The journey back to Earth in the T-ship was long and filled with an edgy silence that no one felt up to breaking. Cyborg's silence came mostly from his role as pilot and the concentration needed to make sure they made it back alive rather than as a flaming hunk of metal. Both Robin and Raven had nearly identical looks of deep thought etched into their faces; the kind that suggested they would not speak even if spoken to. Over the years Beast Boy had developed a defense mechanism for moments like that.
He had fallen asleep.
That left only Starfire to truly experience the silence as it was. Uncomfortable, she kept twisting her head towards Robin, then Raven, then back out into space. She wished that someone would say something, but could not bring herself to be the one to speak. She had the strong feeling that no one would appreciate questions, comments, or any verses of the traditional Tamearan poem of friendship.
And so she did her best to concentrate on the last few glimpse of space she would have before they re-entered the Earth's atmosphere. But instead of being the happy reminder of her beloved Tameran, the endlessness surrounding the ship looked dark. Dark and empty.
With a sigh so unlike her, Starfire turned her eyes away from space and looked down at the panel in front of her. Most of the ships controls were in Cyborg's cockpit, though were they to separate the ship the flat monitor in front of her would flip to reveal a set of controls for her section. They had not had to separate the ship very often in its short span of existence and Star secretly did not think it one of the ship's finer features. A thing that is divided is always weaker than when it is whole.
She rested her chin in her hands and stared down at the four little communication switches, willing one of them, any of them to light up, signaling one of her teammates wished to speak with her.
All four remained silent.
And so she did as well.
The T-ship had barely settled down in the docking port of the Tower when Robin leapt out and headed directly toward the garage, disappearing through a pair of sliding doors. A few moments later, the four remaining Titans heard the roar of his motorcycle as it came to life and shot off into the night. Cyborg raised an eyebrow in the direction their leader had gone, whistling quietly.
"So, I guess Robin is going out then."
Starfire turned her head as well. "To where do you think he is going?"
Shrugging, Cyborg started down the ladder that Robin had been in too much of a hurry to use.
"I have no idea Star. And it's not likely that he'll tell us where he went when he comes back. Secretive little . . . don't know why he's even on a team . . . always solo . . ." Cyborg continued to mutter darkly to himself as he climbed.
Still in his cockpit, Beast Boy paused in the middle of stretching. "You think he'll bring back a pizza or something?"
"Use your brain for once. How many times has Robin gone off by himself into the night and come back with a pizza?"
Raven's voice was slightly hollow as she sank through the bottom of the T-ship and drifted easily to the floor.
Beast Boy dropped his arms to his sides and tilted his head, thinking. "Well, there's a first time for everything, right?"
Rolling her eyes, Raven snapped her cowl up and glided towards the elevator to the Tower.
Starfire glanced back at Beast Boy and Cyborg and, seeing both their attentions occupied elsewhere, flew off after Raven. She caught up with her friend just before the elevator.
"Raven?"
Raven paused without turning around. "Yes, Star?"
"Are you . . ." the alien hesitated, both unsure of the words she wanted to speak and how the pale skinned young woman would take them. But if she had learned anything in her few years on Earth, it was never to keep Raven waiting. She took a deep breath and continued.
"Are you alright?"
As was her custom, Raven was silent for a long moment. Since she could not see her face, Starfire wondered if perhaps she had offended her friend. Perhaps she had . . . annoyed her? She was on the verge of apologizing when Raven gave a faint chuckle. But it was not the sound that one gives in response to a somewhat amusing bit of speech.
It was short and soft. And . . . sad.
"That's a difficult question." Turning her head slightly, Raven glanced over her shoulder just enough so that Starfire could see her eyes, staring out from the depths of her cowl. They appeared just as sad as the small bit of laughter had been.
"Is anything ever 'all right?'" Reaching out she pressed the button for the elevator. "Sometimes I wonder if I'm even a little right."
The quiet despair in her voice nearly broke Starfire's heart. Reflexively she lifted an arm towards Raven's shoulder just as the doors to the elevator slid open. Her hand passed through the air as Raven stepped forward, her dark cloak swishing about her ankles. For a moment Starfire thought her friend might say something more. Both her hands gathered to her chest as she waited.
But the elevator doors closed on silence.
Starfire stared at the cold metal and felt waves of hurt, disappointment, and worry crash over her and the effect was unsettling. She was used to strong emotions; they coursed through her veins nearly as regularly as her blood. What she was not accustomed to was feeling so many negative ones. Anger and frustration being the two most frequent. It did not help that they were fighting a villain who would not stand and fight them. Instead he hid and sent others out to do his bidding. Using his lies and treachery to turn them all against each other.
Her hands clenched until they began to glow green.
She felt a cold, smooth hand touch her shoulder and turned to see Cyborg's concerned face.
