Freedom

5

RAVEN
Why the fuck am I here?
Why in hell did I agree to this?
I'm an idiot. That's why I agreed.
Nice tower though, built on their own island in the middle of the water. A little obnoxious, in my perspective at least.
I walk around the dark blue room, examining each brush stroke of paint. I look at the raven stenciled to the wall and feel a connection. I move closer to the painting when I trip over a box. I come crashing down on the fur rug. I look to the box, a box of what seems like junk.
A mirror. Three books. And a letter.
The mirror, I remember, from my childhood. I used to be able to see into the mirror, finding my inner subconscious. I would find my feelings, get advice and find control. But the mirror is only dusty now, no magical shimmer. I place the mirror onto the bedside table and grab the first book. "The Book of Azar," an enticing read of what seemed to be a distant home. The other two books are spell books and incantation. I probably have memorized half of the spells, but definitely not enough.
The letter is stamped with wax. A scent of belladonna rises as I begin to peel the wax off. I open the letter and the first thing that catches my eye, is the perfect cursive writing etched into the paper.
Raven,
I am sorry. I am truly sorry. I wish I could've been there for you. I wish I could've helped you, but I couldn't. I want you to be powerful. I want you to be who you are. I want you to be the Raven I know you can be. Be the one to change the world. And remember, I will always be with you.
I love you with all my heart,
Mother.
I drop the letter onto the table, standing up. My mother wrote me. When? How? How did she know I was going to be here? I try to rub the letter from my mind. I need to get out. I need to get out before my emotions get the best.

I walk down the quiet hallway of windows. I try to be quiet and quickly lift myself into levitation. Walking, it was something I did not do so often if I had the energy. I follow my way down the hall, trying to remember Robin's direction. I levitate past the opening of the common room and peer in.
A girl with red hair and bright green eyes stares happily at the screen. Her characteristics are different then what Earth seems to perceive. Her top was bright purple with a grey color that runs up her neck. Her tan skin of her stomach is bare but her skirt only covers a portion of her legs. She has metal guards on her wrists, reflecting a bright light. Starfire, born from a far off planet, and different.
A boy with rippling muscles attached to technological wires. His one eye glowing red, attached to a blue glass looking into his brain. The majority of his dark skin is covered by metal and wires, only part of his arms and his head showing. Cyborg, a mechanical man, not a regular boy.
Another boy, green hair and skin. His black suit covering his body except for his head. I remember his high voice, his high flirtatious voice. He has two fans that go over his lip, with elf-like ears. He transforms into a green furry cat, purring against Robin. Beast Boy, a human morphing into an animal, not something society could acquire to.
The final boy sits on the edge of the couch, tapping his glove covered fingers on the sofa's armrest. His muscles show out between the middle of his arm and the top of his arm. He has a red like shirt with yellow accents and an "R" badge on his chest. He sits on his black cape with his legs crossed. Black hair spiked up with no idea of the color of his eyes. Robin, a normal boy.
I saw their files. I saw how impressive they could be.
I let myself feel the ground and slowly walk in, cautiously ensuring not to bother them from their show. I try to make no sound, but somehow the little green boy hears me. He changes into his human form before turning to me.
"Raven!" He shouts happily. "How are you? How are you fitting in?" The rest of the Titans turn to see me. I feel their gaze on me, almost making me want to crouch back.
"I'm fine," I mutter.
"That is good!" Starfire exclaims happily. "I hope you feel as if you are family!"
"Yea, Mama, we're here for you," Beast Boy says.
"Thank you," I mutter again, barely audible.
A raging beep startles me.
"Titans! Go!" Robin shouts quickly. The Teen Titans are all on their feet, ready to go.
"Robin, who is it?" Cyborg asks, brushing his metallic arms.
"Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth, we have to go, now!" Robin yells, running out of the room. We all follow him. Me, slightly trailing behind.

