Okay, I only got 6 reviews, but I'm sitting around with nothing to do so I decided to post chapter 2 anyway. First, special thanks to Insanity for Dummies, juliachan, and wizard13 for such kind reviews.
Sorry this chapter is short, lol. But next chapter is the bit with dancing in the rain, so review, please!
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Plasmus toppled with a crash onto Cinderblock's scattered remains as the Titans, much the worse for wear, gathered in the middle of the street. Starfire fell to the ground, exhausted, as Beast Boy staggered over in the form of a dog, his tail between his legs and his ears drooping. Cyborg muttered to himself as he examined several dents and scratches in his metallic body, withdrawing his sonic cannon and replacing it with a metal hand. Dropping from the roof, Robin abandoned the heap of machinery that had once been a replica of Slade, putting away his staff.
"Everyone all right?" he called briskly, looking around at his teammates. Beast Boy let out a dog whine and collapsed, changing back to his human form as he did so.
"Dude, that was rough! I don't even think I have enough energy to eat anymore." He ignored Cyborg's snort of derision, examining a number of tears in his shirt.
"Nothing a long rest won't cure," Cyborg said absently, still checking his equipment over. Starfire nodded in agreement.
"Wait a minute – where's Raven?" Robin scowled, looking around at the wreckage left from the battle. "She showed up just before Overload and Plasmus did. Has anyone seen her?"
"Speaking of that – where's Overload?" Cyborg asked suspiciously. He tapped a set of keys on his robotic arm, opening a panel that revealed a map of the city. "I've got a lock on Raven, though. To the east – man, how'd she get that far away?"
"It's not important how she got there," Robin snapped, worried. "All that matters is that we find her! Titans, go!"
As his friends scattered, Robin himself leaped onto the R-cycle, which he had stashed a safe distance away. Gunning the engine, he called up Raven's coordinates on the visor of his helmet and disappeared in a cloud of dust.
Robin pulled the cycle to a halt outside what looked like an abandoned warehouse. Beast Boy and Cyborg were already there, and Starfire dropped out of the sky a moment later. Steeling himself for the worst, Robin pushed open the door, assaulted by visions of Raven attacked, Raven injured, Raven………
He stepped through the door into total darkness. Cyborg quickly turned on the high-powered beam mounted on his shoulder, revealing a plain concrete box of a room – and a limp form lying on the cold floor, unmoving.
"Raven!"
The cry was torn harshly from Robin's throat as, friends forgotten, he raced to the spot where Raven lay, unconscious. He fell to his knees beside her and turned her over, wincing as he caught sight of her face. She was pale – much paler than usual, so that she looked almost transparent, like a ghost.
Oh, Raven, poor Raven, he thought to himself, cradling her in his arms with a gentleness he hadn't known he possessed. What have you gotten yourself into this time?
He heard Cyborg's heavy footsteps pounding up behind him, and a moment later Starfire dropped from near the ceiling, landing in a kneeling position in front of him. "What is wrong with Raven?" she asked with her usual childish innocence. For some reason Robin found that it got on his nerves.
"I don't know what's wrong with her," he snapped. "I'll bet Slade did this to her. But right now, I don't have any more answers than you do."
"Dude, should we take her to the hospital?" Beast Boy asked, completely serious for once. "She doesn't look too good."
"I don't think so," Cyborg said slowly, the scanner on his arm beeping gently as he checked Raven over for injuries. "She looks okay, just –" The scanner let out a particularly loud beep, and Cyborg looked down at it, his human eye widening as he read what was printed there. A moment later he lurched to his feet and walked over the T-car, opening the door. "Come on, guys," he said urgently, "We've got to get her home."
Without a word, Robin gently lifted the unconscious Raven in his arms, carrying her over to where Cyborg waited. He carefully laid her out in the back seat of the T-car, covering her prone body with her cloak. He stood there for a moment, looking down at her, his hand on the T-car's door, and paused.
"Beast Boy, take the cycle home," he said finally, reaching into his pocket and tossing the green boy a set of keys. Beast Boy caught them, looking incredulous, but realized that now was not the time for jokes or comments. He wordlessly put on Robin's helmet and gunned the R-cycle's motor, heading for the tower in the distance. Starfire followed by air, while Cyborg and Robin climbed into the front seats of the T-car and started down the road.
