Birthday Reflections
Chapter 9: Finding a Happy Place
BeastBoy walked through the doorway. As before, once he passed through, it disappeared behind him. He looked around, viewing his latest destination.
"Hey! I remember this place!" he said in delightful tone.
He wasn't in a room like his prior visits. He was now in what seemed like an endless park. Lush grass, and trees stretched as far as he could see, everything a light shade of pink. Every leaf, every blade of grass, even every cloud in the sky was pink. BeastBoy had not been here for very long in his previous visit, but it was definitely familiar to him.
This was the domain of Happy, Raven's more cheery and joyful side. She had been the first time Raven, or at least a part of Raven, found him humorous. Happy was the way BeastBoy had always wanted to see Raven. Seeing the others act the way they did was one thing, but to see Raven smile, the REAL Raven smile was all he had ever really wanted. The first time he met Happy, he felt as though that task was not entirely hopeless. All of the emotions Raven had inside her, though used sparingly, were still emotional counterparts of herself. She had to be capable of happiness, and to that end able to smile, otherwise why would it exist in her mind?
Why did he want Raven to smile so much? At first it just seemed like something to do. BeastBoy often had more than his fair share of free time on his hands. After a while, maybe he felt it was a challenge. Raven was one hard nut to crack, being overly negative about virtually everything, hardly seeing the lighter side of anything. But now? It seemed like something Raven was long overdue for. As if somehow, he felt that after everything she'd been through she was entitled to smile, even if only for a minute.
But, where was Happy?
"Hello?" BeastBoy called as he walked along a dirt path through the park.
It seemed as though out of every place BeastBoy had been, there had been drastic, if not complete change in Raven's mind. But now that he was looking around, this place seemed untouched. It was just like he remembered it.
"Guess Raven hasn't 'done happy' much since I been here." he said feeling disappointed.
Timid had said that the more Raven felt, the more that particular emotion was able to shape their surroundings. If everything was the same, it could only mean that she had not experienced happiness as much as any of her other emotions.
BeastBoy continued along the path, but still Happy was nowhere to be found.
"Then again, maybe…she hasn't really had much to be happy about." he said as he approached a large hill. After her instances with Slade's return, and heartbreak at the hands of Malchior, who could blame her for not wanting to be happy?
But Raven was strong. It was one of the things he admired about her. Anyone else who would've been through the kind of ordeals she'd been through would've probably locked the door and broken down crying. So she wasn't feeling happy, that was understandable. But things could've been a lot worse. She could've regressed emotionally. But she chose not to. She could've dove into a deep depression doing who knows what. But she wouldn't give them the satisfaction.
BeastBoy reached the top of the hill. He froze, slumped over with his eyes wide.
"Looks like…I spoke too soon" he gaped.
Below him was an enormous playground. Scratch that, play ground was an understatement. Slides of all kinds, swings, a jungle gym, anything you would've seen in a playground, super sized beyond reason. But it didn't stop there. There were circus tents, a Ferris wheel, a roller coaster, bumper cars, it looked like a major amusement park localized entirely in Raven's mind. There was music coming from all around, and lights beaming through the sky, visible despite that it was daytime. Balloons hung from a few trees lined along the path. It was a sight to behold. BeastBoy was beginning to have doubts if he was still in the right mind.
"I think I'm gonna like it here." he smiled, a bit of drool dribbling down his mouth in anticipation.
BeastBoy jumped for joy in the air, before racing down the hill, leaving a trail of dust behind him to the sight that had greeted him. A large sign stood at the entrance. On it a picture of Raven's gleeful counterpart, with a grin from ear to ear. Written beside her, read: "YOU MUST BE THIS HAPPY TO ENTER", an arrow pointing to her face.
BeastBoy moved forward, passing the sign, and entering Happy's amusement park. Just as he passed the sign, the picture's eyes shifted, watching him enter.
It was BeastBoy's idea of heaven. A roller coaster moving at breakneck speed, at the far end a concession stand piled high with junk food, and no line for the tilt-a-whirl? This was like some beautiful dream. A dream where he was going to eat, party and throw up at the same time.
