Reality is a strange concept. What we see is tempered by what we perceive; how then are we to know what is real and what is imagined?
As if someone had reached out and shoved him, Robin felt himself plunge backwards into empty space. Abruptly the world he had created was gone; the ornate door, the swirling purple mist, Raven. He flung his arms out, searching for some handhold, anything to slow his descent. But there was only darkness rushing by on all sides.
Then he felt something close over his shoulder and experienced the very uncomfortable sensation of opening eyes that he had thought were already open wide. The darkness around him was replaced by blue sky and hard earth; silence by the screeching of the Tower's alarm. His vision swam as the rush out of his mind left him violently disoriented. One minute he had been crashing downwards and the next had him struggling to stand up. It felt as if he was completely out of alignment and when he tried to leap to his feet, he only succeeded in pitching forward. The grip on his shoulder tightened and kept him from falling onto his face.
"Robin."
The single word drew his eyes up. Raven was there, her face close, her eyes dark and deep.
"Focus," she said, straining slightly to keep him upright.
It was a command Robin was well accustomed to hearing. And obeying. He stopped trying to move and instead concentrated on her solemn face. His mind replaced it with another, half hidden by a fierce some mask. But the blue eyes that stared out were flat and calculating. You're much too reckless, Robin. Too many unnecessary risks. You need to focus. Sloppy. You're no good to me or anyone else if you're dead. The face changed again, slightly blurred this time; a middle-aged man with thick black hair and a cocky grin. There was a gleam of adventure in two bright pools of green. Gotta focus, Jason. Gotta give the crowd a good show. Show 'em what they're missin' by being in the stands instead of in the air.
The world slowly shifted back into place and Raven was there again, waiting patiently. She could see by the way his body straightened that he had regained his balance and so she released her hold. A few stray strands of his dark hair had fallen over his forehead and for some reason she found herself wanting to brush them back. Her hand had lifted from his shoulder to hover in front of his eyebrows before she pulled it back, frowning.
"Usually it's better to ease out of meditation," she informed him, hiding the concern she had felt underneath her usual monotone and tucking her arms inside the folds of cloak before she did something weird, like stroke his back. When had she become such a mother hen? She nearly laughed. She, who had barely had a mother, with motherly instincts? Doubtful.
Robin felt her hand leave his shoulder and rubbed at the back of his neck. "I can see now why you're so pissed when someone interrupts you," he said.
Any response she might have made was cut off by the arrival of the others. Cyborg had his eyes on his left arm and was scanning the information from the incoming call. A few feet away Starfire hung in the air, alternating between clenching and unclenching her fists. Raven had noticed it was a habit that the young alien did whenever there was the prospect of a physical confrontation. At first she had assumed it was from some kind of anxiety; Starfire often grew anxious whenever there was a hint of an argument brewing between her friends so Raven had figured that the girl had trouble with conflict. But she had since come to a different conclusion. While the Tamarean princess did not like for there to be emotional discord between her teammates, she had absolute no problems with physical altercations. Starfire, it seemed, loved to fight. In fact, Raven thought as she watched her friend flex her fingers, she was a bit too gleefully about the prospect of battle. Sometimes it freaked Raven out. Slightly.
Beast Boy slid up next to Robin and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Dude, you totally cost me ten bucks."
Robin ran a hand through his hair and didn't answer. Instead he turned to Cyborg. "What have we got?"
The machine man shook his head and lifted his broad shoulders. "Don't know. The message just says there's a disturbance."
Didn't that sound familiar? Scowling, Robin punched his fist into his palm, comforted by the heavy slap it made. "Slade," he said flatly, turning his head slightly to glance at Raven. But she had already pulled her cowl up, hiding her face and her thoughts from him.
Cyborg lifted his gaze and the red, cybernetic eye flashed as it focused in on his friend's face. "Could be," he agreed, cautiously, knowing just the mention of the villain could scatter their leader's mind. "He's done it to us before. But then again, might be something else entirely."
Three pairs of eyes met and identical thoughts passed between them. At the same time, they all turned toward Raven. It might have been humorous if their thoughts hadn't centered on world destruction. She shook her head.
