Titans Tower: Two O'clock at Night
In the city, it was a usual thunderstorm; lots of rain and plenty of thunder. In Raven's room, she was tossing and turning in her bed. She was also cringing and sweating as kept on hearing words in her head. 'Why are you afraid, Raven? Don't you want to be separated from me?'
Hearing those words in her head, she sat up in a cold sweat. "Why won't you leave me alone?" she said silently. Suddenly, after getting out of her bed, she doubled over in pain. Then, one-by-one, Raven started to grow another arm, then another leg, and so-on. Nearly a minute later, she collapse on the floor as another voice said,
"Dying may be easy for you, to survive against me, is the hardest part. I'll make sure that we're separated...forever!"
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EPISODE 5: "THE RAVEN BEYOND MY LIGHT"
The next morning, Robin and Starfire were eating breakfast at the table while Beast Boy was sitting on the couch eating a sandwich watching TV.
"Robin," Beast Boy began, "What's the hurry? You're eating your food like it ran away!" "We're heading down to the Comic Book store!" Robin said. "They've got our favorite comic book about a boy, girl, and school fights!" Starfire said. Beast Boy thought it over for a second and said, "That's High School - Hyper Battles! I thought the first issue didn't come out until next month!"
Suddenly, Cyborg entered the Living Room. "Yo, B!" he said, "Why was my cloak in the laundry chute?" "I ran out of toilet paper in the bathroom!" Beast Boy said laying down on the couch, "You shouldn't keep your stuff on the towel rack where somebody can use'em!" "YOU WIPED YOUR BUTT WITH MY CLOAK?" Cyborg shouted.
Suddenly, Raven entered the room saying, "Morning, everybody." The others stopped at what they were doing and looked at her. "Wow, Raven!" Robin said, "You look different." Indeed she did; instead of wearing her Azarathian gear, she wore waist-hugging, blue jeans like Starfire, and a black tanktop with a white-colored picture of a flower dripping with red blood, along with red shoes. And her hair must of gotten longer, because she had it tied up in a ponytail.
"What?" she said, "It's like you haven't seen me, all morning." "It's nothing that!" Robin said, "It's just...uh..." "We've never seen you with casual clothes before!" Cyborg finished. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say, SPEAK FOR YOURSELF!" Beast Boy shouted as Robin and Cyborg narrowed their eyes at him. "You know, you're not helping!" Robin said. "It's okay," Raven said calming them down, "Besides, if you were still going somewhere, I'd love to go!"
"Sure," Robin replied, "You can come with me and Starfire!" "Let's hurry!" Starfire said, "The longer we stall, the comic book with be sold out!" "Hmph!" Beast Boy breathed out, "I'll go, too! It's better than Cyborg screaming in my ear all day!" "I'll stay here and monitor for any signs of danger!" Cyborg said.
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The Comic Book Store
Starfire and Robin were buying their own comic books, while Beast Boy was on the floor reading a book of his own, and Raven was searching. "Are you guys done yet?" the changeling asked, "It's been at least two hours! I wanna go home and watch my movies!" "Well, let me check the drama section!" Raven suggested. As she was walking, something popped into her head, making her fall to one knee.
"What's the matter? Isn't this the way that you wanted...? I thought that you WANTED to be separated..."
Raven held her head in her hands as the voices kept shouting in her head.
"Raven?" Starfire asked putting a hand of her shoulder, "Are you alright?" "Yeah, yeah!" Raven replied standing up, "I just had a bad case of headaches last night!" "Well, you have been under the weather a little bit," Robin said, "C'mon, let's get back to the tower, so Raven can rest."
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Robin, Starfire, and Raven were walking ahead of Beast Boy, who still had his nose in a book he bought. Seconds later, around the corner of his eye, she saw a shadowy figure. "Hmmm..." he breathed out looking to the side. "What's the matter, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked. "It's nothing," the changeling replied, "but, I'm gonna check something out before I head back home."
"Okay," Robin said, "but, be careful!" "Aren't I always?" Beast Boy said running off. "Should we go after him?" Raven said worrying. "Don't worry too much!" Starfire replied, "As long as we've known Beast Boy, he can take care of himself!"
Walking towards another street, Beast Boy put away his book, and transformed into a green dog. From there he started sniffing out scents. Suddenly, something came out of nowhere and blasted him backwards, reforming back into human form. "What the...?" he said getting up. He saw a girl wearing a costume smiliar to an Azarathian costume like Raven's, except it was red.
"Raven?" Beast Boy asked. "Don't insult me!" the girl said as she did hand signs, "Art of the Sages: Cyclone Fire!" A tornado out of fire spun towards him. "There's only one way out of this one!" he said being engulfed into the twister. Suddenly, a gigantic howl came out of nowhere and dispersed the tornado of fire away. The girl in red, not even flinching, saw the changeling transformed into a werewolf. It seemed that he kept his human clothes, but they were tattered.
