All right, here's chapter six! I've been messing with point of views again, but don't worry, you'll know when the POV switches! Thank you to everyone who's reading and reviewing this! It's my first story and I've hit 50 reviews! I'm glad everyone still likes this! And now…
Disclaimer: I don't own the teen titans
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Titan Baby
By: Akemi
Chapter Six: Twins
Present time
Slade was preparing to go back into the future again. He was setting up the time piece to take him ten years into the future, the time he had used to kidnap the first baby. He shook his head in disgust. He wouldn't be making the same mistake twice. He had designed a suit for his next apprentice. It used a neuron interface, much like the one that had controlled Terra. He had made a few adjustments to it, to enable him to better control his next apprentice.
He knew just who he was going to be as well. Jonathon Grayson, son of Robin and Raven in the future. He almost smiled at that thought. He may not have been able to use a titan for a long period of time as an apprentice, but their future children, well, that was a whole other possibility waiting to be scoped.
The titans were too headstrong, already had morals engraved in their minds. A child who could be raised to be his apprentice would make him finally successful in his task. The child he had in mind was powerful too. He strapped the time piece to his chest again. It was a bit like the ultimate kidnapping; kidnapping a child from the future.
He tucked a few of the weapons he had persuaded a mechanic to give to him and activated the time piece. He watched as before him a time portal opened in a swirl of blue light. He stepped through and was instantly transported ten years into the future. He could feel the pull of time behind him, but the time piece soon conquered the pull and he landed on future titan island. He grinned wickedly beneath his mask.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ten Years in the Future
Inside the tower the titans were in the main room, surrounded around a large table that had papers overflowing from the top, a few scattered on the floor. Around the table were Cyborg, Starfire, Beast Dude, Nightwing, and Rachel. All of them looked distressed, but Rachel and Nightwing most of all.
"Okay," Cyborg began, "We know that Slade kidnapped Danica two days ago with the use of time traveling technology that is decades in the future itself. Slade could have come from the future and brought her with him, or he could have gone back in time as well. We have no idea where he could have possibly taken her, to state it simply. What we need to do is try to find when she is." He finished.
He dropped his head, almost in shame that he wasn't able to help his two best friends find their baby. He glanced at Rachel and Nightwing. Nightwing looked distressed, tired, and worried. Rachel was gazing at her two remaining children, Jonathon and Sarah, Danica's twin. They were nearby, Sarah asleep in her baby carrier and Jonathon playing quietly with his trucks next to her.
Since Danica's kidnapping either Nightwing or Rachel made sure Jon and Sarah were within a ten feet distance of one of them. They were scared of the same thing happening to another one of their children. He had heard them checking on their kids constantly during the night, reassuring themselves that nothing had happened to them.
Even Jon, who was only five years old, could tell something was wrong. Rachel and Nightwing hadn't let him go to kindergarten today, fearful that something might happen while they weren't there with him. Danica had been kidnapped Saturday night. Many years of meditation and controlling her emotions allowed Rachel to have some control over the emotions that were pulling at her now, but Cyborg had glimpsed her eyes earlier; they were filled to the brim with pain.
"I'm sorry," he whispered.
"We're going to find her soon." Nightwing spoke. There was a moment of silence, during which the only sounds were of Jonathon's trucks rolling on the floor half-heartedly. Then the frantic beeping resonating from one of the computers attracted their attention. Starfire, who was nearest to the computer, tapped a few buttons and the beeping stopped. A moment later,
"Security of the tower has been breached." She announced. Instantly Rachel threw a protective barrier over Sarah and Jonathon. He stopped playing with his cars and looked up at his mom through the barrier. He put aside his cars and drew closer to Sarah.
"Where?" Nightwing asked.
"Here."
Slade's cool tones reiterated in the silence that engulfed the tower. Rachel's powers charged at him, tentacles of black energy wrapping around him as she shoved him into the wall opposite them.
"Where's Danica?" She demanded. "WHERE'S MY BABY?!"
Slade curled his fingers around the power holding him in a vice like grip, threatening to choke him.
"You don't need to worry; you already took care of that."
"Answers, now!" Nightwing demanded.
"I don't think so." Slade replied. He pulled a weapon from behind his back and hurled it with lightning speed directly at Rachel. She didn't get her shield up in time and it left a bloody gash on her temple. She fell to the ground; her powers wavered, then collapsed. Slade was lowered back to the floor suddenly, just as the barrier enclosing and protecting her children fell as well.
Jonathon immediately stood up and slipped into a stance in front of his sleeping sister. Nightwing rushed to stand beside his children. Starfire powered up her starbolts, Beast Dude changed into a tiger and Cyborg's sonic cannon was immediately aimed at Slade's head. They wouldn't be losing Jon or Sarah.
Slade chuckled. Starfire fired starbolts at him with a deadly gaze. He hit the wall again with a grunt of pain.
