Can't Fight this Feeling

Raven usually went as herself for Halloween. Why would you need a costume when you're already the scariest thing in town? And then she took pictures with all the little kids that also went as her. It was the one night a year she was expected to show up, but she didn't mind. She liked Halloween. It was the one night when people seemed to appreciate the macabre and she didn't feel like as much of a freak-show. Not that being a freak-show really disturbed her, but it was still nice to have one night off. It was also so close to her birthday that the Titans celebrated them together by having cake before going on patrol in costumes. It became a tradition pretty quickly.

This Halloween, however, she wasn't going as herself. Starfire usually did couple costumes with Robin, but she had been begging Raven for matching friends' costumes for the last two years. This year Raven felt particularly grateful for her, so this year Starfire was a very tall version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Raven went as the slayer's witch best friend in her villainous phase. So here she was, dressed as dark Willow. It really wasn't that far off from going as herself.

"Hi."

Beast Boy's voice pulled Raven out of her thoughts. She had been analyzing people's costumes for a while. The Titans always patrolled the streets on this particular night, since there were so many easy targets out like candy-driven children and drunken teenagers. Nothing ever happened. It was Beast Boy's idea to do it in costumes and have a little fun while doing it. They mostly greeted fans and signed autographs.

"Hello."

"You…I need to thank you." The shapeshifter said truthfully. "For…well, you know what for."

"Don't mention it." Raven nodded. "Seriously. It's embarrassing enough that it's on YouTube."

"It's not embarrassing, it's amazing. You're amazing."

"Are you okay? Did people stop giving you a hard time for it?" She ignored his flattery.

"Yeah, mostly. Since Cyborg found out it was a mixture of the chemicals that hit us that time with psychoactive drugs so I'd lose control. Luckily I didn't hurt anyone, so I'm actually getting a lot of sympathy now." Garfield waved a hand to dismiss all of that. "But listen, I'm trying to thank you here."

"You're welcome." Raven said nonchalantly, still looking around and judging people's costumes.

"Raven, look at me." His voice got deeper. He waited for her to hesitantly look at him before he continued. "You…you saved me. Do you have any idea what it meant? I've never been that scared. I was in Hell. And you pulled me out." Beast Boy stared meaningfully into her eyes.

Raven inhaled and averted her gaze. She knew all this. She was just trying to protect her own feelings by keeping her distance. But apparently he wasn't going to make it easy for her. "I know what it's like to battle your own rage and how scary it is when you lose."

"You do. But I didn't." He put one hand on his chest. "At least not like that. Is that how you feel when your demon side emerges?"

"Kind of. Like everything good about me is gone and I can't control myself anymore."

"Well it's horrible. I'm sorry you go through that." Garfield felt his heart flutter when she smiled slightly at him. "But hey, you saved me by singing! Are we really not acknowledging that?!"

"Not if I can help it…"

"You know I noticed something too. Other than this time with Adonis inducing it and everything, the Beast only ever came out to protect you! That's uh…kind of weird, right?" Do I like her for way longer than I thought?

"I'm sure that's not true." The empath searched her brain for an example of him using the Beast to protect someone else, but she couldn't find any.

"No but it is and-"

"Gar. I think you need to go hang out with your girlfriend." Raven said seriously. This was all too much for her and she wanted to have some light fun tonight. "I mean, your Beauty and the Beast costumes lose half the impact if you're not standing together."

Beast Boy reluctantly went back to Terra's side on the other side of the street. There was so much he still needed to say to Raven. But she was right. Terra would be hurt if he took too long. So Starfire joined Raven and they were now walking a few steps ahead of Robin and Cyborg. Robin went as Donnie Darko because it was the easiest costume he could think of. And Cyborg was John Silver from Treasure Planet. They weren't close enough to hear the girls so Starfire decided it was time for girl talk.

"So bestest of friends, I've been thinking. Do you think I should marry Robin?"

