Okay. This project has been too long delayed for my tastes, but I'm finally wading into it: time to wrap up this AU once and for all. Okay, quick recap: history branched from the series proper when Terra got sucked under Daemonmode Raven's cloak during the Aftershock P1 fight. This left Terra mentally traumatized and Raven feeling acutely guilty (not to mention short circuiting the whole, pitiful Terra traitor cry fest. What a loss.). A talk with daddy dearest did not help her mood and basically, Raven's been quite tweaked. Enough from me, I'm sure you care more about the story proper. I do not own Teen Titans in any way, shape, or form. That honor belongs to Cartoon Network and I have no intent of challenging that person. I seek no profit from this and merely hope to avoid being sued… Please enjoy, despite my long-winded introduction.
Blood and Shadows
By Wordbearer
There was an atmosphere of waiting in the main hall of Titans Tower. By silent consent, four of the group's five members awaited the return of the fifth. They were silent, most glancing furtive looks at one another and clearly wishing to be somewhere else. Three of the four sat together on the couch. Robin held Starfire's hand, nervously flexing his gloved fingers. Starfire ignored her leader's touch and kept glancing at the clock as though that would force time to move more quickly through the tension laden air. Cyborg stared out of the window, consumed with some private dilemma. The forth sat to one side, seemingly unconcerned, her eyes locked onto the page of her book from the shadowed confines of a cerulean hood.
Raven sat cross legged, draped in her characteristic blue cloak and all but motionless as she flipped the pages of her book. Her features were utterly calm, a tranquil mirror that failed to reflect the unease of her companions. Yet something was off, some element out of place. Her eyes skimmed the pages not out of interest, but as a distraction from the carefully channeled storm that engulfed her mind. Raven was consumed with doubt and self-directed anger. Inhuman self control kept the emotions from showing, but there would be a release, however she would not show it now. The dark mystic's eyes flickered to the doorway as it whirred open and every gaze locked on the emerald-skinned figure making his way through the open aperture.
"Guys! Boy do I feel good…" Puzzlement spread through the room at the changeling's exuberant statement. This was not the mood they were expecting from their friend after he came back from his visit to Terra's hospital room.
Robin spoke first, "Beastboy, are you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be? All is right with the world. Who wants some tofu?"
Cyborg's eyebrow nearly jumped off his scalp in surprise and he hesitantly asked, "You did go to see Terra, right? According to the hospital, she was pretty messed up. Not something that'd put a spring in my step…"
Beastboy waved off the larger youth's concern. Grabbing a soda from the fridge, he popped it before speaking, "Oh. Her. Terra's fine… They got some new doctor to take care of her. She'll be good as new in no time!" He chugged down a quick gulp and grinned at his highly confused comrades.
Starfire spoke up, "Not to shatter you newfound confidence, but did not the men of psychiatric treatment say that her recovery would take some time? Robin spoke with them just two days ago. They would not change their judgment so quickly…"
Beastboy lost some of his grin and wrinkled his brow in thought, "They did say that, didn't they? Anyway, guess the new guy they brought in had some new high level method they didn't think of before. He took Terra to his school, to give her treatment. Real nice even if he had a creepy name. Something like Brother Blood, he said. Go figure."
Alarm bells started to ring in the other's heads and a hubbub of conversation rose up. Raven rose unnoticed and walked over to Beastboy. During a lull in the noise, the half-daemon added a quiet comment that brought the conversation to a halt, "You're lying, Beastboy. I don't think you mean to though."
Beastboy sounded indignant, "Why would I lie about this? Terra is in good hands and should be back to her normal, happy self! I thought that'd you would be glad to hear this, since you pushed her into psycholand!"
Raven's eyes flickered briefly, but her response was the normal monotone, "I'd love to hear news like that, if it were true. You have been brainwashed by a telepath though, and I want to know why."
Starfire queried, "Are you sure, Friend Raven? I can't tell that someone has washed his brain."
The three boys nodded agreement with this statement, prompting the dark mystic to sigh before answering, "I can just tell these things. I can't prove it to you right now; just take my word for it."