"You actually think you're going to stop me, how hopeful you all are." He whispered. Beast Dude lunged forward and was suddenly bouncing back to the group, enclosed in a large yellow orb. The green tiger attacked the orb viciously. He didn't leave a scratch. He changed back into human form.
"Dudes, I remember these things!" He exclaimed. Nightwing stared at Slade in horror. Before they could react Starfire and Cyborg were also enclosed in similar yellow orbs. Nightwing picked up Sarah's carrier in one hand and scooped up Jonathon in his other arm. He bolted from the room, Slade close behind him.
"I'll get them sooner or later, Robin. There's no use in running." He said. Nightwing started at his former name, but continued running through the halls. He'd be damned if he was going to let Slade take more of his children. Sarah had woken up in the commotion and was crying. Soon he ended up back in the main room again. His friends were still trying to break free of the yellow orbs; his wife was still unconscious on the floor.
He was suddenly hit from behind. He fell to the floor with a crash, Jonathon slipping from his arms and Sarah's carrier dropping to the floor.
No…
He watched, as almost in slow motion the yellow orb began to close around him. Sarah was crying from her carrier, outside the orb. Jonathon had taken a stance in front of his baby sister.
He struck the yellow orb with three of his enforced birdarangs just before the edges closed, sealing him tight. He watched as Slade advanced on his children.
"NO!" He shouted, throwing his weight forcefully against the orb. Slade bent down to pick up Jonathon. The five year old delivered a powerful kick into Slade's ribs. He grunted in pain, reeling back, not expecting such force from a boy. Nightwing smiled grimly, proud of his son. He was working desperately at forcing open the orb, using his birdarangs for leverage.
Slade recovered and lunged with a vengeance at Jonathon. He put up a terrible fight.
"Mom! Mom! Wake up! Help!" He cried. Rachel stirred at his cries, but didn't wake up. Jonathon lunged at Slade with a kick to his shins, when Slade stumbled he threw a fist into his jaw. Slade gave up trying to fight him and simply took a powerful hold on his wrist.
"You might think I'm bad now, but we'll change that." He said.
"NO!" Nightwing shouted, he put all his weight into opening the orb, it cracked open slightly. Rejuvenated, he slammed against the orb again; it opened farther, but not enough for him to escape. Slade was ignoring Jonathon, who was both screaming in pain at Slade's crushing grip on his wrist, and yelling for his mother to wake up and help him.
Slade turned and touched the time piece on his chest. Instantly a large time hole appeared in front of him. He turned with annoyance at the still-struggling Jonathon. Then his gaze settled on Sarah who had ceased her cries, and was staring wide-eyed at Slade. He bent and picked up her baby carrier.
"Might as well grab you as well." He said. He placed one foot inside the time hole. Just as he was about to leave the future, black streamers of power wrapped around Jonathon and Sarah. Rachel had woken up.
Slade's mask somehow conveyed a look of fear. A loud shatter rang throughout the room as the yellow orb that had been containing Nightwing finally shattered. He wasted no time and instantly hurled himself at the fleeing Slade just as Rachel did the same beside him. They all fell into the time hole, leaving the future and their three stunned teammates behind.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
28-year-old Rachel's (Raven's) POV
My power was wrapped around Sarah and Jon. I could feel time pulling at me, my powers were adapting though. My husband was fighting Slade; he looked like he was getting younger though… Horror gripped me and instantly I opened the bond between Richard and myself, allowing some of my power to flow into him. He reverted back to his regular self in time to deliver a powerful kick at Slade.
He still held a firm grip on Jon. Sarah was another matter though. I held her close, she was safe. I concentrated more of my power on Jonathon. I could feel his own powers reaching for me as he tried to free his wrist from Slade's grip. He was hurting my little boy!
I could feel the destination of the time portal looming nearer. Richard and Jon were too far away for me to get to them in time. I levitated quickly; Richard was close to freeing our son of Slade. Suddenly we were falling. I held onto Sarah, protecting her.
I felt Jon and Richard drift farther away.
I landed in a grassy field. It was dark, the moon shining down on us. I checked Sarah quickly to make sure she was okay. She was fine. Where were we? I began walking, trying to find some landmark that would help me. We were in a park. Trees were everywhere.
Just them Sarah began to squirm in my hold. She reached out a hand from beneath her blanket, stretching it out. Her eyes that were darkening to resemble Richard's with flecks of purple were wide open, glistening in the moonlight. Suddenly the force Sarah was feeling slammed into my conscious. Danica!
A smile was plastered on Sarah's tiny face. I began to run in the direction Sarah's hand was stretched out before her. I rounded the bend and the trees cleared. I was standing on the shore of Jump City Bay. Titans Tower was in front of me. I could feel Danica's powers radiating from inside. Instantly I knew where she was. I gathered my power and teleported myself and Sarah inside the tower. I was inside my room, my old room. A basinet was against one wall near the bed.
