Here we go! Chapter 10! I feel very productive right now. To be honest, I did not think that I would get this far, and if it wasn't for all of you I wouldn't have. Thank you so much for your encouragement! Please read and review!
Enjoy!
A deadly silence hung thick in the air of the dark cavern one chilly night. Raven sat in her lotus position on the floor, while Starfire slept on the simple cot next to her.
They had begun taking turns sleeping to keep watch early on during their captivity. They had both said that the reason was so they could both take turns sleeping on the cot, but Raven knew that neither of them trusted their captors enough to sleep at the same time. Besides, Raven always slept on the floor anyway, despite Starfire's protests.
Something outside of their little cage shifted and Raven opened one eye to investigate. One of the guards had shifted his weight and was very slowly stretching his limbs.
Satisfied that she and her friend were safe for the moment, Raven returned her attention to meditating.
Two months. That's how long she and Starfire had been held in this dingy prison. Two, long, excruciating months.
She didn't need to look to see the changes in her friend's appearance. Starfire was thin. Too thin. They both were. They only got two meals a day and it was barely enough to keep them sustained. Raven snuck most of her food onto Starfire's plate when she was not looking, so Raven lost more weight a lot faster than Starfire had.
They were also both extremely weak thanks to the conflicting magical substances in the cavern and lack of sunlight. They tried to keep up with simple exercises to maintain their stamina, but eventually, they reached a point where they didn't have the energy to stand for more than a few moments.
Starfire's teeth chattered in her sleep. Raven gritted her teeth from the cold air biting through her threadbare clothes. The same clothes they had been wearing when they were taken two months ago. Their captors had never given them a change of clothes or a proper shower or bath. The most they had been able to do to get clean was use a wash rag, a bucket of water, and a small bar of soap every few days.
Raven inhaled deeply, then exhaled, forcing her tense muscles to relax. Her side tightened and stinging pain coursed through her side as her poorly healed wound began to re-open. The muscles in her side began to spasm and she clenched her teeth together to keep from screaming in pain.
The pain caused a rush of anger and frustration which she fully embraced. She felt energy course through her body and black sparks danced on her fingertips. Slowly but surely, she felt the last little bit of her wound closing and healing properly from the energy coursing through her.
Over the past month, her powers had been slowly returning. They were still weak and so far she could only heal herself a little bit at a time, and to even do that she had to be overwhelmed with a powerful emotion and fully embrace it, but it was better than nothing. She just needed to keep her growing powers hidden for a little longer and allow them to gain strength, then she could get her and Starfire out of their current hell.
Cold air rushed in through the cavern, creating goosebumps along Raven's pale gray skin. Heavy footsteps accompanied by the sound of chains dragging on the stone ground echoed through the open chamber.
Raven's heart climbed in her throat, panic enveloping her. Starfire jolted awake, her head popping up and turning rapidly to find what had awoken her.
Fearful green eyes met Raven's worried purple ones.
It was time.
A few times a day they were chained up and led into the "lab". For "tests" they were told by the strange doctor. What kind of tests and for what Raven didn't want to know.
The clanking of the cage unlocking was followed by a loud and booming voice.
"Let's go."
Gar's knee bounced anxiously.
He was waiting.
Waiting for the "Go".
They had intel. The best intel they had had in two months.
Every Titan, every Leaguer had been scouring the world for the past two months. Watching. Waiting. And finally, it was paying off.
Thalia Al Ghul had been spotted in the past 48 hours.
Batman had wanted them to stay, like always, while the League checked it out. Verified that it was Thalia. That she was really where the lead said she was.
But not this time.
They had never received a tip about Thalia herself in the last two months. Everything else had been dead ends, whispers of a "friend of a friend said". While Gar would have been more than happy to chase down every single lead himself, Batman had devised a system. Scouts from the Titan Network or the Justice League would look into those leads, and see if there was any validity to them. That way no one was so spent from chasing down all of the leads they would be too exhausted to fight when the time came. It also provided that no one's city was left unprotected for an indefinite amount of time.
