Chapter 3: advance
Pink eyes fluttered open to the sounds of rain spluttering down in spurts against the pains of her windows. The pale, 'bad luck' charm released an agitated sigh and closed her eyes again, making the childish wish of just a few more minutes. It was futile, and Jinx knew this. Even as a child whenever she'd woken up, she'd stay that way no matter how hard she'd try to get back to sleep. Defeated, the pink haired sorceress climbed from her bed.
Hell's Kitchen. That was the place she'd taken refuge in after HIVE Academy was totaled. Her and her comrades were all ready a disgrace to the school, but it was really the only place they had to go to live. They'd all strived for excellence to manage to keep their furnished dorm rooms and actually live comfortably. Now that the school was totaled, Brother Blood had neglected to find places for even a quarter of his students, picking only this favorites and taking them to God knew where. When he was arrested, it had left HIVE without a leader. And Jinx was feeling the results.
It had been high class dorm rooms to the worse part of town. Not that Jinx minded; she'd been in worse predicaments than a small, over priced living space. There was a roof, a bed, a small room with a toilet and a sink, and a kitchen. It was enough to live. The only thing she truly could admit to missing had been to wash her hair in a shower instead of in a bathroom sink. That one luxury she wished she'd had every night.
It was the price to pay though. Ever since Blood abandoned most of his students in order to achieve his underwater base, police had been working to bring in all the renegade students. Seeing as how she was one of the top three on the list to be brought in, she had to keep low. Living in a tiny apartment room in Hell's Kitchen was the best option she could find. Any big operations she and the other boys had were put on ice also in exchange for low cover. If anything at all, Jinx had been reduced to a pick pocketer making enough to pay rent. It put a whole new perspective on things when you had to steal to survive.
Jinx dragged her thin frame towards her tiny bathroom and stared hard at the cracked mirror above her sink. There were sags under her eyes and Jinx had a snaking suspicion they were from stress more than anything else. Childishly she stuck out her tongue in a moment of disapproval of her appearance. If she didn't have to eat food, she just might steal a cucumber to remove the bags. Not all villains could afford homemade facials.
Disgustedly she pulled from the mirror and half stumbled into the small kitchen. She filled a pot with water and placed it on a heating griddle. She needed stimulants, and although Jinx was no druggie, she admitted to like a good dosage of caffeine, awake or not. The water would easily boil by the time it took her to throw some clothes on, and out of habit Jinx walked back into her room to do as such, her eyes casting a glance to her one window.
Jinx froze.
Her only window was an exit out to the building's fire escape. Laying on the metal platform was a broken figure, pale and bruised, stark naked and in the rain. It was enough to stop her dead in her tracks as is, but the hint of lavender hair made her heart heave swiftly in her chest.
"Shit." It was all she could say. Jinx suddenly grabbed for an umbrella and slid the window open as wide as she could. The sound of rain increased in volume, its cool caress misted Jinx in the face as she leaned out. Shakily she reached the umbrella's closed end out towards the curled up ball and suddenly poked it, jumping back as if she were waking a lion.
The curled up form groaned, shuddering and trembling, appearing unconscious. Jinx pulled herself back towards the window, dropping the umbrella and sliding herself completely out into the fire escape. The pink haired sorceress bent down and kneeled near and over the titan with curious and frightened eyes. Upon close inspection, Raven was curled into the tightest ball she possibly could. Her ashen skin was tarnished with black and purple splotches down her visible side, and Jinx assumed they indicated fractured ribs. Peaking over to her back revealed a raw surface of exposed, crispy and black, charred flesh. It was hard to tell with the rain, but the glistening spots in the burnt skin were probably blood. A ring of purple surrounding the woman's left arm from her shoulder passed her auxiliary was easy to distinguish as a loose joint.
Jinx swallowed loudly. All ready she could feel the swelling tingle in the back of her throat, threatening to become a sob. Anyone could tell the empath had been through one tough battle. Anyone with brains could read the underlining connotations of her lack of clothing. Anyone who'd been in that situation could feel suddenly threatened and frightened for themselves and the victim before them. In Jinx's case, all applied.
