Chapter 3: Sapphire
:1:
If Red X was a figment of Raven's overactive, twisted imagination, then perhaps it was time to take a trip to Nevermore.
The mirror gleamed in the darkness of her room like a tempting crystal. Raven held the black handle and stared into her reflection, allowing herself to be pulled into her mind. In an instant, the familiar jagged mountains and rocky terrain materialized before her, as did a pink-robed Raven playing jump robe. "Hey Raven! Long time no see!" Happy giggled.
Raven clamped her hands on Happy's shoulders and stopped the whirling of the jump robe with a blast of her power. "Has something strange been happening here? New emotions, entities, anything gaining power?"
Happy shook her head. "Nothing weeeeird has been happening—unless you can count Intelligence pulling out her hair in annoyance."
"What about Lust? Has she appeared?"
"Nope. Ever since you banished her at that picture of George Clooney, she's still sulking in that cave of hers." Happy giggled. "Do you want her to?"
"NO!" said Raven, a little too loudly.
"We know what's been happening with Red X," said Courage, drifting over to Happy's side. "You should confront him and pull his mask off. Or at least attack him when he's not looking. No one should be allowed to do this to you."
"Don't you think I've tried?" Raven scowled.
She knew Courage was lifting an eyebrow skeptically. "Right. You know, I think a little part of you wants him to seduce you."
Raven's eyes grew wide. "Of course not! I don't even like Robin!" she declared. "Why Red X?"
A yellow bird molded from the dust on the ground and spread her wings. A moment later, Intelligence straightened and looked Raven in the eye. "Are you sure?" she asked under a bright yellow hood. "This is Robin we're talking about here."
Raven rolled her eyes. "Right."
"What about what happened last week? You remember that?" asked Intelligence shrewdly.
"What does that have to do with anything?"
[Flashback]
The sun cast a dazzling display of gold, magenta, and orange across the sky, lining the bottom of clouds. Raven put her hood down and turned her large eyes on the surrounding environment slowly. Something inside told her to enjoy the moment, but she pursed her lips and swing her legs over the edge of the Tower, thinking of how she had lost control of her emotions again today. She entertained the idea of going for a swim, but brushed it off. The others would think she was even more crazy than usual if she dived off the ten-story tower.
"It's pretty, isn't it?" asked Robin, sitting down next to her.
Raven suppressed her cry of surprise. She hadn't heard the door open or his footsteps. She must have been really deep in thought for him to sneak up like that. "Something wrong?" he asked, looking at her curiously.
Raven returned the gaze levelly and saw only the white film of his mask and the black strip around it. She wondered briefly what his eyes, his real eyes, were like. Were they blue? Green? Brown? Gray? Did they have long black lashes? Were they bloodshot from all the nights he stayed up chasing a lead? Obsessive, angry Robin. Secretive as the son of the Dark Knight and friendly in his own character. A natural leader and an understanding friend.
Raven gave him a small smile, sparse but a rare gem. "No."
Robin looked stunned for a moment, then moved his hand over hers in a comforting gesture. "Good."
She felt a blush steal over her cheeks and regretted pulling down her hood. She was an empath—she could control emotions in other people if she wanted. She considered how easy it would be to twist Robin's emotions a little and make him love her instead of Starfire. But that would be unfair to the naïve little alien so Raven only pulled her hand away and looked out again at the horizon.
They spent the next ten minutes sitting next to each other, mutely watching the sun cast sparkling diamonds on the surface of the rippling waves.
Robin was the first to break the silence. "Funny. You don't seem the kind of girl to enjoy sunsets."
"Funny, you don't seem the kind of boy who would sit on the roof and watch a sunset with a friend when he could be chasing bad guys," retorted Raven dryly.
"Well, you never know," said Robin. "I happen to love sunsets."
Raven scoffed.
"I'm not kidding," said Robin earnestly.
"Sure, you love teddy bears and make up, too," said Raven, voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Hey, I'm the guy that wears tights, remember?"
The corner of Raven's mouth twitched. "So does Beast Boy."
