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 here's chapter 10. Sorry it took so long to get posted, but computer issues and all that jazz. My old lappy got struck by lightning (no seriously) and was almost fried, so now there's a new one. But that whole explanation is at the bottom in case anyone actually wants to read it. Enjoy!
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 don't think the rest of the team is going to be very happy, especially when/if Raven gets around to really telling them what happened.
scathac's warrior: Haha, thanks, I appreciate that. And I've read some of your TT stories, and I must say that I love your fluff.
AngeloftheSecondHell: I've actually read a lot of the comic books, so I have at least a pretty good idea of their back-stories. The problem is trying to fit it in with what they say on the show, because a lof of the time none of it meshes. As far as my battle scene's simplicity, I totally agree with you. It was pretty simple. However, I felt that logically it was the most that could happen considering the circumstances. Slade is overly powerful, and neither Raven nor Starfire could take to the air to fight back because they were in the hallway of the Tower. And at this point, I didn't want to bust up the Tower too badly, or take them outside.
GS Dragono: Season 4 was a good time.
Sangofanatic: Yeah, I thought about that whole "Don't hurt her; she's the portal" thing. Then I realized it's Trigon the Terrible, and he's going to use any means necessary to coerce his daughter into being the portal. Physical pain is probably a good way to make most people do just about anything, so I figured that rule didn't apply, except that he wouldn't be allowed to kill her.
mysti-eyed: And what's wonderful about Robin's stupidity is that he thought he'd be protecting Raven. Teehee! I sure showed him.
Kool-Wolf: Hope you didn't abandon me yet. Here's an update. Sorry for the wait.
They-Call-Me-Orange: Thanks! I love when people compliment my style; I worry about it a lot when I'm writing. Thanks so much for reviewing!
personwithnolife: I felt like I needed a scene with the girls doing battle together. I think in the show they sometimes underestimate Starfire and Raven's friendship, so I thought I'd go ahead and give them a fight scene. Thanks for your review, hope you keep reading!
The doorbell to Titan's Tower rang, causing everyone to grab their communicators and check for a message. After noting that none of them had any incoming calls, they realized it must have been the doorbell.
"Goddamn it. Dudes, we've gotta get the bell changed," Beast Boy complained, as he looked up from his position on the semi-circular couch beside Cyborg. The two had been having a furious Game Station battle, but the wind had been taken out of it a bit by the interruption. Starfire had been in the kitchen yet again, poking around her blue fungus. She looked up curiously when Beast Boy spoke. Two weeks after the attack by Slade, Starfire was still not entirely healed. Her right forearm remained in a cast, supported by a sling crossed over her left shoulder. The cast itself was bright purple, matching her attire, but there were no signatures on it. Starfire would not let anyone autograph her cast until Raven was found and could sign it too.
"Is someone going to get the door, or do I have to do everything around this fucking tower?" Robin stomped into the main room, causing a round of flinches from everyone with his anger. Since Raven had disappeared, the team had done what anyone would have done for a missing colleague: searched until they were blue in the face. Everyone had different ways of dealing with Raven's unscheduled absence. Cyborg spent a lot of time in the garage working on the T-Car, telling himself that when they found her, he'd need the T-Car to right up over Slade's ass for what he'd done. Beast Boy, much to the team's surprise, seemed devastated at the loss of the girl that so often threatened his life. He moped around the house, playing video games and flicking through the channels aimless, never settling on any one station. If possible, his personal hygiene was even worse than before, and he adopted the biting sarcasm he so often complained about in Raven. Starfire, aside from missing Raven, had her recent immobilization to deal with as well. The boys could go take care of missions, but Starfire had to stay in the Tower and heal. She couldn't even go shopping. Who would she go with? The usually jubilant Starfire continued putting up the good front for the sake of her friends, but she found herself making the Tamaranean pudding of sadness much more often, and the others noticed the despair lurking behind her once sparkling green eyes.
Robin, in his usual fashion, had become downright hostile, and stubborn. Despite the team's pleas that he take a break in his search to eat, shower, or even sleep, he had exploded angrily that he would not rest until Raven was found, and he was ashamed of them for acting any other way. Beast Boy's temper had flared, and he exploded at Robin, stating that even if Raven were found, in the condition Robin was in, he wouldn't be able to fight anyway. A yelling match ensued, ending in Beast Boy storming out of the Tower to cool off for a while. The two hadn't been on the best of terms since then, the tension between them so thick it could be cut only with a high-powered chainsaw.
Beast Boy threw down his controller, and began to step towards the door. Cyborg stepped in front of him, and tried to make peace. "Yo man, chill. I'll go get the door. One of you gets there and whoever it is might leave with a black eye." Beast Boy flopped back on the couch, and Robin made his way to get a glass of water from the kitchen.
Cyborg walked to the front of the Tower, a little hurriedly. The doorbell only sounded once, and he hoped whoever it was was still waiting. Checking the security cameras, he didn't see anyone standing outside, but opened the door anyway, thinking maybe he'd see them walking away. Cyborg leaned out, sticking his head out the door, and craning his neck around to look. Then he heard it–very faint–something that sounded like soft wheezing.
He looked down, and what he saw made his human blood run cold.
