Chapter 4

Dawn was beginning to pour over the city, filling even the darkest corners of the streets with a pale, ethereal glow. Birds began to sing in the early light, and in the broken houses, all throughout the 'bad-lands', men, women, and children smiled to see the new day. All accept one. She sat in the shadows at the back of the warehouse, naked, clothes forgotten in a bag three feet away. On the other side of the room, chains winked and glittered in the fair dawn, mocking the tormented girl, throwing the pools of drying blood and fluid into sharp relief. She sat, scratching and rubbing at her skin, scrubbing the heel of her palm across the flesh in a desperate attempt to brush away the blood that was drying there. She looked down, and noticed the caked white stains across the inside of her thigh. A sobbing, whimper tore itself from between her lips and she desperately clasped a hand across her mouth. Someone was keening, high and thin and pitiful, and she realised it was her own voice – lost and pathetic in the shadows, her hand doing nothing to muffle the noises. Her hand dropped from her mouth and went to work scouring her skin, frantic to try and remove the evidence of the previous night's activities.

The harder she scrubbed, the worse it seemed to stick. Wounds she had neither the presence of mind nor the strength to heal, parted and bled – oozing blood and the beginnings of pus, down torn and shredded skin. She was so preoccupied with her desperate attempt to make herself clean, that she did not hear the footfalls walking towards her, did not sense his presence until his hand grabbed her wrists and held them together, halting her movement.

She screamed and shot backwards from the kneeling figure, arms and legs flailing, in an instinctive attempt at self preservation. Years of knowing where to hit and when to punch, vanished under the sheer weight of her panic. Vision clouded, greying around the edges as her lungs sucked into too much oxygen and expelled it too rapidly. Dizziness threatened to suck her under as she began to hyperventilate. She collapsed against him, sweat beading on her forehead, skin white with panic and adrenaline. Her breath came in shuddering gasps, her body trembling against his chest.

Within moments of her collapse, X felt her body go limp in his arms. Startled, he immediately searched for a pulse, heaving a sigh of relief when he found it – weak and shallow, fluttering like a caged hummingbird against her skin. Frowning, the young man surveyed the girl in his arms. Gone was the strong, resilient woman he had met before; in her place was a frightened and broken teenager, lacerations and bruises marring her body, blood still oozing sluggishly from wounds she hadn't been able to heal. Her tawny hair was sweat soaked and matted, plastered to her naked body and crusted with blood and fluids he did not want to think about. Gathering her broken body into his arms, he once again teleported the golden eyed girl back to his home.

Raven closed her eyes and tilted her head towards the suns rays. Though light had already flooded the sky, signalling true morning, she was the only one of the Titans awake. Even Robin, who was notorious for spending every workable hour of a day obsessing over Jump City's criminals, was still sleeping. Allowing the smallest of smiles to tilt the corner of her lips, Raven inhaled deeply, relishing in the fresh, sharp breeze, which blew in from the sea. She allowed herself to fall deeper into the sense of calm she had achieved, filtering out the sounds of the city in the distance, focusing instead on the sound of her own breathing and waves crashing against the shore. So focused was she on her own serenity, that she did not sense X's presence until he grabbed her shoulder.

Eyes flying open, Raven instinctively called black energy to her hands, raising her arms in anticipation of her fight. Instead, she was met with two gloved hands raised in the universal sign of surrender and a white skull mask. Raven was not sure if she was imagining things, but she imagined that the face presented to her looked worried, and drawn – almost as if the material of the suit was reflecting the emotions of the wearer.

As Raven lowered her hands, X lowered his own. Studying the thief, Raven decided that her earlier assessment was correct. His shoulders were slumped, his movements were tired, his usual swagger and bravado were non-existent – he was truly worried about something. About to open her mouth to ask why he was here, at Titans Tower, when he knew she could easily arrest him, she was stopped by his voice.

"I need a favour." The computerised masking device, could not disguise the sense of urgency behind his words.

Raven raised her eyebrows. "What kind of favour?" she asked. Part of her was hesitant to ask what the favour was, but Logic argued that the level of worry in his voice, defied a request for personal gain.

The masked thief straightened, looking down intently into the empath's face. Though his gaze was hidden behind white voids in the mask, Raven knew he was looking straight into her eyes. "I need you to heal someone, she's badly injured. I've done what I can, but it's not going to be enough."

