Drunken Dilemma
A BB/Rae Fic
Morning of September 20th
Raven had decided to stay there by Beast Boy's side as they kept him overnight to make sure he was healing correctly.
The paparazzi repeatedly tried to storm the hospital, but Robin and Cyborg kept them at bay.
Beast Boy finally fell asleep, Raven on her third book now that she brought. She brought 4 different ones, saying repeatedly they were new books and she'd just finish them while she was there… but the reality of it was, those 4 books weren't actually the same as the covers suggested. She had hardback Spellbook covers wrapped around the paperback books she was actually reading… about pregnancies. She had hidden all of that activity using another identity, 'Rachel Rivers'. She almost went with Rachel Roth, but considering her actual last name was Roth, she decided against it.
A nurse came in just to make Beast Boy was okay, but quickly noticed Raven's bulging stomach as she sat in the chair beside Beast Boy.
The nurse turned and stared at her for a moment, and then asked a very direct question.
"Are you pregnant?"
Unlike other times with Raven's pregnancy out in the open, the nurse knew who she really was. Raven, from the Teen Titans.
"No, why would you ask that?" Raven asked. She didn't expect this attempt at lying to work, considering the real answer was pretty obvious.
"Oh… uh… Oh I get it," the nurse began with a subtle grin, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I asked, obviously you're not pregnant."
The nurse winked, and then hurried out the door. Raven simply sighed.
Suddenly, her gut felt even heavier, and she checked the clock nearby on the wall.
It was now 12:03 AM… September 19th was already gone and past, and Raven was less than 48 hours away from delivering.
Then, the realization of how urgent that was set in. It was now September 20th, and she would be giving birth to her daughter on the 21-st.
She quickly jumped up, only to feel her gut lurch, causing her to sit back down with a groan.
"Starfire!" Raven shouted, as she saw Starfire floating tiredly past the doorway.
Starfire stopped in mid-air, turned, and looked in.
"Raven?"
"I need you to go get my Spellbook from the tower, it's urgent." Raven told her, reaching her hand out.
"Er… but you have dozens of them… How am I to know which you need?" Starfire asked, as Raven sighed.
"Help me up, I'll do it myself." Raven replied, as Starfire's eyes widened and she quickly rushed to block Raven from getting up.
"Starfire. Please." Raven muttered, but Starfire shook her head.
"You are in no condition to go all the way across down-town, across the bay, up the elevator, to your room, and then looking through all those books! I shall do it, friend. You must rest," Starfire told her softly, as Raven sighed.
"It's got… uh… 1127 pages. And it's got a dark blue cover with golden letters on the front," Raven explained, as Starfire swiftly nodded.
"I shall get it for you," she replied and floated off. But before floating out of sight, she turned around and quickly said one more thing.
"Please, do not move!" Starfire told her friend sternly, wagging her finger at her.
She then took off to the tower to search for the book, as Raven sat behind staring at the door.
But suddenly, her face scrunched up in pain as she held her stomach. But the painful expression on her face was short-lived, giving way to a new one. Surprise.
Her baby was kicking. Really kicking.
"Wh… wh…" Raven stuttered, and quickly reached over the gap between her seat and the bed Beast Boy was laid out on.
"Beast Boy!" Raven whispered, trying to grab his arm.
Beast Boy tilted his head up, only to find Raven had gotten his arm, and pulled it to where his hand was on her stomach.
"What's… is that… kicking?" Beast Boy asked softly.
"Yeah…" Raven replied, looking down.
"So… uh… when's she due again? Cause, you know, after the spell went on…" Beast Boy asked, as Raven was about to answer.
But instead, she gasped, as both their heads shot towards the window on the closed door.
A mask. Slade.
As Slade burst in, hands behind his back, Beast Boy sat up ready to defend Raven, as Raven could only stare.
"You can relax, I'm not here to attack you. I'm here to… congratulate you." Slade muttered, as both of them looks very surprised.
"You? Congratulating us?" Beast Boy asked in confusion, but Raven quickly switched modes.
"We don't need your congratulations." Raven replied sharply.
