We've got an exciting chapter here folks. I don't want to give anything away though, so that's all you're getting from me. Hope you enjoy it.
fanficprincess101 – Yay, a new reviewer! How I love new reviewers. I'm quite glad you're enjoying the story so far. And I like what you said about Phobia – ultimate evil. That really does fit her. It's a good thing you like her then, because you'll get more from Phobia this chapter.
26WhiteRaven – Another new reviewer! What a successful chapter I had. I'm also pleased you're enjoying it so far. I do love to hear that my story is cool.
Moving Mountains – The plot is unfolding indeed. Lol, don't worry, the Raven/Robin moment was not an illusion. Man would that have been a great way to mess with everyone though. Unnecessarily cruel, but definitely fun. But then I'd have to figure out some way of explaining how that was one of their fears, (remember, Phobia only does, well, phobias) especially after I explicitly stated it was a Robin/Raven story.
Z Star the Hidden Dragon – Haha! I fooled someone with the illusion at least. And yeah, Starfire would totally not have actually felt like she was competing with Raven – which is what made it such a good illusion. Oh, and like I said before, I've never really been good at writing emotional stuff, so you have no idea how good it made me feel when you said Raven's confession was surreal and believable. Merci.
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The sunset had ended long ago; the only light now entering the warehouse, faint as it was, came from the streetlights outside. Once again in the chair, Raven stared ahead at the empty building, able to identify very little in the blackened room. Beside her, Robin sat silently, but for the soft creaks his chair made when he shifted his position. Neither had said a word regarding what happened between them, but Raven had been able to sense emotions within Robin during it, feeling his excitement and nervousness. Most importantly, Raven could feel the love Robin had for her in his heart.
Robin was the one to break the silence. "We need to get back to work."
"Yeah, I know."
"I don't know why I didn't ask before, but when Phobia was in your mind, did you see her at all? Do you have any idea where she might be?"
Raven shook her head. "I have no idea. I could sense her in my mind and talk to her, but I didn't see her. She wasn't close enough at any rate."
"So even after all this time we're still at square one."
"Looks like."
Robin leaned to the side of his chair so he could reach into his utility belt and remove his communicator. "I'm going to call Cyborg and Starfire and see if they've had any luck at all."
A loud sound echoed through the cavernous building, reverberating in Robin's eardrums. He perked his head up, clipping his communicator back onto his belt and scanning for the source of the sound.
"What was that?" Raven asked, standing up from her chair.
"I think it was a gunshot," Robin replied, rising to his feet as well.
Three more shots punctured the silence, confirming Robin was right. "Those shots are just outside the building," Robin said, darting off to one of the side doors. "Come on!" He tore past steel columns, uncannily able to wend his way through the dark warehouse as his adrenaline climbed steadily, and slammed into one of the doors, thrusting it wide open with tremendous intensity.
Two police cruisers sat beside each other in the middle of the road, the red and blue lights illuminating the surrounding area. Three officers crouched behind the cars with their handguns drawn, staying low as bullets ricocheted off the vehicles; tiny flashes of orange and yellow sparks burst from the cruisers with each hit. Farther down the street four men stood in front of a black van, each one wearing a menacing balaclava, firing continuously upon the police.
Robin charged out into the road past the police cruisers and whipped a birdarang forward. It cut through the air, striking hard against one of the men's outstretched arms, sending the gun soaring out of his hand. The three other men opened fire upon Robin and he gracefully cart wheeled backwards, avoiding their shots. Landing in a crouched position, Raven appeared at his side, hovering several feet above the concrete. Robin froze as one of the men raised his gun to Raven and fired a single shot, striking her in the stomach. Raven's eyes widened and her shoulders and head sagged forward, her mouth hanging open but with no sounds emerging. She remained in the air for several seconds longer and then collapsed, landing in Robin's arms.
Putting Raven gently down on the pavement, he screamed with rage and pulled a large metal disk from the back of his belt. Robin flung the disk at the men and it skidded atop the concrete, sliding just past them. Before they could react it erupted in a mighty explosion, tossing them upwards like rag dolls and flipping the van onto its side.
Robin turned back to Raven and dropped to his knees. She was shaking and Robin grabbed her shoulders to calm her, but her legs continued to kick. Raven's leotard was warm and sticky over her stomach from the spreading blood.
"Raven, stay with me," Robin said. "Fight it. You're going to be okay."
She convulsed slightly, but was able to turn her eyes to look at Robin. Raven coughed harshly, spitting a stream of blood out that splattered wetly on the concrete. Robin cupped his hand behind Raven's head and her shaking slowed, but her breaths grew more laboured.
