Chapter 9
Raven sat with her legs crossed in a maroon leather chair. She wore her usual business suit, with the beige attire. Although her hair now had grown much longer, and while back-in-the-day Raven would have abhorred it that way, now she found it quite suitable. Her navy-blue hair was pulled back and tied in a pony-tail, making the main portion of it trail back, showing her ears. Two strands of hair threaded down past her cheeks and to her chin. She jotted down some notes on what the other person in the room was saying.
"Hmm. Well, I can easily see a solution to this problem, Dan. The fact is, you are having these emotional break-downs simply because you are not in control of your emotions."
"Huh? What exactly do you mean, Miss Raven?"
"For instance, there was that… embarrassing incident in the park last Tuesday, which could have been avoided had you not gotten angry. Now, I understand that everyone gets angry at times, but what you can and have to control is if that anger tempts you into making a decision that you regret. Thus explains your feeling of guilt and depression the next day."
"Oh okay," he stammered, "J-Just gimme the pills."
"Prescriptions are not required here, Dan. You know that. I'm not that kind of therapist. I analyze your mind, tell you the problem and the solution, and you save money by not buying drugs that only last temporarily."
"B-But I want the pills."
"If anything, the pills make you more inclined to repeat the actions and mistakes that you did before," then she added sarcastically, "And I know you love these weekly visits."
"N-No. I want the pills. Last doc said pills are good."
"Well, I may be a doctor, but the problem you are facing is not one that medicine can solve. Simply look inside yourself, and ask God for the strength to resist the temptation. Like I always say—"
"Anger is pointless," he said, finishing her sentence.
"Precisely. Now, if you could…"
She suddenly stopped.
An image appeared in her mind – Constantine. He was in danger. There was a tall, white figure battling him, but… it was hard to tell who. It didn't matter who it was, her son was in danger, and she had to help.
"…Terribly sorry," Raven continued hesitatingly, "but I just realized something came up. Can we continue this another time? Next Monday okay? Good. I want to see some progress, Dan. You can do it."
She gathered up her briefcase and walked out of her office, leaving her patient bewildered – not only at the fact that he didn't get the pills, but also by the hot lady who just stormed out.
---
Raven got into her car and drove quickly to her apartment.
She entered and walked into her bedroom. It was filled with similar décor as when Raven was once a teenager – with the comedy-tragedy faces and Halloween-looking patterns that littered the atmosphere.
Raven opened her closet to reveal a costume – much different from the Teen Titans version. She undressed and put it on.
Raven looked at herself in the mirror. She saw that she was wearing a familiar leotard that trailed from shoulder to the hips, only this one was white and sleeveless. The torso-covering portion displayed a red-cross, the vertical branch went from the bottom of her neck to her abdomen, and the horizontal branch went across her bosom, slightly rounding in certain places.
She also wore a white cape, but with no hood attached. She no longer needed to hide her face as she did while in battle. This cape was fastened to her in the same manner as Robin's old cape, but it hung down to the ankles. Instead of the slip-on boots that lay in shadow of the bare legs, Raven's new costume had whole-leg boots, so as not to be indecent. These too were white, and nothing but Raven's arms and head showed her gray skin.
The reflection in the mirror brought back memories…
---
The standard jet for the Knights of the Kingdom of God soared through the air. Raven was seated in the pilot's chair. A small blinking light flashed next to another lit button, labeled 'Autopilot.'
Raven flicked a switch below the flashing light, immediately connecting her to the message sender. It was Father Thomas.
"Do I really have to do this?" she asked
"Well since Jeff is gone and there are no more knights to fill the gap, yes. That is, until young Constantine assumes the profession when he's older. Did you think that monsters would stop appearing just because the monster hunter is gone?"
"Well, no. I'm just… worried. I'm not very good at this, and I don't think I'll—"
"You'll be fine. Do you like the new outfit I designed for you?"
"Yes."
The jet's controls beeped with signs of destination. Raven became even more worried. This was her first monster she'd ever faced… all by herself.
He's right. I'll be okay. I mean, Jeff did this for years. How hard could it be?
"I'm approaching set destination, Father Thomas. Northwestern Canada."
"Remember, Raven, it's a werewolf."
"R-right. I know."
"It's your job to stop him before he hurts any more innocent people. Be careful, though, because he won't hold back. I've replaced the standard red-crystal with a silver bullet as the power source for the pistols. That should take him down easy enough."
Raven noticed a small blip that was moving at a rapid pace suddenly come to a stop. She put two and two together...
