Birds of a Feather

25

I sighed in relief as I saw the world pause around me. Looking at my hands I could tell that the X I was currently stuck in was not strong enough to hold a body up for this long. My hands were achingly starting to peel off with a sickening tearing sound. I sucked in a breath as I ripped my arm from its trap which was as painful as it sounded. Looking over I could see that the arm of my leotard ripped off as well. I braced myself as I ripped off my other arm from the X. With both hands free I unbuttoned the clasp on my cloak and was able to levitate off of the X with only minimal ripping at the back of my boots.

When I landed on the ground I took in my surroundings. Each of the titans were paused in motion, all seeming to be aiming at where I had been. I walked over to Cyborg first realizing that he would be the easiest to dismantle. I flipped the switch on his back and began to unscrew the bolts in his legs and arms. I sent his limbs to lie in separate corners of the cafeteria just in case I wasn't able to hold time.

I next moved to Jason. My eyes lingered on his bloody face and for a moment almost pitied him, Rage had always had a soft spot for Jason. I began to unequip his suit, taking off anything that looked potentially threatening. I found a knife hidden in a holster by his boot and took it for myself. Knowing that none of the other titans would have any similar weapons on them, I moved to my next threat, the Joker. His frozen smile sent a shiver down my spine. In all my days of fighting I had never seen anything or anyone so sinister, other than myself of course. I disarmed the Joker of all explosives and weapons, throwing them through a portal to another dimension. I turned and did the same disposal for all of Slades equipment.

On the table next to Slade's computer sat my mirror to Nevermore. There was a small voice in the back of my head screaming at me to use it. However, with my newfound strength there was no more need to visit Nevermore and control my emotions. This is who I was, and this is how I was going to get revenge for all of the years of pain I had suffered. I put the mirror back down and walked back to the frozen group of Titans.

I started with Jason. He out of all of the so-called heroes here deserved to die the most. I held onto the knife that I had found in his boot and examined Jason again. The familiar voice screamed again not to do it, this time a bit louder in my mind. I shook it off and moved for Jason's legs. Without hesitation I plunged the knife deep into his calf. Admittedly it wasn't as satisfying when the victim was frozen, but when time resumed the sounds of multiple screams would fill the air and fuel me enough to continue my revenge elsewhere. A few people in the Titans East flashed through my mind and the idea of visiting them next sounded better by the second.

I next moved to Terra and knew immediately of the perfect revenge. Long ago when she was Slade's apprentice she tried to drown me, knowing that a lack of control was my biggest weakness. I surrounded her in black magic and strolled to the window that had a view of the area surrounding the asylum. Just outside the worn down fences I could see what I could only describe as the most polluted lake known to man. I levitated Terra's body as far out as I could, not being able to really judge the distance from my spot in the asylum. When I got her hovering just over the lake I let her body go and moved on to Beast Boy.

I reached Beast Boy's body and paused in thought. He would need to be dealt with before time continued, knowing that if he were to transform again, I wouldn't have the strength to bring out my soul self twice. I walked over to where I had thrown all of the Jokers weapons when I felt a tug in the back of my brain so hard that I actually thought someone had pulled my hair. I whirled around to check and when I saw no one I kept searching for the right weapon that wouldn't also injure me.

"Raven."

The voice echoed in my head and around the empty walls of the cafeteria. I looked up in a panic expecting to see his domino mask staring back at me. All I saw however was a deteriorated brick wall and some tables. I turned and looked around to find Nightwing, but his body still lay lifeless in his cage. Walking over to his body I chant my mantra and prepare myself should he be awake for any reason. With my powers I break the power connection to his cell and rip open the glass door. Nightwing's body still lay lifeless on the cell floor looking as if he had simply fallen asleep. I shake my head and make my way back over to the group thinking that I had just been holding time for too long and was starting to feel the effects.

"Raven."

This time I jolted into a battle stance and hovered in the air ready to fire. Still though his body lay still in the same position and I'm stuck wondering what I'm hearing. My head turns and in the quick second that I turn my head I could see that something moved in my peripheral.

I turned my attention to the large TV screen in front of me and could see that Rage was still at the control panel. However, instead of facing the screens that showed everything from my memories to my current view, she was facing the Sladebot who's camera we were watching through. Her eyes were in flames and she too readied herself into a battle stance. She growled some indistinguishable words and started firing energy blasts past the Sladebot. The migraine in my head was growing worse with each blast she sent.

The sounds of grunts and screams were heard echoing through the otherwise silent cafeteria. I watched as the camera that was displaying the bot's vision was being jostled and starting to fade in and out. When it turned and focused on who was attacking it, it wasn't the black and blue uniform that I saw but instead it was Richard standing there in his old sweatpants and tshirt equipped with his staff in a battle stance.

My mind was racing and in pain. When a primary emotion takes control of my mind, I act solely on that emotion, otherwise I'm left to even out between all of them. With rage no longer at the control I could feel the strength leaving my body. And with all of my other emotions currently being either unconscious or in hiding my mind was left empty.

Around me the blue aura that had surrounded the world and slowed time started to fade and I could slightly hear the struggled breathing coming from Jason. With the pain increasing in my head I slowly sank to the floor and ran my hands through my hair hoping to relieve some of the tension. On the screen in the midst of fighting Richard I could see Rage fighting with another figure, this wearing a deep wine red cloak. The two were fighting at such speed that they looked like a blur on the screen.

"Friend Raven?" I heard Starfire ask from behind me. She sounded confused but I could see her starbolt in the floors reflection. I knew they would fire at me, but I couldn't find the motivation to get up or even face them. Instead I stayed on the ground and clutched my head as every thing started to get dizzy.

"Who's the other Raven fighting Rage?" I heard Beast Boy's voice. The two Titans seemed to ignore that half of their team was either dismantled, stabbed, or missing. In the corner Slade was frantically searching for his weapons that I had sent to another dimension. I stood slowly trying to not make the pain in my head any worse. Turning I could see that I had done a great deal of damage to the team, but couldn't find it in me to care.

"I explained earlier that I am the living embodiment of two of the most powerful deadly sins. Passion is one of mankind's greatest weaknesses and I have the power to control the two most passionate sins. You've met wrath and that..." I said motioning to the screen where Richard was clearly winning over the fight with the Slade bot. The two Raven's were still fighting but this time they were closer to the control panel, in fact it seemed that they were now fighting over who should take control. Just as the other Raven pushed Rage out of the control seat the screen went black in the cafeteria.

I felt a slight shift in my mood. I still ached all over and felt nowhere near as powerful as I did when Rage was in control. However a certain green shapeshifter caught my eye as I bit my lip and sauntered my way over to where he stood. I ran my finger up his chest despite his clear distaste and leaned in close to his ear. "That Garfield, is Lust."