Ch 8

Her night had been restless with lust putting graphic dreams into her head. The morning had come, and Raven woke up tired and angry at lust for invading her dreams. She sighed. 'I'm going to kill her,' she said as she took a sip of her tea.

"Raven, oh sorry sweetie I didn't mean to knock over your tea."

"Huh," said Raven as she came out of her head to see Rita cleaning up spilled tea on the counter.

"It's ok. I was distracted," she said.

"Oh," said Rita as she sat next to her. "Anything I can help you with?"

'Well I just had a sex dream about that handsome green hunk and—

'Shut up lust.'

"Raven, are you ok?" She looked into the worried eyes of Rita. She reminded her so much of a mother who could never have children of her own.

"One of my emotions is acting up. It's nothing I can't handle."

Rita smiled. "You sound like someone who's been dealing with her problems on her own for a very long time."

"You can tell that just by looking at me?"

"I'm good at reading people. My mother was very good at it, and she taught me."

"I didn't learn much from my mother. Our relationship was distant because of my emotions."

"Well I'm sure she loved you."

"I—I don't remember her love. I don't remember love and then I came here and everything changed."

"You have a good group of friends Raven. I'm impressed on how close your team is."

"I never imagined it at all. I thought I would be alone forever when I came to this planet."

"Now look at all you have Raven. You've come such a long way from what Beast boy described."

"Really, I can't believe he would have a lot to say about me."

"The Doom Patrol got a call from him the first day the five of you decided to form a team and make this tower your home."

"I couldn't have made a great first impression on Garfield," said Raven.

"I was actually surprised by what he said. I mean he was still young then."

"What did he say?"

"I'm going to fall in love with that girl," said a male voice as Raven and Rita turned around.

"How long have you been standing there?" asked Raven.

"I was cat napping on the couch the whole time," said BB.

"And you didn't come over here because…?"

"I didn't want to interrupt you and Rita."

"Wait did you say cat napped?" Raven asked.

"I napped in my human form Raven," he smiled. "So, you were worried about me?"

"Yes, and if you scare me like that again, I will throw you out the window."

While BB and Cyborg were playing video games, Raven had returned to her room only to discover that she had been through every book in her room and come up with nothing. Fear had seized her as she found herself losing her footing. Luckily, her bed had broken her fall.

'Th—there has to be something. It's not over. I'm sure I can find a bookstore in the city that has what I'm looking for.' Doubt began to settle in but she had to put it aside. If she let it consume, her then it was over.

Raven made her way out of her room, down the hall, and into the living room. Before she could pass the living room, BB called out to her. "Hey Rae, where you going?" he asked as he was instantly at her side, leaving his video game forgotten. She couldn't help but smile at his excitement to see her. It always amazed her.

"None of my books have anything. I'm going to find a bookstore in Jump City that can help me."

"Do you want some company?" he asked.

"As much as I would love your company Gar, I need you to stay here. Who knows where Trigon, Slade, and Galtry are and what they will do if they get their hands on you."

"Always watching out for me, huh Rae?" he smiled.

"Someone has to."

"Speaking of watching out for me, um I would feel more comfortable if someone went with you," said BB. "I know you can take care of yourself, but I would feel better if someone had your back just in case."

"All right fine, so who's the lucky candidate?" she asked.

"I wouldn't mind going with you," said a male voice.

"Mento," said BB in surprise.

"Why?" asked Raven.

"Why not?" asked Mento.

Beast boy smiled. "He got you there Rae."

"All right, I suppose it's ok," said Raven as Mento followed her out to the garage to the T-car.

BB stopped Mento before he got in the car with Raven. "What is it Beast boy?"

"Look after her ok Steve. She means everything to me."

"I've never seen you so passionate about someone else. I give you my word Beast boy but to tell you the truth, she looks like one tough cookie."

BB laughed. "She sure is. She's very powerful and could probably give you a run for your money in a fight."

"You love her BB, and I—he looked away from the changeling. You know how I feel Beast boy. You've become a son to me. You came into the Doom Patrol and filled the place with light, and I know you've done the same for your friends. Whatever happens—

"Don't let Raven hear you talking like that. I have hope because of her."

"Then I'll keep hoping," he smiled as he put a strong hand on his shoulder before he got into the passenger seat beside Raven, and drove off.

BB was overwhelmed as he came back into the living room to see everyone that he would be fighting beside. The future was unclear for him but for now he wanted to enjoy everything he had in his life.

The drive had been surprisingly quiet. It wasn't like Raven to be without noise in the T-car, but it didn't settle her nerves. She couldn't read Mento like she could read the other Titans. 'I guess that explains why beast boy's so good at hiding.'

"I believed it would be a good ability for Beast boy to be able to block people from his mind. It came in handy with his time on the Doom Patrol, but he somehow mastered it and used it against the world to hide his pain."

"So you regret teaching him?"

