Teen Titans
Fragile Dreams

A/N I think that between this chapter and the last two, it's important to make this very, VERY clear, so hopefully I won't need to say it again:

I AM NOT BASHING CYBORG OR BEASTBOY. Everything I've written derogatory about either of them has either come from an extremely cynical Raven who doesn't trust the team yet, or a REALLY frustrated and stressed Robin as he tries to turn a group of independent superheroes into a team. Of course Robin's going to be pissed at Cy and BB for acting dumb. Everything I've said reflects the current opinion of the titans that this story is written from the perspective of, and I'm sure that maybe excluding star, the other titans are having similar thoughts. Also, as anyone who has seen the show knows, THESE OPINIONS CHANGE RADICALLY. So yeah, I'm not bashing them.

Disclaimer - Think about it. If I owned the Teen Titans, I wouldn't need to be rewriting the show, now would I? I also don't own Garden of Eva, though I do tip my hat to it here.

Fragile Dreams Chapter 3 - Divide and Conquer
With the exception of that unpleasantness with Starfire's sister, the last month had seen a relatively quiet Bloodhaven. Only petty criminals threatened the city recently, and after dealing with the H.I.V.E. students they were a joke. Despite the lull in the action, the Titans were being kept plenty busy by Robin as he kept chipping away at the gargantuan task of turning 5 young heroes into Titans, in fact rather than just in name. Robin had declared a day off from the nonstop training today, and for a blue-cloaked empath it didn't come a moment too soon.

Raven was certain that if someone surprised her, that someone would be losing a head. She hadn't been able to meditate to her satisfaction for weeks now, and it took every ounce of her willpower and training to keep her deadly emotions in check. 'Finally,' she thought as she sat on her bed, 'A chance to really meditate.' Normally, Karma would have allowed the poor girl a chance to do just that. Unfortunately, Karma must have also been taking the day off because Irony was on duty... and Irony must not like half-demons very much. Barely half an hour into her meditation, the Titan's alarm went off. Raven could have cried with frustration... instead she just sighed. 'Off to save the world one petty criminal at a time.'

The alarm was coming from the prison. When the Titans arrived, Raven's first clue that this was no simple crime was the fifteen-foot tall hole in the prison gate. She felt her eyes go white as her mind prepared to project her soul-self anywhere on demand. The titans quickly spread out and searched... they didn't need to say a word. They were actually like a real team... incredibly different from just one short month ago.

It didn't take long for the Titans to find the source of the trouble... 15 foot tall stone golems were hard to miss. He had a tank in his hands, holding a sleeping human. "Cinderblock," Robin announced, "Strong and durable, but none-too-bright. Hit him fast, hit him hard."

Starbolts and sonic blasts burst against stone as the team followed Robin's orders, but Cinderblock shrugged off the punishing blows without any visible effect. BB turned into a rhino and rammed him a few feet back, but then the giant caught him with a single hand, lifted him off the ground, and threw him backwards into a charging Robin like a rag doll. Robin leaped over the shape shifter and threw a bomb at Cinderblock's face and it exploded just as Raven ripped up the ground beneath him.

Cinderblock staggered under the twin attack and finally fell to the ground. Robin and Cyborg started running down the hall towards the downed Cinderblock in a move they had been practicing recently. As they both started to run up the wall, Raven noticed that they were racing each other, each trying to beat the other to the convergence point. 'Uh oh...' she thought, just it time to watch their feet catch on each other. They fell like stones.

Cinderblock took the opportunity to take the prisoner and escape, breaking the electric conduit on the wall as he went. A shrill alarm sounded, and all the cell doors opened. "Wonderful," Raven said, "just what we needed. Now, besides a big hunk of rock, we have a bunch of peons to worry about as well."

Shooting one last angry glare at Cyborg as if blaming him for the whole mess, Robin straightened. Titans, we'll worry about Cinderblock later. Stop those convicts!" Raven nodded, and sunk into the floor.

