Summary: Post-Birthmark. Can life just go back to "normal" for the Teen Titans? Or will the admittance of the deeply-buried and long-denied make it impossible for Raven to conceal the truth of her destiny?
Author's Note: Well, that was better than the last time I left everyone hanging. It was only about a month. dodges flying objects What can I say? I've been busy camping and seeing my old high school friends most of the summer. Doesn't leave a whole lot of time for writing fanfic. Plus, I have dial-up at home, and I'm used to my T3 or whatever at school. God, dial-up is frustrating.
Legal Note: Don't own Teen Titans in any form. Wish I did. Don't sue me, NYU has all my money.
ray1: Yeah, I think Raven just really needs someone to break down her walls to a certain extent, and force her to let them in. And of the characters, I think Beast Boy is most likely to do that. As for Robin, I'm not really sure. I think the boy is desperately confused, and based on the show (I have seen all three parts of The End) has a problem with pimping. I'm trying to play him as such, where it's hard to tell him he likes her romantically or not. I'm not sure he's the kind to really make a move on anyone, unlike Beast Boy who tries to be suave and woo the ladies. Anyway, thanks for your review! Hope you like this chapter.
scathac's warrior: Of them all, I think I prefer BB/Rae, but I don't care as long as the pairings are made to make sense. And I thought I was going to give her a hella good dose of torment this time, but I guess that'll be next chapter. MWAHAHAHAHA ahem
evilsangle: I'm sorry! Don't hate me. I didn't really start this fic intending there to be a lot of fluff anyway, and I still don't think there will be, but if it's anything, it will probably be BB/Rae. Sorry again.
SxStrngSamurai13: Thanks a ton! I'm glad you liked it, and I totally agree about BB being the kind to disregard common sense. Hope you like this chapter!
GS Dragono: Wow, that's one of the best reviews I've ever gotten, and I thank you for it. But I agree with you; I'm not a huge fan of any Raven couple, because I think she's got too many issues to ever let herself really be in a relationship. And fluff with her in it doesn't usually work out for me. I hope I can keep you interested, thanks for your review!
Kool-Wolf: Here's an update for you. It's been about a month. Better than last time, eh? ) Hope it was worth the wait.
While Beast Boy, being quite the heavy sleeper himself, was not necessarily tired, his concern for the peacefully sleeping violet-haired girl in his arms overruled whatever desire he might have been feeling to continue about his day. Raven had, after all, awoken in the morning as the other Titans made breakfast. No one could blame her for her recently abnormal sleeping habits, especially not after the previous night when some of the horror of her nightmares had made its way into reality through her anguished screams and appearance. The Titans could only wonder what the dream had been about or why it had terrified Raven so badly, but at that moment all Beast Boy was conscious of was his concern and gratitude that Raven now rested peacefully. That her rest should take place in his arms was a fringe benefit.
Gently, Beast Boy shifted in such a way that he could lay Raven down on her bed. Her back had been elevated and he'd wondered a little about how comfortable her neck had been considering the way her head rested on his chest. But now she appeared comfortably back in bed, and she shifted into the fetal position once Beast Boy had disentangled himself from her. He pulled the dark, silk blankets up to Raven's shoulders, then stopped to gaze at the girl. She was so damn innocent-looking when she wasn't awake to keep that despicably blank expression on her face. Without thinking, he brushed a strand of her hair back from her face.
What the hell was that? The green changling angled himself over his sleeping companion, being careful not to disturb her, and drew closer to examine what he now saw encircling her neck. There was a red ring of angered flesh, looking almost as if it had been burned away. Even as he watched he could see the quickened healing processes of Raven's body do its work, and he knew that already the mark had healed greatly since her screams. He began to wonder how any of them could have missed them, and had to chalk it up to the way Raven had been sitting up in bed, with her face down and her hair hanging protectively around her like a veil. What could have done this? Was it possible the mark had something to do with her dream? Who had done that to her? When could he kill them?
Beast Boy worked to set his alarm aside. His initial reaction was to wake her up and demand an explanation immediately, so that he could set about protecting her from...well, that's what he needed to know. Instead, he chose the road of guarded passivity, and morphed into a golden retriever–or, rather, a green retriever–and flopped comfortably at the bottom of her bed, to continue his watch over her and to protect her from whatever may plague her nightmares or, quite possibly, from herself.
