Chapter 30: Showdown
...'TROUBLE IN TITAN TOWER? TENSION PULLS TIGHTER!'...
...'HERO FASHION! BUMBLEBEE RELEASES SWIMWEAR LINE!'...
...'KID FLASH AT CENTRE OF TITAN LOVE TRIANGLE!'...
...'ROBOPERV! CYBORG CAUGHT ZOOMING IN!'...
...'INSIDER EXCLUSIVE: RAVEN SPEAKS OUT!'...
Raven quietly scoffed.
Trust a reporter to turn a few one-word answers given at the scene of a battle into a full blown interview.
Typical.
Once upon a time, such headlines hadn't existed.
'Once upon a time, we were children,' Raven mused in reflection, eyeing the magazines in resignation.
But the Titans weren't children anymore. Hell, soon they wouldn't even be able to call themselves the Teen Titans. And with their growth in age had come the evolution of their public image.
Sixteen, they had decided, had been the magic number. The age at which they had ceased playing the innocent protectors and mascots of the city and had been dragged into the dirty world of celebrity. A world where everything they said, everything they wore, everything they did was scrutinized, mocked, derided and judged.
Nowadays, after years of adaptation, they were all pretty much used to it. It was a part of the job. Came with the territory.
Footsteps approached and Raven shifted subtly, pulling the shapeless black hoodie further down over her brow. Logically, she knew it was unnecessary. The hologram ring on her finger was projecting the image of a plain-faced, lightly tanned brunette to the world. There was no real need to wear bulky clothing or hide her face. But still.
Tugging the hood further down, Raven cautiously looked around for more stray passersby. She was in one of the trendier parts of town for a change. Expensive shops like the glossy bookstore she was currently standing outside lined the stone square, all facing a large, arty sculpture. A couple of street performers willing to brave the early Spring chill surrounded it, having a tough time drawing a crowd in the tourist off-season.
Raven idly considered walking over to find out what the sculpture commemorated but decided to return her attention to the magazine stand first.
She scanned the eyesore of brightly colored headlines, wondering how she had been reduced to even considering reading such utter garbage.
More and more of her time was spent outside of the tower nowadays. It had started a month or two ago after Robin had dubbed her performance in a fight 'selfish.' The way she had seen it, she could either strangle him with his own cape or turn around and walk off. 3 hours of wandering and flying through the city later, she had calmed down enough to return to the tower. Since then it had become her modus operandi for when the situation in the tower became unbearable.
Which was happening more and more often.
It hadn't taken Robin long to realize that bringing Kid Flash into the tower had only driven the remaining founding members even further away from him. The three had retreated from the once lively common room, instead sticking tight as a group in the garage or Starfire's room. Any accidental meeting in the corridor or kitchen was filled with icy cold shoulders; the team unwilling to extend an olive branch and Robin too proud to.
In response, Robin had abandoned his overly friendly persona, instead channeling his inner drill sergeant. Mandatory training sessions were daily occurrences, mission debriefings were formalized and classes on politics and battle tactics were initiated. Raven couldn't remember the last time she had voluntarily spoken to him. On the plus side, her relationships with Cyborg and Starfire had gotten significantly tighter.
Caught up in the middle of all of this was Kid Flash.
Raven reached out and plucked a magazine with his name on the cover from the stand.
...'KID FLASH HITS ON TRAUMA VICTIM!'...
She was tempted to feel disgusted but knew that it was almost sure to be an innocent gesture taken out of context or too far. She flicked through to the article, finding a picture of the hero himself helping up an attractive teen with a gleam in his eye and positioned slightly closer to her than he should probably be.
'His reputation is to blame for stuff like this. Still, if what Jinx says is true, it was well earned.' She considered as she scanned the article.
He had lasted longer than she thought he would. Almost five months now.
