Once Upon a Time [ DICK | INVITE ]

[Raven]

There were many things that came to mind when she came back here, as she looked out towards the sun from the base of the Tower. She glanced as the bright rays shone on her face, ironic how much it illuminated her considering what she really was. A monster. She had it under control on most occasions, she knew this. But deep down inside, she knew it was there. Waiting to come to the surface. Waiting to consume everyone and bring her Father back to this world. That was an interesting word for him, even if it was albeit morbidly correct. Every time she thought of that word...it just made her shake her head.

Father

No, that was never a truly correct word for what he was. Biologically and magically, yes. But a far cry from what their relationship to each other actually was. She was his portal and he was her worst enemy. Her darkest fear. Her biggest weight upon her chest. And she would one day, find a way to truly stop him once and for all. As if one could destroy an eternal interdimensional demon to begin with, let alone Trigon. There were times when she herself was nigh unstoppable when under her demonic influence, what hope was there to stop him. And then, that word came up again.

Hope....

Raven contemplated just what kind of power that word had. And what she was told of it. And more importantly, how she witnessed it's power for herself, time and time again. What was it truly supposed to be? For some, just an emotion. A feeling. A thought in one's mind about what can be. However, Raven noticed that there was more to it than that. So much more, and she saw that in particular in three people.

Gar..

She could fully feel just what was going on within him as she teleported into the Tower, exploring the old home for herself. The one man on her mind who she knew she trusted implicitly and loved with all her heart. The one man who taught her how to love and to feel. To not be afraid of feeling, that not all of her emotions would hurt those around her. A very hard lesson for sure, and one that took years of emotional turmoil to figure out. And he was the one to sort it all out for her, even after everything she did, he still wanted to be around her, let alone love. The world was a strange place indeed, where the bringer of a couple apocalypses could find love and friendship. And that thought brought her to the next person on her mind.

Tim...

The times she remembered, and a good amount of the times she won't ever be able to recall, the one symbol of defiant hope that kept many of them going was Tim. When everything went to Hell, both literally and figuratively, Tim was always the one to let everyone know that 'this isn't the end, things will get better.' That no matter how hopeless the situation was, there was still hope. Granted, he was a bit of a jerk most of the time. But Raven guessed that was from him trying to be too many things at once. So much going on in his head that she'd rather not delve into. And probably one of the biggest things suddenly came to mind as a sense caught her attention.

"Dick."

[dream]

Nightwing, Dick, Richard, they were all the same person. Nightwing was a Superhero that was well-known throughout the City of Gotham. In-fact, he was one of the best superheroes within Gotham to the point. It was morning, sun had risen, it was about ten in the morning. Nightwing was already on a scene, fighting a new criminal gang formed about six months ago within Gotham. The West 7s. Nightwing was in his costume as usual. Guns sprayed all over the streets of San Fransico.

"Get that foo'! He's in the hood!"

The West 7s were formed by a man named Antonio Drewsiske. He was of Italian and Canadian origin. He had been an orphan since the age of seven. From then on he started his criminal life, spray-painting walls. Playing dirty pranks on people. At the age of seventeen he formed this gang. The West 7s. From that day on people of different races have joined the gang. Antonio made the gang because he world government had killed his brother and he was after revenge. Nightwing was fighting minor people of the gang, a chinese guy, two black males and one white male. The Chinese guy shot a bullet at Nightwing. Nightwing dodged and threw a batarang at the man's gun, it went right into the gun, disabling the gun. He then ran at full-speed and delivered a Superman Punch. Nightwing then knocked the white male's gun out of his hand, kicking it. Nightwing then threw a batarang at the man. It hit the man but the man did not knock out. The white individual ran at Dick, throwing punches that Dick continuously dodged. Dick then sweeped the man off his feet and delivered an elbow to the face.

"So that's how you wanna' play nigga'?!"

One of the black men, the overweight one, took out an AK47. The AK47 pulled out his gun and shot Richard. Richard dodged it and then hid in the shadows of the Hood. The men looked around, Nightwing was unpredictable. Nightwing had climbed a house already, that's how quick he was. When the men were looking in the direction Nightwing was not in Nightwing swooped down and delivered a Kick of Justice. His hero had won, Kcid would be proud Nightwing thought. The two men's faces were in the pavement, knocking them out. Nightwing took out the healthier black man's phone out of his pocket and called the police. He talked with the police for a bit and then left the scene.

