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[David Lance POV]
As Raven entered the room behind me, I could feel the tension in the room rising. I knew before the conversation even started that this was going to be a difficult topic to swim around. Reaching my bed, I took a deep breath and sat.
I could feel the weight of Raven's eyes on me as I stared at the floor pensively, trying to find the right words to express the fears that were swirling through my head. As I pondered in my thoughts, I heard the soft creak of the mattress as Raven sat down next to me.
"Take your time," Raven said calmly, placing a hand on my shoulder in a reassuring gesture.
I smiled at her.
I had known her for a long time, and there was no one I trusted more than her. I loved my sister, but I trusted Raven more without a question; I knew that. But even so, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of nervousness as I sat in my bed, trying to put words to my concerns.
It had been some time since I felt like this.
Since I discovered my powers, I think.
Fudge it.
I will not circle back to that dark corner again.
~I have no idea what powers I will develop, Rae Rae,~ I sighed, giving Raven a smile. ~I thought what I had until... Well, until today was all there was, all there could be. I was content knowing I had tamed my powers, the threat they represented. But, now... well, who knows what powers I could develop, that uncertainty, well, scares me a bit.~
Raven was silent for a moment, digesting what I had said. Then she said that which was at the forefront of my mind. "What if nothing wrong happens?"
~Well, that would be fucking amazing, wouldn't it?~ I replied truthfully, giving her smile.
Raven was quiet for a moment, then she spoke in a soft, comforting voice. "No matter how much things change, some just stay the same, just like you dork. Don't worry about what will or could be. Sometimes, we can't focus on that because we can't change it, so just live the moment and know that no matter what, I'll be with you every step of the way."
~You are getting poetic,~ I replied with a teasing smile, playfully pushing her shoulder.
"I blame, Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman," Raven replied with a smile of her own.
~Kind of... weird, considering you blackmailed me into talking, and used your magic to stop me from running away though,~ I replied, grinning at her.
"I don't have the time or energy to build another friendship to this level," Raven replied with a small smirk. "I can't lose you."
Awww.
"You know too much, so it is either friendship or death," Raven said in a serious tone.
Hmph, well, that's funny! And eerily creepy. Yep, that's my Rae Rae in a nutshell. ~Then I choose friendship!~
"Good choice," Raven replied with an amused smile.
Before I could reply, the shrill ring of my phone cut through the silence like a knife. Tentatively, I reached for my phone, half-expecting to see some sort of emergency notification. [Red Tornado summoning the team.]
Well, that's odd.
"Do you know what Tornado wants?" Raven asked as she stood up, stretching her arms above her head.
I shrugged. ~Nope, not a clue. But let's find out,~ I replied as I sent a quick text to the team to let them know we were on our way.
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[In the mission room.]
As we walked into the mission room, we found Red Tornado standing in front of the holographic computer; his arms crossed over his chest. As always, he looked calm and collected. But there was a hint of something else in him that I had never seen before.
"This is Kent Nelson," Red Tornado said without preamble. "A friend, he's one hundred and six years old. He's been missing for twenty-three days."
"The sorcerer supreme," Aqualad muttered under his breath, making Kid Flash scoff.
"Like the red sorcerers and priestesses of Mars! I would be honored to help on this," M'gann said with a smile.
"Same here! I love magic!" Kid Flash said, which made everyone in the team collectively groan, with the exception of M'gann, and me, M'gann because she was too nice, and me because I didn't want to destroy the base.
"Kent could be in one of his walkabouts, but it is unwise to leave such matter uninvestigated," Red Tornado continued.
I nodded. ~Any idea where to start?~
"Take this," Red Tornado replied, giving me a golden key. "It is the key to the tower of fate."
I looked at the key for a moment before pocketing it. Then I turned to face the team. ~Okay, let's do this.~
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[At Miss Martian's Ship.]
Moments later, in Miss Martian's ship, we flew toward the coordinates Red Tornado had given us. As we got closer, I could feel the stares the team was giving me.
~Is there anything you wish to talk about?~ I asked, giving the team a look.
"We were just wondering if everything was okay?" Aqualad asked, his tone cautious.
I nodded. ~As good as ever~
"Yeah, that's bullcrap," Artemis said, her eyes narrowing at me. "And you know it."
I smiled at her. ~While I appreciate your concern, it is unwanted. Do not worry about me; I am fine.~
Artemis said nothing, simply crossing her arms in indignation.
"Artemis is right, you know," M'gann said, her tone gentle. "We are worried about you."
I simply nodded at that, not wanting to argue with them. Besides, we were almost at our destination. And I had a feeling that this was going to be more difficult than any of us could imagine.
Hopefully, Raven would be enough to deal with whatever the tower had in store for us.
Besides, who knows, maybe this time I would be wrong, and this mission would be easy. Perhaps the man was just having a long nap.
He was 106 years old. For goodness sake, the man had to take very long naps to keep that functioning.