This is fanfiction. I don't own Teen Titans, DC Comics, Cartoon Network, or the characters in my story.
Catching up on the plot: Beast Boy is now recovered from his (almost) fatal wounds. Raven, who has been feuding with B.B. for months has finally come to appreciate her male teammate, and think of him as a potential boyfriend. Meanwhile, Garfield, who once had a crush on Raven, and then learned to dislike her, is moving back towards her. In a moment of insecurity, Raven gives "Love" control, in hope of winning her green friend's affection. Now our heroine is stuck in Nevermore waiting for Love to put her back in control. Love is doing well at attracting our favorite shape shifter, but how will she react to battle?
Thank you for the kind reviews.
Titan Down: The Fall of Garfield Logan
A fanfiction story by Lar Lindor
End of Chapter Nine
Back to the present: Raven in Nevermore
"Love is okay reacting with Garfield," I muttered. "How shall she fare when we go to battle though?"
"You won't like the answer," Fear asserted.
Back to the Tower:
Just then the Trouble Alert sounded.
"Its See-More, Private Hive, and Kyd Wykkyd," Robin frowned. "I'd better contact B.B. and Raven. We may need their help."
Chapter Ten: Love will keep us guessing
Gar's perspective:
"Tight jeans, sandals, and a spaghetti top?" I thought to myself. "Wow, this is such a different Raven than I am used to seeing." I didn't know at the time how true this statement was.
"Did I do okay with the police interview, Gar?" she asked.
"Sure, Rae," I encouraged her. Since when does Raven act all…insecure?
Just then, my Communicator beeped:
"Beast Boy and Raven?" Robin's voice demanded. "Sorry to interrupt your…date."
This is a 'friend date,' but I guess this isn't the time to be picky about words. "Understood," I gritted my teeth. "Go ahead, Robin."
"Trouble in town," he told us. "Private HIVE, Kyd Wykkyd, and See-More are causing mayhem."
"We'll meet you there," I sighed, taking down the address. "Are you sure you need us?"
"Sorry," moaned our leader. "Jinx, K.F., Wonder Girl, and Superboy, are all on assignment. I loaned them out to Titans' East for a mission an hour ago."
Robin terminated the call before I could complain.
"Darn it all," Raven pouted. "It's like they don't want us to be happy."
"Hey, chill out, Rae," I suggested. "We'll beat up those three losers and go back to our day together."
"You're right of course, Garfield," she sighed, placing her head on my shoulder. "Let's do this."
I had my uniform in my backpack. I slipped into a service station rest room and changed quickly. I suddenly realized my lovely teammate didn't have a backpack. She shrugged, and looked sheepish at her forgetfulness. Her outfit was great to look at, but hardly great to fight in.
"Should I teleport to the Tower and change clothing, Gar?" Raven asked.
"Probably not. Robin sounded desperate," I observed.
We both flew the ten blocks to rendezvous with our teammates. Cy was going against HIVE, Robin vs. Wykkyd, and Starfire was challenging See-More. It looked like our side was losing.
"What do I do?" my 'date' asked. Once again, Raven seemed totally out of character. What's wrong with her anyway?
"Help Robin!"I ordered. She looked confused for a second, but then shook her head in recognition.
I slammed into See-More as a Big Horn Sheep. My distraction allowed Star to blitz the villain with her eye blasts. Shaking his head, the helmeted bad guy shot some sort of ice beam at the sidewalk in front of me. I changed to a penguin to counter his attack.
I risked a quick glimpse at Raven. She still looked confused. The sidewalk was icy due to See-More, so I remained in penguin form. Sliding on my belly, I quickly joined Raven.
"Help me, Gar. How does she, I mean 'I' usually handle this?" she asked.
Has she taken any hard blows to the head lately? I wondered. "Just because you're in civilian clothes doesn't mean you can't use your powers."
"Right, I knew that," she squeaked.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" she chanted.
See-More had recovered while I was talking to Raven. Now Starfire was the one in trouble. What's more, she didn't seem to be able to fly. She was more vulnerable than ever to his powers. Raven's going to have to get over her problems. I need to help Star before she gets hurt.
As if she heard my thoughts, Raven used her powers to throw a large dumpster at Kyd Wykkyd. He fell to the sidewalk, but quickly shook off his injuries. However, her attack had given Robin a minute or two to recover. Emboldened, he reached for his utility belt.
"Ow, hey!" Raven yelled. She was holding her forehead. Evidently, one of Robin's birdarangs had clipped her.
