Yeah, sorry I'm late. Like, 5 months late.
I really don't have much excuse for being late, so go ahead. Read me the riot act. I deserve it D:
The note at the end of this chapter will explain all this in more detail. Make sure to read that.
Reviews:
To FelynxTiger- thanks! The guy who made Soar is named ehitch1. The story Crashing Down story is on my fictionpress account, which is also ComposerDragon.
To aussietin- no, your fine. Everything is politically correct here! I can say that the villains play a much more prominent role later. How much later? Depends.
To Linzerj- frying pan and pitchfork? I feel sorry for Slade.
To Gingerstorm 101- really? The lines were so short when I went on.
To luna827- twice the work. And Raven isn't known for her incredible patience…
To listen2music4ever- thanks for pointing that out, I didn't notice that. That was an error; there really was 6 Titans present.
To black thorn angel- aw, thanks!
To TheCopyUniverse- thanks.
So, yeah… again, sorry about the wait. I hope that this chapter makes up for it.
Enjoy…
Raven lay on the bed, exhausted. She felt as though she had just run eight marathons, fought off Cinderblock with a toothbrush, and lifted Titans Tower all in quick succession.
She appeared to be in a hospital, and her room was empty. Several congratulation cards and a bouquet lay on the small table beside her. Outside it was cloudy, and the pulled curtains only made the room even dimmer. It was almost as if the world was in shades of gray. Her bed was set at an angle, at least, and she was in a moderate sitting position.
Suddenly, the door to her room opened, and she could see out into the hall. There was a surprising amount of people outside, but none of them were her friends. Where were they?
A hand clamped onto the door, and Raven's eyes were immediately drawn to it. It was clad in a black glove, and connected to a muscular arm within a white sleeve, which was connected to a white suit…
Raven's breath hitched in her throat. It couldn't be.
The man in white stopped and pressed a finger to his headset, listening, then stepped aside to allow someone to enter the room. In stepped Beast Boy, sporting a wide grin, which showed off his sharp teeth.
"Garfield!" Raven gasped, trying for all her worth to sit up, but failing. "Didn't you see? He was right-"
She suddenly stopped talking as she noticed what her husband held in each of his arms. There were two bundles of soft white blankets, and he was holding them very tenderly. Suddenly, a pale, chubby hand reached out of one and grasped at the air.
"Wanna hold your baby, Rae?" Beast Boy laughed, and carefully handed over one of the bundles. Raven instantly forgot the man in white and the fact that she wasn't even close to delivering yet, and took the small child and held it close. It was the female of the twins, Emily, with pale skin and a small tuft of violet hair curled over her forehead. Her eyes were closed, and her face was that of utter peace.
Raven couldn't help it; a tear ran down her face. "She's beautiful," she whispered.
Then, suddenly, Emily's eyes snapped open. Instead of purple or green, like Raven was expecting, her eyes were solid, glowing white. Red lines of scar tissue began snaking their way across Emily's face, bleeding slightly. The hospital room was suddenly filled with rushing wind.
"Gar!" Raven called out, but to her horror, Beast Boy was on the floor, eyes blank and empty. The twin that he had been holding was lying beside him, wailing, even as the ground began to crack around him. The walls were suddenly swept away, revealing a violent thunderstorm outside. The cloudy sky had huge cracks in it, leaking harsh white light.
"You didn't listen!" the man in white shouted from the door. "We said this was going to happen!"
He choked, then crumbled to dust.
Emily turned and looked Raven in the eyes, her own now being empty pits.
"Goodbye, mommy," she said.
Raven's heart jumped, and she woke up.
Of course it's a nightmare, she thought bitterly, closing her eyes again. I can't fall asleep without having one.
Something was off, though. It was cold, and unnaturally dry, like the air was recycled. Beast Boy's arm was no longer around her waist, but there was something around her ankles.
Did Garfield go over by the fire? Raven wondered, and opened her eyes.
She was greeted, not with a fire, but with metal bars.
Oh, great, Raven thought. I'm in prison, aren't I?
