To Miss Geek (Guest): Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter. Yes, people do bash me at school. I think it's because I'm different, but I'm used to it by now. I put on a happy face knowing that my reviewers and readers are out there supporting my writing and style. I'll make sure I write to all of my reviewers when I do write a book, thank you for supporting me for this long. I'm trying to hang in there, and with the reviews I received I think I can make it. Fingers crossed for my health, XOXO! Again, thank you.
A/N: Thanks for reviewing last chapter; I appreciate all your support. Really sorry about the late update, a lot is going on in my life... Anyways, this chapter switches POV's pretty fast. So if you have any questions, please let me know. Prepare yourselves…
The last chapter's quote is Iris by Sleeping with Sirens. No one guessed that!
"When I can feel my skin crawl, When I'm about to crack, the hunger for revenge gives me strength to stand." –Deadman Wonderland
Raven POV
We break open the door and rush out of the cell. All around us the mine quivers and rumbles. The white light I emitted destroyed the foundation of this place; it was so erratic of me to do. "We need to find Beast Boy!" I scream to Nightwing.
He looks worried but he doesn't struggle with carrying Starfire. "Hurry, we don't know how deep down we are so we need to escape before it crashes on us." He shouts to me.
We run down the corridor and I use my powers to map out the space around us. It looks like we are the sixth tunnel underneath this mine. Above us is a water reservoir, and five other tunnels we need to get through. The nearest escape hatch is down the hall from Tesla's experiment room. I sprint and make a few turns, I stumble on a few loose rocks but I deal with it. Once we reach Tesla's room I unleash my powers to crack open the door. Tesla is nowhere to be seen, a green and deep red lump in the middle of the floor makes my heart jump and I grab him up in my powers. "Beast Boy!" I shout out to him. My powers envelope him in a protective case and I check his vitals. "Something's not right!" I shout as rocks begin to quiver and fall from above. His bruised body and bloodied, ripped skin reflects back at me and I nearly choke.
I use my powers to envelope Beast Boy in a protective case, we leave the room and my nose and ears begin to bleed. Pushing my energy like this is too much on my body. Rock's tumble from the ceiling and spurts of water soak my body. I tighten my power grip on Beast Boy; there is no way in hell I'm leaving him here. "Follow me!" I scream to a struggling Nightwing.
We move faster and faster, we cross into more tunnels leading up but the sound of rushing water behind us threatens to drown us. It splashes our ankles and I can sense that a huge tidal wave will crash down upon us any moment. After five minutes of climbing through the tunnels leading upwards we see a silver hatch in the ceiling, I don't even bother to check with my powers to see if this is a way out. It has to be. "THIS WAY!" I yell above the raging of the water behind us, so far it's steadily climbing up our ankles.
I use my power to open the hatch, more bloods spurts from my ears and nose, but I concentrate on the grating sound of the metal. I look up into it and far above us a moon shines down. A long shaft surrounded with rocks, pebbles, and boulders is lit up by the murkiness of the moon. Attached to one of the walls is a long wooden ladder, it looks worn out and retired of its perilous years of work. I weigh my options and decide very suddenly to risk it. "We're climbing up and out!" I shout at Nightwing.
He moves to get a look at what we're getting into. "It looks like we're climbing through a straw!"
"WE HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE!" I feel the cold sulfuric water climb to my knees, the water is rising, FAST. I use my powers and send Beast Boy up first, his slumped form bumps against the rocks but my powers keep lifting him towards that milky moon. Nightwing nods and secures Starfire to his shoulder, he begins to climb up the rickety ladder, it shudders and creaks and I hold my breath.
It holds, thank Azar.
I climb after Nightwing and the water below starts to rise faster. I look up and little pebbles still fall from the walls onto my face, I can still see the exit though. We're so close, so close. The mine shakes violently and the water before me churns faster, the walls of the shaft we are climbing up shakes and crumbles slightly. I scream and my powers shudder around Beast Boy. He flops momentarily until I get a grip. This time I send him up faster, Nightwing picks up pace too.
