Mind and Body

by Rusty Thebanite

In a world where comic books chronicle real events, but are marketed as fiction, no one can tell if such things as aliens, superheroes, mutants or monsters truly exist. However, enough eyes and minds have been opened to the possibility that strange and surprising consequences begin to take hold. Can Rachel Roth survive on her own in a world defined by the unknown? Will she have to?

11. Points of View

Mind and Body Chapter 11: Points of View

A/N: First of all, I'd like to apologize for the long, loooong wait, I simply have not had the same level of interest as before, and if I continue to write before the feeling returns (and I assure you, it has returned) then the story becomes a lot worse. I guess you could call the wait a dedication to quality. Also, I lost my charging cord and had to order a new one, then wait for it to arrive. Anyway, I don't own teen titans' characters, places or things. Any new additions are mine though. This includes the name, if not the species, of "Tunite". I also want to apologize if Argent is out of character—as I've only really encountered the animated series, I don't know enough about her character to make an accurate portrayal and I wanted a character that could only be called "obsessive" in order to have all types of "romantic" ties. Anyway, without further ado, let me give you what you came for:

Previously on Mind and Body: Cyborg and Robin get a taste of their potential enemies' power, and Raven has willingly gone on a journey of self-discovery. They will all get unexpected help.

Raven couldn't help but reel at the words of the figure that represented her subconscious, "What it means to learn about myself?" she asked.

"Yes," Instinct said with a small smile, "To put it in as few words as possible, you are discovering different uses for the power you were born with. But it's not quite that simple. It also means that you are learning about certain parts of your personality that you are suppressing. Each ability is facilitated by your emotions, no matter if they are suppressed or expressed: it is your understanding on the subject of your self that allows you to use these new powers."

Raven rested her head in her hands as she thought of this. Instinct cocked her head as she watched her, "It is also the reason I am telling you this. Instinct can access any abilities when under pressure, after all. But some of your abilities are specifically representative of an emotion. For example, your flight is rooted in Happy there." Upon looking in the direction her duplicate pointed, Raven saw Happy floating between pillars as she waved.

Suppressing her impatience, she said, "In that case, can you explain this in detail?"

"And just what is it that you want 'explained in detail'?" Instinct replied.

"Well, which abilities have I always had? Where did I have them if I wasn't using them? How can I NOT know myself?"

Instinct sighed sadly, "To answer the last question first, you never know how you are going to react in a situation that you haven't encountered, right? Your telekinesis didn't activate until your life—excuse me, our life—was threatened. Do you know for certain that it would've reacted to a less stressful experience if you had it earlier?"

"No but…I guess I understand. So how many of these abilities did I have?"

"Like I said: all of them," Instinct said, "But I guess I should explain just what those abilities are. It all boils down to the fact that you possess two different forms of energy: black and white (even though the white translates as silver). The black energy lets you use the telekinesis, and the flight as well as a couple others. It is the white energy that allows you the ability to heal as well as being the source of your telepathy."

"Wait," Raven said in surprise, "You mean I was using the white energy before I was using the black?"

Cyborg tried to blink the dust from his human eye but only the cybernetic replacement was clear when the three sets of feet landed in front of him. Although all he could see were the heels, it was pretty easy to tell that two of them were girls. After all, there were no men he had seen or heard of that wore stiletto heels.

He slowly looked up to see something that surprised him quite thoroughly:

Hotspot, Argent and Bumblebee were all standing in front of him, battle-ready.

As he watched, Robin flew through the air and landed next to him. Bumblebee glanced back with a smirk and said, "Want to see how real heroes do this?" she ignored his grimace and turned to the others, "I'll draw her fire, guys—,"

"And I'll get a hold of her while Hot Stuff gives his all!" Argent said impatiently, "Let's do this already!"

Bumblebee rolled her eyes and immediately charged the alien. She obviously intended to loop around the first blast, so Cyborg shouted "Just make sure her starbolts don't hit us!"

"Pfft," she replied, "Like that'll happ—oof!" a starbolt cut her cocky bravado short more effectively than anything else could have. Smoking slightly, she lightly bounced off of the wall and brushed off her costume. "That's not nice!" she shouted.

"You expected her to be?" Robin said heavily while Hotspot and Argent shouted, "We said, let's do this!"

"All right, okay!" she shouted, and immediately buzzed in an arc to arrive above her opponent on the left. "Come on girlfriend," she shouted as she shrunk to avoid a blast then zipped to her ear, "If we have to fight, at least tell us your name!"

Suddenly, a silver hand appeared and gripped the alien in an encompassing fist.

"Good job, 'bee," Argent said lightly, "It's your turn, Hothead."

