Hey guys! Sorry it took so long for this update! I was really busy because I went to Small Press Expo and had to get stuff ready. But I'm back now! Yay! And this chapter is pretty long and has a lot of characters in it, so I hope that makes up for things.
Raven was woken up by a reverberating knock on her bedroom door. It was a loud but hollow knock, the sound of metal hitting wood. The sound was familiar and could only be one of two people, Victor or Cliff. She pushed herself out of bed, not bothering to grab her cloak before answering the door.
"Mornin, kiddo," came Robotman's familiar voice, but what she saw in the hallway was surprising. "I think I found something of yours?"
The metallic hero was holding Kid Flash by the back of his uniform, but placed him down with a graceless thud before her door.
"Wow, special edition slumber party Raven with authentic bed head!"
It took the speedster's comment on her attire... and the wolf whistle that followed to snap Raven's still sluggish mind into gear. She quickly slammed her door earning a laugh from Robotman and an offended "Hey!" from Kid Flash.
She threw on her uniform and hastily combed her hair. Even though her leotard was probably more revealing than her sleep shorts and tank top, she felt more vulnerable in casual clothes... especially if people were going to make snarky comments.
When she reopened her door, she saw that Kid Flash was pretty beat up looking. The initial anger she was feeling at him faded and she winced as she looked at his bloody nose and black eye. His cheek and shoulder also looked… singed.
"Wally... What happened to you?"
"I didn't expect Gar's parents' house to have such a good security system..."
Cliff laughed, "Kid was moving so fast that the defensive system thought he was a projectile missile and sent out drones to stop."
"There were also lasers," Wally added, pointing to his burned cheek.
"Lasers?" Robotman sounded excited, "I need to go tell Vic the modifications he did to the security grid are working! If it's okay, I'll release the intruder into your protective custody, Raven."
"I think I have him under control," she said with a sigh and stepped to the side to let him enter her room. He took no time at all to make himself comfortable, plopping himself down on her unmade bed. As if be second nature, she sat next to him and immediately placed her hands on his face to begin healing his wounds. The boy closed his eyes to the cooling tingle of her white magic, which seemed familiar and welcome after the numerous times she'd healed him since they were partnered up at the League.
Once she was done, he placed his hand where her's had just been... Feeling nothing but smooth skin where there had just been a burn.
"Ah, where would I be without you?" he asked warmly.
"I don't know... But you'd probably be covered with some nasty scars wherever you were," she teased. To this he just grinned. "What are you doing here?"
"I heard you got your ass kicked," he said casually, his manner as friendly as ever.
"And where exactly did you hear that rumor?"
"Rumor? More like fact," he corrected. "You seem to forget that I'm best friends with Tim Drake... also known as the guy who has been outsmarting Batman since he was like 9 years old. Anything Bats knows, Robin knows... and I asked him to keep me updated."
Raven huffed, "Great. Everyone is keeping tabs on me." She pushed the hair out of her eyes, "So, what? You heard I lost a fight and came all the way here to check on me? We have communicators."
"You're my partner at the Justice League, we're supposed to look out for each other... Like the guys in buddy cop movies."
"Or like actual police officers," she raised an eyebrow.
He nodded, "Yeah, them too... And while I was worried about you, I also came to bring you this." The boy sat up on the bed and began searching the secret compartment on his belt before pulling out a flash drive. "It's the info about that magic necklace thing."
"But... I only asked for it last night," Raven said, taking the small device from her friend.
Wally nodded, "I know... Zatana and I may have pulled an all-nighter."
"Wally..." She didn't say thank you, but it came through in the softness I her voice.
He shook his head, "We want to see Gar get better, too, ya know?" He paused briefly, but it was worth noting since he barely ever stopped talking, and then asked tentatively, "Can I see him?"
Raven led Wally to the infirmary and pushed open the heavy wooden door. The two former Titans stood in silence over the bed of their friend. Raven knew that Gar and Wally never really got along. They were too similar, always trying to get a joke out of everyone. The flaws they didn't want to see in themselves, they saw in each other. Beast Boy would complain that Kid Flash was a show off. Kid Flash would accuse Beast Boy of being defensive. The two of them were polite enough in front of others... but that didn't fool the empath. They didn't hate each other, but they were far from best friends.
"He looks thinner."
