DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Titans. Or even the Teen part. T_T Or do I? Cause I am a teen…?
Oh, well. Sorry it took so long; I am having a case of writer's block. XP
I know; it's awful. Hate it!
Okay, so just to warn you right now; this one is very short. Like the last ones. Sorry! Like I said; writer's block and a tight schedule!
Oh, and thanks to docarrol for the idea! I would have sent you a message to tell you that I was going to use your one of your ideas; but you have the private messaging feature turned off!
So, anyways, here we go!
Chapter 4: Turmoil
Brotherhood of Evil HQ…
Madame Rouge impatiently tapped on the table where she sat; her long crimson nails drumming repeatedly on the ebony wood. She flipped her short black hair in annoyance, and then remained motionless and silent.
The room became uncomfortably still, and a couple of the other villains shifted in their chairs uneasily. The red and black suited woman suddenly slammed her fists down on the table and shouted,
"Where is she!?"
Most of the villains in the room flinched, and the black dragon that sat to her left snarled loudly; as he too had been startled by her sudden outburst.
She wheeled on him,
"I thought that you had redirected all of the portals!"
His eyes narrowed into crimson slits as he spoke telepathically,
"I received orders to redirect all time portals."
She crossed her arms condescendingly,
"And the thought never occurred to your superior mind that it might be wiser if all of the portals were redirected?"
Her tone was mockingly sweet; as if she were talking to a small child. Abruptly, she narrowed her eyes,
"Never mind. What business would she have in another dimension anyhow."
The large reptile emitted a low rumble from deep in his chest as he leered at her spitefully.
Interrupting the silent exchange of hostile glares someone cleared her throat loudly to grab everyone's attention.
The villains all shifted their gaze to Cheshire; who reclined in her chair, distractedly wiping away the dry blood that encrusted her steel claws with a rag, tattered from many uses.
She glanced up leisurely,
"I have another plausible explanation for Raven's failure to arrive. She may be dead."
She examined her claws with satisfaction before meeting Madame Rouge's steely gaze. The woman's eyes narrowed as she mulled it over. The dragon huffed, turning his gaze to the girl in the cat mask,
"That is not a matter which should not be simply assumed. The girl is more powerful than you can possibly imagine."
Cheshire's eyes narrowed defensively as she prepared a snappy retort; but Madame Rouge lifted a finger to silence her; then spoke herself,
"How so?"
The colossal reptile chuckled humorlessly,
"I assume that you are unfamiliar with her ability to heal?"
Madame Rouge's cold eyes burned with scathing anger; she spoke through her teeth,
"What. Did. You. Say?"
The Infirmary…
Raven clenched her jaw and balled her fists tightly, her short nails cutting into the skin of her palms as she reasoned with herself that killing her counterpart would be an unwise course of action.
She decided on a less violent approach.
She strode over to where Beast boy and the more expressive version of herself stood interlocked in a sentimental embrace.
She tapped her on the shoulder and then crossed her arms, keeping a perfectly emotionless expression on her face, so as not to cause Beast boy to worry. She then focused on expanding her empathy towards the other girl to better gauge her reaction.
As the dark haired sorceress turned to face this dimension's version of herself, she also focused her empathy on reading the other's emotions.
As soon as they made eye contact, an ear-splitting siren attacked both of their minds; causing both Ravens to simultaneously clutch the sides of their heads, gritting their teeth, while the rest of the Titans could merely stand back and watch with concern, unable to help in any way.
The Raven of the current dimension immediately withdrew her empathic scope as the other did the same.
They both stood with bated breath for a second, making sure that the ravaging mental assault was over, then they collapsed onto the floor with exhaustion; their breathing heavy.
The violet-haired empathy lay sprawled on her back, as her mirror image rested in a sitting position, her back braced against the hospital bed.
The teens remained in motionless silence until the strange visitor shifted her position sluggishly to face the pale teenager sprawled on the floor next to her,
"What was that?"
The lilac empathy propped herself up on her elbows,
"My guess? We both tried to read each other's emotions at the same time, and our powers don't react very well when they come into close contact with each other."
Beast boy quickly put two and two together,
"Psychic feedback squeal…?"
"Yep."
The bandaged teen clutched her throbbing torso, groaning softly,
"Ugh, I never was particularly fond of knives…"
Robin suddenly remembered the problem at hand,
"So what happened to you? Why are you here?"
She winced as the events of the past few days flashed in her mind, and she bashed down the sudden uproar of her powers before she destroyed anything.
She slowly stood, gripping the hand that Beast boy offered her, for support. The original Raven quietly stewed from her position on the floor.
Gar caught her as she stumbled, holding her close to him to ensure that she didn't fall; gripping her upper forearms to keep her steady,
"You okay?"
