Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to the Teen Titans or any characters in the DC Universe.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The pile of luggage next to the T-Ship kept growing, much to Nightwing's amazement. Starfire had super human strength of course, and when she had entered the hangar carrying several pieces of luggage the others thought that would be it, but the Princess made 5 more trips to her room, actually it was now their room as they had spent their wedding night there. That night, after all the guests had left and while Cyborg shut the Tower down it occurred to the Tin Man that he was the only occupant of the landmark structure that as David Lettermen would sometimes say "wasn't getting any."
"Is that it Star?" Cyborg asked. "I don't think there's any room in the T-Ship for more luggage. And why so much? I though you guys were going to spend a week on a private island that Bruce owns?"
Nightwing had tried to shush his cybernetic teammate, but was woefully too late.
"I am glad you asked friend Cyborg, for you see we will be spending 8 days and seven nights on a tropical island. While the island is private it is but a 10 minute flight to Papeete in Tahiti, where Richard and I will spend much time dining and shopping. In the first suitcase I have packed the swimsuits, outfits, shoes and all accessories I will need the first day …"
Nightwing mouthed the words 'you had to ask' as he began loading the luggage into the T-Ship's cargo hold. Several minutes later the Tamaranian concluded her explanation with "and I do not understand how Richard was able to pack everything he needed into just two suitcases. Do you Raven?"
The gray sorceress replied in her signature monotone.
"It's a mystery to me too Starfire. One of the unanswerable secrets of the universe I suppose."
Nightwing had just closed the hatch on the cargo hold and gave Raven a 'ha ha, very funny' look.
"I guess we're ready to go." He informed the group. "Kid Flash and Jinx will arrive any moment now to backfill for us, so you guys should be set until we come back."
Beast Boy cleared his throat.
"I also asked Argent to come give us a hand."
Nightwing looked nonplussed.
"Really? I guess she can stay in one of the spare rooms. Why did you ask her Beast Boy, Jinx and Kid Flash should be adequate backups?"
The changeling grinned sheepishly, and even Raven looked mildly surprised. She then cleared her own throat and addressed the team.
"Gar has acted prematurely, but I understand why … we have some news which we just found out yesterday before the wedding. To be honest we couldn't think of the right time to tell you since we didn't want to be a distraction during your wedding …" Raven rambled uncharacteristically.
"Raven, what are you trying to say?" Nightwing asked.
Raven paused, preparing to drop the bomb, when Kid Flash and Jinx entered the common room.
"Yeah Raven, what the big news? Are you preggers?" Jinx joked.
"Yes" Raven replied. "I'm pregnant."
Starfire went bug eyed, and Beast Boy thought for a moment that her eyes had become heart shaped.
"Yes, yes, yes!" The Tamaranian shouted as she pumped her arm, a human gesture she had recently picked up. She then became airborne and performed a series of aerial pirouettes while shouting with glee.
"You had to tell her." Nightwing moaned. "Now I won't hear the end of this."
Jinx ran to Raven and hugged her. Starfire descended from the hangar ceiling and joined in the now group hug. Meanwhile Cyborg slapped the changeling on the back.
"It's about time!" He cheered.
Beast Boy gave him a cross look.
"Whadya mean it's about time? We haven't even been married for a year. We only did this now because Raven's 30."
"I know grass stain, ticking clocks and all that. So what's it like to be with an older woman?"
Beast Boy frowned.
"You want me to go Ministra Magi on you tin man?" He growled.
"Aw c'mon! I'm just kiddin ya B. Raven still looks young! She's no cougar."
Beast Boy turned away from his friend.
"Don't even joke about it Cy. It's not funny, she coulda died."
The mechanical man rubbed the back of his neck.
"I'm sorry man; you know I think the world of her."
"It's OK, I guess I'm just a little sensitive about it."
"Really, why? I mean none of us think there's anything wrong with the two of you being a couple."
The changeling sighed.
"Cy, Raven's always been more mature than me, way more mature. Now she really is older than me. It makes me feel so … not good enough, like I'm a mismatch for her."
Cyborg shook his head.
"It's your baby she's carrying. Seems to me that she thinks you're worthy of her."
Beast Boy nodded.