"It isn't Trigon," she said, in answer to their unspoken question.
Cyborg raised one eyebrow. "You sure?" he asked, more for form than out of any skepticism of her.
Wordlessly she held out her arms. The skin was smooth and pale. There was no sign of the violent markings that had appeared twice before.
"I'll know when he's here." She dropped her arms to her sides and held each of their gazes, lingering a moment longer on Robin. "And so will you."
Robin returned her steady stare, refusing to fall victim to the fear she was trying to instill in him. He knew she was hiding something from all of them, something very important, just as he knew she felt there was nothing they could do against the power of her demon father. But the day Robin admitted defeat would be the day they buried his body under six feet of fresh earth.
"Where is the disturbance?" he asked.
Cyborg checked his arm again. "The east quarry."
"Titans, go!"
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The east quarry was an enormous pit that cut into the side of the mountains located just outside the city. During the weekday men and women used clunky machines and human muscle to wrestle the rock free from the earth. At the moment though, on a Saturday afternoon, it was eerily empty, with only the steel skeletons taking up space. Behind his mask, Robin narrowed his eyes and killed the engine of his bike. The guttural roar cut off abruptly, leaving still silence in its wake. He was the first to arrive. He was always the first. The others were never far behind but he always made sure to get wherever they were going ahead of them. He needed to. To scout, to think, to plan.
The silence lasted all of three minutes, shattered by the arrival of the ravenous growl of the T-car. Beast Boy dropped out of the sky, smoothly transforming from a hawk back into his human form just as Raven and Cyborg stepped out of the car. A moment later Starfire touched down, her feet lightly brushing the ground.
They were all assembled.
Scratching along his jaw, Beast Boy glanced around with an expression of disbelief. "What evil villain attacks a rock quarry? It's like robbing the post office."
Raven glanced up while in the act of brushing out her cloak. "Okay, I didn't get that one."
Beast Boy lifted his slim shoulders and looked thoughtful for a moment. "Yeah, me neither."
Rolling her eyes, Raven slammed the car door shut. "Why do I always have to ride in the T-car? I can fly. I like to fly."
On the other side of the tricked out vehicle, Cyborg mirrored her action. Turning his head, he began a thorough studied of the quarry, his sensors scanning. "Because someone has to be ready to levitate the T-car if it goes off a cliff or something."
"Like that time you tried to do a donut in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven and almost went through the guard rail into the harbor?"
"Exactly. Besides, what does flying have that the T-car doesn't?"
"Silence."
He glanced at her out of the corner of his human eye and saw that she was staring at the car as if it were an evil slug creature as opposed to a very nicely designed automobile. "Not a Jock Jams fan?"
"Not really a fan of anything that has to do with jocks."
"Right. So you were yelling at the TV during the Yankees game because it was uninteresting and not because you wanted them to win?"
She narrowed her eyes slightly as she met his gaze over the top of the car. "I was merely protesting the crime of paying individuals disgusting amounts of money in exchange for exceptional performances, which they far more often than not, fail to deliver."
"Jeter fly out again?"
"The man is physically incapable of not sucking."
Cyborg chuckled lightly but sobered up when he turned towards Robin. The team leader had his all-business expression on his face, which wasn't really all that different from his other facial expressions. "My scanners aren't picking up anything, Robin. Looks like the place is clean."
"Perhaps it was merely a false alarm?" Starfire offered, settling more firmly on the ground.
Robin shook his head, his lips twisting downwards. "No. There's someone here. I can feel it. Beast Boy, Cyborg, check out the right side. Starfire, the left. Raven and I will investigate the mines. Stay sharp."
They all gave uniform nods and separated in the manner dictated to them. Not too far away, hidden by a heap of grey rubble, a lone figure hunched, his eyes watching their movements. A grim smile touched his lips, hidden by red cloth, as he saw them divide themselves up. This was going to be much easier than he had originally thought. He fingered the small black box in his hand, debating with himself as to whether or not it was truly necessary. As a rule, he disliked overkill. He was precise and methodical and when you were both of those things, one bullet would do the trick. Anything else would be just for show.
