Wonderwall
Raven and Garfield had been a thing for a few months and gone on many more dates. He usually picked something fun and outdoorsy like hiking, where Raven usually started out grumpy and aggravated, but then enjoyed the fresh air and distance from people's emotions. Sometimes she would heal some wounded animal on the way, making the Changeling fall in love harder. He would often tell her to stop and sit somewhere so he could draw her.
Raven usually picked something like a museum or the theater, where Garfield usually started out bored, but then something would capture his interest and he'd ask her about it. He listened to her captivating explanations about what they were watching or looking at, and always ended up fully enjoying it. Starfire had suggested a double-date at least a dozen times, but they could never settle on what to do together. The four of them couldn't even agree on a restaurant or a coffee place. Garfield had also started trying to convince Raven to go vegan.
They had a lot of sex. They had extremely fun sex and the empath was grateful for the size of the tower and the distance between everyone's rooms because they could get a little loud. She discovered she enjoyed letting him be in charge sometimes, and she had been enjoying it more because his dominant side was getting less shy. Raven was surprised to find out that somehow giving him power over her wasn't scary at all, it actually felt rather liberating.
They also did sweet vanilla love-making every now and then when they were feeling more romantic. And they still had some problems, of course. He was still constantly afraid Raven would wake up out of love with him and end things. She still hadn't said the L-word to him, though she often tried to show him how much she cared through gestures. As far as she was concerned, not destroying the world after a few months was already a victory.
It had been a while since there was any real trouble. They frequently battled minor villains, of course, but things had been quiet after Darkseid. A lot of villains had joined him and gotten their asses kicked, so they were much more cautious. Besides, word about Slade's fate had spread and now everyone knew about the Phantom Zone and they were terrified of Raven again – even with the constant romantic leaked pictures of her and Garfield. Actually, they were scared of him too, because word about Adonis and Kalibak's fates had also spread.
Cyborg had taken Beast Boy's advice and was actively chasing Bumblebee for months now. He would flirt with her and give her silly gifts and visit the Titans East just so he could see her, and she was starting to give in to it – not that she would let him know. Kid Flash and Jinx were interacting with the Titans on a regular basis again and Raven went back to practicing magic with Jinx. Wally and Victor were understandably still a little awkward around each other, but they were doing the best they could.
"Titans, trouble!" Nightwing shouted from the ops room.
Raven and Starfire flew out of Raven's room with half-done fingernails and the Changeling and Cyborg dropped the video-game controllers and stood up.
"It's…shit." Richard frowned. When he felt his entire team staring at him in anticipation, he sighed. "It looks like Gotham's Sirens decided to pay Jump City a visit."
It had been a while since Harley Quinn and the Joker broke up and she'd teamed up with Catwoman and Poison Ivy. Of course the Titans knew all about it, because they got constant Intel from Batman himself.
Raven immediately and intently turned to Garfield. "Stay away from Poison Ivy."
The Changeling let out an outraged gasp. "I'm not going to kiss her!"
"No, she's right." Nightwing stated. "That woman can alter pheromones to seduce people, we should all be careful. Don't underestimate her."
Raven shrugged. "I can do that too." When everyone stared at her questioningly, she shrank a little. "I mean, I wouldn't. I'm just saying…I could."
Damian grinned and nodded. "Sick."
Raven smiled slightly. "Anyway, I'll try to free you all from her hold if she gets you. But…some of us should keep our distance." She glanced at Garfield again. "You know…because you're…"
The Changeling seemed confused. "I'm what?"
"Easily influenced." Richard said plainly.
Starfire and Cyborg nodded in agreement.
"I am not!" Garfield protested.
"Dude. Mad Mod? You were hypnotized like, ten times." Victor held back a chuckle.
"That was ages ago!" The shapeshifter flailed his arms around until Raven placed a hand on his shoulder, making him stop and look at her.
"Will you just stay away from her, please? For me?" The empath asked softly.
Garfield smiled idiotically at her. "Okay."
Nightwing rolled his eyes. "Titans, go!"
If it had been only the Sirens themselves, it would have been relatively easy, but obviously, they weren't alone. Ivy had been experimenting with many different types of venom and they all did something different – from paralysis to hallucinations, or even sudden death. This one however, seemed to give her full control over people's minds and there were many armed civilians protecting their mistress and her friends – civilians the Titans couldn't harm.
"Raven, release them." Nightwing instructed.
She nodded and floated into a Lotus stance, trying to reach out and free dozens of minds at the same time while complete chaos surrounded her. Easier said than done.
"You two, protect her." Richard said to Cyborg and Changeling. He knew he didn't need to tell Garfield to do it and there would be no point asking him to do anything else, but he still thought it was his job.
The half-robot and the shapeshifter guarded her against the small army without hurting anyone too badly. Garfield turned into Krypto and took advantage of being bulletproof and having super-speed to make sure no bullets ever got near her and they disarmed as many people as they could. Starfire took on Poison Ivy while Nightwing fought Catwoman and Damian battled Harley Quinn. Raven was in a deep trance as she accessed people's minds being careful not to do any damage. She was nearly there when a bomb exploded behind her, making her lose focus and fall over. Garfield immediately turned around to check on her. And then someone else joined the fight.
"Ravager." Damian hissed, narrowing his eyes when Rose Wilson walked out of the blast.
Raven stared at him quizzically, because even though his voice was menacing, she could sense excitement from him.
"We need backup here!" Nightwing shouted.
"Go, I'll protect her." The Changeling told Cyborg in a sure and confident voice.
