IMPORTANT NOTICE: Please read "Uninvited: A Rewrite" before reading this chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, or Dante's Inferno, blah blah blah.
(Begin fic)
"Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To know that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice."
-Robert Frost, Fire and Ice.
"Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December..."
-Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven
Frost.
Cold.
Ice.
Numb.
The universe will end in ice, scientists say. They say all the planets, stars, and galaxies will keep drifting until they are so far away that heat can no longer spread between them.
And then…a universal ice age…with no life at all.
Everything freezes in the end.
Everything goes cold.
Everything goes numb…
In Dante's Inferno, the last circle of the underworld is a sheet of pure ice. Those condemned to it are frozen within forever.
And as the gate says, they have no hope, for freedom or warmth. Only the icy cold of despair.
Only the ice of despair.
Only the numbness of despair.
For that is what it is. The ultimate numbness of hope, of happiness, of what the Norse called "the stubborn will to live."
Someone that cold lives a bleak life.
A bleak life indeed.
Titans Tower, December 1st.
"Doesn't anyone find it strange that it's snowing in California?"
"Robin, come on! Enjoy it!"
It was a white day at Jump City.
As in, it was covered in snow. A rare occurrence for a town in California. It certainly wasn't a blizzard though.
Still, all schools were canceled. And everyone dressed warmly.
The Titans, prepared for everything, wore their winter getups. Hats, coats, and scarves.
Robin, always suspicious, was peering outside the window. Mask still on, his wool winter wear were the same colors as his costume.
Starfire, wearing a purple down jacket and hat, was staring near him.
"So, this 'snow' is the same as rain, except the atmosphere is so cold that the water molecules crystallize into solid matter?"
Starfire was curious about this Earth phenomenon. Indeed, she woke them up, thinking something was possibly wrong in jump city.
Beast Boy, dressed in green and purple, was at the door.
"Dudes, c'mon! We have to go outside before it melts. When is the next chance we get to play in the snow?"
"Playing in the snow. Pointless."
Raven was reading a book. She in fact did not have any winter wear at all, and was still dressed in her trademark cloak and leotard.
"Raven, don't you want to wear something though? You'll freeze…"
Raven put down her book. "Beast Boy, I was trained in not only controlling my emotions, but also my body temperature. I don't need to wear confining coats."
"But…"
"Leave her alone, Beast Boy."
That was Cyborg. He also wasn't dressed in any winter wear. Being a half-robot, he could basically generate heat.
Raven took a short look at Cyborg's face. It was neutral. She took a glance at the other Titans.
It was only a short while after the incident with Psimon. The Titans had mostly bounced back.
Beast Boy was the first to recover, a fact which Raven was surprised at…and yet, not surprised at. The thing about Beast Boy that she only found out recently was that he kept his problems inward. He hid them with laughter and silliness. He didn't want to feel the pain of what must have been the numerous losses in his life.
Starfire had bounced back just as quickly, although Raven noticed she was being a bit more…preppy. It was almost as if she needed to convince herself she still had friends.
Robin took a little while to get back to "normal". Even now though, he was still…cautious. Guarded.
'At least he's not jumping at his shadow.'
And Cyborg…
Whatever Psimon said to Cyborg, it hit him hard. He spent most of the day after that battle in his room, only coming out for emergencies. The next day he was in another of his grumpy "I don't want to hear about it" moods.
Bizarrely, he still let Raven sit down next to him that day as Cyborg played video games whilst she read a book.
And now…well…he still smiled, but not as much.
She sighed and turned back to her book.
Jump City Park
Cyborg didn't have a good reason to smile.
After the "chat" with Psimon, Cyborg did a bit of research on Titans Tower.
The Tower was being built even before the team became an official team. When they were just some people trying to do some good in the world.
The Tower was miraculously finished in only a few weeks. The mayor of Jump City requested that the Teen Titans (or at the time, those four teenage superheroes) stay in it to protect the City.
