Krumelmonster: you're absolutely right, they ARE so cute! :)

I know you know this villain was getting his special episode at some point, lol. Oh, this chapter contains some spoilers for Underworld and Practical Magic so just in case anyone hasn't seen those yet and minds it, you've been warned haha.

The Only Exception

The morning after the night they'd captured Rose, Raven slowly approached the team leader on the roof as he silently gazed at the city they protected.

"Hey, Boy Wonder. Can I join you?"

Richard turned to his friend and nodded. They both tended to need these solitude moments more often than the others. Raven joined him and sat down on the edge, so he sat down too.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, he spoke up in a playful tone. "Where's Gar? I thought he'd come looking for you by now."

Raven chuckled ever so lightly. "Probably sleeping in."

Dick nodded slowly. "Listen…I'm sorry I've been pushing you. After everything that…well, you deserve a break. And I keep coming up with a more challenging task on every corner; I know it's not fair. It's just that…you're kind of my MVP, you know? But…that's no excuse."

Raven inhaled. She had a feeling there was more to why Richard had been demanding so much of her lately. "I want to help, you know that. I just…magic is tricky."

"I know." He smiled at her.

"If you're worried about…if this is about Gar, I haven't been spending magic on him. I promise. He barely even lets me heal him anymore."

Nightwing had been worried about that. Maybe that's why he'd been pushing her – to make sure she didn't waste her powers on whims. "Good."

She watched him carefully as he stared out into the city. She also noticed Salem had followed her to the roof so she pulled her kitten to her lap. "You don't love it, do you? Me and Gar."

Busted. Nightwing frowned apologetically. "I…I'm sorry. I want to be supportive, I do. I just…I worry. He has you wrapped around his finger." He raised a hand when she opened her mouth. "Don't bother denying it. He does, and he doesn't have the maturity that should go with it."

It was her turn to stare out into the city. Apparently Lex Luthor wasn't the only one who could see through her chill persona. Salem nuzzled her stomach to comfort her. "I wasn't going to deny it." She said quietly. "I was just going to say…" She shot Dick a playful stare. "Watch it."

He smiled. "Sorry. I could have worded that different. I just worry about him hurting you."

Raven chuckled a little louder. "You're the only one. Everyone else is holding their breath waiting for me to break his heart."

Nightwing sustained his smile. "No, I don't think you will."

Meanwhile, everyone else – except for Garfield, who was in fact sleeping in – was in the ops room having breakfast. Jinx, Wally and Conner had stayed the night. Bumblebee joined them in the morning and expected to stay for a day or two. Allegedly, it was to help them figure out what Gotham Sirens wanted with Jump City, but Cyborg was definitely a factor. Superboy had already hit on her, and Victor was already jealous.

"So…" Rose Wilson lazily stretched her arms. "Last night as I got out of this surprisingly uncomfortable couch to go find a toilet, I heard the weirdest thing when I passed by Raven's room." She turned to Conner. "You must have heard it too."

Superboy chuckled. "Certainly."

"What are you talking about?" Robin narrowed his eyes.

"Raven and Beasty were all over each other. It got a little freaky." Conner smirked. "And then she realized I could probably hear them and they stopped."

Jinx immediately sat down, grinning widely. "Freaky as in…?"

"As in kinky." Ravager's smile grew. "Can I have some coffee or what?"

Damian poured her some coffee and raised an eyebrow. "Kinky?"

"Yeah, they got flustered over being all protective of each other yesterday." Superboy drank his coffee. "Then they got possessive. Kinda hot, really. I thought they'd be all sweet, but…"

Cyborg wasn't entirely comfortable with discussing this, but curiosity was getting the best of him and he failed to change the subject. "Are you sure? They're always really protective of each other; that's normal."

"Well, maybe they're always kinky as well." Ravager chuckled.

"I don't think so." Bumblebee said.

Jinx narrowed her eyes. "I kinda see it…"

Victor shook his head. "There's no way."

"Well, Doomsday I can see. She's dark. But Garfield?" Damian said skeptically.

Kid Flash rolled his eyes. "Guys, obviously they're freaky."

"You've been awfully silent..." Cyborg narrowed his eyes at Starfire, who was sipping coffee and trying to look innocent.

"It's because she knows." Damian smirked.

Kory smiled sweetly. "Of course I know; I'm Rae's best friend."

That admission was followed by a whole lot of commotion.

"All right, everyone place your bets." Jinx grinned wickedly. "Kitchen side of the counter if you think yesterday was out of the ordinary for them. Ops room side if you think they get freaky on a regular basis. Loser side does the dishes."

"I don't feel comfortable with this." Victor stated plainly.

"Too bad. Move." Ravager said, moving to the ops room side of the counter.

Cyborg sighed and went to the kitchen side along with Bumblebee and Superboy. Victor and Karen exchanged a look and a smile as he passed her some pancakes. Damian took the longest to decide, but eventually he joined Jinx, Kid Flash and Ravager in the ops room side. He had learned not to underestimate Garfield by now.

"Well?" Jinx raised her eyebrows at Starfire, who was still innocently sipping coffee. "Do they get freaky and kinky on a regular basis?"

Koriand'r looked at her friends. She didn't need to gossip or give them too much information. Only what she knew Raven wouldn't mind. She shrugged nonchalantly. "They might."

Kid Flash, Jinx and Damian Wayne celebrated. Ravager just smirked – she wasn't going to do the dishes with her hands cuffed anyway, but she still liked to win. Cyborg, Bumblebee and Superboy grunted in frustration.