Gently, she placed a pale hand on her left arm, trying carefully not to agitate the pulled joint. The only response Jinx received was a low whisper, "…Slade…"
Jinx's blood ran cold. "Double shit." Slade was dead…wasn't he? Didn't matter, something was wrong.
Hesitantly, she lifted her head and looked fearfully around her area. There was no sight of the antagonist, but somehow that didn't make her feel relieved. It only justified her actions all the more.
"This is gonna hurt," she muttered in warning, unsure if Raven would have heard. The thin woman moved to the backside of the other, and quickly assessed how she was going to do this. At first thought it was logical to grip her from behind…but maybe it'd be less painful from the front. Not being strong enough to effectively scoop someone up in her arms, Jinx had to settle for wrapping her arms under the other's, and dragged her as gently as she could up through the window.
Once inside, Jinx promptly shut and locked the window, scampered to her bathroom and returned with dry towels. As best she could to avoid touching any wounds, Jinx pulled Raven back into her arms and tried to wipe the rain off the best she could. Even when that was finished, the beaten body trembled uncontrollable from what Jinx guessed a fever. For all she knew, Raven could've been dumped outside her window as a sick joke by Slade and left there all night. Who knew when the rain started, and with open unattended wounds, an infection induced fever was a distinct possibility.
"Shit," she reiterated for the third time. What was she thinking? She was alone in her small, cramped living space with a rival of sorts, naked and beaten, sick with fever and bearing wounds Jinx couldn't possible treat on her own. In desperation she clutched Raven tighter in her arms at a loss. It seemed enough to finally awaken the sorceress for the embrace squeezed her tender ribs.
Instantly, Raven's eyes bolted open. Disoriented and in someone's limbs, Raven yelped and in a wave of black energy and flung both herself and Jinx to opposite ends of the apartment. Jinx hit the wall with loose muscles, being able to shake the blow off easily. Raven, on the other hand, had the misfortune of her back connecting with her wall. This jarred a slight scream from her, as she fell forward onto her front, writhing at the intense sensation rupturing through her frame. Jinx's tv, dresser, and window melted, exploded, and shattered in that order as a result.
"Woah, woah, easy, easy," Jinx babbled out as she reached the cringing Raven. She hesitantly paused between lowering to her knees and hovering over the other. Raven, however, wasn't going to take it easy. As best she could she, Raven appeared as aggressively as possible, eyes glowing white in warning.
"Did Slade send you!" A light bulb cracked.
"W-what," Jinx stuttered dumbly for a moment.
"Did Slade send you," Raven yelled louder, almost a shrill shriek. This time, the light bulb shattered.
"No- oh Allah no! He hasn't contracted us in months," Jinx suddenly snapped out of her stupor, trying her best to reassure the other.
For a moment the two remained frozen in place. Raven, curled up painfully but clearly able to viciously defend herself, and Jinx wide eyes, breath held hoping to any God that the other would not attack and destroy her home in the process. Silence. Jinx swallowed loudly. Raven's teeth chattered as her body continued to tremble. The silenced dragged. The tea kettle in the kitchen began to squeal. Another moment halted in time until finally Raven's eyes settled to her normal purple irises, her power reserves low more than anything else, and Jinx's stature relaxed.
Jinx stayed still a moment longer, before slowly turning towards her kitchen and turning off the hot plate. She hastily grabbed two mugs; one chipped, and found a tin of hot chocolate mix Gizmo had left over his last visit and a coffee bag. When she successfully made a mug of each, she returned just as slowly, stopping at the room's entrance. Raven had shown no indication of moving from the spot she'd left her in.
Jinx made no hesitation in approaching her. She lowered herself to the floor at Raven's level and held the mug filled with the hot chocolate before her. Raven eyed it wearily, and attentively took it, before drinking it almost greedily, trying to absorb the warmth emitting from the liquid. While Raven's attention was focused on the mug, Jinx reached back and pulled over one of the drier towels and handed it to her. Carefully Raven pulled it around her form, finding warmth and comfort in its confines. Silently she wished for her cloak.
