Author's Notes: Sorry it took so long for this chapter to come out. After finishing my last Harry Potter chapter I was struck by writers block. So instead of just sitting in front of my computer with nothing to write I re-read the Artemis Fowl books and the Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer. All five books are really easy to read and got my brain working again. If you haven't read these books then I highly recommend them.
There are different POVs again in this story. Normal, Normal, Robin, Normal, Normal, Robin, Normal, Robin, Normal, Robin, Normal, Normal. I hope this isn't too confusing.
It almost seems almost mandatory to do a chapter like this whenever Robin and Raven are involved. This chapter has been in my head for a while. It was originally a one-shot that spawned into this whole series. I wanted to get it out sooner but I knew I needed to work on some character development first. Hope you like this chapter.
Teen Titans: Blood, Earth and Shade
Author: The Omakeer
Disclaimer: Teen Titans belong to Warner Brothers and DC Comics
Chapter Five: Empathizing with a Vampire
Over the next couple of days Raven and Terra did their best to avoided Robin, and the other Titans, whenever possible. Apart from the occasional mission and whenever they needed food, both girls stayed in their rooms. Though this behaviour wasn't strange for Raven, the other Titans did notice that Terra was avoiding them. When they asked her about this, she simply said she was "riding the crimson wave." All questions stopped instantly. Though Aqua Lad had to explain to Starfire why he couldn't help Terra with her wave problem.
It was Saturday morning and Raven was still in her room. Her meditation hadn't been going well the past couple of days and she had finally decided to go into her mind to try and settle things down. She descended into her mindscape, landing in the centre of a large, circle clearing in front of the forbidden door. Around the edge of the circle were stone chairs of varying styles, each with a version of Raven wearing a different coloured cloak sat upon them. Each of them seemed restless as they stared at Raven.
"I thought you were all beginning to fall in line," Raven said as she turned to look at each emotion, "we haven't had a violent reaction to our powers in two months, not since Terra. What's changed?"
"You have," Raven turned to Knowledge, the yellow cloaked Raven and the only one that wore glasses, "you are in turmoil Raven and that has thrown your emotions out of balance. This latest incident with Robin has…"
"I don't want to talk about him." Raven said through gritted teeth. The Raven in the red cloak with her hood covering her face let out a low growl and gripped the edge of her seat.
"You need to calm down Raven," Knowledge said in a calming voice, "we all want to keep the balance. None of us want father to take hold again."
Raven closed her eyes and repeated her mantra. The red cloaked Raven released her grip and seemed to calm down. "You're right of cause. What do you suggest I do?"
"Confront Robin;" demanded Bravery the dark green cloaked Raven, "you need to let him know what we are feeling."
"Tell him how sorry we are," said Timid the grey cloaked Raven, never looking up from her feet, "he still won't like us but you should still tell him we're sorry."
Raven looked around at all the emotions before her eyes settled on the one in the red cloak, "do you all feel the same why?"
The red cloaked emotion looked up, her four red eyes looking directly into Raven's, "the balance must be maintained. Without it there will be destruction for us all. Speak with the mortal."
Raven stared at the emotion before hanging her head, "you all speak as if he would even listen to me. As if he'd even want anything to do with me." Raven took to the air and flew towards the forbidden door, "I will speak with you all again soon."
The emotions watched as Raven took of back to the world beyond, waiting until she had gone before they spoke again.
Anger turned to Timid, "this is your fault Shy One," she growled, "If you had a backbone we would not have this problem."
"I know and I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Timid said, tears streaming down her face.
Bravery jumped to her feet, "you had better leave her alone Enraged One or you'll have me to deal with."
"You think you can take me Courageous One?" Anger asked, standing as her sharp nails extended, "I'd love to see you try."
"Enough," Knowledge shouted in a commanding tone, silencing the other emotions, "we cannot keep the balance if we fight amongst ourselves. We must combine our efforts to make the balance stronger."
"How do you suggest we do that Wise One?" Bravery asked, "We all know Raven cannot drink enough blood to make us stronger. And she is not willing to do what else is needed any more."
"Do not worry sisters," Knowledge smirked, pushing her glasses up her nose, "I have a plan."
The portal from the Azarath meditation mirror opened wide enough for Raven to fly out and land next to her bed. She needed something to do to keep her mind occupied and off her emotions. She and Terra had planned on going to the mall, but after what happened with Robin, she wasn't in the mood any more. For once in her life she did not feel like reading and to watch a movie she would have to go into the rec-room, and there was the chance she would bump into the Boy Wonder if she did that. That left surfing the web. Unfortunately her computer had broken down yesterday and she had no idea how to fix it. She would have to brave the rec-room to ask Cyborg to look at it.
