Everything seemed to go in slow motion.
She heard Starfire scream in terror as chunks of wall flew at them, peppering them both with small papery strips of paint and solid rocks. Raven reached out for the little alien and pulled her into her body, shielding her from anything that could hurt her. When the loud banging and the ringing in her ears stopped, she put her head up and looked around.
There was no one in sight. Everything looked relatively normal, except the large crater now in the wall. Then something caught her eye- something small and shiny that lay in the rubble at their feet.
Levitating it towards her and putting it into her palm, she actually realized it was a small metal envelope. With disdain, she opened it and took out a small scrap of paper.
I know what you did.
I am coming for your friends.
-S
Raven felt her heart stop. S.
Slade.
How the hell did he found out?
"Raben...?" Starfire peeked her head out from underneath Raven's cape. "What wrong, friend?"
Raven swallowed her fear. "N-nothing bad, Starfire. But we need to get out of here, right now, okay?"
A confused look passed over the child's face. "Why? I dought that this twas our home."
"It is." Raven looked for an excuse. She couldn't possibly explain the concept of Slade and his ways to her- she wouldn't understand in this state. None of them would. Not even Robin, who hated Slade the most. Besides, it would take too much time, and time wasn't something she had a lot of at the moment. She sucked in a deep breath. "But there's a bad guy who wants to get us, Star. So we need to get someplace safe, okay?"
"Okay.." Starfire slowly floated down the hall, her hands lit up in small green orbs.
Raven paced the destroyed hall, panic rising within her. She chanted her mantra in her head, but she could feel the balance of emotions starting to slip away at the edges. The light above her head burst from her nervous energy.
She ran down the hall to where the other Titans were. They were all sitting on the couch, wide awake now, and their eyes wide with fear. Starfire was sitting in between Robin and Cyborg, and Beast Boy was curled into a small ball on the couch, shaking. The minute they saw her, they perked up.
"What happen, Raben?" Robin asked worriedly.
"We need to go, guys." Raven said briskly. "Now." She gestured her hands towards her. Beast Boy hopped off the couch instantly and ran to her cape, hiding his face in her cape. Robin glanced at Cyborg and Starfire and shrugged, hopping off the couch. The others followed behind him tentatively. Raven sighed as she scooped up the trembling Beast Boy in her arms, who had transformed into a tiny kitten as was mewing with fear.
"Down this hall to the Titan car." she whispered to them. "Keep quiet, okay?"
"Okay." they said in a small chorus. Raven breathed a sigh of relief as she turned down the hall, holding a small lamp in her hand to light the way. Small footsteps followed behind her; Cyborg muttered something to Robin, who hissed that Raben told them to shut up. Starfire whimpered quietly, her small fists clenched and glowing. They moved along the Titan Tower in (almost) silence.
Raven stepped over some rubble and pushed the button the elevator, watching the small red dial go upwards. She prayed silently that she got her friends to safety and that she could find a way to reverse the spell. A small hand wiggled its way into hers, and she looked down to see Cyborg looking up at her intently.
"Is dere something wrong, Miss. Raben?" he asked, his voice a whisper. "Starfire saids that we is in trouble."
Raven shook her head. "You guys aren't in trouble, I promise. We just need to go."
"It dark." Robin complained. "Dark scary."
"Here Rwobin. I haf light for you." Starfire offered her glowing hands to him. The tiny hero smiled and stood closer to her, captivated by the neon light.
The elevator dinged and slowly opened. It looked dark and uninviting, and with a sigh, Raven entered and kept her hand on the door so the other Titans could crowd in. Once they were settled against the wall, she stepped in herself and let the door close. Then she punched the button for the roof, where Cyborg's Titan car was. The elevator kicked into gear and rattled upwards.
Everyone was eerily silent for a second. Except for the faint glow of the lamp and the weird green color from Starfire, there wasn't any light. Raven bit her lip as Beast Boy changed back into his normal form and clutched at her shoulders tightly. Everything was getting too strange for her. Her best friends in the world were toddlers, Slade was chasing after them at the worst time ever, and now she was running away with them in the Titan car. If that wasn't enough, she still couldn't figure out how to change them back into their normal ages.
Shit. Everything was shit.
"Raben.. I'm scared." Beast Boy whispered softly.
Raven put a hand on his back and just rubbed, unsure of how to comfort him. She didn't know how to comfort anyone, much less kids.
Finally, the elevator rumbled to a stop, lurching forwards a little bit as the electricity gave out. She sighed.
"It stopped! It stopped!" Cyborg started to scream at the top of his lungs. "We stuck! We stuck!"
"WE GONNA DIE! WE DIE!" Robin added to Cyborg's screaming. The two boys started to run around in a panic, bumping into the metallic walls of the elevator. Raven felt somone's tiny fingernails dig into her calve.
