Lunatic: Yeah. Another one. These poor guys, they aren't mine. If they were, then Slade would be a sock puppet.
I don't own "Everything You Want" either. That belongs to Vertical Horizon.
The red alarm was blaring at Titans' Tower but there was no one there to hear it. All of the Titans were out getting pizza when the various alarms on their person began to blink.
All of them, except Raven.
She had been gone for three days. While they had been inclined to worry, the note left on her doorway had expressibly forbid them from doing anything of the kind. Robin had lost sleep, pacing his bedroom and trying to figure out why.
The three graduates from the H.I.V.E academy were tormenting a local bank. Robin sighed. Somehow these villains always broke free and decided to make the same mistakes all over again.
"Titans! Go!" Bo staff in hand, Robin headed for Mammoth. The steroid enhanced boy grabbed the nearest lamp pole and pulled it from its cement casing, swinging it at Robin. The Boy Wonder easily leapt over it, flipping mid-air and bringing his staff down hard on his opponent's cranium.
Mammoth stumbled backwards and met with Beast Boy, who sent him flying with a heavy toss of his rhinoceros head. Robin gave him a brief thumbs up and ran to help Starfire.
For weeks before she left, Raven had caused minor explosions wherever she went. To Robin, it was obvious that she was having difficulty controlling her powers. Some emotion was tackling, and defeating her apathetic tyranny.
Had she left because she feared for their safety?
Jinx dodged his kick and sent a spell his way. He flipped in order to avoid it, only to land clumsily on the floor beneath Gizmo's four robotic legs. The mechanical genius laughed in an irritating way and fiddled with his controller.
Growling, Robin jabbed his Bo staff upwards, hitting the small, bald child in the stomach.
'Argh! Rotten snot sniffing-' He didn't get a chance to continue his tirade, because Cyborg had grabbed the robotic leg that had been aiming for Robin's head and cleanly tore it off. Gizmo wobbled a moment before falling completely.
Robin left Cyborg to defeat the clumsy technician. The small little bald boy was no challenge for Cyborg anymore.
Starfire managed to hit Jinx with a luminous green bolt, sending the witch flying backwards. She groaned, and then slipped into unconsciousness.
The authorities were there waiting. They gathered up the fallen villains, promising that this time they wouldn't get out, not again. Robin ignored them, and stalked into the shadows.
The other Titans watched their friend depart, varying levels of concern on their faces. Robin had been quiet and thoughtful since Raven left, all of them had. The dark half demon had no idea how much her absence affected them.
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Somewhere there's speakingIt's already coming in
Oh and its rising at the back of your mind
You never could get it unless you were fed it
Now you're here and you don't know why
Robin stood at the entrance to the abandoned factory. Shattered glass and fallen gears littered the floor, alone with the broken timbers of the ravaged ceiling. Slade's old hide out.He stepped into the darkness, trespassing on the past. Sometimes he came here, when he needed a reason to be alone. His thinking room helped him to solve crimes, helped him play the part of the detective.
This place helped him learn about himself.
Why couldn't he focus? Why did everything remind him of something she had said, something she had done? And why couldn't he stop thinking about the fact that she was gone?
Because, he told himself, for some reason, you blame yourself.
He ran his hand down the wall where a large screen had once stood, whole and unbroken. The glass was shattered now and his feet made loud crunching noises as he stepped through it.
But another noise caught his attention. He froze.
'Who's there?' He had adopted a fighting stance, eyes scanning the darkness. Nothing moved.
But under skinned knees and the skid marks
Past the places where you used to learn
You howl and listen
Listen and wait for the
Echoes of angels who won't return
'Robin?' Raven's voice broke the stillness, cracked as if it hadn't been used. She stepped out of the shadows, pulling the hood down from her face.
'Raven!' He ran to her, a mixture of concern and excitement in his voice. She appeared perfectly fine, although tired and surprised.
'What are you doing here?' Her voice was the same. She looked nervous as she backed a few steps from him, keeping her face as monotone as possible.
He eased off, recognizing a Raven who wanted her space. 'I came here to think.'
She looked behind him, to the shattered screens. 'So did I.'
'You mean you've been here all this time?' He asked incredulously. He'd been here so often the past few days, why had he never seen her?
'No.' She answered bluntly. She didn't elaborate.
'Raven come home. Everyone at the Tower misses you.' He smiled encouragingly. Having her in front of him eased so much of the tension within his mind that he could have danced.
