I4.6
Chapter 48: I4.6
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Adult themes. DO NOT read if you are underage or dislike controversial things.
Author's Note: For the love of plot! I think about this story a lot. I play it out in my head...but then forget to write it down.
Richard grits his teeth as the ringing in his ears intensifies. He finds it difficult to keep his balance and falls to his knees before the hulking figure towering over him. The smell of burning metal assaults his nose while flames flicker across the rooftop of the Titan Tower.
I can't let them get to her, are the thoughts running through his head as he clutches his ears.
His blurry vision is set on the figure of his beloved using her limited powers to protect herself. She is struggling against the mental and physical onslaught of her brothers' immense powers. It clearly wasn't a fair fight. Three against one, but Rachel is attempting to hold her own with what little she has been able to replenish in the last couple of days.
Richard lets out a groan of pain as he forces himself back on his feet. A shadow flies over him and familiar green fire bolts begin raining from the sky. The team's resident princess loops around in the air to take their attackers from behind. He watches as one brother whips around to confront her as he uses his dark powers to transform a shield into deadly arrows. He launches them at Starfire, but before she can defend herself, a dark shape in the form of a raven knocks the arrows off course. The two women nod once at each other before turning their attention back to the problem at hand.
Richard unsheathes his electric rods and activates them as he scans the rest of the scene before him. He watches as one of Rachel's brothers catches Cyborg by the throat and lifts him clear off the ground. Before he can toss the metal man, Cy aims his arm at the brute's face and sends a rocket fueled punch his way. He is greeted with a grunt and spews blood on Cy's chest but doesn't let go of him. Seeing his friend and teammate in trouble springs Richard into action.
With graceful agility that can only be achieved by countless hours of training, Richard crouches before the figure in front of him and dives for his feet. The electric rod makes contact with the "leader's" knee and causes it to buckle, but Richard's assailant doesn't fall. Instead, the wind is knocked out of him with a grunt when he feels malicious dark powers slam into his back. Muscle memory kicks in and causes him to roll out of the line of fire. With a groan, Richard's body pushes himself back onto his feet. He is breathing heavily as he reassesses his situation. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see that Cyborg has managed to break himself free from his assailant. Starfire is standing in between him and the figure conjuring a weapon in midair.
By Richard's count, only three of Rachel's brothers were attacking the Tower, which means that the other two could be laying in wait for an opportunity or off wrecking havoc somewhere else. Even with only three of them, Richard doesn't like his team's odds here. It was clear that they were struggling and down a member. He realizes that he can't help his subordinates without first taking care of his own monster. With that, Richard turns his attention back towards his own problem, but before he could make a move, a dark circle opens below the leader's feet. His mouth falls open in slight shock as the bigger man disappears into the floor and his beloved quickly pops out of the portal and closes it.
"Where did you send him?"
"Peru," is her nonchalant answer as she turns her attention towards the brute that is attacking Star and Cy. "It's a cheap trick and won't last long. They'll figure out their way back here in no time."
Richard watches as she attempts to open another portal below their final assailant, but this man was smarter than his peers. The moment he feels dark power condensing around his feet, he starts hovering. Both siblings lock eyes with one another and Richard is surprised to see Rachel looking away first. The sneer that stretches across his hideous face almost makes him take a step back.
"Name yourself," Rachel demands as Cyborg, Starfire and Richard move to surround the last man standing.
He barely glances at the rest of the team as he tilts his head at Rachel's demand. He lifts his hands to the sky before using a crooked pointer finger to trace something in the air. "No name. I servant to master."
"Trigon?" Cyborg asks.
Dark eyes shift in the metal man's direction and Richard can see that the sclera of his eyes are a dark yellow. "Trigon. Servant to master."
"What does your mother call you?" Rachel asks. There is a peculiar strain in her voice that Richard was surprised to hear and couldn't quite place. The expression on her face was almost seeking. For what, Richard doesn't know.
A long pause passes between the siblings before the grotesque man murmurers, "Deniska."
"Our father calls me nothing, too," Rachel responds, "but my mother...she named me Rachel."
"Rachel…" mimics the man before throwing his head back to let out a hoarse laugh. "No matter Rachel. No matter dirt. No matter name. Only matter is blood. Power."
"There's more to life than just power…" Rachel starts, but her voice trails off when she notices that her brother's eyes were no longer on her. She glances over her shoulder to see Richard crouching off to her right. Ready to jump in at the first sign of an attack. She frowns at his presence before turning her attention back to her foe.
"Deniska," she states firmly as her dark powers swirl around her hands, "my friends are off limits."
The creature's yellow eyes never leave Richard's face as he simply mutters, "Sacrifices must."
Richard tries to suppress the shiver that races down his spine, but he can feel the goosebumps growing along the length of his arms and the sweat pooling in his armpits. He hadn't thought much of Rachel's emotional breakdown around the idea of being the one to kill him, but even he couldn't deny the implications of what this demon was muttering.
"I will never sacrifice my friends for my own safety," she counters with a deadly edge to her voice.
"Will changes. Always," is the cryptic reply she receives. "Sacrifices must."
Richard finally finds his voice and demands, "What do you want with Rachel?"