And they accepted. But he never did try to find out who built it in the first place. The mayor said it was an anonymous benefactor.
But Cyborg found out easily enough. He pried through the internet and found the building designs to be made by S.T.A.R. Labs.
Specifically, a research scientist, Silas Stone.
Cyborg felt anger at first. 'Can't he ever leave me alone? Can't he let me live my life in peace? Am I still an experiment to him?'
Now, he just felt…hollow.
And cold.
The cold of steel.
He was outside at the moment, in the park with the other Titans. Even Raven was there, pushed into it by an eager Beast Boy. She was just sitting down by a tree, as usual.
He looked around him, seeing everything with one robotic eye and a half-electronic brain.
And a snowball plowed into his head.
"Gotcha Cyborg!"
Cyborg turned around and looked at Beast Boy. Slowly, a small smile came to his face.
He learned to accept being a robot. He'll learn to accept this too.
After all, life goes on.
He made a snowball of his own and threw it at the shape shifting sprite.
T-T-T-T-T-T
Starfire was incredulous at the activities of the others in the park.
"Robin! Why are these people falling to the ground and waving their arms?"
Robin smiled. 'Good old Starfire.' "They're making snow angels. Watch.
With expert precision, he fell, waved his arms, and got up, all without any more marks in the snow than necessary.
Starfire was dazzled at the imprint of Robin with wings. "It's beautiful…"" She turned to the dark Titan, sitting under the tree. "Raven! Perhaps you would like to make an angel of snow yourself?"
'Snow angels…me making a snow angel. That's a laugh.'
"What laugh?"
Raven was bit jolted. Not by the voice…she knew it was the voice of her mind, or one of her emotions. It was the coldness of that voice.
"Raven?"
Starfire broke Raven out of her shocked state. Regaining her composure: "No."
"But…" "No."
Starfire looked at Raven sadly…then proceed to make a snow angel of her own.
Raven sighed. 'Silly Starfire.'
"At least she can be silly."
The cold voice again. Raven was suddenly gripped with a small fright. 'It can't be…can it?'
Raven hoped for a laugh, for anything at all. But there was only silence in her mind.
'I need the mirror…this can't be what I think it is…don't let it be out, please …'
RUMBLE RUMBLE. The ground shook.
Raven got up. The other Titans got into position.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE THWOP Snow fell from trees. "AHHHHHH!" People ran screaming.
Suddenly, what looked like a giant white icicle rose up from the ground. It opened up, revealing a humanoid figure with eye sockets and an icy tiger-like mouth. There were spikes all over its body, looking for all the world as giant killer snowflakes. It was a frozen icy sculpture.
And then the eyes glowed red as the beast began to move. "ROARRRRR!"
The Titans almost immediately were in their normal costumes, winter wear discarded. "Titans, go!"
T-T-T-T-T-T
Robin threw explosive disks. After all, the fiery explosion would melt a creature made of ice.
The monster grabbed the projectile in mid air with one of its spiked arms. When it opened its hand, the disk fell to the ground and broke to pieces: it froze before it could explode.
The monster was immediately hit with a blue sonic cannon blast. The monster roared again as shards of it broke off. It was then charged by a green T-Rex.
The monster caught it in mid-charge and threw it at an airborne Starfire, who couldn't get away in time. Beast Boy turned back to normal before they hit the ground with a shower of frost.
With a wave of its hand, the ice creature fired a blast of winter wind at Robin and Cyborg. WHOOSH! They were both sent tumbling.
"Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS!"
Raven picked up various trees and threw them directly at the creature. It batted them away with its huge hands.
Raven then sent a blast of dark-lightning at the beast. It howled in pain and fell on its knees.
Raven flew closer to it, hands glowing with energy…
FWOOOOW! The monster looked up and breathed a breath of pure ice and Raven.
'So cold!'
Raven was knocked backwards. The monster then got up. "ROAAAR!"
"Raven!" The team was immediately at her side.
