Titans Forever
Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or any of the beginning quotes in future chapters.
A/N: Just so you don't get the wrong idea…I hate Terra. I wish she would go jump off a cliff. This is the sequel to Yin and Yang. I suggest you read it first or you won't have a clue.
Prologue
"Congratulations, Terra—you are now officially a Teen Titan!" Robin handed her a shiny new yellow communicator. "Happy sixteenth birthday!" The sun beamed down happily on the Titans as everyone in the park cheered and hats were tossed into the blue sea that was the sky.
Terra took the communicator, savoring the feel of its slightly warm round exterior on her hand. She took in a deep breath of the first day of May air and smiled at the other Titans, whom were all standing on the green grass and clapping, along with everyone else who was picnicking in the park that day. She glanced at Raven. She was standing and had brought her hand together once and had the slightest smile on. Terra grinned. It was a start. "Thanks, guys. I'll try my best to be a Teen Titan and I will be loyal." The joy welled up in her, about to explode any moment.
Starfire giggled happily, her eyes twinkling. "Let us now feast!"
Cyborg flipped out five sizzling hamburgers and one tofu burger from the grill, handing one to each Titan. The savory smell rose into the air sluggishly. "Food! Come and get it, y'all!"
"Happy birthday, Terra, and congrats on joining the team," Beastboy grinned at her. She smiled faintly back. Yes, she was happy, but in a way, she was sad, because Beastboy didn't like her back. He hadn't told her directly, but the way he tagged along after Raven 24/7 and was always nervous around Rae made her certain where his love lay.
Speaking of Raven, she was talking with that pink haired weirdo Terra had yet to know the name of. She walked over to the two, her blonde hair flying in the breeze. They suddenly stopped talking as she approached, making the blue-eyed girl think they were talking about her. She took a deep breath of the flower-scented air.
"Congratulations, Terra," Raven said in her monotone voice. Her gray lips barely moved. She didn't sound too happy. Terra remembered her saying those same words more than a year ago, with actual joy in her voice and eyes. Right now, she was just saying the words to be polite.
"Thanks, Raven." Terra turned away from her cold glare and looked at the other girl. Her baby pink hair was gathered in two blackish-purple bands and she wore a similarly colored dress. She had pink eyes (Why do people with superpowers always have matching eyes? Terra wondered, thinking of Beastboy, Raven, and Starfire) and what seemed to be a permanent blush. "Hey, what's your name? My name is—"
"I know what your name is, Terry," Jinx smiled, a smirk dancing around her lips. "I'm Jinx. It's bad luck to be around me, so you better leave," She showed her pearly whites and held up her right hand, which was softly glowing with hot pink energy.
Terra blinked. Terry?
Meanwhile, Cyborg, Beastboy, Starfire, Robin, and a number of eager volunteers were plotting under the shade of a massive oak tree.
"So," Robin said loudly, making everyone shut up at once. "We gather here today, us faithful citizens of Jump City, to discuss a sacred topic that we all—"
"Oh, just get on with it," Beastboy groaned, but his face was joyful.
"We're here to decide Terra's initiation!" Robin finished, and a cheer broke out. The volunteers, who were mostly teens, immediately started shouting.
"Make her run naked through Jump City!"
"She should have to dress up as Beastboy for a day!"
"Force her to hang her own bra on a flag pole!"
"I think she should have to kiss every boy in Jump City on the lips!"
"YEA!"
The guys and Star grinned at each other. This was going to be fun.
Chapter 1: In the Aftermath
I only listen to the sad, sad songs
I'm only happy when it rains
I only smile in the dark
My only comfort is the night gone black
I didn't accidentally? tell you that
I'm only happy when it rains
I'm Only Happy When it Rains, Garbage
Raven closed her purple eyes. She reopened them and gazed around her room.
What was happening to her?
