Fan Fiction ❯ Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You ❯ Normality ( Chapter 21 )

Anything, Anytime, Anywhere, For You

 

Chapter Twenty-One

“Normality”

 

DarkSin: As always I'm grinning from ear to ear while reading your review. I spent the whole day Wednesday working on this chapter; so I hope you enjoy it.

 

scathac's warrior: That wasn't a cliffie! Originally I was going to make chapter twenty end with Raven falling and leaving the possibility of her death; that would have been a cliffie. What I did was just a . . . umm . . . semi-cliffie. Yeah, that's it, a semi-cliffie. Heh. Okay, I'll behave from now on.

 

Pickles12: Nope! Not even close to being over. I still have ideas. The part of the story that takes place on Tamaran is over; but our heroes still have a long way to go before they reach “the end”. Heh, and I hope you enjoy this new chapter.

 

IllegalDayNightSnappingIguana: There was no cliffhanger! I had to throw that last line in there in order to assure everyone that the story was not at an ending. As for how long I'm going to make it? I honestly don't know. It depends on two things. How long I can continue it with quality and originality; and how long people are willing to read it. If I think the storylines and plots are losing originality and quality; I'm going to end it. And if people stop reading it, I'm going to end it. However, as long as I can keep making this story and feel like I'm working hard on it, and as long as people continue to read and enjoy it; I will continue it. Anyway . . . I'm sure your story is good; angsty stuff is always good. At least in my opinion. Heh, I used to be obessed with Takari too; not so much anymore, but I still read a good one every now and then. Heh, anyway, thank you for your review; and I hope you enjoy all the new plot twists I've thrown in for this chapter.

 

MegamiRhiannon: Indeed you were the 100th review; and I thank you very much for it. ^^ And I'm delighted to hear you enjoyed the last sentence. I had to throw that one in there because chapter twenty had a “The End” feeling to it, to me anyway; and this story isn't over yet. Not sure how long it will be, but it's going to be going on for a while longer - I still have ideas. ^^

 

Inuluvsu: I'm glad to hear you say you still love the story; and I'm sorry about the song still being stuck in your head. Hehe, of course now I'm about to go see the website for this “egg song”, since you were nice enough to leave it. ^^ Sounds . . . interesting. Oh, and thanks for your review; it's been a while since I got one from Mediaminer. Anyway, enjoy today's chapter and good luck with the song mi amigo.

 

 

A/N: There's a lot of stuff about Trigon's origins in this chapter; and all of it is made up. As far as I know, no one had ever explained Trigon's origins. Not in the original comic, not in the animated show, not in the new comic series; it's never been gotten into. So I made it all up. If anyone knows some actual stuff about Trigon's origins, I'd love to hear it; but for the purposes of AAAFY we're going to have to go by my version. (Mainly `cause changing it now would void the plot.) Anyway, enough talking - time for story.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

It had taken twelve days since their “final battle” on Tamaran for Raven to awaken from her coma. It took another six for Titan's Tower to return to normal. Of course, what is considered normal for five teenage superheroes is still strange for the rest of the world. It was a slow process; trying to return to the way things had been before their trip. Moreover, some things would not change. The romances that were formed on the trip were here to stay, it seemed.

 

Robin and Starfire, whose romance had not been a shock to anyone, were doing fine. They were much more open with their affection these days; since that had been the entire point of the Trials. They would still receive a hard time from their friends - Cyborg did not consider his morning complete until he had teased the two about something - but that was nothing new.

 

Beast Boy remained at Raven's side, despite her awakening from the coma. She did not seem to mind his company; although he was forced to knock before entering her room. (It seemed that rule couldn't be broken by anyone, not even the boyfriend.) Raven was in much higher spirits herself these days. The coma was over, and she was slowly regaining her strength. By the sixth day, she was moving about the tower once again as if nothing had happened at all. This was ironic, considering she had changed the most of anyone.

 

On the outside, Raven was still Raven. She was still gothic, quiet and slightly creepy. The difference was she now acted this way by choice. Her emotions were under her control for the first time in her life; and she was still learning to adjust. She laughed a lot more now, and she and Beast Boy, while nowhere near Robin and Starfire's level, had been caught snuggling on the couch a few times themselves. The change was for the better; Beast Boy insisted. Raven agreed. She would not go as far as to say she was a completely new person - Raven was still Raven - but she had to admit there were many changes in who she was; and she liked them.

