Chapter 1:
Raven felt a surge of Fear and Alarm spike up as she stepped out of a dark portal, looking for all the world like a ghostly blue wraith as her gently billowing cloak covered everything but the lower half of her face, and looked up to see a pair of very tense guards pointing rifles at her just outside of Jump City State Penitentiary.
They quickly relaxed somewhat when they recognized her though, but she could still feel some lingering Anxiety and Nervousness wafting off them as they cautiously approached her.
The sorceress didn't hold it against them, however.
She knew that with her foreboding appearance, dark magical powers, and naturally stern, closed-off nature, she wasn't exactly the warmest or most comforting presence.
Thankfully, Raven didn't have much need for fame or the love and adoration of the masses.
She had her adoptive family and all the other Titans around the world, as well as the support and respect of the rest of the superhero community and most of Jump City itself.
And that was more than enough for her.
The sorceress was content.
Hearing the cheers of Jump's children and seeing the way their eyes lit up in childish adoration every time they saw her fly by was nice though.
Even if she did have to suffer through making those damnable PSA's on Magical Safety and the dangers of Occultism to avoid getting lynched by hordes of angry parents after she had accidently… inspired some of the city's children to start looking into things and spells they really should not have been messing with.
How those little rascals managed to get their hands on all those cursed artifacts and dark magic tomes off the internet of all things in their attempts to imitate her, Raven would never know.
Regardless, the sorceress had no desire to cause the guards of the prison any undue distress, especially since she knew how beleaguered and underappreciated they and the men and women of the JCPD often were thanks to her and her friends' exploits.
So she decided to take pity on the poor men and lowered her hood to make herself more approachable and offered a small but kind smile before striding forward to meet them.
"Good morning officers," Raven said politely as she stopped in front of them and was pleased to see the tension leave their bodies even more now that they had a normal face to interact with.
"Miss Raven," one of the guards, the older judging by the way the second seemed to defer to him, replied with a similarly polite and professional tone and nod. "What can we do for you today? We weren't expecting you back so soon after the breakout a few days ago."
The sorceress blinked in surprise as she raised an eyebrow at the guards inquiry.
"I'm not sure why," she said in a slightly bewildered tone as both guards glanced at each other at her obvious confusion. "I told Warden Sharp when I brought Otto back I would be stopping by more regularly for the next few weeks to make sure his rest would not be troubled because of the Hive Five's actions. Did he not inform you of this?"
The guards glanced at each other again, and the Confusion they were both feeling immediately answered Raven's question as her eyes slowly started to narrow in suspicion.
"We… were not told anything about that ma'am," the younger guard said slowly in a noticeably shakier voice than his partner as the sorceress's countenance darkened even further.
If that slimy old rat was playing games with her again…
Deciding to give the old bastard the benefit of the doubt even though she knew it was likely pointless, Raven's face softened considerably as she looked at the young guard.
"I see. Perhaps he forgot to mention it because of everything that happened after the breakout," she replied graciously as she studiously ignored the spike of Doubt that immediately flared up from the older guard at that statement in favor of inclining her head politely to his young partner. "In that case, would you mind contacting Dr. Whistler to let her know I'm here to check on Otto?"
The younger guard nodded.
"One moment please," he said in a steadier voice as he reached for his radio. "Doctor Whistler? This is the front gate. Raven of the Titans is here. She says she's come to check on Prisoner 385-... ahhh…"
The sorceress raised an eyebrow and her eyes narrowed slightly at the sudden Nervousness she could feel emanating from the young guard as he listened to the response, her suspicion rapidly rising.
"Is there a problem?" she asked in a neutral tone, being careful to keep the mounting irritation out of her voice for the young guard's sake as he slowly turned back to her, his Nervousness growing larger by the second.
"Um… Dr. Whistler told me to thank you for your kind offer," the younger guard answered slowly, his voice shaking slightly as he desperately searched for the words to avoid angering the powerful sorceress while her face rapidly darkened again and his senior gave him a sympathetic look. "But… she also told us to inform you that would not be necessary and that you do not need to waste your valuable time caring for Prisoner 385901 when Dr. Whistler and her team are more than up to the task."
Raven took a deep breath.
So that's the game that pompous old bastard is playing…
"I see," she said in an icy voice cold enough to send shivers down both men's spines before looking up with a stern expression. "May I ask why? Dr. Whistler has always welcomed my help with Otto in the past. What brought about this change?"
The young guard gulped.
"Ah… Warden Sharp's orders, ma'am…" he answered weakly, as the thoroughly unimpressed sorceress scowled fiercely.
"Please inform Warden Sharp that I wish to speak with him immediately," she said in that same ice cold voice, her tone broking absolutely no argument, before her face softened again and she offered another small smile to put the man at ease and let him know she bore him no ill will.
The young guard stared at her for a moment before nodding at her gratefully as he moved to make the call, the Relief and Eagerness he was feeling to pass this up the chain apparent as the older guard snorted in amusement while he watched his partner go.
"Poor kid just started last month. He still hasn't gotten used to how fucking crazy things get around here yet," he drawled in a much more relaxed manner as Raven moved to stand beside him.
"May the Mother of Azarath have mercy on his poor soul," she also drawled in an equally blase manner as the old guard laughed at her blunt tone, before the sorceress eyed him from the side. "How have things been going since the breakout? Have you and the other guards been having any trouble?"
He shrugged.
"Nothing we haven't dealt with before Miss," he answered with an airy wave, failing to notice the way the sorceress's face turned slightly sad despite his nonchalant tone. "Some of our guys got put in the infirmary when those Hive brats busted out Plasmus and it's been a bitch trying to find places to stick all those scumbags you caught with all the damage they caused, but we've had worse. You know that."
Raven nodded slowly.
"Yes, I do," she agreed in a quiet voice before fully turning to face the veteran guard, allowing a bit of naked concern to appear on her normally stoic face as she looked at him. "Have… you and the other guards been having any problems with the press or the public? Because if you have, the Titans can try and issue a statement…"
The old guard immediately cut her off with a gesture.
"I appreciate that ma'am, but it's not necessary," he replied in a gentle but firm manner as he pulled off his helmet to give her a reassuring look, revealing his aged, grizzled face in the process. "You and the rest of the Titans are good people doing good work. So don't worry about us, we can take it. We're used to dealing with mudslinging by now."
The sorceress sighed.
"Perhaps," she said in a sad voice as a few painful old memories briefly found their way to the surface before she ruthlessly buried them once more. "But that doesn't mean you should have to deal with it…"
The old guard just shrugged.
"Not much we can really do about it ma'am," he replied in a matter-of-fact voice as he put his helmet back on. "Honestly, the only thing that still gets on our nerves anymore is how pissy the Warden gets whenever somebody badmouths…"
"Quincy Sharp is an arrogant, corrupt, incompetent, opportunistic old windbag and a self-serving coward who only cares about becoming Jump's next mayor that should have been removed from this position a long time ago," Raven spat venomously, pure, utter contempt dripping from her voice as the veteran guard beside her let out a quiet, tired sigh at her comment before abruptly straightening up.
"That's above my pay grade, ma'am," he said in a carefully neutral voice as the sorceress closed her eyes and inhaled deeply at the Agreement and Weariness she could sense from him before opening them again as she sensed the younger guard returning.
"Warden Sharp has agreed to meet you, ma'am. He says a guard will be down to escort you to his office momentarily," he revealed in a somewhat nervous voice as Raven sighed at the pointless, petty attempt at a power play before her face hardened.
Two could play at that game.
"I'll make my own way to him," she replied coolly as she drew her hood back up before shooting them both one last sympathetic look. "Good luck you two."
And with that final farewell, the sorceress abruptly vanished into thin air before either guard had a chance to say anything, and the younger of the pair stared slack-jawed at the spot she'd been standing on just moments before as the veteran looked on completely unphased.
"You'll get used to it," he commented blandly to his young partner, who unfortunately did not find that statement nearly as encouraging as he probably intended.
***
Raven stared flatly at the portly, balding old man wearing a snappy, expensive looking suit and red tie currently clutching his chest and glaring at her behind his glasses as he desperately tried to get his heart rate back under control at her sudden appearance from the shadows in the corner of his office.
