*This chapter, along with the previous ones has been revamped. So it would be helpful to read from the beginning...just to get the full picture.
Chapter 6
Disclaimer: look at Chapter 1
Why does love always feel like a battlefield? (1)
Derek frowned. Why was that song still in his head? What did his cousin do to him last night? How could he have been so stupid to agree to be the lab rat for a magic show? The man shuddered, still remembering the taste of the 'magic potion' she forced him to drink. Then she hypnotized him...why did it have to work?
A sigh escaped down turned full lips as the young man entered the crowded bookstore. Behind him, the chatter of people and the rush of the water fountain filled his ears. Such a noisy place.
Why was he even at the mall, again? Oh, right…to pick up something for the neighbors. Why couldn't they get the book themselves? Wasn't this a waste of his time? There were plans tonight...plans involving theft and espionage.
His boss was quite the workaholic, and it seemed like every week there was some new gadget or jewelry to steal. Seriously, couldn't the jewels wait? At least until he had a vacation? Derek turned, prepared to leave the store when someone caught his eye.
Wasn't that Adrianna? He watched the teenager enter the store, making a bee-line for back section with a determined look plastered on her face. The man continued watched as Adrianna scanned the shelves till she reached the top. Could she reach that high? Derek wasn't too convinced. Perhaps he should help?
Shrugging, the man headed over towards the aisle, his eyebrow raising slightly at Adrianna's attempt to climb the bookshelf. Derek chuckled as he selected the book with one hand and caught the teenager when she stumbled.
"Easy there, Princess." He watched with a smile as Adrianna whirled around, a soft blush spreading across her pale face. Why was she so...so pretty? Why were her eyes so captivating and her lips so...soft and plump?
Why was his heart fluttering like this? What was with the butterflies in his stomach?
"It seems we always meet like this." Adrianna spoke, her eyes nervously lowered and fingers clutching tightly to a black leather bag. She looked back up and smiled softly. "We've only met three times...and I feel like were close friends. Strange, huh?"
Derek bit his lip, trying to quell his pounding heart. "Strange? Maybe. Perhaps it's fate?" He smiled, eyes now glossing over the troublesome book. "I didn't know you were into romance. You always seemed the action and thriller type."
The teenager blushed again, seemingly more embarrassed than before. "I-It's for a friend."
A sly look crossed Derek's face. "Sure it is." He winked, then laughed at the look of astonishment on the girl's face. Placing the book into Adrianna's hands, the man turned to leave the bookstore.
"Um, Derek? Why do you have glasses on indoors?"
The man was silent. What was he to say? Should he lie and make up some silly illness like they always do in the movies? Or was he supposed to tell the truth...tell her that he was a paranoid man who hated the color of his eyes?
Tell her that he hid them because he hated the stares, the looks of wonder and intrigue? Tell her that because he's a wanted thief, he couldn't afford to let people see his weird colored eyes, lest they unravel his identity?
Derek scoffed inwardly. Ah, what a fucked up life he lived.
He was surprised when she softly touched his arm. He marveled at the warm sensation spreading up his arms like wildfire. Derek softly closed his hand over her soft, slender fingers.
Such warm fingers.
So unlike his cold and frozen hands.
Derek said nothing, letting the girl pull of his darkly shaded Desiel frames and stare intently into his face. Somehow, that nervousness wasn't there. Somehow, all he felt was a strange calmness...a quiet serenity. The feeling as if nothing could go wrong. When was the last time he felt that way?
"You have such pretty eyes."
That voice. That soft, shy and innocent voice. Why was he feeling like this? The shivers that ran up his spine. The goosebumps rising on his chilled flesh. His hands rose without permission, fingers aching to stroke the pale grayish skin.
He couldn't take control of his hands. Couldn't pull away. His hands caressed the girl's childish face wantonly, while his lips softly brushed against warm, supple cheeks. The tantalizing scent of peaches and lavender filled his nostrils, clouding his mind further.
It was familiar, this scent. Everything about this girl was familiar. The softly rounded face, those startling purple eyes, and now this. Where had he seen her before? Derek's mind swirled with questions and broken images.
