Author's Note: Uh... heh... more liberties taken with Raven's past. These are sketchier than all the other "liberties" I've taken. Depending on how you look at it, this one could be either the least-- or most-- plausible (IMO-- the least). Hah, but I thought it would be fun. So deal. :-p.

From Russian Roulette, my little between chapters "half-time" show, you can tell I like crafting inner personalities. Crafting new pasts is also a hobby. Snicker. I'm a character developement freak. So sue me.

Ah, King Cheetah, yes, you liked the title of that last chapter, eh? Haha... (Note: All read the King's "Birds of a Feather." What he's got is good)

There's your plug. :D

Thank you again, Instant Coffee, for being ever so inspiring. And Keystone. And everyone else. You're all so wonderful.

I won't cry, I promise you.

Moving on now.

Chapter Five: 3:00: ... Flock Together

3:00

When Robin and Raven entered the common room, they saw Cyborg and Beast Boy away from the television for the first time. Along with Starfire, they were standing around a small boy who looked determined, and a young woman.

Upon hearing Robin and Raven's entrance, the boy looked up impassively and stared directly at Raven a moment before he closed his eyes and seemed to tremble. The woman tried to hold him up.

"I'm fine," he insisted, treating her more like his inferior. Surprisingly, the woman meekly nodded and let him be.

Robin stared at him long and hard as something dormant seemed to awaken in the back of his mind, like a flower sprouting from frozen terrain. It was familiar, yet somehow alien, and strangely comforting...

His mind began to tingle again.

The boy's breath was quivering, but he shook it off.

"What have you done to me...?" he whispered.

"Would you be more comfortable resting in a chair?" Starfire offered hospitably. The boy smiled at her warmly and wanly.

"Thank you for your perpetual kindness, Starfire," he told her. His voice was wispy, almost hoarse. Yet, he sounded so old... not like a child at all.

The room seemed to drop several degrees below zero

"Who are you?" Robin asked when the odd silence became too chilling.

The boy looked up at him with sad eyes. He then turned to Raven and his countenance changed. For a moment, his eyes were colder than the temperature in the room. "I used to be your friend," he said.

The silence returned.

"So... who are you now?" Cyborg asked.

"Doctors at our hospital have been asking him the same question," said the woman in the corner, a small brunette. It had been the first time she'd said anything and all eyes were on her. She shifted uncomfortably. "I should explain..."

"No, Abby, don't," the boy ordered, waving a hand at her as if to dismiss her. He then looked menacingly at Raven. "Allow me. I speak to you with the vocal cords of a corpse." Suddenly, he stopped and gasped.

"Ray?" Abby asked, nervously.

Strange shivers chased each other up and down Robin's spine. Almost instinctively, he turned his attention to Raven. But she was merely eying the boy intently...

The true Raven was shocked into silence by the jarring collision that rocked her mind.

They won't believe you...

Leave me alone!

Why did you come here?

I need to save them from... from...

What's the matter, dear? Is your brain falling apart so much you can no longer finish your own thoughts?

"Stop it!" Ray sobbed aloud. He trembled when he opened his eyes. "It wasn't half as hard to think now as it was ten minutes ago."

"Ray..."

"No!" Ray snapped at Abby. She seemed incredibly intimidated by such a small boy. "I need to... I need to..."

"You say this boy belongs to a mental hospital?" Raven asked suddenly. Abby looked up at the telekinetic curiously.

"I... Yes..." she said slowly, looking suspicious.

"What have you brought him here for?" she asked, inscrutably.

Abby looked stunned. "I... I... I don't know..."

"Well, take him back," said Raven. "This is no place for a sick little boy."

Abby seemed to find her footing again. "Right," she said curtly, nodding. "I'm terribly sorry to have inconvenienced you. He's been with us six months, practically threatened me to bring him here–"

"Abby!" the boy snapped, shocked and angry, seeming to have come out of some sort of trance.

"Well, I'm sorry, Ray, but you're delusional!" Abby retorted, harshly.

"Hm," said Raven, with a twitch of a smile. "Yes, quite."

"Look," said Abby, addressing Raven. "I am so sorry to bother you, but if you could just..."

"Just listen to me!" Ray cried. Everyone grew silent.

Raven raised her eyebrows, feigning interest. "And what do you have to say? We're all listening."