A usual Saturday morning for Cyborg and Beast Boy involved getting up early, easting a cereal that was so pumped full of chocolate it was just short of being poisonous to humans, watching all the good Saturday cartoons, and then playing a couple of rounds of their latest videogame, and all before noon. A full morning joyfully wasted.
Raven entered the rec-room to Cyborg's cries of Boo-Yah, him declaring how he now owned Beast Boy and stating how vastly superior he was compared to the green changeling. As Cyborg began his 'Happy Dance', Raven cleared her throat to get his attention.
"Oh, hey Rae," Cyborg smiled, stopping his dance mid-move, "I thought you were going to the mall with Terra today."
"I'm… just not in the mood for that at the moment," Raven said. She knew Cyborg wouldn't question this; it wouldn't be the first time she hadn't done something social because she wasn't in the mood. "I was wondering if you could come and fix my computer for me."
"I'm sorry Rae," Cyborg frowned, "I have to get going in a few minutes to coach my Little League team, it's the championship game today and I can't be late. And after we win I said I'd take them all out for pizza and ice-cream too."
"What if they lose?" Beast Boy asked from the couch, still playing the videogame.
"Well… then the pizza and ice-cream should make them feel better," Cyborg said as he glared at the shape shifter.
"What about Starfire?" Raven asked, "don't the children on her planet learn how to make computers like mine in kindergarten?"
"Yeah, but she's not here. Her and Aqua Lad took lil' Matthew Wildebeest to the zoo. Beast Boy was gonna go with them but the zookeepers still won't let him in after that incident with the giraffe."
"Hey that was self-defence," Beast Boy glared.
"What about you?" Raven asked, looking at Beast Boy, "are you any good with computers?"
Cyborg laughed out loud for a full minute, ignoring Beast Boy's glare, "I'd be surprised if he could spell computer. Seriously though, you should ask Robin to help."
Raven's shock was gone before Cyborg even noticed, "R-Robin?"
"Yeah, he helped me set up the towers computer system and most of the programs that stop us from being hacked were written by him. You should ask him to help you."
"Help you do what?"
Raven jumped in spite of herself. If she was honest with herself, the way Robin could sneak about without her noticing annoyed her. She would have normally made a snide remark about it. But not today. Today she froze, stood staring at the Boy Wonder.
"Raven's computer bust, she needs you to fix it," Cyborg said as he walked towards the garage, "I'd do it myself but I'm gonna be late for Little League if I don't get going now. See you all later."
Robin watched Cyborg leave the room then turned back to Raven, "what exactly is wrong with your computer?"
"I don't know exactly," Raven said a little too quickly, she was shocked by Robin's casual tone.
"I'll just go get my tools then meet you at your room in five minutes," Robin said as he walked of towards his room.
Raven stood staring at the door Robin had left through for almost a minute before running to her room. The room was in disarray. Having spent more time in her over the past few days, even going so far as to eat her meals here, Raven had not bothered to tidy up after herself. Books were piled high on her desk and bedside table, accompanied by dirty plates and empty mugs, dirty clothes lay haphazardly around the room.
Raven used her powers to teleport the plates and mugs to the kitchen. She picked up the clothes to take to the laundry room, she had to take them herself or there was the chance that someone might see her… undergarments. With her arms full of dirty washing, Raven opened the bedroom door and almost ran into Robin.
"Oh… Robin, I was just going to… come in. I'll be right back." Raven said before floating off down the corridor.
Robin watched Raven disappear around the corner before he entered her room. He made his way over to the desk and put down his tools. As he moved the books on it to the floor so that he would have easier access to the computer he also looked at their titles. He paused when he saw what the final book was. A diary. Raven's diary. Without a second thought he simply placed the book on top of the others and began to take Raven's computer apart.
When she re-entered the room, Raven moved to stand next to Robin. "I'm not sure what's wrong with it, it just all of a sudden-" she stopped mid-sentence when she looked at the pile of books and saw her diary. Raven turned sickly pale as she snatched the book up into her hands. "Did you read my diary?" she asked with a hint of panic in her voice.
"What?" Robin asked as he turned to look at her, "I-"
"I can't believe…" Raven interrupted, blushing furiously, "just so you know, the Robin I mentioned isn't you. It's someone completely different."
"Raven I-"
"And the dream I had about that Robin last week could be interpreted in a hundred different ways and…"
"RAVEN," Robin interrupted, "I didn't read you diary."
"Oh," Raven blushed. An awkward silenced grew between them, "Robin I'm really so about the potion."
"It's okay Raven."
"No it isn't" Raven insisted, "I only wanted to know what you really thought about me and Terra. I never meant to cause you any problems."
