Waking up like this was never good. Everything in Raven hurt, sharp pains throbbed through her broken bones and her fingers were numbed by bruising. Dust clouded her breaths, making her labored lungs suffer ever more so. But she was alive, though damaged. Thinking hard, the sorceress tried her best to remember where she had been and what exactly her current situation was. She remembered Plasmus attacking an apartment complex. The old brick and concrete structure that was just across from the Pizza Parlor she and her friends frequented. The sound of rubble shifting triggered her memory of the collapse. The purple monstrosity had used his recently acquired acidity to totally negate the integrity of the structure. She had observed as the structure collapsed, the rubble teetering towards several civilians whom had their difficulties evacuating the battle grounds. Her only instinct being their protection, the demoness had projected her soul self against the structure. It had been enough for her team to remove what common people they could, as well as deal with the putrid foe they had been dispatched against. Though enough had been too much.
Her body had collapsed from exhaustion before she could remove herself of the impact zone. Darkness had come over her, and up until now she had no recollection as to what transpired after. Was she alive after the building had fallen on her? She attempted to move her legs, and the pain was answer enough without the weight of rubble restricting them. Yep, being dead didn't hurt much in her experiences of Trigons return. So, good news aside she was alive. Time to move to the next bit of bad news.
From what she could tell, there was a mountain of rubble above the small pocket of dusty air she currently resided. Ravens whole form was together, though her left arm and both her legs were now buried in bricks and mortar. She would definitely need a long break for healing. There were obviously several spots that were bleeding on her body, but none seemed immediately fatal. Though a wide, wet, warm spot on her chest seemed to be growing alarmingly larger by the minute. So, with her one good hand, she reached through the pain and began to check her torso for any lacerations. To which she found none. There was an abundance of warm liquid pooling on her, but no source on her body. It wasn't until she felt the same heat drip onto the back of her hand that Raven began to grow curious to what it was.
Opening her eyes left Raven with only darkness as an answer. She had hoped that there would be some sort of hole or crack leading to the outside to allow her to see, but not so much as a pebble would allow the light to reach her. She was about to give up on any further inquiries, her injuries taking a toll on her ability to stay awake, when she finally heard a voice.
"Ra… ven..."
It was slightly muted by the ringing in her ears, but she had suddenly realized her name had been repeated slowly this entire time.
"Rav… Raven..."
She felt something shift above her. The gothic sorceress wasn't buried alone. Beast Boy was above her. Raven did her best to reply.
"B-Beast Boy?" Her voice pained through the clouded space. Beast Boy sputtered above her and more of that hot liquid splashed her face. His harsh voice sounded of concern and struggling.
"Raven! Are… Are you okay Raven?" The rubble around them shook again, and he grunted in pain. "Raven?"
She couldn't hold in her relief for the moment. For the first time since waking up, things didn't seem so catastrophically bad. "I'll be fine. I'm fine." She reassured her friend, forcibly steadying her voice. "Nothing I can't handle." She tried to see her arm and legs through the darkness, but to no avail. "Are you alright?"
She heard the boy chuckle, then whine in pain. "I've been better, for sure." He mumbled. More of that hot stuff was pooling around her. More of the rubble shifted around them, enough so as to let a small amount of light into their small space. At first it seemed as though a godsend to Raven, the dusty darkness finally being cut through by the light. But she quickly wished it had never come. What she saw was too much.
"Been… Better?" Her throat stung with horror. She couldn't process the picture before her, let alone understand her teammates calm through out it.
A single threaded, steel rebar caught the light. It floated just under her chin and was now drooling her comrades blood midways across it's exposed length. It had pierced through Beast Boys sternum, imbedded all the way through to the large hunk of foundation the tiny green hero was hefting over the young heroine. Like Atlas holding the world, his slim arms were bursting at the seams with effort, every feature in his young form straining against the gravity of the concrete chunk. Shock spread through Raven as she couldn't help but try to aid her friend through her own numbing pain. Fruitless her efforts remained, her body drained of magics and strength, but she struggled forward so much that she couldn't notice the commanding look he sent her or his orders to stay put. Until more hot red bathed her face.
"I said STOP, Raven!" The paling clover teen demanded, "You can't move, I can't move. If you move much more we're BOTH dead..." Tears streamed from his cheeks and met the blood choking out from his withering lips. "This thing is really, really heavy and I can't shift with this-" Wheezing cut him short. With each body shaking cough he released, the metal rod shivered and pushed bit by bit closer to the sorceress. She got the message now, but she didn't have to like it.
In fact, the only thing she could feel right now was anger. Anger, and fear for her teammate. For his life. "What's your plan then, huh?" Raven seethed, "Stand there and let me watch you bleed out? What the hell were you thinking grabbing-"
"I wasn't thinking!" He didn't understand either of their anger, but he damn well wasn't going to hold it in. "I saw the building falling, and I saw you. I just did what..." The air froze around them, all time standing still for but a moment. The dust agitated by their voices dribbled all around them, breaking both their focus and forcing them to calm down. Then the damnedest thing happened.
Beast Boy began to laugh.
