{(Chapter 3- Released)}
"Robin? Star? Dudes, are you still out here? What was all that noise about?"
"Beast Boy!" Robin yelled out to his friend. "Help me out here!"
Beast Boy heard Robin's voice, and quickly turned his head in the direction. He spotted his trapped team member almost immediately.
"Raven! Cyborg!" He shouted back towards the tower. "Come here! You guys gotta see this!! I think Star learned a new starbolt trick."
He started walked towards Robin, shaking his head in amusement. That infuriated Robin.
"OF COURSE STARFIRE DIDN'T DO THIS TO ME! I'M STUCK IN HERE BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID NEW VILLIAN AND HER DARNED ENERGY POWERS!"
"Huh?" That shook Beast Boy out of his subtle enjoyment.
Just as he said this, Raven and Cyborg both rushed out of the tower. Raven was the first of the two to spot Robin, in his bright orange energy sphere. She frowned sullenly as she hurried over to her trapped friend. Cyborg followed after her; confused. Beast Boy picked up his pace and followed as well.
"Who did this to you?" Raven asked as she stepped up in front of Robin.
Robin calmed down a little. Sayuri had said that her powers were manipulated similar to the way Raven's were. Raven could help. "Raven. Listen. A few minutes ago, a girl named Sayuri came and attacked Starfire and me. She used something she called "spirit energy". She used it to knock Starfire out, and did some move she called her "energy trap" to keep me in this little glowing sphere. Sayuri said that her spirit energy was a little like your telepathic powers. You're the only one that can get me out."
Beast Boy stared at Robin. Yelling one moment and acting all calm the next... He must be really stressed.
Raven nodded in acknowledgment to Robin. She carefully poked the energy field, and felt a strong shock of energy prick up her finger. She quickly removed it, knowing the pain would only grow stronger if she didn't.
"…Spirit energy… interesting…" she mumbled. Raven looked back up at Robin. "Tell me, did this girl have long red hair and weird yellow eyes?"
Robin nodded, clueless as to how she found this out. "Are you a mind-reader as well as a telepath?"
Beast Boy chucked. "No. She's not. If she was, she'd have killed me a long time ago for some of the thoughts I've had of her."
Cyborg chuckled, but Raven didn't seem to hear either of them. She was still looking at Robin.
"That girl… Sayuri… I read a newspaper article about her a few months ago. It didn't have her name in it, but it described a girl with red hair and yellow eyes. She had "magically" broken into a bank vault. The lock wasn't unlocked, broken or even scratched. It was as if she had zapped herself in, and then back outside. No one would have caught her, except one of the locals got lucky and spotted her as she was running down the street; bags of money in hand. She was spotted, but never caught. The man who saw her said that she seemed to disappear a split second after he saw her."
Robin nodded. "Yes. She has some sort of teleportation trick up her sleeve. As well as this whole energy power thing."
Raven nodded too. "So… she told you that I could break this energy field?"
Robin hesitated a beat. "Well… yes."
"Robin," Cyborg saw Robin's hesitation. "What is it your not telling us?"
Robin blinked.
Once.
Twice.
And the he continued to stare at Cyborg. How had his friend gotten to know him so well? He couldn't tell when Cyborg had a secret… But, maybe he was just a really readable person.
"Uh… well, Rae… you should know, Sayuri told me that if you tried to break this trap, the effort could kill you…. Now, normally, I wouldn't want you to put your life in danger… but I have to get out of this and go rescue Starfire, because it's entirely my fault she was kidnapped and I need to save her. But, it's completely up to you whether or not you use your powers, and I can't make you do anything so, you get to decide."
Robin finished all this talking very quickly. He took a deep breath and looked back at Raven. Now he struggled to speak calm and evenly. "Sayuri said that she was working with Slade. He wants me in exchange for Starfire, I suppose, and I need to get out of here if we're going to save her. It's your choice whether we're going to rescue her, or not."
Raven opened her mouth to respond, but was cut off by Beast Boy.
"No!" he near shouted. His voice was trembling, but determined. "No. She's not going to do it. She… she can't." Beast Boy lifted up his hand and angrily swiped away the tears forming at the base of his eyes. "Robin, how dare you make Raven decide something like this?! Of course she's going to do it! She's just too good a person… she'll do everything she can to help save Starfire… but… Raven, you can't die! You can't even risk it! I… I don't think I can live without you, now…" he unexpectedly dropped down to his knees, sobbing.
Raven looked down at him, and Robin noted the look on her face. Her features remained fixed in her usual calm look. All except her eyes. Her deep, violet eyes were filled with unspoken love, anxiety, and concern; all separate, yet mixed up together in her mind.
The cloaked telepath dropped down on her knees, next to Beast Boy. She put her arm comfortingly around him. When she spoke, her voice was clear and soothing.
"Shhh… shhh… listen, please, Beast Boy…" she briefly strived for something to say to calm him down a little. "eh… darling, hush…" She winced. The word "darling" just felt strange in her mouth. Mental note: don't try using sugary words for a while.