"Blast it all, you miserable witch! How many times have I told you not to do that!?!" Quincy Sharp shouted at her indignantly in his ridiculously posh accent as the sorceress's lips thinned and her eyes narrowed slightly at the insult. "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days!"
Hopefully one day soon, Raven thought acidly to herself before pinning the fuming old man with a foreboding glare, his bravado quickly evaporating like smoke at the eerie way her eyes lit up and how the shadows seemed to stretch and darken as his face turned pale and sweaty and Fear poured off of him in waves.
"You have no one to blame but yourself for that Warden," the sorceress said coldly as she just barely managed to keep the disgust and loathing out of her voice in favor of cool, disappointed politeness, her face a stoic mask of stone. "If you did not keep insisting on wasting my time with these petty power plays and attempts to stonewall me, we would likely not even have to see each other at all for the most part. Something I'm sure we can agree we would both prefer. And I am a sorceress, not a witch. Do not make me correct you on that again."
Sharp gulped and awkwardly tugged at his collar.
"Er… yes. My mistake," he replied nervously as Raven's eyes narrowed at the painfully insincere apology before the old man visibly drew himself up and plastered on an equally fake smile that did absolutely nothing to hide the Anxiety he was still feeling from her empathetic senses.
Or the undercurrent of Anger and Resentment boiling just beneath the surface.
"In any event, I'm afraid you're mistaken, young lady," Sharp said in a much friendlier and more reassuring tone as the sorceress's eye twitched at the Malice and Smug Satisfaction that was rapidly overtaking his Anxiety. "I am in no way attempting to stonewall you from helping your friend. I am simply following proper procedure in dealing with dangerous, unstable metahumans like poor Otto, and unfortunately, I am afraid even a great Hero such as yourself is not exempt from them. It's for your and everyone else's own safety."
Idly biting back the urge to remind the good Warden that the Titans had been regularly fighting Plasmus for years now and that she had been the one to capture and bring him back to police custody a few days ago, Raven instead settled for glowering at the old man with the flattest, most unimpressed expression she could muster.
"Warden Sharp, please do not insult my intelligence," she hissed with enough venom to kill a whale as she desperately tried to remain civil. "I have always been welcome here to try and help Otto with my powers and have been for years. Until, that is, the day we informed you of the Titans policy to remain out of politics. After that, I suddenly started finding it more and more difficult to schedule appointments to see him. Do you take me for a fool?"
"Of course not," Sharp replied smoothly, that damnably fake smile still in place as his emotions told quite a different story from his words. "Unfortunately, as admirable as your desire to help Otto is, I'm afraid my predecessor's decision to allow you to see him was a grossly irresponsible error in judgment. State regulations clearly state that only licensed and authorized doctors and therapists may treat prison inmates, especially volatile metahuman ones. And you, my dear, unfortunately do not qualify as either."
The sorceress took a deep breath to recenter herself and calm her rising Anger and Irritation before once again giving the insufferable old bastard in front of her an icy glare.
"You are trying my patience Warden," she warned in a dire voice as her eyes lit up with that eerie white glow once more. "I may not be a licensed doctor or therapist, but I do possess powers that make me uniquely suited to help people like Otto and I am highly trained and skilled in their use. Furthermore, Doctor Whistler and every other therapist and physician that's worked with Otto have always welcomed my aid in treating him in the past and we have consistently been able to achieve positive results working together. So what does she have to say about this?"
"I am afraid that is irrelevant," Sharp said with a dismissive tone and an airy wave as Raven's hands balled tightly into trembling fists beneath her cloak. "Regardless of Gretchen's personal feelings on the matter, the regulations are quite clear, and as Warden, it is my duty to see that they are followed. I'm sorry my dear, but that is my final word on this issue. Now, I am a very busy man, so if that is all, then I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
The sorceress stared hard at the old man for a long, long moment with a cold, utterly impassive expression, her face practically carved from solid granite for all the emotion it showed as Sharp fidgeted uncomfortably under her soul-piercing gaze, before at last Raven took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.
"Very well then," she replied simply in a calm, agreeable voice as she fixed the rapidly blinking Sharp with a coolly polite expression. "If that is truly your final word on the matter, then I suppose I should stop wasting my time here and move on to other business. I am also a very busy woman and have many other important appointments I have to see too today."
"Is… that so?" the old man asked in a confused voice as he eyed her warily, Suspicion and Unease pouring off him in waves as the sorceress nodded sharply.
"Indeed," she said in that same calm, reasonable voice as her cloak billowed slightly in an unseen wind, expression still blank. "I'm on a rather tight schedule today. I have meetings with several news outlets around the city to schedule a series of interviews before I get back to my patrol. Hence why I was so… displeased with this interruption."
Sharp's eyes widened.
"Interviews!?!" he asked in a rather higher pitched voice than normal, what he had that passed for a soul lighting up with Shock, Disbelief, Incredulity, and rapidly rising PANIC like a Christmas Tree as Raven nodded again.
"Oh yes," she confirmed in a cool, conversational tone while her eyes narrowed in a rather dangerous manner. "It was admittedly a rather spur-of-the-moment decision, but the other Titans and I were concerned about how the negative press resulting from this latest breakout might impact the morale of the prison staff. And since I had such a close and beneficial working relationship with those who worked here for years, I figured I might as well go ahead and finally give the press the exclusive with me they've been chasing for so long. It truly is a shame that relationship has been terminated now. I fear I won't be able to give Jump Penitentiary the glowing praise I would have if that was not the case."
The old man was sweating buckets now.
"You're… you're bluffing," he said in a shaky voice as he swallowed thickly and glared at the sorceress, his Anger, Disbelief, and Resentment battling fiercely with the Fear and Dread he was feeling. "Everyone knows how much you hate the press and being in the spotlight. You're just trying to scare me."
Raven raised an eyebrow.
"True," she allowed in that same conversational tone before her voice suddenly became an ice cold hiss as she glared daggers at Sharp, who paled at the feelings of Seriousness and Sincerity that suddenly pressed down on him, "but I hate seeing my friends and the innocent suffer far, far more. Just as much as Dr. Whistler hates seeing her patients suffer because her boss cares more about looking good and the bottom line than basic human decency. And I'm sure many of the guards that work here also have complaints of their own about the current state of the prison they would like to make known."
The old man gulped.
"N-now see here young lady. You don't understand…" he began in a stuttering attempt at a reasonable voice, only to be immediately and violently cut off.
"Enough."
Sharp let out a strangled gasp at the booming, demonic voice that suddenly echoed out of the enraged sorceress's mouth as she was abruptly surrounded by a fiery black-and-purple aura of raw spiritual energy and all the light seemed to be sucked out of the room, leaving nothing but Raven's blazing, pure white eyes glaring down at the terrified bureaucrat while she loomed over him.
"You are the one who does not understand. So listen, and listen well, Quincy Sharp," the sorceress began sharply, tone deathly calm despite her voice still echoing with power as her cloak billowed violently in an unseen wind and her dark magical aura twisted and raged like a feral animal begging to be unleashed. "I can tolerate many things. I can tolerate your insults. I can tolerate your attitude. I can tolerate your incompetence, your mudslinging, and your sad, petty, pathetic attempts to make me look bad and make my life more difficult than it has to be. I can even stomach you speaking out against my friends, if only because I know that they feel the same way I do."
Raven's eyes narrowed into shining white slits.
"But the one thing I cannot tolerate, will never tolerate, is you attempting to make an innocent person suffer purely to satisfy this petty grudge you have against me and the Titans," she finished with complete and utter finality as she crossed her arms and glared down at the cowering old man as if he was a particularly disgusting bit of filth she'd just found on her shoe. "Otto Von Furth is my friend, and a tragic victim of a cruel fate that needs my help to find some small measure of peace and happiness that has been denied to him for so long. And I will not deprive him of that peace. Not for a stack of regulations, and certainly not for you. I will help him, whether you like it or not. And that, 'Warden' Sharp, is final."
Her point made, the sorceress extinguished her magical aura and resumed her normal appearance as light returned to the room before, with one last disdainful glare at the cowering wretch before her, she turned to leave with a dramatic flourish of her cloak.
