Chapter 9: "Fate?"
Things calmed after Malchior was forced to retreat from Titan Tower. Though the Titans remained wary and followed Robin's general plan to stay prepared for Slade or Malchior's return, they were able to relax back into a fairly normal life… for them anyway. Raven spent her free time for over a week researching a viable book to curse Malchior back into, none of them aware of the dread dragon's fate at Slade and Trigon's hands.
Rith further proved himself a very helpful member of the team as they handled a few common crooks. He often teamed up with Cyborg or Raven, amplifying each other's powers for various effects. The blind boy gained a new respect for Starfire's skills when she rescued him after a nasty sonic-shock to his senses, flying him out of a collapsing crane's path before he was crushed. He treated her to one of her favorite Tamaranian dishes that night, and apparently he did a very good job, because she mentioned something about it being 'as good as her dear Gizorksnatch made it'. Rith was glad she seemed to like it, but didn't bother to get into the exact nature of a 'gizorksnatch'.
Two weeks after Malchior was sent packing, the Titans were on a mission to deal with a gang of high-tech thieves. The trouble alert had come in from a security electronics company, and the Titans were on the scene in minutes. The rather large gang was spread out on several levels of the corporate building, forcing the Titans to split up to avoid losing most of the crooks when they moved in.
Starfire flew up behind a handful of them as they tried to cut into a thick security vault. They were all dressed in black suits with red visors, only twisting around when green light filled the room around them, Starfire's eyes and fists glowing. "You should not steal this equipment. Please stand down." Her warning was a bit weakened by her sincerely pleading tone and adorable voice.
Snide in his response, the group leader nodded at her. "Let 'er have it!"
Two of them threw black spheres at Starfire, and she braced back, assuming them to be explosives. They did explode, but gray goo engulfed her, sticking to the ceiling and floor. The thieves chuckled amongst themselves, just starting to turn back to their work, when the goo ruptured with green light, and burst apart, splattering the walls as Starfire loomed up in the dispersing power, her expression quite firm this time as her glowing fists waited down on either side. "I did try to warn you." Her arms jerked back, and she unleashed a wave-blast of star-energy, ramming the men back into the wall. She let her hands down and her eyes fade as they slipped to the floor, unconscious. Pulling out her communicator, she activated it. "Starfire here. Top level secure."
"Great work, Star," Robin replied, obviously busy with some activity himself. "Come down and help us out if you can!"
"Gladly!"
The comm shut off, and Robin ducked a swipe from a glowing, red, energy rod wielded by another thief. Two others were still hacking into the computer behind the fighting thief as Robin was kept busy. With gritted teeth, the boy wonder finally leapt out, batting the energy-staff down, and slammed his left boot into the thief's mask. The man grunted, flung back onto the ground, and Robin snapped his arms down from his shoulders as he landed, his cape flaring as cryodiscs flew out, exploding with weaker charges near the other two thieves, freezing them in place. They struggled, shouting complaints, but Robin smirked and dusted his hands off one another. "Stay frosty, the cops will be right here to pick you up."
Whipping out his communicator as he ran to the stairs, the masked hero continued, "Titans, level twelve secure. Report!"
Raven's voice came back, her usual dry humor coming through, "The rest of us have pushed the main group onto level seven. They have just enough toys to be annoying."
Robin smirked. "Got it. Star and I should be there in a few seconds! Robin out!"
Raven let the comm shut off, and floated to her right, a red blast shooting past her as several thieves flitted through various super-computers, firing with energy guns or throwing various offensive devices at her, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Rith. Trying to avoid destroying the valuable computers was keeping both sides of the conflict rather impaired. Cyborg ducked a blaster bolt, and ran up to Beast Boy, the pair of them on the left side of the super-computer network in the center of the large room, Rith at the back, Raven the front, the right wall solid with no exits. "We gotta get in at them, force 'em out. B, you think you can pull it off?"
Beast Boy grinned as he warped back to himself from a wolf. "Dude, I was born for this stuff! Just watch me work the magic…" he struck a pose, and then warped into a spider, quickly scuttling into the computer area.
Cyborg just shook his head, ducked another bolt, and fired a warning shot down a row of computers, not really aiming to hit anything except the far wall. Raven narrowed her glowing eyes as she caught one thief leaning out from cover. He jerked with surprise when his gun turned black, snapped out of his hands, and whacked him across the head before both hit the ground. Rith, for his part, knew exactly where they all were, but could do little to attack them without damaging the computers themselves. He did give sharp sonic blows to several thieves as they popped out from cover, but they recovered quite quickly. It just wasn't doing much good.
