Chapter 2
The next morning Robin found Raven meditating on the roof of the Tower.
"Mathias should be moved to an empty room." Raven said, not turning toward her leader.
"Why not just leave him in the med lab?"
"His mind might be troubled as he regains consciousness," Raven replied, standing and settling her cloak around her. "the less he has to throw around the room, the better."
"I see your point." Robin agreed. "Does he still need the monitors attached to him?"
"Only as a precaution, to tell when he's going to come out of his healing trance." Raven replied, as she turned to watch the sun start peeking above the horizon.
The two went downstairs, after watching the sunrise, and Cyborg helped Robin move Mathias into an empty room, with the monitor firmly bolted to the floor.
"Friend Raven, I expect you are glad to have someone here, from your home." Starfire said .
"We're not sure he's from Azar Star." Robin said softly.
"But he knows the language." Starfire insisted.
Raven smiled softly into her mug of herbal tea. 'How could Robin be so insightful last night, and not figure that out?' she thought to herself. She got up, to put her now empty mug in the sink, but swayed on her feet, and nearly fell over.
"Friend Raven what is the matter!" Starfire asked anxiously, as she steadied her friend.
"Not sure," Raven said slowly, putting her mug on the table, with a shaky hand. "it's like nothing I've felt before. Give me a moment to sort it out."
The four other Titans watched in concern, as Raven took a few steadying breaths, then her face relaxed into it's blank look, that it took on when she meditated.
"It's Mathias," she said at last. "even in a healing trance, his mind is very active, and powerful. I'm just not used to having my mental barriers up that strong." she explained.
"Does he pose a danger to you?" Robin asked.
"I don't think so" Raven replied. "it's just that his drive, to find me, borders on obsessive."
"Which is normal, seeing as it was the thing that kept him going until he found you," Cyborg put in. "he's still in his trance, and brain scan reading haven't changed much since he was hooked up." he added, looking at a small screen, that flipped up from his forearm.
"So that dude's mind, is somehow linked to yours Rave?" Beast Boy asked, sounding as though he thought the idea was gross.
Raven glared at the green Titan, then stood back up. "I'm going up to my room to, meditate some more." she announced, then simply vanished.
"Man I hate when she does that!" Cyborg said. "Why can't she simply walk out of a room like everyone else?"
"Because she's Raven and that's how she does it." Robin replied.
"Do you think she's in danger Robin?" Star asked, after Beast Boy and Cyborg had moved into the living room, and began playing a game.
Robin looked over at the young Tamaranean, and saw the open concern on her face.
"I'm not sure Star," he admitted taking her hand. "what bothers me more, is that I don't think Raven is sure either." he added.
Raven had indeed gone to her room, but not to meditate. She carefully formed a circle, with candles, on her floor, and sat in the center, concentrating on the words to the spell she was chanting. After a few moments, a ghost like form, of a gray haired, older man in robes, appeared before her.
"Why do you summon me, Daughter of Arella?" the man asked.
"Mathias Alzor is here on earth," Raven replied. "he was very near death, and alone, when he found me."
"That is dire news indeed," the apparition said. "will he recover?"
"Yes. He is in a healing trance, as we speak"
"Nothing more can be said of him in this method," the man said quickly, and in a tone that would brook no argument, or debate. "he will pass on to you all that you need to know, when he awakes." he said, then raised both his arms. "May the protection of Azar shield you." he added, then vanished.
The rest of the day went normally, and quietly for the Titans, with no change in their visitors condition.
It wasn't until right before noon, the next day, that anything happened.
"Trouble!" Robin shouted, as the alarm went off. "Cinderblock is loose again."
"Where?" Beast Boy asked.
"Near the warehouse district." Cyborg replied, putting the city map up on the big monitor.
"Titans go!" Robin shouted, and the Tower cleared.
A short time later Robin, on his R-cycle, and the others in the T-car, arrive at the scene.
Cinderblock has destroyed several warehouses, and is now heading toward a fuel tank farm.
"Titans go!" Robin yelled again, as Cinderblock picked up a car, and heaved it toward the tanks.
"Azarath, Metrion Zynthos!" Raven chanted, and the car in flight was enveloped in her power, and sent hurtling back at Cinderblock.
The impact staggered the juggernaut, and Beast Boy took advantage of his being off balance, by changing into a T-rex, and sweeping Cinderblocks feet out from under him, with his tail.
"Way at go BB!" Cyborg yelled in encouragement, as the ground shook with the impact of Cinderblocks fall.
"Now to keep him there." Raven muttered, as she saw a pile of girders not far away. Chanting again, she waved her hands in their direction, and they lifted up, and started forming restraints, that dug into the ground and arched over Cinderblock.
Suddenly, Raven broke off her chant, and started falling to the ground.
"Raven!" Robin, and Cyborg shouted in alarm, as they saw their friend fall.
"Dude!" Beast Boy screamed, as he saw Cinderblock swing his unrestrained hand toward the falling Titan.
"AAArrrrraahhhh!" Came Starfire's battle cry, as she built a large star bolt between her hands, and launched it.
Just as a green pterodactyl latched onto Raven's falling form, the star bolt hit Cinderblocks arm, and drove it back to the ground.
"You will NOT harm my friends!" the flame haired Titan shouted at Cinderblock's now unconscious form.
"Wha…. What happened?" Raven asked, as she suddenly found herself on the ground, looking up at four very worried faces.
"If I didn't know you any better, I'd say you fainted." Robin replied, as he knelt at her side.
"Can you stand?" Cyborg asked, as he knelt on the other side, supporting her head and shoulders, in his huge arm.
"Yeah, I think so." she said with obvious embarrassment, then rose to her feet.
"Are you injured friend Raven?"
"No Starfire, I'm alright."
