Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
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The sun had just begun to rise, flooding he sorceress's room with its orange beams as it peaked over the edge of the bay, caressing the city's skyline with its warm glow. Raven gestured with her hand and her obsidian power engulfed the drapes and closed them tight, leaving the room once again in darkness. It was a Saturday morning so the typical morning rush was absent as the city itself appeared to be sleeping in on the early weekend morning.
There was an exception to the rule however, someone who should have had a good night's rest but was unable to find it.
A certain gray skinned half demon had woken up several times during the night, each time to anxiously verify that the young green man lying next to her was still drawing breath. Of course every time she woke up he was fine, sleeping peacefully next to her.
Raven knew that her fretting wasn't going to keep Beast Boy safe from the mysterious danger that threatened his safety and well being, but she couldn't get the anxiety that consumed her mind under control. After waking up for the umpteenth time around 4 AM Raven gave up and decided to put her time to better use performing some overdue research into the nature of "separation curses" which she was woefully unfamiliar with. One fringe benefit of her disastrous relationship with the dragon Malchior was the impressive set of magic books she had acquired under his tutelage. She knew that she would find the answer she was looking for, or at least an explanation of what was happening to them.
Raven had spent the wee hours of the morning studying several reference books on curses and had finally zeroed in on a tome that described in detail the nature of separation curses. They first thing she learned was that they were complex curses that targeted couples. Raven found out that a lack of physical intimacy offered no protection against the curse and as long as she loved the changeling that the curse would grip them both in its cold and merciless embrace. The objective of the curse was to inflict emotional pain on a couple by separating them, which was always accomplished by means of death. She also learned that the curse could only be transmitted via physical contact and that whoever had originally cast the curse could remove it.
Upon further reading she learned that death could come in a variety of ways and was not restricted to trauma or injury. That meant that Beast Boy could just as well drop dead with little to no notice, but was more likely to die of a painful and debilitating illness.
Raven looked up from her desk at his still sleeping frame, feeling the despair swell within her. There was no way to protect him, to shield him from the curse's evil grip. Mentally, emotionally and physically exhausted she leaned forward; resting her head on her folded arms on the desk and she began to weep bitterly.
She cursed herself for not listening to Beast Boy and letting him throw the wretched statue into the incinerator. He was now going to die because of her stubborn intellectual curiosity.
She had also confirmed what her father had told her about breaking the curse. The book explained how the curse only applied to humans and could not be cast or be effective against any other beings, including demons.
It crossed Raven's mind that Gar would be safe from the curse as long as he remained in one of his animal forms. This of course was an unacceptable solution as he couldn't stay morphed indefinitely; he would eventually have to resume his human form. The other option, that she become a pure demon, began to loom before her, tempting her with its easy way out.
Raven knew that if she renounced her human side that she would no longer be herself and would transform into a monster like her father. That was also unacceptable as she would no doubt embark on a continuation of Trigon's own work and would conquer the universe. As much as she loved Garfield she could not in good conscious trade the entire universe to save him. She heaved a troubled sighed as it dawned on her that the red bastard had thought of everything.
There was one other way to break the curse: she could kill herself. She knew that such an action would leave Garfield and her friends wounded and scarred for the rest of their lives and that she would have to do it clandestinely as she knew that there was no way her friends would cooperate with her in such an draconian endeavor.
Raven felt hot tears dripping down her face. She had managed to screw things up royally and this time there would be no happy ending.
"Rae, are you OK? You're crying." Beast Boy called from the bed.
The gray girl leaped to her feet and ran to her bed. She threw her arms around the changeling and buried her face in his naked chest.
"I'm so sorry Gar, please forgive me." She whimpered.
"Forgive you? For what?" He asked with a bewildered tone.
She couldn't tell him, at least not yet. There had to be a solution, there just had to be one. And she would find it, no matter what it took. She would search relentlessly and leave no stone unturned.
"For being such a bitch." She sobbed.
Beast Boy noticed that the room was beginning to shake as if an earthquake was in progress.
"It's OK Rae, just relax. That's water under the bridge. You know we've put that behind us."
He wiped her tears away with his ungloved hand.
"C'mon Rae, smile for me. Please?"
Raven breathed deeply to calm herself down and the room stopped shaking. Her father was right; she was a monster just like he was. She couldn't even allow herself to feel without endangering those around her.
"I love you." She whispered to him. "You know that, don't you Gar?"
He smiled at her. "I know. And I love you too Rae."
