This'll prolly be the longest chapter in the whole story…so, enjoy!!!
MICROSOFT SPELL CHECK SUCKS; BUT THE THESAURUS ROX MAH SOX!!! :P
Ch. 5 – Epiphanies
Starfire ran into the living room, knocking Beast Boy over in the process.
"Dude, watch where you're go –"
"It worked," Starfire said, her eyes lighting up with awe.
"Huh?" Beast Boy said, rubbing his head where Starfire hit him.
"It worked. The love potion actually worked."
"Well, yeah," Cyborg said, putting a foot on the stairs.
"Star, anyone could have told you that," Robin said lightly, walking over to her, and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, but…" she sighed. "I must confess, I never thought it would."
"Why not?" Beast Boy said, sounding offended.
She started pacing back and forth. "Because, on my planet, there are people who know magic quite well. They have mastered the knowledge of magic so well that they are able to perform many tricks and brew many potions; however, regardless of how good they are at magic, there is always one rule that applies: they can never overpower the strength of one's freewill. It does not matter how hard any of the magicians try – freewill is a powerful force that can not be broken by magic. That is why I was hesitant to believe that Beast Boy's stratagem could be nothing more than a frivolous concept. I was very clearly mistaken." Starfire finished her rant to three now thought-provoked boys.
"So, you're saying that on your planet, magic couldn't break a person's freewill, no matter how powerful the source?" Robin inquired.
"Correct. That is the first rule of all magic, as it is not possible there. Here, I suppose, it is a possibility. After all, the practice of overriding one's freedom of choice can be traced back to similar events in our past, like engaging in that combat against the Puppet King, yes?" Starfire responded.
The boys shuddered at the mere memory of such an almost impending doom.
"Hello?!" Raven called, sounding slightly irritated. "I know I'm not the only one here who agreed to play volleyball!"
The four Titans occupying the living room looked at each other and then voiced that they'd be up on the rooftop momentarily.
Raven sighed. "Just don't take so long!"
"OK! We promise!" was the general reply.
"And get me a glass of water while you're down there!" she yelled from above them.
"OK!"
"NO…WAIT!" she shrieked.
The four jumped from the volume her voice held, and waited for her to say something, preparing for trouble.
"Get me some herbal tea instead, if you don't mind? You know how to make it, right?"
The four breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah," they said, in a rehearsed manner.
---
Making their way up the stairs, Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, and Beast Boy continued their conversation on Raven and the love potion.
"That's the one thing I don't get, though," Beast Boy sighed, holding Raven's tea and gesturing with his free hand. "The potion I made was supposed to make her fall in love with me…but instead, I think she likes us all."
"Did it say that exactly?" Robin said. "That the 'victim' is supposed to fall in love with the person who concocted the potion?"
Beast Boy thought for a moment. "Well, if you wanna read in between the lines a little bit, then I guess not, but reading in between lines never got me anywhere," he shrugged.
"Well, then maybe you should pay her more attention."
"Are you outta your head?! Cy, have you not seen me near her just about every waking moment today?!" the green adolescent exclaimed.
"You're not near her right now," Cyborg said.
Beast Boy looked at him thoughtfully. "Point taken."
"What I'm saying is," the humanoid continued on, "take her out on a date tonight. Can't hurt your chances, I mean the girl's under a potion. It's not like she's gonna whip out at you any second just for asking."
"I dunno…" Beast Boy said.
"I think you should," Robin agreed. "It can't hurt your chances. Plus, it'll get her away from us, which means she can only pay attention to you."
"OK!" Beast Boy didn't even think about his reply. The fact that she'd be paying the most attention to him was quite a tempting offer. He was set to ask her.
They climbed the stairs a bit faster now, and opened the door to the rooftop.
"Finally," Raven said, panting.
"Uh…Raven?" Robin scanned the court and observed what his teammate was doing. "What are you…?"
He lost his words, watching Raven bounce the ball from one side of the court, fly to the other side, and bounce it back.
"What's it look like?! Playing one on one…readying myself to beat the crap outta you guys!" she smiled, now stopping her game, and looking at her friends who seemed as though their mouths would fall off their faces at any given moment.
"OK, so who's ready to play?" Raven said. "Girls against boys? Or girl against boys and girl? What?"
"If I may, I'd say girls against boys sound just fine!" Starfire said, going over towards Raven.
Naturally, the girls won.
---
"Best time to ask her," Cyborg nudged with a wink.
Beast Boy gulped, and walked over to an excessively celebrating Raven, who was high-fiving and hugging Starfire while laughing all the while.
"Oh, yeah," she said, while Starfire was giggling at her every impression. "And remember when he tried to spike the ball, and I was up at the same time, and then I got to it right before he did, so I hit it, and got him in the head?!" She started laughing hysterically. "That was so funny!"
Having a conversation; don't wanna interrupt – interrupting would be rude, oh well… Beast Boy thought, ready to turn back around, when Raven spotted him.
