Nat 20 Deception roll
What tha…oi, yer not supposed to be in here!
Where is here? Raven wondered. She had thought she was still in Garfield's mind, but in less time than it would take to blink did things change. Everything was red. The sky, the ground, the water, everything.
Except…the sky wasn't a sky. It was…muscles? The ground was…flesh? Was the water actually blood?!
Damnit, cat, ye left tha door open!
She looked to the source of the voice and found what she thought was a colossal goat. This goat had very, very long hair and two massive horns jutting from its head. Judging from its stance it stood on two legs. Raven didn't know what the hell she was looking at, 'cause it damn sure wasn't a satyr.
What are you talking about? Left the door open? We don't have any…wait, what the…
The owner of the second voice stomped around the goat and Raven found herself looking at an almost equally colossal bipedal, and hairless, cat. As the two bestial beings towered over her she realized the eyes of the cat looked rather familiar…
You're the cat that was in the infirmary! She exclaimed, so to speak.
It nodded. I am. That you saw me was quite a surprise. How did you get in here?
I went through Garfield's mind. Where is here?
The Red. Both of the beasts answer.
What is the Red? Her mind was racing. She had never heard of such a thing before but this place was, without a doubt, otherworldly. She was definitely on a different plane of existence. But which one?
If ye have to ask, lass, ye don't be needin' ta know! The goat huffed, his thick Gaelic accent telling Raven that he was from Earth. Possibly. Maybe this place was tied to Earth?
I do need to know if whatever this is is what's causing Garfield to lose his mind to his animal side! She snapped at him.
The goat raised an eyebrow and bared its teeth. It made a soft noise that, for some reason, made Raven think it chuckled.
I like this'un, Ignatius. He said. She's got a bit o' bite in 'er!
Calm yourself, girl. The Alpha is in no danger. The cat was clearly ignoring his companion.
The Alpha? She asked. That's a denotation, a title, isn't it? He has some meaning to you of some significance?
The cat nodded. Yes. He is both a candidate and a…what's that word Buddy used, Shepard?
A fallback. The goat bleated.
Right, that. The cat nodded again.
A fallback for what? She asked, having more questions than answers. There was something going on here and she didn't like being out of the loop.
In case something happens to Buddy. Both said ominously.
Who- She started to ask.
The Alpha will be fine, girl. The cat, Ignatius, interrupted her. When he wakes from whatever you've done to him, just tell him that he won against the Omega. That's all he needs to know, for now.
The Omega? You mean Samuel Register? How does he-
Aye, enough with tha' friggin' questions already! Ya cannae know anymare! It's not safe! The goat named Shepard snapped. Ya need ta go!
This alarmed her. Why is not safe? Is Garfield in danger?
Only if he becomes aware of the Red before he needs to. Ignatius crouched down low enough to look at Raven eye-to-face and he spoke quietly. There are things in this world that lie beyond the edges of your imagination, human. The world itself is more complex than you can even begin to comprehend. We will not harm the Alpha, for he is both a brother and a champion, though he knows it not. He has been one of ours since his childhood. He will be our brother Totem one day. All champions who become avatars of the Red join the Parliament of Limbs. He is no exception.
Raven didn't know why, but the phrase avatar of the Red gave her goosebumps and she wasn't even in her body. Parliament of Limbs must be their organization, if you could call it that with just the two of them. Perhaps there were more hiding somewhere? Totem sounded like another title too.
Though she could now tell they truly meant Garfield no harm, she still wasn't too keen on his involvement in…whatever this was.
Tell me, girl. Who are you to the Alpha? Ignatius asked. Raven could feel his genuine curiosity and obliged him with an answer. But it wouldn't quite be the answer he wanted…
I am Raven, direct discipline of the goddess Azar and destroyer of the demon lord Trigon the Terrible. She said before she let her power flow through her. Ignatius and Shepard went wide eyed and backpedaled as Raven began to grow. Wherever she was had no ability to stop her from exercising the full might of her power and so did she tower over the bestial beings as they did her moments before.
Being as tall as her father was about the only part of utilizing her full strength that she actually enjoyed. But this was neither the time nor place for such frivolous feelings.