At that time it was about 11:00 AM and oh boy was Nightwing hungry. Nightwing's stomach growled almost as if it was thunder. Nightwing decided to go to the Tower for lunch today. Nightwing climbed a building and navigated through the rooftops of San Fransico. It was about 11:07 AM when Nightwing reached the tower. Nightwing had taken off his mask near the trash of the building. He also put on his normal clothes and walked in. Nightwing ordered some fries and sat down. Nightwing had sensed a familiar sense. He knew somebody was in the building, it was a familiar feeling. Richard was ready for any surprising attacks. What he did not know that it was one of his old friends.

Raven.

[Raven]

This sense of things had her thinking. That was the third person in her mind who inspired hope, much more so than the other two. Granted, Gar inspired more hope in herself personally. But Raven saw firsthand Dick's ability to inspire people around him and lead others. Better than anyone she had ever seen. It was rare, considering he came from a line of lone wolves in terms of their outlook on things. Raven simply shook her head at the thought of it as she felt many different things. Relief, caution, and hunger? It felt like old times in that sense. The hunger made her curious though. Of all the places, why come here to get something to eat? It wasn't like it stocked itself, unless someone was secretly stocking it with food. She also knew something else about the matter, she was ashamed to show herself to him. After everything she done, even with the being forgiven part of it all, she still remembered. Remembered like it was yesterday. The times that her monster came out and destroyed the lives of those she cared about most. The times her half-brothers made her nearly kill all her friends. Then again, she gave them those specific artifacts to kill her should that happen again, so why did she still feel like she was better off alone? Raven sat down and closed her eyes and within a moment, an astral projection of herself appeared before Dick, not saying anything.

Instead, it simply looked into his eyes, as Raven looked into his eyes from it's perception. It showed her emotion and how she felt to some degree. The shame in it's eyes was evident. Everything she had done, especially to Dick himself. Destroying his wedding, nearly killing him on several occasions, betraying him more than the others in many ways. The monster inside her consumed her being and it was prevalent. She was clearly unable to show herself to Dick, too ashamed to do so. The projection simply walked around the room, looking at everything. The large T.V. that they watched many movies on, including the rather bad ones Gar made them watch. She loved him but he had horrible taste in movies. That simple memory caused a slight smile to appear on her face and the projection's for a moment. She could understand the amazing feeling soon drained as she remembered that she never sat with her friends during those times, pushing herself away. This was for their own safety though, touching Raven could lead to inadvertent penetration into their thoughts and knowledge. It was an invasion of privacy that was not what they deserved. She walked around, the projection looking out the window towards the Bay. Whether here or on the roof or in her room, this was something Raven was very familiar with.

Staring off into the sunset, she remembered how she counted each one, knowing that upon one's rising, she'd lose control and become Trigon's gate to this plane. And yet, with each time he entered, they found a way to push him out. They found a way to win. And that brought her back to what she was thinking about earlier, hope. That tiny little thing that, with enough spark and determination, could conquer anything in it's path. It was strange the way things worked out though. She always brought this upon those around her. Then she remembered, being here could bring her half-brother's to this realm. To here. To Dick. She couldn't let that happen. The projection turned and walked towards Dick, before walking past him, towards the door.

"I should go."

[dream]

About five minutes after Nightwing had ordered, he got his order. A small box of fries. He sat down at a table for one and ate by himself. Still thinking about Raven, she had ruined his wedding with Starfire. Which was something he would still think about, but he was okay with it nowadays. Raven had a demon inside of her, Trigon, an evil monster formed of evil and hatred alone. Nightwing felt sorry for Raven and all that she had to go through. Nightwing was on his third fry when he sensed something. He sensed something, it felt like a Raven. But Raven couldn't be in this tower, but then Nightwing reassured himself. With the life he had, anything was possible at any time of the day. Nightwing popped one more fry into his mouth and stood up.
He sensed something near the stairs, it was coming down, Nightwing had to get ready. Nightwing went to the washroom-that-smelt-like-crap and went into the stall. The stall had human crap on the ground. It didn't matter to Nightwing, Nightwing had to get a job done and he would get it done. Whatever it was, he got ready just in-case it was a criminal. Nightwing then hid in the shadows of the Tower, he didn't want to be seen to cause any fear or nervousness. He then spotted it, Nightwing could not believe it. It was one of his oldest friends, the one he had been thinking of all day. He spotted Raven. Nightwing walked through the shadows of the Tower. He had reached Raven but she had not seen him, he stood in the shadows of San Fransisco until he made his move. When she was alone he walked up to her. She was alone, he was about three feet away from her.

