Okay! Normally I try not to put authors notes at the beginning of the chapter, because I feel it disrupts the flow of reading. But right now I am so PISSED OFF at some 'reviewer' called 'Steve'. This is the review he left on a story called A Love Worth Seeking:
AW SHIT YOU LITTLE BITCH...I HAVE TO AGRE WITH OTHER GUY ON THIS ONE TIHS STORY SUCKS ASS BUT THEN ALL YOUR OTHER STORYS SUCK ASS HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT RAVEN AND ROBIN DONOT GO TOGETHER YOU STUPID FUCKHEAD. I HATE THIS FUCKING PAIR AND I HATE ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WRITE ABOUT THEM.JUST STOP WRITTING BECASE YOU SUCK. DAMN.
And I kid you not. If any of you have read A Love Worth Seeking you should be as FURIOUS as I am. Lain the Fluff-Master, is not only an AMAZING author, but one of the nicest I know. And it just pisses the CRAP out of me when I see people who leave 'reviews' like that, without taking into account the amount of work that some one does on a story, especially one like Lain's. It is a sad sad world when people's IQ become so low that they feel they need to use excessive caps to get their point across.
So in conclusion:
Lain the Fluff-Master, This whole story is dedicated to you. In honor of having the guts to put up with someone like that.
And Steve, if you're reading this, get your head out of your ass, eat a sock, and burn in hell. We have enough stupid people sucking up our precious air, we don't need you doing it as well.
Thanks for putting up with my rant, everyone. I have VERY little patience for stupid people… just to forewarn you.
In the Beginning There was Darkness
Chapter Three
July 26, 2004
The silence was almost tangible as the teens filed into the living room back at Titans Tower. Everyone was still in shock over Robin's latest declaration, and no one seemed to have regained his or her voice yet. It was nearly impossible to belive that Robin, leader of all that is good and just in Jump City, had accepted not only a stranger into their exclusive team, but a criminal at that. And now all of the Titans were wondering about the boy wonder's sanity, and whether or not he had lost it yet.
It took a long while for anyone to say anything remotely intelligible, and it happened to be Cyborg that broke the silence.
"NO WAY!" He shouted finally.
Raven jumped slightly and stared incredulously at the mechanical Titan. Cyborg's outburst, however, seemed to wake all of the other Titans up to the potentially dangerous situation on their hands. And he would let them know that.
"There is no way that she is becoming a Titan," Cyborg cried, shoving a finger into the dark girl's face.
Raven just glared at the finger, trying her hardest to keep herself from making it explode. Since when did he think that she wanted this? To be part of some rag-tag group of superheroes fighting for justice, peace, and love. Justice, peace, and love could bite her for all she cared, she just wanted to be alone.
"Robin," Cyborg tried to continue without popping a blood vessel, but his voice was strained and spoken through clenched teeth. "Just because she saved us once does not mean that she can be a Titan. It was a fluke, and you have to accept that."
Ouch. Now, that one hurt.
Raven's powers a fluke? There was no way that her powers could be a 'fluke'; she could control and use them just as fine as anyone else. And, this boy had better realize it soon… before he started experiencing her abilities first hand.
"Yeah," The green one interjected, turning to Robin angrily. "And it's not like we couldn't have taken care of it ourselves. We've been in tighter spots before." He tossed a very angry look in the dark girl's direction.
"Look," Raven said suddenly, eyes narrowing at the green boy in warning. "I don't want this anymore than you do."
"It's either this or the police station, take your pick," Robin said casually, smirking at her. He knew that he had won the upper hand in the situation and was fully prepared to flaunt it.
"You drive an unruly bargain," Raven scowled, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. Robin grinned cheekily at her… a little too cheekily. She really wanted to smack that smile right off his face…
"Oh, I know."
"Robin!" Cyborg snapped, reentering the conversation and feeling anger come over him again. Why was Robin so oblivious to the seriousness of the situation? He, of all people, should know that bring a dangerous stranger into the Tower alone was forbidden! And making this person a member of the team was… well, it was unheard of! Yet he was doing such things with ease and familiarity as if this girl belonged here. What was even worse though, was that there was a strange new glint in his eye when he talked to Raven, and Cyborg didn't like it one bit.
"She's a wanted criminal!"
