A/N: Sorry to have kept y'all waiting for over a month! It's amazing what you can forget when life is speeding along at a wonderful 200mph.
Thanks to dorizard for the review!
Chapter Sixteen: Black and Blue
Flash greeted Raven with a smile when the Watchtower's teleporter brought the empath up.
"Hey, Raven. It's good to see you." Though he'd only been with the Titans for a few months before he joined the other Founders to start the League, he had managed to spend some quality time with all of them, particularly Raven. From the beginning, the mystical girl had intrigued him, and though she obviously restricted her emotions, the two had formed a certain connection that might possibly have developed into something more if Flash had stayed with the Titans longer. As it was, time and distance had cooled Wally's initial crush into platonic affection, and his heart gravitated more and more towards Linda Park these days.
"Likewise, Wally," Raven returned with the smallest hint of a smile. Two years with the Titans had loosened her up slightly, but she was still very reserved.
"This is Vixen, and you know Batman," Flash said, pointing out the only other two people on the bridge.
"Raven," Batman acknowledged. Vixen merely waved, already keying in the coordinates for her beam-down. "The lab is this way." He set off at a brisk pace, and the two younger heroes followed him.
"So, Rae, how've you been?" queried Flash. "How's the Tower, how's everyone?"
"Everyone is fine. The Tower is still standing, though not for lack of trying."
Flash blinked. "I knew the T-shape was a bad idea. You guys are living in what's practically a neon sign inviting villains to attack it."
Raven's face took on a wry smirk. "It's not villains who've been trying to bring the Tower down — though we've had a few attempts," she admitted. "But frankly, I'm amazed Vic and Gar haven't brought the whole building down with their arguments alone."
"They're still fighting? I didn't think they'd still be that bad."
"They're not that bad," conceded Raven. "They're worse."
"What is it with best friends and fighting?" Flash wanted to know. "Dick and Roy can insult each other like there's no tomorrow, Wildcat and Black Canary always seem ready to bicker, and Superman and Batman —"
"Flash," came the warning rumble.
"— are the best pair of super friends ever seen," Flash course-corrected. "Though that doesn't stop them from butting heads during League meetings." He blithely ignored the glare the Dark Knight was sending his way.
Batman, for his part, decided a response was beneath him, and swept into the laboratory without another word. Doctor Fate and Zatanna had been waiting, and they both straightened when Raven entered the room. That in itself wasn't odd, but neither Batman nor Flash missed the way the two sorcerers tensed as the Titan drew closer.
"Raven…" Zatanna began, seemingly at a loss for words.
"Calmly, Zatanna," cautioned Fate, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Hello, Raven," he greeted. "It's been some time." His voice was warm and welcoming, but there was an unmistakable undercurrent of wariness in it as well. A silent look of understanding passed between him, Raven, and Zatanna.
"Raven?" Flash questioned, glancing uncertainly between the three.
"What's going on?" Batman demanded.
Ignoring him, Zatanna smiled wanly at Raven. "It is good to see you, Raven. I'd shake your hand, but…"
"I know. You sense it."
"Sense what?" Batman growled.
Once again, he was ignored.
"It's growing," Fate said solemnly.
"It's under control," Raven replied, equally seriously.
"How old are you now, Raven?" asked Zatanna.
"Almost nineteen."
Zatanna nodded to herself, like she had expected this. "Next year, then."
"Yes."
"Do the Titans know?"
"Not yet, but I will tell them before the date."
"Good," approved Doctor Fate. "You'll need them to keep you strong."
Batman marched over and deliberately placed himself in the middle of their discussion. "What. Is. Going. On."
"Not everything concerns you, Bruce," Zatanna snapped. "This has nothing to do with you."
"The hell it doesn't. Dick is part of the Titans. If something's going to threaten them —" His piercing gaze shifted to Raven. "— I want to know about it."
Raven met his hard expression with resolution in her dark eyes, and when she spoke, her voice was full of steely conviction. "I promise you, Batman, nothing's going to threaten them. I won't let it."
He wasn't satisfied. "What is it?"
"Something that, if all goes well, we will not need to worry about," interjected Doctor Fate.
"And if it doesn't go well?"
"It will," Raven said firmly. "I won't lie, Batman. There is a danger, but I know what to do. I will handle it. Nothing's going to happen to the Titans or anyone else."
