Chapter Seven
The summer night was warm against the skin of those who walked the streets of Jump city when suddenly they felt a cold chill that made them shiver involuntarily; had they looked up above them, they would have seen the reason for that chill as a dark blue shape that was surrounded by moving shadows flew overhead of them; but perhaps it was better that they did not, for the twin pairs eyes of the thing that passed over them were dark red with hatred and revenge. They would have given nightmares to any who saw it.
Under the mysterious flying person, a blue car was driving with reckless abandon as they tried to keep up with the flier;
"Faster!" Robin called as he looked out the passenger window at Raven, who was flying high above them; "We have to get there before her!"
"I'm doing my best here!" Cyborg replied in agitation as he pulled the wheel hard and rounded a corner on two wheels, "It's not easy to keep up with her while trying to avoid vehicular manslaughter simultaneously!"
"If Raven gets to Hive before us, we'll have much more to worry about than a few banged-up pedestrians!" Beastboy replied quickly as he leaned forward from his seat in the back, "Floor it, dude!"
Cyborg nodded grimly as he pushed the accelerator to the floor; around them, people stared in shock as the Titans vehicle roared down the street without care, each person wondering what emergency could warrant such recklessness.
"Starfire, see if you can slow her down!" Robin called to the girl who was sitting in the back seat; Starfire immediately nodded and opened her door, and jumped out, flying quickly behind Raven for a moment before issuing a burst of speed that allowed Starfire to cut Raven off and float in front of her with her arms spread in a clear sign that Starfire would not let Raven past her.
For a moment, the two floated across from each other, staring silently before Raven growled in a voice that made Starfire shiver,
"Stand aside, Starfire. I will not ask again."
"Raven, please," Starfire begged, "You must calm down!"
Raven's double red demonic eyes narrowed into slits as she stared at Starfire for a moment,
"The Potters were the first people to treat me as though I were not a monster," Raven said in a demonic hiss, "They took me in and loved me like their own, and I thought I lost them all! I finally found my family again, and those scum DARE to take him from me?! I will have my due for that affront!"
"And what good will that do?!" Starfire countered, "Harry has spent his whole life being treated as though he were worthless! As though he were a freak! Now, Harry finally has someone who loves him, whom he sees as a hero! Are you really going to take that away from him?!"
Raven momentarily flinched at Starfire's accusation before her anger once again took over, and she snarled at Starfire, who continued to float defiantly with her arms spread wide,
"STAND ASIDE!" Raven roared as she swept her hand across her body; instantly, a black mass of power flew from Raven and slammed into Starfire, sending her hurtling to the ground as Raven took off toward her targets.
Starfire slammed into the ground hard in front of Cyborg's car; Cyborg slammed onto the brakes and had to swerve to avoid hitting Starfire, who was shaking her head angrily as she rose to her feet.
As Starfire glared into the sky, her eyes turned bright green, and with an angry grimace, Starfire took off after her friend,
"Step on it!" Robin cried as they watched Starfire shoot into the air in a burst of green energy, "We have to stop Raven from doing what she plans to do!"
Cyborg nodded quickly; a moment later, the screech of tires tore through the quiet street as Cyborg floored the accelerator again.
"Rae wouldn't really kill Hive, would she?" Beastboy asked softly; silence was the only answer he received as Cyborg and Robin shared a dark look.
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Jinx stood silently outside of the door to Harry's room; she wanted nothing more than to go in and apologize for what she had said earlier that day to the kid, but her pride was preventing her from doing so, so instead, she stood silently in front of the door in indecision as to what she should do.
Grimacing angrily at her own cowardice in being unable to confront an eight-year-old boy, Jinx turned the doorknob and stepped into the room to find said boy sitting on the bed with his knees drawn to his chest. As Jinx entered, Harry raised his head to look at her, and Jinx felt a pain in her chest as she saw how red Harry's eyes were from crying.
"Harry…." Jinx said in a small voice, "I wanted to talk to you if that's okay,"
"Come to yell at me some more?" Harry sniffled, making Jinx grimace,
"No, I wanted to apologize to you," Harry's eyes widened in surprise at the words as Jinx sat down on the bed next to Harry and continued speaking, "I know that you never meant any harm or offense with what you said. And I know the words contained some truth to them, I just…. I just wasn't ready to hear them."
