Author's Note:

The music that Raven likes to listen to corresponds, unsurprisingly, to my personal taste. Duh. So does Garfield's later comment.

Some of the older among you will probably recognize Changeling's joke as coming from The Blues Brothers. Since that movie was made way before Garfield was even born, I am proposing that he never saw it and actually came up with the joke himself. So please don't accuse Garfield of lack of originality; the fault is entirely mine. And for those of you that never saw The Blues Brothers, do yourselves a favor and watch it. It's a classic.

Finally, an apology – recently I have been blessed both with inspiration and the time to put it down in words. Unfortunately time will soon become a lot scarcer, so don't expect that I can keep up this rhythm of 2-3 updates a week.


The Tower was quiet that morning, since most of its inhabitants went to bed late – or early, depending on the point of view. It suited Raven fine. It was not common to have peace and quiet in the Tower, and she enjoyed it thoroughly, knowing it won't last long.

She busied herself making some breakfast, frowning as she realized she had overcooked the eggs again.

I know several languages, I can move large objects with my mind, I can understand the most abstruse spells and I can sense the innermost feelings of people. But I can't properly cook a goddamn egg.

She ate the breakfast quickly, not paying attention to the taste.

I can probably snatch a couple of hours of meditation before they all get up and this place returns to its usual levels or rowdiness.

She floated in lotus position in front of the huge, panoramic window, watching the sun slowly rise above the waves. She closed her eyes and started chanting her mantra, but then she realized she did not need to meditate. She was calm, at peace with herself, last night's meditation session doing wonders for her inner balance. There was a better thing that she could do.

She floated over to the console, selected the appropriate commands and then floated back in front of the window, closing her eyes as the sounds of Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto filled the room.

She listened to the music for a minute, not completely satisfied. She realized what was missing.

You can't listen to Beethoven softly. Let's put the Tower's sound-proofing to a test.

With a telekinetic command she cranked up the volume, the dynamics of the old composer's music finally coming into proper fullness.

For almost an hour she listened, entranced, motionless but for a slight twitch of her hand every time an especially poignant chord or emotionally charged phrase sounded from the speakers.

As her favorite and final movement came to the composer's signature ending, she slowly opened her eyes, enjoying how the music seemed to cleanse her of any trace of sadness and regret. She floated there for a few moments, debating with herself whether to continue listening some more.

Vivaldi? Tchaikovsky?

She smiled. Bach's Orchestral Suites would be perfect. Even if someone interrupted her, they were short and it wouldn't detract from her enjoyment. She turned to the console to input the commands and gave a startled yell, the light fixture above her suddenly bursting with a bang into a thousand sparkling, clinking fragments.

"Garfield! You startled me!"

He stood there, watching her with a strange expression on his face.

"Sorry!" he said with a smile. "That was some wonderful music, momma! Didn't know you liked music."

"I… Yes, I do, every now and then" she stammered, covering her head with her hood, trying to hide the blush that was spreading over her cheeks.

"What was that piece? I never heard it before."

"Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein conducting, Krystian Zimerman on the piano" she said, more sharply than she wanted.

"That's a mouthful."

"I guess it is, for some of us at least" she said, regretting it instantly, but he didn't seem to notice.

What's wrong with me? Why am I clawing at him? Is it because he startled me? Or because I have to apologize to him?

"I love music, but I don't listen much to classical. I always thought it was stuffy."

"Your loss" she said, as she gave him a small smile to show him she was done teasing him.

For a moment he looked like he was going to ask something, but then he looked down. She sensed his shyness and understood what it was that he wanted to say.

"Gar, if you want I could recommend some good pieces for you to start with" she said.

His eyes shot up. "You would do that? I'd love it, momma!"

"What kind of music do you like? So that I can begin with something familiar."

A large grin appeared on his face. "Oh, I like both kinds. Country and Western."

Raven's hand went to her mouth, her shoulders shook silently. She gazed at him with a shade of incredulity in her eyes.

"Beast Boy, you finally did it. After years of trying, you have finally made a funny joke!"

His ears perked up. "You liked it? Really?"

"Don't get carried away!" she answered quickly, still smiling at him. "It doesn't mean all the other two million jokes you want to tell me right now are even remotely funny!"