Beast Boy looked back up at her, surprised. He calmed down, and locked his tear-stained emerald eyes on her.
"Listen. There's no reason to get upset. I'm not dead yet. I probably won't even get hurt when I destroy the energy field. It was probably just some threat that girl made to delay us in freeing Robin. And, even if the trap is dangerous… it doesn't matter. Because… if we don't free Robin, you know who will be hurt? Starfire will. No doubt about it. You understand? Even if it is dangerous, I have to try."
Beast Boy frowned sadly, but gave a weak nod. He stood back on his feet, reluctantly. "Alright. You can give it a try. But, I swear… if you die… I'll have to kill you."
Raven nodded and stood up as well. She looked at Robin. "Well, should I give it a try, then?"
Robin gave a nod, and took a step back for safety.
Raven raised her hands up in front of the orange sphere, and closed her eyes in concentration. Gradually, she pushed the dark-colored energy out through her fingertips; feeding the power out into the wall of energy. She concentrated even harder, and she felt trap's power cells being destroyed by her effort.
"Wow, Raven. The orange stuff is disappearing." Cyborg's voice interrupted her concentrated state.
"Shhh!" she also heard Beast Boy's voice- aggravated and strained. "If it's really as hard as that evil girl said it was, talking isn't going to help Raven's concentration."
Then the voices stopped.
If it weren't such a waste of energy, Raven would have smiled. Even now, when he was stressed and upset, Beast Boy was looking out for her.
She refocused her concentration, and continued forcing out her energy through her hands. She'd only been going at it for a little over a minute, but she already felt it draining the last of her energy from her.
Her body wasn't built for this much energy loss at one time.
"Is it… almost gone?" she asked quietly, her eyes still clamped shut.
Raven heard Beast Boy's hushed voice answer her. The other two were probably afraid to say anything at this point.
"Almost…" he said "… just a little more."
The three boys watched as Raven struggled to release more of her energy. Robin no longer had any doubts about Sayuri's threat. The attempt really was killing Raven. Slowly, sure, but he could tell it was. However… there wasn't anything he could do about it. He had to go get Starfire. He would NOT just forget about her. He couldn't.
Beast Boy, too, was NOT thrilled with this turn of events. He had to sit back and watch as Raven drained herself of her life energy. But, he couldn't stop her… Raven was determined to do this… right? ……..
No… No! He wasn't going to let her do this to herself. He stepped forward, and was about to demand that she stop; when she did.
The orange energy barrier was gone. Robin was free. And Raven was collapsed on the ground.
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Back at Slade's lair…
Slade stood up from his chair when he heard a pounding at his lair's secret entrance. He briskly walked over to the hidden door, and flung it open. He glared at the redhead standing on the other side.
"Do you have to knock so loud? I would've heard you if you simply TAPPED on the door. This room echoes."
Sayuri scoffed, and walked inside, hefting an unconscious Starfire over her shoulder.
"I'll knock however I darn well please, Slade. Tell me, when have you successfully knocked out one of these Teen Titans?"
Slade almost rolled his eyes. Sure, this girl was quick-witted, strong, and crafty: the perfect sidekick. But… it was times like these… he found her simply intolerable.
"Once." He stated. Coldly. Simply.
"But, not in single combat? It was with trickery, and technology."
Slade glared at her. "Yes."
"And that's why you need me." Sayuri said, just as simply. She set Starfire down on the floor, and turned back to face Slade.
"Listen, I need a glass of water, and a cold pack if you have one."
Slade smirked. "What? Hurt yourself kidnapping the teenage girl?"
Sayuri frowned, and glared at him. "It's for the girl, you imbecile. We need to wake her up, if we plan on getting any information from her, ne?"
A vein somewhere in Slade's forehead pulsed dangerously. Imbecile?! Who does she think she's talking to?! As soon as this operation's over, I'll be ending his partnership with this rude girl… And it won't end well.
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"Raven…" Beast Boy cried out, as he knelt down beside her. Cyborg knelt down next to him, and checked for her pulse.
"Is she……?" Robin couldn't finish his question. If Raven had died, it would be all his fault. That'd be too much to bear.
Cyborg looked up at him, a little surprised. "No… she's not dead. Just knocked out."
Beast Boy let out a sigh of relief, and put a hand up to his head. "Thank goodness."
(A/N- I was about to be a totally evil person, and end this chapter without telling you that Raven didn't die in her attempt to free Robin. Feh… like I would kill off one of my favorite characters.
I've gotten a few comments saying that Sayuri is cool, but way too perfect and predictable. I'd really hate to give up the plot now, but there's much more to her then that. As you'll hopefully read on in the later chapters to come, Sayuri is actually a very complex person. She hides behind a mask of security, stability and "perfection", when she's actually…….. Whoops! About to give away me ENTIRE villain revelation. Sorry, folks, that's all for now! Please review! I'll love you forever if you do.
It's. Not. That. Hard.
But… maybe you need some guidance?
R E V E I W
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