He didn't know what to first. So many fast moving rides, so many things to do.
"I can't decide." he said looking from side to side. "Do I go on a ride and get sick? Or do I get sick and then go on a ride?" he asked glancing back and forth from the rides to the concession stands.
Suddenly, his ears tilted up. He spun around, scanning the surrounding area. But, nothing was there. His animal instincts had kicked in, giving him the suspicion that he was being watched. The cheerful and carefree moment was now gone.
"Uh…Happy? A-are you there?" he called. But all he could hear was the music being given off by the many rides around him. "It's me, BeastBoy. You know? Short, funny, and green all over?"
But there was no response. BeastBoy turned slowly, occasionally glancing over his shoulder. Maybe he'd just imagined it.
He continued moving through the park, but now at a considerably slower pace. He still couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. He walked past a booth, a short row of cotton candy displayed in a rack on the counter.
"Maybe something to eat'll take my mind off things." he said plucking a stick of cotton candy from the rack. He continued on, still uneasy. As he rounded the corner, a pair of eyes appeared in the cloud of cotton candy next to the vacant spot on the rack, tracing his path.
BeastBoy's cautious attitude was gone for the moment, licking his lips as he eyed the pink sugary cotton ball. He opened his mouth to take a bite, but suddenly stopped.
"Wait a sec." He said raising an eyebrow. "I'm in Raven's mind. And…this is a thought in Raven's mind." he analyzed the cotton candy. "What if…by eating a thought…I GIVE RAVEN BRAIN DAMAGE!" he exclaimed.
Inside BeastBoy's head, there was a green hamster running inside a wheel at top speed, signifying his mind racing, trying to understand the possible consequences of his actions. He was inside her mind, so he should be a thought, right? And a thought interacting with other thoughts couldn't do any harm, right? But if a thought, within a thought ate a thought, then…
CLUNK!
The green hamster keeled over. His brain shut down from over strenuous thinking.
"Ugh" he groaned clutching his head. "Just once I'd like something that has to do with Raven to be simple."
From behind him came the sound of gentle laughter.
BeastBoy turned around again. Just like before, no one was there. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He turned back.
"BOO!" Happy shouted, only an inch from BeastBoy's face as he turned.
"WHAAAAAA!" he shouted, startled, throwing his arms in air, his cotton candy flying out of his hand. He fell backwards, barely keeping himself from falling flat on his back.
The cotton candy rose into the air, before gently falling towards the ground. A hand swooped out, carefully scooping the pink cloud into its grasp.
"Kinda tense aren't ya BB?" Happy said playfully, ripping a small piece of cotton candy and popping it into her mouth.
BeastBoy gave her an annoyed look. "You'd be too if someone snuck up on ya."
BeastBoy dusted himself off, getting to his feet. Happy watched, a smile never leaving her face.
"Ya know most people don't panic over cotton candy." she grinned.
"Most people aren't in somebody's head when they eat it." He responded his cheerful tone began coming back. "So what's the big idea playin' hide n seek?"
"Just messin' with ya"
"You couldn't have just said hello?"
"Where's the fun in that? Besides, what's wrong with being different?"
"Nothing…I guess. But none of Raven's other emotions seemed to feel that way."
"No, they didn't did they?" she said as they started to walk side by side through the park. "Everyone's been talkin' about ya."
BeastBoy gave a nervous grin.
"But I wasn't aware you had a new title." she giggled. "Clueless Fool."
"Huh?" he asked puzzled.
Happy removed the sign from his back that Knowledge had secretly planted on him at the end of his previous stop, holding it up for him to read.
"Looks like somebody's been havin' a little fun with ya." she chuckled.
BeastBoy snatched the sign from Happy's hand, looking it over, trying to figure out how it had gotten there.
"She got me?" he whispered. "SHE GOT ME!" he said louder.
Happy just watched as a serious look grew on his face.
"I don't believe it. That smarty Raven actually got me." he said calmly.
