Disclaimer: All of the characters presented herein are the property of DC Comics, Inc., a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc., itself a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. The song "All My Tomorrows" is the property of Capitol Records, LLC, a subsidiary of Universal Music Group. The song "Strangers in the Night" is the property of Reprise Records, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. I own nothing.
Ascension of the Beast
Chapter XVI
Two Lonely People
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Rage was clearly not happy with the response Raven gave to Zatanna and Diana. This was ground they already covered, the question was already supposedly settled at their last conference and now Raven was back to letting Timid have too much control. Actually, none of the inhabitants of Nevermore were particularly happy about that, but Rage was certainly showing the most of her namesake emotion—which brings us to why Timid wasn't happy about it.
"I-I-I-I-I'm so-s-s-s-s-sorry," Timid replied, crying as Rage focused her onslaught on her. She didn't mean it, it was just her nature. It was Raven who'd let her become as strong as she was at the moment, but over-analyzing every little thing she saw as she glanced at Gar and Bette. Ultimately, his toothy grin was what broke her confidence; he seemed too happy in Bette's presence. But now Rage was irate—Timid was getting between her and her Beast!
"Just shut the fuck up for once!" Rage commanded the grey cloaked emotion before turning to their violet-cloaked sister. "You, take control!"
"But, I don't know how!" Affection replied.
"Well, I'll show you then, damn it," Rage was not happy at all. "Brave, we'll need you too," she called to her green-cloaked sister. It was going to take a while, but they were going to correct this issue any way they could.
"Wait," Wisdom knew that outright taking Raven over at this point would be a mistake. She knew that Raven had to work through the process in her mind yet again, without manipulation of her emotional states. "Zatanna and Diana are probably going to convince Raven to look at things from a different angle. This time we can expect help from the outside world. We needn't be so rash."
"Oh come on now, Raven," Zatanna responded incredulously to her comment, "how do you know you're not his type? Did he tell you he wasn't attracted to you?"
"No," she admitted, "but he's just always seemed to be more attracted to blondes. I mean, look at how happy he is talking to Bette—I've seen that smile maybe three times since New Year's Day and it's instantaneously there for her the moment they start talking to each other." Raven's gaze met the floor as her lips curled again to form a frown.
Raven's moping was quickly interrupted, however, by the sound of a female voice chuckling from behind her. "You seriously think my cousin and Gar Logan are into each other?" Kate Kane responded to Raven's words. "Bette was briefly attracted to Gar once, but that crush was weakened by the fact that she had a crush on Dick at the same time. I think Gar was attracted to her once as well, but from what she's told me, that isn't the case anymore."
"What exactly did she tell you?" Raven was curious. In addition to being cousins, Flamebird was also Batwoman's sidekick, so it was entirely plausible that Kate would have major insights into Bette's life.
"For one thing, she told me that she's into Gar's cousin Matt," Kate noted, "but also that Gar seems to be attracted to a certain purple-haired demi-demoness." There wasn't much room for misidentification there. Bette could still possibly have been mistaken, but the training that Kate had been giving her in investigation favored her being right. "Although, I would definitely advise you to stop giving off any sign that you're jealous—the one thing that drives that girl more than anything is competition. If she thinks this is a competition, her feelings for Gar would probably change."
"But if he's attracted to me, why hasn't he told me?" Raven asked, unaware of the irony of the question.
"Well, why haven't you told him?" Diana asked. Wonder Woman was blessed with the wisdom of Athena, but this particular situation would be easy to work out even without it.
"Because...I'm..." the next word was inaudible.
"What?"
"I'm..." still inaudible.
"Come on Rae," Zatanna cut back in. "We're not going to hold anything against you."
"It's because I'm afraid, okay!" the demi-demoness finally let it out. The experience she'd had after watching Wicked Scary years earlier had taught her that fear was an emotion too powerful for her to repress. It still didn't make it easy for her to admit when she was afraid, though—after all, she was the representation of the sin of pride. "I'm afraid he'll end up hurting me by not reciprocating. I'm afraid it'll make our friendship too awkward to maintain if he doesn't feel the same way. I'm just afraid."
"Raven, the things he's done for you are not the kinds of things a person just does for a good friend," Zatanna noted. "I mean, giving you room and board is definitely something a good friend will do under those circumstances, but buying you thousands of dollars worth of books on a whim? I don't care how much money a guy has, he's not going to buy a damn library for a woman unless he cares very deeply about her."
