Raven watched through blurred vision as her teammates urgently sprinted towards her fallen comrade, skidding to a stop next to his limp body. Frozen, her body betrayed her desire to help as her heart thudded in her chest, threatening to rip itself free of its restraints. She could hear someone calling her name but it didn't matter. Her mind teased her with terrible scenarios: Beast Boy being dragged into the depths of hell by her Father's hand; a funeral filled with forlorn faces veiled in black – fitting for the solemn atmosphere; silent days and nights – no Gamestation white noise filling the empty void will she meditated…
A tear stroked her cheek. Another. Three more. What kind of friend could she call herself as she stood there crying, unconsciously watching her friends trying to prevent the inevitable with modern medicine. Her brain registered the sound of Cyborg cursing, Starfire clearing a path through the fallen debris with her starbolts and Robin… running.
Robin's hands were shaking her unresponsive shoulders while his eyes swept up and down her lithe body, assessing her for injuries. The leader kept returning glances to his second-in-command as his robotic hands – once again – charged like a defibrillator and sent shockwaves of electricity through the green skin of his anamorphic teammate. However, his level-headedness assured him that Raven needed his help now. He couldn't provide any more support until Beast Boy's heart was beating again and the comic relief of the team would need her healing powers.
Caught up in the moment, he'd failed to notice the dark bird's absence from the area surrounding Beast Boy, until he'd ordered her to try to clot the bleeding from the gunshot wound to Beast Boy's abdomen. When greeted with silence, he broke away and saw her collapse to the floor amongst the remains of Jump City Opera House – Johnny Rancid's chosen battleground for that evening. Being able to pick up on the heightened emotions had probably caused Raven's defence mechanisms to overload and prevent her psyche from further subconscious damage. Fortunately, the shaking was working, as Robin looked into two beautiful purple eyes.
"Welcome back, Sleeping Beauty. Beast Boy needs you."
Never one to waste precious time, Robin offered Raven a hand and carefully pulled her to her feet. He wasn't concerned, knowing his fellow bird wouldn't be fazed by a fainting spell but his eyes did linger to ensure she was steady enough on her feet. It wasn't a problem for Raven, however, as she levitated beside him. Together, they travelled the short distance to Beast Boy. Thankfully, Cyborg had managed to restart his heart and was now focusing on the important task on ensuring his best friend didn't lose any more blood – a difficult task at present.
Raven landed on Beast Boy's left side, her blue cloak dipping into his red blood and staining the bottom a dark violet. Uncaring, she knelt down beside him and muttered her mantra under her breath – trying her best to ignore the metallic smell of the blood surrounding her senses. Her petite hands began to glow a comforting blue colour, searching for something to heal. Raven touched Beast Boy's ripped stomach and concentrated on locating the bullet that had pierced him; she found it after a minute close to his kidney and manoeuvred it back through his body to the entrance hole. She levitated it into Robin's hands.
Sweat beaded on her forehead as she now focused on healing any internal injuries the bullet caused. Parts she couldn't name began to stitch themselves back together as the others watched her intently – admiring her strength once again. Unfortunately, this wasn't the first time that they'd witnessed healing like this take place: Jump City – in the six years they'd been protecting it – had seen the crime rates lower but the intensity of the crime heighten as villains realised they'd need deadly weapons at their disposal as a means of escaping the Titans clutches. Rancid had obviously added to his arsenal.
After several more minutes of pushing energy into her friend, Raven fell back onto the heels of her feet, fighting off the light-headedness that always arrived promptly after healing. Fortunately, Starfire was behind her, hands on her shoulders, keeping her steady so she could catch her breath. Robin congratulated her on a job well done as Cyborg re-scanned Beast Boy's lifeless body, confirming that her healing skills had once again done their job. A sigh of relief left the half-robot's lips as his sensors beeped green. Beast Boy would be okay. Now they just had to wait for him to awaken.
"We should get him back to the tower – he needs to recuperate."
Raven nodded at Cyborg's statement, slowly standing before encasing herself and the team in her onyx-coloured aura and transporting them to the Titans Tower infirmary. While the others landed clumsily on the cool tiled floor – never used to the feeling of teleportation – Beast Boy landed perfectly on the nearest made-up bed. Overcome with tiredness, Raven collapsed into a chair while the three remaining teenagers got him hooked up to the various necessary machines to monitor his recovery.
