Chapter 4 Slade Trauma
Raven had never felt so powerless since the return of her father. She leaned over Beast Boy's bed, watching his chest rise and fall. It was strange, she thought, to see so much of his body concealed in casts. He had bounced back from so many injuries that he seemed invincible, but now she realized she could not be more wrong.
He opened one eye. "Raven, I—"
"Rest." she said sternly and smiled.
Once he had fallen asleep, the door to the medical ward opened. Robin entered with an air of displeasure, and Starfire followed behind him.
"Still no sign of Slade." He waited for a response, but she said nothing. "Raven, it's been three days. Don't you think Beast Boy would rather you help us avenge him?"
"No. I asked." Raven did not even turn to look at him. "I'll deal with Slade if he reveals himself, but right now, I'm needed here."
Robin frowned. "You're needed out there too. Just because Slade's in hiding doesn't make him any less of a threat. You can't prioritize your personal feelings over the safety of the city."
She turned around sharply and stared at him. "He saved my life, Robin. You didn't see him . . . you didn't see him on his knees begging Slade to let me go. You weren't with Starfire and me when we found him." She glanced at Beast Boy's body. "I'll never forget that image."
Starfire nodded. "Yes, it was most disturbing."
Robin looked at them both and sighed. "Raven, I want to stop Slade just as much as you, and if we—"
"No, you don't, not this time." Her face trembled and a black bolt of energy shot out of her head, causing the lights to flicker. "When I get my hands on him, he'll wish my father had killed him."
Robin started to speak, but Starfire grabbed his shoulder. "Perhaps it is best that Raven remains at Beast Boy's side. Her powers are unstable when she feels too many emotions. In her current state, she might only hurt herself."
Raven glanced at her, somewhat offended. "I just haven't meditated in a while. I'll be ready when the time comes."
Starfire nodded. "Nevertheless, Raven should remain here. Afterall, someone must feed Beast Boy the tofu."
Raven smiled at her friend. "That's right."
They left the ward, and Raven returned her attention to Beast Boy.
"Are they gone?" he asked.
She smiled and ruffled his hair. "You're supposed to be asleep."
"You thought I could sleep through a Robin lecture? Now that's funny."
She laughed and covered her mouth. "Sorry. We should've stepped out."
"It's fine." He sighed. "I must look pretty pathetic."
Raven shook her head. "You look like a hero—like a man."
Beast Boy grinned, quite satisfied with himself. "Then it was worth it."
"It will be if you can heal up." Raven said with a smile. "There are lots of things I want to do with you when you recover."
"Yeah," Beast Boy laughed. "I never thought I'd be so excited to get out of bed. . . but you need to rest too. You're the one who really almost died."
Raven was amused by the irony in his words. She wasn't the one lying in a hospital bed with almost every bone broken and twisted out of place.
"I've been meditating." She looked at the other hospital bed. "But I guess I could use some sleep."
She used her telepathy to pull the bed over to Beast Boy's, all the while levitating over them both. Slowly, she descended onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. In her reclined position, she suddenly realized how exhausted she was and began drifting in and out of consciousness.
"Hey, Beast Boy," she said at last, "I've gotta get something off my chest. I know I called you pathetic for always trying to win my approval, but I don't want you to stop. I think it's nice. And you're the only guy who treats me like I'm normal. Thanks for that. . . . I love you."
She rolled over to find him sleeping like a dead man, which he undoubtedly almost was. She released an almost silent laugh, placed a hand on his undamaged shoulder, and fell asleep.
"I apologize for the late call, but I thought it would be an appropriate time to discuss your offer." Slade's hollow voice echoed through an abandoned San Francisco subway. He was sitting in an overturned train compartment, speaking through a radio to a distorted, feminine voice.
"I've put one of the titans out of commission." Slade continued.
"Which one?" the voice hissed through the radio static.
"You already know that answer. If it were anyone else, we would not be speaking."
There was a pause in the voice. "Can you draw them away? Get their attention?"
Slade laughed quietly to himself. "My dear, right now I have all their attention."
He switched off the radio, slid out of the train car, and stared up at a beam of light that broke through the ceiling. For a moment, he wondered what it would be like to live in that world again—to be part of the script instead of out on the margins. Then, he climbed a ladder into the noon day sun.
Raven had brought a few books into the hospital ward. She was reading a book on lycanthropy antidotes to not only pass the time but steady her nerves. Cyborg was at the computer performing his daily vitals check.
"What do you think?" Raven asked, peeking over her book.
Cyborg turned to her with a relaxed look in his eye. "Give him another week and he'll be back on his feet."
