Chapter 25: Elusion
It took Raven some time to adjust to being home after being away from it for so long. Although it had only been a couple weeks before that she had last stayed there—it was the first time in a long while with practically the whole team sharing the space with her again under one roof.
Beast Boy and Cyborg hadn't really changed all that much; it was Robin that she noticed had changed. His warm homecoming welcome for her had been short-lived; he not longer afterwards had adopted a tendency of being aloof around not just the other two—but also her. It was that which made it harder for Raven to adjust to life within the tower again.
It had been a month since her discharge and that stated warm welcome; in that time the two had hardly spoken a word to each other. She knew they all would need their time to adjust—problem was, how long would that take—
She had become used to him being so close with her, so worried about her safety and giving her reassurances that it felt so unreal that he was choosing to almost ignore her completely.
Starfire in the end had decided to immediately return to her residence with Titans East instead of staying in town. Raven hadn't bothered to mention Starfire's late evening visit to anyone; she felt it might stir up some troubling vibes to even bring it up around any of the three—especially Robin.
Especially Robin—
Raven sighed as she stood in the eerily silent common room. She could see mirrors of activity from the past playing in front of her like some spectral time-loop; those memories of happier times giving the atmosphere an ironically melancholic air to it.
Nothing's ever going to be the same, she thought to herself. She sighed again. She knew Robin would take some time to work through his issues with Starfire's departure and all that surrounded it—they all would. I just hope it won't take forever—
She entered the dead silent kitchen, cautious to take any steps further upon the cold tile flooring. Each step she took slowly echoed horribly in a way she couldn't ever recall witnessing before. She reached for something from the refrigerator and quickly made her exit with it. As she took her findings with her to the deserted sectional, she closed her eyes and heavily sighed before taking a seat.
She sometimes had to wonder why he seemed to be avoiding her. Did he somewhere deep inside house some resentment towards her for all that had happened? She could hear his words of reassurance going through her mind, telling her that he didn't think she should believe that she was responsible for it—
The other two were coming out of their hiding—or wherever they'd been at before they'd bothered to come join her. The day was a casual one—nobody was expecting there to be any missions anytime that afternoon.
"I didn't realize this room was so—quiet," Beast Boy noted as he grabbed a controller for the game station and took it to the sectional. Realizing Raven was there, "Hey—how long have you been sitting there in this dead silence?"
"A little while," Raven replied.
"Well—this place needs the sound amped up a few notches and a good amount of livening up," Cyborg noted, one hand armed with the other player controller to the game station, the other hand armed with the remote for the new big screen.
"Have either one of you talked to Robin lately?" Raven asked the two as they got themselves situated to play their game. Cyborg shrugged.
"Not really," Beast Boy stated. "He's been kinda giving us the cold shoulder. It's probably not intentional—the dude's got a lot to deal with right now." He looked over at her. "What about you? Have you two talked at all?"
"I get the feeling he doesn't want to," Raven stated, looking ahead. "I feel like he's avoiding me on purpose, and—I guess…it's got me a little unnerved."
"Are you thinking he's got some resentments with ya?" Cyborg questioned her. "Over all that's happened?"
"A small part of me thinks so," Raven replied.
"Well, Rae—I can assure you that he doesn't," Cyborg assured her. "From what Bee's been relaying to me—he's been in talks with her about something. I'm not sure if it's been about Starfire's welfare or something else—but that's one of the things that's been consuming his time lately." He smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure eventually he'll come around again."
"Are there other reasons why you keep in contact with Bee that I don't know about?' Beast Boy questioned his friend in a toying manner. "Is there something going on between you two?"
"BB—don't read more into things than there really is," Cyborg stated disapprovingly. "Let's just get this game rolling before this silence gets to me."
For the first time in a long while, the common room was alight with the banter and noise that Raven had gotten fairly used to—that had been absent for way too long.
XoXoX
The sun was escaping in the distance on the far off horizon. It peeked out from the borderline where the water of the ocean met the sky, readying itself for its slumber as it slipped from the fiery-lit sky.
Raven found herself resting on the ledge of the roof, solemnly watching the sun make its departure. She was alone; nobody seemed to know she was up there.
Waves crashed on the shore below, the city across the water still bustling with activity in its primetime. The sounds seemed so close yet so far. So far—
As night set in, the shadows grew to compensate for where the light was becoming absent. There was nothing abnormal about these shadows though; they were just the natural phenomena that she had always been accustomed to.
The sun had completely blotted itself from the sky—the shadows taking over the surroundings all around her. She stood there; calmly letting them take their places around her. A noise she wasn't expecting caught her attention—making her raise her guard.
Don't tell me I let my guard down too much, and that there's actually something malevolent out there in the shadows—
She readied herself for that possibility. She drew in a wealth of dark energy around her clenched fists, ready to make a strike if the moment arose. She cautiously turned away from the ledge, her nerves tensed and heart racing.