It had been hard to convince the Beast (and himself if he was being honest) to go along with the plan, but in the end, Gar's logical side won out. They would need all of their strength and energy to fight to get Raven back when the time came. In the meantime however whatever poor fool who chose to commit a crime in Jump during that time got way more than what they were asking for. So much so that Batman had forced Nightwing to temporarily re-assign Kid Flash, Jinx, and Harold to the founding team.
Kid Flash helped to balance out the tense hardness of Nightwing and Changeling with his good humor and lighthearted personality. Jinx acted as a magical suppressant for Changeling when the Beast got out of control (which he did, a lot). Harold was there for two purposes. The first was in case any of the scouts found something of importance and they needed Nightwing, Changeling, and Cyborg at whatever location ASAP. The second purpose was to act as a backup in case Jinx couldn't handle the Beast. He was there to send Beast to the nether to chill out for a couple of hours where he wouldn't hurt anyone (which had only been necessary like two times).
But this time they had solid intel from a good source about Thalia. It was recent, it was valid, and it lined up with what little other good intel they already had. This time was different. They could all feel it. So they were going. Nightwing and Changeling had both put their foot down.
The T-ship's engines whined as they prepared for take-off. The floor beneath Gar's feet rumbled. Jinx eyed him carefully from the pod next to his.
She had tried to sit in Raven's usual pod because it gave her a better vantage point to see into his pod. But he had growled in warning so she ended up in Starfire's pod, mumbling about having a crick in her neck from the sharp angle she would have to keep her head at to see him.
"All Titans converge on these coordinates in one hour." Nightwing's harsh voice barked over the intercom.
Harold and Kid Flash had left to gather stray Titans who didn't have another way to reach the meeting site.
It had taken Nightwing an hour of intense arguing to get Batman to hold the Justice League back as backup only.
Gar's blood rushed in his ears, his heart racing in his chest. He was ready. Beyond ready.
The roar of the engines increased, pulsing from the rushed upgrades Cyborg had given them to make the tight timeline.
"Lift off in 5...4..." Cyborg's voice chanted.
Gar closed his eyes, focusing on the mission ahead.
One hour.
The countdown had begun.
Raven's head hurt.
It always hurt afterward, whatever drug they had given her having a bitch of a side effect.
She felt the cold floor up against her cheek and knew that she was back inside their tiny cell.
Distant voices trickled in, alerting her that she wasn't alone.
A soft voice mumbled something, followed by the sound of a slap.
"What do you mean her powers are coming back?" A deep voice stage whispered. If Raven didn't know better, she thought she could detect a hint of fear in the voice.
"Her powers are not up to full strength, not yet, but they are present. She has been healing herself, and from the looks of it her powers are getting stronger." The first voice squeaked, probably in fear of being slapped again.
The second voice let loose a series of curses that would have made a sailor blush.
"Control yourself Deathstroke." A sharp voice commanded. A woman's voice. Thalia.
Raven forced her eyes open and was met with bright green ones. A small child, maybe two or three years old, stood holding the bars of her cage, observing her curiously. He had dark hair and his large, green eyes were intelligent, making her feel like he was looking into her soul and reading it. Eerily, the look on his face, a bored, calculating look, reminded her of Bruce.
Shivering, Raven forced herself to focus on the three adults standing behind the boy.
One was, of course, Thalia. The others were two men, both of whom she recognized. The shorter one wearing a white lab coat and glasses was the "doctor" who had been experimenting on her and Starfire for the past two months. The other one wore his signature black and orange uniform but without the full-face mask.
'Slade.' She thought angrily.
She didn't move, not wanting to alert them that she was awake. She wanted to hear the rest of their conversation.
"We have prepared for this. That is why we have a contingency plan. But we will need to work quickly. Doctor," she turned her attention to the man in the lab coat. "Go and ready the chamber, then the lab. As soon as the ceremony is complete we will need to move her back to the lab so that you can complete the procedure so that this problem does not re-occur."
He nodded and hurried away.
"I told you we should have done this weeks ago," Slade said lowly.
Thalia then turned her attention to Slade, glaring at him.
