HIVE MIND
Part One
A/N
⁰flashbacks⁰
It was four o'clock in the morning and Cyborg was upset. His rejuvenator was malfunctioning, an artifact from the HIVE attack a few months ago. More and more he was finding his circuitry was malfunctioning, whether from being out of date or misconfiguration, Cyborg didn't care. His parts were failing him and it pained him to think that maybe an upgrade was out of his capabilities. Out of mine… but not hers.
He knew where she'd be, knowing that she'd be awake. As he strode confidently down the corridors, he tried to think of what he was going to say to her. More and more they had been talking less and less and Cyborg knew without a doubt that it was totally his doing. He hadn't gone out of his way to avoid her, but ignoring her or passing her attention to something else became a second nature. He hated himself for doing it, but it was so much easier than accepting the consequences of his actions.
He wasn't the kind of man who could hurt someone so easy. He knew that. He also knew the reason why he hadn't hurt Celine was because she was too strong to be broken.
Three days ago, Celine and Bumble Bee received orders to return to the AGU. Their presence with the Titans was no longer deemed absolutely necessary. Their return was requested immediately. That night they had packed up, shuffling their things to fit into Celine's jeep. Cyborg was both sad and happy to see her go: sad because even in the confusion she brought to his current life, he loved her and she loved him… his happiness was wrapped up in that sadness.
Cyborg realized that he had never officially broken up with Celine. It was his dirty habit. It was fear; maybe no one would love him, certainly not the way Celine had. Lust was possible; Sarasim was proof enough of that. But long term, dirt under the finger nails, until their bones collapsed love may not have been his cards. It wasn't because he was partly machine, it was because down every wrong way, every bad decision, he refused to step back, because whatever was behind him was behind him and he had decided never to go where he had been before… and he had been in love.
Celine had taken her boots off and her jacket. The former she had pushed under the table, the later she had draped over Beast Boy. Celine shook her head at the younger boy. He had bet he could stay up as late as she could, if he got the same three hours of sleep she did. She had taken the bet, knowing very well he'd crash and burn in hours. Beast Boy had lasted until one-thirty before he fell over.
It saddened her to think that she almost had to leave the Titans behind. It was by some stroke of a miracle that her network had picked up activity that could be linked to Brother Blood and that the AGU had extended her stay, though not Bumble Bee's, and allowed her to remain with the Titans. Each of the Titans, from Starfire to Raven to Beast Boy to Terra had left a little mark in her heart; she knew that mark would become a tear if she was ever forced to leave their side.
"What's he doing there?" Cyborg whispered.
"He thought he could stay up as late as I could. And he was wrong… It's very late. Why are you still up?"
"Why are you?"
"I'm still following the leads on Blood. I went over your records for your encounter with him… they're rather incomplete."
"I said everything there was to say."
Celine decided not to push the issue. They each had a different reason for pursuing Brother Blood. Their common interest should have been pushing them to work closer together, but Celine had the distinct impression that it was doing the exact opposite. It was too late in the night to argue. Celine yawned.
"You should take a page from BB's book and go to bed." Cyborg said.
"I got my three hours. I should be fine."
"You know that's still weird." Cyborg leaned against her console.
"Running on three hours isn't so unusual. Some of history's greatest minds treated sleep this way." Celine replied.
"So that puts you in the company of greatness?"
Celine wasn't going to be baited. "Since when were you so concerned in my sleeping habits? I was the same way when we were kids."
When they were kids, Celine was curious. Celine was good with her hands; Celine could not leave a book unread. She and Cyborg were the accelerated minds of Brock County. When they were children, Cyborg held her if she ever cried. But Celine didn't cry anymore. Why does she need me? Why did we ever need each other? Why do I hold onto her, when it would be so much less painful to let her go?
But sometimes when he looked in her eyes, when his hand touched hers, he could remember all the times when he was a man: full blooded, warm to the touch. He had adjusted to his condition and had enjoyed what he was; what he could do for others… but only if he could pretend that that was all there was to him: that Cyborg was his only state, that Victor Stone was someone that could be remembered fondly, but never called upon, never called out of his memory.
Celine turned back to her output readings, reviewing materials that he knew she had read at least twice already. He didn't hesitate.
"Can you update me?"
Celine didn't answer.
"My system… I'm having a problem with upkeep… the last HIVE attack…"
"No."
"You won't update me?"
"No." Celine bit out.
"Since when can't you do anything?"
"It's not a can't… I won't treat you like a machine. You aren't my playground. You're not a toy and our relationship is not a game…" Cyborg's blue eye met hers fiercely. "What is this? Do you want to drive in a death nail? You can be honest with me Vic… We're falling apart and its just as much you pushing as me letting you. For years you've been pushing and I don't know why. Why is the idea of being with me so frightening?"
