Deleted scenes: Chapter 5: After the end.
x
"So how did it go?" Robin asked.
David shrugged and pointed to Beast Boy, who took a moment to reply. "It went fine," was all he said.
"Well, what was it like?" asked Cyborg. "Where did you go for two seconds that lasted two hours? Is she-"
"Later, OK?" Beast Boy said. "I just want to be alone right now." With that, he plodded off slowly toward his room.
"Better give him some time, guys," David said gently. "He's been through a lot."
"So you tell us, then," Cyborg started. "What happened for two seconds?"
David shrugged. "The Professor accepted her. She's going to live at the Institute, under his tutelage. Her head's pretty messed up, but I think the Professor can sort her out."
"I don't know, David," Raven commented softly. "I think that's a pretty tall order."
David looked to her and grinned confidently. "You don't know Charles. His specialty is taking troubled teenaged mutants, teaching them to live with their mutations, and if they're interested, teaching them to be superheroes. It's what he does, and he's good at it."
"If you say so," Raven replied. "I still think 'troubled' is not the word for Terra."
David laughed softly. "No, I have a feeling she'll be OK," he said.
Cyborg put in, "Well, for B.B.'s sake, I hope so."
With a subtle nod of his head, Robin gave the order to head inside, and everyone turned that way. As the Titans walked toward the door, David stayed behind.
"Ray?" he asked softly. She turned to look back at him. "Ya hungry?" he asked casually.
"Actually, I just …" Raven started, then paused and smiled. "What did you have in mind?"
"How about that little café on Central?"
Robin had stopped to wait at the door, and Raven turned to him briefly. "I'm going to be with David in town. I'll see you in a bit." Robin just nodded and closed the door behind him as Raven turned and walked to David. "Are we flying or teleporting?" she asked.
He shrugged. "Lady's choice."
She stepped up and put an arm around his waist. "I like the way you teleport," she said with a sly smile. "It gives me tingles."
David smiled and thought about this, then laughed suddenly and threw his arms around her in a warm hug.
"I've missed you, Ray," he said softly. "Ready?" The two were suddenly engulfed in a brief flash of green light, then they were gone, the only thing left on the roof the dying embers of Terra's costume.
x
On a city sidewalk downtown, there was a sudden flash of light, and David and Raven appeared, standing in front of a small café.
As the hostess showed them to a secluded table in the back, Raven turned suddenly to David. "I don't have any money on me," she said hesitantly.
"Don't worry about it, I got it," he replied.
"Oh, no, no," the cheerful hostess put in. "I know who you are. You're with the Teen Titans. Breakfast is on the house."
After a quick round of , 'oh, no, I couldn't,' and, 'oh, yes, I insist,' it was decided that they would not be paying for their meals, and the waitress came to take their orders. Raven insisted she was genuinely not hungry, and just got a hot tea and a bagel to snack on, while David got the extra large breakfast 'eggs and pancakes' platter.
"It's actually good they're not charging us," David started as the waitress walked away, "because all my cash is … well, from another dimension. It may qualify as counterfeit here." Raven just shook her head and smiled, and he continued. "And, of course, my debit card is on a whole different computer system, so … anyway … anyway, tell me about Terra," he said, changing the subject. "I just met her today. She seemed … pretty screwed up."
Raven's expression had gone suddenly dark at the mention of her name, and she hesitated for a moment before she replied, looking for the right words. "You don't understand how much I hate that bitch," she finally said softly.
David was surprised. "Ohmigoodness," he muttered. "Have I struck a nerve?"
"It's just …" she started, clearly trying to control her anger. "She used us. She lied to us. She manipulated, betrayed, and tried to kill us. And now B.B.'s just like, 'oh let's just forgive and forget,' and I can't … I can't do that."
"That's not what B.B.'s saying, Ray," David said seriously. "He's saying she wants to change, but she can't do it alone."
"Figures you'd be on his side," she grumbled.
"Hey, you called me!" David started defensively. "Not B.B., you. You asked for my help. I thought that's what you wanted. I thought you wanted me to help her."
"That's why I called you, yes, but …" she started, then hesitated.
"But what? If you'd rather she go to prison, why'd you call me?"
