The room is dark. Faint red light flickered but the prickling of gooseflesh proved a lack of fire. A droning fills the air. A low buzzing sound, lilting and rising in sequence.
Not droning, she realized. Chanting.
There are figures around her. Shadowed and hooded. A central figure, wreathed in writhing red runes, raises and lowers his arms in time with the rising voices. A conductor to the opera of pain.
And there is pain. Lots of it. Familiar and paralyzing, crawling through her flesh and boiling her blood. The sound seems to bring it fourth, agony rising with the voices of her captors. A frenzy of agony. She can feel herself slipping, her mind wavering. Raven pulls herself back, trying to distance herself from the memory, the sensation.
The more she pulls back the fuzzier the image becomes. The darker the shadows, the more indistinct the figures. Once again she sways closer, the silhouettes sharpen. The chanting transforms from murmuring to clear words. The pain spasms through her. Raven feels panic start to crawl through her chest. She tries to focus, to ignore it, knowing it's only a memory. She tries to pick out the words of the ritual but already the sound has become a buzzing fuzz of heat in her mind. Her eyes sting with tears, her throat is raw from screaming.
The memory is concluding. The chanting reaching its peak. The red-light glows, burning through her eyelids. With it comes the rising energies. The static of power pouring fourth. Reaching. Calling. Searching.
Coming up empty.
It rages and renders. Ripping apart her flesh and soul. She no longer has the strength to scream. Soon she would not have a throat through which to do so.
Desperately Raven forces her eyes open. Casting around for something, anything! She needed to find something to tell her where she is. What's happening. Something to stop her reliving this nightmare again and again. She wouldn't survive another time.
Raven focuses on the man in front of her. The squirming signals across his robes. Her vision sparks and fizzles, like film burning before her eyes, cutting through to static. She claws it back. Tries to focus. Her gazes skims the walls, the ceiling. Notices a symbol out of place.
The chanting reaches its climax. The energy reaches her soul, bring death and heat. Pain eclipses everything. At the last moment Raven remembers to casts herself from the memory. The room and sinister figures fade to shadows.
The pain lingers, buzzing through her. Angry and insistent. Her mind threatens to scatter and she holds it together through sheer stubbornness. The energy surges, sending shocks of agony down her nerves. She can feel it pulling at her. The veiled echoes of the chant growing closer. Still seeking, still searching. Calling in pain and blood.
Something in her stirs. Reaching back.
Shock brings clarity. Heart thundering with adrenalin she pulls her mind together. Feels for the trace of another. The tether forged between her and Robin. She grabs it and pulls herself to freedom.
—
In the common room all is still. Raven sits with incense swirling around her, still as rock. Beast Boy twitches his sensitive ears to check she's still breathing. In front of her Robin sits tensed, eyes closed and brow furrowed. The rest of them stand awkward and still. Wincing with every shuffle of their feet.
It happens in a blink. Robin cries out, a harsh guttural sound of pain. Toppling forward to claw at his head. At the same time Raven drops, twitches and starts to seize.
"Raven!" Beast Boy practically teleports to her side, sliding her head onto his knees to stop it banging against the floor. Frantically he breaths her name, gnawing at his lip with sharp teeth. Waiting for the episode to pass.
"Robin! Are you alright?" Star asks from their leaders side. Robin breaths deeply, still clutching his head. It speaks a lot of his pain and shock that he doesn't resist the girl pulling him close to her side. Cyborg stands tense and alert for danger, mechanical eyes frantically scanning the both of them.
"I…I'm okay Star" Robin finally breaths, sitting up right. "It's alright now."
"Dude what happened? The both of you just dropped?" Cyborg asks, taking in his vitals.
"I don't know. One moment I was thinking of Raven, the next there was just…pain. Like something hot and sharp grabbing my brain and trying to dig it out behind my eyes. But it's gone now."
"Oh! Friend Robin I am so glad you are okay!" wailed Starfire.
"I guess we will have to wait till Raven's up to find out what that's about then. How she doing man?"
Beast Boy ran his hand through Raven's hair. The spasms had quickly come to a merciful stop but she showed no signs of waking. "I…I think she's alright. Just like, passed out."
Slowly he started to rub circles into her temple. The last of her shivers dying down and the pained crease between her brows lessening. Beast Boy breathed deep and repressed his instincts to flee to a safer place. No where he could take her would protect her from her own mind.
"Come on Rae Rae. You can do it. Come back to me" he whispered.
"Well, my scans aren't showing anything wrong with her. Her pulse and brainwaves are stabilizing. Best move her to the sofa."
Beast Boy nodded and scooped the girl into his arms. He pressed her to his chest maybe a bit to firmly, taking comfort in the close contact. Feeling her chest rise and fall against his own. Quickly but gently, he moved her to the couch, placing a pillow beneath her head. Taking up vigil beside her.