If Victor Stone had ever doubted him, he couldn't remember. There was so much certainty in the shapeshifter's eyes that he was slightly taken aback. Victor glanced at Raven to see her floating in a Lotus stance once again and completely unbothered, so he ran to help the others. Garfield turned into a terrifying alien creature that looked like something out of Raven's horror novels and stood in front of her, roaring dangerously at anyone who dared approach them. So maybe he couldn't kill these people, but he could still scare them.
It wasn't quite as easy for the others. The Sirens were skilled and completely unhinged. Ravager and Robin somehow fought their way to each other once again and Harley was on Cyborg's back, messing with his systems. Fortunately, Kid Flash and Jinx joined the fight and the Titans regained the upper hand. Raven finally managed to release people's minds and fell to the floor feeling absolutely drained, to which the Changeling immediately responded by kneeling down next to her to check if she was okay, ignoring the sharp burst of pain on the right side of his body.
At that point, the Sirens and Ravager decided to flee. They practically disappeared into thin air. And then Garfield heard something through his enhanced hearing – it was muffled and distant, but it sure was there – a detonator had been activated. He turned into Krypto again and quickly located the bombs – the only problem was there were two. He took one in his mouth and looked around desperately. Starfire could probably do this, but not fast enough – she didn't have super-speed. Wally had super-speed, but he couldn't fly or survive if this bomb exploded in his face. Raven could send it through a portal, but he didn't want to ask her. She'd done enough.
And then just like a miracle with perfect timing, the real Krypto flew in barking happily and immediately understanding what he had to do and took the other bomb. They flew as fast and as high as they could and returned joyfully after the bombs had detonated in space. Garfield turned human again and winced in pain. He had taken a hit at some point and now that the adrenaline was wearing down he could definitely feel it. Krypto looked concerned. He wasn't the only one.
"What's wrong?" Raven was already by his side.
"Nothing, love." The Changeling smiled at her. She just freed a bunch of people from mind-control, she's tired. If I tell her, she'll feel like she has to heal me.
The empath suspiciously narrowed her eyes, but then Krypto happily licked her face and then Garfield's, making them both chuckle – though he contained his laughter considerably because of the pain – and then he flew to Starfire, who hugged him tightly, because he was strong enough to take it.
"Hey, Krypto man! Wanna race?" Kid Flash greeted the dog in a running stance.
Krypto immediately joined him and they were both back in a second.
The speedster grinned at the space dog. "Okay, you won this time, but I'll want a rematch!"
"Hey, man…ah, thanks." Cyborg acknowledged Wally. He had saved his ass in that fight.
Kid Flash smiled at the half-robot. He really did want things to be okay between them again.
"So, not that I'm complaining…" Richard greeted the Kryptonian dog. "But why are you here?"
"He's with me." Superboy's cool voice turned everyone's attention to him and Krypto flew to his side.
"Oh, hey Conner." Nightwing nodded at him once.
"Titans." Conner nodded back before smirking charmingly at Kory. "Starfire." He glanced at Raven next and smiled. "Raven." And then he turned his attention to Jinx. "Jinx, right?"
Richard, Garfield and Wally all felt like punching his face, but that wouldn't do any good since he was Superboy and it would probably just break their hands.
"We could have really used your help about ten minutes ago." Damian folded his arms. He was extremely annoyed that Rose got away from him again.
"I got held up. But looks like Krypto found you." Conner Kent analyzed the battlefield. He gestured towards all the confused people walking around and trying to figure out where they were. "Were these people under mind-control?"
"How did you know?" Raven asked him.
"It's why I'm here. This venom she's using, Superman thinks it's Lex Luthor's. They might be working together."
"Great. A team up of psychos. Just what we needed." The Changeling grumbled.
Conner grinned. "Well, we would know more if you had managed to capture someone."
Nightwing sighed. "Good to see you too, Conner."
They headed back to Titan Tower and Cyborg made sandwiches for everyone, because that fight had really worked up their appetite. Conner was telling Richard everything he knew about Lex's involvement and Damian let Superboy know Slade's daughter was in on it too. Krypto was playing around with Salem and Silkie as if they were lifelong friends while Raven, Garfield and Kory watched them to make sure there were no accidents – Salem was the only one from Earth and considerably smaller and more vulnerable than the other two pets. It turned out they didn't need to worry though, because both Krypto and Silkie seemed very aware of it and were extra careful around the black kitten. Garfield stood up to go get another vegan sandwich and Raven saw him wince in pain again.
She floated into the air and to his side. "Enough. You're hurt, aren't you?"
"Rae, you don't need to worry ab-"
"Show me." The empath demanded in a serious voice, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Seriously, it's nothing."
"Then why can't I see it?"
Because it probably looks bad and I don't want you to suffer by healing it. Garfield exercised a lot more restraint now that he knew she basically healed by absorbing the pain herself. When it was small and she was fully charged it didn't really hurt her, but otherwise…when she'd explained it to him, he was horrified and told everyone to stop asking her to heal stuff.
Raven sighed tiredly. "Conner?"
"It's on his right side. It's bad." Superboy said plainly. When everyone but the half-demon stared at him, he smugly leaned back on the chair. "What? X-Ray vision, remember?"
Raven used magic to pull the frontal zipper of Garfield's uniform down to his waist. He gasped, looking outraged and dramatically covering his chest and stomach with his arms.
The empath rolled her eyes. "Garfield Logan, let me see it. Now."
