Things I'll Never Say
"C'moooon, RaeRae. Give me attention."
Beast Boy had been following her around Titan Tower while she tried to organize Robin's research on who could have stolen her power-blocking artefacts. Right now she had a whole bunch of notes and pictures scattered across the table in the ops room.
"I can't right now, Beast Boy." Raven furrowed her brows, glancing at Dick's notes and trying to make sense of it.
Garfield folded his arms and tapped his foot on the floor. "Do I need to turn into a puppy?"
"You can't keep doing that to demand attention, you know?"
Watch me. The shapeshifter turned into the most adorable puppy he could manage and rushed to whimper at her feet.
Raven sighed heavily as she looked down at him. "Low blow."
He just kept whining cutely until she picked him up and lazily caressed his fur while she looked through Richard's research.
Robin came in at that point. "Raven? Starfire was thinking instead of going with us to th-" He stopped at the sight in front of him and frowned, his own internal trouble alarm going off.
"Yes?"
"Ah…" Dick shook his head to get back on track. "So apparently BB and her agreed on arcade night with everyone, but now Kory is saying the girls should stay here for something called girls' night. Do you know anything about that?"
Beast Boy turned human again. "What? Why? I thought we would all go!"
Arcade night was the third and final group activity they organized to entice Damian to stay.
"Actually, girls' night sounds nice." Raven said quickly.
She wasn't looking forward to another jealousy fit from Garfield if Aqualad decided to talk to her or something. Besides, she had been meaning to clear the air with Terra for a while now.
"What? Noo, you need to come!" Beast Boy pouted childishly at her.
"Gar, just go to the arcade with your friends. It will be good for you guys and Damian, you can have a testosterone fest." Raven told him pointedly.
Beast Boy opened his mouth to argue, but then everyone else came into the ops room making plans and sharing gossip and conspiracy theories rather loudly.
Damian leaned against the wall. "Do you usually go on this many social activities or is all of this because of me?"
"We assure you we have no idea what you are referring to, friend Damian." Kory said innocently.
"Yeah, sure."
Starfire smiled. "So…Raven, the other girls liked my idea, what do you think?"
"Yes, please." The empath answered without looking up from Robin's research.
Starfire beamed and flew up in the air a little. "Oh marvelous!"
"What's all this?" Jinx asked as she approached Raven and Beast Boy.
"Research on who might be working with Slade and targeting Raven." Bumblebee answered as she sat next to the empath to help her organize it chronologically.
"Why do you think they're targeting her?" Jinx frowned.
"Because someone stole Klarion's thingies the day Adonis drugged BB. And Dick swears he saw Slade in the crowd." Cyborg explained.
Terra shivered slightly. She wasn't looking forward to facing Slade again.
"Who's this Klarion again?" Damian asked. "And what's with his thingies and Doomsday?"
"This creepy warlock who has a huge thing for her." Beast Boy stated in an annoyed voice.
Raven just grunted at the remembrance, also annoyed.
"Yeah he wants to make her his Underworld queen and stuff." Cyborg chuckled.
"Please, he has no claim on the Underworld." Raven sounded bored as ever. "Actually that might be why he needs me."
Everyone exchanged quizzical looks at this casual mention of maybe having a claim on the Underworld. Jinx was just about to ask her to elaborate when someone else spoke first.
"Anyway he made these bracelets that are like Kryptonite for Raven." Richard explained. "With…dark magic and stuff. We're not sure how. We had them, but..."
"I see." Damian's face hardened and he walked up to Bumblebee and Raven and began helping them with the research. These people didn't know this about him yet, but he was actually really smart.
Raven noticed he was worried. "Thanks." She whispered.
"Can't have Doomsday defeated by some weirdo who can't get a girl without dark magic. Won't happen." Damian said pointedly.
That earned him a very sincere and grateful smile from Beast Boy.
"Where is he now, anyway?" Kid Flash asked.
"Who knows? Hopefully we'll never see him again." Cyborg answered. "Unless you guys think he was the one who stole them back…"
"We'll definitely see him again." Raven stated. "He's pushy. But no, sneaky isn't his style. For now let's just worry about Slade."
