Cyborg thought he saw Raven gulp.
A small smile appeared on his face. After Robin, Raven had to be the most fearless Titan. But even the mighty Raven was afraid of her new in-laws. As he set Raven's waffle in front of her the main console in the room beeped, indicating that there was an incoming call.
"I'll get it." He shouted.
The giant screen turned on, displaying Steve and Rita's larger than life faces. Robin stood up from the table.
"Mento, Elastigirl, we were just going to call you."
"We heard about your trip into the future." Mento remarked.
"And that my sweet boy is going to be married." Rita added. "We heard this through the grapevine … Garfield, are you there?"
The changeling stood up and stepped into the camera. "Hi! I'm here."
Raven stepped up to follow him, but Robin gestured to her to wait. Let him talk to them first. He mouthed to her.
"So is it true, Garfield? You're married in the future?"
"Uh huh." He replied evasively as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"And you'll have children?"
"Uh huh."
"How many?" Mento asked.
"Uh, there were two."
Rita smiled and looked at her husband, "Two grandchildren, isn't it wonderful, Steve?"
Mento actually looked pleased with himself. "I always wanted to be a grandfather."
"Garfield, dear … the lucky girl … do you already know her?"
"Uh … yeah, I've known her for a few years … and, uh, so do you."
Rita brightened. "Oh my goodness, you're going to marry Jill!"
"Jill?" Raven muttered under her breath. "Who's Jill?"
"No, mom; it's not Jill. We broke up before I came to Jump."
Raven crossed her arms. "You had a girlfriend before me?" She muttered sub-audibly.
"I haven't talked with Jill since I became a Titan, it's not her."
"Then who is she?"
The changeling turned to his wife and gestured her to approach, which she did. As soon as she was next to him she whispered in his ear: "Jill? Who's Jill?"
"I'll tell you later, mama." He whispered back as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. He looked back at the camera and smiled.
"It's Raven!"
Steve and Rita were momentarily speechless and looked stunned. Rita was the first to recover.
"Of course it's Raven! Why, the two of you have always been close, right?"
"Not really." Cyborg mumbled. Starfire overheard his put down and elbowed him.
"Garfield and I have always been close friends and have felt great affection for each other."
Mento still looked perturbed, but Rita had already recovered from the shock.
"That's wonderful … we will of course have the wedding at the estate in the Hamptons. Have you picked a date yet?"
"Rita! They're only 18 years old, what do you mean by 'have they picked a date'?"
"Oh shush, Steve, there's nothing wrong with 18, besides, they're both mature beyond their years; they're more mature than most 30 years olds."
"The grass stain, mature?" Cyborg mumbled, earning another elbow and a now glare from Starfire.
Rita paused, as she noticed that Gar was tugging at this collar.
"Garfield, you look nervous … is something wrong?"
He turned to Raven. "What do I tell them?" He whispered.
"How about the truth?"
"Uh, would you tell them?"
"They're your parents, you tell them. I still don't know what I'm going to tell my father."
Beast Boy sweat dropped as he turned back to the camera. He tapped his index fingers together.
"We … uh … don't have a date … because … you see … we kinda eloped last night."
"You mean you had a judge marry you?" Rita gasped.
"Not exactly. Gar and I exchanged Azarathian vows yesterday."
"Azarathian vows … so that means you aren't legally married, correct?"
"It is legal in Azarath."
"But not in California or New York. Or is it?"
"To be honest, Rita, I don't know." Raven replied.
Rita looked thoughtful for a moment, then she smiled. "Then just to be sure we'll have a wedding here at the estate. You two pick a date and I'll take care of everything."
Raven suppressed a wince that wanted to appear on her face. The Daytons, in addition to being superheroes were high society billionaires. The wedding was going to be as pompous and high society as they came. This was not what she wanted. But she knew that there was no escaping this.
"How about April 24?" Raven droned in her monotone.
"April 24th it is!"
Robin stepped into the camera. "We're going to have a little get together tonight to celebrate. You are of course invited."
"Of course we'll be there …. Cliff! Get the jet the ready, we're going to Jump City ASAP!" She shouted at Robotman, who was apparently within earshot.
"Bye … see you tonight." Garfield waved as Raven hung up the call.
-( - )-
At the Dayton Manor …
"Rita, they can't get married; they're only 18 years old, for Pete's sake."
"They're adults." She retorted.
"Barely … I can't believe that you're OK with this."
Rita smiled at her husband.
"Steve, Gar isn't a boy anymore."
"Yes, I know that."
"And he's more mature than your average 18 year old."
"Yes, yes, I know."
"He's a man, Steve … he has needs. Look, would you prefer that he behave like his peers and have meaningless hook ups?"
"Of course not!"
"He could catch a disease, some girls sleep around a lot. Do you have any idea how many kids have herpes these days? And there's that new antibiotic resistant strain of gonorrhea and not to mention there's HIV ..."
"Rita, I get it, Raven isn't a floozy."
"Exactly … look Steve, she isn't my first choice either, I would have much preferred Jill. But Raven is a good girl. And she's a superhero. They'll watch out for each other. Plus … " She smiled..
