(Sorry about the long update time. Nice how I was first blocked from the internet, then my computer decided to die on me. For an extra treat, with my apologies, check my author bio and you'll see a picture of Raven and Knives as a gift to you.
Teen Titans: Half-Life
Chapter 19: Ice Cold Steel
The temperature was dropping rapidly; first it started with a slight chill to the skin, then white smoke as his breath became visible, then frost forming as the water moisture in the air froze and settled. The effect was surprisingly remarkable; the metallic walls sparkled with light reflected off the freshly formed frost. All happened within a matter of seconds. Knives found himself distracted by the quick transformation and luminous beauty, but a feverish movement in the corner of his eye, dragged him back to the matter at hand.
Alexis was reared back like a baseball pitcher prepared to toss forth a fastball. Knives quickly drew his sword and brought it up in a defensive arc. It was fortunate that he did so, for as the blade was leaving the sheath; Alexis let go with a quick pitch of an ice blade. The light bent across the ungodly sharpness of the artificial ice dagger. Knives brought the blade up still unaware that of what Alexis had thrown at him. The two blades met with the sound of shattering glass.
Knives was struck with a heavy blow to his chest, strong enough to send him back a few steps, almost losing his balance and slightly winded.
"That's going to leave a bruise," he thought to himself as he momentarily peered at what had hit him. On the ground, at his feet, was the two halves of the ice dagger. Thanks to his quick sword reflexes, he had managed to cut the sharp part of the dagger off leaving only blunt piece of ice that struck him in the chest. The blade of the dagger was so sharp it actually broke light and reflected a rainbow into his eyes. He mentally shivered from the realization that he would've been a goner if the blade had actually hit him.
Alexis again reared back, with both hand this time and threw two ice blades at Knives. Knives, now fully awaken to the danger, effortlessly reflected one blades with his sword, dodging the other one and leapt in a sprint towards Alexis, sword raised, ready to strike.
Raven felt exhausted, from the days ordeal. Laying down upon her bed, she pulled the covers over her body and desperately tried to find sleep. As she lay in the pitch black tossing and turning her mind continuously played over the day's events.
After admitting to the Titans most unfortunate past, everyone had spent the rest of the day's hours avoiding each other. Raven understood their feelings, if not for the fact that the Teen Titans were founded upon the bloody corpses of those that came before, but, almost as disturbing, was the fact that both Robin and Raven had lied about it. Not just to the other members of the team, but to a whole city that looked up to them and depended upon them for protection. In a way it seemed that everything the Titans stood for was a lie itself.
But while Raven felt better for finally letting the truth out, another part of her psyche warned her about the inevitable consequences of her actions. It would be awhile before any of the Titan could ever trust her again, if that was even possible. It would be tough, but she would have to manage, even if the worst was to happen. However, she doubted the Titans would leave so willingly? None of them, apart from Starfire, had anywhere else to go, the Tower was home to everyone.
But could this really drive the Titans apart or was it already happening? Raven remembered back to a previous case when they had fought the criminal Warp. Warp, who had been a time traveler on a mission from the future, had unintentionally taken Starfire 20 years into the future and had showed her a most terrible fate for the Titans. Could that future still happen? Starfire's account of future events still gave Raven nightmares.
It was then that Raven became aware of someone standing outside her quarter's door. Finding sleep unattainable for the moment, she sat up and slung her feet over the side of the bed.
"Come in." she called out. At the sound of her voice the door's system activated and the single door slide into its wall recess. The light from the hallway seemed blinding in the absolute dark of Raven's room. Robin stood with his hand raised, all ready to announce his presence on the now vacated door.
Alexis saw the swords lethality, even a graze would cause a major laceration.. Summoning her power to her hands, she mentally pictured a shield in her mind. The ice spread from between her fingers and formed a thin wall of ice in front of her. She didn't have the time necessary to fully form sufficient protection. This she discovered the shaft of Knives' sword effortlessly plunged through the ice wall without missing a beat.
She couldn't tell if he had missed on purpose or not, but she jumped back just as the sword nearly pierced her left cheek, missing by mere inches. There was also a blast of wind seemed to punch her face where the sword had not. Instinctively he placed her hand over her left check to protect it, but when she pulled it back, she saw a small smudge of blood on her hand. It seemed that the sword had a most unique property. Even if it didn't hit, gusts of cutting wind erupted from it and would still cause lacerative damage to unprotected skin.
Feeling a sting on her neck, she placed her right hand over the afflicted spot and again pulled away with a smear of blood. Again Knives' sword cut through the ice wall, one more and her thin layer of protection would be gone. Looking towards a small mirror that she had hung on the wall, she discovered that she had indeed been cut in 4 different places, next to her left eye and cheek, and two on her neck. None were serious, they had already stopped bleeding, but the danger was clear.
"I have a question, Raven." Robin said as he entered the now illuminated room.
"I know," was Raven's plain reply. "Of all the Titans I knew you would be the one to ask."
"Then you already know what I'm going to ask." Robin wasn't asking another question.
"I do, and I already know what your going to do about it."
"Then tell me." Robin moved closer to Raven, just far enough to allow the door to self shut, again plunging the room into darkness.