"BeastBoy?" Happy asked, concerned over his blank expression.
BeastBoy just stared at the sign, still unable to believe that a part of Raven, quite possibly one of the least likely of all Raven's emotional counterparts, had pulled something a joke like this.
Happy reached out to put her hand on his shoulder. Suddenly, BeastBoy fell over laughing, pounding the ground and kicking his legs in the air in a hysterical fit. He couldn't believe that Raven's smarter side had pulled one of his "childish pranks" over on him.
He laughed as hard as he'd ever laughed in his life, his sides starting to hurt. He tried to settle down, but caught sight of the sign and started to laugh all over again. Happy just smiled. She had expected him to pout like a small child at the idea that someone had gotten the last laugh on him. Eventually Happy was rolling on the ground beside him, laughing partly at the prank, but mostly at how silly he looked laughing himself almost unconscious.
Slowly the two regained themselves, as the laughter faded.
"Wait! You mean the one that got you was…Knowledge?" she beamed.
"Yup."
Happy gave another small burst of laughter. "Who knew old 'big words' had it in her?"
BeastBoy had to agree. He looked around, temporarily forgetting they were in the middle of an amusement park.
"So…what do we do now?" he asked.
Happy looked at him. "Are you kidding me? Look around." she twirled, making whooshing sounds like she was flying.
BeastBoy couldn't help but stare. 'I wonder if this is what I look like to Raven?' he thought to himself.
"Hey, you ok?" she waved a hand in his face, snapping him out of thought.
"Yeah. Just kinda wondering what it must be like to be…'happy' all the time."
"Hmm." She thought, scratching her chin. "You know that feeling ya get when you eat a lotta sugar? Kinda like that."
"That's really what it's like?"
"Yeah!" she nodded. "Come on, haven't you ever had a sugar rush before?"
"Well…yeah." he replied thinking back to numerous late night snacking binges. "But I never had one last for twenty four hours." He folded his arms. "Seventeen was my limit."
Happy chuckled again.
BeastBoy had to admit, Raven laughing was refreshing. Even if it wasn't Raven per say. And even if she was laughing at him.
"Come on!" she shouted merrily grabbing his arm, dragging him deeper into the park.
What followed was a non-stop joyride through the many rides and games in Happy's domain.
The two started on a roller coaster. Happy threw her hands in the air screaming at the top of her lungs, as they moved along the track like a miniature bullet train. BeastBoy's tongue waggled out of his mouth, flying in the breeze morphing into a dog, as the coaster gradually continued picking up speed. BeastBoy hung his head out the side of the car, turning to grin at Happy. Just then, THWAK! He was pummeled by a sign sticking up from the side of the track that said: KEEP HANDS AND BODY INSIDE CAR AT ALL TIMES. BeastBoy was stunned, falling into Happy's lap, a rather large lump on his head and stars twirling around him. Happy giggled, gently rubbing his head.
From there, the two played a game. Armed with water guns, the two stood in front of a booth firing streams of water into the mouths of two plastic clowns. As the water filled their mouths, balloons inflated from the top of the clown's heads. The first to pop the balloon would be the winner. Happy took a commanding lead. BeastBoy made his usual cocky banter, claiming he was still going to win. Happy quickly turned her fire on BeastBoy, soaking him to the bone. He shook himself off, knocking water out of his ear, Happy pointing and giggling. BeastBoy grinned, taking the water gun and putting the nozzle into his mouth. He filled his mouth with water until his cheeks were swelled to the size of basketballs. He morphed into an elephant, his shadow towering over her. He blasted a tidal wave of water from his trunk, knocking her off her feet. He returned to human form, taking his turn to laugh as Happy sat up, spitting water, imitating a fountain.
