Raven stared into the mirror skeptically.
More skeptically then usual, of course.
Her pale hands fiddled on the dark surface like spider webs on an old set of curtains. Soft, but somehow unnerving. But it was more then the visual oddity that had Raven shaking her head in mild puzzlement. This wasn't her Nevermore mirror, make no mistake about that. She had promptly had the sense to lock that away where Beastboy and his whims could never find it. This was a simple hand mirror, borrowed from the bathroom with the knowledge that if she was seen "primping", Starfire would jam herself forcibly down Raven's gullet for hours.
Finally, she set the thing down with a vague feeling of disappointment. She had turned eighteen today, and already she assumed there would be some change. But that was not it. For the past few weeks she had felt a difference. A deep rooted something. And somehow, it was becoming a harder feeling to ignore. She had already run a diagnostic on herself, careful to make sure Cyborg wouldn't think it was anything more then their regular yearly physical exam. It helped that Mammoth had slammed her so hard into a brick wall she had actually bled, however.
He was fine mentally as well, she had checked with each emotion. Even with Rage; who had been surprisingly congenial. Rage hadn't been half the monster now that her father was dead. Her urges were controllable now, to say the least, and that gave Raven one less thing to constantly think about. But this odd, itchy need to find out what was bothering her did. Dressing in day clothes, she decided to walk downstairs, not feeling up to flying around without something substantial in her stomach.
Her footsteps were heard by Robin, who grunted something like: "Hurrow-goo-murnin."
She nodded at the polite gesture, even though his mouth had been full to bursting with some kind of gushy breakfast cereal. She started a bit of tea, deciding to add a bit of milk to help fill her stomach. The result was a odd, calf colored liquid, and she found it more visually appealing then her usual stuff. For some reason. It was like looking at herself, and then Starfire. Opposites, both in their own way very appealing. Shaking off the thought, she took a seat on the other side of the table. She had grudgingly accepted Cyborg's offer to make her a birthday breakfast.
She heard him come in, and busied herself with tapping her fingernails on the tabletop, faintly. She didn't want to succumb to her one annoying habit, but she didn't have a book with her. Even when she was a child, that nervous tick had come into play, until her mother had calmly told her that if her hands needed something to do, there was always chores and tasks to fill them with. Raven brushed off that memory smoothly . Today was for her and her companions, not the past.
She was just about ready to eat the table when her brotherly friend started the burners. He hadn't noticed there was anyone in the kitchen yet, sleepy as he was. Cyborg had a one trek mind, and cooking his best for Raven's birthday was his number one priority today. He flipped the waffles, made sure the bacon was cooking and not burning. He hoped she didn't look in the freezer. They had stowed her small cake in there, knowing she usually didn't eat the frozen pizzas and fries they kept there for themselves.
So far, the birthday was going right. Even Raven had to admit she was pleased, that wrinkle of unease settling for a bit. Her friends knew what she liked after so many years. A quiet day, that was all. A bit of celebration, no loud parties. But they never forgot it. And she, in turn, didn't forget to be grateful they even remembered.
Starfire came in, wishing them a ' Bright, glorious Raven's birthday!", which woke up Robin, who repeated the sentiment, then blushed when Starfire scolded him for 'getting lost in his glarfnaks'. Raven let a small smile show. Those two would never stop with each other. She finally held up a hand to settle Starfire, so smiled and primly told Robin she forgave him, dropping to sit next to her leader/boyfriend. Sipping the tea thoughtfully, Raven nearly went grave-pale when Beastboy fell into her lap, a bat nestled against her neck for a moment, before becoming a boy. He grinned, even though it was a strained version. Knowing the glare she set on her face, the green boy held out a card, and slid into the seat next to her. Cyborg finished his cooking and loaded plates, laughing at his little green pals' antics.
