Those inscrutable dark eyes settled on Dick. Cold and calm, betraying no emotion.
"Dick," the man nodded slightly in greeting. "Good, I was hoping you were here."
Dick glared at him. Of course he was here. Bruce knew where he was at all times, thanks to that stupid tracking chip. The important thing was that Raven was here. But he shouldn't have even known…Dick gritted his teeth, then let out a sharp breath. This was Bruce he was dealing with, of course he knew Raven was here, he probably had Dick's phone and half the security cameras bugged by now.
"Funny," he said darkly, and he fought very hard to keep his voice level. "I thought you were flying in tomorrow; I must have gotten the dates mixed up."
"We managed to make the trip a little ahead of schedule."
"We?"
A gorgeous woman emerged from the elevator behind Bruce. Creamy skin and piercing blue eyes framed by loosely curled glossy black hair. She ran her hands absently down the front of her blue dress, looking around, smoothing the tight-fitting fabric against her curves.
Raven's mouth dropped open slightly as the woman moved forward. No one had the right to look like that, it just wasn't fair. She reached up to straighten out her bangs nervously, feeling exceptionally inferior. Then she frowned, her eyes narrowing.
There was something…else about the woman; a sort of mirage in the air around her. It wasn't a glamour or a spell, just an aura of power radiating off her skin, making the air shimmer. Raven had never seen someone with that much innate magical power. None of the priestesses on Azarath had even come close.
"Z?" Dick looked at the woman in surprise.
She smiled warmly back at him, her blue eyes twinkling, "hey kiddo."
"What are you doing here?" Dick asked. Confusion rippled off of him, along with a quickly growing sense of suspicion.
"Oh, Bruce asked me to come with him." The woman rolled her eyes behind Bruce's back. "He said you might need my—" she winked— "particular expertise."
Dick's temper flared; his suspicion quickly swallowed by anger. "Oh, he did?" He narrowed his eyes as he switched his attention back to Bruce.
The man's expression remained completely blank. "Yes. Miss Zatara wanted to see the progress you had made, and I wanted to bring Victor by personally." He gestured behind him, motioning someone else forward.
Raven and Dick had been so focused on Bruce and the woman that they hadn't noticed the third person in the elevator behind them. He had been standing back, slightly hidden by the angle behind the other two.
Raven held back a soft gasp of shock as he came into view.
He was a powerfully built young man, probably around eighteen, with shoulders even wider than Bruce's under a bulky grey hoodie. He had a strong, square jaw under sharp cheekbones, his skin a rich, dark brown, scalp shaved and gleaming under the light. But it was the left side of his face that had shocked her. The entire side, from scalp to chin, was obscured by a metallic plate that had been shaped to perfectly mirror the bone structure and facial features visible on the other side. His dark skin was warped and puckered around the edges of the metal like melted wax.
He looked around, taking in the large space, one eye a deep brown, the other replaced by a red optic sensor in a metallic aperture.
A fresh wave of nerves hit Raven, coming from the newcomer, making her stomach lurch.
Bruce gestured from Dick to the young man, "Victor, this is Richard Grayson. Dick, Victor Stone."
Dick moved forward immediately, completely unfazed by Victor's appearance. He climbed the steps up to the sort of half-balcony that ran around the room and held out his hand to the other boy.
Victor looked down at Dick's hand, and Raven felt another flash of unease. She saw why a moment later as he pulled his hand out from his pocket. It was a prosthetic, his flesh and bone replaced with complex joints and machinery, the metal skin reflecting the lights.
He took Dick's hand and the articulated fingers bent smoothly, the limb twisting in a flawless imitation of a living hand.
The metal on his wrist disappeared beneath the edge of his bulky sweatshirt. The fabric shifted with his motion, the prosthetic—and the damage it had replaced—continuing up his arm beneath it.
"It's great to meet you," Dick said, glancing down in wonder at the technological marvel of Victor's hand. "Bruce told me you were interested."
Victor nodded, shoving his hand back into the sweatshirt pocket.
"The work you've done for the League is amazing," Dick continued, genuine respect coloring his words. "I'd love it if you could look over the systems I've got here, let me know what you think."
Victor blinked, his eyebrow raising. The machinery on the other side of his face mimicked the motion with a soft whir of hidden gears. "Sure," he said, his voice deep and melodious.
"Victor, do you mind giving us a moment?" Bruce asked. "The server room is right over there, we will be right in."
