AN: Kinda short but What can you expect from just two days of work. I didn't want to leave you guys hanging for too long. Aren't I nice? Hope you all enjoy.
Aliensvspredator5- Its just a little death. Nothin he can't walk off. Thanks for reviewing and enjoy.
whisper dark rose- [insert evil laugh] fear my almighty cliff hangers. Their abrupt endings will be the death of you all. But in all seriousness cliff hangers just have to be used sometimes, their just too damn fun. Rorix sounds like the white haired guy from the spellbound episode. The actual guy, not the dragon. But I'm probably wrong so let me know please. As always thank you for the review and enjoy the chapter.
TEH FIC IS BACK AND IN BLACK.
She watched him disappear below the churning surf and it felt as if her chest had just been slammed by a sledgehammer. Without thinking she dove in after him, and the sight that greeted her was one she'd never be able to forget.
His arms and feet dragged behind him as he sank into the depths below. His eyes were closed and blood poured from his mouth and nose, coloring the water a light red. She carefully but quickly gathered him in her arms, holding him like a child.
Her eyes glowed a brilliant white and all the water in a ten foot sphere exploded outward. Leaving the two in a bubble of sorts. As they rose to the surface she hit a button on her comm to call Cyborg. "Cy? Cy I need you to Prep the infirmary. Now!"
She lifted them both out of the water and started full speed back to the tower, forgetting all about the helicopter and Artemis still descending with her parachute. In her arms Jake coughed violently, with more and more blood filling his lungs. "Jake don't you die on me. JAKE! Damn it, hold your ground."
The tower was coming up fast, not bothering to stop for the glass she flew head long into it, just before impact a blackened portal opened engulfing the two Titans.
At the same time another opened in the infirmary. Cy saw it and knew Raven was inbound fast, and sure enough half a heartbeat later she came flying through at mach one. In her arms was a body that looked all to familiar.
"Raven, what are we lookin at?" He asked as she floated to the floor. She didn't bother to answer, opting instead on setting the body down on the table. And once he saw who it was he had a reaction much the same as Raven.
His head had been shaven and bruises adorned his face along with several new scars, but despite all the changes he was still easily identifiable. Jake Arius had returned from the dead, but from the looks of it he was about to kick the bucket once more.
Raven didn't bother to snap Cyborg out of his state knowing she acted in much the same manner when she first recognized him. So while his mind processed the new info she ripped the water soaked shirt off Jake. What lay underneath was a sight that wound haunt her until the day she died.
Several jagged scars were carved into his chest, running all up and sown his sides were more of the same. His stomach was a labyrinth of angry red tissue, some looking burned other looking like the lacerations across his chest. She also became aware of the gashes in his arms and needle track marks dotting almost every visible vain in his arm. Around his neck were various puncture wounds placed carefully enough to have not kill him. And finally the center piece of it all, the wound that brought it all together. A three inch wide Hexagon with a capital H in its center, burned into his collar.
Taking it all in was enough to make her physicaly ill. But she didn't have time to be sick right now. Cyborg had already snapped out of his shock and started attaching electrodes to his chest and hooked them up to a monitor. Once the switch was flipped his vital signs filled the screen.
His pulse was weak and breathing was getting shallow. Though she may not have been a doctor even she could tell his vitals were falling fast. So when Cyborg went to retrieve something from a drawer she stepped forward.
She hovered her hands millimeters above his chest and a brilliant white light sprang up beneath her hands. Like lightning, arcs of white energy shot forth from her hands and into the body of Jake. She could feel his injuries like they were her own as she knitted blood vessels back together and bones started to fuse back together.
Glancing out of the corner of her eye she could see his vitals starting to stabilize on the digital readout. But the continued abuse of her power was taking its toll on her. Her hands started to shake and her vision was started to narrow. A heartbeat later her legs gave way and she collapsed, but instead of hitting the floor she found herself in the arms of the green skined Titan.
He carried her to a chair and lowered her into it as gently as he could. As she started to recover slightly she noticed that all the Titans had gathered in the infirmary, probably called in by Cy when she was healing Jake. But just as quickly as the sense of peace came, it went.
Alarms sounded from one of the many computers that were hooked to Jake. His heart rate spiked and then all that could be heard was the monotone note from the computer. Signaling what was plainly visible on the monitor.
