Rebel-Aquarius- Well, you could feel ALL of that, if you'd like, LOL! And exactly: Slade is obsessed with his favorite apprentice, and he wants him back, which is the basis of everything he does (I just hope that sort of plotline won't get too old. I've only done it for... oh, almost all of my fictions on here lol). And about Troia dying... haven't decided whether or not I want to include that bit. Troia's fate is completely up in the air at this point, and I'll probably have her live through this one before killing her off in another (I love this series too much! I can't keep away from the fiction work!). But then again, I remind you, her fate's up in the air, and I still don't know what I'm going to do with her as of yet. Anyway, glad you're enjoying this plotline! I live to serve! Thanks for the review!
Moonjava- I'm thrilled that you do! Stick around for more TT action! Thanks for the note!
Aeris-Raven- LOL you thought it was random, huh? I'll give you an explanation down below in my author's notes, k? I'd just like everyone to read it so they get a good idea why Troia is acting unlike herself. And Yeah, that is EXACTLY why Robin became Nightwing: By "Starting over" he thought he could live a different life and forget everything that's happened to him. He doesn't want to remember some of the things that he's forced to remember, and so he gets a little bit bitter when he gets immersed in it again. Thanks for the review!
Infamous One- I knew that was their names! I knew it, I knew it! LOL! I don't read the current Teen Titans comics for nothin'... And I don't know about you, but I happen to like Rose, no matter how screwed up she is. She's slightly scary, but still... she's pretty darn cool. Thanks for reviewing!
Insanity 101- LOL I love to drive my readers crazy! LOL! And yes, you basically have everything straight so far on Slade's fiendish plans (I loved the way you described it too! Got a good laugh at me on the "Squeaky toys" comment lol). And you're right about Troia and Nightwing except for one difference: Nightwing never told Batman, in full, what happened. I don't think he could, since doing so would mean telling Bruce that he gave into weakness and didn't tough it out, like Batman would have done. Nightwing gave in to Slade at the end of SINKING INTO SLADE, and said, "I'm done. You want me, then fine. Just do what you have to do in order for me to never remember my life. If you want me, give me a whole new life, because I'm done with mine." Batman would NEVER do that, not if there was a way out he could see, or otherwise. He'd fight to the death, but Nightwing didn't. It's one of the things that makes Robin/Nightwing so appealing to me: his compassion, care, and trust for people is his biggest weaknesses, along with his temper. He seems more human than Batman, who seems, sometimes, to be this gothic god of vengeance (I say seems because I know that he's more than that... so much more, in fact. Check out my Gotham Knights: Year One I renamed it, but it's still Gotham Knights! fiction every once in awhile, when I get to the really good Batman stuff. It's my depiction of how the Dark Knight really is). Robin is what makes these fictions so fun to do, because he's the classic hero type, and you could put them through hell, put them in a depression, and then they'd bounce back stronger than before. If Robin was never in the Teen Titans, I could say that, although I love Raven to death, I wouldn't do anything like writing three TT stories that are pages and pages long. No way. Maybe short ones, but it's Robin that draws me to TT, and you can get so many plotlines going with just him alone. And Troia, in the past fiction, was talking about Themyscira, the Amazon home of Diana and herself (yes, I consider Donna an Amazon). I say that because if she went back there and she was dealing with it the same way Nightwing was... well, let's just say she wouldn't be staying for too long. She'd be too ashamed to show her face. And maybe Nightwing feels that too: ashamed of his actions, ashamed of his attitude, ashamed of himself. Anyway, thanks for the review!
KaliAnn- LOL, I'm just glad you guys didn't forget me! Here I am, updating after a month of nothing, and I fully expected all of you guys to leave! Lol! And nope, Slade never learns that you shouldn't mess with cosmic deities... The guy's got guts though, for dealing with people who could turn him into carbon molecules at the drop of a hat... And yeah, I figured with her nature, Starfire was the perfect one to comfort him for the moment... Raven's still a bit shocked about Nightwing coming back, and Star really cares for him, so... OK, will do on the e-mail thing. Thanks for reviewing!