"My, my… How unfortunate. Well, that's not actually why I'm here," Slade began, as Beast Boy got tense again.
"As you know… evil never takes a day off, no matter what circumstances… There's someone in the city with a device… a device that controls the weather," Slade explained, as both Beast Boy and Raven peered at him.
"They know you're all at the hospital right now, so they've taken the time to start testing it right now. And they're planning to activate them before dusk. I just thought I would… congratulate you two… and also let you know I had nothing to do with your city's… sabotage." Slade continued, turning away.
But as Slade turned, Robin and Cyborg were both standing behind him.
"Well then, Slade, you're not leaving until we find them," Robin grumbled icily. Cyborg had his cannon armed, and Robin had his bo-staff at the ready.
"Ah… well in all honestly I didn't expect this to go unhinged, but you've really disappointed me. I'm not here to fight. Just talk." Slade whispered.
"And we're done listening," Robin muttered.
"Very well…" Slade muttered, and cracked out his double-ended staff. He used it to knock Robin off to his left, and hit Cyborg's cannon, causing it to hit the ceiling above them. The tile ceiling fell on top of both of them as Slade turned towards the inside of the room.
Beast Boy was standing now, a determined face, fists clenched.
"You're not getting away now," Beast Boy muttered. But suddenly, a SladeBot jumped through the ceiling and on top of him, holding him down.
Two more dropped down, about to attack Raven. But Slade turned wide-eyed towards them, and shouted, "No!"
Slade quickly readied his staff and struck two of his own bots, disabling them as they came up behind Raven about to attack her.
Slade then quickly came over and bent down close to Raven.
Less than 5 inches away from her face, he whispered, "I don't attack defenseless children."
Raven growled and cast her hand out, pushed him up and back, slamming him against the wall.
"What were you saying?" Raven growled.
"… No, I didn't mean you." Slade muttered.
"Well, Slade, I'm surprised," Robin said, out from under the rubble, walking in front of Slade.
Cyborg also was out of the rubble now, cannon primed, and came up beside Robin.
"Yeah, I was sure you weren't the type to have a heart," Cyborg taunted, as Slade sighed.
"I just don't hit those that are pregnant. I'm not that much of a bastard. Though…" Slade began, as the Titans minus Starfire peered hatefully at him at the word 'Though'.
"I planned on this to happen."
Suddenly, Slade went limp, and his mask fell off, revealing a ton of electronics, with a small screen in the middle.
"Titans… there's a good thing that comes out of Raven's pregnancy… you won't be seeing me around as much. I'm a man of few morals, but I don't kidnap or attack pregnant women… so, Raven… if it seems like I'm avoiding you in our little run-ins… it's because I am. Even criminals have morals, and I'm no exception. Until we meet again."
The screen flashed, and the electronics started cackling and frying right in front of them, causing Robin to let the robot shell drop to the floor.
"Pssh. 'Criminals have morals'," Cyborg scoffed, "He'll be back."
Suddenly, the power blinked, causing the Titans to look around.
"Uh, they've spotted a tornado on the ground in the city, so we need to move you all to a lower level until the storm blows over," a nurse shouted in the room across the hall from them. She turned around and dashed into their room, and looked at the Titans.
"You might want to take cover too, guys, unless you can fight off a tornado." The nurse said quietly, trying to be respectful. She then ran back out and went back to shouting for people to get to a lower level.
Beast Boy wrapped his arm around Raven and hers around his shoulder, and helped her get up and walk out of the room.
"Where's Starfire?" Robin asked, as Cyborg was about to head out the door.
"Dunno, I'll ask B." Cyborg told him, and ran out into the hall after Beast Boy, who had rushed Raven towards the stairs.
"Hey, B, have you seen Star?" Cyborg could be heard shouting down the hall, as Robin simply stood there listening, as the power blinked again.
"Uh, Rae says she went to the Tower to get some things. Oh, dude, do you think she'll see the tornado?" Beast Boy could be heard replying loudly.
"Let's hope she only sees it," Robin whispered.