From what Raven could tell, he spent most of his time with Robin. The two were old friends after all. But from the glimpses of psyche she picked up when in his company, she could tell he wasn't happy. According to Cyborg, KF had made it his mission to snap Robin out of his current attitude. And evidently, it wasn't going very well. His constant inquiries about what happened with Beastboy definitely didn't help.
Raven's stomach clenched at the thought. She quickly replaced the magazine and strode off, ignoring her hollow chest.
She had made hesitant peace with the current situation. Her meeting with Beastboy, while undeniably disastrous in many ways, had eased her concerns and issues for the moment. And she found a measure of warmth and happiness with her new bonds with Star and Cy.
But it still wasn't right.
It hadn't been right in months.
Her sigh crystallized in a cloud of breath in front of her face.
'This is fruitless thinking. I can't do anything about it at this point in time. I have my training, I have my friends. Beastboy will be back soon. Things could be a lot worse.'
She walked on with a new light in her eyes, perversely surprised at her own optimism.
'Everyone has their moments,' she justified, moving on through the square, mind wandering again.
'I wonder how badly yellow and black would clash with my skin…hmm, might be worth a look… Oh Azar, what now?'
She pulled out a vibrating communicator and flicked it open.
A few seconds later she disappeared in a bubble of black.
The 'Bank Of Perez' was the largest of the three main banks located in Jump City. Thus, the Titans were intimately familiar with its location, interior, security systems, weaknesses, choke points and anything else that made protecting it easier.
It was with this knowledge that Raven stepped out of her portal into a high ceiling corner of the main, open plan lobby she knew to be permanently shadowed, concealing her entrance. She grimaced at the sight below.
Weak sunlight streamed in through smashed windows to show demolished desks and chairs littering the cracked tile floor. Papers were strewn everywhere alongside glass and plastic from destroyed teller windows. Luckily, Raven couldn't spot any bodies, so no casualties so far.
A booming sound resonated through the walls, causing an ornate bookshelf to topple over. A few seconds later another deep vibration shook the room.
Raven sent a quick update to the rest of the team before she reached out and slowly sank back into the shadows.
A pair of violet eyes opened in the darkness.
'Hell.' Raven cursed to herself.
A few meters away, a familiar enemy was repeatedly smashing dull white fists into a huge vault door.
A deep rage curdled in Raven's stomach at the sight of another white monster. She quickly clamped down on the rising emotion. It wouldn't do to lose control now. She quickly took stock of the situation.
The monster was still hammering away at the safe, which was slowly giving way under the punishment, but it would last a little while longer. The bloodied young man sprawled on the industrial floor unconscious was another matter. His dark blue suit and what appeared to be a broken name tag suggested he worked at the bank.
'No choice, he may need immediate attention. Need to move.'
A small, pale nose pushed slowly out of the darkness under the eyes. Keeping her gaze firmly on the preoccupied monster, Raven slowly manifested her body out of the shadow until she was gently floating above the linoleum floor.
Keeping low, she quickly hovered over to the body before delicately alighting on the ground, kneeling. Taking her eyes off the busy monster, she quickly examined the man, pressing her fingers to his neck. It looked like he had taken a direct hit to his upper chest.
"Uhh…"
The man moaned and unconsciously shrunk away from her cold hand.
Raven's eyes snapped up, immediately locking onto the glowing red ones of the monster.
Barely thinking, Raven grabbed the man and summoned her powers, creating a portal beneath them. They fell, narrowly avoiding the lightning fast arm that passed above them.
Raven and the man collapsed onto the sidewalk outside the bank.
'So, that was close.'
"Raven! You okay?"
The demi-demoness sat up at the familiar tone to find Cyborg running towards her, Starfire flying close behind.
"Yeah, I'm fine, guys. We've got a problem, though," she said, hands glowing blue with energy over the man's chest. The large laceration contracted and spurted a spray of blood across her face.
"Friend, who is doing the-"
"Raven report!"