"Please Gar; promise that you'll never leave me." She pleaded as she choked back a sob.
He chuckled.
"Of course I won't leave you Rae. Why would I?"
Raven tightened her hug around him.
"Will you move in with me Gar?"
Beast Boy's eyes became wide as saucers.
"Rae, I can stay with you anytime you want, you know, when you don't want to be alone."
Before Raven could reply the Tower's alarms began to sound. The two heroes released each other from their tender embrace as Robin's voice could be heard over the PA system.
"It's Johnny Rancid and he's up to his usual antics downtown. Meet me in the common room." Robin instructed his team.
Raven and Beast Boy were ready in a flash as they slipped their boots and missing garments on in a hurry. As they headed out of her room she anxiously took his hand.
"Promise me you'll be careful Gar." She admonished him in a very worried tone.
He flashed his signature grin at her.
"Relax Rae, it's only Johnny Rancid!"
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As the Titans approached the downtown area they saw the telltale signs of Rancid's presence: wrecked storefronts, light poles lying in the streets, torn up asphalt and of course chewed up cars. Robin and Cyborg were travelling in the T-Car while their team mates flew overhead. Raven and Beast Boy were sharing one of Raven's flying disks and Beast Boy was crouched down on a knee surveying the landscape.
Robin flipped his communicator open and addressed his team.
"OK Titans, Rancid has probably built another robot, so we're doing this by the book: first we take out his robot and then we capture him. Understood?"
"Loud and clear!" The changeling replied. "I'm ready to kick some bad guy butt!"
Raven glanced at him nervously.
"You be careful Gar! Don't get cocky just because it's Johnny Rancid. Remember that Robin broke his arm chasing him that one time."
"Well maybe I'm not as clueless as the Boy Blunder."
"Just be careful Gar." She whispered to him as they arrived at the location when Rancid was last seen wrecking havoc. "Do it for me please."
The changeling gave his girlfriend a puzzled look, but then grinned as he replied.
"You're cute when you're overprotective Rae."
As the changeling was teasing his gray sweetheart Rancid's latest creation made its appearance as it came around the corner. It was a mechanical three headed dragon and each head was busy causing mayhem. The first head fired what appeared to be napalm at a bus loaded with passengers, who screamed in terror at the prospect of being charbroiled inside the bus. Raven raised one of her shields to deflect the deadly chemical which fell instead on the blacktop where it burned harmlessly.
The second head was chewing up cars, some of which still had passengers in them. Cyborg and Starfire attacked the vicious second set of titanium jaws and after pummeling the second head it dropped the car it was chewing on and the civilians were able to get away safely on foot.
Robin was battling directly with the third head, also keeping it away from a school bus full of children on a weekend field trip. The Titans were having a hard time fending off the three heads and were doing everything they could do to protect the civilians.
"He keeps upping the ante with these things." Cyborg moaned as he fired his sonic canon at one of the heads and missed the target yet again. "It seems like they get better and tougher every time."
The changeling recognized that they were in a stalemate and chose to take matters into his own hands.
"GUYS!" Beast Boy shouted. "I'll distract the heads while you take Mr. Big and Ugly down!"
"Gar! Wait!" Raven shouted at him.
Morphing into a hummingbird he darted away from Raven and began to dive bomb at the dragon heads, which immediately forgot about the other Titans and began to snap their razor sharp jaws at the green hummingbird which deftly dodged their attacks as Raven stared in horror.
In the meantime Starfire conjured an oversized star bolt while Cyborg charged up both of his sonic cannons. Robin launched several of his explosive disks while shouting "Titans Now!"
Cyborg fired his cannons while Starfire threw the giant star bolt at the mechanical monster. The ensuing explosion was both bright and deafening and Raven could feel her bones reverberate to the massive shock wave. As soon as the dust settled it was plainly obvious the metallic behemoth had been vanquished. As Robin, Starfire and Cyborg congratulated each other Raven searched frantically for Beast Boy as he was nowhere to be found.
Irrational fear gripped the demoness's heart as she assumed the worst. Without any concern for her own safety she charged into the still smoldering remains of the mechanical monster and using her powers began to remove the mangled wreckage.
"Gar! Where are you!" She shouted unable to conceal the panic in her voice. She picked up the pace and left not a single piece of the machine's twisted remains unturned. But there was no sign of the changeling in any form, human or animal.
Raven stepped away from the wreckage in a full panic and kept calling out for her boyfriend. Her teammates were staring at her with puzzled expressions which she did not notice as she fell to her knees and began to hyperventilate. Then with no warning she felt what could best be described as a heavy finger tap her on her shoulder.
