zervus.
as promised the new chapter. after you've gone though this you either going to hate it or love it.
i got a couple of PMs about this fic being a Rae/BB story. let me say a few words to this: is this story in the Rae/BB filter? no. have i hinted towards Rae/BB in any way? No. Latest after this chapter you should be able to see that this story is NOT going to be Rae/BB. I personally don't like and don't belive in this paring but don't feel offended if you do; everyone their own cup of tea.
now i have rambled enough and present you he next chapter.
The next several days past by without much out of the ordinary for the Titans; training, kicking bad guy ass, Dr. Light/Mumbo Jumbo/Mad Mod to name only a few, and for Raziel only very few nights of sleep. Although he had by now received his own room he spent most of his free time either in OPS (that kitchen, living room, war room thingy) or on the roof. Over the time he seemed to distance himself a bit from the others but no one approached him about it as he had been rather on edge those past days.
Right now Raziel sat on the roof and stared down on a piece of rock in his right hand. 'I CAN'T FUCKING BELIVE THIS! I'm an elementalist for crying out loud! This should be cake!' Unnecessary to say that he was pissed and his patience was shorter then that of a hungry lion. The door leading on the roof opened and revealed no one else but the Boy Wonder. "What's up with you? You seem unnerved." "OH and how did you figure THAT out?! Was it my facial expression or the fact I went somewhere to be ALONE?!" Robin flinched at the shout from the demidemon and backed off a bit, "Calm down right now." "Don't even THINK you can order me around Birdy! You may be the team leader but I have no problem with ditching you, got that?!" Before Robin could answer Raziel was gone in a pillar of flames, leaving a confused martial artist behind.
-Ω-
Raziel reappeared in a dark side road downtown, his mind running circles while his appearance oozed 'PISS ME FUCKING OFF AND YOU'RE FUCKING DEAD'. He made his way down the road, not paying attention to where he was going, trying to calm down enough not to kill anyone that looked funny at him. After several minutes of storming through the streets Raziel came to the conclusion that he needed a drink to calm down and he stopped, looking around for the closest bar. Luck would have it that he had stopped right in front of one, although the outside suggested that drinks weren't the only things served inside. He shrugged his shoulders and quickly made his way inside.
Brushing away a protective red curtain Raziel was faced with the sight of the whole bar/club. Two stages with a catwalk and pole each and several round tables were scattered over the place while in between of the two stages was the bar, slightly raised above the ground. Raziel walked up to the bar and mustered the keep for a moment. 'Typical upper class barkeeper.' "Good evening sir, what can I get you?" "Hm, give me a Vodka Lemon and an Eye of the Dragon." The keep looked him up and down, "You sure about that?" "Now that you mention it, give me six Eyes and a Vodka Lemon." "Whatever, your liver getting killed not mine."
Only few minutes later and Raziel had his shots in front of him and quickly gulped them down in rapid succession. After the last one he grimaced and shook his head, "Brrrrr, that's what I needed." Raziel pulled out his money clip and quickly paid before taking his Vodka Lemon and letting his eyes take in the club. The stage on his right was occupied and a busty blond with two rather long pigtails and three strange markings on each cheek was doing her show, rather successfully if the drooling men were something to go by.
The second stage was empty but a sign announced the next performer. Raziel was about to let it slide when three words caught his interest. 'Pink Lucky Charm? Why does this ring a bell?' He contemplated those three words for some time until it finally clicked, 'HOLD IT A FUCKING MINUTE! Pink plus Luck plus Charm as in Charmer? JINX!' Now he was definitely hooked and had to see if his assumption was right or if it was just a coincidence. He checked the sign again and saw that there were only a few minutes left until the show would start so he stayed at the bar what gave him a perfect few to the stage.
Raziel let his eyes travel through the club, taking in its patrons. Most of them were dressed that wouldn't suggest that they were heading for a strip club but could attend to an official meeting. He turned back to the 'keep, "Say, do you know that Pink Lucky Charm?" "Yeah. She's pretty new to the business but she has some damn good moves." "Does she by any chance have pink hair, a slightly pale tan and wears pink, slitted contacts?" "Seems to me like you know her pretty well." Raziel shrugged as he paid for another drink, "There was a chance and I took it. Say, is there any way to meet her one-on-one?" The barkeeper frowned while glaring at Raziel with hard eyes, "Sir, we are not that kind of…." "Whoa, you got me wrong there. I simply wish to talk to her, I have no fleshly cravings and even if I had she'd be able to kick my ass." 'If I let her…,' added Raziel in his mind while he watched the barkeeper walk over to a PC and type a small message. Before the man could turn around a ping indicated the arrival of a reply.
"You must be pretty important to her; she's canceling the show for you." "And here I thought I'd be able to catch an eyeful; too bad." Raziel sat down on a bar chair and started to sip his drink for the moment. Suddenly he was lifted out of his chair, spun around and slammed into the counter. The demon looked down in the blazing eyes of one Jinx. "What are YOU doing here," hissed the girl lowly and Raziel was shortly surprised to see fear in the girl's eyes. "Uhm… would you believe if I said coincidence?" "Try another excuse." Raziel sighed and slowly leaned down, his lips nearly brushing Jinx' right ear as he whispered, "Get us a place to talk in private and I'll share my knowledge with you."
Jinx quickly seized his shirt and dragged him behind the stage, heading down a long corridor. Suddenly Raziel was thrown into what he assumed to be a dressing room before Jinx closed the door behind her. Raziel threw a quick glance around and took in the room: it wasn't big, 9 square meters at most, a dresser with a mirror on top, some makeup, two chairs as well as a wardrobe were all items in the room. Raziel used this time to give Jinx a once over too. The choice of clothing was revealing but not as much as he had expected in such a location: short black hot-pants, black high heels and bright pink top stopping shortly under her breasts and barely concealing the skimpy bra under it. She wore her hair in a single pony tail and it fell down around the middle between her shoulder blades. "Spill." Listen up Jinx, if I tell you this you must promise not to tell any of the Titans, ok?" "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Keeping secrets from your team? You are a BAAAAAAD boy." "Damn it Jinx! This is serious." The luck charmer's face showed surprise at the cold expression on the demidemon's face, "You're not joking around?" "I'm dead serious."
