A/N: Hello again guys! Thanx for all the wonderful reviews, I'm happy you guys weren't wanting to chase me down w/ pitchforks sue to my abysmal updating skills! I'm attempting to rectify that problem, but work is definitely not helping, nor is the prospect of college starting either. But, I will try to ignore all that and update more regularly!
My main goal is trying to get this chapter written before the next HP book comes out, because I will be spending the following days absorbed in that, there isn't really point in me trying to deny that fact !
This is another long one guys…longer than the last and a lot more intense! Enjoy!
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Chapter 4: Bargain with the Devil
He sprinted past every rescue worker and school victims that were in his path, ignoring their calls for him to help. He couldn't slow his pace, couldn't stop for his burning lungs, couldn't do anything but reach those two children he saw trapped in the building. It was all he was focused on, all that he cared about; all that he wanted to do at the moment.
Robin stopped when he reached the beginning of the school lawn to gain his bearings and try to devise some sort of plan for getting into the school unnoticed. He glanced to his left and saw rescue workers helping students, teachers, and pedestrians alike with various hurts and problems. He knew if he took that course, he would never get to the top floor in time to get the kids out of the precariously stable school. Ruling that path out, he looked directly in front of him to see the main school doors were caved-in, therefore negating that option. He desperately looked right and saw what Raven must have been talking about, a huge, formidable looking geyser of white fire where he had directed Ahren to keep the fire under control.
For a moment, Robin felt a stab of guilt as he thought of the situation the psychic was in now, according to Raven who was the most knowledgeable about those types of things. It was he who had told Ahren to use every ounce of his power to control the fire, well aware that those powers were channeled more so towards telepathy than telekinetic abilities. But, Robin had been so frustrated with Ahren, he really hadn't cared about that when he assigned the Titans' tasks, even though a small voice told him Raven was better suited for that job. Hoping that his friend would be all right, Robin chose to trust that Raven would know what to do, and focused himself back on what he needed to do. He would apologize later.
Pushing a button on his utility belt decidedly, Robin released his grappling hook, and shot the cable at the roof of the school. If he could not force an entrance through ground level, he would simply go in another way. Gripping his hook tightly, he let himself be hurled towards the rooftop ledge and flipped onto the roof when he flew past the ledge five feet or so. Landing with grace that rivaled a cat's, he retracted his hook back into the belt about his slim waist, and hurried towards the roof door.
Placing a small amount of explosives on the door, Robin crouched down and covered his ears as the blast blew off the hinges, and made his path down into the school. Not wasting a breath, Robin immediately ran into the school, and made his way to the area where he thought the kids were. As he traversed down the charred hallway, Robin noticed that nearly all the flames were gone, only smoldering, smoking patches of building left. He knew that Ahren had achieved this feat, probably driven by his own anger towards himself, Robin admitted to his mind. But at what cost had Ahren gone to, Robin tried to ponder that answer, but found he couldn't find one. He knew if anything happened to the brown-haired young man, Robin wouldn't be able forgive himself for playing a role in his demise.
" Lily wouldn't either," Robin muttered to himself as he started down another corridor towards the window he espied from outside. " She would hate me."
Trying to focus his mind on what he was doing, Robin directed his senses to notice any kinds of movement or sniveling he might hear from behind one of the doors. He came to another turn in the hallway, this one with a window to the grounds of the school, and Robin decided to try and gain some idea of where he was to make sure he wasn't completely going in circles. He gazed out the window, and saw two disturbing sites: one was Raven trapped in an arm grip with a white being that Robin guessed was Ahren. This sort of white fire was swirling around them both, mixing with Raven's own dark energy, and the onlookers( meaning Lily and Beastboy due to Cyborg's departure) wore frightened expressions concerning what was taking place before them between two people they loved.
Forcing himself to look away, Robin was confronted with the second sight, a view of Slade battling a certain red-head. His red-head, to be more precise. Narrowing his eyes, he gathered where he needed to go immediately, determined not to have Starfire fighting that monster any longer than she needed to.
He started to sprint down what looked like an English-devoted hallway, dodging falling pieces of debris as he did so. He actually had to twist his body sideways for a rather large hunk of foundation, but somehow didn't lose his footing, and barely slowed his pace. He ran like a man possessed, ignoring his own discomfort, a talent he was finding quite useful lately. Unbiddenly, a picture of a mangled little girl's corpse sprang into his mind, and he spurred himself quickly past a shaky looking walkway, not caring that it nearly collapsed under even his own slight weight.