Victor hesitated, looking between Bruce and Dick.
"Yeah, sure," he muttered, obviously deciding this wasn't something worth getting in the middle of. He stomped off towards the room filled with computer equipment, shoulders hunched.
Dick crossed his arms, waiting for Bruce to speak.
Bruce narrowed his eyes slightly at Dick, then looked past him pointedly at Raven.
Dick sighed, then turned to look at her.
She was standing well behind him, lingering at the edge of the kitchen counter, not wanting to approach the rest of them. She held very still as the full force of the adults' attention hit her.
"Raven"—Dick waved his hand at the imposing man in a gesture that did absolutely nothing to convey the significance of what he was saying— "This is Bruce Wayne, I guess you'd say he's our financial backer."
Raven recognized the name vaguely. He was some billionaire from the east coast or something.
This was Batman?
And Dick had no idea what kind of information he had just given her. He might have an inkling that she had intruded into his mind, but he didn't know that she would be able to identify one of the founding members of the Justice League from what she had seen in his memories.
Raven nodded slightly to the man, keeping her expression blank, but that was it. Neither of them made any further effort at introductions.
"And this is Zatanna, she, uh," Dick hesitated, looking at up at the woman next to Bruce, obviously unsure how he should introduce her.
She stepped forward, smiling. "I'm a member of the Justice League. And, well, I was the available resident expert on arcane abilities and manifestations."
Raven's stomach dropped.
Excitement buzzed around the woman. "I owed these two a favor, so here I am." She flicked her pretty blue eyes to Dick, "I assume this is the girl you wanted me to evaluate?"
Raven took a half step back, her eyes widening in terror.
"Actually, no. I didn't—"
"Unless I am mistaken," Bruce interjected smoothly. "Miss Roth's abilities—" Raven jumped at the offhand use of her mother's last name— "fall completely outside the scope of your skill set." He ignored the glare Dick was giving him, regarding him calmly. "I thought it would be wise to have a teacher available to the girl that might actually be able to teach her." He turned his gaze on Raven.
The woman was staring at her too. Her eyes traveling up from the black boots to the wild, dark hair chopped short at chin-length.
She took another step forward, and the excitement and interest that was buzzing through her slowed, changing pitch, confusion welling up in its place. Her smile slipped, her brow wrinkling as she frowned.
Raven tried to fight her rising panic, her heart beating fast inside her chest. She knew what was coming, she had been tested like this once before, when she had still been a child. The high-priestess of Azarath had tried to reach inside of her to the core of her power, to gauge her strength, so see just how dangerous she would prove to be.
Even knowing what she was, what burden she carried, Arella had been terrified by what she had found. Terrified of her. Of the evil lurking under her skin.
And that had been years ago, her powers just beginning to manifest.
The woman's expression changed, concern taking over, and a small, cold spike of fear stabbed into her. She reached forward with a manicured hand, and a wave of gently shimmering magic prickled over Raven's skin.
This had been a horrible mistake.
"What the—" Zatanna yelped, recoiling instantly, her power snapping back.
Dick turned back to look and swore.
Raven had retreated several steps backward, her hands held out slightly in front of her as if she thought Zatanna might attack her. Her pale face was drawn in fear, her violet eyes wide, dark hair swirling around her cheeks in a phantom breeze.
All around her, shadows were darkening and lengthening, twisting and writhing across the floor as they spread outwards.
The stools at the kitchen island scooted away from her as the darkness hit them, scraping across the tiles to bang into the counter. One tipped over, crashing to the ground. The pendant lights hanging above the island leaned away on their wires as if she was exerting a magnetic field, and her abandoned half-full mug of tea shot across the countertop to shatter on the tiles. The cushions on the couch on her other side flopped onto the floor, the couch sliding several inches away across the carpet.
Icy cold speared through Raven's body as fear took root in the room.
Zatanna stumbled back; her face blanched in horror. Bruce took a step forward, placing himself slightly in front of the sorceress, his attention zeroed in on Raven.
"Stop it!" Dick snarled.
Raven flinched back, energy snapping out into the air around her, but he hadn't been talking to her.
He was facing Bruce and Zatanna, his expression absolutely furious, hands clenched. "Whatever you're doing, stop it!"
"I—" The woman gaped at him; her cheeks drained of color. "I'm not doing anything! What the hell is she doing?"
Raven recoiled as if the woman had struck her.
The ice that had formed inside her chest cracked, and it felt as if something inside of her was actually breaking, shattering into a thousand pieces, fear and shame and despair filling her with razored shards of glass.