Jinx was silent for a moment in which Raziel couldn't help himself and he took her form in once more and she caught him. A bright smirk appeared on her face before she struck a sexy pose her arms over her had, "Like what you see?" "As a matter of fact I do," was all Raziel said while smiling slightly but not in a perverted way and Jinx couldn't help the slight color raising on her cheeks. Raziel decided that now was as good as any time, "Jinx, you remember the name Terra, do you?" "That little blond that hung around the Titans? Sure; but I thought she took Slade to Hell." "Not really. While stopping the volcano from erupting she was turned into stone but she is by no means dead." He pulled out a small piece of rock from his pants' pocket, letting it spin over his right hand. "She's trapped in her body and I promised to look for a way to bring her back. Let's just say it's not going in my favor and… it's pissing me off big time."
He pocketed the item again and looked at Jinx who seemed to be spacing off. "Hello Kitty," said Raziel while waving his right hand in front of her face. "Huh? Sorry I was lost in thought." "What are you doing, working in this kind of place?" Jinx flinched at the question and looked away, "I'd rather not talk about it here…." Raziel caught on quick but he wanted to know that answer, "Care to join me for dinner? My treat." Jinx' head snapped around so fast that Raziel thought she'd broken her neck, "You serious?" "Sure; why not?" "You're a hero and I'm a villain." Raziel laughed dryly at Jinx, "Me, a hero? PAH! You have now idea girl. You're more hero than I ever can be. So what do you say?" Jinx thought his offer over before smiling shyly, "Dinner sounds… nice…." "Than I'll give you some privacy… to… change…." Raziel looked slightly shocked as he saw Jinx slip on a short, black mini and a long sleeved, red leather jacket. "You ready?"
Raziel checked his watch and whistled, "Now that's something you don't see every day." "And what's that supposed to mean?" "Nothing really; there's just no women I know besides Raven and you that can get ready in less than twenty minutes." Jinx huffed as she grabbed his arm and dragged him out of the room and also out of the club through the back door.
-Ω-
The two walked down the road next to each other when Jinx spoke up again, "Soooo, where are we going?" "What about something Asiatic," answered Raziel with his own question while pointing down the road. "Fine with me." The two entered the restaurant and both good a comfy 'feeling' from the atmosphere. They were quickly show to a table and Raziel ordered some Sake while they browsed the menu. "What's Sake," asked Jinx while they both looked for something that would satisfy their bodies' need for food. "It's a rice wine normally served slightly warmed. It's the eastern equivalent to normal wine on this side of the globe."
After only a couple of minutes came the waiter and took their orders after placing the Sake on the table. Raziel filled their two saucers before both rose their saucers to each other. Jinx took a careful first sip f the strange tasting liquid but she soon realized she could come to like it. "Hey, that's good stuff." "sure is. But go easy on it, it packs a harder punch than normal wine." The two downed the rest of their saucers and while Raziel refilled them he spoke the question Jinx dreaded the most. "So why were you back there?" Jinx stared down at her saucer while her face darkened. "I... need to lie low for the time being. And although I love the trill of thieving... I need to get my life straight. It's also rumored that Blood escaped the Steel City prison." "Blood?" "Brother Blood, otherwise know as Headmaster to all HIVE students." Oh, you mean that crazed psicic . I guess you want to keep off his radar not to be controlled any more." "Something like that," muttered Jinx while she downed her fifth helping of Sake so far.
After a good ten minutes their food came and Raziel ordered a second helping of Sake for them while they started to eat, the demidemon surprising Jinx and the waiter by using the provided chopsticks. "There aren't many people around this city who can eat with those," said Jinx while she used the western cutlery. Raziel simply shrugged at her, "I've been traveling the asien countries for a good six months and I like to adept. I know how to speak most languages but my reading is juts barely adequate and my writing is non existent."
They kept up a slight chatter while they ate before Jinx turned silent in when they ended their food. "Hey kitty, what's wrong? You're spacing off." "It's just... its weired how comfortable I feel around you and Raven lately..." "What's wrong with making new friends?" "Raven doesn't seem the type to make 'new friends'." "Why? Because she's always so cold?" "Yea, she's always so emotionless and uncaring." Raziel debated with himself if he should explain this facet of Raven and finally came to a conclusion, "Listen up Jinx... Raven's emotions are difficult... If you grow angry your powers grow wild and stronger right?" Jinx nodded without taking her eyes off him. "With Raven it's worse. While your powers grow stronger hers shoot through the roof, out of control." "So she's disaster incarnate when she freaks out." "That's just the tip of the iceberg," muttered Raziel as he downed his Sake and motioned for their by now sixth bottle. Any normal human would be dead drunk by now but his demonic metabolism had already burned out most of the alcohol.
Jinx stared at Raziel again, unable to make sense out of him, 'He's a hero and yet he has no problem with me being a thief and villain.' "Raziel, how come you have no problem with my job?" "You could say I know where you come from. In my younger years I was a 'street rat', a little good-for-nothing thief trying to make a living. Later on I learned something very important and it effects me still: everything we do in life has a cause. Without knowing what made you choose the path you did, who am I to judge you?" Jinx stared at Raziel as a soft smile wormed its way on her face, "You're something else." "Why? Because I know the world isn't simply black or white?" Jinx simply nodded while she rested her chin in her right hand.
The next two hours past by without much happening. Raziel was luckily immune to the alcohol in contrary to Jinx who had started to slur her words as well as spacing off more often. 'I think she had enough for one night.' He quickly called for the bill before finishing off the last bottle of Sake before Jinx could pass the line form 'heavily drunk' to 'ready for hospital'. But than the next problem opened for Raziel. 'I have now idea where she's living and I can't just leave her. Looks like I don't have much of a choice.' Raziel quickly paid the waiter with a hefty tip before leading Jinx out of the restaurant, the luck bender leaning onto his arm.