Robin interjected, "Okay. If Beastboy has been brainwashed, what can we do about it?"
Raven answered, "Let me handle it. I haven't used it often, but I do have a reasonable amount of telepathic power. I can go in and unravel whatever has been altered…"
Beastboy exclaimed loudly, "Hello!! I'm still in the room! I'd think that I'd know if someone decided to use my head as a dish towel…"
Raven was blunt, "Actually, you wouldn't. That's what makes it so hard to detect. If you hadn't come in acting so strangely, I wouldn't have bothered to look at your pin-head long enough to see the signs."
Robin rubbed the bridge of his nose in disgust, "Whatever. Okay. I believe you Raven. What do you need us to do? This whole thing stinks to me." Raven grinned slightly; her pleasure at the victory minimized by the nature of what she had gotten herself into.
"I need you to keep Beastboy still and everything quiet. If I get disturbed while doing this, both of our minds could be hurting for sometime. And I don't want to have his tofu recipes drifting around my head…"
Starfire's eyes sparkled in concern, "It sounds much too dangerous! Surely there is another way to unwash his brain?" Raven coldly indicated that there wasn't with a slight hand gesture. Beastboy looked from speaker to speaker, alarm growing every second.
He looked to Cyborg for support, but the cybernetic youth merely shock his head, "Sorry, BB. I'm with Raven on this one. You're acting oddly." Beastboy darted for the door but ran head first into a black barrier and fell back on his butt, knocked cold by Raven's sudden assault.
Raven looked back into the stunned stares of her teammates unperturbed, "What? I couldn't let him get away. Now tie him up and gag him before he revives. If this is any indicator of his mood, he's not going to be cooperative." Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin glanced askance at one another and shrugged before complying. 'In for a penny, in for a pound' was the consensus.
Beastboy revived to find himself tied to a chair facing Raven while the others watched uneasily from the sidelines. She was sitting motionless, her breath low and even. He tried to move, but found that he was bound in rope. The changeling yelled, "Let me go! I don't want her poking around my head… I keep all my jokes there!"
That was what he meant to say at any rate, what came out was a muffled, "Mmm mm mm, mmmmm mmm mm mm!"
Beastboy, outraged, thought, "What?!? They gagged me? They have to be kidding…"
Raven's voice echoed in his skull, "No. We're not. I need you to be quiet if this is going to be a safe experience for both of us. I'm sure you want six hundred pages of memorized hymns in your head if you mess this up." Beastboy began to sweat when he realized Raven was already in his head.
He tried one last gambit, "How about we skip this whole thing? I could remember whatever you think I should remember later…" "We need to know now. Now be quiet, if you can do that."
Beastboy's eyes widened as Ravens' aura flared into the form of some fearsome bird of prey. The shadow leapt at him and he was drowned in the infinite darkness. The darkness filled with points of light, streamers of glowing energy pulsing between them. Somehow he knew that these were his thoughts and feelings. A shadowy presence swept past his mind's eye and he was dragged in its wake. A new set of lights came into view and even he thought they looked funny. The streamers that were so simple and clean in the other area were clotted with tangles, whirlpools of maroon fire twisting the web out of shape. Threads of crimson turned the whole array into some malignant growth, bleeding and angry. "Here we are," a voice whispered and Beastboy was unsurprised to find that the voice was Raven's. The view drew closer, to a glowing knot at the heart of the tangle, a swollen core of rot that held the whole structure together. "Now, Let us see what this mess is hiding." It seemed that a talon ripped through that bright ball of flowing thread, ripping it into a million dissolving fragments. The entirety of the altered pattern snapped and sang of released tensions as it settled back into normal configuration, the crimson vanishing like morning mist. Beastboy's happy memories of the new doctor, of Terra's miracle cure, splintered into a million indistinct fragments. In their place, a flood of new memories cascaded through his sight. A small cry of pain reminded him that Raven was seeing this too.
