A/N: Thank you all for the kind reviews and comments. Welcome to the new readers and thanks to all who have added this to your faves and alerts. Here is chapter 4. Please enjoy. Thank you for the well-wishes. I hope to be back soon.
Hinata-Rae 7-3.15 : I'm calling him Kit, just because. :) You'll see why, a little later into the story. Thanks for reading!
Disclaimer: I do not own any Teen Titans anything. I only lay claim to my original characters and plot bunnies.
WARNINGS: Dark Fic, BDSM (others will be added as I see fit)
A wary Raven returned to the shadowy manor as the clock struck midnight. She swept through the entry way, leading her stallion behind her.
With a sigh, she nuzzled her face into the horse's neck, ruffling the thick mane, then gave it a light slap on the rump. "Go find Kit." She instructed it. "Behave." The horse tossed its head and trotted off, the horseshoes clanking loudly on the marbled floors.
Raven sighed, shrugging out of the cloak only to find Alfred's capable hands helping her out of it. She almost smiled. "Evening, Alfred."
"Good evening, Lady Raven." He bowed respectfully. "Your purchases have arrived and await your inspection in the great room."
"Thank you. I'll see to it in a moment." She ran her fingers through wet hair. "And Thor is in the house." She referred to the black stallion. "Kit should take care of him."
"Of course." He hung the damp cloak on the proper hanger in the coat clove.
"Anything I should know of?"
The man hesitated.
Dark lavender eyes searched him meaningfully.
"A Lex Luthor, the Kents and Lady Cannery sought the purchase of 1117."
"Really?" A slight frown crossed her pale, pretty face. "How curious. Did they trouble you?"
"…no."
"Good man." She praised. "Is there anything else?"
"Shall I bring your dinner to the study or the-"
"I'll take it in the great room, in fact, take it up to my bedroom. I'll tend to first things first." She sighed. "I had ordered some other ingredients for my…work. Did they arrive?"
"There were no deliveries today, your ladyship."
"Ah, I see. They must be behind then. Please know that I am expecting some things. Keep watch for them." She smiled. "Thank you Alfred, you may go."
The grey-haired man bowed, melting away into the shadowy surroundings without another word.
Raven glided forward, sweeping up the staircase and towards her personal chambers. She took the luxury of a bath and a fresh change of clothes, before making her way to the great room.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos." She whispered, allowing the magic to show her what lay beyond the doors.
Her purchases stood in an awkward, tense line, shifting occasionally, unmoving.
Raven withdrew the spell, thinking to herself as she pushed the door open and entered the room.
All heads turned.
She moved calmly to the center of the room, a thin riding crop dangling from one slender wrist, her outfit that of slender black pants and a rich, purple silk blouse. It was comfortable and suitable for her work when she needed her hands free and her body's abilities to hover in the background. Her thick violet hair was tied back by a scarlet ribbon and her dark lavender eyes calmly swept the ragged line before her.
"Good evening." She greeted, quietly. "I trust you were all given something to eat and drink?"
There were a few nodded heads.
She moved forward and cleared her throat. "I'm afraid I only have use for one of you."
That caught their attention.
"The rest of you may be useful or useless, depending." Her eyes flared white. "Azarath, Metrion Zinthos!"
Black-white pulsing energy surrounded them in a blink, starting at their feet and fizzling out over their head. They moved and shifted, a few fearful glances traded between them. Raven smiled. "Ah, that was helpful. Now then."
She pointed to each of them in turn with the riding crop. "Malchior, transformations, dark magic, virgin." Her eyes narrowed. "I suppose I could find a use for you, are you willing to work and tend to my every whim? I would make use of your knowledge of the darkened arts and I would grant you at least one…request, within reason."
The bandaged figure bowed low.
"Very well, step forward." She tapped him lightly on the shoulder with the crop and turned her attention to the next one in line. The man with metal sticking out from him. Her lips pursed. "Is that painful?" She inquired, poking one metal cable with the tip of the crop.