She was unconscious, and her skin was freezing to the touch. It had a bluish tint in it, as well.
Robin issued the command "Cyborg, Beast Boy, get her to the Tower. Starfire and I will handle this."
Cyborg nodded at leapt up on the now pterodactyl Beast Boy. He immediately flew in the direction of their base.
Starfire and Robin turned to face the icy monster.
'So cold…'
'So…very cold…'
Raven's Mind.
It was all very cold at first. She remembered the monster breathing pure ice on her.
Then suddenly she was in her head.
At least, she thought she was in her head.
She hadn't visited this place in a while.
It was a frozen cavern entirely made out of ice. All of it was ice. From the ceiling to the floor.
And the floor had people in it.
Yes…people. Everyone that Raven ever felt toward, whether that feeling was love, friendship, or hate, they were all there, frozen forever in the ice, their faces twisted in silent screams of pain.
Raven looked away. She couldn't bear to see that horrible sight...
Looking up at the ceiling was not good, since it just reflected the frozen forms below. She turned around.
She knew what to expect, but even then she was frightened.
It was another mental image of her father. He was frozen in the ice all the way to his upper torso, his arms and legs under the ice. He was looking less demonic than he was the last time she "saw" him.
In fact, this image of her father, was crying, weeping tears of pain that froze when the hit the ground.
And he was chewing something in his mouth.
'Who is it? My friends? Azar? Terra?'
'Mother?'
"Raven."
The voice was dead. It was emotionless. It was pure ice.
Raven turned around. She was scared at what she saw…but not surprised…oh yes…not surprised at all.
Beast Boy and Cyborg did not meet all of Raven's emotions. There was one emotion in particular, that she did not want them to meet. In some ways, it was worse than red-cloaked Rage.
The other half of her demon side. She thought she sealed it away a long time ago…but to quote a Steven King story: "Sometimes they come back."
Her cloak was a pure black. It had those fearsome four red eyes. But these eyes weren't filled with anger. They were empty. Devoid of emotion, of love, of warmth. There was only ice in those eyes.
Raven named the emotion. "Despair."
Titans Tower
"Will she be okay?"
There were at the infirmary, once again. And Raven was lying on the cot, once again.
But this time she wasn't floating. She was flat on the ground. She was covered with heavy blankets.
Cyborg looked at the charts his expression, his voice and expression neutral. "All of her vital signs are normal…except her temperature is fifty degrees Fahrenheit. Half of a human's normal body temperature."
A chill went down Beast Boy's spine. "She's not going to…"
"Like I said, everything looks normal. It's as if her body has suddenly started to function normally at cold temperatures."
Beast Boy understood what Cyborg was saying. He had been enough animals to know that not all living things have a temperature of 98.5. "Then aren't we giving her too many blankets? I mean, if that's her normal temperature…"
And Cyborg blew up. "Did I SAY that was her normal temperature! Does it LOOK like she's okay! Anything can be happening to Raven and all you can do is make STUPID JOKES!"
And some of that anger Beast Boy kept inside of him got out. "DO YOU THINK I'M JOKING! Dude! I'm just trying to help!"
They glared at each other for an instant longer…before realizing what they were doing. Their expression softened.
"Look…BB, I'm sorry…it's just…"
"Things just keep going from bad worse…I know what you mean."
They turned to look at Raven.
"Hey…how about I make her some herbal tea?"
Cyborg was a bit shocked. "You know how to make herbal tea?"
"Hey, it's vegetarian!" Beast Boy had the uncanny ability to make dark things brighter. He ran out of the room and into the kitchen.
T-T-T-T-T-T
"Hmm…let's see…"
Beast Boy found the packets and had already set up the kettle of hot water. But before he could turn the stove on, he remembered something.
"Aw man! I forgot how hot the tea should be!"
"I think it should be freezing."
Beast Boy had no time to turn around as everything suddenly turned very, very, cold.
T-T-T-T-T-T
Cyborg looked to Raven and then looked back to the chart again. He then heard footsteps.
