Dark Titans – Arc 4 – Titan Rising!
Chapter 7
Enjoy if you will, Tolerate if you won't
The moon hung amid wispy clouds in the night sky, standing silent vigil over the ancient ruins of the castle. The ominous structure was the only landmark rising up from the small island which rested at the center of the vast lake. Such was the state of the once glorious structure that it was doubtful that the eyes of man had beheld it for many centuries. Inside the once grand edifice, flames licked across the floor and climbed the crumbling walls.
It was here that I made my stand against the foul beast. Even as my hands burned with eldritch energies, whitish flames that would sear the very souls of lesser men, there was bitter little comfort to be taken from those otherworldly powers. Glowing red eyes gazed down upon me from on high, the bass rumbling of a growl rattling the deepest foundations of the once-castle, as if the entire stone structure were quaking in fear of the creature's wrath.
The beast's slavering jaws opened wide, unleashing an unholy roar as it prepared to blast me to cinders with its flame. Despite all reason, I did not die as the blazing river of flames poured forth from the dragon's hellish maw. Rather, the unending torrent of living fire was forced to part before me, defeated by the eldritch shield summoned by my sorcerer's art. Not only did I withstand the death of thousands before me, I pushed slowly forward, plowing the inferno aside.
Another gout of flame blasted out, the unearthly wrath of the great beast smashing through my mystical defenses this time. Responding quickly, even as the hateful flames pushed me back, I harnessed the powers at my command and formed a sphere of brilliant silver light. With a mighty heave, I hurled the powerful spell at my bane. It detonated against the dragon's chest, sending sparks to flying, as if the very air around us was filled with stars.
The sweet taste of victory turned to ash in my mouth as the beast shrugged off my spell as if it were the cantrip of a yearling. It unleashed another breath of flaming death and I was forced to retreat.
The great dragon was leaving me precious little choice. My arms rose high into the air as I prepared the most powerful of enchantments. This time it was my roar that filled the heavens.
"Necronom Hezberek Mortix!" Even as the words spilt from my lips, glowing fissures opened in the stones at my feet and raced forward, towards the dragon; within seconds the very earth was rent asunder and collapsed into the void, dropping the beast out of sight amid a great cloud of dust.
'And so it came to pass that I, Malchior of Nol, did lay siege to the dread dragon Rorek.' So sure of my victory was I, that I began my own departure from that hellish place. However, I did not get far. Before even taking my tenth step, a pillar of flame boiled up from the smoking depths. Mighty Rorek surged up from the abyss, a single monstrous leap carrying it up to the ledge to my rear. Moving with speed which belied its massive size, the beast's tail snaked forward as quick as death, encircling my body and lifting me into the air as a child might heft a doll. 'But it did seem the power of Rorek was greater than my magics could defeat. And as the fell beast struck-'
"C'mon, Raven, are you even listening to me?"
In an instant, the vivid and enchanting tapestry of Raven's imagination was burnt to a cinder as Beast Boy's nerve-wracking voice cut through her thoughts like a knife through butter. With a weary sigh, she began to massage her temples as she lifted her gaze to regard the changeling.
Resigned to the fact that she wouldn't find any peace while Beast Boy was pacing around her room, gesturing wildly with each step, she closed the heavy tome she had been attempting to read.
"Do you possess even a single ounce of self preservation instinct? It has been days since I've been able to find a book that can hold my interest and you choose now of all times to have a heart to heart?" She tried to keep a calm tone, but a low growl in her voice betrayed her emotions.
In classic Beast Boy fashion, her unwanted companion proved his lack of common sense by sticking his tongue out at her and laughing. "Heh, ya gotta have a heart for us to have a heart to heart-" Raven did her best to hide the pain from the knife which had just been so unwittingly thrust into her non-existent heart –"Seriously, Rae, this is Terra and Ryo we're talking about."
One of Raven's eyebrows arched up as she regarded the emerald changeling. "And what exactly is so interesting about our pair of resident natural disasters that it is compelling you to risk your life by interrupting my reading time?"
Annoyingly, Beast Boy waved off her threat with a carefree gesture. "Well, I was just thinking: isn't it great that Ryouga volunteered to help train her?"
For the first time since he'd intruded into her inner sanctum, Raven smiled faintly. The often clueless martial artist had hardly 'volunteered'. In fact, he'd railed against his fate until Cyborg had suggested that she might appreciate it. Certainly it was a bit conceited, but Raven enjoyed the thought that, in some small way, Ryouga was doing this for her.
"Actually," Raven offered with a sly smile, "I think it's much more fortuitous that Ryouga is so . . . well suited to training Terra."
The vision of a comically flattened martial artist popped into her mind and, to her mortification, she nearly burst out into a giggle fit. Luckily Beast Boy totally missed the connotations of her comment as he nodded agreeably.
"Yeah! It's totally awesome that Terra and Ryo are getting along so well. It sure is cool how they hit it off so well right off the bat isn't it?"
The sense of amusement that Raven had been fostering died quickly at that comment. Her gut reaction was to fire back with a cutting 'Is it?', but she didn't want to confound the poor boy.
Instead she decided to reply in a more neutral manner. "I don't think anyone would begrudge Terra a friend at a time like this."
The changeling shot her a queer glance for a moment before shrugging. "Meh, whatever. I think it's awesome that those two are getting along so well. In fact, I'm gonna head down right now and see how Terra's training is going!"
Matching word to deed, the young shape shifter turned on the spot and dashed out the door. Raven watched her teammate leave and felt an uncharacteristic twinge of guilt.
"Let's hope you still feel that way after even a single week," she whispered so quietly that she barely heard it herself.
Sighing again, she picked up the book from her lap. For a moment she was tempted to open its pages once more . . . Only to let out a huff of air and rise to her feet. Gliding across the room, she found the old chest where she'd found the book and dropped it back in unceremoniously.
She certainly wasn't in the mood to read now. The lavender haired Titan tapped an elegant finger to her chin as she considered her options to dispel her boredom. Perhaps Starfire would be interested in a trip to that bookstore that Raven enjoyed so much?
Raven shook her head in amusement.
This was Starfire, of course she would be interested.
-Thursday 5:37 PM
CYBLOG
Ahh, Yeah! Welcome to the Silicon Jungle!
A Word To My Sponsors!
Yo, my Peeps and Peepettes, welcome to another pulse pounding edition of Cyblog! Straight from my fingers to your brains.
As you all know, the big Ring a Ding Ding around the tower has been the transcendent return of our one and only Terra!
STOP!
Stop right there, yeah, you, the ones getting ready to unload a heaping helping of HateFlame on my innocent little forum. Look, I know that our little lady might have done wrong in the past, but seriously, you guys nearly crashed my entire system with the tidal wave of angry comments you sent my way when I announced her return.
My system! The one I built with my own two hands nearly crashed from the amount of hatemail I got in regards to Terra.
I don't want to sound like a jerk here, but I nearly decided to give up on the Cyblog completely. I mean, if you guys hate one of my team mates so much that you can't even exercise common decency, or grammar for that matter -
Okay, calm down, Cyborg.