I am Raven. She said again, her words a gently rumbling thunder that could be heard far and wide in this strange world. Your Alpha also has a name. Garfield Logan. I am his mate and he is mine. You cannot have him unless I say so and even then I will not be parted from him. Do you understand me?
They stood in awe of her…for a moment.
Heh, seems like this little birdie's got some real teeth, eh? Shepard chuckled.
Indeed. Ignatius replied.
In the span of a blink of an eye the two were the same size as Raven. Unfazed by her power and looking only mildly amused, they stared her down.
For them to be so unflinching meant they were beings of greater power than she assumed. She couldn't accurately guess because the makeup of this realm was as disorienting as it was weird, but it was possible they were somewhere in the realm of quasi-deities, like the King of Hell, Landon. They were easily more powerful than her father.
This was not good. Not good at all. Who did she just bow up at?
I hear your words and understand them. Ignatius said slowly, surprising her with his gentle tone. However, you have no say in whether or not he joins us. That is something beyond your reach, even now.
Then you will tell me more. She demanded, but as respectfully as possible.
Not right now, no. You don't need to know anything, nor does Garfield. Ignatius stubbornly refused.
Why?
Knowledge is dangerous.
Raven stared at him as she processed this. Ignatius was saying that there was something out there that would harm Garfield if he knew about his connection to this red world. Something that these two so-called Totems feared, or at least respected enough to keep their allies uninformed least they be targeted.
She came to the conclusion that she would get nothing else from them. She would have to find another source of information. How troublesome.
Very well. She said as she released her accumulated powers and returned to the form in which she entered with. She looked up at Ignatius. I ask that you cease whatever you are doing to his mind before he loses himself.
We cannae undo somethin' we never did to begin wit'. Shepard shook his head. Raven raised an eyebrow as they suddenly reformed to their original heights.
What he means is that we have no power over minds. Ignatius translated for his companion. The things he has experienced as he's grown are what has shaped him into who he is today. We had no say in that matter. All we did was connect him to the Red.
Raven thought about it. Can you help him then?
No, Raven. His mental health is beyond our control.
Mankind be far crueler than any beast. They are the ones who have the mind for it. Shepard said ominously. Remember that, lass.
Raven said nothing at first as she withdrew from this strange realm and back into Garfield's psyche. But just before she was fully out, she looked to Ignatius once more.
One day. She said. It wasn't a question.
One day. He nodded.
Raven returned to her boyfriend's mind and began to poke around once more to find the source of his distress. But this time, the instincts seemed much more subdued. Thankfully.
In the Red, however…
Ignatius?
Hm?
A question.
What is it?
Could we…could we have beaten her inna fight?
Absolutely not. The cat scoffed. She would have destroyed us and left the Red in tatters for centuries.
Ach, I knew it. The goat sighed.
Yes, but she didn't. And that is the important part.
He felt like crap. Or mud. Crappy mud. Muddy crap. He didn't know. It was his brain. That he knew. It was like he was waking up from a deep sleep, the way he couldn't think straight. His mind felt heavy, sluggish. It was weird. He hadn't felt this way since his first transformation into the Beast. But this was worse. He hated it. He hated opening his eyes but he wanted to do it, needed to do it. If he didn't he would go back to sleep for who knows how long. Not that sleep was a bad thing, but that wasn't the point.
So he opened his heavy eyelids. He was somewhere dark. It was nice. It smelled good in here. Smelled like Raven.
Wait.
He bolted upright, eyes wide and looked around. Sure enough, there was Raven floating nearby with a book in her hands and a stack next to her.
"Rae?" He croaked. Dang, why was his throat so dry?
She looked up and gave him a small smile. "You're finally awake."
Heavy as his body felt, he scrambled up off the floor and towards her. His arms and legs weren't very cooperative but he wasn't going to take no for an answer.
She looked amused as he hurriedly crawled across the floor, but did come down from her spot above the bed. His arms wrapped around her and he pulled her into his lap. He heard a soft chuckle as she adjusted and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
"You're okay, right?" He asked softly. He was starting to remember things.
