A/N: Alright, I've been gone for ages and I feel kinda bad for letting you guys hang so long for just one chapter. I've been preoccupied with a lot of stuff (fencing, tennis, fixing my shin splints so I can finally start jogging again) that hasn't really left a lot of room for writing Perfect Deceit. On the plus side, I think these months have really helped me improve as a writer, or at least, given me a new style to experiment with. Oh, and I've always tried to make it a point to never have an OC hog the limelight, and...I haven't really been succeeding, so this chapter's more Raven oriented. Enjoy!
Carried on a mixture of anger and frustration, Raven's left fist dug into the punching bag with a hollow thud. Her smooth, rapid blows sent the bag into a rhythmic, circular swing. She moved with the bag, continuously counting her steps as she repeated them in unending repetition. It was refreshing to have a second, decidedly more physical outlet for her emotions. It was no meditation, but there was something to be said in sheer exhaustion diluting her anger.
"Stupid! So damn stupid!" Raven muttered through clenched teeth as she dug into the canvas with a vicious hook.
Are you surprised? You made it painfully obvious. Wisdom chided.
"I never mentioned Terra!" sweat trickled down her face, the occasional drop leaving a salty taste on her lips, "I never mentioned Terra."
Regardless, Lan made the connection. Our pawn isn't stupid.
"He just pretends to be," the chain suspending the punching bag rattled out of time with her punches, "lying little bastard."
Deceitful as he is, I would remind you to keep your feelings in check. He hasn't done anything, not yet.
"But he isn't like us," too absorbed in her own thoughts, Raven failed to notice just how animated the chain had become, "I can feel it."
There is a certain...malevolence that I will give you. Wisdom concurred thoughtfully. But we all have our dark sides, you of all people should know that. Perhaps...
Raven broke her routine in favor of a hard roundhouse, "what?"
Perhaps this is simply who he is.
"No. There's something there, and I'll prove it."
Oh?
"The feeling's grown, it's definitely there now. All I need to do is bring it to the surface, show the others the real Lan and he'll be exposed for what he is."
I thought we agreed that controlling him was sufficient.
"It was."
Was?
"I've seen him in the gym with Starfire, he's growing faster than he should. Controlling him might not be an option in – "
Razors of black energy cut Raven short as they lanced through the rupturing canvas, sand scattering haphazardly across the room. A stray bolt lashed across her skin, droplets of blood staining the white-tiled floor. "Shit!" She drew back and grimaced at the blood seeping from her wound. "Damn it," abruptly, a warm hand perched on her shoulder.
"Rae?"
Startled, she whirled about to find a familiar green face staring concernedly back, "Beast Boy," she breathed sharply, failing to bring her voice to its usual indifference.
"Your arm," stepping forward the changeling took Raven's forearm, examining the gash, "oh man, that's pretty deep."
His reaction was predictable, but strangely welcome. "I'm fine," Raven shuddered, his hands were warm, even through the gloves.
"You're lying," Beast Boy's eyes flicked upwards to the punching bag's marred remains, "what happened?"
"An accident," Raven replied with a pained grimace, "apparently I'm not as centered as I thought." She moved a hand over the cut, murmuring unintelligibly under her breath. The bleeding ceased, but the laceration remained unchanged.
"It's not healed," Beast Boy stated, slightly perturbed.
"No," Raven began irately, "no it's not. I'm off today."
"Then let me patch it up," Beast Boy offered as pointed over his shoulder, "the infirmary's just down the hall."
"I...thanks, but I'm fine."
"C'mon, Rae." Beast Boy's eyes widened in their sockets as his lower lip pursed outward. "Please?"
She sighed, wiping the sweat from her face, "if it'll get you to stop with the puppy dog eyes."
"'Atta girl," Beast Boy grinned, stalking out of the gym with Raven in tow. Ever paranoid, Robin had commissioned Cyborg to build multiple infirmaries throughout the Tower, most of which had seen little use. "Lesse," the changeling murmured as he stepped over the threshold, "I don't think I've ever been in this one before."
"I don't think I've ever been in any of these," Raven frowned at the interior, the stark white glaringly bright against the florescent lights overhead.
