Chapter Eleven: Intertwined Truths
Star-scattered skies.
A path of stone, going nowhere, beginning in emptiness.
And a voice like Raven's, whispering with demonic glee.
Round and round the path we go, where we'll stop, SOMEBODY knows
"What was that?" Blackfire asked, pausing for a moment. She had been following Truth through portal after archway after path for… she couldn't tell how long. Time seemed to be an optional thing here.
"What was what?" Truth asked, hurrying forward toward another archway.
"I thought I heard someone saying something," she said, turning around. But all that was behind her was a jagged stone path.
"I know," Truth said grimly. "That's why you need to come with me."
"Why?" Blackfire asked, annoyed- and scared. "I want some answers, Truth-"
"And I'll give them to you," Truth said. "But now is not the time! Come on!"
And without knowing why, Blackfire stepped into the archway with Truth.
(scene change)
"This is the place," Cyborg said, as the T-Car pulled up to the gleaming two storey building.
"Nice place," Robin said, his eyes falling on the pillar-mounted sign saying 'Stone Industries' outside the building, and below the sign, a smaller plaque saying 'Jump City Research And Development Laboratory'.
"But Cyborg," Starfire said. "It is so small- are you sure we will find what you will need in there?"
"Starfire," Cyborg said, winking, "you ain't seen nothing yet."
After getting past security ("Hello, Mr. Stone! How are you? Yep, you and your friends just look into that retinal scanner right there, sorry about that, security measures you understand, so how's about asking your dad to give us a raise, ha ha!") the Titans walked into the short, squat building.
"Good morning, Mr. Stone," the receptionist, a young brunette, said. "Dr. Five has expecting you."
"Thanks, Jenny," Cyborg said, before turning to his friends. "Guys, I'd like you to meet Jenny Five," he said as he introduced the Titans to the receptionist.
"It's a pleasure," she said, as she extended a gloved hand.
"So, this Dr. Five," Robin said, as he took Jenny's hand, "he's your father?"
"You could say that," Jenny smiled, before pressing a button on her console. "Ed, Mr. Stone and his friends are here to see Dr. Five. Could you wait in the Cybernetics Laboratory main hallway to escort them? Thanks." She turned back to the Titans. "Just take the elevator at the end of the hallway down six floors, to our underground research complex. One of our security guards will be waiting in front of the doors to take you to Dr. Five. Don't worry about missing him, he's quite… distinctive."
In fact, as the Titans looked upwards as they exited the elevator, Ed would definitely stand out in a crowd. For one, he was over fifteen feet tall. For another, he had two .75 caliber chainguns and what looked like a rocket launcher at the end of each stubby 'arm'.
"Greetings," 'he' said. "I Am The ED-300, And I Am Here To Escort You To Dr. Five. Might I Ask Your Friend The Reason He Is Moving Into A Combat Stance?"
"Just in case you say something like, oh, I don't know, 'you have fifteen seconds to comply', that sort of thing," Robin said, as the other Titans gave him bewildered looks.
"I Assure You, Master Robin," ED-300 said with a trace of haughtiness in his voice, "I Am Well Past My Predecessors' Programming With Respect To Artificial Intelligence."
"Uh, Robin, what's the big scary robot talking about?" Beast Boy asked. "And why are you doing that?"
Robin stood his ground for a moment, not answering, when he finally relaxed. "You mean you didn't hear?" Robin asked. "A few years ago, another ED, the ED-209, nearly wrecked Detroit."
"Not Through Any Fault Of His Own; Faulty Programming, Combined With Omni-Consumer Products' 'Cost-Effective' Measures Did That. Thankfully For Me, Stone Industries Has A Different Corporate Philosophy."
"Huh?" Beast Boy asked.
"Let's Say They Pay More Attention To The 'Human' In Human Resources More Seriously," ED-300 said cryptically. "Come," ED-300 added, as he walked down a passageway. "I Shall Take You To Dr. Five."
(scene change)
"I'm sorry I couldn't explain things to you on the way here," Truth said, as Blackfire tried to take in her surroundings (or rather, the lack of them).
Blackfire had remembered stepping into an archway with Truth, the mocking voice behind them growing softer as they ran, although that didn't help. In fact, it had quite the opposite effect- the softer it grew, the more Blackfire had seemed to hear it, and judging by how anxious Truth seemed to grow, so did she.
However, the place where she stood now was not only devoid of any sinister whisperings, but also everything else.
"I know it looks a bit empty," Truth said. Waving her hand over the vast white emptiness, she continued, "but it's the only place I know of where we'll be safe."
"What? Safe? We're safe?" Blackfire asked frantically, and before she knew it, she had grabbed Truth by the shoulders in a vice-like grip. "What about Raven? Is she safe?"
"No, but-"
"But? There's no but!" Blackfire yelled as her fingernails dug into Truth's arms and tears streamed down from her blazing eyes. "We have to go back for her!"
"Blackfire, listen to me!" Truth shouted, before continuing softly, "She cannot escape, Blackfire. What was chasing her was like us, it was in her mind. I cannot protect her, no matter how much I want to, but…"
"But what?"
"But you can," Truth whispered, looking back at Blackfire with an expression of hope.
