"Where are you?"
The masked vigilante whispered his concerns into the cool winter air. He was beginning to forget her face, and that deeply concerned the anxious teen. How long had it been? He counted each day, and each passing sunrise and sunset spiked his heart.
This particular hour marked day one hundred. Raven had evaded his reach for three months.
His dearest friend was dead. His mind explained that several times to him, but his link to the dark, clever girl protested in defensive love.
He had tried to save her, told her to wait for him. But, it seemed that their signals had been hacked, and that was the worst possible order he could have given her. Anything, even jumping off a cliff, would have proved to be more successful, less hopeless.
Nonetheless, she halted her escapade, right where Slade laid waiting, right where he wanted her.
The boy-wonder had, once again, played right into the psychopath's hands.
If only she hadn't left, if only she had followed the order that really mattered, he wouldn't have felt like such a failure.
He crouched to the same spot, searching desperately for a new clue. They had all scoured the roof of the old warehouse by the water, turning over rubble and makeshift homeless houses. There was nothing, though, not a trace of Slade or Raven.
It was if she vanished- gone without as much as a stray hair.
A smashed communicator marked where the masked villain had surprised her, ambushed her like the coward they all knew him to be. But, it was Robin that felt like the dog with the tail between his legs. He could be doing so much more, risking all he had to rescue her.
The rest of them were locked up in the tower, giving all of their attention to anything suspicious on the scanners. Starfire and Beast Boy were practically glued to the main computer, while Cyborg still attempted to crack the mystery of her mark.
Luckily, if there was such a thing anymore, he had collected enough skin and energy samples to have a base, but there had been nothing new since they made the connection between her power and the tattoo.
The spiky-haired boy had tried to help as eagerly as possible, but it was clear his presence was delaying and aggravating the others, so he decided to tirelessly hunt the city. He came home late, sometimes bruised or with hardened black eyes that conveyed his darker side.
They did not ask.
Starfire glanced worriedly at him from time to time, but it was their most important mission to find Raven, and if that meant he had to beat a couple criminals to a bloody pulp to obtain a scrap of information, then so be it.
Lost in his obsidian thoughts, he barely managed to flick open the communicator on the last beep.
"What?" he hissed into the small, metal circle.
"Robin," came the deep, smooth rumbling of Cyborg. "I've got something."
Skeptical, the robotic teen had sent up false red flags before. He paused, even if his bond screamed in hope.
"Are you sure…?"
"Man, you have to trust me," he cut off, and even Robin could hear the hitch of excitement behind the speaker. "It's not like the last time. I've found a way to find her. In fact, I've already got a location. We're just waiting for you, dude."
Of course, they had fruitless attempts at a score of dead ends, but the confidence that sung behind the fast rambling of Cyborg had just enough of a gamble to tempt Robin to jump off the building and sprint his way back to the heart of the city.
"Here, friends?"
"No, no! More to the right...more…more…stop!" Cyborg instructed, flinging his palms up.
"Now may I…?" the scarlet haired girl questioned.
"It's all yours, Star," Beast Boy squeaked, a cocky but hollow grin stretched across his bestial fangs.
Eyes glaring a violent shade of jade, the slim girl cried out as she fired a stream of flame from her fingertips. On impact, the solid rock shook and shuddered. They took a breath, not knowing whether to try again or wait for it to crack.
Luckily, the stone split, hanging together by threads of silicates. Awkwardly, the robotic boy coughed, subtly hinting that the alien should take a more physical approach to tear the rest of the rock apart. At first, she did not understand why he was hacking so aggressively.
She gave him a stare as she made her way to the boulder, pondering whether she should fetch a home remedy after the mission. Absently, she pounded her deceptively strong fist through the gash and it finally parted, falling to the ground in loud thumps.
"Good work, Star," the changeling applauded.
"Thank you, friend Beast Boy," she mindlessly replied.
Striding quickly to Cyborg she gave him a whack on the back, and he fell to the mud.
"Star?!" he yelled into the dirt. "What the hell?!"
A happy giggle exploded from Beast Boy, he was practically on the ground, rolling over in delight.
"I only assumed you had fallen ill. Tell me, friend, are you quite well?"
"I'm fine! Why would you…?!"
"Titans. Enough."
The solemn order came from behind. Robin came out of the shadows of the tall trees, arms strictly at his sides as he marched up to them.
"Is this it, then?" he snapped. "This is where he's keeping her?"
They all nodded quietly, sharing wary glances.
"The tunnel leads to the old caverns beneath the city," Cyborg explained, standing and brushing off the soil on his mechanical limbs. "It's a miracle we found it. This passage hasn't been used in a long time."
"A perfect hideout for Slade," the bird snarled, frustration permanently etched into his pale features. "Let's go."
Not awaiting the rest of his friends to follow, he sprinted through the hole. Not even commending Starfire for uncovering the musky, dark channel. The team shrugged, still letting a few steps go between Robin and them before they began trailing him.
A massive hole in the side of an even larger mountain gaped wide- and Beast Boy began to sweat. The entryway seemed just out of his nightmares, how similar it was to the last hiding place. He wondered if Raven had already turned to stone as well.
