Meeting You

Hollow

*Hollow*

Raven stood in the entryway of her room as her teammates rushed to her aid, though she had only called for one of them. Her eyes continued to roam over the destruction of her room; disbelieving. Her body was still tense and she stood rooted to the spot and everything screamed at her to run. Run to check on her kids; for safety. Starfire had flown down the hallway first before the other teammates had come to her aid.

"What distresses you?" Starfire let out a gasp as she peered into her friend's room.

Robin stepped into the room without permission. "Are you hurt?"

"Raven?" Beast boy placed a hand on her shoulder at the lack of her response.

She had been hounded with questions and she couldn't figure out how to word it. "I...h-he escaped." It was the best Raven could come up with and she could only hope that they understood.

"Malchior." Robin had pieced it together. "Cyborg check the security cameras. Starfire see if you can find any further damage. Beast boy..."

Beast boy had taken off in a sprint with Bumblebee following after him. It didn't take much to know that he was searching for his future children. Starfire flew out of the broken window while Cyborg jogged out into the hallway. Robin surveyed the room while Raven just stood there.

Her eyes frantically flitted about the room to try and register what happened. "I...I don't know he escaped or if someone let him out." Her voice shook and she clenched her hands into fists to regain control. "Robin." She moved to turn on the light switch.

The leader bent down and ran two fingers across the charred floor and brought it up to his face. "He broke out hours ago."

Starfire flew back into the room from the window. "I cannot discover any leads or find any further damage."

"He's...gone?" Raven mumbled. She didn't know why she asked the question as she already knew the answer.

Robin stood and turned to the chest near the door. "I'm afraid so. He wasn't after anything in the tower as it's still intact." He shuffled past Raven and out into the hallway.

"Perhaps Cyborg has discovered something." Starfire said and walked towards the door. Raven followed after the couple in the direction of the monitor room.

Beast boy and Bumblebee were already in the room standing behind Cyborg's chair. "They're safe and still sleep, Raven." Bumblebee had turned around upon their entrance.

"The damage was only limited to Raven's room." Robin took a seat beside Cyborg as tapes rewound themselves and played back.

A wall divided into different screens flashed before them. The film was in black and white and shot different angles from the hallways and multiple rooms. Unfortunately, cameras had never been added to their personal rooms as it would've been an invasion of privacy. Raven's heart felt lighter knowing that her girls were safe and that Beast boy was calmer than she was.

Cyborg's fingers danced along the buttons: pausing, rewinding, and turning the volume up. "I haven't detected any visible activity from the hallway of Raven's room. But you should hear this."

Beast boy had opened his arms for Raven. "Just breathe, Rae. It's going to be alright."

"But we don't know that." She accepted his embrace and stared at the screens.

Cyborg turned up the volume until it reached the highest setting. Feedback buzzed in the room as the recordings from hours earlier played back. The video displayed the hallway without change as Cyborg had said. But what Raven heard chilled her to the bone. A repeated thumping sound was detectable even behind the metal door of her room. Cyborg sped up the video until they heard unearthly wails, almost as if the creature was in pain. Raven's eyes remained locked onto the screens and then the distinct sound of crackling of fire could be heard. Loud booms erupted which Raven assumed to be her bed and bookcase falling apart.