For a moment, nothing was said, and Jinx was scared that Harry wouldn't accept her apology, when slowly, Harry placed his hand atop hers, making her look at him in surprise as the little boy spoke in a soft voice,
"I know you didn't mean them, Ms. Jinx. I was telling the truth when I said you could be a great hero if you wanted to be."
For a moment, Jinx was rendered speechless at Harry's words, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes as she desperately tried to blink them away. Then, as Jinx opened her mouth the respond, alarms suddenly began blaring throughout the building, making Jinx jump to her feet quickly and make her way to the door.
"Stay here, Harry," Jinx said, turning to the boy as she opened the door to leave, "You'll be safe here, and I'll come back for you as quick as I can, alright?"
Harry nodded quickly, and Jinx left the room, closing the door behind her before making her way down the hallway. However, she had not gone more than a dozen steps when a voice rang out and seemed to echo throughout the entire building. The thing that Jinx noticed the most about the voice, however, was how cold it sounded, as though the speaker was literally causing the temperature to drop with every word.
"You all made a grave error when you kidnapped my little brother…."
In Harry's room, the boy's head shot up at the words, and hope began to flare in him,
"There are very few things that I actually care about," the voice continued, "And you chose to take from me the ONE PERSON I care about more than anything else…."
Gizmo was quickly strapping on every bit of technology he could in his laboratory as goosebumps spread across his skin.
"All rational creatures fear the dark. Now you will learn exactly why that is…." The voice concluded as the lights in the building went out all at once; the only light in the building came from the red blinks of the alarm lights, and every member of Hive suddenly felt fear race through them as they made their way to the main room where they agreed to meet in case of emergency.
A few minutes later, Jinx entered the common room and saw, to her annoyance, that she was the last one there,
"How did the Titans find us?!" Jinx demanded as she approached Gizmo, who was working in front of a terminal to restore power to the building,
"Crud if I know!" Gizmo replied angrily,
"Well, what do we do now?" Billy Numerous asked nervously; though he would never admit it, Raven's words had spooked him considerably.
"The plan hasn't changed!" Jinx replied, as though it were obvious, "The Titans are here! So spread out and find them!"
"I know the kid was supposed to act as bait, but not here!" See-more replied, "Maybe we should just cut our losses!"
Jinx sneered contemptuously at the fear she saw on her companion's face before backhanded See-more across the cheek, making him stumble back and press a hand to his face in shock.
"We're not running!" Jinx snarled as the rest of the group stared at her warily, "We wanted to lure the Titan jerks here and destroy them. Well, here they are! So go and do your jobs! And don't come back until you do!"
For a moment, no one moved, just staring at Jinx silently; after another moment, Jinx lost her temper and stomped her foot, causing pink bursts of power to issue forth from her and send several chairs flying across the room.
"NOW!" Jinx roared, making the members of Hive run from the room, lest they antagonize her further; once they were gone, Jinx turned back to Gizmo, who had watched the event lazily as he worked on the terminal.
"Can you get the lights back on?" Jinx asked,
"That Raven jerk sent an electrical pulse that shorted out everything in the building," Gizmo spat angrily as he pulled a tool from his belt,
"Not what I asked," Jinx replied with a raised eyebrow, "Can you fix it?"
"What do you think I'm doing?" Gizmo sneered, "Why don't you go play with your 'new friend' and leave this to me!" Jinx glared at Gizmo for the way he sneered 'new friend,' but nodded her head as she turned to go,
"Just get the lights back on; the fewer advantages we give the Titans, the better."
Without another word, Jinx surrounded her hands in pink energy and held them in front of her as she left the room, as though they were flashlights.
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When the Titans arrived at the building, they immediately knew that Raven had gotten there first; the front door of the building was completely torn from the hinges and lay in a twisted heap on the ground.
