I am so sorry for the delay on the new chapter, guys. It's been 4 weeks, which is twice the length I was aiming for. The last month has been insanely busy with weddings, extra shifts at work, and things of that nature. I also hope you won't find this chapter too boring. It lacks action and consists mostly of dialog, but all the conversations that take place cover most of the lingering questions the past chapters have raised and hopefully establish some clarity and necessary information and clear up matters between certain characters. I promise to include a lot more action in the next chapter. I hope you enjoy this update, anyway, though, and as always I welcome your feedback.
Thank you so much to all of you reading and reviewing this story. -Ren
Sunday Nov 20, 2016 3:00 AM PST
The hall was quiet as a small group of young heroes waited outside the room where Raven slept for news of their friend's condition. Bart, for once, stood absolutely still, staring hard at the ground as he leaned against the wall. Gar, too, had been unusually quiet and reclusive, only emerging from his room once every couple of hours. He never actually asked after the sleeping empath. Instead the green teenager simply came to the girls' hallway, took a single, unhappy look at the group of teammates still waiting, turned around and went back to his bedroom.
"That's the third time he's done that," Cassie noted. "Maybe one of us should check on him. Tim?"
Tim didn't glance up from the laptop he'd been staring at for a solid three hours as he sorted through the data collected at LexCorp. "I doubt Gar wants to talk to me right now, seeing how the mission ended."
"That wasn't your fault," Cassie said. Tim's sunglasses slipped slightly as he drew his face closer to the screen giving Cassie a glimpse at how red and bloodshot her boyfriend's eyes had become. "Maybe you should take a break," she suggested, but Tim shook his head.
"I was squad leader. I screwed up. It's up to me to fix it."
Cassie sighed, but said nothing more. She glanced around at the other teens waiting in the hall, wondering who else might be willing to talk to Beast Boy. Cyborg and Starfire were both close to Gar in their own ways, but they were busy looking after Raven at the moment. Megan and the other original members of the Team hadn't yet concluded their meeting downstairs. One look at Bart's rigid stance told Cassie he wasn't going to budge from his spot. Static was recovering from his own injuries in his room, leaving just herself and Jaime.
"I'll go," Cassie said, figuring Gar might more willingly open up to someone who hadn't been on the mission.
Tim muttered something about running some searches in the lab and shuffled off, leaving Bart and Jaime alone. Jaime waited until Robin was out of earshot before speaking to the speedster. "I think maybe Gar's not the only one who needs to talk."
"I'm fine," Bart muttered.
"Oh, no, hermano. I'm not falling for that. Whatever you are, you're definitely not 'fine.'"
Bart sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I hate waiting like this, Blue. I feel so…useless. And the confusion isn't helping."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean part of me is freaking out and trying to think of something I can or should be doing to help Rae. And then the other part of me can't help but wonder if she…if she…" Bart stared at the floor, looking disgusted with himself as he said in a quiet voice, "Part of me wonders if she deserves what happened to her. I still can't help wondering if she's some kind of enemy…Do you think she could be?"
Jaime considered carefully how to answer. "I…don't think Rachel would do anything bad on purpose. But Scarab did mention something about her dad…"
That peeked Bart's curiosity. "What about her dad?"
"He's…possibly a powerful demon bent on conquering the Earth."
"Say what?!"
"But she also put herself at risk to save all of us," Jaime rushed to add. "Why would she bother doing that if she wanted us out of the way?"
Bart shook his head. "I don't know…" He groaned into his hands. "I'm so confused. But none of it will matter if she doesn't wake up."
Bart stared at the closed doors of the bedroom, as if willing them to open. Jaime placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You know, Cyborg already said she's gonna be fine. She's just sleeping. Maybe you should do the same."
"I know what he said, Blue, but I just have this bad feeling I can't shake."
Before Bart could say more, shouts sounded from inside the bedroom. Victor came running through the doors.
"Get Megan!" he told the boys.
Bart took off in a blur of motion toward the living area.
"What happened?" Jaime asked.
Victor shook his head. "I don't know. One second Rae was fine, but when I went to check her vitals, she started thrashing and screaming. I can't seem to wake her up."
Inside the room, Kory was busy trying to calm the young girl down, but her words could hardly be heard over Raven's yelling and sobbing. "Raven, please! You are in no danger here. It's just me, Starfire. Please, Raven, wake up!"
Objects throughout the room began to quake; lightbulbs popped overhead, sending glass fragments raining down.
Megan came racing up the stairs with Zatanna following at her heels. The Martian rushed to Raven's side and placed her hands on the sides of Raven's head, looking into the empath's mind. Instantly, Megan's vision filled with fields of fire, rivers of blood, and a red skinned demon towering above it all, laughing as delight danced in his four crimson eyes.