"Beast Boy?"
He turned around to see Beast Boy, curled up in the fetal position, slide across the floor.
"Beast Boy!" He knelt down and put a hand on the green Titan.
"S-so…cuh-cold…"
And then Cyborg looked up at the figure behind Beast Boy.
The man wore a long white robe, with a line of yellow down the middle. Some black lines were around the sleeves and the lower portion of the robe.
The very top was a yellow bordered black folded over diamond with a bizarre inhuman head design on it. It looked like it had tentacles coming from its nose, its horns were bent inward, and two black eyes were prominent on the design. The robe ended in a yellow circle, and a line of black was around the neck. Around his hands were reddish silvery gloves.
The face was young, but old at the same time. Piercing, almost judgmental, blue eyes contrasted with white hair dressed in three points. The man's face was stern his demeanor almost sinister.
Cyborg knew the man very well.
Brother Blood smiled. "Hello Cyborg. Nice weather we're having."
Raven's Mind
"How did you escape?"
Raven never took her eyes of the black-clad emotion.
Despair answered, her voice having an almost haunting similarity to her father's.
"You have confused me with Rage. Rage comes quickly, and often passes quickly, but I am slow and patient. I move like a glacier, slowly, but silently. Even after you locked me in this icy pit, I have been freeing myself. For you cannot distance yourself from Despair. Nor can you tell when it sneaks up on you…not until your heart becomes gripped by ice, until you realize the truth, that life is a mistake. And the truth is not something that easy to get rid of"
During this lecture, Despair had no change in tone, no change in inflection. Just the bitter apathy of her cold voice.
Raven responded. "Life is not a mistake. What you say is not the truth." Her voice was monotone, but it still held more emotion than the four-eyed hooded figure.
Despair continued. "You think that by believing in the lie known as 'friendship' you will find peace with yourself. You will find yourself away from me. But your ignorance can't last forever. Indeed, it is already going away. Already, you have had three lessons on the truth of 'friendship', that no one cares for other, only for themselves."
Despair raised a hand to the side to indicate the ice patch there. Suddenly, an image played.
The Titans were shocked.
There in front of them was their leader. But now he was working for his own enemy. His vibrant red costume was dropped for a cold metallic one. His noble "R" was replaced by a sinister "S" And Raven saw a bizarre reflection of what she could be…
The image shifted.
The blond smiled as Raven was suddenly pulled down into the abyss, as she could only gasp for air once before the waters consumed her. And she was filled with hate for this traitor…this betrayer…and yet Raven wondered what would happen if she was in this girl's shoes, if she was offered freedom…
And the image shifted once more.
The dragon laughed manically as he clutched Raven in a talon.
The saying "Like mother, like daughter" was never more true at this moment.
It is funny how history repeats itself.
It was not funny for Raven, who was tricked again. Who was betrayed again. Except this time, she made the same mistakes that led to the curse of her existence.
And the girl was doing everything she could to keep that curse in control.
"And you can never keep it in control." The image disappeared, and Despair spoke once more, four eyes full of nothingness. "Even as you subdued Rage, Despair crept up on you. And now there is no escaping the ice."
Raven showed no outward disturbance at these memories, though indeed, her peace of mind was already in more danger than normal. Raven concentrated on her words. "You can't hurt me. You may have crept up slowly, but you have given me time to get used to you. I don't feel cold."
"You don't feel cold," droned Despair "because I will it."
And the black emotion waved her hand in a gesture.
And…
'It's so cold it's so cold how can it be so cold? so numb so ice all ice all depression all ice all despair nothingness rules all it is all nothing no feelings never feelings condemned to cold to ice to despair to pain to death…'
And she sunk down into the ice, hunched over, arms and cloak wrapped around her in a futile gesture for warmth.
And Despair did not even give a smile of satisfaction. There was just that cold emotionless look as Raven went down down down…into the pit of ice.
Just before Raven was buried fully, Despair had one last phrase. "Despair shall consume you. Despair has consumed you."