A couple of hours later, Raven awoke. Her sleep had been refreshing and dreamless, for a change. She shifted in bed, about to throw her feet off the edge to the floor, when she lightly kicked a furry green lump at the bottom of her bed. Leaning forward in surprise to take a better look, she found her friendly neighborhood shape-shifter curled up and apparently sleeping during his watch. Raven frowned, albeit with affection dancing in her eyes. Remembering her previous surge into consciousness caused Raven's hands to fly to her neck. Feeling nothing, she sighed with relief. Now she just had to hope Beast Boy had not seen the mark of Slade's strangulation when they were still present. The green boy wasn't the most observant person ever, so Raven was going to attempt to remain optimistic on that count. Shifting very quietly, and going against her better judgement (he would be alone in her room when he woke up, after all), she left the dog to sleep comfortably at the bottom of her bed, while she ventured into the kitchen for some herbal tea.
She just prayed that she would not encounter any of her teammates on her mission.
So of course, the first thing that happened was an encounter with Robin as he turned the corner on his way to the training room. Raven sighed. Of the three Titans she knew it was possible to run into at that moment, Robin had been the lowest on her list of ones she wished to speak to.
"Hey Raven, how're you feeling?" questioned the Boy Wonder, with a combination of a forced smile and worry etched in his face.
"Super." She continued walking. Maybe he'd get the hint.
"I think you and I should talk about some things," Robin attempted to make his order a suggestion first.
"I disagree." Her voice raised to a warning.
"Raven..." the girl continued walking, and Robin, becoming annoyed with her, took desperate measures to grab her attention. With a quick motion, he leaned forward and flung his arm out, catching her arm in his hand. "Hey Raven?" She remained motionless. "Raven!"
This last exclamation of her name caused Raven to turn and face him. Her face neutral, she regarded her leader. "What?"
Jesus, having conversation with her was frustrating. "I want us to talk. Right now. There are some things I know you're not telling me, and in order to have any kind of chance at defeating...whatever the hell it is we're up against, I'm going to require a certain amount of answers."
There, he had made his demands. He implored her with his hidden eyes to just accept this, and not give him a lot of shit. The conversation would be had regardless.
Raven heaved a sigh, and continued to stare at him blankly. No, there would be no way to further deter the Boy Blunder, and she found herself dreading the discussion of her previous nightmare. Her own vulnerability to the entreaties of her father and Slade was not something she was particularly proud of, and it provided a large discontinuity in her otherwise unshakeable exterior. Slaughtering her friends by denying her fear after watching Wicked Scary had been bad enough, but this time the slaughter would be for real, unleashed by all of her negative emotions, and the Titans would rue the day Raven had formed the team. She remembered imploring the Justice League to work with her, but being rejected when Zatanna sensed the evil residing within her soul. Since none of the four other Titans possessed powers similar to hers or Zatanna's, none of them could see the evil she harbored, that she would one day rain upon the universe. What would they say when this was all finally revealed? Would they shun her as the Justice League had?
All this crossed her mind in a flash, the result leaving her lips as a simple and somewhat frustrated, "Fine. But first I require herbal tea." Robin responded with a nod and followed Raven into the main room. Starfire was in the kitchen harvesting some of her fungus for a Tamaranean dish she wished to fix for dinner later, and upon seeing Raven flew excitedly over to crush her with a hug. Reaching her friend, Starfire thought better of it, and instead hovered right in front of Raven, bouncing up and down happily.
"Friend Raven! I am happy to see you are okay! Would you like me to make you some of the traditional Tamaranean–"
"No, Starfire. It's okay. Just some herbal tea."
The alien's face fell, but only slightly, then she bounced off to continue working with her fungus. Raven fixed herself some herbal tea, then Robin and Raven excused themselves. Not that they really had to, as the exuberant alien princess was bustling in the kitchen and making a royal mess of things. Unlike Beast Boy, however, Starfire would clean her mess up.
Robin and Raven found themselves in the Tower's meeting room. Robin gestured at one of the five chairs around the table. Raven seated herself, and Robin sat down in a chair beside her. Silence ensued, as the two surveyed each other, one preparing to burst through some walls and the other fortifying against most attacks. Finally, Raven leaned back comfortably and crossed her right leg over her left. She sipped at her tea. Robin rested an elbow on the armrest and supported his chin on his hand. His brow furrowed, and he began softly.
"What aren't you telling me, Raven?"
