Jump City:
"Let's see if Mario's is still there." Richard suggests as it dawns on him that the old pizza parlor is just a trip through an alley away.
"Actually, that sounds like a good idea." Raven admits and follows him, not having actually eaten anything since she left Wayne Manor. The thought is enough to distract her from noticing the presences of others in the dark alley.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" A deep voice says as Richard and Raven is suddenly surrounded by four thugs at the intersection between buildings, big men dressed like bikers, two of them with short-bladed knives, the speaker proves to be the largest of them, wearing a pair of sunglasses and a red bandana, something that the others mirror, the full beard of the leader looks out of place somehow. "A fangirl and her boy? Well, if you have to pass through here, you have to pay the toll." He says while eying Richard and brushing his thumb with the edge of his knife.
"This will be fun." Shayera notes inside of Raven.
"Pay up and the girl won't get hurt, too much." He says as Raven suddenly has a blade pressed against her throat.
"Raven, would you mind?" Richard asks without taking his eyes off the leader.
"No." Raven replies flatly as she quickly grabs the wrist holding the knife and catapults the owner over her head, sending him crashing into one of his friends. The third man is quickly subdued as he tries to corner Richard.
"Damnit!" The leader growls as he tries to stab Raven in the gut with his knife, is effort is stopped just before the knife makes contact with her shirt. He looks down at it in surprise, spotting the black aura surrounding it before he is lifted off the ground by one hand, leaving most of his weight on Raven's lower arm. "Oh…hell!" He realizes it.
Raven just smirks at him before throwing him against the wall, knocking him out. "So much for peaceful visits." She sighs at Richard.
"Wasn't even a workout." Richard adds before dialing up the police. A few minutes later, two squad cars appear at the far end. "Think we better leave." He says as he sees the officers entering the alley.
"Agreed." Raven replies before teleporting them to an alley on the opposite side of the street.
"Guess they will know you are alive now?" Richard surmises as they exit the alley into the large street where the Titans first came together.
"Seems so." Raven shrugs, she knew it had been an eventuality. "Seems that pizza parlors are more resilient than super hero teams." She notes at their old pizza parlor that after eight years is still there.
"Let's hope he still makes them like he used to." Richard smirks before they cross the street, unheeding of the two police cars now parked at the other side. "Looks crowded." He notes at the mass of people going in and out of the front, along with the new line under the sign hanging over it:
Mario's Pizza
Preferred by the Teen Titans
"Seems like he is making something out of our absence." Raven notes as they enter, find the pizza parlor slightly crowded, something that puts Raven off a little.
"Too many?" Richard asks, knowing it's her empathy that's mainly causing her to halt a second, but it is also the fact she doesn't like having people within her 'personal sphere'. Unknown to either of them, both Richard and Bruce note down the need to find out why observing a crowd of people was different to Raven when compared to be standing in it.
"I can handle it." Raven replies flatly before lining up in one of the three queues. "Seems we are being honored." She notes at the menu, there were the usual selections named after either cities or ingredients, and a separate section with six pizzas's, each named after one of them and one large one simply named Titans. Predictably the Beastboy's Best is a vegetable only pizza, the Starfire Supreme has a generous amount of mustard on it and the Cyborg Special is a meat only. All three had frequently asked for those kinds, it took some time for old Mario to realize Starfire meant what she said when she only wanted mustard on hers. Fortunately the one named after her is fit for human consumption as well.
"The Red Robin?" Richard notes at the one named after him, one covered in pepperonis.
"Not exactly a workout meal." Bruce notes from the inside getting Raven to smile slightly, so far he is the only one who knows he doesn't have to be in the Council Chamber to use her senses, she just makes it so because it would feel a little weird to share senses for some people. "I assume it was group pressure that had him order that one?"
"Funny, Richard was the first to order when we ever got here." Raven replies back, getting a sigh out of the man. "Relax, he punished himself in the gym for it when we got home."
"Ah, so that's why he's so distant." Diana adds, sounding more amused than annoyed that Bruce is not directing all his attention to her, while they are browsing the market square of Azerath. "I hope those are not all grease?"
"I usually only have one slice." Raven sends back.
"Rae, you're spacing out." Richard nudges her in the back as the queue moves forwards. "Internal debate?" He whispers.
