"... Robin, please, I do still need the spell."
"After yesterday's incident? Which I had to learn from Bumblebee? Raven, you know we love and care about you, but don't you think it's time to try to live with your powers again?"
Raven needed to run errands that morning in the grocery store. She'd been keeping the camcorder inside her cloak, to be whipped out once she was ready to vlog.
Unbeknownst to her, it was still recording. Even worse for her, she'd gone viral overnight, with people from all over the world tuning in. Even to this moment. She had yet to find out because of Robin's impromptu morning call.
Robin continued over the T-communicator. "Traci Thirteen's told me about the potential side effects of the numbing spell. The longer the usage, the more severe the consequences. And we're not just talking about losing powers."
"Would that be so bad?"
Robin gave her a stern look at her deadpan comment.
"Just... think about it, will you?" And with that, he ended the transmission.
Raven agreed to herself that she would think about it later, and went on to complete her errands, albeit frustrated.
Raven exited the grocery store, grocery bags in hand.
She halted at the sound of murmuring squeals.
Eyebrow raised, she accurately turned her head to the group of people huddled on the parking lot, videoing and taking photos of her.
"That's her!" she heard one of them whisper excitedly.
"Should we talk to her?" another asked.
At this point in her heroic career, Raven had grown to tolerate fanfare. Gar would always clamor for and bask in them. Her, on the other hand, not so much.
However, this felt different. For one, she hadn't been receiving that much attention since she and Gar left Jump City. There were probably around thirty people just on the parking lot alone, gawking at her.
"What do you want?" she asked out loud. She figured this had something to do with the vlog, dismissing them as mere harmless stalkers. She began to walk the other way. "I'm not ready to start today's vlog."
"We love you!" shouted a fan.
"You should open your own channel!" suggested another.
"Not ready to vlog? But your livestream is still going on!"
Raven stopped on her tracks, confusion spread across her face.
"What did he just say?" she asked herself. With dread, she slowly pulled the camcorder out of her cloak.
And, lo and behold, it was indeed still recording, now filming the parking lot ground. She was mortified. It had been recording all night.
Not only that, she found out that the comments and viewers had soared to the millions. Apparently, she'd become an overnight viral sensation.
"The tour of the darkness within you this morning was eye-opening!" screamed a fan. Based on the increasing volume, clearly they had been inching themselves closer to her.
"That's creepy," she muttered, ending the livestream. She heard the group behind her gasp in disappointment. "Show's over."
"Can I get a picture, Raven?!"
And with that comment, she made a run for it, bolting down the street, holding on to her camcorder and her groceries, her new group of fans now trailing her. Perhaps she would consider Robin's offer after all. She would really benefit from teleporting out of there.
Thus, began the chase around the city.
It took an hour, but she had more endurance than her fans, even without her powers. She knew she had to lose them before running back to her secret location.
She was panting and sweating when she finally reached her block, hastily entering her home, without a fan in sight.
Raven found an imaginary little Beast Boy waiting for her on the couch.
"What an exercise this morning, huh, Rae Rae?"
She glared at this imaginary Beast Boy.
"It's your fault!" she scolded. "They could've followed me home. I could've exposed confidential Titans information! All because of some stupid, mindless video blog?"
"Aww come on, Rae!" This Beast Boy's ears drooped. "I made it clear that it's all your choice whether to continue on with my adventures."
Raven tossed her groceries and camcorder aside.
"Well, then, maybe I should have quit a long time ago, all this nonsense and you stringing me along. I could've been in big trouble yesterday by Adonis or some other villain had Bumblebee not intervened."
"Raven..."
"You know what, Beast Boy? Why even am I still doing this? It's time for me to qu-"
Beep! Beep!
Raven stopped at the sound of the notification from her laptop. She turned to the couch. Beast Boy was gone. With a grunt, she opened the laptop, and the first thing she saw was the pop-up on Gar's chirrup account, showing the results of the poll.
It was a close race between pranking bad guys and the dance party, but the latter edged it out in the end. Comments flooded her screen once more, which she wilfully ignored.
Raven groaned. She was now at the next phase of Gar's so-called adventures. Adventures to what, she still wasn't sure.
She took a deep breath. After the running around, and shouting at a figment of her deceased boyfriend, she found herself at least regaining feeling her emotions. Once again, maybe she really ought to reconsider Robin's suggestion regarding the numbing spell.
She closed the pop-up, and was redirected to Gar's list of videos, and was reminded of the three new videos that had been unlocked for only her. It became evident that each video was for Gar to explain each of the three poll options. She decided to watch the two losing options first.
"Hey, mama!" greeted Gar. "So, the viewers have chosen karaoke night, eh? Well well well, Raven, I think it's time for our friends to know this guilty pleasure of yours..."