"That's more of a body suit."
They chuckled a little before Robin stood up and brushed off the dirt on his tights. "I'm gonna go find the others now. You coming?"
Raven shook her head.
"You know, Raven," he said with a disapproving frown, "You stay alone too much. We're your friends. We wand to be with you, to have fun with you."
Raven said nothing.
"Come watch a movie with us?"
She glared at him. "You had this planned all along, didn't you?"
"Sorta," he said with a cocky grin.
As she headed down the stairs, Raven started thinking of 101 Ways to Torture a Robin. She came up with 3024.
[End]
"You like him," pronounced Happy.
"I don't," said Raven, exasperated.
"Do too."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Not."
"Too."
"Not."
"TOO!"
"NOT."
"This is pointless," said Annoyance, who had popped up somewhere during the sniping of Raven and Happy. She scowled and placed her hand on her hips, her maroon cloak sweeping around her.
"That's right," said Happy, "because you DO like him."
"NOT!"
:2:
"Soo..." Beast Boy leaned over to Robin with a devious expression in his eyes. "What was on Raven's bed?"
Robin took another spoonful of mashed potatoes and pushed Beast Boy away. "It's not in my power to reveal."
"Sure... what was it?" repeated Beast Boy.
"I can't tell you."
"Oh, come on, man!"
Starfire only looked confused, which added to her cuteness. "Why hasn't Friend Raven come down from her room? It is already lunch period."
Robin coughed and ducked his head.
Cyborg and Beast Boy immediately looked his way. "Ok, Robin. Talk," said the half-robot man.
"Remember what was on her bed? Well, the person responsible showed up in her room during the middle of the night," said Robin, pushing around his food.
"Beast Boy?" Cyborg said, glaring at the changeling.
"Hey, I didn't do anything!" said the green dude in question.
"No, the other one."
"Oh. OH. But isn't he you?"
"This conversation is perplexing me, friends," said Starfire. "What was on Raven's bed? Who appeared in her sleeping quarters?"
Robin and Cyborg exchanged looks. "We promised not to tell."
"What's wrong with you people? C'mon!!!" Beast Boy said, practically jumping in irritation. "Tell!"
"I told you, we CAN'T!" said Cyborg.
"But--"
Beast Boy was cut off by a large buzz. The room suddenly glowed red and Robin jumped out from his seat to scan the computer screens. "There's a robbery downtown at Sam's Sapphires. I'll get Raven. Titans, go!"
Beast Boy morphed into a cheetah, Starfire took to the air, and Cyborg prepared his arm. "See ya," he said to Robin, and followed Beast Boy and Starfire out of the Tower.
Robin ran up the stairs and pounded on Raven's door. "Raven, trouble!" he yelled. "Come out! I know you don't want to come out because of Red X, but you are still a superhero with a duty!"
The door slid open and Raven stepped out, a very harried expression on her ashen face. She lifted up her hood and gave him a look that simply said, I'm ready.
He grinned and was about to rush off when she caught him by the back of his collar. "There's a much faster way," she said coldly.
He was about to speak when black overwhelmed his vision and he sank into the floor. He could see only black and feel only darkness until he suddenly rose out of the ground in front of Sam's Sapphires.
Raven gave him a smug look. Robin took out his bird-a-rang and tried to forget how fast his heart was beating from the creepy journey.
Starfire was shooting starbolts at a man with a azure necklace in his hand. He dodged each easily and even bypassed Beast Boy's rampaging bull easily. Then he released a silver ball that transformed into an adhesive substance and Beast Boy was stuck in the gum-like stuff. He released another ball at Starfire and an X wrapped around her body. Cyborg was lying in the corner, having short-circuited from the mechanism on his back.
Robin felt his stomach flip over. Red X. He glanced over his shoulder and said; "We can safely say he's not me, right?"
Raven gave him an exasperated look.
Just as he was about to launch himself at Red X, a net was thrown over him and he was flung against the side of the building. He fell with a sickening thud onto the hood of a car.
