Collecting the Pieces of a Broken Mirror
' Thought '
"Speech" (why do I still put this warning?)
Chapter 12: Bloodstained White Lie
She moved so fast that when Cyborg noticed the girl on his back, pushing out several wires, it was too late. The tin man fell among the dead leaves and remained there, unable to move or to think.
Raven looked at the remaining two Titans, and saw the fear and uncertainty on their eyes. She kicked Cyborg away and stared at them.
Terra gasped. "Beast Boy, we've got no chance against her!"
He said nothing, but morphed into a fly to get closer to Raven and then into a giant snake, trying to hold her. Raven's hand went mechanically to his head, squeezing it as hard as she could and forcing him to release her unless he'd rather have his skull crushed.
"Raven, stop! Please! You've gone too far!" he said as he escaped from her deadly grasp.
"I know no limits. And you are NOT the one imposing me them."
Terra's eyes turned yellow, but Raven noticed her move. "Azarath Metrion Zynthos" she said nonchalantly. Dark energy emerged from the ground in the form of chains, grabbing Terra's wrists and ankles, and making it impossible for her to move away. Terra tried to fly away in a boulder, but Raven's powers were far stronger and held her in her place.
The blonde looked at Beast Boy, asking for help. "Don't even try it…" Raven said.
She raised her skirt's hem only enough for them to see a dagger tied to her ankle. She removed it easily, and a split second later she was behind Terra, pulling the girl's hair down so that she could have a perfect vision of the blonde's neck. Raven's pale hand held the dagger's blade very close to the girl's throat.
"Let me go, witch!" Terra cried.
Beast Boy tried to move, but Raven's cold stare made him freeze. If he moved again, he knew the dagger would taste Terra's blood.
"Witch, you say." Raven whispered to Terra, her eyes fixed upon the green teenager only five meters away. "Better a witch than a bitch like you. And they were audacious enough to replace me with such a disgraceful creature…. Your existence is reason enough for you to be punished. And I'll grant you that."
As if in slow motion, Beast Boy saw the dagger's blade move closer to Terra's throat. She was really going to cut it. Terra's eyes widened, and the ground shook enough to make Raven lose her balance for a moment.
Beast Boy morphed into the first creature that came into his mind, a mammoth, and charged. He had to take Raven away from Terra. For the sake of them all.
He felt his gigantic body hit Raven, and then he closed his eyes and kept running. Then he felt his tusk piercing something, and then it got stuck.
Beast Boy morphed back into his human form and opened his eyes. He was covered in blood. Without second thoughts, he looked to the dead tree in front of him.
And immediately regretted it.
Raven was there. She had a hole in her stomach, probably caused by his tusk, and the dead tree's sharp branches stabbed her back. He was able to see their extremities coming out of her chest. Raven's hair covered her face, and he could tell she was looking down. Blood dripped from her mouth.
Beast Boy got Raven off the tree and brushed her bloodied hair from her face. She was paler than ever, but her countenance was so peaceful he moved slowly not to wake her up.
But she wasn't waking up. Not anymore.
His eyes widened and he held Raven's body closer, not minding the blood, as he realized the truth.
Raven was dead.
"Beast Boy…" Terra whispered, her eyes full of tears. He threw her a very significant glance, and she understood. Her voice was shaky but she managed to say "I'll… I'll check the others…".
He knew she was crying, he could hear her sobs as she ran to the place she had seen Robin and Starfire. Cyborg would be okay. But Beast Boy didn't look at her. He was afraid of. He was disgusted. He despised himself. He shook hard, and his legs wouldn't support him. Beast Boy fell to his knees, too shocked to scream or to cry. He kissed Raven's forehead, her gem in a red as deep as her blood.
So was that how it felt to kill someone? To have a horrid void consuming his insides? A feeling he was never going to be happy again?
Tears didn't make their way out of his eyes, but they hurt his insides instead. They fought the void, which was trying to take over, for their right to cause pain.
oOo
Terra ran fast and faster. When she was distant enough from Beast Boy, she stopped her act. Everything was as Slade had planned, and her own plans were working. Without Slade's knowledge, of course. She heard a grunt. Robin was waking up. Terra took a deep breath and started to fake sobs and tears. She had to tell the others about Raven's demise, so she was supposed to be very sad for she had been the cause of it.