Beast Boy, still a spider, dropped down on one thief's head, who jerked, swiped at his head with his hands until one of the others pointed at him. "It's just a bug, man, keep shooting!"
"Bug?" the victim yelled, and suddenly ran out from cover, screaming as he wildly whacked at his own head.
He was cut short by a metal arm clothes-lining him as he ran out of the network area, Beast Boy leaping off and reforming to share a grin with Cyborg. "One down!"
Robin and Starfire shot into the room that moment. "Holed up, huh?" the team leader asked quickly, landing beneath Raven.
The dark girl remained gravely floating, her eyes sharp beneath her hood's shadow. "Yep. It might take a while to pick them all off."
Rith of course could hear all of this, and he finally smirked a little. "Robin," he modified his voice, making it generate out of the air near Robin's ear, "have a smoke-bomb handy?"
Robin smirked. "You have to ask?" He already had a particular blast-disc in his hand. "What do you need?" He spoke at normal volume, knowing Rith would hear. Starfire was backing Cyborg up, shooting warning shots down the alleys between the computers.
"Central blast, cover the network area itself. I'll make them scatter, and we'll all pick 'em off."
Robin braced down with a confident smile. "Sounds good. Where's Beast Boy?"
Another thief ran out, struggling with a green spider monkey, until Starfire bopped him on the head, and she and Beast Boy gave their leader the thumbs-up.
"Rith, now!" Robin shouted, tossing the blast disc high above the computers, where it exploded, gray smoke filling the center of the room almost immediately.
Inside the smoked-out network, the thieves braced, waiting for it to dissipate.
"Get out of here!"
"Where? Why?"
A scream sounded, the thieves starting to freak out.
"Where's Don?"
"He's gone man, I can'-" the voice vanished.
"Jake? What's going on!"
One of the thieves was shivering, and he finally dropped his gun and ran. "Get the heck out of here! They're gone man!"
"No, stick together! We just have to-!"
"Boss? Aw that's it. RUN!"
The thieves started dashing out of the smoke-ridden computer area, stumbling down in front of the waiting Titans on each side. Robin and Starfire smiled calmly down at the leader as he finally stumbled out onto the floor. The boy wonder simply crossed his arms. "We'll accept your surrender for the cops now."
Just a half-hour later, the Titans were walking back into their tower, though Starfire remained floating, and were sharing humor over the successful mission. Robin looked over to Rith, who was simply smiling at the happy voices all around him. "Rith, that was some technique you pulled off. What exactly were you doing?"
The blind boy chuckled faintly as he moved with his staff. "I just cut off a few voices here, added some screams there, made them panic with sounds from nothing."
"It was really effective. Less violence was needed to take out a dangerous gang."
Rith was blushing a bit, Raven glancing at him sidelong with a faint smile of her own as they all kept walking. The boy scratched the back of his head. "Just helping out, like everyone else…"
Robin grinned back. "I know, but I'm serious. You're a real asset to the team, Rith. I'm glad you've decided to stay."
Cyborg stepped up, patting Rith on the back of the shoulder. The half-robotic boy's strength made Rith almost fall over even so, but both were smiling. "He's right, Rith, my man. Don't dis your own skills." He moved around him with a light wave. "I'm gonna go tweak the T-Car in my workshop. Y'all take care."
Raven gave them others a faint smile again. "I better go continue my research. I don't want to make a foolish mistake next time Malchior shows up." She floated off.
Rith was left with a fond smile as she left, leaving Robin, Starfire, and Beast Boy to share a knowing grin of their own. They remained silent on the matter as he made his way to his own room, however. Once he was out of sight, Starfire giggled. "It is most adorable how Rith responds to Raven. They are very good friends!"
Beast Boy grinned. "You're right. It's nice to see Raven relax, even with all this craziness going down. I'm really glad he came along."
Robin nodded. "Exactly. Come on, Beast Boy, let's play some Game-Station. I didn't have to wear myself out taking down thieves." The three of them laughed as Starfire was happy to follow them up to the living room.
(Later…)
"I can fly myself after you. I feel bad taking your seat," Rith attempted once more. It was a few days later, and the Titans were gathered in the tower's garage, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy already in the T-Car, Rith standing near it with Robin and Cyborg. He was addressing the leader as he donned his helmet and slipped one leg over his motorcycle.