The Park
The monster roared as he threw another wave of cold wind- WOOOSH- at the Boy Wonder and the alien princess.
Robin dodged the attacked, at sent a grappling hook into the monster. Using it to gain leverage, he leaped over the monster and threw a disk into its shoulder.
A new kind of disk
A flame throwing disk.
A fire immediately started on the monsters shoulder. "GUH-OWWWWW!" It screamed in pain.
"Starfire, now!"
She then flew Starbolt after Starbolt after eye beam after eye beam at the fire on the monster.
The fire grew stronger with each blast fired into it. It began to cover more of the monster as it put out steam!
"GWAHHHHHH!"
SIZZLE! SWISH!
The monster began to melt into a white puddle. Red energy sparkled from its body as it lost his cohesion and began to drip.
Eventually the eyes faded out…and the monster broke into pieces.
The fire then went out, killed by the very water it helped to melt.
Starfire flew to Robin. "We must go check on Raven! She could still be hurt.
She was stopped by a sudden glow in the jewels of her armbands.
Robin took out his communicator. "It's from Cyborg…" His somewhat gloomy voice then became urgent. He looked up. "There's an emergency at the Tower!"
Starfire gasped.
Robin began to run. "We have to get there; the others could be in danger!"
Titans Tower
Cyborg extended his sonic cannon while activating his emergency call button. "How did you get here?" he growled.
Brother Blood's smile became broader. "Well, the door was unlocked, so I felt I should stop here and see how things are going."
He then looked down. "Your friend, however, does seem to be cold-blooded."
Cyborg growled. "How did you escape from jail? The Titans East saw you in prison yesterday!"
"Ah, but you see Cyborg, that wasn't exactly me."
Cyborg suddenly understood. "Another illusion, Brother?"
"Oh, Cyborg…I wouldn't call them illusions…I call them acts. Acts in a brilliant and beautiful play."
Brother Blood closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. He then opened them again and continued. "You know Cyborg, everything that has happened has really all been foreshadowing in this wonderful play. And I mean everything. But at last, we have reached the final act. And this play will reach its grand climax. A very sad tragedy…or a happy comedy, if you look at it my way."
"Your way." Cyborg spat. "What is your way? Do you see brainwashing teenagers, playing mind games, and causing destruction fun?"
Brother Blood said presently. "The first two? Yes. But causing destruction isn't fun. It is my sacred duty, as a Brother Blood." His tone immediately became…patriotic, for lack of a better word.
"There's MORE of you!" Even in seeing through Blood, he didn't see that.
The priest laughed again. "Brother Blood is not a name, Cyborg. It is a title. And I am the one that bears it, and I am the one that leads the beloved institution that my family founded: the esteemed Church of Blood."
'So that's where he came from.' Cyborg thought. 'Arrogant jerk.'
Brother Blood continued. "You would have been an important member in my little flock, had you stayed with me. I could have given you your humanity, Stone, and more besides…that is your name, correct? Victor Stone?"
A bit of shock flashed through Cyborg's face only to calm down into determination. "You would only make me think I had my humanity. No…you couldn't even do that."
Brother Blood gave a part smirk, part scowl. "Oh yes…that. It doesn't really matter in the end."
Brother Blood then raised his red and silver gloved hands and looked up to the sky. "The play will go on."
In that instant, Cyborg fired.
Brother Blood reacted with his red barrier, sending the projectile off to the side. Cyborg then rolled over in the other direction, firing another blast, which Brother Blood promptly dodged.
"Tsk tsk Cyborg. You really need to get an upgrade on your systems." Brother Blood then fired a stream of crimson snowflakes. Cyborg barely got out of the way as it froze the very ground where he was.
Cyborg then pounced on Brother Blood, knocking him to the ground. Cyborg growled a bit before he was pulled off by dual blasts of red lightning from the wicked priest's hands.
They stood up, facing each other off again. Silence.
