Chapter 7
The police car pulled up to the police station and the front doors opened. The driver stepped out of the car first, drew his gun, and pointed it at Raven, who was still levitating over the back seat. The other officer, who had never holstered his gun at all, stepped out of the car and opened one of the back doors. Raven's eyes were still blinking red, although with decreasing frequency, as she floated out of the police car, still in a cross-legged sitting position, with her palms facing each other and chained together at the wrist with handcuffs. The police officers kept a safe distance away as they motioned for her to float down the halls of the station. The police walking in front of her opened a door and motioned her inside. The officer behind her pointed to a chair, which she landed in, still sitting cross-legged.
The first officer recited the rote speech that was code for beginning an interrogation: "You have the right to remain silent and refuse to answer questions. Anything you do say may be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to consult an attorney before speaking to the police and to have an attorney present during questioning now or in the future. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you before any questioning if you wish. If you decide to answer questions now without an attorney present you will still have the right to stop answering at any time until you talk to an attorney. Do you understand these rights?"
Raven nodded yes. She cut off the second policeman by telepathically transmitting to both officers at the same time: I choose not to answer any questions now. The police officers nodded and raised their weapons again to escort her to the jail. After she had levitated into her cell at the jail, one of the officers darted forward with unbecoming agility, locked the barred door, and then both officers fled for their lives.
Why didn't they do something to keep me from using my powers? wondered Raven. After all, as it was she could easily phase through the back wall and teleport away. On the other hand, she thought, that would get me in even more trouble with the law. The police officers had not counted in vain upon her heroism; she did eventually choose not to escape, no matter how easily she could have.
Raven sensed an extremely familiar presence in the adjacent cell. She used her telepathic abilities to reach through the separation wall. Soon she realized that Starfire was in the adjacent cell!
Starfire was sitting on the bed in her cell, despondent and bored out of her mind. Suddenly Raven's voice sounded in her head: Starfire, are you there? It's me, Raven!
Starfire looked up and saw no one. "Raven? Where are you?"
I'm in the cell next to yours!
"Oh! Raven, why are you also here?"
It's a long story…
Meanwhile, the other Titans continued their discussion on the next course of action.
"I know I should have thought of this earlier…" trailed off Beast Boy, "but shouldn't we call a lawyer or something? Isn't that what you do when you're accused of something?"
Robin smacked his head. He should have been the one to think of that, and yet, he was too distracted by his confusion about how he felt towards Starfire (not to mention what he dreamed himself doing with Raven). "Yeah, we should," he hastily agreed. Then, retaking the initiative as the leader, he continued, "We can call the mayor's office. In our contract with the Jump City town hall, we're entitled to free lawyers if we ever get in trouble. Maybe now we should use that…"
Robin picked up the phone to call the mayor for help, while Beast Boy and Cyborg fought over what to have for lunch all the way to the kitchen.
"Hello?" asked Robin over the phone.
A recording sounded. "You have reached the Jump City town hall. Για τα ελληνικ� Τύπος ένας. Pour le Français, pression deux. 한국어를 위해, 압박 3. für Deutschen…"
Robin became more and more frustrated as he cycled through the languages. English was normally the first language listed! But he didn't dare take the receiver away from his ear, fearing to miss any potential prompt for "English."
The recording droned on, "…für Deutschen Presse vier. Per italiano, pressa cinque. Para español, presione seis. Для русского, давление 7…"
End Chapter…
Author's Note: In case you couldn't tell (I think most of you should have been able to), the recording means:
"For Greek, press 1. For French, press 2. For Korean, press 3. For German, press 4. For Italian, press 5. For Spanish, press 6. For Russian, press 7." I used AltaVista to get the translations, so if any of the languages are wrong, please tell me the correct form.
Voting is still open for the pairs…I need more feedback!