"What's so funny?" Raven asked coldly.
"Me doing all that!" Gasping for air, Beast Boy sat up on the couch, arranged himself into what he thought was a suitable pose, and started chanting, "Azarath Metrion Zinthos" in a serious tone that was as deep as his slightly squeaky voice would go. He only lasted about thirty seconds before he fell back laughing again.
I knew he would be like this, Rude fumed. He always –
"Acts like a jerk," Raven muttered, finishing the thought.
Beast Boy caught that and, sitting up, tried his hardest to stop laughing, "Aw, c'mon. Raven! You know I can't do that! It'd be stupid."
"As stupid as what?" Raven asked sharply. "As stupid as leaving you in a coma until this problem goes away? As stupid as Cyborg sedating you every hour so you don't go crazy in your room? As stupid as having to leave someone with you every time we go on a mission and splitting the team in half? That stupid?"
"Um..." Beast Boy finally sobered as the consequences dawned on him. His shoulders slumped, the tips of his ears drooped, and he looked at her sheepishly. "Maybe not that stupid..."
Raven folded her arms. "So if it's not that stupid..."
"Then I guess I better learn," Beast Boy finished. "But, Raven, what if I can't? All that kind of stuff isn't really... me."
"Then we go to other options," Raven said flatly. "Like the sedation or the sleep. Or we get someone else to teach you. There are some people in the Justice League..."
"No," Beast Boy said, "I want you to do it. If you can," he added, "I don't know if it'll work... I get mixed up..." he shook himself all over, summoned a big fake smile, and asked brightly, "So when do we start?"
"First we wake you up," Raven said, "Then we get breakfast, and then we start." She stood up. "Wait here."
The room vanished, and Raven found herself once again sitting by the gurney, Cyborg at the monitor board, Robin at the door, Starfire guarding Beast Boy. She resisted the urge to yawn – what time was it, anyway? – and said, "We can wake him now."
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T
"Easy, man, easy." Cyborg helped Beast Boy sit up. "How you doing?"
Beast Boy winced and put a hand to his head. "It's loud. It's really loud."
Cyborg looked at Raven. "Half dose hurt anything?"
"Probably not." Raven rolled her shoulders and tried to work the stiffness out of her back. Popping in and out of other people's heads wasn't particularly physical labor, but it was exhausting. Getting only a few hours of sleep beforehand didn't help either.
"Starfire, hand me that pan – B, hold still. It's a half-dose of sedative, turn down the noise a little – move over here."
Cyborg stepped away, leaving Beast Boy sitting on the gurney, hands braced, with his legs dangling over the side. They stood watching him and it was clear when the drug took effect; Beast Boy's whole body relaxed and he started swinging his legs. "That better?"
"Yeah," Beast Boy said, smiling, his eyes a little glazed, "It's further away."
"Think you can stand up?"
"Sure." Beast Boy pushed himself off the gurney, but as soon as his feet hit the floor he started to collapse. Cyborg caught him easily and pulled him upright. "Ooops."
"He needs something to eat," Raven said. "Let me shower and change and I'll meet you in the common room."
Robin followed her out the door. "Raven -"
She cut him off. "I know. I'm sorry. I just don't – I don't like -"
"It's all right," Robin said. "I just wanted to say thanks. Good job."
"I haven't done anything yet."
Robin smiled. "I think with this, everything's going to be a big accomplishment."
T-T-T-T-T-T-T-T
Taking a hot shower and changing into her uniform woke Raven up a little, but it was no substitute for the sleep she'd missed. She stumbled blearily along the corridor, keeping her hood up to block out the early morning sunlight that slanted through the tower windows.
Beast Boy was finishing breakfast as she entered the common room. "Raven! I have extra tofu bacon!"
Her stomach flipped. "Toast and herbal tea," she mumbled, heading for the bread box.
"Got it right here," Cyborg said, waving her over to the table. "Two slices wheat, a cup of that green mint stuff."
Raven sat down and picked up the tea, holding it, hoping the warmth would wake her up. "Thanks. Where's Robin and Starfire?"
"Went back to bed. You need them for anything?"
"No." Raven took a slice of toast. "Just wondered."
Cyborg and Beast Boy went back to talking, speculating about why Beast Boy was using primate forms so often. Raven listened while she ate and sipped the tea, surprised that Beast Boy didn't use his powers more deliberately. He seemed to change forms just intuitively, not thinking about what he was doing, not being deliberate, not being rational...
She saw a glimpse of a yellow hood out of the corner of her eye but didn't move, knowing there was nothing there. She wasn't surprised when Wisdom said, Not being us.
