I've been inspired to write this based on a certain new couple in Young Justice: Outsiders.
I hope it doesn't disappoint. This is for all you "Gardita" fans out there!
Young Justice: The Queen and the Beast
"Yep, this Beast Boy is looking good tonight." Garfield Logan, aka Beast Boy, hummed to himself as he stood in front of the mirror
and straightened his suit. Today was the 22nd birthday of his girlfriend, Queen Perdita of Vlatava. They had been dating since they
first met at Wally West's funeral. In the following years the two had grown closer, and their relationship was heavily supported by
both friends and the media. Now, tonight, he had something very special planned for his royal sweetheart. "Okay, time to give my
Queen the best night of her life." He said he pocked something from his desk drawer and headed out.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
At her suite in the Luthor Grande Hotel, Queen Perdita too was getting ready. She was wearing a sleeveless light blue dress and a
pair of emerald earrings shaped like monkeys. These were a gift from her meta-human boyfriend on her last birthday and fond them
adorable. She decided to wear them for this occasion. Garfield hinted he had special plans for tonight, but gave no details. She
couldn't wait for what he had in mind. She had just put the earrings on when she heard from her bodyguard outside her door. "Your
Highness, Mr. Logan is here for you."
"I'll be right out!" She said, straightening her hair a bit. After checking to make sure nothing was out of place, Perdita walked to her
room door and opened it. She smiled to see her handsome green man in a fancy suit. He too smiled at his lady. "My, don't you look
handsome tonight?" She asked in a seductive tone, making Garfield blush.
"And you look beautiful… Your Majesty." He said in his usual teasing tone, making Perdita laugh.
"If you don't stop calling me that, it's the dungeon for you." She while smirking. She and her boyfriend chuckled.
"Big talk. So…shall we be on our way?" Garfield asked, holding his arm his lady to take.
"Yes, let's go." Perdita replied as she took Garfield's arm and headed out for their date. Unbeknownst to the couple, as they left the
hotel, they were being watched… by a masked someone from the shadows.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Are we not getting a taxi?" Perdita asked, seeing as Garfield was not signaling for a cab to stop by them. Garfield smirked.
"I have a much…faster way." He then transformed into a Pegasus, surprising her.
"Wow, when did you learn to change into that?" The stunned Queen asked.
"I've gotten much better with my powers over the years. That, and watching the original "Clash of the Titans" kinda helped." He
said, making them both laugh. "Feel up for a flight?" Perdita used a nearby fire hydrant to hop onto Garfield's back.
"The things you would do for your Queen…" Perdita teased as wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Alright, hold on tight!" He warned before he took off with one mighty flap of his wings. She screamed in excitement as they flew
upward until they were just above the city's buildings. Perdita was enjoying the view; she had never flown like this before! What
made it even better was that it was her own special boyfriend giving her this unique experience.
As they flew, they were being followed by the shadowy figure from outside the hotel. The figure jumped from rooftop to rooftop in
order to keep up. This person had an assignment. No matter what, the couple had to remain in their sight. Thankfully, the individual
had so far not been noticed.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
They continued flying until they reached the Hollywood sign outside the city. After landing on top of the first "L", Garfield changed
back to his human form. "How was the flight?" He asked.
"It was breathtaking. I enjoyed every second of it." Perdita said, wanting to relive that exhilarating feeling more times to come.
Garfield was happy to hear it.
"I'm glad. I hope you also like the view." He said as he showed her the entire outline of Los Angeles. The sight amazed her.
"Wow." She simply said as the young meta took her hand, joining her as they both looked across the grand landscape.
While they gazed, the unknown figure stood behind the shadow of the "L" and watched the two. With their attention elsewhere,
neither would notice what was about to take place. Silent as a snake, the stalker made their way behind the "L". Behind it was a big
basket with food and an ice bucket containing two water bottles and a bottle of white wine. Carefully, the figure switched the wine
bottle with an identical one from their bag. The masked stranger then hid in the bushes nearby without making a sound.
