"Ooh I'm so excited!" Kole squealed as she finished the meal that Billy Numerous had perfectly prepared for them. "Do you have any idea when it will be?"
"We have both decided that we don't want to wait long." Raven replied on behalf of herself and her green fiancé. "So it will most likely be in about months' time."
"Woohi!" Billy drawled as he slapped his own leg in the very 'southern American' like gesture. "This is gonna be one hell of a shindig!"
"Billy behave yourself." Wykyd chastised his friend.
"So is it going to be a big ceremony or something little?" Kole continued.
"Most likely something medium sized." Changeling answered this time. "Just close friends and family with a short ceremony."
"With one hell of a reception right?" Billy shouted enthusiastically.
"Most likely." Raven intoned.
"So have you thought about bride parties and stuff?" Kole asked, the anticipation was obviously killing her.
Raven smiled. "Well Kole I was hoping you would agree to be my maid of honour." Before Raven could continue she was engulfed in a bone crushing hug from her pink haired friend who accompanied the gesture with a girlish squeal of joy.
"Of course! Of Course! Of Course!" Kole shouted happily.
As Raven was released she continued. "I would also like Melvin, Starfire and Bumble Bee to be brides maids."
Changeling chuckled. "Melvin will love that."
"I also want Cyborg to give me away because he always was the closest thing I had to a big brother."
"What about you boss man?" Billy asked quickly.
"Billy I would like you to be my best man and Wykyd and Jericho to be my groomsmen."
"Yeehaw! Well aint that better than a mule on a milk carton!"
"That made even less sense than your usual ones." Raven intoned with a smirk.
The team continued to talk happily about the upcoming wedding celebrations. Kole had a strange amount of knowledge on the subject of weddings and even had phone numbers for caterers and florists as well, Jericho continued to shrink in size as is girlfriend continued to rant and rave about weddings.
The chat began to slow down after about half an hour and instead the conversation began to switch to how they were going to celebrate tonight. The consensus was the same throughout the team, get lots of booze and get wasted!
The plan seemed very promising but like most things in the hero business some just aren't meant to be.
Before their eyes a tall muscular man appeared in the centre of the common room in a bright flash of golden light. The heroes wasted no time in becoming battle ready. Changeling's fangs and claws extended as he adopted an animalistic fighting stance. Raven eyes began to glow as she took to the air besides an already floating Mr Wykyd. Kole's arms became wrapped in her pink crystal, her finger tips extending to look like crystalline like claws. Jericho took his fighting stance and quickly thought about going to retrieve his new Shale body but didn't think he'd have the time. Billy made two clones and the three Billy's began moving to flank the intruder.
The team's movements were fluid and well-rehearsed as they leapt into their positions before the golden light had a chance to recede and reveal the intruder.
The man who stood before them was tall and grossly muscle clad. He wore a blue spandex suite and a red cape that hung from his shoulders.
"Superman?" Changeling asked as he slowly left his battle stance, his fangs and claws remaining in their extended positions.
Superman looked about the common room and at the battle ready Titans before him, he was impressed by their ability to act so fast and even made note that the ex-villain known as Billy Numerous was able to flank him before he even finished teleporting.
"Relax Titans." Superman spoke in his deep booming voice. "I'm merely here to talk."
Kole and Jericho were quick to leave their fighting stances as they beamed at the legendary super hero that now stood in the middle of their common room. Mr Wykyd was reluctant but he too did drop from his stance. Billy and his clones moved back towards the kitchen table but he didn't recall the two doppelgangers. Raven lowered herself behind her fiancé but kept her eyes trained on the blue clad man before them.
"What do we owe the pleasure?" Changeling asked sceptically. He was well aware that he wasn't exactly one of the Justice League's most favourite people, the Justice League and Doom Patrol had butted heads on many occasions and he was guilty by association in the Leagues eyes despite the 'Legend Status' that the Patrol had that the League had still yet to achieve.
"I wish to have a conversation with you please Changeling, in private." Superman stated in a firm tone, the Titans didn't like this one bit. The smiles Kole and Jericho were wearing vanished; Billy seemed to channel a bit of his leaders traits and growled under his breath whilst Raven shot the Leaguer a death glare.
"We can talk in my office." Changeling responded. "But I don't keep anything from my team; whatever you say to me will reach their ears later."
Superman nodded and followed the green leader out of the common room and towards his office.
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Changeling and Superman entered the green man's office that was situated on the second floor of the tower and the only other room on the floor apart from Raven and Changelings bedroom. While their bedroom looked predominately like Ravens old bedroom but only a little lighter with hints of Changeling thrown in here and there, his office almost looked exactly like his old room would have looked like had it been an office.
