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Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans so lets not try and sue me since I don't have anything to sue for.
Ch 23: Times of Peace
It was an unusually cold night in Jump City during a summer that had been nothing short of perfect. There seemed to be absolutely no wind at all as a thick cloud cover sat over the city blocking out the stars and moon. Just outside the city limits a young group of campers sat around a camp fire trying to tell scary stories but when you're from a city where supervillian attacks are a common occurrence, scary stories didn't quite have the same impact.
Little did they know that something truly frightening had occurred near the spot they sat. A battle for the universe had been fought here. Heaven had fought Hell and triumphed, Titans had been saved, darkness defeated, and a hero lost. No one knew of what transpired here that fateful day except 6 young heroes and one villain who had fled after the end. To the people of Earth, it would have looked just like a regular piece of beautiful forest that had an unusual spot of scorched earth which most simply believed came from other camper's fire.
It was these reasons why it was so surprising when two bolts of red lightning suddenly appeared right near this spot followed by a thunderous boom. The ground shook with the sound and all the campers cowered in fear. When everything finally returned to the quiet peacefulness it had been did the campers get out to inspect where the lightning seemed to have hit. They were startled to find a body laying on his back exactly on the spot of scorched Earth.
It was the body of a young man with long white hair. He was clad in only a tattered pair of what looked like shorts. What was most startling about him was the fact that his entire torso was covered in horrific scars that appeared to be from multiple burns, slashes, and stabs, including an extremely large one across his chest. It some spots it even looked like an animal had clawed or gnawed upon his body. His right arm was completely covered in scar tissue from fire and his right hand was missing two fingers. How anyone could have survived all those wounds was beyond any of there understanding.
Everyone let out a scream when his eyes shot open with a feral look in his eyes. A deep growl emanated from his chest as he backed up quickly into a crouching position as if he was expecting an attack. Everyone quickly noticed his eyes. One was the palest blue anyone had ever seen. It was almost see-through. The other however was even more unusual. A scar ran from across his face from above that eye down to his cheek. The eye itself was frightening to stare into. It was the darkest of black, a void of nothingness. The campers quickly began fearing for their lives and if sensing there fear, the person in front of them seemed to calm down. Even his black eye seemed to soften as he stood up into a standing position. The campers realized the young man stood about 6 feet tall with a muscular build though he seemed to be having trouble standing upright. The stranger eyed them carefully before speaking.
"You have no need to fear me...I will not hurt you. Please, trust me, I am no threat. All I ask is for some water. I have not had some in so very long."
The campers studied the figure in front of them. None of them knew why but staring into his blue eye they could feel that they could trust him. He radiated a secure feeling. One of the campers pulled himself together first and ran at got his canteen. He brought it over to the stranger who graciously accepted it. He brought the cool liquid to his lips and drank like a person who had not had water in months. Eventually he stopped and wiped his mouth with his hand and handed the canteen back to the camper.
"Thank you very much. You have no idea how much I needed that." Another camper found his voice and spoke.
"Why don't you come over to the fire. You must be cold with such little clothes." A warm smile graced the stranger's lips as he accepted the offer. He walked slowly, each step a little bit unsure in its sturdiness, but he stayed on his feet. As he passed the campers saw that his back was just as scarred as his chest. One camper noticed that one of the scars seemed to be a strange symbol but said nothing of it. Very few people in the Universe would have known what the symbol represented. It was the mark of Hell. It was the mark of Trigon.
The next afternoon at Titan's Tower was greatly warmer than the previous night had been. In fact it was absolutely perfect outside which worked out for the Titans as on this day the members of Titan's East had come to visit for a beach party. Each of the Titans took the opportunity of the day and were currently enjoying various beach activities.
Terra, Beast Boy, Bumble Bee, and Cyborg were playing an intense game of volleyball with insults being thrown loosely around by both the male members of the game. The girls simply shook their heads and gave knowing looks to each other as they both thought the same thing. 'Will those two ever grow up?'
Every willing and able male member of the Titan's East was currently helping Starfire build a sand castle. The Tamaranian beauty was wearing a very revealing pink bikini and was giggling happily as she worked. The bikini could be considered slightly inappropriate but was quite covering by Tamaranian standards. Of course there was nothing someone as pure and innocent as Starfire could do that could really be considered inappropriate.
The boys of Titan's East sat with hearts in their eyes as they helped her build the royal palace from her home planet. The four of them occasionally would glare daggers at the others when Starfire seemed to be paying attention to one more than the others. Starfire was slightly aware of this fact so tried to make sure everyone was equally involved in her fun. Of course she didn't realize that it was only a matter of time before the 4 young men beat each other to a pulp for the chance to take her on a date.
