Chapter 41. Damage control.
Birds had flown away at the sound of the angry roars the Beast made while the breeze was calming their agitated bodies. No one dared to make a sound other than the waves crashing on the rocks nearby, they just… stared. After the nail biting moment the Beast had made everyone go thru, to watch how anger melted away kiss by kiss, was just as mesmerizing.
There was a heavy sigh of relief from Cyborg while he wiped away a trail of sweat from the human half of his head and silently started to walk back towards the door they came out of. Robin followed suit until only Starfire, Red X and Meliah remained.
The alien flew silently towards the thief who was now trying to get up. He shook his head when she offered him her hand and once on his feet, dusted himself off . From the corner of his eye looked at the couple in a tight embrace. They seemed so peaceful in each other's arms, no traces left of the near death match he had witnessed.
Meliah however, was rooted in the same spot. Hard to tell whether she was still upset or even scared. Her features resembled no emotion, her fists were loose and just stared absentmindedly at the rocks and the sand in front of her.
At some point, Garfield turned to Meliah and grabbed her hand softly to get her attention making her snap out of her reverie. First, she noticed his hand on hers and his other hand, was holding Raven's. Meliah looked up into his eyes. They were apologetic and somewhat remorseful.
"M… I'm sorry I yelled at you. You too Raven, I'm sorry to both of you… I'm not taking back what I said but I wanted to apologize for losing my temper the way I did…" he said while looking from one girl to the other and noticed them avoiding each other's eyes.
"You have no idea how important the two of you are to me and I don't want to lose either one over a misunderstanding. Look, I don't expect you to become best friends but, I do expect you to be civil with each other. … now, is that something you two can work with?" he asked, no longer upset but serious enough to make them understand his point.
Finally, the girls glanced at each other for a split second then at him and nodded. Garfield grinned from ear to ear and pulled them both in a hug. Meliah giggled while Raven tried to contain her own. When he let them go, he looked around and noticed everyone else was gone.
"Hey, why don't we go get something to eat? It's well past lunch time and we missed breakfast. What do you say?" he asked with a smile.
"Food sounds good" answered Meliah.
"If you don't mind Gar, I'll just take a cup of tea and I'll go meditate in my room. Its been too long since my last session and after this morning's… incident… I'm exhausted."
His ears drooped a little in disappointment. Raven noticed this and came closer, placed her hands on each side of his head and pulled him in for a tender kiss while she run a finger on his left ear and soon, Garfield started to purr.
Meliah smiled and turned around to give them privacy and started to walk towards the door. She tried to distract herself by wiggling her toes as she walked in the sand. The warm breeze played with her hair and she took a deep breath of the salty air to calm down the remaining traces of anger and frustration she felt.
Meanwhile, Raven was enjoying herself. The purring noises he made were a compliment. Then a thought crossed her mind. She was hesitant but a voice in her head said "Do it. I guarantee you'll like it"
Raven frown for a split second but then thought to herself why not. She changed position, grabbed his face once more and caught his lower lip and nibbled on it. This time, a moan escaped him and with a swift move, pulled her to him by the waist and caught her lower lip and nibbled on it a bit harder than what she had dared to do to him.
Raven gasped at the thrill of the wonderful feeling but at the same time, rocks around them started to explode. Garfield was quick to push her to the sand while he fell on top of her to protect her from the debris.
Meliah heard the noise and turned around and started to run in their direction when she saw Garfield lift his head and look around. When he saw her coming, he lifted his hand to stop her and said "We're ok M…" she stopped and gave him a dubious look. Garfield smiled and said "I promise M, we're… more than fine". he said the last words while he looked down at Raven who was pursing her lips, trying not to smile while a blush was heating up her neck and face.
Garfield turned to Meliah who just nodded once and resumed her walk towards the door. Then he returned his attention to the girl under him "What was that?"
"I'm sorry" she said and tried to get up but he didn't let her.
"I'm not complaining, it's just… I had a dream like this not too long ago but… wow, this time was even better"
Raven smiled at this "It wasn't a dream Gar, Rage and the others did experiment on you in Nevermore"
"Really? I thought the whole trip had been a dream, no wonder it was… wait, does that mean you'll do the same?" he asked with a huge grin while they were trying to get up. Raven dusted the sand off her cape and hair while he did the same with his hair. Raven smiled "I'm not entirely sure what they did but, I'll try… just not today, I really need to meditate…I'll see you later?"