"H-HEY! NOW WAIT JUST A MINUTE HERE YOU WITCH!" Sharp roared in indignant rage, the Anger and Humiliation he was feeling rapidly overtaking the bone-deep Terror that had been consuming him just a moment before as Raven stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath at the deliberate misidentification. "YOU CAN'T JUST WALTZ IN HERE AND DO WHATEVER YOU PLEASE! IF YOU TAKE ONE MORE STEP TOWARDS 385901's CELL, I'LL HAVE YOU ARRESTED AND LOCKED UP WITH THE REST OF THE FILTHY, DEGENERATE FREAKS INFESTING THIS CITY!"
The sorceress slowly looked over her shoulder to regard the red-faced, heavily breathing old man with an utterly blank expression, before cocking a thoroughly unimpressed eyebrow at him.
"Really Warden?" she drawled in a cool voice as the fuming Warden popped several veins at her completely unconcerned demeanor. "Are you absolutely certain you want to try and deal with the media circus that will result from trying to arrest one of Jump City's most beloved Heroes for the 'crime' of trying to provide aid and comfort to a critically disabled metahuman? Especially mere days after a massive breakout happened at your facility? Your reputation is already shaky enough as is, and I would hate to see how this might hurt your chances of running for mayor next year."
Sharp snarled in impotent fury and clenched his meaty fists so hard they turned chalk white as he shot Raven a look that clearly wished her a very painful death.
"Damn you back to the pits of Hell where you and your accursed father came from you wretched demon spawn," he hissed, pure venom dripping off every syllable as the sorceress simply huffed and turned away again, letting the insult slide off her like water off a duck's back.
As if she'd never heard that one before ever since her true parentage had come to light following Trigon's invasion and subsequent banishment.
That had certainly been a fun conversation with the Justice League.
And the United Nations.
And the Vatican.
"This conversation is over," Raven said simply as she resumed her march towards the door and the old man bristled at her utterly dismissive tone. "Do not interfere with my attempts to help Otto again."
And with that final, chilling warning, the sorceress opened the door and walked out of Sharp's office without so much as a backwards glance, steadfastly ignoring the vile litany of curses being hurled her way until the door slammed shut behind her as the guards just outside pointedly did the same.
***
Raven sighed as she materialized out of the shadows deeper into the prison and began making her way through the Maximum Security wing, giving cordial nods to the guards and other prison staff and studiously ignoring the jeers, catcalls, and promises of vengeance from the inmates as she made her way to her destination.
The sorceress had no doubt she was going to pay for that little display later, as Sharp was almost certain to find other ways to make her life more difficult in the future.
But strangely enough, she could not find it in herself to regret her momentary lapse in control.
Despicable frauds like Sharp that hid their arrogant selfishness and wicked intentions behind charming smiles and honeyed words were already enough to drive the empathetic woman up the wall as is, but no one threatened the innocent and her friends purely to get to her.
Raven was sworn to protect the former and had precious few of the latter she cherished more than Life itself, and would defend both with every last ounce of magical power and knowledge she possessed to her dying breath if necessary.
Still doesn't change how annoying it is to deal with him, she thought bitterly to herself as her mind wandered back to how Sharp had first come to Jump City.
The miserable old fraud had once been the Warden of the infamous Arkham Asylum before transferring to Jump Penitentiary following a particularly harrowing mass breakout and occupation of the Asylum orchestrated by the Joker, the notorious so-called 'Clown Prince of Crime' and greatest Arch-enemy of Dick's mentor, adoptive father, and Justice League founder Batman, also known as billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne.
The madman had been attempting to convert the Asylum's inmates into an army of freakish monsters using something called the Titan Formula so he could unleash them on an unsuspecting Gotham City and cause mass destruction and chaos in his wake, and while the sorceress had thus far been fortunate enough to have never met the deranged clown in person, she'd heard more than enough horror stories from Nightwing to know just how dangerous the Joker was and how disastrous it would have been had his plan succeeded.
The slimy old bastard had somehow managed to seize credit for thwarting the Joker's scheme despite how laughable the thought of some elderly, out-of-shape old bureaucrat who'd probably never trained or been in a serious fight a day in his life managing to stop such a dangerous Villain was, and had used the prestige he'd gained from his "accomplishment" to weasel his way into acquiring the much cushier position of Jump City Penitentiary's new Warden after his predecessor had unfortunately lost his life in a previous Villain attack while the Titans were off battling the Brotherhood of Evil.
Even Dick hadn't managed to figure out how Sharp had pulled that off.
Regardless of how he'd done it though, the fact of the matter was the Titans were stuck with the old fraud now, as Nightwing had been unable to find anything incriminating despite his best efforts even after he'd swallowed his pride and called the rest of the Bat-Clan for help, and it was not at all a stretch to say all five of them absolutely loathed the old man.
The sorceress in particular had utterly detested Sharp the second she'd first laid eyes on him when they'd delivered an unconscious Cinderblock to him for the first time five years ago.
While superficially charming on the surface, there was not an ounce of Sincerity in Quincy Sharp's body, and the old man positively oozed Arrogance and unearned Self-Importance out of every pore.
Every word he spoke, every expression he made, every seemingly well-meaning or altruistic act he performed were all so painfully fake and artificial it almost caused the empath physical pain just to be in the same room with him.
He cared not one whit for the safety of Jump's citizens or the well-being of inmates like Otto that truly were in dire need of help.
Only for his own gain and self-gratification as he lorded his power and "superiority" over the inmates of the prison and continued to hungrily eye Jump's mayoral office like a starving dog would a rotten steak.
The old man had even had the gall to try and coerce the Titans into endorsing his efforts to become their City's new Mayor, rather ironic considering the burning Jealousy for their popularity with Jump's citizens Raven could feel bubbling just beneath the surface every time he talked to them, and he had not taken their rather firm dismissal of the idea well.
Ever since then, Sharp had been doing everything he possibly could to drag their names through the mud without ruining his own reputation in the process and making it as difficult as humanly possible for them to effectively cooperate and coordinate with the authorities.
He tried to frame it as an attempt to move away from the police and prisons having to rely so heavily on the Titans to handle superpowered criminals, but anyone with half-a-brain could see it was just to get back at them for denying his ambitions, and there was no doubt in the sorceress's mind this attempt to stonewall her was just the latest in a long line of petty schemes trying to make her life more difficult.
Something he was already accomplishing quite well with his gross incompetence.
Conditions at the Penitentiary had noticeably deteriorated under his leadership, and every time there was an emergency or a Villain came knocking or escaped from their cell, the old man would barricade himself in his heavily fortified office and refuse anyone else entry as he frantically screamed for the Titans to come save his sorry hide.
In short, there was absolutely nothing even remotely useful or redeeming about Quincy Sharp.
The old man was just a disgusting, petty, utterly useless parasite that did nothing but take and take and take while giving absolutely nothing in return.
And the people that were forced to work under him knew it too, judging by the subtle miasma of Bitterness Raven could feel hanging over the prison staff.
The sorceress sighed.
Well, whatever.
She still had a job to do right now.
She could worry more about Sharp later.
So, snapping out of her musings as she felt the emotions of two familiar spirits drawing close, Raven let out a small smile as her destination came in sight before she phased through the door of Otto's specially made, soundproofed cell in a flourish of dark magic.
Inside was a large, open room made of heavily reinforced steel in the center of which an unremarkable looking man with short brown hair floated in a large stasis tank as various machines monitored his vitals, particularly his brainwaves.
The man was currently fast asleep, though one look at his rapidly twitching muscles and facial expressions and the erratic beeping of the EEG machine immediately told the sorceress said sleep was not peaceful, even without the soul-crushing Guilt and Terror she could feel from him lighting up her empathetic senses like a spotlight.
Raven let out a sad, exasperated sigh as she bowed her head mournfully.
Oh Otto…
Looking at him now, one would hardly guess that the poor man inside that tank was the monstrous supervillain known as Plasmus, infamous for his destructive, semi-regular rampages around Jump as the beast frantically tore the city apart searching for toxic sludge to satisfy his endless hunger.
The son of a family of German immigrants, Otto had once been a simple miner trying to eke out an honest living working in a nearby Radium mine that lay just outside the city.
Until one terrible, fateful day a mining accident caused a massive cave-in that left Otto and several of his fellow miners trapped deep underground and completely exposed to the deadly radioactive element.
The other workers all died within hours of acute radiation poisoning, but the universe had a much crueler fate in store for the poor german-american man.
