Chapter 23: Heroes
Writer's Note: SR, another Nickelback song, 'Hero', through the fic
A few weeks later…
Metropolis had always had the nickname of the "City of Tomorrow", and recently, after a complicated series of events involving various villains, including an insanely powerful AI Program called Brainiac 13, it had literally be turned from a modern city into a gleaming and marvelous city of the future.
But despite its future looks, it still had modern people. And all the problems of modern people. Like purse snatching.
Don Sato hadn't meant any real harm. He hadn't expected the woman to be older then she looked, or put up more of a fight then he expected. He hadn't wanted to shove her, but he needed her purse, and if he had to do a little shoving, so be it. She was still yelling behind him as he ran. He ignored it. Wounds healed.
People were yelling now, but Don ignored them too. He just had to get down into the subway, and then he could effectively disappear. Maybe this score would be good, and he could move on to better things.
"Look, up in the sky!" someone yelled.
Don almost stopped, but he didn't. What would he be doing here? Don was small potatoes. And he certainly couldn't be everywhere at once. No, they were just trying to get him to stop, so they could tackle him down. So he wouldn't stop.
And come to think of it…
"No one's up in the sky!" Don thought out loud.
And then he landed in front of Don. This time, Don did stop, looking at the man with the white clothes and white hair.
"Yeah, I can't believe they still use that old cliché myself." Savior said.
Don didn't even get a chance to react, as the Shimmer removed the purse from his hands and the gun he kept for trouble from his pocket before he could blink. A second later Savior wrapped the Shimmer around him.
"I think you need a lesson in respect. You wanna knock old ladies down? Fine, I'll knock you UP." Savior said.
"You'll make me pregnant?" Don said in confusion.
"No. I'll make you fly!"
And Savior began spinning Don in a vertical circle, like he was performing in a lasso expedition. Don made the odd sound people made when they were being moved around rapidly, where it seemed to come from all sides because by the time your ears heard it on one side the person was in another position. Finally, Savior let go, tossing Don high into the air. He screamed as he flew up.
The crowd looked at him in surprise, some shock, and a tiny bit of fear.
"Relax. I'll catch him." Savior said, peering up. He'd used a fairly precise angle: the thief should come straight down.
And he did, screaming his fear and his dislike of the law of gravity. Savior snapped up the Shimmer and caught him, leading the line down as he slowly bled away the man's momentum so the stop wouldn't cause him to break his neck. Finally, he stopped him completely four feet before the ground and let him go. Don hit the ground, groaned, and passed out.
"Sorry, but it can't always be him." Savior said to the crowd, and shot the Shimmer to a nearby building and pulled himself up and away. He'd heard sirens coming: the police would take care of the thief.
Whether or not he had gotten the attention of the person he wanted to see remained to be seen.
It happened roughly ninety minutes later.
Savior had stopped another mugging or two, hopping around the city. He had been staring at the floating hologram that was on top of the Daily Planet when he heard the whoosh of air behind him.
"I guess you heard I was in town." Savior said, not turning around.
"Yes." Said the voice behind him, a rich baritone Savior had sometimes heard on the news and once in person.
"It's nice of you to take time to see me. I know you have a very busy schedule, and I don't want to bother you." Savior said, turning to look at the tall, muscular man with the black hair and the red, yellow, and blue costume, the stylized S on his broad chest that virtually everyone in the world knew.
"It's no real bother, though I would like to know why you just showed up without any warning." Superman said. "Are you planning on moving here? I'm not territorial. We could always use another superhero."
"Am I that?" Savior muttered.
"Why do you ask that?" Superman said. Savior blinked, then remembered that among many other talents Superman had a very good sense of hearing.
"Look, the world needs you, I really shouldn't bug you. I should go…" Savior said, turning away.
"No no, it's quite alright. If anything happens I'll have to go, but it seems calm for now. If you want to talk it's okay." Superman said. He knew how teenagers were, and he sensed that Savior was suffering from some problems that he could help.
"I guess. Thanks. It's kind of weird you'd want to speak to a lesser."
