Deception
Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own the show Teen Titans, nor the various DC comics on which this fanfiction is based.
Raven's awareness expands slowly, her eyes reluctant to open.
A soft exhale of breath brings the warmth wrapped around her to attention, and she looks down, a smile spreading at the girl holding her.
"Bout damn time," Jinx sighs, running her palm in a soothing circle on her girlfriend's abdomen.
Raven merely nods her agreement, an unexpected aftershock sending more pleasurable ripples through her.
As her head falls to the side, the clock next to Jinx's bed makes itself known.
Shock runs through her, her trepidation not nearly as strong as it should be.
"I think I need to leave shortly," she states, her smile perpetually curving her lips.
"Really? It's only been- Holy shit," the meta laughs, noticing the time herself.
"Indeed. It seems you are better than you give yourself credit," Raven sighs as she sits up.
Laughing, Jinx places another kiss on her neck, rising with her girlfriend.
"You ain't so bad yourself. I do so love quick learners."
"Not quick enough, evidently. Nightwing will have expected my return two hours ago."
The psychic's good mood begins slowly dwindling, and with a huff, she forces herself to leave Jinx's side.
"I fear we're going to have to ruin this very lovely mood, for now. Before I part, can I assume that was the way of saying we're going to be okay?"
Jinx's smile sours somewhat, but it quickly fades as she wraps her arm around Raven's stomach from behind.
"Long as you explain things, I can wait until your ready. Reasonably, of course," she adds with a gentle squeeze. "And if you're talking in the general sense, you've no idea just how okay I am."
Blushing, Raven turns her head and gives her another kiss, a grin on both their faces as they pull away.
"Then I shall see you shortly. I need to make an appearance, and give a report, before we get the others and that goblet ready for their return."
"I'll just have to find something to occupy myself," Jinx sighs with a nod.
Grinning, Raven redresses and pulls the goblet through her portal into Nevermore, her yellow avatar catching it with one hand and not even glancing up from her book as she does.
"Keep an eye on Rage," she mentally intones, not trusting the items to be safe in her mind anymore, nor the influence they seem to have on her control.
"Well, then, I'm off. Dear Azar, I hope my mind can stay away from the past several hours while Richard is interrogating me."
Jinx's smirk fades as her girlfriend is swallowed up by her portal.
"I'm hoping she's ready soon, cause Giz'd have a fit if he ever found out she went postal on an op," she thinks with a grimace…
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Raven heads into her shower as soon as she materializes within the Tower, hurriedly working Jinx's scent and their mingled sweat off her.
"Can't think Beast Boy would overlook that," she muses with a powerful blush.
In short time, she appears in the common room, taking a seat across from Nightwing, who seems to have not moved since she had departed nearly half a day ago.
"You didn't happen to be in Gotham on your lead, right?" Nightwing asks, his tone sending a shiver through the psychic.
"I was. My search got… derailed, somewhat. I decided to report before I head back out to follow up," she states, giving him nothing in her tone.
"And you wouldn't know anything about why a whole city block suddenly fell asleep for the same exact half hour there, would you? Batman can't make heads or tails of such an event."
"My search got distracted by the appearance of Inertia and Sebastian Blood IX. There was a fight, and I admit that I may have loosed more of my power than usual. I didn't realize it would do that, though."
Nightwing's eyes narrow dangerously, his mask contouring to mirror the expression.
"I don't remember any calls for back-up coming in about one of the Titans East showing up. I do vaguely remember telling you to keep your eyes out for them, though."
"I handled them just fine, Richard," she defensively growls. "And Blood has one of the items. Or he did when he vanished. I was unable to match Inertia's speed, and as Kid Flash is out of country and Flash has better things to do, I did not call for aid. The result would have been the same."
"Alright, fine, I'll believe you if you tell me you made a command decision in-field. But it's your screw-up to clean up if they hurt people because they managed to get away."
Raven's eyes form a glare of their own, barely more than narrow slits.
"As I said, I'm reporting to keep you updated before I head back out to look for them, because I knew you would want a de-brief in person. And you really should focus on another aspect of it," she says, deciding that she does not want the emotions from the man focused on her.
"What?"
"Sebastian Blood. Inertia. Working together," Raven reiterates.
As expected, Nightwing's eyes widen as his mind instantly goes to work.
"So the Church, or Deathstroke, can be behind this," he growls.
"Or at the least have some hand in it," she adds, hiding her smile at how easily his thoughts have gone where she wanted them to.
