Note: Happy 17th Birthday to me! And as a gift to myself (how sad is that?) and by request of various reviewees, I've made this UBER long and UBER cool! Well... It's cool to me. I really like this chapter, and I hope you do to. Enjoy!
"What is it you want?" a voice said coolly, almost enchantingly. This man's presence commanded respect and authority flowed through him like rapids. He stood with his arms folded across his chest, knowing that his visitor would not be able to inflict any harm on him. He nearly blended into the night because of his black, armor-like suit with metal guards around his wrists and an orange-brown hue on half his face. The only thing that that gleamed in this darkness was his left eye. Behind him were the darker opening of a cave with Spanish moss scattered around the mouth and the pine trees of nature malign. They bent and swayed to the gust of wind.
"You should know, as we have discussed before, Slade. I want her," the other man coughed as if suffocating in smoke. "I have been searching for her for six months, now, after she… died. All I know is that the parasite of the Air kidnapped a child and now inhabits the body of the infant. I want to finish her off, for good this time." This man might have been comical in appearance at first, but his temper would incinerate anyone in a nanosecond. He, too, was difficult to spot in the darkness, but his one physical quality was what made him glow. He looked as if he was covered in ash, as if his own flesh was blackened by fire. When he moved his arms in gesture, loud cracking noises (again, of his crisped flesh) ensued. Discussing the malicious plot with Slade, he grinned. The pure whiteness of his teeth and flashing whites of his eyes contrasted against his black skin.
However, that was not the horrific glow Slade saw. This creature's veins could be seen through the skin; blood-red tentacles crept down his arms and legs and around his torso. What flowed through those veins was not blood, but a liquid fire burning with rage and lust for power.
Slade was silent and weighed his options carefully. The monster's eyes, filled with determination, stared a hole into the human's own visible eye. He realized that the creature's shadowy figure was not his true body, but that which could be taken metaphorically: All souls have a stain. And if that was the case…
"Fine. Together we'll get the girl. But you will owe me a huge debt."
The monster laughed harshly. "If that is the case, then name your price."
Slade smirked under his mask. "I want to raise the girl for a bit and give her back to the Titans, as a temporary gift."
"Heh. So you can get what you want out of her, too? I like your thinking, but she will be mine afterward. It's a deal, then."
Slade nodded. "Yes, a deal."
"Where the heck did she go again?" Cyborg shouted above the rioting mass of citizens. "I swear! I can't take my eye off her for one second!" He pushed through the crowd and readied his sonic cannon. He aimed it at a giant moth, which was scattering a dust over the city. Feeling a little faint, Cyborg watched as the citizens dropped where they stood.
"Watch it, team!" Robin yelled. "I think that dust contains some sort of sleep-inducing toxin!"
"Gee, you think?" Raven commented. "I just thought that the people wanted to fall asleep in the most dangerous place, for the sake of turning our hair white."
Everyone stared at the Goth, surprised by that extremely sneering comment. Beast Boy approached her slowly, as if nearing a cornered snake. He had a different look in his eye, a serious and concerned look. For all the time that she has been with the Titans, the Changeling has never before seen his companion so nervous. Beast Boy did overhear that Windy was missing, again, in the heat of battle.
Heat of the battle, he thought. Fire.
"Raven," he started. She looked at him, showing shame in her countenance.
"Let's just get this over with." Raven floated and moved to behind her green friend, shouting out her sacred words. The black dome of her magic covered the team from the moth's dust.
"And relating to the battle of moths, I have not seen Killer Moth," Starfire announced. "Would he not be riding upon the back of this large thing?" Raven allowed a small opening in the dome for the Tamaranean's starbolts, Cyborg's sonic blast, and Robin's freeze disks to pass through to strike the insect.
"I don't think Killer Moth is the one behind this," Raven said. The whole team forgot their situation and paused to stare at the telekinetic. Suddenly, the dome shattered under the moth's hefty weight and Beast Boy screamed. Transforming into a pterodactyl, he soared up into the sky and then plummeted down toward the opponent, his talons outstretched. He screeched when he did not strike the overgrown creature fully, since he merely grazed one of the wings. Beast Boy cursed himself as he watched the moth, only 100 feet above the Titans' heads, fall directly upon them.
There's no way they all could support all that weight! Raven!