"I'll take first watch," Robin stated before issuing orders: "Starfire, start your report ready for this evening; Cyborg, make us some dinner – we could all use a good meal after that fight; Raven, you go and meditate: I imagine you're physically and mentally drained."
Two of the Titans did as they were ordered, leaving the sterile room. One of them – defiant as ever – stayed rooted to the spot.
"That wasn't a suggestion and you know it, Raven."
"I'm fine. Besides, you'll need someone to discuss the fight with."
Giving in, knowing better than to push the half-demon, Robin sat down in the chair opposite hers. "What would you have done differently?"
Raven thought back before answering, treading carefully. "We were too distracted by the weapon. We're Titans for Azar's sake: four fifths of us are metahumans and can handle a gun." Robin nodded, agreeing as he recalled in his mind the moment when Rancid had produced the revolver from its holster, hidden behind his back, incognito. The group had collectively gasped.
"True, but Beast Boy could have died. Any of us could have. Despite being metahuman, you're all still fragile and one bullet in the wrong place could…"
"Kill us. We know. But I have healing powers; Cyborg's body is over half metal; Starfire is extremely agile and strong; Beast Boy's mish-mashed animal DNA helps his body recover quicker than an average human… all of those elements combined should mean that a bullet is no trouble for us."
"The only weak link is me," Robin smirked.
"You've dragged us down for six years - we're used to it," Raven joked, the smallest of smirks lighting up her pale face.
"I beg to differ – especially since I rescued you from the darkest depths of hell."
"Don't flatter yourself, Boy Wonder; I'd have found my way back eventually."
"In the body of a powerless child…"
"Shut up."
Robin smirked once more, happy to have gotten one over on the powerful demoness to his rights. His attention refocused on her as she began to make further suggestions: "Beast Boy was out of position too. As was Cyborg."
"We can't predict our every move, Raven, let alone theirs."
"I know – but we have to put up with your intense training routines for a reason. When a weapon that deadly is involved, no one should solo fight."
Robin knew she was right – as always.
"So you're suggesting more training sessions with weapons involved with specific work on team strategies and duo-fighting?"
"I don't see the harm," Raven nodded before glancing down at Beast Boy. "Anything to avoid this."
Robin nodded, also looking in the same direction as Raven. He pulled out his communicator and scheduled a training session for the four conscious Titans the following afternoon.
"What's the most deadly weapon you think we've faced?" Raven asked.
Robin was taken aback by her random question but had an answer already on the tip of his tongue: the Nanobots (manufactured by Slade) that, when in your bloodstream, attacked your nervous system. He relayed this information to Raven, who inwardly winced at the memory of one of their earliest fights during their careers as crime-fighters. What made the Nanobots even more horrific was the fact that they could be activated at any time.
Robin asked the same question to her, except she took a lot longer to answer: the hallucinogenic gas which Slade used to infiltrate Robin's mind and send him in a deranged state. That day had been horrible for everyone but especially her as she'd had to delve into his sub consciousness – exposing everything that made Robin… Robin.
"Funny how you pick the mental torture and I pick the physical one," Robin commented.
"Well, my powers are from the mind. Your metaphorical power comes from your physical strength and agility. It makes sense that we'd focus on the weapons that would affect us the most." Unwillingly, she felt a yawn rising from her throat but at the last second she held it back; unfortunately, she wasn't subtle enough for her action to be missed by Robin.
"Seriously, you need to rest. You're not helping Beast Boy by exhausting yourself," he ordered, rising from his chair when he saw her start to sink further into its comforting grasp. Holding out a hand to her for the second time that day, she lazily grabbed it and let him pull her out of the chair. He was shocked by the sudden cry she released when she stood up and accidentally let go of her hand. Raven fell back down into the chair, clearly in some discomfort.
"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly, scanning her body up and down.
Groaning, Robin saw her holding her ankle in a firm grip, her face scrunched up in a grimace of pain. It was an unusual sight for the healer, who normally dealt with her own injuries before the others could notice. Carefully, he took her hands away from her boot and took it off to examine her ankle, dodging her swatting hands.
"I'm fine, Robin. I'll sort it out later."
"With what healing energy? You used it all up on Beast Boy," he murmured, taking her ankle in his hands and delicately turning the appendage around in his hands. It was swollen and discoloured, even more noticeably because of her pale porcelain skin.
"A minor detail. I'll recuperate soon enough."
"And until then?" he questioned, giving her that smug look he always had plastered onto his face whenever he bested her. She hated it.
