70SOrry it took me so long. I got in trouble and had my computer taken. It was for a dumb reason, but I have it back now so.. yeah. Enjoy!
Our Mirrored Future
Chapter 19
"Mom, what are you looking at?"
Rachel, Raven, and Dove were currently the only three heroes at the tower. They had been meditating, helping Dove hone her powers, and sparring in the sparring room two floors down. Now, they were sitting in the older empath's room-Raven and Rachel reading while Dove watched television in the corner of the room. She had looked up and noticed her mother flipping through a scrap book.
Rachel smiled at her daughter. "I'm just looking through these pictures of us, honey." Violet eyes looked to an identical pair. "Care to look, Raven."
The teen wasted no time in coming over. "Please tell me there are some embarrassing shots of Beast Boy." She smirked in anticipation.
The older empath smiled slyly. "But of course. Who do you think I am?" They both snickered before Raven and Dove made themselves comfortable on the bed beside Rachel.
"This was our first date," the woman announced, pointing to a picture of a teenage boy with pale skin, blonde hair, and forest green eyes holding a smiling girl with short black hair, dark blue eyes, and pale skin.
"… What happened to you guys?"
Rachel looked up confused, but it quickly changed to understanding. "Oh, Garfield demanded that we go out on the town for our first date and Richard didn't like the idea of us being noticed. So Vic made us some holo-rings to wear. We still have them."
Raven smiled. 'Man, Me and Beast Boy are sure going to have some… interesting experiences.'
"Hey, Mom!" The youngest pointed to a picture. "Who's that?"
In the picture stood a tall woman with flowing purple hair, a white robe, and piercing black eyes.
"That's…" Raven stared at the picture in awe. "… My mother."
"Wha- Really? So that means she's my grandma. Hey, why haven't I seen her?" Dove pouted.
"… She died Domonique." She blinked at her mother's edgy reply. Her face fell as she wrapped her arms around Rachel.
"I'm sorry, Mom." The older empath smiled slightly, stroking her daughter's unruly multicolored hair.
"It's okay, Sweetie. You couldn't have known." She wrapped an arm around Raven's shoulders and pulled her close. "It's okay to be sad for a love one's death. You just have to remember all of the good times you had with them."
The three empaths smiled at each other. A low grumble echoed through the room and the two older females stared at Dove with amused expressions. "Uh… I guess I'm a little hungry."
Raven chuckled and put a hand atop her future daughter's head. "You're Beast Boy's daughter, so would you like tofu?"
Dove wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Ew, no. Even though I can shift into animals and don't eat meat doesn't mean I would eat that mess." Her mother's past self blinked, and then full out laughed. "Uh, Mom. What's up?"
"You… are… less like… Beast Boy… than I… thought!" She clutched her sides as the uncontrollable giggles left her. To her complete surprise, nothing exploded or flew around the room. Is this what it was like to actually feel emotion without fear of hurting someone? She would not know, but she hoped to find out.
Rachel grabbed both girls' hands and led them out of the room and down the stairs. "Raven, you make the tea, I'll make some sandwiches, and Doe, you find a good movie to watch."
The teenager smiled brightly. "Yes, Ma'am!" She sped off toward the Main Room, happiness flowing from her like water from a fountain.
Rachel smiled after her, noticing that Raven was doing the same.
"Hey, Rachel."
"Yes?"
"… What made you agree to marry Garfield?"
The woman blinked at the sudden question. "Well… I loved him. I still do, with all my heart."
Raven frowned. "But how did you manage without… losing control?"
She frowned, thinking hard back over all the years she had been with the male shape shifter. "Actually, it was fairly easy. Something about knowing that he loves him allowed me to be able to express my own feelings freely. Like now. Although, when I get too scared, my powers still go off."
"What do you mean easy?"
She paused. "Whenever I'm near him, I feel a sudden weight lift off of my shoulders. Like… my powers are backing off of me in a way. He's my exact opposite, but that's exactly what I needed to be able to feel remotely anything." She turned to the younger. "Don't you forget about focusing on your powers when you're arguing with him?"
Raven wracked her brain for a time that she had not done that. Every time she was concentrating on keeping herself in check, he would show up and she would completely ignore her inner selves to exchange sarcastic remarks with him. But it was so natural to feel things like annoyance, anger, or admiration with him around. Unconsciously a smile spread across her face.
That proved it. She really did love Beast Boy.
Rachel poked her cheek, earning a startled gasp from the other empath. "What are you smiling about, Ms. Raven?" She smirked when the other blushed and ducked her head.