Further exploration revealed this to be true. She was lying on a metal, shelf-like bed within a cell that was about a quarter of the size of her room back in Titans Tower. Everything was metal; the walls, the floor, the ceiling, and long lines of studs created strange patterns on the walls. It was frigid, and all of the air seemed to flow out between the bars on the door of her cell, creating a veritable wind. Outside, she could only see a narrow, dark hallway. What she had felt around her ankles had been massive cuffs, so heavy she could barely move her legs.
Raven figured that, normally, she would have been able to break out of a cell such as the one she was in within a matter of seconds. But, with using her powers presenting such a danger, she was helpless.
Perhaps whoever had captured them knew that.
(…)
Robin woke up staring into the eyes of another man.
Correction, into the eye.
This was all it took, and Robin instantly pieced it together. Between him and the other man were the bars of a prison cell, and he was chained to the floor. The air was icy, and metallic. It tasted of iron.
"Slade," he growled, clenching his fists. "We've seen so many scum-bags recently, I was wondering when you'd show up."
Slade was unmoved. He did not speak, and he did not blink. Robin's expression of hatred was reflected back in the metal of his mask, but the emotion did not reach to the man beneath it. After a few seconds of staring, he brought his wrist up to his mouth and spoke into the communicator that was fastened there.
"Robin has woken up," he reported simply. He cocked his head, apparently listening to a response that Robin could not pick up, and began to walk away.
"Working for the government, eh, Slade?" Robin pressed. "If I remember correctly, the last time you went as hired help didn't turn out so well."
Slade had never risen to the bait of an insult before, and he did no different now. A few steps carried him around the corner and out of sight.
(…)
"I was wondering when you'd show up."
Beast Boy groaned and pressed a hand over his ear. "Shut up, Robin, we're sleeping," he muttered. He motioned to pull Raven closer to him, but was met with only air.
"Raven?" he asked, feeling around. No Raven. No desert, either.
Wait, who was Robin waiting to show up?
Beast Boy opened his eyes, and jumped. What the hell…?
When did this happen? He was in a cell, wrapped up in a straitjacket that was chained to the wall behind him. Everything around him was made of metal, and any sound he made echoed for several seconds. He transformed into a python and made for the exit, but the jacket constricted as he changed shape. He morphed back into a human, and thank goodness the jacket could grow as well as shrink.
Suddenly, a ringing sound. Rubber on metal. Someone was coming.
Slade walked passed, back straight and eyes ahead. His arms were folded calmly behind him, and he appeared to have no emotion at all. He was even better at being stoic than Raven herself.
Speaking of whom…
"Where is my wife?" Beast Boy asked, straining against his bonds. "Where have you taken her?"
Slade didn't even stop; he just walked away.
"Garfield?" Robin asked, voice distorted by the strange walls. "Is that you?"
"Dick!" Beast Boy exclaimed. "Man, am I glad to hear you're okay. Where is everyone else?"
"No clue," Robin confessed. "I can't even see you. I can't see anyone."
"I hope Raven's okay," Beast Boy prayed, casting a glance skyward. "We are in trouble."
"Have we faced worse?" Robin asked, very well knowing the answer.
"Yes," Beast Boy admitted. "Though, Raven's already died once. I'm not losing her again."
(…)
Starfire instantly knew where she was. The feel of bonds was painfully familiar, even after all these years. She would never forget those months of capture on her way to the Citadel.
Her cell was all metal, as was the hallway outside. The air was frigid, and she shivered involuntarily. Looking down, she could see that her legs and arms were bound with thick chains that buzzed strangely, and dense gloves covered her hands. Something told her that these gloves and chains would negate her powers. She decided to save her energy and not even try.
The prison she was in was virtually silent, so any sound echoed. This is what made her able to hear the footsteps approaching a good couple of minutes before their owner appeared. He walked past her barred cell door without so much as a glance. He came and went within a second, but Starfire instantly knew who he was. The mask was unmistakable. The fear he exuded, also unmistakable. She recognized the pain he had caused her friends and family.