"You're not a lesser…"
"In the grand scheme of things, yes I am. I can stop some muggers or maybe some metahumans, but you? You're SUPERMAN. You were the first, and you're still one of, if not THE best. How many times have you saved the world? How many times have you saved the UNIVERSE? You may try and comfort me with claims that my powers being less then yours does not make me inferior, but in the grand scheme of things, I probably am. But that's ok. I can live with that." Savior said.
"Well then, what do you want to talk about?" Superman asked. His eyes seemed a bit distant, but Savior knew he was paying attention. He was also just keeping his eyes and ears open for any problems he could solve.
"I assume you heard about what happened."
"I heard some psychopath framed you, and that you left the Teen Titans after you helped beat him. Might I ask why?" Superman said.
"That's actually what I wanted to ask you." Savior said. "My teammates turned on me. I can forgive that. They were fooled. I can forgive that. But what I can't forgive is why."
"Which is…?"
"The killer did his research. There's a certain girl I'm…sweet on. The killer went out and picked out women who looked like her, making it look like I was killing them in a jealous rage. She rejected me, you see."
"I'm sorry."
"I'm not. I understand why she did it." Though that doesn't make it any easier…
"So…what is your question?"
"That's what I figured I would ask you. You see, considering who you are, anything that happened to me, probably has happened to you 100x. So I just want to know…how do you deal with this?"
"With what?"
"THIS!" Savior said, waving his arms around. "Just being what you are! Being what we are! Different! Dare I say it, special! I mean, I know life is painful. I know it's not all wine and roses. I know people are flawed by nature and so many are so flawed that they can never be normal…but in the past four months I've been beaten half to death by a group of three superpowered teenagers who have a lot less maturity then I do, I've been tortured by some fruitcake who thinks that 90 of the world is worthless and deserves to die, I've been eaten by a proverbial monster, and then I've had my own friends turned on me by another psychopath who thinks I stole his powers! The woman I love can't love me back, and on top of all that, the media acts like we accomplished nothing when we nearly got ourselves killed accomplishing all that we could! Is this all I've got to expect? Is it always going to be this way? I'm not a selfish person, but I'm still human, and quite frankly, I've just about had enough!"
Superman was silent as Savior finished his rant.
"I'm sorry. I'm probably just some whiny teenager who thinks the world owes him something." Savior said, turning away again.
"Do you think it does?"
"Maybe a little! Virtue is its own reward and all, but a little gratitude never hurt! But I haven't got any of that either! Just bad things! Is that all there is to expect? And if it is, how can I, being human, expect to go on doing this?"
"I…" Superman said, then his eyes flickered to the side. "Problem. Stay here. I'll be back."
And then Superman was gone in a whoosh of air, like he had never been. Savior sighed and made a hammock out of the Shimmer, waiting.
Superman was back twenty minutes later.
"Any problems?" Savior asked.
"None I couldn't fix." Superman said. "I gave some thought to our discussion."
"And?"
"Savior…Noel, that is your real name, right?"
"…Yes."
"I wish there were some magic words or a secret piece of advice I could give you that could solve your problems and make you decide to stay in the fold, but the truth is I have no such advice. Despite my great abilities, I am not a God among men. Indeed, I do not think I feel qualified to answer your questions because…well, I am not immune to them."
Savior was a bit surprised. He knew that costumed heroes tended to be ballooned out of proportion by the media until they all seemed all knowing and all powerful, but even after taking that into account, Superman seemed to stand above the human race. The idea that he could be flawed, while not anathema, was a bit scary.
"You speak of bad things happening, of betrayals. There was a recent incident in my life that was like that. I can't give you details, but a villain of mine…he found out some very...dangerous information. And he used it against me. And he went all out: it was one of the most vicious things I have ever seen."
"Was that the incident where all those metahumans and other creatures attacked you? I heard there were hundreds of them." Savior said.
"Yes, that was part of it."
"And you beat them all. You see what I mean about the grand of scheme of things."