His gaze settled on the dark robed girl. At the exact same moment, she stopped walking and turned her head, seemingly staring at the very spot he was kneeling it. Though he knew it was impossible for her to see him, he still felt a sliver of uneasiness. That decided it for him. His thumb pressed down on a thin button, the click barely audible.
Better safe than sorry.
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The towering piles of earth and stone were quiet and they littered the floor of the quarry like small mountains. With her feet hovering a foot off the ground, Starfire glided in-between them, searching for any signs of trouble. She was not afraid; on the contrary, she very much looked forward to battle. Not because, as Raven sometimes worried, she was some kind of a homicidal maniac, but because with battle there was simplicity. There was right and there was wrong. Those who did wrong were to be punished. Those who did right were to do the punishing. A great deal about her new home was strange and many things were far different from the way things were on Tameran. Though things were becoming more familiar over time, very often she felt separate and out of place. Very much like the thing she was.
An alien on a foreign planet.
She was not afraid of battle, but that did not mean she was fearless. There were a number of things that Starfire could admit to fearing; glortnigs, snickbats, rats, Listerine, and garden gnomes to name a few. But more than anything else, she feared for the safety of her teammates. She feared that they would one day need her assistance and she would fail them. Her strength, her starbolts, her ability to fly would mean nothing if she was unable to come to their aid. She thought of Raven then and her curt confession that seemed to spell doom for the future. Raven expected her to fail. Raven expected them all to fail.
Starfire clenched her hands and green energy pulsed.
She would not fail.
The clang of metal against metal had her turning her head, just in time to see a heavy steel bin flying directly towards her. She studied it disdainfully for a moment, and then pulled her arm back and lunged forward, slamming her fist into the solid object. It exploded, kicking up a cloud of dust and debris, obscuring her vision. When it finally cleared, she saw that the emptiness had been replaced by an unwelcome familiar sight. Thirty or so blade and orange robots.
Here was simplicity.
Slade-bots were programmed for aggression and they wasted no time attacking. Steel fists rained down from all directions, a storm of potential pain. But she dodged each one before launching a strike of her own. The single starbolt passed through seven bots, leaving a wide path of destruction in its wake.
There was a sharp whistling and she looked up to see a bot descending rapidly through the air towards her. Reaching up she grabbed hold of its ankles and swung the machine down and out, slamming it into half a dozen others and then letting go. Metal crashed into metal, crushing and frying circuitry.
Hands grabbed onto her shoulders, squeezing painfully. She reached back and grasped the two arms, tossing the bot over her head. A fist flew in out of nowhere, in a straight path for the back of her head. At the last second she turned and caught it in her own hand. Closing her fingers she twisted her wrist and wrenched off the bot's arm, then used it as a bat to smash it across the face. As it fell there was a new bot behind it, ready to take its place. It crushed its arms around her, pinning her arms to her sides. Starfire struggled briefly, feeling pain as it began to tighten its grip. Then she looked it dead in the face. Two green streams shot out from her eyes, blowing it backwards. Her hand flew out, grabbing hold of its neck. In the robots black mask she saw the man who had been hunting them for so long. The man who had tried to break Robin. The man who was tormenting Raven. Anger surged through her and she took hold of its shoulder.
"Herruuhh," she snarled, tearing the robot apart, imagining it was the villain who threatened to destroy those that she cared about.
But for every Slade-bot that fell there were two more to take its place. They crowded in on her, undeterred by her fists of rage and her bolts of righteous fury. Like a cloud of locust they swarmed over her, burying her beneath their metal bodies.
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The machines were all cold. Not surprising considering they hadn't been used since the afternoon before. Cyborg ducked his head into the cab of one of the monstrous drills, searching for clues while half-listening to Beast Boy's steady stream of complaints.
"Dude, why can't these villains ever attack any place fun? Like an arcade or an amusement park. Instead of some nasty old hole in the ground. Do you know how hard it is to get dirt out of this uniform?"
"No," was Cyborg's muffled response. "And neither do you. You never do your laundry."
