PART 1: NEWS OF THE WORLD
Dark is the Night. High is the Fire
Touches the sky. Love with no shape or form
I am in your mind's eye.
Just let your dreams run wild.
This chapter is dedicated especially to my beta readers, without whom this chapter would have been infinitely worse and without imagination or entertainment. Keep up the good work, my friends.
Chapter 3: E.S.P.
"Hello," they said, "Are you well?"
There was something moving in the depths besides her, thought the lonesome shadow of Raven, her influence holding a bubble of air around her. There was perhaps the faint glimpse of a disembodied grin to her side, but she dismissed it as a hallucination. After all she went through she wouldn't put it past her fatigued mind to play tricks on her eyes. The voice, however, she knew was there. She couldn't explain how she could hear it so crisp through the waters, or how it was even spoken, but she knew who they were. Ever since Atlantis collapsed, she knew she would be found.
"It was quite a tumble, but you are well?"
She remembered the faces of the Atlanteans as the dome shattered. The moment became entirely too silent. The deep, crushing thoughts of the monster as it wrapped around the city brought on the noisy ruckus of panic to the people below. Starfire, she remembered quite clearly, tugged on her arm and urged her to come along. She didn't quite remember how she responded, but there was a moment when she smiled, confident that she could at least contribute to this. Perhaps she was sad that she couldn't go back to business as usual with her friends, now that she was certain she would be found.
Perhaps she was afraid.
However, whatever the reason, when the dome fell, her powers kicked in, letting the barrier hold for a while. Her demon half fed off of the volley of emotions that she felt in that moment. That fear, that joy, that unyielding sadness, all of it just powered her psychic powers, allowing the dome to hold. Fragments of glass fell to the ground around her despite, and she could feel the crushing force of the waters magnified against her mind. However, she had kept the waters from crushing all the citizens of Atlantis.
"Your friends, are they well?"
Raven had sent her friends out of Atlantis in spite of the strain it put on her mind. Starfire refused to leave without Raven, and Raven had no intentions of leaving with the rest of the Titans. There was still work that had to be done, and they would not be safe once the dome fell. She recalled the falling glass and the dripping water, growing at a frightening rate as her concentration became strained. She remembered Starfire's cries for her to come with them as the clothes on her back, under the influence of the demon, were forced to the submarine. Now floating in the expanse of this redness, she could only pray that her friends were well.
"However, you are well?"
Yes, she was alive, and for now that was good enough.
"That's good," the voice said, "What are you seeking?"
The voice penetrated her mind, reading her thoughts, examining what she believed. It was most infuriating. However, she had to remain focused on the task ahead. They had been asked to investigate the strange red substance that stained the ocean like blood, and she felt compelled to investigate it. There was a dark mysticism to the waves as she plowed through them. She wondered what could possibly permeate the waves like this.
"I'm curious, do you have much air left?"
Raven had managed to save a bit of air in the bubble she secured around herself. It was taking all she had to maintain it, but she was certain that it would last until she solved this predicament. The shade of red was darker and the seas were colder as she approached. This had to be where the source was.
"How do you figure?"
The water around here just felt wrong in her spine. Tingling, shivering, the feeling moved to every bone in her body. There were chills running across her skin, the water's bitter grasp wringing her air pocket. The magic here was tangible - an immense force incomparable to anything she had ever encountered before. She had to be close; it had to be right in front of her.
"I would say," said the disembodied voice, "That you are probably right. Really, Raven, you're incredibly stubborn. Even if you find the source, what makes you think you can stop the flow?"
She had the power. Even if it were with her last breath, she would stop it. There was no other alternative, it wasn't a question of if she could or could not, and it was simply what must be.
"You are willing to die for these people? Why?"
Raven searched her mind for an answer. There was no logical reason for her to care. This was not her world, and the people in it were of little value at all. This would was scourged with a dark spawn. Thievery, murder, fraud, and betrayal all ran rampant among the humans who dominated the planet. They were of little to no worth to the universe at large.
"See? It's pointless to give your life to such things!"
However, she then turned from her mind and its cool and calculated logic. She turned instead to the heart, despite its lock and key and its thoughts were warmer. The world was not a sea of evil; it was not a world where a few special people built a raft of laws and goodness. No, it was a world of people, doing things people do. People are lonely, and afraid, and filled with joy and sadness. And somewhere in Raven's darkened life there was a hope for her. Somewhere beyond the evil buried within her soul, there was the same humanity.
"How ridiculous!" The voice said. It seemed to scoff at her and a finger pointed in the direction she was going. "Do you see it yet? The very fabric of reality is bleeding."
It was like a small gash, and the red substance bled out. Whatever had caused this had power, greater power than she ever expected. Raven stared at it through the murkiness. She could not think of a single thing she could do. Raven had not expected the source to be so small and yet so utterly unreal. She was in awe.
"I know what caused this." The voice leapt to her other side. "I could easily tell you what it is, but it wouldn't help you in the slightest. Something so small that you wouldn't even notice it, but so massive that it obscures everything."
The voice continued to speak in riddles. Raven merely examined the hole. She tried to think of every possibility, every answer her mind could think of that could possibly stop the breach. It seemed completely impossible. "Damn," she cursed in the silence of the depths.
"Did you say something?" the voice answered. "I'm sorry. I was just in awe of your utter foolishness. You have the power, yes, but are you willing to give so much power to the dark side of your soul?"
Raven thought long and hard. She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing came out.
"You can't answer, can you?" the voice asked. "I figured as much. It seems so very human of you to not be able to risk so much."
What the man could know about humanity, Raven could only guess. However a part of her knew she had no choice. For Atlantis's refugees, wandering in an ocean cold and strange to its natives, she had to. She let emotions flow from her heart into her soul, where its black hand grasped and devoured them, growing in strength. She felt the high, the thrill of riding on these emotions.
The floating grin grew. It slowly faded away as Raven's consciousness was enveloped by power.
****************************
Climbing past hours and passing by minutes, time hurried forward to the present. Memories fading, moments rising, Raven felt herself hurtled back upwards. Her mind filled with confusion, her powers wildly surging. She was afraid, and she wanted to scream out to someone, anyone, who could help her. But there was no one there to help her, because now the evil within her grew and consumed her humanity. And evil was loneliness, because in the shadows of the mind the only thing you can hope to grasp onto is yourself.
The blankness of being followed the confusion. Raven's body accepted her fate. There was no doubt that she would be found and she would be taken away now. Raven's power could grasp into the very substance that made reality, heal it, mold it, but there was such a cost to it. She wasn't even sure she was completely herself anymore. To her, one thing was certain - she could no longer run away. His presence was growing nearer and nearer, and she knew now that he had found a way to her now. He would tear her humanity away from her. Destroy her, recreate her in his image, and control her like a marionette on strings of forceful loyalty.
She felt the last of her air leave her mouth. She felt so tempted to call for the stranger, but denied herself that. She was not one to give in to desperation. She had to control her emotions; it was her only chance now. There was very little Raven desired. However, she desired to live. Water began to fill her mouth as she reflexively gasped for air. The lights were getting darker, and Raven fought against sleep, but it was a battle she could not win.
Raven's eyes snapped open. She felt the warmth of a blanket about her, and a soothing tenor voice singing. She could not see the man's face, nor recognize his voice, but there was something familiar about him. She tossed aside the blankets and rose. She noticed immediately, to her utter disgust, she was dressed in a pink nighty with a simple white bird sewn on it to give it a bit of character. It didn't fit quite right as it seemed to have been made for someone younger than her, but it still covered her completely.