Instead of simply killing him like it did his colleagues, the Radium instead activated and horrifically mutated his dormant metagene, and on that day, Otto Von Furth, for all intents and purposes, died, and the supervillain Plasmus arose to take his place.
Ever since then, everytime Otto was awake, his body was mutated into a hideous, disgusting, towering monstrosity of purple-and-green goo, and his mind was reduced to that of a feral animal driven solely by an instinctive need to seek out and feed on any toxic sludge it could find, with only the faintest hint of his former intelligence remaining.
Because of Plasmus's utterly uncontrollable nature and the immense danger the beast posed to the general public, the authorities had been left with no choice but to keep Otto in permanent stasis everytime his monstrous alter ego was subdued.
They hadn't even been able to give the poor man any basic psychiatric treatment for the terrible nightmares they could tell he kept having.
Until the sorceress came along, that is.
When Raven had first learned about Otto's horrific affliction, she had shocked her friends, and everyone else, for that matter, by immediately stepping forward and offering her powers to aid the unwilling supervillain in any way that she could.
None of the other Titans had known her as well back then as they did now, so they had been completely unable to understand why the normally aloof and seemingly emotionless sorceress had suddenly become so adamant about helping Otto when before she'd displayed nothing but disgust and cold disdain towards his monstrous other half.
At the time, Raven had brushed it off with the half-truth that she was the only one in Jump that could do anything to help the poor man.
Now though, everyone knew the real reason for her compassion towards Otto.
The sorceress knew better than anyone what it was like to be a victim of a cruel, inescapable fate through no fault of your own.
The previous Warden and Doctors assigned to Otto had been skeptical at first, back before the Titans had truly come into their own as Jump City's beloved protectors, but Raven had persisted, and with the help of her friends, had eventually managed to convince them to give her a chance to try and help Otto.
They had not been disappointed.
The sorceress had been successful in entering the sleeping man's mind thanks to her mastery of Astral Projection, and what she'd found in there had distressed her greatly, even if she didn't show it.
Otto had been an absolute, suicidal wreck, positively drowning in Guilt and Self-Loathing as he was tormented by terrible nightmares of Plasmus's rampages, having unfortunately not been quite as unaware in his mutated state as previously thought, and the first thing he'd done once he'd realized what was going on was beg Raven to put him out of his misery.
Something she had vehemently refused to do, of course, since the entire reason she was doing this in the first place was to prevent the authorities from eventually being forced to do exactly that.
Thus began the long, painful road to… well, recovery was probably too strong a word, but improvement was certainly applicable.
It had been slow going at first, not helped by how much other Villains loved using Otto's monstrous other half as a distraction or an attack dog, but under the guidance of the prison psychiatrists, the sorceress had gradually managed to curb the poor man's suicidal tendencies and stabilize his mental state, and the two of them had grown quite close over time as they bonded over their similar circumstances.
Otto's gratitude had known no bounds, and Raven was quite proud to say that nowadays her friend's rest was largely peaceful and nightmare-free.
When he wasn't being disturbed by desperate, washed up imbeciles who had absolutely no shame or respect for the disabled, that is.
Idly pushing away dark thoughts of further punishments she could visit upon the Hive Five for their reckless cruelty, the sorceress instead lowered her hood and cleared her throat to get the attention of the room's third occupant, a wizened old woman with black hair tied in a neat bun wearing a stereotypical white long-sleeved lab coat, who had been bitterly muttering to herself as she read the notes on her clipboard before jumping slightly at the sudden noise.
"Dr. Whistler," Raven said with a slight smile and a respectful bow of her head. "It's good to see you again."
"Raven! Oh thank goodness you're here!" Dr. Gretchen Whistler, Head Psychiatrist at Jump State Penitentiary, exclaimed with a fond smile on her wrinkled face, her thick German accent tinged with relief. "After what Warden Sharp told me yesterday, I feared we would no longer be able to count on your help with Otto's treatment."
The sorceress's smile immediately vacated her face and her countenance darkened considerably.
"I have already spoken with Warden Sharp about that, and you can rest assured there will be no further issues on this matter," she replied in a coolly formal tone, her voice chilly enough to send a shiver down the old woman's spine as she coughed awkwardly.
"Yes, I had a feeling you might. I know how… persuasive you can be when you set your mind to it," Dr. Whistler commented somewhat warily before her nervousness abruptly evaporated as she shot Raven an admonishing look. "Something the Hive Five have become quite aware of as well, judging by their latest psychiatric reports."
The sorceress shrugged, utterly unrepentant.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean Doctor," she said blandly as the old woman's lips thinned at the half-hearted attempt at feigning ignorance. "I merely had a very serious conversation with the Hive Five about the true scope and consequences of their actions and why they should never do something like that again. No more, no less."
Dr. Whistler snorted.
"Indeed," she replied flatly, the disbelief and disapproval in her voice clear for all to hear. "And you certainly made quite an impression on them during your 'conversation'. Enough that I daresay my team and I are going to have our hands full for quite some time."
That little comment finally did get a noticeable wince from Raven as she looked away uncomfortably at the Disappointment she could feel coming off the old woman.
While the sorceress still did not regret punishing the Hive Five for what they'd done to her friend, she had absolutely no desire to make the prison psychiatrists' lives any harder than they already were.
Especially not Dr. Whistler's.
Like Quincy Sharp, the old woman was a former staff member of Arkham Asylum who'd transferred to Jump Penitentiary after the Joker's rampage, her advancing age meaning she simply was no longer able to continue working in such a strenuous environment any longer.
Unlike the Warden, however, Raven had nothing but respect for Dr. Whistler for being a very, very rare example of an Arkham doctor who was competent, well-adjusted, and, above all else, actually cared about the patients she was trying to treat with no ulterior motives.
So being called out on her behavior by the old woman like this made the sorceress feel very much like a naughty child being scolded by a disappointed grandmother at the moment.
It was a rather confusing and unpleasant feeling, all things considered.
"Sorry Dr. Whistler," the sorceress muttered quietly, still slightly shamefaced, and Dr. Whistler held her chastising glare a few moments longer before finally relenting with a weary sigh.
"Just try to be more careful in the future Raven," she said in a softer voice as Raven felt Concern for her wellbeing emanate from the old woman. "I understand how much you care for Otto and how angry you must have been for what those foolish brats did to him, but you can't keep going around traumatizing people like this. I've already had to deal with more than enough of that from Batman, thank you very much!"
The sorceress chuckled and cracked an amused grin at that before abruptly sobering up as she turned back to Otto.
"How is he?" she asked quietly, more for formality's sake than anything else as Dr. Whistler sighed.
"I'm afraid he's relapsed again," she answered sadly as Raven gave a mournful little nod, not the least bit surprised but disappointed nonetheless. "Been suffering from chronic nightmares ever since you brought him back. Just like all the other times…"
The sorceress cursed the Hive Five one last time before taking a deep breath to recenter herself.
"Do you have a list of questions prepared?" she asked briskly in a businesslike manner, her face becoming stern and professional as the old woman nodded and handed her a clipboard.
"We do," Dr. Whistler replied in an equally professional manner as Raven carefully read and flipped through the questions, before the old woman's face softened as she looked at her patient once again, her emotions revealing just how Concerned she was for him under her stoic facade. "But honestly, Raven, I think what Otto needs most right now is simply a friend to talk to…"
Finishing the list, the sorceress handed the clipboard back to Dr. Whistler and gave her one last nod before turning back to the Stasis Tank and moving forward.
"I'll take it from here Doctor," she reassured the old woman before her body glowed with an eerie purple mystical light as she floated off the ground and assumed a meditative lotus position in the air.
"Thank you Raven. I'll make sure you're not disturbed unless it's an emergency," Dr. Whistler replied in a grateful voice before walking out the door and closing it behind her, giving Raven the quiet she needed to concentrate.
Taking a deep breath, the sorceress closed her eyes and reached deep within herself before slowly uttering her signature chant.
"Azarath… Metrion… Zinthos…!"
And as soon as the final word left her lips, Raven felt the bonds of her mortal shell slacken, and with one last burst of mental effort, her spirit broke free from it's shackles completely and soared from her body in the form of a huge, pitch black raven with a deep purple outline and shining, pure white eyes.
The sorceress flew around the room a few times to make sure everything was in order before pausing in the air to look back at her body, still floating there in a deep meditative trance as her eyes shined with a matching pure white light.
