(Author's Note: Greetings, readers! Firstly, thanks to everyone who read and/or reviewed the last couple of chapters! Big hugs for y'all! Second of all, this song is Mad World, with Gary Jules's version as the inspiration for this chapter.
I have another story in my mind that's seeking release! I have already started working on it, but I will get to posting the story once this one is done.
Disclaimer: No, I don't own Teen Titans. But I hope I will own your enjoyment! Wheee...)
Slade was doing his routine rounds of observing little Markovia from a window. It was sunset, and he had returned to his temporary residence in one of the two hotels in the higher class area of the nation.
It had always been his habit to examine objects from a macro view. It was a way more accurate game play board than any drawn diagrams or dioramas. Additionally, it was an effective way for him to evaluate, especially on the prospects of that particular location. He had done such evaluations numerous times back in Jump City.
This evening, during one round of calm and intent sightseeing, he heard an eerie swoosh produced in the middle of his humble suite followed by a curdling sigh.
"That Raven girl has got more powerful ever since our last abrupt encounter," the lady remarked icily as she composed herself after her trip from Azarath and back to Earth. "Why, she even managed to cast me back to my home dimension. The nerve of that woman!"
"Now now, Phobia," Slade moved on from Phobia's rant. "I simply requested you to make it known to the Titans my whereabouts and Terra's. That has been done."
"At the expense of my dignity!" Phobia complained, dusting off the rest of the dust from her green dress and proceeded to sit on the regal stool. She then poshly removed her glass slippers. She heaved an exasperated sigh as she picked up a towel to clean up one of the hard and tight footwear.
"These slippers are becoming more painful to walk with," she commented, her frustration evident in her expression. "How does Cinderella keep them on?"
"Because she knows elegance," Slade deadpanned. Phobia glared at his back.
"What a joke, Mr. Wilson, what a joke."
Slade let Phobia tidy herself up while he continued staring out the window.
"Isn't the Markovian weather fantastically stable, Phobia?" he noted after awhile.
Phobia sighed again, her common remark. She replied, "I'm a woman of nightmares, Slade. I don't bode well with light let alone the Sun. But you're right about the stable part, though it would be easier to haunt these civilians' heads if the nights are filled with pounding rain and booming thunders more often."
She looked at Slade looking out the window. She had no idea why people like him enjoyed doing such placid activities, she found them a waste of time. But who was she to judge, she was a nocturnal?
"This whole shenanigan better be worth my dime, Mr. Wilson," she addressed, standing up and positioning her hands on her hips. "We both hate being back here; bad memories. But you were off better than I was, since I'm the one with these sickly powers. Once we find what you're looking for and done what we've planned to do, we bail out of here and go our separate ways, alright?"
"Don't be so uptight, Phobia, or that will be your nightmare," Slade told his accomplice. "It's narcissists, pessimists or nihilists like you that deviates goal setters from achieving their objectives."
"Rubbish," Phobia spat out, proceeding to watch the view beside Slade in search of any interests. "Besides, everyone's got some negativity at some point, even the good guys."
"That, you're correct," Slade affirmed, looking at her with the coldest of stares. "It's a mad world."
All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere
"Lift us higher up. We are almost there, and if I remember correctly, the mountain Jericho resides on should be that one."
Red X pointed at a mountain as Raven chanted her mantra to raise the hover disk. They had reached the mountain range after two days of being in the air.
"H-how m-much f-farther do y-you th-think?" Raven stuttered, wrapping her body with her cloak tightly. She was anxious to see a familiar face that were not her core teammates nor pesky villains. To her, it was the equivalent of a homecoming to a cousin's place.
Red X, who had been viewing the mountains and looking out, noticed Raven shivering. Her face even looked paler than the other times he saw her. They hadn't really eaten much for the past couple of days, but he was surprised that Raven was that affected, considering she didn't eat a lot on her regular days on the ground.
"Are you doing alright, Rae? You look ghastly worn out."
Raven's ears shifted a bit at the sound of the nickname. Somewhere deep in her thoughts she found it funny that already Red X was moving up from proper first names, but she didn't mind, especially since she was trying to warm herself up. She was busy with rigoursly rubbing her hands against her skin.
"I-it's just sss-so c-cold..."
It was then that Red X realized that Raven was still wearing her normal leotard and cloak outfit. Being in a high-altitude area, it had to be nearing zero degrees Celsius from where they were. He had no problem with the temperate because his xenothium-powered suit was designed to adapt to a wide range of temperatures. But Raven was practically bare-skinned. He felt guilty about it, since he hadn't warned her when he knew it would be freezing.