"Because … because B.B. asked me to," she finally finished.
"Really?" he said with surprise.
"Well, not specifically, but … he asked for my help. He asked me to help him come up with an alternative to prison, which I think she deserves, but … B.B. … he just …"
"So you didn't do this for her, you did it for him."
"Exactly."
They were both silent for several seconds, looking at each other, then David said softly, "You're a good friend to him, Ray. He's lucky to have you."
Raven looked away and was silent for several seconds. She was about to reply when the waitress interrupted with her bagel and David's breakfast, which he dug into immediately.
"Hungry, were you?" she commented with a smile.
He just shrugged. "You were saying?" he muttered with his mouth full
This time Raven looked away and shrugged. "I never tell him this, but I'm lucky to have B.B., too. He's been a good friend to me. I couldn't just turn my back on him." She nibbled at her bagel and paused for a moment before she continued. "Anyway, your solution seems to be perfect. None of us have to deal with her ever again, and B.B. can move on without her messing with his head. And sure, off in some other reality, Terra gets to be redeemed and have a good life, and yea for everyone, we all live happily ever after."
David eyed her thoughtfully for a moment. "You don't think she deserves 'happily ever after,' do you? You think she deserves punishment."
This time Raven looked him in the eye thoughtfully. "I guess that's not for me to decide. Robin says everyone deserves a second chance."
"Well, I'll tell you this much," he said, moving closer. "I'll tell you what I saw when I looked at her. I saw potential. She has the potential to be something good again, with the right help. She also has the potential to go evil again, but I don't think that's going to happen now that the Professor has her. I really feel like he's going to take good care of her."
"Well … I guess I can be a big enough person to hope you're right. For her sake." David patted her hand comfortingly, and she took it and squeezed it for a moment. "Anyway, thank you, again, for getting her out of my hair. She's in another reality now, and I can just forget about her. We can all move on."
"I think that's best," David agreed.
They were silent for quite a while, Raven still holding David's hand, then she finally pulled away and seemed to snap out of her dark thoughts. "So … wow, you tore through that quickly," she commented, looking at his nearly empty plate.
David grinned shyly. "I've been living with a military unit for a while now. You learn to eat quickly."
"Really?" she asked, surprised. "A military unit? Where?"
He waved his hand dismissively. "On another planet. Not important."
"Some other time, then. Well … if you're done, I should get back to the Tower. I want to check on B.B."
"Right," he muttered as he shoved the last of his pancakes in his mouth, then motioned for the waitress to come over.
"You don't have a bill, sugar. Remember?" she said pleasantly as she approached.
"No, but I have a tip," he replied, holding up a coin. "Now, I want you to promise to split this with the nice hostess who seated us."
The waitress stared disbelievingly at the coin. "Sir, that's a quarter," she said flatly. "You really want me to break a quarter to give some to Ann?"
David was giving her his best mischievous grin. "No, I want you to take this to a rare coins dealer, then split the profits."
The waitress plucked the coin from his grip and studied it closely. "What is it?" she asked.
David shot her a wink and said, "I'll let you ladies figure that one out," as he rose from her seat, inviting Raven to rise with him. He circled the table to her, gently wrapping his arm across her shoulders. "Ladies, you've been wonderful," he said with a smile to the waitress and hostess. "See ya around." With that, he and Raven were engulfed in a flash of bright green light, then they were no longer there.
x
A green light flashed on the roof of Titans Tower, and the teleporters were home.
"I need to talk to B.B.," Raven said somberly as they went inside. "Where can I find you later?"
"Oh, Ray, I really shouldn't stay …" he hesitated.
"I know, I mean in a few minutes."
"Oh, OK, how about … how about your room?"
"Ten minutes?"
"Good," he confirmed, and Raven turned to go see Beast Boy.
x
Raven knocked at Beast Boy's door, and said, "Beast Boy? Can I talk to you?"
After a moment, she heard him reply, "Come in."
Raven stepped in and slowly closed the door. "I wanted to say I'm sorry," she said gently.
Beast Boy looked surprised. "Really?"
"I haven't changed my opinion of Terra. I just mean … I'm sorry for you, for what you've gone through. I know this had been hard for you."