I levitated over to it and looked inside. Danica, my baby, was grinning up at me, her arms reaching for me. I picked her up carefully and held her close.
"Danica, you're okay. My baby's okay." I whispered. I felt Danica's and Sarah's hands intertwine. The twins had had that bond with each other since the moment they were born. I heard someone shift near me. I looked at the bed and was looking at my teenage self. My teenage counter-part was asleep.
Her eyes were closed tightly, she was restless. Her eyes fluttered open and saw me. Instantly she was on her feet, her powers preparing to obliterate me.
"Wait!" I exclaimed, "I'm you!" Her powers faltered for a moment, then lit every candle in the room.
"Azar, I'm still dreaming. Okay." She said and lay back down on the bed, pulling the covers back up and turning around. The candles extinguished themselves. I waited a moment or two, fighting back laughter. Then I set the twins in the basinet and walked closer to the bed. I tapped her shoulder gently. She turned to face me and her eyes widened.
"Do you have Jonathon here too?" I asked. "I can't feel him, or Richard for that matter."
"I'm awake." She stated.
"Yes." I said.
"Who are you?" She asked.
"I'm you. How old are you?" I asked her.
"Eighteen." She responded.
"Okay, I'm you, ten years on in the future." I explained. Her eyes grew, if even possible, wider.
"Is Jonathon here?" I repeated.
"Who's Jonathon?" She asked.
"My son, he's five. Slade took him too." I explained.
"I have a son?"
"I guess that means you haven't seen him." She shook her head no, sliding from her bed as she did so.
"I need to talk to Robin, and the other titans, and… yeah, maybe you should come with me. How did you get here?" My teenage-self was confused and babbling.
"Let's go meet the others, I'll explain everything then." I said. She nodded and motioned me to follow her out of my old room.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Narrator's POV
Robin was working with Cyborg, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Miranda, trying to predict Slade's next move when the main door opened and Raven stepped through.
"Dudes, I am sooo tired. I swear; I'm seeing two Ravens." Beast Boy said. Robin turned around and saw Raven, then saw the woman beside her. Another Raven, maybe an inch taller, wearing a long white dress with a white cloak, was standing next to her. The new Raven looked a little older as well.
"I too see two Ravens, Beast Boy." Starfire said.
"I go by Rachel now." She said. "And I need help, Slade has my son." She continued. Everyone gaped at her. Then,
"Jonathon?" Miranda asked.
"Yes, do you know where he is?" Rachel asked.
"No, sorry. I remember the name from when Slade brought Sarah." Miranda said.
"Sarah? I've had Sarah this entire time. Danica was kidnapped." Rachel said.
"We have Danica?" Robin asked. Rachel nodded, then,
"You came up with the name, didn't you?"
"How did you know that?" Cyborg asked.
"He still likes the name in the future. But Danica is her name. I brought Sarah with me, she's with her sister."
"Dudes, I'm confused." Beast Boy said.
"Friend Beast Boy, it is quite simple. The future Raven has two bumgorfs. We have been mistakenly calling Danica 'Sarah'. Danica's sister is called Sarah. We have done the switching of the names with them." Starfire explained.
"So, then where's the real Sarah?" Beast Boy asked.
"Sleeping, with Danica, her twin." Rachel said.
Raven's eyes widened, as did Robin's. Then she turned and raced back to her room, Robin close on her heels. When she reached her room, the door slid open and she levitated to the basinet. Two babies were sleeping peacefully inside, holding hands.
"Azar…" She whispered. Robin was suddenly beside her, staring into the basinet as well.
"Wow…" Robin whispered; "twins." Raven turned to face him.
"You get me pregnant with twins?!" She exclaimed in a whisper. Robin grinned broadly.
"Yeah, I guess so." He said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. His smile softened and he inched closer to her, bringing them that much closer to each other.
"Robin?" Raven whispered.
He didn't answer, just brought his hand down from her face, running it through her purple locks, almost as if savoring the feel of it. His other hand rested on her waist for a moment before winding around her, bringing her closer to him. The hand playing with her hair stilled behind her neck, cradling her head gently. His masked eyes gazed into her own, then lowered, settling on her lips. Her breathing quickened ever so slightly before Robin's lips met her own.
This kiss wasn't like their previous. It wasn't exploding in a rush of emotions or the slightest bit demanding. It was pure love, soft and chaste. Slowly, Raven brought her hands up, running them up his muscled chest and settling about his neck. They separated and Raven smiled. It was just the tiniest uplifting of the corners of her mouth, but it was enough to allow Robin to bend close and kiss her again.