"And I told you that you do not make the decisions here. You follow the will of the Demon's Head. We needed the girl weak but healed from her wounds. We are prepared to deal with her powers."
"You may think that you are, but trust me, I know first-hand how uncontrollable they can be." He sneered.
"And trust me when I tell you that your life depends upon your silence." Thalia threatened. "Go and alert the sisters. Inform them that it is time for them to conduct the ceremony." She instructed. Slade did not look pleased at being told what to do but nodded his head in compliance.
Thalia then walked over, gathered the child into her arms, and left, several guards following her. Slade waited several minutes after the door closed before letting loose some more choice words. He also kicked the bars to their cage.
Raven slowly sat up when his back was turned. She then shook her head and tsked.
"Poor Slade...always wanting to be the one in charge and yet, you always end up doing the dirty work for someone else."
He turned, rage clear in his eyes.
"Little Raven...it looks as though someone has finally caged you. Too bad you don't have your father's favor to protect you."
She raised a brow.
"Look who's talking. As I seem to recall you lost my father's favor long before I did. I, however, never desired it."
"His power means nothing to me!" He hissed at her.
"And yet here you are, about to perform an ancient ceremony to take my powers away. Where do you think they will go? Vanish into thin air? I think not, Thalia is too smart for that. So what, you plan to petition her for them?"
"A willing sacrifice has already been chosen. It is my honor to follow the Demon's Head's orders obediently." He said stiffly.
Raven barked a cold, dry laugh.
"You used to be a better liar than that. I'm almost disappointed...almost."
"I do not need lies in the service of the Demon's Head."
Raven rolled her eyes.
"Oh come on, now you're starting to sound like a lame brainwashed victim from a 70's TV show. What's the matter, all your creativity get sucked to hell with the first round of your flesh?"
He growled.
"Silence."
Raven got up and stepped up to the bars. She gripped them and pressed her face up against them.
"What's wrong Slade? Afraid of a few words from a little girl?"
"It's Deathstroke now." He gritted out between clenched teeth.
"What, Slade too "teen villain" for the big leagues?"
"Shut up."
"No, you know why? Because you are nothing to me, peasant. I am the Princess of Hell itself, a demon spawn with more power at my fingertips than you could ever dream of, and you, you are less than dirt. You are the scum of the earth, dragging yourself around the world and into the depths of Hell looking for power and using fucking children to get it. My father used you like the worthless plaything you are and discarded you when he was finished with you. Ra's and Thalia will do the same thing and guess what," she gripped his shirt and slammed him into the bars, letting her eyes flash and dark sparks of energy zip across his skin.
"So. Will. I." she whispered darkly.
"Be quiet!" He shouted pushing back to free himself.
"What's wrong Deathstroke," she said mockingly. "Still scared of a few words from a little girl?"
She grinned evilly.
"Azarath, metrion, zi-"
He slammed the butt of his gun through the bars and into her mouth, causing her to stumble back and fall to the ground.
"I will kill you, insolent girl." He spat before walking away.
Raven lay there, staying very still for several minutes. She wanted to make sure that Slade was gone and give her now roaring migraine time to subside.
Once the world stopped spinning and she could open her eyes without a sharp stabbing pain in her skull, she crawled over to the cot. Starfire lay there, still sound asleep from the drugs they had given her in the lab, paler than she had been earlier this morning.
"Star! Starfire wake up!" Raven hissed shaking her friend's shoulder. The redhead stirred, groaning and blinking up at Raven blearily.
"Friend Raven? What is it?" Starfire asked groggily.
For the first time in two months, Raven grinned from genuine excitement.
Using her body to block their guards' vision, Raven held up her hand in front of Starfire's face, producing a key between her two fingers.
"I have a plan."
The fresh clean mountain air was refreshing. But it did little to soothe Gar or the Beast.
He could smell her.
After all this time, he could finally smell Raven again.
It was faint, but her scent was there. He could smell it the moment they had landed. He could also smell Starfire, Slade (which made him and Nightwing growl), that awful tainted magic smell, and about a hundred other people. All of which were below ground. Far below.
