Mirror, Mirror
A half hour later, Beast Boy had dragged the other Titans from their beds to the infirmary and so they sat, yawning and sleepy-eyed. Beast Boy, practically bouncing with excitement, waited as long as he could before blurting his secret out. "I know how to find Raven!"
The three tired Titans looked at one another, a sleepy 'DUH!' look. "Beast Boy," Robin began tiredly, "we know where Raven is. She's right there." He yawned and waved tiredly in the direction of her bed. "We just need to wake her up." The Boy Wonder was not at his sharpest when he was exhausted.
"I know!" Beast Boy's excitement didn't fade. "It's just her consciousness that's missing. We need to get into her mind to find her!" He stressed 'mind', staring pointedly at Cyborg. "Into her mind." he said. Cyborg stared at him in sleep-addled confusion. BB quirked his eyebrows up and down, glancing sideways at Robin and Starfire shiftily. "Her mind, Cy."
Sudden comprehension lit Cyborg's face. "Oh! Her mind! Like that time we-" and he cut himself off, giving Beast Boy a secretive glance. Both nodded, leaving poor Starfire and Robin completely in the dark.
"The time you what?" Robin demanded.
"Nothing!" both chorused guiltily.
"Tell me! I need to know if it will help Raven." Robin once again demanded. "Hey! Come back here!" he shouted as Beast Boy and Cyborg both turned and darted from the infirmary. Starting to run after them, he suddenly gave up and sat down, sighing. Starfire stared at him in confusion and then down the hallway after Cyborg and Beast Boy.
"Should we not chase them?" she inquired.
"No, Star, let them go. When they're ready to explain they'll come back." Robin sat back in his chair, resigned to waiting. "I don't see why he bothered to wake us up if he's not going to tell us anything." he grumbled and tried to get comfortable enough to sleep on the couch. Starfire shrugged and sat down next to him, still wondering.
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Beast Boy and Cyborg stood in front of Raven's door, staring at the lock. "So, dude, can you break her code?" Beast Boy looked expectantly at Cyborg. "I would have gotten the mirror myself but I, uh, couldn't get the door to open. So I had to get you to help, see?" He twiddled his thumbs guiltily. It was true he hadn't gotten the door open but not from lack of trying.
Cyborg sighed, seeing his expression, and nodded, turning to the keypad outside Raven's door. Within seconds, the door whooshed open on darkness. Beast Boy's jaw dropped. "Hey! Can you teach me how to do that?" he exclaimed. "It would be so cool!"
"No." Cyborg spoke definitely, peering into Raven's darkened room. He felt for a light switch on the wall and flicked it 'on'. A dim orange glow radiated from several small lamps, barely lighting the enormous room. "Apparently Raven hasn't redecorated in a while." And Cyborg was right. The same red-eyed ravens perched around the room on darkly polished furniture and piles of books loomed everywhere. The grotesque comedy/tragedy masks rested on black marble pedestals and the light from the doorway glinted off oddly-shaped, ancient-looking chests and braziers.
"Let's get the mirror and get out of here."
Both boys began to search, opening drawers and rifling through what seemed to be an endless supply of blue cloaks and leotards. They scattered piles of books and moved everything, but they couldn't find the mirror, Raven's portal into her mind.
Beast Boy even bravely checked in her closet, knowing that Raven would flay him alive if she found out. Some things were more important than physical well-being: namely, Raven's mental well-being.
Finally both Cyborg and Beast Boy admitted defeat, stepping back and viewing the mess they had created. "Where the heck is the mirror!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "It's gotta be here somewhere. She uses it to meditate."
"What might this mirror look like?" a voice from behind Beast Boy inquired.
Assuming Cyborg had spoken, Beast Boy spun angrily, shouting, "The mirror, Cy! The creepy looking handheld mirror that attacks people who look into it!" He found himself face-to-face with a puzzled looking Starfire.
"St-Starfire! What-what are you doing here?" he stammered, trying to block her view of the trashed room.
She stepped around him and began to wander around, despite his best efforts to stop her. "I followed you and friend Cyborg. I believe you would say that curiosity got my tongue?" She turned and looked expectantly at him.
"Actually," Cyborg cut in, "I think you mean your curiosity got the better of you." He snorted at the expression on Beast Boy's face and had to pretend to cough to hide his snickering from the outraged changeling who glared at him.
"You know, Star," the green boy began, "curiosity killed the cat-"
"Oh but Robin says that satisfaction brought it back," Star commented absentmindedly. "So I do not believe I am in any danger." She had wandered over to Raven's dresser and was examining the items on its top. "What did the mirror look like again?" she asked.