Then Brother Blood shot his arm at Cyborg like a rocket.
'What the heck?'
He leapt out of the way as the rocket powered arm returned to Brother Blood's sleeve.
Cyborg got up and stared incredulously.
Brother Blood chuckled and lowered both his sleeves; those gloves of his weren't gloves
They were metallic claws, connected to metal arms with red circuitry separated by silver lines. A ridge of spikes was on the top of the arm.
"You see Cyborg; I have given myself some upgrades." His smile turned cruel. "Courtesy of your blueprints."
Cyborg gave a roar as he charged.
Brother Blood's eyes glowed red as his metal claw charged with red energy. He dodged Cyborg's fist and struck out with it.
Cyborg dodged just in time as the claw only grazed part of his arm, scraping off some of the metal.
Cyborg unleashed a kick that managed to send Blood into the air. He landed on his feet a distance away, charged up both his hands, and unleashed a narrow sharp crest of energy.
Cyborg ducked as the wave sliced through part of the Tower walls, letting the cold air in.
Brother Blood only laughed.
"You actually think you can defeat me Cyborg? When my powers far outstrip your own?"
Cyborg then did something unexpected. He smiled.
"I can't beat you alone…"
At that moment Robin leapt up with his staff.
CRACKLE! At the last second Brother Blood turned around and put up his barrier, blocking the attack. He then expertly dodged the waves of green flying at him, leaping an inhuman height over Cyborg's head.
The priest surveyed the scene. "Well well well, what do we have here? Robin the Boy Wonder and Starfire of Tamaran. Marvelous. I hope my icy friend didn't give you too much trouble…"
Comprehension flared in Robin's eyes. "This was a trap."
Brother Blood gave a grin. "Like I told Cyborg, I prefer the word 'act'…and speaking of which…" he then pointed a hand to Raven.
The dark girl rose up from the bed, almost like a zombie arising from the dead. Her face was expressionless as she put up her hood.
And then she opened her eyes.
Her four red eyes.
"Well Cyborg, it's been fun," Brother Blood said agreeably "I'll see you again if you survive." He disappeared in a flash of red.
And at that moment, the four eyed Raven fired a bolt of dark energy at the Titans.
T-T-T-T-T-T
ZAP! CRASH! STOMP STOMP STOMP.
The Titan's retreated down to the basement, carrying the frozen Beast Boy with them.
Or at least three of them were. Raven was slowly gliding after them, hands glowing with dark energy.
Robin was the first to speak. "Raven, control yourself!"
The Titan in question made no response other than to pick up crates and throw them at the Boy Wonder.
Robin dodged with a back flip. Cyborg then tried to reach her next. "Calm down Raven!"
Again, she was silent, creating a series of shadowy cutters. Cyborg hit the deck as they whizzed over his head.
Starfire then rose, her face and voice pleading. "Please listen to us Raven! We are your friends!"
And then she replied in a dead, hollow voice. "I don't have any 'friends.'" Even though he was half-frozen, Beast Boy perked up at that statement.
Raven then continued. "There is no such thing as friendship. It is but a lie, in the flaw that is 'life'. The lie must be replaced with truth, and the error must be corrected."
The Titans were horrified at Raven's words. Starfire knew all too well what was going on, from the talk she and Raven had, in what was like a million years ago, but Cyborg was confused, and Robin even more so.
'Her despair has overtaken her!' Starfire.
'She's not angry…' Cyborg.
'She never told me she could lose her sanity!' Robin.
Raven then raised her hands, and created a ball of pure dark energy.
The Titans scattered, Cyborg holding Beast Boy, as she threw it, the energy it released creating a big black explosion that sent the Titans flying.
Cyborg hit the ground from Raven's assault.
"…Rrraven…"
Cyborg looked at his semi-frozen friend. "Beast Boy…"
"Suh-Cyborg….listen…Rrraven isss fuh-frozennn …"
An explosion was then heard from the other side of the room. Raven was fighting Robin and Starfire.