Fiercely turning his head to face the stunned officers, Robin screamed, "Call an ambulance! She needs medical attention now!" He looked back at Raven immediately, not bothering to watch them scramble off. "Help is on the way," he softly said. "Just hold on."
Raven barely nodded, growing weaker with each breath.
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"I think it was a gunshot."
Raven raised an eyebrow, staring quizzically at Robin, who had just leapt to his feet. "What are you talking about?" she asked. "I don't hear anything."
"Those shots are just outside the building," he blurted out in a fevered pitch. Robin rushed forward at full speed, shouting, "Come on!" back at Raven.
A thunderous sound filled the warehouse when Robin smashed into the side door, which crashed shut again once he was through. She stared in amazement and utter confusion. There hadn't been the slightest sound in an hour, let alone gunshots. She rubbed her forehead and then cursed when it dawned on her. Raven rose off the ground and shot after Robin like a dart.
Dark energy surged from her palm, hitting the steel door with enough force to drive it off the hinges. Smoke and flames danced upwards from the middle of the road when Raven appeared into the night sky. Directly in front of her Robin remained perfectly still, hunched over. Because of the distance separating them, Raven only caught a few words, hearing him say, "—going to be okay."
"Robin, snap out of it!" Raven shouted, coming to land beside him. "Phobia's controlling your mind again. This isn't actually happening to you." Raven circled Robin, reluctant to touch him—while under one of her illusions, he could be tremendously dangerous depending on what he saw. With Raven's luck, Robin might perceive her to be Slade, and making contact with him would no doubt trigger violence. Yelling at him was certainly not producing results either, however.
Robin suddenly jerked his head to the side, screaming, "Call an ambulance! She needs medical attention now!"
Phobia was forcing him to suffer emotionally, like she had done with Raven on the rooftop. There was no way she could be sure what Robin was seeing, but severing the hold on him might just be possible.
"Help is on the way. Just hold on."
Raven could feel Robin growing tense and anxious, telltale signs of fear. Despite the calming words he said, there was panic in his voice. Whoever Robin was comforting, clearly he was afraid things would not turn out okay. Raven knelt beside Robin and touched her pointer and middle fingers to her forehead, slowly chanting, "Azarath, metrion, zinthos."
Her world flashed white and Raven's mind rushed outwards from her skull. Immediately she sensed an aura surrounding Robin, covering his own mind, and bombarded it telepathically. The hold would not dissipate, so strong was Phobia's connection to him, but Raven's efforts revealed a mental link. Were her mind not separated from her body, a smile would have spread across Raven's face upon this discovery. This link, essentially a trail, allowed her to sense where Phobia was directing her abilities from. By following it, Raven would find her.
A hazy, translucent mist swirled around Robin in the darkened mental world, confusing Raven momentarily and serving to momentarily hide the link. She sifted through the fog, pinpointing one thin strand curling off into the distance, which Raven knew was the trail leading back to Phobia.
Whipping through the smoky aura, Raven glided along the path, twisting between buildings and rising above the skyline. The streak arched sharply, falling back to the streets below, and snaked around two office buildings, spiralling upwards along the outer glass. Raven swiftly followed until she was above the two massive office buildings. She paused upon reaching the elevated position, able to see much of the cityscape.
The trail stretched onwards for only a block more, sinking to the roof of a mid-sized building in the end. Raven's view was punctured by a bright white atop the roof, glowing magnificently and lighting the structure. Raven floated down to the neighbouring building and perched on the ledge, staring at the centre of the radiance. Phobia sat cross-legged, the white glow pulsating off her body and the mental link emanating from her forehead. The light was so intense from this short distance that Raven was unable to make out any of her features, apart from seeing that Phobia's eyes were closed.
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Raven's eyes snapped open with a jolt when her mind re-entered her body. In front of her Robin still sat in the same position, his arms positioned awkwardly as if he was cradling someone. Having left the telepathic state she was just in, the aura around him was no longer visible to Raven. The mental link connecting Robin to Phobia remained unseen now, but her location was burned into Raven's mind.
Robin perked his head up, frantically looking up and down the street. "Where are they?" he asked. "She's dying!"
Raven could feel Robin growing more apprehensive and stressed. Subjected to intense emotional duress, his mind was slowly weakening. Raven feared what the effects could be if she did not break the illusion.
She soared upwards with such rapidity the surrounding buildings blurred together and her world became fuzzy and distorted. Diving forward, Raven sped past numerous high rises, closing in on Phobia. A strong wind blasted against her face, her hair flapping wildly and tears trickling from the corners of her eyes. She could now see Phobia below her, unaware of Raven's approach.
