Sorry for the delays! This chapter wound up a lot longer than the previous two. Hope you all enjoy it! I'm also curious if anyone guessed who the help Bumble Bee found for them is.
If you're playing the game matching "Next to Normal" songs with chapters, you could probably use the first verse and chorus of "I Am the One" for Robin in this chapter. (Or, if you're a BBRae shipper, apply those lyrics to the whole story. Although I'm writing in show canon, this fic is going to have lots of scenes that could be interpreted to fit either of your shipping preferences. :) ) Definitely by later in the story those lyrics will fit.
When Raven awoke the next morning, she still didn't feel as rested as she had hoped, but there was a distinct lack of emotional pressure in her mind. She nodded slightly to herself in satisfaction. Apparently laying down the law to her emotions during meditation the previous evening had done the trick. And aside from a little humiliation, it seemed she had gotten through this recent quirk in her powers without anyone getting hurt.
She stretched, noticing the sun was already well over the horizon. She'd overslept again. Robin wouldn't be too happy about this recent trend, but he had given up on lecturing them all about the values of starting the day early years ago. Besides, her system would normalize again soon now that this problem had been solved.
Sitting up with a yawn, she froze in shock as she saw the state of devastation her room was in. "What the—?"
Under the pressure of Raven's fear and demanding curiosity, her emotions launched into their spectrums' versions of pointing at each other and saying, "She did it." Raven was able to follow their accusations to Sadness and her cohort of feelings, who were cowering in their usual section of her mind, surrounded by Guilt. Any anger at their disobedience died away and Raven touched her cheek, feeling the dried film of tears there.
"At least it was just you," she sighed, surveying the damage. Thankfully, her walls, window, ceiling, and floor were still intact. That suggested she likely hadn't destroyed more of the Tower than her own quarters, and thus hadn't hurt her friends, although she wouldn't be able to relax until she knew for sure.
She looked at the disorder in her room with dismay, but the need to assure herself of her friends' well-being outweighed her need to restore her sanctuary, so she tried to ignore the mess as she dressed and left her room.
To her relief, she saw no signs of damage outside her quarters and as she approached the common room she was met by the sounds of the rest of the team engaged in their morning rituals. Well, nearly all of them. Rather than reading the paper or going through reports on the big screen, she found Robin leaning against the counter with a cup of coffee, seeming distracted, while Starfire and Beast Boy debated what to rent from the video store that night.
He looked up as she entered. "Morning, Raven. How'd you sleep?"
She grimaced, but decided not to worry them since her outburst had only affected herself. "Better than the last few nights, but not by much."
"Sorry. Can I get you something? Tea or…?"
She frowned at his unusual offer, raising an eyebrow. "I've got it. But thanks."
He nodded and seemed to go back to sipping his coffee, but she could feel his attention on her as she prepared her kettle. She sensed Starfire's focus shift toward her as well, as Beast Boy turned his efforts to convincing Cyborg to give him a ride to the video store. With the kettle started and nothing to do till it boiled, Raven debated how much her friends might be aware of what had happened that night. Starfire's room wasn't that far away, after all. If she heard any of Raven's emotional break-out, she likely would have shared her concern with Robin. Which could explain his overly-helpful mood this morning.
These thoughts were lent further support as they all settled at the table and Robin made a point of getting a plate of food for Raven as well as Starfire. Suspicion started shouting triumphantly when he brought her one loaded with waffles and Starfire pushed the syrup her way with an extra-friendly smile.
"Um, not that I don't appreciate it, but are you giving me special treatment because of what's going on with my emotions?" she asked drily.
Both Robin and Starfire lit up to her empathic senses with immediate denial that wasn't quick enough to hide the guilt of being caught.
"You are my friend, Raven," Starfire protested. "Do I need a reason to be nice to you?"
"You I'm not surprised at, but Robin, you're usually better at lying than this," she said pointedly.
He looked a little startled at that assessment, but simply shrugged, keeping his face the picture of innocence. "You've had a bit of a tough week. So, yeah, I guess I wanted to do something nice for you."
Normally she would have accepted his protective, brotherly concern without a thought, but the undertone of guilt still pervaded his energy. Still, she let it go for now. "Thanks."