Ever since the Titans had defeated Trigon for a third time, her powers had been acting bizarre. She wasn't losing control—no, she hadn't made anything explode since she decided to stay with the Titans. It was a different kind of bizarre: the colors of her powers had changed. When she was angry and had to use her powers for something, her powers came out a harsh red, a burning red that would make others feel full of rage just looking at it. When she felt peaceful—happy, she could even say, her powers would come out pink. The Titans hadn't had a battle since Trigon in Africa, so they didn't notice. It was an odd little thing that harmed no one, but it still disturbed the empath.
Then there was Trigon—was he really gone? Jinx was sure of it, and so were the other Titans. Raven couldn't feel his evil hatred burning inside her anymore, but she still wasn't sure.
Maybe this is how Robin felt when he thought Slade was truly gone, Raven pondered. Thought. When he thought. Slade came back. So can Trigon come back?
Raven uneasily uncrossed her legs and landing on the floor. Slade. No one knew where he was or what he was planning. He might be dead, and he might be alive. Raven really didn't care, as long as he didn't attack anyone. She floated over to her mirror on the wall and gazed at it. The other Titans didn't know, but all her cloaks had turned white. Raven had dyed them back blue because she liked blue better, but there was still the unnerving fact that her powers had turned them white in the first place. Was it because she was cleansed of Trigon's evil? The empath desperately wished for another meditation mirror so she could think properly.
Beastboy. Another troublesome topic. He had told her he liked her, and she was pretty sure she liked him back, but neither had made a move. Why? Was it because of Terra or was Beastboy just lying? Raven sighed. Her pale hand reached out to touch a tarnished silver drawer handle, in the shape of a raven. The cold metal made her skin prickle as the light blue energy of her new emotion, Confusion, engulfed the drawer, unlocking it with her powers. She slowly and carefully pulled the dark mahogany wood drawer out. The interior was musty and bare, with only three items. One was The Book of Azar, her most treasured book, with wrinkled yellow pages that were thumbed through over a million times. Another was her diary, a plain, blue covered book with a blue ribbon attached to the spine to hold her place. A plain black ink pen was attached to the ribbon. The last item was recently added: a small, dark blue velvet box. Raven's delicate hands lifted it and she ran a slim finger on its smooth surface for a moment. She then opened it circumspectly, revealing the necklace inside. The necklace had a thin silver chain, as light as air. In the middle was a circular locket with polished silver, dazzling and beautiful, immaculate in the box like the moon lighting up the night sky. On top of the front locket piece was a jewel: a shining sapphire. It had a rich blue color so deep that even the sea's depth couldn't surpass it. It cast out dancing reflections on the walls and ceiling of Raven's dark room. She opened the locket up and gazed at the picture of her and Beastboy. The empath lifted the necklace out of the box. She had never worn it before. She had been too afraid, afraid it would be destroyed in a battle or her emotions would go haywire and explode it. But now she felt she could risk it. Raven lifted the necklace up, fastening it around her neck and then carefully tucking it in under the folds of her cloak.
Suddenly, her room filled with bright red light that flashed on and off. A piercing siren slammed into her ear, screaming and shouting. Raven flipped open her communicator quickly. Robin's face flashed on and said, "Cardiac. Elementary school that's being used as a summer camp on Pease Road."
Raven flew out of her room, right behind the others. She followed them out the door and toward the elementary school. Cardiac was already there, its large metal arms flailing in the sky. Outside, the kids were outside and were screaming and hiding wherever they could, or running away at top speed.
"TITANS, GO!" Robin shouted, and leapt on Cardiac, bringing out his bo-staff. Cyborg fired with his cannon and Starfire with her starbolts. Terra pelted rocks at him. Beastboy paused in his assault and turned away to glance at Raven, who was hovering uncertainly in midair. He gave her a reassuring smile, his little fang sticking up.
"Don't worry, Rae, there's no little girl this time," He said, grinning. He did a back flip, turning into a leopard mid flip and charging at Cardiac.
Raven frowned on the outside, but on the inside, her heart skipped a beat at the site of the cute little fang she loved so much, though she'd rather die than admit it. She shrugged the feeling off and aimed a single hand at Cardiac and said evenly, "Azarath…Metrion…Zinthos!" A tie-die mix of the gray of Timid, red of Love, and a sliver of the harsher red of Rage shot out, full and strong. It hit Cardiac right in the center and Cardiac exploded, chunks of red and metal flying everywhere.
