Raven woke with a small start as a small, fuzzy weight landed on her shoulder. Her eyes opened slowly, wondering why there was no difference in the room's appearance, it must be dark out still and the curtains in this room were more than sufficient to block out the feeble starlight outside.
"Get off Ajna, I don't feel like playing right now," this comment was directed at the bundle of fuzz that had disturbed her peaceful sleep. The small sound of leathery wings accompanied the departure of the weight from her shoulder.
"Is something wrong Raven?" This sleepy voice came from the vicinity of the pillow next to her.
"Just your bat, I think she feels left out."
"Ajna?" Raven felt the body next to her sit up, presumably to peer across the room at the tiny bat's perch. Raven often envied her companion's ability to see clearly in almost total darkness. "I can't really blame her, but she appears to have settled for now." She felt her lover lay back down beside her and snuggled closer. "It's still some hours before sunrise, you should try to get some more sleep."
Raven took a deep breath and nodded, mostly to herself. She was still tired and she would be little help if there was an emergency and she was so tired that she couldn't keep her eyes open. She pulled the blanket up around her again.
She lay there for several minutes staring at the ceiling she couldn't actually see.
"Is something on your mind? I might only need a few hours sleep, but you still need a full night," her companion's eyes didn't even open during this statement, granted with their proximity to each other sight wasn't necessary to determine the empath's lack of relaxation brought on by sleep.
"I'm just thinking."
"About anything in particular?" A cool hand caressed her chest gently, a slight homage to earlier activities.
"Actually I was remembering the first time we met. You were so weak you could barely move, yet you were still fighting."
A small dry chuckle filled Raven's ears and she heard the bat across the room stir at the sound before settling again. "Oh yes, I remember that night vividly, I thought you were going to kill me, or at least turn me over to those who would have been happy to do the job for you. It wasn't until several days later that I began to actually believe that that would not be the case."
"I believe that we were more concerned with our own safety at the time," she replied, "that and trying to calm you down so you wouldn't run."
Again that dry chuckle came forth, "Well we all saw how well that worked, didn't we?"
"Indeed we did."
"But in the end it all worked out for the best."
"It did," Raven smiled and turned on her side to try to find her companion's lips with her own. After several breathless moments Raven pulled away from their spontaneous bout of kissing and laid her hand against the other's chest.
'I do love you, you know," she muttered, "I really do."
"I know, and I love you too, my dearest Raven," her companion's dark voice replied. "Sleep well," but those last two words were lost to the dark empath as she had drifted off encircled in her love's secure embrace, and was already lost within a dream of a memory.
Living ShadowsIt had been a slow week; it seemed as though criminals were taking a vacation.
The five teenage heroes were scattered around their living room, bored out of their minds. Beast Boy was playing the same game that he had already beaten twice this week. Cyborg was playing chess with Raven and losing spectacularly, while Raven was growing tired of crushing him game after game. Robing was working on one of the computers, checking who was at large and who was safely locked away, some would say he was looking for trouble. Even Starfire wasn't immune to the boredom; she was in the kitchen cooking up some absurdly complex Tamaranean dish in an obvious attempt to simply kill time.
"Checkmate," Raven's dry voice announced.
Cyborg starred at the board for a moment. "Argh!" he stood up from his chair, "I can't take this anymore!"
"I thought that you would be used to losing to Raven by now," Robin said without turning from the glowing computer monitor.
"It's not that," Cyborg began, "We've had nothing to do for ages, I'm going crazy."
"I hate to admit it, but I agree, we haven't had to stop so much as a bank robbery recently," Raven said. "Although the peace and quiet is nice, the inactivity has left us all a little edgy."
Robin turned from his monitor, "We should be grateful, but I suppose your right."
"I know!" the green Titan on the couch said jubilantly, "We could go out and party! There's got to be something fun to do in a city this size."
Robin gave him an appraising look, "That's actually a good idea, we haven't been to a decent club or party in some time."
"Great!" the green Titan shot up from the couch, game forgotten. He opened his mouth to say more but was cut off by a small explosion in the kitchen. Four sets of eyes turned to focus on a tall figure who was currently covered in blue goo, Starfire's recipe was apparently slightly volatile.
"I too would welcome a detraction," she said from under a mass of slimy, disheveled red hair.
Robin chuckled, "I think you might want to get cleaned up first, Star."
"Indeed," she stated blandly.
A quick shower and a change of clothes later found the five heroes on the roof with Raven creating an energy platform to carry them across the bay and into the city. She set them down near to where she knew there were several clubs and they started walking, trying to determine where would be the best place to party the night away. The sun had already set but the light from the street lamps and neon signs of the clubs provided ample illumination. The slight traffic supplied an odd accompaniment to the noise and music emanating from the buildings lining the street.
"So anyone have any preferences?" Robin inquired.
"Hey, anyplace with good music that isn't too rowdy sounds great to me," Cyborg replied.
Robin survey the potential establishments, "Perhaps…" he didn't finish, for just then a figure with giant wings flew overhead. Moments later three nasty looking men on motorcycles came into view, apparently chasing the flying creature.
"Perhaps it's good we came into town tonight!" Robing finished as he began to run after them. Cyborg ran after him as Beast Boy followed as a bird and the girls flying bring up the rear.
The flying creature had almost reached the end of the street. They could see it look back, presumably to see if it was still being followed. It shouted something, unintelligible over the din of the music and the roar of the motorcycles, and then made a throwing gesture with one hand.
A tiny ball of white light flew from the shadowy hand, straight at the bikers. The ball flew down and just before it struck it flashed into brilliance, temporarily blinding everyone who was looking at it. The Titans, being down the street a ways, recovered quickly. They looked up just in time to see the creature fly into a narrow alleyway. The three bikers had stopped and were apparently, having been closer to the mini light nova, still trying to recover their vision.
"Hold back guys," Robin began, "those guys were chasing…whatever that thing was, but until we know otherwise we should assume that thing is innocent and see if it needs help. I don't want to reveal where it is to those three yet."
The others nodded and watched, ready to come to the aid of whichever party might need it.
After a few more moments the bikers finally recovered enough to look around for their prey. When they couldn't find it one of them turned to the others and made vague gestures pointing off to the sides. They started up their bikes and rode to the end of the street where they split up, two going left and one heading off to the right.
"Let's go," Robin said as soon as they were out of sight. They headed down the street until they came to the alley where the creature had hid. The alley was narrow, only wide enough for three people walking abreast or only two if one was Cyborg. The light from the street didn't reach far hear, only far enough to see that it dead-ended before too long, the corners were cloaked in shadows, shadows that looked deeper than they had any right to be.
There was no sign of the creature.
"Hello?" Robin called softly as he crept down the alley, "we're not going to hurt you, we want to help." He listened for a moment, not really expecting an answer.
"Go away," the voice was soft, pleading, and filled with a note of fear. Everyone was slightly startled, not only was this alley not as empty as it seemed but they creature was apparently female!
"Please," Starfire chimed in, "we only wish to help." She was looking around for the source of those two pleading words, "Please, can you reveal yourself so that we can see who we are speaking to?"
It took a hard heart to deny Starfire something she had so kindly asked for, harder, it seemed, than this winged girl possessed for one of the shadows in the corner seemed to dissolve to reveal a dark, almost human shape. From what could be seen this girl seemed tall, probably only slightly shorter than Starfire, her clothes were either black or very close. They couldn't make out her face in the dim light but her eyes glowed like a cat's. The things that drew attention, however, were the large, dark, leathery wings spread almost the entire breadth of the alley and the grayish object that swished behind her that seemed to be a tail. Her entire posture stated clearly that she was ready to fight or fly away at the slightest excuse.
"Go away," she demanded, yet pleaded again.
"My name's Robin, and these are my friends, Starfire, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven," they each nodded at their names. "What should we call you?"