Victor narrowed his eyes at Wally. "Why did you say it was obvious?"

"Dude." Kid Flash shrugged light-heartedly. "She's half-demon and he's got animal DNA. Of course they're freaky."

Everyone was silent for a second taking in what he'd just said before bursting into laughter. Conner thought to himself that if Raven was intriguing before, now he was even more interested. He made a mental note to be there if the Changeling and her ever broke up.

"What's so funny?" Garfield yawned, coming into the ops room. His ears had captured all the laughter from his room, but not what caused it. "Also, where's Raven?"

That made them laugh louder. The shapeshifter frowned, feeling rather confused.

"Why? Is someone's leash too short to be in separate rooms?" Ravager teased.

The Changeling rolled his eyes, completely unbothered. This kind of joke had nothing on him when he remembered the way Raven looked at him and touched him. "Very funny. By the way, Rose…I didn't get a chance to properly thank you yet. You know, for telling us your father's hideout." For giving me my whole world back. It didn't matter if she was a criminal, she'd gotten Raven home. He would always be grateful. "Can we talk?"

Ravager frowned, slightly surprised. She wasn't used to gratitude. "Sure…"

And then suddenly, the whole tower was gone. And they were all in a dark room.

"What's going on?" Nightwing's alarmed voice turned everyone's attention to him.

"Dick!" Starfire ran to him and hugged him. "What happened?"

"Raven!" Garfield realized she was beside Richard and ran to hug her.

"I don't know. We were on the roof and then suddenly…here. You?" Nightwing frowned.

"Same. We were in the ops room." Robin answered seriously.

Then a familiar laugh sounded in the darkness. "Time for some entertainment!"

The original Titans knew exactly who this was. Jinx and Kid Flash thought they might know too. They all grunted and sighed tiredly. They also found out that even though they still had their powers, it was impossible to leave. There was no way out and the walls wouldn't cave with physical strength or blasts of energy, and if Raven tried to teleport or phase through them, she always ended up back in the same place. Wally couldn't phase through the walls either.

"What does this loser want now?" The empath intently rolled her eyes.

"Who?" Superboy raised an eyebrow.

"Control Freak." Nightwing said pointedly.

Conner, Rose and Damian all exchanged quizzical looks.

Superboy spoke first. "Again, who?"

"Just for that, you're going first." Control Freak's voice said surely.

And then Conner and Krypto were gone. And several screens appeared in the dark room, showing them in what they eventually recognized as the setting of The Art of Racing in the Rain. As in, they were inside the movie, as the main characters. Their communicators were still working and the Titans tried to help them find a way out, but the scene just kept resetting before they got anywhere. The worst part was, every time they went back to the start, everyone in the dark room was struck by a crushing blast of agonizing pain and fell down screaming. The pain started to make them angry after a while, but fortunately Nightwing could still think straight.

"Conner?" Dick spoke into his communicator.

"Nightwing, I'm trying here. I really am. I don't know what else to do. Am I going to be stuck here forever? Tell this villain of yours I have a life."

"I think it resets when you go off script too much…" Dick said calmly. "Try doing what the characters do. Let's see if anything changes."

"I don't know what they do, I've never watched it."

"You should!" Garfield immediately snatched the communicator out of Nightwing's hand. "It's actually super sweet and awesome. Alright, I got you. Do what I say. Both of you."

And that was it. Once they somewhat followed the script, they were suddenly in an entirely different scene. Raven smiled slightly at Garfield as he enthusiastically instructed them scene by scene with admirable precision. Everyone sighed in relief. At least the pain was over.

"Okay, that will buy us some time." Richard said. "Raven, can you sense Control Freak?"

Raven frowned and looked around. "No…but…" She manipulated the shadows in the room and sure enough, there were hidden doors. "I'm sure he's here somewhere."

"Hey, hold on a second!" Ravager exclaimed, narrowing her eyes at Nightwing. "You're Richard Grayson, aren't you? Does that mean…holy shit, Bruce Wayne is Batman!"

Everyone held their breaths while she chuckled in wicked euphoria.

Dick grimaced. Shit. He had been afraid of this since he realized he'd been brought here unmasked, which is why he'd been avoiding her gaze. But apparently, she was just as sharp as Slade. "You're delirious. Can we focus on finding a way out of here, please?"

"Sure, you do that." Rose said breezily, fully aware she was not delirious, but very right about this. She turned to Robin. "So you're…your name is Damian Wayne? What are you even so angry about all the time? Aren't you like, filthy rich?"

Damian grunted under his breath and walked away from her.

"Don't worry; I'll make her forget this part later." Raven whispered to Dick, who smiled gratefully at her in return.

The hidden doors led to more dark rooms with screens on the walls. Nightwing, Raven, Bumblebee, Robin, Jinx and Starfire started exploring and looking for a way out or the villain responsible. Cyborg and Changeling helped Conner and Krypto until they were back in the dark room with them. Superboy was livid. He did not enjoy being forced to do things. He didn't enjoy being forced to get emotional. And he certainly didn't enjoy losing.

"I'm going to destroy this creep." Conner hissed angrily once he was back. Krypto barked in agreement, also annoyed.

Garfield was about to say he could at least spare the time to thank him, but then Cyborg suddenly disappeared and he yelped. The shapeshifter stared at the screens and realized Victor and Karen had been sucked in as the leads of AVATAR.