"Sho 'hat are weeee doin' nooooow," slurred Jinx while she clutched onto Raziel's arm outside the restaurant. "Now you close your eyes for a moment." "Noooo toushing." "Never crossed my mind." Raziel strengthened his hold on Jinx' arm before they disappeared in a red orb of demonic magic.
-Ω-
Jinx was suddenly surrounded by a chilling cold that pushed part of the alcohol out of her system. She opened her eyes and only saw pure darkness. But suddenly the darkness was filled with red and yellow eyes staring straight at her and into her very soul. She felt fear claw at her heart and soul before she closed her eyes again and buried her face and Raziel's chest while she had his arm in a death grip.
Soon the cold diminished and Jinx dared to open her eyes. She found a dark room with only one bed detectable in a dark corner. "Where are we," she asked with a slightly shaky voice. "My room back at T-Tower." "You think that's a good idea?" "If you're worried about Birdy than forget about him. I can deal with him tomorrow. But you should go to sleep before the alcohol kicks back in and makes you do something you might regret tomorrow." Before Jinx could protest she was tugged into the bed and Raziel was on his way out of the room. "Where are you going," asked Jinx drowsily, snuggling into the bed sheets. "OPS. I got some things to take care of." And before the door could slide close behind him Jinx was fast asleep.
Raziel was walking down the dark corridors of the Tower when he was suddenly pulled into a dark room and thrown on the floor. Within a split second he was back on his feet and looked around ready for battle until his eyes fell on a hooded figure. "Man Raven; you could have been a bit more gentle." "What is she doing here?" "Long story short: we met, I asked her to join me for dinner, we talked and she drank a bit more she could handle and I couldn't just leave her so she tagged along." Raven nodded and removed her hood while Raziel walked up to her bed before throwing a look at her over his shoulder, "May I?" "Suit yourself."
Raziel sat down on the edge of he bed and both stared at the other demon for several minutes before Raziel spoke up, "I understand why you hide them from your team but when you're alone you shouldn't do it." "What are you talking about," asked Raven while a nagging feeling settled into the back of her mind. Raziel stood up and slowly walked up to her. She didn't move as he rose his right hand towards her face and brush tow of his fingers over her 'eyebrow', feeling the skin under his fingers twitch before she jumped back from him a hint of fear and shock on her face. "I'm talking about those. Why do you vehemently deny who you are?"
Raven turned her back to him, hugging herself while her mind ran in circles. Suddenly she found herself in an embrace form behind, his hands resting softly on her stomach. "Listen Raven," whispered Raziel softly into her ear, "There is nothing wrong with showing where you come from. At least when you are alone show it." "Why are you doing this," whispered Raven while tears threatened to fall from her eyes. "I promised you I would help you control your powers but how can you control something if you don't even acknowledge it?" Raven closed her eyes as his words hit her like a train. 'He does have a point.' She felt how Raziel turned her around in his arms but she refused to open her eyes. "Please Raven, even if it's only for this night accept your blood. Raven opened her eyes and looked at him, surprised to find a hint of plea on the other demon's face. Slowly her 'eyebrows' parted, revealing a second set of violet eyes.
A small smile graced his lips as Raziel saw Raven take the first step, "Was that so hard?" "No," whispered Raven while her two eyes adjusted to being used outside of utter rage. She noticed that her surroundings appeared clearer to her as well as something else. She noticed that several books on her shelves glowed in a soft light as well as a soft red glow around Raziel. Her surprise must have shown on her face because Raziel smiled, "Quite a sight isn't it? The auras of magic?" Raven nodded dumbly while she looked through her room, noticing several objects giving off an aura and it explained to her why she got them in the first place. She looked up at Raziel before she suddenly flung her arms around him. He returned the hug for a few seconds before they parted, still standing at arms length. "Thanks for accepting me," whispered Raven. Raziel simply smiled at her, "Why should a second pair of eyes freak me out? If that's all there is to your demonic form than it's nothing to worry about. Mine is a lot more shocking to humanity." "Should I ask," whispered Raven while she smiled slightly. "Maybe one day I'll show you." Raziel placed his hands on her upper arms while he leaned down a bit, placing a light kiss om her forehead, right on the gem, "Good night Raven." He left the room, leaving a shock demoness behind who placed a shacking hand on her forehead, 'What the hell?'
-Ω-
The next morning found Cyborg buzzing in through the kitchen, preparing breakfast for his team. He had met Raziel earlier before the demon settled for switching through the news channels on TV. Cyborg was bent over the stove when the door opened with a whizzing sound and soft feet padded over the floor. "Mornin' Stone, can I get some orange juice?" "Just a second Jinx." '5... 4... 3... 2... 1...'"WHAT?!"Cyborg spun around, staring at he pinket with wide eyes and his jaw on the floor. Jinx giggled as she walked up to the metal man and closed his jaw with a crunching sound, "So, where is my juice?" "What the hell are you doing here," hissed Cyborg as he looked around for Raziel only to see him not in his spot on the sofa.
"Relax Cy, I brought her in." Cyborg jumped high into the air with a school girl squeal while Jinx and Raziel had to lean on each other, their sides starting to hurt from their laughing. "What the fuck is going on here," demanded Cyborg after his processors managed to work through this. Raziel shrugged nonchalantly, "Short story: we met, went to dinner, got drunk and I just couldn't leave her on her own so I brought her along." "Are you nuts? Do you have any idea what Robin will do if he finds out?" "If I find what out?"
Cyborg spun around, his massive frame blocking Jinx from view while smiling forcedly at the Boy Wonder, "Oh nothing... hehehe... nothing really..." Even while Cyborg stammered Jinx showed some of her cat like grace and simply flipped to sit on Cyborg's right shoulder, her knees crossed and her elbows resting on them while her face rested in her hands. "Morning Robby-Birdy." Robin's jaw hit the floor as he saw Jinx smiling down at him as well as her... skimpy attire. After he got his act together he first looked at Cy, seeing the metal man sweat bullets and dismissed him at he culprit. His eyes fell on Raziel who was lazily leaning against the kitchen counter, his arms crossed over his chest and smiling slightly. "This your brainchild?" "And what if?" The team leader sighed as he walked over to he coffee machine, " What devil got into your mind?" "No devil; just my good manners." Robin raised an eyebrow at that, "You, good manners? That would be a first." "Ouch," whispered Jinx still sitting on Cyborg's shoulder. Raziel grinned at Robin, "Touchè." Robin sighed again while sipping his coffee and walking off, "We'll talk later."
