Chapter 2: disregard
Robin's masked eyes stared strongly at the taller, half mechanical man before him. The white area hiding his pupils narrowed into tiny slits. One who knew Robin could easily distinguish he was either angry, or contemplatively obsessive. In this case, it was both.
"What's been going on here?"
The question had been directed towards no one, but the only other presently outside the medical bay's door felt inclined to answer.
"Not sure, man," was all Cyborg could muster out. "Fire alarms didn't even go off. I just replaced the batteries two weeks ago, and my scans say the wiring's up to maintenance. Nothing's physically wrong with the system."
"Yet we still found Raven half suffocated to death in a room filled with fire.," Robin chided accusingly.
Cyborg narrowed his one organic eye in slight annoyance. It was an ever present sign his anger was building up towards the other teenager. "I just tell it like it is."
"The fire extinguishers should have gone off.," Robin again pointed.
"And like I said, nothing's wrong with my system."
There was a quiet standoff between the two. Robin was the first to back down, at least, to present another more important case. The boy wonder knew that if Cyborg was adamant about his systems, the fault was not his. However, that only raised questions as to why the alarms never sounded, why the extinguishers didn't work.
"Raven's been hiding something."
Cyborg's stance loosened if but slightly. A sigh was presently escaping his chocolate lips. "Dude, when is Raven not hiding something?"
"I'm serious Cyborg." A growl.
"And I'm not," A raised, indignant reply. "Look, aw'ight? Raven's never lied to us, ever."
"She just never tells the truth.," Robin's low and quick retort.
It was then the first display of Cyborg's anger became apparent. His mechanical fist thrust a wall shaking punch into the wall. The drywall submitted to his force and cracked in an imprint, stress cracks splitting like rivers towards both floor and ceiling.
"There's a reason Raven doesn't ever talk. You're too busy giving your damn orders to satisfy that ego trip of yours. It's always about you Robin. For once it's about her, and because of that we need to back off!"
"I know this is about Raven, and I won't back off," Robin's voice came laced with ferocious, uncaring anger. That blinding rage that caused Robin to effortlessly hurt those around him. "Slade's been after her, and he did something to her! I'm the only one that seems to care about it!"
"And what right do you have to say that! Everyone on this team is worried crazy over her! I know you want to track Slade down, but man it just can't be done," Cyborg reasoned, "His entire way of operating changed completely! If Raven knew how to find him, I'm sure she'd tell us. Otherwise do you think she honestly wants to find him? Do you remember what she looked like when we found her!"
"How could I forget," it was said lowly, loathingly, "Her clothing ripped to shreds, just like we found her now."
"Rob…," Cyborg's voice softened some, but still held his vigilante, determined mission. "You ever thought that maybe Raven won't say anything about it because Slade…"
He had trouble saying the word at first. Saying it eternalized it, made it somewhat fact. Cyborg didn't want to believe it, but now…now there didn't seem much of a doubt what happened those weeks ago. What happened again.
"That Slade raped her," he finished his statement even softer.
It struck a cord deep down in a vault barrier in the back of Robin's mind. Visibly he shook; trembling at events he dare not utter a word to his team. Cyborg merely mistook the movements as signs of with held anger.
"It's crossed my mind.," Robin said coldly.
"Man, I can't believe you," Cyborg's disbelief and growing anger were resurfacing. "Get lost, Robin. I won't stop your obsession with Slade, but leave Raven out of it."
"Cyborg, if she'd just tell me what he'd did—" Cyborg moved his massive frame in front of the door. "Robin. Whatever he did is irrelevant now. I'll let you know when she wakes up."
"Cyborg—" Cyborg's face formed that of a very unbudging man. Robin and he shared that familiar face off again, before Robin spun around in a huff, muttering "fine" loud enough for the other to hear. Once the other's figure became undecipherable with the shadows down the night darkened hall, Cyborg relaxed.
The mechanical titan couldn't blame Robin for his accusations. Cyborg, hell, even Starfire knew that Raven wasn't telling all of the events that occurred during their absence on her birthday. Seeing Raven in the manor which he had when they'd retrieved her and Robin only left one plausible, certain explanation in his head. He'd denied it up until their second birthday party for her. He replayed the recording in his head of her entrance to the room, of her defeated face as she'd looked at all of them. Cyborg had known then that it was most likely what occurred, and it was why he'd talked so sullenly in a result as an explanation to their party.