"Uh . . . you weren't planning on going nuclear on one of us, right?" he asked with a half-hearted smile. Behind his massive shoulders, Beast Boy peeked out and gave a meek little wave.
Starfire let her hands open and fall to her sides and tried valiantly to work up a smile. And for the first time that she could remember, it did not feel right on her face.
"Of course not, friends. I am sorry. It is just so . . ." At a loss for how to describe what she was feeling, she trailed off, hoping they would somehow understand.
To her relief, she saw Beast Boy bob his head and felt Cyborg give her shoulder a light squeeze.
"We know Star," he said in his deep voice. "It's tough on all of us. But we're Titans. We'll work it out."
Lifting her arm, Starfire placed her hand over Cyborg's. "I hope that you are right."
As agile as the monkey he so often took the form of, Beast Boy scrambled up Cyborg's back and perched on his shoulder. "Hey, the Cy-man is always right! Which is totally more annoying than the fact that he cheats at videogames. But you learn to live with it."
Frowning, Cyborg flicked a finger towards him, as if he were swatting away a fly. Beast Boy dodged the half-hearted attempted easily and stuck his hands in his ears, blowing his tongue nosily.
"I'll show you something you can't live without," Cyborg warned as he wiped spray from the side of his face. Grinning, Beast Boy bounded from the bigger man's shoulders to Starfire's before leaping into the air and transforming into a sparrow. As Starfire laughed delightedly and Cyborg shook one heavy fist at him, he zipped out of the garage.
"Come on Star. Let's go order a pizza or twenty," Cyborg said, punching the button for the elevator.
Starfire nodded and followed him inside. Once the doors shut, she felt some of the laughter that Beast Boy had arose in her died away, smothered almost by an unseen blanket of unfeeling. She glanced over at Cyborg and saw immediately that he was feeling the same thing.
"They are very similar, are they not?"
Cyborg hit the button for the top floor and glanced down at her. "Who?"
"Robin and Raven."
He gave a mirthless chuckle. "Yeah, they're a couple peas in a pod."
Starfire's eyes widened. "You mean to say that you believe Robin and Raven have been replaced by pod people?!"
"What?! No, no, it's just a—" Cyborg took one look at Starfire's confused face and changed his mind. He waved one hand dismissively. "Nevermind. I meant that yeah, they're pretty similar. But that's not really surprising, considering they're both carrying 'round the same chip on their shoulders."
Starfire's eyebrows drew together as she tried to picture it. "Chip? Like the potatoes?"
The doors to the elevator slid open just as Cyborg slapped a hand over his face. "No, no. I meant . . . they're carrying around the same . . ." Rubbing his hand over the back of his neck, he searched for the right word as they stepped out into the common room. ". . . feelings," he blurted out at last.
Beast Boy's head popped up over the back of the couch. "Aww, man, is wittle Cyborg talking about his feelings again?"
In response Cyborg leveled his arm and the bits and pieces shifted into his cannon.
"Eek!" Beast Boy ducked back down.
Reaching up, Starfire gently placed a hand on the cannon. "What feelings do you speak of?"
"Fear. And guilt. Because they both think that if they mess up, even just a little bit, it'll mean that someone else gets hurts. That's why they're so driven for perfection."
The hospital room was dark, lit only by the soft glow from the machines that surrounded the single bed. On it laid a body covered to the chest with a thin, blue blanket that hid the wires and tubes that ran from the machines into him. It was quiet, save for the steady hum of electricity and the occasional gasp that came as he struggled to breathe.
The shadows in the corner drew together.
"Who paid you?"
One swollen and blackened eye rolled towards the voice and something that might have passed for a smile ghosted the ravaged face of the Ravager.
"I already . . . told you."
"I don't believe you."
The Ravager chuckled and it quickly gave way to a tearing cough. He drew in a shallow breath, the air wheezing through the back of his throat.
"Then . . . I guess . . . you'll have to . . . decide . . . who you trust . . . more. Me. Or him."
Robin stepped forward. "I don't believe you," he reiterated. "Because I know that if Batman really wanted someone dead," he paused, and leaned closer, "he wouldn't hire a scumbag like you to do it."
Anger flashed in the Ravager's eyes and across his face, followed almost immediately by pain and the resignation that he could do nothing about the insult hurled at him. He tried to turn onto his side but couldn't so much as move his head.
"You don't even know who hired you, do you? It could have been anyone in a mask and you wouldn't even be able to tell. It must piss you off, knowing you got played."
The Ravager growled low and clenched his teeth. Robin could practically see the frustration chewing away at him. After a moment he relaxed, shifting his eyes away.
"It doesn't matter . . . who hired me. They already . . . paid me."