"Sheee'sss…cuh-cuh-cold…ssoo cold…ssoo numb…"
Cyborg bent down to listen closer.
"Give her war-warmth, Cyborg." His teeth began to chatter. "Give her some wuh-wuh-warmthhhh…"
He then just chattered his teeth and began to shiver.
'Warmth…me giving warmth. That's a laugh.'
Steel, after all, has the property of conducting away heat.
'I have to try…'
With and effort he got up and called out. "Raven!"
With a swish of her cloak, the four-eyed girl turned around.
Cyborg then spoke quietly. "Life isn't a mistake, Raven."
She only stared at him and then spoke. "Life isn't a mistake? If I could feel, I would be laughing right now. Life is a mistake. It is the biggest error ever created. It is only painful and cold, and yet people are so attached to it that they want to go on forever, clinging to their pain." There was a pause.
"I thought perhaps you would understand Cyborg. You are already half-dead."
That was a slap to Cyborg. He was silent, struggling to control his anger.
She
(It)
spoke again.
"Then again, you are not as dead as I am. The only reason I do not pull myself into death is because it would be wrong for me to do so. Even if I cannot feel, I cannot just sit by and watch others suffer with the endless agony of life."
And Cyborg countered. "Raven, maybe life isn't fair. And maybe the world doesn't care. But that doesn't mean it's a mistake! There may be bad moments, but there are good ones! There is happiness…" He then remembered what Beast Boy said. "There is warmth."
"Happiness? Warmth? Illusions. Delusions. Created by the mind to keep people existing. But I know the truth. I know there is no warmth. There is only ice. No-one cares in the end. No-one at all."
She raised her hand, crackling with dark energy.
Cyborg never really understood what came over him them. He felt almost as if he was pushed to do it…a theory that eventually became more plausible.
He grabbed her hand with his own. Gritting against the pain, he used his other hand to push a button on his arm.
Raven's face was still emotionless at first.
Then slowly…her features changed.
The eyes slowly widened, the mouth slowly opened, as the feeling came to her.
'Warmth…'
Cyborg simply increased the temperature of his hands.
It was almost like ice melting, as she slowly put her hand down, as her eyes began to close.
'So warm…'
The Titans watched in silence, as Raven kneeled down…
She felt it in her mind.
The touch.
The warmth.
Not her mother's touch…but a touch all the same.
And then she was pulled from the ice, feeling immediately coming into herself, her body no longer feeling numb.
She sensed two presences in the room. As her vision began to clear, she made them out.
They were two of her emotions. The first wore a lavender cloak. As always, she wore a mysterious smile, as if she knew something you didn't. That emotion was Love, the counterpart to Rage.
The other emotion wore a cloak of sky blue, almost white in its color. Her smile was genuine, a happy smile, the smile of a person who had just discovered happiness.
The emotion was Hope.
They spoke nothing. There were no words to say. Raven added her own smile to her emotions.
And then they vanished.
T-T-T-T-T-T
At the center of her mind, the black cloaked, four eyed emotion of Despair stood, like a bird waiting anxiously for its prey.
She…or it, whichever you prefer, had no idea of these goings on. Despair, after all, never looks at the good things. It only sees the bad.
So it was utterly surprised when the real Raven fired a stream of dark energy at it.
It just barely dodged the blast and looked at the true self.
"You got out." It was a statement, not a question. It fired a bolt of its own black energy, blacker than even Raven's if such a thing was possible.
Now let me interrupt Reader, to tell you that the blackness of despair is not really black at all. It is the color of nothingness, the color of the Void. Black absorbs color, and white reflects color, but the Void destroys color. And so when a person sees the Void, he sees black…because it is the brain's interpretation of what the eye sees, a 'color' that cannot be described, at least by humans.
A lavender light rose up and blocked the wave of despair.
"I had some help." Raven murmured as Love, smiling her mother's smile, appeared beside her.
Despair looked at the emotion darkly…darkly for despair anyway.