With a snarl, Hotspot gripped his fists and let them transform into what looked like living lava while his head did the same thing. He thrust his hands forward to shoot a pillar of flame at the alien, but Bumblebee shouted, "Stop!"

At the expressions of confusion, Bumblebee re-grew to her original size and hovered in front of the alien, "I think she's just desperate," Bumblebee said to the others, "let me try to communicate with her."

Cyborg rolled his eyes as Bumblebee proceeded to humiliate herself with gestures toward herself and their prisoner, Geez, he thought, wasn't she spoiling for a fight just a moment ago? I will never understand women. When Bumblebee pointed to herself, saying her own name, then pointed at the alien, he almost laughed out loud, Like that would work: it's only in the cheesy sci-fi films that her approach works.

So of course he was shell-shocked to hear the first partially understandable word out of the alien's mouth: "Koriand'r", she said breathlessly, "Koriand'r."

With a smile Bumblebee said, "You know, it would be a lot easier for us to talk if the breath wasn't being crushed out of you," with a sigh that could've been translated as disappointment, Argent let Koriand'r go, dismissing the structure of neutral plasma that had extended from her hand.

Garfield stared nervously as Raven's forehead started to sweat. He swished his tail in heightened tension as her brow furrowed and her breath quickened. Cael muttered, "I hope she's alright," as the feelings spread to him as well.

Raven woke with a gasp and landed abruptly on the floor. "Whoa," she said quietly, "Not exactly what I was expecting."

Garfield hopped into her lap and asked, "What did you learn?"

"Well, something really strange actually," Raven said, "I learned that my powers are actually simple: so simple it doesn't seem like they would be this powerful."

Cael raised both of his eyebrows in fascination. "Really?" he asked, "It is said that simplicity is always closest to the truth: if you have found the simplest explanation of your power, then you may have found the door to wielding it at 100 percent."

She placed her feet in front of her and rested her arms against her knees. "Even if I have, I think it will take a really long time before I can use it at that level. Anyway, my power is the ability to manipulate two opposing energies: Black and White. Every single one of my abilities finds its root in one form of energy or the other."

Cael couldn't help but lick his lips at the idea of new knowledge. "Would you mind explaining which abilities come from which energies?"

"Um…" Raven said uncomfortably, "All right: the white energy is the source of my telepathy and healing while the black is the source of everything else: the telekinesis, flight, intangibility and so on."

"Huh," Garfield said, "That really is simple. But…I feel that this means there's a change of plans and I don't know if it means we get to Jump City earlier or later."

"I'm simply along for the ride," Cael said, "so it's up to you two where we go from here."

Garfield quietly watched Raven as she looked up from the ground. This is pretty big, so what'll she do? He thought, I know she wants to see what this recruiting scheme is all about, but her powers have always taken preference: will she go for the whim or the duty? And which choice is which?

Raven sighed and said, "I'll practice my abilities in the closest safe area until I can control them better. The only question is, where is that?"

Suddenly, Garfield felt a prickling in his fur. For an instant his mind was nearly overwhelmed by white, only punctuated by the muted cries of Raven trying to figure out what was wrong. After an unknown period of time, even those faded and Garfield was completely submerged in the monotone. Okay, something is seriously messed up right now, he thought; I'm clearly in danger, so why haven't my instincts kicked in?

But something was happening to the background as he thought this. The white started to peel away from the edges of his "vision" and coalesced into the form of Raven, but this time she was wearing white.

Um, are you who I think you are? He asked silently.

Yes: I am Instinct," she said in return, I had hoped something of this nature would happen, but not in quite this manner or place.

So just what is this? And can I get out of it?

Not until we're done talking, Instinct said severely, and I'm sure you have a lot of questions.

You could say that, Garfield said flatly, like just what is this, why did it happen, and how did it happen.

Instinct chuckled and said, This kind of conversation is more to my liking: this is a visitation. It happened because of your connection to me…Raven, Rachel, Instinct, whatever you want to call me…and the how is that I have finally realized how to discover and use new powers whenever I want to. But if I was able to do so, then I would have limitless power, which is extremely dangerous no matter what the situation is. Because of that, there is a 'safety valve' of sorts: you will be given the knowledge instead as it becomes necessary, and you can share it with my conscious self whenever she needs it.

Huh, Garfield said, As bogus as that sounds, I think you're telling the truth.

I'm afraid so.

Well okay, we'll see how it goes for now.

Instinct smiled and then started to fade from his inner eye, That is all I ask floated to the surface of his mind as he became newly accustomed to the outside world.

Bumblebee smiled as Koriand'r slowly stood back up, holding her back as if it pained her. It probably did, seeing as a mental construct had no real limits. "So, Koriand'r," she said slowly, "how about we figure something out on how to really communicate. It would be nice to understand something you're saying."

