A/N 1,005 apologies for the 3 week delay on this update. Work has been very busy and other life issues came up. To the guest reviewer who's birthday was June 7, I know this is late, but happy belated birthday. I hope you enjoy this chapter. The good news is most of chapter 7 is well underway as several bits of it were originally part of this chapter, but it would have just been too long had I kept it that length. I'm so grateful to you all for your support of the story so far. Also, a note on past chapters. I am currently fixing typos and Zatanna's mother's name has changed from "Serena" to "Sindella" to match the comic books. The story will focus on the Tower's occupants this chapter and return to Artemis and her family more next time. Please leave a review if you have the time as I value your thoughts and feedback. It really does help me grow as a writer and improve the story. Thanks. Without further ado, here's chapter 6.
Friday Nov 18, 2016 11:35 PM PST
It was late when Megan finally insisted that the kids go to bed.
"We don't have school tomorrow," Gar protested.
"But you do have training," Conner said. "Bright and early."
With a few groans and grumbles, the party dispersed to their individuals bedrooms. Raven headed for the guest room in the girls' fifth floor hall she'd occupied since her first few days at the Tower. The boys headed for the fourth floor, all except for Cyborg who made his way down to his recharging station just off the second floor labs.
Victor didn't know what was stranger about that night. The content of his dream, or the very fact he dreamed at all. He hadn't dreamt in months. Not since his accident and his father's 'adjustments' left him half machine, half man. But the instant Cyborg shut his eyes, he was taken back to that horrible day less than one month ago when he'd received a phone call from his ex-girlfriend Marcy, the last she'd ever made.
The dream came in fragments, like watching a movie recorded through a broken camera lens. But the sounds were clear. Victor again heard the fear in Marcy's voice as she pleaded for help. She hadn't made much sense at the time, panicked as she was. She said something about needing help, a cult, a brother and mother that were after her. She was scared to die, she said. Before Victor could ask where she was, she screamed and the line went dead. It wasn't until a few days later that police discovered her body in an abandoned field outside Gotham.
Scenes from the funeral played out in Cyborg's mind. The closed casket lying above the freshly dug grave. Marcy's parents crying. Victor observed from a distance, feeling too guilty to approach the mourners. He couldn't shake the feeling that Marcy was dead because of him. Someone had targeted her for her connection to the hero. He just didn't know why. Police suspected the Church of Blood was behind Marcy's killing as a number of runaway youths had joined the cult and turned up dead, but there wasn't enough evidence to make a convincing case.
Next came the strange part of the dream. The scene of Marcy's funeral faded and Victor found himself sitting in a courtroom. Marcy's mother and father sat beside him, but seemed not to see Victor as their eyes fixed anxiously on the front of the room. There, a lawyer with sleek blonde hair in a brown suit stood beside a middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and cold blue eyes in an orange jumpsuit. Despite the cuffs around his wrists and the tension in the room, Sebastian Blood looked perfectly calm, and that made Victor's blood boil.
A frail man stood from where the jury sat. His hands shook as he read the verdict. Despite his trembling, the man's voice was steady as he said, "We the jury find the defendant…not guilty."
There was uproar in the audience. The judge slammed his gavel and called for order while Brother Blood broke into a smile that could charm and terrify in the same instant.
Don't let him get away with it, Victor.
Cyborg looked around the room for the source of the familiar voice. "Marcy?"
But that's where the dream ended.
Victor awoke in a cold sweat. Feeling restless, he got up and began tinkering with the lab's technology in attempt to calm his nerves.
Cyborg wasn't the only one in awake in the Tower. Megan leaned her head against the cool glass of the window in the living area, gazing out at the city in the valley below the Team's hilltop tower, trying to make sense of another hazy dream. It was the high speed realm again. She hadn't had that dream in weeks, crowded as her psych had been with worrying over Raven. Klarion's cryptic references to a larger plan also kept Megan's mind working through the night.
But tonight she'd dreamed of swirling colors, shots of energy bounding across them like streaks of lightning. Something about the strange place felt familiar, like the touch of a mind she'd felt before, but she just couldn't grasp what it was.
"Up for another midnight snack, Bart?" Megan asked without turning around.
"Drat," Bart said, materializing beside the Martian with a full box of cereal tucked under his arm. "And here I thought I'd be too fast to sense."
"Usually you would be unless I specifically tried to locate you," Megan said. "But your brain's particularly active at the moment. Something on your mind?"
