Ave y Machina

Bird and Machine

This chapter is dedicated to BlackShield and Dark Shadow31

Raven entered the sickbay very slowly. Inside the lights were dimmed which added to the somewhat eerie feel of the medical facility. Tear was bathed in half shadow, a bottle in hand and a few on his bedside table waiting to be consumed.

"Ah, yes, Di'Candra. I hope you didn't mind waiting. I had a few, manly issues to discuss with your friend Cyborg. He's a good kid, whoever gets to call him friend, or more, will be very fortunate. I had a pleasant conversation with him and I'm sure Maria entertained you while you were waiting." Tear said knowing full well that both girls didn't like each other.

Raven smiled a strained smile at his hint that Cyborg would be good for her and about the "wonderful talk" that she had with Maria. The idea that she and Cyborg could ever get together was…amusing at best. She still hadn't have complete control of her power, though she had gained some prowess from the training forced upon her, and things would still blow up at odd times whenever she let one emotion go one way or the other. On top of that Cyborg was the one person that had a few things in common with her and Raven didn't want to jeopardize that one special connection that she had built over the last few years.

"No amused I see. Shame, I think he would be a good match for you. Besides you get along quite well from the looks of it and are even on a hugging basis. I'm sure you don't just let anyone hug you. Besides you looked like you enjoyed it based from the pink on your cheeks when you came in." Tear said flashing his knowing smile and taking a sip from his bottle.

'How can he see all the way to the door in this dim light?' Raven thought.

"I'm a Tanar'ri Di'Candra. I can see in complete darkness." Tear said smiling again.

Raven glared at Tear remembering that he was telepathic too.

"The reason I requested your presence is to set a few things straight. Maria, and Cyborg, may have said a thing or two about you feeling that this is all your fault." Tear paused to take another swig from his bottle-making Raven feel bad. "But don't blame yourself for what you did. You should have seen Maria the first time she saw an imp. She near destroyed the her room trying to blast it stupid creature." Tear chuckled at the memory. "Ironically her favorite pets are imps."

"But you have to forget the past and more on. This is something that will be something worth remembering Di'Candra. You can't change the past. Just leave the past in the past move on. Don't forget about the incident mind you, but move on. This will be an important lesson that should aide you when you take the throne." Tear said seriously.

Raven raised an eyebrow at the thought of her being the Queen of the Nine Hells. She seriously didn't think she would ever sit on the throne and she really didn't want to take power anyway. She knew that there would always be plotting against her and there would be people trying to kill her and so on. Not a pleasant job at all.

"As of right now there are two heirs to the Blood throne. You and your brother, Telir, are in competition with each other as I have told you. The only way there can be a settlement in your split Infernal realm is if one of you is dead. That is why there have been several attacks; Telir has been trying to get rid of you. He is also trying to break through the wards I placed around the Blood Throne. Time is running out on those. My wards are very powerful but old and it will not be very long before he sits on the Blood Throne. Perhaps a year, more if we are fortunate. His control on the symbol of power in the Nine Hells will shore up his support even further. After all, no one wants to fight against the Devil himself." Tear said with a grin. Upon seeing Raven's worried expression he continued on. "Have no fear, Di'Candra. I've taken measures to add to your protection and I'm sure your friends wouldn't let anything happen to you, especially your machine friend. I've spoken to him about a few things and he seemed very protective of you."

Raven flushed slight pink at reference to Cyborg but she kept her face straight, for the most part. However her curiosity was stirred and she wanted to know what the guys had talked about. As if on cue Jacob reentered the room and ushered the young girl out leaving her staring at the closed doors of the sickbay.

FLASHBACK

"Come in Cyborg. Ah, I see you have brought the spirits as well. Good, a drink always makes a conversation go well between men." Tear motioned Cyborg to his bedside and had Jacob pour two shot glasses of vodka. Tear raised his glass and silently toasted Cyborg who politely raised his glass and downed his shot.

Despite being half machine Cyborg's organic body reacted, as he knew it would. He wasn't a drinker though he had proven that he hold his mead from down at the local bars where all the mechanics of the town hung out. Vodka, however, was much stronger then what he was used to and he had a coughing fit long after the liquid had burned its way down his throat.

"Really hits the spot, doesn't it?" Tear asked as he took another shot. Cyborg only nodded in response while he tried to get his coughing under control. "Have another, it will take the cough away." Tear coaxed another shot down Cyborg's hatch and this time Cyborg just gritted his teeth against the power of the alcohol.

