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SM/DC Chapter 107 : Titans Meeting Room
🕑 Added 2025-05-02 20:31:28 +0000 UTCOwl walked across the room in near silence, his dark form cast long, flickering silhouettes against the walls as he swept past Raven’s belongings. He moved with surgical precision pulling out drawers without disturbing their contents, lifting cushions as if they weighed nothing, and pressing fingers against walls, scanning for illusions or concealed glyphs.
Every gesture was calculated. Owl didn’t rush. He crouched beside Raven’s dresser, sniffing the faint magical residues left behind old wards, fading protections. Then, with barely a motion, he turned toward her bookshelf and hovered his hand over a specific row. A single leather-bound tome shivered, its pages fluttering slightly despite the absence of wind. Owl did not pull it he simply acknowledged it.
He tapped the wood gently, then brushing his fingers over another line of books his palm pausing over one. It was misplaced, angled oddly. Owl pulled it slightly. A puff of dust spiraled into the air, revealing a tiny shimmer a residue of magic, perhaps. Barely there, barely old.
Arthur stood nearby, silently observing his shadow work. He stepped forward and picked up a folded paper lying between a crystal and a small mirror on Raven’s desk seemingly mundane, but the energy signature it pulsed was faint, out of place. Without saying a word, he plucked a pen from the same desk and tossed both toward Owl.
The paper fluttered in the air. Owl, without looking, caught them both with a single motion his form barely shifting.
Kara watched, eyes narrowing curiously. “Wait… he can’t talk?”
Arthur shook his head, his voice low but not unkind. “No. Too weak for that. Most of my shadows can't speak they can only serve. Owl’s different though. He is one of the smart ones.”
Owl began writing, the pen scratching faintly over the paper with sharp precision. When he finished, he turned and handed it back to Arthur with both hands. Arthur scanned the writing quickly, his brows slowly knitting together.
He read aloud, voice even but edged with intrigue. “The person who was here… didn’t even leave the room. She just vanished.”
Kara blinked. “What?”
Arthur raised an eyebrow and flipped the paper to read the next line. “There is one more thing… that another person was here. Not long before she vanished. And they didn’t walk through the door..”
He frowned, lips pressed together, and then casually tossed the paper toward Kara. She caught it with ease and read it in silence. Her eyes slowly widened as she processed the implications.
She glanced back at Owl. “Are you sure?”
Owl gave a slow nod, then pointed a gloved, shadowy hand toward a strange artifact tucked near Raven’s desk half-hidden beneath a pile of parchment and crystals. It was a metallic disc, etched with arcane symbols that shimmered dimly in the light. A gem pulsed faintly at its center.
Arthur approached, crouched, and picked it up carefully. As soon as it touched his palm, he felt it a pulse, cold and foreign.
“This is indeed magical,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes. “But not Raven’s. The energy’s... too erratic. It doesn’t feel like her. So this doesn’t belong to her.”
Kara stood beside him, arms folded tightly. “Then who does it belong to?”
Arthur let out a quiet sigh, standing upright. He ran a hand through his black hair, thinking aloud. “Magic. Demons. Trigon. Whatever this is, it reeks of someone powerful enough to breach a room protected by Raven’s magic and still leave no trace.”
His voice dropped, tone grim. “There aren’t many who could do something like that.”
He turned to Kara, eyes sharper now. “My best guess?”
He paused. Then with a slight scowl.
“Constantine.”
Kara blinked, then groaned audibly. “Oh. That guy.”
Arthur smirked faintly. “Not a fan?”
She shook her head quickly. “He gives me the chills. I don’t know why but every time he is around, I feel like he’s already planned ten moves ahead, and five of those involve the people around him somehow.”
Arthur chuckled softly. “Yeah… that sounds like Constantine.”
Owl continued scanning the rest of the room, his cloak rustling lightly and then he left the room in search for more clues. Kara tossed the artifact from hand to hand, staring at it with suspicion.
“Do we need to find him ? You know that he is one of the people missing as well ?” she asked.
Arthur’s eyes stayed fixed on the artifact. “Yes. But if he’s involved in her disappearance… it means he is trying to help her. But knowing him he’ll end up doing more damage. we really need to find them quickly…”
He turned back to her, his voice cold but steady.
“…I didn’t want to do this but let’s meet the Titans.”
****
The doors to Raven’s room slid shut behind them with a faint mechanical hum. The hallway was quieter now, but every step they took toward the central wing of Titans Tower carried a weight neither of them could shake.
Their path was direct Arthur remembered the layout well, even if he’d never been officially spent much time here back then. The hallway twisted into a corridor flanked by reinforced doors and biometric scanners, but Arthur’s presence seemed to unnerve the systems. They didn’t dare reject him, or someone was intentionally letting him pass.
One sharp turn later.
They barged into a high-tech meeting room. The glass walls framed the distant skyline of Jump City, a central table of glowing holographic panels flickered softly as several familiar figures turned at once, mid-conversation.
Robin sat at the head of the table, ever alert. Cyborg leaned casually against the far wall, arms crossed, scanning a tactical feed on the wall. Starfire hovered slightly off the ground, radiant and bright as ever. Beast Boy, froze in surprise, and Blue Beetle was half-way into saying something before cutting off completely.
The room fell into momentary silence.
Arthur stood in the doorway like a phantom returned from the grave, Kara just behind him, composed but cautious. His long coat caught the light, he casted a long shadow across the hall.
Robin was the first to speak, his voice measured but unsurprised.
“I saw you coming through the cameras,” he said plainly. “Still, I have to admit it’s a surprise seeing you alive. The League still thinks you’re dead.”
Arthur tilted his head slightly, his expression unreadable. “Well… they always did like assuming things.”
Robin’s jaw tightened just slightly.
Arthur stepped further in, not bothering to sit, his voice cool and sharp. “Can’t say it’s nice to see you, either, but I think we have a common objective. So let’s skip the small talk.”
He tossed the artifact he found in Raven’s room onto the table with a metallic clink. It spun once before landing flat, pulsing faintly with unfamiliar energy.
The Titans stared at it, then back at him.
Cyborg narrowed his eyes. “Where did you get that?”
Arthur crossed his arms. “Raven’s room.”
Beast Boy blinked. “Wait, you what ?”
“Doesn’t belong to her.” Kara said, stepping forward beside Arthur. “And someone was with her before she disappeared. Possibly… Constantine.”
Robin’s brow furrowed. “Of course it’d be him… But do you know that he is also gone ?”
Arthur’s gaze swept the room, sharp and unforgiving. “I’m aware. I’m not here for pleasantries. I need useful information...fast. If you know anything about what she was doing before she vanished or where she could be, now’s the time to speak. I will help.”
Silence. The room held its breath.
Then Starfire floated closer, her voice gentle but firm. “You care for her, no wonder she..”
Arthur raised a hand to stop Starfire, yet he didn’t answer. Just a flicker of something passed through his eyes and vanished just as quickly.
Kara glanced at him.
Cyborg looked over the artifact, tapping a few buttons on the table to scan it. “Whatever this is, it’s old magic. Not Atlantean, not quite demonic, but definitely dark. We were just starting to piece something together even her whereabouts, but we did miss this.”
Robin met Arthur’s eyes. “Then let’s piece it together faster. she’s in trouble, we need to act. Knowing the nature of your powers you already know then, Trigon’s influence grows stronger, some of the league members are still restrained but the unexpected can still happen.”
Arthur nodded once, just enough to signal agreement. “Good.”
Behind him, the door slid closed, sealing them all inside.
