I feel loved, (sniff), thank you for all your reviews. On with the story.
Raven wandered through a misty swamp. She could see figures in the fog, but when she ran towards them, they faded. Ghostly voices lingering.
"Friend Raven, do you wish to partake in going to the mall of shopping?"
"Starfire?" Raven tried to say but her voice was silent. The figure faded.
"Wait! Come back! Please?", her voice betrayed her, she tried to voice the words but they wouldn't come. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Hey, Rae! Come help me with this, please? The radiator's gone bust"
Raven stumbled towards the apparition. Her feet caught brambles and she slipped on sharp pebbles to fall into a muddy swamp. Cyborg grinned down at her.
"Need a hand there Rae?"
Raven struggled to grab the metal hand but she was sinking into the mud. Just a little further… Cyborg turned into Robin.
"Come on, Raven. You're stronger than this. I know you can do it."
He stretched his arm out to Raven, she strained to reach him, but by the time she had grasped it, he was gone. More tears stained her face, dripping into the mud. She was all alone.
She staggered through the swamp, voices tugged at her, pulling her towards them.
More faces appeared, kind at first. They encouraged her, pulling at her. But their hands burnt her.
"Stop! Please stop!" she pleaded silently. Instead their voices grew harsher. Their faces twisted, sneering. They started attacking her, clawing at her tattered clothing, ripping it, tearing her little protection. Her cape became torn and muddy.
"Slut!"
"Whore!"
They taunted her, tearing at her skin with claw-like hands. Her blood ran in crimson streams into the mud. One by one, however, they too vanished.
She was alone again, and somehow it seemed to be a worse fate than when she was being attacked.
She stumbled through the swamp trying to find a place of refuge. She stumbled, sharp stones digging into already raw and bloody feet.
Plants grasped at her, trying to trap her in their tangled embrace. Sobbing, Raven ripped at the vines and thorns. She stumbled out onto a cobbled street, tears mingling with the blood.
Raven looked back and gasped brokenly. The dead and dying plants turned into children. They stared at her with accusing eyes. They seemed to condemn her.
Why?
An empty silence filled with pain of betrayal. The closest, a little girl no older than three, toddled towards Raven.
Raven was paralysed, she wanted to move forward, scope the child up and comfort her but she couldn't move.
"Mama?"
The child held out her chubby arms in delight. She toddled forward only fall over.
"Mama?"
She stared at Raven in pain. Raven could only watch in despair, tears streaking down to mingle in the pool of blood at her feet.
"Mama!"
Suddenly Raven was free. She stumbled forward to embrace the child but the child disappeared. Her helpless cry echoed around the darkness.
"Mama!"
Raven curled up and screamed in anguish. But no sound left her mouth. A wave of despair swept over her. She was drowning. Drowning in the darkness. It suffocated her. She couldn't breathe.
Suddenly a bright light pierced the darkness. The darkness fled from the light. Raven crawled towards the light. It didn't matter that all her filthiness was put to shame, all that mattered was the light.
Raven unsteadily got to her feet, peering at the light. A large soft bird shining with a warm green light covered her with his wings. Raven curled up beneath it's soft feathers.
She was found.
She was safe.