"Oh. Well, he doesn't need help with that. Everyone's seen that one." Garfield said pointedly, moving to go help the others find a way out.

Cyborg nearly cried at the sensation of having an organic body again. The Changeling's heart tightened for his friend, because he knew this would make him miss it all over again. He was also holding his breath because it looked like when someone got hurt in there, it was very real. Raven squeezed his hand and he realized he'd stopped helping to watch.

"Sorry. It's just…" Garfield wiped his eyes and sniffled quietly.

"This whole thing seemed fun at first, but now you realized it can be cruel." Raven said kindly. "They'll be okay. They're tough."

The shapeshifter nodded sadly. "What do you think I'll be in? I mean…"

"Let's not find out. I certainly don't want to have to do anything silly."

Garfield chuckled slightly. Then he glanced at the romantic scene on screen. "Well, at least that should break the ice between them…"

Raven rolled her eyes. "That's not how…" She trailed off, narrowing her eyes. "Guys? I can sense him now. He's around here somewhere…"

When Cyborg and Bumblebee came back, blushing deeply and coyly looking away from each other, Jinx and Kid Flash were sucked in for a few cute scenes of Bewitched. Thankfully, Wally was familiar with it.

"Hey man, are you okay?" Garfield asked Cyborg in a soft voice when he noticed him frowning down at his robotic body.

"Not really, BB." Victor sighed and looked into his best friend's sad eyes. "But…I will be. When we catch Control Freak."

The rooms were beginning to change, so it became much harder to travel through them. It was starting to remind them of Mad Mod's wicked school.

Damian grunted loudly. "Can we just fight Darkseid again? This is the worst!"

"You could help, you know?" Raven raised an eyebrow at Rose Wilson, who had been laying back and enjoying watching their embarrassment.

"Why would I?" Ravager grinned breezily. "I kinda like this guy. This is amusing."

"How about because you might be next?" Nightwing pointed out.

Rose chuckled, folding her arms behind her head. "I don't think so. This is your fanboy. He probably hasn't even noticed I'm here."

Unfortunately for her, he had noticed, and Rose Wilson and Damian Wayne were sucked into what was clearly an American high-school. Neither of them had any idea what movie this was. Fortunately, someone did.

"Guys? Don't freak out, but…you're in a rom-com." Garfield was clearly trying to hide his own amusement when he spoke into the communicator.

"You're fucking kidding me." Rose said blankly.

It was 10 Things I Hate About You and they both resisted immensely, making everyone else experience excruciating pain again.

Starfire picked up her communicator. "Listen to me, both of you. You will do the growing up right now. You need to play along so we can figure this out. If we're all falling down in pain, we can't do anything. There's a dog in pain here. Get over yourselves and do it."

Ravager and Robin stared at each other awkwardly.

Raven pulled out her own communicator. "Listen, I know this sucks, but if you don't get over it you better hope Control Freak kills me, because otherwise I'll personally punish you."

Rose grunted and leaned her head back. Then she cursed under her breath and nodded.

Damian sighed. "Fine. Talk to me, Garfield."

"Great! Don't worry, both main characters are super grumpy and kind of rude, it fits you perfectly." The Changeling cheerfully spoke into his communicator.

Then Ravager and Robin went through a living nightmare acting poorly in the cute romantic movie neither of them had ever watched. There may have even been a spark or two, but that only made it even more embarrassing. Something happened when they had to kiss, though. After putting their friends through misery by refusing to do it several times, when they finally did they felt this weird feeling in their gut and this even weirder feeling in their chest. They were both absolutely mortified by the time they got pulled back. And absolutely furious.

Rose Wilson's eyes were decisive and fierce when she joined the others in exploring the secret doors. "Now I'm definitely getting this loser."

"How did he even do this!?" Dick scratched his head and frowned.

Raven opened her mouth to speak, but instantly started to vanish. Guess it's my turn. Then suddenly, she was driving a car with a blond boy on the passenger seat while someone kept piercing the roof with a sword. It was chaotic and dangerous. They had realized by now that whatever happened to them in this TV-land was real, at least to some extent. When they got hurt, it actually hurt – and the wounds didn't just disappear when they got pulled back out. They didn't know what would happen if someone got killed inside, but they weren't eager to find out.

"Where are we!?"

Raven immediately frowned and turned her head to the boy beside her when he squeaked the question. She would recognize that voice anywhere. He looked different. He looked normal. His hair was strawberry-blond and messy; there were light freckles on his face and no unusual features whatsoever. But those eyes – green and wide and staring at her expectantly. "Garfield!?"

"Well, yeah, who else would I b-AHH!" The shapeshifter yelped when he glanced at his own hands and realized the color green was gone. "What the fuck!"

Raven noticed the Changeling was freaking out, so she tried to think. This is familiar. She glanced at her leather clothes and it hit her. The empath ran her tongue over her teeth for confirmation. Maybe he didn't have fangs at the moment, but she certainly did.

"Gar, listen to me. We know this. We watched this together. There's a Lycan on the roof."

The Changeling only frowned for a second before his eyes widened with realization. "We're in Underworld."

The sword pierced Raven's shoulder and she screamed in pain. Garfield's eyes filled with terror, especially when he realized he couldn't shapeshift. She hit the brakes, dropping Lucian from the roof and then running over him.

