Chapter Six: Sweet Revenge
They arrived at Robin's room to see the lights were on. Raven's eyes were closed and her hand was on Robin's forearm. Each looked peaceful.
"Raven, get away from him," Cyborg said evenly. Raven made no reply. Starfire approached the girl slowly.
"Raven?" she said tentatively. "Are you well?"
"We have to get her away from him," Cyborg said, decisively.
"No!" Starfire cried, turning to face her other two friends. "I will not let you!"
"What's up with you, Starfire?" Beast Boy asked.
"Look, we don't want to hurt her, just get her away from Robin," said Cyborg slowly.
"My friends, Raven screamed for a reason. I feel I must tell you, she did not do those things as you say she did," Starfire said.
"Are you crazy?" Cyborg cried. "I was there, I know what happened."
"Yeah, me too!" said Beast Boy, looking irked.
"You misunderstand," Starfire said. "It was not Raven who attacked you, it was someone else. Someone called Larkin."
Cyborg scoffed. "And you believe her," he said. "She's trying to fool you, Starfire."
Starfire glared at him. "I am not one easily fooled," she said.
Beast Boy and Cyborg exchanged worried glances and decided to not respond to the comment.
"Look, Starfire, Raven made up a story so you would— wait, when did you have this discussion with her?" Cyborg looked suspicious.
"I…" But Starfire was through with lying. She looked down, guiltily. "I spoke to her in the detention center when I was out earlier today. I helped her escape."
Beast Boy and Cyborg's mouths dropped to the floor.
"Why did you do that?" Cyborg snapped angrily. Anger burned in Starfire's eyes that matched Cyborg's.
"Because she is not guilty! And she is my friend!" she said.
Cyborg made a move to go to Raven, but Starfire kindled a starbolt in her hand.
"Don't you dare come any closer to my friend," she said, threateningly.
"Great!" said Cyborg. "Star's gone evil on us too!"
"No I have not!" Starfire whined, her bolts disappearing as she pouted. "It is you who have changed. Why are you so quick to condemn a friend? I offer hope and you chose to disbelieve it!"
"Because it's not true," Cyborg said. "Look, I miss Raven's friendship too, but—"
"Let's hear her out, Cyborg," Beast Boy said quietly. Both pairs of eyes turned to him.
"What?" Cyborg said.
"Does it look like Raven's doing Robin any harm?" Beast Boy asked. "Let Starfire explain." Cyborg turned reluctantly to the Tamaranian.
"Robin!" Raven cried. Startled at her voice, the young hero turned to see his friend. The snake turned its hideous black head to Raven and it seemed to grin.
"Raven!" said the serpent. "So glad you are to join us! Unfortunately, you are uninvited. Get out!" A strong mental force knocked Raven into one of the skyscrapers, cracking the wall. Robin seemed to flinch in pain. Raven knew any damage to the surrounding landscape would injure Robin's mentality.
But she knew better than Larkin how to play mind games.
"Robin," she called to her friend. "Larkin has taken on his true mental form, but you're still clinging to your physical one."
"What?" Robin said, not looking at her as he tried to slash the snake with his birdarang.
"You have to learn to—" Raven ducked as Larkin swiped at her with his tale. Steam seemed to shoot out her ears.
"Alright," she said quietly. "Now I'm mad." And within a second, she was a giant black bird, tearing her great talons into the snake's tail. Larkin hissed in agony and he turned away from Robin to bite the annoying bird. Robin stared, dumbstruck.
"How did you…"
"Forget it!" came Raven's thoughts straight to Robin. "Just get him!"
The snake howled as Robin sent a flying kick right below the back of his head.
"You two are being an absolute nuisance," he groaned.
"Good," said Raven, using her own mental force to knock the snake to the ground. "Now tell me why you're in Robin's head."
The snake leered at her. "Isn't it obvious?" he said.
"Not really," she replied. "You tried to kill him."
"No he didn't," Robin said. "He did something to send me here."
"He trapped you in your own mind…" Raven said.
"Yes," Larkin hissed. "I was never intending on killing any of your friends, at least not at the beach. I know it would take more than a simple toss against the wall to kill your precious friends. It was a just a display, so your friends would no longer trust you."
"You knew I'd figure you out," said Raven. "You knew when I did that I'd tell them. And you wanted to make sure they didn't believe me."
"Yes, I thought you would even guess as to why I would take so special care in my treatment of Robin. And yet, you amaze me with your naiveté."
"Must be Starfire's influence," Raven muttered.
