Chapter 9: Club Powder
Beast Boy pushed down on the latch to no avail. "It's locked," he dully announced.
"Told you it's hard getting into this place," Cyborg said in disgust.
The others stood huddled on the dark roof. No amount of pleading had been able to get them through the front door. Beast Boy was determined to get in and finish off what up to this point had been and extremely memorable night. Nothing was going to stop him, even if he had to bend a few rules.
"Raven, can you open this for us?" he looked over with pleading eyes.
Raven stood silent for a moment; a light breeze pushed strands of dark hair over her eyes. She reached up and brushed them aside. It could all end right here if she wanted it to. Beast Boy's eyes were desperate. She took a deep breath then reluctantly stepped forward. Her eyes glowed in the darkness and the latch clicked.
"Thanks Raven," Beast Boy reached out, pushed the latch down and swung the door open. The others quickly passed into the staircase. Raven stood looking into the light not sure if she should enter. The others would have a much better time without her.
"Come on Raven, lets go," Beast Boy said in an agitated voice. Raven cautiously stepped forward into the staircase. Beast Boy pulled the door closed behind him as he quickly descended the stairs. Raven stood just inside the door unwilling to go further. Beast Boy looked back and noticed she had not moved. He retraced his steps and looked into his friend's eyes. Beast Boy could see she was clearly uncomfortable. He lightly clasped her hand and smiled. Raven relented and followed him down the steps.
The others were huddled around the door that led into the club. They could hear the muffled music from the other side.
"It's not locked," Cyborg announced. "We need to cut the lights and get in there as fast as we can. If we're lucky the bouncers aren't guarding the door. Is everyone ready?" The others nodded as their hearts raced in anticipation. "Raven can you kill the lights please."
Raven looked up at the naked bulb above her. In an instant it was out plunging the group into darkness.
"On three," Cyborg's voice echoed in the darkness. "One, two, THREE!"
The door swung open. The music, club lights and cigarette smoke washed over them as they quickly pushed their way through. They were lucky; no one noticed them come in. Terra and Starfire quickly surveyed the scene. The place was packed with sweaty bodies bounding to the music.
"THIS WAY," Cyborg screamed above the music. The Titans slowly made their way through the crowd. The group reformed in front of the less crowded and noisy bar. Terra and Starfire hugged each other in triumph.
"See I told you we could do it," Beast Boy said half shouting. "Great work team!" He reached out and high-fived Robin and Cyborg claiming victory.
"Let's hit the dance floor," Terra screamed above the music as she clasped onto Beast Boy's arm. "You coming Robin or are you afraid," she taunted him.
"I'm not afraid," Robin replied in disgust. He grabbed Starfire's arm and happily dragged her behind Terra and Beast Boy. The couples slowly pushed their way through the swaying bodies.
Cyborg smiled as he watched the others take their place on the floor. Things had really gone pretty well. He turned to Raven then frowned. He could see she was struggling with the situation. "It's OK we don't have to go out there," he tried to reassure her.
Raven pulled her cape closer trying to ward off the huge crowd surrounding her. She hated crowds. The pulsing music and high strung emotions of all the others around her were wearing on her. She was on the verge of a panic attack. Her breathing became strained as she felt her lungs being squeezed shut.
"I gotta go Cyborg," she nearly screamed. "I'm sorry." She turned and pushed her way through the crowd towards the door they had snuck in earlier.
"Wait Raven," Cyborg called to her. It was too late; he could see her head bob through the crowd. He sighed to himself. Once she made up her mind there was no changing it. He watched her slowly make her way to the door and exit.
Raven slammed the door behind her. Muffled music filtered through the door and into the dark stairwell. Raven pushed her back against the cold metal door and listened to her breathing as she tried to steady her frayed nerves. When she regained her composure she felt her way up the steps and pushed open the door to the roof. The cool night air washed over her sweaty body sending a sudden chill up her spine.
Raven turned and almost ran into a couple entwined in a passionate kiss. The pair turned their heads and shot her an annoyed look. Raven blushed then turned away from them and made her way towards the edge of the roof. "Get a room," she said in disgust when she was a safe distance away.
Raven paused at the edge of the roof and surveyed the scene in front of her. She was several stories up from the street. Above her the stars twinkled as a soft breeze blew over her. Off in the distance she could hear the distant noise of traffic stalling.
She felt like such a loser. Why couldn't she enjoy herself? Something was always getting in the way. Terra, Beast Boy, Starfire and Robin had hit it off wonderfully. Now she was going to have to reap the harvest she had sown. They would be spending more time with each other than with her. To make matters worse she was sure Cyborg would provide little relief for her loneliness after their night together. Surprisingly she felt depressed by this thought. Raven raised her hood and prepared leave.
"Yes, fly away young Raven," a vaguely familiar voice rang out from the shadows.
"Who said that," Raven turned quickly and raised her hands in a defensive posture; her eyes glowed white prepared to confront whoever was taunting her.
"Relax, it's just me," a young man with short dark hair and a thin goatee emerged from the shadows. He wore a tight white muscle shirt and a pair of dark jeans. The young man folded his arms across his chest and waited for Raven to acknowledge him.
Raven dropped her hands as her eyes returned to their normal state. "Morpheus?"
The immortal smiled then spread his arms out to his sides. "Correct. The god of dreams at your service," he said happily. "I must have made some impression on you; you remembered my name."
"I thought your Dad grounded you after you let me escape from Hades," Raven coldly replied to this unexpected appearance.