Raven rolled her eyes, thankful that this option did not win.
And then it dawned on her. She had hummed her guilty pleasure song the night before, which was probably heard by viewers all around the world, and was probably why they were okay to miss out on her singing live on-stream.
"Even after death, you still manage to pull these shenanigans..." she muttered, watching the rest of the video.
She moved on to the video describing the prank option.
"Pft... This would have been the easiest and the least uncomfortable for me," she mumbled as she watched Gar instructing her his devious plan to prank Control Freak; to convince the couch potato villain that there was a glitch in the matrix and that everyone had been living in a simulation the entire time, and that Killer Moth was nothing more than a little moth living in Control Freak's basement and being the bane of his existence. "Well, it would have been the easiest with my powers..."
And, finally, she moved on to the video of the popular vote.
"Hiya, Raven!" Gar greeted. "Looks like you gotta mosey your way into the Titans East Gala. That means you gotta get snazzy!
"Remember that yellow outfit I got you? That you've had stowed away deep in our closet? I want you to dig it out, because mama I need you in it!
"Then, when the night comes, it's time to boogie! Catch up with old friends. Create new ones. Do some moves. Vlog it all. Have some fun. You deserve to, Raven.
"Send my love to Bumblebee and the Titans East fam! Love you and you're the bee's knees!"
The video ended and Raven sat in silence, soaking it in.
"You gotta be kidding me," she finally blurted out. She had so many qualms with the plan. "I don't dance. And I can't go back out there so soon and be potentially chased down by my new followers. I don't know if I really wanna do any more vlogging."
She made her way to her bedroom, and scoured through the closet. Deep inside, she pulled out a stunning yellow leotard. After all these years, it still shimmered in the morning light.
Quite vividly, she was reminded of the first time she had seen it.
"Oh Raaaaven, guess what I got you for our upcoming Titans Homecominggg..."
Raven remained unperturbed, busy with her current book in the bedroom as Gar busted through the door, carrying a large bag.
Standing in front of his girlfriend, the changeling pulled up the contents of the bag, revealing a dazzling yellow leotard.
"Ta-da! This'll show off your stunning legs! Got a matching outfit for me, too. Now we can get jiggy with it, coordinated and all!"
Gar eyed Raven enthusiastically, getting closer and closer, looking for her reaction.
Raven's eyes peered above her book, examining the dress from afar.
"Me, in that?" She appeared noncommittal. "Over my dead body."
"But we'll be the hottest couple on the dance floooor!"
"I don't dance, Gar," she insisted. "What's wrong with going with our own uniforms? Or just some normal formal wear?"
"Pft. I don't do formal. Or normal."
Raven returned to her book. "You can wear your disco high pants while I wear my own thing."
Gar's ears drooped.
"Are you sure, Raven? You are down to go to the homecoming, right?"
Raven sighed, putting her book down.
"The expectations of social interactions and dancing all night horrify me, Gar."
"We don't have to go if it stresses you out."
Raven looked at Gar's forest green irises.
"Knowing the party animal that you are, there's no way I'm going to let you miss out on an opportunity to dance... I will go with you, only if you respect my boundaries. And the first of it is that I come to the homecoming not in that dress."
Gar barked with excitement as a dog, hopping from place to place until he landed beside Raven on their bed.
In his human form, he asked, "Say, speaking of homecomings, the DP BBQ is postponed to the week after. A lil crisis in Dayton is to blame."
"I've heard. I'm really looking forward to hearing Rita's stories again."
Gar chuckled. "She's most excited to see you! ... On second thought, I think Larry's the most excited if you take into account his negative energy."
"I can relate."
"Have you heard back from your mom?"
A telekinetic cloud loomed over Raven as she dropped her book, her face one of dread.
"I'm so sorry, Gar, I totally forgot!" she explained. "It must've slipped my mind. It's been a busy month for me, you know, what with the new mentor position I've taken up for the Titans."
Gar gave her a look that playfully suggested he didn't fully buy her reason.
"Is that all why you haven't been contacting your mother?"
Raven frowned. They looked at each other for a few seconds before she gave in.
"Yes, you know I'm still reluctant to reach out to Azarath in general. Besides, she hasn't contacted me either."
"That's because she can't. She's not as talented as you."
Raven remained reluctant.
"You're still afraid of what they think of you, yea?" Gar asked. She nodded. "It's a big ask. And while I personally would do anything to reunite with my mother, it's different for you. So, to keep up with the theme of respecting boundaries, I'll bow out of this convo."
Raven let a small smile escape.
"But maybe reconsider the leotard?" Gar added, wiggling his ears.
Raven rolled her eyes with a smile.
Raven smiled, rolling her eyes as she placed the leotard on her bed.
"And here I am, actually reconsidering this dastardly leotard..."