"That's not important. The thing was, the man who did this wanted one thing: he wanted me to get angry enough so that I would kill him. And Savior…despite what you saw happen to me, what you didn't see in his attempt to make me do this was infinitely worse. In the end I did not kill him…but I wanted to."
"So why didn't you?"
"Because I chose not too."
Savior arched an eyebrow, as he heard the words he had spoken to Jack echoed back at him through the mouth of the greatest superhero on the planet.
"I think, ultimately, that is what I stand for, what I fight for. Choice. It's all about choice. Everyone chooses their own paths. And my choices...may allow theirs…or I may allow them to make different choices if they made bad ones. I feel, after all my years on this planet, that choice is the greatest gift your species possesses."
"And that's it?"
"Some things in life aren't simple, Savior. And some are. All I can say is, it is your choice whether or not you want to continue fighting for the right things. You can choose to hang it up, I won't stop you. You can choose to go bad, I'll stop you but I'll leave you with the choice to change your life. Ultimately, it's all I can say. Make your own choice. It's what we stand for."
If Superman was going to say more, he didn't get to, as a massive explosion suddenly sounded in the distance. Superman's head jerked in the direction of the noise.
"Oh no."
And then he was gone.
What had happened was a villain known as Barrage was trying to sneak back into the city in the back of a van driven by a henchman. At least, that would have been the plan, but Barrage was impatient, and had tried to fix a broken part of his battle suit while being driven around. Bad idea, as sometime in the middle of the trip, and right on one of the bridges going into Metropolis, Barrage had stuck the wrong tool into the wrong circuit and caused his entire suit to blow up in his face. The henchman had been killed, and Barrage had been blown into the waters, barely alive himself. His explosive weaponry had been thrown all over the bridge in the initial explosion before they had all gone up. Needless to say, Metropolis Bridge was falling down.
One of the fair ladies that happened to be on the bridge screamed as an explosion blew the truck in front of her up and backwards, kind of a reverse jackknife. The truck had suffered such a fate when an explosion in front of it had sent shards of red-hot shrapnel piercing into the gas tank. The driver had been smart enough to get out and run, but it was too late for the female driver behind him, as the truck tilted over…
And stopped. The woman opened her eyes to see Superman pick the truck up and heaved it over the bridge and into the river. There was a risk that whatever the truck was carrying might pollute the water, but he could clean that up later. What he had to do now was remove the truck so it couldn't cause any damage via its cargo or the fires now raging on the bridge. It was a pretty big mess, and even with Superman being there, he couldn't be in two places at once.
This would definitely have helped, as a new round of blasts shook the bridge. The structure tilted and began to buckle, wires snapping as the structure gave in to the trauma being inflicted on it.
Superman barely had time to check the breathless, stunned woman he had just saved (partly because she had nearly been killed and partly because Superman was checking on her) when he had to zap away, leaving just a blur in his wake. He grabbed up several wires and pulled them upward, yanking the sagging bridge back to normal (or close enough). He used his heat vision and a knot his father had taught him when he was four to set the wires back into a temporary support. It would do until he could get the people off the bridge. He swooped down and began scooping people up, pulling them from their cars if need be, and depositing them on solid ground.
It appeared karma had it in for him today, though.
A new round of explosions detonated on the far end. New cables snapped, and the bridge sagged dangerously on the other end, threatening to collapse completely and dump all the cars and people on it into the water. The air was filled with the sounds of screams, metal buckling and tearing, and every now and then, a new explosion.
(On a side note, Barrage survived and eventually built another suit, but when he next ran into Superman, he had found out that Barrage was responsible for this disaster we are witnessing here, and let's just say the battle was short).
Superman flew over as fast as he could (which was pretty damn fast. Flash was supposedly the fastest man alive, but sometimes that was up in the air), grabbing up the cables and fusing them back. He then flew under the bridge to try and repair a buckling support column.
Despite all the noise, he heard the sounds clear as day as some more cables snapped, and then the change in tone as a scream went from general fear to absolute panic as a car toppled off the edge of the bridge. People think landing in water is relatively ok, but unless you know how to land properly, falling into water from a high height can be more unforgiving then concrete. Especially if you are in a vehicle at the time.