Whoever actually stole the artefacts from Raven's room avoided every single security camera. Since Robin saw Slade in town when Beast Boy lost control and Adonis wasn't sneaky, they knew someone else was involved – but that was about it. There had been talk of something big about to happen in the villainous world. Jinx said she heard something about it, but it was all very mysterious so far. Damian, Victor and Dick hacked into government secret sites but they didn't seem to know anything either. Damian called Batman, but all the Justice League had to offer were vague rumors too. Before they knew it, Raven said they should stop and try to have some fun since they weren't really getting anywhere.
"Maybe you're right. We'll investigate more tomorrow." Robin smiled reassuringly at her.
The light banter began before the guys even left.
"You're going down, Beast Boy." Damian chuckled.
"Oh yes! Maybe I'll team up with Damian boy here." Cyborg ruffled the young boy's hair.
Damian grumbled and fixed it, because he didn't like that one bit.
"Oh yeah? Well I'm not afraid of either of you!" Beast Boy grinned smugly.
"Oh we'll see!" The half-robot matched his best friend's playfulness.
"You know what?!" Beast Boy shouted and waited until everyone looked at him. "Maybe I should take a broom to the arcade!" He made a dramatic pause for effect and everyone looked confused. "Because I'm sweeping the competition!"
Everyone grunted and rolled their eyes while he laughed hysterically at his own joke.
Terra was standing next to Raven and whispered. "Remind me why I liked him?"
"If I figure it out I'll let you know." Raven whispered back as she shook her head slowly, though if she was being completely honest, she thought it was kind of endearing.
The guys left and Starfire rushed in excitedly with nail polish, movies, snacks, magazines, a sound box, a bottle of champagne and an Ouija board. She figured with Raven and Jinx here she should cover all the bases. She also had something else hidden away, but that was a secret surprise.
"Let us begin the fun time!"
They watched a movie and ate first. Then they put on some music and started doing each other's nails while sipping champagne.
"Hey…instead of this…can we talk?" Raven whispered to Terra after Bumblebee finished the blonde's nails.
Terra's eyes widened for a split second before she smiled. "Yes, I was actually hoping we could."
They tried to sneak out, but with only five people there it wouldn't go unnoticed.
"Where do you two think you're going?" Koriand'r asked disapprovingly.
"I just need to talk to her for a minute." Raven said seriously.
"Well, perfection! You can do that here because it is time we do the bonding in the circle of trust!" Starfire announced.
Jinx frowned. "The what now? Wait, is this a cult?"
The Tamaranean pulled out what she had been hiding and everyone gasped loudly.
"Is that…?" Terra's eyes glistened.
"Wonder Woman's Lasso of Truth." Starfire said smugly.
"Kory, did you steal that?" Bumblebee raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not!" Kory gasped in utter outrage. "I asked Clark to convince her."
"Clark?" Raven smiled incredulously at her best friend. "You're on a first-name basis with Superman?"
"Yes. We have bonded over being aliens on this strange planet."
Raven chuckled slightly. Of course they have. "Well, I'll stay but you're not putting that thing on me."
"It's so shiny." Terra admired it as she and Raven sat back down with the others.
"We must all promise nothing that is revealed here tonight will be used against any of us in the future. I only brought it to make sure we are all using the honesty." Koriand'r said seriously as she began painting Raven's nails a dark purple color.
Bumblebee smiled. "Kor, this is really cool but no one's actually going to-"
"I don't mind! I'm always honest." Jinx shrugged and wrapped it around her arm. "I don't feel any different. Ask me something."
"This is a bad idea…" Raven pointed out, though she knew she would be ignored.
"How do you and Cy…you know?" Terra raised her eyebrows and giggled.
"We're going straight to that then. Okay." Raven stated blankly.
"Oh we just get creative, you know." The enchantress quickly answered. "Advanced technology helps too."
Bumblebee blushed deeply and Jinx noticed and narrowed her eyes at her. Starfire and Terra chuckled.