. . . Sorry for snapping at you guys like that. Honestly, I know where you guys are coming from. Hell, you guys didn't even get a fraction of the hurt laid on you that we did, but I can understand why you're all so scared and angry. Terra did, nearly single handedly, terrorize the entire city and chase hundreds of thousands of people out of their homes . . . Man, can I understand why you guys are so freaked out about Terra coming back . . .
I just want you guys to remember that Terra also saved the city from being destroyed by Slade, so you all kinda owe her one in that respect. Look, Little T is important to us and if we're willing to trust her after the way she betrayed us, then I think you guys need to at least give her the benefit of the doubt . . . Actually, that probably doesn't sound that inspiring now, does it . . . But please, just bear with me for a bit?
Still, I'm just glad that Terra, BB and Star don't read my blog. I can already imagine the tears they'd be crying if they read even some of the things that have been posted over the past few days.
Again, sorry for the guilt trip there. However, while I'm here anyway, I did want to set the record straight on a few of the concerns that were raised in the more coherent comments I got.
1) No, Terra will not be put on trial for her crimes . . . At least not yet. Robin has been in talks with the Mayor non-stop since Terra was revived and so far it's looking good that she'll be remanded into our custody. Since this is the case, I would consider it a personal favor if you would not go ahead with that petition to get her thrown in prison.
Seriously, the girl has had a hard enough time without that kinda junk going on!
2) No, Terra is not an evil psychotic double agent whose only goal in life is to destroy the Titans. Terra is just a young, confused girl that has made mistakes. Before you start throwing those stones, ya might wanna check yourselves first. I defy anyone out there to tell me straight-up that you wouldn't have made the same mistakes if you'd had to live her life.
3) Yes, the rumors about her powers being . . . unpredictable are true. HOWEVER! However, Terra is receiving the best training we can possibly provide. I can't give out any specifics, but trust me when I saalkshdalkwjhe-
"Oh, what the heck, BB!" Cyborg cursed when the changeling's wild thrashings caused the smaller hero to slam into his arm and totally mess up what he was typing. He glared heatedly at his little buddy. "Man, what the heck are ya doin', playing a game, or having a seizure?"
His diminutive best friend didn't even attempt to apologize, just stuck out his tongue as he continued to play. "Dude, that kinda talk is socially unacceptable. 'Sides, you've been typing away there for like an hour. When the heck are you gonna put your arm away and play?"
Cyborg glowered at the green teen. "Hey, this is important, BB. I'm working on some serious damage control here. We might be happy that Terra's back, but the rest of the city doesn't exactly share our opinion, y'know?"
Beast Boy looked at him oddly. "What? Why the heck would anyone not be happy that the number of Titans protecting the city just went up another notch?"
The Titanium Titan cocked an eyebrow incredulously. "You mean aside from the whole 'nearly destroying the city' thing? People don't tend to be big fans of super villains turning over a new leaf just like that; people tend to have long memories for people driving them out of their homes with elemental powers and legions of evil robots. Seriously, we're just lucky that no one actually knows what Ryo was up to before he joined up. People'd probably start thinking that harboring criminals was our new team pastime."
His companion glared at him weakly for a moment, then looked to the controller in his hands before dropping it. "Y'know what? Weak, Dude, weak. I don't even feel like playing anymore. I'm gonna go see what Terra's up to."
Cyborg felt a bit bad for harshing his buddy's mellow, but it was the truth. "She's training with Ryo. He told me he wants to keep it solo for now, too, since it's such a delicate stage of her training."
The emerald changeling deflated for a moment before perking up again. "That's alright. I'll see how she's doing after they're done. I bet she'll be ready to beg for one of my patented shoulder rubs by then!"
"I'm afraid not, Beast Boy."
Both of the couch adorning youths looked up just in time to see Robin stride into the room. "You, Raven and Starfire are on patrol duty tonight. I'm sure Terra will be still be here tomorrow, so you can survive until then," explained their leader.
Beast Boy grumbled a vague affirmative before quickly hopping off the couch and wandering off in a manner that could only be described as 'sulking'.
Shrugging to himself, and with all that drama out of the way, Cyborg went back to work on his blog.
-Friday 8:12 AM-
"Again. Remember; concentrate . . . visualize your hand actually lifting the rock as you raise it," Ryouga explained in a low tone.
His blonde, willowy disciple groaned in annoyance, but obediently complied, spreading her feet apart and dropping down into a low Riding Horse stance. Ryouga studied her form for a moment, kicking her toes in a bit and forcing her fists more firmly onto her narrow hips. Once he was satisfied, he moved several feet to her side and dropped into a matching stance.
Nodding to the small pile of mid sized rocks several yards ahead of them, he continued with his lesson, "We both know that you could easily just move those rocks with a thought, but imagine you're picking them up with your hand, not your mind."
He didn't need to see behind him to know that Terra was rolling her eyes at his continuous repetition of the same concept again and again. "Now, tighten your fists and make the strike, just as I showed you. We'll do it slowly, so just follow my lead."
That said, Ryouga then began. Moving slowly, he extended his left hand forward from his hip, opening it palm up. As he did, his entire body twisted gently to the right, his right foot swinging out while his left foot slid back to a forty five degree angle, shifting him seamlessly into a Bow Stance.
Of course, as his left arm rose up, little more occurred then the displacement of air and the utterly perfect transition from one stance to another.
Behind him, though, was another story. Though her stance was weak and her movements lacked the grace garnered from long years of training, Terra's slow 'strike' yielded far more impressive results. It started as a small trembling in the pile of rocks as her tightly curled fist left her hip. However, as her narrow body twisted and her left hand rose, the pile of rocks slowly rose into the air as well -
Of course, that was more or less a byproduct of the massive slab of bedrock over a dozen feet in diameter tearing itself free from the ground and lifting up in response to Terra's upturned palm.
A moment later, the mountainous molehill dropped back into its earthen cradle, shooting up a cloud of dust with its thunderous crash. Slowly, Ryouga turned to regard his student, the young woman sheepishly digging her toe into the dirt.
Sighing loudly, Ryouga dropped down to sit on the ground, motioning for Terra to do the same. "Look, Terra, I know this is hard, especially considering that it's going against how you've always done it, but this is important." He gestured to the Tower behind them, fairly certain that a certain violet haired Titan was still in bed, sound asleep at the moment. "I've talked to Raven about this, and she told me that it's very common for many telekinetic types to imagine their power as a kind of invisible hand."
Terra scoffed loudly. "But that's stupid, Ryouga! If my power only worked like an invisible hand, I wouldn't be able to do, like, ninety percent of the stuff I do. Why would I want to imagine a magical hand lifting those rocks, when I can just think about a column shooting out of the ground-"
Her diatribe was disrupted when a column of earth suddenly shot up from the ground several feet from where Ryouga was sitting. Moving quickly, the martial artist dove to the side and slid into a low crouch, but thankfully this time the errant spire of rock proved to be relatively stable and didn't collapse all over them like the last four story tower of rock did.
Terra withered under Ryouga's glare.
". . . aheh . . . um sorry?" she muttered quickly.
Releasing another weary sigh, Ryouga waited for her to lower the spire back into the ground before resuming his seat. "That is exactly the reason we're doing this." An errant thought struck him, and he chuckled despite himself. "It's ironic, but as a martial artist, I will literally train a move, or a technique for years until it becomes so ingrained that I can do it without even thinking, but with you, my final goal is your starting point."