The Changeling bit his lip and lowered his uniform to his waist. Raven frowned, inhaled softly and covered her mouth with her hand, but there were loud gasps around the room. He looked down to see a giant black and blue bruise on his side. It looked really bad. No wonder it hurts.
"That looks absolutely disgusting." Jinx said indiscreetly, earning a glare from every single Titan and even a disapproving frown from her boyfriend. "What? It does!"
Raven ignored her and put Garfield's arm around her shoulders for support. "Let's just get to the couch."
The Changeling smiled at his girlfriend and accepted her help, sitting next to her.
"You're not gonna heal me, are you?" Garfield frowned.
Raven frowned as well. "Of course I'm going to heal you. Look at you."
She stared at his bruise and he could see pain in her eyes. He remembered how he felt seeing her all bruised and what he would have given to be able to just heal her back then. But this was different. This was nothing compared to that and besides, Raven probably didn't feel for him on the same level he felt for her. "Rae, stop." He held her hands and whispered. "It will hurt you."
The empath tilted her head and looked at him with kind eyes. "Don't be ridiculous, if it does it will only be for a second. I'm not leaving you like this." She looked down at the wound again and it seemed even bigger now. The truth was seeing him hurt was actually breaking her heart. He opened his mouth to say something, but she spoke first. "Do not argue with me. You know I'm winning."
Her hand was already glowing white and he sighed in defeat and let her work. She grimaced slightly and he knew it was hurting her, but he felt amazing as usual – it made him feel guilty. After a while though, her frown disappeared and her face softened. She looked into his eyes and he stared at her in awe and absolute adoration as his bruise slowly disappeared to the warm, blissful sensation of her soothing magic. Garfield smiled tenderly at her and reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear while she finished.
They were aware of everyone's gazes on them and Raven's powers captured annoyance, jealousy, joy, affection, discomfort and curiosity pouring out of their friends. She didn't care though. He was all better now. Just as it should be.
"It seems every time I see her, she's healing him." Conner pointed out.
"I know, right?" Damian said, having another sandwich. "The rest of us need to wait in line for a healing session like mere mortals. It's completely unfair."
"Is it always that…intense?" Jinx smirked.
"No, that's just when she heals Garfield." Nightwing said pointedly. "I mean, the healing feels good, but that…" He gestured to the pair on the couch. "That weirdness, that's just them."
"What weirdness?" The Changeling squeaked.
"The romantic deep stares into each other's eyes and playing with each other's hair not to mention all the sweetness that usually follows which often leads to you two kissing, making us all feel like we're prying into some big intimate moment. You know, that weirdness." Cyborg explained while eating a sandwich.
Garfield and Raven blushed deeply.
"I'd love to learn what that healing feels like." Superboy tilted his head charmingly.
"You don't get hurt, Conner." The empath pointed out without looking away from the Changeling.
"Yeah." Garfield said, smiling at his girlfriend. Then he merrily turned to Conner. "Like you always say, you're Superboy."
Conner Kent rolled his eyes, never losing his cool.
"So…Rae, about that incognito spell…is there any chance you're still working on that?" Richard asked awkwardly. He knew she was close before Slade and the others captured her, but he hadn't asked her to get back into it when they got her back for obvious reasons, and then she was busy worrying about Eclipso after that, and then she was distracted with Garfield, so…
"Yes, I've been working on it since we beat Darkseid. I think it works. Why?"
"You think or you're sure?" Nightwing asked cautiously.
Raven raised an eyebrow. "I just said I think, didn't I?"
Richard sighed. "We might need to go to LexCorp and investigate."
The Changeling jumped to his feet. "Woah we're going to LexCorp!? That's sick!"
"A disguise would be helpful." Nightwing told Raven.
The empath sighed. "Alright. I'll make you look like someone who works there and the rest of us invisible. Except for Gar, he can just turn into a fly or something."
Garfield pouted. "No fair, I wanna be invisible too!"
"You don't need it." Raven said blankly to her outraged boyfriend.
"You can make us invisible? Or make us look like someone else?" Jinx grinned wickedly.
"She can do anything." Garfield stated proudly.
"Well, yes, but that would take an insane amount of magic, so no. I won't actually alter reality in this case. I'll just create an illusion where we look different to anyone else who sees us for a certain period of time." Raven explained calmly.
"Still wicked." Damian pointed out.
"Thank you."
"So are we doing this or what?" Superboy stood up.
"Are you sure you should go, Conner? Given your…history with him?" Raven frowned.
"Please, he's never there. And I'm totally over all of that."
Raven raised an eyebrow because she could tell he was lying, but she figured he was right about the fact they probably wouldn't even run into Lex. "If you say so."
The Titans flew to Metropolis and Dick swiftly abducted one of LexCorp's workers and took his identity card. Raven did her spell so now he looked like a middle-aged man in a LexCorp uniform to anyone other than them. Nightwing easily got in and they followed after him completely unseen, then the empath made him invisible as well and they scattered across the building to do some digging until Richard rang everyone to meet him and sent them his location. He tilted his head towards a security guard in front of a locked door to let them know it was important and headed to some secluded corner so they could talk without being heard.
"So, it turns out Lex is here." Nightwing announced intently.
Conner immediately stiffened up.
"But to get through that door we'll need more than an identity card. We need that guy to open it. It's got a biometric security system." Dick concluded.
"We can't make him open the door by force. I mean, that would definitely draw attention." Damian pondered. "Unfortunately."
"I can go in!" The Changeling grinned and raised his hand. He could definitely get small enough to go under the door.