He exhaled, it helped to dispel the swelling anger he'd had moments before. It had been the explanation he'd reasoned for all of Raven's immediate behavior changes. She'd been introverted before…but now she'd gone out of her way to avoid them all for the most part. Always went to her room, more so than normal. When she talked, it was only in response to greeting, or input upon battle strategies. Even her sarcastic quips towards Beast Boy seemed few and far between. She declined and avoided any trips to the mall with Starfire, and had even resorted to performing all meditation exercises in her room so Starfire couldn't inquiry to join her.
She'd even distanced from him, Cyborg dually noted. Any offers to help with modifications to the car were both declined and ignored. All previous intelligent conversations died out. Even Robin was receiving the cold shoulder from her. Any attempts the masked boy had at trying to coax some form of explanation from her ended with Robin angrier than a bull, and Raven appearing to be at the brink of her emotional restraint. That had even seemed to be showing easier and easier to reach.
Raven was swirling in a nose dive ready to explode into the earth's face. Cyborg exhaled again. Maybe Robin was right. Maybe it was time to push it all out of her, force her to come to grips with it and get her to move on.
It was on that note that his scanners informed him of the data input from the heart monitor connected to Raven. Her heart beat had been steadily increasing to a normal, sleep leveled paced during the hours. Now there'd been a slight increase in that level, an indicator that she was waking up.
That brought at least the tiny hint of a smile to his firm set lips, and Cyborg turned from his post and stepped inside the room. By the time he'd reached her bed, Raven was opening her eyes.
"Hey, how you doing?"
Raven squinted, before bringing a hand to rub her right eye. "Cyborg?" The voice was his, but she could barely make out his face. Everything came out in blurs, and there was a throbbing in the back of her head…Raven pushed herself to sit up, but soon found herself dizzy and half fell towards Cyborg's form.
"Easy there. Oxygen levels aren't back up to normal. You're probably lightheaded." He began to straighten her up and let up to see if she could possibly remain sitting up on her own. When it was clear she wouldn't, he helped place her back down to the bed's surface. She winced as her head hit the pillow.
"Probably," she flattened, cynically. It wasn't a question. Again she rubbed her right eye, holding her hand over it. When she pulled it back she kept the lid shut. It didn't hurt, just tingled. An after affect of what ever she'd seen before passing out.
"Got a concussion too. You hit the back of your head on something.," He paused, before waving a hand over the eye she kept open. Again, Raven winced at the sudden flashing blur passing over her vision. "I'm guessing sight's a little screwy?"
"What gave you that idea?" Her eyebrow raised in a dead panned fashion. Cyborg analyzed that movement, it seemed automatic, and he detected she didn't appear annoyed yet. Always a good sign with Raven.
"I thought you'd probably heal it up while you were knocked out. Guess not.," He moved over to the other side of her bed and placed a cold, metal hand atop the hand covering her eye.
"It's fine Cyborg." She sighed out, but realized she couldn't fight him from gently pulling the hand away. His index finger seemed to deconstruct itself, reforming into what appeared a tiny medical flashlight. After fighting briefly against her clenching the eye shut, he pulled and held the lids apart gently. The pupil dilated normally as it showed when he passed the light over the eye, though she clearly flinched each time he did it.
"Did that hurt," He asked curiously, his finger folding back to normal.
"No, just it's my head.," she gingerly placed the hand back over the eye, "It's too bright in here, and all I see is blurs."
Cyborg nodded his head. "Yeah, definitely the oxygen and the concussion. Can you heal it like it is?" As he was saying that he moved to dim the lights. Glancing to his charge, the indication of her body relaxing some proved a significant difference.
Raven tried to think of moving more than she needed. The thought made her head ache and she quickly answered negatively.
"Then I guess you'll just have to wait until the light headedness goes down. You've got to stay awake the next 24 hours with that unless you heal it first. I'm gonna get you an ice pack. You good 'til I get back?"
She closed her other eye, appearing to be in mild discomfort and nodded. The visual stimuli weren't helping her. Trying to follow the blurry giant mass of brown, blue, and gray that made up Cyborg was starting to make her sick. "Just go."
Cyborg shrugged before turning to leave. The door clicked closed several seconds later telling Raven that he'd gone. Without fathoming the idea of trying to look, or sit up, the dark titan settled for fondling the closed mass signifying her right eye. Even now the echoes of the gun blast were so ear splittingly clear, Raven could've sworn it had happened to herself literally. She'd seen the very bullet explode in a massive orgy of yellow and red blood, tearing through brain mass and out the temporal bone. Hell, she'd felt the pain of the organ dying, the nerves screaming deafly the pain that something bad happened to the body.
