Chapter Ten: Fear And Lizards In Jump City
"Um, how long have you been standing there?" Blackfire asked.
Robin did not reply. Instead, still staring at them, his mouth still agape, he pointed at Blackfire, and then with the thumb of his other hand, pointed behind him.
"Is-is he alright?" Dawn asked.
"He won't be if he keeps on doing this. Hey, Robin! Stop acting like Beast Boy!"
That seemed to do the trick. "S-sorry, Blackfire," Robin stammered, before his brain finally moved up to mental speed and he continued, "but how else did you expect me to act?"
"Oh, I don't know, like the leader of the Titans would?" Blackfire snapped.
"Blackfire, don't be so rough on him," Dawn said.
"You know what?You're right- I have to be rougher," Blackfire said.
"Blackfire, I wasn't eavesdropping," Robin told her, seeing the look on her face. "I came here to try find out what it was you two were fighting about, and to see if I could help."
"I don't see how it could have been any of your business, but now that you're here, help," Blackfire said, still a bit flustered, while behind her Dawn shook her head, smiling.
"First, I don't think there's anything else I could do to help, and second," he said, placing his hand on Blackfire's shoulder, "I'm really happy for you, Blackfire. Sorry, Dawn," he continued, taking his hand off Blackfire's shoulder and offering it to Dawn.
"Don't be," Dawn said, taking his hand. "Now that I don't have this crazy trog virtually looking over my shoulder everywhere I go, I can get on with my life, and she can get on with hers," Dawn finished, showing none of the rancour both Blackfire and Robin expected to see.
"Crazy trog?" Blackfire asked.
"You must be, to give up a lucrative life of crime for this," Dawn quipped.
"What can I say, the fringe benefits are great."
Robin laughed. "I don't think Raven'll be too happy if she heard you two." Then his face fell. "I just remembered someone else who isn't going to be happy."
"Who?" Dawn asked.
"Beast Boy."
"…Oh," Blackfire said. "I'd had forgot about him."
"Come on, it can't be that bad, could it?" Dawn asked. The looks Robin and Blackfire gave her were all the answer she needed. "Okay, so it could," she muttered to herself.
(scene change)
"Could it?" Starfire asked, as stormclouds gathered outside the Tower.
"I don't think it's that bad," Cyborg replied. At least, not that kind of bad, he thought to himself.
"Yeah, Star, come on! Look, don't take this the wrong way, but if I had you for a girlfriend, why would I want to be with Blackfire?"
"But what if it is true? What if the reason Robin has been so moody was because he was in love with my sister and not me?" Starfire lamented.
"Star, I was just joking when I said that!" Beast Boy said, belatedly regretting what he thought was an offhand remark.
As soon as Dawn and Blackfire had left, speculation regarding what caused Dawn's outburst had driven the already harassed Robin to investigate, removing the only presence who could possibly keep what may have been two of the most volatile Titans in check.
"Yes, but what if it was not a joke? What if it was a joke that turned out to be true, except you did not know it to be true when you said it was not true and only a joke-"
"Starfire, you're not making any sense!" Beast Boy said.
"I am making perfect sense! And so are you!"
"I told you Star, I-was-just-joking!"
In Cyborg's defence, he was trying his best to keep things under control.
"Alright you two, THAT'S ENOUGH!" he said, sounding eerily like Robin. "Now hush up before you make me really mad!"
There was a small silence before Beast Boy asked, "'Hush up'?"
"Yeah, 'Hush up'. You gotta problem with that?"
The other two Titans nodded hurriedly.
"Good."
"What's good?" Raven asked, coming in.
Turning to look at her, Beast Boy found himself shocked to see how haggard she looked, while Starfire involuntarily backed away. "Raven?" he whispered. "What happened to you?"
Looking at her like this, he wished it were simpler, that it was some monster or mind control magic that was making Raven go through all of this; instead, he faced the unbearable fact that he couldn't do anything about it. At least he could fight a monster or magic- he may not have been able to win, but at least he would have been able to do something.
He wanted to say something, anything to ease Raven's pain, but no matter what he thought of saying, it left him feeling more and more wretched. It was all he could do to ask her "W-what's up, Raven? Need any help?"
"No thanks, Beast Boy," Raven said, the weariness in her voice only managing to cut him deeper than her appearance did. "I'm okay-"
"No Raven, you are most definitely not 'okay'" Starfire said, overcome with shame after her momentary cowardice, "Please, you must let us help you!"
"Listen to her, Raven!" Beast Boy said, before he could stop himself. Raven stopped, and for one moment, the other three Titans present there thought she was going to unleash another maelstrom of psychic energy.
Then she sighed. "I'm okay- at least, okay enough," she said. "I just came up here to see what the problem was."
"We were that loud?" Cyborg asked, bewildered.
"Not physically; I could feel your emotions from downstairs," Raven offered by way of explanation, and immediately regretted it. Had her mind not been a battered wreck, she would have chosen her words more carefully. As it was, she felt her inadvertent honesty send shock coursing through the bloodstreams of her three friends, but for different reasons.
