( I know it's been a while, just know that updates are never regular and won't be, but hopefully more will come soon. Hope you like this next chapter. ~RavensMind~)

Chapter 4: A Misfire

"Their footprints were still fresh in the doorway. She hadn't meant him to only see some of the worst this tower had to offer when she had first brought him here, but it could not be helped… He had been present for some of the best already though and more would come. She looked to the collected memories in her arms and smiled, continuing down the hall. Passion had been present while these new memories were made and Raven was glad of it, pleased to have some aid available to her headspace at last. Getting the help had been hard enough. Were it not for his push, she wouldn't have it."

When Raven had left Cyborg and Robin on the roof, she had flown straight to her room and collapsed on the bed, feeling anxious and overspent. Her emotions were still angling for a chance to rise to the surface. She gave a long sigh and concentrated on the ceiling above her, as if that would put any of her emotions off of their goal.

Why did Robin have to screw with her emotions? He knew better. At least she hoped he did, giving them any sort of power would lead to more trouble than they could handle, especially if Fear or Hatred assumed command of her power. She worried that what control she had managed to maintain would start to deteriorate if she didn't stay alert constantly. More sleepless nights, great, she thought.

Passion suddenly poked her head through Raven's thoughts to hold up an image of Robin and started to speak so quickly Raven could barely make out anything she said. What Raven did hear made her blush with a tiny smile before she shook it off in frustration. Robin's recent support and interest in her was more than she was used to, which Passion took advantage of and urged her to consider it more than she had.

Sitting up, she got off the bed and went to pick up the journal that was still lying on the floor in front of her door. Opening it, she read Robin's latest message:

"You're right, I think I understand what you're feeling because of something I went through. I don't talk about it. If you talk to me, trust me to help you, I'll tell you what I went through. You don't deserve the way you feel."

Alright, Raven thought as she closed the journal, I'll try. She let her constantly maintained neutral expression and guard on her emotions fall away carefully. Reading his words again, she felt a warm smile cross her face. The warmth flooded her body and filled her senses clearly, as unused to the feeling as she was – she stayed cautious as the feelings persisted. Happiness had more or less danced into the spotlight of her senses, keeping her fastened to the rising warmth.

Her smile widened as she re-read what they had been writing. Then she thought of her conversation with Robin earlier. It was the most joy she had felt in years. She loved it. Her feet left the ground as she felt her own powers lifting her without her trying. Frantically, she latched on to the next emotion she managed to conjure.

The frustrations with not being able to let herself feel, to monitor everything, the reason behind it, and more clawed and tore their way through the warmth – lowering her back to the ground. Everything that had annoyed her lately ripped through her thoughts and summoned a missile of wrath. She felt her power flow out from her as a ripple of energy in all directions, creating a small shockwave which was strong enough to resonate through the tower and knock her books off the shelves. Hatred had rattled its cage. Shaking her head and putting her hands over her head, she knelt down and struggled to get another near emotion.

Dread seeped through the anger and she let out a small sob as the core of her own depression wailed through her mind. Every muscle ached, every bone felt fractured, and it hurt to dwell on the plentiful sad thoughts she had collapsing over her in waves. The light-bulbs in the room shattered, all light in the room had been drowned in her own dark energy as she felt herself cry her eyes out for the first time. Despair was nodding to her in understanding in her mind as it continued to use her power.

Raven struggled to get into her meditating pose and managed to say, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos," through heavy tears. The guard for her emotions returned as they were all chased back under her control. Her expression returned to normal as she wiped away the last of her tears.

Well, she had tried, right? Her most extreme feelings had been enough to send her emotions over the edge with her power, combined with the fact that she hadn't let them show like that in a long time – it was more than she could handle. It pushed her to not want to be alone.

Getting off the floor, Raven swiftly left her mess of a room and walked through the halls until she reached Robin's room. After not getting any answer from knocking, she called him on her communicator and he said he would be there in a minute. She slid his door open and turned on the light.

Robin's room was less decorated than hers, aside from his bed and dresser – he had a desk with a mirror and his closet had several utility belts and uniforms. A door led to his own bathroom, which he had insisted on for added privacy. Nothing was left out for anyone to look at, aside from a bird-a-rang he was fiddling with, which stemmed from the same desire for privacy.

She sat cross-legged on his bed, facing the door. Flipping the journal over in her hands, she tried to busy her mind with anything but itself. Passion, Cleverness, and Happiness were having another discussion that she was doing her best to tune out. There was enough going on without her analyzing her latest sessions with Robin. If there even was anything new to analyze, she was content with believing that they were just being more supportive of each other as friends. Not to argue that something else might be happening but…well-. This was her emotions' fault.

