Mind Games
Falling Star
Could this get any more confusing!
Robin clasped the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger pensively, sighing in frustration. They've been at this for hours now…
"OK," he said, forming yet another sort of theory about the past events in his mind, "let me get this straight."
Raven looked up in a bored manner at the other three Titans, who were all, basically, trying to figure out whether or not she was insane. They went through yesterday's events thoroughly for hours now, ever since she found the invitation from the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
They now established themselves in the living room, tired of the sweaty, non-meditative atmosphere the gym had provided.
"Raven," Robin began. The blue-clad girl stared attentively in his direction. "You said you were at the Jump City Hospital yesterday visiting Bryan…"
"Right," she confirmed.
"…at the same time we said that we saw what you did to Beast Boy."
"Mmm-hmm."
"You were supposedly returning from the hospital about five minutes after we saw what you did with Beast Boy."
"Yes."
"…and you know for a fact that your powers couldn't have allowed you to be in two places at once."
"Right."
"Okay, then. It's settled!" Robin said, sitting up straight, his hands clapped together.
"Wait…what do you mean it's settled?" Cyborg asked. "What've we got?"
"…Nothing," the Boy Wonder scowled.
"Yet again foiled by misconceptions," Starfire frowned.
The four Titans joined in a collective sigh of utter confusion, and then, a momentary silence.
"…So…" Cyborg said, fiddling his thumbs for lack of anything better to do, "anyone up for pizza?"
Robin, Starfire, and Raven looked at each other and nodded in answer, getting up resolutely, and filing out of the Tower.
Fifteen minutes at the Pizza Parlor traditionally led the Titans to half a tray of plain cheese pizza, as well as their second refill on soda.
Minus Beast Boy, the Titans had half a tray of pepperoni pizza left, their second soda refill, and something to discuss other than pizza toppings…
"Any word on BB's condition?" Cyborg said, picking up the conversation left at the Tower through his mouthful of an all-meat experience.
Robin swallowed a bite of his pizza, and responded, "No. No word from the hospital yet. I'm assuming they're still running tests on him or something."
He took a sip of soda through his straw, and looked around at his comrades at the table:
Cyborg, typically enjoying every morsel of pepperoni that entered his mouth; Starfire, studying the parlor's menu whilst taking small bites of her slice of pizza…
He turned to look at the cloaked torso that belonged to Raven, who was simply stirring her soda with a straw since the Titans arrived at their favorite lunch locale.
A pang of sympathy jabbed at Robin's stomach as he studied the powerful, slender, and frail figure that deliberately sat at his right.
He felt for her…he really did. In fact, the Boy Wonder would have been lying if he denied ever relating to Raven's situation.
Granted, there was the fact that Robin knew what he was doing when he reluctantly agreed to become Slade's apprentice, and he was hurting the Titans to save them. But neither of them had ever even imagined hurting their friends…their family…
And Raven…she didn't know what was going on…
No one did.
He would be there for her, though. Ever since the team was created, Raven never gave Robin a reason to doubt or disbelieve her. And ever since the team was created, Raven had thrown all of her support and belief in her four new friends.
He wasn't going to let her down now. He would believe and support her just like she always did for him…for all of the Titans. After all, birds of a feather…
Robin quickly dropped his thoughts as he realized that he was spacing out on the poor girl's body.
Slumped over, quiet…he wondered if the conversation regarding Beast Boy disturbed her in anyway…
"Hey, Raven?" he said when he found his voice, putting what he hoped was a comforting gloved hand on her arm.
The Gothic teenager jumped at the simple gesture, and trailed her eyes from where the leader's hand touched her to his masked face.
"This talk…about what happened yesterday…is it stopping you from enjoying yourself?"
Raven heaved a sigh. "The only reason I shouldn't be enjoying myself is because I don't know what happened."
Robin looked to Cyborg and Starfire, who were both studying their hooded friend.
"Raven, dear friend," Starfire cooed, "none of us have knowledge as to what happened yesterday. Why, it is even possible that our own imaginations were working against us! None of us has sufficient enough information to know yesterday's occurrences for a fact. You must not distress yourself so much."