"No." Dick said pointedly.
The shapeshifter frowned. "Hey, trust me. I can do it!"
"It's not that. It's just; I don't want anyone to go in alone. It's too dangerous." Richard said quickly. In reality, he just didn't want Garfield to go in alone. He wasn't even sure why, but he didn't. "Raven, can you teleport us inside?"
"While keeping this spell going? It's too risky."
"Then…can you make yourself visible but…different?" Nightwing raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yes…why…?"
"Go in there and seduce that guy." Richard said pointedly.
Raven grunted tiredly and Garfield gasped.
"Why can't she make Starfire visible and different and then she can seduce him!?" The Changeling suggested, feeling more than a little annoyed.
Dick seemed confused. "Kory doesn't have Raven's powers. How is she going to-"
"Oh, you meant with powers." Garfield said quietly.
"Of course he meant with powers." The empath rolled her eyes at her boyfriend then looked at Nightwing again. Manipulating emotions was easier than teleporting everyone to a room she had never been in before. It should come almost as naturally as reading emotions to her. She could do it. "I still don't like it. I told you I don't use this particular power."
"I know, but we need it. I'm sorry. This is too important." Dick gave her an apologetic smile.
Garfield frowned. I mean, we don't NEED it. She doesn't want to do it. "Why can't I just go in alone?"
"I said no." Nightwing stated intently.
The empath was a little confused by it and she'd rather he just let Garfield do it, but she could detect tension rising between the two boys and she didn't want them to fight, so she sighed. "It's okay, I can do it."
Raven made herself as normal-looking and forgettable – but still reasonably attractive – as she could. Then she approached the security guard with her friends close behind her. Even though other people couldn't see them, she still could, and it made her extremely uncomfortable. At least Garfield was a fly and not hovering over her in human form for this.
The sorcerer cleared her throat. "Excuse me?"
The intimidating security guard looked up to see a girl he had never seen before. He narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you?"
Raven bit her lip. She had hoped maybe she could do this without bending his emotions – just with good old-fashioned manipulation and wit. But this guy was hostile. She really didn't want to use her powers like this. It made her feel like a villain. Not to mention it made Trigon proud, which she wasn't comfortable with. "I'm uh…Lex's niece."
"Nasthalthia? You're not Nasthalthia…" He furrowed his brows and picked up the phone, ready to trigger an alarm.
Huh. It would have helped to know what SHE looked like. "No! I'm the other one." The empath said quickly. "Rachel. He doesn't talk about me, I'm a…a private person."
The security guard eyed her suspiciously, considering if he should risk calling security on an actual Luthor, but the sorcerer could tell he wasn't buying it.
Time to be a villain. Raven locked eyes with him and softened her voice. "Anyway…" She stared deeply and intently into his eyes. Eye contact made it even easier for some reason. Less hostility, more allegiance. "I need you to do something for me."
He frowned in confusion and his face softened as he stared into her eyes. He knew what his job was, but he suddenly felt a strong urge to do whatever this stranger asked of him. There was an overwhelming sense of loyalty that wasn't there before, and the longer he stared into her eyes, the stronger it got. "I…what is it?"
Raven leaned in and whispered. "Open this door for me, will you?"
Wait, I can't do that. Can I? "I…that's not…I can't open this door, you see? Not unless Lex himself tells me to."
Fear me. Obey me. Serve me. Love me. "You want to please me, don't you? I need you to open this door. You're going to do it for me. Now."
"I-I…okay. Yes. Of course." The wide-eyed man said, urgently standing up and opening the door. "I'm sorry."
Raven watched as her friends quickly rushed inside, looking back at her with either impressed or slightly scared looks on their faces. "That's okay. You can close it now. Thank you. Is there a laboratory here somewhere? I'd love to see it."
Once they were inside, the Titans walked a narrow corridor and realized Lex wasn't alone when they started hearing voices coming from the room at the end.
"But why did you have to go and do business with my ex, Luthor?"
"Joker, I couldn't care less about your love life. They made a good offer, so I did business with them."
"What about our business, man? Our partnership." The Joker chuckled hysterically, gesturing between the two of them.
"The only thing we have in common is our enemies. And we will crush them. My business with the Sirens will test my latest invention." Lex smiled evilly. "Mind-control, Arthur."
The Joker's eyes sparkled with wicked joy and he laughed again.
"And I'll definitely need someone as insane as you to carry out the rest of my plan, don't worry." Luthor elaborated. "I can't just knock on the Hall of Justice's door and-ugh!"
The Joker frowned in confusion when Lex stopped talking and began suffocating as if someone had an arm around his neck – but he saw no one around. When Luthor finally passed out and fell on the floor, the Joker heard voices.
"What the fuck, Conner?" Nightwing said.
"Change of plans." Superboy answered plainly.
Arthur smiled wider and started looking around the room, speaking in an absolutely chilling and wicked voice. "I recognize your voice, Boy Wonder…it's been a long time…what kind of sorcery have you gotten involved with?"
The Joker could fight, but he definitely couldn't fight both Nightwing and Robin coming at him when he couldn't see either of them. They easily took him down.
"You know, this is where your no killing rule stinks." Damian said, gesturing around to point out the favorable situation they were in.
Garfield turned human again. "Man, Lex and the Joker?" He said a little too cheerfully.
Nightwing just raised an eyebrow at both of them then turned to Cyborg. "Erase the footage in those cameras." When the half-robot got started, Richard pulled out his communicator. "Raven? Where are you? We have a situation."