Arching her back and thrusting her legs out in front, she landed on the rooftop, fluidly taking several steps forward and throwing her fist at Phobia. Raven's knuckles pounded into Phobia's jawbone, snapping her head backwards and leaving her lying on the roof. The woman pushed herself up using her hands, finally giving Raven a clear view of her features.
Phobia was strikingly beautiful, with short forest green hair that clung to her head and extended just past her ears. A thin line of green ran along the outside of her eyes, and her lips were the same dark colour. She wore a tight fitting, sleeveless dark green bodysuit, which served to outline her curved figure, and flat soled black boots rose to her knees. She was perhaps half a foot taller than Raven and at least ten years her elder. Tilting her head downwards, she flashed a wickedly twisted smile—the very same one Terra had smiled at Raven as she drowned.
"Hello, Raven," she said in a light, almost cheerful, tone. "I had no idea you were dropping by."
"Just shut up," Raven spat out.
"Oh come now, don't be so rude."
Raven stabbed her pointer finger into the air at Phobia. "You tried to hurt my friends. They could have been killed."
"With any luck," Phobia replied. The smile had not left her face.
"Why are you doing this?"
The smile spread wider and she chuckled lightly. "Does the bad guy always need to have some nefarious plot? I'm just doing this for fun."
"For fun?" Raven took a step forward, feeling her body tense up with anger. "You're sick and twisted."
"Careful what you say to me," Phobia said harshly. "Around me, anger can turn to fear in the blink of an eye."
Raven allowed a smile to spread across her own face. Tapping her temple with her pointer and middle fingers, she said, "Trying to get in here, are you?"
A surprised look showed itself on Phobia's face, but she quickly regained her composure. "It seems I didn't realize the extent of your abilities."
"I was confused and vulnerable before, but that's changed. You made a mistake showing me the last illusion."
Phobia waved her hand dismissively. "Well no matter, I can still enjoy tormenting the others. I might not be able to get inside your head anymore, but there's nothing you can do to break my hold on them."
"What have you done to Robin?" Raven demanded. "What is he seeing?"
"He thinks you're dead," she responded callously. "Apparently you dying is one of that weak sentimentalist's greatest fear. How tragic for him," she said sarcastically, her lips pouting. So overcome with rage, Raven did not notice Phobia gingerly slip her hand behind her back as she continued speaking. "You have impressive mental abilities, but only fear flows to the very soul. Entering minds is easy; projecting false realities is real power."
"Power you're about to lose."
"Not likely."
Moonlight glinted off the dagger as Phobia removed it from her belt, catching Raven's eye and giving her the precious second she needed to avoid the first strike. Her fist clenched tightly around the handle, Phobia lunged forward.
Raven let herself fall backwards, watching as the blade cut through the empty air centimetres above her face, and raised her legs skywards once she had landed on her back, pressing the soles of her boots against Phobia's stomach. Using Phobia's forward momentum against her, Raven thrust her legs upwards still further, flipping Phobia over. She landed hard on her back, grunting deeply, and Raven spun around, already up on one knee, and was forced to twist her leg to the right to avoid a wild swipe by Phobia while she lay on her side.
Raven leapt to her feet and steadied herself as Phobia charged at her again, slicing the dagger horizontally, and curved her back, the cold steel narrowly missing her windpipe. A vertical thrust downwards glanced off a circular shield of dark energy around Raven's left hand. Countering the blow, Raven snapped her right hand upwards on an angle, releasing a blast of energy that struck against the left side of Phobia's face and her shoulder, tossing her back a step awkwardly.
Phobia shook her head, clearing the fuzziness from her vision. "You'll pay for that, witch!"
Raven upraised her left arm and shot black from her extended fingers. The energy surged through the air, wrapping itself around Phobia's right hand, still clutching the dagger, and spread upwards until the entire arm was encased. Closing her hand into a fist, Raven lifted her arm above her head, pulling Phobia up off the rooftop. Seeing only panic in Phobia's eyes, Raven whipped her arm down past her waist, slamming Phobia face first against the concrete roof.
The black energy dissipated, but Phobia did not move. Faint breathing indicated she was still alive and a thin line of blood exuded from her ear. Raven bent down, sliding the dagger out from Phobia's fingers and into her own. She gently turned the weapon over, pointing the edge at the body lying in front of her, and tightened her grip.
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Now was that exciting or what? What's Raven going to do? Let Phobia live or give in to a darker emotion? What suspense! Did I fool anyone with the Raven being shot thing, or have you guys pretty much figured things out? I suppose I'd be asking for too much if I thought any of you would keep falling for stuff like that.
