Control
Chapter 2: A Night We'll Never Forget: Part 1
Author's Note: As promised I'm back with chapter two! Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited the first chapter! I hope you enjoy this one as much as you did the last.
It was the morning.
Raven pried herself from her black comforter and swung her pale legs over the side of her bed. She looked aimlessly at the wall, trying to find a solution as to how she would get through tonight. What had happened last night on the roof with Damian had scared Raven enough for her to look into why the hell Trigon's incessant voice was louder than ever. What she found left her scared about what was to come. She knew a full moon was coming, what she didn't know, was that it would be a Super Blue Blood Moon.
Out of all the times, something like this had to happen, it had to be while she was alive, and Trigon was with her. She just hoped that tonight wasn't going to be as bad as she thought it would be.
She set her feet on the cold wood flooring of the room, slowly standing up.
The pain in her head had stuck with her throughout the night, but thankfully it had dulled, drifting off into a manageable headache.
Raven got herself ready for the day ahead, taking a brief shower, brushing her teeth and hair, and putting on her regular superheroine attire, she kept the hood down though.
After her morning routine, she ended up going down to the main living area of the tower. She was almost instantly greeted by Titus, the huge black dog came to sit in front of her, waiting to be pet.
Raven kneeled down to in front of him, scratching him atop his head, Titus happily licked Raven's face, and she promptly licked the slobber off with her arm, standing back up, only to lift her head and see Damian standing there.
"Glad to see that you're up. You just stormed off last night." Damian stated.
"Sorry about that."
"It's okay. But, why did you leave?"
"Oh, um… I just wasn't feeling that well. I feel better now though."
He looked, to try and read whether or not she telling the truth. Raven recognized the look that adorned his features instantly, it was the same look he gave thugs when he was trying to get information out of them.
The expression probably lasted for a whole of two seconds, before he returned to his usually stoic exterior, but Raven still caught onto it.
Thankfully, the conversation didn't progress any further because Dick called the team to gather around.
"Everyone listen up, I know last night was quite the shock for many, and excitement is running high, but that does not mean we get to neglect the rest of everything going on." he turned to Kori.
"Dick's right. And that's exactly why today, we're going to investigate some suspicious activity that's been reported. Some teens earlier this week came to the police and said that they had seen a man in orange and black armor lurking around a warehouse."
Everyone's minds went straight to the infamous Slade Wilson, which is why questioning glances were cast around the room.
"You don't think it's…" Beast Boy trailed off.
"We can't know anything for sure until we get out there." Dick stated, "That being said, it wouldn't be a bad idea for everyone to be very alert."
The same day, 5:36 p.m.
Only part of the team had come on this recon, the members being, Raven, Damian, Dick, Kori, and Beast Boy. All five of them had been out for hours on end, searching for any sign of anything out of the ordinary. And they had found nothing. Nothing. Not even a sign of anyone being anywhere near the warehouse.
Damian suspected something more sinister was going on, it was all too weird for him that there wasn't a trace of anything.
He glanced over at Beast Boy and Raven who were strolling next to each other, deep in conversation.
Damian figured that they were talking about the possibility of Slade being back. He couldn't even begin to imagine what must be going on inside Garfield's head. Despite Robin's past with Slade, he couldn't deny that it was probably just as hard on Gar considering the girl he cared so deeply about had died and that death had been caused by Deathstroke. Sure, Damian had lost a lot of people too, but he had never lost someone he had feelings for, he didn't know how that felt, but even though he had a lack of knowledge in that department, his thoughts still drifted to Raven, and if something had happened to her. He brushed the uninvited thought out of his head, needing it to be clear when he was on a mission.
Raven noticed Damian's gaze and returned the look. She wondered what was going on in his head, but was interrupted by her father's dark voice.
You'll soon regret your actions…
The throbbing in her head was back, sharper this time. She looked up realizing that the sun was starting to set. She cursed under her breath, she had hoped that they wouldn't have been out this late, but of course, that was too much to ask. Life always had found a way to screw her some way or another.
Release me, and join me in ruling this pathetic planet. One way or another, I will get out. I will exact revenge on you and your piteous friends. And I'll start with that little brat Damian.
With each word muttered to her, Trigon's voice seemed to grow louder, a ringing tone, reverberating off the inside of her skull. The pain grew greater.