He noted Terra's head tilt to the side a bit, an inquiring glint in her eyes. "It's an old, old adage, at least I think it is. 'Power without wisdom', or something to that extent," he stated.
"I think I've heard of that," she replied, "But what does it mean?"
He shrugged. "Well, think of it this way: People like Ranma and I are extremely powerful martial artists. Ranma can punch faster and harder than a jackhammer and I can reduce boulders to gravel with my pinky finger." He brandished said pinky finger to drive his point home. "Now, how hard do you think it would be for either of us to kill an untrained person if we wanted to?"
Terra's face took on an interestingly pale pallor as she swallowed nervously.
"However, we had to train and study very hard to get to that point. We know all of the ramifications that any strike may have on a person's body, we know intimately the kind of trauma that we can inflict on another person, and that knowledge tempers every single punch or kick that we throw." He paused for a moment to scratch the back of his head sheepishly. "Of course, some people learn the lessons better than others, but for the most part I don't really want to hurt people too badly, so I know, more or less, how much power, or which techniques I need to use to disable a person without harming them too much."
He then gestured to her. "Now, I don't want to come across too harshly, but you never really went through what Ranma or I did. You received your power as is, incredibly powerful and tied closely to your instincts."
Terra looked like she wanted to say something, her lips pressed in a tight line, but she waited for him to continue.
"I'll be frank," he said clearly, "You don't really understand the consequences of using your power, you just use it. I think the cliché would be the 'handing someone a gun' thing. All you have to do is pick up a few ounces of steel and lead and you have all the killing potential of a martial arts master, but with none of the restraint and control that a martial artist learns from his lifetime of training."
"I am not a handgun, Ryouga!" Terra scowled fiercely as she fired daggers at him with her eyes. "And I have too trained and stuff with my powers! I don't wanna hurt anyone either, it just . . . kinda happens sometimes . . ."
Ryouga nodded, sighing loudly. "As insane as it is for me to say this, I actually wish Ranma was here to talk to you about this. I'm not exactly the best person to be lecturing you on this particular topic . . . I'm not exactly known for controlling myself. I kinda feel like a jerk sitting here and lecturing you about something that I've had so much trouble with."
Terra regarded him oddly for a moment . . . Until finally a fond smile settled on her lips and she dropped a companionable hand on his knees. Of course, he missed the faint blush on her cheeks at the contact as he stared at his own sandals.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Ryouga. I'd rather be hearing this from someone that knows what it's like to actually struggle, than from a perfect, high horse sitting guy that doesn't have a clue what it's like to not be perfect," she supplied with a lopsided grin.
He looked up to stare at her, locking gazes with her brilliant blue eyes for a second, before shaking his head in bemusement. "I think you've been hanging out with me too long, Terra, though I have to admit that I like what I'm hearing."
The geokinetic girl giggled gaily.
"Still," Ryouga continued, rising to his feet and brushing some dust from his pants. "That's enough moralizing for now. How about we get back to work?"
"Awwww!" Terra groaned loudly, "Do we have to? We've been at this for nearly two hours already? Why can't we go over and watch Beast Boy and Robin training for a bit?" She gestured to the distant pair emphatically.
Ryouga shook his head ruefully. He had been studiously ignoring the younger pair of heroes as they trained a few dozen yards away since they had joined them on the beach nearly a half an hour earlier.
"You do realize," he turned to glance at his student, "That the only reason that Beast Boy is out here training at this hour is because he wants to watch your training, right?"
The slight girl nodded absently, dropping her chin onto an upraised palm as she gazed at the distant fighters. "Yeah, I think it's kinda sweet, y'know?" A small giggle escaped her lips. "BB's been trying to fight his way over here for the past ten minutes, but Robin stops him in his tracks every time."
Ryouga nodded in agreement. He'd noticed that, though really he was more curious as to why Beast Boy was limiting himself to his human form- Hey, wait a minute!
"Hey, wait a minute!" he barked, turning to glare at his pupil, "You've been watching them fight ever since they got here, haven't you? No wonder you can't concentrate now!"
Instantly Terra's face flushed a light crimson color as she began to stutter rapidly. "N-n-no I haven't! I'm totally focused on our training, really, I promise!"
Ryouga's eyes narrowed as he studied her face. "I doubt even Kasumi would buy that, Terra."
"Pfft!" Terra raspberried him heartily drawing down her bottom eyelid as she did. "Like you've never been distracted while you were training!"
The vivid memory of a suspended boulder with the name 'Akane' roughly hewn into its surface by what looked like a series of frantic finger pokes flashed through Ryouga's mind.
"O-o-of course I haven't! I'm a skilled martial artist, I would never be distracted from my training!"
Wide blue eyes rolled dramatically as Terra drawled, "Riiiiight. I doubt even Kasumi would buy that, Ryouga."
"Oh, shut up," Ryouga groused as he crossed his arms over his chest . . . well, crossly. He then quickly rose up to his feet and dropped back into the Riding Horse stance. "Alright, that's enough of a break. Let's see if you can't try concentrating a bit more this time."
He didn't 'see' Terra sticking her tongue out at him, but he was pretty much certain that she was.
With that, they began again, Ryouga and Terra both reaching out with their left hands as they shifted from Riding Horse to Bow stance. It was slow work, but with her attention back on her goal, Terra seemed to be getting the hang of it.
"Remember, your mind and your body are one and the same. Your movements give guidance to your power, your breathing gives focus to your movements and your thoughts give purpose to your actions." Moving slowly, Ryouga began to lift his hand, the thrum of his chi flowing through him. The resonance between his life force, the energy of the earth, and the wildly surging power of Terra was intense, like three strings of a piano in perfect tune.
Mimicking his movements, Terra's hand rose gracefully through the air, her chest raising and lowering in a calm rhythm and her eyes flashing brightly. Slowly, the rocks began to vibrate once more, then, after several painfully long seconds, the entire pile of stones rose smoothly into the air, lifted easily by the invisible hand of the young blonde's power.
Smiles bloomed tentatively on both of their faces as Terra held her pose, shaking only slightly, the small cloud of igneous material levitating effortlessly before her and not rocketing off dangerously, or shaking the tower to pieces, just a calm, perfect example of contro-
"Wow, Terra! You're doing really good!" Beast Boy's rang out loudly.
Shocked, both Terra and Ryouga spun to stare at the intruding changeling. The green teen was walking up, waving non-chalantly to them -
"Yo, Ryo, wha-aaahhhh-"
- Just in time to be buried alive by the swarm of rocks which had abruptly flown around to follow Terra's line of sight when she turned to look at Beast Boy.
"Beast Boy!" Terra squealed sharply as she ran forward to start digging the poor boy out of his makeshift tomb.
Ryouga just rolled his eyes at the embarrassing display and walked over to join Robin, who was currently shaking his head. "And you people wonder why I asked for some solitude while we were training," the Lost Boy muttered lightly.
Robin shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "I'm sorry about that. I knew Beast Boy only wanted to come down here to spy on you guys, but his suggestion that we try training him to try to actually use the strange 'Beast' form that he used back at the Hive Academy was too interesting to pass up."