"I'm dreaming," she concluded, "I'm dying." It seemed to be only an observation. There was no heart-wrenching anguish in her voice, no painful realization, merely an observation. "Who are you?" The man said nothing but came to her and put his arm around her waist and began to dance with her. Raven was not in the mood for games, "What are you doing."
The man danced with her, "How does it feel, Raven?" he asked. There was something frighteningly sinister in his voice, but at the same time comforting. It was both a voice she had not heard for many years, while at the same moment it was a familiar, soothing voice, "I am here, don't be afraid."
"I'm not afraid," she said, "I just do not have time for games. I have important engagements that I must attend," she said. She added, "The universe will be thrown off balance if I don't."
"Let the universe go to Hell, let the world fall down. You're here with me now. That's all that matters." He brought her closer, and Raven pulled farther away. There was, on the man's face, a mask. It was simple white plaster, ghostly and sinister in the strange light of this dying dream. She could feel consciousness stirring within the dream, knocking down walls, destroying illusions. Feeling naked, alone, and afraid, she just stared at the white mask. There was a light glowing red behind the mask.
And the ghost faded into the night.
She heard a voice calling to her; a familiar, safe voice. "Robin?"
*****************************
"No one, listen, no one stops my party!" Khashoggi bellowed. The air was electric. Starfire looked at Khashoggi as he cleared a line through the crowd, and he stared back with a furious, wild expression. "Is this how you repay me? I offered you rooms, I took you in!"
"You made us prisoners, too, don't forget that little detail," Beast Boy chimed in.
"Insolence!" Khashoggi screeched, whipping out the pistol and shooting at Beast Boy. The agile young hero managed to avoid the shot, but the smoke from the barrel of the gun let them know that he meant business. "You, as my guests, are subject to my fancies. I give you a game, a challenge if you will, and you ignore me?""
"I don't know what your idea of fun is," Beast Boy continued, undeterred by the near miss of the last gunshot, "But we were definitely not enjoying ourselves." An alien thought entered his brain, but his mind was so unfocused and immature that it took over. "You know, thinking about it, it has been pretty challenging, don't you think?" Mammoth nodded in agreement, but Jinx didn't buy it.
"I see what you're doing," Jinx said, her feet still tapping the beat, "Well, I'm not going to join your party."
"If you wish to assimilate us," Starfire added, "You will certainly fail. Beast Boy! You must not fall for his trickery!" Khashoggi frowned and walked over to Starfire. His face contorted and twisted with a mix of unreadable expressions.
"Miss Fire, I've heard quite a many good things about you." Khashoggi tapped her forehead, "Alien strength, flight, and a unique ability - of which, of course, I refer to your bolts of stellar energy." He scowled at her, "You're also the one who brought a hold to the party. For your unmitigated rudeness, I will devise a most miserable torture for you in particular." Starfire stared at his face, creased with wrinkles in a most wretched of expressions, and she felt afraid. There were no probing thoughts; this was fear at the face of a man stripped of his control.
"Leave her alone!" Beast Boy said, moving to grab Khashoggi. His body suddenly moved without his own accord. A beat began in the electrified atmosphere. Sinister synthesizers began to pound out a melody in the shapeless music. It blared out of every speaker, and each of them creaked and swung from its power. The teens found themselves being assaulted by the music, trying to block out the pounding. Khashoggi smiled. He seemed relieved, the wrinkles on his face lightening.
"Who said that my party was all over?" he asked the group. Jinx's hips began to swing without her knowing, and she continued to glare at Khashoggi with a haughty expression. Khashoggi laughed, feeling once again superior. He addressed Jinx with a flourish, and said, "And looks at you! My dears, you're already joining the party!" He offered his hand, and without her bidding, Jinx accepted it.
"What are you doing?" she asked, fearfully. Khashoggi responded by putting an arm around Jinx's waist and waltzing around the group with her. Responding to her pleas, Mammoth tried to reach out and grab Jinx away, but Khashoggi twirled her to the other side, and continued dancing regardless.
"Ah, the waltz is such a classy dance. But the music, how to say, doesn't truly stimulate." He chortled, a not unpleasant sound, but it carried a dark undertone for the teens. "Call me a bit of a rebel, but I've always preferred Rock and Roll. The beat just overpowers the senses, makes you want to dance in a way that's subversive."
"I can't stop myself," Jinx squealed in fear. "It's like he's got some hold on me."
"No, my dear. That would be the Party itself. It's infectious, don't you think?" Khashoggi bowed and turned to the rest of the teens. "Why don't you children just enjoy yourselves and be my company forever?"
Beast Boy struggled with his body, which moved on its own accord to the beat, "No way!" He found himself grinding against Jinx whose face showed disgust at his actions.
"Back off!" Jinx said, bumping him away with her hip.
"I'd rather not be dancing with you anyway," Beast Boy said, indignantly. He moved towards Starfire, unbidden, and began to dance with her. Starfire's hips began to move with the beat. "Sorry!"
"It is alright," Starfire said. She felt her feet move towards the center of the dance floor, and many faceless partners came and danced with her. Some where men, some where women, but each had wandering fingers that pried at her soul. The other teens were tossed into this fray, unsure of even how to fight back. Their bodies moved to the unyielding beat. Star fought to break free of herself, and stumbled out of the dance and into Khashoggi. He grabbed hold of Star's shoulders and with a wicked grin brought his gun up, cocked it ready, and placed it against her head.
"It is time to say goodbye. Thanks for coming." He tensed his index finger, savoring the sensation as the trigger slowly brought about the mechanism. Starfire squeezed her eyes shut, trying to turn her head away from Khashoggi without reason. Wherever he shot, she would die. There was an instant where sound compounded into a deafening bang, and when her eyes opened she saw Khashoggi lowering the gun from the sky and looking most indignant towards Aqualad.
The Atlantean stood there, his shoulder still in a ramming posture. He returned Khashoggi's glare with a smile. "Starfire," he said comfortingly. She smiled back at him, a blush hinting at her cheeks as the debonair undersea hero extended a helping hand. The alien princess took it and rose to her feet, looking at the enraged Khashoggi.
"How dare you!" he snarled. He regained his posture, tidied his uniform quickly, and continued saying, "You, you hit me!"
Aqualad shrugged, looking Khashoggi over, "I guess so."
Khashoggi brought his gun around on Aqualad. "I will enjoy this," he taunted. Aqualad brought his fist around and punched Khashoggi.
Aqualad looked at his fist and then to Khashoggi, "I've said it before. I don't dance."
"Hey, guys!" Beast Boy said, from somewhere within the sea of faceless bodies, "I kind of need some help here!"
Starfire looked at Aqualad helplessly while her body began to move on its own accord again. He returned her look, looking completely confused as to what was driving them to move this way. She took Aqualad's hand and dragged him onto the dance floor. "I am most sorry!"
"It's okay." He looked among the crowd, and finding a familiar face tried in vain to grab his attention. "I see him, but I don't think he can see us."
"Ah! It is Khashoggi again!" Starfire squealed, managing to spin around enough to vanish into the crowd to elude the pursuer. "That was far too close," she breathed.
"But now I can't see Beast Boy." Aqualad yelped as someone grabbed him from behind and carried him further into the crowd, away from Starfire. He soon found himself held by awkward, pasty teenage hands. He was whirled around to find himself in the arms of a blushing Jinx. The young enchantress coughed.
"Sorry," she said bashfully, yet somehow not completely sincerely, "But the music made me do it." Aqualad tried to break her grasp, but she was holding on with a vice-like grip. "What? Am I that bad a dancer?"