At first, pretending to feel what she wasn't feeling had been hard. But she got used to it. Sometimes, even she couldn't tell if what she was feeling was true or not.
oOo
He eyed her with interest. The way she held the goblet of wine and took it to her lips, the she slowly drank some of the wine. The way she delicately put the goblet down and coldly stared back at him as if asking why he was staring at her. Had she inherited those manners from her mother Arella, or had it been Azerath who taught Raven how to behave like royalty?
It was fun, in a certain way, to watch her. If only he had known this before, he wouldn't have wasted so much time researching Robin's life. Having Terra to steal Raven's diary from the Tower and creating a duplicate with some different information had indeed been very useful. First half of his plan's part A was successfully complete. There was only one little thing to be done. And it had to be done right.
Slade broke his eye contact with Raven and looked at the huge clock on the wall to his right. Five o'clock. Terra should already be finished by that time.
He eyed Raven once more. Slade took his goblet up and smelled the wine. Sweet. He took a sip of it before speaking.
oOo
She liked his mansion. Except for the dungeons, which brought an overflow of bad memories, the whole place seemed to have a soothing effect on her.
The mansion was alright. He wasn't. She took a sip of wine. Even though she was sure she had been the one to write good things about him in that diary, her very instincts told her there was something wrong.
She knew about temporary amnesia, and hoped that she was suffering of it. Soon, very soon, she would know the truth. And he'd better not be lying to her. She hated to be used. Snapping out of her thoughts, she noticed he was staring at her. She stared back.
Odd. He seemed to be amused. She knew Slade wasn't simply daydreaming. He was looking at her. Right into her. They fought a motionless silent battle until he turned his eyes away and checked the time.
Uncle or not, he was annoying her. Constantly teasing and mocking her. His attempts on her sanity would pass unnoticed by others, but she was an empath. She sensed no real danger from him, but still...
She kept staring at him while he calmly drank some of his wine. He was smirking behind his mask, Raven knew that. The question was... why?
"It will take some time before you can trust me, Raven, I know that," he said. She didn't answer.
"I also know the diary wasn't proof enough for you. I know. I understand."
He took one more sip. She was feeling uneasy, and he sensed that. Slade smirked once more. Raven was smart, he had to admit.
"Take as much time as you need, I say. I will not force you into remembering. It wouldn't do us any good."
He locked his eyes on hers, defiantly. They battled again. His words were calculated. Cold. Planned. He knew more than she did, but Raven would never compliment him for that. He was hiding something. And she'd take her time not only trying to regain her memories, but also manipulating him and unlocking that secret. Yes, manipulating him.
She didn't care if he was her relative or not, her family had never been exactly what people called loving or caring. Whatever he was hiding, she would find. Sooner or later.
"Please correct me if this is wrong, Raven, but it seems you are still uneasy about the Teen Titans..."
Her face remained passive, but her eyes somewhat changed. There was a flicker of something he couldn't identify. Slade took it as a good sign.
"That's why, Raven, I want you to go and verify the truth for yourself. Go to the Titans Tower. See their faces. Listen to their lies. I know this is what you were going to do before I found you, but I didn't want you to go unprepared."
"I am not weak. Do not underestimate me, uncle", Raven spat.
'My, my... getting a little sensitive, are we?' Slade laughed inwards.
"I am not underestimating you. But I know how sly they can be. Even you were caught in their lies once."
She felt as if she had been slapped. If all of this was true, so were those statements. How would she know if they were lying?
Raven felt sick. She would have to choose between two stories, not knowing which one was true. Perhaps none of them were, but she couldn't just go away. Not for now. She had had a life in that city, and was not leaving it behind.
"I will visit them, eventually."
"You could go tonight, if it feels right to you. Whatever your choice might be, at least you will have a tranquil night of sleep" Slade said and then left, disappearing in one of the vast corridors, the one opposite to the corridor that would take her back to her room.
Raven sighed and stood. Slade was right. She had to go as soon as possible.
She would go that night. And then everything would be settled. Or so she hoped.