That, fortunately, was not to be the fate of the teenage couple in the car, as Superman swooped over and grabbed them. He grunted as the car nearly slipped out of his grip. He could hold the car easily, but strength was not as important as proper leverage: if he didn't grip the car properly a part could tear off and the car would resume its downward plunge. Superman shifted his grip as he began flying up…
And then it happened.
The school bus should have been abandoned by now. But the initial round of explosions had caused the driver to swerve violently, and that had knocked both the driver and the teacher inside, who had been standing at the time to try and deal with a problem, out. Trapped inside, unable to figure out how to open the front or back doors, the kids had only been able to scream as the ground below them shifted more and more until it finally gave out, dumping the bus off the other end of the bridge.
There is nothing quite as horrifying as listening to a group of children below the ages of eight scream in fear for their lives as they plummet to their certain doom. It could motivate normal men to superhuman feats.
And even with Superman, it gave him that little bit more, as he shifted his grip and flew under the bridge…
WHAM! The bus landed on Superman, side first. For a moment it continued its downward descent, and then stopped. Perhaps finally softening a bit, karma had seen to it that none of the windows had broken. With one arm holding a car and the other trying to balance a fully loaded school bus on his shoulder, the last thing Superman needed was trying to catch falling children.
Superman grunted, hissing a word under his breath that most people would be shocked to know that he knew, much less used. As said before, Superman was more then strong enough to hold both automobiles. The problem was leverage. Even now, the bus tilted precariously on Superman's shoulder, barely staying balanced enough. A slight change, and the bus could tip off and start falling again, and even if Superman grabbed something (indeed, his arm was already buried shoulder deep into the side of the bus, clutching the chassis as firmly as he could), it could easily tear off. Not to mention he was still holding a car, in a similar way, under him.
He had to get back on the bridge. Quickly. But carefully. Slowly, ever so slowly, feeling the sweat run down his face, Superman began to rise.
And then karma decided to be a bitch again, as one final round detonated. The shockwave flipped nearby cars over, but that wasn't the worst part.
What the worst part was the car near the edge of the bridge. One of the initial explosions had jammed the car up against the edge via another car being shoved into it, sealing both sets of doors and keeping the mother and young girl inside from getting free. But with the last shockwave, the car was again shoved, and the edge broke. Now over thin air, the car titled precariously on the edge.
Some brave souls stopped running and ran over to try and keep the car from falling. They grabbed or jumped on the side still on the bridge, trying to keep it balanced enough so that the woman and girl inside could crawl out. Superman, meanwhile, was still doing his own balancing act as he struggled upward.
The people helping managed to get the car door on the side of the bridge open (which was no longer blocked by a car but now tilting at 30 degree in the air, you decide which was worse). They grabbed for the mother, but she refused to go without her daughter as she tried to get a grip on her so the people could pull them both out.
The car shifted, as the people fought to try and keep it balanced long enough. But their weight just wasn't enough, as the car shifted some more, jerking violently as it titled upward more. The girl slipped out of her mother's arm, falling heavily against the car door, and then, as the mother screamed, out of it as the lock in the door gave out and dumped the girl out into the air.
Grabbing frantically, the girl managed to catch the inside door handle right before she would have plummeted to her doom, but her grip wasn't that great. Her mother continued to scream as she tried to reach her daughter, the people tried to keep the car from tipping over the edge completely, and Superman continued to struggle upward, seeing all this as it occurred but unable to do anything about it. He was Superman, not omnipotent, and if he moved any faster one of the vehicles would surely slip from his grip.
The girl answered her mother's screams with weak cries for her, but her fingers were giving out…
Superman continued his upward flight.
The car groaned as it continued to slide over the edge.
The mother kept screaming.
And then the door handle broke off.
Both mother and daughter joined in a cry of absolute terror as the girl plummeted. Superman saw her fall, and he almost dropped the cars he was holding and went for her.
But in the end, he couldn't.