Robin stared out of the passenger window, pretending to be fascinated by the city flashing by, when in reality his eyes were fixed on the reflection of the girl who lay behind him, unmoving, oblivious to the turmoil she had caused in him.
The ride was a silent one. Neither Cyborg nor Robin spoke as the car pulled into the tower's garage – but Cyborg paused before getting out, his hand on the door, and looked over at his leader. "Good luck, Robin." he said softly. "With Raven, you're going to need it."
You have no idea, Robin thought wryly. You have no idea.
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The first thing Raven felt when she awoke was pain. Her entire body ached with the memory of the terrible agony Slade had inflicted on her, and there was a pounding headache hammering away at the inside of her skull with every beat of her heart. Groaning, she tried to sit upright. Immediately a wave of dizziness washed over, and she was forced to lay back as the room spun sickeningly about her head.
"Raven!" Robin's concerned face suddenly appeared above her, and she felt a cool hand take hers, holding it gently. "How are you feeling?"
"R-Robin?" she moaned, closing her eyes against the rotating ceiling. "What happened? Are you -" Her eyes widened, and Robin felt her hand clench around his. "Slade – he's here – Robin, Slade's a robot, and –"
"It's okay, Raven, I know. Slade's gone now, and everyone's fine. Go back to sleep," Robin said gently, squeezing her hand. "You're safe now. Whatever Slade did to you is over."
Raven didn't hear him; she was already falling off into oblivion. As she slipped off into sleep, her pain mercifully vanished, though she could still feel the gentle pressure of Robin's hand holding hers.
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When she woke again most of the ache in her body had gone, though there was still a rhythmic pounding in her temples. She opened her eyes to a darkened room, blinking as the ceiling swam bewilderingly in and out of focus.
With an enormous effort, Raven managed to drag herself into a sitting position, drawing in a sharp breath as the room shuddered and swayed around her. Pain stabbed through her lungs and she coughed, gasping for breath.
She looked around the familiar interior of the infirmary of Titans tower; the gleaming banks of buttons and monitors, the dull, indeterminately-colored walls. The door was open a bit, allowing a sliver of light from the hallway to fall across the darkened floor.
Settling back against the wall, Raven tried to remember what had happened after the battle with Overload, despite that fact that it only made her headache worse. There had been a dark room – a smooth voice – white light –
Her concentration was interrupted by the sounds of someone snoring, very loudly, close by. She peered up and down the row of beds, but all were empty. Then what –
The snore came again, and she leaned over the side of her bed, trying not to laugh at what she saw. There was a bright green dog sleeping on its back on the floor beside her bed, its tongue hanging out, its paws twitching in the air as it dreamed. Raven reached out with her powers, trying to levitate one of the nearby pillows until it hovered above the dog's head. She extended a tendril of black magic, concentrating hard –
and nothing happened.
Scowling, she tried again, putting more force behind her magic this time. She reached deep within herself to the well of darkness that was the source of her powers, uttering the familiar words – "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!"
Almost immediately the headache that pounded inside her skull intensified, throbbing so loudly it drowned out Beast Boy's snores, filling her head with a burning white light. The room seemed to fall apart around her, parts of it spinning dizzily, parts of it cracking and shattering with impossible sounds, until everything faded into a blurred vortex of pain. She couldn't see, couldn't think, couldn't breathe –
Raven clutched her head in her hands, screaming, trying to get rid of the burning agony, the white-hot fire behind her eyes. She screamed, and screamed, her nails biting so deeply into her skin they drew blood, which dripped down her hands onto the bed. Beast Boy was awake in a moment, but before he could even move the door had slammed open and Robin, followed by the rest of the Titans, pounded into the room - only to find their friend, in no apparent danger, screaming as though she was being tortured to death.
Robin darted forward across the room, but before he got anywhere near Raven, she swayed and fell back onto the bed, senseless. Turning on his heel, the leader of the Titans lunged instead for Beast Boy, who was standing bewildered near the bed. "What happened?" he demanded, shaking with rage and worry. "What's wrong with her? Why was she screaming like that?"