Raven studiously ignored the unfamiliar jolt in her stomach, when X mentioned the girl. Instead she forced her attention on the situation, on why X was coming to her. She wondered briefly how X knew she had the ability, but reasoned that such an adversary was unlikely to be ignorant about his enemies. She was curious to know just how much information he did have on the Titans. "You can't take her to a hospital?" she asked eventually.

X shook his head. "They would ask too many questions. I've watched the Titans enough know that you alone wouldn't ask questions. You know enough about the choices we make in life to know not all secrets can be shared. Your team-mates, the police – they don't understand that. Will you help?"

Raven chewed her lip, running over the consequences in her mind. If Robin found out that she had met X, been face to face with him, had helped him, and then let him go, there would be hell to pay. On the other hand, she could hardly agree to go with X willingly and then turn round and arrest him. Looking up into a mask, which seemed to mirror its owner's pain, Raven made her decision.

"Let's go."

Raven stumbled slightly as she materialised inside the walls of X's apartment, surprised, but relieved when she felt a firm hand wrap around her upper arm to keep her steady. Suit-teleportation was very different from her own version of it. She nodded her thanks to the thief, glancing around briefly at her surroundings. Everywhere she looked was polished wood, offset by modern décor.

Turning back towards her host, she motioned for him to lead the way. He did so, walking down the hall before disappearing into the first room on the right. Raven followed at a slower pace, taking the time to snatch glimpses of this mysterious man's home. The apartment spoke of money, but not the exorbitant amounts that X made stealing – she idly wondered where the rest of it went. Realising that she was probably taking longer than necessary to move down the hallway, Raven walked swiftly into the room. It was spacious, airy, with light streaming through the gap in the heavy curtains. X was knelt down by the side of the bed, his fingers wrapped around the wrist of the person lying there. Raven guess he was measuring a pulse.

Gliding silently closer to the bed, Raven fought the urge to raise her hood back over her head. Timid was screaming at her to hide her face from strangers; Logic pointed out that the person – girl, Raven noted – was quite obviously unconscious and was therefore no threat. The dark witch also noted that the girl was naked. She felt again a jolt in the pit of her stomach, as her mind sought to produce an explanation as to why X would have a naked, bleeding, unconscious girl in what was clearly his bedroom.

Moving so she was standing by the side of the bed, Raven surveyed the damaged. Long, razor thin slashes ran the length of her back in criss-crossing patterns – evidence of a lashing. Burn marks spotted her skin, along with a several severe lacerations and a multitude of minor ones, which, from the slight melting of the skin around them, were made from a heated blade. Raven's gaze travelled on downwards, and she chocked back the gag reflex, when she saw dried blood coating the inside of the girl's thighs – she knew what that signified. Bruises flourished sickeningly on her pale skin – standing out in livid relief – many carrying the almost black tinge that attested to true force.

Raven finished her visual examination to find X looking at her, one hand still holding the wrist of the unconscious girl. Eyes flicking between the thief and his refugee, she nodded once, before dropping her cloak – not noticing the way the thief's eyes instantly drifted to her legs - and settling herself on the edge of the bed, one hand raised with black, glowing energy. Taking a deep breath, Raven centred herself, concentrating all her energy on healing the broken body before her.

Raven blinked several times, as her mind left its state of deep meditation and her hand ceased to glow with dark energy. Outside, the sun had moved through the sky, past its peak and on towards the horizon. Sighing, Raven pushed herself to her feet, only to stumble when her legs refused to hold her weight. Without warning, a strong arm slid around her waist to keep her upright, drawing her against a warm, hard, and obviously male body.

Muttering her gratitude, Raven turned her head away as a blush spread violently across her cheeks. The tingling sensation that had rushed across her skin at the contact was replaced with a sudden, and aching sense of loss at the arm was removed and the warm presence behind her stepped back. Furious with her own physical reaction, Raven turned her will on Nevermore, in an attempt to throw Lust into the furthest reaches of her mind. Her efforts were thwarted however, when the clearing of a throat, broke through her thoughts.

Turning she saw X standing a few feet from her, hands shoved into pockets Raven had not been aware the xynothium powered suit possessed. Noticing the thief's attention was no longer on her, Raven followed his gaze. The girl's hair was still matted and dirty, and her body was still caked in blood, but her face was peaceful. The fair skin had lost the hollow, sickened look it had held before Raven had arrived, and the dark witch could almost imagine that the young woman was simply sleeping rather than unconscious.