Raven started to stir slowly, crinkle forming between her brow as she fought herself into consciousness. With a breathless hitch of pain she blinked her eyes opened, slightly blinded by the bright lights.
Beast Boy shuffled a few millimeters closer. "Hay, you okay?" he whispered. Raven tilted her head to squint at him, warm breath brushing over his green pointed ears. She opened her mouth, nothing but a pained croak emerging. "Want some water?" asked Beast Boy, noticing her plight.
Nodding her head Beast Boy was quick to stand and fetch some for her. Alerting the rest of the Titans to her awakening as he did so. Mercifully they remained silently as the water was presented to her, Beast Boy helping her sit up to sip at it. Slowly, she took stock of herself. Feeling the stretch of her muscles, the touch of fabric on her skin, the warmth of Beast Boys arm around her shoulders, the slow beat of her heart. Everything as it should be.
More hesitantly she turned her awareness inward. To that other place, where her powers resided. A great pool of potential energy. Fluttering and wild. Sensitive to the slightest push or pull of her emotions. Other's feelings causing ripples and waves as they reached her senses. She could feel the touch of worry from her teammates, the sharp sting of fear.
She let the feelings pass and then slowly folded them under and into her own. The pool stilled, smooth and cold as a dark lake, perilous currents hidden underneath. She would need to mediate for a long time to restore her usual equilibrium.
Raven returned to herself, meeting concerned emerald eyes. Clearing her throat she sat up straighter, Beast Boys arm falling away as she did so.
"What happened?" said Robin. "One minuet everything was fine. The next…well I don't understand what happened next but it damn hurt."
"You hit the deck girl! Robin screamed and then you were down. Seizing on the floor. Scared us half to death!" burst in cyborg.
"I didn't scream" muttered Robin petulantly. Nobody paid him any mind, though Starfire found in herself to giggle a little.
"Sorry" said Raven. "I was careless. The memory was much more vivid than I thought it would be. I had to use the tether to pull myself out. It was a rather…violet exit."
"I'll say" said Robin, rubbing soothing circles on his temples.
"What did you see Raven?" surprisingly it was Beast Boy who brought himself to ask the hanging question. "When you woke up, when you came back…you smelt of fear. Lots and lots of fear."
Raven hunched into herself, pulling her hood up around her face. The cocoon of shadows relaxing her slightly. She made an effort to stop her breath hitching but there was nothing to stop the sudden sharp pounding of her heart. Beast Boys ears twitched forward just slightly.
As was common Raven found herself wondering just how much Beast Boy could pick up with his enhanced senses. Wondered what it was like to smell other feelings instead of feel them pushing against her own. How it never seemed to affect him as it did her?
Beast Boy waited patiently and Raven calmed herself in his silence. Steeling herself she began to tell her tale.
"Robin was right to make me face this. After having seen the memory of my dreams, feeling what's happening, it's much more dire than I first realized."
"Explain" stated Robin, suddenly all business.
"It's not a vision. Not a prophetic one at least. Instead I think it might be more like a divination. Something actually happening. Which is…significantly more troubling."
"How so?"
Raven took a deep breath, rolled back her shoulders. In a cold voice she relayed what she had seen. Trying to remove her mind from the sensations and the horror. The spark and fizz of pain and heat. The stench of rot and death.
"I wake in a dark room. There are people all around me chanting. I can't tell what but the louder they get the more in pain I am. The magic, it felt like it was searching for something. Or maybe calling for something. I'm not sure but I can tell you that in some respect its succeeding."
"That's worrying," muttered Cyborg.
Raven nodded empathetically. "More than you know. I have had these dreams every night for over a week. And now…I'm sure it was a different instance every night." Raven let her words hang, hesitating. To voice her conclusions was to make them real. She wished she was wrong. She knew she wasn't.
Beast Boy frowned slowly in thought. "You said you 'woke up' and had to make a 'violet exit'. Does that mean…every night…?"
Raven nodded a hair, unglued her tongue from the roof of her mouth and forced herself to speak. "That's right. Whatever the ritual is for it involves human sacrifices. A new one every time."
"Shit" breathed Cyborg.
"Raven, does that mean every dream you've had it's been from the…sacrifices perspective?" muttered Beast Boy, eyes wide.
"…yes" she whispered. Beast Boy made a pained sound. Hand reaching out as if to help but faltering when he realized there was nothing he could do. Surprising herself Raven slipped her own hand forward, squeezing his gloved fingers briefly.
"I won't pretend it was pleasant" she continued. "It's probably why I was forgetting them. Certain things the mind doesn't want to remember."
"Oh friend Raven! We never would have made you remember such a thing if we knew!" cried Starfire, voicing their upset. "To go through that night are night! No wonder you were lacking the sleep!"
It was a disturbing thought. How many dreams had it been? At least a week, slightly more? Would she have even known at the beginning. The visions had been getting clearer over time. How many nights, how many sacrifices, had it been before the dreams were clear enough to wake her?