"What? What are you talking about?" Blackfire asked. The glow in her eyes had died down, but the tears remained as she sat down. "I'm the reason her emotions are put of control," she said, as all the mental defences she had, all the mental barriers of self denial forged and strengthened by a criminal life, all crumbled in the face of the endless white emptiness and Truth's piercing stare. "I'm the reason all this has been happening to her."
"And do you really believe that?" Truth asked, the ghost of a wry smile on her face as she sat down beside Blackfire. "You wouldn't be the Blackfire I- that is, Raven knows and loves if there wasn't a little spark inside saying otherwise," she said
Blackfire caught Truth's gaze for a moment, then let out a small laugh. "I thought you were supposed to be Raven's Truth," she said, more to herself than to anyone else, before standing up. "You wanted to show me something?"
"What about protecting Raven?"
"You said it yourself, I can't protect Raven- at least, not yet."
"I don't recall saying you could," Truth said, although there was a definite confidence in her voice now. "Why do you say 'yet'?"
"If you want to steal something, you try to figure out the security protecting it. You want to protect something, or someone, you try to figure out whoever wants to… to…" she trailed off, unwilling to even say the words, before continuing in a much more determined tone, "Isn't that why you brought me here?"
Truth smiled. "I knew you'd figure it out sooner or later."
"Sooner's better," Blackfire said curtly, as she got up. "Let's go."
"You're ready to see what you're afraid of?"
"No," Blackfire said, her eyes starting to blaze the same amethyst glow that danced upon her fists, "I'm ready to see what's going to be afraid of me."
(scene change)
"Dr. Five- You Have Heard Of Him?" ED-300 asked, as they walked down a wide passageway, passing by various white-coated scientists.
"Not really," Robin answered, "though I think Batman has his research on the Batcave's archive. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing," ED-300 replied, "I Was Simply Making Conversation. Not Many Humans Are Comfortable With Talking To Me Unless They Must–I Am Sure You Can See Why. Dr. Five Himself Isn't So Bad, But I Would Like Some Variety In My Conversations."
"This Dr. Five, he is a, a," Starfire's eyebrows scrunched up as she tried to recall unfamiliar human phrases, "a big cheese in a small pond, yes?"
If ED-300 had eyebrows, he'd have raised them. "I Have Not Heard Of Him Being Described So… Vividly, But Yes, He Is One Of Stone Industries' Leading Scientists."
"Cybernetics, Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, right?" Cyborg asked.
"Ah, I See You Have Heard Of Him, Although In Your Case, I Would Not Be Surprised."
"Why not?" Beast Boy asked.
"Dr. Five was one of the guys who helped me out with all this," Cyborg said, indicating his robotic body. "Never got to meet him, though."
"Well Then," ED-300 said, as he paused next to a door. As it opened, ED-300 said "Here Is Your Chance. Greetings, Dr. Five."
"Him?" Beast Boy asked incredulously, ED-300 having led them into a massive research chamber. "He's Dr. Five?"
"Affirmative," ED-300 said, and Beast Boy could swear he heard the amused smile in the giant droid's voice.
"Eddie baby!" an exuberant Dr. Five said in the best sleazy Hollywood agent tradition. "Greetings! Felicitations! Hello! A-a-a-and all that jazz!" 'he' said, seamlessly switching to the rich, raspy tones of a New Orleans sax player.
But then again, considering that Dr. Five was a robot, that wasn't very surprising.
In the voice of a smiling noveau riche Texas oilman this time, he introduced himself as "Five, Johnny Five, that's the name, howdy! I hope y'all's doin' fine- 'specially you, miss," he said as he proffered a mechanical hand 'gentleman fashion' to Starfire, who blushed as she took it.
In stark contrast to ED-300, who looked as if he was constructed from tank parts, then coated with chrome, Johnny Five looked like he was born out of the imaginings of a mechanically astute toddler and his first Meccano set; he looked like the product of an 80's sci-fi movie than a scientist, much less one who-
"Wait a minute," Robin said, as a sudden realization hit him. "The receptionist upstairs, she said she was your… daughter?"
"Why, yes," Dr. Five said, returning to his normal voice. He took out a wallet from his lab coat pocket and showed them a photograph, this one showing Dr. Five, along with Jenny and another attractive blond who looked exactly like her. "See? Here's me, here's Jenny, and this is Dr. Vivian Porter, Jenny's mom. Isn't Jenny cute?" A whole collection of photographs then rolled out of the wallet. "And this is Jenny before she was born- isn't that the cutest circuitry you ever saw?- and this is Jenny at-"
"Dr. Five, I Don't Think I Remember Cyborg Making An Appointment To See Family Photos," ED-300 rumbled firmly, but with a gentle indulgence that was surprising. "My Apologies," he said to the Titans, "Dr. Five Tends To Go Off Track Sometimes."
"Mea culpa," Dr. Five said, as he started off. Had Raven been there, she would have recognized the Father Damien Karras impersonation. "In that case, let's get started!"
(scene change)
"Not so fast," Truth said hastily, grabbing Blackfire by the shoulder as the Tameranian strode to the archway.
"And why not?" Blackfire asked, skidding on the stone path. "You said it yourself, we have to protect Raven from whatever is behind that archway-"
"Yes, I did say that- but I didn't say that we had to destroy it."
"What?" Blackfire asked incredulously, a moment before the anger arose within her. "The why did you bring me here? Sightseeing? You giving me a tour of Raven's mind, that it?"