Beast Boy backed away from Robin, hands raised to forestall the furious questions. "Dude, I don't know! One minute everything was fine, then she was yelling all the sudden. I didn't see anything!"
Robin opened his mouth to snap out a reply, but stopped when he felt a heavy metal hand descend on his shoulder. "Leave Beast Boy alone," Cyborg said firmly. "We're all worried about Raven – but there isn't anything we can do right now except wait for her to wake up. Yelling at each other won't solve anything; and it won't bring Raven back any sooner."
Robin wrenched himself away from Cyborg, glaring at everything in his line of sight, hands clenched into fists. "There has to be something!" he snarled, but not as loudly. "We can't just sit around and do nothing while Raven might – might –"
He fell silent, turning to stare at Raven's prone form. Guessing what was going through his leader's mind, Cyborg grabbed both Starfire and Beast Boy and hauled them from the room, shutting the door behind him. With his teammates standing bewilderedly in the hall, Cyborg pressed his ear to the wood of the door, listening to the soft sounds of someone whispering within. Nodding to himself, he turned and ushered his two friends down the stairs and into the main room.
Beast Boy stared blankly at him. "Dude, what was that?" he asked, confused. "What's up with Robin? He's all whacked out, like he can't decide whether to be angry or sad!"
"I, too, fear for friend Robin," Starfire interjected anxiously. "What is ailing him? Is he injured? Or sick?"
Cyborg laughed quietly at those words. "Yeah, Star, I suppose you could say he's sick," the half-robot replied. "It's a nasty old disease, that everyone gets at one time or another. And by the looks of things, Robin's had it for quite some time."
Starfire's eyes widened. "He is sick?" she asked anxiously. "Is he okay? Will he get better? Can we help him?"
Cyborg shook his head. "There's nothing we can do, Star," he sighed. "Nothing that will help, anyway. And as for him getting better –" he paused, smiling ever so slightly. "I guess that depends."
"Depends? On what?"
"On Raven."
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Robin crossed the infirmary with hesitant steps, dragging a chair over to Raven's bedside and sitting down, his eyes never leaving her face. She looked ………….. peaceful, he decided. Her expression was one of utter serenity, the kind she only achieved during meditation, all of the pain, the worries of life gone from her face.
Where are you, Raven? He wondered, not for the first time. Where do you go, when you meditate – when you dream? What do you see that makes you so happy, so peaceful?
He shook his head, trying to clear it of such errant thoughts, but the soft whisper continued. Are you flying? It asked softly, and Robin felt his mouth moving, his lips forming the words, breathing them into the silence as they ran through his head. Are you soaring in some faraway darkness, dreaming? Or are you doing what you could never do awake – are you feeling, Raven? Crying and laughing and loving…….. is that your heaven? To break free of your cursed powers and let your heart free to soar the skies?
"Oh, Raven," he whispered, feeling the words flow from him, as inexorably as tears. "Raven, I want that for you – almost as badly as you do, I want you to be able to laugh and cry and scream and sing if you need to, to let the world see you as you truly are, to break through your icy barriers. You are wonderful, beautiful, enchanting – why can't they see it? Why can't you? The rest of them think you're creepy. They think you're strange because you're alone so much, and you can't view the world with their unfailing optimism. And you think you're a freak – I can see it in your eyes, in the way you flinch when someone touches you, refuse all attempts at conversation. Why can't you see yourself as I do? You're beautiful, Raven. Miraculous. Like some dark angel, sent to earth, so marvelous, so cold………"
There was a strange emotion rising up in him – or rather, a lack of emotion, as though he was taking all of his jumbled thoughts, his sorrow, joy, despair, everything, and spilling them out upon the air. Painting them onto the pale walls, the dancing shadows of the infirmary, pouring out his heart to the rhythm of Raven's soft breathing. And, like catharsis, like shadows vanishing in the sun's radiance, the chaotic feelings disappeared. He knew they would return; but for now they had vanished, and there was only peace.
He looked down at Raven, lost in her moon-pale skin, her soft blue hair delicately framing her face, falling in waves along the pillow like the ocean on a white beach of broken dreams. Gently, oh so gently, he reached out a brushed a stubborn strand of hair away from her glinting chakra stone.