"You know, I'm kind of stressed out too," Beast Boy commented. "Will you make me breakfast tomorrow?"
Cyborg elbowed him and the conversation flowed back into the usual bickering and chatting. Raven had almost forgotten Robin's strange behavior until, toward the end of the meal, he cleared his throat.
"So, we have a guest coming to stay with us for a while," he announced.
They all looked up, surprised.
"Oh, yeah?" Cyborg asked. "Who's coming by? Kid Flash in town again?"
"Titans East dropping by to be reminded how the best do it?" Beast Boy asked, playfully preening a bit.
"No, it is a Titan, but not one we've met before."
"There are Titans we haven't met yet?" Cyborg asked. Suddenly his eyes widened, jaw dropping. "Hold up. Is Star pregnant?"
"What? No!" Robin retorted quickly, but his eyes flickered quickly to Starfire's.
"No," she agreed firmly, if slightly amused.
"No. And if she was, why would I announce it by saying someone was coming to visit 'for a while'?" Robin asked.
"I don't know, man!" Cyborg grumbled, scooping another forkful of eggs. "If it's not that, why are you beating around the bush so much? Just say who it is!"
Beast Boy's eyes suddenly widened with an excited gasp. "Is it Batman?!"
"It's not Batman," Robin said, exasperated.
"Robin, what did you do?" Raven asked quietly.
They all turned to look at her, then at Robin, who looked distinctly uncomfortable under Raven's piercing gaze.
"You're nervous about this guest, and it's directed at me," she pressed, folding her arms. "Making me breakfast, being unusually nurturing…you've been trying to get on my good side because you're afraid of how I'm going to react to this visitor. What going on, Robin?"
He sighed and guilt colored his energy even darker, making her stomach clench. He braced his hands on the edge of the table, looking down at his plate as he answered. "Last night, another one of your emotions got out."
Raven glanced at Starfire, who was prodding at her food with a sad expression.
"Don't worry, it wasn't the bad one, but it was bad enough. I just decided that maybe you would have an easier time finding a solution to this problem if you had a peer to consult with."
He paused as her face went even stonier. She wasn't sure if the temperature actually dropped in the room or if she just felt like it did, but from their wary poses, the rest of the Titans clearly caught her mood.
"You told someone else about my problem?" she asked, voice dangerously level.
"No, I didn't. All I said was that we could use the input of someone who had experience with psychic abilities. No details, not even that it was an internal issue."
"But you brought in a stranger." Raven stood, feeling her powers move her chair out of the way preemptively as anger crept into her tone. "I know my meditation didn't work last night, but you didn't even give me a full day to try to handle this myself."
"She's not coming to tell you what to do, just offer a different perspective. I know you eventually will figure out a solution, some new technique for pressing your emotions down even deeper, under even tighter control, but after what I saw last night, I'm not sure that's a good idea anymore."
Her eyes widened, color flushing her cheeks. He hadn't just heard about it from Starfire. She was mortified at the idea that Robin had been there while she was in the middle of an emotional breakdown.
"You didn't hurt anyone," he assured her quickly. "But it reminded me what you have to try to contain all the time. I…I couldn't leave it alone anymore."
Raven paced away from the table, drawing her cloak tighter around herself as she reinforced the walls around her mind. She couldn't take the stares and sympathy that were flowing from her teammates. "It's my problem," she growled. "It wasn't your responsibility to involve others behind my back."
"If your powers aren't under control, then it is my responsibility to look out for the safety of my team," he snapped back.
She flinched, her eyes squeezing shut as his words struck down to a nerve.
His footsteps approached her. "That includes you, Raven," he said, softer, putting a hand on her shoulder, a brave move given her current emotional state. She looked back up, and though his eyes were masked, she could sense the concern and determination behind them. "Just because you can handle it doesn't mean you should have to."
For a moment, Raven thought her brittle emotions were making the Tower rattle, as she felt them shuddering against her shields, but she realized it was the sound of a jet engine landing on the roof. Relieved for the distraction as Robin's gaze shifted upward, she dragged her internal shields more firmly back into place.
"That's her." Robin looked back down at Raven. "You don't have to agree to this, but will you at least come meet her?"
With her composure back in place, Raven glanced at her friends' hopeful expressions and sighed. "Fine."