"That's not good enough," Batman insisted. "I need to know what it is. If you fail, there needs to be a contingency plan."
"Bruce, lay off," Flash intervened.
"No. I don't know what this issue is, but if it goes wrong and she can't stop it after all —"
"You're looking at the worst-case scenario again," Flash said pointedly. "I don't know what's going on either, but if Raven says she's got it under control, I trust her."
"As do I," Doctor Fate added.
"Me too," agreed Zatanna. She was still carefully keeping her distance from Raven, but there was no hesitation in her voice.
"I plan on telling Dick very soon," Raven said softly. "Even if you don't trust me, do you trust him?"
Batman narrowed his eyes. "Of course I do."
"Then trust him to keep us safe."
Batman regarded her stoically for a long moment; she held his stare unflinchingly.
Finally, after the tension had become so thick a butter knife could have cut it, Batman jerked his head once, curtly, yielding to his colleagues' judgment.
"Thank you," Raven said sincerely.
"I will find out what it is eventually," he warned her.
"I'd expect no less. In fact, if you haven't discovered the truth by the time the threat has passed, I'll tell you myself."
"I'll hold you to that." Batman's shoulders relaxed infinitesimally. "For now, we have two teammates to release."
Raven nodded and glided over to J'onn and Zatara.
"Good job, Bruce," Flash quietly commended him. "It's not a crime to be optimistic every now and then."
"I know that wasn't easy for you," Zatanna put in as Raven made contact with the crystal surrounding the Martian Manhunter. She knew Bruce had been making a genuine effort to be less controlling ever since he'd reconciled with Dick, but she also knew his fiercely protective instincts, born out of the depth of his concern for the people he cared about, sometimes overpowered his willingness to trust in other people. "But you did the right thing."
Doctor Fate said nothing, but Batman was sure he could picture the wizard's gravely approving expression under that helmet.
The World's Greatest Detective huffed. "Hmph. I'm still making contingency plans."
Flash exchanged glances with the other two, smiling wryly. "We know," they said as one.
John dodged another blast from Star Sapphire with relative ease and rose higher into the air so he would be level with her.
"Is that all you've got?" he taunted.
Almost immediately, a giant pink hand grabbed him from behind and slammed him into the ground.
"You haven't used your ring at all," Star Sapphire noted with false sweetness. "Don't you know what it's for? The previous Green Lantern certainly did — not that he did much with it in the last few months."
She waved her hand, and John's approaching green net construct was easily brushed aside.
"Well, now I see why you're reluctant to use the ring. You're a novice. Actually, I'm surprised you're back from Oa as a full Green Lantern so soon. Isn't the regular training period three months? You should still be on probation."
John's next attack was a bazooka, but it deflected harmlessly off Star Sapphire's shield.
"Okay, there has to be a connection between Star Sapphire and the GL Corps," remarked Hawkgirl. "There's no way she would know all this stuff otherwise."
"Probably," Superman agreed. "But this isn't the time to debate what that means for our objectives." He lifted off the ground as John sailed through the air to land on the opposite side of the street. "What do you say we help our new friend?"
Hawkgirl smirked as she raised her mace, and the two advanced on Star Sapphire as one.
"Just be careful not to let her crystal touch you," Superman warned, narrowly avoiding a shot of said crystal.
Remembering what Flash had said about being trapped in the stuff, Hawkgirl grimaced. "You don't have to tell me twice."
John caught up to them, a bit bruised but still spoiling for a fight, and itching to give Star Sapphire a taste of her own medicine. "If you two are quite done talking," he retorted, "I thought you wanted to catch this lady?"
"Ready when you are," Hawkgirl shot back.
"Go!" shouted Superman.
"Well?" Batman inquired as Raven dropped her hands from J'onn's crystal.
"I'm sorry." The empath sounded weary. "I can't reach him. I can feel his emotions, but I can't access them to draw away the false happiness that masks the truth. He is…" She paused, searching for the exact words to precisely articulate what she had sensed. "He's content not to know if it's real or not."
"Damn," sighed Flash.
"J'onn has lost a great deal that was dear to him," said Doctor Fate. "I'm not surprised he doesn't want to break the illusion."
"We'll have to find another way," Batman said determinedly.
Raven drew her hood up. "I'm sorry I couldn't help."
"It's okay," said Flash, appearing by her side. "Thanks for trying. Come on, I'll teleport you back home."