The main entrance from the Bloodhaven prison was open, urging a mass of convicts towards it. Freedom was close enough to touch, it was staring them in the face and welcoming them with open arms... but it was not to be. Mere steps from the doors, they all turned black and slammed shut.

As the inmates stared on in confusion, Raven walked in right through the door, her eyes glowing white and hands filled with black halos. Her lavender hair was blown back in a non-existent wind as the mob of prisoners stared at the demoness. Raven stared back, never twitching from her ready position. "I think you should all go back to your cells now." The perfectly calm and self-assured tone of voice she used had its desired effect: This mob of hardened criminals was terrified of a 15-year-old girl. They obeyed.

Later that night, after finally managing to meditate, Raven reflected on the day. She decided it couldn't have gone much worse. Not only did the break out by Cinderblock work out, but also Cinderblock was still at large. As if that wasn't enough to ruin the Titan's real debut, Cyborg had quit to complete the debacle. Now it didn't even look like she was going to have a team any longer. 'I hate Earth,' she thought.

She needed tea.

'I'm losing control of my team.'

Half of Robin wanted to laugh at referring to the Teen Titans as a real team, but the other half refused to be distracted by sarcasm. 'Loyalty... it all comes down to loyalty.'

Robin was sitting in the living room; pretty sure he was the only one still awake. The TV was on, but Robin had his eyes closed and had it muted. BB had stuck with the boy wonder for now, but Robin thought he'd probably prefer Cy to be in charge. Starfire was on his side, no doubt about it. Raven was the wildcard.

No one really knew anything about the reclusive empath. Her opinions, background, habits, and feelings were all shrouded in darkness, along with her loyalties. The more he thought about it, the more he realized he really knew nothing about the shadowy girl. He had decided that his mentor had been right, 'How could I have doubted... he's always right,' and she was reliable, but that was as far as his knowledge went. The dark Titan obviously had an incredible amount of power hidden within her slight build, but no one knew anything about her. The less he realized he that he knew, the less comfortable with the he became.

Robin's thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and Raven walked into the room. 'So ask her.'

'Easier said than done.' Another little voice in his head argued. Whatever. Robin walked up to where Raven was making tea. "Uh, Raven? Can we talk?"

"About?" Raven asked, raising an eyebrow. Robin looked like he was having a hard time asking whatever he wanted, so she turned away after a few seconds. She intended to brush him off like she had so many other attempts to talk to her, but to her own surprise she was talking again. "Spit it out boy wonder!"

"Who do you want as leader?" He spat out in a rush.

Too fast in fact, and Raven had to pause while she translated the slur of sounds into a coherent sentence. Once she figured out what he was asking, she took a longer pause. 'Oh, so it's my loyalty he wants.'

This was usually just the type of question she avoided answering, but she considered it seriously, surprising herself again. The final and largest surprise was that the answer was already obvious to her, and she was clueless why.

"I'm with you, Robin." Robin gave her a smile, and all hell broke loose. This was a real, honest smile; unlike the cocky grins and smirks he shared with everyone else. Her emotions went nuts, and she was too slow to suppress them. Boom! The teakettle went flying across the room. She blushed in embarrassment and a frying pan joined the kettle. "I need to meditate." She explained quickly and ran out, leaving a confused but newly inspired Robin behind her.

Two days later, Raven still didn't know why she had made that choice. It had turned out for the best, though - Cyborg had captured Cinderblock while the rest of the Titans handled Plasmus, and he rejoined the Titans. Everything seemed to be for the best.

Except... Raven had never really been loyal to anything but herself before. Why now? She owed nothing to Robin, and at the time it seemed like the Titans would dissolve, so he didn't even have a team to offer her anymore. So why had her loyalty to him been so damn clear to her? The thought haunted her for hours before she managed to find sleep.

End Chapter 3
Next time on Fragile Dreams:

-A storm rolls in, and two troublesome brothers emerge.
-Raven receives a rude awakening from a world she hoped couldn't follow.
-Slade makes his latest move against the Titans.

Next Episode - Forces of Nature