His grin widened. "I'll take a rain check, then. And by the way, it's Changeling."

"Sorry?"

The grin dropped off his face, leaving it serious. "I'm not Beast Boy any more. I'm Changeling."

She lifted an eyebrow. "Since when?"

"Since last night. I've told everybody after… after you left" he said, looking down again, his voice trailing ever softer, the last words almost a whisper.

She disentangled her legs from the lotus position, releasing the levitation and walking over to him. He started speaking in an urgent voice, his eyes still down.

"I… It's not like I was waiting for you to leave, I wanted to tell you, too, but then I put my foot in my mouth and I made you angry, and I didn't want you to be angry, I didn't want you to leave, but you left before I could –"

"Garfield."

He cut himself off, still staring at the floor.

"Look at me."

He lifted his eyes and looked at her.

"I'm sorry, Gar. The one that needs to apologize is me. I was wrong. I bought you something that I liked, not thinking about what you would like. I screwed up. I want to make it up to you. What would you like from me as a birthday present?"

He looked at her, wide-eyed. He opened his mouth, closed it, shook his head and finally spoke.

"I… I think I want to give your book a try first."

Again her eyebrow went up. "You do?"

"Yes. I promise, I'll give it an honest try."

"That would be great, Changeling" she said, a small smile lighting her face.

He smiled back. She looked at him for a moment, then turned and went for the door.

"I'll be in my room."

"Raven?"

She turned, sensing the urgency coming from him.

"Last night Cyborg said something… about us."

A frown appeared on her face. "Yes?"

"He said that we never understood each other. He said that we never even tried. I think he's right. I'd like to… do something about it."

She looked at him for several heartbeats, noting how his face was getting darker every second.

"It shouldn't surprise me that something like that came from Cyborg" she said, still frowning. She felt a wave of regret coming from him.

"Then…"

"You misunderstand me, Garfield."

"How?"

"Vic is probably the wisest one of us, me included. Not that he shows it often."

"So that means…"

"It means that I'd like it very much" she said, turned around and left the room.


The concrete monster roared as it picked up a car, throwing it at Nightwing. He rolled under the vehicle, letting it fly over his head and crash behind him as he tossed two grenades at Cinderblock.

The grenades exploded, staggering the stony creature and chipping off a few concrete flakes, but he quickly recovered and advanced towards Nightwing, just to be met with a barrage of starbolts. Cinderblock roared again, more in rage than in pain, as he bent to take another car and throw it at Starfire.

A green chipmunk dropped onto his face, clawing at his eyes, ruining his aim and making him bellow in frustration. The chipmunk turned into a blue whale, crushing Cinderblock under it and bringing him down on the ground, before morphing into a hummingbird and zooming away from the flailing concrete fists.

Cyborg jumped onto him, smashing his fist into Cinderblock's face. Stone chips flew, but the monster still wasn't out. He swiped at Cyborg, throwing him off. Cyborg flew backwards, dropping on his feet, leaving a pair of parallel furrows in the pavement as he already prepared to jump back into action.

Azarath Metrion ZINTHOS! A streetlamp was ripped from the ground, enveloped in black energy, as it swung, clublike, to strike at Cinderblock. The impact threw the huge stone creature to the ground again, the now bent streetlamp spearing down towards him to strike at him again while he was on the ground. Cinderblock turned his massive body with surprising quickness and the streetlamp bounced off the pavement, twisted into a completely unrecognizable shape.

As Cinderblock got up again, a green rhino barreled into him, staggering him. The rhino turned into a T-rex, spinning around and clubbing the monster with its massive tail, staggering him again.

"You're blocking my aim, Greenbean!" Cyborg shouted as he tried to position himself better for a sonic blast. The T-rex ignored him, morphing into a green triceratops and slamming into Cinderblock yet again.

"Changeling, you're in our way!" Nightwing shouted, angry at him for being careless. Raven floated to the side, trying to see better, Changeling's bulk obstructing her sight, too. She saw Cinderblock´s huge fist raise and shouted a warning.

"Beast Boy, look out!"

