I do NOT own Teen Titans
Notes and replied to comments:
Given the Tamaranians are so durable and strong, in this story I've assumed they don't have doctors. That has implications other than just fixing wounds.
With Raven's upbringing, expecting to die early and all that, I doubt she knows much about birth control.
Beast Boy didn't defeat the Tamaranians arrayed against him. He created a smokescreen of sorts to hide himself. Then when Aeopie entered Nevermore the aliens left thinking she was dead.
I don't think the Presence will be making an appearance in this story. Enough powerful forces already. If they knew about it I'm pretty sure the Gordanians would want to control Beast Boy - the power to destroy a world without weapons. Much like Aeopie's people.
The Tamaranians would know the limits of their power, and I imagine the commands to them would be pretty much: "Kill the girl and the woman trying to protect her. Harm no one else." And "Kill the one trying to destroy our ship. Harm no one else." Still a risk of someone else getting hurt, but Aeopie's people are telepaths and would've known if anyone else was in danger.
They had reason to be arrogant, believing they could command anyone at will. But as a whole I think they would've been more scared than anything else, and perhaps sad.
More talk in this chapter about children and who's pregnant by who.
Time: The next day.
Calm Before the Storm,... Baby Talk,... A Visitor,...
Once again her arms and legs had somehow managed to wrap around him in her sleep. Not that he was going to complain. Beast Boy snuggled down beneath the covers, intensely aware of her pressed against his back, and looked around. Apartments were rare in Jump City. Between the silver minion and the gangs quite a few places had been badly damaged. Those that were still okay to live in had been filled by people immigrating from places where things were worse. That meant they'd ended up back at Titan's Tower.
Probably for the best. The shape shifter mused. There's always a chance some villain will choose to attack a superhero on her own. Still, he was going to miss that apartment, and the memories he had of it. Then there was the fact that technically he wasn't a Titan, and was only there as Raven's boyfriend. It made being at the Tower feel strange. However it doesn't matter. Beast Boy decided. Any place is good so long as Raven and Aeopie are there.
His eyes turned to look at the one spot of color in a place dominated by shades of dark; a colossal mountain of bright orange blankets piled on the immense chair they'd bought for the young telepath. They'd tried to buy her a bed, but she'd gone directly to the chair section of the store. Is it just my eyes, or are those blankets actually glowing. Beast Boy wondered. It was certainly a sight he'd never expected to see in Raven's room. The faint sound of snoring, along with a slow but steady heart beat, told him the young girl was quite comfortable with her new sleeping arrangements. Which is the only thing that really matters. He mused.
One of the arms that held him possessively slid down lower and he gasped. The gasp became a moan, and a lustful voice whispered in his ear.
"Shower before she wakes up?" Raven asked in a sultry tone that said she already knew the answer.
"Mmmm, yes." He managed to get out. With a cautious glance at the orange pile of bedding, he grabbed the violet-haired girl by the waist, tossed her over a shoulder, and bolted for the adjacent washroom.
She nearly let out a startled yelp that would've definitely woken the sleeping girl. Giggling instead, she let the emotions of the excited shape shifter mingle with her own, adding to her own desire.
"If we told her it was your room she might be willing to sleep there." Raven said, looking at the mountain of orange between her bed and the door..
"It's not my room anymore. I'm not a Titan remember." .
"Just a technicality." The violet-eyed girl replied. "No one will dare say it isn't your room. And we can always say she's a guest and needs a place to sleep."
"I suppose. It's pretty close and it's secure."
"This is better." A sleepy voice came from the small mountain of bedding.
"It would be your own place. You could keep stuff there." Raven told her.
"I'll take that part of the deal." Aeopie replied, struggling to free herself from the mass of blankets. "But I'm sleeping here."
"All or nothing." The half demon bargained.
"Then I'll stay here." A leg clad in orange pajamas managed to force its way out from the blankets.
"You'll have your own dresser to put your clothes in."
"I don't have that many." The pile heaved a little, and the leg was joined by an arm.
"We can buy you more if you had a place to put them."
"I got to hide them with a cloak and sunglasses anyway. What's the point?" The girl managed to free herself, and sat panting on the floor.