He then ran out too, as they all hurried down the stairs to a low level. The stairway had 3 huge glass panels on each side, as rain was pouring down them in sheets and lightning lit up the sky. Robin quickly glanced from Raven to outside as the lightning outlined a tornado less than 2 blocks away, debris flying up everywhere. The tornado sirens just then went off.
"We need to get down there now," Robin muttered, as debris began hitting the glass, making loud thunk sounds.
Beast Boy whispered, "Come on," and picked Raven up completely off the floor, as Raven stared at him wide-eyed.
"I can walk, you know," Raven whispered, as Beast Boy replied quietly, "I know, just helping you out."
As they got to the bottom, they quickly took shelter under the staircase, the hospital tile floor under them. The power completely went out, as to their left was a large open space with the front desk and front entrance. Rain could be heard pounding the doors and windows, debris pelting the entire building and the walls rattled with the wind howling.
Two men, soaking wet, burst through the entrance, and quickly looked around. They looked right at the Titans under the stairway, not clearly seeing who they were but just that they were taking shelter, and they both ran towards them.
They slit and crouched near them, looking at the front entrance.
"Damn, man, that thing is close!" one of them shouted, as the other looked around nervously.
"Dudes, are getting hit?" Beast Boy asked, as suddenly the sounds grew louder and the structure could be heard creaking.
The sound of glass breaking could be heard high above them on the stairway, and suddenly a thumping sound on the stairs, as if something was rolling down them.
"Wait… You're the Titans?" the older one asked, and then laughed and joked, "What you aren't out fighting that thing?"
But right then, the from doors flew open, glass flying inwards and debris from trees and who-knows-what-else began flying in.
Suddenly, the sound of a man yelling loudly filled the place, as a man rushed in frantically from the entrance, getting hit by debris.
Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy, and the two 20-something civilians stared as the man shouted out in agony.
The man shouted wildly, "I'm getting hit! Help!"
Raven saw the man about to get sucked out, so she cast her hand out quickly.
But nothing happened. Her powers suddenly weren't working. Then, right afterwards, suddenly got sucked out with a scream, and the sounds of a 6-story hospital getting hit by a strong tornado ensued, and Raven stared wide-eyed at her hand.
The sounds of the hospital's exterior banging around came next. Tons of windows broke along the stairway, as glass showered down over them.
"Oh man this is bad!" one of the civvies shouted, scooting closer to the Titans.
The glass from earlier could be seen being sucked across the tile floor back out the entrance.
Suddenly, a 4-door car flew in, taking out the walls around the doorless entrance, and crashing right in front of the front desk. Papers flew out of the front desk, and an office chair and computer monitor could be seen flying up over the desk and out the entrance.
"Everyone, hang on! Don't let yourself get sucked into the hall!" Cyborg shouted, as they all backed closest to the corner as they could.
Raven was in the corner, Beast Boy putting his body over her, making sure nobody crushed her. Robin was kneeling in front of Raven, Cyborg was kneeled beside Beast Boy, and the two civilians were sitting nearest to the bottom step of the stairs, looking around frantically and posting their arms up against the short base-wall of the bottom stairs.
And soon as it had started, it ended. The sun started shining, and the rain started slowing to a steady drizzle. They all stood up, asking if everyone was ok.
After a talk with emergency units, surprisingly the man who got sucked out lived. Raven still couldn't understand it. Why didn't her powers work?
None-the-less, the T-Car was parked out front, and it had anti-hover technology, making it not be lifted for any reason when it was parked… also making it untowable. But this time the man had grabbed onto the passenger side mirror and held on for dear life. He only suffered some bruises and cuts from the debris, but other than that, he was fine.
After being thanked further by the surviving man, being thanked for 'parking their car there', they got in it.
Cyborg was driving, Robin was the passenger, and Beast Boy and Raven were in the backseat.
They were unusually quiet, causing Robin to glimpse back a few times to see what the deal was. He found that they had both fallen asleep. Even though it wasn't surprising at all, considering Beast Boy had been asleep, but Raven was planning on spending all night up.