"I thought she would be awake by now." Raven glanced back towards X at the sound of his voice.

"She should wake up soon. I kept her unconscious whilst I was healing her, simply because any pain I caused wouldn't be felt that way. I let her body take over again, once I had finished."

X nodded, frowning beneath the mask at the girl on the bed. Why did she keep doing this to herself? Turning back to the young super-hero, he regarded her thoughtfully. His eyes were drawn to long, slender legs, curved hips, trim waist upwards over the rest of her body to her face. Though her body was pleasing, X was transfixed by her eyes. Their rich, purple hue shone like amethysts in the afternoon light. Absorbing the suns rays and reflecting them with a deeper glow. He vaguely wondered what they would look like in candlelight. Her hair, the same colour as her eyes, hung softly around her face, framing features whose delicacy was often lost to the depths of her hood. X did not realise how long her had been staring until the sorceress raised a finely arched eyebrow in enquiry.

Choosing to ignore the unasked question, X braced himself to ask his second favour of the night. "There's something else I need you to do for me – for her, if you're willing." Behind his mask, the thief's eyes darted from amethyst to gold and back again.

Raven's face remained impassive as she regarded the thief. Seconds stretched by in silence, the only sound in the room, the soft, warm breathing of three living beings. "What is it that needs doing?" Raven asked eventually, satisfied from the lack of agitated emotion coming from the thief that his intent was a pure one.

"She has children – well they're not hers exactly, but she looks after them. Clothes, food, roof over their heads – that sort of thing. She's the eldest, the rest are younger – by how much I don't know. Someone needs to go to their house – make sure they're all right – that they have stuff to eat, that everyone got home safe last night. You're a hero – a Teen Titan – they'll trust you more than they would be. Let them know she's okay, that you healed her and she's resting. She should be back with them tonight."

Moving over to one wall, he ran his hands along the plaster until his gloved fingers found a near invisible seam. Following the line down until he felt it begin to turn a corner, he pressed and watched with satisfaction as a previously invisible panel swung open to reveal a metal safe.

Spinning the combination rapidly, X opened the safe and reached inside and pulled out a single white envelope. Closing everything up again, X walked back to where he had left the violet-haired empath. Holding out the envelope, he waited as she finished fixing the clasp of her throat. He snuck one last glance at the long, pale expanse of her legs, before her cloak once again hid them from sight.

"Give them the money, they'll need it. I don't know how they've got it worked down there – I don't even know if she got paid last night." His voice was bland, almost conversational but Raven's eyes shot towards his face.

"Paid? But I thought –" she stopped confused, then realisation dawned, and her face paled. "Oh." Suddenly her own voice seemed too loud for her ears, for the room's subdued quiet. Forcing her eyes from where they had come to rest on the unconscious girl, Raven addressed X.

"How do I get to this place?"

Raven materialised into existence on the opposite side of the street to the House Red-X had directed her to. Keeping to the shadows, she watched the house for signs of life. The sun had not yet begun its final slip below the horizon, but it was well on its journey. Gnawing unconsciously at her lower lip, Raven contemplated what she would find in the house across the street. Were these children all like her? Selling their bodies for sex, for pain, doing anything and everything, they could to survive. Should she judge them? No. Did she judge them? Yes, and for that she was ashamed. Logic told her that these children had no choice, that there was no shame in trying to stay alive. But at the same time, her mind screamed at her that this was bad, wrong, unclean – Instinct and Logic warred in her head until finally Logic one, banishing Instinct, for the time, to the further reaches of Nevermore.

Raven jumped as a street lamp flickered on overhead. Scolding herself, she straightened her shoulders and walked across the street swiftly. Raising one hand, the mystic teen knocked sharply three times, smothering a wince as her knuckles grated against rough and rotting wood. There was silence. Even with her ear nearly pressed to the doorframe, Raven could not hear a thing. Only her empathic abilities told her that there was life inside. Knocking again, Raven felt the spike of fear that flooded the house. The rush of emotion almost overwhelmed her. Maybe 10 people inside in total. About to knock for a third time, reluctant as she was to simply teleport herself into their home, Raven was stopped by the slow opening of the door.

Metal ground against metal as the iron door, opened barely an inch, and one eye peered out. Upon seeing a Teen Titan standing in the doorway, the hand holding the door jumped back in surprise, momentarily opening the door wider before swinging it back into place – allowing only an inch of space for conversation.