Those glowing eyes stared at Robin; he got the distinct impression that this girl missed very little. She didn't answer though.
"Why were those men chasing you?" Raven asked. Those penetrating eyes swung to her. Raven realized that even she wasn't immune to the chilling sensation brought on by that eerie stare. A moment later she heard a sharp intake of breath as those same eyes shifted to look beyond them.
"I'll tell you why," came a raspy voice behind them, "it's because it's evil and needs to be destroyed."
They all turned back towards the mouth of the alley to find one of the biker's sitting there. He had double-backed once he realized that the creature wasn't down either of the other streets. He was still astride his motorcycle, he must have cut the engine and walked it so they wouldn't hear him. He sat there calmly, hands hung over the handlebars, but he had a loaded crossbow held in one, the end innocently resting on the front wheel cover. "Thank you for finding my prey, now if you would move I can finish it off."
The Titan's moved, but closer together to block any shot from reaching the back of the alley.
"If you think we're just going to let you shoot her, you're nuts," Cyborg said as he leveled his sonic cannon at the man.
"Listen brats," the man began, speaking calmly considering the massive weapon pointed at him, "Don't interfere in something you know nothing about, do you have any idea what that thing is?"
"Yeah," Raven said in one of her darkest tones, "she's scared out of her mind."
The man shook his head angrily, "No you foolish little girl, she's a v…'
They didn't find out what he was going to say because at that moment the winged girl fly over the titan's heads to come smashing down with both her feet on the crossbow that he hadn't been quick enough to raise. She balanced on the rim, wings mantled around her, long enough to place a firm kick to the man's chest, knocking the wind out of his lungs and draw out what appeared to be a sai and plunge it into the wheel. She then stowed the weapon away and launched herself into the air with a powerful down-stroke of her wings.
"Raven, Starfire, follow her!" Robin shouted. The order hadn't been necessary as the two girls had already shot after her as soon as she had fled.
The girl was even harder to spot away from the street, a mere shadow among the backdrop of the nighttime sky. She seemed to be flying without flapping her wings, traveling by some other force like the Tamaranean and Azarathean utilized. They flew over the rooftops, the two Titan's rapidly gaining on her when suddenly the girl wobbled and fell from the sky to crash onto one of the rooftops. Starfire gasped and they both altered course to head for the roof. They landed gently on the roof, wary in case the girl's crash had been some sort of trick.
"Raven…" Starfire breathed. Raven's eyes swung around to look at what had caught Starfire's attention. The winged girl was laying on her side apparently unconscious. Raven and Starfire walked over to her and Raven knelt next to her, "Starfire, could I get some light? I want to see if she's hurt."
Starfire held up her hand and formed a starbolt, bathing all three of them in pale green light. "Is this sufficient my friend?"
"It'll do." Raven reached out to brush the girl's hair back so she could get a better look at her face. Even in the low light Raven could tell her skin was pale, paler even than her own. Raven placed one small hand on her neck, "Well, she's alive, her pulse is slow but steady and I don't see any obvious injuries, although her skin is very cold." She looked up from her patient, "Star, call Robin and see what he wants us to do with her, I'm going to see if I can't learn a little more about her."
Starfire nodded and pulled out her communicator with one hand while maintaining the starbolt in the other. Raven once again turned her attention to the girl. She could tell now that the girl was indeed wearing solid black, from her high boots to her jeans to her old fashioned shirt. The only bit of color was from her silvery tail, which resembled that of a wolf's and reached down to her ankles. She could even tell that her gloves, which were partially covered by the long angled sleeves of her shirt, were solid black. She pushed back one sleeve, slightly curious why anyone would be wearing gloves on such a warm night and discovered that the gloves extended past her elbows. Starfire moved behind her, just a little, but enough that the green light flashed off of something metallic at her neck. Raven looked closer and saw it was a silver cloak clasp in the shape of a wolf and crescent moon. She wondered at this, the cloak was thrown back now, so it would hang between her wings had she been standing, but Raven couldn't see how it could possibly wrap around those wings.
"Raven?" Starfire said softly.
"Yes Starfire?"
"Have you discovered anything useful?"
"Not much, but I believe I know why she fell, her lips are dry and cracked from dehydration and she looks malnourished."
"What does that mean?"
"It means she was very weak, makes me wonder how long those men have been chasing her." Raven sighed, "What did Robin say?"
"He said that we should take her to our medical room and that we will all keep watch in shifts till she awakens."
Raven nodded and telekinetically lifted the girl so she could carry her back to the tower. They then flew up from the rooftops and started back.
"I just hope she's not as dangerous as that guy seemed to think she is," Raven said.
"She does not appear dangerous."
"Looks can be deceiving, Star," but personally, she hoped Starfire was right.
Tears and BloodRaven yawned widely and looked up from her book to the clock on the wall. It was early, still dark out but she could tell it was almost sunrise. She hoped Cyborg would relieve her soon, she had been watching over their patient for a couple hours. Having relieved Robin of watch duty earlier. Raven glanced over at the bed to see that the girl was still unconscious, wings drooped over the sides of the hospital-like bed, before returning to her book.
The Sky was steadily getting light now, oranges and pinks staining the clouds. Raven finally closed her book and pivoted in mid-air to watch the sunrise.
"If Cyborg isn't awake by the time the sun's up he is going to get a very rude awakening," Raven said to herself, stifling another yawn. She normally didn't care for sunrises, but she hoped this one might bring with it some answers to last night's strange occurrences.
The first rays cleared the rooftops flooding the room with light. People all over the city were waking up to prepare for the day. Raven however didn't care normally and cared even less now because as soon as the sun had broken past the rooftops there was a large crash behind her. She whipped around to find the bed tipped on its side and the girl gone. Raven looked around and located the girl huddling in a still dark corner with her wings wrapped around her like a shield or cocoon. Raven, fatigue forgotten, pulled out her communicator, flipped it open and simply said two words.
"She's awake."
Within minutes the others hurried into the room and gathered around Raven to look at their strange guest. They could all tell that the girl was shaking terribly and, although her face was hidden, they could tell she was crying.
"Hello?" Robin ventured.
She gave a tiny cry and pulled her wings tighter around her. "Please don't kill me," came her unsteady voice.
Robing exchanged a glance with his companions. Raven was trying to sort through the tumultuous emotions that emanated from the huddled figure, uncertainty, pain, and pure terror. The girl honestly believed they were going to kill her. Raven stepped forward to kneel a couple feet away from her.
"Nobody is going to kill you," the empath said in the most non-threatening voice she could muster, no easy task for her since she usually strove for the opposite.
"Then why am I captive?" the girl demanded.
"You're not," Robin said behind her, "you seemed hurt last night, we were trying to help."
Raven took the opportunity to reintroduce herself, trying to calm the strange girl down. "I don't know if you remember, but my name's Raven, and truly we have no desire to harm you."
The wing-cocoon opened a crack to allow the occupant to peer outwards without allowing the others to see in. "Sh-Shadow" she stammered.
"Excuse me?" Raven inquired.
"M-my name, Shadow," she stammered softly.
Raven flashed a rare comforting smile, this girl reminded her of herself, rather dark. She privately swore she would find those responsible for causing her such fear and make them pay. "Very well, Shadow, I don't suppose you would be willing to open up a little so we can see who we're talking to?"
The wings had stopped shaking as much and now they slowly parted. They revealed the very scared looking girl; she had her arms wrapped around her knees and her tail wrapped around her ankles. She was looking at them with silver eyes from under the disheveled mass of black hair that fell over much of her, rather beautiful, face.
"Can you tell us why those men were after you?" Raven asked softly, not wanting her to hide herself again.
Shadow's eyes dropped to the floor, "You'll just try to hurt me," she said sadly.
