I don't own Teen Titans, the characters, the Network, or DC Comics. I suppose I should mention that I don't own the FBI, or Animal Planet Network. I don't own a pet caribou either, just a dog named Mollie and a cat named Hobbsie Cat.
Okay, I'm not a fan of song fics, but the song in this chapter really seemed appropriate.
Are We Still an "Us"? By Lar Lindor
Chapter four: "A Long Story Indeed"
"Wow," that's a long story indeed," Gar sighed, as she finished.
"I warned you," she smiled. "Are you in or not?"
"I'm in," he answered, "because you're my friend. In addition, I gathered that you picked me 'cuz you missed me."
She blushed prettily. "Yes," she said simply.
"I missed you, too, Raven."
She wanted to kiss him. She wished she could tell him that she still loved him. Above all, she wished she knew what he felt. However, she had promised herself not to 'read' his emotions. It was tempting, though.
"You said I'm the only Titan willing to kill when necessary. I'm not sure that is altogether true. I did kill Madame Rouge, and others, it's true. I still feel guilty about that," he confessed.
"I didn't mean anything…" she began.
"Let me finish, please. Part of it is the nature of my powers. I can't knock people out with my fists (usually), or hit them with a Batarang like Robin. Vic could take people out with his sonic booms. When I change into a lion or grizzly, my fangs and claws are deadly. I can become a King Cobra, and poison you. So, yes, I can kill, but I'll never get used to killing."
"I brought up some bad memories for you, Gar," she sighed. "I didn't intend to hurt you like that."
"You didn't hurt me," he smiled gently. "I just wanted you to know how I feel about the issue. However, I'm familiar with the Brotherhood. I realize this battle will have some casualties. I just hope we both can survive this one."
"Me too," she said simply. "I can always call the FBI in if necessary."
"Yeah," he said grimly. "What say we head to a town? I need a hot shower, a haircut, and a shave. A good meal would be great, too. I've been eating lichen forever."
"Sounds wonderful," she grinned. "There's a city named Banff south of here. Shall we fly?"
Gar morphed into a bald eagle. "Race ya," he chuckled.
"You'll lose, then," she giggled. They tried to race at first, but gave it up. They missed being close beside each other.
A half hour flight brought them to the town. They landed and walked, not wishing to draw attention to themselves.
"Raven, I'm green. I can't help but draw attention to myself."
"I knew that," she blushed, having forgotten that little detail.
"Su-re you did," he scolded.
He found a barber shop. "I'll get us a hotel room," she promised.
"Only one room?" he asked mischievously.
"Shut up, Gar," she threatened.
"I sleep only on the left side," he reminded her.
"I remember, Gar." she stated sassily, "I've slept with you before, or don't you remember?"
He laughed uneasily, having lost this round of teasing. "Oh, yes," he chuckled, "I remember, all right." Then Gar surprised her by singing:
It's
the stuff that dreams are made of;
it's the slow and steady
fire.
It's the stuff that dreams are made of;
it's your
heart and souls desire.
It's the stuff that dreams are made
of."
"Carly Simon, sang that, right?" she reminisced. "You played that the first time we…"
"…made love," he finished her sentence when she hesitated. "Yeah, it's a pretty old song, but it's a classic."
"So were we," she said so quietly he barely heard her. "So were we."
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After his haircut, and shave Gar felt much better. Raven still wasn't at their agreed meeting spot so he decided to walk around a little. He quickly located an ATM, and withdrew some cash. Then he located a pizza place named Aardvark's [a real pizza place in Banff that promised him they made an excellent veggie pizza.
Then he walked back to the street corner. This time he spotted Raven. The sight of her still made his beat skip a beat. He still felt something for her, and was almost certain she still had feelings for him, too. Would Gar and Raven 2 be successful? He wasn't sure, but it looked like he would soon find out.
"Ooo, you look nice, Gar. I got us a hotel," she assured him. "Do you want to grab a quick shower before we get some food?"
"Sounds good," he agreed. "There's a place on the next block that makes a good veggie pizza. As least, it smells good. That okay with you?"
She nodded. He was neatly clean shaven, and nicely groomed.
"Wow," she thought, "he's more handsome than ever."
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Twenty minutes later Garfield looked and smelled like a human. Caribou bathe by walking through (often) muddy rivers. Still he'd gotten so much data in his head by migrating with the herd. It was a study of the large herbivore, and of the wolves which followed the traveling animals. He felt this would be fine material for a book.
He found her at the pizza place as promised. Before sitting down he reached over and kissed her gently on the cheek.
"Hey, beautiful," he greeted. Her face flushed at the compliment.
"You're the only one who's ever called me that," she acknowledged warmly.
"Every one else is blind then," he insisted, sitting down.
The young waitress seemed to be having an animated conversation with two young parents and their grade school aged offspring.
"I'll ask, but it has to be him," she insisted. She was whispering of course, but his hearing was several times more acute than any humans.
"Are you Gar Logan, the animal guy from Animal Planet?" the waitress blurted.
"Yes, I am," Gar admitted. "You can tell the kids its okay to come over."
A whole two seconds passed before the children rushed to his table.
"Hi, I'm Teddy, and I'm ten," the boy said. The girl nudged him. "Right I didn't forget it. This is Susie and she's eight."
"I'm Gar Logan," he announced proudly, and this is my friend Raven. We were both in the Teen Titans."
