Ok, this is going to be hard on me...but...I HAVE TO BREAK MY PROMISE! I promised the whole story finished by this weekend, and i let you down. Im sorry, but i'll try to write my next chapter as fast as i can! I leanred from my mistake, never make promises you cant keep. Sorry again, but in return, i'll give you 2 chapters in one. I usually write 8/9/10 paged chapters ...this one is 17 pages.
As you all know, i was worried about LadyHood. Well i found her RIGHT after i sent all the 17 pages to my back up beta to Miss A. LaRosa. So i sent her an email saying to only beta the first 8 1/2, and then Lady Hood can do the remaining 8 1/2. So yay!
Miss A. LaRosa: Thank you sooo much for being my back-up Beta, and im glad you came through quickly! Also, i'd like to thank you for the speedy editing, it was awesome! Thanks sooo much! EVERYONE GIVE HER A ROUND OF APPLAUSE! Thanks again!
Everyone had reassembled in the living room on Crow's orders. Kory had borrowed some of Raven's clothing and had dipped her hair in the sink to rid it of yogurt and marshmallows.
As everyone sat, Garfield spoke up.
"I know it's gonna be a stupid question…but how are we supposed to even know if, maybe, Superman, or Batman, or Green Lantern, or, heck, even Spider-man, are real? I mean…look what happened to us! It's as if we're living in a comic book…"
The group went quiet. The fact was, he was right. This was like a comic book, to be sold out in stores all over the place. To have nerdy teen males ogling the females, and everyone else in envy of everyone in this living room.
Crow exited the said area and jogged up the stairs.
"Where's he-" Richard started.
"He'll be right back." Raven told the group. Crow always did that. Fact was: so did she. So she knew what he was doing.
Sure enough, Crow came jogging back down the stairs with a folder in his hands.
"Ever since I found out about Raven's powers, I've been doing a lot of research. That's mostly the reason why I agreed to see everyone's powers. But anyway, what I've found is truly…different." Crow handed Raven two sheets from his folder.
Looking at it, she saw it was an article. The headline; "The Alienation."
"Okay, so everyone knows that to make a spell, a certain food, anything, you'd have to have the right ingredients, right? So if you want to make a potion, and you're lacking one ingredient, it's a whole new potion."
"Obviously," Raven stated, clarifying that she was still listening to him though she was skimming the contents of these two pages. Though everyone else had kept quiet, not knowing where he was getting with this.
"Well in this case, lets make the ingredients the planets in our candy-bar galaxy. This decade, we have almost every one of the planets aligned, except Mars."
"Yeah, I heard Mars is way off, but still pretty close." Victor added.
"That's right," Crow agreed. "So?" He wanted to see if anyone was getting at his calculation.
"Wait—By aligned, you mean, in exactly a straight line?" Richard asked.
"No, because that news would be national, and not reported by a mediocre middle aged man who probably lives with his mother in the suburbs. The planets, all except Mars, are exactly 136 degrees from each other on a versatile map."
"…"
"Okay," Crow let out an annoyed sigh. "Let's say there were all only 90 degrees from one another on the map. The planets would create a pattern that resembled stairs."
"Oh, I've got it," Terra spoke, surprising everyone. You could say she wasn't the most attentive girl in school; but, this had actually sparked her attention.
"Oh, I mean... I understand that, and what you were meaning before. But, what you're saying is that because Mars isn't aligned with the others, it's a whole new potion. Well, potion, referring to the example you used before."
Crow was actually happier someone got it, not having to explain something else. "Right, so what I read was that this has only happened twice since people have roamed the earth. Once, now, and the other time before us was when there were alleged gods in Greece. No one thought they were real, but they were. And, they used that power to turn themselves to gods. But anyway—"
"We could be GODS?" Garfield exclaimed, butting in.
"How could you be a god if you can't even name what you could be god of?" Raven sneered.
"Oh. Right." Realization dawned at Raven's truthful words as Garfield sat back in his chair.
"Anyway," Crow repeated. "Remember, this is some mediocre middle aged man who probably lives with his mother in the suburbs saying this," Crow reminded. "But, back to the point, you're probably wondering— 'What do the planets have to do with me changing into a mutant from the inside out?' you ask yourself-"
Here, everyone scoffed visibly at Crow.
"Actually, every arrangement of the planets creates a substance that floats throughout space, poisoning each and every planet. But, each planet works differently. This planet, because of the greenhouse pollution effect, is mostly immune to it. Some poisons are harmless as well, mind you, but sometimes their not. Yet all are invisible, and hard to track or feel."
"Wow, for some 'mediocre middle aged man who probably lives with his mother in the suburbs', this is pretty heavy stuff." Terra commented smugly.
"Don't be stupid; he's only stating facts that were founded by scientists years ago." Crow shot back. "But, anyway, like you said, because of Mars being exactly 136,588 miles away from the Earth at this exact month and alignment, the toxic waste has been infected to become radioactive, causing you all to inherit powers as long as you whiffed enough of it."
"Is that what the guys who wrote this article said?" Raven asked.
"I practically quoted it."
"He knows about us?" Kory squealed.
"No, about the other stuff," Victor answered.
"But hold on a second—" Richard spoke up, "How come I can only kick ass a little better, rather than having supernatural shit like these people?"
"Kick ass more?" Crow quoted, amused, "That's practically a power on its own."
He began to count on his fingers. "Acceleration, Strength, Cunning, Agility, Force, Ability to think at tight spots, Motivation for the body and mind—must I say more?" Crow pondered aloud.
"Oh," Richard breathed, still slightly disappointed.