"They're all pretty much identical," Beast Boy replied absently as he rummaged through the nearest cabinet, "Cy told me he stocks them all with the same stuff. So if I remember right the bandages should be...aha."
He straightened, a roll of bandages and a small bottle clutched in his hands. "now if you'd be so kind," he flashed a toothy grin, gesturing towards one of the beds, "Dr. Beast Boy can begin his work."
"...right," Raven said dryly, failing to suppress a smile as she seated herself on the edge.
"You should smile more," taking her arm gently by the wrist, the changeling bit down on the bottle's top and yanked it off, "it's nice when you smile," Beast Boy pressed down on the nozzle and with a faint hiss, the bottle released a fine spray of mist, oddly cold as it settled onto her wound.
"I only smile when I feel like it," Raven deadpanned as the disinfectant took effect and began stinging unpleasantly.
"I wish you'd feel like it more often," Beast Boy said, removing his gloves and taking up the bandages. He began to dress the cut, wrapping the gauze-like fabric around her skin in a smooth, continuous motion. "So, what's bothering you?"
"Nothing," Raven replied quickly, "I'm fine."
"Right, that punching bag was on purpose," Beast Boy replied as he fixed her with a skeptical look.
She gave a sigh and her eyes rolled upwards, "okay, maybe I'm a little out of it today."
"What you are is stressed," Beast Boy reached up, his hand moving gently over her neck, "your muscles are way too tense."
"You can tell?" Raven quirked an eyebrow, unconsciously feeling the spot he had touched.
"I learned a lot in the Doom Patrol," he commented offhandedly, "seriously, Rae, you need to unwind, I can't remember the last time you left the Tower to do – well, anything really."
"I go out," Raven protested, "I went to a poetry reading on – " she stopped short, "Halloween."
"And that was how many months ago?"
"Okay, maybe I don't get out a lot," she conceded grudgingly.
"I can fix that," Beast Boy took the bandages between his teeth, severing the end from the roll.
"Is that right?"
"You doubt moi?" He asked with mock hurt in his voice. "Well now we have to go out tonight."
"Out?" Raven echoed.
"Out," Beast Boy ran a hand along the length of the dressing as he inspected his work with a scrutinizing eye, "there's a whole city out there, in case you haven't noticed."
"And what would we do on this – " Raven caught herself not a moment too soon, "...outing?"
"It's up to you, Rae," Beast Boy replied with an aloof shrug, "whatever you want."
An eruption of voices spilled into Raven's psyche. Date, date, date. "...alright."
Date, date, date, date.
"Cool," Beast Boy pulled on his gloves as he glanced at the clock on the far wall, "nine sound good?"
Date, date, date, date, date. "Yeah...yeah that'll work."
"Nine it is, see you then," and with that, the changeling was gone, the doors hissing shut behind him.
Raven exhaled sharply, looking down at her bandaged cut, "I shouldn't be feeling this," she uttered, straining each syllable in a steady chant, "I shouldn't be feeling this, I shouldn't be feeling this, I shouldn't be feeling this."
DATE, DATE, DATE, DATE, DATE, DATE, DATE.
It was not yet Winter in Jump City, but it was beginning to look less and less like Autumn. The two forces encircled one another, their traits clashing in a seasonal twilight. Bitter winds blew at leaves not yet ready to leave their branches, still golden with the memory of a passing Fall. The sun peeked in and out of the clouds to create spots of light that faded away as the stretch of gray moved unendingly towards the horizon.
Lan stared vacantly at the pigeons gathering at his feet, finding the park a very depressing place to be.
"Not exactly the best day I've had," he muttered sullenly as he allowed himself to slide further down the bench, the throbbing in the back of his skull serving as a constant reminder of the morning's events. The chance had been too welcoming, too tempting to simply pass up, and for his risk, Lan had been rewarded with an answer. Indirect, painful, but an answer all the same.
Terra.
Lan was beginning to see that his predecessor's betrayal had left a scar, and for Raven it had yet to fade. For reasons beyond him he was being associated with the traitor, and that irked him to no end.
"Piss off," a single bolt sprang from his fingertip into the birds midst, they took to the sky, their disgruntled warbles mingling in the dreary air. A tinge of jealousy flickered inside him as he watched them flock through the sky in a disorganized mob.
