Raven's return to consciousness was sudden. She woke to find herself lying on her back staring up at the familiar ceiling of her own room. She sat up in her own bed, and realized that she was still in her dirty clothes from when she had passed out, and her shoulder was still held by the poor bandaging job she had done herself. Her shoulder, however, had begun healing on its own, which meant that most of her powers had returned. How long was I out? she wondered, stripping off the useless bandage and changing her outfit.
Raven exited her room and made her way to the main living area of the Tower. They were all there, gathered around the table and eating pizza for dinner. Raven could hear them laughing and chatting happily. She walked up to them, and they finally noticed her presence.
"So, you're finally awake," Cyborg commented, somewhat dryly.
"Yeah, it's been like three days. You sure can sleep, Raven." Beast Boy sounded as if he was almost complaining. Raven would have thought, even expected, that after being unconscious for three days they would be relieved to see her awake. She was surprised they had not taken her to the infirmary. Perhaps that was too much to hope for.
"Raven, sit down," Robin instructed. Raven took the nearest empty seat, which was next to Starfire. "We need to talk about what happened when we fought Delano."
"Did you catch him?" Raven could not keep herself from asking.
"Yes, no thanks to you. We caught him the next day, when he tried to rob another bank."
"Terra totally kicked his butt!" Beast Boy declared proudly. Raven looked across the table at Terra, whose cheeks pinked slightly at the compliment.
"Yes, friend Terra did a wonderful job at stopping Delano," Starfire added.
"Awesome job," Cyborg said grinning.
"I fully agree," Robin stated, his face brightening. Then he turned serious. "If it hadn't been for her that first time, we'd all have been seriously injured. What happened, Raven?"
Raven attempted a glare. "You know I don't have complete control over my powers," she stated.
"Maybe you should try harder to get control of them, then," Cyborg retorted rather harshly.
"Seriously," Beast Boy muttered.
Raven's eyes widened fractionally in surprise. Both Cyborg and Beast Boy had gone through her mirror and into her mind. If any of the Titans understood the troubles she had with her emotions, and henceforth, her powers, it would be those two. Instead, they were berating her for matters she had little control over.
"I've been trying. It's not easy." She tried to remain passive.
"Perhaps, Raven, you should try harder," Starfire suggested, her usual friendly voice dulled when she addressed Raven.
"And what were you doing while the rest of us were fighting Delano, Raven?" Robin continued. "Terra, Beast Boy, Cyborg and I were all trying are hardest to defeat him. I'm not sure I even saw you try to hit him."
"Yeah, how come you didn't try to blast him?" Cyborg questioned.
"Or throw something at him?" Beast Boy inquired.
"I did." Raven was not sure whether to feel sad or angry. She felt both, but the sadness and helplessness were quickly overcoming any emotions of irritation she felt towards her teammates.
"Well, we didn't see you," Robin said, still sounding skeptical. "And what happened when you went to catch Starfire?"
"My shoulder had already been injured," Raven put in quietly.
"Then why did you not tell us so?" Starfire asked.
"By not telling us you nearly got Starfire killed," Cyborg accused.
"And then we had to carry you out of that abandoned factory after you fainted," Beast Boy complained.
Raven did not speak for fear of her emotions taking over. She no longer saw any point to arguing with them, even to defend herself. Instead, she stood up and turned to leave.
"Yeah, leave. It's not like you've been of any help lately," Beast Boy stated.
"Was she ever any help to us?" Robin asked, almost as an afterthought.
"Nah, I don't think so. At least not since Terra came back," Cyborg answered.
"Yes, friend Terra is far more efficient at the fighting of crime," Starfire said, sounding proud of her teammate.
"And she has control over her powers," Robin added.
"She's way more powerful, too," Beast Boy claimed.
Throughout the entire discourse, Terra had not supported the other Titan's accusations, but neither had she spoken in Raven's defense. And though Raven was not certain, she thought she had seen a triumphant, almost evil, smirk upon the blonde girl's face when no one else had been watching.
Raven could not stand to hear any more. She left, blinking away tears and fighting the depression that threatened to consume her.
They really did not need her anymore. So why stay? Especially if all they were going to do was criticize her and elaborate on her insignificance. She had almost expected them to throw her out at the end of their exchange.
Raven released a breathless sigh. She resigned herself to leaving in the morning, before any of them noticed. She laid her head on her pillow, not acknowledging the single tear that slid silently down her cheek. Not that they would care, was her last coherent thought before the blissful quiet of sleep overtook her.