No matter how many times she did this, Raven could never get used to how odd it was to view one's own, still living body from the outside.
Nor the sense of pure, absolute freedom Astral Projecting gave her.
The first time she'd successfully managed it, it had taken Mother and her magic instructors back on Azarath hours to coax her giddy spirit back into her body, and to this day that remained one of her happiest memories.
Regardless, she still had a job to do here, and so, fighting down the wave of nostalgia, the sorceress turned and, with a piercing cry, her spirit dove headfirst into Otto's sleeping form.
***
The sight that greeted Raven when she entered Otto's mindscape was a familiar, if still highly unpleasant, one.
Jump City was in ruins, it's once pristine buildings and streets now shattered and engulfed in flames under a hellish blood red sky, and a quick glance out to the bay showed the sorceress that Titans Tower had also fallen, the once proud and stalwart monument against Evil lying in pieces scattered across her island home.
Terrified screams echoed out of the doomed city, and as she flew closer, Raven could make out scores of Jump's citizens frantically running for their lives as they were relentlessly pursued and mercilessly slaughtered by a seemingly endless army of hideous green-and-purple goo monsters.
Plasmids, as Garfield liked to call them.
And there in the distance, the source of all this madness and carnage.
Plasmus, even more hideous and nightmarishly twisted than he was in the real world, swollen to gargantuan proportions as he towered over the nearby buildings and smashed through everything in sight like one of those cheesy Kaiju movies Victor and Beast Boy liked so much.
The massive goo monster was currently locked in battle with five shades of Raven and her fellow Titans, all of which were doing a rather remarkable job of imitating their powers and combat tactics.
Which the sorceress supposed was only natural, considering how many times they'd fought Plasmus over the years.
There was Dick, hanging back and nimbly avoiding grasping tentacles, globs of acidic goo, and titanic blows from the monster's fists in a stunning display of acrobatics and liberal use of his grappling hook as he hurled all manner of gadgets and special birdarangs into Plasmus whilst simultaneously barking out orders and directions to his teammates.
There was Garfield, rapidly switching between animal forms like mad as he pecked, bit, scratched, and clawed at the beast's eye boils to harass and distract it while deftly avoiding its attempts to counterattack.
There was Victor, constantly leaping from rooftop to rooftop to stay on the move as he relentlessly pummeled Plasmus with powerful shots from his signature Sonic Cannon and barrages of missiles from his shoulders.
There was Starfire, circling above as she pelted the monster with an unceasing barrage of Starbolts from her hands and eyes, the ultraviolet energy projectiles falling like rain.
And finally, there was her, the doppelganger Raven hurling huge objects at the beast at high speeds and unleashing her full arsenal of dark magic in an attempt to bring it down.
Cars, trucks, chunks of concrete, and even entire buildings smashed into Plasmus along with blasts of raw dark energy and black lightning called down from the heavens themselves as the sorceress's doppelganger kept up an unceasing litany of chants and hand signs to cast spell after spell.
It was an awesome display of power, coordination, and teamwork, and if Raven didn't know any better, she might almost have been convinced the five shades were actually her and her friends…
…if not for the ugly, twisted snarls of pure, unadulterated RAGE and HATRED marring their faces as they all screamed a truly awe inspiring amount of horrifically vulgar abuse and ruthless condemnation at the monstrous supervillain…
…or rather, at the man currently helplessly trapped in the center of Plasmus's chest bawling his eyes out as he tearfully screamed out anguished apologies and begged for forgiveness while the five shades assaulting him continued to viciously flagellate him.
"I'M SORRY!" Otto wailed out in tortured agony as he continued to struggle in vain to free himself from his monstrous alter ego. "I'M SORRY! PLEASE YOU HAVE TO BELIEVE ME, I DIDN'T WANT ANY OF THIS! I NEVER MEANT TO HURT ANYONE! IT WAS PLASMUS NOT ME! HE'S THE ONE WHO DESTROYED THE CITY! I CAN'T CONTROL HIM! PLEASE, I'M SORRY! I'M SO, SO SORRY…
"LIAR!"
"DECEIVER!
"IT WAS ALWAYS YOU!"
"HOW COULD I HAVE FALLEN FOR YOUR PATHETIC SOB STORY!?!"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE I EVER THOUGHT TRASH LIKE YOU WAS WORTH SAVING!"
Otto sobbed at the furious shout from the sorceress's doppelganger as the real Raven frowned severely and her hands balled tightly into fists.
She knew what was coming.
The first to go was Dick.
A near miss from a lashing, slimy tentacle left him off-balance for a single, critical second.
Enough time for a massive swarm of Plasmids to suddenly appear from nowhere, bursting out of the ground and through nearby walls and windows, and mob the surprised Titan leader as they pulled him to the ground through sheer weight of numbers and began to gleefully tear him limb from limb.
The second was Starfire, who let out an anguished cry of grief and rage as Nightwing's howls of agony and the Plasmids sadistic laughs reached her ears before frantically diving down in a desperate attempt to save her boyfriend.
Only for Plasmus's massive hand to shoot out viper quick and seize Kori in an iron grip.
The monster gave a demented grin at the struggling heroine before, with a cruel laugh, it shoved her into it's enormous maw and began to chew, the sounds of cracking bones and Starfire's screams of pain echoing out loudly as it did so, until she finally fell silent forever as Plasmus swallowed thickly and let out a satisfied growl.
Victor was next, the lack of covering fire from the tamaranean freeing up the beast's attention enough it was able to quickly zero in on his location and shatter the building he was standing on with a single punch, destroying his foothold and leaving him helplessly falling through the air until he was snatched by a quartet of tentacles that each wrapped around one of his limbs.
The tendrils pulled hard, and Cyborg screamed in agony as his arms and legs were torn from their sockets in a screech of tortured metal before he dropped to the ground like a sack of bricks.
He lay there groaning for a few seconds before a shadow fell over him, and Victor had just enough time to look up before Plasmus's foot came crashing down on him with earth-shattering force, crushing him into an unrecognizable mess of shattered, twisted metal and bloody, pulped organs.
Finally, Garfield, currently in the form of an eagle, who screeched in utter Fury at the death of his best friend before he came crashing down on the monster's gooey head as a huge green T-Rex and began viciously biting at it's hideous boils before being nonchalantly swatted off, crashing to the ground below in a heap.
Beast Boy struggled to rise, only to roar in agony as he was drenched in a waterfall of acidic goo Plasmus spat all over him, the enormous glob of acid melting the man-turned dinosaur down to his bones in moments flat.
Four of the five Titans, gone in under 30 seconds.
The sorceress's doppelganger let out an unholy scream of all-consuming RAGE and GRIEF that shattered windows all across the city before summoning a colossal spectral bird of black and red magical energy, the demonic, corrupted soulself shrieking and cawing like a rabid animal while it's master glared down at Otto and his monstrous alter ego with tears streaming from all four of her hellish, crimson eyes.
"DAMN YOU OTTO VON FURTH!!!!!" the now red-skinned shade of Raven roared in utter fury and anguish before launching her soulself at Plasmus, and the massive spiritual raven slammed into the colossal goo monster with an ear-splitting shriek, engulfing the beast in a titanic explosion.
The sorceress's doppelganger floated in the air breathing heavily for several tense moments, before crying out in shock and dismay as several slimy tentacles abruptly shot out of the smoke and seized her in an unyielding grip.
The shade of Raven struggled and cursed viciously against her bonds as Plamus emerged from the huge cloud of dust, completely unharmed, and let out a cruel laugh before slowly bringing her face-to-face with the man trapped in it's chest, who gave the sorceress's doppelganger an utterly broken look.
"Raven…" Otto choked out miserably, the Guilt and Agony emanating from him absolutely unbearable to Raven as her doppelganger glared murderously at the poor man, face carved from stone. "I'm sorry…"
The sorceress's doppelganger was silent for several long seconds, eyes closed and hidden under her hood.
"I hate you…" the shade replied at last, the sheer amount of venom and Hatred in her voice enough to make Otto flinch back as if he'd been physically struck before she abruptly attempted to throw herself at him, snarling and roaring like a feral animal while she desperately struggled against her bonds and tried to wrap her claw-like hands around his throat. "I HATE YOU!!!!!!"