"I know, it's just that sometimes … I feel that way."
"Have you ever told her?"
"Heck no!"
"Maybe you should grass stain."
The impromptu counseling session was interrupted by the sound of the hangar doors opening; their deep groaning reverberated throughout the entire room. Beast Boy turned to the T-Ship just as Nightwing closed the hatch on the compartment he shared with his beaming bride. It was then that Cyborg saw that someone had sloppily scribbled the words "Just married" on the side of his flying pride and joy with a nearby discarded can of spray paint.
"Wally!" He shouted, unheard as the T-Ship's engines roared to life.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"And now Sky-7 takes us straight to the scene of the battle between the Titans and the combined forces of Johnny Rancid, Mumbo and Control Freak…"
Raven put her book down and focused her attention on the giant view screen in the common room. This was the latest tactic the local villains were using against the Titans: they were teaming up. Fortunately for Jump City's local superheroes villains were selfish cowards and made poor teammates, especially when they were losing.
The local TV station helicopter kept itself at a safe distance from the action and the cameraman did a decent job of getting the action on screen while the on board reporter gave play by play commentary, which irritated Raven. Was that how the citizenry saw them, as entertainment? This wasn't some stupid sporting event, Raven seethed, all it would take would be a single mistake and a Titan could perish. Had Terra already been forgotten by the locals? Live coverage of the Titans missions had begun shortly after Raven had finally agreed to sit out from the missions due to her pregnancy.
Raven finally agreed to take maternity leave near the end of her first trimester. During that time she had to endure the pleas to sit out the battles from her teammates, especially from her husband. Raven had reassured them that she would be extra careful and that nothing would happen to her. What ended up happening instead was that the others, especially the changeling, went out of their way to make sure she was safe, often unnecessarily exposing themselves to danger. The straw that finally broke the camel's back was a mission against the remnant of the Hive-5, where Mammoth broke Beast Boy's arm as the changeling came to Raven's aid. After partially healing his arm back at the Tower's infirmary she agreed to take her leave.
Raven watched the battle unfold in the screen. It had been 3 months since she agreed to stay home during missions and she had watched every single one on the TV. She absentmindedly caressed her now visibly swollen midsection as she nervously watched her teammates fight the trio of villains.
As expected, Control freak was the first to go down, victimized by one of Nightwing's flawless spinning heel kicks. Mumbo proved to be peskier as he had added a few new "stage magic" tricks to his arsenal, including a Chinese finger trap that grew in size and momentarily captured Starfire until Nightwing freed her with one of his modified bat-a-rangs. Cyborg finally took him down with his sonic cannon,
This left Johnny Rancid as last villain standing. He had been using his usual arsenal of giant robots which the Titans were able to take down without too much effort. Raven grinned as she saw her teammates surround the gray skinned villain.
What Raven couldn't see on the TV was that Rancid had pulled a small remote control out of his pocket and pressed the button on it. She did see the outcome of that event. Within seconds a dozen mechanical replicas of the Beast appeared and began to attack the Titans.
Beast Boy cursed the villain who simply laughed and replied: "I thought imitation was the greatest form of flattery. You should be pleased Beast Boy!"
Beast Boy's only response was to tap on a wrist stopwatch, starting a two minute countdown. He then shouted 'adeat!'
While Raven couldn't hear his incantation, she was able to feel it. He had tapped into her power and she felt the slight drain on her own powers from the beginning. She finally relaxed and even smiled. The battle would soon be over.
Rancid went bug eyed at the sight before him. The changeling had transformed into an oversized version of the Beast and wielded a huge sword in each paw, which he twirled expertly. Rancid stared slack jawed as the Beast systematically and effortlessly demolished its mechanical doppelgangers. As the last robot was sliced in half the villain surrendered to Nightwing, who handcuffed him.
"Abeat!" The changeling shouted as he paused the stopwatch. Only 35 seconds had elapsed.
"Well Bill, this was a short battle. The changeling has become quite fighter, wouldn't you agree?" The helicopter reporter asked the anchor back in the TV station studio.
"There's no doubt about that Roger, according to our latest poll he's now the most popular Titan …"
Damn right he is. Raven thought to herself as she allowed a small smile to form on her lips.
