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The Past (6/7): Raven

Rachael Roth. That was the name that she had chosen for herself.

She was currently moving into her new place, dragging the last of her luggage up the stairs. She didn't have many items; most of her belongings from the Tower were kept in a storage in another dimension. However, her precious items that she couldn't place there were in the chest that she was bringing up the stairs.

She would have used her magic to carry it up, but there was a little boy who hadn't let her out of his sight since she had arrived.

She paused on top of the step and took a small break. She really needed to work on her cardio. Robin was right; she relied too much on her magic and had neglected her physical strength.

She immediately grabbed the handle again to her luggage to drag it to her new room.

She didn't want to think about Robin or the team. She didn't want to leave the team, but Starfire's departure had created a chain reaction. Cyborg left next. He and Robin had teamed up with the Justice League on a mission. Afterward, they offered them both a place on the team. Robin had declined. He wanted to separate himself from his mentor's shadow. However, Cyborg accepted.

It was the three of them until Robin decided that he wanted to move on. He wasn't sure where. He just knew that whatever he was looking for wasn't in Jump City anymore. Beast Boy, feeling the same as Robin, wanted to leave too. So, when they turned to her during one of their last meetings as a team to ask what she wanted to do, she lied and told them that she wanted to move on as well.

Somehow, she ended up across the country, enrolled at Hudson University in New Carthage, getting a degree that she wasn't sure that she wanted. But something had led her here, just like it led her to room with the undergraduate student who had a little boy that was staring at her.

Once her luggage cleared the doorway, she closed the door and cried a little, being careful of her powers. She was alone again. Her friends had abandoned her, and she had nowhere to go.

Why did she always find herself alone?

Why hadn't anyone contacted her to ask her to join them?

Why did they leave her behind?

There was a knock on the door. She quickly wiped her tears. She didn't want her new roommate to see her crying. Well, temporary roommate. She was planning on leaving after she found a cheap place and a job.

While she took the Wayne Foundation scholarship to cover her tuition and school necessities, she didn't want the extra money to cover her living condition. After all, she knew the real reason why she was granted the scholarship in the first place.

Call it pride. However, she wanted to be independent and normal from now on. That meant she didn't want to become a superhero charity case.

She opened the door. Instead of her roommate, Mari, she was looking down at her son, who was holding a lollipop up at her.

"Cheer up." He said. "It will be okay." She raised an eyebrow as the boy, Trent, smiled at her. "We are family now. Family makes things better."

He handed her the lollipop and went away.

Family. She looked at the lollipop and chuckled bitterly on the inside. A family was something she could never have or keep.


As Rachael ran through the rain, she wished for the fifth time that she hadn't been so prideful and taken the money that had been offered to her. The money would have helped with the bills, groceries, and other stuff that a college student may or may not need. The money had been very generous that she could have bought a car.

But now, she was running in the pouring rain, coming from a part-time job that she hated, because of her pride. Speaking of pride, she looked across the street to see Trent and Mari waving at her from the inside of the ice cream polar.

It had been months since she stopped looking for a new place to stay. She was content with the life that she had with those two. Who would have known that Trent was right that day he handed her that lollipop? They were family.

She was shocked to learn that the tale she heard of as a child was true. She was one of the seven children of her father. Her father had sired seven children to bring chaos and destruction to the world. Yet, she was the only one that could be used as a portal.

However, while she knew what evil she was born from, Mari didn't know. Mari didn't know what the strange birthmark on her shoulder meant. And Raven had no plans of informing her.

Mari already had a rough life growing up. She didn't want to add to it. Fortunately, the prophecy was fulfilled and their father was never coming back.

She quickly crossed the street and entered the ice cream polar.

She was soaked, but fortunately, she was wearing dark-colored clothes, unlike Mari, who liked to wear bright-colored clothes.

"Tía." Trent smiled brightly at her. "We were waiting for you."

"Sorry." She kissed him on the forehead before sitting down. Since moving in with her real family she had become more affectionate, thanks to their influence. Plus, Trent was a sweet child. He never gave her or his mom any problems. In fact, it seemed as if they gave him problems instead.

"It's okay. You are here now."

Mari clicked her teeth. "You would have been here on time if you went to church with us."

Rachael wined. They were having this conversation again. "I had to work today. You know, help pay the bills."