"It's okay, I understand," Robin said with a comforting smile, "you're not the first Titan to try and find out more about me."
"What do you mean?" Raven asked.
"Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire have all tried to find out more about me," Robin smiled, "Beast Boy and Starfire have both snuck into my bedroom, evidence and training rooms to try and find something that would tell them about me. And Cyborg has tried to hack into my personal files on eighteen separate occasions. All three of them have tried to follow me when I've gone out on patrols. I understand why you all do it, I'm a mystery, and if I was in your shoes I'd probably want to solve me too."
"So… you're not angry?" Raven asked.
"I was at first," Robin admitted, "but I know you didn't mean any harm. Promise me you won't do it again and we can forgive and forget all about it."
"I promise," Raven smiled.
"Good. And you can tell Terra that if she still wants to train with me I'll be in the gym tonight same time as usual, and maybe afterwards me and you could have a game of chess?"
"You won't beat me this time Boy Wonder," Raven smirked, relaxing again for the first time in three days.
"You keep telling yourself that," Robin smiled, "so are you sticking around until I finish with this?"
"actually, I think I'll go to the mall with Terra if she's still up for it," Raven said, "can you make sure to shut the door when you're finished." When Robin nodded Raven said goodbye and moved towards the door. She paused momentarily, moved over to her draws and locked her diary in with her unmentionables, before finally leaving.
I watched Raven leave the room before turning back to work on her computer. I was glad that I make her feel at ease again, or as close to eased as she ever got. I was sincere when I said I was willing to put the whole potion ordeal behind us.
I wondered momentarily if either girl was really interested in me in the end, and if so, would they still try to pursue me. I shook the thought from my head. I just hoped everything could get back to normal.
I sensed it happening a moment before it happened. Not that it helped me. Black energy took hold of me, placing me in a vicelike grip and lifting me into the air. I saw that the energy was flowing from a demonic looking hand mirror on Raven's bed. Before I had the chance to properly process this fact and formulate an escape plan a portal opened from the mirror and I was pulled in.
I flew along a crimson vortex, tumbling through the air before it spat me out above a hovering stone platform. Using acrobatic skills honed from years of training I twisted in the air, landing perfectly on my feet. I had my Bo staff extended in under a second, ready for whatever might be waiting for me.
The platform I was standing on was quite large, with stone pillars and dead trees dotted about; it was floating above an abyss. Wherever I was it was night time already, thought it could just be in perpetual darkness. The sky was filled with stars, with crimson clouds and planets' floating closer then was possible. Other platforms floated about nearby, though none of the were close enough for me to jump to.
Using the skill Batman had instilled in me I attempted to ascertain where I was. I obviously wasn't on earth any longer, and I certainly wasn't in some form of holographic simulation, at least not one form by an earthling. Any earthling that would set up a hologram would have gone for more realism, the planets wouldn't be visible unless they were trying to make it look like an alien world, and even then everyone I had been in before slipped up by using constellations visible from earth. I did a couple of quick mental tests that proved I wasn't unconscious or hallucinating. The only viable option left was that I was now in an alternate dimension of some kind. Now all I had to do was figure out why I was here.
I tried my Titans communicator and got nothing be static. I knew it was a bad idea to try calling out. Even if by some fluke the other Titans could hear me, I was more likely to attract this places native beings, especially the ones that brought me here, and it was more than likely their intentions were hostile. I moved around the platform in the hopes of finding something, anything, that might indicate what was happening.
"Hello Robin."
I turned to my left and looked upon the girl before me. She was the spitting image of Raven, though I instantly knew she wasn't my team mate, regardless of the fact she was wearing a yellow cloak and glasses.
"Who are you," I asked.
"I'm Raven," she said with a similar monotone face as Raven.
"No you're not," I tightened the grip on my staff.
The yellow cloaked girl raised an eyebrow, "what makes you say that?"
"You mean besides the glasses and the cloak? Your posture is different as is the pitch and tone of your voice, and your scent is a mixture of new and old books, Raven's is of Lavender and Oil of Olay."
"Very impressive," she smiled, "you are right Robin, I am not Raven, but I am a part of her. I am an anthropomorphic personification of Raven's Knowledge. I am linked to Raven and know everything that she knows. But I am also independent, Raven can only learn of my thoughts and deeds if she makes physical contact with me. This is how I was able to bring you here."
"The brain rebelling against the body?" I asked, putting my staff away but keeping my face devoid of emotion.
"My intentions are to aid Raven." Knowledge said, frowning at my statement.
"Why have to brought me here?" I asked, deciding it was time to get to the point.
