"What did you all do?" She stared accusingly at her large belly where the children were wriggling happily within her.
Mama! No need to go anywhere else because we brought our Papas in one place. You can wake them up at the same time. One of her unborn children communicated through her telepathically.
So you can go ahead and enter the Astral dimension because they are there right now. Another of her children said.
Rachel was suspicious about her children's actions. She knew that there was a reason they did such a thing without her approval. She suspected that they just wanted her to talk to their fathers before she altered their fathers' memories.
"What should I expect once I get into this Astral dimension?" She asked them.
Mama, just talk to our Papas alright? They all but pleaded with her.
She could feel their growing desperation and Rachel felt her heart twinged at their hapless emotions.
"Alright, I will talk to your fathers right before I wake them up." She couldn't help but give into their request and Rachel immediately sensed her children's immense relief at her promise.
Afterward, her children showed her the way to the Astral dimension, where their fathers were at.
Rachel soon found herself standing at a replica of her grandmother's living room. She instantly froze when she saw five men there. Three of them were sitting down on the sofa while the other two were standing up. The men didn't notice her at first because they were far too busy talking to each other.
"It appears that someone brought us to some kind of pocket dimension," a man with a trench coat, who could only be Constantine, was saying to the others. "We can only hope that this is with good intention."
"Nothing good usually comes out of such things. If an enemy traps us here, then we need to find a way out swiftly," A red suited hero, who must be Shazam or Billy Bateson, remarked.
"But before we can do that, is no one going to address the visions we saw prior to arriving in this dimension?" Aquaman, or Arthur Curry, suddenly said. He was also wearing his superhero suit.
"I didn't see any visions before coming here," Green Arrow or Oliver Queen commented. He was wearing his green superhero outfit as well.
"No offense Green Arrow but it's probably because you are just an ordinary human that's why you didn't receive any visions," Billy said to him.
She watched as Oliver scowled at Billy's remark.
"Yes, I saw the visions as well, but I can't make heads nor tails with it," Constantine replied. "It was hard for me to comprehend, much less believe the visions I saw."
"I don't understand the entirety of the visions either. So does anyone know what it all means?" Hal Jordan or Green Lantern said. Like everyone else there, he was in his green superhero ensemble.
"What was the vision all about?" Oliver asked curiously.
"It was a vision of a woman and her children... Well, My children actually..." Aquaman said with a frown on his face.
"You mean our children because that was what I understood from the images I saw in my mind. We are the fathers of those children, who were the result of an experiment from the future." Billy divulged.
"I don't know the mother personally, but it seemed that she brought the children back into this alternate past to prevent an evil megalomaniac demon from using the unborn children for his plans of world domination." Constantine said.
"Do you know the name of the mother at least?" Oliver asked.
"No, all I know was that she was powerful and she died after sending the children to a younger version of herself in this reality." Arthur responded.
Rachel decided that it was time for her to step in and make her presence known.
"And that would be me," Rachel said loudly as she walked towards them.
Suddenly, the five superheroes turned around to face her. They looked surprised to see her there.
"Hello," She greeted them. "My name is Raven. I am the pregnant woman you were all talking about," She said as she placed a hand protectively over her belly.
The men's eyes instantly went to her large abdomen.
They stared at her in silence. Still in shock to see her there.
It was only Arthur Curry who finally broke the silence by saying, "Here Raven. You go ahead and sit down while we all talk."
Rachel frowned for a moment. The sight of her pregnant figure must have triggered Arthur's natural instinct to dote on her. It must be the same thing with the others because they suddenly made room for her on the sofa. As an empath, she could only sense that her unborn children were unintentionally influencing their fathers emotional state at that moment.
"Alright," She said and she inwardly sighed when she noted how the men scrambled to their feet just to assist her to the sofa.
She waddled towards them. She ignored their outstretched hands as she sat herself between Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen.
When she was finally seated in the middle, she thanked them and said, "Now, I know you have a lot of questions. So ask away."
"Why are we all here? Did you make this dimension?" Constantine asked her.
