Raven drifted down the sidewalk near the park, watching families at rest, and children at play. The Titans were out, taking the time to enjoy a beautiful summer's day, the likes of which made even Raven smile more often than was usual for her. There was jubilance to days like these, when children smiled in their innocence at a world that had yet to show them its harshness. Robin, Beast Boy, and Starfire were tossing a bright yellow Frisbee back and forth, and a small crowd of children had gathered to cheer on Beast Boy, who switched between one animal to another, performing feats of dexterity that were a wonder to see. Cyborg was talking animatedly with a group of young woman who were, from the look of exultation on Cyborg's face, heaping praises on his "baby". A few young people had attempted to engage Raven in conversation, and she had indulged them for a short time, but there was a peace to this day that she simply wanted to bask in, unhampered by unworthy questions, such as "Could you levitate me off the ground and zoom me around a bit?"
The commotion caught Raven's attention before it reached the others. She wandered closer, and heard a child's anguished cry. In an instant she was there, not but ten steps away from what was obviously a very bad attempt at a mugging.
"How idiotic can you be to try and mug someone with the Teen Titans maybe thirty feet away?" At least, that's what it appeared to be. But Raven had, for once, not broadened her eyes to catch the scene in its entirety.
The woman clutched a child to her chest, and she was screaming hysterically, as a very red-eyed man struggled to pull the woman's arms apart. The child was wailing fearfully into his mother's shoulder, crying for anyone to save his mommy.
"Stop it!!" the woman screamed. "Please! You're frightening him! Leave us alone!" She struggled to pull herself from the man's grip, and at the same time, to keep her child from falling.
"Scaring him???? He's mine too. But you don't think that, do you? You didn't want me to have anything to do with him, but he's my child too, and I refuse to be pushed away!!!!" With this the man lunged at the woman, pulling a pistol from his jacket at the same moment. Unfortunately for him, his gun hand never made it to the woman's face.
The man shrieked in pain as the metal of the gun suddenly froze over, sticking his finger to an immobile trigger. Some people looked on the scene, horrified, but unable to turn away. At the sight of the gun, most of them had broken and run, diving behind trees, shielding their families from the brutality unfolding. He continued to howl as the frost crept up his hand to his wrist, turning his skin blue, and, from what could be seen, causing a burning sensation. In all essentiality, he looked like he'd been attacked by instant frostbite. But he quieted down in time, sending a snarl of hatred the woman's way that caused her to step back in fear.
"Leave them alone." A child's voice pushed through the screams of fright as the rest of the team made it to Raven's side. It was a very young voice, held steady despite the slim figure that forced its way to the front of the crowd. The boy couldn't have been more than five or six, with a very slight frame, even for a child of his apparent age. A shock of chromatic gray hair stuck out in all directions, creating a wild, untamable effect that would have been charming, had it been worm by a healthier looking child. Dingy clothing made up of mostly grays and browns, hung from his body, most of it too big for such a small frame to support. "They don't belong to you, and you've hurt them enough. They don't want you anymore."
The man had drool running from both sides of his mouth, and as Raven allowed her empathic abilities to wash over him, she realized that what little was left of his mind was consumed by an almost animalistic hatred of the object he perceived to have ruined his life. And anything that got in the way of himself and the object of his hatred became a much more hateful obstacle. With an outraged cry, he threw himself at the boy. The boy's eyes widened, but he did not turn and run, as most children his age would have. Instead, he held up his hands, keeping them together, and fanning his fingers out. From his outspread fingers came bolts of blue lightening that shot at the man's face and chest, stunning him, but not stopping him.
The Titans were shocked into action by the unexpectedness of the attack. The crowd backed away with a sick groan, sure of the slaughter that would ensue once the man reached the boy. Beast Boy rushed to the young woman's side, ushering her to safety and urging someone to call the police. The rest of the team dove for the man who had apparently lost the only thing that even resembled his humanity. Robin, ensuring that the man would not reach the boy, shot a grappling hook at the man's ankle. However, Robin did not count on the length of the man's arms, and as the man pitched forward, he hooked a claw into the boy's shirt. Robin, diving forward, pulled the man's arms behind his back, securing them into a position in his lower middle back. The man somehow seemed to be ignoring the pressure Robin was exerting on his wrists, fueled by a need for revenge. The need to take away the factor of the equation that had brought him to his knees.
"Now, Jacob!! First the boy. Then HER!!!" The wild man's hysterical laughter ricoched in the warm morning air, and bounced off of the fears of every person in the area. To the left of the crowd, apparently unattended, a twelve-year-old boy stood alone. With trembling fingers, he pulled a gun from his pocket, the maniacal laughter of his father still alive in his mind.
Kill her. Just like I taught you. She did this to us. If she had really wanted you, really loved you, she would have taken you from me, just like she did your little brother. But she didn't love you did she? Just him. She only wanted him. She's your mother, and she should love you too.
With a resolution born of the very well trained, the boy raised the gun to eye level, pointing it directly at the boy who had ruined his father's chance to bring their family back together. Without batting an eye, he ignored the hulking blue and silver Cyborg that was rushing towards him with a speed surprising of one so large. He aimed, and pulled the trigger, setting off a domino effect of screams and panic. An alien princess high above screamed in terror as her leader ducked barely in time to avoid having a bullet lodge in his skull. Beast Boy transformed into a hulking dinosaur, shielding the mother and her child from harm. A bullet ripped through the air and tore into a person's skin, spilling blood onto the shimmering concrete. A childlike voice cried out in pain and fear. Another shot was fired before the young marksman was wrenched off his feet and removed of his weapon. The five year old waited for the second bullet to finish what the first had started. It never came.
Floating in front of him was a young woman, holding up her hands as one might do to ward of the blows of an enemy. But this young woman had a shield not common to most. Black energy flowed from her fingertips, creating a dome of black obsidian that the bullet could not penetrate. After sweeping the crowd with a quick glance, reassuring herself that there were no more hidden gunmen, she turned to kneel beside the little boy. Though her face remained as blank as was normal for her, her eyes flickered as she saw the bullet wound that was leaking blood through the ragged sleeve of his shirt. Carefully she reached an arm out to him, and nearly had a heart attack when the child's unwounded arm latched onto hers with surprising tenacity.
"The lady?" Raven looked down into the child's face. His eyes were squeezed shut in pain, and he would obviously pass out quite soon. Still, he clung to conciousness for an answer to his question.
"Fine." Raven's voice was hushed, even as it kept it's steadiness. The little boy hissed as he shifted his weight, which in turn shifted his injured arm.
"The ladies kid?"
"Frightened."
"Safe?"
"Yes." The boy nodded once before his face smoothed out into the oblivion of unconciousness.