AriesFalcon- ROFL, so you think I lost my touch? Nope, I haven't: I've just made the Raven/Robin/Star triangle even more intense and deeper. At this point, Nightwing's still suffering, but in comes this alien, who looks beautiful in the new uniform she has, and it's one of those moments where he noticed that she was a woman LOL! All this time, he's pictured Starfire as just one of the guys, you know? There was some tension there, but he swung towards Raven because of common ground. He never really noticed Kory until these past couple chapters, and it took him by surprise. He "said" all those things in his head because he's just taken aback, and he really doesn't know that to say about her, so he "thinks" of the first things that come to his mind. It's not that he likes her better than Raven at this point: it's just that he's... well, surprised Starfire's a woman lol! And you have to think about this: Star's an alien, ergo, she wears entirely different things than human beings do, which would account for Nightwing to say the word "sexy" about her. She's wearing things that he never dreamed of, and he thinks it's sexy because she does that. You can all someone that and not mean it in a romantic sense. And to be honest, I am a RobStar and BBRae fan... and a RobRae, BBStar... not to mention a Cy/Jinx as well, but that's besides the point. I appreciate all the fandom pairings, but, like you, I think I do like RobRae the best. Too much common stuff to be ignored, plus, the current eps on TT def. swing RobRae (Like in Birthmark, and heck, even Haunted at times). And I'll explain about the BBRae stuff here in this chapter: you'll find it's not exactly what Nightwing assumed it was (meaning, it's not exactly romance. Although BBRae is a cute coupling, like I said before, RobRae all the way here lol). And I always thought that, in the TV series, they were teens, or, in my mind: Robin-16, Raven-16, Starfire-15, Beastboy-15, Cyborg-17. This takes place about a year and a half later, so you have Robin and Raven closer to 18, Cyborg around 19, and Starfire and Beast Boy about 17. Troia, in this incarnation, is also around 18, and with these ages, you start to get the real "old soul" of these characters, and why they're changing so quickly into adults, and dressing more like adults than kids. Robin became Nightwing because he needed to start over, so that's why he's Nightwing now... and don't worry: Robin isn't completely gone and out of the picture: and you'll be pleased with who it is that helps him realize that he's not done being Robin. In response to your other note, I'm happy you like Troia. I've tried hard to make her somewhat similar to Terra, only... completely different (does that make sense?). What I mean is that Troia has issues. Big ones, and I don't shy away from that: I make that a focus. You see why, despite her powers, she's human, and she screws up, she lets people down, and she is all-around flawed. She's a true hero, but she's done things that aren't so hero-like in her past, and that's what I love about my version: she's so much like Robin, so much like Raven, and yet, completely different. Thanks for both your reviews!
Dlsky- Thank you, thank you, thank you! And yeah, Dark Angel is this omnipotent being, capable of so much nasty stuff... Seemed only right that she be displayed in a way that would give that sort of an image. And yeah, Slade's one of those people who lays everything out on the table when he's for you, and when he's against you, you better expect some secret stuff going on. And plus, he knew that to deal with this being he had to be honest, show that he had nothing to hide, and that's why he told her everything. And I thought the "Dad-Daughter quality time" thing was kind of funny too. And an 11? Out of 10? I feel honored! Thank you! And yeah, I did see his Nightwing picture: I didn't have his permission to use that image, so I just borrowed from the comic book adaptation of the Nightwing costume. Anyway, thank you for the review!