"I have a few things I want to talk to you about Cyborg." Tear informed the young hybrid.

Cyborg raised his brow. "And what would that be?" He inquired.

"Time is short and the job is difficult. You are the only suitable candidate and you have a motive to reinforce you."

End of FLASHBACK

Cyborg sat in his room thinking over the things Tear had told him and nursing his bottle. There was a lot of reason in what the aged Tanar'ri had said by Cyborg didn't like it. He could see the case for Robin and Star; they were young and really getting hot together. It was only a matter of time before Robin got her pregnant. Neither of them could do the job then, they'd be too busy being parents. Beast Boy couldn't do it either. There would be too much blood and he was too young. Raven couldn't do it for obvious reasons, which left the metric ton heavyweight of the team as the only real option. Cyborg could deal with that. The logic was perfect but what worried him was the fact that Tear had told him he would have to make a few modifications to his arsenal. Apparently you needed more then a pair of sonic cannons and titanium muscles.

However the modifications seemed odd for the day and age. Tear had expressed his disgust of ranged weapons and had explained the honor in killing. "You have to be able to look into your opponents eyes when you kill him. You do not watch him die, but you have to look at him when you fight."

It seemed that zooming in with his cybernetic eye didn't count because the other wouldn't be able to look him in the eye. The problem was Cyborg wasn't of light build and not made for the swift action of close combat. Yes he had armor plating but one knew just how much of his body he actually had to protect. And Tear had talk about getting him a special metal, Dark Metal; the powerful evil material that could slay even the mighty Tanar'ri, to rebuild him.

This new situation being forced on Raven would make her more at ease with the eminent disbanding of the Titans. I was only a matter of time really. Robin and Starfire would have a family in the future and crime fight was the worst job for a man trying to support a family. Terrible pay, few benefits, very high risk and no one gave a crap about you after a while. Raven would soon be Queen of the Underworld if all went according to Tear's plan and Cyborg was only 9 months until his 20th birthday. That would leave on Beast Boy but him alone wouldn't be enough to protect the city with ever slacking cops. Still Cyborg couldn't blame them. Who wanted to work over time for less pay because that bastard of a president decided to route funding into scaring the nations shitless?

Cyborg laughed bitterly to himself before taking a swing at his bottle only to find it empty. Cyborg got up and head to the sickbay. Tear was asleep, Maria sleeping in a chair next to her father and Jacob reading a paper. None of them flinched as Cyborg retrieved several bottles of vodka. Given his large size and stout constitution it would take quite a bit to get Cyborg to where he wanted to be; hammered and not having to care for once.

Cyborg trudged his way to the living room and mindlessly flipped through the channels nursing his bottles. He was getting old fast, just like Robin. Sure Robin did a lot of hidden work like filing and reporting but Cyborg pulled his weight too. Maintenance in the massive building wasn't easy alone. Being older brother to the entire group wasn't easy either. He always had to be nice and smile for someone. Normally Beast Boy, since Star had Robin and visa versa, and on occasion for Raven.

Raven, everything always came back to that secretive, beautiful, petite girl. 'Did I just use Raven and beautiful in the same line of thought?' Cyborg thought groggily. He looked to his bottle and saw he was half way through his sixth bottle. "How long does it take a guy to get hammered?" Cyborg asked the bottle of vodka. In the background the Tv was blaring and some TV network, naturally owned by the president's buddies, was blaring blatantly bias reports out to the viewing public.

"No wonder this country is so stupid." Cyborg activated his sonic cannon in his left arm and pointed it to his head. He could just go to hell now but then who would take care of the team in the turmoil to come? Cyborg lowered his arm and chugged down the rest of the bottle. It's so hard to play Russian Roulette with a sonic cannon; there's only one chamber.

Raven wandered aimlessly through out the Tower debating one thing; whether or not she should go and ask Cyborg about what Tear had told him. It must have troubled him greatly and concerned her because of the look he had given her and the bottle he had had. Cyborg probably didn't want to talk about it though. In some ways Raven and Cyborg weren't all that different and that is why they had formed a bond. They knew each other the best out of the team and Cyborg seemed like he wanted to be left alone.