All Cyborg could do was stare after his leader's back, "What happened?" "Looks like a second chance to me," answered Raziel while he sniffed the air, "Something smells burned." "NOOOOOO!" Cyborg rushed over to the stove, crying over his burned bacon and eggs, Jinx still sitting on his shoulder. "Hey Stone, what about my juice?"
-Ω-
Half an hour and many embarrassing memories of Stone later the doors slid open and Raven walked into OPS. "Morning Raven. You take the... usual..." Cyborg's voice trailed off as his eyes landed on Raven and saw four eyes looking back at him. "Raven...," whispered Cyborg as his right arm shifted into Canon mode. "Relax Cy; no disaster coming your way," said Raven as she took an apple and happily munched into it. Cyborg's arm shifted back to normal but he still held his distance form Raven. She saw this and couldn't help but sigh, "Cy, I'm only being myself. How can I hope to control my powers when I can't accept where they come from?"
To say Cyborg was shocked and confused was only the tip of the iceberg but he managed a small smile, "If you say so Rae. It'll... just take time to get used to." "Thanks Cy," whispered Raven while giving him a small smile. "Okaaaaay, who are you and what have you done to Queen Emo," asked Jinx form her place on the table while staring at the still smiling Raven. Raziel finally couldn't take it anymore and a chuckle escaped his lips, "Oh man! And to think that BB hasn't seen it yet." "Seen what," came the shapeshifter's voice from behind the group and all four turned to look at him. As his eyes fell on Raven's he could only stare for a couple of seconds before comment less fainting on the spot. The four looked at each other and simply shrugged before they got back to breakfast.
-Ω-
It was around midday when Raven found herself in her room meditating. 'That went rather well. I never thought it would be so eyes for them to accept this so easily.' A small smile graced her lips as she remembered how warm her team had been after a brief explanation. Suddenly a nagging feeling appeared in the back of her mind and she opened her eyes, feeling them drawn towards the mirror resting on her dresser. 'Whatever this is about it must be important if they mind their manners.' She stood up and walked over to the dresser and picked up the mirror. After looking at her reflection for a second the world began to fade around her.
When her mind focused again she found herself standing on a big floating island in Nevermore. Before her stood two copies of herself, one dressed in dark green and one in yellow. "Bravery, Knowledge," greeted Raven in a friendly tone but stopped when she saw the serious expression on both of their faces. "She's back," said Bravery, "and she's free of HIM for the moment." "What gasped Raven and her four eyes widened. "It's true," said Knowledge while she pushed her glasses up her nose, "and she asked for you to come and speak with her." Raven spun on her heels and quickly dashed towards the nearest portal.
The scenery changed as she passed through the gateway and the world turned into a bare wasteland, a single, leafless tree standing on a small hill in the middle. Under the tree stood a red-hooded figure, her back towards Raven. "Anger," muttered Raven as she walked up to the emotion. Anger turned around and their four eyes locked, causing Anger to be shortly surprised before the least manic smile she could muster split her face. "It is truly you," whispered Raven as the two stood at arm's length. "It is," said Anger, her voice devoid of most of her blood lust, "If not you'd already be fighting for your life." "True," muttered Raven before the two sat down on the foot of the tree.
"The time draws near," said Anger while both girl's stared off into the black sky. "I know but what can we do?" "WE," asked Anger with surprise evident in her voice. "Yes, WE. Although we never really saw eye to eye you're still a part of me. We'll have to deal with each other as long as we exist so we might work out a truce." Anger couldn't help the small bang of relieve wash over her, "He does us good, huh?" "Yes but will it be enough when the time comes?" "Only time will tell." A few moments of silence passed between the two before Raven spoke again, "You know, when you're not screaming at me to kill or try to kill me you're a pretty decent talk." "I am who I am; I can't change that," answered Anger defensively. "I know, I know. Without you I wouldn't be whole, I wouldn't be a true person." Raven placed her left arm around the girl and pulled her a bit closer. Anger tensed at the touch and was ready to bolt but soon relaxed a bit. She felt that her host started to understand the big mistake she and the monks of Azar had done. "I don't want HIM to come back; I want to be free," whispered Anger while she rested her head on raven's shoulder, the tiredness evident in her voice. "We will find a way; somehow," answered Raven while she gave the other girl's shoulder a slight squeeze. Anger looked up at her, her four red eyes shining with a hint of hope, "Truce?" "No, peace."
Both girl's shortly smiled before Anger suddenly jerked away from Raven. "HE is coming back! You have to leave!" "Anger we-" NO! HE's to strong for use right now. GO!" Anger shoved Raven out of her mind with a red blast of magic before she turned her eyes towards the sky, six burning red eyes appearing in the middle. 'I trust you Raven.'
-Ω-
As Raven awoke in back in her room she stared down at the mirror in her hands, 'I will not surrender to HIM!' She sighed as she placed the mirror on her desk and looked up at the clock that rested on it. It was set in a black raven made of obsidian, a present from her team at the last Christmas and it was the most treasured of all. 'Half past four, I've been there longer than I thought.' She left her room and headed for OPS to check up on her team. 'Everything has so much more details than before. I wonder if Raziel's sight is the same as mine.'
The doors to OPS opened with a hiss and Raven strolled inside, quickly looking through the room. Jinx and Robin were sitting on the couch and watching TV while Raziel sat at the table and, surprise surprise, was NOT staring at a piece of rock but at a chess board. Beastboy, Cyborg and Starfire were nowhere in sight and she didn't feel the around so the must had left for town. Raven enjoyed the silence and looked closer at each occupant of the room. Raziel gave off the same red glow as last night while Jinx had a pink glow flowing around her in random waves and forms. Robin in turn had no aura whatsoever. Raven couldn't help but feel curious about how her aura looked like as she could see it in a mirror or when she looked down herself. "Hey Raziel."