She rubbed the eye tenderly. Her right eye. Slade's eye. It was a memory of his. How could it have been anything else? Raven could freshly bring up the face of the culprit, at least easier and clearer than trying to recall what had happened. Still, even conjuring the vision sent pangs through her head. The woman had clearly wanted to kill Slade for some reason, and as far as Raven or anyone else knew, had probably been the closest in that task.
What had it been…? Someone was hurt….someone…his son? Slade had a son? Could it have been the woman was a wife? Mistress? A sister? Colleague? Someone close to Slade.
His voice…he'd mentioned the army….being kicked out of the army? "Yours is a fine, thin wavering line….all that needs to be done is one, tiny snip. That's all it took for me…both you and I, there's so much in common."
Had that been it? Was it that he was thrown out of service? How could someone like Slade ever be in the US army, anyway?
So many questions… maybe Robin could— "Raven?"
"Robin.," she answered flatly. All the while Slade's voice whispered echoes in her ear. "Robin had been mere putty in my hands. So easily defeated, dominated. That boy really would do anything I asked him to protect his team…"
No, Raven couldn't ask him about the memory she'd somehow grasped from him. She didn't dare ask for the connotations in which Slade meant with those words. "And Terra willingly submitted thinking someone had accepted her, loved her. She'd do anything to feel that tiny ounce of acceptance, a mere seven minutes of bliss…" It didn't seem to lighten the sinking assumption she felt for his earlier statement.
Raven felt the sudden sensation of her head being gently lifted, then resettled on something considerably cold. It was mind numbing, and just seemed a thankful relief to the throbbing in her skull. Surely a large whelp would be there from the abruptness of Slade dropping her head. She'd have to thank the cyclops for it later.
"How's your head," Robin again. His voice was laced with concern, but there was an underlying tone of seriousness, or business. Of course. Lately Raven didn't expect anything else from him. "It hurts." There was no patience in her voice.
"What happened?" Ah, the inevitable question.
"Maybe you could tell me. I'm still trying to figure that one out." Yes, that was it, play dumb with him. Still, it wasn't entirely a lie. It was hard to recall a large chunk of it; it just hurt too much to think hard about it.
Robin retained his cool unlike the fight he'd had with Cyborg moments earlier. "We heard you scream several hours ago. When we got to your room, we figured by the way smoke came out under your door there was a fire. We found you unconscious inside and with your leotard much like the last time we'd seen Slade."
The emphasis on his name was enough to notify the empath that all ready Robin had figured he'd played a role somehow with it. There wasn't point in denying it, though whether Raven would verbally acknowledge the aforementioned antagonist was still undecided. Depended roughly on how bad her head still hurt. "Anything else?"
"When we finally did get it put out, nothing was charred." The last part of his statement was said in a manor of which displayed Robin's curiosity.
"It was like a fire didn't happen at all. Nothing burned, the alarms never sounded. The ceiling extinguishers never went off. Without seeing it with our own eyes, we'd have doubted it happened to begin with.," Cyborg added.
That was easily explained. Slade's powers were magically bestowed on him. He could choose to the degree they would actually destroy. It was likely nothing was truly burnt in order to avoid any alerting to the Titans.
"Then what do you need to question me for? Sounds like you figured it out.," Raven quirked, that ever present slight smug expression flashing briefly over her lips. The action was responded with a strained sigh from their team leader.
"Raven, what's been going on? We're concerned, and Slade's out there. If you know anything—" Raven interrupted the masked teen. "I'll tell you. Look, I really can't concentrate right now; I probably won't even make you out from Cyborg if I opened my eyes."
Robin looked towards Cyborg who nodded assuring of the fact. He indicated the swelling bump where he'd placed the ice pack, and Robin reluctantly allowed it as a plausible excuse. Much as he didn't like it.
"All right then. The other's will be up within the hour. I'll tell them your up, but to back off." Raven listened to his steps as he faded from range. He'd left. Cyborg began prattling about keeping her awake, taking shifts for the next day. Raven didn't hear any of it.
Somehow she'd managed to snatch a memory of Slade's. Raven hardly ever had that sort of luck with her teammates, not unless she fully invaded there mind such as she'd done with Robin. However to get a memory from Slade? She would never have fathomed the idea.
What was more startling was the way he responded. He knew she'd seen it; he'd probably relived it all over again himself, just as she'd lived it for that brief fleeting moment. It had affected him deeply, so much so he'd completely abandoned all actions towards her. Never had she seen anything make such an imprint on him…..
