A/N: Hi everyone :). If anyone is curious about my cover photo for this story, I drew and colored it myself. Eventually some parts of my story will have drawings that have inspired me. Once I finish setting up my deviant art account, I'll start posting *** next to the paragraph or scene that has been drawn out. So keep your eyes peeled. Once set up, next chapter, I'll let you all know my account name, and with it I'll leave the URL link. Thank you all for reading my story. It truly means a lot to me to have your opinions and your support. =) Please enjoy the next chapter!
Raven sighed," I've already told you what I know."
Ashelin growled," There has got to be something you aren't telling me!"
"Like what?" Raven glared back.
"Your story makes no sense at all. You come through a portal? Metal heads in a city I've never heard of? It makes no sense. There are no portals around here, only Warp Gates that we use to travel to places we can't usually reach on foot or with vehicle."
Raven crossed her legs," Well its the truth, if you can't handle it, than let me go. I've done nothing wrong."
"Ashelin." Jak walked in.
"Her story makes no sense Jak, maybe Torn is right. She might be leading the Metal Heads back into the city."
Raven scoffed," How stupid can you be..."
Ashelin pounded her fist on the table," What was that?!" Raven didn't even flinch.
"Easy, lemme handle it." Jak smiled softly.
"Hey sweet lips, miss me?" Daxter slid on the floor towards Raven, who raised a brow at him," Do you always flirt? Its kind of annoying."
"WELL!" Daxter huffed away, and walked towards Ashelin," You talk to her Jak. You're good at that."
"So whats up with your ears?" Jak asked.
Raven rolled her eyes," I could ask you guys the same question. Look, from what I'm gathering, you all suspect I'm telling a lie. Have you ever let it cross your minds that I'm not even from your...world? As in, another dimension? As I was telling Ashelin, I come from a town called Jump City. I'm part of a group called the Teen Titans. We were under attack by those things you call metal heads. They came through a portal, and I reversed it. I got my robe tangled in one of those things' claws, and I found myself here. Where I come from, no ones ears look like yours, well except maybe Beastboy, but...thats a different story..."
Daxter cackled," Beastboy!? The hell kind of name is that?"
"What's worse are his jokes..." Raven massaged her temples.
"Alright, your from another world, mind telling us how you reversed the portal?" Ashelin sighed, finally accepting Ravens story.
"..." Raven looked uncomfortable.
"Whats wrong?" Jak asked.
"If I told you, you all might think I'm more of a...freak as those guards put it." Raven sighed," Its hard fitting in, being so different."
Jak smiled a little," I know what you mean, try us."
"I can move objects with my mind." Raven focused and moved a chair, black energy surrounded it.
"HOLY YAKKOW!" Daxter shouted.
"That's pretty impressive..." Jak gawked as did Ashelin.
Ashelin shook her head," Okay, telekinesis. That still doesn't explain how you reversed the portal."
"I can do more than just move objects"
"That is power young lady is very similar to a Sages." said Samos as he walked into HQ," I've seen powers like that once before long ago, I heard everything. I apologize for not introducing myself earlier. I am Samos, and this is my daughter Keira." Samos nodded towards the girl beside him.
"Who is this girl Jak?" Keira asked interested in the girls power," Daddy's right, her powers are like none I've ever seen, it sort of reminds of eco, don't you think Jak?"
"Sort of" Jak nodded.
Raven was slowly stressing out," No, I'm not a sage... I mean, sages don't chant and use magic and spells..."
"So...a witch?" Daxter gulped.
Raven shrugged," I suppose, well yes."
"Cool..." Daxter smiled nervously.
"So you uttered a chant, and reversed that portal?" Ashelin crossed her arms.
"Yes. I used my powers to reverse the portal to where it was opened, and it was apparently opened from this dimension. I apologize for the destruction I caused, I truly meant to harm." Raven stood.
Jak held up his hand," No need for apologies Raven. But you mentioned powers, I thought you said you use magic."
"Powers, magic. Its all the same. They both require the same amount of energy. I'm sorry for the damage, I'd like to help repair the area that was destroyed." Raven offered a small smile.
