Slade's Manipulation

Chapter 10: A Conclusion?

Several days had passed and both ladies were still unconscious. Somehow, black energy kept exploding things, even though Raven was passed out on the bed. Luckily, the medical equipment was untouched. The restraints had been removed in light of what the trio told Cyborg. Each titan was so worried for their friend and the young girl they found with her, that none of them left the room for very long if they had to leave. They continued to fight crime over the days, as criminals never rest, but their thoughts were always on the infirmary.

They had discovered that the young adult's name was Arden Grace Foley. Her place of work had filed a missing person's report when she had disappeared mid-shift.

It wasn't until a week and a half after the original incident, that Raven began to stir. Beast boy was napping on her lap as a cat, keeping her close company. Robin was pacing the room, convinced that he could've, and should've, done something to prevent this. Cyborg was constantly checking and rechecking Raven's vitals to pick up any change. Starfire was fast asleep in a chair in the corner, recovering from another all-nighter.

Without warning, Raven's eyes flew open and she sat straight up. Immediately she became dizzy, and she felt the ache of her wounds. Her right hand, with her wrist in a splint, flew to her forehead. Right, haven't been able to heal myself... The barrage of emotions in the room gave her a worse headache and made her nauseous. She observed in slow-motion it seemed the realization on Robin and Cyborg's faces. Robin immediately rushed to her side as Cyborg woke Starfire, Beast boy having been jolted awake by Raven's movement.

"Where's Arden?" were the first words out of her mouth.

"She's fine, just over there, but Rav-" Cyborg motioned to the bed closer to the door.

"Help me over to her- please" she cut him off.

Cyborg, reluctantly, lifted her from the bed and placed her upright next to Arden's bed. He continued to support her, making sure she wouldn't fall if she blacked out.

Raven's eyes went big, even though she knew what she, or really her demon side, had done. Feeling her tense up, Cyborg explained "It looks worse than it is. The burns are second degree, not too deep. The bruising will last for a while but her throat will heal within a few weeks."

"That won't be all..." Raven whispered.

"What do you mean?" Robin asked.

"To stop my demon side and save her, I transferred my powers to Arden." Starfire's hand shot up to her mouth. "I'm not sure how it will affect her, but the sooner I can relieve her, the better." Raven placed her hand on the unusually pale girl's forehead. Her face was scrunched up in pain, but the rest of her body seemed frozen. The spell she casted was inaudible except for the last three words: "Zinthos Metrion Azarath."

The affect was immediate. Arden's body released the tension it had been holding since her first encounter with Raven and she let out a breath she seemed to be holding. Her eyebrows were still furrowed in slight pain, but she looked more comfortable than before.

As for Raven, she used up the little energy she had to perform the spell. After seeing Arden was better, she fell unconscious, but the Titans knew she was okay now. She was levitating.

~~~

Cyborg entered the infirmary to find Raven meditating, again. "Okay, seriously, you should be resting. Your injuries are still healing even with your 'doctor' powers."

Raven turned her head to the right, putting Cyborg at the edge of her vision. She was in the lotus position, as closely as she could with her ankle, on the bed, not levitating. "The more I meditate, the faster I will regain control over my powers again" she stated curtly.

"Well if you refuse to rest, let's go eat. I'll make waffles..." he taunted, ending in a sing-song tone.

Raven sighed. She rose from the bed, gingerly putting weight on her ankle. Both her wrist and ankle were in braces, in the final stages of healing. Raven cursed Rage's recklessness once again, but then hastily regained calm, unsure how her powers would react. The little color in her skin had returned long before now, within a few days of her awakening. She attempted levitating to prevent walking, but even that was difficult at the moment.

"So, powers still recuperating?" Cyborg inquired.

"I expected as much, but it's still frustrating," Raven admitted. Cyborg put out his arm for support if she needed it. For the most part, she could walk on her own, but every few feet or so her ankle gave out and she fell onto his arm. They passed Arden's bed, where she was still recuperating. She had yet to wake up. Raven paused at her bed, worry clearly in her eyes. "She'll be fine, just give her a few days." Cyborg consoled.

"I don't think it's that simple," Raven confessed. When Cyborg have her an imploring look, she decided to tell him about her vision. "Before this all happened, I had a, premonition? In it, I saw a young girl in pain, the same girl, but different, with her sister, and the team suffering. I'm positive Arden is the girl in my vision."

He pondered her words before responding, "it's not all set in stone though, right?"

"Not necessarily, but-"

Cyborg cut her off, "then you shouldn't worry about it so much."

They stood in silence for a few minutes before starting the trek to the main room.

"Cyborg?" she asked cautiously, nervous about what she was about to say.

"Yea Raven?" he asked as he turned to her as best he could while still supporting her.

"I just wanted to say, thank you. For everything. Just, thank you."

Cyborg knew what she was communicating and didn't need an explanation. "I'll always be here for you Rae." The smallest of smiles climbed onto Raven's face.

When the duo reached the front room, Robin and Starfire were already there. Cyborg helped Raven to the table where she raised her ankle to rest it. Beast boy dragged his feet in wiping at his eyes after them. "Alright y'all, who's ready for some waffles!?"