At this Robin decided to intervene, "Shadow, as long as you've done nothing wrong we have no reason to harm you."
She looked up at him, "You swear?"
"I swear," he replied.
"And the others?" she asked weakly.
Everyone nodded and Cyborg threw out a, "We're the good guys."
She lowered her eyes again and tightened her arms and tail around her legs, "They…" She inhaled deeply, with visible effort to calm herself, "They were chasing me because…I'm…a vampire," the last two words were barely audible, she quickly added, "But I swear I'm not evil!" The pale face turned as if expecting a heavy blow to land. When no such blow came she ventured a peek at the others. Four looks of shock and disbelief and one of confusion looked back at her. Starfire, the owner of the look of confusion, was the first to speak.
"If I may ask, what is a…vampire?" she asked.
Shadow as taken aback, she thought everyone knew the legends. "It means that sunlight hurts me and I must drink blood to survive," Starfire gasped, "But I never drink from any living creatures! Only what I can get at butcher shops!" she was close to tears again.
Raven, once the initial shock was over, could sense her sincerity through her fear. "She's telling the truth, I'm sure of it," she said to the others. Shadow looked at her in surprise, she had obviously not thought she would be believed.
Robin snapped out of his shock, "Beast Boy, could you close those curtains." Those silver, disbelieving eyes turned on him, he smiled at her as Beast Boy hastened to close the curtains and block the sunlight that was creeping across the floor towards her. Privately, Raven wondered if he moved so fast to follow the order or to have an excuse to get away from the vampire.
"I can see why you thought we wanted to hurt you," Raven said as the room dimmed, "Putting you next to a window like that. That must have been why you jumped up so quickly earlier."
Shadow nodded. "Actually it won't kill me, it's just very painful. I'm also not susceptible to garlic or crosses or any of those things." She paused, "Um, could I get a glass of water? I'm very thirsty," she obviously wanted to change the subject.
"How rude of us," Robin said, "you must be hungry too, er, you do eat don't you?"
She smiled weakly, "Yes I do, and I would greatly appreciate some solid food, but no meat, I'm a vegetarian."
"What a minute…how can a vampire be a vegetarian?" Beast Boy was the first to give voice to the thought that, Raven was sure, was running through all of their minds.
"It doesn't matter," Robin said, "I'll go grab some fruit or something and some water. Cyborg can you give me a hand?"
The two of them walked out leaving the others there to continue to get to know their guest. Raven made herself more comfortable on the floor while Beast Boy sat on one of the beds; Starfire just situated herself in mid-air. Shadow didn't seemed concerned with the redhead's strange seating.
"So," Raven began, "if you don't mind me asking, how did you make that blinding light last night?" she felt it was important to keep her talking, try to keep her calm.
"It's one of my abilities," her voice was subdued, unsure about how much she could trust these people.
"It's okay, we all have special abilities too," Raven emphasized her statement by levitating a beaker off of a nearby shelf and floating it over to sit in front of Shadow's feet. The girl reached towards it, but not with her hands, she wrapped her tail around it and held it up to examine it before setting it down gently again. She glanced over at Starfire, questioning.
"I am strong and can throw balls of energy as well as fly," she responded to the unanswered question.
Her gaze shifted over to Beast Boy.
"I can change into animals," he promptly morphed into a cat, Shadow smiled.
"Well, I have the normal vampire-like abilities, preternaturally sharp eyesight, hearing, and sense of smell, plus strength and flight. I can also manipulate light and darkness."
Raven raised an eyebrow, "Interesting."
"I would demonstrate but right now I'm so weak I might pass out again if I tried."
"Don't worry about it," Raven replied.
Just then the door opened to admit Robin carrying a small bowl of fruit and veggies and a large glass of water. He walked over and set them in front of Shadow before moving to stand behind Raven.
"Thank you." Shadow reached to grab the glass while finally brushing her hair out of her face, revealing pointed ears in the process. This girl is a hodge-podge of different parts, Raven thought. She drank for several seconds then popped a small slice of apple into her mouth.
"Uh Shadow?" Beast Boy ventured after several more apple slices followed rapidly after the first; this girl was hungry!
"Hmm?" she inquired.
"I, uh, thought vampires had large fangs." Raven looked back to Shadow, Beast Boy actually had a point, her teeth had looked normal.
Shadow swallowed heavily and examined a carrot stick as if it held answers. "I do have fangs," she said softly, "I can just hide them." She opened her mouth and her canines grew till they were twice as long as any of her other teeth then shrunk back down to normal. "If they were long all the time it would be difficult to eat and talk."
"Oh…" Beast Boy was obviously not entirely comfortable with this new revelation and disdained to comment further.
Once she had finished eating Robin asked, "Feeling any better?"
"A little, although I really need…nevermind." She began to examine the floor, pretending she hadn't said anything odd. "So where's your big metal friend?"
"He had to run an errand, he should be back soon," Robin replied. "Can you tell us more about those men that were chasing you?"
"Vampire hunters," she almost spat the words, "They want to kill me just for what I am. They don't care that I never hurt anyone or have any intention of ever doing so."
Starfire nodded understanding, "There are those who dislike me just because I am Tamaranean."
"Tamaranean?" Shadow asked, obviously confused.
It was Robin that answered though, "Starfire isn't from Earth."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that such discrimination isn't limited to Earth, I had figured it was a human thing." She gave Starfire a look that showed honest sadness, but at the same time a deep friendship. Starfire returned the look with similar feelings; it was amazing how their shared pain offered an instant bond between them.
"Anyways," She began after a moment of reflection, "those hunters have been following me for about a month, chasing me across the country. They weren't the first, just the worst so far. They knew I don't feed off of animals, that I tend to go to butcher shops so they call ahead and tell every shop some story so that I can't get any blood. That's why I'm so weak and why I collapsed last night. I've been running and using my powers without any way to replenish my strength." It was the most she had spoken since waking up, and Raven thought she looked a little more haggard for it.
They sat in silence for a bit, thinking and allowing Shadow to rest. Suddenly Shadow looked at the door, sniffing intensely at the air.
"What's wrong Shadow?" Raven asked, wondering what had her so intent. She didn't need to wait for an answer though because at that moment Cyborg entered the room and handed a large paper bag to Robin.
"Did I miss anything?" he asked cheerfully.
"Where have you been?" Beast Boy demanded.
"At the butcher's," Shadow said quietly, eyes locked on the bag, she was shaking slightly.
"Hey, how did you know?" the half-metal man replied.
"I can smell it," she said simply.
Robin sat the bag in front of her, "Take your fill," he told her.
Shadow stared up at him, "Are you sure?"
He nodded and moved back to lean against the wall.
"Hey, what's this about, what's in…" Beast Boy's words died in his mouth as Shadow stripped off her gloves and pulled a pint sized container from the bag, it looked like several more remained inside.
It was filled with blood, pig's blood from the butcher's
Raven noticed the boys blanch, Beast Boy in particular looked nauseous as he realized what was coming next, Starfire looked curious, but Raven managed to keep her face neutral.
Shadow carefully removed the lid, being careful not to spill any and drank deeply, finishing off the entire container in one shot. Raven thought she heard Beast Boy retching into a trash can, Raven herself was suddenly glad she hadn't had breakfast yet. Another container met the same fate, although slightly slower. Once finished Shadow resealed the containers and set them in front of her, not sure what else to do with them at the moment.
"Thank you," Shadow said softly after catching her breath.
"There's more if you need it," Robin said weakly, he was looking a little ill himself.
"No, I should let my body digest this first, but I would like to lie down somewhere for a while if you don't mind."
"Sure, we'll just store the rest in the lab fridge there and you can crash on one of these bed. We'll have one of us right outside the room if you need anything."
"Thank you, it's been a while since I had anyone actually care about me. I really appreciate it."