Raven ignored the order, although the surge of anger was harder to work through. Instead, she focused on the wound in front of her. It looked bad. A pair of metal hands appeared on the man's chest, applying a steady pressure to slow the flow of blood and stop the man's heart beating his own blood out of his body.
"Ruptured artery," Cyborg's soothing and professional tone took the edge off the growing emotions in her. "Focus on that first."
She did, vaguely hearing Robin shout something and Starfire reply at equal volume before she zoned out altogether. Fifteen seconds later, she had done all she could and the white noise in her head slowly tuned back into the world around her.
"Raven! I said report!"
"Give her a damn second, man!" A voice shouted in response.
"I'm fine, he's stable." Raven cut in before another yelling match could begin. She had to tell them.
"It's another white monster thing," she managed to get out around breaths. "It's already at the main vault entrance, it'll get in soon."
"What?! You should have immediately... never mind." Robin decided a tactical retreat from finishing that statement was prudent. The entire damn team was glaring at him. Shit.
"Code White then everyone. We've practiced this, we can do it."
Hesitant nods all around. Good, he still had them with him.
"Raven, teleport us in."
A gust of fierce wind announced the arrival of Kid Flash.
"Perimeter secured. What we doin'?" The speedster offered the team a smile with half the usual amount of sarcasm and ego. Raven frowned to herself, perhaps she had been too hard on him earlier. Or maybe something had changed.
Robin's jaw tightened as he considered the situation. This wasn't ideal. His eyes came to rest on the recently dying man.
"We have injured Kid, get this man to emergency and then scout for more."
'That's not protocol,' Raven noted, eyeing the leader. 'Emergency services will be here in seconds. Why would he-'
"That's stupid Rob-"
"Just do it! That's an order!"
Robin turned his back on the speechless teen. "Raven, teleport us in."
Deciding not to exacerbate the situation, Raven spread her arms, enveloped the team in onyx energy and teleported them inside.
Kid Flash narrowed his eyes. Then disappeared in a blast of wind.
The team arrived as the white monster managed to rip the heavily armored door off its hinges.
"Titans go!" Robin yelled, pulling out his bo staff and charging the humanoid monster.
The team jumped into action.
Starfire flew after her leader, blasting star bolts into the monster's exposed back.
Cyborg took a knee and began altering his right arm, pressing buttons rapidly.
Raven stood protectively over him, playing her role as the defence. And just as well.
The creature turned eerily, not making a sound before powerfully launching the entire vault door at the approaching team.
Robin and Starfire quickly evaded the 20 odd ton wheel of death, but Raven could do no such thing as it flew, oddly silently, towards her and Cyborg.
She raised her arms and generated a thick wall energy tilted to the side.
The unstoppable weight meet the immovable shield with a crash and shriek of twisting metal.
Raven grunted, feeling herself be physically pushed backward before she fought back, stabilizing the shield and forcibly changing the trajectory of the massive door. It sailed past them, passing through the reinforced wall behind them like it was tissue and rolling on away.
Lowering her arms, Raven slowly emptied her lungs. That had been tougher than she thought. Who knew vault doors weighed so much?
She watched Starfire and Robin intently, ready to provide assistance at a moment's notice. 'They still work well together,' She reflected, watching the two move around the monster in sync, a titan always in front dodging, the other behind attacking. 'Maybe there's hope for him yet. Or maybe Star is just a better person than all of us combined.' That did actually seem the more plausible explanation.
"You almost done?" She said dully, sparing her brother-in-arms a glance.
Cyborg carefully loaded a string of jet black syringes into a compartment on his arm, snapping shut a covering to keep them in place.
"I am now, O most demanding of dark mistresses." He said, shooting her a wink as he stood up but his jaw was tight. Raven guessed he was trying to cover his discomfort at seeing another white monster.
She glared in return.
"If I'm a dark mistress, then you're my black knight in shining armor. So slay the damn dragon already."
"Black knight, huh? I quite like that."
He took aim and fired.
"Maybe I'll get Sarah to start calling me that."