Raven was curled up in the fetal position at his feet, her cloak and leotard tattered, torn, and stained with blood. Her breath came out short and raspy, and very shallow. She was clearly unconscious, but from the scrunched up look of her face, she could feel the pain even through the blackness. There was a red mark on her forehead, the same mark Slade boasted.
The other Titans were all standing or sitting moodily in the main room when Cyborg burst in the door. Raven lay draped in his arms. Everyone froze, except Cyborg who continued to scurry by. "We've got to get her to the medical wing, right now!" he yelled as he flew past them and deeper into the Tower. Picking up their jaws, the Titans ran after Cyborg and Raven.
Darkness. Raven shifted uncomfortably, the pain in her limbs excruciating, dragging her into consciousness, screaming to her that unfortunately she was still alive. Her eyes opened, just in time to see a long, thin flash of red-orange light approach her at a speed she could not track with her tired amethyst eyes. A sudden burst of pain cut through her abdomen, and she bit her lip until it bled to keep from crying out.
To add insult to injury, the next thing she saw was Slade's face filling her vision. She could smell the fire and death on his breath. "You will become the portal, Raven. You can't stop it anymore than you can stop me. And think about it, I only work for Daddy." Blackness seemed to rush into her face–
Raven unexpectedly jolted and squirmed in her hospital bed, crying out. The Titans, who had been attempting to hook her up to all manner of medical equipment, were suddenly faced with restraining her as well. Cyborg worked harder and faster on obtaining computer readings of her condition. The other Titans, who were somewhat out of things to do except worry (they were too in-shock as of yet to begin mustering up a plan). Now with Raven's struggles the three remaining Titans sprang into action, grabbing swinging arms and kicking legs. Beast Boy, an arm in hand, tried cooed affectionately to Raven, trying to calm her down, but to no avail. Starfire stared worriedly from the end of the bed, holding Raven's thrashing legs with little effort. "Friend Raven, please stop! It is your friends. We're trying to help you!" Starfire made her attempt to calm the squirming girl.
It was Robin who ultimately halted Raven's outburst by grabbing a handy dandy syringe of sedative, which he turned and quickly stuck into Raven's left arm. Her eyes shot open briefly at this real-world stab of pain, before the lids lowered, her eyes glazed over, and her body relaxed. Soon, Raven was in her healing trance, levitating a few inches over the hospital bed. The sweating Titans relaxed a little, finally seeing Raven do what they knew she needed. Just in case, they strapped her arms and legs to the bed, leaving room for her to continue her trance, and hoping that in her state of unconsciousness she wouldn't figure out to phase through the straps.
"Why didn't she go into her trance or whatever from the beginning?" Beast Boy questioned his friends, worry still ingrained in his features.
"My guess is her mind was still too much in shock from...whatever happened to her," Cyborg answered, having flipped through most of her brain scans.
Robin, frowning, agreed. "That'd be my guess too, Cyborg. I think the sedatives allowed her brain to take a break, and now she can begin to heal."
"Oh! Will friend Raven be okay? What happened to her?" Starfire worried from her position at the end of Raven's bed.
"She'll be fine, Star. Her wounds all seem to be mostly flesh wounds, 'cept maybe a couple, and she should be able to heal all that up in a couple days," Cyborg tried to sound optimistic, but his statement lacked surety.
Robin looked around the room at his friends. Cyborg still by his computers; when the half-metal man was worried, he could find comfort in his machines. Beast Boy was to Raven's right, standing over her like a protective animal, worry plaguing his usually jovial features. Starfire pouted to Raven's left, frequently glancing at her incapacitated friend, thinking maybe if she didn't watch she would wake up and be fine. Robin guessed she was also relating in part to what Raven was going through, and he was right. Starfire's reaction to Raven's condition was visceral; the Tameranean girl could feel the pain in her gut, almost as if Raven's empathy had been reversed and passed to her.
"Alright guys, I think we should take a break here and collect ourselves." He looked around the room, and suddenly noticed the blood staining Cyborg's broad metal chest. Eyeing Cyborg, he continued, "Maybe get a shower, whatever." Cyborg caught his looks and noticing the blood, turned from the group to his computers, not wanting to further disturb the others, who probably had not noticed in their focus on Raven. "Beast Boy, you can take the first watch. If anything changes, you know what to do." Beast Boy nodded grimly. "Everyone else, meet back here in an hour. We've got a lot to talk about."
The three Titans filtered out, and Beast Boy pulled up a chair to get comfortable.
Robin, on his way to his room, couldn't help but remember that the red symbol on Raven's forehead, present from the time Slade left her at the door until her sedation. He assumed Slade must have been the one to deposit Raven on the Tower's doorstep in her present condition however, he also found himself wondering how it had been that Slade's presence had not tripped any of the Tower's alarms.
I had intended to write more than this for this chapter, but then I got sidetracked because I just got a new laptop, and I couldn't work on this story as much as I'd like to, because I'm busy transferring all my files to this new laptop. I now use MS Word for this story, and on the old laptop I used WordPerfect. God forbid Microsoft should make anything compatible. Point being, I still haven't transferred my story or changed it to .doc format for this laptop so that's why it's been so long for an update. I'm starting to get a good move on the transfers and all that though, so when that's done, hopefully there'll be more progress. But yay for the new laptop!