Next they entered a small arcade, making their way over to a console with several holes cut in the top. Happy handed BeastBoy a foam rubber mallet. A buzzer went off and a light flashed, as the game started. Several tiny figures popped in and out of the holes, almost like a game of whack a mole, except instead of moles there were tiny little red demons with white hair, and four glowing yellow eyes. BeastBoy watched questionably, thrown off by the difference of the game, but shrugged it off as he watched Happy bopping them at high speed and laughing all the way. He turned his attention back to the game, his eyes getting dizzy by how fast they were moving. He raised his mallet into the air, narrowing his eyes preparing to swing. He leaned back, preparing to put all his weight into a single swing. Suddenly, the buzzer went off again, ending the game and startling him enough for him to fall over. BeastBoy looked at the scoreboard on his side, reading zero. He irritatingly glanced over at Happy who was reveling in her high score, clapping as tickets were pouring out of the bottom of the game. Happy quickly took the tickets, disappearing for a moment, as he felt completely unmatched. BeastBoy looked back as Happy returned carrying a large stuffed pink teddy bear. She handed it to him, cheering him up almost instantly.
Several rides later, the both of them were sitting on a nearby bench. The two were tired, breathing a bit heavy, but continued to laugh in between breaths.
"Betcha' can't remember the last time you had that much fun." She laughed.
"Not…even…close" he heaved with a smile. This was the first time he could ever remember someone being able to keep up with him to this level of amusement.
As the two took a minute to catch their breath, Happy looked around the park. They had ridden most of the rides, and she knew that Raven would return soon. One way or the other, either by Raven's return or by reaching the forbidden door, BeastBoy would have to depart soon.
"Think you're up for one more?" she asked cheerfully.
"Huh?" he looked up, finally breathing normally.
"Close enough" she giggled grabbing him by the wrist and yanking him off the bench.
She dragged him behind her, running deeper inside the park. She knew just what to choose for the last ride.
Meanwhile, the Titans were facing a far less pleasant experience. Gunfire flew over their heads, ducking behind smoldering cars and debris. What began as a simple robbery attempt was now an all out firefight. A group of seven armed thugs continued to fire wildly into the air.
Robin flipped open his communicator from behind an overturned pickup truck.
"Titans! Listen up." He spoke into the communicator. "Starfire and I will draw their fire and keep them occupied from here. Cyborg, you and Raven circle around from behind and take them while they're distracted."
"You got it" Cyborg replied, nodding at Raven.
Raven dematerialized into the ground, as Cyborg darted between cover, trying to go unnoticed. Robin watched as the two began to make their advance, pulling his bo staff from his utility belt. He vaulted over the truck, Starfire close behind.
The two split off into different directions, but remained in front of the crook's field of view. Starfire hurled a barrage of starbolts, purposely missing her targets by a large margin, blasting craters into the ground near them. She was only trying to retain their attention, not to harm them.
Robin's approach however was slightly more aggressive. Twirling his staff, he deflected several incoming shots, sending them back towards the attackers. The deflected shots ricocheted off the ground, startling the crooks, but also sending them into a fit as they fired more volleys of shots at him. Fortunately, they still seemed unaware of their true plan.
Back inside Raven's mind, Happy came to an abrupt halt, releasing BeastBoy's hand.
"Ta da!" she yelled presenting her choice.
BeastBoy looked over a large structure in the shape of a something familiar. The entrance was similar to a statue BeastBoy encountered during his excursion through the maze of Nevermore. Two large faces, or rather masks, one happy and one sad with four red eyes each. In between the two faces was an opening.
"Uh…" he shivered. "Are all your favorite rides reminders of stuff that tried to kill me?"
"Aw, c'mon!" she slapped him on the back. "That was then. This is now."
Happy walked to the entrance, turning to gesture him to follow. BeastBoy was reluctant to enter. For the first time since he'd arrived, he was actually considering running away, trying to come up with some lame excuse. Maybe he could fake an injury or pretend to be ill. But he decided against it. After all, Happy wouldn't let anything happen to him, right?
BeastBoy followed behind her, shrinking back a little in fear as he entered between the two large faces that seemed to be looming down over him.
"Why'd ya pick this place?" he asked nervously, sticking close.
A large gate dropped down from above, sealing the entrance with a thunderous crash.
