Chapter Five
The following month was by far the happiest of Harry's life; because it was summer, Harry didn't have to worry about going to school, which gave him plenty of time to spend with Raven, much to her interminable enjoyment. The Titans had spent days with Harry, painting and decorating his room until they were all satisfied, and Harry couldn't help but cry with the end result; the once white room was now painted so that it resembled a mysterious forest with glowing stars that shone down from Harry's ceiling. In addition, Robin and Cyborg had built Harry an impressive bookshelf, which Raven had immediately packed to the brim with books, Harry had sobbed into his sister's robes at the present, and Raven couldn't help but show how happy she was.
For Raven, however, the month was one of constant worry;. At the same time, she loved having her brother back, and the rest of the Titans seemed determined to compete to see who spent the most time with Harry. In addition, Raven still couldn't get over the fact that Harry had her blood and, thereby, her powers within him. The hardest thing for Raven was when she saw the white lines that dotted Harry's body from numerous injuries and scars. She was torn between her want for revenge for her little brother and her desire to make sure he was never harmed like that again; Harry made it worse by pretending that his injuries weren't a big deal in an effort to somehow comfort Raven and every time he had done it, Raven had taken him into a hug to hide her tears from him.
Over the month, Raven had poured over her books and scrolls, trying to discover how Harry could have managed to absorb her abilities from something as simple as a few drops of blood when she had been told that such things were all her life impossible.
Adding to her worry were the nightmares that Harry seemed to have almost every night; more than once, Raven had rushed into Harry's room after hearing his cries, only to discover the boy sobbing and the black tentacles thrashing about as though trying to fight whatever demons stalked Harry's nightmare.
Only Raven was allowed to approach Harry during these nightmares; anyone who attempted to do so quickly found themselves thrown across the room by Harry's 'protectors,' once Raven managed to get Harry to wake up and remind him that he was safe and that the Dursley's couldn't hurt him, Raven would lay next to Harry while humming his lullaby until he settled down and returned to peaceful slumber.
On more than one occasion, Robin would pull Raven aside and remind her that Harry needed to be taught to control his abilities as each day that passed without said training put not only Harry in danger but also everyone that the boy might come across, primarily if Raven intended to enroll Harry in school in the fall.
As much as Raven hated the veracity of Robin's words, she could not disabuse them. Yet, she hesitated all the same because she wanted Harry to enjoy his childhood instead of having it taken from him as had happened to Raven; Harry had suffered more than any child should have to, and all she wanted to do was let him have a little of his childhood back before he grew up.
Another thing that brought Raven constant stress was when she and the other Titans had to leave the Tower to fight crime and leave Harry by himself; Raven had told her brother that under no circumstances was he to leave the Tower while she and the other's were gone, and he'd promised that he would. Still, it didn't make Raven feel any better, especially as for the last few days, Raven felt as though she and the rest of her team were being watched.
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"Aww, come on, that's cheating!" Harry cried as Beastboy used a hidden trick to defeat Harry's character; the two of them had been playing the latest fighting game that Beastboy had bought for some time now, and Beastboy had made it his mission to figure out what all the hidden gems were, and then used them on Harry. The latter had become obsessed with defeating Beastboy, even if it was only once.
"I prefer to call it skill!" Beastboy laughed as he sat the controller down,
"It's not skill if you know about the tricks, and I don't!" Harry grumbled, "That's an unfair advantage!"
"Well, would you like to see how I did it?" Beastboy asked, laughing as Harry's bad mood suddenly vanished, and a look of excitement took its place,
"Yes, please!"
Raven looked up from her book and smiled at the pair as Beastboy began to explain how to make Harry's character do what Beastboy had done; Harry had bonded with Beastboy far quicker than he had with any of the other Titans (something that Starfire took rather hard, much to Raven's amusement) Raven suspected it was due to Beastboy's immature and kid-like nature which Harry seemed to love. Her little brother was wearing his new Batman pajamas (something that Robin found hilarious) and looked so different from when Raven had first found him that she couldn't help but smile happily.