Ashelin sighed," Sure. Sorry for the interrogation, but I need to find out whats going on and find out who opened that portal in the first place."
Jak laughed a little," You didn't cause the damage, I sort of.."
"My boy Jak here has been touched with DARK eco, and gets real mean and nasty when you piss him off. Those Metal Heads stood no chance...and uh, neither did those buildings." Daxter shrugged.
"Regardless, I'd like to prove I'm not hostile, and I'll help, besides, I...kinda went unconscious, and the portal was opened kind of short." Raven smiled.
Samos studied the girl," Have you ever touched dark eco young lady?"
"No, I've never even heard of eco..."
"Hmm...very well..." Samos joined Ashelin at the computer.
"Be careful out there you two! If metal heads are being controlled, there's a high chance they'll come back inside the city." Keira warned.
Torn sighed as he boarded up the windows," After all my hard work, gotta fix another district."
"Miss us tough guy?" Daxter smiled.
"Its about time!" he crossed his arms.
"Sorry, we got a little held up back at HQ." Jak smiled.
Raven cleared her throat," I'm sorry for the trouble I've caused you. I will offer my services in anyway to prove I'm not the enemy."
"Alright, you can start by fixing those windows. Names Torn, I figure we can be on first name basis if Ashelin cleared your name."
"I'm Raven."
"So uh, you got a boyfriend back where you come from Raven?" Daxter flirted once more.
Raven sighed," Your attempts at flirting are cute, but they're getting annoying. And to answer your question, no I don't"
Raven lifted shards of broken glass and hovered them for a while," So where do I put this?"
Torn gawked," Uh... there's a huge dumpster down that alley, that'd be a good spot."
Jak and Daxter were a little taken aback by her powers, but Jak shrugged and got back to boarding up windows.
Daxter whispered," Jak, doesn't this girl kinda freak you out? I mean, she's got this power that doesn't come from eco, what if she's the bad guy and we're helpin' her out?"
"Her story did make sense, relax Dax, if she's any trouble, I'm sure you and I can handle it."
"Remember Jak, if this girl causes ANY sort of problems, its on your ass" Torn warned.
Raven sighed," I've got to find a way back home, I wonder if my communicator still works..." She held it open and pressed the button," Robin? Robin can you hear me?" Nothing was heard but static," Guess I'm stuck here..."
Raven glanced at herself in the window," This town reminds me of Azarath...all the buildings...the streets...But this place is nothing like Jump." She began to walk back towards the debris," I wonder how the others are doing..."
Cyborg groaned," Man, even the computer can't pick up the traces of the portal. I've entered all the information I can think of, and nothing. It just keeps giving me error signs..."
Starfire lowered her voice," That cannot be possible, I do not wish to give up hope that Raven is gone..."
"We've got to put our heads together and think of what the heck could have happened to her...portal and those weird creatures..." Robin sighed.
"Dude this seems kinda familiar, remember Cy when we went in to her mind? Its almost like we went into another world or something... Maybe that happened to her?"
"Beastboys got a point, maybe Raven has some information on teleportation spells in her room. Maybe we ought to check it out." Cyborg stepped away from the computer.
"Thats a good idea, I guess its the only thing we can do right now..." Robin sighed.
Starfire looked back at the computer, at Ravens disappearing figure," Oh Raven, please be alright."
"Don't worry Star, we'll find her." Cyborg smiled.
"Yes, I know, but what if we are unsuccessful? What is to become of us? Of Raven?"
Robin smiled softly and rested his hand on her shoulder," Don't worry Starfire. We'll find her, we've never given up when we felt it was impossible."
Starfire smiled and they began walking towards Ravens room. Inside, her dark room was spooky. Books piled high in corners, strange masks hung on pedestals. Starfire had been inside on several occasions, since the girls had become good friends, so she immediately knew where Ravens spell books were," These are the ones Raven uses when we meditate together, or try to contact the spirit world."
Cyborg opened it, and the foreign characters caused him to sigh," Man, I can't read this. Who knew Raven read in so many languages."
"The computer should be able to detect what language it is and decode it." Robin flipped through more pages.