Robin smiled, "What else are friends for?"
She returned his smile, "Thank you…friends."
TrustIt was currently Starfire's watch. She was floating outside the medical room staring down at a device in her hands. Beast Boy had lent the gaming device to her but she couldn't figure it out. The point seemed to be to smash some things but not others, the problem was the smash things and the not-smash things looked a lot alike. She was just about to give up when there was a loud scream from inside the medical room. She quickly dropped the game and dashed inside. Shadow as sitting up in bed, eyes wild and was shaking violently.
Starfire quickly made her way to the side of the bed, "Shadow! What is wrong?"
Shadow turned towards her as if just now seeing her, "The hunters…" she breathed, "They were torturing me…" tears were flowing freely, "so much pain…" she buried her face in her hands as Starfire laid a comforting arm around her shoulder. Shadow sat sobbing loudly until the others, no doubt drawn by her cry, hurried into the room.
"What's going on?" Robin demanded, "We heard a scream."
"I believe Shadow had a nightmare about those awful men," Starfire explained
"You," Shadow said around her quieting sobs, "must all think that I'm a coward, frightened even when nothing is there."
"Hardly," Cyborg said, "For the past month you've been hunted like an animal, starved, and have had those who should've been understanding shy away from you, your survival alone testifies to your strength and courage." The others nodded their agreement. Shadow seemed slightly flattered and surprised at their opinion of her.
"Perhaps we should leave you to rest though," Robin said.
"No, thank you," her tears had stopped and Starfire backed away a little, "I really don't feel like sleeping, knowing they," she shuddered, "might be waiting for me. I don't suppose I could get a tour of this place, this room is nice but I would like to stretch my legs a bit."
"I would be delighted to show you around our home!" Starfire chimed.
Shadow smiled at her enthusiasm. " I don't suppose you know where my cloak is? I prefer to keep it close to block any sunlight." Indeed her cloak as well as her twin sai had been stored in a nearby cabinet earlier; Robin now walked over to it to retrieve them for her. She raised her eyebrows as he returned her weapons along with her cloak.
"We trust you," he said simply.
She stared at him with a bemused expression for a minute before pushing herself off the bed. The winged girl wobbled a moment before steadying herself and fastening her cloak around her neck, adjusting it so it fell between her wings. Her sai she stashed in her belt behind her back.
"How is it that you fit that cloak over those wings?" the other cloaked figure in the room asked with mild curiosity.Shadow answered by folding her wings around herself, settling them low over her shoulders so they met in front, looking a lot like a leather cape or second cloak. She shook herself slightly so that her real cloak fell over her to completely hide her wings.
"Nice," Robin commented, "I'm sure that helps you blend in a little.
She smiled and nodded acknowledging his understanding.
"Well, we'll leave you two to it, "Robin said. The three boys and Raven left leaving Starfire alone with Shadow.
"So, where shall we begin, my new friend?" Starfire asked cheerily.
"Anyplace that doesn't smell like a hospital," she chuckled dryly.
"I do not think that will be a problem." Starfire smiled and led them out of the room.
…
"…and this is our living room." Starfire and Shadow had made their way through the tower ending up at last in the main living space. Beast Boy and Cyborg were playing their usual game, Raven was quietly reading, and Robing was messing around on one of the computers.
"This place is amazing," Shadow said, awe filling her voice, "It must be great living here."
"It does have its benefits," Beast Boy commented without removing his eyes from the screen.
"I can only imagine, I wish I could spend more time here, get to know all of you better," her eyes flicked briefly to the darkest of the Titans.
"Did you have somewhere you need to go?" Raven asked, oblivious to Shadow's brief glance.
"No," she sighed, "I just cannot stay for long, already I am placing all of you in danger. Soon the hunters will find me and I would not wish to place you in harm's way by being here when they arrive," her voice was sad, resigned.
Everyone had looked up at her tone, but it was Cyborg who spoke first, "Uh Shadow? We're in danger every day, and what kind of friends would we be if we let you leave before you've fully recovered?"
She was about to protest but Robin cut her off, "And as for the hunters, we plan on dealing with them. While you were sleeping earlier I managed to get their license plates off of a store's security camera and eventually track them to a hotel downtown. Once your feeling strong enough I think we should go have a talk with them." He smiled a somewhat wicked smile.
"You would do that? For me?" Shadow stammered, "Even knowing what I am and everything?"
"We do not care what you are," Starfire said, "only who, and we already know you are a good person."
"Exactly," Robin said, "but I do have one question for you."
"Oh?"
"What do you like on your pizza?"
She smiled at him, "Extra cheese, please."
Shadowy Confrontations
The sun broke the horizon; much like it did every day, to cast its golden light over the city. Robin watched quietly from the roof of the tower, lost in thought. He couldn't help but wonder, in the light of their new guest, what it would be like to never see the sun again. He sighed heavily and forced his thoughts in a more pleasant direction, breakfast. He made his way down to the kitchen, thinking he would check on Shadow too seeing as she had spent the night on the couch. As such he was surprised when he entered the room to find her, not on the couch, but laying behind it. He decided to let her sleep and began to quietly cook something to eat; however it was not quiet enough.
"Good morning," Shadow mumbled sleepily.
"Good morning, sorry if I woke you."
"Don't worry about it, I likely would have been up soon anyways," she sat up, her head not quite clearing the back of the couch,
"May I ask why you were sleeping on the floor?"
"Simple, I didn't want another wake up call like yesterday's"
Robin looked out the window, he had forgotten that the window faced East and thus the room would be flooded with sunlight come morning. "Oh, sorry," he said lamely, slightly abashed at this oversight. He walked over and pushed a button that closed the curtains.
"It's nothing," she paused, a thoughtful look appeared on her face, "I was thinking last night, after all of you went to sleep. I…I would like to confront those hunters today. Their faces haunt me and I want to do it before I lose my nerve."
Robin's eyes were filled with understanding as he walked over to sit next to her in an almost brotherly manner. "You know, we can wait, we want to make sure you're recovered fully."
"I'm already feeling much better, the wonders of rest and proper nutrition. I just don't want to wait, always looking over my shoulder expecting to see them. Besides it's not like I'm going alone."
Robin smiled at her, "Very well, after lunch we'll go have a chat with these so called vampire hunters, we'll show them they can't mess with our friend. But as for now, I think maybe you should get some breakfast."
"Sounds nice, I believe there is still some in that lab fridge too."
She chuckled slightly as Robin's face blanched just a little.
…
Everyone readily agreed to confronting the three men, so shortly after lunch they all piled into the T-car to head to the hotel that Robin had tracked them to.
"Shadow," Robin began, "You should try to stay behind us as much as possible, it's you they want, not us."
Shadow was sitting in the backseat, cloak on to protect her from the daylight. "I can deal with that, if however I need to I can set off a light flash to either escape or jump them too, although I'm hoping it doesn't come to that."
Robin nodded his agreement.
"We're here," Cyborg said.
The six of them entered the rather lowly building and, after getting the room number from a man at the desk, walked purposefully up to the hunter's room and knocked loudly.
"Yeah, just a minute," came a surly voice from inside.
The door opened to reveal the grisly man who Shadow had kicked a couple nights ago. "Well if it isn't the little heroes," he gave the last word a sarcastic drawl, "What do you want?' the other two men came to stand behind him.
"Hey look," one of the others said, "they brought it to us."
The first man looked closer, "I guess you finally came to your senses and decided to turn it over to us."
"You're not gonna lay a hand on her," Cyborg said, imposing his bulk between Shadow and the hunters.
Robin stepped forward, "We're here to tell you to leave her alone, she's committed no crime, you have no reason to harm her."
The here-to silent hunter broke in, "That creature killed my brother!" his voice was filled with undisguised loathing.