"Raven needs emotional balance," Knowledge said, "the recent turmoil created from the confrontation with you has ruptured this balance."
"I talked about this with Raven. Surely that restored this balance."
"It helped," Knowledge said, stepping closer to me, "but the other emotions and I have we cannot let this happen again. We need to strengthen the balance."
"How am I supposed to help?" I asked, not letting my concern show on my face.
Knowledge circled me as she talked, "as you know, Raven is a vampire. Vampires gain strength, both physically and mentally, from the drinking of blood. But as you know, if she drinks too much blood at once, she will continue drinking ravenously until that person is dead."
Knowledge stepped closer to me at this point, looking straight into my eyes. "There is another way to help her though. I don't know if you know but Vampire relationships always involve three people of varying sexes. Two females and a male, two males and a female, three females, three males. These relationships last for the vampires entire lives, no matter how long they might be. Raven has already chosen one partner. Surely you noticed all the time she spends with Terra?"
To my eternal shame I hadn't, but as she told me, all the obvious little signs pointed out she was right. I was so busy concentrating on the potion and the attention both girls were giving me I hadn't noticed. Of cause I didn't let any of this show on my face.
Knowledge continued before I could respond, "these relationships are important for vampires, especially for Raven. Vampires are able to vent excess emotional energy into these partners, this doesn't cause them any harm and it makes the vampire more balanced. Raven has been using Terra for this, but she isn't enough, Raven needs another."
It wouldn't take a genius to figure out what she was implying, even someone as naive as Starfire could have spotted what she meant. "You think I'm the one she needs?"
"She loves you," she said matter-of-factly.
"She doesn't even know me," I argued, "How can she think she loves me?"
"It is easier for vampires to find someone they love. Once they taste someone's blood they know how they truly feel about them."
I turned away from Knowledge and looked out across the expanse, "you both have the wrong guy. The few relationships that I've had have ended in disaster. I'm too emotionally distant." I turned back to look at Knowledge, "Raven blocks of her emotions because she has too. I do it by choice."
"Raven knows this," Knowledge said, "but she still knows you are the guy for her."
I didn't respond, I just looked at this strange girl that looked so much like Raven. "How do I get out of here?" I finally asked.
Knowledge's shoulders sagged slightly. As she pointed out across the expanse, the other stone platforms moved through the air, linking together to form a path.
"Just follow this path until you reach the forbidden door. Walk through it and you will re-emerge in Raven's room."
I was a little surprised that she didn't keep trying to talk to me about Raven's feelings for me. I said my goodbyes and made my way towards the forbidden door.
Knowledge watched as Robin walked along the path. Everything was going almost exactly as she planned. She now doubted that Robin would change his mind by the time he reached the door, but that would have just been a bonus to what was already going to happen.
She turned away from the path towards one of the larger dead trees as two more Ravens materialized in its shadow.
A smirk spread across Knowledge's face, "your turn sisters."
As was normal for a Saturday, Jump City Zoo as packed full of people from all over the country. It wasn't just because of the wild animals, the daily shows, or the gift shops. It was also because there might be the chance the patrons would get to see the Teen Titans. Today they got there chance.
Aqua Lad of cause got a lot of attention from all the teenage girls. Many of the screaming hysterically at the sight of him, fainting when he smiled at them, and some of the braver ones asking him to sign certain parts of there bodies. Starfire was getting just as much attention from the boys. Most just asked for an autograph and took the opportunity to stare at her, though some of the cockier ones did ask for her phone number. She didn't give it though; all of the Titans had warned her about doing that.
Matthew was really enjoying himself. Not only did he get to see all his favourite animals, some of them in various shows to entertain the public, but Starfire had bought him a gift from every girt shop they saw and Aqua Lad paid for various sweet throughout the day, enough to keep Matthew buzzing for hours.
The best part of the day in the young Titan's eyes by far was the aquarium. Using his telepathic abilities Aqua Lad convinced everything from starfish to dolphins to perform tricks for everyone enjoyment.
As he made the killer whales perform flips and synchronised swimming, Aqua Lad smiled fondly at Starfire. She blushed lightly and smiled back.
She enjoyed the day out even more.
I had been walking for over an hour. At least I thought I had. I had no way of being sure how time moved here. Though my mind was buzzing with what Knowledge had told me I couldn't afford to let my guard down. The surrounding area might not have been much to look at, but I couldn't know what might be roaming through Raven's subconscious.
If hers was anything like mine then I knew I should be worried.
As I stepped through another archway I stopped in surprise, the scenery had changed dramatically. The cosmic wasteland had been replaced with pink, open fields; the once dead trees were now full of life and leaf. The black, starry night was now a clear, canary yellow sky, complete with a number of rainbows though there wasn't a cloud to be seen. Even more bizarrely there were a couple of strawberries floating about.