He hugged her once more and gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "You bet" he said with a toothy smile. Then, Raven stepped back and with a smile of her own, disappeared in a portal.
Garfield sighed and for a moment, stared at the space where Raven had been, asking himself if he really had just let the Beast loose, angrily make his point across and most of all, kissed by the girl he had been in love with for years in a way he had only dreamt about. That made him smile to himself once more and whispered "She really did".
Muffled steps on the sand not too far made him get back to reality and look around and spotted Meliah reaching the door.
"Meliah, wait up!" he yelled and started running towards his friend.
…
…
When the others arrived at the common room, they had a chance to assess the extent of the damages. In the course of two days, the tower had been set on fire, trampled on, housed a dragon and even resisted the rampage of two angry women with supernatural powers. All and all, and considering the circumstances, the odd shaped building was still standing. But the chaos was extensive.
The floor to ceiling windows were broken, others cracked. There was nothing recognizable as a kitchen utensil after the explosion and was covered with black streaks where the fire had been most prominent. The doors to the hallway were about to collapse. The big sofa was no longer light cream color but a mixture of grey, black and other stains along with the carpet that surrounded it.
And although the main console was intact, other equipment was not. There were sparking wires hanging from the ceiling, chairs or what remained of them were encrusted on the wall. The debris of broken glass, food and other unknown pieces covered the rest of the floor and flickering lights threatening to give out any minute.
Cyborg scratched his head and wondered when had they had the chance to scratch the ceiling with their claws. Robin sighed deeply and Starfire had gone to her room to make sure Silkie had not been caught in the catfight or trapped in the disaster.
"Man, look at this mess" whined Cyborg while looking at their surroundings.
"We'll get it back in order Cy, don't worry" said Robin as he also contemplated the disaster.
Cyborg walked thru the debris avoiding broken glass from the windows and pieces of food that had been blown the day before. He approached the window and placed a hand on its frame and thought good, still strong enough, I don't have to replace it.
Then he stuck his head out and try to get a look around the frame and when he looked down, noticed Beast Boy hugging the two girls. When he turned around, he had a smile on his face.
"Did something amuse you, friend Cyborg?" asked Starfire, hovering close by Robin with Silkie in her arms. She was cradling it like a baby.
"Nah, I'm just glad the grass stain got those two under control" Cyborg said while making his way to the main console. Once there, he found a note addressed to Garfield and gave it to Robin while he attempted to bring the super computer back to life.
After pressing a few buttons, he sighed in relief when the screen lit up and asked for a sign in password. He typed his code and watched how the network came back online. He brought up a schematic of the tower to try to asses if the infrastructure was in any way compromised and typed commands for the computer to run the necessary scans.
They watched silently the upwards advance of the scan of the schematic on the screen. First red, then blue and finally green, each level was meticulously searched. After a few minutes, the conclusion was that the damage was merely cosmetic and other than windows, window frames, elevator doors, carpets and walls that needed repair and cleaning, there was nothing major to worry about.
"Woah" came a quiet voice in a monotone that took them by surprise. Raven had appeared in the area where the kitchen used to be.
"Raven, is everything the ok? Did you three fight again?" asked the alien flying closer to the sorceress while she rummaged among the remaining of the cabinet in search of her tea.
"No Star, what makes you say that?" Raven said while straightening up with a small box in hand, untouched by the fire somehow.
"I see you alone and no longer with your beloved at your side or Meliah" Star said with a tinge of worry in her voice.
"I just need to meditate and rest for a little bit. These last two days had been non-stop for me. I just came for some tea and I'll be on my way to my room but…" she said while looking around. The stove was dented beyond repair and her tea kettle was almost non existent.
"I got you Rae" said Cyborg and from a closet on the far end, he pulled a brand new tea kettle and small electric burner that was meant to be used for camping, if they ever got the chance. He plugged it, while Raven filled the kettle with water. She didn't have to wait long for it come to a boil, prepared her tea, thanked the tin man and left thru a portal to her room.
"Dude!, what a disaster" said Beast Boy a few seconds later when he arrived with Meliah.
"Tell me about it. It will take days before the Tower is secured enough to be left alone, not mentioning cleaned" said Cyborg
Robin then gave Beast Boy the envelope which he read while Meliah made her way around and started to pick up some of the debris.
