I am cranking these out fast, but a lot of the therapy dialogue is partially recycled from Carved, so it's easy.
-(-)-
It was mid afternoon in the common room. Changeling was alone in the room, playing a game when the doors swished open. He paused the game and looked over his shoulder. It was Raven, carrying a cardboard box.
"What'cha got there?"
She lowered the box onto the coffee table and pulled out four smaller boxes, three of which were labeled "Yes", "No" and "Maybe" in Starfire's handwriting.
"Apparently Star has taken control of planning our wedding." She droned in her monotone.
"Big surprise." He looked quizzically at the boxes. "So, what is this?"
She sat down next to him.
"Starfire made an index card for each potential wedding guest, complete with pros and cons for each guest.' She said as she pointed at the unmarked box. "We are supposed to sort them into the other boxes."
"What if she forgot someone?" He asked.
Raven picked up a wad of blank index cards and a pen, which here held together with a thick rubber band. "She thought of that."
He stopped the game, shut off the TV and leaned forward. "We might as well get it done. Uh, do we already have invitations to send out?"
"She's taking care of that. She's also choosing the cake and the caterers."
"Are you going to let her pick a wedding gown for you?" He said as he grinned.
"Not going to happen." She deadpanned.
"Yeah, I figured. OK, then let's do it." He said as he reached and grabbed the first card. "Bumblebee … invite?"
"Sure." She replied and he dropped the card into the "Yes" box. He grabbed the next one. "OK, this has to be a joke … Control Freak?"
Raven took the card from him. Written on the card was "just checking that you are paying the attention"
"Very funny, Starfire." She said as she tossed the card into the "No" box. Gar grabbed the next card. He immediately tossed it into the "No" box.
Raven frowned. "I'd like to see that, please." She reached for the card and read it: "Jillian Jackson." Raven arched an eyebrow. "Are you sure you don't want to invite her?"
"A gentleman never invites ex girlfriends to his wedding. I would be totally disrespecting you if I did that."
Raven tapped on the card with her index finger. "I don't think she would come, and it would be a way of reminding her of what she lost. Plus it's a way for me to gloat that I got to keep you."
His shoulders drooped. "I don't think she'll care."
She looked up from the card. "What do you mean? I know she broke up with you, but she has to regret it. Dumping you has to be the biggest mistake of her life."
"I don't think she regrets it. When she dumped me she wasn't … kind. She told me that I was a loser and that I stunk in bed. None of that 'I love you but I'm not in love with you anymore' crap". I later found out she already had my replacement lined up. I had no idea.
Raven's eyes narrowed. "She's a jerk … let's invite her, so she can see that you traded up."
He smiled appreciatively. "You're right, I traded way up."
"And for the record … you are a god in bed." She said as a tiny smile made its appearance on her face. She tossed Jill's card in the "yes" box and grabbed the next card.
"Steve and Rita Dayton … your adoptive parents … well, there is no question about that." She said as she tossed the card into the Yes box.
"Oh yeah, speaking of which …" He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"What about them?"
He tapped his fingers together. "Uh, they invited us over this weekend to come to the estate."
"Just you and me?"
"Uh huh. They said they want to get to know you better."
She sighed. "You didn't say yes, did you?"
"I, uh, kinda did."
She frowned. "It's no secret that I find them, especially Mento, to be overbearing. But I suppose it can't be helped. They are going to be my in-laws, so I need to learn to deal with them. I expect there will be many Thanksgivings, Christmases and other holidays we will spend with them."
Raven reached for anther card and read it. She face palmed. "OK, now Starfire is just messing with us." she said as she tossed the card to Gar. He looked at it and laughed. It simply said "Slade", and had little hearts drawn around it.
-(-)-
Steve Dunn had just sat down in his chair when a black hemisphere rose out of the floor in front of him. It melted away, revealing Raven, dressed in her signature Azarathian leotard and cape. She had a small canvas bag in her right hand. Steve handed her a mug of freshly brewed herbal tea, which she accepted before she sat down opposite from him. Steve carefully looked at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Are you OK, Raven?"
She blew over the top of her mug before taking a sip and sighing. "I never imagined that it would be so hard to sort through all of my father issues."
"You need to patient Raven. I know that at this point it doesn't feel like you've making much progress, but you have … however … I think something else is bothering you."
"We're visiting Gar's parents this weekend."
"You mean the Doom Patrol?"
She nodded. "Mento and Elastigirl are his adoptive parents. I'm not looking forward to this weekend, but it's something I know I'll have to get used to, they are going to be become part of my life … but, that's not what I want to talk about today."
"What would you like to talk about?"
