Honey Honey
Sweet Dance
2008
The source of the disturbance came from an abandoned chocolate factory that had gone under three years prior. The immense building stood just on the outskirts of the city. The smell of dust and aged chocolate rushed outside as the Titans shoved open the heavy doors.
"The report didn't say who the intruder was," Robin said quietly, striding quickly into the large room. Starfire hurried after him, her expression anxious.
"Too bad this place shut down," Beast Boy mourned. "It would have been awesome to come here while it was still open." He eyed the immobile conveyor belts, as though hoping they would begin moving, bringing boxes packed full of candy.
"Please," Starfire inquired. She too was watching the machinery, although she seemed much more wary of the silent equipment, "this is the manner in which your chocolate was created?"
"So it's true then." came a ringing voice, before anyone could instruct Starfire on the Earthly ways of candy making. "You are the guardians of this place?"
The Titans tensed, each gazing around the darkened room for the source of the speaker.
"Show yourself!" Robin ordered, carefully drawing out his bo staff. Glancing behind him, he caught Raven's eye. He nodded curtly at her; she glared at him and he gaped at her, apparently flabbergasted by this response.
"No," came the calm reply. "After all, I did not receive an answer to my question. Quite rude, you know."
Cyborg shifted uneasily. The voice was dripping with arrogance, mockery, and contempt, taunting them.
"This is our city," Robin said sharply. "Now tell us what you want."
"Why, you're just children! I knew this was going to be easy but taking your plane will be like … well, like taking candy from a baby."
A figure appeared then, rising up out of the floor. He was tall, cold black eyes surveying them. He would have been very handsome, if not for the nasty smile that danced across his face. He hovered, a few feet above the floor and laughed.
"I do hate to be so clichéd, you know."
Raven expelled a great rush of air, feeling as though she had been punched in the stomach.
"No," she blurted, before she could stop herself , "You're just a myth."
"Ah, my little girl. You are mistaken. I am a legend," he hissed, and raised his hands. A crackling blue ball begin to form in his hands.
"Titans, go!" Robin sang out and the five darted away as the blue ball smashed into the cement floor.
"You will leave now!" Starfire cried, flying above the black-clad man, flinging bolts of green at him. He sprang away, dodging her, but was hit by a charging Beast Boy, who had transformed into a rhinoceros. He grunted and landed a few feet away, blonde hair spilling over his face. When he glanced up, he saw Cyborg standing in front of him, cannon aimed at his face.
"Now, now," the man said and sank into the floor.
He reappeared behind Robin, placing his hands on the boy's back and shooting several blue rays of light, launching the Boy Wonder several feet into the air.
"Robin!" Raven and Starfire cried at the same time. Raven met the gaze of the alien princess but both girls looked away quickly, multitudes of curse words shooting through Raven's mind as she watched Robin sail through the air.
The man, noting the girls' distraction, shot more spitting blue balls at the both of them. Raven crossed her arms, shielding herself, and watching the balls bounce harmless away before darting after Robin. She caught him, gathering him in her arms, the both of them sinking to the ground. There was a crash from behind Raven that was Starfire hitting the ground.
"Ow," Robin muttered, squinting around and smiling dopily when he saw Raven.. There were several more heavy thuds and what sounded suspiciously like a small explosion but Raven disregarded it, her attention on Robin.
"Oh. Uh, thanks," he said, sitting up and rubbing his head.
"Of course," Raven replied, her hands falling into her lap. The familiar black shield sprung up around them as piece of machinery came soaring toward them; the metal rebounded off and clattered to the ground.
"Raven - ''Robin began, but stopped when Raven sprang to her feet.
"The first time you've spoken my name in a week, Robin," she said, "and we're in the middle of a battle."
He ducked his head, running a hand through his hair.
"I'm sorry, I just -''
"No," she said, beginning to fly away; he seized her wrist., bringing her back down the ground with him.
"I'm sorry," he repeated insistently, drawing her close. The piece of equipment to their right suddenly exploded. Raven wasn't entirely sure if it had anything to do with their current predicament or …
God damn it.
She reached up, gently touching his cheek, before wrenching herself free and returning to the battle.
It was not going well. Beast Boy was not pleased. They always won … but they were currently getting their butts kicked.
Ugh. Totally lame.
He morphed into a Tyrannosaurus, with Cyborg perched on the edge of his snout, firing off several blasts from his arm. Whoever this guy they were fighting was, though, excelled at combat. He deflected Cyborg's fire easily enough and simply melded with the ground when Beast Boy trampled past. Starfire darted around in mid-air, hurling star bolt after star bolt. She was successful, more often than not, but he seemed to shrug off the blows. Raven hurled pieces of conveyor belt,, boxes, anything within her range. The man glanced up, smirking at Raven, and received a kick to the head from Robin as a reward.
"Enough!" he cried, throwing his hands up above his hands. A sky-blue half-circle blossomed from the palms of his hands, encasing him. "You try my patience, mortals."
"As if," Beast Boy quipped haughtily. "Bad guys always say that when they lose."
The man disregarded the changeling, turning his gaze instead to Raven.
"You, little bird, truly are your father's daughter."
And then he was gone, with a long, cheerless laugh ringing in their ears.
---
"What. The. Hell." Beast Boy flopped miserably onto their living room couch, one arm draped over his eyes. "Who was that guy?"
As Raven had partly expected, the other three Titans turned expectant eyes on her.
"Not a 'who' but a 'what,'" she said, frowning as she struggled to recall the story. "It was a book I read years ago. About a guardians of the portals, between various worlds. They were supposed to be all-powerful, immortal, eternal sentinels to protect the evils of the lower worlds from getting through."
"And what happened?" Robin asked, raising an eyebrow.
"According to the legend," Raven continued, "they all died. Killed by one of their own, who betrayed them. It's said that he made an agreement with Trigon, that he murdered his brothers and sisters so that he could travel freely between the worlds and one by one, they all would submit to him."
"Heavy," Beast Boy breathed, sitting up and examining Raven thoughtfully as he stroked his chin.
"It was just a legend, though. It wasn't supposed to have actually happened," Raven groaned, examining her palm, convinced she would see the mark of Trigon etched onto her skin. Although her flesh was unmarked, she still felt a nervous twisting in her stomach.
Then again, Robin had moved awfully close to her since the start of the conversation … she swallowed hard.
"So what's his name?" Cyborg asked.
"Cadric. His name is Cadric."
"So, we simply need to destroy the Cadric and all will be well!" Starfire piped up, her optimistic smile not quite reaching her eyes.
"We can handle it. Trigon's already been defeated," Robin said, placing a hand on Raven's shoulder. "This guy can't be much worse."
"I think the incarnation of all evil is a lot worse," Beast Boy quickly agreed.
"And here I'd hoped we were done with all of this end of the world nonsense," Raven said dryly.