A/N: Chapter Five is here! Sorry for the wait everyone. This took a bit longer than I had originally thought, but anyways, here it 'tis!
Disclaimer: I don't own the teen titans
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Titan Baby
By: Akemi
Chapter Five: Slade Returns
The news of Raven and Robin being parents in the future shocked them quite a bit.
"Are you guys okay?" Miranda asked.
Robin recovered first. "Yeah, we're okay. How do you know she's ours? Are you certain?"
"Positive. Slade told me himself. And I saw him when he came back. The time hole allows you to see what's happening on both ends. I saw the two of you before it closed up." She answered. "Truth be told, I thought your future selves would have already come for her." She continued. "Well, then again, now that I think about it, time passes slower over here. How long has it been?"
Raven turned to Robin, "Couple weeks?"
"Something like that."
"So two weeks, give or take a few days. Every day here is based on however many years you've gone back, it varies." Miranda began. "Are you guys good with math?" She asked.
"Yes. Are we going to need a computer to work this out?" Robin asked.
"Probably."
"Let's head back to the main room. We need to tell the other titans about this." He said, and stood up. They headed for the main room and arrived in time to see Cyborg at one of the computers, giving a proud speech to Star and BB.
"I analyzed the time piece on her. It's definitely Warp's work. The girl's ninety-eight years from the future. This means that back where she's from, it's only been nearly two weeks." He said.
"Cyborg." Robin called. He turned in the swivel chair to see them come in.
"Ninety-eight years. Not bad, pretty close." Miranda mused.
"Sarah's from the future. We need to know when." He said. A look of disbelief crossed his face.
"She's not from the future. She can't be. She doesn't have a time piece on her." He countered.
"She has a built – in time piece. Robin and I discovered last night that she has power. She's been using her power to keep herself here." Raven explained.
"Sarah has powers?" Starfire questioned.
"Yes." Raven replied.
"What kind? We've never seen them before." Beast Boy asked. Raven hesitated.
"She has powers similar to mine. But right now we need to know when she came from so we can get her back to the future. Have you figured out how time passes between dimensions?" She asked Cyborg.
"Yeah, the farther ahead in time you are, the faster time passes in the future." He explained.
"So let's say Sarah is about five to ten years in the future. How long has it been?" Robin asked. Cyborg shrugged.
"Five to ten hours maybe? But her powers can't be keeping her here. She isn't from the future." He argued again.
"She is," Raven said, almost tiredly. "She's awake too. I'll be right back." She said and left the main room. Cyborg nodded to Miranda and looked at Robin.
"Is she clear?" He asked.
"Yes." Robin answered. "We're pretty sure she is."
"I'm not with Slade, if that's what your insinuating." Miranda defended. Cyborg held his hands palms up in defense.
"All right. So, who are you?" He asked.
"Miranda."
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In her room, Raven was tending to Sarah. She had changed her diaper already and now she sat on her bed, Sarah in her arms.
"So, I guess you're my daughter; in the future at least." She whispered. Sarah stared up at her innocently, a smile on her face for no reason. In her hands she held a ring of plastic baby keys, which she shook happily before putting one in her mouth and chewing on it. "I wonder what your real name is. Maybe Robin still likes the name 'Sarah' in the future though; he picked your name you know." Sarah took the plastic key out of her mouth and examined it quickly before putting it back in. "I'll bet you're close to teething, aren't you?" Raven asked. "Are your gums itching?" She asked playfully. Sarah grinned up at Raven.
There was a knock at Raven's door and it opened as she looked up. Robin walked a few steps in and the door closed behind him.
"Hey," he greeted.
"Hi."
"Can we talk for a bit?" Robin asked.
"Sure," Raven said softly. He walked forward a few more steps and came to a stop where she was seated on her bed. He sat down beside her.
"Where are we?" He asked.
"What?"
"Where are we? As of last night, where are we?" He asked again.
Last night, their kiss.
"I don't know." Raven answered truthfully. "Where do you think we are?" She asked him. He looked down in her lap, where Sarah was gazing up at them, not a care in the world.
"I would like for us to be at the beginning, the beginning of our future that eventually brings us this little girl." He whispered. Raven blushed.
"Me too," She murmured. Robin smiled.
"Good," he whispered. He bent close to her and kissed her temple softly before backing away and standing up. "I'll see you later." He said and left her room. Once he was gone, Raven couldn't help but smile and turn her attention to Sarah once again.
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Robin had gone back to the main room to join his teammates. He found Cyborg busy on the computer, Miranda seated beside him. Starfire was in the kitchen, whipping up what appeared to be another Tameranian pudding. Beast Boy had disappeared. He walked over to Cyborg, who was analyzing the time piece blueprints he had constructed over the past two years. Miranda was answering his questions about the technology.
"Cyborg, are we going to be able to get her home?" Robin asked.