She saw movement in the shadows. She clenched her fists and her teeth tighter in anger. The presence with no apparent form continued to prod on, the sound of eerie footfalls bringing her to the level of activating her powers where her eyes were alight an incandescent white.
"Whatever just happens to be out there—if you're intent on causing me trouble—" She grated as the shadowy presence continued approaching her. It was when it reached a distance of just five feet from where she stood did she get a shock. She relaxed her fists and the energy surrounding them as the anger slipped away—her eyes widening in astonishment. "Robin?"
"Did my presence startle you that much?" He asked her perplexingly.
"Yeah—it did," Raven admitted. She let herself relax. "What are you doing up here? I kind of got the sense that you were giving me the cold shoulder."
"I was?" Robin exclaimed. "I've been caught up with so much on my mind lately, I guess…I just seemed to be oblivious of everyone that was in my presence." He joined her by the ledge, looking out at the night-illuminated waters of the bay. "Rae—I wasn't intentionally ignoring you. Cy mentioned to me that you felt that way, and—I guess I wanted to clear that up. With Star's absence, and a bit of a gap on the team from where she used to be—I've been trying to fill that gap in all the different ways I've needed to." He looked at her. "First off, with Bee's help—I've been trying to talk Jinx into filling Star's old spot on the team. It's been tough trying to convince her to, but—she finally agreed to just a little while ago."
"So—Jinx is going be part of the team then?" Raven asked him. He nodded. "Are you going to be okay with this?"
"Star's pretty adamant that she's not coming back," Robin stated on a regrettable note. "We've all got to move on—and this team feels incomplete with just four people on it."
"Robin—I'm sorry that Star left," Raven told him. She looked away towards the sea. "I don't mind it if you ever do blame me for what happened with her. I—I just—"
"Raven—I really wish you wouldn't put the blame on yourself for all of this!" Robin's exclamation wasn't what caught her off guard; it was the fact that he'd placed his hands on her shoulders that was. He was watching her, standing face to face with her, expression matching up with the exclamation. "I don't blame you! If anything—I blame myself." His head sunk as he lowered his gaze from hers, a sense of guilt evident in his actions. "If I had listened to you that night before I left—I could've prevented all this. It was my acts of stupidity that got you hurt, the other three abducted—and Star permanently scarred mentally. That wasn't your fault—it was mine."
"Robin, even if you had ignored that call—Slade would have pursued us until he got his way," Raven reminded him. "Bruce still would have been hurt—and who knows where we all would be now. The outcome could have been worse—some of us could have even ended up dead."
"Bruce—" Robin hadn't focused fully on that in a while. "He could've ended up dead. Slade wouldn't have had any trouble with that concept. It was because of our fast thinking and your healing touch that he even survived that." That thought he found suddenly encouraging. "Yeah, Rae—I guess the outcome could have been worse. If I'd ignored that call—Bruce's casualty would have just been one of many possibilities—or probabilities."
"I guess—no matter how many different ways you look at it…the situation was inevitable—and we should stop trying to find places to lay blame," Raven said. He looked up, nodding. He released his hands from her shoulders and resumed his place looking over the water.
They let a moment of silence fall in as they watched the star-lit tide move in. The moon was but a sliver above, appearing as if it was the Cheshire cat grinning slyly down on them. She seemed content to watch the tides come in, but his nerves were at that moment a little jumbled.
He turned his attention towards her, watching her instead of the shifting tides. He'd had another reason why he'd come up there looking for her—but he was having a hard time bringing himself to bring it up with her.
"Raven—there's something I've been meaning to speak to you about that I also came up here to discuss with you." Raven turned her attention towards Robin abruptly when she heard him speak.
"What did you need to speak to me about?" Raven asked.
Before he spoke, he noticed her standing at an angle to face him directly. He spied her hands in the darkness, and catching her unawares when he reached for them. When he had taken them in his he looked up to her eyes.
Her somewhat surprised amethyst eyes—
"You once asked me to give you an answer to something when everything was over, and I—" Robin got cut off by the acknowledgment of another's presence; somebody had snuck up on them in the shadows—albeit unintentionally.
"I've been looking all over for y'all," Cyborg claimed, his presence glaringly obvious now amongst the shadows of the night. "I needed to let ya know our new recruit just arrived. She's waiting for us all to come along and make her feel welcome for her first night."
"I didn't think Jinx was going to show up for another day or so," Robin stated. "Did she give a reason why she arrived earlier than planned?"
"Not a thing, man," Cyborg replied. He looked out on the bay, smiling heartily. "Sure's looking to be a beautiful night, wouldn't ya say?"
"Yeah—it is," Robin agreed. "So—is she waiting for us right now?"
