So when I said last time that school had settled down quite a bit, it turns out that I lied. Things have not settled down. In fact, I'm supposed to be writing a paper that's due in about 4 hours. HAH!
I'm sorry that this update took so long. This chapter was, by far the hardest I've ever had to write. I'm not cutout for these fighting scenes…
Alright, well, without further ado, here it is: "Here with You" chapter six! Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I can't think of anything remotely creative right now. I don't own the Teen Titans or the Doom Patrol.
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Chapter Six - The Wedding Part II?
I'm really going to do this. I'm really going to get married. Beast Boy thought as he took the latest of many long, deep breaths. He closed his eyes softly. What the hell am I doing?
He watched silently as Raven walked up the aisle. She kept her eyes focused down at her feet as she moved, making her way down the pre-set pathway with his former companion and current Doom Patrol member. It wasn't until she reached the altar that she looked up and met his eyes. He felt a slight pinch in his chest.
The way she looked at him… it was almost as though she was trying to tell him that she was fine, that everything would be alright… that she forgave him.
God, what am I doing? Someone has to do something. Someone has to get me out of this. What am I doing? Oh God, what am I doing? His thoughts came more frantically as he stared at the door of the church. It stood wide open, revealing a tantalizing tease of the dark clouds sitting just beyond his reach.
He wanted to go to them, to dance in the rain when it came down. To feel the air pressing against him. To revel in the rare moment of bad weather. To forget that he had obligations and promises and people, bright as sunshine, waiting for him. He wanted to just let loose.
He wanted to escape.
He froze up for a second, involuntarily.
Something's wrong. He thought vaguely before a small, ironic smile lit his face. Something other than the fact that I'm getting married. Heh, that sounds weird. Really, really weird. Oh man, what am I doing? Again, his body tensed. He responded to the somewhat welcome distraction with narrowed eyes.
Something was wrong.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mento slowly searching the crowd and joined him in his task, searching for any hint at trouble as the dreaded wedding march filled the air. After confirming that nothing around him was out of place, he shook his head.
Alright Beast Boy, deep breath. You just need to relax. There's nothing wrong in here, its just you. Just the pre-wedding jitters. Just the -
Beast Boy's head jerked up as a high-pitched shriek rang off to his side.
And there it was, the thing that was making him feel so wrong and off balance. It was a…thing slithering down the aisle. The figure of an oversized snake was barely concealed by the remnants of a once pristine, white, wedding gown. Its deep, olive green skin was marred with black, white and bright, neon orange patches. It swiftly made its way down the aisle, dragging the beautiful white dress it wore along the pathway that led up to the altar of the church. It managed to get within reach of a reporter from the Jump City Times before Elasti-Girl reacted. As the petrified man stared up at the bent head of the snake, Elasti-Girl stretched her arms, ripping the sleeves of the ridiculous orange dress, and clasped her hands around the creature. It slithered out of her reach and turned back to bite her when the familiar command was issued.
"Titans, go!"
"Doom Patrol, get outside and help everyone get out of here!" Mento commanded.
Beast Boy's body immediately tightened, but the clothes around him restricted any useful movement. He tore off his coat as Starfire took to the air above him. Civilians ran screaming through the building, easily jamming the single double door of the church. The members of Titans East migrated after the Doom Patrol, attempting to calm the excited mess.
Robin jumped forward, his coat, tie and dress shirt discarded, his Bo staff at ready. He met the creature with a blow to her side which she acknowledged with a low hiss. He went in for a jab at her abdomen but she reacted too quickly for him, grasping the staff in her ridiculously small hands and tearing it from his own. He jerked for a moment before acquiescing and watching his staff fly in a deceptively graceful arc in the air to land somewhere in the crowd of civilians. A collective scream was heard and he cursed harshly under his breath, jumping towards the frantic horde.
Starfire took this opportunity to shoot a green orb at the creature. It hissed as she continued her onslaught, attempting to dodge the volley of flying starbolts. The room filled with smoke as Starfire paused, carefully heading towards her target. The smoke before her was broken by an empty pew, which shot in the direction of the airborne Titan. It met her with a sickening thud and a surprised "oomph!" before landing, clearing the smoke, to reveal a triumphant-looking reptile.
The look didn't last long as she was immediately struck in the side by an oddly colored ram. She let out a shriek of anger as she landed on the ground, then turned to the newly human Beast Boy. It didn't seem possible, but the snake's face seemed to contort into something between a sneer and a smile. It hissed at the man before her.
"Ssssssugar," she said lightly, slowly slithering towards him. His eyes widened.
"Marilyn?" He stood, rooted to the spot, his jaw slightly slack. She was getting closer to him, but his body didn't seem willing to move with his mind. Her eyes glowed bright blue, but they had changed, gotten an almost dead, unused look. Her tongue flicked out before her, gauging the distance between herself and the changeling. That menacing look - how was it that she could look both blind and menacing at the same time? - never left her face. Her head reared back.