Raven choked on her soda and coughed a few times. "Marry him? I know we're not exactly teens anymore, but don't you think we're a little young for that?"

"Are we?" Kory pouted. "I suppose so."

"I mean, I think you should marry him some day." Raven rolled her eyes fondly at her friend's smile once she recovered from her shock. "But you don't need to rush it. You'll probably move out of Titan Tower when you do."

"Why would we do that?!" Kory looked terrified. "I wish to stay with all my friends forever."

"I don't know, it's what people do." Raven shrugged. "But I'd miss you. Both of you."

"Why can't we just stay in the tower and be married?"

"I guess you can…I don't know, Kor. I don't really get people either."

"When I do marry him, will you be my maid of honor?"

Raven stared at her quizzically. "Have you been reading wedding magazines? Is that where this is coming from?"

"Maybe?" Starfire laughed sheepishly. "There's just so much involved in this particular ritual. It is truly fascinating!"

Raven was always amused when she hung out with Kory. Every single time. "Okay well when the time comes, if you really don't mind a demon-hybrid witch to be your maid of honor, it will be my privilege." The empath told her sincerely.

"Oh, how marvelous!" Starfire clapped and floated into the air a little.

Then Raven suddenly felt a wave of energy hit her. It wasn't coming from anyone's emotions. It didn't even feel like it was coming from this world. It felt magical though. It made her dizzy so she stopped for a second. She touched her stomach instinctively because it left such a weird sensation there. It wasn't like anything she'd ever felt. It seemed…strange.

"What is it?" Kory touched her friend's shoulder gently, looking very concerned.

"I don't know." Raven shrugged it off. "It's probably nothing."

On the other side of the street, Beast Boy and Terra were silently walking together. This was the first Halloween Terra did this with them, but unfortunately it was bittersweet.

"We need to talk." Terra suddenly blurted out.

Beast Boy shrank. She's breaking up with you, you loser. "Ah…okay."

She pulled him to an empty corner.

"Look, Terra, I know what this is about, but I really don't think it's fair to be upset with Raven for saving m-"

"I'm NOT upset with Raven, Garfield! This isn't even about Raven, it's about YOU. You're the one who committed to me and you're the one who's hurting me!" Terra stared at him intently.

For once, Beast Boy was speechless.

"You're hurting me because…" She took a deep breath. "…you're in love with someone else."

He could see there were tears in her eyes and he could feel his own eyes welling up. Garfield frowned. Is she right? Am I in love with Raven? I can't be in love with Raven. That would ruin my life. "That…Terra…I...I love you. I do."

"Just answer me one thing, then." She faced him. "When we had that fight, you said the whole thing was insane because Raven would never even be with you. Remember?"

Beast Boy nodded slowly.

"Well." Terra braced herself for the question she'd had in her head for a while now. "If things were different, if she could like you, if she did like you, if she wanted to be with you…would we even be together now?"

Beast Boy froze. He wasn't expecting that question. Just lie. Please just lie. But he didn't want to lie to her. The more he thought about it, the more he found out she was right. He was in love with someone else. Maybe that wasn't ideal since she could never love him back, but it was what it was and it definitely wasn't Terra's fault. This wasn't fair to her. She deserved better. He felt the tears run down his cheeks.

"That's what I thought." Terra said quietly, closing her eyes to allow her own tears to fall.

"I'm so sorry." Beast Boy whispered. "I thought it would go away…I really did…"

She nodded and dried her tears. She didn't need explanations on why he broke her heart. But she wasn't as crushed as she thought she would be. She remembered Raven asking her if she truly loved him. Maybe what she was really in love with was the idea of being loved by someone. Then she thought about the two of them dancing on the roof together.

"She loves you too. Maybe not in the way you want, but…"

He found little comfort in that but then again it wasn't her job to comfort him about this. "You're not leaving the Titans again, are you?"

