Hey everyone! Here's the twenty-eighth one-shot! Hope you enjoy!
Please keep reading and reviewing; I really appreciate it! :)
"When I Am Dead"
Everything was black. The curtains that hung, draping to the floor in large folds. The rugs that were laid out between the isles. The chairs that were set up within inches of one another. The roses that hung around the room. The dresses and suits of the attendants. The cloudy, stormy sky outside. Everything was just black. Everything except for the dark brown casket that lay at the front of the room.
The attendants of the funeral were lined up along the side of the room, having abandoned their chairs and whatever belongings that they had brought. They went up one by one and paid their respects to the lost soul. Many had come, raking up a number that would've surprised the body that lay in the casket had they still been breathing. Sometimes you don't realize how many people love and care for you until it's far too late. Some of the attendants laid down flowers on the body, but most just paused at the casket. Perhaps saying a few words, or simply just remembering.
Some of the attendants, of course, spent more time than others. There were four teenagers who spent quite a long time in particular. Robin, the leader of the Titans, was the first of the four to arrive. He stared down at the body for what seemed like minutes. He mouthed some words, paying his respects. He looked down at his feet briefly, and then back up to the body's face, saying his final goodbye. As he walked away and returned to his seat, Starfire stepped up to the open casket. She peered down at the body, the one that was her once dear friend. Despite all the tears she had shed in the past days since the incident, more continued to flow. Resisting the urge to reach down and hug the body, she simply kissed her own hand and gently rested it against the figure's cheek, wishing her friend a goodbye. She soon followed in Robin's footsteps and returned to her seat, immediately receiving comfort from her boyfriend. Cyborg was the next to step up to the casket. He looked down at the body, holding back tears in an attempt to look strong. As he peered down at the still figure, he replayed memories in his head. A small, barely noticeable smile came on his face at the memories, but it quickly faltered as the reality of the situation came roaring back to him. He said his goodbye, and joined Robin and Starfire at their seats. The final one to step up to the casket was one that people had dreaded witnessing. They all knew that it wouldn't be easy. It was one thing for a close friend to pass, but it was an entirely different situation when the one to pass was a lover, as was the case here.
Beast Boy stared down into the casket, gazing at the pale, beautiful face of his Raven. His beautiful, sweet Raven who was stolen from him way too soon. His Raven who was the strongest out of all of them, and fell the hardest, but not without a strong fight. She was always a fighter.
The mission had been straight forward. They knew it posed a challenge, but they had underestimated the threat's potential nonetheless. They underestimated it so much so that when the attacker pulled out a large machine gun, the Titans nearly froze in place. How they were scared frozen still baffled them. You'd think that years of fighting supervillains, world-ending threats, and interdimensional demons would have prepared them thoroughly for any threat that they encountered, yet a simple gun put them in their place. Upon further thought, they supposed that's exactly why they had reacted how they did. They simply weren't used to encountering such technology despite how common it was, and therefore were caught off guard. Being caught off guard in any battle, regardless of weaponry, was never a good thing. It usually resulted in bad injury, sometimes even putting one out of commission for weeks. But this was different. Everything about that mission was different.
The gun had been pulled, glistening in the fluorescent lights that hung at the top of the warehouse. It was relatively large and bulky, much larger than just a hand pistol. Robin, having the most experience with such a weapon, came out of his shock first, attacking the attacker. The man dared not shoot at such a close range, and Robin was kept safe, distracting the man. Cyborg came in from behind and shot him with his sonic cannon. Had he been a normal human, it would've worked. The battle would've ended, and they would've been able to go home. But, of course, nothing had gone right in this battle. The man was a meta-human, able to withstand enormous amounts of power and energy. The sonic cannon simply hit the man, making him lose his footing for a brief moment, but no injuries graced his body, nor his weapon. Starfire assisted Cyborg, raining her starbolts down on the man as Cyborg continued to shoot him with his sonic cannon. Their combined power caused him to stumble, but still was unable to cause injury serious enough to stop him. He hit Robin's temple with the butt of his gun, knocking the Boy Wonder onto the ground, dazing in and out of consciousness. Beast Boy came next in the form of a tiger and attacked the man head on. His claws and teeth did a bit more damage, but still nothing substantial enough. Cyborg attempted to shoot the man again. The attacker anticipated the shot, and moved out of the way at the last second, causing the changeling to get hit instead.