"Oh, don't do that," said Ray, rolling his eyes. "Sarcasm doesn't suit you. And neither does my body."

"Your... body?" Robin said, curiously.

The boy looked at him intently for a moment, then nodded. "Yes, Robin. My body."

"I'm a little confused here," said Cyborg.

"Don't be," Raven said, eying the boy menacingly. "I can explain everything."

"Don't lie to them," Ray sneered, threateningly. "If you say one word–"

"Oh shut up, would you?" Raven said, rolling her eyes. She looked next at Beast Boy. "This was the kid that called you earlier. He's convinced himself that he's me and that somehow, I've taken over his body with some sort of hocus pocus I'm incapable of doing. I humored him a while, but he began to get more irritating than your antics, Beast Boy. And since, he's been obsessed with me. It's been going on for quite a while."

"Has it?" said Abby quietly. Raven turned to her, as if just noticing she was still there and nodded, her face expressionless. Abby frowned to herself. Robin eyed her in interest, watching her wheels turn, though he didn't know what she could be thinking about.

"That's some wacky story," said Beast Boy with a laugh.

"However, possession would explain your newfound fondness for video games," said Starfire. Ray looked at her hopefully, but his hope disappeared when he saw that Starfire was smiling broadly at Raven.

"Are you mocking me, Starfire?" he asked, nonchalantly. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a grin spread across Robin's features.

"It seems so," said their leader. "Looks like Raven isn't the only one acting out of character..."

"I'm sorry, kid," said Cyborg, ruffling the boy's hair. "We can only handle one Raven. I don't know what we'd do with two."

Ray's eyes narrowed. "Don't. Touch. Me."

Suddenly, there was another mental jolt to the real Raven's mind wall that was so devastating, it was almost physical and she had to stagger backwards and shake her head to regain balance. Everything was spinning.

Why do you always pick battles you can never win?

Get out of my head!

"Ray?" Abby asked tentatively. She looked worried. "Ray, sweetie, can you hear me?"

Robin, too, seemed to share her concern. "Ray?" he said, coming over to the boy, who had fallen to his knees. "Ray... are you OK?"

"Of course he is," Abby said, laughing nervously as she lifted Ray up in her arms (with some difficulty). "It's just, er, part of his illness, you see. He loses consciousness... and, uh... yeah." She flashed them her winning smile, for effect.

"Would you like a ride back to the hospital?" Cyborg offered. Abby looked up at him and bit her lip.

"I brought my car..." she said slowly.

"Come on," said Cyborg, grinning. "You're not gonna give up a chance to ride in the T-Car, are you? It'll get you there in practically no time at all, too."

"Cyborg likes to display his car proudly, with its leather wheels and treaded upholstery." Starfire grinned.

Abby laughed. "That would be great," she said. "Thank you."

"I'll help you two into the car," Beast Boy said, glaring at Cyborg as if afraid of being upstaged.

"That's very sweet of you," said Abby as Beast Boy took the boy from her arms.

As the elevator doors closed, Cyborg sighed and shook his head.

"Well, I better start the car," he said. "Damn, this is bad..."

"Tell me about it..." said Robin, absently, as he watched the elevator. "That kid seems pretty bad off."

"Who cares about the kid?" Cyborg cried as he found the car keys between the cushions of the couch. "I haven't beaten Beast Boy once in any game all day!"

Raven looked around at her mental landscape horrified. Everything was caving in around her.

No! she screamed. This can't be happening! I need to save the Titans! I need to save my friends!

She shrieked as a pillar of memory crumbled.

No! If this goes on much longer, I won't even remember what I'm doing!

This wasn't working. It was taking her too much effort to try and keep herself conscious. It was drawing from her interior mind, which was only weakening it. She looked warily at her emotional portal, which had been wide open for a long time now... She'd forgotten what many of these emotions, in their raw form, felt like. Fear, anger, guilt and despair swarmed around her head, disorienting her. She wondered how much havoc she would cause if she'd had her powers. She might have destroyed the whole world with one anguished howl.

But the fact of the matter was that... she couldn't. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing did.

From the depths of her soul she let out a scream that had been sealed away for years. With it came all her memories of her childhood, of when her mother would lock her away at night and forget her there for days... of listening to her mother's illogical shrieks as her brain slowly dribbled away out of her ears and out the window, over the hill and into the valley where she would be safe...