"What else, Rita?"
"If they have an oops, we get a grandchild. If he had one with a girlfriend or a friend with benefits ..."
"I get the picture, and you're right, even though Raven is a witch, she does seem to be a woman of good character."
"She's not a witch, Steve. And don't ever say that around Garfield."
"Look, I'm just trying to say that you won me over to her … I think Raven will be good for him."
"It could have been worse, Steve, much worse. It could have been that sociopath blond, the one he was in love with and almost killed him."
"You mean Terra?" He shuddered. "Whatever happened to her?"
"I got her out of Jump."
"How did you do that?"
"I gave her full ride scholarships. First for Murakami School, then I sent her off to Princeton."
"You put a whole country between them."
"I tried to send her to Oxford in England, but they wouldn't take her. But yes, I tried to separate them as best I could. I told her that if she ever got back together with him, the scholarship would be gone."
"That was a good move, you did the right thing. Just the thought of her being married to Garfield makes my skin crawl."
"Good, now come with me. You need to help me pick something to wear to the party tonight, we need to hurry up, and you need to change too, you can't go dressed in your Doom Patrol uniform."
"Why not? Everyone at the party will be a hero … plus I hate Tuxedos, I only wear them to black tie events because I have to."
"Just wear something nice … maybe a turtle neck and a sports coat."
"Yes, dear."
-( - )-
The five Titans stared at the now blank screen. There was a question on everyone's mind. It seemed that no one wanted to ask it at first, until Raven cleared her throat and crossed her arms.
"So, tell us, Gar, who's Jill?" There was a slight timber of danger in her voice.
He tugged at his collar.
"Uh … her name is Jillian Jackson … we kinda dated, before I became a Titan."
Starfire became exuberantly excited. "Is she the pretty? Do you have the picture of her?"
He shook his head and his ears drooped.
"I used to have one, until she sent me a dear Gar letter, telling me she had a new boyfriend and that we shouldn't be in touch anymore. So I threw the picture away."
"B, how did you meet her?"
He sighed. "After I quit the Doom Patrol Rita gave me some money and I moved to Los Angeles. She used to be a movie star, you guys have heard of Rita Farr, right? Anyway, I got in touch with her old agent and he got me a very tiny role in a TV show."
"You were the star of the TV?"
"No, the show was canceled before being aired. Anyway, since I was a minor the studio rules required me to attend school. That's where I met Jill. We dated for like 2 months, then the show was canceled. I tried to get a role on another show, but my agent said that wasn't gonna happen. Jill's dad said she couldn't date me, so I packed my bag and hit the road. I wasn't sure where I was going or what I was looking for. Then when I was in Jump, Star fell out of the sky and you guys know the rest."
Raven's stance softened, her jealousy sudden gone. Her arms unfolded and fell to her sides.
"You've had your heart broken twice, by Jill and by Terra". She said in a soft voice. "Gar, I'm so sorry. Please forgive me for being jealous."
He smiled and wrapped an arm around her. "It doesn't matter, because now you're mine."
-( - )-
Two hours later, in Raven's room …
The changeling carefully walked around Raven's room, looking at every item in it,
"Yes, Gar, I know; my room is creepy."
"I didn't say that."
"Then answer my question … where are we going to sleep? In my room or in yours? And I don't want to sleep in both. If we do we'll have to keep clothes and other things in both rooms."
He sat on the edge of her bed. "You don't have to change your room for me, I mean, I don't want you to change it."
She sat next to him. "If we're gonna sleep here, then it's also your room. It should change because of that reason alone."
"Your bed is nice and big."
"That thought also crossed my mind. It's also a better bed than yours, how can you sleep on that thing? Your mattress is lumpy."
"You didn't complain last night, mama." He smiled seductively at her.
"You're right I didn't, but I think we will enjoy our quality time more on this bed."
"Quality time? I like the sound of that."
"I knew you would." She took his hand. "Everything that happened, it all happened so fast last night. I really was just planning on sleeping on your lower bunk. Then, the next thing I know we're exchanging vows … and then … we consummated."
"Yeah and uh … I was worried that I was gonna mess that up, I mean, I didn't really know what I was doing."
"You still rocked my my world, I never imagined that it would be so … exquisite."
His seductive smile returned. "So, mama, you ready for an encore tonight?" He wagged his eyebrows.
"I most certainly am, but we'll need some protection tonight. Last night was cutting it close, based on my cycle."
"You mean a rubber?"
"I'm afraid so, Gar. I'm not on the pill, and since we saw our children in the future we know that I'm not a sterile hybrid and I can conceive. I'm afraid that it's going to be condoms for a while, until the pills take effect … and that reminds me, I need to ask Cyborg to order the pills for me."
He chuckled.
"You think contraceptives are amusing?"
He shook his head. "Nah, it's just here we are talking about stuff like an adult married couple."
"We are an adult married couple."
"I know, I just still can't believe it, it happened so fast."
"Are you regretting that we didn't wait?"