"Ahh, is that why he wasn't transforming at all?" Ryouga asked. He absently pointing his thumb over his shoulder to where Terra was tightly clutching the moaning Beast Boy's head to her chest, his spinning eyes completely ignorant of his good fortune.
The masked titan nodded. "Yeah, I told him the only form he could use was his Beast form. I'm starting to think training it will be a lot harder than we thought. This form doesn't seem to be like the rest; he knows he has it, but he can't just bring it out on command."
Ryouga cocked his head to the side as he regarded his small leader. "What seems to be the problem?"
"Well, I can't be certain," Robin began, "But I think this form is bound tightly to his instincts. As long as he knows that he's not in any real danger, or as long as he knows that he's not fighting an enemy, it's doubtful that he'll be able to access that form."
The bandanna clad fighter nodded in agreement. "That explains why he didn't use it against me when I was under the Headmaster's control."
"Maybe, maybe not," countered Robin, "Frankly, we don't know enough about it to say anything for sure, and unless anyone is willing to really back Beast Boy against a wall and risk drawing it out, I doubt we'll learn anything soon."
The corner of Robin's lip quirked up in amusement as Ryouga tapped his chin, fang peeking out ever so slightly, and 'hmmm'd' loudly in consideration.
"Don't you dare!" cried Terra from behind them. The young blonde then struggled to lift Beast Boy's senseless form to her side. Then, before Ryouga could respond, she stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm gonna take Beast Boy to the infirmary before you two decide to do anything worse to him. Honestly, the poor guy has had to put up with enough already."
With that, Terra began to drag her unfortunate cargo with her, leaving the pair of martial artists alone on the beach.
". . . Soo," Robin began casually, "How's the training going?"
Ryouga began to smile, but his fanged grin soon dissolved into a deep frown. "It's progressing well . . . But it's hard to get excited over that considering what I'm trying to do."
This time it was Robin's head that tilted to the side inquisitively. "What do you mean? I thought you were quite excited about your 'Avatar' based training idea."
"I was at the time . . ." Ryouga's shoulders slumped slightly. "And, sure, the martial arts aspect is a great way to teach control, but mostly it's just a cover for what I'm really trying to do."
Ryouga paused for a moment, looking less than sure about continuing, but finally he released a weary sigh. "I feel like I'm betraying her, Robin. I'm not really 'teaching her control', so much as I'm trying to forge a pair of mental blocks to hamper her use of her power."
"What? Why would you do that?"
Lifting his hands in a sign of defeat, Ryouga replied, "It's the only thing I could think of. I need to break her back down to a basic level before I can start teaching her in any meaningful way." The Lost Boy cursed to himself. "If only Raven had agreed to train her, this probably wouldn't be necessary, but I only know how to think in terms of martial arts."
Robin seemed to consider his words for a time . . . before nodding slowly to himself. "I understand this might be hard for you, but Raven says that your approach is working better than anything she could be doing at the moment. . . . Still, are there any possible side effects to this training that we might want to know about?"
Ryouga considered the question for a moment before nodding. "Raven did raise one concern. The paradox of the telekinetic visualizing their power as an 'invisible hand' often leaves them incapable of flight, since the concept of using your own hand to pick yourself up is too hard for most to overcome."
"So you're saying that Terra might lose her ability to fly?" Robin asked, not sounding too enthused.
"Only in the short term," Ryouga responded quickly. "Once the mental blocks are firmly in place, then I can begin teaching her how to break them down again. When all is said and done, I'm really just knocking her down so that I can help her stand back up again, just with a few handy pointers this time around."
The young bird's good natured chuckle helped to raise Ryouga's flagging spirit slightly.
"Well, if that's what it takes to help Terra get her powers back under control, then that's what it takes. The basics are the most important part of any training, and as long as you and Raven both feel confident in this approach, then I won't interfere," offered the masked Titan.
"Ummm . . . and if only Raven is feeling confident in this approach?"
-Saturday 9:03 A.M.-
Raven looked at her adversary warily, not trusting, for a moment, that it meant her anything but ill will.
If the simmering pot of . . . food, was at all intimidated by her narrow eyed glare, it gave no outward sign. Rather the lid continued to bounce around merrily as steam escaped from the depths of its stainless steel and Teflon coated belly.
"Again I feel compelled to ask: why am I helping to make breakfast at this ungodly hour?"
Her companions/enslavers, the crimson haired Tamaranian and the chestnut haired Tendo shared an enigmatic smile before turning their attention back to their own culinary master pieces.
"Well, we all had so much fun on our night out on the town, that I thought it would be nice if we spent some more time together," Kasumi replied happily as she began to scramble the pan full of eggs before her.
Starfire's cheerful giggle filled the air and she did her best to cover her smile with her hand. "That, and after witnessing Cyborg's most vivid reenactment of your . . . noble attempt to prepare the Cake of Pans whilst we were still stranded in the Joketsuzoku village, we believed that instructing you in the proper methods of cooking would be a most constructive endeavor."
To her credit, Raven kept her dark grumbling mostly to herself as she lifted the lid of her pot and took a quick glance inside. It appeared that her eggs were boiling satisfactorily so far . . . She still wasn't sure whether she should feel somewhat insulted that the Tendo woman had suggested they begin with 'something closer to Raven's level of ability'.
Honestly, the hallucinations hadn't been that terrifying . . . for her, at least.
She was considering commenting as such, when the opening of the far door caught her attention. The unexpected sight of Ryouga Hibiki striding through the doorway, making a . . . somewhat straight line in their direction flustered the dark Titan for a moment. Several thoughts flitted through her head in an instant.
Wondering what he was doing there so early was quickly discounted as she remembered that she was the night owl, while he was the early bird. Wanting to take a second to fix her hair was equally foolish, as her hood was pulled firmly in place making it a moot point. Embarrassment that he might see her cooking hard boiled eggs, of all things, though easily the most ridiculous of the thoughts, was also the hardest to shake.
So rather than do anything to draw attention to herself, she simply attempted to hide even further within the folds of her cloak while her companions took the initiative to greet the approaching Titan.
"Greetings, friend Ryouga! It is a glorious morning, is it not?"
"Good morning, Ryouga, won't you join us?"
"Good morning, everyone." The bandanna clad warrior rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as he wandered up to the kitchen area. Despite her wishes, the Lost Boy instantly zeroed in on her and circled the island counter to stand beside her, a look of interest on his face.
"You're helping out, Raven? That's cool, I didn't know you could cook," Ryouga asked/stated in a supportive tone.
Not sure whether to be flattered or insulted by the inquiry, the dark Titan responded in a neutral tone, "So much as this can be called cooking. Hard boiled eggs are hardly-"
"Hard boiled eggs? I love hard boiled eggs," Ryouga exclaimed suddenly. The sudden statement not only cut her off, but confounded the dark Titan as well. She turned to stare at Kasumi for a moment - wait a moment, had the brunette just winked at her? Shaking her head quickly to clear it of the possible hallucination, Raven quickly turned back to Ryouga.
"You do?" she asked incredulously.
"Oh, yeah. You'd be surprised how often it is that the only thing you can scrounge up is a few eggs when you're on the road." Ryouga chuckled to himself, looking slightly embarrassed. "And hard boiling an egg just means that many less dishes to do after you're done . . . So I guess I just kinda grew to like them like that."
