Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.
…..
Her cloak had turned white overnight. She threw it on quickly and changing into new leotard, it was white as well. Her clock read about six in the morning.
'Need….tea.'
Raven's feet padded softly to the kitchen. She wasn't surprised to see Robin already there sitting with the paper and drinking coffee. Although he wasn't looking at her, she noticed a slight curve of a smile on his lips when she entered. As if it only appeared for her. As if it only belonged to her. Raven unconsciously shook her head. She needed to seriously stop daydreaming.
"...-TOFU MONDAY!"
Beast Boy burst in on them and ran straight into the demon child. His elbow rammed smack into her favorite tea cup and it shattered piercingly on the floor.
He gulped nervously and shrank under her violet gaze. She serenely made the broken shards levitate to the trash can and poured herself more in another cup, letting the soothing liquid burn the back of her throat. Taking her indifferent behavior as a sign that miracles do happen, he backed away and went on with his own business.
Robin flipped a page and that smile inched itself higher on his face.
Raven observed him a bit closer, pretending to take another sip of the now empty teacup. He was in costume and chewing on the inside of his cheek inattentively. A habit she found him doing whenever he was bored or thinking about a serious matter.
"Morning, Friends!"
Beast Boy screeched and dropped a plate on the floor. Robin commented without letting his eyes move off the page, "Smooth move, Beast Boy."
"Ah, shut up," he grumbled, going on his hands and knees to pick up the mess. After Robin asked him what he had been doing up so early when BB's normal time to wake up was at the very least 11am, the green boy lowered his face to the floor, successfully hiding the dark look in his eyes. "I… couldn't sleep."
Starfire grinned brightly at everyone. "It is a glorious morning, is it not?"
"Sure is." Raven raised in her cup in a small salute.
The Tamaranean gave a small gasp.
"Friend Raven, your cloak is white!"
"Nothing gets past you, Starfire." The empath poured herself her third helping of tea and sipped calmly. From the other side of the table, Robin made a sound like a laugh but it ended up sounding like a wheeze into one of his hands. Beast Boy, on the other hand, didn't bother to hide his laughter.
"I do not know the humor. What is so funny?"
Beast Boy chuckled, "Nothing, Star." The alien girl sat down beside Robin, her poor mind still befuddled, and began drinking her favorite yellow condiment out of the bottle. It had been a few weeks since they had gone out and Beast Boy seemed eager to do it all over again.
Starfire piped up, "I did so enjoy the lights and the dancing!" Beast Boy looked at Raven, pointedly.
"As long as we don't have any weirdness like last time. Hey, Rae... you never said what happened."
She raised an eyebrow at this. Surprisingly, nothing exploded.
The alert sirens went on.
'Saved by the villains. How ironic.'
Robin threw down his paper, all traces of a smile leaving his face. "TITANS, GO!"
…..
"NOW!"
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
A black energy field surrounded the Titans as rubble fell over their heads. Jinx cackled madly, leaping around them. They had been battling the Hive in different places all damn day and it was steadily becoming exhausting. As Cyborg and Robin went off to fight Mammoth, Raven shielded herself from the pink sparks being sent in her direction.
With eyes glowing bright green, Starfire threw her starbolts at the pink-haired villain. Gizmo came up behind her, fluttering like an angry bee, distracting her away from the other girl. From the corner of her eye, Raven saw Jinx make a break for it. Robin shouted in the distance towards her, "Raven, go after her! Now!"
She phased into her raven soul-self and hurled through the nearby building, gaining speed. A witchy cackle came from the opposite direction; there was an alley up ahead. Raven hovered near the mouth of the entrance when she heard it...
"Hello, Raven. Did you miss me?"
Her heart clenched in a fear that she could taste bitterly in the back of her throat.
"No….. not you," she breathed out.
The copper side of Slade's mask glinted in the moonlight.
"Are you frightened of me, Raven? You are much more powerful than me. Why should you fear anything?" She backed away, her violet hair sweeping across her face as she flew straight up, shutting the two buildings together to trap him. But Raven knew he couldn't be stopped, that she was doomed. The terrified girl hurled across the starry sky, desperately searching for her friends when something hot like fire hit her back.
With a shriek, Raven tumbled onto the street, scratching her bare knees against the gravel on impact.
Slade's voice was not too far away, "You cannot escape me, Raven."
"I've said this before, and I'll say it again, I can try." Her eyes glowed white as she threw whatever she could at the mad man, but the heat emitting from his body melted it to searing red ruins. A firm punch sent her sprawling on the ground, though it was hardly anything.
"Why do you act so weak? You can beat me, Raven; you know what you will accomplish. Why can't you fight back?" Hot tears ran down her face. She flipped onto her stomach, shielding herself as he attempted to break through the force field. She was slipping... she was going to lose control over her powers if she didn't do something quick.
With a burst of dark energy, Slade was thrown backwards in the air.
Raven escaped into the night and didn't stop until she reached Titans Tower. She landed harshly on the rocks just below. Raven laid her head on a large smooth one, letting the feeling of the salty air blow in her sweating face and aching body. The sounds of the waves crashing was the only thing she heard.
Until.
"Raven, you will kill the people you love. I will make sure of it."
She screamed, covering her ears, "No! You can't make me!"
"Don't worry, it will be over soon enough."
Raven screamed louder, "Go to hell! Get away from me! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" She buried her head in her lap and gasped through the heaving sobs racking her entire body. She could hear the rocks around her blowing up, the sharp chunks remaining that dug into her exposed skin.
"Raven! Raven, are you there?"
The commotion stopped and her red-lined eyes looked up to see a sturdy figure swing down and perch in front of her. Robin faltered. "Raven, what's wrong? What happened with Jinx? Where did you go…?" His mask gave an impression of being wide-eyed. She didn't deserve for him to be looking at her like this... with concern and worry.
"Slade."
At the mention of his old tormentor's name, his eyebrows knitted, and a grim line set on his mouth. "Where?"
The empath shook her head, her voice soft and beaten, "I... I don't know. Robin, he's in my head… he's laughing…"
Robin couldn't help but stare. Her hair was mussed. There was blood on her hands and knees. She had been crying. Raven doesn't cry, she never does. No one could make her cry. He gently hugged her against him, not sure whether she'll scold him later for this, but at the same time didn't care. She needed someone who understood this and he did. Her knees pressing into his abdomen and her bowed head cradling under his chin. He absently rubbed her neck.
"We're not going to let him hurt you. He'll pay for what he's done."
…..
A/N: I'm so sick of Slade picking on Raven. EFFER. Someone needs to introduce him to eternal pain. Anyhow, I've update again. Jump for joy, heh. Well, I'd like to express my gratitudeto the following reviewers: finality life, watergoddess08, raerob4ever, Unforeseen, MistressofAzarath, hunter, neetfreek, Darkofthenight, Sango456, Jessie, LaughingRanna, and lilchishorty! You guys rock! Watch out for Chapter Five that should be most likely in a day or two.
Watergoddess08: I started laughing when I read the end of your response. The whole Starfire part was a joke because I'm normally a slash writer. Heh but there isn't any in this fic. Promise.
Raerob4ever: She might. After all, she does tend to get really jealous about Robin's status. Like Date with Destiny.