Robin smirked. "Don't worry about it Rith. I haven't gotten a chance to ride for a few nights anyway. Enjoy the ride yourself."
Cyborg grinned. "No kidding, you'll get to relax with the sound system you helped me tweak instead of testing it for once!"
Rith chuckled lightly, finally nodding to the half-metal young man. "Fair enough. I appreciate it." Walking to the car, he looked inside. "Would one of you like the front passenger seat, though?"
Cyborg slipped into the driver seat as Beast Boy grinned. "I wouldn't mind, dude!"
The blind boy just smiled as Beast Boy climbed into the front passenger seat, Starfire scooted into the center of the back, and Rith got in opposite Raven. Cyborg started the car, Robin revved his cycle, and they took off, soon reaching a main road. Rith settled his staff down beside his leg, one end resting on his shoulder thanks to the angle. Though pleasant, his new friends were a bit somber at the purpose of the team trip. They were visiting Terra. Rith had been reading up on the records Cyborg and Robin kept in the tower's computer, so he knew the basic facts of Terra's story, and could gather that Beast Boy had a particular affinity for her.
As calm and emotionally cool as Rith was most of the time, he sympathized with Terra's situation. Thinking on how she had suffered from a bad combination of factors, he let his head loll faintly toward the window as Cyborg let some fun, light music play on his mastered stereo system. He, Beast Boy, and Starfire started playing a game, spotting letters or numbers on cars they passed by, but Raven took the chance to glance over at Rith silently, Starfire leaning forward with eagerness. The cloak-clad, staff-toting boy seemed very thoughtful, a touch sad, and unusually passive. She wanted to talk to him, ask him what he was thinking about, but the situation in the car made it difficult tactfully. Having to talk across Starfire about obviously personal matters was simply too awkward to bother.
Less than a half-hour later, Cyborg pulled the car to a stop near a dirt path, Robin's cycle moaning to a halt nearby. The Titans got out of and off their respective vehicles, gathering in a group before heading down the path. Beast Boy was carrying some fresh flowers, which further demonstrated to Rith how uniquely the green shape-shifter cared for the lost girl. The group remained unusually quiet as they entered the cave. Rith kept himself aware of their surroundings, falling back to the rear of the procession.
Raven let herself pull back near him as well, and spoke in a low whisper. "You alright?"
He was touched by her concern, smiling gently with raised eyebrows, but simply nodded. "Sympathetic. I was close to suffering the same fate as Terra, but I met with aid when it mattered most."
The purple-haired girl grew gently curious. "How do you mean… if I may?"
Rith shrugged gently. "I was taken in by a kind and disciplined old man. He taught me how to control myself, and thus my power and my body. I was sent on many journeys by him, to gain experience of the world, and finally, some years ago, he let me head out for good."
Raven's expression remained softened from her usual calm focus. "Do you miss him?"
Rith gave another soft nod. Raven realized what it probably meant, but they had just reached Terra's cavern, and neither wished to detract from remembering the fallen heroine. The whole team walked up the promontory of stone leading to Terra, her body frozen as stone on a natural dais, her ultimate release of power saving the city… at the cost of herself.
As Beast Boy walked up, quietly replacing the flowers, Rith felt the etched sign the Titans had placed near the girl's stone feet. "Terra, A Teen Titan; A True Friend" Raising his head, the blind boy listened as Beast Boy spoke.
"Hey Terra… sorry it's been so long. You wouldn't believe how crazy things have gotten since you took care of Slade… Don't worry, we'll make sure he remembers to stay down real soon…"
Robin nodded faintly. "We miss you, Terra, but we'll never forget you."
The newest member of the team focused on the girl's stone body, and let his senses gather the inner nature of her form. She had been perfectly transfigured into rock, her organs, brain, even her very veins and arteries were perfectly intact, like her frozen hair, still thrashing in an eternal moment of raging power. He could feel the pain of her exertion still etched into her taut face.
Raven glanced down from Terra herself, her brow creasing faintly. She felt guilty, partially responsible for Terra's current state. Though her anger had been justified, she had turned on the girl completely, and since Beast Boy had proven right about Terra, the land-mover regaining her goodness at the end, saving them all when it mattered most, she was pained by her actions, her feelings. We still haven't found a way to bring her back… if there even is one… She turned her face down to the left, her fists clenching. Slade comes back from the dead, and I can't even help her come back to normal. A flash of the vision, the message, with all her friends as stone, so much like Terra really was in front of her, made Raven almost choke on a sudden sob. She could feel the marks forming in her palms.