The specially shaped syringe shot through the air, aerodynamically designed to fly like a bullet. It was a big target, there was no way he could miss. He didn't.
"That's between you and her. Neither of which are me."
The contents of the syringe injected automatically, immediately having an effect. Starfire and Robin held back as the white flesh of the monster predictably starting sagging.
"You're telling me you don't want to know the intricacies and inside jokes of Sarah and I's relationship? Unbelievable. It's almost like talk like that makes you uncomfortable."
The monster folded to the ground as the structural integrity of its cells weakened further.
"How about I make you really uncomfortable?"
"Haha, you-"
BOOM!
The monster exploded outwards, expanding so rapidly its head smashed through the roof, and it's bubbling arms crashed into the walls. Suddenly, the room seemed a lot smaller.
"RAVEN, RETREAT!" Robin screamed through the falling dust.
An instant later a dome of black in the demolished lobby opened to reveal the four titans.
Robin was in Cyborg's face.
"What the HELL just happened?!"
Cyborg roughly pushed him back, good mood gone in an instant.
"I don't know man! This formula worked on the sample we had. It's obviously an upgraded model. Sorta' like you compared to Batman!"
Robin's face turned purple and his hand flew to his belt.
"STOP FRIENDS!"
Starfire was suddenly between them, eyes and hands glowing dangerously bright and fiery hair floating with the power she was giving off. Even Raven took a step back. It was one of those rare times she actually looked like an insanely powerful alien princess.
Both males evidently thought the same, as the anger faded to fear on their faces.
"Now! How do we defeat this foe?!"
'Even her voice sounds more powerful,' Raven thought, keeping an eye out for the white monster. 'I've never seen her like this…'
The two heroes glared for a moment before Robin spoke.
"It was working, the solution spread quickly and destabilized the bonds between molecules."
"Yeah, then the bonds became stronger and the cells themselves expanded. It's almost as if they used our solution as a power source and grew because of it."
Robin frowned, thinking rapidly.
"Options?"
A murky white fist the size of a beachball punched through the middle of a large, polished mirror around 10 feet off the ground. The entire piece fell to ground and shattered with an ear-splitting smash.
"Not much. It seems that thing has gotten a good bit taller." Cyborg unnecessarily stated, watching Raven's shield catch innumerable silver shards. "We need a plan."
"Observe the skin of our enemy!"
Raven followed Starfire's instructions, examining the elongating arm as it drew back through the hole it had punched in the wall. Small, foamy bubbles were forming in groups on the surface, looking like a rash from hell.
"It is working!" Robin exclaimed as a massive arm carved a path through the weakened wall, leaving a jagged gash of wood and brick in its wake.
"I've scanned it," Cyborg said, his eye glowing red as he analyzed the retracting arm.
'Robo-perv,' Raven idly thought with a mental smile, shielding the team from an errant brick, 'Damn, should have remembered that earlier.'
"Well?" Robin asked impatiently.
"It's a tough call," Cyborg replied, face serious. "The only thing I can think of is pumping it full of our solution and hoping it supplies more power than the cells can handle."
"Odds?" Robin asked, watching more fists systemically demolish the wall from the other side. Huge gaps now showed, through which parts of the monster's body could be seen.
"High, I'd estimate around 80 percent, judging from the rate of deterioration one of them has had."
An entire section of the wall fell to the ground, raising a massive plume of dust.
"Do it."
Cyborg smoothly raised his arm cannon and took aim.
Another fist smashed through what remained of the wall, the support columns and beams the only thing in the monster's way now.
A line of syringes shot through the air, arcing perfectly before sticking into the front of the dull white fist.
"Booya! All 9 right in the ten ring! Sniper Cyborg here for the wi…oh."
The fist severed at the wrist, dropping to the ground with a squelch. The needles rolled out of the goo onto the floor with a quiet tinkle.
The four stared.
"That is bad, yes?" Starfire gingerly stated.