"And don't forget his furry alter-ego," Barbara Gordon, who'd been in the Batcave for much of the evening, rolled up to the group. Raven's look expressed shock—she had no idea the Oracle knew about the werebeast. "Don't look so surprised. The trade of information between the Justice League and the Titans was reciprocal—all of your secrets became theirs as well—and, given my association with the Batman's activities, I have access to those files."
"Babs has a point," Zatanna responded. "There's something incredibly romantic about that. I mean, on some level, he was willing to give up his humanity to make sure you were safe."
"On two separate occasions," Diana added.
"And you were the only one he even recognized," Babs said. "I mean, it's right there in the files. The first time he turned into that beast, he didn't recognize Dick as his leader, nor did he recognize Vic or Kori as his friends. He just saw you and potential threats to your safety. Apparently to the point where his own safety didn't even factor into his process."
"But that still doesn't answer my question," Raven noted. "If he loves me, why hasn't he told me?"
"...so then she made me put on a grey jumpsuit and she's all like 'you don't need that garish costume, you need a uniform,'" Bette was recounting her experiences of being trained by her cousin to a mildly-interested Garfield. Every couple minutes or so, the changeling would divert his gaze to Raven, but he was still paying attention to his conversation with Flamebird nevertheless. "The thoughts in my mind at that point were basically along the lines of 'hey! I liked that uniform!', but for as long as I was Plebe instead of Flamebird, I had to do as she said."
"Yeah, I can sympathize," Gar replied, "Kate sounds like a walk in the park compared to Steve, though. When I was in the Doom Patrol, Steve micromanaged everything—right down to actually ordering me what transformations to use."
"Dick told me about when the Titans met the Doom Patrol once," Bette noted. "He told me that, from what he could see, Steve made Bruce look like Mister Rogers. While I haven't experienced training under Bruce, I can't imagine Kate's much worse than him."
For a moment, the changeling could not restrain his laughter. "Yeah, Steve was kinda on his own level for a long time. The mission was everything. With Batman and Batwoman, at least survival will factor in at some point; but with Mento—before the first time the Titans and the Doom Patrol worked together—nothing else, not even survival, mattered. It was basically win or die, as far as his mentality was concerned. The concept of a tactical withdrawal didn't exist to him; he just saw that as retreating, and he would never retreat."
"You're saying that in the past tense?" Bette inquired, with genuine curiosity.
"Yeah," Gar replied, "the first time the Titans and the Doom Patrol worked together, he was still like that. Until I confronted him in the middle of the mission, after Rita, Cliff and Larry had all been apparently killed. I made him see the error of his ways, and luckily the rest of the Doom Patrol was still alive and had been rescued by the other Titans, but if not for the fact that I was able to get through to him, I'm pretty sure I'd be dead right now." Bette gave him a look which seemed to emote the general concept of 'holy shit!,' before he changed the subject. "Speaking of Dick, have you seen him? I haven't seen him since he and Kori left the wedding so suddenly, and I really need to talk to him about something."
"I haven't, but he's got to be around here somewhere."
"I should probably go look for him," Gar said, turning around.
"Wait!" Bette had one more thing she had to talk to him about. "Have you told Raven about your feelings?"
With a sigh, Garfield turned back toward his friend. He did not feel like talking about this topic just then, but soon an idea crossed his mind. "Have you told Matt about your feelings?" he said, as a sly grin overtook his face.
"That's not really a fair comparison, Garfield," everyone who knew Beast Boy knew that at this point, calling him Gar or Beast Boy was fine, but there were only two people alive who could call him Garfield without it severely annoying him, and Bette was not one of them. "Matt and I live a continent apart. What separates you and Raven? One wall?"
"Hey! Don't call me that!" Beast Boy really did not like people using his given name. "No," he admitted, "I haven't told her."
"Why not? She deserves to know that you love her."
"I'm just kinda scared is all," his face turned really serious and his eyes turned toward the floor. "I mean, it took a long time to get to the point where she even tolerated me, and now that we're good friends and all, I don't want to ruin that. If she doesn't feel the same, me telling her that I love her could make things way too awkward between us—and that's not even the worst case scenario. I'd rather not get sent to some other dimension, or be thrown out a window."
"The way she's been looking at you all night, I really doubt you have much to worry about as far as that goes," Bette concluded, though Gar was still unconvinced. Their conversation ended, Beast Boy departed to search for his former leader.
Coming upon the vicinity of the secret elevator leading to the Batcave, Gar quickly found that he was not the only one who the same suspicions as to Dick and Kori's current location. "Hey, Donna," the changeling spoke to the former Wonder Girl, "Dick downstairs?"
"It's what Alfred told me," the Amazon answered, "though I'm looking for Kori. You looking for Dick?"