"I don't dance," Aqualad answered.
"That's funny," Jinx said, "I thought everybody could dance."
"It's not something I really learned how to do. I was too busy going on adventures to learn how to dance." He shrugged, "I don't sing either."
"Can you act?" Jinx questioned.
"A little."
"Well," Jinx said, "I've got a plan."
*****************************
Robin draped a blanket around Raven. "Raven," he said, "I, we all, well, I'm so happy to see you," he said. Raven said nothing and only shivered. She withdrew from Robin and tried to stand on her feet. "Raven, just rest."
"Robin, I do not have time for rest. I must return to the Tower to gather what possessions I have left," she said. Raven called upon all the strength left in her body and successfully stood on her feet and regain composure. She did not fail to notice how carefully manufactured Robin's calmness seemed. There was something welling up just below the surface. A secret. Well, that was all right, everyone had secrets. She wouldn't delve further. He opened his mouth to speak and then closed it. This brought a small inkling of rage to her mind. She looked at him, expecting him to continue.
"Raven, we haven't found the others," he managed to say. He looked a bit disconcerted by this, "The submarine was empty when we found it, and we couldn't even pick up their transmitters."
Raven did not answer. She looked vaguely in his direction, but a bit over his shoulder to what she could swear seemed to be a smile. It gestured, a gloved hand waving out of nowhere. Her mouth fell open, unsure of what she had seen. Raven lost her balance and dropped to the floor again, feeling a pang of pain in her hip. "Raven!" Robin said, moving to her, "Are you okay? You look like you just saw a ghost."
"Robin," Raven answered, her eyes narrowed angrily, "I don't need you coddling me."
"Sorry."
"Don't be," Raven said, "It makes it worse."
"Besides," a voice slinked beside her like a cat, "I'm no ghost. I'm BC."
Robin's face looked to her, filled with hurt, a bit tortured as he tried to form some kind of sentence. "I," he began after a few seconds had passed, "Understand. I didn't mean to offend you, Raven, honestly."
Raven sighed, "Why are you so concerned."
BC's voice seemed to jump up and down, "I know, I know!" The gloves seemed work their way up Raven's belly and poked her chest, "Get the hint?" Raven tried to ignore BC's continued pestering. Robin didn't seem to even notice the pestering voice.
"Leave me alone," she muttered.
"Fine," Robin said, a bit of fury tainting his delicate mood. He went towards the front of the jet, leaving Raven alone with the wandering voice.
"What crawled up his fancy cape?" the voice muttered. "I mean, after all, you did do what he sent you to."
Raven didn't answer immediately. She took a breath and watched Robin enter the cockpit. "He's concerned about Starfire. Why are you even here?"
"To help!" BC mewed. He let a bit more of his face appear - his eyes. They looked deep into her eyes, the grin hanging in the air without a nose. She shivered at the inhuman glint in the eye, glazed over and lifeless in every way. "Don't you appreciate my help?"
"No."
"So mean!" BC said, "And I was starting to why he was upset, too."
"What are you talking about?" Raven demanded. BC mewed innocently, moving back. "Look, leave me alone."
"You're dripping wet," BC said. "Let's get you changed out of that soggy old leotard." A gloved hand reached for fabric, but was thrown aside by a very irritated Raven.
"Leave me alone." Raven rose, but her feet gave way, "Why am I so tired?"
"Don't you remember destroying the ocean floor?" BC asked. There was a moment of tenseness; Raven looked at BC's floating grin and fear flashed across her face. The grin grew slowly, becoming wider and narrower. "You know, I wish I had a mirror. That was the funniest expression ever. No, you didn't start any wanton destruction, don't you worry your little head over it."
"I almost died," Raven muttered.
"You weren't ever going to die, don't you fear. Old BC here was sent to make sure you got through that alive. The reason you're so tired was sealing that hole away. I admit, even I doubted you could do it, but you're definitely his equal in power. The enemy, I mean."
"Whose enemy?"
"Yours, mine, everyone's." BC frowned, "You shouldn't question me like that!"
"Alright. So this enemy can open holes in reality," Raven said. "What do you expect anyone to do about it?"
"Well, I was hoping for someone to care," he noselessly sniffed. "I guess you'll just let the world end."
Raven expected BC to slink further out of the infinite, but he remained fixed as a disembodied grin hanging below a pair of eyes, and two ghostly gloves moving about without arms. "Are you expecting me to believe -"
"That the world is ending? No, but it's true anyway. You see, that's what's strange about humans. They expect whether they believe something or not will stop it from being. It's an utter waste to believe in anything, especially in fiction." His eyes followed Raven as she looked at him incredulously. "Not buying it yet?"
"No."
"Aw. But Raven, Raven. You simply must! The enemy's power only grows as he remains hidden in the world. To think, not even an hour of existence and he could tear reality, and it's been a week since then."
"Are you implying that he can do more than that?" Raven asked. "Who is this enemy you keep talking about?"
"Are you familiar with the Book of Revelations?"
****************************
Robin stormed into the cockpit and sat down in the copilot seat. Slade didn't look up, too intensely staring at the equipment to bother. "I can't believe her."
"Well, we're still good for gas," Slade muttered idly.
"I'm already stressed, and she just takes for granted all I did for her. Didn't I dive in after her? Didn't I risk my well-being?"
"I think the auto-pilot needs a little of reconfiguring. We're leaning a bit to the left," Slade continued, regardless. He began to tap away at the controls.
"And she just tells me to leave her well-enough alone!" Robin said, slamming his fist against the panel in anger. Slade finally turned to look at him.
"Is something the matter?" Slade asked. Robin snarled. "You're being awfully noisy, you know."
Robin sunk into his seat, "All I want is to do something nice for her, get her to stay with the team if I can."
"Do something nice?" Slade said. He considered for a second, and then said, "Oh! Is that what they call it these days?"
"What do you mean?" Robin raised his brow at this.
"I'm sure you know what I mean," Slade answered. Robin looked at Slade, trying to discern something from the emotionless mask. Then realization slowly dawned on him.
"What?" he exploded. His face turned a bright red shade, "It's nothing like that."
Slade let a chuckle slip by his lips. "Kids today." Robin sunk deeper into his seat. Slade looked at one of the many monitors in the control panel. He looked up from it and turned to the young hero. "Robin, there's a signal."
Robin jumped from his seat and asked, "Where?"
"Sixty miles to the east. It's faint, but it's definitely the missing tracking beacon from the submarine."
"Could it be them?" Robin asked. There was excitement, like from a child. "It has to be!"
"Calm down," Slade said, coldly. "We don't know that. It could be someone who raided the ship for spare parts. We shouldn't rush into this."
"I understand the risks, Slade," Robin said, "But if there's the slightest chance of finding my friends, I'll take any risk."
Slade frowned beneath his mask, "Robin, that is the risk of friendship. Your friends, they are liabilities."
"There's that word again," Robin said. "Raven said it to me earlier. 'Liabilities', huh? I say there are some risks worth taking, no matter what the cost. Slade, listen. I wouldn't feel worthy of calling myself a Titan if I didn't put my neck on the line to save my friends."
"Inspired," Slade said wryly. "Robin, when will you understand what I tried to teach you?"
"I'm going to alert Raven." Robin turned to leave. However, as he reached the door, he stopped as if struck by a thought. He turned around and looked at Slade again. "Hey, if you consider them a liability, why are you helping us?"