"About that." Robin set something down on the edge of the hospital bed. It clanked as it hit the guard rail. Though he tried to resist, the Ravager's eyes drifted towards it.
It was a metal suitcase. His eyes widened in recognition.
"Just so you know the lock on your back window is broken."
Robin could see the hate seething in the older man's eyes.
"When . . . I get out . . . I will . . . hunt you . . . down."
Lifting the suitcase off the bed, Robin turned and started towards the exit. He paused at the door and glanced over his shoulder.
"Shouldn't be too hard to find me. I live in a giant T."
In the comforting darkness of her room, Raven sat in the middle of the floor, stacks of books surrounding her. Each day the piles grew taller as she sifted and searched through all the tomes and grimoires that she owned for anything that might her change the fate that she was careening toward at ever increasing speeds. One such thick book lay open before her but her eyes saw none of the words scrawled across the page. She stared, willing her mind to read the inscriptions but it was as if her brain had been encased in ice.
Slowly the golden ink drained away until the pages were blank.
Then her father's symbols began to draw themselves across the parchment in burning red. Within the harsh lines she could see fires raging, fires that would burn for all time, engulfing anything and everything in its path. And deep within the fires, the eyes laughing at her.
"Dammit!" she cursed, slamming the book shut and shoving it off of her lap. She could feel herself trembling and though she tried to tell herself it was from rage she knew, she knew, that the icy knot inside of her stomach was not Anger acting up. Pressing a hand to her aching temple, her fingers felt frozen against her feverish brow, making her wonder if perhaps she was coming down with some kind of cold. A helpless laugh escaped her briefly as she wondered if that would be enough of an excuse to postpone the end of the world.
Excuse me, but I have a cold. Can we do this another time?
Shaking her head, Raven pushed herself onto unsteady feet and reached for the cloak she had tossed onto her bed. She wound it around herself quickly, not wanting to see the marks that she knew were there. And then, though she would never admit that she did so, especially to Robin whom she was constantly berating for the same action, she began to pace. Back and forth across the room.
There had to be something that could be done. Some way of repelling her father.
What if she simply left the planet? If she, his portal, wasn't there to welcome him in, then how could he arrive on Earth?
Wherever you go, her mind whispered to her, he will be there as well. Even if you took yourself to the edge of the universe, he could still find his way back here. And would you doom the inhabitants of other worlds, just to save this one?
No, she said in frustration. Deflecting her father's course would only be a temporary solution and a poor one at that. If she truly wanted to stop her father, she had to destroy him.
But how? How did one destroy an immortal demon?
None of her books had an answer to that.
She paused in mid-step, her head snapping to the far side of her room. To the sturdy blue chest that sat tucked into a corner. Nearly tripping over the stacks of books, Raven sprinted toward it, knocking aside the scrolls she had rested on top of it and shoving open the lid.
The only thing inside it was an old leather bound book, not unlikely the others tossed about the room. Raven started to reach inside and then paused, her fingers inches from the cover.
Is it dark? Or is it just . . . misunderstood?
Was it worth it? For the greater good . . .
Biting her bottom lip, she took hold of the book and dragged it out onto the floor. Closing her eyes briefly, she took a deep, steadying breath.
"Malchior?"
The book remained silent.
"Malchior? Malchior? I know you're in there."
"Well of course I'm in here. Where the hell else would I be? You did seal me away in here, remember?"
"You did try and kill me, remember?"
"You humans. Always dwelling on things."
Feeling her teeth begin to grind, Raven struggled to control her temper. "I need to ask you something."
Malchior's laughter was hollow. "Priceless. Pray tell me, why would I help you?"
"Two reasons: one, you're an ego maniac who loves letting people know how smart he is and two, if you don't answer me, I'll let the fires burn you to a crisp."
Malchior's voice was bored. "Child, that is not much of a threat. We both know that fire cannot hurt this book."
"My father's fire can."
The room abruptly filled with silence.
"Fine. Ask your question."
"The spell that holds you in this book . . . would it hold my father?"
The question hung in the air for a long moment before a tsking sound came from the book.
"You are desperate, aren't you? Well, since I do enjoy being the bearer of bad news, I believe I shall answer you. And the answer is no. Your father is far too powerful for such a spell nor is there a book large enough to hold him."
Raven felt her shoulders slump in defeat. She lifted the book, set it back inside the chest and moved to close the lid on it once more. But Malchior, perhaps starving for the need to speak, was not finished.
"Honestly, sometimes your dimness amazes me. Your people created Trigon. You would think that perhaps they would have some knowledge on how to defeat him."
Sighing, Raven shook her head, suddenly too tired to be angry. "Don't you think they would have told me how if they knew?"
"Would they?" the book shot back. "Azarath is a pacifist society."
"So?"
"So think! Did they send you here? Or did you come of your own accord?"