Jinx laughed loudly. "You guys, this is so weird!" She pointed at the rope around her arm.
"Have you ever cheated on Cy?" Bumblebee asked while trying – and failing – to look uninterested.
"Only in my mind."
"With who?" Raven asked. She wanted to check something.
Jinx tried really hard not to answer, but… "Kid Flash."
Bumblebee flinched slightly.
"Do me, do me!" Terra laughed hysterically until Jinx passed her the Lasso and she wrapped it around her own arm. She'd had a little champagne and was feeling rather bold now.
The blonde looked at Raven expectantly.
"Oh. Am I supposed to ask you something?" The empath looked confused.
"Well, you did say you wanted to talk to her." Kory pointed out.
"Right, but this wasn't what I…" Raven sighed heavily. "Okay, fine. Terra, do you hate me?"
"No. I kinda miss you."
Raven looked at her with wide, surprised eyes. "Do you…resent me?"
"A little. You knew he loved you while he was with me and I feel like you should have either shut him down or told me, and you did neither. You let me think it was platonic."
Raven frowned. "I know, I'm sorry. I am. I thought it would go away if he dated you, I really did. I thought it would be best for everyone, but I should have told you. And it's not love. It's…well, I don't know what it is. Infatuation, I guess. But I am sorry; I really didn't think it would go on for this long." She said sincerely.
Terra offered her a small smile.
"You're not doing this right!" Jinx said to Raven before turning to Terra. "Terra, do you still like Beast Boy?"
"Sure, as a friend."
Raven didn't think that would make her feel this relieved. "You…have no romantic feelings for him anymore?"
"I don't."
Raven nodded slowly as her heart became lighter.
"Is there someone else you like?" Kory asked excitedly. She was done with Raven's nails so now the empath was painting her nails a bright red.
"Maybe."
A half-smile appeared on Raven's lips. "Is it Speedy?"
"Yes."
There was a round of happy squeals.
Raven just smirked approvingly. "I thought I sensed something."
"My turn!" Starfire beamed.
"Wait!" Raven said quickly. "Ah…Terra, do you forgive me? Or what would it take to get there?" She was starting to see the value in this idea now.
"I forgive you. You both hurt me, but…well, I've hurt you too. I believe you didn't mean to hurt me. I'm just sad you can't be together. I wish you could be happy. And I think he does love you." Terra answered.
"Oh." Raven cleared her throat and focused on Starfire's nails again. "Don't worry about that, I'm not…no one's…you know, we're not…but anyway, that's sweet of you. Thank you. I've missed you too." She shot the blond Titan a quick but friendly smile.
"Joyous! See I told you this would help us with the bonding!" Starfire said before wrapping the Lasso around her arm just as Raven finished her nails.
"Have you ever cheated on Robin?" Jinx asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"I have not." Kory answered.
"Have you ever wanted to?" Terra pressed.
"Yes. I get attention from many attractive people. But I love Robin."
"Do you enjoy the attention you get?" Bumblebee teased.
"Yes. As a matter of fact, I do." Kory giggled.
Raven rolled her eyes while the others chuckled breezily.
"All right, you're up Bumblebee." Jinx said, taking the rope off of Kory's arm.
The enchantress turned to Bumblebee with a wicked smile. She had been waiting for this since she noticed all that blushing on her turn. It was time to get answers.
"I…I don't want to go." Karen bit her lip. She had a terrible feeling Jinx was about to ask a question she did not want to answer.
Raven noticed it too and held her breath.
"But why wouldn't you want to go? Do you have something to hide?" Jinx pressed.
"N-no, but…"
"Then prove it." Jinx went to wrap the Lasso around her arm.
Bumblebee pulled her hand away. She looked around desperately. "I…I just…"
"Here, do me now."
Everyone turned their heads in complete shock to see Raven with her arm stretched out.
The empath hadn't really thought this through; she just did it to save Karen – who was emanating eternal gratitude towards her now. What in Azar's name am I doing? She frowned unsurely. "But…you can't ask me about other people's feelings."
