Chapter Two: Home again, home again
"Oh, Raven..."
Slade's voice jolted her awake. Raven looked around but couldn't see him. "Where are you?" Her voice bounced back at her eerily from different directions.
"Oh, can't you see me? That's too bad, Raven. If you could see me, then you'd be able to stop this!"
A hard shove pushed Raven forwards, making her slam into one of the metal walls. She grabbed her arm in pain and spun around, looking for a shadow or something to give Slade's position away. At first there was nothing, but then Raven noticed a small blur in the air as his voice came from directly in front of her. "You're probably wondering why you're here. Do you want to find out?"
Reluctantly, Raven nodded. Yes, she wanted to know why Slade had kidnapped her, but she didn't want to hear the twisted truth from him.
"Well, as you know, your role as the portal ended the day you defeated Trigon. However, your father did not die. He simply returned to his kingdom to gather forces. He was waiting for the next prophecy to happen."
Raven's eyes widened. "The... next prophecy? There is no other prophecy!"
Slade chuckled. "Of course, you don't think that there is another. That is because you were supposed to die after bringing your father to earth. But since that wasn't the case, you will follow this prophecy's path."
The empath ground her teeth. The prophecies couldn't have ended when she defeated Trigon. Oh, no, they had to continue following her, her whole life! "So, what is this prophecy about?"
"You are going to destroy the world," Slade said almost gleefully. "But this time, it will really be you, not your father. It will also be much more fun. I have it on good athority that after you destroy all life on earth, Trigon will make it his kingdom once more. He will bring all the demons from his palace with him, and all those from other dimensions!"
"No!" Raven struck at the air in front of her, one of her fists colliding with a solid mass. Now knowing where he was, she encased Slade in her dark magic. "I will not destroy the world! I stopped it before and I will do it again. You can't tell me of my future because I am in control of my life and you have no say in it!" Tears were coming to her eyes, but she blinked them away, not wanting to show any sign of weakness.
Slade's voice was full of malice. "I'm sorry you feel that way. It's sad that you are deluding yourself once again. However, it will be impossible for you to ignore the signs this time! And remember, I'll be watching and waiting." Raven's magic faltered and there was a quiet thump as Slade landed on the ground. There was a fizz in the air, and suddenly he was visible again.
"I'll send you home now, Raven." Slade grabbed her chin and made him look into his one eye. "I'll send you home so you can slowly succumb to the prophecy and cause your teammates all sort of pain. I will be watching you, very carefully..." The last words were blurred as the dark room disappeared, and a different dark room appeared. It was Raven's room, dark from the curtains being closed. Raven sat down on her bed and put her head in her hands, taking a moment to calm herself. It was bad. Very, very bad. She had thought that the old prophecy was done and gone. Now, she had to live though another one. This time, she didn't even know what was coming. Raven closed her eyes tightly, wishing that it was all just a bad dream.
A knock on the door brought her back to reality. "Hey, Raven," Beastboy's voice sounded through the door. "We're going out to get pizza. Wanna come?"
Raven opened her mouth but no sound came out. She swallowed and tried again. "No, thanks."
Out in the hall, Beastboy scratched his head. He knew Raven would say no, but she'd never added a 'thanks' to the end before. "Uh, Raven, are you feeling okay?"
There was a pause, before her voice sounded again. "I'm fine. Go away, Beastboy." A normal enough response for Raven, but the tone was softer, almost like she was forcing herself to say the words. Beastboy put his ear to the door and allowed his excellent hearing to take charge. There were the sounds of deep breathing and a quick heart beat, as well as the slightest hint of a sniff. The changeling's ears drooped; he always hated it when one of the titans was upset, but Raven was special. Not only did she usually have very good cause to be upset, but there was never an easy solution.
Beastboy sighed and walked back to the main room, shaking his head at the others. They nodded, having expected this, and went down to the T-car. Staring out the window, Beastboy silently promised that he would find out what was upsetting Raven and fix it, whatever it took.