"I'm assuming this isn't just some sort of social call?" Changeling began as he leant on his desk with his arm crossed above his chest.
"Not entirely." Superman confessed. His friendly demeanour had lessoned quite dramatically and now looked as if he was sizing up the green man. "The Justice League has some concerns."
"About me being leader of the Titans?"
Superman nodded. "We were quite apprehensive when you started your own tower and even began recruiting villains into your team-"
Superman was interrupted but a defensive and proud leader who also happened to be a very close friends with the men the Leaguer was passively insulting. "Ex-villains!" Changeling firmly corrected. "Everyone deserves a second chance and you can't deny the good they've done since then. Besides Billy Numerous and Mr Wykyd weren't the first H.I.V.E members to turn tail and join the Titans."
Superman raised his hand almost in a 'not-what-I'm-here-to-discuss-so-stop-talking-and-let-me-finish' sort of gesture. "Irrelevant. Their admission into the Titans are only part of our concerns."
"Before we go any further I must ask, and I mean no disrespect but you do realise that we're not Justice League right? And we don't answer to you?"
Superman scowled as the words left the green man's lips. "The Titans claim to be heroes who stand for justice of the world, therefore as the authorities of justice here on Earth we make it our business to-"
Once again the Kryptonian was interrupted by the increasingly aggravated shape shifter. "I didn't realise you were given such a title." The green man quipped. "There are more hero groups than just the Justice League, none of whom answer to you. The Doom Patrol, Rockin' Wrecka's and the Titans just to name a few."
"I can see that this was a waste of time." Superman growled. "I will be leaving but you will be hearing from us." With that the alien man pressed a button on his utility belt and seconds later he was engulfed in the same dazzling golden light before he disappeared again.
"One of these days you're gonna need our help." Changeling said to himself as he looked out the window behind his desk. "When you do we'll be there to help, and to show you how good we really are.
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"He said what?" Billy Numerous yelled from his place on the couch, the racing game he was plating with one of his clowns completely forgotten. "Why that overgrown boy scout aint got no right to question the boss man!"
"Agreed!" Jericho signed, the scowl on his face looking very out of place compared to his usual soft smile. "You have proven yourself time and time again to be a great leader and I have yet to see you make a decision that didn't serve or help the team!"
"Jericho speaks the truth!" Mr Wykyd added also in sign. "He had no right!"
"Guys chill." Changeling said warmly with his signature smile on his face. "If we let them get to us then they win."
"You might wanna tell your girlfriend that." Billy said as he pointed behind the green leaders shoulders, Billy gulped at the sight.
Changeling turned around to look at his fiancé. Raven hood was up and her two violet eyes had become for red eyes. "No one insults my man!" She bellowed in a deep guttural voice.
"Relax baby bird." Changeling said softly as he rubbed the pale empath's back lovingly. Raven slowly returned to normal and enveloped the green man in a warm embrace.
"Come on guys this is supposed to be a happy day right?" Kole interrupted with her usual joyous tone. "We were planning a wedding right?"
The tension in the common room quickly began to seep away. Kole was right; it was supposed to be a happy day.
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The mood aboard the Watchtower was a strange mixture of emotions and moods that permeated the entirety of the space station. News of Superman's 'conversation' with Changeling had spread quickly between the members of the League.
Cyborg was stalking around the one of the less used levels in a fit of uncharacteristic rage. 'How dare they judge him!' He repeated to himself in his mind. The metal man had known Changeling for a very long time and had nothing but respect for his abilities and trust in the green man. There were few people in this world who knew the new leader of the Titans as well as he did and he suspected that there was only one person who knew him better than that select group he was proud to be a part of.
Nightwing was on the fence about the whole ordeal. On the one hand Changeling was good person with a team who had a very impressive track record but the former human traffic light couldn't help but wonder how much of that record was because of his team and not him; especially considering how powerful Raven was, he would never admit to himself that in truth… Changeling's power had surpassed even that of the dark empath.
Even the main members of the League were struggling to come to terms with the result of the impromptu meeting. Hawkgirl and The Martian Manhunter were very disappointed with the actions of their fellow League members while Wonder Woman was damn right outraged, even though she hid it well.
The Amazonian princess knew that the League would be planning something and she also knew that she had been 'left out' of the secret mission. She did also know one other thing however; she still owed the green man one hell of a debt and she would be damned if she would allow her fellow Leaguers to instil even more pain into the young man's life.
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3 weeks later.
Raven was nervous, really nervous. The preparations for the wedding had been accomplished much sooner than she had anticipated but with a group of super hero girls organizing it that shouldn't have been that surprising. Now the day had come.
