Chapter 2:
City Hall was already crammed full of people – reporters along with superhumans – by the time Theo and Raven arrived. The four-story, gray building with the stone steps and small garden lined with rocks in the front never looked so... inhabited. Looking through the crowd, there were few supers Raven had heard of. Most of the people there weren't in costume, either; only the big-shots who already had a gimmick arrived clad in cape, mask, and complete with their own self-themed car and side-kick.
"This is a horrible idea," Raven said as she and Theo passed The Green Lantern and entered the meeting room on the first floor. They chose seats near the end of the table in the midst of a bunch of other teens without costumes: obviously newbies, like themselves.
A few congressmen and the Mayor were conversing in the front of the room, waiting for everyone to sit down. Suddenly, a round of applause broke out as a line of the most famous superheroes entered the room. For some reason, Raven's heartbeat quickened as the last in line made their entrance. Bringing up the rear was the most mysterious super probably known to man. (A/N: keep in mind, this is before Raven became one) There were many names for him: The Caped Crusader, The Dark Knight, -
"Batman!" someone screamed, and the applause came faster and louder.
"Holy fuck, no," Theo muttered.
"I agree."
"No, Raven, look," Theo nodded her head across the table. There were nameplates placed randomly around the long table for the superheroes people had already heard of. The nameplate across from Theo read in big, bold, black letters: BATMAN.
"Oh my God..." Theo muttered as 'BATMAN' took his seat. Theo turned to her right to face Raven. "Do you have any idea... what this means?" she asked excitedly, keeping her voice low so The Vengeance over there wouldn't hear.
"Sure: you're sitting two and a half feet away from a forty-year-old guy wearing black spandex and bat ears," Raven scoffed.
Theo rolled her eyes. "True, but look around, Raven. See that dude over there," she pointed at some random hero in a blue and white costume, "look who's sitting next to him," she instructed.
Raven did, then shrugged. "Some kid wearing a similar costume and a tackier mask."
Theo nodded breathlessly. "The side-kick!" she squealed.
Raven raised an eyebrow, not getting it right away. Then it hit her, and her eyes widened. "Are...you...kidding..." She felt her heart accelerate.
Theo looked at her anxiously. "Just to say it out loud: Batman – the Batman – is sitting across from me. So that means his..."
"Side-kick," Raven said slowly, mentally gasping.
"...will be sitting across from you."
Raven's mouth hung open.
"To be exact, sitting to Batboy's left, to our right-"
"Is the Boy fucking Wonder," Raven finished breathlessly. They had never seen him before, but from what they had heard, he was supposed to be the hottest guy on the west side of the United States and further.
Theo was the first to throw a glance his way. She sucked in her breath sharply, immediately looking back down. "Oh, God..." she muttered.
"What!" Raven asked desperately under her breath.
"Oh...my...God..."
"Oh, no. That good, huh?"
Theo nodded, not blinking. She looked up at Raven. "I think I'm having a heart attack."
"Well, you're in the right place. There's like, what, ninety people here, and ninety-five percent of them are super-powered. Yeah, you'd be literally flown to a hospital in under four minutes. Or The Flash could just run you there and be there in five seconds, but-"
"Are you trying to change the subject!"
"I'm glad you asked: yes."
Theo groaned, "Uh! Would you just look at him already!"
"Not feeling to up to that; no."
"Oh, come on! You're going to have to sometime! Just get it over with and-"
"No way in hell! You know what'll happen: I'll glance at him, then my eyes will refuse to look away, and before you know it, he's saving me from drowning in a pond of my own drool!"
Theo was struck with fantasy. "Oh, God, imagine being saved by him..."
"Oh, please; here we go again."
"Damn it! We already have powers; we're supposed to save ourselves!" Theo whined, crestfallen. "Damn it!" She glanced at him again then turned ecstatically back to Raven. "Look at him," she commanded.
Raven covered her eyes with her hands. "Theo, it's rude to stare."
"I don't care! Besides, he's used to it; he has fan girls-"
"Like you," Raven pointed out, dropping her hands.
"-which also means he's used to saving people from drowning in a pond of their own drool, so would you just look at him!"
"NO!"
"Attention, please." The girls looked to the head of the table on their left, where the mayor was standing. "Thank you. Before we begin, I wish to welcome all the citizens of Gotham City that were able to join us this afternoon," applause broke out again, then he continued.
Theo looked at Raven, mouthing 'Look at him' one last time, then turned her attention to the speaker. Out of the corner of her eye, Raven could see the vibrant colors of his costume but refused to turn her head any farther. She had her elbow on the table and her hand on her forehead, blocking her view in his direction. She hoped it didn't look too obvious, and she tried to slow her beating heart, but it was hardly worth it.
"Look around you," the mayor, Detterit was his name, said. "In this one room is the future of our cities, the safety and protection of our fellow citizens." Most people looked around, but Raven just looked at the table, and Theo looked at her.
"I told you this was a horrible idea," Raven said quietly.
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"...Thank you all for coming." More applause. The sound jerked Raven back to full-consciousness.
She yawned. "I was day-dreaming, what'd I miss?"
Theo shrugged. "Wasn't listening." Raven stood up slowly, blinking the tiredness from her eyes. That was when she looked up.
A lot of things were going on in the room, of course. People were talking, either discussing the matters at hand or just normal conversation; a few people were leaving; (A/N: the mayor was hitting on Wonder Woman; just kidding...); Batman was being swamped by reporters; but the only thing Raven saw was what was standing directly across the table from her.