A couple of feet in front of her, she could see Robin in all his gaudy colors slowly standing up. Great, this won't be easy, she thought. But very soon she was proven wrong as Koriand'r stepped up matter-of-factly in front of Robin and kissed him on the lips.

Everyone was shocked, but Koriand'r didn't give them much time to think about it before turning. "There," she said clearly in English, "Now we will not have any of the troubles in our communications. What I said before was that I must get out of any populated sectors before my pursuers arrive…. Why are you all staring at me? It makes me feel like a Grobnik-tikat."

She felt that her question was reasonable, but the aliens in front of her still stared at her numbly. "Well?" she asked, "What is the matter?"

"Y-y-you just…KISSED me!" The short one with the odd pelt said numbly.

"Actually," she said as if talking to a toddler, "your phrase for what I was doing would be 'learning the language'."

"So you're saying…you kiss people to talk to them?" The black and yellow female said with an odd curiosity, "You don't…show affection that way?"

"Ah, no," she said severely, even imminent doom wouldn't stop her from correcting a misconception, "The way we show affection is to place our Krithna on the subject's Jolnook."

"The what on the what now?" The half metal, dark-skinned figure said blankly.

"The Krithna…you call it the back of the hand…on the Jolnook, or as you know it, the forehead."

"We do that to check if someone has a fever," the silver one said dryly.

"Or if we think the target is insane," the all-black one said with a snigger.

Shrugging away the fact that she had no idea what they were talking about, Koriand'r got back on the first subject. "As I was saying, I really need to leave this city: there are Tunites after me and I cannot allow harm to befall innocent extra-terrestrials."

"Um, look, miss," the metal one said, "You're the alien, here."

"Maybe to you I am, but to me, you are."

"Good point," the kaleidoscopic alien said with an odd note in his voice, "It looks like she's not going to harm humanity, so maybe we should just let her go."

"Koriand'r watched all of the other beings give him weird, long looks before nodding.

"Okay then," he said, "You can go, Koriand'r."

"First, however," Koriand'r said, "it is considered respectable by my people to know the appellations that any foes in battle go by."

"Of course!" the kaleidoscope said, "I'm Robin."

"I am Cyborg," the metal one said net, as if the mere action was painful and he wanted to get it over with.

"Bumblebee," the black and yellow female said with a grin, "But you already knew that."

"I'm Argent," the silver female said, "And don't think I'll be afraid to use my powers on you if you enter my territory again." Accompanying this announcement was a small glance towards Robin. Koriand'r thought that the mating dance of these aliens must be similar to the use of plumage by what these people called birds. It was the only way she could think of for such clashing colors to arouse hormonal interest in the girl…though the other girl was unaffected, so maybe the silver one was just in heat?

Koriand'r shrugged again as the introductions moved on.

"Hotspot," the fully black one said flatly.

"Very well then: I thank you for this service, and I will be going now," and she immediately flew away.

"All right, team," Robin said, "Let's follow her. We don't want to let her hurt any more people, do we?"

Looking around quickly, he pouted at the sight of all four of his fellows staring at him disapprovingly. "What?" he said petulantly, "It's a legitimate reason."

"But it's not the real reason," Bumblebee said as she crossed her arms.

"I'm not sure I get what you're saying."

"Man," Cyborg said, "Even I can see you just want another kiss, and I haven't actually interacted with other people for 10 years."

"Me?" Robin said incredulously, "Now why would I want…I don't…seriously…I can't just…."

"Oh, I get it," Bumblebee said with a crooked grin, "you think that other girl…um…Oracle! You think Oracle would disapprove and you hope she would disapprove for a…personal…reason, right?"

Robin flushed and turned away, climbing the high-rise to jump from roof to roof in an attempt to escape her.

Argent stomped after the others as she fumed. That, that, UH! She thought, that ALIEN! I won't let her get my Robin! And that guy, how dare he fall for someone else? I swear I'll get him back no matter what.

As it was, though, the only thing she could do was to follow behind them all and do what she could to trip them up without being noticed. Sorry, Rob, she thought sadly, but I'm doing this for your own good. No one could treat you like I would. When they arrived at the next fork she used a small construct to make a billboard on the left side fall down.

"That way!" Robin said, and dashed down the left road.

Wait, that worked? Argent thought, but decided that anything would be alright as long as she kept them within city limits. After all, the alien had said she was leaving town.

"How can you take that as evidence, man?" Cyborg said in exasperation, "she passed this point too long ago to have anything to do with the noise, and she even SAID that she wasn't going to stay!"

"Oh, right," Robin said, immediately changing direction.

Damn it! Argent thought.