"Yes," Truth said, and something about the starkness in her voice, in the look that she gave Blackfire cut off the Tameranian's next caustic reply. "I need you to understand the danger Raven is in, not fight it."
"Why not?"
"Because you can't, not without destroying Raven."
"What?" Blackfire asked, even more bewildered.
"Let me show you," Truth said, taking Blackfire's hand.
Then, as one, they stepped into the inky darkness of the archway-
-into Hell.
At least, that was what it seemed to be. As she and Truth came out of an archway seemingly constructed of chunks of metal twisted into impossible shapes, shapes that pained both the mind and eye, she stepped onto a metal ring, suspended in what appeared to be a raging storm where black clouds endlessly shifted forms and traded lightning bolts as they flew at unnatural speeds in a red void.
As Blackfire took all of this in, she started to hear a whispering, loud enough to be heard, but too quiet to understand. And then, it started to grow in intensity, but not volume, the whispering becoming more and more insistent invading and Blackfire held her hands to her head to block out the sound the pain and soon she heard somebody scream it was her she didn't know but it was her it was her screaming
"Blackfire," a voice said, and as it did so, Blackfire felt the whispering die down.
"Truth?" Blackfire asked. Her voice was that of a small child who, waking up after a nightmare, did not believe that for one terrible moment that she wasn't really awake, that the image of her mother over her signaled not the end of the nightmare, but only its beginning-
"Shh," Truth said, holding her finger to her lips. She placed her hands on Blackfire's shoulders, and as she did so, Blackfire felt the fear, the madness, drain out of her. But Blackfire's peace came at a price- as Truth healed Blackfire, she seemed to age; for one instant Blackfire saw a wizened crone, frail, weak,
dying
where there was a teenage girl the moment before. "Don't worry," Truth said unconvincingly, when she saw that look Blackfire was giving her, "I'll be all right-"
"Oh please, Truth, don't lie. It doesn't become you."
Both Blackfire and Truth found themselves turning to the center of the ring, where the voice had come from. What had appeared to be another shifting cloud in the void was another Aspect, its cloak, frayed and tattered at the edges, seeming to shift from red to black and back again before Blackfire's eyes. As it turned, Blackfire's eyes, in an unconscious attempt at mental self defence, first took in the way the ripped clothes of the Aspect didn't detract from its overall looks; each ripped scrap of cloth only seemed to enhance its seductiveness-
-and then Blackfire noticed the Aspect's eyes.
Four slits rested where two eyes should have been, each of them glowing
burning
red with profane glee at seeing Blackfire's revulsion. "What's the matter, Blackfire, don't like what you see?" it said coyly, before turning around again, showing off its sinuous body to an unwilling audience.
"Stop it," Truth said, and for the first time, Blackfire heard the overtones of… terror, in Truth's voice.
She wasn't the only one. "What's the matter, Truth?" the other Aspect said, sneering wickedly. "Your little plan all falling apart? I turned out to be far, far more powerful than even Wisdom thought? Well, guess again," it said.
Suddenly, Blackfire found herself standing alone, as, with a wave of the other Aspect's hand, Truth was pushed onto the ground by an invisible force, skidding several feet to land 'unconscious' at the base of the archway.
Before Blackfire could aid Truth, however, she found herself face to face with the Aspect, which had seemingly covered the intervening space between them in a moment.
"Never mind about her," the Aspect said in rich, sultry tones, as it gently took Blackfire's hand, stroking it up and down. "Let's talk about… us."
"Get away from me," Blackfire snarled, readying a starbolt.
"Oh please, Blackfire," the Aspect laughed, "Did you actually think you had any power here?"
Suddenly, Blackfire was pushed over the edge of the ring into the void, where she found to her horror, she could not fly anymore, and she was doomed, doomed to spend an eternity falling, screaming through an endless void, forever falling-
"Anything else you want to get out of your system?"
Blackfire looked around, bewildered and frightened. "I was- I was-"
"That's right, Blackfire," the Aspect whispered, "you were falling, and you would have kept on falling if it weren't for me saving you? See? I can be nice too," it said airily. "Now, about us…"
"What do you want?"
"Nice! From fear to anger in less than three seconds!" the Aspect said happily, clapping its hands. "I can see why I like you!"
"I'm flattered."
"You should be," the Aspect said, flying around Blackfire. "I normally don't do 'like'. Oh, where are my manners? I'm… oh dear, you know what? I don't even have a name!"
"I got a few," Blackfire retorted, never taking her eyes off the Aspect.
"I'm sure you do," the Aspect said indulgently. "Let's see now, I used to be called Fear, or Anger, depending on my mood, but all that seems so passé. Ooh, I've got it! Okay, Blackfire, let's try this one: Ahem, hello, Blackfire," it said cheerfully, holding out a hand, "I'm Madness, how are you? Oh, come on, Blackfire, shake! I know you want to- after all," it said, its sneer growing even wider, "I'm the real Raven, not that white robed Girl Scout."
You sure you're not Stupidity? Blackfire wanted to retort, but mindful of the chasm, contented herself with a succinct "Go frell yourself."