A night at the bar...the taxi ride. Violet eyes filled with sorrow, cheeks tinged with intoxication. A strange gray mirror, that hauntingly beautiful face...and the full moon. Wait, full moon?
Mirror?
Derek pulled away, golden eyes now wide with realization. So this was the girl? The one who owned the mirror? The titan with the bottle of pills? The one whose silent tears still haunted his dreams?
The young man smirked inwardly. What a small world. Of all the people to run into, he ran into a titan? Perhaps their meeting wasn't so random after all. Perhaps his identity wasn't so secret after all.
No.
Impossible.
His criminal record consisted of nothing but a masked picture. No fingerprints, nothing traceable could be found in any crime scene he got involved with. His shoes didn't leave footprints, His suit had been revamped. Ripping or tearing the suit was near impossible. This was simply a coincidence...It had to be.
Derek smiled at the teenager. "I'm late. Maybe we'll meet again?" Swiftly, he planted a soft kiss on the girl's forehead, trying not to be swayed by the pretty look of confusion of the girl's face.
"Raven, who was that you were talking to?"
The slight rasp of Robin's voice entered Derek's ears. What a coincidence. The man turned to leave, trying to hide the amused smirk on his face. So her name was Raven?
Raven.
Such an unusual name. Filled with mystery and teeming with an odd sense of darkness. Why a raven? She certainly didn't come off as dark and foreboding...on the contrary, she was bright and cheerful. Almost like sunshine.
If anything she should have been called Dove or Nightingale... maybe even Robin?
No, not Robin.
Robin already took that name. Derek frowned, his mind still obsessing over the strange name. Such a sweet and innocent looking girl...being named after a bird of death? What was her mother thinking?
Perhaps there was more to the girl than met the eye. Why else would she have called herself Adrianna? (2)
Regret.
Everyone at some point in their life had these feelings.
Terra knew all about regret...it had become her closest friend. She knew everything, how regret filled you with sadness and despair. How it clouded the bright, sunny skies and chilled the warm afternoon sun.
Yes, Terra had seen all these things. So when the earth bender glimpsed the face of the sorceress one warm and pleasant evening, she knew that something was terribly wrong.
That expression on Raven's unblemished face... was as if staring back at a mirror. The unforgettable visage of guilt, the desperate crave for repentance and the futile yearning to erase the past glimmered unmistakably in Raven's distraught face.
Terra knew that face well… that image she saw staring back at her through the mirror almost everyday of her life… the face of regret. The geomacer continued to gaze at Raven, her cornflower blue eyes carefully cautious. Should she say something? Wasn't it her duty as a friend to help?
To offer a shoulder to cry upon and an ear to all her problems?
Didn't she at least owe the sorceress that much? Terra wouldn't be alive without Raven. She placed her hand delicately on Raven's shoulder. But would Raven even listen to what she had to say?
Their relationship was strange to the earth bender... some days the two were inseparable, spending long afternoons burying each other in mounds of sand at the beach... or just idly reading. Then there were other days when it seemed like Raven didn't exist.
Perhaps that's what happens when one comes back from the dead. Friendly ties get loosed. Then again, even when she was alive...the two were not really close. It was obvious to the young teen that back then, Raven hated her with a passion.
Or maybe it was just suspicion. It was hard to tell. "Raven, I know what you're going through… just don't hang on to these feelings ok?"
Raven's harsh glare made Terra almost flinch. "Who do you think you are! To have the nerve to even imply that you know what I'm going through?" She harshly jerked Terra's wrist from her shoulder but stopped suddenly. Faintly visible on Terra's slightly suntanned wrist were a peculiar pattern of scars. Familiar scars…
The sorceress paled, her eyes widening slightly, somehow full of recognition and understanding. "T-Terra, what-…why?"
The blonde titan bit her lip, her cornflower blue eyes glittering with remorse and frustration. Really, having a conversation with Raven could be so tiring! If confronted about anything, she would immediately turn the tables, leaving you on the defensive with a headache and the irresistible urge to lash out.
The most annoying part of it was that Raven didn't even do it on purpose!
Just like she was doing now...suddenly, Terra was on the spotlight and Raven didn't even look smug. What was up with that? Terra yanked her hand away, suppressing the urge to scream. "This isn't about me! Just promise to think things through…really think. And not to hang on to those feelings…promise me."