"Speaking of funny…" she said, releasing the rest of her giggles. "Whaddup, 'B'?"
"Uh…" he scratched his neck, and looked at Cyborg, who prodded him on with a shooing hand gesture. Raven just looked at him, as though expecting a joke of some sort. "Nothing but the sky, baby? Heh…"
Raven blinked, looked at Starfire, and then started cracking up again. "Good one!"
Beast Boy smiled. "Yeah, well…plenty more where that came from!"
"Yo, BB!" Cyborg yelled impatiently.
Beast Boy flinched. Man, could Cy put on any more pressure?! I'd like to see him do this…sheesh.
"Say, Rae," Beast Boy began.
Raven nudged Starfire. "Ya hear that, Star?" she sniggered. "That rhymed! Say BB, maybe you're a poet, and didn't know it!" She cracked up again.
Starfire just looked at her curiously.
"Er…Star?" Robin yelled. "Let's…uh…go into the living room, huh? Make some snacks for everyone after a hard days' play?"
"Oh, I know exactly what I'm makin'!" Cyborg said, licking his lips and retreating to the stairway. "Waffles always help out a big appetite… with real eggs!" he shouted, descending the steps.
"And I propose that we perhaps concoct an array of Tameranian puddings for sampling! We can make the 'Pudding of Bliss' for those who are in need of a lifting in the spirits from losing. And perhaps the 'Pudding of Laziness' for those who wish to potato the couch; and the 'Pudding of Wellness'…" Starfire kept listing different varieties of pudding as Robin led her to the staircase.
"On second thought, maybe we'll just order pizza," Robin muttered.
"Extra cheese!" Raven called, before Robin closed the door to the stairs.
She looked at Beast Boy, who was scratching at his neck again.
"Fleas?" she said.
"No thanks…listen, Rae," he began, as seriously as possible, not at all paying attention to what Raven had said. He was looking at the ground.
"Yeah?" was the short reply.
"I…uh…wanna know…if um…you…uh…" He took a breath and started over. Why was this so hard? This was Raven. He talked to her so many times before this. Why choke up now?
"Wanna…you know…go catch a movie tonight or something? I-I heard…a-about this cool party downtown," he offered. "Rundown warehouse and everything…sort of like that place Star's sis took us…b-before she got arrested and stuff…y-y'know?"
Raven smiled at him. "So…you're asking me…on a date?" she said, innocently enough.
"Um…I guess. Yeah," he gave in, crossing his fingers. "So, you in?"
"Well I don't see why not…"
Yes!
"But I already made plans."
Beast Boy felt like a truck ran over his stomach. "Say what?!"
"What."
"No, I mean…when," he said. "When did you make plans?"
Raven estimated the time. "Oh…about…I dunno. Right when you asked me?"
Beast Boy raised an eyebrow.
"It's not you, BB. It's me."
"Oh yeah, feed me that line…" he said, crossing his arms, and lowering his ears sadly.
"I'm serious. It is me. I wanna hang out here the rest of the day."
"Lemme guess…meditating?" he sighed.
"Heck no!" she said, making Beast Boy jump slightly. "Hello?! I know you were here when Cy got that new game, because you got the highest score on it so far, and I made it my duty tonight to try and beat it."
Beast Boy rubbed his eyes and blinked. Yep. It's still Raven standing in front of me…
"But…I don't get it. I thought video games were, y'know…pointless to you, and all that."
"Most things in life are," she said, waving his comment off. "But if there's only pointless things in life to take part in, might as well make the most of it."
"Uh…OK," a brief hint of a smile lingered on his face.
"I'm free tomorrow, though," she confirmed. "How's about that, huh? You and me and all of tomorrow. Sounds good?"
"Good?! Sounds gr –" Beast Boy stopped himself and went back to playing it…exaggeratedly…cool. "I mean, yeah, that's good. Whatever."
"Cool," Raven smiled, running to the stairs. "Last one to the living room has to eat Star's pudding!"
"Hey, no fair! CHEATER!" he yelled, running after Raven.
---
The true Raven looked at herself through her mind's eye.
Was she really that discreet…that no one found her out yet? She thought the whole 'happy' idea would've gone awry…she thought the whole personality flip was obvious. Or did they just not care?
Either way, nothing had caused her to lose her dignity and self-respect yet…although that video game could do it.
But what would they know? They think I'm under a love potion, for goodness' sake…
Not to mention anything that made her lose her dignity would be confronted, and she'd regain her true nature once more, when Beast Boy simply learned his lesson.
Who knew it'd take so much time, though?
---
"HUZZAH!"
"It's 'Boo-yah'," Beast Boy corrected.
"Yeah, that works, too."
"Wow, Raven," Robin said, clearly stunned by his teammates virtual gaming skills. "How come you haven't shown us how good you were at this before?"