"Where…am I," the dark empath's voice was soft weary, much unlike her earlier threatening shout.
Jinx exhaled. "Hell's Kitchen. I found you on my fire escape."
Raven nodded slightly. Yes, Hell's Kitchen. What was she thinking flying out here of all places? A moment's recollection reminded her that at one time Cyborg lived out here. STAR Labs kept the room rented on the off chance he ever wanted to move back in. He'd made the excuse that in case anyone had to go undercover in the area. What he told her was a different story. It was like storage for him, he had a lot of tokens from his late mother there, locked away from Beast Boy's carelessness. She'd hoped to seek solitude there; it was a closer trip than to the Tower and Raven had been exhausted. Apparently she never made it.
"Do you need me to get you to a hospital," Jinx spoke up when the other didn't answer.
"No.," Raven bluntly responded. "It'll heal in a few days."
Jinx looked at her incredulously. She was aware that Raven had the ability to move matter with her mind, rapid healing she was not.
The dark mistress set the empty mug down at the end of her statement and gripped her left arm strongly. She paused in her actions, withdrawing and holding a deep breath, then popped the joint back into place. There was no outward sign of pain except for the rattling of the tv's melted remains. Testing the mobility of her arm, Raven lifted it slowly, flexing her palm and slender digits. Nothing at least seemed to be broken--gingerly she washed her hand along her ribs—minus that. The half demon didn't dare reach behind to her back, all ready she could feel how tender the mangled flesh was through feeling the towel. Lastly she rubbed the back of her head to discover a matted mess of hair, dirt, and blood. A little prodding revealed a small bruise and a scabbed area. Top that with a fever. Now she knew how Robin felt after each Slade encounter.
Physically, she felt like a wreck. Mentally…she felt beyond drained. Each time the inscriptions burned to life in her skin, they seemed to disorient her, stun her. They seemed to eat up a lot of energy just to surface, and Raven knew that she expended a lot of energy just out of the emotional control loss she had while having one. What she had done…
Raven raised her knees and lowered her face into them. She groaned. "It wasn't supposed to go that far."
Instantly she sensed the confusion in Jinx from her statement. Merely, she just shook her head to any response Jinx would've stated and remained in her position. Raven's intentions were only to touch his mind long enough to force with drawl from her. It should've been fast, simple, like pulling your hand back from a hot pan. A reflex. Slade was supposed to pull back on reflex.
How was she supposed to know he'd hold out? How was she supposed to know she'd hold out as well? She should've slipped consciousness from her body's nerve input and the bombardment of Slade's memories… No, she kept conscious somehow, absorbing every ounce of knowledge and memory like a sponge. Raven no longer had the need to ask who 'Addie' was, her last name, and relation to Slade were. All that had been eternalized and branded into her being. She not only raped Slade mentally, but he'd left a proverbial scar on her, he would always be inside of her somehow.
"Shit…," she groaned, slowly shaking her head, burying her face deeper into her knees. Raven trembled, through both fever and struggling to suppress emotion. "Shit…shit, shit, shit…"
Jinx suddenly had her arms around her, guiding her head to the crook of her neck. Raven cautiously wrapped her arms around her and held on like she was the only life savor in a stormy sea front. She wasn't exactly certain why she'd allowed herself to be pulled into such physical contact…but it was soothing, and all Raven wanted that moment was a calm state of mind.
"I know I got the number to Cyborg's arm somewhere around here.," Jinx offered as a signal of reassurance.
"No, not yet.," it was soft, almost desperate, "I can't go back there, not like this." Her grip tightened around the other.
Jinx raised a pale hand to the back of Raven's head, stroking it in a nurturing way. "I know. It's all right to feel ashamed. He did it to me too."
"He's still there…he's still inside me." She whimpered, knowing quite well the difference between what Jinx suffered and what she felt. Raven had seen through Slade's eyes. She'd seen how he'd raped Jinx, she knew what had gone through his head. Momentarily the memory flashed through her mind, not realizing it she'd groaned it out loud what Slade had said in it, "I'm sorry Addie…"
The slight increase of pressure on her head indicated Jinx tensing at her words. He'd murmured those words during her attack. Jinx swallowed hard, trying her best to be the strong pillar her rival needed to hold her up. "Stay as long as you have to. You need to get your energy up."