Let. Me. Out. You repulsive child.
It felt like someone was beating her head into the concrete over and over again.
She knit her brows together.
"Did you hear what I said?" Beast Boy questioned, and then paused, "Hey, are you alright?"
He must have noticed the way she was acting because a look of fret crossed his green features.
I'll kill him slowly, impudent witch. Don't doubt me.
Raven ignored Beast Boy's questions.
"Shut up… shut up… shut up." she muttered.
You'll never silence me. Not so long as you live.
The torture continued as her discomfort morphed in something akin to agony. A cry of pain escaped her lips. The intense sensation persisted and brought Raven to her knees, at which point Beast Boy decided that something was wrong.
"Guys! Help! Something's wrong with Raven." his voice resounded across the expanse of concrete behind the warehouse that the team was patrolling.
Everyone's heads swiveled in the direction that Beast Boy and Raven were in. Damian was closest to them, and when he saw Raven, he immediately rushed over to her.
As he approached her, he could tell the pain was evident through her body language.
"What happened?" Damian asked.
The rest of the team, quickly gathered around, clearly concerned for the young girl. Starfire stepped forward, taking action, while Dick decided to stay back, wanting to give Raven some space.
"I don't know, we were just talking, and then it was like she just zoned out, a-and now this!" Garfield replied.
"Raven. What's going on?" Kori asked in a motherly tone.
Damian watched as Raven just shook her head from side to side, signaling that she didn't want to say, or that she couldn't, either option was not a good sign.
Robin stepped in front of Raven, swiftly crouching down to her level so that he could look her in the eyes.
"What's wrong?"
Worry was etched across Damian's mask covered face, Raven could instantly tell that she was probably freaking everyone out, big time.
And being the ever perceptive, person he was, the boy she was face to face with, realized that she didn't want to worry anyone. He placed his hand over hers, holding it tight, trying to make her feel comfortable enough to confide in him.
"You can tell me."
The tone in his voice distracted Raven briefly from the pain resonating throughout her skull. He temporarily brought her out of her daze.
"…It-it's my head." she stuttered.
Before Damian could even begin to try and help her, footsteps echoed across the ground. The tell-tale, slow, pitter-patter, of intentional footfalls, could be heard by the entirety of the team, including Raven whose head was not at all clear at the moment.
Nightwing saw the walking ghost first, briskly placing himself into a defensive stance. The rest of the Titans, soon saw the foe too, following Nightwing's lead, everyone except for Raven, who was still on the ground, but she forced herself to turn and face the man, ignoring the continuous pain.
"I think that I might be able to give you some answers." Deathstroke chided.
"How are you even here?!" Beast Boy demanded, "I thought Terra killed you."
"You'd be surprised what can happen after death…" Slade stepped towards the group.
"What the hell do you want?" Damian asked.
"I'm here for Raven. I have a debt I need to repay."
Raven quickly caught on to what was going on.
I told you I would be getting out either way.
The young teenager pushed herself into a standing position.
"So, this is his plan? You?" Raven asked.
"What plan?" Starfire queried.
"Let's get this over with, Slade." the purple-eyed girl stated.
Damian gave her a questioning side glance.
"I'm assuming you're not going to come willingly?"
"Did you really think I would?"
Foolish girl. This is going to come to be one of your greatest mistakes.
Even though the rest of the Titans had no idea what Raven and Slade were talking about, they were all prepared for whatever was about to happen.
Deathstroke made the first attack, throwing a knife into Nightwing's shoulder, distracting the former boy wonder, and made a break for Raven. Starfire darted out in front of Slade, blasting him with a steady flow of star bolts. Slade easily dodged them all, he then, landed a debilitating blow to the side of Starfire's head, knocking her out cold.
Damian's eyes widened when he realized that there was something different about the way Deathstroke was fighting.
The Titans descended on Slade, most of them figured it would be easy to take him down, it was five to one. They couldn't have been more wrong.
Slade easily held his own throughout the fight, making the relentless attacks of the group, seem pointless.
The man in orange and black armor soon grew tired of the antics and decided that now would be as good as time as any to reveal the new abilities that he had acquired.
Before the Titans knew what was happening, a ring of fire had surfaced, knocking the entire team back. Flames flickered across the hands of Slade Wilson, the heroes who opposed him, were in a state of shock.