"Y-Yeah…"
She averted her gaze as a faint blush crept across her pallid features in response to the fact that; in her current position; her nose was only inches away from his.
A glass of water; which had belonged to Cyborg; shattered under the pressure of the obsidian negative energy which had encased it briefly before it's sudden eruption into a million shards which dropped chaotically to the floor immediately afterwards.
With everyone's attention on the pile of wet glass splinters that lay carelessly on the floor, Raven crossed the room, remaining unnoticed until she grabbed her counterpart by the elbow, and began to tow her toward the door; her face a carefully composed mask of indifference,
"We need to talk."
The dark haired sorceress had no idea what she wanted, and uncertainty colored her tone,
"Okay…"
Robin started to protest at the same time that Beast boy tried to ask what was going on; but Raven interrupted them briskly,
"I'll be right back; we're just going to talk outside in the hall."
She shut the door behind her before any time consuming and overly futile arguments could be made on the matter.
As soon as they were both in the hall and the door had slid shut; Raven whirled to face her reflection; the mask gone revealing an expression of pure anger, but her tone remained without inflection.
"He's mine. Got it?"
The other girl bristled; crossing her arms and scowling at the clone before her,
"I know. You don't have to remind me."
"Glad we have an understanding."
They then stood in the barren hallway and silently glowered at each other. The purple-streaked girl leered with a defensive expression of contempt, the lilac-haired girl with a smug expression of superiority.
The door slid open, but the two teens didn't budge in their glaring war. After a few seconds, Robin cleared his throat impatiently to get their attention, and they reluctantly broke eye contact to meet his gaze.
"So are you finished? We'd like an explanation for why you're here."
The dark-haired Raven nodded and walked past Robin and her foul-tempered counterpart into the infirmary.
The Alternate Dimension…
A teenage boy reclined on the small, worn sofa of his miniscule living room. The television was on, and a reporter's urgent voice drifted softly through the room.
He wasn't really paying attention to the television; he was more focused on the heavenly aroma wafting gently from the kitchen.
His stomach growled in greedy anticipation of the food that was being prepared by his mother.
Suddenly, something the reporter said caught his attention; and he turned the volume up to better hear it. Emerald green eyes watched the small screen intently.
"As you can clearly see, right behind me, Robotic soldiers are marching through the streets of Jump City, California. The Teen Titans are nowhere to be found, and the police force has surrendered-"
The frantic woman was cut off as the camera cut back to the reporters who were comfortably seated safely in the studio rather than on the dangerous streets.
One of the two reporters now on the screen began to speak in her soprano voice,
"Many other major cities across the entire continent of North America are suffering the same demise. Among the fallen cities are Metropolis, Gotham, and Steele City."
The scene changed to show robot soldiers who bore a triangular emblem of a brain across their chests; marching down a dignified looking street. The bottom right-hand corner contained text that read 'Downtown Metropolis'.
The woman began to speak again as the clips of the conquered continued to illustrate the hostile takeover.
"All of these cities have one important thing in common; all of them have cases of superheroes mission in action. We have yet to confirm if every superhero is missing yet, and-"
A phone rang; interrupting her dismal commentary. The camera cut back to the reporters in the studio once more, and he man began to speak,
"This just in: Central City has just fallen to the 'Brotherhood of Evil'. Apparently this is the name of the mysterious group who has been attempting to take over the United States. The heroes 'Jinx' and 'Kid Flash' put up a valiant fight against the imposing force of 2,000 robots, but they were pushed back and forced to forsake the city and retreat. Their current whereabouts are unknown."
The woman interrupted him after gasping loudly,
"OhmyGod!"
They turned to watch the scene unfolding on the large screen behind them.
Both reporters' eyes brimmed with tears as they watched their country's capital crumble before their eyes.
The woman began to sob into her hands in anguish; the man very deliberately gazed into the camera as a single tear slipped down his face,
"And thus… the end of the land of the free… Lord help us all."
How's that for a cliffhanger? I'm awful; I know.
Again, sorry it took so long; but hey, I really had fun writing this scene! All you writers out there know that shattering glass is very fun to write!
Speaking of writers; you guys have to check out Chicomagnifico's one-shot collection! He's great at it! (those have made me cry on more than one occasion; though not always sad tears!) :D
Oh, and another good one is Blackangeldust's story "Stone Life"; yeah, it's depressing; but she's a great writer! She uses very strong words!
Oh, and I'm sorry if I offended anyone with the reference to God; but that's the major religion in the United States; and most people just say what pops into their heads; so I figured that the reference would make it more realistic! :)
Anyways, are you enjoying the story so far?
So, review and tell me what you think!
Later Days!
~Rosalind2013