The Raben Project
By
Agent X
The Morose.
A/N: Last half of Terra. I did wonder why exactly Raven was up there. I mean, Robin is the only one they show affecting the course in any way.
An extra big thanks to my beta DrewMay for putting up with me and for all the advice. Next episode is Fear Itself, which I am looking forward to. Aah! That sentence ended in a preposition!
Moment: Episode 16 (Terra) – Robin and Raven administer the obstacle course.
Normally it was Cyborg and Robin who controlled the obstacle course, but as Raven had finally been trained for it and the upgrades were complete, Cyborg had taken the opportunity to insist on testing it out himself and Robin was left to watch over it all with Cy's replacement.
The metallic Titan ran out into the field while Robin pressed buttons and changed dials. Raven watched the course and contender, her hand resting unobtrusively near the override. The formula was working out better than he'd predicted, with Cyborg having as much fun defeating the course as he'd had in designing it, and himself enjoying the fact that Raven did not impede on his selection of obstacles and controls.
Robin noted down the figures as Cy completed the last leg. He grinned broadly as he crossed the finish line and checked over his times. "Booyah! New course record. Ha ha!"
Raven was the first to comment, and in her usual bluntly effective manner interjected, "Well, yeah. You're the first one to do the course."
Robin turned to study her. She'd been quiet and reserved since yesterday, which he figured was due to the presence of a stranger in the house, but there was something in her silence that he found troubling, and it wasn't until he'd called Terra up for her trial that he understood why.
As the small blonde crested the laser guns he broke the quiet within the box and silently invited his stoic companion to confirm his thoughts.
"She's doing well." He began, with one eye on Raven as he maintained the controls.
She shrugged in response, and it was in her disinterest that Robin saw echoes of when the team had first started working together and Raven had only invested herself into their missions. Her arms were crossed over her chest like a barrier; her eyes followed Terra with the same tactical consideration she had once used to measure the Titans. He vividly remembered the girl who'd been searching for allies instead of friends.
It was a while before Raven spoke, but when she did the memories of before vanished, and suddenly it wasn't her reticence with Terra that Robin found important, but her banter with Cy. There was something to appreciate in Raven's sarcastic comments that had nothing to do with whether they were funny, clever or forthright, and had everything to do with the fact that they meant the image of that pale, aloof wraith was just a memory.
Raven tracked Terra's progress with her eyes, watched the girl destroy a small portion of the field, and frowned at the crash of metal barricades. With the dry humour the Titans had come to expect from her, she insightfully told him, "We're going to need a new obstacle course."
I'm very sorry for the long delay. Unfortunately, I can't promise it won't happen again, but I will try. As always please let me know if there is anything you didn't understand, any thoughts, suggestions, 'love it', 'hate it', etc.