Chapter 4

Raven's POV

The moment I entered the library the next day, I only had one goal in mind: help Loki. He was clearly in a stage of his life that I had been a couple months ago. The team saved me from myself and from my father, so me being his friend could only help him. I just hoped my plan would work because only fate knows what he would turn into if they kept treating him like this. The line between being good and evil was thin, it only took so much to corrupt one to the other side, and that is something I did not wish for Loki.

I approached the chair he was perched on and got straight to the point. "I wish to join Thor for training."

RxL RxL RxL RxL

Loki's POV

I knew the day would come where Raven would get tired of me but I did not expect it to be after we had only spent one day together. I did not comprehend how I could repel someone so quickly. I could only stare at her with my mouth agape. Add another name to the growing list of people that favored my brother over me. Thor will endlessly mock me for this.

"Why?" I finally asked.

"I want to see what this m..." I could see her eyes close in concentration. "…his hammer can do." She revealed. "I also want to see if they're the 'most promising warrior's in the nine realms,' or whatever he said." She said, mimicking Thor's voice from his invitation a couple days ago.

"So you do not aspire to spend time with my brother, correct?" I had to ask to relieve the apprehension in me.

"Depends…" She ended melodramatically. "Are you going to be there in this hypothetical meeting?" I shook my head, giving her a silent no. "Then no. Are we done? I want to get this over with." She muttered, standing up from the chair adjacent to mine and walking over to the door. "Well?" She questioned impatiently.

"The training grounds are this way." I informed her as I motioned to the left. Last night's conversation popped in my head as I led her to weapon's practice: she is one strange half mortal.

RxL RxL

"Brother?" I enquired as we entered the practice grounds. At the moment, Thor was battling the Warriors Three; Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg. I spotted Lady Sif on the sidelines; mostly cheering on Thor with the occasional cheer for the other three. Only a fool would not be capable of detecting the love that she harbored in her eyes - Thor was indeed that fool. The warriors fell the moment Thor utilized their distraction over seeing Raven by invoking the power of thunder; which gave an end to the amicable scrimmage they were having.

Before I could even utter the first syllable, Raven had stepped up and told Thor that she wished to practice with him. Lady Sif walked up and said she would be glad to battle Raven. She just stared and monotonously informed Sif that she did not long to fight her but Thor. That statement was met with chortles and amusement all around. Ostensibly, I was the only one that noticed the way Raven's shoulders tensed and the way her voice became less monotone.

"What?" She demanded.

"Brother, did you bewitch her? I must admit it is quite amusing." The comment made my blood boil. Since Raven had arrived I had diminished the amount of tricks I used to pull. The warriors three and Sif all laughed in the background, thinking Thor's words to be hilarious.

I took a step towards Thor but a hand on my chest stopped my incoming rampage. One grey skinned hand stopped everything; it almost seemed as if it had stopped time - it did stop it for me. The only thing I could pay attention to was that hand on my chest. With my interest elsewhere, I did not notice the insult directed at me by my brother and the laughter that ensued.

"Are you going to use your hammer?" I suddenly heard Raven ask.

"Well of course. You are allowed to use any weapon of your choosing if you wish. No magic." Thor briefed Raven on the conditions of their friendly battle.

"No magic." She concurred. Before she could set herself, I opened up the bond she had established last night. How are you going to defeat him without the aid of magic? I yelled into our bond so she could hear the urgency and stupidity of her incoming actions. I knew she heard it the moment she "flinched" for no reason. It could not be called a flinch for anybody else, but the sudden twitch in her shoulder told me everything I needed to know.

I've got some tricks up my sleeve. She assured. I could see a smirk underneath her hood. Knowing I would not be able to talk her out of this, I stepped back along with the others.

"Last chance to back out," Thor mindlessly taunted her.

"Do you want to follow your own advice?" She goaded right back.

"Not in the slightest." The instant that Sif commenced the battle, Thor pounced on Raven; thinking strength would beat her in a beat but the only thing that she did was step out of the way. Thor was persistent on his mode of attack, assuming brute force would take Raven down. Her avoiding him angered him more than anything. Thor deemed avoiding a fight as the act of a coward, not gathering that it could very well save you from death.

"Stop acting like Loki and fight me." He finally bellowed.

"If you insist." She muttered. The moment Thor drew back Mjolnir, Raven adhered to his arm, taking him down to the ground and opening a small black hole on it, where half of his arm and Mjolnir disappeared to. Raven stood up, dusted her clothes, and started walking towards me.

The warrior three and Sif were all staring flabbergasted at the short-statured girl. She either did not notice or did not care – I would assume the latter.

"You cheat!" Thor barked from his position on the ground. Abruptly, Raven was kneeling on the ground in front of Thor. "You used magic!"