"Yes Gar, I'm fine." Raven said as she set her chin upon his shoulder and leaned her head against his. "Everything's fine."
"You sure? You're not feeling sick are you? Lungs tight, heart palpating, anything? Blood coming out of places it shouldn't be?" He was remembering bad things from a long time ago. The anger was gone. Fear and death were all that remained.
"No Gar, I'm fine. It's okay. Really." Raven said. As she rubbed his back he began to tremble. "It's okay. You beat him. I'm okay. Everyone is okay. You won."
He was shaking and he knew it. But he also couldn't stop it. He clenched his eyes shut and tried to keep the tears in. He understood that everything was okay, he really did. But he remembered.
He remembered that day in the village in Africa all those years ago. He remembered the pain the people went through as the virus killed or mutated them. Then he remembered the screaming. So. Much. Screaming. He remembered people begging for help, begging for death, begging for mercy. He couldn't save them. He couldn't save anyone. All he could do was fight. He lost. They died. He remembered the screaming as they died. He remembered the blood. So. Much. Blood. He felt sick.
He had made Mento suppress these memories years ago so that he could sleep without nightmares. But now that he'd seen the monster responsible for it again he was remembering things he didn't want to.
A monster that he had made. Somehow.
A monster that could have killed Raven.
As Garfield began to cry, Raven emotionally detached herself from the situation. Powerful negative emotions like these always left her nauseated, which meant she wouldn't be able to support him until after he had settled down and her nausea faded. But like this she could stay right here in his arms and talk to him. She knew what this was as soon as it started happening because she had seen it buried in his psyche a few minutes ago. Post traumatic stress disorder.
He was having a breakdown, a real breakdown, from something that had happened to him. Something that she guessed was related to Samuel Register. Judging from how casually the man had admitted to trying to kill Garfield and his blatant disregard for Garfield's feelings as a child, Raven could only guess that whatever had occurred was the reason why the man had been incarcerated by Mento to begin with. She didn't know for certain but she was going to find out one way or another, even if she had to go gallivanting through Garfield's memories, which she had refrained from doing to begin with out of respect of his privacy and fear that it might affect her.
It was possible his inferiority complex stemmed from his traumatization as well. She had always wondered why he had always felt the need to be the hero, to save everyone he can, to keep fighting to protect people. It wasn't a mindset like she had thought, it was a reaction to the things he'd experienced. She was certain his fight or flight instinct (which she had finally found and flicked off) was tied to the traumatization as well. That would explain why it was blindsided all of them coming out of nowhere like it did.
She would need to sit down and talk to him about his past. A true heart to heart conversation. He needed it, even if he didn't understand it. Only then could she help heal the scars he'd been hiding from the world. If she needed to she would even forcibly eradicate the painful memories.
So she talked to him. She told him about how the scientist had given them info, about how she had come down to the room where he was fighting. She told him that she watched him beat Register down and then she cut their powers off and caught Register. She told him that everyone had passed a quarantine exam when they got home. They were safe. No one got sick. They were okay. He won and saved everyone. They were okay.
It wasn't necessarily the exact truth…but then again, that's what that thing had told her to do.
"I'm sorry, Raven." He said softly some time later.
"For what?" She asked.
"'Cause, like, we really haven't been together for long and this is…well, kinda heavy stuff." He sounded so lame and he hated himself for it.
"It's okay, Gar. Really." Raven repeated. "You have things you've been through that you haven't talked about. You've just bottled them up inside and they're finally bubbling out. I'm neither angry nor upset with you because I've done that too."
"Really?"
"Really really." She nuzzled his head before continuing on. "However, I'm not going to let you bottle it up again. Sometime soon, we are going to sit down and you're going to tell me about these things. I need to know them so that I can help you overcome this."
"…okay." Was all he could say as the tears started up again.
"I love you Garfield."
"I love you too Raven." He squeezed her tight. He didn't deserve someone so patient and understanding but he'd be a damned liar if he said he wasn't the happiest guy alive for have Raven by his side.
"-and that's why I use C++ over anything." Cyborg patted the main computer. "Dang near everything here runs on it."
