1A/N: This should have been out yesterday but hear it is. It is dark and a bit twisted but it is Raven's encounter with the apprentice. I could have made it a lot worse but I decided not to. I think it works the way it is. Next chapter out after the weekend cause I'm leaving town till Sunday so assuming I make it back, that's when I'll update. Hope this chapter goes over well. Next chapter will take more perspective from the other side of the situation. Well that's it. Reviewer responses at end.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans so lets not try and sue me since I don't have anything to sue for.
Finding Hope Again
Chapter 13
By: Finalitylife
Raven had been awoken by a sudden chill brought on by her empathic abilities picking up something that was giving off threatening emotions toward her. Now that she was awake and staring at the darkened figure of the man who had just saved her from unspeakable acts, the chill now threatened to overtake every sense she had available. She could barely stand to look upon him, the hatred, anger, and madness radiating off him were nearly overwhelming but what frightened her the most was that she knew that all these emotions were directed toward her defenseless frame. She was reminded by these emotions of her encounters with Nightwing, Richard's darker side but this was far beyond that. Nightwing had been consumed by darker emotions but this person standing in front of her was of pure malevolence...just like Slade.
The dark mockery of the man who had come to rescue her only continued to smile as he stood in the doorway to the room. Raven felt her body start to tremble slightly as she could feel the eyes staring directly into her very being. The room took on an unbearable silence as Raven frantically tried to think of something to do, think of someone way to escape this situation but she could fine known within her panic stricken mind. Her mind and body were still weak and the power she could still wield would not seem to work due to her chaotic mind. She needed to calm down and then maybe she would have a chance but calming down was not possible. The man who saved her from Slade, the man whom she had never given up on even after all of this time, the man who she had given her first kiss too, was gone at this moment and all that remained was some twisted shell of darkness that only wanted to spill her blood all over this cold room.
"Hello little dark bird. Fancy meeting you here and I see you're already in bed waiting for me." Raven, who was sitting up now with her back to the wall the bed was set against, pulled some sheets up around her body as she felt his eyes roam over what little was visible. It disgusted her, just like when Slade touched her. The man in front of her smiled wider.
"Oh no need to be bashful, I've already seen plenty of your body already and I must say it is most impressive. You've definitely grown up my little bird." The voice of this being in front of her was distorted sounding, full of insanity as well as instability and the emotions coming from him continued to batter against the few strong mental barriers Raven managed to keep up in her tired mind. He took a step forward, his feet causing the floor to creak loudly in the quiet room and Raven's body involuntarily flinched making him chuckle.
"All that reaction from a simple step. Really now, I can't wait to see your reactions when things really get interesting. Will you scream, will you moan, will you silently cry when you realize that no one cares about you anymore and that you will be forever alone and tainted. I am just glad that my master did not take you for himself. I will have to thank him for this little gift." Raven's eyes widened at these words. Master...it always came back to him. Slade had found a way to corrupt Richard again. How she did not know but it must have been quick and after he rescued her. When she had kissed him, she had felt Richard in her mind and her heart on so many levels. This...this thing was not present then within him. 'Oh God what did he do to you' screamed Raven's mind. The man in front of her reached into his belt and with a metallic swooshing sound, a bo staff was extended, however, Raven could see a long, metal spike at one of the ends of it. This was a weapon to kill, not one to defend as Robin had once used.
"No need to be afraid little bird. I know you care for me. It is rather obvious when I look into your eyes...and that kiss...simply magical." The last words were said with a sarcastic and mocking tone that made Raven cringe.
"And honestly, that was your first kiss even after all the years, that is pathetic. I guess I just assumed you would have whored yourself out to that idiot Cyborg eventually or maybe some street trash that hung around the tower. I doubt anything would be beneath you." The dark man in front of her took another soft step forward. Raven knew to ignore these words, to pay them no value, but watching them being spoken from the face of the man she had cared for so much for so long, they hurt her, hurt her deep.
"Oh well, I guess its really not important at the moment." His face became an impassive mask. "My master has already insured this little bird will never sing again, now it is my duty to make sure you never fly again. Let us play." In a movement faster than she could see, he through is bo staff right at her, it impacted, spike first, less than an inch from the side of her head. Raven barely had time to give off a startled sound from her throat as she saw the metal that close to killing her before she found him right in front of her.
"Boo."A firm metal grip was suddenly around her throat, stealing away her air, but it only lasted a few seconds before she found herself flying through the air slamming into a nearby wall. Her body hit hard, causing her to see nothing but stars. Even before her visions cleared, she felt a vicious kick impact with her side, knocking her again into the wall. She wheezed, trying to get air back into her gasping body but her lungs didn't seem to want to cooperate. She felt a strong grip grasp onto the top of her head by her hair and was painfully lifted off the ground by it. She found herself dangling in the air, level with the face of her dark tormentor though she kept her eyes closed as she continued to cough for air, refusing to look at the corrupted vision of her would be savior.
"Where are your manners little bird. You should always cover your mouth when you cough. You don't want to spread your half-breed germs to me now do you." Raven barely could concentrate on his taunting as her head felt like it was on fire as she was sure her hair was beginning to pull directly out fo her scalp as she hung there. However, she could still feel clearly the emotions coming from him. They were of pleasure and enjoyment, both because of the terror and pain he was inflicting on her, both because he was enjoying watching her suffer. Raven let out a half scream that was silenced quickly as she was slammed again into the wall, but this time by her hair. The impact cut the scream off and the pain shooting through her side told her that a rip was most likely broken. Raven unceremoniously curled up in a ball on the ground as best as she could, hoping all this would end but it didn't. She heard the footsteps of her tormentor approaching her prone form until he was standing right above her. He crouched down and Raven trembled as a cold metal hand caressed the side of her face, a touch that from Richard had made her feel safe, but from this monster made her want to vomit.