Raven silently nodded, staring past Jinx's neck and to the spot of the broken window glass and rain.
"I'll get you some clothes, and I will get a hold of Cyborg since you refuse to go to the hospital." Raven's grip tightened. "But not until you feel stable enough to see them. Agreed?"
"…agreed.," Raven softly replied. It was eight am…all ready it would be a long day.
The masked eyes of the Teen Titan's leader, Robin, grimaced, his body remaining stiff and untouched by the sight before him. The vast cavern that held the remains of Tara Markov, Titan's Terra, was in shambles. Large quantities of rock had been torn from the ceiling, scattered randomly about the cavern's floor. A large crater in the dirt coincided with the ceiling's demise, and Robin stood in its center. He lowered a gloved hand and picked up a dusty covered circular communicator. This wasn't just the last resting place of Terra…it had been a war zone.
She had gone missing, this was fact. As of late Raven spent a lot of her time up in her room, and ever since the incident a few days ago, she'd been using that to her advantage. They rarely saw her anywhere else aside training and when they ran out to defend the city as needed. It wasn't until the later when she didn't respond to the calling and that he'd personally went to her room to get her that they'd known she was gone.
At the time, no one was free to really focus on finding Raven. They had to bring justice to the current threat laid before them. Robin knew that all of them were anxious knowing she wasn't there, but Robin tried to reinstate that Raven had a way of taking care of herself. When things had been cleaned up down town, they immediately focused all their attention into finding their missing team mate.
Checking the system's computers and security systems, Cyborg had notified that although the outdoor security cameras didn't pick up a hint of Raven leaving visually, he did have areas where some of the cameras dotted to static before returning to normal. It could've just been a bug, but Cyborg was adamant that either someone hacked into the system and momentarily disabled the cameras, or Raven's powers blocked her exit.
The only other thing they had to go off of was the tracking chip planted into her communicator, a device that every titan carried on the off chance something similar happened. It also happened that they all had extra copies of these chips on other parts of their bodies. For Cyborg, his was naturally installed with in his body, one was in Beast Boy's belt, one in Starfire's arm guards, and one in Robin's belt. When the pattern for Raven's communicator and the pattern from the clasp of Raven's cloak turned up in the same spot, they immediately rushed to the location.
They hadn't realized it was Terra's 'shrine' until arriving. It was off that Raven would come to the spot at all, but Slade had supposedly died there, and where there was Slade, Raven was likely involved. It had worried Robin to no end knowing that Slade was focusing his efforts on Raven. He felt responsible that he was now targeting his team instead of him. With what Slade had forced upon him, he wouldn't wish that on anyone else, and would rather face that sort of punishment again if it would keep his team safe.
It had been wrong though, Slade's entire manor of operations. More and more he was aggressively getting involved instead of luring his prey towards him. He usually was pretty low key about it as well. All that had occurred lately seemed to have been done with no efforts to cover it up. Tracking Raven down to that spot only seemed to confirm that all the more.
Starfire landed beside him, jarring the boy wonder from his thoughts. Robin looked back up hopefully to the usually bubbly alien. Her face was unusually sad and worried. She didn't have to say anything; Robin knew that her part of the search had ended in failure. Off handedly, he noted her clutching something to her chest. Upon further inspection, it was a blue fabric, the distinct hue of Raven's cloak. She held it out to him, and Robin half turned his face from her, knowing she wanted affirmation, but Robin half unwilling to give it. Instead, he merely nodded, remaining silent.
"I'd like to know our friend is okay now," she murmured silently, pocketing the fabric inside her belt.
Robin contained the frustrated sigh in his throat as he walked past her. "So would I."
He walked towards the edge of the crater and climbed his way up the steep slope. His eyes, having long since adjusted to the lack of lighting, fell upon the form of a green dog. "Any luck?"
