Just a Dream takes place after Post Tenebras Lux. Again, I own nothing so knock yourself out if you want to sue me. As always, reviews are appreciated as I get back into the habit of fic-ing.
----------------
Raven sat at her desk furiously paging through volumes of text. Wanting some sort of reassurance, she searched in vain through texts she knew would not hold the answer.
"Watcha reading?" Wally said with is head directly over her shoulder.
The book slammed shut. "Do you know how to knock?"
"I did." He said innocently. She turned her head in his direction with an eyebrow raised. "I didn't say I knocked this time." He gently kissed her cheek. "Forgive me?" With his bottom lip slightly curled down he feigned sadness with a fake sniffle.
"Have you been taking lessons from BeastBoy?" Raven shook her head as he walked over and plopped on the bed. "If so, you may want to leave now."
"Nah." He laughed, "I was too busy almost being eaten by a ball of fluff." Propping himself up on his elbows, his gaze never left her violet eyes. "You look tired."
"I… I didn't sleep well." She turned back toward her closed book.
"Miss me that much, I see." He loved to make her blush.
She was thankful her head was turned away as her face flushed. Remaining quiet, she wanting to tell him everything but afraid to at the same time.
"I was thinking we could go see a movie but if you're too tired I could go pick one up and we could watch it here."
What she really wanted to do was find some answers. The alarm sounded. "It'll have to wait."
--------
'A bus carrying several high profile criminals disappeared on the highway. Reports from the scene say all that remains is a large crater in the northbound lane that appeared after tremors were felt up to 3 miles away. We'll have more information for you as the situation develops. Stay tuned.'
"We should check this out." Robin said flipping off the screen.
"I'll go warm up the T-car."
"I'll meet you there." Kid Flash darted out the door not wanting to wait.
As they hurried to the garage, a sick feeling came over Raven. She feared what they may find. Thinking the worst, she climbed in the back. "You're staying here." She yelled to the three pairs of eyes that hopefully looking at her before shutting the door. The last thing she wanted to do was involve the kids in whatever they may find.
"But…" Melvin pleaded.
"No!" The final door shut on the crowded car. It was just large enough when there were only five to seat – fitting seven people was a battle in itself.
--------
Wally was talking to one of the officers at the scene when the other Titans arrived. He raced over to them to give them an update on the situation.
"Raven, Cyborg, Kid Flash and I will go down. The rest of you search the area for any clues on what happened." With that they split up into the respective teams.
Beastboy caught a glimpse of movement in the forest. Transforming into a bloodhound, he followed the noise as well as the disturbingly familiar scent to one of the old mines on the outskirts of town. "Terra!" Beastboy yelled into the cavern – his voice echoing. "Terra, I know you're in here!" He knew he should call the team back but if his fears were correct, he needed to protect her. Shuddering at the cool breeze emanating from the darkness, he journeyed into the mine.
--------
The light on Cyborg's shoulder lit the path before them. With Robin in the lead they came upon the missing bus at the end of the cavern. Upon closer inspection, they found only the security guards remained.
Wally shook his head as he checked for a pulse on the driver. A soft moan was heard coming from under a seat in the back. Pointing the light toward its source they saw the badly injured man. Robin was the first to reach him. "It'll be alright. Hold on." Examining the wounds he knew that was a lie. They'd be lucky if he lived long enough to tell them anything. "Do you remember what happened?"
The weak voice cracked with pain. "Fire. So much fire." He coughed – blood splattering on his chest. "We fell and then…" His eminent demise was close. "That voice…" He began to shudder and gag. With his remaining strength, his blood stained hand traced a shape on the ground. Taking his last breath, his head slumped to the side.
Raven's eyes went wide as she saw the shape. She gasped at the bloody S by the departed guard.
"He's gone." Robin gently laid the figure against the seat. "There's nothing more we can do here."
Leaving the bus, they backtracked through the cavern. As the final ray of artificial light faded around the turn, a low laugh vibrated the man's chest. The guard stood up and stripped off his uniform to reveal his unharmed form. "When will you learn, Robin?"
--------
"Come in, Beastboy." Startled he dropped the communicator. "Beastboy, where are you?"
His picture appeared on Robin's communicator. "We're heading back to the tower. Report to the meeting point."
Shoulders slumped he gave one last shout. "Terra. I know your hear and I don't know why your hiding." His voice lowered. 'I think I know why your hiding but I hope I'm wrong.' "Terra. You… you know where to find me when you're ready."
From the shadows, a pair of blue eyes watched him walk away. She settled back on her makeshift bedding. This would be the last night she could stay here. There was too great a chance that he could find her. She had to move on.
--------
"There was no trace of them." Robin paced behind the couch. "No one saw anything?" He believed his open question would go unanswered.
Raven looked at Wally. 'I have to do this. It was too good to believe anyway. I can't keep this from them.' She opened her mouth to speak but Beastboy beat her to it. "I saw something." His voice was low. "Terra was there."
"BB. Why would Terra be there?" Cyborg asked in disbelief. He still wasn't sure his young green friend didn't just hallucinate.
"I don't know. But she was there." He insisted as his teammates worry seemingly contaminated the air around them. "She didn't do it though." 'She couldn't have.'
"We don't know who did or didn't do anything. It's too soon to come to any conclusions."
"She didn't do it." Raven picked up a pen and paper from the table. As the paper became tainted with ink, she continued. "I saw something too." She couldn't make eye contact with any of them. "The guard. He… he drew this." As eyes traversed the shape on the paper, Starfire gasped and jaws dropped. "I think he's coming back."
"Raven, it was probably an involuntary spasm. He was barely conscious by the time we got to him." Robin's words were of no comfort.
"There's something else you need to know." She paused taking a quick glance at Wally and seeing nothing but confusion. "I've been having… dreams. I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier but I… didn't want to believe it myself."
"It was almost a year ago that it happened. Of course it's going to bring back memories. It doesn't mean anything." But even he had to admit there seemed to be more than a simple coincidence. "Look. We'll need to keep an eye out for anything strange. We have criminals on the loose that will more than likely be looking for trouble." Robin prayed that they would only have to deal with those that were on the bus. "Until then, I suggest we all get some rest. It's been a long day and we'll need our strength tomorrow."
The room emptied leaving Raven and Kid Flash alone. He moved next to her. "What's going on?"
Not knowing how to answer she took a minute to gather her thoughts. She turned slightly toward him and began to tell him the story of what happened one year ago.
--------
He sat alone in the dark trying to digest what he had just been told. He knew she had secrets but never expected anything near that confession. She had left to check on the kids one last time before she retired to bed and he immediately regretted not saying anything. Yet at the same time he didn't follow her.
She lay in her bed unable to sleep – partly because of the dreams and partly because when she closed her eyes she could only see the shock on his face. Her pillow was damp with the few tears she dared to cry. As she heard a light knocking on the door she sat up. "Who is it?"
The door slid open, revealing a shadowed figure. "See. I do knock." He walked to her bed and settled next to her. Wrapping his arm around her slender frame, they both settled back. "Your not alone." His voice was soft and comforting as he pulled her closer. "You'll never be alone."
While she appreciated his comforting words, if her intuition was correct, she wasn't worried about being alone. She was worried about those who would undoubtedly stay by her side.