Suddenly, the alarm rang out through the Tower, and Raven jumped to her feet as Beastboy did the same,
"Titans!" Robin cried as he rushed into the room, "Cinderblock is attacking a nearby bank. Let's move!"
Beastboy transformed into a cheetah and ran after Robin as the two rushed out, while Raven gave a quick hug to Harry,
"Remember the rules?" Raven asked when she finally pulled away and looked into her brother's eyes,
"Stay in the Tower, don't let anyone in, and don't get into trouble," Harry replied with a grin. He'd had the rules repeated to him ad nauseum for the past month, and yet Raven repeatedly reminded him every time that the Titans had to go do their jobs,
"When did you become so cheeky? Raven asked with a small grin that made Harry giggle,
"Raven, I'll be fine!" Harry said happily, "Go be a superhero!"
Raven smiled warmly at her brother for a moment before leaning down and gently kissing his forehead,
"I'll be back before you know it. Want anything for dinner?"
"Pizza!" Harry cried happily, making Raven smile indulgently,
"You can't eat pizza every night, Harry," Raven chided, "No matter what Beastboy says."
"Raven!" Robin's voice rang from the girl's communicator, "We gotta go!"
"I'm coming!" Raven called back into the device before giving Harry one last hug and disappearing as her power enveloped her and teleported Raven away, leaving Harry alone.
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An hour later, Harry smiled happily as he sat in his room reading 'The Fellowship of the Ring.' On the table next to him was a plate of cookies and a glass of milk, which Harry enjoyed as he relaxed on the bed.
Harry had just gotten to the part where Frodo reached Rivendell when he heard a strange noise outside his door, as though someone was dragging something metallic across it,
"Raven?" Harry called cautiously, "Is that you?"
Silence greeted his call, and Harry suddenly felt very nervous; swallowing his trepidation, Harry put his book down and slowly approached the door as the sound happened again,
"Beastboy?" Harry called out with a tremor, "If this is your idea of a joke, it's not funny!"
Again, silence greeted Harry's words as his instincts began to tell him something was wrong; slowly, Harry raised a shaking hand and pressed the button on the wall, jumping back as the door slid open.
Cautiously, Harry peeked his head out of his room and looked down both sides of the hallway, but breathed a sigh of relief when he saw nothing out of the ordinary; taking a step out, Harry cursed himself for a fool at being scared by some stupid noise, when all of a sudden he heard the noise again, coming from further down the hallway.
"Hello?" Harry called out, "Is someone there? Robin? Cyborg?"
A shadow suddenly appeared at the end of the hallway, and Harry's eyes went wide when no one responded to his call; turning quickly, Harry made as though to run back into his room and lock the door, only to run head first into a giant, wearing a sleeveless black shirt with red hair and a matching goatee, but the scariest thing was his eyes, which were bone white and without pupils; Harry fell hard onto his butt and stared up at the man in sudden fear, as though Harry were a deer caught in headlights.
"Hello, brat," the giant rumbled with a cold smile,
"W-who are y-you?" Harry stuttered as he tried to scoot back, much to the amusement of the giant, who crossed his arms over his chest and smiled at the boy,
"Name's Mammoth, and you're coming with me, kid."
Harry's eyes went wide with fear, and he immediately jumped to his feet and took off running. Behind him, Harry could hear Mammoth laughing at him,
"You wanna play tag, kid? Okay, game on!"
As Harry rounded the corner, he could hear Mammoth running after him, and suddenly Harry was terrified at what would happen if Mammoth caught him. He would no doubt take Harry away, and then Harry would lose his sister again; he'd be alone again!
Steeling his nerves, Harry tried confusing the giant chasing him; Harry took a left down one hallway, then a right down another, another left, another right, until Harry could run no longer and suddenly pressed himself against the wall as he struggled to breathe.
Just as Harry was finally beginning to catch his breath, he heard two voices arguing; one was Mammoth's, but the other sounded as though it belonged to a young boy, and Harry felt sweat break out across his brow as he realized that Mammoth was not alone.
