Whisperer

"So I take it he doesn't hold a grudge." Ann cautiously eyed the mechanical Golem walking at the point of the group. Sparks smiled and shook her head.

The still unconscious Robin was draped over one of Cyborg's gigantic shoulders; the limp figure looked insignificant as it slowly swung ever so slightly with each step of the living monolith. In the long shadow of the hulking mass staggered Torrent, who was followed by Ann and Sparks. One of Torrents hands gripped as tightly as the pain could allow around the open and bleeding wound through his arm. Screams of pain where caged behind his gritted teeth, as he tried as best he could to mask his anguish from the others. A few steps behind Ann watched his suffering, her mind touched his and she could feel his pain just as well as he could. Every inch of herself wanted to run forward and take his arm over her shoulders to help bare his burden, but if she where to try to help, Torrent would simply wave her off and refuse assistance in fear of showing weakness. So all she could do was watch and hope they would reach their destination soon. Turning to Alice, Ann asked how close they where.

"Oh, it won't be long now. Cyborg would not have ventured from home if it we weren't close by." Ann looked puzzled so Sparks explained further, "Well you see Cyborg was recently extremely damaged in an attack on Titans Tower and he was forced to basically do a complete overhaul on himself, those large cylinders you see protruding from his back are what gather the life giving energy from the world around him. It makes it so he doesn't need a charger any more, but the amount of juice he has to spare isn't as much as it once was. Instead of recharging he spends long hours of meditation out in the wild, gathering energy."

Ann nodded and fainted interest, but her eyes kept glancing forward toward the bleeding boy marching doggedly forward before her. Deep red blood flowed from between his fingers, over the metal strapped to his arm, and dripped from his fingertips to the hard earthy path. Sparks did not notice Ann's distraction and continued on her monologue.

"The gun on his arm fires short blasts instead of a continuous stream, it conserves energy and is just as effective, except his arm can no longer transform back into a useable limb. He's also lost so much organic material he's lost all ability to speak, and he is too proud to except one of those voice emulator things. I'd do the same thing, man those this make you sound like your talking with a… oh here we are." The party completed a tight bend in the path and came to a dead end of solid foliage.

"Where, there's nothing here but a…" Ann stopped herself as she saw Sparks step forward and wave her and through the air, almost immediately the branches and vines cleared to reveal the yawning mouth of a dark cave. Sparks looked back at a surprised Ann and smiled,

"It's dark and cold but its home."

Exhausted from exertion and blood loss Torrent finally fell, he landed face first in a cloud of lose top soil. Ann rushed forward and lifted his face from the dirt, then cradling his head in her arms touched his forehead to hers. Sparks and Cyborg watched as Ann felt Torrents mind, when she looked up her face was grim.

"He's lost a lot of blood." Ann gazed back down at the closed eyes of her injured Torrent. Sparks motioned toward Cyborg,

"Grab him would you, looks as if we're going to have two gimps to take care of tonight." Cyborg bent over and lifted Torrent from Ann's arms and draped him over his other shoulder, and then bore him into the cave. Ann hastily followed keeping a watchful eye on her damaged wild boy.

The moment the ceiling of stone cut the sun's warm touch from Ann's skin a sharp chill ran down into her bones. The metallic giant and the jester walked into the void with the confidence a blind man would step off a cliff. Ann, however felt the eyes watching her from all the shadows. She walked slowed and with more caution, but for her lack of hast Ann was soon alone. The steps of Cyborg echoed from all around as if they where issuing from the walls themselves. Then they stopped abruptly and there was nothing in the shadows that wrapped about Ann's senses.

Then a voice came, not an echo, but a whisper, right nest to her ear. Who are you? Ann jumped and frantically reached out with her mind attempting to grasp who had startled her. Laughter preceded Ann's failure to find her tormentor, followed by another whisper. A physic? Very amusing, tell me girl are you with my friends or are you simply following them? Be careful when you answer Ann, I can tell when you lie. But Ann didn't respond she simply hugged her body for shelter against the bitter prick of cold hanging in the motionless air of the cave and continued to struggle to find the whisperer. Then the voice returned. Oh… forgive me Ann. I mistook you for an agent of our enemy, he has many of our kind in servitude. The apology concluded and the chill in the air seemed to melt away and the shadows retreated back. As the darkness receded Ann saw figures in gloom form in front of her, Robin and Torrent set across individual stone tables, Sparks watching with interest, Cyborg standing resolute, a strange floating young red head and then she saw the whisperer form from the retreating shadows themselves.

Large black wings materialized, wreathed by long flowing tatters of a dark blue cloak. Glowing eyes smoldered under the gloom of a large hood and Ann could feel the power within those eyes, a power that surpassed hers, an unrestrained power. A silence hung in the air for seconds until the exited sparks shattered it,

"Did she speak to you? Oh, that's cool isn't it? What was it like? It's different for everyone! My master really powerful isn't she? Man what did I tell…" the young girl the jester had addressed as master interrupted her servant,

"That will be enough Alice, you are dismissed." Sparks snapped her lips close, stepped back into the shadows and disappeared. The master looked up toward Ann again and addressed her, "My name is Raven, tell me Ann, is it true you know something of my Beast Boy?"