The demidemon slowly looked up from the chess board, "Hn?" "You have the same sight as I, right?" "More or less." "What about your sight," asked Robin while he and Jinx turned towards the two demons. Raven shrugged as she pointed at her second set of eyes, "Those give me enhanced sight as well as the ability to see the magical aura of a person. I just wondered how mine looked like." All eyes turned towards Raziel who was leaning back in his chair, closing his eyes. "Your magical aura is quite unique if I may say so. It's a mixture of black and dark blue/violet with hints of white and red now and then. Quite a sight if you ask me." Raven nodded at black, red and white as she could relate those colors to a source but dark blue? "HEY! HEY! What about me?!" Jinx was bouncing up and down on the couch. Raziel and Raven shared a look before both looked back at Jinx, "Pink."
Jinx slowly turned towards Robin, a truck load of insecurity and fear shining in her eyes, "Hey Robin... what about... me...?" The Boy wonder looked at the young thief before he met the blazing eyes of one Raziel, clearly warning him not to mess this up. Only seconds later Raven spoke in his mind, a warning edge in her thoughts, 'Remember Red X.' Robin quickly caught on the message and looked back at Jinx, "If the others are OK with it you can stay. Raziel said you wanted to set you life straight." Jinx nodded quickly at that, "I admit that I will miss the thrill but... I'm willing to try." "Then I see no problem with you staying and I think neither do Raven or Raziel." Suddenly a thought crossed Raven's mind, "Hey Robin, what about Project R.I.W.?" Robin's eyes widened at this before he adopted a thoughtful face. "That would actually work out." "Would someone tell me what this Project R-whatever is," asked Jinx, a slightly irritated look on her face. Robin walked up to the closest computer and typed away while speaking, "Project R.I.W.; it stands for Re-Integration Watch. In a nutshell it means that two well known and trusted 'good guys' take one 'bad guy' under their wing and the 'bad guy' can work off his or her crimes to clean their record. But you'd need to vouchers for that. And the Okay from the officials." "Dips on first voucher," said Raziel while raising his hand lazily. "I'll take second," said Raven while Jinx read through the data Robin had called up and the Boy Wonder nodded before pulling out his T-Com to make some calls.
After a few moments she looked back at the two demons with wide eyes, "You're putting your rep on the line here. Why are you doing this for me?" "I feel like it and I'm sure we can keep you out of trouble for a while," said Raziel while shrugging his shoulders and Raven simply nodded at his words. Jinx beamed at them before turning back to the Boy Wonder, "Than I should probably tell you that there are rumors about Blood coming back to Jump." "BLOOD?!"
The four turned towards the door and saw Beastboy, Cyborg and Starfire standing in the door, all three loaded with movies, games and junk food. Cyborg's face was a grim grimace while his human eye twitched dangerously. "We'll look into that later," said Robin while taking notice of Star's shorter than normal skirt. "We will get to the bottom of this." Raven in the meanwhile had thrown a short look down on Raziel's chess board before moving a black tower, "Checkmate." Raziel's eyes stared down at the board before he started to mutter profanities under his breath and glaring at Raven. "Lets do some training and let of steam, ok," suggested BB while looking around the room. Everyone agreed that venting their anger wasn't such a bad idea.
Twenty minutes later all Titans along with Jinx were at the gym. Robin was beating the shit out of training drones while Cyborg vented his anger at the shooting range, blasting the targets with 120 percent power. BB and Starfire were working on their flying skills together with a game of catch. Raziel did some some sword practice like normal, paying much attention not to cause any collateral damage. Raven was simply floating in her meditative pose, chanting her mantra over and over. Jinx in turn sat only at the side lines watching he Titans train. It was not that she didn't want to join them but her powers were a but too unpredictable to be used inside and she doubted that meditating was the right thing for her either.
Suddenly a thick book landed in her lap and she looked up to see Raven stand next to her. "You might find some interesting spells in it," said the dark sorceress while she sat down next to the girl. Jinx smiled thankfully at the demoness and opened the book and started to read through the different kinds of spells and curses. After a couple of minutes her eyes fell on a spell that made her eyes glim with mischief. "Okay, what did you find," asked Raven who felt the change in the girl's emotion. Jinx turned the book to Raven and tapped on the spell name with her left index finger, "I've bee looking for this spell for ages." Raven quickly looked the spell over and recognized it. She knew how to cast it but had never seen the need to do so. But now Curiosity was getting the better of her. "Stop by my room tonight and we see if we can get it to work." "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Teaching her spells without me? Not going to happen." The girl's turned towards the unknown voice behind them but saw nothing. They turned back and Raven noticed a small spike in Raziel's aura and she couldn't suppress a small smirk. "Looks like a little spy will join us later." 'But you don't really mind,' chided most of her emotions in her mind. Strangely Raven didn't feel inclined to put such a strong lock on her emotion anymore.
Two hours later the team stopped their training and headed for the showers to get rid of the sweat. Raven too headed for the shower in her room although she hadn't sweat one bit but she enjoyed long and hot showers more than most other things. Raven stood in the shower stall, feeling the hot liquid run down her body and she closed her eyes while sighing. "Guess the love for heat comes with being a demon," mused Raven with a small smile on her lips. 'If I think about it, is it the same for every demon? Another thing for the the list 'Raziel got something to answer'. It would make sense though, considering where he comes from.' After a couple of more minutes of enjoying the hot water Raven reluctantly stepped out of the shower and dried off, mustering her body in the mirror above the sink. She had always been kind of envious of Starfire for her supple chest, thinking she could use some tuning in that area but at the same time she didn't want to use a spell or human medicine to enhance them.