"Alright, good work, then. You got us a lead. If the damage reports are accurate, then you'll have sent them to ground while they look into somewhere to heal. I don't agree with how you did it all, but I'll say that you got us results, again."
Nodding, Raven stands back up, heading for her room.
"And Raven?"
A warning goes off in the psychic's mind, and she slowly turns towards him with her stoic mask in place, a feat she finds more and more difficult the more she associates with the hex caster.
"If you're planning on going solo from the Titans, I at least expect a notification."
Raven's eyebrow raises, revealing none of her startled guilt to the masked man.
"I don't see how you came to that concern. I've already said that I'm only investigating on my own because I will get better results from my contacts without you and the others around to scare them off."
She feels his eyes locked on her, seeming to read into her soul itself.
"And fighting Brother Blood alone, with your powers that you keep wrapped in your mind unleashed, in broad daylight in Gotham, which I'm sure was an entirely objective choice of action. And there's the matter of your absence from the Tower while occasionally off-duty, which even Beast Boy noticed."
Raven turns back to him, letting out an irritated sigh.
"The man obtained blood somewhere. I don't know how many vampires you've fought, Richard, but invulnerability on top of regeneration and superstrength makes for a very, very bad combination. I was caught in the moment, and so I minimized the possible damages by letting myself have a small amount of freedom. It worked, barring Inertia's interference."
"And Batman showed me the photos. You almost leveled the street. There was a lot of blood, too, and his analysis came up with the distinct lack of results that very few people can achieve, one of them being you."
"I did not ever say I decimated him, which would be the response were I to fully release myself. I let out just enough to hurt him, and your question of my control is frankly insulting."
That it wasn't incorrect was an issue that does not need raising.
"And your off-duty time? I thought you and Zee handled it."
"We did, and it has been far less uncomfortable since," she lies. "But let me make something clear. My personal time is exactly that. Cyborg travels, Beast Boy goes clubbing, Zatanna does her shows, and you and Koriand'r do whatever it is you two do that I don't inquire into. And yet I can't after all these years decide to find interests and hobbies that will remove me from the Tower? Who are you to complain if I don't clear my plans with you?"
The last statement comes out with a cold, accusing glare, his reacting emotions of suspicion and guilt slamming into her mind from nowhere.
"Okay, I can see your point," he sighs while massaging his neck. "It isn't my business. Just one thing."
She raises her eyebrow inquiringly, saying nothing as she tries to make sense of his reaction.
"Don't call me Richard when we're on duty," he growls.
"And yet you have no problems being addressed that way from Koriand'r or Zatanna. I'm hurt," Raven snarks with a smirk. "We're in our home. It would not kill you to loosen up a bit, and coming from me, you should realize just how sad the state of things must be for you, Nightwing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a deluded vampire to hunt down."
She leaves the room, laughing at his blush as she goes.
Focusing on what could have caused his suspicion, she fails to see Cyborg until she marches into him, bouncing back to the floor without moving him.
"Sorry," she mumbles while rising.
"No problem. You know, you'd save yourself a pain in the ass if ya' just told him you were datin'," the metal man laughs. "Nothin' scares 'im into shuttin' up faster than emotions."
"He already suspects me of something. There's no incentive to possibly have him running his Dark Knight routine and tracking who my girlfriend is," she replies nonchalantly.
Her eyes widen as her mind catches up with her words, a dark blush creeping along her cheeks.
"Were you listening?"
"Not by choice. On my way to get some eats," he shrugs. "For what it's worth, I don't agree with him. You've got just as much right to have a life as anyone else, hero or villain… when they ain't committin' crimes," he adds with a grin.
"Thank you… Have a good meal," she says, parting from him with a smile.
As soon as she reaches her room, a black raven takes over her body, and she appears the next moment in Jinx's living room.
"That didn't take long."
Jinx looks up from where she lay across the couch, resting her open book against her stomach.
"So what'd bird-brain say?"
"He already knew about our gathering in Gotham. My powers rendered everyone who could identify anyone there asleep," she adds to her girlfriend's terrified gaze.
"Then he knew it was you because…?"
"More of my unique physiology. Batman gathered blood samples from the street. Mine is rather hard to mistake. I told him Inertia pulled them out with the item and that I'm heading out to hunt them down right now."
"And yet, I'm guessing that the insubordination and spycraft ain't what has you upset," Jinx muses, rolling to put her feet on the ground.
"I am not upset… Worried. Very, very worried."
"Why? He didn't threaten you or anythin', right?"