The green triceratops glanced back at her with a reproachful look in its eyes, just as the monster's fist slammed into its side and threw it, all ten tons of it, into the wall of a nearby building. The wall collapsed but the building held. The dinosaur morphed back into Changeling's human form, shaking his head, gulping for air, wincing at the pain.

Black mist enveloped Cinderblock and lifted him off the ground, then smashed him through a concrete wall, leaving a huge, gaping hole in it. Suddenly he burst through the building's third floor, still enveloped in the black aura, to crash forcefully onto the ground, leaving a huge crater. But Raven wasn't through with him. Eyes burning white, she lifted her hands again, pummeling Cinderblock against another building, leaving another yawning hole in the wall, then finally bringing him up and slamming him yet again into the ground, burying the huge creature halfway into the pavement.

Cyborg strode over to where the monster lay, his concrete fingers twitching feebly.

"He's out" he commented dryly, turning towards Changeling.

Raven was already there, a grim look on her face, checking Garfield for damage. His expression was sheepish and he avoided looking into anyone's eyes.

"Y'all don't have to show off, y'know? We are a team, after all" Cyborg said angrily.

Nightwing came over, his face furious. "That was stupid, Changeling! What are you trying to prove?"

"Enough!" Raven shouted, looking at them, her eyes blazing. "He screwed up. He knows it. You don't need to rub it in!"

She put his arm around her shoulder and helped him get up. "I'll take him to the infirmary. You deliver Cinderblock to the authorities and meet us in the Tower."

Without waiting for them to respond, she released her soul-self and the ghostly black raven enveloped them both, taking them to the Tower. Cyborg looked after them, a small, worried frown on his face.


"Cyborg's right. I was showing off."

Raven was silent, busy connecting him to the medical monitors, arranging the pillow beneath his head.

"Rae?"

She ignored him, still busy fussing around him.

"I know I acted stupidly. I put myself in danger needlessly. I put all of you in danger."

She continued to ignore him, taking readings from the medical monitors, reviewing the X-rays, looking in a cabinet for painkillers.

"Raven, please, talk to me…"

She finally looked at him. "I'm not angry at you" she said, her eyes belying her words. Then her gaze softened and she walked over to sit on the bed beside him, taking his hand.

"All right, I am mad at you. And the others are, also. You did a stupid thing, but you realized that you did. Case closed."

"It's not!" he said suddenly, the vehemence in his voice startling her. "It's not the first time. It's not even the hundredth time! I don't know why I do it, but I can't help myself!"

She studied him carefully, noting how the anguish in his eyes complemented what was already flowing from him. "That's a battle that you must fight alone, Garfield. You'll always have our love and our support. But in the end it's you that'll have to come to terms with yourself."

She rose from the bed, heading for the door. He called after her.

"Rae? Hang on a second, willya? I had something for you."

She turned around, her eyebrow rising in puzzlement. He put his hand in his pocket, searching, wincing at the pain coming from his side. Finding what he was looking for, he offered it to her.

"What's that?"

"A flash drive."

She frowned. "I can see that."

He grinned. "It's a selection from my music library. Some tunes I like and I wanted to share with you."

Both of Raven's eyebrows were now way up. She approached and took the flash drive.

"There's one thing more, beside my music collection" he said, still grinning.

"And that would be…?"

"Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto in C minor, Opus 37, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm directing, Maurizio Pollini on the piano" he said, smiling at her. "I find Zimerman almost… metronomic. I prefer Pollini."

She looked at him, blinking. After a few moments she pulled herself together.

"Thank you, Garfield. I'll make sure to listen to it" she said in a slightly hoarse voice, then turned and left the infirmary.

He watched her as she left, his grin huge.


She was sitting cross-legged on the couch in the Ops room, reading a book, when Cyborg walked over and lowered his massive bulk beside her.

"How y'all doin', little sis?"

She lifted her eyes from the book and looked at him.

"I'm fine."

He sat there, silent, not looking at her.

"What is it, Vic? I can feel this is not a social visit. I don't even have to be an empath to see that."

He turned his head and looked at her.

"I'm worried. I tried to talk to him, but he's not someone that listens much to reason. So I guessed I should try talking to you."

She reached out, took a page marker from the coffee table and placed it between the pages, closing the book and laying it down.

"I don't see what's there to talk about."