"That doesn't cut it," Raven snapped in a patient tone, shaking off Robin's arm and halting her stirring. "You all aren't the reason Beast Boy is hospitalized right now. I am. And something happened with my powers that got him that way. It was three pairs of eyes against one, and that window didn't shatter twice by itself…you guys have to be right. I just…the whole thing's so confusing."
"Agreed," Cyborg said. "But that doesn't mean we can't get through it. We're the Titans, and we're gonna do like we promised. We're gonna get through this, and we're gonna do so as a team."
Raven nodded, secretly appreciative of their support. She turned from Cyborg's face to the road, just about to say something when Robin added onto Cyborg's piece.
"And to be able to solve what's going on as a team, we need knowledge. We know our end of the story, but Raven, every and anything you remember from your visit with Bryan is gold. We need to know what happened there from when you first walked in to when you – "
"It'll have to wait," Raven interrupted, standing up and acknowledging the road directly across the street from them. The other Titans looked to where she was pointing at the exact moment that a parked taxicab collided with an office building across the street.
Jump City civilians everywhere, including the Pizza Parlor, started running and screaming like their lives depended on it.
A high-pitched cackle was heard – the holder of the voice unseen – as an army of thin, green lasers tackled the already damaged taxi, making it explode in it's location seconds later. The voice then mumbled somewhat victoriously about some indiscernible 'snot munching'.
"Gizmo," Starfire whispered, her jaw and fists both clenched.
"Team," Robin ordered, getting on the parlor's ledge, ready to jump, "search the premises for whoever's behind this. I'm thinking the H.I.V.E.. Find them. Take them down." The other three team members nodded in understanding. "TEEN TITANS, GO!"
And with that, Robin started jumping the rooftops, Starfire flew into action with Cyborg, and Raven levitated a few yards back.
Sure enough, Mammoth – running along side two pairs of spider-like legs with Gizmo on top – was identified as the one responsible for the taxicab's sudden crash, while the boy genius was the one behind the car's explosion.
Starfire sped towards them, sending Cyborg to the ground where he engaged in a fistfight with the strongest H.I.V.E. member.
The alien girl then flew up and around Gizmo repeatedly, as he tried and failed in his attempts to shoot her down with various lasers and missiles.
Her distraction worked. As she was flying circles around the little villain, Robin lashed out several bird-a-rangs, a few of which cut straight into one of the four spider legs Gizmo was controlling. And now, try as he might, the boy couldn't maintain his control over all four legs again, sending him toppling down…
But amidst all of the chaos that was just starting to ensue, one H.I.V.E. member was missing…
Where was Jinx?
Raven's thought was soon answered when a pink-haired witch hurled herself onto the dark girl's back, the sudden pressure making the Titan lose her balance in the air, dropping both females onto the asphalt.
The sorceress had an evil grin playing across her lips as she looked into the eyes of the Goth she had pinned down. "Well…it seems to be our lucky day. Only four Titans to destroy."
"Two-and-a-half against four?" Raven smirked. "I like those odds." She freed one of her legs and rammed it into Jinx's stomach, sending her flying a few yards to the side, where she clasped her abdominal region.
Recovering, the villainess charged at her foe, only to have to stop herself from crashing headlong into a wall, seeing as Raven had side stepped to avoid the impact of her body again.
Furious, Jinx pelted the pavement with her powers. Each wave of pink missed Raven, as she glided in zigzags away from harm.
Finally, the witch unleashed a huge burst of pink energy on the asphalt, making the tar split apart and collide upward in a trail to Raven's hover spot slightly above ground. The psychic raised herself a little bit higher, avoiding the elevated tar completely.
Raven smirked victoriously…a little too soon.
Jinx had used her powers in a place where a sewer traveled under the road; therefore, sending high amounts of sewer water spurting up unexpectedly where Raven situated herself, causing her to fly backwards into a wall…
Gizmo betrayed his damaged spider leg gear, and replaced it with mechanical bat-like wings, as he flew past the Tamaranean who was attacking the air surrounding him with neon green starbolts.
The shortest H.I.V.E. member decided to retaliate, and turning around, faced Starfire as he flew backwards, shooting missiles and lasers in her direction as she interweaved through the air, dodging them.