The felled creature started to slow down on its descent. However, it was not Raven's magic that supported the giant insect. The small breeze that occurred during the fight picked up into a roaring wind, circling around the moth until it became a small tornado.
Shouldn't it come down from the sky, not to it? Robin thought.
Bouncing the creature up and down on the natural "merry-go-round," the tornado glided away from the Titans and to an abandoned, dilapidated warehouse. It slammed the moth into the building, in which both the building and the foe crumbled from the sheer force of the wind. Pausing only to survey the damage it caused, the tornado's bottom tip lifted from the ground and disappeared into the sky. The Titans waited to see if more danger would come, but the battle had ended.
"Uh… Where did that whirly tordado-y thingy come from?" Beast Boy squeaked.
After exchanging glances with Raven, Robin answered, "Let's ask Windy."
The child known as Windy leapt across several more years and appeared to be 16. Her hair reached to her lower back and mostly became a dark brown color. Yet, when the light hits it at a particular angle, a blue shine breaks the monotony of her figure. She sat atop a roof on a slightly new apartment complex, which was nearby the struggle, with a silver flute in her hands. It sparkled with an uplifting magic, yet the girl took no notice of it. Instead, she held the instrument up to her lips and blew a soft, low note. The dead air of the city began to swirl and tug at her white tank-top and baggy jeans. She giggled and wiggled her toes in between the open spaces of her sandals. After taking a huge breath, she played a longer and higher-pitched note. This resulted in creating a small dust devil, carrying dead leaves and paper, expanding and contracting in a dance.
Windy was about to play another note when she heard a pterodactyl's furious screeches. Looking down from the rooftop, she saw a titanic moth, only yards away from her adopted family, about to drop. Her throat constricted so she could not scream. Raging tears ran down her cheeks as she helplessly watched the scene. She wished that the insect would be stuck in a spiral, like the leaves in the dust devil.
And that happened. Her playful creation jumped; no, it floated down to the street and began to increase in size, heading toward her blind focus. She remembered that the wind did capture the moth, but after that, it was just silver dancing in her eyes. Her knees began to wobble and gave. She caught herself by her hands and hung her head.
"I think I'm gonna throw up," she said to no one in particular and laid prostrate on the cold cement rooftop.
Her mind drifted off to space, literally. She saw a cloud-like haven just within her reach, a warm sensation traveling through her body. It almost felt like…
"Home."
Starfire nervously floated back and forth outside Windy's bedroom as Robin leaned back against the wall with his foot tapping impatiently. Cyborg and Beast Boy patrolled the area where the skirmish took place, while Raven was locked within her dark room. No one knew what she was planning.
"Oh, I wish that our dear one would awaken soon," Starfire whined. "I am starting to be quite anxious. I do not know if I can wait any longer!"
Robin pushed himself from the wall and clapped her shoulder, looking like a worried father.
"Don't worry, Star. When Raven examined Windy, she said that she would be fine."
"Yes, but after that, Raven looked paler than her usual ashen skin color and ran to her room. That has no consolation for me!"
"I'm sure Windy'll be-" Robin was cut off by the sudden sound of a groan. Both "parents" shot into the room to find Windy stirring from her sleep. Opening one eye, then the other, she shot upright and jumped out of bed.
"Mom, Dad, you guys okay?" she unwittingly asked. Robin and Starfire blinked, startled, by the random insertion of parenthood titles.
"We were just about to ask you the same thing," Robin said. "We found you lying on a rooftop, looking as sick as a dog." The Boy Wonder grinned, recalling a memory of when Beast Boy was sick and could not control his shapeshifting with each sneeze and cough.
"I feel quite fine, but I could've sworn you guys were in trouble."
"You need not be concerned, for we have squashed that gigantic bug back in its place!" Starfire said with glee. Windy smiled.
"I wish I could have seen it," the girl complained. "I've always like watching you guys battle."
Robin and Starfire exchanged looks. They and the other Titans were discussing these anomalies, to which Raven linked them with Windy. Making a final decision with nods and sighs, the Titans agreed for Robin to break the news.
"Windy…"
"Yeah?"
"We need to talk."
"Okay. So, what's up?"
"I think we need to meet at the training center tomorrow."
Note: OOOH! OOOH! How was that? I hope it was all that you needed, and then some! Please Review!