Raven stared at Terra for what seemed like a long moment, her eyes suddenly growing sorrowful. "It was Slade, yes?"
Terra's eyes clouded and she looked at the floor, trying to hold back the tears. Slade. The only name that could sent fear up her spine and make her heart flutter with longing.
Those feelings, the emotions surged up within the earth bender, leaving her vision blurred and her chest heaving for breath. Forbidden feelings...feelings of lust, of passion and of love.
Yes, Terra felt all these things and more. The yearning ache for his strong and sturdy arms, the tingling itch to hear his deep sophisticated and suave voice, and the silent cry to gaze into his stormy grey eye. All these years had not changed her feelings...no, perhaps in those silent times they grew even stronger.
"It's not what you think...what happened was my fault entirely. I was the one who started the whole thing...he did so much for me and at the time I thought it was the least I could do..." Her voice trailed off and she choked back a sob.
"Looking back, I realize that giving myself to him...only dragged me further into the darkness." Wiping her eyes, she leaned against the walls, arms wrapped protectively against her chest.
"I know how strange this sounds...but I did love him...and in a twisted way, Slade loved me too."
She wasn't expecting Raven to pull her into an embrace. "It doesn't sound strange at all. I've felt that way about someone...quite some time ago. Someone who showed me kindness, made me feel wanted, trapped me with his love...and then betrayed me."
Terra wasn't expecting Raven to break down. To crumple to the floor, as if she'd lost the will to live. To hear someone cry like this...was heartbreaking. What was she bottling up inside? What could the sorceress have been hiding all this while?
"Raven. Don't hold it in. Tell me, I'll listen. I'll understand."
A broken laugh escaped cracked, dry lips. "Understand? You, understand? How could you? How could you understand falling in love with someone...someone you couldn't have? I go through all this trouble to set him free...all this time, the effort. I thought we'd be happy together...I really did."
Terra's blue eyes glittered with recognition. "The man with long white hair and ice blue eyes?" The man who reminded her of Slade? Terra couldn't believe her eyes, when she first laid glimpse on the man's beautiful long hair.
Blonde-almost-white hair.
Young-almost-old hair.
He preferred the former. After all, Slade couldn't age...neither could he die. Perhaps in a sense, he was young, yet almost old. Perhaps he was trapped in the past and present. And haunted by the future.
Raven nodded wearily. "I'm tired, Terra. I don't want to be this way. Always making mistakes...always falling in love with the wrong people. I tried so hard not to fall in love again. I really did. Do you know what it's like? To watch someone suffer for your senseless actions? To destroy a person's life...just because you couldn't control your emotions? Do you!"
The earth bender sucked in a painful breath. How could the two of them be so...alike?
"Yes, Raven. I know very well. Why else would I have run away from home? My brother would still be alive...had I more control on my emotions. It took me a while to come to terms with myself. You should do the same. You have to forgive yourself first. Don't get trapped by the regret."
"It might kill you in the end."
oOoOo
Robin sat at his desk with his face buried in his hands. How long had he been sitting here, trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed. His eyes were bloodshot; clearly the Boy Wonder was deprived of sleep. In the distance the quiet chime of the clock reminded the teenager that it was past midnight. A sigh escaped his tensed body.
What was he going to do?
He thought of suspending her…after all she violated an extremely crucial order. One he didn't put into place. It was a just punishment and she brought upon herself. So he shouldn't feel guilty...shouldn't feel like he betrayed anyone.
But, Robin couldn't bring himself to do that...he couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt, a sense of betrayal. Wasn't she his friend? How could he turn her in without remorse?
She was a vital part to the team and suspending her wouldn't accomplish anything in the long run. It might even destroy the team. The Boy Wonder sighed and tilted his chair to stare at the ceiling. Why was Raven always getting herself into these issues…always finding ways to slip past the rules?
Perhaps he wasn't hard enough.
Robin hated having to punish her…it was stupid, idiotic and yet something out of his control. Did Raven know? Probably. Why else would she purposely aggravate him, test his patience and dare him to see how long it would take before he snapped?