"Power. Peace." Are the resolute responses. "Only power rests."
"There are other ways to obtain peace without sacrificing anyone," Cyborg chimes in. "You don't always need war to have peace."
Deniska shakes his head. "No war when sacrifice."
"Then…" Richard asks as the gears in his head begin turning, "does this mean you want to use Rachel as a sacrifice?"
The demon's crooked smile reveals crooked teeth. "She. Us. You. Us."
Richard feels his eyes becoming unfocused as the sensation of something heavy rests at the base of his skull. A nagging, persistent feeling that just wants to be let in. A memory of Rachel sleeping in his arms is pulled to the surface of his mind. Warm feelings of love and affection swarm through his thoughts as his memory emphasizes the softness of her body and the contentedness of her sleeping figure. A sudden, overwhelming desire to go back to that place and protect that version of his lover surges through him. A dreamy smile pulls at his lips as his head falls forward a bit. He can feel his shoulders going slack as though all of the tension and his problems have gone away.
He heard the sound of the slap before he felt the stinging in his cheek. Rachel is standing before him with his face in both of her hands. A worried expression marring her lovely face as she is repeating words to him in a frenzy. He can't quite understand why she's behaving so frantically when he feels as though he's floating on cloud 9. Sure, her brother is here, but he's more of a nuisance than a danger. She's here. He's here. The moon's shining brightly in the sky. What can go wrong? They should be enjoying this romantic moment together.
Before Richard can stop himself, he's leaning down and closing the distance between his lips and Rachel's. There are no coherent thoughts. Only an unyielding urge to taste the lips before him. Before he can accomplish his goal, he feels his world spinning and a blooming pain in his jaw. The crack of his skull hitting the hard concrete of the Titan's roof shocks him back into the moment. Standing above him is a very angry looking Cyborg who is raising his large metal fist to hit him again.
A shrill scream can be heard in the air as Starfire comes swooping down to save her beloved leader. She knocks Cy out of the way, but before she can scoop Richard up in her arms, Rachel's dark powers envelops him. She doesn't bring him to her side for fear of heightening Star's anger even more. Instead, she dangles him in midair like bait as she yells at her teammates.
"DO NOT LET HIM IN!" she screams at her friends. "He is playing on your emotions! He knows what to show you to make you feel what he wants you to feel. Don't let him make you angry!"
"Put Robin down this instant!" Starfire responds as her hands glow a dangerous shade of green.
"I'll put him down when I know he's safe," Rachel reasons.
"Liar!" screeches the disheveled princess. "You just want him for yourself, you selfish bitch!"
"I thought you were better than that Rachel!" adds Cyborg. "You'd hurt my friend for a fling with this guy? Like he would stay with you. You'd just be another conquest."
"Don't tell lies on Robin!" Starfire yells as she unleashes a fire bolt his way. The metal man evades it with practiced ease.
"Oh please, Star," a very angry Cyborg says, "you think Boy Wonder has been celibate all these years? Just because he hasn't been fooling around with you doesn't mean he hasn't been fooling around at all..."
BOOM
The power of an explosion that the team's empath sets off is enough to have her teammates flying across the rooftop, but not nearly loud enough to drown out the malicious laughter of the monster in their mists.
"I told you," Rachel grits out as the smoke begins to clear out. "He is playing with your emotions by manipulating your memories. He knows your wants and fears. Do. Not. Let. Him. In."
"Is he manipulating us or are you just too scared to talk about the elephant in the room?" is Cyborg's retort while coughing as the smoke clears. He gingerly gets back on his feet while brushing dirt and debris off of his frame.
"We can talk about it all you want...but later!" Rachel frantically waves her hands at the grinning fiend in the corner.
Richard's head is spinning because he doesn't know what to think. The urge to kiss Rachel was so out of left field that his rational brain could not comprehend why he thought now was the appropriate time and place for that. But the urge...the urge was pulled to the surface with such undeniable conviction that to not act on it seemed preposterous. To say that he feels uncomfortable with how easily Deniska was able to make him feel things would be an understatement. He activated Richard's desire and lust while simultaneously fanning the flames of his teammate's uncertainty and rage. He had thought that Rachel's ability to tune into people's emotions was invasive, but this one is on a different level. It was then it occurred to him to ask a question.
"Was…" Richard's hoarse voice cuts through the air, "...was your mother human, too?"
The question wipes the smile off of Deniska's face. "Matters not."
"Where was she from?" is Rachel's follow up question. Her gaze is unwavering as she peers into her sibling's visage.
"Matters not," is repeated with a sharper edge.
"You're not as physically large as the other ones and you can tune into emotions," Richard begins to reason out loud. "You look closer to human than the others. Ugly, but at least humanoid."
What are the odds that children between Trigon and humans would share similar abilities? Could empathy be a distinctly human trait that is just magnified by demon blood? No...that couldn't be. Superman is a literal alien, but probably one of the most empathetic people on planet Earth. But then again, is it true empathy emitting from the godlike man or is it some type of understanding beyond the human world? Something other? Something above the petty squabbles of humans? Could Rachel also develop this skill of masterful emotional manipulation? Not that she would use it on anyone. She's too good for that. Her morality wouldn't let her.