Raven was pacing like a madwoman around the room she shared with Changeling. The night before was the first night she had spent apart from him in the four years they had been together and it had been torture for her, she despised the whole 'You can't see you're fiancé before the wedding' tradition. All she wanted at that very moment was for the green man to hold her and tell her everything would be fine.
The dark empath knew that everything would be fine, she loved him more than life itself had knew that she would happily live the rest of her life with him but that wasn't what was making her nervous; what was making her nervous was being the centre of attention, having nearly 100 sets of eyes staring at her whilst she shared one of the most important and intimate moments of her life with her soon to be husband.
She was broken from her thoughts when her bedroom door slowly slid open.
"Gar?" She asked hurriedly before she saw who was standing in the doorway.
"Now girl you know you can't see him yet!" Bumble Bee chastised with a lot of excitement in her voice. Bumble Bee walked into the bedroom with Kole, Starfire and Melvin in tow.
"Auntie Raven!" The young blonde squealed as she threw her arms around the demoness. "I'm so happy for you!"
Melvin was ten years old now and always called Raven and Changeling auntie and uncle despite the fact the young girl considered them more like parent figures.
"I'm so glad you could make it." Raven said warmly as she pulled the young girl into a deeper hug.
"Time to get ready!" Kole stated happily as she held up a bag full of feminine grooming supplies.
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Changeling was standing in Billy's bedroom where he stayed the night before which had now been semi-converted into a changing room for the boys. Changeling was standing in there with Billy Numerous, Mr Wykyd and Cyborg.
"Man are you sure I can't give Raven away and be a groomsman?" The metal man whined for the 13th time that morning.
"Cyborg if you whinge one more time I will disassemble you!" Jericho threatened much to Wykyd's amusement.
"Come one Cy this means a lot to Rae, she really wants you to give her away." Changeling added.
"Whoa I'm not complaining about that!" Cyborg replied quickly. "Do you have any idea how honoured I was when she asked me?"
"Well then stop whinging!" Jericho signed quickly.
"Sheesh and I thought you were the happy one…"
Jericho replied with a mild glare that made the others chuckle.
"You got the rings Billy?" Changeling asked as he attempted to tie his tie.
"Yes I do." Billy shouted while he too struggled with his tie. "And I got a surprise for ya."Wykyd came to the rescue and helped both men with their ties. All of them were wearing suits however Billy and Wykyd still had their masks on. Changeling could only stare at his best man waiting for what this ominous surprise could be. Billy continued. "Well you know how when you shape shift you lose all your clothes?" All of the men in the room nodded. "Well I figured that it just aint right that ya can't wear your ring coz of that so I had it coated in the same stuff as your uniform so that now it will shift with you… it's my wedding present to you boss man."
Changeling was speechless. "Billy…" The green man breathed. "That's one of the most thoughtful things anyone has ever done for me!" The two shared a brotherly embrace as a thank you.
A frim knock resonated from the door before a tall man entered the room.
"How are we doing in here?" The tall man asked merrily.
"We're doing good dad." The green groom answered excitedly before he walked over and hugged Mento happily. Mento was wearing a very expensive looking suit but just like Billy and Wykyd he too still had his mask/helmet on.
"Excellent." Mento replied with a smile. "Your mother wishes you the best of luck but she had to go see Raven."
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Changeling was standing at the altar of the improvised chapel made in the lobby of the Dodge City Titans tower. Beside him was the ever present smiling face of Billy Numerous, the anxious bouncing of Jericho and the excited grin of Mr Wykyd.
The murmuring of the crowd died down as the well-known 'Here comes the bride' tune began to play throughout the lobby. Ever head in the crowd turned to face the entrance from which Raven and her bridal party would enter from. Changeling could feel his heart trying to leap from his chest as he waited for his soon to be wife to make her way down the aisle.
And then he saw her.
His heart stopped.
Raven emerged from the entrance at the end of the aisle with Cyborg leading her with his arm hooked around hers. Raven was in a beautiful white wedding dress that clung to her fantastic hour glass figure perfectly. Her dress was low cut and showed just the right amount of cleavage and in her hands was a bouquet of flowers.
Raven could feel the shock and admiration rolling off of the crowd. She walked down the aisle with her arm linked with Cyborg. Behind her Kole, Bumble Bee, Starfire and Melvin followed with big smiles on their faces, but none could eclipse the warm smile that adorned Ravens face as she saw he fiancé standing at the altar looking like he'd seen an angel.
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"Do you Racheal Roth take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better and for worse as long as you both shall live."
"I do." Raven replied as a single tear slid down her left cheek.
"And do you Garfield Mark Logan take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife in sickness and in health, for richer and for poorer, for better and for worse as long as you both shall live."
"I do." Changeling responded.
