Vermillion
Chapter 7: Iridescent
:1:
It was Robin, but it wasn't Robin.
The thing she noticed first about the man holding her was his eyes. Robin's mask was gone, and what were left were dark, mysterious eyes of every color and at the same time, none. Specks of red, gold, and orange were mixed with the green, blue, and brown. His irises were strange—almost demon-like. The entire blend of colors made them seem iridescent.
Alas, she was silent too long. He took advantage of her shocked pause to lean down and press his lips to her own. The kiss was long and deep, yet equally passionate, with an edge of need. Raven felt her knees go weak from Lust's now-strong influence and she automatically responded to his kiss. Half of her wanted to lace her fingers into his spiky Robin hair and half of her wanted to pull away and pummel him to death. In the end, she closed her eyes and stood there.
When he pulled away, many an emotion felt disappointed. Then again, many an emotion felt relieved.
He smirked down at her with all the cockiness of Robin, and winked.
"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"
Raven turned from Red X to see Beast Boy staring at them with a horrified expression on his face. Red X pulled on his mask.
"Why do you care?" he asked, wrapping Raven to him protectively. "I've claimed her as mine."
"I'm not yours," Raven said, pulling away. "Just because I allowed you to kiss me doesn't mean I belong to you."
She could almost see him grin. "Feisty," he murmured. "I'll be back." Then he stepped back and threw down a metal ball, releasing a smokescreen. When the smoke cleared, he was gone.
"Raven, why were you kissing him?" Beast Boy demanded. "And why is Robin Red X?"
"None of your business," Raven said, pulling up her hood.
Beast Boy grabbed her wrist and pulled her into the building, running down creaky stairs. "I'm gonna find Robin and clear this up," he said.
"What? No. I'm not going," she pulled her wrist away and stalked back up the stairs.
"Yes you are. Stupid playboy...." Beast Boy caught Raven and pulled her down again to the dance floor, where Robin and Starfire were still the center of attention.
"Beast Boy!" Raven cried, yanking her hand away. "That was not Robin up there!"
He didn't listen. Instead, he pushed his way through the sweating crowd and marched up to Robin.
"What kind of game do you think you're playing?" he yelled, loud enough to wake the dead.
And yes, the DJ did stop the music and everyone whirled around to look curiously at the angry green-skinned dude.
"What are you talking about?" Robin asked, puzzled. He looked from Beast Boy to Starfire to Cyborg and then Raven.
"You know perfectly well what I'm talking about. If you're so interested in dancing with Starfire, then why did you kiss Raven?"
Amazingly enough, Robin flushed. "What?"
Cyborg made his way over to Raven. "Rae, is that true?"
A vein in Raven's forehead twitched. "Beast Boy, it wasn't Robin who kissed me."
"Oh yeah? Well then why did he look like Robin? Why did he sound like Robin? Why did he SMELL like Robin?"
The crowd shrank back in disgust.
"Oversensitive nose," Beast Boy muttered, his ears turning red.
"Beast Boy, I didn't kiss Raven. I was down here the entire time, with Star. Ask her."
Starfire was looking between Robin and Raven with a hurt and confused expression on her face. "Yes, Beast Boy. Robin was always dancing with me. He couldn't have gone to Raven."
"Well then, he's got to be some kind of robot!" Beast Boy leapt up to Robin's shoulder, morphing into a monkey, and attempted to pull Robin's face off. "Evil Robin from Slade, show yourself!"
Everyone but Beast Boy sweat dropped. Twice.
"I don't get it..." Cyborg said. "Robin? Kiss you?"
"Red X, with Robin's face," Raven explained.
"Red X has my face?" Robin said, swiping away Beast Boy's monkey form. "MY FACE?"
"He looked exactly like you," Raven went on, "except for his eyes. He wasn't wearing a mask."
Cyborg began to wave to the people staring at the titans. "Ok, y'all. Nuthin' to see here!" Eventually, they turned back to their own concerns and the music began to blast again.
Raven gave Robin a good look. He was stunned, no doubt, and disturbed. But he was also angry. Angry Red X had his face.