Apparently there was a disadvantage of being a dead messenger boy. Raven's mind began to muse in contemplation. If Slade couldn't quite keep a barrier over his body's recorded memories, Raven could easily break through and see them. Anything causing Slade to retreat in such a fashion was a great tool for her, surely she'd use it again.
Then…with that knowledge received, what of her earlier questions? Who was this woman, Addie? Her relation to Slade? His son? Slade's duties within the army? Then there was the fact he'd molested her, twice, and with the looming impression he'd done worse to Robin, Terra? That he'd intend to do worse with her? Raven could never ask Robin. Ever. Not even if he was close to Slade and might be able to answer the questions. Raven would have to give something in return, and she couldn't afford to tell him what'd happened to her, what could happen in the future.
"And Terra willingly submitted thinking someone had accepted her, loved her. She'd do anything to feel that tiny ounce of acceptance, a mere seven minutes of bliss…"
But Raven knew someone else she could…
The entrance to the last known where abouts of Slade's former hideout was somewhat obscure. There were reasons for this. Not only had it been the last resting place of Slade, but it was also the last resting place of Terra. That is, if Terra was dead. As the area had been one of Slade's residences of operations, it would mostly still have equipment lying around if it at all survived Terra's angry whim of justice. Though it was unlikely, precautions to prevent unauthorized entry were taken by the Titans in preventing innocents from hurting themselves somehow, or from vandals taking a good crack at Terra's remains. Considering that the Titans were the only witnesses to Terra's revelation and ultimately abandonment of Slade, it was likely there were those with the mindset to perform such actions.
It was sad, really. Raven thought those words as she'd manage to push away the remaining defensive camouflage covering the entrance taken to the deep underground caverns. Terra had carved them out, the empath noted. She'd trained with the blonde teen for months prior to her betrayal, and Raven was familiar with the emotions conveyed in how the rock was moved. Carelessly.
Terra was a puzzle to Raven ever since she'd first dragged her dirty carcass to Titan's Tower. Naturally she disliked her, at first. Robin and her were both such untrusting, cautious individuals that there was no way they'd open up to Terra as quickly as Beast Boy had. Raven didn't mind her presence so much when she initially appeared to them. Beast Boy was clearly infatuated with her, and his emotions fell out through the bulk of the Tower like a live heavy metal concert with the speaker volume pumped up to the level "So Loud My Ears Are Bleeding."
In a since, it was both annoying and welcome at the same time. It was a relief to see that Beast Boy had replaced his own infatuation with annoying her for spending time and joking around with Terra. It was nice to actually sense such a positive emotion stringing through the Tower, yet at such a high intensity and for such a long period Raven could definitely live without. Starfire was enough to deal with, throw in Beast Boy on cloud nine and there was some trouble. The craziness of Beast Boy's love drunk emotions was only bested by his severe depression spurred from Terra's sudden departure.
Raven never disliked Terra. She treated her with the same sort of naturally appearing dislike she gave everyone else. It was only when Terra came back a second time that Raven realized something…dark about her. It made her more cautious, for a time. Terra was a good friend, one Raven hated to admit she grew attached to, just as she'd grown attached to the others. It just stung all the worse when she did finally betray them.
From the moment Raven had fought one to one with her, she'd known how deeply that betrayal cut down to. It wasn't easy for someone to single-handedly conjure up her demonic urges, but Terra truly had the knack. She realized she'd despised Terra for everything at that moment, despised herself for not believing her instincts that spoke ill of her. Even now, while Raven descended through the vast underground caverns she found it difficult to swallow the anger driven towards the blonde.
And all Raven could continue to think of was that it was sad. Sad that in Terra's last moments with them, that she realized Terra was like her. That Terra strove to find control, acceptance, and to live amongst friends that cared deeply for her. That Terra had her own invisible monsters to battle, and although not as severe and apocalyptic as her own, they were still there. And it truly was sad.
Their air was dark, which in no way surprised Raven as her palm brushed over the smooth cold surface of metal. One of Slade's doors, left behind. She had no flashlight, but in someway Raven had no need of one. She was a being of darkness, and for one who could shadow hop, it was easy for her to sense the area about her in the darkness.
Darkness was her friend, even if Raven hungered for the light. It was why she'd left in the middle of the night to do her interrogation. The darkness was the mask from her friends. Raven couldn't afford involving them as much as they are now. She wanted to keep them safe, far from worry…but she also didn't want them frozen in stone much like Terra.