"In all probability? Most likely. I just need to make sure I know how to work the time piece properly. We never had to time travel before." He answered. "But, that's going to take a while. A couple weeks at least." He continued. Robin nodded.
"All right. Well, Miranda, you're welcome to stay with us until we can find a way to get you back home." Robin invited.
"Thank you," she accepted.
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Later, after Robin had managed to convince Starfire that Miranda was allergic to 'the pudding of friendship' and they had gotten Miranda settled in her room, night had fallen and it was time for the night patrol. It was Raven's turn and after settling down Sarah for the night she set off.
She allowed herself to slowly levitate through the city. She loved this part of the night. It was just after sunset, most of the city was already home from rush hour, couples on their dates were already at the theater, children had already been called inside by their mothers, it was a nice kind of quiet that usually blanketed the city at this time.
She made her way through the city and was nearly done with her patrol when a faint noise attracted her attention. She stopped to listen, and it steadily grew louder. It sounded like it was a block or two away. She levitated towards the sound. It sounded like people marching. At this time of day? She wondered.
The sound was almost deafening. She turned to corner and was met with a horrific sight. Hundreds of robots filled the street. Every robot had Slade's insignia blazing from its chest. They marched in formation, not bothering to attack the few people still outside, gazing open-mouthed at the robots. Raven flipped open her communicator and connected to the tower.
"I'm going to need some back-up." She said. Robin had answered her call. His face grew worried.
"Full force?" He asked
Raven glanced at the robots marching past her, where were they headed? Suddenly she realized where they were going.
"Azar…"
"Raven?"
"They're heading for the tower, Robin." She said.
"Who?"
"Slade's robots. He has another army of them, more of them this time. Be prepared. They'll be there soon. I'm going to take out as many as I can."
"We're coming." Robin declared.
"Sarah's asleep in my room."
"We'll leave Miranda here with her. It'll be fine." He said. Raven hesitated then nodded and closed her communicator. She silently chanted her mantra, gathering her energy. Steeling herself, she launched herself into the marching robots.
Upon sight of her, their powerful lasers began to fire up and shoot in her direction. She narrowly avoided their lasers and began sending bolts of dark energy through her fingertips, leaving a trail of broken robots in her wake.
Slade had to be here somewhere. An army this large was after something. She dodged another beam, only to have another graze her arm. She bit back a cry of pain and allowed her healing powers to close the wound. She levitated higher and unleashed her soul self on the robots, obliterating a large group of robots. The onslaught was endless; for every robot destroyed three more seemed to take its place.
Just then four birdarangs destroyed four robots. She glanced over her shoulder, her teammates had arrived. They joined forces with her and immediately the number of robots going down increased ten-fold.
The sky was lit with bursts of bright blue and green overshadowed by Raven's dark powers. No matter how hard they fought though, the overwhelming numbers against them were simply too much and they were slowly being forced down the street, towards the tower. They five of them were already here though, what could Slade possibly want from the tower? Raven voiced her question to Robin as his Bo staff crashed into a robot near her.
Then the answer to her question came.
"Sarah." She breathed. "Slade is after Sarah. And Miranda too most likely." Robin frowned and pulled his Bo staff from the robot.
"Then we're going to stop him." He answered, determination angering his voice. "Titans, regroup!" He shouted. Immediately the titans slowly began to return to the center of the fray. The robots were closing in on them, anticipating their deaths. The titans grew closer to each other, backing away from Slade's robots step by step. Suddenly Robin drew a small bomb from his belt.
"Raven, now!" He shouted, tossing the bomb high into the air. Raven enclosed the titans in a protective black shield. They heard it sound faintly through the barrier and watched as the rest of the robots were obliterated. Raven lowered the shield to the ground and the gazed around them, checking for any robots that may have escaped the blast.
Just then Slade appeared, jumping down to the street from a nearby rooftop.
"Looking for me?" He asked, his voice seemingly echoing above the noise of combat.
"Slade."
Robin and Slade launched into battle. Swift kicks were exchanged and dodged, Robin appeared to winning the fight, then Slade threw Robin to the ground viciously and the tables turned. Raven, Starfire, Cyborg, and Beast Boy rushed to their leader's aid. All five titans hurled themselves at Slade. Beast Boy shape shifted into a tiger and slashed at Slade's chest, scoring through the black material.
Slade stumbled back momentarily, then came back with a vengeance, knocking Beast Boy away, and blocking Cyborg's attack before it came. He was knocked into the air, straight into Starfire who was flying towards them. They both fell to the ground with a crash.
Robin and Raven simultaneously launched their attacks on Slade. Raven's power reached out to grab Slade and only grazed him, the result of Slade deflecting the attack while jumping backwards, away from Robin. Beast Boy charged as a black bear and sent him stumbling back. A starbolt hit him square in the chest and he fell. Raven used her powers to tear off Slade's mask.