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEAKKK!" Starfire screeched, letting off her bolts. They bumped off the metal walls, shooting in all directions like bullets. Raven grunted as Cyborg crashed into her thigh, and she accidently let go of Beast Boy and tumbled to the ground herself. She heard him cry out in pain, but even as she called out for him she was stopped by Robin trampling on her face and pulling at her hair.
" 'Elp! Heelp!"
"Pwease let us out! I SCARED! I SCARED!"
"I want my mammie.. I want my mammie.. I WANT MY MAMMIE!"
Raven turned on her stomach and tried to look for the elevator door. With all the rocking and screaming that was happening, either the elevator would give out and they would plummet thirty stories, or one of Slade's minions would find them and put an end to them.
"Stop!" Raven screamed, trying to regain control. The ground underneath them was starting to swing. "Calm down for a damned second!"
"IT SO DARK! IT SO DARK!" Robin wailed, pounding on the walls. Starfire was attempting to fly out of the ceiling, repeatedly crashing into the metal and slamming back into the floor.
Raven grit her teeth and tried to force the door open with her dark powers. But she couldn't see. As she shot small blasts at wherever she could, she knew they were harmlessly bouncing off the walls.
Finally, there was the sound of crushed metal flying off it's hinges, and the smell of fresh air pouring in. She grabbed a tiny hand, she wasn't sure who it belonged to, and launched herself out of the elevator. She and the other Titan landed on the ground with a grunt. Her head rested on the cold floor, and she closed her eyes.
Someone tugged at her shoulders. "Raben.. Raben.."
She opened her eyes and slowly lifted her head. Four children stared back at her with tear-streaked faces.
"Guys.." she began, her voice choked up. "Are you all okay?"
All the children nodded silently.
Raven picked herself up and stared behind her at the door to the roof. She reached her hand towards them. "We're almost there, guys."
"I'm scared." Beast Boy whimpered.
"I know." Raven said quietly. "But we need to leave. No more scary elevators."
The small Titans exchanged glances with one another, and took tentative steps forward. Beast Boy and Cyborg grabbed Raven's hand while Robin and Starfire stayed close to one another. Raven sighed and pushed open the door with her shoulder. To her relief, it opened easily, exposing a ladder that went up to the roof.
"Go up there, and stay quiet." she instructed. She helped each of them up onto the ladder and waited as they climbed out of sight. Beast Boy was the last one to go, and he gave her a worried look before climbing up. Raven waited at the bottom for a moment and then climbed up herself.
Up at the top, the four Titans were staring at the sky with wide eyes. It was nighttime, and the stars and moon were finally out. Raven had no idea what time it was, but she assumed it was late. The sky was pitch-black and the city was silent, much different than during the day.
Tears gone, they looked back at her with awe.
"Raben.. look at the giant cheese in da sky!" Cyborg announced.
"That's not cheese. It's the moon." Raven said tiredly. She closed the trapdoor and locked it; hopefully Slade's minions wouldn't think to look on the roof until they were long gone. She glanced at the Titan car, gleaming in the moonlight. It had been awhile since Cyborg had let anyone drive it except him. She had driven it once, she remembered, while on a mission to look for Aquaman. Hopefully she still remembered enough.
She opened up the drivers seat and unlocked the other doors. "Get in."
"In the metal ding?" Robin inquired, staring at it.
"Yes." Raven scowled. "Now."
With a grumble, they climbed into the car and sat in the seats, which were now way too big for them. Raven buckled them up anyway, and hoped that they wouldn't mess with the latches or anything like that. She closed the side door and leaned against it, suddenly feeling like she was about to collapse.
We need to get out of here now. A voice said in her head. It was her own voice, one of her emotions, presumably. The longer your friends stay in this situation, the more danger they'll be in. The more danger I'll be in.
Raven glanced at the car and hurried over to the drivers seat. She plopped herself in and put the headgear over her head. Turning the key, the entire car came alive with lights and buttons. The engine started to purr. Raven could hear static in the headphones, and she tried to get the connection to the Titan East team.
"Titan East, this is Raven." she said. "Please, come in. I need help. Over."
Nothing but static.
"Who yous talking to?" Starfire shouted, jumping in her seat. "I wan see!"
"Please, Titan East, come in!" Raven begged, pressing the button to call the other Tower. "This is Raven! Please answer! This is an emergency!"
There was no answer. Raven pounded on the dashboard in frustration. What the hell was happening? First this terrible spell, and now no one was answering.
"Raben?" Beast Boy's soft voice asked. "What happen now?"
Raven inwardly groaned. "We're going to find our other friends, okay?"
There was the sound of excitement from behind her. Raven started the car and set it to jet-mode. Looks like they would be going to California to visit the Titan-East. Hopefully, they weren't answering because they were on a mission for the night. She desperately hoped thats what it was, and nothing else.
They lurched off the roof and flew upwards, the Titan children cheering the entire time.
I didn't think this story would take a serious spin, since it's kinda for fun. But a lot of you guys had wanted me to really expand on this story, so I am.
I really hope you guys like it! Please drop a review for me: they make a writer happy. :3