Raven reached into her bag and pulled out her meditation mirror. Steve looked quizzically at the strangely ornate mirror.
"I've been seeing you for over two months now, Steve. I think that we have achieved a level of intellectual intimacy where I'm now comfortable extending you an invitation that few are granted."
"An invitation?" He looked at the mirror then back up at her grey face. While he never told her, Raven was the most usual and challenging patient he ever had. Of course, she wasn't fully human, which had become obvious to him beyond her unusual coloration. The young woman could be an inscrutable enigma at times. "Are you inviting me to the Tower? Normally, I think it isn't a good idea to meet your friends and family. By staying separate from them is how my office is a safe place for you to open up."
"I know … and believe me Steve, I do feel safe and comfortable opening up to you … my invitation is of a different kind … I want to invite you into my mind."
He tapped his chin. "Isn't that what I'm already doing?"
She smiled one of her tiny Raven smiles. "I mean literally in my mind."
He pointed at her mirror. "I'm assuming that your mirror and magic are somehow involved."
"That is correct … I can sense your apprehension … trust me, you will be perfectly safe."
He scratched his chin. Clearly his intellectual curiosity was getting the best of him. "What is it like in there? What can I expect?"
"My mind will appear to you like various landscapes and its components will be antropmorphisized … you will see different parts of my mind in there, each one personified. You'll be able to directly interact with them, talk to them."
Steve marveled at what she was telling him. "That's amazing."
"I have a collective name for this mindscape; I call it Nevermore … so … are you game?"
"Very Edgar Allan Poe. How long will this take?"
"I don't know, as long as you want. I am your last appointment for the day, right?"
The psychologist was torn. He was, after all, a man of science and this was magic. But the opportunity to actually enter someone's mind … that was unprecedented … if this could be done with other patients, it could revolutionize the profession. He made eye contact with his strange patient.
"So what do I have to do?"
Raven raised her mirror. "Just look into it." She droned in her monotone.
The psychologist nodded before staring into the looking glass. At first all he saw was his reflection, until the glass began to ripple as if made of water. It then began to glow red. Dunn was beginning to think that perhaps this wasn't such a great idea after all when a huge black claw emerged from the mirror. He gasped when it grabbed him and lifted him off the ground, drawing him into the mirror. With a terrified look on his face he made eye contact with Raven.
"I forgot to tell you, the ride into Nevermore can be a bit bumpy … see you on the other side."
-( - )-
Steve stared into the black sky that was punctuated with eerie red stars. He walked over to the edge of the floating mesa he was standing on and peered into the dark void below. He felt a shiver run down his back.
"Is this really your mind, Raven?" He asked in a hushed tone.
Steve almost jumped out of his skin when he heard a voice reply from behind. "You'd better believe it, pal."
Steve turned around and saw Raven standing behind him.
"Your cape … it's green … is there a reason?"
"A reason? I like green, it kicks butt." The emoticlone replied with a heavy dose of bravado. "I'm glad you finally came to meet us." She punched him in the shoulder.
"Oww, that hurt … I didn't know you were so strong."
"Well, duh … I'm half demon … and I didn't even hit you that hard, you big wuss."
Steve was rubbing his shoulder when he did a double take. He saw another Raven; this one clad in a black bikini and hot pink cape approach him.
"OK, I'm not in Kansas anymore."
"No you're not." Raven's soothing monotone announced. She materialized next to Steve.
"You're the real Raven?" He asked her.
"Hey! All of us are the real Raven." The green caped emoticlone corrected him.
Steve had an "aha!' look on his face. "These are the facets of your mind, right?"
"Correct."
"Fascinating … what do they represent?"
Raven pointed at the green caped clone. "Cyborg calls her 'Brave', but I think a better name for her is Aggressiveness."
"And the pink one?"
Raven grimaced. "She represents my lust."
"I see." Dunn remarked as Lust sauntered up to him, grinning as she checked him out. Dunn visibly squirmed. "Uh, how do I address them?"
"We all have the same name." Raven replied. "Just call them Raven."
Steve nodded and cleared his throat as he addressed the pink emoticlone. "Hello … Raven."
"Hi Steve, it's nice of you to come visit us here in Nevermore." Lust purred as she traced his ear with her index finger. Steve gently grabbed her hand and pulled it away.
"Raven … it's not appropriate for you to touch me that way. Our friendship is not romantic."
Lust grinned. "Relax, Gramps, we're not into old guys … we prefer … young flesh if you know what I mean."
"Yes, you desire Garfield."
Lust continued to smile. "Yeah, we do. But, that's not all."
"Be quiet!" Raven hissed. Steve glanced at her.
