The Boy in Black

Heaven is a Ghost Town

Scene 1

The summer was drawing to a close as the early August days were long and sweltering hot. Raven emerged from the cool water of the pool, deciding to enjoy the midsummer sun for what it was. She'd finished her morning training with Dick; her abilities had grown, but also had changed that summer. Dick chalked it up to her age and maturity. It seemed normal that her abilities would expand and even fluctuate with time, as they did with her mental and physical state. Only to Raven, the notion that her power had become so unreliable due to (all things) teenage angst was yet another burden thrust upon her by her father.

Damian, however, was also not so lucky. His mother felt that his skills were not quite up to par and insisted on a rather grueling training regimen. His training started early, waking up as early as 5 to first train with his father. Leaving him only an hour to recoup before undergoing his mother's harsh tutelage.

Raven looked on from the edge of the pool, Damian's shirtless body slick with sweat, dripping from his hairline and down his feverish looking cheekbones. Exhausted and overheated, but his stubbornness and determination kept him only inches from defeat.

"Tired, My Son?"

"No, Mother," he heaved, knowing that to succumb to his condition would earn him another round of combat with her. Something he hardly wanted to endure in his current state. Nor could he take anymore of her constant badgering and belittling remarks.

"Very well," his mother replied. "You're done for the day."

Damian only nodded and bowed to her, his mother leaving him with no encouragement or kind words. Talia never rewarded him; she only criticized. Raven found her tactics more than cruel.

She watched as Talia turned away, headed in the Empath's direction. The woman studied the sixteen-year-old as she passed, appraising her in some strange way. Raven said nothing, knowing better, and only watched from the corner of her eye with caution. The moment Talia was gone, she noticed Damian collapse, his system fervid and overtired. Immediately, she flew into action, taking a cold bottle of water and running to his side.

"Damian," she gasped and knelt down beside him on the warm grass, the sun beating down on both of them. "Hey, come on," she urged, helping him sit up, "You have to drink something."

He said nothing and sluggishly took the bottle, chugging the cold water with desperation. "Thank you," he muttered, taking a labored breath.

"Come on, let's get you out of the sun."

He nodded, the heat and humidity humbling him as Raven helped him to his feet; his skin slick with sweat and burnt to the touch. He pressed the cold bottle to his feverish face and neck, still catching his breath in the thick summer air.

"I don't understand why you don't tell your dad. She's way too hard on you."

"She'd just come down harder on me," Damian huffed, his heart still beating wildly. "She already thinks I'm too weak to bear the name al Ghul."

"She's gonna kill you."

"Raven, I can handle it," he assured. However, there was something just under his surface she felt was about to crack.

"It's not right," Raven continued, though it was little use. Still, she continued, voicing her discontent to Damian's annoyance. So he did the only thing he could think of to stop her. "I mean, it's almost 100 out and the dew point is over–-Damian, NO!" she cried as he charged her, making a great splash as they crashed together into the pool.