Author's Note: Revised chapter.
-Bert the Nomad
Meditation.
Like alcohol…it was an acquired taste.
An acquired taste that not many are willing to spend the money on.
For Raven…the choice wasn't really one she'd made on her own. Like being the daughter to an alcoholic father, she was bound to pick up the habit whether she liked the taste or not.
Now…it was a habit that took an increasing amount of time to satisfy.
Almost like an addiction.
Raven spent so much time meditating she was beginning to become more acquainted with her emotions than her friends. What's worse, they were beginning to talk back a lot more than they'd used to. It was like sticking a bunch third graders into a class room with no teacher. Sooner or later they're going to be getting restless…and sooner or later one of them is bound to make trouble.
Particularly the troubled student.
Raven was in her room, floating a good two feet from the ground with both legs crossed and head slightly tilted back, breathing only through her nostrils. She could feel her emotions all squabbling with her; Curiosity, Bravery…hell, even Joy was getting a little argumentative. What bothered Raven the most was the fact that she wasn't sure what was rustling her feathers. What had them all so rowdy?
In any case, Raven had plenty of time to calm them down. A good four hours in fact.
Chang had been found with the left hemisphere of his brain replacing most of his wallpaper in his office. Although blood and guts were nothing new to Raven, she decided to let Robin handle this one. If any of their team could play the part of a magnifying glass wielding detective, none could do it quite like the Boy Wonder. Robin had spent a good number of years in Gotham, where the law was in black and white and most of the crime scenes were in red. In a weird sort of 'Robin' way…he loved solving murders.
Oh well. Boys will be boys and prodigies of the Dark Knight always have a hankering for the good ol' days.
In any case, it only meant that there was Cyborg and Starfire left to distract her.
"So…" Raven said sternly to the pink, grinning optimistic representation of herself. "I can have you're word that you won't be stirring up any more trouble?"
Joy shrugged, her hands wrapped around her back and her weight absently shifting from one foot to the other. The two of them were situated in the darkness of Raven's mind again, floating amid countless red stars and drifting pieces of debris. Joy was one of the last emotions she had left to go.
At least this one wasn't noisy.
"Ye-e-e-e-e-e-eah." It responded, staring boredly at the sky. "But I'm not the only one whose been stirring up trouble here, boss. A lot of us have been getting vibes again. You know what I'm talking about."
Raven crossed her arms. "No, I don't, and I care very little about what it is. I'm just here to make sure that you're not going to cause me any more bad dreams."
"Oh, I think you know whose been causing your bad dreams, boss." Joy said, raising an eyebrow and gesturing her head over her shoulder. Behind them, back turned, hood up…was Red Raven. Wrath. The troubled student.
Raven sighed. "Believe me, I know."
Joy grinned and leaned in. "You worry WAY too much. You should seriously consider lightening up. Have you ever considered…y'know…finding somebody?"
Raven gave Joy a very flat look and the pink girl stood back up, grinning and scratching the back of her head. "I see your point. You call the shots."
Raven huffed. "Thank you. Now get out of here."
"Rodger Wilco! Happy Raven out!" Joy turned and dashed off, sticking her arms out and roaring like an airplane taking off.
Red Raven remained still.
"You had the same dream last night." It whispered quietly as Joy finally disappeared. "You just screamed this time."
Raven's face remained blank as she floated over to face her longest…and most terrible companion. The Red Raven had been with her for as long as she could remember, hovering on the edge of her consciousness like spots burned into her sight from staring at the sun for too long. Its words had accompanied her every thought, its whispers lingering in her dreams, and its four gleaming eyes haunting the darkness of her mind. Logically…Raven thought that it'd should have disappeared when Trigon was killed. Laid down and died with her past.
Why didn't it disappear? Why did it remain to taunt her with riddles and bad dreams?
"What are you trying to tell me?" Raven whispered to it. "What do you want?"
The crimson hood glimpsed up and four gleaming red eyes stared back, like stoked coals. It's tone carried a cloying sweetness. "I want what's best for you, Raven. I always have."
"What is it? What do you want me to see?"
The crimson hood tilted, almost thoughtfully. "I've…known you you're entire life, Raven. You know I have."
Raven swallowed. Wrath continued, leisurely.
"With all those years that'd passed…I've watched you grow from a wincing, small child up to a strong, obedient young woman. I've been with you in you're hard times…you're good times…and you're lonesome times."
"Stop it. You're nothing to me."
The eyes narrowed, looking hurt. "Now Raven, that's just not fair to say. I am part of you. It's impossible for you to exist without me. I am everything to you…and you are everything to me."
It paused to move closer to Raven, slipping its hood off and taking her shoulder. Wrath's face was smiling…its four red eyes narrowed sympathetically.