Starfire found herself being scared not of Raven's powers, for she knew that deep down inside, Raven was their friend, and would never hurt them, no matter what. What both scared and shamed Starfire was the thought that Raven had sensed the fear Starfire felt toward her. Second only to Robin, Raven was Starfire's best friend, and the thought of losing Raven's friendship…
Having had known Raven for so long, Cyborg thought he pretty well knew everything that Raven could or couldn't do, but considering what she had just said, he hadn't even begun to scratch the surface. Of course, this sudden ability to read minds from a floor or two below them might have been caused by this 'demonic maturity' thing, as Robin had called it- like that made it any better.
Beast Boy was terrified that Raven had felt not just his anger, but why he was angry. How would she feel about him? Will she like him? Hate him? Just 'cos he loved her didn't mean she loved him back. It would be great if she said, "Yeah, BB, I like you too," but what if she said "I'm going to east your SOUL!" or something like that like blasting him with mental energy or tearing him to itty bitty bits like that the aliens in that movie he saw…
However, it could be said that the most frightened person in the room was Raven herself, frightened not only of the magnitude, but also the capabilities of her powers. It used to be that she could only detect emotions, but now not only could she sense them from a distance, she could read minds. And to make matters worse, the people whom she regarded as her family was now afraid of her. It didn't matter that the fear was as alien to them as it was to her, it only mattered that they were afraid.
"Raven? Raven!" Beast Boy said as he watched the Azerath crumple to the ground. "Okay, that's it, you're really not okay," he said as he picked her up, his fear gone, replaced by a sudden wave of kindness mixed with pity.
"I am okay," Raven insisted. Apparently she either tired herself out trying to create a mental block, or her own power was such that even trying to block it was a monumental effort. Both were disturbing possibilities.
As Beast Boy helped her up, Raven assessed her situation. As far as she could tell, her mind reading powers had been successfully blocked, and her empathic capabilities, while still present, were not as sensitive as before-
"What's wrong, Raven?" Beast Boy asked, as Raven gasped. "What are you looking…at…" he trailed off, when he turned to the window Raven was looking out of, behind Cyborg and Starfire, whose jaws also dropped when they saw what their two friends were looking at.
As fate would have it, it was at that moment that Robin entered, Blackfire and Dawn in tow. They had planned to tell the other Titans only that Dawn was leaving that night, not she and Blackfire would like to have a little alone time beforehand ("Don't worry," Dawn assured Robin, "Raven won't even notice we've been gone."), or what Robin privately thought of as the Blackfire/Raven Affair, at least not yet.
"Hey guys- Raven?" Robin said, startled. When did she come up here? Turning to his side, he saw that both Blackfire and Dawn looked like they were wondering the same thing.
And then something behind them caught his eye, and his jaw dropped. Wondering what all the fuss was about, Blackfire also feeling a little miffed that she wasn't the centre of attention, she and Dawn turned to see what was behind them.
Oh, that why. Now I've definitely seen everything, Blackfire thought in shock.
Outside the window, a gigantic reptilian beast towered over the city, and as the Titans watched, it grew even larger, enveloped in a strange blue glow.
"Biiiig lizard," Cyborg said dumbly.
"Very big lizard," Beast Boy confirmed.
It was then that some tortured circuit in Robin's hurried patch job of a temporary receiver finally managed to pass a signal through, sounding the alarm.
(scene change)
"I'm going, and you can't stop me," Dawn insisted in the Tower a few minutes before.
"Watch me," Blackfire said. What was she thinking? Couldn't she see that this would make things worse between her and Raven?
Or was that what she was trying to do? A 'torched soil' tactic?
"Have you seen the size of that thing? You're going to need all the help you can get!"
Blackfire was about to reply, when Raven spoke up, "She's right," Raven said wearily. "You can't fight it without her help- or mine," she finished.
"Raven, you can't be serious," Beast Boy protested, "But you-"
"I what?" Raven asked testily.
At first Beast Boy looked like he was going to back off, but his feelings for Raven apparently won out. "You can't go; at least, not like this! You'll get yourself k- I mean, you could hurt yourself, or something," he said.
At first, Raven was silent, but when she did speak, it was with a familiar, welcome strength that the other Titans thought was lost. "I know," she said, "But I am not going to sit here and do nothing while you risk your lives."
"But if you come along, you might end up hurting someone else," Robin said, to shocked looks from the other Titans.
"People are going to get hurt anyway whether I help them or not, Robin," Raven said, looking him in the eye. "Please, I want to help," she whispered.
Robin stood there, holding her gaze. Then he gave a small nod, and the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile. "So, you're sure you can handle yourself?"
"Yes, Robin, I'm sure."
"…Alright, if you say so," he said, sounding a great deal surer than he actually was.
"Alright, okay, everything's fine now," Beast Boy said, "Can we just go? Or have you forgotten THAT?" he said, pointing out the window.