Every item in the room within a ten-foot radius of her body lurched away from her.
Darkness swirled around Raven's feet, too deep to be natural, the shadows almost seeming sentient as they curled protectively around her. The lights in the ceiling above her flickered.
"What are you?" Zatanna whispered.
Her words lanced through air like knives. Stabbing one by one into Raven's chest.
Dick stepped to the side, planting himself firmly in front of Raven. He managed to keep his voice calm, but burning anger rippled off of him as he spoke, "Bruce, thank you for taking the time to bring Victor, I'm happy to have him here. I will take care of his travel arrangements after I have had a chance to talk to him and give him a tour."
He nodded stiffly to them both in what was obviously a dismissal, then turned on his heel and marched back down the steps to Raven.
She backed away quickly as he approached, not taking her eyes off of Zatanna, then turned and bolted for the stairway. Furniture hurled itself out of her path, the door flying open as she reached it, practically blasting itself off its hinges.
Dick followed her, hurrying to keep up without running.
"Raven, wait!" he called, trying to keep his voice down. He shut the door to the main floor behind them.
She spun, facing him, her back hitting the wall, backpack hanging limply off one shoulder. Her eyes were still wide, the whites showing all the way around the irises and the pupils dilated. The lights in the stairway sputtered with little pops.
"Stay—stay away from me," she choked out.
"Raven, I'm sorry, they shouldn't have ambushed you like that." He shook his head, anger still hot in his chest. "But it doesn't matter—"
"Don't you get it? I'm dangerous!" She clutched her hands to her chest, her fists clenched tight. The scars on her palms stretched painfully.
She fought to regain control of herself, forcing herself to take deep, measured breaths. Too many things were flying around inside her. Too many emotions that weren't hers. She felt frayed and ragged, her control unravelling, the stress of the day, and of the day before, finally catching up to her.
She covered her face with her hands and closed her eyes, pressing into the wall, her lips moving silently.
Slowly, painfully, she pulled herself back together, back into a state of calm, her jagged breaths evening out and her heartbeat returning to a normal rhythm.
Dick stayed silent, giving her space.
When she was in control of herself once again, she let her hands drop back to her sides. Her face was back to the emotionless mask, those violet eyes unreadable.
"I told you," she said quietly. "You don't want me on your team. You don't want me anywhere near you."
He opened his mouth, but she cut him off with a shake of her head.
"I appreciate the offer."
Her shadow on the wall behind her rippled and deepened, darkness spreading out from her body. She stepped backward, sinking into the solid wall as if it had turned to liquid, the swirling darkness swallowing her up.
And she was gone.
Dick stood staring at the wall where she had disappeared, the white plaster unblemished, no trace of shadow remaining. His hands clenched into fists at his sides.
He spun on his heel with a growl and stormed back out into the main room, walking through the path Raven had cleared through the furniture. Bruce and Zatanna were still standing by the elevator.
"What the hell was that!" he shouted.
"Dick," Bruce said warningly.
"You intentionally backed her into a corner to try to provoke a response!"
"I wanted to make sure you knew what you were getting into."
"No. You wanted to be in control, and you wanted to show me that since you said she wasn't safe, then of course she couldn't be!" He scowled at Bruce, his anger pouring out. "She warned me! She told me how you would react to her, how everyone else has reacted to her. How many times do you think this has happened to her before? How many times do you think she has been rejected just because people are scared of her?"
"Something is wrong with that girl, Dick," Zatanna said softly.
Dick's blazing gaze shifted to her, and he frowned at her critically. "Why?" he snapped, "I haven't seen her do anything that you haven't done."
She gaped at him. "I've never even seen a passive telekinetic of that magnitude!" she pointed to the chaos of the room behind him as if in shock. "And umbrakinesis?" She shook her head quickly, her hands falling limply back to her sides. "That's not a well-regarded branch of elemental magic even on its own."
"Umbrakinesis?"
"Darkness summoning and manipulation." She shook her head again, obviously shaken. "It's…rare. And it's never a good sign when someone with those abilities shows up—especially on this level."
"So, what? Her powers are too scary? That's it?" he looked between the two of them in outrage. "How is she supposed to learn to control them if no one will teach her?"
"You don't understand." Zatanna swallowed, looking at him with concern. "That was merely a fraction of her ability. She was clamping down as tightly as she could on her powers—what you saw was just the bit that escaped her hold." She looked back to Bruce, her face drawn. "And it was passive; she did it without casting any spells. She didn't give any structure or form to the magic, it just acted on its own."