She brushed her hands down her front before cupping her breasts, weighting them in her hands. A small jolt shot through her body and she mentally groaned. She was no stranger to physical pleasure, she had read all about it and those romance novels weren't just for show but with her 'unique problem' she wasn't sure if she ever could experience those feelings in real life. Her thoughts were abruptly broken by the door opener buzzing in an annoying tone and she quickly grabbed the fluffy, blue bathrobe Starfire had given her as a present, tying the knot securely while making sure not to reveal anything. She opened the door just enough for her face to be seen and saw a nervous Beastboy standing there. "What is it," asked Raven while opening the door a bit more. BB stared at her appearance for a moment before quickly moving his eyes back to hers. "Raven... I wanted to ask you... if..." "Spit it out already," huffed Raven while she crossed her arms over her chest. Beastboy gathered all the guts he could muster and spoke, "I wanted to ask if you know a spell that could bring back Terra." Raven was shortly surprised at the question before she smiled a bit. "I'll look into it. I'll do some brainstorming with Raziel and maybe we can come up with something together." BB beamed at Raven with a grin threatening to split his face into two and moved to clomp Raven when she held up her hands, "Not in this attire BB, though I appreciate the thought." "Oh, forgot about that for a second," said Beastboy while smiling sheepishly at her. Both teens nodded at each other before they parted ways, BB heading of to play some games and Raven to finally get dressed.
-Ω-
Two hours later found Jinx, Raven and Raziel alone in the Tower. The other four had decided to head to the movies and something to eat afterwards after Robin had drilled it into their heads that they had to call him if trouble rose. The three had just waved him off while Raziel had to throw in his two cents, "We'll call you in time to stop something serious." It seemed like Raven and Robin were the only two who caught on his very lecherous use of words, if the smirk on Raven's face or the red color of Robin's were anything to go by. The four Titans quickly left the tower, leaving the other three on their own devices.
After Jinx was sure that they were gone she produced the spell book form the depths of the couch and quickly flipped through the pages. "So you're really going to look for a familiar," asked Raziel while he leaned back on the couch. "Sure. I've been looking for an unquestionable loyal friend for ages," said Jinx while her eyes were literally glowing. That very simple sentence threw Raziel off course, not expecting something that grave from the bubbly teen. Raven too was surprised at why Jinx wanted to use that spell so desperate; but after a few moments of thought she saw where the other girl came from and could somehow relate with her. "So how do we go about this," asked Jinx, barely able to contain her excitement. "First we have to go to a place... more wild than this," answered Raven and Raziel in one voice before looking at each other. "You now that spell," asked Raven a tad bit surprised. "Sure do; although I never thought you would. I figured it would be below the raven." "Shows what you know."
"Less bickering more explaining," said Jinx in a whiny voice, giving the two demons a huge load of kitten eyes. Raziel felt how it worked magic on his thoughts against his will and he cursed the female population of all planes for inventing such a powerful spell. Raven was only partly effected due to being a female herself but she still felt the very strange urge to comfort the luck charmer. "Cut that look out before I do something we both will regret," muttered Raziel while trying hard not to place the girl in his lap and pet her like a small kitten. Raven was hard pressed to suppress a smirk from forming on her face while Jinx began to grin like a Cheshire cat. "Works every time," smirked Jinx while barely able not to laugh at poor Raziel. "That calls for desperate measures," grinned Raziel while the floor suddenly glowed in a bright red. Raven felt the origin of the glow and prepared herself for what was to come. Jinx too knew this energy but she wasn't too thrilled about and clutched to the next object in reach that too would be transported by the demon's magic; and that something turned out to be no one else but Raven. The demoness was shocked as suddenly she found a quivering teen in her lap, her face buried in the blushing girl's chest. 'The reaction will be fun,' thought Raziel before the tree were consumed by redness.
-Ω-
When Raven regained her senses she found herself in the middle of some woods on a small clearing, another female body pressed against her. She looked down and saw a quivering mob of pink hair, the owner's face deeply buried in her chest. Raven blushed scarlet as Jinx' quivering send small jolts of pleasure and excitement through her body and she quickly tried to peel the other girl off her before the excitement became too much for her to handle. A couple of light flashes brought Raven out of her thoughts only to see how Raziel let a digi-cam disappear in a red orb. "Priceless, simply priceless," smiled Raziel as he looked down at the two girl's while standing at a good distance should he need to bolt. Suddenly Jinx shot out of Raven's personal space and lunged at Raziel who was barely able to avoid an ax kick form the flustered teen. "YOU COULD HAVE WARNED ME," shouted the enraged teen while falling into a dancelike flurry of punches and kicks. Raziel managed to avoid most of them but suddenly a kick connected with his chin and he flew into the next tree, his back impacting hard with the wooden structure.
Jinx stared in shock as she caught up with what she had done and she saw he chance to get a blank record fly out the window. "If I were a normal human that would have paralyzed me from my shoulders down," said Raziel with a hint of amusement while he staggered back to his feet. His world was blurry and he needed a couple of seconds to clear his mind form the unexpected one-way ticket. Raven couldn't help herself and smirked at the other demon, "Serves you right." "Yeah, yeah; whatever. Now let's get this baby on the roll. Who goes first?" The girls fixed him with their eyes and he sighed, "I had to ask. Fine; give me that book for a second."
After looking the spell over a few times Raziel handed the book to Jinx and sighed, "This shouldn't be too difficult." He sat down on the cold forest ground in a pose similar to Raven's meditation pose and closed his eyes, his arms lazily resting on his bend knees. "Zirak Patherk Sikurex Canteth." The words left his lips in a slight whisper and the girls stepped back, not knowing what to expect to happen. A couple of strange symbols appeared on the ground around Raziel and glowed shortly in a deep red before dieing off. For several minutes Raziel sat like a statue, barely breathing and to most onlookers he would have seemed dead. Suddenly a howl echoed through the night and the drumming of pawns on the ground came closer. Raven and Jinx unconsciously stepped closer to the other until their arms brushed together and both eased a bit. Suddenly the drumming of pawns slowed down as well as lost strength before the two saw a shadow stalk around them in the darkness of the night.
