75: Thanks Rachel

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Chapter 75 Thanks Rachel.

(Davian's P.O.V)

Gotham wasn't like any other place I had seen.

The architecture was just really different. It was in a way, fancy and regal.

Even the hood, it had this certain substance I couldn't relate too. Maybe it was because they had grown up in a world of monsters and gods. People who wouldn't go down to guns.

The only worst thing I ever experienced was getting shot and jail, here you could lose your soul due to being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

However there was one thing both my new home and the previous one shared in common. Loss.

You never got used to it. Yes, you accepted it much easier but...when it hits you, it's like the first time you ever lost a pet. Like the first time you ever lost a parent.

Gut wrenching.

I need a drink.

I changed direction from the mindless path I was on. I was in East End, headed towards Robbinsville.

The change in trajectory had me Flash stepping straight for Little Italy. Raven had loved to come Luigi's Pizza before.

It was also one of the only things, Chase even liked. That and Granola bars. It was a weird obsession.

"Not. Weird. You just don't have refined tastes. All you love eating are those green apples."

He huffed from my inner world.

"When I was young...if you failed a run or couldn't sell your shit fast enough...you were locked in the basement and only given an apple. You had to make it last an entire week. Problem is...once you take the first bite, it turns brown and shrivels faster. I came to appreciate fresh apples after then."

I spoke up before I could stop myself.

Chase didn't comment. I could feel his concern however.

"That was a long time ago."

I said and left it at that, only noting that Raven would have shared her own sad story to try and one up me.

She was petty like that sometimes. The best moments with her were when we were both silent.

Not talking.

It sounds counterproductive to any relationship but...it was calming, either she would be flipping the pages of her books or she would be trying to teach me how to properly meditate.

Not to say that things wouldn't get rowdy with us. We trained, sparred a lot...we even had the idea to come up with a few combos when we found out that we made a good team.

A shame we never really got to show it off that much.

She was the support and I was the forward.

I passed by Luigi's Pizza in a flash.

The spars usually got so heated, I was left with no energy afterwards. Mostly, the intensity I approached the training with, was fueled by what Deathstroke had said. apparently I left myself open.

Raven had beaten that out of me. We hadn't been together for long but, she had influenced so much.

My mind begun buzzing, my surroundings blurring as I realized how much she had come to mean to me. I stopped on the roof of a building 4 blocks past Luigi's.

I fell to my knees. Why were my hands shaking? My skin was so numb. My mouth felt as dry as sandpaper. I removed the oni mask from my face, letting it clatter onto the floor.

I've always hated this feeling. The hopelessness. Knowing that a good thing was over and all you had left of that person was memories. No more catching her painting her toes sneakily.

No more sparring. Or kicking bad guy butt. Gotham had a lot of criminals, woulda thought?

I tensed as something fast entered my Reikaku, running up the roof of the building I was on, to appear behind me in a blur.

"Are you alright son?"

Someone asked, gently placing a hand on my shoulder.

The hopelessness was momentarily pushed to the side. The lump in my throat went away and my vision stopped being blurry. Anger started surging up to the forefront of my mind.

Why couldn't they fucking leave me alone?

Breath escaped me in a shudder as I squared my shoulders, a hand on the pommel of my sword.

"What. Do. You. Want?"

I bit out without looking behind.

There was a brief silence. Then he walked forward.

"You saved my life Kid."

The voice sighed, stopping beside me. I looked at the weathered face of Jay Garrick.

His face was gratitude heavy and when he spoke his words rang with earnestness.

"Your friend saved even more. She saved everything."

"Yeah." I snorted, head turned to the sky.

"And she's dead."

Jay blinked.

"I..."

I shrugged him off, walking away.

"Go home Old man. I'm sure you have loved ones who might worry over you."

"What about you?"

He asked softly. Sympathy. Pity. I hated that. I wasn't the only one who had lost someone. It wasn't even the first time. I could handle it.