Quickly, she turned aside, pulling her hood up, and kept her hands back in her cloak, just standing there quietly. Rith, of course, noticed her behavior, but said nothing, nor moved to show he'd noticed. There were times when sorrow simply had to run its course, and he had a surprisingly shrewd notion of exactly what had upset Raven so abruptly.
The Titans each took a turn speaking, Cyborg and Starfire following Robin. Raven finally walked up as the others pulled back a bit. "…You earned our trust back," she whispered, and quickly pulled back to the others.
Rith, for his part, respectfully bowed to Terra, whispering some form of prayer or message to her the others couldn't make out. As they wall watched him, Raven glanced to Beast Boy around the edge of her hood. He was just looking on with calm, faint happiness, glad to visit Terra. She remembered how happy he and Terra had been, how well they got along. Her right hand came out of her cloak, and she glanced down at it silently. Terra…
When their last team member finished paying his respects, the Titans started to depart, Rith falling to the back again as they made their way back to their vehicles. Raven stepped up to the T-Car near the same door she'd used to get in when they left the tower, but turned her head quickly when a soft hand touched her shoulder. Calm emotion reached her mind before her eyes registered Rith's calm smile.
It was just a moment, and it was nothing more than his simple expression and faint nod to her, but it brought great comfort to her aching heart, and she found her eyes following Rith as he walked around, letting Starfire choose where she would sit (the center again), and then getting in himself. Raven's lavender eyes returned to reality, and she slipped down into the T-Car herself, her hood down at last. She looked down at her hand once more as Cyborg started off, Robin falling in behind on his bike, and then focused out through the window calmly. There was something else she needed to research beyond another book to hold Malchior…
(Later…)
The next day, in the afternoon, Raven sat on her bed, one knee tapping off the cover idly as she leaned over a large tome, carefully reading down the expansive page on her left. Arrayed around her room were dozens of such books, more than the usual shelved quantities. She had obviously been delving into research for some time since Malchior's return, though, at the moment, she was not looking for information to use against the dread dragon. Her lips puckered to the side as she pondered a particular sentence, but then her brow creased. She shut the book with a sigh, dragged another across the bed to her crossed legs, and opened it.
Then her door knocked. She paused, exhaled wearily with her frame sinking, and pushed her new book aside, slipping off her bed. The door slid open partially, exposing her grave façade to whoever it was. Her expression softened abruptly with a steaming cup of tea rose up in front of her face, Rith's calm smile behind it.
"You've been cooped up in their since morning, I thought you might like some tea."
Raven let the door slid open completely, a bit awkward and feeling rude as she gently took the cup from his hands. "Uh… thanks… sorry."
"Nothing to apologize for." He remained perfectly pleasant, and then started to leave.
Her eyebrows rose, and she looked up at him again. "W-wait… Rith…"
He paused, turning back to her with light curiosity on his face.
Raven was already blushing a bit as she turned in her doorway, gesturing inside. "Did you… want to come in?"
The boy's kind smile returned. "Do you want me to?"
Her shoulders relaxed with a wan smile as she let her eyes close. The tea smelled quite good. "…I could use a break from reading," she admitted finally, holding the cup with both hands before looking back to his face.
"I would be honored," Rith replied, and returned to her, following her deeper into her room as the door softly shut in his wake. Feeling the books, he became a little amused. "Quite a bit of research you've been doing."
Raven smiled a subtly, sitting down on her bed. "There's a chair over…" she let her voice finish as Rith simply sat down on the floor ahead of her, carefully laying his staff down, apparently concerned he might disturb something. She was rather appreciative of his effort, and sipped her tea. "Mmm, it's good. Thank you."
"I'm glad," the young man answered, and she had no doubt of his sincerity.
She found herself smiling as she let the cup down into her lap. "Sorry… I just felt…"
"Isolated?" he offered gently, an eyebrow raised.
Raven smirked a bit. "Yeah…"
"I must say, I'm quite surprised you let me inside your room." He turned his head, as if looking around. "It's very nice, actually. You have a good sense of aesthetic, your decorations are very subtle, but create a great deal of mood."
The girl found herself blushing a bit, awkward humor in her voice. "You think so, huh?"
He grinned in good humor.
"Most people find it a bit 'dark'."
"I'm always in the dark," the boy retorted, quite amused with himself.