Through a telekinetic kick the steal door was flung from its sliding mechanism and launched into the emptiness. Dust sprung up in a swirl as the door landed freely into the dirt. Raven held back a moment to allow the dust a chance to settle before entering. The cavern was large and empty of most things. Come to think of it, now that Raven was finally in the heart of the area, why had she encountered a closed door? It was fact that on occasion the Titans visited, well, at least the others had. Cyborg would have installed some sort of lighting system, or cleared any routes of doors?
No, Raven was certain he had, but these were caverns. Slade was, is a mastermind. He would've had Terra dig multiple routes and dead ends should anyone discover and explore his domain. Raven refrained from visiting Terra because even now she was still trying to diminish the hate inside her, because it was easier to deal with her anger than it was guilt from seeing Terra. Even now she was finding that hate and guilt hadn't left, and that she had probably taken a separate route than the others were used to.
Feeling around through the shadows, Raven came to discover a light switch of sorts, one she was certain Cyborg installed. Trying to turn it on proved nothing so much as a slight, dim flicker before shutting down entirely. She wondered if it was just the bulbs, or perhaps the generator it was connected through was low. Still, Raven ignored the visual set back and sensed out the stone figure in the center of the cavern. Slowly, she walked the distance in that direction until she'd reached her petrified colleague.
Hesitantly, she raised a hand and touched Terra's stone figure. It…wasn't a good feeling. Just touching Terra brought up fresh all the memories, both enjoyable and anger filled. Worse yet, was the brief moment of seeing her friends in similar states, frozen in more painful expressions than the peaceful Terra. That only served to fuel her purpose here more.
Swallowing, she began. "Terra…I…I know I haven't come down here. Not since we put up that plaque…," she half glanced down to the said plaque and noticed the remains of dead plants. "Gee…well, I guess the rest of the guys haven't had time to come down here too."
She picked up one of the flowers and studied the petals with squinting eyes. By now there were probably withered black things. Not surprisingly, she felt extremely guilty for allowing the remains site to be left in such ill attendance.
She exhaled. "Look. I don't know if you're dead or not, but you're the only one I can rely on right now. I need some information…Whichever you are, if you could just, I don't know, maybe chuck a pebble at my head to tell me if you can get me what I need?"
Raven paused and waited. She'd recalled trying to conjure a spirit before, back a year ago with Starfire. It was an interesting idea at the time, and Starfire had been thrilled enough for the both of them to try it. It didn't quite end up successful; though Raven was highly suspicious of the fact Starfire ignored half of her warnings and directions. Now…now Raven felt desperate and growingly stupid at having sputtered out what she had.
"Okay…I'm going to leave this failure to respond as you being pissed at my lack of visitation," she looked blandly thoughtful a moment, "If it's any consolation I still don't like you either."
A pause. "All right…I like you, I'm just still dealing with your lack of loyalty."
Another pause. "Uh…" Pause. "Beast Boy's dating Aqualad?"
Nothing.
"I think it's safe to assume you're either still alive in there and are unable to come to the phone, or you are dead and we've both still got a grudge."
Raven looked up to the open armed figure that was Terra a fleeting moment longer. Her face was usually calm and collected, but her eyes seemed hopeful. Despite having felt anger towards Terra, and even guilt now of her lack of coming down here, Raven sort of…what was the word? She looked up to, no, respected Terra. The truth was Slade misled Terra, and although she made some bad decisions, she owned up to the consequences and selflessly threw herself in the way to stop Slade from ever doing what he did to another.
Too bad her sacrifice only sent him to hell where my father was to pick up his sorry ass. Raven thought bitterly, bringing to mind how it was he probably came into her father's service. "Yeah, thanks loads, Terra."
Her head hung for a moment, before slightly tilting downward. Dismissing the foolish lead completely, Raven turned and began to make her way back towards her entrance. Just as she was a few steps away from the statue, she felt the sudden pressure of something colliding with the back of her head. It wasn't painful, more so it was an irritation than anything else. Turning and looking down revealed the interruption to be that of a pebble. Raven blinked, the widening of her eyes being the only indication of emotion. Hastily she looked up to Terra and took a hopeful step back towards the stone figure. "Terra?"
"I'm afraid not, but you see, I couldn't resist." His figure stepped out from behind the stone figure, posture straight and prominent. If Raven couldn't sense his presence, she could at least see the burning mark of Trigon on his brow. The dark mistress' face set down in a hard defensive stare, her body backed up several steps, muscles tense.