Bart's eyes looked to the left of Megan, a sign she knew meant he wasn't telling the whole truth. "No…it's nothing. I'm fine."
"Okay," Megan said. "But let me know if you decide you do want to talk about whatever it is."
"Yeah. Sure. Thanks, Megan. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Bart."
Saturday November 19, 2016 5:30 AM PST
If breakfast the next morning was any indication, none of the Team slept well that night. They gathered in the first floor living area before dawn, sluggishly shuffling across the floor in their sweatpants and oversized t-shirts, yawning and rubbing their eyes.
Kory had dark circles around her green eyes and had given up the loosing battle to tame her curly hair. Conner sat glaring menacingly at his plate as he stabbed at his scrambled eggs. Tim gave Cassie a kiss on the forehead and collapsed into the chair beside her at the table. Jaime, Virgil, and Gar were spread across the long sofa in the living room, looking aimlessly at the television while Bart stood in front of the open refrigerator, staring at it as if waiting for something to materialize there. Megan found Raven in the corner, her simple meal of toast and fruit only half eaten as the girl held her head in her hands.
Megan gently moved Raven's hands and replaced them with her own. Within a few moments, the empath's headache lifted.
"Thank you," Raven said, the muscles in her face relaxing as the last bits of pain faded.
"Remind me to teach you how to do that later," Megan said.
"That's the slowest I've ever seen you move, Bart," Jaime said as his younger friend staggered over and fell into an unoccupied space on the sofa, an entire box of Poptarts and a jug of orange juice in his arms.
"Didn't exactly have a great night's sleep."
"Yeah, well, join the club," Virgil said, stretching as he yawned.
On the television, a blonde woman in her mid-thirties named Bethany Snow reported.
"In today's top story, UN secretary-general Lex Luthor responded to the Earth For Earthlings Only organization's call yesterday to deport aliens and all residents of non-terrestrial origin. Luthor called for patience, peace, and increased transparency in all extraterrestrial dealings. Luthor also advised that tolerance and understanding first be extended to fellow human beings, seemingly alluding to the anti-religious sentiments emerging amidst a rise of cult-related activities sparked some weeks ago around Halloween."
Though he was well across the room, Conner's sensitive hearing caught the name of his human father. Megan noticed how Superboy tensed while Raven watched the two's interaction cautiously, sensing the different types of tensions buzzing between the Martian and Kryptonian clone like waves of electricity.
"Conner," Megan said carefully. "Would you help me teach Rachel some selfdefense today? You're better at that sort of thing than I am."
"I don't want to fight," Raven said.
"Selfdefense isn't the same as fighting," Megan assured.
"Yeah. Sure," Conner said, the anger leaving his eyes.
They all turned toward the TV as Virgil raised the volume and sat up, alert.
"Halloween is a sacred holiday among some groups, notably the Church of Blood which fell under international scrutiny some years ago when its leader, Sebastian Blood, was imprisoned in Geonkaliko Bay on charges of being a terrorist threat. Blood was also suspected of abduction of juveniles and domestic abuse in the early 2000's. He is widely believed to be behind the killings of several youths reported missing in the last few weeks, but how Blood would have directed the killings from within the high security prison is a pressing question. Blood has resided in Geonkaliko Bay for several years, but was never brought to trial. The Church of Blood has since remained officially active only in its country of origin, Zandia."
"Accused but never found guilty, eh, Bethany?" asked G. Gordon Godfrey. "Never even given a trial. Where is the outcry from the so-called Justice League of America who encouraged Washington to go after the man in the first place? Never found guilty in a court of law, but Blood was guilty in the court of public opinion, which seems to be enough for people these days. Enough to jail a man for thirteen years for practicing his first and sixth amendment rights as a naturalized citizen of these United States."
Gordon stared into the camera as if staring down an opponent. "Some of you might be thinking 'Old G's lost his mind. Blood is a madman.' But have I lost my mind, folks? Or is the real insanity our passiveness in watching politicians kowtow to the will of those who wish to take away our God-given freedom of religion and right to fair trial?!"
The TV winked off suddenly. The boys turned to find Cyborg standing behind the couch with the remote in his hand.
"Hey, Vic, we weren't done watching that!" Gar said.
"You guys shouldn't bother watching that junk in the first place," Victor said, glaring fiercely at the screen. "If you want the news, you can check the JLA newsfeed. That cable network stuff is all sensationalism."
