Chapter IV

The Not-So-Blind Date

"Peter?"

"Raven?"

Peter's mouth fell open in shock. He couldn't help it. Apart from the fact that he was on a date with Raven... with Raven!... his mind was blown by how beautiful she looked.

He stood there, his mouth opening and closing, suddenly very dry. He was... he was...

"Peter?" Raven repeated. Her mind was shell-shocked. Every thought, every emotion was stripped away as she stared at the man sitting across from her. Because Spider-Man certainly looked older, and she blushed furiously.

"Raven?"

"Okay," Raven said, taking several deep breaths, trying to regain her composure. "We can sit here for a long time repeating each other's name, or..."

An awkward silence descended on them.

"Or what?"

Neither of them was sure who spoke first. They didn't even stop to think that Beast Boy and Starfire had something to do with this. All they knew was that they were sitting across from each other, each enraptured by the other's appearance and presence.

"Would you like anything to drink?" the waiter asked at some point, looking from one to the other.

"Uh, yeah, water please," Raven said absently. Peter blinked.

"Yeah, water for me too," he said, shaking his head slightly. "Raven, you look... you look amazing..." She blushed even deeper, her face aglow with emotion.

"Thanks," she said. "You do too." Now it was Peter's turn to blush.

And then they talked. And they were both aware that they had been in this situation before, just talking about trivial nothings. It was Peter who finally broached the subject.

"Raven, I... I had a dream... about you..." he said, haltingly. She nodded, smiling.

"Me too," she said. "It actually happened. I mean, it was a dream world that I conjured up. It was my way of... well, saying sorry."

"Yeah," Peter said, looking down. "I kinda lost it. I shouldn't have been so angry."

"You had ever right to be," Raven said, reaching across the table and grabbing his hand. They both froze, and when Raven realized what she did, she jerked it back. But they both grinned.

As the evening progressed, they found out a lot about each other. It was going beautifully.

A patron walked past their table. He stared at Raven, not admiringly, but slightly disgusted, as of he realized that he had just stepped in dog poo. He stared at her skin and hair. As he walked past, he said, quite distinctly, "freak."

Before Raven had time to feel hurt, Peter had rose, grabbed the man in a full nelson from behind, and forced him to his knees.

"Just because she isn't the two-dollar hookers you pick up after dinner," he hissed in the man's ear, "doesn't make her a freak. Apologize. Now."

He applied some more pressure, and the man squealed.

"I... I... I'm sorry," he gasped, and Peter let him go. As he stumbled away, quite a few people around them applauded. He was clearly unpopular.

"Sorry about that," Peter said, apologetically. "I get that a lot as Spider-Man, I know it doesn't feel-,"

"Peter," Raven breathed. "Thanks."

He smiled, half ashamedly.

After dinner, they decided to take a walk. There was a park nearby, and they ambled along slowly together, walking ever so slightly closer to one another.

Beast Boy stared through his binoculars.

"Phase Four is enacted," he said triumphantly to Star. "This is going great."

"Please, how many phases are there?" Star asked, trying to count them on her fingers. BB shook his head.

"As many as it takes!" he said, then a disturbing thought occurred to him. "Uh, well, maybe we'll stop if it goes too far..."

Star looked up.

"How will it go too far?"

BB felt himself go red. Well, a darker shade of green.

"Well, let's just say we don't want the bomb of romance to blow quite so soon," he said delicately. Starfire thought about it for a moment.

"Does not the word 'blow' in your language mean-?"

"Anyway!" BB interrupted, then clapped his hand over his mouth. "We just have to keep an eye on them..."

"So where did you get that dress?"

"Starfire got it for me."

"That's funny."

"Why?" Raven asked, as they made their way through the moonlit trail. Peter laughed. Hi waved his tux jacket around a little bit. He had taken it off, and the bowtie, and had rolled up his sleeves.

"Beast Boy got this tux," he explained. "I think I've just now put two and two together..."

Raven frowned, then gasped.

"Those two!" she said loudly. "They... they... they set us up?!" But Peter was laughing.

"They sure did," he said, grinning. "And I know I sure ain't complaining."

"Oh," Raven said, thinking about it. "Yeah, I guess I'm not either."

They walked in silence for a bit.

"We still need to punish them," Raven went on. Peter nodded.

"Oh, yes," he said. "I don't appreciate being manipulated... even if..."

"Yes?" Raven prompted. "Even if what?"

Peter stopped, looking deep into her eyes. They were so brown, so expressive... Raven almost missed his next words.

"Even if they gave me the courage to do what I've been wanting to do for a long time."

Raven didn't respond. At least, not with words. She felt him gently pull her into his arms, and into a loving kiss.

It was better and more real than the dream world. All thoughts and cares vanished in an instant. Raven felt more alive than she had ever felt before. And her powers...

Her powers were based on the fact that they worked on anything in this dimension, this universe. Spider-Man was literally out of this world.

She could openly feel love fore him, and she didn't have to worry about destroying the world.

BB and Starfire gazed at the couple, feeling that their mission had been accomplished. Starfire sighed, her hands clasped beneath her chin. BB was grinning broadly, his hands on his hips.

"I can't believe it," he said. "It actually worked. Sorry to steal from you Cyborg, but... BOOYAH!"

Starfire gasped. BB, horrified, grabbed his jaw. But it was too late.

A burst of black magic grabbed Starfire, and BB felt webbing on his leg. They were both yanked out of the tree.

"Well, well, well," Raven said, trapping them both.

"Yeah, I was just thinking that," Spidey said, picking up BB and Star from behind. "Well done. You managed to bring us both together, and for that, we thank you."

"So..." BB choked. "So you're not gonna kill us?"

"No," Raven said, her voice alight with malicious delight. "Of course not."

"We have something much better planned..." Peter said, and together they laughed, sealing the fate of BB and Starfire.

Haha! It finally happened! I've been looking forward to this for quite some time. Anywho, next chapter should finish it up. And then, which story should I continue first... Wade's or Slade's? Go to my page to vote on which baddie you want to see next. I'll be doing them both, I just don't know which I should do first.