Fan Fiction ❯ Broken ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

Perfect by nature
Icons of self-indulgence

"Bush!"

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Kerry!"

"Don't be a hater, vote for Nader*!" Beast Boy said brightly, jumping up between them with a bright and silly grin, only to immediately be yelled at by both.

"Shut up, Beast Boy!"

"Sorry…"

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Kerry!"

"Bush!"

"Yo, the dude started a war, man!" Cyborg yelled, glaring fiercely at their black-haired leader while Beast Boy slinked away, chastised.

"Better than taking chances," Robin protested.

"He killed something thousand people over weapons that didn't exist!" Cyborg pointed out, metal fingers clenching into two fists.

"And what if they did exist, and he hadn't?" Robin asked. "What then?"

"But they didn't exist!" Cyborg protested.

Just what we all need
More lies about a world that

"That's beside the point!"

"How so?"

Raven groaned and flung a pillow at the door. "Keep it down in there if you want to live!" she screamed. Under her breath, the purple-eyed enchantress muttered, "I spent months listening to this nonsense already, the last thing I need is to relive all of it."

"You're from the future. Are they ever going to shut up about it?" Raven asked, glancing up from the book she was reading.

"I wish," Raven muttered, running a brush through her lovely hair. Tossing it away from her, she stood up. "I'm taking a bath," she snapped. "For all I know the time stream is filthy." Not to mention I'll go crazy if I spend another second around the old Titans.

Never was and never will be
Have you no shame, don't you see me

The Titans Tower bathrooms were much smaller than the miniature houses Raven had grown accustomed to bathing in. Nevertheless, she turned the tap so the tub would fill with water and began to strip.

You know you've got everybody fooled

When the water was at a desirable level, she climbed in and sighed in pleasure as the warm water enveloped her slim frame.

She officially hated time travel. She wanted to forget the past. She wanted to forget the present. She didn't want the future to be real. It all hurt too much.

Look here she comes now
Bow down and stare in wonder

Lowering to the bottom, she gazed up and could see the surface flowing above her. The little ripples danced across the surface, the light joining it in a beautiful waltz. The waltz of life.

It had taken a long time for her to realize just how beautiful that waltz was. What else was there, after all? The dance of death lead to her father, and death was the only other option.

Oh, how we love you
No flaws when you're pretending

It was not, as you must have realized by now, that she never thought of what would happen if she was given the chance to do it all over again.

But what else could I have done? she wondered, getting out of the bath. Maybe quitting wasn't the best choice, but I couldn't stay. I would have gone crazy keeping all those emotions to myself!

But now I know she
Never was and never will be

She conjured up a white silk robe and slipped into it. It wasn't my fault…there was nothing else I could have done…I saved them all…didn't they realize that?

Didn't they care?

You don't know how you betrayed me
And somehow you've got everybody fooled

It was not that she didn't have regrets. It was not that she hadn't sobbed over the thought of never seeing them again. It was not as if she didn't miss them dearly.

But forcing her to see them again, knowing she wasn't one of them anymore and could never be one of them again…

It didn't really help.

Without the mask
Where will you hide

It was wrong. Everything she had done was wrong.

She loved her life, she was proud of what she had done with it, she was delighted to be free of Trigon, she loved singing and writing and acting.

Without her friends, none of it was real.

Can't find yourself
Lost in your lies

Lies. The mirror showed nothing but lies.

She missed them. She missed Starfire and Beast Boy and Robin and Cyborg most of all.

I know the truth now
I know who you are

She didn't know if Cyborg had gotten over his inhumanity, or if Beast Boy had gotten a mind, or if Starfire and Robin were together already, or if Robin had become Nightwing yet.

She didn't know how they would feel if they saw her today, didn't know if they had gotten somebody to replace her, didn't know if they missed her, didn't know if they still remembered her.

And I don't love you anymore

Those people outside, they weren't real. Her past wasn't real. Her future wasn't real. Her accomplishments weren't real. She wasn't real.

It was a lie.All of it was a big lie!

It never was and never will be
You don't know how you betrayed me

In a fit of passion, Raven punched the mirror which had showed her all of this. It shattered to pieces, some of them getting lodged in her palm.

She could hear the sound of them running towards the bathroom. Her hand was bleeding profusely, but she did nothing to stop the flow. Instead, she clenched her fist tight and sank to the marble floor. The Titans came in to find Raven sobbing on a floor covered in shards of glass, the crumpled silk of her bathrobe wet with blood and tears.

And somehow you've got everybody fooled

She looked up to see them staring in horror and jumped to her feet, dashing past them to run upstairs into Raven's bedroom.

Never was and never will be
You're not real and you can't save me

She wanted…

She wanted her friends, but they weren't her friends anymore.

She wanted to go home, but she couldn't.

She was trapped in a never-ending nightmare.

A nightmare full of lies.

Lies that were destroying her.

And somehow now you're everybody's fool

***

*=Some kids in my school actually say that…*eyebrow twitches*…It's really annoying.