"This doesn't seem right;" I thought aloud, "this place looks more like it belongs in Starfire's head."
"Heh, heh, that's funny."
I thought I was prepared for anything, but I wasn't prepared for the girl stood before me. She was just as different as Knowledge. Her cloak was bright pink and looked out of place on Raven. She practically bounced up and down with pent up energy. The most amazing thing about her was her smile, Raven's smile was small and unsure, but this girl's face lit up her whole face. The only way I could describe her as was the anti-Raven.
Moving with inhuman speed I didn't think she possessed; she tackled me to the ground. My first instinct was to fight back, flip her over me then spring up into a fighting stance, but my thoughts disappeared when as she kissed me. It was short and sweet and left a tingling in my lips. When she pulled back her smile seemed even brighter.
"I've wanted to do that for a long time," she said.
"Who are you supposed to be?"
"I am Raven's Happiness," she said. She didn't seem to be making any effort to get off me.
"I bet you don't get out much."
"More since Terra joined the Titans," Happiness smiled, "even more since you got back from Gotham."
I realized what was going on. Knowledge hadn't brought me into Raven's mind just so she could talk to me. But so that her and the other emotions could try and convince me that dating Raven was a good idea. And it was getting harder for to think that it wasn't. It's not that I don't like Raven or Terra enough, and though I was still a little unsure about the whole Vampire three-way relationship, I could understand how Raven would need it, and I'd be lying if I said a small part of me wasn't interested. It was just that relationships didn't work for me. I've had more than a few one nightstands, and have remained friends with most of them. But whenever I tried to have a real relationship it ended badly. I know that it's entirely my fault though. I spend most of my time fighting crime, researching criminals, or training, that doesn't leave a lot of time for dates or cuddling. And though I seem to be thinking of the girls more and more with each passing day, I'm still not willing to jeopardize our friendship.
As I looked around from my position on the floor I realized I had lost sight of the exit. "Can you show me the way to the forbidden door?"
"Sure, follow me," Happiness jumped up and began skipping down a dirt path that wasn't there before. I quickly got up and walked beside her.
"So why don't you want to date Raven?" Happiness asked suddenly.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, not that she would have seen it through my mask, "I'm just not good at relationships. Especially the going on dates and sharing of feelings part."
"Well she has Terra for that," Happiness smiled brightly, "you could just be there for the sex."
I did roll my eyes at that. She was obviously trying to get at me through my hormones. There was about as much chance of that working as there was me marrying Killer Moth's daughter. I wasn't like the other boys in the Tower, my bedroom walls weren't cover in pictures of half naked girls, and I didn't have any special magazines under my bed. That's not to say that I don't have hormones, or have thoughts about sex. I'm just not controlled by them.
Thought it was hard to tell, Happiness seemed a bit upset that I didn't respond to what she said, or at least find it funny. "You know you should express your emotions occasionally. Raven has opened up a bit more lately. You should too."
I didn't respond to that, but only because I didn't know what to say. I wasn't intentionally unemotionally; it's just the way I am. Some people thought I got it from Batman or even my foster father, who was ex-special forces, but I didn't. Thought both are as emotionally unresponsive as me, they never tried to get me to hide my emotions; in fact they both taught me to trust my feelings when confronted with a problem. Though most people don't know it, both Batman and I share a dark sense of humour and even though we don't laugh, we do share a few in-jokes with each other whenever we talk on the communicator.
I decided it was best to change the subject, "how many of you exist here?"
Happiness's smile perked up, "there is a Raven for every single emotion and feeling that can be experienced."
"Kind of like the Smurfs." I hated myself the moment I said that but it made Happiness laugh out loud, she seemed even perkier after that.
"Smurfs," Happiness laughed out loud, "that's funny. I'll have to remember that when I meet up with the others."
Another archway finally appeared before us. I was about to walk through when Happy grabbed my arm.
"Before you go," just as quickly as before, Happy grabbed the sides of my head and kissed me again, this one was longer than the other. She pulled back and smiled dreamily.
"That will keep Raven and me smiling for a long time."
"Why are smiling?"
Raven looked up from the clothes rack at Terra, she hadn't even realized she was smiling, "I don't know, I just am."
When the girls had arrived at the mall they had made a deal. Half the day would be spent looking at clothes and the other looking for books, stopping midday for lunch. To see which one they did first they flipped a coin. Raven lost so now they were looking for something that would show off her beauty, much to her dismay. Thankfully they hadn't been bothered by anyone asking for autographs, most of the teenagers that usually hung out at the mall were at the zoo for some reason.