Bruce took this information silently, his expression stony.
"Dick," Zatanna continued, "I don't know the extent of that girl's abilities, but she is extremely dangerous."
She swallowed, "I'm not even sure if she's human."
"What is that supposed to mean?" he asked sharply.
"There are layers of …of spells—or something—woven over her. I couldn't get a good sense of what was underneath, but whatever it is, someone tried very hard to keep it contained. To keep whatever is inside of her from getting out."
"Dick," Bruce cut in, his voice deep and commanding, his eyes like black lasers. "You need to put the safety of the team first."
That was it. To Bruce, the decision had been made.
Raven's pale face flashed in Dick's mind; the hope she had tried so hard to hide. She had trusted him, had let him bring her here even knowing that she would be proven right about how others would react to her. She had tried. And he had failed.
But he would keep his word. He would not rescind the offer he had made her.
As far as he was concerned, she was a member of the team. She had a place here if she wanted it, no matter what Bruce said.
He squared his shoulders, meeting Bruce's implacable stare, not backing down.
"I am," he said firmly. "I'm not going to have this argument with you again, Bruce. It's my team. Unless my authority as team leader means nothing, then my decision about her is exactly that: my decision."
A movement in his periphery caught his eye.
Victor leaned against the ops room door, his massive arms crossed over his chest, watching the exchange solemnly.
Dick looked back to Bruce and Zatanna. They had seen Victor too.
Bruce relaxed his stance slowly, his glower lightening.
Dick pressed his advantage.
"You say she's dangerous, but what happens when her power gets away from her and she has no one to help her? Or when someone else finds her and tries to use that power for themselves? We're supposed to be the ones who prevent that from happening." He waved his hand at the room around them, the home he was trying to build. "That's the whole point of this."
Bruce watched him silently, not approving, but… at least considering.
The man shook his head with a sigh, and casually reached up to straighten his tie, his face once more unreadable beneath the mask of the business man. "I hope you know what you are doing, Dick."
"I do." Dick's voice was cold, "I had a good teacher, remember?"
Bruce scowled at him, and without another word, he stalked back inside the elevator.
Zatanna looked between the two of them, her head swiveling back and forth. "You're just as stubborn as he is," she muttered to Dick.
He shot her a look and she laughed softly, then her face sobered again.
"I wish I could help," she said gently, and Dick knew she meant it. "But my magic is completely different; there wouldn't really be anything…" she shook her head, shrugging helplessly. "I'm sorry if I scared her, I didn't mean to—but, well… that doesn't change the situation. She is dangerous, Dick."
She looked at the door to the stairs where Raven had disappeared. "I've never felt power like that before, it was…" She shuddered, her sentence trailing off.
She met his eyes once more, and gave him a small, rueful smile. "Let me know if you, uh, run into any problems. I'll try to help however I can."
He nodded stiffly to her. "Thanks."
She nodded to him, and to Victor, then joined Bruce back in the elevator as he pressed the button to take them back down to the garage.
"You know," she said, nudging Bruce in the side, "I think you might have done a good job with him."
Bruce glowered down at her as the doors dinged shut.
Dick rubbed his forehead in frustration.
"Do you know how long I've been waiting for someone to do that?"
Dick looked up as Victor walked back into the room. He came to stand next to him, his thick arms crossed over his chest, looking at the elevator doors like they had just insulted his mother.
Up close, Dick realized how tall the other boy was; he must have been close to six feet. "What?" he asked incredulously.
"You realize you just told the Big Bat to shove it, right?"
Dick grunted, shooting a look at the elevator doors as well. "He deserved it."
"Yeah, he did. But not many people stand up to him."
"Well, it's good for his character."
Victor's metal eye whirred softly in its socket as he studied him. "You got some balls on you kid, you know that?"
Dick rolled his eyes. "Wow, dick jokes, how original."
Victor grinned, white teeth flashing against his dark skin.
"And don't call me 'kid,'" Dick snapped, "we're the same age."
Victor looked around the room again, taking in the chaos. A hint of concern touched his features. "Where's the girl?"
"She left," Dick said darkly.
Victor looked at him, his one eyebrow raised. "She coming back?"
Dick ran his fingers through his hair, making the spikes stand at all angles, and sighed, his shoulders slumping. "No. I don't think so."