"I've got him! He seems to have stopped in a forest. I'll land outside the immediate area, so as not to lose him."
"Very good, Raven. Jeff would be proud."
Raven sighed as the jet descended.
"You will be alright, my dear."
"And Constantine?"
"He's fine. I have him right here. Say 'hello,' little one. No? Well he's still too young. He's a very good baby, Raven."
She smiled.
"And he's lucky to have you as a mother," Father Thomas added.
The hatchway opened. Raven took Jeff's holster belt and put it on. She then holstered the pistols. Raven picked up the Jason Hockey Mask. Her hand trembled. She remembered the first time she had ever seen it, and now it was even more terrifying that she had to be the wearer.
She slowly strapped it to her face.
It smelled like Jeff.
Raven stepped down the open walkway of the jet.
The entire area was covered in two-inch deep snow. Snow littered the trees, air, and once-green grass. Winter had struck. The air was cold. The frost from it bit her cheeks, but she remembered that she had a job to do.
A small cloud of warm breath exited the nose portion of the mask.
Raven walked through the forest.
There wasn't a sound made, not even the sound of wind.
She sensed the beast was near, he was somewhere up in the trees. She entered a clear circular area, relatively treeless, that would provide some decent open space.
The werewolf's eyes peered out from the tree branches. A delicious young lady was in the open, just waiting to be devoured. His fangs dripped with saliva, and he began to pant viciously.
With a roar, the white ball of fur plummeted toward Raven. She leapt out of the way just in time.
"C'mon," Raven muttered, "I need someone to pound on."
The werewolf growled and lunged at her. Raven quickly grabbed her right pistol, but having no time to aim, had to take flight and reposition herself. As she hovered in mid-air, Raven slowly aimed the pistol, closing one eye so that the other could have total focus.
"Just hold still."
The werewolf did the opposite, he jumped high and tackled Raven, bring her to the ground. Raven made a small grunt as the werewolf fell off of her, and she scrambled to her feet. Drawing the other pistol, Raven fired with all her might. Out of the twenty shots fired, only three managed to hit the target.
The canine cannibal ran toward the Azarathian, and snapping out the fierce claws, slashed away her pistols. The werewolf shoved her to the ground.
He stood over Raven, pinning her to the cold, snowy earth.
She could feel the hot, fowl breath touch her face.
The werewolf sniffed hard, smelling Raven's intense fear, and seeing the sweat run down her face. She couldn't budge.
The werewolf leaned in closer, and drew his right claw up at Raven's face. Raven shut her eyes tight as she felt his nails slice three cut-marks across the mask—one across the forehead, one over the brows, and one through the eyes—marks that would be indelible.
Raven held stiff.
The werewolf snarled, but the attempted removal of the girl's mask was disrupted when a broken piece of a tree's bark sailed through the air, and hit the beast in his side, knocking him off and away from Raven.
She stood up and felt the mask with her fingers. It had protected her.
After making the pistols return to her, Raven raised her arms, her hands in the shape where the thumb, index, and pinky finger were extended, summoning fragments of the forest.
"Azarath Metrion… Zinthos!"
Negative energy engulfed pieces of rock and wood.
Raven thrust each hand forward, launching a barrage of deadly objects at her foe.
The werewolf winced as he was overwhelmed by each one. Finally, when he could stand no more, he leapt on to each piece as Raven threw it, trying to get closer to his living meal.
Raven gasped, and released all objects from her grasp.
She turned and ran in the opposite direction, pushing away stray branches that impeded her path.
Raven sprinted with everything she had, but the werewolf's charge gained on her.
She heard a loud roar, glanced behind her, and saw the predator dive at her in kill-mode.
Remembering Jeff, she too leapt. And drawing her right pistol and turning around at the same time, she aimed while still hovering, and fired.
The glowing white beam shot through the air, and nailed the werewolf in the heart.
His eyes widened, and rolled back.
He fell to the ground in a heap.
Raven landed not too far away, and uttered a sigh of relief at the sight of the dead animal.
Normally, she would have collapsed from the exhaustion and stress of the situation, but given the fact that no one would catch her at this time, Raven remembered…
Her son was waiting.
---
The visions faded, and Raven was still standing in front of the mirror.
She looked at her hands. It had been a long time since she had worn this, but regardless, Constantine was in danger, and if helping him meant donning this suit once more, then so be it.
Raven opened the window, and took flight.
She knew where he was.
If only she was not too late…