Raven held her breath as she gazed upon the screen displaying a flatline, an electronic death knell. Time seemed to slow for her, as she watched the scene unfold. Robin had taken her place at Cyborg's side, "Charging paddles 100"
Cyborg took the offered devices and pressed them to Jake's chest. "Clear?"
Robin responded by lifting his hands away from Jake while calling out, "Clear."
Raven jumped at the sound of the machine discharging into Jake's body, jolting it an inch off the table. Robin pressed his fingers into Jake's neck and shook his head, "Charging paddles, 200"
"Clear." Another jolt of electricity, another jump out of Raven. Still the monitor displayed only a flatline. She looked at him slipping away, feeling so helpless as he lay there dying.
No, she would not lose him again. Jumping from her chair despite the protests from her teammates she fought her way to his side. Clasping her hand in his she lowered her head so their foreheads were just barely touching she whispered her mantra, " Azarath Metrion Zinthos"
Forcefuly she pushed past Jake's mental defenses and soon found herself in a blank mindscape. Glancing all around she found no sign of Jake anywhere.
Until a voice called out to her from behind. "Raven? What are you doing here?"
She turned to find Jake in the state he was in back at the infirmary. Shirt ripped open and his scars mirrored his actual body's. She reached out to touch him, as if to confirm it was acutely him standing there. When her fingers brushed his jaw his skin felt cold to the touch. "Jake." She whispered.
He took her hand in his own and looked her in the eyes, doing his damnedest to act reassuring. He stepped in closer and she enveloped him in a hug that Starfire would have been proud of.
"In a shaky voice she spoke, "I don't want to lose you again." Tears started to pool in her eyes. "I couldn't live through that again."
He patted her back and spoke softly from his position oven her shoulder. "It's ok Rae. It's gonna be alright. If anyone can pull me through this you could."
She looked up at his eyes with confusion written plainly on her face. She saw the confidence in her he held, but she didn't understand what he was talking about. "Jake, I can't. I've tried but I just can't."
Jake stared into her eyes, "Raven, I know It's difficult but right now I need you to think. Think outside the box for a minute, I guarantee you'll come up with something, clever as you are." He smiled at her and she could see the sincerity his eyes held.
Taking a deep breath she cleared her mind and a single voice spoke over the rest. "Mistress, there is a solution. Our demonic bloodline grants us unparalleled cellular regeneration. Such an ability could be shared with Jake and spare his life." It was a good idea, she'd already suggested such a bond to him before.
But then as if reading her mind, partly because it was, the voice delivered the bad news. "But with his bond to Blood we would need a full blooded demon to bind him to."
She couldn't do that to him, she wouldn't. It went against everything she fought for. Then the voice returned. "Ask him mistress. Let him decide if it's what he wants."
She looked up at him, his district stare off into the void was the only thing she saw. "Jake, I… There may be a way… But…"
Jake looked back at her, and quieted all her doubts with one statement. "Raven, don't worry. I trust youith, with my very life. I know you'll do whats right."
With that Raven knew what she had to do. She just hoped she still had enough time and he still had enough strength left.
He stepped away from, as his form began to fade. "Well, I guess I'll see you when I see you."
As she prepared to leave she contacted the voice once more. "Thank you, Rage."
Rage smirked in her realm of Raven's mind. "As always Im here to serve Mistress." Her grin faded as she heard the calling once more. "It appears my time it up. Farewell Mistress."
Artemis touched down on the bay, the water freezing beneath her feet as they hit the surface. Looking over her shoulder she saw the where the chopper hit the water, the flames fed by oil and fuel. And she knew no one else would be crawling away from that crash.
She walked over to the center, freezing stepping stones in the water as she walked. Bending over she retrieved her case that had been dropped. And after a quick check to ensure the seal had held she stood and continued to walk out of the bay.
On her way she flipped out her phone and dialed a number she had long since committed to memory. To anyone that might have been listening her voice was cold and professional, the polar opposite of how she'd been acting until then. "Operative Shepard. Code in, Alpha, Romeo, Tango, Echo, Mike, India, Sierra. Operation compromised. Pulling out and searching from alternative entry points. Operative Artemis going dark, out."
She snapped the phone shut and removed the small card in it's back. The phone was dropped into the water and the card was melted in her hand. Now she was officially on her own until she got what she was sent for. And before it was all said and done she had a gut feeling she'd be seeing more of Jake Arius.
AN: How bout that chapter. I rather liked how it turned out. But maybe you didn't? Maybe you'll drop a review and tell me if you did or didn't.