"So tell me what Robin said to you again," Terra said, pulling a couple of shirts of the rack to try on.
Raven rolled her eyes as she followed Terra towards the dressing rooms, "I've already told you five times. He understands, he's not angry, he forgives us and he's still willing to train you and play chess with me."
After she tried on some of the shirts Terra came back out of the changing room and started to look at more clothes, "we need to find some clothes that will really get Robin's attention."
Raven frowned slightly, "I don't think that's a good idea Terra. We can't mess with him again."
"Who said anything about messing with him?" Terra asked, picking up her selection of clothing and moving towards the checkouts, "I was just thinking that one night we could ask him to come out with us. Maybe to that Vampire club you told me about."
"Nox's?" Raven asked, paying for the small collection of clothes that Terra insisted she buy, "maybe we should. He did say he didn't know that much about vampires, I'm sure he'd be interested if only for the opportunity to learn more."
"then it's settled," Terra said as both girls left the store with their purchases, "we'll invite him to join us and we'll both wear something so stunning he won't be able to resist us. Come on; let's go get some "special" underwear."
Before Raven could protest Terra grabbed her hand and dragged her towards Ann Summer's. It would be a long time before she got to look at any books.
I carefully stepped through the archway Happy had led me to and fund myself back on the stone pathway Knowledge had set me out on. I glanced over my shoulder to see if Happiness was following me, apparently she had stayed behind. I turned back to see where I was going and almost collided with someone. It was another Raven; she wore a grey cloak and looked very depressed.
"I'm sorry," she said, stepping to the side, "I shouldn't be in your way."
"Let me guess. You must me Timid."
As soon as I said it her eyes welled up with tears and her bottom lip began to tremble. She began to apologize for different things Raven had done, everything from the recent incident with the potion to the things she had broken since she joined the team, she even went so far as to apologize for when Raven had accidentally knocked me into a wall the first time we met. She just saying how sorry she was for chipping some of the coffee mugs when I thought it was best to stop her.
"I forgive you," I said a vain attempt to calm her down, "I've already forgiven Raven for everything you just said."
"I know you don't like her."
I was a little shocked by that statement, "I do like her."
"Then… then why don't you want to be with her?"
It was an almost obvious attempt at making me feel guilty. But it was working. I felt like I had just told a five year old their puppy had to be put to sleep.
"It's got nothing to do with how I feel about her or Terra," I said in the hope that she would understand, "it's me that's the problem. I have a lot of issues that I need to sort out before I could think about being with anyone. I'm just not very good boyfriend material right now."
Timid faded from my sight without saying a word. I let out a heavy sigh before continuing down the path.
I was nearing the forbidden door when I began to wonder what else this place would throw at me. I had always be great a sensing danger, I usually presented itself as a buzzing in the back of my head. Beast Boy often joked that it was my "Spider-Sense tingling". Whatever it was it was buzzing like crazy now. I threw myself to the side in time to dodge a flying kick aimed for my head. I rolled into a defensive stance and faced my attacker. It was yet another Raven, this one was wearing a dark green cloak and a cocky grin I was sure the real Raven had never used. She stood a couple of feet away in a similar stance to mine.
"I've wanted to test myself against you for a long time Boy Wonder," she didn't give me a chance to say anything before she lunged at me.
She didn't use any of Raven's powers, opting for simple hand-to-hand combat instead. I was unimpressed. The real Raven hardly ever used any form of physically combat, preferring to use her powers. The fight this Raven was putting up was quite frankly laughable, I had no problem blocking and deflecting all of her attacks. I would have to talk to Raven about improving her skills.
After a minute or two her attempts to hit me I grew impatient. I batted her next attack aside and slammed my palm into her chest, easily knocking her onto her back.
I glared down at her, keeping myself poised for another attack, "are you finished playing around?"
She smiled up at me, rubbing the spot where I hit her, "you're good. You're very good."
"Do you want to explain why you just did that?" I asked, backing up and giving her room to get up.
She quickly flipped up to her feet and began rubbing her back as well. "Two reasons really. One was to see how well I could fight against you. And the other…" she began to fade from sight as she talked, "…was to be a distraction."
Her final words were accompanied by a familiar buzzing in the back of my skull. I wasn't as quick this time. I felt five claws slashing diagonally down my back, deep enough to draw blood, but not to cause any permanent damage. The fact that is sliced through my titanium-polymer cape and my body armour was enough to worry about.
I rolled away again as getting out of my attackers reach was more important than the pain it cause. I faced this new emotion and extended my staff for added protection. This Raven looked positively deadly. Her cloak was blood red and her fingernails were long and sharp, glowing with crimson energy. But what drew my attention was her four glowing eyes, I had seen those eyes before, whenever Raven became to angry.