Richard shakes his head to clear his mind. Now is not the time to have philosophical debates with himself. There are more pressing matters.
"How many more human-demon hybrids are out there?" ask Starfire with a worried look on her face. It seems as though she was able to shake her rage once Deniska lost his concentration. Richard lets out a sigh of relief when his beloved finally lowers him to the ground. It was then that he notices that both women are hovering because they've lost their bedroom slippers in the fight. Rachel's pajama shirt is missing a whole sleeve and there is a large tear in the seaming of the fabric. He can see the delicate curve of her waist through the slit every time she moves or when the wind blows. Star is no better off. The hem of her already short shorts are singed and her sleep top is barely holding on by a thread. Richard knows he looks just as battered as his companions. While they fortified the Tower for these goons, their dysfunction stopped them from preparing themselves as a team. As a unit. The leader in him felt both disappointed at the lack of foresight, but also proud at the fact that they didn't completely fall apart.
"Matters not," is the response that brought him back to the present. "Human or no. Will ALL sacrifice."
"Why are you here," Rachel asks with tears in the corner of her eyes. "What could you possibly want from me that another daughter of Trigon could not do?"
"You summon," is the answer to her question. A grotesque smile smears itself across his face. "We answer."
Violet hair flies left and right as Rachel shakes her head with conviction. "I would never summon the likes of you!"
Deniska throws a glance Richard's way which causes another shiver to run down his back. "You did. We taste your power."
"I had no intentions…" Rachel sputters before Deniska cuts her off.
"Intentions. Matters not. Only action," is his response. The team looks on in confused fascination as Rachel's whole body begins to vibrate and her dark aura envelops her. She launches herself at her brother and attempts to overtake him with brute power, but it doesn't work. Deniska wraps his dark tendrils around both of her legs, wrists and neck before Richard springs into action. He hurls his electric rods at the attacker with a war cry that could rival Aries, only to have them easily deflected. Cyborg is able to loop metal ropes around his ankles while Starfire sneaks up on him from behind. She pile drives a flaming fist into the back of his skull which brings the assailant down to his knees with a painful grunt. His hold on Rachel loosens and she is able to roll her way out of his grasp, but she doesn't get very far before a gnarly, paw like hand wraps itself around her ankle and drags her back. The empath lets out a sharp cry of pain as both of her knees are torn open.
Richard's mind is racing. At this point, it's four against one so the odds are in their favor. There is no doubt in his mind that they can defeat Deniska, but keeping him for interrogation would be ideal. With the "right" kind of persuasion, who knows what kind of information they can squeeze out of him? But that's not a task for the Titans. Richard has managed to keep their hands relatively clean for all of these years. It makes no sense to dirty them now. No, instead, he could give Deniska to Batman as a gift. Bruce has the facilities and the know how to extract pertinent information. The only down side would be that the controlling old bat wouldn't willing share all that he knows with Richard. Still, any bit would help.
He begins fiddling with the cool syringe in his back pouch as he watches his teammates work together to subdue the intruder. While Rachel made her way to the roof to confront their enemies, he had made a swift detour for his weapons. He's thankful that he listened to the nagging voice at the back of him mind that told him to bring the drug with him. If his suspicions are true and Deniska is also part human, then this would also be an ideal test run for I4.6. Half human. Half demon. Powerful. Born with innate empathetic abilities. Check. Check. Check. This would be a perfect opportunity to see what this drug can do to Rachel without actually using it on her. If only this brute was a woman, then all of the conditions would have been satisfied.
"Hold him still," Richard bellows. The vibration of his own voice rings in his ears as he rapidly mulls over the ramifications of unveiling I4.6 in such a way. His teammates are smart enough to realize the parallels between what they have experienced and what Deniska will endure. However, if they give him to Batman then they won't have access to him to figure out his symptoms. He shakes his head to clear his mind while Cyborg and Starfire work to secure the brute's limbs and Rachel encases his head with her dark aura.
"He won't be able to use his powers to mess with our emotions," she begins through gritted teeth. "But I can't hold him for long."
"You won't have to," Richard says as he quickly moves to Deniska's side. Yellow eyes are tracking him through the haze of Rachel's powers. For the first time in this encounter, he actually looks concerned. "I have something that should put him to sleep."
"How are you sure it's gonna work?" asks Cyborg while brutally twisting his captive's limbs. It's rare to see the metal man so vicious, even in a fight, but Richard couldn't blame him.
"I don't...but it's worth a try," is the provided answer. Richard pops the cap off of the syringe's needle and jumps on Deniska's back. The sound of air rushing out of the bigger man's lungs satisfies something sadistic in the young man. With a sense of glee, Richard thrusts the needle into the demon's neck and pushes on the plunger. He watches on in morbid fascination as the liquid enters the system and a groan emanates from the tense figure beneath him. Deniska goes limp.
"What is that stuff?" asks Cyborg as he reaches for the syringe sticking out of the unconscious demon's neck. His motorized eye whirls as it zooms in on the remnants of the liquid inside.
Richard shrugs nonchalantly as he runs his hands through his hair. They'll need to move the body to a more secure location...and fast. He turns to his teammates and prepares to lie through his teeth. "I'm not sure what that stuff is. Batman gave it to me and told me to use in case of an emergency. I think this counts as an emergency."
