This is my first fanfic. I hope you enjoy it.
Summary: Raven temporarily loses her powers, but finds she has more gifts than she thought. And more enemies.
Disclaimer:I do not own the following that appear in the story:
Teen Titans, the Outsiders, a reference to some Cheap Trick lyrics, the towels in Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Responses:
Onyx-worrystone: Thank you so much for your review. You made my day. I am very glad that you liked it. Depending on my work schedule, I may start a sequel soon, although it may be a while before I post. Keep your ears open. I already have an idea for it. I appreciate your sticking through with all 9 chapters!
Clibby – thanks – hope you enjoyed the rest of it
Steph4nie-ff: (07/07/2005) Thanks! When I picked up the new series, I was very surprised by the direction it seemed they were taking these 2 characters. In the 80s I never would have dreamed of these 2 together. But now that I see it (or at least see glimpses of it), it really works. These 2 are the perfect foils for each other. They have so much in common and so much that is different. I really hope to see it work out in the comics. We'll see. In the meantime, I have started work on the sequel. Its working title is Deeper, although that may change. I like to have a completed story before I post, so it may be a few weeks before anyone sees it.
They-Call-Me-Orange: Wow, I am so glad that you liked it! I had such a blast writing it. I honestly got misty-eyed reading your review. These characters have been in my head since the 80's when I read the first series. They've been in there so long that they are like old friends. I also liked creating Thunder Horse. When I write, I tend to use elements in my current life. When I started writing this, I also started watching Into The West on TNT. I have always loved the Sioux language – it is so musical. I thought it would be cool to create a character of two cultures (white and Native American, psychiatrist and archaeologist and medicine man), one that stood in two worlds the same way Raven does (whether you say she's half-human, half-demon, or just stuck halfway between girl and woman). I thought it would also be good to explore her human family. I thought some Lakota in her background might explain some of her physical features (dark hair, high cheekbones). Also, the medicine men I have read about sound kind of like empaths anyway. It just made sense. I do plan on using him again in the sequel. I just "penciled" the first chapter. I'd like to get all of the chapters done before I post, though, so I can make sure that the structure is sound. I tried to do a parallel beginning and ending in the current story, sunset at the beginning and sunrise at the end. I will be using a slightly different framework for this new story, but it will still involve parallel structures to help the story flow. I plan to use a slightly different framework for each story I write (I have more planned if people like what they read) to keep things interesting. Whew. Long response, I know, but I can get long-winded sometimes. Thanks for taking the time to read and review!
Palekel: Thank you for reading and reviewing. It would definitely be disorienting to lose an extra sense like that. And the BRU has it. . . how will they use it? Hmmmmm……. Stay tuned. I am currently working on Chapter 2 of Deeper. I read your profile – Is that Discordia as in the Illuminatus! Trilogy? That sounds familiar.
Chapter Two – Night
Her communicator startled her with its sharp beep.
"Raven, can you join us in the conference room, please?"
Duty calls. "Certainly, Victor, what is it? What is wrong?" Friday night meetings were unusual.
"Just a meeting, for the moment. But it might be something interesting for you. Come on down."
She raised an eyebrow. Curiosity was Fear's lieutenant.
"Is this a formal meeting? I am not in uniform at the moment."
"Naaaah, just come as you are. Cyborg out."
"I am on my way, Victor. Raven out."
She slipped her communicator into her pocket. With a swirl of her cloak, she removed her warm outer layer and folded it over her arm. The long cloak hid her from the world very well, but it was not exactly designed for stairs and elevators. She considered just phasing down to the meeting room instantly but thought better of it. Better annoyed teammates than startled teammates. "Creeped-out", as Bart would say, did not leave a pleasant aftertaste.
The spiral staircase led to the elevator, which led to the ground floor. Other Titans were milling around, calling greetings to her. She nodded in reply. Some were annoyed, but only mildly. They were on weekend watch, and meetings were part of the watch. But the half-demon girl did share at least one trait with the rest of the human race: a distaste for long meetings. She never complained – as part of her training whining was absolutely not allowed – but Budget Planning often made her drop into a light meditative state that passed for attention. She allowed herself a few minor rebellions.
" . . . because there's no place like chrome for the hollandaise! " Beast Boy was explaining to Robin. They both had finally put in an appearance. The entire room groaned except for Raven. Beneath a dignified mask, she was desperately trying to figure out exactly why what he said was supposed to be funny and why everyone else had groaned.
"Corny, BB, just corny," moaned Conner as he flopped down in the seat next to Cassie. He shook his head. But the annoyance in the room eased up.
Garfield winked at her, but she said nothing.
She sat down on the other side of Cassie in a very gingerly fashion, trying to maintain dignity in the face of puzzlement.
"All right, salad-head, thank you for our daily dose of CORN. Can I call this meeting to order?" Victor rapped his knuckles on the table.