Raven turned around and heaved a sigh of relief as a large green Sasquatch stood before her. Dangling from Bigfoot's right hand was Johnny Rancid, who was twisting and squirming in a futile attempt to escape from the changeling's firm grasp on his shirt collar.
"Well done Beast Boy!" Robin congratulated the changeling as he handcuffed the gray skinned villain.
"Remember Johnny if you do the crime you'll do the time." Robin reprimanded the grey villain.
Rancid spat in Robin's direction but missed.
"I can't believe I lost again to a bunch of stupid kids!" He moaned.
"We're not kids anymore Rancid, we're adults now!" Beast Boy gloated. "And we kicked your sorry butt."
The police had arrived and were leading Rancid into a paddy wagon.
"You're a loser you green freak. I bet you've never kissed a girl!" Rancid taunted the changeling.
Before he could reply to Rancid the doors were shut on the police transport and Rancid was whisked away to the county jail.
"What a jerk!" Beast Boy grumbled as he turned to face Raven. He shrieked as Raven was sporting her four demonic eyes and the worst frown he had ever seen adorn her otherwise lovely gray face.
"GARFIELD MARK LOGAN! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"
The changeling's only response was a bewildered look.
"Did you see how close those jaws got to you Gar? You could have been killed!"
Robin interrupted.
"Raven, I think Beast Boy had the situation under control." Robin interjected as Starfire and Cyborg nodded in agreement.
The sorceress snarled at the Boy Wonder.
"Did I ask you for your opinion Robin? No I didn't, so SHUT UP!"
Robin recoiled at Raven's outburst.
"Raven, is something the matter?" Robin asked her in a soothing voice.
"Of course something is the matter! Gar decided to recklessly play superhero ..."
"But Raven, I am a superhero, and I wasn't being reckless."
The demoness gave her beloved a look that would have scared the devil himself. For a moment Beast Boy thought he could see flames dancing in her eyes.
"Ok, I'm shutting up now."
Starfire stepped forward and placed a calming hand on Raven's shoulder.
"Raven, something is wrong with you, it is most obvious and painful to see. We are your friends, will you not share your burden with us."
Raven calmed down and attempted to relax. She then felt his arms wrap around her and she buried her face in the changeling's chest and began to sob. Robin approached her and also placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Star's right Raven; we're your family. You know that you can trust us with anything that's troubling you."
"Rae, maybe you should tell us about the vision you had." Beast Boy added.
"I want to tell you first Gar." She said before turning to her teammates. "I promise to tell the rest of you when I'm ready."
Robin shook his head.
"Something's wrong Raven, you're being excessively protective with Beast Boy." Robin commented. "He wasn't in any danger, at least not anything more dangerous than we usually face."
Raven turned away from Robin, refusing to look at him.
"Raven, you'll get used to it. I know it took me a long time to stop worrying about Star when we fought villains after we became a couple, but I learned to trust her. I mean why shouldn't I? It's not like she lost her powers or fighting skills just because she became my girlfriend."
Raven shook her head.
"No Robin, it's more than that. But I don't want to talk about it here. Let's go home. I'll tell you about it there." She replied softly in a contrite voice.
Robin nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.
"Now that's my Raven. Do I know my sister or what?" He chuckled and was joined in his laughter by Cyborg and Starfire.
"I'll pick up some pizza for lunch on the way home." Cyborg volunteered. "Just don't start without me."
Raven freshened herself in the privacy of her room, which had an oppressive atmosphere hanging over it. The darkness and shadows of her room, which usually provided her with shelter and comfort, did no such thing this time. Her bed was still unmade and she could still see the outlines her and Beast Boy's figures had left in the bed covers. Putting her hairbrush down she slowly walked over to the side of her bed and picked up his pillow. It still had his scent and she caressed it absentmindedly while she stared at her windows, which were still covered in the heavy, light blocking drapes that kept her room dark no matter how bright it was outside.
Remembering that they were probably waiting for her in the common room she put the pillow down before heading out, uncharacteristically leaving her bed unmade as she walked out the door. She walked briskly down the hallway, still unsure of what exactly she was going to tell her friends. She was still unprepared to tell them the truth but knew that they were expecting an explanation for her unusual, overprotective behavior.
