Chapter 4: Raising Up and Raining Down

"The Game Cock clipp'd and arm'd for fight
Does the Rising Sun affright.
Every Wolf's & Lion's howl
Raises from Hell a Human Soul..."

"What did Slade say when you told him about your plan?" Mammoth asked Gizmo when they arrived back at their hideout.

"He didn't give a snot," sneered Gizmo. "Put her over there and make sure you secure her arms. We don't need her squirming while I'm working." Mammoth was confused. If Slade didn't want anything to do with her, then what were they doing? Gizmo rolled a large machine out of one corner of the room and pulled the cover off it.

"What is that?" asked Mammoth, chaining down Raven's wrists.

"My newly created masterpiece: a machine that uses super-accelerated molecules to speed up the aging process. One quick shot of this and mystery girl over there will be looking at her due date before she can blink," Gizmo said as he adjusted the machine and took aim at the blue-cloaked heroine.

"But, why?" Mammoth asked, still rather confused. Gizmo was inclined to believe that the size of one's brain was directly proportionate to the space one took up: the bigger the man, the smaller the brain. Gizmo was so enamored with his project that he didn't even realize that Mammoth had a point.

"Because, sludge for brains, the Titans are one thing, but if I had a kid connected with them, it would put me on the map," Gizmo replied evilly.

"If Slade didn't order us to do this, then why are we doing it?" Mammoth continued. Gizmo gritted his teeth in irritation. Mammoth was starting to get on his nerves. Gizmo stopped what he was doing long enough to turn to the larger man and narrow his eyes in anger.

"Aren't you sick of living in Slade's shadow? Aren't you sick of him taking all the credit for everything we do? Haven't you ever just once wanted to be the one in charge? I have. I've got more power in my pinkie finger than Slade has in his whole body, and I'm gonna prove it," Gizmo shouted.

"This isn't part of the plan! Slade's gonna have your head!" Mammoth shouted back.

"Haven't you heard a word I've said? Slade isn't running the show anymore! I am!" Gizmo screamed. As they argued, Raven started to come around. Becoming aware of her precarious situation, Raven gasped and started to struggle.

"Get out of my way!" shouted Gizmo, pushing Mammoth aside and turning back to the machine.

"This isn't part of the plan!" roared Mammoth. "She has nothing to do with this!"

"She's part of MY plan! She's that scum-colored goblin's wife, and they are just the first ones in line to feel the wrath of Gizmo!" Gizmo screeched back, throwing the switch on the machine.

"NO!" Raven screamed, but it was no use: the machine was already working and before the eyes of the two young villains, Raven's belly swelled with child.

"She's getting too big! There's something wrong! Shut it off!" Mammoth screamed at Gizmo. Gizmo was so terrified by the outburst and the release of energy from the machine that he was struck speechless. Mammoth smashed the machine just as Raven lost consciousness. The stress of having almost a full nine months of gradual growth pass in the space of a few minutes had come with excruciating pain and, unable to bear it, Raven's body shut down and she slipped into unconsciousness. Gizmo cowered as Mammoth raged, destroying several other machines before shattering the chains that held Raven down. The massive villain stopped for a few moments to calm himself and then wrapped Raven in a large quilt. Their hideout had once been a small rural hospital, and Gizmo thought it an ideal place for all of his mechanical and electronic gadgets. The two had never bothered to remove other things from the building such as linens and blankets that had been left. Tonight, Mammoth was glad they hadn't. Gingerly as he could, Mammoth lifted Raven into his arms and made his own door to get out, running into the night. Gizmo worked up the courage to look minutes later, releasing an eldritch scream as he kicked several broken pieces of his machine in frustration. What was he going to do now?