Raven was warmly mixed between being sympathetic and sharing his humor. "Right…" She glanced down at the book she'd just started when he arrived. Her brow creased faintly. "I never thought about it… you can't read," she muttered gently, looking back to him with concern. Reading was one of the few sincere joys in her life, she couldn't bear the idea of living without some kind of book to delve through and study.
Rith tipped his head, but continued to smile. "Perhaps not, but I hear music in the air, and feel things most people can't even imagine," his voice became quite wistful as he finished.
The young woman smiled gently. "You always see the good in a situation, don't you?"
He shrugged easily. "The bad is going to come up anyway, so why look for it?"
Raven actually giggled. It was so natural she surprised herself, blushing with widened eyes abruptly. "S-sorry… I wasn't…"
Rith's smile was bright. "Please don't apologize. I've rarely heard such a lovely sound."
Though blushing, she eased a bit, looking at him warmly. "You're very kind, Rith." She held up the tea-cup, then took a sip. "I'm grateful." She looked down, her sincerity almost overpowering as she thought on all the pains in her heart, and how he helped, however subtly, to ease them off her mind, to remind her of the joy she had found as well.
"Happy to help, madam," the boy replied with warm truthfulness of his own. After she smiled back and took another sip, he tilted his head, and then asked, "May I ask what you were reading before I so rudely interrupted?"
His self-deprecating yet light humor made her smirk a bit, and she nodded. "Sure. I was reading on some of the basic rules of alchemy when focused on stone."
Rith smiled with a calm depth in his emotion that made Raven pause as she looked at him. "You're a very good person, Raven."
Her head pulled back a bit as she blushed. "I don't know if I can actually help her…"
"But you're trying," Rith persisted simply, eyebrows up. "Further proof that what Slade and Trigon are after is a failure waiting to happen."
Raven looked down, cupping her tea in her hands softly. "I hope so…"
The blind boy rose forward, coming up to her bed on his knees, and softly took her right hand out in his own. She looked at him in mute surprise, and then blushed with a soft inhale as he kissed her fingers, as he had when they first met. This time it affected her quite a bit as he smiled warmly up at her. "Dear Raven, do not despair. I believe you are destined for great things, that miracles are waiting to be wrought by your lovely hands," he gained some gentle humor as he curled her fingers over with his own. "Like any good person, you will be tested in your life. There will be times when all seems lost, but you can stand strong. Even if you can't see the light, it's there, bright and clear."
Raven could not explain why his words struck her so deeply, affected her heart so, but she sat there, one hand held in his, the other holding her tea in her lap, her mouth slack, a blush on her cheeks, and her eyes gently widened into Rith's unique gaze. "…Even if I can't see it…"
He nodded with a smooth, slow gesture.
"…But… how do I know without seeing?" she asked, her voice tightened. She was really begging for an answer, and this time she knew he could give it to her.
His face softened warmly, and he uttered one word, "Trust."
She stopped, realization, the acceptance of a truth she long understood but never, yet, truly comprehended, washing over her sorrowful but hopeful face. Rith gently held her hand. "That's why Trigon and Slade can't defeat you, Raven. You do trust."
Her lips pressed together, and she nodded in a faint manner. "I trust my friends…"
Rith smiled still, and then asked her, "So can you trust yourself?"
"Myself?" she repeated weakly, her mind changing, adapting to a new way of looking at itself. She relaxed a bit. "I have a darkside… but I do trust my friends."
The boy seemed so happy for her. "Yes… You love your family very much, Raven. I can see it in your heart."
Raven focused into his eyes, where they should have been. "Thank you, Rith… I'm not sure what I would have done without you around…"
"One of your wonderful friends would have helped you figure it out," he replied happily. "We all need help at times, even just to hear something we already know from another, to make it real to us. You're so intelligent, Raven, you would have been fine. If I have helped ease the process, then I am very glad."
Resting the tea-cup in her lap, Raven reached out with her other hand, and rested it over his. "Then be glad," she finally conceded, moisture welling up in her eyes.
She saw him smile in a manner that she realized meant he was near tears himself, grateful for her kindness, though she couldn't see where she had been kind. When a tear seeped free of one of her lavender eyes, she felt his hand slip out from under hers, and a soft caress brush the droplet off her pale cheek. "Such a sweet young woman you are," he whispered warmly.
Raven just closed her eyes, exhaling. She could actually relax, let go, ease completely with his kind, patient help. She softly slipped out of her reverie a vague moment later, his hand softly patting hers. "Let me take that cup to the kitchen for you."
