zervus.
first i'm sorry for the long wait but i killed this chapter five times in a row before i coughed this up. yes, i know it's short and all but 'be grateful for what you get' how a friend of mine likes to say (other peopel are waiting since May for a upadte from me).
why the wait? well, first cause: see last chapter/note; second cause: Games Workshop finally published the Apocalypse Codex for WH: 40K and i've been painting and converting my armies for that (next to spending a hell lot of money on new minis); third cause: i started College and unlike with school i actually take this serious and work for it.
just to warn you: you won't see any mayor update for this in the near future basically becasue i have been neclecting my oldest projekt for far too long and i want to finish it up in style and peace.
Robin was standing in the living room, his back leaning against the couch. He was dressed in his average black suit and waiting impatiently for the rest for the team to show up. The first two were Beastboy and Cyborg; BB dressed in a dark green tux and Cyborg had used his holo-ring to simulate a dark blue one. "… So you think Raven will actually dress up? I strongly doubt that BB." "Come on Cy. She's unsocial but not that much and she would never disrespect the mayor." "Still I think you're hoping for something never going to happen." While the two were still bickering about what Raven would wear the door opened once more and Starfire entered the room. Robin's yaw dropped as he saw what she was wearing. She wore a pink dress, a low V-cut at the front and a bare back. It was sleeveless and went down to her ankles, covering up her footwear. After a good minute Robin was able to roll his tongue back in his mouth and to remove his eyes from Starfire. Now they only waited for Raziel and Raven.
It took only a few more seconds before the door opened once more and Raziel entered, causing three shouts of "WHAT THE FUCK?!" emitting from the other males. Raziel wore black sack coat, a white shirt and patent leather shoes. So far it was rather normal but then Raziel seemed to have gone a bit wild. He had put on blood red leather pants with several black and silver belts holding them in place. His sword hung at his left waist, swinging slightly with every movement he made. Over all this he wore a blood red, sleeveless overcoat, the hem looking a bit torn from long use while his hair disappeared under this overcoat. "What? Something wrong?" "Dude, you look like some duke or count from a fantasy movie." "Do you have a problem with this BB? No one said I had to take formal clothing for earth standards so I took something from my world." Cyborg, after giving him an once-over, gave him a thumb up, "You're so going to rock the ladies' world, totally bad-ass." "Then maybe I should change. I'm not looking for a date right now." "No you don't! There is no time!" "Cool down Robin. Man, you're worse than a mother." Raziel was leaning lazily against the counter at the kitchen area, his arms crossed over his chest. "But you might want to remove the sword," said Cyborg, "I doubt they will let you in with that." "Too bad for them. They take me with sword or not at all and that's final." "Are you going to bicker all night or are we leaving any time soon?" The five turned towards the bored voice of Raven and all were rather surprised. Raven wore a sleeveless, black dress which looked like it came straight from the Adams Family household. The brims were covered with embroideries of ancient, magical words in a bright white while the dress had only a slight v-cut, showing off just a hint of cleavage. The boys looked her up and down and Raziel couldn't help himself and gave her a whistle, "Nice outfit Raven, going to catch yourself someone?" Raziel only got a very dark look and he took a step back. "Quite the bickering and lets get moving. We don't have that much time left," grumbled Robin as he walked down the hallway towards the garage. Robin and Raziel mounted their bikes while the rest gathered in the T-car and all took off towards the destination.
Ω
The Titans reached their destination a few minutes before 8 pm and as they attempted to enter the chosen hotel, like Cyborg had predicted, Raziel was stopped due to his armament. "No weapons allowed," said one of the bouncers as he tried to move Raziel to the side. "I think I'm the big exception here," stated Raziel as he shoved his T-Com into the bouncer's face and attempted to continue when he was stopped by some kind of gun aimed at his chest. "Who do you think we are? There are only five Titans!" Raziel looked at the other bouncer, threatening him and just smirked, "Buddy, you might want to reconsider this. I normally don't take it well if someone tries to shoot me." "WHY YOU…!" "Let him in." Both bouncers looked over their shoulders and saw the five Titans they knew standing there. "But…." "No buts, he is a Titan so let him in." Not awaiting their answer Robin turned around and headed off into the crowd. Raziel straightened his overcoat and walked by the bouncers giving them a dark smirk and followed the other Titans into the crowed.