"TITANS MOVE!" Robin called as he dove from the car and raced inside; beside him, Beastboy had taken on the form of a wolf,
"What's the plan, Robin?" Cyborg asked as he followed behind the two,
"Find Raven before she becomes a murderer and save Harry!" Robin replied quickly as the group ran as fast as they could; eventually, they came to a fork in the hallway, and Robin grimaced in indecision,
"Beastboy, you're with me! Cyborg, you, and Starfire take the other hallway! Be careful; it's not just Raven we have to look out for, but also Hive and any traps they might have placed!"
The group nodded, and without looking back, Robin tore down his designated hallway, hearing the click of claws on the floor as Beastboy followed close behind him.
They had only gone perhaps a hundred steps when a hair-raising scream sounded from ahead of them, making both Titans stop abruptly and look at one another in wariness before charging toward where the cry was coming from.
As they rounded a corner, Robin's eyes widened in horror at what he was seeing; the innumerable clones of Billy Numerous lay scattered across the hallway, unconscious (or so Robin hoped).
Floating in the center of the hallway, Raven was staring with her twin pair of demonic red eyes at Billy Numerous, who was thrashing violently as he was gripped in one of Raven's black tentacles, which seemed to be slowly squeezing the life out of him.
"You thought you could take my blood from me without repercussions?" Raven hissed as the tentacle wrapped tighter, making Billy scream as the hallway echoed with a 'CRACK,' as one of his bones snapped under the pressure.
"RAVEN!" Robin shouted as he charged, his bow staff at the ready, "THAT'S ENOUGH! LET HIM GO!"
Raven turned her gaze away from the sobbing wreck that was Billy Numerous, only to fix her angry eyes on Robin, who felt as though he were prey, suddenly caught in the gaze of a predator.
"You would stand with this scum against me, Robin? Against Harry?" Raven asked in a cold voice,
"That is NOT what I am doing!" Robin replied angrily, "I am stopping you from making a mistake that will force me to throw you in jail!"
"Jail?" Raven said, a mock-grin playing on her lips, "As if you could actually arrest me!"
"Put. Him. Down." Robin said, his eyes narrowing dangerously, the way Batman had taught him; behind him, Beastboy growled menacingly, but Raven ignored him.
For a moment, Raven and Robin simply stared at one another while Beastboy watched in his wolf form; the only sound in the hallway was Billy's sobbing.
If you want him…." Raven said coldly, "Take him."
Without another word, Raven teleported away, and the tentacle holding Billy disappeared, dropping him to the ground in a heap; as he hit the ground, Billy issued a cry of pain and curled in on himself as he nursed what looked like a severely broken arm.
"You'll be okay," Robin said quickly as he approached the sobbing villain and knelt down beside him,
"I don't want to play anymore!" Billy sobbed, "Can you please just take me to jail?"
Robin nodded his head before dragging Billy to a nearby wall and sitting him down against it,
"Wait here! I'll be back, and we'll get you some medical attention, okay?"
Billy nodded as the tears ran down his face, and Robin jumped to his feet and tore down the hall, Beastboy right behind him.
"Raven almost crossed a line," Robin thought as he ran, "She's not thinking clearly. Obviously, her demon side is taking over; we must stop her before it's too late!"
The thought of arresting one of his best friends made Robin almost physically ill, and he increased his pace as one thought ran through his head,
"Please don't let us be too late."
Another scream tore through the hallway, making Robin and Beastboy stop short as they looked down the two separate hallways, not knowing which one to take.
"I'll take this one!" Robin shouted as he tore down the right hallway, hoping he had chosen the correct one.
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Cyborg was beginning to grow annoyed with Hive's hideout; he and Starfire had already searched more than a dozen rooms and found almost all of them empty, save one or two that seemed to have been used as storage for Hive's assorted junk and stolen items.
"This is beginning to piss me off!" Cyborg growled as he closed the door to yet another empty room, "Where are they?! We should have AT LEAST tripped some kind of booby trap by now!"
"Perhaps we caught them unawares," Starfire replied as she walked beside Cyborg, "And they were unable to set anything up."
"Still doesn't explain where they are, though," Cyborg grumbled as the pair turned a corner into another hallway; as Starfire opened her mouth to respond, a scream tore through the hallway, making both look at one another for a moment before they ran toward where the scream had originated.