"They're not my liabilities, Robin," Slade said. He concentrated on piloting, "In fact, to me they are a great asset. You'll understand eventually."
**************************
Robin walked down the jet's chamber hall. Each of the Titans was given a room to prepare in. Raven had claimed the farthest most room as her own when the designs had been given out. He walked up to her room and brought up his hand to knock, but his ears caught her voice.
"I am human, Bee-See," Raven said. Robin was perplexed, because she seemed to be talking to someone. There was a long moment of silence. If there was someone there to talk to, he, or she as the case may be, did not have a lot to say. He opened his mouth to talk when Raven spoke again.
"As I was saying. I am human, and we are not 'pesky'," she said with her usual sarcasm, "Rather, we're poorly disciplined. With time and focus, they could -" She stopped as though someone had interrupted her. Robin strained his ears, trying to make out any sounds.
"Why," she said again, this time her voice had the faintest bit of fear hidden in its breath, "Are you here?" Raven was afraid. He readied himself to open the door. Then he remembered how she behaved earlier. He had tried to help her then and she had pushed him away. If she didn't want his help, she could very well help herself.
"Amontillado? No, I don't drink," she said then, irritation evident on her voice. "Tell him I'm leaving this planet entirely. And he won't be able to find me, no matter how hard he tries." Robin rose to turn the handle. He was going to get a few answers. "Someone at the door?" There was a sound of something big and heavy crashing into the door. Robin jumped back. "I'm not done talking to you, yet."
Robin cautiously approached the door again. He tried the handle as delicately as he could, but found that there was something blocking the doorway, just as he had thought. "Isn't that painful?" Raven said, angrily. "Tell him I'm not going to become his puppet!" She all but screamed. Then, quietly, but calmly, "And I am not a puppet of my emotions. I am better than that."
There was a pause. "What do you mean? What happens tomorrow?" There was a snarl and the sound of objects crashing against the wall, "Come back here!" Robin took this moment to hazard knocking. "Robin?"
"Raven, I, I heard you talking. Is something wrong?"
"Nothing." She opened the door. She was dressed in a magnificent black dress that hugged her figure. Robin felt a catch in his throat. "What?" Raven looked at Robin with a tad of irritation.
"Raven," he said, recovering. "We have their signal."
"We?"
"You, me -"
"And Slade?"
"Unfortunately. We're sharing resources for a little while."
"Resources," Raven said. She looked at him incredulously. "Uh-huh."
"What?"
"Robin, he's trying to get you to join him again," She said. "Any idiot could see that."
"I know that," Robin answered. "I'm not going to." Raven looked at him, expecting him to say more, "We just need his resources right now. He's got connections we don't have, and if he's right," he trailed off. Raven stared at him, her eyes bore into his very essence. He felt afraid. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"I'm trying to find the Robin I knew. The one that didn't use people."
"Raven, these are drastic times!"
"I know very well what's going on," Raven snapped. "If you're going to let Slade corrupt you, though, what's the point?"
Robin labored a breath, "I'm not corrupted, Raven. I don't understand what you're saying."
"Of course not," Raven said. "You wouldn't possibly be able to."
"Why are you being so hostile?"
"I am not being hostile," Raven insisted.
"Then why are you criticizing everything I'm trying to do?"
Raven looked at Robin and stared into his eyes. Something human stared back, something safe. "I have been on edge," Raven admitted. "I'm sorry, Robin." She quickly added, "I don't trust Slade, though, and I wish you didn't have to resort to using one of his tactics."
"I understand that!" Robin said. "But if what we've learned is right, the world could end anywhere from the end of the week to next week."
"So soon?" Raven said, her eyes widening. She felt a sensation as Robin touched her shoulder. "He said a touch is more than a touch for a human," she muttered.
"Don't worry. We're going to stop this." He stopped, and then cleared his throat. He gently brought his eyes to stare straight back into hers, and bashfully said, "Look, when we get back, I know you said you had to leave, but, I want to show you how much we'll miss you." Raven brought her hand up to move Robin's, but she rested it on his hand. She cursed her body's natural reactions. "Tomorrow, we'll throw you a farewell party. I know you hate parties, and, yeah, I know your mind's made up, but maybe I can try and change it. Just, let me at least say I tried, please?"
"Tomorrow?" Raven would have protested, but something haunted her eyes instead. She pushed herself away from Robin, "I don't think that's such a good idea."
"What's wrong?" Robin asked. There was intensity to his gaze, and Raven felt herself drawn into it.
"Nothing you could possibly understand," Raven answered. "Please let me deal with my problems. I see no reason to burden you with them."
"I'm still your leader, Raven. It's my job to help you with this kind of thing," he offered.
"You won't be my leader for very long, Robin. Especially if you try and get involved."
"What does that mean?"
"What do you think?" Raven closed her eyes. "I don't want anyone getting needlessly hurt. Let's leave it at that for now."
"Raven!" Robin said, his voice abrupt and commanding, "It's not needless if it's to help you. If it means I have to get hurt to help you, then I'll do that. It's something I've offered to all my friends, and it's what I do."
"Robin, I need to do something," Raven offered lamely. "Tell me when we reach the signal."
Robin looked at her helplessly, "Okay, I will." Raven closed the door, a small crack lingering open for a little while, and then shut as subtly as possible. Robin turned to walk back to the cockpit and looked back towards her room.
**************************
Aqualad let loose a groan as he fell to the ground, clutching onto his stomach. Jinx danced nearby, unable to move or react. Aqualad looked at her, "Why?" he asked, his voice barely concealing the rehearsed nature of the line.
"I couldn't stop myself," Jinx said, not quite as good an actress as he, but there was still enough authenticity to gather Khashoggi's attention. He pushed his way through the crowd, shoving dancers aside, to reach Jinx and Aqualad. "What's going on?" Jinx demanded. She internally rolled her eyes. If he fell for it, she felt, it would be a miracle.
"Perfect," he said, grabbing Aqualad by the hair. "You seem to be able to resist the beat of the party. I wonder why."
"I, I don't know," Aqualad said, looking at Khashoggi.
"Maybe I should dissect you to see if your heart beats like a surface-dweller's." Khashoggi brought his gun up to fire at Aqualad. "You're the first one to be able to, and I'm going to make sure you're the last."
As the trigger was pulled, Aqualad brought his arm up to change the trajectory of the bullet. Everyone near it stopped moving, the sound of the gunfire drowning out the sound of the beat. Aqualad raised Khashoggi's arm in the direction of one of the speakers. The trigger was pulled and the gun fired, looking to hit the speaker straight on. But there weren't any bright lights or explosions following the shot. The speakers just blared out music. "It didn't work!" Khashoggi brought his knee up to hit Aqualad's face, but the aquatic warrior blocked the attack.
"Again." Khashoggi threw the boy down to the floor. "Again you rebel against me." He put his foot on Aqualad to pin him, bringing up his gun once again on the undersea hero. "Well, no more."
Jinx had an idea. She wasn't entirely sure it would work, but it seemed so far it was her only chance. She took a deep breath and readied herself, and then she screamed. The noise overwhelmed the pulsing music, and allowing her to move her hands and feet of her own accord. Her magic flew wildly, chances changing with wild variance. Some of the speakers were enchanted, exploding and stopping the beat, while some of the chains began to give way, letting the suspended speakers fall to the floor. Khashoggi looked around at the random destruction, "What have you done?"
"I'm putting a stop to this party once and for all," Jinx said, kicking Khashoggi off of Aqualad, "I'm tired of listening to you."
"I've already told you," Khashoggi said, "This is one party that doesn't stop."