"Is she about to tell me something you'd prefer that I not know?" He asked.
Raven's face showed the turmoil she was feeling. "I brought you here to help speed up the therapy process … but that won't happen if I keep secrets from you … Steve … you have to swear that you will never tell anyone about what she's going to tell or show you."
"Raven, I'm a therapist … I'm legally bound to …"
"Promise me you will keep it a secret." She interrupted him.
"Raven, you have my solemn promise that I will not tell a soul."
Raven acknowledged his vow with a nod. She then addressed lust. "Go ahead, you may proceed."
Lust smiled seductively. "Some years ago, Rage broke loose and was able to control Raven for a few days. One night we used a disguise spell and we went out."
"You went out? Where did you go?"
Nevermore suddenly transformed and Steve found himself in a disco. In fact, it was the disco where Blackfire once took them. It hadn't changed, it was, as Starfire described at the time, a place of pounding music and flashing lights. They were surrounded by over one hundred young people, who were busy dancing, flirting and drinking.
"We went clubbing. It was a blast; we've never done anything like that before, not by our ourselves and not with a more mature crowd. The music was so intoxicating. And we had alcohol for the first time; it felt good and helped lower our inhibitions."
Steve saw a younger Raven in the vision with an alcoholic drink in her hand.
"And that wasn't the only new thing we tried."
"What do you mean?"
Steve then saw a handsome young man approach the past Raven and begin chatting with her. Steve noticed he had a large and unusual tattoo on his arm. It looked like a demon's head surrounded by a ring of indecipherable runes.
"We met a guy. He was smoking hot, well muscled, perfect face and hair. We danced with him, then we kissed. He asked if we wanted to go home with him, and we did."
Steve whispered to Raven. "I don't need to see any more."
Raven winced. "I think you should."
Suddenly, they were in a seedy apartment. Steve watched as past Raven made out with the young man on his couch. Their session intensified and the young man began to grope her. Steve turned to and saw that Raven was watching the scene unfold as well, she was wincing and tears rolled down her face. After a few minutes the young man got up, took past Raven's hand and led her to his bedroom. Steve did not follow them. Soon, the tell tale sounds of intercourse came out of the bedroom through the open door.
"Raven, I've seen enough. Can we go back to my office now?"
She wiped away her tears and nodded, and they were no longer in Nevermore.
"Well … that was a disaster." She whimpered. "Now you know that in addition to being demon spawn that I'm also a slut."
"Actually, it wasn't a disaster … we learned quite a few things. As for that night, it's not my job or role to judge you. My job is to help you heal yourself so that something like that never happens again. You were very brave to allow me to see that. That is clearly a very painful and embarrassing memory for you."
She turned away from him. "How could I have done that? What's wrong with me?" She continued to whimper.
"That's what we will find out, Raven, and we will fix it. Tell me more about this 'Rage' facet. My understanding is that it took over your personality, and the incident was a result of that. Am I correct?"
She nodded. "I always keep Rage under control, but for those few days something happened and I lost all control of her. She is my demonic side, and I constantly struggle to keep her in check. And I did, until I slipped. I almost killed Dr. Light after she took over. Had Robin not intervened … I would have become a murderer."
"I recall reading about your incident with Dr. Light in the wiki. Does anyone else know about Rage?"
"Yes, everyone on the team knows about Rage and how I lost control of her. Gar and Cyborg came into my mind, entirely by accident, and they helped me get her back under control. But no one knows that I gave myself, my virginity, to a complete stranger. Steve, I could have caught an STD or gotten pregnant. But worse of all, I wish Gar had been my first, and not some random sleaze bag."
"I understand. Raven, you do understand that you weren't yourself when this happened?"
"I know; but I feel terrible about keeping this secret. It eats at me. But I'm also afraid of telling Gar. I'm afraid that he might become angry and break up with me."
"Well, knowing what you have told me about him, I think he would understand. That said, I think we need to work on this for a while, so you can forgive yourself. And I know that simply understanding that you weren't yourself won't be enough for you. People make mistakes, Raven. And I truly believe that you will continue to change and heal. You will become the woman you were meant to be."
The clock chimed, it was almost 8 PM. Steve smiled. "I think it's time to go home … I'm sure my wife is wondering where I am."
"Oh Steve … I'm so sorry! I'll tell her …"
He laughed. "Don't worry, she'll understand … and believe it or not, I want to return to Nevermore. I want to meet Rage face to face."
"Are you sure, Steve? She can be quite terrifying."
"I am. There is one thing I am certain of. She doesn't define who you are. Remember, I once trained to be a priest. This could very well count as being possessed."