He paused as soon as he cleared the walkway, hearing a muffled sob coming from a door on his left. Approaching cautiously, he pressed an ear to the door, and heard a small shuffle of feet come from within. Taking that as all the proof he needed, Robin kicked the door down, and stepped into the abandoned classroom. He spotted the two children instantly, both huddled in a corner of the room. The boy looked about eleven, and the girl he was clutching looked eight or so. It was clear that the two were siblings of some kind, both possessing dark, unruly hair and the same gold-flecked brown eyes, and they were both looking at him as if they had seen a dead man.
He started towards them, trying to project a calming presence and said calmly, " It's all right kids, I'll get you out of here. You don't have to be scared anymore."
To his surprise, the little girl burst into tears, and her brother shook his head, unable to communicate his thoughts. Shifting his eyes to the corner behind Robin and back fearfully, the boy mouthed a single word that, at first, confused the young man.
Run!
Suddenly, Robin realized the fear he saw in the children's eyes was not for themselves, but rather for him! Understanding sunk in as he heard a murderous cackle behind him, not mistaking those hissing tones for one minute. Steeling himself against what he knew was going to happen, he turned around and glared at the woman who had haunted his sleep for the past two years.
" Hello Viper."
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Raven wasted no time after informing Robin what was going on, and immediately teleported herself to where the white fire was erupting in a swirl of black energy. She felt herself arrive next to three horrified looking Titans, who all looked over at her in surprise as rose out of the ground and directed her attention to Cyborg.
" Cyborg," she said quickly as he looked over at her. " You need to go help Starfire fight off the robots in my place, she can't handle them by herself."
" But," Cyborg said feebly, not at all like his usual self. " What about Ahren?"
" There's nothing you can do for him Cyborg," Raven said in her usual monotoned voice. " You are needed elsewhere, where you can help. Go. Now."
After a moment's hesitation, he did just as she told, and pelted off towards the robot mass without a second glance behind him. Raven stared at his retreating form until it was out of sight, then she focused her attention on the thing happening in front of her. She was aware of the remaining two staring at her, but tried to ignore it, and focused her thoughts solely on establishing a connection with Ahren's mind.
" Rae," Beastboy asked confusedly. " What are you trying to do?"
" I'm trying to get into his mind and tell him to stop himself."
" Oh," the green changeling replied, unsure of whether or not he should say anything else. He looked over at Lily, who had tears leaking down her face, and decided to follow her example of silence. There was no talk for a few minutes when suddenly the white fire flared up dangerously, causing both Lily and Beastboy to scream and jump back. Beastboy looked over at Raven's face for a second afterwards, enough to see the strain on her face, before she too was thrown back by the erupting flames. She opened her eyes and turned away from the spectacle, back towards him and Lily.
" It didn't work, did it?" Lily asked Raven quietly, focusing her gaze on the white flames, which were now retreating back into the being. " You couldn't get in, could you?"
" No," Raven said angrily, causing her own black energy to flare up and destroy a nearby trashcan. " It's like he isn't even there. His power has completely consumed him, and he's lost far inside himself…I can't reach him by any simple means."
" Simple means?" Beastboy asked. " Does that mean you can still reach him?"
" Maybe," Raven said slowly. " I know a way that might bring him back enough for him to control his gift. I need to actually speak with his gift and see why he's putting up such a fight. But, in order for it to work, I need to know a few things about him first, and I don't know if our 'friends' want that."
Raven shot Lily a look at the last statement, a statement which caused the latter to tense up and shift an icy glare towards the dark girl. " Are you trying to say something on your mind Raven, or simply trying to piss me off? If so on the latter account, right now is not a good idea. My boyfriend could very well destroy us all or himself if we can't snap him out of this trance, and you're still going on about how you think we are hiding things from you that you feel entitled to know? What the hell is your problem? For just one time can you just trust me when I say that you CAN'T KNOW EVERYTHING!"
Both Raven and Beastboy bore similar, shocked expressions at the usually calm girl's outburst. Lily's hands were balled into fists at her side, and her entire, slender frame was shaking in fury at the other girl's caustic remark. Her lavender eyes fixed the other's purple ones with such a furious gaze that Raven decided to try and placate the other before she attacked them.