"Just a certain man in black." Raven replies with a smirk. "Hmm, I think they were guessing." She notes at the one named after her, the Raven Special, with chili sauce and chicken, since she never ordered anything, only had what the others agreed on.
"Can I take your order ma'am?" A brown haired girl dressed the in work clothes of the place, a red cap with the parlor logo on it, a cream colored shirt with rolled up sleeves that seems too big for her, and a red apron beneath the shirt.
"Umm yeah, a Raven Special and…?" She says while turning to Richard.
"A Red Robin, please. I'm paying." He says as he moves up to stand besides Raven.
"Soda?" The girl asks.
"Cola?" Richard asks while looking at Raven, who gives him a nod. "Two cola's then."
"How many hours did he spend in the gym?" Bruce asks from the inside.
"Bruce…" Diana sighs.
"Three, usually." Raven replies.
"Ok, come 'on Rae." Richard says, noticing Raven had spaced out again. She follows him up to the 2nd floor and out onto the balcony, where they find their old table strangely unoccupied in the face of the lovely weather. "Seems too big without the others." Richard notes as they sit down.
"Doubt they are in a mood for pizza." Raven adds before it strikes her what they were actually doing and slowly grows the thousand yard stare, that Richard doesn't fail to notice.
"So what was the debate about?" He asks, directing her mind onto something else.
"Only that Bruce disapproves of our choice of food." Raven replies, getting a chuckle out of the man in front of her.
"Well I did make sure to sweat it all out again." He says with a smirk before turning serious. "So anything interesting in the complex?"
"Lot's." Raven sighs. "We found Mercy Graves and Deadshot, alive."
"But not unharmed?" Richard adds.
"Brains in jars, literally, but alive. But probably the most disturbing was that he had me next in line, even made a clone of me." She says, noticing the raising eye brows behind the sunglasses. "Powers and problems were in it, but it wasn't alive."
"What did you do about it?" He asks.
"Destroyed it and the machine that had created it." She replies flatly. "I had to, if it became conscious, it would still be without the mental training I have." He nods at this. "Sent everything I could to Barbara before wrecking the computers since Waller was on the other side of the door trying to get in. Also we found Nemesis, dead." Richard sighs at this.
"Seems this whole thing is a source of grief, he was a good man." He says. "Well, looks like our food is already here." He continues, completely switching mood in an instant as the waitress arrives with two pizzas on metal trays along with the utensils needed, wrapped in a napkin.
"Enjoy your meals." She says before half turning around before turning back. "Umm, just a word, there is a group of regulars that have been known to be a little rude if this table is taken." She says before hurrying off, leaving the two looking a bit surprised after her.
"Think she meant us?" Richard asks.
"Doubt it." Raven replies, this table had almost been reserved for them for four years; Beastboy and Cyborg were known for complaining a little loudly when they found it taken, something Raven had felt embarrassed about.
"Oh well, no point in worrying about something that most likely won't happen." He continues before rolling out the utensils and digs in, Raven shrugs and follows his example. They get through half and three quarters of their pizza's in silence before a ruckus is heard from down below along with a yelp.
"Here comes trouble." Raven whispers to herself as a group of six youths burst onto the balcony, four boys and three girls, all trying to look older and fiercer with their colored hair, leather clothes and numerous piercings, than their ages would suggest. Raven had tried to read enough books in the Titan living room while Starfire watched high school drama series to know what they are, the tough acting clique that made life a living hell for some other students. Obviously this group went to the same school and would most likely have been picked on by others if they were alone, but by their entrance, both Raven and Richard knows they are just as bad as any other group of bullies. The group immediately slows down, as they notice the two adopting a calm walk instead along with vicious smirks, this seems to be a routine for them as none of them speak.
"Well, well, well." The leader of the group, a tall kid with a regular build, black hair and sunglasses, says with a smirk. "What do we have here? An imitator and her looser boyfriend?" Both Rave and Richard decides to ignore them and just take another bite.
"Imitator?" Shayera asks.
"He insults you sister." Diana adds, guessing the boy thinks Raven is a fake.
"Keep ignoring them and the wise ones will go away." Batman continues.
"Hey, he's talking to you!" A short, frighteningly pale, girl with an almost shaved head snaps. What remains of her hair has been shaped into three purple colored spikes that add a heads height to hers. Along with the numerous piercings in both her nose and ears, she seems to be the most extreme of the group.