It looked so much like her…
"Raven…you're a lost dove. You have nowhere left to fly to. You've knocked over the nest that had birthed you, raised you, protected you for all these years…and now fly around aimlessly in hopes of finding another nest that'll welcome you. That's why you're not happy Raven. That's why you sit in here day after day, sitting at your window and wishing for something wonderful to happen to you. You're in denial. You can't except the fact that you should be dead…"
Raven snatched Wrath's and hand and pushed it away, standing up over the Red, glowering personification. "You're wrong, Wrath." She said, quietly. The Red Raven bared its teeth as she continued. "I may have outlived my purpose…but I still have a home full of people who accept me and love me. I'm not going to lie to you, Wrath. I am not happy. But I know for a fact that it's not something you can solve. You are as worthless to me as anything else in my past. You have no power over me. If there's a lost dove here, it's you."
Wrath slowly straightened, pulling its hood back up. It was smiling. "Oh Raven." It whispered. "There are still things about your past…that you still know so little about. Maybe you should try holding onto the dreams I send you. You might just remember something. Something wonderful."
Moments later the Red Raven sat back down, its four gleaming eyes absently watching the stars.
"You fly back home now, Raven." It whispered. "I won't cause you any more grief today."
Raven sighed and lowered her hood, turning slowly towards the Forbidden Portal, her exit out of her mind. Her job was finished for today. If there was one thing Red Raven didn't do, it was lie. Wrath had always kept its words…which made the last conversation very unsettling.
She stepped up in front of the portal, casting one last glance over her shoulder at the floating red cloak.
"A real crab, that one." Joy said from above.
Raven glanced up, frowning. The Pink Raven stared back, sitting in the branches of a knurled ugly tree with both legs swinging carelessly over the edge. In her hand was a glowing strawberry.
"Where the hell did you get that?" Raven said, eying the pink girl as she levitated the fruit from one hand to the other.
"Childhood memories." Joy said inattentively. "I spend a lotta time there. It's the only place where Red isn't around."
She caught the fruit and finally took a large bite out of it. "Oh!" She moaned, rolling back her eyes and leaning back on the branch. "These are to die for, Raven. I can see why they're your favorite fruit."
"They're not." Raven frowned again, and walked through the portal.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
The boy sat at the table, waiting very calmly as Beast Boy screamed again, his head thrashing from side to side, feet kicking up the carpet, and his remaining hand tearing at the rounded crater that used to be his arm. Beast Boy was freezing, he'd never felt so damn cold and wet; like buckets of ice-water being continuously poured over his chest.
He was so scared. Scared to the point that he didn't care about anything. The bile that he coughed up, the wet spot on the crotch of his pants, his pleas for his mother…all meant nothing to him now. All he could do now was cry. And he did. And so did Terra, even through her newly administered gag.
The boy had waited. His face completely blank. Almost as if he wasn't even paying attention. Finally, he blinked and leaned forward. "If you move around, it just hurts more. Please remain still, for both our sakes don't make it worse."
Beast Boy didn't answer, he just lurched forward in his seat and tried to puke something up. Nothing came. Nothing was left.
The boy grimaced and straightened, his grip still firmly holding onto the kicking, bucking Terra. "You're going into shock right now. I know, trust me, I know. First you'll feel light-headed, then drowsy. You're going to want to fall asleep but I can't let you. Not yet. I need you to just tell me something first."
Again Beast Boy didn't answer. He would have spat at him if his mouth hadn't felt like he had been sucking on cotton for the past hour. He raised himself slightly, then fell back in his seat, dry-heaving again. Something came up this time.
Beast Boy suddenly tasted blood.
The boy straightened at this, his black eyes sharpening. "Oh, no." He whispered, straightening from his seat and striding over to Beast Boy in an instant, yanking out a faded, black handkerchief. "Internal bleeding…I overdid it again…" He looked so genuinely concerned, so legitimately afraid. What a funny kid.
Terra made a move to run, but her legs were still tightly bound to a chair. She only succeeded in falling over.
The boy knelt in front of Beast Boy and gently held the handkerchief to his mouth as red began leaking from between his teeth. Beast Boy eyed the black handkerchief with his half lidded eyes, coughing feebly.
The black handkerchief… He thought through drooping lids. The killer's trademark.
He glimpsed up slowly to the boy's black eyes, which were fixed on wiping the bubbling blood from his chin. "You're…the killer." He managed to say, a fresh stream of red dribbling from the corner of his mouth.
The boy stopped, glimpsing up at Beast Boy's hazed green eyes with his sharp, deep black ones. For a moment, Beast Boy thought he could see them soften, a momentary fleeting spark of regret, pain…and sadness. God, he looked so sad in that moment. As if nothing in the world could possibly save him...and he knew it.
He glanced away, then resumed his duties. "Yes." He said quietly, inspecting Beast Boy's wound. "Yes I am."
Beast Boy huffed quickly through his nose. It was the closest thing he could do to express a laugh.
We've spent the past three weeks hunting down a killer and here I am getting catered by him, He smiled vaguely as the boy lifted the crimson bandages and inspected the wound. He let his eyes close and his jaw clench shut. "You overdid it again." He hissed to himself, then raised his gaze to Beast Boy's. "Are you feeling well enough to tell me something, Beast Boy?" He knelt down and placed a hand under Beast Boy's chin, raising his head. "I need you to tell me something important. Oh, so very important."
"Why…why are you…"
"I need you to tell me something about a friend of yours. You know her as Raven."