Some choices are terrible no matter what decision you make, as the girl slide from his line of vision, blocked by the car he was carrying. The mother screamed in the way only mothers can, even as the people pulled her out of the car. A few seconds later, it fell after its occupant.
Superman squeezed his eyes shut, even as he grit his teeth in frustration, rage, and grief.
Yes, some choices are ones you never want to make.
Superman set the car down and then shifted both his arms to the school bus as he righted it and set it on the bridge. Finally, more help was arriving, from the Special Forces stationed in Metropolis and the other metahumans who called the city home. And he had saved the lives of many, including a whole busload of children.
But he'd missed one, and as far as he was concerned, as he listened to the mother wail, he may as well have missed them all…
A white line suddenly appeared over the bridge, swooping up and latching onto a secure surface. Superman blinked. Could it be…?
And then Savior pulled himself up, holding onto the child Superman had missed. Yes, he had.
The people who had saved the woman applauded as Savior hopped over and handed the child back to her hysterical mother, now crying tears of joy. Savior seemed a bit embarrassed, as he nodded and said a few things Superman could have heard, but didn't. He was too busy scanning the bridge to see if there were any other immediate dangers.
There appeared to be none. Most of the people had been evacuated, and the ones remaining were being escorted off.
Savior was walking past him, he realized. He turned and put a hand on the teenager's shoulder.
"Thank you."
"Hey, that car could have landed on our heads. That it didn't was enough reward." Savior said. He looked wistful.
"All the same, thank you."
"Hey, you did all the work…"
"And in the end you came through. It doesn't matter who has more power, Savior. It's what you choose to do with it. And you chose well, as well as any man who possesses the powers of myself or beyond could." Superman said.
"Heh. You know what she said to me?"
"Hmmmmm?"
"That girl. When I was pulling her up…you know what she said?"
"What?"
"She said 'Are you an angel?'"
Superman expected Savior to explain, but the young meta remained silent. Apparently this had some meaning to him.
"And?" Superman said, wondering if there was more.
"Oh, nothing. It just reminded me…why I choose to start doing this in the first place." Savior said.
And with that he was gone, snapping out a line and pulling himself away. Superman watched him go.
"Welcome back Noel."
"Ha ha, this is in the bag…oh yeah…HEY! OH NO!" Victor screamed as Gar's character avoided his character's jumping kick and countered with a super move, wiping out the last of Victor's life. Gar Logan whooped and jumped up, doing a dance.
"You Gameshark-using sonnava…!" Victor cursed, leaping up and grabbing Gar's right wrist.
"OW!"
"Hey Victor watch it." Robin said from the table he was sitting at.
"Yes, do not harm our comrade. It is just a game." Starfire said.
"I'm not gonna hurt him, but I know he's got some cheat codes or something, there's no way…!"
"This is a fighting game, there are no cheat codes! Now let go! That's the hand I ma…er, write with!" Beast Boy stammered. Cyborg suddenly looked disgusted and let go, rubbing his hand on the couch.
"EEWWWWWWWWWW!"
"What?" Beast Boy said, honestly confused.
"You know why! YUCK!"
"Oh, geez. Victor, it's not what you think!"
"Then what else could it be?" Victor said.
"Actually, he was going to say 'make shadow puppets'."
Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately forgot their argument as the voice spoke from the doorway, and all four Titans turned and looked at Savior as he stood there, leaning on the wall.
"But considering the degree of mockery that would have generated, maybe he was better off letting you use your imaginations."
"NOEL!" Starfire squealed, flying over and enveloping Noel in a bone crushing hug. "YOU CAME HOME!"
"AIR! AIR!"
"Oh yes sorry!" Starfire said, releasing the hug, and then starting it up again with a more careful grip. "I'm so glad you're back! It was not the same without you!"
"Yeah man, whoda thunk we'd miss your freaky movies and your constant speeches on war strategies." Cyborg said.
"I didn't." Beast Boy replied. Cyborg stomped on his foot. "OW!"
"Well Noel, uh…why are you back?" Robin asked hesitatingly.
"I figured you still needed a prom date, Robin." Noel said. Robin looked confused.