Raven sneezed, and one of the boards she was holding split down the middle," Sorry."
Jak looked at her," How'd that happen?"
Raven wiped her nose," I need to meditate. I can't control my powers unless I get some regular meditation in my day. Sometimes even the slightest thing can cause me to go off, if I'm not careful"
"So without that, you get all crazy smashy?" Daxter asked.
"In a sense yes. I am glad though to see my work is helping to pay off. I see this district is almost repaired."
Torn boarded up the last window," Well that's all we can do for today. Maintenance will be in tomorrow to put in fresh new glass, so we're done for the day. Well I am at least."
Jak crossed his arms," Whats that mean?"
"Ashelin just informed me of some metal heads that have been spotted en masse down in the sewers, looks like your back on the job Jak."
"HEY, why are we always the ones mucking around in the mud?!" Daxter yelled.
"Seems to suit you..." Torn chuckled.
Raven lowered her hood," I'd like to help."
"You didn't have a choice. You and Jak here will be wiping out those metal heads, report back to me after you three clean up the sewers." Torn hopped in another parked vehicle," I want answers as to who is behind this mess. Keep your eyes peeled."
The two walked across town, engaged in complete silence. Jak was always quiet around the ladies, even though he was an apparent ladies man, he never knew how to start a conversation with one. As a child, the only girl around him was Keira, but before the dark eco treatments, he was a mute. He cleared his throat, and handed Raven a small gun," Here, you might need this."
Raven raised her eyebrows," That's a strange gun...but I don't think I'll need it...I've relied on my powers my whole life, I think a gun is unnecessary. But thank you." She pushed the gun away.
Daxter laughed," Trust us sister, you're gonna need that gun."
"I've never fired one before though." Ravens eyes widened as Jak shoved the gun back into her hands.
Jak laughed," I was once the same way Raven. I never ONCE handled a gun until well not to long ago, just sorta came natural. You'll get the hang of it."
"Just aim and shoot baby, aim and shoot." Daxter smiled.
"Right..."
"So everyone wear your threads Raven?" Daxter asked.
"No, this is my uniform. Everyone has their own outfits, this is just mine." Raven answered.
They stopped in front of the sewer doors, and waited for the computer system to run the information needed to open the door. "You are now leaving the safety of the city." The computer spoke. Jak and Raven walked inside the door, and the metal platform began to go downwards.
Once inside, the lights were off. Jak walked ahead and stepped on a switch. In a heartbeat all the sewer lights turned on, and Jak lead the way.
"How many times have you guys been down here? It seems like you guys really know your way around." Raven looked around her surroundings that were filled with dangerous falls and nauseous gases coming from pipes.
"More times than we'd like to count" Daxter sighed.
Jak began jumping from pipe to pipe," Here these can be tricky." He held out his hand.
Raven felt happy her hood was covering her face, because she could feel herself blushing. She really wasn't used to men being so nice to her, it was a little strange and yet flattering. Most men be they friend or foe, usually fell for Starfire," That won't be necessary." She began to levitate above them.
"Wow, thats amazing!" Daxter grinned," Hey I wanna ride on her shoulder! Least that way I won't be covered in sh- JAK A METAL HEAD!" he screamed.
Jak turned and saw three metal heads approaching. He pulled out his Vulcan Fury, and fired three shots into each of them. The metal heads slowed their pace and collapsed, their skull gems popping out. Jak grinned and walked over and picked up the gems. Raven flew over," What are those for?"
"These? Nothing really. I usually trade them for some extra tasks and cash." Jak shrugged.
"I see. So can you tell me what eco is?" Raven asked.
"Ah, well...that's a question better left to Samos." Jak scratched his head.
"Yeah, and I'M A PRECURSOR BABY!" Daxter winked.
"What's a precursor?" Raven raised a brow.
Daxter's arms dropped," You don't know what a precursor is?!"
"Well where I come from a precursor is usually an artifact or something that leads back to ancient knowledge or something of great importance."
"What a boring town.." Daxter frowned, hurt that the girl didn't know how important he was. "I'm like a God baby. I carry the genes that created the universe and eco!" he smiled.