"I found the venom Ivy used. All of it. The formula, the tests, the samples..." Raven answered into her communicator.
"Oh, great. Is there a discreet way to destroy that?" Richard asked her.
"Already done." The empath said surely. "So, what's wrong?"
"We might need to walk out of here with two prisoners."
"Subtle." She said sarcastically. Guess I'll have to teleport people after all. "I'll be right there."
Raven soon walked in with the security guard close behind her, wearing a hypnotized, dreamy look on his face. She turned to him. "Leave. Shut the door. And go to sleep."
He nodded idiotically and left.
"Good job. Thank you." Nightwing said in a kind voice.
Raven hugged herself and shivered. "I feel dirty." She frowned at the two unconscious villains on the floor. "The Joker, huh? What happened? Did the spell fail? Did they see you?"
"It did not. Conner just has daddy issues." Garfield pointed at Superboy.
Raven sensed a lot of things emanating from Conner Kent while he stared down at the man responsible for his existence. Anger, regret, confusion, curiosity and…hurt. She frowned. "That doesn't matter. Let's just get out of here. I don't think we should be here when that guy wakes up from his nap and back to his senses."
Superboy thought about taking them to the Justice League, but for some reason he preferred Titan Tower. Once they got there, interrogations started and naturally the Joker's nonsense answers and Luthor's intelligent remarks were driving Nightwing, Robin and Superboy crazy.
"Raven?" Conner huffed in annoyance, coming into the ops room after a while.
"Yeah?" The empath looked up from her spot on the kitchen counter where she was having tea and enjoying a much deserved break with her boyfriend.
"Dick said to tell you he knows you're tired and he's sorry but we might need you to look into Lex's mind. I know you destroyed his stuff in LexCorp but he has secret laboratories everywhere. We have to find those too." Conner said in a slightly distressed voice.
Raven sighed heavily. Lex was highly intelligent. Penetrating his mind would be absolutely exhausting. "Fine. I'll do it, just give me time to rest."
Superboy nodded silently and turned to leave.
"Conner?" Raven stopped him. "What is it?"
He turned around slightly. "Do you…what do you sense in him? Is there humanity in him?"
Her face immediately softened. "Yes, there is. There's affection too. The problem with Lex is the bad surpasses the good. His choices led up to it. You're not him though, you know?"
"I know." Conner said seriously, but then he shot her a half-smile. "Are you going to lecture me on how much worse your father is again?"
Raven rolled her eyes. "You had that coming."
"I did, that's fair." Superboy chuckled. Then he glanced at the Changeling and realized he had never properly apologized. "Sorry about that, by the way."
"No problem." Garfield said through gritted teeth.
Raven had sensed it already. He was fuming. This entire interaction was making him insanely jealous. But she wasn't going to be mean to Conner just because her boyfriend was insecure, not when he wasn't even hitting on her for once.
"And…could you, uh…I mean, theoretically, could you…fix him?" Superboy asked her. When she just frowned, he decided to explain. "I mean, could you make him…better? Like, take away his excessive greed and ambition? You can do that, right? At the Hall of Justice you sa-"
"In theory, yes, I could. But, Conner…" Raven struggled to find the words. "I can't go around altering people at will. That would be playing God."
He put his hands in his pockets and nodded. "Yeah, I know. Totally."
She offered him a sympathetic smile and immediately felt heartache emanating from Garfield, so as soon as Superboy left again, the empath turned to her boyfriend. "Would you relax?"
Beast Boy just mumbled something in a grumpy voice.
Raven rolled her eyes. "He didn't do anything wrong for once. Neither did I."
"I know." He muttered. No, it's so much worse. He was being charming and genuine and vulnerable and you were connecting with him. You'll fall in love with him and forget me.
She sighed and wondered if she should reassure him or not. She didn't want to indulge excessive jealousy, but she had planned on spending time with him today. Besides, he was feeling miserable and she hated that. Raven playfully nudged him and whispered. "Hey, Gar? Are you jealous of Superboy?" She leaned closer to him and smiled slightly. "Mm? Are you?"
She was being cute and the Changeling couldn't avoid the small smile that made its way to his lips, so he looked away from her to hide it. "You know I am."
Raven continued whispering in that same playful voice. "Well, that's silly. He's not my type."
Garfield huffed bitterly. "He's everyone's type."
"Maybe you should date him, then."
He hopelessly tried to fight back a chuckle. "Stop being cute. I'm serious."
She sighed dramatically. "This is what I get for being friendly. I can't do anything right."
The Changeling smiled and rolled his eyes. "I didn't say that. It just seemed like you shared a moment and I freaked out, okay?"
Raven rested her chin on his shoulder. "A friendly moment. I told you, he's not my type."
She's leaning on you. Stop being stupid and kiss her. Garfield ignored his more sensible thoughts and scoffed instead. "Really? What is your type? Circus freaks?"
"Mmhmm. Cute circus freaks." The empath whispered sweetly. "I prefer them green."
The smile on his lips grew wider and he caved, turning his head to look at her kind face on his shoulder. His heart immediately swelled with love. "Really?"
"Did I not tell you you're the only one I've ever desired?"
"That was bedroom talk."
"It also happened to be true."
"And if he's not a jerk anymore, won't that change?" Garfield frowned, finally telling her what he was really afraid of.
"Of course not. I like you, dork." She straightened up and sweetly pressed her lips against his.
And just like that, all the heartache was gone and he gratefully kissed her back. They stopped and pulled away hastily when she sensed it and he heard and sniffed it – someone was about to walk in.