Mari glared at her. "I know, you changed your schedule to work on Sundays, so you won't come to church."

She had, but she would never admit it to Mari. She just wasn't a religious person. That was all Mari.

"Mom, can we eat before the ice cream melts?"

Mari smiled and kissed his cheek. "Sorry, mijo. Let's pray." They bowed their head as she prayed over a single, large ice cream cup.

They didn't have enough money to pay for each of them to get ice cream. Money was tight with two adults going to full-time college and a growing young boy in the house. Nevertheless, ice cream was something that they could afford.

They finished praying, and Trent quickly dug in. They smiled at the expression on his face.

"How is it?" Mari asked.

"It's amazing." They laughed at his answer. "Tía Rae, you're going to love this one."

Rachael grabbed a spoon and scooped up the mixed ice cream flavors. It was Trent's job to choose the flavor.

"Mmm, it's delicious." She said, scooping up a small piece after Mari. They only took small bites of the ice cream so that Trent could eat more.

"Of course, you always pick the best ice cream." Trent smiled at Mari's words.

"My good taste comes from you, ma."

"Of course, it does "

Rachael both envied and admired the relationship between those two. She could practically see the lovely bond between them.

She wondered if she could have children, would she have a son like Trent. After all, he was –

"What's wrong?" Mari asked. "You have that weird expression on your face again."

"Nothing," Rachael said quickly. "I was wondering what flavor we are going to try next week."

"Don't worry, Tía. Leave it to me."

She smiled. "You are right. So, can you give me a hint?"

Before he could answer, Mari's phone rang. She looked at her phone and quickly excused herself from the table. She watched her for a while before Trent drew her attention.

"She has a new boyfriend." Trent said nonchalantly. Another pride and joy of Mari were that she enjoyed being a woman. However, she believed that a woman wasn't complete unless they had a man. And the problem with that was she always chose guys that were scumbags. Trent's father was a perfect example.

"When did this happen?" She asked. Trent was a child, yet they often held conversations like they were both adults. She had to remind herself often that he was a child and needed to be looking after.

"A while back. She doesn't want you to know." She nodded. Mari and her fights were mostly about the guys that she chose to date. "I think that she wants him to move in."

"What?!" She whispered loudly, looking at Mari who was still on the phone laughing and smiling.

"She asked me what I thought about him about a week ago."

She blinked, not believing what she was hearing. "You met him?"

He nodded. "He seems like a nice guy. He's a bit…tense, but I think that he really likes her. I can tell. "

That was it. She winced. Two against one. It wasn't like her vote would matter anyway. Trent and guys were Mari's world; even though Trent and Mari were hers. They were the only family in her life now that she was no longer a Teen Titan. She just hoped that Mari wasn't making a mistake.


Rachael used her powers to decorate the dining room with birthday banners, balloons, and posters. They had popular superheroes of the Justice League on them.

She stared at one superhero in particular.

She missed Cyborg and the other members of the team. She hadn't contacted them, and as far as she knew, no one tried to contact her. However, she doubted that they would find her if they tried to.

After Mari's more than horrible relationship with her ex-boyfriend, she and Mari dropped out of college, sold the house that they were living in, and moved to a new town with Trent.

For a while, everything was becoming stable for them. She and Mari were lucky to find good-paying jobs as secretaries for a local company. And Trent loved his new school.

Everything would have been perfect if it wasn't for Mari's new boyfriend. Well, he wasn't new. They had been dating for eight months. He had been their roommate for six months.

It was thanks to him that they were able to move into a nicer place and didn't have to worry about any household bills. While he treated Mari and Trent well and they adored him, she thought that he was worse than Mari's last boyfriend.

"You did a good job. Trent will be happy when they return." Mari's boyfriend said.

Rachael rolled her eyes at the comment. She turned around to leave the room without replying. Unfortunately, she had to pass him at the door to leave.

It was at the door that he stopped her.

"I was trying to be nice and give you a compliment. You can say thank you."

Rachael looked down at the hand on her elbow before staring back at his face. "You can keep your hands and compliment to yourself."

He chuckled. "Why are you being so touchy? I thought that we were becoming friends."