"Celine… I need to tell you the truth."
To their right, Beast Boy shot up off the couch "No! I won't eat green eggs and ham! I'm a vegetarian!" His eyes shuttered back closed and he was asleep once again, still in an upright position. Cyborg's eyes shifted between Beast Boy and Celine, knowing she was just as confused by what they had just seen as he was. Cyborg sighed. He walked over to the snoring Titan and hefted him to his shoulder.
"Alright BB, your bed is waiting." Cyborg turned his back to Celine. "You should get rest too… we'll talk tomorrow."
Celine nodded and watched Cyborg carryout Beast Boy before turning back to her readouts.
…
⁰Sakura clenched her bedrobe closed. In the soft flickering of the candle light beside her bed she knew she had seen movement. It had been quick, it had been slight, but it had been there.
"I know you're there… please come out." The candle flame whipped and broke, laying shadows across the walls. "This is the third time in three days… Don't hide… the shadows don't suit you. I can tell."
The handicapped girl sat up propped against several stiff squared pillows, prayer beads wedged between each of them. Her black hair fell free over her shoulders as she watched. He stepped out of the shadows smoothly, as if he had been ready the whole time, just waiting for his introduction.
"You aren't one of the monks are you?" Sakura asked.
The platinum blond male shook his head in the negative. He stepped closer, his white robes shimmered in the candle light, not a hint of shadow crossed his handsome face; the light was drawn to him. Sakura wondered how he had hid in the shadow when the light bent to find him.
"Who are you?" Sakura asked.
"I am the Gabriel¹… you may call me Jericho²."
"Jericho… why have you been watching me?"
The Gabriel stepped closer to the girl, staying well out of her reach. Sakura turned her head to observe him. It was obvious he didn't intend to harm her, but that didn't suggest that she wasn't in danger.
"The temple alone does not have the ability to heal your body. Under just the might of the temple, you would wilt and fade away."
Sakura swallowed hard.
"But you will not wilt nor fade."
"What do you mean? How do you know what I can do and what will become of me?"
"I have seen many things; the great hopes of the world and still the greater tragedies. All the wars that will be borne, the demons that will sire hate and destruction… for generations, warriors have stepped forward in defense of life."
"Like you?"
Jericho nodded. "I have the ability to save thousands of lives by wiping my hands across the land or over the oceans… I have the power to defend virtuous fighters and to strike down the wicked… but I do not have the power to fight forever."
"Are you dying?"
"No… I will never die… But I will also never be everywhere I need to be to stop the terrible things that are coming… the winds are changing Sakura."
It didn't occur to Sakura that Jericho should know her name. She looked the angelic creature in his pale, gently slanting eyes. He regarded her coolly, no emotion; distress, displeasure, happiness or otherwise. It was like he was reading a script and he was a bad actor.
"When the winds shift to tear the world apart, I alone will not be able to collapse the might of the Great Demon Kings. In my mind's eye, I see any attempts swallowing my life and the lives of thousands behind me."
"That's terrible! Is there nothing that can be done?"
Jericho nodded and stepped closer to Sakura. He extended his hand. Sakura's brown eyes widened as the hand began to glow with a feverish silver power. It was beautiful and terrifying at the same time. "I do not ask you to fight great battles. I do not wish for you to give your life for the good of many, only that you stand beside others who are strong and good. In years to come, lives will be made and twisted in the flow of the inevitable… in the inevitable future… Holy may fall, but in the moments most desperate, life will always triumph if there is something to shelter it… can you guard life if I give yours back to you?"
"Why me?"
"I can only bestow Holy to those with pure heart or great righteous need…"
Sakura extended her slender hand to Jericho's outstretched one. The silver energy reacted immediately, pouring into her skin, fusing itself with her life force. Sakura's eyes closed on their own accord. She could feel the energy seep into her lungs with each trembling inhale and exhale. Her fingers flexed against her bed sheets, her toes curled and relaxed at her command… for the first time in two years.
Jericho stepped back, the Holy energy no longer concentrated in his hand. "Stay and train your powers. Concentrate your abilities until you can no longer find a higher plateau. Then leave here and find those who can show you the higher path."
"Can't I learn it from you?"
Jericho shook his head. "The things you will need to learn will come from those that you find. Those you choose to align yourself with will determine how powerful you may become."
Sakura pulled her sheets back. With an effort labored from inaction, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. The stone floor was cold beneath her feet; her nerves tingled all the way up to her waist. One step took her close, another step brought her closer. Each slow step she wobbled, but Sakura kept her feet until she stood toe to toe with Jericho.
"I… thank you… I will do my best."
"You will… I can ask no more. Remember that you can only be as strong as those who rely on… be weary in your allegiance and be very careful. I will be of no more assistance to you."
"You've already done more than I could have hoped."