A robot faced them.
They heard the telltale signs of a countdown.
"Titans, scatter!" Robin shouted and the immediately split. The robot exploded behind them. They regrouped after the explosion, surveying the few remains.
"He got away. Again." Robin grumbled.
"It's all right Robin, we'll get him next time." Cyborg consoled.
"Yeah." He sighed. "Come on, let's head back home." Robin continued. Down the street, a few reporters who had heard of the battle had gathered. He eyed them warily. They walked closer, cameramen trailing them.
The titans began to walk to where the T-car was parked. The reporters quickened their steps.
"Titans! Titans! Any comments on tonight's battle?" One reporter asked.
The titans hated having to deal with the press. They had nearly reached the T-car when Cinderblock turned up unexpectedly, rounding the corner, sweeping up Robin in a giant hand and flinging him carelessly towards a nearby warehouse before they had the chance to react.
"Robin!" Raven shouted, sending out her power in streams, trying to catch him. She was too late though, and he careened into the building with a deadly force.
"All right titans, let's finish this fast!" Cyborg said and shot his sonic cannon at Cinderblock. The others hurried to assist him. Cinderblock was thundering down the street, intent on defeating the titans. In the light of the full moon Raven could see Slade's symbol gleaming from his chest. The others had also seen the symbol.
"Oh no." Beast Boy whispered.
"Take him down." Raven commanded.
"We need to get to Robin!" Cyborg called to Raven. Their leader hadn't come out of the building yet. Raven could feel him on the other side of their bond. He was in pain.
"Cyborg, get Robin!" Raven shouted. He would be able to patch him up. He nodded once and headed into the warehouse at a run.
Within a minute, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy had captured Cinderblock, using a lamp post to hold him. Just then Raven's communicator rang. She flipped the lid open and Cyborg's face filled the screen.
"Raven!" He shouted. "It's bad." Without a word she transformed into her soul self and flew at a rapid speed into the warehouse, using their bond to locate him. She had been hoping Cyborg would have been able to patch him up using the medical supplies he carried with him at all times in a special compartment in his arm. For him to admit that Robin was in bad shape was terrifying.
She landed beside Robin within seconds and immediately reached out with her senses, trying to determine how bad his wounds were. He was breathing shallowly, his face contorted in pain. His right leg, the one Cinderblock had used to throw him, was twisted in an unnatural position, obviously broken. One of his ribs had broken, forming a lump beneath his skin. He had numerous scratches and there was far too much blood on the floor for Raven's taste.
It was a wonder he was still alive.
"Raven…" Robin whispered.
"Shhh… Don't talk, save your breath. I need to heal you Robin." He smiled, or rather, tried to smile, before grimacing in pain and shutting his eyes tightly. Quickly Raven threw up a protective barrier around herself and Robin. She would need absolute concentration for this healing. She had never attempted something of the like before. The barrier didn't allow sounds to penetrate, nor could you see outside the barrier.
The barrier in place, she summoned her black energy and cut Robin's shirt. He gasped and a bloodied rib pierced his skin. He passed out. Closing her eyes, she called her healing powers and set to work.
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Outside Beast Boy and Starfire were handing over Cinderblock to the Jump City police. Cyborg was trying to get back into the warehouse. He had come out when Raven arrived, to help BB and Star. It was proving to be near impossible.
Reporters were pelting him with questions about Robin's condition and Raven's absence, and Sarah's, not to mention the army of robots and Cinderblock.
"Is the titan's leader okay?"
"What do you believe prompted the robots to storm the city?"
Where's Sarah? Is she home alone? Where's Raven?"
The questions were endless. Needless to say, Cyborg was not very fond of reporters. He didn't have anything personal against them; they just asked way too many questions for his taste. Usually it was Robin, sometimes Raven, (when she was in a temper or needed to blow off some steam) who handled the reporters. They weren't letting him get to the warehouse. The healing might e too much for Raven. He might need to help her out.
"Cyborg, are you aware of your leader's condition?" He was going to need to get them off his back, soon.
"Yo, Starfire!" He shouted. She flew over.
"What is it friend Cyborg?"
"Keep them occupied for a bit, Star I need to check on robin and Raven." He whispered in her ear. She nodded and he was able to escape once Starfire distracted the reporters. Quickly he disappeared inside the warehouse. He arrived in time to see Raven setting up a protective barrier around herself and Robin.
He'd seen her do healings before that required the barrier. The barrier was virtually indestructible, you couldn't tell it was there unless you leaned on it, or walked bang into it, then the entire thing would shimmer a sparkling baby blue, the color of her healing powers. Just then Beast Boy and Starfire flew in to stand beside him.
"Cy, how bad is he?" Beast Boy asked.