"Oh, right." Beast Boy paused. "Hey, who does do our laundry?"
"Laundry elves. Anyway, do you really want to be fighting on a rollercoaster or a Ferris wheel? That stuff never works out well."
Staring at the blue and white plates on his friend's back, Beast Boy's mind took him backwards in time. To an amusement park. To a Ferris wheel. To two blue eyes, dark with a sorrow he couldn't understand at the time. But he understood it now. There was a pinching just under his heart and he lifted a hand to rub at his chest. His fingers brushed the edge of the plastic clip he kept on a chain.
"Yeah," he heard himself agree. "It never works out well."
Shaking his head, Cyborg pulled himself out of the cab and slapped a hand on the roof of the machine. "There's nothing here." He turned towards the east side of the quarry. "I wonder if Star's found anything."
As if in response to his question there was an explosion and an enormous tunnel of green energy shot up into the air. The two boys stared at it and then looked at each other.
"Looks like she found trouble," Cyborg said, curling his hands into fists and preparing to take off running. But Beast Boy grabbed hold of his arm, stopping him.
"Uh, dude? I think we have our own problem."
A small army of Slade-bots surrounded them and slowly began to close in. The two Titans set their backs against each other. Cyborg lifted his arm and shifted it into his sonic cannon, smiling at the satisfying click the parts made as they snapped into place.
"Don't worry," he said, holding the cannon out and sighting along the barrel. "I got the solution."
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Deep inside the earth it was dark and cool, just the way Raven liked it. Though she couldn't say she cared much for the idea of having four million tons of rock hovering over her head. It was like driving a car that leaked gasoline. It probably wouldn't explode but with her luck, she'd get stuck in traffic and some asshole would throw a cigarette butt out his window. Robin didn't seem bothered by it at all. But then again, he'd spent a good portion of his life in a very similar environment.
Raven followed behind him, glaring at the back of her leader's head. She knew why he had paired them together. It was painfully obvious that he was trying to protect her. As if somehow he could throw himself in front of every bad thing that happened and it would all just bounce off his bullet-proof body. When in all likelihood, if one of Trigon's minions didn't get him then Trigon himself would have the boy for breakfast. A couple bird-a-rangs and some smoke bombs weren't going to be at all helpful against an immortal demon. That is, if he even managed to survive the end of the world, which wasn't very likely. But that need of his would prevent him from admitting that, from giving up. And while she often admired it, at the moment it was frustrating as all hell.
She wanted to save them. More than anything in the world, she wanted to save them from her destiny. And the more they fought against it, the more she realized how futile a wish that was.
"Something on your mind, Raven?"
Robin's voice pulled her from her thoughts and she saw that he was kneeling down, rubbing soil through his gloved fingers. She stepped closer, her cloak rustling.
"I don't need to be coddled, Robin." He didn't answer. "I don't need you to protect me. I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself."
He glanced over his shoulder at her and stood up. "Maybe I need you to protect me."
"That sounds about right."
They both swirled at the sound of the new voice. There was darkness all around, hiding the newcomer. Then there was a loud thunk and a bright light that chased away the blackness. Raven lifted an arm up in front of her face while Robin turned his head. The light prevented them from seeing anything.
"Who are you?" Robin called, squinting his eyes, and trying to see past the blinding white.
There was no answer. Only the sound of shuffling and scraping, like dozens of feet marching over gravel. Raven spun around, turning her back to the light, and saw the rows of Slade-bots advancing on them. One row, two rows, five rows . . . her eyes continued forward until she could not see any further. But what she saw did not seem to have an end.
"Robin," she said quietly.
He turned as well, automatically reaching to the back of his utility belt for his staff. His masked eyes traveled over the robots in the same manner Raven's had, his lips shifting slightly as he silently counted. More than one hundred against two? Unbeatable odds. His thumb clicked one of three buttons on the side of the staff.
It grew to three feet.
"Sometimes I really hate it when I'm right," he said.