Beast Boy sighed resignedly. "It's a handheld mirror with carvings on it."
"Rather like this one?" Starfire held up a small mirror from the top of the dresser where it had lain untouched during the boys' frantic search. The two boys traded astonished looks and stared at Starfire who smiled dazzlingly at them.
"That's it! Thanks, Star!" Beast Boy exclaimed, reaching for the mirror in Starfire's hand only to overbalance as she whisked it out of his reach. "Hey!"
"No," she said firmly, "you do not get the mirror until I get my satisfaction of curiosity. Why is this mirror so important? And what did friend Cyborg mean when he said 'like that time we-'? What are you not sharing with Robin and me?"
Cyborg and Beast Boy exchanged a look that showed that they knew Starfire would not back down before Beast Boy took a breath and began the story.
"See it all began that time Dr. Light showed up and Raven freaked on him. Remember that-"
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-and so Raven and all her other selves kicked her dad's butt and we got back here." he finished. "Can I have the mirror now?"
Starfire nodded absently, handing him the mirror. "This explains much. And you and Cyborg believe that you can reach her through this mirror?" Beast Boy nodded warily, clutching the mirror to his chest but carefully not looking in it.
"Then we must get Robin and go into the mirror!" Starfire exclaimed, clapping her hands together. Before either Beast Boy or Cyborg could protest, she had seized their wrists and was dragging them down the hall to the infirmary and Robin.
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-and so Raven and all her other selves kicked her dad's butt and we got back here." Beast Boy tiredly finished explaining for the second time to a skeptical Boy Wonder. Starfire had dragged him in and of course he had had to explain everything to Robin who was still sleepy and disoriented from his impromptu nap and abrupt wakening.
"So...what you're saying is that this mirror is a gate into Raven's mind? And using it we can see why she's like this?" Robin waved at the still floating Raven. Beast Boy nodded eagerly. "The WHY didn't you tell me BEFORE? Like when all this first happened!" Robin shouted. Beast Boy shrank back, stammering in consternation.
Cyborg said, "We, me and Beast Boy and Raven, I mean, didn't think you had to know, man. You know, kinda a general unspoken agreement. Just didn't seem all that important at the time." He stood relaxedly as Robin glared at him. "Look, it's over and there's nothing we can do. What matters right now is Raven. Every minute we," he gestured at Beast Boy and Starfire and himself, "have to spend arguing with you, god-only-knows-what is happening to Rae. So can't you just let it go and focus on the important thing?"
Robin's shoulders slumped and then straightened as he nodded. "Okay, then."
Beast Boy clapped his hands together decisively. "Alright then, what are we waiting for? Let's get going!" He began to glance into the mirror but Cy stopped him.
"Who's gonna stay and protect the city? We can't all go. It's dangerous in Rae's mind; we almost didn't make it out alive last time. If something happens, there's gotta be someone here to guard the city." Cyborg's words stopped everyone in their tracks. "We all want to go-Raven's our friend- but we can't. Someone has to guard the city. I want to go as much as the rest of you but to make it easier, I'll volunteer to stay behind. Who else is gonna stay with me?"
"I'm going." Beast Boy's tone brooked no argument. "I know my way through Raven's mind and since Cyborg's not going, someone else has to be a guide. That's me." He turned defiantly to Robin, expecting him to refuse to let him go but Robin said nothing.
Robin face was contorted, clearly showing the conflicting emotions that battled inside. The need to save his teammate, his friend, clashed violently with the need to uphold his oath to the citizens of Jump City. He struggled to choose. "I-I..." Robin's normally impassive visage showed his indecision.
Starfire saw his confusion and made a choice for him "I will go. Robin will stay behind with Cyborg." Robin stared at her. She smiled at him weakly. "You are needed more here, I believe. As I also believe that I am more needed with Beast Boy. And-and I think that Raven will need another female to steady her."
Robin slowly nodded, hating her for making his choice for him and, at the same time, loving her for it. He just wanted to save Raven himself. "Right. Then Beast Boy and Starfire will go into the mirror to-to save Raven." He spoke through gritted teeth. "Get ready."
Beast Boy and Starfire nodded, moving closer together. Beast Boy took a deep breath before looking into the mirror. Two pairs of glowing red eyes superimposed themselves over his and Star's reflection. Neither even had time to scream as black and red energy pulled them into the depths of Raven's mind.
yep that's the sixth chapter. Hope you all enjoyed.
Special thanks to Moon's Darkness who read and reviewed- don't worry! Pain and suffering in next chapter!
please review, all!
oh…. and have a Happy New year….. hehheh