"Bad. Busted ribs and leg, there might be some internal bleeding. He was barely conscious when I found him."
"Busted ribs you say? And a leg? Shouldn't someone be calling 911?" Cyborg turned in time to see a bunch of cameras clicking away. He was momentarily blinded. He turned to Starfire in confusion.
"They wished to see friend Robin's condition." She explained. Cyborg shook his head; he was never going to put Star in charge of dealing with the reporters again.
"Hey, what's she doing to him?" A reporter asked. His cameraman was trained on the two titans. Raven had just ripped Robin's shirt. Suddenly a bloody rib broke through Robin's skin and they watched as he lost consciousness from the pain. They winced sympathetically. Cyborg sighed. Raven wasn't going to like the reporters filming every second of this. He watched her hands take on their familiar calming blue glow and set themselves on Robin's chest.
"A new power!" Reporters shouted excitedly.
"Are you aware of Raven's new power? Do you know what she can do?" The reporters began their rain of questions again.
"Please," Cyborg began. "The more power Raven had to pour into the barrier, the less she has for Robin. Can you be quiet? We'll answer all your questions later." Cyborg promised. The promise kept the reporters quiet. It was also the scene unfolding before them that took rapt hold of their attention. Cameras continued to roll and eyes grew wider as Raven's healing powers swept over Robin. His rib slid back into place and his skin healed.
Raven's hood was down, her eyes closed tight with concentration. Her cloak had been pushed back beg-hind her shoulders. With her blue aura hugging her features she looked almost beautiful. Slowly the aura traveled through Raven and into Robin. When she reached his broken leg, she paused and the blue aura stopped for a moment. Cyborg feared she didn't have enough power to finish healing him. She had rarely worked major injuries, let alone one as big as this.
The titans and the reporters watched as she sat back ad appeared to gather her power in vast quantities. She was glowing fiercely in her power's blue aura before she set her hands on his leg and shifted the bones to the proper position. Now Robin was glowing faintly in her blue aura. Cyborg could tell the healing was really taking it out of Raven, but nonetheless she carried on. He was proud of her.
She continued to allow the flow of her power sink into Robin for a few more seconds, healing his leg completely. She then moved her moon pale hands back to the center of his chest and sent out a strong burst of power. Robin regained consciousness.
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Robin's POV
I last remembered pain soaking in every corner of my body. The pain was now gone. Raven came blearily into focus. Her gaze settled on mine and she smiled ever so slightly.
"Thanks," I whispered. She nodded then swayed and fell to the side. I caught her before she hit the ground. I sat up and her head rested in the crook of my arm. I brushed her hair away from her face and smiled, she was sleeping.
I stood and gathered her into my arms, the healing had worn her out, and there were a few injuries on her that needed to be healed as well. I looked at the barrier and concentrated on finding the bond between myself and Raven. I opened it and allowed the barrier to come down, the power flowing through me and into Raven.
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Narrator's POV
They watched as Robin picked up Raven and stood, good as new. The reporters and cameramen couldn't believe their eyes. The titans were surprised as well, they weren't sure if she had enough power for such a healing. They couldn't help but wonder how Robin was going to get out of the barrier, Raven had left it up.
Then the barrier suddenly gave way, the power flowing through Robin and into Raven. Cyborg's jaw dropped, as did Beast Boy's. Starfire clasped a hand to her mouth in surprise.
As soon as the barrier was down cameras went off simultaneously. Robin's eyes widened in shock and surprised as the reporters began yet another barrage of questions. He soon recovered though and began making his way through the crowd.
"Robin, let's get out of here." Cyborg called. He nodded and led the way out of the warehouse.
Spectators and fans had gathered in abundance. The titans headed for the T-car. Robin settled Raven in the back seat and settled down next to her, Starfire on the other side of Raven. Beast Boy and Cyborg settled in the front.
When they arrived, and after Robin had settled Raven in her room where Sarah was still sleeping, they explained what had happened to Miranda.
"What was he after?" Miranda asked, referring to Slade.
"Not sure. Best guess? You and Sarah." Robin explained. Miranda nodded slowly, as if that was what she had been expecting when they told her.
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On the other side of Jump City Slade was angry at having been thwarted in his attempt to retrieve Miranda and the baby.
"No matter," he whispered to himself. "If I can't get back the baby, I'll just get another apprentice, and this time I'll hold onto him." He fingered the time piece that he had attached to his suit.
"Another apprentice."
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A/N: Chapter five, finally!!!! This one took me a while to get out; the beginning gave me some trouble. I think there might be just a few chapters left, the story is nearing completion.
So what did you think? Was it worth the wait? Leave me your thoughts in a review. :)
BTW, if anyone's interested, I posted a link on my profile to my LJ account. There's a fun scene posted on there that I took out from this chapter because it didn't really fit.
-Akemi