At his cool touch Raven stirred, her eyelids fluttering open, her deep violet eyes glazed, unfocused, flitting around the room. Robin drew in a sharp breath, startled, and pulled his hand back quickly. Raven's eyes snapped to the sudden movement, and she tried to sit up, moving feebly. Robin moved to help her, until she was leaning back against the wall, gazing around at the darkened room.
"R-Robin?" she asked dazedly, her hand gripping the edge of the bed as she tried to support herself. "What's going on? What happened? Why am I here?"
"You're here because you're hurt, Raven," he said anxiously, reaching out a hand to steady her. "We were battling Slade, Plasmus, Overload, and Cinderblock – remember? After the battle we couldn't find you, so we followed your tracker signal across town. You were in some kind of deserted warehouse, unconscious." The memories came sharply to the forefront of his mind; the fear, the desperate searching, the panic on seeing Raven lying there, cold, unmoving………..
He pushed the thought firmly away, focusing on the matter at hand. "You've been in here for three days, Raven. Can you remember anything that happened?"
She stared off into space, for once abandoning her mask of cold indifference. She looked small and vulnerable, surrounded by dim shadows, clearly concentrating to try and drag forth elusive memories. "I – I remember there was light – white light – and – someone talking – shouting –" She shook her head, frustrated. "Nothing else. Nothing useful, I know. I can't remember any of it."
There was a sudden knock at the door as a green head poked into the room. Catching sight of Raven sitting up on the bed, Beast Boy changed into a dog and leaped on Raven with a joyful bark, licking her face in greeting. She warded him off with one hand, the others forming strange gestures in the air – and stopped, frowning, when the dog continued to attack her. Robin reached out and grabbed Beast Boy by the tail, tugging him off the bed and onto the floor.
The green changeling changed back to his human form and clambered to his feet. "Raven!" he said happily. "You're okay! You are okay, aren't you?"
"I think so –" Raven began, but Beast Boy was gone. He flew out the door and into the hall, bellowing at the top of his lungs. "Guys! Raven's okay!"
There was an immediate rush as Cyborg and Starfire pounded up the stairs, bursting into the room. The whole team gathered around Raven, ignoring her protests that she was fine, and wanted to go meditate.
"You're not going anywhere until we figure out what the hell happened back there," Cyborg said firmly. "Now tell us everything you remember. Begin at the beginning – and if you leave anything out, whatever happened with Slade is going to be nothing compared to what I'll do."
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Robin opened the door to the roof silently, slipping out into the sunset with the ease of long practice. He could hear Cyborg and Beast Boy running by the foot of the staircase, shouting his name, and he shut the door hastily behind him.
Turning around, he caught sight of Raven, sitting on the edge of the roof, her back to him. She wasn't meditating, only thinking, her elbows on her knees, staring out over the bay. Boldly, Robin walked over and sat down beside her, dangling his legs out into empty space.
"I should've known you'd be here," he said quietly, following her gaze to the resplendent evening sky. "You haven't been hanging out around the Tower much lately."
There was no answer.
Robin turned his head slightly, examining Raven out of the corner of his eye. She seemed the same as she had always been – the sunset lending color to her pale skin, her glossy blue hair swaying slightly in the breeze, she gazed thoughtfully out over the quiet city, her sapphire eyes filled with something he could not name.
He tried again. "It's beautiful up here, isn't it? Probably the only quiet place in the Tower. I'm surprised I didn't think to come here before. The sunset is incredible." And it's not the only thing that is. "Do you come up here a lot?"
Still no response. There was only that deep blue gaze turned to him, briefly, before Raven focused her attention on the sky once more.
Robin sighed, rubbing the edges of his mask. Ever since the battle a week ago, all of his conversations with Raven had been like this – one-sided. That is, when he could even manage to get what could be called a conversation. Raven had been shut up in her room for close to seven days now, leaving only for brief periods, Robin assumed to come to the roof. At first the team had been worried, but when nothing more occurred, they forgot their fears and carried on with life as usual. Raven was, they told themselves, strong enough to take care of herself.