"Huh." Killowat said, rubbing his chin. "I never really understood the hype about it before, but now it makes a lot more sense after you explained it."
"I didn't know you were into computers or I would have explained it sooner." Cyborg chuckled.
Killowat shrugged. "This is our first actual conversation. Plus, I've only recently gotten interested in them. My powers could come in handy if I can figure out a way to hook them up to a computer."
"I doooon't think it'll work that way but it's an interesting concept."
"Is that really your natural hair color?" Pantha asked Jinx, who shrugged. They were seated at the counter in the kitchen, eating chips and salsa.
"Yes and no." She answered. "My hair was originally dark brown and my skin a bit lighter than yours, but my metagene is a tad on the crazy side and turned me these colors."
"That is rather strange." Red Star frowned from the other side of Pantha. "How did your parents react to that?"
Another shrug. "They disowned me and threw me out."
"For something you could not control?!"
"Yeah."
Red Star rattled off something in Russian that apparently only Pantha understood and she swatted him on the arm for it.
"Stop that." She scolded him. "We do not know their circumstances. It could have been for her safety."
"Ha, no." Jinx snorted. "They thought I secretly preformed a sin so heinous that the Devil himself had marked me as one of his own, especially since the day I got my powers they went berserk and wrecked the house."
"Oh…" Pantha visibly deflated. "I am sorry for assuming."
Jinx waved her off. "It is what is. I stopped caring years ago."
In the living room…
"So let me get this straight." Bumblebee said, unconvinced. "You two are not some different-colored-powers offshoots of Green Lantern?"
"Nope." Argent said, tilting her head to the side as Hot Spot fixed some of the pins holding her hair up. She was sitting on the floor in front of the chair he was sitting in. "It's like Green Lanterns power ring but natural to me to manipulate plasma. He needs the ring to do it and I don't. But on the offhand, I need more downtime to recharge than he does."
"Huh. That's…interesting."
"My powers are constructed from my mind." Bunker, who was sitting on the floor nearby with the Herald, tapped his head. "I can make the energy I project as soft as a feather or as hard as steel. I think the word Raven used was…psionic? I'm not sure, English is my second language and I'm still learning it."
"You're cool, man. You speak it quite well even with your heavy accent." Herald pat him on the shoulder. "Better than some of the folk I've met downtown."
Bunker beamed. "Gracias!"
"She is, as they say, gone with the coolness, yes?" Starfire asked, motioning to the inert Cheshire leaning on Speedy. They were all on the couch, just relaxing.
"She's asleep, yeah." Speedy nodded, understanding that she meant out cold. "She's not the stamina type."
Starfire giggled and looked down to the also sleeping Robin in her lap. She ruffled his hair.
"It has indeed been a long day." She said softly. "I am most happy that we all are well."
"Me too." Speedy said as he looked around the room. Things had finally wound down to a comfortable level. It took a few bit, but it seemed that everyone had finally come down off their adrenaline rush from the mission and the stress from the possibility of catching a deadly virus.
He wasn't a religious guy, but he had thanked God several times for making sure he and Jade were safe, along with his friends.
"I have been doing the wondering."
He looked back at her. "About?"
Starfire gestured to his arm. "Does it still hurt?"
Speedy looked down at his cybernetic arm, flexing the fingers a bit. That was a hard question to answer because the emotional damage had been worse than the physical. The loss of his real arm had been a devastating blow to the archer. If it wasn't for Cyborg, he didn't know what he would do.
"Sometimes." He admitted. "Cyborg was right, the ghost pains never go away."
"I am sorry for your loss." Starfire said sadly.
She's such a kind person. He thought as he shook his head. "Hey, it was bad, but not that bad. There's people out there who have lost a lot more than me. Like, people in warzones, ya know?"
The alien princess was quiet for a moment before she spoke softly. "Yes, I do know. I lost my grak'ka, my parents, and my younger brother to war."
His eyes went wide. "Oh shit, really?"
"Yes. My people were at war with a group that called themselves the Citadel for many hundreds of years. We have been almost destroyed as a whole more than a few times. My sister is the only member of my family left from this war." She gave him a small, sad smile. "And the last time I saw her, she tried to kill me."