The form Beast Boy was in accentuated fine tuned nasal cavities, and best fit the job to search around. His nose was currently deep into the dirt, and he swayed his head and moved in half circles trying to pick up the ever dark floral scent that was associated to Raven. He lifted his head and faced Robin's direction, whimpering slightly in a canine manor to indicate his lack of luck.
Starfire flew up and landed beside him, holding out the cloth she'd pocketed. Beast Boy made sure to inhale the scent deeply and return to his work. Even now, he was having his doubts. He'd found a trail, but it was hours old, and it only seemed to permeate around the room and one channel. It would've made since if the scent where Raven had entered was strong enough to indicate she left the same way, but it wasn't and no other entrance smelled as if she passed through. Unless she'd phased through the cavern's ceiling, Beast Boy couldn't determine how she left or where she went.
Robin's grip on Raven's communicator tightened while turning to the last of his team. Cyborg stood at the center of the room, shoulder light on, eyes focused upon Terra's figure. In any other situation, Robin would imagine Beast Boy joking of how Cyborg was staring at Terra's chest. Nearing him, however, proved a much different action all together.
"Blood," Robin mused finally reaching him.
The chocolate skinned titan looked up from his work and turned back to the smaller man. He nodded in confirmation before turning his light back to highlight the stain. It was dried, indicating it was a few hours old.
"It's Raven's all right. I just got done running a DNA analysis. Plus…," He raised his robotic arm and gently pulled a thin strand of hair dried to the spot. He handed it to Robin, and he squinted his eyes in inspection.
"My guess is at some point she'd busted her head when she smote it. There's no doubt about it. She was here." Cyborg speculated.
"But where is she now," Robin mused, "Reroute the tracking frequency for Raven's clasp, maybe she'd just dropped the communicator and she's still here somewhere."
Starfire landed beside them, and Beast Boy trotted towards them, changing upon halt. They both looked somewhat down and concerned.
"In the words of Nosemarie from Pound Puppies, 'The nose knows'," Beast Boy quoted in a horrible southern accent, "And it doesn't know jack."
"I know this would be the point in which Raven would say the mean words like 'And you're watching Pound Puppies, why?', but who is Jack?" Starfire mumbled out the question in her curiosity. Her statement was somewhat ignored.
"I've searched this place up and down, Raven came in, but she didn't leave. At least not through any of the tunnels. It's like she vanished, and I don't know about you, but I believe my nose is a trusty source of information."
"Dude, have you smelled the tofu you eat? You have no sense of smell.," Cyborg pointed out.
"No, I'm sure Beast Boy's sense of smell is accurate. If Slade can conjure the affects of fire without burning anything, then I'm sure he can make someone vanish.," the masked titan deduced. He paused a moment longer before addressing the alien and green teen. "Split up, find her. Beast Boy, try and pick up her scent outside and through the city. Star, perform an aerial search."
"Very well, Beast Boy and I shall continue the search elsewhere." Starfire obediently replied, flying towards the entrance they'd come in through, Beast Boy following after.
Robin frowned as they left, his brooding mind once more covering the information he had stored up. First Slade was alive. He survived having had his vertebrae snapped in five different spots at his hands, yet snapped them back like nothing. How that was even physically possible was beyond him…at least not without some form of magical aid. Slade shot fire, if Slade could do this, then he could easily survive having his neck snapped. Now, how had Slade received this ability? Usually individuals with such powers were born with them or suffered some form of accident that beat the odds. Or someone had given them to him.
Second unusual occurrence: Slade had hunted Raven down. Reasons why? He needs her powers for something. She'd always shown to have great abilities, and even now with the addition to her time halting abilities only led one to believe she had more powers under her belt yet to be seen. Slade could quite possibly be aware of that.
Raven was seen with her clothes in tatters, twice, and once with odd spontaneous hair growth. That, Robin was still trying to even fathom an explanation, but more importantly, why Raven was with lack of clothes. The most obvious of all was as Cyborg had verbalized earlier, perhaps Slade raped her. Robin certainly was well aware and experienced that Slade was evil enough to do such a thing…but twice? Robin had thought in that of Slade performing the deed once it empowered him, and forced an inferior shame upon the victim, cementing a bond of servitude. If that was the case, perhaps Raven was showing no signs of bending to his desires, thus explaining his second experience with her in her room.