Just after the figure vanished, Garfield lifted his girlfriend into his arms and, in his gorilla form, made their way down to the ground.
"I bet you're feeling a little hungry right now, huh?" Garfield asked.
"Now that you mention it, yes." Perdita replied, as she rubbed her stomach. "Where are we eating?"
"How about right here?" Garfield then revealed the picnic basket and ice bucket he hid before their date began. This surprised the
young Queen.
"How long have those been here?" Perdita questioned. She knew neither of them carried a basket of food or bucket before flying
here.
"Since before I picked you up. I thought it would be nice if we ate out here, just the two of us overlooking the city." Perdita liked the
sound of that.
"You are such a romantic, Gar." Her boyfriend then got a huge blanket from within the basket and laid it out for them. After making
themselves comfortable, Garfield revealed the basket's contents.
"For tonight, we have Fettuccine Alfredo pasta with sliced grape tomatoes and sprinkled with Parmesan cheese. Following that we
have bread sticks and a couple of Caesar salads. And to wash it all down, we have some ice cold water and… perhaps a little of this
stuff." He then brought out the bottle of white wine. Perdita smirked.
"In other words, you ordered takeout from the local Olive Garden." Garfield acted a little defensive.
"Ow, you've hurt me Perdita." He replied in a mocking tone while holding his hand over his heart, making her laugh. He loved
hearing her laugh; to him, her laughter sounded like that of an angel. "But seriously, I actually did make all this myself… well, yeah
the wine I did buy but still. I even brought along a mini heater to keep the pasta and breadsticks nice and warm." This time, Perdita
was actually impressed.
"Really? In that case…it all looks wonderful. I can't wait to see how good it all is." The meta hoped so as he also brought out a tall
candle from within the basket and used a lighter to light it up.
"So, shall we dig in, Your Highness?" Perdita then mocked annoyance.
"Yes, but first things first. As your Queen, I order you not to address me in any royal affiliated title for the remainder of the evening.
Is that understood, Mr. Logan?" She finished in a seductive tone. In response, Garfield made a mock bow.
"As you command, Your Majes… I mean, Perdita." He replied in the same tone, resulting in them laughing again before finally eating
their meal. As they dined, they were still being observed by the mysterious stalker.
"Ugh, all that lovey dovey stuff is making me want to puke. The sooner this is over, the better." The figure whispered in disgust. The
unknown stalker continued to watch the couple eat and enjoy themselves without a care in the world. Very soon, this night would
end…with both of them dead.
The figure soon became more alert when Garfield finally opened the bottle of what he believed was white wine. "Tonight's wine
special is definitely special for the evening: Moscato Primo Amore. Since primo amore is Italian for "first love", I thought it would be
appropriate to share it with you, my first love." Garfield explained as he poured the wine into separate glasses, one of which he
gave to a very touched Perdita.
"Oh Garfield. I love you." She said, resisting the urge to kiss him there and then.
"I love you too, Perdita. Happy Birthday." A smiling Garfield replied as he and his girl clinked their glasses together.
The hidden figure began to smile too. This was it, the moment the person eagerly anticipated. 'Finally, it ends.' This was what the
figure waited for all evening. As soon as they drink from their glasses, it would be over for them both.
Before either of them could take a sip, however, Perdita immediately noticed something about her wine glass. Something that told
her to not drink it. "Garfield, wait!" She said loudly, grabbing her boyfriend's wrist before he could taste his wine. The hidden figure
began to feel nervous.
"What? What's the matter, Perdita?" Garfield asked, startled by his beloved's unexpected action. She now looked concerned as she
released Garfield's wrist.
"The wine… I think something's wrong with it. No white wine of any kind should have a faint violet color in it. Can you see it?" She
asked, prompting him to look into his own glass. As he did, Garfield noticed it too. It was very faint, almost invisible, but with a
close enough inspection a trace of violet could be seeing swirling around. This started to bother him.
"That's weird, it didn't look that when I bought the bottle earlier today. I wonder if it went bad somehow." After setting his glass
down, Garfield lifted the bottle up and examined it. He noticed at once that something was definitely wrong with it. "Hold up, this
isn't the wine bottle I bought!" He said in both shock and anger. The stalker went wide eyed with shock, not believing the plan got
ruined.