"Ohh, nice." Jinx forgot all about Bumblebee and eagerly wrapped the Lasso around Raven's arm.
The empath took a deep breath. Okay…be brave.
"Since Terra's too shy to start, allow me. Raven, were you jealous when she dated Beast Boy?" The enchantress folded her arms and smirked.
Terra glared at Jinx. They already knew about this, she was just being bitchy.
"Yes, painfully so." Raven said. Then she flushed, closed her eyes and inhaled. "It's a very uncomfortable, unpleasant sensation. I did not like it."
Jinx laughed evilly, but Terra and Starfire smiled fondly at her and Bumblebee chuckled sympathetically.
"Do you resent or dislike Terra?" Jinx continued.
Terra stiffened and braced herself for the empath's brutality.
"No. I resent you, though. For this."
This time everyone but the enchantress laughed loudly and whole-heartedly.
Jinx scoffed. That one did not go as planned. "Whatever."
"Oh, I have one…" Starfire took a deep breath. "Do you uh…do you think I'm dumb?"
Kory had decided on not being upset about her friend's answer, but she wanted to know so she could change her mind.
"Of course not."
The Tamaranean's eyes sparkled blissfully and a huge grin took over her features.
"Do you think you're better than everyone else?" Jinx was back in.
"Sometimes." Raven said truthfully. "More often than not, actually."
Her friends rolled their eyes. They'd seen that coming.
"But I also know I'd be ruined without my friends. So I suppose I'm not that great." The empath concluded.
That earned her a nice round of awwws and smiles.
"Do you wish your powers didn't keep you from dating?" Terra asked curiously.
"Not in general, no."
Terra narrowed her eyes friendly. "Do you wish they didn't keep you from dating BB?"
Fuck. "I…yes, I do." Raven squeezed her eyes shut. Stupid Wonder Woman with her stupid magical rope.
Terra realized she was uncomfortable now and gave her a sad smile. But now Starfire was the one who was light-headed and excited.
"Oh, oh! Was sex with BB life-changing!?" Kory beamed, forgetting all about how secretive her friend usually was.
Raven uselessly struggled trying to resist the Lasso's magic. "It…was."
Starfire squealed happily.
"I think we should stop…" Terra frowned.
"Yes, I agree." Bumblebee nodded eagerly.
"It was the happiest I've ever felt and I'm damned for it now." Raven suddenly blurted out against her will.
There were loud gasps and shocked faces all around and Starfire covered her mouth with her hand when she realized Raven was almost crying from either the effort of trying to resist the rope or the content of what she was saying. More likely, both.
So Kory decided to wrap it up. "Okay that's enou-"
"Do you love Beast Boy, Raven?" Jinx leaned forward expectantly. She genuinely wanted to know this one.
Everyone froze and stared while Raven hugged herself so tightly her knuckles turned white. She squeezed her eyes shut and focused. Dark energy made things shake and fall all around the ops room. Bumblebee started brainstorming ways to thank Raven for this later, because this was brutal. She felt like she was taking a bullet for her.
"Enough! " Raven's low voice echoed around the room before the Lasso of Truth was involved in darkness as she released herself. The empath exhaled heavily, finally relaxing her muscles. She felt sore from all the effort. When she opened her eyes, her friends were staring at her wide-eyed with their mouths hanging open. "Well…as fun as that was, I think we're done with that." She said calmly, doing a few neck circles because of how sore she felt. "Treacherous little artefact Diana's got there."
"How did you…did you just resist it!?" Jinx exclaimed.
"Yes, I did."
"But… how?" The enchantress's eyes were sparkling with curiosity.
"You know what, Jinx? When you decide to stop being a bitch and work on your magic, let me know and I'll tell you." Raven smirked.
Jinx scowled and folded her arms. The other three girls laughed light-heartedly and she ended up rolling her eyes and chuckling with them. She always thought the way Raven talked about holding back and gaining control with her magic sounded lame and boring, but she had to admit her results were really interesting. Maybe a few lessons wouldn't hurt.