They were free.
We've finally found you. Jessica's words nagged in the back of his head and a very familiar notion crossed his mind. For all his running, all his cowardice, what did he have to show for it? Not freedom, surely. He curled his fingers inward, stiff in the bitter Fall air.
Lan had never been free.
It was ironic in a way, to escape captivity only to find a second cage, grated by his own fear and paranoia. Lan wondered if it was time to slip away and find another city to disappear into, there was a second option in his teammates, but that would mean telling the truth.
Something Lan wasn't sure he could do. With a breath he reached into his pocket and pulled out his cellphone.
I got them involved. His thumb dug into the '9' key. I shouldn't get anyone involved. Bringing the phone to his ear Lan counted off the beats between each ring. Five, she always answered after five.
And she did.
Lan felt the familiar sensation of fear spark within him as the other end registered. It didn't matter that Jessica was somewhere far away, to Lan she was still right there. On the bench, on his shoulder, "I was wondering when you'd crack," her cool, wicked voice flitted into his ear, "you could never let anything go."
The birds – for reasons unknown – returned, cocking their heads inquisitively at Lan as he swallowed his pride, "don't hurt them."
"...what?"
"Don't hurt them," he grimaced at the pleading in his voice. It was supposed to be an order, a demand.
"Don't – " she broke off with a laugh, "don't hurt them?"
"Please?"
More laughter. "Please? Jesus, Lan – you don't beg."
"First time for everything," he replied quietly.
"Why? Are they your friends?" Jessica's voice dripped with contempt. "Do you care about them? I thought we beat that shit out of you."
"They were just trying to help. Jessica – " Lan's brow furrowed as he shut his eyes, "Jess. Let them live."
"Oh," a disbelieving laugh ran into his ear, "you didn't just call me that."
"Jess, please."
"Nuh-uh, it's too late for old nicknames, they're in. Not a thing you can do to change it."
"But – "
"Look at it this way, Lan: after Alice," an undertone of spite ran beneath Jessica's voice, "what's losing another friend or two?"
Dial tone.
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Raising an apprehensive hand to the door, Raven's eyes lighted on Starfire's name, worked in with letters of lighter grey. She wondered if this would constitute as the 'girl talk' she so avidly despised, Starfire would certainly take it as such. And as much as Raven dreaded it, there really was no other choice. Unless of course, she wanted to go out looking like – she glanced down at her leotard-clad form with a grimace – this.
With a resigned sigh, she knocked, "I'm going to regret this."
A brief silence, trailed by Starfire's airy, cheerful voice,"who is there, please?"
"Me."
A pause, "friend Raven?" she sounded...surprised, almost unbelieving.
"Yeah. Look, is this a bad time?" Please, please, please be a bad time. "'Cause I can come back if – "
"Oh no, friend Raven! I would never think of turning you away! I am just – " Starfire's muffled voice gained clarity as the door slid open, revealing Raven's teammate in her usual radiance, "surprised you would come to my room." Starfire stepped back and gestured for Raven to enter with a warm smile, "please, what is the nature of your visit?"
"I need advice," Raven began hesitantly.
"Advice?" Starfire echoed as she shut the door.
"Or...help,rather."
"I do not understand," Starfire cocked her head inquisitively, "with what do you require aid?"
"I – well it's...I kinda have this thing that – " Raven let out an exasperated groan, pinching the bridge of her nose irately, "sorry, this is just a little...weird."
"Do not be embarrassed, friend," Starfire offered Raven an understanding smile, "I will help if I can."
"Promise you won't tell anyone?"
"By the Tamaranian moons," Starfire nodded, "your secret is secure with me."
"Alright," Raven pulled her hood over her eyes before letting a steady breath slip past her lips, "Beast Boy asked me to go out tonight and I – "
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Instantly Raven was swept up by a pair of deceptively powerful arms, "Beast Boy has asked to share with you the Earth ritual of adolescent affection! A DATE!" Starfire gave a squeal as she twirled Raven about the room in a dangerously tight bear-hug, "I am ecstatic!"
"It is not a date," she cringed as her ribs contracted under Starfire's inhuman embrace, "and you're crushing me..."