"Wow," the girl said. "Wait, does that mean you were Beast Boy?" Gar nodded, and showed them his small fang. He noticed then that several families were now gathered around them.
"Mr. Logan," a woman said, "You saved Animal Planet Network after the Croc Hunter died."
"Maybe," he admitted, "but they had some good shows besides mine. You have to say it, though, Steve Irwin was the greatest." Several voices agreed.
"Did you know him?" a child asked.
"No," Gar said sadly. "I was in the Titans when Steve died. I did have Terri and Bindi on my show a few times, though."
The owner came out with a camera. He took pictures of Gar and Logan by themselves, and with the children. The green skinned man promised to sign the pictures when they were developed.
"Come on, everyone, let us eat," he laughed, gently shooing the kids (and their parents) back to their own tables.
"The kids love you," Raven acknowledged. He nodded; too busy stuffing his face to speak. "You're still great with audiences, and I still freeze up."
"We all have our strengths and our weaknesses," he insisted.
"You have weaknesses?" she teased.
"You know I do," he declared. "I can be pretty immature, for one."
"I suppose so," she sighed. Suddenly, she felt he was like a ray of sunshine, and she was a dark little rain cloud. He enjoyed celebrity, and she hated it. No wonder people loved him. She'd had a fan club, of course, but they were mostly gloomy, book-crazed teenaged girls. Girls that was creepy; just like Raven.
"Great pizza," he decided.
"Yeah," she pouted. She remembered now that this issue had come up in their two year relationship. He was happy, and friendly, but she was shy, and sullen.
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Raven was still bumming when they finished their meal. Suddenly, the small town was alive was the sound of police sirens. They looked at each other, each thinking the small thing: Titans, Go!
The two trotted over to where the police cars were pulling up.
"Can we help?" Gar asked.
"Who the hell do you think you are?" snapped an officer.
"I think I'm Changeling, and she thinks she's Raven," Gar responded. "We're ex-Teen Titans."
"Never heard of you, and never heard of any Titans," growled the same cop.
Gar shrugged, and the two prepared to leave.
"Aren't you two super heroes?" an older cop asked. "You're Justice League from the U.S. right?"
"Close enough," Raven said, "what's going on?"
"Some guy holding some folks hostage," the cop replied. "That's all we know so far."
"I can get inside without being seen," Gar offered. "Then I can give you the info."
The cop looked at his fellow officers. They shrugged. "Do it."
Suddenly Gar was gone, and in his place was a green mouse. He slipped under the door. Gar was used to this duty. He'd often been the one to assess situations like this for the Titans. Minutes later, he was outside again.
"I can handle it," he reassured the cops. "Raven? Same old plan?"
"I'm the back up, and protect the crowd from stray shots," the woman smiled. "It's your call, officers."
The senior officer nodded. "Be careful," he warned.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted. Her powers now surrounded the building. If the perp tried to shoot at the police, the bullets would be absorbed.
Gar the mouse entered the building again. The gunman had a sawed off shotgun in his nervous hands. He had the weapon pointed toward a pregnant woman. The other hostages were an older man, and an older woman.
The green changeling was watching for an opportunity. He didn't want to take any chances with the hostages' lives.
"Hey," he shouted, "what's that witch doing out there? This better not be a trick. The gunman rushed to the front, momentarily forgetting the hostages in his anger.
"Hey," a voice whispered in his ear. The armed man turned around to face a Grizzly Bear. The bear acted before the man could even think of using his shotgun. The bear's huge paw (but not his claws) slammed into the side of her man's head. He went down like a pole axed steer. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
The hostages were terrified at what they'd just seen. Swiftly, Gar changed into his human form.
"You're free, friends," he smiled. Abruptly, the hero turned around and left the building.
"What'd you do to get his attention?" Gar asked Raven when he rejoined her.
"Walked around like I was a witch casting a spell," she answered. "Just playing on people's superstitions."
"Ah, good deal," he grinned. "It's all yours, officers. Please excuse us."
"Thanks for the assist," one of the cops yelled.
A large man suddenly stood in front of them. He looked like he was ready to break out in tears.
"What can we do for you, sir?" Gar asked.
"That was my pregnant wife, and my parents," the man replied. "God bless you for saving them."
"You're welcome," Gar and Raven said together.
They quickly watched as the woman came running to her husband's arms. Both were crying, and talking at the same time. The older couple quickly joined them.
"You tired?" the green hero asked.
"I'm exhausted," the violet haired hero replied.
"Let's go, then," he smirked. "I think we've done our good deed for today." He reached out and gently took her hand. The two walked to the hotel hand-in-hand.
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"Curse you, and your incompetent squadron!" the youth raved. He was surrounded by devotees, all clothed in simple robes. "She could've died!"
"Sorry, master, I take responsibility for their actions," a robed man volunteered.
"Excellent," the young man mumbled. Without warning, he stuck his clawed hand into the man's chest. He pulled out the poor man's heart, and showed it to him. The man fell.
"Let this be an example," he said. "No more bumbling! Raven Roth is to be captured, but not harmed."
"Brother Blood! Brother Blood! Long live the Brotherhood!" the crowd chanted.
"Damned straight," he growled. "Soon, my dear Raven, we'll meet again."
Well, I updated. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again, I thank you for the kind reviews. Next chapter: some fluff, and some action. As you see, I haven't forgotten the Brotherhood.