Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.
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Raven turned and stormed out of the hall.
"If they think I'm going to be their lapdog … they picked a fight with the wrong woman!" She muttered under her breath.
The walk from the Roth's booth to the hall's exit was long and Raven felt as if she was running gauntlet as hundreds of disapproving eyes glared at her.
"Raven, come back!" Her mother called out to her. "You can't leave before the council has concluded the meeting!"
Raven ignored Arella and picked up the pace as she marched towards the exit. The great hall was echoing with the cacophony of hundreds of voices that were engaged in dozens of conversations. Her mind raced as she struggled to keep her own rage and fury under control. As she approached the exit her outfit reverted back to her default blue and black colors.
As she reached the exit she was intercepted by her childhood friend Nara.
"Raven, please don't leave!" She begged her.
"Give me one good reason why I should stay here."
Nara gave her a gentle smile.
"You're the head Matriarch!"
"I don't care." Raven replied as she pushed past her friend who grabbed her arm.
Raven gave her a glare that said "If you want to keep that hand, you'd better let go of me!"
"Think of the people Raven!"
The gray sorceress's expression switched from anger to pure disgust.
"The people? Are you saying that by becoming the Head Matriarch that I'll help the people? That's idiotic! Illogical! Even Gar wouldn't have said anything so absurd and ridiculous when he was young."
Nara looked confused at first but her expression soon changed.
"You mean your first? Not surprising, after all, all men are mentally inferior …"
Raven slapped Nara across her face. The Matriarch withheld her retaliation; know she was no match for the demoness. Instead she returned to her original mission.
"Hear me out Raven." She replied as rubbed her swollen cheek. "Let's talk somewhere in private."
Nara led Raven into her booth and closed the door behind her.
"We're on the verge of a revolution Raven. The masses are … grumbling."
"Wait until they find out their taxes are being raised and that the budgets are being cut to bail out my mother. That'll go over like a lead balloon."
"That's why we need you Raven. Violence could break out, and if that happens the people will suffer!"
Raven crossed her arms and frowned.
"And that's bad for business, right?"
Nara smiled while she shrugged her shoulders.
"Well now that you mention it, yes." She replied as she placed her hands on Raven's shoulders.
The sorceress pushed Nara away from her.
"I will have no part in the theft that the Matriarchs are about to commit."
Raven looked out of the booth's closed front window and saw that most of the assembled Matriarchs were watching Nara's booth. They were mostly younger women and Raven had hoped that they would be more enlightened than their mothers. She was left disappointed as the new generation of Matriarchs, who had been cast into the limelight by Terra's deadly attack, were every bit as selfish and greedy as their now dead mothers. She turned back to Nara and locked eyes with her.
"I'm not going to be your stooge Nara; I don't care if the people do revolt. In fact, I hope that they do revolt. And if they do, I'll be on their side!"
Nara's eyes widened as she gasped.
"Don't say that Raven!"
"Why not?" She snarled back.
Nara's expression became grim.
"That would be treason. And you know the punishment for treason."
"You and what army Nara? You can force me to be Head Matriarch, the Magical Articles of the Confederation have that binding power, but you can't make me toe the corporate line."
"Please Raven, I'm begging you! This would tear Azarath apart!"
Raven glared at Nara in silence for what felt like an eternity.
"So be it!" She growled. "Consider me a traitor."
Raven phased into the ground and vanished.
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Raven emerged on the rooftop of the Hall of Matriarchs, which stood across the street from the much less opulent Chamber of Deputies. But at the moment that was not what captured her attention.
There were several skyscrapers around the Hall of Matriarchs that had huge banners hanging from them. Each banner had Raven's smiling face on it with the caption "The People's Matriarch".
Raven's eyes narrowed and split into their demonic configuration. She lifted herself and became airborne, her hood raised and her cape billowing behind her as she flew towards the nearest banner, which was simply enormous, over 100 feet long.
Muttering her mantra under her breath she encased the banner in her obsidian light, ripping it to shreds, which fell upon the gathered crowds below like snowflakes. She barreled over to the next banner and also shredded it, repeating the process until they were all destroyed.
Raven calmed herself and her eyes reverted to their default amethyst orbs as she hovered hundreds of feet in the air. And that's when she heard it. It had started when she was shredding the banners, weak at first but grew louder and louder.
"Raven! Raven!" The assembled masses cheered.
The gray sorceress hesitated on what to do next, until she saw a woman with a megaphone in the crowd. She swooped down towards the woman, who thrust the megaphone into Raven's hands. She flew back up into the air, about 100 feet over the crowd and hovered. She raised the megaphone to her mouth, set the volume to maximum and pressed its gun like trigger.
"The Matriarchs are planning on robbing you!" Her voice echoed through the urban canyon of skyscrapers. "And they want me to help them. BUT I WON"T!"
The crowd, which Raven estimated to be around 100,000 souls, roared its approval.
"Stay in your homes and do not engage the Matriarchs, they are looking for an excuse to commit violence against you. I will meet with the Mayor and the Chamber of Deputies to discuss our next move. Until then keep your families safe and do not go to work. WE ARE ON STRIKE!"
Raven returned the megaphone to its owner as the crowd roared its approval, after which she flew off to Roth Tower.
As Raven disappeared in the distance she was observed by two older Matriarchs and a younger one rom the Hall's observation deck.
"I was afraid it would come to this." A matronly Matriarch observed.
"The assassin is ready to do our bidding." The other older woman added before turning to the younger woman.
"Nara, you will help the assassin set the trap. Raven has become a liability."
Nara crossed her arms as she watched Raven slowly disappear in the distance.
"You can count on me."