"Courtesy of Trigon," he stated.
"Trigon?" Damian questioned, and then looked at Raven.
This was worse than Raven had thought. Her father hadn't only brought the menace back to life, he had given him powers. She knew she had to do something and quick, the sky was slowly starting to darken, and she knew she would be most vulnerable and weak during that time.
Before Raven could act, Slade had made his move, he lunged towards the half-demon and landed several hits on her. Deathstroke's moves were more calculated and quicker than usual, each blow that was inflicted on Raven, beat her down more than the last. Damian moved to attack Slade, his feet careful and deliberate, he waited for the slight stall of his sword for when it hit the assassin, but the stall never came. Suddenly Damian got an elbow to the throat, and his feet were kicked out from beneath him, he fell to the ground.
Raven took the chance that she had to right herself, and when Deathstroke went back to finish her, she was ready. His fists and feet connected with air only, as Raven evaded his attacks.
Beast Boy saw that Slade was slipping, and used the opportunity to change himself into a bull, stampeding towards him, he easily knocked Slade about four feet away, Garfield was about to attack again, but before he could, Deathstroke had pulled out a gun and fired it. A dart hit Beast Boy, and he could quickly feel himself fading into unconsciousness. He morphed back into his regular self, before going limp.
The masked man had gotten up, "Your friends won't be able to save you! I'll-" Slade didn't get to finish his sentence.
Nightwing didn't waste any time listening to Deathstroke's attempted speech. Instead opting to land a flurry of devastating blows onto him, the expertly timed hits landed perfectly, making Slade falter. Nightwing pulled out his escrima sticks, the dual poles charging with electricity, and held them against the metal armor. It affected Deathstroke for about point-three seconds, before he got his head back in the game, and used Dick Grayson's weapons against him, he jabbed out towards Nightwing's injured shoulder, causing him to release his grip on one of the sticks, Slade grabbed the weapon and pushed the crackling electricity against the side of Nightwing's neck, his body almost instantly dropped, the energy flitting throughout his form.
Damian attacked from above, kicking Slade to the ground. Slade didn't expect the pain he felt when the sharpness of Robin's sword pierced his flesh through one of the weak points in his armor. Deathstroke regained his former focus, and landed a blow to the side of Robin's leg, once again bringing him to his knees, and with that removing his sword from Slade's abdomen. Deathstroke pulled him close.
"You've gotten better, I must admit. But you've always been a bit too sloppy for my taste."
The armored man pulled a dagger from one of the holsters on his right leg, plunging it into Damian's side, eliciting a sound of pain from the son of Batman.
In reality, the insult probably hurt worse than the cut, but in the end, a stab wound was a stab wound.
When Raven looked around and saw that all her teammates were either knocked out or injured, she knew that she couldn't take Slade on, definitely not in the headspace she was in right now, not to mention the seemingly ever-present pain in her head, literally and metaphorically.
She released bolts of energy, all of them hitting Slade in the back. She continued her assault on him, as Deathstroke moved his attention from Damian to Raven.
He blasted fire out at her, which she quickly deflected with a small shield. Raven finally got close enough to Deathstroke to touch him, and that's all she needed to make his mind go blank for a few minutes. That being said she knew it wouldn't last; the best she could do was knock him out for a short period of time. And even then, she felt an immense amount of energy leave her body, she was starting to feel dizzy. She noticed that some of the Titans were beginning to wake up, Raven walked over to Damian, quickly helping him up.
"Raven, what the hell is happening?" he asked.
"It's a long story."
"Oh, well please do enlighten me."
"Later."
They walked over to the rest of their teammates, and Raven stepped away from Damian, quickly summoning the rest of her strength.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." as soon as the words left her mouth, the team was transported back to Titans Tower.
As the cloud of purple energy dissipated, it revealed the familiar surroundings of the living room in the tower. At the sudden commotion, Donna and Jaime rushed to the room that the Titans had teleported into.
Jaime took one look at his battered teammates and immediately knew something had gone wrong. Donna and him both hurried over to them.
"What the hell happened?!" Jaime exclaimed.
Dick wearily stood to his feet, wincing as the wound in his shoulder flared up.
"Slade happened," he responded, going to help Kori up.