Raven remained in the shadows in the air during this battle. The sight of the weapon had nearly paralyzed her, not knowing how to react. She didn't believe she would fare well if she went down on the ground, and felt her place better and more effective in the air. So there she stayed. She encased a nearby stack of wooden crates in her energy and rained them down on the man once her friends were out of his vicinity. For a moment, she thought it had worked. They all had. But, they had all been foolish. The crates rumbled for a brief moment before the man crawled out from underneath them. He looked angry, much angrier than he had at all the previous attacks. The teens noticed blood dripping from the man's face. Raven had injured him, and it was not appreciated by the attacker at all. Before anyone could react, the man aimed his gun at the empath and fired. It all happened so quickly, and she couldn't react. She couldn't put up a protective shield in time. She couldn't dodge the attack in time. All she could do was stare in pure shock as the bullet sped towards her before implanting itself in her chest. The bullet was followed by more in quick progression, and soon eight bullet holes littered her chest and abdomen. She fell from the sky and collapsed onto the floor in a messy heap.
"Raven!" Beast Boy had yelled. Rage suddenly filled his veins. He resumed the form of a tiger and ripped a claw through the man's throat. Not deep enough to kill him, but enough to render him useless and unconscious. The man collapsed behind the changeling as he ran towards his lover. His Raven.
"Raven! Raven! Talk to me, please!" he screamed, bending down in front of her. He positioned her body so that she was laying down face up. The bullet holes had ripped through her leotard, and it and the floor was quickly being covered in her blood.
"G-Gar," she creaked, her voice quiet and fragile. Her pale skin was blanched white, her violet eyes wide and full of terror.
"Raven! I'm here! Can you heal yourself?! Can you –," he started, but was quickly cut off. The other teens surrounded the two. Robin pulled out his communicator and dialed 911, alerting them to the situation.
"No, I can't," she started. Blood was starting to trickle out of the corner of her mouth and onto the floor. It contrasted so much against the whiteness of her flesh. "There's too many. I can't heal it."
"Raven, please, no. You have to!" Beast Boy screamed. Tears were streaming out of his eyes, as well as the eyes of his friends that surrounded him.
"I'm sorry Gar," Raven croaked, her voice even quieter than before, "I-I love you."
Her once darting and twitching eyes stood still, her chest no longer rising.
"Raven?!" he screamed, grabbing her two shoulders and shaking her. "Raven!" He leaned down and grabbed her body, bring her up into a tight hug against him. He cried violently into her hair, his whole body shaking in grief. The teens behind him stood crying, all of them slowly making their way to the floor to get closer to the two. They stayed like that for minutes on end, the sobs only growing in intensity rather than fading. Cyborg eventually placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder.
"B, there's nothing you can do. We need to go," he said, his voice quiet and shaky. The ambulance and the police had arrived. The man, who was now unconscious, was placed into the ambulance with specialized cuffs on should he wake up. The police had apprehended him, ending his reign of terror.
When Cyborg saw that his friend wasn't going to let go of her willingly, he slowly pulled him off of her, gently laying her body back down on the ground and closing her eyes. He embraced his friend. He expected for him to fight back, to try to get back to her, but he instead collapsed in his arms. Cyborg held him down on the ground, hugging him from behind. Robin stood up and approached the police men and paramedics, updating them on the situation. The paramedics returned to their ambulance and pulled out a gurney, approaching Raven's body.
The teens watched as her lifeless body was placed onto the gurney, a blanket being placed over her body and face. Robin comforted Starfire while Cyborg comforted Beast Boy. The medical examiners came soon after since it was now a murder scene, and the Titans were escorted out so that they could conduct their investigation. They were sent home, and their mourning began.
And now they were here. In the black funeral home, seeing their dear friend one last time before she was buried far too early in her life.
She looked almost at peace in her casket. The blood had been washed out of her hair and off of her face. Her chest and abdomen was covered up by her cloak, too damaged to be seen. Her flesh was pale, but her hair seemed to glow. She had a bouquet of black roses resting in her hands, her favorite flowers. Other flowers, ranging from roses to lavender sprigs to daisies, littered her body, having been brought by her attendants.
"I love you too, Rae," Beast Boy said quietly to his lifeless lover. "I will always love you." He leaned down and gave her a kiss on the forehead, knowing that it would be the last time he ever got to kiss and see her. He took a deep breath. She still smelled like lavender, and it brought him a small sense of peace. "Goodbye."
He walked away from the casket and joined his friends at their seats, sitting next to Cyborg who placed a hand on his shoulder. The funeral then progressed, with select friends and heroes coming up to speak about her. Sharing memories and words of love. Words of condolence for the team she left behind. After the funeral, they moved out into the graveyard where her now-closed casket was lowered into the ground. Before it was covered in dirt, he threw in a sprig of lavender. The dirt was then placed on top, and she was covered. The grave stone had already been placed, reading 'Here lies Raven. A powerful hero. A beloved friend.'
The four teens were the only ones who remained, taking their time. They said their final silent goodbyes before heading back to their empty and cold tower where they began to heal.