"We need a plan," Nightwing said, ready to go. As soon as Changeling had told him that Slade was there he had been chomping at the bit to start.
"We need to wait for the others," Cyborg said wearily. Out of all of them, the past two months had been just as hard for Cyborg as they had been for Nightwing and Changeling. Since the other two had been going out of their minds with worry and fear, spending all of their time looking for the girls or beating the crap out of petty criminals, Cyborg had been the one keeping them together.
He had taken care of everything, chores, grocery shopping, paperwork, security updates, communicating with all of the teams around the world, keeping up with the search progress and leads when the other two had been forced to sleep, smoothing over any brash words the other two men might have said without realizing, general maintenance of the tower, and supporting his two friends through every step of the way. All on top of his regular jobs of crime fighting, cooking, security, and computer consults for the rest of the Titans Network, and keeping the computers in the tower updated and running.
"We need to find shelter and some Dramamine," Jinx interjected looking about as green as Changeling.
"How are you not used to traveling at super-sonic speed by now?" Cyborg asked.
"Just because I travel with Wally all the time does not mean that I'm used to it." She mumbled weakly.
"Kid Flash." Nightwing corrected a hard edge to his voice.
"Whatever," Jinx mumbled before going cross-eyed, turning around, and heaving next to a bush.
"I agree with 'Wing. We go in, now." Changeling voted.
"You don't get to say a damn thing, either of you. You're both emotionally compromised and your judgment can't be trusted. 'Wing, put together a plan, for everyone. They still have 30 minutes before they're supposed to be here. In the meantime, Changeling and I will scout out the area, and see if we can't figure out what we're dealing with. Jinx," he paused, making a face at the sounds of their temporary teammate vomiting. "You just...keep doing you. Yeah."
He turned and started walking off into the cold wind and snow.
"Let's go String Bean!"
'Hold on Rae...we're almost there.'
The chains were biting into Raven's skin, but there was little she could do about it. The guards leading her down the dark corridor were intent on keeping her restrained. There were two leading her by the chains, two on either side of her, and two more behind. That didn't count Starfire's escort, not the two other groups of guards, one in front of them and the other behind. Plus Thalia made escaping at this particular moment pretty much impossible.
The key felt like it was burning a hole in her pocket, just waiting for her to use it. Their freedom was so close, that she could practically taste it, but she had to wait for the opportune moment.
"Just a little bit longer..." Knowledge encouraged from within Nevermore.
Raven was so excited she was practically giddy.
'Okay, Happy? I'm going to need you to calm down and take a step back.'
"I'm sorry! I'm just so excited! This is the first time I've gotten to stretch my legs in months!"
'I don't care! I need you to chill, or this will never work.' Raven responded.
Happy eased back, allowing Knowledge and Brave to come back to the forefront of her mind.
"Ok, so the first thing we need to do when we get there is assess the situ-"
Knowledge was cut off when they walked into an open cavern three times the size of the one where Raven and Starfire had been kept in their cage. Eyes wide, Raven took in the vaulted ceiling and walls made out of rock, the small creek that flowed through the middle of the cavern creating an altar on the other side of the huge room.
Frowning, she quickly studied several of the ancient symbols carved into the stones of the altar. She also quickly took in the dozen people in dark hooded robes that stood in a perfect circle around the altar at key points of the altar.
It took her about ten seconds to figure out which ancient ceremony they were about to perform.
"What was that you were saying about this never working...?" Rude piped up from the back of her head.
Raven gritted her teeth.
This was worse than what she had imagined.
She thought that Thalia had dug up some fake, or low-level witches who played with baby magic and had no idea what they were doing.
But no, standing before her was the cult of Trigon, the real deal idiots who had summoned her father and offered up her mother to him. Unfortunately, that meant that these numbskulls knew what they were doing.
From the looks of it the ceremony they were set up to do was a real spell that would drain all of her powers. Not just want she had at the moment or her reserve of energy, but from just a glance she could tell that the spell they had set up would drain her power and energy from her actual life source.