" Lily," Raven said in forced calm tone. " I don't want to know everything, just things so that I can feel I can trust you. Neither you nor Ahren have really done anything to gain our trust, and I don't hand mine out on a silver platter like others. You knew Viper was back, even knew what she was after, and both of you neglected to tell any of us, but most of all, you kept Robin in the dark, again. We need to know information when it comes, not be kept guessing about what might or might not happen."
There was an uncomfortable silence for a little bit, one where Beastboy would've cracked a joke under normal circumstances, but for now he just stood there as the two girls's glared at each other. He was about to mention that Ahren was still engulfed in the energy when Lily broke the silence.
" Do you really think it would've made any difference if we had told you Viper was back?" Lily asked in a cool voice, and then plowed on before Raven could answer. " If we had said to you all the minute we had walked in, 'Titans, Viper's back, she's going to reap havoc all over Jump City, and is after your leader in a homicidal rage,' right away everything would have ended up for the better? The answer is it would have made a huge difference, for the worse. You all would become so on edge that you would start to slip up against other villains, and always be trying to spot if she was anywhere near.
" Also, Robin would have put himself in greater danger, trying to risk getting rid of her single-handedly because he believes her to be his problem. That's his greatest fault, and you know that. So, Ahren and I tried to devise a way that none of you would need to be worried about her, but that went horribly wrong…for obvious reasons."
Lily stared at Raven, hoping that she got through to the gothic girl on some level. Raven considered her argument for a moment, and realized that it held a good amount of merit, but she still didn't have her biggest question answered.
" Why did you and Ahren come here all those years ago?" Raven asked, not breaking her gaze with the other. " You claimed that Ahren had a vision that Viper was going to kill Robin, but why risk yourselves when the League could've sent someone of theirs to help? Why were you two on some sort of quest that led you to Gotham and later compel you both to travel across the country, farther away from your home, for a nameless, faceless boy?"
Lily said nothing at first, and then she sighed and a tear slid down her cheek. " You really are one of the most intelligent women I've ever met Raven," Lily said in a small, quiet voice that caused both Beastboy and Raven to lean in to hear. " I knew you'd be the first to ask that question. Starfire knew we were hiding the truth behind half-truths, but her customs respected why we had not told you all the entire truth. Do you really want to know Raven? After all, knowledge is oft a burden and it can never be taken back once you know."
Both Raven and Beastboy nodded, now curious as to what could be so terrible a truth that it caused Lily to become so emotional.
" All right. Ahren and I left Ireland all those years ago because of a vision he had concerning the future, and no, it had nothing to do with Robin. It had to do with someone else…someone so powerful that this person had the ability to either make or break existence as we know it to be. Ahren was terrified of his vision, after all it concerned the end of the world…well, at least the end of free will…and he didn't want to think about it again. I urged him to tell me what he remembered, that we should try and stop it from happening, and even though he protested, he finally did what I asked and it ended up triggering another vision…one that put him in a comma for a few days.
" When he woke up, he told me as I cried that I needed to learn the consequences of knowledge…but he told me what he saw then, because he said that he needed my help. He saw hope for this boy, and ironically, it was a girl." She gave them both a wistful smile then and said a bit playfully, " A girl who looked other-worldly ( later we would say Tamaranean), but human as well… a girl with long, jet-black hair who had an image of a robin behind her."
While Beastboy felt his jaw drop at realization of whom Ahren could've seen. " He saw Robin and Star's kid!" he asked excitedly.
" Maybe," Lily said simply. " But he also saw a future where she didn't exist, and that was too much for him to bear…maybe that future will still come to pass if she does exist, but Ahren decided to try everything in his power to prevent that from happening. With nothing but a robin's image to guide us, we left my home, and traveled to Metropolis to seek out someone who was supposedly very knowledgeable. It was Superman as you know, and he directed us to Gotham because a man called Batman once had a partner named Robin. Everything from there on was the truth," she concluded weakly as she turned once more towards Raven and asked, " Now do you have some sort of trust in us Raven? Now can you please help Ahren so we can help this boy he saw? I promise that I'll have Ahren tell you what he saw when he wakes."
Raven heard the plead in the girl's voice, and contemplated the effort it must have taken the girl to tell her the truth, or enough of it anyway. She nodded her head and walked back towards the white fire, a grim determination now mingled on her face with a slight apprehension of what could happen, but she shrugged those doubts aside and strode straight into the flames and stood right in front of the white-eyed Ahren.