"Right... a rat as a God?" Raven shook her head," Yeah I'm definitely not in Jump anymore."
"Its not the fact he's a rat, its just, I can't quite say what they are or how they did it, but they created everything." Jak sighed unable to explain his own world.
"And Jak here helped create the city!" Daxter smiled, proud of his friend.
Raven lowered herself," You created this town? How? Aren't you kind of young to be able to do something like that?"
"I didn't, well not yet." Jak wondered himself how this town was standing if he was in the future and his child self was sent into the past. It frankly hurt his head, and he preferred to not think about it.
Raven shook her head," I'm confused, but what ever. Where are those creatures anyway? I thought he said there were hoards of those things down here."
Jak shrugged," Might be further in, come on."
As they continued their journey down the sewers Raven felt her body grow weaker, she began sweating again, and she lowered herself onto the ground so she could walk. Jak noticed she was getting pale," Hey you feeling okay?"
"I knew we shouldn't be dragging the ladies down here! She probably caught some damn disease from this poisonous air...I'm starting to feel a little sick myself." Daxter collapsed on Jaks shoulder. Jak suddenly felt ill to his stomach" What the hell is going on?" He grabbed his stomach and winced in pain.
Raven fell to her knees, her stomach also hurting. She opened her eyes and noticed a green cloud filling the area," Jak, there's a gas cloud filling the sewer!"
Jak looked around and suddenly the green air could be seen," Damn, we've gotta get out here and warn Torn. Lets go!" He sucked up his pain and grabbed Ravens arm. He was practically dragging her along, until a small cave in before the entrance of the sewer blocked their path. The sudden force sent them flying back, landing in the sewer water.
Raven gasped for air as she looked at the sludge falling off her arms," Nice..."
"Jak! How are we going to get of here now?! I don't wanna die down here!" Daxter shook Jaks shirt collar.
Jak swam over to the cement, and helped Raven out. Raven grimaced as she looked at her body covered in sludge. Suddenly the trio began coughing," This cloud is going to fill the entire sewer!" Raven coughed.
"There's another way out, but at this rate we won't make it." Jak grunted.
"Well Jak...it was nice adventuring with ya pal..." Daxter wiped away a tear.
Raven stood," I can get us out of here, but you have to trust me." She stood closer to Jak and Daxter. She focused and uttered her chant," Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven lifted her cape and her powers took the shape of a raven, and Jak and Daxter felt her energy surround them.
Daxter felt his body tingle and he let out a muffled gasp. Jak looked below his feet and he saw the mortar between the cement bricks, bugs, and in the blink of his eye they were outside the sewers door.
Raven felt her last ounce of energy leave her body, and she collapsed.
Jak felt his stomachache disappear and ran over to the young girls side," Hey are you alright? Wake up."
"Jak, we need to get her back to the apartment, and we need to go warn Torn!"
Raven opened her eyes," I'm fine...Its just I never used that reverse spell and it took a lot out of me. Plus, it seems as if this world is slowly absorbing my powers. I'm just glad I managed to get us out before it was too late."
"Hey you can't be walking around like that. Especially if your 'powers' are going on the fritz." Jak frowned," Dax and I will go talk to Torn, you need to go meditate or do what ever it is you need to do"
"No, really. I'm fine. If I'm not there I'll seem like the bad guy again. Trust me Jak, I'll be fine." Raven lifted her hood again, and covered her face.
"Wait, what do you mean this world is absorbing your powers?" Daxter asked.
"I'm not sure, it could just be me, but I feel myself having to use more energy than before, but it could just be the fact that I'm tired."
"Wait here." Jak ran down the street, and found a parked vehicle. He hopped in and flew to where she was standing. "Hop in, this will get us there faster."
Raven grabbed Jaks out stretched hand, and climbed aboard,"This is pretty cool" Raven stared at the people below her.
"Yeah, its neat. You should see our Hover Board." Daxter winked.
"Usually the only vehicles I've been in that can fly are ones Cyborg made. But this whole town seems to be filled with these cars." Raven was still amazed.