Then Hope appeared, cloak flying, eyes glowing, and she fired radiant streams of sky blue.
Despair was knocked backwards again, into a cliff under the black sky of Raven's mind.
It looked up from a sitting position to the real Raven.
"You will go back to where you belong."
"Nevermore."
Raven allowed a small smile to appear on her face at the reference, and then her eyes glowed white as she consumed Despair in black energy.
Despair gritted its teeth, it tried to break free of its bonds, but it never made a sound as it disappeared into 'black' energy and entered Raven.
Raven gritted her teeth as the energy pulsed through her, but then it was gone.
And she knew Despair was back in the ice.
And she opened her eyes.
She viewed the surroundings around her.
She was in the basement of Titans Tower, and it looked like a small battle took place. Not like a tornado, but the place was disorganized.
Cyborg was looking at her. He offered his hand. "Raven…you okay?"
She nodded as she took it and got up, taking off her hood. She looked around herself.
"Raven!" That was Starfire. "Thank X'hal you are better!"
"Is everything under control, Raven?" Robin spoke in a concerned tone.
"I need to meditate for a bit…but yes…where's Beast Boy?"
"Right here."
Hugging himself, Beast Boy moved closer to Raven and fell over. Starfire quickly caught him.
Raven's face betrayed some fear. "Beast Boy…did I…?"
"No." Cyborg was gruff. "It was Brother Blood. He was in the Tower."
Raven looked at Cyborg, then at Beast Boy, and then nodded. "Beast Boy…are you okay?"
He managed to pull of a smile. "Nothing some hot chocolate won't fix…but just in case…" Beast Boy then turned into a sea lion, complete with blubber.
Raven managed to give a smile, as she floated into her meditation position, floating in the air, knees crossed.
"Um…Raven?"
"Shouldn't you be in your room?" Starfire and Robin were both a bit flabbergasted.
"Not now…I need to meditate…but I need to know that I'm not alone…my friends…can you please stay? Just…for a little bit?"
The Titans nodded as one as Raven began her mantra.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos…"
UNKNOWN
A flash of red light, and Brother Blood was back in his lair.
The other figure in the room didn't turn around. "I trust the mission was a success?"
"If by 'a success' you mean I planted the surprise, then yes, it was." Brother Blood smiled wickedly.
(Fade to black)
Postscripts:
And yes, I have finished this chapter. With all of the side projects I'm writing as well, (which you may not see for a while) I think I'm doing more fanfiction writing than I ever did.
I would like to acknowledge Dante's Inferno for providing the allusions to that work.
As you may guess, the "Let me interrupt you, Reader" paragraph is my homage to Blackshield, who I must thank for becoming my beta-reader.
Despair, the black cloaked emotion, is my own little idea I had in mind for awhile now. And of course, Despair's opposite is Hope…so yeah.
Love is the name I give to that lavender cloaked emotion from the episode "Nevermore". Hey, Dante altered his sources to fit his works, and so can I!
I am now in even more competition than I was before. Not only must this fic stand against "These Black Eyes" by Post, but I also must compete against the actual show! Oh well.
Post 2/16/05: This chapter was written before either part of "Titans East" premiered, and well before I wrote "Uninvited: A Rewrite". So I ended up changing something to fit in with "Uninvited", but I apologize if for some reason there are any inconsistencies. The whole winter theme comes from this being written in November or December; I forget which.
I did manage to give Brother Blood some robotic implants, since I did enjoy those slashing moves he performed. Now that I think about it, I am reminded of the character Jax from Mortal Kombat, who also has metal arms. My mind scares me sometimes.
Next chapter will be a bit more lighthearted. Bumblebee will make an appearance, cameos galore of other characters, and that's right, ANOTHER villain from the comics.
And the chapter after that…well, let's just say that chapter is the reason why this fic gets it's name. In some ways, it'll be the turning point.
Yeah…I can't wait to write it.
Please review so I know you've read this.