Well, this is the last chapter. Takes place 6 months after chapter 5.
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans
He couldn't help but feel a little guilty as he sat on top of one of the tallest buildings in Gotham. He should probably be at home with his family helping Kory. It was probably difficult for her to care for a one year old when she was 6 months pregnant. He was excited, but nervous, for the arrival of their 3 child. They were now going to be outnumbered by their own children.
He hoped it was a boy. Since Mari was named after his mother and Ryan was named after Kory's brother, he thought if they had another boy they could name him after his father, and his deceased son. John Robert Grayson. But he didn't really care what sex the baby was as long as it was healthy.
He sighed as he looked at the streets below him. He was glad that there had been less crime in the city lately but it also gave him less to do when he was on patrol. He should probably just go home and get some sleep. Nothing was going to happen. But the fresh air made it easier to clear his head. Besides, he knew he wouldn't be sleeping much tonight anyway. Tomorrow was the anniversary of Robert's death. It was always a hard day for Richard to get through.
Before he could dwell too much in his depression he heard a store alarm go off from somewhere below him. He shot his grabbling hook onto a nearby building and descended to the ground. He saw four robbers running towards a dark alley they probably thought they could disappear in. He quickly followed after them. "You know, crime doesn't pay." Nightwing said. Even he had to inwardly roll his eyes at his corny line, but he couldn't resist.
The four robbers immediately attacked him together. He took down the first two without problem with a few well placed punches. After seeing what happened to two of his friends, the 3rd robber stopped his attack and tried to run. "You're not getting away that easy." Nightwing informed him before knocking him unconscious with a swift kick to the head.
He turned back to the 4th guy who dropped to his knees to beg. "Please don't turn me in. I need this money. My son has cancer. He'll die unless I get the money for chemo." The guy pleaded. Nightwing knew this guy was obviously lying, but he couldn't help but let his thoughts wander back to Robert for a second. His momentary distraction was all the robber needed and Nightwing felt a sharp pain in the side of his stomach where the robber had stabbed him. He gasped at the sudden pain and the robber made a run for it. Even with his stab wound Nightwing managed to take the guy down.
After alerting the authorities, Nightwing managed to get home, but by the time he reached his house he was beginning to feel lightheaded from blood loss. He opened the door to his home and was greeted by the sound of loud, continuous barking. He gritted his teeth and glared at the puppy, regretting ever buying the dog.
He bought the Golden Lab for Kory's birthday since he knew she would love it. Silkie had died a few years back and she had been reluctant to replace him, feeling it would be an insult to his memory. But the moment he had given her the puppy she had fallen in love with it and Satin had become a part of the family.
"Satin, it's me. Stop barking." Richard demanded as he shut the door behind him. Satin continued to bark and Richard rubbed his temples to try to ward off his migraine. "You need a trainer. Maybe you could be a good dog that wins dog shows instead of just being annoying." With that said he limped up the stairs to his bedroom.
He opened the door to the master bedroom and saw Kory sitting in a rocking chair. She had one hand over her enlarged stomach and was staring out the window. Apparently, she hadn't noticed him come in. He walked up behind her and placed his hand on her shoulder. She jumped slightly before recognizing who it was. She turned to face him. "You are bleeding." She said while pointing at the spot on his uniform where the blood was beginning to seep through the fabric.
She stood from the rocking chair. "Let me see it." She demanded. He hesitantly peeled down the top part of his uniform to show the stab wound in his side. Kory gasped as she saw how serious the wound was. "You need to go to the hospital." She informed him.
"No." He said.
She sighed at his stubbornness. "Fine. I will do your stitches then. Sit." She said while pointing to the chair she had vacated. He obeyed and she went to the bathroom to get the first aid kit. "This is going to hurt a lot more than it would at the hospital." She told him.
"I can handle it." He assured her. First, she cleaned the wound with alcohol to make sure it wouldn't get infected. The alcohol burned, but he didn't complain since he knew she would just say he should have gone to the hospital. She then closed the wound, which was extremely painful with no way to numb it and he couldn't help but complain.