When they finally exited the hallway, they entered what looked like a dining room, albeit one that had been destroyed. Tables and chairs lay sprawled everywhere and in the center of the room was a heavily bleeding See-more, who was being attacked by long black tentacles.
The one-eyed villain was wrapped in his force-field with a look of fear on his face as sweat poured off him from the amount of power he had to use to keep the force-field active as the tentacles slammed against his shield like baseball bats. Standing across from him, directing the tentacles, was Raven, who was gazing at the villain with hatred etched on her face as her twin pair of red demonic eyes blazed like fire.
Realizing that she was making no progress, Raven issued a growl of annoyance and pulled her tentacles back; See-more, thinking that she was giving up, released a sigh of relief that quickly turned into an 'eep' as Raven directed her tentacles to grip See-more's force-field like a fist and then began to slowly raise See-more into the air and squeeze the shield as Cyborg and Starfire watched in horror.
"Raven! Stop!" Starfire called as she prepared to fly to where her friend stood, only to find that she could not move. While she and Cyborg had been watching the show, Raven had stealthily had two of her tentacles wrap themselves around the legs of Cyborg and Starfire, and when the pair tried to intervene, they fell flat on their stomachs.
As Cyborg and Starfire watched, cracks began to appear on See-more's shield as Raven applied more pressure to the fist wrapped around the force-field; See-more looked as though he was going to pass out as he desperately tried to keep the shield in place while Raven was looking at the scene playing out with a cruel smile on her face.
Slowly, Raven raised her arm until it was level with the floating force-field held in her tentacles; with a snarl, she closed her hand into a fist, making her tentacles do the same as they finally broke See-more's shield and crushed the boy who issued one last cry before going silent.
All Cyborg and Starfire could do was stare in horror as Raven opened her hand and allowed the broken body of See-more to fall limply to the ground;
"Raven…." Cyborg breathed, "What have you done….?"
Raven said nothing, simply flicking her wrist, releasing the tentacles that had wrapped around the two Titans legs before teleporting away.
A moment later, Robin burst into the room looking determined, only for the look to change to one of shock as he saw the body of See-more lying on the ground; dropping his bow staff, Robin ran to the villain and knelt beside him, placing a finger to the boy's neck,
"He's alive, oh thank god, he's alive!" Robin said, making the other two breathe a sigh of relief that their friend hadn't killed someone.
"Robin, what do we do?" Starfire asked as Robin began to drag See-more to a nearby wall,
"We have to stop Raven, her demon side is beginning to take control, and I'm worried about what she'll do to Harry if she finds him."
"You think she'd hurt her own brother?" Cyborg asked cautiously, watching as Robin propped See-more against the wall, before turning to face him,
"Right now, I don't know what Raven will do, and I'd rather not find out. So, let's move!"
Without another word, Robin quickly retrieved his bow staff and charged out of the room; Cyborg and Starfire exchanged a look before following a moment later; they had only gone a few feet when the trio ran into Mammoth, who smiled cruelly at them.
"Well, well, well. What do we have here?"
"The best gift you'll ever get," Robin replied, making Mammoth frown in bemusement.
"What does that mean?"
"It means," Cyborg replied as he readied his arm cannon, "That you should be happy that you ran into us instead of Raven. We'll only hurt you; she might kill you."
Mammoth snarled at the insult and charged the trio,
"TITANS MOVE!" Robin called as the fight began.
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Something was wrong; that's all Jinx could think of as she silently made her way down the hallway to Harry's room; she had heard two screams echo through the building, screams that had been quickly cut off; but the worst thing was the demonic laughter she heard moments ago that seemed to freeze the blood in her veins.
Aside from the light coming from the pink energy in Jinx's hands, the only light was the red flashing of the alarm, giving the hallway a terrifying persona that made even Jinx nervous.
Rounding another corner, Jinx froze in horror as she saw Gizmo embedded in a nearby way in a broken heap as blood dripped off the many cuts and wounds that littered his small form; not far away, lying face down in a pool of blood was Kyd Wykkd.
For a moment, Jinx couldn't breathe. She simply stood there in horror as she stared down at the lifeless bodies of two of her teammates. Finally, she regained control of herself, ran to the pair, and began checking for a pulse, breathing a sigh of relief as she felt it; it was weak, but both were still alive.