"EEP!" he shrieked, leaping into the air. Happy caught him, cradling him in her arms, and he shivered looking behind her.
"Pretty exciting, huh?" she giggled.
"Heh heh. Yeah." He said blushing, jumping out of her arms. "A-a…almost scared me there for a sec." He scratched the back of his head, trying to act fearless.
"Yeah, almost." She smiled.
The two came to a long, dark hallway.
"So…what's so great about this place anyway?" he asked.
"You'll see."
They continued down the hallway. On both sides farther down, there were mirrors, all warped and twisted in someway. As they walked by, their deformed reflections appeared, much to the delight of BeastBoy as a smile reappeared on his face that had been absent since he entered.
The scary atmosphere was gone. It seemed closer to a fun house as BeastBoy strutted past each mirror. On one, he appeared completely built, muscular all over.
"Don't hate me cause I'm green" he flashed a smile as he flexed his reflected muscles.
The next mirror reflected BeastBoy as a super deformed chibi version of himself.
"AHHH!" he yelled. "They lowered our animation budget!"
He quickly ran to the next mirror. But, nothing could've prepared himself for what he saw next. The reflection off this mirror portrayed him as a girl. He looked at himself from every angle, every profile. Happy was forcing back her laughter.
"Is this what they call getting in touch with your feminine side?" he asked raising an eyebrow.
Happy fell over laughing in tears.
BeastBoy didn't even seem to notice. He actually didn't think he looked half bad as a girl.
"Hey, Happy?" he asked. BeastBoy lifted his shirt out of curiosity. "Will THESE show up on film?" he asked jokingly.
He was about to burst out laughing. Until he noticed Happy was nowhere in sight.
"Happy?" he called out. "Happy?"
Nothing.
BeastBoy continued to move once again, searching for the missing emotion.
"C'mon, Happy!" he cried. "Enough is enough."
She was most likely playing hide and seek on him again like before. But there was nowhere to hide. Where could she have gone?
Further and further he walked. It seemed that there was only one way to go. He looked all around him for any alternative route she might have taken, but found none.
"Where could she have g-OWWWW!" he exclaimed walking face first into a large door.
"That's weird. Didn't see this a second ago." He backed up giving it the once over.
He could've sworn it was an endless hall a moment ago, no end in sight.
"Maybe she decided to turn back." He turned. "I'll just go back the way I came."
No sooner had he said those words, than the entire hallway went black. Everything was shrouded in darkness. Everything except the door, which was now giving off a whitish glow.
"Hmm." He thought. "Dark creepy hallway? Spooky door?" he spoke listing his choices. "Dark creepy hallway?" his hands acted like a scale weighing the choice. "Spooky door?" his hands shifted the opposite way.
A creaking noise echoed from down the hall.
"Spooky Door!"
He reached out for the knob, his hand flinching back for second. Getting a firm grasp, he took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and turned the knob swinging the door open.
He slowly cracked open one eye. It was a large white room, brightly lit with several doors on both sides and in the center. BeastBoy slowly made his way inside, closing the door behind him. Not exactly what he'd been expecting.
"Hmph. Usually in the movies behind every spooky door, there's this huge, ugly, slimy, evil looking…"
Something grabbed BeastBoy's shoulder.
"GAAAAAAHHHHH!" he screamed, turning a pale shade of white. "It's gonna eat my brain!" he shouted falling limp to the ground.
A familiar laughter caused him to look up.
"Did I almost scare ya that time?"
BeastBoy gave her a genuinely annoyed look. "I still have irregular heartbeats from the last time." He muttered.
He got up as she walked past him.
"So…is this is what you wanted me to see?"
"Mm-hmm"
"Where are we?"
"Well, see we're kind of at a nexus point in Raven's mind."
"A nexi…naxum… wha?"
"It's sort of like a spot in her mind that both connects and separates certain emotions. The doors on the left side lead to most of the realms of emotions you've already met, as well as a few others."