"I don't know." Terra sighed heavily. "I don't think so. But I do need to leave right now. I'm going back to the tower. I need to be alone."

It wasn't hostile. Of course she needed to go. He nodded remorsefully and she left. Beast Boy dried his own tears and started looking for a place to get a beer, because he had lost his girlfriend, his costume made no sense now, and he'd just had a very painful epiphany. He was in love with Raven.

Meanwhile, Robin and Cyborg were sitting on the sidewalk watching the kids trick-or-treating while Raven and Starfire signed autographs and took pictures with some teens. They saw Terra run by them and called after her, but she didn't stop.

"That's weird." Cyborg said.

"Is it?" Robin's knowing gaze turned to his cybernetic friend.

They stared at each other with narrowed eyes for a while.

"Do you know…?" Cyborg implied.

"I might know. If you know. Do you know?" Robin raised an eyebrow.

Victor rubbed his chin. "I know something."

"I know something too." Dick nodded.

A few seconds of a silent staring contest was an easy task for Robin, but it drove Cyborg crazy.

"Dude, do you know?! I need to know if you know! What do you know?" Victor squeaked.

"I know Beast Boy's got a thing for Raven." Robin smirked calmly.

Cyborg sighed in relief. He'd been dying to talk to someone about this. "Dude, it's been forever! I thought he'd be over it by now. I told him it's a terrible idea."

"I don't think it was his idea, Cyborg."

"That's what he said!"

"Wait, what do you mean it's been forever? Since when is this happening?"

Cyborg hesitated for a second. "He didn't tell you, did he?"

"No, I figured it out. It took me a while, apparently. I'm a little embarrassed about it. I just didn't think he'd ever go there." Richard answered.

"Ahh. Well, since you already know and you figured it out on your own I might as well tell you. It's been going on since that Red Carpet thing where Raven got all fancy."

Robin shook his head to reload his memories. That added up. Beast Boy had been weird since that night. "You know, even if she reciprocated…which I can't see happening, but even if she did…she couldn't act on it."

"Yep."

"This can't end well."

"True."

Robin sighed and cradled his head in his hands.

"Do you think they broke up? BB and Terra?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah. I do." Dick grunted without looking up.

"But like…BB wouldn't try to go for Raven, right?"

"I have no idea, Cyborg. I gave up on trying figuring him out a while ago." He waved a hand dismissively. "So, here's my question. If this has been happening for a while…she has to know, right?"

"Yeah, she knows. She made little of it so they didn't have to stop being friends. But now that he and Terra might be broken up he could do something stupid."

"This is going to throw the whole team off-"

"UGH-AH!"

Both boys were suddenly on their feet at the sound of Raven's scream. She was on the ground with a hand to her chest. They ran over to where Starfire and some civilians were looking at her with concerned eyes, but the empath was getting up and wiping her uniform already.

"Raven, what happened?" Robin offered her a hand for support.

"I don't know. I…" She was still panting. "I felt something…this…this energy."

"Like the one you felt before?" Starfire frowned.

Raven nodded. "Only much clearer now. It was like...a cry for help or something."

"Do you know where it's coming from?" Cyborg tried to get people away from her so she could catch her breath.

"That's the thing, it's…entirely unfamiliar. It was powerful, for sure. I was able to recognize its magic, like it matched mine. But…different."

"Was it…good?" Robin asked her seriously.

"It didn't feel evil." Raven shook her head. "But it felt…chaotic. And…scarlet? Does that make sense?"

"Not really." Cyborg answered truthfully and Robin elbowed him.

"Anyway, it's gone now. I'll meditate later and try to find out where it came from. I'm okay. Let's get back to Halloween."

"Are you sure?" Robin stared at her intently. He relaxed when she stared back at him and nodded surely.

"Where is Beast Boy?" Cyborg started looking around for his best friend. Raven had screamed and fallen to the floor and he was nowhere to be seen. It was weird. "I'm gonna ring him. Something might have happened."