OK, now, I know that some of you are wondering what's going on with Troia during her freak out session, and why she just started screaming like a lunatic. Put yourself in Troia's shoes for a moment: you live your life out exactly how you want to, then suddenly, this witch who holds your life in her hands decides to off you. Every single time life is going great, she swoops down and ruins it, torturing you, your loved ones, and anyone she feels like, reigning over your life with sheer terror, horror and destruction. When you look at her it's basically looking at your death. And this lady is one sick puppy: she enjoys flaying your little dog alive, and stripping the skin off your lover, just to see how much he would bleed. This sadistic, satanic monster taunts you, makes you relive a nightmare over and over again, and she DOES NOT STOP. She considers you her play toy, her plaything, and she wants to see just how much she can abuse you before you break. Wouldn't YOU freak out if you get the same pain in your gut as you had before, right before she came for you? Wouldn't you be scared out of your mind for not just yourself, but your friends too? I'd be terrified, and that's exactly how Troia feels. Dark Angel is to Troia what Trigon is to Raven, only Dark Angel's not concerned with destroying the world: She wants to destroy life itself, mainly, Troia's. Just because she can. There's no rhyme or reason to what she does: she just does it, if it amuses her. THAT is why Troia freaks out. THAT is why she starts screaming like a lunatic, doesn't let people touch her, and basically says, "Get away from me, because she'll kill you all if you're anywhere near me".
And I totally made up carbonium. It's nothing real, but for those of you who want to know what exactly it is, it's basically pliable, diamond banding that you can use as restraints for the superheroes with superior strength. Since Diamonds are the hardest materials on the planet, I bet even Superman would meet his match with something that is diamond based. And they are made from carbon, so hence carbonium, a restructured, diamond-like substance that is so strong, it can even restrain superstrength. Hey, if the shoe fits... At least this is not some rock that can sap a person's superstrength or anything. Sheesh...
Anyway, on we go to the fourth chapter, where things get a whole lot hotter. And the chaos and evil level goes up like, 30. Enjoy!
The first thing she noticed when she woke up were the restraints wrapped around every portion of her body. Titanium, laced with diamond-based carbonium. Not even Superman could break out of them, and Troia gave up struggling with them before she even started.
The medical room was dark as a cavern, but that didn't stop her from spying a figure across the room, most likely checking her charts and stats with care. "Raven?"
The witch immediately flew to her side, a hand placed over one of hers. "How're you feeling?"
"Like crap. And why am I in restraints?"
She chuckled, and flipped her hood back with a clipboard-filled hand. "You were having nightmares, and there was no other way we could contain you. You sure did give Cyborg a pretty big bruise on his face." She taped the chart she held and pointed out a few things to her. "Heart rate skyrocketed for a while there. I hadn't seen one so high in awhile, not since Robin... I mean, Nightwing, was getting haunted by visions of Slade. Yours climbed higher though, and for a while, we didn't know if you were going to make it or not. You almost put yourself into cardiac arrest."
Troia slumped, groaned, and felt woozy. "What happened?"
"You don't remember?"
"No. I must've blacked out or something. What did I do? What did I say?"
She was silent for a moment, a look of sadness briefly playing across her features before her necessary, stoic mask was put back in place. "You were screaming about Dark Angel."
Silence. "Dark Angel..." she whispered, fear edging into her voice. "No wonder..."
"Donna, what is going on? I've never seen you so scared before. It was like you couldn't feel anything but fear. Your mind was utter chaos, remembering the past, the present, what might happen in the future... you were everywhere at once, and I've never seen you shake so bad! You moaned about a pain in your chest, and then you were shrieking like a lunatic."
Dare she say it? Softly, she replied. "That was because Dark Angel was squeezing my heart. Literally."
"What?"
The dark-haired teen laughed shrilly, impulsively, over an ongoing joke that wasn't funny. "She holds my life in her hands, you know, a replica of my heart. Anytime she wants to give me a squeeze, saying she's coming to get me, she can do it without a second thought. She can off me anytime, any day, anywhere, and I can't do shit to stop her. She controls my life, Raven, not me. I'm sure you feel the same way sometimes."
Raven nodded, understanding. "Yes, sometimes. There are moments where I feel like my father is dictating my life. It's because of him that I have to watch what I express and feel, so I can control my powers."
"At least you're spared from spontaneously dying."
A short laugh. "Sometimes, I 'm not so sure." She patted Donna's hand in comfort for her friend, and began to walk out, talking along the way. "The others are anxious to hear of your recovery. I'll tell them what you've told me, ok? That way, you won't have to explain it twice."
"Thanks Rae."
When Raven closed the door behind her, Nightwing silently looked up from the bench he was sitting on, alarm plaguing every nuance of his face. "What's going on, Rae? What happened to her? How is she?"
