Training with Sparky (Raven and Shockwave)

[whiteraven]

Raven sat in the room she had adopted as her own during her stay at Nightwing's base. Well, sat parhaps wasn't the best word. She floated several feet above the floor in a sitting position. Her eyes were closed and under her breath she murmered indistinct syllables. Through her meditation, she slowly expelled the wound she had taken from Nightwing earlier in the day during training.

When she finished, she landed on the ground and walked to her bed. She had a feeling that Shockwave would come running in at any moment. Raven had a distinct dislike of the overeacting girl, but had promised Dick she would try to help Gwen gain control, and Raven never broke promises.

Footsteps pounded down the hallway outside her room and Raven made sure she was compleatly covered by her cape.

*here goes nothing* she coudln't help but think.

[Shockwave]

ooc| Can I post in this thread and still have Shockwave in the other one? Or would that be too confusing? Hmm.

Shockwave eagerly trotted to the room where Raven had summoned her for a personal training on her powers that Gwen obviously had no control over. Covering her flushed face with her thin hands, Gwen winced in embarrassment. Everyone must think she's completely unprofessional with her drive to become a Teen Titan. Of course it would be understandably if they felt she was merely an impulsive teenager, attempting to get everything she wants without any effort at all. Gwen didn't want to be regarded as someone like that. With a frown, Gwen's pace slowed dejectedly, filling with indecision. Was this really a good idea? Clearly Raven doesn't like her... Who cares?! She yelled harshly within her mind. If she felt you had no potential, Raven wouldn't have offered! Gwen nodded to herself, as if she had been arguing in her mind. "Now is no time to retreat." Gwen murmured quietly, her wide eyes turning to the doorway of the room Raven called her to. It was time for Gwen to step up. For herself.

The young woman with the scarlet locks hesitated before entering the room, but made an entrance nonetheless. Raven was meditating and levitating facing away from her. Gwen immediately attempted to silence her steps, but she knew Raven must have sensed her presence before she had even walked through the door. "Uh," Gwen stammered, smiling crookedly. She took a step forward to approach the hooded woman-- only to leave her foot catching on nothing upon the wooden flooring. Shockwave's ashen eyes shot wide as she thrust her arms out in front of her to catch her fall.

With an 'oohmph' along with the sound of a hard weight hitting the floor, Gwen recovered in the blink of an eye, standing up straight and blinking, attempting to forget her current state of clumsiness. Of course this would happen right now. Gwen muttered, cursing in her mind. "Sorry about that..."

[whiteraven]

((nah, it's cool. Not hard to remember really. ))

Raven looked liesurly around at Shockwave sprawled on the floor, then quickly standing back up. She raised a single eyebrow, then turned away agian. Slowly landing on her feet she turned compleatly and faced Gwen. Her face matched her red hair, bright from emberessement; and Raven picked up some rather colorful language from her thoughts.

For a moment she closed her eyes and felt Gwen's power with her sould self. Shockwave wasn't like others though. Where most people were like tiny sparks of life, fixed in time, Gwen was like a raging electrical fire. The very air around her sparked with static energy and the crackle of lighting filled the area.

Raven opened her eyes agian and looked hard at the akward teenager before her. A glance at her would never reavile the power seething benieth, and for the first time Raven truly doubted if Gwen herself had any idea how strong she was.

Still covered by her hood, she gestured to the middle of the room where a space had been cleared.

"Stand there." She said in a whispery command. With a slight nod of her head, Raven made several small, unemportant, breakable objects rise off their shelves and levitate before Shockwave.

"Concentrate on them."

[Shockwave]

Though it was nothing out of the ordinary, Gwen was slightly taken aback by Raven's blatantness to achieve the goal at hand. Wasn't Raven going to say something to Gwen about being so clumsy? She found a smile had formed on her face, happy that Raven didn't seem to be angry at her any longer; however, it wasn't as if Gwen would know in the first place.

As the objects rose, and Raven ordered Shockwave to concentrate on the simple, random objects, she picked one to stare at with her ashen eyes. When Raven said 'concentrate', Gwen had to admit she was not especially sure what she should be doing. When the scarlet-haired young woman thought of the word 'concentrate', she thought of staring at something and focusing only on that focal point.