"I hope this is the part where you reveal your sinister plan," Robin said.
The snake grinned and looked to Raven. "My dear protégé has always been privy to my darkest plans. Why should I stop now?"
Robin stared at Raven, stunned. But Raven barely moved.
"I am in Robin's mind because I intend on taking it over. Much as you so eagerly let me take over your mind. You opened your mind to me and that's all it took. But this one refuses to go quietly into that good night."
"Why take over Robin's mind?" Raven asked. The snake slithered quickly over to the girl until it's sickening green tongue was in her face.
"So I could get back the body you stole from me," he hissed.
Raven's eyes filled with horror as the snake turned swiftly away from her and made for Robin at break neck pace.
"…And this is all I know," said Starfire with a sigh. She had told them everything, from what she had done after Cyborg's tale to their arrival in Robin's room.
"Can that really be an elaborate lie?" Beast Boy asked Cyborg. The robot made no comment.
"Why did she scream…?" Starfire wondered aloud. "She seems to be in no mortal danger."
"Maybe she was sleepwalking?" Beast Boy offered. Both Starfire and Cyborg gave him curious looks. "What? It's what I wish I were doing right now. Come on guys, it's almost three in the morning!"
"I won't let you have him," said Raven suddenly, her voice deep and cold. All eyes were on her, but she made no movement except to clench her jaw. There was a moment of stunned silence.
"I think it's decided that something extremely weird is going on…" said Cyborg with raised eyebrows.
Raven restrained the beast with much effort, using every ounce of strength she had to keep him from biting Robin's head off with his poisonous fangs. Robin pulled out a dagger and prepared to fight.
"Let me go!" Larkin's mental voice pierced Raven's thoughts like the dagger Robin held in his hand.
"Get out of his head," Raven demanded.
"I need his body," the snake snapped back. "Strong, young and powerful. Perfect."
"You want strong, young, and powerful?" Raven said. She dropped her hold and the snake fell to the concrete street. "Take me."
Both demon and teen hero looked at Raven in disbelief.
"What?!" they both demanded in unison.
"You both heard me," she said, looking Larkin straight in his blood red eyes. The snake gave a hideous grin.
"Very well," he said finally, and lunged at Raven.
"No!" Robin screamed. But a second later, they were gone from his thoughts.
Robin awoke instantly, drenched in a cold sweat. Simultaneously, Raven fell to the floor.
"Robin!" exclaimed his friends in delight.
"You're awake!" said Beast Boy. Robin was rubbing his head and looked at Raven in deep concern.
"We've got to help her," he said, his voice full of alarm.
"Would someone tell me what's going on?" Cyborg cried.
"And the rest of us idiots," said Beast Boy. Robin bit his lip.
"But I don't know how we can help her…" he said, ignoring both Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"You cannot," said Starfire, appearing at Robin's side. "Just as we could not help you."
Robin looked up at Starfire, his expression pleading. "There's got to be a way," he said, desperately. "She saved me."
"Well, well, well, what a wreck your mind has become," said Larkin, looking around critically. He looked now as Raven had known him all those years ago, a middle aged man in his forties, but with long brown hair with gray streaks and powerful muscles. He looked like a retired pro wrestler.
"I like it that way," Raven said coldly.
"Don't worry, I shall repair it," said Larkin with a wave of his hand.
"You're not going to stay," Raven said, her voice like ice.
"I knew you wouldn't give up without a fight," said Larkin with a smile. "You never did. When I was your mentor, you were as rigorous as Robin in your training."
"That was so I could someday defeat you. And I did," said Raven. "And I will gladly do it again."
"It pains me to do this, Raven, you know it does," said Larkin in mock hurt.
"It pains you no more than a paper cut," Raven hissed.
"Now, I see we have to do this the hard way," said Larkin, changing into his snake form.
"I guess so," said Raven and before Larkin could make a move, Raven mustered all her power and shoved the creature from her mind, far beyond her memories, beyond her dark desires, beyond her subconscious and even beyond the darkest place from which came the root of her telekinetic powers. She did not stop her onslaught until she felt him slump against her mental barrier.
Raven's body spasmed. She hadn't had time to create a hole, and it was dangerous to push the mental barrier too far, for it could shatter and kill her.
Larkin, luckily, was weakened from his twenty-four hour battle with Robin and tried to recoup his energy, but all too late. Gathering what little force she had left, Raven opened her mind and quickly shoved Larkin out of it like a bad dream.
And with that, her mind could take no more and she fell into a deep sleep.