(And it continues... Read, review, and enjoy! ~RavensMind~)
Chapter 6: Construction of the Eruption
What once seemed like an easily forgettable warehouse of sorted effects, the base of operations for the newly formed cult of Trigon was now outfitted and ready to serve its slew of malcontented crazies. Despite the group lacking actual orders from Trigon, their organizer figured they could make do without. It seemed fairly simple: capture the gem, follow the rituals, and all would go as planned for their master. Some among the group feared that Trigon was actually gone, but others knew better.
Sending the Titans a message in the way they had was only the first of many destructive acts to follow. The second act was a bit more involved, considering that they had to fool one disgruntled Titan into working for them. Trigon had left them a few tools with which they could exact this plan – including the same mind trick that caused the Titans to go insane for a time. The organizer wanted to see how disgruntled this Titan was before resorting to wasting any resources on her. If any of it failed, they could always threaten destroying something in the city again with their special weapon of choice.
One thing that bore into their minds was this: if they failed again – Trigon would not be able to return to the world of the living in any shape or form for the next thousand years...
Again. It's happening again. Just when things were starting to improve, somehow her father had to bring it all to ruin. Raven could hardly believe it when Terra had called and told her of what had happened in Jump that day. Two attacks and more were certainly inevitable. There would be some new angle to this; she felt it in her heart. One angle so shrouded, she and her friends would have to twist themselves in so many knots to find it. She was expecting something close to home, something easily missed...wait - what if they're just amateurs trying to mess with the Titans by imitating her father's cult. The thirty days condition was odd and not like her father and it didn't sit well with her.
Raven had yet to mention the news to Robin, as Robin was busy going over surveillance tapes for Batman. She knew what she was going to say and all, but didn't want to deal with any sort of rash decision that he might make in light of the news. She could talk to Azar about all of this, but Raven decided to wait until their next training session, as she was assuming that Azar already knew something about this news - if this was truly Trigon, she would.
Getting off the bed, she grabbed her cloak and put it on before walking out of the room and heading downstairs. Reaching the main floor, she made for the library where she found Robin, sprawled out on a sofa with his headphones on. Taking a break, no doubt. Well, time to ruin it...
Looking up at Raven, Robin paused his music and lifted the headphones from his head. Damn it. From her expression, he knew that this was not going to be a personal conversation. He could almost always tell now - after so many late night sessions going over new threats, he now expected her routine. Sitting up, he prepared for any kind of report.
"So...What happened and what do we know?" Robin asked, before Raven could say anything.
"We think my father's cult is back...they blew up the old library in Jump, and blew something up just outside of Titans Tower on the island as a message. They have demanded that the Titans give me to them within thirty days, or they will strike again," Raven explained.
"Wait, isn't your father supposed to be barred from this world?" Robin asked.
"That's what we believe, so this could be my father's cult without his leadership, someone trying to use the cult's reputation to intimidate us, or we could be wrong and my father has returned," Raven said.
"What are the others doing about it so far?" Robin asked.
"They're going to investigate what they can, starting with the voice of whoever called Terra and issued the threat, and then follow the usual procedure," she said.
"Good. So, I guess we'll wait and see what they find?" he asked.
"Right. We'll step in when and if the situation warrants it," she said.
"Just what I was thinking," he said.
Shifting uneasily as she stood, Raven looked away from Robin towards the bookshelf. So far he hasn't suggested anything rash, so I suppose everything is okay, she thought to herself. Robin moved over on the couch and motioned for her to join him. Moving from her spot, she sat down beside him, trying not to anticipate any kind of reaction from him.
"You okay?" Robin asked.
"You have to ask?" Raven asked.
"Thought I'd see if you were going to snap at me or not," he said.
"I'm just...I don't know, tired?" she asked.
"Nervous?" he asked.
"Definitely," she replied.
"Hey, it could just be some half-baked copycat testing the new team's resolve," he said.
"True. Yet, I know better, we both do," she said.
"We'll handle it," he said.
"And then what?" she asked.
"Hopefully that will be the end of it," he said.
"As long as there are gullible, desperate idiots, Trigon will always have his cult," she said.
"Maybe, but how do you know that's who they really are?" he asked.
"Cults appeal to people like that and my father knows it, he has perfected this whole recruitment thing," she said.
"It seems like it...Look, I've been working most of the day and I haven't had much time to relax, and by the looks of it - you could use some down time too, so can we put all of this aside for a while?" he asked.
"You're actually asking me to put a case aside? That's...a switch," she said, raising an eyebrow.
"I know, I'm kicking myself right now, I'm just too tired to know how to react to this," he said.
"Okay, well...what did you have in mind?" she asked.
"Whoa, not so fast - you're still tense, you need to relax," he said.
"And how do you suggest I do that?" she asked.
Robin took off his cape, put it on the floor, and motioned for Raven to take off her cloak. She shrugged and indulged him, putting her cloak on the side of the sofa. He leaned back towards the corner of the back of the couch and pulled her with him. Raven curled up with Robin and tried to clear her mind as he turned off his communicator.
"Nightwing?" Raven asked.
"Yes, Raven?" Robin asked.
"Have you mentioned our plan to Bruce yet?" she asked.
"I will...And you're not relaxing," he said.
"Sorry. What do you want to talk about?" she asked.
"Are you going to be calling me Nightwing all the time now?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I?" she asked.
"It's a little official sounding, not really personal," he said.
"So, do you want me to call you by your real name when we're together, or 'Robin'?" she asked.
"'Robin'," he said.
"Shame...'Nightwing' is a little - well...can't believe I'm even saying this...sexy," she said, an embarrassed expression practically flashing on her face.
"Oh really? Well...call me that when we're "very personal,"" he said, grinning.
"So, officially, I'll call you Nightwing, personally, I'll call you Robin, and 'very personally' I'll call you Nightwing?" Raven asked.
"Right. You know, Starfire tried to get me to call her my 'pretty little pony' after some show, and we weren't even getting that close," Robin said.
"Pretty what? Who in their right mind would associate themselves with something as stupid as that? Ridiculous," she said.
"I know. But you, you're my-," he began.
"If you finish that sentence anywhere outside of our room, you'll be looking for your teeth," she said.
"Oh, it's not like it's bad," he said.
"Don't," she said.
"Alright. Let's just relax," he said.
"Sure," she said.
"Any chance we can get out of this mansion for a while later?" he asked.
"Robin, Azar needs us to stay in until I've finished perfecting these powers. It's difficult to predict how we'll react when these powers finally develop," she said.
"So, how long will that take?" he asked.
"I'm almost finished learning the spells in one of the books Azar gave me. When I've fully grasped those spells, then we'll be able to do what we want, a day or two more at most," she said.
"So, I guess I can't learn any of those, or are you just not going to teach me any?" he said.
"Don't spoil your own surprise…" she said, giving a half-smile.
"Really?" he asked.
"You've been overworking yourself trying to find this criminal…I might have found something that will help you endure all that fun…and more," she said.
"That sounds awesome," he said, smiling.
"Sorry if you're bored, but I hope that will make up for it," she said.
"I'm not bored, Raven, I'm more interested than ever. And I'm going to need all the help I can get if we have another cult on our hands," he said.
"Right. About that…we may have to go back to Jump," she said.
"Raven, they can handle it, if they need our help, they'll ask. Give them a chance to figure it out…Unless you just want to see Beast Boy again," he said, teasing.
"No. Anything but that…I just hope they don't go insane again, or worse…" Raven said, curling up closer to Robin.
(The updates will be random like this one from here on out, but I promise I will finish this story. ~RavensMind~)