"N-noth-"
"MOM!"
Both heads snapped up at the scream and flew down the hall, phasing through the door to the Main Room.
"Dove! What-"
"Oh, so great of you to join us, Raven." A woman with cat ears- real cat ears- and a tail flicked her long claws at the empath. Her white and purple spandex suit shined under the sunlight streaming through the windows. Although she had on a mask that covered the bottom half of her face, you could see her shining yellow eyes glowing with a slight hint of insanity.
A sigh sounded from behind her. "Jeez, Kitty. Can we just kill them and take the brat back to Malchior?" His voice was bored and exasperated, matching his stoic, gothic costume. A black jumpsuit fit his body snugly, a fitted red belt around his waist matching his blood red combat boots. He wore black fingerless gloves and sunglasses, which reflected his long bangs of shaggy red hair.
Raven scrunched her nose. "Are you related to Argent?"
He scoffed. "You really are from the past. Yes, Argent was my little cousin."
Rachel scowled while Raven gaped in horror. "You… You killed her?"
Minus shook his head. "Oh, no. As much as I wanted to, I wasn't the one that was given that privilege."
Head bowed, her powers cackled around her like electricity. "How? How could you just kill your own flesh and blood and still sleep at night?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Who are you to talk? You killed your own father. Not to mention your mother died trying to protect her cursed little monster."
Just like that, the electricity disintegrated into thin air. "Wha-What?"
"You heard me. Malchior told us all about you, Princess Raven. How you were going to be the heir to all of Azarath but left to be 'normal' on earth and failed to protect your home from your demon lord father. You couldn't even save you own moth-"
"STOP IT!" Raven blinked and looked up at Rachel. Tears were streaming down her face, cheeks stained with red. "What do you know? Yes, I was born half demon, but I made a change in myself. I've given the effort to make a difference in my life. What have you done? NOTHING! So don't tell ME how bad a person I am!"
Raven stared at her future self sadly. She knew exactly what she was doing; distracting herself from her own feelings and focusing on someone else's.
Minus rolled his eyes. "You are such a- mmph!"
A patch of white energy wrapped around his mouth, ceasing his ability to talk.
"Shut up," Dove whispered. "You killed one of my mother's friends. You disrespected my mother, her mother, and her father. So, indirectly, you disrespected me. Therefore, in my book, you don't deserve to live any longer."
Raven looked on with wide eyes. "Doe…" she whispered. The younger girl looked over and she gasped. The girl's eyes were glowing a pure white, silverish around the edges.
A beam of white wrapped around Minus' head, slowly stretching itself, causing it to squeeze his head. He screamed as the pressure began to build and Kitty moved to help. Before she could swipe a claw across the girl's throat, a wall of energy slammed into her, knocking her across the room. The woman slumped against the wall, unconscious.
"Dove!" Raven screamed, seeing as Rachel was still trying to control her emotion sensitive powers. "Don't kill him!"
The beam paused in its fatalistic task. "Why not?" she asked in a monotone Raven had never expected to come from the usually energetic girl.
"B-Because! You would just be as bad as he is! Killing won't solve anything! We can think of another way! I promise!" The beam eased up, but did not leave his head until the glow of its master's eyes dissipated. With the deadly beam gone, you could see all of the damage that had been made. Bleeding gashes scarred his forehead, the hair that it had pressed down on torn to shreds. His sunglasses had been crushed, revealing his crimson red eyes.
Dove blinked, as if just now taking notice of what was happening. "Mom? What's going-!" Minus recovered quickly enough to take advantage of her guard bein down and put a hand to her stomach. The hand twisted and she let out a piercing scream before falling limp to the ground.
"DOE-!" Raven turned around in just enough time to see Rachel fall unconscious to the floor. "Rachel! What did you do, Minus?"
He panted and winced at the pain in his head. "I have the power to cause intense pain to anyone I touch. Over the years, I've learned how to send that pain through eye contact with another person. I can even hurt myself if I look too intensely at myself in the mirror." He smirked slightly, clearly proud of himself.
The last standing empath glowered. "You sick, demented ba-"
"Now, now. Language, honey. There are kids present." He gave a sly smile, an evil glint in his eyes. "'Seems you and I are the only ones left. How about a quick battle. I'm sure you'll make it very… interesting."
She smirked. "Let's dance, buddy."
Was that long enough? It's like 1:30am and I've been up since like 6am, so I'm going to sleep. Review please!
ja ne,
-Tsunei-chan