"Correction," Morpheus sternly said as he took several steps closing the distance between them, "you won our bet. I would never have let you escape." Raven could hear a slight tone of godly arrogance in his voice. "To be honest with you my father didn't seem to mind that you left. I think he rather enjoyed telling your Dad what happened. Now that I've answered your question, it's time to answer mine. Why are you leaving?"
Raven looked down unwilling to answer Morpheus' question.
"Gee," the immortal continued after a pause. "I thought you'd want to stick around and see how things turned out with your match making. Everyone seems to be having a great time. I don't understand why you can't."
"Hey," Raven interrupted the gods haughty lecture. "I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition."
Morpheus and Raven paused then looked around in slight anticipation. Only the sound of far off traffic and a light buzzing from an airplane overhead could be heard.
"Tell me," the god of dreams continued. "How is it that you can allow yourself to feel the emotions of the millions of people around you, but you never allow yourself to feel any of your own?"
Raven looked at Morpheus with cold eyes. She folded her arms across her chest in protest. "I thought you were the god of dreams, not some Freudian freak full of psychobabble."
"I'm zorry my dear," Morpheus continued in a thick German accent. "I dink I und levt mien couch un der office. Shall ve taulk about und fader and und moder?"
Raven smiled underneath her hood. She couldn't help herself. Morpheus' antics were a welcome contrast to the topic he was pursuing. "Why are you so interested in my feelings?" she inquired.
"You're an interesting subject," Morpheus answered with a smirk. This demon's daughter had suddenly caught his interest.
"Oh great," Raven dryly replied. "Now I'm some sort of white rat in a laboratory."
"No, you're much too cute for that and I don't think you're hiding a tail under that cape," Morpheus gently chided her as he cocked his head to the side pretending to try and see if she was obscuring some grotesque appendage.
Raven smiled enjoying the god's sudden attention; comments on her looks were infrequent. "I might," she said slyly. "You know who my Dad is," she chided her accuser as she pulled her cape around herself seductively.
Morpheus laughed at her reply. "Good one, now loosen up a little more and enjoy yourself."
Raven cringed at the thought. "I don't think that would be a good idea," she said. "Something bad will happen."
"You can't go through your whole life without feeling emotions," Morpheus countered. "You'll drive yourself crazy. Here let's try something. Turn around." Morpheus gently laid his hands on Raven's shoulders. Raven cringed; she hated being touched. "Come on, turn around," he continued.
Raven reluctantly gave in and allowed herself to turn and look out over the city skyline. Morpheus gently lowered her hood. Raven turned her head and shot the immortal an annoyed look.
"Don't look at me, look out there," Morpheus instructed paying no attention to her glaring eyes. Raven turned her head back towards the city. "Now what do you see?" he asked.
Raven kept her arms folded across her chest. She was clearly frustrated Morpheus' little lecture. "Some lights and buildings", she replied vacantly. "Listen, is there a point to this?"
"The point is there are millions of people out there," Morpheus said slightly annoyed . "Did you ever just feel them all?"
"No," Raven replied. She became slightly more interested in what the immortal was trying to show her.
"Look at it all; the collage of mortals; all kinds, colors and textures." Morpheus drifted off momentarily. "It's beautiful."
"It's dangerous," Raven said trying to interject some reality into the situation.
"Yes it can be and part of it surely is," Morpheus agreed. "But there is another side, in fact an infinite number of sides you refuse to see."
"What do you mean?" Raven asked trying desperately to understand the immortal's point. She turned her head and looked right into Morpheus' dark probing eyes; he was so close to her and she was not disturbed by his presence. She thought she saw a twinkle in his eyes, no a million of them, swirling around in odd patterns. Stars, that's what they were. Galaxies of them, she was sure his eyes were full of stars!
"Turn and look, let go and see," Morpheus whispered.
Raven turned back to the skyline and took a deep breath, her heart raced in her chest. She would only open the door for an instant, just enough to sample everything.
She gasped as a sudden barrage of images and emotions exploded in her mind. In that instant she was everywhere, feeling everything. She was overwhelmed. In that moment she was on the dance floor below her feeling the loose exhilaration of the crowd pulsing to the beat, she was in the hospital ward with the young mother giving birth to her first child, she was with the grieving widow in the morgue, she was with the young girl receiving her first kiss, she was with the young man as he set his eyes on his first true love, she was with the motorcycle rider as he collided with the guide rail at 100 mph. She was there and so many more places all at once, too many to fully describe or comprehend. In another instance she was back, staring out over the city skyline, breathing rapidly and listening to the far off noise of sporadic traffic as the cool night air blew through her hair.
Raven composed herself then turned and looked back into Morpheus' eyes. The stars were gone. She smiled and slowly raised her hands and gently pulled the god's hands from her shoulders.
"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Morpheus said to her in a gentle hushed voice.
"No, it wasn't bad," Raven turned around and smiled as she delicately stepped around the young immortal. "It was horrible," she said sarcastically. She kept eye contact with Morpheus as he turned around to watch her walk back towards the stairwell door. She continued to smile at him as she hid the bottom part of her face behind her shoulder. "Goodnight Morpheus," she called to him in a calm clear voice.
"Goodnight Raven," Morpheus replied as she opened the door and headed back to her friends. "Sweet dreams," he said softly to himself. He turned and looked out over the city. He smiled to himself and stretched his arms wide open; there were a million dreams out there for him to sample.