Ok, here are standard disclaimers. I do not own, nor claim to own any rights to the Teen Titans, or any other borrowed characters. I also make no claims towards any original characters I invent for this story.
The late afternoon light was shining though the corner office's windows, illuminating the vast suite in its warm orange glow. Sitting in her padded executive chair Terra stared at the landmark at the other end of the bay. It stood there as if mocking her impotence, her inability to extract the one and only thing she wanted from it.
The day's newspaper lay on her desk and it too mocked her with its front page story and photograph of her Beast Boy holding hands with the witch. The young executive picked up the daily and stared at the offending picture, the abomination that taunted her without mercy. Every time she looked back at it nothing had changed, they were still holding hands. She silently seethed as she picked up a pair of stress stones in her other hand. They felt cool to the touch and she slowly began to roll them around in her hand. She was called a geomancer but at the moment the two smooth rocks had no magical effect on her as she was consumed with jealousy.
Look at her, she doesn't even look happy, and yet she has him. Damn you Humberto! Why didn't you finish the job? Your punishment wasn't harsh enough. I should have had you drawn and …
Terra's train of thought was interrupted when she heard her office door open. Springing out of her chair she hurled the two stones at the intruder, using her own powers to propel them. Her visitor caught them effortlessly.
"Haven't you heard of knocking before entering a room?" She snarled at him.
Slade calmly walked to her desk and sat on it as he began to twirl the stones in his own palm.
"Is there something green on your mind Terra?"
"What do you think? Didn't you see them together yesterday?"
Slade chuckled as he put the two stones down on Terra's desk.
"Now do you understand why I don't waste my time with romantic entanglements Terra? They bring nothing but heartache and they are a terrible distraction."
The geomancer gave the masked man a disdainful look.
"And how would you know Slade? The only thing you love is power."
He stood up and slowly walked towards the windows, his gaze fixed on the distant horizon.
"That is true Terra, but it wasn't always so."
"Yeah, right."
"I am telling you the truth Terra. I once loved a woman."
"You? You gotta be kidding."
"I am not. But I have put that behind me as I have a bigger problem to deal with now."
"What problem are you talking about Slade? The drug smuggling operation is running without a hitch, especially since the Titans were fired. I've laundered the profits which are being invested in the new factory, which is ahead of schedule I might add. Everything is going as planned. So what the hell is the problem?"
Slade turned from the window to face his former apprentice.
"My problem is the changeling and the hold he has over my partner."
"What are you talking about Slade?"
"Don't play games with me Terra." He growled. "You've become obsessed with him, again. Why? You sent him away three years ago when he came looking for you. What was it you told him … things change? Apparently not enough."
"I only sent him away because you made me." She hissed. "Do you have any idea of how hard that was?"
"As a matter of fact, I do."
"Oh yeah, you once loved a woman." She said with contempt.
"Don't mock that which you do not understand Terra. I had my reasons to leave her behind, and believe me it wasn't easy."
"I don't care." She replied as she made her way out of the office.
"Where are you going?" He deadpanned.
Terra stopped at the still open door.
"I'm going to Titans Tower." She answered as she slammed the door shut behind her.
Beast Boy stared at Raven with a mixture of surprise and confusion plastered on his face.
"But how Raven … I mean … I don't understand."
Raven sighed.
"My mother, Arella, she's a Matriarch and since I'm her firstborn I'm also a Matriarch … I'm sorry Gar."
"Sorry? For what? It's not your fault that you're your mother's daughter."
She shook her head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you before. It's just something … I'm … I'm not proud of."
He placed a hand on her shoulder.
"It's OK Rae, I understand. You can't help who your parents are."
The sorceress wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, oblivious to the stares of those around them and she didn't release him until she was interrupted by what sounded like a young female voice.
"Raven! It's true! You have come back!"
Raven released Beast Boy and turned around to see who it was. Beast Boy saw her first. She was a young woman of their own age, dressed in Matriarchal white and was accompanied by four young, tall and very handsome men, three dressed in green and one in blue.
"Nara?" Raven croaked in surprise.
"So you haven't forgotten me?" The girl teased the sorceress. "I thought you would never return from Earth. I'm hurt Raven, you never sent me a message. I thought we were best friends"
"Well as you can see, I have indeed returned." She replied in her signature monotone. "As for the lack of mail, there was no way to send it from Earth."
"Well it's about time you came back. You know that you are Azarath's favorite daughter, don't you? Ever since you saved us from Trigon …"
"I had help." Raven interrupted as she placed a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder.