As they had previously, the two Titans shot forward at the same time, turning their abilities on a common foe as opposed to each other. Robin's staff flashed out and up, cutting through metal as if it were a broadsword. He blocked a strike with his forearm, feeling the sharp pain of steel hitting bone. Then he punched his fist through the robot's head. It convulsed and slid to the ground where it continued to twitch. But to Robin, it was already forgotten as he moved onto the next. He kicked out with his right leg, slamming his foot into two bots with a roundhouse and into two more when he followed with a roundhouse with his left leg. His arm flung out, in a powerful backhand that stunned another bot, just before he drove his staff through its chest. The titanium cylinder danced between his fingers as he swirled it around him, sliding his hands further down the bo until he had just the very end of it. He planted his feet and spun in a tight circle, letting the staff do all of the dirty work.
Raven held out both arms, fingers spread wide, and black energy coursed out, passing violently through half a dozen bots like lightning. She dropped her hands towards the ground and gritted her teeth.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Her magic dug down into the earth and, throwing her arms up, she tore an enormous hunk of rock out of the ground and sent it spiraling towards a crowd of Slade-bots. It landed with a satisfying "crunch." She took a moment to check on Robin and as her head turned, she caught a flash of red heading further into the mines. There was only a second to make a decision, but she didn't even need that long. Robin could take care of himself.
"They're all yours!" she called out as she took off in pursuit of their assailant.
Out of the corner of his mask Robin saw her disappear into darkness. He flipped backwards, dodging a fist, his foot connecting with a bot's chin. Landing neatly on the balls of his feet, he snapped his staff down and surveyed the number of bots left. Still more than were reasonable.
"Gee, thanks Raven."
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Running through darkness always feels strange, even when one is in an intensely familiar environment. And when that environment is not familiar, then running blind is not only strange, but dangerous.
Raven could hear the assailant running up ahead but couldn't tell if he was ten feet away or one hundred. If she could just get a glimpse of him, she could send out her magic. Trip him, pin him, slow him down at least. But as it was, she wouldn't be able to see the wall until she smashed face first into it.
She knew he was deliberately leading her somewhere. Somewhere away from her teammates, somewhere that he alone would have the advantage. That didn't bother her. She was used to not having the upper hand.
Suddenly the tunnel exited into a large room with lights hanging from iron poles pitched into the earth. They formed a complete circle and gave off enough illumination that Raven could see quite clearly. She glanced around as she slowly moved forward, but saw no one. Pausing, she tilted her head and listened, waiting for something to give him away. Breathing. Moving. Anything.
Click.
Raven turned halfway and found herself almost staring directly down the barrel of a very large gun. Her eyes shifted to the man that held it.
He was not anyone she had seen before and yet something about him was deeply familiar. His suit was a deep red and it covered every inch of his six foot plus frame except for the top of his head, leaving tousled brown locks carelessly exposed. There were blue armored plates on his shoulders, thighs, and forearms that did not look to be ornamental. A large black skull design took up most of the left side of his chest.
She eyed the gun again, pushing back her cowl and lifting one eyebrow. "Is that all you brought? Because I assure you, it's going to take a lot more than that to kill me."
The gun didn't waver. "I doubt it." His voice was hollow and sounded mechanical, as if he were speaking through some kind of device. Or perhaps he wasn't entirely human. Her eyes narrowed and his head shifted to one side, mockingly. "After all," he continued, "how many lives will I be saving with just one bullet? Isn't that what you do Raven? Save lives?"
There was something very familiar about him.
Seconds ticked by in silence. He could see her considering what he said and he expected it wouldn't be much longer before her hero's conscience made her give in. Then he would do his job and collect his fee. And a handsome fee it would be.
But when her gaze returned to his, there was no of the noble despair that he had assumed he would see. Instead the magnificent violet pools were flat and emotionless. The corners of her lips turned up and she . . . . she laughed. She laughed at him. And it was not a cheerful sound.
"Is that what whoever sent you here told you?" she asked, still smiling a mirthless smile. "That killing me would end it? You're a fool if you believe that. Just like . . . ."
She could feel his emotions shift inside of him, even though his body remained rigid and the gun steady. But she could feel his sudden doubt, confusion, and anger. Anger at being laughed at. Familiar. Suddenly she knew exactly who she was looking at.