"Yeah," Gar replied, "I kinda figured they'd be down there. They left the wedding so early and haven't been seen by anyone except for Alfred since. I heard they had the Watchtower relaying a signal from Tamaran to the Batcave as early as a couple days ago, so I figured maybe there's trouble in Tamarus or something." He was not so oblivious as to fail to notice Donna's melancholy disposition. "How are you holding up?"
"I don't know," she said in a solemn voice. "It just hurts, you know? He just sprung it on me without any real warning, telling me my lifestyle is a threat to the family's life and that he's leaving me and taking Robert with. I mean, forget about my marriage; if Terry doesn't want to be with me anymore, that I can accept, even if seems like he's just using my lifestyle as a justification to go back to Marcia. But I'm going to lose my baby because I'm a superheroine!" As she completed the last sentence, her eyes began to flood with tears.
"I know I'm probably the worst person to try to cheer you up," Gar started out very weakly, "but, you know, we're friends right?" Donna nodded tearfully. "Well, friends help each other, and you've got a lot of friends to help you. I mean, I'm the sole heir to Steve's fortune, Dick is first in line to inherit Bruce's wealth, Kori has control of the entire Tamaranean treasury, and Roy—your ex-boyfriend, who is still very fond of you—is Oliver Queen's adoptive son. Between all of us, all you have to do is ask and we'll be there to get you the best legal team money can buy. While I won't promise we'll win you custody of Robert, we'll be able to put up a good fight at least."
"But what if Terry's right?" the true root of Donna's despair began to show itself. "What if I am a horrible mother? What if I am a danger to my child? I'd never be able to live with myself if anything happened to Robert because of me."
"If you're a bad mother, I've never seen a good one. I mean, seriously, a bad mother would never even think of questions like that. And if Robert was in danger for being your son, it would because villains would want to get at him as a way to get to you. Well, they're still going to try whether he's with you or with Terry, because no matter what he is still your son." Gar placed a hand on the worried mother's shoulder. "But, if he's with you, at least you can protect him. What can Terry do? Go fetal and cry? Ask for his mommy?" his voice took on a humorous tone and his face contorted to his toothy grin as he remarked upon the professor's fighting prowess.
Donna chuckled through her tears. "You know, your sense of humor is still atrocious," the tears stopped coming as Donna began to smile a little. "But you've matured a lot, and you're still a good friend. Thank you, Gar."
"Hey, I do what I can," he said nonchalantly.
"No, I mean it." Donna appreciated the moral support Beast Boy had just given her, and she decided it was her turn to help him. "I can totally see why Raven likes you."
"Raven likes me?" he could barely hide the excitement in his voice. "Did she tell you, or...?"
"No, but I can see it in her eyes when she looks at you." She conveniently left out the fact that she could sense what Diana was sensing earlier via the psychic link the 'sisters' shared. Donna figured it wasn't her place to share secrets concerning which Raven had a reasonable expectation of privacy, but she saw no moral qualms with sharing what anyone could have seen with their five normal senses. "I'm really digging that detective training Dick gave me a couple years ago."
Donna's training in paying attention to detail was apparently incomplete, however, as neither of them noticed the attention they were getting from Nyssa Ratko, who had been silently observing the changeling throughout the evening.
"I'd drink you under the table and you know it, Zee," somehow the conversation between Raven, Wonder Woman, Oracle and Zatanna had turned to drinking. Or, rather, somehow Zatanna had gotten around to challenging Diana to a drinking contest. The specifics of how they got to this point were still more or less a blur to Raven and Babs—the former with a very confused look on her face and the latter taking it all in good humor, realizing this was just a part of how Zatanna and Diana's friendship worked.
"Well, why don't you put your money where your mouth is, W?" Zatanna was not going to back off. Raven could pretty clearly see that Diana had the advantage. It'd be like if Batman challenged Superman to a drinking contest—Bruce may be very well disciplined and in peak physical condition, but he's still a human, subject to basic human physical limitations, which do not necessarily tend to bind Kryptonians in the same way. Although Zatanna was not necessarily Homo sapiens sapiens, the physical characteristics of Homo sapiens magi were basically the same. While Diana was certainly not Kryptonian, she was an Amazon, and the most powerful of all Amazons at that, considering the myriad of 'gifts' the Olympian deities had given her. Diana would almost certainly win such a contest without even getting a buzz. "I bet you $50 that I'll win."
"Are you sure a wedding reception is the best place for this?" Raven decided that if the older two women weren't going to be mature, she'd have to be. "I mean, couldn't you guys go to a bar or something afterward and settle it?"