Crow rolled his eyes, "Listen, kid, I bet you could beat up every last person in this room even with their freakish powers. We'll check you out later today."
That put Richard on a slightly better mood, until another thought came to mind.
"Why is it that I got no real supernatural powers, though?"
"I was thinking about that as well," Victor spoke up. "While you were telling us about your little mishap. I was thinking back to the science lab." Richard mumbled something that sounded like 'gee, thanks for listening…' but let Victor continue. "For some reason, now remember, I'm just guessing here, I think because you were the one who inhaled less fumes, you didn't quite receive anything like this."
"That's right. Richard, you were the one who grabbed the towel first and started to inhale better oxygen. Then, you gave us other ones." Terra answered.
"But, that was only a second."
"Doesn't matter, one second of breathing in fumes could equal to a glass of toxins. It depends how much were in the air," Crow said.
"There were a lot of the fumes," Kory informed.
"Oh…I see." Richard understood. It did make sense; it had a lot of logic to it. He hated logic.
"But, you did inhale enough to give you what you have now, so be thankful. I'd rather be in your shoes right now." Raven noted.
The others agreed with silent nods.
"Woah, woah, woah." Garfield interrupted as he stood up. "I still have no freakin' idea of what I can freakin' do!"
Raven noticed how he was starting to become irritated. Ever since they were younger Garfield would always over-use the word 'freakin'' in his splurged speech.
"Hm…" Crow pulled him to the middle of the room and began to circle him like he did with Kory.
"You say your skin started to boil?" Crow asked, only trying to get enough information to back up his already decided hypothesis.
"He also grew talons on his hands and feet, as well as small fangs." Raven added in the background, and Crow started to stare at Garfield's feet and hands.
"Hey! They're not small…they enlarge when I-…when I…uhh…" Garfield actually didn't know when his new lengthened molars grew. Maybe when he was threatened or angry, since it only happened twice: once the day before when he was in great pain, and just now when he was getting irritable.
"When you…?" Crow waited impatiently, rolling his hand around as a gesture to finish the sentence.
Garfield repeated his inner thoughts aloud about the teeth enlarging when he was threatened or angry.
"So, it's got to be something about an animal then, right?" Richard suggested.
"Yeah…well I think so. I've never exactly heard of this before." Crow thought.
"Well obviously not, it's not like we see some strange kid transforming into animals everyday now is it?"
Raven deadpanned.
The room quieted down, repeating her words in their head to see if what she said wasn't their imaginations.
"What did you just say?" Garfield said dumbfounded. Was it a possibility…?
"…Why is everyone looking at me like that?" Raven looked around.
"You said 'Transforming into an animal'." Crow repeated, "Well? Give it a try, Garfield."
"…HOW THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT?" Garfield exclaimed flailing his arms above his head.
"…Have you never pretended to be a dog before…?" Raven rolled her eyes.
"I don't know Raven, have you?" Garfield sent her a sly, yet knowing, smile as a small pink began to graze her cheeks.
"Just do it, dammit." Raven mumbled.
Garfield closed his eyes shut, 'Think dog…think dog…think-'
"Ruff!" Garfield, in the shape of a golden retriever sat on the floor with his tail waving side to side energetically.
Dove hopped off of Kory, "YAY! Doggie!"
Dove ran over to the green haired dog and began to pet his head.
"Why is he green?" Victor asked.
"His fur probably takes the color of his present hair color…" Crow watched as Garfield began to lick Dove's face.
Giggling, Dove asked, "Can you be a kitten?"
Almost instantly, the dog morphed into a small kitten, purring happily.
This time, Kory, Terra, and Dove squealed as they all gathered around the small kitten and began to pet it.
Rolling her eyes, Raven stood up and kicked it, making Garfield return to his normal form.
"Hey!"
"Sorry. Always wanted to kick a kitten." Raven sat back down and began to tap her foot impatiently. Reverting her attention back to Crow, she asked, "So, you're saying that if anyone were to inhale, digest, etcetera, the toxic waste…they'd also have supernatural powers?"
"I don't know, but I doubt it. You said that you're chemical mixture created some sort of magnetic reaction. I highly doubt a lot of toxic waste does the same," Crow answered.
"How do you know our new chemical is toxic waste?"
Terra asked.
"Toxic waste is put into a special container labeled with crossing bones and a skull on it for obvious reasons. When something says something's toxic…you obviously don't digest it. Toxic waste is just a bunch of toxic chemical being thrown away at the same time. And, to save space, the scientists, or whoever, stick them in the same container, creating toxic waste. So, if you mix toxic chemicals without creating a chemical named on the periodic table of resource books, then yes, it is a toxic waste."
Garfield's head was spinning, "Wow. I've never heard anyone speak the word 'toxic' that many times before."
"You haven't heard a lot of things before, Garfield," Raven deadpanned. She just couldn't help but take the vulnerability of the group and stick in some sarcastic humor.
"Terra, you have not experienced your power yet," Kory reminded the group.
Terra began to rub her arm. "I know what my power can do. My parents are geologists and it's easy to look up things about rocks and gravel in my house," she explained.
"You might want to make sure though. Have you tested it out yet?" Crow asked looking down at her.
"…No-"
"Let's go into the backyard then." Falcon suggested as he stood up.
"But I-"
Crow and Falcon were already making their way out of the livingroom.
Terra sighed as she stood up with the rest of the teenaged group. Lagging behind, Terra felt someone pat her back reassuringly.
"Don't worry, Terra, it's best to see what you can do, and experiment until you've got it perfect."
Terra looked to the side to see Garfield grinning down at her, being that he was slightly taller than her.