"True." Raven sighed. I'll just have to get used to wearing sunglasses in my own room. She mused with a small smile.
You should paint your whole room orange. A voice not her own echoed in her mind.
Not in a million years. The violet-eyed girl replied, holding the words in her thoughts for a second.
Orange carpet then? Came the serious sounding reply.
No!
Orange bookcases?
No!
Orange curtains for the windows?
No!
Orange ceiling?
No!
Orange ...
No! She projected the words at the girl before she could make her next suggestion. Looking at the orange-eyed telepath she found the girl grinning. She'd been just joking with her. Raven found herself grinning in reply. With a small sigh of pure contentment she sank back in the arms holding her. This was a really good way to wake up.
"So. How was the shower this morning?" The girl asked, a hint of mischievousness in her voice.
"Quite good." Raven intoned impassively. "It's nice to be clean." She leaned towards the girl and sniffed. "Speaking of which." She pointed towards the washroom.
Aeopie gulped. "I washed just two days ago." She said, no longer finding the situation funny.
Raven frowned, her arm still pointing.
"Chocolate covered waffles?" The girl tried to bargain. A shower without complain for her favorite treat.
"Don't know what ingredients the kitchen has." Beast Boy replied from behind the violet-eyed girl. His eyes were closed with a small grin on his face. This is a really nice way to wake up. He mused contentedly. "Oh. And technically I don't live here, so I would need permission to cook." He added with a mischievous glint in his own eyes.
"WHAT!" The orange-eyed girl cried. "If you don't cook who will?" She looked fearfully at Raven. The empath had tried to make pancakes for her once and ... The small form shuddered in horror.
"Starfire is always trying to get people try her cooking." The shape shifter pointed out. The girl's mouth opened and closed without words coming out. A small tingle in the back of his skull told him the telepath had tried to say something without using her voice. But she only tried to speak, not force me to do anything. Beast Boy noted with relief. After yesterday he knew the difference. When one of her people tried to command him it hurt.
"Sorry."
"It's okay. I know you didn't try to make me do anything." Beast Boy reassured her. "Take a shower and we'll go down to the kitchen. If they got the ingredients then you can have the waffles."
"Okay." The grinning girl rose and scurried to the washroom.
"We need more clothes for her." Raven mused. "And a place to keep them."
"Can always take her shopping later." The shape shifter answered, studying the girl's ears. They looked so interesting.
"Can we afford..." She gasped as he leaned close and nibbled on her ear.
"We can. Money isn't a problem." Beast Boy replied a few minutes later. "I donated ten million to Starfire's people yesterday. But that still leaves around thirteen million. And there's plenty more where that came from."
Raven's eyes went wide. "Ten million!" She gulped, too afraid to ask if the shape shifter had robbed a few banks during his absence.
After Aeopie finished one of the quickest showers in history they headed down to the kitchen.
"Glorious morning." Starfire greeted them with a wide smile. "I'm cooking breakfast for friend Robin. Would you like some?" Used to the others saying no, her eyes focused on Aeopie.
Gulping, the girl stepped behind Beast Boy and clutched at his hand.
Help! Raven heard the girl's plea projected into her mind. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll be out of the hospital in a few days. Maybe. She let a hint of humor infuse the words so the frightened girl would know she was just kidding.
"Will you be staying here now?" The orange-skinned alien asked hopefully.
"Not sure." Raven replied. "There isn't a single empty apartment in the city, so we might have too."
"It would be good for us all to be together again." Starfire said, nearly pleading.
Raven smiled a little. "We're here for a while anyway. It'll be months, if not years before things get back to normal."
"Years." Beast Boy sighed. "It takes that long to build large buildings, and some of the power plants in the other cities were destroyed. So years."
"Goodie." Starfire bounced off the ground. "To celebrate I will cook us all breakfast."
"Umm." Raven gulped. "Actually I think Beast Boy is going to cook Aeopie's favorite meal. So we'll have to skip."
"Oh." The alien's feet hit the ground again.
"By the way." Raven blushed as a worried expression crossed her face. "Are you one of the five thousand who got pregnant?"
"Sadly no." Starfire replied with her feet now solidly on the ground. "For all that we may look the same we're different. Any children I have will not be friend Robin's." A small shudder of sorrow ran through her body. "Yet there are only seven thousand of us female Tamaranians to rebuilt our race, and I so wish to have children."