"Yeah," Raven hadn't expected her voice to crack but it did.
The speedster reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry..."
She shook her head, "You didn't do anything." He was tactless... But he was trying… and he had spent the entire night researching in an attempt to help. "I'm going to go show these files to Mento. You should come so you can explain them... Partner."
He nodded and Raven did a mental scan of the manor to find the team's leader. Unsurprisingly, he was in his office. The two Titans walked through the ornate halls, Wally taking in all of the art and artifacts scattered throughout, while Raven seemed to already be used to them. When they approached the office door, Raven raised her hand, but before her knuckles touched wood, a voice spoke from within.
"Come in, Raven," Mento said clearly.
She turned the knob and pushed the door open to find Mento sitting in his leather chair before his computer… helmet on. She didn't know much about Mento's powers, but she knew from what Gar told her that while his helmet gave him extraordinary mental abilities… it wasn't good for him and he wasn't supposed to wear it a lot.
He turned around to face them and stood, extending a hand toward Kid Flash. "I'm Mento, but if you're a friend of Raven's and Gar's, you can call me Steve."
"I'm Kid Flash, but if you're Beast Boy's dad you can call me Wally," the younger hero said in an attempt at a joke, shaking Mento's hand. Raven could only roll her eyes.
She waited until they were done and then extended the flash drive in Mento's direction. "Kid Flash brought this from the League, Sir. It's information about Jinx's amulet."
"Hmmm, Let's take a look," he said taking the device from her and plugging it into his computer. The three of them went over the articles and text files, Mento asking a lot of questions, Wally answering them the best he could, and Raven just trying to process it all.
It turned out that the amulet was Greek in origin but there wasn't much written about it. All that they could gather from the articles and papers Wally and Zatanna had gathered was that the artifact was called the 'amuletum somortem' and that it had been housed at the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archeology and Anthropology before it recently went missing.
"Hmmm, why don't you two go and speak to the people at the museum," Mento suggested, still pouring over the files on his computer.
"You want me to go with Kid Flash?" Raven asked credulously. She knew the man as sort of a control freak, liking to do everything himself or at least closely supervise the missions and tasks that he couldn't head.
The man took off his helmet with a sigh, placing it down on his desk. Even though he put it down gently, it sounded heavy as it hit the oak. "I want to stay here and try to get a satellite image of their base. I've located it on GPS, but I want to find out as much about the location as possible... If you want, I can send Larry with you, but I don't think you need a baby sitter. I trust you, Raven."
She could sense that the man was tense, but she was touched by how casually he made that statement. "We'll be fine sir."
"Go eat something before you leave," Mento said absentmindedly before turning back to his computer, his fatherly instincts showing. "And keep in contact. If anything seems off, get out of there."
Raven nodded, "Yes, sir."
As soon as they were out of earshot, Wally elbowed Raven lightly, "He's bossy, huh?"
"He's not so bad, just stressed," she shrugged. "That's just how team leaders are."
"I guess you're right..." He admitted, seeming like he was going to say something else about it... Until a sudden sweet smell reached their noses. "What's that?"
"Breakfast," she said plainly and led him into the kitchen where Larry was at the stove, hard at work flipping pancakes and frying bacon.
"Morning."
"Good morning, sunshine," he said without looking, "Are you hungry?"
"Only a little, but I was given a direct ordered to eat breakfast," she said sarcastically eliciting a laugh from both Larry and Wally.
Negative Man plopped two heaping plates of pancakes down on the table rather unceremoniously. "I made extra because I heard our house guest had a house guest," he joked, holding out his hand, "I'm Larry."
Kid Flash shook his hand enthusiastically, "Cool. Name's Wally... And these pancakes smell delicious."
The two former Titans settled into the breakfast nook, soon joined by Robotman and Cyborg. Everyone chatted about how the defensive systems had nearly fried the ginger that morning... though Raven was distracted and had little to say about the situation. She only ate one pancake and one strip of bacon before pushing the remainder off of her plate and on to the Speeder's, knowing that his high metabolism called for a lot of carbs. He accepted the extra food with a smile.
"So, what are your plans for the day?" Cyborg asked Raven when there was a lull in conversation.
She took a sip of her tea and replied, "Mento has me on an away mission."