"Well maybe it's time to go home, then," Jinx responded. Khashoggi rose, and began to back away. He looked towards the doorway, looking to cut his losses. "We're taking you with us, Khashoggi."
"What if I told you I wasn't coming?" Khashoggi backed into Mammoth's gargantuan form. "Ah, I see. That answers my question."
"Mammoth, get him to shut up." Mammoth's enormous hands held Khashoggi, one preventing him from moving his mouth and the other to keep him from escaping. "Thank you." Jinx smiled and looked at Khashoggi, a menacing glint in her eyes. "We've got someone who's just eager for some teaching, Khashoggi." The captain's eyes widened and he began to squirm.
Aqualad rose from the ground while this was happening and stared into the thinning crowd of faceless dancers. Some of them looked dazed and confused, while others milled about without any direction. Then, standing in the center of the crowd, he saw Starfire and Beast Boy. He ran over towards them, "You're okay!"
"Hey man, I'm always okay," Beast Boy said. Starfire looked a bit nerve wracked, but none worse for wear. "I mean, I was a hit with the ladies for sure."
"I am, as they say on this planet, Ay-Okay," Starfire confirmed. "It seems that we are victorious?"
Jinx turned to the Titans. "Not quite." Her face grew into a manic grin, "You see. We won. Now that we've got what we wanted, our truce is over." A jinx flew to the lighting. The sorcery caused the lights to explode in a great flash and drown the room in darkness. "Ciao!"
**************************
Mad the Swine sat in detention with a look of absolute boredom drawn on his face. There was no one in the detention room except him, and there was absolutely nothing to do. He got out of his seat and looked through the desk at the front of the room. There were some pencils and a pad of paper there. He took them and sat down again, and began to idly sketch stick figures onto his sheet of paper. He wondered what Icabod and Pamela were doing at this moment in time and jealously scribbled all over the sheet all the things he wanted to do when he got out of the detention room.
The doorknob turned and two people entered. One was a girl Mad had never seen before. She had pretty blonde hair and a wide, happy smile, "Is this the kid?" she asked the other, who Mad instantly recognized as Pamela. The blonde went up to Mad and pinched his cheek, "You're so adorable, kiddo." Mad blushed at the attention,
"Calm down, Harley," Pamela said, rolling her eyes. She sat next to Mad, "You didn't have to come, you know. Most of the time the teachers can give detention all they want and no one comes."
"But I got told I had detention, so I came," Mad said, "I didn't know they were lying." Mad looked flustered. Harley cooed over him, and looked at the pictures he had been sketching,
"Wow, these are really good," Harley said, looking at them, "Hey, Pam, it's you!" she pointed to the rough sketch of Pamela, adorned in leaves. She looked again, "Hey! And there's Icky!" There was a sketch of Icabod dressed up like the character from the short story of Sleepy Hollow as well. "You got a heckuva imagination on you, kiddo." Mad blushed.
"Harley, you're embarrassing him." Pamela addressed Harley and introduced her to Mad, "This is my friend Harley Quinzell. Harley, this is Mad."
Harley gave a weak little giggle, "That's what they call me, too."
"Hello, Harley," Mad said, bashfully.
"So, have you heard the news?" Harley asked Mad. She cleared his desk off messily and sat on top of it, leaning down towards him. Mad blushed and shook his head, "Pam here's going to be running for Class President. Well, she wasn't going to until I stood up and declared myself her running mate, but that's just how it goes in politics,"
"That's ridiculous Harley," Pam said. She sighed, "The real reason I did it is because Leslie decided that she was going to run, and you know how these popularity contests go to her head."
"Did that come before or after the rubber chickens?" There was a lengthy pause.
"Anyway," Pamela said, breaking the silence. "There's a debate tomorrow to start the campaign. It's mainly set up for those Corruption in Government majors, but it's good practice for us, as well."
"Really?" Mad asked. "Leslie's nothing, though. You could easily beat her."
"Strictly speaking, in terms of intelligence she's beat hands down, but she's a girl not afraid of showing a bit of skin to win an election." Pamela sighed. Mad looked confused at this, as though they were speaking an alien tongue,
"Skin?"
"Well, yeah!" Harley chirped. "Like she'd go up to the audience, and then do this," and she almost lifted up her shirt before Pamela stopped her, "Aww! C'mon, you never let me have my fun!"
"I'm sure we can do something a bit more age appropriate." Pamela said. Mad's face was bright red. "Don't worry, Mad. The scary lady can't hurt you. She'll be put back into her straight-jacket if she does."
"Hey! I'm not that crazy!" Harley said. She made an estimate with her fingers, "I'm just slightly mad. Very slightly mad." Mad laughed,
"You're really funny," he said, "I like you."
"See? He finds me funny."
"Statistically, someone would have to," Pamela said. She looked at Mad, "So, come on. Icabod's waiting for us in the dinner hall." Harley made an indistinguishable cheer and dragged Mad along with her,
"It's going to be so fun!" Harley squealed. Mad nodded his head in agreement, while his feet were flying a few feet off the ground by the sheer speed of her rush. Pamela sighed and followed them slowly.
****************************
Raven meditated, allowing herself to become one with the universe. She repeated her mantra, attempting to find complete meaning within the three words she uttered. The very cosmos lay open to her when her eyes were shutting out all external stimuli. She could feel the breath of Jupiter, the tears of Uranus, the rage of Mars, and she could cast them all aside with a gesture. She was in harmony with the resonance of the galaxies. "Fancy place you make up here," said an all too familiar voice. BC.
"What do you want?" Raven said, losing her concentration.
BC sat there, in a mockery of her lotus position, dressed in a deep scarlet sports jacket over a black shirt, and dark scarlet slacks with a flare at the bottom. His hair was a greasy mess, made worse by the amount of styling gel that was evident in the curly mass. The shape of his face was as catlike as his voice. Slim, rounded features with a big grin plastered to his face. "To talk again, Raven. We were so rudely interrupted by your little friend with the fancy cape."
"What more do you have to say?" Raven tried to return to her meditation, trying to phase out the noise.
"Well, I was thinking we'd talk a bit more on a personal level. Get to know one another a little bit!"
"No."
"Is that how you answer all your friends?"
"Yes."
"Oh, I see." BC nodded, "Trying to hook the guys with the hard to get routine."
"No!"
"Then why?" BC asked.
"Because," Raven answered, and then paused.
"Is it because you're afraid of feeling?" BC asked with a purr.
"Who are you?"
"My my! You know who I am already, Raven. But who are you?"
"I am who I am."
"Is this some kind of Zen?" BC looked over her, confused. He began to slip out of the dimension, leaving only his grin to dance around Raven and look at her from the other side. He reappeared suddenly, without warning, in front of her, "Is it?"
"No." Raven was beginning to feel anger welling inside her.
"You don't even know who you are, do you?" BC asked. "You can tell BC."
"Leave me alone!" her powers rapidly fluctuated. BC smiled.
"I can tell you who you are, but you just keep denying me from doing that." The man vanished spontaneously, and reappeared right next to her, "So let me tell you all about you. About Azarath and about how your mother met your father."
"I know what I am," Raven said.
BC seemed to think. "But," he purred, "Who are you?"
"I'm Raven," Raven answered. "What more do I need to be."
"Who is Raven, really? Besides a girl in a leotard and a blue cloak." BC looked at Raven, "What defines you?"
Raven thought on this. "I define who I am by the choices I have made in my life."