The Titans gaped at her.
Robin seemed to compose himself first. "U-um…good job, Raven," He said, blinking. "I never knew your powers could be…rainbow."
"Neither did I," Raven stated darkly, dropping to the concrete street. It was true; she only thought her powers could come out in one color. The clouds above opened up and rain gushed down, as if a bucket had suddenly been dumped over the sun on Jump City. Raven made a hood over herself with her powers. The hood was the light green of Nervous—she didn't know how the other Titans would react. Another thing was making her nervous—her feelings. Suddenly, her emotions had seemed sharper, as if whittled with a knife. She could feel them a lot easier and could read them as clearly as she would a book. It was a hard feeling to explain.
"Friend Raven, why do your powers have colors?" Starfire prodded the hood that Raven had just made. Raven extended it larger so the others could huddle under it to escape the rain.
"I don't know," Raven made a small fist of energy, glowing light blue with a touch of light green. She sighed and opened her fist, letting the power dissolve.
Starfire furrowed her queer little eyebrows in thought. "Why do the colors change each time?"
"Has this ever happened before?" Robin asked, observing the twisting colors on the hood. Light blue slowly took it over.
"No," She said quietly, straining to keep the emotion from her voice. She was lying; it had happened in Azarath all the time, when she hadn't been trained yet.
"Probably has something to do with Trigon," Cyborg commented. He didn't look too concerned. "Anyway, long as it doesn't affect anything, it should be fine. Let's head back to the Tower so we can get out of this rain before I rust or something."
Back in the tower, Raven sat alone again in her room. So, she mused, when I'm feeling two emotions at the same time, my powers can have two colors or more. Interesting. In Azarath, the same thing occurred.
"Rae?" Raven heard Beastboy's voice from outside her door as he rapped his knuckles against it.
"What?" Raven called back, standing up. She walked over to the door, her footsteps echoing softly behind her. She opened it a crack, just enough to see Beastboy's confused green face.
He held up a white cloak. "It's my turn to do the laundry, and dude, I swear I didn't do anything, but all your cloaks suddenly just turned white." He blinked, running a hand through his hair nervously. Beastboy hoped that she wouldn't congest him in flames.
Raven paused and opened the door wider. She eyed the white cloak, remembering the ones that she had dyed blue. "Whatever. Just—don't tell the others."
"Why not?" Beastboy raised an eyebrow. "Not that I'm going to," he added hastily.
"Because…" Raven let the word drag out. Why shouldn't Beastboy tell the others? I don't want to get their hopes up when they hear Trigon might be gone, Raven reasoned. He might not be gone and still lurking. Plus, they might start expecting me to join them when they play volleyball or something once they learn Trigon's evil is completely gone. Not that I know it is. "Because I don't want them to know."
Great reason, Rae, Beastboy thought, but aloud he said, "Whatever then. Are you going to dye them back?"
Raven's eyes glowed a medley of colors and the cloak he was holding turned blue.
Beastboy sweat dropped. "Um, okay then…" He checked that no one was listening, and then leaned in closer. "Look…what were you hiding? You know why your powers are different colors now. Why won't you tell the others?"
Raven looked at the wall behind him, ignoring Beastboy's curious eyes. His breath blew gently across her neck and Raven stepped back. "There is nothing to tell." She could feel Love fluttering around inside her mind, begging her to be friendly.
Beastboy started to say something, but then closed his mouth and let it go. Robin had once told him that as long as Raven was their friend, what they didn't know about her didn't matter. He decided to respect her privacy and handed her the cloak, giving his teammate one last dubious look. "Well, see you later!" The changeling dashed off.
Raven rubbed the cloak's smooth surface thoughtfully. Why had she stepped back? Why hadn't she told him? She sighed and closed the door. Her knees felt weak and her heart was beating especially fast and no matter how hard Raven tried to shrug off the feeling, it lingered on. She was creepy and daughter of the devil—she didn't deserve Beastboy.