"Listen to me carefully because I will not reiterate," She whispered darkly. "I did not utilize magic. Did I use and incantation or spell? No, I didn't. I did, though, benefit from my state of being. I opened a portal to another dimension and that is where your arm and dear hammer are located at the moment. Just like swinging your hammer like some Neanderthal comes natural to you, I also have things that come natural to me, and that was one of them. Now, don't pull too hard or you'll dislocate your shoulder." She turned to me and opened our bond. Could we have some tea? I'm parched.

I think that could be arranged. I thought as we left.

RxL RxL RxL RxL

Raven's POV

Later that night as I was brushing my hair before I went to bed, a knock on the door interrupted my nightly ritual. I granted the person on the other side entrance and the countenance of Lady Frigga popped in. I put the brush down with an apprehensive look on my face that was gone in the blink of an eye. She just sat next to me on the bed and took my hands.

"I'm so…" but before I could finish my apology, she had patted my hand as if telling me to stop. This kind of gesture was so foreign to me that I could not help but stare at it for a couple of seconds.

"Shh, child. It is fine. I just wish to know why you committed the act of putting one of my son's arm into another dimension." She asked tenderly.

"He insulted Loki." I murmured, slightly embarrassed at my harsh actions but not regretting them in the slightest. "You need to understand that I don't have many friends where I'm from, I'm not exactly a social butterfly. But those few friends I do have, I cherished them and I will protect them with my life and Loki is one of those few. I apologize for putting Thor's arm in another dimension. My actions were childish. I'll go right now and take his…" While I was standing up to go liberate Thor from his temporary prison, I felt a hand on my arm halting my process to the door.

"That is not necessary. I am not here to reprimand you on your actions. I just wish to ask you to emancipate him tomorrow. Odin and I both think this is a good enough punishment for his actions lately. He has always been quite vociferous on his accomplishments but lately he has been more 'prideful' than usual and I do not appreciate its effects on Loki. You have been like a dream come true to him since your unexpected appearance and I am inclined to thank you for everything you have done." She commented as she unintentionally caressed my hands in hers. I had longed to have somewhat similar situations with Arella: my own mother, but my powers never allowed it to occur. She patted my hands one last time and walked to the door only to halt her movement right in front of the door. She turned around and asked one of the most idiosyncratic questions I've ever been asked – and I lived with Beast Boy and Starfire.

"May I…" Her agitation amazed me as I could have never imagined it coming from someone of her status. "Finish brushing your hair?" I only looked at her in awe that I didn't even notice my own head nodding; giving her all the permission she sought. She took the brush I offered and sat behind me on the bed. Lady Frigga explicated that she had always wanted daughters but though she was happy with her two extraordinary sons, she always coveted a girl.

Feeling her gentle hands and brush drift through my hair made me wonder if I could have ever had this kind of relationship with my own mother; one where she would put me to bed and tell me everything was okay. In the back of my mind, I realized I would never get that with Arella so I cherished and burned this moment into my memory. The last thing I remembered were her hands running through my hair one last time, what I could only assume to be a kiss in the forehead and a whispered goodnight.

RxL RxL RxL RxL

Teen Titans Tower, Jump City

"Run it again." Robin commanded Cyborg for what seemed to be the hundredth time that hour. Since Raven's sudden disappearance on that fated day she had defeated Trigon, the Teen Titans kept the search alive for her. They knew – they hoped, she was still alive, but all the searches in the world only indicated that Raven wasn't anywhere on the planet. Her communicator's signal had gone down the moment she was whisked away by her own magic. Hope was diminishing quickly through the tower. Starfire didn't have the ability to fly anymore; Beast Boy didn't try humoring the titans with his corny jokes; Cyborg couldn't look at his baby without thinking of the time he spent with his little sister repairing it; and Robin was the one most affected by it all. His actions mimicked the ones he had committed when he was searching for Slade but villains weren't their top priority anymore: Raven was. Every day was the same routine; search for Raven, while honorary Titans took care of the city. Eat, sleep and repeat. No one knew her value until the white light tore her away to places unknown. No one.

A/N: Okay well I hope you guys appreciate this little early update that wasn't meant to go up until Sunday but I figured that was cruel and unnecessary so here you go. Thank you for everyone that reads this story, I love you guys.

Recipe for making my day: LEAVE A REVIEW!

Discb: Thank you for your review. Oh and the Spanish thing mostly happens during soccer games but an argument in Spanish/Welsh would be cool. And you're right; I bet Rae would have had a blast using her telekinesis on Loki.

Nickie: Thank you for your reviews! You seriously make my day. I hope this was soon enough for you. And I do speak Spanish, I also speak English (duh!) and French and next year I will be taking Chinese I. I'm excited. And who doesn't love Tom?

KhaalidaNyx: Thank you for leaving a review. And I can't wait until I get into the Thor and The Avengers arc, which is going to be so interesting.