Written by: DemonAlchemist13
Author's Notes: Apokolips War destroyed me when it comes to gratification that also crushes your soul. We got Damirae as a couple… and it was brutally taken away from us by a Flashpoint. Because it is uncertain whether DC and the WB will ever bring them back as a couple in whatever adventures come(and because I am an impatient soul), I had to come up with my own series of events to bring them back together post flashpoint. I took mild inspiration from the Teen Titans(2003) animated series as well, mostly to help with Raven's character. Also, I know most characters don't remember things pre-flashpoint, and I am not going to change that in this story; so spoilers, no epiphany moment where things flood back and they swoon into each other's arms(turn back now if that's what you're after). Finally in this piece I pretend Constantine: The House of Mystery doesn't exist, because I need the magical snarky bastard.
Warning: Foul language, violence, OOC (to be safe). I also screw with continuity and ages a little bit here, Damian is older when he joins the Titans and Dick is going to be showing him how the team flows rather than Starfire(going by DCAMU timeline). Dick also adopts his Nightwing mantle with the Titans rather than in Gotham after his adventures with Batman
Pairings: Damian/Raven, Dick/Kori(established)
Rating: M (to be on the safe side with violence and heavy content).
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any of its characters; they are property of DC and Warner Bros. I do not profit from this work of fiction.
Nightmares of a Former Life
Fire burned all around, but she was cold, so cold. Raven looked around, quite literally in the body of her namesake, and nothing seemed familiar; everything was mechanical and bathed in an eerie red glow. Only one other being was in the room with her, a single small robin and it was badly injured with a puncture wound to its wing. The little bird tried and failed repeatedly to fly, but soon things got much worse. A beam of red light shot towards the creature and morphed into a hand to grasp it; the robin let out a pained chirp as that glowing hand squeezed tighter before it caught fire and fell dead to the floor…
Raven shot out of bed with a gasp, and tears streamed down her face. She wrapped her arms around her slight frame and held herself, doing her best to will the feeling of agony away. Not another one, not again. This dream had happened a few times a month at first, but recently it was becoming a nightly occurrence. As with every other time, the young empath knew she needed to calm herself; a dream like this was something that could easily throw her emotional state off balance.
She shivered, and grabbed her cloak from the chair in her room to wrap tight around her shoulders, before she made her way to the communal kitchen. After Raven took the time to fill and plug in the kettle, she riffled through the tea cupboard for something before she snatched a cup off the drying rack. The dark-haired young woman sat at the table with a hot cup of chamomile between her hands and tried to think. This was not like most other precognitive episodes; normally those came before, or in battle, and were almost only a negative feeling after which something usually would happen quickly following. This dream and feeling attached had been recurring steadily for days on end, and if it meant danger to Robin, certainly nothing had happened to him. In every battle call they had answered she had been careful to pay close attention to not only the criminal they fought, but also to him; there was never anything like the dream.
A slight shuffle from the hallway caught her attention and she looked up to see Robin in the entryway. "Hey," he greeted softly, "was it the dream again?"
Raven merely nodded before her senses caught up to her and she saw that he was in a new uniform, dark with a bright blue bird emblem on the front. "What's all this?" she asked.
"I'm going on patrol, solo… It's been something I've done for the past few weeks now; we must have always just missed each other I guess," he explained. "I haven't found the appropriate time to tell the rest of the Titans yet."
The empath said nothing, merely choosing to take a sip of her tea; though she did let her eyes travel up and down the length of him. Even if it filled her with a small pang of sadness that her friend seemed like he was getting ready to move on, she had no right to say anything on the matter. Not only had she been a lone wolf herself before joining the Titans, she also had her fair share of secrets. Her only major concern right now, was that there would be no one to watch his back if he fell.
"I know you're concerned for me because of that recurring dream," the young hero said. "If it makes you feel any better, I'll keep my communicator on your signal."
Raven allowed a hint of a smile in response. It touched her that he was willing to consider her worries. With nothing more to say Dick continued the rest of the way down the hallway and Raven heard the heavy rev of his cycle as he left the base. The rest of her tea only moderately eased her nerves and she went back to her room, settling on the floor with some incense to meditate; it took close to an hour, but she was finally able to calm her mind for some more rest.