She gulped, scrambling for a new plan.
'They will kill me...'
"Most likely." Rude responded brashly.
A new stabbing pain entered her side from her newly healed wound, interrupting her response. She felt lightheaded and dizzy. Over the past two months, she had grown used to the effects of the tainted magic in the cavern, but here the magic was more potent and her body was starting to feel the negative effects again.
Raven grit her teeth and stumbled, dropping to her knees from the pain.
"Especially with the way the tainted magic is affecting you, yes it does seem likely that death will be the outcome." Knowledge said quietly.
"What are we going to do?" Timid wailed.
"Guys, don't think like that! Gar will come and save us!" Happy protested.
"I don't think he's coming this time Happy," Brave admitted softly.
"Why does dying have to be the only option?" Anger demanded.
"It's not the only option, it is the most likely outcome," Knowledge explained.
'Quiet! All of you!' Raven shouted in her mind, her voice strained from the new pain. 'The only thing we can do now is stall, and try to get Kori out of here. She still has a chance.'
"And how do you propose we do that?" Rude asked sarcastically.
Raven ran through her options.
Starfire's hands were trapped within her restraints. There was no way Raven would be able to hand her the key and no way that Starfire would be able to get it out of her pocket if Raven managed to pass it on to her. Starfire's bonds were too strong for her to break out of when she was at full strength when they had first met her however many years ago, let alone now. She was too weak to run and or fight, and she didn't have her powers so flying was out of the question.
'…I don't know.' Raven admitted.
"Rude does have a point. There is nothing we can do to help Starfire at this point, no matter how much we might want to." Knowledge reasoned.
"Let's go." The guards on either side of her roughly pulled her up by the arms and dragged her toward the alter.
Raven looked back to see Starfire watching with big, fearful green eyes. Thalia stood next to her holding a gun to Starfire's side in a silent threat.
Cooperate or your friend pays the price.
Raven sent Thalia a death glare. It was the only thing she could do at this point.
"Friend Raven?" Starfire's voice was small and filled with fear.
Raven wanted to reassure her with a smile, but all she could do was return Starfire's fearful gaze as the guards dragged her away.
They dragged her up to the small creek of water and pushed her across. She stumbled, splashing across the water as she tried to regain her balance. Robed arms grabbed her and pulled her into the center of the main rock platform that the creek encircled.
Carved into the rock platform was a circle of symbols that confirmed Raven's guess about which spell they were going to perform. At four points within the circle were more enchanted chains that had been bolted to the rock. Beyond the main platform was the altar where a short rock podium stood about as tall as her waist.
'That must be the catalyst to absorb my power.' Raven guessed.
Standing in the center of the circle was the leader of the cult.
"Saegar," Raven growled so lowly that the only person she could have learned it from was Gar.
"Lady Raven." The woman nodded respectfully to her coming victim.
"You think that you will earn my father's favor by killing his daughter?"
"We are not here to kill you, merely to drain your power," Saegar replied simply.
"Well, the spell you have set up is overkill. It won't just drain my power, it will kill me."
Saegar ignored her and motioned for her minions to continue in their task.
They turned Raven so that she faced Starfire and the crowd of assassin onlookers, and away from the alter. They chained her ankles first, then they forced her onto her knees.
"Raven!" Starfire protested, trying to fight against her captors but was too weak.
"It's okay Starfire! Everything's going to be okay!" Raven called.
Oh, how she wished that were true.
"Lay down." One of the robbed idiots ordered. He pushed her roughly by the shoulder, emphasizing his point.
As she complied Raven couldn't help but notice that out of everyone present, Slade was missing.
'Huh, talk back to the boss, get sent to time out,' She thought somewhat amused.
She laid down on her back, unable to see anything but the high ceiling.
He pulled her arms above her head and chained them to the rock, pulling so tight that the sharp metal cut her wrists, and the magic symbols burned brands into her skin. Satisfied with the chains' tightness, he walked away.