"Come on, let's head back to the main room before they come looking for us." Robin said. Raven nodded and he ran his fingers through her hair one last time before releasing her. They walked out of the room side by side.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In the main room the titans, Miranda, and Rachel were gathered around the table they had been working at before. Cyborg looked up at them as they entered the room.
"So, are they really twins?" He asked them.
"Yeah, there are two of them." Robin answered.
"Rachel's been telling us that there's another kid that's missing. Slade took him as well when he crossed time." Cyborg said. Robin nodded.
"Where ever Slade is, that's where we'll find Jonathon." He said. "Miranda, can you remember anything about the place where Slade kept you?" He asked as he and Raven joined the group.
"No, I don't know where I was, all I can remember was that it was dark most of the time and his robots were everywhere." She answered.
"If we took you around the city and you saw the place, do you think you would be able to remember it?" Cyborg asked.
"I don't know," she admitted.
Just then one of the computers began to beep noisily. Raven rushed to it and shut it off; looking through the report the security system had sent them to find out what was amiss.
"That's strange." She murmured.
"What's going on?" Cyborg asked.
"Someone's outside the tower." She said.
"Who?" Starfire questioned.
"That's just it. The computer says that Robin's down there." She said. "But that's not possible. Robin's right here."
"Richard?" Rachel asked, and was gone in a swirl of black energy.
"Richard?" Raven said to herself; she turned to look at Robin. The other titans were looking at him as well. He nodded in answer to their silent question.
"Well, BB's Garfield, Star's Koriand'r, Raven's Rachel, and now Robin's Richard; I guess it's all right. I'm Victor." Cyborg said.
"I never thought you'd be the last one to tell us." Raven said. "I always figured it would be Robin."
"You work together as a team, but you didn't know each other's real names?" Miranda asked them.
"You don't tell a soul." Robin said.
"You don't need to worry." She reassured him.
Rachel appeared again in her soul self form, flying through the main room and out the door.
"Um, what just happened?" Miranda asked.
"Good question." Beast Boy said. Out of plain curiosity they all followed the way Rachel's soul self had traveled.
"She's in the medical ward." Raven announced. They all looked at her. "I can sense her, all right? My powers are in hyperactive mode right now with her here." She explained. They shrugged as if seeing her reasoning and continued down the hall. Robin reached the door first and it slid open.
Rachel was healing a man laying down on one of the med lab beds. The blue aura faded and she spoke to the man.
"There, you're going to be all right now." She bent and kissed him.
"I'm sorry I couldn't get Jon. Slade and I separated before I could get him." He apologized, sitting up. Rachel hugged him close, burying her face in his chest for a few moments and he stroked her hair rhythmically. Raven hadn't noticed until now that Rachel's hair was grown past her shoulders. Rachel smiled briefly into the man's chest before leaning back and saying,
"It's okay. You're here, you're safe, our twins are both sleeping in my old room, and we're going to find Jonathon." Rachel said to him.
"Danica? And Sarah? We have them both?"
"Yes, come here, I'll take you." She said and outstretched her hands towards him. He took them and they were gone in a flash of power.
"What just happened?" Beast Boy asked.
"I don't know." Cyborg said. "But you know what? I'm going to get some sleep. We can track down Slade tomorrow." Beast Boy quickly agreed with him and Miranda wandered off to her own room, in mind of getting some shut eye too. Starfire was still staring at the med lab bed where the man and Rachel had been moments before. Her eyes suddenly widened in conclusion and she turned to face Raven and Robin.
"Friend Raven!" She exclaimed happily. Raven looked at her almost warily. Starfire leapt right into her conclusions. "You are, in the future, the mother of the bumgorfs, correct?"
"Yes," Raven answered, seeing where this was headed.
"And Robin, he is the father!" She said excitedly.
"Yes, Starfire." Robin admitted.
"HOW WONDERFUL!" She exclaimed and hugged them both in a strong Tameranian hug. The lack of oxygen soon reached them.
"Star… can't… breathe…" They gasped out. She immediately released them.
"My apologies friends, but what a glorious moment this is! Oh! We must tell the others!" She said, floating in front of them.
"Not yet, Star." Raven hurried. Starfire was puzzled.
"Why not? It is a jubilant occasion, is it not?"
"Yes, but for now, it would just be easier to tell everyone later." Robin explained.
"Oh, okay." She said. "I'm going to tuck Silkie back into bed then. Good night friends!" She said and flew down the hall.
"I was dreading that moment." Robin confided to Raven.
"Want to know something? So was I, still am actually." She said. Robin laughed.
"Come on, let's go find our future selves before we turn in." He said and they walked down the hallway together.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A/N: Chapter six! And not a long wait either! I think I have a muse. And he's a trickster, won't stop jabbering in my ear either. This was in no way how I thought this chapter was going to turn out, but I think I like this version better. :) Now I'm not so sure how much longer this is going to be… Anyway, leave me your thoughts in a review!
-Akemi