Slade.
Starfire's eyes narrowed and started flickering to glowing green and back even after the man had long since left. Her advanced hearing, and the echoing walls, lent her to still be able to hear him, though, and she focused all she had on picking up his words.
"I have succeeded where you have failed," Slade said. "Now, I expect my payment. You know I don't work for free."
"You have succeeded, and we commend you, Slade," said another voice that was remarkably similar, yet smoother and more refined. "We do not, however, see fit to reward you for a public service."
This gave Slade a pause.
"We. Had. A. Deal," he said coldly. "You agreed."
"Indeed we did," the other man said, and his voice suggested that he was smiling slightly. "But what makes you think we keep our word to criminals?"
"You promised that, if I captured the Titans, I could have the sorceress's daughter," Slade said, voice even despite the situation. "Given that I hold the keys to their cells, I would imagine that you would feel a bit more inclined to satisfy my wishes."
Starfire gasped, she couldn't help herself. So that's what Slade was doing here. He wanted Emily.
"You forget that this base is filled with my soldiers," the man said. "You have no control here."
He apparently turned to someone else. "Take the base." He was met with a short "yes sir," and then the sound of several men walking away on a metal floor.
Starfire sat back, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Raven…"
(…)
Beast Boy and Robin had long since lapsed into a tense sort of silence, waiting for something that they both hoped wouldn't happen. They knew, deep down, that the next time someone came to get them, Raven would be dead, and it would be their turn. The silence of their cells didn't help much, either. All they could hear was their breathing, and it was disturbingly easy to count how many they had left. All they could do was wait for their lives to end. It was thoroughly depressing.
There were footsteps in the hallway again, but this time they were hurried. Slade appeared before them, and without a word began to work at the lock on Robin's cell.
"Come to kill us, eh Slade?" Robin sneered, struggling against his bonds. There was a snap, and the door to the cage swung open. Slade stepped inside and began expertly working at Robin's chains, long fingers making quick work of the lock. The bonds fell to the ground, and Robin stood up, free, rubbing his wrists. He instantly dropped into a fighting stance, ready to engage in combat with Slade, but the masked man nearly stepped aside for Robin to exit the cell.
"You're setting me free?" Robin asked warily, not dropping his guard. "Why?"
Slade's gaze was incredibly even, and despite the rage in his eyes there was much more stirring beneath. So much more. He was plotting something.
"A deal's a deal," Slade said simply. "I suggest you free your friends and leave before the soldiers arrive. Tick tock, Robin. Time is running out."
A small pill fell from his fingers, exploding in a pillar of smoke once it hit the ground. The haze didn't even have to clear for Robin to know that Slade was long gone.
(…)
Hopelessness. That was how Raven would explain the feeling that weighted her heart as she waited for the end of her life.
It was similar, in a way, to how she had felt prior to Trigon's ascent. Complete and utter helplessness. The overwhelming sense that there was no chance of happiness. Robin had always said that she was the most hopeful person he had ever met. She sure didn't feel like it then.
This feeling, she eventually decided, was worse than her previous destiny. For all her life she had known what Trigon was going to do. She knew that there was not even the slightest chance of preventing, or even delaying, the inevitable. In this case, however, the government had come out of nowhere and taken away everything that was important to her. She had finally had a life, and now it was gone. And the worse part was that she had tried. She had really tried. And she had still failed.
She sighed and rubbed a hand over her stomach, wincing as her shackles pulled on her wrists. It wasn't about her, really. It was about the twins. She had failed them too.
She couldn't stop the crystal tears that leaked slowly from the corners of her eyes. In her entire life, had anything ever been fair to her? Only Garfield and the rest of the titans truly understood her, and now they were gone, too. Flash and Jinx were already dead, there was no denying that now. That was also her responsibility.
"I'm sorry, Garfield," she whispered.
"Sorry for what?"