The knife, the threats, the beatings, the anger, the haunting calls of her father...

And then, she was dead.

And Raven ran.

Never be like her. Never never never nevernevernevernevernever...........

Confused. Too many lights. Where is the darkness?

Never be like her.

Never lose your mind.

"You have a very powerful mind, my little songbird..."

Never remember him.

Never remember the pain they caused you.

But worst and most of all, never forget.

Forget...

NO!!!!

For a brief moment, Raven was conscious. She caught a glimpse of Abby's hair, obscured in the afternoon light shining through a car window...

"He's screaming!!!"

"Would you try and keep him quiet? I nearly swerved off the road!"

No...

It's all happening too fast! It's only 3:00!

Larkin's voice cackled in Raven's head. She closed her eyes again...

The darkness returned and Abby's hair disappeared.

This has to be temporary, Raven thought. Please... by being in such a close proximity with Larkin, my mind went off on me. I'll be OK...

"Mommy?"

It was so real.

"Mommy?"

"Baby doll... there you are..."

"Mommy... Mommy, I'm in here. Mommy, please, let me out! I'm hungry. Mommy, please!"

"It'll be OK baby doll... I'll get you some carrots..."

"Mommy... Mommy, we don't have carrots. Mommy? Mommy, where did you go? Mommy, please, can you let me out of here? It's dark and I'm... I'm scared. Mommy, please... Mommy? Where did you go? Mommy!"

Mommy...

Three days. It had seemed like three weeks.

Mommy never returned with carrots.

Mommy...

GOD DAMN IT! Raven screamed in her head. Good GOD get me out of here! I'm a prisoner in my own mind! This is INSANE! I'm insane... Oh God, Cyborg? Is that you? Are you OK? Has he hurt you, Cyborg? Cyborg? Cyborg... where did you go? Cyborg!

I'm lost and I'm never coming home...

"Ah!" Robin exclaimed as he fell to his knees.

Beast Boy whistled as he rounded the corner of the hall with his pilfered prize: the last slice of cheese pizza. But he stopped at the sight before him. "Robin?" he said, worriedly, rushing to help his friend. "Hey, Robin, are you OK?"

The leader of the Titan's eyes were screwed shut as his hands formed fists, his fingernails tearing into the carpeting. His teeth were gritted and his back was arched like a cat's. "Dammit..." he uttered. "No... No!"

His eyes opened and Beast Boy pulled his hand away from him as though he'd been burned. Red fireballs glowed briefly in Robin's sockets before his eyes returned to normal. He looked at Beast Boy a moment, breathing hard. He was pale and clammy, drenched in sweat, and he trembled there, his breath a ragged staccato of sound. Then, his eyes rolled and he fell to the floor.

"Robin!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"Relax, Beast Boy," Robin heaved, rolling onto his back. "I'm fine."

"What the hell was that about, man?" Beast Boy demanded, hands on his hips. "You almost had me worried there."

Robin seemed to have enough energy to smile up at Beast Boy. "Almost... eh?"

"Yeah, almost," Beast Boy shrugged. "So what happened?"

Robin sighed as he sat up and he could feel the blood rushing through his body, trying to catch up. It was almost as if his heart had stopped for a few seconds and his body was deprived as the vivid life liquid. Perhaps it had been. He didn't really know. He rubbed his head and noticed he was still shaking. "I'm not exactly sure," he said. "It hurt like hell."

"Has it happened before?" Beast Boy asked.

Robin shook his head. "Nah..." he said. "But... Raven."

"It's happened to Raven?" Beast Boy looked shocked. "Call Cyborg, we may have an epidemic!"

"No, Beast Boy," said Robin, rolling his eyes. "I... I saw her. Well, felt her is more appropriate."

Beast Boy raised an eyebrow skeptically. "OK... hiding from a little crush are we?"

"FOR GOD'S SAKE!" Robin exclaimed. "I DO NOT HAVE A CRUSH ON RAVEN!"

"Coulda fooled me..."

Both boys froze at the sardonic voice. Each turned and saw Raven making her way slyly down the hall.

"Beast Boy, is that my pizza?" Beast Boy looked from his abandoned pizza box on the floor, to Robin, to Raven.

"Y-your pizza?" He shook his head and regained his composure. Suddenly, he looked annoyed. "No, actually it's–"

"Of course," Robin interrupted, eying Beast Boy sharply. "He was just about to bring it to you."