 

It had taken a full eighteen days since Trigon and Slade were defeated; but things were back to normal. Tamaran - and everything that had happened there - was still fresh in everyone's minds; but it was also becoming a series of memories. Many memories better than others; but overall, a good experience.

 

The return to Jump City also meant the return to responsibility. The usual habits and practices had to be re-adjusted. The T-Car, R-Cycle and Beast Boy's prized moped all needed to be tuned once again (a task Cyborg volunteered himself for). Training was part of their day-to-day lives again; although it was doubtful that the trip had dulled their skills, if anything it had improved them. Then of course, there was the biggest part of their lives - the one thing they all shared in common. The thing that had introduced and united the five teenagers in the first place.

 

Crime fighting.

 

Luckily, they had caught a break since their return. Slade was gone; and he had really been the worst Jump had to offer. The HIVE children were still under incarceration at the local police department, thanks to Doug, and many of their other “regular enemies” were absent lately. Johnny Rancid had tried a few tricks not long ago; but he was now safely behind bars. It was not until their eighteenth day back that the Titans really had any crime to fight at all. This time in came in two forms. Neither was dangerous; but both were, well, annoying.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

Downtown.

 

There was always something going on downtown. Today a strange man in a strange black-and-white suit was standing in the middle of the street. His name was Dr. Light; and he was a “super villain”; although he had never done anything outstanding when it came to committing crimes. Right now, he was not even breaking the law. He was merely standing in the middle of the street with a long metal pole in his hand, tapping the ground as he walked.

“No, not here either, dammit where could it be?” Light muttered to himself.

 

“Hey dude, whatcha doing?”

Dr. Light, a little disgruntled from being called `dude', turned around. Two youngsters were standing on the side of the road looking at him. The first was short and round with a pink pudgy face and big chocolate eyes; he wore a baseball cap, dark sweater and jeans. The second was a girl, smaller than he was and dressed in red shorts and a matching T-shirt. Her hair was blonde, her build was slim and her eyes were blue.

 

“Are you talking to me?” Dr. Light asked, flabbergasted that kids would just walk right up and talk to him. They did realize he was a “terrifying” supervillian, didn't they?

 

“Yeah. Whatcha doing?” The little girl asked.

 

“I . . . I'm hatching an evil scheme.” Dr. Light responded, still a little shaken up.

 

“What kind of evil scheme, mister?” The boy asked.

 

Dr. Light was not sure if he was more annoyed or shocked by their reaction. Well, it couldn't hurt to give an evil monolog anyway; so why not? After all, was it so uncommon for supervillian to just stand around and announce their plans to no on in particular?

 

“Well, I'm trying to locate a specific spot on the city's power grid, so I can drain all of the electricity in the city into my suit here. Then I will plunge this city into darkness unless my demands are met!” Dr. Light explained dramatically. The kids looked unimpressed.

 

“What's a power grid?” The boy asked.

“We'll still have the sun right?” The girl pointed out. “So it won't really be that dark except at nighttime, and it's dark then anyway . . .”

 

Dr. Light blinked. “T-that isn't the point! What about TV?”

 

“We can read.” The boy responded.

Dr. Light really had not expected that answer. “Yeah, well, what about your refrigerators? And toasters! And your microwaves! How will you survive without microwaves!?”

 

The children stood on the street corner, looking unimpressed. Apparently, a world without microwaves was not their deepest fear. Dr. Light felt rather foolish now. These children had taken all the fun out of his job. Still, he was convinced that if he could just steal the electricity for a week he'd change everyone's minds. They'd be crawling to him. Everyone from bank tellers trying to open electronic vaults; to children wanting to use the toaster on their hot pockets. He could rule the entire city! He knew he could; and no one was going to stop him. After all, what did he have to be afraid of?

 

“Just get lost!” He snapped at the children. Much to his pleasant surprise, the turned around and ran off down the street. Dr. Light crossed his arms and allowed a smug little smile to etch itself on his face. He was scary after all.

 

“Boo.”

 

Dr. Light heard the voice, and then he froze. It sounded familiar; a little too familiar for his taste. Dr. Light slowly turned his head over his right shoulder to find Raven hovering above the ground behind him. Beast Boy stood at her side.

 

“Damn it.” Light cursed, shutting his eyes. He'd wasted all his time monologing with those kids; and now the Titans had shown up. What's worse, of all the Titans, Raven was by far his least favorite. She was always the one to stop him. Now Raven and Beast Boy were standing behind Dr. Light. Neither of them had bothered to take a battle stance yet. Dr. Light was tempted to attack them; but another idea had sprung into his mind that seemed a lot safer.