Robin always felt like a fool when she did these things. Always felt inferior after falling for her baited actions. She was simply too cunning, too conniving and hard to control. It wasn't like he couldn't ignore her antics...he knew that if he ignored them, she would probably stop. But things weren't that simple. His life would be so much easier were his anger not a loaded time bomb.
He tried everything, from counting in his head, to those stupid breathing exercises. Nothing worked. In the end, he'd snap, say some spiteful words and stare into those beautiful, empty, purple eyes, eyes that remained blank and impassive ...feigning innocence, her pretty face betraying no emotions.
He hated that blank and emotionless face. Why was she always so calm? Why did she have to be so composed in everything? Why did those dammed eyes always leave him flustered and confused?
Yes, Robin hated the sorceress.
He despised her with every fiber in his being. He couldn't stand her smug voice, the irritating habit she had of tossing her thick, wavy hair in defiance, that cute way her small nose scrunched in disgust. He abhorred the way her brow raised in amusement, and the childish dimples of her cheeks when she smiled and laughed.
Robin hated her alluring beauty, felt malice when he gazed upon that pale, flawless face. And her eyes? He hated those the most. She had such...such strange and menacing eyes. So haunting and always empty...void of emotion and depth.
Eyes that belittled, taunted, challenged every fiber of his being. Eyes that would dare and provoke him to anger, only to stare back with amusement and a sickening innocence. Why was Raven so...so confusing? Why was she so mysterious, crafty and hard to understand?
Why was she everything Starfire wasn't?
A strained laugh escaped dry cracked lips. Why was he always comparing the two? Isn't it said that 'out of hate comes love'?
Robin wasn't sure if such a saying held water. It would be hard to generalize every hate-relationship into one over-quoted saying. There had to be some exceptions. Just because he hated Raven, didn't mean he loved her...did it? After all, he had Starfire.
But was 'having Stafire' the same thing as loving her? Did he even have the right to call himself Starfire's boyfriend? Especially after how he betrayed her?
Ah, screw it. Why was he even thinking about all this now?
The Boy Wonder sat up in his chair a determined look hidden behind his mask. Why was he even worrying about this? He glanced over at the small clock on a varnished oak nightstand, it was two o'clock. He didn't need to lose sleep over the matter. The solution was simple.
Wasn't he the leader, after all? He didn't need to beat around the bush or sneak around for evidence. A simple private talk would suffice. Yes, he'd simply take her aside and find out why she freed that dragon from the book. Whatever her personal reasons were, he could always claim that she broke the rule to bring Terra back.
In fact, telling his superiors probably didn't even need to be addressed.
Why couldn't he just punish her on his own?
She belonged to him...didn't she?
oOoOo
A full moon.
The night when werewolves come out to mate, when spirits roam the earth, and when vampires are forbidden from feeding. The night when Raven lost her powers.
Why did she loose them?
Raven wasn't a full demon, and periodically losing powers was the only way her physical body could mature. In about a year or so, she'd be fully matured and may never have to undergo such an inconvenience again. Should she have told the team?
Probably, but Raven didn't know what to do. It was forbidden to speak of such things. And in her case, when the threat of enemies is constant, why disclose such sensitive information? Wouldn't that by like divulging a team secret, or even disclosing Robin's true identity?
Saying anything would be an abomination. It simply couldn't be done.
"Robin, I shouldn't be here." Raven mumbled as they two rode along side the T-car across town. In her side vision, the sorceress saw the nice and modern downtown buildings slowly disappearing, the run-down and disheveled buildings of the notorious East Side coming into view.
A look of disgust covered the half-demon's features. Why were these abandoned buildings simply left here to crumble? Didn't the mayor know that if he built a shopping complex and maybe a few apartments in this area, tourism would increase ten-fold? Didn't he understand that no one wants to enter into a city and immediately be faced with disrepair and gloom?
"It'll be fine just stick with me." Robin's confident voice broke Raven's thoughts. He sounded so sure of himself…she wanted to believe him but she couldn't.
Something bad was going to happen.
She could feel it...could taste the disaster in the air. Jinx did say bad things always happened in threes. First was freeing Malchior from the book and having sex with him, second was having sex with Gabe and summarily destroying his freedom.
