Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans.
a/n: This is it, you guys. I'm happy and sad at the same time that this fic is over, just like any other story I've written. I want to thank you all for the amazing support for this story; really, if I hadn't gotten so much feedback, this FF would have ended at chapter four.
Again, if you want the alternate ending, please say so in the reviews. I need two more yeses before I feel comfortable enough to post it.
And a side note: while this is not a funny chapter, I believe Beast Boy has the capability to be serious when he needs to be. If it's not the little green Titan you're usually used to reading, so sorry! But IMO, I do think this chapter fits his character.
Once again, thank you so much. While I don't think I'll be writing a sequel to this fic, I will write more Slade/Raven pieces in the future. Keep checking for more.
As always, reviews, sharing, etc. are greatly, greatly appreciated.
"Good night, good night! parting is such sweet sorrow,
That I shall say good night till it be 'morrow."
- Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet
Robin: I know what we saw, but I still can't believe it! It just doesn't feel like Raven is really gone...
Slade: That's because she isn't.
- The End, Part II
Chapter Eighteen: The Epilogue
It's here we move to Beast Boy, because he seems to have a knack for inopportune moments. The shapeshifter wasn't the brightest of the Titans, nor was he the most powerful, yet trouble always seemed to find him in the oddest ways.
Especially when it had to do with women.
Now, Beast Boy was not particularly suave with the opposite sex, nor did he possess the wordless charm to woo them, either. He had green skin, for crying out loud, and Robin did have a motorcycle. The changeling learned fairly quickly that having a moped was not quite the same as that sleek, smug R-Cycle. What a shame.
Terra, the only girl Beast Boy ever felt close to, was only a shadow of the Titan he'd fallen for - not to mention, their story hadn't ended on the most pleasant of notes. Stone and betrayal did little for any relationship.
It had taken a pile of fallen debris for him to admit his own stupidity to Starfire. Every once in a while, Cyborg would remember the incident, and spend the rest of the day calling Beast Boy a clorbag varblernelk.
And Raven? Forget about it.
Sure, they'd had their moments. But occasionally, some rabid fan would approach the Titans and insist she and Beast Boy were oh so perfect for each other, ohmygodpleasemakeoutughihavesomanyfeelingsrightnow - to which the shapeshifter would nearly choke with laughter and Raven would nearly choke on her own vomit. Please. If alternate realities did exist (despite all the comics he read, Beast Boy still wasn't sure about that one; evil robot doubles, however, was a different story), the one where he and Raven were paired up must also be filled with flying pigs. And Beast Boy knew every animal out there; guess what? Flying pigs didn't exist.
Still, Beast Boy missed her. Of course he did. Raven had been part of their family. Just because they didn't get along all the time, didn't mean they didn't care for one another.
After Raven had left, the Titans spent weeks looking for her. Robin interrogated nearly everyone in Jump City, including the attendees of the prom. Aqualad and a few girls claimed she'd spoken a bit with an older man, who had something very defining about him, but they couldn't remember what. Hey, I was plastered that night. Sorry. By the way, your bike is totally rad. Mind if I try it out with you sometime?
For a while, Robin blamed Aqualad. Why couldn't he remember more about the stranger? Why hadn't he been paying more attention to Raven? Had he broke her heart? It had taken almost a month before the two were on speaking terms again, making it extremely awkward for both the Titans and the Titans East.
After that, Robin blamed the team. Which one of them had done something to make Raven feel unwanted, unwelcome? You know how fragile she is! Raven is...complicated. There is 'much about her we are not meant to understand', remember?
It was the worst when Robin blamed himself. He stopped eating, never left his room, and barely spoke with any of the Titans. Beast Boy knew that The End had bonded his leader and Raven in a way none of them could ever understand, and that her sudden decision to leave could only mean one thing: Robin had failed as a leader. He'd failed to recognize something was wrong with his teammate, failed to make her feel included, failed, failed, failed.
Robin had never dealt with failure well.
Starfire cried every night for three weeks. Cyborg wrecked the T-car in a supposed 'accident', even though the large hole in the middle of the vehicle's hood looked more like the mark of a fist instead of a supposed rockslide.
And Beast Boy?
When the others were too miserable to carry on, he continued looking. He spent the nights as a bloodhound, sniffing the streets for any trace of her.
To the Titan's dismay, Raven had completely vanished. The last time she'd left them, they'd all been given pieces of her powers, tools to find her.
Now, it was clear Raven did not want to be found.
As time went on, the pain lessened, ever so slightly. Crimes kept happening, and the Titans continued fighting. They'd never stop 'till the job gets done.