Terra put down the book she was currently reading. Somehow, the adventures of Artemis Fowl just didn't seem to interest her. She leaned back onto her bed and gazed at the yellow ceiling of her newly redecorated room. The blonde touched her lips, trying to bring back the feeling of Beastboy's pressed against hers. She heaved a light sigh. It was no use. Beastboy didn't like her any more, no matter how hard she tried to deny it.
She stood up quickly, deciding to distract herself from such thoughts by doing something with the other Titans. Terra bounded out of the room and paused in the bleak, austere hallway. Who to be with? She knew Beastboy was doing laundry and she didn't dare risk to join him for fear of the smell. Further down the hallway, heavy, pounding music could be heard from Robin's room. Nope, definitely not joining him. Starfire…
The youngest Titan walked to the room next to hers and rapped on the door. "Star?"
"Yes, friend Terra?" Starfire flew out of the room, twirling in the air. She smiled her usual bubbly smile.
"Want to go to the mall or something?" Terra asked.
Starfire's smile disappeared. "Oh, I wish to, but I cannot. There is something I must finish doing by tonight, and I am afraid I cannot tell you what it is until later," She confessed. The Tamaranian put on an apologetic smile. "I am sorry, Terra."
Terra shrugged and put on a smile of her own. "It's okay, Star. See you later!" Terra walked away, getting on the elevator to the floor level. She wondered what Starfire's little secret was, but wasn't too curious. After all, she was going to tell her later, so why bother wondering?
The blonde stepped outside, breathing in the fresh air, still damp from the previous rain. She gazed up at the sky, with the sun sliding down it slowly. The city looked as if it had been washed over with red and yellow as Terra approached her favorite spot on the rocks. She spotted Beastboy already there, tracing patterns on the rocks with a twig.
"Hey, BB!" Terra bounced forward happily, glad to have company. "What's up?" She sat down next to him, letting her legs dangle over the salty water.
"Just finished doing the laundry," He said, doing a face. "Had to take a shower. I smelled like shit." Beastboy pointed to his wet hair and grinned.
Terra laughed softly and let the tip of her boots skim the water. "So, what's Cyborg doing?"
"The tin man's probably polishing his T-Car with something weird, like turtle wax," Beastboy replied. He dropped the twig into the water, watching it float away slowly. "Turtle wax! Not only does he eat meat, he uses it to wax his car, too."
Terra laughed again and jumped as a fish flew out of the water and snatched the twig, carrying it under to the unknown down below the surface. They both watched as the water swirled and then returned to its normal state, with gentle waves rolling delicately against the rocks.
Beastboy leaned back, staring at the fiery sky. He admired the colors tossed into the sky, as if Jackson Pollock had splashed his paints upwards and they had stayed, strewn across the air. The reds mixed slowly into the yellows, combining to make a whirl of orange. The only times the sunset looked like this was in August, and Beastboy remembered the hot August day that his parents had gone out boating to look at the same sunset, years ago. That was the day that they died on that boating trip. He sighed and stood up. "I'm going inside. It's way too hot out here."
Terra stood up, also, and trailed him into the Tower, just as a light drizzle started again. The dried out grasses and trees welcomed the rain gladly. The two went up to the kitchen, where Starfire was waiting for them. She hugged both, one at a time, in her bone-crushing hugs.
"Friends!" She welcomed them gladly, smiling gleefully. "I have finally finished a project I have been working on for quite some time and I would wish to show it to everyone! Robin, Raven, and Cyborg are already waiting!" Star grabbed their hands and started dragging them to the common room, where Robin was sitting on the couch with Cyborg. Raven was leaning on the side of the couch, hood up.
"Hey, grass stain and Terra," Cyborg greeted them. "Guess what, I found the remote!" He held up a battered black remote control triumphantly. "It was in the fridge, where all the moldy stuff is in the back."
Terra gagged.
"May I now present my surprise?" Starfire said excitedly. Her green eyes were lit up brightly.
"Go ahead," Robin said, leaning forward. Star's face reflected in his mask.
