LOVE + FEAR | Damirae

E. V. O. L.

Raven's feet dangled off the roof. Her arms were crossed against the cold wind.

Conner sat next to her. He led her up to the top of the Legion of Doom's headquarters. Bone-white lines were laced over the roof for helicopter landings — which must've been a rare occurrence with the thunder groaning above their heads.

Kon continued to steal glances at Raven. He said nothing. His mouth opened, then he hesitated. If Raven's emotions weren't as rampant as the roaring heavens above them, perhaps she could've guessed what lingered on his tongue.

"I'm fine," Raven insisted after his fourth failed attempt to break the quiet. "I just need to sort out some things..."

"In there, you mean?" Conner pointed to Raven's head. He caught on quickly.

Raven nodded. Her hair flipped into her face from the wind. She tugged back the annoying black veil with a fist. "It was my father's office."

"Oh."

Raven looked down at Gotham City, shrieking with sirens below her shoes. She lined up her boot and it matched the height of a skyscraper. The effect captivated her. If Raven ignored the pull of the wind that beckoned her to the massive drop, she could ignore how small she was.

"You gotta talk to him?" Kon murmured softly.

Raven bowed her head. Her body steeled itself on the ledge. She knew it wasn't from the wind.

"Would it help if I...?" Conner paused. "I don't even know. Can I help you? Is there anything I can do, besides relate with daddy issues?"

"Please don't call it that. And I...don't know." Raven wasn't use to anyone asking if she needed help. It was...different.

"Would it help if I were there when you talk to him? I'm sure it's gotta be hard, facing him alone...I get that more than anybody..."

Raven bit her lip. "If I let you in, I'm afraid he might try to possess your mind and escape."

"Is he capable of that while he's in there?" Conner pointed to the gem on her forehead. Raven loathed how it stood out on her face, a blood stain on white snow.

"There's less of a chance, but it wouldn't be the first time he targeted a Kryptonian." Memories of Clark's encounters with Trigon surfaced. How his skin seared an inflamed red and angry flames replaced the calm blue of his natural gaze. Raven shuddered.

"Okay. Then I'll stay right here. And if you need me, I'll be there." Conner crossed his legs and shut his eyes. His still form rivaled a statue.

The lifelessness of Conner's form didn't suit him. Raven suppressed the urge to poke his nose, simply for his face to return to its natural smirk. "...You don't have to just sit there, Kon. You can look at your phone or something..."

"I know." One eye popped open and winked at her. "Sometimes it's fun to practice the super-hearing thing. I like to see how far it can go, listen to cities and stuff. Sometimes there's a concert goin' on."

Hmm. Interesting how he doesn't choose to block them out. Or maybe that's just me.

Raven exhaled and shut her eyes.

When her lashes fluttered open, her homeworld lay sprawled before her. Azarath.

Even the enchanting illusion before Raven didn't do true Azarath justice. Marble masterpieces rose from a flora so rich and green it couldn't be mistaken for earth. Something sweeter than lavender drifted from lilies sighing on bone-white stems. As she drew in the scent, a feeling of peace blossomed in her chest.