Her eyes widened and, on reflex,... she screamed. It was short, but it was loud. Just a startled scream, but enough to draw a few peoples' attention. She barely noticed the strange looks she was getting, though. Her heart had stopped. She forgot to breathe. She was gaping slightly, and her cheeks were a deep, fiery red.
"Um, are you okay?" Robin asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.
Not waiting for her to answer (since she obviously couldn't) Theo jumped up and grabbed her arm.
"I think she's going to faint," Theo said, sounding concerned.
No, you idiot! I'm fine, Raven thought, though she couldn't speak. Then she realized what Theo was up to. She tried to protest but couldn't utter a word.
Robin came around to them ( again, they're near the end of the table), and Theo fought back a triumphant grin. Robin held Raven's other arm and placed his hand on her back to steady her.
"What's wrong with her?" Theo asked.
"Probably just a little claustrophobic reaction from being in this room for so long, with so many other people," he answered calmly.
"Hey, dude, what's – Raven?" The green kid Raven and Theo had seen on TV the day before came up to them. Raven snapped out of it slightly at the sound of her name. She sucked in a breath and, though she tried to stop herself, looked at Robin.
He was looking at the green kid. "Beast Boy, you know her?"
Beast Boy nodded slowly. Robin turned his attention back to Raven, and for one long moment, their eyes met. And surprisingly, Robin looked away first.
"Uh, Raven, was it?" She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off his. "Are you gonna be okay?"
She somehow found her voice. "Yeah. I'm okay." She immediately lost it again when he smiled at her.
"Good. I'll see you later." With that, he turned and followed his partner (who had now evaded the paparazzi) out of the meeting room.
"Oh...my...God!" Theo squealed, squeezing Raven's arm.
"Oh, God," Raven parroted as she pulled herself into awareness. "Oh – Oh God..." she trailed off as she realized exactly what had happened. She turned to Theo, opening her mouth as if to speak, but couldn't for a moment. When she found her voice, "Oh, God... He was impossibly hott."
Theo grinned her almost vampire-like grin (due to sharp kanine-teeth) as she pulled Raven out of the Hall, rambling about what she had pulled off all the while.
"You owe me so bad for that!" she shrieked triumphantly.
"I didn't ask you to do anything; I owe you nothing."
"Um, hello? We were just talking about 'what if he saved you,' and that practically happened. He touched you, Raven! And if you had held your breath a little longer, he could've given you mouth-to-mouth."
"Oh, God, Theo. Don't put those thoughts in my head."
"And did you see the look on Robin's face when he ask the green kid if he knew you! It totally screamed 'Then why didn't you introduce us before, you idiot!' Oh, God, I could die."
"You could die?–"
"Raven?" She whirled around, hoping whoever it was hadn't been listening. It was Beast Boy. "Can I talk to you for a sec?"
Theo sniggered. "Wow, two in one day. And both superheroes, at that." Raven glared at her over her shoulder. "Go get 'im, Rave."
"Quiet, Theo, you're disturbing the dead," Raven warned sarcastically and followed the boy around the side of the building.
"Raven, it's me."
She frowned, staring at him. Something did look familiar, but... "Who?"
Beast Boy looked around quickly, making sure no one was listening. He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Garfield."
Raven pulled back. "What?"
"It's me. Victor's here, too. God, I didn't think you'd be coming to this."
"Neither did I; Theo made me," Raven said dismally, rolling her eyes.
He grabbed Raven's arm suddenly. "Raven, listen to me. You can't tell anyone I'm here. Anyone."
Raven frowned at how desperate he looked. "Don't worry about it, Ga- Beast Boy." He looked unconvinced. "Seriously, I would never tell."
Beast Boy sighed. "I didn't think you would, but then again..." he trailed off. Raven looked at him questioningly. "You're always so open about your powers. I knew you didn't think of your identity as much of a secret, so-"
"It's okay, I won't tell anyone," she looked at him sincerely.
"About Victor either?"
"No one."
"Thanks," Beast Boy smiled at her. God, it really is two in one day... Raven thought, but she found herself smiling back. "We just – me and Victor – we had a really hard time convincing people that we were... normal. I just didn't want to have to start over again."
"No prob-" A skidding noise interrupted Raven. Theo had come up with the ped.
"Are you ready to go, or what?"
Beast Boy's jaw dropped. "That thing's yours?" Theo and Raven nodded. Beast Boy turned to Raven. "Okay, you can tell her."
"Tell me what?"
"I'll explain on the road. Bye, Beast Boy."
He nodded in response, still in a moped trance. Theo winked at him as Raven pulled on her helmet and got onto the ped.
Theo chuckled. "You're such a guys' girl."
"No I'm not."
Theo sped past Robin getting into the Batmobile, making sure he saw them.
Raven went speechless again.
Theo grinned. "I take that back. You're that guy's girl."
Even if she had been able to talk at that moment, Raven still wouldn't have known how to contradict her. Theo kept talking, but Raven could barely pay attention to her words with all the thoughts going through her head.
Am I feeling...what I think I'm feeling?
A/N: ...and end chapter 2. So, what'da ya think? And before you make your final judgment, let me just add the fact that I was up til 2:39 in the morning writing this crap (now that's what I call dedication), so you'd better as hell like it!
God, I need caffeine -
Will update, whether you people like it or not.
I apologize for bringing you out of your happy place and into mine, AKA Morbid Original