(RAVEN'S PERSPECTIVE)
The colors of the day softened as the Sun's glare began to dull. Carpets of darkness spilled over the city, which was once glossed in delicate sunlight. The first star of the night was born in the sky, with the deep silver Moon right beside it.
The cars on the road drove slower, stores began to lock, and the citizens moved more quietly; all in response to the night's spell raining down.
The Titans and I had recently finished a battle with H.I.V.E. Academy. The fight went how it went most times. The team exchanges several blows and blasts with the villains, and after a while the Titans eventually prevail over the opposing force.
After returning home from our mission, we all partook in the typical Titan meal: pizza.
"I don't get it, man. Don't these villains ever quit? I mean... we always win." Cyborg commented, chowing down on a slice.
"If they did quit, life would kind of being boring." Robin added.
Starfire doused her pizza in mustard, "It would also save you a lot of stress, Robin."
"Well... you've got a point." the leader chuckled nervously.
With a book in one hand, and the pizza in another, I began to eat my slice elegantly. I situated my teeth on the surface, and let them sink into the cheese-filled, tomato-glazed flesh.
The salty flavor danced on my tongue as the warm temperature filled my mouth. My hunger subsided as a silent satisfaction filled the void.
My purple gaze skimmed across the script in my book, as the words illustrated the story in my mind. I adored the feeling of holding the textured cover of a novel against my fingertips. I also desired how easily my mind was captured in a story's fantasy.
Cyborg nearly inhaled his first slice then grabbed another from the box,"The H.I.V.E. doesn't have Jinx anymore, which makes them even more vulnerable. Then you've got villain- wanna-be's. Doctor Light, who's the width and length of a twig, Control Freak who has the worst hairline in history, and Mumbo... the Tall Smurf."
"You forgot Mad Mod, the oldie that likes to make illusions with a stick." Robin laughed.
"Those villains are merely minor. There are others we have faced that have caused much more chaos." Starfire noted.
"You right, you right." the half robot replied.
Since dinner started, I started to feel off.
My head clouded and pounded moderately. My hands felt clammy, my leg vibrated nervously, and my stomach churned. The feeling developed gradually, but as time went on, the tensity continued to chip away at my composure.
I felt so clueless and overwhelmed in a short span of time, but refused to let my friends catch a hint.
"Yo, B." Cyborg called.
"Hm?" Beastboy replied.
"You not gonna eat? Ya slice gon' get cold."
The changeling's voice was sour, "No."
"Are you okay, Beastboy? It's not like you to not eat... especially an all-time favorite like pizza." Robin quizzed.
"I'm fine, don't worry about me."
Another pang hit my brain, which caused my vision to blur.
I blankly put my book down, then glanced at Beastboy.
He wore a disgruntled expression, hard and cold jade eyes, and a resentful attitude. The tips of his ears were slightly tinted in red, his eyebrows were angled in emotion, and his teeth clenched on top of each other.
My pupils dilated, then my mind made a sudden shift. Chills crossed my body, whilst I lost touch with reality. My senses were ensnared into a different existence.
The first thing I heard was a little boy's voice.
"Look what I found, Papa!" the child's words rung with enthusiasm.
The child ran into a seemingly wooden house, almost tripping over in excitement. He rushed up to his father who was sitting at a desk. The man's focus was deeply fixated on the papers in front of him.
"Papa, Papa!"
"Not now, son. I need to concentrate on this experiment."
"But, look," the boy was holding a pair of binoculars in his hands, "I found these weird "forest glasses" that people like to use. It was on the ground near a Mopane tree."
The kid had fair skin, a blond nest of hair, and light green eyes. His smile was one to remember, one that was genuine, and radiating elation.
"Didn't your mother and I tell you it was not good to pick up things that do not belong to you? You don't know who touched that crap or who may want to come back for it." the father had yet to pay full attention to his child.
"It makes everything I see really big. That's probably how bugs see us... through their "forest glasses"."
"They're not called "forest glasses", they are called "binoculars"."
"Bee-knock-you-lawrs," the child pronounced, "Can you please look at it, Papa? It's soooooo cool!"
"Get lost, kid." the father spat.
"Papa, I just want you to—"
"I said, get lost, damn it! You always come around here to provoke me with your nonsense. Go play with a koala or something. Just leave me alone, I don't want you here."
The son frowned, losing light in his eyes. He obeyed his father and sulked to the corner of the room.
Losing interest in his discovery, the child wandered to rows of shelves. The shelves had a number of books, varying all in color and size.
Below the books, were glass bottles. Some of the glass containers were empty, or were sealed with liquid inside of them.
The child tilted his head back, admiring the sight in front of him. He jumped a few times, attempting to reach a novel. Seeing that his height was no match for his goal, his aim lowered to what he could reach.
He outstretched his hand to a flask with blue contents. However, when the child nearly got a grip on the item, it slipped between his hands, and landed on the floor with an echoing crash.
"Oops." the child gazed down at the substance and shards of glass.
The father got up from the chair in a haste, finally snapping out of his scientific daydream.
His cheeks burned in scarlet as he stormed towards his son.
"Hell, no matter what I tell you, you do the opposite, huh?" the man smacked away the bottle from his child's hand.
"You told me to get lost, so I did!" the boy retorted.
"Oh, don't smart mouth me, you darn pest. You cause trouble everywhere you go and it pisses me off. Look at what you did to one of my medicines! These recipes are difficult to make, and now this one has gone to waste." the father aggressively grabbed his son by the shirt.
"Let me go! Let me go!" the child cried, flailing his limbs in every direction.
The father dragged the boy to a room and just about threw him inside.
"Hopefully you don't tear down in there, too. I don't want to see you out here unless it's for food. Good grief, I wonder why Marie and I bother with a kid like you." the man hissed and slammed the door shut.
I took a deep breath, as if it was the first one I took.
I was back in Jump City, in my T-shaped home, sitting at the table with my friends.
Everything was just as I left it.
Everyone was paused in concern over Beastboy, who refused to do anything.
I had my book in my lap and the pizza in my hand.
"If you say so." Robin resumed to eating his meal, then Cyborg and Starfire did the same.
I was unable to wrap my head around what happened to me.
All I know, is that no one noticed.