Possible a third try as well…he mused again. He turned eyes focusing upon the largest crater once more. When he was inside it there were signs in the dirt indicating that it had been created by the expulsion of energy. Somewhat like the epicenter of an explosion, a trait of Raven's uncontrolled powers. However…the smaller crater off to the side led him to believe she'd cut and had thrown the mound with her powers. Add the first with the ceiling half caved in…
"All the last times were warnings…or she'd managed to get away from him," he murmured to himself.
The tin man raised his head from his arm, currently sporting a grid screen. "Say what?"
"You said she was raped," Robin began, "But what if she hadn't been?"
Cyborg turned his body towards the smaller masked teen. His attention was fully caught.
"The last times Slade's gone after her, we've found her with her clothes ripped to shreds. We all thought he's raped her, that she holed up in her room to deal with it…but what if she wasn't. What if she'd managed to get away from him right before he had? We did end up rushing into her room without being fully removed of clothing, and maybe she'd jumped out of his reaches on her birthday."
"I'm not seeing quite exactly what you're getting at.," Cyborg pointed. It seemed irrelevant, but Robin had this way of finding truth and sense in the unlikeliest of places.
"See how banged up this place is? Raven lost control, and she doesn't do that unless something affected her emotionally to a great degree. I'm guessing Slade managed to pin her there. When she realized she was trapped, I'd imagine she'd have been terrified."
"The crater and the ceiling," Cyborg concluded for him. "But why then? Why would Slade want to do that to anyone? He's got bigger fish to catch than dramatizing a young woman like Raven."
"It makes him feel like he's in control," Robin off handedly gave him. "He needs something from Raven, but she isn't getting it for him. That's why he keeps hounding her down. The question now is…what does he want?" He flipped open the extra communicator still in his hand.
Starfire's face was the first to pick up. She looked hopeful. "Raven has been found?"
"No," he regretfully replied. "I want you to also check the hospitals or any women shelters. There's a possibility she'd have gotten away from her attacker and wasn't able to get back to the Tower."
"Understood," was her reply, before her end blipped to black.
"Aw'ight, I just sent you the coordinates, Robin. Oh." Cyborg mouthed as he glanced back down to his arm. Robin made the same observation.
When they initially tried tracking Raven through both the com link and clasp link, they emitted a pinpoint of the same origin. However, that was when the map was taken from a large scale of distance. On a shorter scale, it appeared her clasp was in some proximity of the area.
"It's deeper in the cavern." Robin was the first to state the obvious. It was a nice feeling to know they had something to shoot for. Still, the masked teen refused to keep his hopes up. Chances were Raven was not where the clasp was.
Suddenly, the problem dawned upon both titans that this had been the lowest cavern. If there had been any more, Terra's volcanic reaction most likely blocked or filled all the tunnels heading further down. The current dilemma was easily fixed, however, through Cyborg's technology. Within moments of recording echoing sound waves, an entrance was soon uncovered, as well as a map of not just one tunnel, but a whole network of them.
How had they missed this, Robin mused. Slade could've been hiding in the network for months, biding his time and researching. Amazingly, as the two continued cautiously on their man hunt, they made the discovery that a great portion of the tunnels had been dug out and supported to allow for safe passage through them. These walkways were so unlike the ones perceived to be carved by Terra, that both began to wonder what was down there.
They weren't picky in the paths they'd chosen. It seemed that all of the tunnels led to one generalized hollow pocket on Cyborg's radar. All would lead them towards what they hoped to be Raven. Thankfully, the blip indicating what should've been her was stationary, and they were easily closing in on it.
For the most part, their journey was made in silence. It was quite possible that whoever had carved out the caverns were still residing in them. If that was the case, then they had the chance to catch the individual off guard. Should Raven actually be down there somewhere held against her will, they'd need that extra advantage.
"I heard Brother Philip was making his famous squash casserole for the annual potluck next week." The sounds echoed through the tunnels.
