Of Violet Fuzz...
Beastboy sat in the common room wishing someone would watch nature documentaries with him. Even if Raven sat there reading at least there'd be someone in the same room; he hated being alone. He paused on an image of a pit viper, studying it's shape in preparation to morph. The snake's infrared capabilities could be useful.
Before he could morph, however, Beastboy jumped as a black swirl appeared in the middle of the room, a blue blur tumbling out of it.
"Raven!" Beastboy exclaimed, leaping over to her. He hit the panic button on his communicator as he carefully rolled her over, the smell of burnt flesh assaulting his nostrils.
"Raven, what happened?" He asked, examining his friend for wounds. He froze as a pale hand caressed his cheek. Looking at her his eyes grew wide; this wasn't Raven. She wore the same leotard and cloak, had the same violet hair and eyes, and even the same chakra stone. The only difference was this woman was at least a decade older than his friend. That, and the empath he knew had never looked at him like that.
The stranger broke eye contact just long enough to reveal a bundle of cloth that perfectly matched her cloak. She gently pushed it into Beastboy's arms as the other Titans burst into the room.
Raven was the first to recover from the shock, quickly kneeling beside their strange guest to assess her injuries. As soon as she was within reach, however, the woman grabbed Raven and pulled her down, pressing their chakras together.
Robin jumped forward, intent on pulling Raven back from danger, but stopped at Beastboy's raised hand. They waited only a moment before the woman sagged back against the floor, eyes closing with a sigh, a slight smile upon her lips.
"Who is that?" Robin asked as Raven drew a deep breath, pressing a hand to her head and swaying slightly. No one noticed Beastboy withdraw.
"It was me." Raven said quietly. She looked up then, seeing Beastboy rummaging through the kitchen, still cradling the blue bundle.
"I need to be alone. Please take of... her." Raven said, standing.
"What is wrong with your other self?" Starfire asked, apparently unbothered by there being two Ravens.
"She's dead." Cyborg answered quietly.
Cyborg walked heavily down the hall, stretching kinks from his neck after spending the last couple of hours MacGyvering a temporary morgue in the basement. Reaching his destination he paused to knock on the solid metal door.
"Yo, B, you in there?" He called.
"Yeah, come on in, Vic." Came the muffled reply.
Cyborg hit the open button and stepped into the room, seeing Beastboy hunched over in his computer chair across the room. Cyborg closed the door and sank onto the bed with a sigh.
"Crazy day, huh?" He said. Beastboy only nodded in response. "You kinda took off on us, you okay?"
"Yeah, I just... I couldn't be there. Not with her."
"Yeah. It is pretty freaky, having another Raven drop out of the sky."
"No, I mean, yeah, that's freaky, but I meant her." Beastboy said shrugging his arms. Cyborg furrowed his eyebrow, noting for the first time the bundle of blue cloth Beastboy was cradling. He got up and walked over, alarms ringing through his head.
He was sure the room dimmed in solemnity as he stood beside Beastboy.
"Does Raven know?" He asked quietly.
"I'm not sure. But either way she needed some time to deal with everything. She looked pretty out of it when the other one let her go."
"Yeah." Cyborg agreed. "She looks just like her."
"Yeah, has her eyes too." Beastboy said with a grin. "Hey, can you do me a favour?" He asked, looking up for the first time since Cyborg entered the room.
"Sure, whaddya need?"
"Two things, actually. First, can you let Rob know that the Doom Patrol is coming? They should be here sometime after supper."
"No problem. And the second thing?"
Beastboy grabbed a paper from his desk and handed it to Cyborg. "Can you run to the store?"
Cyborg paled slightly looking at the lengthy list of baby items.
"Uh, yeah, no sweat. Do you happen to know which store you get any of this at?"
"I'm pretty sure there's a BabyMart in the mall." Beastboy smirked up at him. "And, I hate to ask this, Vic, but..."
"I got you man. Full undercover procedure on this. At least until we figure out why this little cutie's momma ended up... you know."
"Thanks, dude."
"I'll set everything up in the spare room on this floor when I get back." Cyborg said walking to the door. "You sure you okay?"
"Yeah, Vic. Thanks." Beastboy said, his eyes once again glued to the infant girl in his arms.
Beastboy paused his pacing, a small head covered in violet fuzz held gently against his shoulder, at the sound of a knock on his door. He walked over and hit the open button to reveal a frazzled Cyborg.
"Hey, man. I got all the stuff you wanted." Cyborg said. "I think I understand now why babies normally take 9 months to show up. That's how long it should have taken to get all this stuff."
Beastboy grinned and resumed bouncing his bundle at the sound of a small cry. "Thanks, dude. This girl desperately needs a change."
"And on that note, I'm out." Cyborg said, backing out of the door and following Beastboy to the new nursery, which looked more like a storage room with all the boxes piled inside it.
"The Doom Patrol just got here. I'm going to grab Raven and we'll meet you in the common room."
"Actually, can I get her?" Beastboy asked, carefully laying his bundle on the floor and ripping open a box of diapers to her growing cries. "I want to show her, her, before everyone else."
"Sure thing, B. We'll be waiting for ya." Cyborg said, quickly exiting the room as Beastboy fished a box of wipes from the pile.
Several minutes later Beastboy knocked on Raven's door, a much happier babe in fresh clothes drooling on his chest.
Beastboy remained quiet as the door slid open and Raven's eyes fell to the child and her violet fuzz. He swallowed at her silence. If she hadn't known about her daughter from the start there was no mistaking it now. After a moment she reached out and Beastboy carefully passed the girl to her.
Raven touched the babe's face, smiling softly as she tried to suck on Raven's finger.
"Um, everyone's waiting in common room." Beastboy said, tension slipping from him as Raven cuddled the child. "The Doom Patrol's here, too."
"That's good." Raven replied.
"Then... you know?" Beastboy asked, rubbing an ear.
"Yes." Raven said, eyes still locked on the babe as a light blush crept over her. "I suppose we should go."
"Only if you're ready, Rae." Beastboy said, touching her arm lightly.
She looked up at him, finally, nodding, and he followed her down the hallway.