"Friends, though you may not have realized," Starfire began, smiling, "today is our three year anniversary as Teen Titans! It has been a good three years, ever since friend Raven has brought us together, and through all this time, we have remained friends and have not drifted apart like in the future I witnessed with Warp. Beastboy has not grown fat and bald, Cyborg has not worn down, Raven has not gone insane, and Robin has not turned into Nightwing. I have not disappeared, either. Terra has joined out team. We have had many, many arguments, but we are still a team and friends. Ever since our first day as Teen Titans, I have been keeping the book of scraps with pictures, and today I have run out of pages. So now I present to you the Teen Titans Scrapbook!" Starfire pulled out behind her back a huge book with a ruby red velvet binding, with the words Teen Titans Scrapbook written across the cover in gold. She beamed at their shocked and pleased looks. "I asked friend—or ex-villain—Jinx for help with the binding, and she has brought it to a binder of books called Mo." She smiled merrily. "Would you like to look through it?"
"Definitely, Star!" Robin exclaimed, springing up. He took the book carefully from her hands and placed it on the couch and the others gathered around him. He opened to the first page, which had some words across the top in Starfire's neat handwriting:
Today, I have joined a team: the Teen Titans! It is quite exciting and I wish to keep a book of scraps, which Robin, the leader, has described to me. Under here is a picture of all of us.
There was a picture of the five original Titans walking into the new Titans Tower. Robin was in the lead, gazing at the rows of seats in the front hallway in awe. Starfire floated behind him, smiling and looking pleased. Then there was Beastboy and Cyborg, who were wide-eyed as they took in the rich red carpet and huge walls. Raven floated behind, her hood off. Her face was emotionless.
"Dude, I'm so short!" Beastboy peered at the picture. "Shorter than Raven!"
"You've been shorter than me for two and a half years," Raven said in her monotonous voice. Her eyes flitted across the page curiously. "Who took this picture?"
"Oh," Starfire blushed. "I hope you do not mind, but I took some pictures from the cameras of security. Robin taught me how to take shots of screen from videos, and I have used them."
"Clever," Raven muttered. Her eyes strayed to under the picture.
From left to right, these are the members: Robin, me (Starfire, Raven has donned me), Cyborg, Beastboy, and Raven. We have voted Robin our leader because Raven, who brought us together, does not wish to lead. Robin is quite knowledgeable and is very good at what Beastboy tells me is 'kung-fu'. I do not know why anyone would wish to kung a fu, but Earthlings think it is a very impressive trait.
Below was a picture of Robin with his bo-staff out.
Cyborg reached out and turned the page. "Dude, this is like…ancient history!" He read the words on the page.
Here am I, discovering the joys of television. This is Cyborg, making something that Robin calls a 'car'. It looks like a pile of metal so far, but I am sure it will look beautiful later on. This is Beastboy in mid-morph. His abilities are quite astounding. This is Raven, drinking her tea. She would not let me see her room today, but I do not mind.
A series of pictures followed this.
The Titans flipped through the scrapbook curiously. The scrapbook went through every single event in their lives as Teen Titans: there was every birthday, villain, and new friend they had encountered, from the day they formed the team and up to Raven's last adventure with Trigon. There were pictures from when Cyborg quit the Titans and when Terra joined, and pictures from when Robin became Slade's apprentice and Starfire nearly got married. There was even a picture of the green dog from outer space that they had thought was Beastboy. There were pictures of Aqualad, Bumblebee, Jinx, Speedy, Mammoth, Gizmo, Thunder, Lightning, Mad Mod, and Adonis. There was even a shady picture of Slade, his menacing face peering out from the picture at them.
"This is awesome, Star!" Beastboy exclaimed, looking at a picture from when Cyborg and Beastboy had just come out of Raven's room, after battling Trigon in her mind. "It's like a history textbook, except not boring!"
Starfire beamed. "I am glad you enjoy it, though I am not sure what this book of text is."
"Yeah, it's really cool," Cyborg stared at a picture of him and Beastboy playing STANKBALL with Raven as referee. He flipped to the back.