He smiled. "Not for a split second."
She rewarded him with one of her tiny smiles. "Neither do I."
He got up. "So what do we do with the rooms?"
"Well, I'll put some of my stuff into storage, and I was thinking we turn your room into an office. We can ask Cyborg to add a connecting door. I could put my desk and some of my books in there."
"I like that idea, so when do we get started?"
Raven walked over to her chest. "We need to get rid of an unwanted guest first."
"Oh, yeah ... him."
"Correct." She replied as she opened the chest and picked up the book.
"So, Raven, is it true, you married him?"
"Be quiet." She snapped at him as she dropped the book into a tote bag. She then summoned a portal, which opened in front of her. She extended her hand to her husband.
"Are you coming?"
"You bet."
Hand in hand, with the tote bag hanging from her shoulder, they stepped into the portal and vanished.
-( - )-
"Where are we? We didn't go into Nevermore by accident, did we?"
They were standing at the entrance of a huge stone tower, which floated in what looked like an ethereal void.
"This is the Tower of Fate. It's located between dimensions, in a sort of limbo." Raven replied.
There was an enormous wooden door in front of them and it had a massive and rustic looking knocker on it, which Raven banged three times. Almost immediately the door began to creak and it slowly opened as a small white gloved hand pulled on it.
"Zatanna?" The changeling asked.
Zatanna was dressed in her usual outfit, with fishnet stockings and a black top hat.
"Raven, Garfield, welcome to the Tower of Fate. Do you have Malchior with you?"
"We brought him."
"Great! Follow me, I'll take you to Dr. Fate."
"I didn't realize that you reside at the Tower." Raven droned.
"I don't … when word got out that you were bringing Malchior to Dr. Fate for safe keeping, well a lot of other people wanted to be here."
"You mean, Malchior's famous?" Beast Boy asked.
"More like infamous. We all heard about the dragon incident at Titans Tower, but we had no idea that was Malchior. You guys kind of kept that to yourselves."
"Yes, we did." Raven replied.
Zatanna cracked a huge smile. "We also heard that you're married. Is that true?"
"Yes, it is."
"Well then, congratulations."
"Thank you." They both replied.
They entered a large windowless chamber in the Tower's center. John Constantine was also there, as well as Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. And standing in the middle was Dr. Fate himself.
"Welcome to my Tower." He greeted them. "May I see the book?"
Raven pulled the book out of her tote back and handed it to Dr. Fate.
"Blimey, is that really Malchior?" Constantine asked. "Do you have any idea of how long people have looking for him?"
"You mean you can't tell?" Gar asked.
"We're fairly certain that it's him, but there's only one way to be sure." Batman replied. "But regardless, since you do have a dragon trapped in there it would be best for Dr. Fate to keep it here."
"So, uh, Batman sir, how can we be sure? I mean, he did tell us he was Malchior, you mean he might be lying?"
"Have you ever heard of a dragon that tells the truth?" Zatanna remarked. "As for how we can be sure ..."
The crowd parted and a figure dressed in a monk's robe, with the hood up, approached. Dr. Fate handed him the book. The mysterious figure took the book placed it on a nearby table and opened it. He flipped through the pages while everyone else remained silent. After several minutes, he turned to Dr. Fate and nodded.
"Thank you for coming. Now we know it's indeed Malchior." Dr. Fate announced.
Gar turned to Raven. "Who is that?"
"It's Rorek of Nol, you stupid boy." Malchior shouted from the book.
Raven's jaw fell. "Rorek?"
The robed figure turned towards Raven and lowered his hood. The Logans both gasped, as Rorek looked old and ancient beyond belief.
"Forgive me, dear Raven, I should have put a warning in that book, to let you know that it was Malchior who was trapped in there. I am told that after he deceived you and tricked you into helping him escape form the book that you were able to recapture him. A truly formidable feat. Apparently Malchior had and still has no idea who you really are."
"She's a witch who got lucky." Malchior huffed in reply.
Rorek smiled. "She is the daughter of Trigon the Terrible."
"That's impossible! She's just a weak little girl."
"She kicked your sorry butt, worm!" Gar hissed at him.
Malchior laughed. "If she really is Trigon's daughter, you have no idea of who you just married, green fool!"
"I think Beast Boy knows exactly who he married, and I think he did very well." Wonder Woman remarked.
Rorek approached the Logans.
"Thank you for keeping him imprisoned and for bringing him back. Dr. Fate will make sure that he never escapes from the book again."
Raven looked awestruck. "I never though I'd get to actually meet you." Her voice warbled.
Beast Boy stifled a chuckle, watching his wife "geek out" meeting the wizard she idolized.
"The honor is mine, my dear … would both of you accept a wedding blessing from me?"
"Of course we would." Gar replied.
"What he said." Raven nervously added.
Rorek raised both his hands and held them over their heads.
"May all that is good, noble and pure bless this young couple. May they find much happiness together."
Rorek raised his hood and walked away, vanishing into the air.
-( - )-
Next chapter will be the official wedding and some other stuff.