"Ugh," Diana's facial features showed that she was not keen on the idea. "I don't really want to go to a bar tonight. I always end up getting hit on by some drunk pig."
"Well, you could always go to a gay bar," Babs interjected.
"Yeah, then I'll get hit on by a drunk woman. Same difference, either way I end up getting sexually harassed, and I'm simply not in the mood for it tonight."
"She's kinda got a point," Raven said, turning to the former Batgirl. "I mean, after all, she is Wonder Woman. If I were a lesbian, I'd probably be hot for her myself. And I'm me." She knew the others didn't know she actually couldn't stop thinking about sex and would assume that she was basically asexual based on her personality.
"Nevar, eb tsenoh," Zatanna decided to call her bluff. "You really love sex, don't you?"
Raven was a little shocked that Zatanna would go as far as to cast a spell so she couldn't lie under such a trivial circumstance, but she did and now the empath had to answer. "I don't know. I'm a virgin."
The other three women were completely stunned by the revelation—especially Zatanna, who was well aware of demons' notorious sex drives. "You mean to tell me that you—a demi-demoness who also happens to be quite attractive—have just spent the past what—four, five years?—living with two of the most attractive male superheroes of your age bracket, with a city of adoring males just a short distance away, and you're still a virgin?"
"Well, it's not that I didn't want it. It's just that the intensity of my powers is directly related to the intensity of my emotional state, and, until very recently, my control was not strong enough for me to have avoided some very dangerous releases of dark energy. If I had sex with someone, I probably would have ended up blowing out every window in the tower, on top of accidentally killing the guy I was having sex with. Fuck, one time I caused all of the lightbulbs in the tower to explode just because I was masturbating. Even though I lied and said it was because I was having a nightmare, Vic was still pretty pissed about having to replace all of those bulbs."
"Damn, Rae," Zatanna wasn't expecting something like that, although when her initial shock gave way, curiosity took over. "Who were you masturbating to? And llet eht hturt."
This was a trickier situation—the last spell Zatanna used only bound Raven to be honest, which meant she could still omit facts. But this time it was to tell the truth, which meant that she actually had to tell the truth without omitting anything important. "Uh..." her answer was once again inaudible.
"What?"
"Beast Boy! Okay?" At that moment her embarrassment level went up to eleven. 'I hope to Azar these people didn't hear the entire exchange,' she thought, as Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown, Cassie Sandsmark, Cassandra Cain, Conner Kent, Wally West, Roy Harper, and Kara Zor-El/Linda Lang/Kara Kent/whatever she was calling herself now, began to surround the foursome. Unfortunately, her empathic senses let her know better, raising her sense of embarrassment to new levels. "Okay, everyone. Listen carefully, because I'm only going to warn you once: I have a very antagonistic relationship with my older brother, for reasons I'm sure you'd all understand. However, he does happen to be the head of Hell's secret police and a member of its ruling triumvirate, and I am very much capable of sending people to meet him. If you speak a word of what you just heard to anyone, I will allow you that privilege." Zatanna and Diana both knew better than all of them not to test Raven on this—they'd both worked with Raven's nephews, and hence knew very well that Belial was to be feared. The others could tell by the looks on the older women's faces that they should comply with Raven's demands.
"We won't tell anyone," Diana reassured Raven, moving a hand to her shoulder.
"Yeah," Zatanna took a look at the others. "But just to be safe," she noted while turning her attention fully toward them. "Reven kaeps a dorw fo siht ot enoyna!" she said, speak very clearly and directly. "With that taken care of," she continued while turning her attention back to Raven, "I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about the circumstances." Raven merely looked at the audience that had formed around them with apprehension—it was one thing to talk about these things with three relatively-trusted girlfriends (and the fact that she was even doing that was an example of how far her sociability had come over the years), but she did not want to speak about this to a large audience. Picking up on the apprehension, Zatanna solved the problem for her. "Og yawa!" she commanded the others, with an emphatic tone. They complied (albeit, it's not as if they had a choice). Turning back to the empath, she merely said in a supportive, non-threatening voice "continue."
"Well, it's kind of a long story, but the abbreviated version is that it was the first night after I fully recovered from the Beast incident," Raven noted. "I was laying in bed thinking about how Gar's werebeast had saved me from Adonis's werebeast, and how damn determined he was. I felt nice to realize I was so important to him. But then I started thinking about the raw feral passion that was encapsulated in that form, and one thing led to another. Before I knew it, my hands were wandering and after a while...boom. After that, I decided it was just best to repress my sexual impulses until I had better control over my powers."