“Can I just turn myself in?” Dr. Light asked with a sigh.

 

“It'll be less painful for you if you do.” Beast Boy replied.

 

Really, Dr. Light had no interest in just turning himself in; but memories of his earlier encounters with Raven were still floating around in his mind, and he preferred prison. “Okay, let's go to jail then.” The doctor sighed.

 

“Crime fighting's become a lot easier than I remembered.” Raven smirked.

“And a lot more boring.” Beast Boy complained. “I wonder if things are this slow for Robin and the others.”

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Things were not quite as slow for Robin and the others; although they were every bit as annoying. A distress call had come in from a local mall, uptown. There had been no details on what kind of crime was being committed, or who was responsible. Since the call had arrived at nearly the same time as reports of Dr. Light's alleged crime had; the Titans had split up. They all knew Raven had a history for easily taking down Light, so she and Beast Boy had gone after him; leaving Robin, Starfire and Cyborg to investigate the unknown trouble uptown.

 

From the outside, the mall looked fine. People no longer flooded in and out of the doors, however. There was a long line of police tape keeping shoppers back; though none of the officers on the other side of the tape would enter the mall either. Robin had thought this peculiar as he climbed off the R-cycle and ran towards the doors to join Starfire and Cyborg, who had beaten him to the scene by mere seconds.

 

“Cops say there's a giant cocoon inside the mall.” Cyborg explained as Robin joined them.

 

Robin nodded. “Killer Moth. Well, it could be worse. Let's go deal with this before the cocoon hatches.”

 

The Titans quickly made their way past the police tape and inside the revolving doors. The mall was huge and the main room was impressive. Clothing, video game and shoe stores lined the walls with escalators, glass elevators and an impressive food court all in place. Normally people were pouring in and out of the shops, crowding the elevators and dining in the food court; today there was a giant gray cocoon hanging from the ceiling.

 

This isn't what bothered Robin the most, though. What bothered him worst was who was standing beneath the cocoon. It was not Killer Moth, as he had suspected. It was someone much worse.

 

It was Kitten.

 

“I take back what I said, it couldn't possible be any worse.” Robin sighed. If Robin was annoyed at the sight of Kitten, it was nothing compared to Starfire. Her eyes had narrowed and already she was forming Starbolts in her fists.

“I wondered when you'd show up Robbie-poo.” Kitten's annoyingly high-pitched voice floated down to them as she spoke.

 

“Titans Go!” Starfire cried out before launching herself forward like a bullet. Neither Cyborg nor Robin attempted to stop her, or get in the way. A moment later Kitten had been tackled to the ground and the pair were rolling around in a vicious battle - of course, Starfire was winning.

 

“You know, if we could convince all the villains in the city to get crushes on you, Starfire could clean up this town in a day.” Cyborg laughed.

“Shut up and help me deal with the cocoon.” Robin replied shortly.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

The Palace was desolate.

 

On a small planet, a planet without any real name of its own, there sits a place of darkness. This planet is void of any decency, decorum or civilized life. Once, long ago, it was peaceful and beautiful. Then Trigon the Terrible came. Trigon executed the population but in a surprising move, he did not devour the planet. Instead, he made his own. The wildlife died, and the few survivors of Trigon's wrath became slaves - most of them died within the first week, but Trigon had many more where they came from.

 

The Palace was the only thing on the planet that still existed from its glory days. Of course, it had been changed. It was no longer bright and cheery; demon lords did not live in places that were bright and cheery. It had become gothic, dark and downright evil. It had been eighteen days since Trigon's downfall; but the darkness was as thick as ever.

 

In addition, the tourist rate was never higher. Many would think that Trigon's downfall would make the demon outdated. After all, who would want to dwell on such a dark, evil figure? Wouldn't everyone be better off to put the dark one behind them and move on? Isn't it better to forget the murder, rape, and torture of millions and focus on happier things?

Not everyone was happy about Trigon's downfall. No, that is not true either. The people who had gathered here on Trigon's planet - in Trigon's palace - did not gather out of respect, loyalty or love of the fallen evil. They had gathered because he had been their father; and they wanted to know what happened to him.

