Interlude: Raven's Crime (Patreon)

Interlude: Raven’s Crime

When Destiny vanished from the mountain, Raven felt the ripples she tore in the fabric of the plane. It spoke of a similarity between their powers, some shared basis or function that as of yet defied explanation. That Destiny might also be a conduit filled Raven with a vague sort of dread, the type that—according to this plane’s internet—one was supposed to brood over endlessly and pen lines of terrible poetry.

Raven made note to meditate for an extra twenty minutes in the afternoon, lest such a course of action start to sound appealing. This team had enough emotionally unbalanced individuals without lowering her own hood. As if she needed one more reason why she should have already returned to Azeroth.

“Raven,” Kid Flash’s voice came. “Hey, Raven?”

Make that two reasons. “Hmmm?” It was tempting to ignore him, but Raven was, at the very least, trying to fit in with this team. 

“What was up with that?” he asked. “We were just asking about her powers. Not like she’s the first hero who caught some super disease or anything. Heck, Flash and I got our powers from a chemistry set.”

Raven shrugged, sending a brief ripple across her cloak. “Why are you asking me?” 

“Does Destiny get along with anyone else? I mean, Arty but, I’m guessing she didn’t tell you either?”

“Okay, first,” Artemis said. “Don’t call me that. And second, no, she didn’t tell me. Happy?”

“Sheesh, looks like someone’s feeling a bad case of the sidekick syndrome.”

“This coming from the actual sidekick?”

Raven used the burgeoning argument to slip towards the door of the training room, eager to avoid her turn in the sparring ring. Whatever else they might have in common, Raven very much did not share Destiny’s love of combat, regardless. Hopefully the team would be too focused on itself to notice her making an exit. It was a trick she had used enough times on Azeroth…

“Going so soon?” Robin asked, sliding casually in front of her. “C’mon, you can’t bounce before you answer the question.” 

“…I don’t see why not,” Raven said.

Aqualad came over and placed a hand on her shoulder. “It’s important that we understand each other,” he said in that calm baritone of his. “If you know what made Destiny so uncomfortable, we would like to know.”

Raven turned, raising an eyebrow. Towards the center of the training room, Kid and Artemis were still gently ribbing each other, but the rest of the team had drifted over in Raven’s direction. Even Miss Martian and Superboy were looking at her earnestly. Raven could feel the sincerity wavering about their forms.

When was the last time she had tasted empathy? Raven shook it off, sliding quickly out from under Aqualad’s grip. They were worried about Destiny, she reminded herself. Raven was just… incidentally the only one who might have the answer to their questions.

Aqualad and Robin shared a glance. They both seemed to reach the same conclusion. “If…” Aqualad began, “we have done anything to make you uncomfortable, I would appreciate it if you told us that as well.”

Raven blinked.  She felt something roiling in her chest, a tight, warm, knot right next to her cold, cold, heart. Her lips moved on autopilot, “What makes you think anything you do could make me uncomfortable.”

Aqualad only smiled. “Nothing, but then, there are some situations where it is better to be proven wrong.”

Raven opened her mouth. Then Kid Flash skidded to a stop right next to Robin. “Hey, what are we talking about over here?”

Robin smirked. “Raven was finally about to answer your question.”

Kid blinked. “Huh, she knows how to stop entropy?”

Artemis wacked him in the back of the head. “Idiot, he meant your question about Destiny.”

“Wha—oh. I knew that, duh. I was just… testing you guys. You know, making sure no one was eavesdropping on our conversation.”

Everyone else in the room, Raven and Artemis included, stared at Wally for a few seconds. He spread his arms. “What?”

“Never change, Kid,” Robin said. “Never change.”

“Well, whatever, so can we get to the Destiny part already instead of everyone just awkwardly looking at me?”

Raven sighed. “And if being put on the spot like this constitutes as ‘making me uncomfortable’?” she asked.

“I’m sure our curiosity won’t kill us,” Aqualad said. No one controverted him.

After a second, Raven rolled her eyes. “Fine,” she said. “She didn’t like how you were looking at her.”

Superboy blinked, brow furrowing. “How were we… looking at her?”

Raven held back a chuckle. Instead, she shook her head, and started walking towards the door. “Like she was something different.”

The door hissed shut behind her.

Raven took a moment to gather herself, settling her emotions back into their boxes before slowly closing the lid of each. Then, once more at equilibrium, she drifted to the kitchen and poured herself a glass of water. It helped to ease the soreness of her throat.

She heard the door to the kitchen open again behind her. Turning, she caught sight of Kid Flash, who was surprised to see her there as well. After a moment, he shrugged, dashing over to the refrigerator. Raven filled her glass a second time.

Kid Flash closed the fridge door, then opened it again. As Raven watched, he pulled out a jar of something, spinning it once in his hand before putting it back. Then he grabbed a packed of some sliced meat. Door closed. Door opened.

For a moment, Raven was tempted to let him stew, if only for that terrible display. But then, she’d already talked more in the past day than she had in the entire month previous, might as well keep up the trend.

“What do you want, Kid Flash?” She asked.

“Ah, well…” He closed the refrigerator. “Actually, just call me Wally, you know? This whole ‘code name only’ thing is starting to feel really stilted.”

Raven nodded. Kid—Wally looked at her expectantly. She sighed. “What do you want, Wally?”

“Is that really how, uh, Destiny feels?” he asked. “I mean, what’s so bad about being different? Everyone here in the mountain is different. None of us fit into the mold, and I’ve always thought that that was a good thing…”

Raven took a sip of her water, rolling his question around in her head for a few moments. “In one word,” she said, “describe everyone living in the mountain.”

Wally blinked. “Um… hero?”

“You made her feel different from that,” Raven said.

Understanding bloomed on his face. Then he frowned, quickly falling into his own thoughts. 

Raven set he glass in the sink, taking care not to let it clink against the steel. Then she quietly excused herself and returned to her room. No sooner had the door of her chamber closed behind her than one of the red gems on her collar began to glow. Raven ignored it. After a few seconds it began to vibrate in its setting. 

She trembled once, a full body shudder that traveled from the bottoms of her feet to the tips of her fingers. Moving with something that, on anyone less graceful, would be called haste, Raven removed the gem from her leotard and threw it into the closest drawer.

It continued to buzz, out of sight, but never—never—out of mind.

Raven slumped onto the bed. For a moment she just lay there, taking in the almost sinful softness of the comforter. She nuzzled into the pillows, ignoring the tightness in her chest. With a sigh, she pushed herself into an upright position and crossed her legs. She began to hover in the air, away from the mattress in an attempt to distance herself from the physical world.

Yes, she knew that she was not supposed to be here. And, even though her arrival on this plane was not her doing, she was doubly not supposed to remain. Yes, yes! She knew it. How could she possibly forget?

But by the same token, how could she possible forget the hard mat she slept on at the monastery, or the cold glares she weathered daily, or the ‘mentors’ and watchers who never stopped to ask if she was comfortable, who never even considered that her discomfort was a factor worthy of consideration?

How could she not compare one life to the other?

How could she cease to want?

And so Raven pushed the demands of Azeroth aside. She drew into herself, completing the prescribed rituals and meditations, as she had always done. Then, she slipped into the soft bed, and passed yet another day without recompense for her crime.

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Here's the next section of Well Traveled. It'll be going up on SB in a weeks time. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things with this story. Hope you all enjoy the preview!