But Beast Boy answered his communicator and told Cyborg to not worry about a thing. As it got late, the holiday wasn't so much about kids on the streets as it was about teens in clubs. Or more specifically in the only good club in Jump City, the one they went to with Blackfire all those years ago. So that's where they told Beast Boy to meet them. They had been having fun for a while already when he came in stumbling in a completely different costume than the one he had before.

"Hi. What are you supposed to be now?" Robin frowned at the shapeshifter.

"A sexy werewolf, duh."

Robin let it slide. He was obviously drunk. Again. Dick made a mental note to talk to Garfield about this pattern later. But then again, unrequited love was harsh. Though love was probably a strong word here. As far as Robin knew, Garfield was just crushing on Raven. For a long time. And intensely. Maybe love isn't such a crazy word. "If you say so."

Beast Boy seemed pleased with that. In reality, it wasn't really a costume. He was just wearing shorts. His fangs were his own and apparently that was all he felt was necessary to be a werewolf.

"Friend Raven, are you sure you don't want to dance?" Starfire came over to the couch Raven had been sitting on since they got there.

"Yeah, Kor. Thank you. I've had enough social interactions and attention for tonight. I'm fine here, honestly." Raven told her truthfully. She was enjoying just watching the party.

Only a few short seconds after Starfire left, Raven felt a very messy, very familiar aura approach her.

"Beast Boy." The empath said without turning to look at him.

"Willoooow. What's uuuup?"

His slurred speech made her look. He was definitely drunk. She also noticed he was shirtless and felt grateful for the dark club for covering up any color that may have appeared on her cheeks.

"What happened to you?"

"Got dumped." He collapsed on the club's couch next to her.

Raven held her breath and focused on keeping calm. So they broke up. That doesn't change anything. At least not for me. "That sucks."

"Yeaah."

Then a pair of green arms wrapped around Raven in a tight hug that pinned her arms to her sides as he leaned on her. She didn't try to move. It was strangely comfortable.

"You smell like alcohol." She wrinkled her nose. "How much did you drink?"

"It's all her fault, Willow."

"Because she dumped you?"

"No, no, not heeer. The other her. The girl I like. You remind me of her."

Raven frowned in confusion.

"Raveeen. It's her fault." Garfield said lazily, moving slightly to lean on her even more comfortably.

Raven rolled her eyes. Oh, he's doing a bit.

"She's amazing, you know." He continued groggily.

Raven smirked. "Is she?"

He nodded violently against her arm.

"Yesss she's the smartest girl in the world. And the bravest and the kindest and the most special. And she's witty and graceful and confident and wise and caring and tough and she's hauntingly beautiful." Beast Boy whimpered in his raspy voice.

Wait. Does he really not know who I am?! Raven started to panic. Garfield was starting to make her heart race and her skin tingle and her stomach flutter. It was dangerous territory.

"I like her so much, Willooow. It's why I got dumped you know, because Ter knew. But shhhh. Raven can't know. It's a secret."

"Beast Boy, I'm Rav-"

"You see, I'm in love with her." He whispered secretively. "But she can't know. Please don't tell her. Raven can't know."

And then the entire club was in complete darkness and silence. Chaos was set when people wondered how the power went out and lit up their phone's flashlights. Raven knew exactly what happened though. It was her. She took a deep breath and thanked her years of training and mastering control for making sure that was all that happened. Beast Boy was still wrapped around her completely unaware of their surroudings. She actually thought he was falling asleep now. Robin and Starfire quickly found them.

"Raven, was that you?" Robin stared quizzically at the scene in front of him. "Cyborg is figuring out how to get the power back on…"

"Yes, I'm afraid it was me. Sorry." She shrugged apologetically. "I need to take this one home." She tilted her head towards Beast Boy since she still couldn't move her arms. "Is that okay? I should go too."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea. We'll make sure everything is good here. Just go." Dick nodded at her.

