The End: Chapter 2
Disclaimer: DC COMICS owns "Teen Titans." I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.
Multi-colored light spilled onto her face from the stained glass window high above. The window was one of the most beautiful things Starfire had ever seen. There was no real design. No figure had been made, no symbol crafted. Instead, colors were spread in all different shapes and sizes, guided only by the moment of divinity the artisan had achieved.
The beauty of the window was the first thing Starfire saw when she drifted back into consciousness. She then felt a trembling hand on her forehead and another on her chest. Her hearing returned last, and brought to her the sound of Raven quietly crying. She turned her eyes, her body barely able to move, to find the other young woman kneeling next to her, head bowed and tears dripping from her cheeks.
"Raven?" Her voice was soft, but it made Raven's bowed head snap up. "Dearest Raven, please, forgive me. I could not defeat him." She lifted her arm up, holding out a hand toward Raven. Raven took her hand and held it tight, tears shining in her eyes.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry for," she murmured. "All of this is my fault." She bowed her head once more, and her tears fell on Starfire's fingers.
"You cannot be blamed for this," Starfire replied. "You did not wish for this to happen."
"But it's happening because of me." Starfire managed to tear her gaze away from the pain on Raven's face and saw the glowing red symbol on her wrist.
"You are injured!" she gasped. She sat up slowly and reached out with her free hand.
"No!" Raven jerked away from her, cloak swinging aside to show the marks on her upper arms. She saw the shock on Starfire's face and hid herself under the cloak, moving further into the shadows. "Please, don't touch them."
"They pain you?" Starfire asked.
"They're evil," Raven said. "I don't want you to touch them." She tried to move even further away, but Starfire took hold of her shoulders and pulled her back into the light.
"What are they?" she asked. Raven did not answer for a time, wishing that the sweetness of Starfire's embrace could banish the lingering ache of the marks on her body. It could not, but it gave her enough strength to speak.
"Parts of a spell," she whispered. "It's supposed to bring something to our world." She closed her burning, tired eyes. "A prophecy was foretold when I was born, and…and I was nearly killed because of it. But I'm still alive. And now the prophecy is coming true."
Before Starfire could answer, the church suddenly shook, time-frozen dust unable to fall from the rafters above. At the fore of the building, above the magically barred doors, fire danced in the windows. Raven tried to stand, but Starfire held her where she was.
"I do not want you to leave," Starfire said.
"I won't let him hurt you again," Raven replied. "I have to do this alone." She began to turn away, but Starfire's soft hands cupped her cheeks. Their eyes met and stayed with each other for a long, quiet moment. Raven would never know whose fear she felt in that moment, seeing tears in Starfire's eyes through the tears in hers.
"Return to me." Starfire's voice was as gentle as her touch, but it was steady and strong. "No matter what happens, return to me."
"But what if I can't?" Raven's whisper was choked with tears. Starfire smiled and wiped away the tears with her thumbs.
"Then I will find you," she said. "That is my promise." The church shook again, harder. Starfire kissed Raven's forehead and hugged her before letting her go. Raven took her hand and held it to her lips, drawing strength from the promise. She let go and pulled the hood of her cloak over her head. Her eyes shone with light as well as tears, and she vanished into the shadows.
----------
He was there the moment she emerged from the shadows. He stood with his arms at his sides, and he spared a glance at the church behind her.
"Noble," he murmured. "You realize that she can do nothing but be hurt, and so you come here alone because you know I only want you."
"Who brought you back?" Raven demanded. "Who gave you those powers? Why are you here?"
"Dear girl, you know exactly who did all of that," Slade replied. "As for why, I am here to deliver a message. And I will deliver it, whether you want me to or not." His hand shot out, but Raven moved faster. She rose into the air, flying away from him. When she looked over her shoulder, her eyes widened in shock. Slade was flying close behind her, a red aura surrounding him.
She looked forward, gasping at the wall of flames that appeared before her. There was no way to avoid the fire, and so she dove into it. Shadows enveloped her and carried her through the fire unharmed. She increased her speed, not looking back to see the fire parting for Slade.
Raven flew through alleyways barely large enough for the cats that were frozen scurrying through them. She broke plate glass windows and made the shards hang in the air behind her. She ripped pieces of the street up and threw them backwards without looking. She flew fast enough to make her cheeks sting from the wind.
It was all useless. Slade followed her through the alleyways, the walls of the buildings burning away when the red aura touched them. He flew through the shards, leaving behind blobs of molten glass that fell to the ground. He destroyed the chunks of gravel and concrete with fireballs. He flew faster than she did, drawing closer and closer.
A blast of fire swooped up from under her and carried her far into the sky. When it faded, Slade's foot slammed into her back and knocked her down. She landed hard atop the highest tower in Black City, and Slade landed a few feet away. Raven rose to her feet and turned, starting to run. His hand shot out again.
"You cannot run from what you are!" The fire danced on her skin from his touch, and he ripped her cloak away as she screamed. Pain wrote the new symbols on her back clearly in her mind, and she dropped to her knees. Breath coming in rapid, painful bursts, Raven felt the magic holding the world at a standstill flicker and fade. The sounds of the city far below were drowned out by the heartbeat pounding in her ears. The light of the moon high above was blindingly brilliant.
"Get away from me," Raven hissed. "Stop." Slade chuckled.
"Stop?" he asked. "There is no stopping this, dear girl. You know that. You have known about this for all your life. No matter where you go—no matter who you run to—no matter how much you squirm—you cannot escape your destiny."