" Happy birthday Rae. Figured I would give you the first surprise of the day; you know. Ugh! Cyborg. Would you get that away from me before I throw up? "
He covered his nose and started to begin the daily tofu tirade, before Raven reached out and covered his mouth, taking a plate from Cyborgs' hand, which had a small fruit salad, and a few waffles. She plunked it down on Beastboy's placemat and uncovered his mouth, digging into her own breakfast without comment. Beastboy took a whiff of the meal and his eyebrows nearly rose until they fell off his head. Tofu waffles? Cy had.. Made him tofu? He looked out the window and shrugged. No apocalypse.
" Um.. Thanks Cy. These taste good."
He dug in, enjoying the quiet and figuring Cyborg hadn't wanted to annoy Raven with fighting. That was nice of him. Usually it was a free for all battle when they ate. But it made him feel a little more.. What was the word he was looking for? Respected. Yeah, like his friend understood his reasons for not eating meat. Smiling brightly, Raven grimaced when The breakfast was over and talk of planning the day began. Why did they have to go out? She hated it, going out. Her pale skin almost ached under the power of earth's sun. Azarath's had been further away from her planet. Just enough to support life. Her friends had never asked about her skin. She was glad, because nothing would make her feel more irritated then their pitying glances every time she ventured into the harsh daylight.
But: she understood their want to make her birthday special. She swallowed her uneasiness and decided her civilian clothes covered a lot more then her uniform did. They all wore them, mostly because it was a bit.. Awkward. When they had started hitting puberty with the strength of Babe Ruth, they all knew it was time to keep the capes and tight skirts for fighting. WAY too much dirty thoughts going through one tower. Raven had barely been able to sleep.
" I'll go a few places, but let's not make this an all day affair. And if one of you even think of getting me to buy a pack of cigarettes to 'break in my new age', I'll come back here and we'll have a happy birthday meditation party. "
She said it in her usual, stoic voice, but the way Cyborg's face blanched and Beastboy fell over in a fake faint from horror proved they believed her.
" Fine then, Rae. Why don't we break for some showers and gussying up, and then we can hit the mall?"
They all agreed to Cyborg's plan, Raven disappearing through the ceiling to spend some precious alone time until they decided they were ready. Beastboy blinked a few times out of sheer surprise. She still confused him when she flew off like that. And for some reason he didn't mind.
" She's in a good mood at least. I wonder how she knew my waffles were good. Maybe she developed super senses. I heard that happened to this one weird guy who got bit by a spider.."
Cyborg narrowed his good eye at Beastboy, a look that plainly told him he was mentally challenged.
" Dude, she told me to make'em for you yesterday. Somethin' about how if I didn't we would ruin the morning fighting. I figured I could give her that as part of her present, even though I have to scrub that filthy soymilk taint off in the shower now, with a scratcher-pad and some turpentine."
Gar's eyes were wide and blinking for the second time that day, as Cyborg left the room. Why would Raven even care?
" I have to admit, this hasn't been half bad. Thanks you guys. "
She gave them that soft smile that told her friends they had made her day. Gar especially liked the way she had that one dimple. He only ever saw the shadow of it, but it was there. One day he would make her laugh so hard that tiny dimple looked like a sideways smile on her face. They had surprised her with Carrot-cake, the only kind she said she liked. Eating, Raven felt that strange sensation again, shuddering and dropping her fork, a light fixture above them flickering into darkness. She had gotten a bit better at controlling herself. Although she HAD blacked out the tower once, in a fit.
" What's wrong Rae?"
Beastboy was puzzled. She had just looked so happy. Now she seemed haunted, like the last few weeks. The rest thought she was brooding over the circumstances of her birth, which they knew she still did at times. But he knew Raven's looks (mostly for his own safety) better then all of them. And this wasn't brooding, it was worry. Almost fear, which wasn't something is friend showed often. If ever.
She shook her head, dark eyes flicking to Starfire's face instead of his. She said it a bit more tersely then she should have.
" I'm fine."
Beastboy felt that irrational urge to snap at her, and quelled it with a thought. It was her birthday after all. Upsetting her would just get Robin and Starfire in a snit, and then Cyborg would g all Big Bro and try to lecture him on girls again. He was eighteen, for hell's sake. He just liked helping them all not have such tight asses.
