Part Two
Raven stared out her cell window longingly. Night had fallen once more on the jail and Beast had left.
Raven had been in the prison for a total of forty two days. In all that time she'd been outside for maybe twenty hours of divided up time.
Sitting in the dark she began to wish for her old home in the dimension of Azarath. Why in the world had she left? No, a better question was how could she be so careless?
Raven sighed remembering that fateful day…
A girl screamed in fear as the wall fell towards her. Across the street her mother cried out her name in desperation.
Suddenly Raven appeared in a flash of power. Her normal outfit of black leotard, golden belt and blue, hooded, cloak stood out in the empty street.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" as soon as the incantation left her lips a huge shield of black power enveloped both her and the girl.
The wall fell around them creating a huge cloud of dust. Pieces of the building also rained down on the civilians and police officers When the dust and debris settled the dome of power made itself known by shattering upwards. Raven crawled from the pile coughing horribly but clutching the small girl in her arms.
"Put the child down and put your hands above you head!" a man shouted fearfully through a bullhorn.
Raven coughed again and obeyed but did not put her hands up. Instead she knelt down and began healing the sprained ankle that had been the reason the girl couldn't escape.
"Get away from her! Get back!" the man ordered again.
Raven finished her healing and the girl awoke.
"You saved me." she whispered her eyes wide with fear and amazement for this strange person who had risked their life for her.
Raven stared down at the child a look of confusion in her purple eyes. Why didn't she run? Wasn't she afraid of her display of power? Azar and her mother had said Earth people would be.
The next thing Raven knew she was struck in the back. Pain flooded her senses but she clung to consciousness. Someone reached out to pull her hood down
"Stay back!" Raven yelled the words feeling strange on her tongue. She still didn't have English down very well. A blast of power sent whoever it was flying away form her.
That had lead to her being hunted down and finally subdued by those blasted handcuffs.
Raven woke to the sound of a howl. She realized she'd fallen asleep while thinking. Another howl pierced the quiet air.
Not for the first time Raven wished for her empathic powers. She wanted to reach out and try to find the source of the howling.
Being raised in a monastery Raven had grown to be naturally curious about everything around her. But she sat in a dark jail cell unable to investigate this strange sound.
Suddenly the howling was cut off short and was replaced by yelps of pain. Raven winced at the heart wrenching sounds. Soon though the noises faded away and Raven was able to return to the comforting blackness of sleep.
The next morning Beast came in with a black eye and a vast collection of bruises on his face and arms.
"What happened to you?" Raven asked as he set her breakfast tray down on the small table that sat in the far corner
"I… got into a fight… on my way home." the green man replied his green eyes avoiding hers carefully
"I see." Raven murmured. Even without her powers she knew he was lying by the hesitation in his voice but whatever he didn't want to tell was his business not hers.
"Chief said you could walk outside today if you want." Beast said leaning against the stone wall waiting for his charge's answer
"I'd like to."
As they walked Beast enthralled the girl with stories of a far away land called Africa. Raven had read about in books but they were nothing compared to these beautiful, painted stories. But Beast's accounts were so much more realistic. Like he had actually been there doing all these things.
"Good morning, Beast!" a voice rang out interrupting a story of traveling down a river in a wooden canoe. Chief Ralston approached the two and smiled
"I just wanted to make sure you were alright after last night." he said ignoring Raven's presence.
"I'm fine." Beast replied.
"Good and great job on tracking down that escapee by the way. I don't know how we ever managed without you."
The Chief sauntered away not noticing the way Beast's ears pulled back angrily or the way his hands had balled into fists.
Raven pressed her lips into a thin line and she glanced up at the tall man who refused to meet her eyes "I think we should go back inside." he said through clenched teeth.
Raven sat with her eyes closed, her mind filled with questions. What in the world had the Chief meant?
Across the room Beast was dozing in a chair, his legs propped up on the table. Raven studied the bruises on his face and arms carefully. He looked as if someone had kicked him in the face. Raven sighed slightly. If she had her powers she could've healed him in an instant. The slight pain would've been worth it.
The young sorceress frowned "Where did that come from?" she whispered "He's my jailer. Why do I… care for him?"
'Because he cared for you. Azar was wrong. People here do care about others.' a soft voice whispered through her mind.
"You say something Raven?" Beast asked taking his feet down from the table and stretching his arms like a cat.
Raven looked up and shook her head "No." she replied "Gar, can I… ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"What was the Chief talking about earlier? When he said you did a good job tracking down that… escapee." Raven stumbled over the strange word
Beast's ears pulled back and he hesitated. "I don't live here for free Raven. I track down people who try to escape and capture them."
"So if I tried to get out you'd have to…"
"Yes."
Raven bit her lip and turned away. That made escape planning so much harder. Beast reached out and brushed a strand of hair from her face "But that doesn't mean I'd like it."
Raven looked up at him and wished with all her heart she could hug him. No one had ever treated her like this. Like they really, genuinely cared about her.
Suddenly the man leaned down and kissed her softly. Raven's hair flared out and a glass of water that sat on the table was surrounded in black energy before shattering
Beast jerked away in surprise. "What was that?" he asked looking at the shards of glass that now littered the floor
"My powers… are triggered by emotion. The more I feel the more energy I release." Raven relied turning away slightly.
"You powers? I didn't know you had powers." Beast said cocking his head slightly
"Why do you think I'm even in here with twenty pound handcuffs on?"
Beast pulled her around to face him. His eyes searched hers for a moment "You really didn't do anything wrong did you?"
"I saved a little girl from being crushed by a building. But apparently that's against the law." Raven snapped
Beast's mouth twitched into a smile and he kissed the girl again "Well then we'll just have to get you out of jail won't we?"
Raven cocked a brow. Why did she have a bad feeling about this?
(Sry this is so short but I'm kinda running out of ideas for it. If you have any oneshot ideas PLEASE send them to me!)