"Are you guys okay?!" Donna moved to assist Garfield.
Almost as in response to her question, Raven tiredly dropped to her hands and knees.
"Raven, what was Deathstroke talking about?" Starfire directed her attention to the girl.
"Trigon seems to think… that he's going to find a way to get out. Tonight is a Super Blue Blood Moon. One of the most strengthening lunar occurrences for my father. He must have struck a deal with Slade." Raven made herself move from the ground, albeit swaying on her feet a little, as she did so, "Maybe, offering him his life back, in exchange for prying the crystal off of my head. He won't tell me much."
"You didn't think to tell us about this?" Dick asked.
"I didn't think it was necessary at the time. The more you know, the more at risk you are." she removed the hood from around her face.
"I'd say we're already pretty at risk."
"We can't focus on the past now. Our main priority for the rest of the night is keeping Raven safe. We can't let Slade get to her." Kori said, "We'll continue talking about this after everyone gets patched up."
Damian glanced around the room at all his wounded friends. Some of them more than others. Particularly Raven. He could tell this whole ordeal was already taking a toll on her. He should've seen it last night. Before he let it get this far.
"You guys aren't safe here. Slade will find me." Raven added.
"This isn't up for discussion, Raven, we're a team. What concerns you, concerns all of us." Dick replied.
The team slowly trickled out of the room, all except Raven and Damian. As Raven eyed her comrade, she quickly noticed the stab wound that he bore. It wasn't bleeding to a dangerous extent, but she knew that he should get it patched up as soon as he could.
"Let me heal you." that's all she could utter.
Raven felt immense guilt, knowing that she had been the cause of his pain. She could tell he was in pain, even if he tried to hide it. Over the years she had picked up on little things in his personality, like how when he was in pain he knit his eyebrows together. Which was exactly what he was doing right now.
"I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."
"I know you are, but it'll be faster if I do it. Plus, it wouldn't be bad to have some time to talk."
Damian figured she had something she wanted to get off of her chest. She never blatantly asked to talk.
"Okay."
"Okay?"
He nodded "We can go to my room."
The two teens navigated the huge building as Damian led the way to his chambers, opening the door as Raven followed him in.
Raven had only been in Damian's room a handful of times, and from what she had seen, she could tell that his room had been kept pretty much the same over the years. The main scheme was wood and the color grey. Very simplistic. She thought the son of Bruce Wayne might've gone for something a little more eccentric, various weapons did litter the walls, though.
Damian removed his black mask; he had that stoic look on his handsome face again. He then proceeded to remove the top portion of his Robin suit, revealing his lean, sculpted torso, in turn revealing the gash in his side, but Raven's attention didn't necessarily focus on that particular part of his body.
Damian sat on the edge of his bed and was soon followed by Raven.
"I'm sorry. For not telling you." the girl stated.
"You aren't obligated to tell me anything."
"I know, it's just- I usually tell you most of the stuff in my life, and I feel like if I had told you, you wouldn't be in this condition right now."
"I get why you didn't tell me. I don't think, if I was in your position, that I would tell anyone either." he tried to meet her downcast eyes, "Do you think that your father has a chance of succeeding?"
"I rarely know anything when it comes to him, but so long as Slade doesn't capture me, I think that I can handle him." Raven placed her hands over his stab wound.
Damian flinched slightly but remained focused on the conversation.
"I won't let him touch you."
Raven met his comforting gaze, "I believe you."
She then urged her healing abilities to emerge, mending back the laceration in his skin. Usually, it was easy for her to do such a simple task, but when she did it this time, she felt her power and strength waning. She grit her teeth as the pain in her head made itself known again. She knew she was overdoing it. She also didn't care. Despite her difficulties, Damian's side looked good as new within a matter of a few seconds.
Raven removed her hands, and she swore that she could feel the color drain from her already pale face. The shift in her didn't go unnoticed by Damian.
Suddenly there was a knock on the wood of the door. Donna poked her head in, her eyes widening when she saw the two sitting on Damian's bed, Damian being shirtless.
"Uh, guys, Kori wants everyone to meet in like five minutes."
"Noted," Damian replied.
Donna gave a tightlipped smile before scurrying from the doorway, going to gossip to Jaime most likely.
"I hate that everyone has to be involved in this," Raven said.