Raven wandered into the garage and looked around. Scattered around were several of Cyborg's projects in progress and in the center was his 'baby,' the T-Car II. Raven smiled mildly remembering how she had helped him rebuild it even though she didn't know a thing about mechanics. Cyborg was so nice to her by being patient with her and he had taught her a lot about cars in the process. Raven walked over and ran a hand over the cars' highly polished exterior. Cyborg put so much into the car because that was the closest thing he could ever have to real love. He had told her this once, a long time ago, one late night. In some ways they were alike; neither thought they would get a partner for life and so they had both hidden behind masks. Cyborg had his creations and Raven her dark books though now she would need a new focus in life. Perhaps her short-term focus could be learning to drive. Cyborg had been trying to get her to drive the car she had helped rebuild for months now. It was something that could occupy her and give her some time alone with the eldest of the team to talk to him about Tear, if she could get up the courage.

Raven retreated to her room to get some sleep. Naturally all this thinking about the cybernetic hunk worked its way into her dreams.

A/N: Warning: Hard R below.

Cyborg and Raven were on top of the Tower. They were all alone and enjoying the sunset together. Cyborg leaning back, propping himself up on his elbows staring at Raven who was lost in the colorful display of lights on the horizon.

"It's a pretty sight, isn't it?" Raven asked.

"There's an even better one right here in front of me." Cyborg said, his voice a whisper in her ear.

Raven turned to see that Cyborg had closed the distance between them and now they were looking into each other's eyes. Slowly, very slowly Cyborg closed the distance between their mouths and bushed his lips against hers. Raven gasped and felt her hear flutter at Cyborg's soft touch. Cyborg leaned in and pressed his lips against hers for a moment before he pulled back a little and looked into Raven's eyes searching for a reaction. Raven felt her face flush red but she didn't care. She leapt at Cyborg, grabbed his head and fiercely kissed him. Cyborgs returned the kisses and before Raven knew it Cyborg and her were on her bed making out; hands roaming each other's bodies.

Magically Cyborg didn't have a metallic chest any more and Raven marveled at his broad, chiseled, chocolate torso. Raven ran her hands over his chest purring in delight as he returned the favor. His touch was light and his caress gentle as he explored her lithe body. Just like Cyborg's armor her leotard vanished and Raven didn't feel embarrassed lying beneath Cyborg in all of her glory. He was being so careful and caring not to rush anything and feel of his hands on her bare skin had her head spinning. Cyborg's hands continued their roaming journeys over her body. Sometimes one would stop to caress some part of her but it was just a decoy to keep Raven occupied while another snaked its way down to her thighs. Raven instinctively widened her legs at his coaxing and moaned in pleasure as Cyborg inserted a digit in her…

Raven awoke riding the waves of her dream-induced orgasm. Her breathing was labored and she felt tired even though she had been asleep for the last 8 hours. Raven was completely surprised by the strength of her ride and by the cause of it. Raven lay on her back recovering and reflecting on the dream. She had never had a dream with Cyborg in it. At least not where he was so very intimate with her. Raven blushed thinking of the things he had done in the dream. Just thinking of it made a shiver run down her spine.

Raven smiled enjoying her after glow; she was too relaxed and tired to really care about anything right now. Plus she had the privacy of her room, and her now wet blanket and nightshirt. And it was only 6:30 in the morning, no one was up nor would they be up until 9 or so on a Saturday.

Raven decided to get up and go through her morning routine. After having showered and gotten dress Raven lazily glided into the kitchen to set a kettle on the stove, a small smile playing on her lips. The silence of the morning allowed her to be more open then she would normally be, her defencive wall not erected in her solitude.

After setting the kettle on Raven wandered into the living room to investigate the noise of coming from there. Upon entering the room Raven could see that someone had left the TV on. Some reporter was going on about how another poor soul had been misguided and led to his death in an illegal war in Iraq.

Raven walked around the couch to try and locate the remote to turn off the TV but the sight that met her made her stop and hold her breath. Cyborg was sleeping on the couch, a half dozen empty bottles strewn about him, a seventh bottle half empty in his hand. What really got her attention was the fact that his chest wasn't reflecting the rising sun, as it should be. Instead of cold hard titanium armor plating, an expanse of brown skin met her eyes. It was just as muscular as in her dream and it made her shiver just remembering her dream. Raven swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, absent-mindedly turned off the TV with her powers and sat down on the couch next to Cyborg. Without the lying reporter in the background there was nothing but the sounds of Cyborg calm deep breaths and Raven's slightly faster ones.

Cautiously Raven reached out her hand and eased it towards Cyborg's chest. Her hand looked so small and white against the backdrop of his darker skin and huge body. She really understood now how gentle and careful Cyborg had to be with things. He easily had the power to crush them to pieces.