"How could you lose him?" The young voice cried angrily,
"Kid's fast, and this place has a lot of hallways. It's easy to get lost here."
"Well, hurry up and find him! The sooner we get our hands on the brat, the sooner we can get out of here!"
As the voices got closer, Harry began to slowly edge his way down the hallway, carefully trying to keep his back to the wall,
"Hello there, cutie," a soft voice said behind Harry, making him freeze in his tracks, "Who are you hiding from?"
Slowly, Harry turned around to face a pale teenager with bright pink hair and matching eyes; she was wearing a black and purple dress with matching stockings, and a Cheshire cat grin made Harry very nervous across her face.
Quick as a jackrabbit, Harry turned and tried to flee, only to be confronted by Mammoth and a boy wearing a dark green jumpsuit held above the ground by what looked like four metal spider legs.
"Nice job, Jinx," the boy said, "You found him. I thought we'd have to search this whole frigging Tower for the little brat!"
Panic began to set in as Harry quickly back away from the strangers until his back finally pressed against the wall,
"P-p-please," Harry whimpered as they stepped closer, "Please don't hurt me…."
Jinx frowned slightly at that and seemed to stare at Harry for a moment as though probing him,
"We're not gonna hurt you, kid," Jinx said softly, "As long as you do as your told, you'll be fine. It's the Titans we want, not you. You're just a means to an end."
"Yeah!" The boy added with a sneer, "So quit your sniveling and follow us!"
"You're gonna hurt my sister?" Harry asked in fear, making the strangers frown in unison,
"Sister?" Jinx asked, confused, "Who's your sister?"
"Raven," Harry replied, making Jinx's mouth drop open comically,
"Raven's your sister? Like for real, your sister?" Mammoth asked in surprise.
Harry nodded as tears began to run down his cheeks when suddenly the boy in green began to laugh,
"This is great! If this brat is her brother, she'll come running into our open arms!"
"And we'll be waiting for them. Good thinking, Gizmo!" Mammoth said with a cruel grin,
"Alright, brat, let's go!" Gizmo said, motioning for Mammoth to grab him; as Mammoth approached, Harry suddenly issued an animal cry of terror, releasing a black wave that sent the three kidnappers flying in opposite directions and shattered the glass along the hallway.
"S-stay away from m-me," Harry mumbled as his black tentacles appeared and a sudden wave of exhaustion hit him; Mammoth and Gizmo rose to their feet cursing, but Jinx looked shocked by what had just happened,
"Magic…." Jinx said softly, "You can do magic, kid!"
"Leave me alone!" Harry replied, desperately trying to keep his eyes open as blackness closed around him and his 'protectors' began slowly disappearing, "I'm not a freak! Raven told me I'm not!"
Jinx seemed horrified at the words and slowly approached the boy as Mammoth and Gizmo decided to keep their distance,
"You've exhausted your magic core, kid," Jinx said softly, "Not surprising, considering that display."
Harry attempted to mumble something when suddenly his world went black, and promptly collapsed into Jinx's arms. Only then did her two companions approach, albeit warily,
"What the hell was that?" Gizmo asked angrily, "Brat shorted out all my gear!"
"That," Jinx replied softly as she stared down at the kid in her arms, "Was magic. The kid is incredibly powerful for one so young, not surprising considering who he's related to."
"Let's just get out of here before his demon of a sister shows up!" Mammoth growled,
"You're right," Jinx replied, "We have what we came for. Let's go. Mammoth, leave the message for the Titans as we discussed."
Mammoth nodded sharply before walking to the nearby wall and carving something into it with his finger; a moment later, he nodded that he was finished, and Jinx handed Harry over to him; Mammoth threw Harry roughly over his shoulder and turned to leave, with Gizmo and Jinx following close behind.
Gizmo had a massive smile on his face as they made their escape; Jinx, on the other hand, was staring at the boy intently, his words echoing in her head. What had he meant? And why had he seemed so terrified when he begged her not to hurt him? Jinx knew that she and her partners could be intimidating, but it was more than that. It was like the kid had been hurt and expected to be again.