"That's right. Gar?" She glanced at him to see he was looking a little desperate, staring at all the blood she was losing. "Hey, stay with me. We got this. I'm going to pass out and then you'll shoot the window and get us out of the water. Remember?"

She needs you, snap out of it. Garfield quickly nodded. "Yeah, I do. We got this."

Raven's sight got blurry. "I'm glad you're here…" She said quietly before passing out.

When she woke up, they were both completely wet and her shoulder was patched. Garfield was in bad shape, though. Right, he's supposed to have been bitten. She looked at him and frowned, remembering the rest of the movie and dreading how much he was going to suffer.

Next thing she knew, they were in an empty building. The empath looked around and whispered. "It's the interrogation room scene…"

"Yup."

They followed the script, but it was impossible not to break character a little. Garfield watched her while she looked out the window and they did the dialogue as faithfully as they remembered. She was wearing Selene's clothes and they hugged her body in the most enticing way. Also, she had fangs and he was kind of into it. "So…what now?"

"This is the part where I go…"

"What about me!?" The Changeling went back to delivering Michael's lines, whining theatrically.

"I'll be back in the morning."

"No, I'm not staying here alone." Garfield held onto her arm and stared into her eyes. "I want to go with you."

Raven took a sudden intake of breath. He actually meant that. She stepped closer to him. They both knew what was coming and Garfield was clearly fighting back a smile. She closed the distance between them and they kissed softly. Then she lingered for a bit and deepened the kiss. Control Freak probably wouldn't mind that – Garfield was hurt and bleeding and she wanted to kiss him. She still remembered to put the handcuffs on him while she did. He smirked against her lips.

"I really don't want to leave you here." The empath whispered in his ear.

He smiled and whispered back. "You have to, love. By the way, you look really sexy."

Raven smiled slightly and rolled her eyes. "You look cute, but I still prefer the green version."

Garfield's stomach fluttered. He had been afraid to ask her about it. Raven was brutally honest and she wouldn't lie for the sake of romance like most people. But now she'd said it. His smile grew wider and brighter and his eyes glistened. "Thank you."

She squeezed his hand and reluctantly left him there. The sorcerer was getting nervous about what else they would have to do. Michael was in danger way too many times in that movie. When she saw him again, they were attacked as expected and he jumped out the window. She noticed her powers didn't work properly in here, but her aim and physical skills had definitely improved – which was good, because she needed to shoot a lot of…people? Creatures? Holograms? Pixels? Whatever these things were. But she watched the car take him away hoping the scene would end, because she remembered how painful Michael's transformation was. It didn't. And her heart ached. I'm going to murder that nerd.

Meanwhile, Starfire frowned at the screen while Garfield screamed in pain and she flinched at the grim transformation in front of her. "What is this movie again?"

Cyborg had looked away as soon as it started. "She's a vampire. He's a werewolf. Their clans are at war. And there's a whole thing about him being some guy's descendent and that's why the werewolves want to make him a hybrid."

"So the vampires are the good guys?" Kory looked away from the screen too.

"No, definitely not. You'll see."

Just let me save him already. Raven was feeling absolutely impatient while she was forced to interact with fictional vampires. She couldn't wait anymore. She knew where he was. Tied up and in pain and probably scared. She couldn't stand one more useless, long and annoying…wait. This is it. She pulled her guns out. Finally.

Garfield was a little worried. The pain was very real and he couldn't free himself. If they didn't pull this off…stop it. She's coming. She's definitely coming. He realized he couldn't remember exactly how this scene went and then he heard hostile noises coming his way. Shit. I'm going to die. The shapeshifter squeezed his eyes shut and braced himself. Then he heard gunshots and opened his eyes. Holy shit. His heart skipped a beat. Raven was standing there, looking all magnificent in leather and smiling at him.

"Need some help, love?"

He laughed freely. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

She shot his chains, freeing him. He leaned in to kiss her, but she stopped him.

"We're not safe yet." The empath reminded him.

"Right. Okay."

They continued their escape with Raven shooting everything that moved. When Garfield went to open a door, she stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her and she was frowning and biting her lip. But he remembered this scene. He had to open this door.

"Don't." She whispered.

The scene reset. Raven closed her eyes and cursed internally.

"Rae? Love, look at me." Garfield said softly.

She opened her eyes and they were filled with sadness and fear. "No, that…he'll shoot you with silver nitrate."

"I know. It's okay." He pulled her into a hug.

The scene reset. Raven felt desperate and started panting. Their friends were obviously being patient, but this was hurting them. But how could she let this happen to him? Michael nearly died in that scene. As in, it got dangerously close. She felt her eyes well up.

"Rae, we need to continue. It will be okay."

She looked at him with teary eyes and her voice came out so quiet it was barely audible. "I can't watch you die again."

Garfield was a little paralyzed for a second there. Vulnerable Raven was the death of him. How could he ask anything of her?

The scene reset. He held her close and whispered soothingly. "Love, I won't die. You'll bite me with those cute fangs of yours and I'll rise again. Just like in the movie. I promise." He stroked her hair while she squeezed her eyes shut and nodded against his chest.

The scene reset. Raven was back. "Go, we need to keep going." She told him, wiping her face.