"It's true!" Madness said. "Where do you think Raven's powers? From me! Where does Raven get her inner strength? You get three guesses, and any answer that isn't me, doesn't count. I'm the true essence of who Raven is, not her, or her lackeys!" it continued, indicating the prone figure near the archway.
"You're really taking this 'Madness' thing seriously, aren't you?" Blackfire said.
Madness grinned, exposing rows of sharpened teeth. "You mock me, Blackfire, but I expected that. After all, you've done such a good job convincing the universe you've gone good, all that's left to convince is yourself. Oh come on, Blackfire," Madness said, seeing the look Blackfire gave it, "Did you expect me to believe you could give up your old self so easily? You may be able to fool even yourself, but I can see the truth. You haven't changed, Blackfire, you could never change! You are, and always will be a selfish, self-centered child!"
"That's a lie!" Blackfire burst out.
"Oh really?" Madness stopped her ghostly orbit of Blackfire, and landed to stand in front of the Tameranian. "Look me in the eye and tell me that you don't miss your old life, that you've forgiven your father, that you wish that you had the power to control people instead of just helping them. Come on, Blackfire, any one of those things, I can wait."
Blackfire wanted to answer, but her retort died in her throat.
"Didn't. Think. So." Madness said, its sneer reappearing. "So here's the thing: A friend of mine is going to help me with something, something that's going to happen soon –can't tell you, it'll ruin the surprise- but you'll know it when it comes, and when it does, you stay out of the way while me and Raven get… reacquainted, okay?"
"Bite me!" Blackfire said, before she could stop herself.
Not that she would have cared otherwise…
Her fangs bared, it looked for a moment as if Madness was about to take Blackfire up on her offer, when- "Oh silly me!" it said, slapping itself on the side of its head comically. "I forgot to tell you what was in it for you!"
"Let me guess," Blackfire said mockingly, "everything I ever wanted, right?"
And there it was; a crack in Madness's civil façade. "What's the matter? Power, wealth, love, everything you ever dreamed of- don't you want any of it?"
Blackfire was silent for a moment, before saying softly, her words somehow louder than the raging storm around her, "Yeah, of course I want all of that, who doesn't?"
"So, what's the problem-"
"The problem is," Blackfire said, her voice rising, "that they're not important to me, not anymore. You're right," Blackfire said, looking Madness straight in the eye. "I am a selfish, self-centered child, and you know what that means? It means Raven's mine, and I'm not going to let you, or her father, or anyone else mess around with her! At least," she continued with a devlish smirk, "not without a really bad tantrum."
There was a short pause before Madness replied "Blackfire, Blackfire, Blackfire," with barely suppressed anger. "Do you realize who you're speaking to? Do you even remember what I can do to you? What I did to you? You cannot comprehend the power I have here!"
"No, I can't," Blackfire said, hoping her gamble would pay off. "But she can."
With a start, Madness looked behind it, where Truth calmly stood in front of the archway.
"You again," it snarled, before turning back to Blackfire. "I'll take care of you later-"
Its words were cut off, partially because of shock, but mostly due to the lower half of its face being pushed into the dirt. Spitting gravel, it returned its attention to Truth, who didn't seem to have moved an inch from her serene pose.
Before Madness could respond with a murderous strike of her own, however-
-"Payback time," Blackfire said, jumping in front of Madness, a handful of gravel in her hand.
"Good work, throwing the gravel into Madness's eyes," Truth said, as Blackfire ran towards the archway, Madness holding her face. "But I think punching Madness in the nose was a bit too much."
"Yeah, well," Blackfire said dismissively, although there was a distinct anxiousness in her voice. "Look, can we get out of here already?"
"Of course," Truth said, turning around, the portal coming to life in a flash of white-red lightning.
"Where are you going, Blackfire?" Madness screeched insanely, as she saw through burning eyes the Tameranian jump into the portal, and out of the Aspect's reach. "We're not done yet! WE'RE NOT-"
(scene change)
"-done yet?" Beast Boy asked as Starfire came up to his seat in the cafeteria, where he was eating a tofu sandwich.
"I beg your pardon, Beast Boy?" Starfire asked, sitting down next to him.
"I said, 'Are they done yet?'" he repeated.
Starfire shook her head. "They were still testing out… testing out…" she trailed off, unable to find the words.
Beast Boy laughed. "Let me guess, you couldn't figure out what they were talking about either."
Starfire nodded. "I must admit, the words they were using were long and strange, and so very often I thought they were speaking obscure dialects of the peoples of the Praxatibel Empire. But," Starfire admitted hesitantly, "that was not the only reason I had come here."
"What? You're not hungry?"
Starfire shook her head gently. "I had wanted to ask you if I could help."
Help? Okay, getting creepy. "Huh? Uh, what do you mean, Star?" Beast Boy asked.
"You had seemed… troubled this morning. Especially after Raven said she wanted to stay with my sister at the Tower," she replied.
Inwardly, Beast Boy gasped. "I, uh, I didn't think you noticed," he said lamely.
"I did not," Starfire admitted, just as sheepishly. "Robin did. He asked me to come here and ask you what was wrong."
"What's the matter?" Beast Boy snapped, bitterness creeping into his voice. "He's too cool to come here himself?"
There was silence for a moment. Then Starfire said flatly, "I had made a mistake coming here. I am sorry for offending you, Beast Boy, I shall leave now."
