A/N: for those of you who weren't too sure, yes, Judora is the big bad villan person.
XP
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter,
In there stepped a stately raven of the saintly days of yore.
Not the least obeisance made he; not a minute stopped or stayed he;
But, with mien of lord or lady, perched above my chamber door -
Perched upon a bust of Pallas just above my chamber door -
Perched, and sat, and nothing more.
The Raven, by Edgar Allan Poe
XD
"And so why was I not informed of your additions?" Batman questioned sternly.
"For the record, I'm not an 'addition'." Malchior pointed out.
"We know!" Everyone else exclaimed in unison. Batman raised an eyebrow, but let it go for now.
"We haven't formally added them quite yet." Robin answered. Raven looked at him, Robin was radiating more animosity than usual, but was schooling it quite well. Still, it was normal for him to get slightly defensive when Batman was so much as mentioned, by name or not, so it was quite obvious the reason behind it.
"Still, I think you should have at least contacted me. Especially since two of your number are dragons." The Dark Night responded, his eyes shifting from Malchior to Rorek.
"Drop it." Raven snapped the moment Malchior opened his mouth. He closed it again and sulked.
"But they're good dragons, Mr. Batman! Even Sir Malchior has aided us in times of need!" Starfire exclaimed.
"Yeah! And, even though he doesn't like to admit it, Mal's our friend!" Zacroma stepped in.
"Did you just call me 'Mal', again?" Malchior questioned, eye twitching.
"You too, how can we trust you? From what I've heard you were the newest member of H.I.V.E., and then you joined the Blood Clan to fight against the Titans. How did you end up being a Teen Titan?" Batman asked.
"Oh that? That was all a set up. I even know Raven from when I was a toddler, she wouldn't remember me of course, not exactly social. But we grew up on the same planet and were trained in the same old ways, just in different places. I was suppose to be a companion to Raven when I grew up, but, ah, things change and she had to leave, so I was free to exploit my already unique talent with metal. I was also trained to be a really good actress, so that when the time came I could be a proper companion. But again, there was a problem, see she'd already found companions on her own, so instead of putting my talents to waste, I was given a mission, and that was to keep Raven from resurrecting Trigon. Unfortunately, I sorta failed in that particular part, however we defeated Trigon so it was all okay. I became the Teen Titan's enemy in order to find the Blood Clan, and when I did, well, they were all too willing to have more help, especially when it came with extra fighting abilities." She explained.
"She saved our butts too!" Beast Boy put in.
"You were raised to be my companion? I didn't know that." Raven said to Zacroma. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Well, ah, it really doesn't matter since I'm fulfilling that roll now anyways, along with the rest of the Titans, and besides, you never really asked." She answered. Raven sweatdropped.
"Right, speaking of which, a lot of this seems to revolve around Raven. Care to explain what's been going on?" Batman asked.
"It's a loooooong story." Cyborge sighed.
"Alfred's covering for me, so I have time." Batman said. "And you can start by explaining how these two got here, or does this tie in with Trigon as well?"
"Ah, no, that's actually a completely different story." Rorek spoke up.
"Which, we do not necessarily have to go into as it does not pertain." Malchior came up.
"I'd still like to know." Batman put in.
"I'm sorry, I forgot the part where I had to answer to a puny human like you." Malchior said, standing up. "Here's all you need to know: Raven snapped, Trigon woke up, we killed him, and now they're trying to bring him, and Raven's demon form, back. The rest you've already been briefed on, so there shouldn't be a problem. However there seems to be one, and what surprises me about this is that you believe you can waltz in here and think that everyone in this room is obligated to answer to you."
"Malchior," Raven tried, not working.
"I could rip your head right off your head faster than you can blink." Malchior continued, taking a threatening step towards Batman, who merely narrowed his eyes and bristled in defense.
"Malchior, that's enough!" Robin exclaimed, but the dark dragon rounded on him.
"And you! I thought you were suppose to be the supposed 'leader' of this little club, Wonder Boy. What the #&#& are you doing bending knee to him! And here I was thinking you had a backbone!"
"Malchior sit down!" Raven tried again, but to no avail, she might as well have been talking to a wall.
"You're a leader, act like one! If you're gonna let this son of a #&#&# boss you around you might as well hand over your position to someone else now! Who's going to respect you past friendship bonds if you don't stand up for your own decisions?" Malchior bellowed. Raven gave up and sat back down.
Robin's jaw set firmly and he glared at Malchior, "If I'm such a leader then why don't you listen to me and shut the heck up! Let us deal with this, you have no right to talk because you're just freeloading here! You don't even want to be here, the only reason you're staying is because of Raven, so you can just shut your yap and let me handle this!" He exploded.