As expected, he was shot. The rest of the scene was agony. She could barely focus with Garfield squirming in pain next to her. When Lucian finally told her to bite him, she was more than ready. She stumbled over to him and pulled him to her lap, leaning over him and biting his neck. She noticed she was an actual vampire at the moment, because it tasted amazing and she lingered for a bit. Suddenly, she was lifted and thrown across the room. Then Garfield was lifted and thrown out of the room. Raven focused. She knew this. He needed time. She stalled with as much of the dialogue as she could remember while he suffered another painful transformation in the next room, and she actually got into it. This villain was another abusive father and it felt personal at this point, even if he wasn't real. Besides, she did like this movie.

Garfield felt a new rush of power. It was different from anything he'd ever felt before. He'd actually turned into a vampire-werewolf hybrid. Okay, this part is kinda cool. He started kicking some old vampire ass. It was hard and he couldn't really relax because as far as they knew there was real danger involved, but it also felt pretty damn epic. He needed help though, and it came. When she joined him, they fought together, saving each other again and again. Raven pulled her final move, slicing the old vampire's face in two. Garfield stood up and looked at her. Probably shouldn't have done that, I look monstrous right now.

The shapeshifter sighed contently when she just ran to him and hugged him tightly. He gratefully wrapped his arms around her. "Thanks for the rescue."

She pulled back to look into his eyes and whispered intently. "I'll always rescue you." She smiled slightly when his eyes got all watery. "And you'll always rescue me."

The Changeling nodded aggressively and grinned. "Sorry I look repulsive right now."

Raven smirked, cradled his face in her hands and pulled him into a kiss – a sweet, long, deep, romantic kiss. Garfield's eyes closed and his eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he instinctively kissed her back and his chest burned for her. And then they were back in the dark room. They didn't stop kissing right away, because they had just gone through a lot – in fact, they only stopped when a burst of agonizing pain shot through their bodies, making them scream and fall. They turned to the screens on the walls. Nightwing and Starfire were in some Sci-Fi movie. Raven held Garfield's communicator and smiled at him in a way that meant help them.

The Changeling grinned and picked it up, analyzing what he was looking at. "Alright, you two. Listen. I think you're in Fifth Element."

The empath joined the others and cleared her throat. "I know what this is." Once she had their attention, she continued. "It's a pocket reality. He created this world by his rules. But it's flawed. He's not a sorcerer or a warlock – just a geek playing around with magic. This is his world, there's no point trying to fight him by our rules. We need to explore the cracks. His work is sloppy. He's definitely left magical fingerprints." And then she pointedly turned to Jinx. "Let's get to work."

The enchantress was surprised, but she quickly collected herself and joined the other witch. She wasn't sure why, but she felt a little nervous. Don't worry Jinx; you've worked on this together. You got this. The two girls floated into the Lotus stance across from each other. They were both oblivious to the screens – and they needed to be, because if Raven saw Dick and Kory in danger, she would lose focus.

The rest of them, however, held their breath when they were in danger and flinched when they got hurt. Nightwing and Starfire struggled their way through the risky situations they were in, especially because they couldn't even get it wrong once, since the blast of pain would interrupt Jinx and Raven. Fortunately, if there was a couple that was ready to face anything, it was them. Garfield sure felt the pressure of talking them through it, but he managed to keep it together – all that meditating had definitely done something.

"Almost there…" Jinx whispered.

An iridescent glow appeared on a dark corner of the room and they gasped. And then right in that exact moment, Kory and Dick got back from TV-land and Raven and Jinx felt themselves being sucked in instead.

The empath grumbled. "Not again…"

And they were gone. Everyone stared at the screen wide-eyed to see younger versions of the girls in a garden while other children antagonized them by calling them witches.

"I…I don't know what this is!" Garfield started freaking out.

"Don't worry; I think I've seen this with Rae…" Starfire narrowed her eyes.

Jinx looked around. "I think we're in Practical Magic." She turned to Raven and started laughing. "Well, you look adorable."

"You too, genius." The empath rolled her eyes as Jinx looked at herself to realize she was also a kid. "And I think you're right. Are you familiar with it?"

"Of course I am. Are you?"

Raven smirked. "What do you think?"

"What do we do now?" Ravager frowned. "Just sit back and wait until they come back so they can finish opening that portal? I mean, people are being pulled in for a second turn now. How long is he gonna keep this up for? I'm not looking forward to another round."

"Me neither." Damian said emphatically.

"What else can we do? Both our sorcerers are gone." Bumblebee pointed out.

Cyborg worriedly approached his best friend and touched his shoulder while he watched Raven jump on a random guy's lap and kiss him. "Relax, man; you look like you're about to shapeshift. She's just doing it cause she has to. The dude doesn't even exist."

Garfield was completely paralyzed. His muscles were so tense they hurt a little and he couldn't remember how to breathe. He didn't want to watch it, but he couldn't look away. He only exhaled when it ended, but he was still tense. That guy was still there.

"It's not a big deal, you know?" Bumblebee raised an eyebrow at the Changeling.

"Give me a break, guys. Nobody wants to see their girlfriend doing that!" Garfield protested in a high-pitched voice. "Why couldn't I just play that guy!?"

"He dies." Starfire said plainly.

"Oh…oh, okay then." Garfield cleared his throat. "I still hate this."

"You know…" The Tamaranean glanced at Wally. "Jinx is getting hurt if they stay there. Badly."

Kid Flash's eyes widened fearfully.

"Kory, how dangerous is this movie?" Garfield frowned.

Starfire bit her lip. "Well…a lot of the bad shit happens."

Kid Flash fiercely furrowed his brows. "We need to get them out."