Beast Boy didn't sleep well that night. Over the months since he and Raven had married, he had grown accustomed to having her beside him. Tonight her side of the bed was cold and Beast Boy resorted to pulling her pillow into his arms and hugging it tight. He pressed his face against the pillowcase and inhaled. The pillow smelled like Raven and for a while, he was comforted. It wasn't the same as having her warm body in his arms, but he supposed that for tonight it would suffice. He swore to himself that if even a hair on her head was harmed, he would make sure that the one responsible never knew what hit him. He had no idea that no one else—the Titans, Wonder Woman, Batman, and all villains considered—no one else slept well. Not well at all.

Far away, Wonder Woman was still sitting up in her cell. She was staring across the room where Two-Face reclined in a chair, murmuring and smiling sadistically deep in his latest dream. She let her eyes wander over the equipment in the dimly lit room and came to rest on the large television screen. Slade had left it on when he left the hideout and Two-Face had fallen asleep without shutting it off. Diana sat forward eagerly as the news came on.

Images of the devastating car accident involving the Batmobile flashed across the screen. Diana covered her mouth in horror and tears slipped down her cheeks. A sob escaped her before she could stifle it and Two-Face was startled from his sleep. He quickly turned off the screen, depriving Wonder Woman of the knowledge she most desperately wanted to know. The newscaster had not yet announced whether or not the Dark Knight had survived his ordeal.

"Don't hold your breath, Princess. The man-bat has finally expired," Two-Face said triumphantly, turning his acid burned face to Diana.

"No! I don't believe you!" Diana cried. The tears were coming faster now, freer. She didn't want to believe that Two-Face and Slade had managed to destroy Batman. It just didn't seem possible.

"No!" Diana wept, lowering her head to her hands. What would she tell the Justice League had befallen their fearless co-leader? It occurred to Diana minutes later that even she may not escape this battle with her life.

"Phase one is complete," Slade said calmly as he returned to the inner chamber of the hideout. "In a few hours we will begin the next phase. This has been almost too easy. Have Gizmo and Mammoth reported in yet?"

"No," said Two-Face. "I haven't heard anything from them since you talked to Gizmo this morning." Slade's eyes narrowed. Gizmo was pedantic and precise; it wasn't like him to not report when told. On the other hand, Slade mused, one should not equate Gizmo's silence with self-directedness. One Hive operative had already defected, who knew what the others were capable of. After several failed attempts to contact Gizmo and Mammoth, Slade grew angry. He teleported into the cell that held the captive Amazon and mercilessly beat her. Two-Face watched without a flicker of emotion as Wonder Woman tried to fight back, and failed. By the time Slade had finished, he had broken Diana's left arm, fractured her right cheek and three ribs, and had lost count of the bruises he had inflicted. When the raven-haired heroine remained on the ground, too weak to get back up, Slade gave her a few well placed kicks and then turned on a small camera that was built into the sleeve of his suit. Slade deliberately made sure that the location of the hideout could be ascertained using the video. He hadn't made it blatantly obvious, but he knew Robin well enough to know that the young Titan would not have a difficult time spotting the clues. Slade suppressed a grin of accomplishment as he sent a regiment of his robots to leave the disc with the video on it on the doorstep at Titans Tower. The two fiends retired for the night, leaving a whimpering and shuddering Wonder Woman to recover from the unprovoked beating alone. As soon as the heavy steel doors slammed shut, Wonder Woman began to cry again.

"No...Bruce...It can't be...Oh, God, no...Bruce, I love you!"

Mammoth finally stopped running. He was miles outside of Gotham, and the bundled heroine in his arms was finally beginning to come around. Sitting on the bench in a park to rest, Mammoth pulled the blanket back from Raven's face. He was shocked at how beautiful she was in the moonlight. Raven's uniform had torn when she was subjected to Gizmo's machine, and Mammoth was sure that by now, it wasn't covering much. He had to find somewhere for them to go, but where? Surely, Raven was now no more than a week from her due date, plenty of leeway to have her baby early, but it still baffled the monstrous villain that she had grown so large.