Gwen Stratford's eyes narrowed as she picked her target: a small, chartreuse lamp. Everything around her morphed into the artificial paradise in her mind. The palm trees twisted into several arrows pointing at the fixated lamp. Her arms felt as if they were being manipulated, and a growing numbing sensation filled the two. Gwen gritted her teeth as her eyes flickered a slight gold before she flinched suddenly, feeling a shock shoot through her arms and back up towards her shoulders. The whole envisioned scene was lost, but Gwen still felt light tingles reverberating around her upper limbs. "Whoa." She muttered quietly, waving her arms around at her sides as she adjusted to the limp, yet exhilarating feeling.

"Uh, what exactly was I supposed to do?" Gwen asked, switching her gaze from the lamp to Raven. Her ashen eyes widened in curiosity as the unusual feeling faded from her arms.

[whiteraven]

Raven's hooded eyes swept past Gwen as she picked up relief. "Don't get cocky." Raven droned, as if to keep Shockwave from getting to relaxed. Training with powers was nasty business, it would be better if she were on guard.

Raven's eyes widened in shock, however, when through concentrating Gwen somehow created an electrical current running through her body. She had seemingly done nothing to create it, but Gwen's question assured Rae that it had happened. What was what was she supposed to have done?

"Nothing." Raven answered, unsure herself how, or what, it had been. "It wasn't supposed to DO anything. I just wanted you to concentrate on something, then I was going to use your powers to attack it. Nothing should have happened."

Raye shook her head slowly, the girl's powers were... unbelievable... literally. The caped girl wasn't sure wheather Shockwave was even all real. Not everybody was, you know.

"When was the last time you're powers really got out of hand?"

[Shockwave]

"Don't get cocky."

Gwen grinned sheepishly as she pulled her arms behind her back in an idle pose. Though on the outside she appeared knowledgeable in her actions, after that little practice on concentrating had Gwen replying the moment in her mind. All she did was stare at the lamp. Maybe her left eye twitched once or twice, but wasn't as if she had purposely summoned the static. Only a very vague torpid feeling lingered in her right arm, and when she lightly jerked it around, it completely subsided. Gwen's eyes widened, attempting to analyze the situation. I've got nothing. She sighed dejectedly as Raven began to speak again.

"When was the last time your powers really got out of hand?"

Shockwave blinked for a moment, realizing that she must open her mind and unleash the frightening and humiliating memories that she had locked away for such a long time. Heaving an awkward chuckle, she mumbled, "What does that have to do with anything?" Gwen spoke quickly; it was almost too swift. Raven wouldn't drop Gwen because of a petty thing like this, right? The scarlet woman immediately dropped her gaze to the khaki wooden flooring and took in a deep breath. Her lean fingers ran themselves through her waves, from the roots to the split ends. Gwen closed her eyes and with shaky words replied, "I have never lost control of my powers." Turning her head up to look at Raven, she grimaced at her hoping her smile didn't look as forced as it felt. "...It's no big deal anyway."

[whiteraven]

Raven could have drilled a hole through Sparky with her ceaseless gaze. It was silent for about three minutes after she had spoken, "I've never lost control of my powers." Silence.

Raven snorted.

"Don't try to fool me, and don't try to fool yourself. You wouldn't have come here if you didn't actually need the training, if you hadn't had bad experiances before. Everybody has, it's not like it's something to be ashamed of. Even your worst mistake is easily topped by someone more famous than you or I."

She paused, then contenued,

"And don't think it's not big deal. It could be the difference between life or death for some innocent child who happened to be caught on the sidewalk during a fight. Or that child's mother, or sibling, or pet."

She stopped, letting that sink in. Gwen seemed a fairly empathetic sort of person, that ought to stop her in her tracks.

"Think about that time you lost your control, what was happening. What emotions were you feeling, where were you? Remember every detail and try to put yourself in that position again."

Raven herself stood right behind Shockwave, hands hovering above her shoulders.

"...and focuse on the lamp."

[Shockwave]

Listening to all that Raven began to say, Shockwave sighed and nodded slowly, understanding the words she spoke. It was simply a horrible thing to try and remember. But Raven was riling the memories up, pulling them forth and unleashing their power. Perhaps that was the young woman's goal. Raven continued to explain, telling Gwen about the dangers of her lack of control. She could hurt others, just had she done with the dean at her prestigious high school.

"...What was happening?"

Raven's voice began to fade in and out within Gwen's mind. A veil, much like a backdrop of an elementary school play surrounded her. There was all her friends, staring up at her from the stage. A gleaming, wide smile spread across the scarlet-haired woman. With a wave, she nodded her head to the man in the front row. Who was he again? She searched her mind for a moment.