"Can he really recover from that in two weeks?" She stared at his stiff body, sunken into the bed. "How is that possible?"
"His cells can regenerate at almost triple the natural speed. Comes with all that mutated DNA, I guess." He stretched his massive arms. "Well, I'm gonna hit the gym. You wanna throw some weights around . . . without your powers, I mean?"
"I prefer to exercise my mind and I can't leave him, but thanks."
He shrugged. "Suit yourself. Girl, I care about B.B. as much as anybody, but I'd go crazy locked in here all day."
The alarm blared throughout the tower and Raven jumped up. "Maybe I won't be."
Robin and Starfire dashed into the room. "It's Slade!" Robin shouted. "He's attacked city hall. Titans, move!"
Cyborg stared at him in awe, making no effort to "move," as he ordered. "We've been lookin' for him all week. How'd he get the jump on us?"
"With two of you locked in the tower, it wasn't so hard." Slade's voice emerged from the ward's computer terminal. "Your numbers are dwindling, Robin."
Robin grit his teeth, staring at the terminal. "Tell us your plan, now!"
The disembodied voice laughed. "Let's skip the pleasantries. I don't need a plan to lure you out. Your desire for vengeance will suffice, but if you must know, I'm more than willing to share. It's quite simple, really. I've planted two bombs—one at City Hall where I have the mayor and his associates captive—and one at a children's hospital. You have one hour to diffuse a bomb of your choice, but if you diffuse one, the other will explode. I'm eager to see—"
The terminal turned black and exploded. Raven was staring ahead with empty, searching eyes. She turned to the other three Titans, causing Robin and Starfire to flinch. She had never destroyed Cyborg's tech before. That was usually Beast Boy's forte.
"I'll throw those bombs back in his face." Raven said between heavy breaths. "What are we waiting for?"
She flew toward the door, but Starfire grabbed her cloak. "Is it wise to leave Beast Boy unattended?"
Robin nodded. "Starfire's right. Slade could be luring us away from the tower so he can finish off Beast Boy. You need to stay and keep him safe like you have been."
"Safe?" Raven nearly screamed. "He won't be safe until Slade's dead."
Robin narrowed his gaze. "Fine. We'll diffuse the bombs at the same time. Starfire and I will go after the bomb at City Hall. You and Cyborg get the one at the hospital."
"Not a chance." Raven hovered over Robin. "I'm going after Slade with you, or I'll go alone."
She stared at Robin, then at the others, wondering if she had been too aggressive. Then, Starfire clasped her shoulder.
"What troubles you, friend?" She asked. "It is not like you to lose so much of the cool."
"Yeah, what gives, Rae?" Cyborg asked with a shrug. "You're acting like Robin."
Robin glared at him out of the corner of his eye. "I understand how attached you are to this mission, so I won't stop you. Besides, we don't have time to argue over who does what. Titans, go!"
They flew from the ward, but Raven glanced back at Beast Boy. The two hospital beds were still pushed together. It was obvious that she had been sleeping by his side, but none of the team had said anything. It filled her with a strange confidence to have her advances on Beast Boy go unquestioned.
She reached out and touched his hand. "After today, we won't have to worry about Slade anymore."
He sat up as best he could and stared at her. "Raven, don't get yourself hurt . . . please."
She felt her face warm and wiped her eyes. "Don't worry about me. It's Slade who's going to get hurt."
Slowly, she let her fingers slide across his hand and vanished into the ceiling. When she emerged from the roof of the tower, she saw Starfire carrying Cyborg to the western part of the city. Robin was on a glider, heading toward its heart. She joined him in silence. Talking seemed unnecessary without the rest of the team. They both knew their mission and would stop at nothing to accomplish it.
They landed on the roof of city hall and broke through a skylight, falling into the lobby below. Slade was standing at the top of a grand marble staircase. At the foot of the stairs lay the bomb with the mayor and three city council members fastened to it with steel cable.
"Raven, Robin, it's good to see you again." Slade said, descending the stairs. "It seems you're short a few titans."
"We didn't come here to talk, Slade." Raven tore away a section of the stairs with her dark telekinesis and Slade landed on the main floor.
"And short on patience as well. Good. You'll have to hurry if you want to stop my bombs in the next twenty minutes."
Robin scowled. "Raven, keep him busy. I'll call Starfire and—"
Raven flew off, grabbed Slade with her telekinesis, and threw him into a marble column. The column buckled from the impact and part of the ceiling collapsed onto him.