The violet-eyed girl felt a rush of relief flood her body even as she felt pity for the poor girl.
"Friend Beast Boy is the only human who might get one of us pregnant." Starfire added. "If he were to have sex with us in the form of a Tamaranian."
The rush of relief vanished as Raven turned to face the shape shifter.
"Don't worry." He reassured her. "I stuck to my human form. And I doubt it would work quite like that anyway. The green color when I change form means the DNA of whatever shape I'm in isn't quite pure. It would make things different enough to prevent kids."
Whew! The relieved woman sighed to herself.
"So no babies for me to play with?" Aeopie suddenly asked.
Both Raven and Beast Boy jumped as they remembered the girl's presence, with both wondering how appropriate the conversation was for her ears.
"Sadly no." Starfire said. "Unless friend Beast Boy and friend Raven have some."
Aeopie turned expectantly towards the two of them.
"Not for a few years yet." Raven told her. Her lips turned down in a frown as she became lost in thought.
"Oh."
"Hrm. Starfire?" Beast Boy blushed as he spoke.
"Yes friend Beast Boy." The girl turned to look at him.
"I don't know what sort of customs you have on Tamaran. But if you want to get pregnant, don't just go sleeping with someone other than Robin. That would cause a lot of problems." The shape shifter gulped, his once green face now beet red. "Talk to him first. I'm sure he wouldn't mind too much if you decided to have a child, but there're ways of getting pregnant other than having sex." He was now blushing so badly that even his neck was now changing color.
"Other ways?" Starfire asked, clearly confused.
"There are?" Raven asked, also looking puzzled.
"Some times women can't get pregnant normally." Aeopie said, clearly more knowledgeable than either women. "So doctors can help."
"They can?" Starfire asked hopefully with her feet leaving the ground again.
Beast Boy sighed, and clamped his hand around the telepath's mouth before she could speak again. "Talk it over with Robin. He knows how much your people love children, and he'll understand. Just make sure it's not sex with another Tamaranian you're suggesting."
"I will." She flew out the door to do just that.
"There are?" Raven asked?
"There are." The shape shifter replied. He looked down at Aeopie. "Your people are pretty frail so I guess you got doctors?"
The girl nodded. "As far back as we can remember. When one feels pain we all feel pain, so we looked for ways to fix it."
"Thought so. Didn't you have doctors on Azarath?" He turned to look at Raven.
"I've never been to one." She explained. "I could always fix anything that was wrong with a healing trance. The same when I had to heal someone."
"Glad I used ..." He paused, not willing to use the word condoms in front of the nine-year old. I'm really glad Jenny taught me all about that and being careful. He gulped.
"I'm half demon." Raven continued, speaking softly with a worried expression. "I wonder if I can get pregnant? I've never really thought about it before. Not seriously. With Trigon gone I just sort of assumed I would one day, but I wasn't ready so I just forgot about it. However I spent months with ..." She gulped, and blushed, as she looked at the shape shifter. "I didn't get pregnant." She added.
Beast Boy frowned. He had no answer to that. Trigon must've used magic to conceive her. He thought, reaching out to hold her. So only half her DNA is human. The chances she could have a baby is practically zero. "We'll find out." He finally replied in a soft voice. "My DNA has been altered so perhaps you can while I can't." He shrugged with his arms still around her, not knowing what else to say.
Raven smiled and pushed the thought to one side. "Things will work out." She declared confidently. "And if not then I've still got more than I ever expected to have. The world won't die at my hands, and I got a life I love. Given how much I have, to be sad and ruin it would be stupid." She pulled Aeopie close. "We better get the chef to cook something before Starfire gets back." She declared.
The telepath frantically nodded in agreement. "Hurry." She said desperately, looking at Beast Boy with her eyes a bright orange.
To the girl's sorrow the kitchen had no chocolate for chocolate covered waffles. Having to make do with cinnamon and strawberry, she settled down to eat without complaint.