"… and another poll says he's been voted the sexiest and most desirable man in town."
"Sorry ladies, he's mine." Raven said out loud with a hint of smugness and self satisfaction in her voice as she shut the TV off knowing they would be home soon. As she picked up her book, ready to resume reading, she felt the child in her womb move.
"You're excited that daddy's coming home Coraline? Well, so am I." Raven addressed her unborn daughter as she gently caressed her swollen belly.
Raven closed her eyes and savored the moment as she continued to caress her child, albeit indirectly. Being pregnant had brought the Chromatically Challenged Couple™ closer to each other than ever.
Beast Boy had acted upon the tin man's advice and confessed his feelings of inadequacy to Raven the night after the Grayson's had left on their honeymoon. She initially felt mortified, as she blamed her earlier treatment of the changeling for these feelings. She reminded her green mate that it was his child she was carrying.
Raven then proceeded to tell the changeling about how being pregnant had changed her life. The conversation took place in the sanctity and privacy of their room and it started out in a way that Beast Boy was not expecting: she talked about sex.
She began by talking about the obsession that most modern North American couples had with sex, how they measured and quantified it, and how the goal for most was to have "mind blowing sex."
Raven then told him that what she appreciated the most when they were together was the intimacy, the oneness they shared when they engaged in physical love. She told him how she would lose herself with him and that there were moments when she felt that their two bodies became as one, their boundaries would simply disappear.
He kissed her and told her that felt that way too.
She then continued, confirming that the physical pleasure was pretty good too but that it was secondary, taking a back seat to the true intimacy where their souls came into contact and also became as one.
"But now we've taken it to the next level Gar." She continued as he caressed her midsection as they both rested together, naked, in their bed. "Our bodies really have come together and become as one…"
"Our baby." He interjected.
"That's right Gar, and I couldn't have brought this new life into the world with anyone but you. You've given me the most wonderful gift I could ever hope for."
"No Rae, you got that backwards, I'm getting the gift…"
"We're both right Gar; our baby is a precious gift that we created with our love. So don't ever doubt yourself, not only are you worthy, you're the only one who could ever be worthy. And I'm sorry I was so cruel to you when we were younger."
He gave her one of his signature smiles.
"I had it coming; I really was a pain in the neck back then."
Raven's flashback was interrupted by the sound of the common room doors swishing open and her 4 teammates (Argent's assignment at the Tower had been preemptively cancelled) entered the room, still celebrating their relatively easy victory of the day.
"You should have seen Rancid's face Raven, he looked like he was gonna cry when BB creamed his robots!" Cyborg cheered. "We so had their number today. You know, I think we're gonna run out of villains at this pace."
"There's always Slade." Nightwing harrumphed. "He's been AWOL too long. He has to be up to something."
"Maybe he too is afraid of our friend Beast Boy."
"Please don't say that Starfire, it will only go to his head." Raven complained. "And you Nightwing, stop obsessing about Slade."
Cyborg guffawed.
"Since we're done bickering, I'd like to remind everyone that the Mayor's annual law enforcement ball is this weekend and that we are the guests of honor." The cybernetic hero reminded his teammates.
"Do we have to go?" Raven moaned. "What am I supposed to wear? My maternity clothes?"
Starfire beamed.
"I will help you prepare an outfit Raven. We can base it on your winter costume, it will look very elegant."
"And I'll look like a beached whale."
"No you won't! You'll be fine Raven." Cyborg interjected. "You'll look radiant."
"Cyborg's right. You'll look great. C'mon Rae, we haven't been out of the Tower together for months!" Beast Boy added.
"Fine, I'll go. But everyone's gonna freak out and stare at me."
"Only because you're so beautiful Rae."
Raven sighed as she accepted her fate. But her mate was right, she had barricaded herself in the Tower as soon as she started showing, and the Mayor always put on a good spread.
"You don't have to butter me up Gar; I already said I'll go."
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The office in the investment bank was bustling with activity, as shares in stock exchanges from around the world were being bought and sold at a vertiginous pace, which wasn't unusual at Nomura Investments. It was just a few minutes before the closing bell on the Tokyo stock exchange and the 1st shift in the office was preparing to turn over the reins to the next crew, which would be handling trades on the various European bourses.