She actually giggled a bit, how easily he behaved around her, how much he didn't take for granted. She handed him the cup with a soft nod. "Thank you for the tea… and the talk. They really helped."
The boy just bowed to her, staff in hand, and left her room with a soft ripple of his cloak around the doorway. Raven exhaled, relaxed and calm, and went back to reading on her bed, a faint smile lingering on her pale lips.
(Later…)
For a few days the tower was quiet. Thankfully few crimes were big enough to call for the Titans' help, and they could relax a bit, tending to their personal interests. Raven continued her research, and was starting to make some progress, but knew she was still missing many key pieces of understanding that would make any attempts to help Terra foolish. Reading a particular book by candle-light in her room, Raven winced a bit, her head swimming abruptly. She leaned over her legs, putting the book aside, and pressed her hands to the covers of her bed, breathing heavily. "S-something's… wrong…"
Opening her eyes, she felt both uncomfortably hot, and yet cold as ice. Finally, she raised her hands from the bed, turning them over to see the runes blazing brighter than ever on her skin. Controlled panic etched into her face, her eyes wavering.
With a start, Raven gasped as her head shot upright, her hands lowering from looking at them, her room thrumming with a trouble alert. The markings were gone from her skin, but she still had dampness from sweat just glistening on her temples. Dread filled her mind. A trouble alert after a flash of the markings? She steeled herself, her expression turning grim as her hands clenched. "I'm not running away from this."
Flying off her bed, she rushed to find the others.
Not an hour later, the six Titans were making their way into a warehouse on the pier. It was large, dark, and effectively empty. Robin had his staff ready, Starfire floating with Raven, their mutual powers glowing in anticipation, Cyborg had his cannon active, and Beast Boy was already a large gorilla. Rith simply moved with his usual focus, staff in hand. Robin looked around keenly. "Remember, team, this might be Slade." Raven had warned the others about her worrisome experience before the trouble alert. She couldn't risk their being ambushed, especially since they already knew the truth.
"I can't sense him yet," Rith commented gravely. His tone made the others uncomfortably aware that it didn't guarantee anything with Slade's powers.
In the end, it didn't matter anyway. The ceiling in the center of the warehouse burst into flames, and Slade dropped down to his haunches ahead of them. The Titans spread as they faced him, bracing for a fight. Raven in particular kept her power writhing. Slade, however, chuckled as he stood up. "Raven, I have wonderful news."
Her eyes wavered.
"That's right, child." His head tilted back, revealing the dark pleasure in his visible eye all too well. "The preparations are complete. The time has come."
"It can't be already…" Raven whispered, more shocked than afraid.
Robin twirled his staff. "All it means is that we have to take him down all the faster. Titans, GO!"
He didn't have to repeat himself. Rith shot off like a bolt, Starfire and Raven racing their powers to Slade with the blind boy, Cyborg and Robin unloading all their firepower while Beast Boy charged ahead as a cheetah. The powers and explosives struck with thunderous effect, Rith shooting through their smoke, only to have his staff ram into a shield of fiery power ahead of Slade's calmly standing body. The shield didn't even buckle. Slade focused up on the blind boy. "As impressive as you are, child, I have no time for your games today." He just raised his hand at Rith, grave focus on the boy's scarred face just before he was sent rocketing away with a flash of power.
"Rith!" Raven called in alarm, aiming one hand toward his flying body as she gritted her teeth. Her soulself engulfed him, and let Rith down, but the boy could barely keep himself up on his hands and knees. Noting his weariness, Raven shot at Slade herself, charging in with the others.
A green elephant swiped at Slade, but struck the shield as well, moaning from the impact. The armored servant aimed his fists forward to either side, and beams of power rather than raw flame erupted from the shield, blasting Robin and Cyborg back violently. Starfire and Raven caught them, but both boys were barely conscious from the vicious attacks. Sharing a stern look across the warehouse, the two girls summoned their energies, screamed in unison, and unleashed, eye-beams and soulself ripping through the air in twin streams of power. Beast Boy had become a ram, battering the shield, but quickly leapt back when the young women's power struck. The air reverberated with the impact, black and green waves coalescing in the air, but when the girls' relaxed their attacks, Slade was still there, unfazed. Raven felt a pang of fear and doubt as her hand slowly lowered, her eyes tightening. "…We can't stop him."