"You're Raven, from the Teen Titans." Raven nodded. "What do you want?" The voice was male, but young – that of a boy not a man. Raven felt a rush of sympathy for the boy – to be trapped in a world such as his at such a young age was not a fate she would wish for anyone.

"I've come to let you know she's okay." Raven hoped that he would understand whom she was talking about, as she did not know the tawny-haired girl's name. X had not mentioned it, and she had not asked. "Things got rough last night and she was hurt – she couldn't make it home. I found her, and healed her. She's resting now. She should be back with you tonight." Strategically, Raven left out X's name. Better not to reveal that she was in contact with one of Jump's most elusive criminals.

"She's okay?" Relief was evident in the boy's voice and the young hero imagined that his face reflected what he felt. "That's great." He seemed to hesitate for a moment before he opened the door wider and stepped back. "You'd better come in."

Raven accepted the invitation with a quick nod of her head and an almost smile. As soon as her cloak had fluttered through the door, the wood and metal entryways were hastily shut and a series of locks and chains thrown quickly into place. The soft patter of tiny feet on the bare wood flooring interrupted the security measures however. Turning, Raven saw a little girl standing in a doorway. Soft, sun-kissed brown hair – which would no doubt turn darker with age – tumbled over her shoulders and around her face as she scrubbed a hand against sleepy, lavender coloured eyes. Yawning, the child tucked her feet underneath the hem of her faded pink nightgown. The girl could be no more than three.

The boy, who had opened the door, also noticed their visitor. With a snort of exasperation, he moved swiftly past Raven to scoop the little girl up into his arms, murmuring softly into her – too quietly for Raven to hear. The child nodded once before twisting in his arms to gaze solemnly at the hero. Speaking to the child once more, the boy put her down and watched silently as she looked once more at Raven before scampering away up the stairs. There was a heartbeat's silence before the sound of a door opening and shutting was heard.

Indicating that she should follow him, the boy led Raven into the kitchen, settling himself into the corner so he could watch all areas of the room at once. Raven felt something inside her crumble ever so slightly. Not even Robin, for all his paranoia did that when he walked into a room – even if it was with a stranger. She realised then, that the people living in this house were no longer children in the true sense of the word – they were adults trapped in children's body; jaded beyond their years and with no hope for the future.

She was brought from her thoughts when the boy spoke again. "How badly was she hurt? Why couldn't she heal herself?"

The question startled Raven, and she was forced to contemplate her answer before making a reply. The boy's question confirmed something she had suspected since healing the girl. The girl lying in the bed was the reason X had wanted to know about psychic healers – she was a healer, the kind spoken of in fairy tales and legends. The question as to why she had not healed herself still puzzled the empath. Her body should have healed itself unless she had deliberately prevented the process, and since she was unconscious, that seemed almost impossible.

"It is possible that she went into mental shock before she could begin to heal herself. If she deliberately prevented her body from healing at first, then even when she passed out, her body would have lack the resources it needed to heal itself. Her mind would have been protecting itself. Her injuries were severe." She added, as an after thought.

The boy nodded, as though this information was not entirely unexpected. He looked about to say something, but he changed his mind. "Is that everything?"

Raven knew a dismissal when she heard it. Reaching into her cloak, she removed the envelope and held it out to the body. Cautiously he took it, his eyes going wide when he saw what was inside. Catching a glimpse of the inside of the envelope Raven, herself, was surprised. There had to be close to $1000 in the envelope. As the boy looked about to protest Raven held up her hand.

"Its not from me. Keep it." Her tone brooked no argument; dumbly the boy nodded.

Nodding once in reply Raven gazed one last time around the room, and melted away into the floor.

Once she was gone, the boy in the kitchen bent over coughing violently. His struggle not to cough in front of the gothic hero had done him no favours. Bracing himself against the wall, the boy struggled to stay upright as he fought to get oxygen into his lungs. Eventually, his breathing returned to normal and he straightened, grimacing at the flecks of blood that now dotted the clean tiled floor. Suppressing another cough, the boy set to work cleaning the kitchen. Glancing up at clock, he wondered where the hell Alex was.

Thank you to all those who have read and reviewed. The next chapter might take a little while to complete because my work load in astromonomical at the moment but hopefully it won't take too long to complete. As always reviews (even criticisms) are welcome.