Megan blocked out the horror of the unfolding scene and focused her energy on the link between herself and Raven. Rachel. Can you hear me? It's Megan. You're okay. You're safe. This is just a bad dream. It's not real. You need to calm down and wake up.
But Raven didn't wake from her troubled slumber. They know what you are now, a terrible voice spoke in her dream, echoing in Megan's mind. You fear their rejection. You fear harming your mother's world. Do you wish to keep your friends? Your new home? Then stop suppressing your powers. You deny what you really are: my daughter. The princess of darkness. You were born of Chaos and Chaos you will serve. Reach out and take what you want! Force these 'friends' to accept you. Mold their memories, their feelings, to your will.
Raven struggled to resist her father's voice.
Megan forced her way through the mental noise of the demon's presence. Rachel, you are not like him. He doesn't control you. We're your family now and we need you to WAKE UP!
At the Martian's words, Raven's thrashing ceased and her cries fell silent. Tense moments passed and her breathing calmed. Her eyes slowly fluttered open.
Megan breathed a sigh of relief and helped Raven sit up in bed.
You're at the Tower, Megan explained telepathically, placing her hand on Raven's shoulder in a gesture of comfort. Everyone's alright, she assured, sensing the girl's panic and concern upon recalling the mission to LexCorp.
"Oh thank God," Zatanna said hugging her cousin. For once, Raven didn't stiffen at the contact, but returned the embrace. Kory smiled at seeing her young friend awake and well. Just outside the open door, Kory saw a similar relief pass over Bart's face before the boy vanished in a blur. Kory silently excused herself from the room and followed in the direction of the speedster.
"Static," Raven managed to say, slowly prying herself of Zatanna's hold.
"It's okay," Zatanna assured. "He's not going to come anywhere near you."
Raven shook her head. "No. I need…" Her voice trembled as she struggled through her weakness and fatigue. "I need to talk to him."
"To Static?" Zatanna repeated. "Rachel he could have killed you-"
"No," Raven said. "He couldn't have. That would mess up their plans."
"Whose plans?"
"My father's." Raven took a shaky breath. "I remember now. I remember what happened on Azarath. There's something I have to tell you both. Something I should have told you of sooner."
Raven explained how her teacher, Azar, had tried to shield Raven from the horrible truth of who and what her father was. But even the powerful, centuries' old monk could not protect her temple against the forces of Trigon forever. In her final selfless act, Azar sent Raven to Earth, suppressing her memories of the terrible night to dull the pain of the girl's loss and allow her to resettle on her mother's planet. The knowledge had lain dormant in Raven's mind until such a time as it became crucial. Raven's memories had resurfaced in her dreams during her long slumber after the incident at LexCorp. The empath could finally remember how her mentor Azar had used the last of her power to try and keep Raven safe.
"But nowhere I go is safe," Raven said. "You saw what my father did to Azarath, Megan. He'll do the same thing here."
Zatanna wrapped her cousin in a protective embrace. "No, Rachel. You are safe here. I'm going to keep it that way, I promise."
Raven shook her head. "You don't understand. My father's not just a demon. He's their king."
Raven told Megan and Zatanna what few, but horrible things she knew about her father, Trigon. His cruelty was legendary, his power unmatched. And according to Klarion and Psimon, Raven was to be an invaluable tool in bringing that evil to Earth.
"Trigon wants to destroy everything I care about," she whispered, "and he's going to use me to do it."
Raven explained what Psimon had told her about his working for her father. "And there's more. He said that I have brothers."
"Brothers?" Megan repeated.
"Half-brothers," Raven said. "But I don't know who they are or what they can do. I don't even know how many of them there are."
The girl grew quiet and stared out the window with a distant, troubled look in her eyes.
"You're not like them, Rachel," Megan said, sensing the direction of the girl's thoughts without having to pry. "You're not responsible for what your family does."
"Megan's right, Rae," Victor added. "We don't care if your family are bunch of evil monsters."
Zatanna cleared her throat and sent a dangerous look toward the robotic man.
Victor gave a nervous laugh. "Present company excluded, of course."
"I'm afraid of what they can do," Raven confessed, her voice small and quiet. "If Gordon can control his television audience and that thing that possessed Virgil could control him, what's to stop them from controlling others? From controlling me? I've got to talk to Static."
"Rachel," Zatanna said, "I don't like the idea of you going too near him just now. What if Psimon or whoever it was still has some influence over him?"
"That's exactly why I need to see him. Please, Zatanna."
Zatanna bit her lip, hesitating. She slowly shook her head. "No. I'm sorry, Rae, but I'm not willing to take the slightest chance of you getting hurt again. We're going home."