Raven despised feeling helpless, like there was nothing she could do, even if she tried. She wanted to prove to herself and others around her that she could handle this on her own, even while knowing deep down that she couldn't. She'd always wanted to prove herself worthy in every aspect of her life, she never felt the sense of accomplishment or feeling of acclamation that most people felt at least once in their lives. Even when she was serving her nuisance of a father in hell itself, she still found herself looking for approval. For someone to tell her she was doing something right in life, but it never came, and she had to accept that it probably never would.
"They just care about you."
"I know they do, but I don't want anyone dying on my behalf."
"No one's going to die. We handled Trigon once before, we can do it again."
It's laughable that he thinks you stand a sliver of a chance against me.
Raven willed his voice to the farthest part of her mind.
"Who would've thought Damian Wayne could be hopeful."
"You're hysterical," he said, sarcastically.
They both let a rare smile grace the features of their faces. A genuine, joy-filled smile, but as everything in Raven's life did, the moment passed, plunging them into a comfortable silence. They just sat together, happy to be in the presence of each other.
"We should probably join the others," Raven stated.
Damian easily slid the top portion of his Robin suit back on, making Raven feel just the teeniest bit disappointed. She inwardly scolded herself for entertaining such thoughts.
The two got up from their seats on the bed, and as they did so Raven felt her head spin for a split second, but easily brushed the uneasy feeling off.
They both left the room, going to find the rest of the team. It wasn't that difficult considering whenever they had group discussions, they almost always did it in the living room. That's the first place Damian and Raven checked, and that's where everyone was. Most of the team was sat on the couch, while Starfire was standing waiting to address everyone. Gar had opted to lean over the couch with his elbows resting on the back of it. Raven took her place, sitting on the arm of the sofa, Damian came to stand next to her.
"Okay, now that everyone's here. I think that it's time we work out a plan of action. Any suggestions?" Starfire started.
"I could leave, and wait until the night is over," Raven replied.
"Not happening," Dick interjected.
"Listen, I'm assuming that my father and Slade only have until the sun rises tomorrow morning. Meaning that Trigon's offer will only last for a couple of hours, if Slade fails to hold up his end up the deal, I have no doubt my father will fail to keep his end. If I could just leave, for a few hours, Slade might have less of a chance of finding me."
"You'll be safer with us to protect you. Even if you did leave, what if Slade finds you? I can tell that the moon has weakened some of your abilities. How would you be able to properly defend yourself?" Kori said.
"I-I would find a way."
"You would end up getting yourself killed," Damian said.
Raven knew he was right. If Slade did find her, she knew that between Deathstroke's new and enhanced abilities and the fact that she couldn't fully tap into her powers, that she would probably end up dead, or worse. The thought of what Trigon would do to the people she cared about if she wasn't there, scared her more than death.
"We're sitting ducks if we stay here though." Beast Boy said.
"At least we have our familiar surroundings to use to our advantage," Star replied.
"You think that matters? Slade could burn the whole freaking thing to the ground! What would we do then?"
"What do you mean burn the whole thing to the ground?" Jaime asked.
"Long story short, Deathstroke now has fire abilities," Dick said.
Donna and Jaime's eyes widened.
"Yep. We are so dead." Jaime deadpanned.
"Have a little faith. We have faced worse enemies than Slade Wilson. We can do this. We just need to stick together." Starfire exhorted.
"I'm with Kori," Dick added.
"So am I," Donna stated.
"Oh, what the hell. I guess I'm in too." Jaime said.
Damian and Garfield muttered their agreement soon after. Raven was left outvoted.
"You guys are hopeless." Raven conceded.
"You'll thank us someday," Dick said.
"Okay, well now that, that's settled. Everyone keep your eyes peeled, any suspicious activity or weird sightings are to be reported to Dick or me. Someone should stay with Raven at all times. The most important thing right now is keeping her safe." Starfire asserted.
The team nodded in acknowledgment.
"You guys are free to go, but remember what I said."
Star and Dick promptly exited the room together, leaving the teens to their thoughts.
Donna turned to Raven, "So on a scale of one to ten how bad is Slade?"
"Only like an eleven," Jaime answered.
"Slade's just a man. He can be stopped. Trust me, I've known him for a lot longer than any of you." Damian said.