She sighed despondently, and placed the chart she was holding in its proper place on the back of the door. That wasn't a good sign. "Simply put, she's doing better than she was physically. Mentally, we will never know. Apparently, she's in the same boat you were when you were infected with that dust from Slade's mask, and began seeing him everywhere. Only this time, her heart rate wasn't high from exertion: it was from fear."
Digesting this, he slipped off his mask and rubbed his eyes, trying to make sense of all of this. "So this Dark Angel person... she's the reason why Donna's so terrified?
Surprised, she looked at him quizzically, then remembered. "That's right, you weren't there when she told us." Taking a deep breath, she fiddled with her long gloves before sharing what she knew. "Donna told us that she's cursed to live forever."
"Well, that doesn't sound like such a--" A slim, pale finger on his lips shushed him, cool to the touch.
"Stop. Listen, Richard, and don't interrupt."
He did as he was told.
"She's cursed to live forever, but through multiple lives. Dark Angel is a creature of unimaginable power, and puts Donna through hell every so often for her own personal amusement. To her, Donna is a toy that she wants to see how far she can abuse before it breaks. Every single time her life starts to get better and better, tragedy strikes, caused by that black witch. Donna suffers from Dark Angel like a plague, in much the same was as I do from Trigon; only, the difference is that I will not suffer for eternity."
"Sounds like she has it rough."
"Rougher than we do. We need to figure out a way to help her, because the alternative is to let our friend die, and most likely ourselves. I understand the nature of wicked beings, and this Dark Angel, whoever she is, seems like the sort of person who wouldn't object to flaying us alive because it amuses her."
Nightwing shivered, sickened. "What kind of monster would do this to her?"
"Obviously not the warm, fuzzy kind."
He couldn't help but laugh. "You pick that up from your boyfriend?"
Deep blue eyes looked quizzically at him. "Boyfriend?"
"You know, Beast Boy."
She laughed, and almost caused the fire extinguisher on the wall to explode with her power. "He's not my boyfriend!"
"Huh? But that pendant thing--"
Her slim fingers unconsciously rubbed said item, and smiled, thinking. "After you left to run off and be Nightwing, Beast boy was pretty crushed. Under the impression that you had to get away from us, and you couldn't stand us after what you've been through, he wouldn't stop whimpering like a kicked puppy dog for weeks. When Troia came back, it seemed to give him hope, and he became so adamant about keeping us all together that he made everyone buy something that 'defines our friendship'. When we did what he asked us to, we shared with each other, so we all had a piece of our friends, and we wouldn't forget them. This is Beast boy's gift to me. He has a matching one for himself, with my raven symbol on it."
Suddenly, he felt left out. "What did you share with Starfire? Cyborg? Troia?"
She hesitated, as if she wasn't sure how to answer. "Well, Cyborg gave me a picture frame that he made himself. It doubles as a holographic projector of the five of us, and when you were here. I gave him one of my old gloves. If he rubs the jewel on it, I can hear it, no matter where it is, and he could summon me whenever he feels lonely, or in need of a friend."
"You and Troia?"
"She gave me a huge, blue diamond that she handmade herself. She loves making thoughtful things like that with her superstrength... It catches the light that sometimes spills into the room, and I love the rainbow effect it makes. It reminds me that no matter how dark the situation is, there still is hope, waiting to shine through. I gave her a raven pendant that she wears a lot, when she's not in costume."
"And Star?"
Now, she looked slightly embarrassed. "We... exchanged tattoos."
He laughed so hard, he doubled over. "Tats? You mean you've got a tattoo somewhere?" He looked her over twice before he asked, "Where?"
"None of your business," she fumed, her emotions exploding the fire extinguisher this time. "All of us girls exchanged tattoos. Star has two, from the two of us, and Donna and I both have one."
"So that's why Starfire has them over her eye and on her stomach... Where's Troia's?"
"Along her spine. I'm surprised you didn't see it: it's a big one, just above her pants line. She was more daring than I was."