" Okay then. Oh! Presents! Open, Open, Open!"
He pushed the small pile at her, even though she looked a bit paler then usual. Raven plucked a small package, eager for the distraction. She unwrapped the bright yellow and orange jewelry box with a nod of approval to Starfire, who giggled with delight. The year before, she had shown all of the teammates how to wrap parcel, when they were celebrating Robin's special day. She was sick of seeing all the gifts in bags. That and Beastboy had scratched on her bedroom door with kitten claws for an hour.
Opening the box with a strange rush of adrenaline and thought as to what she would be getting, Raven had to smile at her friend's choice. The small amethyst was pale purple, in the shape of a small star. She fingered the silver chain appreciatively, before brushing her short hair from her face and clasping it around her neck. She stroked the four pointed star and was surprised how good she felt about the gift. It felt.. Right.
" It's beautiful, Star. "
" I wanted you to know that you would always have a part of me with you, Friend Raven. And I was tired of buying you the gift cards of the bookstore. "
The orange-haired girl giggled, while all the boys blushed in shame. Raven had gotten one from each of them the year before, and she was still using them for purchases, trying to remember which balance went to which account. She insisted she enjoyed the practical thought they had put into them, but for some reason her friends hadn't believed her.
Next, she reached for a slightly more sloppy gift, from the fumbling hands of Cyborg. He was better with cars, honestly. But the wrapping was home made, with little computer drawn Edgar Allen Poe faces on it. She unwrapped it gently, planning on saving the paper for something later. It was a picture of herself and Cyborg, wrists deep in T-car. Raven had a smudge of oil on her face and a deep look of concentration, while Cyborg was holding a wrench and an oil-pan up like a sword and shield. Beastboy's work. Cyborg winked at Raven, the only friend to know about the scrapbook she kept of all her memories. It was relaxing, and a nice way to relieve emotions like anger, and bitterness.
She thanked him quietly, moving onto the rest. She still had Beastboy's card, but hadn't thought to open it. Instead she feigned sleepiness and wished them all a good night. But before she passed the threshold of the door, she whispered something that made Starfire smile, Robin look confused, and Beastboy and Cyborg grin like kids who met their favorite hero.
" Thanks guys. I had fun. "
And that was the first day Garfield knew he loved her.Well, as more then the girl who he loved to have beat the crap out of him.
Raven tossed in her sleep, slapping the covers away like an unwanted lover's touch. When she finally woke, she was covered in a cold sweat, fingers shaking as she ran them through her hair. A back-to-back Slade/Melchior team-up had ruined her sleep. They invaded her sleep like a scorpion in someone's shoe. They usually weren't there. But when you forgot to be careful, they snapped faster then a mousetrap and left you hurting for hours.
' Your changing. Soon you'll start wearing that white leotard again, growing your hair out, and smiling while you rip out your friend's hearts.'
She tried to let those words go, which had slipped out of Melchior's mouth, and later from Slade. Although Slade had seemed to enjoy the idea, while Melchior had a look like someone sucking on sour grapefruit. Probably wishing she would include him in the tearing. She stood and prepared for a hot shower and a long night, when she saw Beastboy's card laying on her nightstand. She fingered the plain white envelope with her name written on it in green colored pencil, a small green kitten toying with the ball of yarn that made up the N.
She set it back down and went about her business of a shower then. Raven wanted to open it later. For now, it had done part of the job of easing her mind. She washed her hair and body, admiring the way one of her scars was healing over, and rinsed off while sliding on her dark pajama bottoms and blue crocheted sweater, rubbing her arms to keep them warm. Finally, she decided to look up, into her mirror.
And she screamed.
For some reason, Beastboy had a song stuck in his head. It sounded almost like a audio tape his parents had listened to, of Billy Idol. He was shrieking, and shrieking. But soon it started to annoy him. And then he was cold. Very cold. And for some reason his arms hurt. Throwing off his covers, he realized he was hearing a scream. And his light bulb had shattered above him. Rubbing his arms to get the glass out, he winced, running down the hall in nothing but his boxers. Raven.