"Then handle it like a man! I'm not saying I'm too pleased about having to live under your oh-so-mighty command, but I will admit I was starting to have some semblance of respect for you, which is about to disappear right now! Do you really want me making snide remarks and allusions about this every time we so much as pass in the halls? Because if so, go right ahead and heel at your master's command like a pup, it'll give me opportunity to re-sharpen my insulting wit." Malchior said. He then went back to his seat on the arm of the couch.
They stared at Malchior, who's eyes were elsewhere as though he were now bored of this conversation and was pointedly no longer a part of it, and then all eyes returned to Robin, who was still glaring at him.
But then Robin's eyes turned to Batman, who's expression was expertly unreadable, though Raven could tell he was waiting for Robin's response. "Rorek and Zacroma are friends, they're trustworthy, I know this for sure. If you want to know how Rorek and Malchior got here, that's Raven and their business." He said.
"And why wasn't I told about all this?" Batman persisted.
"I don't have to tell you everything that goes on! You're not the boss of me anymore, I'm the leader here and I make the decisions with or without your input! And don't try threatening to pull our funds, we've got jobs before when money was tight, and most of us still have jobs, we can support ourselves now!" He answered. Suddenly the rest of his excess emotions had bust out of him.
For a moment all eyes were on him, and then they shifted swiftly to Batman. The Dark Night's expression betrayed nothing for a moment, but then his face broke into a smirk that surprised everyone, especially Robin. "Heh, finally." He chuckled, "Alright then, I'll trust your judgment. I see that you've grown up and should be treated like an adult now. In that case, think of me as your benefactor, I'm not going to pull your funds, though frankly I find the fact that you actually got jobs rather comforting. Although I hope it doesn't interfere with your top priority." He said.
"It doesn't!" Starfire put in swiftly.
Batman nodded to her, "Good. However, Robin, I want you to promise me that if you need help, you'll call me." He said, holding out his hand.
Robin stared at it for a moment, as everyone watched him, but then he took it and smirked up at Batman, "You got it." He said.
"Glorious!" Starfire cried.
"ALRIGHT!" Cyborg exclaimed.
"This calls for a par-tay!" Beast Boy declared, suddenly unearthing a box of leftover pizza that had been in the refrigerator.
"Uh, can we order some more? That's not gonna feed all of us and plus the last time I opened that box I swear something moved." Zacroma said.
Beast Boy paused, looked at the box, and then ran for the garbage disposal.
"Hey, where's Raven, and Malchior for that matter?" Cyborg asked.
"Well, Malchior sort of left a few minutes ago, and Raven just went after him." Rorek answered.
"Uh, aren't you, a little…er…?" Zacroma asked, hovering near him.
"Jealous? Of course I am." He replied, eyes trailing over to Batman who was currently being coaxed into a game of Stink Ball X-2 by the destructive duo.
"Then why aren't you going after them?" She asked.
Rorek shrugged, "It'd just be pointless, Malchior and I would just start fighting again if I interrupted. And besides, I think Raven wants to tease him for all this. No, best right now to just avoid a situation where the three of us are alone. I'm sure you can imagine the chaos that would ensue." He said.
"You know, Malchior wouldn't just let you and Raven off alone, he'd rush to break it up. It's not fair that he gets more time with Raven than you do, simply because you're just not inserting yourself enough." Zacroma pointed out.
Rorek frowned, more at himself than at Zacroma though. "Yeah I know…wait a moment, you were listening when Raven and I had a conversation similar to this weren't you?" He asked.
"Heheh, guilty as charged your honor. But still! Maybe Raven should just tell Malchior he needs to back off and let you in a little. I mean, I know you have plenty of squabbles, whether they be visible to everyone else or not, so arguing about it with him isn't going to help you much." She said.
"You think he'd really listen? Even if it was Raven who told him all this straightforward, he's not going to just stand back." Rorek sighed, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I wish we'd merge soon, simply so that this entire mess would go away." He confided, rubbing his temples.
"Hm, yeah, that would be nice…" Zacroma considered, "But until then…hey! I know!" She perked up. "Why don't I help you?" She asked.
"What?" Rorek blinked.
"Yeah!" She then began to rub her hands together and smile evilly, "I'm sure I could get Starfire in on it, and with the two of us conspiring with you, there's no doubt that we can get you your needed alone time with Raven! I mean, if worse came to worse, I can always tie Malchior up with iron, worked once didn't it? And if we do it right, he'll never know, even if I do resort to iron. Starfire and I can use the excuse that he needs to socialize more with the rest of the group no matter how much he denies to be our friend as well!" She exclaimed.