She got up to walk away when Beast Boy took hold of her hand. "Hey Star, wait," he said plaintively. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean what I said about Robin."
Starfire stood silent for a moment, her back to Beast Boy, before turning around and sitting next to him again. "You should not say such things about him," she said, an uncharacteristic note of steel in her voice. "He did want to speak to you himself when he saw you leave Dr. Johnny Five's laboratory."
"So why didn't he?"
"I asked him not to," Starfire explained. "If Cyborg or Dr. Johnny Five needed help, he would be able to help them better than I could." A wistful smile crept across her face; she probably wasn't even aware of it. "And although I should not say this, Robin is not very good with talking to people."
Beast Boy grinned in agreement. "Yeah, I guess you're right- musta been all those years he was with Batman." He sighed. "But at least he has you with him."
"Is that why you are troubled?" Starfire asked. "Because Raven and my sister are together?"
Together, and alone in the Tower, Beast Boy wanted to say, but although he didn't think Starfire'd get it, he didn't want to risk hurting her.
Or him.
"Something like that, yeah," he replied. "I mean, doesn't it bother you?"
"Why should it?" Starfire asked, honestly bewildered.
"I mean- that is- What I'm-" Beast Boy struggled to find the right words to describe how he felt. "Look, Starfire, what if, instead of Raven, your sister had a thing for Robin? And what if he fell for her too? How would you feel?"
Starfire considered this. "I would be sad, of course-"
"See? That's what I'm talking about!"
"-but if they truly cared for each other, then I would not get in their way."
"Exactly- huh, what? Starfire, what are you talking about?" Beast Boy asked, flabbergasted.
"I do not know how it is with humans, but on my homeworld, if you cared for somebody, then you would wish for them to find happiness, and if the only way for Robin to be truly happy was to be with someone else, then that is the way it should be."
"But Starfire… what if- what if you thought that, that, that Robin would get hurt, or something? Wouldn't you want to do something about it? You know, try to protect him or something?"
"Of course I would," she said, "but I would not try to break Raven- I mean, Robin and Blackfire apart. I cannot decide whom Robin wishes to care for, and if you truly cared for Raven, you should not decide for her either."
"But, well, no offence Starfire, but what if she's making a mistake? I mean, what if I think she's making a mistake?"
"What if she is not making a mistake?" she asked gently. "What if Blackfire really makes her happy? Would it not be selfish if you did not at least give Raven and my sister a chance to see if they would be happy together?"
Beast Boy looked down, both figuratively and literally. "Well, gee, Starfire," he said softly, "I guess I never thought of it that way. Thanks, Starfire, that- that really helped."
Starfire beamed. "You are welcome, Beast Boy," she said. "Is there anything else you wish to talk about?"
"Nah, I'm good," Beast Boy said, smiling wanly. "You wanna help me finish this?" he asked, pointing to his tray. "We can go see what Robin and Cyborg are doing after we're done."
Starfire nodded, and she tucked into the meal with gusto, but Beast Boy barely touched his food.
He had other things to think about.
(scene change)
"You know, Truth," Blackfire panted, as she got off the ground in front of the archway she and Truth fell out of, "I've been thinking- you weren't really unconscious back there, were you?"
"Of course not," Truth replied, also getting up, the familiar dark, starry void adding a welcome sense of familiarity, insofar as familiarity could be obtained. "Madness was also surprised, although it didn't really show."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Blackfire said dismissively. "And, and- let me catch my breath first," Blackfire said, her hands on her knees, "and the reason you pretended to be out was so I'd see Raven's dark little secret up close and personal, right? Not to mention that this whole so-called 'date' was just you plan to get me to see what Raven was up against in her own mind."
Truth nodded. "Was there something you wanted to know, Blackfire?"
"Yeah, there is," Blackfire said. "How does Raven's so-called 'Truth'," she said, as Truth started laughing, "get to be so good at fooling others?"
"As good as you?" Truth asked, smiling.
"Now, now, you don't change the subject," Blackfire said, fully aware that she was doing that exact same thing, realizing Truth knew she was doing so, and not really caring about it.
"To be perfectly honest with you, Blackfire, Raven has always been a good liar; that dark energy I- sorry- she uses so much isn't the only thing her father passed down to her. If she wanted to she could reach into people's minds and make them do whatever she wanted them to, among other things."
"So why doesn't she?" Blackfire asked.
"Because like you, she chose not to," Truth said. "Tell me, Blackfire," she asked, growing serious, "why Raven? And don't you think of changing the subject again."
"Um, doesn't Raven know already?" Blackfire asked.
"Maybe, maybe not," Truth said enigmatically. "You can't escape this one, Blackfire."
Blackfire tried to think of another evasion, but whether it because she was drunk with relief after escaping Madness, or whether it was the realization that it wasn't any use hiding it from herself anymore, or a combination of the two, or even the reassuring smile Truth was giving her, she decided to confess.
"I guess," she began. "I guess it's because I admire Raven- I mean, you."
"You mean, you admire Raven," Truth said. "There isn't really any difference between us. And I don't think you're telling me the whole truth. Admiring someone, that's one thing. Falling in love with them, that's another."
"You sure Ego's not in there somewhere?"
All Blackfire got in response was Truth smiling back at her in knowing silence.
