Under the Red Hood

Chapter 5

The next day I packed a few of my belongings and met Dick outside my apartment with his car.
He grabbed my bags and put them in the trunk and I got into the passenger seat.
I buckled myself in and stared down at my hands as Dick got into the drivers seat.
He started the car and then we were off.
As we drove away from my apartment, I looked out the window and out into the cemetery.
I made a silent promise to come back to visit Jason once this Red Hood business is over.
Soon we passed the city limits of Gotham City and for the next few days, we would be in Jump City.
"Do you have any theories on who the Red Hood might be?" Dick asked, breaking the silence.
I fight with my hands and shrug.
"I have a few. Since he's known about me since I was a Titan then he could be one of our old villains. Question is who."
Dick nodded, "Fair point. With everyone we fought he could be anybody. Can you recall anything else he said to you?"
"Just that he knows a witch when he sees one."
"Do you think he might have something to do with Trigon?"
I shake my head, "No. If he had anything to do with my father I would have sensed something. He's human for sure."
Dick nods his head again until we are surrounded in silence.
For the next few days, Dick and I stop at a few rest stops and hotels. We keep a low profile the whole time and on the 4th day, we are only 6 hours away from Jump.
Eventually I fall asleep and I'm gently woken up to Dick shaking my shoulder.
"Hey, we're a few minutes away from the Tower."
I blink my eyes open to see Titans Tower coming near to us.
"Dick." I say quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think the team would want to see me? I left you all 5 years ago and gave up my title. Do you know if the team will-"
Dick places a hand on mine and gently squeezes, "Raven, we don't blame you for leaving. At the time we were upset you left us, but we understand. No one is mad at you if that's what is bothering you. After all, you're still our friend."
We make it inside the Tower's garage and Dick parks the car.
We step out and he carries my bags. I let him lead the way to the elevator.
We step inside and as he presses the button for the top floor, repressed memories of the past fill my mind.

I step into the elevator and press the button for the 5th floor and as the door closes, a gloved hand reaches in and the doors open.
I peer under my hood to see the new Robin.
I move to the side to let him in and I glance to see him hit the button that would take him to the roof.
"You know, you guys should install elevator music."
"Why would we do that?" I ask.
"Why not?"
I look at him to see him already staring at me.
"What are you staring at?"
"You, obviously. Tell me, do you always have to wear that cloak and hood?"
"Do you always have to ask annoying questions?" I retort back.
Why was this elevator moving so slowly?
He chuckles and he brushes hair out of his face.
"Dick was right. You are funny."
I cross my arms and sigh, "Gee thanks."
Finally the elevator stops at my floor and I step out when Robin calls my name.
I turn around and see him with his arms crossed and a playful smirk, "Do you like me yet?"
"Not really."
As the door closed he laughs, "Looks like I got to work harder then."