"Shut up." He laughed at her again, and her teeth ground together at the sound.
"Now, now. It's better to accept your fate. Who knows? Maybe you'll be allowed to live when it's all over." She was on her feet and charging him before he finished speaking. Shadows outlined her body, claws made of darkness extending from her curled fingers.
"I said shut up!" As her hand swung at his head, he caught her by the wrist and held it tight. She tried again with her other hand, only to have its wrist captured in an equally tight grip. Fire surged into her before she had a chance to struggle.
The pain started at her feet and traveled up her legs. Her mouth opened in a silent scream as it pooled in her stomach and raced down her arms. Her clothes tore apart, leaving only a ragged top and bottom that revealed the glowing symbols. Red light flooded from her eyes as the pain filled her head. Through the light, she could see the moon move slowly in the sky, changing to the sun. It became the moon again, and then the sun.
The world brightened and darkened as days and nights passed in seconds. Raven clenched her eyes shut, distantly feeling her hair growing and falling against her bare back and shoulders. Slade let her go only when the same mark on his forehead glimmered brightly on hers. She collapsed, eyes still closed. When she opened them again, she struggled back to her feet.
Black City lay in ruins, fire dancing all around. The sky was red, the land black. In the streets below, figures that had once been living beings were trapped in stone, frozen forever in their last moments of torment. The Teen Titans were no exception. Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin stood as though locked in combat: punches halfway thrown and battles cries captured by stone.
Starfire—Raven's sweet, soft Starfire—was on her knees, head thrown back in the middle of a scream that echoed impossibly in Raven's ears. The sight of two stone tears on her face brought renewed pain to Raven in the form of her heart breaking.
"No." Slade, standing behind her, took hold of her arms and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
"This is your destiny. You will bring the end of the world." In the distance, she saw four glowing red eyes staring at her, and a cruelly dark laugh rang out.
Raven screamed. Her sight went blank as her scream deafened her. Unable to take any more of the world, she fainted. The vision was broken without her conscious mind to feed from, leaving Slade holding her under the bright moon. The marks faded away, hiding just under her skin.
"Soon," Slade murmured. "Soon." He let go of her, and she fell limply from the top of the tower. "Happy birthday."
----------
Starfire saw Raven begin to fall. It was nothing to catch her, but Starfire nearly fell from the sky at the sight of the young woman in her arms. The fact that the marks that had frightened Raven so terribly were gone gave Starfire some happiness, but her shredded clothes and long hair took that happiness and replaced it with confusion and worry.
"Raven," she said. "Please, Raven, open your eyes. Raven!" Her dark eyes opened slowly, and Starfire smiled in relief. "I have found you, dear one." Raven closed her eyes and pressed her face against Starfire's shoulder. Starfire started toward Titan's Tower, heart aching with every soft sob she heard.
----------
She looked at her reflection in the mirror. It was the same as the day before. Her hair was back to the style it had been in for years, scissors stored away in a drawer and the cut locks in a wastebasket. A new set of clothes completed the image that claimed she was Raven, and nothing more. She turned away, hating what she saw.
There was nothing she wanted to do less than leave her room. She wanted to hide away in the darkest corner she could find and never let the light tempt her again. Despite that, she walked out of her room and headed for Ops. She had promised to return to Starfire, no matter what, and she would not break that promise.
Ops was dark, as it had been that morning. Raven strode inside warily, but did not jump when the door hissed shut and the lights flashed on. Starfire pulled her into a gentle hug. Confetti was tossed into the air, and Beast Boy blew on his noisemaker. Cyborg stood grinning with his cake in his hands. Robin smiled cheerfully. The tables were laden with food, the streamers and balloons hung on the walls, and the banner with her name on it was strung from the ceiling.
"We know you said you didn't want a party," Cyborg said. "But we're havin' one anyway."
"You deserve one," Robin said.
"Yeah!" Beast Boy said. "Even if you don't like parties, we're celebrating, because we're glad you were born!" He blew on his noisemaker and gave her a hopeful smile. For a moment, nothing happened. Then, Raven returned Starfire's hug and smiled.
"Don't we need ice cream?" she asked wryly. Beast Boy nodded, his eyes bright and his grin brighter.
"Ice cream, comin' up!" he shouted, running for the freezer.
"Hey, man, none of that soy stuff!" Cyborg snapped. He put down the cake and charged after the green-furred young man. With a chuckle, Robin followed both of them to quell any arguments. Starfire put her fingers under Raven's chin and made her look up. The pain in Raven's eyes lessened when she saw the warm, loving smile on Starfire's face.
"You can be happy," Starfire murmured. "You live for a reason, dearest Raven. I do not know the reason, but that does not keep me from caring for you." She let out a soft, happy laugh. "I cannot ask for more than you, because I love you." At those words, a swell of joy nearly knocked Raven off her feet. She smiled and kissed Starfire, once again able to enjoy the warmth that the taller young woman radiated.
----------
The party went long into the night, stopping only when the sun rose. At the glimmering of morning's first light, the heroes said weary partings and went to their rooms to sleep. Starfire fell asleep easily, a smile still pulling at her lips. In her arms, Raven stayed awake.
She stared at her arms—stared at the dully glowing red symbols carved on them. They no longer burned, but made something inside of her freeze over with ice. With gentle warmth holding her body and hard ice freezing her soul, Raven remained awake, staring at the marks.
—to be continued—