"Well hello old friend. We meet again!" Nightwing said in his best Alfred impersonation.

Nightwing slowly walked over to her. He hadn't seen her in a while. He hoped the demon inside of her improved. Dick walked up to her.

"Hey Raven."

Nightwing noticed she looked a bit on the dark side, but she always looked like that. That stupid Trigon was probably still bothering her.

"How're you doing Raven? How's it been without us? Without you here it has felt like a piece of the puzzle was missing." Dick said with a big smile on his face. He wanted to make Raven forget about the past and about Trigon. But that was like chasing a cheetah with your bare bare feet.

After a while of following her Nightwing realized this person wasn't real. It was a holograph, a projectile. Nightwing punched projectile. It definitively was fake. Nightwing knew to cast a holograph you had to be near-by and Nightwing now knew Raven was near-by. Nightwing closed onto the tower. He ran back at full-speed, within seconds he was there. He cracked open a vent and got in. He knew this was the main vent of the building, he was in this building a couple of times and he knew the outline of the building, from top to bottom. Dick ran through the vents, tracking down Raven. Nightwing knew she was probably alone and then he was at the top-floor. Raven liked high spots. Dick then spotted Raven, she was staring into San Fransisco. Nightwing sneaked through the vent and climbed to the roof of the tower. He sat there and spoke to her. The same words he said to the holograph.

[Raven]

The Projection dissipated as Dick went to look for her. She knew that was his intent, both just from knowing him and the actual fact she could read the curiosity he emanated from his mind. Sometimes it was just that obvious, even without her empathic abilities. As he arrived, he repeated himself, much to Raven's chagrin.

"I heard you the first time, my projection comes with ears, remember?"

Raven said with a slightly distasteful tone as she levitated upwards while still in her meditative stance. She focused on the many different things that could transpire. She had an unfair advantage, she knew his intents. She knew what he wanted and why he wanted it. Sometimes she wish she could turn it off so people could surprise her. Granted, people have surprised her before though, especially her friends.

"You know, rebuilding my home dimension that I destroyed on my last rampage that I nearly killed my friends during. If you're looking for a puzzle piece with sharp edges, then here I am."

Raven said in a gloomy tone towards Dick, still remembering very clearly what she had done the last time her demonic influence took her over. It was why she gave them the artifacts that if used together could kill her and her brothers. She sighed to herself at these thoughts as her legs slowly lowered till her feet hit the ground as she opened her eyes and looked towards Dick.

"I'll only put you in danger again by being here. If they know I'm here, they will come. And they will turn me. I can't resist them all. You'll all get killed. Or You'll have to kill me again. That's probably the best solution for everyone, if I just disappear."

Raven said as she fought to keep herself in check. She could already feel it. They were in this dimension, they sensed her presence. And they would come for her. She could no longer go back to Azarath now, or else she'd lead them there. She knew this was a mistake. The best thing she could do now was just stay focused. If she lead them to an isolated dimension, she could lock a large amount of their power in that dimension before they turned her. Or something that allowed them to not be a completely unstoppable force. They were very far away right now. The only reason they wouldn't teleport directly to her was probably because of Sloth. That, she thanked the heavens for silently as she simply looked away from Dick, still unsure of what to do. But she knew what she couldn't do: She couldn't help.

[dream]

"I'll only put you in danger again by being here. If they know I'm here, they will come. And they will turn me. I can't resist them all. You'll all get killed. Or You'll have to kill me again. That's probably the best solution for everyone, if I just disappear."

Those couple of sentences stung Nightwing right in the heart. Nightwing had heard of Raven's brothers but had never encountered them before. He knew if they found Raven it would only endanger them again. But they were a team, they were going to form the New Titans, they would be unstoppable.

"Raven. I know your brothers would put us in danger. But we're all there for you. You know that? All of us together could take them down. You just have to believe. Believe."

Dick looked at Raven. Dick was going to reform the original Teen Titans once again. Nightwing knew he couldn't fight everything by himself. He knew that he needed to reform them as soon as possible and create a force that was literally unstoppable. But right now wasn't the time to ask Raven. Raven was a hard person to speak with.

"We're a team. We will be there for you. You know that right? If we aren't willing to risk our lives for a sake of one teammate then we shouldn't be called a team."