C'mon Beast Boy, move! Move! Get out of her way! He thought vaguely as he tried to move his legs, to no avail.
"…Zinthos!"
A pew wrapped in black energy suddenly hit the supposed bride with a fury that he remembered well. He looked over his shoulder, snapped out of his daze, to see Raven floating in the air behind him, the sleeves and skirt of the god-awful dress in tatters. She looked at him briefly, her face cleared of expression, before turning back to the battle. Cyborg had joined the fray, blasting the snake and yelling out profanities regarding the expensive of his newly ruined suit.
Marilyn hissed loudly as she went in to bite the partially robotic man. He dodged neatly, continuing his tirade as he shot her from another angle. He moved in and managed to get a punch in along her side. Marilyn let out a single, long hiss before reaching out and trying, once again, to bite at him. He dodged, goading her on as he again resorted to sending blue orbs in her direction. She pressed on his space, pushing him further back towards the opposite wall, following him through the pathway between pews. He let out a startled yelp as she managed to grasp the arm that housed his sonic cannon, then fought viciously as she attempted to remove the equipment from him. He got in a punch to her side with his free fist. She responded by shaking him, making all other attempts at contact moot. He grunted the moment his robotic arm left his torso as he flew backwards into Robin, who had stopped herding citizens out of the building momentarily to help the newly freed Starfire. The two collided with a twin set of startled yelps and Starfire stared, wide-eyed at them before shaking herself out of her brief reverie, yelling "I am truly apologetic, friends!" and turning her attention to the frantic citizens.
Meanwhile, Beast Boy took the opportunity to come at Marilyn in the form of a gorilla. He raised his arms over his head to make a fist intended for her, but she moved out of the way quickly, going in for another bite. She missed as he took the shape of a turtle, pulling into his shell as it connected with the hard tile of the church floor.
A black camcorder stole her attention away from the green animal. She turned to find the source of the flying object, to see Raven hovering in the air, her eyes and hands glowing an eerie black color. From behind her, Cyborg and Robin shook their heads and got to their feet.
Beast Boot took the opportunity to ram into Marilyn again, this time in the form of a buffalo. She hissed as he pinned her to the wall with his horns, but there was something about the sound that just wasn't right. He could feel it in his bones again… there was something wrong.
She shuddered under him for a moment, trying to bite at him and attempting to free herself. She watched Raven levitating just above his shoulder and let out a piercing, near human scream. Beast Boy tore back, inadvertently reverting back to his human form. Raven lowered to the ground, covering her ears and cringing. The floor beneath them started to shake and the few civilians still in the room became a jumbled mess all over again.
The pair closest to the source of the wails turned their attention to the unexpectedly shaking floors. Cyborg and Starfire turned to look at the source of the screaming while Robin jumped back, attempting to push the rest of the startled people out of the church.
Marilyn didn't seem to have an end to the air pent up in her lungs. Her scream continued for a good 30 seconds, the ground shaking just as surely as her voice was ringing, before anything else happened. Starfire was the first to notice it.
"Friends," she shouted over the high-pitched noise, "what is that sound?"
Her companions didn't answer, slowly becoming aware of a second, lower noise filling the room. They met, out of habit, in the middle of the room, forming a circle with their bodies facing out as they scanned the room. Starfire and Beast Boy quickly stepped apart to let Raven join in her once familiar spot. She took it, ignoring the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach, trying to forget how great it felt to be with her old team again.
There was a faint, but deep hissing. A voice boomed, instantly silencing Marilyn's scream.
"Hello Titanssss," the voice echoed. "We have had yet to meeet like thisss."
"Who are you?" Robin yelled, his body tensed with the uncertainty of the battle.
"Why Raw-bin," the voice drew out the syllables of his name. They dripped with familiarity. "You alwayssss have to interrupt, doon't you?"
For a second the room was silent. The five heroes scanned the area before them, attempting to locate the source of the sounds.
"Beast Boy!" Elasti-Girl yelled from outside as she caught sight of the group. She moved to enter the church, Mento, Negative Man and Robotman fast on her tail, when the large double doors suddenly shut themselves. Outside, thunder could be heard, accompanying the loud thumps and muffled cries sounding from just beyond the door.
"Guys!" Beast Boy yelled on instinct, leaning out towards the room's single entrance. He slowly closed his outstretched hand.
"Sssilenccce." Marilyn said as she slithered forward. She jerked backwards suddenly, as though struck before letting out a low hissing noise and returning to her previous position.
"Yo, what is this?" Cyborg yelled, absently rubbing his newly attached arm.