"As far as I could tell, he didn't know who he was." Raven began.
"I figured as much."
"I don't want him to remember."
"What?" Robin's voice climbed in surprise.
"In the weeks preceding his disappearance, he had begun to grow increasingly unstable. He started to believe the ends would justify the means and so his methods became," she paused to think, "became 'unsound.' He was almost thrown off the team on two occasions."
"Is he dangerous?"
"As he is, I could not say. But back then, yes he was extremely dangerous. Almost a different person, just like now."
For the third time Knives' sword cut through the ice and the entire structure collapsed to the ground. As the wall fell he saw Alexis with clasped hands strike the ground. At the same moment all of the ice at Knives' feet exploded upwards in a hail of icy fragments. It felt like being shot by a storm of BB pellets. Harmless on their own, but in such a large group, and the fact he was standing right above them, made it all the worse. His body hurt all over as icy pellets smashed into his body. He held his hands up to protect his face as he stumbled backwards to escape.
With his hands covering his face, he didn't notice Alexis charging at him until she was nearly on top of him. With an ice dagger in her hands she was looking to inflict a fatal wound. With his sword, still in his hands, he made a parry to the left and deflected the dagger away from his body. Alexis halted her charge, but inertia forced her to take a few reluctant steps forward. When Knives grabbed her by the shirt collar and using her momentum flipped her over his back and slammed her onto the ice fragment covered floor.
"So you allowed him to leave because you fear him." Robin said
Raven shook her head even though Robin had no way of seeing it in the lightless room, "No, that is not why. All I know is that the HIVE was somehow involved with it."
"The HIVE?"
"Yes, he had been on the run from the HIVE even before we met. When he had nearly been thrown off the team, both time involved fights with HIVE members."
"So would he know where the HIVE base is and what they want with that strange device that they stole from us?"
"He would know where they are."
"You knew all that and you still let him go!" Robin was
"Yes, I don't want him to remember all those horrible things and to live his new life, even if it means forgetting about me. I just wish I could forget as well."
Robin couldn't see for the darkness, but he could tell Raven was quivering from the memory. He wanted to ask what she meant, but Raven cut him off before he could form the question in his mind. "I've told you all I want to, everything else is between me and him."
Robin didn't like it; Raven was withholding far more information. Things even he couldn't even begin to suspect. It was part of Raven's past and that was something she never delved into when she wasn't behind closed doors. He wanted to scream at her to tell him what she knew. He almost wished he could go back into her mind and physically search for what he wanted to know. But instead he turned to leave.
"Your going to go find him, aren't you Robin?"
"Yes, it could take months to find the HIVE base, by then they could have finished whatever their working on. I'm afraid we don't have the time to spare anymore. If Knives knows then I must ask him."
"I don't want to help." Raven had again regained her emotionless composure.
"Fine, I can find him myself." Indeed Robin could, inside every Teen Titans communicator was a homing beacon so that they could always find lost members. Robin moved to the door and in the darkness searched for the keypad. While he searched, a hand grabbed him by the shoulder.
"I don't want to, but if your going to restore his memory, then I should be there too. I know him better than anyone else. What he's capable of and how to fight it."
As her body flipped over Knives' back, Alexis managed to grab ahold of his shirt and as her body slammed onto the ground she pulled down and Knives fell forward rolling passed her face to land at her feet, this was her chance! Despite being left breathless by the impact, she quickly bent forward, launching herself from the ground with her left hand and sliding her legs beneath her, she brought down the dagger in her hand against Knives' neck.
"Not so good are you?" Alexis taunted.
"I'm better than you think." Knives countered.
Alexis then took note of the steel blade pointed at her heart. Knives had brought the sword behind his back and a quick jab forward would pierce her chest. In fact had she gone just slightly more forward, she would've skewered herself onto his blade.
"It would seem we are at an impasse." Alexis observed, her dagger not moving from its place.
"Not quite." Knives said as he brought a small black object to Alexis' dagger hand. Alexis eyes widened in fear as she realized what it was. Apparetly when Knives had flipped her, her stun gun had fallen out of her pocket onto the floor. When had he picked it up, she hadn't noticed in her rush to end the fight.
There was a click and a circuit of electricity entered her right hand. Her hand flew back violently, her electrified hand clenched tighter around the dagger, but her concentration over her power had been broken and the dagger crumbled in her clenched fist. The impact also knocked her back down to the ground.
Her body ached and was shivered lightly all over, he had only hit her with a small charge, but it was enough to stun her into submission. Sheathing his sword, he bent over and grabbed her by her good hand. Without a word he lifted her up and helped her over to the couch. Her muscles started to spasm mildly with the aftereffects, as Knives gently lowered her onto the couch. Standing before her he said plainly,
"It's time we had a little chat."
Early the next morning, Robin gathered the Titans together, explaining to them who they were searching for and why; and as the 5 Titans left the Tower, they did not, at this time, really understand what they were about to unleash upon the Earth.
Yes, I know this chapter is Uber-late. So to make up for it, the next chapter will be Extra long to make up for lost time. But just so you know, I have not lost interest in this story and fully intend to carry it to it's climatic conclusion.