'I swear she's being deliberately sarcastic,' Raven thought shaking her head.
The wall finally gave way under the brutal onslaught, collapsing to the ground, revealing the very big white monster.
"Okay, new plan," Raven said, sounding more confident than she felt. This could still be salvaged. Somehow.
"No need!"
A yellow and red blur zoomed through the entrance to the bank, up to the monster and back in an instant.
Kid Flash stood looking at the four Titans.
He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the creature.
"I stuck those needley things into that monstery thing over there. Flash do good?"
"That works," Raven stated after a moment's pause. "We should go." She added as the monster seemed to convulse into a rapidly growing mountain of foam and flesh.
Without waiting for an answer, she formed a portal large enough to grab them all and teleported them away.
They appeared on the roof of an office building opposite the entrance to the bank. A low brick wall edged the roof.
"Kid, ensure the perimeter is secure." Robin immediately ordered.
Kid Flash sighed dramatically before disappearing.
"Raven, put up a forcefield around the bank."
Forcing the ache in her bones to the back of her mind, Raven raised her arms and summoned the full extent of her power. Her eyes glowed and her cloak flapped behind her as a huge black dome encircled the entire building.
"Is this danger close?" Robin asked, walking forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Cyborg, keeping his eyes on the stone building on the other side of the street.
"Probably."
"I don't need sarcasm, I need answers!"
"Well how about we have no guarantee this will work and if it doesn't we need to be close by to engage it?"
Robin eyed his team member. "I don't appreciate your tone."
Cyborg rounded on the team leader.
"Well, you know what?! I don't-"
A muffled explosion cut him off and a tremor shook the entire block. At the same time, Raven cried out and sank to her knees, only just managing to keep her arms outstretched.
Cyborg and Starfire were beside her in an instant.
"Hold, friend Raven! We are here for you!"
"You got this girl, just hold on!"
Robin stood stock still, watching the sphere of energy slowly get bigger, like a balloon being inflated.
Eventually, Raven couldn't hold on any longer and the balloon popped.
A massive shockwave of air blew everyone's hair back from their faces, even forcing Cyborg back a step.
Then, as suddenly as it appeared, it was gone.
Raven gasped and clutched both hands to her head. Starfire caught her up in a hug.
"Are you injured, friend? Be it serious?"
"N-no Star, I'm fine. J…huh…Just exhausted."
"That was mad impressive." Cyborg smiled as he knelt next to the girls. "Guess you're not a Mistress of Darkness for nothin'."
Robin examined the smoldering remains of the bank, watching thousands of dollar bills flutter down through the air like a green cloud. There was no sign of the monster. It seemed their gamble had paid off.
'Still, if Raven hadn't managed to contain that so much, we would be looking at a lot more damage.'
He turned and strode over to his team.
"Good job team, but we need to talk about speaking like that during a mission. It was unacceptable behavior."
Cyborg glared up at the leader. Couldn't wait to start dishing out criticism, could he? Well, not this time.
"Raven's injured. We need to get her back to the tower. This will have to wait, Rob."
"We're doing this now, she said she was fine." Robin folded his arms and squared his feet.
Cyborg was on his feet.
"She's clearly not! You can stand here and lecture the air conditioning units if you want, we're leavin'!"
Raven wanted to protest but was too busy trying her hardest not to pass out. She tasted copper and struggled to think of why it tasted slightly off. Oh yeah, it wasn't her blood.
"You're not going anywhere without my permission. We need to discuss you and Raven's unprofessionalism during this assignment."
Cyborg took a step closer.
"Your permission to leave?! Get over yourself, idiot."
Starfire looked up, but the energy she had exhibited earlier was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes looked duller than they had ever been. She concentrated on wiping the bright ruby blood from Raven's face.
"Do NOT speak to your leader that way!"
"What."
A new voice spoke off to the side.
"The hell."
Cyborg and Robin turned to see Kid Flash leaning against wall edging the roof.
"Happened."
