Florescent lights slowly came to life along the windowless corridor that lead to the infirmary. Much of the passage remained obscured by darkness as Starfire walked. Visions of dreams had come to her periodically, the bank robbery, a glowing red monster... fire. Her face was creased with worry and she clutched her arms tightly as if to prevent herself from falling apart. Cyborg and Beast Boy never mentioned anything about the monster. She could remember it clearly now. Meeting it in the basement... defeating it in the bowels of the tower. Could it have been real?
They had told her not to come here but she couldn't help it, she had to see how Robin and Raven were doing.
The girl from Tamaran reached for the door's controls; shadows moved behind her. The infirmary's door was connected to the rest of the Tower's security system. Starfire hoped the code hadn't changed. Her agile hands had only begun to enter the code when something fell from the corridor's ceiling and landed behind her. The landing caused a metallic clang; Starfire half spun-half jumped in fright. She was pushed against the wall and pinned there by the shoulders. A pair of green eyes locked with hers. "Starfire you shouldn't be here!" It was Beast Boy.
Starfire's fright turned to shame. She avoided the green boy's eyes, choosing instead to stare at the at metal floor. "Forgive me Beast Boy... I had to see them."
"Starfire, you don't want to do that." Beast Boy let go of her shoulders and she let herself slump to the floor. The green boy's eyes softened. "Remember what happened the first time you woke up in there?"
She shook her head.
"It wasn't pretty... no way you want to do that again."
"I do not understand, what has happened to them?" Starfire put her head in her hands and sobbed quietly. "What has happened to me?"
"Cyborg's working on it Star. Robin and Raven will be fine... you've just got to trust us." Beast Boy extended his hand to her. Starfire wiped away the tears. She looked at her friend and smiled.
"I trust you,"she lied. Starfire took his hand and Beast Boy helped her stand.
"We've to get back to Titan's Tower!"
"There's no way I'm leaving Star-" Dark energy cracked and swirled around Raven's Body. The topic was not open to discussion. "Uh... then let's fly out of here."
Raven frowned. "We can't."
"Why not?"
From the ruined floors below, someone threw a chair at the two Titans. Raven turned towards the flying object. She wailed as dark energy arched from her hands. The explosion sent bits and pieces of the chair flying everywhere. The distraught witch eyed Robin as she caught her breath, "that's why."
"Well then..." said Robin as he idly played with his utility belt before looking at the ground below. "I can get us to the tower, but I don't think you're going to like it."
"Raahhbiiin!"
The R-Cycle landed hard shooting sparks in its wake. None of the Titans' pursuers had been able to keep up with them so far but Robin wasn't about to give them a chance. He twisted the accelerator.
Raven closed her eyes and tried her best to ignore the roar of the bike's engine. "Could you possibly make this any more detrimental to meditation?" she mumbled, knowing that Robin couldn't hear her.
The Boy Wonder swerved to avoid collision with a green Waste Management truck by careening through a pile of garbage bags.
Raven pulled a rotting banana peal from her face, "I guess you could..."
Night descended quickly in the dreamt version Jump City that surrounded them. Robin wondered if the creature had bothered to let the sun set or if he merely snuffed it out. But why bother to add this slight hindrance? Why not just kill the R-Cycle's engine? Why not destroy us both right now? He turned on the cycle's headlight.
"Raven," said Robin through the deafening noise, "what are we going to do once we get to the tower?"
"I've got to get to my meditation mirror," The half demon tightened her grip around Robin's waist, "it's a portal into my mind. If I can expel the creature's influence there then maybe I can wake up. Maybe I can fight it."
"And the rest of us?" asked the masked boy while dreading the prospect of being thrown back into his own nightmare.
"I don't know."
Through the fog ahead red and blue lights flickered. Robin pressed down on the forward and back breaks... it was road block. Armored policemen leveled weapons at the R-Cycle while other's closed the trap behind the two Titans.
"This thing's determined to keep you here," observed Robin, "do you think you could make a shield around the R-Cycle?"
At the thought of controlling her powers, Raven saw the waitress being crushed to death. In her memories she was the one who killed her, she felt the woman's skull concave beneath her bare feet. "I could make a ball of dark energy that would crush the bike like an empty soda can..."
"Not... exactly what I'm looking for." Twin barrels deployed from the front of the super cycle. A moment later the road block was reduced to a flaming wreck; the R-Cycle sped through it.
Raven closed her eyes and leaned closer to Robin as he continued to speed them towards the tower. This time she welcomed the sound of the engine. It drowned the cries of the dead.
(Author's note: I must apologize to everyone over my lack of updates and the fact that this one is so short. I've been busy. I plan on updating again. Soon. I hope (even though this was a short one) that you enjoyed this update.)