Treachery
What is this world made of Ann?" the question caught Ann off guard, millions of vague references came to mind but the literal meaning nervier occurred to her, so Ann remained silent avoiding having to answer the trick question. Raven was not expecting one. "This world is made of dust and rock, down to it's very core. The creatures that live on its outermost rim are rudimentarily composed of the same material that makes up the ground they walk on.
"I know that the ability to control matter is a devastating skill but to have the entire world bend to you whim is a power that was never meant to be wielded. Terra is inevitably destined to achieve that power, this divine omnipotence. Her reaching her culmination, will spell the destruction of us all."
The malediction of Terra's fate surprised Ann even more then the odd question that had preceded it. "Wait, are you saying Terra is becoming a god?" Raven didn't even blink,
"Yes. The power equal to that of what you would call a god will be bestowed unwillingly upon her unless it is stopped. That seed of catastrophe sleeps within the two Terra's bodies and as long as they stay apart from one another it will be kept in check, but as long as she lives the threat of disaster of a world wide scale is still possible."
"Raven, a world wide disaster is currently taking place. Terra could help us. She could end this all by herself. Not even a thousand of Hunter's spider army's would dare fight a god." Raven slowly shook her head,
"You don't know Terra as I do young child, her hand is far too easily guided by that of evils. Even if her newly formed might is somehow used to bring an end to this crisis her very existence would leave us at the brink of an even greater cataclysm. All we can do is keep Hunter from binding the two halves of what was once Terra to make a whole once again, if he has that power to manipulate then there will be not place for us to hide."
There was a silence as the occupants of the cave contemplated what had just been said, the implications Raven had brought to light had truly changed the face of this confrontation. Though it was true they had eluded Hunters grasp, many more had been taken in by it, it would not have been the first time Terra had strayed from the righteous path and wandered into darker reigns of humanity. The soft hum of Cyborg's scanner echoed through the still air of the cave as he ran it slowly over Robin's body. No one spoke, consumed by thoughts of the events that may yet come. There was a click and the humming stopped.
"Cyborg says that Robin's fine… in fact he's not really sure why he's unconscious in the first place." Alice gave an inquisitive look at Robin over Starfire's shoulder as she spoke to her.
Once he was done examining the injured, Cyborg walked out to a small ledge exposed to the light and air in the corner of the cave. He stopped and sank slowly into a sitting position with his back to the door. The cylinders extruding from his upper torso, now exposed to the sun and wind began to slowly turn, gathering energy from the world around him. As Cyborg meditated he closed his human eye and the glow of his red lens slowly faded into blackness. Raven stood and began to walk down deeper into the cave,
"I think I'll do some meditating myself, I must think on these new occurrences, much has changed." She vanished into a shadow and was gone, Ann and Starfire where left sitting next to the cold stone slabs to watch the motionless boys in silence.
Hours passed and no one moved, Ann and Star watched and waited, but as time dragged on Starfire's eyes slowly drooped shut and she slept alongside her Robin. Ann was alone with Torrent. She placed her hand on his forehead and attempted to focus her powers to reach the dreams of her sleeping wild boy. Raven had said that her powers had not yet taken a form, and Ann wondered what form they would take, telepathy, telekinesis, pyrotechnics maybe. She could not reach Torrent not matter how hard she tried. Ann wished she could summon up what ever slept inside of her to help end the war, but the more she called out the quieter whatever it was within her became. Tears of helpless ness crept to the brims of her eyes, and she laid her head on Torrent's stomach and looked up at his face. With no one to hear and with her power renouncing her will she spoke aloud to him,
"Why does the world have to be like this Torrent? Why do people hate one another? Why is killing always the answer? You know don't you, you just keep in away from the rest of us in your silent smile. Torrent I just…" Ann felt a stinging in the back of her neck herd the hissing of gas as a liquid was injected into her veins.
When she stood the world around her spun and she fell back into the arms of Robin, who had been waiting silently as he lay upon the table behind her. He lifted her from the ground and turned for the door, Torrents eyes flickered open and he slowly sat up. Robin spun and stabbed him in the chest with another sedative dart. The liquid shot into Torrent veins and he roared in the sudden unexpected pain. He rose to a crouch and ripped the capsule from his flesh and shattered it against the stone wall next to him. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Robin running for the door with Ann upon his back. Torrent stumbled off the table and staggered a few steps before passing out yet again on the cold wet cove bottom. Robin paused to turn and smirk and his incapacitated rival. When he turned back however the smile vanished, a floating redhead with her glowing fist raised barred his path.
"Put the girl down Robin, I do not wish to cause…" With out hesitation Robin spun and brought his heel against the side of the unsuspecting Starfire's head, she struck the wall next to her and fell motionless to the floor. Before any others could come Robin quickly slipped through the plants blocking the door and out into the wilderness. Silence hung in the dark of the cave once again, time passed and none could do anything. Both Star and torrent lay together on the cold wet stone of the floor their eyes closed and their minds blank. The closed eyes of Cyborg saw nothing, and the shadows where Raven meditated stayed silent. Robin drew farther and farther out of reach and nothing could be done. Then the picture of Ann suddenly flashed in Torrents head, he wasn't sure if it was her calling out to him or his own mind calling out to her, either way the sleep that had been forced upon him was cased aside. He shot awake, the room spun violently then quickly stabilized. After stumbling over the injured Starfire Torrent burst free of the cave into the harsh yellow light of the outer world.
Torrent sucked in a deep lung full of air filling his nose with its sent and the wind whispered it secrets into his keen ears as it flowed by. The effects of the drug that had been forcefully injected into his blood stream was lingering at the edge of his senses but he had more then enough wits left to track down the fleeing kidnaper. The world beyond the cold silence of the cave held the sounds and smells that Torrent had known all his life, now he had to pick out the ones that did not belong from the sea of life around him. Another deep breath confirmed his suspicions, Robin was moving downwind.
Branches on the ground and on the trees where torn apart as Torrent bounded swiftly through the dense undergrowth. Pieces of them lodged in his thick hair and clothing along with the others that had been residing there, to the eyes of an onlooker the running boy would have appeared as hysterical forest demon ragging through the trees. This time there was no smile touching the facial fetchers of this enraged fiend, this was no longer a game for Torrent to play. There are things at stake here that had never meant to be set on the table, and Torrent knew he was running out of time.
Suddenly the sent on the air changed, from the lingering odor of human sweat to the fumes of a gas motor. Robin must have mounted a car or motorcycle of some kind to aid in his flight. Realizing that what time he had to spare was just cut short Torrent tippled pace, counting on instinct alone to track the running thief. The wind was now screaming past his ears as he sprinted through the thick forest. A light appeared ahead, signaling an end of the trees. Past that was only a wall of blue light where the path ended. Quickly Torrent jammed his heel in to the ground, skidding to a stop at the brink of a cliff lying just past the tree line.
Torrent franticly glanced around him, not sure where he was. Had he gone the wrong way? Had his senses mislead him? No, the smell of Robin was stronger now then ever, he must be close. Then Torrent caught sight of what lay directly beneath him, inches away from the foot of the cliff side where he stood. Robin sat astride his red crotch rocket with Ann draped on its back and ahead of him was a large armored train grinding to a halt, steam bellowed into the air from its sides like the moist breath of a hundred exhaling giants. A beginnings of a growl ached in the base of Torrents throat, the thin line of reason that held him back from the brink of an insane frenzy snapped and Torrent leapt out from the cliff into mid air.