Misora Kurazaki was completing her final trades of the day. She had only been working at Nomura for a few months but had already made a name for herself as someone who had a high volume of trades and hence generated a lot of commissions for both the firm and herself. She was on her way to earning almost a million dollars worth of commissions that month.
Little did her coworkers or supervisors know that she was really Hiromi Ayase and that she was generating all those trades by moving funds in Andreas' secret accounts back and forth around the world. Hiromi knew that the authorities would eventually discover Andreas' hidden accounts and that they would be confiscated unless she got rid of the money.
While the money was in danger of being found, no one seemed to be able to discover were Andreas was hiding. Hiromi knew that he had gone into deep hiding as he hadn't touched any of his secret accounts, at least none of the ones she was aware of. This troubled Hiromi to no end as even her most powerful talismans could not reveal his location.
As for the money, she was killing two birds with a single stone. She would move Andreas' money around, making sure that paper trails documenting where they went would go missing as she shuffled the accounts through other less than competent banks, sabotaging the paper trails as she moved the funds around. She was also earning herself some very handsome commissions. In two more months her sleight of hand would be complete and she would move on, using yet another alias she had created for herself.
As Hiromi completed her final transaction for the day she kicked back and relaxed, which didn't really go with the nickname she had earned at the office with her abrasive personality, single mindedness and her large eyeglasses: "death specs". Of course she had used a talisman to keep nosy coworkers away from her, she didn't need their insipid distractions. As she relaxed she overheard one of her younger coworkers comment to another about Beast Boy. This topic caught Hiromi's attention and she began to eavesdrop.
"Look Madoka! Some news about Beast Boy-san!"
Madoka rolled her eyes.
"Haruna, why are so obsessed with him? Sure, you saw him at the Karaoke bar when he was in Japan, and you even kissed him. But that was a long time ago, and besides he married the witch."
"So?" Haruna replied. "Who says that he won't dump her?"
"Oh please Haruna, wake up and smell the wasabi! Of course he won't divorce her, it says in the article that the witch is pregnant, they're going to have a baby!"
Hiromi was sipping on a latte and almost spit it out when she heard the news. Still stunned upon hearing the unexpected news she opened a web browser and typed in the URL for the Jump City Herald.
She has to be far too old by now to have a baby.
As soon as the page opened she saw it for herself. On the front page section she saw an article reporting that Raven was indeed pregnant and there was a photo attached to the article to prove it, taken at the Mayor's law enforcement ball. Raven and Beast Boy were holding hands and she looked very pregnant.
Hiromi stifled a gasp. She had been following all Titan news stories, waiting for the inevitable announcement that Raven was aging prematurely. The gray sorceress had been absent from the news for months, which Hiromi took as a sign that the rapid aging curse was doing its trick. But in the photo Raven still looked youngish; it was hard to tell just how young with the low resolution image. Even her hair was still violet (Raven had dyed it so she wouldn't be pestered by journalists asking questions about her gray locks, there would be enough questions about her pregnancy).
Hiromi grimaced as she stared at the picture. What could have possibly gone wrong?
"Misora-domo! Are you also a fan of Teen Titans?" Haruna asked after seeing the picture on her screen.
"Not of the gray witch." Misora grumbled.
"That is understandable. Why would he marry her of all people?"
"I'm sure he had his reasons." Misora replied as she closed the browser and logged off her workstation. "I must leave now." She announced curtly as he gathered her belongings. Without saying another word she left.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Well readers, we are approaching the end of this story, about 4 to 6 more chapters left.
Anyway, I'm wondering what to do next. I started a Teen Titans/Negima! Crossover, but I'm not happy with it and I think I'm going to put it on ice, which leads to the next question…
Are you interested in having me resurrect "Reimagined: Tough Times in Jump City"? If you are you need to let me know, just wishing for it won't let me know you're interested. If I hear from at least 30 of you I will resurrect it. So if you want it, don't let it die because writing a review or sending me a message is too much of a chore.
And now, it's mailbag time!
Bigguido - "right on now she healed and the celebrating is over burn the cursed book and leave that bad guy in limbo."
I guess that's the problem with taking the moral high ground, the obvious solutions are just out of reach!