"I will start from the beginning first. When the children arrived in this reality, all of you were affected by their presence because they weren't supposed to be here in this timeline. It's also because you share the children's DNA that all of you lose consciousness in the real world. Currently, you are all in the Astral dimension which my children created so that I can speak to all of you and explain what is going on. Once I do that, I will send you back to the real world and awaken you from your comatose state." Rachel said to them. "As for the visions, only those connected to the Six Powers of the Universe are able to receive them. And what you saw is real. The children really did come from an alternate future."
"So they are really ours?" Hal Jordan asked as he looked at her and then at her large stomach.
"How is it even possible for the children to have multiple fathers?" Constantine inquired as he too stared at her large belly.
Rachel didn't want to answer Hal's question and proceeded to respond to Constantine's inquiry instead.
"What do you think? It was an experiment that happened a thousand years into the future," She said to him with a hint of sarcasm.
Meanwhile, Arthur Curry had suddenly knelt down in front of her and said, "May I?"
Aquaman requested with his hands hovering over Rachel's large belly.
At Aquaman's request, the children nearly leapt in joy at the opportunity of being close to one of their fathers.
Rachel frowned. She opened her mouth to deny him when her children suddenly cried out to her.
Please Mama! Just let Papa do it! The children said simultaneously as they telepathically voiced out their desire to have one of their fathers closed by.
Once more, Rachel found herself giving into her children's wishes.
She nodded her head in assent and silently watched when Arthur Curry looked overjoyed when he finally touched Rachel's large belly with his hands. Instantly, a pleasant shiver ran down her spine when the man rubbed her belly.
PAPA! The children called out the moment their father's hands made contact with Rachel's pregnant figure.
Rachel observed the moment Aquaman's eyes widened in awe when the children called out to him telepathically.
The other men had fallen silent while they watched Aquaman beheld the children.
"They are able to communicate mentally?" Arthur asked.
"Yes," Rachel responded, smiling fondly when she, too, touched her belly.
She swiftly noted the look of pride in Arthur's face about the revelation. Meanwhile, she could feel her unborn children kicking in excitement due to their father's proximity.
"Are they always this active?" Arthur asked as he felt a particular strong kick against his hand.
"Yes," Rachel said, her throat tightening when she noticed the soft look on Arthur's face.
"I am sure they're going to grow up to be little hellions at the rate they are wriggling," Arthur remarked affectionately as he met her gaze.
Rachel swallowed her suddenly dry throat when she noted the warmth in his gaze that made her heart flutter strangely. She would have said something more if not for Oliver Queen who said, "May I feel them too?"
She glanced at the other man and noticed Oliver's interested look.
Not wanting to upset her children, she nodded her head again and watched as Oliver reached out to touch her belly.
At the same time, Hal Jordan asked for her permission as well.
"Can I feel them as well?"
The men seemed to be reacting strongly to her presence and made them act the way they did.
By now, her children's movements were getting so powerful that she winced when a particular kick made her uncomfortable.
Calm down children. You don't need to worry. You will have the opportunity to speak to each of your fathers soon. Rachel told them.
Sorry Mama. We are just excited to sense them close by, that's all. They responded with a hint of guilt. We don't want you feeling uncomfortable with our movements. So we are going to calm down now.
They gradually stopped moving vigorously and allowed themselves to bask in their fathers' attention.
Rachel felt a foreign and overwhelming feeling when Arthur, Hal, and Oliver interacted with the children. The three men looked thunderstruck when the children spoke to them at that moment.
"They are so adorable," Hal Jordan cooed as he rubbed the imprint of a small foot on Rachel's abdomen.
"Cute, little devils," Oliver agreed with a fond grin as he too pressed his palm against a protruding foot.
"They are incredible, aren't they?" Arthur stated almost with pride in his voice.
Something warm bloomed within her chest as Rachel watched the men. Suddenly, her eyes prickled with unshed tears. She felt overwhelmed by the entire ordeal of interacting with the children's fathers. She also felt overpowering guilt for when she thought about erasing the men's memories the moment she would wake them up.