Rorek thought for a moment, "I dunno, sounds like we'd be setting up Raven as well, and I really don't want to do that." He said.
"Hey, Rorek, allow me to let you in on a little secret about girls. We like the heat almost as much as guys, but we just don't parade that fact around. We need closure, the right atmosphere, you have to approach us correctly because we want a relationship more than heat. You have the relationship, all you need to do is set up the right mood. Understand?"
"No." He answered, causing her to facefault.
"Okay, direct translation: Raven would like you to kiss her long and passionately, but she's not going to say it out loud, and you have to set up the right mood before she'll admit it herself. I know it's hard to understand, but that's the way girls are!" She tried again.
"Oh," Rorek's face flushed. "Alright, just as long as Raven won't mind."
"Trust me."
XD
"Here you are." Raven huffed, walking out into the cool night air atop the T-Tower, "Why'd you come out here?" She asked.
"Fresh air, well, as fresh as it gets in this day and age. How humans survive in these stifling conditions they've created, I will never know." Malchior scoffed airily.
Raven smiled at his back. He was sitting cross-legged not to far from her, looking out at the view of a million lights which kept Jump City still in view. She closed the space between them, knelt down, and put her arms around his neck in a hug. "That was a really good thing you did for Robin back there." She said softly, resting her head on his shoulder in between his neck and her arm.
"I'm not really sure what you're talking about, but I'll admit to anything if it keeps you here." He whispered, shuddering slightly in her arms. He leaned into her, one hand coming to rest on the arm she had on its shoulder, and the other finding her head. He craned his neck over and found her lips with his own. She kissed him back, and when his tongue came into her mouth she allowed her own tongue to mingle with it and enter his mouth for the first time. Malchior breathed in sharply through his nose, he pressed in harder, hungry for more. She gave it to him, and soon she found herself laying down on the ground with the warm body of a dragon pressing down on her.
It was a while before their lips parted again, and they were both panting when it had finally ended. Malchior smirked down at her, "Heh, well if I knew yelling at Wonder Boy turned you on like this I'd have done it a long time ago." He chuckled, nuzzling her neck.
Raven snorted, "Oh come on, you knew exactly what you were doing when you said all of that. Admit it, you were helping him out, not yelling at him!" She said.
"Oh, so this is my reward for doing a good deed? You do realize that the moment you tell me to get off of you I'm going to deny everything." He told her, raising his head so he could look at her again.
"Yes, alright, but I just want you to know what I think about you doing something like this." She told him, raising her hands so she could caress his face. She then brought it down to kiss him. Again, it was probably the first time she had ever started the kiss, but this was a special occasion. She doubted even Malchior himself knew the full extent of what his actions had accomplished.
XD
"You know, with Rorek, Malchior, and Zacroma helping us out, not to mention Raven's power boost, the bad guys just don't seem very hard anymore." Cyborg observed as Mad Mod was, once again, drug into the police vehicle in a straight jacket.
"I'll be back, my duckies! Next time I'll get you!" He declared.
"I look forward to it! Maybe next time I'll actually get the chance to take a bite." Malchior called. Mad Mod looked as though he were having second thoughts about breaking out again when the car drove away.
"Either that, or Malchior the Antihero is just too weird an opponent for them. I imagine they're not use to fighting against someone who'd use the same dirty tactics they would given half the chance." Zacroma put in.
"Yeah, and I bet him continuously announcing the fact that he's not human, and never was, helps." Beast Boy said.
"I can hear you you know!" Malchior called at them. The triad faltered, and then all gave him the same unconvincingly innocent grin at the same time. Malchior sweatdropped.
"Like you mind what they're saying." Raven muttered, glowering over the piece of her cloak Mad Mod had somehow managed to get singed. Malchior looked at it and opened his mouth, "Yes I'm sure it was only the cloak that got singed and not my skin." She said before he could ask.
"Uh, I wasn't gonna ask that!" He covered swiftly. She rolled her eyes.
"Okay, then what were you going to ask?" She asked. Oh no. She thought, seeing that all too familiar glint of mischievousness in his eye. But before he could come up with something that revolved around a sexual innuendo, Robin called them all over.
"More trouble guys, it's H.I.V.E. again!" He said.
"Looks like we get to meet up with your friends." Malchior snickered to Zacroma.
