Raven was having way more fun than she thought. Having grabbed some things from Beast Boy's art stash, she figured he wouldn't mind, she sat the boys down so they could paint and draw. Robin was doing splashes of color; about half of that was getting on his clothes. The kid didn't seem to care much, and judging for the laughter coming from both boys, the mess wasn't on their minds at all. Beast Boy had stuck to doodling on a scape piece of paper, more than once reaching out to move the cup of water before Robin tipped it.
"Are the others gonna come paint too?" Beast Boy asked. Raven sat down in between the two of them.
"I don't know, maybe in a little bit. I think the others might come by after they finish up with some chores," Raven told him. Robin poked her with a paint splattered finger.
"We should go see them! We could surprise them with pictures!" Robin exclaimed. Beast Boy nodded excitedly at the idea.
"Can we go see them, please Raven?" Beast Boy asked her with wide eyes. Even at a young age he had understood the ability of puppy dog eyes.
Raven tried to resist. But, Robin looked over and saw what he was doing, and he started. Throwing her hands up, Raven got up from the table.
"Ok, sure, let's go boys," Raven said. Robin sprinted to the door and waited. Both boys had been told to wait before going off on their own; they might all be sliding into the overprotective category, but no one would admit it.
Beast Boy grabbed her hand and grinned up at her. The little fang poked out of his mouth. Cyborg had checked it earlier to make sure it wouldn't ruin Beast Boy's lip. The changeling had insisted it was fine, still resistant to anything pertaining to exams, and Robin had to be taken out of the room when he started to get in the way. The pint size leader didn't like the checkup either.
"So, have you picked a name?" Raven asked Beast Boy. She figured it wouldn't hurt to indulge him for a bit; Robin had been given a long leash, and she didn't know how long this was gonna last.
Beast Boy shook his head. Raven looked away when she felt another hand slide into hers. Robin trotted beside her.
"I've got lots of ideas!" Robin announced. Raven couldn't help rolling her eyes. To say that the switch between how the boys acted was odd didn't cover it. She never would have thought that Beast Boy would need to be prompted to talk, or for Robin to be the one who required constant supervision.
"I'm not naming her Gertrude," Beast Boy said. Raven sensed a fight coming soon and quickly diffused the situation.
"How about we make a list. That way Robin can put down the names he likes, and you can out down names you like. What'd you think?" Raven explained, hoping to stop an argument before it started. The two boys hadn't actually fought yet, which was surprising, but like most things in the tower, when the two did fight it was short and explosive. The only argument they had to break up was at breakfast that morning when Robin got a 'cool cup' and Beast Boy didn't.
"I'm gonna go make it right now!" Robin shouted and tried to race down the hall. Raven gripped his hand.
"You will walk instead. The paper isn't going anywhere," Raven ordered. Robin pouted; she wondered if Batman ever experienced this.
The three of them rounded a corner and almost ran right into Cyborg. His smile was strained and that immediately set Raven on edge.
"There you guys are," Cyborg said. Beast Boy immediately went to his side. Cyborg had no problem scooping him up and giving him a hug. Robin was content to stay by her side and swung their hands.
"They wanted to say hi," Raven replied. Cyborg gestured for them to start walking again.
"Cool, if you could, it might be better for everyone to check on Starfire," Cyborg mention. Raven wanted to ask why but held back. The look on Cyborg's face was enough to wait until later.
"Look at my hands!" Robin exclaimed as he showed off his paint stained hands. Cyborg chuckled as they walked into common room. Raven noted Starfire acknowledged their entrance, but didn't seem to be in a hurry to talk to them. That must be due to whatever had happened earlier.
"Hey short stuff," Speedy said as Robin vaulted onto the couch. Even though Robin seemed sure of his footing, Raven felt a second of panic every time he did that.
"I'm not that short," Robin said. Speedy ruffled his hair. The easy going mood was shattered suddenly. With a loud bang, the power went off. The entire room was plunged into the dark. Another bang seemed to shake the whole floor.
Since there was no power, the alarm stayed off. Without the blaring noise, the room seemed to be void of any warnings. Cyborg, still having a hold on Beast Boy, ran to the main computer. He got to the main page before it blue screened. The whole desk seemed to pop before a wire burst in flames. Speedy stomped on it to put it out.
"Oh, this isn't good," Cyborg said. Instantly, the kids were put in the center of the circle. All of them were on high alert.
"Are we being attacked?" Raven asked. A large boom came from a floor several feet below them. Starfire clutched Robin tighter to her.
"I think that answers that question," Speedy replied. Raven felt a tiny hand grabbing hers and saw Robin looking up at her with wide eyes. The little titan was shaking slightly. Raven knelt down in front of him; the kid threw his arms around her neck.