Mama, don't be sad. The children said which drew the three men's attention, who turned to her sharply.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Arthur suddenly asked as he reached for her hand, where he then tried to comfort her by rubbing circles at the back of her hand with his thumb.
Rachel bit her lip to suppress the rising sob that threatened to spill between her lips.
However, she couldn't prevent the tears that ran down her cheeks in time. Her hormones were acting up again.
"Are you alright Raven?" Hal asked in obvious worry as he touched her shoulder.
"Obviously she's not alright. Can't you see she's crying?" Constantine remarked while Hal shot him a glare.
Not wanting to worry the men further, she responded.
"No, I'm fine. It's just that - that the day finally caught up to me. I'm just exhausted, that's all." Rachel mumbled, trying to assuage the heroes' concerns.
"Well, I think perhaps it's time for us to leave this place since Raven is getting tired." Constantine said. "Although I hope you won't begrudge me if I speak to the little ones for a moment before we leave, Raven."
"I, too, want to look at them," Billy interjected as he stepped closer towards her.
"Of course, you can." Rachel said while Hal, Oliver and Arthur took turns imparting their final words to the children.
"Hang in there, little tykes. We are going to be meeting soon in the real world if your mother allows it," Arthur whispered to the children while Hal commented, "We will see you around kiddos."
"I hope you won't cause your mother too much trouble when you are out of there, you little rascals." Oliver remarked.
"Stop hogging the children's attention you three," Billy said jokingly just as Arthur, Hal and Oliver moved to the side to let the other two men near her.
Thereafter, Rachel watched as Billy knelt in front of her while he pressed a hand on her abdomen. One of the children instantly kicked the hand currently pressed on her and she couldn't help but laugh out loud at the look of stupefaction in Billy's face.
"Oh, wow. They are pretty strong!" Billy gushed as he ran his hands over her belly. A warm feeling engulfed her heart at the look of wonder in the hero's face.
"Why are you surprised about that when we know their genes came from multiple heroes? From us?" Constantine asked Billy as he sat down next to her before reaching out to touch her belly.
To her relief, it appeared that most of the men had easily accepted that they were truly their children, even Constantine, whom she thought was not easily convinced.
They were very affectionate with the children despite the fact that they just met them. Rachel also suspected that the children's natural presence must be the contributing factor for their fathers behavior.
She knew that her children were not natural but she was still surprised how they affected their fathers. The men's paternal instincts had risen to the surface just by looking at her pregnant belly. That was how powerful her unborn children were even when they didn't do it on purpose.
"So have you chosen names for them yet?" Constantine asked as he pressed a hand on top of her belly.
Papa! The children cried out and Rachel noted the roguish grin on Constantine's ruggedly handsome face when he heard the children call out to him.
"No, I haven't chosen any names yet." Rachel admitted.
"How about Nathaniel?" Billy suggested as he looked up at her from his kneeling position.
"Or Samantha?" Arthur Curry added.
Meanwhile, Hal Jordan and Oliver Queen said simultaneously, "I like the name Max." "The name Laura if it's a girl."
"I like the sound of Jonathan," Constantine stated as he gazed at her.
Rachel only felt amusement at the men's insistence and said, "I will consider it, but no promises."
There was a comfortable silence that followed after as she sensed the children and their two fathers speaking telepathically.
"It looks like there are three boys and two girls in there Raven." Billy pointed out.
Rachel smiled and nodded her head.
"You are right," She said. "I also think the names that you all provided will be suited for them too."
The children seemed to silently agree because she could feel them moving joyously within her.
She didn't want to bring it up but they had been in the astral dimension for a while now and the men really needed to wake up soon. She had no choice but to ruin the moment.
"Anyway, I think it's about time for all of you to awaken before your condition worsens in the real world." She said to them.
Almost at once she could feel her children's growing dejection for what she was about to do next.
She was about to erase the men's memories and the thought filled Rachel with despair that she felt her heart tightened. More than that, she could sense the coming heartbreak from her children as well. For this reason, she moved before they could make their fathers aware of what she intended to do.
The men's faces were a mask of regret and sadness when they all faced her right then.