"How did you know it would have put him to sleep?" inquires Starfire as she kicks the demon's grimy boots to make sure he is unresponsive.
"That's what Batman said it would do," he lies. He knew, from his own experience and experimenting with his subordinates, that the first thing I4.6 does is knock the user out. With all things considered, Deniska should be out for a while since Richard injected him with a whole vial of the drug, but there's no telling. "We need to move him. Who knows how long he'll be out for. We need to get him to Batman..."
Richard's sentence is cut short by the look on Rachel's face. It is difficult to tell what she is thinking but her look of disbelief as she locks eyes with him, turns into utter horror as she screams "Get down!"
He feels his body being pressed against the cool concrete of the rooftop. Rachel has managed to erect a shield around the two of them as the floor begins to crack beneath them.
"What is happening?!" he frantically asks as he turns to his beloved.
"They came back," she quietly replies with her staring straight ahead. He can see her physically tensing up. Preparing for a fight. Richard follows her train of vision and sees the two other brothers Rachel sent to Peru during the fight. He unsheathes his electric rods again while looking for the rest of their team. To the right of them, he sees an unconscious Starfire. There is blood pouring out of an injury to her head. Cyborg is making his way to her, but Richard can hear the sound of his gears screaming with each step he takes.
"We're down two members," he says to Rachel as he refocuses his attention on their attackers. The odds are no longer in their favor and he did not bring more than one syringe of I4.6. He watches as the other two brothers investigate their fallen brethren. Richard couldn't tell if their hesitancy was born out of concern or from the unexpected, but he was glad to see that they weren't as cocky as they were before.
"Stand your ground, Dick," she replies. "Don't give them an opening to exploit you."
Rachel's hands begin to glow a faint dark color. He knows that she is pushing herself beyond her limit. What little she was able to regenerate has long since been used up in this battle. He can tell by the slightly off color of her aura that she is pulling energy from the inscriptions etched into the stone of the Tower. She is not in good shape.
Both birds freeze when the two brothers turn to look at them. Without saying a word, one turns away to lift their fallen sibling while the other leaves them with parting words. "You. Us."
A malicious grin parts his cracked lips as he sneers "Rest well," before following his companion into the dark portal behind them. They take Deniska with them. Both birds watch their retreating figures with a fleeting sense of relief and dread. As much as Richard would love to chase after them and reclaim their hard won prize, his team is no match to take on the other two brothers.
Richard can still hear the gear's in Cyborg's metal body protesting his every movement. When he glances over to the metal man, he sees him cradling Starfire's limb body. The blood on her face is starting to crust over. Before he can inquire about her state, the older man states, "She'll be alright. It was a nasty hit to the head, but she's still breathing. We should get her checked out to be on the safe side."
He turns away from them and heads to the hole where the door used to be. Rachel's eyes trail after him with tears in them. A look of lost hopelessness painted across her normally stoic face. He's not used to her being this openly expressive with her emotions, but he can't say that he's surprised. The forlorn mood that he recognizes from the last time Trigon attacked is wrapped around her like a familiar cloak. She has no reason to feel guilty for what's happening. Before she can step away from him, Richard lays a heavy, battered hand on her shoulder. "None of this is your fault. You are not responsible for anyone else's actions besides your own…"
She doesn't give him the opportunity to finish his sentence. Rachel shakes off his hand and sympathies. The cool night breeze ruffles her hair and blows a few strands across her tearful eyes. "None of this would be happening if I wasn't here. The only reason they're terrorizing us is because they want me."
"And still…" Richard begins to reason, "they did not snatch you when they had the chance. Something isn't adding up."
"They didn't take me because I haven't regained my powers yet," she counters while curling her tired hands into fists. "I'm useless to them if I'm not properly replenished."
"I don't understand. Why would they want you at full power to fight them?" he asks. "In the last fight they were trying to drain you to death…"
"I don't have enough energy to bring Trigon into this world...even if they sucked me dry," Rachel admits with a shiver. "They need me to be healthy and continually replenishing myself in order to bring that monster to Earth."
"Then what was all that talk about 'sacrifices?'" he questions. What he thought he knew no longer makes sense. "Aren't you the sacrifice?"
"I am…" she hesitates, "but sacrificing something doesn't always mean you lose it to death. They need me to willingly bring him here."
Richard couldn't stop the snort that rushed passed his lips. "Yea. Like that will ever happen. You hate that guy. In no dimension do I see you willingly working to bring that devil to Earth."
Rachel shakes her head again. "I need to leave...no one in this city is safe with me here. The people are right. I am a danger to them."
"The opinions of sheep should not matter to us," Richard coos as he grabs both of Rachel's ice cold hands and rubs them between his fingers. The lovely violet of her eyes are duller than he remembers. The corners of her inviting mouth are pulled down into a frown. Her brows are perpetually knit together in a way that breaks his heart."If you feel like you need to leave, then we can leave. Where would you like to go?"
His love attempts to pull her hands out of his grasp, but he would not let her. They are a pair and they will flock together come hell or high water. Rachel's pleading voice hits his ears but he just holds on tighter. "Dick! You don't understand. Nowhere is safe with them here. They can always find me!"