Ω
The banquet had went on for nearly two hours by now and Raziel was trying to get away from a group of girls that have seem to take a liking in his outfit, giving him more then suggestive looks. 'For all god's and devil's sake, get them off my back! Wasn't it enough for the mayor to call us up on the rostrum and give an hour long speech, now I'm chased by children!' Raziel turned around the nearest corner and pressed his body against the wall. Soon a group of seven girls, the oldest maybe fifteen, passed by and he let out a long sigh after he was sure they were out of earshot. "You're hiding from some girls?" Raziel nearly jumped out of his skin and spun around on the spot only to see Raven leaning against the wall next to him, a small smirk playing on her lips. "Raven! Don't do this again!" "For a fierce demon you're easy to scare." "THERE IS THE SWEETY!" "Oh shit!" Raziel didn't even turn around to look at who was calling him 'sweety' and hurried off back into the main room. What he hadn't anticipated was that three girls would block his way before the hallway opened into the main room. "NO GETTING AWAY THIS TIME SWEETY!" 'Oh please have mercy.' Raziel briefly looked ahead and noticed that he had nearly the whole attention of the hall.
Within a split second he was surrounded by the group of girls, all trying to get a hold on some of his clothing. The oldest, obviously leader of the little gang managed to capture his collar and pulled him a bit down so she could whisper not quite into his ear but still so only he, and anyone who had a good enough hearing, could understand what she said, "Why don't you come along and show us what you can do with your two swords." While she talked the fingers of her right hand circled the handle of his true sword while her left hand headed for his set of belts. Raziel's eyes widened as he caught on just how desperate those kids seemed to be. "I have had enough of this," muttered Raziel as he peeled the girls away from his clothes and tried to just walk out of this but soon the leader was back at his front, this time her arms around his neck. "Come one sweety," coed the girl while giving him a truck load of puppy-eyes, "This night is meant to party. Come and show us something." Raziel stared down at the girl, his eyes hidden behind his glasses, 'If she's still here by the count of five she has it coming.' He closed his eyes and slowly started to count, 'One. Two. Three. Four. Five.' He opened his eyes and still looked down at the insanely smiling girl. 'She had it coming.' He slowly moved his hands to hers at his neck and pressed a small pressure point on her wrists that caused her to immediately let go before he removed her arms completely. "Now listen up girl because I won't repeat myself: I am waaaaay out of your league; you're so NOT my type and I'm not interested!" He started to walk away but turned around after a couple of meters, the grin on his face telling that he was about to ruin someone's reputation, "By the way, I don't swing for children." The whole audience gasped as the meaning of his words sank in. As Raziel headed towards the main portal the crowd parted even before he got close.
After a few meters he noticed something black strolling next to him and expected to see Robin with his typical scowl on his face but to his utter surprise it was Raven. "You know who you just turned down?" "Should I care?" "The mayor's daughter." "Figures. Snotty little girl used to get what she points at." Raziel continued his way for the door, expecting Raven to leave him alone but she kept at his side. Even as he left the hotel and headed for the lot she still followed him. When they had reached his bike and she still wasn't leaving him alone he turned towards her, a slightly enervated expression on his face, "What?" "You said later, now is later." Raziel was confused what the fuck Raven was talking about and it seemed to be obvious in his eyes even through his shades, seeing that Raven started to elaborate without being asked, "I have questions and I want answers." Raziel just groaned at that, 'Great; and here I thought I could finally get some rest. Guess I'll be up and running for some more.' His eyes first traveled to his bike and then back to Raven, "No escaping you, huh?" "No." Raziel sighed as his hands formed a triangular sign and his bike vanished in a red orb. "Fine, but I get to choose where." "The Tower?" "Nope, the walls have eyes and ears if they want. I got something better in mind. Now don't get lost." And with that he levitated into the air and shot off into the night, Raven only a meter or two behind.
Ω
Raziel landed after a couple of minutes in front of a rundown bar near the docks. "What are we doing here," asked Raven while she landed next to him. "This place is probably the last anyone will come to look for us or that anyone will eavesdrop on. Trust me; I know this from experience." Raziel stepped inside and Raven followed close behind. They had entered a stereo type pool bar, completely with greasy, shady characters playing pool while a barely dressed waitress threw around suggestive gazes. "Get us a table in the back," muttered Raziel while he walked up to the counter, making sure Raven disappeared in the darkness of the room.