Raven smiled at Robin, then at Beast Boy as she picked up the pizza box, opened it, and pulled out the slice.

"Thanks," she said, taking a bite as she walked down the hall.

Beast Boy was fuming. He raised his finger and was about to yell after her when Robin stopped him.

"We have bigger things to talk about," said Robin.

"Right," said Beast Boy, remembering Robin's recent heart attack. "What exactly happened again? Just so, you know, I can take the precautionary measures so I don't catch whatever you and Raven have."

"Beast Boy, it's not a virus," Robin said, flatly, his eyes narrowed in irritation.

"That's OK," said Beast Boy. "I got antibacterial stuff too!"

"And it's not bacteria," said Robin, getting angrier by the second. "It's... a mental thing."

"Oh..." said Beast Boy, understanding. He looked as though about to say more, but fell oddly silent and began to avoid Robin's eyes. "A mental thing. Right. So, uh, what happened?"

Robin frowned, surprised at Beast Boy's strangely sympathetic attitude, but he ignored it. "I just saw some of the scariest stuff..."

"Worse than Wicked Scary 4?" Beast Boy said, looking awe-stricken.

"Yeah, worse than... wait, there's a Wicked Scary 4? I mean... That's irrelevant. What I meant is, it was like staring into Raven's childhood. Dark and cold, with some crazy woman who locked her in the basement. She killed herself."

"Who, Raven?" Beast Boy asked.

"No, the woman," Robin said. "Took the kitchen knife while cutting little Raven's bread for a sandwich, ran her finger over the blade, fingered her throat, than took the blade to it."

"Her finger?"

"No, you idiot, her throat! Right in front of kid Raven."

"Wow, that's pretty intense..." said Beast Boy, staring off to the side. He seemed to snap out of it as he looked up at Robin. "Hey, wanna play Gamestation? Cyborg's driving, and I need to kick someone else's ass for a change."

"Beast Boy did you not hear a word I just said?" Robin exclaimed, angrily.

"Um, yes?" Beast Boy said, shrugging. Robin sighed.

"I'll be in my room," he said.

Beast Boy shrugged again. "Suit yourself. I'm off to beat Cy's high scores then."

"Now he's crying..." Abby said, looking at Ray sympathetically.

"Thanks for the update," Cyborg muttered, annoyed.

"What's wrong with yeh, Ray?" Abby asked, brushing back his hair tenderly.

As they stopped at a red light, Cyborg looked over his shoulder at the boy in the back seat.

"He'll be OK, won't he?" Cyborg asked worriedly, his irritation melting away at the sight of the boy's pale face.

Abby sighed. "We hope so," she said.

"So... what exactly's wrong with him, anyway?" Cyborg asked as the light turned green again.

"Well, I think I know..." said Abby, pensively. "But it's classified. I can't discuss my patients. It's against hospital policy."

Cyborg looked at her skeptically in his rearview mirror. "You can't even tell me if he's schizo or MPD or what?"

Abby shook her head. "Nope, can't say."

"You know, he kinda reminds me of someone... I can't quite place it, though."

"Really?" said Abby, sounding interested. "Well, if you ever figure out who he is, please tell us, because we're still trying to do so ourselves."

"Will do," said Cyborg.

They were silent a while and Abby watched Ray sadly, and tended to him. After a while, he stirred and looked up at her bleary eyed.

"Is it raining outside?" he asked, weakly. Abby smiled.

"No, dear," she said. "The rain stopped a long time ago."

Soon, they were back at Sun Oak's.

"Well, here you are."

"Thanks," said Abby, smiling. "I, uh, may be back later to pick up my car..."

"Drop by anytime," Cyborg said. He looked at the boy, who was rubbing his head and looked weary. "You too, little guy. Just... don't say anything about being Raven... it's kinda creepy."

Ray nodded absently. "Yeah..." he muttered.

"The next time I bring him, we hope that he'll be out of that obsession," said Abby. Ray glared at her and, to his surprise, she nudged him in the ribs.

"Ow!" he exclaimed.

Abby watched as Cyborg drove away and looked down at Ray. "You're one weird little guy, do you know that?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry..." Ray mumbled, staring at the ground. "It's all lost now..."

But Abby smiled at him warmly and kneeled down to his level, putting a hand on either shoulder. "Don't talk nonsense," she said. "I believe you, Raven."