There was an old hotel in one quarter of Gotham, and Mammoth thought he remembered where it was. It had recently closed, and the owners had not moved anything out yet. Mammoth ripped the boards off of one door and made his way inside, choosing a room on the topmost floor, the third, and the farthest room at the end of the hall. He didn't want any surprise visitors to easily find them.

Raven's blue eyes blinked open as Mammoth gently placed her on a soft blanket on the floor.

"Where am I?" Raven murmured.

"Safe. For now. I don't know how long it will take for Gizmo to find us—that is, if he followed us at all," said Mammoth. He sounded despondent. Raven knew for a fact that she was dangerously near her due date and that the hulk before her had no idea how to deliver a baby, let alone two.

"I don't know what happened with that machine. You look too big to me," Mammoth said. He hoped he hadn't offended her. This feeling made Mammoth's heart beat harder. He had never really cared if he hurt anyone's feelings before. Raven looked at him—was that compassion she saw?

"I...I'm having twins. I just found out the other night," Raven replied. She tried to suppress a note of anger in her voice. She knew that he was genuinely curious. The surprised look on Mammoth's face was drowned seconds later by fear as Raven suddenly clutched her belly and cried out, "Oh, God...I think I'm in labor!" Mammoth's heart rate doubled. How was he going to handle this?

Sunday morning dawned sunny, but cool and breezy. This was Robin's favorite weather. It was good jogging weather. But the Boy Wonder was not jogging this morning; he was walking into the hospital and making his way to his mentor's room. The window in Bruce Wayne's hospital room was open a bit to allow in the fresh air and sunlight streamed in. The Dark Knight allowed his eyes to adjust to the light before turning his head to ascertain the figure walking in the door.

"Robin?" he muttered.

"You are awake. The nurse said you might be," Robin said enthusiastically.

"Wonder Woman," Batman said, wincing as he tried to take a deeper breath and felt a stabbing pain in his ribs: still too sensitive. He'd have to be more careful.

"What about her?" Robin asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Gone," Batman replied, shifting his weight.

"Raven is gone too. Do you think the two events are connected?" Robin asked.

"Maybe," Batman replied. He tried a deep breath again and this time it felt better and Bruce relaxed.

"Do we know anything else?" Robin asked.

"The onboard computer in the Batmobile was wrong. That computer has never been wrong. The satellite link must have been tampered with," Batman replied. Robin nodded.

"Rest. We'll get to the bottom of this and find Raven and Wonder Woman," Robin said confidently as he laid his hand on Batman's shoulder. "Just concentrate on getting well."

"I'm already feeling better. I'll get up and walk around some this morning and I'll be home by nightfall," Batman declared.

"Don't push yourself. The Titans can handle this," Robin replied.

"Be careful, Robin. Neither of us knows who we're dealing with yet," Batman warned.

"Don't worry, we will," Robin said, narrowing his eyes behind his mask. "I think I have a pretty good idea of who at least has a hand in this."

"Reckless, spiky-haired, over-confident bird-boy," Batman muttered. Robin stopped and turned, grinning widely and his eyes twinkling merrily.

"Pokey, obstinate, narrow-minded old man," Robin fired back as he softly closed the door behind him. Relaxing against the pillows, Batman smiled and chuckled, "Some things never change..."

Robin walked back out of the hospital and straddled his beloved T-Cycle. Putting on his helmet, Robin held in the clutch and kick-started the bike, reveling in the throaty roar of the engine. Clicking on his com link, Robin radioed Titans Tower. When Cyborg's face materialized in his heads-up display, he smiled.

"Yo, Rob! How's Batman doin'?" Cyborg asked cheerfully.

"He's going to make it! Hey, I've got an experiment to do. I want you, Starfire and Torque to meet me at Wayne Manor," Robin replied.

"You got it, boss!"

When his teammates joined him at the gates to Wayne Manor, Robin smiled.

"What's this all about, Robin?" Torque asked, pulling off her own motorcycle helmet and shaking out her long hair.