My legs begin to ache and water begins to slop and slash at my ankles, it's rising much faster than I thought. "HURRY!" I yell to Nightwing. I look down and the water keeps rising. Thankfully I see our exit closer and Beast Boy's form disappears into the moonlit sky, meaning he's safe on the surface. I breathe a sigh of relief and the walls shudder again.
Nightwing disappears with Starfire over the surface and I climb just a couple feet more, I can almost taste the fresh air. The mine suddenly shakes again, but this time it's not a shake, it's a lurch. It feels like someone pulled the rug from underneath me. The ladder begins to crack and splinter and my hands prickle with the wood. I try to take another step but the wood breaks and the ladder falls off the wall. For mere second I believe that I can summon enough energy in time to save myself, but I can't.
My body plunges into icy sulfuric water. It enters my nose, my mouth, and my lungs. It stings my eyes and I try to grasp my powers but I can't. I feel the warm blood trickle out of my nose and ears, it stains the water and I try to tread it. My body slams into the wall and goes paralyzed. I can't move anything and my powers whimper beneath the water. My vision goes horribly blurry and before I pass out I let out the last air I have in a blood curdling scream.
January 20
Jump City- Evening
Jason POV
Our search has gone numb. We arrived yesterday morning in search of Cyborg, and nothing has turned up. We fought a few villains, Wally and Jinx saved a suicidal civilian, and we convinced Jump City that the original Titans are on a private case. I feel like all we've done is run errands. Right now we're still pacing around the Tower thinking of our next move, our next searching area. In my opinion this is a huge waste of time.
"Where to next?" I ask Flash and Jinx.
They look at me sadness and worry in their eyes. "We've looked everywhere; I just don't know what to do." Jinx whispers and leans on Flash for support.
Bee looks like she's about to cry, but if I've learned anything about her is that she never shows her weaknesses in front of others. "We need to keep searching." She says between gritted teeth. "We can't give up."
I sigh and rub my eyebrows. "Can you imagine what's going on in Gotham right now? Bellerose and Scarecrow are probably running rampant by now!" I lie, obviously Batman can handle crooks while we're gone, but I can't stand pointless searching.
Bee wheels on me, her eyes fiery with rage. "Why do you give up so easily?"
Babs jumps between us before a fight breaks out. "Fighting won't solve anything, we need to strategize, we need to analyze."
Flash throws his hands into the air with anger. "We've already searched his room, we went through his phone records, and even tracked his Cybernetic material! What analyzing do we need to keep doing?"
I nod silently. "All I know is that Babs and I NEED to get back to Gotham." I say it with urgency but Babs glares at me.
"We can keep searching…" She says lowly.
I shake my head and use my eyes to explain why. We need to find Scarecrow, we need revenge, and I need revenge. I need to take down Batman. Of course I don't say that, but Babs knows that we have other duties to attend to. "We're leaving."
Bee's wings flutter rapidly. "NO! He's out there somewhere, Titans never give up!" She pleads.
I chuckle and her face changes to complete rage. "We're not Titans." I threaten. I grab Bab's wrist and haul her towards our Batplane on the roof. Bee shouts a few profanities at us as we leave and I hear the scuffling of footsteps. Jinx is restraining her and Flash is just standing by with a frown on his face. "Not our problem anymore!" I shout and exit the building.
Babs yanks her arm free from me. "How could you be so insensitive?" She shouts on the rooftop.
I sigh angrily, we are wasting precious time. "This is not our problem, its bird boys' and his funny colored friends. We are not Titans, we are the Bat clan." Saying the 'we' bothers me but Babs can't tell, she's too busy seething with rage.
"You are SO selfish! They are HEROES, like us! It's our duties as heroes to save other heroes!" She screams.
My face goes rigid and my blood boils dangerously. Hero? Am I really a hero? My fists clench and I think of Scarecrow, the man I killed nights ago, my parents, and Batman's disappointment in me. I look at Babs and her face turns from rage to fear. "I am NOT a hero." I say darkly.