Beast Boy and Raven ate too, with occasional glances at each other and the girl. Having talked to the girl's grandmother they knew it was nearly impossible for her to have too many sweets. Talyn was practically a paradise where there was always something to eat. As such, Aeopie's people had never developed the ability to store any large amounts of energy as fat; the girl could never be overweight. Fruits had played a large role in their diet in the past, but so long as she had enough sugar even a single orange a day would be sufficient for the small girl. Of course they would have to make sure she had a source of protein, but that was about it. Having what the girl had already told them confirmed was a great burden off their shoulders. They smiled as the girl happily hummed as she ate.
The violet-eyed girl's hand briefly rested on her belly, but she didn't feel sorrow. As she'd said, she already had more than she'd ever hoped to have. Watching Aeopie she smiled. And she would have kids, they just might not be born of her." Good? She let the thought float in her mind.
Very. Came the happy reply.
Convenient he doesn't know you're chewing and using telepathy at the same time.
Very. There was a pause. Is it wrong to do that?
No. She smiled. But you better not tell him. He might think it's the same as talking and chewing.
True. I better not. The girl raised her head and beamed a smile at her.
Raven felt a warm glow throughout her body as she beamed a smile back at the girl.
"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." The violet-eyed girl contentedly chanted. However well her emotions were behaving meditation, or so Knowledge had warned, was important. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos." She recited again. Though she was in the shade the bright noon sun beat down, warming the air. Around her there were squeals of giddy excitement that once she would've thought impossible to bear. Now they aided her concentration, telling her all was okay with the world.
"Again." Panted the girl as she took the small stick the green puppy had brought her.
"Arf. Arf" Came the reply, and the stick went flying through the air.
They both chased after it. The girl scampering as fast as she could with the dog keeping pace just a foot ahead of her. He grabbed the stick just a second before she did, causing her to break down and giggle.
Beast Boy let her grab the stick from his mouth. Why she squealed and giggled so much during the game that he found so humiliating he still had no idea. "Enough." He said, returning to his human form.
"Once more."
"Sit in the shade with Raven. You're tired and sweating. Drink something."
"But."
"Later on." He promised. "I don't want you dropping from heat exhaustion. You're a bit heavier on earth than you would be at home and you need to rest more."
Aeopie gave a sigh that showed she was exercising great patience, and marched over to sit beside Raven. Crossing her legs she tried to close her eyes and chant too.
Beast Boy sat in the sun and focused on his body. A second later he was a Tamaranian. Nice and strong, and can fly in space, but can be improved. He thought, wondering how to make it better. His hands took on the claws of Killer Croc while his skin thickened. He studied the new shape. Just as fast, with all the original abilities, plus a hide that's nearly four times as thick. Will it be able to withstand four times the damage? He flexed his arms and pinched at the skin, thinking of boundless confidence to activate the form's abilities. No. He finally decided. But it's still a lot stronger. Maybe three times as much damage. And the claws will help in close range combat when I can't use starbolts. They're deadly. Can I alter the size? What's a form that's humanoid, yet large. Great Ape? The Beast. The shape shifter studied his hand for a long time, wondering if it was possible. Closing his eyes he concentrated on his body once more. Where once he'd been six feet he was now over eight. This form could certainly take a lot more damage, and deal a lot a more out. However, being larger also meant he was easier to hit.
He stretch and moved around in the new form, noticing Aeopie had given up trying to meditate and was watching him. He gave her a small smile and finished analysing the shape. Some part of him told him trying to push it any further with more changes would be dangerous, so he analyzed the DNA, marking it as a new shape and returned to being human. He was sweating like mad and was exhausted. I'll call it Tamaranian version two. He decided wearily.
Sitting in the shade he wondered what to do to keep the girl from running around on a day that was too hot in gravity that was a third too high for her. "Checkers?" He finally asked, drinking a can of soda.
"Okay." Aeopie nodded excitedly.
Turning into a humming bird he flew down and entered Raven's open window. In seconds he was back with the tiny checker game.
Silently they played three quick games, all of which ended with his brutal defeat at the hands of the ruthless girl. Beside them Raven chanted with a slight smile on her lips.
To make the game a bit more fun the shape shifter started shifting into the form of a bird at random when making his move. It gave him practice changing forms, and it made the girl squeal with glee. During one move he looked at the sky and froze.