"Uhhhh…" He had zero idea how to respond to that. But thankfully…
"Excuse me, senior Speedy?" A voice asked.
"Yeah, uh, Bunker, what's up?" He thanked God for the distraction.
"Is it true that…uh, she-" He gestured to the sleeping Cheshire, "-dated Rose?"
Speedy raised an eyebrow. "That's a rather odd and very specific question to ask about another guy's girlfriend."
Bunker waved his hand frantically. "Oh, no no no, I don't mean it like that! See, I'm gay and I've been looking around the superhero community to see if there were any people that were…well, like me."
"Ahhhh, okay. Well, I actually can provide a bit of insight on that." Speedy gestured to Rose, who was slow dancing in the kitchen with Eddie. "Rose is bisexual and yeah, her and Cheshire here were together for a bit. But Cheshire is actually pansexual. So…yeah. You're not alone, per say."
"Ahhh, okay!" He grinned. "Cool."
"Please, what is the gay? And what is the sex of pans?" Starfire asked, confused. "I do not understand what you are speaking of."
Two things crossed Speedy's mind. The first was that, while her English was getting better, there were times when he could still barely understand Starfire. The second thought was that if anyone else had asked those questions like that that he might slap them.
"Gay means that I, as a guy, am attracted to other guys. Or it can mean a girl that is attracted to girls." Bunker explained carefully. He was a non-native English speaker himself, so he could understand confusing words.
Speedy continued the explanation. "And a pansexual person is someone who isn't attracted to another because of their gender. They're attracted to someone because of their personality."
"Oh! I understand now! On my planet, those are called drefskurq, which means they of theirs, and drefklurg, which means they of hearts." Starfire said happily.
"They of theirs?" Bunker was the one confused now.
The alien princess nodded. "Yes, it means a male or female who is attracted to their own gender."
"A unisex term?" Bunker was a little jealous. There had been too many times where his sexuality had been used as a slur for him to count.
"Yes!"
"Then they of hearts means someone who is attracted to someone for who they are on the inside, right?" Speedy asked. Again Starfire nodded.
"I think I like the Tamaran word more than ours." Bunker muttered before something occurred to him. "Hey, wait, does that mean its okay to be a drefskurq on your world?"
Starfire raised an eyebrow at him. "Of course, friend Bunker. Love is love. Why would anyone be against it because of gender?"
Bunker stared back at her for a moment before he laid back on the floor.
"I want to go to Tamaran." He sighed.
"Were you to do that, I would introduce you to a few drefskurq that I know." Starfire smiled at him as he bolted upright.
"Eh? For real?!" He asked, wide eyed.
"Way to sound desperate there, Bunker." Speedy snorted.
"Hey, I'm gay, a Mexican immigrant, and a superhero. Do you know how hard it is for me to get a date?!"
"…that's fair…"
Starfire let out a small giggle and eased herself out from under Robin's head. When she was done, she floated towards the door. "Please give me the minute, I have pictures!"
"I think I have a new favorite Titan." Bunker sighed.
"Who was it before?" Speedy asked, curious.
"Beast Boy!"
He raised an eyebrow. "Really?"
"Yeah. He's got a cute butt."
Speedy facepalmed.
Over in the kitchen…
"-and so I said, damned if I do, damned if I don't!" Eddie laughed.
Rose groaned. "Oh my god Eddie, please stop!"
He frowned. "Oh come on, that was funny!"
"Not really, no."
"Everyone on the sixth layer liked it!"
"What a wonderfully terrible coincidence that we aren't on the sixth layer."
"Bah!" He said. "You got meaner while I was away."
"Pffft." Rose rolled her eyes at him.
He glared at her as they danced slowly to the sound of the soft music coming from Rose's phone on the counter. It didn't take long for his glare to soften though, because she was here in his arms. Right where she should be.
"Meanass." He pouted at her.
"Don't be a baby." She stuck her tongue out. He took this invitation as it was and swooped in for a kiss.
It was long and drawn out, as all kisses with Rose were. They danced as they did once before, but with clothes on this time. Things were the way they were meant to be. Mostly.