Babs stares at me speechless, her face is twisted in confusion and fear. What else was I supposed to say, I AM a hero? Never. I am not a hero, nor villain. I'm Jason, and I will get what I want. "Let's go." I growl and enter the plane.
The ride back to Gotham was deadly silent; it was a perfect opportunity to think about the rest of my plan and ways to kill Batman once and for all. The best part is that Babs doesn't even know my true intentions.
I know I have her fooled.
Nightwing POV
Raven's gone, she's GONE! I gently lay Starfire down next to a sprawled out unconscious Beast Boy. I look back into the hole and grip the edges of the shaking ground so I don't fall in. The water is now much higher and churning with life, but not Raven.
"RAVEN!" I scream into the hole. She was so close to the surface, so CLOSE! "RAVEN!" She was right behind me one moment, and the next… "RAVEN!"
The ground shudders again and I look around for anything to help. A rope, anything! Nothing. I fumble around my weapons belt and feel my grappling hook; the ground is too shaky to use it though. I'm torn; I don't know what to do. I'm supposed to be a leader, and I can't even save my teammate.
A sudden scream tears me out of my trance and I look back down at the sulfuric water, purple hair rises and sinks. "RAVEN!" I make my decision quick and I jump into the hole.
My projectory is all wrong and my back scrapes violently against the rocky shard like wall. I feel my skin peel away in places and the warm dribble of blood soak the new bruises. I reach up and shoot my grappling gun; it connects with the edge of the hole, the ground still murmurs and shakes beneath us. The hook catches and stops my falling. I'm a foot above the water, dangling by my weakened arms. "RAVEN!"
No sign of her, she can't drown. We need her, I need her. She's literally the closest thing I've ever had to a sister. My thoughts stutter and I do what my instincts tell me. I let go of the hook and plunge into the water. It's icy cold and the sulfur immediately begins to sting and burn at my injuries. I yelp in frustration and hold my breath before I plunge deeper into the water. I strain my burning eyes and try to find any sign of her.
Jackpot. She's sinking fast, but I can reach her if I try. I reach out and my hand grazes hers. I latch onto it and use my remaining strength to yank her towards me. The water bubbles around me and my lungs feel like they're on fire, but I can save her. I can do this!
I kick upwards and I reach the surface of the water. I suck in the sulfur air and check Raven's pulse. She's still alive. I gasp desperately, spitting cold nasty water from my mouth. I look up and realize that the hook is too far from me, "NO!"
I try to reach for it, but my attempts force my body to dip even further into the water each time I attempt. Suddenly a piece of the broken ladder pressed into my back, digging in deep. I yell out in pain and try to kick it away but a ledge of rock has lodged it there permanently. "Raven I am so sorry." I whisper and dip back underneath the water.
My lungs pressurize and feel like they're going to explode. I burst back to the surface but this time I'm underneath that ladder piece. With a sudden clarity that hits me like a ton of bricks I realize that we're trapped. I'm trapped. "We're done." I look back up the shaft at the shining moon; it looks like it's mocking me, taunting me because it won this game.
I continue to kick my legs but after a few minutes of clutching onto Raven and kicking my skin and muscles go numb. The water is slowly killing me. "NO!" I accidently swallow a handful of water and gasp for more air. The ladder continues to trap us and the mine shakes again, even more violently. I continue to choke and more water starts to cover my head. "N-O!" I cough once more before going completely under.
The funny thing about drowning is that for a few moments you try to battle death head on. But in the end it doesn't even matter because the fear of dying melts away and turns into ecstatic curiosity for the unknown. Through the bubbling water I look up and see a green flash before blacking out.
Babs POV
I storm into the Manor in a dither of complete rage. I left Jason behind at the plane; I need to talk to Bruce, NOW. After sitting for hours in a plane I was able to finally realize that we are all probably in danger. Not from Bellerose, or Scarecrow, or even the Joker. Jason is the danger. He's gone completely insane! I can see it in his eyes.