Well, that was quite pragmatic. Of course, for Ryouga, the term 'on the road' likely meant 'hopelessly lost in some labyrinthine forest, miles from civilization', but she was starting to understand just how close to normal that was for the poor guy. "Well, really, it was that Kasumi suggested this was all I c-"
"Should need to do," Kasumi's interruption wasn't sharp, but it was quite effective as she continued immediately, "After all, Starfire and I have the rest of breakfast well in hand, but it certainly was nice of her to offer to help us like that, now wasn't it, Ryouga?"
The Tendo woman might as well have been laying down commandments, considering how quickly the fanged boy began nodding in agreement. For the life of her, though, Raven couldn't figure out what in the world was going on. Though it had been quite subtle, there had been a status quo lately, a barely perceptible level of passive aggressive warfare in which Raven had been steadily losing ground to brightly smiling attrition.
So when had Kasumi suddenly become her 'secret co-conspirator'?
"But, Ryouga, for what reason have you joined us at this hour?" Starfire suddenly asked out of left field, "Do you not have the training of Terra to endeavor towards this morning?"
Immediately, Ryouga's hand went to the back of his head in a classic display. The embarrassed laugh quickly followed, bringing the 'embarrassed trait' tally to two. "Umm, well . . . Actually, Terra made a . . . convincing argument that she should get today off since it was Saturday."
"Terra's got today off!"
The unexpected and excited outburst quickly drew everyone's attention to the elevator, which had opened mere seconds earlier to reveal the lanky figure of Beast Boy. Before anyone so much as had the chance to mutter a syllable, the emerald teen transformed into an emerald cheetah and raced out the side door in a blur of speed.
Ryouga winced at the rapid departure. "Ah, someone might want to stop him. Terra made it pretty clear that she was intent on sleeping in until at least noon today."
Raven's eyebrow arched upwards as she turned to regard the Lost Boy, his last several statements suddenly adding up to a very strange number indeed. "And . . . what exactly was this argument that Terra used to win you over so thoroughly?"
The Lost Boy lifted a hand to touch his cheek gingerly, and Raven suddenly noticed the long, rectangular red mark which looked to be slowly fading beneath his finger tips. "Well, let's just say that spending a day to work on her upper body strength might have been a mistake . . ."
Instantly, Starfire floated in between the two of them, taking an incredibly close look at Ryouga's cheek. Then, in a gesture which caused a strange twinge in Raven's chest for some reason, the Tamaranian ran a delicate finger down the Lost Boy's cheek as she inspected the 'wound'. The violet eyed Titan couldn't put her own, more metaphorical finger on it, but there was something about the scene which seemed . . . intimate, even by the ridiculous standards that the would-be siblings had previously demonstrated.
Not really sure how, or even if she should respond, Raven lifted a hesitant finger-
"What is this War and Peace which is imprinted on your cheek, Ryouga?" asked the curious Tamaranian abruptly.
The non sequitur brought Raven up short. She threw a book at him?
"I dunno, but Terra said that the next person to try to wake her up today was gonna be reading the sequel, 'if you get what I'm saying' . . . or so she put it, anyway," Ryouga explained.
Kasumi tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Do you think that perhaps one of us should go warn Garfield before-"
The distant sound of a frightfully loud *thwak* was quickly followed by the dull *thud* of something heavy hitting the floor, which in turn was quickly followed by a muffled gasp of what sounded like apology.
Kasumi looked in the vague direction from which the sound had originated for a long moment . . . before finally turning her attention back to Ryouga. ". . . So, what are you planning to do with your day off then, Ryouga?"
Ryouga stared at the Tendo woman uncertainly for an instant, before shrugging. "I hadn't really thought about it, actually. Maybe I shoul . . ."
The sudden trailing off of the Lost Boy's sentence would have confused Raven - had she not seen Kasumi ever so subtly rolling her eyes over in her direction. Regardless, it still took him a moment to follow the line that Kasumi was making and make a sudden 'ah' of realization as he pieced together the older woman's ever so clever hints.
Instantly Ryouga's face began to tint red and he started to tap his finger tips together shyly as he turned to face her again. "Aheh . . . Um - ah, hi there, Raven," he began uncertainly.
Though a tiny, tiny part of her was disappointed by his sudden loss of confidence, the sudden pounding in her chest reminded her that she was hardly one to be talking. She had a fairly good idea what could be coming and had no idea what to do . . . So she decided to go with her normal response to such an inane greeting.
"Um, yes, Ryouga, we've already established that I'm here," she replied drolly . . .
Hmmm, that had come across as slightly more sarcastic than she'd intended. She certainly hoped that the Lost Boy's near complete inability to detect subtlety held true.
"W-well - well, I . . . I was just wondering if, y'know, if you had any p-p-plans for the day?" Impressively, if Ryouga had been at all offended, he gave no sign in his stuttering, hopelessly pathetic inquiry into her schedule.
The dark Titan internalized her sigh of relief as she listened to Ryouga asking her out on a date in that adorably pathetic manner of his-
Wait a moment! Asking her out on a date!
As the implications of the innocuous question became apparent, primal flight instincts flared to life and Raven did her very best to escape into the depths of her own robe. Even as she nervously pulled her hood down to hide her face, the only response she could muster was a shaky - "P-plans?"
Face growing more crimson by the second, Ryouga nodded jerkily. "Yeah, those things . . . Not that I would expect you to not have plans, in fact you probably do, but I was just thinking, on the off chance that you don't have plans, and I don't have any plans, that maybe - maybe we could . . . make some . . . plans?"
Suddenly, Raven found herself bereft of her glib wit. This wasn't at all like the other instances that the Lost Boy had dragged her into the city. Their early morning brunches had exclusively proceeded from the comforting premise of 'strategy sessions' in concern to restoring Terra.
But with Terra no longer a statue, said pretence no longer existed . . . If she said yes, then it would mean that the only reason they would be going out would be to enjoy each other's company away from the prying eyes of the others. Raven pulled a little harder on her hood, desperate to hide her smoldering cheeks.
This was a milestone moment, a landmark decision that could forever change the nature of her relationship with the martial artist. Did she do the smart thing and say 'no'? Thus enforcing the status quo and dooming herself to a life of solitude . . .
Or, did she risk everything and say 'yes'? Did she dare to hope that a relationship could actually work out for the best, despite the stark reality that the prophecy of her life entailed? Was it really better to have loved and lost, than to have never loved at all . . . Or was that just a load of crap?
Even as the prospect of such a monumental decision terrified her, the idea of taking charge of her destiny, as futile as the gesture would ultimately be, excited her. All she needed to do was lift her chin proudly, stare him straight in the eye-
And watch in shock as Starfire dragged the helplessly resisting boy out of the room. "-and then, we can prevail upon Beast Boy to give us a most comical, though biologically accurate tour of the Jump City Zoo!"
"B-biologically wha-" Only for the closing of the elevator doors to cut off the rest of the pair's conversation.
Raven blinked once . . . then again, her jaw slowly moving up and down as she tried to process what had just happened. Slowly, she turned to stare at the tall Japanese woman to her side. Kasumi wore an oddly shame faced expression, but after a moment of enduring Raven's incredulous scrutiny, the brunette simply shrugged.