He remained stationary before Terra's figure. "I see you couldn't wait to continue where we last left off, my dear."
She began to feel out with her powers for all possible exit routes. The most likely route would merely be to phase through the cavern ceiling. Just as likely, Slade could probably follow her just as well. It was probably more beneficial to wind through tunnels and hope to lose him. Only problem with that was getting easily lost with Slade.
Raven's scowl deepened. "Whatever you insinuated between you, Terra, and Robin will not become of me."
Slade chuckled. His head tilted and if his face was visible, Raven would've been certain to see a coy look there. "Insinuated? I assure you that those were not tall tales."
Raven took the initial steps backwards, though he made no outward means to come to her, yet. It was one of the things that amused Slade about his servitude. He recalled making remarks to Robin that he was so much like him. Raven too, was like him but on a different scale. Universally everyone was like everyone else. Given a chance, Slade could easily find the information behind any individual to make his 'you're like me' statement plausible. It was a favorite tool of his.
Taking two opposites and doing such as this game was so simple. He could quite easily state that Raven and Beast Boy were essentially the same as well. Beast Boy strived to be liked and accepted within a group, constantly worried what those around him thought. He wanted to make others around him happy, so for that he almost always placed the joke upon himself. Raven also strived for acceptance within a group, to be loved. Perhaps not love spurred from relationships, but at least a family love. Whomever that may include, Raven strived to keep those parties safe. Her actions in hiding her secrets and burying her emotions are her ways of obtaining the sense of security and love.
Theoretically, then, if Raven and Beast Boy had some level of being the same individual, a comparison between Robin and Raven was perhaps easier than the last. They were dark and brooding, untrustworthy individuals. The birds had their inner monsters they guarded with their lives. When things became hectic or dangerous, they dived deeper into their darkness while pushing their loved ones away to hide the danger. They sought perfection, justice, and ends to their darkness in a world were their hopes simply could not be granted.
Granted it still was such an amusing surprise to Slade that even now, Raven proved unlike Robin and constantly took an offensive by running away. This situation was no different from the last. It certainly was a nice change for once, to chase down his avian quarry instead of letting it come to him.
"Raven, really, I'm disappointed.," he began to start his walk towards her. He could see her growing more and more tense. "Hadn't you 'run away' the last two times? Shouldn't that indicate running away from Him is not going to work?"
"Third times a charm." She lifted from the ground, hands out and encased with a black aura. Her mind felt the presence of loose boulders which she gladly pulled free with her mind. They hurtled two at a time towards Slade's form, to which he easily dodged or merely broke through to avoid injury. With each move he closed the gap between them further.
Out of her first round of ammunition, Raven's hovering form twisted to fly in the opposite direction. Slade lunged and managed a first full of her blue cloak. The sudden hindrance caused Raven a slight whiplash as her cloak grew taut. Without warning Slade began to spin, gaining the momentum to throw her crashing into Terra's open, stone arms. A yelp escaped her lips as her head connected with the round area of Terra's chest. The skin split, and a sticky red began to stain lavender strands.
Instantly she could feel her body's chemistry naturally attempt to heal the wound. Raven halted the process the moment Slade's fire lit fist came flashing in her direction. The dark empath flinched out of the direct path, finding she had to move just as fast to avoid confrontation with his other. One more swift lined punch and Raven reacted with a swipe of her hand, a black streak taking the front of the force.
A duck on the next strike before using her shadow hoping abilities to fade back through and behind Terra. Slade merely leapt over the stationary teen and landed powerfully onto the dark bird. Instantly her form crumbled to her back, Slade easily pinning her limbs to the ground. "You see, Raven, running solves nothing."
"Excuse me, but I'm a slow learner." Again her body sank through the shadows, escaping Slade's grasp only to remerge floating up a few feet away. Her cape was thrown back as she threw her hands to the air "Azarath. Metrion. Zinthos!"
A black wave erupted in a circle surrounding Slade, its forces cutting free a crater of dirt. She levitated the large mass carrying Slade and sent it streaking into the nearest wall. The cavern shook from impact, dust came to life, and small pebbles began to drop as warnings from the ceiling. Raven turned to run again, hoping to lose him in the twists of the caverns. As she neared an entrance fire shot through the floor like a sudden gate closing her escape. The titan glared determinedly, preparing to shift through the flames, when in a blaze of light and fire Slade shot out of the very exit she sought freedom through.