It's like staring into a pit of lava and sad puppies. There's so much raw emotion and pain, it takes a lot of courage not to break the gaze. But on top of that is a fiery rage, a blind and feral look, it's almost as if he's ready to drop everything he has and kill anyone in his way.
Would he?
No…
Maybe…
NO! I can't allow myself to think about that, I need to report to Bruce. He'll know what to do. I burst into his study; he turns around in his swivel chair, a glass of scotch in his hand. He regards me with his eyes and I take that as my chance to talk. I shut the doors and lock them. "You need to know something." I say a little breathlessly.
Bruce sighs and puts the glass down. "Did you find Cyborg?"
I shake my head. "He's still missing but Jason dragged us away, anyways-"
"Has Richard returned?" He asks, rudely interrupting me.
I roll my eyes, his concern for his eldest adoptive son is so apparent to everyone except Richard. "No, can you please lis-"
"That's not normal, he should've been back by now…" He mumbles and stands up; ignoring that fact that he blatantly ignored me. "I'm going to retrieve them, keep me updated." He begins to start leaving the room but I block him.
"Listen to ME!" I screech.
Bruce has always been able to keep up the calm façade so the reaction I wanted from him didn't come, and if it did it's probably hidden beneath the leather bindings of his soul where he keeps the rest of his emotions locked up. "Something's wrong with Jason."
I see the curiosity in his eyes again, and I silently pride myself on peaking his interest. "What's wrong with him?"
I sigh and peel off my sticky mask. "There's something dark in him, its consuming who he is as a person. He's not the same as when you first took him in, there's a hostility that could be problematic for this team." I finish with an aching breath.
Bruce rubs his chin. "Why don't I see it?"
I roll my eyes. "You're too antagonistic to see it, you don't care."
"Are you saying I don't care for my son?" He asks suddenly. It amazes me that he used that term, and in his eyes I can see the sadness there. He really does care for Jason.
"No, I'm just telling you that bad things are ahead, I feel it." I urge him, pleading him with my eyes to take my caution seriously. "Jason is dangerous." I finish.
Bruce shakes his head and my heart sinks. "Watch him, stick with him. You'll keep him under control." He walks past me and toward the locked door.
I wheel on him and sigh angrily. "Just remember that I warned you! Remember that I predicted the inevitable when this world goes to shit!" My breathing is faster now, with rage and panic. How am I the only person seeing this?
He stops momentarily. "I'll remember…" He grumbles and stalks out of the Study.
I slump in my stance and feel a sudden need to give up. I think of my dad, and all the hard work he puts into protecting everyone's identities. I think even harder of my mom and remember how she never gave up anything she did, even on her death bed she only surrendered at the last moment. "I won't surrender until the last moment." I whisper and also leave the study.
As I walk into the hall I bump into Alfred. He has a worried expression on his face. "Good evening Miss Barbara."
I nod at him politely. "Any word from the Titans?"
Alfred sighs sadly. "No, but that means the Green one probably did not receive the cure they had wanted to retrieve."
I think about Beast Boy's illness and think about Richard. His team is the most important thing in his life; he would fight a war for them. "I hope they're okay." I whisper, nearly forgetting Alfred is there.
"I hope so too Miss Barbara." He gives me a kind old smile and leaves the hallway, as soon as he leaves I see Jason disappear into the weapons room. I jog towards it and use my sneakiness to edge my way in without being heard.
He's grabbing a bunch of Robin-esque weaponry and stuffing them into his belt. "What are you doing?" I yell, trying to scare him.
He doesn't jump but smiles. "Not 'you', we. We're going to find Scarecrow." He looks at me as if awaiting my answer.
What I really want to do right now is run to Bruce and tell him what Jason is doing behind his back. I want to show Bruce the darkness in his eyes, but if I do that I'll seem like the crazy one. I need more reasons, more evidence. I sigh and grab a weapon to restock my belt with. "Fine." I say with a fake amusement in my eyes.
I know I have him fooled.