Robin sat quietly nearby keeping a careful eye on Starfire and the boys. He trusted them all but as usual, when it came to Starfire, he was very overprotective. He glanced over at his dark goddess who sat next to him quietly reading a book, her hair now slightly passed her shoulders. She wore a modest black one piece not all the different from her uniform minus the sleeves. It didn't matter what she wore, she was always the most beautiful woman in the world. As if feeling Robin's eyes on her, Raven glanced up with a slight blush and smiled.
"You don't see me gawking at your perfect chest now do you Robin." Robin gave her a cocky grin.
"I'm only perfect because I have you by my side. It's a relativity thing." Raven smiled at the cheesy comment though her voice remained flat.
"Flattery won't get you anywhere Robin. Not with this girl."
"I know but I'm still going to tell it like it is." Raven leaned forward and gave Robin a gentle kiss on the lips.
"Please be quiet Richard. I'm trying to read." Robin's eyes widened for a second though it was hard to tell through his mask. He smiled at her.
"Anything for you." Raven resumed reading as Robin became lost in his thoughts. It had been six months since the universe had been saved. It seemed with the end of the prophecy wanton hate and destruction seemed to diminish in the world. Following the great tragedies the Earth had suffered, the people of Earth had come together like never before to rebuild and help those that had suffered. Tragedy does always seem to bring out the best in people. Crime had all but vanished except for the occasional bank robbery or some foolishness with Mumbo Jumbo.
It was that reason that days like today had become so frequent. The members of Titan's East were over at least once a week to hang out since Jump City was much nicer than Steel City. Cyborg and Bumble Bee had developed a relationship though they bickered constantly about nothing. It was just there way. He was sure eventually one of the boys would strike up a relationship with Starfire but that was a whole other story.
Most importantly though, well at least to Robin was that each of the female members of the Titans had nearly recovered from the nightmares that plagued them though they still came on occasions. Starfire had returned to her usual self almost all the time though she was prone to a melancholy moment when something reminded her of what had happened. It didn't come up often as no one outside the first group of titans knew about SoulBurn and what had happened though Bumble Bee did know a little. It worked out the best that way and Starfire was almost always smiling and could always be counted on for a hug.
Terra had recovered well to and her and Beast Boy were more in love than ever. They had started a prank war with Cyborg though he had no idea he was involved. Some of the stuff they pulled was completely outrageous though it did help to bring a sense of carefreeness to the Tower.
Raven...Raven still suffered the most. It was hard when the one person she needed forgiveness from was her mother and she knew that could never happen. Robin weathered the nightmares with her as they almost always shared a bed in her room or his own, rarely sleeping alone. Robin was always there to share her pain and hold her till she fell asleep. He would never let her hurt if he could help it. The two birds had bonded deeper than the mental link had ever been. They truly were more than soulmates. Without her, Robin honestly believed he would probably die.
Robin and Raven's relationship had started slightly awkward as Raven had been very insecure. She never really had the freedom of emotions before and it took a lot of adjusting for her to express them. She had been prone to fall into deep depressions just as suddenly as she would be happier than Starfire. There were moments where she would hate her appearance and then a few moments later would be telling me how lucky I was to have someone as beautiful as her. No matter what the case, Robin was there by her side to do what he needed to help her.
It finally had come to the point where she was almost completely okay. Robin found himself smiling again at her reading form, thinking just how perfect she was. His thoughts slowly moved toward the Titan's new houseguest and his wonder of where the heck she was. Robin had made her go back inside when she had practically come out naked. She tried to claim that all the essentials were covered but he had made her change anyways. Robin had argued about it with her and she had eventually folded. He knew it wasn't often he won an argument with her. It was just about as often that he won one with Raven. Wonderfully stubborn girl, oh well he thought, he was sure she'd show up eventually, especially with such a perfect day outside.
Meanwhile in the main room of the tower, a brief flash of light occurred and a figure suddenly stood in the center of the room. He had been trying to teleport to the Titans but had found his powers had been slightly off and could not get to the exact spot. He barely had time to look around the room before he felt something slam into the back of his head and fell into darkness.
Robin sat taking in all the beautiful surroundings when he spotted their new guest coming over. It looked like she was carrying some type of sack over her shoulder, and it wasn't till she got closer that he noticed it was indeed a person.
"Hey guys. Caught this asshole breaking into the Tower, I mean who could really be stupid enough to try that." She deposited the body on the ground and everyone came over. Every single Titan gasped while all at the same time the members of Titan's East simply looked confused. Bumble Bee was the first to speak.
"I'd assume by your gasping that you know this guy. Want to fill us in on who he his?" No one said a thing but simply stood there like statues, tears could be seen forming in Starfire's eyes. The Titan's watched as the body began to stir and when his eyes opened there was no doubt who he was. Though only one eye remained how it used to be, no other being they had ever encountered had white hair and that pale blue eye. Tears began streaming down Starfire's face for SoulBurn had return.