"Friend Donna!" Starfire brought the Amazon into one of her trademark bone-crushing hugs.
"Ai, Gor," Donna said, unable to breathe until the Tamaranean Queen released her grip.
"Friend Beast Boy!" she repeated the process with Gar, who didn't even bother trying to say anything until the Tamaranean released him.
"Hey...Kor...ri," the changeling said, struggling to catch his breath. "You know, I'm thinking about retiring the 'Beast Boy' codename, Kori. You can call me Gar like everyone else."
"But 'friend Gar' does not have the nice ring to it," the Tamaranean had a point. "And you do not allow anyone except for Friend Raven and your k'norfka Rita to call you by the name of 'Garfield.'"
"Well, I'll tell you what Kori," Gar was in an accommodating mood and felt he wouldn't regret it anyway since this was Starfire after all, "since you've always been a good friend and I can trust you not to misuse it or tease me with it, you can call me by my full name too." Starfire's smile visibly brightened. She understood why Gar didn't like being called Garfield, and that allowing her to call him by this name was a gesture that represented how much he trusted her as a friend.
"Oh, thank you friend Garfield!" she drew him into another, less bone-crushing hug. "I will not do the disappointing of you. But I am curious as to what your new name of codes will be."
"I'm not completely sure yet," he replied as she released him. "'Beast Boy' sounds too...uh...juvenile for me now. I was thinking about a few possible names, but 'Beast Man' doesn't have the right ring to it, and 'Beast Dude' seems really gimmicky. I've been leaning most of all toward either 'Changeling' or 'Menagerie.'"
"I'm not sure you want 'Menagerie,'" Dick noted, as he exited the elevator from the Batcave. "I mean, you do realize that la ménagerie is feminine, right? You've never really been the kind of guy who was at one with his feminine side."
"Changeling it is, then!" Gar responded in a mock-embarrassed tone. "But, seriously, you're forgetting that I'm fluent in French. I know it's a feminine noun, but I don't really care that much—it sounds kinda cool."
'Hey, Kori, do you think we can have a girl talk?" Donna decided to take advantage of Gar and Dick distracting each other to pull Kori away.
"Yes," the Tamaranean said as the Amazon basically dragged her away. Her answer was pretty much immaterial—Donna needed to talk now.
"I'm kinda on the fence anyway, you know?" Gar was hoping Dick could give him a little constructive criticism on the matter. "I mean, which sounds better to you: 'Changeling' or 'Menagerie?'"
"I'd go with 'Changeling,' if I were you," Dick replied. "Though, I'm not you, so I get a much cooler codename: 'Nightwing.'"
"Oh, so you've finally done it," the changeling said, "I was beginning to wonder if Tim was going to have to challenge you to a deathmatch before you'd give up on calling yourself Robin. 'Nightwing' is a pretty cool codename, though."
"Yeah. I'd actually been thinking about it even before Kori's encounter with Warp. When I first parted ways with Bruce, Clark actually suggested the name to me, but I just mulled over it for a few years."
"Maybe I should have asked him for advice on a codename," Gar thought aloud. "I coulda had a chance earlier, but instead I was just having a more light-hearted conversation with him and Lois. But yeah, actually, I think you're right; I'll probably end up going with 'Changeling.'"
"Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?" Dick asked. "In all the time I've know you, you never liked standing around waiting. I wouldn't figure a codename change would be enough to warrant you waiting for Kori and I like that."
"Well, I do kinda need to ask you for help with something," the changeling replied. "I don't know if you've had time to read the files I had Alfred give you, but the short story is I might need the help of a lot of Titans in the future, and you're still the only one who has enough pull to call a conference of all the Titans..."
"Sure, I can do that," Dick answered. "Kori and I will be leaving to return to Tamaran tomorrow, but we could probably teleconference in. Where did you want to hold the meeting?"
"I dunno. Dayton Manor, I guess."
"Well, the Justice League should be sending someone to establish a comlink between the Watchtower's Tamaran feed and Dayton Manor within a couple days from what I hear, so everything should be in order. How's a couple weeks sound? Just so everyone will have a chance to make arrangements to be there. Also, do you want just current active Titans, or do you want honorary, reserve and/or former Titans to be thrown into the mix as well?"
"A couple of weeks sounds good," Gar replied. "Should give Vernon and I some time to set things up as well. And I'd say anyone who has a T-Communicator should be called in. I mean, I'll probably need any help I can get. I wish you and Kori could be there too, but I understand that running an entire planet takes a lot of attention. But there's one more thing I'm going to need."
"What's that?"