January 22
Wayne Manor- Morning
Raven POV
My head is still pounding but at this moment I'm just happy to be alive. The last thing I remember is drowning and waking up in the infirmary with Nightwing, Starfire, and Beast Boy. Batman had retrieved us from Argentina yesterday; once we arrived here we were taken care of medically. The only way I know we got out of the shaft was that Starfire awoke and saved Nightwing and me.
Miraculous.
Batman was extremely pissed off at Nightwing's inability to capture their captor, but even I could sense the relief in his emotions. We were all safe, even Beast Boy. The doctors told us he was cleared of the Sakutia virus, I'm not sure if Tesla did that on purpose or accident. Beast Boy's body is still in pretty bad shape though.
His spinal cord was nearly exposed, almost paralyzing him. His arms were lacerated down to the bone, cuts, scrapes and deep gashes littered his green skin, and bruises were turning a brownish color. He'd been out cold since Batman rescued us; I've been by his side nonstop. Nightwing is helping Starfire recover, and I will help Beast Boy recover.
One of his ankles was sprained, but I will help him heal. My powers are slowly recovering and I'll be able to take away his pain. My love for him is deeper than I realized and I am full of happiness for his awakening. I'm even happier that he's still himself after the cure, he is still green and I can feel that his powers are there.
"Friend Raven!" Starfire exclaims from across the room, interrupting my thoughts.
I sigh and turn towards her; we are all confined to this infirmary until further notice. Nightwing just angrily sighs in the corner, angry over recent news. "Yes Starfire?"
She looks sad suddenly. "Do you think friend Cyborg is alright?"
I think about that deeply. Alfred and Barbara told us that he went missing and they've been trying to find him ever since. Bee was a practical emotional wreck, but she's still searching. "I'm worried about him, and once we recover we're going to go find him."
Nightwing's head snaps up, his arms are still in a wrap and his patched up face still reflects every emotion he's feeling. "We're not just going to find him; we're going to capture whoever took him." He growls.
Starfire looks at him with the same sadness. "You believe Cyborg was captured?"
He nods. "Jason didn't try hard enough to find him, when I get up he's getting a firm kick in the ass."
Starfire giggles and that cheers Nightwing up immensely. They look at each other in a way I've never seen before and I look away. I scoot off my bed and pull up a chair by a STILL unconscious Beast Boy. His eyelashes are rested against his cheeks and he looks so much more fragile when he's like this.
I think back to the campsite and what we did. I blush at the memory and kiss his cheek. "Please wake up." I whisper. I want to feel his hand on mine again; I want to feel his lips on mine. That may be selfish but I don't care. He is now the key, the beacon of my happiness.
Starfire and Nightwing come over with me and we all stare down at Beast Boy. His eyelids suddenly twitch and I nearly jump in shock. "Beast Boy?" His eyelids twitch again and pure exhilaration goes through me. "GAR?" His green eyes suddenly pop open and his body jerks to life. Pure confusion litters his face but I don't care, I spring into his arms and hug him as tight as I can.
"I am so glad you're back!" Starfire makes an 'aww' sound and I pull away from the hug. "How are you feeling?" I'm ready to heal him; the pure brightness I feel is almost chokingly beautiful.
He gazes at our faces, his own face still twisted in confusion. He looks down at himself and his eyes go wide. His green eyes and green face look straight at me. "Who are you people?"
And just like that the brightness I feel darkens.
A/N: BOOM DRAMA BOMB! You all probably hate me now! I am SO sorry but this is what I had planned for their arch! My writing wasn't as great in this chapter (not enough in my opinion). Tell me what you think. More crazy stuff ahead and we eventually delve into why I originally called this story 'Internally' destined. Hmm, any thoughts?
Please Follow, Favorite, and REVIEW! It means so much to me.
Next Chapter: Flinx romance (some of you wanted a peek into their lives), Jason and Babs still search for Scarecrow, Nightwing decides the team's fate, and Raven's soul darkens…
P.S. READERS OF GREEN TEA, LISTEN UP! So I'm in a sort of dilemma, I wrote Green Tea 2, but it ends with a cliffie…So should I make the series a trilogy or one short story? Let me know.