"You people can never ssstop talking, ccan you?" The voice asked. The five remained silent in response. "Thatsss better. I have waited ssso long for thisss moment. I have ssspent yearsss wondering what it would be like. And now here you are, thanksss to you, Beassst Boy."
The green man flinched at his name, remembering the betrayal of Terra.
"What did you do to Marilyn?" A steady, emotionless voice asked. Beast Boy glanced over in surprise at Raven, who floated gently above the ground.
"Nothing at all, my dear," the voice boomed. "Ssshe is my cchild, created for my ussse. I have mixxxed her DNA with that of a demon, ssso ssshe iss now only part human and part what you sssee before you noow."
Raven visibly flinched as a low laugh swept through the room, but quickly schooled her features back into indifference. The laugh abruptly stopped.
"Enouggh. Mamba, finisssh them."
The room went silent for a space of two seconds before the earth started shaking beneath the team again. They pushed back into each other, shrinking the circle, as they resumed the task of identifying the source of the sudden quakes. Marilyn let out a high-pitched, maniacal laugh. The windows of the church broke, sending splinters of glass through the room. A bubble of dark energy flew from Raven's fingers, encapsulating the team and keeping them from harm.
"Guys, that doesn't sound too good…" Beast Boy trailed off as another hissing sound became apparent. It was getting much louder, but, unlike before, it seemed to be coming from under them.
The floor of the church finally gave in under the constant shaking and split, the Titans on one side of the crevice and Raven, alone, on the other. She turned quickly and met eyes with Beast Boy, and for a second, she looked like she might be afraid. He turned and readied himself to jump when the floor gave in again and the crack got larger and deeper. The hissing got louder and he looked up to meet Raven's eyes.
And for a second, he looked like he might be afraid.
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Outside the moon shone brightly, a full, milky orb. Beast Boy lay in bed, gently stroking Raven's bare arm. He smiled a little as she let herself cuddle into him in her sleep, releasing a small, dreamy smile.
She was so beautiful. He couldn't get over how lucky he was. To finally, after all these years, have something that he knew was worth hanging on to… it was really more than he had ever thought he could deserve. He had just never really had any luck with the ladies. He had been in one long-term relationship before, and prior to that… well, it was mostly just flirting and casual dates. Nothing to hold onto.
But Raven hadn't paid too much attention to how awkward he was, or how he tried to be macho, or the fact that he was… well… green. She had seen an annoying little guy who wouldn't quit until she made him. He smiled gently as he continued to stare down at her.
But what did she see now? What did she see when she looked at him? Every time he looked at her, his heart sped up just a little, and whenever she smiled at him, he seemed to get this warm feeling that originated in his stomach and slowly spread to the rest of his body. At first he didn't know what it was, but then he started to fall in love with her and he had understood. It just seemed so natural to just… fall for her. She was the sarcasm that kept him in line, the dark that made his light all that much more needed. The notion of him falling in love with her was so… logical that it didn't scare him the least bit.
It absolutely terrified him. And that was why he lay in his bed, staring down at the woman in his arms and avoiding sleep for the fifth time this week.
He had never felt so strongly for anyone in his whole entire life.
He stroked Raven's hair absently as he shifted his eyes to focus outside of the window, on the silvery source of light outside.
How do you train yourself to deal with loving another individual? He trusted his friends and loved them, but it was a different kind of love. He would give his life gladly for any of them, and their deaths would absolutely crush him, but Raven? If she died… well, he would too.
He had never been so aware of someone else's need for him.
And in return, his need for someone else.
It terrified him.
Every single day, another way to die was staring them straight in the eye. He was afraid that one day he wouldn't be watching, and he wouldn't be able to protect her. He tried to suppress the feeling, tried to tell himself he was being stupid and ridiculous and that her need for him would never find its way into the battle field. He tried to tell himself that if anything, she would need to save him from a tight situation. But even with his self-given reassurances, he found himself worrying about her. Every time a villain went for her, he wanted to jump between them. He wanted to tear the wrong-doer limb from limb. He wanted to make sure that nothing could ever hurt her. She meant everything to him…
He didn't want to lose her.
He had lost so much already.
Raven let out a small, tired moan and opened her eyes a little. He looked down at her startled, afraid that he had woken her up with the intensity of his feelings.
"Loosen up," she said groggily. With a start, Beast Boy realized just how hard he had been holding her and quickly followed her orders. She moaned a little more before burrowing back into the warmth of the pillows.
He closed his eyes softly before heaving a short sigh and staring out of the window again.
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Alright, like I said, first time I really made myself do a fight scene, so I would really love feedback on it. If it's total crap, don't be afraid to tell me so, but please also tell me why its total crap so I can fix it for next time. Thanks for taking the time to read this! Oh, and I meant to mention that because of how long it took for me to get this chapter up, I posted a one-shot centered around Robin and Starfire (not related to this story). Feel free to check it out :).