After sending the Lasso back through a portal, they decided they'd had enough excitement for one night, so they put the Ouija board aside and picked another movie. Raven sat next to Terra, and they were both extremely relieved to be on good terms again. Starfire went to get more snacks, because she did have nine stomachs.
Meanwhile, at the arcade, Beast Boy and Kid Flash were busy shooting at zombies. Wally had been meaning to talk to the shapeshifter, so he figured it was an appropriate moment. "Hey man, by the way, I won't tease you for being all spellbound. I can actually kinda relate."
Beast Boy smiled slightly without removing his eyes from the game. "You like someone too?"
"Kinda. It's a different situation, but…still sucks."
"Who is it!?"
"Can't tell you."
"Yes you can! You can tell me!" Beast Boy promised, bursting with curiosity.
"Nope."
"Oh c'mon dude I promise I won't tell anyone!"
Kid Flash hesitated.
"What if I guess? C'mon give me three tips." Garfield pressed.
Kid Flash sighed. "Fine. But if you tell anyone, there will be payback. She's powerful, she's clever and she's kind of mean."
Beast Boy forgot all about the zombies and turned to Kid Flash with a desperate expression on his face. "NOT YOU TOO!"
Wally frowned in confusion. It took him more than a second staring at his exasperated green friend to understand his reaction. "Oh nooo! I didn't mean Raven." He laughed apologetically. "I mean, she's great and everything, but no. It's not her."
Beast Boy exhaled heavily and leaned against the machine. "Dude! Don't freak me out like that!"
"Sorry!" Kid Flash's laughter got slightly hysterical. "My bad."
Garfield chuckled along with him. "But then who… oh." He straightened up. "You mean Jinx."
"I mean Jinx. I know she's dating your guy, sorry if that's weird. But I wouldn't…you know. I'm just saying." Wally said awkwardly.
Beast Boy offered him a sympathetic smile. "Thanks for telling me. I'll keep your secret."
"I think your girl knows too. She can sense stuff, right? I see her pitying me out of the corner of my eye."
Beast Boy's stomach fluttered deliciously when Wally called Raven his girl. "Ah…don't let her hear you calling her that." He chuckled. "And yes, probably. But she wouldn't tell. Don't worry."
On the other side of the arcade, Dick and Damian were grabbing something to eat after competing at nearly every single game available.
"So…what do you think? Still too cool to be a Titan?" Richard asked his little brother.
Damian rolled his eyes. "I guess when it comes to lame superhero teams; they can get lamer than yours."
Robin chuckled. "Well, that's something."
Damian debated with himself about how honest he should be. The truth was he'd had more fun in the past few days than…well, ever. Maybe having friends – or even a brother – would make him weaker, but now that he was here he didn't want to give it up. He had been rude to them, shut them down, made fun of them, and they were still flipping backwards to make sure he had a good time and felt included. They seemed to care about him, and it didn't even change when he let his anger get the best of him and they needed to interfere before he accidentally murdered someone. Maybe resenting Dick wouldn't do him any good. Maybe a brother was even better than a father.
"Thanks, by the way." Damian cleared his throat. "You know, for having me. Even if you only did it because dad asked you."
"I didn't." Dick said quickly. "I mean, I'll admit, it's hard to say no to Bruce. But we all felt that you could fit right in. You see, when I found these guys, I was planning on working alone. I wanted to be my own person after years of being a sidekick. And then a bunch of powerful misfits with different strengths and weaknesses was on my way and…well, we already told you how it happened, so you know this. It made me realize we were stronger and better if we stayed together. No sidekicks, just…teammates. We're not perfect, Damian, but we are a family. And I talked to them before bringing you in."
Damian was frowning at his older brother as he tried to hide his emotions. "And…everyone thought I could benefit from staying here a while?"
"Well, we all hoped so. You don't need to leave unless you want to. You know that, right?"
"You say that, but…" Damian leaned back on the chair and folded his arms.
