Grey sunlight poured faintly into a room full of darkness. Thick velvet curtains trapped all warmth from entering but the slivers of light that escaped through the gaps by the floor. Strewn in silk sheets, a broken child tossed and turned, sweat pouring from the sides of her pale face. Dark eyebrows were furrowed, parched lips left ajar, as the girl desperately tried to escape the nightmare haunting her mind.
A voiceless scream rang from her lips as she threw herself from her bed, now fully awake and free of the dream's deadly chains. Her mind raced, visions of her father replaying in her mind, a sense of death and burning filling her senses. As she closed her eyes in meditation, the calmness she sought refused to answer.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," she called to the air, her body now levitating, her legs crossed, as she tried in vain to erase all memory of her premonition.
Tranquil darkness became submerged in a flurry of flames, causing the empath to twitch at the sudden sensation of heat. Droplets of water could be seen falling from the sky painted by her mind, yet their source was not to be found. A glow of green grazed the darkness, mixing with the fire, only to be put out by a rush of sky-cried tears.
Raven shook herself from the trance, refusing to bare witness to the strange image any longer. What an awkward morning it had slowly become with a dream of her father met soon after with a interesting mix of symbols in meditation.
She lowered herself to the ground, a sudden wave of mysterious guilt blanketing her body in its entirety. Sapphire eyes grew in confusion as the girl clasped a hand to her chest, shaken by the unexplained emotion. After a few moments had past, she shrugged her shoulders, finding any further search for the guilt's cause to be fruitless.
"Strange," she muttered while picking a fresh uniform from her closet. "A nice cold shower should help me relax."
A few keys were pressed before her grey door opened itself to greet her to the day. Her pale feet shivered as she walked the empty halls with no shoes to keep them comforted, but the girl did not mind in the slightest. Coldness was welcomed more to her than the aggravating feel of the sun.
A sigh of relief fell from her mouth as she noticed the bathroom door open. There would be no need to wait this morning. She made her way quickly to the awaiting shower, but before she reached the door, a sudden thrust knocked her to the wall. Quickly shaking herself back in order, the dark fighter looked up to see with whom she had collided.
"Forgive me, Raven, I did not notice you."
Before Raven could utter a response, Starfire moved briskly onward, a blank look upon her face, replacing the well known cheerful bravado the alien girl wore daily. Though slightly shocked by the display of depression from the Tamaranian, the empath ventured into the bathroom, confident her friend would confide in her if there was any need to. As she unclasped her cloak, however, she couldn't seem to shake of the pounding guilt that had suddenly doubled during her encounter with the other girl.
Robin exited the main room, having finished a plentiful breakfast, and journeyed to the infirmary, hopeful that his teammates would be in better condition. His fingers tapped in a code, opening the large doors, and he walked inside.
Rather than being consumed by the endless sea of computer beeping, the young leader was welcomed to the sound of a tireless argument. There before him sat Beast Boy and Cyborg, fully awake, bickering at one another from their respective beds.
"Get me out of this place!"
"Man, are you crazy? The guy cooked you like a goose! Just lie down and shut-up!"
"No! This place is boring and I hate it! I'm fine!" the stubborn changeling screamed in response. "Watch, I'll show you!"
And with such a proclamation announced, the foolish boy knew he could not back down. Against the wish of his injured limbs, Beast Boy rose to his feet, wobbling at first before gaining his balance. A toothy grin stretched over his face in triumph only to be wiped away as he fell face first to the ground.
Robin couldn't help but laugh lightly at the brilliant display of idiocy before him. Beast Boy always seemed to be funny when he never meant to be and just the opposite when humor was his intention. The black haired boy casually cleared his throat as a newly charged Cyborg lifted the fallen boy from the ground.
"Oh hey there, Robin! How's it goin'?" the tin man huffed.
"Better than down here from what I can tell. Seems like you're okay," the leader paused before he continued, taking a moment to take a good look at the strange green elf. "though it looks like Beast Boy might be out of commission for some time."
"Dude! I'm right here! If you're gonna talk about me, at least include me in the conversation!"
The dark haired Titan ignored the rude outburst from the boy beside him, focusing his attention on his calmer teammate. Through vague summaries, the two filled one another in on the events that had taken place whilst they were unconscious. Robin learned of Raven's vicious outburst, and the other two were informed of the empath's futile battle against their shadow of an enemy.
"So, um, got any good news? I think we could go for some of that right about now," Beast Boy sighed as concern flooded his emerald eyes.
"Actually I do, but it would best if the girls were here. Starfire should be up by now so why don't we go ahead and walk over to the main room? I've got everything set up in there," Robin declared before heading out the door, leaving the two Titans unable to utter a single response.
Beast Boy growled, his teeth clenched and fingers bawled into tight fists. "Hello? I can't move, remember?" The green boy's angered voice served only to echo back to him from the closed door, doing nothing to calm his nerves.
"Yo man, chill. I know you're mad we got beat, but it happens. Look, I'll carry you there and then maybe Rae can heal you or somethin'."
The young boy's rage was lifted from his body at the mentioning of a familiar name. He took a deep breath and nodded, praying that their dark friend would not be present when they arrived in the new room, knowing very well the extent to which she would tease him.
Starfire smiled falsely as Robin walked casually into the room, wishing her a good morning. He moved briskly toward the transmission controls, pressing a red switch, which set off the alarm on each Titans' communicator, hoping that the call would bring Raven into the main room as well. As hoped, the dark warrior flew through the door, hair sopping wet, cloak thrown on crooked.