Robin decided to try one last, desperate gamble, a chance to bring Raven back into the realm of the living. "We're going into the town on Saturday," he said cautiously. "I was wondering if you wanted to come – maybe you could use a night out, after –"
"No."
Raven turned to look at him, her gaze boring into his very soul with its sudden intensity. "Robin, something's happened. That battle last week – something went on there, and I can't just go around pretending like it didn't. Don't you understand? That's why I've been in my room all week. That's why I haven't talked to you." She paused, taking in his bewildered expression. "I knew you were wondering about me," she informed him flatly. "I'm not stupid, Robin. You're trying to get me to spend more time with the team – with you. I'm not interested."
"I thought you couldn't remember what happened!" he said, shocked at her vehemence. Her dark
eyes gleamed with anger, and her hands were clenched into fists as she glared at him.
"I did," she replied softly, all of the anger draining out of her as suddenly as it had come. Her hands relaxed, and her shoulders slumped as she looked away. "I dreamed that first night, and it all came back to me. Slade did something to me, Robin, something terrible." Then, in a voice so soft he had to strain to hear it: "My powers are gone."
Robin stared at her, blankly, unable to comprehend what she had just told him. Maybe he had misheard ?
"No, Robin, you heard me correctly. My powers are gone." She held out her hands in a gesture of helplessness, the look on her face tired. Defeated. "I've been meditating this past week, trying to get them back, but it's no use. They're gone, Robin. I can feel the empty place inside me."
Oh my God, it's true, he realized, feeling his eyes widen in shock. She's been angry and sad in the past few minutes, and nothing's happened. Nothing! Her powers really are gone – but then –
There was a few moment's ringing silence as neither of them spoke, each lost in their thoughts, staring out at the sun as it sank inexorably toward darkness. Robin could feel Raven trembling beside him, though whether from fear or something else he couldn't tell.
"Well," Raven said finally, breaking the impasse, her voice thick with unshed tears, "I guess – I guess this is goodbye."
"What?" Robin turned to look at her, searching the depths of her endless eyes for some hint of meaning. "What are you talking about, Raven? What goodbye?"
"I don't have powers anymore, Robin," she reminded him, voice trembling. "I can't be a Titan. I guess – I'll have to find somewhere else to go." Her shoulders were slumped, her head bowed, her hands clenched into fists on her knees. Robin was sure that if it wasn't for her hard-won control, there would be tears trickling down her cheeks.
Hesitantly, he reached out and grasped her hands, meeting her gaze as she looked up in surprise. "I don't care if you have powers or not, Raven," he said firmly. "Maybe you won't be a Titan – but you're our friend. And you always will be. So you're going to stay here with us – and we'll find a way to fix whatever Slade did, I promise."
A look of such relief and gratitude flashed across her face that Robin squeezed her hands in sympathy, unsure of what he could say next. I've never really seen her show any kind of emotion before, he thought dazedly, looking down into her gleaming eyes. She's beautiful this way. Just……….. beautiful.
Other thoughts intruded on his consciousness, pushing away such errant daydreaming. How would he tell the others? How would they react? Would Raven –
He shoved the worries to the back of his mind, savoring the moment, the sensation of looking into Raven's eyes, holding her hands in his. Night had nearly fallen, but neither of them seemed to notice. Time hung suspended, not daring to intrude upon the two who sat silently side-by-side, surrounded by starlight and shadows. There was silence.
Then the spell was broken, and Robin released Raven's hands, watching as she blushed deeply, hiding the greater part of her body within the shadows of her cloak. "Come with us on Saturday," he said abruptly, for no particular reason. "It'll be fun – I know this nice little place on the other side of town. We could get coffee or something."
"Uh……….. sure?" Raven looked up at him, surprised. Why is he asking me this? And why now? He isn't………… no, of course not. That could never happen. Just wishful thinking. "Sure," she repeated, shrugging, trying to be nonchalant. Then she smiled, hesitantly, as though she had forgotten how. "I guess it wouldn't be so bad. I haven't had any fun in a long time."
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Good? Bad? Ugly? Any ideas, questions or suggestions? I need reviews, people, and no chapter 3 until I get some! I'm not even sure if chapter 3 is finished yet. Oh well. Help me out please?