As she walked around the last corner before reaching the common room she began to fret. How would she keep her unsuspecting boyfriend out of harm's way without raising further suspicions? They all already knew that something was afoot, but she could keep up the charade of being the overprotective girlfriend for only so long. Sooner or later Robin was going to tell her to knock it off.
Without being aware of it Raven had reached the doors to the common room. She could smell the pizza through the door's imperfect seal and was reminded once again that they were on the other side and were expecting the explanation she had promised them.
Raven sighed and made a resolution: she would ask Beast Boy to stay with her again that night and would then tell him truth. The others would have to wait a little longer.
Raven could feel the tension in her body and chanted her mantra several times to relax. Satisfied that she now bore some resemblance of normalcy she stepped through the doors which automatically parted open as they always did.
"It's about time you showed up!" Cyborg jeered at her. "It's a good thing the grass stain's your boyfriend and saved some grub for you, cuz there wouldn't be any pizza left for you otherwise."
Raven walked up to Beast Boy and kissed him on the cheek.
"Thanks for thinking of me Gar, but I'm not hungry." She acknowledged his gesture as she took the seat next to him. Looking up at her teammates she saw the anticipatory looks on their faces.
"Well Raven?" Robin needled her. "So what's going on? This is more than the concern a girl has for her boyfriend."
Raven bit her lower lip and sweat dropped.
"I know I promised you an explanation … but at this moment I'm not ready … I need to talk with Gar about this first."
The Titan trio emitted a collective groan.
"Aw c'mon Raven, spill the beans, why are you so worried about the grass stain? Was it something you saw in your crystal ball?"
Raven sighed.
"Cyborg, you know that I can't see the future in a crystal …"
Raven's rebuke was cut short by the Tower's alarm. Robin stepped over to the console and tapped away at the keyboard.
"It's Cinderblock." Robin announced without looking up from the console. "Looks like you've been saved by the bell Raven, but we're not letting you off the hook so easily. You're gonna tell us what's going on when we get back."
As the five Titans ran out of the common room the changeling and the sorceress locked eyes. He smiled his goofy grin at her.
"Relax Rae, it's just Cinderblock, it's no biggie." He reassured her.
"Wrong Beast Boy!" Robin chided him. "We take every mission seriously, never forget that."
Raven conjured one of her dark disks and taking the changeling by the hand she pulled him onto it as it became airborne. She heaved a quiet sigh, knowing that from now on, every mission was going to be a "biggie".
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I'm in a good mood today so I'm going to post this chapter early. I will post the next chapter on Friday.
And now, it's mailbag time!
Ta da!
emotionalpoemgirl - "Well... this get only get interesting. Can't wait for Raven's plan to fix this!"
She definitely has her work cut out for her!
aanaasoo12 - "I hope that you some day write about Starfire and robin, it would be awesome, believe me, I will kiss your toes if you do it, cause i think you have a great unique way to write stories"
Now that's an offer I've never received before! A pretty girl offers to kiss my feet! Wow!
TechnoGlitter ExWhimsicalFairy - "Never read a Force story before."
I hope it won't be your last one!
punk - "dude jus read this story and it sounds pretty awesome up date soon xD"
Your wish is my command!
Hairul The Nightrage Beast - "Well this calls for The Beast to beat the crap outta Trigon, Once you're dead stay **** dead, don't disturb the living. Well the Beast should have disemboweled and dissect every single body part of Trigon to bits."
Too bad he wasn't there.
FelynxTiger - "From smile to gasp , well done with the suddenly change through the chapter it take me for surprise i like it though is keep you glued to the chapter , the ending was center to the Why i adore this couple Nice!"
Thanks!
The Cretan - "Sorry, if there's any typos that annoy you. My hands are shattered (mining folly), this was typed using pen and patience."
If only all my other readers were as dedicated as you are. Thanks!
titanfan45 - "Raven should have listened to Beast Boy. You did a great job of writing Trigon's part, he and the statue were both beyond vile."
Woulda, shoulda, coulda. The bane of everyone's life, even superheroes!
GreenRock - "Why am I not surprised that with only three chapters published, the story is already looking brilliant . . . and I'm already hooked? If I have to commend you on anything, it would definitely be your abundant ability to apply a vice-like grip on the reader and make them continue reading what promises to be a gratifying read. With Trigon's looming threat hanging over BB and Rae's relationship, I for one can't see how Rae, BB or any of the other Titans are going to find a way to reverse the curse.
Once again, another impressive chapter - it just seems to come naturally to you - and good luck with the rest of this prose."
Things are looking bleak for the Chromatically Challenged Couple (tm)