The poor man sobbed uncontrollably as Plasmus let out another cruel laugh before preparing to devour the still screaming shade just like Starfire…
…only to scream in surprise and pain as an enormous blast of dark magic abruptly shot out of nowhere and disintegrated both the tentacles and the false heroine in one shot.
"Enough."
The beast whirled around in a rage to face the true Raven, who glared right back with equal fury, her pure white eyes shining brightly.
"Raven…?" Otto whispered softly as he stared in disbelief at the black-and-purple spirit, who gave him a kind and reassuring look before returning to glaring at the hideous beast keeping him prisoner.
"This has gone on for far too long Plasmus," the sorceress hissed venomously as Plasmus let out a defiant roar. "You are done tormenting him."
The beast roared again and attempted to charge her, only for several massive black and purple chains to suddenly emerge from the ground from dark portals and wrap tightly around Plasmus with an errant gesture from the sorceress.
Staring back coolly as the monster desperately thrashed and strained against its bindings, Raven calmly raised a darkly glowing hand and a sudden pressure began crushing down on everyone as she started rapidly gathering power.
"Begone," she intoned in a voice echoing with power as Plasmus's struggles grew more frantic. "AZARATH METRION ZINTHOS!"
A colossal wave of dark magic burst forth from the sorceress's hand at the incantation, utterly consuming Plasmus and the devastated Jump City as her spell dispelled the entirety of the nightmare in one fell swoop until nothing remained but her and Otto floating aimlessly in a peaceful white void.
"Raven?" he asked again as he looked around in confusion for a moment while Raven merely stared back patiently, waiting for the realization to set in, before Otto suddenly froze and slowly turned to her with a look of dawning comprehension on his face. "Is that… really you?"
The sorceress nodded.
"Yes, Otto. It's me," she replied in a gentle voice as her friend slowly started to relax.
"Then… all that was just another nightmare wasn't it?" Otto asked wearily, his voice tinged with embarrassment as the sorceress nodded again.
"Yes, it was just a nightmare," Raven said reassuringly, before her gaze turned sad and slightly exasperated as she continued in a more concerned tone. "The same nightmare you've had many times already."
Otto sighed.
"I know and I'm sorry I keep causing trouble for you and the Doctors. Especially after everything you all have done to try and help a needy, miserable little wretch like me," he apologized in a quiet, bitter voice as the sorceress stiffened at both his words and the pungent cocktail of toxic emotions she could feel eating away at him. "Making people's lives more difficult seems to be the only thing I'm good at these…"
"Otto," Raven cut in sharply, a warning note in her voice as Otto flinched at her lightly chastising glare. "Don't you dare start with this again. Not after all the progress you've made."
Otto nodded meekly.
"Sor-ok Raven," he quickly corrected himself as the sorceress's eyes narrowed before she let out an exasperated sigh and looked at him with a worried expression.
"Honestly, Otto, how much longer are you going to keep torturing yourself like this?" she said in a deeply concerned voice as she put a hand on her friend's shoulder and did her best to soothe the Pain she could feel coming from his weary spirit, Otto letting out a sigh of indescribable Relief as her empathic powers went to work. "If you keep this up, then one of these days you're going to damage your Mind so much that even I won't be able to put you back together again."
"I know that Raven!" Otto snapped in an intensely frustrated voice as he turned away from her while Raven looked on sadly. "You've told me all this before! But even after all our talks and everything Doctor Whistler and the others have done to try and help me work through this, it… it doesn't get any easier to accept the things Plasmus has done. The people he's hurt. No matter how many times I try to tell myself I'm not him…"
The sorceress nodded soberly.
"I understand," she replied quietly as she moved to float beside her friend in a silent show of support. "After Trigon's invasion, there were still a lot of people left hurt or dead because of him even after I purged my father's corruption from this world. Because of me. Even if I only went along with his plan because the Justice League were off world at the time and he had my friends, my family, at gunpoint, even if his minions would have just dragged me kicking and screaming to fulfill my role had I refused to cooperate, the fact remains I'm still the one who ultimately chose to become his Portal, of my own free will. And that's something I'll have to live with. Forever."
Raven sighed sadly at the memory of the protestors and furious, grieving friends and families whose loved ones her spell had not been able to save who had relentlessly accosted her in the weeks and months following Trigon's banishment even after she'd given her most heartfelt explanations and apologies, before her face firmed and she gave Otto a fierce look.
"But that doesn't mean I can just allow myself to fall to pieces over what happened to those poor people Otto," the sorceress continued with steely resolution and an uncompromising expression. "I've told you before, wallowing in one's Guilt and Self-Pity is pointless and never accomplishes anything but causing further pain, both to oneself and others. If I truly wish to honor those that suffered and died because of my mistake and make up for what I and my father did, then I must accept responsibility for it, soldier on with my head held high, and learn from my error so I can be better. And you, Otto, must do the same. Torturing yourself like this helps no one. Not Plasmus's victims, and certainly not you."
"Please, I'm begging you, my friend," Raven finished with a quiet whisper, a pleading look on her face as she once again put a hand on Otto's shoulder and stared deep into his eyes, radiating naked, bone-deep Concern while she did. "Don't let Plasmus win…"
Otto stared at her for a long time, his emotions a volatile, raging torrent of conflicting feelings ferociously clashing against each other, before he finally deflated with an utterly exhausted sigh as he gave her an agonized expression, the sheer amount of Hopelessness he was feeling enough to make the sorceress's metaphorical heart clench painfully.
"But how?" Otto asked in a dead, hollow voice, his eyes utterly devoid of any light. "How am I supposed to not 'let Plasmus win'? He's already won! I'm not like you Raven! I'm a helpless prisoner trapped in my own body! I can't even try to repent for Plasmus's crimes like you can, because if I do anything but float here in this fucking tank, I'll just end up hurting more people! So how…!?!"
"Then it's a very good thing that you have nothing to repent for, Otto," Raven cut Otto off in a gentle, but firm voice as she raised a hand and gave him a stern look to stop his tirade. "I have been telling you this for years now, you share absolutely none of the blame for anything Plasmus does. None. The only fault lies with the disgusting beast that has hijacked your body and the heartless fools that keep taking advantage of your condition to use him as an attack dog."
"But… didn't you just say we have to take responsibil-" Otto began hesitantly, Confusion pouring off of him in waves, only to once again be cut off with a sharp gesture and a warning glare.
"The difference, Otto, is that I still had a choice," the sorceress emphasized fiercely, her own Guilt and Sorrow briefly flaring up before immediately being crushed down again by her iron will. "At the time I believed I didn't because I had been gaslighted and indoctrinated by my father into believing my destiny was set in stone my whole life, but the truth of the matter is that it was always my decision on whether or not to become the Portal. Not his. Even when Trigon did everything he possibly could to stack the deck in his favor, it was still never his decision. It was mine. And mine alone. My friends tried to tell me that, they never stopped trying to tell me that, but I didn't listen. I gave up. And that, Otto, is why I must repent."
"But you are different," Raven continued in a much kinder voice as she emanated Compassion, Confidence, and Reassurance. "Unlike me, you have never had a choice in anything Plasmus does. It is as you yourself said, you are a helpless prisoner trapped inside your own body. Unable to do anything but float here in this tank without becoming the beast's slave. How then, could you ever be held responsible for anything Plasmus does?"
Otto bit his lip and looked away, his emotions once again in turmoil as he warred with himself while the sorceress waited patiently, before turning back to her uncertainly.
"Then… how am I supposed to honor all the people Plasmus has hurt?" he asked hesitantly as Raven gave him a pleased expression and sent a pulse of Happiness and Pride to her friend before hastening to answer.
"By not giving up," she replied immediately, voice strong and steady with not an ounce of hesitation or uncertainty in it as she radiated unyielding Confidence like the sun. "By not making the same mistake I did and losing all hope. By remembering those people Plasmus hurt and resolving to live the best life you possibly can despite your condition so their deaths will not be rendered pointless. That is how you can honor them, Otto Von Furth. The question is… are you strong enough to keep trying?"
The sorceress held out a hand expectantly and Otto stared at it for a long time before sighing and giving her a wry grin.
"Of course I'm not," he answered bluntly with a self-deprecating chuckle before taking her hand and finally allowing a small spark of Hope to flare up in his chest again. "But with you and the Doc's helping me… maybe someday I will be."