Raven gently rested her hand against one of Cyborg's pecs. His skin was smooth, just like she had dreamt it to be. Her hand wandered across the flat firm surface until it came up to his cheek. Suddenly Raven's hand was sandwiched against Cyborg's cheek by his hand. He had been watching her the entire time through his cybernetic eye.

"Is this how you wake up guys in the morning?" Cyborg asked using his other arm to shield his eyes from the bright light of the sun. "Or if I had let you go on would I have gotten a kiss?" Cyborg teased.

Raven blushed a deep red and tried to pull her hand back but Cyborg held it firmly against his cheek. Raven looked back very surprised.

"You have a soft touch." Cyborg mumbled almost dreamily as he let go of her hand. Perhaps he was dreaming. Perhaps this was all a dream or he was hammered enough to be hallucinating things.

Raven kept her hand there and placed her other one on his chest. "I didn't know you were so well built." She murmured back gliding her hand over Cyborg's very hard six pack. She didn't know what compelled her to do it but she felt comfortable around Cyborg.

Cyborg chuckled a rumbling chuckle. "Just how many girls do you think have gotten beneath the armor?" Cyborg teased.

Raven blushed a light pink but she smiled back at Cyborg. "I'm guessing quite a few." She teased back.

Cyborg lifted his arm so that he could look her in the eye with his organic one. He decided to go along with her little game to see where it goes. "You're right actually. You know all those nights I go out? Lots of nights with lots of girls." Cyborg replied grinning slyly.

Raven suddenly stopped her hands. For some reason the thought of another girl touching Cyborg really pissed her off.

Cyborg noticed the instant change in her attitude. "Hey Rae, I was just kidding. You're the first." Cyborg blurted out trying to get rid of the look of slight hurt on her face. Raven hid her face behind a curtain of lavender. She had realized what Cyborg had just confessed and Cyborg wasn't too far behind.

Fortunately Cyborg's darker pigment hid the blush he had making him just seem like he was hiding his face with his arm. Knowing things couldn't get any worse Cyborg sat up and reached down in search of his unfinished bottle. He needed a good jump-start this morning to get going. However his sitting up put him very close to Raven's face. She looked right into his eyes and he returned the look. Even though he was lost in her purple whirlpools he could tell she was sporting a light pink on her pale cheeks.

An eternity passed and neither of them moved. Raven still had one hand on his cheek, the other pressed against his chest acting as a minor barrier between the two. The sharp whistling of the kettle in the kitchen brought them both out of their shared trance. They both turned their heads towards the kitchen and Raven cursed her tea for once. Looking into Cyborg's rich colored eye had been very relaxing and comforting.

Lost in thought Raven didn't notice Cyborg lean in until he was already kissing her forehead. "What was that for?" Raven asked searching Cyborg's eye for a clue.

"For waking me up so nicely. I could get used to that you know." Cyborg teased Raven who just battered her eyes at him and ran her hand along his jaw line. "I promise I won't tell the gang that you hit on sleeping guys if you don't tell them that I went on a drinking binge last night." Cyborg said even as he leaned into her palm.

Raven nodded in agreement. She had to admit that touching Cyborg's body was really getting to her and she didn't trust herself to speak at the moment for fear that she would make a noise that would be interpreted wrongly. But being the cunning girl that she was she did come up with a blackmail move to use on the black male member of the team. "Fine, but you have to tell me why you decided to get hammered or else I'll tell Robin and Beast Boy…" Raven trailed off smiling. She knew that guys were very, very touchy around that particular subject, more so than girls.

Cyborg looked at her and chuckled. He actually chuckled at her and this had Raven taken back. She was expecting a demand, a plea, perhaps some begging for mercy but Cyborg was laughing at her. He leaned in real close and forced Raven onto her back so that he was hovering over her. "I'm willing to bet money, and you know I don't bet money, that the guys are in the dame boat so that's no threat. Plus I know you are too…" Cyborg kissed her forehead again and got up without staggering. His electronic side was taking care of things for him and he went off to the kitchen to dispose of the bottles and go to his room for his morning routine.

Raven lay in the couch mortified that Cyborg knew that fact about her. She was trying to rack her brains to think of how he could possibly know that when it hit her. It was now 6 months back when Tir'eir had demanded the blood of a virgin and both of the girls had stepped up. 'Curse his positron memory core.' Raven thought bitterly. She didn't have the leverage she had hoped and she still didn't know what was bothering Cyborg and that bothered her.