She felt a dark blush heat her cheeks as his hand ceased to be removed from her shoulder. Instead, his arm draped around her shoulders as they continued to walk out of the house.
"Show us what you can do," Crow spoke as he followed everyone's example and took a step back.
Terra took a deep breath. In all honestly she just read up more about earthquakes. She actually had no idea what she could do whatsoever.
"C'mon, Terra!" Garfield cheered.
She chuckled lightly and kneeled down on one knee, the same position she was in the last time her powers had kicked in. Concentrating on the earth below her, her eyes and hands began to glow a bright yellow, just like before.
"Ohh…" Dove watched in interest.
Terra felt her hands began to shake with resistance as the earth pulled her hands magnetically towards the core. 'Now pull!'
Summoning all her strength, Terra grabbed the hardened soil, breaking through its tough surface as her fingers successfully sunk into the earth.
The group watched as she gritted her teeth, her power growing immensely. It amazed them how she had even managed to stick her fingers into the ground like she was grabbing the entire Earth; it was as if the rock they were standing on wasn't solid rock at all, but soil.
Terra felt her teeth grind against each other as she was slowly regaining control and ripped her hands from the earth with a loud grunt.
Everyone stood still as all was quiet. The ground began to shake with a little more force than the faithful day they had received their powers, causing the unexpected ones to fall to their knees.
Terra stood from the ground and the minor earthquake seized.
"I…I think I can do more."
The whole time Terra was erecting the earthquake, something inside her stirred, It felt as if she had more control over herself, her powers. Was all she could do is create earthquakes? Was that even a worthy power?
Raven's voice interrupted her thoughts; "I think so, too."
Everyone looked form Terra, to Raven.
"I felt her power grow immensely…I'm pretty sure you can do a lot more than that."
"I agree," Crow noted. "Believe it or not, your power is quite famous."
"…It is?" Terra asked.
"Yeah. Have you ever heard of goddesses? And, how they control a part of nature? There's Light, Darkness, Wind, Earth, Fire, Water, and Life. Another Greek myth. Yours are quite similar to the Goddess of the Earth. I read a few books on it in 7th grade."
"What could she do?"
"Basically yours is a lot like Raven's here. Except, instead of your telekinetic powers being in the shape of a shadow, yours come in the form of the Earth. You can probably levitate rocks, change their form, erupt earthquakes, and maybe you could even trigger volcanoes…you never know. Depends on your strength and confidence. Hopefully, you have some," Crow replied, slightly colder than he intended. Shaking that off, he returned to the inside of the house. Now that all of these teens were fully educated, he needed to make some back up references. Just in case he had missed anything.
Falcon looked back to see the pretty Ms. McCoy a little down. Garfield also noticed this, and was about to comfort her, when Falcon beat him to it.
Garfield growled, now sounding a lot more like a dog than a human.
"Don't worry, Terra, my brother can sometimes be a pain. Ignore it. I do." Falcon showed her a charming smile, dazzling her with his straight teeth.
Terra was about to smile back and give him a proper greeting, when she felt him hug her middle saying,
"Everything will be okay!"
Garfield, unconvinced she was hating this, walked over to them.
"Get off her, kid, you'll suffocate her."
Terra looked to Garfield as he peeled the 11-year-old off her waist.
"Sorry, sometimes he can be a nuisance," Garfield grinned.
"Hey, at least I'm not the jealous type," Falcon said before he stalked off, leaving a slight blush on Garfield's embarrassed face.
Terra just chuckled and walked towards the now chatting group, Garfield solemnly following behind her.
It had been exactly a week and two days since the horrible day, and, thank goodness, Raven was halfway through school. Raven was, like usual, counting down the hours until the school would ring those wonderful-sounding bells, signaling everyone could leave.
She was in history, and Garfield was thankfully in her class. Though, right now, he left her to doodle on her history book's fly page, while he chat it up with his colleagues. Being the talkative guy he is, of course.
Terra strode into the classroom and instantly spotted Garfield talking with his friends. She always knew he was in her history class, and loved fate for letting that happen. What she didn't know, however, was that Raven was in this class as well.
'Raven?'
She figured she hadn't noticed her since she always stayed quiet. Plus, the fact that before this ever happened, they weren't exactly on good terms with one another.
Terra began walking over to the seat next to Raven.
Ever since the accident happened, everyone was starting to get along much better with each other nowadays. But, Terra noticed two people slowly making amends. That was Raven and Richard. Terra had heard about their daily brawls ceasing, and was happy that such a thing could even happen. Everyone in the school only thought that could happen in their dreams. Of course, only four other people knew exactly what was going on, and those people were Garfield, herself, Victor, and Kory.
During lunchtime, the groups stayed away from each other as usual, trying not to distract their 11th grade audience. But, of course, there were times when the group were stealthy saying hello's to each other in the hallways, 'randomly' taking a seat next to each other in classrooms where they saw each other. They were even surprised no one noticed all of them packing into one car after school every Tuesday and Thursday. Basically, the group was better friends. Terra didn't know if she was the only one thinking this, but she had never felt more comfortable in a group before in her life and hoped that, even if their powers were temporary, they'd remain good friends.
"Hey, Raven," Terra greeted as took a seat. She saw Raven raise a quizzical eyebrow.
"You're in this class?" She asked.
"Yup. I was thinking the same thing when saw you," Terra snickered.
Raven smiled slightly at the sound of Terra's laugh. "Let me guess... your attention is usually on the person ahead of me, no?"
Terra dropped the snicker and felt her cheeks heat in a blush, something that had been happening a lot more recently since she's gotten closer to the person in question.