"He was manipulating people," Raven said, still staring at the blank television screen.
"Who was?" Tim asked.
She nodded toward the TV. "The Gordon guy."
"Like I said, that's his job," Cyborg said. "Shows like that masquerade as news, but really they just want to rile people up to boost ratings."
Raven shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. There's more to his persuasion than just his influence over the audience. It doesn't matter how compelling or otherwise his argument is, people will listen. There's a sort of…power to his words that goes beyond normal charisma."
"And how do you know?" Virgil asked.
Raven shrugged. "I can sense it."
"So he's forcing people to take on his views?" Gar asked. "But wouldn't more people know if they were being brainwashed? I mean…it'd be obvious, right?"
"No," Tim chimed in. "Remember that Reach drink LexCorp put out? It's not hard to exert influence over the masses."
Raven nodded. "Emotions can be manipulated a thousand different ways without the person ever sensing they aren't consciously making their own decisions."
Virgil's eyes narrowed. "You seem to know an awful lot about powers of manipulation, Raven."
"Well seeing as my own powers deal with sensing others' emotions, yes," she said with a defensive edge to her voice. "I am an empath."
"You're also a-"
"That's enough, Static," Cyborg snapped. He gave Virgil a warning look.
"Tch. Whatever." Static stood and left the room, practically bombarding Raven with negative energies as he did.
Megan placed her hands on Raven's shoulders as both a comforting and protective gesture. "Rachel, go on up and change and meet me in the Lookout in a couple of minutes, alright? We've got a lot of training ahead today, so we should probably get started."
Raven's tension lessened in the Martian's presence. She took a deep breath and calmed herself. "Sure. Alright."
Bart waited until the girl was out of earshot before asking the question on everybody's minds. "What was that all about?"
"Nothing," Megan answered hastily. "We're all just tired and irritable. We'll be fine once we wake up more. I suggest the rest of you go get ready for training, too."
As the young heroes went their separate ways, Jaime hauled Bart back by the collar of his shirt.
"Hey! Blue. What gives?"
Jaime stared at him suspiciously. "Why do I get the feeling you already know exactly whatever that thing was between Static and Raven?"
"What? Come on, man. Why would I know anything about that?"
"I don't know. Why don't you tell me why you've always got your eyes glued on the new girl?"
Bart shrugged him off. "Alright, alright. You caught me. I might have a little crush on Rachel. There. I said it. Now can we just get going?"
Bart took off in a blur of motion, leaving Jaime alone in the room. The speedster is hiding something, the beetle on his back said mentally.
"Gee, you think?" Jaime said aloud.
Don't get sarcastic on me, Jaime Reyes. The last time Kid Flash withheld information, it was because he feared we would betray the humans to the Reach. What is it he fears the demon girl will do?
"Demon?" Jaime asked.
You humans are so unevolved. The empath radiates dark energy. I could sense her parentage a mile off. I wonder if that is what Bart Allen wishes to conceal. Perhaps she is the cause of the human enslavement in his timeline and not you, after all. That, or the speedster wishes to pursue a romantic relationship with the girl as he claims. I find the first scenario far more likely to occur.
"Would you just shut up?!" Jaime snapped. "You make me feel like a freaking schizo."
We are not crazy. It is your teammates who are crazy to place their trust in a demoness they know so little about.
"Someday, I'm going to have Cyborg design an off switch for you."
Raven hugged her sweatshirt tighter around herself as she and Megan stood in the tower's top floor sunroom. 'The Lookout' as it was called, with its windows for walls, took on some of the chill of the Oregon morning outside. Megan was unfazed by the cold, the part of her native planet she called home having average temperatures far below that of Earth's. To her, 49 degrees F felt perfectly warm, but Raven was used to milder climates.
Both girls dressed in black sweatpants and sneakers. Raven's short hair, which Zatanna had given a proper cut, was pinned away from her face.
"Okay," Megan began. "Zatanna's told me your magic is progressing quickly. What I can help you with is the psychic part of your powers. Today I thought we'd do a few drills for telekinesis and try raising some mental barriers to help control those headaches. I think your empathic abilities sense others similarly to how my telepathy can."
"Normally I sense others' feelings in small ways, like a change in temperature or sometimes a faint color change in someone's aura that I wouldn't even see unless I focused," Raven explained. "But something about Earth crowds my senses, like someone playing a lot of different songs at the same time. Maybe it's because I'm around so many more people and emotions are so much more…open here."
