Captive Audience

The morning sun shone brightly through the common room windows, highlighting a beautiful ten-story view of Jump City. Clear blue skies, skyscraper skyline, and a sparkling ocean reflection; perfect postcard material for the eager tourist.

But the violet-haired mystic wasn't here to sightsee. All that mattered to her was that for once, the common room was silent, devoid of all people but her.

No alien princess wishing her a "glorious" day and perhaps a trip to the mall together. No spiky-haired leader obsessing over the latest crime of utmost importance that absolutely required their attention now. No half-robot clunking around, shouting "Booyah" at the top of his lungs. But most importantly, there was no sight of him.

He, the green halfwit, whose entire being exuded immaturity and screamed for attention. He, whose relentless pestering continually tried her patience and emotional control. And if she had to endure yet another one of his stupid jokes…

Raven shook her head. Now was not the time to get worked up over people who weren't even here. Tightening her grip on her book, she shifted in her seat on the couch and resumed reading. She was determined to enjoy the novelty of quietly relaxing in the ambiance of the common room, for however long it would continue to last.

Which incidentally, was only ten more minutes.

-TT-

What a beautiful day! The sun was shining, the weather looked nice, and was it really only ten in the morning?

Beast Boy scrambled out of bed excitedly. He may have woken up a bit early by his standards, but he wasn't about to waste an awesome day lazing around.

After washing up and changing into a decently fresh uniform, he bounded into the common room at full speed. "Hey guys! Does anyone wanna…?" He paused, noticing the empty room. "Uh, guys?"

Wait. There was Raven, sitting on the couch, probably reading some boring old book.

"Hey Raven!" exclaimed Beast Boy as he jumped onto the couch next to her. "Uh, where is everybody?"

"Out," she replied, in her usual dull tone. She didn't even bother to look up from her book.

"Um, out where?"

"I don't know. Probably spending some time relaxing," she stated. "Like I'm trying to do," she added with a hint of emphasis.

"Well, uh, do you wanna go to the park with me?" he asked, oblivious to her growing irritation. "It's a nice day outside, and it'll be a lot more fun that reading that book! I've got a Frisbee we can use, and—"

"No, Beast Boy. In fact, I rather enjoy reading, if you haven't noticed by now."

Beast Boy studied her expression. Well, it sure didn't look like she was enjoying her book; in fact, it looked more like she was trying really hard to burn a hole through the pages with her eyes. Lucky for her, he knew just how to turn that frown upside-down!

"Sooo, Rae," he started, leaning towards her with a smile growing on his face. "Did ya hear about the angry pancake?"

Raven set down her book, turning her glare towards him. "Beast Boy…"

"It really flipped out! Get it?" he asked, playfully nudging her with his elbow.

She merely rolled her eyes. Wow, tough crowd; but he wasn't through yet. "Ooh I know, how about a pizza joke?"

Raven covered her eyes with her hand. "Please, just stop. I don't want to hear it."

"Ok Rae," he said, trying to hold back a chuckle. "I don't blame ya. It's pretty cheesy anyways!" He laughed out loud; surely she had to find that one funny!

She sighed, clearly not amused. "Beast Boy, all of your jokes are cheesy. And it's Raven, not Rae."

He slouched in his seat on the couch, disappointed. "Aw come on, Rae," he pouted, ignoring her last comment. "They're supposed to be funny! Would it really kill ya to laugh once in a while?"

"Maybe. If your poor attempts at humor weren't already driving me crazy…" she muttered, returning her gaze to her open book.

Beast Boy sat in silence for a moment, furrowing his eyebrows. How come she was always so serious? Sure, maybe his jokes weren't top notch, but they weren't that bad, were they? At least, he thought they were funny…

Another thought. "Raven, can I ask you a question?"

"You just did."

"No, I'm being serious here!"

"Was that a joke? Because that might actually be funny." Ouch.

"Raven…" he pleaded.

She sighed again, setting down her book. "Yes, Beast Boy?"

"Ok, so remember when I used your magic mirror that one time, and me and Cyborg went into your mind—"

"Which you should never do again," she interjected pointedly. "Ever."

He waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah, my bad. Anyways, so we went into your mind and met these rainbow-colored versions of you that were all sad and happy and stuff."

"Yes, my various emotional incarnations."

"Yeah. So I was wondering…" Beast Boy paused, thinking carefully about how to word his question; he didn't want to sound dumb. "Were those emotions…you? I mean, obviously, you're you, but those Ravens looked like you and talked in your voice…like, are they…" He trailed off. Well, that was an epic failure.

Raven tilted her head in confusion. "If what you're trying to ask is if those doppelgangers are representative of the real me, then yes, they are; albeit mere facets of my entire person. The mirror simply gives my mind, and my emotions, a representation to physically interact with."