He grinned. "Well I can't really see it through the jumpsuit she wears."
"On of her other costumes is open in the back. If you want to be a pervert, go ahead and look."
"So what do they mean?"
"The one Star and I share, the one under her eye, means friendship. Hers and Donna's means 'blood sisters', since they are pretty close. Plus, their powers are almost identical, so it was only natural that they get that."
"Yeah..." Longing welled up inside of him. He'd missed this... this coming together, like a family. What else didn't he know about, and what did he miss? He'd made his choice: he went off to do his own thing, to start again anew under a new identity, but what had he lost by leaving? He thought giving up Robin was the best thing he'd done in a long time, but was it really true?
She caught his thoughts. "You're wondering why you didn't stay for this, right?"
Surprised, Nightwing was caught off guard. "Y-yeah. I mean, here you guys are giving gifts, exchanging tats... and I missed out on that. It was my choice, but I missed out. I don't regret the decision I made, but I regret doing it, you know?"
A smile played across her face, and she gripped on of his hands in both of hers. "I understand. Listen, Troia is most likely sleeping now, so why don't you go and get comfortable with being here again. You might be here awhile if we're going to catch Slade. If I were you, I'd get myself situated in my room." Unexpectedly, she winked at him, and nodded towards the way. "I'll keep you posted on her condition."
"Thanks Rae," he murmured, and drew her close, kissing the top of her forehead and wrapping her in a grateful hug. "You're the best."
"I know." She let him walk away for a bit before she called him back. "Robin?"
This time, he answered to the name. "Yeah?"
"I noticed you seemed more open this time. You're better than when you came in this morning."
He smiled, and he didn't need to be a psychic to know that she liked it when he did so. "Yeah, well, I have two of the best gal pals I could ever hope for. Took me a bit to realize it, but being angry at you guys won't solve anything. I resented coming back here because of the bad memories, but with you and Star, I'm beginning to see some improvement. Being gone for so long has made me realized what I missed more than what I hated."
She nodded, and gave him a shy smile. "I'm happy for you."
"I thought you weren't supposed to show emotion, Raven," he chided playfully.
"You aren't the only one who's changed, Richard," she replied, and turned back towards Troia's medical room. "Now go. I'll make sure to tell you when she wakes up."
It was happening again. The fear welling inside her heart, the terror grip on her mind; everything was repeating themselves again for the umpteenth time in her lifetime. She knew she was dreaming, but still, it shook her very heart and soul.
The world was aflame in rings of fire, brimstone scented the air like rainfall as she glanced around to the world that had slipped from perfectly normal to insanely hellish. A darkness enveloped Jump City, the sky burned gold with toxic gases as dark, heavy rain clouds were drizzling the areas just beyond the horizon with sizzling, acid rain. The buildings around her were crumbling upon their cemented bases like block towers, collapsing under their own weight like tin cans under pressure. Grass? There was no grass, only black loam plagued by all manners of disgusting creatures, both earthly and satanic, imagined and real. Bodies littered the ground like street trash, some already corpses while others screaming, croaking, dying, moaning their prayers between cracking, parched and dehydrated lips.
"This is... hell on Earth," she breathed, horrified.
"It is destiny incarnate," whispered a voice to her left, and she turned sharply, her eyes wide in fear.
But there was nothing there.
"It is the future, little Troia. Can't you taste it? Smell it? Breathe it in?"
"Where are you?" she screamed out, contorting her body this way and that, desperate for a face, a body, some warning on where she was before she struck.
"I'm here." To the left! "No, I'm here." To the right!
Long, thin fingers slid themselves around her neck, and Troia choked, gasping for air and she met a deathly white face eye to eye. They were black, pure, ebony black and her lips shut automatically, frantically trying to disappear from the sight of her blood red pupils. The two and a half inch nails punctured her fragile skin like a nail would a balloon, a second hand catching the drops with her fingers and running a pink tongue against them. Her crimson lips pulled back into a fiendish grin as she laughed hard, a booming, grating noise like fingernails on a chalkboard; the cacophony noise sending shivers up and down her spine.