"I'll levitate."
"Levitating will help with the pain, not the injury. Let me wrap you up." The tone he used made Raven realise that again, it wasn't a suggestion but an obligation. Annoyed, she sat further back in the chair and crossed her arms tightly across her chest. Robin was a stubborn bastard at the best of times and she was a terrible patient; the demoness much preferred her role of resident magical healer. Raven looked up, ignoring the dull throbbing emulating from her foot, as Robin kneeled in front of her. Silently, he pressed an ice pack onto her ankle, laughing when she cursed at how cold it was.
"How did you hurt it?" he asked, truly curious. He didn't recall seeing her get badly attacked during the fight with Rancid; none of them did until Beast Boy got shot.
"Rancid kicked me into the side of the opera house and I smashed it against the wall… just before he fired at Beast Boy."
"Why didn't you heal it?" He removed the icepack, much to her relief, and began to coil the bandage around her foot and ankle to restrict the movement.
"The emotional overload: you were all really worried; Rancid was hysterical that he'd finally taken one of us out; the crowd were concerned for their safety. I blacked out before I could chant my incantation."
Robin nodded, intrigued. He'd hate to be an empath and constantly feel the emotions of others around him. He admired Raven even more for having to bare it on a day-to-day basis.
"Is that too tight?" She shook her head, trying to move her foot but failing to do so. After a few minutes, he had finished and secured the fabric. He walked towards the cupboard which housed further medical supplies. Her face fell when she saw what he pulled out of it.
"If you think I'm leaving here on damn crutches, you're deluded, Robin!"
"Well excuse me for caring about your well-being." He was joking, or at least partially. That much Raven could sense. She encased the crutches in her ethereal energy and threw them into the cupboard, slamming the door behind them. Getting the message loud and clear, he instead opened a higher cupboard and rummaged through it for some aspirin. He tossed them over to her.
"At least take some of these for the pain, and don't pretend you're not in any – I can see it in your eyes. I thought it was fatigue before." He wasn't surprised when she immediately tossed back the bottle, not taking a pill. She explained that she honestly didn't need pain relief and didn't want a foggy mind to interrupt her meditation. Thanking him, she levitated out of the infirmary.
'I swear, she's the most stubborn woman I've ever known!'
After clearing up the supplies he'd used, Robin relaxed back in his chair next to Beast Boy and began to type up his report on the computer. Every now and again, he checked his friend's vital statistics, satisfied that he was on the road to recovery.
Just as he was typing up the final details about his team's injuries, he saw the bed rustle in his peripheral vision: Beast Boy was awake. He was standing at the changeling's side in an instant, welcoming him back to the world of the living.
"What happened?" he murmured drowsily to his leader, trying to sit up but being immediately stopped by a green-gloved hand easing him back down against the mattress.
"Rancid shot you in the abdomen," Robin explained matter-of-factly, watching as Beast Boy clumsily grasped the thin duvet and pulled it down to examine the bandages wrapped around his naked torso. A spot of blood had soaked through, but otherwise he wouldn't have guessed that his injury was that serious. "Raven healed you: she stopped the bleeding and fixed the internal damage. You just need to recuperate here overnight to be on the safe side, but you should be playing Game Station again tomorrow." He should have looked delighted at the thought of playing his favourite games; his mind was on something else.
"Is she okay? No one else was shot?" he asked, concerned for Starfire and Cyborg. He knew that healing serious injuries left Raven feeling vulnerable – a position he hated seeing the strong demoness in.
Of course Beast Boy would be worried about her over himself, Robin thought. He explained that she was fine – he decided not to discuss the situation about her ankle; it would be fine soon enough and he didn't want Beast Boy to overreact.
"She's meditating as we speak. The only one you should be worried about is yourself: we nearly lost you today. You gave us a hell of a scare." Robin stared at the floor, finally letting his mind contemplate the reality that today they could have gone from five heroes to four.
"Dude, it'll take a lot more than a bullet to take me down!" the changeling smiled sleepily. He held up the hand with an IV attached, clenching it into a fist to bump with his leader.
"I'll go and get us some food. Cyborg should be nearly done cooking," Robin said after fist bumping his friend. He was starving after the battle. As the threshold slid open to let him out of the infirmary, he heard Beast Boy whisper something so quietly that he wasn't sure if he'd imagined it.
"Raven's amazing." The door closed behind him.
"Yes, she is."