Steeling herself, she muttered, " Azerath Metrion Zinthos!" and grabbed both of Ahrens forearms with her hands, and gritted in pain as it gripped her back. They both stood motionless for a moment before Raven heard a strange, disembodied voice in her head.
' Raven of the Titans.'
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Cyborg sprinted as fast as his mechanical legs could go, almost determined to try and do something right in this mission. True, he had helped in evacuating the students and faculty members from the burning school, but that all only seemed to be eclipsed by the failure of being able to help Ahren. He admitted, he had not really cared that Lily had seemed so worried about the psychic, his own anger towards the pair clouding his better judgment, and now he felt a terrible guilt growing within himself that he let himself give in to that weakness. His self-berating was called to a sudden halt when he arrived in the throng of the Slade bots and he saw someone unexpected rather than who he thought would be there.
It was Jinx, not Starfire, fighting off the robots, and doing so quite well on her own.
" Jinx?" Cyborg yelled at her as he released a huge sonic blast into the bots. " What are you doing here!"
" Kicking some robot ass Cy," Jinx yelled back, obvious enthusiasm echoing in her voice. " Care to join me baby?"
Cyborg gave his girlfriend a huge smile, and leapt over a few robots to stand beside her. After the two had destroyed a sufficient amount of bots with their blasts and bad luck hexes, Cyborg asked the pink-haired girl next to him, " Not to be rude or anything hun, but where did Star go? I was expecting her here."
Glancing towards the cybernetic young man, she pointed over where she had left Starfire to fight Slade a said, " She decided to pay back Slade for all the times he messed with Robin! Pretty much took that fight from me to tell you the truth."
Cyborg's eyes widened in shock as he saw a green beam hit a figure, who he assumed was Slade, and smash him into a nearby building. " Our little Star is doing that! Damn!"
" Well," Jinx said as she flung another one of her purple hexes toward some newly arrived robots. " You said so yourself on countless occasions, ' Our girl can take of herself,' and I believe you were pretty accurate in that statement. Now, we need to finish up here with your cousins, and then we can go and join Star in kicking Slade's arrogant ass into the concrete."
Smiling his trademark smile, Cyborg lifted his blaster and mowed down bots as they came nearer to him and the sorceress. " I love ya Jinx!" Cyborg shouted as he ran towards a robot and smashed it to the ground.
" I know Cy," Jinx said with a smile as she also ran to attack the robots in hand to hand combat. " Right back at ya you big hunk of parts!"
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Starfire met Slade in the air, and before she knew what was happening, she was on the ground, gasping for a breath. She barely rolled out of the way of Slade's fist as he hurtled toward her. He again, was able to catch her off guard a soon as she gained her feet, and slammed her into the street with a roundhouse kick. Not even risking the ground any longer, Starfire pelted into the sky, and started to dodge his blasts he would send her way.
He finally desisted, much to Starfire's satisfaction, and simply stood facing her. " I would have thought you were stronger than this," Slade said in his maddeningly calm voice. " You were when we last fought, but maybe I simply underestimated your raw talent. Still, I would have thought Robin to have better taste than this if this is all you are able to muster."
Starfire's eyes flared a dangerous green, and she spat back, " Robin is no longer your concern Slade! He never was in the first place! What do you think you know about him that we, his friends, do not? You no nothing regarding Robin, so do not speak as if you do!"
Starfire expected Slade to at the very least, laugh at her and call her foolish, but he did not. He merely stood and looked at her as if she were an insect unworthy of his time. " No my dear," he drawled after a moment of silence. " It is you who does not know that boy. You never will, and you fool yourself to believe that he lets you and the rest of the Titans know him…no one but me and Viper knows him that well."
" You are a liar," Starfire said instantly, almost fearing what he said was true. " Stop speaking now please!"
" Why? Because you can hear the truth in my voice child? I hate to break it to you, but he views you as nothing but a pretty gem to play with until he grows bored with you." Slade paused then, taking in the effect his words were having on the alien slowly floating towards the ground. " Which he will, after all, you have said yourself that he and I are very similar, and it is what I would do."
Starfire felt as if someone was slowly choking her, and there was no way to escape. What if Slade was right? Did Robin only view her as an object and nothing more? She felt like screaming and crying, but could not seem to summon the tears or shrieks, and all the thoughts going through her head were times where Robin ignored her, or yelled at her. She almost gave in to her deepest fears then, almost believed what Slade was telling her, when she felt a sudden warmth spread through her.