The Cretan - "Well it looks like they're in the clear. Though knowing you I can't say if another bomb is on the way or not. If not, yay. If so, I can't till it the bomb hits. To me you are a master of intrigue and suspense. Once again, thanks on Negima, I have a 10-year old (just turned 10 yesterday) and I'll make sure he doesn't see anything "inappropriate". Keep rockin."
Ken Akamatsu really went wild with Negima! I didn't think it would be possible, but it has more fan service that his previous work "Love Hina". The Animes are G rated as they were broadcast on TV in Japan, but the manga is definitely somewhere between PG-13 and R (naughty Akamatsu-san!)
qqkazzu - "That's so cute! They're gonna have a baby =) And interesting ceremony, did you make it up yourself? What inspired it if so? (I haven't read the comics so i wouldn't know if it originated from there). It's a really interesting ceremony. It made me happy =) I hath spoken mine part, Adieu!"
Actually I did make it all up. I'm glad you liked it.
AllYourWafflesBelongToMe - "Great chapter! Can't wait for the next one!"
Thanks, hope you liked this one too. If you think that theme was a little too "mature" let me know and I'll tone it down.
Blues32 - "So...is Raven still twenty seven years old due to the accelerated aging? Or did she go back to normal? And wouldn't she have an extended lifespan being half demon and all?"
She stopped aging prematurely, but not even Star Labs can turn back the clock! As for her lifespan, it could go either way (human or demon). I chose human for this story.
GreenRock - "The reason that you've received so many reviews and hits is because this story deserves the success. Well, everything seems all hunky-dory at this moment in time . . . but like every happy scenario or times where everything looks like it'll end happily, there's no doubt that there's a massive sting in the tail just on the horizon."
Thanks! At first I was worried with chapter 24 as the reviews did not pour in as usual. In the end patience paid off and the reviews materialized.
titanfan45 - "Nice to read a happy chapter! I'm glad they're going to have a child together. Nice job on the wedding."
Thanks! I wanted the Azarathian wedding to be somewhat foreign and exotic.
xXCanaryXx - "Oh yay! A happy chapter! Haven't had one of these since.. NEVA! Just kidding. :P
But still, I love that Raven isn't gonna die! xD It just made my day, knowing that our dark sorceress isn't gonna die! But I'm sad that there are gray hairs in her beautifully plum hair. T.T
YAYAYA *fangirl squeal* Their Pregnant! Well.. Raven is, BUT STILL! xD Im glad they are gonna have a little demon/human/shape-shifter/green/elf-looking BABY! Well, the baby might not be green, but still, you get the point. xD
Hmm, i wonder how Andreas is doing in the book?
As always, loved the chapter.
Update Soon!"
Beware of Hiromi! Coraline will be born next chapter. (A little spoiler)
lpwriter4life - "Two chapters instead of one? Yay! Glad the virus transfusion worked; it would be fun to see Raven go wig shopping though. Also, the wedding was loverly :D Can't wait for Rae and BB to announce their news to everyone later on."
I hope their announcement wasn't too anticlimactic.
almostinsane - "Great chapter! I'm glad I didn't read the title of the chapter so I was pleasantly surprised by the wedding. It was beautiful. I can't wait to see Beast Boy and Raven experience the joys of parenthood. Thanks for writing this. God bless!"
Thanks! I had fun concocting the Azarathian ceremony.
FelynxTiger - "finally they got married!, u did a great work in the development of the ceremony!
and this chapter was like 'good news keep coming' but i cant help to feel that not always is rainbows
a baby! ohh that would have seem like the ending of a disney movie , but in here in only means be careful
untilnextchapter"
I'll bet you guys thought I had forgotten about RobStar! But you are right in that dark clouds loom ahead for our heroes.
Shyguy1 - "Good chap. I just can't help but think that with all this good going on, that something bad is lurking right around the corner. I wonder what Hiromi is doing right now. Anyway, called it. Raven gets pregnant. Ok, so I was a bit early on my guess... ok, twenty chapters early, but I still called it. :) This was good. I like the ceremony that they have. You're a very good writer."
Thanks, you just know that there won't be a simple Disney like ending to this story.