Beast Boy was waiting for the day when he'd be reassured that, whatever had happened to their friend, that she was doing better than they were. Most of the time, he was afraid that day would never come.
.
Stopping the cart, Beast Boy took a grim look around the meat department and shuddered. Why did everyone else on his team eat meat? Couldn't they make someone come with him to Ralph's so he didn't have to touch the carcasses of his fellow animals? But nooo, Robin and Cyborg had combat practice and Starfire was visiting Tamaran. So it was Beast Boy's job to get the groceries.
Including meat.
"I'm sorry, buddy," Beast Boy told a package of diced beef glumly, gingerly picking it up and plopping it into the shopping cart. "This must be so hard for you. I promise, I won't take a bite."
It was then Beast Boy felt something familiar. He didn't hear something familiar, nor did he see something familiar - he felt something familiar. One could call it animal instinct. Another would call it fate. Starfire would call it just plain freaky.
Whatever it was, it compelled our green friend to maneuver his shopping cart in the direction of the feeling. All the hairs were standing up on the back of his neck, and Beast Boy was too unnerved to be excited by the situation. Usually, he'd be all too delighted to report any incident that took place without the Titans; now, it felt much, much different.
He heard her laughter first. This jarred the changeling, and he quickly ducked behind a rack of wine, waiting.
A toddler with a tuffet of blonde hair waddled out of the cereal isle, seeming to take pleasure in gnawing at the corner of a box of Lucky Charms. Shortly after, a redheaded boy followed the babe, sucking on his thumb and admiring a display of tortillas.
"Timmy, Teether!"
A man's deep and vaguely familiar voice made the children turn their heads. The toddler lifted his arms, cooing, "Up, up!"
And there she was, scooping up the baby and laughing. The blonde baby threw his arms around her lithe neck, squealing, "Mama, mama, mama."
Raven's hair was longer, stretching to her collarbone. She was wearing dark jeans and a black blouse, complete with traces of makeup on her pale face. She was smiling, nuzzling the little blonde child with an affection Beast Boy had never imagined Raven ever expressing, let alone to a baby that was calling her it's mother.
Wait. Mama?! She'd only been gone six months, no where near the time needed to produce a child. And unless Raven had been pregnant during her time with the Titans and voodooed a way to hide it, there was no way she'd be able to give birth to a toddler.
The end of a shopping cart wheeled around the corner, causing both mother and child to look up. The redheaded boy smiled widely at a broad-shouldered, much older man, who was leaning over the cart.
"We have to get going soon," he said to her, "Melvin's theatre practice ends at 3:00."
Raven nodded, hoisting the blonde baby up her shoulder. Something large and white sparkled on her finger, nearly blinding Beast Boy's vision.
There was something off about the man, something far too familiar. Had this been the stranger Aqualad had seen her with at the prom? If only he'd turn around...
Raven plopped the baby into the front seat of the shopping cart, went on her tiptoes, and kissed the mystery man on the mouth.
The shapeshifter squinted, rubbed his eyelids, then looked again. Yup. Still kissing.
It was about now Beast Boy was planning to spring the little group and demand answers.
Abruptly, Raven broke the kiss and swung her head, looking the changeling dead in the eye. They stared at one another, tension buzzing through the air. The man followed her gaze, realized what was happening, and ushered the redheaded boy away. Strangely enough, he ducked his head, letting silver hair fall over half of his face, and proceeded to glare at the ground.
But Beast Boy hardly cared about the man at this point. Now, it was just him and Raven, and a thousand questions.
Why did you leave? Who is that guy? What's going on? Will you ever come back?
This new Raven, the one Beast Boy didn't recognize, smiled sadly at him.
He blinked, and the group was gone. Disappeared. Vanished. Just like she did the first time.
Now, part of Beast Boy wanted to scour every inch of the store, call security, call the Titans. I just saw Raven! Quick, maybe we can catch her!
Yet there was something about the way she laughed with the children, something about the way she'd embraced the man, that made him stop.
Raven was happy. She was happier than he'd ever seen her.
What kind of friend - hell, what kind of Titan - would Beast Boy be if he took that away from her?
So he got up from his hiding place, dusted off his skinny legs, and began to push the cart towards the cereal isle. On the way, he tossed the package of meat on the tortilla rack, not caring if it spoiled. Now, he was a new Beast Boy, with a new team and a new perspective on one of his best friends.
And anyways, the Titans might like his tofu eggs, if that was all there was to eat.
.
The end.