 

Nearly nineteen years ago Raven's mother had been the cultist bride of Trigon from Earth. Raven had been the result of demon and human; and she had been sent to Azarath. Eventually she became a Titan; and more recently, she did what millions had failed to do - she killed Trigon the Terrible. It sounded like it took a long time; but in reality, Raven was one of the youngest of Trigon's children. She had not been the first-born, nor had she been the last. She had merely been Trigon's latest obsession. It was because she was human; and of all the species in the universe, humans intrigued Trigon most of all. They could be so good, so pure and almost divine; and at the same time, they could be so evil, foul, and demonic. Nothing else had such a broad range of possibilities. Raven had been his half-human daughter; so naturally he had a special spot in his black heart for her.

 

She had also killed him; but her half-siblings did not know that. Raven's mother had only one child; but her father had countless others. Either from willing cultists from across the galaxy; or unwilling maidens who caught his eye during his travels - the point was the children existed. In addition, if they existed, they had part of Trigon inside them. They were all half-demons. They all had a bit of their father's enormous power living inside them. Some could control it, some could not. Some died because of it; others lived on. Raven was lucky.

 

Raven was also in the worst danger she had ever been in; and she had no clue whatsoever.

 

Trigon's children, every one of them, shared the same mental bond with their father that Raven had felt. They could feel him from time to time. If he wanted to find them, he could. If he wanted to torture them the way he had Raven; he did. They had felt it when their father died. The ones who had seen him, the ones who had never met him, and the ones who had not been in his presence for years -- all of them felt it - few understood what it was or what it meant.

 

Then Sadira and Azarock contacted them. It was a simple message.

If they wanted their questions answers, they needed to come to Trigon's Palace on the small, dark planet. They also needed to come quickly.

 

Sadira and Azarock were merely waiting now. Currently the twins, a nickname they had received from those who knew their dark origin, were inside the room that had once been their father's throne room. Now it was as empty and desolate as the rest of the palace.

“Why do we even need them all?” Azarock asked. Azarock was the younger of the twins. He took more after his mother. His lower body resembled that of a cockroach; complete with shell, legs and hair. His upper body was a mass of red muscles, almost human-like but more after his father's demonic build. His face was hideous by all accounts. He resembled his father closely, although his hair (also white) was short and thin. His skin was red, and while he had only two eyes, rather than his father's four, his mouth was different. Two large beetle-like pincers protruded from the sides of his mouth.

 

“We don't need them at all.” Sadira replied. “We just need to make sure they don't find Raven. They do not understand how important she has become now. She was not supposed to kill our father, Azarock. She messed everything up.”

 

Azarock snorted. “We know where Raven is. She's on earth; and she has no clue what's about to happen to her, so why do we even waste time?”

 

“We waste it because we have too.” Sadira snapped, obviously annoyed. She wasn't designed like her brother. He was a demon; and just as ugly as you would expect one to be. Sadira was built more like a human - if human's had red skin and silver hair. She was slender, beautiful and deadly. Her eyes were a piercing green and her smile was made from small white fangs. Currently she was wearing a black gown, with an equally black cloak and hood. She was the wiser of the twins; and the oldest of the pair.

 

The twins were special. They were not just another pair of Trigon's children. They were demons. Not half-demons; they, like their father, were pureblooded demons. Trigon had only one bride who was a fellow demon; his very first bride. They had given birth to three children - the eldest child of all, Trigon's true heir - and the twins.

Not that anyone remembered Trigon's first bride, or his first-born children. After all, as far as anyone knew; they had all died when Trigon devoured his home planet. It had been the start of his conquest; the start of his. He had earned the nickname “Trigon the Terrible” specifically because he had eaten his own home planet; killed his own race first. Why? To prevent competition.

 

Trigon was a big evil demon who ate planets. He did not need other big evil planet-eating demons running around stealing his ideas. Sadira and Azarock had not been killed with the rest of their race; obviously. Moreover, as far as they knew, the only child older than them - Trigon's first child - had not been as lucky. No one had heard from or seen him since the planet was destroyed; and they had no reason to suspect that would ever chance.

 

That made them the oldest. That made them the heirs. That made them, in their minds, the rightful owners of something Raven now possessed.

 

The most ironic part was this; Raven had yet to discover she possessed anything new since Trigon's downfall. In addition, had she known exactly what it was she did possess, she would have been horrified tremendously. Not that her older half-siblings would have cared about her feelings at all; they took after their father. Raven was just a means to an end. All they had to do was follow through with the brilliant plan they were hatching and, within a short amount of time, Raven would be dead and they would be beginning a legacy of evil that would make Trigon the Terrible's rein look like child's play.