"I see." Nara replied with a coy smile. "And who might this be? A little prize from Earth? He is cute."
Raven stiffened as Nara addressed Beast Boy in the third person. She took his hand before replying.
"Nara, I want to introduce you to Garfield Logan. He is my teammate from Earth and I am courting him."
The young Matriarch stared at Raven as if she had … just introduced her to a man. It took a moment for the young Matriarch to recover from the sorceress's faux pas. Needless to say, she did not introduce her male companions to Raven.
"I see that you have been away from Azarath for a long time." Nara replied with a hint of surprise in her voice. "So are the rumors about Earth true?"
"What rumors?" Raven asked, already knowing the answer.
"That men are uppity and consider themselves our equals … when we all know they're only good for one thing …"
Nara grinned at Raven, who stared at her impassively, only her eyes were giving away that a cauldron of anger that was simmering within her and might erupt at any moment. Nara recognized the look; Raven hadn't changed much at all over the years. She had forgotten how easy it was to offend her friend.
"Well … I need to run along … places to go, people to see and all that … I'm hosting a party this weekend. I'll have an invitation sent to you. You will come, right?"
"If time permits I might." Raven replied, politely declining the invitation in the time honored Azarathian indirect way.
Nara waved at her entourage, who almost looked like clones with their nearly identical chiseled good looks. They silently followed her with the obedience of a well trained dog.
Beast Boy stared with a frown at the departing group.
"Azarath blows. Let's just go say hi to your mom and go home."
The corporate helicopter slowly made its way around the blue bay. Its lone passenger was lost in thought as she stared at the destination in the distance: Titans Tower. She was still dressed in her business suit and she tapped her foot nervously on the chopper's carpeted floor. She had carefully rehearsed what she was going to say to the changeling: she was going to offer herself to him, no strings attached.
As they made their way across the azure colored bay she looked down and saw a flotilla of sail boats making their way back to their marinas, their daytime excursions complete as the sun hung low in the sky, bathing the city in its red glow.
"Pilot, have you informed them of our arrival?" She asked through the headset she was wearing.
"Yes Miss Markov. They are expecting us." He replied.
Terra had her concerns. First and foremost was Raven. She was convinced that the sorceress's hold on the changeling would be hard to break. Gathering information on the couple had proven to be next to impossible. She had no idea if the witch had cast a spell on her beloved or if she was using more conventional methods, like sex, to keep the changeling under control and at her side.
Her second concern was that Beast Boy would reject her because of her association with Slade. This too was problematic as Slade could easily expose her role in the drug smuggling empire she had built should she try to sever her ties with him. She knew she was tip toeing through a mine field, but she didn't care. She would get what rightfully was hers and hers alone, Raven be damned.
As the helicopter approached the helipad on the Tower's roof top she saw the access door open after which Robin, Starfire and Cyborg emerged and walked over to the helipad. The pilot gently landed the chopper and shut off the engines. Without waiting Terra opened the door and stepped off the vehicle. She walked straight to the three Titans, who were standing with crossed arms.
"What do you want Terra?" Robin asked curtly.
"I want to see BB."
"He does not wish to see you." Starfire replied. "You must now leave."
Robin noticed that Terra had a manila envelope in her hand.
"I'd like to hear that from him myself."
"Ain't gonna happen." Cyborg added.
Terra grinned.
"I think I'll go in and ask him myself." She said as she made her way to the access door.
Robin moved to block her path.
"You're not going in there Terra."
The geomancer chuckled.
"Oh, but I am. You see, the lease contract allows me to inspect the premises any time I want." She said as she slapped the manila envelope into Robin's hands. "Don't take my word for it, it's on page 27."
Terra pushed Robin aside and opened the access door.
"Don't bother. He's not here." Robin informed her.
Terra turned around with a frown on her face.
"What do you mean he's not here? Where is he?"
"We're not telling you." Cyborg replied as he grabbed the contract from Robin and slapped it back into Terra's hands. "And we don't have to tell you."
"So you had best make with the haste and leave." Starfire added.
Terra stared at her former teammates for a minute, then pulled the access door open once again.
"I think I'll still take a look."
Leaving the Titans behind Terra rushed down the stairs to the habitat level. She burst out of the stairwell and made a bee line to Beast Boy's room. His door was unlocked and she entered. She was momentarily surprised by the room's tidiness but ignored it. She walked over to his desk and frowned as she saw a portrait of Raven sitting on it but her demeanor changed when she saw another object sitting on it as well: the heart shaped jewel box he had made for her. Smiling she removed an envelope from an inside pocket in her suit's jacket and placed it on his desk. The only writing on the envelope was 'Read me' written in her own script.