She violently turns away from him to cover her face. "There is no place safe for me…"
Richard walks up behind her and places his large hands on her quivering shoulders. "You have a whole team of heroes who are ready and willing to protect you. You are safer here than you would be alone."
Rachel weakly leans into his familiar touch as she beats at her chest. She heaves a strangled cry.
"I can feel them...they can feel me…" she turns her gaze skyward. "They can find me by tracing my powers. I can hide on the moon and they would still be able to find me."
Richard begins to sway soothingly with her in his arms. He rests his chin on the top of her sweaty hair. "If you can feel them...and they can feel you...then can't you use that to avoid them? If you knew they were coming then you can just move somewhere else."
"And be running for the rest of my life?" she asks with sarcasm laced in her voice.
"Can you find them now?" he asks. "There are five of them in total...could you do the tracking instead?"
Richard is sure that the Justice League would love to get their hands on these demons from another dimension. This is bigger than the Titans and as much as he would like to handle this himself, he is not willing to risk Rachel's life in the process. If she can track them down then the League can do what Batman designed it to do.
"I don't know how to track them," she admits with frustration. "I can feel them on the fringes of my mind. Just out of reach. Like the feeling of a single strand of hair that barely grazes the skin."
"I can feel the two that just left us...but not Deniska," she says with her eyes close as she tries to search for the other two who were not present. "It must be because he's unconscious."
Richard feels his heart skip a beat in excitement has an idea floods his mind. If the reason she can't feel Deniska is because of I4.6 then there is a very good chance that he has been cut off from his powers. Since he can't activate them, they no longer exist for him. Who knows how long this will last, but if that is the case then there might be a way around their predicament.
"Rachel," Richard quietly asks. "Do you…"
The rest of his question is cut off by the sound of a low buzzing of a drone. Both of the birds glance to their left to see a small drone of a local news company pointing its camera towards them. He can feel Rachel stiffen in his arms, but he doesn't let her go. Let them see. It's not like everyone doesn't know, but now wasn't the right time for prying. Richard leans down and places a kiss on the top of her head while flicking his wrist. The machine explodes into smaller pieces as the batarang makes contact with it.
"We should definitely move this inside," he says as he finally releases her tired body.
Rachel nods. "We should check in on Star and Cyborg. They both sustained heavy damages."
His eyes follow her tired form as she slowly walks her way back into the Tower on bare feet. He glances behind him to assess the damage that was done to the roof. Nothing seemed like it would cause the building to collapse. The infrastructure was designed in such a way as to sustain heavy damages on the outside. Had they been attacked inside the building, then the whole team would have been singing a different tune.
Richard rubs at his painfully dry eyes. He is normally the man with a plan, but his head is just empty. There are too many emotions clouding his judgment. Too many ways in which this won't end well. If they were able to inject each one of her brothers with the drug, then there is a chance that they could defeat them. However, they seem to be just like their sister: a scholar. The best I4.6 could do is buy the team some time before they either shake it off or find some way to counteract it. Hopefully, by then, he and Rachel would have come up with a better plan.
The young leader slowly picks his way across the damaged roof to the hole where a door once stood. The skyline is as beautiful as it has always been, but he could not ignore the sound of helicopter blades slicing through the air. He was mildly surprised that it took so long for the news and nosy civilians to respond to the disturbance. He is confident that they won't come too close since the air ways around the Tower are restricted, but one can never be too sure.
He slips into the darkness of the halls and makes his way to his bedroom. He has been in such a rush to get to the roof that he had forgotten to put his combat boots on. His socks are hanging on by a thread and his feet hurt after walking over rubble. He pulls off the battered garments and carelessly tosses them to the side. His feet are sore, but not injured. A good soak and massage is all they need. Assessing his own hurts makes him remember Rachel's injuries. She doesn't have enough energy to heal herself and knowing her, she won't treat them either. With a tired sigh, he swaps out his mangled clothing for his Nightwing suit. He covers the skintight armor with loose fitting civilian clothes before washing his face and running a comb through his disheveled hair. He hauls on his combat boots before turning off the lights in his room.
Richard doesn't bother turning the lights on as muscle memory brings him to the Tower's infirmary. He's not surprised to see his love's worn out figure hunched over Starfire's bed. The alien princess is still unconscious with bandages skillfully wrapped around her head. Clearly Cyborg's work. He quietly watches on as Rachel places her small hand on her friend's chest. Her violet eyes flutter close with tears glistening on her long lashes. A pained expression passes across her face as she attempts to conjure healing energy into her palm. The dark energy loosely swirls around her hand before sputtering out. Rachel is depleted. She rests her head on the side of Starfire's bed and weeps.
Richard wasn't sure what to feel or how to feel as he takes in the whirlwind of emotions before him. His heart goes out to the both of them. Rachel doesn't deserve to experience the trauma and near death experiences that come from being the daughter of a demon. She should be safe, secure, protected while she explores the beauty of life. They both should have that. Yes. They signed up for the superhero life. Yes. They are both heavy hitters in their own right. Yes. They are capable of taking care of themselves, but they deserve someone in their corner who can be a pillar of support in their moments of need. He can only be that for one of them and right now he feels as though he is utterly failing at his self imposed charge. The birth of Nightwing has been marred with one failure after another.