And the entire dreamscape lit up at Raven's beaming smile.
***
*Several Hours Later*
Raven sighed as she telekinetically lowered the last of the debris cluttering this area before exchanging a few cordial words with the grateful foreman and flying off.
Just as she'd predicted, most of Jump's criminals were keeping their heads well down after the Hive Five's disastrous scheme.
The sorceress and her fellow Titans had caught a few purse snatchers and other such petty criminals around the city here and there, but on the whole things were pretty quiet.
Which meant that most of their time had been devoted to helping with cleanup efforts for the past few days.
A job Raven in particular was uniquely suited for thanks to her powerful and precise psychokinetic abilities, and she'd already helped clean out several such areas of the city clogged with harmful debris.
Thanks to her and the other Titan's efforts, it looked like Jump would be clear and ready to begin rebuilding by tomorrow.
Which meant that all that was left to do was perform a few more sweeps of the City to make sure no one got any bright ideas before heading back to the Tower for the day.
And so, her task clear, the sorceress began flying an efficient grid pattern around her designated area of the city, randomized to prevent anyone from figuring it out, while occasionally checking in with Garfield and Starfire to make sure there was no trouble on their end.
Kori had very graciously, and very firmly, offered to sacrifice a portion of her day off today to cover a chunk of Victor's shift so he wouldn't miss his game and so Dick wouldn't need to.
Thankfully, it looked like she wouldn't have much to worry about, as everyone was reading All Clear so far, something Raven was immensely grateful for.
Even so, she still continued to keep her eyes, ears, and empathetic senses peeled, determined to make sure things stayed quiet as she once again marveled at the vast array of emotions living in such a densely populated city constantly exposed her too.
While the sorceress always made certain to keep a tight grip on her empathetic senses at all times even when scanning for possible threats and crimes-in-progress so she would only lightly brush against the minds of Jump's population, for the sake of both their privacy and her own mental health, the sensations were still awe-inspiring.
Every Emotion and Desire imaginable was on display for Raven to see.
Many were pleasant, from Happiness and Satisfaction at a job well done or scoring a big promotion, to Relief and Hope at finally getting a desperately needed job or finding out a Friend or Loved One was going to be ok, to finally Love and Companionship at spending time with people you cared about deeply.
Just as many were not so pleasant, however, and the sorceress always made sure to pay close attention to any strong feelings of Anger, Rage, Resentment, Fear, Desperation, Despair, or Hopelessness she could detect.
Especially if they were also tinged with an undercurrent of Malice and Selfishness.
Such emotions were very often an indicator of someone who either needed help, or needed to be put behind bars.
Fortunately, there weren't very many of the latter around right now.
The former, however…
Raven tensed as she suddenly felt a very young spirit within her current range light up with Sadness and Despair, and she immediately raced to the child's location with haste, speeding up as the sound of a little girl's agonized wails reached her ears…
…only to promptly come to a screeching halt and let out an explosive sigh that was both exasperated and sad as she looked down at the scene below her with a deep frown.
The girl, who couldn't have been more than seven, was on her knees, bawling her eyes out as she desperately tried to gather up the scattered, broken pieces of an antique porcelain doll off the sidewalk and put them back together while her distraught mother tried in vain to comfort her grief-stricken daughter.
The various passerby's were giving the scene a wide berth as they surreptitiously glanced at the pair with varying degrees of Discomfort and Annoyance at the child's ceaseless crying, doubtlessly thinking she was merely throwing a huge tantrum over a broken toy.
The sorceress knew better though.
The intensity of the emotions she could feel coming from both the girl and her mother made it crystal clear to Raven that doll was very special to the child.
Likely a gift or hand-me-down from a possibly deceased grandparent given its apparent age that had shattered when the girl had tripped over something, if the tiny scrapes on her arms and legs were anything to go by.
And now the child was likely going to blame herself for destroying her precious heirloom because she made a clumsy mistake…
…
Well, that wouldn't do at all, now would it?
The sorceress silently teleported to the shadows of a nearby alley and checked to make sure nobody was looking before her eyes glowed as she reached out to gently brush against the girl's spirit.
Psst, hey.
The child abruptly stopped crying and stiffened in Shock and Confusion as she frantically looked around for the source of the ghostly psychic whisper before Raven immediately moved to reassure her.
Shhhh, it's alright little one, I mean you no harm. Look over here.
The girl gulped and looked over to where the sorceress had instructed, only for her eyes to immediately go as wide as dinner plates as she saw one of her City's beloved Heroes standing there watching her from the shadows.
Raven offered her a kind smile before putting a finger to her lips and silently beckoning the stunned child to follow her deeper into the alley.
Follow me, and make sure you bring all the pieces of your doll with you.
Chuckling softly at the tsunami of Hope and Excitement that slammed into her at that, the sorceress turned and walked into the alley before waiting patiently for the little one to arrive.
She didn't have to wait long.
The sound of tiny shoes rapidly padding on the pavement quickly grew closer before the girl rounded the corner at breakneck speed and came to a screeching halt in front of the deeply amused sorceress, who gave the little scamp an indulgent look as she lowered her hood.
"PLEASEFIXHERMISSRAVEN!" the girl begged in a rapid-fire manner that would have impressed Wally as she held out arms full of shattered porcelain.
Raven chuckled again before giving the child a smile and nod as her breathless mother rounded the corner of the alley as well.
"SARAH! What on EARTH has gotten into…!" she demanded furiously, only for her question to die on her lips as she stared wide-eyed at the sorceress, who inclined her head to the woman before returning her attention to Sarah.
Raising a darkly glowing hand, Raven enveloped the pieces of the doll in her magical aura and gently floated them out of the girl's arms before expertly rearranging them into their proper place.
Casting a critical eye over the cracked doll as she slowly turned it in the air to make sure everything was in order, the sorceress gave a satisfied nod before casting a spell she had learned after taking Timmy under her wing that had seen a lot of use with his precious blanket.
"Azarath Metrion Zinthos."
The cracks marring the doll's surface abruptly sealed themselves shut at her command, and in an instant the doll was whole once more as Raven slowly lowered it into Sarah's eagerly awaiting hands.
"CYNTHIA! YOU'RE OK!" the girl exclaimed as she hugged the doll tightly, jumping up and down in pure, unadulterated Joy as she did so while the sorceress let out a contented sigh at the overwhelming Happiness and Gratitude that washed over her, before grunting slightly as Sarah slammed into her long, shapely legs like a missile.
"OH THANK YOU MISS RAVEN! THANK YOU SO MUCH!" she cried out exuberantly, tears of joy running down her face as she looked up at Raven with a radiant smile while the sorceress chuckled and rubbed her head affectionately.
"You're welcome, Sarah," she said warmly as she allowed the hug to continue for a few more seconds before gently shooing the overeager tyke away and kneeling down to her level. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better. Cynthia must be very important to you for you to get so sad when she broke."
Sarah nodded sadly, her smile fading.
"She is, Miss Raven," she replied somberly, clutching the doll tightly to her chest as a wave of Sadness and Grief emanated from both her and her mother, who was watching quietly a short distance away. "She's all I have left of Nana after…"
The child fell silent, and Raven frowned briefly at her hypothesis being correct before reaching out and putting a hand on the girl's shoulder.
"I see. In that case, I better make sure she doesn't break so easily next time," she said simply before smirking and raising a hand at Sarah's confused look. "Azarath Metrion Zinthos."
The sorceress waved a darkly glowing hand again and the doll glowed black and purple for a brief moment before returning to normal as she cast a basic Reinforcement spell that had also seen a lot of use with that damned blanket.
"There, now she shouldn't break so easily anymore," she explained with a smug little smile as the girl looked at her in awe, before her face firmed a bit and she continued in a slightly more stern voice. "Even so, you need to be more careful from now on, ok Sarah?"
"I will Miss Raven! I promise!" Sarah agreed eagerly with several affirming nods as Raven gave her an approving look in turn. "Oh, how can I ever thank you!?!"
The sorceress just chuckled.
"There's no need to thank me, child. I'm a Hero, and one of a Hero's jobs is to look after little girls like you," she replied gently in a warm, gracious voice, before beckoning the girl closer and whispering conspiratorially in her ear. "Though I would appreciate it if you keep this between us. I've got an image to maintain, and don't want anyone thinking I'm going soft. So let's just make this Our Little Secret, ok little one?"