"How would Victor put it . . . You snooze, you lose?"
-Sunday 7:30 PM-
The Hunter prowled the many corridors and tunnels of his domain. His was a vast kingdom, but one filled with many other predators. His fellow hunters may have been larger and stronger than he, but they sought different prey, and thus they co-existed peacefully.
Moving with animal grace, he zipped around a corner, intent on following a certain scent.
And co-exist they had . . . until recently. One of the other predators - or was he prey? - had been interfering in his hunt, however unwittingly. As such, the Hunter needed to make sure his unknowing rival was indisposed before beginning his own hunt.
The Hunter inhaled sharply, the strong scent of his rival filling his nostrils. The 'Other' was close now, in all likelihood resting in the main den of their shared lair. The Hunter slithered down the hallway, then crawled, then fluttered through the air until he came to the entrance of the chamber.
With hardened claw, the Hunter inched the massive metal door open just wide enough to allow an eyestalk to slide through and survey the scene beyond.
Success!
Just as the Hunter had hoped, his rival, the fanged, bandanna-wearing predator was lounging on the couch. He was not alone, either. The fiery haired Tamaranian was nestled closely to his side and the two appeared to be reading some kind of comic book together.
To the side of that pair, Cyborg and Kasumi sat, apparently discussing a text of some sort. The titanium hunter and the Japanese housekeeper was the last of the obvious predator/prey relationships still left intact in the Hunter's mind.
Glancing to the last pair in the room, sitting at the distant kitchen counter, Raven and Robin were discussing something in hushed tones, frequently casting inscrutable glances to the comic reading duo at the center of the room.
The lines between predator and prey had been growing more and more blurred lately. The young bird, the perennial prey of the flame haired lioness seemed to have realized that the hunt had ended recently, and seemed to be uncertain as how to react.
The dark Raven was just as much hunter as hunted . . . Though always the wrong one at the wrong time. Obviously her inexperience in the hunt was leaving her vulnerable to more experienced predators.
Then, of course, there was the Japanese martial artist, the most hesitant hunter of all, so clueless about hunting his own prey, that he didn't even realize that he had been marked by two other hunters.
The whole thing was becoming a convoluted mess and the only thing that seemed imminent was a whole world of heart break for all involved . . .
But none of that was the Hunter's problem!
Confident that his rival was thoroughly distracted, his own hunt could proceed unhindered. In a flash, the predator pulled back from the door and sprinted down the hallway as fast as four spotted legs would allow. He skidded around corners, blurred down corridors and flew up staircases with speed borne of familiarity and, within minutes, he found himself standing before his goal-
A metal door with the word 'Terra' stencilled on its surface.
Taking a moment to lick his hand and smooth down his unruly hair, the Hunter leaned casually against the door frame, to best show off his own lean frame, and then knocked sharply on the door.
He was alerted to the sound of frantic scrambling from within his prey's dwelling and it took several painfully long seconds before the door slide open to reveal the perfect face of the golden haired Terra . . .
Well, as much of her face as the inch gap that she slid the door open revealed, at any rate.
"Beast Boy? What are you doing here?"
The obvious distress in the girl's voice confused the Hunter. This certainly wasn't the first time he'd appeared at her door thusly, and she'd never acted . . . um . . . thusly before.
Inquisitive by nature, the Hunter leaned forward to try to see what was different about this situation.
"Umm, hey, Terra." The Hunter opened with a verbal distraction while he moved in closer. "I was just seein if ya wanted to, y'know, hang out or something?"
His prey's anxiety level only seemed to increase as his face inched closer to the door. It almost looked like she was trying to shift her body away from the door while still keeping her face in view.
"I'm really sorry, Beast Boy, but this is a really bad time. I promised Ryouga that I would review the Avatar tapes again, since I hit him with that book yesterday." His prey's explanation, while somewhat logical, was also quite frustrating.
"Hey! You hit me with a book yesterday, too, and you didn't promise to do anything for me!"
His prey's eyes narrowed, never a good sign. "Yeah? Well maybe you should have thought about that before running off to the zoo with Ryouga and Starfire without even thinking to ask me!"
The Hunter gesticulated wildly in protest. "But you're still not allowed to go into the city. Ryouga hasn't cleared you yet."
The young blonde sniffed loudly. "So? It still would have been nice of you to at least ask, instead of just running off without a word."
The Hunter wanted to continue protesting, but keen instinct warned him to change his approach before the chase ended in disaster. Instantly, a bashful smile spread across his lips.
"You're absolutely right, Terra. I was bein' a jerk by not thinking of you. I totally should have got Robin to back down. Heck, Star, Raven and Kasumi did for that girls' night out you guys had." Leaning forward, he winked. "Why don't you let me make it up to you? I could totally whip up some snacks and we could watch the show together?"
For a moment, his prey looked torn, but eventually cast her gaze down regretfully. "I'm sorry, Beast Boy, but Ryouga really wanted me to concentrate on the movements and techniques with absolutely no distractions."
The Hunter frowned, chagrined. "Oh, so you're saying that I'd be a distraction?"
Terra rolled her eyes in amusement. "You know you totally would be, but that's not it." For some reason, her face began to redden noticeably. "It's just that . . . Well, I got rid of all the distractions I could think of. No music, no magazines, no lights . . . No clothes . . ."
The Hunter's astute mind took several seconds to process his prey's last words, then proceeded to do the only thing it could think of-
Terra stared at Beast Boy for another minute, taking careful note of the wide eyed, slack jawed expression on his face, with just a hint of drool beginning to pool. After waiting another moment, just to be sure, the young blonde very carefully positioned herself so that she could fit her arm out the door and gently press a single finger to the green teen's forehead.
In an excellent impersonation of a sand castle, the changeling instantly crumbled to the floor into a drooling heap of boy. Groaning to herself, Terra slid her door closed and went back to sit on her bed, adjusting her training bra as she did.
She was sure that if she'd had parents, they would have been totally right about boys only being interested in one thing.
-Monday 6:25 PM-
Mental Checklist: Kitchen cleaned . . .
Taking a quick glance around, Kasumi ran a finger along the counter. Upon inspection, her dainty digit was just as spotless as the space age counter top.
Check.
-All of Beast Boy's toys cleaned up . . .
Across the room, she noted the large box she'd commissioned from Victor. Said box was primly pushed back into the corner and was nearly overflowing with squeeze toys, balls of yarn, unsorted CD's and crumpled comics.
. . . A dubious check.
-Dinner prepared and served . . .
Terra and Garfield were just finishing putting the various dishes away after washing them. Such a helpful duo, since that also let her check the next item off her list as well.
Double check.
-Continue campaign to throw Raven mentally off balance.
Raven, sitting on the far end of the long couch, was still staring uncertainly at the cup of tea that Kasumi had so kindly offered her. The tea was exactly the blend that Raven enjoyed, but Kasumi had placed a few drops of honey into it, to 'sweeten it up a touch'.
Now, the poor girl, who possessed no love of honey, looked torn between drinking the tea, since Kasumi had gone to the trouble of making it for her, or making another cup of tea, but possibly offending the Tendo sister.
The corner of Kasumi's lip curled up ever so slightly.