As for Beast Boy, he finally listened to Raven. "Oh. Heh. Sorry, Robin. Thought you were an evil robot."
Robin glared at him. "Do I look like an evil robot?"
"Yes," said Beast Boy under his breath.
Ah, yes. We see why Robin is called Boy Wonder as he manages to catch Beast Boy's fleeing chicken form and dunk it in beer in a matter of ten seconds.
:2:
"Theories as to who Red X is and why he looks like Robin," announced Beast Boy, taking out a true artist's rendition of Red X in stick figure form. "One: he's a guy from an asylum wearing a Robin mask."
"I don't think it was any mask," said Raven, remembering his kiss.
"Okay. Two: An evil twin that Robin never knew he had."
"Two Dick Graysons? God have mercy on our souls," said Raven listlessly.
Robin shot her a death glare.
"Three: Red X is a robot sent by aliens to marry Raven and take her to another planet where they will be royalty."
Empress Raven... Emperor Vermillion... Violet...
"Riiight," Cyborg said, yawning.
"Four: It's all Robin's fault."
"Hey! How could it be my fault?" Robin protested.
"Eh... he looks like you, he talks like you..."
"We have gone over that before," Raven said.
"Oh, please... do find out who Red X is. He cannot be Robin, for Robin was with me when we went dancing. Robin was fighting him at the store of precious stones. Robin was fighting him at the theater. It cannot be Robin!"
"And if it is?" Raven asked.
"Impossible!" Robin spat. "Don't you know me better than that? You've told us about how he treated you, how he talked to you, how he was around you... I wouldn't do that!"
Raven gave him a cool look. "Of course not. You're benevolent, righteous, a good guy. You wouldn't ever be like him. Oh, no. Robin is acting like a villain! He's not the perfect American citizen like we thought."
"Don't be sarcastic. This is serious!" yelled Robin.
"And you think I'm not?" she retorted, equally irate.
"Oookay..." said Beast Boy, looking between them... I'll just go to bed now and leave you two to your... lover's spat."
"We aren't lovers!" They cried in unison. The force of their two glares rivaled the fires of Hell.
"Sure, and I'm not feeling tension between you two," muttered Beast Boy. Cyborg clamped his hand over Beast Boy's mouth as Raven and Robin's glare intensified.
"What?" Raven asked.
"He said, "Sure, and I'm not gonna mention anything to you two..." said Cyborg, wincing at how lame it was.
Starfire smiled. "Perhaps the eating of sweet milk-based ice cream would help this quarrel."
"No thanks, Star," said Robin.
Raven didn't reply. She got up and departed from the room, making her way to her devastated bedroom for some solitude and quiet meditation.
:3:
When she got in... everything was clean. From her bed to her bookcases to her statues and paintings, everything had been restored to its previous perfection. No Xs marred her items. And sitting in her room, leaning his head against the window was Red X.
"Who are you, really?" asked Raven, passing her fingers over the large statue of the red-eyed bird.
"I can't tell you. If I do, you'll find a way of getting rid of me," said Red X, watching the night.
"Are you really Robin?"
"You know the answer to that that," replied Red X. "You also know that you can't hate me."
"Yes I can."
"No, you can't. Take a little peek inside yourself and you'll see that you are actually quite partial to me. Don't try to fool yourself, Raven. It won't work. It never does."
:4:
The morning was—as Starfire would say—a joyous one. The Titans awoke to a brilliant array of aromas coming from the kitchen. Beast Boy and Cyborg followed their noses down to the kitchen to find Raven standing there, pursuing a cookbook. Starfire drifted down shortly afterwards, followed by a just-showered Robin.
"Mmm... what are you making?" asked Beast Boy, jumping onto a stool.
"Strawberry waffles, fresh squeezed orange juice, and I'm baking blueberry muffins," said Raven, frowning at the cookbook.
"What glorious fragrances!" said Starfire, sniffing at the oven. "Simply delicious."
"Remember the last time you cooked? Man, that was good!" said Cyborg with a grin. "When was it?"
"Two days before Red X, I think," said Beast Boy, pouring maple syrup onto a high stack of waffles.
"Oh, yeah."