Cyborg yawned at the wheel twice, and then they engaged in flight mode for the ride over the bay and back to the Tower.
Robin and Cyborg whispered about which one of them should wake Raven and Beast Boy up. Cyborg suggested to just let them sleep there, but Robin quickly reminded him that it might not be the best back support for Raven. Then, Cyborg decided.
He'd wake them up.
He did it, and they both groggily made they way back up to Raven's room. Robin and Cyborg got in the elevator with them, and they went up to the living room. Raven and Beast Boy went straight to Raven's room, since Beast Boy would help Raven to bed, then go to bed himself.
Cyborg yawned, and muttered to Robin, "Well, I'm gonna go sleep before I run out of power."
He stretched out his arms and walked off towards his quarters, as Robin looked over the couch.
Starfire had brought all the books to the couch to sort and look through, and apparently fell asleep halfway through. The giant tornado didn't even wake her up.
He walked over as thunder rumbled in the distance from the storm moving off over the mountains away from the Jump City area, and picked up Starfire, holding her in both arms.
Starfire, for someone that could lift a bus, was very lightweight, and easy to carry. She was only, like, 102 pounds or something, so he just carried her back to her room as set her there.
He kissed her goodnight on the lips, and walked out, making sure she was asleep. As soon as he walked out and the door auto-closed, a gurgling sound could be heard in the pitch-black room. Silkie was chewing on Starfire's hair. She could be heard sitting up, and whispering half-asleep, "Silkie…?"
Robin chuckled at the irony of a giant tornado not waking her up, but the fact that a big larva worm could do it.
Across the entire level, Beast Boy had reached Raven's bed and laid her on it.
"What a night…" Raven muttered, as Beast Boy smirked.
"Yeah, for sure…" Beast Boy whispered, and began to walk out, but Raven called him.
"Beast Boy…" she said softly, causing him to turn his head and look.
"About… when our daughter… is due… it's tomorrow. Today's the 20th… and she's due to 21st… Oh… wait!" Raven began, but then sounded urgent.
"There it is!" Raven grunted, pointing at a book setting on her dresser.
"This one?" Beast Boy asked, picking up a book.
"No, the one beside it."
"Oh, ok, here."
He then handed her the book, and she quickly found the page with the crude 'Get it over with' spell.
"Ok, Spellbook, what is the time of the new date?" Raven asked, now back in full monotone for the first time in days.
The book's text changed, and now it read differently, including the date and time.
"2 o'clock…"
"In the afternoon? Well, that's not bad, at least we'll be-" Beast Boy began, but Raven shook her head.
"No?" Beast Boy asked, as Raven looked a bit disconcerted.
"In the morning?" Beast Boy continued with a surprised tone, and Raven nodded.
"Uh… Okay… I'll stay up all night with you if that's what it takes." Beast Boy said determinately, holding her hand.
"No, I'll just wake you up if you-… Uh… maybe we should sleep in the same bed… so you're closer." Raven suggested.
"Uh… ok," Beast Boy replied, and jumped in bed with her.
"I meant on that night, Beast Boy. Not now." Raven muttered, staring at him.
"So, what's wrong with now? Plus, that way you can get used to it," Beast Boy replied, turning over to get to sleep.
She began drifting into sleep too before she could response with her usual sarcasm. Beast Boy only meant 'used to it', for the next time they did it.
But, a snicker echoed throughout Raven's dreams.
"Yeah, you definitely need to get used to it," the same woman from Raven's last dream teased, and suddenly, the night was over. Other than possibly being Raven's shortest dream, it seemed Cyborg had quickly openned the door and woke her up with his voice.
"Hey, Raven, have you seen BB? Mumbo's on the loose again and we need him to gear up and get out here." Cyborg asked her, but stared with a wide eye as Beast Boy sat up groggily with his arm raised, causing Raven to set up in bed too.
"Right here!"
"Heh, don't be getting naughty while she's pregnant, 'dude'." Cyborg teased Beast Boy, as Beast Boy jumped up to contest Cyborg's mark.
"I didn't!" he declared, as Cyborg ran out.