Jericho bowed slightly. Sakura returned the gesture. When her head rose, Jericho was gone. Sakura turned and crawled back into her bed. The candle flickered out, leaving the raven-haired girl cloaked in darkness. Sakura breathed in deeply, the tremble of Holy energy fluttered within her weakly… she'd have to work on that.⁰
…
Raven woke up feeling warm. That warmth started in the pit of her stomach. It ran up through her chest and centered under her ear. The beat, beat heartbeat was beautiful. She could tell by the way her body was raising and falling that she had fallen asleep where she had last laid: on Robin's chest. Raven closed her eyes and breathed in deeply taking in every inch of the moment into her memory.
A hand smoothed the material over her back alerting Raven that Robin was awake as well. She fretted to lift her head, but finally decided that looking into Robin's face matched the thrill of feeling his heartbeat.
"Did you sleep well?" Robin asked, not making a move one way or the other to change their position. That afternoon they had sat talking and continued into the night. When the night lights from a million different stars took over the landscape, Robin had wrapped his arms around Raven and kissed the top of her head. He had fallen asleep before she did. Raven refused to let herself out of his embrace.
Robin laid along the bright yellow couch, on full display to the rest of the tower. They had been dating for a total of thirty three days, it was hardly any anniversary worth remembering, but every day was everyday with Raven and always worth note. The transition from friends to boyfriend and girlfriend had been pleasantly smooth for them, the snags they hit with the other Titans fanned out as best they could hope for. Star wasn't so easily broken and Cyborg had new toys to occupy himself with. Their relationship was no longer an outrage or scandal, it was what it was… and that was good.
The morning light was streaming across their bodies; Robin lifted a hand to shield Raven's eyes. Raven nodded reminding Robin of his question.
"Raven… what do you dream about?" He asked.
Raven laughed. "That's personal." She replied, reaching a hand up to trace the back of her fingers up and down his cheek. Despite her ability to spy into his mind and his gift to interrupt her trains of logic, they had promised themselves that the road to learning about each other would be slow and cautious. They both had their wounds and pride to hide; exposing them to the sunlight would be an inch at a time.
Robin raised his free arm to smooth out the hair on his forehead. "Raven, we're personal."
Raven smiled and rested her head back onto his chest. "I dream about being a mother, that one day I could make something so beautiful as a child…"
"Is that what makes you smile in your sleep?" Raven nodded.
"It's my favorite dream. I'm a girl after all."
"You're a woman." Robin corrected.
"Then that would make you a man… but that means I couldn't call you Boy Blunder anymore."
Robin chuckled. Robin sat up slightly, noticing his sister had come into the room. She looked down; the same way she had looked yesterday and the day before, since Speedy left for his training. The black haired girl dropped gracelessly onto the couch, a rain cloud storming over her head.
"Sakura, you look…" Robin began. Raven sat up, allowing Robin to as well.
"Miserable." Raven stated.
Sakura sighed. The cloud struck lightning and the rain continued to pour. Officially she and Speedy were just friends, but everyone saw how effected Sakura was when Speedy was called to train by the Green Lantern. She'd sulk and pout and trail water wherever she went. Twice there had been enough water for Loberos and Beast Boy to swim in. Aqualad did his best to return the rainwater to the ocean, but the Atlantian could only do so much.
"I think I should go before my boots get soaked." Raven said. She pulled back from Robin, squeezing his hand tenderly. Robin smiled at her gently and watched her splash through the puddle pooling around the couch. It would become an all out moat if something didn't distract Sakura.
Raven walked slowly to her room a slight smile resting on her face. As a child, Raven never had the time or patience to think about happiness, let alone feel it. Constantly she had been bombarded by hisses and ill will, accusations of sabotage and out-and-out hostility. It was hardly conducive to happy thoughts. It surprised her how easily being happy, really happy, had come to her. But it didn't surprise her that it came at a consequence.
Sometimes she'd have to leave the comfort of her friends' embrace, especially that of Robin's, when her control would fluctuate due to the influence of one emotion or another. Sometimes HappinesS danced about in a mad rhythm, taking her heart up and across her chest like some rowdy demon. Sometimes TimiD would shrink her away from Robin's touch, only to have JoY throw her back at him.
But it was HOPE that carried her away most wildly. It was new, it was fragile and it was the one part of Raven that she refused to be harmed. Controlling HOPE wasn't something she feared, it was something she desired. HOPE could turn her about more ways than Robin's smile or touch, especially those smiles and touches that came in response from something she had said or did. She wanted to feel it all the time. She had to coax it out when HOPE refused to stay.
The most fearsome thing about HOPE was when she fled, she left TimiD and DespaiR behind. Raven owned all the spectrum of feelings, HOPE was the one that she loved and feared the most.