"I do not wish to harm you!" she said, though her eyes were ablaze.
Gizmo gave her look of contempt. "Aww…how sweet. Sorry if I don't return the feeling!"
At once, he expelled an assortment of beams through the air to surround the alien girl, cackling at the frightened look in her eyes before a dense fog set in around her. As the smoke from the projectiles cleared, Gizmo's confident smile of satisfaction vanished upon seeing Starfire hovering in her exact spot – unmoved, untouched, unharmed.
The girl charged at Gizmo, green energy glowing threateningly in her hands. The boy genius dodged it, however, grinning maniacally, as he shot further into the air. "Going up!"
But rather than continue her cat-and-mouse chase, Starfire maintained her position in the air wearing a smug expression on her face as a deeper voice corrected him. "Going down."
Gizmo looked up in surprise. "Huh?"
Robin appeared before him, apparently awaiting his arrival on a nearby rooftop.
With one stroke of his bo-staff, Gizmo's technological backpack started malfunctioning, making the boy plunge to the Jump City streets, screaming for lack of knowing what to do.
Starfire flew downwards swiftly to his rescue, catching him by the scruff of the neck right before he hit the ground.
Gizmo looked at the alien girl who saved him with a bewildered look, before he attempted to flee the scene by foot. He didn't get far; Robin threw several ice disks in his direction, freezing his body up to his waist.
The Tamaranean looked back up at Robin and smiled. He gave a smile of his own, saluted her, and took off to help Cyborg via grappling hook…
He was strong, but he was slow…
That was Mammoth's weakness, Cyborg discovered, seeing as the hairy gargantuan did nothing but keep up at his offensive attacks, while the half-robot tried and succeeded in dodging every jab.
Let's just end this now.
Cyborg whipped out his sonic cannon, but not before Mammoth gave one last attempt to punch him – and succeeded – swiping him right across the head.
Cyborg stumbled from the pressure, trying to aim, but his vision blurred…
"I'm finishing this," Jinx informed her foe with malice, rubbing her head where Raven had just mauled her with a few rocks.
"I'd like to see you try," Raven said, her hands at the ready.
Jinx charged at her, jumping in the air for a spinning kick.
"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!" Raven chanted, telekinetically grasping her enemy's foot. She was stopped in mid air.
"Huh!" Jinx looked down at her leg, encased in a black aura. "Ergh!" she growled, clutching her leg, and trying to pull it out of Raven's hold.
The psychic looked around; Cyborg was fighting quite near her, getting as equally hurt as Mammoth was.
"This is finished," Raven confirmed. "But Cyborg will be more than happy to see you finish that!"
"Wuh ?" was all Jinx had time to say, before she was thrown quite a yards distance away, slamming into Mammoth, and making them both topple over.
"Thanks, Rae!" Cyborg said, giving her a thumbs-up.
The Goth merely looked at him and shrugged.
It took a while, but the H.I.V.E. were finally in a position to the Titans' advantage – in the middle of the four-way street, perfect enough room for one Titan to block each road.
The H.I.V.E. members stood up, and looked around at the vigilantes surrounding them.
"We're not through with you pit sniffers, yet!" a thawed out Gizmo smirked.
"So you guys still haven't learned your lesson?" Robin questioned. "That's fine. We're ready."
"Let's try your luck with a new attack, then," Jinx said, as she and the other two H.I.V.E. members took on a stance. "Attack pattern – "
"Beta!"
Jinx looked around in alarm for the person who called the attack name with her…a female…
She looked to Raven, who was smirking mischievously. "Jinx, knock on wood," she said, telekinetically throwing a wood board her way, the impact making her nemesis fly into a wall.
The two remaining H.I.V.E. members still took on their stance.
"Titans, finish them!" Robin ordered, but not before being stopped by Mammoth, who, in a last ditch attempt, bashed the middle of the street with his fists, making the pavement split into two entirely separate entities.
And that's when it happened.
Raven squinted her eyes…she couldn't be sure…
There, on the corner across the street from her was a wheelchair…
And not just a wheelchair. There was a boy sitting in it…features so familiar…and a hospital attendant at his side…
Bryan?