There was Terra, shaking and bandaged, on a hospital bed, sleeping uneasily. Terra screaming as she saw his earnest face, fear overwhelming her relief as tormented thoughts flared through her psyche. Tear blurred eyes gazing at a forcibly sedated Terra, all hope shattered by the all-consuming terror Beastboy had felt radiating from her in thick waves. A door opening. A hand on his shoulder. Looking up to a distinguished, narrow face, tufts of white hair sprouting from the temples of a figure robed in white and gold. Questions from a calm, melodious voice. Answers from his trembling, uncertain one. Thin, strong fingers forcing him to look up into a pair of red glowing eyes. Himself slumping back as the man, Brother Blood his name was, lifted Terra from her bed and gently disconnected all the monitors. A youth clad in a purple bat-like cloak appearing from nowhere in response to an unspoken command.
A single statement, "Take us home. The HIVE has need of this one's power. Once I repair her mind, she will be my greatest solider." The three of them, the youth, Terra, and Blood, vanishing amid a pulse of black light. Images fading into nothing as Raven hurled herself out of his head with a relieved cry.
Beastboy opened his eyes with a small groan as Robin untied him. He was too stunned to speak and he went to look at the one who brought these cold memories to the fore. Raven was being helped to a couch, her eyes tightly closed and a hand pressed to her forehead as if to hold her brain in. Her hood hid most of her face, but she was trembling slightly. It took the changeling a second to realize that Starfire was offering him something to drink.
Rubbing his wrists to restore circulation, he answered the alien, "Thank you. I think Raven could use something too." No one spoke, a silence gathering in the air that they were strangely unwilling to break.
Raven added in a heavy monotone, "This is comfortable. I was right, Beastboy's memories had been altered and this Brother Blood has taken Terra for some reason."
His voice full of an alien seriousness, Beastboy commented, "He works for the HIVE." Beastboy was drained, mentally and physically with no reserves to spare for even a token joke.
Robin leapt into the conversation, "Terra has been taken by the HIVE by someone intending to use her as an ultimate weapon. Last I heard, Terra was in no condition to go the bathroom by herself, so why would the HIVE…"
"If Blood was able to alter Beastboy's memories with such ease, he can rebuild Terra's mind to the point where she can be used as a weapon again." Robin deflated a little at Raven's comment.
He gamely continued, "All right then. Given this information we have two options. One…"
The pulsing red lights of an emergency alert interrupted the boy wonder's statement. Cyborg rushed over to the computer and typed in a few commands to call up information, "Guess what everyone? HIVE has decided to try and raid a bank vault. Seems they're tired of hiding away. Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo are at 34th and R Street."
Raven called out, "Then we'll stop them. If HIVE is moving, we have to keep them from… from…" The half-daemon trailed off as she tried to rise to her feet and failed.
Starfire rushed over and pushed back her down, "Friend. Your act of reading the mind has obviously drained you. You should remain here and regain your strength." "I'm fine, Starfire." Raven pushed herself to her feet and took two steps before falling again.
The dark mystic glared at her treacherous legs as Cyborg chimed in, "If that isn't a sign that you should sit this one out, I don't know what is. We'll be fine. After all, how many versions of 'Attack Pattern Alpha' can there be?"
Robin was clearly impatient, "Come on. At this rate, they'll empty the vault before we're half way there. Raven stay here. Everyone else… Titans go!" The group darted out the door to the garage. Beastboy took a moment to grin back at Raven, his emotional gloom lifted by the spectacle of Raven out argued by her massed teammates. Raven was left alone with her mouth open. She pulled back her hood and gazed at the ceiling imploringly.
Raven arched an eyebrow as the team stumbled back in from the mission 40 minutes later. Taking in the bruised conditions of her friends, Raven asked in a carefully neutral tone, "How'd it go? Easy as expected? Nice that I wasn't needed this time." An unpleasant smirk marred her features as indignant anger contested with concern for their well being. Robin shot a cold look at the half-daemon as he nursed a bruised rib.