"I'm probably going to need an audience with Bats at some point. Some agencies which I'm sure would prefer not to be named may or may not have given Vic some information, but such hypothetical information may or may not be of very limited use, and I might need to pick his brain to augment and help digest the information I hypothetically may or may not have."
As confusing as what Gar had just said might have been, Dick was in as good a position as nearly anyone to understand precisely what his friend was talking about: some agencies within the U.S. Intelligence Community had provided some information, but the Intelligence Community's information raised as many questions as answers and he needed Batman's intelligence network and analytic skills to fill in the blanks. "I'll see what I can do," the former apprentice of the Dark Knight said. "But I did have a chance to casually give those files a once over while Kori was talking to Galfore earlier, and I've already seen enough that I'm in your corner one-hundred percent. I can't say for sure, because Bruce'll base his determination more on the finer details, but I'm pretty sure he'll probably be willing to give some help."
"Just as long as it's not next Wednesday," the changeling added. "I've got a meeting with Zuberi Kiongozi that day, and I'm pretty sure the head of the Lamumban government-in-exile won't be too happy if I stand 'im up." Just then, Gar's advanced hearing picked up on Kori and Donna returning.
"Friend Donna, I assure you that what friend Garfield told you earlier is correct," the alien told the Amazon. "Even if I personally must spend money from the Royal Treasury of Tamaran to ensure that your son shall remain in your care, I shall do so." The Tamaranean gave her friend another hug.
"But Tamaran doesn't even have trade relations with the US, or any other country on Earth for that matter," Donna knew her friend wouldn't lie to her, but she had some doubts about the practicality of her promise, "how exactly would you be able to send money? I mean, Tamaranean currency can't exactly be exchanged for dollars."
"Well, that's easy actually," Dick, true to form, had an answer. "We'll send gold. Alfred and Bruce can sell the gold and give you the proceeds." Just then, the sound of music could be heard coming from the grand ballroom. "Sounds like the dancing has commenced," Dick said before turning to Kori. "May I have this dance?" he asked, locking his arm and hers. As she nodded her approval, the two walked together, arm in arm, to the ballroom.
"Maybe you should go find Raven and ask her to dance," Donna told her green friend.
"Maybe you should go find Roy and ask him to dance," Gar countered.
"I will if you will," the Amazon replied.
"Well, I guess we're agreed then," the changeling concluded, as he began walking back to the ballroom with the woman formerly known as Wonder Girl. 'Sinatra, eh?,' he thought as the sound of the music became clearer. 'Then again, this is Batman, so I shouldn't really be surprised anyway. And the song does seem like a good fit for a first dance at a wedding reception.' As he entered the room, Gar took the time to scan the room quickly. Of course, the couple of honor were already on the floor, dancing together in a light which really seemed to demonstrate that actually did marry for love.
...But I've got lots of plans for tomorrow
And all my tomorrows belong to you
Other couples were also beginning to take the floor, following the lead of Lois and Clark (the latter actually having the honor of being best man). On or approaching the dance floor were also Cassie and Conner, Tim and Stephanie, Steve and Rita (which, Gar could not deny the romantic affection his adoptive parents felt for one another, even if Steve could be cold as hell to others sometimes), Dick and Kori, Vic and Sarah, Zatanna and Constantine (which simultaneously surprised and didn't surprise him), Garth and Dolphin, Aquaman and Mera, Kate and Margie, Ollie and Dinah, and Barry and Iris, among others. As he noticed Wally dancing with some reporter he'd met in Keystone City, the changeling thought 'holy shit, it's a good thing Jinx isn't here to see this!' As he saw Donna and Roy approaching the dance floor, his mood turned from one of surprised humor to one of extreme nervousness—he had to fulfill his end of their agreement now.
Looking for that special individual from whom he was to request a dance, he found her sitting at a table, still conversing with Diana of Themyscira. Walking up to the violet-eyed object of his desire, he gathered his bravery to pose the question in a simple, yet appealing manner. "Raven Roth, may I have this dance?" he inquired.
Right now it may not seem like spring at all
We're drifting and the laughs are few
But I've got rainbows planned for tomorrow
And all my tomorrows belong to you
Within Raven's mindscape, Brave and Affection took control of her emotional state for a moment, while Rage finally had her way and silenced Timid. "Garfield Logan, you may have all of my dances this evening," she said with a slight smile. Content in the moment, the pair advanced to the dance floor together and began to simply enjoy their proximity to one another as they danced. Neither knowing exactly how happy this moment was making the other.