"It isn't? How do you know?" Perdita asked, now having a bad feeling.
"When I bought the bottle, I personally wrote my initials on the bottom of the label. That way, I could tell it was mine. This bottle…
doesn't have those initials." Garfield revealed, showing Perdita where the initials were supposed to be, but weren't.
The figure pulled out the stolen bottle and looked at it. True enough, there were the initials "G.L." on the bottom right hand corner
of the label. The person cursed for making such a stupid mistake. Now the two knew something was up. The figure also didn't
believe either of them would notice the slight discoloration in their glasses. "Screw it then. Guess I'll have to get some blood on my
hands tonight after all." The figure said, quietly but angrily, as they pulled out a long, sharp sword from their back.
"What does this mean, Gar?" A confused and nervous Perdita asked. The answer he gave also frightened her.
"I think someone wants us dead." He said in a low serious voice, making her gasp and cover her mouth.
"Damn right." Garfield and Perdita quickly got to their feet and turned to where they heard the new menacing voice. Out from the
bushes came a woman with long silver hair and wore an eyepatch over her left eye. She wore a uniform similar to Deathstroke and
wielded a long sword.
"Who are you? What is the meaning of this?!" The young queen demanded angrily.
"Call me Ravager, your Majesty. I'm the daughter of Deathstroke, whom your boyfriend's precious Team defeated in the past. You
and your freak lover were supposed to die from drinking that stuff you thought was wine. You can imagine my disappointment that
neither of you didn't take a freaking sip before seeing through it."
"So you're the one who switched my wine bottle with poison! But why?!" Garfield asked, pissed that this new lady had the nerve to
try to ruin his special night with his love.
"To prove to my father that I'm worthy of being his daughter. Murdering a meta-human and the Queen of Vlatava, while making it
look like a double suicide, would certainly impress him. But of course, you ruined that plan… which brings us to Plan B!" Ravager
shouted before running towards Garfield, intending to him first.
"Perdita, stay back! I got this!" Perdita took cover as her boyfriend changed into a tiger and ran toward Ravager. Just as they were
about to collide, Ravager planted her sword to the ground and used the handle to swing herself around to kick Garfield's left side.
She was so fast the meta didn't have time to react before ending up laying on the ground.
Not giving up that easily, Garfield changed into a gorilla and charged again. Again, Ravager seemed to be one step ahead as she
nimbly dodged and backflipped to avoid Garfield's attacks. When she flipped over him, she twisted around and sliced his right
shoulder. Howling with pain, Garfield ducked to narrowly make his opponent's next attack miss.
"Garfield!" Perdita shouted in alarm. She couldn't believe this was happening, and on her birthday of all days! She watched as
Garfield reverted back to his human form and held his bleeding shoulder in pain. He struggled to get back on his feet.
"You can't win, freak. No matter what animal form you take, I'll always be one step ahead of you." Ravager then swiftly kicked
Garfield before he could change form again. He was laying on the ground once more in pain.
'Dammit. She's not giving me an inch! If only I had just a few seconds…' However, it didn't look like he had a few seconds. Once
Ravager stood above him, she raised her sword for the final strike.
"Time to end you." Just as Ravager was about to deliver the killing blow, she suddenly turned around to grab Perdita by the wrist.
She had tried to bash the assassin in the head by the bottle of poison while her back was turned, but somehow Ravager sensed it
and caught her in time.
"Perdita!" Garfield shouted as he struggled to move, despite the pain. Perdita, shocked that her sneak attack was stopped, stood
frozen with fear in her eyes. Ravager grinned heartlessly.
"Did you really think you could catch me off guard like that, Queeny?" She was surprised when, instead of crying in terror, the
Vlatavan Queen smirked.
"Actually, no." She then used her free hand, which held her untouched glass of poison, to toss the contents onto Ravager's face. The
woman screamed as the liquid started to burn her face. Forced to release Perdita to cover her face, she failed to react in time to
what came next.