"I agree." Ravager said, turning everyone's attention to her. "He may not have put him there to spare his life…" She pointed at the Changeling. "But he could want me dead. I don't want to wait for the next session to find out."

And then Garfield's brain did this wonderful, marvelous thing. It had an idea. A good idea. One could almost see the lightbulb light up over his head. He turned into an animalistic demon with magical properties and focused on the glow the girls had been working on while everyone else realized what he was doing and encouraged him. It didn't come naturally for him. He obviously wasn't used to using magic. But his girlfriend had talked to him about it an awful lot. Besides, she needed him. I can do this.

Raven and Jinx didn't need any help following this script. Some of the scenes were actually really fun and they had their own inside joke where they just rolled their eyes at each other regarding how perfect they were for these roles. But then Jinx got hurt. And some of it started to get a little scary. They were strangely grateful when they found themselves in the Midnight-Margaritas scene and Raven actually got drunk for the first time in her life.

"So, Raveeen. Do you, like, looove Beast Boy?" Jinx giggled.

The sorcerer rolled her eyes, feeling absolutely giddy. "Do you looove Kid Flash?"

There was a little tension in the dark room, but when Cyborg glanced at his best friend he proudly realized his concentration wasn't affected. He wasn't even listening. Wally on the other hand, looked concerned. On screen, the two witches narrowed their eyes at each other in a silent staring contest for a few seconds, before bursting into laughter.

"We can't talk about this; they're watching." Raven said in slurred speech.

The enchantress rolled her eyes. "You're right."

Raven started giggling uncontrollably. "I usually am!"

Jinx laughed loudly at that. "You suck. You're like, a total bitch!"

The empath laughed louder too. "Thank you. Right back at you!"

I got it. Garfield focused. And just like that, the dark rooms were gone. The illusion was over and they were in some sort of control room with Control Freak – a now very terrified, very regretful Control Freak.

"How d-did you…uh…y-you shouldn't be here!" The villain shouted.

Superboy frowned. "This guy did this to us? This guy?"

"You're fucking kidding me." Rose and Damian said in unison. Then they awkwardly looked away from each other.

Kid Flash quickly pushed him against the wall and hissed. "Get them out. Now."

"O-of course!" Control Freak nodded aggressively.

Right when the broom fell, making the girls jump, Raven and Jinx were pulled out of the movie and into the control room with everyone. But just like injuries didn't automatically heal when they left TV-land, the girls didn't automatically sober up.

"Oh heeey look, our friends!" Jinx said groggily, leaning on Raven. "And the loser who did this to us!" She pointed at Control Freak and laughed hysterically.

Raven chuckled, trying to catch her breath. Why is everything so funny right now? "That's right! But…how?"

Cyborg pointed at Garfield. "Your boy turned into…something magical and finished your work."

The shapeshifter smiled sheepishly. Raven's eyes widened and she carefully untangled herself from Jinx, pushing her to Wally instead, and then spread her arms wide and smiled, stumbling towards her boyfriend.

"My hero!" The empath wrapped her arms around Garfield, leaning on him.

The Changeling blushed and wrapped his arms around her, not only because he wanted to, but because if he didn't she would definitely fall. His sheepish smile turned proud and he beamed.

"This is all very sweet and everything, but what are we doing about him?" Ravager narrowed her eyes at Control Freak, still watching the Titans excitedly even now.

"Interrogate him to find out why he did it." Victor said seriously.

Richard frowned. "I think he did it for his own personal entertainment."

Control Freak shrank under everyone's expectant gazes. "I…well, yes."

There was a round of gasps, cursing and outraged responses in general.

"Dude, that's sick." Cyborg shook his head disapprovingly.

"And dangerous." Nightwing stated, completely unamused. "Take us back. Now."

As soon as they were back in Titan Tower with a captive Control Freak, Raven pointed at him and frowned from Garfield's arms.

"You. I resent you profoundly. I'm going to curse you." The empath said in slurred speech.

Her hand glowed bright and Starfire, Cyborg and Nightwing immediately rushed to stop her. The Changeling held her hand so she wouldn't cast anything in this drunken state.

"No, wait!"

"Nooo!"

"Rae, don't!"

Raven's frown deepened and she pouted. "But he sucks."

Garfield chuckled lovingly and held her tighter. So freaking adorable.

"That's riiight. Don't be boriiing. Curse him! Curse him!" Jinx giggled from Wally's arms.

"He does suck." Nightwing calmly agreed. "But you're drunk. No cursing anyone while you're drunk. Actually, no magic while you're drunk. Please."

Raven sighed heavily in frustration, which caused the kitchen plates to fly around wildly and shatter against the walls. Everyone stared at her wide-eyed and she smiled coyly and then rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine." She muttered. "No magic while I'm drunk…"

The Changeling kissed the top of her head. "Mmm, you're so dangerous."

The empath giggled at him. "I tasted your blood. You taste good."

Garfield's grin became flirty. "Oh, yeah?"

Conner shook his head at how mushy they were and cleared his throat. He pointed at Control Freak. "Okay, but he still deserves worse than jail."

Richard nodded. "I agree. Rose, Damian, do you want to beat him up a little?"

Control Freak's eyes widened in fear when Robin and Ravager smiled wickedly at him. "N-no, wait! What!?"

Nightwing folded his arms. Damian and Rose may not have been in danger, but they were more embarrassed than anyone else about the whole thing. He let them punch him a few times and then stopped them and went to take the villain to jail.

