Freedom

10

RAVEN
One... Two... Three...
Four... Five... Six...
Blue... Green... Red...
Yellow... Orange... Purple...
My eyes pop open. The candles are lit around my room, giving a serene ambiance in a crushed world. Since last night's failure battle, everyone has been too tense to even talk. Beast Boy was gone, captive with Brother Blood.
Robin feels every bit of blame, but every bit of regret. He has a restless aura, a soul that cannot be saved, no matter how hard I try to intervene. That night, he blocked me from his mind. I couldn't find him. His obsession of Slade created a barricade that I could not knock down.
Slade is only the messenger. I know who he works for now. I saw it on the road the other night. A symbol, a symbol of the devil, my father's symbol. He works for my father.
The Raven tattooed on my neck begins to burn. I press my hand against it, grunting ferociously for it to stop. The pain subsides slightly, but at this point, my father has already poisoned me. That was just a sign, a sign that the prophecy is coming true. A sign that soon enough, I will have to face my biggest fear.
I relax against the side of my bed. I run my hands through the carpet, blowing out each candle. Our biggest step is to get Beast Boy back. But Robin has other plans, I know he does.
I get up and fly out of my room and down past the common room. I hear some yelling and quickly fly back to see what was going on. I peer through the doorway at Robin having a video call with Captain. The TV has the Captain's face in angry fury, just as Robin is.
"I need to go after Slade!" Robin yells.
"You will do no such thing," Captain says. "Our team will go after Slade, you need to get your teammate back from Brother Blood."
"Slade is my enemy!" Robin growls. "I should be the one to destroy him!"
"Robin, your teammate is being held captive," Captain reasons. "You need to save Beast Boy. After last night's mishap, I have arranged a deal with Brother Blood, and to be a good leader, you will take it."
Robin stays silent.
"Brother Blood has a niece," Captain explains. "His niece needs a date to the prom and we agreed that if you go with her as her date, Brother Blood will return Beast Boy."
"This is juvenile," Robin grunts.
"Indeed," Captain agrees, to my surprise. "I hope you realize that it is your duty to keep everyone together. You have failed."
Robin sighs and puts his head in his hands.
"We are in agreement, yes?" Captain asks, and Robin nods. "Very well. Raven will attend the dance as well, in case any mishaps occur. Starfire and Cyborg will meet with Brother Blood. Call them here, we will discuss these plans now."
Robin reluctantly opens his communicator and hits a main button that starts beeping. I quickly jump back as my gem that Robin gave me begins to glow. I slowly walk into the common room, trying to make it seem that I wasn't listening in. Starfire and Cyborg come in too, looking a little more worn out than usual.
"What's going on?" Cyborg asks, looking up at the TV. He shuts his mouth immediately when he sees Captain.
"Cyborg, you and Starfire will go after Beast Boy," Captain reiterates. "Robin and Raven will go to prom. And Robin will be a perfect date for Britney."
"A date!" Starfire shrieks angrily before quickly calming herself. "Why am I not able to attend this date?"
"Because Raven looks more of a human and will pass well amongst civilians," Captain explains. "I suggest sleep until tomorrow. Tomorrow night will be a big one."
"But, Robin," Starfire starts but Captain cuts her off.
"Pleasure working with you," Captain says before he cuts off the camera.
Robin puts his head back into his hands, regret overflowing his mind.
"Oh, Robin, let us hope this Britney is good," Starfire says, kissing him on the lips quickly. My heart begins to pound a little too much at the sight of this. My emotions surge, but I push back, pinching my own skin.
"She's the daughter of a villain, there is no way she's anywhere near good," Robin says. He lifts up his head to address the entire team. "Okay, tomorrow. Prepare to get Beast Boy back and fulfill the deal. If this is what the Captain wants, then we have to do it."
"Robin, we know you want to go after Slade," Cyborg says, trying to connect with him. "After we get Beast Boy back, we'll go after Slade. Just give it one more day."
Time. Time. Time. There is no time. Robin says mentally. I don't intervene, maybe it'll be healthier if I don't intervene.
"We will terminate Slade, Robin, we will terminate him," Starfire says promisingly.
"Thanks guys, but just get some rest for now," Robin orders. We start to leave the room, when Robin sits down on the couch.
"You know, that means you too, Robin," I suggest. Robin looks up and plasters a smirk. He follows us out and we head to our own rooms.
Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

I awake in the middle of the night with a sweat as cold as ice. My breathing labored in sense of the fire that surrounded my dreams. I push myself off of my bed, the covers wrapped around my legs. I unwrap my legs and sludge my way to the door. The sun barely peaks out behind the mountains.
I walk up the stairs to the roof. Opening the door to a billion warm colors in the sky. I sit down, just off of the edge, looking at the sun.
My vision flickers, from beauty to a burning fire. Buildings burn, people scream, lives destroyed. Then it's a beautiful day, with buildings standing tall, people laughing and birds chirping. Two lives. I have two lives, but no choice. And once my friends find out, they will hate me. And that is not something I can scale.
"Raven," a voice says. I turn to see Robin just behind me. He looks strong and muscular in his green and red suit. His black and yellow cape flies in the wind as he looks at me with his mask-covered eyes. "Didn't think you were one to rise early."
"A lot of things you don't know about me," I say, the words dripping with abhorrent amounts of truth. "Robin, I'm sorry." Maybe apologizing now will eliminate my guilt later.
"Sorry? Sorry for what?"
"I'm just sorry," I mutter.
"Raven, what's the matter?" Robin presses on, sitting beside me. I look away from him, keeping to myself. "Raven, we have a bond. You've been inside my head, let me inside of yours."
"I will let you in Robin, but just not now," I say. He immediately backs off. I don't need any explanation as to why Robin doesn't sleep. Since his parents' death, since Slade, Robin feels no safety sleeping. Maybe in the minimum hours he gets he can keep going, but not for long. This was his coping mechanism, the only thing he can think of to do.
"The sunrise is beautiful, isn't it?" Robin points out. The sun slowly inches up, making the colors fade.
"Beautiful, yes, but looks like rain is coming," I say, looking at the rumbling clouds coming from the west.
"Be a little optimistic," Robin encourages.
"I'm just being a realist," I laugh a little.
"Well, you'll need to be a little optimistic today if you want to survive tonight," Robin says. I know he means well, but soon he'll know the truth.
A beeping sound comes from his belt, not in alert, but just a normal beeping sound. He flicks the communicator open and a video feed of Cyborg appears on the screen.
"Someone's here," Cyborg says, Robin nods.