"You shouldn't beat yourself up over this, Dick," Rachel's shaky voice cuts through the air. "This is all my fault and I should bear the bur…"
"This burden is bigger than just your shoulders, Rachel," he counters as he steps into the room. "You can still feel my emotions?"
He couldn't quite conceal his surprise at that. When her powers are this low, she has a difficult time tuning into her empathic abilities. Rachel shifts in her seat before admitting, "Only yours. I couldn't really pick up on what Cyborg was feeling when we talked earlier...but it doesn't take an empath to know that he's angry."
"He has no reason to be angry with you," Richard reasons as he comes to stand beside her.
"I think it comes from confusion and embarrassment," she says as she looks up at him from her seat on the stool. "He told me that he'll come find me when he's ready to talk. He went to find his spare parts."
Richard gives her a good once over before stating, "You look like a mess."
"Gee, thanks."
Richard cracks a little smile to see that her dry humor is still there. He's sure it's just her coping mechanisms kicking in to keep her from breaking down, but it's still good to see. He places a light hand on her shoulder.
"Let Starfire rest. You can come back when we finish cleaning you up," Richard offers. Hovering by Star's bedside won't do her any good. It'll just feed her guilt. Rachel allows him to take her hand and guide her out of the medic bay and off into the small, cool room that they use to store the medicine. He sits her on the patient's bed as he pulls out clean bandages and antiseptic from the cabinets. From what he can see, Rachel hasn't sustained any massive injuries. Just standard cuts and bruises. He's more concerned about the fatigue that she's fighting.
He kneels before her with a sterile swab covered in antiseptic. He eyes both of her torn up knees and says "This will sting a bit."
She nods her head once with tears brimming in her eyes. Not from the anticipation of physical pain, but from emotional torment. She squeezes her eyes shut when he gently places the swab on her open wound. He carefully cleans what he can see through her tattered clothes. As he works, he asks, "Tell me what you're thinking, beloved."
He is greeted with silence, but he doesn't push her any further. He continues tending to her wounds as he waits.
"I'm thinking," she whispers "that I want to disappear."
"I hope you don't mean death," he clarifies.
"Would I even be able to escape this in death?" she asks the thoughts in her head. "If I'm dead, they wouldn't be able to feel me...find me. I'll be free…"
Freedom. The thing they have both been fighting for as long as they can remember. When was the last time they haven't felt the yoke of their respective heritages? When was the last time they did not have to hyper analyze the consequences of their actions? He was fortunate enough to experience a real childhood for the first decade of his life. She, on the other hand, has never had that luxury. It's the reason why he wants to protect her as fiercely as he does. Not just for her, but also for himself. If there is one thing that Richard has always known about himself, is how inherently selfish he has always been. He masks it well when dealing with high society or when taking on the role as leader of the Titans, but deep down inside, he knows why he does it. The reasons are no where near selfless. There is power. There is prestige. There is social currency. Being a hero isn't just about doing the right thing for the people of his city. It's about satisfying his own self interest and if others benefit from it then that's even better. If he does make a move, you best believe that there is something in it for him.
"What if I told you there might be a way to make that happen?" Richard mummers to the space between them.
A sour chuckle passes Rachel's lips. "Ha! Are you Houdini?"
"I'm serious," the shift in his tone and seriousness of his face causes Rachel the look at him more closely. Her violet gaze scrutinizes his face before settling on the blue-grey before her.
"What do you mean?" she asks. "Moving me from one place to another isn't going to keep them from finding me."
A brief look of horror morphs her face as a fleeting nightmarish thought flits across her mind. "You don't plan to lock me up, do you?!" She violent shakes her head from side to side as a memory buried deep in her childhood unexpectedly surfaces. "I will not let you!"
Richard reassuringly places his hands on the distraught woman's shoulders as he remembers a heartbreaking story Rachel once told him from living with her caregivers. Before she was properly acclimated and introduced to Azarathian society, she had been placed in the care of a monk whose sole purpose was to torment and control the "dirty, demon child." He would routinely lock her away in a fortified box that was barely bigger than a child sized casket. She could not call on her powers to save nor comfort her while she was in there. A very young and scarred Rachel learned quickly the dos and don'ts to avoid that box.
"I would never confine you like that," he coos to her reassuringly. She's stressed out enough as it is. "What I'm proposing would let you roam the streets freely."
"Ha!" is her jaded response. "What kind of spell casting or potion is this? Maybe a cloak of invisibility?"
Richard doesn't answer. Instead he lets go of her shoulders and places a loving kiss on her lips as he stands. Violet eyes track the handsome man as he walks over to the small fridge that the team uses to store medicine. Rachel cocks her head to the side as she watches him reach deep into the cool box and retrieves two vials. Her eyes light up with curiosity when she recognizes what is in his hands.
"This is what you used earlier," she states as she takes one vial out of his hands. She is confused as she mummers "captopril" under her breath before looking at him with a question in her eyes.