Cyborg groaned, sitting up from her supporting arm and leg. "Now don't go spoutin' that nonsense again, Ray." He pushed himself up, cannon ready. "Ain't nobody letting that zombie take you anywhere or do anything."
Rith shot in again, a sonic explosion ripping into the ground, reaching the walls and ceiling in a heart-beat as he curled over one end of his staff, the other resting against the rippling surface of Slade's shield. The boy was grimacing with exertion, and clearly sensed his complete lack of effect, but remained undaunted.
Ice blew across the shield from a cryo-disc, and green, blue, and black power slammed into the fire-bubble around Rith. The blind boy dropped, hopped back, and sent a distortion blast into the same target as Beast Boy, a T-Rex, yanked a girder from the ceiling and swung it down into the top of the shield as well. The ground shook from the onslaught, but as Beast Boy reverted and the others relaxed their assaults, Slade simply stepped through the dispersing dust, hands behind his back, the character on his forehead glowing brilliantly.
The warehouse went dead-silent as Rith jerked back, bracing his legs to the sides, hands, one holding his staff, back near his shoulders, distortion emanating from his body as his hair and clothes flailed. He rammed his hands forward, staff angled in the right fist, and a wall of sound rushed at Slade. The dark warrior just kept walking, the sound wave engulfing him as if nothing more than an illusion or playful trick of light. The others were shocked, but Rith just relaxed his power with a dismal expression. "I should have anticipated that…"
Slade's fiery aura became clear as his eye narrowed with pleasure. "Yes… you should have." He came within a meter of Rith, and then both flickered, the other Titans just rushing to their friend's aid.
Appearing past Rith, one hand gripping the boy's back, his body tensed down toward the others, Slade allowed himself a chuckle. Rith grimaced, grunting as his body was laced with cords of unnatural fire, contorting in pain.
"Let him GO!" Raven shouted, ramming her palms forward as a crashing wave of soulself burst at Slade.
The raised tyrant just tensed, and snapped Rith forward like a play-thing, his body still wreathed in fire. Raven gasped, dispersing her power before Rith struck it himself, and tried to catch him, but her power bled around his body thanks to the evil flames, and the blind boy crashed to the cement, his staff rolling just away from his hand where he lay. …Ra…ven… He was limp.
The pale girl panicked, her eyes flaring, and she ran to him as Robin flipped into Slade with his staff, Cyborg firing with Starfire. Raven dropped down beside Rith, but snapped her hands back as the flames holding to his body in wires and a faint aura stung her fingers. She couldn't get to him. "…No…" she moaned painfully, her expression falling with fear and despair. She clenched her fists so powerfully they shook as she held them on either side of her tightly bowed head, tears seeping out of her sealed eyes.
Slade contorted and warped like a vine, slipping around Robin's staff, clipping the leader in the head with his left hand, taking Starfire's bolts to the chest without flinching, grabbing Cyborg as he ducked a sonic-blast, and throwing the half-metal Titan up into the alien girl. Robin and the pair quickly recovered as Beast Boy galloped in as a horse, snapping around and kicking at Slade, but the marked messenger leapt above the attack.
Raven growled, suddenly wrenching her body around where she crouched, on one knee, teeth bared in a fierce visage, and let soulself explode from her left hand, the fingers clawing toward Slade. "NO!" He voice shook the building and shocked their minds, Slade taking the beam of darkness to his chest and shooting back into the far wall.
But there he stopped, pressed to the wall as he glowed with power. The Titans watched tensely, looking from Slade to Raven as she slowly stood up, washing more and more power over Slade with no effect. The markings started to etch through her skin again, her overshadowed eyes already bleeding red power. Red veins began to skitter through her soulself, and her eyes split into four vicious slits. "I'll tear you apart for this!"
Starfire gasped. "No, Raven! Please!"
Robin's eyes widened in alarm as well. "Raven, stop! Remember who you are!"
Slade's cold laugh silenced them, drawing the focus back to him. He floated out of the wall, blazing with his fiery aura, and slowly landed, Raven's power washing over him constantly. "It's no use, Titans. You can't change what she really is. Your father would be so proud, Raven." He opened his arms to her. "Come now, child. You can't hurt me. You can't stop me. You know what is to be done."
Raven answered with a fresh growl and her other arm finally coming to bear on him. The beam of soulself expanded, waves of bloody light passing through it as it widened to nearly three meters, completely engulfing Slade. Her cloak billowed up, darkness writhing off her small body like a demon queen, the glowing markings visible through her clothes, down her legs and arms, the one on her forehead almost blinding between the four crimson slits.