"He lies."
" What?" Starfire asked the strange voice.
" He lies, Father loves you…do you need to be reminded?"
Images of what Starfire viewed as the happiest moments of her life passed by her eyes suddenly, everything from him, hugging her, to kissing, to images that made her blush. She saw him smile at her, laughing at her obsession with mustard, and his deep blue eyes that he only revealed to her. She saw their first date to the park, and their last talk on the roof. Seeing everything at once that reassured of Robin's love for her, she felt tears of joy slip down her face as she realized that Slade had only been trying to weaken her with her own fears. The images stopped, and a sudden realization hit Starfire like a brick wall as she registered something.
" Father…"
Understanding filled Starfire, and she placed a hand over her abdomen, able to feel the life that had just started to grow within her. Determined now to stop Slade before he tried to harm anyone else she knew Robin would love, she started to float back into the air, and raised her head to look directly into Slade's revealed eye.
" You lie Slade," Starfire said calmly as her entire frame became enveloped in a green glow. " I know that now, and your playing off my fears can no longer affect me. I do not need Robin to show me know that he cares for me…he has done so on many occasions, and is nothing like you!"
She launched herself at Slade with such ferocity, the latter did not have time to throw up a proper defense against her attack. He was hurtled into the wall, and then blasted with a huge beam of light. As he slid to the ground, he was picked up by the alien and thrown across the street, landing with an enormous thud and groan as he crashed into a building. Before he could even start to rise, Slade was blasted with an uncountable amount of starbolts, each increasing in power as they hammered into his form. He looked up with his eye, and saw a figure with bright, emerald eyes stalking towards him, and then stop precisely in front of his crumpled body.
" I am sorry that I had to resort to violence Slade," Starfire said in her usual voice as she raised a final starbolt, encased hand to finish off her enemy. " But I cannot allow you to continue your evil ways. You have caused Robin trouble for to long, and I cannot allow that to go on…Goodbye Slade." Starfire tensed her body in preparation to release the starbolt, when suddenly two, strong arms grabbed hold of her, and she was rendered helpless in a few moments, captured by one of Slade's robots in no time. She had lost.
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' Raven of the Titans,' the voice repeated in her head after she did not respond the first time. ' What do you seek of me?'
" I want you to let go of your host," Raven answered uncertainly. She received no reply, and then she suddenly grasped how she needed to communicate with the being. Releasing her mind, Raven allowed herself to mix her own thoughts with the being, causing the white fire to become mingled with black energy.
' I want you to stop,' Raven thought to the being. ' I want you to let loose your hold over the boy.'
' Why? He implored aid, I answered. He still has need of me.'
' No he doesn't,' Raven thought furiously back towards the being. ' The fire is put out, and we, his companions, are here. You are no longer needed.'
' He did not call me to help with the fire,' the being answered emotionlessly. ' He called because he no longer believes he can accomplish his task by himself. He felt he was weak, and needed to be made stronger, that is why he called.'
' He is not weak,' Raven replied, to the force. ' He is able to do what he set out to do, I know he can. That's why he came to Jump City in the first place. That's why Ahren, because you had control and wanted to help prevent a catastrophe!'
' Why do you believe this Raven of the Titans,' the being asked her, his tone reflecting no change. ' I was under the assumption that you do not trust his ways. That is what he thinks.'
' Well,' Raven said, now able to feel the stirring of another presence. ' I was told a bit more about him, and I trust that he thinks he's doing the right thing…even if it meant concealing certain truths from us.' And as Raven spoke the words, she came to believe what she said. Ahren and Lily had never tried to harm the Titans, they had only hoped to keep them away from the danger in order to bring about a girl they believed could save the world one day. If the all the Titans knew this, there was a chance it wouldn't come about. It was only a belief, that this girl would help, but it was what drove them in everything they did, everything they sacrificed for…for the them, the Titans.
' I understand now Ahren.'
' You understand what?' the being asked.
' I understand what they were trying to do,' she answered quietly. ' I know now Ahren…can you forgive yourself for it now? I don't hate you, and neither does Robin, so don't think you failed, because you didn't.'
" Raven," she heard Ahren whisper from far away, in a weak voice that it almost didn't make any sound.