"Then you could talk to him for me," Raven offered, clearly desperate to communicate something of importance to Virgil.
Zatanna sighed and relented. "Alright. Alright, I'll talk to him."
"Could you talk to him now?" Raven asked.
Zatanna was hesitant to leave her cousin's side, but Megan's promise to keep Raven company gave her some peace of mind as she went off to speak with Static. Victor followed behind the magician, hoping to mediate between Zatanna and Virgil should their conversation spark tension.
It wasn't until Zatanna left the room that Raven started to cry. Megan scooted closer to the girl and wrapped her arm around Raven's shoulders.
"I'm sorry," Raven said. "I was going to tell you, but I…" Her voice broke and she let Megan read the rest from her mind.
I just wanted some time. Just a small amount of time to know what it felt like…to have friends, a family. When I first came here, I said there wasn't much time, but I thought we had a few years, a few months at least. He's getting closer, getting stronger faster than I could ever have imagined.
As Raven's anger and despair spiked, a glass vase in the corner shattered, spilling water and flowers across the floor. The noise startled Raven out of her gloom and, sensing her surging emotions, the empath drew her knees to her chest and went silent. The tattoos along Raven's arms glowed ruby red, then faded back to black. Megan sensed Raven's mind go cold as she packed away her emotions and reburied them deep inside her soul.
"Rachel, you don't have to do that. You don't have to hide. We are your friends," Megan assured. "You're part of our family. Not Trigon's. We're here for you."
Raven took a shaky breath. "He'll come for me. He always does."
"I'm not going to let that happen."
Megan could read the look in Raven's eyes. You can't stop him.
Megan took Raven's trembling hand in her own. But we will.
Cassie came to the end of the boys' hallway and knocked on a sliding door covered in posters of animals.
"Gar? It's Cassie. Can I come in?"
There was a faint 'yes' from the other side and the door slid back to let her through.
She found Gar sitting on the edge of his bed with a computer in his lap. His mother's sitcom played on the screen and Cassie saw for the first time just how much like Marie Logan M'gann really looked.
"What's up?" Gar asked without glancing from the screen.
"I came to ask you the same thing." Cassie took a seat beside the shapeshifter and waited for him to talk.
The two sat in silence awhile watching as Marie burned a batch of cookies just moments before the big high school bake sale. It wasn't until the episode ended that Gar closed his laptop and set it aside.
"I'm…" He hesitated before continuing. "I'm just missing my mom. All this talk of mind control reminds me of how she died. Of how I couldn't save her."
"Gar," Cassie said, placing her arm around the younger boy. "That wasn't your fault. You know that."
He nodded. "Still I can't help thinking if I'd been there. If I'd known…"
Cassie shook her head. "I didn't know your mother, Gar, but I think the last thing she'd want is for you to put yourself in danger for her sake."
Gar nodded in agreement, but took no comfort in that knowledge. The two sat in quiet for a time until Gar got up the courage to ask a question weighing heavy on his mind.
"Cassie, do you think…if Static is right and Raven does have the power to control others' emotions, do you think she'd ever act like Queen Bee does? Do you think Rae would use her powers to control people? To force them to do things they don't want to do?"
Cassie considered carefully how best to answer the changeling's question. "I don't know, Gar," she answered honestly. "I don't know Raven well enough to say what she can or might do. I'm not sure any of us do. But I don't think we can judge a person for sins they haven't committed. It's not about what she's capable of doing, but what she actually does, right?"
Gar nodded and thought for a moment. "I don't think Rae's like Queen Bee," he said. "And yet there's some part of me that thinks 'what if.' I don't like watching my friends get hurt like what happened today. I've lost enough people that I care about already."
Cassie nodded in understanding. "We all have, Gar. We all have."
Jaime closed the door to the guest room he was sharing with a sleeping Virgil.
I don't get it, Jaime thought as he headed for the bedroom balcony. Why is Static so obsessed with proving Raven's an enemy?
Did you hit your head during that last battle? the Scarab asked. Or are you so unintelligent as to already forget what I informed you of this morning? The girl is a demon spawn.
"Yeah, I know that," Jaime said aloud. "But Raven drove out the thing causing Static to go loco en la cabeza and knocked herself out cold. She left herself totally defenseless. That doesn't sound like the careful planning of a traitor. It's just not adding up."
Perhaps Virgil Hawkins can shed some light on the situation. He said he heard a conversation between the psychic and the girl. If he knows what manner of creature took control of him, we can determine whether such power falls under the abilities of the demoness.
Jaime sighed. "Well, it's a place to start, at least."
As Jaime reentered the room, he found Virgil sitting up in bed, reaching for the water on his bedside table as another round of coughs subsided.