No one knows better than I
That luck keeps passing me by, that's fate
But with you there by my side
I'll soon be turning the tide, just wait
Holding each other close on that dance floor, each of them was feeling the exact same thing. Each of them was feeling how right this was, as though in each other's arms was exactly where they were meant to be. The feeling extended beyond mere emotion, though they both felt the emotions too. No, this feeling was emotional, instinctual and even spiritual to a degree—they simply belonged together.
As long as I've got arms that cling at all
It's you that I'll be clinging to
And all the dreams I dream, beg, or borrow
On some bright tomorrow will all come true
And all my bright tomorrows belong to you
But, as right as it felt, and as brave as they had both been to get to this point, it still scared the shit out of them that they did not know the full extent of the other's feelings. Each knew the other cared deeply for them. Hell, to a degree, the fact that Gar had asked Raven to dance and the fact that Raven had not only accepted but gave him her entire dance card, told each of them that the other was at least attracted. But hanging heavily upon the psyches of each of them was one question: "does s/he feel as deeply for me as I do for her/him." As the first song drew to a close, each resolved independently that they must know the answer to this vital question, and, as much as it scared them, they must know by the end of the next song.
As the music began to play, Gar gave a quizzical look. "What's wrong?" Raven asked in response.
"Oh, nothing," the changeling replied. "It's just, two songs by the same artist in a row is kind of odd," he nervously chuckled.
Strangers in the night, exchanging glances
Wondering in the night; what were the chances?
We'd be sharing love before the night was through
"Um, Raven?" Gar said, as his eyes were lost gazing in her violet orbs.
Something in your eyes was so inviting
Something in your smile was so exciting
Something in my heart told me I must have you
"Yeah, Gar?" Raven likewise found her gaze inexorably lost in his emerald eyes.
"There's something I need to tell you," he said.
"There's something I need to tell you too," she replied.
Strangers in the night, two lonely people
We were strangers in the night
Up to the moment when we said our first hello, little did we know
Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
And ever since that night, we've been together
Lovers at first sight, in love forever
It turned out so right for strangers in the night
"Well, you can go first if you want," Garfield was in no way above trying to at least buy himself some time. He needed to know how she would react, but at the same time the words filled him with dread. Dread that she wouldn't feel the same. Dread that she might react with rage. Dread that it could forever ruin their friendship. Yet, for all of the things about this moment which were causing him to feel fear, there was something about those purple circles that just made him feel so much damn comfort.
"Are you sure?" she asked, feeling the exact same emotions as her changeling. "I mean, I can wait..."
"Naw, you can go first, then I'll say my thing," he replied.
Love was just a glance away, a warm embracing dance away
Ever since that night, we've been together
Lovers at first sight, in love forever
It turned out so right for strangers in the night
"Well, Gar," she bit her lower lip nervously. She knew she had to say it. Even if her laughed at her and teased her about it. Even if it absolutely destroyed their friendship. Her feelings were too strong, and they needed to be resolved soon—she now had the perfect moment. At least if it ended badly, she would not be plagued with the questions of 'what if.' "I lo..."
Author's Notes
This chapter was somewhat difficult for me to write, since the shear number of things that were going on made the transition between different (simultaneous) events somewhat difficult to work with. Next chapter is probably going to be the most difficult of all for me, though. I don't want to spoil anything, so I can't really explain what my problem is going to be, but needless to say, I haven't written a chapter like next chapter yet, and I'm going to have problems with figuring out where to go with it. So, just a warning that the next chapter might be a total flop, since I'll be wandering into new territory and all.
Anyhow, am I evil for leaving it at that cliffhanger? Maybe. It all depends on how soon I finish the next chapter, I suppose. Oh, and I'll give a quick "I'm sorry" to Flinx shippers, too...
pikachewy1- The pacing issues caused by the jarring scene shifts are certainly a problem I noticed, but it's unfortunately also going to be a problem with this chapter as well, because the amount of different things that are going on are necessitating some very sharp perspective shifts (to where the chapter is, for all intents and purposes, kind of divided into little sub-chapters). It's something I'm gonna need to work on in the future. I appreciate the constructive criticism at any rate. As for Zee, I don't want to spoil anything, but don't worry—she'll be (relatively) happy in the end.
Green Bunny- Thanks. I also feel like it's excessively expository at times (the Prologue, the beginning of Chapter XV, etc.), and that's certainly something I'm going to have to work on, but I appreciate the constructive criticism. Thank you. I'm glad you like the story.
shugokage- Thanks.