Happy opened a door on her left revealing Knowledge's library. Knowledge looked up from reading, seeing the two of them, and made her way over to the doorway. She seemed to be limping a little bit.
"You ok?" BeastBoy asked her.
Knowledge removed her glasses, setting them down on a shelf. She gently placed her hands on his shoulders, turning him around. She put a piece of paper on his back, reeled back her foot, and delivered a thunderous kick to his rear.
"YEEEEOOOOWWWWW!" he yelled, skidding across the floor.
Knowledge plucked her glasses from the shelf, putting them back on, breathing a sigh of relief.
"What was that for?" he asked rubbing his bottom.
Knowledge turned, lifting up her cloak, revealing a large bandage taped around the left section of her behind. "SOME people apparently take jokes more seriously than others around here."
She grabbed the door. "Clueless fool." she said before slamming it shut. She obviously didn't sound happy, but something about her tone didn't sound angry either.
BeastBoy looked suspiciously at Happy.
"Hey! Wasn't me!" she said.
He got to his feet, still a bit sore.
"Alright. So what's on the right side?" he asked.
"Well, this is where some of Raven's emotions are stuck because they're a bit harder to control. Not all of us have free run of the place ya know."
"So…there are parts of her personality she doesn't let out?"
"She has her reasons. Some of them can be a real handful."
BeastBoy approached the first door. "How bad could they be?"
He opened the door. He saw Raven trembling on the ground, shaking. He reached out to comfort her. Suddenly her eyes widened, as a piercing scream boomed from the doorway. BeastBoy covered his ears, and quickly slammed the door.
"That, would be Fear." She chuckled.
"WHAT?" he shouted, trying to shake the ringing in his ears.
He moved to the next door. He opened it just a crack this time, looking in. There, he saw Raven with his back to him, doing something. He took a few steps inside to get a closer look. He looked over her shoulder to find her throwing darts at a dartboard with a picture of Terra hugging him taped to the front of it. She turned her head, a glaring at him in a hurtful way. He slowly backed away, gently closing the door.
"Anger?" he asked.
"Not quite. But close. Jealousy." She corrected.
"Why would she be jealous of Terra?"
BeastBoy could be so oblivious at times.
He stepped up to the next door. Upon opening the door, he was greeted by two Ravens, smiling seductively at him. Before he could react, two pairs of hands reached out grabbing him, and pulling him inside, slamming the door.
Happy ran alongside the door, placing her ear against it. All she could make out was the sound of giggling. She grinned mischievously.
The door burst open, BeastBoy slamming it shut once again. He was breathing heavily, blushing, and his face was covered with traces of lipstick from kiss imprints.
"Who or what were they?" he asked panting.
Happy giggled. "Desire and Lust. Shoulda warned ya huh?"
"Ya think!" he wiped the lipstick from his face.
Happy moved to the center door. BeastBoy took a few steps, but hesitated looking back at that last door. He reached out to open it again, but had second thoughts. "Nah. Maybe someother time." He blushed.
He joined Happy near the center door.
"What emotions in here?"
"See for yourself."
She opened the door. Inside was a whole other part of Raven's mind. There was a long sandy beach alongside an ocean. The sky was a nightly shade of blue, the moon faintly covered by a few stray clouds. BeastBoy stepped through the doorway, and onto the sands of the beach. The glow of the moonlit sky revealed the sand to a dark color of purple.
"Where…" he began.
Happy pointed.
He traced her finger to a spot occupied by another one of Raven's emotions. She sat in the sand holding her knees, a gentle breeze blowing a few strands of hair, the moonlight making an outline of her face.
He felt a lump in his throat, overwhelmed by the glow she seemed to give off.
She raised her head, turning to see she had visitors. BeastBoy blushed instantly upon making eye contact.
"Well? Don't just stand there." Happy chuckled. "Go on!"
Happy shoved him from behind. BeastBoy wobbled forward, loosing his balance, hoping on one foot. He waved his arms franticly, trying to regain vertical stability.
"WAAAAAHHHH!" he fell forward.
