AN: It's certainly been a while. I have quite a few pieces in limbo right now. Most are not quite finished; the words just aren't coming to match the ideas sufficiently. This came to me today and demanded to be written, as these things often do. As such, it's much shoddier workmanship than I generally put out, but it feels good to have an idea up and finished. Also, I have to give credit to Stumblefoot's piece, "The Waiting Wolf," for a fairly central idea. Read it and you'll recognize it.
Disclaimer: I don't own much of anything, and what I get paid for definitely isn't this.
Just in Case— Tesla
"Garfield Mark Logan, I swear by Azar, if you die, I will drag you back by your toenails!"
Raven swiped at her eyes, trying to clear away the saltwater marring her vision. As much as it clawed at her soul to see the twisted spears of rebar jutting out of Beast Boy's chest, she had to keep her mind and eyes clear. His life was riding on her now.
Fueled by such a massive rush of emotion, Raven could barely keep her powers from an instinctive reaction that would surely kill Beast Boy; even as she worked to slowly build a cocoon of energy around each bar so that she could phase them out of his body without doing further internal damage, she had to fight the urge to rip out the metal that was killing her newfound lover. So little energy was required for this task, yet it was agonizingly slow work, largely due to the massive shunt she had to maintain throughout the process. The space two feet around their bodies was utter, sterile calm; the ten feet outside of that were caught in a black maelstrom.
It was like trying to water an orchid with Niagara Falls.
Interminable seconds passed, marked by Beast Boy's ragged breaths and the pounding of Raven's heart. Finally, encased in black energy, the rebar floated free of his chest and imbedded itself in the concrete, leaving behind three jagged holes in his chest. One lung had been punctured by two of the poles, but all of his other major organs were unharmed. Taking a deep breath, Raven concentrated on pulling out the blood that had accumulated inside his lung, knitting together the displaced flesh, pulling muscle fibers back together, reattaching severed nerves. The pain was nearly unbearable to absorb, and she bit her lip to keep from screaming.
The blue glow subsided from her fingers, and three puckered patches of light green skin stood out against the brown-red mess that was the front of Beast Boy's uniform. Raven collapsed, lying at Garfield's side just as she had in the wee hours of that very morning. She refused to look away from his face, though, until she saw his eyes open.
Beast Boy gave her a weak smile and brought his arm to rest on her hip. "Hey there, beautiful. What'd I miss?"
Raven slapped his hand away and rose to her knees. "Don't you dare start joking, Gar! If you had died, I..." She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear away the tears that were beginning anew. A gloved hand on her face drew her gaze to Beast Boy's eyes. The next thing she knew, they were locked in a desperate kiss. Beast Boy was alive. Her Garfield was still with her. Anything else was inconsequential.
A tap on her shoulder brought her head up. "Can't this wait?"
Robin's eyes were as apologetic as the mask could convey. "Sorry, Raven, but not really. We need you to bring Adonis back from... wherever you sent him."
Chastened, Raven closed her eyes and chanted. A few seconds later, a red battle suit materialized on the concrete emitting a high-pitched keening sound.
Cyborg approached, sonic cannon at the ready. Turning over the figure with a foot, he found their foe whimpering and gibbering to himself.
"So dark... so cold... can't feel... am I dead? Why is it so dark?" The young man's eyes were wide, tears mingling with the drool on his chin.
Robin's posture conveyed his displeasure. "Raven, you're going to have some serious explaining to do. This damage may be perm—"
In a flash, Raven was on her feet, staring up at her leader with venom in her eyes. "No. He nearly killed Beast Boy. I apologize for nothing."
The Boy Wonder's jaw clenched. "I'll have to take this up with Batman."
"Fine. Go. I'll meet you back at the Tower." She knelt back at Beast Boy's side, taking his hand in her own.
Stiff-legged, Robin turned on his heel and made his way to the R-Cycle, followed closely by Starfire, who shot Raven a look of approval before mounting the bike and wrapping her arms around Robin's waist. By the time they finished the ride back to the Tower, the warrior princess would most likely be able to soften the sharper edges of her lover's anger.
Cyborg's shadow loomed over the pair on the concrete even as he knelt. "He'll come around, Raven. You don't have anything to be sorry for. I'm just glad you beat me to the punch; your way, Rustbucket's still alive."
"If I ever lost him... if I ever lost any of you..." Raven's voice trembled.