What would this third disaster be? Raven didn't want to find out. But what could she do? Robin made it clear that she was to stay beside him at all times...a punishment for releasing Malchior.
Perhaps dwelling on her troubles wasn't a good idea. If she didn't focus on the bad, everything would turn out fine, wouldn't it? There was no point getting distracted was there?
Then why did she sense this feeling of terror? Why was she feeling like tonight was...the end? Were these feelings even her own? Raven did not wait to find out, but slipped off...toward that abandoned parking garage.
Raven bit her lip nervously as her boots clunked heavily against the cement flooring. She needed to pick up her feet. It wouldn't do to alert whoever was in this garage. Violet eyes squinted into the darkness, this was one disadvantage she had in a humanoid form. Her night vision sucked.
Wait!
Voices!
So people were here after all...but why? Raven pondered this question as she followed the sounds, her sensitive ears picking up the sound of sniffling. Was someone crying? Who would be crying in such a place? Maybe a lost kid?
Raven rounded the corner and gasped in astonishment.
There, cowering in the moonlight, was a young girl with wavy hair that seemed to glisten in the moonlight. The sorceress noted the brown eyes glowing with raw terror and the odd, bright yellow tank top that was so...out of place in the dusty and dark building. She was barefoot, and her hands were bound...what was going on?
The teenager also spotted a man with piercing blue eyes counting out money silently, fingers rapidly rustling the wad of bills as he counted. Such greed. Raven felt sick. These people were not an ordinary gang, these were traffickers!
Did Robin know about this? Or was this yet another crime ring connected to Him. That man had his deceitful fingers into everything, from drugs to weapons to human victims. Who could count the atrocities that man committed under his roof?
Raven had witnessed it, she was a victim herself. She was the only thing holding that man back from death. Only...now he haunted her too. Was this girl going to be a part of his schemes? Raven couldn't just sit here and watch yet another innocent soul be dragged down to living hell, all in the name of pleasure and money.
Wait!
Something isn't right…there was someone else here…why did she sense a fourth person? Was it Red X? It was way out of his league; from the little information gathered he seemed to steal only to survive…but trafficking? Raven pursed her lips, deciding that for now, Red X wasn't the main threat now. She needed to save that girl.
But how? Should she alert the others? No, the T-comm would only give away her position. Raven focused on the tense sene before her, only to draw back and gasp in fright.
That man had a weapon..the man with the dark hood! And his hand was on the trigger! Didn't he know if his hand slipped that girl would die? Why was he being so careless with a loaded weapon?
The sorceress cringed as the hooded man began to shout and curse, his booming voice filling the abandoned garage and echoing horribly in Raven's sensitive ears. What to do...what to do? Should she step out there somehow create enough of a distraction to let the girl escape? Call for Robin?
The half-demon's brows furrowed in anxiety, and her fingers shook violently. Damn it all. What was the point of cowering here doing nothing? She was a Titan, whether she had powers or not...there was a duty to protect, to keep the innocent from harm.
"Let the girl go." Such a surprisingly fearless voice! Raven bit her lip as she stepped out of the shadows, hoping her eyes and hands didn't betray any emotions. It wouldn't do to appear frightened. Her own glare darkened as she stared into a pair of intense blue eyes.
In the back of her mind, Raven couldn't shake the sensation of familiarity. Somehow, she knew these colors...that intense blue, the deep forest green orbs of the hooded man, and the bright yellow.
A strong sense of deja vu... almost like she saw them in a dream.
oOoOo
That voice.
Adrianna's voice.
Red X watched in astonishment as the teen walked into the eeire glow of the moonlight. The familiar fading black streaks in her purple hair stared back at him, as if to reaffirm his doubts. Wait, not Adrianna but Raven. So the others must be close behind?
How did they know he'd be here? Perhaps Robin really was trailing him all this time? Sending that girl and now somehow finding out about this rendezvous point...something that he didn't even know about till this afternoon? Who could have told them?
"Release her. Take me instead."
The thief paled at Raven's words. What was she doing? Didn't she know how dangerous that was? The man continued to eye the scene before him with a strange sense of horror, as he heard the man with the revolver begin to cackle.