With a sigh, Raven takes a seat next to her, glaring at the wall.
"He raised a point that I don't want to indulge with thought at the moment."
"…Can you tell me anything about it? I mean, if I can help..."
She trails off, feeling somewhat awkward.
Raven stares into her gaze for several moments, clearly deliberating on something with herself.
Finally, she gives a slow nod, and takes a seat against the meta's side on the couch.
"As my girlfriend, I'll tell you that I'm growing rather tired of being under constant watch, which his scrutiny over my free time proves that I am, whether I let it irritate me or not."
Jinx wraps her arm around the woman's stomach and pulls her even closer, smiling when the psychic's head nestles into her shoulder.
"And as my partner, I'll tell you that his concerns, that I have begun to prefer doing my own work over being a team player, are not unsound," she continues. "I have, since the two of us began working together, found myself less and less caring of the petty squabbles I am forced to intervene in with the Titans whenever Cinderblock or Mumbo Jumbo break out to annoy everyone."
"Couldn't you join the Justice League? They've got tons of solo acts, and they don't deal with that kinda' crap," Jinx offers.
At that, Raven laughs, the sound entirely bitter.
"That will never happen, even if I for some reason became brain damaged and decided I wanted to be with them."
"I'm gonna' play it safe and not ask," Jinx mutters. "One thing I been thinking about while you're gone."
"What?" the psychic asks with a frown, her girlfriend's concern setting her further on edge.
"Will Nevermore be… stable… while you're dealing with what you need to deal with? I mean, it's a reflection of your mind, right?"
"There are sections of it that are likely not the safest at the moment, but we'll be staying in the usual spot while dealing with these things. Frankly, I think that, while undoubtedly the safest place for it, we need to come up with an alternative for storing them. I believe that part of my change earlier may have resulted from the power and emotions of the items leaking into me. There is the matter of your influence likely also lowering my defenses-"
Jinx stiffens, her eyes widening in shock.
"-but I am far more willing to remove the items than to remove myself from you," Raven quickly continues, smiling as the woman relax into her side. "Ultimately, both may not be an issue to my control for much longer. I am setting some plans into motion, things I should likely have done years ago."
"If it means we don't have to stop working, and, uh, doing other things, together, I'm all for it, Rae. So, can we get workin' on the cosmic balance shtick, so we can hurry on to having more fun?"
Smiling, Raven raises her hand, planting a kiss on the woman's cheek as her eyes flare black.
In the next moment, they are in the familiar floating landscape of Nevermore.
Where they land, the yellow-garbed Raven sits with a spear, goblet, and amulet at her side.
"When you decide you're ready, you really need to tell me the deal with there being two of you. Still find it weird," Jinx muses.
With a sweep of her hand, the yellow Raven sends the items floating toward them before returning her gaze to a book in her lap.
The items land in a row on the ground, the dark emotions in them screeching inside her skull.
"I suggested getting these things out of here," the woman states. "Things have been acting up here since you two began storing items here. Her display was due to an irritant gaining influence from their negative presence."
"Has there been any… activity?" Raven asks, her concern sending a bolt of foreboding through Jinx.
"Some disagreement on how to take Richard's actions and emotions. A small amount of concern over how terrified your slip-up may have made your girlfriend, which went away when she reaffirmed your trust in her as correct. Nothing nearly as drastic as Sebastian caused," the yellow Raven deadpans.
Jinx blushes at being referred to so distantly by the clone, her tone reminding her of the Raven of the past.
"Alright. Shall we?" Raven asks as she extends her hand to the meta.
With a nod, they form a loose circle around the objects and begin floating.
Slowly, the power from them begins burning its way out into the universe, the evil mutterings leaving Raven as it goes.
When the spear and amulet are drained, a thought occurs to Raven.
"We can't completely drain the goblet. They won't buy that Blood used the whole thing."
Jinx nods, her eyes still closed in a frown of concentration.
"I told you I'm getting better at this. Just need some instruction."
They focus more energy on the goblet, neither of them seeing the waves of black light rising from Raven's body.
Slowly, the goblet begins glowing in kind.
"I know it might be difficult, but I need you to hold the circuit we make stable."
Jinx nods, the strain on her mind slowly increasing as Raven lets some of her concentration leave the invisible ring they form.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos," Raven intones.
A black raven of energy launches from her floating body, sliding into the cup.
Sweat begins to pour from both women as Raven slides past the grating negative emotions in the cup's magical core.