"And that leaves you, little Raven," laughed X, running circles around her.
She growled. He had just attacked four of her friends and left them struggling to get up. "Azarath Metrion Zin--"
The familiar X-shaped tape closed over her mouth and this time, she didn't try to tear it off. She only glared defiantly at Red X.
"I understand I'm giving you much grief, Raven," sneered Red X, pressing her against a wall. She lifted her knee to kick him, but he blocked it as easily. "I want to make it up to you," he said, catching her wrist as she tried to punch him and twisting it so that she had to withdraw it.
He lifted the pendant in his hand, made of a bird with outstretched wings and sapphire eyes hanging on a silver chain, and placed it on her neck. He laid a finger on her cheek and whispered, "I hope you like it," into her ear, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear almost tenderly. She attempted to hit him again but he jumped back with a laugh and disappeared in a puff of gray smoke.
Raven quickly took off the pendant and frowned at it distastefully. She entered the store to return it to the frightened owner.
"Uhhh..." said Beast Boy, his eyes swirly, white voids, "did you just see what I did?"
:3:
"Explain again why we saw the horrible Red X again, Raven," said Starfire almost disbelievingly. They were sitting on the couch in something close to Titans' Council and discussing what they had just seen. Starfire's eyes looked like they would pop out of her head and she was looking between Robin's slumped form and Raven's stiff, indignant stance. Beast Boy was cleaning the last of the sticky glue off and Cyborg was checking the computers. They all seemed bleak and shocked from what had just happened.
"He's... courting me. Well, more like seducing me, but I can't be seduced."
"DUH," said Beast Boy, picking the gum of off his clothing.
If Beast Boy was a snowball, he would have melted five times over at the heat of Raven's glare.
"Could it be an incarnation of your emotions?" asked Starfire, sneaking a hesitant look at Robin's glower.
"No. My emotions are all more or less normal," said Raven.
"So what—who is it?" asked Beast Boy.
Robin stood. "My Red X costume has been moved. Touched. I checked when we got back."
"But I checked the computers and the camera footage!" said Cyborg. "No one went in or out during the time we were here."
The Titans exchanged uneasy looks and shivered a little.
"Well then your computers are wrong. I know Red X is real and I'm gonna find out who he is."
Starfire scooted up to Robin protectively. "And we know it can not be Robin." He smiled grimly at her and she beamed back brightly.
Raven felt a little tug in her chest at the exchange, but ignored it. Emotions were irritating.
"So what do we do now?" Cyborg inquired.
"We wait."
"You know what that means!" said Beast Boy, brightening. "Video game bonanza!"
:Fin:
Disclaimer: Teen Titans are not mine. If they were, Terra would be saved somehow and Raven and Robin would like each other.
I have a little problem. In order to write this story, I need to know if you readers want a Raven to end up with Robin or Red X. So please include that in your reviews.
OH. MY. GAWD. I checked my reviews today and saw it reached 50. FIFTY REVIEWS! For two tiny little chapters! Oh! I think I fainted in shock.
A lot of you asked and hypothesized on who exactly Red X is. This is part mystery, of course. I have added clues in the text for you to find and figure out. This will be so fun!
Dark Midnightstar: Genius? Oh, you flatter me!
Le Chat de Darigan: Creepy is what this story is supposed to be.
Serene's Magick: Ooo... I can't answer that. Raven's power is involved. Just... ugh. Said too much already.
Dr. Evans: Good idea, but I already know where I'm going with this. Sorry.
Reality: I'll leave you wondering about that.
kosumi: Like I said for Serene's Magick, Raven's power is most definitely involved.
Little Black Teacup: Good question. That depends on my readers. It could be Robin or Red X. Hehehehe (sneaky laughter).
PlAySw/Fire: Keep thinking... you're on the right track, though.
eltoott: The twing is him switching off (or maybe on) the thing that distorts his voice. It's a mechanism in the mask.
As for the rest of you—I love you all! May you be surprised one day when a package arrives in the mail and it turns out to be a necklace from the creepy guy with the tattered cape!