Fan Fiction ❯ The Sparrow's Burden ❯ A New Choice ( Chapter 9 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
The Sparrow�s Burden

9
Each of the combat robots stood about fifteen feet in height. They were equipped
with motion sensors, composite armour plating, shoulder-mounted laser cannons and AP
missiles; the works. They were the most dangerous training devices the Hive Institute
had ever constructed. But the Hive had never intended to dispatch them in anger, the
androids were built soley to train their would-be agents. Whether someone had acted
outside of authority to release them or if this was some freak computer glitch was not
important. Eight of the Robots now rampaged through downtown, and that was the only
concern of the Titans.

For Robin, the real danger was their numbers. Two robots had already been
destroyed with considerable difficulty, but the other six were still in tip-top form. They
had managed to separate the Titans, and for the first time since the battle began at dawn,
Robin stood alone in an alley against one of the malfunctioning machines.

Robin readied himself as the bot raised himself up to full height from underneath
a pile of loose bricks. His last attack had barely damaged it at all. The red sensor in the
middle of the �head� blinked twice to indicate the next attack. Robin threw himself
backward, away from the volley of missiles that detonated on his former position. The
machine advanced with impressive speed, bringing a giant claw to bear on the boy. It
smashed harmlessly into the pavement as Robin lept over it�s path. He landed on the
forearm, ran up the slope to the shoulder and placed a swift boot to the armoured head. It
made little more than a dent, and Robin was again forced to dodge the second claw
attempting to swipe him off.

Robin landed in front of the droid, which attempted to crush him with it�s foot.
He jumped away again, this time grabbing the railing of a fire escape and hoisting himself
up. Now standing at eye level with it, he hurled a exploding disk directly into the
machine�s iris. The blast sent it reeling backwards, the red motion sensor destroyed.

Blind, Robin imagined the AI would initiate a self-destruct or simply fall over.
No such luck. Upon regaining it�s balance, the disabled weapon began to spin wildly,
firing off it�s entire loadout of missiles and laser cannons in every angle. Debris and
smoke filled the alley as the buildings around it were turned to rubble. Robin covered his
face and body with his polymerised-steel cape, which could at least deflect the laser
blasts. It could not, sadly, keep the support structure he stood on from snapping under the
impact of a missile. Ejecting from the falling platform, he directed himself toward a solid
piece of wall wreckage and rolled for cover.

The missiles and beams continued to spray in every direction, keeping Robin
where he hid. Robin could only peek out far enough to see a green boa constrictor throw
itself from the top of the building into the line of fire. The snake twisted and weeved
through the random attacks, setting it�s fall directly on the robot. It wrapped it�s giant
body around the machine, entwining it�s legs, arms and weapon systems and bringing it�s
barrage to a grinding halt.

Robin jumped from his cover. He catapulted himself at the immobilised
weapon�s head and kicked with all his weight. His blow shorted out all the remaining
circuits and gave enough force to tip it�s centre of gravity. As the machine began to fall
over, the snake changed to a green young man and jumped away to stand shoulder to
shoulder with Robin. Tremors rippled through the ground as the robot hit the ground,
now nothing more than a metal mannequin.

Robin let out a relieved wheeze �Thanks.�

Beast Boy scratched his head. �Whatever happened to those robot puppies
everybody was so nuts about?�

�How are the others doing?�

A shrug came off Beast Boy�s shoulders. �I was fighting with Cyborg and Star
when they insisted I come find you.� Robin nodded, showing his gratitude to that
decision. �I haven�t seen Raven all day.�

�Me neither,� Robin suddenly realised. Where was Raven? She hadn�t responded
to the Titan alert. Robin hadn�t seen her since he confronted her last night. Maybe he
was too hard on her, or maybe she had more problems to deal with than any of them
knew. �I hope she�s all right.�

Beast Boy had turned around, fixing a dumbfounded stare towards the entrance of
the alley. �I�d be more worried about us right now.�

Two more of the surviving Robots now stood a few yards away. Moaning with
exhaustion, Robin drew his extending bow as the machines began to advance. Their
footsteps shook the ground, and Beast Boy and Robin defensively backed away. Several
missiles readied themselves on the two boys as the approach continued.

�We could sure use Raven�s help,� Robin muttered.

*

There was much she could probably leave, so Raven decided packing was a waste
of time. She loaded her backpack with some essentials, food, her favourite book, and her
mirror in case she was ever able to meditate again. Her Titan alarm was disabled and
placed neatly on the foot of the well-made bed. Her clothes and books were packed
away, everything seemed ready to be abandoned.

Well, not everything. Raven�s trash can was still full. It still held every poem
Starfire had wrote, and every picture of the two Raven owned. She could not bring
herself to dispose of them completely, but also did not want to bring them with her. She
was leaving to get away from Starfire, after all. Raven did not want to forget completely,
but she did not want to be reminded of her.

The Titans were gone. They would only be outside the Tower this early if there
was trouble. Whatever it was, Raven was sure the four of them could handle it without
her. Seeing Starfire again would only complicate things, and what happened between
them last night was something Raven did not want to go through again.

�I love you.� Starfire�s words throbbed in her head like a terrible migraine. They
seemed louder now than when they first fell on Raven. Why? Why did Starfire have to
say it? Was it true? Had Starfire grown to love Raven as Raven loved her?