"You must be Grumpy Smurf," I said, keeping my face straight.
Her smile showed off her fangs, "Raven doesn't have a lot of anger when it comes to human." She pushed the edge of her cloak over her shoulders and held out hands, her nails lengthening slightly.
"But I'm sure I can manage," she said as she lunged for my throat.
Beast Boy's day had been very productive in his eyes. Not only had he managed to decimate Cyborg's high score, he had also discovered a number of special moves that he was just itching to use against the metal teen. He hadn't even realized how long he had been playing the game until Cyborg came back with a couple of boxes of pizza.
"We won dude," Cyborg beamed as he put the pizzas on the coffee table, "I know I'm not supposed to say this because Little League is all about having fun, but we spanked those little brats good. I've never been so happy to make a bunch of kids cry. So where is everybody?"
"Aqua Lad, Starfire and Matthew are still at the zoo," Beast Boy said without looking away from the TV, "Raven and Terra haven't come back from the mall yet and I haven't seen Robin since he went to fix Raven's computer."
"He's been in there all day?" Cyborg asked as he checked the clock on his arm, "it shouldn't have taken him this long to fix it. Raven's got a lot of freaky stuff in her room; do you think something might have happened to him?"
Beast Boy simply shrugged.
"Maybe we should go check on him, make sure he's… hey you beat my high score," Cyborg exclaimed as he stared at the TV.
Beast Boy's smirked from ear to ear, "I didn't just beat it. I killed it and buried it under a statue dedicated to my excellence."
Cyborg growled as he jumped onto the couch, "Robin is a big boy, he can look after himself. I'm needed here more. Those little kids aren't the only ones that are going to get humiliated today."
Beast Boy smiled as he remembered the secret moves he had spent all day mastering, "I hope you don't rust Cy, because you're going to be crying soon."
"Release me mortal scum," Angry Raven screamed face down on the ground where I had her pinned.
It took a lot of effort to subdue her. She wasn't any better at fighting than the previous Raven, but the fury of her attacks and the fact that her nails could cut through my body armour meant I had to be extra careful. I used a couple of cable ties from my utility belt to bind her hands and feet before I got up.
"You'll regret this," she growled at me.
"I doubt it," I walked off towards the forbidden door.
As I approached the door I caught sight of Knowledge standing next to it, giving me an appraising look. After everything I had just been through my first thought was to just ignore her and carry on through the door. But then I realized there was a chance she might try and bring me back here.
"Have you changed you mind yet?" she asked.
"If anything, being here has showed me how screwed up I really am."
Her face became deadly serious, "Raven needs a balance Robin. If you do not like her then okay. But if you do…"
"I need time to think about this whole situation," I interrupted.
"Don't take too long," she said simply, "and I think its best that you don't mention what happened today with Raven."
"You want me to lie to her?" I asked, more than a little surprised.
"Not lie, just simply not tell her."
I didn't respond to her. I walked up to the forbidden door and steeped through, back into the world outside.
Knowledge smiled as she watched Robin exit Raven's mind. She was soon joined by the other emotions the Boy Wonder had met on his journey. She turned and faced them, looking at Happiness specifically.
"You kissing him was not part of the plan Joyous One," though she sounded disapproving, Knowledge still smiled.
Happiness just shrugged, "why should everyone else get all the fun?"
"I am still not sure what the point of this plan was Wise One," Bravery said, scratching her head.
"it is very simple really Courageous One," Knowledge said, looking at Anger who was rubbing her previously bound wrists, "if Robin was not willing to start a relationship with Raven then it was important that we set up an empathic link between him and the Enraged One."
"The cut to his back," Bravery smiled.
"Exactly. We all know that if Raven becomes too angry then it is easy for father to take control of her. Now whenever Raven feels angry, Robin will feel it too. The angrier she gets more he'll feel it. I know Robin will figure out what it means, eventually. And he will be able to quell Raven's anger where he is in a relationship with her or not."
"When Raven finds out about this she won't be very happy you know," Angry smirked.
Knowledge began to fade from sight, "but there will be nothing she can do about it."
Raven and Terra returned from the Mall in relatively high spirits, though Raven had more bags of clothes than she would have liked. As they entered the rec-room they saw that Cyborg and Beast Boy where still battling it out on the Gamestation, taking it in turns to insult each other. As they looked in the kitchen area they found Robin making himself something to eat.
"Hey Raven, Terra," Robin said as he prepared his meal.
"Hey Robin," Terra said with a smile, before turning to Raven, "I'm going to take my bags to my room, do you want me to take yours?"