"Hey, man," Jaime said approaching his roommate. "Doing any better?"
Virgil nodded and cleared his throat. "So you're speaking to me again?" he managed in a raspy, but audible voice.
Jaimed nodded. "Look, Static, we've all been through a lot today. And trust me, I know what it's like to be controlled, to feel used. You've got a right to be upset, but don't you think you're directing too much of your anger at Rae? I know you don't remember, but we all saw what happened. She saved you, dude. Raven used a spell to kick whatever that thing inside you was out. Doesn't seem like she'd go through the trouble if she didn't care or wanted you gone."
Static seemed to consider this, staring at a distant point on the wall. "But I…I heard them talking. The skeleton dude- Psimon- and Raven. If you had only heard what he said about her father…"
"Okay," Jaime said, taking a seat on the edge of his own bed. "I'm listening. Tell me what you heard."
Virgil explained the bits of telepathic conversation he'd picked up between the two psychics. The words came to him as if from underwater, most likely filtered through the creature that controlled him's mind.
"Did you actually hear Raven say she wanted to help her father?"
"Well…no," Static admitted. He groaned in frustration. "I wish I could remember what else they said!"
"Maybe we can help fill in the gaps," Cyborg said as he and Zatanna stood in the doorway.
"I'll let you guys talk." Jaime excused himself from the room.
"Zatanna," Virgil said as the older heroes came closer. "I'm sorry for what happened to Raven. And for how I behaved. Is she…she is okay, right?"
Victor nodded and Static looked genuinely relieved.
"I am sorry. It seems I was… wrong."
"You…weren't yourself," Zatanna said, grudgingly accepting Static's apology.
"Do you know what that thing was controlling you?" Victor asked.
"I think so. Everything that happened to me was consistent with what I've read of demon possession. But it takes an extremely powerful demon to maintain control over a human host, so of course I thought-"
"You thought that Rachel fit the bill," Zatanna said, trying not to sound bitter. She knew logically that Static's thoughts and anger had been manipulated to unfairly blame her cousin. Rachel was the enemy's target, not Virgil's. But still resentment stirred in the pit of her stomach when she thought of what Static could have done to Raven, to any of the Team had he continued.
"I'm not saying how I acted was right, but you have to understand my reasoning," Static said. "Raven is the daughter of the most powerful demon there is."
"I know that," Zatanna said. "Rachel told me herself. But how do you know?"
"Psimon," Virgil explained. "He said he owed his powers to Trigon. Vic and I have been researching alien forces for weeks. That name is known and feared across hundreds of worlds."
Victor gave a grim nod. "I had a hunch it might be him, but…I'd hoped to be wrong."
Zatanna rubbed her forehead, warding off a headache. Her lack of rest and the overflow of information she'd obtained over the last day was taking its toll. "But why is he targeting Earth?"
"Why do any of them target Earth?" Victor said. "Klarion? Apokolips? Because their endgame is simple: senseless violence, mass destruction. There's no motive other than the enjoyment and entertainment they get out of watching us suffer."
"Trust me," Virgil said. "They don't just get a kick out of others' pain. They revel in it. They gain their strength, their very life force from it. That demon that possessed me…I could feel its…delight at hurting others."
A message on Cyborg's communicator told him he was needed downstairs. "Zatanna, too."
"Go on, Vic. I'll be right behind you."
Cyborg glanced warily between the two, but decided to trust they wouldn't kill each other in his absence.
"Let me make myself clear," Zatanna said once Victor was out of earshot. "You ever hurt Rachel again, you answer to me."
Static nodded. "Don't worry. I'm sick of being used by others for their own schemes. It won't happen again."
Their business concluded, Zatanna turned to leave, but Virgil called her back.
"What is it?" she asked.
Static gave her a hard look, searching for something in the young magician.
"Whatever they're planning, those guys won't quit until they get their hands on Raven."
"What are you saying?" Zatanna asked, squirming slightly under the younger hero's accusatory gaze.
"I just mean that you should be careful. These creatures thrive on chaos and discord. Clearly they want to awaken those feeling in Raven. She's their princess. Who better to help channel all that devastation? They tried to use me to turn the others against Raven. They're using those close to her. They could very well target you next."
Zatanna thought uneasily about the recent arguments between the Team, the fights that broke out between herself and Raven in the prior week over the tiniest things, and worst, the waves of envy that sometimes washed over Zatanna when she thought how easily her cousin could master her magic. Zatanna's mouth formed a grim line. "That won't happen."
"It could."
"It won't."
Static didn't argue further. There was a fire to Zatanna's words and a dangerous determination that even creatures of Chaos might be loath to engage. And yet there was a guilt in her eyes, a vulnerability Virgil prayed their enemy hadn't noticed.