Really, what am I telling you, Robin? she thought, but kept this leading question to herself. Instead, she sipped her tea again before smiling sweetly and replying, "I'm an empath, Robin, not a damn psychic. Would you care to be more specific?" She was purposefully trying to put him off, and letting him know that his traditional questioning techniques would not work on her.
Robin sighed. Oh yes, this was going to be a good time. In retrospect, he'd have much rather shoved his head into a beehive and started blowing on all the bees. "Fine. If you want this to take place in "question and answer" format, then so be it. But Raven, I'm your friend. I'm worried about you. I want to help you fight whatever it is that you're fighting, and I can't do that if you refuse to help me help you."
Raven pondered this entreaty without changing her facial expression. "It's just difficult for me to begin explaining anything unless you ask me a specific question." She chose to meet him halfway.
"Okay. Let's start with that mark on Slade's forehead. Do you know what it is?"
The bluntness of his first question caught her slightly off-guard, but she recovered quickly and thought of the best answer to give him. "It is the mark of a great and ancient other-dimensional evil. Remember me telling you that Slade is dead?"
Robin nodded, and Raven continued thoughtfully, picking and choosing her words carefully, desperate not to lead herself anywhere she didn't want to go. "That is how he lives. That mark on his forehead means he is now but a messenger to this greater evil. Little of the real Slade remains."
"Then why do you have the same marks, Raven?"
Raven was taken aback, shocked momentarily by the Boy Wonder's bold statement. Her eyes shifted back and forth for a moment, as she searched for an answer. She could sense that he knew, but Raven, being a very powerful empath, was also able to sense his emotions like a temperature change, and the doubt he had in his own question leaked from him like heat from a single candle on an iceberg in the middle of the Arctic Ocean.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know what I'm talking about." Her momentary stumble had reassured him in this course of questioning.
Shit. She'd played her cards wrong. Really, little damage would be done here anyway, so she chose to throw the bird a seed. "As I said Slade is a messenger. The symbol was likely passed on to me from him as some kind of message."
"What do you know about the marks on you and Slade? Are they used for control, as a threat to you, or as something claiming you?"
Raven chewed her lower lip thoughtfully. "On Slade I would imagine the mark keeps him in his current state, and binds him to his new master. Like a branding, it marks Slade as a piece of property. But on me, the marks have no effect of control."
Robin gave her a dubious look. Raven sighed.
"Look, if I had the marks in the church–" Robin registered surprise at her mention of the church. She caught his unspoken question and continued, "Yes, I knew that you saw them. At the time there wasn't a whole lot I could do to conceal them. Anyway, if I had those marks in the church, and I wasn't being controlled, then you would agree that it's logical that the runes do not control me, right?" Robin nodded. "Most likely a message then."
"What's the message?"
"I don't know."
Robin narrowed his eyes at her, but when she returned the gaze with her defiant amethyst eyes, he chose to give her the benefit of the doubt. Thus far, he'd been given some of the information he felt he needed.
"When Beast Boy angered you in the hallway outside your room, he said he saw the mark then, on the back of your neck." Robin paused, and gave Raven a moment to absorb this change in his tactics. Raven herself seemed quite surprised at this new piece of information on the table from Robin. She had known the symbol had shown, but the fact that baby-shit green had seen it and ratted her out made her temporarily lose her composure. Robin saw this flash of surprise and other emotions cross his friend's face and eyes. "Why did the mark return, Raven? This whole thing has something specifically to do with you, and I want to know what it is."
Raven shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She uncrossed then re-crossed her legs, this time left over right. In the end, Raven chose honesty. "That's a question I'm not yet willing to answer." Her voice was bold and final, firm and unrelenting. Robin knew when he was defeated, and exhaled.
"Why is this 'greater evil' after you, Raven? Why were you the only one given the marks, the only one Slade pursued, the only one having nightmares?" Raven opened her mouth to protest, but Robin waved his hand and quieted her. "I know you, and I know that the nightmare you had last night was not just a revisiting of what happened on your birthday. You saw something new, and you're afraid it's going to come true. What is it, Raven? What could possibly have you so afraid that you can't tell your friends what's wrong so we can help you?"
There was no answer to this question that would satisfy him, and both of them knew it. Any attempts Raven could have made to answer it were, however, cut off by the Tower's siren screaming trouble.
I think that was my longest chapter yet! I'm kind of proud of myself, even if I'm not a big fan of this chapter. I hope you guys all liked it though, and as always, suggestions for improvement are welcome.