The door slid open and Robin entered quickly, closing it and advancing to her side with a worried expression. He looked into her eyes and could tell she had been crying, and she didn't try to hide that she had. She bit her lower lip and looked at him nervously. She told him about how her powers had acted on their own; she had little to no control.

"I…let my emotions out," Raven started slowly.

"Guessing uh, it didn't go well?" Robin observed sadly.

Raven shook her head, looking away from him towards the door.

"They took advantage of the opportunity and pushed everything they had through my powers," she explained.

"There's no chance it can't be better than that?" he asked.

"A very small chance. Only if I don't feel anything too strongly," she said.

"Well that's-," he started.

"Irritating? Almost impossible? Yes, it is," she said.

"I'm…sorry, Raven," he said, sadly, feeling responsible.

"Yeah…I actually liked feeling something again but maybe I'm not meant to," she said, looking at the floor in sorrow.

"Isn't there a way you could learn to only shut out those more extreme feelings?" he asked.

"I could, but…I don't want to go through that again, I'm worried I'll hurt someone," she said.

"What if I helped you through it?" he asked.

She looked over to him apprehensively.

"Are you…sure? I might hurt you accidentally. I don't want that to happen," she said.

"Yeah, I'm sure, I want to help – I know you'd do the same for me. Besides, I owe you," he said, smiling to her.

She nodded and shifted on the bed, aware they were sinking into another awkward silence. She had called him here, shouldn't she be more willing to go into detail so he could get a better understanding of how he could help her? Maybe she should be, but there was still an unseen wall of secrecy and privacy between them. That fact held her back from saying more, or asking for anything else. Her mind was clinging to the rebuilt emotional guard and didn't want to test its grip any further. Still, she wanted his company, and she was still concerned that he had to drop his case.

"Shame we didn't get to finish out that case," Raven said.

"You mean 'shame we weren't allowed to finish out that case,'" Robin corrected with a resentful tone.

"I see you're still thrilled as ever," she said dryly.

"It was my case, this city is under my watch…just because one criminal was involved, suddenly it's his call, and…" Robin said, stopping himself.

"And?" Raven asked.

"Nothing. Forget I said anything," Robin said glumly.

"Not a chance. Keep talking," she protested.

"I can't, it's…one of the things I said I'd never talk about with all of you," he said.

"You need to talk about it, I know it's affecting you," she said.

"I'm dealing with it, alright?" he said sharply.

Raven glanced down at the floor, stung by the tone of his voice.

"Sorry Raven, I-," Robin started.

"You can't talk about him with anyone," she said, finishing his thought.

"Yeah," he said, "I-."

Robin's communicator went off suddenly, jolting them both upright. Answering it, he quickly hid the screen from her view and went out into the hall.

Alone in Robin's room, Raven gave a frustrated, exhausted sigh. As much as she understood and accepted his need for being secretive about his past, it didn't mean she was satisfied with being kept completely in the dark. If something related to his past was still bothering him now, no one would be able to help him deal with it. She could only imagine what he was discussing with his old friend now; no doubt it'd be something he couldn't tell her about.

If he was going to be helping her learn how to let her emotions show safely, she would want to know she could talk to him and trust him to be as genuine as she was. In those moments when her emotions express themselves, she'd want him to share some of his. This would mean a lot to her and it would be necessary if she was going to push herself to do it.

She let herself fall back onto his bed, she was worn out from her emotions' fun with her powers and it was starting to get to her. Behind her emotional guard, Passion was clawing at the walls, holding up images in her tower of memories that she couldn't focus on - there were many and she wasn't trying to give them an ounce of attention anyway.

But Passion was persistent, having tasted some of the power Happiness had reveled in earlier it was impossible to ignore. A flurry of images was thrown up for her mind's eye, a very sense-heavy slideshow which may as well have been titled 'Robin's Help: Greatest Hits'. His belief in her had saved her from her own pessimism and, ultimately, the end of the world.

Since then, she had felt her strength increase, her power was truly hers. She had held her emotions close, glad that they were free from her father's influence, but she wouldn't give them an inch – worried that they'd cause a similar chaos that her father had. Maybe it was time to see if they could be stable, if she could be...better. Robin would be helping her through it too.

Her eyelids grew heavy and she yawned reluctantly, she didn't want to admit that she was tired – that her emotions had drained her. As she started to drift off to sleep, Passion used the opportunity to remind her where she was, and who would find her when she woke. It surprised her that this reminder comforted her.