Chapter 7
The next day I was surprised when I woke up around noon. My body felt at least decent with a couple hours of sleep. I sat in my bed for a while thinking over everything and about what to do. I wasn't really even sure what I'm suppose to do- how I'm suppose to accept these emotions that control me. Getting out of bed I changed into a black leotard and grey cloak, along with me gems before making my way to the kitchen. When I arrived I noticed the other Titans were standing around talking quietly about something until they caught sight of me and fell silent.
"Please don't do that." I asked, into the silent air. "If I have to act normal you have to as well," with that being said I made my way to the fridge for some breakfast and tea while the team carried on.
"I just want you guys to check out the warehouse and be back before nine." Robin explained, "And make sure word doesn't get out about Raven's powers."
"Alright." Cyborg said, going into leader mode. "Titans move out." I watched silently as Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy made their way out.
"You're on babysitting duty?" I asked dully while I settled for just tea as my breakfast. The hot water and leaves brewed while I heard Robin's silent steps behind me.
"No, you and I are going to train today." I was surprised by the information but made sure he couldn't tell from my turned body.
"You're going to train me?" I asked, not bothering to look at him. "How? When I'm terrified of my own shadow."
That was an exaggeration of course.
"I want you you to be able to protect yourself in case of an emergency." his strong voice said behind me. Grabbing my mug I turned to face the leader with a neutral face, though on the inside, of course I was terrified.
"In an emergency?" I asked, blowing air into the hot cup. His masked eyes ran over the expression and lines on my face before answering.
"Just in case there is a break in." he explained and dropped his look.
"Oh." I said, understanding the double meaning to his explanation.
"In case someone found out I'm powerless." When he didn't respond I felt my hands go cold and me neck tensed up. "And they want to finish me off?" I pushed.
"Were not going to let that happen to you." Robin declared, "Ever." No matter how many times he said, or how he said it I could still feel the possibility of my life on the line.
"I should leave." I said, suddenly losing my appetite for tea and placed it back on the counter top. "You guys can get someone from Titan's East." I tightened my core to keep my voice from shaking with tears, but when Robin's hand grabbed mine I felt the tears begin to pool.
"No." he said, almost growling. "You are not leaving the team."
"Why should I stay?" I asked, looking up at him, blinking away the tears. "I'm a risk to the team if someone breaks in to find me and hurts you guys."
"I don't care." he snapped. "You're not leaving the team and you're not leaving me." I stared at him in shock at the words he said. Why would he want me to stay and risk the safety of the team.
"What do you expect me to learn?" I said, not shaking off his hand or the words he said.
"Nothing." he answered. "I just want you to be able to protect yourself."
In the Titan Training Room, Robin was laying out mats while I sat on a bench with a sad face. I changed into some exercising shorts from Star's room and a black tank top I had in the back of my closet that managed not to turn grey and a pair of white socks. After the conversation in the kitchen I only gave Robin a nod and left to go change. I wished he would listen to my pleas and let me go.
'You're not leaving me' the words rang through my head while I stared at Bird Boy. He traded in his flashy uniform for a pair of black sweats and a white tank top. I never noticed the amount of of muscle that he had. The ones that rolled on his back as he flipped the heavy mat, and it crashed to the floor with a little dust rising.
"You don't expect me to become a martial arts master, do you?" I asked, my voice startling both of us. When he placed the last mat down, Robin turned to look at me, dusting his hands off.
"Of course not." he replied, a small smile on his lips. "I don't expect anything out of you. I just want you to be able to punch someone in the face." I almost laughed which scared me, but I let a small smile stretch across my lips. "Come here." he said, waving me over to the mat.
With a small sigh I got up to my feet and made my way over to the center of the mat. "Okay rule number one, always, not matter how tired you are, or how bruised and battered you are, keep your hands up." Grabbing my balled up hands he placed them a few inches in front of my face shaking them slightly to get me to tense up. "Okay? Now you're tiny Raven," I sent him a glare and he smirked. "So they'll try to get their arms around you." Walking behind me Robin wrapped his arms tightly around me and my arms, I could feel his heart beating against my back, which made it hard to think.
"You want to try and avoid this position as much as possible, but say Red X has you trapped like this." I cringed at the sound of his name, and placed a wall up against the memories that dared to flow. "You want to stomp really hard on the top of their foot." I gave a nod and stepped gently on top of his foot. "This will usually cause their grip to slip. Now you can ram you elbow into my lower stomach." Loosening his grip on me he grabbed my elbow gently, and pulled it back till it was against his lower abdomen. "About right there. Once you hit there, the attacker will lean forward because of the air you knocked out of them, that's when you ram them hard in the face, okay?" he asked. "As hard as you can Raven."
"Then what?" I asked, turning to look at him.
"Then you run as fast as you can." I could see the seriousness in his face as he grabbed my shoulders and dropped his gaze down to my level. "Don't turn your back, or look behind you, you run as fast as you can."