Crossing her arms over her chest and sinking into her chair slightly with a pouting look over her face, she shook her head, "Of course not. What gave you that stupid idea?"
Raven rolled her eyes as she continued her doodling. "Nothing. Nothing at all."
The two sat in silence for a while before the teacher walked in a shut the door behind her.
As the teacher began to talk, Raven slightly leaned closer to Terra, "You don't have to try and win his heart. You already have it; he just wants yours in return," Raven whispered, then slouched back in her chair.
Terra looked over to Raven, seeing her taking notes, or at least looked like she was. Looking back down at her desk, Terra thought over her words and smiled. Raven was his best friend, there was definitely a possibility she wasn't lying.
"Ms. McCoy."
Terra's head snapped up as she heard the teacher call her name.
"What is so interesting to think about that has you ignoring me?" The teacher said, slightly amused.
Everyone was looking at her, and before she could answer her apologies, Garfield's boyish voice cut in.
"Me, of course! What could be more interesting?"
The class chuckled as the teacher rolled her eyes and began to teach once more.
'Finally…' It was Raven's last period. Science.
The whole class had already turned in their projects. The only two groups that didn't were Raven's and Kory's, for obvious reasons.
Today was the day the class was receiving their grades for their little experiment. Of course, those two groups weren't getting a grade at all. Or were they?
"F?" Garfield almost collapsed.
"F? Wow, a grade to bring home to mummy dear," Richard joked as he folded it and stuck it in his baggy jeans.
"…" Raven just stared at her grade, being that her whole group got the same grade.
"…D?" Terra and Kory asked in unison. They were feeling slightly light headed.
"…Oh, nuh-uh, I did not just get a D," Victor spoke in disbelief.
Richard looked over his shoulder to see his grade. "Yup, That's a D, alright. Unless…" Richard grabbed the piece of paper and turned it sideways. "Hey look! Victor got an A," Richard faked enthusiasm.
"…That will never work," Raven spoke up from behind them. Mean while, everyone else heard Garfield yelling for the teacher in the background. (AN: The conversation in Italics is what's happening in the background with our lovable, huggable Garfield.)
"Hey, I do it all the time," Richard shrugged as he gave her sly grin.
"Ok, WHY is it that Kory's group got D's and our awesome group got F's?" Hollered Garfield.
"Garfield, don't be so loud, and, maybe, I'll answer-"
"HOW CAN I NOT YELL, YOU GAVE ME A FREAKIN' F!" Garfield squeaked, sounding more like a hyperactive schoolgirl than himself, making some student fall to the ground laughing. His nose was flared and there was practically steam coming out his ears.
"Well, yeah, but knowing you, you probably show it to your dog," Raven deadpanned.
"Well, Garfield, your group didn't want to show me your project while you worked on it, but Kory's group was willing to let me see. And, what I saw was satisfactory. Too bad they didn't hand it in."
"Pfft…no…" Richard looked as if that was ridiculous. But his eyes were shifty.
Garfield had a dumbfounded look on his face as he started to yell in his high pitched voice again, "Didn't what to show you? DIDN'T WANT TO SHOW YOU!" Garfield started to flail his arms all over the place, "You didn't ask, Mrs. O'Reily! You. Didn't. Assskkkk…."
"Righhtt…"
This is a chapter breaker, and an A/N to LadyHood, the awesome person who finished this chapter's beta'ing!
LadyHood: Hey LadyHood! I know i was making a big deal about the whole 'missing' thing, lol woops. Anyway, thanks so much for being my beta, i mean, me and my writing career NEED you! Thanks soooooo much! NOW, EVERYONE GIVE LADYHOOD A ROUND OF APPLAUSE!
It was a Wednesday, and the group didn't meet on these days. Crow had come by with Garfield in the backseat, knowing Raven always liked the front seat near her brother. But this time, Raven just wanted to walk around. Garfield took her burdening backpack off her shoulders and told her he would drop it off in front of her bedroom door, so she needn't worry.
Dove and Falcon had extended days on Wednesdays, a whole hour more. It was part of the new rules being set in by the government. She would pick them up and wait for them until Crow returned with the car. That's when her free roaming would seize.
'Gosh… It had been so long since I did this.' Raven strolled in the middle of the street, not caring if a car were to come and wait forever until she took her sweet time to move.
Responsibility was always so stressing. How does Crow do it all the time? 'Pfft, not only him. Me too.'
Raven stopped and looked up to the sky. 'Why is it that I can't cry? Why is it that I think about you all the time, and yet not a salty tear has fallen? What is the cause? Why-"
Beep! Beep! Beep!
Raven stepped out of her stupor and looked down at her watch. 4:00. Time to pick up Falcon and Dove.
Raven took her time as she walked peacefully around the school. Usually it was packed with kids, but this time…
'That's funny… Where is everyone?'
Raven's pace started to quicken as she was now in front of the front yard of the school. The school always had a clock on its billboard, so she checked it.
5:00.
Raven's eyes shot open and stared down at her watch.
4:00.
"Shit." 'I hate daylight savings.'
Raven looked around to see if Falcon and Dove were in view, but she saw no one.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of pink twirl around the corner of a building and out of sight.
"Dove?" She didn't know if she imagined it or not. 'The pink shone out of nowhere, but even if I did see her, the front door is so far away.'
'Is she playing hide and go seek? Because if she is, I swear I'll-'
That's when Raven noticed her dropped backpack, it wasn't even placed neatly against the wall. The backpack was sprawled in the middle of the waiting area, as if forgotten immediately. Falcon's was no where to be seen.
"Dove."