Starfire seemed unaware of the exchange as she started to speak a mile a minute, "We stopped the foul members of HIVE from escaping with significant amounts of earth currency, but Robin was injured in the process. Cyborg is happy about something even though Gizmo humiliatingly magnetized him to the wall and we had to wait for the effect to fade before we could…"
Cyborg interjected, "I think Raven gets the picture, Star." Attention turned to Beastboy and Cyborg, who stood in the doorway.
The latter had a big grin on his face as he asked, "Think you could get us some sodas, Raven? If it doesn't tire your highness out that is." The dark mystic schooled her features as she complied with his request.
As she handed out the drinks, Cyborg began to speak, "We accomplished something more than kick some HIVE butt this mission. Guess what I managed to tag Mammoth with as they high-tailed it out of there?" Robin hit a button calling up a map of the city on the big screen. A red dot pulsed under a section of the inner city.
His voice was smug, "Tracking device. Good job, Cyborg. I wish that I had thought of it."
Cyborg gave Beastboy a high five as the mechanical youth answered, "I know. Y'all wish you were as cool as me. HIVE's secret academy isn't as secret as it used to be. We just have to decide what to do with the info."
Starfire leapt up, knocking her soda to the kitchen floor, "We must assault as soon as Robin is recovered! The evil HIVE must be stopped and traitor-friend Terra liberated from their grasp."
Robin interjected, "Cool it, Starfire. We have no idea what to expect from them on their home turf and information would be more helpful than simply beating the sense out of them." Raven narrowed her eyes.
Beastboy exclaimed, "All right! Now I get to display my incredible skills at infiltration!" He flashed through a series of green animal forms and started sneaking around from the cover of one piece of furniture to another.
Raven rolled her eyes at this display and looked levelly at her brightly clad leader, "Beastboy has the right idea for once, but I think we may need to have someone else infiltrate the place." Beastboy grinned, excited by the strange prospect of Raven complementing him, and then frowned as the meaning of the rest of the comment hit home.
The changeling's exclamation was drowned out by the sound of Cyborg cracking his metallic knuckles.
"Now that's where my latest new toys come in..," Cyborg held up a pair of rings with enormous white stones embedded in them on an open palm. The group looked at him curiously for a few seconds.
Rubbing his free hand across his forehead, Cyborg continued, "These aren't just a nice fashion accessory, they have a little trick built into them." He slipped a ring onto each hand and adjusted them slightly.
Winking at them, Cyborg asked, "Y'all ready for this? It's impressive."
Raven's currently fragile patience snapped and she barked, "Just do whatever you're going to do or I'll support Beastboy's request to go on the mission."
Holding his hands up disarmingly, Cyborg chuckled, "Geez, someone's moody. Who disapproves of a little showmanship?" Raven would have retorted, but Starfire put a calming hand on the dark mystic's shoulder. Cyborg used the reprieve to knock the rings together and a coruscating aura of light blinded the watching Titans. The light faded and an utterly transformed Cyborg was visible: no prosthetics, just a fairly muscular teenager clad in black with a shaven skull and a pair of clear dark eyes.
Beastboy summed up everyone's response, "Wow. I wouldn't recognize you if I hadn't seen you do that right here."
Cyborg smirked, "That's right. With these babies, I can get in to the HIVE and get out without one of those goons realizing that the Titan's finest is right under their noses…" He began a long and involved speech about how he had built the rings, how they work, etc.
Raven tuned out the self-congratulatory oratory as she thought about what he was proposing, "Cyborg is going into the HIVE, alone, to find Terra and bring her out." She looked at her teammate and closed her eyes, "We're missing something… Oh. That could be bad."
Raven stepped forward and added in a low voice that cut through the hubbub, "One question. What happens if those rings break mid-mission?"
Cyborg's face creased, "The hologram image fails. Why do you want to know?"
Raven was the center of attention as she nodded, "Alright then. So you're in the middle of HIVE academy, surrounded by dozens of super villains-in-training, completely unmasked. What happens next?"
"I call you guys for help and hold out as best I can until you show up and we kick bad guy butt. So no problem, I still go in."