"Robin, look. All you guys. I needed some room, and some time to think. And in the end, I don't appreciate what you did, but I understand it. And I forgive you."
Robin looked relieved. He reached into his belt, pulled out a new communicator.
"Welcome back, Savior. And this time, forever."
"Yes! Welcome home!" Starfire said, grinning. Noel blinked.
"Home…is this home…yeah…I think it is." Noel said.
"Home is where your rump rests." Beast Boy said, turning into a warthog.
"Yeah. Home is where you choose it to be." Noel said, and left it at that.
"But whatever the reason you came back Noel, we just wanted to say, if there's any way we can repay you for our…mistake…don't hesitate to ask."
"Ok. Can I be leader?"
Robin blinked.
"NO!"
"You said anything!"
"Anything but that!"
"Yeah, you're probably the best leader we could have. Ok, how about we rename the team to 'Savior and Co'?"
"NO!"
"Make the Tower into an S?"
"NO!"
"My own Saviormobile!"
"Maybe for Christmas."
Some time later, the sun was just beginning to set, as Raven floated on the top of the tower.
She appeared to be meditating as usual, but the appearance did not match the reality. Indeed, one only had to look at how tightly her eyes were squeezed shut, how defined her clenched jaw was, to know something far worse was happening.
And this time, she feared she could not stop it. Her emotions going out of control was one thing, but this…
She knew it was inevitable. She could not…
But she also WOULD NOT…
"Raven?"
Raven opened her eyes to see Savior standing in front of her. She'd been so wrapped up in her inner struggle she didn't even hear him walking up. Inside her, the burning sensation faded, retreating back into wherever it came from. It wasn't because she had banished it though. It was because it wanted to.
It knew the inevitable too.
"Noel." She replied.
"Raven." Noel replied.
"I heard that you had come back…I'm sorry about what we…"
"It's ok. I forgave the others and I forgive you. You didn't know about Jack, so I suppose, considering the effort he put into it, I can't blame you for falling for it. But that's not it. What needs to be said is WHY the others fell for it so convincingly. And you know why."
"Noel…I really don't…" Raven said, turning away. She was surprised when Noel quickly walked around her.
"No. You're not walking away. Not this time. I need to know."
"Noel…"
"Dammit Raven, I was there too! I felt it in your touch, in your…kiss…" Savior said. "That wasn't just all one sided, you know."
"It was a misunderstanding. That's all. Now please…" Raven said, starting to turn away, and gasped when Noel grabbed her shoulder, gently but firmly, and spun her back around to face him. It wasn't a violent action, but there was definitely a determination behind the act.
"No. More. No more leaving, no more avoiding, NO MORE. WE are settling this. I want the truth Raven. That's all I need."
"The truth?"
"Yes. If you truly feel nothing for me, if my feelings are completely one sided, then look me in the eye and tell me. And if you do, I will accept it, and I will move on. But if that is the way it is, you will tell me, TO MY FACE, and you will do it NOW."
"Noel this isn't…"
"Yes. It is. The truth, Raven. NOW. I'll deal with whatever it is, but I will not go through this ANY LONGER. Now. Tell. Me. How. You. Feel."
"Noel…no matter what I say…I don't think…"
"Raven, I have my flaws. But I demand you tell me. Whatever it is. Trust me. Believe that I can surprise you."
"I can't…" Raven said, closing her eyes. She had started to squirm in Noel's arms, not in the "I want to get away" sense as an "I don't want to have to say this" way.
"YES YOU CAN. DO IT! Either tell me that you love me, or, as your poem says, TAKE YOUR BEAK OUT OF MY HEART, AND TAKE THY FORM FROM OFF MY DOOR!" Noel yelled.
Raven's eyes snapped open, glowing bright red. Noel recoiled in shock.
"QUOTE THE RAVEN, NEVERMORE." Raven snarled in a voice that wasn't her own.
And then she snapped out a hand and a tremendous impact slammed into Noel, throwing him backwards with a yelling cry of surprise. The red glow faded, leaving only a shocked horrified Raven, as Noel fell off the edge of the tower.