"Hi there Honey; what can I get you?" "An herbal tea, two water and two bottles of your best vodka." "Hmmm, need some help with that," asked the 'waitress' while giving him a more then suggestive look after she gave him a once over, "You seem to be just my type." "And what type would that be," answered Raziel while he leaned his left elbow on the bar and rested his chin in his hand. "You seem to be someone who knows the world and its way. And you know what you want." While she spoke the woman started to trace the nail of her left index finger over Raziel's right cheek and up to his ear, obviously trying to see behind his shades. "Sorry Rosy but as always the answer is no." "Too bad Honey; we could have had fun weeks ago." "And then I would have never come back here to graze you with my face." Raziel flashed a brief grin before he pulled a money clip from his back pocket and handed a few notes over, "By the way, I already have company for the night." "Always busy eh?" "Just get me my stuff, alright?" Rosy seemed to pout at this as she quickly produced two glasses of water and two bottles of the liquid headache from under the bar, "The tea will take a while." "Take your time," said Raziel as he threw another note on the bar, "Payment for the kids."
Raven had watched the exchange between Raziel and Rosy with mixed feelings. 'At one moment Raziel is in a total bad mood and in the next second he's flirting with some… slut. Looks like I have been wrong about him.' She had claimed a small two person table in a dark corner and eyed Raziel cooly while he walked closer. The half-demon didn't miss the cold stare and asked while he sat down the tablet, "What's wrong?" "You." "I? How?" "You nearly bite my head off and then you flirt with this… whore." Raziel had taken his seat opposite of Raven and just looked at her over the rim of his shades, "You know, Rosy over there has been the best source of information for me since I came to Jump City. You can't effort to loose such a… valuable asset, so you have to stay on her good side." "Yeah, sure." Raziel pushed his glasses down a bit to have a no longer hindered look at the other demon. "Listen up Raven, you and your team might have the advanced stuff to find every information you want in a matter of minutes but the 'normal' people have to find other way to secure their information supply. If you had found a book store which sold demonic books would you bite the owners head of just because BB for exampled got to you once more?"
Raven fell silent after Raziel's explanation and she understood what he meant. "Sorry." "Don't mention it," sad Raziel as he quickly downed his glass of water, refilling it soon with a good helping of vodka. "Now, what did you want to ask me earlier?" Raven looked at him, gauging which question she should bring forth first. "How did you find me this evening?" "Well, remember my first night at the tower? After our little… sightseeing trip?" "Get to the point." "Relax. I just wanted to make sure we were talking about the same thing. Well, after you took your… frustration out on me I managed to get you to calm down and also gave you a few tips and it seemed like in response to my last one you muttered the name Terra. After that you promptly fell asleep so I had to ask Robin about this Terra and he told me the whole story. Long story short, I just thought you might pay Terra a visit now and then but didn't want the others to find out." "Why did you lie to Beastboy when he asked you where you found me?" "Because it's not my place to tell them. If you don't want them to know then that's your decision."
Raven was stunned into silence at and didn't even notice as Rosy placed the tea in front of her. "Why," was the only word that left Raven's lips after some time. "Why what?" "Why are you doing this?" "Because it's the right thing to do? Honestly, I haven't personally known you for long but still I know that you are a rather seclusive young woman and I respect that. Everyone has some secrets that they don't want to leak out."
Once more Raven was unable to form even a coherent sentence. 'How is that he can be so… caring for someone like me?' A slight blush creped on her cheeks and she turned away from him. 'Why do I think about it so much?' Raven felt painfully reminded of the time when she had met Malchior. The… bastard as she now thought of him had been everything she wanted for a short time and now Raziel was acting the same way. A few alerts went off in her mind but… somehow… she felt Raziel was… different. She was partly pleased with the answers she got from Raziel but at the same time she knew deep down inside that he was hiding a few things.
The door to the bar opened and Curiosity got the better of Raven and she turned around and her mind seemed to freeze for a moment. Through the door walked a female teen, pink hair and equally pink, slitted eyes giving away just who she was. "Jinx," muttered Raven while she power up to take the other girl down when she felt something suppressing her power. She looked up and saw something red shine in Raziel's eyes. "What are you doing," hissed Raven while she narrowed her eyes at him.
"Take a close look at her; does she look like someone who's looking for trouble to you?" Raven grudgingly looked back at Jinx who was chatting with Rosy and she had to admit that Raziel was right. Jinx had ditched her uniform and replaced it with a black tank top and a dark violet or black leather jacket, a black miniskirt and equally dark high heels. The trademark horns had been let down and her hair fell down to the middle of her shoulder blades. Raven powered down and somewhat relaxed into her seat again. "Listen Raven, just because she's a villain it doesn't mean she's not a person as well as we. You're not like Robin: you don't die from going off duty for one night, right?" Raven just nodded slightly but on the inside she had to admit that she wasn't very keen on fighting Jinx tonight. "So…, any more questions?"