"Then what happened up there?" Robin asked "Was it Mathias again?"
"Maybe." Cyborg said, drawing looks from his team mates. "His neural scan went through the roof about the time Rae fell." he added, looking at the screen in his forearm
Robin stood up, and even without her empathic powers, the grim look on his face told Raven what he was about to say.
"Sorry about this Raven, but you're to stand down until he wakes up completely."
"I'm fine." Raven insisted, her voice firm.
"And what would have happened if there had been someone else distracting Star, or Beast Boy!" Robin shot back equally firmly. "Cinderblocks punch would have, literally, hit you out of the state, if it didn't kill you!"
"He's right Rae," Cyborg said softly. "with Mathias messing with your head, you aren't able to fight consistently."
"Whoah!" Beast Boy gasped, when he noticed a few rocks, covered with black power rattling, on the ground.
"Fine!" Raven spat angrily, then changed into the black, raven shadow of her soul self, which headed back to the Tower.
"She knows you're right Robin." Starfire said, seeing the anguished look on his face.
"I've got to think of the team," he muttered. "and she's part of it. Taking her out of action is for her own good."
"Like Star said, she knows Rob," Cyborg said putting his hand on the Boy Wonder's shoulder in support. "I'm just glad I'm not the one who had to tell her."
The Titans waited around long enough for the authorities to winch Cinderblock onto a flatbed truck, and take him back to prison, then headed back to the Tower.
Robin was glad to be on his R-cycle, as it gave him some time alone to go over his decision, to take Raven out of the action. By the time he had gotten back to the Tower, he had gotten rid of any doubt he had that it was the right move.
"Raven." Robin called in to the intercom system at the Tower.
"She's probably meditating, to calm herself back down." Cyborg suggested when no reply came.
Robin nodded.
"You're probably right," he agreed. "besides she probably doesn't want to talk to me right now anyway," he added. "I'm going to check in on our guest." he announced.
Robin opened the door to the room that Mathias was being kept in, and was shocked to see Raven standing beside the bed. He noticed that her arms were outstretched and she was chanting.
"Mathias kiran Azar hespano verity noir." Raven said, her voice firm.
Without thinking, Robin spoke Raven's name, breaking her concentration
"Wicasta hepala!" Mathias shouted, and there was a bright red flash.
Robin watched, as Raven was flung backward. The only thing that kept her from slamming into the wall, was that Robin happened to be in the way
Robin shook his head to clear it, then looked down at the limp figure in his lap. He was shocked to see what looked like red worms of power, crawling all over Raven's body, then slowly sink into her.
"Raven." he said shaking her gently.
Raven groaned, which caused Robin to sigh with relief, until she opened her eyes.
Instead of the amethyst colored iris surrounding her pupils, all Robin saw was streaks of red energy moving across them. Quickly pulling out his communicator, he pushed the one button on it, that he never thought he would ever use. Suddenly the alarm went off, in response to his distress beacon.
Knowing that help would be on the way, he tried to revive Raven again.
"Come on Rae wake up." he insisted anxiously. Suddenly his attention was drawn to the monitoring equipment, beside Mathias' bed as, with a scream of tortured metal, it sheared free from the bolts holding it to the floor, and hurtled in their direction.
"Somebody!" Robin shouted, hoping to spur on his team mates, as he realized that, even with his quick reflexes, he couldn't get out of the way of the on coming projectile, especially not with Raven to move as well.
"NO!" came a shout, that accompanied a bright green flash.
Starfire's star bolt was aimed true, and the monitor all but disintegrated.
Robin sighed with relief, as he lowered his cape, after what little pieces of the machine rained down on them.
Suddenly Raven let out a scream that made Robin's skin crawl.
"Break his concentration!" he shouted to the others. "He's lashing out, and killing her!"
"Sorry for this friend of Raven." Star said, then sent a star bolt at the figure on the bed.
The instant before it hit, a red screen appeared, and reflected the bolt right back at the Tamaranean princess, knocking her back against the wall.
"That was most unsuccessful." she groaned where she lay, next to Robin and Raven.
"Raven fight it." Robin urged, not knowing if she could hear him or not.
Beast Boy was next, as he changed into an elephant. He put the end of his trunk right next to Mathias' head and trumpeted loudly.
Suddenly Robin heard words in his head. He didn't understand them, but he recognized the 'voice' as Raven's. "Mathias kiran Azar!' he shouted. "Venashu tengano Raven kiran Azar!"
Cyborg was about to shoot Mathias with his sonic cannon, but he saw that Robin's shout had an affect, as his eyes snapped open.
"Mathias kiran Azar! Venashu tengano Raven kiran Azar!" Robin repeated, as Raven let out another, painful, scream.
"Zanthanos!" Mathias yelled, his voice seeming to echo. Instantly, a red, bird like, shape rose from raven's chest, and some from Robin's, then went over to enter Mathias's.
Robin quickly felt for a pulse, as he felt Raven go limp in his arms, and he sighed in relief when he found it.
"He's asleep again." Beast Boy announced looking down at Mathias.
"All indications on Rae is that she's simply asleep too." Cyborg said, using the medical scanner built into his arm.
"Let get her to the med lab, just in case." Robin said, as he moved his arms, so Cyborg could lift her from his lap.
"You should be checked as well." Star said to him, as he stood up on slightly shaky legs.
"Yeah, some of that red energy came out of you too." Beast Boy said.
"How did you know what to say?" Cyborg asked Robin, as he patched him into the diagnostic equipment.
"It was like I was hearing Raven's voice in my head," the Boy Wonder replied. "don't ask me what I said, or even to repeat it though" he added.
"Must have been her empathic powers, somehow working backwards," Cyborg said. "and with her being so close to you, it worked."