"Yeah, I know. We're family." He stood. "Preliminary scans show he's stable. Get him to the med bay, and I'll be down to check on him as soon as I get Adonis into custody and drive back." Cyborg hesitated for a moment, then started walking toward the T-Car. "I think I might be a while. Maybe I'll take the scenic route."
"Victor?" Raven waited for the giant young man to turn. "Thank you."
Enveloping Garfield in her soul-self, Raven teleported to the floor of the medical bay, still holding her lover's hand.
"Now, let's get you up on a table. As much as you need rest, the floor's probably not the ideal place for—"
A soft snore interrupted her. Glancing at the changeling, she saw that he was fast asleep, and most likely had been for quite some time.
Raven couldn't help a tiny smile. "I suppose you've earned a bit of sleep." Lifting the green boy with her powers, she deposited him on the medical bed, then dragged a chair over to sit next to him. She slipped into her familiar meditative pose, hoping to get her ragged emotions back into a manageable state before he woke.
Just as she was beginning to find her center, something slimy crawled into her ear.
In a room with so much sensitive electronic equipment, it was really quite fortunate that only one of the overhead lightbulbs exploded.
"What in the name of Az— Beast Boy!" Raven scrubbed at her ear with a hand, trying to rid herself of the horrendous sensation.
The green boy at least had the decency to look sheepish. "Saying your name wasn't working. A wet willie is the next logical step."
"A wet willie is never— never mind. You're insufferable."
"I dunno, Rae, I think I did a little suffering today. Can't I get some sympathy kisses?" Oh Azar, he was starting with the puppy dog eyes.
"Not if you resort to blackmail. And if you ever, ever do something like that again, I will kill you myself."
"Kind of extreme for a wet willie. Not a fan?"
She sighed. "You know what I mean."
"Well yeah, but it's not like I woke up today and thought, 'Hey, I think I really need some rebar sticking through my—'"
"Shut up! Shut up shut up shut up..." Raven's fists were clenched and glowing with black energy.
Beast Boy immediately relented and took hold of her hands. "It's okay, Rae. Look. I'm here. I'm fine. See?" He placed her right hand over his heart. "Still there."
The black glow subsided, but Raven still couldn't get her breathing under control. "Oh, Gar... I thought..." She closed her eyes and saw him shifting over and over again, elk to dinosaur to cheetah, unable to rid himself of the steel poles jutting through his chest in human form.
"I know. But you saved me, Rae. You did it. I'm here. Safe."
They sat there with no concept of time, simply grateful for the other's presence. Finally, as was his custom, Beast Boy broke the silence.
"Do you believe there's a heaven, Rae?"
She snorted. "My heritage mandates that I believe in heaven. You can't have demons without angels."
"I guess... but how do I know I'll get there? It's not like I have a road map... and I've done some bad things. Especially with the Doom Patrol. I might tell you about some of them one day, but I'm not ready yet."
"Gar, I'm certain your spot in heaven is reserved, right next to Abbott and Costello and every other comedian with blindingly bad puns." Her gaze shifted downward. "My place, though... I'm pretty much guaranteed to go the other way."
"You're kidding, right? You have more of a chance at heaven than any of us, Rae."
"Uh, earth to Garfield: I'm half demon. Not exactly heaven material."
That awful, wonderful smirk slid across his face. "Tell me, what exactly is a demon? Two word definition."
"A demon is a fallen..." Raven stopped, eyes wide.
"Exactly. Fallen angel." His eyes were shining. "And what makes a fallen angel who's fought for good all her life any different from a regular angel who started out on the right side of the clouds?"
"But... my father is—"
"Not you. Not by a long shot. And I, for one, am glad of that. I mean, first off, the antlers would get in the way of this." He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.
When they finally pulled apart, Beast Boy reached up to caress her face.
"Rae... just in case I don't make it to heaven, I want to give you a message for when you get there. I want you to thank whoever's up there for giving me an angel of my own. That's more heaven than I've ever expected, and I can't tell you how grateful I am for it."
Raven gestured for him to lean forward. As he leaned in again, lips pursed for another kiss, she flicked him soundly between the eyes.
"Ow!" Beast Boy rubbed at his forehead. "What'd I do?"
"If you don't end up there, I am personally going to break down the gates of wherever it is you're staying, grab you by your pointy ears, and drag you to heaven. Understood?"
He gulped. "Yes, Ma'am."
Raven gave him a little smile. "Good boy. Now come here." Grabbing his face with both hands, she dragged him in for another kiss.