"You're in our seats. Beat it!" A big one with hair that stands upright adds.
"Don't see your names on them." Richard replies, having drifted into the mood he got into when people annoyed him.
"Antagonizing them won't help." John adds as the pale girl leans in very close to Raven's face, far too close for most people's liking.
"What the hell? Of course they ain't on the seats; people aren't stupid enough to sit on them." The big one growls.
"You are annoying my friend's, I suggest you beat it." The leader continues, as the rest of the group crowds around the two.
"We aren't done." Richard continues.
"Is that so?" The leader asks before nodding at his friends who quickly grab the remains of the pizzas and drops Richards top first into his lap, while the spiked-haired girl smears Raven's pizza it into Raven's face. This shocks Richard more than the pizza in his lap.
"Oh, shit!" Wally swears.
"Such insolence!" Diana seethes as the group of kids begins laughing.
"Good one Tracy." Someone says as Raven tears the pizza off her face, Richard can see she is positively boiling on the inside. None of the punks actually registers the action before a sickening crunch is heard and they see the splash of blood next to Raven and the unconscious Tracy slumping to the ground with a few broken teeth and nose after her head was smashed into the table. Raven is quickly up from her seat with her eyes a blazing red. The group immediately shuts up and stares at her.
"Jesus Christ…" Someone swears.
"It's her…" One of the other females continues.
"RUN!" The leader yells before making for the door to the restaurant, which resolutely slams shut in his face.
"You're only going one place!" Raven growls before the five remaining punk are lifted into the air, suspended by her dark powers.
"Don't kill us!" The big one pleads.
"You're not worth the effort." Raven growls before the group is sent flying into the middle of the intersection where their clothes are violently ripped into tiny shreds, leaving the group completely naked in the center of one of Jump City's most crowded areas. The group quickly scatters to the four winds while trying to cover themselves while being followed by several cameras of tourists. "It's time we leave." Raven continues before Richard and herself disappears, leaving more than a few gaping tourists behind along with the unconscious Tracy.
Later, Wayne Manor:
"All I am saying is that it could have ended a lot worse." John mentions.
"It should have." Diana adds with a sour tone.
"No, it was just." Batman shrugs.
"She could have walked away." Superman continues.
"Most people would not tolerate having that done to them." Shayera counters.
"Considering the alternatives she could have used, they got off lightly." J'onn mentions.
"Guys, I am trying to meditate, I need a little more quiet to do that." Raven mentions, as she is levitating in the evening air in the garden of Wayne Manor. After teleporting out of the midday Jump City, they arrived in Gotham's late afternoon. Richard quickly excused himself, in need of some sleep before tonight and knowing now was the time Raven wanted to be alone. After a quick shower, where she had forcibly shut off the vision of the others, Raven had settled herself, dressed in her cloak and leotard, under the tree she and J'onn had danced under.
"I thought you didn't need to meditate anymore, after defeating the demon?" Superman asks.
"I do, because my powers are still tied to my emotions. I just don't have to worry about going permanently out of control if I get angry. Also, it is not my style to go hit stuff when I need to calm down." She explains.
"Not like there's much around here that could withstand it." Bruce mentions.
"Exactly. Now please, quiet down a little." Raven gets a good 30 minutes of meditation done where the ones inside of her can almost feel the tension inside of her fade away to nothing. Before she notes someone is behind her somewhere. "Time for you to go?" She asks, guessing he hadn't slept that much.
"Yeah, I was just checking up on you." He says as she stands up to see him standing at the garden door.
"I'm ok; I should be getting back to Fate anyways." She replies, noticing the shift in him at the mention. "What?"
"Got a call 30minutes go, something happened to Fate, but I said you would get there in time." He says, as Raven's eyes go a bit wider.
"Zatanna…" Batman growls from the inside.
"I should have left 30 minutes ago." Raven sighs. "But thank you for the concern." She says before teleporting out.
"No problem Rae, you needed it." Richard sighs before heading inside again.
Salem:
"What happened?" Raven asks as she appears in Fate's tower, behind the group clustering around the fallen mage, who lies in a bed with his helmet gloves and shirt removed. If Raven didn't know better, she would have thought he had tried fighting a biker gang with nothing but his bare hands as he has marks after blunt hits and cuts in his skin.
