"What?" Raptor challenged her. "What can you possibly give me?"
Rage's grin grew even bigger.
"I can give you Beast Boy."
Raptor jerked away from the cell, clearly shocked at what she just heard.
"What did you say?"
Rage continued grinning.
"I see that I have your attention. Tell me Raptor, do you miss him?"
"Who?"
"Do you miss Gar? Do you miss his touch?"
Raptor scowled at the 4 eyed mental construct.
"Of course I miss my husband, what kind of question is that?"
"Do you miss his touch? When his tongue played with yours? When he penetrated you with his manhood?"
Raptor felt her blood begin to boil.
"Do you even need to ask?" She seethed in anger. "But you can't bring him back, I know that. There is no magic that can bring back the dead … why are you tormenting me?"
"There is another Gar, my dear. And let's not kid each other; we both know he's even better than the Gar you lost."
Raptor noticed that she was breathing heavily and that she was suddenly feeling sexually aroused.
"What are you doing to me?"
Rage suddenly became very composed; her demeanor no longer matched her disheveled exterior.
"I'm not doing anything. What you are feeling is originating within you. You are a demoness and you long for your mates. You are right; one of them is lost to this world. But the other one is still alive and you marked him before Raven did. He's yours, your flesh, your lover, your mate."
Raptor cast a wary glare at Rage. Her first instinct was to walk away, to leave the dungeon, but she lacked the willpower to even move a single step.
"He belongs to Raven." She stammered as she swallowed hard, not even sounding convincing to herself.
"You don't believe that and you know it. He was yours first, he came to your side when you were wounded and said that he loved you."
"That, that isn't important," She whimpered.
"It's very important. Raptor my dear, Raven is a basket case. She can't even have sex with him without losing it."
"She told me; but wouldn't that benefit you, if she loses control?"
"She'll never lose control, even if it means that she only fraks him 4 times a year."
Rage closed in for the kill.
"Don't you think he deserves someone better than that? Have you forgotten how you pleased him … and how he pleased you? Don't you miss his hard, throbbing …"
"Stop!" Raptor screamed as she clutched her temples and closed her eyes, turning away from Rage.
"Remember when he asked you to run away with him? That was practically a marriage proposal … and he asked you first."
"Stop, just stop it!"
"He would be so much happier with you. Don't you want that?"
"Of course I do!" She shrieked. "But that doesn't make it right!"
Rage laughed.
"Since when do you care about what's right?"
"Enough, temptress!"
Raptor glared at Rage, a glare that carried a warning, that she was going too far and entering dangerous territory.
"What's in this for you, monster? Why do you care if I keep Gar as mine? You should be on Raven's side!"
"I should, but look where she keeps me." She gestured towards her cell.
"No deal, Rage."
"Raptor, I just want to move into your body, with me you will be the Raptor you always wanted to be. Raven has rejected father's gift, but you haven't reached that fork in the road. I have power I can give you, power you don't know. And he'll be yours … all yours … you'll rule your world and he'll be at your side … isn't that what you've always wanted, what you really want? "
There was a prolonged silence.
"It is." She muttered sotto voce.
Rage smiled triumphantly.
"So, do we have a deal?" Rage tempted her in a sing song voice.
Raptor turned around and thrust her arm in Rage's direction.
"GO TO HELL!"
A wall began form, brick by brick, until it covered Rage's cell completely. Raptor was panting from the effort as the sound of footsteps running down the stairs became louder and louder.
"Raptor! Are you alright?" Raven called out as she approached. "I heard you scream."
Raven stopped and stared in surprise at the brick wall that now concealed Rage's dungeon. Raptor was kneeling on the floor, weeping. Raven sat down next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder.
"What happened?"
"I'm … sorry Raven … you should send me back … I shouldn't be here."
Raven hugged her twin.
"No, I'm the one who should be sorry, I shouldn't have left you here with her … what did she do … I can't access her … she's blocking me out."
Raptor raised her tear stained face to Raven.
"She asked me to betray you … and offered me Gar if I did."
Raven glared towards the brick wall. She could sense Rage behind the mental barrier that Raptor constructed. All she could sense was the hatred and loathing that the demonic emotion felt for her, which was pretty much par for the course. She waved her hand and the brick wall turned into dust, crumbling away. Rage was leaning against the cell's bars, caressing them with her calloused hands.
"I thought that I had made it clear Rage, that Gar belongs to me, not to you."
Rage let a self confident chuckle escape her lips.