"What emotions were you feeling?"

Long, thin legs beneath a long, black robe contently strutted to the podium where the dean stood; he was eager to hand the honor student her final recognition. Holding out her hand, Gwen smiled to the aging man, who when their hands touched, sent the crowd into a deep-weaved hysteria. The elderly man fell to the groud. "Mr. Anderson?" Others called out loudly, jumping out of their seats to get a good look at his collapse. His body jerked around feverishly, as if he had underwent an intense seizure. Fear glossed over Gwen's eyes as she brought her hands to her mouth in surprise. She turned out to scan over the audience. The man who sat in the front row was no longer there; however, everyone else stared at Gwen with angry, confused eyes. A darker depth of hate began to overflow within her fellow students. Gwen was afraid.

Turning her ashen eyes to the lamp, her eyes immediately sheened over into a bright gold. With gritted teeth, energy flowed within Shockwave, making her feel as if she were floating. Yet, she still concentrated. She wasn't going to let those foolish graduates watch her whither away. Gwen was strong. Gwen is strong. She raised her arm towards the object, as if she were trying to grab it. An abrupt, loud yell erupted in the room, making the lamp shatter into a few large pieces of glazed clay.

Her hair soon fell to its usual place aside her head, and gold eyes soon disintegrated into her usual, dull grey eyes. Suspiciously, Gwen shifted her gaze around the room. What had she done? She slid gently to her knees, where she pressed her chest onto her legs and wrapped her arms around her body, so her hands clutched her toes. Back heaving, she found her eyes pouring with the salted tears. Still, she kept her head facing the flooring. It felt as if a door had opened, yet, another door closed.

[whiteraven]

Raven watched the woman closly as she sunk into her memories. It wasn't an easy one, that much was obvious, and as Gwen relived that turning point of her life, Raven watched it through Shockwave's eyes. With a furious yell, filled with pride, hurt, determination, and confusion all muddled together Gwen blasted the lamp with a burst of power. So strong was it that the palm's of Raven's hands were burned even though she hadn't been touching Sparky's shoulders at all.

As she hopped stepped away from the pure energy of the attack, she watched in amazement as Gwen sank to the ground and begane to cry. Her emotions were so desparing, so afraid, so confused, for the first time Raven felt a twinge of something more than dislike.

Reaching gently into Gwen's heart, Raven soothed the out of control emotions within her, calming and soothing her. And when she seemed better, some at least, Raven said softly,

"You did really well. It was a difficult memory to relive, and you showed real promise at how you were able to channel your power to the lamp. It's a start, a shakey one that will need a lot of work, but it's a start."

Raven walked over to a drawer beside her bed and pulled out two rectangles wrapped in silver foil. Sitting gracefully next to Sparky, leaning on the foot of the bed, Raven unwrapped one chocolate bar and handed the other to Gwen.

"It'll make you feel better." She explained. Comfort chocolate.

((lol, comfort chocolate! And from now on, I am calling you Sparky. It's your name according to Raven. ))

[Shockwave]

ooc| Oh yeah, it's fine! Gwen would appreciate the nick-name anyway. Isn't that a vague sign of affection in some indirect way? xDD

Gwen Stratford felt like a child as she cried so foolishly. Her chest heaved with loud intakes of breath, following the jagged sobs afterwards. "I didn't mean to-- It wasn't my fault! She whimpered quietly. As Raven reached out to Shockwave, she felt her unmatched sadness slowly melt away. It wasn't as if Gwen had become magically happy; however, she pushed herself up to her feet and rubbed her puffy, red-glazed eyes. Her eyes were squinted due to the stress her eyes were on for that brief moment. Gwen sighed happily as Raven commemorated her for her effort. Things were really looking up, considering the cold terms the two were on a mere day ago.

Grey orbs turning to the shiny objects that Raven brought outside her drawer, Gwen would have raised an eyebrow in curiosity, but her face felt numb. All feeling had left her body for the time being; she unleashed what she had been holding on to for such a long time. Limp lips lightly hung agape as Raven handed one of the bars to Gwen, and she nodded happily with a weak smile, showing her appreciation. "Thank you." Her voice croaked shakily, as she dropped her gaze and broke off a piece of chocolate. Her legs crossed and she took a seat on the small rug beside the bed. There was a moment of silence as Gwen gently bit onto the chocolate until she looked up at Raven. "Could we take a break?" She asked and chuckled quietly, her face completely red from the prior rush of emotions.