Cyborg and Robin froze as the voices reached their ears. Upon looking back towards the way they came they could distinguish a light source slowly making its way to them. Neither issued any form of order to the other, both instantly ducked down into the next tunnel to their side. The light that shined brightly from the tallest titan's shoulder shut off and slid back into its slot.
"That's fantastic. You know his wife makes a mean apple pie." The voices came closer.
"I don't know, ever since I stumbled on that little diner real close to the border I've been pretty finicky about my pies.," the first voice returned. "They have the best pies in the world."
"Yey, yey, so you say Brother Joshua, but my money still goes to the wife with a mean cooking streak." Two robed figures stopped at the fork, one beginning to turn down the two titan's direction.
"Oh, I forgot you haven't been down here yet. That's the hall to the balconies. Mass isn't large enough to fill them, we're on ground floor. This way," the first continued down the straight path they originally traveled.
"This is just too exciting," The second turned and obediently followed the first.
"I know, they're saying just a…" Their voices echoed as they faded from ear shot.
Cyborg and Robin exchanged looks of curiosity. The mechanical man lifted his arm again and its navigational screen came on once more. The route the robed men had followed connected towards the large cavern that indicated Raven's current position. Fearing the possibility that maybe Raven had managed to put herself there to hide and would be discovered by possibly violent individuals, both titans began to make there way down the cavern swiftly but with great stealth. The doorway came into sight fast, and at that point they crouched down and used the balcony's carved fall guard as cover. Slowly, they peeked over the edge to get a glimpse of this new cavern. What they looked down upon was something they least expected.
Raven was no where visibly present below them. Instead, the cavern's room was filled with what appeared a good twenty or so individuals all wearing a very generic set of red robes. All were hooded; possibly, Raven was in one of them. Where there wasn't anyone standing, there were tall candles set on the floor. Where there weren't candles on the floor, there were candle stands that held more candles. It gave the room a small amount of illumination, only enough to see things on the ground as opposed to the upper boundaries.
They lifted their heads a little higher at this discovery. With mobility to move their head to explore, the next noticeable thing was an embellishment appearing on the far wall to the groups' back sides. The 'wall art' was that of a twirling fire, burning brightly, but not appearing to emit any extra substantial lighting to the room. The flames danced eerily, but remained stagnant in place, never moving or spreading outside the defined pattern. A mystical blaze, no doubt the only explanation.
Robin's masked eyes narrowed upon spotting it. He was familiar with the pattern, for he'd seen it on Slade's forehead the last time they'd physically encountered him. He'd recalled trying to ask Raven what it had meant. She had after all told him that she'd anticipated something dreadful to come that day; Robin assumed it likely she may have known the symbol's definition as well. Regardless of what it meant, it was an indicator that who ever these people were, they had a relation to Slade. The only thing Robin could wager at the moment was that they were the individuals whom given Slade his fire abilities as well as the power to live through a broken neck.
As the two robed figures they'd encountered earlier entered the cavern, both their eyes moved to the opposite end of the embellishment. In front of the group there appeared a humble table. It was simple in its design, but stood tall enough to be considered a dining table; it reminded both of the tables seen inside churches. Behind that was a small hole, another open crater. It was small, big enough for a man to slide through, and unlike the ones seen in Terra's cavern; this one revealed a molten mix of churning heated earth. It glowed with a bright intensity, but again it didn't seem to help add to the light in the room.
Conversation suddenly quieted among the masses and one robed figure removed herself from the group and stopped between the table and crater opening. She cleared her throat and the group's voices turned completely silent, all attention focused upon her.
"Welcome to all visiting Brothers and Sisters, I am Priestess Tala of Gotham City's Church of Blood—"
Small chatter began to escalate amongst the robed men.
"Yes, yes, I am of what the rumors speak of, and yes I had been there during the Immaculate Conception. However, it is in the past, and the present is what we must focus upon." The prominent figure continued. "I think before I divulge more of an explanation I feel reciting Revelations 3:15 are appropriate."
Suddenly they began to speak in unison, in prayer. They're words came out in unfamiliar tongues, but were spoken quite clearly and distinctly, practice had gone into those words. Cyborg's lips tugged down in a grimace. His system detected within a few words that the language they spoke was Latin, and automatically began to translate.
