The Raben Project

By

Agent X

The Gratuitous

A/N: This chapter is an attempt by me to elaborate on a deficiency in the cartoon - namely, that they didn't (read: couldn't) really show why Terra thought the Titans were dead. In Aftershock II Terra is clearly shocked to see the Titans, and obviously feels that their 'revenge' will come at the cost of her life, but the visuals make it seem like she just kicked them out of town and didn't expect them to come back. I realise this limitation was due to the target audience, but I'd still like to address it here. Many thanks to my beta DrewMay for her input.

Moment: [Original] This is what happens when you're buried alive.

She'd awoken in pitch black, and the first thing she did was crash into water. She landed on her back, the impact softened by the liquid surface, and rolled over. The second thing she did was throw up.

On hands and knees Raven heaved. Slime and spittle expelled from her lungs. The grainy texture of the mud burned at her throat as it passed. As Raven retched she was thankful for the dark. She spat, sputtered, gasped, and tried to ignore the warmth covering her hands.

On arms and legs that shook, she'd gathered her breath, scrunched her eyes, and tried to think past the pounding in her head. Evidently she'd been left to rot in this room. She could guess that Terra had only waited until she was unconscious, and then left her under the mud to drown as she moved on.

Terra didn't know that Raven couldn't die. Not yet.

Raven's body had risen above the muck, healing itself. Terra didn't know she had that ability. None of the Titans did. She hadn't needed it before.

Shakily, she stood. The room was glacial, the smell dank. The scent of stagnation, wet metal and bile coloured the air. She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand, but only succeeded in spreading the mud further. Briefly Raven contemplated cleaning herself, but the splitting pain behind her eyes quickly made her dismiss the idea.

Lethargy always hit her after she lost control, but her throbbing head, sore eyes, and raw throat were all a result of drowning. Raven placed her hand at her throat and swallowed gingerly. Unfortunately, she knew that Terra didn't have her singled out for the honour, even if she was the geomancer's least favourite person. And she didn't have time to complain.

Raven stepped away from the mess she'd made and walked until she found the wall. Then, ignoring the goosebumps on her exposed flesh, she sloshed to a seated position, her back to the metal. She couldn't afford to waste energy, so she didn't bother to leave her tomb. Instead, she sat in her usual meditative pose, and breathed. Her brow relaxed, her pursed lips slackened, and her hands unclenched. She breathed in through her nose once, slowly, deeply, and then out through her mouth.

She knew what she was about to do would make the headache worse. She didn't care.

Raven reached out towards the minds she knew so well, waited for that one moment of perfect panic, and pulled.

It always bothered me that there was this gap between Terra 'defeating' the Titans, and their meeting up at the end of the episode. I wanted to explain that gap, and emphasise the gritty reality (of being drowned in mud). I'm not too sure how well I succeeded. Basically, it's not meant to be pretty. This idea about the severity of Terra's actions will continue into the next chapter, when we see her and Robin face off.

This is the first original piece that is a part of an episode. Well, I felt it was necessary regardless. I'm not sure how most people interpreted what happened: maybe this matches up with your imaginings, maybe it's something new. When I saw all the Titans huddled under the earth like that and wondered how they got there, this is what I thought happened.

Lastly I just wanted to establish that, of course, Raven can die. However, I think she is convinced of her role in the prophecy, and in order for that to happen she has to be alive. So she feels she has a sort of guaranteed pass from fate... or... wait, I'm not explaining this very well. Her feeling is not so much that she can't die because she is physically immortal, but that she simply won't die because she still has a foretold role to play, which necessitates her being alive to do so.

Before I go I have another something for you. I think that any fan of Teen Titans (no matter what pairing they ship or what characters they like or what scenes they find inadequate) will appreciate this. It's a bit sombre, but nevertheless I hope you enjoy it:

http:/ titans-confessions. tumblr. com/

(As usual there are spaces you will need to delete.)