"Are you lost?" Raven asked Lex Luthor in a cold voice as he stepped into the ops room.
The villain smirked, looking around. "Nice tower. A bit juvenile, but…" He turned to them and his eyes sparkled. He moved closer, slowly examining Garfield and looking him up and down, making him extremely uncomfortable. "Ah…the mutant shapeshifter. You know…the things that I could do…" He absentmindedly lifted an arm, reaching out in the Changeling's direction. "…with your DNA…"
"Back. Off." Raven hissed menacingly.
Lex stopped and his hand hovered in the air and then fell to his side, because she was glaring at him, daring him to take one more step. He hesitated, looking between them.
Raven's glare intensified and her voice became more dangerous. "Lay a finger on him and die."
Garfield loved that. "You heard her." The shapeshifter grinned smugly and folded his arms behind his head, leaning back on the counter. "Lay a finger on me and die."
Luthor looked between the two of them again and collected himself. "Ah, yes. The demon bodyguard." He stared directly at Raven with an evil smirk. "It looks like someone succeeded where Slade failed." He quickly glanced at Garfield at the word someone. Lex noticed her tense up and clench her jaw. He'd definitely hit a nerve. "I suppose love is more effective than pain when trying to tame someone."
Raven's face had hardened considerably. She was still glaring at him and there was no weakness in her eyes, but she was a little taken aback by that. To most people, it seemed like Raven held all the cards in the relationship. Garfield was so open and loud about how much he loved and worshipped her while she hadn't even said the words I love you to him. He was always the one chasing her and he was constantly apologizing for every little thing – even when she didn't want him to – because he was just terrified of losing her.
But she knew the truth. She finally understood why she couldn't deny him back when Terra got her memories back and left and why she went to such lengths for him even then. She would do anything to make this green boy happy because she was entirely and hopelessly devoted to him. The vulnerable position that put her in was unsettling, but not painful, because she really did trust him. Still, most people had no idea. Lex Luthor however apparently saw right through her. Fortunately, she didn't have to think of a comeback, because a second or two after he was done talking, he was on the floor under a giant – and very angry – Werebeast. The villain's eyes widened in fear and the empath relaxed and smiled.
Garfield turned human again and grabbed Lex's shirt, lifting his torso from the floor. He was seeing red. "What did you just say to her!?"
"What do you know about love, Luthor?" Raven said smugly from her seat on the counter.
"I know it can get you killed." Lex said wickedly, staring at the Changeling. He had been scared just a second ago, but now he was just mesmerized by the possibilities at hand. Deathstroke may have set out for an impossible task trying to bend the witch, but maybe bending the shapeshifter would be much simpler. There were such infinite possibilities for what to do with someone like him – not to mention that based on what he'd just witnessed, whoever controlled him would control her too. He just needed to figure out how to get to him.
"Gar, get away from him." Raven said urgently at the same time the others ran in, because they'd heard all the commotion. "I don't like the way he's looking at you."
The Changeling punched him once before letting him go and going back to Raven's side.
"Cut the crap, Lex. Just tell us what we want to know." Conner said impatiently, crossing his arms over his chest. He was so irritated he forgot all about making Raven and Garfield uncomfortable by reminding them that waiting for him to leave the room to talk about him was useless, because he had Kryptonian ears.
The villain smiled. "You can't stop me. None of you can." He looked at Superboy. "But you could join me. Together we would be unstoppable. Stop fighting who you are."
"I'm nothing like you." Conner hissed.
"You are literally made from me, boy!" Lex raised his voice.
"Fuck that. I choose not to be like you." Superboy stepped away from him so he wouldn't punch him and accidentally kill him.
"Wrong choice. I hold the key to absolute control. Soon I'll control everything."
Krypto roared dangerously at Luthor, standing in front of Conner. The Joker's chilling laughter echoed from the other room.
"If you mean your mind-control venom, I'm about to kill those plans." Raven said pointedly, standing up and smiling down at him in the most menacing way. "Time to look through that brain of yours."
She smiled wider when she detected fear in him.
Garfield frowned. "Rae, shouldn't you rest for a bit bef-"
"I'm ready." The empath stated decisively.
Now Lex Luthor was downright angry – and worried. If she did look, she would ruin all his plans. He glared at her. "Now I'm really turning your boyfriend into a lab rat."
He shouldn't have said that. Garfield barely had time to worry, because Raven's eyes glowed white and the ops room's temperature dropped significantly while Lex was involved by dark energy shooting electrifying blasts of sharp pain through his entire body and feeding on all his positive emotions and memories. He screamed.
"What did I tell you?" Raven took slow steps towards him, walking on air.
"I-I'm sorry!" Lex managed to blurt out through the pain.
She released him and he collapsed on the floor, panting heavily and holding onto his chest. The temperature went back to normal and the lights stopped flickering. Raven's eyes were back to violet and she made Lex Luthor look up at her. The Joker was laughing hysterically again.
"If I even see you look at him again you will join Slade in his exile. Understood?" The sorcerer threatened him.
Several eyes glanced at the Changeling, only to see a smirk on his lips and a dangerous spark in his eyes as he watched her intently.
Lex Luthor's eyes widened slightly. "So it's true, then. He is in the Phantom Zone."
"Oh, it's true." Raven hissed.
The villain turned to Conner. "You wouldn't let her do this to me, would you, son?"
Superboy walked up to them, glaring at Lex. "Don't call me that. Go on, Raven. Pry into his brain."
