Ch 21

Raven woke up, and her eyes were greeted by nothing but green chest. Blushing she looked up to see the peaceful face of her boyfriend with his arms wrapped firmly around her. The warmth he provided was comforting to her, but she found she couldn't move that well. She smirked. 'How should I wake him up?' she thought. An idea came to her as she smiled before bringing her lips to his neck. When her teeth grazed the skin, she heard him growl.

"Raven?" Gar said as his grip loosened from around her body.

She blushed. "I needed to stretch my legs," she said as she at in bed and stood up.

"So you decided to graze my neck?" he smirked as he stood up and stretched his muscles.

"I was just being creative," she said as she turned around to see him about to remove the only thing from his body he was wearing. She blushed as she turned away, got her clothes with her powers, and made her way to the bathroom.

Leaning against the door, she sighed. 'That was close.'

'Close? He's ours. Why did you look away?' asked Lust.

'This is all so new to me. I'm not use to—

'Being in a serious relationship,' said Love. 'It's ok, just talk to him. I'm sure he'll understand.'

'Yes, and then we can—said Lust.

'I don't want to know the end of that sentence.'

Stepping into the shower, she sighed. She just wanted to wash away everything that happened yesterday.

'Invite him into the shower, I'm sure he'll be able to make us forget yesterday,' said Lust.

'Lust! You're out of line.'

'Am I? How long Raven? How long do I have to wait to feel his body against mine? He wants you. I know he does so why wait any longer?'

'Leave me alone!' said Raven.

'I won't wait forever,' said Lust.

'It won't be forever Lust. This is my body, and I make the decisions. Got it!'

Finishing up in the bathroom, she got dressed and came out to see Gar dressed in his uniform. What surprised her was to see their things packed.

"I figured you wouldn't want to stay with everything that's happened."

Raven smiled. "You know me so well."

Gar smiled. "I love you Rae," he said as he held her hand. "So, where to next?"

A portal opened to an alley way as Raven and Gar stepped into a city. Gar found the alleyway eerily familiar, but he couldn't quiet remember why. Following Raven out onto the sidewalk, they turned the corner and that's when a building caught his eyes. The name of the building caught his eye, and his stomach dropped.

"S.T.A.R. labs," he said. "We're in Detroit, Michigan. Why?"

"Karen and Vic are here. I thought it would be nice to visit."

"I thought they were in New York."

"I guess we'll find out what happened," said Raven.

Walking into S.T.A.R. labs, Gar could feel the anxiety in him well up but he continued on as they made their way to the reception desk. Before Raven could say anything, she heard a familiar voice.

"Raven, Gar, what are you doing here?" smiled Karen dressed in a white lab coat.

"We thought we'd come to visit," said Raven.

"Well it's great to see you both," Karen said.

"So what happened? Why are you here instead of NY?" asked Gar as he tried to get his bearings.

"Looking closely at the shapeshifter, she could see something was off with him. "Are you ok?" asked Karen.

"This is wrong. This place shouldn't—

"You've heard about the history of this place, haven't you?" asked Karen.

"You could say that?" asked Gar.

"What is she talking about Gar?" asked Raven.

"Some of the scientist who use to work here in the past where doing something illegal in the facility after dark. They were torturing and experimenting on special beings for years when they were found out. A man named Silas Stone ousted them, and he was killed because of it. He was Vic's dad."

"That's terrible," said Raven.

"It was all over the news," said Karen. "One of their victims was able to escape. The rest died during experimentation. It's a mystery of who it was because those scientists were murdered before they could divulge that information."

It was all coming back to Gar, everything that happened and it made him sick. He was trying to keep it all inside, but he wasn't sure he was doing a good job. "So where's Vic?"

"He's in his lab," she smiled. "Come on I'm sure he'll be happy to see you two after all this time. We'll explain why we're here in the first place," she said as they followed her down a hall. Opening a door, she smiled. "Guess who's come to visit Sparky?"

"It better not be—Raven, Gar!" Vic exclaimed as he ran over, picked the two up in his grip, and hugged home tight.

"Ca—can't breath du—dude," said Gar.

"Oh sorry, I'm just happy to see your faces," said Vic as he put them down.

"Yeah," Gar smiled nervously, "but why here?"

"We weren't finding any work we could live on in NY," said Vic. One day while I was looking for work, I found a job here in Detroit at S.T.A.R. labs where my dad worked. I know this place has a lot of bad history, but it wasn't always that way. Besides I couldn't pass it up. Karen was able to find a job here to, so we moved here."

"I guess that makes sense," said Gar.

"So what brings you two here?" asked Vic.

"We thought it would be nice to visit," said Raven.

"That's great!" said Vic. "Well we get off of work in a few minutes. I'm sure you're both hungry, so we can all grab dinner."

"A pizza place, really Vic?" said Raven.

"Old habits I guess," smiled Vic.

After they found a table and ordered, Gar was trying to find any way to distract himself from his thoughts about his time at S.T.A.R. labs and something came to his mind. "Have you heard from Dick or Kory at all?"

"Well we have seen them a lot in the news. They've been doing a good job keeping Gotham City safe," said Vic. "We hear from Kory more often than Dick. She's exciting about her wedding, and they're busy making sure it all comes together. So, what's up with you man? You seem jumpy."

"You've noticed that to huh?" said Karen.

"I don't know what you're—

"Gar, whatever it is, you can tell us," said Raven. "I've sensed your uneasiness since we got here."

Gar sighed. He felt like he couldn't keep it inside anymore. "You know the story Karen told about S.T.A.R. labs years ago."

"Yes," said Raven.

Gar rolled up his sleeve to reveal his arm with a number tattooed on it. "I was a test subject at S.T.A.R. labs. They tortured and experimented on me when I was little. I was the one who escaped, and I was the one who killed those scientists. There was so much rage inside of me for what they did to me. Somehow I tracked them down and ended their lives. I blocked out some of it, but it became clearer once I stepped inside the building." He could't look anyone at the table in the eye.