Starfire had been looking at Raven's situation with Beast Boy tangled on her on the couch with a mixture of fondness and concern. The empath looked up at her meaningfully. Kory was the only one who knew this was difficult for Raven too. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I will be."

And with that, she disappeared with Beast Boy, to reappear inside his room. He had fallen asleep on her but he woke up startled when she teleported them.

"It's okay, it's me." Raven held him to keep him from falling. "You need to go to sleep."

"Raveen..." He grunted. "Why are you in my room? Am I dreaming?"

"No. You're drunk." She dropped him on his bed. "Go to sleep."

He was asleep in a second, snoring peacefully. She couldn't help but smile at him. Raven got up to leave to her own room, but then she stopped and looked at him again. She thought about what he said to her and her heart ached. He probably didn't mean it, right? He was really drunk. It wasn't fair that someone so open should waste his affections on someone so emotionally crippled. She walked up to him and removed his shoes. She did it carefully and slowly. It was easier to be tender when he wasn't looking. Then she covered him with a blanket and resisted the urge to run her fingers through his hair or lean down to kiss his forehead. And then she left to her own room for some much needed emergency meditation. I'm in so much trouble.

The next morning, Raven was still a mess. She felt another rush of scarlet energy right when she woke up, still in her room. This time she could hear something. She heard help us. On top of that, there were the dramatic events of the previous night to consider. Terra and Beast Boy broke up. Her immediate reaction was relief. As much as she wanted them to be happy, it had been harder than she would ever admit out loud. She allowed herself to feel relieved because she wouldn't have to spend the night out when they had sex, or accidentally walk in on them kissing, or watch them making googly eyes at each other at breakfast, or give them more relationship advice, or witness Garfield holding Terra when they all watched TV.

But then she realized that it also meant one less barrier between her and him. He could approach her without the risk of losing his girlfriend now, so it would be up to Raven to stop him. And after last night, she wasn't sure she had it in her. But she had to. She had to find a way to have it in her. Raven walked out and she seemed to be the only one up. Then she sensed someone who usually got up much later.

"Terra." Raven greeted the blonde softly.

"Hi, Rae." Terra waved awkwardly at her. "Can we talk?"

"Yes, of course."

"BB and I broke up last night."

"I heard. I'm sorry."

There were a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Do you know why?" Terra was the first to speak.

"Yes. Do you hate me?" Raven bit her lip.

Terra chuckled sadly. "I tried to. But no."

Raven felt genuinely relieved. "Good. Because I miss you." She whispered.

Terra's eyes shot up to meet her friend's sincere face.

"I miss you too." The blonde said truthfully. "I like being your friend. I just…it was an awkward situation for me."

"I'm sorry."

"So you keep saying but you didn't actually do anything, you know."

"I know, but…still."

Terra smiled at her. It was a small, sad smile, but still a smile.

"Are you leaving again? Because I hope you're not." The empath frowned.

"I thought about that." Terra sighed. "And I don't want to leave everything because of him. It doesn't feel right. But I can't stay here either, at least not yet. So I'm going to Titans East. I mean, if they'll have me. At least for a while."

Raven considered that for a minute. It was actually a good plan. She just nodded and smiled reassuringly at Terra. They didn't need to say too much to understand each other. After breakfast, Terra said her goodbyes in person this time and left. Beast Boy wasn't up yet, but it would have been an awkward goodbye anyway. Besides, she wasn't leaving for good, she was still a Titan and they'd see each other again soon for sure.

"Gar? Are you up?" Raven knocked softly on his door. She heard grumbling so she walked inside. "I brought you breakfast."

That made Beast Boy open his eyes and sit up. It also made him realize he wasn't wearing a shirt. And then he realized he had no idea how he got to his bed last night. But Raven was standing there with a tray of vegan breakfast and it smelled really good. He gratefully took the tray from her. "You did? Thanks!"

