The Truth Of Life- BBRAE One-Shots

Injuries I

As someone who constantly hides her emotions from the world, it was quite a challenge to continue to see the good in it. Raven tried her hardest, but it could be hard as a superhero, constantly fighting evil to no end. It seemed whoever she and her team caught, they always came back. They had close calls once and a while, and had been so close to death at random times.

Good was a choice word, not specific, and yet could divide a line between superheroes and villains. Raven knew this, as she herself had crossed over from the evil branch of the tree to the 'good' branch. But what really qualified someone as good? She wasn't sure.

Right now, sitting in Titans Tower with her friends, Raven could say she felt good. But whether she really was good was something she still questioned each and every single day. As her friends laughed, Raven gave a quiet smile underneath her hood that no one could see. That felt good. Laughing would probably feel more than good. But Raven knew she could not express it without ruining something.

So she sighed quietly and sipped her tea. Beast Boy was telling one of his infamous jokes, and Cyborg was rolling his eyes. He slapped the boy on the back, who grinned sheepishly at the metal man. Robin shook his head at the pair and grabbed Starfire's hand, who smiled at him lovingly. It was a great night.

Until, of course, the alarm went off. They couldn't go a day without one. Quickly, Robin assembled everyone in front of the computer to see what the problem was. His face went white.

"It's Slade," he whispered, the fear in his voice palpable. Everyone stopped moving and looked at one another. Slade was dangerous. He was a criminal who would stop at nothing to accomplish his goals, and would kill anyone in his way. Battling him was in a way like battling a Hydra. Cut one head off, and two more take its place. He could never be caught, and always came back with more force than ever before.

Robin said a shaky, 'Titans, go!' and they were off, down to the warehouses near the docks.

When they arrived, Raven couldn't help but shiver at the cold atmosphere. The shadows were dark and ominous, and could hide anything in their depths. It was cold outside already, but knowing Slade was hiding somewhere here made it more scary.

Raven muttered a silent prayer to Azar before venturing further. Robin took the lead, and they silently journeyed in until Robin stopped.

"Slade, I know you're here." He called out, his voice overly loud in the quiet place.

For a few moments, there was silence. Then a maniacal laughter came from the warehouse nearest to them. Out of the shadows came Slade.

"Ah, the Titans. Here to once again thwart my plans." He smiled evilly. "Don't worry, I won't make it easy for you."

Robin snarled. "Neither will we."

Slade's eye glinted. "I should hope not."

He snapped his fingers and thousands of Sladebots came out of the depths of the shadows. The Titans looked around, horrified, but quickly went to battle. The real Slade had disappeared.

Raven quickly dove into battle, shredding some of the buildings into spikes and shoving them into the bots. She quickly used her magic as a shield to block the bot's attacks, and kept an eye on her team at the same time. They seemed to be balancing fine, but she watched out for them just in case.

As the battle wore on, Raven got more and more tired. Her magic was used sparingly now, and she started to use her combat skills instead. But that was tiring too, and the bots just kept coming. She could sense the exhaustion from her teammates as well.

One of the bots caught her from behind and pushed her back into another. Raven realized she was surrounded, and before they could attack her, she teleported herself to the edge of the alleyway.