The note said
Garfield dear, I'm sorry we left without saying goodbye but we got an emergency call from Larry.
Call the number below, they are very discrete and will be able to help you repair and clean up the damages in the tower in no time. They will be expecting your call. That way we can all meet in Tibet and continue with this investigation. We'll be expecting coordinates soon.
Love Rita and Steve.
"Well dude, we don't have to worry about the clean up and repairs" he said handing the note to Robin. After reading it, he gave the note to Cyborg who immediately called. After a few exchanges, Cyborg hang up with a big grin on his face.
"Alright!, a cleaning crew and contractors are coming tomorrow by noon to start the repairs and we don't have to do a thing and the sweetest part is, is already paid for. Apparently they are the go to company that the Doom Patrol uses on a regular basis so they know the drill."
Robin sighed in relief, he wasn't looking forward all the clean up that needed to be done.
"Well Titans, I suggest we rest as much as we can. We'll call for pizza and go to bed. We'll have an early start tomorrow"
"Come with me little lady, I'll show you to your room" said Cyborg while motioning Meliah to follow him.
"Don't worry about it Cyborg, I can sleep here. I'll just turn into a…"
"Nonsense M, you'll be more comfortable there" said Garfield putting an arm around her shoulders.
"Gar, you do forget I've been sleeping in the jungle, or a cage or any other place when I had the chance, it would be no problem for me to just…"
"Meliah? Those days are in the past. You have friends now that care about you. Come, I'll take you to your new room" said Starfire with a smile and a grip that wouldn't take a no for an answer.
An hour later the pizzas arrived. Meliah had the chance to try a new variety and Garfield had an excuse to check on Raven.
He knocked on her door. He had a plate with a couple of slices of her favorite toppings, mushrooms, ham and pineapple. There was no answer at first but a soft swish from the door startled him. The room was dark as always, it was only when his eyes adjusted that he noticed a single candle lighting up the room. Raven was hovering above her bed, legs crossed and eyes closed.
Garfield walked as silently as he could, placed the plate on the night stand and glanced at the girl. Stare was the right word as he could not take his eyes off of her. The warm glow the candle provided, gave Raven a peaceful and beautiful complexion. So much so that he was compelled to get closer and attempt to give her a kiss on the cheek
His lips had barely touched her skin when she opened her eyes.
"I'm sorry Rae, I didn't mean to…" she placed a finger over his lips to stop him.
"You don't have to apologize Gar, its ok. Thank you for the food" she said with a smile. He smiled back and started to walk towards the door.
"Green" she said before he got out and that made him stop right in front of the door.
"What?"
"The password to my door, it's the word Green" Raven said shyly. He chuckled lightly to himself. "Since when?" he asked.
"Since the first time you were in Nevermore" he chuckled some more but this time she heard him "What's so funny?" she asked.
"The password to my door its been Purple since we first moved into the tower" he said and before he turned to exit her room, he blew her a kiss and said "Good night" but a tendril of her dark energy prevented him from getting out.
"Gar, don't blow me kisses ever again… you know why?" she said while she approached him. "Why?" he asked once she was just inches away.
"Because I like them in person" she said while she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in a tender kiss. His binds disappeared and he circled her waist. After a few minutes they pulled apart and Raven said "Now that is a proper good night kiss… good night Gar". he chuckled once more and pulled his girlfriend in a tight hug and said "I love you Rae. Good night".
…
…
It was barely six in the morning when Raven phased thru the floor in the common room. The sun was barely making its appearance. Some of the broken glass sparkled at the weak sunrays. Raven glided over one of the windows and guided her magic with her hands and put together every piece to repair the first crystal panel.
"Its very impressive what you can do with your powers" Meliah's quiet voice came from the other side of the room. She was leaning against the window sill looking out. One leg pulled up against her chest, resting her right arm on it while her left leg hanged outside.
"So can Gar and you. Being able to turn into animals anytime you want its actually pretty interesting"
Meliah chuckled "It is. You should try it sometime"
"I have… once" she said in her monotone after a moment. Meliah turned her way this time.
"You have? When? How? "
"A few years ago. Some wanna be magician trapped us in his hat and turned us into different animals"
"Really? Like what?"
