Chapter 2: A BLT and Iced Tea

Raven rolled over in her bed and slammed her fist down hard on her buzzing alarm clock. The buzzing ceased as the clock exploded into pieces upon impact. Sitting up she pushed her back against the bed rest and drew her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her knees and sobbed bitterly to herself.

This recurring dream was driving her insane; for weeks it had haunted her. It felt so real but she had no idea what it meant.

Raven placed her chin on her knees and tried to regain her composure. Her room was a mess and so was she. This wretched dream prevented her from sleeping or meditating. Without these two releases her emotions were building up uncontrollably. She was liable to explode at any moment.

She held up her hand to see what damage she had done to herself. A small stream of blood was coming out of the fleshy part of her right palm. She could heal it easily but in stead she pulled down the sleeve of her sweater, held up her arm and watched the blood slowly trickle down the length of her forearm.

She turned her head to look at the clock on the wall; it was 1:30 PM earlier than she normally woke as of late. She held up her arm, swung her feet out of bed and walked to over to her bathroom sink.

She turned on the cold water then ran her bloody arm under it. The sink filled with crimson water. Raven rubbed the water up her forearm as her hand began to sting smartly. She pinched her right hand with her left and quickly closed the cut.

Raven looked up in the mirror hardly recognizing her reflection. Her eyes were swollen and bloodshot. She reached down for the eye drops, tilted her head back and squeezed a small stream into both eyes. She pinched her eyes shut as they stung harshly. The pain felt strangely good. She opened her eyes and wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her sweater.

"Time to eat," she said to herself as she turned to leave the bathroom and exit her room.

The kitchen was thankfully empty. Raven put her tea pot on the stove and turned on the pilot. A blue flame whooshed up momentarily then receded slightly. Raven went over and pulled two bread slices from the bread box, placed them into the toaster and shoved the button down. The inside coils quickly turned a bright amber.

Raven bowed her head and closed her eyes. The image of her sons' prophecy slowly replayed in her aching head.

Raven gasped at the sudden piercing screech of the Tower's fire alarm system. She opened her eyes as white smoke billowed out of her empty teapot.

"Oh shit!" she curtly said to herself as she quickly grabbed the smoking teapot and tuned off the stove. Cyborg came bounding into the kitchen.

"Is everything ok?"

"Peachy, I forgot to put water in my teapot. It's ruined," Raven replied.

Cyborg looked at his forearm and pushed several buttons disabling the Tower's fire alarm system. The piercing alarm ceased as small wafts of smoke drifted towards the ceiling.

"You got something in the toaster?" Cyborg motioned to the counter. Raven looked over at the appliance as smoke began to drift out of it

Raven groaned, ran over to the toaster and forced the device to relinquish its burnt offering. She sighed noticeably frustrated by the turn of events.

"Sorry Cyborg. I'm having a rough day."

"I can see," Cyborg flicked on the kitchen fan to help clear out the smoke. Raven's eyes welled up as she stood by the counter holding her ruined teapot and staring at her burnt toast.

Cyborg walked over to her then gently took the teapot from her grasp and placed it back on the stove. "Have a seat; I'll fix you some lunch." Raven nodded then slowly walked over to the table and collapsed into one of the chairs.

Cyborg pulled out a large frying pan and placed it on the burner. "BLT?" Raven nodded her head in approval. Cyborg fired up the stove and went to the fridge to pull out the ingredients. He looked back at Raven. "Mayo?" She nodded affirmative.

Cyborg put the bacon in the pan; a sharp sizzle filled the kitchen. The bacon's sweet aroma slowly inundated the kitchen displacing the acrid smoke. Cyborg went back to the fridge and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea. He opened the freezer and grabbed a couple of ice cubes. He found a glass, dropped the ice cubes in and poured some iced tea. He walked over to the table and slid the glass over to Raven.

"Thanks," Raven said softly then pulled the glass to her and slowly raised it to her lips. The cold liquid ran down her throat. Cyborg went back to the counter to finish her sandwich. He placed a couple of slices of bread in the toaster and began cutting the tomato and preparing the lettuce.

He looked up and saw Raven begin to relax. "Hey I like your new look. Are you going to call yourself the grunge mistress?"

Raven looked down and inspected her clothes; she had neglected to change out of her black sweats. She laughed briefly. "Yea, well I look so bad I don't think anyone would believe I was a hero."

"I like it," Cyborg said in encouragement. He flipped the bacon. "Late night last night?" he asked cautiously. She had been keeping to herself over the last several weeks. He was concerned but knew there were limits to his prying.

"Yea," she said curtly. "Where is everyone?"

"Out and about I guess," Cyborg pulled the pan off the burner and fished out the bacon then completed Raven's sandwich. He brought the plate over to the table and placed it in front of Raven.

She looked down and took a long whiff savoring the sweet smell of bacon and toasted bread. She reached down and picked up Cyborg's offering then took a bite off of the corner. It was delightful. She had another swig of iced tea as Cyborg took a seat across the table.

"Well?" he questioned her.

"You're the best cook I've ever met Cyborg," Raven complemented her friend. "Some lucky girl is going to be very happy with you one day."

Cyborg smiled, "Well all I care about right now is how this girl feels."

"A hell of a lot better than I did five minutes ago," Raven replied as she took another large bite of her sandwich. Cyborg sat silently as he watched Raven quickly devour her lunch. She drained the last of her ice tea and looked over to her friend fully satisfied.

"That hit the spot." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Well I guess it's time for me to get cleaned up and face the world." She grabbed her plate and glass and stood up from the table. Raven paused then leaned over and planted a small kiss on Cyborg's cheek.

"Thanks for lunch," she said. Raven turned to deposit her plate and glass in the sink. Cyborg smiled as he watched her glide across the kitchen, her bare feet softly patting as she walked across the floor.