"Rose?" He said as they pulled away from each other. "You know I love you, right?"
"Well, yeah. Duh." She quirked an eyebrow. "I love you too, obviously."
"Yeah, well…look, I wanna do this the right way this time."
"The right way? What's that supposed to mean?"
"You know, like, have a relationship, grow together, start a family one day, get married, those sorts of things."
"You mean what we were already doing last time?"
He stopped dancing for a moment, bringing Rose to a halt too.
"You wanted to marry me and grow old together?" He asked, surprised.
Rose clenched her eyes shut and covered her face. "Eddie, I love you, but I swear to God that you're as dense as a brick sometimes."
"What! That was a serious question!"
"Would I have ditched my father and my way of life if I thought I had no future with you? No! I would have used you like a human dildo and walked away when I wasn't satisfied anymore."
Eddie stared at her for a moment before giving her a small sheepish smile. "To be honest, I really just thought you weren't the marrying type."
Rose rolled her eyes and smacked him on the ass.
"That's my booty and I ain't giving it up!" She said, making him laugh. Then her eyes lit up as she looked behind him. "Speaking of booty…"
She darted around him. He turned, following her and finding Raven and Beast Boy coming in the door. The changeling looked tired, bleary-eyed and a bit disheveled, but he held Raven's hand tightly in his own.
"Raaaavvveeeeennnnn!" Rose called out as she charged the empath.
"Nope." Said empath said, waving her hand. Rose stumbled and fell into a portal, disappearing.
Eddie both sighed and chuckled. He wasn't sure if he'd get used to Rose's attraction to Raven, or girls in general, 'cause she wasn't this way before he died. It was kinda funny though…
"Where's Robin?" Raven asked, looking around.
"Here, asleep on the couch." Speedy called out.
"I'm awake." Robin said, albeit groggily. He sat up and rubbed his face. "Needed a power nap. What's up?"
"Starting within the next month, I'm going to take the time to sit each Titan and honorary Titan down and assess their mental health. If they wish to participate, this offer is extended to the Justice League as well." Raven said as she moved into the kitchen and got her kettle out. Beast Boy trailed alongside her quietly.
"Is that necessary?" Robin asked, getting off the couch and moving towards them. "Poking around in someone's head-"
"Even if it's not, it's happening anyways." Raven interrupted him. "I'm not asking, I'm telling you, this is going to happen. Even to you."
The room got quiet, with both Cyborg and Bumblebee raising eyebrows. It wasn't like Raven to challenge Robin's authority…and yet, this was the second time today that it had happened.
Robin stared down Raven, who didn't look back at him. When she finally did, she slowly looked over her shoulder and stared back. For the longest moment, there were no words between them.
"It's that important?" Robin finally asked, relenting and surprising everyone.
"Yes." Raven replied as she went back to making her tea. "We haven't had any psychological assessments at all and more than a few of us have experienced terrible things. I need to make sure everyone else is okay."
Several people glanced at Beast Boy, who hopped up and sat on the counter near his girlfriend. He looked rough.
"Alright Raven." Robin nodded, even though he dreaded having Raven in his mind a second time. "I'll leave it to you."
"I know."
"You. Bitch." A voice called out.
Everyone turned to see a very wet Rose standing in the doorway.
"Did you have a nice swim?" Raven asked with a wry smile.
"I didn't even know you guys had a pool!"
Raven's smile widened under her hood as the kettle began to whistle. Things would be going back to normal soon.
Sort of.
Fun fact #1: In the original Beast Boy origin story, BB was mistreated by his parents as a child, and developed an inferiority complex because he couldn't save them from drowning.
Fun fact #2: Doctor Register is a real character from the comics, specifically the Beast Boys and Girls storyline. The comic downplayed it, but hundreds of people should have died during that, all because Register hates BB to the point of being willing to use him as a test subject to cure himself.
Fun fact #3: Beast Boy has admitted on a few occasions that he suffers from severe depression but hides it with humor. The most infamous line regarding that is "And if i didn't keep telling jokes all the time, I think my head would blow up from depression."
Fun fact #4: the previous fun facts were not, in fact, fun.