"I mean it. The reason Starfire and Beast Boy arranged all this was to try and get you to stay. Cyborg is sold too. Even Raven likes you, and she doesn't like anyone at first." He chuckled.
Damian fought back a smile, but Richard noticed it.
"And then there's me." Robin continued. "I would love to have a brother. I know you hate me, but that's normal for brothers, I guess."
Damian laughed a little. "I don't hate you. I just…" He got serious again. "He raised you as his son. It made me feel weird."
"I know. But I hope that doesn't ruin this for us, because I'm not saying no to more family." Richard gave his little brother one of those confident, reassuring Robin stares.
Damian sighed. "Well, then…" He looked sideways and spoke quietly. "I think I'd like to stay."
Dick beamed at him. "Done. We'll figure out a name and uniform for you in time."
The younger boy rolled his eyes, but smiled slightly. "Lame." They finished eating in comfortable silence before going back to friendly raging competition.
The next morning, Beast Boy didn't get to embarrass Raven by singing to her, because everyone woke up to the trouble alarm.
"Titans!" Robin's voice sounded clear through the hallways.
They were all in the ops room in less than five minutes.
"Trouble?" Speedy asked.
Robin looked up at his girlfriend. "Blackfire."
Starfire's features hardened and her muscles tensed up. "She did say she would be back."
"That's the sister, right?" Damian whispered to Raven, getting a nod back as confirmation.
"Well, what are we waiting for!?" Cyborg shouted, already heading for the T-Car. "Anyone who can't fly or run really fast, come with me!"
Aqualad, Speedy, Jinx and Damian followed him. Robin took his motorcycle. They all met with the others in the chaos that was Jump City's mall. It wasn't just Blackfire. She had an entire alien army backing her. Not to mention a few familiar villains. Adonis showed up in his beast form again, only it was much more dangerous – apparently he'd been experimenting with the chemicals on himself too. The HIVE was there, not to mention Killer Moth and Dr. Light. It was starting to feel like an ambush.
"Titans, go!"
They charged and engaged in a dangerous battle. Fourteen Titans were a force to be reckoned with, but they were still severely outnumbered. Damian and Richard fought restlessly against Blackfire's army on the ground – but no matter how they hit them, they kept coming back. Kid Flash, Mas and Menos saved civilians before joining the fight and helping Dick and his little brother. Cyborg went for Dr. Light. Speedy, Aqualad and Jinx struggled against the HIVE.
Starfire immediately went for Komand'r, but her army was protecting her. Kory wasn't sure on which planet her sister found these species, but some of them spit acid, some could fly, some were fast and they were all extremely resistant – as in nearly impossible to kill. And they seemed completely loyal to her. Raven, Bumblebee and Terra went to back her up in the skies so she could get to Blackfire.
"Hello sis! Did you miss me?" Komand'r asked mockingly when Kory finally reached her. The two girls engaged in a furious, personal, dangerously balanced blasting war in the sky. Blackfire had definitely had improvements since they last saw each other.
Beast Boy was in trouble too. Adonis had charged at him before he even had time to think. He couldn't properly focus while getting hit. The right transformations took concentration, and the truth was he had been distracted glancing over at Raven when the villain attacked, and now he wasn't catching a break. Not to mention whatever it was Adonis had been doing to himself was certainly giving results and he was going for the kill. He was furiously fast and terrifyingly violent. Garfield focused on trying not to die.
Robin saw him. He asked Damian if he could manage the aliens for a bit – and got a smug smirk as a reply – and moved to help Beast Boy, but then someone new showed up. This girl was about Damian's age, evil looking, with long white hair, an eye patch, a black and red armor and two katana-style swords. And there was something sickeningly familiar about her. She pulled out her swords and fought against Dick, smoothly holding her own. He recognized some of her moves. Slade. Dick struggled against the mysterious girl while she smiled evilly at him.
And then Adonis grabbed Beast Boy by the neck and before he could change into anything, he threw him on a concrete wall sixteen feet away. Garfield was in human form when his body slammed hard on the wall then collapsed on the floor. He felt his entire body ache and burn and tingle in the most painful way. It all happened so fast. He desperately tried to move, because he could tell Adonis was approaching and ready to attack again, but sitting up alone sent agonizing shots of pain through his entire body.