"I thought I was part of you Raven, so you know … 'tu Beast Boy es mi Beast Boy', right?"
"You are not part of me … you're a cancer … a tumor that father left behind."
"A tumor? Oh come on, Raven. Maybe I'm a hemorrhoid, but a tumor?" She laughed. "I am a pain in the ass, I will admit that."
Raven glared at the rogue emotion, narrowing her eyes.
"Someday I will get rid of you, mark my words, Rage."
"You know you can't, your psyche would collapse without me …"
"Then I will bury you, I'll bury you so deep that no one will ever find you."
"That'll be the day Raven, but you know well that the next time you have sex with him that I'll be back, and it won't matter if you're married to him or not."
"I'll find a way to muzzle you…"
"Then you'd better hurry up. BB is being patient with the once in a blue moon roll in the hay, but once you're married you're going to have to service him more often than that … otherwise … who knows … maybe he'll just find someone else … maybe the blond?"
"Shut up!" Raptor shouted at the emotion.
"Or maybe it could be you, Raptor? How often did you guys do it? Two, three … four times a day?"
Raptor turned to Raven.
"Let's get out of here, before I kill her."
"I'd pay you to do that, if it was possible."
Raven raised her hand and the brick wall reappeared.
"But I agree, it's time to leave. And the brick wall, great idea."
Raptor felt her body jerk and suddenly she and Raven were back in her room, still sitting on the edge of the bed. She exhaled and turned to face her twin.
"OK, that was the weirdest thing I ever did. I'm not sure that I even want to go into my own Nevermore."
"You should, it will help you develop more control, but for now it can wait." Raven said as she picked up the alarm clock on Raptor's night stand. "It's time for obstacle course training."
-( scene break )-
The two sorceresses glided towards the obstacle course grounds, their white and blue capes billowing behind them in the light breeze. As they silently approached the course they saw that they were not the first to arrive: Terra was already there and was chatting with Beast Boy, who appeared to be sharing a laugh with her. Raptor turned towards her twin and saw that vein was beginning to throb on her forehead.
"Why did she have to come back? Why couldn't she stay away?" Raven grumbled.
Terra then wrapped her arms around the changeling, pulling him into a tight hug.
"I think I'm going to kill her." Raven added.
Raptor held her arm out as they landed, blocking Raven's path to Terra.
"This isn't the time or the place, sister."
"Technically, we are not sisters." Raven corrected her.
"Then don't get technical … relax … she's trying to provoke you … just chill."
The two demonesses approached their teammates without being noticed until they were almost upon them. Terra saw them out of the corner of her eye and jerked involuntarily.
"Sorry … I'm still not used to seeing two Ravens."
Beast Boy noticed that Raven was seething at the geomancer. Raptor placed a calming hand on her shoulder, but it was to no avail.
"If you want to keep that arm, Terra, don't ever touch him again."
"Raven … are you OK?" He asked, his face betraying the worry he was feeling.
The changeling had good reason to worry. While he hadn't seen it in years there was no forgetting the look on Raven's face and it sent chills down his spine. He felt a lump form in his throat as any doubts he might have harbored evaporated … Rage was back.
"Raven?"
"Get out of my way, fool!" She thundered as she batted him out of her path with one of her dark tendrils, hitting him on his left forearm. "How dare you let her hug you! I will deal with you later."
Beast Boy rolled over on the ground, and when he sat up he moaned in pain as he cradled his forearm, which was now broken.
"Raven!" Raptor shouted as she dashed after her. "Stop!"
Raven turned around and blasted Raptor with a burst of dark energy, sending her flying. She then turned towards Terra, who was now perched on a levitating boulder.
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND! You broke BB's arm! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Terra, run! She's not herself!" Beast Boy shouted.
Terra dodged a dark energy attack as she maneuvered her flying rock like a surfboard on a wave.
"And leave you alone with her? I don't care if she's your fiancée, I don't think so!"
Gar desperately turned around, searching for Cyborg, who had yet to arrive.
"Terra! Please run away! Ravens possessed! She's gonna kill you!"
Terra did a barrel roll on her flying boulder.
"She's welcome to try!"
Beast Boy clenched his teeth. Terra had no idea of what she was up against.
Raven became airborne and her tendrils began to spread and stretch, deploying like a giant net. Terra gasped in surprise as all her escape routes were suddenly cut off. A tendril appeared out of nowhere and wrapped itself around her, squeezing her so tightly that she couldn't breathe. Several other tendrils wrapped around her boulder and crushed it into dust. Terra struggled in vain to free herself as Raven drew her in so that they were face to face.