Raven nodded as she handed Terra her purchases. Terra was walking towards the door when Robin called out to her.
"Don't forget we have training after dinner Terra."
Terra smiled as she made her way out of the room, leaving Robin and Raven alone.
"So Smurfette how was the trip to the mall?"
Raven almost answered when she realized what Robin said, "What did you just call me?"
"Sorry," Robin said, holding up his hands, "it's just a stupid private joke."
Raven frowned slightly, "I think I get it, though I'm not sure why." She shook the thought from her head, "anyway it was good, though Terra made me buy… clothes."
Robin smiled, "what kind of clothes?"
"Have you fixed my computer yet?" Raven asked with a blush.
"Yeah, it was a simple problem. It should be working perfectly now."
"Thank you," Raven said with a soft smile.
Robin opened the fridge and pulled out a small plastic container, opening it and holding it towards Raven, "do you want a strawberry? They're fresh."
Raven's smile brightened as she took a couple of them, "thank you, strawberries are my favourite. How did you know?"
"Lucky guess."
To be continued…
Author's Notes: It's true, if you do eat a certain amount of chocolate in one sitting it is poisonous, and death by chocolate should only be on a menu, not a tombstone.
It might have seemed like Robin forgave Raven and Terra to quickly in this chapter. But as I've said I'm not very good at angst and I couldn't have kept it up for another chapter. Robin is going to have enough to think about over the next five chapters as it is. The next chapter is him and Terra on a mission together where they finally get to talk. After that he gets some new training and learns some startling things about himself. Then the other Titans find out about someone he slept with (no it's not who you think). Then whilst he is deciding what to do about Raven and Terra he runs into a villain some of you will probably know. And finally the Titans battle with the new Hive line-up. I hope you all stick around to see these chapters.
ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAtH: There wasn't as much about vampires as I originally intended. Just a little background to go with the threesome idea. I'll try to get a scene with Raven feeding earlier than planned. Look out for it in chapter seven.
Hound Archon: In most fics where they play chess, Raven beats Robin easily. My Robin has been learning about tactics, detective skills, and martial arts all his life, so he's not going to be that easy to beat. Sorry about the wait for this chapter.
666RaVeN999: You don't like the pairings, but are you still going to keep reading?
Cherry Jade: I know that it might have seemed Robin forgave them both quickly, but he's smart enough to realise they didn't mean any harm. Robin might also have been smart enough to notice that they both liked him and that they had slipped him a potion, but he didn't notice that they were both in a relationship. More on that in the next chapter.
Arein: I was so tempted to use Alexander as the name despite it being Luthor's, it seemed like the kind of name Robin would suggest for the kid. In the end though Matthew was the better name. Thanks again for the help.
Midori Aoi: Don't worry Robin hasn't been with Kitten. Jinx was a sexy, sensual character, and so an obvious choice for Robin. I haven't even seen the episode with Kitten in and she has already annoyed me. Star is leaning more towards Aqua Lad than Beast Boy in this fic. Star and Beast Boy only go home together because they go to school together, like brother and sister. I actually have chapter planed where Beast Boy gets a girlfriend. Thanks for the review. eats big cookie
Lenarta: I'm glad you like the pairing, not many people do (though some of them still read, much to my joy), the next chapter is mostly Terra/Robin so I hope you enjoy it. The sex scenes are there as part of the characters development and because I'm a perve. And yes Robin is quite fucked up, almost as much as me.
Thank you for reading Five Minutes Peace, I'm glad you liked it. a lot of people have commented on Raven being so forward. But you have to remember that it was a humour fic and wasn't meant to be in character.
Shield: Thanks for the review, I keep trying to update as fast as I can, but I don't really have a frame of reference for this fic as I've only seen the first series of Teen Titans and have to build the characters almost from scratch.
JitsaruJakara: Robin realizes that both girls like him, he was just angry about the potion. He will respond more to the girls advances in the next couple of chapters.
leader: There will be more chess playing in future chapters, much to Raven annoyance. The idea of a chapter just about Raven and Terra is intriguing, I'll have to come up with something based on that, thanks for the idea.
Crzy Grl: I hope Robin's POV in this chapter lived up to your expectations, it wasn't originally going to be from his POV, but it was harder to write it that way so had to do it. My Robin is different from CN's, though my Robin helps people and cares about his friends, he's not a nice person. He's willing to hit someone hard enough to break something because he doesn't have the advantage of superpowers. He will come out of his shell and relax more when he starts going out with the girls, but he's still going to have some bloody fights. Wait until the fight with HIVE. Since you like my Robin POVs, keep an eye out for chapter seven, it's almost all from his POV.