XXXXX
Beast Boy, Cyborg, Robin, Starfire, and Terra sat around the living room in a morose silence. Nearly four days had passed since the incident in the abandoned factory, and Raven still lay in a comatose state. The chemicals she had inhaled were having a strange effect on her mind, but that was all Cyborg had been able to tell them, despite the technology at his disposal.
They had treated her shoulder as soon as they returned to the tower, and it had healed nicely. Terra and Starfire had changed her dirty, chemical-saturated clothes for clean ones. She had been in the infirmary for over three days before they decided to move her to her more comfortable bed, which was where she lay now. They all visited her constantly, only to observe no difference in her condition. She was always sleeping; looking more peaceful than any of them remembered seeing her in a long time.
"Terra," Beast Boy suddenly spoke. "Do you still not know how you were cured?"
"No. I keep trying to remember, but then my head starts to hurt," Terra answered sadly. "But I can't help but think that Raven had something to do with it."
"She was the one to bring you here," Cyborg reminded them.
"Didn't you say that you thought you saw her when you suddenly weren't stone anymore?" Robin inquired. Terra nodded. "So, how did she know that would be the night that you would be restored, unless she did have something to do with it?"
"Poor friend Raven," Starfire said sadly. "When she came back, we rushed friend Terra to be treated, and left friend Raven alone."
"Yeah, and wasn't Terra wrapped in Raven's cloak?" Cyborg tried to remember. "That was some crazy weather we had that night. Raven was soaked."
"And then I gave her a hard time for wanting to sleep," Beast Boy said regretfully.
"We all could have been nicer," Cyborg stated.
"I practically yelled at her for not telling us about her arm," Robin said quietly. "But we should have noticed. She is our friend."
"And she helped us out all of those times when we fought against Delano," Beast Boy added.
"We've still got to get that punk!" Cyborg growled. "He's to blame for the chemicals."
"Once Raven's awake, we'll find him," Terra said, also wanting revenge. "But we shouldn't leave Raven alone unless we have to."
"She saved my life," Starfire murmured. "I never had the chance to thank her."
"You will," Robin assured her. He sighed. "For now, though, let's get some sleep. We'll check on Raven again in the morning."
The gathered Titans bid each other goodnight and headed to their rooms, all of them worried for their friend.
ThessalyD: Do you feel a bit better about the other Titans now? Either way, though, I will not be pairing anyone up. I'm not good at writing romance, so I don't even attempt it. I'll take your suggestion about Terra into consideration. I'm touched that my fiction has had such an effect on your feelings towards Terra. Thank you!
nevermoretheraven: I hope your anger is beginning to ebb now that the other Titans are feeling guilty. Thanks for reviewing!
BlackShield: Not exactly what you were expecting, was it? I hope you still liked it. Again, thank you for reviewing!
samuraiduck27: Thanks! I hope you feel the same about this chapter.
disappearer/Syani: No, worries, it's not a RaeCy fic. Actually, it's not a RaeAnyone fic. I hope this chapter thickened things up like you meant. I tried to remember to put her feelings into words as I wrote it. I hope it turned out all right. And I wasn't so much going for a cliffhanger as much as that just seemed the place to end it. But if I get a chance, I'll take a look at your stories. Thank you for your commentary, it is very much appreciated.
Sparrowing: Thanks very much! I hope you feel the same about this chapter, too. Did you have a happy holiday?
Wild Spirit Of Darkness2: Did I update quick enough? Thanks for the review!
sweethart20o: Thank you, and will do!
Psychic Cirrus: I'm glad you enjoyed it. I hope you liked this chapter as well. Thank you for reviewing!
AlwaysWrite: Well, the guilt has begun to set in. And I do agree with you at least partially on the Terra point. However, the show is aimed at young audiences, and so the messages being sent are supposed to be about forgiveness and second chances as opposed to revenge and grudges. I hope I updated at a decent speed for you. Thanks so much for reviewing!
lady isil: Thank you, and I'll continue to update as soon as I am able.
Ravens-Rage: Sorry, I'm afraid there won't be any pairings in this story. I'm just not any good at writing romance. However, you may find subtle hints towards more-than-friendly feelings, if you watch for them. Thank you for the review!
'hey': Thanks! I plan to. I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
tinkerbellx2: Thank you very much! Yes, poor Raven. But the period of guilt has begun with the other Titans. Thanks again for the review!