"Good?" Raven said, not at all pleased with his comment. "HELLO?! I got the highest score! You call that good?!"
"Uh…" Robin said, poising a finger to try and correct himself.
"Just kidding," Raven said, smiling and waving off the Boy Wonder's comment. "Besides, I have a reputation to maintain."
Everyone sweat dropped at this. Raven was doing something she wouldn't normally be caught doing even if it killed her – all for the sake of her reputation, which, at this point, could be considered entirely tarnished.
Raven ignored the stupefied silence, though, as she yawned and said, "Well, my mission is done. I've gotta get my beauty rest for tomorrow morning. We've gotta date, don't we BB?" she winked, and waltzed off into the oblivion of the corridors.
Beast Boy breathed on his fingernails and rubbed them against his shirt. "That's true. Gotta get some shuteye."
"So, she said 'yes'?" Robin questioned, looking at Beast Boy idly.
"Yep…to the whole, ENTIRE day!" he said, smiling wide.
"That is excellent!" Starfire remarked. "I would like to initiate a celebration of some sort. Perhaps with – "
"Sleep?" Cyborg interrupted, yawning. "Yeah, I'll toast the two while I'm in dreamland, sound good?"
"Not a bad idea," Robin agreed, stretching. "I'm off to bed, too. You two coming?" he said to Beast Boy and Starfire.
"Yeah, I'll be off in a sec," Beast Boy announced.
"Alright. Well, good night, you two," Robin said, walking towards the doorway.
"Good night and pleasant dreams!" Starfire returned.
The doorway shut behind Robin and Cyborg, leaving the changeling and alien princess alone.
"Well…good night," Beast Boy said, walking towards the portal.
"Beast Boy, wait." Starfire sat on the couch, looking slightly glum.
"What's the matter?" he asked, sitting down on the couch next to her, and placing a hand on her shoulder.
"An apology is in order," Starfire established.
Beast Boy looked at her curiously. "For what?"
"For not believing you. For not believing that your plan could actually work when put through. It was a hard plan to contrive – to deceive Raven as so – and I did not think it could be pulled off. And for losing faith in you like that, I am sorry," she stated.
"Hey, it's OK," Beast Boy said. "Really, there's nothing wrong with that. Heck, I didn't think my plan could go underway at one point, too. I lost faith in myself. There's no need for you to apologize."
"Yes there is," she admitted. "There is one more thing."
"…What?" he blinked.
Uncertain of whether or not this was the right time to confess, Starfire took a deep breath and mumbled what happened, anyway. "I was not a good secret keeper. When you put the drop of your concoction into Raven's tea, I almost told her right then and there what happened. I wished that she not have her freewill mutilated…I wish that that never happen to any of our friends. I was going to divulge your secret, Beast Boy, just to save her any new and forced feelings that she may not want to feel in the first place."
Beast Boy just continued to look at her; she seemed solemn.
"I remember, when we had switched bodies due to the Puppet King's actions, we didn't know how to handle each other's abilities. It took control and learning of each other – bonding. We became somewhat closer after that event. Raven told me exactly how dangerous she could become if her emotions were not kept 'in check' as she called it." She moved her fingers into quotation marks.
"After that day, when we returned to normal, I was convinced that the only quality Raven needed in a friend was understanding, and I planned on giving her as much understanding in me as necessary. I would never have dreamed that someone as powerful and dangerous as her could be manipulated by a simple potion. When she drank the potion, I feared for her, and did not tell her what happened until afterward, as I feared for you, as well. I feared selfishly – that you would dislike me if I told her beforehand."
"That's not true, Star," Beast Boy comforted as best he could. "I'd still like you."
"What I am trying to say," Starfire concluded, "is that Raven is an exceptionally powerful person with many conflicting feelings. If she does not control her emotions, and is led astray by something so simple, I fear that something in her could get loose; the something you saw that day that she reigned victoriously on Doctor Light. I am only grateful that nothing disastrous has occurred in her from this experiment."
Beast Boy remembered clearly now. How could he have been so stupid not to think of her feelings in the first place?
Robin's warning revived in his head from yesterday. If you really do like Raven, and plan on telling her, take her powers into consideration, OK?
He knew now what had to be done.
"Tell you what, Star?" he said, grinning a bit. Starfire looked at him questioningly. "I'll show Raven one of the best times she's ever had, and I won't give her that potion like I'm supposed to tomorrow. If she doesn't like me by the end of tomorrow night, then it just wasn't meant to be." He put on as brave a smile as he could. "Whaddaya say?"
"I say, that is a very well improvised plan," she nodded.
"Good."
"Then, I am forgiven?"
"Of course," Beast Boy said haphazardly.
"Then," she beamed, hugging Beast Boy, and then edging towards the doorway. "I bid you good night and pleasant dreams." She yawned and proceeded to the direction of her room.
"Ditto!" he called back.
Otayz… so, R & R, yes? .