Beast Boy ran towards the Raven-lookalike as fast as his hind-legs could carry him. The girl just stood there as the wolf stopped three centimeters (cm) in front of her and tried to land a barrage of slashes on her. Nearly, after twenty thrusts, Beast Boy tried to land in one more blow; only to be caught by the Raven-lookalike's hand.
"Really, Beast Boy?" she said, "Did you actually think that attack was gonna do anything?" 'Wha...?' Beast Boy thought, '...How did she know...?' "I can see everything!" Beast Boy looked closer as he noticed that the Raven-lookalike had the same eyes, The Sight. Then she fired a powerful red beam through the changeling's stomach, making him revert back to human form. He sat upward, holding his wound saying to himself, "I...better...get...the others...fast!"
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At Titans Tower...
Twenty minutes, after returning home, Raven was getting worried. "Shouldn't Beast Boy be back by now?" she asked. "I kinda agree with you on this one!" Robin replied, "This's the time of day he would be hogging the TV."
"That's because BB's communicator signal has been going off for quite sometime now!" Cyborg said, "I think he is sometime type of trouble!" "Let's move out then!" Robin replied.
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Beast Boy hid behind a building as the Raven-lookalike walked in the street. "What's the matter, Beast Boy?" she said, "Is that all you've got?"
"Okay," he said quietly, "She looks like Raven, but she doesn't act like it! And there's no reason to attack; since she's got that same eye ability, all of my attacks seem useless. To make matters worse, my wound hasn't healed up yet; it's okay for the most part..." Suddenly, he turned his head around the corner to see the Raven-lookalike was coming. "But, what choice do I have? She'll come after me eventually..."
With his eyes rolling in the back of his head, and fangs growing, he transformed into the Man-Beast. Coming out the the corner, the Man-Beast tried to deliver a powerful spinning attack. The Raven-lookalike sensed this and froze him in the dark aura. "I was hoping to have some fun with you at least...But considering that you've begun to bore me now, I'll destroy you here and now!"
Before she could have the chance, blue-colored beam came in-between them which released Beast Boy, as he reverted back to human form. "Yo, BB!" a voice said. Sitting upward, Beast Boy noticed that his friends were worried about him. "It's about time you guys got here!" he said, "I've got real trouble on my hands!"
"So, I see!" Robin said silently looking at the Raven-lookalike, "Looks like someone created a clone of Raven!"
The Raven-lookalike looked at Raven, who was hiding behind Starfire, and began to laugh. "I'm impressed!" she said, "I never expected to take all of you, at once. I was just gonna destroy the one who set me free! Am I right, Reyna?"
"Reyna?" Cyborg asked. "I think she's talking to Raven!" Starfire said looking behind her. "Raven, what is she talking about?" Robin asked. "Me," Raven replied. "Say what?" Cyborg said very fast. "Did you change your name without telling us?" Beast Boy asked. "It's not that..." Raven said lowering her eyes, "That girl over there, that looks exactly like me, IS me! Her name is Recca." "I'm not sure if I'm following..." Starfire said.
"When we separated four years ago, I went back home to Azarath to become a sage. I don't know exactly when it happened, but during my training, Recca and I split apart from each other. I also found out that she is of what remains of TRIGON; she is pure evil. But, considering that my separation from Recca was unbearable, I couldn't call myself Raven; that's why I called myself Reyna."
"This is the third time this has happened," Reyna replied. Recca just laughed and said, "Couldn't keep the secret bottled up, huh?"
"There's one more thing," Reyna replied, "When me and Recca are separated, several side-effects occured." "What do you mean by several?" Cyborg said. "She has my ability to fly, obtained my powers, and The Sight." "Which means, Reyna..." Recca replied, "...You're nothing more than a weak human!"
"She may be a human..." Robin said stepping up, as well as Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire, "But, she's anything but weak!"
"Robin?" Reyna replied. "Don't worry, Raven," he said, "You stay here while we go take care of your carbon copy!" "Don't mock me!" Recca said activating her sight, "I'm not just a copy!"
Robin pulled out his staff and thrusted it towards Recca as he rushed in. Recca grabbed one end of the staff, slinging the boy wonder aside. Starfire went up next, firing a beam out her right hand. Recca fired a beam as well, canceling each other out. Flying through the smoke, Starfire threw out a right fist. She barely niched Recca's left cheek as she was kneed in the gut and thrown to the side. Cyborg was up next; he jumped into the air, firing a beam from his Sonic Cannon. Recca covered herself up with her cloak, blocking the attack. Standing back to back, Cyborg threw his left arm backwards, but Recca turned around quickly blocking it, then he countered thrusting his right leg.