Raven broke into a run.
"Falcon!"
"Dove, stay away!"
Dove gasped as Falcon got punched in the gut once more.
"This is for being saved by your stupid brother last time." The same bully from before collided his fist with Falcon's stomach.
"This is for both your siblings dropping me to the ground." SMASH.
Falcon was doubled over, as he hadn't even had the strength to cover up his stomach to save it from another blow.
"This is-"
"NO! STOP!" Dove flung herself in front of Falcon, shutting her to take away the vision of their horrible person.
The bully and his friends started to chuckle darkly.
"And who are you?" He asked cutely, of course being the sarcastic fellow he was.
"I... I..." Dove thought of all the times Raven and Crow had been strong, tough, invulnerable against evils such as the bully in front of her. 'I have to be just like them. My parents would be proud.' "I'm Dove!" She exclaimed. "Falcon's sister, a-and I want you to leave him alone!" Dove declared.
"Dove?" All the boys chuckled save for Falcon. His heart was seething, though he hadn't the strength to even stand up properly.
"Who in seven hells name their children after stupid birds? What a load of crap!" The bully laughed.
Dove snapped. Dove pushed forward, her pretty pink dress floating around as she pushed into the bully, making him stagger backwards.
"Why you-"
The sound of the fast acceleration crashing into flesh and bones was heard. Everyone was still.
Falcon watched with extreme atrocity as Dove fell on her back and began to cry uncontrollably, clutching her now reddened cheek.
Falcon had to do something, anything… that was until he saw someone behind the laughing bully. Someone with a seething heart to match his own. Someone who wouldn't just stand there and watch her sister be punched in the face. Someone… Whose eyes were glowing an extreme bright white.
Raven had run so fast, she finally reached the corner in 4 minutes. Turning the corner with labored breathes, she looked right in time to see the bully who definitely had a death wish, punch her younger sister.
Raven was extremely off the center of control as she tore off her sunglasses to expose her burning eyes. She felt the white of her eye cloud over the amethyst to create two white, glowing eyes as she walked closer to her victim.
She noticed some of the bully's followers notice her and freeze up, as if looking straight into her eyes would cause you to freeze like ice. But she didn't care; all she wanted was the boy who dared to make her sister cry. Who dared to come back to her brother for sinister pleasure. Who dared to see what would happen if he did it again. Well now, he got his wish.
Blocking out the muffled crying Dove was emitting; Raven grabbed at the back of the boy's neck, and summoned energy and strength she thought she never had. Making sure to get her nails to break the skin, the boy froze up.
"What was the point of hurting them whilst I'm just around the corner..." Raven whispered, only loud enough for the rebel of a boy to hear. His supposed friends were running away in fear.
The boy stammered out an apology and excuse, trying to break free of her iron grip.
"Not good enough." Raven threw the boy down, making sure his mouth tasted the dirt on the floor.
"Taste it? Don't get so comfy, not even the dirt deserves to be carrying the likes of you." Raven stepped on the boy's shoulder blades with her boot, half her body weight being pressured against the boy's back.
The boy turned his face to the side and looked straight into her eyes for the first time. Fear gripped his heart as he tried to break free.
"Y-your eyes-s. Th-their-"
"Not worth even looking in your general direction." Raven mumbled through angry gritted teeth as she started to move her foot higher on to his neck.
Her hands started to glow black, with an eerie white lining.
"Raven."
Raven was brought out of her sinister thoughts when she turned to see Richard staring at her with his hands stuffed in his pockets.
Richard had already analyzed the situation, knowing for a fact this boy deserved what he was receiving. He would have passed them, and let her continue if he hadn't seen her hands start to glow black.
"Leave him be, I'll finish. You see, Dove... I think she needs you right now."
Raven looked down at Dove, who was curled up in a ball, crying her eyes out mentioning her cheek was still stinging. Falcon was on his knees next to her grasping his stomach with hand, and soothingly rubbing Dove's back with the other.
With a disapproving grunt, Raven added the last amount of pressure to the boy's back and got off him, making sure to 'accidentally' kick some dirt in his face.
Taking over, Richard used his foot to kick the boy over on his back and reached down grabbing the boy's shirt as he pulled him up, nose to nose.
"Lesson learned?" Richard mocked with a smug smirk.
The boy nodded vigorously, though it was hard, for his neck ached immensely.
"This mishap is not to be spoken to anyone, you hear?"
The boy nodded his head once again.
"Do it again and you'll feel my wrath." With that, Richard pushed the boy backwards as he landed on his back.
Shoving off the ground once he fell onto it, the boy sped off, his eyes brimming with tears.
Richard looked over to see Raven holding Dove in her arms. He noted how she looked around to only see him and Falcon.
Before he knew it, Raven slightly touched Dove's cheek before a blue light came from her hand and absorbed into Dove's cheek.
Letting go of Dove, she moved onto Falcon who moved out of her touch.
"What are you doing?" He asked wearily.
"Don't move, I'm healing you." With that, Raven barely touched Falcon's stomach as the blue light came out again and healed his aching and bruised stomach.
Dove had already stood up and ran over to Richard who willingly set her on his back. "Thank you." She whispered to him.
"What for?"
"For stopping Raven. She might have really hurt that boy badly with her powers. Thank you."
Raven had contacted Crow, asking him where he was. He told her to get another ride since he had to be somewhere.
Upon hearing this, Richard offered them a ride in his car.
Now there was complete silence on the way home as Dove slept and Falcon watched the other cars out the window, listening to his CD player, while Raven and Richard sat in the front, Richard driving, of course.
Another few minutes had passed before Richard brought out his cigarette pack.