"That's a lie!" came Shadow's indignant cry.
"He was hunting you one night. When he didn't check in the next morning we went looking for him. We found him, dead, blood drained."
At this the Titans turned towards Shadow, wondering at an explanation.
"It wasn't me!" Shadow desperately pleaded, "We fought, I accidentally broke his leg defending myself and he passed out. I couldn't leave him like that so I set the break as best I could and splint his leg. Some other creature must have come along after I left!"
Raven turned back to the hunters, "See, the thing is, I believe her."
"Then you're a fool," the third man said and raised a crossbow he had quietly grabbed during Shadow's brief soliloquy. He let the arrow fly as Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy jumped them, pinning the men to the ground.
"It's dead, that's all that matters," one man said into the floor.
"Not quite," Raven said darkly. The men turned to look as best they could, the arrow was hovering a couple inches in front of Shadow's chest, covered in black energy. Raven gave a slight twist of her hand and the arrow broke in half and fell to the floor. Although the Titan's couldn't see Shadow's face under her hood, Robin, at least, guessed that she was about ready to fall to the floor herself.
"Nice job Raven," Robin said. He turned to the men still pinned to the floor, "and as for you three, I think we can find a nice jail cell for you downtown."
…
They were heading back when they received the alert; Dr. Light was robbing a bank. "Doesn't that guy every give up?" Beast Boy asked.
"Uh, who is Dr. Light?" Shadow asked, still slightly shocked by her near death experience.
"He's a rather hopeless criminal, just stay in the car, we'll deal with him," Robin said.
They reached the bank shortly, everyone save Shadow rushing forward to confront the incompetent thief. Shadow watched fascinated as the Titan's traded blows with the madman. She watched as Cyborg fired his cannon alongside of Starfire with her starbolts, random objects encased in dark energy flew alongside energy disks, and a pterodactyl dropping rocks from overhead. She also saw as Dr. Light blasted everything and then turned his blasters on her friends, plowing them into buildings, cars, and street signs.
Dr. Light walked calmly over to Starfire who had crashed nearby and was still a little dazed. "I've had a few upgrades," he said coolly as he prepared to unleash his full power on her. Starfire saw him level his arms, equipped with powerful blasters, at her and tried to cover herself as best she could with her arms as she heard the blast. It never landed.
"Starfire! Move!" The Tamaranean looked up to see a column of light frozen in the air in front of her. She quickly leapt to one side before the blast struck right where she had been. "No one is going to hurt my friends," came a dark voice off to the side. Starfire looked to see a large figure, wings spread and covered in what appeared to be moving shadows. It took her a minute to realize that Shadow had used her power to manipulate light and darkness to save her as well as to protect herself from the sun.
"Shadow, No!" Robin shouted across the battlefield.
Dr. Light looked amused, "Shadow eh? Well everyone knows that shadows flee before the light!" he let go with another large blast. Shadow whipped her arms around and the light altered course to create a circle around her, guided by her hands.
"Are you sure you don't have that backwards?" she said darkly and made a violent pushing motion, forcing the light to surge back at its creator.
Dr. Light dodged aside with a flourish, the light barely missing him. Shadow made a pulling movement, causing the light to make a U-turn and slam into the maniacal villain. Dr. Light went flying into the air; Shadow however seemed unsatisfied as she launched herself into the air to intercept him with her arm into his chest. He fell to the ground, unconscious.
"Dude! That was totally awesome!" Beast Boy cried.
"I'm impressed Shadow, you took him out single-handedly." Robin said. Shadow lowered herself to the ground, folding her wings under her cloak of swirling shadows. The darkness dissipated leaving Shadow standing there covered in her more mundane cloak.
"I think I need to sit down," she said unsteadily, then wobbled and collapsed onto the street. Raven rushed forward, ready to heal her if needed.
"She's fine," Raven said after a quick check, "just exhausted, she hadn't fully recovered yet, this was too much."
Starfire came forward and picked her up, careful not to allow the dark girl's cloak to fall open in the sunlight. "We should get her back to the tower to rest."
"You, Raven, and Cyborg take her back, Beast Boy and I will finish up here," Robin said.
They gently set her in the T-car and headed back towards the tower, hoping for a little downtime to rest and relax.
Reaching for the Heavens
Raven rolled over quietly and stared at the wall. It had been several days since their defeat of Dr. Light and Raven was suffering from a bit of mild insomnia. She couldn't help but think there was something she had been missing these past few days. She shook her head to clear it and decided to get a glass of water.
She got up off her bed and fasted her cloak around her neck. She walked quietly to the kitchen mindful to not make noise lest she was Shadow. Raven was surprised though because Shadow wasn't on, or behind, the couch. Curious, Raven looked around a bit and finally checked the main computer, which had been programmed to allow Shadow free reign of the tower, although it still kept tabs on her. Raven was interested to find that Shadow was on the roof. Driven by her curiosity Raven decided to see what her dark friend was up to.
Raven climbed the stars and opened the door to the roof. Shadow as standing near the edge, wings folded behind her, staring up at tonight's full moon.
"Good evening, Raven." Raven jumped, the winged girl hadn't even turned around. "Not sleeping well?"
"No," She walked up to stand next to her, "How did you know it was me?"
"I could hear your heart beat, and I caught your scent."
Raven had forgotten how acute vampiric senses were. "So what are you doing up here?"
"Just watching the night. She's beautiful isn't she?"
"She?"
"The moon," she explained, "She's beautiful, almost looks like you could reach out and hold it." She reached up and made as to grasp the moon with one gloved hand. Her hand appeared to close around the moon before she drew it back. Raven gasped. Where her hand had been, where the moon had been, there was nothing, just the blackness of space. She looked over at Shadow.
"But what would one do with something so beautiful," Shadow asked to no one as she opened her hand, revealing a small silver, glowing orb. Raven thought she could even see tiny craters on its surface. "I suppose I could always give it to someone just as beautiful." She turned those silver eyes towards her and held out the glowing ball.
Raven's eyes widened, not only had she caught Shadow's meaning, but she had finally placed that strange feeling, that emotion, she sensed from this strange girl whenever she was around. She couldn't believe it had taken this long, it was the same emotion she sensed all the time between Starfire and Robin.
This girl loved her. This girl loved her.
Shadow, upon seeing Raven's reaction, had withdrawn her hand slightly. "It doesn't matter," she said, "It's all illusion. That's all it ever is." The orb faded out and the real moon reappeared, both having been manifestations of Shadow's powers, only to be seen by the two of them.
"Excuse me, I would like to stretch my wings before sunrise," Shadow said, obviously wanting to get away now that she knew that Raven knew of her feelings. "Good night," she finished before jumping off the ledge, spreading her wings and soaring out over the bay.
Raven just stood there. The only thing she could think of was still, 'That. Girl. Loves. Me?'
Dark Fury
The next day the entire team noticed that something was wrong with Raven, not that it was hard to miss. She forgot to boil her water for her tea, dropped her toast on the floor. She even said good morning to Beast Boy and seemed to mean it.
"Uh Raven?" Robing asked warily, "Are you alright?"
"Huh? Oh yes, I'm fine," she said absently, remaking her tea with hot water this time.
"You seem a bit distracted," Cyborg commented.
At that moment Shadow walked in, having finished her breakfast in the medical room since the others still were slightly uncomfortable with her dietary needs. Raven caught sight of her and her tea mug fell to the floor with a crash. Shadow looked down at the ceramic pieces. "I'm sorry," she said simply before turning and walking back out of the room.
"Why is she sorry?" Cyborg asked.
Raven calmly cleaned up the mess and silently left the room via the other hallway.
"That was…odd," Starfire said in a puzzled tone.
"I'm not sure which of those two is creepier," Beat Boy added.