Check.
- Subtly flirt with Cyborg . . .
Kasumi tapped a finger to her chin as she regarded the young man sitting across the kitchen counter, contentedly typing away on his forearm. Not sure how to proceed, she fell back on her Hive villainess training and made a mental list of possible techniques she could use. List in mind, it didn't take her too long to choose a suitable approach.
Making sure to keep her eyes on the distant TV, currently showing some commercial or another, Kasumi lifted an elegant hand to her throat and let out a tiny cough, just enough to catch Victor's attention. Then, the moment he looked up at her, she gave out a lady-like yawn and stretched her arms high up and folded her hands absently behind her head.
Thanks to the dark T-shirt she was wearing, the impact was as rapid as it was devastating. The titanium Titan nearly fell right out of his seat, his eye widening to a saucer. It took all of her training to stop herself from giggling as she studied him out of the corner of her eyes. Then, after a generous few seconds, she lowered her arms back down and turned to offer him a brilliant smile.
"Oh my, I must be more tired than I thought."
Victor's only response was to nod slowly up and down, his tiny arm computer totally forgotten.
Annnd Check.
Kasumi took a second to think about the rest of her possible chores, but with Ryouga, Robin and Starfire out on patrol - Ryouga had been quite insistent about the chance to get some real exercise - she couldn't complete any of the little tasks she came up with.
Which meant that she was all done for the night.
. . . Hmmm, now what to do with her free time? It would be at least ten minutes before Victor recovered enough to help her out with her medical training. Her Stories had all been Tivo'd earlier, so she could start watching those . . . but then Starfire had been quite enthralled by Dash Darrington's evil plot to replace his identical uncle and take over his eye patch manufacturing plant, all in order to win over the heart of the president's step-niece.
On second thought, this week's plot was a little simplistic.
With her options quickly dwindling, Kasumi found her attention drawn back to her pair of young assistants. Finally done with the washing, drying and storing, Terra and Garfield were now sitting, looking very chummy with their stools pulled together, chatting away.
While eavesdropping was far from polite, it certainly beat boredom. She nearly giggled; what an odd thought that was. Boredom? Had she ever even considered that word back in Nerima? Who would have imagined that moving away from home and into a giant tower filled with real life super heroes would actually give her time to get bored?
"-I mean, it's just great! I can't believe how much more confident I am in my powers already."
Oops, she almost missed what Terra was saying. Leaning back against the counter, feigning interest in the distant TV, Kasumi settled in to listen to Garfield's reply.
"Um, yeah . . . that sure is awesome how Ryo's trainin' is workin'."
"I know, right? I mean, I thought he was totally insane when he had me all strapped up for the BT training, but I haven't had an . . . um - accident in days," Terra continued, excitement simply oozing out of her-
Kasumi cringed. 'Oozing out'? That didn't sound very nice at all.
. . ., her voice bursting with excitement.
"That is pretty sweet . . . Say, when do you think Ryo is gonna give you the all clear so you aren't stuck training all day?" Beast Boy's inference was anything but subtle.
Terra tapped her chin lightly. "I dunno. Soon, I hope. He mentioned something about wanting to test me soon . . . But who knows how much longer the training might need to go on?"
Apparently the geokinetic girl was so caught up in her own little world that she completely missed the crestfallen expression that tumbled down the changeling's face. Rather than wait for him to respond, Terra continued right along.
"I actually hope the training doesn't end too soon. Working with Ryouga is great. He's so supportive, he actually understands what it's like to mess up from time to time and . . . and he's just really amazing!" Terra's exclamation was coupled with a potent 'starry-eyed' gaze.
Seeming less thrilled with the current by topic by the second, Garfield scoffed loudly. "Pfft! Ryo isn't that great. I mean, he's not even as strong as Star, he's not nearly as tough as Cyborg, Raven's got loads more firepower than him, spiritually speaking, and I can go way faster than him whenever I want." The shape shifter leaned back, smirking triumphantly. "The only thing he's really got goin' for him is his mad 'foo skills."
Kasumi winced; that had not been the best approach he could have used. In record time, the blonde Titan went from smiling to scowling.
"Why would you even say that?" Terra demanded hotly. "Sure, he's not perfect, but unlike you apparently, not all of us are!"
The Tendo woman could only shake her head sadly as things began to spiral out of control.
"Whoa, Terra, that's not what I meant-"
Terra was having none of his excuses, though, and cut him off harshly. "Is that what you think of me, too? Am I just a dangerously unstable poor man's version of Raven?"
At the far end of the room, reluctantly sipping her tea, Raven looked up at the mention of her name. Upon seeing that it was Beast Boy being berated, though, she quickly lost interest and went back to reading.
Victor, finally regaining enough of his senses to realize what was going on, quickly raised his hands in a warding gesture. "Hey now, Terra, nobody thinks you're anything like Raven!"
Again, the violet haired sorceress looked up, apparently trying to puzzle out whether she'd just been insulted or not, but then simply shrugged and went back to reading again.
"Of course not," Terra rebuked bitterly, "How could I possibly match up to someone as perfect as Raven?"
This time, Raven didn't even look up, just rolled her eyes.
Beast Boy, on the other hand, shook his head wildly. "Nonono! You got it all wrong, we weren't talking about you at all!"
Rather than be assuaged, Terra jumped to her feet, slapping her hands to the counter. "Oh, I don't get it, do I? Well excuuuuse me for not be smart enough to pick up on all of your subtle nuances!"
Her piece said, Terra then stormed out of the room in a fit of petite pique, leaving a devastated Garfield, a confused Victor and a concerned Kasumi glancing at each other awkwardly.
Raising her head yet again, Raven fired a mildly reproachful glare at the trio. ". . . You guys are idiots, you know that, right?"
At which point, Beast Boy jumped up, clutching his skull.
"What just happened!"
-Later that same night-
As a general rule, Raven enjoyed being right. Even moreso, she enjoyed being right when it came at the expense of Beast Boy being wrong. However, in a very rare exception to that rule, Raven currently found herself less than thrilled with the accuracy of her own prediction.
"What the heck is going on, Raven?" This whole thing is driving me crazy."
Raven sighed, rubbing her temples in anguish as her emerald teammate paced anxiously around her room. "How did you get into my room again?" she asked, likely rhetorically. "I specifically remember locking the door."
If the boy heard her, he gave no sign as he continued his rant. "Seriously! If she isn't training with Ryo, she's doing training for Ryo. If she's not working on her own, she's too exhausted to hang out. If she's not too exhausted to hang out, then all she does is talk about Ryouga!"
Rolling her eyes, Raven gave Beast Boy 'the look'. "I fail to see how any of that is Ryouga's fault, or, more importantly, my problem."
Beast Boy responded with a literal 'puppy dog pout' - complete with whiskers - which pulled on even Raven's heart strings before morphing back. "Come on, Rae, you saw what happened. All I did was mention Ryo's name and Terra went all ballistic on me." The green skinned teen waved his arms around to accentuate his point.
Again, Raven rolled her eyes. "That is hardly what happened. You did your best to tear down one of your teammates, one of your friends just to make yourself look better."