"You know how much I care for both of you" he said quietly.

"I do. Right now it's overwhelming. It's making me uncomfortable. What did you want?"

"Don't play coy with me. You know very well what I want."

"You're seeing things, Vic. There's nothing going on."

"Same answer he gave me. But as I already told him, I'm not blind! Do you think I missed your reaction when Cinderblock injured him?"

She looked at him, frowning.

"Vic, you're wrong on several levels. First, any affection I may have for him is purely friendly. Second, as much as I like him, I can't see myself falling for someone with his… character. Finally, even if the previous two were wrong, I couldn't do it. I can't risk loving anyone, no matter what Starfire wishes."

"I hope you're right" he said softly, then shook his head, pain and regret visible in his human eye. "No, I don't. I don't know what's right any more."

She placed her hand over his metallic paw. "Look, you just –"

"I don't want to see any of you hurt!" he interrupted her, his gaze boring into her. "I don't want to have to choose sides, Raven!"

He rose from the couch and strode away. She looked after him for a few seconds, then shook her head, picked up her book and continued reading.


"How is he?" Nightwing asked as he sat down beside her.

She closed the book again. "I see you've all banded together to deny me my reading today" she growled.

"I'm sorry, what?"

She sighed. "Long story. Forget it."

"So, how is he?"

"He'll be fine. Hairline fractures on two ribs and hematoma. I've fixed the fractures, but he should be on light duty for a few days."

"I see. No lasting damage?"

"None, except hopefully to his pride."

He chuckled. "You were right, you know."

She looked at him, puzzled. "About what?"

"About him knowing he screwed up. You could see it in his eyes. But I was so concerned… so angry at him. I had to snap at him."

"I guess we all were" she said quietly.

"Yes" he said, but she realized he wasn't really listening to her.

"You know, he reminds me of myself as I was years ago. I was trying so hard to prove myself to Batman that I made the same mistakes that he is doing now."

"And Batman is a harsh teacher, I guess" she agreed, more than anything to encourage him to keep talking. This was a precious moment.

He nodded, not looking at her, reliving his past.

"That's why I was so angry at him. I don't want him to make the same mistakes. I don't want him to feel that he has to prove himself to us. We all love him the way he is. He has nothing to prove."

"You should really tell all this to him" she said softly.

"There is a small boy in there" Nightwing continued, still not listening to her. "A small boy that wants desperately to be a man, but at the same time he's terrified of it. So he retreats into pranks, and dumb jokes, and all sorts of childishness. And yet he yearns to be seen as a man, as an adult, as an equal."

Nightwing shook himself out of his reverie. "Anyway, thanks for filling me in. Keep him in the infirmary for the next three days and then we'll see if he can come back to normal duties."

"I will."

Nightwing rose from the couch and left. Raven stared at the pages of the book, not seeing the words.


It was very late at night and the Tower was eerily quiet. He couldn't sleep. He was bored. None of the games on his tablet had any attraction right now. He could not stand listening to any more music. The web sites that he frequented held no appeal. He sighed.

An idea came into his mind. He toyed with it for a few minutes, then discarded it. He would have to go to his room, and if they discovered him walking around the hallways when he was supposed to be resting in bed, healing, he'd get in deep trouble.

But as usual with him, the very idea of doing something he shouldn't held an undeniable appeal. He pushed the idea firmly from his mind, only to have it sneak back in after a few moments. He turned in bed, wincing at the pain in his side, burying his face in the pillow, trying to force himself to sleep.

But he knew it was a losing battle. It was lost from the moment the idea formed in his head. Sighing, he swung his legs over the side and got up gingerly, steadying himself, waiting for the dizziness to pass. He then snuck quickly towards his room. Once there, he picked up the book Raven had gifted him and soundlessly padded back to the infirmary.

Back in the bed, he turned on the bedside lamp and opened the book.

'A Wizard of Earthsea'. The title sounds promising, he thought as he started reading.


She walked into the infirmary and saw him reading the book. Well, well. There are still miracles left in the world, she thought as a smile lit up her face. Then she noticed the circles beneath his eyes and the redness in them and she realized he had been reading all night. The smile disappeared, replaced with a scowl.