"Let me see… Robin was a capuchin monkey, Cyborg was a cybernetic bear, Starfire was a cheetah and Gar was… well, he could turn into any electronic device" that made Meliah giggle.
"What were you? Let me guess… a tiger? A leopard? A…"
"A bunny" said Raven in an emotionless tone.
"… a bunny?… really?" said Meliah, barely containing her amusement.
"Go ahead, you can laugh. I was a fluffy, long eared white bunny"
Meliah's laugh resonated in the room while Raven contain her own giggles.
"Gar never mentioned that"
"And with good reason. I sworn them all to secrecy"
"Don't worry, I'll keep your secret"
Raven went back to her self appointed task and continued working on the next panel.
"He's aware of your every move, you know?, even If he's not aware of himself."
Raven stopped and thought for a minute. Remembering the many times Meliah had reacted to her presence. Regardless of the demon in her, the instincts were her basic nature.
"I can only imagine how annoying that can be" she said with a ghost of a frown.
"He doesn't mind. He's just… happier when you're around" Meliah said quietly, leaning back against the frame looking out at the bay.
"All this time I could only think of how annoying he was being by tracking my every move in the tower. It was until you showed up that I realized it had been my powers he sensed. He couldn't help it."
Meliah chuckled "It's not your fault. Its an animal thing we got… did you know he spoke of you the entire trip to Africa?"
"He did? What did he say?" Raven said with an arched eyebrow.
"Everything… Raven, he knows you better than you think. From your every mood to your fighting style, your taste of food, clothing… books…"
"Books? that's hard to believe. The only books he pays attention to are his comics"
"You'd be surprised. And when we arrived to his parents graves, I'm sure he told them a lot more"
"You were not with him?"
"I just showed him where they were then I gave them his space. It was only when you called him that I came back to him. I was across the river when I heard his communicator go off. When he didn't answer I went to check on him."
"Was he ok?"
"Yes, just distracted. He didn't seem to have noticed the incoming call, that's why I answered. When I told you I didn't know if he was going to call you anytime soon, it was because of that, but, the truth is, if you hadn't called when you did, we would have been ambushed by those droids. They would have caught us distracted and alone and we would've had less chances of survival, so thank you"
Raven nodded "Droids? You mean the slade-bots? So that's what Slade didn't want to tell me he did"
"Yes, but, Gar had a brilliant idea of electrocuting them. We came back soon after you, Star and Red X were kidnapped" Raven smiled at that. Then thought of something else she had wanted to say.
"By the way Meliah, thank you, for saving his life" said Raven quietly.
"Don't mention it" answered Meliah
"And how are the most beautiful girls in the world doing this morning?" said Garfield from the door with a big smile. He walked fast, almost run and pulled Raven in a short but tender kiss.
"Good morning babe, how are you feeling?" he said while brushing some of her hair back and tucking it behind her left ear. That made her blush for a moment. His touch was so intimate in the simplest actions.
"Much better now" she said with a smile. He smiled back then helped Meliah to her feet and gave her a brief hug and a kiss on the top of her head.
"How are you M?"
"Never better Gar, thanks"
"Good, ladies, get ready. We're leaving soon." Said Robin walking thru the door. Raven now noticed the doors off their hinges, leaning against the wall. Some of the debris was cleared but not by much and a stack of pizza boxes in the corner.
"What about the tower. It needs to be repaired and secured." said Raven
"We got that covered little lady. Mento sent us a cleaning crew and some contractors to take care of that. In fact, they should be here soon" said Cyborg checking on the digital clock built in his left arm.
"Cyborg will remain with them until tomorrow to make sure the security systems are back online, then he'll join us in Tibet to continue the investigation." said Robin. Starfire flew in and landed next to the boy wonder.
"Friends, has anyone seen friend Michael?"
Everyone looked around. He had blended in just fine, but just as easy, no one noticed his absence.
"Robin, did you upset him again?" asked Starfire.
"What?… Star… no, I didn't. I haven't seen him since yesterday morning"
"Then, where can he be?… Raven can you find him please" said Star with a worried tone. Raven closed her eyes and tried to use her powers to find him in the tower, but after a few seconds, she opened them again.
"I cant sense him"
"So, is he gone?" asked Starfire with a trembling lip.
"I'm not sure Star, his suit blocks my powers and he refuses to take off the mask among us. We would have to physically look for him"
"Then I'll start to search for him immediately" said Starfire and without waiting for an approval, she took off and flew thru the door.