"Have you ever wanted to work on the Batmobile?" Robin said, wide-eyed wonder in his expression. He grinned widely and greeted his wife with a kiss as his mechanic friends exploded with excitement. Robin explained the problem with the navigation system and the team seemed eager to get started. Batman's long time butler and friend, Alfred Pennyworth, met them at the door.

"Welcome home, young master," Alfred said calmly, just as if he had been told to expect them.

"How did you know we were coming?" Torque asked as she watched Robin throw himself into the old man's embrace. Robin hadn't seen Alfred in years.

"Master Bruce phoned me immediately after young master Robin's departure from the hospital and warned me to be prepared for you. I assume you want to see the car," Alfred said, turning and leading the Titans through Wayne Manor.

Robin took a running leap and landed in the driver's seat of the Batmobile. He had never sat there before and this opportunity had been too much to pass up. Cyborg pressed a button on his wrist and four casters popped out of his shoulders and calves. Lying down on the ground, Cyborg rolled himself beneath the massive Batmobile.

"Whoa! Cool!" Cyborg squealed.

"Let me see!" cried Torque, abandoning her black, hooded sweatshirt and crawling beneath the chassis with Cyborg. Starfire merely hovered overhead and looked puzzled. Alfred appeared moments later and smiled at Starfire. With a blush, Starfire smiled back.

"I do not believe we have met, young miss," Alfred said, coming closer to her.

"I am Starfire of Tamaran. I am Robin's wife," Starfire announced proudly. Alfred swept into a deep bow and kissed the back of Starfire's hand.

"Perhaps the young mistress would care for a tour of Wayne Manor to pass the time while the others fix the car?" Alfred offered. Starfire smiled and slipped her hand into the crook of Alfred's arm as he led the way.

Back at Titans Tower, Beast Boy yawned and stretched languidly as he shuffled into the kitchen after taking a quick nap. He had spent all morning in the gym and then taken a long, hot shower and the combination had rendered him too tired to keep his eyes open. The nap had refreshed him, but now he was hungry.

Jinx, the only other Titan in the Tower, had risen early and locked herself in the fourth floor biology lab. Beast Boy never went into this lab anymore. It was here that the team kept the molten rock covered form of Terra safe from harm. Beast Boy shuddered when he thought of that awful day. Terra had given her life to save the whole city. Beast Boy had been surprised to hear Raven promise that they would be searching for a way to release Terra from her stone prison, but none of them--not Raven, not Robin, not Cyborg, had been successful yet.

That was where Jinx came in. She saw this project as a way for her to redeem herself not just as a heroine and Titan, but as a person. She had spent a good part of her life not caring whether or not she harmed anyone, and presented to her now was an opportunity to make something right.

Jinx stood in the lab, staring at the data from her weeks of work with her palms planted on the smooth surface of the research table in the center of the room. She had tried everything in her own knowledge and she still hadn't been able to put a dent in the stone that sealed the lithe young Titan in molten rock. Near as Jinx could tell, all of Terra's body functions had instantaneously stopped when she was covered with the stone. All things considered, if Jinx was successful, she should be able to re-animate Terra using her powers with very little trouble or complications.

Frustration was beginning to wear the pink eyed sorceress down. She stared at the figure of the petite blonde and narrowed her eyes.

"I've tried everything!" she growled, sweeping all of the research off the counter with a stroke of her arms. As the pages and pages of research and data fluttered to the floor, Jinx approached the human statue and stared into her lifeless eyes.

"Why doesn't anything work? This stuff isn't any different than any other rock on this planet! There has to be something I'm not seeing!" Jinx shouted.

Upstairs in the kitchen, Beast Boy dropped his water bottle when the Tower was rattled by an explosion, accompanied by the scream of his remaining teammate.

"Jinx!" Beast Boy shouted, running for the lab. What had the pint-sized witch gotten herself into?