"Possessed? Meaning?"
"That you aren't accountable for anything that happened that night. I would even go as far as to say that you were still a virgin and that Gar was your true first, because you gave yourself willingly to him."
She dropped her head. "I don't know, Steve. That sounds like a cop out to me. I know I wasn't possessed. Rage is part of me. It was me who had that one night stand. I … wanted it."
"Let's meet Rage together first, before coming to a conclusion. OK?"
She nodded. "OK."
-(-)-
Raven and Cyborg quietly ate their breakfasts the next morning in the common room. Gar was still a late riser, and it was common for Cyborg and Raven to share breakfast alone.
"Would you like another waffle?"
"No … thanks." She replied.
"So … how's the therapy going?"
"Sometimes it feels slow, you know, two steps forward, one step back." She replied.
"I know … it can feel like that."
"It is like that; but to be fair there has been a lot of progress." She sighed before continuing. "I just never imagined that it would take so long, it'll probably take years before I'm whole."
"If it's any consolation, I saw Steve for five years."
Raven smirked. "So that's what you were doing when you went 'shopping' for parts for the T-Car."
Victor rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah, I actually order those online. Anyway, don't give up now. You'll be glad you stuck with it."
"I think you're right … actually, I would like another waffle."
"Coming right up, little lady."
-(-)-
Raven made her appearance in Steve Dunn's session room the way she usually did, rising out of the floor, appearing in front of the easy chair she always sat in. Her dark energy hum echoed in the cozy therapy room as her hemisphere portal made its appearance. A steaming mug of herbal tea was ready for her on the coffee table and she took her seat. Dunn was flipping through the pages in a spiral bound notebook and smiled as he looked up from it.
"You're looking happy today … I take it that your trip to the in-laws went well?"
She picked up her mug and gently blew the steam off of it. "It went very well." She replied before taking a sip of the aromatic brew.
"That's great … so … what do you want to talk about today?"
"The trip. While it went very well, there were some hiccups."
"Such as?"
"Well, the first one was that they placed us in separate rooms. They know that we've been together for years and that we now sleep together every night. I mean, I get it, their house, their rules. We could have stayed at a hotel but that would have been a snub at them."
"I don't know much about them, are they very conservative?"
"Well, not that I know. Their lives are all about catching the Brotherhood of Evil, but on an individual level, I really don't know. Rita was a movie star. They aren't exactly known for being chaste, but I don't know."
"So how did that make you feel?"
"Like I was being judged … like I was being told I wasn't good enough for him."
"Did you or Gar say anything?"
She shook her head. "No, and I got angry with him for not standing up to them, which was unfair to him."
"But that didn't sour the visit?"
"No, it didn't. Afterwards Rita was super nice to me. But I still wanted to sneak into Gar's room at night."
"Did you?"
"On the last night." She began to snicker. "He was sleeping on this tiny bed he had when he was kid. You know, one of those beds that looks like a race car?"
Steve looked amused. "So what happened?"
"I told him to ravage me as wildly as he could."
Steve didn't say anything, but Raven could feel the curiosity oozing out of him, so she contined.
"It was hilarious, the two of us on that tiny bed. It was the best sex I ever had. I'm sure his parents heard me howl."
Steve smiled as he saw her blush after her confession
"Anyway, next morning at breakfast they were both very nonchalant. Steve, you know I'm an empath, but I couldn't sense anything in either of them. Mento is good at controlling his mind, but I sensed nothing from Rita. I have to say, I was almost disappointed."
"Is their mansion big?"
"It's huge beyond belief … maybe they didn't hear us."
"Anything else about the trip?"
"Yeah, and for some reason this really bugs me."
"What was it?"
"I saw the bookshelf in Gar's old room. It was full of books in French. I found out he can speak perfect French. I'v known him for almost ten years, and I didn't know this."
"Really? You didn't know? His wiki entry says he speaks French."
"How was I supposed to know? All he ever read were comic books and graphic novels, in English. He's never said a word in French. And I've never looked at 'Titans Watch'. I don't want to know what they say about me. Maybe they have the name of that guy I had the one night stand with in there."
Steve shook his head. "They don't; in fact, there is almost no information about you at all in the wiki. There is more info on Nightwing, and he has a secret identity. I think your secret is safe, Raven."
"Good … Steve, do you still want to meet Rage? Do you really think it will help?"
"Yes, I would and I think it will."
"How about we do that next time? I'll bring my mirror."
He smiled. "Will it be a bumpy ride like last time? My bottom is still sore from the landing last time."
"I'll see what I can do."
He nodded. "Ok then, see you next week."