The others hopped out of their chairs, excited to meet their visitor now that the spell of tension had broken.
"So how come we've never met this Titan before?" Cyborg asked, happy to change the topic a bit. "Was she on another planet when we went on our world tour?"
"Practically," Robin said as they headed for the elevator. "She apparently was spending most of her time on Themyscira at that point."
"Themyscira?" Starfire asked. "Is that not where the Wonder Woman is from?"
"Dude!" Beast Boy gasped. "You invited an Amazon?!"
"Is it Wonder Girl?" Cyborg grinned. "I swear it feels like I never see that girl."
"No, she's not really an Amazon, I guess. She just has some family ties with them somehow. Bumble Bee was a bit vague on that."
Bumble Bee. Great, Raven thought darkly. Robin hadn't just sought out help himself, now Titans East knew something was wrong with her too.
Raven noticed the panel of the wall next to her beginning to warp and pulled her aggravated emotions back under control, riding the rest of the way to the roof in silence.
She followed the others out into the open air, intentionally staying at the back of the group and subconsciously raising her hood back into place. Looking between the heads of the others, she could see a red-headed young woman standing beside the helipad, waving a farewell into the empty sky.
"Lilith?" Robin asked.
The woman turned around, beaming when she saw them. "Hey! Nice to finally get to meet the legendary original Titans. Sorry I didn't call first. Bumblebee said you would be expecting me."
Some of us, at least, Raven muttered in her head.
"We appreciate you coming out to help us," Robin said, stepping forward to shake her hand. "Uh, did you teleport here or…?"
Lilith laughed. "Oh no, I don't have that power. Wonder Woman flew me here," she said, gesturing to the lack of a visible parting aircraft.
"I missed seeing Wonder Woman?!" Cyborg moaned. He caught himself and smiled, a bit embarrassed, at Lilith. "Not that it's not a pleasure to meet you."
She grinned, unoffended. "Don't worry, I know I'm not exactly one of the big names in the game."
"Just makes you more of a nice surprise." Beast Boy popped up beside Cyborg with a charming grin.
"I am very glad to meet you, new friend!" Starfire enthused, throwing Lilith off-balance as she shook her hand vigorously. "You must be very talented for Bumblebee to send you to us."
"Hope I can live up to your expectations," Lilith replied. She glanced past Starfire and recoiled slightly, eyes wide. "Whoa. You've gotta be Raven."
Raven braced herself slightly. "I take it my reputation precedes me?"
"No, actually, all Bumble Bee told me was someone here had mental powers. I've just never seen anyone with shields as strong as yours. I mean, I'm not even probing and they're just right there." Lilith waved her hand gesturing at Raven's general area. Her eyes narrowed, confused. "And facing inward?"
"All right," Raven cut her off, reinforcing her mental walls instinctively against the woman's penetrating gaze. "You've proven your abilities. Don't push it."
Lilith had the grace to look a bit sheepish. "Sorry, I genuinely didn't mean to pry. I try to keep my telepathic senses blocked unless given permission. I wouldn't have looked if you weren't projecting so blatantly." She squared her shoulders, setting down her travel bag. "So, how can I be of assistance to you?"
Raven studied the young woman. She was around their age, if not slightly older, with orange hair flowing past her shoulders. Her clothes were the style that Raven had picked up was considered trendy, the only odd exception being a small Wiccan pentacle on a chain around her neck. Her aura radiated pure cheerful eagerness, which was reflected in her expression.
Raven couldn't help but wonder how she must have offended Bumble Bee to be matched with a wannabe witch for help. Still, as much as she didn't want to be there, feeling her friends' hopeful stares behind Lilith, she couldn't bring herself to lash out at the girl. Blame it on her resemblance to Starfire.
"Honestly?" Raven asked, keeping her voice expressionless. "The best thing you can do is treat this trip as a social visit, have fun with the rest of the team, and leave me alone to deal with things unless I decide that I need help." She forced a slight polite smile. "Nice to meet you."
She slammed her mental walls solidly into place to avoid feeling any hurt or disappointment from their guest and phased through the roof back down to her room. The familiar silence and comfort of the closed off chamber soothed her mind, allowing her to set aside the embarrassment and insult of having a stranger brought in to because she wasn't strong enough to cope with her own powers.