"That's why you're so resistant to touch, isn't it?" Megan asked. "Because it amplifies whatever you're sensing, like cranking up the volume on that particular 'song.'"
Raven nodded. "That's basically it. Although, I'm not used to physical contact to begin with. The monks weren't exactly the hugging sort."
"But you seem to be alright around me," Megan observed. "Maybe my powers counteract yours. Psychic abilities usually have a way of balancing out."
Raven shrugged. "Maybe. But I'm still not sure why I'm getting these headaches. I thought it might be the populations of the cities. That makes sense in New York where I'm always in close range of large crowds, even at the apartment. But that doesn't explain why I get the migraines here. Jump City's much smaller than New York in size and population and it's several miles below us. My range shouldn't extend that far."
Megan frowned as she thought through that particular puzzle. "Well, whatever the cause, the most important thing is that we remedy it. Raising mental barriers will help you tune out all that noise. Did the monks ever teach you techniques for controlling that part of your powers?"
Raven explained that the monks' idea of control meant teaching her to suppress her powers, not learn to use them. Since feelings triggered her powers, they taught Raven never to express herself or even acknowledge her emotions.
"I always used the breathing and meditation techniques Azar herself taught me. Those always worked, until now."
"Then I'll teach you my own methods," Megan said. "I just wish we had a better understanding of how your psychic and magical abilities work together. I don't suppose you know how you're mastering Zatanna's teachings so quickly."
Raven shook her head. "Everyone on Azarath uses magic. It's the one power they didn't mind me using. But they never let me advance beyond the basics. I don't know how I'm learning so fast except that magic has always felt natural for me, ever since I was little."
"And your telekinesis?" Megan asked.
"Azar didn't like me to use it much. It's not necessarily hard to use, but I'm not as good at it as with the spells."
"Well, it sounds like we have a lot to work on then."
The two worked through the morning alternating between training psychic abilities and meditating. During the meditation, Megan instructed Raven to detach herself as best she could from her surroundings, just as the monks had taught her.
"Now imagine all the links you sense from empathy as colored threads reaching out from where you sit at the center of a mental web," Megan said. "Think of the colors as fading from the threads until they become clear, barely visible strings. Now imagine those strings going limp. Pull back and focus on yourself. Know that the links are there when you need them, but they don't require your energy and attention all the time."
Raven felt the tension drain from her shoulders as she followed Megan's instructions. The taut, various colored threads representing the emotions of the Tower's occupants stopped pulling on her psych.
"Good," Megan said, sensing her student's mind calm.
Raven frowned as one of the strings suddenly strained and straightened, gaining an orange hue, the color of urgency. She opened her eyes.
"Something's wrong with Gar," Raven said.
"What?" Megan asked. She focused on her own telepathic tie to her brother. Beast Boy was climbing the stairs, racing toward them. He was definitely distressed. But how had Raven sensed that before Megan had?
Gar rushed into the room an instant later carrying a tiny injured bird in his hands.
"Megan! Kory and I were hiking and we found this nest that fell out of the tree. It was full of baby birds and we couldn't save the others, but this one might still have a chance! Please, sis, we've got to help it."
Megan looked at the bird's wing, which bent at an unnatural angle. The creature had gone very still in Beast Boy's hands. The sight of the injured animal coupled with the devastation in her adoptive brother's eyes was enough to break Megan's heart.
"I'm so sorry, Gar, but I don't know if there's-"
"May I?" Raven asked, extending her hand toward the bird. Gar and Megan looked at her, puzzled, but Gar nodded and Raven stepped closer, extending her hand over the bird's wing as a black glow formed beneath her palm. The glow faded and the bird hopped unto its feet, fluttering its wings and chirping cheerily.
"Whoa. How'd you do that?" Gar asked, smiling.
"Probably another mixed power," Raven guessed. "I've always been able to heal myself, maybe because of the magic, but my empathy lets me heal others by sensing whatever the injury is."
"So you have to take on the other person's pain as your own?" Megan asked with concern.
"It only lasts a moment," Raven assured, though that didn't offer the Martian much comfort. She did not want to see the young girl further burdened by adopting the pains of her teammates should they require healing.
Interesting blend of powers. What other abilities hasn't she told us about, I wonder?
The bitter words raced through Megan's mind, but the thought was not her own.
