All right so I know that a lot of reviewers have been wanting a raven redx interaction badly, so this is the chapter for you my friends!
Also, I just wanted to ask everyone this…I was taking a shower and randomly thinking about teen titans in general…weird I know but just listen…Does anyone else think that how the characters are portrayed on tv is a little…shallow? I follow the comic book series as well so it may just be that. Like Raven for example, I mean in the episodes where she is the theme it's all dramatic and stuff. And then the next episode it's like the previous never happened. Like every show, besides the episodes that have more than one part, it's like the show starts like it did from the very 1st episode AND EVERY SINGLE EPISODE IS LIKE THAT!! Like the episodes after Birthmark and The Prophecy, it's like she's not even affected by her destiny anymore. And then all of a sudden they show The Prophecy and it's, oh we've been looking for information about Slade and the mark of Scath since Birthmark, gee thanks for clueing us in! I see it mainly with Raven but it's there for the other characters as well. Like Beastboy, after terra left the episode after it was like it never happened and he was fine. Or like with Robin and all the stuff with Slade from the first and second seasons. I know that the producers want to move onto the next character but still, am I the only one that thinks they should've put a little consistency in? Maybe make it seem more like a series and less like a bunch of random character themed episodes strung together to make a season. Not only that but since I'm an avid Raven fan I follow her character more closely and she always says that if she expresses emotion then it will manifest itself through her powers…but I see her expressing emotion all the time like in the episode Fear Itself, when Beastboy's trying to get her to admit she's scared she gives him a look and reminds him that she doesn't get scared…that seemed like anger to me. And in the beginning of The Prophecy it's pretty obvious that she's scared of Slade. Or how about at the end of Spellbound, when Raven hugged Beastboy, it seemed to me like a sorrow, but happy she has friends combo. The only explanation I have is that the emotion she's expressing isn't strong enough to manifest itself in her powers. Does anyone else look this deeply into the show or are just happy with it as an entertainment purpose? And I know that they already wrote all the episodes and there's no changing it, I just wanted to acknowledge it and see if someone else agreed with me. And yes, I do want some cheese with my whine haha!
Chapter 24: Drama
Darkness clung to every corner of her room. The only source of light was a cylindrical fire orange candle, the flame flickering every so slightly in the air. Raven sat crossed legged in mid-air with one of her ancient volumes in hand. She would've liked to say that she was learning of the great famine that had taken over her home dimension five thousand years ago, but such meaningless distractions were beyond her. Her deep violet eyes held the reflection of the ominous glow of the flame, not a blink could disturb the intensity of her stare.
Though her physical presence was unbreakable her mind was filled to the brim with pulsing thoughts. These thoughts were different, however. They contained an emotion so pure that her heart raced relentlessly. The emotion, though it was not quite love, had been a totally new experience, different from the anxiousness, fear, and uncertainty that had kept her up for many nights. She didn't understand how she could feel anything this strong for a single person. For the first time since she had lived in the tower she had the desire to be outside her room, actually she wanted desperately to leave.
Slowly she uncrossed her legs and lowered her slight frame to the lavender carpet. She brought the candle close to her lips and blew a swift breath of air, extinguishing the delicate flame and leaving the room in utter darkness. The smoke rose from the wick swirling elegantly upwards and washing over her face. The young sorceress placed the candle on a table sporting the demonic version of a pair of drama masks twisting onto a stone platform. Glancing at the graceful twirls she saw how the silhouette faded the deeper it went to the foundation, and in that darkness she saw the significance the monument had to her very life.
Stepping outside the sliding metal doors she gazed down each direction of the hallway, a force of habit she had gained back when she used to avoid the companionship of the other titans. The darkness hid the contrast from most of the corridor but her hearing was astute, a valuable sense, she had always thought, and picked up no sounds of life. As the light tapping of her own footsteps hollowly echoed down the hall she had concluded that if no other titans were awake, and she had a suspicion that they weren't, she would go for a walk around the beach near the edges of the city, where she had often admired the colossal view of the Titan's Tower.
She looked into each open room but found only the darkness to coldly greet her. Her suspicions were confirmed and she was off, phasing through the walls as to not trigger Cyborg's advanced alarm system.
Soaring through the salty air she felt the sea spray sprinkle her face and the frigid winds sweeping her cloak behind her, the hem nipping at her boots. Squinting through the mist she finally saw a strip of land and gently lowered herself down, her feet shifting the sand under her and half covering her boots. Leaving her hood mounted she glanced into the city, the blurred lights and the fading sounds of car horns hazing her senses.