Opening her eyes, however, she was reminded why Lilith had been called in in the first place. The chaos in her room ruined its effect of promoting balance and spiritual sanctuary. Robin had been in here, she mused as she pictured the forces that must have scattered her belongings so violently. She hadn't seen any injuries on him or sensed any pain, but he could have been hiding them. It was hard to believe he could have braved a storm like that without a scratch.
Her eyes closed against that thought. This ended now. Her emotions' leeway stopped when they threatened her friends.
For now, the first step toward that control was to restore order to her room. Hopefully, improving the condition of her external surroundings would have an effect on her interior mindset. The steady sorting and putting away of objects did have a calming influence on her, reminiscent of meditation. Simple, repetitive actions, allowing the mind to drift and decompress as she worked.
A knock at the door disrupted her tranquil environment. Irritated, she turned to tell her visitor to go away, but stopped when she sensed who it was. "Yes, Starfire?"
"May I come in, Raven?"
Raven activated the door with her powers, setting down a stack of books as Starfire entered and looking at her expectantly.
"I came to see if you were all right," Starfire said, standing awkwardly just inside the door. "You left rather…suddenly."
"My emotions are hijacking my body and there's a stranger here who wants to talk to me about my feelings. But otherwise, I'm fine," Raven said, picking up a candle to reposition on a side table.
Starfire nodded. "I am sorry things are not well." Coming from anyone else, Raven would have taken that as a trite, reflexive comment, but Starfire radiated genuine regret that a friend was not content. The alien girl looked around the room. "Would you like some help cleaning up?"
Raven didn't, really, but she had had a little time to settle her mind and sometimes Starfire's simple, straightforward emotions could be reassuring in their own way, drowning out her own complicated snarl of inner voices. "All right. How about you sort things into piles and I'll put them back where they belong?"
Starfire's face and presence brightened. "Of course! Shall I subclassify by size or distinctive characteristics or—"
"Whatever you want," Raven cut her off, returning her attention to reorganizing her books into their case.
To her surprise, Starfire set about her assigned task in silence, forming several neat piles in the center of the room. Raven relaxed a bit, letting her friend's warmth and happiness wash over her like the heat of a fire on a cold night.
After a while, she felt nervousness build up in Starfire's emotional field, suggesting she wanted to say something. Raven continued her work calmly, waiting for her to get her courage up.
"Raven?"
"Yes, Starfire?"
Her aura was only nerves now as she straightened a stack of books compulsively. "Would you like me to hate Lilith?"
Raven looked back, surprise breaking her focus. "What?"
"Lilith, our guest? Would you like me to hate her?"
"Why would I want that?" Raven asked, staring at her, brow furrowed in confusion.
"It is my understanding that between the Forever Best Friends when someone is the enemy of my friend, it is my responsibility to treat them as my enemy as well," Starfire explained matter-of-factly. She seemed uncomfortable with the offer, but determined.
Raven sighed. "You do whatever you want, Star. I don't blame Lilith for being here. If I'm angry at anyone, it's Robin."
"Oh." Starfire looked thoughtful for a moment. "I am not sure what the rules are when my FBF's enemy is my boyfriend. I am aware that men have the rule about brothers before gardening tools, but I am unclear how that applies to girls."
"I'm not asking you to take sides," Raven said, going back to her books. "I just wish Robin knew when to mind his own business."
"That is one of Robin's more difficult qualities," Starfire admitted. "However, I think if you saw what your emotions were like last night, you would understand why he could not leave things alone."
Raven grimaced. "You were there, too?"
"Just in the doorway, but I saw part of it, yes."
"Did I hurt either of you?" Raven asked quietly, dreading the answer.
"No, you did not." She heard Starfire rise and felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Even when your emotion allowed itself to be fully expressed, your powers did not go beyond the door of your room, nor come near yourself and Robin." She smiled. "Perhaps your mind can handle feeling emotions more safely than you thought."
Raven looked back at her, arching an eyebrow pensively.
Suddenly red lights flared through the Tower and their communicators lit up in sync. Both girls dropped what they were doing and ran to the common room.
The others were already standing at the main screen, which was showing the location of the alert.