' Ahren, listen to me. I'm sorry I doubted you, I'm sorry I leapt to conclusions, and I'm sorry I played a part in causing you to scream for help. I'll help you with your mission…you don't have to shoulder the burden by yourself. We're all here.'
" Raven, I'm sorry I didn't tell you…" he gasped, his awakening causing the white fire to erupt all around him and Raven.
' Will you aid him Raven, once of a prophecy?' the voice asked the gothic girl, drawing her attention back to it. ' Will you bear that responsibility and teach him how to master his gift? Will you help prevent the light-bending child from destroying your world?'
' Yes,' Raven answered right away, trying not to losing her contact with Ahren. She almost didn't catch the last part of his statement, so concerned about gaining Ahren back, but she registered enough of it to know the 'light-bending child' was the someone Ahren saw in his vision. ' I will help in any way I can…all the Titans will.'
'Very well,' the being said as it seemed to retreat back into Ahren, taking the white fire with it. ' Remember your promise when things go wrong, and you lose the ones you care about, remember Raven.'
All the white fire disappeared then with a loud crack, and only Raven was left with her black energy swirling around her as she cradled an unconscious Ahren against her. She saw Lily and Beastboy rush towards her, and she dropped her power, letting Lily take Ahren from her arms as she fell into Beastboy's waiting arms, to exhausted to do anything else.
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" Whoa, easy girl, it's just me and Jinx!" Cyborg exclaimed as Starfire tried to ram her foot into his. " Just relax…it's over Star."
Starfire was whipped around and she saw Cyborg's huge grin meeting her, and she gave a squeal of joy as she wrapped her arms around his large neck in a hug. When she released, she saw Jinx helping load an unconscious Slade into a very well armored truck, supposedly being provided by the Justice League.
" Oh friend Cyborg," Starfire said very quickly. " I am most sorry to try to have damage your foot, but I thought you were another one of the bots. I was so preoccupied with Slade I just was not paying attention to much else, but where is the Slade going now, and why is a Justice League vehicle present?"
" Whoa, slow down Star," Cyborg said with a laugh at the alien's eagerness. " No prob about the foot, and I made a quick satellite call to the League to get an armored van down here to haul a dangerous criminal away…you were kicking his booty pretty well after all! It seemed safe to call the winner of that fight."
" I was not so victorious at first," Star said in a quiet voice as she watched Slade's truck disappearing down the street, on its way to Metropolis. " He was administering the kicking of the butt at first, but he angered me, and I, well, I ' dished out the silverwares back' yes?"
" Close enough Star, close enough," Cyborg smirked back as Jinx walked back towards them. " Now, I think we need to head over to where Rae is. I need to see if Ahren is alright."
" Agreed," Starfire said as they all started back towards the school. As she walked, she placed a hand back over her belly, and a smile of what was nestled within her made her float back off the ground. Cyborg was to preoccupied to notice, but Jinx did, and eyed the alien with a strange look.
" Uh, Star," Jinx said with a smile. " You okay?"
" Oh yes friend Jinx!" Starfire said in her most cheerful voice, not a bit faked. " I am most wonderful! Are you wonderful as well?"
" Uh…sure Star," Jinx answered with a shake of her head, conceding that she would never understand the alien's emotional range.
The trio made the rest of their way in a comfortable silence, no need for any of them to talk. They could see the white flames disappearing, and when they were gone entirely with an audible crack, they could see Raven cradling a prone Ahren, an image that caused the three of the Titans to run towards the other four.
" Y'all all right?" Cyborg asked urgently when they arrived next to Beastboy, who was holding Raven.
" I think so Cy," the changeling answered as his girlfriend gave a weak nod. " Rae was talking to that white thing, and it let go of Ahren after only a little bit. He's conked out though."
He gestured with a free hand towards Lily cradling the brown-haired psychic. The lavender-eyed young woman looked over to Starfire and Jinx and gave a small smile to them both. She glanced around them, as if looking for another person who was not there. Her smile faded into a frown and as the others rejoiced in Raven's victory, she cast a frightened gaze down at the stirring form in her arms.
" Ahren," Lily whispered in his ear. " I think we may have another problem."
He opened his eyes, and the three standing up all crowded around him and offered their thanks that he was alive and awake. He blinked a couple times, and gave Lily a small grin, but quickly wiped it off his face when he saw the look on hers.
" Lils," he said unsurely. " Is everything okay? I'm fine , don't worry."