His hands clenched in anxiety, what was he supposed to do? This wasn't what was supposed to happen. The Titans weren't supposed to know about this place...Raven wasn't supposed to know they were in this garage. Shouldn't she be in the hotel across the street with the others? Why was she here?
Red X winced as a sickening thud echoed in the empty garage. He watched in agony as Raven fell to the floor, her face bruised from the man's heavy hands. Mercilessly, the man began to kick and punch the poor defenseless girl; the agonizing sounds haunting the elusive thief. What was he supposed to do?
He had his mission, had specific orders...he couldn't break the rules. Was he just supposed to bear it, then? Stifle his guilty conscience and watch an innocent soul suffer? Why do these things always happen to him?
"Stop. Don't kill the girl. I won't get paid if she's dead." The man with ice blue eyes spoke casually, pocketing the wad of bills into the folds of his dark colored trench coat. The man spoke once more, his tone coming off as annoyed and irritable. "Tie her up and notify Agent M twenty-one."
Wait, M twenty- Damn it!
Frantically, Red X dug out the small, disposable, mobile phone he'd been given for the mission. His gloved fingers shook as he tried to switch off the device. Wait, didn't his boss say the phone couldn't be turned off? That there was some kind of tracking device on it?
Fuck! He had no choice. Swiftly, the thief slammed the phone against the cement pillar, crushing the device with his hands. All eyes turned to his hiding place. Shrouded in the dark, Red X bit his lip anxiously. If there was ever a time to run, now would be it. Just take the girl and run...don't look back.
Just run.
Just...suddenly Raven broke free, calling out to the other girl to flee.
From his hiding place, the man could see everything; the confused stare in the girl's eyes, the way the moon light illuminated Raven's terrified eyes, and the look of pure malice in the strange green eyes of the hooded man. He saw how that man's hand lingered on that gun, thick gloved fingers sliding dangerously against the trigger as he once more threw the titan to the ground.
Slowly, Red X took a few steps forward, panning the room for the man with blue eyes. Where did he go? Was he chasing after the girl?
What should he do now? Sneak off and look for Blue Eyes; the mastermind behind many of the strange occurrences in California? The man pursed his lips thoughtfully, perhaps he should wait till everything calmed down. It wouldn't do to let Raven know he was here. She might radio the other Titans and screw up the plan.
Hell, he'd fucked up already. No need making things worse.
That's what he thought...until the blast of that revolver echoed in his ears.
Only then did he notice how...human Raven seemed. Why didn't he notice it before? How could be have missed the dark black energy, the glowing white eyes and the abnormal calmness? Why didn't he realize that the terrified eyes, trembling limbs and painful shrieks, simply didn't add up?
Why wasn't she using her powers? Could it possibly have anything to do with the abnormal amount of spirits roaming the streets tonight? Were her powers influenced by the moon as well?
Red X dashed out from the darkened corner, heart clenching in fear as the second shot went off. He watched in agony as the bullet ripped through the teen's shoulder, sending the girl to the floor with a haunting moan.
In the eerie glow of the moon light, Raven lifted her head slightly, purple eyes glowing with a strange defiance. Red X froze in his tracks, unable to breathe. All he could do was stare, eyes fixated on the pale white skin, dark, matted tresses and blood red lips.
He couldn't move, couldn't tear his eyes away from her intense gaze. Why? What was this? His heart began to throb once more, hands felt clammy with anxiety, face felt heated and uncomfortable.
Why was he feeling this way?
A cold dread washed over him as he watched the hooded man raise the gun once more. Behind the mask, eyes widened with fear. No.
"No!"
He lunged for the man frantically, ignoring the pain as their bodies collided. The deafening sound of the shot echoed in the thief's ears, only to be replaced soon after by stifling silence. In the distance, the sound of sirens echoed into the night. The thief took several shallow breaths, desperately trying to grasp on to his sanity.
Hands shaking violently, the man turned, forced to face the consequences of his actions. Tears stung his eyes and blurred his vision...he couldn't bear it. What had he done?
A strangled cry escaped his throat, and his eyes squeezed shut, Raven's lifeless violet eyes still staring back at him in accusation.
What have I done?
oOoOo
Blood.
Why was she smelling blood?