"Looks like the H.I.V.E. Five again," Robin said, glaring at the blinking logo on the map.
"Seriously? Haven't those guys gotten bored of having their butts kicked by us yet?" Cyborg grumbled.
"Hey, at least they give us a regular work out," Beast Boy shrugged, leaning against Cyborg's shoulder.
"Then we'd better get over there and keep up our winning record." Robin turned to his team in full leadership-mode, cape swishing behind him.
The sound of a throat clearing nearby drew their attention. Lilith stood behind the couch, watching quietly. "May I come too? I hate feeling useless when there are bad guys at work."
"You used to combat?" Robin asked.
"I live in New York," she replied drily.
"I just meant, with your powers being telepathic, are you all right in direct hand-to-hand fights?" Robin pressed, seriously.
"I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. I team up with Wonder Girl sometimes back home, so this is nothing new to me."
"See? Everybody sees Wonder Girl but us!" Cyborg complained.
"Lilith, we'd appreciate the help. Uh…" Robin hesitated, glancing Raven's direction. She felt his regret as he realized he might be treading on dangerous ground by speaking for her about Lilith's presence again.
She didn't directly respond, simply turning to head for the elevator. "We probably ought to get there before they've loaded their car and started their getaway."
The rest followed her, taking that as acceptance. Raven did notice Lilith kept a bit of distance from her as they headed to the T-car, even as far as waiting to see what seat Raven chose so she could sit in the other row. Raven tried to get a sense of how badly she had offended the other girl, but Lilith still projected only eagerness to participate and friendly interest in those around her. Perhaps she actually was simply respecting Raven's space.
"So, since we barely know each other and we're about to fight side-by-side, mind if I ask what exactly your mental powers are?" Beast Boy asked, leaning over in his seat to talk to Lilith. Raven felt a weird twinge in her subconscious, but couldn't trace it before it receded.
"Well, it's mostly telepathy, which I keep blocked off unless I need it so I don't invade others' privacy," she explained. "Sometimes strong thoughts still seep through, but I try to ignore them. And once in a while I have some limited precognition, but it's not really reliable. I'm still learning how to use that power."
And this is who Bumble Bee thought would be able to advise me? Raven thought. She immediately regretted it when she felt a little spike of hurt from Lilith. She cursed herself, reminding herself that with the telepath there, her mind wasn't as private a space as she was accustomed to it being. She focused on an apologetic tone, hoping Lilith would pick that up too.
To her credit, not one hint of this exchange showed on Lilith's face as she continued chatting with the rest of the Titans and listening to Robin explain some of their battle tactics. Raven allowed herself to tune them out, centering her own mind for the fight ahead.
The Five were running in and out of the local arcade, gleefully engaged in loading a van with bags of quarters when the Teen Titans approached.
"You know, you guys have really let your standards drop since the Brotherhood of Evil thing," Robin commented, attracting their attention.
"Hey, money's money, snotwads," Gizmo retorted, emptying the bag of his complicated vacuum apparatus into the van.
"Besides, it ain't about the size of the haul," Billy Numerous added, passing bags of coins along a line of his copies like a fire brigade. "It's about making trouble for you do-gooders."
"Amen, Billy!" one of his duplicates shouted back.
"Glad you like trouble, 'cause we've got plenty about to come right at ya!" Beast Boy cracked his knuckles, settling into a fighting stance.
"All right, boys. Let's show these zit-squeezers who's boss," Gizmo said as his vacuum unfolded into a spider-legged steed.
"Man, don't tell me y'all are desperate enough that you're leading the team now." Cyborg glared at the boy.
"Tch-yeah!" Gizmo snorted. "I'm the smartest one here anyway."
"Sadly, I think he's right," Raven deadpanned.
"Hey! They brought somebody extra!" Mammoth pointed, noticing Lilith.
"So? It's not like they can outnumber us." Gizmo grinned. "Billy?"
"Time to call in the kinfolk!" The Billys dropped their money bags and formed a phalanx behind the original.
"These are your regular bad guys?" Lilith whispered to Cyborg.
"I know. Gets kinda sad after a while," he said back.
"Enough talking!" Robin snapped, drawing his staff. "Let's get this over with. Titans go!"