"Torn, this is Jak. Warn everyone the sewers need to be kept off limits, there's a poisonous gas cloud filling the entire area. If anyone opens the doors, it'll pour out and fill the city. What ever it is, its concentrated and travels at a quick pace."
"Damnit! Get your asses back here now! We need to come up with a plan B."
"Yeah, we're on the way." Jak turned the car and he looked below," Maybe Vin could figure out if someone lowered the securities defenses."
"The last time we saw that nut job was when we needed that precursor artifact or what ever it was. He said it was easier to manage the defenses inside that computer thing..."
"Before making any assumptions, maybe you should see what Torn has to say." Raven interjected," He is your leader right? I'm sure he has a plan."
Daxter laughed," HAH! No one bosses me and Jak around. We're our own boss, we just kinda... do some dirty jobs for the guy."
"Oh, I see..." Raven raised a brow," Regardless, I suggest we see what he has to say about all this. Maybe bring up visiting this Vin guy to him."
"You always listen to a leader girly?" Daxter asked.
Raven rolled her eyes," I'm part of a team, of course we have a leader, and yes I followed orders. Sometimes his orders made no sense, and weren't thought out clearly, but that's where the others came in. Team work helps get things done faster, and safer."
Jak shrugged," Fine. We'll see what Torn has to say."
"I'm not trying to tell you guys what to do, I'm just suggesting it." Raven felt as if she were being rude.
"Nah, its fine. Might be a good idea." Jak smiled. "So mind telling me about yourself? Where you came from?"
Raven sighed," Does it really matter? It should be enough that I'm here helping. I see no reason to disclose that information."
"Jeez, just trying to make small talk lady." Jak focused on the traffic, trying not to crash into hellcats that seemed to be hovering for no reason in mid air.
"Sorry. I'm not trying to be rude. Lets just say, most new people I've opened up to seem to betray me later on in the long run, so I'd prefer to keep my past a secret." Raven looked to her right, staring at the citizens walking by, enjoying their day.
"How about you tell us about that team of yours?" asked Daxter.
"Not much to tell. We're called the Teen Titans... we fight crime and protect the city against villains and what not. We all met about 3 years ago, and from the start we just sort of clicked as a team, so we all stuck together."
"Who's in your team, if thats not asking to much?" Jak asked.
Raven eyed him, trying to read him to see if he meant harm or not, and Jak felt her studying him," Did I say something wrong again?"
Raven shook her head," No. There's Starfire, she's an alien princess who can shoot starbolts from both her hands and eyes. They're like focused energy that do a lot of damage."
"Oooh, a princess!" Daxter grinned widely," Tell me more about this girl."
"She's super bubbly, happy, and carefree. She's a little ignorant in Earths ways, but over all she has a good heart. Everyone seems to love her. Than there's Cyborg, who is usually our technician. He sets up our security defenses, and builds us the vehicles we'll need for more difficult tasks."
"He a robot?" asked Jak.
"Half man, half machine. He doesn't talk about his incident, and we prefer not to ask. Its obvious it is something he doesn't want to discuss." Raven lowered her hood, sensing no harm was coming from Jak, but she did sense a dark presence in him, much like she could sense her own demon. "There's BeastBoy, a changeling, who can transform into any animal he wishes. He's annoying as hell, and tries to tell jokes, which are just nauseatingly horrible."
"Sounds like a bunch of nice people." Jak said as he turned into New Haven.
"Than there's Robin, our leader. He's really head strong, and once he gets something on his mind, he won't let it go. He's a good person, and I'd trust him with my life, but sometimes his decisions aren't always the best ones. I try my best to interject my opinions, but I'm usually turned down, because I worry too much or some other crap."
Daxter sighed," Wish I could meet that princess chick"
"We're here." Jak parked and hopped out. Raven climed out, and flinched as she felt something crawl up her shoulder, who was Daxter," Don't mind me sweetie. Jak smells terrible after that sludge bath."
"I think we could all use a bath after that." Raven held her nose.
"What? Do I smell?!" Daxter quickly sniffed his pits," Thanks a lot Jak! This is going to wreck havoc on my lady skills."
Jak rolled his eyes,"Yeah what ever."