Raven, meanwhile, was heading back to her room, breakfast forgotten. She was still disoriented from last night, confusion, warring with anger and, surprisingly, a small part of her was flattered. It took almost all her focus and concentration to keep her powers in check.
At the same time Starfire decided to try to find Shadow. She quickly located her in one of the training rooms. When she first entered the room she thought that the dark winged girl was dancing, but then caught sight of little points of light circling around her, responding to various movements of her body. As she watched the two lights split to become four, they followed in a line around her, tracing patterns in the air. Shadow gave a flick of one hand and three more lights appeared between the other four. They flowed between her hands, passing for a moment out of sight, then emerged, no longer simple white, but instead the seven colors of the spectrum.
"Beautiful," Starfire breathed.
Shadow looked at her, she had been so engrossed in what she was doing, she had not noticed the tall girl standing by the door. "Thank you," she said softly, the lights still swirling around her, "It's just something I do on occasion to distract myself."
"Distract yourself from what?" Starfire inquired.
The lights froze, Shadow thinking how best to answer. She opened her mouth but before she could speak red light erupted around them. "What is that!" she asked.
"It's the Titan's alarm, come on!" Starfire dashed forward and grabbed her arm, yanking her out of the room to leave the seven lights to fade. Starfire pulled her along, Shadow running to keep up. She finally managed to extricate her arm just as they reached the living room where the others were already assembled.
"The H.I.V.E. five are trashing the mall again," Robin said, he turned to Shadow, "If you're feeling up to it we could use your help." Shadow nodded solemnly, "Great, let's go."
A few moments later the Titans and Shadow were making speed to the mall. Robin rode the R-cycle and Cyborg was behind the wheel of the T-car, the three girls and Beast Boy were flying overhead. When they reached the mall the six of them rushed through the front door to confront the evil quintet.
Upon seeing the Titans, Gizmo, See-More, Mammoth, Kyd Wykkyd, and Billy Numerous coalesced in front of them, appearing from various places around the mall.
"Well if it isn't the Teen Titans," Billy drawled.
"Who's the newb?" Gizmo demanded with his usual sour attitude.
Shadow stepped forward, spreading her wings and lowering her hood, "Name's Shadow, and who are you pipsqueak?"
"Pipsqueak?" Gizmo asked indignantly, "I'll show you pipsqueak! H.I.V.E. five, eat 'em alive!"
The five villains leapt forward as the Titans rushed to meet them. Cyborg clashed with Mammoth, Raven with Gizmo, Robin with Kyd Wykkyd, and Starfire with See-More, leaving Beast Boy and Shadow to deal with Billy.
Billy, seeing that he was temporarily out-numbered, split into several copies that attempted to rush forward at them both. Shadow caught sight of Beast Boy as he morphed into a stegosaurus and took a swipe at them with his tail. Shadow herself was fighting them off as fast as she could; she didn't dare use a light flash in case the Titan's were blinded too. One of the Billies jumped on her back; she grabbed him with her tail and flung him into the others. Another jumped on her but before she could do the same she found herself buried under three dozen Billies.
"You're kinda new at this ain't ya?" The Billies said in unison. She glared at the nearest one and he saw her fangs grow out in anger and determination. "Say, what exactly are you anyways?" the one Billy said with a slightly nervous tone.
She didn't answer, instead she surged upwards with all her strength, scattering the Billies and hovering a few body lengths above them. From her vantage point she glanced around quickly, as such she saw Gizmo hit Raven with a mini-missile and saw her get blown into a wall with, at least to Shadow's ears, a loud crack of bone breaking. Shadow was to her in a heartbeat, making sure she still lived. The others separated from their individual battles and tried to rush over themselves but the H.I.V.E. five regrouped themselves between them and the two dark girls.
"You pit-sniffers are so fragile," Gizmo sneered.
A low growl sounded behind them. The five super-villains turned to find Shadow, fangs bared and wings trembling with anger.
"I believe she's a little angry at us," the original Billy said, then split off a copy. "Well that's too bad," said the copy, the H.I.V.E. five laughed.
The blow came so fast that no one even saw her move. One moment Shadow was standing there, growling fiercely, and the next she was in front of the original Billy, her fist planted in his chest. The clones collapsed into him as he fell to his knees. Shadow pulled out one sai and rapped him on the head with the hilt, knocking him out, then replaced the weapon into her belt. Mammoth, standing behind her, brought his fist down on her and she raised her hands to catch it. As Mammoth's fist connected she was driven down a foot into the floor, she didn't seem to care. She flew up, not letting go of Mammoth, and spun around a few times before sending him careening into a support pillar. She landed and turned to the three remaining H.I.V.E. members. Kyd Wykkyd tried to escape through one of his portals. Shadow's hands shot out grabbing See-More and pulling the teleporter back from his portal before slamming their head together, rendering them both unconscious. Her gaze shifted to Gizmo and he got the distinct feeling that he was dessert.
He began backing away as she slowly advanced on him. "Uh, I'm sorry?" he said hopefully as he dodged around a broken guardrail that used to surround a fake tree nearby. Shadow picked up the two-inch diameter rail and easily twisted it into a knot before dropping it. "You can't hurt me, you're one of the good guys," he didn't sounds entirely convinced of this statement. He continued to back away until he suddenly backed into something very solid and metallic. He looked up and saw Cyborg smiling down at him. The Titans hadn't had a chance to get in on the fight since it happened so fast and were still standing where they had been before it had began.
"Forget about us?" Cyborg asked.
"Crud," Gizmo gulped.
Cyborg reached down and picked the little troublemaker up by the collar with one hand and ripped the backpack of Gizmo's gizmos off with the other.
Meanwhile Shadow, as soon as she saw that Cyborg had Gizmo under control, had rushed back over to Raven and carefully carried the unconscious figure over to the others. "I think her arm is broken, it needs to be set," she said coldly, oddly without emotion. The others looked and could easily see that one arm was hanging at an unnatural angle.
"I'll see to it," Robin said bravely, "Best to do it before she regains consciousness, save her at least some pain." He turned to the others. "Cyborg, Beast Boy, take care of the H.I.V.E. rejects, Starfire, see if you can find some strips of cloth and something for a splint." Robin walked over to Shadow, "Hold her still, even unconscious she's gonna feel this."
Shadow nodded gravely as Robin felt along Raven's arm to locate the break. The pale face contorted in pain. He then took a firm grip and with a muttered, "Sorry Raven," jerked the bones into alignment. Raven let out a pained gasp and the blood drained from her face, but it was done.
Starfire walked up and proffered some strips of cloth and some sticks of wood she had acquired from the wreckage of the battle, "Will this do?" she asked solemnly.
"That's perfect," Robin said and quickly made a makeshift splint and sling for Raven's arm. "Starfire, Shadow, do you think you can get her to the medical room at the tower without jostling her much, we can finish up here." Both girls nodded and Shadow covered herself in darkness so she wouldn't need her cloak since she had to fly during the day while carrying the small dark girl in her arms.
They walked out of the mall and took flight; Shadow not using her wings to fly so she wouldn't hurt Raven with the steady up and down motion. Even flying slowly they reached the tower quickly, once inside Shadow banished her cloak of darkness and then quickly made their way to the medical room. Shadow gently laid her down on the bed, the same one she herself had recently occupied.
"I'll never forgive myself for this," she muttered softly.
Tamaranean hearing, while not being as good as a vampire's, was still pretty good, therefore Starfire heard her statement and was puzzled. "I do not understand, you did not cause this."
Shadow turned to her and said softly, "I hope you're right, Starfire, I truly do."
Undesired Reward: Tearful Flight
Shadow was standing in front of the window, staring off across the bay. Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy had returned only a short while ago. Shadow had stayed near Raven until they had arrived but she couldn't deal with the looks in their eyes, they had never seen her fight like that and they seemed a little uneasy at the moment. Granted Shadow wasn't sure that it wasn't all her imagination. She felt like leaving them, she had no ties here. The only thing that held her back was the knowledge that she couldn't leave until she was sure that Raven would be all right.