"I'm glad you liked the book, but you will now stop reading and sleep!"

He looked up from his reading, surprised. "Rae? Hi! What time is it?"

"It's half past eight, Changeling. It should be time to wake up. But for you, it is time to sleep!"

"Whoa, momma, I had no idea! I kinda forgot myself while reading!"

The smile returned to her face. "Yes, it can do that to you."

She sat on the bed beside him, gently took the book from him, placed a page marker where he left off and laid it aside on the table.

"You must sleep, Garfield. Your body needs sleep to heal properly."

"Sure, momma!" He yawned, then cringed as the pain reminded him why he was in the infirmary in the first place. "You're right. I'm exhausted."

"Sleep well, Garfield."

"G'night" he said, already dozing off.

She sat beside him for a minute more, waiting for his breathing to become soft and regular. She closed her eyes, sending her soul-self into him, making sure the fractures have closed and were healing properly and that the hematoma was draining well. Finding everything as well as could be, she retrieved her power into herself and rose carefully so as not to wake him. She cast a final glance at him, leaving the infirmary and closing the door.

Almost immediately, she ran into Cyborg. He was on his way to the infirmary to visit his friend. Raven blocked his path.

"He's sleeping, Cy. He didn't sleep well last night. I don't want you clanking around and waking him up."

"Good morning to you, too", he frowned at her.

She frowned back at him. "Good morning."

"Why didn't he sleep well? How is he progressing?"

"He's doing fine. The fractures are closed and the hematoma is draining away. In a couple of days he'll be running around again."

"Why didn't he sleep?"

She avoided Cyborg's eyes. For some reason she didn't want to tell him why.

"I don't know. It's not important. The important thing is that he's sleeping now, and he should remain so."

Cyborg looked at her, his gaze penetrating. He then relaxed, smiled and said "All right. Let's get some breakfast. I'll make you waffles."

"Mmmmm. Waffles!"

They walked together to the Ops room. She sat down at the counter as Cyborg busied himself preparing breakfast. Soon, a large plate of waffles was dropped in front of her, Cyborg's face grinning at her. She smiled at him gratefully and dug in.

"Rae, I was thinking…"

"Don't" she said, her mouth full. "Let me finish first."

He smiled and nodded, going back to make more waffles for the rest of them.

She finished breakfast, sighed contentedly and looked at him.

"Vic? Garfield told me something that he heard from you the other night. At the party."

Cyborg turned to face her. "Yes?"

"You said that Gar and me – that we didn't understand each other. That we never tried to."

"That's right."

"You were right, as usual. I think I should make the effort. See what's inside him. Would you mind helping me? You're his closest friend."

He gazed at her, a concerned frown on the human half of his face.

"You're treading a minefield, little sis" he said softly.

Her eyebrow went up. "I think we went through this already."

"We did. And we got nowhere."

She sighed. "Vic, I'll not spar with you. Either help me, or don't."

He suddenly smiled. She could feel his concern abate, his joy grow. It puzzled her.

"What?"

"Nuthin'. I'll help y'all gladly. Whatcha wanna know?"

They spoke quietly for a while, until the others joined them.


Raven sat on the couch, the book in her lap forgotten as she watched Starfire flit around the room.

She's been avoiding me since the party. Something's eating her. I thought she'd be angry at me because of what happened with Roy, but she's… apprehensive?

As the minutes ticked by, Nightwing left to continue his work and Cyborg excused himself to go tinker with the T-car. They were alone. Raven could feel Starfire getting even friskier. It was starting to become bothersome.

Let's get this out in the open and see what in the Nine Hells is going on.

"Starfire" she called out, eliciting a startled yelp from the alien girl. "What is it?"

"I… do not understand, friend Raven. It is nothing" She forced a smile out. "Is it not a glorious morning?"

"Starfire, you were always incapable of hiding your emotions. Something's eating you. What is going on?"

"I am… not certain I wish to do the talking about it."

Raven rose and floated over to Starfire, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Star, I'm your friend. You can tell me."

The sudden explosion of anguish, shame and regret bursting from the Tamaranian almost staggered her.

"No! I do not wish to do the talking! Please leave me to the loneliness!"

Starfire turned from her and walked towards the door.