"We aren't sure." Jason says. "He appeared 30 minutes ago in the kitchen and promptly passed out." Raven can tell he is worried, the android is as always unreadable but Inza, while calm on the surface, is radiating concern for her husband as she hold his hand while sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Move aside, I will try and mend what I can." Raven says as she sits down on the other side of the bed while summoning her healing powers, placing one blue glowing hand on him the others look on in interest and amazement as the bruises fade and the cuts close themselves. The doctor comes to just as she pulls away again, still looking like one waking up with a severe hangover.
"Thank…you." He manages.
"I know you are tired my friend, but what happened?" Jason asks.
"Zatanna…she was drunk…refused to give the books back, even when I explained the reason for it…Before I could do anything…she sent her mummy after me."
"Her mom?" Wally asks from the inside.
"Hassan. One of Rames II's bodyguards." Batman mentions.
"Oh, so century old dead guy kind of mummy." Wally continues, getting some sighs from the others.
"Any idea why she didn't want to hand them over?" Raven asks.
"I am not sure…she kept talking on about how close she was to finding her father…But I don't remember those books for a locator spell…she knows those by the dozens."
"She's too far gone, we have to bring her in and have her cleaned out." Batman sighs.
"Agreed, she has too much power to be left in that kind of drunken state." Superman adds. "One slurred backwards word and she could destroy a city."
"I'll get her and the books." Raven says. "I just need to know where Shadowcrest is."
"Going there alone is not a good idea." Jason mentions. "She already doesn't like you, and this is what happened to Fate."
"Means hostility is expected, nothing more." Raven shrugs, guessing Fate had been caught off guard because he was far more powerful than Zatanna is. But I will try and talk to her. Unless any of you want to go as well?"
"Appearing as a group will only make it worse." Amazo says.
"And Etrigan was warned the only time he was there, uninvited." Jason sighs.
"Ok, so how do I get there?" Raven asks lamenting the people present, she doesn't know about the androids motives, but she guesses Jason is still wearing gloves when it comes to Zatanna. "Was her jaw healed by the way?" She asks, suddenly realizing something.
"Yes…unfortunately." Fate says as he waves her closer as Inza hands him his helmet. "The way to Shadowcrest is known to you now." He says while his eyes glows and Raven suddenly knows where to go.
"I will be back later." She says before disappearing. The group is startled by a sudden knock on the door frame. Turning around they see a big man in a red suit with a yellow thunderbolt on his chest.
"Umm, hello? I was told I could find the one they call Raven here?" The big man asks.
Shadowcrest:
"Charming." Raven notes as she takes in the massive wooden mansion in front of her, it seems to be centuries old and is stubbornly refusing to acknowledge that it needs repairs as the structure seems almost squashed under its own weight. As it sits here in the clearing of a dead forest in the middle of the night, with the full moon above and mist covering the ground, Shadowcrest gives every impression of being a haunted house out of a movie. "Wonder if she is home?" Raven wonders as there is no light in any of the windows.
"There are never any lights in any of the windows. And the interior is bigger than the exterior." Batman mentions.
"Magic." Superman grumbles.
"Well, I hope I can get in without ringing a jinxed doorbell." Raven sighs, before floating up to the front door. "Hopefully I won't seem aggressive if she knows I am coming."
"Why am I reminded of a lion's den?" Wally asks as Raven uses the handle to knock on the door.
"A den is easier." Diana mentions.
"You have animal empathy Diana, they would accept you on the spot." J'onn mentions.
"Looks like your kind of place." Shayera mentions to Raven.
"Dark, damp, filled with knowledge no doubt, it is." Raven agrees before pushing the huge oak door open. "But Themyscira is nice too." She continues, silencing Diana before she can ask. "Is it supposed to look like this?" She asks, she knew enough about Zatanna to know the house wasn't in the style she preferred. According to what she knew from the Ether, Zatanna appreciated old, but it was well treated and cared for old.
"Changes every time I've been here, Zatanna mentioned it has some kind of link with the owner. By the looks of it, it is her current state of mind." Batman replies.
"A bit conflicting tastes isn't it?" Shayera continues as Raven takes in the lobby, that looks more abandoned than in actual use, with the cobwebs, moldy and untidy red rugs, green curtains and rotten looking woodwork.