"Bore someone else with those empty platitudes. I'm going to be okay. I'm used to it."

Then I slipped into a Shunpo.

I said a lot back there. Not just to Chase but also the Flash. Maybe, I had needed someone to talk to. Gah, Raven would have understood, even without me talking.

"That was a good interaction. If it's not a confrontation, you're usually not very chatty."

Chase mused.

"What do you mean? I'm very chatty."

He had no idea what he was talking about.

"I don't count."

He smoothly replied.

I could almost hear him stretching his back out on the branch of that tree he loved so much.

"If it's not a spar, those unfunny quips you make at criminals or a fight, you're as quiet as a block of wood."

Could he be right? I mean...was I boring? I mean that's what a block of wood was essentially.

I shook my head. Thinking useless thoughts just to avoid the big subject was not going to work anymore. Why? Because I had arrived at 'our' place.

The Junkyard was the place that we stashed all of our important stuff. Using her powers, Raven had managed to construct a small pocket dimension that was as big as an apartment bedroom.

The entrance was tied to the door of a rusted Corolla.

I made sure I couldn't sense anyone through my Reikaku before entering.

The small pocket dimension was stocked with emergency rations that I had insisted we get, two regular sized tents that I had procured at a discount from a thrift shop and a change of clothes, including 2 pairs of Hiking boots and thick socks to match them.

You never knew when you would have to sleep outside.

Survival training was something I had learned from an old Vet called Morris back in my first life. He had left the army after getting his hand blown off.

The man had been a customer. The pain had forced him down the path of self medication and drugs. I had taken advantage of that and learned how to survive in the wild with nothing but a pen knife.

Using the water reserves in the small tank we had inside the pocket dimension, I washed up.

It wasn't as effective as a shower, mostly due to the gunk that was stuck on my hair and the rest of my body. The clothes were going to have to be discarded.

I scrubbed myself raw. 30 minutes later I had gotten rid of all the dried blood and bits of flesh. Also my skin didn't itch anymore.

I dried my hair before sitting on the small plastic chair in the middle of the room.

The chair faced a rack that had most of our stuff. Raven's important magic related things were inside a large trunk.

There was also a med kit just in case I didn't have access to my abilities and someone needed care. W few more things like the tents and two sleeping bags also had a place on the metal rack.

Now what?

"You need to rest, you've been running around since last night. Take a nap and when you wake up, we can plan our next step."

Chase advised.

I looked up at the rack. To be specific at one of the items I never thought we would need but stocked up just in case.

A pack of beer.

It's been long since I had gotten drunk. Could I even get drunk anymore?

One way to find out.

The first beer bottle gave me a small buzz. It was only when I reached my fourth one that I realized...this wasn't going to work.

My body seemed to filter out the intoxication faster than I could get drunk. I stared at the half empty bottle and sighed. What the fuck am I even doing?

I placed it to the side, walked back to the rack and grabbed one of the two sleeping bags.

I spread it out, before lying on top of it, staring at the ceiling of the pocket dimension.

It was a sky full of beautiful stars. Compared to the gray walls of the pocket dimension, the ceiling was outstanding.

Speaking of which, How was the pocket dimension even active? Raven was dead right? What was sustaining the magic of this place?

I blinked as a possibility made itself known.

My hand went into my pocket and came out with the red gemstone. I hadn't thought much about it but...through Reikaku, I could sense some energy still left inside. It especially felt prominent inside the pocket dimension.

Not to mention, it pulsed gently. Almost in tune with the lines of magic weaved across the chamber.

'She knew I would eventually come here.'

I realized.

Which is why she created this gemstone. Left it behind for me.

It wasn't the same as having her around but...a soft smile worked it's way up to my face.

"Thanks Rachel."

It was something to remember her by. With that, I let the exhaustion take over and drifted off into an uneasy sleep. One filled with nightmares about what I could have done differently.