"I figured you wouldn't make it to the ops room. How's the headache?"

"Mm…bad." Garfield was ashamed. She was only being this nice because she knew he got drunk. Still, she was being nice. "Wait, did I do anything stupid last night?"

"Not unless you don't remember you and Terra breaking up."

"Oh, good. I do remember that. It was before I started to drink."

"Yeah, about that…you need to stop. It's the second time you get drunk." She sat down next to him and healed his headache.

Beast Boy didn't move. He was afraid if he moved he would do something dumb and ruin the moment making her want to leave.

"That feels so much better. Thankou." He smiled at her before starting to eat. "And I know. I'm never drinking again. I can't remember anything after the breakup. It sucks."

Raven bit her lip. Why was there a part of her that was sad he didn't remember?

"You don't have to pity me, you know. I'm okay this time. The breakup was…mutual, I guess." He told her.

"I don't pity you."

"You don't?" He took another bite. "Then why are you being so nice?"

"Sometimes I'm nice, Beast Boy." Her tone became slightly annoyed and she folded her arms.

Beast Boy laughed whole-heartedly. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean it like that." He drank his soy milk and admired her. She was cute when she was annoyed with him. "So, did anything happen I need to know about?"

"Well, Terra went to Titans East for a while. And I've been getting these weird energy hits. It seems like someone's reaching out to me for help. I'm doing a special meditation session later to try and understand what it is."

Garfield nodded slowly. "Right. And did I make a fool of myself at any point last night?" He had a nagging sensation that he did.

Raven blinked blankly at him twice. Lying to him was still difficult.

"I knew it! What did I do!?"

"Nothing in this world will make me say it, so don't bother." She stopped him with a hand in the air when he opened his mouth to argue. "But whatever it was, you don't need to worry about it."

Garfield wasn't ready to let it go, but he knew he wouldn't get anything out of her now. "So now that we can spend time together again, I was thinking…"

Raven braced herself for some romantic suggestion that would force her to reject him again.

"Can you teach me how to meditate?"

Huh? She looked at him pleasantly surprised. "You…want to meditate?"

"I was just thinking after those chemicals made me lose it…it would be nice to be more in control, I guess. I do feel like a mess most of the time."

"Yeah, Gar." Raven smiled slightly. "Of course I'll teach you."

She did try to teach him. She really did. But Beast Boy simply wasn't ready for meditation yet. Robin had excused them from training that day and they had been at it for hours. He kept getting distracted or bored and it was beginning to drive her crazy. He opened his eyes and watched her. Her posture was perfect. He noticed how long her neck was, though her leotard usually hid it. It made him think of a swan. Then he thought about the ugly duckling and he wondered if he would ever have to become a duck in a fight. Probably not. They're not really intimidating. MAYBE a goose.

"Hey, Rae? Which do you think would win in a fight, a swan, a duck or a goose?"

Raven opened one eye to look at his eager face, then the sighed and lowered herself to the ground. "You know what? Maybe meditation is a bit too advanced for you. Why don't we try some Tai Chi?"

He smiled coyly at her.

"Get up." She instructed.

Beast Boy stood up immediately and Raven went through some basic moves with him. Then they started practicing it together, Beast Boy following her lead. It felt nice. Raven hadn't done this in a while and she enjoyed the company for once. Garfield realized it actually helped him center and feel a little more in control. He felt…peaceful. For the first time in a long time. Maybe ever. And that was the scene Robin walked into when he entered the ops room: Raven and Beast Boy doing Tai Chi by the window.

Dick raised an amused eyebrow. "Am I interrupting something?"

Beast Boy jumped. He had been too distracted to smell Robin coming. Raven calmly turned out. She hadn't been too distracted to sense him.

"We were trying to help Beast Boy focus and control his emotions."

"Oh. Good, that's good." Especially if he has a crush on you. Robin smiled approvingly. Maybe his team would be alright after all.