"Ah!" BC clapped, "That's a wonderful answer. The choices you have made. And what wonderful choices they were. Repelling all advances by friends who want to be close to you. Does your best friend even know the day you were born or what your favorite movie is? I don't think she does."
"She doesn't need to know such trivial details."
"Oh, you're trying so hard," BC said. He moved to lean over her, the smell of the styling gel overwhelming her nostrils and almost causing her to pass out, "Those trivial details are who you are, and let's face it, you're dark. You're just a hop, skip, and a jump away from really being the daughter of Trigon the Terrible." He gave her a grin, "And all you have to do is let him, and you can really show those Titans what a Dark Girl you can be."
Raven rose, "I don't see why I shouldn't just -"
"Shouldn't just what?" BC asked, lazily, "Kill me?"
"Have you arrested."
"I've got the perfect place!" He pulled out an imaginary cell phone from his jacket, "Hello? Arkham Institute for the Criminally Insane? My name's Raven and I'm seeing these visions of a handsome, intelligent, and witty demon who wants me to join my father in ruling the Cosmos like I was born to do." BC gave a cackle, "Isn't that hilarious?" Raven looked at BC with a neutral expression. "You don't get the joke, no?"
"No."
"You know how you sound, talking to me? Crazy." BC smirked, "And I'll do everything in my power to make you look crazy if you try and tell anyone about me." BC mewed, "Let's keep this out little secret until the time comes."
"For what?"
"Pardon? Oh! The time for nothing." BC cackled again, fading out slowly, his grin levitating inches from Raven's face. "It was fun talking, but it's time for you to get to work. Go get 'em, girl."
Raven sat there, dumbfounded. BC certainly spoke English, but it didn't make any sense at all. There was a knock at her bedroom door. A tapping. "Robin?"
"Raven, we have a visual. Come on."
"Coming." Raven left her room with a bit of hurry, looking at the place BC had appeared. There wasn't a trace of magic, which either meant he had inherently crossed dimensions as opposed to through magic portals or otherwise had just been - no, she did not want to even contemplate that possibility. She felt an increasingly familiar sense of fear taint her calm. She did not want to be alone.
****************************
Jinx looked to Khashoggi expectantly. The captain was now their humble hostage, not speaking up unless spoken to, and being forthcoming with answers. She was beginning to get suspicious. "Where are we, Khashoggi?"
"You're on the third level of the ship in what is called the Theseus Hall," Khashoggi explained. "I designed it to trap my enemies. It's a labyrinth that spans the entire ship. There is only one exit."
"Where is it?" Jinx asked.
"At the center of the maze, of course," Khashoggi smirked. "Now, I'm not entirely sure which way we're supposed to go to get to the center, so I won't be of that much help to you unless I access the ship's maps."
"Where can you do that?" Mammoth interrogated. Khashoggi gave a bit of a frown, and then furrowed his brow in worry.
"Well," he said, "Perhaps I can access the computer on the fourth level of the ship, but the stairway there is all the way back where we came from."
Jinx sighed, "We don't have time for that, Mammoth. Let's just try and navigate the maze normally. If he really wants to get out of here, he'll give us the right directions from memory, I bet."
"Now that's an unfair assumption," Khashoggi complained.
"Shut up," Jinx yelled. They proceeded down the sparsely lit halls of the Theseus Hallway. There were small dead-end turns everywhere, and the path winded towards the ends of the ship. "These halls are endless!"
"Which way?" Mammoth asked, eying Khashoggi.
"Left?" the captive Khashoggi ventured.
"Why not," Jinx said, taking a left turn. There was a completely different hallway down here than the others. This one was warm and blue, with a soft, relaxing bubble of an aquarium. "Looks like we're finally getting somewhere." The three walked down the aquarium hallway. "Are we still in the Theseus Hallway?"
"Ah, this is the Daedelus Hall," Khashoggi answered. "We're getting closer."
"Good," Mammoth rumbled. "I'd hate what I'd hafta do if you were lying."
"Of course, my lad!" Khashoggi said, his voice despondent. "I'm certain that we'll all find what we're looking for soon."
Jinx looked at the tanks that lined the walls, "What's in here?"
"My pet Scylla and her friends." Khashoggi smiled, "She's very playful. Why don't you tap the glass?" Jinx looked at Khashoggi as though he was mad. She lightly tapped the glass. The sound reflected off the glass with a nice tap-tap-tap. "There she is, my darling Scylla." The glass was assaulted with the force of a grown Great White Shark banging against the glass. "Isn't she a darling?"
"You keep one of those as a pet?"
"Two, actually. Scylla and her mate, Charybdis."
"Are you crazy? What if they get loose?"
"And your point is?" Khashoggi looked at Scylla and cooed lovingly, "Ah, my darling, you're looking well." Jinx could have sworn the shark looked towards her master lovingly.
"Aww! She's cute," Mammoth said, tapping the glass. It tried to take a bit of Mammoth's finger, despite the glass. Mammoth just waved stupidly at the shark, unaware of its obvious distaste of him.
"Mammoth, stop it," Jinx ordered. She looked at Khashoggi and said, "Now where do we go." Khashoggi seemed to think for a minute, and shrugged. "What does that mean?" the witch demanded.
"It means that I'm not sure. Let's ask Scylla. Scylla, which way do we go? Show us the way, dear, that's a love." The shark at the man's command rocketed straight ahead, swimming right above them, her shadow menacingly overlapping the HIVE students. "Well, let's follow her."
The three of them walked down the aquarium after Scylla. Jinx looked around more carefully. The Daedelus Hall was an intricate tunnel through the seas. "You love the ocean, don't you?"
"I am its king," Khashoggi answered.
"But, what would happen if this aquarium broke open?"
"Then my Scylla would have two lovely morsels for dinner, I would imagine." Khashoggi smiled. "Wouldn't that be lovely?"
"No!" Mammoth squeaked out.
"I wasn't talking to you," Khashoggi responded. Scylla looked down with a menacing grin. "Yes, I thought you would like that."
"Is this a trap?" Mammoth demanded.
"No," Khashoggi said, "But on the wild seas anything could happen. I've had to rebuild the aquarium so many times already."
"Stop doing that!" Mammoth commanded.
"Doing what?"
"That thing with my head!" Mammoth was not the most intelligent of people and could not easily fight back the tricky powers of Khashoggi's suggestions. Khashoggi smiled innocently, as if denying the accusation, but not openly saying anything.
Jinx and Mammoth looked to one another. Both were starting to get a bit nervous about the shark that hung right above them. Its shadow was like a vulture's, just waiting for the moment that the carrion is abandoned. Khashoggi seemed quite pleased to see his most precious pet, and the pet in turn he, but when it turned to Mammoth and Jinx, its eyes became dangerous, frightening, and hungry.
They steeled themselves and made the next turn. The aquarium's limits were in sight. They would hopefully make it out of the hallway before anything bad happened. The ship rocked in the waves. The HIVE steadied themselves. "Well," Khashoggi remarked, "That was certainly unexpected." The first wave was followed by an even larger wave. The ship seemed to spin around, tossing them against the wall. Mammoth looked where they had landed, and a little trickling of water had burst from where they had hit the wall. The ship itself seemed to respond, its lights going out, leaving only the sinister blue glow as the water trickled down. Scylla seemed to notice it as well. "Ah, she's hungry. That's good."
****************************
Mad the Swine was getting acquainted with a lot of the modern trends very quickly in this dining hall. He found girls who wore revealing shirts with suggestive quotes inscribed on them, boys who wore their pants far too large and they hung far too low, blaring music with no sense of harmony. He had just walked into a room full of teenagers, and he could only pray that he would come out alive.