OOO(See final scene, Chapter 5)OOO
"If you found a good home for her, I think that's all you can do."
"I know, I just …" he trailed off, unsure what to say.
Raven took his hand and held it silently for a long time. As she finally rose to leave, she simply said, "I'm sorry, B.B."
After closing his door, she slowly walked back to her room, and was surprised to see David sitting on the floor in the hall, waiting.
"Locked," he said, gesturing to her door.
"Since when do locked doors stop the mighty David Blackwolf?" she asked with a grin.
As he got up, he looked offended. "I thought breaking into your bedroom would be rude. If I had, I'm sure you'd agree."
"David, David, take it easy," she said with a grin. "I'm just teasing." She casually waved her hand across the door, the magical lock lifted, and the door slid open. "Come on in."
David looked around. Not much had changed in a year. He considered sitting with her on the bed, then decided on the reading chair next to the bed.
Raven sat down on her bed, and began removing her small, blue ankle boots. Once comfortably barefoot, or actually in tights, she sat up and looked at David with a clever grin. "How long can I keep you, this time?" she asked playfully.
David just gave her a bemused little chuckle. "I think it's funny that you kick off your shoes to get comfortable, but not your cloak and hood."
"Cloak's behind me," she said absently. "Not in my way. Don't change the subject."
"What, 'how long can you keep me?' Not very long, I'm afraid. It just … I'm not …" he paused and searched for the right words. "It would be cruel to B.B. for him to see me again. He'd ask me to take him to see her again, and we all know that would be a bad idea. So, I pretty much need to be gone before B.B. finishes moping and leaves his room."
Raven thought this through for a moment, then said, "How's this plan, then? You are confined to here in my room, and if B.B. asks, we'll tell him you already left."
David smiled. "Why don't we just plan on only having a few hours together, and I'll be gone before B.B. thinks about me."
"Fair enough," she replied with a nod. "So what are we going to do with our few hours?"
"Talk," he stated, as though it should have been obvious. "Isn't that what we do?"
"Yes, but last time, we had days and days of delving into my past and your past and … Now we don't have time for anything in depth."
"Well, then, sum up for me what you and the Titans have been doing the last year," he suggested.
"Then will you tell me where you've been? Because I'm sure it's far more interesting. Did you say you've been serving in an alien military?"
"Something like that, but you first," David said with finality.
"Fine," Raven conceded, as she again shot him a playful little smile. She launched into an account of their first encounter with Slade, and how Robin was forced to become his apprentice. She then went through her own version of the Terra story, leaving out the happy bits that B.B. had tried to emphasize, and dwelling in the negativity that B.B. had tried to gloss over. Raven really painted a very different picture of Terra than B.B.'s version that David was used to. She finished her tale with the miraculous intervention of one David Blackwolf, then got up to prepare some hot tea to sooth her nerves.
David sat in the chair next to the bed and watched her from across her bedroom, which was essentially a good-sized one room apartment. Raven stood in the kitchenette, preparing two mugs of hot tea. "You really hate her, don't you?" David asked calmly.
"Really, really do," she replied with equal calm.
"Well, Raven, I told you before and I'll tell you again. I looked that scared little girl in the eye today and I saw potential. She has so much potential to be something good again, if she can learn how. She also has potential to revert to evil ways, but I don't think we need to fear now that the good Professor has her."
"So you keep saying," Raven replied as she handed David his tea and sat down on the bed, across from him. "Is he really as … what did B.B. call it? … 'Yoda-cool' as you say?"
David caught Raven's eye and held it for a serious moment. "Yes, he is. The man's a genius. He surrounds himself with other geniuses. Cases like Terra are his specialty. It's what he lives for. I guarantee you, his Institute is the best place in the known universe for Terra to be right now."
"Well … that will make B.B. happy," she said simply.
"Does it make you happy?" he asked after a moment.
Raven hesitated, looked away, then finally back to David. "Does it make me a bad person that I would wish on her pain and suffering and anguish, like what she caused us? I really feel that's what she deserves."
David reached out and took her hand, and held it for a moment before he spoke. "Vengeance isn't evil. I believe it's a necessary part of justice. It's just that sometimes vengeance isn't appropriate. If the spark was gone, if there was no chance, I'd say let the bitch rot. But there is a spark, Ray. I saw it in her. There's still the spark of a hero inside her, and with the right help, it can be brought out and made to shine."