"No…oh no…"
He heard the loud noise as Noel caught himself with the Shimmer, but that was all she heard as the burning surged back.
No, she couldn't stay. She couldn't. She couldn't hurt Noel.
Raven finished disappearing into the shadows as Noel pulled himself back up.
"RAVEN!" he yelled, running over and swiping at where she had just been. His hands just passed through the last whispery remains of shadow that had marked her presence.
"Shit." Noel cursed, and turned towards the door.
In her room, Raven collapsed on the floor, clutching her chest.
"No…I won't…"
Yes you will child. It is not a matter of choice. It is a matter of time. And it is time for your destiny…
"NO….!" Raven wailed.
She should have said something. She should have sought help when she had first read the signs.
But she hadn't. She had believed she could do this on her own. And under that, she had believed she would hurt her friends, hurt them badly, if she got them involved. Noel had only made it worse, through no fault of his own. She couldn't help how she felt…
But her feelings were a curse. A curse that would be denied no longer.
In the end, she was going to hurt her friends. And the world. And when the time came, she would revel in it.
"Raven!"
Raven jerked her head at the voice at the door. Noel hadn't given up. No, he couldn't get near here. He would just hasten the end. She held up her hand and black energy covered her door and the wall.
"RAVEN!" Noel yelled, banging on the door. There was no answer. "RAVEN! OPEN THIS DOOR OR I'LL KNOCK IT DOWN!"
No response. Noel grit his teeth, backed up, and slammed the Shimmer into the door. It didn't budge. He banged on it and the surrounding wall a dozen times before he accepted that Raven was keeping him out.
And, though it terrified him, he was sure he knew why.
He had pondered it since he had started developing feelings for her, more so when he learned about her emotions and her bloodline. He had theorized that what was happening could happen, and that was why he had been going out. He hadn't been killing women. He had been hunting for an answer to a problem he thought could come up, and now it had. And he still had no answer.
But he had a name. And it was time to use it.
He hadn't told the Titans because he didn't want it getting back to Raven, but now he had no choice. It was time to call them in. Specifically, Robin.
And after what he had just seen and felt, he prayed he wasn't too late.
Raven could sense Noel leaving, and allowed herself a brief feeling of relief before the burning overtook her again.
"No…" she whispered. She had to get away. Away from her friends, away from people, away from everything, before…
You will not be going anywhere, child. The time has come. Now either accept it or not. The end will be the same no matter.
"I WILL NOT GIVE IN." Raven hissed.
Very well. I have waited a long time for this, and it is finally in my grasp. I can wait a little longer. But soon, very soon, I will be free, dear daughter, and you will take your place by my side. And this human side that fights so hard, the one that is doomed to fail, will be just as a memory. Why don't you just accept it?
"NEVER. I will fight you to my very last breath, father." Raven said to the darkness swirling in her head and slowly corrupting her being.
Have it your way, dear Raven. But accepting it or not, it's time to make room for Daddy.
"Robin." Noel said, coming into Robin's room. Robin jerked up from the printouts he was reading, some info that Oracle had said he learn. It wasn't too important though.
"Yeah Noel?"
"Remember how you asked me if you could do anything for me after the Jack fiasco? I have something."
"What?"
"Robin…I never told you the reason I was going out. The truth was, I was looking for something."
"What?"
"Sorcerers."
"Sorcerers? Why on earth would you want to find a sorcerer…" Robin trailed off as his brain made a connection.
"Yes. I had my worries, even without my feelings. That's why I was always gone. Hunting whoever I could find down, and doing them favours in order for them to respond in kind. But the three I was able to find could not help me. They were not strong enough to give me what I need. But all three gave me a name. A person you should be able to contact. I need to see that person. NOW."
"Now?"
"NOW. RIGHT NOW." Noel said. He didn't mention Raven. Robin would probably relate his request to the back burner while he tried to help her. But Noel feared there was only one way to help her.
"Ok then. So what is your request, exactly?" Robin asked.
"Blood."
Robin blinked.
"Take me to see Jason Blood."
Next: TRIGON!