"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Red X apologized, looking sorrily at the shivering Raven. If he could, he would let her wear his clothing or somehow make her cloak or leotard powered by xenothium.
"I've never been colder in this world," Raven muttered through gritted teeth. But she couldn't keep her teeth stationary for long, and they resumed chattering. "We brrr-better n-not brrr-be going n-nowhere after a-a-all this t-trouble."
Their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow
"Can I help you with anything?"
Red X couldn't have Raven cold and out of energy. That practically meant the two of them plummeting down hundreds of feet from the sky to the jagged terrain bellow. And as of that moment, it seemed that Raven was about to pass out.
"I'm okay," Raven said softly, almost inaudible to Red X. "We're almost there."
A strong gust of wind whooshed past them, and Red X noticed Raven's body oscillating more intensely. He looked at Raven's face one more time, and he could tell she was putting more focus on keeping warm than staying afloat. Her face became exhausted, expressionless and quite sorrowful. He had to do something. If not for their own safety, than for her comfort.
Not following Raven's insistence that she was fine, he shuffled his position on the disk so that he was sitting closely behind Raven. He spread his arms wide, xenothium chemicals kicking into gear, and locked them around Raven. That took Raven by surprise, but she was too brittle at that moment to counter whatever he was doing.
"W-what are you doing?" For a brief moment, she thought it was a surprise attack and Red X had been lying about Terra, Brian and everything all along and was this whole time working with Slade alongside Phobia, Sparky and that other monster she was too tired to recall its name. She almost regretted ever believing in Red X's words until Red X's voice of reason calmed her down.
"I'm keeping you warm," Red X said. He, like Raven, felt anything but comfortable in what he was doing. "Sorry for the awkwardness."
His front made contact with her back, and despite it all being out-of-place and unusual, Raven couldn't really mind it. There were not many other options, none better than the one done. Plus, it was working. Raven was feeling much warmer.
"Grateful decency, Maximus," she breathed out thankfully, unaware that she had caught on to Red X's and other Markovians' signature saying.
And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world... mad world
"Don't mention this to anyone," Raven then grumbled, "especially Beast Boy. I'm sure the position we're in looks so wrong. He won't like the sound or the sight of this."
"Deal," Red X agreed wholeheartedly before silence took over once again.
Awkward silence, both noticed. Raven, feeling indebted to Red X, decided that she should put in more effort to be more hospitable for him.
"You know," she began quietly. "It's kind of funny how we are suddenly co-operating with each other cohesively."
Red X smirked. "True. It feels good siding with the good guys."
"Ever thought about starting heroic work?"
Raven looked back at Red X with a hint of hopefulness in her eyes.
"Nah. I've only ever wore this stupid suit because I'm looking for my sister. To me, she is worth more than a city of innocent civilians, so whenever you heard me with my usual utterance 'I'm looking out for myself', I am also referring to Terra. Besides, I'm ready to ditch this costume when the time calls for it."
"If only you were that direct from the beginning, then we could have helped you," Raven deadpanned, but inwardly she sneered. Lucky Terra; she is loved by the people that I'm attracted to. Beast Boy and then Maximus...
No... What? Did I just admit that to myself? Me, attracted to Terra's brother?
Raven's mind was madly running in circles. With the chills of the wind and the warmth of xenothium, it was hard sustaining concentration. But she had to stay alive by continuously conjuring the hovering disk, and so decided to pick up on the topic later if possible.
Children waiting for the day they feel good
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday
And I feel the way that every child should
Sit and listen, sit and listen
"Enlighten me on what you plan on doing, especially by taking Jericho and letting Slade know that he is here, unable to talk but still alive," Raven requested, reverting her focus on the mission.
"You and your friends ought to know more than everyone else which side of the fence Slade is playing for," Red X answered. "And I should know more than anyone that he has returned to Markovia to free the Arbitraries so that he can have them do his bidding."
"I think he already has freed and unleashed some," Raven added. Again she remembered Kelp, Sparky and Phobia. Maybe Plasmus was also an Arbitrary. "We fought some of his cronies before we found out where he went."
"He must have thought it was a way to recruit new villains, now that most of them have been frozen in underground Paris. Great job on that by the way."
Raven blushed. "Beast Boy was the game changer."
Red X stiffened as she mentioned Beast Boy. He wasn't the type of guy who liked being engaged into topics about lovers and close relationships, considering he didn't have many to begin with. But, for Raven's sake, he decided to play along.