It was a red light, and he used that advantage to take one out. Right before he closed the pack, Raven grabbed the whole box and made an attempt to throw the whole box out the window, but Richard had pressed a button on the driver's side to prevent that from happening.
"Nice try, now hand it over...it's my last pack."
"Sure it is." Raven held on to it tight.
"Raven, give it." Richard reached over after he checked to see that it was still a red light, and grabbed her hand, making an attempt to pry it open.
A loud horn sounded its way to Richard's ears as he stepped on the pedal out of instinct. Raven took the advantage of his turned head to switch the box into her other hand and stuffed it in her bra.
Richard looked back in time to see her closing off her shirt. Leaning back in his seat with a smirk on his face, he began to play with the one cigarette he had managed to save in one hand. The other grasping the stirring wheel.
"What makes you think I wont go and get it?" Richard purred out like velvet, smooth and seductive.
Raven scoffed. "Pfft. Like hell I'm actually going to let you even get close to the area. Reflexes, remember?"
Richard continued to smirk as he looked at her, taking his eyes off the road. "I'm a cunning man, Raven."
"So?"
"The cunning in me will snatch it without you even noticing. While the man in me will enjoy it."
Raven froze at his words as she felt her power seep through and began to make a napkin in the back seat float. Neither Dove nor Falcon noticed.
"You son of a-"
Richard swerved dangerously, making Falcon and Raven clutch the handle of the doors and send Richard an angered look.
"Sorry, a squirrel. You can't murder one of God's creatures, you know."
Falcon rolled his eyes, not hearing a word Richard just said and looked back out the window once again.
Raven continued to stare at Richard as he looked towards the road, with the same stupid grin on his face.
Feeling Raven's glare, Richard turned to look at her.
"What?" he asked all too innocently.
Raven scoffed as she rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, sulking.
Richard parked into Raven's driveway and stopped the car.
Raven turned slightly and reached backwards to alert Dove it was time to wake up.
Richard turned off the ignition and relaxed in his seat as he turned his head to the right and looked at Raven's bust. He could clearly see his beloved cigarette pack within the seam and longed for it. 'Now would be a perfect time to-' His hand raised only an inch off his lap before Raven turned back around and mumbled a thank you before exiting his car.
"No problem, sweet cheeks!" He yelled out, seeing Raven shoot him a murderous glare through the windshield.
Richard chuckled to himself as he started his car and backed up out of her driveway.
On his way home, he thought of something as he pocketed his last cigarette.
'Hey. I looked at Raven's bust without even thinking anything dirty. Kudos for me!' Richard thought playfully as he gave himself a pat on the back.
'But I will have to get my pack back. No matter what the cost.' Richard smirked and stepped on the pedal a little harder. Acceleration was the name of the game.
Everyday was the same. Richard, poking his head in and out of everywhere possible or at least where Raven was, politely asked if he could have his pack back.
His answer?
SLAP!
"Fucker! Get your grimy fingers OUT of my shirt!"
Of course, Richard would never even get near her shirt, but the movement he made had made it clear he wanted his last pack back. Now.
Richard chuckled and stuck his hands down his pockets as he ignored the stinging in his right cheek.
It was practically a daily ritual.
Raven closed her curtains as the darkness loomed over the afternoon sky. Flipping on her light, she sat on her bed in lotus position and began to chant her mantra.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..."
The picture of herself in her room within her mind vanished, as she now had the picture of herself meditating on a large rock, floating mindlessly through a black skied world. Dead trees littered the area, with black ravens scattered among the branches. The thought didn't scare her, for she felt peaceful. Tranquil. In nirvana. She almost felt like she was in the Celestial itself, but of course, looking in her surrounding, it looked like the opposite.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos..."
A small knock literally shattered her image of tranquility, bringing her back to reality.
The sound of a rock against glass was heard again as Raven stood and headed towards the window.
The window was already partly opened, but to get a better look at the cause, or causer, Raven opened her curtains.
Another rock was thrown, this time missing the glass and zoomed in the opened part of the window landing a mere few inches from her toe.
Richard had hopped Raven's fence, knowing full well that she was home at 8PM.
Leaning down, he grabbed a handful of tiny rocks the size of his thumbnail. Richard grabbed a shiny ebony rock and aimed at her window, which he knew was the one with the dark purple curtains. Not noticing it was partly opened, Richard threw it.
He waited a second, no reaction.
Richard threw another, this time making a louder sound. He just hoped he wouldn't break the window.
Right after Richard had thrown his third rock, Raven opened the curtains to expose her porcelain face looking towards the ground with narrowed eyes. He couldn't tell is she could see him perfectly well or not, but it looked as if she did.
Just in case, he threw one more as she neared the window, opening it to peer out.
"Shit."
"OW!"
Raven opened the window, trying to look outside. She saw a figure of a male, she just couldn't figure out who it was.
As she leaned her head slightly out, she noticed something shiny coming her way.
'What's-'
"OW!" Raven grabbed the rock as it fell from between her sinister looking eyes.
An unmistakable voice reached her ears.
"Um… heh, hey! Sorry about that." Raven looked down towards Richard noticing he was waving a hello with a sheepish look on his face while his other hand moved to rub his neck nervously.
Raven grew a smirk on her face as she closed her eyes.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." She whispered.
Richard grew confused as she closed her eyes. "What is she-OW! Hey!"
Richard felt a rock from behind him bonk him in the head. Looking behind him, he watched the rock fall to the ground as Raven's black shadow disappeared.
Richard turned back around, "Alright, alright, we're even."
"What do you want?" Raven cut to the point.