Grabbing his leg, Recca slung him to the ground. Beast Boy jumped in the second that happened and delivered a left, back kick. Recca responded and replied, "That's Starfire's move!" "Who do you think taught it to her?" the changeling shouted landed back on his feet, threw a right, open-palm. Missing, he did a leg sweep; Recca simply lifted her leg up. With his last attempt, he balanced on his right hand and did an indifferent version of a roundhouse. "You fool!" Recca shouted as she ducked under the kick and fired a beam from her hand, knocking him back.
Robin, getting back on his feet, was about to throw exploding discs when...
"DON'T DO IT, ROBIN!" Recca said as her hand was at the direction of Beast Boy, "You do anything, and the next time I hit Beast Boy, it will be fatal!" Robin couldn't do anything but stand at his postion.
"No! Beast Boy..." Reyna said closing her eyes.
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Recca was about to say something, until something punched her in the mouth and on to the ground.
"Raven?" Robin said as he saw Reyna standing tall, with a familiar look in her eyes. "So," Recca replied, "It seems that you've got The Sight back in your eyes."
"That's right!" Reyna replied doing hand signals, "Like I told you before, you're going back to where you belong! Art of the Sages: Cyclone Fire!"
Reyna fired a tornado of fire from her mouth, while Recca stood up saying, "IT'S USELESS!" Then she flew through the fire, cancelling it out, charging dark energy into her fist colliding into Reyna's gut.
After sliding across the pavement, Reyna was grabbed by the head and was droven into a side wall of a building.
"Raven!" Robin shouted.
Recca applied pressure to Reyna's head, as Reyna herself, tried to escape. "It's pointless, Reyna!" Recca said, "You know for a fact, that I know everyone of your moves! No matter what you do, I'll have a lot more power!" "You...may have...a lot of...power..." Reyna replied struggling to get free, "...But...when...it comes to skill...YOU HAVE A LOT TO LEARN!" Releasing Recca's grip, she stood on her hands and started spinning. The attack left Recca on the ground with a mark on her face.
"Wha...what was that?" she shouted. "The Sight has only one variation!" Reyna replied, "When it comes to fighting, it can only see and what NOT to see!" "Well then, I only see your demise!" Then Recca started making hand signs. "Even with The Sight returning in your eyes, there's no way that you can dodge nor block this attack!"
"There's more to being powerful than just having an unlimited amount of energy!" Reyna said lowering her right hand with her left arm holding on to it, "And I'll show you! This is my one and only technique, not found in any Azarathian book!" 'This is it! The third stage of spells! Climax Finisher: DarkStar Ball!' Recca thought.
Recca fired from her hands a huge sphere of dark energy as Reyna ran foward dragging her arm. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" she said silently as her right hand engulfed itself with a rare, dark lighting. Then she jumped towards the DarkStar Ball, causing her to be engulfed by it. "RAVEN!" Starfire shouted as Robin and the others watched in horror.
"As always Reyna, you are pathetic!" Recca said smiling big. Suddenly, her smile disappeared as she saw Reyna appeared through the DarkStar Ball. "IT CAN'T BE!" Recca shouted. "Thanks for the help!" Reyna shouted escaping from the ball, "I needed the energy boost! Now, here's my technique!" Reyna, barely up in the air still, thrusted the dark lighting into Recca's gut. "ONE HUNDRED CRESTS!"
Recca was thrown back by the explosion, making a huge crater from where she fell. Although exhausted, Reyna walked up to her noticing that she was completely unconcious. Knowing now, not to waste time, she did a few hand signs saying in a rugged voice, "You're going back to where you belong! Spell of the Sages: Mind Fusion!" Being surrounded by a powerful cylinder, Reyna and Recca fused back together to make Raven again.
Raven fell back down to earth as Beast Boy caught her. She opened eyes slowly as she said, "Wow! It's my favorite, green dude!" "Is that Reyna or Recca talking?" the changeling replied as she chuckled a little.
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Back at Titans Tower...
As the others began to settle down, Cyborg replied, "So Raven, did you figure out why Recca separated from you?"
"I think so," Raven said sitting down at the couch, "I was so busy training to become a good sage, I guess Recca took advatage of that and busted out." "Well, at least there's only one Raven and not two!" Beast Boy replied, "For a minute there, I was about to be cross-eyed!"
"I guess I don't have to take my training seriously all the time!" Raven said, "I need to learn how to chill out for at least a little bit!" "I guess that would be Reyna talking right there!" Starfire replied. "Well, one thing's for sure, we're glad to have the old Raven back!" Robin said.
"True that, Robin!" Raven said, "True that!"
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-Next Episode-
Raven: What the Heck is Cyborg doing?
Starfire: This new girl, after he and I went to the mall! He's attracted to her!
Raven: Why are you so worried? You're going out with Robin!
Starfire: It's not that I don't trust her! But, I've got to get him away from playing that gamestation! And you're gona help me!
"MATCHMAKING, INC."
Raven: What! Why are you bringing me into this? I don't do Match-Making!