Chapter Text
The days of 2014 blurred together for Raven, until summer was near. Tutors after tutors, teaching her the details about Earth's history and some of the sciences Azarath had not known. She picked up history quickly enough because of the various details she'd learned in Hell from the damned when she granted them brief reprieve from torment for their life stories. The science lessons were more of a mixed bag. Physics and Chemistry were just a few rules with math. Getting a basic grounding in biology and geology went less well.
Then there were the nightmares. Standing in a field of death and feeling she was responsible. Sitting on a dark throne. Seeing all she loved dying in front of her. Kneeling and swearing fealty to Trigon. And she remembered all of them perfectly.
At Mr. Kent's suggestion, she looked up two side activities, to show on "college applications" though she only had a vague memory of what that meant. Tai Chi classes went well with her meditations, and she started immediately. She would have to wait until school started to join Drama Club, but the concept of getting into different mindsets appealed to her.
There were a couple major events in the late winter. Batman and Robin took down someone called Dollmaker and something called the Court of Owls. Then Robin left as Damian for a monastery. It would be good for him; he needed some inner balance.
Raven resolved to offer to teach Damian some of her meditation techniques she'd learned from the monks Azarath, and see how they compared to anything Damian learned.
And there was a huge breakout from prisons across the nation. She kept a list of names to listen for, but otherwise left matters to the heroes. Bane, The Elite (were they a group?), Joker, Killer Frost, Livewire, Mad Mod, Mumbo Jumbo, Poison Ivy, Riddler, Scarecrow, and Two-Face (Raven tried to not think about how she had two forms, each with a face of their own) were the big names, but a number of lesser gang members were also still on the loose.
All of that was secondary to the start of summer, when Mr. Kent asked, "Raven, what would you think about staying with a small group of others with powers for a couple months, until school starts? They're called the Teen Titans."
"What do they do?" Raven asked cautiously.
"Mostly, they act as heroes for Jump City. I thought staying with them would give you a better look at the superpowered community. But you're not to join them in fighting villains. It wouldn't be healthy at your age."
"I'm confused," Raven admitted. "You disapprove of someone being involved in heroics when they're too young... but you're sending me there even though you disapprove?"
Mr. Kent glanced down and away. "I'm prepared to be wrong about this. But if I'm right, then their involvement is the right way to be wrong. They have a full hero overseeing them and they usually only fight low-risk villains."
Raven considered the offer.
"I would like to meet them."
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Koriand'r brought Garfield and Jamie to meet their guest. "Hello, Superman. Hello Raven," she said.
Superman smiled. "Hello Starfire."
Raven echoed Superman.
Garfield took a step forward. "So, a new member of the team? How do you fight?"
Kori looked at Garfield. "She doesn't, yet."
Raven didn't seem to shift, yet Kori felt she had. "I'm not supposed to fight villains until I'm 18. But I'm allowed to heal you away from the fight, to watch, and to spar with you."
That matched what Superman had told her.
Superman put a hand on Raven's shoulder. "And to spar with you in your training rooms. I approve of her Tai Chi classes, so I'm fine with some other self-defense training."
Kori smiled. "Then I'll show her the combat simulator."
Training and socializing went well, though Kori noted Raven quickly engrossed herself in the library. Kori took a quick look at the books Raven was reading. They were a combination of learning Latin and Greek as well as some occult books.
"What are you studying?" she asked.
Raven looked up from the books. "I'm working on learning some dream magic. I already have empathic powers, so I want to see what I can do to expand that. But most of the spells are in Latin or Greek." She gestured to the language books. "I've been having nightmares the past few months. I'm hoping it'll let me change them."
"Good luck, and make sure not to forget dinner."
Raven nodded and turned back to her book. "I won't forget."
Kori went to find Raven at dinnertime anyway.
That night, Kori's dreams turned to nightmares.
She saw Raven, her black and blue cloak covered in red and holding a black sword. She saw hordes of demons charging through dark purple portals and conquering the world.
But how? Then she remembered. Dream magic.
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Garfield, aka Beast Boy, dreamed too. He saw Raven transforming into a dark shadow, lances of power spreading and covering the world in darkness unending. He saw the shadow sitting upon a dark throne. A dark sword leaned against the throne.
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Jaime the Blue Beetle dreamed as well. He saw himself standing in blue against a red monster with four eyes and a black sword. He knew the monster was some manner of demon, and her cloak reminded him of Raven.