"Oh!" Raven was promptly set down by the beaming alien. "Forgive me, I am simply excited for you! At long last you will have the 'social life' that I have read so much about!"
"Yeah..." the sorceress winced at her bruised sides, "thanks."
"Tell me, friend, how may I lend aid?" Starfire asked as she zipped enthusiastically about Raven.
"I...kinda don't know what to wear," she watched her teammate tilt forward in a playful flip, "any chance you'd help me?"
Starfire righted herself before taking Raven by the hand. "Of course, friend!I have collected numerous garments during my trips to the Earth malls!" Starfire darted away with her friend in tow. "Come, I will show you!"
An assortment of painfully bright colors assaulted Raven's eyes as she was dragged into the Tamaranian's walk-in closet, row upon row of designer clothes surrounding the sorceress on all sides. "Wow."
"I will admit that I have perhaps – " Starfire frowned thoughtfully, "overindulged myself. But now you are sure to find something!" She brightened at the thought. "Come, I shall take you to my older clothes."
"Older?"
"I was shorter then, they will be an undoubtedly better fit," true to her heritage, Starfire was – by Earth standards at least – abnormally tall, dwarfing all but Cyborg in height. Mercifully, their trek through the seemingly endless closet came to an end as they met their own reflections in a dusty, wall spanning mirror.
"It has been some time, but I am sure I can find you something here," taking Raven by the shoulders, Starfire planted her squarely in front of the glass, "am I right in assuming you would prefer something...quieter than my usual clothing?"
Raven blinked, "...yeah, actually."
"Is this date formal?" Starfire inquired as she dug through a collection of jeans.
"Casual, and it's not a date."
"Of course," Starfire agreed as she turned back to stare at Raven's legs, "hm."
"What?"
"Oh, nothing," was the vague reply as Starfire took a pair of faded jeans from the rack, "try this on, please."
Pants in hand, Raven turned to the mirror, suddenly very self-conscious.
Nine o'clock couldn't come soon enough.
Compulsively, Raven ran a hand across her thighs as she stalked awkwardly down the Tower corridors, feeling oddly naked with her legs covered by a pair of ripped, faded jeans. The black long-sleeve that had replaced her traditional leotard felt indescribably foreign against her skin, so accustomed to latex. But despite all the faults she could find, Raven reflected on just how pleased she had been with her image in Starfire's closet. And if it was only for one night, maybe she could stand to look like a civilian.
"Rae?" Drifting around the bend, Lan's voice brought Raven back to the present. Taking a few tentative steps forward, she found Lan with his head lowered in a gesture of exasperation as he rapped on her door.
"C'mon, you told me eight, and it's eight."
Raven watched her empty room yield no reply.
"You're not still mad, are you?" Lan felt the back of his skull gingerly. The past few hours had allowed a sizable lump to present itself, mercifully concealed by his tangles of hair. "I know you're in there, I've searched the whole damn Tower." He stared intently at the door, almost expecting it to talk back. "So you're either sleeping, dead, or just being – "
"A bitch?" Raven watched with decided satisfaction as her pupil stiffened before slumping forward in a sigh.
"I was going for 'pissy', but that'll work to," Raven watched him turn and take her in with surprise, "you look..." he blinked, eyes following the vague design of silver spirals and vines from shoulder to stomach, "normal."
"I'm flattered," she brushed past and reached for the pad integrated with the wall, "where've you been?" She pressed her hand against the scanner and the door slid back with a brief hiss.
"The park," Lan replied offhandedly.
Abruptly, she stopped with one foot over the threshold, "your head," her hand found the doorframe and tightened on it, "how is it?"
Lan allowed himself a crooked grin, "didn't think you noticed."
"I took that a little far," Raven admitted grudgingly.
"That the closet thing to an apology I'm getting?" Lan's grin widened.
"Yes," she answered curtly before slipping into the dark that pervaded her quarters, "we're going to be doing something different tonight," Raven sent the curtains together with a vague gesture, dropping the room into near-total darkness.
"Yeah?" Lan asked as his eyes roamed over the bookshelves with mild interest. Raven found herself observing him, a frown unconsciously working its way past her impassive mask, he felt troubled.