Raven gave a weak, defeated laugh. "Everyone deserves a second chance."
"Yes, exactly."
Raven stared at nothing for several seconds. "Fine," she finally muttered, then looked to David. "Enough about the bitch. Tell we where you've been all year."
David laughed. "Funny point, that. It's actually been … in Earth years … about six and a half years since I've seen you."
Raven looked briefly confused, then nodded when it clicked in her head. "Time travel, right. That's still weird. So … last six and a half years, then?" she asked with a smile.
x
David entertained her for a while with tales of his exploration of Akelos, a high tech, space-faring feudal kingdom that spanned the 15 moons of a gas giant. There was an ongoing struggle with rebel separatists who want to divide into independent moons, and the monarchy was fighting to keep it's control. David had fought on the side of one of the rebel moons for a few years, and left after they won their independence. When he went home, he got Raven's signal, and answered it.
"And so … here I am," he concluded.
"That reminds me," Raven started, "Cyborg asked you how that 'fist-sized do-dad' sent a signal you could receive anywhere across space and time, and you said it doesn't."
David shook his head. "It sent a signal to the planet Valador, to the tower in Androgel, my home town. When I finished my adventure in Akelos, I went home to check in, and found your message waiting. It had your space-time co-ordinates at the time you sent the signal, so that's where I went next."
"And on my end, you arrived instantly. That really is pretty impressive."
David shrugged modestly. "Time travel allows for some pretty cool tricks."
"So, what are your plans now?"
He shrugged again. "Home again, for a bit. Then there's another message I need to answer."
"From another friend, somewhere in the universe?"
"Yeah. Willow. She's actually on another Earth. She's cool, you'd like her. She's another magic user, calls herself a witch. She hunts vampires and demons."
Raven nodded. "And you need to go see what she needs?"
"It's not like I'm in a hurry to leave, or anything," he said with a grin. "I've got a signal with a time-stamp on it, and when I get around to answering it, it will appear to her that I answered it instantly."
"And again, I have to say," Raven said with a grin, "That is a pretty impressive trick."
David laughed, and was about to reply, when the intercom buzzed and Robin interrupted him.
"Raven, report to the ready room. Something's come up," he ordered.
"On my way," she replied with a groan. Raven set down her tea and reached for her shoes. As she pulled them on, she looked up to David. "I'm so sorry, David. Duty calls."
"It's OK, kid," he replied. "Your city needs you."
"Probably some stupid bank robbery, or something," she muttered. "I'll bet we could safely leave this one to the police."
"Actually," David started as he stood up, "It'll probably do B.B. some good to get out of the house. Vent his anger on some badguys."
Raven suddenly looked concerned. "I just hope he doesn't vent too much," she replied.
"Well, you should go keep an eye on him, then. I ought to go." David stepped out to the middle of the room and held out his cane, and the head began to glow. "I'll just leave from here, if that's all right with you."
"Well, give me a hug, first," she said as she stepped toward him. They held each other for a long moment, then Raven finally stepped away. "When will I see you again?" she asked.
"Honestly, it should probably be a while, for B.B.'s sake, you know?" he replied. "Anyway, you've got my signal if you need me."
Raven just nodded, and David turned his attention to the light at the tip of his cane. After a moment, it exploded into a brilliant green sphere of energy surrounding him. He stared into the light, concentrating on it for a few seconds, then looked up to Raven.
"Say hi to Willow the witch for me," she said with a smile.
David returned her smile. "I will. See you around, Raven. Take care of yourself. And take care of B.B. He needs a friend right now."
Raven nodded again. "I will. Hey, David … before you go …"
"Yes?"
"How much will our waitress get for that coin you gave her?" she asked with a smile.
David laughed. "About a grand if she finds a good deal."
Raven just laughed and shook her head. David was still looking her in the eye when the sphere suddenly imploded. There was a brilliant spark from what had been it's center, and then nothing. David was gone.
Raven sighed heavily, staring at the vacant space where he had been, then shrugged it off, turned, and headed out to meet the others.
END
8