Robin interjected, "I see Raven's point. If your cover is blown, a dangerous possibility since Brother Blood seems to be a telepath, we're likely to show up in time for you to be held hostage in an underground fortress with its defenses up and running."
Cyborg threw up his still disguised hands up in disgust and exclaims, "If you're going to worry about that, we might as well not go. It's not like any of us is capable of teleporting back to Titans Tower at the drop of a hat! Come on, there always some risk in these things!"
Raven had a sinking feeling in her stomach just before Starfire added, "Actually, I believe friend Raven can teleport… Is that not correct?" Raven nodded her head with a sense of relieved resignation.
Beastboy directed a question at Cyborg, "How long would it take you to alter those ring thingies to work on Raven?"
Cyborg twisted the rings off and returned to his normal appearance before answering, "A couple of hours…"
He sounded petulant as he continued, "You guys can't take this from me though! Come on! I made the rings, I deserve to do this!" Robin was sitting on a chair rubbing his chin reflectively as this was going on.
He mused out loud, "Raven is better qualified for this mission, but if she doesn't want to do it, I guess that you should have your chance." Raven pulled her cloak more tightly about herself as she thought through a tumbling storm of thoughts and feelings. The confusion in her normally organized mind angered the half-daemon and prompted her to quick action.
She opened her eyes and stared directly at Robin, "Of course I'll do it. If Cyborg fixes those things to work on me, I'll handle the legwork and get the information we need. We can't let them keep Terra. She's too powerful."
Robin gave the disappointed cybernetic youth a hard look as he spoke, "It's settled then. Cyborg, reprogram those rings. Raven, get some rest. You'll need it in all likelihood. Everyone else stay out of the way." Beastboy seemed disgruntled as he scurried off and Starfire helped Robin on his way to the infirmary. Cyborg and Raven were left alone in the room, the later mildly uncomfortable under the former's hurt look.
Cyborg lectured sternly, "I don't know what's up with you since the whole Terra thing. But don't let it make you sloppy. I know you can't take a hit like me, so you're going to have to be extra careful, teleporting or no teleporting. Don't let your emotions run away with you…"
Raven was able to feel a cold flare of resentment at the insinuation and answered in a monotone, "I am always in control of my emotions. They don't sway my judgment." Cyborg snorted, "Tell that to Terra and Doctor Light. Anyway, if you're going to use these babies, you need to change your wardrobe for the duration of this mission."
She narrowed one eye disbelievingly, "My wardrobe? What does that have to do with anything?"
"The diatomic fusion batteries in these things can only pump out so much juice. If you wear that billowing sheet of yours while they're running, it will get blurry and obvious. Not exactly what you're after." Raven scowled while internally acknowledging the truth of Cyborg's statement.
"So you want me wearing something reasonably skin tight."
The other smiled, "Skin tight isn't necessary, but it would help. Just drop the cloak and you'll be fine."
Her voice chilled the air as she responded, "I'm not going outside in just my leotard."
"So wear a dress. I'm sure you have something other than spare uniforms in that closet of yours…"
Raven settled to the floor of her room and unfolded her legs as a clock accusingly blinked '5:00 pm' from her desk. The meditation had helped tremendously, but there was no putting it off anymore. She needed to get changed; Cyborg would be here any minute with the reprogrammed rings. The dark mystic massaged her forehead before turning towards the closet as if it held a thousand wolves waiting to rip her limb from limb. The door opened, revealing a swath of identical outfits: blue cloaks on hangers with dark blue leotards underneath. Raven pushed them aside and reached for a box in the far corner of the closet. There was a note taped to the top inscribed in her careful handwriting, "If you found this box, you are dead already. Open this box to be skinless, alive and screaming for as long as I can keep you alive in such a state." Raven shook her head at the crude brutality of the note, one she had penned shortly after joining the team. She lifted the lid and her face twitched as she forced down a wave of rebellious dread that surged as she took in the box's contents.