The days that followed remained mostly the same. Almost every night Raven's dreams woke her up, and almost every night she saw the newly dubbed "Nightwing" off on his next solo excursion. Things became almost mundane, with no calls or alerts of trouble for almost a week. It was a steady stream of waking up, eating, training, and rest. Raven had begun to think maybe she was just losing it.
Things only changed when Dick and Kori called a conference of the Titans one afternoon.
"Kori and I have gathered you all here because I have something to announce," Dick began. "In the coming months I plan to be going solo in my efforts as a hero. I'll always be around to contact for advice and guidance, but I won't be affiliated as a Teen Titan anymore. I personally feel that it is my time to explore a little more of myself as I've grown, and Robin will be left behind. Going forward, I will be known by the mantle Nightwing." He paused for a moment, trying to get a sense of the atmosphere in the room.
"Well, that's unfortunate," Jaime piped up. "Though, I guess I respect your decision."
"I'm good with no more boring tactical meetings and over the top planning," Garfield said with a mischievous chuckle.
"I'm not leaving without a plan though," the older hero assured, much to the changeling's dismay. "I went back to speak with Batman about this, and we both agreed this team shouldn't be left without a tactician. I'm not saying you're not all good fighters, you're all amazing, but this team still needs a detective and a strategist," Dick took a steadying breath. "The newest Robin, Damian Wayne, will be coming to take my place. Batman feels he could benefit from more team work, and although he's on the abrasive side, he's still incredibly intelligent; once settled with the group he'll make a good addition to the Titans."
"Heh, he says that, but maybe ol' Batsy is just kicking the bird from the nest," the green skinned superhero joked. "I mean c'mon Damian is close to Raven's and my ages right, that makes him something like seventeen?"
"I'm sure you understand that Batman takes team building a little more seriously than just 'getting rid' of an almost eighteen-year-old son," Dick admonished. "Also, I know it's late for him to be starting given the age most heroes start with this group, but an exception has to be made as Batman feels it's too early to have him be sworn in to the Hall of Justice."
"Who is going to lead us?" Jaime asked. "If Damian needs work with his team building skills, I hope it's not going to be him."
"I'll be taking over as leader," Kori responded. "As the oldest member of the Titans after Dick, as well as the most training in combat and leadership, I am confident I can take on the responsibility. There are no objections I hope?"
The entirety of the group shook their heads.
Raven stood back silently absorbing all of the information presented. New Robin… if Dick wasn't the Robin she was supposed to be worrying about, was it this Damian fellow? At this point the only thing she could do was get herself centered and then see what her dreams had in store for her. Raven was shaken from these thoughts when she heard her name being called.
"You've been awfully quiet Raven; do you have anything to input on this matter?" Kori asked.
"No," she replied, and tried to keep her voice steady. Her eyes did travel over to Dick though, in a silent plea to talk later.
xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx
"I'm surprised you did this without talking to me first. You're the only one who knows the dreams I've been having." It was hard for Raven to keep a neutral voice. She had finally gotten Dick alone, and it was time to get some answers.
"I'm sorry you feel that way Raven, but nothing has come of your visions," Dick argued. "I can't be held back anymore; I've worked too long and hard to get where I am as a hero." When Raven continued to hold a betrayed glare, he took on a calmer and more sympathetic tone. "Is there any way your precognitive episodes could have just been alerting you to the fact that I was letting go of my time as Robin?"
"These dreams were too violent for that. The robin wasn't morphing, it was dying," and she put great stress on the last word.
It was all Dick could do not to roll his eyes. He really wasn't good with the magical or paranormal aspect of things; then with that thought he got an inspiration. "I'll talk to Batman in the next few days. I'm sure he has connections with magical users who would understand your precognition better than me, and maybe even put your mind at ease."
Raven pursed her lips together, conflicted for a moment. Part of her wanted to be insulted that he had so little faith in her ability to gauge her own powers, but logically she knew he was right. The empath was still discovering herself, and a second opinion wouldn't be that terrible. Finally, she gave a slow nod, and her older friend smiled.
True to his word within a couple of days Dick reached out to Raven privately and they agreed to meet at his motorcycle late in the night after their team mates had fallen asleep. Batman had gotten in touch with Zatanna, who was very reluctant to help, but nevertheless agreed to get them in contact with John Constantine. The three chose to meet in Jump City Park, and Raven saw that Zatana had made it there before them.