Raven and Beast Boy were once again walking down the streets of Azarath. By this point the word of Raven's return had made the rounds throughout Azarath and the changeling noticed that a small crowd had formed and was following them. He kept looking over his shoulder and Raven noticed.
"Just ignore them Gar. They'll give us our space."
He shrugged his shoulders.
"They worship the ground you walk on Rae. No one on Earth ever thanked you for saving us from Trigon, not even government or even the Justice League."
"We don't do it for the acknowledgement Gar, we never have. It's nice when we get it, but you know as well as I do that we don't expect it."
"Well, I'm glad your people appreciate you."
Raven stopped suddenly and spread her arms. A black disk formed on the ground and taking his hand she stepped on it and he followed. The disk silently took off leaving the crowd behind. Once they had gained some altitude she spoke.
"I don't consider them to be my people anymore Gar. I never thought this would happen, but I feel like an outsider in Azarath." She paused. "I know I've made speeches about not judging other cultures but I'm feeling uncomfortable here."
"The polygamy?" He asked.
"I could handle that if women didn't treat their men like property." She said as the alabaster tower drew closer. "Only the matriarchs and upper class Azarathian women are allowed more than one husband so it isn't really that common."
"Raven, what did you friend mean by 'men are only good for one thing'?"
Raven sighed.
"She meant that men are merely sexual playthings. Married men are not allowed to work outside of the home. They raise the children while their wives work. They have no voice in how society is run. Also public displays of affection are forbidden here."
Beast Boy looked surprised.
"So what happens to those who … don't behave?"
"They're sent into exile. More than a few Azarathian men have wound up on Earth. I've helped them adapt to Earth society. I was able to negotiate with the European Union to accept them, which is why you've never seen any of them."
"You mean first strike and they're out?"
Raven nodded.
"It's incredibly traumatic for them. I helped to set up a halfway house for them in a small town in Austria. It takes them on average a year to prepare to integrate into European society."
"I had no idea you did all that Raven. I thought you went off to Europe to look for old books."
"I did that as well. I never told you guys about the halfway house because I was so ashamed…"
"It's not your fault Rae. You can't help it if Azarath is so …"
"… backward." She completed the sentence as the disk began to descend towards the base if the building. "I'm lucky I was raised in the monastery by Azar and the monks. They were always opposed to the status quo."
As the disk descended Beast Boy could see a crowd forming around the entrance to the Roth Tower. A platoon of female warriors had established a security perimeter and kept the mob at bay as Raven landed her circular magic carpet, which vanish as soon as they touched down. Still holding his hand Raven led Beast Boy into the building's main lobby, where they were greeted by a woman who was wearing what must have been the Azarathian equivalent of a security guard uniform. The woman couldn't take her eyes off the couple's intertwined fingers. She discreetly approached Raven.
"Miss Roth." She whispered. "You're holding his hand."
"I know."
The woman looked disturbed, as if she didn't know what to do. Meanwhile Beast Boy looked around the massive lobby area. It was tall and wide enough to contain Titans Tower in its entirety. There were people, woman actually, who had been in the process of coming and going to places who had stopped dead in their tracks when they recognized Arella's heiress. Finally the woman regained her composure.
"I'm afraid your mother is not home to greet you Mistress. I can have someone show you to your penthouse while you wait for her." She glanced nervously at Beast Boy. "May I ask Mistress; is this man your 'first'?"
"No, he is not, at least not yet." Raven replied in her monotone.
"Very well." The woman replied. "I'll have a room prepared for him in the male servants' quarters."
"You will do no such thing. He will stay with me."
The security chief gave Raven an alarmed look.
"Mistress, are you sure you want to do that?"
"Positive." Raven replied curtly as she made her way to the elevator banks. The security chief gestured to another woman who bolted, running after them.
"Meru will show you to your penthouse Mistress." She called out to Raven.
As the three entered the executive lift and the doors closed behind them the woman let out a sigh of relief.
"Why did she ever have to return? She is nothing like her mother."
A security guard who was standing next to her nodded in agreement.
A shorter chapter, but we're moving along.
You have all been quiet out there in fanfictionland. You've been reading but not reviewing, probably because the story is … well … familiar.
So I'm going to have you play a game!
Do you remember any times in the show were Raven and BB had physical contact? The two best known ones are when Raven hugs BB (Spellbound) and when he hugs her (The End Part 3). But there are many, many others. Do you remember them? Bonus points if you can name the episode.