Cyborg continued. "Glad to see everybody made it safely. I know that Friday night meetings are unusual, but this situation is unusual, too. We'll need most of the weekend to handle it, so I wanted us to be able to get a head start bright and early. Since school's out for the summer, it should not pose a problem to those of us who normally have homework to do." He nodded at the younger Titans and winked at Conner. Conner blushed and looked away.
"Here is the brief. Two days ago, the FBI arrested members of the Black Rose Underground, a small but vital part of one of America's biggest crime syndicates. They work for other gangs under lucrative contracts up to and including assassination."
The younger Titans looked at each other with wide eyes. They did not usually deal with the mafia.
"But, Cyborg," interrupted Bart, "if they've already been arrested, why are we needed?"
"Good question, Kid Flash. The answer is that the ATF knows that the BRU has an enormous cache of weapons somewhere in the vicinity of Twilight Canyon. These are really heavy-metal high-octane kinds of firearms, including a lot of specially modified sniper rifles and fully automatic weapons. They also have customized assassination tools that they invented themselves. The ATF agents have been searching for their stash since the arrests, but no luck. The captured members are not giving up the goods. We're on loan to the ATF and the FBI to speed up the search. Conner?"
"Why the big hurry?"
"They didn't arrest all of the members of the Underground. The raid has been kept under wraps, but it's only a matter of time before the remaining three known members get wind of it and attempt to retrieve and move their gear. So it's important that the good guys secure these weapons as soon as possible. Bart, you have a question?
"Yeah, Cyborg, I still don't get it. This is grunt work, search and recover. We're supposed to go get the villains, not clean up after them. Why don't we just go get the rest of the bad guys?"
"Can anyone here answer Bart's question for him?"
"Because, fleet-feet," replied Beast Boy, "it will be stopping those other bad guys. Upstream."
"Correct. Without their weapons, they'll be easier to catch when we do find them. If there's anything you kids need to learn about this business, it's that it is better to prevent a fight than to be in one."
"But why us?" Cassie asked. "I'm not complaining." She shot a glance at Bart. "But doesn't the ATF have agents to cover this?"
"Yes, Wonder Girl, but the search area is quite large. They don't have our skills or our equipment. Our assistance increases the likelihood of their success. There is the added bonus that we can use this as a teamwork training exercise."
Amongst the groans, he added, "We'll pair up and see how we do working together in smaller teams. We'll also cover more ground that way."
"So, who's my lucky partner?"
"Wait up, spinach, it's coming. Cassie, you're with Kid Flash."
"Conner and Robin are up."
"Raven, you're the lucky one this time. I think. You're with BB."
She turned to look at her new partner. He waggled his eyebrows at her. She turned back to look at Cyborg with an expression set in concrete.
"You two will also work with our civilian liaison on this case, a Dr. Charles Thunder Horse. He – "
"Charlie Horse?"
"Listen up, seaweed. Dr. Charles Thunder Horse. His name is Native American. Sioux, I think. He is a professor at an archaeological research center on the edge of the search area. He knows the area well and can get us started."
The briefing continued a short while longer, with warning of more details on the T-Jet in the morning.
"Wheels up at 0430 hours. ETA 0500. Stop whining, Bart. Just get lots of coffee in the morning. That's oh-dark-thirty, guys, so you'd best get some rest. We have a long weekend ahead of us."
He called Raven over as the team drifted out of the conference room.
"Do you remember how I said earlier that this would interest you?"
"Yes, but I do not see how it applies to me, specifically. I am comfortable with the equipment, but . . . "
"I don't mean the search. I'm talking about the liaison. Dr. Thunder Horse."
"I do not recognize the name. Who is he?"
"He is a professor of archaeology and psychiatry at the Roosevelt Archeology Station in Twilight Canyon. It's on the edge of the search area."
"Psychiatry? No doctors." Her face was set.
"No, no, listen to me for a moment. That's not where I was going. Dick just faxed this over from the Outsiders' HQ." He handed her a roll of paper. " I asked him to do some research on this guy since we don't know anything about him, and we're letting him get pretty close to us. Dick remembered seeing a Thunder Horse in one of your mother's documents in your file, some time ago."
"I still do not see . . . "
"Read the doc."
She scanned the paper. She sat down. Hard. I have family?
"I have living family?"
"Yes! I don't know if you want to talk to him about it though. He does not know you exist, and he certainly does not know your street name. You might want to talk to him, but as Raven, not Rachel."
"I don't know what to say, except to ask, how do you know this? Are we sure it's true?"
She knitted her brows and looked at him very directly. One fact bothered her. "There is a file? On me?"
"It was while you were, er, having technical difficulties."
" I see. Well, now that those ... technical difficulties . . . are over, can you tell me why Richard sent this? Why now?"
He patted her on the hand. "A gift, darlin'. From an old friend. Take some time and look over this. Share it or don't with the team. Despite your new youthful appearance, I know you are still an adult in there. I trust your judgment. What you do with this information is up to you. But I think it would be a good thing if you did focus on your human side for a while."