"…R-Raven?"
"Look at me, Beast Boy, keep your eyes on mine. I need you to tell me how I can get inside the tower. Do you hear that?"
"Why…Raven…?"
"Please! Stay with me! I need you to tell me!"
"But…Raven…she's…"
The hands dropped from Beast Boy's face and gripped his collar. The next thing he knew, Beast Boy was off the ground. He felt like he was flying. The room spun like a carousel, his eyes dropping from focus. More blood filled his mouth.
"Tell me." The boy hissed and suddenly, he didn't sound sad anymore. His voice had gotten tighter. Angrier.Scarier.
"Tell me how to get into the tower!"
Somehow…Beast Boy managed to grin, rolling his head to get a good look at the boy. He mustered a shrug.
"How…about…no."
The boy bared his teeth and with an angry shout, shoved Beast Boy back into his chair.
Beast Boy's head whip-lashed over the back, his weight carrying him and the chair backwards until the boy's fist balled up under Beast Boy's collar once again, holding him in place. "I'm not afraid to do what I must. If you won't answer me for your sake…"
He yanked off a glove with his teeth and strode back over to Terra, grasping her by her throat with his bare hand, lifting both the girl and the seat off the ground. "…then answer forhers. If you don't answer me, I swear to you I'll blow one piece off her at a time."
Terra's star-ridden eyes widened, her gaze switching back and forth between Beast Boy and the boy holding her. Her face began to redden, a thin vein appearing along her temple as the boy squeezed harder.
"I'll do it." He whispered. "Perhaps I'll start with her fingers. She's got plenty of those."
Despite everything, Beast Boy felt something in his body seize up. "Terra…" He whispered, wrapping a hand around his stomach. "Don't…hurt Terra!"
"Then tell me how to get into the tower! It has a security system! I need a way to bypass it!"
Terra let out a strangled sob from beneath the duct tape, bucking and kicking in the boy's iron grasp.
"Terra…" He whispered again. "I…I can't. I won't."
The boy's face trembled. "So be it."
With a jerk of his hand, he released Terra. Her chair clattered to the floor, sending her head bouncing like a bobble-head. Before the chair even settled, the boy seized one of her arms and tore it viciously from the duct tape bonds, pulling it out onto the table and leaning over it like a chef inspecting a slab of beef. Terra pulled back, her muffled screams echoing through the duct tape over her mouth. The boy held his hand out over the girl's arm, turning to Beast Boy again. His face looked frightening.
"At the elbow…" He said, gesturing with his hands. "Or perhaps at the shoulder. You should know what that feels like. You can tell me what I want, or she will be mutilated for the rest of her life because of poor judgment."
Beast Boy didn't respond. He kept his jaw clenched shut, his guts tightening like a wringed towel.
He…really…shouldn't tell. "I…can't…say."
Again the boy's face tightened. "The entire damn arm then."
His moved down around Terra's shoulder in a deathly tight grip. The girl let out one more muffled shriek and glued her eyes shut.
"Zero…five…nine…eight…six…four…"
The boy glanced up. Terra's eyes opened. Her shoulder was released.
"Two…nine…six…three…five…five…n-nine."Beast Boy's face was buried in his palm, his teeth gritting. The world was fogging up again. It all was too much. He couldn't move, couldn't feel, could hardly even realize that he was dying.
Dying…
Actually, truly dying.
"That's…the combination…for the tower. You'll need…handprint. The access code…is also on my…communicator. The password…" He coughed, and slumped back in his seat, gargling on mucus, blood, and shame. "The password is…Terra159. The…password…" He couldn't continue. He was too tired. So very, very tired. His head rolled back and he gave one last, heaving breath, then drifted off into shock.
The boy stood up, tossing Terra aside. "Thank you." He said quietly. "Thank you so much."
Beast Boy said nothing. His entire left side was caked in dried blood, his mouth bubbling, his eyes glazing. He said nothing. He wanted to…but he couldn't. He was dying, after all. He didn't want his last words to be betraying the tower's security mainframe. But…it was too late now. He was almost unconscious now. After that, he had nowhere to go but up.
The boy walked over and knelt down in front of him as the light from the overhead lamp slowly began to grow ever brighter, encompassing all sights, sounds and smells.
"It's okay now." The voice whispered. "Go to your paradise. And I'll go to mine." He smiled in a heart-breaking way. "Goodbye, Beast-"
Suddenly, there was an abrupt whine of blue plasma as bright blue beam exploded in front of Beast Boy's eyes. The boy let out a loud, surprised yell as he was blown through the air and out the kitchen window, propelled by the pulsating beam like a cork shot from a shaken Champaign bottle. The last thing Beast Boy saw before lapsing into unconsciousness was a large man standing at the opposite side of the room, his arm upraised and thin stream of smoke trailing from the cannon that had replaced his forearm and fist. The cannon quickly fell in upon itself, rearranging into a metallic hand. "Beast Boy!" Cyborg yelled.
Author's Note: Hope you liked it. Just a couple changes from the original, hopefully for the best. Fair thee well, everybody!
-Bert the Nomad.