"Tell me about you and that string bean. I've been intrigued."
This time, it was Raven who stiffened. Red X found her unusually adorable, she was like a doll that would move at a press of a button.
Raven took the time to pick her words.
"It's indescribable," she explained. "I wanted to know what love is, and I get these surreal desires that I explore love from him. Then, a chain of events, poof." Thinking about her true love for a moment made her vie to be with Beast Boy again. She missed him so much.
"Stop," Red X told her. "We're here."
Went to school and I was very nervous
No one knew me, no one knew me
Hello teacher tell me what's my lesson
Look right through me, look right through me
Raven was relieved that she no longer had to conjure that disk, and to hit dry surface, even if it was still cold, she didn't have to worry about falling to her death. She and Red X hiked for a few minutes before arriving at the peak.
It was like they hit safe haven. Bushes of well-planted flora, mists that weren't overcast but were actually putting nice touches on the sight, and pleasant banjo music playing in the background. Raven and Red X examined the site, and when the mist cleared right at the middle of their view, they could spot Jericho calmly playing his banjo on top of a stool-sized boulder.
"Nice to see you again, Jericho," Raven greeted, to which Jericho replied with an eager nod. He didn't know why Raven and a mysterious other person came to him, but he was always reacting calmly, refusing to view life as full of surprises. But when Red X removed his mask to show his true face as Maximus Brian Markov, Jericho couldn't help but widen his eyes and abruptly pause his playing.
Jericho put his musical instrument down and lunged himself happily at Maximus, tackling him to a friendly hug, which Maximus returned the favor.
"Nice to see you again, Jer," Maximus said with a grin. "Princess Tara Markov has returned and has most probably reclaimed her position as in-line for the reign. The problem; she is still clueless that her parents are planning on brainwashing her and making her continue the family's evil deeds. Another thing..."
Maximus gave Jericho time to let the information sink in, because the bomb he was about to blow after would be the real shocker.
"Your father's there too."
At the sound of that sentence, Jericho was quickly shaken, he was in utter disbelief. If he could speak, he would be speechless. Jericho gave Red X a look, as if asking if he were telling the truth and if he had any proof.
"Yes, trust me, I have earned your trust haven't I? Raven, contact your friends, tell them to take the T-ship to Markovia, following the directions I gave them. Jericho, we need you for this mission. Slade needs a wake-up call, and you two require a reunion."
And I find it kinda funny
I find it kinda sad
The dreams in which I'm dying
Are the best I've ever had
I find it hard to tell you
I find it hard to take
When people run in circles
It's a very, very mad world... mad world
"There. That's the whole story."
Red X took a deep breath once he ended his story-telling - about Slade, Terra, and how he as Red X met the Titans - and then eyed Jericho, prompting him to response. Jericho's face expressed it all. He was shocked, shocked how every bits have been pieced together like the beginning of the resolution of a novel. look also had negative implications.
Raven, with her empathy, could sense the strong mix of overwhelmed emotions coming from Jericho, and it made her heart sank for him. All of the information must have been a really tough pill to swallow. She felt sad for him that he, out of anyone else, had to take it all in. He was the sweet, honorary individual who spent most of his life safe in the mountains, where nothing in the rest of the world could disrupt his peace. This revelation gave Raven much more motivation to deal with the task at hand.
"I already called my teammates by the way," she informed Red X. "They and Brian are on their way. But they want to know if we will go in quietly or make our arrivals known."
Red X told her that it would be the former, which she passed it on to her friends. She looked forward to seeing Beast Boy again, and also checking out what Markovia looked like in person and where Slade and Terra had gone to.
They were all en route to a whole new world, one she had heard mad tales about.
This should be interesting, she evaluated on the prospect. It would make an appropriate setting for the stories' photo finish.
Enlarging your world
Mad world
(Author's Note: X-Rae is kinda adorable, I have to admit *prepares fire extinguishers in case of flames*, but I hope I did not give the impression that Raven's being wishy-washy and whatnot. Cut her some slack, she went on a date with her new boyfriend, which was ruined by her BF's ex-GF, but then there's a mission because of that ex-GF that separated BF and current GF. Raven's still dying to develop that feeling of love! This story is still rated BBRae guys!
Anyway, if you enjoyed this chapter, I beg you to keep a lookout for the upcoming ones and while that is in the works, you can have a gander at my other stories/one-shots! If you have already read them, I'm sorry I don't have anymore at the moment, but I will try! Just send me a review or a message if you want to know about anything or comment on something! Thank you so much guys! Or, how some would put it, Grateful decency!)