"Has US on an away mission," Wally corrected, his mouth full.
Negative man scoffed turning to Kid Flash, "You've been here all of a few hours and Steve is already sending you on away missions?"
"It's just recon," the half demon informed, "We're going to the Archeology Museum at UPenn to investigate Jinx's pendant. Steve said you could come if you wanted to, Larry. "
The older hero shook his head, "I think I'll pass on this field trip. I promised to help Rita with some housework."
The group finished up breakfast and parted ways. Raven offered to teleport herself and Wally to the museum, but he insisted on running and meeting her there, claiming that her powers gave him "a strong case of the wiggins" and saying he wanted to stretch his legs anyway.
When they arrived, the two wasted no time, finding the museum director who introduced them to one of the lead researchers. Her name was Lisa and she was slightly older woman with burnt sienna colored skin, dark hair, and glasses. She began leading them through the different exhibit rooms, each featuring artifacts and replica's from different cultures until they reached a large section devoted to ancient Greece. She stopped them before a display case and pointed to an empty spot.
"This is where the amulet had been displayed… As you can see there isn't much security on this exhibit since it's mostly just trinkets and jewelry. I was shocked when I came into work one morning and found the necklace missing…"
Raven looked over the other items in the case, and sure enough they all looked fairly average… extremely old, but average. She turned her attention back to the researcher. "Can you tell us anything about the amulet?"
"Well, it's called the 'amuletum somortem' and the legend around it is that it was formed by Hypnos the god of sleep in as a sleeping aid for a restless Hera… but it was corrupted by Hypnos's twin Thánatos, the god of death. When the goddess used it, it sent her into a deep and deathlike slumber… there's also a story of it falling into the hands of a mortal priestess who used it to end a war between two warring cities by putting all of the soldiers to sleep long enough to destroy all of their weapons."
"How did they wake the people up?" Wally asked quickly.
"Well, in the first myth, Aurora goddess of the dawn takes the amulet from Thánantos and uses it to reverse the effects. In the second myth the priestess herself reverses the amulet's powers. If handled by a person with a pure heart and magic abilities, the same amulet that causes sleep can reawaken its victims." Lisa paused, her eyebrows furrowing, "But… those are just myths… legends. They're not real. That amulet has been here since before I started working here and there's never been any reports of incident up until it was stolen."
"Stranger things have happened," Wally shrugged.
The researcher's face was incredulous, obviously a woman of science and not willing to believe that the amulet she'd been walking past every day for years was actually a relic of the gods. "So you're telling me that those legends are real? And that someone stole the amulet to USE it?"
"You're talking to someone who can run faster than a bullet train and a girl who's father is a giant demon, I'm pretty sure we know a few gods-" the speedster was talking quickly and managed to reveal that much before Raven could cover his mouth with a tendril of her dark energy.
"The location of the amulet is classified information," Raven said politely, pushing her partner aside. "But rest assured that once we recover it, we will update you on the situation and return the object to you if that action is deemed safe by the Justice League."
The woman seemed confused, but nodded, "Alright. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Not right now, but if we have any more questions, we'll let you know," the dark girl said with a smile, "Thank you for your time."
Raven nearly dragged Wally outside before releasing him from her powers, shooting a glare in his direction. "Let's get back to the Manor."
"Race ya!" was her friend's response, before he disappeared in a blur of yellow and red.
She teleported herself back to the front entrance of the Dayton Manor, and for a moment thought she'd actually beaten Wally there, considering he wasn't leaning against a wall, prepared to gloat like he usually was when he won a race… but then she noticed the front door was open and just as she began to sense many aura's inside the house, she was scooped up into a powerful hug.
"RAVEN! My best of friends!" Even through Raven couldn't see anything but a mass of wavy red hair, she knew exactly who had her in a death grip. "I came to your aid as soon as I could!"
"Star," the young woman responded, wrapping her arms around the other the best she could manage. While she hadn't been expecting her friend, she couldn't say that she was really surprised to see her.
Soon she was replaced on her feet, only to feel herself being pulled into another hug, this time a less intense one, but still firm and caring. It was Dick, Nightwing.