But what was he doing out of the hospital!
He should be in there feeling better…away from this chaos and danger…and danger. Raven simply looked there staring wide-eyed.
No!
"Do anything, Bird Boy," Mammoth warned, "and it'll be the end of her."
He pointed to Starfire, who was the only Titan on the H.I.V.E.s side of the street.
"Wha ?" the Tamaranean said, before Gizmo catapulted onto her back, holding her mouth shut.
"Get your hands off of her!" Robin shouted.
"Um…how about, no," Gizmo cackled, as Mammoth took the alien girl captive under his gigantic build.
"Release him, at once," Raven demanded, her eyes starting to change into their magnificent white glow.
Mammoth blinked. "'Him'? You mean her? Not a chance."
"Then you'll have to deal with us," Raven said. "Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!"
Mammoth and Gizmo were blown away from the gigantic release of energy, precisely at the same spot where Jinx was hurled. "Oh…no…" she whimpered, before having a good ton of human weight burying her.
Raven raced over to the undamaged Tamaranean.
"Raven!" she greeted joyously.
"What were you thinking!" the dark girl demanded of her friend.
Starfire chose her words carefully. "I am most certain I was thinking I could 'kick the bu – '"
"You can't."
Starfire cocked her head to a side.
"Bryan, you've got cancer, you should be in the hospital right now getting better, not over here where you could easily get hurt!"
What the hell was he doing outside of the freaking hospital!
Again, the alien questioned her friend. "Bryan? Who is this Bryan? And you are very much mistaken, Raven. I am not a 'cancer'. In fact, my zodiac sign is that of a – "
"Oh great, amnesia, too?" Raven scoffed. "Look, you shouldn't be here. You should be back at the hospital."
"I…should?" Starfire blinked.
"Yes!"
"But…I was merely helping…" she offered, being interrupted again.
"No," Raven said. "We can handle it. You need to go back to the hospital."
Robin and Cyborg looked from the girls to each other. Clearly, the females had no idea that the H.I.V.E. were charging back their way. The boys took it into their own hands, then, and charged back at their enemies.
"But I am a part of this team!" a confused Starfire protested.
"No you're not!"
"I am so!"
"Bryan – "
"I am NOT Bryan!"
"Oh, please."
"Raven, I must be persistent in saying that you are confusing me with another individual!"
The telepathic sighed. "Look. We'll just get you back to the hospital, and…"
"I. Belong. Here," Starfire said, clenching her fists.
Raven stared at her hard. "Alright. I guess I'll just have to take matters into my own hands."
And with that, Raven grabbed hold of the person she presumed to be Bryan.
"What – ? Raven! Release me, now!" Starfire whined, squirming in Raven's grip.
"You'll thank me later, Bryan. You shouldn't be playing out here when you need to get better."
"I AM NOT BRYAN!" the furious alien said, loosening a hand and shooting a starbolt at her friend.
Not expecting this, Raven was knocked back into the diminished taxicab that started the entire fight. The Titan got up from the pile of auto parts, soaked in oil, rubbing her head.
The H.I.V.E. and two male Titans abruptly stopped their fight to see what the huge crash was, and gasped when they saw Raven recovering from a blow, and Starfire huffing – obviously the one who delivered the injury.
The anger in Starfire's eyes faded just as quickly as it came. Upon seeing what she did, the girl quickly rushed to her friend, extremely apologetic.
"Oh, Raven! I am so sorry! Please forgive me! I never meant to do that! To hurt you! I !"
Raven waved her hand quickly in Starfire's direction, emitting a stream of black energy that wrapped itself around the redhead's neck.
"What the hell is your problem?" Raven said slowly, a hint of malice in her voice.
"Please, Raven. I didn't not mean to take such actions!"
"THAT'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH!" she said, rage now flooding her entire system.
The alien cringed.
"Where's Bryan?"
"…Bryan?"
"I saw him before you hit me," Raven informed her.
"But, Raven. You – "
"I don't. Want. Explanations. Where is Bryan Spencer?" she commanded.
"Simply liberate me from your grasp and I will – "
"ENOUGH!" her temper taken to it's extremity, Raven slammed her friend against a nearby brick wall.