"The Man bathed in blood and thus He dotingly named the Man Brother Blood." To which Cyborg cringed. "And He said unto Brother Blood that He would descend upon the Earth and bless the Bride with a child whom would then cleanse the world of His disbelievers. Then, the Child shall welcome Him onto Earth, offering it in a gift of gratitude in His benevolent guidance." He turned to Robin, face quite serious. "What do you suppose it means?"
"Not sure. The Immaculate Conception and the Child are probably one in the same. What Brother Blood has to do with this I'm entirely confused on.," Robin responded quietly.
"Well then, let's get started shall we? First, an explanation as to why a Priestess of Gotham City is hosting mass in Jump City when it all ready has a very well established Priest. My friends, it is because Father Eric thought it best that one having witnessed the beginning help guide everyone to His coming."
There was silence as she paused.
"Who is this 'He'? Slade?" Cyborg quipped. Robin's eyes narrowed at the name. "Maybe."
"Word is spreading of His arrival and our salvation. I've all ready received confirmation that members in France, Belgium, and even as clear to China are making the pilgrimage here."
To that, the group responded with positive vigor. Cyborg and Robin only looked grimmer in response. They realized then they unintentional stumbled onto something global, something that was far bigger than they'd anticipated.
The robed woman raised her hand in silence, and her order was obediently followed. She then placed an aged hand into the confines of her robe and removed from it a familiar object. Raven's clasp was raised high for all to see.
"I present to you the proof He shall appear here in Jump city.," Tala continued, placing the clasp gently on top of the bare table. "The inscriptions are in place. I promise you the portal will be opened. He will grace us with His presence at last. His Chosen, Trigon's Chosen—"
Robin's eyes widened and Tala pointed to the symbol burning brightly on the wall. "Baring the mark will bring our salvation!" There was cheering.
"And…" Tala trailed, her aged voice smug sounding, "since He has claimed a new Brother Blood to replace the traitor, we may just see another Immaculate Conception, if he manages to bring to us a certain black bird in time."
Robin's mind reeled with information. Instantly he began to plug and mix to reveal the most logical answer to all of this. Trigon, Raven had once warned him of a force named Trigon. Trigon… Brother Blood a traitor, a new Brother Blood… Slade marked with His inscription…Slade was His Chosen…possibly the Child…Slade, chosen, new Brother Blood? Black bird…Raven—
"We have to find Raven now.," Robin hissed in order.
That's why Slade's pursuit never ended, why it seemed he constantly tried to rape her. He needed Raven to conceive his child.
Reviewers
Evilsangel: I'm particular to the BB/Rae, Rae/Malchior/Rorek fics myself, but likewise, I read one Rae/Slade fic back in April and I was hooked with the idea.
ShadowDevil: hah hah, thank you! gives a bug squishy hug Sometimes I just can't tell if I keep them in character or not, especially Slade. Hearing this makes me so happy!
AN: I replaced Terra's true intent with Jinx. At the time I hadn't written anything before concerning HIVE, and I also was reading a lot of Rae/Jinx friendship/romance fics at the time. I thought I'd try my hand at writing for her. I don't think I captured her essence as far as the cartoon is concerned, but from what I've read through fics that there's roughly two ways Jinx has been written. A more serious kind; and the one that's absolutely crazy. I opted for a serious tone because it matches the story better. As for Jinx saying 'Allah,' I read she was from India in the comics…though honestly I didn't research religions so I'm uncertain if I even used the correct term for god. Even if I'm wrong, I thought it offered a different take than what I've been reading of Jinx being portrayed as Wiccan.
And we have the introduction of the Blood Clan. To be honest, like Jinx, their role is very downplayed until much later. Tala was inspired from the Tala in the newer incarnation of the Titans comics. She's briefly in the Family Lost graphic novel while Starfire recaps Raven's history to the younger titans. Shameless plug: go pick up a copy.
I hope the Brother Blood terminology won't become confusing. Later I'll offer an explanation in writing concerning just who was the Brother Blood of the third season in relation to what I'm portraying now.