He emerged from the rubble, wiping the dust from his armor. "Impressive. I trust you'll put up more of a fight than Beast Boy."
She started to crush him in the rubble, but he threw a sonic grenade that broke her concentration and made her fall to the floor.
"Or perhaps not." He grabbed her by the arm and threw her into an archway.
All the while, Robin ran to the bomb and slashed the steel cable with his boomerang. The local officials ran for their lives, and Robin removed a plate on the bomb, revealing a series of crossing wires. He switched on his communicator.
"Starfire, come in. I've found the bomb. We have to cut the wires at the same time."
He was greeted with low static and a few disjointed syllables.
"Starfire, repeat. I can't—" The transmission was cut entirely. "No! Raven, tag me in."
She got up and looked at him, aghast. "No way. I can handle Slade."
"Are you sure about that?" Slade smacked her on the side of the head with his metal staff, sending her flying towards Robin.
"Listen to me." Robin continued. "Something's jamming our communicators. You have to use your astral projection to tell Starfire and Cyborg when to diffuse the bomb. Then, come back here and diffuse this one yourself. You're the only one who can stop these bombs."
"And I'm the only one who actually wants to defeat Slade. Let's take him out, then we'll handle the bombs."
"That's not an option. We've—"
"I'll make it quick."
She flew above Slade and sent a chandelier crashing down on him, but he jumped away at the last second.
"Quite confident for a girl who's hardly landed a blow on me." he said, walking through the glass debris.
Raven clenched her teeth. "I only need one blow to tear you apart and send you to two separate dimensions."
"My, my, you seem quite upset, Raven." he said, circling her. "I'm afraid you don't have the luxury of entertaining your emotions . . . but I do."
She launched a beam of black energy at his head, but he stepped aside at the last second. "Tell me, Raven. How did it feel to watch me break your friend's body?"
She blinked as her eyes began to water and threw a metal table at him. He took the hit and slid across the floor.
"I know how much he means to you, Raven." he continued. "I'm going to destroy him and everything you care for. Then, you'll be alone in a world where everyone hates and fears you. In fact, without your friends, I think we'd be quite similar."
"Just shut up! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
"Ah, the magic words. That's my girl."
Raven felt a sharp pain in the back of her head as her astral projection soared from her body with unstable, crackling energy. It shot straight at Slade who stood in the center of the lobby, unphased. Suddenly, the bomb activated, but rather than exploding, it sent forth a bolt of electricity, striking her projection and pulling it away just before it slammed into his face. The bomb absorbed the shadowy bird and sent out a black shockwave. It hit Raven and her body seized up in pain. She fell to her knees and her heartrate shot up.
"Raven!" Robin shouted as he ran to her but he was knocked back by an orb of black energy that encircled her.
"Get out of here!" she screamed. "My powers are . . . agh!"
A lingering sense of pain crept down her spine and spread throughout her body. It felt like something was slowly tearing her apart. Robin stood for a moment in shock, then grappled up through the skylight. Slade watched him go and looked down at Raven.
"Pity." He muttered. "I was hoping to dispose of two titans today."
"I don't understand." Raven clenched her teeth. "Where's the bomb?"
"Silly girl." Slade said with a quaint laugh. "The only bomb here is you. Farewell, Raven. I hope you can find some peace."
He jumped back and sprinted from the building. Raven watched the black orb expand, disintegrating everything in its wake until it encompassed the entire block. Then, it was gone in a blink, leaving a massive crater in heart of the city. Slade was gone. City Hall was gone. Raven was gone.
Robin stood on top of an office building, staring at the crater. Where she had gone, he dared not hazard a guess.
Beast Boy lay in the dark, listening to the rhythmic sounds of his heart monitor. He was beginning to doze off when the door slid open.
"Raven?"
He could tell it was a girl as her form entered the light of the computer. When he saw her face he nearly jumped out of the bed.
"T-Terra?" He screamed in a harsh whisper. "You're alive?"
It was indeed Terra, but she was holding a lantern that encompassed a pale blue flame. She held the lantern to his face, and in the light, he could not deny it was her.
"Come with me Beast Boy." she said in a soothing tone. "You're not safe. Slade's on his way here to kill you."
"Alright." He felt compelled to listen to her. "Where are you taking me? What about Raven."
"She can't protect you right now, not in the state she's in. . . . I can hear him climbing the wall. Come on."
She carried Beast Boy out of the ward with surprising agility. Just as she left, Slade jumped through the window, spilling glass onto the floor. He looked around the room and folded his hands in satisfaction.
"I've done my part." he said under his breath. "Now it's your turn."