Starfire whimpered. "Raven, please!"
"I am going to ask you one more time. Why did you hit me, and where is Bryan?"
"I don't know," she faltered.
"NONSENSE!" Again Raven slammed Starfire into the wall.
The alien howled in pain now. "Raven! You are making a mistake!"
The Gothic teenager smirked evilly.
"Um…for the record…exactly whose side is she on?" Gizmo asked from a distance.
Raven removed Starfire from the wall once more for another slam.
"NO! Raven! Please, stop!" the Tamaranean pleaded.
She couldn't take it anymore. With the last word, tears flooded Starfire's eyes…uncontrollable, unfaltering tears.
The girl was terrified. There was only one other time she had seen Raven act this way…
Yesterday…Beast Boy.
"Is that supposed to move me?" Raven inquired sarcastically, her eyes glowing red.
"Raven! That's enough!" Robin interjected, coming a bit closer to the action.
"But I'm not through with her yet," she stated.
"Well, in our opinion," Cyborg stated, preparing his laser cannon, "your time is up!"
The two Titan boys ran up to Raven and Starfire, while the former girl tried to keep them both away.
"NO! YOU WILL NOT INTERFERE!" she demanded in a demonic tone of voice.
"Raven, you don't know what you're doing!" Robin panted, dodging the telepathic energy that came their way.
"One more step, Bird Boy," Raven warned, making the Boy Wonder stop. "One more step, and it'll be the last step you ever take."
Robin smirked. "Now's not my time to go."
At once, as if on cue, Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, hitting Raven directly in her gut, causing her hold on Starfire to diminish.
The alien girl hit the asphalt hard, and Robin ran to her, irked at the entire event.
"Starfire? Star, are you okay?" he said, worry engulfing his vocal chords.
She looked at him in a dazed way. "Hospital," was all she said before she fainted…
Cyborg dashed to Raven's side, somewhat hesitantly. She was rubbing her stomach in the place where Cyborg's laser cannon hit it.
"Sorry about that," he said, offering her his hand.
Raven nodded, taking it without thinking. Soon enough, she found herself trying to escape the headlock her half-robot teammate had put her in.
"Cyborg! What are you doing? Let me go!"
"Not until you explain to me what you did to Star."
"Starfire! I didn't do anything to Starfire!" Raven protested. "What is the meaning of this!"
"Yes you did do something to Star, Raven, don't mess around," he ordered, keeping his grip on her head.
"Cyborg…I don't know what you're talking about!" she said. "Now let me go!"
Cyborg took her out of the headlock and firmly placed his hands on her shoulders. Raven looked at his hands, and then studied his face.
Cyborg removed her hood, and looked at her intently, as if searching for the truth. "Rae?"
"Yes," Raven said, as if it was obvious who she was.
Cyborg continued to study her features. "Are you telling me you don't remember anything you just did?"
Raven stayed silent.
"Girl, we were fighting the H.I.V.E.," he told her, hoping to jog her memory.
"The H.I.V.E.?" she said, going wide-eyed. "Where are they?" she looked around, preparing to fight.
Cyborg looked around as well, his grip not easing on her shoulders. "Hmm…Guess they left when they saw what you did."
"'What I did'?" Raven repeated. "What do you mean, 'what I – '"
Raven looked up at him, paralyzed – as though something became clear. "Starfire," she whispered. "…I didn't."
"You did."
"No," she said. "When?"
"…Just now, Raven." He turned her around, so she could see the damage she inflicted.
A dented brick inlay…Starfire's body rested unconsciously with Robin, as he sat with his back against the wall, just finished calling the ambulance.
Raven felt her breath hitch up in her throat…
"But…oh," she said, finally remembering a bit of the fight. "She hit me first."
"Yeah, but then you went all…I dunno…" he trailed off.
Raven looked back at him, stunned, shaking her head, as though the entire scene was impossible.
"Rae," Cyborg said, his features softening in a mixture of confusion and sympathy, "what the hell is going on with you?"
Raven went back to staring at Starfire's limp body as it rested against their leader's chest. "I wish I knew, Cyborg. I really wish I knew."