"Are you okay?"
I am shaken from my thoughts to see Dick watching me. 
"Yeah."
A chime is heard and the doors open. We step out and walk into the hallway that will take us to the living room.
I square my shoulders and take a slow breath in.
It's been 5 years since I've been here. 5 years since I left everything behind. 5 years since I've seen my friends. My family.
Dick doesn't say anything yet waits for me before we enter.
I release my breath and step forward as we enter the living room together.
As soon as the doors open, I am met with a commotion of shouts and yelling.
It all stops when all eyes are on me.
"Raven?"
I look to the windows to see Gar with a look of disbelief.
Beside him are Kori and Vic and they looked shocked as well.
In the kitchen stood a small group of teenagers who looked at me as if they've seen a ghost. They stayed silent and watched as my team walked towards me.
"Hi." I say awkwardly and stare down at my feet.
Suddenly I am enveloped in a bone crushing hug and twirled in the air.
"Raven! It's been so long, friend!" Kori said as she hugged me tighter.
I hesitate but put my arms around her as I return her hug.
She still looked the same after all these years, the only difference was that she was taller and her hair grew longer.
Kori released me and I was face to face with Gar and Vic.
"I always knew you would come back." Vic said as he ruffled my hair.
Gar only stared at me until he said, "How do I know it's really you?"
I give him a small smile, "Blue is still my favorite color. And I'm pretty sure you're still not funny after all these years."
His eyes light up as he laughs, "It is you! I'll have you know I am still funny!"
My three friends all hug me tightly until Dick clears his throat.
The small group of teens still watch us with wide entertained eyes.
"Raven, this is the team I'm sure you've heard about. The Titans and I send them out on everyday missions while we handle the more dangerous ones. I would like you to meet them."
The group steps out of the kitchen and into the living room in a line.
"This is Blue Beetle, Impulse, Superboy, and Wonder Girl."
"We're such huge fans! It's nice to finally meet you in person!" Wonder Girl says as she shakes my hand.
"It's nice to meet you too." I say.
"So what brings you back, Rae?" Vic asks.
"Let's just say that I'm being attacked and Dick here convinced me to stay here for my safety."
Dick walks to the computer and types a few things in until images of the Red Hood appears.
"I'm sure you heard of the Red Hood by now. He's been targeting Batman and now his sights are on Raven. He attacked her last night while destroying small parts of Gotham."
"Did he hurt you?" Kori asked as she scanned me for injuries.
I shake my head, "No. He just made me unconscious. It seems as if he's been tracking me for a long time."
My friends and the new team nod until Gar speaks up.
"Wait, you mean to tell me you've been in Gotham City this whole time?"
"Yes. And I plan to go back once this whole ordeal is over with."
"So you're not staying forever?" Kori asked, looking sad.
"No, I'm not. But while we try to find out what Red Hood wants with me, I'll be taking up my mantle again." I say as I shift my weight from one foot to the other.
My friends looked overjoyed while the new team had shock written on their faces.
"Does that mean we'll get to see you in action? Omg can you train with us? This is so crash!" Impulse rambled as he bounced up and down.
I nod and then Kori flies to me and takes my hand.
"I have kept your room clean and have not let anyone in. Not even Silkie! Everything is exactly as it was before you left!" She says excitedly.
She grabs my arm and flies me to my room and stops before my door.
I stare at my name engraved on the door and go to open my door when I stop myself.
"Is something the matter?" Kori looks at me with worry in her eyes.
"It's just that, last time I was here, I did and said some terrible things to you all. I'm surprised you wanted to look after my room after everything."
Kori placed a warm hand on my shoulder and made me look up at her.
"Raven, it is quite alright. You were in pain of loosing Jason. I do not mind looking after your room, in fact it brings me joy to see you enter it after so long! I am glad to have my sister back, even if it may be for a short while."
She smiles brightly at me and I smile back and place a hand on my door. I open it and I am surprised to see everything as it was.
I step inside and look around, it's like a never left. A few of my ancient scrolls and spell books like the bookshelves. My chest of books sat in the corner and my statue of masks sat next to my bookshelf. My bed looked clean and next to it sat my night stand with pictures.
I walk in and pick up the photo frame. It was the one of my birthday, the one where Slade came back from the dead. Next to it was a smaller picture, it was one of Jason and I. It was taken a year after he joined the team. I wasn't looking at the camera but Jason smiled in it, he later claimed it was his favorite picture.
"Raven?"
I look up to see Kori and the rest of my team standing in the doorway. Dick still had my bags in his hands and I walked up to him to take it from him.
"We'll let you get situated. Welcome home, Raven." Dick says as he gives me a warm smile.
They leave and as the door closes, I am filled with an emotion I haven't felt in a long time.
Happiness.
I'm happy, happy knowing my friends still care about me. Happy knowing Star kept my room tidy. Happy that after all these years, they still see me as family.
I place my bags beside my bed and look out to my window to the left.
The ocean is calm and the sun begins to set, casting my room in an orange glow.
I decide to meditate, since I'm going back into hero business, I need to learn how to use my powers again.
I hover over my bed and cross my legs. My hands sit in my lap and I close my eyes, my mantra falling from my lips.
"Azarath Mentrion Zinthous..."
Besides the sound of my words, the clock ticks away quietly.