"Your powers aren't fully realized ," Raven explained, "there's more somewhere in there, we'll be trying to pull it to the surface."
"I wouldn't do that."
Raven stiffened at the cold metal suddenly against her throat. Her eyes flickered to Lan, whose gaze seemed frozen just past her shoulder.
"Some things are best left buried."
"Okay, lets try this again," Setting aside his fifth beer, Jason stepped back to observe his work. Somewhere buried underneath the cosmetics and makeup was Jinx, any aspect of her true self hidden behind an elaborate, painstakingly detailed guise. "Who are you?" He inquired irately as he rubbed at his temples."Sara Hopny," Jinx replied to the tan, blue-eyed girl in the mirror, equally aggravated.
"And where are you from, Sarah?"
"Queens, New York," Jinx sneered at the curtain of blond hair, missing her usual mane of pink all the more.
"New York?" Jason feigned half-hearted surprise. "Well, that's certainly a long way from Jump City, what brings you here?"
"Several months ago I – " Jinx's voice caught as a familiar tingling burned at the back of her eyes, "I lost a – " she let her head drop and dug her teeth into her lip, "fuck."
"'Fuck', is right!" A mixture of aggravation and alcohol fueled Jason's sudden outburst, "why the hell can't you get past this line!? We've been at this for like an hour!"
"I told you, I don't like lying," Jinx replied through gritted teeth.
"You're a criminal! You're supposed to be dishonest! It's what you do!" Jason snarled, slightly off-kilter.
"Fine, I don't like lying about this," another hateful glare into the mirror.
"Why?"
"I...I just don't."
"Don't give me that shit," Jason retorted, "you're not over them."
"Yes, I am," Jinx shot back.
"No, you're not, unless you're choking up about something other than those petty thugs."
"Don't do that," Jinx said as she shot Jason a warning glare, "don't talk about them like that."
"Why not!?" Jason replied sharply. "Christ, Jinx, they were villains! And not even good villains. Just a buncha suped up thugs."
"Shut up," her eyes took a dangerous pink hue as she turned on Jason, "one more word and I'll – "
"What!?" He stepped closer. "You'll do what!?"
Jinx brought her knee into Jason's crotch and watched him double over in agony. Grabbing his head, she slammed him viciously into the mirror, the sound of breaking glass following her down the hall as she headed for the door.
"That."
Raven struggled to keep the swarm of thoughts buzzing through her skull in check as her eyes moved along the blade pressed against her jugular, an all too sharp edge outlined in the faint traces of light.
"Finally I get to meet the famous Raven," the icy breath that flitted gently against her neck sent shivers along her spine, "I'm Marionette, and it's a pleasure."
"Charmed" Raven forced confident defiance into her voice as she reached out to the malevolent force pulsing against her.
The razor thin steel dug deeper against the empath's pale skin, eliciting a hastily stifled gasp. "Subtle, but I'd advise against it, witch. I know all your tricks."
"Lan," Raven managed to tear her teammate's gaze away from Marionette, he seemed anxious, almost frightened, "get help."
"I wouldn't do that, Caihe," the blade pressed harder and forced a strained gurgle past Raven's lips, "not unless you want fresh blood on your hands."
Violet eyes snapped onto Lan, "how – "
"Now, now, no questions," Marionette replied with an eerie softness, "he's listening."
"He?"
"It's why I'm here, witch" her voice dropped to a barely audible whisper, "you're being watched by an...unwelcome guest."
Raven could feel a hand work its way through her violet tresses, "and I'm supposed to believe you're honestly helping me?"
"I'm helping myself, witch. Our interests have taken a parallel course, for now," her hair ensnared by a vice-like grip, Raven's head whipped back with a violent pull "your success is my success," she felt the tension in her neck suddenly release as warmth spilled fluidly down her front, the floor rising to meet her as her legs buckled.
"Your failure is my failure."
A/N: Remember the 'new style to experiment with' I mentioned up there on page 1? Yeah, I kinda lied, it's pretty much a complete, permanent overhaul of my entire way of writing. Which, looking back on old chapters might not be a bad thing. So you know I like it, but do you? Leave me an opinion in a review.