Nightwing was trying to reason with Raven. He was trying to reassure her and when she had gained his full trust he would ask her about joining the Original Teen Titans.

“Think of us like the sea. Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

Nightwing was constantly trying to turn Raven's thinking around. He wanted to change her and by joining the Teen Titans that would eventually happen.

[Raven]

Raven pondered and observed as she listened to Dick talk about what was a team, and what it meant to be a team. She remembered what that was like. More importantly however, was how much he was trying. It reminded her of the hope they all seemed to have. That no matter what, things would just work out. That everything would be ok.

"You can't defeat them...I've tried, believe me. It isn't like going up against Deathstroke or Brother Blood, they aren't mortal. And neither am I. We can't truly be destroyed. But you can."

Raven pointed out rather bleakly as she went back to the day when she first met her 'loving' family from her 'father'. It was an experience that was both terrible and addicting. She wanted to say she hated every bit of it but truly, the feeling of that much power was quite an intoxicating feeling. It was for that reason why she couldn't be forced to put her friends through that again. It also brought another thought.

"You say you are...no, that we as a team are unstoppable....that we are an 'ocean.' But tell me this Dick...what if the villain you have to destroy...the enemy you must drown...is me? What will you do if I am the one that becomes your enemy? What if I lose control and start trying to kill you all again? Do you have a clever speech for that?"

Raven said as she shook her head. She didn't want to be the one to bring it up but it was the facts of the situation. Her demonic nature could rear it's ugly head at anytime. And what could they do? There was only one thing they could do. They would have to destroy her again. Raven sighed to herself as she thought about a couple things and she closed her eyes. Levitating above the ground once more, a shadowy silhouette left her body and phased through the doors of the Tower. Her Soul-Self searching throughout the tower as she meditated on the situation. He wasn't completely wrong. Perhaps there was hope and perhaps Gar was truly right about the concept of 'embracing the good'. Perhaps this was that 'good' he spoke of. There was no harm in trying.

"I have conditions."

Raven said simply as she opened her eyes. Her feet lightly falling to the ground as she returned to a standing position once more. She focused her energy for a moment as she felt the determination in Dick's mind. He wouldn't back down from this, a trait she herself admired greatly. Perhaps he could make this work after all. As she turned towards Dick, a black swirl of energy appeared in her hands, before disappearing as her Soul-Self teleported three strange items into her hands. She showed them once to Tim, but never to Dick.

"My first condition and the most important one of them is this. These are three very powerful artifacts left behind by Azar. The first, the Ring of Azarath. If I'm taken over by my demonic self, you can wear the ring and your strikes will harm me and stun me. The second, is the Jewel of Azar. It's a necklace that if a demon is forced to look into it, forces their power inside of themselves, maybe even out of the dimension entirely. You will use these to subdue my demonic form. And if they don't work..."

Raven said while the first two items floated within Dick's reach, a third presented itself. It was what appeared to be a jagged bone, but it also had a hilt and a handle. It appeared to be a distorted dagger of some sort. On it's bladed shape, where numerous symbols and runes, clearly a magical item that was deceptive in it's appearance.

"...Azar's Fang. If you cannot stop me with the first two, you definitely will with this. However, this will not subdue a demon. It will kill that demon. And Richard, this is the most important part. If you cannot stop me with the first two artifacts, you must use this and kill me. I want you to promise me that should the time come for it, you will not hesitate. And you will destroy me."

[dream]

"My first condition and the most important one of them is this. These are three very powerful artifacts left behind by Azar. The first, the Ring of Azarath. If I'm taken over by my demonic self, you can wear the ring and your strikes will harm me and stun me. The second, is the Jewel of Azar. It's a necklace that if a demon is forced to look into it, forces their power inside of themselves, maybe even out of the dimension entirely. You will use these to subdue my demonic form. And if they don't work..."

Raven said while the first two items floated within Dick's reach, a third presented itself. It was what appeared to be a jagged bone, but it also had a hilt and a handle. It appeared to be a distorted dagger of some sort. On it's bladed shape, where numerous symbols and runes, clearly a magical item that was deceptive in it's appearance.

"...Azar's Fang. If you cannot stop me with the first two, you definitely will with this. However, this will not subdue a demon. It will kill that demon. And Richard, this is the most important part. If you cannot stop me with the first two artifacts, you must use this and kill me. I want you to promise me that should the time come for it, you will not hesitate. And you will destroy me."