Raven's heart raced, anticipation of what was about to happen sending overwhelming waves of fear through her body. Black sparks danced across her skin, energy coursing up and down her body. Every muscle tensed as she waited for the chanting to begin. Once the chanting began there would be no going back, no escape. Just a long, torturous existence of nothing but sheer pain until death.
A single tear escaped from the corner of her eye and trickled down her cheek.
A steady drum beat started up and echoed through the cavern.
She closed her eyes, preparing for what was to come.
The chanting began.
'Goodbye Garfield...'
And the pain began.
White. Hot. Enveloping.
She had never felt anything like it.
There was nothing and no one but the bright white pain.
It felt like someone was tearing her body apart, digging through it, and ripping her soul into pieces.
She felt open, exposed, raw, vulnerable. She felt like she was on fire. Like someone was pouring liquid fire through her veins and crushing her bones into dust. She felt like her brain was melting.
Her body reacted of its own accord.
Her back arched so far it nearly broke. Her head was thrown back, her mouth open, the loudest most bloodcurdling scream coming out as though someone were ripping it from her body. Black energy poured from her eyes and hands, shooting straight up into the ceiling.
A powerful wind began to blow, encircling the center of the room where Raven was. It lifted her into the air as far as her tight chains would allow. Her body began to tremble, shake, and writhe in pain. Tears poured down her cheeks, blood flowed from her mouth, nose, and ears.
Her scream chilled the bones of everyone in the cavern, even the most hardened assassins.
"Shut it down!" Thalia shouted, but her voice was caught by the wind and disappeared into the dark vortex that was becoming the center of the room.
Black energy poured from Raven's body, shooting into the ceiling like a giant beacon of magic.
The ground rumbled, the walls shook, and the ceiling cracked. Rocks began to fall into the room from the ceiling.
"We need to get out of here!" Someone shouted next to Thalia.
Thalia nodded, and ran, leaving Starfire behind. The assassins followed suit, dodging falling rocks as they went.
The cultists had stopped their chanting, but it was too late. They could not undo what they had begun. They scattered like fish into the dark corners of the room praying to find an escape from their own undoing.
"Raven!" Starfire screamed.
She ran to the rock platform, splashing through the water, desperate to reach her friend's side. Rocks flew toward her, falling from the ceiling and picked up and redirected by the swirling wind. She swung at them with her giant restraints, breaking them into ruble.
When she reached Raven she knelt at her friend's side, searching for something, some way to help her.
"Raven!" She sobbed. "Raven please!"
There was no response, Raven staring into nothing beyond Starfire's head, black energy and tears being the only things to escape.
The room gave one more mighty shake, the walls groaning in warning.
Without a second thought, Starfire threw herself over Raven's floating body as the ceiling collapsed on top of them.
I don't usually have enough comments/reviews to do a mailbox response in every chapter, so until I do I will wait and respond to as many as I have at the time in a chapter that I choose. Which, today is this chapter because it's the 10th chapter and it's been like six months since I started writing this and you guys deserve some responses.
Mailbox:
LilLadybug2312 - Thank you so much! I am so glad you love it!
19Star - Your wish is my command!
Kat - Thank you so much! That really encourages me!
Mjmp - I'm glad I can keep you interested and keep the excitement up! I'll be honest, there were some parts that I thought you guys might find boring and I was worried about people losing interest. You said you couldn't wait for the next chapter, how were the last few? Did they meet or fail your expectations?
TheForceIsStrongWithThisOne - Yes, a call with the Bat is always fun unless you're Nightwing. Gar can be extremely stubborn, which can be a good thing in some situations, we'll see if he runs into any of those situations in the future.
Dragonmoon388 - First of all, love the user handle and profile pic, I love dragons! Also, thank you so much! I'm super glad that you're enjoying it! You also said that you were looking forward to the next chapter, did it fulfill or fail expectations? I'm curious to know.
Thank you to everyone who has commented/reviewed asking for more. It's readers like you guys that keep me going and honestly give me a reason to write even when all I want to do is give up and walk away from the story. As always I love reading your reviews, so please leave them!
Question:
What's been your favorite part so far?
What's been your least favorite part?