"Fine," Blackfire said, throwing up her arms. "You want to know why I'm in love with Raven? It's because she has so much power within her, but instead of using it all to do whatever she wants, she chooses to use just enough to help people. Even when it hurt her- no, even when she almost died trying to control her powers, she did it all the same. Just so other people wouldn't get hurt."
She sat down, resting her back against a large stone in the path. "Me?" she asked, shaking her head ruefully, more to herself than to Truth, "I couldn't do that- I just don't have the kind of strength Raven has. I know it's- it's- there's a human word for it, something to do with vegetables- Cabbagey? Oatey? Wheatie?"
"Corny?" Truth asked, sitting down next to Blackfire.
"That's it! I know it's corny, and maybe even selfish, but when I think of all the time I've spent with Raven, and when I think of all the things she's been through," here she pointed to the archway, "I don't feel like a failure anymore- I feel like I could be something better than a thief. A good thief, come on, let's be honest, but a thief all the same."
For a second, nobody spoke. Then Truth piped up, "You're right, Blackfire, it was corny-"
"Oh wow, thanks," Blackfire said, laughing.
"-but not selfish."
"What do you mean?"
"Do you want to know why Raven loves you?"
"I don't know, you're not going to try fool me again, are you?"
"If I did, you'd never know, would you? Guess you'll just have to trust me."
"Let's pretend I do."
"What if I told you it had nothing to do with your looks?"
"Okay, now you're either telling the whole truth, or a complete lie."
Truth laughed. "Well, this is one of the reasons," she said through her mirth.
"My sense of humour?"
"Your sense of life," Truth said. "I know it doesn't sound like much, but being with you has taught Raven that maybe her emotions aren't always something she should be afraid of. That maybe it's okay, maybe even better, to choose to let some emotions run free."
"But- but all those times, when she lost control of her powers-"
"-were not your fault," Truth said. "Raven knew that was bound to happen sooner or later- and to tell the truth, she was quite relieved that they weren't as bad as she had thought they would be."
Truth ran her hand through Blackfire's hair. "To tell the truth, she suspects that she has you to thank for it. I'm sure you can figure out why."
"Oh, um, well… you're welcome?" Blackfire asked, blushing furiously, her normally rock-solid self-confidence disintegrating.
Truth laughed and gave Blackfire a quick peck on the lips. "Come on, Blackfire," she said, standing up. "Time's a wasting, and we've got to wake me up."
As they walked back, a disturbing thought occurred, or rather, re-occurred to Blackfire. "Back there, Madness said that something's going to happen soon, something that would get her 're-acquainted' with Raven, remember?"
"Yeah, I remember now," Truth said. "Funny, I almost forgot about it," she said, sounding worried.
"Maybe Madness was using some of her power to try make us forget?" Blackfire ventured. "Look, she failed, and that's that. What I want to know now is what that 'something' is."
"I don't know either, and that scares me," Truth admitted. "Perhaps it has something to do with Legion? She did mention a friend of hers."
"But it's not like Legion and Madness have ever even met- and I don't even want to think about them getting together," Blackfire said, but like not thinking about pink elephants, she thought about Madness and Legion 'getting together'- and turned nearly as green as Beast Boy.
Not having a stomach, Truth was marginally more able to register the mental imagery. "That can wait until later," she said, Blackfire nodding in agreement. "For now, let's just get Raven to
wake up," Blackfire said gently.
"Wake up?" Raven asked groggily, rolling over in the soft yellow grass. "How long was I asleep?" she said, stretching.
"I… don't exactly remember," Blackfire said, before giving Raven a short kiss. "But maybe that's because I fell asleep too," she added.
"Where are the others?"
"What? The other Ravens?"
"They're called Aspects, Blackfire."
"Whatever," Blackfire said. "I guess they fell asleep when you did, maybe?" she said, shrugging. "As I said, it's your mind, Raven."
"And this was our date," Raven said, memories flooding back into her sleepy mind. "Sorry about falling asleep."
"Hey, no problem," Blackfire said generously, "With a place as peaceful as this, who could help it?" She turned to Raven, and asked, all innocence, "So, Raven, have any interesting dreams while you were asleep?"
"I can't remember any," Raven replied. "You?"
"Nope, that's why I asked you. Speaking of interesting dreams, you have anything like that in this pretty little head of yours?"
"Well, there's always Bravery's forest…"
"Well then, what are we waiting for?"
(scene change)
"You're back late," Raven remarked as she opened the Tower doors for her friends.
"Sorry about that," Robin said. "We kinda got carried away with Cyborg's upgrades. How was your date with Blackfire?"
"Long," Raven said. "We just got back, actually. Hey Cyborg-"
She raised an eyebrow. "Er, Cyborg, you sure you got those upgrades you wanted? I'm not seeing a lot of difference."
"Not on the outside, Rae, not on the out-saaahde!" Cyborg said exuberantly, knocking on his metal plating.
"Looks like someone's happy," Raven remarked drily.
"Raven, you ain't seen nothing yet," Cyborg said, pointing behind Raven-
-to where Starfire was, a split second before she caught Raven in a bear hug. "Oh Raven, we had so much fun at Cyborg's father's laboratory with Dr. Johnny Five and Mr. Ed the robot and we helped Cyborg with his forcefields and rockets and laser and armor and when Beast Boy helped out with the rocket testing there were all these explosions and-"
"Oookay, heheh, thank you, Starfire!" Beast Boy said, parts of his costume marred by soot and scorch marks. "What can I say," he offered Raven by way of embarrassed explanation, "I'm not too good at the technical stuff. But hey, we had fun, it was a good day, and that's what counts, right?"
