Disclaimer: No, I don't own Teen Titans.
Chapter 57
"Friend Raven, I thought perhaps you might be interested in the 'girl time'? I had hoped that we might venture to the mall of shopping!"
Yup, Starfire was definitely back to her old self.
Raven sighed and closed her book.
"Sure."
"Joy!" Starfire clasped her hands together as she flew in circles, unbridled joy at its maximum.
"Did someone say mall?!" Beast Boy dropped his controller and leapt over to the girls, throwing his arm around Raven, "count me in!"
"Is it too late to say no?" Raven asked, rhetorically.
"Boo-yah!" Cyborg shouted, waving his controller in the air like a trophy, "take that green-bean!"
"Hey!" Beast Boy let a cringing Raven go, redirecting his attention to his competitor, "no fair!"
"The game doesn't stop just because you decided to give up," Cyborg said smugly.
"I so did not give up!"
"But you DID."
"Did not!"
"Did too."
"Did NOT!"
"Did. TOO."
Raven turned her gaze from the continuing argument to Starfire.
"So...can we go without them?"
"Would it not be rude to leave without friend Beast Boy?"
"Leave where?" Robin walked through the door to the common room, inserting himself into the discussion.
"The mall," Raven responded, "I'm not sure what I'm more excited for - the dress shopping or the manicures."
"Sounds like a plan," Robin smiled, ignoring the obvious fact that none of the boys were invited to partake in the "joyous" rituals of female bonding.
So much for "girl time".
Beast Boy was always butting into other people's plans, but Robin was usually less oblivious when it came to social infringement. Lately, however, he'd been sticking to Starfire like a piece of gum. He might leave the room for an hour, if she were in the company of other teammates, but he'd be back within the hour, as if his girlfriend was some fragile figurine. Starfire was blissfully ignorant, just taking it as Robin's increasing devotion to their relationship, but Raven knew it clearly had something to do with their conversation the other week. Robin had sped away on his R-cycle for the better part of the evening, and after that he'd come back changed, showering Starfire in an unprecedented overflow of attention. Or, in Raven's opinion, caution. Raven wasn't one to pry, but she couldn't help but be curious. Too bad their one-on-one time had been sabotaged. Otherwise she could have asked.
"Did TOO!" Cyborg declared, then, before Beast Boy could respond, he added, "and I'm gonna need some new games to crush you at," he turned to Starfire, "so count me in."
"Glorious!" Starfire clapped.
"Yay."
/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\_/\
"Did you see me?" Ryan asked, "did you see me?"
"I did," Ravager nodded approvingly, "you're improving, Beast."
Ryan grinned.
He hadn't done substantially better than he had the last time he transformed mid-air - a graceful dive from falcon to cheetah, but his fall from owl to elephant was still far better than where he'd started. Ravager would be remiss if she failed to encourage him. Praise was the building block of loyalty. But only when offered sparingly. Had she not scraped and scoured for even a pittance of her father's approval? It had to be earned, of course. But when it had been? The pride she'd felt was like none other. And she had thirsted for more.
It was a tactic she found incredibly effective on her Beast.
Marie rolled her eyes.
But not so on her Witch.
"Is there anything you'd care to show us?" Ravager inquired, "a forcefield, perhaps?"
Marie shook her head, barely containing her disgust. It did not go unnoticed.
"An attack maneuver?" Ravager stepped towards her, "I'd be happy to step in as your opponent."
Ravager waited as Marie considered the offer. They both knew she was still no match for her. As much as Marie had improved, she still lacked the control necessary to defeat her master. Though Marie clearly kept her hopes up, biding her time until that sacred day, she was too young to grasp how long that duration would be, and Ravager knew that powers like hers would take years to perfect. Not as many years as Raven, certainly - Ravager would see to that - but years nonetheless. At least as many as the child had already lived. But one so small could hardly comprehend that.
Marie glared.
"No, thank you."
Ravager smiled. She really did have to applaud herself. All things aside, she had doubtlessly outdone herself when it came to the children's manners. Whatever negative emotions marred their faces, the words that graced their lips were now the very essence of propriety. Slade had no need for pleasantries on the part of his apprentices - he had enjoyed the confrontation. Rose's tastes were far more refined.
"Very well," Rose acknowledged, "then I suppose you're free to entertain yourselves. For the time being."
"Awesome!" Ryan cried, emulating the uncle Marie so sorely missed, "Marie-" his eyes darted to his master as he remembered himself, "Witchy - wanna play tag?"
"My name," the little girl corrected resolutely, "is Marie."
"But your new name is Witchy," Ryan informed her, using the nickname he had recently concocted for her.
"I'm not playing," Marie hmphed, plopping down on the floor defiantly.
"But I can't play tag alone," Ryan whined, as if she wasn't deliberately taking advantage of the fact to punish him.