Raven flinched and stared up. Robin and Beast Boy were outside her cell. After a few seconds the door was open, and a few seconds after that the shackles fell. The locks were no match for Robin's veteran fingers. Raven stood slowly, rubbed her wrists, and then threw herself into Beast Boy's arms, pressing her lips against his in a passionate kiss. He wrapped her into a strong embrace, taking in the smell of her hair, the feel of her smooth porcelain skin. Robin allowed them brief respite in each other's company, marveling at how well they fit together, but then gently broke them apart.
"We have to move," he said. Raven nodded.
"Where are the others?" she asked, staying close to Beast Boy, leaning against his broad chest.
"I don't know, but we need to find them quickly. There will be soldiers coming to kill us any minute, and I don't have any weapons."
"How do we know there's soldiers coming?" Raven asked. "How did you get free?"
Robin sighed heavily, as if he still didn't believe it himself.
"Slade."
The layout of the base was very similar to a labyrinth; multiple different identical hallways crossing over and through each other in a seemingly random pattern. Raven, however, had always had a fantastic memory, and in place of getting lost they soon arrived at Starfire's cell. As soon as she was freed, she and Robin wrapped each other in a brief but warm embrace, and then headed back down the hall with renewed urgency as Starfire told them how she had overheard the government betray Slade, and how he had wanted Emily for himself. This made Raven frown, but she wasn't really surprised.
The building they were in had obviously been built for government offices, not holding prisoners. The cells that held the Titans were the only ones there, and they were built into random spots in the walls in between heavy office doors. The cells had probably been built especially for their arrival. They had encountered no soldiers yet, but they knew they were on surveillance. The lack of offense on the government's part was disturbing.
"Knowing Slade, he probably took out the men stationed in the surveillance room," Robin said.
"Why is he helping us, anyway?" Raven asked. "We're captured. Isn't this where he wants us?"
"I told you, Raven, Slade's only interested in getting Emily," Starfire said. "I suppose, if he can't have us, no one can."
"There's a good chance he'll just capture us as soon as we get out of here," Beast Boy pointed out.
"We'll have to take that chance," Robin said. "There's not much else we can do."
Cyborg's cell was very near to Bumblebee's, and once again Robin made mincemeat of the locks. Like the others, they both held on to each other for a long time. It seemed that all of them had never expected to see each other again.
"C'mon, let's go," Beast Boy said, and once again they were sprinting through the endless hallways, following the mental map that Raven had made. The location of the entrance was a mystery to them, but they would just have to keep looking until they found it. It seemed as though Slade had made his disappearance permanent.
Crashing through a relatively unremarkable door, the Titans stumbled into a room that looked so much like a hotel lobby that it was laughable. The front desk was empty, but a pair of feet in flats stuck out slightly from behind it. It couldn't be less obvious that Slade had preceded them to make sure their route was clear. Ignoring the body, they looked across the room to the swinging double glass doors that led outside. Beyond them was a courtyard, a thick concrete wall, and through the gate, the desert. In this case, it looked like a safe haven.
There was no point in stopping; it wouldn't lessen the danger that was almost certainly waiting for them.
"Alright, Titans, run fast and run hard. No matter what, you sprint for that gate. Got it?" Robin said.
Cyborg smiled. "Just like football at the park. Piece of cake."
Robin smiled, too, just a slight twitch of the mouth that covered the tension, for but a moment.
"Titans go," he said, and suddenly all of them were sprinting for the doors. They burst open before them, glass snapping, and they made a beeline for the gate across the gravel drive. They were about halfway there when turrets unfolded from the wall in front of them, trained with lethal accuracy on the group. Cyborg tried to activate his cannon, but his arm merely emitted a clicking sound.
"Damn… they cut the circuits in my arm," he muttered. "I can't make my sonic cannon."
Raven was unable to make a shield, so they stopped in a huddle, facing outwards at the guns. They did not shoot, however, but merely held them in place as hundreds of soldiers flooded out of the building behind them, surrounding them in a tightly knit circle. The courtyard was packed to the brim.
Once again, they were surrounded.
Robin grit his teeth, but couldn't think of anything to say, encouraging or otherwise. The soldiers stayed motionless and stoic, probably waiting for the arrival of their leader to either deliver his demands or the order to fire.