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The mood at Roth Tower was somber to say the least. The events at the Hall of Matriarchs had been broadcast throughout the entire city, including Raven's call to a general strike. The Tower's general manager had already forbidden any employees to return to their home at the end of their shifts, under pain of dismissal if they did. This included not only the lowly housekeeping staff but corporate employees as well: accountants, engineers, management, etc.
This did not sit well with Raven when she returned as she was mobbed by many staff members who begged her for permission to return to their homes and families.
As Raven gave them her blessing, the general manager, a woman named Zira Fontrel approached the crowd.
"Anyone who leaves to participate in the strike will be dismissed from serving the House of Roth." She shouted.
Raven glared at the woman.
"What did you say?"
"I am sorry Mistress, but these are your mother's direct orders. Even you cannot override them."
"Wanna bet?" Raven muttered to her.
The sorceress turned to face the thousands of Roth employees who were assembled in the Tower's lobby.
"You have my personal guarantee that you will not lose your jobs. Now go home and stay there until I resolve this issue."
Raven felt a firm hand on her shoulder which spun her around.
"Just what do you think you are doing?"Fontrel virtually spat in her face."You do not have that authority, interloper."
"Take your hand off of me."
Fontrel's response was to slap Raven across her face, after which she grinned.
"I've been wanting to do that since the day you came back, you ingrate! You've been doing nothing but undermine your mother's authority since you returned from Earth with your dangerous ideas. You are unworthy of being your mother's heiress. You have done nothing except embarrass and humiliate her since your unwelcome arrival with your degenerate immortality!"
Raven's eyes were glowing red, but the woman seemed unfazed.
"Do not believe for a moment that the Tower staff approves of the immoral relationship you have with your first, sleeping with him as if you were an animal."
Raven's teeth were now serrated.
"But worst of all you chose to not take any more husbands. As if that green moron was superior to the fine bachelors that were offered to you. He is a boorish commoner, unworthy to even scrub the floors in the Tower. By choosing that whore as your first you have disgraced all of us …"
Fontrel found herself trapped in Raven's obsidian light.
"How dare you call him that?" Raven screamed as she prepared to do something unspeakable to the woman. Fontrel gasped as she saw dark tendrils emerge from under Raven's cape which was draped around her like a cloak.
It was then that Raven felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Don't touch me!" She snarled before turning around. Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Don't hurt her Rae." He commanded her in a gentle yet authoritative voice.
Raven immediately shrank back down to her default form, but did not release the woman.
"Did you hear what she said Gar?"
He nodded.
"I did, but don't hurt her Rae, you can't."
Raven frowned, but released the woman, who was attended to immediately by Tower security.
"If you ever call him that again, even he won't be able to stop me!" She snarled at the General Manager.
"Raven, you might be Head Matriarch, but you cannot mistreat my staff!" Arella announced as she arrived charging into the lobby with a stern look on her face.
Raven flew up to her mother. Her own face screamed murder.
"I am not going to be the Council's lapdog! And we are not keeping the employees hostage in the Tower!"
"It's for their own safety Raven."
"Their safety? Don't lie to me mother!"
Arella crossed her arms as she addressed her daughter.
"There is a curfew in place, thanks to you Raven! Anyone caught outside will be executed on the spot! And it's too bad you left! That vote wasn't veto proof, you could have stopped it."
The tall Matriarch then addressed the staff assembled.
"You will stay in the servant's quarters tonight. Now go to the dining hall unless you wish to go to bed without dinner."
The staff quickly dispersed and soon Raven, Beast Boy, Arella and Fontrel were alone in the great lobby. Raven gave Fontrel one of her signature death glares.
"You will apologize for what you said." She snarled.
"Never mind that Raven, there are bigger issues at hand." Arella interrupted.
"Such as?"
Arella sighed.
"The Council has retained the services of assassin, from outside of Azarath, to eliminate you."
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A shorter chapter. Hopefully shorter and more frequent chapters will draw in more readers, as hit counts have been … disappointing to say the least. Thanks to those that have been reviewing. You have been few so the mailbag will be unusually brief.
King of Rice - "Great chapter, keep up the good work. I started reading the series and couldn't stop, you my friend have talent."
Thanks! Such words are always appreciated.
Stella de Oro - "Oooooh boy. Someone's gonna be in trouble. Teen Titans Lesson #1: Don't mess with Raven. I can't wait to see how Raven turns this bigoted system backwards. Or simply get her own personal revenge. That works too. She's angry and she's smart. Always a dangerous combination.
Keep up the excellent work!"
Thanks. As we now see things have become complicated. Of course Raven isn't afraid of any assassin.
Author Penholder - "awesome. I hope to see Raven do some political ass kicking."
I think we're looking at a full blown civil war.
FelynxTiger - "back to the old times with Slade destroy the titans ,
It frustrated me that Raven can't make her decisions like she want to , i like the ceremony part back on earth with Star XD
seeyounextchapty."
I wonder how much the Matriarchs are paying Slade. Oops! Did I say that?
Hairul The Nightrage Beast - "Raven leading a revolt? Hell Yes, Power to the Masses! The Matriarchs will get their hands full haha xD And now Slades thrown in to the equation, it will be a messy affair."
It will be very messy and the final outcome will be VERY different from the original story.
AkumaKami64 - "Why do I get the feeling the shits about to hit the fan very shortly? If Raven doesn't find a loophole or somehow convince the Matriarchs to change, than I'd be more worried about what BB will do then anything else.
Hmm, my own bet on what will happen is on Slade and Terra's assualt(s) end up killing more of the matriarchs."
BB won't be content to be a househusband, not that Raven expects that of her green stud and partner.
titanfan45 - "I'm guessing that Raven is going to take her case against the Matriarchs to the unwashed masses."
She has already begun, of course there is martial law in place, but how long can that last?