Raven fell silent for a few moments, thinking about a question she could ask him that he would answer. But before she could come up with a question someone approached their table. "Uhm…. Would it be alright if I joined you? I… don't really trust the other… patrons." The two looked up only to see Jinx standing at their table, holding a cup of tea and not realizing who she was talking to. Raziel shot a quick look at raven who just shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, make yourself comfortable," said Raziel only to ad in a low voice, "… Jinx."
Jinx' eyes widened in shock and the tea cup slipped out of her hands only to be caught by a black energy and softly placed on the table. Jinx got ready to fight herself out of this place but to her surprise neither of the two Titans even stood up. "Relax Jinx. No uniforms, no Boy Wonder, no trouble, no fights. We're just three teens accidentally meeting each other in this place." Jinx' eyes were wide with unmasked surprise and shock. 'So the teen that has beaten the shit out of me and Mammoth in a matter of moments now works with the Titans, no big surprise. But obviously he isn't bird boy's little puppy.' Jinx decided to take her chances and sat down, asking the one question that kept flying through her mind, "Why?"
Raziel looked at Raven only to have her speak to him in his mind, what honestly scared the shit out of him for a moment. 'You invited her, you find an answer that fits both of us.' Raziel sighed and absently pointed with his left thumb to Jinx, "No costume, no Hive Five, the building has yet to come down on us; I dare say that you too are off duty tonight." Jinx simply nodded while she looked form Raven to Raziel and back. "By the way, I don't think we've been properly introduced: name's Raziel, elementalist and swordsman." Jinx was simply taken aback by the sheer information he just provided.
"So… what brings you here," asked Jinx, trying to get at least somewhat of a conversation going while she wondered how in the nine hells it was possible for her to sit at the same table as two of her enemies and no fight seemed to be coming anytime soon. "We both needed to get away from a banquet and decided to go somewhere the Boy Wonder would never expect us," lied Raziel smoothly, downing his seventh glass of vodka. Jinx couldn't help but chuckle at Raziel's laid back demeanor. "I have to say that I'm surprised that Robin would let someone join who speaks so easily with a slited tongue." "Seems like I'm getting rusty in my skills when you looked just straight through it," said Raziel while rubbing the back of his neck. Jinx couldn't help herself and laughed at him and even Raven couldn't surpres a small smirk. "Not so self confident now." Raziel simply shrugged his shoulders at Raven, "It works for bird boy so no trouble."
-Ω-
The three teens had spent the next two and a half hours chatting about everything and nothing, carefully avoiding anything about their 'jobs'. In a way the three had formed some kind of connection, maybe even some kind of… trust. Jinx was shocked that she would use this word in the same sentence as the names of two Titans. It was well past midnight when all three left the bar and said their goodbyes and Jinx shocked Raziel and Raven with her next sentence, "Maybe we should do this again some time. It's been nice talking to people who… understand me." Raziel and Raven exchanged short looks of surprise before Raziel pulled out a Razor2 and flipped it open, typing away quickly before closing the cell phone again and flicking it to Jinx, "Shortcut 1 is my number. Call when you need someone to listen."
Raven stared at her fellow demon with outmost confusion and shock running circles in her mind. 'Why has he given her a cell and his number? Sure it was… pleasant talking to her but she still is a villain.' Jinx thoughts were running along the same lines while she studied the object in her hand before she looked up and gave them a wide grin. "We'll see about that. See ya." The two Titans looked after Jinx' retreating back until she rounded a corner and was out of sight.
"Are you sure that was a wise decision," asked Raven while the two demons flew towards the T-Tower. "Who knows? I honestly don't know and right now I don't really care. All I care about is a big bag Zs for tonight." "That tired? I thought from your boasting around you had more energy." "You try staying awake for nearly 80 hours and then we talk again." Raven's right eyebrow rose as she cast a look to her left just in time to see Raziel yawn widely. Something in her mind kept telling her that this was somehow important but she dropped the topic, not ready for more crazy stuff tonight.
and cut.
not the best thing i could have come up with but like i already said i want to concentrate on my old projekt again and had this finfished as it is.
criticism is welcome as always.
- T signing out.