"There. Now you do not have to worry about bleeding to death." She said as she sat in his lap.
He wrapped his arms around her and rocked the rocking chair. "Why are you still awake?" He asked as he noticed how late it was.
"The baby keeps kicking me. I could not sleep." She explained.
"Does it hurt?" He asked. He then rested his hand on her stomach and felt the baby kick.
"A little. But when the baby comes everything is worth it." She said. He heard her yawn and smiled. He picked her up and walked towards the bed. "What are you doing? Put me down Richard. I'm too heavy. You will reopen your stitches." She warned. He ignored her and placed her on the bed. He slid into the bed next to her and pulled the covers over both of them.
"Goodnight." He said.
He didn't know how much time had gone by, but Kory was now asleep. He wished he could fall asleep. It would make the day go by faster. But he had too many things on his mind to fall asleep. He glanced at the clock. 12:07. The day was officially here. He squeezed his eyes shut, wishing he had never even looked at the clock in the first place. He should probably visit the cemetery today. He hadn't been there in almost a month.
He tried to stop thinking so he could fall asleep, but it was impossible. He heard Kory's soft breathing beside him, he could also hear crickets outside through the open window. He heard Satin barking from downstairs. Stupid dog, barking at nothing. When the barking continued, he wondered what was wrong. Suddenly, the barking stopped and he felt a chill run through the house. He shivered involuntary and got out of bed. He put on his slippers and went to check on his kids. He had a weird feeling.
He went to Ryan's room first since it was closer. He left the light off and used the glow from the nightlight to navigate his way to the crib. He stubbed his toe on a toy lying on the floor and cursed under his breath. He got to the crib and peered in at Ryan sleeping soundly. He sighed, wondering why he was so paranoid all of a sudden. He placed a kiss on Ryan's forehead before leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
He continued down the hallway until he reached Mari's room. The purple walls seemed almost black at night, making the room seem even darker than it was. He couldn't see anything but managed to make his way to his daughter's bed without the use of his eyes. He sat down on the side of the bed and ran a hand through Mari's dark hair before resting his hand on her back. She stirred slightly, but just rolled over and went back to sleep.
He couldn't shake the uneasy feeling he had. Maybe it was just because of the anniversary of Robert's death, but there had been a few anniversaries of the death before this one, and he had always felt bad today, but this feeling was new to him. He suddenly had the impulse to go back to his room so he stood from Mari's bed and went back into the hall. For some reason he found himself running back to his room, anxious to check on Kory.
He stopped in the doorway and looked at the sleeping woman in the bed. "Kory?" He said as he walked into the room. He sat down on the bed and shook her shoulder. "Kory?" He repeated, this time louder. She looked like she was sleeping, she was probably fine. He was just being paranoid because of what today was.
But a repressed memory suddenly came to mind. 'Everyone walked by the casket to see Robert one last time. Richard went last with Bruce and Alfred by his side. He looked at his son. He didn't look dead. There were no bruises or gun shot wounds. He wondered exactly how Raven had killed him,'
His eyes widened as his brain made the connection. "No." He whispered. He stood from the bed and walked away from the body slowly. "No." He repeated as the full realization of what was happening came to him. "Not again!" He yelled as he sunk to his knees. His wife and his unborn child were both dead. He felt tears sliding down his cheeks before he realized he was crying. He pushed his grief away and tried to focus. He had to find Raven. She wouldn't get away with this.
His eyes widened when he realized what he hadn't been able to comprehend in his extreme grief. Mari and Ryan weren't safe. He had to save them, otherwise he would have lost everyone that meant anything to him. He sprinted to Ryan's room, praying that he wasn't too late. When he saw that the door was open and the lights were on, he knew he was too late. But he didn't allow himself to dwell on it. He could grieve later. Right now he had to stop Raven before she got Mari.
When he reached Mari's room he was relieved to see she was still breathing. But his relief immediately disappeared when he saw Raven standing next to Mari's bed. "Stop. Get the fuck away from her." He demanded in a calm voice that even scared him.