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Raven's nightmares returned. She saw each of the Titans turning against her. In her dream, they feared and hated her. They knew she was a cambion. She dreamed that they knew the dark rituals she could perform... if only she had reason.
When she woke, she put away the fears and resolved to admit the truth. Either she would get it over with now, or it would keep hanging over her head.
Mr. Kent knowing her secret had turned out well. Why not again? Kori seemed reasonable, though Jaime was unreadable and Garfield would be extreme either way.
During breakfast, she saw the Titans looking at her weirdly. They were also all standing.
"Raven," Kori began. "Did you use any experimental dream magic last night?"
"No. Why?"
Jaime looked nervous. "We all had nightmares about you... and they were similar."
"I can take a guess. Kori, can we talk in private?"
Kori walked over to Raven. "Hallway?"
"That'll do."
"Kori. I'm not sure what you all saw in your dreams. It's probably like my nightmares. ...A few years ago, a powerful demon dragged me to his domain. He wanted to use my sorcery to make a pathway into Earth for him to invade. He also wanted me to be his lieutenant and let me command his armies."
Raven took a breath and continued, "He molded my magic to his needs. I escaped before he could make me want to help him. I think he's been messing with my dreams to try and pull me back to his domain. It's a dark pull. I think he's trying to show me what I could become if I wanted power. When I saw you all looking at me like something weird was going on, I realized ...you might be targets of his dream manipulation, too. Or his power bled out from affecting me."
You know you want the power I offer, daughter. You know you can reign. You were born to rule Earth in my name and to dominate Hell itself. Or Earth. You can take your pick of the two under my regime. But I haven't touched your dreams. Not yet. Not any of you. I Vow it. You know a spirit, even one as powerful as myself, cannot swear a false Vow, and a demon breaks a contract with another demon at their own peril. You count, both receiving and giving Vows.
Raven touched the gem on her head to quiet Trigon. She felt him smirking.
"I think I understand," Kori answered. "Is that gem related to him?"
"Yes. It links me to him, and I don't dare remove it. It might let him into Earth anyway."
"I'll find a way to let Garfield and Jaime know not to be too distressed and not to trust those dreams. Just... I'll look for more dream magic books. The sooner you take care of that, the better."
Raven nodded gratefully. "I meditate to quiet the dreams. A fast will help me focus. I guess I'll see you for dinner. I'll be focusing through lunch. I need to see if that helps."
Raven's studies and training continued through the summer. Her barriers could stop Garfield for a while and Kori or Jaime for a few seconds. All of the Titans could just go around her directional barriers, so she stopped using those as her main defense and switched to flying out of melee and dodging blasts from Jaime and Kori.
Her shadows turned out to be more corporeal than she realized, and she could wipe the training room of all the simulated enemies with just two strikes. Sometimes one, and rarely three.
Kori would regularly beat her in unarmed combat, and Jaime's Scarab gave him long enough sword arms that it was hard to dodge. Part of her wished she'd taken the Ebon-Sword instead of the Mirror of Azar.
At least hand-to-hand training was keeping her in shape, and she was learning a couple new languages for spellcasting. Unfortunately, her slowly-progressing dream magic was only of marginal help against the nightmares.
At last, she brought out the Mirror of Azar.
The ritual mantra echoed through her mind, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos."
The Mirror began to glow.
"Show me what I desire."
She saw herself, surrounded by friends and allies.
"Show me what I fear."
She saw everyone around her dying.
"Show me hope."
The mirror showed her standing among a legion of heroes.
"Show me what I could become."
The mirror twisted and the image split into seven.
She saw herself working as a Titan to handle the myriad threats not worthy of the fewer but stronger threats of the Justice League.
She saw herself dealing and scamming demon lords, stealing their power and using it as she desired.
She saw herself alongside Batman, a ghost, and two sorcerers she'd never met but had heard of: John Constantine and Zatanna Zatara. There was a demon as well, and she vaguely remembered him from the family portraits: Etrigan the Slayer, son of her half-brother Belial.
She saw two images of herself sitting on three thrones made of nightmares: one on Earth, one in Hell, and one on a world she'd never seen. In one image, she served her Father. In the other, he served her.
She saw herself sitting in a Justice League chair, debating with the rest of the League.
Finally, she saw a living mass of shadow and pain. She knew not what the creature she became was, but she knew her name: The Unkindness.
Shaken, she put the Mirror away.