An abandoned warehouse. Slightly creepy, which gives me the bit of comfort I need. Robin heads into the warehouse first. Everyone else is behind him, following him as a leader he is to be.
"You should probably stay back and watch," Cyborg says to me. "You might understand how our team works from watching." He looks back to the dark warehouse.
I don't disagree. To be honest, I really just don't want to argue.
The lights turn on as soon as we enter the warehouse. The door immediately shuts behind me, causing us to all turn at the noise. I feel the Earth rumble under me. I don't think anyone else can feel it because no one does anything. My sense of danger heightens, feeling stress creep down my back.
"Welcome back, Teen Titans," a sinister female laugh ignites. "Been a long time since we say each other, eh?" A girl with pink pigtails emerges from the back, she cartwheels around a bit, almost as if that is intimidating. I lean against the wall, watching her little acrobatics routine.
"You aren't getting away, Jinx," Beast Boy says, nearly about to morph.
"You should be locked away!" Starfire exclaims, her hands turning green with extra-terrestrial energy.
"Should I really?" Jinx asks. Then a baby looking person flies out on a little jetpack. Then a big rumbling guy with long hair comes out from the other side.
"Bring it!" Robin says and they begin to charge at each other. Robin targets Jinx, throwing disks and explosions at her, she dodges them completely. She throws her hands out, sending pinks waves into the cement. The cement cracks and spurts up, sending Robin up into the air. He flips back onto his feet, keeping his hand on the ground. He stands up and instead charges at her with his fists.
She throws another set of pink rays and the stacked boxes fall, nearly hitting Robin. He jumps out of the way with a roll. Wow, some luck Robin has.
The little man-child flies at Cyborg, shooting missiles and explosives. Cyborg takes a blow or two before retaliating with stronger fighting missiles. To my surprise, the damage that Cyborg receives is quite minimal.
Starfire and Beast Boy go after the big man. The man hits his fist into the ground making holes and caverns. Beast Boy nearly falls in, but morphs into a bird and goes to shit on the man, who then becomes very angry in reaction. Starfire shoots her plasma at him, causing him to fall and crash into a structured.
The column shakes, causing material to fall from the roof. The column falls to the ground, nearly crushing Robin. An explosion occurs from Cyborg's enemy, bringing down another column. The roof doesn't seem that stable anymore, maybe I should intervene?
Robin makes another hit for Jinx, catching her jaw and causing her to hit straight into the wall. She tries to get up, but Robin gives another hit. She moves her hand up to the roof, pink rays heading into the roof, causing a pipeline to fall on Robin. I give a sigh, maybe a sigh that was a bit too audible.
"Oh, look at this," Jinx says, so the other two can hear. "We have a guest." A grin spreads across her face, but I don't move from my position. The two other villains look at each other happily, before forgetting about the people they were fighting.
"A little pale ghost, don't you think?" the little man says, laughing as he flies to me. "Too bad she'll be a turd soon enough."
"She pretty," the other man grunts, grinding his fists together.
"She must have a name," Jinx bounces. "What's your name?" She comes closer to me.
The rubble moves and Robin climbs out, just seeing the three of them coming towards me.
"Raven!" he yells anxiously. Clearly, he did not just hear Jinx interrogate me. Jinx looks at him and then turns to me with a smirk.
"Raven, huh?" she asks. "Tell me, Raven, are you on the right side, or their side?" What the fuck was that? What kind of question is that? A stupid question.
"I guess..." I start slyly, looking down and then lifting my hands up. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" A whoosh of dark magic and they go flying to opposite sides. The little man gets up first but I quickly pull an indestructible metal box over with my left hand and pin him down. Cyborg immediately goes to hold the box down. I then throw a can of toxins at the buff man, using my mental powers to wrap him in an unbreakable sleeve. Starfire and Beast Boy immediately go and handle him.
I turn to where Jinx had landed, but she is no longer there. She appears behind me, her breath down my neck.
"Wrong side," she says, chills going up and down my spine. She flips backwards, away from me. Robin comes up to my side, ready to fight but I hold him back. Patience. Patience always works.
Jinx immediately throws her bad luck rays at us. I swipe my hand, creating a black force field to protect Robin and I.
The rays ricochet off the force field, flying back to the wall above her head. Rumbling brings the cement to fall down and trap Jinx hopelessly under the rubble. Sirens wail in the background as the authorities must have gotten complaints of noise and destruction.
The experts rush in with guns and barricades, cuffing the villains.
Robin's hand comes up and touches my shoulder. I nearly flinch, but his touch is somehow comforting. I still force myself to lean away.
"You have done great!" Starfire cheers.
"Yea, who knew you could take down all three of them in such little movement?" Beast Boy says, almost as if he had no disbelief.
The authorities put the little trio into their trucks, taking them away.
"Let's go home," Robin states.