Beast Boy frowned, opened his mouth . . . only to close it a few moments later. The look of embarrassment on the changeling's face was only slightly gratifying. "Okay, okay. I guess that I was pretty outta line there, but still! She took it totally personally!"
Dropping his arms to his sides in defeat, Beast Boy kicked the carpet despondently. "I don't get it, Rae. Half the time, it's just like old times with Terra, but the other half, she's getting' all mad at me, or pushing me away. She's not . . . she's not falling for Ryo, is she?"
For a few seconds, Raven considered just telling the emerald changeling to quit bothering her and leave her alone. It wasn't like he was the only one being left out in the cold, not that he would ever actually possess the empathy to realize that.
And yet, it was that self-same empathy that stayed her hand, as it were. Taking in her friend's hunched posture, his drooping ears and shimmering eyes . . .
Sighing loudly, the violet eyed Titan patted the edge of the bed to her side, prompting Beast Boy to take a seat. Not quite sure how to proceed, she awkwardly patted him on the shoulder as she tried to organize her thoughts.
"It's not really what you think. I'm fairly certain that Terra isn't falling in love with Ryouga. It's hard for me to put into words, but I think-"
"Well, if she doesn't love him, then why was she defending him like that?" Beast Boy interrupted her frantically.
Resisting the urge to go from patting his shoulder to wringing his neck, Raven shook her head. "She wasn't defending him, she was defending herself, Beast Boy. I don't know how you could have possibly missed it, but Terra identifies herself with Ryouga. Any insult you aimed at him, may as well have been directed at her as well."
Beast Boy's brow furrowed as he desperately tried to interpret her words. "B-but that doesn't make any sense. Her and Ryouga don't got anything in common, and we were her friends way before he was. Why would he care what I say about Ryo?"
Raven's eyes narrowed as she regarded the changeling. "Perhaps for the same reason that I care when you needlessly insult Ryouga, seeing as he is our friend." She took a moment to center herself before continuing. "There are reasons beyond that, though."
"Like what?" Beast Boy asked, earning another glare.
"Well, there is no easy way to put this, but the main thing that I have been able to sense from Terra, from the very moment that she awoke, is that she feels-" Raven struggled to find a good euphemism, but ultimately failed. "Damaged, I suppose. Unworthy, perhaps, like she doesn't deserve to be here, with us."
"What? Why the heck would she think that!"
Feeling less certain of herself by the moment, Raven took a long breath. "Beast Boy . . . Terra, she did terrible things. To us, to this city, to herself . . . Things which many would call unforgivable. And yet, not one of us has even mentioned what transpired between all of us."
She noted the clueless expression on her companion's face and endeavored to explain things further. "Think about it. Since none of us have been willing to broach that subject, the issue, in Terra's mind, is hanging, unresolved over her head like the sword of Damocles every moment that she is with any of us, just waiting to drop."
Holding up her left hand, she nodded to her upraised palm. "On the other hand, you have Ryouga. Not only is there no troubled past dividing them, but he experienced a similar situation. A friend becoming a traitor, and now struggling to find his place within our team."
Beast Boy frowned, scratching his head. "I - I guess that is kinda similar . . ."
"Then, of course, there is the fact that he has, in no small way, become her personal savior in more ways than one. First, saving her from her stone prison, then saving her from herself with his makeshift training. Is it any wonder that she would be idolizing him, even if only a small bit?" She asked, smirking slightly.
Growling in frustration, the changeling pulled at his hair weakly. "Argh! No."
Smiling wickedly now, Raven leaned back and flipped her hair absently. This was starting to get amusing. "Not to mention the fact that he's something of a role model for her. Where she's still struggling to come to terms with what she's done, Ryouga has already become a valued and trusted member of our team, giving her hope for herself."
"Okay, I get it already!"
Not quite ready to stop yet, Raven stared at Beast Boy through lidded eyes.
"Did you know, that earlier this week, Terra approached me with concerns over the training Ryouga was subjecting her to? Not certain what else to do, I told her of what Cologne subjected Ryouga to while training him and Starfire in the Hirya Shoten Ha." She shivered unconsciously, the memories of even the echoes of the emotions she felt on the few occasions she had been present still haunted her occasionally. "After hearing of the utter insanity that he willingly endured to gain control of his emotions, she was inspired to continue her own training."
A random analogy struck her, eliciting a small chuckle. "As bafflingly ironic as it may sound, he is something of a guidepost for her, letting Terra know that her goals are actually attainable."
Unfortunately, her tiny joke didn't elicit so much as a smile from her companion, who appeared to be lost in thought.
"So . . . she's not in love with him, she's just way more comfortable around him than us because she's still secretly terrified that we might start yelling at her for betraying us at any minute?" he mused aloud.
Somewhat shocked, Raven nodded. "That is actually the gist of what I was trying to explain. There is an off chance that the method Ryouga used to acclimate his chi to match Terra's that might be contributing to the ease of familiarity, but honestly I have no idea if Terra is actually sensitive enough to pick up on that."
Beast Boy looked at her oddly for a moment before just shaking his head. "I dunno what you're talkin' about with that stuff, but now that we know what the problem is, how do we fix it?"
The dark Titan's head tilted inquisitively. "Fix it?"
Beast Boy rolled his wrist leadingly. "You know what I mean. We know why Terra's acting weird around us, why she's not really that comfortable around any of us . . . So what do we do to fix it?"
Taking a deep breath, Raven released it in a weary sigh. Was he hoping for some easy answer, some quick fix? Some easy answer that would make things all better.
"Beast Boy-"
Which was precisely the moment that the emergency siren flared to life, drowning out anything she might have hoped to say. Moving on instinct, both Titans pulled out their communicators and flipped the devices open. An instant later, Robin's familiar face filled the tiny screen.
"Calling all Titans. A silent alarm was just tripped at a chemical company outside the city. Everyone meet us there as soon as you can."
Before the duo even had the chance to get to their feet, something unexpected happened, as Ryouga's face suddenly replaced their young leader's. "That means you too, Terra!"
"It's time for your first test!"
Looking down on the warehouse, the ancient martial arts master's wrinkled lips curled in anticipation. The light of the morning sun wouldn't brighten the Gotham skyline for well over an hour and their quarry was due any minute now. The cargo ship, now resting peacefully in the bay, had already unloaded its exotic cargo and said cargo had already been moved to the large storehouse below.
A whisper of sound heralded the appearance of his disciple as she alighted on the ledge to his side. The darkly clad girl bore her familiar Cheshire grin as she studied the warehouse for herself.
"How are you feeling, Disciple? Are you prepared?"
The lovely young woman nodded enthusiastically. "I have months of pent up frustration just waiting to get unleashed. This is going to be the most violently therapeutic thing I've ever done."
The ancient master chuckled in amusement. "Try to leave our poor friend alive, if at all possible. I know I haven't exactly gone easy on you, but try not to take it all out of on our unsuspecting victim."
"No promises, Master, but I'll try to play nice."
A flicker of motion on the street far below, a dark shape slipping into the warehouse in question alerted them that the time for talk was over.
"Poor guy . . . Looks like his luck just ran out," she quipped, smiling brightly.
"Hmmm, that's actually not too bad." He then reached up and patted her on the bottom, giving her a not so gentle shove off the ledge.
"Now go enjoy your first test, Jinx."