Layers of white cloth unfolded as she pulled out an outfit she had privately sworn to never wear again, but she would overcome this urge for as long as she needed to. The dark mystic changed in a measured rush. She didn't waste motion, but proceeded a quickly as possible while doing so. When she was done, she looked at her mirror and shook her head in disbelief at what she saw. Her petite frame was draped in white cloth from head to toe, patches of gray flesh accenting the strong, alabaster fabric. A hooded gown went down to her shins, slit on both sides to allow easy movement. White boots went halfway up her thighs and long white gloves ended just above her elbows leaving her shoulders bare. Her fingers traced spidery, faded tattoos that spiraled around her upper arms, cascading around runic characters that chased themselves like a nest of serpents. She ran fingers over rough patches where the Azarathian silk had been cleaned of blood with bleach and stitched together with a thousand telekinetic needles. Ravens' azule eyes shimmered with unease as the garment evoked a thousand memories. She pulled the hood up and over her head, minutely relieved as her face was hidden in the shadow of the sharply pointed hood.
Her concentration was broken as someone knocked on her door. Raven took quick, sure steps and opened it before whoever it was could knock again. Cyborg and Robin stood outside, mildly nervous. The cybernetic teen's knuckles hung extended in the air as he took in her new outfit.
He shook his head in disbelief, "Wow. That's a new look…"
Robin's masked eyes seemed unimpressed, but one eyebrow did rise slightly as he silently asked, 'Tattoos?'
Collecting himself, Cyborg continued, "Nice choice, very different from your normal clothing and compact enough for the rings to hide, provided you don't jump around like a cheerleader."
Raven stared directly at him, making him sweat, "Right. Raven, here's the rings. You saw how I activated them. You do it." Raven looked down as she fiddled with the devices and tapped them together gently. As the glare rose, she missed the plotting look that Cyborg threw at his grim-faced leader.
Looking down at her gloved hands she didn't notice anything different. Cyborg chimed in lightly, "Look a little lower, I set the rings to alter your skin tone, eye and hair color. Figured you had a fun, little outfit planned from the determined look in your eyes when we left to get this ready. I didn't want to mess it up." Raven noticed that her skin was now a peachy cream color and looked up at the Cyborg's smirking face. He seemed about to explode with laughter.
She asked, "What's so funny?"
Robin was disapproving as Cyborg added, "Guess it's time to find out if blondes really do have more fun." Cyborg exploded at this point, guffawing at the top of his lungs and slapping his knees. Her eyes, cold and narrow with displeasure, Raven darted into her room and pulled down the hood.
A miniature shockwave buffeted the pair from the open doorway and Cyborg whispered to the boy wonder, "I know we're going to live to regret this, but this was too good to pass up."
Grinning behind his gloved hand despite himself, Robin replied, "I know, but you're going to be the one she crucifies when she gets back." Cyborg paled at the thought.
Raven reappeared in the open doorway, clearly on the edge of rage as her aura boiled with suppressed violence. A flush filled her otherwise emotionless face, a fact abundantly clear on her newly creamy skin. Her hair, the same cut as before, but yellow as a dandelion stood on end. Raven's eyes, a lighter shade of blue, similar to the summer sky, were filled with icy self control. Robin gave Cyborg a 'nice to know you' look as he stepped away from the cybernetic youth, clearly expecting immediate reprisal. Raven shuddered as she forced the malicious urges strumming through her frame away and brought her powers under control before no more than a dozen light bulbs exploded in their sockets.
The half-daemon's response was calm when she finally spoke, "Nice job. No one would expect me to turn up like this. The unlikelihood of me ever voluntarily wearing anything like this is a disguise in and of itself." Cyborg sighed in exaggerated relief causing Raven to roll her eyes in disgust. She turned the rings off and returned to her normal coloration.
"Let's get moving. I don't want to wear this getup forever." The three of them walked down the hallway to finish her preparations to enter the HIVE.
So you made it down here… Yes, this is a cliffhanger, but I delayed posting this up till I had the companion chapter ready. So I'm not totally evil, just sinfully slow. What did you thinks of this though? Good? Bad? Stereotypical as heck? Leave a review if you see fit and thank you for your time.