"Then by the power vested in me I know pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride."
The crowd erupted as the newly married couple shared their first kiss as man and wife. It took some time but the priest was finally able to quieten down the crowd long enough to finish the service.
"It is my honour and privilege to present to those gathered her today; Mr and Mrs. Garfield and Racheal Logan!"
Rita was in tears in the front row and Steve looked like he was about to join her. Cyborg was balling his eyes as he cheered. Next to him was an empty seat that had a reservation sticker on it that read: 'Nightwing'.
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"To the Logan's!" Kole shouted as she raised her wine glass towards the roof of the common room where the reception was in full swing. Everyone in the room cheered in response.
Billy Numerous climbed to the top of the kitchen table and people expected him to do something foolish like he normally did but they were all in for a surprise. "Alright quiet ya'll it's time for the best man's speech!" Billy shouted.
"Oh no." Changeling chuckled as the room became silent.
"Alright so where do I begin." The ex-villain began. "So I'm supposed to talk about the good things about the boss man and then embarrass him right?" The crowd laughed at the strange man's joke. "Well what needs to be said?" Billy became completely serious as he spoke and shrugged his shoulders for emphasis. "As far as being a hero goes then his record easily speaks for itself but there really is a lot more than that. Many of you know that both myself and Mr Wykyd have a not so glamorous past, but it was Changeling who helped us change. It was Changeling who offered us a place in the Titans and it was Changeling who put all the effort in to teach us how to be more than just the lame villains we used to be so I can defiantly speak for both myself and Wykyd that the boss man saved our lives. No one in this world is as forgiving as he is so for that he will always have our eternal gratitude!" The crowd cheered for both Billy and Changeling. "But now it's time for the embarrassing stuff. I remember this one time we had to fight this villain called 'Slugzia' and yes it's just like it sounds… he was a giant mutant slug. Now the funny thing was that Changeling and Raven were having this little lovers quarrel at the time and this Slug thing had the ability to shoot this weird snot like thing. And although Raven has the ability to raise shields she still spent the whole fight using the boss man as a shield with her dark energy." The crowd was in hysterics at the thought of Raven using her now-husband as a snot shield.
After a few more embarrassing stories Billy jumped off the table top and stood beside the newlyweds. "To the Logan's!" Billy shouted, mimicking Kole from earlier and getting the same result.
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The reception had quietened down a few hours ago; Changeling and Raven were sitting on the roof with Raven sitting happily in her husband's lap with her back leaning against his chest, next to her Melvin had fallen asleep and now lay with her head in Ravens lap as the dark sorceress gently stroked the girls sleeping head. With them on the roof were Cyborg, Billy, Jericho, Kole and Mento all sitting in a circle talking quietly.
"So what are you two going to do for your honeymoon?" Cyborg asked as he took a swig from his beer.
"We are going to go on one but we're gonna wait to see what happens with this whole Gemini thing first." Changeling responded as he continued to stroke his wives hair lovingly.
"How long has it been since you heard anything?" Mento asked.
"Herald, Hotspot and Red Star are leaving for Russia in the morning where supposedly there may have been a sighting of Brother Blood but other than that not much." Changeling sighed.
"Can we talk business another day?" Raven asked tiredly as she snuggled further into her husband, she was still holding Melvin in her arms.
"Hmm… sleepy…" The young girl groaned in her sleep.
"Ageed." Kole said as she stretched. "I'm going to call it a night." Kole said as she stood up. Jericho joined her and they both congratulated the newlyweds again before departing.
"I think it's time we all call it a night." Mento added, Billy and Cyborg nodded before the three men stood up and made their way to their rooms leaving only Changeling, Raven and Melvin on the roof.
Changeling kissed the back of Ravens neck. "How you doing baby bird?" He asked softly.
"The best I've ever felt." She replied happily. "Should we go to bed as well?"
"Yeah I could definitely use some sleep." He responded. Changeling shifted his wait a bit which caused Melvin to stir but not fully wake up.
"Mummy…" She said in her sleep, both of the adults looked at her affectionately.
"What should we do with her?" Changeling added as he stood up and scooped up the still sleeping blond girl.
"She's sharing a room with Bumble Bee so we can just put her in there I guess." Raven replied but not really liking the idea of leaving the girl.
Changeling chuckled. "That's not what I meant."
"You… you want her to stay here? With us?" Raven asked, unable to hide the want in her voice.
"Yeah, I do."
Raven beamed and kissed her husband happily. "I love you so much Gar" She said softly.
"I love you too baby bird." He replied warmly.
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So what do you think Herald, Hot Spot and Red Star might find?
What do you think might happen with Melvin?
Hope you enjoyed!
D-403