A/N: The LockDown lives! I'm back though I'm still pissed off at that genocide sponsoring, dictator-supporting nation.

Well, well. A pair of new people watching this and 13 reviews this chapter alone. I love you guys and you must love the story since you decided it was worth 139 reviews.

Terra Basher: In Georgia, the legal marriage age is 12, according to my sources. You can get married underage if your guardian also signs the papers. Plus these guys are superheroes plus I'm making them turn 18 soon. So not too bad over all. Plus they're in love. Who can deny love? But I can make them not get married if you want…

And there should be a part of the sight that explains all this crude to people. I spent a whole year surfing around trying to figure things out. A cliffhanger is when the author cuts the chapter at the climax or when something big just happened leaving you hanging, thus the name cliffhanger or cliffy. And OC is an Original Character such as Tear, Maria or Jacob, who don't appear in the series. OOC is for Out Of Character meaning the characters won't be like in the show or manga. Fluff is just a soft tender moment between people. One Shot is a one-time fic that ends in that chapter. Slash normally means guy on guy (m/m) while femslash is girl on girl (f/f). Sometimes capital letters are used to distinguish adults from kids like M/f or m/F. WIP is for Work In Progress. I have no idea about WAFF. If there are any more just ask.

JuniorBins: I'm back and here was a super sized chapter. I hope you liked it and that it is still worthy of being a fav fic. There have been some changes in the plot as I think you can see.

meditation6: I know what is going through you mind. You're screaming "LockDown you &#(&!#&#&(!&!$#&!&(!#&!()!#)$(!#&$!()!(&)$#!&()!&)!#&(!#)&(! You're conversation between Tear and Raven SUCKED !&#!!!(&&(! and now I want to know about Cyborg!"

SweetBlyss: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I hope to impress in the future and hope you keep it up.

Voltor: Sorry for the delay. I hope I made up for it with the bigger chapter. If not, well, blame Los Estatos Unidos y los idiotos blancos! SHHH! You can't say VOTE KERRY! or else you will be visited by the FBI, CIA, NIA and all those other 3 lettered guys will come and bust your ass for being "Anti American." My god the people of the country are stupid to vote away the 4th, habious corpus, and still you don't get this is just like the Red Scare of the 60's and Bush just wants to get over the Vietnam Syndrome and he KNEW the attacks were coming. In fact I am proud to say I was called "Anti American" for being a patriot. But to hell with it, I won't belong to that place for much longer. Besides, yelling anti-Bush slogans is the only way to be an American and survive in the world outside the US of BOO!

Samster the Hamster: I still laugh looking at your sign in name. Thanks for the review and tell me what you think of Raven in this one.

Willow182: Wow another RaeCy supporter. Or at least one who tolerates them… And yes Robin proposed. You're very supportive of the move not questioning their ages. More Robin and Star is coming up, I just have to think of how to break the joyful new to the guys without killing anyone (BB) from the shock. Tell me when you update and I'll have another look.

Fuzzy: I have gleamed on thing I think. I'm pretty sure you are a girl since you noted that I am a male that doesn't cuss. Well not much. I'm with that old quote about cussing being invented out of lack of intellect. There's always another way to express yourself. And things change. Plots change. I'm a new convert and I'll admit it. Besides I had some things planned that made it better if Tear and Raven weren't romantically involved.

Athena884: Maybe next time I should do to Zeus instead of you. At least there wasn't a long drawn out legal battle with the democrats running away like whipped dogs. Well at least Hades will be satisfied. Bush is sending lots of men across the Styx daily.

Kasuma: Domo arigato. Thanks for the high praise and I hope you continue reading.

BlackShield: Hope you liked this major concentration on Cyborg and Raven. Yes Tear has plans and he told them to Cyborg. I wonder what they are… Qué es "Vateva." No comprendo. Well since we're leaving presents for each other here's one; Veni, Vidi, Vici.

Dark Shadow31: Ever faithful I see. I could actually use information about fallen angels if that is within your realm of knowledge.

Lucifer: The Father of Lies, the Dark One, the Devil, and Satan. All aliases for the same person. Robin's proposal wasn't the greatest thing in the world but it was my first proposal. Plus I tried to make his reasons clear. But hell, this is fan fiction and Robin has been married to Star a half dozen times at least.

LockDown over and out…