"Good evening Nightwing and Raven," the magician greeted. "I've made a call to Orchid and cast a summoning spell on the House of Mystery. Nightwing, store your cycle somewhere safe, I'll portal us out of here to a secluded location."
Zatanna waited for the two teens to get prepared, then opened a portal that soon found the three heroes on a tall cliff overlooking the waters of the ocean just outside of Jump City. It didn't take long before Raven could sense something unusual though, and soon enough a building began to materialize not far from them; a rather large baroque style home, deep brown with haunting amber lighting.
"I'll leave you here; currently I'm in no mood to see John," Zatanna said enigmatically before taking her leave.
"Our last falling out was bitter," an unrefined British accent clarified. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Never expected two Titans to wind up at my doorstep."
Raven peeked over her friend's shoulder to see a tall, lean man standing in the doorway of the house. He was dishevelled with a crumpled shirt and tie, draped by a well-worn tan trench coat; his blond hair was unkempt, and an obvious five o'clock shadow covered his face. Also noted by Raven was the distinct smell of liquor and cigarettes. This man was supposedly one of the greatest magical users in the world? The young empath wasn't feeling so confident about this.
"Raven needs someone with magical expertise. For months she's been plagued by violent nightmares, and over the last couple of weeks they have gone from intermittent to nightly. She is convinced these are precognitive visions; however, unlike her normal precognitive visions, nothing has come of these," Nightwing explained.
Constantine tilted his head in a gesture for the two of them to come into the house and led them to the living room. "You've come to bother me over some bad dreams?" he exclaimed in exasperation. "No offense luv, but I'm sure you know how silly this sounds."
"They all specifically involve a robin, as in bird - not person, dying horrifically," Raven began. "Initially I thought it meant danger to my friend here, but nothing has come of it; also, he's dropping that mantle, which he thinks is the reason for the dreams. Why I am still concerned is the graphic nature of the imagery, and the feeling I get when I awake, is too serious for a mere name change. Additionally, I learned a couple of days ago that the newest Robin will be joining our team at Titans Tower very shortly; I want to make sure he's not walking straight into his demise."
The blond-haired man frowned before letting out an exasperated sigh. For a moment Raven wasn't sure he was going to offer any help at all, then his face and demeanour changed entirely. "Before I do anything here, I want you to tell me something, how well is 'daddy' restrained in there?" he asked seriously and gestured to the gem on her forehead.
Raven was startled that he could have so easily sensed Trigon, but she stood strong and regarded Constantine with equal seriousness. "I have strict control over my emotions, and it weakens him as his desire is for me to weaken mentally enough to be able to take control."
Constantine nodded then summoned a small, intricately carved golden disk to his hand; instructing Nightwing to back away and Raven to sit he inserted it into her forehead before vanishing into a golden light. Raven winced at the intrusion and grabbed at her head. There was an overwhelming feeling of despair and gloom coming from the man inside her brain now; every odd moment hazy visions would come to her, but nothing ever clarified. Everything about this moment was just pain and agony, enhanced by regret and loss. Nightwing stood back feeling very helpless, he wished he could do something for her, but was unsure if any contact would damage whatever connection was taking place. Mercifully it didn't take more than five minutes before the older man emerged again.
"I can understand for an empath such as yourself that was likely torture, and I'm sorry. I do have the answer I needed though," he reassured. "Those visions you're having aren't precognition, rather the opposite. You're reliving a traumatic moment. Granted I couldn't see what, it's shrouded pretty bad, but your empathic powers all but screamed at me; you're in pain."
"Wait… what?" Raven stammered. "I can assure you, I've never watched Robin die, or even come close to being that hurt in battle."
"Not you specifically, but Raven has experienced this in another time and place," was all he offered enigmatically.
"What are you implying?" she pressed.
"Bollox."
TBC…
End note: I'm still researching Constantine and his abilities so that end bit might have been a little wonky, but hopefully not outright wrong or OOC. I figured the spell used in Justice League Dark would be best since it allows admittance into a person's mind and thoughts. I know it's likely not powerful enough to see past a flashpoint and into another timeline, but hell, it's Constantine and if there's one thing he's known for, it's being good at ass-pulls XD