Raven turned to look at him. "She's pretty." Raven said while gesturing to Mari.
Richard stepped further into the room. "I'm not going to tell you again. Get. Away. From. Her." He reiterated. Raven ignored him and stayed where she was. Richard ran towards her and tackled her to the floor. He knew she could easily throw him off with her powers, but she didn't.
"Do you really want to fight me Richard? Do you really think you can win?" She asked.
"I have something worth fighting for." He replied as he glared at her.
"I don't want to hurt you, but I will if I have to." She said as dark energy formed around her hands.
"Don't lie to me! If you didn't want to hurt me you wouldn't have killed Robert, or Kory, or Ryan! You're insane!" He shouted while he put more pressure into his hold on her wrists.
She glared at him, and he noticed her eyes were their normal violet hue, not red. "Why should I spend the rest of my life in a mental hospital while you just replace me and get yourself a new family?" She questioned angrily.
"Because you are insane! I had a chance at happiness and you ruined it! For the second time!" He yelled.
It was inevitable with all the yelling going on that Mari would wake up. "Daddy?" She mumbled sleepily while rubbing her eyes. He let go of Raven and rushed to Mari.
"Mari, you need to get out of here. Go to Lian's house. Maybe you two can play. And tell Lian's dad I need him to come over here." Richard explained. Mari just stared at him in confusion. "Go!" Richard yelled at her. Mari flinched as he yelled at her, but she was stubborn, she got it from him.
"No! Not until you tell me what is happening!" Mari yelled back. He noticed Raven getting up from the corner of his eye.
"Please Mari. Just go." He insisted. Mari shook her head and crossed her arms.
"You spoiled her." Raven said.
He turned around and glared at her. "Leave her alone. You're mad at me. I get it. Then take it out on me. Not on my family." He said.
"She'll always be a reminder of your betrayal. Of your new life where you replaced me." She said. He saw the dark energy growing in her hands, black tendrils trailed from her fingertips. And he knew there was nothing he could do to stop her. She released the dark energy and Mari's life ended, her green eyes wide opened.
His legs gave out and he collapsed onto the floor as he let out an anguished scream. Gone. They were all gone. The 3rd family he had ripped away from him. He looked to the ceiling. "Why do you hate me so much?" He yelled to the heavens before he completely broke down. He couldn't stop the tears and his loud sniffles were the only sounds in the room. After what could have been minutes or hours, he finally managed to stop the tears.
There was silence in the room until Raven decided to say something. "I always kind of wanted a daughter." Raven said from her seat on Mari's bed as she ran her hand through Mari's hair.
He immediately pulled Mari out of Raven's grasp and clutched her body tightly to his chest. "Don't you dare touch her." He murmured as he hugged the cold body. He looked at her with all the hatred he could muster. "Are you happy now? Now I'm as miserable as you are!" He yelled at her. When he saw that she didn't regret what she did at all, he realized Raven was as dead as Robert, Kory, Ryan, or Mari. Raven had died the same day Robert had, and had been replaced with this unfeeling monster.
He felt another pang of loss at the realization that the woman he had fallen in love with was gone and there was no way she was ever coming back. She was truly insane. Her rage had taken over. When the Titans had first formed he had worried about something like this happening. But the more time he spent with Raven the more he thought that it would never happen. She wasn't capable of it. She was just as emotionally stable as the rest of the team and was no more likely to snap than the rest of them. 'Well, I guess I was wrong.' He thought bitterly.
"You know you won't get away with this. They won't put you back in the asylum. They'll put you in jail. You might even get death. You've killed fou-five people." He corrected himself as he remembered the baby that would now never be born.
Her eyes widened in shock. "You would actually recommend the death penalty? I thought you loved me. Or was that another one of your lies?" She asked angrily.
He shook his head sadly and held Mari tighter. "You're not the woman I fell in love with. I don't know what you are and I could really care less what happens to you at this point." He said.