"And then there was one…." A cold voice whispered from behind Jinx, making her freeze as she knelt beside Kyd Wykkd; slowly, Jinx rose to her feet and turned around.
Standing at the end of the dark hallway, surrounded by moving shadows like a creature from a horror movie, was Raven, and Jinx gulped silently as she took in her enemies appearance; Raven's dark blue robe was spotted with blood from Jinx's teammates, and two pairs of hate-filled red eyes glared at Jinx, making her feel like a deer that had just been spotted by a cougar.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Jinx demanded angrily, narrowing Raven's eyes, "You're a hero! You don't do this sort of thing!"
Raven said nothing, simply flicking her wrist, making a black tentacle stab at Jinx, who narrowly avoided being impaled by back-flipping out of the tentacle's reach before taking a defensive position, her hands lighting up as pink energy surrounded them.
"Is this how you want Harry to see you?!" Jinx demanded as she raised her fists, "Like a monster!?"
"YOU DON'T GET TO SAY HIS NAME!" Raven roared as she flung her arms out at Jinx, making half a dozen tentacles fly at the pink-haired girl, who began blasting them with her energy waves as she dove and dodged to avoid being impaled.
"Believe it or not, I've actually begun to care about the kid!" Jinx snarled back as he ducked under another attack, "And if you think I'm letting you anywhere near him right now, you're mistaken!"
"HE'S MY BROTHER!" Raven snarled as she sent another tentacle at Jinx, who easily avoided it, causing the tentacle to tear a chunk out of the nearby wall.
"And he'd be terrified if he saw you right now!" Jinx retorted as she threw a pink energy wave at Raven, who batted it aside as if it were nothing, "Have you looked at yourself?! You look like a demon from hell!"
"How right you are…." Raven hissed, her voice demonic, "And I will have back what is mine!"
"Harry is NOT an object to be won!" Jinx replied angrily as she began throwing pink energy beams at the roof, walls, and floor in an attempt to collapse the hallway, "He is a boy, and I will NOT LET YOU HURT HIM!"
Jinx's words seemed to freeze Raven in her tracks for a moment before her anger retook control, and her twin pair of eyes burned even brighter,
"HOW DARE YOU SAY THAT I WOULD HURT MY OWN BROTHER! FILTHY WITCH!" Raven snarled as she issued a blast of power that slammed into Jinx's body and threw her across the hallway, only to slam into a nearby door with so much force that the door crumpled with the impact, and Jinx disappeared into the room.
Raven slowly approached the dark entryway to the room, determined to end Jinx for not only taking her brother but also for daring to suggest that Raven would hurt him. As she approached the room, however, Raven stopped as she heard something that seemed to freeze her in her tracks.
Someone was kneeling next to Jinx's still form, crying for her to get up and when the person looked up at Raven, she saw to her horror that it was Harry, and instead of the expression of love that he usually wore when he looked at Raven, instead she saw only terror.
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Harry had been sitting on his bed for quite some time when the noises began; terrifying noises that made him bring his knees to his chest in fear as he prayed for Jinx to come back; he heard screams echoing from behind the door, followed by creepy laughter and then finally silence.
At first, Harry thought that whatever had happened was finally over, only for that illusion to be shattered as the door to his room burst from its hinges, and Jinx flew in and landed hard on the ground next to Harry's bed.
"Jinx!" Harry cried as he jumped out of bed and knelt beside her, "Jinx! Wake up! Please wake up!"
As Harry desperately shook his friend and tried to get her to open her eyes, he felt the presence of someone else in the room with them. He looked up tearfully to see his sister Raven floating several inches off the floor and looking down at him with two pairs of glowing red eyes that scared Harry in a way he couldn't explain.
"Harry…." Jinx mumbled as she slowly opened her eyes, "Run…."
"Harry…." Raven hissed in a voice that made Harry shiver, "It's okay, I'm not going to hurt you."
"Why do you look like that?" Harry asked in a horrified whisper as he scooted away on his bottom, making Raven flinch as though she had been struck.
"I'll explain it all later, Harry," Raven replied as her cloak swirled around her, despite there being no wind, "For now, though, I need you to step aside. That bitch needs to pay for what she did!"