Garfield grabbed the side of his body and shouted, thinking he'd definitely broken a few ribs. He tried to shapeshift, but he couldn't focus past the pain and he was starting to feel dizzy. He saw Adonis' beast get on all fours and roar furiously as he ran towards him. I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die. Just shapeshift already! Beast Boy started breathing faster and did his best to ignore the pain but there wasn't much time. Adonis made the jump. Fuck.
But then he never reached him. Beast Boy's heart filled with relief, love and gratitude when he realized he didn't need to change to get out of this situation. Raven had appeared out of thin air between them just in time to create a force-field, followed by a particularly furious blast of dark energy that sent Adonis flying to the other side of the battle.
"Guess you're not immune to magic." She whispered, staring at where Adonis had been.
Then Raven turned around and Beast Boy could tell her eyes had been glowing white, but as soon as she looked at him they turned violet and the anger vanished. The empath frowned worriedly and rushed to his side kneeling down next to him. His ribs were still sending him agonizing waves of pain and now he tasted blood in his mouth, but she was here now, so everything was fine.
"You're hurt." Raven whispered as her eyes quickly scanned his body for which wound she should heal first. But most importantly, her heart was painfully tight to see him hurt.
"But alive. Thank you." Garfield smiled at her. He saw the look of horror on her face and wondered if he looked even worse than he felt.
The shapeshifter tried to stand up again to reassure and calm her, but it only caused him to wince in pain and fall over again. Except this time she caught him.
"Don't move, idiot." The empath said quietly. "Here."
Raven already had one arm around him. Now she placed her free hand over his broken ribs. Touching his body ignited something in her and her thoughts got blurry. White soothing energy emerged from her hand and began healing him. She looked up at his face. He was looking at her too. When their eyes met, she forgot about the fight. She moved the arm she had around him and placed that hand on his head to start healing a bloody head injury.
Beast Boy stared at her affectionately while her magic embraced him like a warm hug. It felt so good. She felt so good. He hadn't even noticed he'd hurt his head until she began healing it. He waited for a few seconds and once he felt better, he pulled her hand from his forehead and brought it to his lips to kiss it devotedly.
"Are you sure you're not an angel hybrid?" He whispered.
Raven was distracted. She was distracted by seeing him hurt, and then she was distracted by her feelings for him. When he kissed her hand, she could feel his passion and she inhaled sharply to stay in control. Then he whispered something about her being an angel and she couldn't help feeling amused. The empath had healed enough for him to join the fight again, but she hadn't removed her hand from his side yet. Raven kept it there and chuckled slightly while running her other hand through his hair. It would only take a second, and then they could get back t-
Raven's heart stopped. Beast Boy was gone. Just like that, in a heartbeat, his body vanished and all Raven saw was greyish fur. Adonis ran so fast there wasn't even enough time to see where he'd run off to. He'd seen them. The second Adonis saw her healing him and laughing with him, he knew what he had to do. He knew where he needed to take her and he knew Beast Boy was the way to get her there. This whole endeavor was meant to find this opening.
The empath's brain malfunctioned. She forgot she could fly and ran. She wasn't sure where he went so she ran in multiple directions, looking and feeling completely lost and distressed. If he dies it will be my fault. No wait, he can't die. Don't let him die. Don't you DARE let him die.
Damian had seen her. "Raven, what's wrong?"
"H-he took him! I'm not sure where…" What's he going to do to him? She closed her eyes and cleared her mind as well as she could. Use your powers, idiot. Sense him.
"Who? Raven?!"
She focused on finding Beast Boy and exhaled heavily when she picked up on his energy at the park nearby. "He's alive! I'll be right back."
Damian's eyes widened. "No, wait! I think this might be a tra-"
She was gone. Damian huffed and ran to find Richard because he had a bad feeling about this.