"Robin! Okay. So, life or death situation question. Who wins in a fight: a duck, a swan or a goose?" Beast Boy jumped in front of their leader.

Robin's face twisted in confusion. "How is this life or death again?"

"Obviously it is the goose, man." Cyborg answered easily as he came into the ops room.

Beast Boy made an excited, high-pitched sound. "That's what I th-"

"AHHH!"

Everyone's heads turned to Raven. She was on the floor, in agony. Beast Boy was by her side in a heartbeat. The others didn't take much longer.

"Raven!?" The shapeshifter's raspy voice was filled with despair. "What's happening!?" He looked at the others helplessly.

Then she touched his shoulder. He turned to look at her and realized she was catching her breath. He put an arm around her waist for support.

"I'm fine. But someone isn't. Someone needs our help." She was sure this time. "Help me up. I need to meditate and reach out to them."

"Raven…maybe you shouldn't. It seems like whatever this is, it's hurting you." Robin pondered.

She looked at her friends' worried faces. They all seemed to agree with Robin, especially Beast Boy. She smiled a little. She had gotten so lucky with this family. But she knew what she needed to do.

"Well, I have to. It's a cry for help and as far as we know I'm the only one who heard it." The sorcerer put a hand in the air to stop their protests. "But I'm not worried. You know why?"

"Because instead of you making Beast Boy more sensible he's made you more reckless?" Robin crossed his arms over his chest.

"No..." Raven rolled her eyes playfully at their leader. "Because if it hurts me, you'll all be here. I feel safe knowing that. Robin, you basically went to find me in Hell when Trigon ascended. So I think I'll be okay."

Their faces softened and hers became fiercer as she went to get some candles and placed them in a circle. "I'll do it here so you can help me if anything bad happens."

"What are the candles for?" Starfire had already started helping her friend by arranging them in a perfect circle.

"They'll help me get there faster. As long as you guys don't distract me." Raven said and glanced at Beast Boy.

He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled sheepishly.

Then Raven floated into her Lotus stance in the middle of the circle. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos…"

She had been meditating for two hours and the Titans had been alternating who watched her. Beast Boy wanted to stay with her but Robin told him whoever stayed there had to be silent, so it was between the other three Titans. Cyborg was the one watching her when it happened. Raven's body stiffened and she grunted in pain. Several spots of her skin began to burn though he couldn't see where the fire was coming from. She screamed in anguish.

Cyborg pulled out his communicator hastily. "Calling EVERYONE! Get here now!"

Raven collapsed on the floor with a loud thump. Cyborg ran over to her and the others came rushing in right after – no one had been able to relax or go too far. She was panting and the burns on her skin ached terribly. Her hair was glued to her face and neck by sweat. Cyborg and Starfire helped her sit up while Robin and Beast Boy kneeled down in front of them to examine her wounds.

Garfield started freaking out. "What happened!? Is she okay!? Raven? Are you okay?!"

"Beast Boy, let her breathe." Robin ordered.

They waited until she slowed her breathing and began healing her body. The pain began to ease. Starfire cleaned the sweat off her forehead.

"What happened?" Robin was the one to ask this time.

Raven looked up at her friends. She wasn't in pain anymore, but she was still scared. As in, actually scared. And she wasn't used to being scared.

"I saw…a giant fire bird." She gulped. "And it swallowed me whole."

Okaaay, so the next 4 chapters are the crossover chapters! I don't know if I should change the story category, because it's only for 4 chapters and this story will be much longer than that. Can you guess who they're meeting? I've given a few hints on this one :D

I'll publish those 4 chapters two at a time, and then after I've posted all four I'll take a short break but I'll definitely be back in a few days with more.

Fair warning: there will be sexual content going forward. I tried staying away from overdetailed/overexplicit descriptions though if you know what I mean lol, but some of it is important to the story.

Can't Fight this Feeling (REO Speedwager)