The the creature stepped into the clearing and moon light and Raven couldn't suppress a short gasp from escaping her lips. 'A hellwolf! Incredible to see such a creature in this place!' The creature indeed reminded strongly of an average wolf, although it had a shoulder high that easily reached Raziel's hips if he stood. It's fur was a mix of red and black, two burning yellow eyes fixed on Raziel's still unmoving form. Another thing giving the hellwolf's infernal heritage away were it's pawns that were engulfed in red flames, scorching the ground slightly where it stood as well as its three tails sprouting from its backbone.
The hellwolf circled Raziel several times, eyes and sniffing him all then while as if to determine his intention's before sitting down in front of the demon. Then the hellwolf threw his head back and howled at the nightly sky and Raziel opened his eyes. Their eyes met and Raziel slowly lifted his right hand. The hellwolf followed the movements with his eyes but didn't move away when Raziel reached towards his head. Raziel placed his hand slowly on the creature's head before staring to scratch him behind his ears. The hellwolf closed his eyes and started to heckle while hiss three tails waggled over the dusty ground. Raziel smirked while he stood up and walked over to the two girls who stared at the creature in awe. "You're up next Pinky." Jinx scowled at the demon, not liking this new nickname at all. "Keep calling me that and I'll start calling you Brain." "Whatever Pinkster," grinned Raziel while he leaned against a single tree that stood at the edge of the clearing and the hellwolf walked around the two girls, sniffing them and sometimes even nudging them with his surprisingly cold snout. Raven went to give his side a short pet when the hellwolf suddenly jumped up, placing his front pawns on her shoulders and giving her a long lick over her left cheek.
Raven and Raziel were utterly surprised at the show of affection form the infernal creature towards the demoness, seeing that his kind was not known for being very friendly to anyone besides their respective partner. Jinx had been so absorbed in the spell book that she barely noticed anything around her. After a few moments she closed the book and handed it to Raven before sitting down in the middle of the clearing. "Zirak Patherk Sikurex Canteth." Again symbols glowed on the ground but this time in a bright pink color. Jinx tried to move as little as possible while the two demons stood at the sidelines, watching silently. Suddenly the hellwolf began to growl darkly next to Raziel and the demon placed a calming hand on the beast's neck. The growling stopped although he still looked around the clearing with alert eyes.
No one heard any sound in the air, neither did they feel anything unusual as they waited for something to happen. Suddenly the hellwolf's head jerk to the left and Raziel followed the movement, staring intensely into the darkness. Suddenly he saw something move and he tried to make out details while nudging Raven's side. The demoness followed his gaze and she too saw a movement but no exact shape. After a few more moments the creature stepped into the clearing and revealed its origin. It was a velvet black panther, softly padding over the ground without a sound. While its deep green eyes rested on Jinx as well as the hellwolf, it stalked closer to Jinx with unnatural grace and every muscle tense and ready to attack, a natural born predator.
The panther slowly circled Jinx, sniffing her now and than while its circles grew smaller and smaller. After a couple of tense minutes The panther stood in front of a slightly quivering Jinx before a feline growl rumbled in its throat and the predator laid down in the girl's lap, purring contently. Jinx opened her eyes and looked down at the feline with shining eyes. She bend down and hugged the cat desperately and the feline reacted with curling her tail around the girl. Raven and Raziel both felt respectively guessed that Jinx had found something she had longed for a very long time. The feline snuggled closer to Jinx and finally the girl couldn't control herself and started to sob softly. Raziel looked up at Raven and sent her a questioning gaze to that the demoness nodded before she slowly walked up to the hugging pair, not wanting to alarm the graceful predator.
The panther looked up at the demoness before giving a very soft nod, or what Raven thought was a nod. She bent down a bit before placing a soft hand of the other girl's shoulder, causing her head to snap around. Pink met violet and the first shone with unshed tears. Raven softly nudged Jinx to stand up and slowly the girl got back to her feet, her new companion standing as close as possible. The three moved over towards Raziel and his partner. The hellwolf was growling slightly at the panther only to get an angry hiss in response that surprisingly shut him up. Jinx stood next to Raziel, hugging herself with her right arm while her left rested on her panther's head. Raziel looked at Jinx and couldn't help but feel something sting in his soul. He softly placed his left arm around her shoulders, giving her a bit comfort in the cold night air and Jinx leaned into him, sighing slightly and contently.
The four watched how Raven sat down and quickly closed her eyes, unconsciously starting to levitate while she chanted the magical words. "Zirak Patherk Sikurex Canteth." Once again symbols appeared around the caster but this time they flashed shortly between red, black and white. Within seconds a giant shadow appeared in the clearing, circling over Raven's position. Jinx and Raziel looked up into the sky and sow a bird's silhouette in front of the moon. It slowly began to sink towards the ground before it suddenly dove down towards Raven, only visible as a single black streak. Within seconds the bird was at Raven's height and stopped abruptly in its descend, hovering in front of the still close-eyed demoness.
Jinx and Raziel stared at the creature with wide eyes, Raziel more so than Jinx as he recognized the bird and its background. "A white raven," muttered Raziel while he watched the raven fly around Raven a few times, "I never thought I would see one of their breed." "What's so special about them," asked Jinx, her voice still cracked. "Over the recorded history of most demon realms only the mightiest sorcerers and sorceresses have had the potential to have a white raven as their familiar and even less have actually had one, most needing to convince their breed with some bribery. This one answered her call immediately and without any demands. Additionally her demonic heritage should prohibit something like this." Raziel stared intently as the raven stopped in front of Raven and bent its head to the side, giving her a calculating look. "Maybe this is some kind of sign," muttered Raziel while his mind was running 100 miles per second to sort through this highly unexpected turn of events.