"Rae, look out behind you," I warned. Kid Wykkyd had teleported behind her, and kicked her in the back of the head. Taking advantage of his opponent's distraction, Robin took a running start, and aimed a flying kick at his silent foe. Just like that, the two began a hand to hand battle. This was more to Robin's liking.
I'm off my game, distracted watching my teammate instead of See-More. Helmet Head had taken Starfire down temporarily, and was now gunning for me. His first attack sent me into a nearby wall. I morphed into a squirrel, and concentrated on dodging the attacks until I felt better.
Rae must've known I was in trouble."Don't touch him!" Raven screamed, holding the back of her head. She screamed her mantra in fury.
Her dark powers yanked See-More's helmet right off his head. He was helpless, and I was prepared to take advantage. I sprang at him in lion form, knocking him backwards. Then I head butted him as a Musk Ox, slamming him into some trash cans.
He didn't rise. I glanced over to check on Robin. He had evidently knocked Wykkyd out, and was now rushing to check on his girlfriend's condition.
Luckily, Starfire is a tough girl. She was bruised, and slightly dazed, but she was recovering already. Robin embraced her in concern.
By this time, Cyborg had put HIVE down. A dazed and bleeding Wykkyd struggled to his feet. Frowning, the mute villain teleported away. Robin quickly put restraints on the two remaining former HIVE students. The police would take care of the details.
Cyborg's perspective:
Whew! That was a rough fight. HIVE has gotten a lot better. What's going on with Raven? She is acting weird.
We've had people pretend to be one of our members before. Therefore, I had invented a special analyzer to identify each of us. I pulled out a small wand and pointed it at Rae, and waited for a response. Sure enough, this was Raven, and not a doppelganger. What else could be wrong then? She sure wasn't acting like Rae.
Wait! B.B. and I met a whole bunch of Ravens when we got trapped inside her magic mirror. They were all Raven, but they were really her Emotions. It's hard to explain. Could this be one of her Emotions? That would explain a lot if it is true.
I'm going to confront her. We can't have a Raven that is useless in a fight.
Back to Beast Boy's perspective:
I rushed to Rae, and began patching up her bleeding forehead. Fortunately, we all carry medical kits. "Raven?" I scolded. "What were you doing out there? I've never seen you freeze up like that in a fight."
"I'm sorry, Gar," she whimpered. "I…can't explain my actions." She ran to me, and embraced me while sobbing. Stunned, I held her and said comforting words.
"Never mind," I relaxed. "You'd better heal that cut over your right eye. I'm afraid I can't do much with it. Stitches would ruin that perfect face."
"Thank you," she giggled. I continued to look at her curiously.
"I'll heal myself," she agreed. "Please don't be angry with me."
"Raven!" Robin yelled. "We need to talk… NOW!"
Surprisingly, Raven ran away crying. Cy and Robin were as amazed as I was.
"Nice job, Bird Boy," I snapped at our leader. He glared in return.
"I shall speak with our weeping friend," Starfire offered.
"Is your relationship with Rae going to keep her head out of the battle?" snapped Robin. "Starfire could've been hurt, too."
"Drop it, Robin," I warned. "This isn't my fault."
"He's right, Robin," Cy hastened to my defense. "I'm guessing this isn't really Raven."
"What?" I asked confused.
"I can explain," said Starfire, coming up behind us. She was holding a weeping Raven by the hand.
"This is Raven," the alien princess explained. "Yet it is not Raven."
"It is, or it isn't, Star," Robin groused.
"It has to be one of her Emotions," Cy told us. "Am I right?"
"Tell them," Starfire ordered our frightened magic-girl.
"I'm Raven/Love," she shrugged. "Raven put me in charge to try and attract Beast Boy. I'm sorry, but fighting is unnatural to me. It was easier when B.B. was in danger."
"Where is 'our' Raven?" Robin asked.
"Nevermore," she sighed. "I guess I'm demoted back to the Second Team, eh?"
"Perhaps it would be best to put Friend Raven in charge again," Star said gently.
"One request," Gar said, touching Love's hand gently. "I'm going to Nevermore with you. I think I need to say some things to Rae."
"Maybe the three of us will stay away from the Tower for awhile," our Tamaran Princess suggested. "You and Raven need time to do the talking, I think."
"We do?" Robin asked.
"Yes, Richard. We do," Star said firmly. He nodded helplessly. It was no use arguing when she was in this state of mind.
Next: a shorter chapter featuring Beast Boy in Nevermore.