"Don't even think about shapeshifting." Adonis said as he tightened his grip around Beast Boy's neck. He was back to his human self, but with a brand new and improved armor. "I'll break it."
Why hasn't he done it yet? Beast Boy struggled. He tried to focus and think, but it was difficult while grasping for air. And then he realized Raven came to his rescue again when she emerged from a dark energy bird. Except this time Adonis had him in a much more vulnerable position. The villain glared at Raven as if warning her any sudden moves could make him break Garfield's neck. As soon as she appeared, she wavered at the sight in front of her.
And then it happened. Within a split second, any relief Beast Boy might have felt was replaced by horror and despair because as soon as she hesitated, Slade jumped from a tree and smoothly and swiftly clasped a dark-grey magical bracelet to each of Raven's wrists.
She only realized what happened once it was too late. The empath looked down at her wrists and before she could even so much as glare at Slade or run, he'd pulled her close and was holding a knife to her neck. That's what you get for losing control, Raven. To be at the mercy of this creep again. No one could be harsher on Raven than her own mind as she mercilessly cursed herself for letting this happen.
Slade pulled out some sort of communicator. "If Blackfire's had her fun for now, tell them to retreat. We got what we came for."
Adonis let go of Beast Boy, who collapsed on the floor, coughing wildly. He looked down at him with a wicked smile. "You won't die yet. I want you to see what we'll do to her."
Raven held her breath so Slade couldn't tell how relieved she was. Watching him die in front of her like this would crush her soul and make her feel grateful for the binding artefacts on her wrists, because she could very well just impulsively destroy the world for it.
"Is that wise, Adonis?" Slade asked coldly. He knew the risks of underestimating these teenagers – or rather young adults now – far too well.
Garfield didn't want to look up. He couldn't look at her. He couldn't face her. He knew he should, because she was probably scared and it should be his turn to save her, but he had no idea what to do and she would see it in his eyes. Even if he managed to shapeshift now, Slade could easily cut her throat before he got to them. He felt his eyes well up. Look at her. Don't be a coward, look at her disappointed face. He didn't. Not until Adonis made him by grabbing his hair and forcing him to look up. There was no disappointment in her eyes, just a devastating amount of regret and fear.
"Of course it's wise. I'll finish him after we're done with her. It will be even easier when he's broken." Adonis spat out.
Garfield's desperate eyes broke her heart. He would blame himself for this. She was sure of it. And it wasn't his fault. It's mine. It's all my fault. Raven tried to look as reassuring as she could for him, but the truth was she was worried about her fate too.
"G-Gar…it's okay." The empath lied.
Slade Wilson tightened his grip. "It's really not, my dear. You're going to burn."
Garfield released himself from Adonis' grip and stared at them wide-eyed. No. He hopelessly shook his head, as if denying it was happening could somehow help them. No, no, no, please no. This can't happen. This CAN'T be happening.
Raven swallowed. And then she smirked mockingly. "You got a stake for me, Slade?"
This time Slade whispered in her ear so only she could hear him. "Still arrogant, are you? I like that. It will make breaking you so much more...fulfilling."
Dick and Damian came running in and stopped dead in their tracks when Slade hastily turned slightly so they could see Raven.
"Fuck." Robin whispered.
"Well we'll be leaving now, if you'll all excuse us." Slade mocked. "Adonis?"
Adonis charged at the two boys. Beast Boy looked at Slade and Raven while they backed away but he realized Slade wouldn't remove that knife from her neck while there was a Titan in sight. How do I save her? Slade had already disappeared in the shadows. Her scent was gone. Dick and Damian were in trouble. He turned into a T-Rex to help them. Adonis decided it was time to go. His odds weren't good now and he didn't need to win this fight; they had already done what they came here to do.
Terra flew in on a giant rock to see the villain escaping and her friends looking desperate. "What happened!?"
Beast Boy turned human again, fell to his knees, buried his head in his hands and sobbed.
Okay so listen, the next few chapters take a bit of a dark turn, but bear with me. I promise I'll make it up to you lol.
Things I'll Never Say (Avril Lavigne)