"Make some coffee for those two, yes?" Richard pointed at Raven and Jinx as he left.

Fighting Control Freak really brought them together. Once the sorcerers sobered up, they all decided to take a walk and maybe get some ice cream. They even took Ravager's handcuffs off, though they told her if she tried to run Conner or Wally would definitely catch her. Raven blurred her memories so she wouldn't remember Dick's secret identity and chuckled softly when Rose asked if she could erase kissing Damian as well. At some point, they passed by a church and Starfire felt the need to look inside. The others followed – except for Raven, who kept her distance. It didn't take long for Garfield to come back looking for her.

"Rae? Why are you here? Come inside, you'll like it. It's all gothic with stained glass and stuff. It's kinda beautiful."

She gave him a little sad smile. "That does sound beautiful, but I don't go near churches."

The shapeshifter frowned. "Why? C'mon, there's nothing to worry about." He said cheerfully as he pulled her by the hand.

The empath allowed her enthusiastic boyfriend to drag her, because she didn't have the heart to stop him. Maybe it will be fine. She started to smile, but then right when they got to the entrance, it happened. The sudden sensation of cold liquid hitting her face made her stop and pull her hand back. She wiped her eyes so she could open them again, only to see him staring at her with wide, confused eyes.

Raven sighed. "…that's why."

"You can't come in here." A girl spat out bitterly before turning on her heels and going back inside the church.

Garfield frowned, watching the empath's now slightly wet hair dripping over her shoulders while she wiped her face. He wasn't sure what to do. He couldn't exactly beat someone up for throwing water on his girlfriend and he wanted to check on her first. Besides, he wasn't even sure what just happened. The other Titans had found their way to them.

"What happened?" Cyborg asked.

"I have no idea!" Garfield squeaked. "That girl just threw water on her out of nowhere for no reason at all! Rae, do you know her?"

The sorcerer tiredly shook her head as she wringed out her hair. "Not water. That would be holy water."

Oh. The Changeling's frown deepened and his stomach turned. He felt a little sick.

"What did I just say?" The girl hastily approached them again. "Just because you all have powers that doesn't mean you can intimidate us." She turned to Raven with an angry look on her face. "You're not welcome here."

As if in slow motion, the empath could see Garfield's body tense up and his mouth open. She could sense his anger too. Not that he was the only one. She sensed indignation from all of them, but Starfire, Cyborg, Nightwing, and Robin were nearly matching the Changeling's rage. They were all about to speak and it wasn't going to be pretty. They were also starting to draw attention. So she made sure she spoke first.

"I know, I know." Raven shot the girl an annoyed stare and raised her hands up in the air. "Don't worry, I'm leaving."

When she turned around to leave, however, another splash of holy water hit her face from the opposite direction. Awesome. More anger poured out of her friends, but she also detected more and more emotions from the strangers around. Some were feeling empathy and discomfort while others were simply emanating hostility towards her. She sighed and opened her eyes to see a terrified man holding up a cross. Typical.

"We're n-not scared of you! Go away!"

I was TRYING to. She involved the cross in dark energy and brought it to her hand. "This doesn't hurt me. See?"

It was supposed to calm him down, but it only made him run inside the church a thousand times more scared. There wasn't enough time to stop her friends this time.

"What is wrong with you!?" Kory shouted.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Richard asked sternly.

"This is not okay." Cyborg said in a low, menacing voice.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Damian hissed.

"I wouldn't risk angering her." Rose said teasingly.

Garfield didn't say anything, because he had jumped to her side to stand there protectively, glaring at anyone who even thought about going near her.

Raven pulled her hood up. "Guys, it's okay. Let's just go."

There was urgency in her voice and they all detected it, so they reluctantly glared at the girl and the man – and anyone else who seemed hostile – one more time and turned to leave with her. Nightwing had to pull Damian along – his anger issues had gotten better, but this was a lot. But then as they tried to leave, they heard it.

"Demon scum." A more mature female voice hissed behind them.

Raven only faltered for a second, but it was enough to keep her from stopping him, because Garfield had immediately reacted. He was already glaring at the tall, elegant woman.

"What did you just call her?" The shapeshifter asked angrily.

The woman hesitated. "No, I…we don't have a problem with you. It's just-"

"Oh, yes you do. Who do you think you are, you ignorant bigoted? Do you have any idea what she's done for the world?! She's made sacrifices you couldn't begin to conceive and they're the reason you're even alive right now!" Garfield looked around to see some people were looking down or had taken a step back, and others were smiling in relief and nodding at him. He glared at the man and the girl who'd thrown water on her and lowered his voice to an even more serious tone. "You should be kissing the ground she walks on. You may be humans, but she's a thousand times better than you'll ever be."

Absolute silence. At this point the other Titans were standing decisively behind him to make it perfectly clear that he was speaking for everyone. Well, except for Raven – she was still on the same spot, with her back to the church, frowning at the floor. But she could sense people. She could sense that speech had significantly increased the levels of shame and guilt. Garfield hurried to her side and put an arm around her, walking away with her and being followed by their friends. She didn't love the arm-around-shoulders thing when it was possessive, but she didn't mind it when it was protective. This was definitely protective.

"It really wasn't that big a deal inside. We'll find a much better one with better people and then we'll go in." The Changeling said plainly once they were far enough.

Raven looked at him. The whole thing had gotten her feeling extremely valued and her heart racing a bit. "Gar, you didn't have to do that."