Then again, all it took was one mention of Dark Angel's name to send her into epileptic fits.
"And you thought you could get away. Don't you ever learn, my dear, little Donna? You can never get away. Ever. You are mine, my toy, my pawn, my prize. I shall hunt you until the day you die, and then snatch your life away in the blink of an eye. And then, the fun begins again in another life, another day. Your blood sings to be, Troia, begging me to take your existence again, and I have put it off for far too long. I cannot resist much longer."
"This... this isn't real... It's not real! You're not real!"
She chuckled again, and squeezed tighter. "If I wasn't real, could I crush your trachea and snap your neck? Could I choke you like this?"
God, she couldn't breathe! She couldn't breathe, and she could practically feel her face turn a particularly suffocating shade of purple. God, there was no air! No air! "Stop... please, stop this... not again... I... need... to breathe..."
Suddenly, she had more than enough air whooshing into her lungs, as the witch threw her to the ground, the teen's head cracking sharply against a wickedly axe-shaped patch of volcanic rock. She cried in agony, her vision tinted red as extra lashes of red blood were slashed upon her forehead, a token of Dark Angel's affections.
Laughter. The laughter was painful on the ears. "Expect me sooner than you think, and not late enough to spare yourself another day of your pathetic life. I grow anxious for the taste of victory. I'll see you soon, love. Don't forget me."
"No... No..." she moaned, tears tinted pink flowing down her face... "No... No..."
"No... No..."
She was barely conscious, and Raven gripped her hand painfully, trying to do her best to ease her friend's pain, horrified. "Troia! Troia, wake up! Wake up! DONNA!"
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" The patient screamed bloodcurdlingly, inhumanly hoarse and shrill at the same time. "AHHHHHHHHHHHH! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
"Donna! You're ok! You're ok!" Frantic, Raven tried everything she could, grateful for the carbonium bands for once. God, she was so strong, and bucking painfully; if she didn't settle down, she was going to cause more damage to herself than she already had...
Nightwing burst into the room, followed by Star and Beast Boy, when he saw what was going on. His eyes widened behind his mask, and automatically started barking orders, jumping over the bed and grasping his friend's other hand. "Keep her steady! Star, take her shoulders! Beast Boy, her legs!"
Cyborg came around just in time to take his position at keeping Troia's torso still, but she was just too strong, too horrendously powerful...
Suddenly, she just went limp like a ragdoll, her heart rate flat-lining for half a minute before it started again, sighs of relief and worry echoing from one person to another. Raven was already trying her best to use her powers to heal her own hand, but it was Nightwing's that needed the most care; being left-handed, Troia had literally crushed his fingers and his palm with every bit of her strength, the mangled remains disfigured and disjointed.
All he could do was scream inwardly, the pain almost making him blackout as Cyborg, one arm almost completely torn off, grabbed a washcloth from the sliding tray at the foot of her bed and slipped in Richard's mouth. Beast Boy's growing black eye was slowly turning a deep purple, while Starfire began the process of popping both her dislocated shoulders back into place, using her laser vision to vaporize the door and painfully smashing both arms into the titanium doorframe.
After an hour of repairs, healing, and fixing, the Titans were battered and beaten, but they had survived. All but one.
Gathered around their friend, they gaped as she rested fitfully asleep. Raven, wearily leaning on Nightwing for support, managed to be so unlike herself, and cracked a joke. "At least we know she'd give Superman a hard time if he ever went rogue."
Beast Boy was the only one who laughed. "Nice one, Raven."
"What caused this, Friend Raven? Who did? Why?"
"Dark Angel," replied Nighting softly, and everyone turned to him in surprise. "I bet she's the one responsible."
"What? How do you know that?"
"Because, she seems like the only one who could do something like this, and get this type of reaction." He pointed at his friend, and sighed. "And, she left her calling card."
They all glanced sadly down at their friend, before glancing at each other with horror, debating who was going to tell their friend about the bruising around her neck. The bruising in the shape of two, slender hands, and cuts around them, created by fingernails, tell tale signs of only one thing.
Someone had tried to choke her to death, when there was no one else in the room.