"Don't worry little ones. We will see you in the real world soon, right Raven?" Billy asked as he looked expectantly at her.
Rachel's only response was to smile sadly and said, "Of course,"
Someday. You will see them someday. She inwardly thought as she stood up as well.
Afterward, she looked at each man and tried to remember the look on their faces when they regarded her in that moment.
"Alright. I want you all to close your eyes."
"Before we go Raven, aren't you going to tell us where you lived so that we can meet you in the real world?" Arthur asked while he reached for her hand again.
"He has a point. How do we find you if you haven't told us where you live?" Hal said.
"Don't worry. I will be the one looking for you all in the real world." Rachel said, trying to assure them.
"But we are worried, Raven. We also want to know if you have the money to support them before we meet again." Oliver asked.
They were becoming overprotective, which she blamed on their natural responses to her pregnant state.
Of course, Rachel was touched by their concern and felt her eyes welling with tears again when she realized how fortunate she was to have these men worry about her and the children's welfare.
"As for money, you don't need to concern yourself with that. Truly, the children and I are fine." She said, patting Arthur's hand who didn't look convinced by her words.
"Now, time for you all to go before something else happens to your real bodies." Rachel reasoned. "So stop worrying. I promise I will look for you all in the real world."
"If you say so, Raven." Billy said.
"We trust you," Constantine added.
It was a big deal coming from him and Rachel gave a teary-eyed grin as she gazed at all of them.
"Thank you for trusting me," Rachel said. "Now, close your eyes."
"Not yet," Arthur said right before he suddenly pulled her into his arms in a tight hug.
"Take care of yourself and the children until such time we see each other again in the real world." Aquaman whispered next to her ear.
"I will, Arthur." She said as she reluctantly returned his hug.
After Arthur let her go, she instantly found herself being engulfed in another hug by Hal Jordan who simply said to her, "You need to contact all of us the moment we are out of here, Raven."
"I will remember to do that, Hal."
Then, it was Oliver who held her in his strong arms.
"No delays. Immediately call us once you are back in the real world," Oliver said to her as he tightened his hold around her.
Rachel nodded her head against his broad shoulders.
After Oliver, it was Billy's turn to hug her and murmur into her ear. "You are not alone Raven. You've got us to rely on. So don't hesitate to call us at once."
"I won't, Billy," Rachel responded with tears falling freely down her cheeks while the feeling of guilt intensified within her.
The last man who drew her into his arms was Constantine.
"Like the others said, just call us. Or we are going to look for you wherever you and the children are," Constantine told her.
She had to swallow the developing lump on her throat before she was able to croak out through her tears.
"I will look for you all. That I promised you," Rachel stated the moment Constantine let her go.
"You are too young to be shouldering this responsibility on your own. So let us alleviate part of the weight at least," Constantine stated as he stared into her violet eyes.
"If you mean you want to carry three or two of the unborn children to full term, then go on right ahead," Rachel said in jest.
"You know what I mean, Raven." Constantine said softly as he wiped the tears from her upturned face.
Rachel simply gave a watery smile without promising anything. She didn't want to lie to them. She already felt guilty as it is with the thought of altering their memories.
Finally, Constantine stepped away from her and Rachel regarded all of them before deciding that it was time for them to leave.
"This is goodbye then," She said.
"No, not goodbye. It's 'see you soon'," Billy corrected with a grin on his handsome face.
"See you soon then," Rachel stated, waving her hand.
"See you soon Raven," the men said at the same time.
Meanwhile, she listened to her children cry out Papa! Papa! as she started to gather her power in her hands. Their fathers weren't able to hear them, but the heroes looked sorrowful all the same for leaving.
"Close your eyes," She said to them.
All five of them shut their eyes while Rachel pointed an orb of dark energy at them.
Then, with the twist of her wrists, she engulfed them with her power and finally sent them back to the waking world. Once they were out of her sight, Rachel allowed herself to burst into tears at last after she cast a spell on the men to make them forget.
Her heart felt heavy after the encounter with her children's fathers. She could only hope they were alright once they woke up in their respective locations.