"Yeah you did!" Cyborg taunted him, running down the hall, getting Beast Boy to chase him to get him quickly out of bed and into the ops room with the others.
"No, I didn't! Dude, I know my name is Beast Boy but I'm not that much of an animal!"
Raven got up off the bed quickly, and walked towards the doorway.
She then sighed and shook her head, and whispered, "I hope he's mature enough to be a father."
But then, she quickly took her thoughts far away from that subject and thought, "So, why are we worrying about Mumbo when there's a giant weather-making machine out there somewhere?"
But suddenly, she heard something that made her shudder. The sound of a baby crying. She quickly turned around to see a crib there. She slowly edged over to the crib, and saw it. A baby, with actual normal skin with a slight green tint. The baby was suddenly smiling now, as Raven blinked in confusion.
"Hey, Raven's, what's keeping you?" Beast Boy said in the hall, as Raven turned her head around to the doorway.
Beast Boy arrived and smirked, then walked over beside her looking in the crib.
"Cute, isn't she?"
Raven slowly nodded with a baffled "Uh-huh…"
"So, what do you think we should name the next one?" Beast Boy asked with a smile, and suddenly leaned forward and kissed her. Raven's heart jumped big-time, and then it was over. Beast Boy smiled, as Raven still had that awestruck face on.
"I… don't know." she managed to say.
"Hey," Cyborg began to shout from down the hall, "Come on you two lovebirds, we don't want to keep the magician waiting!"
With that, Beast Boy began to turn, and suddenly, nothing.
She gasped and sat up quickly. It was morning time, and the whole baby in a crib thing was just a dream. She looked around to see Beast Boy laying there facedown, snoring.
She uncovered herself and was about get out of bed, when suddenly her back had very sharp pain shoot up and back down it. She clasped her back with her hand intensely, and gritted her teeth trying not to yell out. But a groan of pain escaped, causing Beast Boy to quickly inhale and set up, half-asleep.
"What's wrong?" he asked hoarsely, and then yawned.
"Nothing… just go back to sleep." Raven muttered, and laid back down to go back to sleep.
Beast Boy simply shrugged, turned over, and went back to sleep too. But Raven didn't yet. All those things passing through her mind and her dreams… then, she felt compelled to do a major face-palm.
Meditation. She hadn't done it for a week now. That would explain the strange dreams, random thoughts, and uncomfortable feelings… beside those associated with her pregnancy, of course.
She decided that meditation would help get her powers back… possibly. But she wasn't sure if that was wise, or if it would even work.
Then, she thought about going back to Azarath. Then, the fact Azarath was destroyed during Trigon's wrath came back to her, and she simply sighed. She couldn't go pick up ancient books from Azarath. She couldn't have a girl-to-girl talk with her mother. She definitely couldn't have any sort of 'responsibility' talk from her father.
Or so she thought.
Suddenly, she started spinning, and her surrounds changing. Gothly decorations turned to stones.
It was the same place where she 'spoke' to her father when she was in the "Safety Room". She stood up slowly. It felt colder than before. Much colder. And there was way less lava.
Suddenly, those four eyes appeared in the darkness, causing Raven to quickly back away.
"You" she snarled.
"Yes. Don't worry, Raven, I'm not interesting in the portal anymore… Though I deeply hate what you did to me on that wretched planet."
"You're the only thing wretched," Raven snapped back, as Trigon laughed.
"Ah, that feistiness. It reminds me of your m-… Enough small-talk. You are pregnant."
"Oh, really? I hadn't noticed," Raven muttered sarcastically.
"And even though it is not a demon seed implanted… you are my daughter, none-the-less."
"Since when did you start wanting to be a father to me?" Raven casually came back with, as Trigon's eyes narrowed.
"Since your creation, young one. Do not mistake the portal as the only thing you are to me, my daughter."
"I'm not your daughter, I was your tool."
"Yes, you were, but you are also my daughter. Now… I did not kill your mother."
"… What? No… You're lying," Raven snapped, as Trigon laughed.