"Shadow?" Robin said behind her.
She turned around slowly, "Yes Robin?"
"I have something to show you, could you come with me?"
She nodded and trailed after him down the hall. Robin led her to a nondescript door that she had never explored before. "What's going on?" Shadow asked darkly.
"You'll see," Robin said mysteriously. He pushed a button and the door slid open revealing a pitch black room, or at least it would be to most people, Shadow could clearly see Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire standing there, all with silly grins on their faces. Robin stepped in, followed by Shadow.
"What's going on here?" Shadow demanded, "What are you all doing here? Where is here?"
"It's your room," said a dark voice behind her as the light flicked on. The room was painted black with dark violet designs painted randomly on the walls. There was a desk off to one side with a mini-fridge next to it for her specific dietary needs. On the other side was a set of drawers with a closet set into the wall next to it with full-length mirrors on the doors. The windows on the back side wall, across from the closet, spanned from floor to ceiling and were covered with extremely thick black curtains. A large bed dominated the back wall with wolves carved into the sides and headboard. All of this was promptly ignored however in favor of the cloaked figure that had been hiding off to the side of the door.
"Raven, you're awake," Shadow stated dumbly. Her eyes flicked to her arm, still in a sling with a light cast on it.
"I'll be fine in a few days, it's just too much to do all at once," Raven explained, interpreting her gaze correctly.
"So how do you like the room?" Beast Boy asked, "We've spent the last few days working on it. We weren't sure about the mirrors but everything else looked fitting."
"We also wanted to give you this," Robin said holding out a communicator. "We want you to join the team, permanently."
Shadow reached out and took the communicator, stunned beyond words. She stared at it for a moment then ran her gaze over her friends, finally resting her eyes on Raven. She dropped her silver eyes to the floor, then set the communicator on the desk.
"I need to think," she said solemnly and quietly walked out.
"Well that was just…odd," Cyborg said.
Shadow, just wanting someplace quiet to think, pulled her cloak over her and walked down to the beach to sit in the tower's shadow cast by the setting sun. She sat on the ground, back against the tower, wrapped her wings around so they covered her completely, and cried softly.
As such she was still huddled there when Raven found her a few minutes later. Shadow heard and smelled her approach, "I would like to be alone," she said somewhat sourly.
"I know better than most that sometimes when you wish to be alone, those are the times that you really shouldn't be," Raven said softly.
Shadow didn't move or speak so Raven sat down next to her. "I know why you are upset," Raven said, "you think that last night had something to do with me getting hurt. You also think that for some reason you don't deserve to be part of the team. I'm here to tell you you're wrong on both counts." She looked over at Shadow but she hadn't moved so she continued. "We had decided to do this after you defeated Dr. Light. You proved then that you, even weakened, were willing to fight to protect us and others. From what the others told me you did the same today." Raven looked out over the bay. "I can't say that I'm not uneasy about last night, I don't understand it, but that doesn't mean that you would not be a great Titan."
They sat in silence as the shadows lengthened. No one else came down and neither spoke. The sky deepened into twilight and the first stars appeared. Suddenly Shadow launched herself into the sky, streaking off towards the city. Raven, surprised by her sudden flight, took off after her a moment later.
Raven could barely see the dark figure ahead of her against the sky but she kept pace as well as she could. She pulled out her communicator with her good arm and flipped it open. "Robin," she started as his face appeared on the tiny screen, "It's Shadow, she flew off as soon as the sun set, I'm following her now."
"We'll track your signal and be there as soon as possible," came his reply.
She closed her communicator and stashed it away. Shadow was leading her out of the city now, she hoped it wouldn't be much further. Shadow began to descend near the outskirts of a forest and disappeared into a cave. Raven landed outside but didn't go in since it was pitch black inside. She decided to wait for the others, knowing that they would be able to make some light.
It took quite a while before she caught sight of the others, tromping through the forest.
"Sorry it took so long," Cyborg said, "We had to park the T-car near the road back there and walk."
Beast Boy was holding his nose. "What is that smell?" he asked nasally.
"It's bat guano," Robin answered, "There must be a lot of bats in there." He walked to the cave entrance. "Cyborg, you stay here in case she comes out, you three are going to want to fly above the floor. Starfire, we're going to need some light."
They all nodded and Starfire formed a starbolt and Beast Boy became a small bat. They all headed in, Robin thankful for his high boots as he plowed through bat droppings.
"Keep quiet, we don't want to startle them," he whispered.
They made their was to the back of the cave and thankfully a clear spot on cave floor. They searched for a few minutes before finding a side cave that led down a bit. They exchanged a wary look before heading down. The passage was small enough that they all had to walk. It soon opened up into another cavern where a dripping noise spoke of an underground pool. Although they could tell the cavern was small, much of it was still shrouded in darkness in the pale light of Starfire's starbolt.
"Shadow?" Starfire called softly.
They listened for a moment before catching the reply. "I hid here for a few days when I was being hunted. I wanted someplace private, I didn't think you would follow me here," her voice said softly from the darkness.
"Where are you? Why did you fly away?" Robin asked.
Instead of replying to his question she changed the subject entirely. "Did you know," she began, "that I wasn't always like this? That I was once human?" her voice echoed slightly, making it difficult to tell where she was amidst the darkness. "On day, I was involved in a freak accident. I remember waking up at a hospital the next day, everyone looking scared at what I had become. I spent a lot of time there. The doctors couldn't figure out why I grew weaker by the day, or why I flinched away from windows."
"But we do not care about that," Starfire interjected.
"I know Starfire, I know." She paused, then continued with her story. "Then one day, the doctors came to me and told me why I was so weak. It turned out that my blood no longer possessed certain proteins and compounds that I needed to survive. They told me what I needed to do, reeking of fear to my, as of yet, newly acquired sense of smell. I freaked, ran as far and as fast as I could. Eventually I learned of my powers, and even found someone to teach me how to defend myself. But still I ran. And then you found me. My friends. And I realized that here were people that didn't care what I was, only who. But I have been running for so long, running from my fears, running from my own life."
Suddenly tiny white lights flickered into existence around them. Shadow was standing next to a small pool of water, looking at something in her hands. Raven couldn't help but feel for this girl that was so like herself, thrown into a life that caused people to fear her and what she could do. She was so dark, so lonely, and one part of her added, so beautiful.
"Life is a strange thing," Shadow said calmly, it almost sounded like she was talking to herself. "It's so precious yet so fragile, like a crystal figurine, or, like one's heart." She contemplated whatever was in her hands. "I found her up with the others, hurt, probably by some predator, she's dying and I am unable to help her save to comfort her in her last moments."
The others approached slowly until they saw the tiny figure in her hands. A tiny fruit bat lay there, obviously not doing well. Raven approached closer and held her good arm out over it, "Maybe I can help," she said as her hand was enveloped in blue healing energy. The bat gave a few tiny cries and moved around a bit. Raven's powers obviously doing their job even in her weakened state. She held her hand there a moment more before pulling away, the small creature obviously much better.
"Thank you Raven, I'll return her too her family above, and I think I should do the same. Even though most of them came down here to find me." She smiled ruefully in the dim light.
"Sounds like a good idea to me," Robin said, smiling in return.
The five of them walked back to the main cavern, guided by Shadow's lights. They set the bat down near the back and made their way back to the cave's entrance and a rather impatiently waiting Cyborg.
"I was starting to wonder, everything cool now?" he asked.
"Everything's cool," Shadow replied. Suddenly a small creature shot out of the cave and landed on her head.
"It appears you've made a new friend even," Robin teased.