But suddenly, out of nowhere, a dark figure leapt into their midst. They could only catch a glimpse of a copper mask, a single eye, and the word "Run" before something was tossed onto the ground.
Chaos. Pandemonium. The world was a distorted mass of color and noise and Slade's bomb wrenched the courtyard apart. The Titans stumbled, struggled, ran blindly through the haze, and even after they passed the twisted remains of the compound gate they kept moving until the army base was nothing but a bright star on the horizon, glaring against the early morning sky. They fell to their hands and knees, breathing in short gasps. Beast Boy retched onto the ground. Raven lost her balance and fell, and Robin was barely able to catch her in time.
"Is everyone okay?" Robin asked, helping Raven to her feet again. "Raven?"
She nodded shakily, eyes wide and filled with starbursts of the blast.
"Beast Boy? Starfire?" Robin asked. He was met with answers of varying enthusiasm. Starfire was grinding her palms into her eyes, trying to rid her senses of the effects of the bomb. Beast Boy stopped choking long enough to answer, but another wave of nausea rendered him incapable of further speech. Raven moved over to help him.
"Cyborg? Bumblebee?" Robin continued. Cyborg gave him a dazed nod.
"Bumblebee?" Robin asked, turning in a circle.
She was nowhere to be found.
Oh dear. That can't be good at all.
So yeah, here's that note at the end I mentioned. Read this. It's important.
I suppose that the real reason that updates have been slow is just that… I've been busy. Sophomore year just started, and I'm averaging 6 to 7 hours of sleep a night. I've got jazz band early in the mornings (the class BEGINS at 6:50), and I've got marching band for two hours after school. Homework has been murder, too, and I'm still trying to get into a groove that works. I'm also taking an AP US History course (in other words, a college class), and it's pretty challenging.
That's what's been plaguing me for the past few weeks, but what about pretty much the whole summer?
I'm starting to get a lot more into original fiction (y'know, the stuff that can actually make me money at some point), and Condemned has been moved to the back burner. I'm working on 5 different projects right now (count em, FIVE), and I'm swamped in plot-work and prewriting. One of the projects has 4 books, another has 6, and another… I'm not even sure yet. At least 3. I'm also writing a full musical score for another one, as well as a few concept pieces for another. I even did a quick little 7 second animation for one.
So, I'm going to work some more on these. I'll work on Condemned when I have a bit of spare time, but everything else takes immediate top priority. Sorry. I will post some occasional one-shots, too… probably.
Not to leave you hanging, though, here's some short little previews of my original stuff. These stories will show up soon on Fictionpress, so check me out there (I'm ComposerDragon there, as well).
-Luminis et Tenebrarum: this story is one of my favorites. It's got ancient lore, epic battles, angels, demons, love, hate, twists, turns… it's something else. If you like the action in Condemned, read this one. It also has a full score (currently in the works) that will be posted on my YouTube channel. My name there is IceCreamIslander. Yes, I know the name is stupid. So sue me.
-What Happened to Happy Endings?: my first realistic story; no magic or mystical creatures or anything. It's hard to classify what this story is (part thriller, part mystery, part something else entirely), but it's pretty good. It's written in first person, with a fair bit of sarcastic humor thrown in there, but it's also dark. Very dark. Probably my darkest story to date. There's a concept score being made for this, but I'm not sure if I'll ever post it. If I do, it'll be on YouTube as well.
-Underground: find yourself missing superheroes? Well don't fret… I took my Teen Titans season 6 idea and bent it into something entirely original, my own superhero TV show. Despite being a TV show, it'll be written out like a story. There's 6 planned seasons, 90 some-odd episodes, and it'll have a lot of the stuff that made Teen Titans great. It will follow the stories of the young heroes Thirteen, Echo, Spectrum, Pulse, and Ember as they fight off rampant crime.
So… yeah. Look out for those stories coming out soon, and expect at least a couple new Condemned chapters soon. I'll try my very best.
Bye for now!