"Dudes! How long are we going to wait for him? Seriously."
Cyborg looked away from the television screen just long enough to give Beast Boy a glare. "C'mon Beast Boy, you know it's impossible to tell how long Robin'll be gone when he goes on one of his solo bends."
Beast Boy frowned and flailed his arms wildly. "Hello! I wasn't talking about Robin. I was talking about the pizza dude! He's like fifteen minutes late! I'm STARVING!"
Rolling his eyes, Cyborg replied, "Go . . . eat your foot or something."
Folding his arms across his chest, Beast Boy threw himself down on the couch and sulked. Feeling sympathetic, as her own nine stomachs were beginning to growl, Starfire stood up from the couch.
"Come friend! I will make us a snack of ughlarthas that shall tide us over until the pizza arrives!"
Beast Boy's face paled. "Uh . . . I don't know what that means, but I'm not hungry anymore."
The door on the right side of the common room slid open and Raven stepped through. "Come on Beast Boy, nothing like a little bit of ughlartha to fill you right up."
Swallowing, Beast Boy placed a hand over his stomach. "Dude, even the sound of it sounds disgusting." He watched her move into the kitchen, his eyes narrowing when he noticed her hand trembling slightly as it placed her tea kettle on the stove. "So . . . what dragged you out of your cave?"
The look she sent him was blistering. "The need to kill you."
The elevator doors slid open. "Can the killing be postponed until after pizza?" Robin asked as he walked in, pizza boxes in one hand and a silver suitcase in the other.
Raven reached into the cupboard for one of her mugs and shrugged. "I'll think about it."
"FOOD! Finally!" Beast Boy leapt up from the couch and snatched the boxes from Robin's arm.
"Hey! Don't eat all that! Save some for the rest of us," Cyborg scolded.
"Yeah, like I'd eat any of your stinking meaty pizza."
As the noise behind her grew, Raven focused on the simple act of measuring out her tea and pouring the steaming water over it, watching the clear liquid darken. She set the tea kettle aside and wrapped her hands around the mug, feeling the warmth seep into her skin.
Though she did not hear Robin approach, she knew when he was standing beside her. She took a small sip of her tea and without turning her head, asked,
"Where did you go?"
Robin set the suitcase up on the counter with a small thud and reached into the cupboard for a bottle of aspirin. He felt as if his brain had its own pulse and the steady thrumming was not as gentle as a heartbeat.
"Out," he replied, twisting off the cap and popping two of the small white capsules into his mouth. "For pizza," he finished, after he swallowed.
"See? I told you there was a first time for everything!" Beast Boy called.
The look she sent him had him lowering his head and stuffing another piece of pizza into his face.
She took another sip of tea. "That's funny, considering the pizzas you got were the exact same ones that Cyborg ordered an hour ago for delivery."
Robin folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the counter. "That is funny."
Raven's eyes shifted to the suitcase. "What's that?"
Robin drew her eyes back to his. "A donation."
"Hey, do you guys want any of this?" Beast Boy asked.
"No," they both said at the same time.
Tapping her fingers on the edge of her mug, Raven considered if she should tell the rest of the group the plan she had formed, or was forming, albeit with the help of Malchior. She frowned slightly. Maybe she would just leave out any mention of Malchior. It wasn't as if he was mentoring her again. In fact, he was shut back up in the chest with several other heavy books on top of its lid. But if she happened to let slip that he had any hand in the idea that had formed in her head, she had feeling the no one on the team would be likely to consider it.
"What are you thinking about?"
Raven turned to see Robin still watching her. She lifted the mug to her lips and then lowered it without drinking. "I need to go somewhere," she answered slowly, trying to figure out the best way to explain it.
"Where?"
The tone in his voice had her pausing and lifting one eyebrow in question.
He stared back at her for a long moment. And then sighed.
"I went to see the Ravager. To see if he had anything else to say."
"And did he?"
"No. I don't think he actually knows who hired him," he replied. He looked at her expectantly.
Raven pushed back the cowl of her cloak and set her mug down on the counter.
"I must return to Azarath."
RANDOM TITANS THEATER PRESENTS: "Metaphorical Mix-ups"
Cyborg: "Yeah, they're a couple peas in a pod."
Starfire: (eyes wide) "You mean to say that you believe Robin and Raven have been replaced by pod people?!"
Cyborg: "What? No, no. I just mean that they're made from the same mold."
Starfire: (eyes widening) "They are robots?!"
Cyborg: "No, no. They're just cut from the same cloth. That's all."
Starfire: (eyes bulging) "Robin and Raven are made of cloth?"
Cyborg: (sighs) "Yeah, Starfire. Robin and Raven are made of cloth. They're two polyester zootsuits complete with rhinestones, a funky hat, and a pink boa."