". . . just like your brother," she finished and had the satisfaction of seeing his eyes widen. "Did Slade send you to kill me? Tiring of my father's control already? That's a dangerous game to play."
He didn't respond but she could tell by the way his jaw clenched that there was some truth to what she said. Before she could goad him any further though, something flashed through the air, striking the gun with a sharp "clang" and sending it spinning out of the assailant's hand.
"Raven!"
At the sound of Robin's voice, Raven turned her head to see her leader coming racing into the room. And when she turned back, the assailant was gone. Just as she knew he would be. She cursed herself for being distracted and as a result, when she spun to face Robin again, her face was not its usual mirror of calm.
"Dammit Robin! I told you I can take care of myself!"
Robin was surprised at her abrupt outburst, but recovered quickly enough. "He had a gun to your head!"
She snapped her cowl up. "I know! I was looking right at it!"
"So I suppose I was just supposed to let him pull the trigger and blow your head off? Is that right?"
"You're supposed to trust me to be able to handle myself." Her eyes were level on his and her voice was settling back into its icy monotone. "Like I trust you to handle yourself."
He opened his mouth to reply but closed it when the other three Titans burst in. Starfire flew over to where Robin and Raven were standing and unconsciously placed herself in between them.
"Friends! You are unharmed! How fortunate. Did the Slade-bots not attack you?" she asked, turning to one and then the other.
Raven crossed her arms over her chest. "Robin took care of them. Didn't you Robin?" Her voice betrayed nothing yet the other Titans all felt the tension levels in the room shoot up. They all turned towards Robin, who had also folded his arms over his chest.
He said nothing.
The tension level skyrocketed.
Beginning to feel incredibly uncomfortable, and not at all sure why, Starfire forced a bright smile onto her face and spread her arms out wide.
"We are victorious, friends! Should we not celebrate with the waffles and the mustard?"
Cyborg twisted his arm to check the time. "It is pretty close to dinnertime. And we did kick a lot of robotic booty."
Beast Boy made a face. "Count me in on the waffles but I'll pass on the mustard."
Starfire's smile relaxed slightly. "Oh, but you are most unaware of what you are missing!"
"No, I'm pretty aware. And pretty happy I'm not drinking it."
"All right. There shall be more for me then." The smile tightened again as it was turned on Robin, who continued to stare at the ground. "Robin?" Starfire asked, flinching slightly when he lifted his head. He continued to say nothing and she began to wonder if she had somehow angered him. She was on the verge on apologizing when he gave a terse nod.
"Okay," he said. "We could all use something to eat."
When he said "all", he shot a glance over at Raven who was shaking her head before he had finished the sentence.
"You guys go on ahead without me. I'll see you back at the tower."
Before anyone could protest, she flipped her cloak in front of her and melded into the shadows.
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RANDOM TITAN THEATERS PRESENTS – "Why Do I Have to Ride in the T-Car? - Take II."
Raven: "Why do I always have to ride in the T-car? I can fly. I like to fly."
Cyborg: "Because someone has to be ready to levitate the T-car if it goes off a cliff or something."
Raven: "Like that time you tried to do a donut in the parking lot of the 7-Eleven and almost went through the guard rail into the harbor?"
Cyborg: "Exactly. Besides, what does flying have that the T-car doesn't?"
Raven: "Silence."
Cyborg: "Not a Jock Jams fan?"
Raven: "Not really a fan of anything that has to do with jocks. Or jam for that matter."
Cyborg: "Not even strawberry jam?"
Raven: "Okay, maybe strawberry jam. But only on crumpets. And scones. Not toast. Toast gets too soggy."
Robin: "Uh, do you guys think you could put this incredibly important conversation on hold for later so we can catch some bad guys now?"
Raven: "That depends. Why do I always have to ride in the T-car?"
Robin: "Because you lost the staring contest with Beast Boy, remember?"
Raven: "It wasn't fair. Who in the world can stare at Beast Boy for more than five minutes without going blind?"
Beast Boy: "Hey! I resemble that! I mean . . . wait . . ."
Raven: "I rest my case."