Richard gripped the three very important objects into his hands. He clenched them in one hand and made a fast. He looked at the Raven's feet, thoughts buzzing around in his mind. If he had to destroy Raven he would. With that decided Richard turned his gaze straight to Raven's eyes.

"If you wish for me to do that. I will do it. But I know you will not turn back on us. I know I will not have to use the Azar's Fang."

Richard knew the time had come to ask Raven a very important question, a question that was pestering Dick throughout the course of the day. If she joined the Original Titans once again that would be great. Raven was a vital point in the Teen Titans lineup and he needed to recruit her once more. Richard stared at Raven and then finally spoke.

"We've been through a lot together. We've shared some good times and bad times. But in the end it doesn't matter. Now, to the point. I want you to join the Original Titans once more. I want you to live and die as a Titan."

Nightwing hoped for the best. But if she rejected it Nightwing would understand. Nightwing understood what Raven was going through emotionally.

[Raven]

As Raven listened to him, she offered him something that anyone that knew Raven knew was a rare commodity: A genuine, happy smile. The fact he was able to quickly agree made her happy. He didn't try to convince her that there had to be other ways like Tim and Rose did. She sighed to herself as she pondered about the concept of having a family again. It was a very warming feeling to know that people still cared about her, even after all she did. She wondered what that meant for her. Maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the monster she thought she was.

"Gar."

Raven said with a tone that Dick would understand very well.The tone stated a sort of understanding, because quite simply she understood the way Dick was feeling about everything because of her empathic ability. It was a sort of 'yeah, I know, I know' type of tone. She implied one simple thing.

"You two don't exactly see eye to eye. I don't expect that to change. I do however, expect you two to try to behave around each other. I'll handle Gar's manners if you can handle yours. Because quite simply, I won't do this without him. I need him. You get him, you get me. That's my other condition. I doubt he'll say no, so you at least have that."

Raven said with a smirk. She knew they weren't friends but also knew Dick would find a way. And if all else failed, he'd approach her about it and she could give her insight on the matter. Regardless, she had other thoughts on her mind. Dick was good at many things, finding people was equally one of them. Raven however, was better in that regard.

"So, how exactly do you expect to rebuild us with just us two? A Billboard? A Cartoon? No offense Dick but you don't exactly have the means to find and gather every single one of us. You know, since most of us can fly, teleport or just live in other dimensions like myself. Or would you rather I handle the 'finding people' part of the matter? And who else are you looking for in this Titans holy grail? Have you even thought this out at all?"

Raven chided towards him, morely because she wanted to hear the answers than read them out of Dick's head. Telepathy wasn't all that exciting for her and she preferred to only use it when necessary. That and the fact that she was genuinely curious as to what they were doing next.

[dream]

"Gar."


"You two don't exactly see eye to eye. I don't expect that to change. I do however, expect you two to try to behave around each other. I'll handle Gar's manners if you can handle yours. Because quite simply, I won't do this without him. I need him. You get him, you get me. That's my other condition. I doubt he'll say no, so you at least have that."

That person, that person Nightwing despised greatly. They weren't exactly friends. But Dick had to cooperate with friends of Raven. Nightwing clenched his fists, he hated Gar. But he knew Gar had gotten older, Nightwing hoped he matured. Raven told Nightwing to control his manners and Nightwing nodded. If Gar was under control, he could be under control. Who knows? They might end up as friends.


"So, how exactly do you expect to rebuild us with just us two? A Billboard? A Cartoon? No offense Dick but you don't exactly have the means to find and gather every single one of us. You know, since most of us can fly, teleport or just live in other dimensions like myself. Or would you rather I handle the 'finding people' part of the matter? And who else are you looking for in this Titans holy grail? Have you even thought this out at all?"

Nightwing had planned this out, Nightwing always thought two steps ahead. Nightwing was maybe, the most intelligent of all the Teen Titans.

"Yes. I have thought this out. That's why I came for you first. I wanted you to help me find them. Seems like you will help me find them, hopefully and the next on the list? I am looking for Cyborg, Starfire and Beast Boy. The others that were in our group, I can't seem to locate them. I can tell you the locations of Beast Boy and Starfire."

With that said, Nightwing told what he knew and where he thought his long lost lover Starfire would be and where the long lost green guy was.

"I guess we seperate here. I am thinking of refurbishing the Titans Tower. Adieu."