You shouldn't think so loud if you're going to spy, Virgil.
Megan didn't need to be an empath to sense the anger rolling off Static as he appeared in the doorway. "Wasn't spying," he said under his breath. He said louder, "Cyborg wants us all to meet in the control room. We've got trouble."
Megan was still fuming over Virgil's mistrust of Rachel as they made their way down the stairs. How could anyone think that little girl could be evil? She was one of the gentlest souls Megan had ever encountered, and Megan knew she would do whatever it took to protect her.
The Team assembled in the briefing room, gathering before the wall-to-wall monitors. One screen depicted a young man covered in ice turning the downtown square into his personal skating rink. Another showed the national news.
"What's Icicle Jr. doing in Jump City of all places?" Beast Boy asked.
"Probably just looking for attention, same as always," Superboy said.
Megan shushed them both, her eyes glued to the monitor showing the news. Behind reporter Bethany Snow was the Supreme Court where a spokesperson for the Department of Justice stood at a podium reading a prepared statement.
"After careful consideration," the man said, "the Department of Justice has set a court date for the trial of Sebastian Blood to take place in Gotham City next week. We realize this announcement might seem sudden to some, but in fact this is not short notice, but a day that is long overdue. Our Bill of Rights assures all citizens the right to a fair and speedy trial. We at the Department of Justice can no longer sit back and ignore the violation of said rights in regard to Mr. Blood. We will be holding a press conference in about an hour at which time I'll be glad to take questions. Until then, good day."
The man disappeared behind a wall of armed security as reporters shot questions at him and jabbed their microphones towards his face.
"You heard it here, folks. The DOJ has just announced…"
"They sure didn't waste any time, did they?" Tim asked.
Virgil and Victor exchanged looks which told Megan they knew something she didn't. She fought the urge to reach inside their minds and find out what.
"Okay," Conner said. "Starfire, Wonder Girl and Kid Flash can take out Jr."
"That's total overkill," Bart said. "But so long as we're doing an easy run, shouldn't Rachel tag along?"
"No," Static and Cyborg said at the same time.
"Raven's just started her training," Megan agreed.
"Still, no faster way to learn than on the job," Conner said. Megan glared at him. "But, uh. It's up to you, Rachel."
"Oh, yes, do come!" Starfire said to Raven. "I think you will find that 'kicking the bad guys' butts' is great fun."
Before Rachel could answer, a raspy, commanding voice said, "I've got a better idea."
Batman's face appeared on the largest monitor. "I have another mission in mind I think Raven can be of help on. Robin, access file 296A5."
"On it," Tim said, tapping a code into his watch. The monitor flickered and a spy cam showing an underground lab replaced Batman's masked profile.
"You hacked my system?" Victor asked, agitated.
"Not me," Tim said.
"Oh, Nightwing is so dead when he gets back," Cyborg promised.
"Okay, Team, listen up," Batman's voice said off camera. "This is a lab inside LexCorp we've been monitoring for several weeks. It seems the scientists there have made a breakthrough on some kind of advanced weapons system. But we can't access the data from outside. We need you to find out what it is and what they're planning to do with it."
"So we Zeta over, hack the system, and get back in time for lunch," Tim finished.
"Not exactly," Batman said. "Lex Luthor has purposefully equipped his company with technology specifically tuned for sensing the energy signals given off by the Zeta beams."
"So that's where I come in," Raven guessed. "I should probably warn you, I've never teleported someone else before, or tried a place I haven't been to."
"I'm not worried," Batman assured. "Zatanna says you've mastered the basics in a short time. She has faith in you."
Raven looked guiltily at the ground, remembering her last argument with her cousin.
"Tim, Beast Boy, Blue Beetle, and Static will accompany you on this mission," Batman continued.
"Why us?" Virgil asked, clearly displeased.
"Because you all have first hand experience with the Reach," Batman explained. "We believe there might be a connection between their technology and whatever LexCorp is building."
"I'm coming, too," Megan said.
"No," Batman said. "Miss Martian, you're needed here at the League A.S.A.P. Same goes for Cyborg and Superboy."
"Relax, Meg. We've got Rae's back," Jaime assured.
"We'll be in and out, no problem," Tim seconded.
"Easy stuff, sis," Gar said. "No worries."
Static said nothing.
"Good luck," Batman said before signing off.
"Okay then, Team," Conner said. "We've got our orders. Let's head out."