As the implications of what that meant began to gain traction, Jinx felt suddenly guilty for what they were doing to the kid before she harshly pushed said feeling away. It wasn't like she was gonna hurt the brat. She was just going to use him to hurt the Titans. She wasn't a monster, after all!
But the more Jinx thought about the irrational fear she saw in the kid's eyes, the worse Jinx began to feel, and she suddenly found herself angry at the kid for making her feel this way. She had nothing to feel guilty about, right?
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The Titans returned to the Tower not long after Jinx, Mammoth, and Gizmo had made good their escape with Harry. Raven immediately knew something was wrong; usually, Harry would be waiting for them in the common room, anxious to hear about their latest battle.
This time, however, the Tower was quiet, and there was no sign of her little brother; trying to fight against the rising panic, Raven made her way to Harry's room only to find it empty. The milk was still cold, so he couldn't have been gone long, though that did nothing to calm Raven's nerves as she reached for her communicator,
"Has anyone seen Harry? He's not in his room."
"He's not in the kitchen," Beastboy called back over his communicator,
"Nor in the common room," Starfire added,
"Something's wrong," Raven replied, trying to keep the fear out of her voice,
"I agree," Robin added, "Spread out and find him!"
"I'll take the ground level," Cyborg said quickly as Raven began spreading her awareness throughout the Tower; a moment later, her eyes snapped open in alarm.
"He's not in the tower!" Raven called out,
"Are you sure?" Robin responded, "We've only just started looking. He could be hiding somewhere."
"I just used my powers to search, and I'm telling you he's not here!"
"Then where is he?" Starfire called back, fear evident in her voice,
"Hey, guys," Beastboy's voice rang out, "I found something you might want to see…."
"Where are you?" Raven asked quickly,
"Northeast sector of the tower, not far from Harry's room,"
"On our way," Robin replied quickly.
Raven flew as fast as her powers would allow her and reached Beastboy's location in a matter of minutes, only to find the green shapeshifter staring at the wall in front of him with a pained look on his face,
"Beastboy, what did you find?"
Beastboy said nothing, just pointed at the wall, making Raven turn to it; when she saw the words, her heart began to race with rage and fear in equal measure, and the hallway began to shake as she momentarily lost control of her powers,
"WE PAID A VISIT TO YOUR HOME AND FOUND THE CUTE KID THAT'S BEEN STAYING WITH YOU; YOU DON'T MIND IF WE BORROW HIM, DO YOU?
DON'T WORRY, WE'LL KEEP HIM SAFE,
LOVE FROM-
JINX, MAMMOTH, AND GIZMO.
Black rage swept through Raven, and her violet eyes shifted to bright red as a second pair appeared over the first, the hallway began to shake, and Beastboy was thrown to the ground as Raven read and reread the words.
"How dare they…." Raven hissed, "How DARE they?!"
"Rae!" Beastboy called from where he lay on the floor. The pressure emanating from Raven had made it impossible for Beastboy to rise to his feet, "Rae, you gotta calm down!"
"I will have blood for this!" Raven snarled as the rest of the Titans appeared and stared in shock, first at the words, then at Raven, who seemed unable to hear Beastboy's words.
"Raven!" Robin called nervously, "Raven, calm down!"
"They took him!" Raven snarled, "They took my brother!"
"And we'll get him back," Cyborg replied quickly, "I promise!"
Slowly, the words seemed to reach Raven, and her red eyes shifted back to violet as the hallway finally stopped shaking,
"Friend, Raven!" Starfire said quickly as she landed next to Raven and hugged her, "We will find Harry, and we will make those who took him pay! I promise!"
Raven's face looked cruel at that, and her teammates swallowed nervously as they saw it. When they finally managed to track down Jinx and her friends, the Titans were sure that Raven's revenge against them would be legendary.
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Author's Note:
Raven is pissed! Next chapter, will Harry and Jinx come to an understanding, or will she use Harry as bait as she originally planned? And what will happen to HIVE when Raven finally tracks them down? Guess you'll have to find out next time.