He slammed a fist on the bathroom door when the handle proved to be locked. Yanking the knob, he heard the others rousing, but they were all at the other side of the floor plan. Deciding to warn her, he yelled out his intention.
" Raven, I'm coming!"
And then, he broke down the door with his bare shoulder, momentum carrying his body through to slam into the petite girl, his taller form catching her before she could hit the ground, pieces of shattered mirror tucking into her own arms. Beastboy pulled them out quickly, taking her discarded towel and wrapping the worst of the cuts with it, tying it until he was assured it wouldn't bleed. And finally, he got a good look into Raven's eyes.
She was terrified.
Pulling her to him, Gar just held her, stroking her soft hair while his friend's stood behind them in the doorway. Cyborg rushed off, knowing Raven was alright. He rebooted the power and changed some light bulbs. She might not want to be in the dark just now. Starfire and Robin wanted to help, but soon Garfield managed to get them to go back to bed. Raven seemed to be fine now. None of them had seen her though. Seen her face. Garfield had overlooked the changes .
But he looked up, getting another visual. Raven stared back, her lower lip still trembling, even if those eyes of hers said she was composed again. Her hair had slid down a bit, to her shoulders. And it was less purple now then before. Or maybe it was because it shined more. And her skin.. It looked as pale ad Gar's had. When he had been human. Her eyes had their deep indigo look still, but her lips were the gray color of charcoal, and she seemed to have sprung an extra inch or so in height. Her nails looked more like claws, and Gar couldn't help but notice a tiny increase in her hip size.
That and the fact that she was putting out a mating smell that was giving him a mad headache.
" You okay Rae?"
She nodded, trying her best to remember that she was a damn demon, not some sniveling little chit who cried when she saw a scary reflection in the mirror. But the girl there was different. Maybe dangerous, Raven wouldn't give up her newly found control, not for anything. But she knew something here was irrevocable. She wouldn't be able to go back to the way she had been now.
" Yes. Although a bit shocked. And also confused. "
" Um.. Why did you scream Raven? I mean you changed a bit, but what's so scary about that?"
He was one to talk, growing three feet and letting his hair get shaggy, like an animal's mane. Raven shrugged, not willing to talk about her doubts. About the fact that everything had grown so still inside her. That peace perturbed her more then the turmoil ever could. She didn't want to get complacent. Slade may have been right when he told her about her destiny. All she had to do was make one mistake.
" She looks like that girl who fell for Melchior's tricks. I guess it freaked me out. What do you think happened? We haven't fought anyone in damn near a month. "
She shuddered a bit, feeling violently ill in her own skin. Beastboy shrugged, although he knew the exact reason, and it almost comforted him. But how could he be the one to tell her.. That? No. He would wait. Tell Starfire, or Robin. Yeah. Much better then him.
But then he saw how raw her eyes were with tears. He was a sucker for a lady in trouble.
" Well.. I have a theory. But you might not like it. "
Raven raised a brow.
"Proceed."
Beastboy explained.
He had always been able to smell Starfire's..
Womanhood.
Fertility.. Cycles. But Raven was different. When her friend's scents changed, hers was always constant. That dried flower smell, like the ones his mother had used to slid into books. But without the change, she was still, in essence, a child. Her body may have formed a bit more curvy then Star's, but Raven wasn't fertile. Wasn't aroused. Wasn't in heat, ever. He had never wanted to mention it, Assuming he had known. After all, how did you not know you were barren? She had mentioned never having a family once, when she was older. He thought that was why.
But the fact was; Raven was a half demon. Her body was different, and it had most likely finally been ready for it's change. She knew when he told her, that he was right. Animal instinct, and every health scan she could think of told her nothing was wrong with her.
She had hit fucking puberty. With a bang.
AN: Hope you all liked it, forgive any errors in gramar or spelling, no beta. Although I shouldn't have a problem if spellcheck did it's wonderful work. I wrote this story while under the influence of Dr Pepper and The Killers new cd. Please review and tell me if it's alright so far?