"You are the one that is being touchy," she said through clenched teeth. She jerked her hand from his hold. "And we are not friends and never will be." She walked away from him, but he followed her into the kitchen where the cake was.

"Don't be like that." He said, grabbing some dishes of food, as she grabbed the cake. They began to walk back and forward between the dining room and kitchen grabbing food and other items for the birthday party.

"Out of all your old friends. I am the only one that you still keep in contact with."

"Not by choice."

"You are always welcome to go if you don't like it here."

She glared at him. They both knew that she wasn't going to leave because Mari wasn't going to leave him. She had tried to convince Mari to leave several times; however, her words were ignored. In fact, she gave her an ultimatum: get along with him or she would kick Rachael out of her life. Since that day, Rachael never spoke a word against him because she knew that Mari would abandon her for Slade Wilson.

"What do you want, Slade?" She stopped walking and turned to face him. "I thought we had an agreement. We'll only talk to each other in front of Trent and Mari. And they are not here. " She pretended to like him for their sake. "So, why are you bothering me?"

"I want to tell you the good news."

"You're dying."

"Sorry, I meant good for me. "I asked Mari to marry me and she said yes."

"Noooo!" Her rage took over. She had been trying to control her emotions for the longest. That was the last straw. She slammed him into the opposite wall with her power. "I won't allow you to."

"What are you going to do? Will you try to get rid of me like you did the last time?" He chuckled. "Will you have Mari spending her waking moments thinking about me, searching for me. She will worry herself sick like the last time. I wonder if it will send her to her death this time?"

She let him go, trying to control her rage. The last time she tried to make Slade disappear when they had begun dating, Mari had worried herself sick over him. It had gotten so bad that she had to go and bring him back. She couldn't see Mari like that a second time.

"If you hurt her, if you hurt them, I'll kill you. You'd better pretend to love them as your life depends on it."

He smiled, straightening up his posture. "That won't be hard to do."

"I hate you."

"I know."

"You just don't know how much?"

"Oh, I'm sure I can guess. "

She glared before turning her back towards him. A second later, she was pushed forward. White light flashed across her eyes then darkness settled in.


Rachael's eyebrows frowned as she listened to the song that was being hummed.

She hated that song.

It was the song that greeted her every day after work. She would follow it to the kitchen. As always, she would stand in the doorway of the kitchen and watch them. They looked like a happy family without her. Mari, who stopped working to be a house girlfriend, would be helping Trent with his homework while their third roommate would cook dinner as he hummed.

The scene made her feel lonely and left out. As if she wasn't needed in their lives. However, every day, Trent would look up for his homework and greeted her with the words: Tía Rae, welcome home. We had been waiting for you.

She would smile and greet him back. All her worries were for nothing.

Yet, as she listened to the humming something was felt off this time. There was no smell of food cooking or the sound of Mari's voice explaining a problem, or the sound of Trent's pencil moving across the paper as he listened to Mari.

It was just the sound of that annoying song.

She opened her eyes and immediately knew that she hadn't fallen asleep at the kitchen table while waiting on dinner as she often did. Instead, she was in a dark room that clearly seen better, just like the man sitting in the chair beside her.

The Slade before her was like the Slade that she never saw. He looked unkempt and unsure. He looked like he wasn't in control.

"Where am I?" She asked. She had been kidnapped multiple times as a Titan that she knew not to panic. It was actually better to have a calm conversation with the kidnapper to buy time.

Slade stopped humming and opened his closed eye. He leaned forward, closer to her face, and stared at her. His eye was searching for something.

"What? Is something on my face?"

A strange expression passed on his face before he moved away from her. However, he watched her intensely.

"Slade, where am I? What do you want for me? And where are Trent and Mari?"

"We are in Blüdhaven. You have been... sleeping for over a month now. As for Mari and Trent..." He moved closer and grabbed her wrists and placed him on the side of his head. "It is better if you take a look for yourself."

"Slade, what are you trying to pull?" She glared at him.

"For once, nothing. I know that you will never trust me, but you can trust your powers. Take a look but don't go digging around too much. Only looked at what happened on the day of Trent's birthday until now."

They stared at each other before Rachael's curiosity got the best of her. She released her soul-self and entered into Slade's mind, being careful not to create a bond.