Her eyes glowed red and two more eyes appeared above her normal ones. "Well, there are no fingerprints on the bodies. They wouldn't find the murder weapon or anything. So they could never prove I did anything." She said. An evil smiled appeared on her face which caused Richard to back up in fear. "The only thing that stops this from being a perfect murder is the eye witness. We can't have than now, can we?" She asked.
Before she had finished talking he was already running out of the room. He knew he would have a better chance of getting away if he dropped Mari, but he couldn't bring himself to leave her here. If he could, he would have grabbed Ryan and Kory too. He made it to the staircase and jogged down them. Since it was dark he lost his footing and tumbled down the remaining stairs, causing him to drop Mari. He cringed at the sound her body made as she hit the floor. He stopped tumbling and tried to get to Mari, which is when he realized his foot was broken. He howled in pain when he put weight on it and immediately fell back down.
He could see Raven coming down the stairs. He tried to crawl away, but suddenly stopped. What was the point? Everything that meant the most to him in this world was gone. Besides, if Raven really wanted him dead, he would be dead eventually. Why prolong the inevitable? He stopped trying to escape and just lay on the floor. He closed his eyes as he heard Raven's footsteps approaching.
"Any last words?" She asked him.
Without even opening his eyes to look at her, he replied. "I hate you." His last words as Raven released her dark powers on him.
Minutes later, Raven was standing in a bathroom looking at her reflection in a mirror. Raven was horrified by what had happened. When Robert had died, she really had no control of her powers. Her emotions were on overload. But this time she wasn't so sure. In the mental institute she really had nothing else to do except meditate. So how could her emotions be to blame for this? She was completely in control of them. Was she insane or was she a cold calculating criminal?
This hadn't been premeditated. She had just felt like she needed to get out of the institution. She had been there for years. She had warped herself into a black bird and found herself back in their old country house outside of Gotham. Besides everything being dusty, the house looked the same as it always had. She had wandered the house until she reached Robert's room. She hadn't been able to make herself go in and warped herself out of the house. Too many bad memories.
She had walked the country roads, thinking the fresh air could help her think. By now it was nighttime and she looked up to see the stars. This was when she remembered Starfire. They were supposed to be friends. But she had come back to Earth, not even bothered with visiting Raven, and then stolen her husband. She felt rage well up in her. Why should Starfire benefit from her misfortunes? This is exactly what she always wanted ever since Raven and Robin had started dating. While Raven sat in her white room and felt horrible, lonely and guilty, Starfire had a great life with Raven's ex-husband and their kids. They probably lived in some mansion in the suburbs and their kids probably took piano lessons and went to private school. The American Dream.
Her rage had driven her to their house that night. She didn't know how she knew where it was, but when she saw it, she immediately knew this was it. She killed the dog, and then she got to their room. And there was Starfire, beautiful as always. Raven was secretly hoping that she had gotten fat and lost her looks as she had aged. But of course not, because Starfire was perfect, always had been, she was a princess, and her optimistic attitude always cheered everyone around her up, and everyone had always liked her more. Including Robin.
Raven didn't feel anything as she muttered her mantra and Kory was killed. If anything, she felt relieved. Only now was Raven feeling anything. And she felt horrible. Maybe not about Kory, she had betrayed her after all. But about the kids and Richard. It scared her how easy it was for her to end all their lives. She barley remembered anything from Robert's death, since she hadn't been in control. But she could remember everything about tonight vividly.
And this was when she realized she wasn't insane. Just bitter, resentful, and out for revenge. She was a criminal. A murderer. Five people were dead because of her. She covered her face as she cried. She was a horrible person. There was no way she would be able to live with the guilt of what she had done. Before she could change her mind and talk herself out of it, Raven turned her powers on herself and ended it. The anger, the regret, the guilt was all replaced with nothingness.
The End
Wow. This was a long chapter, I hope everyone didn't think it was too long. So, everyone dies at the end, and no, I'm not clinically depressed. Lol. So what did you like and what did you not like? Please review!