"Cloaked ship." He spoke in a tone that ended Raven's meditations immediately.
Frowning, she peered at the upward wishing she had the eyesight of a bird.
"Smaller, but same shape as the ones the Talyn use." He told her. "Get her to Nevermore."
She nodded and grabbed the girl, teleporting them both down to her room.
"Wait." Aeopie yelled just as she was sucked into a vortex that lead to a different dimension.
Raven teleported back to the roof, wondering whether to call the others. She decided against it; they could be manipulated to fight against them. Concentrating, she formed a shield around her mind. "Where?" She asked impatiently, scanning the sky.
Beast Boy pointed. "Just twenty feet ahead on the roof." He shrugged. "Not sure what they're planning, but the ship is smaller so there're probably fewer of them." He shifted into his new Tamaranian version two form.
She nodded. "So they might not be here to fight."
The shape shifter nodded in agreement just as the ship uncloaked. They both relaxed. The telepathic aliens wouldn't have shown themselves if they planned to fight. Still, he remained in the powerful form just in case.
The figure that stepped from the small craft was female, and obviously not well. That to Beast Boy meant only one thing; the woman now standing before him was Aeopie's mother. The look on her face expressed panic, and she appeared to be near tears. He reverted to his human form.
"She's okay." He reassured the woman. "We didn't know who was on the ship so we hide her. She'll be here in a few seconds." When Raven looked at him he simply replied. "It's her mother."
"Oh." A look of panic crossed her face. "I'll get her."
"I'd just started talking to her and she disappeared." The woman whispered, obviously not up to handling the earth's gravity for long.
Beast Boy nodded. To her the disappearance must've been like the girl had died. "She's okay." He reassured her, pointing to a chair in the shade where Aeopie had been sitting just moments before. "It must be hard for you to stand. Sit down." Frowning, he held out his hand as the woman stumbled. The shape shifter recalled that when she'd thought her daughter lost she'd fallen ill without the will to even live. Obviously her full health had yet to return.
As she sat her eyes lit up with a bright orange, and a second later Aeopie appeared. The girl turned and ran straight to her mother, seeking to be wrapped in her arms.
He heard no words, though he had no doubt many were being exchanged. "Is the law changed yet." He dared to ask, heart racing. The woman looked up and smiled.
"No. That will take some time, though it will change. It's against our rules to travel to other worlds, but I had to see her; I had to know she was okay." She buried her face in her daughter's hair and cried.
"You'll be punished?" Raven asked, frowning.
The woman shrugged. "Only one law carries any punishment of significance. So long as I return and they see I didn't abuse my power then there will be no major consequences."
"Good." The violet-haired girl sighed in relief.
"Turn into a puppy." Aeopie suddenly demanded, turning to Beast Boy. He did so, and chased the stick she threw. Seconds later she was giggling once again in her mother's arms.
"I see." The woman said, looking at him. "The atmosphere of our world, as you know, is low in oxygen and high in carbon dioxide. On the ship that wasn't what nearly killed her. But by the next morning she would've been dead if she hadn't been able to sense someone nearby who cared for her. Thank you."
"Oh." The shape shifter gulped, not knowing what to say. "I'm glad she's okay." He finally added. "Really glad. When she returns home we'll miss her greatly."
"I know. And she will miss you. Much as I wish that day had arrived, it hasn't. I would ask that you care for her a while longer."
"Gladly." Raven answered for them both.
Aeopie stood and pulled on her mother's hand.
"I'm not sure they would wish for me to intrude in their home." Her mother said.
"What did she say?" Raven asked.
"I want to show her where I sleep." The girl stated. "Can I?"
"Of course."
"See. It's okay." She told her mother.
"Can you walk?" Beast Boy asked, seeing the woman struggle to stand.
"Hold still." The violet-eyed girl said, closing her eyes. A second later they vanished to reappear in her room. The woman's eyes went wide for a second, but then the look of surprise faded.
Beast Boy glanced at Raven. She's willingly letting someone into her room. She's changed a lot."
"Look." Aeopie spoke aloud this time. "Isn't it pretty."
Both Raven and Beast Boy blushed.
"We tried to get her to buy a real bed, but she insisted on the chair." The shape shifter explained.