Starfire pursed her lips, hands still securing the silver cuffs to the wrists of a criminal. Was anyone hurt? Certainly not this man, he gave in without protest. And Robin wouldn't use such excessive force, to the point where one could taste it. So where?
Police sirens blared in the distance, alerting the titans that the police force would soon take over. This assignment a rather strange one. Why would the police force send them here, to deal with low life gang-bangers and drug dealers, when they were going to take over anyway? Why was Robin so...antsy about the whole mission, as if Red X would appear?
Was this simply a cover up? Maybe the police didn't want to deal with someone as dangerous as Red X?
Cyborg made his way over to Robin, forehead creased in concern. "Have you seen Raven? She was supposed to be with you."
Robin stood and ran his hands through his spiky black hair. He seemed pissed as well. Wasn't Raven supposed to be 'with him at all times'? Where did she go?
Starfire bit her lip, eyes staring across the street to the abandoned parking garage. That place...didn't she hear something like gunshots a while ago? Were her ears truly being deceiving? The teenager wrung her hands nervously, trying to drown the panic rising in her throat.
Something was terribly wrong. There was no reason for Raven to disappear, no reason for the scent of blood to be this pungent and concentrated. Perhaps someone died? Starfire spoke quickly, hoping her voice didn't sound frazzled or frightened. "There is a garage of parking across this place. Perhaps we should look there?"
Robin nodded. "I'll wait till the police arrive. You two go on ahead." His voice was calm, reserved, and stoic. Starfire knew better. The Boy Wonder was pissed. He tried not to show it, but there was no mistaking the clenched jaw, the tense arms and tightly set lips.
"Jesus Christ!"
The alien whirled around at the outburst from the cybernetic. Emerald green eyes gazed in disbelief as Red X staggered out from the corner, a lifeless body in his hands.
Raven's lifeless body.
Starfire's knees shook violently. "Wh-what happened?" Blood was everywhere...smeared on the thief's dark colored suit and pooling at his feet. So much blood..."What have you done!" Starfire continued to watch the scene unfolding intently, noting the jerky movements the uncontrollable shaking of the thief's hands. Somehow, the man seemed terrified.
Afraid.
But why?
With hesitant footsteps, Starfire made her way to the villain. Her eyes creased in confusion as the man slowly backed away, his blood soaked hands still shaking like leaves in the wind. Most villains didn't show emotion. Most villains were nonchalant, calm and uncaring. Why was he any different?
Why was he so human?
"Don't run. I-I just want to thank you...for at least bringing her body back. Now she can be buried with honor."
Red X stopped in his backtracking. In the stunned silence, the alien could hear the labored wheezing of the thief. Perhaps he too had been injured? "Could it be you are in pain? Maybe we can treat your injuries? As payback...for bringing Raven back to us?"
"S-sh-she's not d-dead."
"What? Then why-what happened? Tell me now!" Starfire's green eyes flashed with anger. Who does this man think he is? To dare attack Raven and then bring her back in such a state? Didn't he have any shame? wasn't he fearful of the god's wrath?
"I'll tell you...I'll tell you everything. Just let me see her once she's stable. Just let me make sure she's OK."
Starfire turned towards Robin, emerald eyes taking in the rage that now bubbled to the surface. Was that even allowed in the code? Was the enemy allowed to ask for such privileges? The alien glanced back at the thief with begrudging respect.
The man sure knew how to play his cards skillfully. Robin needed whatever info he had...in order to file a full report with the police. And with Raven being injured, the mayor needed to be notified. It was standard protocol. But how would a villain figure that out?
Robin nodded reluctantly. "Then we call a truce. Just until she's stable."
Starfire watched as the man seemed to sag with relief. Then he left as silently as he came, leaving only a puddle of Raven's blood in his wake .
* Special thanks to Turquoise Blue 14 and IsabellaRoth for their reviews.
Sorry if it's too long. A lot of info went into this... :)
Footnotes in the chapter.
(1) A line in the song Battlefield by Jordin Sparks. Derek's cousin often tortures him using pop songs about love.
(2) The name Adriana, means dark. I only modified the spelling. As for why Derek would know such a thing, is beyond me. Even I don't understand him sometimes. The man has an eerie sense of perception.
~heartless16