Both sides lunged into action, the scene rapidly turning into chaos. Raven focused her attention on Kid Wykkyd, blasting black energy at him as they took to the air. But her shots never landed. The silent villain simply teleported in and out of the battlefield, grinning like a cat at her frustration.
"You know, I actually miss fighting Jinx," she said when Beast Boy landed near her after being thrown by Mammoth.
"Wanna trade?" he asked, still upside down.
She grimaced at the giant who was now trying to swat Starfire out of the air. "I think I'm good."
Raven flew back above the smoke of Gizmo and Cyborg's firefight, searching the area for Kid Wykkyd. A blast of energy knocked her sideways with a grunt, but not out of the air. She glared down at See-more who was sighting her for another shot. She threw up a shield to block it and wrapped her powers around a pile of gravel on the ground, hoping to throw some into his eye.
"Raven!"
Her head jerked around to see Kid Wykkyd behind her, hands raised and his grin even more predatory. Before she could split her focus and project a second shield, a blast of molten fire engulfed the silent teen. He phased away quickly, looking genuinely startled.
What—? That wasn't Starfire's power.
Fortunately, See-more was caught off-guard by the unfamiliar attack too and she was able to summon a trash can from behind him to smack him in the back of the head while he gawked, knocking him out cold.
Turning, she saw Lilith hovering down to land beside her. "You okay?"
Raven glanced at the blazing energy dancing around the girl's hands. "Yeah. Thanks."
"No problem. Not sure where he went, though."
"He'll wait until he has the element of surprise again." Raven glanced sidelong at Lilith as she braced herself for whatever attack came next. "You said you had precognition, right?"
Lilith winced. "Limited and unreliable, but I'll try."
As Lilith closed her eyes, Raven extended her own senses, searching for that presence, that ripple in reality that signaled a portal was about to form.
Suddenly, both girls looked in the same direction. "There."
Raven lashed out tendrils of dark energy, entrapping Kid Wykkyd as soon as he appeared. Lilith blasted him with another wave of heat, Raven's power preventing him from teleporting again.
"Surrender?" Lilith asked, walking forward with her hands still raised.
He snarled, but stopped struggling. Raven noticed the rest of the fight winding town around them, judging by the cheers from Cyborg and Beast Boy, and the increased volume of Gizmo's cursing. The boy must be growing up; she thought she caught a few real swear words in that outburst.
As the team helped load the H.I.V.E. Five into police custody, Raven stood off to one side, Lilith beside her, as Kid Wykkyd was one of the first to be contained.
"Nice job predicting his attack," she offered.
Lilith rubbed the back of her neck. "Thanks. Actually, I just got a vision of you looking where he would appear, but close enough."
Raven grunted slightly. "I don't remember you listing pyrokinesis among your powers."
"It's superheated plasma, actually," Lilith said, looking at her hands. "It's useful in a fight, but I don't really like to define myself by it."
"Too many fire-themed superheroes already?"
"No. I got the power from my mother." Lilith's eyes had gone dark and bitter as she stared at her hands. "We don't exactly get along."
Raven arched an eyebrow at this change in tone. She didn't feel right about pressing for more details, but Lilith must have sensed her curiosity as she continued.
"My mother is a Titan. Not like us; I'm not a legacy or anything. She's a literal Titan, mother of the Greek gods. Theia, who controls the power of the sun. She wants to rule the universe, even her fellow Titans, and created several children with mortal men to help her accomplish that." She smiled slightly. "Thankfully, I was hidden away from her before she could influence me and raised by a mortal family. Still, there's always the risk she may try to get control over me again someday, so it's not a power I like to encourage in myself."
Raven stared at her for a moment before looking back out at the team. "I'm sorry."
Lilith shrugged slightly, intentionally resuming her cheerful air. "It's all right. I've had wonderful families with my adoptive parents and the Amazons. I just have to keep an eye on how I use my powers, but, I mean, don't we all?"
Raven snorted. "I think I understand now why Bumble Bee chose you to help me."
"Really?" Lilith looked at her, interested. "Why?"
Raven frowned, looking over incredulously. "She didn't tell you about my background?"
"No. I admit I probably should have done my due diligence before coming out here to help, but I thought I'd rather hear it from you."