Sarah giggled cutely.
"Ok Miss Raven. I promise I won't tell anyone else," she whispered back before shooting Raven a mischievous look. "And I promise, I'll make sure Mommy doesn't say anything either. She's got a really big mouth sometimes."
The sorceress let out a rare bark of laughter at that.
Eat your heart out, Garfield.
"Good girl, Sarah," she said kindly before pressing something in the girl's hand and smiling as she gasped in delight to see it was a red gemstone identical to the one Raven had on her forehead. "You run along now. And be good."
Sarah squealed with delight and glomped the sorceress once again, babbling a nonstop stream of thanks and promises that she would as Raven indulgently returned the hug for a few seconds before gently shooing the girl away once more.
"Thank you," her mother said warmly as Sarah darted back to her side, the older woman positively radiating Gratitude as the sorceress stood and pulled her hood back up. "Thank you so much."
Raven gave her a cordial nod before waving to her daughter one last time and soaring up into the sky.
***
Raven let out a contented sigh as she looked down at Jump City Park from the shadows of a nearby building.
It was late afternoon now, the sun was beginning to descend, and her shift was nearing its end.
All in all, given how quiet it had been and the small, but satisfying victories she'd accomplished, the sorceress could quite confidently call today a resounding success for her and her friends.
It had certainly been a vast improvement over a few days ago, that was for sure, and truth be told Raven was in a rather good mood right now, though only her fellow Titans would probably be able to tell.
She might even deign to cook dinner for everyone, provided of course Garfield's mouth didn't ruin her current good cheer.
Especially since it looked like they might have cause to celebrate, given the way Victor's game was going.
The Tiny Titan's currently had a comfortable lead over the Cougars and the game was entering the final inning, so unless their rivals managed to pull out a miracle her adoptive family's most favored baseball team had this in the bag.
A fact Cyborg was keenly aware of, judging by the way he eagerly and loudly shouted a nonstop stream of enthusiastic encouragement to the Tiny Titan's while also hurling an equally loud and non-stop barrage of (G-rated and mostly good-natured) abuse at the Cougar's coach, radiating giddy Happiness and fierce Pride as he did so.
The sorceress couldn't help but give a proud little smile of her own at seeing her friend so happy and full of life, completely in his element and not showing so much as an ounce of shame or embarrassment for his robotic appearance as the crowd all cheered enthusiastically for their Hero, even if she didn't much care for the game itself.
As much as she eventually grew to appreciate Garfield and Victor's ceaseless efforts to help her have fun and make her feel included, Raven had never been much of a sports person and likely never would be.
She detested large crowds and being in the spotlight and much preferred quieter, more intellectually stimulating hobbies and pursuits in her downtime like reading, chess, and puzzle solving, and got more than enough exercise during Combat Practice and their constant battles against the Forces of Evil.
They made Cyborg and the kids happy, however, and that was more than enough for her.
And even the sorceress had to admit to being rather touched and flattered so many of the Little and Junior League Teams around Jump had started naming and modeling themselves after her and her friends to show their support for their beloved Heroes, and the Titans had made sure to return said support whenever they could.
Raven had to be careful not to show too much support, however, or else Victor would ruthlessly exploit her well-hidden soft spot for young children to drag her into refereeing for his games.
The bastard.
Seriously, having cute little kids use eyes like that on empaths like her should be a war crime.
Regardless, the sorceress was quite content observing the game from a safe distance like this, and so settled into a cross-legged sitting position as she continued to watch from the rooftop in a silent show of support for her friend and his team.
She knew that with his onboard computer tracking their Communicator's locations at all times, Cyborg was well aware of her presence here.
And it didn't take him long to use that fact to his advantage either as he soon surreptitiously pointed out her location to his team, and Raven immediately felt the Tiny Titan's Determination to win skyrocket with the knowledge that another one of their Heroes was secretly watching them play, much to her fondly exasperated amusement.
Victor's tactic to further motivate his team proved quite effective, as the sorceress's quiet encouragement pushed the Tiny Titan's to play like children possessed, and by the end of it all a comfortable lead had turned into a landslide victory as the little madlads utterly dominated the final inning, much to the frustration of the Cougar's poor coach.
"BOOYAH!" Cyborg belted out his signature catchphrase so loudly Raven could hear it clear from where she was as the victorious Tiny Titan's all gathered joyously around their huge coach while he lifted the boy who had hit the finishing home run up onto his shoulders.
Smiling at the Pride and Happiness she could feel shining from Victor and the children like the sun, the sorceress stood up and moved out of the shadows just enough for the Tiny Titans to get a clear look at her as she inclined her head to them and reached out to gently brush against their spirits.
Way to go, champs, Raven said warmly in their minds, her own Pride at their accomplishment causing the children to all stand up straighter at the simple but profound praise before she withdrew from the psychic contact and walked away, their boundless Gratitude still echoing in her head.
Yep, this was definitely cause to celebrate.
"Raven reporting in, everything's All Clear on my end," the sorceress reported briskly into her Communicator before continuing in a much softer voice. "And Cyborg and the Tiny Titans won their game."
A delighted gasp sounded out from the little device and Starfire's radiantly beaming face appeared on the tiny screen.
"Glorious! This is most wonderful news!" she exclaimed joyously as Raven cracked a small grin at her friend's infectious enthusiasm. "Oh I knew our little bumgorfs could do it! We must celebrate their victory with a most joyous feast!"
"I'll cook," the sorceress offered with a wry, indulgent smile, which widened slightly at Kori's happy cheer as Dick's smirking face appeared on her Communicator.
"I think I know why their game went so well," he said with a knowing voice as Raven rolled her eyes fondly at his faux accusing tone. "Your Communicator didn't move from the Park's location for the last hour of your shift Raven. You been slacking off?"
The sorceress snorted.
"Just thought I'd show Cyborg and 'our little bumgorfs' some support since it's been so quiet today," she drawled with half-lidded eyes as Nightwing's grin widened and Starfire giggled in amusement before raising a questioning eyebrow at her leader. "You gonna write me up Nightwing?"
Dick hummed in thought.
"I should," he replied in a faux serious tone of voice as he gave her a mockingly stern glare, before a playful smirk crossed his face. "But given how well the Tiny Titan's game went, I guess I'll let it slide this time."
"And I shall let slide that you've been monitoring our Communicators when you're supposed to be relaxing," Kori cut in haughtily as Nightwing flinched and muttered darkly under his breath at his girlfriend's rebuke while Raven looked on in amusement.
"Speaking of monitoring our Communicators, has anyone heard from Beast Boy? I haven't gotten a call from him in a couple of hours and he's usually the first to be here whenever Cyborg wins a game," she asked with a slight tinge of worry entering her voice as Starfire and Dick's faces sobered at the question.
"I have not. And Beast Boy did not respond when I texted him about Cyborg's victory either," Kori replied in a concerned tone as the sorceress's and Nightwing's frowns both deepened at the answer.
"Hold on," he said in a low voice as he tapped a few buttons on the console he was sitting at. "Says here his Communicator's still intact and hasn't moved in a while-... oh."
"Nightwing?" Raven asked sharply as she and Starfire both tensed at Dick's sad tone and the way his shoulders slumped in dismay.
"He's at… that place again," he informed them mournfully as both women immediately deflated sadly at the news.
Oh Garfield…
"Raven, you're the closest to him right now. Can you…?" Nightwing asked hesitantly, only to be cut off by a firm nod from the sorceress.
"Of course," she answered quietly without hesitation as she looked off in the direction of her new objective. "I'll go get him and meet you all back at the Tower. Raven out."
Closing her Communicator, Raven sighed before slowly rising into the air and heading off to her destination, and it wasn't long before it came into sight.
A quaint, old-fashioned little diner nestled snugly in a small lot surrounded by taller buildings, inside which several teenagers and adults that had just gotten off school or work were happily eating dinner and chatting amicably with each other.
Garfield was sitting on the roof of one of the surrounding buildings, staring at the diner with a wistful look on his face.
Or rather, at one of the patrons who was sitting at a table near one of the restaurant's windows quietly enjoying a nice slice of pie.
A tall, blue-eyed girl with long, straight blonde hair.