"Just a nice stroll around the park with nice company. Care to join me?" Richard asked, a goofy smile ridden on his face.
Raven couldn't exactly tell if he was just joking around with her, or he wanted something. Probably both. But she knew he wanted his cigarette pack back, too bad she threw it out yesterday.
"Richard, I threw out your stupid pack yesterday." Raven declared as she set her elbows on the window sill and laid her chin on her hands, only for her hands to cup her chin back.
Richard chuckled as he moved his hands behind his head, lacing his fingers together to rest behind his neck as he looked up fully to Raven's window. A comfortable stance, for a comfortable guy.
He couldn't help but smile to see how 'Damsel in Distress' she was looking right now.
"Like I said. All I want is a nice stroll around the park, with nice company." Richard repeated, the smile never leaving his face.
Raven rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. What's the catch?"
"Hmm…Well, you'd have to endure a painful hour standing by my side as we walk through the park… but other than that, no catch."
"You speak like that's not so bad." Raven joked as she stood up fully and looked over her shoulder making sure no one would maybe be listening through the crack in her door.
Richard smirked. "You'll see. Now get down here before I lose my patience."
Raven rolled her eyes once more. 'So demanding.' She couldn't believe she was considering this, but…
Raven swung her leg over the sill and looked down to see Richard move closer to the wall.
"So, what happens if I can't jump like a kangaroo down to where you are?" She pondered aloud. Raven knew she could just levitate, she had been practicing all over the house.
"Well then, Raven, you could let down your long hair so I could climb up and rescue you from bad authority. Or you could jump." Richard said with an 'earnest' smile as he looked up at her.
"I'd rather jump."
"Whatever suits you best, my lady."
Raven closed her eyes and whispered her mantra. Slowly, Raven hopped off the sill with grace as she slowly floated down in front of Richard.
Richard watched with slight amazement, being that the supernatural in her, made her look more supernatural than ever. She had grace now, grace beyond any one lady he had ever seen before.
Raven landed on light feet as she opened her eyes and looked ahead of her. 'Wow, that was a lot more softer than I usually land.'
"Ready, o' mistress of flight?" Richard joked, meaning to say that she was the most beautiful specimen he had ever laid eyes on. That would have to do for now.
Raven looked up at him, slowly sweeping her long luxurious lashes upward letting her misty purple meet his piercing blue.
'You have no idea.'
Richard smiled down at her. "Enchanting."
Pretending not to hear what he just said, for the fact that she was now slightly blushing, Raven continued with her fiery self. "It's not polite to stare. Let's go before I get bored standing in front of you." With that, Raven walked off and out of her backyard, leaving Richard to stuff his hand in his pockets and chuckle.
"If only your mouth matched your eyes."
Weirdly enough, the walk was either too quiet, or actually peaceful. They randomly talked about things totally irrelevant to their lives. Things people usually never talk about.
Raven couldn't believe that after all these years, Richard had been the most down to earth, relaxed, cool guy she had ever met.
Nearing her backyard once more, Raven looked up at her vacant window. The curtains were blowing slowly into her room.
Richard stopped; knowing it was time to go. The whole walk, he had noticed something. Something… square in her front pocket.
"Well, Ms. Poise," Richard smiled as he referred to the moment Raven had stumbled over a rock, "it would be wise to be floating to your window now."
"I agree." Raven turned around and looked upward.
Richard had inched closer, now only a few inches away from her profile.
Raven had noticed the closeness and looked towards him with a turn of the head.
Before she knew it, Richard was closing in as he whispered, "Thanks for the wonderful evening-"
Raven blushed heavily as she tilted her head to the side, avoiding his oncoming, talkative lips.
He had missed, or did he?
Raven couldn't help the smile that inched its way on her lips. "Nice try, boy blunder."
Richard smirked. "You learn from mistakes, am I right?"
Raven smirked at him from the corner of her eye as she successfully floated to her window. Perching on the sill, she looked down as Richard caught her attention.
Waving the cigarette box in the air toward her, he had successfully managed to stealthily steal back the pack from their close moment.
"Hmph," Raven scoffed. "Figures." She felt her front pocket to check if this was so, and indeed, he had stolen it.
"Now, don't take it so personally love, I'm not a kiss-on-the-first-date kind of guy anyway." Richard snickered smugly at Raven's expression. "But hey, I said I would steal it back with you noticing, and enjoy it."
Raven waited until he waved goodbye and turned around to leave, and let out a small smirk as she went into her room.
A moment of silence happened before Raven heard Richard come back.
"Hey! There's nothing in here you wench!"
It was Raven's turn to look smug as she leaned out her window with her elbows holding her up against the windowsill. "Serves you right, love." She mocked.
With that, Raven shut her window fully and pulled her curtains together. She knew he would try it, it was only a matter of wits.
Well, i hope you liked this chpater, i had fun writing it!
-Mon.
Shouts and question answering:
Darkofthenight- Thanks! Hope you liked this chapter!
W00tcakes: Hello! Hahaha, yeah i thought the reflex was kinda funny too. I saw my friend do that to my other friend, and that's where I got the idea lol. (Catches all cookies) I'm COOKIE DEPRIVED! (Eats all) Thank you! Haha, well I'll talk to you later—Monica (Thakns again!)