Raven shook her head. No, it was not possible. Not after the way she had treated
Starfire. It was not true. Raven desired that it could not be true.

What tortured Raven was that she would never know for sure. She would be gone
before the Titans returned, and staying any longer was too much to bear. Last night was
the last time she would ever see Starfire. It was time Raven accepted it and left.

Her backpack slung over one shoulder, Raven closed the door to her room behind
her for the last time. The rooftop seemed like a million miles away, and she did her best
to take the first heavy steps.

The walk was difficult. Her strength waned with every step, but not her resolve.
Where Raven would go, she had no idea. If she could not meditate, then she would have
to seclude herself from all others. It would not be long before the demons that lay
dormant in her mind awoke and took over. Raven did not know what would happen then.
She may have to destroy herself, or she may be too insane to even realise what was
happening.

The prospects brought no sadness to Raven. In fact, they brought a small amount
of comfort. Comfort in that she would not stay this way forever; a forgotten hero
mourning the loss of a love that could never be. It was only a matter of time before she
left it all behind.

Something was off as she walked. It was more than her anxiety and pain. Raven
felt a presence. The halls of the tower lay completely still, the sound was nothing more
than her own heartbeat, but she was certain she was not alone. Raven dismissed it,
attributing it to her lack of sleep. Possibly her mind had already begun to falter, in which
case there was no time to lose.

As she hastened her stride, she heard something. A sound that followed the only
one she made. Footsteps. Behind her, something was moving along her path. They were
close, whoever they were. Raven did not turn around, not wanting to alert her stalker and
continued on.

The pauses between the foreign steps grew shorter. What followed Raven was
moving faster, trying to catch her. Still Raven did not turn to meet it. She readied herself
as she continued on, waiting for it to come close. She guessed by the sounds that it was
not much bigger than her, and if she could catch it by surprise, she could overwhelm and
defeat it.

Raven focused herself on a fire extinguisher that hung a few feet down the hall.
As the steps came dangerously close to her, she spun around suddenly, sending the
extinguisher hurling down the hallway. It hit nothing, it mearly passed through the one
who pursued her. Raven tried to surpress her surprise with fervour as she looked at a far
too familiar face.

�Hello again, Raven,� said the girl in platinum.

Raven lowered her defensive stance. She was hallucinating, dreaming, or doing
something that kept her from reality. It was impossible for her emotions to enter the
physical world. After all, they were just thoughts.

Her confusion escalated as the walls of Titan�s Tower silently disintegrated before
her roused and very awake eyes. She felt no alarm, as she knew she was entering a state
of meditation. It was, as it happened in the battle with the lizard, effortless and
involuntary.

The walls, floor and the very light around her faded into nothing. Raven could
only watch the expression on the girl�s face with silent curiosity. The emotion was
happy, even giddy. She looked right back at Raven, eyes shimmering, a bright smile
hidden behind anxious hands.

Raven felt no desire to speak to her, although she did wonder what there was to be
so cheerful about. She was simply relieved that she was entering meditation. Raven
would at last get a chance to cleanse and ease her mind. Whatever this emotion had to
tell her, it would wait until Raven had conducted a full and extensive patrol.

But what revealed itself to Raven next, upon entering the landscape of her mind,
floored her. She thought she may never walk again. Where there had once been blank
space with clusters of blood-red energy, there was tranquil blue skies dotted with white
clouds. The platform the two girls stood on was covered with luscious grass and white
flowers. It was the same with every other floating piece of earth that littered the sky. All
had been transformed from barren wasteland to fertile gardens. Some even sprouted
trees.

Aghast, Raven lowered herself to her hands and knees, smelling and running her
hands though the green carpet. It was not a hallucination. The grass was more real than
any she had ever walked across. Even looking to the sky, she saw there was no sun. The
light, rather seemed to come from every direction and no direction at all. There was no
unpleasant heat, and not one solid object cast a shadow. Nothing of Raven�s new world
hid from her in any way.

Raven saw the feet of the girl in platinum stop beside her lowered head. When a
hand lay softly on her shoulder, Raven began to cry. Raising herself only to her knees,
she could not even bring herself to look at the architect of the paradise. �No more chaos,�
Raven whimpered. �No more... darkness?�

�No more,� the girl answered.

Raven squeezed the hand of Love so tightly, her fingers turned white. Struggling
in vain against the tears, she squeezed out a final �thank you.�

�No. This is none of my doing. It is merely more of what brought me here.
There is only one who would rightfully receive your gratitude.�

Raven peered into the girl�s tender focus. �Starfire and I...� She hesitated to speak
her hope, fearing the devastation if it were shot down. �...we may be together?�

The girl�s tone dropped from angelic to dire. �That has yet to be decided.�

Puzzled, Raven moved to ask further. She only began to open her mouth before
The Silver Girl threw open her cape, revealing the prophetic image inside. Seeing it, as
she did with the first time she found the emotion, Raven�s stomach overturned. An icy
hand grappled her heart as she comprised the picture. �No...�

It was Starfire, not joyous as she had once been in past visions. She was on her
back, her eyes lay closed. Her head was in a twisted, unnatural position, her skin like
sandpaper. Raven almost did not recognise her. Starfire�s lifeless body was like a candle
with the light out.

�No!� Raven emptied her diaphragm with a scream. Shooting herself through the
tiles and roof of Titans Tower, she broke free of her mind.