Richard knows that this is risky. He's already revealed some of what this drug can do earlier and he was hoping that this can be used to take down all the Brothers and finally set Rachel free. However, if it can be used a little differently, then maybe...just maybe, he can bring her some semblance of peace. These brutes are able to keep tabs on her by the energy trail left from her powers, then the only way to throw them off the trial is to turn her powers off. He's unsure how I4.6 will affect her with long term usage, but he is confident that her body can handle it for a shorter period of time. Just enough for them to figure out another game plan without having to worry about a surprise attack. This would definitely leave her vulnerable since she would have no way to defend herself, but then that's what he's here for. If they can't find her and he can keep her hidden well enough, then he would only need to protect her from common dangers. In the mean time, he would have to double down on her self-defense training while her powers are turned off.
"Captopril is not the name of this drug," Richard begins. Licking his lips as he prepares the version of the truth that suits them best. "The real name is I4.6. It is something that Batman and the Enterprise have been working on for years. They've tried it on numerous test subjects, including myself."
Rachel gasps at little at that admission. She never would have thought that the ever cautious Boy Wonder would take something so experimental. "Why would you volunteer to try this?"
A small smile of chagrin pulls at his lips as he inserts a new syringe into the vial in his hands. "I wasn't really in the right head space. I wasn't listening to my own needs and putting the expectations of others before my own expectation of myself. I know that there are things that I want in this life and denying myself to make others comfortable was doing me more harm than good."
None of what he has said so far has been a lie. It is true that he did try I4.6 in a desperate attempt to forget about his buried feelings of love and lust for the young woman before him. She still, somehow, paints a picture of beauty with her dirty face, skinned knees and tattered clothes. How he managed to talk himself out of acting on his own feelings for so long is something that should be studied. That night broke down every wall that he worked so hard to build between the two of them. If he's being honest, I4.6 was the catalyst that he needed to act.
"What does it do?" she quietly asks the space between them as she runs her fingers over the cool surface of the glass in her hand.
"The Enterprise designed it as a way to incapacitate superheros," he says. "It's supposed to inhibit their powers. I think it might help in our situation. It worked on Deniska. You said that you couldn't feel him after I injected him with this drug."
"Soo…" she was so full of questions, but isn't sure which one to ask first. "What is in it?"
"The truth is that I don't even know," is Richard's honest answer. "When I took it...it just knocked me out. I felt disoriented when I woke up, but nothing too bad. The other test subjects recovered quite well when they took it. When the drug worked its way out of their system they were completely back to normal. No real lasting effects that we could tell."
"Who…" Rachel asks in disbelief. "Who would agree to try this knowing that they won't have access to their powers?"
"I can't give you the names of the test subjects. That's confidential," he answers. "What I can tell you is that if you take this, then we can move you somewhere else. Somewhere safer, where they can't readily find you."
"Ha!" she looks at him in disbelief. "And leave me completely vulnerable? And what happens if this doesn't work and we're attacked? Huh? Then what, Dick?"
"You have me!" he hisses at her. His pride and ego bruised at her insinuation that he is not enough. He can feel the weight of his armor under his civilian clothes. Shame burning into his skin. "I can keep you safe. I can keep you out of harms way. I can make sure they don't find you! I have the resources. Let me do this…"
"Do you hear yourself, Dick?" she asks. "Do you know what you're asking me to give up? The danger you'll put me in just so that you can play hero?"
Richard kneels before her again. His offering to his love: a syringe full of chemicals. An oath on his lips. "In this mad, mad world, I'm the only one who will never forsake you, Rachel. I know who you are and I accept every part of you. I've proven on numerous occasions that I can take care of you. That I can support you. That I can save you when you need it the most."
"Dick…" she stutters, "You can't make me do this…"
"I'm not trying to force you to do anything," he counters. "I'm trying to get you to understand that this is a legitimate option. This would buy us some time to figure out what our next moves are."
"We can ask the Justice League for help," she says. "There might…"
"If you drag the Justice League in to this right now, they will lock you in a box," Richard states. He knows he's playing on her fears, but he needs her to cooperate with him. He needs her to submit so that he can do the right thing by her. Which is to keep her safe.
"They wouldn't do that…" she trails off as she thinks about the other options.
"They would," he reaffirms. "Batman is not a fan of you. He doesn't trust you and your connection to Trigon. He thinks that you'll crumble at the first sign of hardship. If he had his way, you'd already be locked up...or at the very least exiled to another planet."
He gives her a moment to let the words sink in. She always knew that the Bat preferred Starfire over her, but that has never worried her in the past. The alien princess' charm and demeanor has always been award winning. Most people learn to appreciate her as they get to know her, but to outright not like her because of what she is, stings. Richard reaches for her hands and gently presses the syringe into her palms. He has to get her to agree to this to ease his own guilt.
"I've been the man standing in between you and him for years now," Richard admits. "He would have thrown you off the team a long time ago, but I know how much being a part of the Titans means to you. I know that we're not just your friends, but the closest thing you have to family. I would never willing jeopardize that for you, so I kept telling him that I wouldn't let you go. Not now. Not ever. You mean the world to me, Rachel."
"I know…" Rachel says as she looks down at their hands. She can feel the coolness in her fingers. "I love you too, Dick. I don't want anything bad to happen to you either...that's why I can't ask you to be my protector when I can do it myself. I can't put you in that kind of danger."