She flew past many memories inside of Slade's head. She ignored all of them. She had no desire to see what made Slade tick. She was only searching for one memory. And when she found it, she slowed down to watch the memory play out as Slade.

Slade watched as she fell forward towards the ground. She caught herself.

"What's the hell is wrong with you?" He asked as he turned her around. She was shocked to see her skin covered in green writing. Rachael's soul-self was shocked too. Her soul-self's heart pounded at the meaning of the words on her body.

"Wake up." Slade slapped her face. "Wake up." She remained unresponsive. "Great, how do I explain this to Mari and the kid?"

Unfortunately, for them, he didn't have to explain the situation to them. They never came home that night, and they never would.

...

He was a mess. He had also made sure that the house reflexed his state of mind. He couldn't process the emotions that he was feeling but she knew how to handle them.

He was going to find Blockbuster and killed him. Make him begged to be forgiven for what he had done: ordering the hit on Mari and Trent. He had already killed the people who pulled the trigger on the gun that killed them in front of the ice cream shop.

Now, Slade only had to kill Blockbuster. He had learned that Blockbuster had ordered the hit out at the request of his dying brother Mark Desmond, who was Mar's ex-boyfriend.

Mari's ex-boyfriend was a common criminal, who died after being fatally injured in prison. He had died two weeks later after the injury. Mostly, likely due to the doctors neglecting a prisoner's medical need.

However, Mark nor his brother blamed the doctor that operated on or the inmate that inflected the wound. Instead, they placed the death of Mark on Mari's shoulder. They thought that she had informed the cops of Mark's illegal activities and provided proof for them to lock him up for years.

They would be disappointed to know that they had made a mistake. It wasn't Mari who had told Mark but it was her half-sister, who still remained conscious.

Slade knew enough about Raven from working with her father that she was in a healing state.

He didn't know how long the healing state would last; however, he was tired of watching over her.

He would have left her if it wasn't for his promise to Trent: to watch over his mother and aunt if something was to happen to him.

He had agreed, not knowing that making and breaking 'pinky promises' with any member of that family could be deadly.

He would have to wait until she was up before he made his move.

.

As Raven's soul-self traveled through his memories, she saw that Slade's definition of waiting was different, to say the least.

While she slumbered, he was busy hunting down Blockbuster. It was easy to find him; however, there was one major problem.

Blockbuster was being protected by the Secret Society of Super Villians as one of their members. In order to get to Blockbuster, he would have to become a member himself.

Slade wasn't interested in being a part of the Secret Society. He had become interested in something else.

Deals were made. Hands were shaken. Blockbuster's head would roll after he got what he wanted.

Raven's soul-self exited Slade's mind and returned to her body.

Tears dripped from her eyes as she spoke. "You knew that I wouldn't have believed you if you just told me."

"We had already established that."

"I hate you."

"And I need you." His one eye bored into both of hers. "You know that I can't complete my end of the deal without you. "

Blood rushed to her ears and beat. She may regret it later but now ...

"For Trent." She said.

"For Trent." He confirmed.


"Noooo!" Rachael Roth yelled, waking up in an unfamiliar place. Sweat poured out from every pore from her body. She looked around the room. It was unfamiliar but nice.

She wondered where she was, and who had brought her here.

There were many members in the Secret Society, yet only a handful of them knew that she was a part of it. And none of them would have rescued her when Chemo exploded.

Chemo! NIghtwing!

She threw the covers off of her and her feet touched the ground. She stood up and immediately fell to the ground.

She levitated off the ground. She breathed heavily. She was weak, but she was sure that she had enough energy to make it to Nightwing if he was still alive.

No, he was alive. She could feel him through their bond.

She was about to turn into her soul-self when the door opened.

An old, balding man entered the room, carrying a tray. He seemed very distinguished with a straight posture and a clean look.

She stretched out her glowing black hand to him. He flowed in the air. "Who are you?" She demanded.

"Ms. Roth, I assure you that I mean no harm."

"That doesn't answer my question. Who are you?"

"Put him down." Another man entered the room. He was handsome and distinguished as well. However, his blue eyes were cold as ice.

"Who are you?" She searched her mind quickly for all the names and faces of the Secret Society. As she was searching, names that matched with the faces that appeared before her. They weren't from her memories though.

"Batman? Alfred?"