One eye shut in agony, his gaze met with hers. His shoulders began to shift the weight behind him, his feet began to tremble. "I honestly don't know if I can hold this much longer. I need to move so this doesn't fall on-" Blood ceased his words as he began to trot backwards. With each step, the piercing metal shook in the boys mortal wound. Raven wanted to scream at the sight. Wanted to move and stop this idiots actions. Wanted to turn back time and stop this madness. But as the strain became too much, Ravens vision gave way to her healing trance. Her last sight being that of Beast Boy stumbling onto his back and the sound of their friends running towards them
Floating above any furniture was not an unknown feeling to the sorceress. In fact, it was a common feeling to have after a grueling battle. Her meditation, her leisure, even in her doing nothing she was used to being apparently weightless. Though waking into it was never a pleasant feeling. Her normal use of it was conscious, so to be suddenly off the ground could only mean one thing.
She was hurt. Bad.
The empath rattled her brain for memories while she took in the dark hospital environment. Night was upon the city, and the normally blindingly white rooms at least had a dullness to their color around now. Taking up a meditative position, she noticed the throbbing in her functional but injured arm and legs. Memories of being buried, trapped away from the battle. She focused harder, remembering her situation. Darkness, heat… Blood but not hers? Tears hit her eyes as she tried to recall her subconscious from her time in a healing trance. She felt she was missing a step. Something needed her attention now, but she didn't remember what.
She could tell her subconscious was suppressing the thoughts for the sake of keeping control. So she let it go for now, opting to take the time to finish her healing meditation and center herself for whatever was to come. Something told her she would need every bit of her mind steeled for whatever was next.
The sun had been up for around an hour when she finally bloomed from her lotus position. Doctors, carts, and visiting citizens waltzed by her door on occasion. The world had moved on while she waited and one thing had just occurred to her. None of the Titans had visited her yet. The door clicked and in walked Robin donning a few bandages as well as splints on his leg and a few fingers. Speak of the devil, as they say.
The sorceress greeted her leader with her usual passive glance. The young mans shoulders sagged a bit in relief, but Ravens empathy showed the great emotional strain he was still under. He came close and grasped her in a half hug.
"I'm glad to see you're much better already." The cheer in his voice was partially forced. He was truly glad for her but something- "Come on, we need you with us." Ravens brows knitted together as Robin turned to lead her out into the lobby. "Where are we going?" She questioned, but he only kept walking down the hall to surgery recovery. Something pushed against the mental barriers her subconcious had put up, forgoing control and forcing on remembering. Sadness was released from her prison and released her memories like a flood.
The lights lining the hall burst in line leading from the demoness, the wave of destruction consuming any menial technology and flinging papers in their wake. Robin turned back only just as Raven began sprinting past, knocking him to the side as she made for hell down the corridor. Her powers reached into every room looking for him. The image of Beast Boy impaled burned her vision. The pain in her heart made her mouth taste of iron. Her fingers numbed in her clenched fists and her feet were already beginning to sore at her stomping speed. At the last room, she finally found the presence of Cyborg and Starfire. Screeching to a halt, she reached for the handle and… froze.
Her stomach began to turn, her vision went blurry, and her shoulders began to shake. She couldn't feel his bright aura. The bubbling glow of excitement, wonder, and a touch of paranoia that was so distinctly Beast Boy wasn't pressing against her empathy in the slightest. Her knees buckled under her weight and cold tears welled over her cheeks. She was against the door moaning her anguish when she felt the door open inwards and two strong blue hands grasp her to a metal chest. Two more arms joined in; orange, slender, and strong they pressed her further into an unknown but familiar warmth.
"Raven." Cyborgs voice came through to her, and behind it she could hear the steady thrum of a heart monitor. The group drew into the small room pushing Raven closer and closer to the beeping machine, until she could feel just a spark of the green light that was so distinctly Beast Boy.
Six hundred pounds. Two hundred and seventy two kilograms. Raven couldn't even fathom his scrawny green frame withstanding that force for even a moment, regardless of the piercing rod of steel impaled through most of his vital organs. Even after all this time it baffled her.
Three years had come and gone without him. Three years without his smile. Three years without his voice. Three years of Titans memories without one of their best friends. Of course, they found their own little ways to include him in their lives. They celebrated his birthday with him, visited him with presents on every Christmas, and took their own personal time watching over him and talking to him. Robin had come the most of all of them, always taking his part in exorcizing and loosening the sleeping boys limbs. Cyborg sat in the room and played games on his TV, or read the boys comics and gossip to him. Starfire had her own customs she spent with him, though the meaning of most were lost on the others. And once again Raven floated just to the side of his bed, waiting for his aura to return to it's former glory.
She had sat there for days upon days sometimes, watching the spark of his life shift to and fro. The blazing fire that should be his soul diminished to the flicker of a candle flame. She held onto hope, always watching for his fire to grow, waiting for him to wake up.
Today was one of those days for her. Raven stared intently at the ever more fragile body before her, just trying to imagine the willpower that pushed his muscles to heft almost five times is own weight. Of course, he was but skin and bone after this long coma but he had always been gangly. She was in awe that the boy hadn't been crushed immediately under the debris. She ran her hand over his thin arm all the way to his wrist, the slow pulse shivering beneath her fingers. Another delicate source of her hope. She observed his long, boney fingers and gently grasped his hand.
Tears of joy, stronger than any she had felt before welled in her eyes. Her breath was borderline erratic, and he couldn't quite hold in happy weeps as a green light filled her empathy and the hand grasped back.