Nightwing folded his arms and nodded at her when she looked at him for confirmation.
The empath's eyes glowed white again. "With pleasure."
Conner held him down and she entered his genius mind. He put up a lot of barriers and he fought her, but ultimately she overtook him. By the time she was done, Lex was livid and scared, feeling absolutely invaded, cursing and threatening. Raven on the other hand, was completely exhausted. She felt her body limp and her mind hazy and she thought she would fall to the floor, but then Garfield caught her. He looked at her with concerned eyes and she instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder. He picked her up in his arms and carried her to her room without another word to anyone.
Several hours later, Raven woke up on her bed. Someone had taken her shoes off and covered her and then later, placed a mug of warm tea on her bedside table. Garfield. Her heart warmed up. She gratefully picked up the mug and sipped the tea, sitting up. She felt much better. When she stepped outside, everyone greeted her expectantly. The Changeling beamed at her. They were all eager to know, because Lex had obviously been lying about it and telling them she saw nothing, but then Raven gave Starfire the locations to all secret laboratories that needed attention and the Tamaranean was more than happy to go wreck everything with the assistance of Kid Flash's super-speed. Within minutes, everything was destroyed except for the evidence they made sure to collect.
Koriand'r flew back in looking as magnificent and cheerful as ever. "Done!"
Superboy admired her and decided to take advantage of the fact Nightwing and Robin were in a different room with their prisoners. "So, tell me what you saw in Richard again?"
Starfire rolled her eyes and ignored him. Sure, Conner was cute and charming and they had a lot in common, but he wasn't Nightwing. As far as she was concerned, Nightwing was perfect.
"Dude, this is why your only friend is a dog." Cyborg said casually. When Krypto barked, he quickly added. "No offense, Krypto, you're a great friend and he doesn't deserve you."
The alien dog seemed satisfied and went back to flying around with Salem on his back.
"I don't need any other friends." Superboy shrugged.
"If you say so." Raven said pointedly, giving him a meaningful look that let him know she knew he was lying.
Conner felt caught under her stare and he sat up straight.
"Maybe just stop hitting on other people's girlfriends. That would be a start." Wally suggested in an annoyed voice.
Cyborg refrained from making a comment about how rich that was coming from him.
"Yes, it would." Garfield agreed, equally annoyed.
Conner chuckled. "I haven't even flirted. You'll all know when I'm flirting."
The Changeling opened his mouth to say something, but Nightwing and Robin came back in.
"So…what are you gonna do about those two?" Superboy raised an eyebrow at them.
"Well, I thought maybe we could hand Lex and what we have on him to Clark. It should be enough to convict him. But the Joker…" Richard's voice trailed off.
"Arkham Asylum doesn't really affect him. Nothing does. He'll just escape again and he'll never change." Damian said pointedly.
"Right. So…what are you two suggesting? That we kill him?" Superboy frowned. "Look, I know you have history with him…"
"No, of course not." Nightwing quickly said while Damian grumpily muttered something under his breath. Richard turned to Raven. "I hate to ask one more thing from you, but we thought maybe you could…you know."
The empath frowned in confusion. "What?"
"Make him normal." Damian blurted out. "All he wants is chaos. So maybe you could go inside him and…you know, organize shit."
"Yeah, you don't need to change him, just…you know, cure the crazy." Dick explained. "He'll definitely still be evil, but at least he'll be more predictable and easier to reason with. Or we could at least put him in jail for good."
Raven inhaled sharply. "You want me to make The Joker sane?"
"I mean, that is a good idea." Kid Flash pondered.
Conner frowned at Raven. He was mostly intrigued at this point. "You can do that?"
Garfield huffed proudly. "Please. She can do an-"
"Anything. We know." Nightwing, Robin, Kid Flash, Jinx, Cyborg and Starfire said in unison and in an utterly annoyed tone.
Raven raised an eyebrow at her boyfriend, who just chuckled sheepishly. He hadn't meant to annoy anyone; he just really liked bragging about her.
"So, I guess that's settled." Nightwing exhaled. "Once she's done maybe we ca-"
"I'm not doing it." Raven said quietly, staring at the floor and folding her arms.
Everyone exchanged confused looks and Richard frowned at her. "You're not doing it? May I know why?"
Raven looked up confidently. "He is insane. He's so broken even the surface is chaotic. The bit I sense from him without even trying is enough to hurt me. I don't want to go inside his mind."
"You don't have to." Garfield whispered quickly, feeling a sudden urge to protect her.
Nightwing felt a little guilty. "Oh…right. I mean, obviously I understand that. But…could you try? And then if it's too much you can stop. I mean, it's just such a unique opportunity to prevent him from killing more people. If he fears for his life like a sane person, he'll be more cautious and th-"
"Sure, Raven will do it!" The sorcerer raised her voice slightly, startling her friends. She was tired and she could feel another small outburst coming. "Why not? Hey, we took down a building by accident but don't worry, get Raven she'll fix it. Hey, we need to go somewhere and we're late, get Raven she'll teleport us. Hey, we forgot to buy popcorn this week, get Raven to conjure some for us. Hey, our prisoner won't talk, get Raven to look through his brain. Hey, we captured a psycho and we can't just let him loose, but no worries let's get Raven to dive into his disturbed mind and attempt to heal it!"
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry!" Dick brought his hands up in surrender.
Raven stopped to look at her friends, who were staring at her with wide apologetic eyes, except for Garfield – he was staring at the floor. Starfire lightly squeezed her hand.