Slade laughed inside the attack. "Raven, you'll only tire yourself! Please, your father has waited long enough."
Robin gritted his teeth, and then started to dash back to Raven. Starfire, Beast Boy, and Cyborg ran after him, on either side of the massive soulself attack.
"Ray, come on, girl! Snap out of it!" Cyborg shouted.
"No kidding. Raven, you've gotta chill out or we'll never beat him! He wants you to lose your temper, remember?" Beast Boy added desperately.
But she remained focused, not turning on them, only blasting Slade with all the power and anger she could muster. It was the only thing that had worked before, she didn't have anything else, but she could feel the darkness burning in her heart, making her friends hard to remember, kindness an idea she almost couldn't comprehend.
Abruptly the power vanished, wind rushing off Raven as she let her arms down, her cloak falling. Her lavender eyes wearily gazed at Slade near the back wall of the warehouse, and then she moaned, slipping to her knees with exhaustion. The others quickly dropped down near her.
"Raven, are you hurt?" Starfire asked with gentle concern.
Raven shook her head. "I had to try… try and stop him… I'm sorry… I can… barely move…" She tried to stand up, but only fell against Cyborg, who caught her gently. She groaned a bit, looking around to her friends wearily. "We… have to get out… of here."
Robin ran over to Rith as Cyborg picked Raven up, Starfire and Beast Boy eyeing Slade, but the leader of the team hissed from pain as his gloves were burnt in the attempt to help the boy up. Rith was still unconscious, his body glowing with magical fire. "I can't move Rith," Robin reported grimly, standing up and looked across to Slade.
"…I'll try again…" Raven managed, starting to push against Cyborg to let her down.
"Don't even try it, Raven. You're in no condition to use your powers. Star, think you can blow up enough ground around him?" Cyborg asked, looking up to Starfire as he finished.
She whirled around, power glowing in her fists as Raven reluctantly relaxed. "I shall try!"
"You'll try nothing of the sort," Slade darkly muttered, walking toward them.
Starfire spun and unleashed her charged bolt at him, but he gestured at it, and the energy dispersed violently.
"None of you are escaping tonight. My master has plans for Raven, and you lot won't stop them."
Cyborg let Raven down, activating his cannon, while Robin took point with Starfire and Beast Boy falling in behind him. Raven winced as she barely stayed on her feet. "No… we have to… get out of here. Please…"
Her eyes widened as Slade shot forward.
Cyborg fired with Starfire, Robin dashing in with a green lion behind him. Slade's glowing hand chopped clean through the metal staff, slamming into Robin's chest. The boy wonder cried out as his body laced over with flames, and the green lion's snarling leap was cut short by a vicious punch to the snout. Reverting, Beast Boy shouted, and hit the ground glowing with lines of hellish fire wrapping around his body.
Raven tried to summon her soulself, but wisps lashed off her fingers, nothing more. She gasped with horror as Slade dove between Starfire and Cyborg, grabbing the pair by the arms briefly. Both shouted in pain, and dropped as the same evil auras engulfed them. Slade dropped to his feet just in front of Raven, the other Titans unconscious, in flames all around her. Tears welled up in her eyes as she stumbled back, trying to summon power to use against him. Precious little answered her, burnt up in her rage from before. Slade chuckled faintly, looming closer with steady steps.
"Azarath metrion zinthos!" Raven shouted fearfully, hands snapping forward, but a little wave of darkness burst off her palms like a popping bubble. Her mind was too worn, she could barely move, yet somehow remained standing. Her legs trembled, her lungs burned, but her friends needed her.
Slade's gloved palm shot out, grabbing her over her eyes and forehead. "Remember!"
Raven screamed, tears dripping out from under his hand as her body flared with soulself, the red markings coiling down her limbs, under her clothes, and she saw the horrible future again. Her father roaring in the ruins of the world she destroyed, her raven effigies looming over her friends, frozen in stone. Her power dispersed, her arms weakly grasping at the empty air ahead of her as she moaned. With a last shiver, inhaling as tears trickled down her cheeks, she was let go, and Raven saw the world fading into darkness as she fell through the air. No… everyone… but she thought no more…
(Author's Note…)
Don't worry, it's not over. There are at least a few chapters left, probably more. School work is getting pretty intense for me at the moment, however, so please pardon further delays. Again, thanks for the positive reviews, they really help me keep going on this when I know people are reading.