Perdita's actions gave her boyfriend the time he needed to strike back. While Ravager was reeling from the poison, Garfield
transformed into a huge python and proceeded to wrap himself around her body. He then started squeezing the air out of her. He
held Ravager so tight that she couldn't move a muscle. She then began gasping for air as she struggled, but she couldn't escape.
After a long moment, Garfield felt his enemy go limp and finally released her before resuming his human form.
Perdita then felt for her pulse. "She's alive, but out cold. Are you going to be alright, Gar?" Even though he was bruised and
bleeding, he smiled and gave her a thumbs up.
"I'll be fine…thanks to you." He then took her into his manly arms. "Have I told you how much I love you?" Perdita smiled as she
wrapped her arms around his neck.
"How about you show me, Beast Man?" She then pulled Garfield in for a passionate kiss.
/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Perdita, I'm so sorry how tonight turned out. It was meant to be a perfect night for you… for both of us." Garfield apologized after
he and Perdita returned to her hotel suite. Before leaving, they tied up Ravager to a tree and Garfield called his sister, M'gann, about
what happened. Within minutes, M'gann and Conner showed up to take Ravager to the authorities. After that, the couple left to
return to the city.
"It wasn't your fault, Gar. That evil woman is the one to blame. I'm just glad we didn't end up like Romeo and Juliet." Perdita
replied.
"I hope you mean the part where they died in the end, cause that was definitely a close call. That's twice you saved me tonight.
First from that poisoned wine, and then from Ravager herself. I really owe you a lot." Garfield said, but Perdita shook it off.
"Don't worry about it. I wasn't going to let her kill the man I love." Garfield was touched as he smiled.
"And I would go all python on ANYONE that dares to try and hurt the woman I love." He said as he kissed her. "And you know,
maybe I can still salvage this evening. After all, it's still your birthday."
"What do you mean?" Perdita asked, not knowing what he was getting at.
He then took a small box out of his shirt pocket, which he then opened for her. "Here. Happy Birthday." He handed Perdita a
necklace that held half a gold heart attached to it. Perdita gasped as she took it.
"It's beautiful. But…why is it only half a heart?" Perdita asked, though she suspected the answer already.
"Simple; the other half is here." Gar replied as he pulled out something hidden in his shirt. He too wore a small gold chain with a
half heart on it. "Now we each have half. When our relationship began, I gave you half of my heart, and you gave me half of yours.
These charms symbolize our love. Only when we are together can our hearts be whole." He answered as he joined his half heart
with his girlfriend's. Perdita smiled and felt like crying as she put her charm around her neck.
"Thank you. I like a thoughtful gift, especially if it's from you." Perdita said as she kissed him again. After that brief peck, the young
man felt more sure about his "real" surprise.
"I'm glad to hear that. If you liked that gift," Gar then got down on one knee before her. "Then I hope you'll love this." To his
girlfriend's shock, Gar brought out another small box from his pants pocket. He then opened it, this time to reveal a gorgeous
diamond ring. Perdita was now transfixed on what was about to take place.
"Garfield…" Perdita started, but her boyfriend held up his other hand.
"This my real birthday present for you. Starting tonight, I don't want us to just share our hearts. I also want us to share our very
lives together. Perdita, Queen of Vlatava, and love of my life: Will you marry me…Your Majesty?"
Now, Perdita did start crying…and gave the most wonderful smile Garfield had ever seen from her. "Garfield Logan… I told you that
you are not allowed to call me that." She scolded, though she sounded pretty chocked up. Her boyfriend smirked.
"Big talk. So…will you?" Garfield repeated his question. Perdita wiped her eyes with the back of her hand before starting to laugh.
"Are you kidding me? Of course I will!" Perdita declared as she let a happy Garfield slip the ring onto her finger. The newly engaged
couple then kissed passionately. It may not have been a perfect romantic evening for the two lovebirds, but somehow, the events of
the night made that moment all the more special. For they knew they could always depend on each other to get through anything.
The end.