"Are they coming back for us?" Robin whispered. Raven hugged him. Cyborg had Beast Boy in a vice grip; the changeling was looking around with a worried expression.
"I don't know," Raven answered. Another blast came. Part of the foundation shook and a bit of the ceiling fell. Raven conjured a shield to prevent the debris from falling on all of them. Speedy came down next to her.
"Starfire and I are going ahead. You need to get them out of here," Speedy explained. Raven looked over at Cyborg.
"I'm not leaving," Raven said. Cyborg stood up and passed her Beast Boy. He brushed the green hair back and helped her stand up. Robin clung to her so she balanced him on her hip.
"Teleport out of here and get them somewhere safe. We'll get in touch with you when we can," Cyborg replied. He made both boys focus on him.
"No," Raven insisted. Cyborg leaned in close to her. He pointed out towards the hall.
"If you don't take them, they might. And who knows what they'll do. You have an idea of what they would do to us normally; imagine what they would do it they got their hands on a pair of kids." Cyborg begged. "Take them out of here. Get as far as you can."
Raven took a shuttering breath. She had never been asked to leave her family behind. Her heart was going a mile a minute. Looking around at her friends, all of them begging her to leave with the boys, she knew what she had to do.
"Ok," Raven whispered. "Ok, I'll take them and go." Cyborg pressed a kiss to her forehead.
"It'll be ok, Rae," Cyborg said. Raven wanted to cry from that alone. Cyborg reached out to grab both boys' hands. Another blast rained down more plaster onto them. They were running out of time. With the alarms disabled, they were sitting ducks.
"I need you two to listen, ok?" Cyborg waited before continuing. "Raven is going to take you somewhere safe. I don't know how long it'll be before we see you again. But I want you guys to do something for me, ok?"
"We can do it," Beast Boy said. The boy was clearly hearing whatever was happening below them and that made Raven all the more anxious to leave.
"If Raven tells you to do something, don't ask any questions. If she wants you to run, you run without looking back. If she wants you to hide, then you hide and don't make a sound. No matter what happens, if we get separated, we'll find you." Another blast had more of the ceiling falling down on them.
"You need to go now, Raven." Speedy said as he readied his arrows. Aqualad was also getting into a battle stance. Raven grabbed Starfire's hand and pulled her in for a brief hug.
"I'll keep them safe," Raven promised. Starfire clutched her then let go. The girl's eyes were wet.
"I know, friend," Starfire choked out. Raven clutched both boys next to her.
"Don't let go of me." Raven demanded of them. Both of them pressed in closer. Raven got a place in her mind and started to let her powers work. She could feel the two boys holding tightly to her cape. Robin was crying and Beast Boy was trembling.
Her last glimpse she had was her family getting ready to fight as dozens of people flooded into the room.
The three of them landed with a thud. Immediately, Raven was alert and looking around. Her powers had worked right for once and gotten them exactly where she needed them too. Teleporting could be tricky at the best of times.
The old safety base was covered in dust and so, so silent. Thankfully, it was off the maps and heavily fortified so Raven knew this would be them some time. She just didn't know how long she had. More unknown people were coming for her friends, and she left them to face it on their own. It wasn't for lack of trying; if she had stayed, who knew what could have happened. But she could worry about that later. For now, she had to focus on the two other people with her. On a normal day, Beast Boy and Robin would be fine on their own. Right now, they were sans fighting abilities, at least Robin was, and pint size. Any villain could easily take them down.
Robin had curled up next to Beast Boy against one of the covered seats. The changeling was looking around, eyes darting from one spot to the next. It finally clicked when she realized what he was doing. He was marking all the possible exits. Raven shuffled her way over to them.
"Are you two ok?" Raven asked. Both of them were covered in dust, but didn't seem to be injured.
"We're ok," Beast Boy answered. Robin sniffled.
"Are they going to be ok?" Robin blurted out. Raven opened her mouth, only to find she had no answer to give.
"They will be. I doubt it will be long before we hear from them," Raven lied. The answer was half true; someone had to get out if the battle went bad. But for now, Raven would lie low and figure it out. But with no tablet, no team, and no obvious options, Raven was at the end of her rope.
"How about we see what we can find here," Raven suggested. It would be best to get the security system up and running in the meantime. Keeping herself busy meant she didn't have time to worry about what she had just done. She had never left her team like that. But then again, this mess was one thing after another. And until Robin and Beast Boy were back to normal it would continue. Standing up, Raven placed the boys on the covered chair.
"Now then," Raven said. The silence seemed deafening to her. "Let's get started, shall we?"
Ignoring the tears, Raven continued.