"I'm sorry." Richard repeated truthfully. "Forget I asked. You really don't have to."
Raven could sense guilt and shame from nearly everyone and she softened up. "I just…I really don't want to."
"No, you're right." Damian said. "We cut too many corners with magic."
"Yeah, besides, if you absorbed his crazy and it messed you up, we'd have an even bigger Trigon-related problem. It was a terrible idea." Richard said kindly.
Raven closed her eyes and sighed heavily. She was relieved, because she really didn't want to go near the Joker, but she also knew Dick was right. It would make him less dangerous. "Ugh." The empath opened her eyes again and started walking to the room they were keeping him in. "I'll see what I can do."
Garfield stopped her by grasping her arm and whispered. "Don't."
"Raven, he's right. I wasn't thinking." Nightwing said. Now that he thought about it, overwhelming Trigon's daughter with insanity didn't sound that smart.
"I won't let him mess me up. I'll stop before that." The sorcerer said confidently.
"No, but…it will hurt you." The Changeling whispered again, still holding her arm.
"Why don't I help?" Jinx suggested. "I'll weaken him so he can't hurt her too badly."
Nightwing shot the enchantress a surprised and grateful look. Wally and Victor smiled at her.
"What? I can be nice." Jinx shrugged. I also want to participate if we're taking the Joker down.
"Thanks, Jinx. That's a good idea." Raven said quietly. "See? I'll be fine. Let me go, Gar."
Never. "No, you've done enough. Why do you always have t-"
The intruder's alarm went off and the Changeling had never felt more grateful for it. Poison Ivy, Catwoman and Ravager were in the ops room in no time, followed by a few other memorable Jump City villains like Mambo and the HIVE. Gizmo had managed to find a new way inside the tower, apparently. It happened awfully fast. They caught the Titans by surprise and did enough to keep them busy and in the room for a few seconds before escaping. When Kid Flash went to check on the prisoners, they were gone. Raven was secretly relieved for not having to choose between healing the Joker and disappointing everyone.
"Harley definitely got them out." Richard said seriously, sighing in frustration.
"See? It's not that easy to catch these Sirens chicks." Cyborg pointed out to Superboy. "We didn't capture anyone this time either and you are here."
Conner rolled his eyes and folded his arms.
"We got someone." Robin's strangled, tired voice sounded from behind the couch.
Nightwing immediately ran to him to see he'd managed to pin Rose Wilson to the floor. She had been getting the best of Damian for a while now, so Dick felt rather proud of his little brother. "Good job, Robin."
They disarmed her and pulled her to her feet so Starfire could cuff her hands.
Ravager just smirked, never losing her confidence. "Hey, Raven."
"Hey, Rose." The empath smiled slightly. She was optimistic about this. Now that Rose was here, maybe they could get through to her.
"Looks like the tables have turned, huh?" Ravager smiled smugly at her former friend.
"Good for you we're not like your father." Raven said pointedly.
The sorcerer also noticed Damian staring intently at their new prisoner. There was something about those two and it made her smile internally.
Ravager chuckled and looked around. This tacky tower was pretty cozy. Who pays for all this shit? "Do I get a bed and three meals a day?"
"Why are you helping these people?" Raven asked softly.
"Why do you think?" Rose Wilson smirked again. "Money."
"How do they know each other again?" Superboy whispered to Starfire, but it was loud enough for everyone to listen.
Rose smiled. "Oh, I've seen Raven at her worst." She turned to her. "Haven't I?"
"Certainly." The empath said plainly.
"Did you tell them about the time you begged me to kill you?" Rose said mischieviously.
Raven felt worry and sorrow pouring out of her friends in overwhelming waves. She could feel their eyes on her too. She didn't look away from Rose, though – she certainly didn't want to see the hurt in Garfield's eyes. "I did not, but I'm sure you'll do me the favor of filling them in." She said sarcastically. Then she cleared her throat and turned to Conner. "It was Rose's job to make sure I didn't die while Slade and the others tried to enslave me."
"That's right, and Raven got rid of my oppressive father for me. So you see, we're tight." Ravager joked, completely unbothered by her current situation.
The empath rolled her eyes and sighed. "She's also the reason I'm here now. She told the others where to find me."
Superboy nodded. "Ah, I see."
"That's right I did, and now where is the gratitude!?" Ravager faked outrage.
Raven allowed an amused half-smile to find its way to her lips. "Rose, you can't just go around committing crimes and doing whatever you want and expect us to look away."
"Maybe not, but I am the reason you're alive so I expect the VIP treatment while I'm here." Ravager's mischievous grin was back.
"You'll get it, don't worry." Nightwing said tiredly, making her sit down. "Hungry?"
"Starving. Do you have pizza?" Rose asked breezily. Then she suddenly noticed the Changeling and Raven were holding hands and she raised an eyebrow at them. "Oh, that's right. That's progressed." She chuckled wickedly. "She sure said your name a lot in the bunker, Gar."
Garfield's eyes widened with interest and he smiled involuntarily. "Yeah!?"
Raven sighed and rubbed her temples.
"Why didn't you, Ravager?" Damian blurted out from where he was still watching Rose.
"Why didn't I what?" Slade's daughter asked, taking a bite of a slice of pizza.
"Why didn't you kill Raven when she asked you?" The young Robin clarified.
Rose shrugged. "If she died, my father would kill me. If she lived, she could kill him for me."
Raven shot Rose a discreet and meaningful smile to secretly let her know she was aware that wasn't the only reason she'd decided to help her.
Wonderwall (Oasis)