The leader smiled at her, a light blush heating his face as he realized he had possibly called her while she was showering. Before he could mouth a greeting, Cyborg walked through the door, Beast Boy thrown over his shoulder. Such a sight was enough to silence the dark Titans as they did they did their best to suppress fits of laughter.
Each fighter settled themselves on the couch; Beast Boy was placed between Cyborg and Raven and Starfire was sitting a small distance from the dark girl, her eyes focused on the cup of orange juice she had prepared for herself. Robin stood before them, a confident smile playing on his lips.
"Alright, well our last meeting was interrupted so I figured we should continue where we left off," he began. "I've gotten some new information that should help up greatly with our search for Slade and we have no one else but Red X to thank for that."
All eyes but Raven's grew wide with disbelief. Shocked silence consumed the heroes until Beast Boy delved into himself, managing to pull his voice from where it hid.
"What did you do? Have a little pow-wow or something?"
The leader laughed lightly, the clueless boy's humor amusing him once more. "Not entirely, but I guess you could call it something like that. He sent us a video call and just happened to be standing in front of a useful sign."
Robin turned to the control panel behind him, pressing a few buttons and quickly pressing another to stop the transmission was it portrayed their enemy and strange lettering behind him. Sitting in a chair, the black haired boy entered in a series of commands, causing the large image to zoom in toward the sign, the letters becoming clear.
"Gotham Construction Company?" the green boy voice in curiosity.
"Exactly," Robin's voice soared as he turned his chair to face the others. "From what I can tell, our little "friend" was paying that city a visit and there's only one explanation for it. When we were talking, he mentioned reimbursing Slade for powering the suit without the zynothium."
"He is partners with the mad man?" Starfire piped.
"Doubtful, but that doesn't mean he's not just running a few errands. Slade was always into the whole idea of using people for his own benefit that could harm us emotionally."
"Tell me about it!" Beast Boy grunted as the words seemed to pain him.
The dark haired boy shot him an apologetic glance before continuing. "If the two are working together, it's only temporary. Slade'll use him until all his little tasks are done and in return, Red X gets to use all his gadgets again."
Cyborg contemplated the new information before nodding in approval. "Makes sense. X never really struck me as a guy who liked workin' for anyone else other than himself. I doubt he'd want anything to do with Slade if there wasn't anythin' in it for him."
"Right. So I'm guessing you can all tell where I'm going with this. We should head out for Gotham and-"
"Wait!" the changeling interrupted. "How do you know if this isn't just a trap? That guy's pretty smart, isn't he? It doesn't really make sense for him to stand right in front of billboard with the word 'Gotham' written clear across it!"
Raven's sapphire eyes gazed into the boy's emerald orbs, reading into his troubled soul. She sighed before turning her attention to Robin. "He has a point. We can't just foolishly rush in when we have no guarantee that Slade truly is in Gotham. This could all be an attempt to lure us from the city. If we leave, word will get around this place faster than you can blink. Every villain we've faced will have a field day."
The empath's revelation cast a silence throughout the group as they lost themselves in thought, trying desperately to mend the flawed plan they had nearly agreed on. Everything seemed to be working against them. They couldn't just leave the city and yet they couldn't possibly pass up the possibility of finding Slade.
"Perhaps it would be best to do the splitting up?"
All eyes fell on the red haired alien, each one full of agreement. Robin turned his gaze from her in order to speak to the rest as a whole. "Sounds like a plan to me. I'll head to Gotham. I'm the most familiar with that place out of us and I have some connections that could be of some use."
The team took notice to the slowness of his speech, sensing his uneasiness. Cyborg stood from his place on the couch, making his way over to their distraught teammate. A metal hand rested on the young boys shoulder, doing its best to comfort him.
"You won't go alone. Take Star with you. Raven and I'll stay behind and help out Beast Boy until he gets better. Don't sweat, little man, we'll protect the city while you're gone."
Robin sighed. "Thanks, but Gotham isn't the best place in the world, I don't think I'd feel comfortable bringing Star there."
"Man, she's three times stronger than you! If anything, she'll be rescuing your butt from danger. Plus, besides me, you two are the healthiest ones around. If that doesn't mean it should be you guys goin', then I don't know what does!" the robot laughed.
"Agreed. Please allow me accompany you, Robin."
The leader sighed in defeat. Cyborg had a point and no matter how much he disliked it, he couldn't get out of it. He and Starfire would venture to a world he had prayed he would never be forced to return to.
"Alright, we'll leave in the morning."
The alien let a smile grace her lips as she slowly reached out, pulling Robin into an unconfident embrace. With his last words, Robin declared their meeting over, everyone well informed with their assignments. One by one, the Titans filed out of the room except for the two dark birds.
Silence over took the pair, neither gazing at one another. Raven's heart pound painfully as her forgotten guilt wrapped itself around her once more, images of Starfire leaping in her mind. Then suddenly all was clear, her blue eyes filled with realization. She knew where the awkward feeling had come from.
"Does Starfire seem a bit off to you, Raven?"
The dark girl sighed. "Why do you find that odd? It seems only natural for her to be hurt after what happened."
"Red X didn't injure her that badly, did he?" the boy voiced in concern.
"That's not what I meant, Robin. She obviously saw something you and I never meant for her to see," Raven whispered. "She knows what happened last night."
"Raven I-"
The girl didn't let the poor man finish. Her eye locked onto his hidden orbs, stabbing through the mask and into the feelings that lay beneath his skin. There was no emotion etched into her face, only a blank stare.
"Now I know why I felt so guilty this morning. It is all finally clear to me," her voice shook as it flew from her pale lips. "Last night was a mistake."