"Oh boy! Time to pay Jinx back for the acid she put in my lip gloss!" She said, grinning malevolently. Everyone stared at her. "What? Oh, Mammoth developed this huge crush on me and Jinx got jealous, so it was the predictable on-going catfight as I was pretending to be a real b#& at the time." She said.
"'Pretending'?" Malchior snorted.
"Shut up!"
"Make me."
"Guys, Jump City Bridge is falling now!" Robin exclaimed.
XD
"So that's the rest of H.I.V.E.?" Rorek asked.
"Yeah, the one with the pink hair is Jinx, the one currently throwing abandoned cars at each other is Mammoth, and the one hacking into the power system via the bridge's nighttime lights is called Gizmo." Zacroma explained.
"Didn't you have pink hair at one time?" He questioned her.
"Yeah, but I think that was just to get on Jinx's nerves." She answered.
"Yall just beg'n to get slammed in again aren't you?" Cyborg called, announcing their arrival with his blaster, which Mammoth neutralized by making it spend its destructive power on a car he threw.
Robin came from out of nowhere right at Gizmo, slicing the metal-cased funnel he was using to get into the bridge's power supply clean off with his new sword, courtesy of Dark Raven of course.
Jinx tried to go after Cyborg, but Beast Boy interfered and tripped her up by turning into a big snake. He then wrapped her up tightly, however Mammoth came running after him.
That was when Zacroma came into play, making a big metal wall that Mammoth hit dead on instead of Beast Boy. "YOU!" Jinx shrieked. There wasn't time for any more than that, Gizmo had somehow managed to allude Robin enough to come over and stab Beast Boy with a sharp spider leg. The changeling had to transform back, his arm bleeding.
"Beast Boy!" Starfire exclaimed, flying down to snatch him out of more danger.
Then Zacroma was able to respond, and the realization commenced. "Zacroma, how could you! First you leave us to join that weirdo, and now you're with the Teen Titans!" Mammoth cried, pulling on his hair.
"You traitorous slut! How dare you!" Jinx yelled.
"Nooooooooo! Not you Zacroma, anyone but you!" Gizmo cried.
"Oh please, I was never really on your side to begin with and you know it. You're just angry because I used the same trickery you would, and got away with it too!" She said. "By the way, you might as well give up," She added as Raven, Malchior, and Rorek decided to land, strategically placed so that they all surrounded the trio. "We've got you way out manned, and definitely outmatched. Mystics never play fair after all, and we've got three of 'em just bursting with spellfire!" Zacroma told them.
The three suddenly looked around them, and found that Zacroma was definitely right.
"When did they get here! And where's that Raven girl!" Jinx exclaimed, her eyes combing the sky for the last threat.
Raven faltered, "Oh for crying out loud! I haven't changed beyond recognition!" she cried.
"Actually, for someone who hasn't seen you since you wore blue and had short hair, you have." Rorek pointed out, while the H.I.V.E. members gawked.
"Uh, nice new look." Gizmo came up, rather pathetically.
Raven sweatdropped, "You're still going to jail."
XP
A/N: Sorry to anyone who might be a Jinx fan, it's just she always came off as a real b#& to me. I guess it shows. Anyway, I thought it would be funny if the H.I.V.E. members didn't recognize Raven at first. I also tried to give everyone else some action by having Raven, Rorek, and Malchior hang back a little. Wasn't that bad was it? I was thinking that the Titans sorta needed to get faced with a few of their old arch enemies, I mean, it's just unnatural for them to give the Titans a break just because Judora pops up. Yeah, anyway, as for other baddies, I have a bit of the rough draft worked out in my head, and I've planned out how I'm gonna get Slade, Brother Blood-that-was-mutilated-by-modern-TV-because-the-real-Brother-Blood-had-nothing-to-do-with-Cyborg-or-all-that-headmaster-crap, Blackfire, and even Terra. But that's all I'm gonna say on the matter, haha!
Storm Front: Ah ha! You catch on very nicely indeed. I don't think many remembered that little tid-bit. Good job in spotting it! But as for that particular question, I'm not tell'n, MUAHAHAHAHA! Okay yeah, she is, BUT I'M NOT SAY'N HOW OR WHY!
Wrathchild: Yes, she is. But that's all I'm say'n!
Troubled-ego: Heheh, oooooh nooooo, Judora's not gonna go down so easily. She'd going to be giving the Titans much hell to date.
Twead: Heheh, sorry about the no Rorek thing, but the next few chapters will make up for it, promise!
Hmmm, that seems about it. Thanks to all who reviewed! You guys are great.
PS: Sorry to those who liked Batman, but he's gone now, and he might, or might not be, back. I don't know.