"Oh." Raven looked back at the police van awkwardly. She knew that was her cue to outline her own tragic tale, as Lilith had just shared with her, but she found she wasn't quite ready to open those old wounds yet, especially out in public.
Lilith shuffled a bit beside her. "I think I owe you an apology, Raven."
Raven looked back over with her eyebrow arched, not even bothering to hide her surprise psychically. "You do?"
"I knew I was being kept in the dark about the reason my help was summoned, but I had no idea that you didn't know I was coming. I honestly thought you were behind the request. If I'd known, I never would have agreed to ambush you like that."
Raven found herself flustered, turning to look straight ahead again so she could avoid Lilith's eyes. "It's not your fault," she conceded. "Robin just tends to get…ambitious when there's a problem he feels the need to solve." That was about as diplomatic as she could muster at that moment.
"Well, I just wanted to make sure you knew I wasn't here to step on your toes or anything. It's totally your call. If you want, I'll head home, no offense taken at all. If you think I can help, I'll stay and do whatever I can. All I'm offering is basically what we just did back there." She gestured to the site of their battle. "I'll back you up on whatever you're doing if you want me to. But it's your choice; no one else's."
Raven watched the boys wrestle Mammoth into the police van, Starfire following with See-more under her arm. Her attention, though, drifted to giving the girl next to her a subtle scan, trying to get a read on her intentions and sincerity. She'd been bitten too many times before to simply accept a new temporary teammate.
Still, the girl was giving her an out. She could end this irritation and awkwardness right now, go back to addressing her situation in privacy, and forget it ever happened. All it would take was a word. Just one word…
"I guess there's no point in you travelling all this way for nothing," Raven said finally. When she felt a surge of enthusiasm from Lilith, she turned to point at her with a warning glare. "But that doesn't mean I'm agreeing to anything yet. I'm going to handle my problems my way. If that includes you, I'll let you know. But do not go into my head unless I give you permission and if I tell you to back off, do it."
Lilith held her hands up placatingly. "Don't worry, those are my rules too."
"Good." Seeing that the H.I.V.E. Five were successfully loaded for transport, Raven turned and strode back to the T-car without another word.
Cyborg walked up to Lilith, watching Raven leave. "Looks like you're in good."
Lilith looked up at him. "You think so?"
"Oh, yeah! You see how pissed she is? She wants to hate you so bad, but you're making it so she can't." He patted her shoulder. "Give it a few weeks, she might even start being neutral toward you, then it's just a few steps toward friendship."
Lilith chuckled slightly. "Well, no one said this was going to be a vacation."
"Nice move, by the way, backing her up during the fight," he added casually. "Nothing like seeing someone's got your back to start forging the bonds of trust."
"Yeah. Guess it was lucky those guys started trouble my first day here."
"Guess so. Pretty lucky, too, that you warned Raven about Kid Wykkyd a second before he actually appeared behind her." He grinned down at her a bit dangerously. "Cybernetic eye. Catches things the human eye wouldn't."
"Really?" She looked back up at him, face betraying nothing. "Well, I told you I had precog. Sometimes it gives me something useful without me asking."
"Figured as much. Now, don't get me wrong," he added, "we all know sometimes we've got to manipulate each other a little bit if it's for their own good." His fingers tightened just slightly on her shoulder. "Just don't ever let her find out you planned that move to gain her trust. She'd forgive one of us for a trick like that because she knows we're doing it out of love, but she doesn't know you yet. You want her to warm up to you, be straight with her. Play games and she'll chew you up and spit you out. Maybe literally."
"Got it," Lilith said, eyes slightly wide.
"Good!" He clapped her on the shoulder, all smiles again, and started off toward the car. "Come on! I'll cook you a welcome dinner when we get back."
Lilith rubbed her shoulder, watching the Titans gather around their vehicle. "Yeah, off to a real good start, Lilith," she muttered to herself as she started walking after them.
I know, I wound up taking some creative liberties with Lilith and her powers, but the show did the same with Raven. In the original comics, she didn't have telekinesis, but she needed a battle power beyond empathy/teleportation for the animated series, so I gave Lilith one too. :) Hopefully I'll do her character justice. I just figured, after her role in the Terror of Trigon storyline of the comics, who would be more appropriate to help Raven face her demons?