She's walking?

The door shone with black light for an instant. Starfire noticed it and turned towards Raven, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Please, friend Raven…"

"You're not getting out of here until you tell me what's going on" Raven said mercilessly.

Starfire turned her back on Raven, hugging herself.

"I feel too much of the shame to be able to tell you, friend Raven."

Raven sighed. She would have to do it the hard way. She walked to Starfire, placed both hands on her shoulders and turned her around. The alien avoided her eyes.

"Please do not have the anger for me, friend Raven. I did the most terrible thing."

"Star – Koriand'r. You are my friend. Friends do not get angry at friends."

She immediately felt it was the wrong thing to say. Starfire's misery only deepened. Raven winced inwardly, realizing that she needed to handle it in a very unpleasant way.

"What did you do, Koriand'r?" she asked in a cold voice. She felt Starfire's hurt at her coldness, but at least her anguish and shame subsided a bit.

"I… made the mistake."

"What mistake?"

"At the… celebration of friend Beast Boy – friend Changeling's day of the birth!"

"Yes?"

"I was… We were waiting for friend Changeling and Dick was doing the review of the catering, and I was by the mine of the self, and then friend Speedy came and started the conversation with me…"

Oh, sweet Azar preserve us.

"Friend Speedy, he was... he gave me several of the compliments on my looks and my attire, and he..."

Dammit, Roy, you know she's off-limits! What were you thinking? Raven seethed.

"... he spoke some more with me, and I realized he was doing the hitting on me..."

Suddenly it dawned on Raven where Starfire was going with her story. As much as she understood the Tamaranian's anguish and grief, she felt an urge to giggle, certain that she knew what was coming up.

"… and then I had the fear that Dick would feel the jealousy and be angry at me for having the words with friend Speedy, and I remembered that you were looking for the mate…"

"I wasn't looking for a mate, Koriand'r. You were looking for a mate for me" Raven interrupted her, barely able to keep laughter from her voice. Starfire ignored her, too immersed in her own self-loathing to notice.

"… so I told friend Speedy that you had… that you felt the liking for him…"

Raven gripped Starfire's shoulders hard, both to calm her down and to keep herself from dissolving with laughter and smashing all the windows in the room in the process.

"You told Roy I had the hots for him?"

Starfire nodded vigorously, tears splashing from her eyes.

"You sent Roy over and then I turned on him and drove him away, so now you're blaming yourself for it?"

Starfire nodded again, her eyes cast down.

"I have ruined the chances you had for the finding of the mate, friend Raven! I feel so much of the shame and the sorrow! I beg of you to give me the forgiveness!" she cried as she burst in a fresh shower of tears.

With supreme effort, Raven contained the urge to bend over laughing. She hugged the Tamaranian fiercely.

Poor Starfire. She doesn't realize that Roy would have approached me anyway, sooner or later. Nothing would have changed.

"I forgive you, Starfire" Raven told the alien girl, trying hard to keep her voice serious, knowing how important it was to her.

She could feel Starfire's shame and anguish dissolve, her joy bursting forward in an uncontainable explosion.

Oops. I may have made a mistake.

She was correct. It was difficult to say which was more overpowering – Starfire's bone-crushing hug or the blast of relief, joy, happiness and love that overwhelmed Raven's empathic sense. She concentrated on handling the feelings first, hoping that her ribs and spine would resist a few seconds more before snapping.

"Calm… down… Star… I… must… breathe!"

She felt both Starfire's hug and her emotions diminish to a more tolerable level – like staring at a welding arc after looking at the sun for a while. It was still blinding, but slightly less painful.

"It's all right, Star. Calm down. Relax."

"Oh, friend Raven, truly you are the best and truest of friends! I shall forever be in the debt with you!"

"That's what friends are for, Koriand'r. And now I need you to do me a favor."

"Anything, friend Raven! You only need to do the asking!"

"I would like you to come with me to the shopping mall. I need to buy a few things."

For the first time since Starfire knew of herself, she was struck absolutely and utterly speechless. All the different emotions that recently came down on her so heavily and so quickly one after the other overwhelmed even her happy soul. With a look of amazement still glowing in her eyes, she followed Raven to the shopping mall.