"Speaking of good days, Raven," Robin said, "how was your date with Blackfire, if you don't mind me asking?" He looked around. "Where is she, anyway?"
"She's upstairs, taking a bath. As for our date, it was… relaxing," Raven said.
"That's a relief," Beast Boy said quietly to himself. It was hard enough getting himself used to the idea of Blackfire and Raven together; getting used to the thought of them… well, he knew what he meant! Getting used to that thought was something for another day altogether.
Or maybe another month.
Let's say another year, just to be sure.
Beast Boy sighed, as the sounds of conversation went around him. A year; like he would have that much time- after all it was only a matter of time before, well, they got married, or something, and Legion would-
Beast Boy's breath stopped in his throat as terror gripped him: Legion!
For a minute, Beast Boy toyed with the idea of never answering Legion, of never giving him the benefit of the doubt, never mind an answer.
But then he thought of what might happen if Legion came after him, what Legion would say- and what Raven would think…
No; he started this, and he was going to finish it. Alone, no matter what the cost.
Now if he could keep from crumpling into a fetal ball and whimpering until then…
(scene change)
Blackfire couldn't sleep.
She wanted to think it was because of any leftover excitement from the small party she and the rest of the Titans had; ostensibly because they wanted to celebrate Cyborg's new upgrades, but everybody knew that that was just an excuse for them to play video games, eat lots of junk food, and simply do the things that friends did when they got together.
One of the reasons for her insomnia was that she was, surprise, surprise, worried sick about Raven. Yeah, she understood what Raven was going through, but she still didn't have any idea what to do about it.
The main, reason for her sleeplessness, was however, a great deal more prosaic: too much junk food too late at night equals too much indigestion. For all their apparent advantages over humans in terms of strength, powers and such, Tameranian digestive systems were actually more delicate than their human cousins.
After getting out from bed and tiptoeing to the common room, Blackfire swallowed a few indigestion tablets and flopped down on the couch, waiting for them to take effect.
Then, footsteps. These were not quiet footsteps, more like trying-to-be-quiet footsteps.
In other words, the footsteps of an amateur.
Blackfire moved into a combat stance and quietly moved towards the sound of the footsteps. She didn't ready her starbolts, though; for all she knew, one of the other Titans might have been having indigestion too. Hells, they might be sleepwalking for all she knew.
Okay, I was half right, she thought as she saw Beast Boy walking toward the stairwell. Thankfully, he hadn't shifted into any of his animal forms; had he done so, he would have seen Blackfire for sure. Either he was getting sloppy, or he was in too much of a hurry to bother changing-
Or maybe he doesn't care if he's being followed.
With that thought in mind, Blackfire decided to double back to her room and exit via the window. At least she'd have more of an advantage fighting in the air than she did on the ground. Having decided on a course of action, she flew down to the entrance of the Tower, and waited in the bushes for Beast Boy.
It wasn't a long wait.
Beast Boy came out of the Tower, and having decided that nobody was following him, changed his form into that of an eagle and flew off into the night, Blackfire following stealthily behind him, making sure to keep out of the eagle's field of vision. It wasn't very hard though; being in a predator's form, Beast Boy's field of vision was severely limited, and when combined witht the lights, hustle and bustle of Jump City, the task of following him was almost too easy.
Soon, Beast Boy appeared to be coming in for a landing at a bus stop near the ruined warehouse district. Her curiosity fully piqued by now, Blackfire landed near, and entered the ground floor of the adjacent building; occupied as it was by a few homeless people sleeping off a drunken binge, judging by the many empty whisky bottles nearby, Blackfire felt it was a safe, if not too fragrant, hiding place.
Beast Boy seemed to jump a little; whatever he had come here for, was-
Legion!
Blackfire put her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle a gasp of shock. Of all the treacherous, evil things- Legion? So this is the 'someone' Madness was talking about; it must have sensed Beast Boy's treachery, even when Raven herself did not.
Blackfire prepared to launch a barrage of starbolts, when she stopped herself; she couldn't just attack Beast Boy and run, she had the other Titans to answer to. She needed to prove her actions to them.
Thinking quickly, she pressed a few buttons on her communicator. If she did it in just the right sequence, then the Tower's red alert alarms should be screaming by now, while individual communicators remained silent. The, Blackfire pressed a few more buttons, activating a few more failsafes. If she played her cards (or rather, pressed her buttons) right, then the Titans should all be awake, and listening in to whatever is being said in the vicinity of Beast Boy's communicator.
Despite the situation she found herself in, Blackfire smiled. She amazed herself sometimes.
Wait-
"Beast Boy!" Legion said cheerfully as he came up to the Titan. "I didn't expect to hear from you again so soon! You thought about my offer already?"
Yeah, Beast Boy, you thought about his offer yet? Blackfire thought. Let's see how my real friends think about it.
"Look, Beast Boy," Legion added, "I've been thinking about our deal, and I have decided to make it rather simpler for you."
"Oh really?" Beast Boy asked in tones of idle curiosity. "How?"