"Whoa!" Hawkgirl dodged a razor-edged shard of pure pink crystal, watching as it whizzed past her and shattered on the road. "That was close."
John Stewart flew overhead, exchanging his own green blasts of light with Star Sapphire's violet lasers. "You know, this" — he shot upwards — "would be" — then arced down again — "a lot easier" — a swerve to the right — "if we didn't" — shield — "have to avoid" — he lunged forward — "crystal!" — and missed Star Sapphire by inches.
His tone was sharp with frustrated anger, but he did have a point. Superman, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern working together should have been able to overcome Star Sapphire — but all of the three were fighting with an impediment, because they were forced to guard against her crystal blasts. None of them wanted to test whether they — like Wonder Woman, Black Canary, and Vixen — were immune to the crystallization process. Hawkgirl was hyper-aware of her lost love Katar Hol; Superman and Green Lantern were both men; and the League could not afford to lose its most powerful member, just as the Green Lantern Corps desperately needed its full complement of Corpsmen if and when Sinestro and the Thunderers of Qward struck again.
Star Sapphire, for her part, had cleverly realized that the heroes were anxious to avoid her crystal, and she used it freely to force them back and keep them off-balance. The tactic was extremely effective, and it had forced them into what was, for all intents and purposes, a stalemate. Neither side could gain the upper hand, but neither was willing to give up, either.
Superman righted himself after bouncing back off a particularly strong purple shield. "We need a plan."
"I'm all ears, Superman," responded Hawkgirl.
"Well, this is just a suggestion here —" John nearly managed to score a hit before his beam was repelled by Star Sapphire. "— but maybe you guys could call for backup?!"
Superman and Hawkgirl exchanged glances.
"Wonder Woman is still on the Watchtower," Hawkgirl offered.
"Call her in," Superman agreed.
While the Man of Steel took off to help John, Hawkgirl reached for her comlink. "Hawkgirl to Watchtower — Star Sapphire is in Detroit. We need Diana."
"Copy that, Hawkgirl," came Flash's voice.
"Make it fast," Hawkgirl added as she watched the current Green Lantern counter a pink blast from Star Sapphire with a green one of his own.
"Pathetic," Star Sapphire sneered as her beam forced its way closer to John. "The Guardians' standards certainly have dropped, haven't they?"
"How do you know about the Guardians?" John demanded, even as he poured more will into his beam to keep Star Sapphire at bay.
"I know a lot of things," Star Sapphire taunted. "Things I'm sure even the Guardians are unaware of."
"I doubt that." While he certainly wasn't fond of the diminutive beings, two weeks on Oa had been enough time for John to realize that the Guardians' store of knowledge was vast.
"Ha!" scoffed Star Sapphire. "You're a complete rookie and they already have you blindly accepting everything they say. I must applaud them on that, I suppose."
John took offense to that. Gritting his teeth, he mustered the strongest hard light surge he could, and felt a certain satisfaction when the extra push unbalanced Star Sapphire. The villainess' eyes widened and then narrowed behind her mask.
"That's an improvement, but not much." She drew her ring hand back and caught him under the jaw with a powerful pink fist, and before he had time to react, she grabbed him with energy tentacles and flung him into an oncoming Superman. Star Sapphire smirked as she sent a blast of crystal straight at them.
"No!" Hawkgirl was already diving for her, but the crystal was well on its way, and pretty soon she would be able to add two more men to her list of conquests…
The rushing crystal met a block just before it reached the two heroes, breaking against a pair of crossed steel bracelets.
"You again!" exclaimed Star Sapphire, irked.
"Me again," Wonder Woman stated. "I owe you for this morning."
She lunged before Star Sapphire could dodge, and the latter found herself trapped in an near-unbreakable Amazon hold. With a growl, Star Sapphire created a claw-like structure and forcefully pried Wonder Woman's arms open. Within a moment, she was out and flying away as fast as she could. It was time to disappear — she was clearly outnumbered and outmatched here.
She made it twenty yards before she registered the chant of, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" and by then it was too late to avoid the huge black bird. As soon as Raven's soul self touched her, her world went dark.
A/N: Yes, that's a little hint towards Raven's demon daddy issues. I'm not going to do a Trigon arc for Diamond Earth - I don't think I'd have much to add.
Please review! And hopefully the next update will be sooner - I intend to make it so, anyway.