In the outside world, Cyborg was stealthily making his way towards the crooks. Raven was making her approach from the opposite side. They were still unseen, their fire still concentrated on Robin and Starfire.
"NOW!" Cyborg shouted.
He charged at full speed, knocking two of the attackers down.
One turned his attention away from the other Titans, firing off a few rounds at Cyborg. A few shots whizzed past him. However, one hit an exposed stabilizer on his left leg. In his hurry to fix himself from before, Cyborg's repairs were not thorough enough to shield him from potential damage. A small amount of smoke billowed from the damaged stabilizer, just above his knee.
Cyborg felt his leg go numb, tumbling to the ground. He rubbed his head, getting to one knee. He reached for the damaged stabilizer, but a flurry of sparks caused him to pull his hand away.
"Cyborg!" Raven shouted.
CHUK-CHUK
Raven froze. In her distress over Cyborg, she failed to notice two of the thugs come up from behind her. The two of them held their weapons against her back.
"Let's see ya get outta this one." One of them sneered.
Suddenly, Raven felt a powerful sensation come over her. Her heartbeat quickened. She clutched herself, her eyes glowing white. A widespread area of the ground beneath them glowed black, crumbling in an instant. The attackers fell a good twenty feet or so, as the ground gave way, smacking the concrete below.
"Ugh…" Raven groaned coming out of her trance. "What just happened?" she asked rubbing her head.
She felt a tug on her leg. She looked down to see one of the crooks holding on for dear life to her ankle.
"Y-you ain't takin' me alive!" He snarled pointing his gun at her with his one free hand.
"Careful what you wish for." She said in her usual dry tone.
The gun became encased in a black aura, beginning to get hot, starting to melt. He immediately let go of the gun, grabbing his hand and blowing on it. He then realized he had let go of Raven's leg, now falling to the ground.
"I GIVE!" he shouted as if pleading for mercy.
He suddenly landed on a large steel pipe between his legs. Raven had telepathically moved it for him to grab onto. But she didn't argue with results.
"You win." He shrieked in a high-pitched tone, falling forward onto the base of the pipe.
"Raven!" came a cry off to the side.
She looked to find Cyborg calling out to her. "You alright?"
"Fine." She answered floating down towards him to inspect the severity of his injuries. "How about you?"
"Nothing a little time in the shop won't cure."
They retrieved the two fallen thugs, while Robin and Starfire wrapped up the others. All that was left was to hand them over to the police, and then it would be back home for the party.
Raven was a bit concerned though. That had been the third time today she had felt…odd.
"Rae? You sure you're okay?" Cyborg asked. "Your face is red again. Maybe you're coming down with somethin'."
Raven felt her cheeks. Sure enough, she was blushing, even deeper than before.
"I…I'm fine. Let's just get back." She lifted the crooks telepathically and hurried towards Robin and Starfire.
Cyborg scratched his head. "What's gotten into that girl?"
The answer? Back in Raven's mind, BeastBoy had fallen over and was now lying on top of her emotion. Both looking deep into each other's eyes, the two of them blushing furiously, neither one knowing what to do or say. And amidst all of this, Happy just watched and smiled.
"Well, it's been fun but…I gotta go." She said retreating back to the door. "We should do this again sometime. I'll be sure to ask Raven to bring ya back when I get a karaoke machine."
"H-hey! Wait!" he said turning his head to face Happy.
"Don't worry. No need to thank me." She giggled.
Happy closed the door, both her and the doorway vanishing from view.
BeastBoy slowly returned his glance to the other emotion beneath him. All he could was hope this wasn't one of those emotions that was trapped here for a violent reason.
"Uh…" he stuttered.
"I…I don't believe we've been properly introduced." She said in a gentle voice as her blush subsided, slowly forming warm smile.
Next Chapter: Who is this emotion Happy seemed so eager to get BeastBoy to meet? And what could be the reason that she's sealed separately from the other emotions? Falling on top of someone usually doesn't warrant the best introduction, yet she seems completely calm and at ease with it. And with matters under control downtown, how long before Raven returns?