'It's time,' Raven thought to herself, 'I can feel him getting closer... I wish I'd had more time here. The Titans have taught me so much.' With a sigh, the girl gave a flick of her wrist and bands of telekinetic energy flew out, twisting her hair into a complex pile of braids and tresses, removing the ever-present cloak, and replacing it with a shimmering black gown.
She looked in the mirror, and set her jaw. 'This is how he'll expect me. I have no choice.' Her eyelids slowly closed, and her powers lashed out again, flashing about the room. Loose items were neatly packed, her wardrobe was emptied into a large black trunk, and her extensive library was neatly stacked into boxes. When the young girl opened her eyes, all traces that Raven had ever lived in the room were gone. In the middle of the room sat five large black boxes. Sighing, Raven straightened her back, and a long black shawl appeared out of one of her boxes. With that last touch, she left the room, and made her way to the main hall, where the other titans would be waiting.
Beast Boy was the first to notice her arrival. His jaw dropped, and he went rapid fire through several transformations. Laughing at the morphing mutant, the others turned to see what had set him off, and went silent when they saw her.
"Ray, you're beautiful..." Was all Cyborg could get out, and even at that, it was in a whisper.
"My friend, you look just as the Queens do on Uiancana 7! Are you planning on attending a costume ball as a Uiancanan Queen?" Starfire had risen off the ground, her eyes lit with joy, and her powers.
Robin pursed his lips, smiled, and finally spoke. "You look great Raven, but the plan for this evening was to go out after street crimes. I don't think the gown will do so well in down town." Finally Beast Boy was able to speak.
"Wow Ray, you're amazing... You're not gonna go all Queen of the damned on us, are you?" Arching an eyebrow, it was all Raven could do not to burst into tears.
'Emotions are weak! Be strong! If you can't get through this, what makes you think you can handle HIM? Or the rest of them?'
"I want to thank you all, each of you, for everything we've done. Everything you've done for me. You were all the best friends a person could ask for. I won't be here when you return from the city. He's coming for me, and I cannot hide. He'd destroy the whole Earth to find me. I knew my time here was short, please, just go, and remember me fondly." A large tear grew in the corner of her right eye. The room was silent for a moment, but erupted in a cacophony of denials. The tear trickled down Raven's cheek as a small secretive smile grew on her face.
"You can't just LEAVE! Who's coming for you? I'll take him on!" Somehow, despite transforming into several different wild creatures Beast Boy still managed to sound brave.
"No! I will not allow anyone to take you against your will! You are my friend, and no one hurts my friends!" Star's eyes had gone from green with joy to leaking green rage. Her hands held massive amounts of energy, and she was battle ready.
Cyborg was stunned, and not saying a word. Beast Boy and Star kept going on defiantly, but it was Robin who quelled them.
"Why not let Raven explain more about her situation, then we can decide what to do. Raven?" He directed her to a seat on the long couch, and the others clustered around her as she began her tale.
"Beast Boy and Cyborg, you remember when you invaded my mind?" Her voice carried more than a hint of ice. "I said I had issues with my Father, and my anger and hater took his form in my head. Well, my Father has decided it is now time to resolve our issues." Heaving a sigh, she stood, and began pacing.
"My Father is not like most others of my species. He was trained as a boy to become a priest of Dmenre, our god of strength. The priests worked for years to develop techniques to use their mental energies to strengthen their bodies, and in his training, my father learned all of their techniques. He excelled at whatever they taught him, but he secretly rebelled against their vows of peace. His pass time was ripping the legs off of lycantho bugs." A shudder went over her body.
"After a time, he grew into his full powers. No longer needing the priests, he killed them all. Before anyone else on the planet knew what he was doing, he attacked the strong house of the priests of Xynthos. He destroyed all but the strongest, the wisest, and the most skilled. Once he'd sucked them dry of their knowledge of their powers, he moved on using what they had taught him. Xynthonian monks are empathic, some close to telepathic. He did the same with the Metriome temple, and Azarat. He learned rudimentary control over local space/time and telekinesis in those temples. After that, he attacked the imperial palace, killed the empress, married her daughter, and declared himself Emperor.
Once his power was established, he had the other sects of priests come and teach him their secrets. Those who pleased him lived. Others died. I was born sometime during these years. As his heir apparent, he taught me all he had learned from the priests. He also tried to instill in me hate, anger, and the idea the fear was respect. If not for my mother, I would be just like him. She was an amazing woman. Tall, regal, long flowing black blue hair... and so peaceful. She accepted what was happening because that was the only option, but she managed to fight him by loving me." A second tear had formed in Raven's other eye, and slowly trickled down her cheek.
The others were sitting in an awed silence. They'd always known Raven had a difficult past, but never known how difficult. As Raven stared out the window at the glistening city, they looked at each other, unsure of what to say or do. Before anyone could make a move, Raven continued.
"My hair is just like hers was, dark black with shades of blue, like the light from Llew, the second sun in our system. One day, my Father caught Mother teaching me to be kind to others. It was just a servant boy who had fallen and injured his knee. We were healing his wound, but my Father did not approve." With obvious effort, Raven pushed on in her tale. "My Father used his mind to tear off the boy's legs, and left him to beg in the streets of the city. My Mother was not so lucky... Father tore out her tongue, her eyes, and shaved her bald, then locked her in a tower, where he could visit her. She only last a week with his daily visits. The day she died, I fled the palace. Fear and Rage drove me out. I took enough food for a few days, and the clothes on my back, that was all." Turning back to her audience, she smiled at them.
"He and I played cat and mouse all over my home world, him chasing me wherever I desired. The downside was he destroyed everywhere I went. If I so much as spent ten minutes in one spot, he killed all who lived there, and laid waste to the land. It took me a couple of months to realize I could not stay on my home planet, and I figured out the mechanics of space travel using my powers. As I left the planet, his mind grabbed mine, and I felt all his hate. It was too late for him to catch me, but he promised that when he wanted to, he would hunt me down, and bring me home. Now he's coming here." Her eyes went wide, and a look of terror passed over her face. "He's here... no..."
A/N: OK, I know that was heavy on the description, but what do you think of it? I like hearing back from you people. Did I keep in character? Myself, I'm not so moody, so I often find it difficult to write for the quiet/dark types... This is one of my first attempts at a non-yaoi story. I'm even going to try to keep it below the R-rating. It'll be hard, but I will succeed! OK, hugs to my first reviewer, whomever you may be!