Chapter Text
Creepy.
That's the first word that comes into Raven's head when she sees the new girl, Terra, step into the main ops of Titans Tower and hold out her scarred hand, smiling with crooked white teeth.
Of course, that judgmental thought leads to a whole brigade of guilty thoughts (how dare you of all people) and those can lead to anxious feelings, and anxious feelings never lead to anything good, so Raven carefully suppresses everything and shakes Terra's hand.
“I'm new to this hero business, so please go easy on me,” Terra says. She keeps smiling. She's smiling too hard, Raven thinks.
“She was living all alone in the desert,” Changeling explains. “She kind of freaked out on us at first, but then we got to talking and she's actually really cool!”
“Aw, shucks.” Terra rubs the back of her head in an exaggerated display of modesty.
Robin seems to like Terra well enough. She's powerful, definitely. There's a certain brutality in her attacks on the training mannequins, and Raven knows she's seen it somewhere before. Of course, she keeps quiet about it, because if she doesn't know where she's seen it, then what's the point?
It's useless to just run your mouth.
On Terra's third day as a Titan, she completely obliterates a bank robber's getaway car, nearly killing his driver in the process. She apologizes profusely, says that she didn't know how heavy the chunk of asphalt she dropped on him was. Everybody seems to accept the explanation. Wonder Girl even offers to spar with her and help her find her limits. Terra is practically glowing with satisfaction. Raven can feel it rolling off her in waves. She doesn't feel bad about hurting that man. She's proud of herself.
Creepy.
Anyway.
Raven usually tries to avoid using physical violence. The monks at Azarath taught her that the best choice was to remain neutral and peaceful, never taking sides and never harming anybody. She... isn't sure she believes that anymore, considering the things she's seen. If one violent but non-lethal act can prevent many deaths, than she feels obligated to interfere. But this is excessive.
Terra loves violence. Raven knows that, for sure. The other girl always comes out of battles grinning, with a bloody nose and a bounce in her step. Raven knows that many people enjoy fighting. Starfire, who she loves, is sometimes so bloodthirsty that she needs to be held back. Wonder Girl, who she loves, sometimes seems to relish punishing those she's seen hurt others. Cyborg, Changeling, Robin and Kid Flash, all of whom she loves, will show brief moments of red-eyed fury that make her father stir inside her heart. But Terra. Terra loves violence: she enjoys hurting, and she enjoys being hurt. It's probably very complicated. Raven isn't supposed to judge others.
She judges anyway.
At night, Raven has a hard time sleeping. She isn't sure if this is her own fault, her father's fault, or the fault of some unknown third factor. She stays in her room, usually. Terra doesn't sleep much, either. Raven can feel her presence in the Tower, pacing anxiously up and down the halls, except for those times she isn't there, and all Raven can assume is that she's gone outside.
She comes into the training room, to talk to Robin about it.
“Something's wrong with Terra,” she says bluntly.
“What?” Robin asks. He's hanging upside-down from the parallel bars.
“Terra. Small, blond, likes dirt?” Raven steps back as Robin drops from the bars, somehow managing to spin in midair and land on his feet. “I'm sensing something off about her.”
“She's been through some heavy stuff,” Robin answers. “Her mom died, and her dad is in another country. Give her some time to adjust.”
And that's it. When Raven passes Terra in the hall, the other girl smiles sweetly and gives her a little wave. Her aura is absolutely rancid. Raven suppresses a shudder and waves back.
–
“Rae!” Changeling is knocking on her door. “Can I come in?”
“No.”
“Will you come out?”
“No.”
“I've just gotta ask you a question!” There's a sort of whiny note in his voice that makes her want to shove him away, but that would be an angry thing to do, and Raven doesn't have time to deal with anger. Instead, she opens the door. He's standing there, bouncing on his heels.
“What is it.”
“I like Terra!” he says. “But I don't think she likes me. And you're the one around here who understands feelings and all, so--”
“I'm not going to help you with this.” Raven looks him up and down. He's oozing feelings, practically glowing with them. He's like an overstimulated puppy. How does he even function?
“There'll be antics,” he says, as if that's enticing.
“I don't like antics.” That's a little bit of a lie. Raven does like antics, but she doesn't like participating in them. “Cyborg likes antics. Go find him.”
“He'll just tease me, though...”
“Love withstands adversities,” Raven says, and she closes the door.
Raven hopes that Changeling will fail. No, she hopes that Garfield will fail, because the cheerful face he shows to the public is not the same as the one he has when nobody is looking. He's too frenetic to get mixed up with Terra. She'll just catch all that glitter and carry it off with her, and leave him empty.
No, Raven is making assumptions. She can't let herself hate Terra-- Tara, who spends too long in the bathroom and never sleeps. What she needs to do is figure her out. After all, the Teen Titans do good things, and Tara's excitement when she was accepted was genuine. Raven had felt a glimmer of it: her heart was pounding and she was overwhelmed by the urge to jump up and down, or run in circles, or do anything else to get rid of that sudden burst of energy. That means that despite the fake smiles and the dark aura, Tara wants to be there with the Titans. In that case, she should be Raven's friend.
Raven just isn't trying hard enough. That must be the problem.