A gateway to hell, the nervous but brave young heroes tiptoed quickly through. The three stayed clumped together, perfectly happy to let Robin lead the way. Unfortunately, when they heard his perilous cry from farther down the tunnel, they ran to help.
"Robin!"
"Wait, don't…!" came his late reply.
Untimely, they realized what had caused the boy to scream. In the pitch black, they could barely see their own feet, let alone a trapdoor. Gravity showed its evil face, and they fell through the darkness. Skin scrapping against the narrow edges, they tumbled down.
Finally, they hit the ground, clustered one on top of the other, groaning from the impact.
"Dudes, I think I broke my…"
"Focus."
Robin was already up and crouched before them, analyzing his oozing cuts.
"Oh, friend! You're hurt!" Starfire gasped, her hand smashing into Beast Boy's face while her foot rammed into Cyborg's back.
"I'm fine," he retorted hollowly. "C'mon."
Slowly pushing themselves up and away from one another, they had to once again play cat and mouse with their impatient leader. Not allowing another surprise to catch them off guard, they jogged right behind his fluttering cape.
"How are you feeling?"
Turning her head to the right to look directly at him, she shrugged quietly. Sitting back, he turned his attention to the monitors, typing on a few keys.
"Fatigue?"
She nodded.
"Loss of appetite?"
Squinting her eyes, she bit her lip.
"Occasionally?"
Another nod.
He grunted a frustrated response, but smashed his fingers upon the keyboard anyway.
"Do you still have nausea?"
She widened her eyes and gave a strong affirmative- that was a winner.
He gave a sigh, clearly displeased. Immediately, he opened a drawer and snatched a pill bottle. Rattling loudly, he opened the cap and shook a few tablets out and reached for her hand. Compliant, she quickly opened her palm.
As soon as they fell into fingertips she gulped them back and swallowed without hesitation.
"That should help with the vomiting…" he mumbled, his focus full on the screen.
A few silent moments passed, and she took the advantage to shut her eyes and daydream. Something interrupted her meditation, and she fluttered her big blues open to find the source. He had asked a question, but seeing her in such a peaceful state, he simply studied her rising and falling chest, the fragile flare of her nostrils, the quivering of her lips.
But now, she had awakened once again, and he noted the sunken cheeks and somber eyes. No sparkle left in the deep teal, only a flicker of their former selves. Yet, there were instances where it came back, if even for a second.
That one night, they had glimmered for hours, and it was then he realized how addicted he was to the brilliant shine. They had a connected stare, but she broke it, timidly peering down at her stomach.
Machines hummed all around her, a beeping heart monitor, the silent groan of churning cogs- in the right light- it was relaxing. Lying casually on her back, hands together obediently on her stomach, she awaited another series of questions.
"What about the kicking?" he pondered.
Distracted, she rubbed the bump.
"Better."
Her silent response glittered into his eardrums. He observed her out of the corner of his eye again, noticing the diamond twinkle that lit up her face when she felt him. Scooting the chair over to the tall edge of the table, he gently nudged her hands away.
Dressed in a loose, black hospital gown, he raised it over her head, and folded it over the railing. When he went back to check her vitals, he smirked at the corruption all over her skin.
Silvery symbols coated her pale body. Stretching from the small of her spine and around her torso until it stopped just above her chest, she had a cape and collar of his mark. It came down in elegant flourishes, swirls of miniscule letters that gleamed just like snake skin.
Some of the curves invaded the frames of her face, but had not trespassed further for months. The exciting aspect was the mimicking of her doomsday tattoos. Large, demonic 'S's raked across her abdomen, forearms, and legs- just the way he had envisioned them to be.
Nonetheless, he spotted her lie. Even in the chaos of his mark, he could still make out blatant violet bruises on her belly.
The kicking had intensified.
"Raven…" he began to chastise.
She was caught, and lowered her chin submissively.
"I just didn't…" she whispered.
Snatching her hand in his, he thoughtfully rubbed her knuckles with his gloved thumb. Puzzled, she was surprised by his tenderness.
But, he really wasn't thinking of her. She was a vessel, even if he enjoyed the lights of her cerulean orbs, what mattered was what festered in her womb. If only the girl would survive for a little longer, he could reap the child before she fell.
Part of him, however, was hoping she made it out alive. Broken spirit, she was already falling in line with him. Deliciously, she had given up.
He would have to work on her hand to hand, obviously, as well as her aggression, but having two was much better than one. Perhaps he could allow only the healing portion of her energy back, which would be certainly useful.
Brewing a cornucopia of schemes from the roots of the master one already planted, he stood, whisking his hand away from hers. He fed her well enough, but all of it went to the child. Hollow, her scrawny frame did give him a sick sense of pleasure- he couldn't help enjoying pain.
Musing it over, maybe he would just keep her here with him forever. Did she really need to fight along his side? He had already filled that role. Besides, as every man knows, it is hard to be a single parent in this day and age. A woman in the life of his offspring might prove useful.
Even if she was just his plaything.