"Good. Now that you know who we are. Can you put me down?" Alfred asked. She carefully did as he asked.

Once his feet gently touched the ground, she fell hard to the ground. The energy that she had was fading.

The men hurried over to her. Bruce picked her up and placed her on the bed. When he tried to place the cover over her, she weakly pushed it away.

"Nightwing." She cried, causing random items of the room to glow black. "I have to-"

"Dick is safe. He is resting well at the Manor."

She smiled and more tears fell down her eyes. "I'm glad.'' All the energy that she had left her. She slept for three days.

….

"Thank you, Alfred. But you don't have to come and cook for me every day. I'm sure that you have other things to do." Rachael said from the kitchen island. She watched Alfred moved around the kitchen in the apartment that she was given to stay. Or rather, the luxury prison where she was monitored.

"It is quite alright. I prefer to cook for a pretty lady than to do my usual duties. Besides, you are one of the few who truly enjoy my cucumber sandwich."

"They are delicious."

"I'm glad that you think so." He placed a small plate of them in front of her.

She went to grab one when the kitchen door opened. The two turned their eyes to the door to see Bruce walk in.

He wore slacks, a white dress shirt, and a smile that Rachael knew didn't reflect what he felt on the inside.

"Good, I'm in time for lunch. Do you mind if I join?" He asked, taking a seat.

"You can. It is your apartment. But if it is all the same to you, can we cut the pretense? I know that you are here to talk about what happened in Blüdhaven."

The room grew quiet as Rachael and Bruce stared at each other.

"Fine," he said as his voice changed. The voice of Batman.

"I will leave you two to talk. Miss Roth, please do eat. You need to regain your strength." Alfred left the room, taking a plate of food with him.

They waited until the kitchen door closed.

"Tell me. What happened in Blüdhaven?"

She explained what happened. She explained who was on the Secret Society's council and their members. She told him how and why Slade and she joined. She also reported on the events that led up to the destruction of the city. She answered all his questions as best as she could, using the information that Slade gave her.

"Was it worth it?"

She dropped her eyes before looking up with tears in her eyes. "I had to try...for Trent." The deal that Slade made with one of the council members was for the usage of the Lazarus Pit.

Mari was gone but they could bring back Trent.

"Do you think that Trent would have wanted this?"

Her eyes closed. "No, he wouldn't. But adults rarely do what children want them to do."

"And what about Mari?"

"My sister lives inside of me. Her and Trent's deaths ensured that the part of her soul that belonged to my father was transferred to my soul. It was an extra push to make sure my father took over the world. " However, she left out the part where she made a deal with No Man to allow Mari to exist as a separated being inside of her.

"How does that affect you?"

"I don't know all the ins and outs, but as long as my emotions are stable, the transfer has little effect on me."

"I see...one last question. The bond that you have with Dick, can you break it without it causing him or you harm?"

Her heart pounded. "Yes."

"Then break it."

"Okay."

If she didn't have the bond, then she wouldn't have been able to control Dick in Blüdhaven.

She was the one that influenced him to mentor Rose, to overlook clues, not to call for help when things got out of control. Most importantly, she told him to allow his partner Catalina to kill Blockbuster.

Bruce nodded and his voice changed back to Bruce Wayne. "I'm sorry that I took over most of your lunch." Lunchtime had long been over. It was close to dinner time now. Alfred, who had left to return to the Manor and nursed Dick, would be returning soon.

"Stay here and continue to get some rest." He added, standing up.

"I have a question for you." She looked up at him. "When will you take me to prison?"

A shadow crossed his face. He sat back down. "You're not going to prison. As far as you and I are concerned, you never were in Blüdhaven."

"I don't understand. This was ..." This wasn't like the Batman that she knew from Dick's mind.

"You don't have to understand." His voice changed again. "You only need to do as I say. All connections with any member of the Secret Society ends now. You don't mention or talk about Blüdhaven. Live your life as you did before you meet Mari and Trent, like a Titan."

"I'm not a Titan anymore. I don't have the right to mention that name."

"I know but that is your burden to bear."

"Why not send me to prison?"

"For Dick's sake."

"I don't understand. "

"Like I said, you don't have to. I will be in touch with you later. Just so you know, you will be watched from now on. " He stood up and left a crying Rachael in the kitchen for Alfred to find now.