"Are you going to start another one, Star?" Robin asked, looking at a picture of Happy and Starfire hugging.
"I was hoping that we could perhaps all work on a new one together?" Starfire suggested, looking around at them hopefully.
"Sounds like a great idea," Robin replied. He glanced at the others. "You guys in?"
"Definitely," Terra grinned and ran her finger over a picture of her beating Cyborg at a new obstacle course. "I'm in."
The others nodded, save Raven.
Robin glanced at his teammate. "Raven?"
Raven stared at a picture of her reading a book. "Whatever. Okay."
"Oh, and," Robin said, "tomorrow's training day. We should get some rest."
"Dude, it's only nine thirty!" Beastboy whined, pointing at his watch. "You sound just like those TV moms!"
Robin ignored him and glanced at Terra. This would be her first full day training. "Terra…do you still have trouble controlling your powers?"
Terra shrugged. "Not really. Not after…. Well, anyway, I don't think I have trouble anymore. I hope I don't, anyway."
Raven said coldly, "No one ever has complete control of their powers. Starfire doesn't, I don't, and Beastboy doesn't. You are no exception." Her voice was threaded with ice, cutting through the relaxed atmosphere like a sharpened blade.
Terra felt the heat rush to her cheeks. Raven had no right to assume things about her! Her anger rose as she retaliated, "Starfire and Beastboy have complete control over the powers! Only you don't!"
Raven's eyes glowed red. "You know nothing. When Starfire is extremely happy, she starts to fly, even if she doesn't want to. When she is angry, starbolts form at her fists. Beastboy can only morph once a minute and when he's angry—very angry—he turns into a Man-Beast. That only happened four times before."
"Yeah, well," Terra sputtered, "at least Beastboy can control his powers better than you! Anyone could get you angry, but no one can morph Beastboy!"
"Like you, for instance?" Raven's eyes glowed brighter. The others watched, afraid to interrupt. "Isn't that how you nearly drowned me? What a kind, considerate Titan you are." Her eyes turned purple, and then back red. The red energy enveloped Beastboy and Raven morphed him into a raven.
"Kek-kek-kek," Beastboy hopped around the room for a while before he could morph back. "DUDE, you morphed me again!"
The newest Titan blinked, astonished. She couldn't find any way to reply to that.
"And how did you know I can only morph once per minute?" Beastboy watched her facial expression, fascinated. It was completely blank, except for her glowing eyes, which softened back to their normal state.
"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out," Raven said frigidly.
Beastboy raised an eyebrow, inviting her to go on.
Raven sighed exasperatedly. "Remember when your butt was smashed into my back when Red X fought us?"
Gar nodded slowly, a light blush staining his face. Terra's face twitched with condescension.
"You could only morph back once the X binding us was cut, which was after a minute."
"How do you notice things like that?" Beastboy asked in awe. Without waiting for an answer, he dragged out a board labeled with Robin theories. "But speaking of X…I think I know who Red X is!"
They all sweat dropped.
"JASON TODD!" He announced, gesturing at a cartoon picture of him with a flourish. A scribbled picture of the late Jason Todd in his Robin uniform was displayed in full color.
"Jason Todd got killed by the Joker, Beastboy," Robin said flatly, not amused.
Beastboy scratched his head. "Um…Tim Drake? He's cool, except he's like, two feet tall."
"Beastboy…
"I know…BRUCE WAYNE!!!!!"
"Shut…"
"Oh! I KNOW! It's your ex-girlfriend, Barbara something-or-other—"
"…UP!"
"ALRED PENNYWORTH!"
"AH!"
"You have had a girlfriend before?" Starfire asked, confused and a tad jealous.
Robin buried his head in his arms and groaned. How did BB know about his ex, anyway?
"Right, who wants to go first?" Robin asked. The sun glared at them high up in the sky, shooting down harsh rays of red orange light. Sweat gathered on the back of his neck where he stood behind the control panel.