When she pulled away from his shoulder, she felt a small smile split her lips. Before her stood Starfire, Nightwing, Cyborg, and Kid Flash... three of her original teammates and her partner from the Justice League. The fact that they'd all come to help Beast Boy made her feel warm inside and glad that she'd found the strength to actually open up and make friends. She wanted to tell them how much they meant to her, but all she could muster was a shaky, "Thank you."
"Titans together, right?" Dick said with a smile, he had lightened up a little since he was their leader.
"You must not thank us!" Starfire chimed in, flying to Raven's side and linking arms with her as the group began to head inside. "Of course we would come to the assistance of friend Garfield! Not to mention, I would never miss your wedding day!"
Raven stopped walking and she could feel a blush rising in her cheeks. "W…wedding?"
"Yes, a joyous occasion birthed from a time of trial!" Starfire said, looking a little confused but unwaveringly happy. "It is an Earth custom! You shall awaken Garfield from his enchanted sleep and share in true love's kiss. Then you shall be wed and blessed with happiness ever after!"
In a burst of dark energy, all of the paintings in the hallway became askew and an end table uprooted itself and flipped entirely upside down.
"It is all explained legends of Sleeping Beauty and of Snow White," Star insisted.
At this point, Cyborg and Kid Flash were laughing too hard to speak, but Dick managed to regain composer long enough to explain the situation to his ex girlfriend. "Kori… those are fairytales they tell to children… they're not real."
"So… there will be no wedding?"
"No, I don't think so," Dick said with a nervous laugh, turning to look at Raven. She now had her emotions under control, but still didn't look too happy.
Star nodded, her voice serious, "Perhaps that is for the best… there is no need to rush into a wedding. It is better to have more time to plan for location, refreshments, ceremonial garments, and of course the trip to the moon of honey."
Raven couldn't stay mad at her friend, "Kori, if I ever get married, I promise you can be my maid of honor, but for now can you just drop it?"
"Of course, we must focus on the task at hand," the alien agreed with a kind smile.
The Titans and the Doom Patrol all gathered together in the living room to go over the findings from the day. First, Raven and Wally told everyone about the amulet's origins and mythology. Though they didn't know much more about the exact powers the object maintained, everyone agreed that their best shot at undoing the damage was to retrieve the necklace. Next, Mento had a slide show prepared. He had located the base and got a satellite image of the area. It appeared that the base was surrounded by high walls and armed to the teeth. There were what appeared to be lasers and armed robot guards. It seemed secure… but they had more heroes now.
After the meeting, Rita and Larry cooked dinner and they were forced to eat in the grand dining room since there was no room at the breakfast nook in the kitchen. Raven had disliked that room when she'd first arrived at the manor because it had seemed so stately and empty when it was only herself and the Doom Patrol, but now it seemed friendlier when it was full of friends and chatter. She spent dinner catching up with Kori, who was full of questions about the League and stories about her home planet. She had forgotten how comforting Starfire's innocent and warm aura could be.
Everyone was preparing to clean up and go to bed, when there was a sudden buzzer sound from the front hall.
"The doorbell?" Cliff said, walking to a monitor and pressing the display button. Six faces appeared on the screen, along with identification that must have come from a security system scan referenced against the Doom Patrol's computer database… but Raven didn't need the computer to tell her who those people were.
"It's the Titans," she said, rising from her chair.
Larry shook his head, "Exactly how many Titans are there?"
"Depends on whether you mean official or honorary," Vic joked.
"Those are the Titans who took over the Tower after we… graduated," Dick explained.
Rita got up from her chair, "Well, let's let them in!" She began walking toward the manor's entrance and Raven followed closely behind. She could hear the squeaking of chairs across wood floors as the others got up to join them as well.
When Rita opened the door, it was Tim who stood in front of the group, shaking the Doom Patroller's hand and introducing himself as "Robin." Half way through his introduction, he noticed Raven over Elasti-Girl's shoulder and a smirk reached his lips.
"Raven," he said, his voice warm. In the time she had spent with the younger Titans, she had become a sort of advisor to Tim, building a trusting and understanding friendship with him similar to the one she had with the older Robin. They shared a quick and professional hug.
Before she could ask him any questions, she was sandwiched between three teen boys in a group hug.
"Raven! We missed you!" Blue Beetle began.
"Yeah! Now that you're gone, the Tower is a mess and there's no one around to keep Red and Blue in line!" Static Shock added, earning a laugh from the other Titans.