Raven pursed her lips and looked away from the circle of accusations. Everyone had always treated her like this, since she could remember. She had always been treated like some sort of disease that was to be shunned and looked down upon. Raven was never treated like a person who had thoughts and feelings, even on her own planet. She was different… a freak if you will, and there was nothing special about her.
"Her powers are amazing!" Robin said excitedly, vaguely noticing that a slight blush had appeared on the dark girl's cheeks. 'Hm… interesting. So, she allows herself to be complimented?' The masked Titan thought to himself, 'This could prove interesting.'
"And anyway," Robin continued, turning back to the other teens and hoping they hadn't sensed his slight hesitation. "I'm not saying we should give her immediate full access. Just put her on a trial period for few weeks… I know she'll turn out to be a great Titan." He chanced another glance over at Raven, whose blush melted into a very angry scowl. She glared at him, then turned away, not wanting to hear any more.
"Robin!" Beast Boy yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "How hard did that tool box hit you!? She's a criminal and a stranger. We can't trust her!"
Robin opened his mouth to yell back, wanting greatly to defend the new girl. There was something about her that intrigued Robin, from the moment he saw her beautiful, sad eyes glowing in the dark. There was something he felt he had to set right, and maybe having her join the Titans was a start.
Starfire stepped into the conversation immediately, hoping to quell the coming storm. "Robin," She said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking her head sadly. "We can not trust this woman. She is from Azarath, and nothing good ever came from Azarath."
Raven's face went white and her body went cold as she was reminded painfully of her past. Although she did not want to remember anything about the place she had left, it was still where she had come from. And, yes, Starfire had struck a nerve when she mentioned the Titan's inability to trust her… but to insult her origins in such an ignorant way, especially by a Tameranian, made her feel very empty and alone.
"Azarath is a world of demons," Starfire continued softly, being careful not to make eye contact with the new girl, "None of them are meant to be trusted."
Raven suddenly lost it. She couldn't help herself, everything had been building inside of her for days. Her mother, her father, her home planet, running away, getting trapped on this gods-forsaken planet, and then being beaten down with endless, cruel comments. It was all too much for even Raven to bear.
She just wished she didn't react the way she did…
"I'm not to be trusted!" Raven yelled, whipping around and pointing an accusing finger at Starfire. She knew all about Tameranians and their ways, they had sucked the life dry on Azarath's second moon Yann. "You're a Tameranian! I bet they welcomed you with open arms! Parasite!" Raven practically spit the last word as she glared into the other girl's endless green eyes.
Starfire was instantly insulted and refused to take any sort of crap from an Azarathian. They were cruel and loved nothing better than being that way. "I am no parasite, Blor-narg!" She screamed at the dark girl, eyes beginning to glow.
"Hashmir!" Raven cried back.
It was then that the two alien girls began swinging verbal fists, and each in their own, native tongue. The other men just stared at the two women, screaming back and forth in what sounded strangely like a serpent yelling at a child making up words. They knew they should probably break up the fight, but it turned out to be too amusing to witness, so instead they let it continue for a while. That is until…
"Der teshin harsemni zer flaré!" Raven hissed, eyes growing dangerously white, and her lips pressing into a thin, white line.
"OUT!" Starfire cried suddenly, pointing a finger at the door and losing her patience immediately. Green electricity hummed at the end of her finger, but no one even dared to question her about it. "GET OUT NOW!"
"Fine! I'll leave you to suck the life from your teammates, parasite!" Raven turned quickly and fled for the door. She had to get out of here and escape both this stupid team and this stupid world. She wanted to go far away, where she didn't have to talk to anyone. That sounded quite nice.
Robin pulled himself from watching the smack down and chased after her, wanting to make sure that she remembered his deal: no team = police. Pretty simple deal if you asked anyone with half a brain-cell. But Raven didn't seem to want anything to do with this world, let alone with the Teen Titans.
"Where do you think you're going?" He called, chasing after her and kicking his speed up to high gear. Boy, could this girl run when she wanted to.
"Away." Raven sneered sarcastically over her shoulder, not letting her speed decrease. "I don't need this." She saw the door to the outside and continued to run, making it barely five steps into the open air before Robin executed a flipped over her head and stopped right into her path. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head slowly.
"Raven," He stated rationally. "Come back and we'll talk this out. It just might take a while."