"Hello Terra." Raven greeted her in a guttural voice. "It's time you and I had a little chat."
Terra shuddered as she saw Raven's eyes split into 2 crimson red pairs. She then felt wave of energy shoot through her body. She felt strange, and saw a staccato of strange images flash in her mind.
"What do you want?" Terra hissed in reply.
Before Raven could reply her face went blank. Terra was puzzled until she saw the glow of dark energy behind Raven fade and they both began to fall to the ground. It was then that she saw that Raptor was also airborne and it had been her who disabled the out of control Raven. Raptor gently guided them to the ground, resting Raven's unconscious form on the grassy surface. Beast Boy approached them as fast as he could run while still cradling his broken arm.
"What the hell happened! What was that?" Terra shrieked.
"It was Rage!" Beast Boy informed her as Raptor nodded her agreement.
"Rage? Who the hell is Rage?"
Before Beast Boy could reply Raven regained consciousness and sat up, rubbing her head while she moaned in pain.
"What happened?" Raven asked before noticing Beast Boy's injury.
"Gar! Your arm! What happened to it? It's broken!" She wailed.
Terra stood up, also rubbing her head.
"You broke it, bitch!"
"What? How? I would never do that!"
Raven placed her hand on Beast Boy's arm and her blue light appeared. She looked into his eyes, looking for confirmation that the others were wrong.
"I don't know what happened Rae, when I first saw you … Rage was in control."
Raven was stunned to hear the news.
"But that's impossible; I have her under control …" Her voice, which was wracked with self doubt, trailed off.
"Oh Gar, I'm so sorry, I hurt you."
Terra cleared her throat.
"I think you also owe me an apology Raven."
Raven turned and saw Terra's angry face. She remembered seeing her hug Beast Boy … and then … nothing.
"This doesn't make sense; I always remember when Rage gets loose."
She paused and fought back a sob.
"This can't be right. I'd never hurt you Gar, never."
"But you did hurt him Raven." Raptor interrupted.
-( scene break )-
"Are you sure Rae?"
"I'm sorry Gar; I need to be alone tonight. I have to work out what happened to me today, and I can't do that if you're with me, it would be too distracting."
The changeling pouted his disappointment, but nodded his head in reluctant agreement.
"I understand." He replied in a dejected voice.
He turned and walked away, heading to the common room where he found Raptor and Terra sharing a late supper.
"Gar, are you OK?" Raptor asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I'm sleeping solo tonight."
"You can bunk with me BB." Terra asked partly in jest, but with a glimmer of hope.
"Don't be ridiculous Terra." Raptor snapped at her.
"Easy for you to say, you've slept with him before…"
"Which makes it all that much harder for me." Raptor hissed back at her. "If I can keep myself under control, so can you Terra."
Gar pulled a chair out with his left arm and moaned in pain.
"I guess Raven didn't heal it 100%, it still hurts a little. How are you guys doing?"
"I'm a little sore still from that dark energy burst." Raptor remarked.
"I'm still covered in bruises. Raven didn't even offer to heal them." Terra complained.
"That's because she doesn't like you, doofus."
"Why not?"
"Gee, you really are as clueless as my Terra."
"Hey, I've never slept with BB, unlike you. She should like you even less than me."
"Is it my fault you dumped Gar?"
Beast Boy sweat dropped.
"Uh, maybe we should call it a night … you know … get a good night's rest and all that stuff."
Raptor smiled at her former lover.
"Sure Gar, you're probably right. Raven will be feeling better tomorrow and so will you."
"Well I sure hope I feel better." Terra complained. "I've been feeling weird since that Rage thing looked me in the eye, I almost feel like I want to hurl."
Raptor nodded.
"It's probably just the residual after effect from Raven's tendrils. You'll be fine in the morning."
-( scene break )-
Raven was levitating in the lotus position, silently meditating when she heard a knock on her door.
"It's open."
The titanium alloy door slid open and Raven saw Raptor enter her room out of the corner of her eye.
"How are you doing, Raven?"
"Good, Rage is completely back under control."
Raptor pulled up a chair and sat down.
"Gar came to see us."
"And?"
"We hung out for a while. I just dropped him off at his room and I made sure Terra didn't get near him."
"Thanks … are you sure you didn't take him to your room?"