"Too bad."
"That's not fair!" He cried again.
Marie ignored him, glaring a hole into the wall.
"Witchy-"
"My name isn't Witchy," Marie growled, eyes glowing a dangerous red.
"It IS now!" Ryan yelled back, "I'm B, and you're-"
"YOUR NAME ISN'T B!"
"YES IT IS!"
"B is like BB," Marie fumed, black tendrils shooting at Ryan and pinning him to the wall, "BB is what Uncle Cy calls Daddy! YOU'RE Ryan! That's the name YOUR Mommy and Daddy gave YOU."
Ryan tried to respond, but a black mask slapped against his face, so only his wide eyes were visible.
"Why don't you remember anybody?!" Marie demanded, her voice taking on a demonic echo, "why don't you miss anybody?!"
Ravager watched, relishing the command the little girl held over her dark energy. Clearly not what it could be - that much was evident from the way her Beast was left bereft of breath, but she was leaps and bounds beyond where she was before, lashing out with weak, individual strands, or aggressively releasing all her power in a frenzied mass of force. But now? Ravager basked in the beauty of her Witch's attack, focused completely on her one intended target, albeit with some minor wisps of energy darting about the room, strangling him with awesome fury. But Ravager couldn't have her Beast dispatched in such a manner.
"Release him," she commanded, "now."
Marie's eyes snapped to the woman she had learned to obey, and dropped Ryan to the ground, gasping for air.
"I must say," Ravager vocalized her thoughts, "I'm impressed, Witch," she emphasized the name, a clear reminder of who exactly was in charge.
Marie stared at the ground, tears dripping on the ground. It was anyone's guess as to whether or not they were for Ryan.
Ravager had to admit, the difference between the children was fascinating, though not wholly unexpected. The Witch was the daughter of a demon and a disciplined hero, both stubborn, if her camera feeds were accurate, and steadfast in their morals. The little girl was both, and her allegiance remained with the Titans. Her family. But what was family, really?
Rose's mother, perhaps, had counted, but a single person is hardly a whole family, and the women of the bordello were not ones Rose relied upon. She had a glimpse, for a short while. Her foster family. They'd treated her kindly, and with warmth, and she supposed she had been on the cusp of accepting them as her own. But in the blink of an eye they had been taken, and Rose had been rescued from their fate by Slade. But was Slade a father, in the truest sense of the word? Had their training and his expectations, his dissatisfaction and his taunting, the meager bits of positivity he so rarely afforded, really counted as the relationship of those whom not just blood, but bond created? Rose thought not.
The question still remained, however, of her Beast. Raised in the same environment as the girl, yet wholly different. His parents were both of kind disposition. Eager to please, quick with a smile, more sensitive than most to even the slightest negative sentiment. Was it a wonder then, that her Beast was so enamored, yet disappointed by the man that raised him? That same disciplinarian that begot her Witch, yet had so much less of an impact on her upbringing, a hero whose strict standards and biting tongue left his son thirsting for affection? So painfully similar to her own father. It was no wonder Slade adored him. What he saw in Robin was a young version of himself. And Rose could never measure up. So she understood Ryan. She was raised the same way.
Rose lacked the inherent traits of Robin and her father, but she was a fast learner. She was intuitive, and calculating, and a master of manipulation, and she had learned these traits from both her parents. She had adopted them to form her own tactics when dealing with her enemies, and now, the children in her care. How much more effective would Slade's hold over his apprentices have been, if his harsh words were tempered with an equal dose of encouragement? How much more power could Slade have exerted over his charges, if he had forced even their manner of communication? How much more would they have obeyed him, if he had two heroes in his possession, and pitted them against each other when they failed to follow orders? Terra turned on him because he failed to let her know her worth. Robin only tenuously obeyed when pitted against his teammates. Both of them were free to express their disrespect, and he fought it with wrath instead of subtlety. Rose would not have these problems.
These few, seemingly insignificant differences, were what set Ravager apart. In Ravager, Ryan saw his father, but a version that valued him far more. A master that had his best interests at heart. He received the attention his father never gave him, and honed his skills in ways his family had never managed to achieve. Ravager had helped him. Ravager had encouraged him. For all her Beast knew, Ravager liked - no, loved him. At least, more than his father ever had.
But Marie had Beast Boy and Raven. And even Raven showed her love. That, with her inherent disposition, was what made the Witch so hard to turn.
No matter, though. Rose was unperturbed. She loved a challenge.
"You're...you're...MEAN!" Ryan cried, tears streaming down his face now that his breath was caught.
He stuck his finger at Marie accusingly.
Marie was silent.
"MEANIE!" He tried again, walking closer, "YOU'RE A MEANIE!" He shouted in her ear, "SAY SORRY!" His efforts were to no avail.