"NO!" Harry retorted protectively as he draped himself over Jinx, "I won't let you hurt Jinx!"
"Stand aside, Harry!" Raven growled as she lowered herself to the ground, "She's a villain! She took you away, remember? She deserves to be punished for what she did!"
"I bet that's the same thing the bad man said who killed mummy and daddy!" Harry sniffled back, "Are you going to be like him?"
Raven took a step back in shock as the truth of the words hit her like physical blows; a light hit her face for a moment, and Raven turned her head to see what had caused it, only to gasp slightly as she saw her reflection in a nearby mirror.
She was covered in spots of blood, her eyes looked genuinely demonic, and the black tentacles that snaked from under her robes gave her an unholy appearance that made Raven take a step back; no wonder Harry was afraid of her; she would be too if someone who looked like her suddenly appeared and said they were here for her.
Slowly turning back to face Harry, Raven felt tears begin to run down her face as she looked down at the sobbing boy who was lying on top of Jinx as though he could protect her,
"Harry…..I…." Raven began softly, unable to think of something to say.
"RAVEN!" A voice called from behind her, making her turn quickly; from down the hallway, the rest of the Titans were hurriedly running towards her, trying to stop her from killing Jinx, no doubt.
When they got to the door of Harry's room, they stopped and stared in horror at the sight before them; Harry was sobbing as he held onto Jinx, while Raven looked like an actual demon.
"That's enough!" Robin said firmly, "Jinx and the rest of HIVE are beaten. There's no need to kill them!"
Slowly, Raven's rage dissipated as the truth of Robin's words assailed her. Then, finally, her second pair of eyes disappeared, leaving only one pair of violet eyes, which looked exhausted.
Slowly turning to her little brother, Raven took a step toward him, only to stop when Harry flinched and seemed to cling to Jinx tighter;
"Harry, I'm so sorry." Raven said softly, "I never meant to scare you, and I would never have hurt you, I swear!"
"Please…. just leave me alone." Harry cried, and Raven flinched back as though she had been slapped; tears ran down her cheeks as she nodded and turned to her teammates,
"I'm sorry for how I acted," Raven said as her head hung down in shame, "And I'm especially sorry to you, Starfire, for striking you."
Starfire immediately ran forward and wrapped Raven in a hug, making Raven flinch in surprise,
"No offense is taken, friend!" Starfire cried, "I know you were not yourself!"
"Let's go home," Beastboy said simply, making the others nod in agreement.
"I'll call the police and have them come pick up HIVE," Robin said as he approached Jinx's unconscious form and knelt beside her, where Harry was clinging to her like a lifeline.
"She comes with us!" Harry said in a firm voice, even as tears ran down his face,
"Harry…" Robin began, before being cut off by the kid,
"No! Jinx is a good guy! She protected me from the others who wanted to hurt me!"
"She did?" Cyborg asked in surprise, to which Harry nodded quickly.
"She's my friend, and I won't leave her here! So, she comes with us, or I don't go!"
Robin sighed in exasperation, running a hand over his hair before he finally came to a decision;
"Fine." Much to the shock of the others, he replied, "But she WILL be handcuffed to the bed in the infirmary, understood? One good deed doesn't make up for a lifetime of bad ones."
Raven glared down at the pink-haired witch and tried to catch Harry's eyes, but the boy was going out of his way to avoid looking at her, and it broke her heart more than she could put into words.
"Let's go home, then," Raven said sadly as Cyborg gently picked up the limp body of Jinx, while Starfire did the same with Harry. Raven reached out to touch Harry as he passed, but the boy violently flinched away from her, and Raven felt her limp hand drop to her side as a terrible sadness ran through her.
Without another word, she wrapped herself in her shadows and teleported away.
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Author's Note:
I had no idea that people would like this story as much as they do, and the fact that so many do amazes me; that's why I'm doing my best to make sure it's a worthwhile read. The next chapter will have Raven trying to regain Harry's trust and not have him look at her with fear; after all, Harry saw Raven in all her demonic glory, so he's going to be a little freaked out by her for a while. As always, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter and tell me what you think, as your reviews show me how to better the story.