Raven's body was slammed with the collision of Slade's, and the two rolled together as a result. With a brief surge of her powers, she flung Slade from her, gaining enough time to reach her feet again. Slade, just as swiftly, recovered and sent a blast of fire in the witch's direction. Having no former warning, Raven took the full of the flaming assault in her back. It was a force literally exploding and sending her rocketing into the rocky wall.
He was on her in seconds. Slade expertly snatched a wrist, pulling her left arm behind her back and lifting up painfully. Threateningly he shook the limb, vowing to pull the knobby ball extrusion of her upper arm's bone out of the scapula's socket joint. Raven grit her teeth, refusing to give out any form of noise. She'd felt much worse wounds than this.
"This is very unbecoming of a demon your stature. As I've told you before. You cannot hide, I will find you. He will find you.," his voice was slow, almost soothing. "You've all ready resigned yourself, so why do you keep fighting?"
"To keep them safe as long as possible," Raven's seething response, eyes white with energy. Another barrage of boulders lifted and hurtled in their direction.
A sickening, meaty snap followed next, and Raven knew he'd popped the limp from its joint. The sharp burning that came next in accordance to the initial pain of Slade's attack easily ruined the concentration she'd had. The boulders fell lifeless to the ground.
The masked antagonist shook the limb sharply a moment more, before letting it drop limply to Raven's side. The dark bird began to move again, but Slade roughly kicked her back. Her body landed and skidded, unable to move before Slade launched another blow, a fire covered steal booted blow. Again she cascaded up in the air and backwards, her sides matching the pain of her fire burnt back. This time, she landed on her useless arm, and her mouth hung open in a gasp as the nerves exploded with intense pinpricks.
As he approached again, she curled in on herself, trying to protect the injured arm. Slade grabbed the scuff of her cloak and lifted her to his face. His eye narrowed.
"You're attempts will only end in failure. Do you think hiding the truth from them will make things any different? It doesn't change what you are, and when they find out what you've neglected to tell them, they'll despise you even more."
"The whole world could hate me as long as I can keep them safe," Raven responded.
He tossed her forward again, using the power of his new fire techniques to send her sailing to a stop at Terra's feet again. She groaned, trying to pull herself into some form of defensive position. Slade approached slowly, but with certainty in his steps. "He sent me to break you, and I will, by any means. That will of yours will crumble. Just as Robin's, and just as Terra's."
"Not if I can help it." Raven forced herself to her feet and in a lunge, planted her right hand onto his neck with, every intent on the trump card she'd had with her. Just the same, Slade bolted his hands on her shoulders, summoning the inscriptions to scream alive in her flesh. It was the proverbial stand off of fortitude. Raven's ability to endure the pain of her current injures in addition to the inscriptions versus Slade's emotional withstanding of having his secrets ripped from his mind.
Slade physically was stronger, and pushed her to the ground, hoping to pluck the grip from his neck. Raven writhed, screaming as her pale skin lit ablaze with red charter symbols, flowing like lava paths from her arms, to chest, flooding out down her neck and stomach, to legs and head. The room became encased with Raven's inky aura, the cavern shook with the misgivings to fall apart then and there. She was at Slade's mercy, yet he could… not… remove her grip from his neck.
Raven's mind was lost in an overload of sensations. Her physical body was enduring an escalating eruption of indescribably torment, a mere fraction she knew of her father's power. The sensations, like the last, seemed to reach and over pass the breaking point of the last time, growing and growing into mind numbing severity. Through flashes the harsh stabbing of reality, her mind was jolted with the flashes of Slade's mind, soaking everything up like a sponge.
Robin submitting.
FLASH
"You aren't getting soft on me, Slade," the cheerful questioning of the young Terra.
FLASH
"Joseph will be a fine musician. He's grown such a liking to that piano." The woman with bitter green eyes, though not bitter now, smiled. "It's only because you encourage him. I can't strike a musical note worth beans."
FLASH
"SLADE," Raven's jaw hung open as she howled out his name, hand clenching tighter into Slade's neck. He tried to struggle out of her grasp, but found he was just as caught into the attack as she was his. Her eyes burned white in determination, and his own eyes narrowed, teeth clenched in his own.
The fabric clearly burned away from her skin, evaporating into the air, leaving small charred fragments to drift in its wake. Raven was vulnerable to the plans he had in store, and Slade would have liked to do as much. It was just so damn near impossible to ignore the memories she painfully dug through and witnessed. Parts of himself no one should have ever seen.