Hairul The Nightrage Beast- Well, Zatanna's age within this fic can be figured as follows: Zatanna is around the same age as Bruce, who was 24 when he met a 12-year old Dick Grayson. Given that Dick is now 20 within this fic, that would make Bruce (and hence Zatanna) around 32, unless my memory or intellect has failed me at some point here. As far as the thing about Gar, Roy and Dick goes...hell yeah. Dayton Industries, Queen Industries and Wayne Enterprises are each so friggin huge that the annual revenue of any one of them is probably greater than the annual GDPs of more than a few countries. There's a lot of benefits that go along with being the adoptive sons of men like Steve Dayton, Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne. Dayton seems to be the richest of the three, though (or, at least, he has the most impressive real estate, between the Doom Patrol HQ mansion in Midway City, the Doom Patrol HQ in Prague, the Dayton Industries building in Manhattan, all of the corporate facilities and labs, etc., etc., but especially the palatial East Hampton Dayton Manor). I saw a scan from New Teen Titans #2 where Gar (in the form of a kangaroo, since it was a pretty long distance) and Dick are walking to the (Olympic-size) swimming pool at Dayton Manor (HUGE 5 or 6 story neoclassical palace in the background), and their conversation went like this:
Dick: This place is incredible, Gar. How many rooms do you have?
Gar: Who knows? I can't count past a hundred! Face it, Dick, my step-dad's the kinda guy who thinks Howard Hughes lived on food stamps!
Dick: Bruce is rich, and Wayne Manor was something, but this... this is...
Gar: A small country. Yeah, I know. But everyone's gotta hang his pouch somewhere! It's not too bad ... though I did almost starve to death once, going from bedroom to the kitchen. The third day out was the worst!
Though, I'm pretty sure when Gar said he can't count past a hundred, he meant he won't count past a hundred. Once you can count to a hundred, counting past a hundred is pretty easy intellectually...it's just really boring and monotonous, and Gar would probably just give up unless he had a really good motivation for needing to know how many rooms there were (which, guessing by the place's size, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if that number was north of a thousand). Still, any house where you can get lost for 3+ days trying to go from your own bedroom to the kitchen...that's one epic home.
I'm actually not sure which way I'm going to go with pairing Donna yet; part of me wants to pair her with Kyle while part of me wants to pair her with Roy, and I'm not even sure which one of these will win out, or even whether either of them will. That said, the following is a spoiler but it's fairly easy to figure out anyway: if I'm going to pair Donna and Roy, it isn't going to happen until after Roy has had an...er...encounter with Cheshire. If Roy Harper and Jade Nguyen don't at least have a one-night stand at some point, there's no Lian, and I really don't want to have Roy cheating on Donna if I'm gonna have him being a love interest for her. I'd have to say that if Roy and Donna are going to get together in this continuity, it won't be until the first sequel to this fic, at the earliest.
Annatheavidreader- Well, to be honest, I'll kinda be guilty of the whole time jump thing, seeing as, the way my current plan goes, there'll be a five-year jump between the end of this fic and the beginning of its first sequel. That said, I've been having so many ideas for situations to write for the children of the Titans and Justice Leaguers, that I might end up spinning off an entire series (within the same continuity) devoted entirely to their education and the process of how they end up blossoming into the next generation of the world's superheros.
I felt almost compelled to note the screaming similarities between Themyscira and Azarath. It helped make Diana a sympathetic character to Raven, at any rate, as Diana knows what the troubles of going from a matriarchal communitarian society to a patriarchal capitalist society can be like; she doesn't fault Raven or look down on her for being 'taken.' The whole idea of Raven having that trouble was also something that seemed to obvious to me to not incorporate—I mean, she basically went from living in Azarath during her childhood to being a Titan during her teens, none of which really would have prepared her for major interactions within a society where everyone seeks material profit as the highest good. A little bit of naivety is to be expected, no matter how intelligent she is. Same with Diana, although the difference with Diana is that the canon actually showed her displaying that kind of naivety when she first left Themyscira.
Densharr- Yeah, that's kinda my reaction too. Though they did have her living long enough to become a Teen Titan and a member of Batman's Silent Cavalry in the Kingdom Come alternate timeline, but she (like the vast majority of the planet's superheroes) still ended up dying in the UN's nuclear strike in Kingdom Come #4.
JasonVUK- Actually, Diana is could be called a double empath. Athena gifted her with the Sight of Athena (which allows her to perceive other people's emotions, among other things) and Artemis gifted her with animal empathy.
tsk91- Chalk it up to Timid becoming stronger when Raven was observing Gar interacting with Bette. Of course, then there's the plot hole of why Raven didn't use her empathy to read his emotions, but that could be explained by anxiety (she's too afraid that reading his emotions will confirm that her feelings are unrequited).