Chapter 10: Here Without You
The Bleat, the Bark, Bellow & Roar
Are Waves that Beat on Heaven's Shore.
The Babe that weeps the Rod beneath
Writes Revenge in realms of death.
The Titans limped home from a battle a week later with more than a few bruises.
"I forgot Cinderblock could hit that hard," muttered Beast Boy.
"I even hurt in places I forgot I had…" grumbled Torque.
"I felt that last swing all the way to my third eye," Raven grumbled back, sinking to the couch.
"Don't forget we still have combat practice this afternoon," Robin said softly. The others groaned.
"Can't we blow it off just this once?" Jinx begged.
"Let's do it anyway. It might help take our aggressions out," Robin replied. The others obligingly nodded and went to rest before practice.
Later on, Robin had no idea that his words would be taken so seriously. The Titans entered the arena ready for more action, and the drones didn't know what hit them. Robin watched as his friends pulled out all the stops, but minutes into practice, he noticed that the atmosphere in the room was beginning to unwind. The Titans were starting to show off their finer tuned skills: Jinx's acrobatics, Raven and Starfire doing tricks in the air, Beast Boy unleashing unusual creatures that he didn't usually morph into. It was quite a sight, and Robin couldn't help but join them, adding some of the more decorative martial arts style that he didn't employ in every day battles.
What the Titans didn't realize was, as they were having fun, they had a very young captive audience. Olivia had never seen her family in battle, nor had she ever seen her father morph before. She had never seen Raven's eyes glow with energy or seen Jinx and Torque at their powers. It was all very scary. She stood in the doorway of the practice arena, frozen to the spot she stood in. She was watching all of this action going on and not quite knowing what to do. She started to cry after a while, but couldn't seem to make her legs move away from what frightened her. One of the flying drones knocked Beast Boy out of the air and he landed on his back on the floor. Gasping, he rolled out of the way before the drone could dive-bomb him. Beast Boy laughed as he watched it soar back up into the air and be destroyed by his wife.
"Way to go, Raven!" Beast Boy cried.
"You can thank me later," Raven replied. Several of the others within earshot laughed. When Beast Boy got back up he heard something that sounded like a sob and whirled around. Seeing the door open and his daughter there, Beast Boy morphed into a kangaroo and leapt the forty feet to the emergency stop button on the wall of the arena. As the others came to a halt, Beast Boy morphed back and cried, "Olivia! Are you okay, sweetie? Come here, honey, come to daddy!" But Olivia was too afraid. This couldn't be her daddy. He was some awful monster who could turn into scary animals. Olivia turned to run but Raven blocked her way with a shield. Robin put his staff on the ground and the others in turn all ceased their defenses and headed for the door. Olivia finally relented when Uncle Robin came close and picked her up that there was no recourse but to give up. She threw her little arms around his neck and held tight. Robin winced a bit.
"Your daughter's got a heck of a grip, Raven, kind of like her mom," Robin teased. Raven came closer and Olivia screamed. She buried her face in Robin's cape and soaked it with her tears. It would take another hour to explain to her what had happened in the arena. By the time they finished, they had convinced Olivia that she was the luckiest kid on earth. Who needed a zoo when your father was Beast Boy? After cleaning up, the team decided a night out was in order. A good time, and a great deal of pizza was had by all.
A month later, during dinner, the Titans, young and old, were talking, laughing and thoroughly enjoying their dinner and each other's company. The dinner, prepared by Raven and Beast Boy, had been a small feast, and the light snow that fell from the sky created a magical cityscape beyond Titans Tower.
Taking a deep breath as he gazed at the January landscape, Robin sat back, a satisfied smile on his face, and leisurely draped his arm across the back of Starfire's chair.
"I have to hand it to you two, that was amazing," he said, looking pointedly at Beast Boy and Raven. The two blushed and smiled as Olivia piped in, "Thank you, Mommy and Daddy!" The others laughed and then a contented silence fell over the team. Beast Boy was about to suggest a quick game of Rock-Paper-Scissors to decide who was responsible for the dishes when there was a flash of white light. Temporarily blinded, Beast Boy rubbed his eyes when the light dissipated, but when his sight refocused, he couldn't believe what he was seeing…
Beast Boy, Robin and Cyborg stared, slack-jawed around the room…
Raven…
Jinx…
Torque…
Starfire…
Terra…
Olivia and Jason…They were gone!!
Fin
A/N: Yes! This is the conclusion but not the end of the series! I've already got a title and the first several chapters of the next story planned and they will be up soon! Until then, get your fill of the illustrations I've done for the book on my DeviantArt profile. My username is unicorn-catcher. Check out my Baby Beast Boy piccie!