"You're not asking me, I'm offering," he adamantly pushes back. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to keep you out of harms way."
Rachel shakes her head, but before she can open her mouth he cuts her off. "You wouldn't be on it for a long time. Just once. So that we can safely move you until we figure out another way to defeat them."
"What...what if it takes longer than however long this will last?" she asks. "You don't even know how long this injection will lock off my powers."
"If I had to put a number on it, one injection would last roughly two weeks...maybe a little longer given your height and weight," Richard averages. He has no real idea if this is true or not, but when compared to the rest of the members on the team it sounds about right. Everyone else either ingested the drug or used it topically. It's far less potent that way and it only took his teammates about a week for it to work out of their system. Yes, there were some side effects, but that cost is worth the reward.
"Two weeks!" she exclaims before covering her mouth with her hand. She did not want to disturb the patient who lays resting not too far from them. "You want me to go a whole two weeks or more without access to my powers?! Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy, Rachel," he pushes back. "I'm trying to buy us some time. I know what I felt when Deniska began manipulating my emotions. The urges he was able to conjure in me without my consent was disorienting and frightening. You saw what he could do to our teammates. All by himself."
His beloved turns her face away from him in frustration. Richard's left hand cups her cheek and gently turns her face right back to his. When she finally looks at his face again he continues, "That's the type of danger you run the risk of being in if you stay here. You're surrounded by powerful super humans whose emotions can be easily swayed at the drop of a dime. They can really hurt you when you're in a weakened state like this. You can barely use your powers as is. As you stand, right now, you can't even heal the scratches on your knees. You're just one level above being powerless."
Rachel says nothing. She turns away from him again because, deep down, she understands that he's right. She could never fully replenish her powers with her brothers around. The minute they feel her aura rising, they will come knocking on her door to either kidnap her or drain her dry. As long as she keeps her energy levels low, they don't seem to be interested in her. They're even willing to leave her here until she becomes useful to them again. Isn't that the story of her life? She's a terror and a being to be feared when they don't need her, but when they do, they'll come after her none stop. She's stuck in this powerless limbo until she can find a way out. Richard is offering her an option that'll allow her to plot in secret without the prying eyes of her siblings or her teammates.
"I'm not saying this to be mean or to hurt you," Richard says while gently rubbing her hands. "But we need to be brutally honest with where we stand in all of this. I can protect you better if they have no idea where you are."
"I know," she quietly says. Rachel's eyes flutter close and she rests her forehead against his. She's close and he can feel it. It's time to prey on her biggest fear.
"I can't seem to stop thinking about the way Deniska was able to pull that level of anger out of the rest of the team," he says as he supports the weight of her head on his. "If he's able to do that with you then you really might end up killing me one day."
Even though Richard says that "joke" in a playful manner, he knew the reaction he would get from her. How could he forget how distraught she had been, laying in his bed, at the thought of being the one to take his life? At the time he thought it was just her siblings playing on her fears to get what they want from her and he still doesn't believe that she's capable of killing him. However, Richard is also cognizant enough to recognize that he's not much better than they are. He is manipulating her in the same way, but at least his cause is more noble. It's for her own good, after all.
Richard suppresses a smile when he feels Rachel's body tense above him. A pained look of horror contorts her face as the memory of what was shown to her replays in her head. Tears swell in her sparkling violet eyes at the thought of doing such a monstrous thing to someone she loves so dearly. Is she willing to forfeit her powers just to ensure that future never comes to pass? Does she love this man enough to ensure his safety by entrusting him with hers?
With tears streaming down her face, Rachel whispers to him, "I will never let that happen."
Her fingers are shaking as she accepts the tourniquet from Richard's surprisingly warm hands. She wraps it around her arm and pulls it tight enough for the blue green veins to pop. He watches in anticipation as she licks her dry lips before angling the needle of the syringe. She hesitates and he holds his breath. Trepidation, excitement, lust, a sense of victory...all vie for dominance within him when distraught violet eyes turn to him for reassurance and guidance. Richard nods once at her before opening his arms to her, as though inviting her into a warm and comforting hug. He winces with her when she thrusts the sharp point of the needle into her delicate vein and then moves in closer when she pushes down on the plunger.
It stings, Rachel thinks as she begins drooping to one side. She feels her body becoming numb as she's enveloped in a rush of warmth when Richard's strong arms wrap themselves around her frame. She can feel his heart beating against her cheek. Deep and rhythmic. The scent of him invades her nose. The familiar smell eases her frayed nerves. He smells like home to her. She feels weightless as he gathers her limp limbs in his arms. Her head resting on his shoulder. Her unfocused eyes trace the curve of his earlobe before resting on the strength of his jaw.
Is this what safety feels like? Is Rachel's last coherent thought before I4.6 shuts her down.
Choices were made...we can debate on whether they were good choices or not.
This last moment between the birds was the initial seed that started this whole story. It took us 48 chapters to get here, but I wanted to craft a plot line in which Raven would make such an obviously dangerous choice of her own free will. It is a thought experiment about how someone can so heavily and emotionally manipulate another into willingly stepping in the gilded cage. I hope I did this moment justice.
Until next time!...whenever that might be.