"No, I'm afraid not. Your civilization, 'Azarath'… survived my wrath. The world you entered was merely my illusion designed to lead you to becoming the portal."
"LIAR!" she snapped, as Trigon bellowed.
"LISTEN HERE, that is not my only purpose here today. I have been commanded-" Trigon began, but Raven was having none of it.
"Commanded? Nobody commands you to do anything."
"Not until now, my daughter. The… being which created Earth came after me. I must now do as I am commanded… no matter how much I hate doing it."
"What? Okay, now we've gone from lies to religion. I'm not falling for it."
"Really? Well, that's too bad. But my orders are my orders, so I must remove the demon part of your soul."
"What? … But if that happens, I'll lose my powers."
"No, Raven, your mother had those some powers without retaining my power."
"… You're just playing mind games."
Trigon cackled, and then his eyes turned into a peer.
"So, Raven, how do you think white would look?"
"White? What are you even talking about?" Raven asked.
"No need for suppression. No demon to worry about. Your soul's freedom."
"My soul already has freedom since I defeated you, now go away." Raven finally said, as Trigon's hand reached out to her as she turned around.
Suddenly, she groaned, as visibly a long dark entity was pulled out of her.
She fell to her knees and hands, gasping for air.
She looked down at her arms. The black latex wrapped around her forearm had turned white. So had her entire uniform.
"What… how did you-?" Raven began, but turned her head to find her head turned towards her pillow. She sat up, to find herself back in her room.
She smirked and laid back down, and shook her head. She even laughed while doing so, which wasn't like her. She smiled, and said, "Well that was total bullshit."
But then, she clasped her hand to her mouth, and sat back up. Her monotonous voice… was gone. She sounded… well, like a normal person. With emotion in her voice.
She quickly turned to her left and shook Beast Boy around.
"Huh? What now?" Beast Boy asked groggily.
"Beast Boy!" Raven whispered loudly.
"Huh? Who's there?" Beast Boy asked once more, not even turning around.
"Who do you think?" Raven continued to whisper. To Beast Boy, he didn't even know. It sounded like some girl he never even met.
"Uh… dunno… a fan-girl?" Beast Boy replied.
Raven simply glared, and slapped him on the back of the head.
"Ow! … Raven?" he finally realized, and turned around.
"Duh!" Raven whispered once more. Beast Boy's eyes widened.
"Y-.. Your voice! It sounds… girly!" Beast Boy told her in surprise, as Raven raised an eyebrow.
"What? So what, you mean it wasn't girly before?"
"Well… not like now! You're all… high-pitched and stuff! And not… all… scratchy-sounding!" Beast Boy continued in a bit of excitement.
"Guys, wake up! Early morning briefing by Robin," Cyborg shouted and knocked.
"Just a minute!" Raven said loudly.
"Huh, who's that?" Cyborg asked in surprise.
"Me, Cyborg!" Raven said in a mix of disbelief and exhaustion.
"… Terra?" Cyborg asked in all seriousness, as Beast Boy facepalmed and Raven looked a bit pissed.
"NO, ME. RAVEN." Raven finally shouted, as Cyborg came to the realization outside their door.
"Ahh! Raven? You don't even sound the same!" Cyborg exclaimed, and opened the door.
"And you're white!" Cyborg continued, as Raven clasped a hand to the skin on her face.
"No, not your skin… Heh, that's still the same… I mean, your clothes!" Cyborg replied, as Raven whispered 'Ohh', and looked downwards.
Suddenly, the room shook a bit, as Trigon's voice bellowed. "You can thank me later, dear."
Cyborg and Beast Boy's eyes both bugged out a bit as they stopped covering their eyes and stared at Raven.
"Yeah… that was him," Raven grumbled, as the two stared at her still, truly baffled by all the overnight revelations.
It was the morning of September 21st, and the drastic changes were still to come… changes in more than one area of the team. With a new threat to the city, new secrets being learned like the supposed survival of Azarath, new revelations taking place for Raven herself, and a new life being born in less than 24 hours… there are a lot of new's everywhere… and one…that would make… Well…
News.