"Star wait…" Robin called but his words fell on deaf ears. He lowered his arm and could only stare at the open door.
Raven could only think of the worried look Starfire had. Something had happened and her friend was gone, so she turned to Garfield who was still holding onto her hand "Gar?…"
"You don't have to ask my permission Rae, go ahead. Obviously it means a lot for Star and you that he's missing" he said while he gave her hand a gentle squeeze.
"He's just a friend Gar"
"I know babe, I trust you… go" he said with a smile and before letting go of her hand, he brought it to his lips and kissed it in reassurance.
"I'm going too Gar, he's my friend as well" said Meliah and while Raven phased thru the floor, she turned into a bird and flew out of one of the still broken windows down to the beach.
Garfield took a deep breath as his smile faded. Cyborg came next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey man, it was bound to happen. They've been thru a lot together and became friends. You cant blame them for that"
"I know Cy, its just… why him. Why them?"
…
…
Starfire looked thru the corridors and guest rooms but nothing. Even if he had been in one of them, the thief had left no trace of his presence of ever being there. She should know, she had seen it in the Batcave before. But still, it was disturbing to think that after all they'd been thru, he would still just… disappear without even saying goodbye.
Meliah had circled the tower then landed on the sand and continued on foot. She got as far as the tunnel that connected the island with the rest of the city but, there was no trace of him. Of course if he teleported somewhere else, their search would be futile, still, she thought that after all this time, he would at least try and say goodbye. Hard to tell with him as he was spontaneous on his actions.
Raven took to the roof and when she saw no sight of him, she went inside everyone else's rooms he had done before when he left the notes for her and Starfire's room as a welcome. There was no trace of him in Star's room but when she appeared in hers, he was there, perched on the window sill with his mask on.
"Everyone its been looking for you Michael, why are you here?… in my room?" she said in a emotionless tone while she approached him. He chuckled at her remark.
"You mean every girl in the tower is looking for me, I'm flattered. Besides, I know the guys could not care less if I'm here or not."
"You still haven't answered my question. Why are you in my room?"
"Waiting for you"
"Why?"
"I came to say goodbye"
"You're leaving? I thought that…"
"That I would join your little hero team and… save the world from the bad guys?… sorry to disappoint you beautiful but I work alone and I don't do the hero job"
"That… is the lamest excuse you can ever give me. What is the real reason Michael?"
Michael took a deep breath and slowly let it out "I've told you… I don't want to be compared to your leader the Boy Wonder all the time"
"But if you keep stealing, eventually you'll get caught and when everyone finds out what you look like, then what?" she crossed her arms over her chest.
"I already thought of that and I'm going away, I'll change my look, my fighting style… everything that resembles him"
"What about them Mike? What about Star, she's worried sick about you. And Meliah? I thought you had some kind of plans with her"
He sighed again "None that I can go forward with… not like this but, maybe in the future… just… don't tell her my plans, I'll say goodbye to them then I'll be gone"
After a moment he got up, took off his mask and came closer. So close that his nose was inches away from hers and looking her straight in the eyes. Then run a finger softly on her left cheek and whispered "You're truly beautiful Raven, he's lucky to have you love him" then softly cupped her face and attempted to place a kiss on her lips but she squeezed his hand and whispered "Please don t do it". He smiled a little then softly rubbed his nose to hers and kissed her forehead instead.
"Only because you asked me not to" he gave her a hug and said "Goodbye Raven, take care"
Reluctantly, she hugged him back and said "You too Michael". when he let her go, he placed his mask back on and teleported out of her room without another word.
…
…
When Raven went back to the common room, the cleaning crew and contractors were already there. Garfield came running and wrapped his arms around her.
"Is he gone?"
"I think so. He was going to say goodbye to Star and Meliah then take off… how do you know he was leaving?"
Garfield looked down and pursed his lips before answering "I heard you two talking in your room…" Raven arched an eyebrow to which he lifted his hands in defense "I swear I wasn't spying, I came looking for Star and I heard voices. I couldn't help but to hear the rest… I agree with him on one thing though … you're truly beautiful"
"You're not mad he tried to kiss me?"
"I was but you said no and he didn't insist, I'm ok with that. He just… he better not let me get my hands on him" he said with a mischievous smile.