Ray was startled out of his defeated stupor. "Wha-what?"

Abby chuckled. "Back there... the way they all acted when Raven came in... You forget I'm a psychiatric nurse."

"You don't have to be a psychiatric nurse to know that the mind in my body is evil," said Ray. But he frowned. "It's more than that... this is more than psychology and behavioralism. What made you change your mind."

"First off," said Abby. "I never told them you were in a mental hospital. Second of all, you've been incoherent and incapable of making phone calls for the six months you've been with us, so you couldn't have been annoying her with crank calls. And the thing is, you're definitely not human, not after that creepy red-eye display you gave back in that exam room. So... either you've got a serious optic problem that you need to take a look at, or... you're telling the truth. It's kind of hard to accept, but I really have no other choice."

Ray smiled at Abby, the first genuine smile she'd seen on his face. "You're more observant than I gave you credit for. So, that whole thing... it was a show?"

Abby nodded, grinning. "I should have pursued and acting career."

"I wouldn't go that far," said Ray. Abby hit him.

"Robin?"

"Go away, Starfire."

Robin was, once again, slumped over his desk, looking defeated.

"Robin, why all this trouble? There's nothing wrong with our friend. Can you not see how much happier she is now?"

Robin looked up at his friend. "Starfire... don't you see? It's not Raven."

Starfire frowned. "This intuition of yours... it has told you something?"

Robin stood and turned away folding his arms. "That kid, Ray... when he got here, I could feel her again."

"So you believe the boy was speaking the truth?" Starfire asked, skeptically. Robin turned to her frowning.

"And you don't?" he said.

Starfire sighed. "Well... Robin... You must understand how difficult this is for me to comprehend... Raven is happier than she has ever been, and all you are doing is searching for the... what do you call it? The catch. Why can you not just accept that she is different now, better."

"Better?!" Robin exclaimed. "You really think she's better?"

Starfire folded her arms, stubbornly. "If she is smiling more, and laughing more, and playing more, than yes, I do believe this is for the better. Robin, why does everything always have to be so bad? When a blessing comes, we must embrace it, not look for a hidden fee. She has persuaded me that–"

"She's persuaded you?" said Robin. "How?"

Starfire looked surprised. "I... well, she spoke with me and I..."

"Believed her?"

"Well what else am I to do, Robin?" Starfire snapped, angrily. "She is my friend, and I told her I would always trust her."

"Starfire, I'm your friend too," said Robin. "So why don't you trust me?"

Starfire sighed, seeming frustrated. But then, she seemed to collect herself, and she smiled at him. "I do trust you, Robin. I always have. You are wise and intuitive, but... but this is making no sense. What you say seems ridiculous to me. Raven says that you've been..." But immediately, she stopped and gasped, as though she'd said too much.

Robin held his head and sank down into his desk chair again. "What did she say, Starfire?"

"She told me not to mention it to you," said Starfire.

"I think I have a right to know what Raven's saying about me."

Starfire sighed and nodded. "You are right, you do," she said. "Raven has informed us... all of us... of your illness..."

"Illness?" Robin said, with a scoffing laugh. "And what would this be? Paranoid schizophrenia?"

Starfire ignored him as she continued slowly. "She says... that it is not your fault. She says it is something that has been infesting your mind since you and Larkin did battle. She says that it would cause you to think things that aren't true, and to see things that are not there..."

"Yeah, I was right," said Robin. "Paranoia."

"And," Starfire said, trying harder to ignore him, "that you were... susceptible to the suggestion that anything has gone wrong. She says it has been the root of some of your obsessions over criminals as well. She says that now, you have even named her a criminal. She says that she tried to help you, but you refused to let her. Robin, what next? Will you turn us all against you?"

"It seems Raven doing a fair enough job of that without my help," Robin muttered. He sighed as he rested his head in his hand. "So I guess I'll be joining that kid in Sun Oak's then, won't I? Robin the schizophrenic and Ray the psycho. Won't we be the pair?"

"Robin..." said Starfire, sounding as though she wished she'd said nothing at all. "Robin, we would never..."

"Go," said Robin condescendingly, waving a hand at her, his face buried in his other hand. "I don't have the energy for this."

Quietly, Starfire nodded and she left, closing the door behind her.

Alone in the dark, Robin thought to himself. Maybe I am crazy...