Harley sat to one side and Pamela the other. He looked at the food he had been given, "Ah! This looks good!" he said as he took a bite out of the pizza. Pamela looked it with disdain.
"Tomatoes gave their lives to feed everyone's gluttony today," she declared. Mad looked confused, "The sauce is made from tomato. I wonder how they'd like it if it was blood on their pizza. Icabod, who sat opposite of them, had a tiny glint in his eye,
"Care to find out?"
"Not right now. Last time you let one of your fear bombs go off the teacher ran off screaming about turnips." Pamela sighed. Harley poked at Mad,
"Can you believe this place?" she asked, cheerfully. He shrugged, unsure of how to answer, "I love it! Never a dull moment, ain't that right Icky?"
"Stop calling me that."
"Oh, he's such a kidder. Anyway, Mad. What did you do today?"
"Well, I -"
"Can I have everyone's attention, please?" someone called out from a far off table. "Hey, shut your trap!" the voice said, seemingly to someone nearby. There was a chorus of 'oooh' as chairs were tossed to the ground. Someone was gasping for air. "Anyone else want to feel my steel-plated boot? Didn't think so." She cleared her throat, "Anyway, now that I got everyone's attention. Me, Leslie 'Livewire' Willis, I'm running for Class President. So everyone vote for me. The alternative, for those always wanting to spite others, is our good friend Pamela Isely. That's right, the Tree Hugger."
The audience laughed. Pamela visibly shrunk into her seat. Harley looked indignant and Icabod got a dark expression. Leslie just continued with her tirade. She was in her element, standing there, taking in all the attention she was receiving. Her face turned to a wicked sneer. "And let's just imagine for a second what Pamela would do as Class President. Remember our Final Assignment that all our classes are working towards. The Freshman Class President decides what to do. With Pam, we'd be assigned missions to the Rain Forest to save a little flower no one's even heard of."
Mad rose from his seat, "She can't do this!" Harley rose up,
"I'm with you, kiddo!"
Pamela put her hand out, "Hey, this is my fight."
Mad looked at her, and looked sad for a second, "But..."
Pamela looked at Mad, and her face lightened. There was something about that big, open face and those baby blue eyes that just bore into your heart. "Please, Mad," Pamela said. "This is personal now." She stroked her pet flytrap carefully, and it looked up towards her. Icabod raised his eyes to look at Pamela.
"Don't overdo it, Pamela," he warned.
"Oh, I won't," Pamela said with a sexy sigh. Icabod raised his brow. "I think I'll go talk to her."
"Careful," Icabod said. He watched her go towards Leslie, "This isn't going to end well. Come on, Mad. Let's go find our dorm." He rose from the table.
"Okay," Mad agreed. "Bye, Harley."
"See ya, bucko!" Harley waved. She seemed to be distracted by something. She then cringed. "Hold on, Pam, the cavalry's coming!" she galloped off towards the distant fray. Mad turned to Icabod to see what he would do, but the older boy just grimaced at the thought.
"This is not going to end well, Mad."
"Oh," Mad said. "Why?"
"Let's just say that Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, as the old saying goes." Icabod lead the young boy out of the dining hall and onto the school's grounds.
"Oh." Mad said, seemingly doing calculations in his head. Realization dawned on him. "Oh! That's scary!"
**************************
Raven entered the cockpit to see the second wave hit the Bacchus. It was an enormous wave that sent the ship under for a minute. "What was that?" she queried. Robin looked towards the distance and pointed to the large serpentine tail that descended below the surface.
"The Leviathan."
"I see," Raven commented. "So that's what destroyed Atlantis was."
"Yeah," Robin said, awkwardly. 'So, the signal's coming from that ship," he continued saying. He looked a bit nerve-wracked after the ship nearly went under. "Slade," he turned to the man in question, his voice dripping with venom, "If you turn on us now, I swear I'll come after you." There was something almost a bit like his mentor in that tone of voice.
"Don't worry so much, Robin. As I've said, I need you for something. I wouldn't just abandon you here."
"Make sure you don't," Robin hissed. Raven looked towards the ship. They were descending closer to it. "Raven, we'll need to find them quick"
"What if they're not there?" Raven asked.
"I'm not going to even consider that possibility," Robin answered sharply.
Raven smirked, "Worried you're not going to find Starfire?"
"How can you ask something like that with a smile?" Robin asked.
"Because you're acting childish." Raven frowned, "As difficult as it is, we must consider that they may be lost forever."
"I didn't give up on you."
"Maybe you should have."
"Children," Slade said, his voice a subtle roar, "We won't know if you don't investigate this. The ship itself is very suspicious. It doesn't appear to be registered anywhere. Be very careful, we may be dealing with pirates. I've dealt with a few on assignments before. They're a dangerous and underhanded sort."
"Fine. We'll be careful," Robin said. "Ready, Raven?"
"If you're all finished, let's get this over with."
They leapt from the ship, Raven's telekinesis keeping their descent safe. Upon touching down on the ship, they noticed how empty it seemed. They could see in that many of the lifeboats had been used, but the ship merely felt as though nothing had been there before. There wasn't a sound anywhere except the dying roar of the waves. "What's going on here? It's like a ghost ship," Robin commented.
"If you believe in that sort of thing." Raven looked towards the glass covered dining hall. It was cold and dark, but there seemed to be a faint gray glow within. "There's something there." They walked towards it, balancing themselves to the gentle rock of the waves. When they entered the hall, they saw then faint glow to be a set of video feeds.
One of the sets was broken, while the other showed the darkened Theseus Hallways that lay below. They saw the submerged Daedelus Hall, and saw the faint outline of the shark passing by it, its fin moving towards the floundering Mammoth and Jinx. "The HIVE? They're here?"
"They seem to be in trouble." Raven commented. Another set showed the other Titans wading through the darkness in the Icharus Hallway, though they did not know that is what it was called. "Wonderful, we've found them, but we don't know where they are." There were footsteps in the darkness. Illuminated only by the gray light, a middle aged man, who looked infinitely older than his face allowed him, walked towards them, gun cocked at the ready. He was
"Can I help you?"
"Who are you?" Robin asked.
"I could ask you the same. Are you the ones who disabled my ship?"
"No," Robin answered, "The Leviathan did that."
"The Leviathan?" Khashoggi asked, "Is that some kind of Atlantean weapon? I suppose I owe them something now."
"What do you want?" Raven asked. She saw a familiar grin out of the corner of her eye. "Not now," she muttered.
"What do I want? To be left to my own devices! My plan had been perfect, but now I've lost any control."
"What plan?" Robin demanded, all but grabbing the man by his collar.
"Oh, you must be Robin. Is this Raven? The birds that had eluded capture until now. Too late for it now. The ship's a loss. Oh well. I was going to trade your team and the H.A.E.Y.P. Graduates in exchange for the HIVE leaving me well enough alone."
Raven pulled Robin to the side, "Why is it you always go off like that, Robin?" She approached Khashoggi. "Tell us where our teammates are, now."
**************************
Jinx clung desperately to the surface of the water. The passages had shut, and the leaking water just came in greater volume. And Scylla and Charybdis were lurking somewhere beneath the surface. She looked around for Mammoth. The big lunk had sunk. She groaned, took a breath, and dived under. The water was pure and blue. And there were three dark shapes lurking, and one wasn't a shark.