[whiteraven]

((Maybe... indirectly.))

Raven barely nodded in answer to Shockwave's question. She jsut sat there in silence eating her chocolate. A second later a book flew off the shelf and into Raven's lap. It was a thick old thome of old faery stories and mythology. As she blew the dust off the anciant pages Raven said, her voice soft and emotionless,

"When you feel up for another try, tell me. You have gotten through the hardest bit, from now it should be less hard on you. Just don't get to comfortable."

Another pause, Raven read a page or two, then looked back up, saying in her toneless way,

"And, Sparky, don't expect chocolate everytime you get wasted."

[Shockwave]

Blinking with wide, surprised eyes, Gwen Stratford jumped slightly as the book pulled itself out of its given spot on the bookshelf, surrounded by many others of its kind. It had been awhile since Gwen had actually seen Raven levitate things other than herself. She brought the book gracefully to her lap, and Gwen watched admirably. Raven seemed so gentle and filled with wisdom. As Raven opened the book and spoke to Shockwave, she nodded knowingly, slightly excited by the fact that perhaps Gwen was improving. The thought seemed so impossible beforehand.

"And, Sparky, don't expect to get chocolate every time you get wasted."

With her jaw dropped, Gwen feigned a surprised tone and pulled her hand to her chest. "I was not wasted! I was," She paused as she traced her finger around her ear, pulling her hair behind it. "I was tunneling my emotional energy in order to control an attack!" She announced pridefully, jabbing her index finger into the air as if she had an apostrophe. Gwen laughed and grinned at Raven. "Or something like that." The scarlet young woman closed her eyes with a joyful expression. Sparky, huh?

[whiteraven]

"Yes, I noticed." Raven answered, "I saw you tunnel all your emotional energy right into that lamp. No better way to control something if it can't happen. Not right away at least."

Raven rolled her eyes sarcastically and fingered the words in her book absently. Her thoughts, though, were far from Thesius and the Minotaur. They were quite close to Gwen's actually. *sparky, huh?*

Truthfully, she wasn't quite sure where that name had come from, but it seemed right. More fitting than Shockwave, yes, Raven liked it. And from what she could pick up, Gwen did too.

The book closed and set itself on the foot of the bed. Raven stood gracefully and dusted her cloak off.

"If you're feeling up to it..." She trailed off and with a sweep of her hand cleared the floor of the shattered lamp remnants. Hood once again pulled up, cloak swiriling around her, Raven strode to the place where the lamp had been, standing across from Gwen.

"You're moving up in the world." She droned, "Attack me."

[Shockwave]

"I saw you tunnel all your emotional energy right into that lamp. No better way to control something if it can't happen. Not right away at least."

Shockwave smiled sheepishly and shrugged her shoulders close to her neck. Still sitting in her cross-legged position, she leaned over her legs in a slight exhaustion. Her arms ached badly, as if she had been lifting weights for three straight hours. She ran her hands over her shoulders and squeezed them lightly. She pulled her gaze up from the rug to Raven, who had stood up and walked to the other side of the room. Once again, Shockwave looked down to her nails idly.

"You're moving up in the world."

Gwen bit the inside of her cheek and grinned a small smile. Up until Raven ordered her to attack, Gwen's still puffy but ashen eyes widened. "What? Attack you?" She smirked crookedly and thought, I'd get destroyed! For a silent moment, Gwen contemplated her options in this situation and figured that the best move was to try her best to attack her friend.

This was training, right?

[whiteraven]

Raven's sharp eyes did not miss Gwen rubbing the sore muscles along her back and shoulders, but she said nothing. Before the day was done, Sparky was going to be a whole lot more sore than she was now. "What?" She had cried, "Attack you?"

Raven nodded from within her hood. Though the girl's reaction, and accompanieying thoughts, were anticipated, it still surprised Raven. Could Shockwave really have no idea how powerful she was. If she lost it, Really lost it, Raven would have to run fast or be killed. Well... maybe it was good that Gwen didn't know she was that powerful yet.

"Just focuse on me, the way you did the lamp. But this time, I want you to try and visualize your power. It doesn't matter how, but try to get a visual in your mind, almost like the way you created your shield. Then link that, to your target, me."

Raven reached inside her own mind and prepared herself to create a barrier between the two girls. She expected the attack would be powerful and minorly controlled, the shield would absorb the energy from the air.