That Raven's familiar was her namesake was no surprise but the breed was throwing him off course like nothing else in his entire life. The raven let out a shriek and Raven opened her eyes and she too stared at the creature before her with a totally blank mind, even non of her emotions was able to form a single coherent thought. 'What kind of sick trickery is Fate playing now,' thought Raven while she looked into the birds violet eyes. "No trickery my Master." Raven's eyes widened as she heard a definitely female voice in her mind and she stared with a slightly opened mouth at the raven. A chuckle echoed in her mind and the bird seemed to snicker, "Surprised young one? What's shocking you more? My breed or my speech?" 'How did you get in my head?' "Oh, as your familiar it's no big deal and I could do much more but that's for another night." Raven quickly landed and stood up, stretching out her left arm for he raven to land on. 'What's your name?' "A name? Hmm... I never had use for a name. Make a suggestion."Raven shortly thought this over before she came up with something that fit her thoughts perfectly. 'Spes.' "Hope? I name that expects a lot from me and you as well. But I see why you choose it. I accept my Master." 'Don't call me Master or anything similar; simply call me Raven.' "As you wish... Raven."
The other four watched the mental exchange, Raziel noticing the silent conversation. "And another step taken," whispered Raziel with a small, genuine smile on his lips. "Indeed."Raziel's mind shortly stopped while his gaze drifted towards his companion as the dark and smoky voice echoed in his mind. The hellwolf looked up at him and something similar to a grin was spread over his face. 'I guess that was you in my head just now.' "Give the boy a cookie, he figured it out." Raziel couldn't help but chuckle at the hellwolf's reply and scratched his ears, making him growl. "A bit to the left... YES! There!" 'You're something. So what's your name?' "Call me Cerberus." 'The infamous guardian of Hell itself; very fitting. Just don't develop a taste for souls, ok?' "I can't make any promises but I'll try keep it down."
In the meanwhile Jinx and her panther had a similar conversation. 'She really seems more hopeful now.' "Who wouldn't with such a meaningful familiar? Especially in her case."Jinx traced the soft, friendly and flowing voice to her companion and her heart skipped a beat. 'You can talk?' "I can do much more but all in due time. For starters my name is Sentra and I hope that I can heal at least part of the wound." Jinx smiled as new tears threatened to fall. 'You already did that with answering my call.' The panther nuzzled into Jinx' side and the girl couldn't help the single tear of joy flee her eyes.
Spes had by now made herself comfortable on Raven's left shoulder and the demoness walked over to the others, a small, hopeful smile playing on her lips. "Seems like all of us gained something tonight," said Raziel while he too couldn't help but smile lightly. "It seems that way," said Raven, her voice considerably more joyful than normal. "Let's head back to the Tower and catch some close eye, what do you say?" "Sure Raziel but I'm NOT going to teleport," said Jinx while a shiver ran down her spin, remembering the stares of all those eyes. Raziel laughed sheepishly while scratching his neck, "Sorry but I never had to transport more than myself so I never paid much mind to my demonic teleportation. My flames work for me and probably Cerberus considering his birth but others are sure to burn during the process." "Than let me handle it. I learned to block them out," said Raven while Spes nuzzled her cheek. "What are those eyes anyway," asked Jinx, finally wanting to know what she feared so much. "In essence we open a rift into the demonic sub-realm connecting all realms. Those eyes are the eyes of the terrors living there," answered Raven while she remembered the early stages of her training. Those eyes still made her shiver with fright.
Jinx was shocked at the revelation and turned towards Raziel with a cold stare. Raziel backed off a bit as Sentra began to growl darkly at him, feeling her master's emotions effect her. "Whoa Jinx, I would have told you that night but I thought I would have disturbed you sleep if you knew just how we got back to he tower." Jinx calmed down with a few deep breaths before cracking a small smile, "You're forgiven but I won't forget it; and I'll get you back for this." Raziel chuckle slightly but at the inside he was sweating bullets. He had no intention to be on the receiving end of Jinx' hexes ever. To defuse the situation Raven quickly wrapped them in her magic and teleported them back to the Tower.
-Ω-
The six reappeared in the middle of OPS and Cerberus as well as Sentra rushed of to expect the new place, Sentra a lot more gracefully and discrete than Cerberus. Spes simply sat on Raven's shoulder, looking around the room with clear eyes. "Okay girls, Jinx can take my room until Birdy decides to give her her own while I hit the couch." Raziel popped his back and his vertebra audibly crunched after the slightly tiering day and considering that he had once more been up and running for nearly sixty hours straight by now he was more than willing to sleep on the ground if he had to. He looked at the girls just in time to see both yawn widely, Jinx even without covering her mouth. "Looks like both of you agree with me on this one," smirked Raziel while he already walked towards the couch. "Uhm... Raziel?" "Yes Raven, what is it now?" Come by my room tomorrow morning; we got something to talk about." "What's in it for me?" "A night without disturbing dreams." "I see; again I don't have a choice. Fine by me but now let me sleep." He dropped on the couch and crossed his arms behind his head. Cerberus curled up under the TV table and both were fast asleep and snoring loudly.
Jinx and Raven looked at each other and couldn't help but smirk while they silently left the room. "Sometimes I wonder how he does it," said Jinx while they walked through the dark corridors. "What are you talking about?" "He seems so... easygoing all the time but then again he's... so deep and understanding. He's an enigma to me." Raven smiled slightly as she could relate to Jinx' emotions. "I guess you're right. The second time we met he dares to come close to me while I would have been able to kill without a single thought. I was so mixed up that even BB knew to keep away. But he came and showed me half of his childhood to make a point to me. He... without him a lot of this wouldn't have happened." "Guess we both should be thankful for his existence," whispered Jinx while she stroke Sentra's fur lovingly. Soon the girls had reached their respective room and settled in for the night.
In Raven's room Spes had taken reign over her raven-shaped clock and settled for some comfortable position for the night. "Good night Spes," whispered Raven as she crawled into the bed, too tired to do her nightly meditation. "Good night Raven; may you be free of nightmares."
Jinx in the meanwhile was curled up on the bed in 'her' room, snuggling close to the warm and comforting body of Sentra who too had laid down on the bed. The feral predator was still awake and studied her new partner. 'Who would have guessed I would be the partner to someone so lonely. But I'm glad it happened.' "Sleep well little Jinx, the next curve ball is sure to come."
that's it. love it? hate it? tell me about your thoughts and feed me some ideas for Jinx'probation.
for those big question marks about Jinx and her past rest assured that i have something planned and it's going to be explained all in due time.
- T