The Raben Project
By
Agent X
The Fortuitous
A/N: Yet another long wait between chapters. I work on the Project whenever I can get a minute (in which I happen to have inspiration), but as I'm in the last stages of my degree things are pretty hectic. I hope you will all bear with me. We are not finished with Aftershock I yet. Not by a long shot. As always, many thanks go to my patient beta DrewMay. I'd also like to say thank you all of you who review. You are my bread and butter. Knowing that people read this is what keeps me writing.
Moment: Episode 25 (Aftershock I) - Raven distracts Terra from Robin.
Terra launched her assault and took out both Raven and Robin in the first wave. It could have been a fluke; a simple tactic to break the team's formation that happened to catch to them off guard. It could have been a strategy to remove the most objective, and thus the most dangerous, Titans from the initial charge. Raven, however, strongly suspected the turncoat's targeting was directed by mere vindictiveness towards those that had distrusted her most. Whatever the reason, the result was a strong advantage for Terra. When the pillar (and Robin with it) slammed into Raven from below, she lost her breath, her direction, and worst, her concentration.
The world tumbled about in a mix of blue and grey before she managed to right it. A deep gasp halted her centimetres from the pavement, and she gratefully dropped the rest of the way to steady herself against the dizzy ringing in her ears. In the seconds it took to blink away her stupor the battle had progressed, and not to their benefit. Starfire was pushing against a boulder that pinned her down. Cyborg was prying himself from a narrow crevice where his leg was caught. And Robin lay still against the tarmac.
The fight was ongoing. Although she was peripherally aware of Beast Boy's voice, Raven hesitated from rejoining the fray. Looking back at the state of her comrades, it seemed an incomprehensible outcome considering the strength and size of their opponent. The Titans weren't winning this battle.
They didn't want to win.
When she moved, Raven's step took her towards her friends and not her foe. When Terra moved, that step became a spring. The blonde streaked toward their prone leader, and Raven raced to intervene.
Terra's boulder crashed precariously close to Robin, and the girl herself stood smugly over his unconscious form before raising the stones beside her. As the rubble was poised over Robin's head he groaned, struggling to awareness. Raven landed. She flung her soul into the nearest object, and held it in an equal threat above her adversary. Raven met the eyes of their former team mate squarely.
"Don't make me hurt you." She warned.
But Terra merely smiled.
"Don't make me laugh."
That was all it took, and Raven was distracted by the bitter rage that swelled within her.
I can make it so you never laugh again.
I don't really have much to say about this piece. I've rewritten it so many times I kinda feel that all the energy has gone out of it. It is meant to feel cold, in a sense; somewhat like Raven suppressing her emotions (at least until the end). Raven loses this fight because she's not just combating Terra, but also herself - and on several levels. The first choice is attack or defend, the second is restrain or release. Is this making sense? I'm quite tired over here, so for all I know this is just ramble.
I think that's my cue to wrap it up, then. Please remember that any and all feedback is appreciated.
P.S. I found Cyborg's smile when he lands on the desk in this fight scene to be quite funny.
P.P.S. Presents for you. Compare and contrast (please note I did not make these):
1. sii-sen. deviantart art/ Robin-Raven-74492740
2. inuka-rr-hijinkessou. deviantart art/ Nightwing-And-Raven-Colored-53816891
(Because I cannot post actual links, you may have to google search to find these pictures.)