Raven stepped into her room and pulled her hair over her shoulder. She had taken to braiding it gently when she went to Nevermore, because she often had to search for all the small and powerful parts of herself and the braid gave her one less thing to think about. Once in a fight with RAGE, it had been wrenched viciously, pulling out a thin lock. The braid wouldn't stop her hair from getting pulled if RAGE saw fit, but it made the pain bearable and Raven could always use it as bait to lure RAGE close so she could lock her away at least until her next visit.
The mirror of AZAR waited for her, the thin magical glass sparkled against the faint globes of light born from her wall. Raven closed her eyes and let the mysterious energy sweep her away into the place deepest inside herself.
As always the first of herselves that she encountered was BravE.
"Can you point me to her?" Raven asked.
BravE nodded, jutting a finger in the general direction of KnowledgE. Raven nodded and walked along the stone bridge to where KnowledgE sat in a fork in the road. She was studying scrolls, her thick glasses falling off her nose. Raven stepped forward and pushed the frames back up KnowledgE's nose, turning the emblem of her character's attention to her.
"I know why you've come." KnowledgE whispered.
Raven nodded. "Will it be difficult?"
KnowledgE shook her head. "No… she is waiting for you to find her. She likes you and she very much likes the time you spend with her… It is only that RAGE follows her like a shadow that she hides so much. I have tried to make her understand and BravE has tried to train her, but she is young still and has much to learn."
"You mean I have much to learn about her." Raven replied, crossing her arms over her chest. Raven observed the short haired character³ before turning her head from side to side, trying to determine if she could locate HOPE without KnowledgE's help. The character pointed a finger to the western fork without looking up from her catalog of scrolls. Raven nodded and walked down the left hand fork, the grey background turning lighter and lighter the further she traveled… until at last it was white.
Raven looked to her right, knowing she had seen something there. She smiled when a slip of gold shuffled under a crumble of stones. Raven stooped down and offered a pale hand to the exit of the stone.
"You can come out HOPE. It's me… Do you want to play?"
HOPE crawled slowly from her cavern; her golden clock shimmered against itself. The little girl stood only to Raven's waist, her long hair fell down her back, pushed back like Raven wore when she was with Robin. HOPE smiled and offered a tiny hand to her older self. Raven took it.
The scenery around them changed. The two girls crouched in a field of Snap Dragons, tying the stems together to make a laurel. The little girl's fingers worked twice as fast, sloppy but delicate in their haste. Raven's nimble fingers circled the gentle flower parts, binding them without any help from her powers.
"I wish you'd stay with me." Raven said to the little girl, not stopping her work, not looking at her either.
HOPE jumped to her feet and laid her laurel on Raven's head. It was an awkward fit but Raven didn't worry about it. HOPE's huge eyes regarded her before her tiny voice opened up. "I can not be your daughter…"
"I know that HOPE. You are a part of me, a part I hold very dear to my heart. I'd wish you'd stay with me so we both could be happy."
"If I stay," HOPE began, sounding more mature than such a small figure should have been able to, "RAGE will follow. RAGE only comes when I do… HappinesS can provide what you desire… what you need."
"HappinesS and JoY are not the same as HOPE." Raven touched the smaller girl's arms.
HOPE nodded. She understood. "One day I'll be big and we can fight off RAGE together. When you don't have to protect me, I'll be by your side just like KnowledgE and BravE."
Raven nodded. Raven placed the laurel she had made on HOPE's head. She and the smaller girl remained amongst the flowers for hours it seemed…
…
Slade's companion regarded him coldly as they watched the energies flow and flex before them.
"Her energies are changing… we must make our move." He said, his voice old and full of malcontent.
"Patience my dear boy, patience." Slade replied, not taking his eye off the colored energy bands dancing across the air.
"I am infinitely older than you." His companion's dark robes rustled as he stepped forward to extend the energies above his hand. The display crumbled and sank into his dark grey skin. Slade turned his head to the side.
"But that is how I address all my subordinates… What makes you any different, Washu⁴?"
Washu stepped forward, emphasizing his slight height advantage. His dark cold eyes bore into Slade's mask, his power flexing and whipping about him. "I have done my part and retrieved my child of AZAR… Now do your part and complete the act."
"Do not worry Washu, when the time is right… I'll send them an engraved invitation… but perhaps you are correct… I should pay them a visit."
End of Part One
A/N
¹ Gabriel: angel
²This is not Jericho Wilson. It's a different Jericho, I used that name for a reason that will become apparent at the end of the story (which is still a while away)
³Only HOPE and RAGE exist in Raven's mind as long haired.
⁴Washu is the third original character I've introduced.
At this point in the story the pairings are: RobxRae, BB+Terra, Cyborg?Celine, Aqualad+Blackfire, Speedy+Sakura