A/N – See if you can Spot the Pun.
Raven could not pinpoint the exact moment she became aware that she was staring at a very nondescript ceiling, but once she did become conscious of such, she also realized that she had been staring for a while. Brushing a loose strand of hair from her face, she noted that her hand had come from underneath a set of sheets, and the room around her smelled of disinfectant and metal. Raven strained her ears trying to sort out a particular sound from the white noise – yes, there it was, the steady beeping of a heart monitor…
Raven wasn't stupid; she knew better then to try and sit up. Instead, she turned her head slowly and cautiously, taking in the medical equipment, the pre-dawn light filtering through the windows, and the unoccupied gurneys next to hers. Turning her gaze upon her arm, she did not see a single scratch or bruise, so why was she in the medical bay? And then it struck her that while there were no marks present, her skin looked a tad too normal – she was still wearing the faerie glamour. Suddenly all the memories came back. She had been in a competition, she had played violin, she had fought Red X – she had worn a dress. Now she wore another dress of a totally different variety, a hospital gown which she had been changed into whilst still unconscious. Raven sighed aloud. She had come to think of the female Titans as sisters, but she couldn't help feeling a bit uncomfortable knowing that they would probably bring up her boring, utilitarian underclothes at the next torturous 'girl talk.'
She welcomed the distraction from her thoughts when a figure walked into the room, although she ended up getting a headache despite her precautions when Aqualad shouted in surprise,
"You're up!"
"Thanks," she responded sarcastically, rubbing her temples.
"Sorry," he whispered sheepishly, though the damage had already been done.
Raven ignored the apology, asking instead, "How long have I been out?"
"A day and two nights. We didn't expect you to regain consciousness for at least another day."
Raven shrugged. Another day at least, she thought, processing Aqualad's words, at least a couple days, like all of Red X's other human victims…
Aqualad seemed to have noticed something at that point, looking around the Med Bay as if something was missing.
"Have you seen Speedy?" He asked, seemingly out of the blue.
"No. Should I have?" Raven asked, caught slightly off guard by the unanticipated question.
Aqualad shook his head disapprovingly, "He should have been here. It was his shift-"
"Shifts? You guys were taking turns watching me sleep?" Raven asked. She was just teasing, but Aqualad didn't have to know that.
"Ummm, well, it's protocol, you know? You never know when something will happen… or something." Aqualad stumbled, and Raven decided to cut him some slack.
"So what happened? Back at the theater," She inquired.
Aqualad rolled one of the other gurneys closer to hers, and Raven noticed that her blue violin had been laid carefully on the pillow. Settling himself upon the gurney, he began to recount what had happened.
"Robin positioned me, Cyborg, Jinx, and Jericho at the theater exits, while he himself told the mayor that he would be present on an empty balcony, since the mayor didn't know about the plan to have a Titan among the contestants. We were all there when the lights went out, but we couldn't see what happened. Only Robin, from his position on the balcony saw Red X, just as the room went dark. We would have gotten to you sooner, but, well, we couldn't see, and no one present had flying capabilities," Aqualad explained, more than a little sheepishly. "Robin's just glad he caught you before you really fell, seeing as you were at least 5o feet above the audience."
"What about Red X?"
"He escaped. I have to give him credit though, I doubt Batman himself could escape a pair of handcuffs that fast." Aqualad said, ignoring the fact that most people wouldn't - or wouldn't be able to – restrain Batman in the first place.
It was Ravens turn to be embarrassed, as she attempted to shake her head on the pillow. "I didn't have a pair of handcuffs; I had a Weird Silver Hair Thing. Personally, I think that it would have been harder to escape then a pair of manacles anyway, but evidently Red X is far more versed in hair ornaments then I ever hope to be."
Aqualad chuckled a moment, but then stopped, and avoided looking at her for some reason.
"What?"
"Nothing. It's just… it was really weird seeing us all look normal last night. And you still look… unusually normal, I guess."
"It's just an illusion, it'll come of– Shoot, Aqualad could you do me a favor and go down to the base of the tower, find a stone with a hole through the center, and bring it back up here?" she requested.
"Why?" He asked, looking completely lost.
"I need help undoing the faerie magic," Raven replied matter-of-factly.
"So, naturally, you're enlisting the aid of a rock?"
"Naturally," came the short reply. Aqualad still had no idea how a rock was going to help Raven lift a fairy illusion, but then Raven was a part of two groups that common consensus agreed he should not try to understand: Magic Wielders, and Women.
Before he left, however, Aqualad smirked and tossed a paper onto her bed, explaining "I think you might find this interesting, O' Acclaimed and Applauded Artist."
Raven quirked an eyebrow, before gingerly pulling herself into a sitting position, and holding the paper up where she could read the article which took up a good portion of the front page.
Mystery Violinist does Disappearing Act
Reported by Clark Kent, The Daily Planet
Rowena Schuhart, at the age of 16, has taken the musical world by storm. Having debuted with an original composition at the Jump City Oprah House this past Saturday, the judges were astounded by the quality of her playing, calling it technically perfect and refreshing in tenor. Known by the stage name Rowan Sherwood, Schuhart entered a classical music competition open to the entire western coast of North America, and won the soloist division with her distinctively cobalt blue violin.
Rowan Sherwood never finished her performance, however. Towards the end of her song, she disappeared during a theater-wide blackout. Authorities believe she is the latest victim of an as yet unidentified kidnapper, who is believed to have kidnapped as many as thirteen violinists and a violist in the past six months. Attempts to find Schuhart and/or verify that she has indeed been kidnapped have yielded unexpected results:
Record officials claim she doesn't exist, begging the question, just who is Rowena Schuhart?
One member of the audience, who prefers to remain anonymous, claims she knew of a Rowan Sherwood who was just as talented in an entirely different field, who disappeared just as suddenly eight years prior to Rowena Schuhart's debut on Saturday. The witness's account was about a young girl who matched the description of the violinist Rowan Sherwood in nearly every way, save for the fact that she was a painter, not a musician.
Among other things, the audience member also declared that we should not expect to hear from her for a very long time if she left on her own terms.
No matter what circumstances she left under, whether she is or isn't a painter, while on the Jump City Oprah House stage, Rowan Sherwood was truly Virtuoso.
)o(
A/N: Ha, take that state testing! Despite your evil CAT I have managed to post this chapter, albeit a bit belatedly. Did I make you laugh? Does this give you a headache, due to atrocious grammar? Did you have a favorite/least favorite moment? Tell me in a review!