[Flashback]
"Prime rib!"
"Tofu!"
"Prime rib!"
"Tofu!"
Cyborg glared down at Beast Boy. "I'm not gonna let you deny me my favorite dish!"
"Every animal is your favorite dish! Might as well eat me!"
"Why not?"
A vein pulsed in Beast Boy's head.
As they entered the room, they saw Raven donning the Head Cook apron, stirring a pot and looking at a book.
"Huh?" they asked together.
"Raven, what are you doing?" asked Beast Boy, freaking out. He was planning on making tofu surprise.
"I'm tired of eating either squiggly tofu or red meat. We're going for something different," said Raven, tasting a bit of the tomato sauce.
"So what are you cooking?" asked Cyborg, staring at the mushroom and onions sticking out of the sauce.
"Spaghetti," she said. "It's for my own good."
"What's in the oven?" asked Beast Boy.
"Garlic bread."
"Meatballs?"
"Cooked separately."
"Meatballs? Cyborg!"
"Salad for you, Beast Boy," said Raven turning off the fire under the sauce. "Hmm... I think this is all right. Oh, Starfire's gone out to buy some soda. She'll be back in ten minutes."
Beast Boy reached for the bowl of salad. "Do it and I'll chop your hand off," remarked Raven.
He laughed uneasily and pointed to the game station. "Well, I'll be playing then."
Cyborg grinned. "Didn't know you could cook."
Raven gave him the tiniest of smirks. "I can't."
It was then that Robin entered, following his nose. "What is that?"
"None of Beast Boy's tofu," called Cyborg happily.
"No, what is that? Something's burning..." he ran over to the oven and opened it. "Garlic bread?"
"Wait, I'll get it," said Raven, grabbing mittens.
"No, I'm fine," said Robin. He reached in and grabbed the tray, but it was scorching and he dropped it with a cry. Raven saved it just in time, using her power to stop the tray before it hit the grown.
"Ow..." said Robin, taking off his glove. His fingers were crimson with irritation. "Damn."
Raven set the tray onto the table and took Robin's hand. "Should I heal it?"
"No, I'm fine," he said, pulling it away. "I'll be okay."
Raven shrugged and turned away from Robin, checking the boiling pasta and he ran his fingers under a stream of icy water, frowning.
It was then that Starfire came in, struggling under the weight of ten large bottles of soda. "I have returned with the Pepsi and Sprint drinks," she said, gasping as one fell to the ground. Cyborg and Robin rushed to help her with her load as Beast Boy opened one and started to chug it.
"Beast Boy, that's disgusting," said Raven, frowning.
"I know," he laughed.
[End]
"So why the sudden change in your mood?" asked Cyborg between bites.
"My room is better," replied Raven. "And I had a very nice dream about tying up Red X and make him listen to a faucet drip all day."
Beast Boy exchanged glances with Cyborg. Raven could be very scary sometimes. No, correction: Raven could be very scary all the time.
:5:
Red X stood over Robin's sleeping form. Outside, the wind howled like a forsaken child, but inside, Boy Wonder slept peacefully. A wave of hatred washed over him as he looked at Robin, the boy who would always stand as an obstacle in his path to Raven. He had been shut in the darkness by Robin. Now it was time to take his revenge.
It was, of course, justified. It was the only way Raven would ever come to him. If everyone else was gone, and the Titans vanished, the only thing she had was him. And she would accept his offer of a home where everyone adored her, of a family, of everything. He knew all about Raven—her past, her present—and he was going to mold her future. Most definitely so.
Red X took out a silver knife. Its blade was icy cold and it shone even in the darkness of Robin's room. He gently kissed the blade of the knife in blessing. Then he pulled on his mask and narrowed his eyes.
Goodbye little Robin.
He drove the knife into Robin's stomach and the boy awoke with a tortured scream.
:Fin:
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans blah blah blah....
I'm not going to give any replies to my reviewers because we are reaching the climax. There is one more chapter left and one epilogue to go. Sad, isn't it? It's gonna be over soon...
Thank you to all of my beautiful, wonderful reviewers. You are so generous! Over 200 reviews! My!