Hours pass as I continue to meditate. I stop when a knock is heard on my door. I float down to my bed, and then walk to my door to open it slightly.
Gar is there with a sheepish grin. It's then that I finally take him in.
Before I left, I was a couple inches taller than him, now he stands above me. His skin is still green, and is hair is a little longer. He has side burns and he give me a fanged grin.
"Cy ordered pizza for everyone and says to come down to eat."
I nod and follow him out of my room and into the living room.
When I enter, I see the new members of the team sitting on the couch as my team sits at the table.
I sit beside Dick and Kori and a slice of pizza is placed in front of me.
"Now that you're here, it's just like old times!" Kori exclaims happily as she applies mustard to her food.
As I eat, Vic and Gar joke while Dick and Kori glance at each other every now and again. It feels like I've transported to the good old days.
It reminds me of all the times we went out for pizza after fighting villains.
Then a couple of villains pop in my mind.
"Guys?"
All eyes are on me as my friends wait and listen to me.
"What if Red Hood is Red X? Or what if he has something to do with Slade?"
"Red X?" Gar asked.
I nod, "Think about it. He's known me since I was a Titan, and we've fought him on multiple occasions. He knows how to fight and we still don't know who he is."
My friends nodded in agreement until Dick asked about Slade.
"We still don't know what happened to Slade. After you defeated Trigon, he disappeared. Do you think he'll hire Red Hood to get to you?" Dick asked. 
"I'm not sure. This is Slade we're talking about. If he wanted to get in my father's good graces again, capturing me would do the trick."
I wince slightly as images of my father flash before my eyes. I mentally block him out, not wanting to think about him and the things he put me through.
I sigh, "For all we know, this could be someone new. Someone who probably watched from the sidelines."
"Like a civilian?" Blue Beetle asked from the couch.
I nod, "It's possible. I'm assuming you were a civilian before that scarab attached to your back."
He nodded. "I was. So are you saying Red Hood might have been a civilian turned villain?"
"At this point anything is possible. For all we know he could be a magic user or supernatural." Dick says as he stands.
He walks to the computer and types a few things and images of the explosions of Gotham City appear.
"So far, these were the last attacks the Red Hood has done. After that, he's been radio silent. Batman is looking into everything to see what his next move will be."
Wonder Girl tilted her head and looked from the screens to me.
"How long of a drive is it from Gotham to Jump?"
"A few days. It took about 4 days." I say.
"And there hasn't been any activity from Red Hood since?"
Dick and I shake our heads.
"You don't think he's tracking you? He could be here in Jump too."
"How can that-" Dick is cut off by his phone going off.
He answers it and his face is filled with shock until he sighs and hangs up.
"That was Batman. Red Hood has been spotted trying to kill Black Mask. He launched a grenade launcher into his building. Luckily, Black Mask survived, and Batman is handling the situation now."
My breath I didn't know I was holding released from my body and I rubbed my eyes.
"So he's still in Gotham. For all he knows he probably thinks I'm still there."
"Maybe. For now all we can do is rely on what Batman says to us."
My body tenses as Batman is said. I remember how he wasn't there when Dick brought me back to the cave. Dick explained that he and the new Robin were scoping the city for Red Hood.
It brought me relief that I didn't have to see Bruce. I'm not sure what would happen if I saw him again after I swore to never forgive him 5 years ago.
Kori takes notice of my far away look and tells everyone to prepare for bed as it was starting to become late.
Everyone filters out one by one and soon I'm walking to my room when I feel a chill run down my spine.
I stop walking and look around only to be greeted with empty hallways and windows looking out into the city.
I shake my head and take a hand through my hair.
It's probably nothing. Just my mind playing tricks on me. After all, it's been awhile since I've been here.
I continue walking to my room and open my door and walk to my bed.
I flop onto it and inhale and exhale slowly. The scent of lavender fills my nostrils and it calms my body down.
I flip the covers as I get inside and burrow myself in the sheets, not bothering to change into my pajamas.
The lavender scent wraps around my body like someone gently holding me, and eventually I am lulled to sleep.
I wonder what the new day will bring?