"Yes, if I would have known about his past torments as a child, I would have never considered it. But now that I think about it, it might help him against the villains we will face."

Raven spotted an old bookstore ahead and pulled into the parking lot. Shutting the door behind her, she began walking to the bookstore with Mento behind her. Once they entered, Raven didn't waste anytime looking through the shelves and Mento had to admit to himself how determined she was to save Beast boy's life.

Hours into the search, Raven began to feel tired. She could feel it in her body, but her mind and heart wouldn't stop looking. She couldn't stop, she wouldn't stop because if she stopped, then it was—'no, I can't think that way. I have to keep looking. I have to—

"Raven," said Mento as his hand went to her shoulder. "You need a break."

There was a café next store, and Raven sat down as Mento ordered them something to eat. She didn't want to leave. Every second counted to her, but she was running herself ragged.

Mento set a cup of tea in front of her with a turkey sandwich and fries while he had a coffee with steak and potatoes. "Thank you Mento."

"You're welcome Raven," he said as they ate in silence and when they were done, Raven was about to get up and go back to the bookstore but Mento stopped her. "Raven, you need to stop this. In your condition, you won't stand a chance against Slade, Galtry, or your father."

"I can take care of myself. I'll be more than ready to face them when the time comes."

"Raven, what if you can't save him? Are you prepared to live without him?"

Raven walked out of the café and disappeared from his sight. "Damn it!" Before he could start to find her, she reappeared in the same spot where she disappeared.

"Raven."

"I don't want to talk about," she said as she walked back into the bookstore.

He walked back into the store to see her gathering a couple books and walking towards a table with chairs. As she began to read, she looked up to see Mento and watched as he sat down and grabbed a book.

"You're as stubborn as your boyfriend is, you do know that?" he smiled.

Raven couldn't help but smile at his remark. "I love him."

"He loves you to Raven. He wouldn't want you running yourself into the ground like this."

"You don't understand. I won't lose him. Not to the most dangerous villains and not to his condition." Her eyes went back to the book she was looking at.

This woman blew him away. The very first day Beast boy had mentioned Raven to right now. She had transformed from a half demon, who was cold and insecure with no emotions to a Titan, who knew who she was and could show some emotion.

Night was coming over the tower as Beast boy began to worry about Mento and Raven, who were still not back from their search of a book that could save his life. He couldn't help but feel bad that Raven was working so hard to keep him alive. He sighed as he leaned his head back on the couch. 'No one's ever fought this hard for me.'

The other Titans were tucked safely in their beds while he elected to stay up and wait for Mento and Raven to get back but now he was really starting to worry. He was thinking about leaving the tower to look for them when he heard the garage door open, which gave him an idea as he raced to the kitchen.

"I'm sorry Raven," said Mento as they walked into the tower.

"It's not your fault that the Jump City Library is incompetent," she sighed. "I think I do some research online tomorrow. It's obvious I can't limit my search to my own books and the Jump City library."

"I think it's time to stop now, at least for a little while, so you can take care of yourself. You're no good to your team, yourself, or Beast boy, if you're not in tip top shape."

"I can multi-task. I don't need you to point out what I need to do. You're not my fa—you know I don't want to talk about this anymore," said Raven as she planned to get some tea and head straight to bed until she heard noise in the kitchen.

"Who would still be up at this hour?" asked Mento as Raven followed him into the kitchen to see Beast boy cooking.

"Hey Mento, Raven, I'd thought I'd make you both dinner since you've been out all night. I hope you haven't eaten dinner yet," he smiled.

"It looks great Beast boy but shouldn't you be asleep and resting up for—

"Mento relax, I know how to look after myself," said BB.

"Clearly, you've forgotten everything I've taught you."

"You have not right to tell me what to do anymore. I'm not part of the Doom Patrol. I'm a Titan, and I'll sleep when I want to sleep. Right now I just want to take care of the people I care about."

Before Mento could say another word that would escalate the argument, Raven stepped in. "You both need to calm down," said Raven as she looked at BB and smiled. "Dinner smells great Garfield. I don't know about Mento, but I'm hungry," she said as she sat down at the table.

"All right Rae, well dinner is served," said BB as he set a plate before his girlfriend as Mento left the room.

"Thank you," she said as a cup of herbal tea was set beside her plate, "but what about Mento?"

"He's always been like that. I think he's just concerned about me. He'll cool off and come back like nothing ever happened. It's what he does when he doesn't get his way."

"So, what have you been up to?" asked Raven.

"Well, it's been boring here without you but I did get some training in. I creamed Cyborg at video games, and I've been trying to help Robin locate Trigon, Galtry, and Slade with no success. What about you?"

"I didn't find anything at the library, so I'll just have to look outside the city."

"There's no way I could tell you to take a break, is there Rae?"

"Never, I love you too much to give up," she said as BB attacked her lips.