"Why should I go back in there!?" Raven reeled, loosing her temper again. In the distance she heard a rock explode, but she had just stopped caring at that point. These stupid 'Teen Titans' had taken her in, against her will, and now tormented her with insults and refused to listen to anything she said. "So, I can stand there and have your friends insult me, call me names, and tell me, point-blank, that I am no good and not to be trusted!?"
"I trust you," Robin stated calmly, never even batting an eye.
Raven sneered at him. "I don't need your trust."
"Maybe not mine," He took a few careful steps toward her, hoping that she wouldn't run away. "But someone's. You feel… empty, Raven. Like you haven't experienced joy or companionship in a long while."
"And why should I?" Raven growled, trying to ignore the way her heart pounded with every step he took closer. Why was he getting so close to her? And why didn't she stop him from doing it? "Why should I have friends, with people like your precious Starfire and her uneducated notions of my world? Why should I be allowed friends, when I'll only betray them when they need me the most?"
Robin felt very helpless as the two of them stood there in the pouring rain. He wanted nothing more than to help her, for reasons he did not understand, but found few ways to do so. His choices were limited down to three: he could let her go, and feel a strange sense of emptiness at the loss; he could take her into the police and feel a sense of betrayal; or he could convince the other Titans to take her in.
Why was the option he wanted always the hardest?
"Raven," Robin started again, looking inter her dark eyes. "For nearly a year it has just been the four of us, fighting crime and defending the weak. But…" he looked into her skeptical eyes carefully, not wanting to back down from anything she might try to throw at him. "I think we're all ready for a change, and you are definitely that. It'll just take a while for everyone to get used to you."
Raven shook her head, sighing deeply in defeat. She couldn't live with them… there was no way. They knew nothing about her past, about her future, about her. Everything would only end in tears and anger, and she did not want that, not on anybody.
"Look, Robin…" She stated, trying to be reasonable with him, "I'm okay with being alone, I have been alone all of my life and that's fine." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, letting serenity wash over her. "So, take me to the police station if you must, and if I'm imprisoned for the next few years, then that's my own stupidity."
Robin only shook his head, then held a fist out in front of him. "You saved the lives of the Teen Titans, and whether you like it or not, you will always be a member of the Titans… and team members don't desert each other." He opened his fingers and offered a round, yellow, compact to Raven.
She didn't take the object, instead she stared at him incredulously as a strange feeling came over her. Why was he helping her? When she had done everything to escape him and her fate, when she had run, or tried to run, from him several times during the course of the night, why was he still trying to help her?
"Why are you doing this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and glancing from Robin's hand to his face. "Why are you protecting me?"
"It's what I do. You know, being a superhero and all," Robin said calmly, almost cockily, the yellow compact still extended as an invitation.
"You're not supposed to protect the criminals, you know that right?" Raven said rather bluntly.
"I don't think you're a criminal."
There was a long period of silence as they just stood there in the rain, staring at each other. Robin had opened the door to a new life, and Raven wanted nothing more than to accept it… but she would be damned if she let Robin know that.
"Fine," She snatched the yellow compact and glared at him in frustration. "I'll join your little team…" She moved close enough to look firmly into his eyes, "But I want you to know how absolutely intolerable I think you are."
Robin cocked a lopsided smile. "I'll remember that." He headed back for the tower, motioning the dark girl to follow him. "Come on, I'll show you to your room."
- - -
Sorry, everyone, about my rant before. But I cannot STAND people who could be generally smart, but act stupid.
ANYWAYS!!! Leave polite reviews, please! You can tell me that my story is bad and you hate it, and I'm okay with that, but if you leave a review like the one up above… I will hunt you down and inject you with intelligence… or shoot you. Which ever comes first… and I'm not making promises.
In any case, tell me if you loved it, tell me if you hated it, tell me to lead a crusade against the stupid people... it's all good!
PS: I don't own Teen Titans. If I did, Beast Boy would SO be mine.
PSS: If you haven't read A Love Worth Seeking, READ IT! It is an AWESOME Raven/Robin story.
PPS: Um, Lain? If you're reading this… you might wanna check out what you posted for chapter five of A Love Worth Seeking. You put chapter seven up as chapter five by accident and all your readers are like crazy confused. I would have e-mailed you… but I don't have your e-mail.
Well… that's all folks! Enjoy your self in a non-stupid way! Ja ne!