'I can't.' She was expressionless, and her voice reflected this. His smile fell.
'Why not?' He stepped toward her, and she stepped back. 'Raven we're your friends. We care about you.'
He's everything you wantHe's everything you need
He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be
He says all the right things at exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why
She shook her head to his pro-offered hand. 'Robin, please don't make me to do this.'
He looked at her with a mixture of determination and confused concern. 'Raven if it's your powers then-'
'It's not that.' She said abruptly. 'I mean- it is, but it's something that I can't fix.' She backed further into the shadows, pulling her hood up around her face. Behind it, her eyes became cold. 'I'm leaving. I'll know if you follow me.'
But Robin wasn't giving up that easily. As she disappeared into the darkness, he sped to the door, and leapt onto the ladder that led to the roof.
He was determined to help her, whether she believed he could or not. She headed toward the edge of the city, towards the bay and the Tower. He followed, leaping from roof to roof as she flew high above the skyscrapers.
He watched the moonlight play cruel tricks as it accented the smooth curves of her figure, the violet color of her hair. His stomach lurched with an unfamiliar sensation and he began to think that maybe he knew why he'd been so distracted when she was gone.
She landed at the edge of the water, staring at the T-shaped building that had once been her home. Was she really that determined not to go back there?
He climbed quietly down the fire escape of the last building at the edge of the water, landing softly in the alleyway behind her.
'I told you I'd know if you followed me.' She said angrily. 'Go home Robin. ' She gazed pointedly at the Tower.
You're waiting for someone to put you togetherYou're waiting for someone to push you away
There's always another wound to discover
There's always something more you'd wish he'd say
'No.' He knew he sounded like a petulant child, but he refused to let her run away like this.
'Robin I know you're stubborn, but this is childish. Go home.' She continued to gaze at the moonlit Tower. Somewhere inside it, Beast Boy and Cyborg were fighting over the remote while Starfire busily made a dinner that no one would eat.
'I can't.' He was moving slowly towards her, as if approaching a timid animal that, at any moment, might fly away.
She didn't look at him, though he knew she could feel him getting closer. When she spoke, the confused regret in her voice made him stop mid-step. 'Why Robin? Why?'
'Because I care about you.' She spun around as if he'd hit her. Her eyes glared at him.
'Stop it!' Her hands were balled into fists. One of them collided with his chin and sent him stumbling backwards.
'Raven what-' He stared at her, eyes wide. He was rubbing the sore red mark on his jaw.
'Don't say that to me. Not you. Anyone but you.' She sank to the ground, muttering that three-word chant of hers. Nearby, several objects were engulfed in tentative tendrils of black energy.
He stayed silent, allowing her to regain her concentration. Breaking it now would result in her losing control.
He's everything you wantHe's everything you need
He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be
He says all the right things at exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you and you don't know why
Finally she stood and her face was blank. Emotionless.
'Raven, let me help you.' He said firmly. She ignored him, pulling her hood up around her face as she turned back to the water. He wasn't going to be ignored.
Robin closed the last distance between them and grabbed her shoulder, spinning her around so that she had to look at him. He took her other shoulder in his free hand and shook her gently.
'Raven come on! You have to let someone in eventually!'
But you'll just sit tightAnd watch it unwind
It's only what you're asking for
And you'll be just fine
With all of your time
It's only what you're waiting for
'No Robin, I don't.' She pulled away from him. Her hair swirled briefly around her face and the windows all around them shattered.
'Everyone has to have someone.' He said angrily. 'You can't go through life alone.'
'Robin I tried. I joined the Titans with every expectation that eventually I would get too attached and something would go wrong. And now something has.' She met his angry gaze with her own blank one, looking stoic and unperturbed.
'What Raven?' He tried to take her hand, anything to get her to stop looking at him with so much apathy. She subtly avoided him. 'Please tell me.'
'I can't. There's nothing you could do to fix this.' She looked past him to the shattered glass. 'Being with you would get them all killed.' She whispered. Her eyes widened as she realized what she had said.
Robin hadn't heard it; her voice was too soft. Whatever it was, it had been the truth. The truth that he wanted to hear.
She took flight, levitating out of his reach. Behind her, the Titan's Tower glittered on its small, rocky island.
Out of the islandInto the highway
Past the places where you might have turned
You never did notice
But you still hide away
The anger of angels who won't return
Glaring darkly, robin fished into his utility belt and withdrew from it one of his grappling hooks. It was rash, and probably stupid, but he wasn't going to lose her again so quickly. She was in pain, and he was going to help her.