Failure wasn't an option. Slade felt the own burning eruption of Trigon's power on his forehead, and he lowered himself to fall on top of his prey. He fought in himself to get away from this painful reliving of himself, but it couldn't be done. Instead he forced focus in the task at hand, breaking the will of his master's avatar.
"DON'T…DO…..THIS," Raven yelled out. Her warning fell on deaf ears. "DON'T LET HIM…CONTROL YOU! FIGHT HIM, DON'T… DO THIS TO ME!"
FLASH
"Get off of me you dirty old, pit sniffer!" Gizmo. "H-hey! Stop it! STOP!"
FLASH
"Guns? Slade! Grant's too young to be playing with them! You know it." Bitter green eyes once more. Slade's cool reply. "He only wants to be like his father. Nothing wrong with educating him." A fire burned in those green eyes. "He could get hurt. What if he 'accidentally' shot out your eye?"
FLASH
Catty pink eyes widened in horror as Jinx cowered away from Slade's touch. "P-please, not me…"
FLASH
In a rage of furry, the second set of eyes opened, all four irises burning red. The black surrounding the room shook harder still, chunks of ceiling falling in torrents around them. With gritted teeth her limp, left arm jolted up and slapped a fierce grip into the side of Slade's face, followed by her right hand rising up from his neck.
His head now encased in her hands, Slade felt the pain of his past picked through becoming far greater. It seemed as if his brain and head were splitting in two, then ripping into chunks and fragments. His very life, the memories that defined him quivered with the force of being pulled from his mind for an eternity's lengths. Slade was lost in himself as he began to bellow as well, loosing all control of the situation.
The nude, charter inscribed Raven pulled herself and the limply, powerless, screaming Slade up with what seemed a never depleting strength. She lowered her face to his, four demonic red eyes narrowed and gleaming in a manor Slade could only compare to the gaze of her father.
"How dare you! You serve him and in turn you serve me. When I tell you don't, I do not take it kindly if I'm ignored." Slade tried to turn his head, tried to get out of his suddenly switched situation. Another explosion of pain sent shockwaves through his brain and he groaned as Raven shook his head, forcing his attention back to her.
"I will RIP the memories from your flesh if you so much as to think of doing this AGAIN!" Her voice was a demonic growl, showcasing this was no joke. "Then you'll be nothing but a mindless soulless husk of a messenger boy!"
Slade ground his teeth, opened his mouth, and with all his strength, uttered, "Look…..who now?"
Reality hit Raven. Her grip instantly dropped from Slade's head, he fell fatigued to the ground, groaning. She backed away; eyes clenched shut, her mouth rapidly repeating her mantra. Slowly the second set of eyes receded, however the inscriptions remained much longer. Body quivering and shaking uncontrollably, Raven lingered long enough to see Slade making no attempts to follow her. Right arm to chest, left arm dangling flaccidly, Raven turned to run and escaped with the dignity she still had left.
Reviewers
gracefulraven: Eventually there will be some form of love involved, albeit twisted in a way you could probably only achieve with Raven and Slade. It'll take time to achieve due to plot, but it will take place I assure you.
AN: I'm not fond of Robin Raven pairings. I also find Robin hard to write about. The easiest solution is to take the route of his obsessive and cruel actions. They're still friends; obviously, it's just the strain of what little knowledge of the situation is wearing on him. He won't stay a jerk forever, he's just aggressively concerned. Does that describe it right?
Concerning the fire in Raven's room that did not burn anything; my original intent was to strike the question of whether or not Slade was really in Raven's room. Obviously I decided it to be a real event.
It was also somewhat difficult writing in Raven's opinions of Terra. I know it seems split amongst Raven fans whether there was really a passionate hatred or if she was able to forgive Terra easily for her betrayal. I personally don't like Terra, and it took every ounce to make sure Raven wouldn't seem too entirely out of character in her view towards her.
Terra's role was undecided for a while in the pre planning. At times, I wanted Terra's soul to speak with Raven, to offer an opinion about the personality of Slade behind the mask. I decided against it because I didn't want to assume that Terra was dead at all, that it could be left up to the reader. Instead of Terra giving any form of opinion or information in regards to Slade, the job at hand was bestowed on another character, who won't say anything of use until far later in the fic.
Note regarding the images Raven saw. Joseph and Grant are mentioned, both are Slade's sons based on comic canon. Grant had taken interest with guns from a young age and Joseph was musically talented, though it was more vocally at least.