"So," Beast Boy continued, trying to process her words. "Does that mean that if the happy you can laugh, you can too?"

"Of course," she said, still confused. "Just because I hardly ever laugh doesn't mean I can't."

"How come? Why don't you laugh?"

"Because, I will hurt people if I do," she replied frankly. "Any outburst of emotion, whether it be fear, anger, or even happiness, causes my powers to lash out uncontrollably. So, I have to be careful."

"Oh." Well, that was depressing. Beast Boy couldn't imagine having to live like that, always trying not to be too happy, afraid that something would blow up. Nobody should have to.

"So, um," he continued, steering away from that gloomy train of thought. "Does that also mean that whatever those other Ravens say are…kinda like your thoughts?"

She nodded. "Yes." She then leaned towards him, hardening her expression. "Which is exactly why I don't want you anywhere near my mirror. Understand?"

"Hehe…I gotcha," he grinned sheepishly. The last thing he needed was an angry Raven on his tail, shooting laser beams of death at him. In real life.

"Good. I'm glad you got the message." She relaxed back into her seat. "Or else I might have to banish you to another dimension." She suddenly turned towards him again, confused. "Wait, why did you ask me that? I thought you two had already figured it out back then."

Beast Boy slowly started grinning. "Oh, I just needed to make sure of a few things," he said slyly. It turned out that he was right about something, for once. And about Raven, of all people.

Raven apparently did not like his tone. "Like what?" she said, a little forcefully.

"Well," he paused, taking a deep breath. He needed to savor this moment. And probably get ready to hightail it out of there. "For one, if that happy Raven really is a part of you, that means you can laugh."

"Yes, Beast Boy, I've already established that. But I don't, because that would put people in unnecessary danger."

"Right, right," he murmured hesitantly. This only seemed to confirm his suspicions. If she didn't laugh because she didn't want to hurt people, then… "So, does that mean you really do think I'm funny?"

Raven recoiled sharply. "No! Absolutely not! Your humor is immature, childish, and derivative. Your pranks are juvenile, your jokes are corny; you are not funny, Beast Boy."

Well then, time to bring out his ace in the hole. "Well, I'm sorry Raven," he said slowly, unable to stop himself from smiling. "But I don't believe you."

Raven glowered at him menacingly. "Beast Boy…" she growled, various objects around her starting to levitate.

He continued smiling. "No, no, I have a good reason. You see, I forgot to tell ya: while I was in your mind, your happy side talked to me. And she told me that, and I quote, 'I've always thought you were funny, BB!' Which means you really do think I'm funny!" he exclaimed triumphantly, pointing his finger at her for emphasis. "And you even have a pet name for me! Aww, thanks Rae; I didn't know you cared!" he teased.

That was it. She was furious, with death in her eyes and a snarl on her lips. Cups were shattering, chairs were flying, and those black tentacles were probably not a good sign either. But before Raven could grab him, Beast Boy shifted into a cat, deftly leaping out of her reach and scrambled towards the doorway. It was definitely time to run.

But before exiting the common room, he shifted back into his human form; he couldn't resist leaving without some flair. "Welp, it was nice talking to ya. But I got things to do, places to be, you know how it is." Uh oh, she's getting closer. "But I am going to make you laugh one day, Raven! Even if you blast me to the moon!" And with that, he bolted gleefully out of the room…

…taking two whole steps, before suddenly being lifted into the air by a magical black vice grip, and unceremoniously thrown out of the nearest window into the bay below.

Totally worth it.

-TT-

That dork. This was exactly why Raven preferred to stay far away from him; somehow, whenever she was around him, she would inevitably lose control, and vent. Rather violently.

Raven sat back down on the relatively intact couch, amid a mess of broken cups, upended furniture, and her unfortunately shredded book.

Great. She couldn't even go back to reading; even while floundering in the middle of the bay, Beast Boy was still preventing her from indulging in some peace and quiet.

She growled in frustration, growing even angrier. And how dare he claim that she liked his jokes! Just because he invaded her mind and listened in on her private thoughts didn't give him the right to make wild assumptions about what she really thought!

Raven cradled her head in her hands. Beast Boy was certainly going to pester her even more, now that he had that crazy idea in his little pea-brain. Raven, liking his jokes? Ridiculous!

It would be, if it weren't also true.

Yeah! BB is hilarious!

Fantastic. Now there were voices in her head, telling her otherwise.

Lying to yourself is pointless, Raven. Just admit it.

She relaxed her shoulders, sighing in defeat. She did not look forward to becoming a captive audience to his numerous attempts at humor, and straining her emotional control even further…but, there was one saving grace. Maybe, she didn't mind so much hearing his voice every day. Maybe, she secretly enjoyed feeling the happiness radiate from him like a warming sun. She smiled to herself a little.

And maybe, just maybe, she was a little captivated by him too.