"I see. When small their beds are usually round with railings. A comfortable place for a child to sleep and play." The woman explained. "She's past that age but she would've needed the comfort. Most of our children love the color orange as well. To them it's soothing. The color of her blankets is the color our eyes show when we feel affection."
"Oh." Neither Beast Boy nor Raven knew what to say to that.
"So it's okay for her to sleep like that?" Raven asked.
"For a while. She's suffered a lot of trauma. But in a few weeks a bed with more color than just orange might be best." The woman paused and smiled. "You might try to get her to sleep in a room of her own then too. I'm sure having her around is hindering certain ... um ... activities."
Raven blushed. "Your own bed, and your own room in two weeks." She told the girl.
"Hrmph." The girl frowned. "The bed is fine." She insisted.
"With your own room you could paint it any color you wanted?" Beast Boy pointed out.
"Even orange." She was obviously giving it some thought.
"I don't see why not." He looked at her mother.
"A very light shade of orange is nice for a girl her age." She agreed.
The girl spent the next several minutes going around showing her mother her clothing and the rest of her stuff.
"Where's her father?" Beast Boy asked.
The woman looked down. "He's busy working to get the law changed to allow for exceptions like Aeopie. I'm the one who failed my duty towards her by becoming unwell."
"Given how much she loves you I doubt you failed." Raven stated in a tone that booked no argument.
"What does she eat?" The woman smiled appreciatively at the violet-haired girl.
Raven teleported them down to the kitchen and pointed to a fridge. "Mostly sweets, though we insist on a piece or two of fruit a day. Protein usually comes from peanuts, or peanut butter. It's usually mixed in with something sweet."
"Good." This time the woman didn't blink an eye at the strange method of travel.
Aeopie raced to the fridge and started hauling stuff out. "Try this." She handed her mother a chocolate cupcake."
The woman looked up at Beast Boy and Raven. "I will find some way to repay you for the cost." She told them, frowning.
"Having her around is more than enough payment." Beast Boy insisted. "We can easily afford the cost. Eat and see what you think of it." He pointed at the goods the girl was placing in front of her mother.
"This is strawberry ice cream. It's really good." She pulled a tub from the fridge and looked inside. "This is a peanut butter and banana smoothie." The girl shrugged. "It's okay. It has protein and fruit so I got to eat something like it once in a while."
The young girl talked nonstop for three hours before falling asleep. Her mother looked to be on the point of collapse. Tears flowed from her eyes as she watched her daughter gently snoring in her chair.
"When you're ready I'll take you back to your ship." Raven told her. "Unless you wish to stay for a while?"
The woman shook her head. "I need to help change the law. And I'm not well enough to stay here for long. Just a few hours sitting and I'm close to collapse."
The violet-eyed girl nodded and took them to the roof. "We will protect her with our lives if need be." She assured the woman.
She nodded. "I know. I may not be able to read your minds, but I can still sense your emotions. I know she's well cared for."
Soon her craft cloaked and took off.
"Sad." Beast Boy said staring after the ship.
"At least her daughter is alive, and they will be reunited." Raven said, staring into the sky.
"That too, though it's not what I meant." The shape shifter replied. "They've made their world a paradise, but they're stuck on it. How excited they must've been when they first reached into space and found other races. New minds and different cultures to talk to; their eyes must've lit up bright with joy. Then with a thought they killed billions. Now they're trapped on one world, afraid to move least they cause such unbearable harm once again. Before them is a whole universe of incredible treasures and they can't touch them least even an accidental though causes them to shatter." He shrugged with a sigh, frowning. "I imagine it's like if I was an elephant in a china shop. Forever still, staring at all the beautiful works of art, yet never able to touch them; always afraid even an accidental step will bring it all down." His voice held pity.
"Oh." Raven continued to stare into the sky.
He turned away from the sky and gazed at the violet-eyed girl he loved. "Been thinking about it, and I'm sure we can have kids. Won't be easy though."
"Oh." She turned to look at him with her eyes shining.
"When we're ready." Beast Boy smiled and held her hand in his, still gazing at those amazing eyes.
"When we're ready." She tilted her head, smiling back with her heart racing.
End of Chapter.
Many thanks to those who read and review.