Below him, the Titans all looked similarly overheated. Terra had reverted to wearing a white tank top instead of her usual black top, and even Raven had done something to keep off the heat—she had taken off her cloak. They all stood, unenthusiastic, on the crumbling dirt of Titans Island.
"Don't all volunteer at once," Their leader said wearily, wiping sweat off his forehead. It was unusually hot, needless to say.
"I am sorry, Robin, but I simply am too hot," Starfire fanned herself with her hands and flew up indolently to join Robin at the control panel. "Perhaps I shall assist you instead?"
Robin nodded, glad of Starfire's company. He swallowed, trying to moisten his parched mouth. "Raven, why don't you go first? You've never gone first before."
Raven glared at him. "I'm honored."
"Countdown initiated," Starfire sang out, glad not to be Raven.
Raven walked up to the start of the obstacle course, rolling up the sleeves of her leotard slightly. How she longed to be inside the cool, air-conditioned Tower, reading a book and drinking tea.
"Three…two…one!"
The empath held out her right hand and it glowed yellow. A swirling portal opened in front of her and she simply stepped in, emerging on the other side of the course. "Wow. A new course record—one second." Raven deadpanned.
"Hey, that's not fair!" Cyborg objected. "That was cheating!"
"Technically, it wasn't," Robin admitted, leaning on the side of the control panel and then jumping back as its burning metal surface stung him. "She was using her powers and she could've done that in a real fight. But Raven, that was sort of cheap. Can you do it again—properly?"
Raven narrowed her violet eyes at him and flew back to the beginning. As the countdown was restarted, she staggered back as queasiness slammed into her head, as if someone had whacked her with a heavy object. The last thing she saw was the red sun swirling before her eyes before a vision overtook her.
Raven glanced around her, making sure no one was following. The sky was midnight black and the ground was rocky and uneven. She flew over it silently, her blue cloak billowing out behind her. The cold air stabbed her as she flew over bloody fields, death and destruction surrounding her. At last she reached a diminutive cave, insignificant and dinky. Inside, she saw a flash of white and orange--
The vision ended abruptly as Starfire's voice interrupted it. "Shall friend Raven be alright?"
Raven opened her eyes and found the other Titans peering down at her worriedly. She sat up slowly, rubbing the back of her head. Through her swimming eyes she could make out the white walls of the sanatorium. She took a breath of cool, clean air. "What…?"
"You just sort of collapsed," Beastboy peered down at her, his face lined with edges of concern. "The heat, probably."
"Oh, great, now I feel Harry Potter," Raven groaned. She would not meet Beastboy's eyes. She knew she had just seen the future, but what was happening? What was with the place she was in? What was the flash of white and orange? She tried to put away all her worries and put on her emotionless mask.
"Are you okay?" Beastboy handed her her cloak, which was dusted with dirt. He tried to make something out of her expression, but could find nothing.
"Fine," Raven murmured, suddenly embarrassed. She ducked her head and instead focused on her pale hands. "Just had a vision."
"A vision?" Robin repeated, interested. "What do you mean?"
"Is this the ESPN Cyborg and Terra speak of?" Starfire asked excitedly, bouncing up and down. She had her hair put up in a ponytail to keep it from sticking to her neck.
"ESP," Raven corrected. She could feel Beastboy's eyes on her face. "It was of…never mind," Raven's voice trailed off as she thought about the chilly air of her vision. "Wasn't important."
"But dude, what was it?" Cyborg pressed on, nagging her like a dog with a bone that he refuses to let go off.
But Raven refused to say anything, no matter how much the Titans pressed and pressed. She remained stoic to their pleads and stared at the white ceiling, wondering if this was training for the insane asylum.
Finally, the Titans gave up and left her alone. Their training was forgotten and the sun was left to burn unaccompanied outside.
I honestly did not like this as a beginning. Lack of detail, plot, drama, and angst is basically it (as compared to the first chapter of Yin and Yang, I mean). But, you know, whatever. I'll try to improve on the next chapters. BTW, this takes place a few days or a week or somewhere around that after Yin and Yang, when everyone is settled down.
Please review,
Lily )