As he tried to figure out why she seemed paralyzed, Starfire started to look around, excited and bursting to tell her friends her news. However, she wanted to tell someone first, seeing as it most affected him. " Friends," she said in her joyful voice. " Where is friend Robin?"
Ahren whipped his head around to stare at Starfire, then turned back to Lily. " No, no…this isn't happening…" He looked over to Raven and they shared a look, one that shared all of their fears of what had just tricked them all . Ahren pushed himself off the ground, shakily granted, and started to sprint towards the school. The rest of the Titans stared at his fleeing form, a grim comprehension setting in. Starfire placed an impulsive hand over her belly, and her breathing started to come in short gasps, she knew that if Slade was here, than that meant he had brought his apprentice as well.
They had all been tricked, this whole charade was orchestrated by the one person who they were all trying to keep their leader away from, and they had been so caught up in their own troubles that they practically handed him over in a platter. ' This was her plan all along,' Starfire thought in a grim voice. ' This is what she wanted.'
" Robin!"
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" Why hello yourself Dick," Viper answered back in a low voice. " It's nice to know you took time out of busy schedule of sucking ass to come and chat with me."
" It's not chatting your interested in Viper, so don't pretend it is," Robin growled back, not taking his eyes off her now moving form. " What do you want?"
" Always to the point aren't we," Viper said in a hiss-like laugh as she started to pace around him. " Villains never answer that question Robin, when are you ever going to learn? But, I'll humor you because I like you. I want you to magically chop into bits so I can send you up to the Justice League in a neat little box…those postage fees are insane for the large packages after all. Problem is, I don't think you'll cooperate all that well, so I had to make sure you'd come to see me. I.E., the kids in the corner," she gestured to the terrified children and gave a low chuckle. " The boy's name is Coran and the girl's is Mae…last name Prisai, ring any bells?"
Robin just stared at her, trying to figure out a way to get the kids out of harms way; he already had accepted his fate.
" No? Well I suppose that seer of yours knows the name," Viper said in a mock caring voice. " Not that you'll know now anyway."
" What will it take for you to let the kids go Viper," Robin said in his usual voice, determined for her not to know how petrified he was.
" Your cooperation of course Dick," she replied. " That, and leaving no types of clues for your teammates."
He was silent for a moment, knowing that he could probably take her long enough for one of his allies to get up here, but that would almost guarantee the kids' dooms. He knew what would happen when he made his decision, he would never say sorry to Ahren, he would never laugh at anymore of Beastboy's lame jokes, he would never see Raven, Cyborg or Jinx again.
He would never say goodbye to Starfire, and never would use that ring he had bought a few weeks ago. But there was no help for it, life had chosen another path for him, and he had to take it. He had to save those trembling children, even if it meant his own life.
" Fine."
Viper seemed a little confused for a split-second at Robin's response, but she recovered and gave him a smile, " But, you'll never see your precious Starfire again, doesn't that bother you?"
" I said I'd agree, I'm not going to change my mind," Robin said simply. " I know what my decision means, so leave it at that."
She gave the jet-haired boy a look of appraisal, and then said, " You just boosted my respect for you bird-boy. I may change my mind in how you go up to your old mentor…but for now, let's go. I'm not a very patient woman."
He nodded, and began to follow the petite woman out the room. He paused, and looked over at the kids, and said quietly, " Get out of here now guys. There are people outside you can help you," he paused, and then kneeled down to the boy and asked, " Can you tell the pretty, red-head you'll see out there that I'm sorry?"
The boy nodded, and looked helplessly as he saw his rescuer leave the room, and follow after the woman who said she was going to kill him. He held his crying sister closer to him, and ran from the room, determined to tell the hero's friends what happened, and try to help the brave young man.
" I will Robin," Coran Prisai said in a small, but strong voice. " I will."
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A/N: Omigosh! So many allusions to my future fics! I hope you guys can catch them!
I hope that answered some of the how and why of Ahren and Lily BAX…this chapter pretty much focused on them, so there you go Swiss!
Oh, concerning Starfire's part…it's what you all think! Mother's have this kind of instinct of knowing when they're pregnant and knowing what their children feel…so I just interpreted a Tamaranean way of that. If you all will recall, I mentioned the girl once before anyway!
So, I hope I got this out better than last time…you'll have to give me about the some amount for the next chappie because, again, HP new book comes out! Review Please!
Osco