DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN THE TEEN TITANS!!! XP
OMYGOODNESS! IT IS SNOWING IN SOUTH CAROLINA! It looks so pretty outside!!! The last time I saw snow; I was in second grade! So as you can imagine; I'm pumped! :D
Sorry it's short! Writer's block and all. XP
ON WITH THE FANFICTION!!!
Chapter 5
The Infirmary…
The pallid girl with violet-streaked hair sat on the hospital bed, surrounded by her closest friends. They sat awaiting her explanation as she contemplated how to word her reply.
Suddenly, Beast boy interrupted the imposing silence,
"Y'know, we need separate names for you two. If not; I think we'll all be very confused later."
"Hmm… I hadn't thought of that, Gar."
She ran her fingers through her silky black hair contemplatively. After a moment of deliberating, she came to a conclusion,
"You can call me Rachael."
The rest of the team eyed her quizzically, wanting an explanation. She opened her mouth to speak, and she heard her voice resound in the room, but she herself had not uttered a sound.
"Raven is my birth-name; but Rachael is the mantle that I took up when I ran away to Earth. It's more common, and less conspicuous. And… It was my mother's name before she christened herself Arella."
Her voice came out sounding very normal and strong at the beginning of her explanation; but it slipped into a quiet whimper as she spoke the last sentence, as a result of the tightening of her throat.
She looked away from the rest of the team, pulling her hood up over her head to hide her expression. Her doppelganger blinked back her own tears, and then crossed her arms, rearranging her somber expression into one of slight annoyance and impatience.
"So are you interested in hearing about why I'm here, or are we going to just sit here all night?"
The other teens suddenly became very attentive as she settled in for a long story-telling session.
The Alternate Dimension…
"And thus… the end of the land of the free… Lord help us all."
The boy sitting on the couch scoffed,
"Not my problem."
"Garfield, dinner's ready!"
He sighed; frustrated that there was nothing else on the tube; and clicked off the television set,
"Coming Mom!"
He heaved himself off the couch and trudged into the kitchen, where his mother was setting the table; he helped her finish, then sat down happily. His mother sat in front of him and began to chat casually,
"So, Garfield; what was that on the news?"
He shrugged,
"The United States got taken over today."
His mother looked mildly shocked,
"By who?"
He took a bite of his dinner,
"Some 'Brotherhood of Evil', or something like that."
She shook her head sadly,
"Such a shame."
She stared contemplatively out the window at the exotic plants that bordered the narrow dirt road to their modest hut. A man entered the kitchen; distractedly reading the newspaper. He muttered as he read,
"United States of America under Attack…"
He sat down and his wife prepared him a plate of food. He placed the paper to his left, and smiled lovingly at his little family,
"Well, at least we don't live there, huh?"
The Infirmary…
The superhero team sat in dumbfounded silence; unsure of what to say in response to what they'd just heard. Robin snapped out of his trance first,
"So let me get this straight, the Brotherhood of Evil took over your city, and in order to escape, you came here?"
Rachael sighed, ignoring the resulting lance of pain,
"Yes. And I need your help to save my world."
Robin nodded absently, his mind racing ahead to try to plan for their obscure near-future,
"We'd be glad to help you, Rachael; but this is going to take some major preparation and planning on our part. It may take a while to assemble an effective plan; and we don't even know if the dimension is even salvageable."
She nodded seriously at him, and the six teens then sunk into silence; each with their mind racing to formulate a successful plan. Rachael's stomach growled loudly; interrupting the contemplative silence that had engulfed the room.
Her hands flew to her empty stomach, hoping to muffle the sounds it emitted.
"Sorry. I haven't eaten since yesterday morning…"
Cyborg hopped to his feet,
"Well, then; lets get some grub, y'all!"
He paraded purposefully out of the room toward the kitchen, followed by Starfire and Robin. Beast boy looked to Rachael,
"Can you walk?"
She lurched forward, trying to use the rails to heave herself off of the hospital bed, but she fell back onto the bed; arms wrapped around her throbbing torso. She grimaced,
"Don't think so."
He glanced across the room at his current girlfriend, who leaned expressionlessly against the wall,
"Hey, Rae? Do you think you can heal her the rest of the way?"
Raven looked over at him uncertainly,
"I can try, but I probably don't have the energy for it right now."
He waved a hand in dismissal,
"Nah, it's okay; save up your energy; and try it after we eat. I'll just carry her down to the kitchen."
He quickly stooped over and pulled Rachael's arm around his neck, sliding his arm under her legs, and lifting her effortlessly into the air; careful not to jostle her.
She stiffened in surprise at first; then she relaxed, resting her head on his shoulder affectionately. The violet-haired empath clenched her jaw; trying her best not to show her anger.
Rachael took a deep breath; and sighed contentedly,
"Thanks Gar."
He smiled at her,
"No problem."
Raven cleared her throat loudly, grabbing their attention. She then turned and stepped out of the door, pausing to glance back over her shoulder at her boyfriend.
He chuckled and made his way to the door, carrying Rachael bridal-style. Raven walked beside him quietly to the Commons Room.
When he arrived, he received an odd look from Robin, who had immediately picked up on the tension between the two Ravens.
Beast boy strode over to the table and gently lowered her into a chair as Cyborg brought her a towering pile of pancakes. She thanked him, and then eagerly picked up her fork. The other Titans did the same; and Beast boy pulled up a chair next to Rachael, Raven seated on his other side clutching his hand possessively.
Not that he really minded all of this new attention from her. He smiled to himself and tightened his grip on her hand while he met her anxious gaze; willing her to relax with his eyes. He leaned closer to her and whispered into her ear,
"I love you."
She leaned her head on his shoulder and whispered back; very softly so that only his sensitive ears could detect it in the room full of people.
"I love you too."
Awww…. ^-^
There we go! I know you guys are probably sick and tired of the cliffhangers; and so am I! So we have a non-cliffhanger ending now. Yay!
Sorry about any typos that I may have had; but I was bent on getting this up today!
Review!
Later Days!
~Rosalind2013