He pushed off, walking slowly over with arms crossed.
"To this team?"
He stopped, regarding Starfire kneeling with a faint, blood spattered Raven in her arms and Cyborg and Robin squaring off.
Robin moved, stepping back from Cyborg to address the Kid.
"It's no concern of yours Kid, you can head on back-"
"It damn well is a concern in mine, Robin. Since when do you order your team around like this? Since when do you insist on handing out punishments while team members are still injured? Since when did you become such an incredible ass?"
Robin visibly tensed and stepped towards the unflinching speedster.
He spoke in a low, dangerous voice.
"I am the leader of this team. How I lead is not your business. Speak like that again and I'll-"
"You'll what, Robin?! Kick me off the team I'm volunteering on?"
The Boy Wonder lifted his chin. "Yes."
"Fine then."
Something thumped against Robin's chest and he caught it out of reflex. The yellow plastic was instantly recognizable.
"I quit. There, now I can question you all I want."
Betrayal.
Anger welled up like heat in a furnace in Robin's head. This was his friend. Supposedly. How dare he do this?
"Fine, leave. I'll find another replacement." He coldly stated, turning away.
"Speaking of that," the Kid continued, "I've been trying to find out just what happened with Beastboy these past months. Truth is it's the only reason I've stayed so long. You wouldn't tell me before. Maybe now you will."
Robin turned, a savage look on his face. "It's none of your business now, is it?! You quit, it doesn't concern you."
"I mean, I know it has something to do with that thing I just saved your ass from." he continued as if Robin hadn't spoken. "But you didn't know that I knew that, which explains why you ordered me to literally run away from the fight earlier. You didn't want me asking questions, did you?"
A vein popped out on Robin's forehead, as his jaw clenched tighter.
"Well, now I am asking questions. What happened with Beastboy and how did it lead to you acting this?"
Silence.
Raven was struggling to resist the lure of unconsciousness, but she was with it enough to now what was going on. Cyborg and Starfire were simply watching the exchange.
"You've quit." Robin spat. "Leave."
Kid Flash sighed dramatically, tapping his foot inhumanly fast.
"Still playing hardball, eh? Okay then. Cyborg, what happened with Beastboy?"
Suddenly, every eye was on the bionic man.
Taking his time, Cyborg inhaled slowly and exhaled slower, mind racing. The truth was he only knew what had happened to Beastboy. He had no idea how the change in Robin's behavior had come about. Trying to get to the bottom of everything at this very moment in time didn't seem like the best course of action.
He met Kid Flash's gaze.
"I don't think it would benefit anyone if I told you that now, man."
The two maintained eye contact for a moment longer, reaching a nonverbal agreement.
"Fine." The Kid spat out. "I give five damn months to this team and this is what I get in return? You guys are going downhill fast."
Robin snapped, "GET OUT OF HERE!"
The speedster smirked sadly and disappeared.
Silence.
Robin turned to look at his team.
They stared right back.
And that's the end of that chapter.
The opening to this one is actually one of my favorite passages of the story so far. I'm not entirly sure why, but it sticks out as a scene I'm really proud of.
Hope you guys are doing great, another few days and you'll get another chapter.
Review Responses:
FF8cerberus: Thanks for your constant input man. You keep me in check and help me pinpoint the things that need highlighting. Much obliged.
Kyprioth: Mate, it's people like you that keep me writing and make me want to put out more stuff. I'm glad you're enjoying the story and I hope I can live up to your expectations. Seriously, your review and PM are like shots of adrenaline to my writing life.
newboy: Cheers man! Thanks for staying with me this long! You're one of the review pillars that keep me propped up! :D
Haebris Deuce: It's a mad thought isn't it? But how liong will the repression last? :D
Fiery Pancake: I'm glad it's sort of different! This ain't the last you've heard of that particular issue!
That's all I got time for as the Superbowl beckons!
As someone who previously lived in Atlanta...
RISE UP!
CJB