The red and yellow hook spun around her ankles and she jerked in surprise. She turned to look back at him, glaring.
'Robin-urk!' He tugged, trying to bring her back to the ground. She sighed. 'Azarath, Metrion-'
'RAVEN!' He shouted, cutting off her chant. 'Stop it!' All around them, objects were levitating and vibrating dangerously as they reacted to the magic she had been about to cast. Apparently her emotions weren't so easily shunted.
She closed her eyes briefly, chanting under her breath. He pulled while she was distracted and she came crashing down on him. They rolled and Robin used the momentum to his advantage to pin her beneath him, his hands clutching each of her wrists.
She stared at him. She couldn't risk using her powers without having everything around them explode in a haze of garbage and metal. And she wasn't strong enough to get him off her by other means. He smiled at her.
She glared.
'Robin, get off me.'
'No.'
'Get off.'
'No.'
'Now, Robin.' Things were beginning to shudder as a black aura gently taunted them.
'No.'
'Robin! GET OFF.' Her eyes were panicked; he could feel her squirming beneath him, trying to get free.
'No.' He said simply. She growled in frustration.
'This isn't a game Robin. You're making this harder than it should be, Get off and go home.' She hissed.
''Harder than it should be?' How easy is letting you leave us supposed to be? Do you think we'll just shrug our shoulders and forget you?' He was staring at her with a mixture of shock and pity. He didn't understand how she could get such an impression.
'Yes.' She spat venomously. 'You most of all.'
Robin was stung. How had she ever come to these conclusions? He dropped his head the few inches between them to reach her ear. 'Raven I could never forget you. I told you before. I care about you, and I don't lie.'
He could feel her shivering beneath him, her breath quivering against his cheek. When he looked again at her face, her eyes were closed, fighting back silvery tears.
'Please, Robin.' Was all she said, but it was filled with so many emotions: sorrow, dread, anticipation, longing. He had never heard such a montage of feeling come from her. It was intoxicating to know that no one else had seen these emotions but him, as if they had been hiding there, waiting for him to discover them.
He's everything you wantHe's everything you need
He's everything inside of you that you wish you could be
He says all the right things at exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you and you don't know why
She opened her eyes. Their noses were touching, their breath mingling as he stared intently into the violet of her eyes. There were no more barriers of indifference, no more apathy. She was exposed beneath him, all of her emotions there to read.
'Raven…' It was dawning on him, the obvious answer he'd been so blind to. He'd thought it was something he could fix, something like a mechanical hitch that, with some maintenance, could be repaired. He saw now, in the depths of her eyes, that it was something much deeper.
The one emotion that cannot be controlled.
All of his reasonable thoughts disappeared, replaced by a strange kind of desire. He closed the minimal distance between them, pressing his lips against hers. He was shaking, overpowered with a longing that he didn't realize he'd had. In just a few moments she had ensnared him. Or had she had him all along?
She was breathing quickly, indulging in the kiss. He could feel the wetness of her eyelashes where unshed tears had waited. He could feel his heart pounding and he slid his hands off of her wrists, down her arms to tangle in her hair.
And then she turned her face aside, breaking the connection between them.
'I'm sorry.' She whispered. Waves of emotion were spilling through the glassy barriers of her eyes, coursing in rhythm with the passing shivers that he could feel threading down her spine.
The various objects that had been floating were destroyed.
He forced her to look at him. 'Why?'
He wasn't asking her why she was sorry; he was asking her a million other things. Why wouldn't she let herself do this? Why had he never done this before? Why did she think she had to run away?
'Because I can't control it anymore.' Her voice was dangerously close to returning to his vague monotony. It hurt him to hear it.
But Robin knew when he was beaten. Her expression was stony, uninviting. Her eyes were full of pain.
'Will you come home?' He asked in her ear. He heard her little intake of breath as his words trickled down her neck.
She didn't answer. She didn't have to. Her body relaxed, slumped in defeat. He let go of her hair, and pushed himself off of her.
Raven stood, brushing the dirt from her clothes. Without a word, she rose into the air and headed for the Tower. Robin stared after her, and his face was as apathetic as hers.
I am everything you want I am everything you need I am everything inside of you that you wish you could be I say all the right things at exactly the right time But I mean nothing to you and I don't know…why I don't know why Lunatic: (cries) I hope you all (sniffles) enjoyed. It was so (sob) sad to write! Aah!