Sensing what she's looking for, she delves deeper, an image of an aged man dipping the goblet through a bath tub spotted scarlet coming to her mind.
The red liquid within the tub turns to clear water, even as the clear liquid in the cup turns its former bloody hue.
A mental hand lashes out and swipes at the energy making the memory up.
As soon as she connects, Raven's mind is thrown back to her body.
The goblet gives a pulse of ugly, red light, and the air goes still.
With a huff, the women fall to the ground, Raven gasping air desperately into her throat.
With a wave of her hand, Raven drops the spear and amulet through her portals into the museum they originated in.
They are slow to recover, the strain harsher than what's come before.
Raven is the first to recover, quickly moving over to her girlfriend and pulling her to her side.
A blue glow surrounds them, and Jinx's panting eases.
"No wonder you were so good. You really got the magic touch, Rae," the hex caster says with a light moan.
"Flatterer," Raven returns with a bright blush.
"Yep. Now, c'mon, the sooner you show off your trophy, the sooner we can get to sweating for a much better reason."
Grinning, Raven pulls them away from her mind, not missing the amused expression on her yellow clone's face.
Slowly standing, the empath gives Jinx a deep kiss, ending it at their mutual moan.
"I shall be back hopefully shortly, as long as you have no objections."
"I'm objectin' to you leavin' in the first place. Now go before I decide to detain you."
Smiling, Raven falls through another portal, the goblet gripped in her hand.
As soon as she rises in the common room, her smile vanishes, finding Nightwing and Zatanna sitting on the couch, their heads whipping to face her as her feet audibly land on the carpet.
The demoness bites back a hiss at the emotions that assault her from the two, and she leans heavily on sarcasm to hide it.
"I present Elizabeth Bathory's goblet. There's some poor humour in a vampire having this, and as comedy is Beast Boy's hobby, I decided to alleviate it of him."
Nightwing shoots to his feet, eyes narrowed. Zatanna, though, is the first to speak.
"That thing? It's barely got any power left in it. Considering the goblet's marked as incredibly dangerous, that can't be right," she argues.
"It appears he used it to heal himself. And to get more power. So he'd already taken a large chunk of its power. You know how terrible gold is for storing energy, Zatanna," she remarks, waving the goblet about nonchalantly.
"You fought him alone again?" Nightwing growls.
"Actually, no. The power, the blood he gained from drinking from it was linked to the goblet. I simply took it from him and drained the power from it into the universe to be recycled for something less dangerous. As soon as it was weakened as you see now, the blood vanished and he turned into his former, scrawny self."
Zatanna stares silently at her, her suspicion and disbelief rolling in crashing waves against the empath's mental barriers.
"As a bonus, I found an amulet and spear that were also on the list where I found him. They were non-magical, as it turns out, except for the ugly emotions in them. They're currently resting in their former homes."
"Good work?" Nightwing asks, unable to hide his surprise at the utterly chatty psychic. "I think this puts us roughly a quarter through the list."
"Hang on," Zatanna interrupts. "Who has him in custody?"
"Deathstroke is my guess. Inertia seems to have some form of mental connection to the man, and he came running when I was in the process of knocking him unconscious. And I'd rather not become a workaholic, so you'll pardon me if I don't immediately start tracking him down now that he has no magical items. Two manhunts is just fine for one day."
Something seems to form in Zatanna's gaze, but it vanishes before the empath can even be sure it exists. In the wake of its disappearance, the sorceress's suspicion seems to vanish.
"Good enough. Get the cup to its former museum, and then take the night, Raven, you definitely earned it." Nightwing says in way of dismissal.
Raven frowns at the sense of wrongness, now coming from both of them as opposed to solely Zatanna. The sense of guilt at her arrival is not missed, either.
Without another word, she disappears once again, sending the goblet to the storage of its new host mid-transit.
When she arrives at Jinx's home, her bad mood quickly evaporates, a phenomena she can certainly become accustomed to…
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Author's Notes:
I can now officially call this a fan novel, and I've been writing it for only six days at this point (or, with concrete terms, as of August 15th). It's a lot longer for you guys and gals because if I don't pace myself on the updates, I'll end up feeling like I need to rush to get the chapters out by their deadlines, and I'm enjoying the pace that, as of this point, has put me eight weeks ahead of schedule with it. I am definitely using this method of writing for my own stories, since it clearly works for me.
At any rate, I hope you are thoroughly enjoying yourselves thus far. Whether you are or aren't, let me know. See you next time!