"But surely we would know if so many people were going missing so quickly!" bit out Robin.
"Maybe, maybe not dude. They could be taking homeless. Addicts. Those who it wouldn't be unusual to disappear for a while. Heck, for all we know the sacrifices could be willing, if this is some kind of cult like it sounds like," said Cyborg.
"Still, do we not know what's going on in Jump at all? Where exactly are they doing all this? Hiding that many bodies can't be easy."
"Perhaps friend Raven knows? From the memory?" asked Starfire, hovering off the ground anxiously.
"There was something. Something I saw near the end of the vision. I remember it seemed out of place." Raven frowned, thinking deeply. "It was some kind of symbol on the wall. A logo maybe? But I've never seen it before and it was kind of dark. Maybe I could try drawing it out?"
"Good idea" said Cyborg, quickly getting up to fetch a notebook and pen.
Raven balanced the notebook on her lap as best she could and tried to draw out what she could remember. Some kind of stylized letter in a circle? A sweeping tail? A strange shape making up the right corner, a water droplet? A leaf? She wasn't sure. The rest of the Titans crowded around. Frowning and muttering over the page. Turning it this way and that.
"…I don't recognize it" said Robin after some time. "At last, I don't think it do. It's kind of hard to tell," he admitted with a helpless shrug. Raven pursed her lips just slightly. She had never claimed to be an artist.
"I do." The admission surprised everyone. The Titans turning to Beast Boy. Gently he took the pen from Ravens unresisting hands and with a few confident strokes a new symbol emerged. A stylized P with a sweeping tail, trailing off to form a splay of leaves curling round to almost touch the crown of the P again. Raven blinked, seeing the clean crisp image drawn so quickly. Beast Boy evidently had undiscovered talents.
"You're right. It's a logo of the Phitzer company. A pharmaceutical company that closed down several years ago. Ostensibly they were bought out, but anyone who knows anything knows that's bullshit."
"Why so?" asked Raven, surprised to hear the normally affable boy curse. Beast Boy frowned harder, scratching violently over the page, tearing into the leaves of the logo.
"They were caught up in several animal rights scandals. That's how I know them. Anyone in the community from a few years ago knew about them. Nothing was done of course. The authorities are always more eager to charge those who care with trespassing than those with profits for cruelty," he all but growled. As someone who could shift into animals to Beast Boy animal cruelty was a subject close to his heart. "But a few years ago something was found out, some kind of scandal that went beyond animal cruelty. I'm not entirely sure but my best sources think it's something to do with illegal human trials. Or modified medication data. Something like that.
"Well, the company panicked and worked to cover its butts double time. Suddenly they were filling for bankruptcy. Laying off all their staff, closing down their labs. Strangely though all the top managers and select scientists were still paid heavy severance packages and quickly found jobs at other companies. Especially those that supposedly bought out Phitzer's assets." He snorted, teeth bared in anger. "Not exactly a subtle cover up, but it stopped the investigations in its tracks. Of course, all the animal cruelty cases disappeared too. No need to pursue them now that the company doesn't exists anymore. Like that's going to stop them just doing the same crap somewhere else," Best Boy finished with a growl. Pen stabbing straight through the notebook page. Angrily he scrunched it up and tossed it into the garbage.
"Right, well. That's all mighty interesting and all but how does it help us now man?" asked Cyborg, dwarfing Beast Boys slim shoulders with a heavy pat to the back.
Beast Boy took a breath, visibly calming himself. "It matters cause before they fell apart the company invested millions to build a brand-new research site just outside Jump. Got their own roads laid out and everything. As far as I know, the whole thing was abandoned halfway through development."
"You think the sacrifices are happening there?" asked Raven.
Beast Boy shrugged but his shoulders, "I can't think of anywhere else where their logo would be plastered on the wall. It's out of the city but the roads would make it easy to get to night after night. Not to mention those places have inbuilt hazardous waste disposal systems. Perfect for getting rid of bodies."
"Sounds reasonable. Okay, we'll assume that's where the sacrifices are taking place. We're going to need to move fast to try and stop any more happening tonight. Cyborg, get the T-car ready. BB, I assume you can get us there? See if you can't find anything else out about the layout of the place. Everyone else, be ready for a fight. This takes precedence over everything. Whatever these cultists are doing, whatever dark powers they are messing with, we can't let them succeed." Raven stood from the couch joining the loose circle of her fellow Titans. The room was heavy with tension. Robin gave them all a look, his eyes landing on Raven last. "Raven, are you capable of doing this mission?"
Raven felt a flash of resentment before remembering this morning. The way her fingers shook in fear not even hours before as she cradled a bloodies green head. Meeting Robins eyes she nodded once clearly. "I need to meditate, but yes. I won't falter." Again, she didn't say. Refusing to let her eyes stray once more to Beast Boy.
Robin nodded in return. Choosing to believe her words. "Good. We'll leave at sunset. You have until then."