Khashoggi had neglected to mention to the two HIVE students that there was also a third pet sea monster that he didn't really like to talk about. It wasn't anything special, in his eye, like his loyal pets Scylla and Charybdis. He wouldn't want to spend long dealing with his Kraken. The beast lurking beneath the waves threw out one of its seven tentacles towards the witch. She was barely agile enough underwater to dodge it, flipping backwards. A shark passed by her, barely missing her. She made a note to never visit the seaside again.
Mammoth reached towards her, his massive hand straining to grab hers. The Kraken had a hold of him. One massive tentacle had latched itself to his leg, and was struggling to bring the flailing figure down to its gaping maw. Jinx tried to help the massive warrior up but her strength was no match for the might of the sea creature. A shark almost took a bite out of her. She let out a gasp, and watched the bubbles of air rise to the surface. She quickly surfaced, taking a deep breath. "Mammoth! Great, where's that pipsqueak when you actually need him? The Kraken's tentacle rose up next to her, and she screamed.
**************************
"Harley?" Mad asked, later that evening. "What happened in the cafeteria after we left?"
Harley was sporting a large bandage over forehead, and looked as though there was still a little swelling in her lip, "It was a great fight! Bam!" She punched to emphasize. "Boom! POW!" She almost punched herself in the face. "Whoa, got a little carried away there," she giggled. The intercom crackled to life.
"Could Mr. the Swine please report to the Headmistress's Office? I repeat, Mr. Mad the Swine, please report to the Headmistress's Office."
"You're in truh-buhl!" Harley chimed as they walked down the halls of the HIVE Academy. Mad shook his head furiously,
"I've been good, though!"
"That's even worse!" Harley said. She poked at Mad's nose, "Kiddo, just follow my lead and you'll get through this fine."
"You're coming with me?" Mad said, full of hope. Harley giggled and brought out about ten slips,
"Well," she admitted, "The Headmistress has also wanted to see me about the whole exploding whoopee cushion incident last week." She laughed madly, "It was a riot." She made her face longer in an attempt to mimic the Headmistress, "Miss Quinzell! We simply cannot tolerate this kind of clowning in this establishment." Her impression broke as she went into a fit of laughter that culminated in a long sigh, "You had to be there."
Mad smiled and gave a small childlike giggle, "It's still funny."
"Thanks! I like you, kiddo. You understand me."
"I do?"
"Right!" Harley said, "Most people think I'm just trying to get attention, but that's not it. I want to make Mr. J proud and deliver terror with a smile."
"Terror?" Mad asked. Harley nodded, "I'm not sure frightening people is a good idea."
"No, no! We make them smile!" Harley emphasized with a big grin on her pretty face.
"Oh!" Mad said, "That's okay then." He was thoroughly confused by Harley's actions. He hummed to himself as he walked through the halls. Harley tried humming along, but she was thoroughly off-key. Mad didn't seem to mind. "Harley, do you believe in God?"
"God?" Harley asked. She thought for a second, "Well. I guess. I mean, he invented the platypus, and anyone who can do that's okay by me."
"Oh, I see," Mad said. He looked troubled. "Are you unusual?"
"Not really. Used to go to Church only on Christmas and Easter, y'know, the chocolate and the presents sorta make you feel guilty." The shadow fell of Mad's face. "Is something wrong?"
"God has given us such a beautiful world, and you don't even thank Him?" Mad sighed, "I wonder why this world even bothers trying."
"Because we just wanna have fun!" Harley said, almost breaking out into full song, Cyndi Lauper style. Mad didn't seem consolable, but Harley continued trying, "Oh, buck up kiddo. Just because they don't act it, I bet lotsa people believe in God. Let's ask this guy," she pointed to a rather large looking fellow. "Hey, Mr. Luchadore!"
The man looked around, and then glared at Harley, "What."
"Do you believe in a God?" Harley asked.
"I sure hope you do, clown," the giant said, looking at her, "I've heard about you. My vote's going to Leslie, definitely ain't getting screwed over like you screw every guy in this school." Harley's face twisted into a scowl. The big man turned and walked away "Get used to it."
Harley screamed after him, "You jerk! Can you believe that, Mad, spreading lies about us? Uh, Mad? Mad?" She stared at Mad, who was glowing with powerful energies. "Mad, what happened to you?"
************************
Khashoggi walked down the Satyr Hall angrily, looking at the two teens at his side. "Your robot friend is here." He tore open the door to Cyborg's room and stormed inside. Raven and Robin followed. Gizmo and Cyborg lunged at Khashoggi, an attack the man simply dodged. "Calm down!" He put his hands up, "I'm not here to fight you."
Cyborg looked at Khashoggi, "This another one of your tricks?"
"Would you be quiet?" Raven snapped. The others looked at her.
"Raven?" Cyborg asked, bewildered. "You're alive!"
"Yes, I'm alive." Raven looked angrily to her side. Cyborg turned his gaze again to Khashoggi.
"Look man," said the tin man. "If you try and pull another one of those stupid mind tricks," he trailed off.
"You'll do what?" Khashoggi asked, irritably. He took a breath and focused his thoughts. "I'm sorry. It's just been a stressful evening."
Gizmo rolled his eyes, "Snot. Let's get out of here, already!" He brought his arachno-legs out of his backpack and crawled to the exit. "Well?" The others followed him one by one. Khashoggi was the last to leave, and he checked his pocket. Pulling out the gun, he checked each of the chambers. He gave a visible frown.
"Russian Roulette."
"Are you going to show us where our friends are?" Robin asked. He leaned in the doorframe, arms crossed menacingly.
"I have an aquarium of rare and dangerous fish that broke open down there. We may run into a shark or two." Khashoggi put his gun away. "Unfortunately, I only have one shot."
"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Let's go."
"My, you're a natural leader, my boy." Khashoggi idly walked alongside Robin, "Definitely a take charge sort," he added.
"What's your game, 'captain'?" Robin said, citing his incredulousness with Khashoggi's supposed title.
"My game is I wanted a life free of responsibility. It really makes this world a worse place, all this running about. People need freedom from it to truly understand themselves."
Robin raised his brow, "Interesting philosophy."
"It's how I live my life." Khashoggi motioned to a stairwell, "This leads to the Icharus Hallway, where your friends were."
Cyborg looked to Raven, "You okay, girl?"
"I'm fine."
"You look a bit paranoid," Cyborg offered. The dark girl just shrugged and walked down towards the Icharus Hall. "Hey! Beast Boy! Star!" he hollered, "Aqualad!"
"Why are you yelling?"
"It's pitch black, dark girl."
"You have an infra-red eye. You can just look around," Raven reminded Cyborg.
"Sure, I can do that too," Cyborg said, a bit embarrassed. He scanned the hallways. They lead towards a blocked passage one way, and a doorway in the other. Slowly moving across the walls, Star's eyes widened when she recognized the voices.
"Cyborg? Raven!" She chirped, "We are here, and we are well!"
"What are you talking about?" Raven snapped, again. She covered her mouth suddenly. "Never mind me," she timidly said.
Cyborg looked at Raven, "Er, Dark Girl?"
"What is it now?"
She heard the click of the gun. The auxiliary power kicked in, revealing everything in a blood red tone. Khashoggi held his gun up to her head, his face twisted into a grim smile. Khashoggi smiled, pulling down on the trigger. Robin stood next to Khashoggi, and only stared in morbid fascination as the hammer fell. He felt his hand ball up into a fist, and he brought it up in desperation. "Lady Mercy isn't home tonight," Khashoggi taunted. "Bang. You're dead."
Flee for your life
Deceive you not
The fires of Hell will take you
Should Death await you...