"Well, the thought did cross my mind, but after seeing you manhandle Terra I prefer to stay on your good side."
"Very funny, Raptor."
"Any idea of what went wrong today?"
Raven shook her head.
"None, what's even stranger is that Rage is being very submissive, it's like she's someone else."
"That does sound odd … well, I'm going to turn in. Sleep well, Raven. Hopefully you can bunk with Gar tomorrow."
"Thanks … here's hoping."
-( scene break )-
Raven stirred slowly as she woke up the next morning. The room was dark and the LED display on the alarm clock informed her that it was almost 10 AM. Raven groaned her displeasure at having allowed herself to oversleep and sat up. She groaned even louder as her body ached all over, but she still dragged herself out of bed and made her way to the bathroom.
At this point she was beginning to feel mildly alarmed as she was definitely feeling strange, like she wasn't herself. As she entered the bathroom she flipped on the lights after which she turned to the mirror to get a good look at herself.
And she screamed.
-( scene break )-
Another cliffhanger! Can you tell that I love them?
Before we get to the mail bag, I want to make plug for another story…
ZorkaberryPie, of which yours truly is a member, is publishing a new story: "Beginnings, Middles and Ends". Check it out, and leave a review!
And now, a very short mailbag, as only 7 reviews were posted! But we did reach the 200 review mark. That's on the low side for me, but I do consider this to be a 'boutique' story, meaning it appeals to a reduced audience.
The Cretin - "SHOO! Finally made it. And what a journey its been. I gotta hand it to ya. Goin through an experience like the one Raven and Raptor are goin through would drive me insane. Great cliffhanger btw. I'm intrigued by the possibilities of what may come afterward. Knowin you, it'll be well worth it to find out. Hope all is well with you. Sorry it took so long to catch up. Keep rockin and good luck"
And I thank you! You are every fan fic writer's dream. You write thoughtful, witty and insightful reviews. It's sad when only a few percent of readers write reviews. I have stories where less than 1% of readers bothered to write a review. I personally know of a very good Titans fan fic writer who stopped writing in part due to the overall lack of reviews.
titanfan45 - "This doesn't bode well for raven. I hope she is smart enough to completely trust Rapor and especially Raptor paired up with Rage."
As we can tell, something has gone horribly wrong for her.
LordGodsServant - "Yeeesh, talk about the devil inside us all . . . literally.
I don't think Raptor will take the offer. She's already put that demon to rest and really I don't think she wants to bring it up again. Of course this could just be wishful thinking.
I wonder, is this the setting up for the main plot? Is Raven's evil side going to break free or something? What role will Terra have in all of this?
Once again, sooooo mansy questions.
Good Day and God Bless :)
Sincerely, LordGodsServant"
I especially liked the part in "The End" trilogy where Starfire, BB and Cyborg had to fight there inner demons.
EbonyVergil - "I like Rage's prison. Gives you an idea of the amount of effort Raven puts into keeping her suppressed. Now we just got to wait and see if Raptor will give in to temptation and become the primary antagonist of this story or if it will be Rage.
Or you could just be mean to Terra again and make her the primary villain. Any of those would work for me."
Terra has a special role waiting for her, stay tuned.
Hairul The Nightrage Beast - "Oh boy, Rage giving Raptor an offer she can't refuse and lol Gar getting 2 Ravens, he's a lucky bastard I'll say xD. Keep on the updates."
It was definitely hard for her to say no to the temptation ... or did she?
Densharr - "Damn!
And here I was thinking that all of Raven liked BB. I wonder what the deal is with Rage.
The only theory I got would be Rage resenting BB for not making Raven unleash her Rage as often (in response to hi sometimes-thoughtless pranks). It really seemed like that was the most often she let go, so Rage figures that no dating BB=being let out more often.
That or Rage doesn't want Raven to be happy. Regardless, Raptor should probably watch out - Rage isn't doing this for her - it's doing it for itSELF."
I'm glad you like this story better than "8 years later". I'm seriously considering resetting that story, dumping the next gen Titans, going back to chapter 20 and starting over with a different plotline.
WarriorsFan26 - "I have a feeling, Raptor and Raven are going to kill each other in three weeks.
And the whole "Were Raven!" thing reminded me of the episode where Raven found those little guys and they just repeated everything she said."
We're Raven ... shallah!
"And i offically hate you...a cliffhanger? Really!"
Now you hate me even more, and the next update won't be until next weekend!
Beginnings, Middles and Ends