Marie kept staring at the ground, no doubt wishing that she was anywhere but there.
"Marie," the girl's head snapped up at the name, spoken, for the first time she could recall, by her master, "you've done well."
Ryan frowned.
"Her name's Witchy..." he said, confused.
"Her title," Rose corrected, as if this had been the case all along, "Marie showed excellent control today, and for that she has earned a privilege."
"What's a pivage?" Ryan asked.
"A special prize you get to enjoy until you do something to force me to take it away."
"Oh."
"Marie," she said again, pointedly emphasizing the name, "has earned her right to be called what she wishes. But only," Ravager warned, "within our home."
"This isn't home," Marie contradicted, unable to contain herself.
"You may not think of it as such," Ravager conceded, "but you do live here, don't you?"
"Yeah," Ryan nodded.
Ravager gifted him with an acknowledging nod of her own.
"And that's the definition of a home," Marie moved to argue, but Ravager continued before she had a chance, "so while we're here, at home," Ravager said again, "you may go by what you wish. But if we leave for battle, your title will be Witch."
Marie looked at her with defiance, but something in her usual glare had softened slightly. Rose noticed, and smiled.
"Can I be B when I'm home?" Ryan asked, not wanting to be left out.
"When you have earned it," Ravager informed him, and he pouted, "but your time will come."
Ryan was somewhat satisfied with her answer and pulled his lower lip back in.
"That being said, your attack, though impressive, did hurt our Beast," she gestured to Ryan, "so I do believe an apology is in order. Don't you?"
Marie begrudgingly met Ryan's eyes as he waited, happy in his validation.
"Sorry...B," Ryan grinned at the use of his self-appointed nickname.
"It's ok!" He said brightly, rushing her with a hug.
Marie cringed at the intensity, but returned the hug halfheartedly before pushing him away. Ever the empath's daughter.
"You both have done well today", Ravager continued, "and I couldn't help but notice the painful lack of entertainment you both suffer from."
Both children looked at her quizzically, unsure of where her train of though was headed.
"Though 'tag' is indeed a pleasurable pastime, I believe you've proven you deserve some, what's the word?" Ravager tapped her chin with her finger, keeping the children in suspense, for she was sure, based on their wide eyes and Ryan's hopeful grin, that they knew what was coming, "oh, yes," she smiled, "toys."
"Toys?!" Ryan shouted in excitement, "can I get-"
"You may get whatever it is you'd like," Ravager interrupted, "a single toy each," Ryan's smile dimmed at this added stipulation, "but I won't be picking them up myself," Marie raised an eyebrow, "you will be coming with me."
"Outside?" Marie asked, ever the skeptic.
Ravager nodded.
"With holorings, of course, and bots."
Marie frowned, in what Ravager could only guess was due to a foiled plan to use her powers to escape.
"But I'll give you a single change to be creative," Ravager informed them, feeling more generous than usual, for this she hadn't originally intended, but nonetheless felt was a harmless jaunt, "you have permission to select your code names."
Ryan frowned.
"But I'm Bea-"
"You can't be Beast and Witch when you're going out as civilians," then, noting the question forming on Ryan's lips, she amended, "as regular people."
Ryan smiled, satisfied.
"So what should you like to be called?"
Marie's eyes sparkled.
"I wanna choose Ry-B's name," Marie stated.
"If she gets to pick my name," Ryan turned to Marie, "then I wanna pick her name."
Ravager thought it an odd request, but saw no reason not to grant it.
"That sounds perfectly fair," she agreed.
"I want his name to be Mark," Marie smiled sweetly, and Ravager returned it, pleased that the child was finally warming up to her generosity.
"An' I want her name to be Rose!" Ryan announced, "'cause she's pretty," he added, beaming at Marie, who rolled her eyes but was clearly flattered.
Ravager's eyes grew wide.
"NO," she snapped, startling the children, then, calming herself and resuming her formerly calm demeanor, offered, "a Rose has thorns. And you don't want to liken Marie to something that hurts people, do you?"
Ryan shook his head, agreeing despite the fact that Marie had, mere moments ago, almost asphyxiated him.
"Perhaps another flower, then?"
Ryan thought for a minute, then called out the only other flower he remembered, "Lily!"
Rose stiffened, then forced herself to relax. She couldn't let the children know the name had any meaning for her. She had already risked exposure with 'Rose'.
"That sounds lovely," she said, to Ryan's excitement, "you can simply refer to me as 'Auntie'."
Rose had known many of her mother's acquaintances, all of whom her mother referred to as her aunts, despite her having no relation. A custom from her mother's home country. One that Rose, raised far from that land, always thought odd.
"Ok!" Ryan said brightly.
Marie nodded in muted approval.
"Alright then," Ravager said matter-of-factly, producing two holorings from the recesses of her outfit, "then I suppose we're ready to head to the mall."