"It appears I have," She said as she reached up to extricate the bat from her hair. "You need to stay here, little one," she said to it. She turned to the others; "you go on ahead. I'll take her back and catch up, okay?"
"Just don't be too long," Robin said.
"Don't worry, I kinda want to go home and sleep for a little while, it's been a long day." And, she added silently as she headed back to the cave, it's nice to finally have friends and a home to go to.
Silent Answers
Despite their best efforts the small bat continued to track Shadow down over the next week. After the sixth time she had flown in through an open window and settled on Shadow's head they gave up and decided to let her stay.
Shadow was currently walking down the hallway, her furry little passenger hanging from the back of her hair. She was heading towards Raven's room wondering if she might be able to interest the sorceress in a game of chess. She knocked cautiously, having been warned of the dangers of disturbing Raven. The door slid open a few inches and Raven, both arms whole and unbroken, peered out.
"I was hoping that you might want to play a game of chess with me," Shadow ventured.
"No, I wish to be alone."
"Is something wrong?" Shadow asked, concerned.
"I would rather not talk about it," she said darkly.
"It wasn't too long ago that you told me that there are times we shouldn't be alone, no matter haw much we want to be."
Raven grumbled but slid the door open more and moved to one side, silently inviting her to enter. Shadow walked in, admiring the décor as Raven moved to sit on her bed.
"I would offer you a chair but I don't have one."
"That's okay," Shadow said and situated herself in the air, wings folded around her. "I love the décor, I can tell you had a hand in designing my room."
"Where's you little friend?" Raven asked, avoiding talking about what was bother her.
"She's sleeping in my hair, she seems to like it there."
"She probably likes the warmth."
Shadow chuckled, "I doubt it, I'm cold blooded, 'cept I can still tolerate a wide range of temperatures."
Raven was slightly shocked about this new information. "Interesting, I didn't know that. Have you decided on a name for her yet?"
"I was thinking about Ajna, because she sees the world through different senses."
Raven cracked half a smile, it vanished quickly.
"So what's bothering you?" Shadow asked, cutting through the distractions and attempts at avoidance.
"It's nothing important," Raven said guardedly.
"It's obviously important to you. Whatever it is you can tell me."
Raven gave her a dirty look but she didn't even bat an eye. It turned out that many of Raven's normal tactics to discourage people didn't work on this girl, probably because Shadow was dark enough she had likely used many of the same tricks herself. "Fine, something has been bothering me, ever since we found you in fact." Shadow didn't speak, silently pressing her to continue. "At first I thought it was nothing, but it wouldn't stop. And then there was that night on the roof, and that just made everything worse."
Shadow held up a hand to stop her. "You don't need to say any more, I believe I now know what is bothering you."
"What!" Raven's voice was deathly.
"I might not have your gift for empathy but emotions release chemicals that I can smell."
"Then why didn't you tell me?" Raven demanded levelly.
Shadow cocked her head, "Would you have believed me? It was something you had to realize yourself, in your own time."
"You know such a thing cannot be."
"That's your decision, but I see no reason to keep yourself miserable when there is no need."
Raven glared at her, "You know it wouldn't be acceptable."
Shadow sighed and put her feet back on the floor. "I think you were right, you need to be alone to think." She walked to the door but stopped in front of it. "One question for you to think about though. Who is it that says it cannot be? Think about it, I bet the answer isn't who you think." She opened the door and walked out, leaving Raven to her thoughts.
…
A few hours later Raven ventured forth from her room with a purpose. She floated peacefully down the fall and straight to their living room. The three boys and Starfire were playing a card game at the main table and Shadow was sitting of the floor off to one side, meditating. Raven remembered her surprise when she first found out that the winged girl meditated, she had claimed it helped calm her when she was troubled. Raven floated over to her, ignoring her other friend's invitations to join their game, and stood behind the strange vampire. She could see Ajna sleeping, nestled in her long, dark hair, above her neck.
"Shadow?" Raven said levelly.
She craned her neck around a little to look up at her then stood up, folding her wings behind her.
"Yes?" she replied just as levelly.
Raven was looking up at her, she had forgotten that Shadow was several inches taller than she was. "I thought about what you said and I believe I have a response."
"Oh?" Shadow asked.
Raven smiled mischievously, then, to Shadow's great surprise and Ajna's great annoyance, she leapt forward wrapped her arms around Shadow's neck, and placed an enthusiastic kiss right on her lips. As soon as Shadow realized what was going on she raised her arms around the smaller girl and even wrapped her tail around Raven's tiny waist. Raven pulled back after a few seconds to stare into those bright silver eyes.
"It was me," Raven said, "Only myself that truly prevented it."
"I knew you would figure it out, although I didn't expect such a public outing."
Raven turned her head to look at the others; they all had shocked looks on their faces. "It doesn't matter," she said.
She turned back to bestow another loving kiss to Shadow before letting go of her and turning more fully to glare darkly at her friends, "Any objections?" she asked them darkly, daring them to object at their own peril. They all hastily shook their head, emphatically expressing acceptance and support.
"Good," she said, slightly wickedly.
Raven took Shadow's hand in hers and together they walked out of the room.
Starfire turned to her companions, "I am confused, what just happened?"
"I think Raven just got herself a girlfriend," Robin said bemusedly.
"Oh, well I am glad she is happy then. Whose turn was it?" Three sets of eyes focused on the alien. "What?" she asked, honestly not understanding their continued shock, "What?"
…
Shadow and Raven headed back to Shadow's room. Once inside Shadow extricated Ajna from her hair and set her on a perch in the corner before taking Raven in her arms again.
"Are you sure about this?" she asked the Azarathean.
She smiled, "Just shut up and kiss me."
They once again kissed passionately, Shadow's tail wrapping around her waist again and her wings folding around them both as best they could. They held the kiss as long as they were able, finally separating for air.
Raven looked down at the various limbs embracing her. "This is going to take some getting used to."
"I'm sorry. I can stop if you wish."
"Don't you dare," Raven said, brushing one hand against Shadow's darkly clad breast. "Don't you ever dare stop."
Awakening
Raven woke slowly; having slept soundly and peacefully, save for Ajna's earlier disturbance. Her dreams last night had bee filled with memories from the past few weeks. She opened her eyes to look at her lover in the very dim light trying vainly to fight through the thick curtains.
"Good morning," Shadow said, seeing she was awake.
"Good morning," she replied, snuggling closer.
"Did you sleep well?"
"Quite well. I dreamed of you," she was stroking Shadow's tail, still around her waist, under the covers.
"I'm flattered, but I hope I'm better in person than a dream me."
"Much better in person," she kissed her lovingly. "We should probably get up, I'm sure the others are going to be getting bad ideas about what we're doing."
"So?" Shadow said.
Raven gave a dry chuckle, "You're hopeless." She said and rolled out of bed.
"Yeah, but you still love me," Shadow teased.
Sigh "I suppose I do," she teased back. She walked over to the window and pulled the curtains back slightly; careful not to let the light strike the other girl. "The sun's well up, as, I'm sure, are the others."
"Oh very well, I suppose there's little reason to remain here without you anyways." Shadow rolled out of bed and Raven let the curtains drop so she could embrace her. They kissed briefly, neither really actually wanting to join the others quite yet.
"I love you," Raven said as their lips separated.
"I love you too, Raven," her hand caressed her, sliding down her front to stop at her naval.
"Don't stop," Raven half-pleaded.
"Tonight my love," she said as she removed her hand, "tonight."
"Very well," Raven sighed, "But one thing."
"Yes?"
"No biting," she said teasingly.
Shadow laughed softly, "Alright, I promise, no biting."
Ajna is the name of the third eye chakra. It is related to e.s.p. such as foresight, psychic abilities, and telepathy. It also happens to be where Raven's stone is located in the middle of her forehead.