"This is only the beginning little bird, only the beginning." His hand moved from her face to her exposed chest and Raven felt herself whimper at the foul touch on her innocent body.
"Such a lovely thing you are but oh so treacherous. You've worked so hard to keep me from my master's side, from my proper place and that can not be allowed to continue." His hand was now on her stomach, tracing some demented pattern on her soft skin.
"You must be removed from the equation so that you will no longer interfere but I promise that it will be slow. You will pay with your mind, heart, and soul as well as your body for keeping me from where I was meant to." He stood up and immediately, Raven felt a steel-toed boot pressing down on her neck.
"But it would be just so convenient to end it all right now, send you to hell to you see your father dearest." The pressure increased for a few seconds but then vanished as the foot came off.
"However, I know my master Slade would not want me to do that. I know he would want me to make you suffer for all the times you have fought against him, make you suffer for all the times you have fought against me." A swift kick to the stomach made Raven curl up even more but caused her incredible pain as she could feel her broken rib digging into her insides.
"You truly are pathetic. Stand up my little bird, I hate talking to you while you are lying there so pathetically." He reached down and picked Raven up by her throat again though not clenching tightly, only enough to lift. Eventually, Raven was on her feet, though barely. Her legs didn't want to cooperate with keeping her body weight up but he helped to keep her from falling. Again she felt a caress on the side of her face though this time with his hand of flesh. The touch reminded Raven of so long ago, a touch without warmth, exactly like from a broken Robin, exactly like the presence of a brooding Nightwing, yet this was alien feeling even when compared to those, this was inhuman, this was Slade's apprentice. Raven felt her body wanting to give out on her, her will ready to break, but a voice in her head told her to keep going, to survive. She wasn't sure where it was coming from but it seemed to make the pain lessen, seemed to wrap around her in comfort. All she knew was that it wasn't coming from her. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear, his voice full of sickened lust and finality.
"Where would you like your first time to be my little dark bird, on the bed or would you prefer the floor?" Raven for the first time since her captivity felt her power flow into her body. She wasn't really sure where it came from, maybe it reacted because her being knew what was going to happen. Her right arm shot up, black energy formed into a giant talon and slammed forward aimed directly at his head yet it would not connect. As if knowing this surprise attack was coming, he avoided the hit by sliding just enough to the side, and in one fluidic moment, snapped Raven's arm at that the elbow. Raven screamed in immeasurable pain as the sickening sound of bone cracking and crunching echoed in her ears. She felt to the ground clutching her now useless appendage as she started to openly sob on the ground. Everything hurt so much, inside and out and her only attempt at fighting back had only brought this.
"Stupid girl. I do commend the effort but as you can see, it only caused me to punish you. Your making this far less fun that it could be my little bird but I guess if pain is what you want, then pain is what you shall receive. You have plenty of other bones for me to enjoy." Raven wanted to scream at this bastard, scream out for Richard to help her, to somehow come back and save her own again, but the possibility of that was nearly completely gone. The voice in her head that told her to keep going was crying with her, crying tears that she felt had never fallen before, quietly apologizing for all the pain that it had brought her. Somehow, she was beginning to recognize that voice and that managed to give her hope. Again, she felt a strong grip on her neck as she was again pulled to her feet. She stared into the face of Slade's ultimate apprentice and prayed that she would get out of here alive, that somehow she would be able to truly hear that voice again in reality.
"I hope your ready for a long night my little bird because I know I am." He haphazardly tossed Raven again. Raven would have impacted with the heavy planks of wood boarding up the window she was tossed at but acting completely on instinct, she managed to focus enough to phase her body through the wood, landing on the ground outside the building she was in, using more of her energy instinctively to cushion the landing. She had gotten away from him, for the moment. She could hear him slamming against the wood inside the building, snarling, raging uncontrollably, screaming incoherent jumbles of profanity and hatred. She slowly started crawling away as best as she could, hoping to get as far away as she could, hoping to gather more energy in desperation to transport herself farther away hopefully to somewhere he couldn't find her. She had only made it about 15 feet before she realized two, strong, and armored legs had stepped in front of her path. She didn't even need to look up to know who it was nor did she need to look back at the sound of an explosion rocking the building behind her as she knew he had taken the direct route to chasing after her and simply blown open the wall of the building. Raven simply collapsed to the ground, noting left to keep her up, her attempt at escaping disappearing into the cold winter air
DeathsLastBreath:Yeah Slade is real bastard but that's what he's good at so I say let him. Yeah Raven is in some serious trouble but things can always get worse or maybe better. Let's just see. Hope you enjoyed this darker chapter.
Tecna: Thanks for the nice list of words. Good work with the thesaurus though spectacular was glaringly missing. Yeah I'm just being a jerk. Thanks again and hope this update was quick enough.
First Commander Miari: Good advice. Sometimes I write these chapters in like an hour and really don't notice simple things like that. I guess it's a mind set thing. This chapter is a bit darker so that should mean it gets cooler so lets see what you think. Peace out Miari and have a good weekend.
Cherry Jade: Sorry I left you in suspense but it took me longer than expected to get this chapter out and now you'll have to wait until after the weekend for the next chapter. Sorry again. And sorry for making Raven's situation get worse after it looked like it was getting better but I guess I always do that. Oh wellz.
evilsangle: Ya know, I really missed reading one of your ranting reviews. They are always such entertainment. Your opinion of the tongue thing is noted as well as your evilness toward Slade living. I guess you'll just have to wait for the next few chapters to see what I do.
jesters pet oriole: Thanks for the review and yeah, definitely poor Raven.
zadeon: After this chapter, I'd say 2-3. There's not a whole lot left and should be done sometime next week since I have a few days off of work then so will have time to write.