"I'm so sorry." He whispered, suddenly looking a lot more vulnerable.

The empath frowned, rather confused about why he felt guilty. "For what?"

"I dragged you there like an idiot. I never thought…I'm sorry."

Raven smiled slightly. "Oh, that's okay. You're not used to it."

Garfield stopped and made her look at him. "Are you used to this? Does this happen a lot?"

The sorcerer could sense he was completely distraught. "Well, no, I wouldn't say a lot." She pondered blankly. "Most people are nice. But…it happens. Every now and then I get that kind of…it's not a big deal."

"It is a big deal. Are you upset with me? Because I can't watch someone treat you like that, I can't. I won't. I'm sorry, but…" He trailed off when he realized her smile had gotten wider.

"I noticed. Why would I be upset with you for defending me?" Raven got on her toes and kissed his cheek. "I said you didn't have to, not that I didn't like it." She began walking away. "So are we getting ice cream or what?"

As everyone followed after her, Kid Flash gave Garfield a pat on the back, Damian gave his arm a soft, friendly punch and Cyborg ruffled his hair. Kory smiled at him.

Once they were settled on a table having ice cream, the Changeling pulled Raven's hood down. He was the only one that got to do that with no consequences other than a quick, playful glare. He rested his chin on his hands and stared at her dreamily. "Are you sure you're okay?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm fine. It's just haters. I'm sure I have a lot more of those now that we're together."

Garfield frowned. "Have you seen social media?"

"No." Raven smiled playfully. "I'm sure it's all about what a tragedy it is that you're off the market dating the creepy demon chick. I don't need to see that."

The shapeshifter gasped. "Not at all! I mean, there's a little of that, yes. And there's a little of how appalling it is for majestic Raven to be with the stupid green kid." Her face instantly contorted into an upset frown and he smiled at it. "But…most people love us."

The sorcerer suspiciously narrowed her eyes. Yeah, right. Sure.

"He's right." Cyborg chuckled. "You're widely popular. Nearly as much as those two." He pointed at Dick and Kory.

"That is the truth. The people are very fond of you." Starfire nodded happily.

"Yep. Lots of shippers." Bumblebee said pointedly. She and Victor kept stealing glances at each other and she desperately needed to engage in the conversation.

Raven still had a look of utter disbelief on her face. "…shippers?"

The empath looked around the table to see if anyone cracked and revealed the prank behind all of this. But everyone was just extremely amused.

"Here, I'll prove it." Garfield said happily before smearing her cheek with a bit of ice cream. She glared fiercely at him and he swiftly leaned forward and licked it off her face before kissing the spot. Raven chuckled slightly and he proceeded to planting quick kisses all over her face until she finally giggled and pushed him off her, clearly trying to contain the smile on her lips. Then he whispered to her. "Now look around."

The empath glanced at the other tables and sure enough, people were smiling dreamily or admiring the pictures they'd just taken, squealing happily and emanating support, excitement and joy. Then she looked at her friends and they were all emanating support too. Some of them were emanating a bit of annoyance, concern or jealousy as well. But mostly, support.

"…huh." Was all Raven said.

"Hey, don't look at me, I don't get it either." Superboy joked. "Though you did have good chemistry in that movie bit, not gonna lie."

If Conner was being completely honest, after seeing the way she was with him and seeing him defend her at the church, he did get it. But he wasn't going to say that out loud.

"It's not rocket science, is it? It's the whole opposites attract cliché. Besides, you're both weird, people like weird." Rose pointed out blankly. "Most people feel weird. Arguably more people identify with you than with Wonder Woman or Superman. I know I di-"

Ravager suddenly stopped herself before she could finish her sentimental thought, but it was too late. They knew what she was going to say and they were all either smiling stupidly or smirking at her.

Rose scoffed. "Whatever."

"Well, I had fun today." Conner admitted.

Nightwing smiled at him. "Why don't you stay?"

Krypto barked excitedly. Clark did say he could stay with Conner for as long as he needed him, and Conner definitely still needed him. Krypto really liked Titan Tower.

Superboy raised an eyebrow at the space dog and chuckled. "Well, I know where you stand."

"I'd love to have other aliens on the team." Starfire beamed.

"I mean technically I'm not an alien. I was created in a lab." Superboy shrugged and smiled charmingly at Kory. "But he did use Superman's DNA."

Nightwing frowned. Maybe I didn't think this through. "Yes, and we would love to have you, Conner…just…you know, your people skills could improve a little…"

Kid Flash, Garfield and Cyborg nodded aggressively in agreement.

Superboy smirked. "You mean stop flirting with your girls."

Kid Flash, Nightwing and Cyborg suddenly felt embarrassed.

"Yes!" Garfield unapologetically threw his hands in the air while Raven just rolled her eyes again. "Just stop doing that and we'll be fine!"

Conner chuckled. He did have fun since he got here. "Fine, I promise I'll…try." Then he looked at Bumblebee. "You're single, right?"

"I…" Karen tensed up and blushed, keeping her gaze on the ice cream, because Victor was right beside her.

Cyborg opened his mouth and then closed it several times. He braced himself for whatever she would say next. Raven sensed their emotions and excused herself. Garfield almost followed her, but she said she was going to the toilet. Then Kory followed her.

"I mean, technically…" Bumblebee said carefully.

"Great!" Conner turned to Richard again, grinning smugly. "Guess I'm a Titan."

The Only Exception (Paramore)