"Yeah—and she's not being too patient with it either," Cyborg stated, adding with a cringe. "I don't want to deal with her in a bad mood—especially if it meant her bringing the tower down with a few of her hexes. I'm not looking forward to trying to rebuild this place again from scratch."
"I don't think I could tolerate being temporarily homeless because of something she did," Raven said. "Can you give us a moment? Tell them will be there shortly."
"I'll grant y'all a moment," Cyborg said. "But don't take your time—or that little prospect could become a reality we don't want to live with." He cringed once more before he turned to leave. When he was gone, Raven turned her gaze towards Robin.
"Would what you were going to say only take a moment to say it to me?" Raven asked him, realizing her hands were still clasped in his.
"It would probably take more than that," Robin told her. "I can catch you later and tell you then. Let's get this Jinx thing done first—we can worry about what I was going to say later."
"Okay," Raven replied. She began to progress towards the exit off the roof; she noticed he still hadn't released one of her hands as she made the trip. He all the while hadn't slowed her down, keeping pace with her. For a moment she halted. "Uh—" She felt like she had something to say, but the words wouldn't give. He looked at her weirdly.
"Rae—is there something on your mind?" Robin inquired curiously. She shook her head no.
"It was…it's nothing." Raven turned her attention towards the roof exit—not saying another thing along the trip.
XoXoX
The common room was brightly lit as the two made their entry. The entertainment system was up and running, the speakers blasting some rhythmic tunes throughout the whole room. Waiting while lounging across the black sectional was the newest recruit along with the other two familiar presences—Cyborg and Beast Boy. A fourth unexpected soul had joined in the party—apparently a guest of the new recruit's.
"Hey—you guys like sugar donuts?" Jinx noticed that the last members had joined the crew meeting. She met up with them, holding up a bag of bakery goods. "Cuz I brought a few bags with me when I came in."
"I guess…I'll have one," Raven told her, hesitating to reach into the bag as Jinx held it up.
"How about you—oh mighty leader?" Jinx asked Robin.
"I wouldn't mind having one of those," Robin replied. He took one more quickly than Raven had.
"So—I have a bit of a proclamation for you all," Jinx said as they all gravitated towards the center of the room. "I've been meaning to bring up one condition I'd like met if I'm going to become part of this team. It's not gonna alter the way you guys play your goofy games all day, affect your grocery lists, or change any of you living habits. All I ask is that you hear me out when I say I want you to consider bringing him aboard too." Jinx pointed one of her long slender fingers towards that unexpected fourth guest. The guest stood up as if in acknowledgement of the fact that he was being indicated. "So—what do you guys think? Would it be cool if Kid Flash became a team player as well?"
"I'd have no problem with that," Cyborg stated, shrugging.
"Can he play a mean game on the game station?" Beast Boy asked curiously.
"My extra speed makes me a whiz at button operated play," Kid Flash claimed proudly. "Just you wait—I'll make for a formidable opponent."
"Cool," Beast Boy said. "He can stay."
"How about you—oh mighty leader and mistress of darkness?" Jinx asked teasingly.
"I don't have any problem—as long as you don't call me mistress of darkness ever again," Raven advised her.
"He can stay—it's fine with me," Robin replied, smiling. "Should we start the inductions by picking up a couple take out pizzas?"
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Cyborg agreed. "If y'all will call it in, I can make the trip to pick them up." He switched the CD player off and put the TV on. "Y'all know what I want. Ya can all debate what'cha want."
"You're the one who's a strict veggie guy, right?" Jinx asked Beast Boy. He nodded. "Be careful not to preach that mumbo jumbo to me—especially when it comes to pizza. I want my pizza to be the real deal—got it?"
"Okay, sure—got it," Beast Boy stated. "I'm not gonna give you pressure."
"So—we'll order three pizzas," Robin stated. "One's for Beast Boy's veggie lovers. Cy gets his Meat Lovers, and the third will be optional. So—any ideas for the third's toppings?"
"Mushrooms," Jinx said.
"Onions and olives," Kid Flash chimed in.
"I'm going to voice my additions of sausage and Canadian bacon. Anybody object to that?" Robin asked. He got no objections. He turned his attention to Raven. "Anything you want to add?"
"I'm fine with what's on it," Raven replied. "Maybe add pepperoni—and I'm set."
"I'll go put in the order," Robin said. To Cyborg, "I'll give you the time frame when the order's been put in."
"Sounds good," Cyborg replied. He was absorbed in some television program playing on the big screen. Raven looked at the screen for a moment, rolling her eyes when she noted it was a program she didn't have one ounce of interest for.
Robin left the room to get the order in, while the rest of the party got drawn into the program Cyborg had flipped to on the big screen. Raven separated from the group, waiting for when Robin would return.