Tecna- Hahahaha, thanks you sooooo much, I'm glad you liked it! You're a lady? Phew—(Wipes brow) I kinda knew you were, but you never know if there are any she-men out there…so just in case, lol D. hahaha, I can image your brother's revenge….haha funny. Anyway, thanks again! –Monica
Mercedes- haha ok, you'll be my 2/3 to lover then. Haha thanks! Yeah Star can be kinda clumsy sometimes, lol. Well Mercedes (lol lovin it!), I shall talk to you later! –Monica (Thanks again)
Bekah(Nightmare Death)- Bekah! Hi! What's up? Thanks for reviewing on my chapter, means a lot! Lol I usually don't get those good greades in school, I'm glad I can atleast get them here! Thanks again, I'll see you next email/chapter!
MiMi (sexgoddessmisha4draco)- YES! We should so do that! The MiMi & MoMo Adventures! Haha that sounds awesome! Thanx for the contacts, I'll send you mine in an email. Lol, your 14? When's your birthday? I'm 14 too actually lol. My b-day's July 4th, so we shall see who really is older, haha. Anyway, thanks again! Love- MoMo
Alena(Pretty in Scarlet20)- Hey! Eh, I'm alright. My baby cousin is staying over, and I cant get an ounce of sleep whatsoever. It sucks, but hey, other than that I'm dandy! Lol. Hahaha, self-pity? Aww, no! No self-pity for Alena, (Takes it away from you and hides it in cabinet too high for thou to reach) No self-pity! It's bad for you, it makes you bloated! Haha yes, you are crazy, but an awesome crazy! Woo! Yeah, SheaStar suggested it (kind of) and I got a cool idea for the couple(Star/Crow). So yeah, now I'm noticing a lot more people saying they like it…rather than just saying: ok…sure. Lol. Hahaha, my grandmother sometimes does that too,(the give me pity thing) I hate it…so I practically clean the whole house as she mopes around complaining that she's too old to bend down and tie her freakin' shoe. -- Gah, I just wish I could give up on her. Lol, you never get on my nerves! NEVER! The only way you'd get on my nerves is If you mutated into Ashlee Simpson and started singing. That would get on my nerves. Anyway, thanks again! Talk to ya later— Monica
WarriorAtHeart- Haha thanks! Hope you liked this chapter, idk about the fluff….but the research kind of stumped me. Anyway, thanks for reading!
SheaStar- Hello! Just a little special shout out for you! Hope you liked this chapter, cya!
Celestial Chaos- Haha, thanks. I kinda liked this chapter, and I'm glad you did as well! Thanks again!
Val-Creative- hahaha, thanks. I actually have no idea where I had the idea to write it, I didn't even plan it. It just kinda…typed itself. So, did you like the fluff? I don't know if its considered fluff, but hey, I had fun, my imagination had fun, and blah blah blah. Hm, Dove? I just kinda had her as the little sister…maybe she'll have a bigger role, you never know! Anyway, thanks for reading!
DarkSin- Yup! Reflexes…so true. Tahnks for reading, hope you liked this chapter!
bloodystars357- hahaha, thanks soo much! It really means a lot to me. AU? Alternate Universe, lol. Yeah, I had to figure that one on my own too. Now my question, was in seven hells does WAFF mean? I've been trying to figure that out for like….EVER, yeesh!
Umbra Puella- aww, thank you lots! That was cool to say, thanks! Yay! Another Crow/Kory allower! I'm just glad you guys allow it…thanks!
RYOnRIKA-AllDaWay- Thanks! But actually it wasn't my idea, it was SheaStar's! All credit to SheaStar, lol. Anyway, thanks for reading!
NumbuhZero- Thanks soooo much! Your wicked awesome too, ya know…not just my story! Lol. (Misty Eyed) A STATUE IN MY HONOR? OMG! (Tear) This is so wonderful! I LOVE MY GNOME FAMILY! Haha, well thanks for being awesome AND reading my story!
Linnath- Yeah, LadyHood is fine, I was just overreacting. Some sort of dream kinda freaked me out...so yeah, but all is well now. Richard's 'power' was only explained, not exactly 'shown'. But you'll see later (maybe next chapter, or maybe the one after than…either one) Richard's 'Robin-like' skill. Thanks for reading!
Kali Donovan- haha, well you do a pretty good job! No clown? Oh well…I prefer funny reviews anyway lol. Believe me, you are already an aweosme writer, better than me even! No arguments, since its my opinion, hehe. Anyway, thanks for the support, I really love it! Thanks!
Yami-MeKayla- XD PEACH? Hahaha….I'm a peach, how wonderful. But actually, I like peaches…so all is good, lol. Thanks for reading! And no, I'm not popular, just extremely talkative XD.
Cherry Jade- haha, I was about to have Raven answer the door…but I decided Crow's creepy 'I'm bored, and ill wait till you leave' expression would be better. Thanks again!
Tim Fortune- Yeah, I have no idea where I got the idea…it just kinda….came to me? I have no clue. But thanks anyway, it means a lot!
Bleu Cheesss'- …I LOVE CHEESE! You should see me at home…cheese cheese chees…I'm surprised I don't have a shrine! So its ok, I will still accept! Haha, the Cheese and the Bitch. God? Pretty close! Anyway, thanks for reviewing, I love talking to you!
TheScarletRaven- hahaha, yeah I know…I broke my promise, and I'm exxtrreemllyy sorry! Eep…THE GUILT IS OVER POWERING! But I hope you liked this chapter…I had a lot of fun writing it! Thanks for everything!
Kiersten- sorry about the Kory/Crow thing, I hope you understand. Anyway, thanks for reading!
Thanks everyone else who left an awesome review! Without you all…I would have never got a record (for me) of 33 reviews for one chapter in 24 hours! Wow! Thanks again everyone! (think you could break the record? haha no, jk. You dont have to. XD)
-MoMo (hehe) (Peach), Monica (really.)