She sat on the desolate beach for what seemed like hours with out disruption. The peaceful scene and the blissful silence made for a most superb way to distract herself from her thoughts. In fact, she was huddled in the spectacle so fully that she didn't even hear the slowly approaching footsteps, muffled slightly by the loose, soundless sand.
"Quite a sight isn't it?" The voice startled her and she jumped up and whirled around to its origins. Red-X. Not that she hadn't recognized the voice upon impact.
"What are you doing here?" Raven asked genuinely, for she did want to learn how he always managed to find her, especially when she was alone.
"I come here sometimes." He replied simply, shifting his shadowed figure. The moon overhead was blanketed in a thick cloud-like vapor and she could barely make out his frame, not that it would tell her anything about his character.
"Oh." Raven responded awkwardly, not knowing how else to reply. A tension-filled silence transgressed over the two and the void was filled by the steadily increasing abrasiveness of the waves with a storm approaching. Raven looked down at her feet as they toed the sand and then up to X and then down to the ground again. Her mind wasn't functioning; she honestly had no clue what to do. Should she attack? Tell him to go? Run to the tower and alert Robin? Or simply walk away? The logical choice was to attack and call the titans, but since when did Raven ever make logical choices when she was in X's presence? "What do you want?" She asked finally, her brain throwing out the speech before she could comprehend it. She was shocked as he said nothing, but instead approached her, moving elegantly through the darkness. Backing up, she felt her heart rate racing. This is not good! This is not good! She thought as her feet became soaked with the tide splashing up periodically. As Red-X realized her reaction he stopped abruptly.
"What?" His computerized voice ringing with confusion.
Raven inhaled slowly and deeply, not knowing how she should handle the situation. She saw that, within the depths of her heart, beneath all the darkness and apathy was Robin. She knew it was truly him with which she would have some glimpse of a some what secure future. But why, when it seemed so irrational, did she want to stay with Red-X there at that beach instead of returning to the tower where Robin would be awaiting her return with a heart labeled for her. It was then that she had finally seen that things were not as easy as she had perceived them to be in her solitude, black and white was not an accurate comparison, and the line between good and evil was so wildly skewed that it didn't even resemble a line anymore. Though her life had never been easily distinguishable, she had always seen the darkness so clearly. She had seen the lucidity of the boundaries her powers would permit. But this, like she had acknowledged before, was completely different. She didn't know what to do, yet some small space in her mind shouted at her to reveal things, to not have to hide everything as was her way of life
"I can't do this anymore." She finally stated, but something in her voice sounded unsure of herself.
"Do what?" Though X knew exactly what she had meant.
"This. Being around you. I can't keep seeing you." She said with certain difficulty.
"But you want to?" X asked, though it was rather a statement than a question.
She swallowed the lump in her throat. Could she really confess to him the truth? Would her dignity allow the admittance that she did want to continue their meetings, scheduled or not? Or would her feelings for Robin trump the whole ploy and ruin everything she had begun with the both of them, for surely she would have to tell Robin about her underhanded betrayal. It was then that she made her decision. She would never tell Robin about any of this. He would never forgive her, it was something she felt strongly about, Red-X had become just as much of an obsession with him just as Slade had. He might even go as far as putting her in jail, 'a co-conspirator' he would claim. No, she would do everything in her power to prevent his knowledge of the events.
"Yes." She grimaced as she felt the duplicity slither down her throat and cling to her heart heavily.
"Then stay." He said, as if the decision could be made with such ease.
"But…" Her mind went blank, she could think of no excuse as to not be with him. Though she knew it was wrong, she felt the temptation swiftly overtake her willfulness.
"You want to stay so stay. Your team has nothing to do with this." But they did, they had everything to do with this. They were just as involved as she was. She was loyal to them, as were they to her. Could she really toy with their unbridled faithfulness like this? Then she thought back to Robin, how he had betrayed them all and joined Slade. They had all forgiven him for his wrongdoings, though the current circumstances were vastly differing, could there be hope for her and her friendship with the titans, most of all Robin? Could they forgive her just as they had forgiven Robin if they ever found out? Or could she conceal all of this deceit and pray that none of it would be exposed?
Her physical being was calling to her so loudly that she could no longer ignore it. She wanted so desperately to continue seeing Red-X and the urges had overtaken every part of her body and had made the decision for her. She would go with him and hope that it all remained a secret; it felt like it was her only option now.
"Let's go." She spoke finally, all of the hesitance was pushed from her mind. They walked towards the city, letting the storm clouds brew, tossing the tide violently. Little to their discretion did they see a patch of subtle moving darkness lagging behind them…following them.
END OF CHAPTER 24!!!
Please review!! I'd like to know if there are any of you left that still read this!!!