stars shining overhead and the lights from Jump City brightening the horizon. Doctor Fate would have enjoyed the beautiful view if not for the sudden appearance of dark clouds that covered the sky. Deprived of the lights from the stars and the moon, the only thing brightening up the night was the city. Few would have been bothered by the clouds, most would simply call it bad luck that they would spoil the view. But Doctor Fate was one of those few who were troubled by this. He could smell the faintest traces of magic in the air, that was rarely a good signs. Whatever this was, it was not the weather of this world. With a swirl of his cape, he walked back inside the tower, never catching sight of a smaller cloud moving across the sky. No one would normally find anything unusual about a small cloud when the sky was filled with them, but this one was moving fast and against the wind. The cloud moved quickly to Titans Tower and when it was above the building, the cloud actually dived for it. Only when it reached the roof it was revealed as a swarm of crows. They quickly moved together and Iron Mask's body was formed out of the crows.
"Il était facile" he said to himself as he strolled over to the door leading to the staircase. He did not try to open it directly, for he knew already that it was locked during the night. Instead he pulled aside a metal plate next to the door, revealing a control panel. The door had had a code-controlled lock that only the Titans knew the code to. It was fortunate for Iron Mask that his boss was a former member, not that it really mattered since he had read her mind long before she switched sides. So without hesitation he pressed in the desired code and with a click, the door was unlocked. He was instantly on high alert once he entered the tower. He knew that Raven had drawn away the Titans in order to make it easier for Iron Mask to infiltrate the tower, but it was a strong possibility that they had called in back-up. After all, their enemy was this time around a former comrade who knew exactly how they thought and acted, it would be a wise move to have strength in numbers in such a situation. Iron Mask suddenly stopped when he spotted a camera in the corridor ahead of him. Looking further down the hall, he could see more cameras. So he summoned a single crow that flew up to the first camera and landed on it. The crow then picked off the cable connecting it to the security, disabling it. The crow continued on, disabling camera after camera while Iron Mask calmly walked in its wake. Taking a few turns here and there and walking down a few stairs, Iron Mask finally reached his destination; Raven's room. He quietly opened the door and slipped in, closing the door behind him. He took a few minutes to observe the dark and gothic decorations inside; the dark colors, the two masks, the strange bird statue and the bookshelf that was packed to the brink with books that would make any collector of the occult drool in wonder.
"Endroit sympa, j'aime son gout" Iron Mask casually remarked. He walked over to the bookshelf and began to systematically search through it. Occasionally he picked out a book and after flipping through its pages he either placed it on the floor behind him or put it back on the shelf.
"Peut-être this one… non, wrong one… or is it… non, wrong again… could it be… might as well take it… did I chèque this earlier… peut-être" he kept on mumbling to himself as he checked book after book. Finally it seemed as if he had found exactly what he was looking for as his tracing finger stopped on a thick bound volume and he exclaimed in an "aha". He pulled out the book and gave it a quick run through before he nodded in satisfaction. He picked up all the books he had chosen and placed them on the bed before walking to the window in her room and opened it. On his command, several crows came flying into the room and picked up the books before flying away again, back to their base of operations. Iron Mask silently slipped back out into the corridor and headed towards the living room. He still had one more assignment left to complete before he could take his leave. As quietly as humanly possible he moved down the hallways until he arrived at the living room. He carefully opened the door to peer inside. Finding no one there, he walked with a more brisk pace to the computer inside. Activating it, a message that a password was required to access it appeared. Iron Mask snorted in amusement.
"Couldn't they come up with a better système de sécurité?" he asked himself as he typed the password. Once it was done, he took out a CD case from his pocket. He put the CD inside the computer and a download bar appeared on the screen, indicating that whatever was on the CD was being transferred to the computer. With his task complete, Iron Mask indulged himself with a satisfied smile underneath his mask. The clouds outside had already dissipated and Iron Mask was momentarily captivated by the beautiful sight.
"It really is a magnifique night tonight, don't you agree Docteur Fate?" he asked over his shoulder, addressing Doctor Fate who had just entered the living room.
"Where is the girl?" Doctor Fate asked harshly. Only now did Iron Mask turn around to face his opponent, calm on the outside but nearly exploding with excitement on the inside.
"I think you should be more concerned about what I'm doing here than where she is" he stated matter-of-factly just as the download bar reached 100%. Immediately after, the screen suddenly turned black as sparks flew from the keyboard, frying all the hardware on the computer. The sparks then travelled through the whole tower, destroying all electrical equipment and infecting the communication system.
"A most génial plan by ma patronne. She knew that we could never stand against the unifié might of the Teen Titans and all honorables membres, so she devised a way to knock out the worldwide communication network they used; leaving all the membres isolated and easy cueillette for us. Leave it to a former membre to devise the best way to défaite the Titans" Iron Mask explained smugly. Of course, the destruction of the communication network was only a secondary objective, the primary objective was far grander; but he was not so arrogant as to reveal that much to the enemy. Though Iron Mask could not see Doctor Fate's face, he got an impression that he appeared crestfallen by that news.
"So Raven chose to ally with you against the Titans" he said sadly, not even asking for confirmation since this was what he had feared and suspected would happen. Iron Mask tilted his head slightly in curiosity.
"Do I détecte a hint of sadness in your voice? Don't tell me you still held hopes to save her?" he asked in surprise. Doctor Fate fixated Iron Mask with a steely glare.
"No, I already suspected that she was beyond salvation. But I am concerned for the Titans. They had hoped that they could somehow save her. But now it will be clear to them that there is nothing they can do" he explained. Iron Mask gave a light laugh before ending with a weary sigh.
"Young people these days; they can never accepter the inévitable" he said. He then cast a quick glance at the window behind him before looking back at Doctor Fate.
"I suspecte that you'll not simply let me go, am I right?" he asked innocently. Doctor Fate in turn began levitating off the ground while his hands became encased in golden light.
"You would be correct in your assumption" he answered. Underneath his mask, Iron Mask gave a diabolical smile.
"Then try to catch me if you're able to" he said just as he turned around and ran. Before Doctor Fate could stop him, Iron Mask threw himself through the window. Just as he was about to be squashed against the rocks below, he dissolved into a swarm of crows that took off towards the city. Doctor Fate had by then run up the shattered window and peered out just in time to catch sight of the crows speeding with all haste towards Jump City.
"Damn!" he said as he took off after his quarry. The hunt was now officially on.