“If we don't deal with father's other children they could become a problem later. You know how father was. They all hated or feared him; once they learn of his destruction, they'll want details. Most of them will want to find Raven; some to thank her, some to talk to her and some to worship her.” Sadira explained once again in an exasperated voice. “We can't follow the plan if our half-siblings are constantly popping in to say thanks, can we? We'll have to mislead them a little. Now are you done questioning me, or can we hurry this along?”

 

Azarock seemed pleased with this explanation and he clapped his pincers together in appeasement. With a swish of her cloak, Sadira turned towards the door that would lead them into the conference room. The other children of Trigon had been told to gather there. The message was spread throughout the galaxy to reach as many of Trigon's surviving offspring as possible; and there were many.

The floors were cold and made of a dark blue stone, the walls much the same. The only light came from torches that burnt an eerie blue. A spiral staircase lead down from behind the door and the twins headed down quickly; watching the spiders scramble across the cracked walls as the demons passed by.

 

As they vanished down into that staircase, a third demon watched them with interest. His presence had gone unnoticed by both of them, and he had learned what he needed to learn. Raven was on earth; and that is where he would have to go.

 

Raven had become too important. She would have to be made aware of just how important she now was; and then she would have a tough choice to make. If she chose correctly, it could mean an end to this - for good. If she chose poorly, he would have to kill her.

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

The day had come, and now it was gone again. Dr. Light was behind bars at the local prison, Kitten keeping him company. The giant bug cocoon had been safely disposed of, the city's power supply was saved and none of the Titans or any civilians had been injured. It had been routine, for them anyway.

 

Now it was getting later in the afternoon and the Titans had spread out. Starfire and Robin had found their way to the roof of the tower. The two sat next to one another watching the sunset. A light breeze picked up and sent Starfire's hair fluttering behind her as the youths began to speak.

 

“Things seem normal again.” Starfire said.

 

“Yeah, I guess they do.” Robin replied. “It's nice.”

 

“Robin?” Starfire asked. Robin's eyes flicked over towards her face. She seemed quiet; which was rarely a good thing when it came to Starfire. She was a noisy person; and silence tended to bring bad news.

 

“Yes?” He asked.

 

“While I am happy our lives are becoming normal again, I am also worried.” Starfire admitted. She wasn't looking at him; another bad sign. Robin felt a tiny lump forming in his throat, and suddenly swallowing was becoming difficult.

 

“Worried about what Star?” He asked.

 

“I am worried that things will become too normal. Things have been so different and so many wonderful changes have come . . . I fear that if we return to normal, we will lose those changes and -”

 

“Starfire, stop it.” Robin said at once. “I understand what you're trying to say. You're worried that things will go back to the way they were before we went to Tamaran. They won't. I learned a lot Star, but the most important thing I learned was not to rely on routines anymore. I love you, and I'm never going to be afraid to show that again. Things are back to normal Starfire; but our definition of normal changed a little.”

 

“Normal has changed?” Starfire asked.

Before Robin could answer, several loud voices floated up from the kitchen below them - just in time to answer her question.

 

“DUDE! Why did you put chicken in the Enchiladas? You know I don't eat chicken!” The first voice, Beast Boy's, called.

“I know, that's why I put it in the Enchiladas; so you wouldn't eat `em.” The second voice belonged to Cyborg, who had been in charge of dinner for the group tonight.

 

“Aww! Dude you suck Cyborg!”

 

“Settle down boys.”

 

“But Raven! I'm a vegetarian! What am I supposed to eat for dinner now?”

 

“Tofu?” Cyborg teased.

 

“Tofu's better than some poor defenseless chicken dude.”

 

The lights in the tower flicked on and off, and then Raven's voice was the only one that could be heard. “I said settle down.”

 

Robin grinned to himself and wrapped an arm around Starfire's shoulders. “Normal hasn't changed that much, Star.”

 

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

 

A/N: There you have it. I know, I know, the cliffhanger. I'm evil, what can I say? I'm going to be busy over the next few days - I have physical therapy on Friday and Monday, I'm finally going back to school on Tuesday, and I don't know how much time I'll have on the weekend; but I promise I'll update as soon as possible. I'll try to have the next chapter done by Monday; but it might be as long as Wednesday. Anyway; I hope you enjoyed it.