"Well, regarding the part of our deal where I dispose of Blackfire-"
EXCUSE ME?
"-you can set up the details of the, shall we say, 'incident', if you find it more convenient. You know, give me the name of a bank I'll rob, or something along those lines, and then when the Titans come charging in, well, accidents happen, don't they? It is a dangerous occupation you're in, after all."
"Well, Legion," Beast Boy began, "that's a good plan, actually-"
"-so let's get started, Legion!" Come on, Beast Boy, say it!
"-but the deal's off."
Just as I had expect- what?
The same thought seemed to be going through Legion's mind. "What… what did you say, Beast Boy?"
"I said: No," Beast Boy replied, in the serene tones of one who has finally accepted the fact that he is going to die, and that there's nothing else but to face it head on without fear. "The deal's off, Legion. I'm not betraying my friends."
"But she is not one of your friends!" Legion shouted, his voice dripping with malice, anger… and maybe a touch of betrayal? "Have I not explained this to you? You love Raven, you have given your heart to her, and yet-"
"And yet she hasn't done anything than- than be herself," Beast Boy said, the light of dawning realization in his voice. "The thing is, Legion, if I let you change Raven into someone else so she could love me, then, well, I wouldn't love her anymore."
"What, you're saying you love her because she's a lesbian?" Legion asked, an eyebrow raised. "You're more male than I thought."
"No, no, it's not that," Beast Boy said. He felt as if he was flying- no, soaring, and there was no way he could have stopped himself, even if he wanted to. "All I ever wanted to do was to make Raven happy, and if that means keeping her and Blackfire together, then yeah, no problem."
There was a long pause, while Legion and Beast Boy looked at each other, gazes locked. "In the interests of clearing up any and all misunderstandings," Legion began, "allow me to reiterate: You came here, to our designated meeting place-"
"Yep," Beast Boy chirped with horrible cheerfulness.
"-with the intent of refusing a deal-"
"Yep."
"-with a demon of, if I might say so myself, no small power-"
"Yep."
"-all by yourself, without any backup."
"Yep. So, you want to start the fight now, or what?"
After a long pause, Legion finally said, "You must be either inspiringly brave, or irredeemably stupid. Knowing you, Beast Boy, it's most probably both."
"What can I say?" Beast Boy replied, "I wanted to see if two wrongs made a right."
And then, to Beast Boy's and Blackfire's surprise, Legion started laughing- it wasn't a maniacal laugh, like they had been expecting, but the hearty laugh of someone who had finally got the joke.
"I don't know why I'm so surprised," he said, through his guffaws and giggles. "I should have known that you were just too noble to betray your friends. Oh don't look at me like that, Beast Boy, I'm not going to kill you."
"You're not?"
"Of course not, Beast Boy! Truth be told, I like you. I don't respect you, of course, but I like you. When my Master takes over your plane of existence, I'll be sure to do whatever I can to spare you."
"I don't know, wouldn't it be kinda hard to do that without Raven?"
"Impossible, actually, but since I've got the perfect bait…"
"Like I said, you want a fight," Beast Boy said, changing his form into that of a tiger, "you got a fight."
"Oh, Beast Boy, I'm not talking about you," Legion said.
Suddenly, his eyes fell across the window where Blackfire had been peeking out of. "I'm talking about her."
Blackfire jumped backwards, starbolts ready this time, but as she did, she briefly felt an extremely painful burning sensation in her back before her legs gave way, everything went dark.
"What did you do to her?" an enraged Beast Boy growled, his words understandable even coming from a tiger's mouth.
"Nothing much," Legion said, as several of his clones dressed as homeless people carried an unconscious Blackfire out, "I simply administered a strong electric shock directly to her nervous system. Don't worry, Beast Boy, she isn't dead. However, that state of affairs could very well change should you attempt to make a move upon my person, or fail to tell your friends, in a timely fashion, of course, what has transpired here tonight, as well as all its sordid causational details."
He brought his face closer to Beast Boy's. "That means," he whispered, "if you don't go back now and tell your friends what happened, and why they happened, you're going to have to explain to Raven why she had to identify Blackfire's carcass from the fingerprints." He stood up to walk away, when he paused. "Do her people even have fingerprints?" he mused. "Ah well, it doesn't matter. See you, Beast Boy."
He turned, aand paused again. "And next time- if there is a next time, as I hope there will be- remember, Beast Boy: When dealing with demons, the demon will always get his way, one way or another."
And as he said so, he took Blackfire's limp body from his clones with one hand, and, machete in the other, stabbed into the air. A jagged 'tear' appeared, and with one last mocking wave to beast Boy, Legion and Blackfire disappeared into it. Beast Boy tried to jump in at the last minute, but it was too late- the rift had closed.
As the Legion clones dissipated into nothingness, Beast Boy, now back in human form, broke into tears, tears that glinted by the light of the fires of the abandoned.
Author's note: Due to it being NaNoWriMo (check it out at there will be no more updates of my fics, TT or KP for the month of November, and possibly the first two weeks of December. I hope I have your understanding, and accept my apologies.
Additional disclaimers: Johnny Five, the ED series of enforcement droids, and Father Damien Karras are the intellectual properties of their registered owners. I infer no ownership of the aforementioned characters in this work of fiction.