"I think of it as having two lives really, outside of Themyscira I'm the scary witch from the dark places, which is true I guess. On Themyscira, I'm someone else, literally. A bit like how Superman handles it. Batman do you know where she is most likely to be?" She asks after giving up on locating the inhabitant empathically, something in the house was blocking her.
"Her study, most likely. Second floor, left corridor." Raven nods at the instruction and flies up to the corridor and down the seemingly endless hallway, passing many closed doors on the way. Down the hall several doors are left open. What Raven doesn't notice, Batman does; "LEFT!" He yells suddenly and Raven instinctively banks to the left, crashing into the wall as something sails right past her neck. She quickly regains herself and turns to face the assailant. "Hassan, hostile magic won't work on him." Batman mentions as a tall figure emerges from the doorway, revealing it to be the mummy guardian. Wrapped in ancient bandages and wielding a curved singlehanded sword of copper, the walking corpse stares at Raven with his empty eye sockets before bringing his sword up and down in an overhead chop. The blade is arrested mere inches from its target as Raven claps her hands together around it, cutting her palms for doing so.
"Immune to magic and strong too." Raven growls as the blade is kept inches away from her face. "Any limitations?"
"It's a 2500 year old corpse reanimated by magic." Batman mentions.
"None then." Raven says as she strains against the mummy, before twisting the blade aside, sending the mummy crashing down onto her while the sword carves its way into first the wall, then lodges itself in the floor. Finding the mummy quickly grabbing for her throat, Raven merges into the shadows before dropping down from the ceiling, landing on Hassan's back with a crunch. She is quickly thrown off as the mummy gets up, in no way impeded by the broken bones. The thing quickly retrieves its weapon and slashes at the air to get Raven to keep her distance as the point draws a red line over her mid section, much to the worry of several of the ones inside of her. "That hurt." Raven growls as she puts a hand on the wound, finding it to be only a minor inconvenience. Hassan speaks something in ancient Egyptian with his dry voice before charging with his sword raised, this time Raven is ready for him and arrests the attack by grabbing his wrists. "Stop, I don't want to hurt you." Raven says to the mummy's face in hope of it not being entirely brainless. "I just want to retrieve a few books."
"The Mistress does not want to be disturbed." Hassan replies before he tries to bite her. She responds by first pulling away and spreads his arm, then by using his arms for support, she jumps up and brings both her feet onto his right elbow, breaking the lower limb off as she lands on the ground with the sword making another hole in the floor over her head. While Hassan pulls away in surprise, leaving his sword in the floor, Raven rolls to the side before jumping into the air toward the mummy, bringing all of her strength to bear as she punches it straight in the face, sending her hand and arm through it's skull and out on the back side. Raven ends up staring at the now limp creature with her hand through its head.
"Ew." Flash manages before Hassan seems to crumble to dust, leaving only his sword stuck in the floor.
"What was, unexpected?" Raven adds.
"All zombies fall over when shot in the head." John adds. "You just used a very big bullet."
"And I thought it was only Old Yellow you watched." Shayera asks with a hint of amusement, getting a groan out of the man, he is never going to live down that it is favorite movie.
"Are you injured?" Diana asks Raven.
"Nothing serious." Raven replies as she heals, noting that down the corridor is what appears to be a closed door blocking her path. "Study is behind there?"
"Yes." Batman replies flatly. Raven walks up to the door and presses her ear against the wood, hearing nothing from the other side except the crackling of fire. "Usually there's a fireplace." Slowly Raven turns the doorknob and opens the door, revealing the room beyond and the smell. The room is big enough for two windows to cover one wall, while bookcases covers the rest, except for the fireplace mentioned. Like the rest of the house, the floor is covered in a moldy red rug and many books and bottles tossed carelessly aside, the largest amounts are clustered around the single desk in the corner with its back towards the windows and the fireplace and the opposite corner, where the bottles are all smashed. Amidst the mess at the desk, lies Zatanna fast asleep over a book with a bottle of liquor in one hand.
"Hera." Diana says quite surprised at the state of the former Leaguer.
"I'm surprised she isn't dead if she's been drinking all of that." John adds noting the volume of empty bottles.