Red Devil didn't speak until the hug was broken, and his voice was a little quieter than that of his cohorts, "Yeah, it's different without you."
She was touched by the boy's comments, especially Eddie's because she knew the two of them had a rough start when he first joined the team. She opened her mouth to speak, but once again was cut off by a hug.
"Oh Raven!" she found herself scooped up in a pair of thin green arms. "I like missed you SO much! You don't even know! And I can't believe you're getting married and you didn't even tell me!?"
She could hear a burst of deep laughter in the background, definitely Cyborg.
"You talked to Starfire, didn't you?" Raven asked and she could feel the girl nod in affirmation against her shoulder. "There's no wedding, Star's just been watching too many princess movies… But I missed you, too."
The last Titan to greet was Ravager, who simply shook Raven's hand. The scene soon degraded into a mess of hugs, handshakes and introductions as everyone merged in the entrance way. This continued until Rita spoke up, "You kids came in all the way from Jump City? You must be starving."
If there's one thing that's every Titan's weakness, it's food, and the younger Titans were quick to follow the woman to the dinning room and helped themselves to whatever food was left from the dinner that had just ended.
Even though everyone else had finished eating, they sat with the Teen Titans and talked. Raven herself was sitting with Dick and Tim, toward the end of the table where things were a little quieter. She knew the 'bat brothers' could probably answer any questions she had about how the Doom Patrol base had managed to become an unofficial Titans Tower.
"I called home and you Alfred told me you were headed here," Tim explained, taking a gulp of water. "I knew about Gar's situation and that Raven, Cyborg, and Wally were already here, so I figured if you were here too things were probably getting serious. So, I rallied the team and we came to see if we could help out."
Dick nodded, "I called to check in with Victor and he said that they were close to making a break through… so, I came as soon as I could."
That only left one loose end in Raven's mind, "And Kori was… with you?"
A red tinge crossed Nightwing's nose and cheeks, "No, but we've… been in touch. I probably would have been here last night, but I waited for her so we could travel together."
The trio talked for a while longer, Raven mainly listening as Nightwing and Robin discussed a case Batman was working on.
It wasn't long before Mento's voice rang out through the room, "Thank you all for coming to help, if my research is any indications we're going to need all the help we can get. Now that we have reinforcements, I think it would be wise to strike tomorrow, before our enemies have a chance to make their next move. We'll leave tomorrow morning after a brief strategically meeting. There are guest rooms in the east hall, second story… and feel free to help yourself to anything you might need."
"You heard the man, troops," Dick said, standing from his chair. "Time for bed, big day tomorrow."
"You're not the boss of us, anymore," Blue Beetle joked.
"Maybe not," Nightwing retorted, ruffling Tim's hair, "But I am the boss of him and he is the boss of you. Transitive authority."
The younger Titans seemed okay with this, and started heading toward the guest rooms, Cliff volunteering to lead them up stairs and show them where extra blankets and towels were. Raven was feeling tired herself, she was never good with reunions, but this one was particularly large and emotional and had drained a lot of her energy. She said a small good night to the room and began to leave, Starfire joining her, linking arms in a friendly manner again.
"It was good to see so much of our family in one place again," she began with a sleepy smile, apparently tired from the space travel she underwent to return to Earth. "When we awaken Friend Garfield, our family will be even more complete."
Raven nodded, "Yeah, I'm glad you're all here…"
Star sighed, "My heart feels full to bursting."
While the Tameranian sometime butchered common phrases and tripped over English words… she always managed to express exactly what those around her were thinking with a pure honesty.
"M…mine too," Raven agreed as they reached her bedroom door.
The taller woman cupped her cheek and pulled Raven's face to her's, planting a sweet kiss on her cheek. "Do not worry, my friend. We are together and we fight righteously. We will win."
There was such a confidence in her friend's tone that Raven could only nod. Even after her friend had left, Raven took comfort in those words. She let them cover her like the thick blankets of the guest room, which had slowly become her room. She let them wrap around her like the arms of so many friends she hadn't seen in months. She slipped into them like an old habit.
And as she drifted off to sleep she scanned the manor, sensing the auras of the others. Some were already asleep, but others were still awake and talking… they were worried and tense, but hopeful. And it made her hopeful. She heard the words repeat in her head, "We will win."