"Yeah, he's just a man whose been resurrected back to life by Raven's devil of a father! Sorry, Rae." Beast Boy exclaimed, "But you know what I mean."
"All of you confuse the crap out of me," Donna stated.
"As we should," Jaime said.
"You guys shouldn't have to be a part of this. I've thrown you all into such a bad situation. I'm sorry."
"Raven, we're your friends we aren't doing this because we're being forced to," Donna replied, trying to comfort the girl.
Raven felt awful. She knew that this was their best option, but if something were to happen to one of them because of her, she didn't know if she would be able to live with herself. The weight of guilt and shame overwhelmed her. And she felt the need to be alone. She couldn't be though. Her best option was to try and clear her head. To calm down for a few minutes.
Raven stood up, about to walk to another part of the tower, one where there weren't so many other people. It would have been a good plan, if not for the enervating wave of dizzying, lightheaded feeling that washed over the empath.
Not as strong as you thought. Now are you, daughter?
She put one hand to her forehead, as to try and will the wooziness off. It didn't work.
Damian was the first to notice something was off with her. Maybe it was the way that her face was deathly pale or the faint dark circles under her eyes that were starting to form, or maybe it was the fact that she looked completely unwell that had tipped Damian off.
"Are you feeling okay?" he asked.
The rest of the team gave questioning looks to the dark-haired teen.
"I'm fine, just a little tired."
That was a lie. Raven felt like she was about to either throw up or collapse. Her head was starting to hurt again, along with the previous.
The others soon caught on to what Damian was seeing.
Raven's vision started to blur and spin, leaving her feeling unsteady. She shut her eyes as the pain and discomfort persisted.
"Raven,"
Damian didn't get to finish his sentence, because the next thing that he knew, Raven swayed forward, and he easily caught her.
"Hey, Raven, look at me." he tried to grasp her attention.
Raven was struggling to keep her eyes open, the want to just give up and lose consciousness grew greater as time passed. Her legs went numb, she would've fallen to the floor if not for Damian holding her up. She could tell that they were all saying something, that the people surrounding her were speaking. She couldn't hear though, every sound was muffled like her head was submerged underwater. She allowed her eyes to shut for a split second, and that plunged her into unconsciousness.
Meanwhile, the others were all wigging out. Trying to figure out what to do. Damian held Raven against him, his arms around her waist trying to keep her from hitting the floor. It wasn't that difficult, considering she only weighed a little over a hundred pounds.
"I'm gonna get Star. Okay, guys, just like, make sure she isn't dead." Donna said, eyes wide.
Before anyone could reply, Donna flew off, racing to find Starfire.
"Dead?!" Gar exclaimed.
"She's not dead." Damian, apparently the voice of reason, scoffed.
Despite, Damian's calm exterior, on the inside, he was more than worried. He had known that today's previous events had taken a lot out of her. Healing him must have sent her over the edge. He set his jaw, not wanting to think about how much pain she was most likely in.
Within the next few moments Starfire, Dick, and Donna had all rushed back into the living room. By the looks on their faces, you would've thought that Donna had told them the entire team had been murdered by a supposed God who planned to destroy the earth.
"What happened?" Dick asked.
Jaime spoke for the team, "We were all just talking and then Raven stood up, she looked like she was gonna pass out, and that's exactly what happened."
"So informative, Jaime," Nightwing said sarcastically.
"What else do you want him to say? That's what happened!" Gar replied.
Dick sighed and shook his head.
"Okay, I'm sure Raven will be fine. When she wakes back up, we can get some more information. Right now, let's find a place for her rest." Starfire directed.
"I'll take her to her room." Damian picked Raven up, carrying her bridal style.
The young Robin walked off without another word. Holding the one person that he knew he couldn't lose in his arms.
Author's Note: There you have it, chapter two! The third one is coming out next Monday! Tell me what you thought, I love to hear feedback. Also, side note, The Legend of Korra is coming out on Netflix on Friday and it's been my favorite show for the last few years, so on one hand I'm hyped, but on the other hand, I miss when the majority of the world didn't know about it and Avatar: The Last Airbender and I didn't have to deal with their wrong opinions. Like I know people are gonna have some idiotic stuff to say this coming weekend and I'm not mentally prepared for all the Korra hate. Anyways, sorry for that weird bit of information, see you again next Monday.