"Hopefully they weren't all full." Raven sighs before walking over to the desk before knocking firmly three times on it. "Zatanna, wake up!" She says loudly, getting a snort out of the woman before she wakes up bleary eyed, picking her head off the book with one page sticking to her left cheek before gravity tells it to let go as Zatanna slumps back into her seat, revealing her white shirt to be soiled brown.
"I…thought I told you…to beat it!" She says while her eyes keep trying to focus on the person in front of her.
"I am not Dr. Fate." Raven replies flatly while crossing her arms in front of her.
"Hassan, get rid of him." Zatanna sighs.
"Hassan is not getting up." Raven continues. "Where are Dr. Fate's books?" Zatanna seems to ignore her, favoring the bottle in her hand instead, Raven sighs as the sorceress tries to take swing of it, finding it blocked by a black bubble.
"Hey, stop that." Zatanna complains weakly to the bottle that is cheating her of its contents.
"Zatanna! Where are the books?!" Raven demands by slamming her fist into the table, making an impression after her knuckles in it and knocks over several bottles, this finally seems to bring Zatanna's attention onto Raven.
"Wha? Who?...YOU!" She screeches before hurling the bottle at Raven who suspends it the air between them before getting tackled to the ground by Zatanna who, jumps over the desk and quickly punches Raven in the face. "I HATE YOU! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME!" Zatanna screams as she keeps punching, landing several hits.
"Fight back Sister!" Diana pleads from within.
"Bruce this is the part where you say something to her, or she will be injured." Raven sends inwards.
"She's drunk and angry, she won't stop." Bruce replies coldly, barely recognizing the crazed woman punching Raven.
"Get off!" Raven growls before Zatanna is sent flying into the air by a bolt of black magic, leaving her to crash into the windows, that crack but doesn't break.
"lebaT ylf!" Zatanna replies as she struggles to get off the floor, the desk smashes into Raven as she is getting up as well, squashing her between it and a bookcase. Regaining her senses, Raven lets her powers seep into the desk before blasting it apart in a shower of splinters. Zatanna shrieks as she feels the magical backlash as her magic was still inside of it.
"What the bloody hell is going on in here?!" A British sounding voice suddenly exclaims as a dirty blond haired man in a sand colored trench coat appears in the doorway with a bottle of whiskey in one hand. "Who are you?!" He says as he notices Raven.
"I could ask you the same?" Raven growls.
"oG ot lleh nevaR!" Zatanna shouts and Raven vanishes in a puff of smoke. "There, back where you belong." She sighs as she falls back onto the ground.
"Hey Zee, who was that?" The man says as he stumbles over to Zatanna, just as drunk as her.
"Bloody demon." Zatanna says before grabbing the bottle out of his hand and takes a deep mouthful.
"I'll say, you sent her to hell." A sudden sound of ripping cloth makes him turn around, seeing a hole appear in the middle of the room, like the world in front of them is painted on a canvas, a hand comes through and rips open a rift before the woman from before walks out before the hole closes again.
"That was unnecessary." Raven growls at the seething Zatanna who is about to say something, but a large book is lifted off the ground next to her and is slammed across her face, knocking her out.
"Hey, what was that for?!" The man complains. "Who the hell are you anyways?!" Raven quickly has him suspended upside down against the windows.
"No, who the hell are you?!" She snaps as she draws close to him as another bottle falls out of his inner pocket and smashes against the floor.
"John Constantine." Batman growls, obviously harboring some dislike for the man. "One of Zatanna's less likeable friends."
"I'm John Constantine you asshole!" The man growls. "Now tell me who the hell you are so I know what to put on your tombstone!"
"Right." Raven shrugs before dropping him on his head, knocking him out as well.
"He's quite good at banished demons." John mentions, having met the man before. "But he has a drinking problem…not to mention he is an unlikable con-man."
"I gathered, let's get out of here." Raven shrugs as she forms a large portal that swallows every book and person in the room before disappearing.
Author's Notes: Sorry for the delay in uploads, but I had some more important stuff to take care off...final exam. And for all you comic connoisseur's out there, my apologies if this Constantine is not like his Hellblazer-self (not that I can pretend I can write on that level), if you will; I am mostly drawing off an image of him from the 90'ties Spectre series where he was too drunk to help out the Phantom Stranger and Dr. Fate (it was actually so bad the Stranger didn't want Fate to sober him up for it).