They all ran or flew as best befit them in silence for an interminable amount of time until Bumblebee filled the silence with her normal brutal honesty, "So tell us about that Oracle, Robin."

Oh screw you! Argent said in the silence of her soul.

"She's strong…in more ways than anyone else I know, really." Robin said quietly as he slowed down.

Huh? Argent thought, and then said, "What do you mean?"

Robin stayed quiet for a while, and then said "Well, even when crippled after she led such an active lifestyle, she's simply bounced back; she adapted to the change and continued doing what she wanted to no matter what." He smiled sadly, "It didn't matter that the one who did it to her would certainly reappear if she continued: she would meet that obstacle when she came to it."

He stopped entirely and the others followed suit. "I don't know how she did it. When Batman's parents were killed…and when mine were killed…well the only thing we could do was try to get revenge. We didn't look to the future and try to live—we couldn't move on and live the life we had dreamed about and that our parents would've wanted us to live.

"But she always wanted to be a crime fighter, no matter how good or bad her life was at the time. I envy her spirit. Though I could do without some of her jokes."

"Wouldn't Koriand'r be too far to look for now?" Bumblebee and Cyborg said then.

"AH! YOU'RE RIGHT!" Robin said in horror, and then he slumped his shoulders.

Heehee, Argent thought to herself, Thank you, Bumblebee, even if you annoying for mentioning that Oracle girl. And why is that machine dude SUPPORTING HER? Ugh, I really hate all men that aren't Robin.

Cael was smoking a cigarette that he'd found as he approached their temporary hideaway. Positioned between the two tallest hills for miles, Raven had telekinetically pushed up the earth on either open end in order to make a bowl-shaped area approximately 1/4th of a kilometer in diameter. Here she had requested that Cael leave them be for 5 days as they discovered ways to use and combine the abilities at her command

It was the morning of the 6th day, and Cael was highly anticipating the results. His quick eyes easily spotted a green wolf that was watching from the higher hilltop.

"Hey, Garf—I mean Beast Boy!" he shouted, "Is Raven done?"

"Hey old fart," Beast Boy replied, "she's gotten a lot better! You should see her! Haha, if I had to compare her to technology, I'd say she's a Stealth Bomber!"

"That good, huh?" he said as he climbed the hill, "Then I'd better let her know I'm coming before something happens…why are you grinning?"

"There's nothing to worry about now," Beast Boy said simply, "She no longer lets her emotions get in the way. Except for me, it seems."

"Hmph," Cael said with a smile, "That's because you've been together since the beginning, correct?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy said as he stood and stretched, "I guess so."

"You know," Cael said as he arrived at the peak, "very soon now you'll have companions that won't have anything near the same connection you two do. You'll most likely be living in the same house, and both of your lives will be in their hands at one point or another. Are you sure that you can stand that? Not being able to protect her?"

Beast Boy sighed as he sat on his haunches, "Honestly, no. But we'll have to have more friends at some point or we'll go insane. Heh, friends are worth putting your life on the line for."

Cael smiled, "Good answer. But I have one more question…," the valley below them came into view, consisting entirely of shattered boulders and upturned dirt, "what the HELL happened?"

Beast Boy hung his tongue out of his mouth and said, "She'll tell you when we get there."

"How do you know she won't refuse?"

"She told me," he said simply. And Cael smiled at the implication.

"So you also enhanced your connection as well—that should be useful."

Raven was found to be hovering in the center of he valley with her hood up and the sleeves completely covering her hands.

Beast Boy approached her from the front and sat directly across from her before saying in an announcer's voice "Let the exhibition begin!"

Rachel chuckled at his sense of theatrics before lifting the first foot of soil from everywhere except her guests feet and condensing it into a sphere just above her head. The next thing she did was to focus all her pressure inward to make the soil as dense as stone before lifting all of the rock chunks into the air at different heights and distances all around them.

Letting the compressed construction go, she was suddenly cloaked in a black energy that left her body and traveled around, going through some rocks, destroying others, and sending a few of the remaining against what was left. Evacuating the earthen fort, the shade then went due west for five minutes before returning.

Then Rachel woke up and smiled, "it seems we're closer to Jump City then I thought: it should only be another day before we reach the outskirts."

"You know that?" Cael blinked.

"Yes," she said, "I learned how to separate my spirit from my body over the past 5 days, so I can spy out anything I want to know. That and the compression I first demonstrated are the two things I learned."

Cael's sweat ran thick down his face as he thought, how powerful have you become? And how much more powerful will you be in the future?

A/N: Just so the viewers know…reviews grease my creative cogs. The more support for my story, the more of my story there will be to support. I still say they're more in the nature of perks in addition to the joy of writing, but I can't deny that they really help me. Oh, and don't be afraid to review more than once.