The metal man winced, the cable moving in the tender, sore flesh. "Not really." He spoke through gritted teeth, glaring at her with his one good eye.
"I should think it would." Raven leaned forward, giving an experimental sniff. "It is infected. It reeks. Didn't Alfred tend to this or was he unaware?"
The metal-plated man didn't answer.
Raven sighed. "Your name is…Cyborg, correct?"
The metal man's one eye grew wide. He hadn't said anything. "I-!"
"It seems you are handy with practical things. This is a large manor with many tasks and many needs. If you think you are capable of putting the brilliance you have demonstrated on your body to better uses in practical application, I would consider you."
Cyborg swallowed, his eye darting to the masked boy and then to the ground. He fidgeted.
"This is a decision you must make on your own, Mr. Cyborg." She sighed. "If you chose to accept, then I will have your…needs, tended to. I have three personal healers on call and they will treat your condition with care. I would also take you as a ward if you were willing to study and learn beyond that which you have, granted that your loyalty remains with me and no other. You could go quite far, should you choose to accept."
"I…I gotta think about it."
"Very well. You have a moment." Her attention turned to the green cat shivering miserably on the floor. She smirked. "Well hello there." She tapped it lightly on the head with the crop, before bending to grab it up by the scuff of its neck.
The kitten mewed pitifully, but Raven merely scowled. "Return to your true form, changeling." The scowl darkened. "Lest I do it for you."
"He can't!" The masked boy burst out. "He's injured, can't you see? Leave him alone!"
"He is my property, I purchased him…and you, this afternoon. Do not speak out of turn, boy." The dark lavender eyes were directed to him, the faintest hint of a storm lingering in their depths. "He is injured, yes, I can tell that, but it does not prevent him from transforming." She sighed, giving the cat a little shake. "Well, little one?"
There was a soft flash of green light and a skinny little boy stood gasping in giant lungfuls of air before he wobbled and pitched towards the floor.
Raven caught him with one arm, her eyes flaring white. "Azarath, Metrion Zinthos!"
The black and white energy spiraled over him and his gasping breaths changed to less desperate noises. She stood him up carefully, holding his chin with one hand and turning his head to the sides, examining his eyes and prying his jaw open. "Hmm. Fangs." She commented. "But they are little used…you do not satisfy your own cravings?"
The boy whimpered.
She smiled, the expression somewhat lovely and terrifying at the same time. "I suppose if you were willing to assist your friend in his work, I might chance to offer you the same option I did for him. I have no use for an animal morpher, but if you were to help him in his work and make yourself available to Alfred when necessary, then I would also take you up as a ward, providing an education and lodging for as long as your loyalties remain strictly mine."
The boy brightened.
The masked boy quivered, as if in suppressed anger.
"You may think about it, if you need." Raven turned her attention to the thumb-sucking redhead, the crop being buttoned to her waist, she smiled softly down at the little girl. "Good evening, Princess of Tameran."
Green eyes grew wide and round, the thumb slowly leaving her mouth as the girl stared up in wonderment.
"You, I have a definite use for." Raven extended her arms. "I wish to take you on as my ward. It was my original intent. You would be able to study and would be taken care of. I understand that your people have a different culture and upbringing than this human planet, but I would do my best to see to those different needs."
The little girl cocked her head to the side.
"She doesn't understand you." The masked boy interjected. "She's just a-"
The little girl threw her hands up, allowing herself to be caught up into the slender arms. She babbled out a mouthful of Tameran, to which Raven answered her in kind. The masked boy simply stared.
When the conversation died down, Raven turned her attention, at last to her prize. The masked boy. She could practically see everything about him radiating from the suppressed emotions he was struggling to hold in check.
"As for you," She said, softly. "For you, I have something very special in mind…"
~*~*~*Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment if you feel so inclined.~*~*~*