(scene change)
"You guys okay up there?" Robin's voice crackled over the intercom.
"As long as it doesn't rain while we're up here," Blackfire grumbled. "If it does, I'll make sure you'll be the first one we tell about it," she added darkly.
Normally, Raven would have been put off by what Blackfire said, but this time, she was more than willing to let it slide. Sometimes she forgot just how short a time Blackfire had spent on Earth, and how, despite her apparent ease in fitting in with her fellow Titans, sometimes fell back on old habits.
For instance, anger or sarcasm to hide any sign that maybe she wasn't as 'in control' as she would have liked to have been.
Raven didn't need her increasingly volatile mental powers to see that Blackfire was nervous about being alone up here with her, while Dawn and Starfire flew along another vector, but it wasn't exactly the sort of discomfort that Raven had expected, especially when combined with the relief she sensed coming from Blackfire when she had entered earlier with Dawn and Robin, before she had put up her mental shield…
Raven wondered for a moment if raising the shield was the right thing to do; it would really help if she knew what Blackfire was thinking right now.
Every one of Blackfire's thoughts open to her.
Every aspect of Blackfire's personality open to her.
To read-
-TO CONTROL-
Raven shut her eyes tightly, trying to purge the thoughts that had suddenly flooded her mind. Where had those- never mind, she knew. Looks like those mental barriers she had erected weren't as strong as she had tried to make them.
Or her dark side was not as trapped as she had thought it had been.
-CONTROL HER TAKE HER MAKE HER YOUR OWN IT'S SO EASY SO EASY DO IT-
Raven gasped and eyes shut, held her head in her hands, not only trying to clear her mind, but also to try soothe some of the blinding pain that had shot through her head. She didn't even realize that Blackfire had stopped her in mid-flight until she heard Blackfire speak.
"Raven-"
"I'm all right," Raven replied before Blackfire could say anything. "Come on, we have a-"
"You're not going anywhere," Blackfire warned. "Except back to the Tower."
"Do you see that?" Raven asked, pointing to the gigantic lizard rampaging through the city. "Good. Let's go," she said.
"Not this side of the hells, Raven; I'll-"
Suddenly, Raven placed her hand on Blackfire's cheek. "I'm alright," she said slowly and deliberately. "Trust me. You do trust me, right?" she asked, a strange mixture of hope and uncertainty in her voice.
"…Yes."
"Good, let's go."
(scene change)
"So far, so good, sir," one technician said, monitoring his console. "No sign of the Titans yet."
"I suggest you reconsider that opinion," Dr. Sevarius warned, in his characteristic oily tones, "The fact that we haven't seen any response by the Titans means that they are up to something. Not that they could do anything to stop Gojira, of course, but they would prove unwanted nuisances."
"The keyword here being 'nuisances', Doctor," Cassius said, his confidence evident. "And how are you doing, Karl?" he asked, turning to his assistant.
"The good Doctor Sevarius worries too much," Karl said, his face hidden by the mind-control helmet he was wearing. "He should try putting this helmet on before he starts shooting off at his mouth."
"You insolent little-"
"Come now, Doctor, are you going to let a simple schoolyard taunt like that distract from what is essentially, your victory?" Cassius said. In truth, he felt that Sevarius existed only as a facilitator, someone important, but not essential; had Cassius not found him, he had a team of scientists ready to take his place. It was just that Sevarius expedited the process. He just had to make sure Sevarius's overinflated ego didn't become a threat.
This was his victory. Not Sevarius's, not Karl's not even Gojira's. This victory belonged to one man, and one man only, he thought, as he mused, watching the video feedback.
Cassius Wolfe.
And he would make sure no-one here forgot it, one way or another.
"Sir? It appears that the Titans have arrived," one technician said.
"I knew it," Sevarius said, revelling in his small triumph. "Wonder what took them so long?"
"I think you should apply your considerable intelligence to whatever they might come up with," Karl said, a hint of annoyance tainting his confident voice. Whether it was annoyance with the Titans or with Sevarius, no-one ever knew. "Especially that witch, or the clockwork Negro."
"Be careful Karl, your upbringing's showing," Sevarius bit back.
"And yet he raises valid points," Cassius pointed out. "Our intelligence indicates that this 'Raven' possesses powers capable of negating our mind control, while the Cyborg's attachments include heavy energy weaponry. Are you sure this creature may be unharmed by either of these?"
"Don't worry, sir. In my varied career, I've often had need of magical... assistance. The warlocks I consulted assure me that the charms they had placed upon the mind control equipment would be more than enough to withstand any and all mental assaults. Even if she had the help of that shapeshifter from the Justice League, she would do no more than give Karl a slight headache. As for the 'clockwork Negro', as Mr. Mannheim so aptly puts it, tests have proven that the Gojira's hide is more than thick enough to resist it. A few minor burns, no more."
He turned his attention to the same viewscreen that had caught Cassius's. "Don't worry, comrades. The Titans are formidable to be sure, but at the heart of the matter they are children, just children."
